Draco Galaxy: Rumor Control
From SSDC, Inc.
Contents |
RUMOR CONTROL
Rumors of possible adventures in the Draco Galaxy abound...
1) Reepaxi Intelligence Service
While on Blaxpah the group is contacted by an agent of the Reepaxi Intelligence Services to penetrate Gromek space and land on Arast-4 to recover a flight recorder from a crashed Reepaxi scout vessel. The vessel crashed in a desolate area far from any Gromek troops while conducting an espionage flight over the planets southern continent. The team will have to locate the vessel, extract the hidden flight recorder before the Gromeks discover the wreckage and then return the recorder to the agent on Blaxpah. The Reepaxi agent lends the group a small scout vessel and explains that they must not leave the designated operations area. The scout vessel is equipped with a cloaking device and transporters, a superior auto-pilot is installed and a check of the navigation system will reveal that the craft is set to self-destruct if it leaves the designated operations area. Getting past the Gromek defense lines should be fairly easy with this advanced ship, and the characters may ponder why the Reepaxi Intelligence Agency have hired outsiders to perform this obviously very sensitive mission. Upon entry to the Arast-4 system, it should become apparent that closing to within 20LS (light seconds) would put the ship in point blank range of the planets sensors and almost ensure detection. After being in-system for three hours, an Alliance configuration ship belonging to the Cervox mega-corporation will be detected requesting docking clearance. The ship then begins docking procedure with the orbital station over the huge northern continent. Suspicions should rise amongst the characters, and they should carry out further surveillance of the ship. It should become obvious that the only way to close within transporter range is to follow the Cervox ship in its sensor shadow. The cloak should hold out under these circumstances. The southern continent of Arast-4 appears as a lush green carpeted land mass nestled against the thin strip of ocean that separates it from the main northern continent. Monitoring the communications between the orbital station and the Cervox ship will reveal that they are here to repair one of the planetary flux shields that have recently gone down. The flux shields went down when the scout vessel began espionage activities and through pure pilot error crashed into one of the emitter towers shorting out the whole system and crashing the vessel killing all crew. In the chaos it went unnoticed and it is now a matter of time before the Gromeks find the ship during exercises. Repair crews from the Cervox ship approach the tower on the first day and inform the Gromek command of the crash site. This will bring in the mechanized armored infantry on the second day. and they will have only twenty minutes from the arrival of the regiment until the infantry discover their presence. To make things worse, one hour after the infantry arrive, the Cervox repair team have the flux shield on line and the characters will be unable to transport off-world.
2) The Cervox Connection
This adventure is only for those that finish number 1 above. After handing over the credits for the above mission, the Reepaxi agent asks the characters to consider doing another mission for the Agency: Investigate the Cervox connection to the Gromek forces on Arast-4. He can supply them with computer equipment and some espionage and detection devices. This will be deducted form the end payment of the group, but will be omitted by the agent in their discussions. He will suggest they operate on Ala near the corporate headquarters of Cervox for this Sector and provide passage and an allowance for living expenses while they are on the job. Upon arrival at the starport, a Gen-Human sent by the Reepaxi will approach the characters and ask them if they need a place to stay. If they accept, she will show them to a large flat in a high-rise apartment building opposite the Cervox skyscraper. From here, it is up to the characters to obtain the information. For the BM, the whereabouts of the information is referred to on the main computer system, and the sealed system that holds the file is inside the building on the fortieth floor. The file is encrypted and the code can be hacked out of the main system (level 13 check). Day guards have Streetwise amour and static pistols while night guards wear Gorilla suits and tote impact lasers. The contents of the file implicate Cervox in completely illegal deals with the Gromek Imperium. Trading of flux shield technology for precious ores such as platinum is against the Alliance standpoint on the whole Reepaxi-Gromek conflict. Twists worth adding to this plot are: 1) Operatives from Cervox receive word from operatives on Blaxpah about people seen with a Reepaxi Intelligence Agent and begin tailing the characters; 2) Gromek intermediaries arrive at the Cervox HQ to facilitate another shipment of flux shields in exchange for precious metals and have a meeting that can be observed by the characters; 3) characters discover that Government Officials are in on the dealings with Cervox and the Gromeks.
