Adventure: Solar Flare
Setting: 200-ton Yacht "Solar Flare"; Vehicles secretly removed and
replaced with radioactives; Cargo as given on manifest (5 tons Mech.
Parts, 5 tons Radioactives, 2 tons Vacc Suits); Beam Laser in single
turret.
Background: An extended-range yacht (through the miracle of L-Hyd
tanks) owned by an experienced diplomat is passing through the
subsector, carrying a load of cargo and assorted passengers, including
the party.
Details: Phineas Ravel, the diplomat, accompanied by Faber Tipps, his
assistant, have just returned from a summit to help resolve the Fokex
situation. The planet Fokex was recently the site of a bloody coup, in
which a psionic dictator rose to power with the use of nuclear weapons
(from an unknown source). The planet is now a home to pirates and the
planetary defense forces frequently seize and plummet trade ships.
Fokex lies near a major trade route.
Ravel thinks the situation has been resolved but Tipps knows better.
If questioned, he will mention that he thinks the nukes came from the
nearby planet Wolem, which has been militarily maneuvering and is
suspected of developing damper technology.
The passengers are a mixed group:
The party
Phineas Ravel--the naive senior diplomat, ship's owner. Stuffy.
Faber Tipps--his helpful assistant. Streetwise, mousy.
Dmitri Zatalin--marine captain. Returning home from leave. An action
man.
Danielle McCulty--a bureaucrat manager opening Sternmetal sales offices.
Urges caution and the safest solution. Rather passive but
intelligent.
Vincent Groff--Merchant. The five tons of Mech. Parts are his.
Untrusting and cautious.
3 Psionic aliens (choose your favorite): One scout and two guards.
Aloof and not particularly talkative. Trip was paid in advance at
double normal rates. Require special diet.
The passengers have had all weapons removed (characters may try to
conceal small ones, if you like) and stored in the lower level storage
area. The lower level and all areas except the passenger deck are off
limits to the passengers.
The crew has been assigned to the ship by the Imperial Diplomat
Service. (However, the real crew was bushwacked and replaced by the
present crew.)
Adventure: After refuelling, the ship spends 4 hours accelerating
toward what is supposedly a neutral planet. Actually, the course has
been changed and the ship is heading towards Xuma, a star system one hex
away from Wolem. Passengers may note that the ship is being shadowed by
a System Defense Boat while it is accelerating (due to its improper
course). After 28 hours in hyperspace, the ship returns to normal
space. This is a day too soon. The portals are found to be sealed and
the lifts shut down. The following message comes over the intercom:
"This ship and its contents are now property of Xuman Independence
Front. Ask no questions--they will be ignored. Any attempt to
escape will be met with death. You are prisoners and will be
treated as such."
The power is then shut off except for life support and lights. The
valves are locked, though iris valves can be forced by someone with high
strength. Manual verticle hatches are locked and a warning light
indicates that the lower level is depressurized. Interior walls can be
cut with laser pistol in 8 minutes , allowing access to the Forward
Storage Compartment. It contains Vacc Suits and misc. equipment.
Possibilities: During the initial discussion of the passengers, Vincent
Groff, the merchant from Xuma, will be confused, but will not voice his
doubts unless questioned. Xuma is a peaceful planet, non-violent and
happy. There is no Xuman Independece Front. He may recognize a strange
accent in the voice from the intercom. Faber Tipps says the accent is
that of Wolem. Phineas Ravel overrules Tipps, droning on and on about
the threat of rebellion where it is least expected, etc. Ravel uses
this opportunity to voice his views on politics, and unless someone in
the party stops him, he will continue until the GM gets tired of
talking. Zatalin quietly disappears to retreive a laser pistol he has
managed to cache. Ravel can also retrieve 4 10mm auto snub pistols from
his cabin, if anyone thinks to remind him. McCulty urges everyone to
remain calm and quiet. The aliens appear to be locked in their cabin.
By getting to the vacc suits in the the forward storage compartment, the
passengers can open the manual verticle hatches and gain entrance to the
lower level. The crew there will put up cover fire while they move to
the Ship's Boat, which they use to escape. Zatalin thinks the fight was
won too easily. If the cargo and vehicle bays are searched, they are
found to be full of radioactives. The load in the cargo bay is
protected by an ablative shield, which is very unusual. When the Ship's
Boat leaves the Yacht, the Yacht is attacked by a nearby X-boat Tender,
which may be seen only from the bridge and by those in space. The
Tender's shots ruin the maneuver drives and several tons of fuel.
Additional shots hit the Ship's Boat, killing the escaping terrorists
there. (They were considered expendable by those who planned this
affair.) The yacht does preprogrammed return fire, hitting the Tender
and driving it off. (This was planned by the Tender. If the passengers
discuss their easy victory, someone may suggest that the Tender's fire
control was hit). The ship is now locked on a collision course with
Xuma with insufficient fuel for jump and ruined maneuver drives. The
Ship's Boat floats nearby its distance from the Yacht increasing slowly.
The passengers feel a slight lurch, which is the cargo being
automatically jettisoned.
Solutions:
1) The remaining fuel can be jettisoned, causing a hyperbolic spin into
space. If a rescue message is sent, the Tender will return and the
players will have to think quick before it finishes the job. (Xuma has
no navy.) The aliens, if asked, can psionically contact help on Xuma
and get everyone to the planet.
2) The Ship's Boat can be retrieved by a spacer and jury-rigged by the
appropriate people to pull the yacht into an orbit, though good pilots
are needed for this operation!
In any case, the rear cargo has been jettisoned and has landed on
Xuma, where the party ends up. The radioactives leave a real mess.
Passengers may theorize that that was the whole point--to poison a
random city on Xuma. Others theorize Wolem wants to ruin Xuma to cut
the trade route, though this seems to be a difficult way of reducing a
planet.
The actual reason for the radioactives is to test whether Xuma has
nuclear damper technology, which could be quickly used to clean up the
mess. It turns out they don't. If the players mention this to Ravel or
Tipps, naval forces will be called in that will stop a planned invasion.
If the players don't realize it, Xuma is soon invaded and the players
will have to fight it out or be captured. But that's another story.