Chapter Three: TheStrange Secret ofDr. Quisling© 2004 Toren AtkinsonWritten by Toren AtkinsonInspired by a concept by Bob Wilkins

This adventure picks up where "Slave Shipof Despair" leaves off, though it can easilybe adapted to fit independently.

In this adventure, the Scientist andHydronaut Hybrid archetypes would proveespecially useful.

SEQUENCE ZERO:GET READY0.1 ADVENTURE SYNOPSIS

The crew land in Calgary (Alberta, Canada- sometimes referred to as the NorthernHydronaut Occupation Zone) withinformation for the human Resistancefighters. What they don't know is that oneof the party members has a doppelgangerin the area (Dr. Quisling) whom is a foe ofthe Resistance. If the PCs can smooth overthe tense situation and convince theresistance liaison that they are good guys,the resistance will ask the PCs to use theirunique position to help sabotage a localhydronaut operation. Rebels apprehendedby the hydronauts are pitted against thehorrific moon-beast in the gladiator arena.

0.2 PREPARATION

The ZM must decide ahead of time whichPC will be the doppelganger of Dr Quisling.In a best-case scenario, one of the playerswill have chosen the Scientist or Captainarchetype. Really, anyone who is humanand a SpaceCorp officer will do nicely. Ifnone of the characters are human, there isa problem, but not insurmountable - theadventure will simply be a bit more surreal.

ZMs who change the city from Calgary toanother city of their choice should not haveany problems. For authenticity you may wantto find an actual lake nearby your city toreplace Ghost Lake.

0.3 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The crew of SSZ has a data tape that holdsinformation on Project: Smokescreen, a planbeing developed by agents of HUMAN(Human Underground Movement ActionNetwork) on Mars (although that origin is notentirely clear in the tape's information).Project: Smokescreen is a device thatscrambles hydronaut scanners. The tapecame with instructions to take it to LeftyWainwright at the Lucky Canuck Grill inCalgary (or the location of your choice).

Give the following text to the players as ahandout:

It’s the third day of my journey and while Irealize the importance of my mission I can’thelp feeling that I won’t be coming back fromit. Dutch used to tell me that he thought everymission was a suicide mission and that theimportant thing was never to let your menknow you thought this way.

This time it's different. It isn’t just the fact thatthe fate of the resistance and hence the entirespecies hangs in the balance. I’ve been therebefore and I’ve always come back, alwayswon, but it's always cost me. Last time it wasAngela, the time before it was an entire ship ofgood men. Sometimes I wonder if it was worththe price. If it ever is.

Still this time it’s different, there’s no backup,no companions, no SpaceCorp rocketshipsready to pull my ass back from a re-entryplunge. I wish it was so, but I won’t loseanother friend or shipmate again. So here Iam crammed into the smuggling hold of aPirate vessel. Outside I can hear the frogscracking open crate after crate. They know I’mhere. Why else would they be scouring thebelt for this ship, at this time? I can’t believewe trusted Captain Malcolm. I can’t believe I

trusted him.

Now there’s barely enough time to scrawlthis note and hide the package before theyfind me. With luck I can make a break foran escape pod or something. I’ve been intighter scrapes than this and a bit ofspaceman’s luck has always got methrough before. But I can’t shake thefeeling this time is different.

If you’ve found this it means I didn’t makeit. If you value Earth take the package tothe Lucky Canuck Grill in the ruins ofCalgary, Alberta and ask for LeftyWainwright. You’ll need the secret passphrase which I have coded below. Don’tforget it because he won’t ask twice and heWILL gun you down where you stand if youflub it. Good luck!

BSFZPVIVNBO

You may want to review the section on theunderground resistance in the SpaceshipZero rulebook, pp 105-107.

SEQUENCE ONE:FIRSTIMPRESSIONS1.0 TOUCHDOWN

It's important to note that no matter wherethe PCs go, they'll want to keep SpaceshipZero out of sight when they're not using it.How they go about this is entirely up to theplayers. They've got all of a devastatedCalgary and surrounding area to work with(there are not a lot of trees in the area).They may find the shell of an old building oreven some especially fat empty grain silosthat could house the ship.

ZM AID: Maps of Calgary can be foundonline at http://www.tourismcalgary.com/travel/maps.html And here's a pretty cool map of the

University of Calgary. http://www.ucalgary.ca/map/map_big.html

If the PCs don't attempt to hide the ship,members of the resistance will seek them outimmediately and try to convince them to getthe ship out of sight before hydronauts arrive.The easiest way to accomplish this is via aradio transmission from a local cadre ofresistance members using a knownSpaceCorp frequency reserved for direemergencies. Resistance members andalways use code names.

The actual resistance headquarters are at anold SpaceCorp air strip and radar stationnorthwest of the city, although the PCs will notbe privy to this information for some time.

Strolling about in SpaceCorp uniforms may notbe the wisest course of action, as anyone whomakes a Streetwise skill check will know,unless the PCs wish to draw attention tothemselves.

1.1 FINDING THE LUCKY CANUCK GRILL

Once the crew has decided where to land andwhat, if anything, to do with the ship, they willhave to try to locate the Lucky Canuck Grill.Asking directions of the locals will require asuccessful Persuade skill check (Bargain,Charm, or Intimidate) with the followingmodifiers: Hybrid in the party -30 to Charm or BargainSlave Girl in the party +20Party is all human (or with only cats & dogs)+20Other circumstance modifiers can be addedas the ZM sees fit. The skill check can beattempted as many times as there are humansto approach in the street. Blundered skillchecks result in misinformation. If DrQuisling's doppelganger is with the party, andthe locals who are being questioned recognizehim as Dr. Quisling, they will either appearpanicked and be of no help, or they will try toremain unphased and deliberately giveincorrect directions. A successful Psychologyor Streetwise skill check will uncover amisdirection ploy on the part of the locals.

