Solo Games and Tokens

After a bit of a hiatus, during which I continued to plug away at my 6mm Traveller project (as recorded on my modelling log and here), I got inspired to collect all the write-ups I had done for my solo Traveller game into one place. Aloin's Saga - the Collected Sessions, is now a Library Data page on this blog. Another inspiration is the Alea Iactanda est blog where Alea Iactanda est has been running a solo Traveller game called "Star Trader". Once I started looking around a bit, I found another solo game, Voyages of the Blue Pelican, which appears to be in development, but in an interesting part of space.

Just recently we've started back in with the latest couple of sessions of my Tunnels of Tonivar game, set in the RimWorlds. During the second session a situation arose where it was easier to map out the encounter than try to describe it and keep it all straight in everyone's heads.

As we were playing at Chris' house, he broke out some figures to stand in for the various characters. This all worked well and the encounter was resolved successfully, but I was slightly disappointed that we didn't have some science fiction figures to use. It does cause a little break in the the suspension of disbelief if the Aslan in the party is represented by a Frost Giant.

Traveller Adventurers, ready for anything

While I love my 15mm Science Fiction figures, and have painted a couple of hundred over the last few years, we're all getting a little older and picking out individual characters at standard wargames distance has got that much more difficult. I do happen to have a bunch of 25mm - 28mm scale science fiction figures I had picked up over the years in a box - one of a number of projects started and put aside over the years - so I hunted them out and had a look at them.

In this first batch we see (Left to Right): A Kalar-Wi in Combat Armour (Denizen Miniatures Ventauran); Female Adventurer (Pilot, Agent, Merchant - I don't recall the manufacturer Edit: turns out she's from Denizen Miniatures as well); Female ex-Marine in Combat Armour (don't recall the manufacturer Edit: Spacelords figure, now produced by eM4); Male Adventurer in Combat Armour (possibly Denizen Miniatures Federation Edit: can confirm that this figure is from Denizen's Federation range); Male Adventurer (Pilot, Agent, Merchant, Enforcer - Grenadier Cyberpunk miniature).

There are some very nice figures in that collection - from various companies active in the 1980's and 1990's - and so I pulled out a dozen to paint up, while ordering some extras in from overseas. As I was doing this, the New Zealand economy took a major hit and the dollar dropped in the toilet against such currencies as the US dollar, the UK pound and the Zanzibar shekel - so no more new toys for me for a while.

Aloin's Saga - Solo Traveller #16

“Iridium Queen, you are clear on approach vector 231, azimuth 140, at 0.85g deceleration,” the Floranan Traffic Control Officer sounded bored. “Switch to Channel 21421 at 100,000 klicks for Close Orbit TC and docking instructions.”

Aloin tapped the comm key. “Affirmative, Florana TC. Iridium Queen inbound on 231, azimuth 140, decel 0.85,” he said. “Switching to 21421 for Close Orbit TC. Iridium Queen, clear.” Closing the channel, he glanced up at the back of Captain Lukk’s head, even as he reset the main Comm . “We good on that, Captain?” he asked.

“Eh, what?” Elera Lukk asked, starting awake and sitting up suddenly in her chair. Miska Ilurrin snuffle-laughed from Navigation.

“Don’ worry, ‘lera,” she whispered. “Course lock’d. Three hours to Close Orbit. You want t’go lie down fo’ bit?”

Lukk glared at her and then yawned. “Three hours, you say?” she said at last.

Miska nodded. “Me ‘n’ the lad will keep an eye,” she said. “Scan’s clear. One outbound freight’r. Kampie No sign of Kampie Navy.”

Lukk pulled herself out of the pilot’s chair and stretched. She turned and glared at Aloin. “You keep a sharp eye on scan,” she said. “I don’t want any surprises. Speak that freighter once the Light Speed delay gets down to a reasonable factor. They should have news from Kamperel, things like traffic, cargos, or other information we can use.”

Aloin bobbed his head and shunted Scan up onto the main screen. “Yes, Captain,” he said. “The outbound is the Flower of Kamperel, Kamperelian registry. She’s on track for Ektra, by the look of it. We’ll be in under ten second delay in forty minutes.”

Lukk examined the main screen display. The boy’s numbers and analysis looked spot on. She grunted. “You call them in forty, and me in sixty,” she said at last and then hobbled off the bridge, heading for her bunk. Frak, she hated getting old.

---

“... and average temperature was around twenty-six degrees celsius when we left there, about 178 hours ago,” Aloin said. He laughed. “Humidity was high, though. Afternoon swims were almost compulsory.” The light speed delay was still seven and a half seconds, which made casual chat a chore, but Eisther, the Seconday comm tech on the Flower of Kamperel, was bored, patient, and rather pretty.

“Twenty-six degrees?” she asked. “Gosh, it was just over freezing when we left Kamperel. Van Zaquerl Downport was under fifteen centimetres of snow. We had to de-ice before takeoff. Didn’t want to drop lumps of ice on the housing estates around the starport.”

“Once we offload at Florana, my skipper’s talking about making a run into Kamperel. Anything we should look out for?”

Eisther glanced over her shoulder and then leaned into the comm pickup. “Might not be such a good plan, at the moment,” she said quietly. “Security was at ‘Heightened’ when we left. We had a twelve hour hold because the purser hadn’t completed all documentation. Missed our slot, and the Captain went mega-bilious on him. Busted him a pay grade, too. Then, the System Guard was all over us, outbound, put us in the low acceleration lane and pinged the Captain for not keeping to schedule. So she had another go at Primeday crew, and they passed the proverbial onto us on Seconday.” She shook her head. “Kamperel’s tight for us, and we’re local. You Impies would get old and die in a decaying orbit.”

Aloin laughed. “Okay, thanks for the head’s up,” he said, gesturing “hold” to Elera Lukka as she entered the Iridium Queen’s bridge. “Hey, I’m back through this way from time to time. Perhaps, we can catch up, dockside?”

“Perhaps, Iridium boy, perhaps,” Eisther smiled and then sat bolt upright in her chair, listening. Aloin could hear a muffled announcement over the Flower of Kamperel’s internal speakers. “Thank you, Iridium Queen,” she said, speaking clearly and carefully, “safe travels. Jumping in ten. Flower of Kamperel clear.” She winked and cut the connection.

Smiling to himself, Aloin swung his chair around. Elera Lukk was watching him intently, a quizzical look on her face. Aloin sat up straight. “Captain?” he said.

“Mr Grathikka?” Lukk replied. “I trust you have something to relate, other than tales of your conquest?”

Aloin swallowed nervously. “Yes, Captain,” he said. “Word from the Flower of Kamperel is that the Kamperelians are on high alert ...”

Lukk waived a hand. “Yes, yes, yes, I heard all that,” she snapped. “Kampies on the warpath, a fairly regular occurrence. One day, they’ll actually do something about it, rather than moaning and whining, and then they’ll get their posteriors handed to them on a plate.”

Aloin cleared his throat. “Kamperel’s a High Population, Poor, Industrial world,” he said. “Florana’s a Non-Industrial world. We could pick up a cargo of raw materials of some sort, or even food stuffs, at Florana and make a reasonable profit shipping it to Kamperel. The downside, from what Eisther ... ah, the comm tech on the Flower of Kamperel, said, is that with the Kamperelians so stirred up, we’re likely to hit delays and searches – especially if we get tangled up in their red tape. Also, the “Protection Against Piracy” levy we encountered at Florana is still in place at around ten percent. So heading to Kamperel could be an expensive, and lengthy, trip.”

Lukk cocked her head. “Your recommendation?”

“We unload our freight at Florana, as planned,” Aloin said prompltly, “and then pick up either cargo or freight for Ektra or Omega Vasalai IX, and then do a sweep down the Miazan Main.”

“You’ve given this some thought, haven’t you?” Lukk asked.

“Yes Captain,” Aloin replied.

Lukk, settled herself into the pilot’s chair. “Okay,” she said at last. “Go grab a sandwich and see if there’s any xhu left – you know how I like mine. I need a little time to think.”

As Aloin clattered down the corridor, Miska glanced at Lukk. “’e’s a smart lad,” she whispered.

Elera Lukk grunted. “Wonder if the Flower of Kamperel is headed for Ektra or Omega Vasalai IX?” she grumbled as she began to set up her board for docking at Florana Highport.

Secrets in Sulfur Part 2: On the Trail of the Worm #1

Our cast of characters:

John – Boris Clapshaw, ex Army Infantry Sergeant
Jonathan – Riishaa Daanel, ex Marine
Dylan – Count Asenault “Chivers” Washington-Pipps, retired Marine Colonel
Chris – “Bunty” Staffburger, ex Marine Force Commander

Recap:

Bunty Staffburger meets up with his old friend Count Asenault "Chivers" Washington-Pipps, Chivers' batman Riishaa Daanel and Boris Clapshaw, a friend of Daanel's, on Por’via. The three of them are heading off to do some mercenary work in the Geithurian Republic and have stopped over on Por’via before leaving Imperial Space.

Bunty’s girlfriend, Selia Vuir – a sulfur miner – is overdue from her shift. She has mentioned finding a cache of sunstones – opal-like gemstones – which she had intended to sell, under the counter, to Jorgan Kiorpanos, the local VenGems Holdings agent. Bunty and his companions venture out into the badlands above the sulfur flats to try and locate her. Instead they discover mysterious vargr, vicious alien lifeforms called irrijari, and a buried shuttle craft belonging to a mysterious methane-breathing species called the Mi’yargin. The ship has been on Por’via for around 200 years. The Mi’yargin have managed to save Selia, who was injured by the irrijari, by melding her mind into their Collective Consciousness, while they alter her body to better survive in a methane atmosphere.

Once the companions deal with the Vargr, and with the irrijari, the Mi’yargin shuttle takes off to rejoin its mothership, hidden in the rings of the Por’via system’s gas giant. While heading out-system, the companions realize that they are being followed by the Vargr freighter Akhska that was in port, and which was noted for its crew not speaking Gvegh – the standard Vargr language.