3) Hurstville Enterprises
A minor league company, Hurstville Enterprises, is hiring mercenaries for an assignment to Dusan to investigate reports of an Xeno-archaeological dig that has turned up some bizarre items with matrix type abilities. The characters will have to get to the world, bypassing Sackville-Thorpe security patrols, and uncover the location of the dig before attempting to infiltrate the artifact storage and recovering the items. Setbacks include: 1) arrival of another band of mercenaries who are on the same job, 2) arrival of a group of mercenaries to guard the artifact storage building, 3) mine fields, and 3) PAWS emplacements and a hovertank patrol. If the characters can recover the artifact and return it to Hurstville Enterprises, they will be generously rewarded and be recommended to Teledyne to serve a contract in location and retrieval. Whether or not they actually join with Teledyne is another game.
4) The Brass Coat Gang
The Brass Coat Gang is planning the biggest heist of all time. They are looking to put together a crew big enough with a ship tough enough to hold up Eden-V, the resort world. So far they have obtained a salvaged flux shield from a dreadnought class warship, and all they need is a dreadnought or heavy cruiser in which to install it. The characters can be involved on either side of this one, either with the pirates or trying to foil their plans. The pirates are working from Anrugairn and thus there is no simple solution such as calling in the authorities. If they try calling the authorities on other worlds, they will be laughed out of the office. A short time after the characters have uncovered the Gang’s plans, the pirates will obtain a shabby old Reepaxi Heavy Cruiser, rough but still intact and serviceable. The hull will land at IMJ Starparts, a pirate owned company, to be refitted. Infiltrating the structure is nigh impossible, and the characters should wait until another opportunity. This adventure makes a good campaign and, with a bit of work, can be the boost that any independent needs to separate them from the competition.
5) Gilchrist Nine
A newspaper is running the following story:
Deep in the stone town of Gilchrist Nine, in the Tengam system, a revolutionary new system has been announced in the field of cybertronics. Researchers claim to have developed the software and equipment that allows an emergency mind dump unit to be used in conjunction with a high powered modem to transmit the intelligence pattern of the cyborg via interstellar communications systems to a clonic production center. This will effectively keep the clone as up to date as possible and help law enforcement and customers alike. The Board of Cybertronic Ethics is arguing the ramifications of the new technology, but the researchers from Gilchrist Nine are adamant the system will be approved. Questions as to the security of the development are laughed off by the head of Station Security, Harry Osmael, who said to reporters, “Only the other week I nearly killed myself with an old system I had almost forgotten about. If I was any slower in remembering the location of that invisible k-sat, I might have had plasma shot down my throat.” Claims of incompetence were heard amongst interviewers, but the managing director insisted that, “Eccentricity is expected with genius”. As for market retribution from BioCyberdyne, the Gilchrist Nine research facility is awaiting such an event with a team of market strategists on standby. Included on their current team is Nancy Travis-Spencer, a former Balshrom Science Corporation advertising executive who was involved in the initial series of the Granny advertisements. Once again a smaller company has produced a piece of marvelous technology that remains to be seen on the marketplace.
Characters should be experienced for this one. They should offer their considerable expertise to stop the upcoming BioCyberdyne retribution. The enemies will consist of many well-trained espionage agents and a few heavy hitters that will be there to look after the spies. The characters had better be well equipped and well trained because the stakes are a potential multi-billion-credit share of the cybertronics market.
6) Ghurka Incorporated
Lorraine Syles, a recruiter for Ghurka Incorporated, has approached the characters about an espionage mission to Xapariat. The team will need at least one matrix controller of the empathic type for any chance of success. The brief is simple. Infiltrate and record the defense station of Xapariat’s weapon systems without capture. It is thought that the station houses technology that may rival or surpass the Mutzachan’s own such systems as the Coreszian High Masters seem to have been a more ancient race with similar histories. The speculation about security measures is based on a former teams failure, and Lorraine has footage taken from a retrieved cybernetic implant video recorder of the team’s entry to the installation. The footage shows powerful empathic machinery used to scan entrants to the site for possible malicious intent or even simple dishonesty. The teams empath managed to “cloak” the members from the scan and force a false reading into the machine. On gaining entry, they encountered a heavy secure-bot of a type similar to the Hammerhead model used by Alliance forces and after a short but vicious firefight, gained entry to the main complex. This is where the footage ends and the only data that the interpretation department gleaned from the video is that the machinery is of a similar level to Sheustron devices. The power core seems to be some kind of self-perpetuating electrical generator that has similar energy signature readouts to star birth.
Previous
Draco Galaxy: Subsector: "The Cauldron"
Campaign Setting Home
The Draco Galaxy
