Recommended Skills: Security skills, martial skills
Required Equipment: A starship, 2 tons of cargo and enough room for two passengers.
Players’ Information:
A much publicized trial has just concluded. Annika Greer, a popular figure who was a champion of the local populace, has been convicted of murder, sedition and grand theft. She is to be transported to a penal colony several jumps away. The locals are not happy with this verdict and they are protesting in front of the jail complex where she is being held.
The local police are anxious to get her off planet as quickly as possible. They are hiring scout ships, freighters and any civilian craft from off world who is willing to pick her up and transport her to her new home. They will pay double rates for this job as long as they move her within 24 hours. Each ship will also be provided a fuel chit that will cover their fuel needs throughout the voyage.
The police are taking absolutely no chances. They are hiring six ships and are placing six of their prisoners in cold sleep in portable cryo-beds. These ships will land at the private landing-pad at the secure facility at ten minute intervals. All ships will be greeted by a dozen guards keeping watch over six cryo-beds. When one of these cryo-beds is loaded aboard, two of these officers will accompany their prisoner to their ultimate destination. While this is taking place security will be tight in the air space surrounding the prison and in the guard towers at the complex.
Image from Wikimedia – Public Domain
Referee’s Information:
The PC’s are fourth in line to make the pick up at the prison. As they approach the facility they can see protesters at the gate of the prison battling it out with the guards. The two guards/escorts who board the ship are a male and female police officer/guard who are dressed in improved ballistic cloth and a helmet. They are both armed with a SMG Pistol and they each hold three 20-round clips. Two one-ton cargo containers are loaded on board. One contains the prisoner in cold sleep and the other contains their personal gear and extra uniforms to be taken along on the trip. The cargo is quickly and efficiently loaded aboard and the takeoff is done on schedule. The air traffic controllers at the starport have them execute a series of wild evasive maneuvers to throw off any potential pursuit. None are detected.
The guards relax once everyone is in hyperspace. They introduce themselves as Walt and Helene Ward, a married couple who both work for the police. They tell the PC’s that the prisoner in the cargo hold is NOT Annika Greer and instead they are transporting a woman (Gretta Franz) who was found guilty of embezzling from a megacorporation. They pulled a few strings to be able to get assigned to this duty so they could see the sights while still performing their duty. They plan on taking a few weeks of leave when the prisoner exchange is done and the cryo-bed is offloaded at the facility. All of this, of course is a lie.
It is true that they are not transporting Annika. It is true they are married. It is true that the prisoner embezzled from a megacorporation. What is not known is the box they brought aboard contains a false bottom that contains over 20 million credits in precious gemstones and jewelry. Their plan is around the hallway point, they will claim to have a malfunction in the cryo-bed. Helene has a Medic-2 proficiency and will successfully revive their good friend Gretta from cold sleep. One jump out away from the prison, they plan on finding a way to exit the ship. This will be done by setting off an explosive charge on the side of the cargo bay, damaging the ship’s hull enough to require repairs. During the confusion they plan on taking their booty in three backpacks and losing themselves in the crowd at the starport.
In a pinch the married couple will not leave the other behind. The former prisoner Gretta has no such difficulty. All three will be armed as mentioned before and all the individuals possess at least a level-1 skill with slug-throwers. If these persons get away the PC’s will need to contact the local authorities who will not be pleased with the failures of the crew. The fuel chit will be confiscated immediately and the ship will be impounded pending a full investigation. These escapees will not be looking to leave the planet anytime soon as they plan to lay low for at least a month. If these people are found, the impound time will not be as long, but effectively the mission ends here.