Another Day at Camp: Headquarters
From SSDC, Inc.
The Final Showdown
The players start congratulating themselves as their leader radios in their success at retaking both objectives. The first two attempts silence is his only reply but on his third it is the faint sound of static from a dead line. Something is dreadfully wrong. The other squads all say the same thing if they are asked over the radio. Eventually they should agree to return to the galley to investigate.(BM's Note: If the players can convince the other two teams to meet up someweher else then let them, otherwsie all three teams will meet at the galley.)
Back at the galley it looks like a small war has been fought. The fortifications have all been destroyed by rocket fire, dead bodies lie all over, some mangled beyond recognition except for occasional armor insignias. Massive holes gape wide revealing the inside is no better then the exterior. More bodies from both sides, the defenders fought bravely and there are over two dozen rebel corpses inside and out but there are no defenders left alive. It is evident that the bases own weaponry was used against the defenders since the rebels could not afford the weapons used here; pulse, omega, and anti-tank rockets. The XO’s body is discovered among the bodies of a last ditch effort to keep the enemy at bay inside the kitchen. The rebels were very liberal with their grenades and not much remains of the defenders and only the pips on one of the torsos is the only way to tell that the XO's body from the rest of the dead.
The other groups come in, some of the mercenaries look like they took a beating and others look like they weren't any fights.
BM discretion: based upon the performance of the players at defeating the rebels, the other two groups will be at ½ strength to full 6 man squads.
After a quick look around for survivors and salvageable equipment the leaders of each group meet alone, Isthar-ican is a Budaish Thralek, or a skilled warrior, and any Eridani would know this, but he is still brash and foolish, believing in a frontal assault over stealth and grace. His bear armor is only slightly damaged, a testament to his skill, (his team will be in far worse shape) there are almost forty black slashes on his red sash, and the rank of major adorns his scabbard the only place on his battle gear where it is present. Isthar looks down upon younger Eridani but will treat them with some respect, Cizerack he has a grudging respect for but any Phentari or Orion is likely to hear harsh words and possibly his blade if they don't watch out. Fermir is a Cizerack scout captain, her Flex armor is immaculate; her team managed to surprise and kill their rebels quickly and with few problems it turns out. Fermir will listen to any plans, but since her squad has superior firepower, and weapons will feel it would be better if her squad had the more dangerous assignment even if it isn’t quiet.
Roleplay the arguments and discussions that follow, eventually the idea of sending one group through the roof while the other two await for a signal to attack the front should be made. In the end it will be decided that the player's team, the least experienced, and most poorly equipped, should infiltrate through the roof, something both feel are within their capacity to do.
Headquarters
The base headquarters is a plain three story square building, the tallest in the whole camp, and is 20 meters by 20 meters. There is only one ground floor entrance aside from windows, which are all locked shut on the ground floor, the second and third floor windows are open but are impossible to get a grapple hook through without breaking the glass and making a disturbance. There are a dozen rebels outside the front door; they are a motley looking band of Ram Pythons, Phentari, Orions and the aquatic Pythons armed with low line pulse, omega, lasers, and powder guns from the base's armory. The Rams all have some sort of hand weapon either strapped to their back or dangling at their side. Dozens of bodies litter the outside; all of them are base guards, building personnel, and mercenaries that had guard duty during the assault. Most have been stripped of their gear and lie naked under the setting sun.
Intuition check +20 to realize that attacking the front would probably cause the rebels to kill the base commander and any other hostages.
There are no other buildings around (level 3 stealth check to move around without being noticed) but around back there are no guards visible. It would be just an easy throw(throwing level 2) of a grapple hook, a quick climb(level -2) and some luck to reach the top unnoticed and get inside. The climb can be done without rope and grapple but the difficulty is level 6; either way the characters cannot carry anything in their arms.
The roof has a pair of very bored rebels waiting for the order to clear out, they have become lax and complacent making it easy for characters to get onto the roof but a lack of cover makes it difficult to get to them unnoticed. It is a level 2 stealth check to slip onto the roof unseen, but a level 7 to get close enough to the guards to silently kill them. A camouflage unit will make this easier, making it a level 3 stealth check instead of a level 7.