Obviously not every single human in town

knows Dr. Quisling. Many Calgarians notaffiliated with SNAFFU (Secret NorthAmerican Freedom Fighters Union) wouldjust as soon kill the PCs and take their stuffas help them. Poor diplomacy in this regardmay result in Action Time! Keep in mindthat a great many of the townsfolk will notwant to attack the person they believe isDr. Quisling. Most Calgarians are cowedand beaten savages who would ratheravoid being shot, but there is always oneguy with a chip on his shoulder and apointy rock behind his back. In the unlikelyevent that a PC is knocked out or captured(or worse, mortally wounded), he may wakeup under the care of a SNAFFU agent,though he/she may not know it at first.

Once the PCs have useful directions, theywill still have to follow them. There is noabundance of street signs in post-invasionEarth so this can be difficult. Somebody willhave to make a successful Navigate:Surface skill check. Naturally anyone whowants to assist can do so, and if the PCswere particularly diplomatic when theyasked for directions you may give a +20bonus. Failing this skill check simply meansthe party becomes lost and will have to askfor directions again. The closer they are tothe Lucky Canuck, the simpler thedirections will become (meaning morebonuses will apply the second and thirdtime the party gets directions).

This is a perfect opportunity to introduce aplucky street urchin or humorous 'guide'that you can use as a dynamic element toassist or annoy the PCs.

The Lucky Canuck grill is housed in a threestory building with an unremarkable façade.There is no business sign. It is locatedacross from an old waterpark and there is afire hydrant in front of the building. If youlike, call for a Streetwise skill check to findthe building, given its unremarkablepresence. If everyone in the party isallowed a Streetwise check there shouldn'tbe a problem identifying the establishment.

1.2 DELIVERING THE PLANS

Lefty Wainwright has been dead for decades.Anyone asking after him will be told this rathermatter-of-factly. He was killed by thehydronauts during a routine inspection. Theliaison to the resistance now is LieutenantHannibal Hogan.

Hannibal HoganSNAFFU Liaison & Community LeaderBODY: 160BRAWN 12BRAINS 12BALANCE 10BRAVADO 14Move Rate: 24Initiative Bonus: 0Skills: Backbone 40, Fisticuffs 40, Endure 40,Heave 35, Listen 50, Persuade Bargain 35,Persuade: Bluff 35, Persuade: Leadership 35,Pilot: Land 50, Psychology 40, See 40, Sneak40, Streetwise 60, Throw 40, Weapon: RayGun 35.Quirks: Wears a lucky baseball cap of hisfavourite old world sports team; alwayschewing on something (tobacco isn't alwaysavailable); thalassophobic (afraid of theocean)Hogan is not the leader of SNAFFU, he is justa contact in the city. The leader of SNAFFU isactually Leonard Dubranski (more info onp107 of the rulebook) but the heroes shouldnot encounter Dubranski until the end of thescenario (Sequence Five).

Upon entering the Lucky Canuck, PCs will begreeted warmly unless the humans see Dr.Quisling's doppelganger. Seeing whom theytake to be Quisling with a bunch of SpaceCorpofficers doesn't make any sense to SNAFFUmembers, but they will take advantage of anysituation in which they can capture theman/woman they take to be Quisling.

Almost everyone in the bar has a hidden gun.Some have ray guns, others have old worldautomatic pistols etc. Hogan and company willtry to take the entire PC group captive. Givethe players an opportunity to be diplomatic.Resistance by violence will quickly result in agood old-fashioned bar fight.

Typical SNAFFU soldierBODY: 155

BRAWN 11BRAINS 11BALANCE 11BRAVADO 10Move Rate: 22Initiative Bonus: 0Skills: Backbone 35, Fisticuffs 40, Endure35, Heave 40, Listen 30, Persuade: Bluff30, Persuade: Leadership 30, Pilot: Land40, Psychology 30, See 30, Sneak 30,Streetwise 50, Throw 40, Weapon: RayGun 30.

If the PCs don't immediately start shootingup the place, each character can make aPersuade: Debate skill check to convinceHogan that the PC isn't the real Dr.Quisling. Time Step Zero for a complextask like a Persuade: Debate skill check inthese circumstances is 5 rounds. It's adifficult task, coming out of the blue (-20modifier) but other characters can assist(+5 for each character with a minimum of20 in Persuade: Debate. One do-over canbe attempted at time step +1 which in thiscase is 1 minute later. More do-overs canbe attempted over time if the characters,and especially Quisling's doppelganger,perform good, honorable deeds during thetime they stay with the townsfolk. Thisincludes sharing supplies, offering medicalassistance, and the like. In this way, in fact,the PCs can gain the trust of the townsfolkwithout making any Persuade skill checks.

If you happen to know that all of your PCssuck at Persuade: Debate, another optionis to introduce another doppelganger ofone of the PCs. This doppelganger couldbe a trusted friend or ally of Hogan, dead oralive. Once Hogan sees that thedoppelganger theory is indisputable, he willbe willing to accept Quisling'sdoppelganger.

If none of these options work, the townsfolkwill react unfavorably towards Quisling'sdoppelganger, and thus the rest of thePCs. If the PCs want to gain their trust, or ifthey want something else the townsfolkhave, they will have to use either diplomacyor brute force. The townsfolk will be bothhateful and intimidated by Quisling's

doppelganger, and will be unsure what to dowith him. Hogan will want to incarcerate andinterrogate him, and possibly the rest of thegroup if they do not seem trustworthy. If theheroes don't resist, and continue to bediplomatic, eventually the townsfolk will cometo their senses. At the very least, they willrealize they've made a mistake the next timethe real Dr. Quisling shows up. Naturally the"Silver Tongue" perk of a Corporate Executivecan get the PCs out of most sticky situationswith Hogan and the townsfolk.

Once convinced, he explains that there is atraitorous ex-rebel (Dr. Quisling) who looksjust like this one PC, who now works for thehydronauts. He is the hydronaut liaison to thetown. The hydronauts tax the people of thecity heavily and take their gear, makeheadcounts every week, etc.

