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VOYAGES OF THE DAWN TREADER - Mission Two - Bandersnatch

SHIP'S LOG: USCS DAWN TREADER TSV-150086

ENTRY TWO: EARTH DATE 23 JAN 2225

REPORTING: RORY BUCHANAN, CAPTAIN

My crew is rested and ready for our next mission. Though we are a salvage ship, this is outside our parameters just a bit. Rather than being tasked to salvage components from a vessel, we are being sent to recover hardware and data from an abandoned research facility. The owner of  the facility and the nature of the research have not been disclosed to us. I have assured R&D that my crew is capable of completing the assignment.


AFTER-ACTION REPORT

SUBMITTED: 12 FEB 2225

I submit this entry with a heavy heart and a belief that some things come at too great a cost.  

Upon receiving our assignment, the crew was assembled for briefing. Our mission objective was an abandoned research facility on Medusa, a small moon orbiting a gas giant in the Ross 780 system. The nature of the research that was conducted there was unknown to us, and for reasons of security and plausible deniability, R&D did not disclose the identity of the company that formerly owned the site. I am uncertain that the Company even knew why the site was abandoned, or why any equipment would have been left behind.

Rather than the usual contracted rate and bonus structure, our payout would depend entirely upon the value of any hardware and data that we recover. With a good haul, we could be looking at thousands of dollars each, or more. Aman Aldel, our sensor operator, was impatient to depart. For those who don't enjoy getting out and about, even shore leave can result in "cabin fever".

Medusa is a jungle world with 25% Earth gravity. Its primary value is timber harvesting, and logging concerns hold most of the accessible territory there. The atmosphere is laden with toxic pollen that can cause insanity or catatonia if inhaled, so we needed to acquire filter masks. As we might be working in unlit areas, portable lighting would be helpful. Ownership and use of shotguns is permitted by law on Medusa, and since we might be encountering hostile wildlife or other resistance, I felt it prudent to acquire a few. I can handle the kick, as could Loadmaster Evans and Engineer Nelson.

Navigator Chun laid out our flight plan. The closest hyperspace point was 90 Mkm away, which would mean 4.5 days to travel there. As Ross 780 is only a parsec away, we would spend 3.5 days in hypersleep, meaning a total travel time of 8 days to get there. Predicted burns were 12-13, leaving us with a comfortable margin for unexpected needs.

While the Dawn Treader was being loaded and refuelled, I made the acquaintance of a young Marine officer in a portside bar. Lieutenant Jacob Colby was on detached duty from the 22nd MEU, and he sported a tattoo of his unit's slogan "Anytime, Anywhere". He joined the USMC to follow in the footsteps of his father, who had been a Captain in the 24th MEU.

He was an optimistic man in his mid-20's, and though he was physically unremarkable, he possessed a keen intelligence and came from a very affluent and well-connected family. I knew it could be beneficial to have some military assistance for our task, and attempted to recruit Lt. Colby for the mission. He regrettably declined, but said he looked forward to perhaps working with us in the future.

We lifted off and set out for the hyperspace point. Pilot Lewis needed to make a minor course correction, resulting in a longer burn than originally expected. While under way to the jump point, we were hailed by a patrol vessel, requesting our sensor logs. As we had no reason to refuse, Aman complied and transmitted the data we had accumulated. Engineers Nelson and Knight went about routine maintenance and reported no problems.

We arrived at the hyperspace point around mid-day on January 27th, and Desh assisted us in preparing for hypersleep. It was late in the evening of January 30th that he revived us. Chun and Lewis were experiencing some sickness, which concerned me as Pilot Lewis was the backup navigator, and Navigator Chun was our backup pilot. Desh was able to treat them in the medbay and release them for duty a few hours later.

Sensor Operator Aldel had some difficulty obtaining a fix on our position, and a task that should only have taken an hour turned out to require the better part of the day. We were 50 Mkm out from Medusa, and would arrive there in 2.5 days. While en route, I led the crew through a mandatory Company training module regarding anti-piracy and anti-hijacking.  They performed capably in the drills.

We arrived in orbit of Medusa just after lunchtime on February 2nd. Aman was able to locate the objective site with only a few hours of scanning. It was in fairly dense jungle and we would not be able to land the Dawn there.  Loadmaster Evans rolled the ATVs onto the ship's boat and we shuttled down to the surface. Lewis and Chun would remain aboard the shuttle and await our call for extraction.