The roof entrance is a solid steel door that is locked from the inside but a keyhole on this side allows one to lock it from the outside. A concerted search of the bodies or a level 2 detect concealment to find the key on one of the guards. The door has Threshold of 7 and 30 integrity until it can be broken down or it is a level 4 pick lock check
Stairs lead down onto a third floor hallway, doors line both sides, administration offices mostly. Most of the doors are closed, the ones that are open simply reveal an office with numerous desks. Up ahead another hallway intersects this one and still further two more, at the far end is a sign that reads stairs and has an arrow pointing. Behind them is a JumCo vending machine displaying Fredd The Python with a bottle of Jum Cola and Yummies candy. (-20 Intuition for characters to remember which way to the commanders office if they decide to search there)
The commander’s office (when the characters finally get there) is halfway down the hall in the middle of the building, first it opens onto a secretaries office/waiting room with several plush chairs, a deep mahogany desk and a table littered with several magazines including Madd Mike’s, Galactic Underground, Star Captain Etc, and other highly read magazines. There is nothing of value here, the computer has been formatted and all pertinent information has been erased. A document atomizer sits under teh desk, it is warm to the touch from recent use. A door to the CO's office is smashed and broken to pieces and the scene inside leaves little hope that anyone lives.
The inner office is a mess, the desk has been hit by multiple pulse shots and it looks as if it had caught fire recently too, the ‘bookcase’ is overturned spilling it’s content of holorecorded booklets onto the once immaculate wood floor, which is now scorched black in areas and stained with blood. Grenade fragments are lodged in the walls, floor, ceiling, desk and the remains of the three chairs. To search this mess will take time, for every minute searching there is a 10% cumulative chance per person to find info implicating the commander in an embezzlement scheme, he has taken over 4 million credits in the last two years. There is also a 20% chance that if they left the doors open that a pair of rebels will enter and they won’t ask questions. Roll a d6 to determine who finds the information, secretly assigning everyone a number, hand out miscellaneous information and let the players decide if they try to pocket the info(level 3 stealth check) or tell everyone.
BM's Note: This information can be used by the characters for blackmailing or given over to the informant from earlier who will pay handsomely, but only to the character they approached. The info has been planted skillfully by the invading rebels, in fact the suit is a rebel. It will take a level 20 forgery check to identify it as a forgery but characters are entitled to a intuition check at a minus 50 to figure that it might not be what it seems, if they think about it, otherwise they have no clue.
After leaving the commander’s office, with or without the information, and as the players approach the nearest intersection, they see a pair of rebels enter a room. Shortly after hearing some heated words they can’t make out, the two leave the room and head in the direction of the characters. It will take a level 4 concealment or stealth check to hide partially behind a door or slip quietly into a room. The mazian may use a level 4 camouflage check with a level 3 shape change check to appear as inconspicuous furniture or he may decide to make a level 8 shape change check with a level 4 impersonate to pose as a rebel soldier.
The room the shouting came from faces the front of the building, windows show a wide view of the base laid out before them, a tall phentari faces out overseeing the vast expanse. A desk and several chairs lie pressed against the wall giving a very open space for fighting and room to maneuver. This is the commander’s disciplinary office, where he hands out punishment to those that deserve it for minor offenses not to take up to corporate but still merit possible black marks (anyone who has received black marks since getting to the base will know this room well).
There are five others standing around acting as guards and one body lies tied up yet alive on the floor, it is the commander. His clothes are torn and strips of them bind his hands and legs and act as a blindfold and gag; flex rope tie his arms to his legs making it impossible for him to escape. The others in the room are a ram python, a human, two orions and one eridani. A terrestrial knowledge check at a plus 30 will allow anyone to recognize that this is one of the infamous black eridani; these creatures are a grave insult to the Eridani nation and any Eridani in the group must make an Berserk/Suicidal check at a plus 15% or attack outright(Remember rolling below your suicidal or berserk number means you go berserk or suicidal). A level 4 stealth check is required to approach the room unnoticed otherwise, but it is impossible to sneak in without someone noticing.
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