1.3 FLEEING THE SCENEIf the PCs fail diplomacy and have to leave theLucky Canuck with guns blazing, there are anumber of options

1. They may want to scrub the mission andreturn to SSZ. In this case, other membersof SNAFFU may have discovered SSZ andare already probing its secrets. If therewere any PCs left in the ship, this can beroleplayed out. The members of SNAFFUwill be cautious but will not be hostiletowards anyone in the rocketship.

2. They may have other encounters aroundthe city, including the visiting hydronauts.Meanwhile SNAFFU will be exploring theSSZ as above, and may also be trying totrack down the party (for good or ill)through the streets of Calgary. SNAFFUmembers realize that it is hydronauts, nothumans, that are the enemy, and won'tfoolishly try to kill the PCs. They just wantto find out what's going on. If thehydronauts discover the PCs and areabout to defeat them, you could insert aSNAFFU strike team to rescue them.

3. The PCs may get entangled with a rovinggang of street punks, and may have to fightside by side with SNAFFU members tostay alive.

1.4 THE TALE OF DR QUISLING

Dr. Quisling was in charge of (at least partof) a group of scientists in SNAFFU whowere/are trying to build the BTL drive in thisuniverse. The project was discovered bythe hydronauts, who came in withdisintegrators blazing. Many workers werekilled. Others, like Quisling, were takenprisoner. Before the hydronauts couldconfiscate the BTL project, one of thescientists initiated a self-destruct.

Quisling, prisoner of the hydronauts,squealed on what he knew of SNAFFU tokeep himself alive and in a position wherehe could possibly complete his work,whereas his POW compatriots were killedoff one by one. Now Quisling works for thehydronauts, under constant surveillance.He has a hydronaut hybrid named Pogowith him at all times, keeping him in lineand watching his every move.

Even though Quisling "spilled his guts" tothe hydronauts, there was a great dealabout SNAFFU that he did not know.Quisling knew little outside of his projectdepartment's immediate concerns. He doesnot know that SNAFFU has a few workingrocketships at their disposal. He does notknow who is in charge of SNAFFU. Hisimmediate superiors were killed.

Part of his new job is liaison to the humansettlement of Calgary. In this fashion, hekeeps tabs on Hogan, who is essentiallytown mayor. Once every two weeks or soQuisling, Pogo, and a squad of hydronautsoldiers meet with Hogan to assess anynew developments and to collect tithes inthe form of scavenged metals, othervaluables, and new human slaves.

To increase drama, make Hogan the son ofQuisling's partner or superior officer, withhis father killed or captured, and Quislingnow keeping Hogan Jr alive partially out ofamusement.

Quisling is not entirely remorseless thathe's forced to work with the hydronauts. Hisnumber one priority is still completing theBTL Drive, but he also barters for lenience

from the hydronauts towards the townsfolk, inexchange for his co-operation.

Want to drop in another angle? Quisling is inlove with one of the scientists working forSNAFFU, Hannah Colby.

Nobody wants Quisling to complete the BTLDrive more than the hydronauts, and Quislingisn't afraid to use what little bargainingleverage he has to get what he can from thealiens. He may be using his position toinfluence the hydronauts to exercise lenienceagainst his old "friends." Meanwhile his oldfriends consider him a traitor by even workingwith the hydronauts in any respect. Tragic,really.

1.5 AN UNWELCOME GUEST or DOUBLETROUBLE

Having detected an energy spike fromSpaceship Zero, the hydronauts will make animpromptu visit to Calgary. Dr Quisling and asquadron of hydronauts will arrive in adreadnought and two scout saucers shortlyafter the encounter with SNAFFU members.They will circle the city, but if the PCs havetaken the time to power down and hide SSZ,the hydronauts will stop searching and willgive Hogan a visit.

Pogo and Quisling will interrogate Hoganbriefly, but will not get any information out ofhim. Quisling then ominously warns "see youon Tuesday", which happens to be the nextregularly scheduled visit.

Naturally, after this meeting, Hogan will realizewithout a doubt that the PC doppelganger ofQuisling is not who he originally thought.

Dr. QuislingTraitorous ScientistYou should base as much of Quisling's statson your PC doppelganger, but he should havethe following minimum skill scores:Psychology 30, Science: Physics 65,Technical Build & Repair 45, Technical Know-how 45, Persuade: Bluff 40, Streetwise 20.

Pogo

Hydronaut hybrid monitorBODY: 170BRAWN 14BRAINS 12BALANCE 12BRAVADO 12Move Rate:Initiative Bonus: 0Skills: Swimming 70, Persuade: Intimidate60, Heave 40, Endure 40, Jump 40, Listen30, See 30, Fisticuffs 30, Sneak 30, Hide30, Throw 30, Weapon: Melee 40, Pilot:Space 40Quirks:

Pogo has been assigned the thankless taskof babysitting Dr. Quisling practically 24hours a day. Because he can communicatewith Quisling and the humans in Calgary,he sometimes mistakes his position ofinformation distribution with a position ofauthority. Hydronaut soldiers are quick toput him in line when he steps out of it.

1.6 OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

Now SNAFFU has the perfect spy for theirsecret mission: to infiltrate that hydronautbase, retrieve Quislings files, and destroythe base. 50 km West of the city, on aplatform in the middle of Ghost Lake, thehydronauts have set up a monitoringstation that includes several researchlaboratories. The PCs will have to getinside and make their way to Quisling's laband the power generator, both of which areon the third level (the basement). Todestroy the base the heroes need to plant abomb in the generator room.

Let the PCs come up with a plan,presumably involving the old "switcheroo"with Quisling and his PC doppelganger. Ifthey cannot, Hogan will suggest one. At thevery least he should be on hand to pointout potential pitfalls.