The Mi’yargin Nullship is a planetesimal-sized, icy structure, deep in the gas giant’s ring system. A crater near the equator turns out to be a large, external shuttle bay. Gaining access to the Mi'yargin's internal transportation system, Chivers and his companions are able to ambush Captain Vegh and the Akhska’s crew and seize their ship by emerging directly beneath the freighter through the nullship’s surface. The Mi’yargin Collective, having successfully reintegrated the Collective of the shuttle crew, are able to assist Chivers and his companions in translating some of the information discovered aboard the Akhska, and interrogating the one surviving Vargr crewbeing. The Akhska has come a long way – from Waystar in Cabria Subsector where someone called Aia issues orders to Captain Vegh and the crew of the Akhska. The Vargr aboard the Akhska speak an ancient Vargr language called Arrghoun - older than, and distinct from, Gvegh, the language of most Imperial Vargr. The Arrghoun Vargr refer to their employer as Aeroukh Doaengosra - “Lord (or Prince) Whipworm”. The Mi’yargin Collective wonders if Lord Whipworm may in fact be a Danshihabi, an ancient enemy of the Mi’yargin and referred to, by them, as “thieves and carrion worms”.

The Mi’yargin ask Chivers and his companions to journey along the Akhska’s back trail to Waystar to learn more about Lord Whipworm, and to report back to the Collective at a rendezvous point in the Yuar Outsystem in Cabria Subsector. The Collective turns the Akhska over to Civers and throws in a little something to continue their association – a large, sarcophagus-like object.

---

The sarcophagus-like object delivered to the ship turns out to be a very old Lowberth capsule, and when this is activated, Chivers and his companions meet Amin Soshousis, a Scout. Exploring the Por’via system in 922, just before the 1st Outrim War, Amin’s Scout ship collided with the Mi’yargin Nullship. She managed to get into her Lowberth before the catastrophic failure of her ship’s life support system. The Mi’yargin managed to retrieve her Lowberth, did a preliminary scan of its systems, and then put it into storage as events unfolded on Por'via, keeping it safe for 200 years.

Music tastes change in 200 years

It takes Amin several days to recover from her extended Lowberth time, and Boris and Bunty are surprised at how well she seems to adjust to the massive time displacement she has experienced. Apart from her slightly antiquated figures of speech, and her very old style Scout uniform, there is little to distinguish her from someone of a more contemporary origin. When asked about this, Amin admits that every day she is having to make little adjustments as she discovers items that work slightly differently, or products that taste or function slightly differently. But, having served as a Field Scout for a number of years, she is used to being transient - never making attachments as duty usually moves one on - and she is used to discovering and experiencing new things. Working a Vargr ship is actually less of a culture shock than discovering all the people she knew are gone and all the bands she used to listen to are now considered Classical Music.

Once Amin, and Knaes – the captured Vargr whom Daanel has convinced to join the new pack – have worked out the basic bridge control layout, the Akhska leaves the Nullship. Slipping back to Por’via in an attempt to recover Selia’s Sunstone stash, the companions find that it has been picked clean. An attempt to hunt down the scavengers, thought to possibly be associates of Jorgan Kiorpanos, the VenGems agent who was killed by the irrijari, proves fruitless, so Chivers and his associates decide to leave Por’via and set out on their mission for the Mi'yargin.

The Akhska is a Gaeouz Class Far Trader, with a three parsec Jump range and 3Gs of acceleration. Having extracted more data from the Akhska’s log, Chivers and his associates have learnt that the ship transited through Evvikkim while heading for Por’via, and that there seems to have been some message traffic between Captain Vegh and an agent of Aia's operating on-planet. Amin is very reluctant to enter Geithurian space, even when assured that some time has passed since the last Outrim War (the 4th which, Amin argues, proves her point as she entered her Lowberth just prior to the 1st Outrim War). Having assured her that they will not remain longer than necessary in-system, they eventually plot a course from Por’via, via Jul'ni and Hiona in Geithurian space, before jumping on to Evvikkim.

On approach to Evvikkim, Amin informs Chivers and his companions that she is picking up an automated message being tight beamed to their ship. The message is in code and in Arrghoun, which the Bunty and Daanel are able to crack. The message appears to be from a local agent of Aia’s, saying that a strange ship has been spotted in the Evvikkim system and asking the Akhska to get word to Aia.

Evvikkim Downport shows signs of decay, as if it was once a lot busier than it now is. Very few Evvikkimians are evident, and all look pale and drawn. Also, no children are evident within the starport concourse, while the bulk of the service work at the starport is performed by gangs of Vargr of different origins. Large areas of the starport have been mothballed, or partially shut down, and many areas are dusty and unserviced, as if no-one has ventured into them in many years. Even snack food dispensers are lightly coated in a film of dust, and are stocked with older style packets of snacks.

Chivers and Boris Clapshaw meet Sholoam Kharii, Head of Security for Evvikkim Downport, a tall and cadaverous Vilani and who, like all Evvikkimians, wears slightly archaic styled clothing. Amin is convinced that she recognises him, and that he was head of security when she last passed through Evvikkim – over 200 years ago. Sholoam seems a little suspicious when Chivers talks of picking up a cargo, and advises Chivers and his associates to be wary of the Vargr groups that frequent the starport, and in particular a group lead by Angtuez.

While Chivers and his companions are out looking for cargos and news, Amin is abducted from the Akhska by a Vargr gang. Giving chase, Chivers and company track down her assailants in an abandoned maze of tunnels between the starport and Evvikkim City and, after a shootout, rescue her from the band of Vargr led by Angtuez.

Getting back aboard the ship, Chivers and his associates are thoroughly convinced that Evvikkim is getting all a bit too creepy, and so they perform an emergency takeoff, damaging the access tunnel to their docking bay in the process. With threats of legal retribution reverberating from the ship’s comm., the Akhska heads for the system gas giant, Lamo VIII, to refuel while a debate rages over their next move.

Aloin's Saga - Solo Traveller #15

This picks up the Solo Traveller game I was relating back in December ...

---

Across the field, the A.K.I. Interstellar freighter Carsuhlan lifted off. The roar of its thrusters cracked through the sticky, summer air. Flocks of small, seed-eating avians whirled and skittered in panic amongst the warehouses and gantries that lined the rim of the loading apron. Lying in the shade of the Iridium Queen’s dorsal turret, Aloin glanced up from the book he was reading on his handcomp, automatically watching how the skipper of the freighter handled her heavily ladened ship. The Carsuhlan slowly circled the field, climbing into the green-blue Naltor sky in a long spiral. A kilometer high, it straightened up and began to accelerate hard. Going transonic, the flare of the main drive slowly faded against the light of rising Secthon as the jet stream gently pulled the vapour trail to pieces.

His eyes tracking down from the departing ship, Aloin spotted movement through the heat haze near one of the warehouses. Checking the chrono on his handcomp, he keyed the send button. “Kiirgun, I think our freight’s on the way.” He winced as he heard a metallic crash from the main cargo hatch below.

Grabbing his handcomp, Aloin eeled through the turret’s escape hatch, dogging it closed behind him. Sliding down the service ladder to the gunner’s station, he quickly checked that the hatch was sealed and armed, before sprinted down the corridor to the downladder to the cargo hold.

Sliding down the hand rails, he arrived in time to see Kiirgun scooping tools back into the toolbox trolley. “Frakkin’ thing fell over,” Kiirgun muttered, flinging wrenches and spanners into the toolbox. Holi Pradeen, the ship’s portly engineer, was sitting in a hammock chair in the breeze by the main hatch and shaking with laughter. As Aloin paused, confused, Holi waved a hand. “I told him the tool trolley wasn’t a good seat,” he wheezed, wiping his face with a handkerchief. “The brakes weren’t on. And then his ‘comp went off, and he jumped, and it all fell over.” Holi began laughing again.

As the haulers pulled up in front of the main hatch, Captain Elera Lukk stumped onto the cargo deck, leaning heavily on her stick. She made a great play of casually filling her pipe and lighting it as the driver from Odinventox was obliged to exit his air-conditioned cab and walk up the ramp to present his waybill. Glancing disdainfully at the proffered paper, Captain Lukk extracted her handcomp from her belt pouch. As the driver glared, Lukk downloaded an electronic copy of the waybill from the local Odinventox server and pinged the request for acknowledgement to the driver’s ‘comp in his hauler’s cab.

As the last hauler pulled away from the Iridium Queen, the starport floods were lighting up. Errai, the system primary, was setting, though Secthon was high and bright and Ninix was rising. Lukk glanced at Aloin. “Yes,” she said, “it was a petty thing to do, but Odinventox – the multi-system megacorp – has messed us around over this freight for nearly ten days. And I took it out on one of their drivers. But, you might have noticed, the arrogance of the masters is reflected in the minions.

“Now, we are not a rich ship, but we are owned free and clear by my family. My family is by no means House Major in status but, on Celephais, we are House Minor, and war heroes, and not without lineage or standing. And so as the Captain of a Free Trader, and as the representative of a House Minor, I think I might expect just a little respect from a truck driver, even one employed by a Megacorp such as Odinventox.”

Lukk blew a smoke ring from her pipe. It hung in the still, sultry evening air as she stared moodily out into the growing darkness. The starport floods were not yet bright enough to blot out the conflicting shadows thrown by the two moons, Secthon and Ninix. “When you and Kiirgun finish the tie-downs, report to the bridge,” she said at last. She glanced at Aloin. “You do have permission to shower first,” she added, and then smiled. “We have a launch window at 2315 and you’re plotting our transit to Jump. I would recommend grabbing something to eat, as well.”

As the Iridium Queen climbed out of Naltor’s gravity well, Captain Lukk stared glumly at her boards. “Four frakkin’ weeks being messed around by three megacorps,” she muttered. Aloin glanced up from Scan. “Kiirgun was right,” Lukk continued. “He said Naltor would be a waste of time. Megacorps fill their own, first, then shipping lines they want favours from, and then what’s left goes to the bottom feeders.”

“Where are we heading, now, Captain?” Aloin asked.

“Kamperel,” Lukk said, succinctly.

Miska glanced at her. “Really?” she whispered. “After all the neg’tive chatter we hearin’? You want t’go there?”

“No!” Lukk snapped. “I do not want to go there but, in case you haven’t noticed, we haven’t exactly been swimming in cargo lately.”

“Word is, they want a war.”

