Players’ Information:

The players have landed heavily on an ice-covered world called Alexandria after their ship was hit by a meteoroid strike, forcing them to land and effect repairs. Both their jump and main drives are damaged and any secondary transport that the ship may host (such as an air-raft or shuttle) is currently disabled as well. The world they have landed on is experiencing a number of natural upheavals including small scale meteor strikes and volcanic eruptions.

Landing at a starport in the northern latitudes to try and repair the damage to their ship, the players encounter hurried activity by people trying to get away from the area, due to the increased number of landslides, volcanic activity and avalanches. Though the parts to repair their ship are available, they are going to cost quite a bit (referee makes the cost difficult for the players to swallow).

Whilst they are considering their options they are approached by Elrale Olrussang whose father Cluale, a scientist has been conducting research in a number of fields at an arctic base some distance from the starport. When the eruptions started, she lost contact with him and desperately needs help from someone (i.e. the players) to find out what has happened to her father.

The base can be reached by flying out to it as there is a small landing strip nearby the base. There is a small aircraft available to hire for a nominal cost, a twin-propeller eight-seater equipped with snow skids.

Elrale can cover a substantial part of the costs for the spares needed to fix the players ship, if they can successfully rescue her father in time and there may be a bonus if they can extract his research data at the same time. The aircraft has enough capacity for up to eight people (including pilot) or equivalent weight in equipment.

If the players accept the proposition, they had better get a move on; contact with the base was lost around 36 hours ago and this is not the sort of place to be injured or without equipment. Once reached, the landing strip is approximately two hundred and fifty feet away from the base, a dome with a single ground floor level and two underground levels. There are approximately ten rooms per level, with a set of stairs and an electrically operated lift which serves all three levels.

The Base – Image from Wikimedia – Public Domain

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Players Information:

Whilst sat at a bar in between jobs, the players are contacted by a rich business man named Kalas Henderson, whose daughter Annalisa is currently resident on another world. Annalisa wanted to study the political situation there as it was very similar to a number of historical records dating from early Terran history and its proximity to her homeworld made this an easy option to better her studies. The world (named Thebis) has been classified as amber zone planet, due to the two powerful superpowers pitched against each other and a ‘cold war’ that has been running for a number of decades. It’s tech level is equivalent to the Terran late 1980’s (tech level 7). Microcomputer technology is just becoming affordable for the home, but a four-year stint of military service is mandatory for all citizens reaching the age of eighteen. Use and possession of all firearms are banned by civilians (law level 9).

Both of the two major nations on the planet, Shakorev in the north and Vaalnarn in the south have both rejected Imperial contact and the scout service advised intervention should be proceeded with caution. Therefore though there is a limited space to surface activity, the two ‘warring’ nations have become quite insular and all their efforts are directed at each other, rather than off-world.

It has been reported however through the Traveller News Service that after many years of posturing, both have started a conventional war by invading each other’s territories. The war has gone on for a few weeks until Vaalnarn has made a breakthrough assault and is driving its forces north direct to Shakorev’s capital, where Annalisa was studying.

With this worrying escalation, Kalas asks the players to find his daughter and get her off-world as soon as possible. Her will pay a substantial fee (Cr 500,000) for her rescue with an additional Cr 50,000 up-front to cover any expenses the players may have in preparing for the rescue.

Considerations:

It is advisable that the players covertly land on the planet, in case anyone tries to steal the ship or gain passage off-world. Weapons and high-technology (eg. guns, air-rafts) should be kept concealed or alternative means obtained as it will most certainly draw the attention of the authorities. Note that anything that stands out as being more advanced than TL7 will stand out and become noticeable. The environment for the search is a large city, based on the lines of a large east European or Soviet city from the Terran 1980’s era; think large imposing apartment blocks, statues of the Shakorev’s leadership and a country at war. Military vehicles are a common sight and posters spout victorious propaganda. Vehicles are petroleum-based, electronics are limited to microcomputers and a very limited form of continental electronic communication.

Stop War – Image from wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

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