SNAFFU knows the basic layout of thehydronaut outpost, and more info can beextricated from Dr. Quisling if necessary(and if possible). Study the maps of thehydronaut base. How much information youwant to give the PCs is up to you. At any

rate, they should feel like they have a goodchance of finding Quisling's lab and the powergenerator. At the very least, SNAFFU knowsthe location of the twin lifts that go from level 1to level 3.

Given the knowledge that the PCs have aboutthe BTL drive, they may want to impress uponSNAFFU how it is not so much a new engineas it is a doomsday device. It should probablybe destroyed along with any remnants ofQuisling's work so that the hydronauts cannotsalvage it. Yet SNAFFU still wants to knowwhat Quisling knows, so part of the missionwill be to recover as much information fromQuisling's computer as possible. Blank datatapes will be made available as necessary,though surely Quisling will have some in hislab.

SNAFFU has some decent equipment at theirdisposal (atomic rifles, atomic grenades, evena rocket belt or two) but exactly what they arewilling to give up to the PCs for this mission isup to you. Any weapons that the PCs want tohave access to in the hydronaut base will haveto be smuggled in. In addition, SNAFFU has acompliment of special compact mini-bombsjust for this operation. They can bedisassembled, squirreled away into variousbody cavities, bouffant hair dos, or secretpockets, and then reassembled later. Theseconsist of explosive gum, a fuse, and a 5-minute mini egg-timer. Each member of themission team should be given at least one ofthese devices. One of these babies going offon the power generator should rupture thething and cause a massive explosion that willtake out a huge chunk of the base and causethe island to sink. They won't be so effective inobliterating a BTL Drive model, so the PCsmay have to smuggle some atomic grenadesor start some fires to achieve that objective.Assembling a mini-bomb from its componentparts requires a Technical Build & Repair orExplosives skill check at two rounds for timestep zero (so +10 at five rounds, +20 at 1minute, +30 at 5 minutes, etc). If the PCs takethe time to practice before the mission (asHogan suggests) they will get an additional+20.

SNAFFU Gumbomb DV100, Matter damage, 1

charge, Skill type: Explosives (if the usermakes a successful Explosives skill checkwhen affixing the bomb, he may add theresult to the damage value.

1.7 A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

SNAFFU has specialists who can andshould accompany the PCs on theirmission. Feel free to give these Non-PlayerCharacters more skills if you feel the PC'smay be shorthanded in some importantareas.

Rex ReaganSNAFFU Xeno-specialistBODY: 140Strength Bonus: 12Dodge Bonus: 20Move Rate: 25Skills: Hide 40, Language & Lore:Hydronaut customs 70, Language & Lore:Hydronaut language 80, Technical Know-how 65, Pilot: Space 60, Pilot: Air 60, FirstAid 50, Streetwise: 55.Quirks: Stutters; unhealthily interested inhydronaut females, xxxxxRex Reagan has been studying thehydronauts for years. He can actuallyunderstand much of the hydronaut tongue,though of course he cannot speak it. He isalso handy with a lot of hydronauttechnology, thanks to war-ravaged saucersscavenged over the years. He can pilot ahydronaut saucer.

Quintessa QuicksilverSNAFFU Crackerjack PilotBODY: 160Strength Bonus: 10Dodge Bonus: 30Move Rate: 25Skills: Disguise 90, Explosives 75, First Aid50, Hide 75, Navigate: Surface 65, Pilot:Space 80, Pilot: Air 80, Streetwise: 55. Quirks: Specializes in flying hydronautsaucers; voracious reader; likes to listen toloud music when she is driving/piloting.Quintessa Quicksilver is an ace pilot andmistress of disguise. As a human behindthe controls of hydronaut saucers she isunrivalled.Note to the ZM - don't let Quintessa

outshine a Pilot player character. She isincluded as a supporting character only ifneeded.

Dr. Venus BlackbirdSNAFFU MedicBODY 200Strength Bonus: 20Dodge Bonus: 38Move Rate: 39Skills: Disguise 30, First Aid 60, Listen 50,Medicine 45, Navigate Surface 50, Science:Biology 50, Science: Chem 25, See 50, TechBuild & Repair 70, Tech Know-how 65,Tracking 70, Climb 38, Fisticuffs 60, Pilot:Space 35, Sneak 60, Throw 60, Weapon:Melee 50, Weapon: Ray Gun 65, Weapon:Tactical 35, Endure 75, Heave 65, Jump 55,Backbone 60, Persuade: Bluff 75, Streetwise75.Quirks: Artificial hand; Extremely thorough;Cold bedside manner.Prior to the mission, Dr Blackbird will giveeveryone a thorough checkup and ifnecessary provide first aid.

Hannibal Hogan will not accompany the PCson their mission.

SEQUENCE TWO:THE OLDSWITCHEROO2.0 PHASE ONE - GET ON BOARD, WE'REEXPECTING YOU.

It is important to understand how the weeklytithing is executed. Here's a step by stepsynopsis of a typical tribute meeting.

1. Hogan and company take the tribute,including the slaves to the fountain in thetown square.

1a. As a ZM, understand that the typicalamount of slaves in a given tribute shouldexceed the amount of human PCs by atleast one. That way if all the human PCswant to pose as slaves, there will be nosuspicion on the part of the hydronauts asto why there is an unusual amount of

slaves in a given tribute. So, if you'regroup consists of five (human)characters, say that the biweekly tributeof slaves is six or seven (oftencomprised of lawless street punks)

1b. Tributes usually include: - barrels of chemicals- tires- salvaged metal- food to be served to slaves (usually

consisting of dead animals)2. A dreadnought carrying Quisling, Pogo,

and 4 hydronaut soldiers land in thesquare.

3. 2-3 soldiers get out of the dreadnought.One always stays in. Quisling and Pogofollow them.