Though we were able to find a suitable landing zone four kilometers from the facility, the terrain was quite unforgiving.  It was slow going for our three ATVs, especially for Evans and the trailer he was hauling. On the way, we could see some reptavian scavengers circling overhead, but they did not attack us. We heard sounds of logging equipment ahead and steered clear of that area. The less we were seen on this mission, the better.

After about 45 minutes, we arrived at the facility. It was fairly unremarkable from the surface - merely an overgrown concrete bunker about the size of a ground vehicle garage, in a small clearing surrounded by a dual fence topped with razor wire. We did not see any defensive weaponry installations, but Assistant Engineer Knight warned us that the fence might still be electrified. While she worked on disabling the gate security, Desh carefully studied the area. His conclusion was that this facility may have been used for study of the local megafauna, but as we had not encountered anything but the flyers, he could not conclude what that might entail.

Knight disabled the power to the fence and we were able to force the gate open. We rolled the ATVs and the trailer into the clearing, near to the building so that we could easily load up equipment as we recovered it. A few minutes later, she had overridden the access controls for the bunker doors and we entered the building.

It was dim and musty inside. The facility was operating on emergency power only, and a thin film of dust covered most surfaces.  We found a computer room nearby, and Knight, Aldel, and Evans began to evaluate the setup and establish a salvage plan. Knight would hack through the security software, and the others would locate which systems held useful data.  It would be easiest (and most profitable) to simply physically remove those servers rather than downloading what likely would be vast files.

[Scene Challenge: Safe, Shaky, 10+.  Natural 12.  Success!  What went wrong... a twist in the story]

The team determined what servers held the information, and loaded them aboard our ATVs. While the rest of us waited, I thought I heard some soft sounds of sighing and scraping.  As I listened more closely, they had stopped. I dismissed it as a trick of the mind, merely the slight fear that comes with being in a dark, unfamiliar place where one should not be.  

Once the computers were loaded, we proceeded on. We came to a lab that contained some experimental equipment. Engineer Nelson, accompanied by Aldel and Desh, would evaluate and remove any equipment of a proprietary and valuable origin.

[Scene Challenge: Safe, Shaky, 10+.  Success!  What went wrong...]

The team managed to locate and disassemble some of the equipment that was suitable for transport, and we began to load it up. There was a loud clang and I hurried back to the lab. Nelson and Desh were okay, but a large piece of equipment had toppled over, blocking the door through which we had entered the lab.  We would need to find a way around, while they pressed forward.

* * *

        Meanwhile, aboard the shuttle, Lewis had grown bored. He attempted to strike up a conversation with Wen Chun. Aside from her personnel records, no one else knew that she had fled her home in China to escape a violent and abusive marriage. Word was that her vengeful ex-husband was still looking for her.

Somehow, Lewis had found out, and his curiosity outweighed his tact. He began to press Chun for details on the whole sordid situation. Chun felt uncomfortable and did not wish to discuss a very traumatic relationship. Then, Lewis apparently made a flippant remark and Chun lost her temper. She began screaming at him and stormed out of the shuttle, waiting alone in the field where we had landed.

* * *

Desh and Nelson came to a decontamination vestibule, and peered through the window. The lab on the other side appeared to contain equipment used for direct testing on large specimens. An indicator showed low levels of radioactivity within, likely from x-ray and gamma scanners positioned around an examination table. They were able to locate radiation suits in a nearby locker and began to remove some smaller but highly valuable equipment. The rest of us had found another corridor that linked up with the area, and we waited outside the decon chamber until they were finished.

Beyond the examination room was a long tunnel. It would have been wide enough to drive an ATV into. Some of the emergency lights had become burned out or otherwise broken, and we had to rely on the eldritch green light of our glow sticks as we proceeded forward.

On either side of the tunnel, large metal cell doors stood open - some were just sets of bars, others were more solid metal panels. It reminded me of a zoo that one might have visited on 20th Century Earth, or a jail for animals. The cells appeared to be unoccupied and the area was eerily silent.]

Behind us, we heard a scraping sound that rose into a screech. Nelson felt a breeze and ducked just as a massive talon swept through the area where a taller man's head would have been. Another wicked claw swung toward Knight, scraping against the wall a hand's width from her side.

The beast to which those claws belonged stood before us and shrieked once more. It was terrifying to behold. It looked like a small Tyrannosaurus - small being a relative term; it was still the size of a five-ton truck. We could clearly see its maw full of razor-sharp teeth, dripping with bilious saliva. As we backed away from it and readied our weapons, it dropped onto all four legs and prepared to charge.

