Location: Ralhe (SM/Five Sisters 0731) E-424574-8 Ni

Players’ Information:

Ralhe is a small world with little to recommend it except some surface mineral deposits. The very thin, tainted atmosphere requires respirator/filter masks, and most of the ground is covered in permafrost. It is not on a trade route or X-boat route, but it gets enough visitors to maintain the economy of its three competing states: Rahlhiem, Torrijo, and Klinghoff. Within the last year the three states have conducted a slow-burning brush war consisting of raids and incursions with few pitched battles.

The patrons are the head men of the town of Chatham, in a backwater region of the nation of Klinghoff. For the last two years, Dr. Amanda Stonehouse has been working in Chatham, a town in the hilly backwoods of Klinghoff, as an unmercenary physician. She does not charge anything for her medical expertise – she sees it as her religious duty to give aid and comfort to the poor. With the war going on in the main part of the country, the town of Chatham has been neglected by the national government, and left mostly to its own resources, so Dr. Stonehouse’s work is deeply felt and greatly appreciated. The locals all speak well of her.

Ten days ago, Dr. Stonehouse was kidnapped by an unknown group. The region has its share of bandits, but the locals can’t say for certain who has her or where she is. Local law enforcement has few resources to spare to search for her. The townsfolk who have gone into the hills to look for her have returned empty-handed, wounded or not returned at all. Anyone in Chatham can tell the PCs about the abduction: a truck roared into town, men ran into the clinic, grabbed the doctor, hustled her into the truck and drove off. A few people tried to pursue, but were dissuaded with gunfire.

Three days ago a ransom demand was delivered to the town leaders, with ‘proof of life’ of the good doctor; and a threat of her execution in just a few days if the ransom is not delivered. Unfortunately, the Klinghoff government is too busy with the war to offer any assistance. The parish priest, through his bishop in the capital, has reached out to the interstellar community for help.

Chatham Hills – Image from Pixabay – Public Domain

Continue reading →

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

Continue reading →

Players’ Information:

An agent of the ruling noble of the subsector, Her Grace Duchess Estelle du Mere, contacts the characters. Sir Nolan Stannar is a member of the nobility who is well into middle age, recently retired from the Imperial Marines. He engages in small talk for a while, providing a round of refreshments while comparing military service histories, but soon comes to the point.

“Her Grace,” he says with a more formal tone, “is well into her second century of life and is preparing to retire from the Moot. In light of her exemplary service to the Imperium, the Duke of this sector has allowed her to select her replacement from among the nobility of the subsector. Her Grace has no relatives remaining to allow for a more… normal means of succession; so she has a short list of candidates.”

“The problem to Her Grace’s mind is that none of the most acceptable candidates has ever truly been tested by dire circumstances. Therefore, she has decided to stage such an event aboard her yacht – which has been specially fitted with extensive surveillance gear so Her Grace may make a full assessment of the candidates under such conditions.”

“Countess Yvette du Marisone, Marquis Kei Chang and Baron Lars von Helgard are currently bound for this world aboard Her Grace’s yacht. Her Grace intends for you to pose as members of a local group of pirates and stage an attack and boarding of the vessel. She will provide you a spacecraft and weapons loaded with non-lethal ammunition for this task.”

“The crew of the yacht is aware of this ploy, staging a slight delay on their last port of call to send word ahead. Their weapons will also be loaded with non-lethal ammunition, though they will endeavor to miss you so as to keep the façade going as long as possible. You will raid the ship, disarm the nobles without giving yourselves away, take valuables and pretend to kill the crew toward the end.”

“Before you can pretend to kill the nobles, you will depart indicating that the authorities are on their way. Once you are clear of the yacht, the crew will inform the nobles of the deception and upon your return to this world, you will each be paid Cr 50,000 and be provided a high passage for your trouble.”