4. The hydronauts will search the slavesfor contraband.

5. The hydronauts order the slaves to startloading in the rest of the tribute into theholding bay of the dreadnought. As theloading progresses, the hydronautsperform cursory searches of theequipment being loaded on board.Anything suspect is left in a pile besidethe saucer and inspected morethoroughly at the end of the loadingprocess.

6. The slaves enter the dreadnought,followed by the hydronaut crew &Quisling, and then the saucer leaves.

7. The dreadnought arrives at the landingpad in the hydronaut outpost and theslaves are ordered to unload the tributeonto a wide platform hover-cart. Pogo(and Quisling) attend in case anyspecial orders need to be translated.

8. The slaves and hover-cart are led to thesupply shed, where they then stack allthe booty.

9. Once all the equipment is packed awayto the hydronauts satisfaction (to bepicked over and categorized later), thehydronauts lead the slaves to the slavequarters.

If Quisling or Pogo need to discussanything with Hogan, they usually do so outin the open while the slaves are loadingequipment. However, it is not unusual forPogo and Quisling to go indoors to discussat length matters of unusual significance.

NON-HUMAN CHARACTERS.

How the hydronauts handle robot characters isup to you. Hogan may offer the idea of"deactivating" the robot and including it in thesalvage material for the tithe. It may be thatthese particular hydronauts haven't seen aSpaceCorp robot before. They may assumethat the robot character is an astro-automaton.Probably, as in all things, the hydronauts willshoot first and ask questions later. Once anythreat from a robot is neutralized, thehydronauts may want to try to torture andinterrogate the robot if they believe it to be anastro-automaton. In any case, they will haveDr. Quisling, and perhaps some otherhydronaut scientists, dissect it and provide areport on its origin and abilities.

Cats and monkeys, assuming they're notbrandishing weapons or otherwisethreatening, will be largely ignored byhydronauts in passing. They don't wantanimals running around their vessels oroutposts freely, but Commandant Zorg has ahabit of reprimanding hydronauts who fire theirweapons in the compound without a goodreason. As such, they will delegateresponsibility to a hybrid, who will in turndelegate responsibility to any slaves who arein his good books. A super-intelligent pet mayfind herself being hunted by a pack of slaves,supervised of course by a hybrid. The slaveswill be armed with sticks or nothing at all.

Dogs are a slightly different story, onlybecause of their larger size. If a dog attacks ahydronaut, he will defend himself with theweapons at hand. Unassuming looking dogsmay be hunted down by a pack of slaves, asabove, or even with a bat-being.

If a hybrid hears an animal talking, he will takeit seriously. Whether his full-blood hydronautsuperiors take him seriously is another matter.

It is also quite possible that the hydronautscould mistake the animals as part of the tithe’sfoodstuff portion. This could lead to the groupbeing separated, with the animal PCs beingsent to the hydronaut kitchens and not for amidnight snack.

SEQUENCE THREE:BOMBS AHOY3.0 PHASE TWO - MISSION: REALLYFREAKIN' HARD

Once the PCs have hornswoggledthemselves onto the dreadnought, they willfly to the hydronaut base on Ghost Lake.The base itself rests on pontoons about ahalf mile from shore, connected to land bya single flat bridge that allows access byhover cars and ground troops.

Given how far into hydronaut-infestedcorridors the heroes must go to fulfil theirmission parameters, it's unlikely that atleast some of the PCs won't be discoveredand captured. They may be caught duringtheir infiltration, planting explosives, orattempting to escape from the base. Roguehumans that aren't indoors will be huntedby bat-beings.

Most hydronauts on levels 1 and 2 of thebase will be outfitted with personaldisintegrators. Designated securitypersonal will have astro-disintegrators withhuman prods affixed. Some may havenoise bombs and net throwers as well,especially in the watchtower. Mosthydronauts know better than to firedisintegrators on level 3; there they willgleefully resort to human prods or hand tohand melee.

It will be more fun in the long run if some ofthe PCs are caught, so don't be too lenient.

Once the heroes are in the hydronaut base,have Rex, Quintessa, and any other NPCsseparated from the player characters assoon as possible. That way, you can usethem as an ace up your sleeve later -providing relief from tight spots that thePCs have gotten themselves into.

If the PCs cause problems (and that's whatthey're here for, after all) they will beimmediately taken to the gladiator pits. A

special event will be announced and the PCswill only have a half hour or so of down timebefore they're forced to fight. See "How Highthe Moon Beast" below.

3.1 THE HYDRONAUT BASE

The interior of this base is typical of hydronautstructures. Corridors and rooms are dank,humid, and hot almost beyond tolerance, witha green mist clinging to the floors. Thecorridors are shaped from some sort of green,iridescent steel. Riveted to various sections ofthe corridors, glowing strips of metal provideillumination. Each one is slick withcondensation. Corners and crevices that arenot subjected to constant use, or haven't beencleaned by human slaves lately, are oftenvariegated with strange slime molds andmosses.

All exterior doors are kept locked. A controldisk is required to unlock doors. Use of ahydronaut control disk by a non-hydronautrequires a successful Technical Know-Howskill check with a -30 modifier, allow standardretries (see Time Step Chart p20). Once a PCmasters a given function of a control disk hedoes not need to make skill checks to repeatthat function.

Opening an unlocked door is as easy aspushing a button beside the door.

Lifts are not enclosed chambers like theelevators we know. They are simply portionsof floor that move up or down. It's very easy tofall down an open lift shaft or get your footshorn off if you're not careful. Using a lift to getto level 3 requires a control disk.

Gladiators and human slaves who work insidethe compound (busboys, etc) are usuallyoutfitted with pain collars (p140). Humansfound wandering corridors on levels 1 and 2without a pain collar are highly suspect.

No humans are allowed on level three (exceptin the gladiator cells of course, or in transit tothem) with the exception of Dr Quisling, andhe never without a hydronaut/hybrid escort.

On the accompanying maps, the letter E

surrounded by a circle designates apersonnel lift. An E inside a square is thelarger cargo lift.

