S-4 Mining Base
The PCs arrive at the asteroid field known as Shepherd's Belt in the vicinity of Mining Station S-4. If the PCs chose to hide in crates aboard a supply shuttle bound for S-4, skip the following description.
"Your ship closes to visual range of Shepherd's Belt. Millions of asteroids fill your view, most dwarfing your tiny vessel and all slowly drifting in a single direction."
While the PC's vessel maneuvers on the game hex map, there is a 25% chance per (10 minute) turn of the PC's ship being dectected by one of the privateer ships hired by Malco Enterprises to patrol Shepherd's Belt. If the PC's are in the Starfox, the privateer ship SS Ironwing will attempt radio contact and warn the PC's ship away from the asteroid field. If the PCs do not comply, the privateer will fire a few shots to drive them off. If the PCs return fire, the privateer will retreat while calling for additional help. It will take 2 hours before the privateers can return in force. If the PCs are in a mining shuttle (either operating it or as stowaways in the cargo hold) the Ironwing does not attack, and instead continues to patrol the asteroid belt.
SS Ironwing: (scoutship) HS2, ADF5, MR4, DCR26, HP10, Laser Pod (Range: 8, Dmg. 1d10) Crew: 4 Captain: Neelwog Zedzed (Dralasite) Stats: Greater NPC, Lie Detection 20%, Piloting level 3
Next, the PCs have to navigate through the asteroids to reach the mining base. Use the game rules for navigating through asteroids on page 34 of the Knight Hawks Campaign Book.
"Your ship has moved to within visual distance of the S-4 Station. There doesn't seem to be any reaction to your arrival from the miners. No transmissions, no apparent activity, nothing at all."
If the PCs are using a mining shuttle, they can enter S-4 normally via the asteroid's landing bay. If they are in the Starfox, they will need to either land on the surface near the landing bay entrance or maneuver close to the bay entrance matching the asteroid's course and speed. In either case, they would then use spacesuits with rocketpacks to enter the bay.
If the PCs previously stowed away in cargo crates of a mining shuttle, they find that the crew has left the shuttle soon after they landed. The stowaways can then leave the shuttle into the landing bay. The miners who were aboard the shuttle will later be found dead, apparently killed by the mining robot in room 5.
The PCs may also attempt to enter the base by either the CONTROL ROOM or the TOWER. If they insist on taking this route, the referee should have the players roll their LOG scores. Any PC making a successful check will realise that there is a great risk of being hit by small high speed debri from the asteroid field while exposed on the surface. There's also a secondary risk of immediate detection and thus being fired upon by the facility's heavy weapons. If the PCs still insist on taking this route, the referee will need to calculate how many hours of oxygen the PCs spacesuits have, their rate of movement, and the likelyhood of lethal mishaps. The referee must then run the encounters starting from either the CONTROL ROOM or the TOWER.
Assuming the the players enter S-4 from the landing bay, continue below.
Into the S-4 Mining base ( 1 map square = 2 meters )
"You are now inside S-4's cavernous landing bay. It is roughly 18 meters wide and 80 meters long with entrance ports at both ends. There is neither gravity nor atmosphere here, but there is artificial lighting at intervals along the entire length of the walls. You can see two airlock hatches spaced 50 meters apart along one of the walls that you assume lead into the pressurized areas of the base. There are no guards posted and no security cameras in sight. You also see another shuttle parked near the airlock at the other end of the bay."
Movement: As there is zero gravity throughout the S-4 mining base, the characters must either pull themselves along using handholds embedded in the rock walls or walk wearing magnetic boots along steel floor grating that is to be found everywhere in the mines. Characters can also push off some surface and float in a single direction until some counter force stops the motion (rock wall, a character grabbing onto something, etc.) See the weightless movement section in the Star Frontiers Alpha Dawn rules. While the map above shows horizontally straight passages, most tunnels in the mines will alter vertically (up or down) as much as 45 degrees.
Rogue miners have sets traps along the rooms and tunnels of the mines. Some of these traps use explosives, while others use mining robots reprogrammed to attack any unauthorized persons. The second shuttle in the bay is fully functional, but is otherwise of no interest to the player characters.
1 - This pressurized hatch is unlocked and leads to a 6m x 6m airlock chamber. There are spacesuit lockers on the walls which are empty, and a small storage locker that contains 2 flashlights and a first aid kit. There is a second pressurized hatch (unlocked) that leads into the mines.
2 - A mining robot is working here. If the PCs come within 2 meters of the bot, it will attack with its LPT.
Mining Robot: Level 2, Height 1.3m, Move: 30m/turn, STA: 100, Limbs: 4, Programs: Comlink, Self Defense, Attack/Defense, Uses Laser Power Torch (LPT) to cut rock. See pg. 30 Knight Hawks Campaign Book for information on the LPT.
3 - There is a box containing 500 grams of TD-19 'Kaboomite' stored here.
4 - There is a LPT mining robot working here. If the PCs come within 2 meters of the bot, it will attack.
5 - There are the bodies of two dead miners here (one Human, one Yazirian). They appear to have been killed recently by laser wounds. They both wear chronocoms, have flashlights, and have Hepplewhite Industries I.D. Badges
6 - This room contains a functioning generator that can charge 1 SEU per minute (60 SEU per hour). Mining robots recharge both themselves and their LPTs at this station
7 - Identicle to room 1
8 - A non-functioning mining robot is in this room. A player character may attempt to repair and reprogram the robot if so desired. The damage seems to be from a laser weapon of some sort.
9 - This 6m x 6m room contains 4 storage lockers each with a spacesuit and flashlight. There is an elevator door at the other end with the word 'TOWER' written on it.
10 - The body of a dead Dralasite miner floats here. It seems that he died of severe lacerations that look like bite marks from some kind of large animal.
11 - A crate that contains 500 grams of TD-19 Kaboomite with timer detonater. It is not activated at the moment.
12 - A LPT mining robot is working here. It will attack the PCs on sight.
13 - A room with 6 storage lockers, 2 containing spacesuits and flashlights. The other 4 lockers are empty. One of the empty lockers has been rigged with a boobytrap; opening it sets off a charge of 500 grams TD-19 causing 5d10 damage to anyone opening the locker (2 meter blast area). There is an elevator door with the words 'CONTROL ROOM' written on it.
14 - This room is filled with crates. Inside the crates, the PCs find food rations (enough to feed 50 persons for a month), medical supplies, 10 type-1 parabatteries, 2 type-2 parabatteries, 100 meters of copper wire, 100 meters of rope, 10 flashlights, mining tools such as picks and shovels, 5 robotic repair kits, and coveralls for 50 persons. One of the crates already open and contains a single oxgen tank and strap-on mask. The tank O2 gauge reads nearly empty.
15 - The body of a dead Vrusk miner floats here. His neck seems to have been snapped.
16 - A robotic dog with razor sharp teeth attacks the closest PC.
Robotic Dog: Level 2, STA: 100, Length: 1.3m, Weight: 50kg, Move: 130m/turn, Attack: 60, IM 6, Damage: 3d10 bite, 1d10 claw, #Attacks: 2
17 - A mining robot with LPT attacks the PCs.
18 - There is a pair of workboots against the wall. If a PC disturbs the boots (lifting them, kicking them, etc.), a incendiary grenade hidden beneath the boots will explode. (4d10 damage + 1d10 damage for 3 turns)
19 - This is a secret passage hidden by a holo projected image of a rock wall. It leads to the floor hatch in room 4 of the control room. PCs will not notice this passage unless they have previously stated that they are continuously searching the walls for hidden passages.
If the PCs somehow discover the hidden tunnel and use it to enter the control room, the rogue miners there will fight a retreating battle, attempting to escape the PCs using the elevator to get to the mines. The NPCs will then head for the landing bay, board one of the shuttles, and leave the mining base.
