Uloryy/Foreven (3033 A877758-7) / Date: 210-1106Q3. What elements of the results of Q1a or b and Q2 suddenly get twisted together in
a surprising manner, increasing the danger to the heroic motivation?
[Be the GM first:
• Use the random idea generator to inspire a shocking plot twist that wholly or partially expresses a relationship between the threat encountered in Q1a or b and the unusual event experienced in Q2, alluding to greater dangers ahead.
Delay / Peace.
• Roll a d6 twice to express that twist in an encounter of: (3) revelation, (2) betrayal
• Choose or use the random idea generator to inspire the place where and when the encounter will occur: Syndicate pod.
Be the PCs next:
Use the heroes' abilities to respond to the twist as per their heroic motivation and the RPG's rules.
Be the GM once more:
Close the encounter by resolving NPC reactions to the heroes.]
The aftermath of the battle: All the soldiers have been incapacitated or killed. Starman Unamshiiguu is seriously wounded. Slinx is injured but mobile. The criminal's leader, Heni, is incapacitated, as is Palina, one of the thugs.
"So who set us up?" asks Sgt. Gytovo as he reloads his weapon. "I know it can't have been any of my guys, so it looks like you guys have a traitor in your midst."
"What do we do now?" says Sir Fenzies.
"We need to get out of here. Fast. You three," says the sergeant, pointing to Eshtam, Slinx and Bov, "sort the bodies and figure out who's going to make it. Me and his highness are going to have a little conference and find somewhere to hide out and stash the weapons."
"I've got a sort of artist's loft in a converted startown warehouse." says Sir Fenzies, "We could hide there."
"Is that where you were supposed to take the consignment?"
"No."
"It'll do, then."
Sir Fenzies has an expensive air/raft he imported from Mingiz. Slinx rides with him, with their injured compatriots (Heni, Palina and Unamshiiguu) in the back seat. Bov drives the weapon truck. Sgt. Gytovo rides shotgun, Eshtam crams into the middle of the front seat. Three prisoners (V, W, and Z) are put in the back seat of the cab and covered with a tarp. The air/raft leads; Bov has been given the address in case they get separated (he's never been there before).
[Q: Are there any problems on the way to the hideout? (Somewhat Likely | 2[d10]) No.
Q: Can Sir Fenzies call in a mob doctor to care for the wounded? (Very Likely | 9[d10]) Yes.
Q: Does (d6,2 =male) he agree that Eshtam and Bov can pick him up in order to not give away their location? (50/50 | 8[d10]) Yes.
Q: Is anyone looking for the party in startown? (Very Likely | 4[d10]) No.]
It is soon apparent that Sir Fenzies' 'hideout' is more of a secret love-nest than anything else. Still, at least it seems to be a well-kept secret. The injured are unloaded and arranged on the plush sofas in the entertainment suite. The sergeant keeps a watch over them with Heni's silenced pistol, just in case. Sir Fenzies calls a doctor he knows to patch everyone up. The doctor agrees to be picked up from a restaurant ("you know," says Sir Fenzies," the one with the awful higlaten sauce") in another neighbourhood, so they don't have to give away the hideout location in case the comm is being tapped.
Eshtam and Bov go out to fetch the doctor, returning within the hour and without incident. They come back to the smell of Sir Fenzies and Slinx cooking up something in the kitchen, and sergeant Gytovo scowling as he listens to their prattle.
The doctor stabilises the wounded whilst everyone else eats. Sgt. Gytovo organises the watch schedule. In the morning of the next day he convinces the doctor to bring the prisoners round so he can question them.
Q: Does Sgt. Gytovo have Interrogation skill? (50/50 | 8[d10]) Yes. Interrogation/Doubletalk-1
Badgering ~(diff) 1d6 hours roll10+2
(Using the charts in Mercenary, I roll up: Medium Cadre mission Training (compensation B) 9 weeks
Merc unit: large(60 members), trait-bigotry, fame bonus +1soc, avg skill=marginal)
Q: How much does the merc know? (2d6=8, basic details)
Q: Why are the recruits fighting? Trust / A plan. They believe in their cause, and accept the designs of their leaders.
random roll of 6 nearest likely systems to find out destination of conspiracy: Dimmul (!)
Q: Are recruits from Dimmul? (Very Likely | 7[d10]) Yes.
Q: Are they part of a major conflict? (50/50 | 9[d10]) Yes.
Q: Is there any outside involvement? (Somewhat Unlikely | 6[d10]) No, but... proxy war between 2 of Dimmul's major players.
Q: How far into the training are they? 2 weeks
Q: Are more shipments due in? (Somewhat Likely | 9[d10]) Yes.
Q: Small arms? (Likely | 8[d10]) Yes.
Q: Who set up the criminals? Organized Shadow lawyer.
Q: Does Sir Fenzies begin to suspect he isn't dealing with the crew of a free trader? (Likely | 8[d10]) Yes.
Q: What does he intend to do about this information? Block / Weather. Keep this from becoming a shitstorm.]
After many hours of interrogations, Sgt. Gytovo has gotten the broad details of the conspiracy out of the prisoners. Eshtam is a bit relieved to see that he did it through psychological interrogation techniques rather than just beating it out of them. Eshtam mostly listens in, but is more concerned with keeping an eye on the criminals. Bov is a reluctant nurse, but he thinks someone should to attend to Palina and Heni, who are doped up on medical slow drug. Slinx keeps watch over Starman Unamshiiguu, who is similarly medicated. Sir Fenzies has medicated himself recreationally, and is left to his drowsy euphoria. The doctor has been doing his best to keep the prisoners conscious for their grilling.
Sgt. Gytovo is conferring with Eshtam about their next move when Bov interrupts. "They don't pay me to figure stuff out," he says, "but it don't take no genius to see that you guys aren't just some bunch of merchants what got in over their heads."
"Where's this going?" asks Eshtam
"Look, I just wanna walk out of this without ending up in a jail or a coffin."
"The way I see it," says Sgt. Gytovo, "you guys have a traitor in your organisation, who's managed to use your smuggling contacts to bring in a load of weapons and wasn't too concerned about blowing you away in order to pick them up."
"This guy won't know anything," Eshtam interrupts, "I say we trade his cooperation now for letting him go when we make our move."
"This is on you if it backfires."
"We have bigger problems. I'm not here to play cops and robbers."
"Fine."
"Alright, Bov, you and your crew go free when we clear out. But I'm going to need your gun until then to prove your bona fides. And let me see Sir Fenzies' comm."
[Q: Is Sir Fenzies' personal comm way of a much higher TL and way better than it needs to be? (Likely | 7[d10]) Yes. TL(9+1d6)=13 - it can call the highport.]
Eshtam puts a call through to the Imperial Navy facilities located on Uloryy highport. Within four hours they have managed to contact the Dikiishgammurga, and set up a secure channel. She makes a full report.
[Q: What are the commander's orders? Abandon / A burden.]
Commander Darus decides that the mission, whilst somewhat successful, has also been compromised, and arranges for evac the following morning. Sgt. Gytovo grudgingly keeps his word, and allows Bov to drive off in the air/raft with his injured compatriots and the doctor just before dawn. An hour later, a pair of g-carriers arrive at the warehouse, full of marines in battle dress. The party and their prisoners are transported back to the starport in one of the carriers, whose troops stay behind to guard the weapons shipment until it can be collected. The sergeant seems more taciturn than usual during the trip; Slinx quietly informs Eshtam that their escort aren't from the Dikiishgammurga; they're from the Bettina von Arnim, a 30000-ton battle rider, flagship of the Imperial defence fleet stationed at Uloryy.
"Ever been on a ship this big before?" asks Slinx as their pinnace approaches the enormous, weapon-laden cruiser.
"Just once," says Eshtam, "when I was a schoolgirl. Back when the Imperium was sending round an old Azhanti High Lightning class cruiser on a goodwill tour of Foreven and Seven Sisters before it was decommissioned. My class won a tour in some essay contest or something. First time I was ever in space, too."
Sergeant Gytovo speaks, almost for the first time since they were collected by the marines. "Somehow I can't picture you as ever having been a schoolgirl."
The following three days aboard the Bettina are filled with questions, briefings, debriefings, and interviews, both singularly and as a group, conducted by a variety of high-ranking naval officers. The prisoners are doubtlessly subjected to a similar, if slightly more pointed, programme.
On the morning of the fifth day aboard, a pair of Ensigns collect the party from their breakfast, and march them into the Bettina's command centre. A large number of high-ranking officers are present, including the Commander Darus of the Dikiishgammurga and the Bettina's own Fleet Admiral Vemantir. Sergeant Gytovo and Slinx snap to attention immediately upon seeing her, and Unamshiiguu follows suit, as well as he is able.
"At ease, soldiers," says the Admiral. "I've sent for you all as I thought you might like to see the fruits of your labours. Please, have a seat."
Commander Darus explains, "It seems that certain elements have contracted a mercenary company to perform a 9-week cadre mission on Uloryy, right under everyone's noses. There's a lot of countryside and empty farmland to hide in here, and a sizable group of offworlders brought as seasonal labourers in via low passage hardly raised an eyebrow. The mercenaries were to shape them into a mechanised infantry battalion, then move the lot of them offworld in a bulk freighter to the theatre of operations on Dimmul. Once on Dimmul, the mercs were to have a second ticket waiting for them to assist the battalion in active duty.
