Matty McGee & SEU Heaven
The human female is Matty McGee. If the player characters ask Matty about the missing executive Hakfoost, she will slowly stroke her chin affirming that she remembers speaking to him. She adds that if the player characters want more information regarding Hakfoost, they must first help her with a little problem she has. Seems that Matty is quite the gambler and finds herself in need of a replacement fighter for an upcoming match at Flynn's Fighting Zone. If a player character can fight Blek Blorb's champion 'Cha', win or lose the match, she'll share all she knows about Hakfoost. If the player characters decline Matty's offer and instead try to pressure her for information about Hakfoost, Matty will become angry and her robot POXO-5 will step in to quite possibly end the player characters lives. If a fight breaks out, a station security team will arrive in 1d10 turns to confront the player characters.
POXO-5: LEVEL 4, STR 200, STA 200, HEIGHT: 2.5 meters, WEIGHT: 180 kg, POWER: Type 1 Parabattery, WEAPONS: 2 Flamethrowers (4d10 + 1d10 x 3 turns), Sonic Pistol, Electrostunner, Albedo Screen
Matty McGee (Human Female) Stats: Average NPC, Technician Level 6
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Flynn's Fighting Zone
Assuming the player characters accept Matty's offer to fight at Flynn's Fighting Zone the following day, they must first pass the night. The player characters can either return to the Starfox, or stay on Dead Man's Wharf. If they choose to stay on board the station, Matty will suggest they take a room at Fleeger's Flophouse in module 7. Fleeger will have one room available for 10 credits per night. It's small and musty, but provides a decent shower and a few beds for the player characters.
The PC's fight is scheduled as the first event of the evening. The players will need to decide which among their number would have the best chance to win a hand-to-hand fight with Blek Blorb's champion Cha. Those not fighting will have to buy tickets to see the fight, or else view the fight by vidscreen at one of the station's bars. The best seats at Flynn's cost 100 credits, with the others costing 50 credits. Flynn will allow one other player character to be the PC fighter's corner person at no charge.
The fighters themselves wait on the residence deck below until the time of their scheduled match. The fighting player character will have the opportunity to see the other fighters including Cha.
"Several of the apparent fighters are either warming up for their upcoming fight or being massaged by attendants. Blek Blorb's champion 'Cha' is a freakishly huge Dralasite with 3 arms and 3 legs. Cha says nothing and only stares at you grinning. This is not going to be easy."
Flynn, a shady Vrusk male determined to make a profit any way he deems appropriate, opened this fight club 7 years ago. Being quite popular with spacers and wharfers alike, the business continues to enjoy enormous success. Ticket cost ranges between 50 to 100 credits, and attendees are encouraged to gamble on the fights. Flynn employs 2 assistants to help run his business, and uses a robotic ticket taker by the hatch on the storage deck of module 3. He also uses 6 security robots to help maintain order. The ladder from the storage deck down to the business deck (in the center of the fighting ring) is mechanically retractable so that it will not be in the way when the fight begins.
Flynn: Vrusk male, STR40, STA50, DEX70, RS60, INT45, LOG45, PER50, LDR50, RW45, M45, PS3, IM6, Comp.37% Electrostunner 20 SEU Clip, Vibroknife, Civilian Skeinsuit
Assistant #1: Human male, STR45, STA45, DEX45, RS45, INT45, LOG45, PER45, LDR45, PS3, RW35, M35, Needler Pistol, Albedo Suit, SEU Beltpaclk, 2 ammo clips
Assistant #2: Human Male, STR45, STA50, DEX45, RS45, INT40, LOG35, PER25, LDR25, PS3, RW35, M35, Electrostunner, Skeinsuit, SEU Beltpack
Cha: Dralasite Male STR70, STA70, DEX60, RS40, INT30, LOG20, PER20, LDR20, PS4, RW0, M50, #ATT:3
Run the hand-to-hand melee as described in the Alpha Dawn game rules. The fight continues until one fighter is reduced to 0 STA or is knocked out. The bout is fought in a series of 2 minute rounds with 1 minute rest periods between each round. As a special rule during the rest period, a fighter who rolls his current STA score recovers 1d10 points of damage incurred by the fight. With regards to "fight zone rules", there are none. Fighters may choose to punch, kick, wrestle, throw, choke, bite, whatever they wish so long as no melee weapons or defensive suits are used.