Feel free to provide intercom stations,alarm buttons, ventilation grates andsuchlike throughout the complex as suitedto your needs or those of the players.

TOP LEVEL (LEVEL 1)

AUTOMATED DISINTEGRATORBATTERIES

three corners of the base have a tower witha disintegrator battery mounted on the top.These weapons (WDV 80; Range 0-150/151-500/501-1500)) are manned by ahydronaut worker in the control center. Hecan set a target for each gun which it willfollow automatically (effective Weapon:Tactical skill score of 25) or he canmanually operate one battery at a time(Weapon: Tactical skill score of 70)

MAIN GATE

At the end of the pontoon bridge that leadsto the floating hydronaut base ends at agate. Only this gate allows hover cars andground troops access to the compound. Itis always guarded by two hydronautsoldiers.

CARGO ELEVATOR

There is a cargo elevator next to the maingate that allows various large creatures tobe moved from the surface down to theirpens on level 2.

GARAGE

The garage is filled vehicle parts andsundries. Two cargo doors are the only wayin or out of the garage. A ramp leads downto sub level 2 and the landing pad. Thisbuilding houses three hover cars, includinga suped-up deluxe model which is Zorg'spersonal hover car.

STORAGE BUNKERS

Three storage bunkers are filled with oldhuman tithings.

OSSUARY

This building houses the half-dozen bat-beingsthat compliment the base. There is often onlyone hydronaut tending the bat-beings whenit's slow, but there are six qualified trainers inthe base should their services be required.

When a general alarm is sounded, bat-beingsare released to stalk the grounds and scoopup slaves. Every hydronaut on the basemakes sure his bat-being whistle is on. IfQuisling's doppelganger is with (a suitablyfooled) Pogo in the open air during a generalalarm, Pogo may escort him insideimmediately, or procure an extra whistle. Onthe other hand, Pogo would probably get akick out of seeing Quisling swallowed by a bat-being. ZM's choice.

SLAVE PENS

The doors to the slave quarters leadimmediately along a sturdy catwalk. An interiorportcullis-like gate accesses a ramp that leadsdown to the living quarters, where the slaveslive in their own filth when they're not laboringfor their batrachian masters. This area isdisaffectionately known as 'the gulch.' Thehydronauts can survey the gulch from thesafety of the catwalk. The whole outfit is muchlike the slave quarters of an old tall ship of theancient world. When the hydronauts feel it'snecessary, they remove all the slaves andflood the entire gulch with lake water to rinseaway the filth.

If the PCs find themselves stuck in the slavecompound, they can at least take advantageof the local medicine girl, Nanette.

NanetteTribal healer BODY: 100Move Rate: 25Skills: Backbone 55, Disguise 40, First Aid70*, Hide 75, Language & Lore: Tribal Culture80, Language & Lore: Hydronaut customs 30,Medicine 50*, Sneak 65, Wilderness Survival50

Quirks: Doesn't take no for an answer; Hasflashbacks; Wants desperately to seesnow.* because of the poor hygiene and terribleworking conditions of the gully, all First Aidand Medicine skill checks suffer a -20penalty. Sad, I know, but true.

SECURITY POST / WATCHTOWER

Typically two soldiers survey the complexfrom this simple watchtower. A lift insidegoes down to the lower levels.

INTERROGATION ROOM

A typical torture chamber, hydronaut style.When somebody needs to be interrogated,it is usually left to a team of Zorg's favouredpurebred hydronaut assistant (Blurg -typical hydronaut soldier p126) and arandomly chosen hybrid. Blurg deals outthe pain, the hybrid asks the questions.Each time the painmaster uses a torturedevice, the character takes 1d10 BodyPoints damage and must make an Endureor black out for a minute or more (1d10+10rounds). The painmaster may also make aPersuade: Intimidate roll opposed by thecharacter’s Backbone skill to see whetheror not the character cracks and answersthe question truthfully.

A captive can escape his bonds with asuccessful Heave or Sleight of Hand skillcheck, but the result must match or exceed40.

MEDICAL ROOM

A dumpy hydronaut surgeon known by histwo favored human servants as "Thumbs"administers first aid when necessary. Thisis both his office and his operating room.The humans are well-treated and havebecome complacent in their lot.

Thumbs, Hydronaut surgeonFirst Aid 50 (+20 on hydronauts); Medicine40

Elijah & Elsa, human assistantsFirst Aid 50; Medicine 30

CONTROL CENTER

This is the nerve center for the complex. Asmall team of hydronauts control the exteriorgun batteries and monitor the entire base fromhere. During the daytime there is a 15%chance that Zorg is here at any given moment.

COMMUNICATIONS

From this room, Kaplok the hydronautcommunications specialist can contacthydronaut ships far and wide, listen in oninfrequent Terran radio signals, pass alongorders and information via the public addresssystem, and coordinate internal calls andwalkie-talkie signals.

A huge antenna crowns the building.

ARMORY

The armory is full of everything on page 144 ofthe SSZ rulebook. A wispy, almostbookwormish hybrid named Gill-Mo maintainsthe weapons and the requisitions.

Gill-Mo, hybrid clerkUse Hybrid stats on p127 but subtract 20 fromall Brawn- and Balance-linked skills.

MID LEVEL (LEVEL 2)

ARENA

Though the arena seating begins at the toplevel of the compound, the actual battlegroundis flush with this sublevel. There are threerows of seats around the edge of the arena,thirty feet up from the arena floor. Hybridsalways sit in the back row. There are fourlarge doors on the south end of the ovalarena, out of which come panthers, bears, andthe occasional Moon-Beast. Gladiators comeout of chambers beneath the arena floor.

KITCHEN & MESS HALL

Low-caste hydronaut and hybrid chefs staffthe kitchen, along with human dishwashersand busboys. At any given time there will be1d10 +1 hydronauts here. If you roll a 10, it

must be mealtime - roll again and add theresult. For every 5 hydronauts there will be1 hybrid and 1 human slave.