"I won't bore you with a summation of the political situation on Dimmul nor the Imperium's official stance on it -- not yet anyway -- but suffice it to say that there is no side in any current conflict in the Dimmul system which has Imperial backing, nor can we allow inaction in this matter to appear to sanction it.
"We are therefore launching a full-scale ground action with fighter and ortillery support in order to neutralise the training camp. I see you bristling, Sergeant. Don't worry, you're not missing anything; the Dikiishgammurga is not one of the ships taking a direct part in this operation. She's still looking for our unidentified visitor, who may very well be wrapped up in this whole affair.
"Besides, you've already captured all their heavy weapons. We're sending such an overwhelming force against them that we don't expect there will be much action at all, just a quick surrender. Then our troops on the ground will stay to convert their camp into a POW compound and guard it whilst we await further orders from High Command. We've already dispatched fast couriers to inform them of the situation at the close of your mission, and sent word to... other interested parties. I'm afraid the four of you will need to remain on the Bettina until we have word from above."
The operation goes much as Commander Darus had hoped; the mercenaries and their charges are far too poorly equipped to think about taking on Imperial marines. Within four hours comes unconditional surrender, and within 72 hours the important prisoners have been identified and ferried up to the Bettina for questioning.
The party are given full use of the officers' club and recreational facilities, though the ship's crew are stand-offish and regard them with more than a little suspicion. Some of the senior officers smart at the idea of having to share their space with enlisted men and a civilian. Eshtam and Gytovo spend most of their free time alone in their respective quarters, Slinx and Unamshiiguu play a lot of cards. Some personal items and clean uniforms are brought over to them from their ship, and Eshtam's duffle bag is retrieved for her from the Galatea, though without her weapons. The Commander checks in on everyone from time to time, and quietly slips Eshtam some of the dossiers from interrogation sessions with the mercenary officers.
A week and a half plods slowly by. Finally there is buzz around the ship that some VIPs have come aboard. But the waiting continues. Finally, orders come through; there will be a briefing the next day at 1100 (ship time).
Two ensigns arrive at Eshtam's quarters at 1045 precisely. They salute in greeting, and one tersely explains they are to escort her to the war room. The journey is passed in silence.
Inside the war room, fourteen seats have been arranged around the table/holo-projector. Eshtam is ushered into the only empty seat, right next to Sgt. Gytovo wearing his full dress uniform.
There are six navy representatives, three of which are flag officers. Eshtam recognises Commander Darus and Fleet Admiral Vemantir; the rest are unknown to her. Three representatives of the IISS are present. Eshtam is almost surprised to see Special Executive Thurmond, her former SpecOps handler. She recognises the other two as members of his staff. Rounding out the group are a Imperial nobleman in ceremonial dress and two smartly-dressed assistants. Slinx and Unamshiiguu are nowhere to be seen. Amongst all the pressed uniforms and finery, Eshtam feels positively underdressed.
Commander Darus addresses the room. "Ladies, gentlemen, my lord, you've all been briefed on the situation here on Uloryy, and read the dossiers detailing the mission undertaken by Sergeant Gytovo and Ms. Dreejeh, and the intelligence gleaned therefrom. You are all, I believe, in agreement as to the next phase, so let me sum up the salient points for the benefit of our two operatives.
"There is an unknown agency at work within Imperial space, attempting to start another war on Dimmul. They have been moving soldiers and equipment within Imperial borders for some time, probably to keep off the radar of Dimmul's various factions. They can't intend to do this indefinitely, as their willingness to burn their bridges demonstrates.
"There are currently six hot wars -- five on the ground and one in space -- involving the mainworld, but these have been dragging on for some time now, and are mostly stalemates. The beginning of a new war, one with potentially massive outside involvement, will further destabilise the system and may start to spill over into neighbouring systems. The Imperium would prefer not to have an interstellar war right outside its borders, so it is imperative we trace this back to its source and eliminate the threat.
"You two have been chosen to continue on with this mission, in light of your recent exemplary success, and with your individual skills and service records in mind."
"If I may interrupt," says the Baron, "I would like to point out that there are certain... holes in Ms. Dreejeh's service record, especially at the tail end of it before her dismissal. Might I ask, just what is it in her service record that makes her so suitable for this assignment?"
Thurmond smiles across the table at the Baron. "Sorry, Trev, 'need to know' and all that."
"All indications," continues Commander Darus, "point to Dimmul itself, so that's where you'll be headed. The Dikiishgammurga will deliver you in-system. You'll be taken to the Imperial Embassy, disguised as relief troops for the security detail. I'll be disembarking with you, to stay at the embassy for the duration as the representative of Naval Intelligence. We'll be running this mission in tandem with the Ministry of Justice. The Baron's already got a controller in place on Dimmul. You'll be working with some of her agents on the ground. The IISS will be taking a somewhat less direct role, but Special Executive Thurmond assures me that he has couriers on standby in case normal diplomatic channels become compromised. Now, I believe it's time to turn this briefing over to the Ministry. Dr. Uikstra, you have the floor."
One of the baron's aides, a strangely ageless woman with hair pulled severely back into a bun, stands and activates the holo display. A globe representing Dimmul appears, hovering above the centre of the table. "Thanks, Mike," she begins, "Right, if everyone will please page down to section 1.2.15 of the dossier..."
* * *
After the briefing, Thurmond visits Eshtam in her quarters.
"So I guess this means I'm back in the IISS?" she asks.
"It's not that simple, Esh. You were one of my best operatives, but after that last mission you were giving off just a little too much heat. The mission was buried, but you still had to go. I never intended it to be for long, just enough so that things could die down a little. The detached duty office would have kept tabs on you, so I could call you back in when the time was right."
"Seems right to me."
"It isn't. Not... not really. Look, when Mike -- Commander Darus -- recognised your name, he knew you were one of mine. That's why he sent you in, in the first place. He knows better than to ask me questions I can't answer, and for old friendship's sake he probably won't go digging. But this is his show, make no mistake. Never you mind the Ministry of Justice posturing. This is strictly a military operation. He pulled me in as a courtesy.
"Fine. But what about the baron? He seems pretty keen to know my record. He's MoJ, and has got an Imperial Warrant... is he just being thorough, or is this about T'nan?"
"T'nan never happened. Get that through your head. And don't worry about any Imperial Warrants; the order to bury the mission came from pretty high up."
(adventure continues here)
Saturday, 18 January 2014
Sunday, 12 January 2014
Solo Traveller - Episode 11: Blind-sided (9Qs #2 part 2)
Uloryy/Foreven (3033 A877758-7)
/ Date: 210-1106
[The GM phase of 9Qs #2 resulted in an encounter featuring (roll d6
twice): (2) intrigue & (5) combat. The intrigue played out very quickly,
but was a bit long when written up, so the combat will get a post of its own as
well.
Between game sessions I scratched some notes down on a piece of scratch
paper as to some possible directions the conspiracy could be taking. I will use
this for a baseline, but if the Qs or Mythic pull it in some other direction,
so much the better.
Be the PCs next: Use the heroes'
abilities to respond to the strange event as per their heroic motivation and
the RPG's rules.
Be the GM once more: Close the
encounter by resolving NPC reactions to the heroes.
According to the Mythic randomiser, this scene's strange event is Ambush Enemies, in a Violently Poor fashion. Right, then: a
poorly-planned ambush.
Reading detailed combat examples isn't everyone's cup of tea, so I'm
putting the narrative first.]
There is a creak as the doors are opened just enough to admit a person,
followed by soft footsteps coming from behind the truck. Eshtam looks to see
two men and a woman in military fatigues coming towards them with weapons at
the ready. The leader starts to take aim at Slinx with his submachinegun.
Eshtam's pistol is already in her hand. She raises it and fires as she moves to
take cover. The bullet penetrates the man's armour, and he falls to the ground.
Everyone scatters, diving for cover behind the truck, crates, and
machinery. Eshtam sees Sgt. Gytovo fire a long burst from his ACR at the two
remaining soldiers killing the man outright. The woman moves to take cover
behind the back of the truck, and fires her rifle at Slinx. Eshtam hears him
cry out as her shot finds its mark. Starman Unamshiiguu joins her crouching
behind the front of the truck. She hears shots ring out on all sides of the
battlefield and scurrying feet on the dirt floor.
Sgt. Gytovo advances ahead of her cautiously along the side of the
truck. A shot comes from behind her. She turns to see Slinx crouching behind a
crate, and is relieved to know he's still alive. Unamshiiguu fires bursts from
his SMG, ducking for cover as bullets ricochet of the truck's wheel well.
Eshtam starts to creep along the side of the truck after Sgt. Gytovo,
who is suddenly running towards the doors. There are more gunshots, more cries.
Sgt. Gytovo runs outside. There are bullets flying everywhere, but
Eshtam can't see anyone. Slinx jogs up behind her. The sound of a vehicle
starting outside is answered by a burst from the sergeant's ACR. Eshtam sneaks
around the back of the truck.
Sgt. Gytovo is silhouetted in the doorway, firing away. On the other
side of the truck Eshtam sees a trio of soldiers, embroiled in a firefight with
the criminals. Their backs are to her; Eshtam aims at the nearest of the three
and lets a shot off. The man falls. His two compatriots wheel about and return
fire, but she is already back behind the truck. Their shots whiz past.
She's afraid to peer around the truck again, afraid to move. She watches
the Sergeant duck back into the building, fire a quick burst at her assailants.
She hears the thud of a body hitting the ground.