“As long as they don’t want it within the next 1400 hours, we will be in, out, and over on Miazan having a jarus steak dinner with Celephaisian Rum Cocktails.”

The Tunnels of Tonivar: Chapter 2 The Bromosian Gambit

Characters:
John – Akira Valdez, Ex - Merchant
Chris – Nimrod ‘Nim’ Higgins, Ex- Marine Commando
Jonathan – John Hawkwood , ex Marine

Akira Valdez and Nimrod 'Nim' Higgins survived an exciting treasure hunt on Tonivar/Cabria, as related here, befriended a group of Kiang revolutionaries, and relieved a Kalar-Wi officer of his ship. After dodging through Kalar-Wi Space, the newly renamed Harmony and her intrepid crew reached the Imperial world of Celephais where they were able to dispose of their valuable cargo.

In the aftermath of the excitement of selling the Kalar-Wi Honour Chest to Ghorman Holk of Holk, Garstil and Vorshu; Antiquarians, Valdez and Nim secured a load of ACRs and ammunition for the Kiang of the Harmony, and for the Phagouran Nak Prah Revolutionary movement back on Gaidon in Cabria Subsector. Nim then decided that having another human security specialist onboard could be an asset, given that Valdez’s plan was to trade around the Subsector, raising funds for the revolution. After a bit of hunting around, Nim and Valdez hired John Hawkwood, ex Imperial Marines, as Steward and Security.

While sorting out the munitions cargo, Nim and Hawkwood became aware that the Harmony was under surveillance from another group of Kiang. Tracking them back through the starport, Nim and Hawkwood discovered that these Kiang were linked to a small Kalar-Wi ship that had recently arrived in port.

While considering their options, Nim received an X-Boat message from his father, Osiris Higgins.

“Son, if you receive this then I may be in a spot of difficulty.

Gaspar Hourlanti and I have a lead on the whereabouts of Gilbert Chor. He wasn’t on Naltor, as we had thought. Seems that Sam and Isfan, his sons, have been having some dealings with Phorgan sa Vaspran, Minister of the Interior for President for Life Count Sakkan of Bromus. The Chors have a compound in the main town, Hasamton, as well as an estate just out of Bromus Downport.

If I don’t reset the auto tag on this message every two days, it will upload to the next X-Boat. If you get this message, I haven’t made it back to the Starport.

Remember, the Bromosians are xenophobic and touchy as heck. They have a couple of ex-Imperial SDBs deployed insystem and they don’t like people taking liberties.

See you soon, Son. Let’s show those Chor’s a thing or two.”

This message provoked some debate between Valdez and Nim as to where they should head next. Eventually, they agreed that they needed to get to Bromus and see what sort of a mess Osiris “Ossi” Higgins had got himself into. Valdez was aware of his old friend’s rather shady merchant history but he wasn’t aware of the details of the feud with Gilbert Chor. All Nim could recall was that the feud was long standing and Gilbert Chor had swindled Ossi out of a cargo, though the details were a little vague as they kept changing, depending upon what sort of mood Ossi was in at the time.

Picking up a spec cargo, the Harmony cleared Celephais Downport and headed for Udara IX, the system Gas Giant, to refuel before Jump. Detecting a ship in pursuit, Valdez had Tak Tai Nok and Von Dat Goh, the two Kiang leaders and bridge crew, change course for Udara VI, a small rocky world otherwise ignored by insystem traffic. Dropping into near orbit, they quickly selected a suitable spot in a crater, landed the Harmony, and set up an ambush under an overhang in the crater wall.

As the pursuing ship drew closer, Valdez and Tak managed to work out that it was probably the 150ton Kalar-Wi yacht that was in port with them on Celephais. Then, as the yacht put itself into an overflight orbit, it was suddenly jumped by a 300 ton armed merchant that had also been on an outbound vector. The two ships engaged and the 300tonner, the Diamond Angel, quickly disabled the yacht, causing it to crash into a mountain near the crater where the Harmony was lying in wait.

Hailing the Diamond Angel, Valdez found himself talking to Sam Chor, the ship’s captain and the son of Gilbert Chor, Ossi Higgins’ old enemy. Sam Chor told Valdez that he is just a simple merchant captain, but that after a bad experience during the Kalar-Wi War, he still considered the Kalar-Wi to be “the enemy” and that, as far as he is concerned, the Kalar-Wi will resume the war as soon as they are ready.

By this stage, Celephais Traffic Control was demanding that the Diamond Angel stand down and prepare to be boarded by System Patrol as, apparently, they did not share Sam Chor’s contention that the only good Kalar-Wi is a dead one. Sam, in response, ordered his ship to full acceleration and as it cleared 100 planetary diameters from Udara VI, the Diamond Angel Jumped outsystem.

After quickly checking the crash site of the yacht for survivors, the Harmony also headed outsytem. Von and Valdez determined that to get to Bromus, the Harmony needed to head for Byer’s Planet and then transit Kamperelian Space, via Ektra, to reach Omega Vasalai IX. After that, Bromus was just Jump-2 away.

As the Harmony dropped down into the Byer’s Planet system, Valdez had Von scanning the Traffic Control board for word of the Diamond Angel. Eventually, they learned that the Diamond Angel had transited the system a day before the Harmony, refuelling at the system Gas Giant and then Jumping on again. Valdez decided that it was worth trying to source a spec cargo before heading for Ektra as the lag time between the Harmony and the Diamond Angel was still within the margin of error on Jump (while the mean time in Jump is 168 hours, there is a small variance, and a long Jump by the Harmony while the Diamond Angel was short Jumping could put the two ships almost on top of each other). As it transpired, Byer’s Planet didn’t have a lot going for it and the Harmony pressed on.

Arriving at Ektra, Valdez was rather put out to discover a Kamperlian import tax on all goods crossing the X-T line. While he could offload some of his cargo for a small profit, the Kamperelian “Anti-Piracy” tax would mean he was trading at a loss. Refuelling, the Harmony Jumped for Imperial space.

Omega Vasalai IX, a barren rock settled by a religious community over two hundred and sixty years ago, had little to offer the average traveller besides the basic services of a waystation. While the crew of the Harmony serviced the life support and restocked the galley, Nim took a quick walk around the concourse. Near a tea shop, he thought he spotted a familiar figure, his father’s sometimes business partner Gaspar Hourlanti. Following Gaspar into the tea shop, Nim watched with interest as the old rogue was joined in his booth by an attractive younger woman. As Nim mulled over ways of introducing himself into their intense conversation, he noticed a casually dressed man with a military-style haircut entering the teashop.

As soon as Gaspar’s companion spotted the newcomer, both Gaspar and the woman hurried out the rear exit of the teashop. As the newcomer gave chase, Nim caught up with him just as he reached the exit. During the frantic fist fight that followed, the newcomer attempted to pull a gun from his jacket pocket, only for Nim to knock him out with a right hook.

After dealing with Starport security, Nim was permitted to return to the Harmony while the newcomer is arrested for causing an affray and having an illegal weapon. Arriving back at the ship, and reporting in to Valdez, Nim checked his handcomp and discovered an old number for Gaspar. Tapping the number, Nim was surprised when Gaspar answered. After a brief conversation, Gaspar agreed to come to the Harmony and talk to Nim.

A short time later, Gaspar appeared at the main hatch of the Harmony. He was accompanied by the young lady from the teashop. Once they were safely ensconced in the crew commons, Gaspar introduced his companion as Sheri Daxunn, Imperial Intelligence Agency. To Nim and Valdez’s amazement, it transpired that Ossi and Gaspar had been working for Agent Daxunn as contractors, investigating the mysterious Stranman Society.

Aras Stranman of Gamelea was Sector Admiral of the RimWorlds under Sector Duke Neal Zuro III. When the Duke died in 842 – 267 years ago – Stranman sought to play the honest broker between the various factions and then, in an attempt to forestall the looming civil war, permitted his Fleet Officers to elect him Sector Duke. Stranman lasted two years as Sector Duke before being executed. Seen as an honest military man providing much-needed leadership in a time of troubles, who was deceived, and ultimately betrayed, by treacherous and venal politicians, a persistent mythology has grown up around the person of Aras Stranman. A Stranman Society sprang up amongst retired military officers in the 990’s, as the Sector again approached a crisis in leadership, and claimed to draw inspiration from Aras Stranman’s actions 150 years earlier. Usually viewed as a debating society and grumbling club for disgruntled ex-officers, the Imperial Intelligence Agency maintains a watching brief on the Society as, periodically, the Society has spawned dangerous conspiracies.

That such a conspiracy is currently active is the belief of senior IIA analysts and Agent Daxunn, and others, are investigating. Daxunn was following up leads amongst some of the smuggler groups active in Miazan Subsector, and had contracted Ossi and Gaspar to monitor the Chor family’s operations to see if they were tied in with the Society.

Nim mentioned the X-Boat message he received from Ossi, and described the encounter between the Harmony and the Diamond Angel in the Celephais System. Valdez recalled that the Diamond Angel had loaded a cargo of G-Carriers at Celephais. Agent Daxunn looked concerned. Given that Ossi's message had mentioned a working arrangement between the Chors and the Bromosian Minister for the Interior, and given the equipment that the Chors seemed to be shipping to that rather low-tech world, Agent Daxunn could see the makings of a potentially nasty political situation, even if the Stranman Society was not involved. As the Harmony was already heading for Bromus in search of Ossi, Daxunn requested that her team be allowed to hitch a ride to determine what was really going on there. Beginning to wonder what they had got themselves into, Nim and Valdez agreed and then set about getting the Harmony ready to lift off.

Secrets in Sulphur Session 3

Dylan was unable to make Session 3 of my Classic Traveller game, so I ran Chivers as an NPC.

Our cast of characters:

John – Boris Clapshaw, ex Army Infantry Sergeant
Jonathan – Riishaa Daanel, ex Marine
Dylan – Count Asenault “Chivers” Washington-Pipps, retired Marine Colonel
Chris – “Bunty” Staffburger, ex Marine Force Commander

Recap:
Session 1 is here and Session 2 is here.