Knight and Aldel dove behind one of the armored cell doors. Desh joined them, but readied his medical kit in case anyone became wounded. I shouted an order to Nelson and Evans and we opened fire. Our shots struck the creature, but its armored hide was hard to penetrate.  Still, we could see some blood, and from its roar of pain we knew it could be killed. The only question was just how much punishment it could take.

The beast turned in my direction and snapped at me. I stumbled back and felt its hot breath on my skin as its wicked fangs tore at my harness. Narrowly escaping injury, I opened fire point-blank. The injury I inflicted appeared to be grievous, but the creature fought on. I heard the deafening boom of the other two shotguns, but Evans and Nelson appeared to have missed their shots.

The beast turned toward Nelson and lunged forward, knocking him over. He had dropped his weapon and I could see that he was badly lacerated and bleeding. Desh rushed forward to render aid as Evans and I continued to fire at the thing, but it was moving too fast to hit easily.

Nelson tried to crawl away from the cruel monster, but he was hurt too badly to escape. With a vicious snap of its jaws, it tore open Nelson's abdomen. I heard screams behind me as it stooped to feed on our fallen engineer. Evans was numb with terror, but I was furious and I continued to blast away at it.

It raised its bloody snout and turned its predatory gaze onto Desh, crouched beside Nelson's body. It could not smell him, but it had seen him move. I shouted to Desh "SHOOT IT! KILL IT!".  Desh, a pacifist, seemed conflicted. "OBEY YOUR DIRECTIVES!", I screamed. Desh paused, gazing into nowhere for a brief moment.


Almost mechanically, Desh picked up Nelson's shotgun and rose.  He stood fearlessly, his face devoid of any emotion whatsoever, as the creature roared and readied a bite that would surely tear our android in two. In total disregard for his own artificial life, Desh fired a blast right into the open mouth of the horror, which collapsed to the floor. Its hateful eyes rolled back and went dark.

* * *

Lewis was startled by the comm alarm inside the shuttle.  He heard the screaming in the background of the call for an emergency extraction. He bolted outside and begged Chun to come back aboard, but she ignored him. He shouted that it was an emergency, but her only response was to angrily remind Lewis that he took orders from her, not the other way around. Lewis shrugged and dusted off without her.

* * *

Lewis touched down on the fenced-in clearing and opened the cargo doors. Evans supervised the hasty loading of the ATVs and trailers onto the shuttle as Desh carried the lifeless body of Nelson aboard, wrapped in a tarp. Lewis stammered an explanation for the absence of my First Officer. When loading was complete, we returned to the original LZ to pick up Chen. As I stepped out of the airlock, she began to shout at me. I held up a finger and she became silent. "Now is not the time," I told her. "Get your ass on that boat and do your job." She stormed aboard and strapped into the copilot's seat.

The ascent was rough as we rose quickly through turbulent skies, and docking with the Dawn was equally bumpy. Chun and Lewis stood sullenly in the docking bay as we disembarked. Each of us passed her quietly. "Where's Nelson?" she asked, before noticing Desh gravely carrying his bloody burden to the medbay.

It would be three days and four more burns back to the hyperspace point.  When unloading was complete, I summoned Chun to my office. She demanded that Lewis be disciplined for abandoning her, or she would request a new posting. I agreed to confine him to quarters for the duration of our return voyage. Then I brought up my disciplinary concern. I reminded her that while Lewis may have abandoned her, he had done so in compliance with my order for extraction, and that she had abandoned her post by leaving the shuttle. As my pilot was confined to quarters, she would be required to stand his duty shift as well. Furthermore, she would forfeit half her share, the funds to be disbursed to Nelson's next-of-kin. Chun looked ready to argue my decision, until I reminded her that taking the matter up with the Company would likely result in termination of her contract for her actions.

It was a difficult few days in space. Knight, now my sole engineer, went about the preventive maintenance duties, numb with grief. Lewis didn't leave his cabin, while Chun only returned to hers to sleep between double shifts. Aldel spent a lot of time talking it over with Desh, while Evans didn't want to talk about the fight at all.

The tedium and tension were broken late in the second day. We received a request for assistance from a commercial shuttle. Their passenger, a trophy hunter, had become violent, demanding they land in an unsafe area of the planet. This would be an ideal opportunity for my crew to make practical use of the anti-hijacking drills we rehearsed on the way out from Hamilton.

