CDR Jasper "Spider" Webb |
Spider smirks, "That's probably a fair assessment of MS-7. I guess if we are making up wishlists, a computers expert would be great as well. Tapdance - umm, Petty Officer Fusco - worked well with the team under suboptimal conditions, if she is available for assignment."
Traveller Referee Tarondor |
"I'll send you the computer expert, but not the diplomat. That's your job. I'm sending you to show the flag. Berens can be a rough place, it seems, and your special brand of diplomacy may be required."
"Very well. There's one more matter."
Papa holds out three sets of rank insignia. "Corporals Sherman and Nicholls, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Sergeant. Ensign Monroe, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade. Congratulations, men!"
"Spider, I'm afraid I don't have any captain's bars for you. It's too early for that. But there is a letter of recommendation in your jacket signed personally by Commodore Lathrop."
"In addition, MS-7 is hereby awarded the Prime Minster's Meritorius Unit Citation. Congratulations to all of you. Well deserved."
"Captain, prepare your ship to launch in three days. Your Medic, Engineer and Computer Expert will join you by launch day."
_______________________________________________________________________
So, tell me what equipment you want to bring with you and any other pre-flight preparations.
CDR Jasper "Spider" Webb |
"Aye aye, sir."
Spider gathers the team together to put together a list of the equipment needed for the mission.
I just looked at the RCS Resolution specs in the mission doc. A couple of questions. (1) Does the vehicle pod come with a vehicle, or is that something we need to decide on when outfitting for the mission? (2) The crew is listed as "1 Pilot, 1 Astrogator, 2 Engineers, 1 Medic, 4 Gunners, 8 Marines", will the ship be crewed with Gunners and Marines, or are those additional personnel we need to request from Papa? Or will Sandman be able to handle all 4 gunner positions?
Traveller Referee Tarondor |
You could take two air/rafts. Or seven hovercycles/motorcycles.
You could take a pair of ATV's with advanced surveillance gear. Or a single Armored Fighting Vehicle (that'd get shot down by Papa, but just for comparison's sake).
You could take a TL 12 Covert Grav Vehicle with life support, high agility and a top speed of just under Mach 2.
___________________________________________________________
The crew listing is the standard complement. Sandman can cover Pilot, astrogator and 1 gunner position. Whether you want more gunners is up to you, but you doubt Papa's going to give you the Marines.
Traveller Referee Tarondor |
Traveller Referee Tarondor |
Two days later, MS-7 assembles on a remote landing pad several kilometers distant from the vast main field at Trybec and examines RCS Resolution. She is a beautiful new ship and one of the fastest in the Reformation Coalition fleet. Having her seconded to RCES is quite extraordinary. Strings have been pulled on a vast level.
Assembled for inspection are the members of MS-7, but also Navy Lieutenant Su Jian Liu and one of the strangest and most enigmatic aliens in all of Charted Space - a hiver.
Lieutenant Su offers a crisp Navy salute as Spider approaches. "I understand I'm to be your physician on this mission, sir. Here are my orders. I've inventoried our medical supplies and believe them to be adequate."
The hiver very slightly resembles a starfish four feet across and three high. The head is a modification of one of the limbs and contains six eyestalks and six manipulative tentacles, plus paired infrared sensor organs. The other five limbs are identical (except for slight modifications of the hand opposite the head) and are used as arms and legs indiscriminately. Each limb ends in a six-fingered radial hand. Fingers are very flexible and have muscular suction cups on the lower surface about halfway to the tips.
When Spider comes to it, the hiver uses one of its tentacled hands to tap on a datapad, from which emerges the voice of a human female. "Greetings, Captain. I am M. Hopper, of the Uplift Institute, where I teach computer theory and practice. I am grateful for the opportunity to observe both your mission and the Sandman Entity. I am also a qualified jump engine specialist."
Traveller Referee Tarondor |
Two days later, the team is assembled at the base of RCS Resolution, a beautiful new ship and among the fastest in all of the Coalition fleet. That RCES was able to get her away from the Navy for this mission says something about the priorities being placed on its success.