Attempting to find "Bunty" Staffburger's lady friend, Selia, who has gome missing out on the sulphur flats of Por'via, Staffburger and his friends "Chivers" Washington-Pipps, Riishaa Daanel and Boris Clapshaw stumble across gem thieves, mysterious Vargr, fast and vicious alien life forms, and a buried shuttle craft crewed by the enigmatic Mi'yargin. The Mi'yargin's efforts to rescue Selia have resulted in her body being artifically sustained while her conciousness has merged with the Mi'yargin Collective. After ridding the shuttle craft of an infestation of vicious irrijari, the Mi'yargin take off from Por'via to rendezvous with their Nullship.

Game Play
Chivers and the guys make themselves as comfortable as they can in the methane atmosphere of the Mi’yargin small craft as it begins the long haul to Harrimol VIII, the Por’via System gas giant. Once there, the Mi'yargin intend to rendezvous with their Nullship, hidden in the ring system. Behind them, the Vargr freighter Akhska, which left Por’via about the same time as the Mi’yargin shuttle, is following a similar heading towards the gas giant. As yet, neither the party nor the Mi'yargin have been able to establish what its purpose might be.

Three days after leaving Por’via, the Mi’yargin shuttle is deep in the system of moons and rings around the large gas giant. The holographic projector in the Mi’yargin Second’s room shows the shuttle’s projected orbital track. It appears to intersect the track of a large, icy object within the ring plane.

As the shuttle begins to dip into the ring plane, Chivers and the guys are shown an image of the object they are closing with. While it appears to be an icy planetesimal, several hundred metres in diameter, the regularity of its shape and the smoothness of its exterior make it stand out as a possible artificial construct. As the ship draws closer, Clapshaw and Daanel make out what appears to be a rather regular shaped crater in the surface of the planetesimal. Very soon their suspicions are confirmed as the shuttle prepares to land within the crater – the crater is actually a docking bay and the planetesimal is the Mi’yargin Nullship.

With little fuss, the shuttle comes to rest in the docking bay and an ice-covered gantry extrudes from the docking bay wall to connect to the shuttle. Informed that they will have to make the crossing to the Nullship in vacuum, Clapshaw and Daanel point out that only they have sealed combat armour. Chivers and Staffburger are still wearing their combat environment suites which are fast reaching the end of their operational lives. The Second places a small, jelly-like blob on Chivers’ and Staffburger’s CES helmets. After a moment, the blobs spread out to envelope both men’s Environment suits. A type of nanotech, the blobs are programmed to form vacuum seals around objects they are placed upon.

After crossing the gantry, the party enter the Nullship. They discover a short corridor which leads to what looks like a subway car. There is a dull bronze-coloured half-globe on the wall of the car. Eventually, Staffburger discovers that the globe acts as both a communication device and a controller for the subway car. Quickly, he learns that he can call up a schematic of the Nullship and, by connecting two points on the schematic, direct the subway car across, and through, the ship. The interior of the Nullship, it seems, is in a state of fluidity, shaping and reshaping itself as required.

Meanwhile, Selia contacts them via the half-globe. She tells them that the Mi’yargin Collective from the Shuttle is in the process of reintegrating itself into the Collective of the Nullship. As this process will take a little time and a lot of attention and energy, the Collective request that the party deal with the potentially hostile ship that is now in final approach. Manipulating the half-globe, Staffburger is able to direct its point of view beyond the interior of the Nullship and spots the Akhska, the Vargr freighter, preparing to land near the shuttle dock. Staffburger is able to manoeuvre the subway car to a point near where the ship touches down. He also locates a series of spiracles that allow access to the surface from near-surface passages.

Soon, seven suited and armed Vargr leave the Akhska and head towards the shuttle bay. As soon as they pass over the Nullship’s horizon, Chivers, Daaeel and Clapshaw pop out of a spiracle directly under the Akhska while Staffburger continues to monitor the situation from the subway car. Clambering up the ladder to the main lock, Clapshaw discovers that the external hatch hasn’t been secured. Quickly cycling the lock, Clapshaw, Daanel and Chivers squeeze in and cycle through. They emerge in the ship’s suit room, much to the surprise of the Vargr guarding the lock. A sudden movement on his part sets Daneel and Clapshaw off, with fatal results for the Vargr. Daanel, Clapshaw and Chivers then quickly move to secure the ship. Another Vargr is found on bridge watch but he wisely surrenders.

By the time Staffburger makes it aboard, the Vargr expeditionary force is aware that something is amiss and is heading back towards the Akhska. While the Mi’yargin Nullship looks like a small moon, it lacks the mass to generate more than a fractional gravitational field so the Vargr are attempting to hurry across the surface while wearing magnetic boots to stop them achieving escape velocity. Chivers makes contact with the Vargr, inviting them to surrender while Daanel climbs up through the dorsal hatch to take up a firing position on the upper hull of the ship. While most Vargr living in Imperial Space in the RimWorlds speak a language called Gvegh – or one of several dialects derived from it, the Vargr that the party are currently engaged with speak Arrghoun – a much more ancient language. Consequently, not a lot of headway is made with negotiations until they discover that one of the Vargr speaks Trade Lingo, a pidgin version of Imperial Basic. Even this does little to resolve the stand-off, as the Vargr, having lost Charisma by losing their ship, can only regain Charisma by retaking the ship and suitably punishing the humans.

Daanel, from the upper hull, and Clapshaw, from the main hatch, are soon matching their gauss rifles against the laser rifles and accelerator rifles of the Vargr. With little cover on the surface of the Nullship, the Vargr are quickly over-matched and disposed of, leaving the party in control of the ship.

A short time later, the Mi’yargin Collective resumes communication with the party, still ensconced aboard the Vargr ship and trying to make sense of the ship's controls and computer which are all labelled in Arrghoun. The Collective offers its assistance. From fragmentary notes in a journal in a safe in the Captain's cabin, and from partially translated communications in the ship's log, the Collective gains the impression that the Vargr have come a long way, from Waystar in Cabria Subsector, on a mission for a "Lord Whipworm" - Aeroukh Doaengosra in Arrghoun. The Collective wonder if this "Lord Whipworm" might, in fact, be an old enemy of the Mi'yargin - the Danshihabi.

Expressing their gratitude and satisfaction with the party, the Mi’yargin produce the consignment of heavy metals they had promised for the party's aid against the irrijari. They also pass up any claim to the Vargr ship. While the party are debating how they will move the ship as none of them is a skilled pilot, the Mi’yargin indicate that, in return for the party undertaking to locate Lord Whipworm, and to bring such information as they can gather to a rendezvous with the Mi'yargin in the Yuar System in Cabria Subsector, they might be able to help. A long, sarcophagus-like storage container is added to the cargo pallet laden with the promised heavy metals. When Staffburger asks, rather plaintively, after Selia, the Collective indicate that her body is being remodelled to continue to live, but that her conciousness is becoming increasingly integrated into the Collective. Staffburger begins to doubt whether she will ever return to him.

After the cargo pallet is wheeled into the ship’s cargo bay, the party gather around to consider the sarcophagus, and what it might contain.

The Tunnels of Tonivar - Design Notes

Amongst my left over notes from the Tunnels of Tonivar game was a little section on the Kalar-Wi and their motives.

Group Leader Tur’vak Hrak’lar (the leader of the Kalar-Wi party) is the son of Senior Group Leader Gir’kla Hrak’lar who served in the Kalar-Wi Ground Force which occupied part of Tonivar during the war. Tur'vak's father was killed, allegedly after the Kalar-Wi surrender, at the end of the war. Tur’vak has organised a covert mission to recover his father’s personal Honour Chest as well as the Honour Chest of the 1st Groupment of the 12th Regiment in which Group Leader Hrak’lar served.

Accompanied by five of his unit brothers and with two veterans of the 1st Groupment as guides, Tur’vak has also brought 12 Kiang retainers as muscle and extra security. He has also managed to gain the use of a 200 ton armed freighter for a brief amount of time, as well as two sealed G-vans for local transport.

I think that when I started writing this, and the other material on the Kalar-Wi, they stopped being the remorseless evil bad guys of old and became - to me - people. Inspired, in part, by accounts of the relatives of World War II Japanese soldiers and airmen seeking to find just an item of equipment or clothing of their lost relative, it made me think a bit more about the Kalar-Wi, about their society, and how they might act and react.

While it's a pity I wasn't able to reveal this piece to the players, the discussion with the Antiquarian Ghorman Holk about the nature of the Kalar-Wi Honour Chest, and its importance in Kalar-Wi society did give the players a little insight into what motivates the Kalar-Wi.

The Tunnels of Tonivar

Kiang allies of the Kalar-Wi

Library Data:

Tonivar/Cabria C-200544-8 Non-Industrial/Vacuum

Tonivar, or Kalbia I, Downport has two tractor tugs. The Imperial Scout Base has a repair tug. Tonivar has two small moons – the larger, Ie, is 121 miles in diameter. The smaller, Fleck, is 16 miles in diameter.
Settled by a Vargr mercenary unit that the Imperium paid off with land, the 830,000 inhabitants have been growing restless as their resentment to being forced into becoming miners has increased. Parts of Tonivar were attacked by Kalar-Wi forces during the Kalar-Wi War and a number of warrens were damaged or destroyed. The survivors of the small Kalar-Wi occupation force were repatriated after the defeat of the Kalar-Wi in 1105, though rumors persist that the Tonivargr massacred a number of Kalar-Wi and their Kiang allies after the Kalar-Wi surrender, but before Imperial authorities could completely take control of the situation. A large number of Kiang now live and work on Tonivar, mainly in menial or dangerous low status jobs, sending money home to their families on Gaidon.

After getting caught out a little by the prep (or lack of it) I did for the Secrets in Sulphur sessions, when the opportunity came to run a little side game for John and Chris, I decided to approach this scenario slightly differently. As I mentioned in my last post, I initially used my “bang-two-ideas-together” method to suggest an over-arching theme for the adventure. Coming up with “abandoned base” and “treasure”, and then selecting Tonivar/Cabria as the location got me thinking about the next level down – who lived there, what was or had happened (“abandoned base”?), what was going on.

The library data entry, above, expanded on notes in my system book and, in turn, prompted me to expand my notes on the Kalar-Wi – as noted in my previous post. One thing that came through from thinking about the Kalar-Wi was that a “treasure” for a Kalar-Wi might be a different thing from a “treasure” for anyone else. And this, in turn, allowed me to work a couple of little wrinkles into the scenario to give the players an “aha” moment.