The sergeant is yelling, "he's escaping out the back!" He
runs past her at full speed. She runs after him.
It's dark in the back of the building, but Eshtam just makes out the
shape of the soldier running. One of the criminals is shooting at him. The
sergeant is still running. Eshtam has a clear shot; she pauses to fire, but
hits a broken piece of machinery instead.
There's another shot near the back of the building. The sounds of
running cease.
[Right, so that's how Eshtam personally experienced the fight. The
whole thing, with all 14 combatants, played out like so--
Sunday, 5 January 2014
Solo Traveller - Episode 10: Double-blind (9Qs #2 part 1)
Uloryy/Foreven (3033 A877758-7) / Date: 210-1106
Q2. What unusual event occurs soon afterwards?
[Be the GM first:
• Use the random idea generator to inspire a strange or troubling event that seems unrelated to Q1: Ambush / Enemies
Q: Are we being double-crossed? Somewhat Unlikely | 6[d10]) No, but... our contacts are.
Q: How are they being double-crossed? Violently / Poor.
• Roll a d6 twice to express the unusual event in an encounter featuring: (2) intrigue & (5) combat.
• Place will be the already determined (in Q1) agriculturalordnance depot.
Intrigue first:]
The party drives their rented ground truck (a 9m flatbed, laden with the 5t cargo container) into the countryside, heading towards the rendez-vous point on the map they were given. Starman Unamshiiguu is in the driver's seat, and Sgt. Gytovo is riding shotgun (riding ACR?). Starman Slinx and Eshtam are in the cramped back seats. Once out of the city surrounding the starport, the landscape changes to a monotonous sea of purple chulnin-reed, the ubiquitous food crop on this part of Uloryy. The day is clear and bright; not a single cloud hangs in the orange sky.
After a half hour's drive, the truck reaches the service road off the main highway which was indicated on their map. The service road is a dusty, unpaved track, over which the truck bounces and shudders for a few kilometres before arriving at a cluster of disused and dilapidated farm outbuildings, their destination.
A man in an expensive suit wearing a breath-mask of obvious (by its TL) offworld manufacture emerges from the largest, most intact structure, swings open the doors, and motions for the truck to drive inside. Dim glowlights illuminate the interior. Broken heavy agricultural machinery and abandoned storage containers litter the inside of the structure, though enough space has been cleared to pull the truck in.
The elegant man joins a group of three disreputable-looking types: an athletic woman and a scruffy man -- obviously heavies -- and their boss, a small, nervous-seeming guy. Their faces are all obscured by the old and worn breath masks they're wearing, but their stance betrays a hint of criminal bravado.
"Not exactly the revolutionaries I was expecting," says Starman Slinx. Starman Unamshiiguu cuts the engine, and everyone piles out of the cab. Unamshiiguu has an auto-carbine on a sling, Sgt. Gytovo has his ACR casually on his shoulder. Slinx and Eshtam have automatic pistols holstered under their jackets.
"Peace of Marnach!" exclaims the nervous man. "What's with all the hardware?"
"Just a precaution," says Eshtam. "We weren't sure who we'd be meeting -- weren't even given a name."
[The criminals reaction roll is 11, Enthusiastic.]
"We gave your captain a name... shame about what happened to him. Saw it on the news. Real damn shame... I'm Heni, this here's Bov and Palina, and the fellow in the nice suit you can call Sir Fenzies." Sir Fenzies makes an exaggerated bow, the others stare silently.
"I'm Eshtam, this is Daffid, and the boys with the scary guns are Gelray and Zet."
"Scary guns! By the Gods of Sea and Sky, you said it! I don't know how you kids are used to doing business, but this is just a friendly trade, here."
"If you think these are scary, you'll love what we have in the back of the truck."
"I don't follow."
"Your shipment of, uh... decorative hardwood panelling?"
"Is that what it said on the manifest? Marnach's Milk! That's a good one! Y'know, Sir Fenzies did just get a shipment of that in not too long ago to redecorate the ol' Q-hut!"
"Do you wish to inspect the merchandise?"
"Nah, we operate on trust here. 'Sides, it'd spoil in the atmosphere. Too many contaminants."
"Wait... now I don't follow. What d'you think we're delivering?"
"Dream powder. Snooz bombs. Aunt Morfella. Or, if you want to be boring and clinical, syndalizine methobromide."
"Wow, that's so not what we've brought you..."
Just then, Eshtam hears the sound of a vehicle pulling up outside the building. [Recon roll 10+4] "Listen!" she says, "You're not expecting a weapons shipment, I'm guessing you're not expecting any friends to show up either."
"No," says Heni as he produces a silenced pistol from under his coat, "definitely not. What do say we form ourselves a nice little alliance for now, and sort the rest of this out if we live to see the tawny eventide?"
Eshtam draws her own pistol. "I'd say it's a pleasure doing business with you."
"Quiet, everyone," hisses Sgt. Gytovo. "You two, spread out; I'll try and keep them from coming in too fast. You, scout girl, try not to get shot."
There is a creak as the doors are opened just enough to admit a person, followed by soft footsteps coming from behind the truck...
Q2. What unusual event occurs soon afterwards?
[Be the GM first:
• Use the random idea generator to inspire a strange or troubling event that seems unrelated to Q1: Ambush / Enemies
Q: Are we being double-crossed? Somewhat Unlikely | 6[d10]) No, but... our contacts are.
Q: How are they being double-crossed? Violently / Poor.
• Roll a d6 twice to express the unusual event in an encounter featuring: (2) intrigue & (5) combat.
• Place will be the already determined (in Q1) agricultural
Intrigue first:]
The party drives their rented ground truck (a 9m flatbed, laden with the 5t cargo container) into the countryside, heading towards the rendez-vous point on the map they were given. Starman Unamshiiguu is in the driver's seat, and Sgt. Gytovo is riding shotgun (riding ACR?). Starman Slinx and Eshtam are in the cramped back seats. Once out of the city surrounding the starport, the landscape changes to a monotonous sea of purple chulnin-reed, the ubiquitous food crop on this part of Uloryy. The day is clear and bright; not a single cloud hangs in the orange sky.
After a half hour's drive, the truck reaches the service road off the main highway which was indicated on their map. The service road is a dusty, unpaved track, over which the truck bounces and shudders for a few kilometres before arriving at a cluster of disused and dilapidated farm outbuildings, their destination.
A man in an expensive suit wearing a breath-mask of obvious (by its TL) offworld manufacture emerges from the largest, most intact structure, swings open the doors, and motions for the truck to drive inside. Dim glowlights illuminate the interior. Broken heavy agricultural machinery and abandoned storage containers litter the inside of the structure, though enough space has been cleared to pull the truck in.
The elegant man joins a group of three disreputable-looking types: an athletic woman and a scruffy man -- obviously heavies -- and their boss, a small, nervous-seeming guy. Their faces are all obscured by the old and worn breath masks they're wearing, but their stance betrays a hint of criminal bravado.
"Not exactly the revolutionaries I was expecting," says Starman Slinx. Starman Unamshiiguu cuts the engine, and everyone piles out of the cab. Unamshiiguu has an auto-carbine on a sling, Sgt. Gytovo has his ACR casually on his shoulder. Slinx and Eshtam have automatic pistols holstered under their jackets.
"Peace of Marnach!" exclaims the nervous man. "What's with all the hardware?"
"Just a precaution," says Eshtam. "We weren't sure who we'd be meeting -- weren't even given a name."
[The criminals reaction roll is 11, Enthusiastic.]
"We gave your captain a name... shame about what happened to him. Saw it on the news. Real damn shame... I'm Heni, this here's Bov and Palina, and the fellow in the nice suit you can call Sir Fenzies." Sir Fenzies makes an exaggerated bow, the others stare silently.
"I'm Eshtam, this is Daffid, and the boys with the scary guns are Gelray and Zet."
"Scary guns! By the Gods of Sea and Sky, you said it! I don't know how you kids are used to doing business, but this is just a friendly trade, here."
"If you think these are scary, you'll love what we have in the back of the truck."
"I don't follow."
"Your shipment of, uh... decorative hardwood panelling?"
"Is that what it said on the manifest? Marnach's Milk! That's a good one! Y'know, Sir Fenzies did just get a shipment of that in not too long ago to redecorate the ol' Q-hut!"
"Do you wish to inspect the merchandise?"
"Nah, we operate on trust here. 'Sides, it'd spoil in the atmosphere. Too many contaminants."
"Wait... now I don't follow. What d'you think we're delivering?"
"Dream powder. Snooz bombs. Aunt Morfella. Or, if you want to be boring and clinical, syndalizine methobromide."
"Wow, that's so not what we've brought you..."
Just then, Eshtam hears the sound of a vehicle pulling up outside the building. [Recon roll 10+4] "Listen!" she says, "You're not expecting a weapons shipment, I'm guessing you're not expecting any friends to show up either."
"No," says Heni as he produces a silenced pistol from under his coat, "definitely not. What do say we form ourselves a nice little alliance for now, and sort the rest of this out if we live to see the tawny eventide?"
Eshtam draws her own pistol. "I'd say it's a pleasure doing business with you."
"Quiet, everyone," hisses Sgt. Gytovo. "You two, spread out; I'll try and keep them from coming in too fast. You, scout girl, try not to get shot."
There is a creak as the doors are opened just enough to admit a person, followed by soft footsteps coming from behind the truck...