In addition to the members of MS-7, two others are lined up for inspection. One is Navy lieutenant and doctor Su Jian Liu, who gives Spider a crisp Navy salute. "Good morning sir. Here are my orders. I'm being seconded to you from Agamemnon while she is refitting. I've examined the infirmary and medical supplies and am satisfied that we are ready to proceed."
The last crew member awaiting inspection is a member of the strangest and most enigmatic alien species in Charted Space - a hiver.
The hiver looks a bit like a starfish a meter tall and two across. The head is a modification of one of the limbs and contains six eyestalks and six manipulative tentacles, plus paired infrared sensor organs. The other five limbs are identical (except for slight modifications of the hand opposite the head) and are used as arms and legs indiscriminately. Each limb ends in a six-fingered radial hand. Fingers are very flexible and have muscular suction cups on the lower surface about halfway to the tips.
As Spider approaches, the hiver manipulates a small datapad with its sensitive "fingers" and a the voice of a human female emerges from the device.
"Greetings, Captain," it says. "I am M. Hopper, of the Uplift University, where I teach computer theory and design. I am also a qualified jump engineer. I am grateful for the opportunity to observe both your crew and the Sandman entity in action."
CPL Calvin "Mascot" Sherman |
Messing with my avatar title, but promotion!
Mascot celebrates his promotion by buying rounds in the bar that night. He wakes up in the bathtub of Drifter's room, uncertain how he got there.
Later as they see their new ship, Mascot whistles. "Dang, Spider, that's a beaut. You sure we got the right berth? Maybe they want to keep this one for parades and hand us the next rustbucket. We fly in this and I'm going to get lazy without much to fix." He wanders over to the ship to inspect it, but is a bit worried abount breaking something.
He returns to see the two newcomers introducing themselves. He exhales as he sees the hiver. It certainly wasn't the first time he has seen one, but they always gave him the willies. "Doc, good to meet you. Calvin Sherman, but the team mostly calls me Mascot. Let's hope we need your services a bit less than our last mission."
"Hopper, glad to have you. Drifter and I are the teams' resident mechanics, but we'll leave the engine room to you. I'm just a wrench monkey most of the time in there."
Mascot will try to buy a new gauss rifle and cutlass, along a small amount of personal effects. It won't be as nice as the ones he lost, but he wants something reliable in case things go south again.
CDR Jasper "Spider" Webb |
Spider returns Lieutenant Su's salute. "Welcome aboard Lieutenant. You're a welcome addition to the team. I am sure the rest of the crew will be happy they won't have to rely on my fat fists to sew them up anymore."
Spider looks from the hiver, to its datapad, and back to the hiver. He takes a moment before focusing on one of its eystalks. "Welcome! I appreciate you making your services available to us. I admit I am not very familiar with your species, so please let me know what we can do to accommodate you onboard. How do you prefer to be addressed?"
Traveller Referee Tarondor |
Mascot: You are special forces. You don't buy anything; you requisition it. Just tell the quartermaster what you want and it's yours
In the ship, you will each find both a suit of "Protec" (armored clothing that looks like casual wear) and a suit of TL-12 Combat Armor individually fitted to you.
Please add them to your character sheets.
____________________________________________________________
Lieutenant Su smiles at Mascot, not really covering up his own nervousness and excitement about shipping out with special forces. "Glad to be aboard, Sergeant," he says. [b]"I hope the same."
Hopper goggles at Mascot with its six eyes fixed radially around a single "hand". "I anticipate with pleasure discussing the fine points of the ship," it says through its machine. "I'm sure we'll complement each other well. There are some spaces hivers can get into more easily than humans, while humans are generally much stronger."
The hiver swivels its "hand" to look at Spider, though several of its eyes remain looking at Mascot.
"Humans usually just call me Hopper, Captain," comes the female voice from his machine. "and that is acceptable. The voder renders all your greetings in my language in any case. As for accommodations, I need few. My own cabin would be preferable as human and hiver standards of smell and hygiene differ, but are not so different that I cannot live among you easily."