Our plan was to dock with the shuttle and attempt to negotiate with the hunter. If necessary, we could pump sedative gas into the docking airlock and overcome the shuttle crew and their passenger, detaining the hunter in hypersleep until we could turn him over to the Marshals.

[Scene Challenge: Dangerous, Solid. 8+.  (7) barely fails. (9) Complication - damage to equipment]

Chun matched velocity and attitude with the shuttle and used thrusters to mate our docking collar with the shuttle's airlock. Evans and I covered the airlock door with our shotguns, in case the passenger came out shooting. We waited anxiously as the airlock pressure equalized and the inner lock swung open.  

Beaten and bruised, the shuttle crew stumbled into the compartment as the outer lock cycled behind them. We heard the roar of the shuttle's engines as it literally tore free of the docking collar, damaging it in the process.  

Desh tended to the shuttle crew and placed them in hypersleep, while Knight attempted repairs on the docking collar. She reported that she was unable to complete a repair without bringing the ship into port, but commented that Nelson probably could have accomplished it.

The following morning, we buried Nelson in space. We carried out the solemn ceremony in accordance with ancient naval tradition. I spoke a few words that seemed hollow and empty, and I cycled the lock. We watched the bag containing Nelson's mortal remains tumble out on a puff of air pressure, floating off in a trajectory that would someday carry him into the star Ross 780 itself.

Midday on February 9th, we awoke from hypersleep in Ross 248, inbound to Hamilton. None of us woke with hibernation sickness, but we all felt pretty awful anyway. During the three-day burn to the station, we were hailed by a small corporate executive vessel, requesting technical assistance. As our airlock was damaged, Knight had to make a brief EVA over to the other craft. She was able to diagnose the issue as a damaged hyperdrive calibrator, and within a few hours, the suits were on their way.

Landing at the downport, I was confronted by a Port Authority manager, demanding to know why we had changed our flight plan and landed planetside, instead of docking at the highport per the flight clearance. It took all evening to iron out the matter, but I managed to avoid any ICO fines.

Representatives from R&D arrived at the ship soon after, and collected the materials we had salvaged from the research facility. Our cut of the salvage was assessed at $18,000, meaning a $3,000 share for each of the survivors. I was reminded of our non-disclosure agreement and advised to speak of the matter to no one outside my crew and authorized Company officials.  

Shore leave was uneventful. Lewis emerged from his cabin, said nothing to any of us, and we did not see him at all for three days. Knight stayed in her quarters with a book. I don't even know where Chun went. Aldel told me she had seen some vid celebrity passing through Startown, but the starlet ignored her and her bodyguards wouldn't even let Aman get close enough to ask for a photo or autograph. Evans and I drank a toast to Nelson at some dockside bar, but I wasn't even in the mood to drink. While he finished the bottle of whiskey we bought, I went back to my suite to compose a message to Nelson's family.

- Buchanan out.


SHIP'S LOG: USCS DAWN TREADER TSV-150086 - ENTRY ONE

ENTRY ONE: EARTH DATE 01 JAN 2225

REPORTING: RORY BUCHANAN, CAPTAIN

Recording? Test, test... OK, we're good.  It's a new year, and a new start. Con-Am has promoted me to Captain and assigned me to the Dawn Treader, an Argosy-class salvor vessel. It's our maiden voyage; I hope the Engineers have shaken out all the little problems a new ship might have. My crew is a very diverse group of individuals; the screening by the psychiatrists suggests that they will work well together. But they didn't get to see them out in the Black, with a real crisis situation at hand.

I am awaiting notification from Corporate with the details of our first mission. If all goes well, we will be shipping out later today. It will be good to be working - my considerable education debt was not going to pay itself!

AFTER-ACTION REPORT - SUBMITTED 22 JAN 2225

Our first mission was to assist a Con-Am ship that stopped reporting to Logistics. The petroleum carrier Excelsior was stranded in the Groombridge 34 system. It sent a request for assistance, and then all contact was lost. There was no further communication from the vessel.

Excelsior's run was to carry petroleum to the Tharsis mining colony on Inferno. In return, Tharsis sells precious metals to Con-Am. If the fuel supply cannot be sustained, Con-Am stands to lose a lucrative contract. As such, this was an urgent mission, with a deadline of January 12th, a mere 11 days.