I then wrote up my ideas, making sure that I actually stretched myself and named all the minor characters – just in case someone asked an awkward question.

John decided to create a Merchant character from Book 7: Merchant Prince. I haven’t used Merchant Prince very much – it was published late in my first Traveller cycle – so we had a bit of fun working our way through the character generation process. John’s character, Akira Valdez, started out working for a subsector-wide shipping line. Through a series of bad assignment rolls, he found himself being progressively down-sized – from subsector-wide line to interface line to fledgling line. I suspected that if this trend had continued, then Valdez would have ended up running a concession stand at a D Class Starport. Eventually, after an exciting late career on a free trader, Akira Valdez mustered out after failing a reenlistment roll.

Chris’ character, Nimrod ‘Nim’ Higgins, on the other hand, was a more standard Book: 4 Marine, though he ended up with a rather truncated career – after transferring to the Commandos, he got parked in Staff College, got bored, and mustered out.

Characters:
John – Akira Valdez, Ex - Merchant
Chris – Nimrod ‘Nim’ Higgins, Ex- Marine Commando

Backstory:
Akira Valdez had spent the last couple of years working as a broker for Maash Freight, a fledgling line out of Celephais/Miazan. Injured on Naird/Cabria during a trade deal that went bad, Valdez was let go from his ship and transported back to Tonivar/Cabria in Imperial Space. While recuperating in a hospital at Tonivar Down, he managed to get word to an old friend on Miazan/Miazan, Osiris ‘Ossi’ Higgins, that he needed help. Ossi was committed to a trading voyage to Rimward and so sent his son, Nim Higgins – recently returned home after quitting Marine Staff College – in his place.

Game Play:
Akira Valdez was pretty much on the mend after his adventures out in the Outrim so he decided to take young Nim Higgins out for a night of cards and fun in the Tonivar Down bar district before they shipped out for Miazan/Miazan and home. While playing cards with a group of locals in a bar called Uesze’s, a drunken one-legged ex-soldier called Wai Toi threw a map into the pot. He swore that the map was authentic and that it showed the location of a Kalar-Wi Ground Force payroll in the ruined Laghdha warren, left over from the war four years ago. Wai Toi was in Ordinance Disposal after the war and took part in the sweeps of Kalar-Wi occupied warrens, looking for booby-traps and unexploded ordinance. He says that he never had the opportunity to go back to the Laghdha warren to pick up the pay tokens – he lost a leg to a booby-trap in a later warren clearance – but he knows of a collector on Celephais/Miazan called Ghorman Holk, of Holk, Garstil and Vorshu Antiquarians, who pays top rate for Kalar-Wi military memorabilia.

As Toi describes it, the pay tokens were in long, sausage-like, silk bags in a locked and armoured box. He repacked the contents of the strongbox in a plain Imperial storage box and stacked it in a pile of equipment in the warren administration office. Toi estimates that there were about Cr500,000 – the monthly pay for a battalion sized formation known to have occupied the Laghdha warren – in Kalar-Wi pay tokens, worth about Cr15,000 – Cr25,000 on the collectors’ circuit.

Sneaky GM note: Toi does not realise that what he has found is actually a Kalar-Wi Groupment’s Honour Chest – the tokens represent the various honours and awards that the Groupment (a battalion sized unit) has received during its existence. An intact Kalar-Wi Groupment Honour Chest is worth probably in the order of MCr 5 to MCr 10.

Nim did a little asking around and learnt that the Laghdha warren was indeed bombed out during the war, and only partially resealed after the war – four years ago – and that the authorities have still not got around to effecting more substantial repairs. Wai Toi is broke, and an invalid after his injury. Due to an administrative mess-up, instead of being Medivacced to Miazan, he was dishonourably discharged on Tonivar instead. He only discovered this when he woke up in a local hospital and found that his unit had pulled out. He has barely the funds for a Low Passage ticket back to Miazan where he will try and get a Veterans Affairs Lawyer to take his case. Nim also learns that Wai Toi has a reputation as a liar and a drunk. And that all that is known about him for sure is that he was in the Army, his unit was deployed to Tonivar and, it is said, he was Absent Without Leave when his unit was suddenly redeployed.

Kalar-Wi in Combat Armour

Having won the hand, and the map, Valdez slips Wai Toi Cr10,000 for a High Passage home and the chance to clear his name of the AWOL charge. Then, Valdez and Nim retire to have a look at the map they have won.

The Laghdha warren lies about 100 kilometres west of Tonivar Down in a valley. It was once an ancient lava cave and now consists of two main tunnel levels with various branches and smaller lines. Toi’s map shows the main entrance and the route to the administrative office, as well as sketchier details of the lower level and a secondary entrance further along the valley.

As Valdez and Nim prepare to head off to hire some transport, the friendly barman at Uesze’s suggests that they be careful. He’s seen some strangers around recently who remind him of the Kalar-Wi who were on-planet just a few years ago.

After hiring a sealed surface vehicle, as the subsurface monorail system has not been reconnected to Laghdha warren, Nim and Valdez set out, heading along the main northbound roadway in an effort to throw off any casual followers. About forty kilometres north of Tonivar Down, they turn off the main highway onto a secondary road heading west towards the range of hills lining the Laghdha valley. While climbing up the hillroad, they see two grav vans sail overhead, coming from Tonivar Down and heading towards the Laghdha valley and the Laghdha warrens. Assuming that Toi may have sold his map on more than one occasion, Nim and Valdez are not too surprised to crest the rise and spot the two grav vans parked outside the dome entrance to the warrens. As they watch from the crest of the rise, they see a number of vacc-suited people enter the dome.

Realising that they have competition, Nim and Valdez hastily head south, just below the ridgeline. Reaching the southern pass, they come down into the valley near the southern entrance dome. Hidden from the main entrance dome by the curve of the valley, Nim and Valdez are able to drive right up to the Southern Dome. They discover that the vehicle lock door has been breached but the pedestrian lock is still functioning. Once their vehicle is hidden inside the vehicle lock, Nim and Valdez manage to access the pedestrian lock. There is no power for the lifts but emergency lights are still running. Locating a stairwell, they begin climbing down a series of flights of steps until they reach a subway line on the lowest level.

As the stairwell and corridors contain a breathable, if rather stale, atmosphere, and there is some power on, Nim and Valdez are able to doff the helmets of their pressure suits. One of the subway cars is still working, so they set it in motion. Exiting the subway tunnel, the track continues northward along the main lower tunnel. The lower tunnel is about 40 metres wide with various smaller tunnels running off to the east and west. The “rail line” runs along the centre of the main hall and consists of parallel guide grooves for the wheeled carriages of the train. Riding the train north, both Nim and Valdez become very conscious that the only sound, in the dimly lit and abandoned hall, is the susurrus of their train’s tyres.

After what seems a very long ride through the gloomy main tunnel, Nim and Valdez locate a service stairwell that their map tells them will bring them out near the administration offices on the upper level. Leaving the train, they carefully ascend the stairs, emerging in a narrow corridor. Moving cautiously along it, they check the side rooms as they go. Then, they hear noises and see the flicker of flash lights coming from a side corridor, ahead.

Carefully peering around the corridor corner, Nim and Valdez find themselves looking into the central administration office suite for the warren. Various desks and other items of office furniture are in the process of being pushed aside and otherwise investigated by twelve small humanoids. While each is wearing a light pressure suit, all have their helmets off, revealing the dark blue skins, bald heads, and long ears of Kiang.

As Nim and Valdez watch the Kiang sifting through the stacks of office furniture, two taller figures emerge from one of the partitioned offices. As they step into the light, Valdez recognises them as two Kalar-Wi, wearing Kalar-Wi issue combat armour.

One of the two Kalar-Wi issues a stream of orders to the Kiang, sending them scurrying around the office, obviously looking for something, while two of their number are picked out and dispatched to explore further.

Nim and Valdez suddenly realise that the two Kiang are heading right towards them. They quickly scoot back into an empty office and wait as the Kiang pass by. After lying quiet for a few minutes, they hear the two Kiang coming back from their errand. The Kiang hesitate before turning into the corridor towards the administration centre, and then start arguing with each other.

Both Valdez and Nim come to the conclusion that these two Kiang are not very happy with the situation they find themselves in, nor with their Kalar-Wi masters. Getting the drop on them, Nim and Valdez question the Kiang further. Their names are Tak Tal Nok and Von Dat Goh and they are retainers of Group Leader Tur’vak Hrak’lar, the leader of the Kalar-Wi expedition. Tak and Von are also members of the Phagouran Nak Prah - or FhNP – the Kiang Separatist Movement known of the Harmonious Path.

Nim and Valdez persuade Tak and Von that they are the local FhNP cell’s best hope of defeating these Kalar-Wi and aiding the revolution. After some quick planning, Tak and Von enter the office suite and report to Group Leader Hrak’lar. As he dismisses them, they shout out to the other Kiang in Udah Gol Pranh – the Kiang native language, suppressed by the Kalar-Wi – to take cover.

As most of the Kiang drop to the floor, Nim and Valdez step in the room and open fire. A spectacular fire fight erupts as the rest of Group Leader Hrak’lar’s party of Kalar-Wi spill out of the offices and the Kiang join in, either firing on each other or at their overlords.

When the smoke clears four Kalar-Wi and five Kiang are down and the two surviving Kalar-Wi have fled. Along with Tak and Von, Nim and Valdez quickly check the offices and locate the pile of containers Wai Toi left behind during his team’s sweep of the warren. There is an obvious gap where a box has been removed.

Convinced that Tur’vak Hrak’lar, who survived the shoot out in the offices, has their treasure, Nim and Valdez give chase, with Tak, Von and the rest of the FhNP Kiang racing along behind. Reaching the main elevator at the Northern Entrance, Nim and Valdez see that the passenger car is heading towards the surface. Forcing the lift doors open, they fire up the lift shaft, damaging the lift and bringing it to a halt. Piling into the vehicle and freight elevator, Nim, Valdez and the Kiang make their way to the surface.