"If you are referring to pronouns, the technically correct pronoun in your language is 'it'. Hivers are genderless, exchanging DNA whenever we meet. However, it is traditional for hivers in human society to select names related to the history of their own interests. I have selected Admiral Grace Hopper, from Earth's ancient past. Therefore, you may also refer to me as 'she' if that is preferable to you."
CPL Calvin "Mascot" Sherman |
Mascot finds Hopper's interest in ancient Earth interesting. "A battle hero from ancient history? That's kinda new for a hiver. I enjoy reading about historical warriors. Maybe we can shares stories on the ship. Right now, I'm reading about a Corpsman named Dawes from the Third Imperium. He saved about 700 lives, repeatedly dropping through atmo in the middle of a nuke bombardment to pull people off a planet. Crazy s+&%."
"You know, Hopper, my family says we come from a long line of warriors back to ancient Earth. Imagine, somebody named Sherman back then fighting with spears or horses or whatever they had then. So who was this Admiral? Their first space fleet commander?"
Well then, Sergeant Sherman will requisition a new gyro-stabilized gauss rifle with extra ammo, a laser pistol side arm, and static sword for boarding engagements.
James "Flatfoot" Nicholls |
Joining the shopping, Flatfoot will order the following:
Flatfoot welcomes the new crew members when they report.
"Hopper," begins Flatfoot. "Humans engage in accustomed physical behaviours when greeting one another, like clasping hands or other physical contact. I confess to not having crewed with a member of your race before - do you welcome or discourage physical contact with humans? Is there anything similar that you want us to know to prevent any future problems?"
"For that matter, Doctor Su. Would you be able to assist Hopper in the event of injury or illness?"
Traveller Referee Tarondor |
I will requisition a Laser Rifle and a Laser Pistol. What TL version do I get? I will also get a cutlass.
Most tech in the RC is TL 9 and there are worlds with much lower Tech (Baldur and Oriflamme are 9, Spires is 2 (iron age). However, some worlds (Trybec, Eos) are at TL 11 and Aubaine is at TL 12. For comparison, in 1105 the Imperium had an average TL of 13 and a maximum TL of 15.
Most military tech in the RC is TL 10 or 11, with most ships at TL 11-12. As special forces, you have access to TL 12 weapons.
Traveller Referee Tarondor |
Mascot finds Hopper's interest in ancient Earth interesting. "A battle hero from ancient history? That's kinda new for a hiver. I enjoy reading about historical warriors. Maybe we can shares stories on the ship. Right now, I'm reading about a Corpsman named Dawes from the Third Imperium. He saved about 700 lives, repeatedly dropping through atmo in the middle of a nuke bombardment to pull people off a planet. Crazy s*#!."
"You know, Hopper, my family says we come from a long line of warriors back to ancient Earth. Imagine, somebody named Sherman back then fighting with spears or horses or whatever they had then. So who was this Admiral? Their first space fleet commander?"
"I am not an historian per se," says Hopper. "But I have studied the history of human computer science, including the Archive castes on Vland, the Sylean Megacorporations and the more recent free-form developments on Earth. The rise of the Solomani ensured that most worlds in the Rule of Man and the subsequent Third Imperium had excellent libraries of Terran data. Much of this made its way eventually to the Hive Confederation where it survived the Viral onslaught."
"In any case, Admiral Grace Hopper served a distinguished forty-two year career in one of Earth's more powerful pre-Stellar militaries. Though she held a very high rank, she was not a warrior in the traditional sense. Rather, she was a genius whom the United States Navy, after first rejecting her for service in the Second World War because she was too old, later refused to allow her to retire until she was eighty years old. She created the first Terran "high-level programming language" and several other advances which led directly to humaniti's first steps into space travel. It is no exaggeration to state that Admiral Hopper helped to lead humaniti from Tech Level 5 to Tech Level 7 and beyond."