Saturday, 4 January 2014
Solo Traveller - Episode 9: Playing at Merchants (9Qs #1)
Uloryy/Foreven (3033 A877758-7) / Date: 209-1106
Q1b. What actions consistent with the heroic motivation do the heroes take that bring them into conflict with a looming hostility inherent within the setting?
[Be the PCs: declare an act of... (2) infiltration
Use the random idea generator to inspire the place where and when the encounter will occur: Agricultural ordnance depot. This actually makes no sense, but it did make me think of big storage buildings full of farm machinery. The first scene necessarily takes place in and around the starport, but a large farm outbuilding makes a fitting destination for the arranged drop, so I'll save it for the next scene.]
The Galatea and her "crew" sail towards Uloryy downport. After reporting the "highjacking incident" to the Port Authority (which has already been corroborated by a report filed by the Navy), the Galatea is given a landing pad and clearance to unload cargo. The "passengers" disembark, and after a few hours stevedores arrive to assist in the unloading of the 20t consignment.
"Look, guys, I'm beat," says Eshtam, "I'm going to get some rest. I suggest you do the same, and try to get used to local time. We can take shifts sitting up in the bridge by the comm in case anyone makes contact. If not, tomorrow morning we're going to have to go into the port and try to drum up some trade. I don't exactly relish the possibility -- believe me, this is the reason I'm not a trader. It'll look suspicious if we don't, though. Pray we hear from our mysterious friends tonight, or in the morning we draw lots to decide who has to go."
Eshtam is awakened in the morning by Starman Slinx. "Rise and shine! I made you a cup of coffee to get you moving. At least I think it's coffee -- I don't read Vilani."
Eshtam sits up on the edge of the bed, wincing from the pain shooting up her left side. "Think you can get your medic to give me some analgesics for a chaser? That crazy woman managed to shoot me yesterday. My armour jacket took the worst of it, but still...ouch."
"I'll see what I can do. but come on, now. Sergeant Gytovo -- I mean, Zet -- wants everyone on the bridge for a briefing on the double."
On the bridge, Sergeant Gytovo seats everyone at a terminal for his briefing. He touches a key, and a map image comes up on all their screens.
"Last night at 27:32 local time, on my shift, as luck would have it, our targets made contact. They did not identify themselves, but issued instructions for us to deliver the arms to a specific location in the countryside, about 40 klicks outside the starport extrality zone, as indicated on the map they transmitted. We are to procure a rental ground vehicle from the required provider to transport the arms. We have been issued instructions to depart the starport tomorrow at 15:00 local time, through gate 26-F. They assure me the customs inspectors will have been bribed to let us through."
"You didn't talk to them like this over the comm did you?" asks Eshtam, exasperated. "You're supposed to be some little merchant wanker. Cut the career military routine or this whole thing's going to fall apart before we leave the port."
"I ain't talking to them now, though, get me?"
"This just might work."
The rest of the day is divided between the required preparations and pretending to look for cargo.
[Be the GM next:
Use the random idea generator to inspire an encounter that reacts with appropriate resistance to the heroes' declared act: Starting / Victory.
Q: Is the party being watched? Somewhat Likely | 5[d10]) Yes, but... they aren't professionals.
Be the PCs once more:
Use the heroes' abilities to respond to the threat as per their heroic motivation and the RPG's rules.
Easy Recon - Eshtam rolls 3+4, success. It's obvious they're being followed.
Playing merchant, average Deception - Eshtam rolls 7+3, success.
The Starting Victory goes to the party. They are believed to be who and what they say they are.]
The next day, they set out from the starport in a large ground truck. Since customs have already been bribed, they're bringing weapons well in excess of the planetary law level.
Q1b. What actions consistent with the heroic motivation do the heroes take that bring them into conflict with a looming hostility inherent within the setting?
[Be the PCs: declare an act of... (2) infiltration
Use the random idea generator to inspire the place where and when the encounter will occur: Agricultural ordnance depot. This actually makes no sense, but it did make me think of big storage buildings full of farm machinery. The first scene necessarily takes place in and around the starport, but a large farm outbuilding makes a fitting destination for the arranged drop, so I'll save it for the next scene.]
The Galatea and her "crew" sail towards Uloryy downport. After reporting the "highjacking incident" to the Port Authority (which has already been corroborated by a report filed by the Navy), the Galatea is given a landing pad and clearance to unload cargo. The "passengers" disembark, and after a few hours stevedores arrive to assist in the unloading of the 20t consignment.
"Look, guys, I'm beat," says Eshtam, "I'm going to get some rest. I suggest you do the same, and try to get used to local time. We can take shifts sitting up in the bridge by the comm in case anyone makes contact. If not, tomorrow morning we're going to have to go into the port and try to drum up some trade. I don't exactly relish the possibility -- believe me, this is the reason I'm not a trader. It'll look suspicious if we don't, though. Pray we hear from our mysterious friends tonight, or in the morning we draw lots to decide who has to go."
Eshtam is awakened in the morning by Starman Slinx. "Rise and shine! I made you a cup of coffee to get you moving. At least I think it's coffee -- I don't read Vilani."
Eshtam sits up on the edge of the bed, wincing from the pain shooting up her left side. "Think you can get your medic to give me some analgesics for a chaser? That crazy woman managed to shoot me yesterday. My armour jacket took the worst of it, but still...ouch."
"I'll see what I can do. but come on, now. Sergeant Gytovo -- I mean, Zet -- wants everyone on the bridge for a briefing on the double."
On the bridge, Sergeant Gytovo seats everyone at a terminal for his briefing. He touches a key, and a map image comes up on all their screens.
"Last night at 27:32 local time, on my shift, as luck would have it, our targets made contact. They did not identify themselves, but issued instructions for us to deliver the arms to a specific location in the countryside, about 40 klicks outside the starport extrality zone, as indicated on the map they transmitted. We are to procure a rental ground vehicle from the required provider to transport the arms. We have been issued instructions to depart the starport tomorrow at 15:00 local time, through gate 26-F. They assure me the customs inspectors will have been bribed to let us through."
"You didn't talk to them like this over the comm did you?" asks Eshtam, exasperated. "You're supposed to be some little merchant wanker. Cut the career military routine or this whole thing's going to fall apart before we leave the port."
"I ain't talking to them now, though, get me?"
"This just might work."
The rest of the day is divided between the required preparations and pretending to look for cargo.
[Be the GM next:
Use the random idea generator to inspire an encounter that reacts with appropriate resistance to the heroes' declared act: Starting / Victory.
Q: Is the party being watched? Somewhat Likely | 5[d10]) Yes, but... they aren't professionals.
Be the PCs once more:
Use the heroes' abilities to respond to the threat as per their heroic motivation and the RPG's rules.
Easy Recon - Eshtam rolls 3+4, success. It's obvious they're being followed.
Playing merchant, average Deception - Eshtam rolls 7+3, success.
The Starting Victory goes to the party. They are believed to be who and what they say they are.]
The next day, they set out from the starport in a large ground truck. Since customs have already been bribed, they're bringing weapons well in excess of the planetary law level.
Tuesday, 31 December 2013
Solo Traveller - Episode 8: Volunteers (9Qs - setup)
Uloryy/Foreven (3033 A877758-7) / Date: 208-1106
"That kind of hardware," continues Commander Darus, "and in that amount... this isn't criminals. It's more like revolution. Even all the way out here on the fringes of the Imperium, this is serious; even if it's not quite within our borders, these things have a way of destabilising whole subsectors if left unchecked. I need to know who's behind this and why, and I need to know quickly -- and without tipping my hand to... well, to whoever they are."
"Look, I've done this before," says Eshtam. "The CV I worked up to get this replacement pilot job isn't entirely truthful about the things I did in the IISS. I'd say you could check, but there's no scout base in this system, so I doubt you have the time and -- no, offence, Commander -- I doubt you have the security clearance."
[Q: Actually, does he? (Unlikely | 5[d10]) No, but... he is in Naval Intelligence
"No, I suppose I don't. Look, superspy or no, this is officially a naval mission, and you are, I believe, currently a civilian. I can't put you in command. But I can brief the team leader that you are qualified to run this sort of operation and to consider your input seriously."
"All right, then."
[The adventure that started with 76 Patrons has gotten sidetracked in a major way. This is going to require a little more than Travelling Alone or Star Trader to play out, so I have decided to try running it with The 9Qs from http://solonexus.blogspot.co.uk/.
So--
9Qs Step 1: Choose your RPG
Well, I've already done this. Back to the narrative...]
"Your mission," explains the Commander, "is to land on Uloryy, unload all your cargo as normal, and wait for someone to make contact. Your cover story is that Captain Aalir was killed during a hijacking attempt by two of the passengers you picked up on New Dlemmis. Fortunately the Dikiishgammurga was nearby; you were able to send a distress signal, and a boarding party of Imperial marines came to your rescue.
"We can't risk one of your passengers compromising the mission with idle chatter, so we're going to escort them to the highport and keep them under wraps, or give them free passage elsewhere as a reward for their cooperation and service to the Imperium, or some such. I'm sending two navy personnel to impersonate the 'surviving passengers' so someone can be seen to go ashore at the downport.
"I don't think the Galatea's crew are in on any conspiracy, but I can't take the chance, and I can't risk their loyalties to Captain Aalir getting in the way. They will all be detained until this is over.
"I've rounded up some volunteers to impersonate the crew of the Galatea. They have the necessary skills to fill in, so you can still run the ship."