He pauses to crack his knuckles before continuing. “Let me be clear: none of the nobility aboard the yacht is to be harmed beyond a bruise, abrasion or minor cut. The crew is only to be attacked with the non-lethal weaponry provided to you and nothing else. Any permanent injury to anyone aboard the yacht will void the agreement and possibly result in legal action against the lot of you.”

If the characters agree to this unusual arrangement, Sir Nolan will escort them to the starport to a fast pinnace armed with a laser that has been purposefully set to be ineffective. The livery of the local pirate group is boldly emblazoned on its flanks and the characters are fitted with vacc-suits and the non-lethal weaponry – snub pistols loaded with tranq rounds and a spare magazine loaded with marking paint rounds colored the hue of fresh blood (to “finish off” the crew of the yacht).

Sir Nolan provides emergence coordinates for the yacht as the characters prepare to depart. “The yacht should emerge from hyperspace about twenty hours from now – plenty of time to get ready.” He smiles and winks. “Give them a good show,” he says as the spacecraft’s hatch closes.

Image from Pixabay – Public Domain

Continue reading →

Players’ Information:

The PCs are in hyperspace on a routine voyage when suddenly and violently, they exit hyperspace. This exit should be violent enough to cause moderate damage to their ship due to the unexpected drop from FTL travel. The cause of this jump failure is an unexpected gravity source that is intersecting their jump vector.

This gravity source is nothing more than a large rogue gas giant. Cast away from its originating solar system, this planet still spins quickly around its axis and has also managed to carry along some of its satellites. There are also three medium-sized moons (size 3-5) tidally locked in an elliptical orbit around this gas giant as well. Each possesses an exotic atmosphere, but they all still generate heat due to strong forces of gravity pulling on them creating geothermal energy and heat. This strong gravitic force makes sensor readings difficult, but not impossible.

As the players recover from their ordeal, a faint distress call is overheard coming from one of the moons. Upon close inspection, a starship is found crashed on the planet’s surface. It is hard to tell unless someone goes down on the moon’s surface, but the ship is still fairly intact. It is half-buried under a rocky mound of sand and gravel. There is a hazard to travelling on the surface of this moon, however. The geothermal activity causes frequent seismic tremors and quakes, making the sand and rocks treacherous. Also, radiation from the gas giant limits the amount of time on the surface, as the moon is tidally locked there is no relief from this exposure. No unprotected person should be allowed more than six hours of exposure before radiation damage occurs. Thirty-two hours of overall exposure without medical treatment could be fatal.

If the players decide to investigate further, they will find a 2,000 ton cryo-ship still operating on minimal power. This ship was going to be used to start a colony, but somehow it ended up here. The gravel and the ship’s hull protect these colonists from radiation exposure, but whoever survived the crash rigged up an ingenious way to harness the geothermal energy of the planet to the ship’s power plant. Many of the cryo-beds are damaged and the occupant has long since died, but thirty beds are still operational.

Rogue Planet – Image from Wikimedia – CC BY-SA 3.0 license

Continue reading →

Players’ Information:

Many centuries ago, Jafa’raltay’yar was a bustling Solomani colony world. It was divided between two religious groups that prayed to the same god, albeit under different names. Unfortunately, one of these groups took their religion much more seriously than the other, leading to an all-out war. Chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons were all used in the initial phase of hostilities, and over half the population was killed outright. Those who survived continued the conflict, fighting initially with planes and tanks, then with guns, and finally with sticks and stones. When the fighting ended, less than 1% of the planet’s pre-war population remained. Those who hadn’t died in direct combat fell victim to radiation, starvation, disease, and various hazards of the alien biosphere. Needless to say, the world was quarantined.

The PC’s are passing through the system, simply hoping to refuel at a nearby gas giant, however, the refueling operation is a little bumpy, and although they manage to acquire enough hydrogen to jump on to their next destination, there’s now a new problem. Their ship’s lanthanum grid is damaged. It can be repaired, but they need lanthanum, and the only conceivable place there would be any would be in the nuked ruins of the old starport. In short, they have to break the quarantine.

Image from Project Gutenberg – Public Domain

Continue reading →