"OK, Hopper it is." Spider pauses, furrowing his brow, "Wait...did you just say that every time two hivers meet, they are making babies?"
"Affirmative. We exchange long-chain DNA strands through what humans call a "handshake". Hivers do not cooperated in the raising of their young. Indeed, we do not raise them at all. Our larval form is considered a nuisance and is generally disposed of as pests. Those that survive do so in the wilderness, returning to hiver society only as juveniles."
"Allow me to dispel a common human fear. I am not performing this activity when I touch you, or your possessions."
Drifter nods to the new dock and the hiver. "Have either of you been out of coalition space before? This should be an interesting trip."
"I have," says Su. "Two deployments to the AO. The Keipes chain and the Yontez cluster. This will be my first voyage beyond the AO, though. I understand you've been to Diaspora. I look forward to hearing about it."
Hopper shakes its head in a manner you will later come to recognize as signifying amusement. "I come from the planet Oszuaor, more than one hundred parsecs trailing of Trybec. I have lived in the Confederation as well as more than one human polity. Have you heard of the Sitah Consulate? In any case, I am well-traveled."
Flatfoot welcomes the new crew members when they report.
"Hopper," begins Flatfoot. "Humans engage in accustomed physical behaviours when greeting one another, like clasping hands or other physical contact. I confess to not having crewed with a member of your race before - do you welcome or discourage physical contact with humans? Is there anything similar that you want us to know to prevent any future problems?"
"Hivers are far more social than humans," it says. "And live in closer physical proximity. I am not disturbed either by the presence of humans nor of close spaces. My own sleep cycles are different from yours, but I shall mostly adjust to the ship's cycle. While I welcome your concern, most of the traditional difficulties between human and hiver seem to revolve around human perceptions of hiver eating and evacuation. Your people do not like to witness either when mine are involved. I will endeavor to remain private at such times."
"They use the same orifice for both," adds Lieutenant Su.
"For that matter, Doctor Su. Would you be able to assist Hopper in the event of injury or illness?"
"I did perform my internship at the Hiver Technical Academy, where I had the opportunity to study hiver physiology. That basic knowledge may be useful, but it is not anything like the in-depth knowledge a surgeon would require. I do have access to a decent hiver texts on infectious diseases and should be able to treat most diseases. It is always difficult to predict how any species will react to a new environment. The same is true of humans, of course, but presumably humans already live wherever we're going."
"In other words, I'll do my best."
CDR Jasper "Spider" Webb |
Spider's requisition list:
-Radio Transceivers for everyone
-2 Surveillance Bugs
-Portable Computer
-Medikit
-Binoculars
-Electronics kit
-A couple of tents
-Combat Knife
-Advanced Combat Rifle
-Laser Pistol
-Grenade Launcher
-An anti-armor rocket launcher (like we had on Isis)
-2 Air/Rafts
(It sounds like the ship's medical supplies have already been handled by Su)
Regarding the armor we were issued, it looks like TL12 Combat Armor provides +17 protection, correct? How about the Protec armored clothing?
Traveller Referee Tarondor |
At 0800 hours that morning, the crew of RCS Resolution closes the hatch and proceeds to high atmosphere above Trybec before the hours-long run out to the 100-diameter limit.
"Hello and welcome," says a familiar voice in the cockpit. It's Sandman. "I'm very glad to see you again. Commander Webb, I've taken the liberty of plotting an initial jump to Lebherz. I've displayed the specs on your plotter. I'll lock in the solution at your order."
Traveller Referee Tarondor |
"Very well. It's a beautiful ship," says the the former mastermind of the Promise Resistance. "Thank you, Captain. I know this must have been a very difficult decision for all involved. I won't let you down."
To the extent that Spider understands much about trans-dimensional space and calculating multi-body vectors, everything seems legitimate. At least it doesn't seem as though the AI is trying to deposit you in the heart of the local star.