[Spotlight: Sensor Operator. Personnel/Action: "Game Over Man"/"Seize"]

I assembled the crew at Hamilton highport and provided them with the mission briefing. Aman Aldel, our sensor operator, voiced an expectation of the worst possible outcome. In her mind, the ship was likely captured by pirates (or even Tharsis!) and the crew murdered or spaced. I hoped that she was just over-reacting.

Wen Chun, our navigator, laid in a flight plan. The nearest hyperspace point was 80 million kilometers away.  It would take four days to reach it. Inferno was only a parsec away, so we would only spend three and a half days in hyperspace. Projected reaction drive burns for the round trip was a comfortable 12-16, using half to three-fourths of our fuel and giving us a comfortable margin against any unexpected developments.

While the ship made ready to lift off, I finalized the contract with Finance. We had run into a hold-up pertaining to the bonus situation. Con-Am was requiring Tharsis to fund any bonus payouts, as the petroleum had already been purchased by Tharsis, and as such was covered by their insurance riders. I tried to invoke some of the clauses in the overall contract, but my objections fell upon deaf ears.

It took a whole day for Tharsis to budge. It was an uneventful and boring time for us, tempered only by our anxiety to leave so that we could hopefully complete the mission in time. Finally, the matter was settled and we were under way. Noah Lewis, our pilot, was able to guide us to the hyperspace point with no difficulty. Our chief engineer Luther Nelson and his assistant Leah Knight spent the time doing routine and preventive maintenance. Reviewing their reports, I felt that they had done only the barest minimum.


On January 5th, we arrived at the hyperspace point. Our flight surgeon helped us to ready for hypersleep. Desh is an android, but his appearance and mannerisms are authentic enough that we sometimes forget that he is an artificial person. My only concern was that he might also be secretly programmed to report all of our activities to Corporate. I did not need a political officer aboard.

We woke the morning of January 9th. Wen Chun and Knight felt a little queasy, as did I, but not badly enough to affect our performance. Nelson, on the other hand, took it badly [Natural 2].  He was vomiting and shaking uncontrollably. Desh took him to the medbay and assured me that Nelson would be fit for duty in an hour or two.

Aldel attempted to run a sensor scan in the hopes of locating Excelsior, but the ship's computer MUTHR was uncooperative. It stated that it was refusing the directive, as the recovery of a competitor's property constituted a conflict of interest. None of us were really convinced by that assertion.

Aldel set about checking the circuitry and reviewing the code. She was assisted by our loadmaster Tucker Evans, who was also handy with computers. [Natural 12] They were able to locate glitches in the code, likely corrupted by the intense solar radiation of the binary red dwarf stars. Aldel reminded MUTHR that failure to respond to a distress call would result in forfeiture of our shares, and it eventually agreed to comply.

After a few hours' repair work, Aldel was able to begin scanning the system to locate Excelsior. We found it orbiting the moon of Inferno, some 63 Mkm away. It did not respond to hails.  Wen Chun and Lewis laid in a course. ETA to intercept was about three days.

During the flight, Assistant Engineer Knight became overcome by anxiety. She pointed out that it was unlikely that we would meet our deadline due to the delays. It was clear that there was some friction between her and our sensor operator. I ordered her to report to Desh in the medbay.

Desh attempted to counsel Knight [Natural 12] and helped her to realize that the anxiety was a projection of her own reluctance to assist a competitor and her annoyance with Aldel's attitude. She agreed to go easier on our sensor operator and promised to work more closely with the rest of the crew.

Lewis was able to make intercept without any additional burns, and on January 12th we entered orbit around Inferno's unnamed moon. Excelsior was rolling erratically, so we could not dock traditionally. Lewis deftly matched velocity and Evans mated a flexible docking umbilical to Excelsior. Scans showed the ship as cold and dark, and a fine mist of vapor emanated from its port side cargo section.

Only Evans, Lewis, Knight, Nelson and Wen Chun were certified for vacc suit operations, so I sent them over, accompanied by Desh.  Excelsior's airlock was malfunctioning and would not permit entry.  Knight was able to override the security protocols and gain manual entry. The atmosphere was too cold for unprotected humans and the air was too thin to breathe and mostly carbon monoxide. Evans headed to the avionics bay to check the ship's computer, while Nelson and Knight headed for the upper and lower drive sections respectively. Lewis made his way to the bridge, accompanied by Wen Chun, while Desh set out toward the medbay and hypersleep chamber.  