"Who have you got for me?" asks Eshtam.
9Qs Step 2: Create your PC(s)
[I will pick three NPCs from list in Schlachtkreuzer Kinunir, one with Medic skill, one with Engineering, and one with Gunnery. They will of course have all the Service skills for their careers (according to the MGT main book) at level 0, and I may use Mythic questions to check for other skills later if it seems appropriate. And since they're going to be on a TL7 planet, I'm going to see in advance if any of them have Drive-0 as a background skill.
Using rpgsolo.com's Get NPC tool, I'll give each two random personality traits.
I'll also roll a reaction for each to see his initial opinion of Eshtam.
"Gelray" - Starman Ishedukshim Unamshiiguu
#46 Runner Starman B7B899 age 26, Navy 2 terms, Vilani Male
Medic-1, Slug Carbine-1, Vacc-1, Drive-0
Belligerent, Deceitful
Reaction: 5, Hostile. May attack
"Daffid" - Starman Luug Slinx
#35 Engineer Starman 856973 age 34, Navy 4 terms, Human Male
Engineering-1, Blade-2, Vacc-1, Drive-0
Organised, Devil's Advocate
Reaction: 12, Genuinely friendly
"Zet" - Sgt. Tendhas Gytovo
#58 Third Team Leader Sergeant AB8888 age 26, Marines 2 terms, Human Male
Slug Rifle-1, Battle dress-1, Vacc-2, Gunner-2, Survival-2, Cutlass-1, Zero-G-1
Serious, Clever
Reaction: 6, Unreceptive
9Qs Step 3: Select a Random Idea Generator
I've started to feel that a simple d6 roll for yes/yes,and/yes,but &c. is a bit too simplistic. I am gravitating towards rpgsolo.com's version of the Mythic odds with the and/but grafted on, which seems to offer the best of both worlds. Also, I don't need to know odds or memorise the chart, just decide on the likelihood.
I'll also be using the other generators on the site for the random ideas.]
The Commander addresses the 'crew' on the bridge of the Galatea.
"Your primary mission objective is to discover both the identities of the conspirators and the aim of their movement or organisation. Your secondary objective is to break up this conspiracy if it is at all feasible to do so, or to trace it back to its source if not. You may capture or neutralise any enemy agent as you see fit. Remember, this is primarily an investigation to uncover the nature and extent of the threat to this world, this sector, or indeed to the Imperium itself. Don't get in over your heads. We cannot monitor your progress, so we may not be close by if things get hairy. Good luck, soldiers!"
"That kind of hardware," continues Commander Darus, "and in that amount... this isn't criminals. It's more like revolution. Even all the way out here on the fringes of the Imperium, this is serious; even if it's not quite within our borders, these things have a way of destabilising whole subsectors if left unchecked. I need to know who's behind this and why, and I need to know quickly -- and without tipping my hand to... well, to whoever they are."
"Look, I've done this before," says Eshtam. "The CV I worked up to get this replacement pilot job isn't entirely truthful about the things I did in the IISS. I'd say you could check, but there's no scout base in this system, so I doubt you have the time and -- no, offence, Commander -- I doubt you have the security clearance."
[Q: Actually, does he? (Unlikely | 5[d10]) No, but... he is in Naval Intelligence
"No, I suppose I don't. Look, superspy or no, this is officially a naval mission, and you are, I believe, currently a civilian. I can't put you in command. But I can brief the team leader that you are qualified to run this sort of operation and to consider your input seriously."
"All right, then."
[The adventure that started with 76 Patrons has gotten sidetracked in a major way. This is going to require a little more than Travelling Alone or Star Trader to play out, so I have decided to try running it with The 9Qs from http://solonexus.blogspot.co.uk/.
So--
9Qs Step 1: Choose your RPG
Well, I've already done this. Back to the narrative...]
"Your mission," explains the Commander, "is to land on Uloryy, unload all your cargo as normal, and wait for someone to make contact. Your cover story is that Captain Aalir was killed during a hijacking attempt by two of the passengers you picked up on New Dlemmis. Fortunately the Dikiishgammurga was nearby; you were able to send a distress signal, and a boarding party of Imperial marines came to your rescue.
"We can't risk one of your passengers compromising the mission with idle chatter, so we're going to escort them to the highport and keep them under wraps, or give them free passage elsewhere as a reward for their cooperation and service to the Imperium, or some such. I'm sending two navy personnel to impersonate the 'surviving passengers' so someone can be seen to go ashore at the downport.
"I don't think the Galatea's crew are in on any conspiracy, but I can't take the chance, and I can't risk their loyalties to Captain Aalir getting in the way. They will all be detained until this is over.
"I've rounded up some volunteers to impersonate the crew of the Galatea. They have the necessary skills to fill in, so you can still run the ship."
"Who have you got for me?" asks Eshtam.
9Qs Step 2: Create your PC(s)
[I will pick three NPCs from list in Schlachtkreuzer Kinunir, one with Medic skill, one with Engineering, and one with Gunnery. They will of course have all the Service skills for their careers (according to the MGT main book) at level 0, and I may use Mythic questions to check for other skills later if it seems appropriate. And since they're going to be on a TL7 planet, I'm going to see in advance if any of them have Drive-0 as a background skill.
Using rpgsolo.com's Get NPC tool, I'll give each two random personality traits.
I'll also roll a reaction for each to see his initial opinion of Eshtam.
"Gelray" - Starman Ishedukshim Unamshiiguu
#46 Runner Starman B7B899 age 26, Navy 2 terms, Vilani Male
Medic-1, Slug Carbine-1, Vacc-1, Drive-0
Belligerent, Deceitful
Reaction: 5, Hostile. May attack
"Daffid" - Starman Luug Slinx
#35 Engineer Starman 856973 age 34, Navy 4 terms, Human Male
Engineering-1, Blade-2, Vacc-1, Drive-0
Organised, Devil's Advocate
Reaction: 12, Genuinely friendly
"Zet" - Sgt. Tendhas Gytovo
#58 Third Team Leader Sergeant AB8888 age 26, Marines 2 terms, Human Male
Slug Rifle-1, Battle dress-1, Vacc-2, Gunner-2, Survival-2, Cutlass-1, Zero-G-1
Serious, Clever
Reaction: 6, Unreceptive
9Qs Step 3: Select a Random Idea Generator
I've started to feel that a simple d6 roll for yes/yes,and/yes,but &c. is a bit too simplistic. I am gravitating towards rpgsolo.com's version of the Mythic odds with the and/but grafted on, which seems to offer the best of both worlds. Also, I don't need to know odds or memorise the chart, just decide on the likelihood.
I'll also be using the other generators on the site for the random ideas.]
The Commander addresses the 'crew' on the bridge of the Galatea.
"Your primary mission objective is to discover both the identities of the conspirators and the aim of their movement or organisation. Your secondary objective is to break up this conspiracy if it is at all feasible to do so, or to trace it back to its source if not. You may capture or neutralise any enemy agent as you see fit. Remember, this is primarily an investigation to uncover the nature and extent of the threat to this world, this sector, or indeed to the Imperium itself. Don't get in over your heads. We cannot monitor your progress, so we may not be close by if things get hairy. Good luck, soldiers!"
Monday, 30 December 2013
Solo Traveller - Episode 7: Complications
Uloryy/Foreven (3033 A877758-7) / Date: 208-1106
[A ship encounter is indicated at destination. Star Trader comes up with a Military encounter: Battlecruiser 1250t. I'll use a 1200t Kinunir.
Nature of encounter: Warn you of an unidentified ship in this system
Q: Is this unidentified ship related to the contraband in the hold? Y
Q: Are we supposed to deliver the cargo to the mainworld? Y
Q: Do we need to contact the unidentified ship to let them know first? No, and... they will make contact with the captain.
Q: What is the nature of the contraband? (rpgsolo.com Get Thing results in Flamethrower) Heavy weapons
Q: Does the captain know what the cargo really is? Yes, and... what it is intended for.
Q: What is it intended for? Assist / Outside. The weapons are intended for use on another world; Uloryy is just the drop-point.
Q: Will the Captain be forthcoming about the cargo? No.
Q: Will there be a problem relating to the fugitive? Yes.
Q: What's she running from? Combatively / Damaged. She's a deserter from the (roll on draft table) Imperial Marines. stats - Veterans #133]
Within a minute of returning to normal space, an officious female voice is heard over the comm. "This is kinunir-class battle cruiser Dikiishgammurga to unidentified 200-ton vessel, please respond."
Eshtam flips a switch to transmit transponder data, then looks to the Captain. "Kinunir-class," she says, "pretty big for a system patrol boat."
"I'll do the talking," says Captain Aalir. "We hear you, Dikiishgammurga. This is Captain Kaduushili Aalir of the free trader Galatea. My pilot is transmitting our ID codes now."
"Acknowledged, Galatea. What is the purpose of your trip to Ulorry?"
"We've got freight and passengers to unload offworld, and hope to fill the hold for a trip out."
"Of course... wait a moment. It says here you jumped in and out of New Dlemmis in less than 72 hours. What's the rush?"
"Our consignment. There's a substantial bonus, but it's time-sensitive. Still, it's enough to make up for running light."
"I see. Captain, would you mind please transmitting your cargo and passenger manifest? Normally, we'd let the port authority handle customs, but there's an unidentified ship in the system, and it's been running from our patrols. We need to check all traffic to and from the planet."