Just before you make ready to jump, Resolution receives the last broadcast of Coalition news it will have in many months, perhaps years: the mysterious "Empire of Solee" which resides somewhere coreward of the Coalition has seized RCS Marathon Victrix at Mueller. The Reformation Coalition senate has just declared war on the Empire of Solee.
_______________________________________________________
When Spider finally gives the order to Jump, the ship's lanthanum grid glows a strange silvery color and suddenly the stars fade away. There is a sickening feeling of wrongness, your ears pop and suddenly you are looking at a silvery wall of nothingness.
You all remember your instructors saying that this was not actually Jump Space. What you are looking at is actually the limits of a tiny bubble of normal matter created and maintained by the ship's Jump Engines, a silvery wall of quantum foam a dozen or so meters beyond the hull of the ship. Sometimes, lights are seen deep in that nothingness. So far, no one has ever managed to explain the lights or seen one up close. Most people simply dismiss them as artifacts of the ship itself. Others believe the lights have some prophetic or mystical quality.
Either way, the ship is no longer a part of the normal universe.
"Jump Insertion stable and complete," reports Sandman.
So, please go to the Discussion Forum and tell me what skills you'll be working on in your spare time.
Traveller Referee Tarondor |
After traveling aboard the dank spaces of The Ship or the cramped quarters of the tramp trader, life aboard Resolution is positively luxurious. Crisp sheets, gleaming surfaces, hot rations and most of all enough room to move around freely, all lend a sens of unreality to the first leg of the journey.
There are holovids every night, with popcorn and laughter. It seems surreal, but everyone knows that each jump brings you closer to the Vampire Highway, and then to the unknown regions beyond.
A week later, your first jump completes successfully, as Resolution exits Jump Space near the 100-diameter limit of the world of Lebherz (Diaspora/Khulam 3236). A single-star system with a yellow sun, three gas giants and a single asteroid belt, Lebherz was well-known to RCES.
Because of its low pre-Collapse tech level, Lebherz is not considered a high priority world for recovery operations, but because of its substantial population (more than 200 million) it will be an important integration objective in the early years of the Coalition. With a current Tech Level of 5 (Earth, circa 1930's) and balkanized into many nation-states, Lebherz nonetheless maintains minimal spaceport facilities run by caste of "Data Priests" who vigilantly quarantine all thinking devices and are virulently anti-Virus in all their activities.
There is no reason to approach the main world as Resolution can refuel from the gas giants. After two days it has full Jump Tanks and once clear of the giant planet's gravity well, jumps again, this time headed for Agiruur (Diaspora/Khulam 3036). A rocky planetoid with large lakes of liquid methane orbiting a dim red dwarf, Agiruur had once been a colony supporting eight hundred thousand people. Now it is a graveyard world of broken domes and dangerous machinery
After several more days of refuelling, Resolution jumps again, this time for Montezuma (Diaspora/Khulam 2836), a world of 20 million people orbiting another dim red sun. Situated at the extreme rimward end of a large Jump-1 main stretching through Theozennt, Promise and Khulam subsectors, Montezuma is an almost desert world at the spinward edge of the Area of Operations, orbiting a dim red sun. Controlled by warlords and a radical sect known as the Gnostic Brotherhood, Montezuma has a fair number of pre-Collapse artifacts and has thus been the target of more than one Coalition SAG (Smash-and-Grab) raid.
Montezuman warlords have been manufacturing antiarmor rifles for some time and using them to strengthen their line and militia infantry. A recent SAG mission by Oriflamme Marines in battle dress took heavy casualties when they encountered a sniper unit equipped with 14.5mm
antiarmor rifles and firing discarding-sabot ammunition. Captured examples of the ammunition are clearly of non- Montezuman origin, which indicates that a significant offworld supplier of military hardware is becoming active here.
As you survey the system on your run towards one of the gas giants, Sandman says "Contact. There is a ship at heading 089 by -21, 1.2 million kilometers."
About twenty seconds later, he says "It's a modified scout, Captain. Estimate no more than 200 tons. She's armed. I can see what looks like external missile racks."
"She's hailing us."