ZORG'S QUARTERS

Zorg's personal quarters are poshcompared to those of his underlings. Itincludes a hot tub and a greenhouse, givingthe entire room a tropical feel. Zorg isusually here when he's not in the controlroom or strolling about the complex.

BARRACKS

The north corner of this level is full of theliving quarters of the hydronauts who workhere. They are cramped, untidy, and a littlesloshy. Most hydronauts don't use them foranything but sleeping, preferring to spendtheir off-hours in the lounge, in the lake, ortormenting humans from a hovercar orscout saucer.

LOUNGE

When hydronaut workers are provided amoment to relax between shifts, they puttheir webbed feet up in this lounge. I don'tknow if hydronauts play card games orread magazines, I'll let you decide that fornow.

REFUELING DEPOT

Power from the generator beneath thisroom is pumped through here to rechargedreadnoughts and smaller hydronaut craft.

LANDING PLATFORM

The landing pad is large enough toaccommodate a dreadnought and twoscout saucers comfortably. Flighttechnicians spend their time basking on thepad when they're not working in the garageor refueling depot.

BOTTOM LEVEL (LEVEL 3)

Level 3 is mostly full of labs and workareas, but you can adapt the rooms to suityour needs.

QUISLING'S LAB

This is where Quisling has been working onhis BTL-Drive. The room houses a bare-bonesprototype of the drive as well as severalSpaceCorp computers and a few hydronautcomputers as well. In fact, Quisling has beenmore fascinated with working on compatibilityadaptors for Terran and Hydronauttechnology, but how far he has gotten alongon that project is left to ZM discretion.

COMPUTER ROOM

This barbell-shaped room houses the facility'scomputer core.

SECURITY STATION

This is the security locus and checkpoint forthis floor. There is at least one soldierstationed here at all times.

ENERGY CELL STOREROOM

This room houses shelves upon shelves of theenergy cells that power personal weapons andother small hydronaut devices. It is wellprotected against accidental explosion.

POWER GENERATOR

Catwalks and access tubes crisscross theroom that houses the atomic power generatorthat runs the base. A homely hydronautnamed Blix is assigned to monitor andmaintain all aspects of this room, even thoughit rarely requires maintenance. He finds joy inhunting down the occasional space rat with apoker.

GLADIATOR CELLS

Gladiators, unlike the other slaves, have theirown chambers underneath the arena. This ismerely for convenience of the hydronauts sothat they don't have to go into the gulch to fishout specific combatants (these monkey-menall look the same to the hydronauts), but itworks out well for the gladiators. The livingconditions are slightly better than in the slavecompound. There are grates in the floor so

that waste can be flushed into the lake. Thebad news is that at the flick of a hydronautcontrol disk, the ceiling of any number ofgladiator chambers slide back, and thefloor of the cell raises flush with the floor ofthe arena.

On either side of the hall that leads to thecells are two exercise rooms. Theimpassive hydronaut taskmaster Gumbouses these rooms to size up the abilities ofnew acquisitions and to ensure currentchampions don't get chubby on prison food(not likely).

While PCs are in gladiator cells, allow anopportunity for First Aid if necessary. Eventhe other gladiators have a rudimentaryFirst Aid skill of 30%, and are happy to helpthe PCs. They know that the next fight isone that won't pit man against man--something in Gumbo's unusually bouncystep.

SEQUENCE FOUR:HOW HIGH THEMOON-BEAST4.0 FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

The PCs, and any other gladiators youwant to throw into the ring (including, if youwish, an unproductive hybrid that hasdispleased Zorg once too often), will beforced to fight a horrible bug-eyed monsterfrom another world that the gladiators knowonly as the moon-beast.

Moon-BeastGasp-inducing bug-eyed monster, Large BRAWN 40BRAINS 5BALANCE 12BRAVADO 11BODY 300Strength Bonus: 40Dodge Bonus: 12Move Rate: 30Initiative Bonus: 0

Skills: Fisticuffs (tentacle) 45, Bite 35 WDV30 (matter) + Strength Bonus, Launchspore-darts 70 WDV 1 (matter), Backbone30, Climb 60, Endure 40, Heave 50, Listen 10,See 80, Sneak 40, Tracking 30.Perks & Quirks: Multiple arms. A moon-beast gets 3 attacksper turn with its tentacles. Rubbery Hide. A moon-beast's flesh isextremely resilient, providing the monster witha Matter Defense Rating of 30. All-Around Sight. Because of its multiple eyes,a moon-beast can see 360 degrees around it.Rarely will an attacker be allowed a bonus forsurprise when a moon-beast is awake andactive. Teeth. The moon-beast's shark-like teeth area natural weapon with a WDV of 30 plusStrength Bonus. The moon-beast can make abite attack instead of one of its tentacleattacks, but cannot make more than one biteattack per round. Spore-darts. As soon as the moon-beastbegins combat, it will begin to size up itsopponents. It will select the slowest combatant(i.e. the one with the lowest Dodge Bonus)and fire off a volley of spore-darts from glandsin its neck. Although a moon-beast's spore-darts have a Weapon Damage Value of only1, and cannot do more than 30 points ofBODY damage, anyone who takes damagefrom spore-darts becomes infected and mustimmediately make an Endure check. A victimwho fails his check becomes groggy. In a statesimilar to drunkenness, the victim will begin tofeel attracted to the moon-beast, and willcalmly move towards it, oblivious to anydanger. The moon-beast's natural instinctsmake it welcome the prey, and try to findsomewhere safe to keep him. If the host takesany damage or is otherwise hurt, he will beable to shake himself out of his spore-inducedstupor. Either way, the victim is now a nest forthe moon-beast's young. Over the course of afew days, blisters will grow all over the infectedarea. These blisters serve as egg-sacs for thespores embedded in the host's body, wherethey grow into tiny embryonic moon-beasttadpoles. All the while, the host is reduced to asemi-catatonic state. Once the moon-beastbabies grow large enough (about 3-4 days)the tadpoles burst out of the host's body,

causing 4d10 damage. They will then try toeat the host alive, inflicting 4d10 damageper round. Nasty, nasty business. A moon-beast cannot launch spore-dartsindefinitely, however. At most they canlaunch three volleys in a 12 hour period.Once a single victim is infected with thespore-darts, that's usually good enough forthe moon-beast -- but not always.