"We've nothing to hide. Transmitting now. Eshtam, maintain present course and speed."
After a few tense minutes, the comm light blinks again. This time a man's voice is heard. "Captain I regret to inform you that one of your passengers is a fugitive. Sgt. Malna Borstelden, alias Ginier Jhent, is deserter from the Imperial Marines 8923rd Infantry Battalion, stationed on Oothoom. We consider her to be armed and dangerous. We're going to need to board your ship and take Sgt. Borstelden into custody. Your cooperation will be appreciated."
"Ah... of course," stammers Captain Aalir. "Whatever we can do to help..."
"Just maintain your present heading, let my troops on your ship, and stay out of the way. We don't want anyone getting hurt."
[Q: Does the fugitive catch on? Yes.
Q: Does she attempt to take over the ship? No, but...]
The Galatea drifts along on its course, waiting for the large navy vessel to rendez-vous with it. It's 10,000km distant, so less than 20 minutes away. The battle cruiser matches vectors with the Galatea, then dispatches a 40-ton pinnace with the boarding party.
As the pinnace approaches, the Galatea's turret swings suddenly to bear, and 2 streaks of light blaze across the blackness of space, tearing into the pinnace and causing significant damage.
"Shit!" shouts Eshtam, as the laser blasts startle her from her dreamy contemplation of the instruments.
"What the hell was that?!" echoes Gelray.
Captain Aalir jumps into action, jabbing the engine room comm button. "Daffid, cut all power to weapons, NOW! The rest of you, get that madwoman out of the turret. I'll try to keep our navy friends from vaporising the ship!"
[The fugitive sergeant has snuck into the dual beam-laser turret, and fired on the pinnace. She rolled 10+2, 10+2; she hit twice! Even with the pinnace pilot dodging as a reaction, the -2 reduction won't be enough for the shots to miss (10+ needed at Adjacent range).
Damage rolls are:
Single hit - hull - pinnace hull reduced to 0
Double hit - power plant (PP damaged, 1 crew member (medic) suffers radiation damage - 60rads, 2pts damage, nausea.
Q: Does the fugitive have a gun? Yes, and... a melee weapon.
Q: Was Zet at his station in the turret? Yes, but... he wasn't paying attention so was ambushed by the sergeant.
She attacked him from behind with her blade. Roll 9+1 +2(for ambush), hit with effect 4. damage 11+4=15 Zet's physical UPP now 005.
Q: Is Eshtam armed? No, but... the Captain was, and gives her his pistol.
Q: Is Gelray armed? No, and... doesn't even have a medpac on him.
Captain Aalir succeeds (just!) in an Average Persuasion roll, so the navy won't fire back.
Reaction for fugitive: roll of 3 - hostile, attack on 5+. I roll a 6.]
Captain Aalir is already shouting over the comm at the battlecruiser, trying to explain what happened. Eshtam and Gelray bolt from their stations in the cockpit. As they run out the door, the Captain tosses Eshtam a pistol.
They run through the cargo bay, and climb the ladder to the upper deck. They find Zet on the ground underneath the turret hatch, bleeding from a nasty wound in his back.
Gelray kneels beside his injured compatriot, trying desperately to stop the bleeding. Eshtam calls up the ladder into the turret. "Come out of there! The engineer's cutting the power so you can't fire again. Come down now and you won't get hurt."
The fugitive responds with a burst of gunfire. [shooting at targets down the corridor through the iris valve in the floor gives a -1DM for cover. She's got an auto-carbine, +2 to hit from skill & DEX. Auto fire dice come up as 6,6,6,5! Gelray and Eshtam are each hit, for 12 and 7 damage respectively. Eshtam has 2 points of armour. Their physical UPPs are reduced to: Gelray 710, Eshtam 6B5.]
Gelray falls unconscious from the trauma. Eshtam retreats hastily into her stateroom, but leaves the door open. She yells back through the door without exposing herself to another shot. "This is madness! There's a battlecruiser outside with enough troops on board to come in here and drag you out of there, willingly or not. That's if they don't just decide to open up on our ship with particle beams. Surrender now and there's a chance!"
[Difficult (and untrained!) Persuasion check: 8, failure.]
A short burst of gunfire is the only reply. Eshtam switches on the comm in her room, tries to hail the bridge. After a minute or so, the Captain answers. "They're mad," he says, "but they want her taken prisoner, so we won't be treading vacuum. What's going on up there?"
"Zet and Gelray are down," she whispers, "and she's holed up in the turret still, with an automatic weapon. I don't think she's intending to come down without a fight."
"We're about to be boarded anyway. Let the marines flush her out -- she's one of theirs, after all. Maybe you had better get to the hatch to open it up for our guests so they don't have to cut their way in."
Just then a slight tremor shakes the ship as the pinnace links up with the Galatea's outer hatch. Eshtam runs as quickly and as quietly as she can down the corridor into the common room.
[Stealth roll 9+3, enough to get to the common room without the sergeant hearing her.]
Eshtam checks to make sure the airlock pressure has equalised, then opens the hatch. A unit of Imperial Marines in combat armour burst through the hatch into the Galatea [reaction roll for their disposition: 3, hostile, attack on 5+ (roll a 6) Oh crap] all shouting at once for Eshtam to get down on the floor. She does, but in spite of this two of the marines overpower her and hold her down whilst a third puts an ACR to the base of her skull. She doesn't struggle.
[Individual reaction for the party leader (1st Lieutenant, human female) comes up as hostile, may attack.]
"Talk," she says pressing down with her ACR for emphasis.
"Your fugitive is still holed up in the turret. She's got gun, maybe like yours. She's taken out two of our crew already."
"Private Toski" says the lieutenant, "take charge of the prisoner. Sergeant Vayr, end this."
"Ma'am!"
One of the marines advances down the corridor. Moments later comes the sound of gunfire, followed by the Whump! of concussion grenades. "Target neutralised!"
The unconscious fugitive is brought back to the pinnace. The squad medic gives first aid to Zet and Gelray [healing 2 pts. and 1 pt. of damage, respectively]. Zet is seriously wounded [phys. UPP 115] and can barely walk. Gelray is badly injured [phys. UPP 711] but can at least move about unaided. Eshtam's ribs hurt like hell where the slug hit her armour, but she's still running on adrenaline from facing a squad of peevish marines.
Eight marines remain aboard the Galatea. Half interrogate the remaining passengers in their staterooms. The other half march Eshtam, Gelray and Zet down into the cargo bay at gunpoint. Captain Aalir and Daffid are there waiting. The marines roughly pat them down for weapons.
"You don't seem to have very good control over your ship, Captain," says the lieutenant. "If you hadn't had innocent passengers aboard, we'd not be standing here right now having this conversation. But since we are, I think it best to have my unit look over your ship and compare your cargo with the manifest, just to make sure there's nothing else in here you don't know about. Consider it a public service."
[Q: Does anyone do anything stupid? Yes, but...]
Daffid blurts out, "This is ridiculous, we're not--"
"The next one who speaks out of turn," says the lieutenant, "gets shot. Private, watch these imbeciles. The rest of you get these containers open."
[Q: Can the marines possibly fail to find the contraband? No.]
"Ma'am, I think you'd better come have a look as this," calls one of the marines.
The lieutenant walks over to the container. She reaches in to a plasteel crate, lifts up the barrel of a heavy machinegun. "Well, let me see, what does the cargo manifest have to say about this little item? Decorative hardwood panelling! Tell me, Private, does this look like decorative wood panelling to you?"
"No, ma'am!"
[Q: Should I be breaking out a copy of Prison Planet about now? No. (phew!)
Q: Will the Captain mostly be held accountable? Yes.
Q: How will this all go down? Bravely / Mysterious.]
The passengers and crew of the Galatea are confined to quarters. The marines stay aboard to make sure no one tries anything funny. Officers from the battlecruiser are ferried over on the pinnace to conduct a more thorough investigation. After six hours alone in her room wondering what will happen, Eshtam looks up to see the 2nd in command of the Dikiishgammurga [navy Commander, solomani male] arrive with his bodyguard to conduct her interview.
[reaction roll 10, Responsive
Q: Did the Captain try to implicate anyone else? Yes, but... they didn't believe him.
Q: Will Eshtam be let go? Yes, but... the navy wants her to try delivering the contraband in order to flush out the buyers.]
"Ms. Dreejeh," says the Commander, "you're not a part of this crew -- not really -- so I'm going to be straight with you. We know you only came aboard on Veegint to replace the usual pilot. The weapons also came aboard then. Captain Aalir tried to make out that there was a connection between these two events, but it doesn't add up, and none of the others could corroborate his story. I'm willing to believe you're not involved, but I'm going to need your cooperation in order to sell your innocence to my superiors. The good Captain doesn't seem to know the identity of his buyers, just that they will contact him once the ship has landed on Uloryy, and that they intend to take the weapons offworld from here. The Imperial Navy is very keen to ascertain the identities and the motives of these persons."
"What do you need from me?" asks Eshtam.
[A ship encounter is indicated at destination. Star Trader comes up with a Military encounter: Battlecruiser 1250t. I'll use a 1200t Kinunir.
Nature of encounter: Warn you of an unidentified ship in this system
Q: Is this unidentified ship related to the contraband in the hold? Y
Q: Are we supposed to deliver the cargo to the mainworld? Y
Q: Do we need to contact the unidentified ship to let them know first? No, and... they will make contact with the captain.
