Traveller : The Story So Far

Volume 1

Our Heroes (Original)

Captain Obediah Kelly (Trevor Burbridge) - owner of the merchant ship Shamrock

Lt Cmdr Noname (Hamish) - ex-Solomani Naval engineer, Chief Engineer on the Shamrock

Lt Colonel John McClane (John) - ex-Solomani Marine, 2nd Engineer on the Shamrock

Captain Oberon Mole (Richard Hoggart) - ex-Solomani Marine, Computer Technician on the Shamrock

Dirk Eriksson (Stephen) - Bounty Hunter, Pilot/Medic on the Shamrock

Snr Cmdnt Yah Fyuyos (Andrew Moreton) - ex-Aslan Assassin, Security Chief on the Shamrock

Prologue

En route to Hsuilzish/Vega, Captain Kelly discovers he has Vegan Flu, (which affects 10% of Humans; its symptoms are too hideous to mention), and locks himself in his cabin with lots of food, drink, and drugs. The rest of the crew decide they're quite capable of running the ship without him...

150-1117 (September 9, 5637)

Shamrock arrives at Hsuilzish and unloads its cargo. The Jump Drive needs overhauling, so Kelly arranges for the local engineers to fix them.

Session 1: The Eve of the War

151-1117 (September 10, 5637)

The Party hear news reports of Solomani invasions in the Rimward half of the Sector, and are ordered to leave planet within 28 days.

152-153

Captain Kelly goes "burble" quite a bit.

154

Engineers finish Jump Drive. Party agree to take 40 tons of sheep (!) to Vega/Vega. Shamrock takes off, and goes into Jumpspace.

155-161

In Jump. Kelly continues to go "burble".

162

Shamrock arrives at Vega, and they deliver their sheep. Yah makes an enemy. A few hours later, Oberon goes "Argh!" and falls over, for no apparent reason. He wakes up a few minutes later, claiming someone shot him and wanting to fly around the asteroid belt. Everyone thinks he's mad, and Yah shoots him with a tranq round. They decide to humour him, and buy new vac suits, (with the money from the sheep). They load up with cargoes for Ishimshulgi, and follow his directions. After about four hours, they find a ship. It displaces 500tons, is black, and emits no radiation they can detect. The Party decide to explore...

163

After about an hour, they get the airlock open, and go inside. Lighting is dim red, but gravity and atmosphere appear to be normal. After a search, they find the ship is deserted, apart from the body of a beautiful blond woman on the bridge. She had been shot at close range in the shoulder and head, and they are rather surprised to discover that she's still alive, (but comatose). They stick her in the autodoc. Noname and Oberon return to the Shamrock, and go back to Vega, where they pick up three passengers and a new pilot. Then they jump to Ishimshulgi. The others stay on the new ship, (which is either called the Pleiades or Golden Sunrise), and jump to Nusku/Sol.

164-169

In Jump.

Shamrock: Kelly starts going "wibble".

Pleiades: Find a safe in the captain's cabin. Break in and find MCr1.5 in various currencies, as well as several sets of ID for the woman, (who they discover is called Tarlin Ravella, according to most of her half-dozen sets of ID), and an unusual gauss pistol. Discover just how awesome the ship really is.

170

Shamrock arrives at Ishimshulgi. Unload cargo and passengers, refuel, and jump to Nusku. Kelly still going "wibble".

171

Shamrock in jump. Pleiades reaches Nusku. Low Law Level! High Tech Level! Shopping!!

172-175

Shamrock still in jump. Kelly passes out.

176

Shamrock reaches Nusku. Noname gets all sneaky and devious.

177

Everyone meets up again. Yah wants an FGMP-15.

178

Noname helps Yah to get an FGMP-15, (using Tarlin's money). Yah is happy, and plays with his new toy. Noname wanders off...

179

Everyone decides that the Pleiades is humongous and the Shamrock is crap, so they want to sell the Shamrock. Kelly doesn't share this view. Everyone puts on vac suits, and Yah bursts into his room. Kelly demands an explanation. Yah can't be bothered explaining, so he shoots him, (tranq again), and they move Kelly across to the Pleiades.