A moon-beast is a terrifying sight to behold,resembling an enormous cross between acaterpillar and an octopus. Four stalkedeyes sprout from its head, and it's gapingmaw is filled with deadly shark-like teeth.Moon-beasts can grow to about twice thesize of an elephant. Their color range istypically red, yellow and orange, but rarerpurple, green and even the rarest blue oralbino moon-beasts have been known.Their hides can sport both stripes andspots.

A moon-beast typically attacks one to twoopponents at a time, trying to grapple themwith its tentacles. Once a victim is grappledthe moon-beast may, on consecutive turns,continue to apply a sleeper hold (see p69of the SSZ rulebook). The moon-beast mayalso attempt an 'improve hold' maneuver (p70) in an attempt to pin its victim. Once avictim is unconscious or has his grapplingtarget score (Heave + Strength Bonus)reduced to 0, he is considered prone andthe moon-beast has a +20 to hit with its biteattack.

MOON-BEAST TACTICS

If the moon-beast can secure a host for itsyoung, it will actually want to run off with theprize. Since it is in an enclosed arena,however, this is impossible, so it will merely tryto protect the host as it defends itself.

Here's one ZM tactic that can be effective inthis situation if you want to impress upon theplayers how dangerous the situation is: Ifyou've introduced some NPC gladiators tofight alongside the PCs, have the moon-beastattack one of them. Go ahead and make somehidden dice rolls, but no matter what the dicesay, describe how the moon-beast wraps atentacle around the NPC, picks him up, andthen bites his head off. This, they will mostlikely gather, is what they have to look forwardto.

Still, as long as the combat with the moon-beast is going smoothly and everyone'senjoying the fight, keep it going. Once the PCsare in serious danger of being killed, itbecomes prudent to introduce a newelement…

4.1 OUT WITH A BANG

Remember how you separated Rex orQuintessa from the PCs a while ago? Well, ifone of the PCs hasn't already successfullyplanted a bomb, assume that one of the NPCshave, and that it goes off with an earth-shattering KABOOM! Having blown the bottomof the island out, water from the lake shootsinto the air like a geyser from the center of thebase, and the entire island begins to slowlysink. The massive explosion startles themoon-beast like a cat in a thunderstorm. Zorgstarts barking orders and the PCs seem to bethe least of the hydronauts' concerns. Damagecontrol has to be assessed, Bat-beings needto be tended, and everything that isn't naileddown needs to be nailed down. It's a perfecttime for plucky humans to make an escapeattempt.

At your discretion the hydronauts may want toexecute the poor moon-beast by disintegratorblasts as an emergency measure.

4.2 CALGARY CAVALRY

Back in town, the higher ups of SNAFFUhave been watching the horizon for the kindof explosion that has just happened. It isthe signal to bring down the axe on anyhydronaut stragglers, and mount a rescueoperation for any humans alive in theoutpost. SNAFFU launches all of itsrocketships to crush what's left of thehydronaut presence. They will certainlymake a dramatic rescue if the PCs are lefttreading water in Ghost Lake.

SEQUENCE FIVE:WILL THE REAL DRQUISLING PLEASESTAND UP5.1 MEET THE BOSS

Once the PCs are rescued and returned toCalgary, they'll be introduced to LeonardDubranski, head of SNAFFU. He will showthe PCs the cell where Quisling was beingheld (where applicable). It is open, andQuisling's body is inside, but the top of hishead has been sawn off and his brain ismissing. Lt. Hogan is AWOL. Nobodyknows where he's gone, or if they dothey're not admitting it.

Dubranski offers the PCs membership intoSNAFFU. If it hasn't already been done,SNAFFU will coat SSZ with a special paintthat will help protect it from hydronautsmart bombs. They can also outfit it withatomic coil turrets (one or two, dependingon how stingy you feel, or how competent &therefor worthy the PCs came across).

SBR (Smart-Bomb Resistant) Paint. Whenproperly applied (Technical Build & Repairor Perform: Painting skill checks forunseasoned SBR painters), several coatsof this special paint (available in manypopular colors) makes a craft completelyimmune to the effects of hydronaut smart

bombs (while its painted hull is intact, ofcourse).

5.2 WINDING DOWN

SNAFFU's resident doctor, Dr. VenusBlackbird, is available to treat any woundsincurred during the mission. In addition, she'svery interested in treating any characters thatmay have been infected with moon-beastspores. Successfully diagnosing an infectedpatient requires 1 hour and a successfulMedicine skill check. Successfully treating aninfected patient requires 3 days and asuccessful Medicine skill check.

What nobody knows is that Dr. Blackbird is aclone hunter. While she treats the PCs, shewill try to surreptitiously scan them to detect ifthey are clones. Of course all of them haveprobably been reconstituted at some point, soshe already suspects they might be clones.

Now would be a good time to decide if any ofyour PCs are clones. Choose wisely. Perhapsyou don't want the player to know that hercharacter is a clone; perhaps it's already beendecided when the character was created. Ifone of the PCs is a clone, it will make Chapter4 that much more interesting.

5.3 FURTHER ADVENTURES….

A tadpole of the moon-beast, belly full of theflesh of a human or even its own brothers, hasmanaged to stowaway in the equipment orclothing of one of the PCs. Now it grows onboard Spaceship Zero, trying to survive andkilling the crew one by one a la the film Alien.

The darkest night would shineIf you would come to me soonUntil you will, how still my heartHow high the moon- Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker