Tag Archives: Pylkah

Adventures, Traveller

The Exile

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Patron: Entrepreneur
Required skills: None
Required equipment: Starship capable of Jump-1
Locations: Urnian Subsector, Urnian (2833) & Pylkah (2834)

Players’ Information:
While the characters are on Urnian (B9779AC-A) they are contacted by Filana Belsaris, an independent entrepreneur who primarily brokers interstellar shipping contracts for small, independent commercial starships. If the characters have been engaging in such business in the subsector for a while, they will know she has a good business reputation. She is a plain woman at the cusp of middle age who dresses in relaxed business attire. She asks the characters meet with her at her warehouse office.

“I’m originally from Pylkah (E463977-9),” she says over a round of refreshments in her comfortably cozy office. “About thirty years ago, my father was leading a popular uprising against the dictator of the nation of Bundor. Unfortunately, the uprising became a civil war, which the dictator’s forces eventually won after nearly ten standard years of fighting.

“My father was captured, tortured, put on display in a show trial and executed. People loyal to my father managed to smuggle my mother and I out of the country through the mountainous border with Pyllos. From there, we managed to find passage from the starport to here and start new lives.

“My mother passed away last year. Her dying wish was to be buried with my father. Since then, I have been trying to get permission to inter my mother’s cremains with my father’s on Pylkah, but I’ve been stonewalled with every attempt.”

She takes a moment to get a handle on her emotions before continuing. “On Pylkah, it is a deep-seated tradition in our religion to fulfill the dying wishes of family members within the passing of a number of days. The government of Bundor knows this. It is probably one more attempt to discredit my family’s name.”

Filana pulls out a small pouch of precious gemstones. “This is worth about eighty thousand credits. It is what’s left of my mother’s jewelry collection. I offer it in payment if you can transport my mother’s ashes to my father’s grave in the Bundor capital city on Pylkah before I run out of time.”

The urn
The urn – image from wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

Referee’s Information:
The referee should take some time to get familiar with the information on Pylkah presented on The Zhodani Base website.

If the characters wish to check up on Filana’s story, they will find she has been accurate in her description of events. They will also get the Bundor version of events – most notably the fact that the resistance had engaged in a series of terrorist bombings of government facilities and the people who supported it.

If the characters need a cover for their being on Pylkah, Filana can provide a cargo shipment contract to them from another exporter on Urnian. Her operation’s name might cause the Bundor authorities to look a little too closely at the characters’ activities.

The burial urn is a spun metal flask that has been sealed with a number of intricate symbols. Research will indicate that breaking these seals would amount to desecration of a corpse under Pylkah laws – a felony offense that carries a mandatory sentence of ten years in prison.

Outcomes:
1. Filana is completely honest. All is as presented. The characters will be allowed to land at the main airport of Bundor to off-load their cargo, but they’ll have to smuggle the burial urn past local security and make their way through the city with it. The referee should create several encounters with the locals, plus generate local law enforcers (to TL 9 standards).

2. The authorities suspect something. The situation is similar to #1 above, except that Bundor’s government agents are on heightened awareness for the burial urn, due to Filana’s efforts over the past year and the upcoming deadline. Consider the capital of Bundor to be at Law Level 9 instead of 7.

3. The authorities are on high alert. Similar to #2 above, except that Filana has managed to contact former members of the uprising about the situation. They have staged a series of acts of protests that have put the local authorities on alert. Consider the capital of Bundor to be at Law Level B instead of 7. Also, there will be armed guards at the grave of Filana’s father as well.

4. Filana is being dishonest. Filana is attempting to smuggle computer hacking software and cybernetic virus programs to the uprising’s underground members, using her mother’s urn and ashes as a cover story. Members of the underground will attempt to either steal the urn from the characters (attempting to kill them in the process). The referee should generate the attackers as needed.