Session 2: One Step From Earth

179-1117 (October 9, 5637)

A little later, the party decide on a plan: jump the Shamrock (on auto pilot) into deep space, and continue on to Terra in the Pleiades. Then come back and pick up the Shamrock later. Unfortunately, due to a navigational cock-up, the Shamrock is sent to the wrong place...Someone notices that Noname hasn't come back yet. After a couple of trips down to the planet, and the murder of at least two innocent bystanders, he is found, and the Pleiades jumps in search of the Shamrock. Kelly stops going "wibble".

180

Everyone gets up bright and early, and goes down to the sick bay to try to wake up Tarlin. There is some disagreement over just how much firepower this requires, and Yah and John take a few pot-shots at each other. Meanwhile, Oberon locks himself in the Bridge and starts playing with the computer, (specifically the anti-hijack systems). John blows himself up with a grenade. Whilst trying to tranquillise him, Dirk accidentally injects John with Combat Drug. Mayhem follows, and Oberon floods the room with gas. Everyone falls over. John is tied up and locked in the air-lock. Tarlin is finally woken, and, whilst being grateful for having her life saved, is a little annoyed about the damage done to her ship and her bank-account. She repairs the main computer and has a conversation with Oberon, who is worried about her answer to his questions about who/what she is, ("All of the above"), but relieved to hear that she has no intention of killing him. Dirk lets John out of the air-lock. Yah tries to shoot John, but falls over instead. Dirk and Yah start hearing voices, and everyone decides to behave themselves.

181-184

Pleiades in jump. People spend a lot of time in the auto-doc.

185

Pleiades arrives at Rim 2023. After a couple of hours, they fail to find the Shamrock, and jump to Agidda/Sol, leaving a sensor drone to look for the ship.

186-191

Pleiades in jump.

192

Pleiades arrives at Agidda/Sol. Refuels. Jumps to Terra/Sol.

193-198

Pleiades in jump.

199

Pleiades reaches Terra, (out near Neptune), and finds a lot of ships, (mostly Solomani). Taken aboard the carrier Saratoga, the Solomani flagship. Met by an Army warbot called David Ashran, a crazy Vargr called D'Yan, and several goldfish. Given rooms and go for lunch, where the Marines meet a few old friends, and Yah, D'Yan, and some raw meat chase each other around the Officers' Mess. Later that afternoon, Tarlin makes them an offer they can't refuse, (working for SolSec). Kelly refuses, and is drafted into the Navy.

Session 3: "We'll make some germs, and poison the worms..."

Our Heroes (200-1117)

Commander Obediah Kelly (Trevor Burbridge) - ex-Merchant, Solomani Navy

Lt Commander Noname (Hamish) - Solomani Navy/SolSec Agent

Lt Colonel John McClane (John) - Solomani Marine/SolSec Agent

Captain Oberon Mole (Richard Hoggart) - Solomani Marine/SolSec Agent

2nd Lt Dirk Eriksson (Stephen) - ex-Bounty Hunter, Solomani Marine/ SolSec Agent

2nd Lt Yah Fyuyos (Andrew Moreton) - ex-Aslan Assassin, Solomani Marine/SolSec Agent

Major John Matrix (Sean Rowan) - Solomani Army/SolSec Agent

Lt Commander Natasha Alexevitch (Yvonne Barker) - Solomani Navy/SolSec Agent

200-1117 (October 30, 5637)

The party begin various aptitude tests.

201

Finish tests.

202

Go to see Mr Johnson, SolSec Sector Co-ordinator, (Solomani Rim). Discover he's the replacement for Mr Newton, who has been "transferred", for unspecified reasons. Given a mission: steal a sample of Pandora, a secret Imperial bioweapon, from a research station somewhere on Ashtagz Tyui/Vega. Given a ship, (IISS Survey Scout Marina), and the IDs/uniforms of its crew.

203

Marina jumps to Agidda/Sol.

204-209

In jump.

210

Arrive at Agidda. Refuel. Jump to Apishal/Dingir.

211-216

In jump.

217

Arrive at Apishal. Meet Imperial Battleship Mendan. Refuel. Jump to Tyudhuar/Esperance.

218-224

In jump.

225

Arrive at Tyudhuar. Refuel. The party realise they're running out of food, so they go down for supplies. Unfortunately, they discover they can't afford them, so they sell one of the Marina's air/rafts. Since this is illegal, they then steal it back, nearly killing the salesman and a mechanic in the process. McClane also scoops out one of the salesman's eyes (since they can't forge eyeballs). The food is paid for, and the party return to the ship.