Q: What is the nature of the contraband? (rpgsolo.com Get Thing results in Flamethrower) Heavy weapons
Q: Does the captain know what the cargo really is? Yes, and... what it is intended for.
Q: What is it intended for? Assist / Outside. The weapons are intended for use on another world; Uloryy is just the drop-point.
Q: Will the Captain be forthcoming about the cargo? No.
Q: Will there be a problem relating to the fugitive? Yes.
Q: What's she running from? Combatively / Damaged. She's a deserter from the (roll on draft table) Imperial Marines. stats - Veterans #133]
Within a minute of returning to normal space, an officious female voice is heard over the comm. "This is kinunir-class battle cruiser Dikiishgammurga to unidentified 200-ton vessel, please respond."
Eshtam flips a switch to transmit transponder data, then looks to the Captain. "Kinunir-class," she says, "pretty big for a system patrol boat."
"I'll do the talking," says Captain Aalir. "We hear you, Dikiishgammurga. This is Captain Kaduushili Aalir of the free trader Galatea. My pilot is transmitting our ID codes now."
"Acknowledged, Galatea. What is the purpose of your trip to Ulorry?"
"We've got freight and passengers to unload offworld, and hope to fill the hold for a trip out."
"Of course... wait a moment. It says here you jumped in and out of New Dlemmis in less than 72 hours. What's the rush?"
"Our consignment. There's a substantial bonus, but it's time-sensitive. Still, it's enough to make up for running light."
"I see. Captain, would you mind please transmitting your cargo and passenger manifest? Normally, we'd let the port authority handle customs, but there's an unidentified ship in the system, and it's been running from our patrols. We need to check all traffic to and from the planet."
"We've nothing to hide. Transmitting now. Eshtam, maintain present course and speed."
After a few tense minutes, the comm light blinks again. This time a man's voice is heard. "Captain I regret to inform you that one of your passengers is a fugitive. Sgt. Malna Borstelden, alias Ginier Jhent, is deserter from the Imperial Marines 8923rd Infantry Battalion, stationed on Oothoom. We consider her to be armed and dangerous. We're going to need to board your ship and take Sgt. Borstelden into custody. Your cooperation will be appreciated."
"Ah... of course," stammers Captain Aalir. "Whatever we can do to help..."
"Just maintain your present heading, let my troops on your ship, and stay out of the way. We don't want anyone getting hurt."
[Q: Does the fugitive catch on? Yes.
Q: Does she attempt to take over the ship? No, but...]
The Galatea drifts along on its course, waiting for the large navy vessel to rendez-vous with it. It's 10,000km distant, so less than 20 minutes away. The battle cruiser matches vectors with the Galatea, then dispatches a 40-ton pinnace with the boarding party.
As the pinnace approaches, the Galatea's turret swings suddenly to bear, and 2 streaks of light blaze across the blackness of space, tearing into the pinnace and causing significant damage.
"Shit!" shouts Eshtam, as the laser blasts startle her from her dreamy contemplation of the instruments.
"What the hell was that?!" echoes Gelray.
Captain Aalir jumps into action, jabbing the engine room comm button. "Daffid, cut all power to weapons, NOW! The rest of you, get that madwoman out of the turret. I'll try to keep our navy friends from vaporising the ship!"
[The fugitive sergeant has snuck into the dual beam-laser turret, and fired on the pinnace. She rolled 10+2, 10+2; she hit twice! Even with the pinnace pilot dodging as a reaction, the -2 reduction won't be enough for the shots to miss (10+ needed at Adjacent range).
Damage rolls are:
Single hit - hull - pinnace hull reduced to 0
Double hit - power plant (PP damaged, 1 crew member (medic) suffers radiation damage - 60rads, 2pts damage, nausea.
Q: Does the fugitive have a gun? Yes, and... a melee weapon.
Q: Was Zet at his station in the turret? Yes, but... he wasn't paying attention so was ambushed by the sergeant.
She attacked him from behind with her blade. Roll 9+1 +2(for ambush), hit with effect 4. damage 11+4=15 Zet's physical UPP now 005.
Q: Is Eshtam armed? No, but... the Captain was, and gives her his pistol.
Q: Is Gelray armed? No, and... doesn't even have a medpac on him.
Captain Aalir succeeds (just!) in an Average Persuasion roll, so the navy won't fire back.
Reaction for fugitive: roll of 3 - hostile, attack on 5+. I roll a 6.]
Captain Aalir is already shouting over the comm at the battlecruiser, trying to explain what happened. Eshtam and Gelray bolt from their stations in the cockpit. As they run out the door, the Captain tosses Eshtam a pistol.
They run through the cargo bay, and climb the ladder to the upper deck. They find Zet on the ground underneath the turret hatch, bleeding from a nasty wound in his back.
Gelray kneels beside his injured compatriot, trying desperately to stop the bleeding. Eshtam calls up the ladder into the turret. "Come out of there! The engineer's cutting the power so you can't fire again. Come down now and you won't get hurt."
The fugitive responds with a burst of gunfire. [shooting at targets down the corridor through the iris valve in the floor gives a -1DM for cover. She's got an auto-carbine, +2 to hit from skill & DEX. Auto fire dice come up as 6,6,6,5! Gelray and Eshtam are each hit, for 12 and 7 damage respectively. Eshtam has 2 points of armour. Their physical UPPs are reduced to: Gelray 710, Eshtam 6B5.]
Gelray falls unconscious from the trauma. Eshtam retreats hastily into her stateroom, but leaves the door open. She yells back through the door without exposing herself to another shot. "This is madness! There's a battlecruiser outside with enough troops on board to come in here and drag you out of there, willingly or not. That's if they don't just decide to open up on our ship with particle beams. Surrender now and there's a chance!"
[Difficult (and untrained!) Persuasion check: 8, failure.]
A short burst of gunfire is the only reply. Eshtam switches on the comm in her room, tries to hail the bridge. After a minute or so, the Captain answers. "They're mad," he says, "but they want her taken prisoner, so we won't be treading vacuum. What's going on up there?"
"Zet and Gelray are down," she whispers, "and she's holed up in the turret still, with an automatic weapon. I don't think she's intending to come down without a fight."
"We're about to be boarded anyway. Let the marines flush her out -- she's one of theirs, after all. Maybe you had better get to the hatch to open it up for our guests so they don't have to cut their way in."
Just then a slight tremor shakes the ship as the pinnace links up with the Galatea's outer hatch. Eshtam runs as quickly and as quietly as she can down the corridor into the common room.
[Stealth roll 9+3, enough to get to the common room without the sergeant hearing her.]
Eshtam checks to make sure the airlock pressure has equalised, then opens the hatch. A unit of Imperial Marines in combat armour burst through the hatch into the Galatea [reaction roll for their disposition: 3, hostile, attack on 5+ (roll a 6) Oh crap] all shouting at once for Eshtam to get down on the floor. She does, but in spite of this two of the marines overpower her and hold her down whilst a third puts an ACR to the base of her skull. She doesn't struggle.
[Individual reaction for the party leader (1st Lieutenant, human female) comes up as hostile, may attack.]
"Talk," she says pressing down with her ACR for emphasis.
"Your fugitive is still holed up in the turret. She's got gun, maybe like yours. She's taken out two of our crew already."
"Private Toski" says the lieutenant, "take charge of the prisoner. Sergeant Vayr, end this."
"Ma'am!"
One of the marines advances down the corridor. Moments later comes the sound of gunfire, followed by the Whump! of concussion grenades. "Target neutralised!"
The unconscious fugitive is brought back to the pinnace. The squad medic gives first aid to Zet and Gelray [healing 2 pts. and 1 pt. of damage, respectively]. Zet is seriously wounded [phys. UPP 115] and can barely walk. Gelray is badly injured [phys. UPP 711] but can at least move about unaided. Eshtam's ribs hurt like hell where the slug hit her armour, but she's still running on adrenaline from facing a squad of peevish marines.
Eight marines remain aboard the Galatea. Half interrogate the remaining passengers in their staterooms. The other half march Eshtam, Gelray and Zet down into the cargo bay at gunpoint. Captain Aalir and Daffid are there waiting. The marines roughly pat them down for weapons.
"You don't seem to have very good control over your ship, Captain," says the lieutenant. "If you hadn't had innocent passengers aboard, we'd not be standing here right now having this conversation. But since we are, I think it best to have my unit look over your ship and compare your cargo with the manifest, just to make sure there's nothing else in here you don't know about. Consider it a public service."
[Q: Does anyone do anything stupid? Yes, but...]
Daffid blurts out, "This is ridiculous, we're not--"
"The next one who speaks out of turn," says the lieutenant, "gets shot. Private, watch these imbeciles. The rest of you get these containers open."
[Q: Can the marines possibly fail to find the contraband? No.]
"Ma'am, I think you'd better come have a look as this," calls one of the marines.
The lieutenant walks over to the container. She reaches in to a plasteel crate, lifts up the barrel of a heavy machinegun. "Well, let me see, what does the cargo manifest have to say about this little item? Decorative hardwood panelling! Tell me, Private, does this look like decorative wood panelling to you?"
"No, ma'am!"
[Q: Should I be breaking out a copy of Prison Planet about now? No. (phew!)
Q: Will the Captain mostly be held accountable? Yes.
Q: How will this all go down? Bravely / Mysterious.]