As the lift doors open, Nim and Valdez rush around the lift core to the passenger elevator. Bursting through the airlock separating the two halves of the entrance dome, Nim and Valdez see that the elevator door has been wedged open. It would appear that Hrak’lar and his companion managed to climb up the emergency ladder in the elevator shaft and made their escape in one of the two grav vans their party arrived in.

Piling into the other grav van, and with Tak driving, they chase off after Hrak’lar. Soon, they work out he’s heading for the starport and his ship. After a crazy chase through the hills east of the Laghdha valley, Tak manages to manoeuvre their grav van close enough to Hrak’lar’s van that Nim is able to shoot it down before they reach the Tonivar Down city limits.

Doubling back to the wrecked van, Valdez is able to recover the storage box containing the loot. Then, after some discussion with Tak and Von, a brazen plan for seizing the Kalar-Wi ship is hatched.

Driving discretely up to the starport gate, Tak and Von talk their way past security while Nim and Valdez keep out of sight in the rear of the van. En route to the landing pad, Von calls ahead to the ship. Claiming that “one of the Masters” is wounded, he implores the duty Kiang to open the cargo hatch so they can bring the “Master” aboard the ship in the grav van. After some off-mic discussion, the duty Kalar-Wi officer orders the van brought aboard.

As soon as the grav van is aboard and the cargo hold is restored to full atmosphere, Tak pops the lock on the van as the two Kalar-Wi officers enter the hold. As they approach the grav van, Nim and Valdez pop out of the back. “Surprise!” they say as they open fire.

The FhNP Kiang pile out of the grav van and quickly overcome their compatriots aboard ship. A number of heads are banged together and then the shipside Kiang see the wisdom of joining the revolution. Unable to believe their luck, Nim and Valdez settle back as Tak and Von get the ship ready for a quick take off.

Given the way that the Kalar-Wi have run the ship up until now – only interacting with Imperial authorities through their Kiang agents – Tonivar Down Traffic Control does not suspect anything is amiss when their Kiang “guests” abruptly request departure clearance. Once cleared, the ship, now renamed the “Harmony” by Tak and Von, heads for the Jump point. On board, there has been some debate about where to head as Tak and Von want to aid the FhNP’s cause against the Kalar-Wi. Valdez suggests that taking the loot rescued from the Laghdha warren to Wai Toi’s contact, Ghorman Holk the Antiquarian, on Celephais could realise a lot of cash that could be converted into supplies that could aid the revolution. After some thought, Tak and Von agree. As the “Harmony” is only a Jump-2 ship, they are obliged to plot a circuitous route via Masaad and Kalar-Wi to reach Celepahais. While risky, the relationship between Kalar-Wi and Kiang is such that Kalar-Wi officials see only what they expect to see – Kiang going about their Masters’ business. The alternate route via Ektra and Kamperelian space is considered more dangerous as the Kamperelians are going through one of their periodic xenophobic phases.

Three jumps and six weeks later, the Harmony, with a little extra cash aboard from some speculative trading, reaches Celephais. As suspected, as long as Nim and Valdez kept their heads down, there was no interference from Kalar-Wi authorities at either Masaad or Kalar-Wi – Group Leader Hrak’lar’s little mission to Tonivar had not generated an information wave across Kalar-Wi space that would raise a flag when the Harmony docked. On Celephais, Valdez and Nim track down Ghorman Holk and discover, much to their surprise, that he is both an honest dealer and knowledgeable about Kalar-Wi militaria and culture.

Ensuring that Nim and Valdez lodge their loot at a local bank where he can examine it under controlled conditions, after six weeks Holk is able to tell them that their loot is not low value pay tokens but the Honour Chest of a Kalar-Wi Groupment, a battalion-sized combat formation. In Kalar-Wi society, Holk explains, guilds and military fraternities are extremely important – substituting for kinship groups and lineages in many cases. Every Kalar-Wi soldier who wins an achievement or bravery award contributes this to the Honour Chest of the Groupment. Individual actions and excellence become part of the Honour of the corporate group, increasing both the standing of the group, and of the individual members of that group, within Kalar-Wi society. The Honour Chest that Nim and Valdez have recovered belonged to the 1st Groupment of the 12th Regiment, a unit with an honourable history stretching back over two hundred and fifty years. Very few Honour Chests of a Kalar-Wi formation of either this size or this age have ever been recovered intact by non-Kalar-Wi and Holk estimates that such an Honour Chest is worth between MCr5 and MCr10. He offers Nim and Valdez MCr7, which he believes is a fair price, as well as the authentication documentation that he has compiled from his studies, and thanks them for the opportunity to study such a fascinating find.

After a little thought, Nim and Valdez take Holk up on his offer, as they feel that it is the best deal they can make. With cleared funds, they meet with Tak and Van to decide on the next stage of their operation to aid the Harmonious Path.

Secrets in Sulphur Session 2

Or Five Old Guys Go Looking for Their Salad Days Part 3
Like the difficult second album, the second session of a game can be a bit fraught for a Gamesmaster. Not only do you have to carry the story forward and start resolving some of the little mysteries you have carefully set out, you also have to maintain or exceed the levels of excitement and fun set in the first session.

Well, two Saturday nights ago, we gathered together again for the second session of Secrets in Sulphur. I had given the scenario ahead some thought and had plotted out some of the set pieces in both my mind and on paper, expanding upon my initial notes. With these “hand holds” in place, I felt confident of being able to move the story forward, while still being nimble enough to react to any unforeseen curve balls thrown at me by the players.

Our cast of characters:

John – Boris Clapshaw, ex Army Infantry Sergeant
Jonathan – Riishaa Daanel, ex Marine
Dylan – Count Asenault “Chivers” Washington-Pipps, retired Marine Colonel
Chris – “Bunty” Staffburger, ex Marine Force Commander

Recap:
After getting out of the Marines, Bunty Staffburger spent a few years bumming around Gamelea Subsector before winding up on Por’via in Lymethius Subsector. While working service jobs at Por’via Downport, he hooked up with Selia Vuir, a sulphur miner.

Recently, Selia found a cache of valuable sunstones. As her employers, Ossourous Processing, are the legal owners of all valuable minerals found within their claim, she stood to lose the lot. However, Jorgan Kiorpanos, the local agent for VenGems Holdings, was interested in having a look at the gems she had found with a view to working out a little deal.

Things began to unravel when Selia’s Mining Unit was late returning from a shift out on the Sylvian Flats. Then, a storm front began moving down out of the Green Mountains onto the Flats, and Jorgan Kiorpanos seemed to have made the acquaintance of some unsavoury-looking offworlders. Fortunately for Bunty, his old friend Colonel Count Asenault “Chivers” Washington-Pipps, (Rtd.) showed up at the starport with his batman, Sergeant Daanel, and ex-Army Sergeant Clapshaw. These three were in the process of transhipping into the Geithurian Republic to chase up employment offers with the Murkhida Kargesu – the Republic’s equivalent to the Foreign Legion.

After some bother with some Vargr, the party located Selia’s wrecked Mining Unit and chased Jorgan and his cronies up onto a tableland. There, they arrived in time to see Jorgan and two of his assistants killed by a band of fast and deadly carnivores. While Bunty captured the survivor of Jorgan’s crew, Chivers, Daanel and Clapshaw sorted out the carnivores with some well placed gauss rifle volleys and the odd autopistol shot. And then the storm struck.

Gameplay:
Deciding that they needed all their equipment up on the tableland before taking on the irrijari, Chivers heads back to Jorgan’s crew’s ATV where Bunty is securing the tranqed captive. Daanel investigates the sunstone geode while Clapshaw keeps an eye out for any more irrijari.

Chivers carefully backs Jorgan’s ATV down the narrow trail towards the party’s ATV as the rain begins to bucket down. Meanwhile, Clapshaw spots two sets of human foot prints leading further uphill from where the irrijari attacked Jorgan’s group. He starts to follow them as he can see that the rain is going to wash the tracks away very soon.

As Clapshaw strides off into the wind and rain, Daanel is on the horns of a dilemma. One of the geodes has been broken open and he can see a fortune in sunstones lying inside it. But combat armour doesn’t have pockets. But there’s a fortune in sunstones just lying there. Helmet – he could fill his helmet with them. But then his head would melt because of the hostile atmosphere before he could make it to the ATV. But there’s a fortune ... oh, sod it! He clambers to his feet and hurries off after Clapshaw.

Chivers and Bunty quickly transfer the party’s extra ammunition and explosives from their ATV into the smaller one Jorgan’s group were driving. Then, grabbing a vial of adrenalin from Clapshaw’s medical kit, they give their prisoner a shot to wake her up. With a gasp, she regains consciousness and promptly throws up all over the back seat of the ATV.

After some questioning, Chivers and Bunty learn that the woman, Cari, was unemployed on Feor/Gamelea when her friend, Clay, was recruited by Jorgan. Along with their friend Mikki, Cari and Clay were given passage to Por’via to help Jorgan claim-jump any miners who brought in under-the-table finds. Cari doesn’t much care for Jorgan, but is upset to learn that Mikki and Clay have also been killed by the irrijari.

After driving back up to the geodes on the upland, Bunty and Chivers leave Cari handcuffed to a seat in the ATV. With her Environment suit secured to the exterior of the vehicle – out of reach for her in the hostile atmosphere – they decide to risk leaving her unguarded while they rejoin Clapshaw and Daanel. Meanwhile, Clapshaw has lost the tracks he was following as they wash away in the rain. But, he has spotted what looks like a declivity under a large rock about half way up the side of a narrow valley, uphill from the geodes. It would appear that the tracks were heading towards it.

As Clapshaw rejoins Daneel, three irrijari appear out of the swirling mist and driving rain. Snapping and snarling, the irrijari dart and lunge. Daanel shoots one and then his gauss rifle jams, again. Clapshaw shoots a second and then the third one dashes in, clawing and scratching. Clapshaw drags his autopistol from its holster as the irrijar knocks him to the ground. With the irrijar trying to tear its way into his combat armour, he manages to swing his pistol up. There’s a muffled report and then he pushes the body off him.