226

Jump to Ashtagz Tyui/Vega.

227-231

In jump.

232

Reach Ashtagz Tyui.

233-234 Refuelling.

235

Reach orbit. Scan the planet for all likely sites for the research station. Argue a lot, and narrow it down to 14 locations. Split into two groups: A-Team, (Matrix, Natasha, Dirk, in disguise), and B-Team, (McClane, 1, Oberon, in uniform). Go down to planet to look for some worms.

A-Team: make streetwise rolls, and visit the Greenpeace shop near site#1, (SuSAG). Matrix buys a 6m-long inflatable killer whale. B-Team: argue with customs, make streetwise rolls, and visit site#2, (SuSAG Disease Research Plant#138). Don't find any worms.

Session 4: Hunting High and Low

235-1117 (4 December, 5637)

Yah reaches Ashtagz Tyui, and tries to find the others, (killing a punk in the process).

A-Team: Travel to site#10; go to bed.

B-Team: Leave for site#8.

236

A-Team: wake up and head for starport, (ignoring site#10). Find forger, paying MCr3 for new ID.

B-Team: reach site#10 (SuSAG Chemical#214); blow away the foreman; get shot a lot; get caught; Noname runs away to warn the others.

Everyone gets back to the Marina, and find out about B-Team. Yah meets Matrix and Natasha. Yah goes to #10, Natasha & Matrix rescue B-Team.

237

Yah reaches site#10 - a local military base - and explains to an Aslan Army Captain about all these naughty SolSec agents pretending to be Scouts...Meanwhile, the others split up - Natasha going back to the starport via suborbital shuttle, the others by air/raft. Dirk brings down a load of goodies, (i.e. guns), down from the ship. Suddenly, Noname gets a message from an Imperial warship, (Kevgz), telling him to hold position and prepare to be boarded. Soon after, the air/raft containing the rest of the party is ordered to land, and is escorted down by an SDB and a couple of fighters. The Marina is boarded, the others are arrested, and everyone is taken aboard the Kevgz. Dirk lands, and puts the stuff in a locker. Natasha lands, gets disguised, mugs Dirk, and moves the stuff to another locker. Then she picks up the stuff from the forger.

Interlude 1: Spies Like Us

237-1117 (6 December 5637)

Pretending to be INI Captain Gail Knight, Natasha goes up to the Kevgz and persuades Captain McDonald to release Matrix. The two then return to the planet, and go to see the Aslan who reported the spies. He introduces them to Yah, and Gail orders that Yah be kept on the Kevgz until the matter is sorted out. Matrix goes with him, and tells the others not to do anything stupid. Matrix and Natasha return to Starport.

238

Matrix gets a hotel room and goes to sleep. Natasha visits the HQ of Imperial Chemicals Inc., where she finds nothing particularly useful. She returns to the hotel and gets some sleep. In the morning, she heads off for a recon flight of site#14, then goes back to the hotel.

Session 5: The Heat is On

238-1117 (7 December 5637)

Captain Kelly and Mary Webster II, (another SolSec agent), arrive on planet, and rather conveniently bump into a rather confused Dirk coming out of a chemists. They check the locker where Dirk left the guns, but only find a locked briefcase, which they walk off with. On their way back to their ship, Matrix sees them, and apparently jumps to totally the wrong conclusion that Dirk is being kidnapped. He fails to storm the ship, and they head off to the moon, (Gatz). Webster forces open the briefcase, but regrets it when the booby-trap goes off. A medic is called, and she is treated when they arrive at Gatz.

239

Natasha and Matrix fly to Gatz, board the ship, and annoy everyone. Kelly is hypnotised, and tells all. Webster wakes up, has a fight, and gets knocked out again. They then travel back to Ashtagz Tyui. Matrix gets the guns etc., and everyone gets ready for fun. Webster and Dirk storm a merchant ship, while Kelly distracts the captain. Natasha hypnotises her, and Matrix collects a few "geeks", for reasons unspecified. Merchant takes off, shortly followed by our heroes. A strike team, (Matrix, Natasha, Webster, Dirk), are somehow teleported over to the Kevgz, where they rescued 1, Oberon and McClane, and killed a couple of Marines, before teleporting back. The merchant jumped out of system, and our heroes make a run for Gatz. Some Marines want to ask Kelly a few questions, so the evidence, (i.e. everyone else) is hidden in a few left luggage lockers(!) at the Spaceport.