Nelson replaced a damaged hyperdrive initiator, while Knight repaired the environmental reclamation systems. Once power was restored, Evans was able to reboot the ship's computer. Damaged compartments were sealed off and atmosphere was restored to the remaining habitable sections.

Desh reported that the medbay was functional. The crew had entered hypersleep, but 80% of the pods had failed, killing the crew members within. Only two pods remained operational - the Executive pod for corporate officials, which was unoccupied, and the pod of the ship's medic, Clement Bailey. Desh revived Bailey and treated him. Once stabilized, the sole survivor recounted the events that had led to the Excelsior's current situation.

The ship had sustained micrometeoroid strikes, damaging the power grid and causing several vital systems to burn out. One of the strikes penetrated a petroleum tank, causing the loss of 7900 tons of product. Computer systems began to fail and one by one, the ship's subsystems began to shut down. The environmental conditions became uninhabitable, and the crew sent a distress call and entered hypersleep. As emergency power dwindled, the computer prioritized the pods of the medic and corporate executive pods for survival.

Bailey was overcome by grief when he learned about the deaths of his crew mates, and outraged that the ship's computer would allocate emergency power to save a corporate official that was not even there, at the expense of the rest of the crew.

Pilot Lewis attempted to correct the attitude of Excelsior, but only succeeded in sending it into an almost uncontrollable tumble. I was forced to disengage the umbilical, and MUTHR moved the Dawn Treader to protect the ships from possible collision. Lewis remained aboard with Bailey, as our pilot would need to correct its tumble and pilot it back to Hamilton.  The remainder of the crew made an EVA back to Dawn. Once Lewis was able to regain control of Excelsior, Nelson went out in a workpod and repaired the hull breaches.

All told, we had spent a full day on restoring Excelsior to operational status. I transmitted a message to Logistics, notifying them of the completion of our recovery mission. The nearest hyperspace point was 30 Mkm away, and Wen Chun laid in a course and took the helm. For us, the trip would take only a day and a half, but with the sluggish reaction drive of Excelsior, Lewis would take three full days to arrive there.

We spent the time performing routine maintenance and going about our daily tasks, and around lunch time on the 15th, we entered hypersleep. The Dawn arrived back at Hamilton in the early morning of the 19th, and our pay was transmitted. The Company had deducted 10% of our bonus payout because the ship was damaged, and an additional 1% penalty for being over deadline. Each of us collected a mere $1302, for nearly three weeks of work.

The crew was granted three days of shore leave. We mostly spent the time resting from our ordeal. Around mid-day on the 21st, the Excelsior returned to port. Lewis had established a close friendship with Bailey, who was apparently known as "Gamble" to his friends, for reasons that should be obvious. They had spent most of their time drinking and playing cards. Lewis lost most of his pay to Bailey at the poker table, but had reclaimed all but $100 by beating his new friend at drinking games.

The following morning, Bailey came to me for help. The Company was trying to hold him accountable for the deaths of his crew mates, and had declared his pay to be forfeit. I was able to intervene, reminding our superiors that it was the ship's own programming that had prioritized the survival of the ship's medic and an executive that wasn't even aboard at the time.

Our first mission turned out to be a nominal but costly success. I await tomorrow morning's meeting, where we will receive our next mission.  Buchanan out.


HOSTILE SOLO SHIPPING CAMPAIGN - MEET THE CREW



CAPTAIN Rory Buchanan 8989AA Corporate Executive

Admin-3     Broker-2     Leader-1     Computer-1 Bribery-1

Sex: Male Age: 48 Height: 181 cm Weight: 88 kg

Hometown: Dublin, Ireland, Earth Ethnicity: Celtic

Education: Dual Masters' in Business Administration and Economics

Languages: English, Gaelic

Psych Profile:  Self-oriented, motivated by material rewards

Appearance: Short brown hair and beard, eyeglasses, immaculate Con-Am uniform and grooming. Left shoulder patch on jumpsuit: "What's my bonus situation?" -  was a gift from crew.

Notes:  Rory Buchanan signed on to Consolidated American Corporation to pay off his considerable educational debt of $80,000 from Trinity College Dublin. Con-Am funded his education in return for service no less than the time to earn repayment.