Chivers and Bunty slog up the rise to where Daneel is helping Clapshaw to his feet. Together, the foursome make their way up to the large rock on the hill side. Examining the declivity beneath the rock, they find a cave – now more of a muddy slide – leading down into the earth. Sliding down first, Clapshaw, and then Daneel, discover that the slide only descends a couple of metres before a half-buried metal grill arrests their descent. In front of them is a dark, metallic, keyhole shaped door. There is a slightly darker discolouration part way up one of the door sills. Checking that Daneel is ready and armed, Clapshaw touches the discolouration. The door slides open.

Standing out in the rain, and occasional flashes of lightning, Chivers muses aloud that with both their combat armoured compatriots below ground, the only thing standing between Bunty, Chivers and any wandering irrijari (with their big, pointy teeth) , is the rather feeble protection of their Environment suits. Bunty does not see this as amusing and, after some consideration, neither does Chivers. Piling through the narrow cave mouth, they arrive at the foot of the slide in a rather undignified pile, just as Daneel and Clapshaw step back from their first glance through the keyhole-shaped door.

A second door lies beyond the first door, separated by two metres of smooth, metal corridor, wider at the top than at the bottom. Cautiously opening the second door, the party sees that the corridor continues for another twenty metres before ending in another door. The muddy foot prints they had seen around the first and second door quickly fade away in the long corridor. Clapshaw thinks he sees something like a bundle of rags by the door at the far end of the corridor while Daanel notices that the atmospheric mix is now containing a lot more methane than the natural atmosphere of Por’via.

Exploring the corridor, the party discover that the pile of rags is actually the body of Jimmi, another of Selia’s mining crew and the only other miner, besides Selia, unaccounted for. He has serious claw and teeth wounds on his chest and shoulders which have compromised his environment suit and it may this, rather than his injuries, that lead to his demise. Just as they are about to move on to examine the door at the end of the corridor, the party hear the distinctive sounds of some things sliding down the mud tunnel and landing on the metal grill behind them.

As the party turn to face the open entrance, they see three irrijari slither into the corridor. Chivers and Bunty drop to their knees; Chivers drawing his autopistol while Bunty snaps off a burst from his gauss rifle. Behind them, Daneel and Clapshaw open fire with their gauss rifles. The hail of needles accounts for two of the three irrijari. As the third one springs forward, Chivers fires his autopistol. The muzzle flash ignites the methane in the corridor.

Picking themselves up after the explosion, the party decide to push deeper into the complex to see if Selia managed to reach a place of safety. It is about this point that they hear a grinding, groaning noise, and the corridor seems to subside slightly towards the left. The players conclude that entire structure appears to have settled somewhat, possibly due to the shock wave from the methane explosion.

Passing through the door at the end of the corridor, they find themselves in a hexagonal chamber. The internal atmosphere is now registering as a fairly typical methane mixture with very little oxygen present. Three other doors lead out of the hexagonal chamber – one straight ahead and one each to the left and right. Crossing the chamber, they open the door opposite and see a corridor of a similar length to the one they have just exited, though this one has two doors opposite each other about halfway down, and another two doors opposite each other at the far end.

Opening the first door on the left, the party sees a small, three metre by three metre room. In each of the four corners of the room stands a large metallic ovoid on a small plinth. Daanel spots a darker patch on one of the plinths, much like the door opening patches they have seen in the corridors, so he presses it. There is a humming noise and then a small character, in an obviously alien script, lights up beside the dark patch. This character begins to rotate and change in a regular sequence, like a countdown.

Backing out of the room, the characters try the door opposite the one they have just examined. Again, they see a three meter by three meter room with four ovoids, one in each corner. This time, they resist the temptation to touch anything. Moving down the hall, they open the door on the right at the end. Again, they see a three meter square room. In this room there are three ovoids. On the plinth where the fourth ovoid would stand, they see a tall, strangely alien creature – a Mi’yargin. And standing in the middle of the room and facing them, is Selia.

It is immediately apparent that there is something amiss with Selia. A massive chest and neck wound has ripped her Environment suit open. She stands awkwardly, facing the party, her eyes blank and her bubble helmet pulled back from her face. When she speaks, it is in a flat, monotone.

In the rather unusual conversation that follows, it appears that, much to Bunty’s distress, Selia was fatally injured (“this one was fatally compromised”) by the irrijari (“vermin”) and that to save her, the Mi’yargi known as "The Second" has included her within the Mi'yargin Collective – a group consciousness. Their efforts have stabilised her body at the expense of effectively transmuting her at the cellular level, while her consciousness has become part of the Collective consciousness of the Mi’yargin crew. The structure the party is currently within is actually a Mi’yargin shuttle that became stranded on Por’via some 200 years ago – the Mi’yargin use a base five numbering system and measure time in clock cycles of cesium so there was some frantic figuring carried out on handcomps.

Eventually, after discussion and possible mistranslation, a deal is struck. The party agree to get rid of the irrijari (vermin) that have infested the ship and damaged it, preventing it from lifting off. The Mi’yargin will endeavour to preserve Selia from further “compromise” and pay the party a fee in “metals of a heavy atomic weight” – the implication is that their Nullship, which the party assume is their jump-capable starship, has been busily refuelling and mining in the rings of the Por’via system’s gas giant for the last two centuries and has picked up a quantity of heavy, or radioactive, metals which could be worth a lot of Imperial Credits.

The characters then search the rest of the deck they are on and the one below it. Both decks are similar in layout – a central hexagonal room (which is also the elevator that runs the length of the ship) with four corridors leading off it. Each corridor, except the entry corridor, gives access to four rooms, and each room contains four ovoids – the crew’s life pods. Some of the ovoids are discoloured and the characters assume that perhaps the life support has failed on these units but, out of a possible complement of 112, at least 100 Mi’yargin appear to have survived. No irrijari are found on these upper two decks.

As the lift doors open onto a gantry at the third deck level, the characters find themselves looking down into the vast, empty space of the cargo hold. Tie rods and bracing struts form a lattice of anchor points between the deck head, above, and the engine deck below.

Looking down through their IR scopes, Clapshaw and Daanel spot movement around the base of the lift shaft. At least a dozen irrijarri are prowling about. Clapshaw, Dannel and Bunty start sniping at them from the gantry. The irrijari quickly work out where the fire is coming from and start swarming up the bracing struts towards them. What started out as a fun turkey shoot, suddenly starts turning serious as missed shots and miss-fires fail to stem the tide surging towards them.

Just as the characters begin to wonder whether it might be time to cut and run, as they’re getting pushed back into the lift car, Chivers fells the last irrijar with a shot from his autopistol. Heaving a collective sigh of relief, they head down towards the engine deck.

As the lift doors start to open, Clapshaw’s combat armour tells him that the atmosphere on the engine deck is an oxygen/methane mix. The irrijari compromised the ship’s integrity when they broke out onto the surrounding tableland. Waves of irrijari come swarming out of the gantries and crawl spaces of the engine deck. A volley of gauss needles cut some of them down and then Bunty fires a RAM grenade into the midst of them as Chivers closes the lift door. A flash fire and explosion rips through the engine deck, blowing the party off their feet, even as the lift doors close. When the smoke clears, the irrijari are gone and the Mi’yargin shuttle tears itself free from Por’via.

Rejoining Selia and the Second on the top deck, the party prepare for the ride out to Harrimol VIII, the Por’via System gas giant, when the Collective advises them that a ship has lifted from Por’via Downport and has given chase. The Mi’yargin instruments indicate that the pursuing ship is the Vargr freighter, Akhska.

To be continued...

Secrets in Sulphur

Or Five Old Guys Go Looking for Their Salad Days Part 2

Last Friday night I ran a Classic Traveller game, Secrets in Sulphur, for four of my old gaming group. Dylan and Chris decided to use pregenerated Book 1 Marine characters, while Jonathan and John decided to refamiliarise themselves with the character generation system by generating a couple of Book 4 Army and Marine characters.

When writing the scenario for the session, I knew that my players had a preference for an action adventure – John had mentioned “bug hunt” in a pre-game email. Also, as we haven’t played for a while, I figured that any puzzle or mystery would need to relatively uncomplicated to solve (ie few moving parts) as there’s nothing more frustrating for a player than a puzzle that just won’t come out if you can’t think like Inspector Poirot.

So, our cast of characters consisted of:

John – Boris Clapshaw, ex Army Infantry Sergeant
Jonathan – Riishaa Daanel, ex Marine
Dylan – Count Asenault “Chivers” Washington-Pipps, retired Marine Colonel
Chris – “Bunty” Staffburger, ex Marine Force Commander

Now, I had already decided that Chivers and Bunty knew each other from their service days, so to have both characters end up as ex Marine Officers and both have Gambling skill was a writer’s gift – theirs was obviously a relationship forged over the green cloth of the Officers’ Club. Jonathan decided that Riishaa Daanel had been Chivers’ batman while they were in the service, while John’s character, Boris Clapshaw, was an acquaintance of Daanel’s.

I decided that I wanted to set the scenario on the planet Por’via in the Lymethius Subsector.

Library Data:
Harrimol IV - Por’via/Lymethius D9B4566-8. Imperial World.
Harrimol VIII is a gas giant and Por’via has no moons. Scout Base has no facilities. No Highport. Downport has a tug and three tenders. Por’via is directly governed from Julnar/Gamelea and the lack of local representation is a source of friction for the local population of 793,000.

This was primarily because I wanted a hostile environment as a complicator. I had been tossing up between Por’via and a world or moon with a methane atmosphere but, in the end, went for the sulphur-contaminated atmosphere of Por’via. Looking at Por’via’s statistics, I think I actually underplayed the atmosphere as Corrosive implies a higher degree of toxicity than Contaminated.

Backstory:
After leaving the service, Bunty Staffburger bummed around Gamelea Subsector before settling on Por’via a couple of years ago. Working in the service industry driving cabs and hauling freight, he was just scratching by, and then he hooked up with Selia Vuir.

Selia Vuir works as a sulphur miner for Ossourous Processing – a Julnarian mineral extraction concern that is well connected with both the Julnarian Government and with the Julnar Mandate Authority which governs Por’via – on the Sylvian Flats, 100 km north of Por’via Down, the main town and starport on the planet. A member of a five-person crew operating a massive surface Mining Unit – a 20 metre wide surface cutter, very much like a highway resurfacing machine but designed to cut and process the top 15cm layer of soil – Selia works week on/week off shifts out on the flats.