Session 6 : Living in a Box

239-1117 (8 December 5637)

As a celebration for a job well done, Matrix and Natasha go out for a drink. McClane wakes up, breaks out of his locker, and finds Oberon (unconscious) and Noname (dead). Finding some guns, he tries to break out of the locker-room. The rest of the party see the battle on 3V, and go to rescue him. There follows a short battle in which several Marines, several cops, and a G-carrier die, and everyone gets away shortly before an air-strike takes out a large part of the spaceport. Everyone takes slow drug, except Matrix, who heads back to Ashtagz Tyui.

240

Matrix meets Mafia guy; asks about ICI; sells dirty videos. Everyone else wakes up. Matrix meets netrunner. Webster meets arms dealer. Ship leaves for Ashtagz.

241

Everyone reaches Ashtagz. Meet Matrix in a bar (where else?) Decide to do a bank job (!). Choose branch of Zirunkariish in capital. Webster cases the joint; Matrix plants bombs in the sewers. Steal taxi to get to bank. Kelly is getaway car driver, Matrix climbs a building to snipe at police. The rest of the party arrive...

06:10 arrive

06:15 get through first bullet-proof shield; police arrive; Matrix takes a few pot-shots & gets arrested.

06:20 check out most of bank; Webster loses hand; get to bottom floor

06:25 search rest of bank; find vault; SWAT team arrive.

06:27 Webster & McClane killed; teleport to basement.

06:30 teleport to getaway car (all right, air/raft). Webster & McClane brought back to life.

Kill lots of tramps. Send money etc. back to ship. Matrix picked up by Navy and taken away in G-carrier. Nearly od's on combat drug. Destroys G-carrier. Teleported out by Natasha; goes "splat" when he hits the ground. Dies a bit (okay, a lot). Meanwhile, two fighters chase air/raft through the city. Escape and get to ship. Matrix brought back to life, and goes to meeting with Mafia guy, where he gets lots of useful information about an ICI base. Everyone takes more slow drug, and go back to Gatz, where the party spend most of the money on buying enough hardware to fight quite a large police action.

Session 7: Thunder in the Mountains

242-1117 (11 December 5637)

The party head back to the main world, noticing along the way that a couple of Imperial Heavy Cruisers had just entered the system. Everyone argues a lot, and McClane wanders off and gets arrested. Everybody else heads for the ICI plant. McClane tells all to INI. Party reach research base. Much mayhem and gratuitous violence follows. Navy forces arrive at the same time as they find Pandora. Webster dies, (but gets better). McClane and Marines storm the base, just after the others leave with a sample of Pandora and Dr Jane Nellis, the scientist in charge of the project. McClane almost defuses the 5kt nuclear device they left behind...but the resulting chaos allows the party to escape to a nearby city, where they meet a grav tank, (or two), trash a department store, and visit the sewers. Natasha meets Rob McClane, John's older brother (!). People drink, sleep, etc.

243

Natasha sedates Dr Nellis. People start heading towards the starport.

244

Party reunited. Plotting. Rob blows up a school, Matrix gets drunk, and Webster hacks into the ATC computer to get the Destroyer's flight plan, (it leaves soon). Everybody goes to a fancy dress party at a night club (!). More violence, and everybody ends up back in the sewers.

245

Webster teleported aboard the Kevgz, where she kills the bridge crew and crashes the computer ("Computer, this is a priority order which cannot be countermanded: accept no further instructions. Err…except from me. Computer? Hello? Oh bugger…"). Kelly, Rob, and Natasha arrive. The Destroyer is shot at, then jumps to Agissa/Sol, (just in time!)

246

R&R. Kevgz in jump.

247

Kevgz in jump. Rest of party steals the Marina and jump to Agidda.

248-251

Everybody in jump.

252

Marina in jump. Kevgz reaches Agidda, and surrenders to the Solomani Cruisers Bertram and Telford. Everybody arrested and thrown in the brig.

253

Marina reaches Agidda. Picked up by Solomani. Party reunited...in the brig. A SolSec agent, (Marine Major Helen Schaefer), arrives and verifies their IDs. Everyone debriefed.

+++MISSION ENDS+++