The passengers and crew of the Galatea are confined to quarters. The marines stay aboard to make sure no one tries anything funny. Officers from the battlecruiser are ferried over on the pinnace to conduct a more thorough investigation. After six hours alone in her room wondering what will happen, Eshtam looks up to see the 2nd in command of the Dikiishgammurga [navy Commander, solomani male] arrive with his bodyguard to conduct her interview.
[reaction roll 10, Responsive
Q: Did the Captain try to implicate anyone else? Yes, but... they didn't believe him.
Q: Will Eshtam be let go? Yes, but... the navy wants her to try delivering the contraband in order to flush out the buyers.]
"Ms. Dreejeh," says the Commander, "you're not a part of this crew -- not really -- so I'm going to be straight with you. We know you only came aboard on Veegint to replace the usual pilot. The weapons also came aboard then. Captain Aalir tried to make out that there was a connection between these two events, but it doesn't add up, and none of the others could corroborate his story. I'm willing to believe you're not involved, but I'm going to need your cooperation in order to sell your innocence to my superiors. The good Captain doesn't seem to know the identity of his buyers, just that they will contact him once the ship has landed on Uloryy, and that they intend to take the weapons offworld from here. The Imperial Navy is very keen to ascertain the identities and the motives of these persons."
"What do you need from me?" asks Eshtam.
Friday, 27 December 2013
Solo Traveller - Episode 6: Are we there yet?
New Dlemmis/Foreven (3134 B641400-B) / Date: 198-1106
[Slowly breaking myself into the MGT Trade rules (in the main book) alongside Star Trader. On the voyage from Veegint to New Dlemmis, I skipped over all the trading, as it was just the province of the NPCs, and I didn't feel like tracking their finances. I'm still leaving their credit balance as an abstract idea, but it's time to figure out passengers and cargo.
There are 10 staterooms in the bog standard Free Trader. Five of these are given over to the crew; Daffid has his own even though he doesn't often sleep there at the moment. The usual pilot isn't here, but since she and the Captain are inseparable buddies (despite her jealousy over his ownership of the Galatea), he's sealed off her room for now. Eshtam has been given her own room for the voyage. This leaves 4 staterooms for passengers.
Whilst Eshtam, Zet, and Daffid were off getting into trouble, Captain Aalir and Gelray were out trying to drum up some business. As the Captain intended to leave after only 72 standard hours, I have decided to halve the available cargo and passengers.
Two middle and four high passengers are available. (Q: Are any of the high passengers travelling together? No, and... they're all strangers.) So 4 high passages it is.
Q: Who are the passengers? Using the Get NPC (Science Fiction Genre) tool from http://www.rpgsolo.com and my basic human origin table produces the following:
Virtuous fugitive. Human Female
Arrogant navigator. Solomani Male
Impulsive gambler. Human Male
Hypochondriac recluse. Human Female
That's enough detail for now. I'll find them stat blocks if it becomes important.
Finding cargo proves less successful. There is only 1 minor cargo (a mere 20t) available for transport, and nothing for speculation. To save time, the Captain didn't try to sell any of the speculative cargo he picked up on Veegint, so there is still (1d6x10) 20 tons of basic machine parts still in the hold, plus the (1d6x5) 5 tons of contraband.
Following the Star Trader flowchart, it turns out that the Captain meets no contacts on New Dlemmis, there's no port encounter of any significance and no ship encounter. So, on the afternoon of 201-1106, Captain Aalir welcomes his passengers aboard, and the Galatea lifts off from New Dlemmis. Five hours later, the Captain dims the interior lights (as is tradition) and orders Eshtam to activate the jump engines.
Question time:
Q: Does Daffid keep schtum? Yes, but... he becomes insufferable towards Eshtam and Zet.
Q: Does the Captain suspect anything happened? No, but... he is cold to Eshtam and cross with Zet, thinking they both were bickering with Daffid on shore leave.
Q: Does the Captain actually do anything about these three? No.
Referring to Star Trader for an event during jump, it transpires that '[t]here's one obnoxious passenger people try to avoid. This trip will be miserable unless someone deals with him'. Dealing with him requires a Bribery or Liaison roll.
Randomly determine which passenger: Arrogant navigator.
Q: How (asking Mythic via rpgsolo.com) is he obnoxious? Judgementally / Small. (Small next to Judgemental makes me think small-minded; sounds like a Solomani-superiority thing to me...)
The Captain is the only person in the party with a useful skill (Bribery), but he's not about to give money back to a paying passenger just to keep him off people's nerves.
Q: Is there an incident? No, and...]
It's a miserable trip all around. The annoying Solomani spends most of his time in the lounge, causing the other passengers to take their meals at odd hours and hide in their staterooms to avoid him.
Eshtam spends most of the trip locked in the bridge or her stateroom. She feels like she's in a tenuous enough situation with the Captain to risk starting something with a paying passenger, no matter how stupid and obnoxious ('Really?' she thinks. 'Solomani superiority? In the Foreven sector? What's the actual point?'). Luckily, the Captain doesn't expect her to take a shift on steward duty since she's not really one of his crew.
The rest of the crew fall to bickering over who has to play steward. Daffid and Zet can barely be in the same room together. Daffid spends a lot of time 'maintaining' the drives and power plant. Zet hides in his room. Gelray is harried by the hypochondriac, offering to play steward on occasion just so she'll leave him alone (the solomani scares her a bit). The Captain is abrupt and peevish with everybody.
The Galatea continues through jumpspace.
150 hours go by.
160 hours. Can it really be taking this long?
165 hours.
166...
[Slowly breaking myself into the MGT Trade rules (in the main book) alongside Star Trader. On the voyage from Veegint to New Dlemmis, I skipped over all the trading, as it was just the province of the NPCs, and I didn't feel like tracking their finances. I'm still leaving their credit balance as an abstract idea, but it's time to figure out passengers and cargo.
There are 10 staterooms in the bog standard Free Trader. Five of these are given over to the crew; Daffid has his own even though he doesn't often sleep there at the moment. The usual pilot isn't here, but since she and the Captain are inseparable buddies (despite her jealousy over his ownership of the Galatea), he's sealed off her room for now. Eshtam has been given her own room for the voyage. This leaves 4 staterooms for passengers.
Whilst Eshtam, Zet, and Daffid were off getting into trouble, Captain Aalir and Gelray were out trying to drum up some business. As the Captain intended to leave after only 72 standard hours, I have decided to halve the available cargo and passengers.
Two middle and four high passengers are available. (Q: Are any of the high passengers travelling together? No, and... they're all strangers.) So 4 high passages it is.
Q: Who are the passengers? Using the Get NPC (Science Fiction Genre) tool from http://www.rpgsolo.com and my basic human origin table produces the following:
Virtuous fugitive. Human Female
Arrogant navigator. Solomani Male
Impulsive gambler. Human Male
Hypochondriac recluse. Human Female
That's enough detail for now. I'll find them stat blocks if it becomes important.
Finding cargo proves less successful. There is only 1 minor cargo (a mere 20t) available for transport, and nothing for speculation. To save time, the Captain didn't try to sell any of the speculative cargo he picked up on Veegint, so there is still (1d6x10) 20 tons of basic machine parts still in the hold, plus the (1d6x5) 5 tons of contraband.
Following the Star Trader flowchart, it turns out that the Captain meets no contacts on New Dlemmis, there's no port encounter of any significance and no ship encounter. So, on the afternoon of 201-1106, Captain Aalir welcomes his passengers aboard, and the Galatea lifts off from New Dlemmis. Five hours later, the Captain dims the interior lights (as is tradition) and orders Eshtam to activate the jump engines.
Question time:
Q: Does Daffid keep schtum? Yes, but... he becomes insufferable towards Eshtam and Zet.
Q: Does the Captain suspect anything happened? No, but... he is cold to Eshtam and cross with Zet, thinking they both were bickering with Daffid on shore leave.
Q: Does the Captain actually do anything about these three? No.
Referring to Star Trader for an event during jump, it transpires that '[t]here's one obnoxious passenger people try to avoid. This trip will be miserable unless someone deals with him'. Dealing with him requires a Bribery or Liaison roll.
Randomly determine which passenger: Arrogant navigator.
Q: How (asking Mythic via rpgsolo.com) is he obnoxious? Judgementally / Small. (Small next to Judgemental makes me think small-minded; sounds like a Solomani-superiority thing to me...)
The Captain is the only person in the party with a useful skill (Bribery), but he's not about to give money back to a paying passenger just to keep him off people's nerves.
Q: Is there an incident? No, and...]
It's a miserable trip all around. The annoying Solomani spends most of his time in the lounge, causing the other passengers to take their meals at odd hours and hide in their staterooms to avoid him.
Eshtam spends most of the trip locked in the bridge or her stateroom. She feels like she's in a tenuous enough situation with the Captain to risk starting something with a paying passenger, no matter how stupid and obnoxious ('Really?' she thinks. 'Solomani superiority? In the Foreven sector? What's the actual point?'). Luckily, the Captain doesn't expect her to take a shift on steward duty since she's not really one of his crew.
The rest of the crew fall to bickering over who has to play steward. Daffid and Zet can barely be in the same room together. Daffid spends a lot of time 'maintaining' the drives and power plant. Zet hides in his room. Gelray is harried by the hypochondriac, offering to play steward on occasion just so she'll leave him alone (the solomani scares her a bit). The Captain is abrupt and peevish with everybody.
The Galatea continues through jumpspace.
150 hours go by.
160 hours. Can it really be taking this long?
165 hours.
166...
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