Just recently, Selia discovered a cache of sunstones – valuable opal-like gems occasionally found in geodes – near the end of the cut zone her crew had been working. Ossourous Processing technically owns any valuables found on its claim, but Selia and Bunty have hit upon a plan to scam this cache. Jorgan Kiorpanos, the local agent for VenGems Holdings, has expressed unofficial interest in the cache and its Selia’s intent to retrieve the cache during her current duty shift for him to evaluate.

A Vargr freighter is currently at Por’via Down. Several people have remarked that while this ship, the Akhska, is similar to the Ueill out of Tonivar/Cabria that often calls at Por’via, the crew of the Akhska do not speak much Imperial Basic. A party from the Akhska has headed up towards the Green Mountains, north of the Sylvian Plain, in an ATV to hunt Crarachan – a goat-like grazer able to survive the sulphur-laden atmosphere.

Gameplay:
Bunty Staffburger is sitting in the Por’via Downport bar, waiting for a fare and keeping an anxious eye on his handcomp. His girlfriend, Selia Vuir, a sulphur miner, is overdue from her current week-on shift, and storm warnings have been posted for the Green Mountains and Northern Sylvian Plain area. He is also concerned that Selia is supposed to be bringing back a geode of sunstones she has found out on the Plain. Failing to declare a geode is viewed as a serious offence by Ossourous Processing, and as the company carries a lot of weight with the Julnar Mandate Authority, a prosecution is pretty much a career ender.

While mulling over his worries, Staffburger hears a familiar voice boom behind him. “Bunty!” Glancing around, Staffburger sees a vaguely familiar figure from his past, “Chivers?” Indeed, it is his old wardroom drinking and card buddy, Marine Colonel Count Asenault “Chivers” Washington-Pipps. Chivers quickly introduces his two companions, “Sergeant Daanel, my batman, and Sergeant Clapshaw. Clapshaw’s Army, but he’s a good sort.”

Chivers tells Staffburger that after coming out of the service there hadn’t been a lot of work for security consultants in Gamelea Subsector. Eventually, Daanel had got wind that the Murkhida Kargesu, the Geithurian Republic’s Alien Legion, was busily recruiting for operations to Spinward of the Republic. This presented a dilemma for Chivers as the Imperium frowns on its past service personnel serving non-Imperial states, and particularly non-Imperial states that have been actively hostile to the Imperium, as the Geithurian Republic has been.

Daanel was able to discover the existence of the Crimson Road – a semi-coordinated series of interconnecting short haul passenger-carrying freighters that enables certain people to drop off the Imperial radar as they move around Imperial Space. It was while travelling this circuitous route that Chivers, Daanel and Clapshaw found themselves on Por’via, and about to take the final section over the Imperial Border and into Geithurian space.

While Daanel and Clapshaw secure their luggage, Bunty Staffburger tells Chivers about his girlfriend:

“I’m dating a miner.”
“A minor? Gad, and I thought I was a rake.”
“No. A miner. She mines.”

And how she was overdue from her current shift, and how a storm system was moving south, down out of the Green Mountains and onto the Sylvian Plain.

As the rest of the groups’s equipment arrives, Staffburger rings the Ossourous Processing Dispatch office to check up on Selia’s Mining Unit. He learns that it is standard procedure for the crew to stay buttoned up during a storm if the Unit has broken down. As the incoming storm has grounded all grav search vehicles, it is highly likely that Selia and her crew are preparing to wait it out at the end of track as plotted by the Dispatch office. As Staffburger downloads the Unit’s track, he sees through the window of the Concourse, Jorgan Kiorpanos, the VenGems agent, talking to two unsavoury-looking men in an ATV. After a brief conversation, Jorgan’s companions drive off, heading out of town.

Once the party get themselves organised and hire an ATV, they set off towards the Ossourous Processing Restricted Access Zone north of Por’via Down. After a two-hour drive up Route 41, Chivers turns off the main road and onto an access road that leads to a transfer site. This is where the Mining Units unload their ore onto stock piles, and dump their tailings.

Passing through the transfer site, they pick up the last cut Selia’s Mining Unit made – a 20 metre-wide track that zig-zags across a ten kilometre wide cut zone that stretches across the north of the Sylvian Plain to the foothills of the Green Mountains. As the party follows the cut, they realise that there is not one, but two ATVs ahead of them, both apparently following the Mining Unit.

On Clapshaw’s suggestion, Chivers pilots the party’s ATV up over the edge of the cut. Crossing the rough ground between the east-bound and west-bound cuts, the party manage to get ahead of the second of the two ATVs they are following. With their ATV concealed, Clapshaw wriggles forward into the shelter of a boulder where he can watch the cut. Soon, he spies the second ATV heading towards him on the west-bound cut and, by the skilful use of his Recon skill, he manages to see that there are at least five individuals inside the ATV, and at least two of them are Vargr.

After the vehicle passes, Clapshaw returns to the party and relates his intelligence. Giving chase up the west-bound cut, and with the weather closing in, the party suddenly realise that they are closer to the turn back then they thought as they catch a glimpse of the other ATV heading back past them on the next east-bound cut.

As they come round the turn back and clear the steam of the fumaroles that define the western end of the cut zone, the party find their way ahead blocked by the second ATV. Three Vargr have alighted and open fire on the party’s vehicle. Chivers throws the ATV into reverse, even as the front windshield is shot out.

“Darn! There goes the deposit,” Staffburger observes sourly.

Fortunately, the party have been wearing environment suits since they set out so it takes them but moments to button up as the insidious planetary atmosphere floods the interior of their vehicle. As clouds of noxious fumes roll across the countryside, hiding the two groups, Chivers hits the brakes. Clapshaw, Daanel and Staffburger leap down from the ATV and take up firing positions as the Vargr come dashing through the clouds of steam and gas. All three Vargr go down in a hail of gauss rifle fire.

As Daanel and Clapshaw advance cautiously, the second ATV drives off at high speed, eastward along the east bound cut. Seeing their quary in flight, Daanel and Clapshaw sprint back to the party’s ATV. Chivers again takes the ATV up and over the edge of the cut and over the rough ground between the east and west-bound cutways. Closing on the next west-bound cut, he halts a little way short of it. Clapshaw wriggles forward in time to see the Vargrs’ ATV approaching him from the east. After a moment’s deliberation, Clapshaw decides to knock the other vehicle out with a well-place RAM-grenade in the engine bay. Unfortunately, his RAM-grenade is not so well-placed and the Vargrs’ ATV is not as armoured as he first thought. With a bang and a flash, the Vargrs’ ATV explodes in a massive fireball.

“That didn’t work out so well,” Clapshaw says ruefully as he rejoins the rest of the party.

Pressing on, and with the weather closing in, the party find themselves nearly at the northern end of the cut zone. Ahead, they can see where the Mining Unit’s cut ends and the Unit crosses a small gully via a causeway before commencing a return cut towards the transfer station. As they get closer, they can see that the gulley is narrow and steep, and that the Mining Unit has come off the narrow causeway and is nose-down in the gulley.

Debussing from the ATV, Clapshaw covers Staffburger as he climbs down to inspect the Mining Unit. Daanel walks up the road a little way and investigates the gulley above the causeway. Staffburger quickly discovers that while two of the Mining Unit crew are still aboard, both are dead and neither are Selia. Damage in the Unit’s cutter bay indicates that some sort of explosive charge or mine was left in front of the vehicle and that this was taken inside, along with the normal ore, before exploding and disabling the Unit. Someone has then shot up the Mining Unit’s wheelhouse and removed or destroyed all computer gear aboard, including handcomps. Meanwhile, Daanel has found tracks indicating that two people on foot and a vehicle have headed up the narrow gulley, upstream of the causeway.

After some deliberation, the party decide to follow on foot as their large ATV will not fit up the narrow gulley. At this stage both Chivers and Staffburger are wearing environment suits and are armed with handguns while Daanel and Clapshaw are wearing Combat Armour and are armed with gauss rifles.

They follow the narrow trail that winds up through gulley before debouching onto a more open upland area. Visibility is now down to about twenty metres and the wind is rising, driving swirling clouds of fog and gas before it. As they pass between pools of bubbling water and boiling mud, Chivers spots something in one of the mud pools. It turns out to be the body of one of the miners.

Retrieving the body, Staffburger discovers a hand drawn map that shows a location not too far from them with an ‘X’. Beyond the ‘X’ is a crudely drawn twin-peaked mountain and the word ‘jackpot’ written in Selia’s handwriting.

As the first heavy drops of rain start falling, the party finds the ATV they have been pursuing parked by the side of the trail.

As they investigate the vehicle, they hear a scream of terror from further ahead. Advancing cautiously between twisted piles of stone, they hear more shouts, and then gun shots. Running forward, they see a body on the ground and three people in environment suits standing back to back with handguns drawn. Around them, leaping and hissing, are half a dozen irrijari – particularly fast, nasty and vicious predators. As the party watch, an irrijar leaps forward and literally bites one of the three survivors’ head off.

Daanel and Clapshaw manage to fell several of the irrijari with their gauss rifles as the two survivors run towards the party. One of the two is killed by another irrijar and then Daanel’s gauss rifle jams. An irrijar springs at Daanel but can’t hurt him through his combat armour. Clapshaw lines up a shot, and then his gauss rifle jams, too – obviously the insidious atmosphere is taking its toll on the gauss rifles. Staffburger chases after the fleeing survivor and manages to tranq her with his snub pistol. Again, it isn’t Selia so he ties her up and leaves her in the ATV.

Clapshaw throws his heavy autopistol to Chivers, who hasn’t managed to hit any of the irrijari with his snub pistol. This was becoming rather alarming for Chivers as he was very conscious that he was only wearing an environment suit and that there were still several very dangerous irrijari darting in and out of the swirling gas clouds. Snatching up Clapshaw’s pistol, Chivers turns and fires, downing an irrijari with a single shot. Clapshaw clears his jam and shoots the last irrijari that has been wrestling with Daanel, and suddenly the upland is silent, except for the moaning of the wind. A rattling noise, drawing nearer, announces the leading edge of a downpour.

---

To Be Continued ...