If the player character defeats Cha, the crowd will cheer wildly and the PC will receive prize money totaling 1000 credits + 5 xp. Flynn will be impressed and make offers for future fights. If the player character loses the fight, the crowd will chant "Cha! Cha! Cha!" over and over again, and the player character will receive treatment for any damage incurred by the fight. Matty in either case will keep her word to the player characters.
"Quite a fight. Well then, I'll tell you all I know about Hakfoost. He told me that he's been talking with several stone shepherds regarding a slow down of production on the asteroid mining base S-4. Seems that the miners there are claiming that the tunnels are haunted. He said that there's been several bizarre mishaps that led to the deaths of a few miners. Hakfoost told me that he doesn't believe any nonsense of hauntings, and is going to S-4 to take a look for himself. That was the last thing he said to me, and I haven't heard from him since. I hope he's alright. Seemed like a nice guy."
Matty McGee will thank the PCs for helping her to save face by fighting Blek Blorb's champion, and mention that if they ever find themselves low on energy, she will always give them a discount.
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Leaving Dead Man's Wharf
The player characters will next want to travel to the asteroid mining base S-4. The obvious way is to travel there in the Starfox, but this runs the risk of a confrontation with Malco Enterprise's privateer ships patrolling the belt. Malco has no interest in outsiders investigating accounts of missing persons, especially when it involves an employee of their own subsidary company. Even if the player characters somehow avoided the security patrol, the miners of S-4 wouldn't recognize the players authority to land there. The player characters will need to come up with a cunning ruse to get aboard the S-4 base if they are to continue their investigation. A few options would be:
1) the player characters somehow replace a group of miners about to return to the asteroid field and 'borrow' their shuttle.
2) the player characters hide themselves inside crates of supplies bound for the S-4 Mining Base.
3) the player characters use the Starfox to travel to S-4, then claim to be having engine trouble when they arrive. They need to land in order to effect repairs.
The advantage of options 1 or 2 is that the player characters will be able to enter the asteroid base via its landing bay. If the players choose either of these options, a deck plan for the Mining Shuttle is provided below. The Starfox' wingspan is too wide to enter the bay directly, and if using option 3, the characters ship would need to land on the asteroid's surface or drift along close to the asteroid. The PCs would then suit up and move into the landing bay using rocketpacks. If the PCs decided to stowaway aboard a mining shuttle bound for the S-4 mining base, skip the 'The Hepplewhite Shuttle Encounter' section and proceed directly to the 'S-4 Mining Base' section.
Mining Shuttle
This section is for if the PCs have decided to either take a mining shuttle that was visiting Dead Man's Wharf, or hide themselves in crates of supplies being loaded on a mining shuttle bound for the S-4 Mining Station. The Hepplewhite Mining Shuttle is a chemically powered system ship. When at work, it uses a more powerful version of the standard Laser Power Torch (LPT) that is described in the Knight Hawks Campaign book. Once choice chunks of rock have been cut, cargo doors along the top side of the cargo bay open, and a robotic arm places the rocks into the cargo hold. The mining shuttle is normally manned by a pilot, copilot, and two miners. When dispatched to Dead Man's Wharf for supplies and/or recreational leave, the shuttle may carry as many as six passengers in the cargo area. If the PCs have to fight the miners in order to take the shuttle, the miners are considered to be 'Average NPCs'.
The Hepplewhite Shuttle Encounter
"On route to the asteroid mining base S-4, your sensors detect a drifting hull size 3 ship. There is no response to any radio transmissions you send. As your ship closes to visual range, you are able to identify the ship as Hepplewhite shuttle 773. You also notice a body drifting in space near the shuttle. This looks like the handy work of space pirates. If you wish to investigate further, you will need to suit up and use rocketpacks to board the drifting shuttle."
(A) MAIN AIRLOCK: The main airlock hatch is not locked and its power system is functional. As the size of the airlock is 2 meters square, only two player characters will be able to enter the ship at a time. Note that the inner hatch has been booby trapped. When it is first opened, a timer to an explosive charge under one of the ladders near the port fuel tank is activated. It will detonate in 50 turns (5 minutes), totally destroying the ship and everyone in it. Any player character with technician skills may detect the booby trap normally if actively searching. Otherwise, they must pass a secret INT check with a -10% modifier to determine if they notice the mechanism when they pass through the airlock hatch. The bomb can be deactivated normally if the PCs can locate it. As the PCs move through the second hatch into the ship, read the following:
"The interior of the shuttle is dark except for a few emergency lights dimly illuminating the deck. The deck is 2 meters across with a door on the opposite wall. The interior itself extends left about 4 meters to a ladder, and right about 14 meters to a door. Immediately to the right are six empty passenger seats."