NAVIGATOR Wen Chun 377A76 Spacer (First Officer)

Navigation-3 Pilot-2 Comms-1 Computers-1 Vacc Suit-1

Sex: Female Age: 23 Height: 153 cm Weight: 54 kg

Hometown: Waterfall City, Columbia, Epsilon Indi, NEZ Ethnicity: Chinese

Education: No post-secondary formal education, prodigal understanding of astrophysics

Languages: English, Chinese

Psych Profile:  Overconfident, to compensate for small size and weak physique

Appearance: Short black hair, brown eyes.  Tiny and slim.  Green shoulder/belt sash over uniform.  Left shoulder patch on jumpsuit displays Waterfall City logo

Notes: Fled Federal Republic of China to escape a vindictive former lover



SENSOR OPERATOR Aman Aldel 556C76 Technician (Second Officer)

Comms-3 Electronics-3 Computers-2

Sex: Female Age: 26 Height: 159 cm Weight: 80 kg

Hometown: Tripoli, Lebanon, Earth Ethnicity: Arabic

Education: Journeyman Electrical Engineer.  Exceptional IQ in the 160+ range.

Languages: English, Arabic, French

Psych Profile:  Comically pessimistic and somewhat paranoid

Appearance: Overweight, out of shape.  Wears hijab headscarf with uniform.  Left shoulder patch on jumpsuit: "Lazarus Award" for two years' accrued hypersleep

Notes: Fled Lebanon to avoid persecution due to religion and sexual orientation.



ENGINEER Luther Nelson 8579C4 Technician (Third Officer)

Engineering-3 Mechanical-3 Electronics-1 Vacc Suit-1

Sex: Male Age: 54 Height: 169 cm Weight: 84 kg

Hometown: Trondheim, Norway, Earth Ethnicity: Scandinavian

Education: Dual Ph.D. in Mechanical and Astronautical Engineering from NTNU

Languages: English, Norwegian

Psych Profile:  Grim and determined, laconic

Appearance: Grease-stained coverall, bald.  Left shoulder patch: "Outland Club" for surviving exposure to vacuum (see below)

Notes: Low dexterity due to injury from vacuum exposure when suit failed during EVA repair.  Caught up in political turmoil in Norway regarding anti-immigration and anti-Islamism.



ASSISTANT ENGINEER Leah Knight     7779A8 Technician (Fourth Officer)

Engineering-2     Security-2         Mechanical-2

Electronics-1     Vacc Suit-1

Sex: Female* Age: 28 Height: 165 cm Weight: 70 kg

Hometown: Seattle, United States, Earth Ethnicity: Celtic

Education: Masters' in Mechanical Engineering, Journeyman Electrician

Languages: English, Tolkien Elvish, Vulcan

Psych Profile: Rebellious in nature

Appearance: Teal hair in pixie cut, fey features, somewhat androgynous

Notes: Avid reader of fantasy novels, attracted by tales of adventure among the stars.



PILOT Noah Lewis 495C87 Spacer

Pilot-3 Navigation-2 Vacc Suit-1 Computers-1 Carousing-1

Sex: Male Age: 25 Height: 181 cm Weight: 60 kg

Hometown: Central, The Solomons, Epsilon Eridani     Ethnicity: Belter

Education: B.Sc in Astronomy, Exceptional IQ in the 160+ range

Languages: English, Belter Patois

Psych Profile:  Joker, takes nothing seriously

Appearance: Tall, lean; spiky reddish hair.  Left bicep tattoo: "Kinako is People!". Hawaiian Shirt.

Notes: Joined Can-Am to make parents proud after a series of monumental screw-ups.



LOADMASTER Tucker Evans B79775 Spacer

Loader-3 Vacc Suit-2 Computers-2 Brawling-1

Sex: Male Age: 33 Height: 187 cm Weight: 88 kg

Hometown: Baltimore, United States, Earth Ethnicity: Welsh

Education: Bachelor's in Logistics

Languages: English

Psych Profile:  Stubborn, strong-willed

Appearance: Military haircut and bearing.  Bomber jacket with "Class 2 Rating" left shoulder patch.

Notes: Spent time in prison - making a fresh start



MEDICAL OFFICER  Desh 979895 Android (Epsilon-7 Model 90)

Medic-3 Investigate-2 Liaison-1 Computers-0

Sex: N/A Height: 181 cm Weight: 96 kg

Inception: Bangalore, India, Earth 08 January 2215 (10 years old)

Education: Certification as Flight Surgeon and Psychotherapist

Languages: English, Hindu

Psych Profile: Sensible, does not take unnecessary risks.

Appearance: Indian male in mid-20s.  Short dark hair, beard stubble, brown eyes. White lab coat.