Traveller Referee Tarondor |
Mascot reads over Drifter's shoulder and calls out the sensor data.
In all, she is a capable ship in this fallen age, but no match for Resolution which is twice her size and can both outrun and outgun her (see stats in OPPLAN Open Hand, above). Still, if her captain is crazy enough, those missiles can pack a real punch that might do some damage.
CDR Jasper "Spider" Webb |
"My apologies, Captain Mendez, I was not aware that the relationship between the RC and the Montezumans had become so antagonistic. In any case, I have no intention of allowing you to board my vessel. Be assured that we have no ill will towards you or your people. I suggest you let us continue on through your sovereign territory - under your observation, of course - and let us pass unmolested as we continue our journey. In return, I will advise my superiors that RC vessels should avoid your system in the future unless invited by your people. Is that acceptable?" Spider flips off the transmitter and waits for a reply.
Persuade+INT: 2d6 + 1 + 0 ⇒ (4, 2) + 1 + 0 = 7
"Damn, diplomatic speech gives me a headache. But I guess I should get into practice for this mission." He looks around the bridge at the others. "That was diplomatic, right?"
I don't see any mention in the ship specs, but do we have shields of some sort that we ought to be raising in case of a fight?
Traveller Referee Tarondor |
No shields at this tech level. Just armor.
There are no Knowledge skills in Traveller. Wacky.
"Captain," says Sandman. "I don't think that's a Montezuman ship. RC records indicate that Montezuma is controlled by numerous small states and factions, none of which are said to control a starship. I believe the designation 'SGS' may stand for 'Star Guild Ship'. If so, this is the Guild that Argo and Paka told us was operating in the Promise sector. I suspect the Guild is the origin of the improved anti-personnel ammunition we heard about in the briefing."
"Resolution, this is Venture. I am conducting a health and safety inspection of all vessels passing through this system. Heave to or I will use force."
Traveller Referee Tarondor |
So that's supposed to be Electronics (Sensors)+INT or Electronics (Sensors)+EDU, not a straight EDU roll. Thus, Drifter would apply a -3 for being untrained in Electronics. However, it's still a big success.
There is also outrunning them. Your thrust of 4 is twice their thrust of 2. You could easily make it to a gas giant hours ahead of them and begin refueling, but they'd catch up eventually. More to the point, their missiles would catch up. You could also put the extra thrust into evasive maneuvers and make the ship hard to hit.
Of course, there is also blowing them out of the sky.
James "Flatfoot" Nicholls |
Flatfoot listens to the demands of whoever is on the ship. Frankly, they are quite transparent.
INT(0) + Streetwise(2): 2d6 + 0 + 2 ⇒ (6, 3) + 0 + 2 = 11
"I think he's bluffing. Or being put up to this for some reason. We might be able to get them to back down. Either that, or he really has nothing to back up his demands," continues Flatfoot.
"So? Shalle we call his bluff?"
CDR Jasper "Spider" Webb |
"Mascot, target the Guild vessel on my signal."
Spider opens the channel to the Venture. "Captain Mendez, be reasonable. We've got you out-massed and out-gunned. I'm sure those missiles of your's could make a mess of our armor, but we both know who wins if a fight breaks out here." He pauses to signal Mascot. "Nobody is boarding my vessel. We are going to continue on our way, and we will soon leave this system. Don't do anything foolish and we all get to live another day."
Traveller Referee Tarondor |
The Venture starts evasive maneuvers, turning to open the range between her and Resolution.
"The Coalition can't treat the galaxy like her own backyard, Webb! You don't get to go where you want and take what you want. People like the Montezumans are learning to fight back. You're one ship. Soon you're going to run into trouble you can't handle. You're going to wish you'd listened and stayed in your own space."
The nearby gas giant is 1,000,000 kilometers away. You can be there in under four hours at maximum burn. Resolution can refine 80 tons of fuel per day. To completely fill her tanks will require two days of fueling operations. Then at least a two-hour burn to get far enough away to safely jump to the next destination.