(B) PILOT'S STATION: There is a lifeless body of a human wearing a Hepplewhite uniform sitting in the pilot's chair slumped over the controls. A player character with either piloting or engineering skills will be able to determine that the shuttle's systems are fully functional, and has enough fuel to reach either Dead Man's Wharf or Asteroid Mining Station S-4.
(C) PORT CABIN: [4m x 6m] This cabin contains 3 beds and has a private bathroom. The door to the bathroom is damaged with apparent burn marks. Lying on the floor inside the bathroom is a dead Vrusk, apparently shots several times with a laser weapon. He wears a Hepplewhite uniform.
(D) STARBOARD CABIN: [4m x 8m] This cabin contains 3 beds and has a private bathroom. The bathroom is empty.
(E) PASSENGER SEATING: Six comfortable passenger seats are located here. There are no passengers sitting in them. If the PCs search the seat cushions, they will find an expensive chronocom tucked between the cushions. An engraving on the back of the chronocom identifies its owner; Hakfoost the One-Eyed. Hakfoost apparently had enough time to leave a numeric code in the calculator function of the chronocom, with each number corresponding to a letter in the alphabet: 13.9.14.5.18 (M.I.N.E.R)
(F) ASTROGATOR'S STATION: The chair is empty, but the controls are operational. A player character with astrogation skills will be able to determine that the shuttle left Dead Man's Wharf 32 days ago, traveled several days to Fueling Depot F-8, then on to the shuttle's current position.
(G) ENGINEER'S STATION: A player character with piloting or engineering skills will be able to check the instrument readouts and determine that the shuttle is fully functional and has enough fuel to reach either Dead Man's Wharf or Asteroid Mining Station S-4. The shuttle's main interior lighting can be restored at this station.
There are 3 ladders on the aft wall; the port and starboard ladders go up to the fuel tanks, and the one in the middle goes down to the cargo hold. If a player character comes within 2 meters of the port ladder in this area, the PC will have a chance of noticing the hidden explosive charge behind the ladder. This requires a secret INT check.
(H) Cargo Hold: At the bottom of the center ladder is a door leading to the cargo hold. The area contains several crates that are open and empty. They are all marked 'Hepplewhite Inc.'
(I) Service Walkway: This door leads to a service walkway used for maintenance purposes.
(J) Landing Gear: this compartment contains retracted landing gear.
(K) Fuel Tank: The chemical fuel tank is nearly full at the moment.
(L) Storage Locker: Empty
(M) Food Prep Area: This area contains enough food and beverage rations to feed 9 characters for 10 days.
(N) Crew Cabin: This small room contains a double bunk bed and small bathroom/shower. The room appears to have been ransacked leaving nothing of any value.
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Fueling Depot F-8
It's possible that the player characters may want to investigate the fueling depot that the Hepplewhite shuttle previously stopped at. If so, it will require 10 hours travel at ADF1 to fueling depot F-8.
The fueling depots were originally designed with a life support system for two to four living crew. To cut costs, Malco Enterprises now uses service robots to oversee the refueling of chemically powered company vessels.
Refueling protocol is as follows: the approaching vessel radios the fueling depot requesting fueling instructions and provides an identification code. The depot responds with docking instructions for one of its two fueling ports.
If the player characters contact the depot without providing a company identification code, they will be denied permission to dock. The PCs can still enter the depot using spacesuits with rocketpacks.
The depot's airlock hatch is protected by a level 1 locking mechanism. There's only enough room in the airlock for two PCs to enter at a time. After moving through the inner hatch, there is a short ladder down to the operations deck. Two service robots are at the controls, and they will not interact with the PCs unless they are themselves attacked. Any PC with computer skills who can defeat or bypass the computer's level 3 security system will be able to find the following information:
- Hepplewhite shuttle 773 was refueled to capacity 30 days ago; total fueling time 1 hour.
- Life support analysis indicates a total of 7 persons onboard the shuttle.