Notes: Generally accepted as an independent individual by crew of Dawn Treader


HOSTILE SOLO - A BRIEF GLIMPSE

Previously, I discussed the various iterations of the Cepheus Engine, which is based on the "Original 2d6 Science Fiction Roleplaying Game" (a.k.a Traveller).  In that article, I mentioned ZOZER Games and the SOLO supplement for single-person Cepheus/Traveller play.

Today, I wanted to discuss another line from Paul Elliott's ZOZER Games, based upon the Cepheus Engine, but with an entirely different setting.  Let's talk about HOSTILE.  Originally published in 2017 and recently updated, HOSTILE is a gritty sci-fi RPG set in the 23rd Century.  It is a "retrotech" future, in the vein of Alien and Outland.  The technology of HOSTILE is solidly based in the late 1970's origins - an industrialized future with clunky CRT monochrome monitors; stereotypical dimly-lit hexagonal corridors with exposed conduits and grid decking; inexplicable chains and dripping water in the cargo bay, and the like.  There are no ray-guns or energy swords or intelligent humanoid aliens.  Faster-than-light travel is possible through hyperspace, but the crew must be placed into cryogenic hypersleep to survive the experience.  FTL communication is possible, but it is slow and bandwidth is so low that messages are more like telegrams or tweets than e-mails.

In this future of the early to mid-2200's, the nations of Earth have solidified into a few major political blocs, and corporations naturally run things out among the stars.  There are no other "Earths" out there - most worlds are barely survivable because of the geology and atmosphere, and even "garden worlds" are teeming with alien life forms that want to kill you.  In this gritty, dystopian future, you are a worker, employed by one of the mega-corporations in their ongoing agenda to exploit the abundant natural resources of nearby systems.  Life among the stars is a life of hard work and little comfort.  It is unforgiving, brutal, and often short.  The food is bland, the accommodations spartan, and the pay is barely equal to the effort put into earning it.

Why would anyone want to play in such a universe, let alone live and work in it?  Because, let's be honest, you liked films such as Alien and Outland and Blade Runner.  You've wondered what it would be like to experience those worlds.  And the prolific mind and pen of Paul Elliott has given us the means to do so.

The core of HOSTILE is comprised of two books - the Rules, and the Setting.  Each is a standalone product, but together the game becomes even more immersive and authentic.  Conceivably, you could use the HOSTILE Setting book with any of the Cepheus Engine rule sets or even Traveller, but the HOSTILE Rules book gives you a system that's custom-built for this style of play.

There are a number of supplementary products, each geared toward a specific style of campaign.  Do you want to play Marines, like in Aliens?  There's a book for that.  If you want to play the crew of an interstellar freighter, like in Alien, there's a book for that.  Roughnecks mining precious resources on alien worlds to meet the insatiable needs of Earth?  There's a book for that.  How about an exploration crew, seeking out and surveying new worlds to be exploited?  Of course there's a book for that.  How about designing and running a colony?  There's a book for that, too!

As expected, there are also supplements for equipment and weaponry, as well as some starships, small craft, and space stations.  There's a supplement that's all about synthetic humans (such as androids, clones and purpose-built workers).  Recent releases include a couple of pivotal colonies that are settings full of action and intrigue.

But, for me at least, the crown jewel in the line is the long-awaited Hostile SOLO rulebook.  Like its Traveller-oriented predecessor, it is a standalone product and does not require any of the other books (though they allow for a deeper, more immersive play experience).  As mentioned above and before, there are campaigns for Shipping, Exploration, Mining, Marines, and campaigns for Colony Management or Corporate Troubleshooters (this last one might benefit from having the Zaibatsu cyberpunk rules on hand, as well).  All in all, the book offers the same features as SOLO, but customized for the HOSTILE universe.


In case you haven't already noticed, these books are also a feast for the eyes.  They're all full-color and packed with gorgeous art from the legendary Ian Stead and others.  They can be obtained in PDF form from the DriveThru RPG site, or in print form from Lulu.  The printed books are well-made and beautiful, and if you buy the hardcopies, you can email Zozer for the PDF versions at no extra cost.  I have the entire Hostile line in PDF already, and I'm slowly adding print copies of some of the supplemental books to complement the core hardcopies I already own.

    I've generated a crew and will be doing my own playthrough of the Shipping campaign.  The first mission is already in the bag.  Stay tuned for the Voyages of the Dawn Treader!

All images are Copyright of Zozer Games and are used only to illustrate the products for review purposes.  No challenge is intended to the holder of these copyrights.