5. Filana is a Zhodani agent. The Zhodani have been supporting the uprising’s underground in Bundor as a way to monitor Imperial efforts in the neighboring country of Pyllos. The burial urn contains data chips imprinted with information Filana has obtained on Imperial agents active in Pyllos. The characters will be attacked by a group of Zhodani agents when they attempt to deliver the urn to the gravesite (who will attempt to kill them in the process). The referee should generate the attackers as needed.

6. Filana is a double agent. Similar to #5 above, except that Filana is actually working for the Imperium. The burial urn contains data chips with false information as well as a powered biological agent tailored to infect and kill the Zhodani agents who will attempt to intercept it (and attempt to kill the characters in the process).

Adventures, The Base, Traveller

Lost Lamb

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Patron: Minor Noble
Required Skills: None
Required Equipment: None
Number of Players: 1-3

A minor noble who is a friend of a friend approaches the characters for aid. As per family tradition, her youngest daughter was travelling for a year before beginning her university studies. Her last message home was sent from Urnian (Foreven 2833) and said she was going to Pylkah (Foreven 2834). No message has arrived for nearly a year. Imperial authorities claim it is a local matter. Local authorities reported that a search of incident records turned up nothing related to the missing girl. The noble lacks influence to get either the local or Imperial authorities to pursue the matter further. Bank statements show someone has accessed the family accounts at intervals in Pyllos. The amounts withdrawn are reasonable for one person taking out cash for living expenses. The noble has not shut down her daughter’s account access as it is the only lead.

The noble will pay all expenses for the characters to travel to Pylkah, find her daughter, and return with her. This includes a reasonable allowance for bribes and will be provided by access to the family credit accounts and a supply of Imperial currency. The noble will also provide a letter of introduction that identifies the party as her agents and may ease their attempts to question bank managers and the like. Upon the safe return of her daughter, the noble will pay each member of the party 20,000 Imperial credits.

The wayward child
The wayward child : Copyright Gordon Horne

Referee’s Information:
1. The wayward child has had her identification, credit access, and travel papers stolen. Unable to convince the first local authority she approached as to her predicament, she gave up quickly and is living in a flop house trying to earn enough money to send a message to her mother. She is eager to be rescued, but the characters will need to acquire replacement identification and travel papers before taking her off world.

2. Sampling illicit pleasures, the wayward child has gotten herself in debt to a local gangster. Her ID, credit access, and travel papers are being held by him as she works off her debt. She has been too embarrassed to call her mother for help, but she is eager to be rescued. The characters need to get her away from the gangster and either recover her original ID and papers or acquire replacements.

3. As (2) but in an arrangement outside the characters hearing the gangster offers to let her be rescued if she will carry a package with her. She believes his boasts that he can reach her anywhere and agrees. The contents of the package are very illegal.

4. The wayward child has fallen in love with a destitute local. She has found meaning in life by his side and refuses to return to the life of empty privilege she knew before.

5. As (4) except she agrees to return home if her love comes too. He is a street rat with no education, no skills, and no travel papers.

6. As (5) except she will only return home if her love, his mother, his mother’s aged parents, and his two younger siblings all come along. None of them have travel papers.

Variation:
The characters are hired to escort the wayward child’s older sister who has been tasked by their mother to find her and bring her home. Everything is otherwise as in the main writeup except the elder daughter controls the money supply. In addition to rolling for the younger sister’s situation above, roll below for the older sister’s attitude.

1. The elder sister insists on being in charge and micromanaging everything. Her first and only concern is the safe return of her little sister.

2. As (1) except her first concern is family honour.

3. The elder sister is in charge but she delegates well. She loves her sister even if she is a bother at times. Her first concern is the safe return of her little sister.

4. As (2) except she is very concerned about family honour. She would rather see her little sister suffer the consequences of her actions than the family name become a subject of malicious gossip. She recognizes that her little sister sometimes has to be spared the consequences of her actions to preserve family honour.

5.  The elder sister is overwhelmed by the charge given her by her mother. She loves her little sister but has no idea how to proceed.

6. As (5) but she finds her little sister bothersome and would be just as happy if she weren’t found.