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[STARCRYSTAL, EPISODE I - MERTACTOR: THE VOLENTINE GAMBIT - manual,
instruction sheet, 1st edition errata, and text from the back cover of the
software box.]
STARCRYSTAL Episode I - Mertactor: The Volentine Gambit
Science Fiction Adventure in the Far Future.
Approved For Use With TRAVELLER.
Written by Jim Long.
Program and System Design: Terry Gray and Jeff Billings.
Continuity and Physical Systems: Ken Maniscalco.
Copyright 1985 by Ba'Rac Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be
reproduced without permission in writing from Ba'Rac Limited.
Ba'Rac Limited
P.O. Box 21830
Shreveport, LA 71120-1830
TRAVELLER was conceived and written by Marc Miller and published by Games
Designers' Workshop in 1977.
Copyright Notice
STARCRYSTAL is Ba'Rac Limited's registered trademark for its computer
text adventure games and products based on the TRAVELLER science fiction
role-playing game system and adventuring universe. All rights reserved.
TRAVELLER is Game Designers' Workshop's registered trademark for its
science fiction role-playing game and adventuring universe set in the far
future. The TRAVELLER name and concepts are herein used with the permission
of and under exclusive license from Game Designers' Workshop. All rights
not specifically delegated by the terms of the licensing agreement are
retained by Game Designers' Workshop. This STARCRYSTAL product and the
accompanying documentation are copyrighted by Ba'Rac Limited, 1985. All
rights reserved. No portion of this software product or accompanying
documentation may be reproduced or copied in any form or manner whatsoever,
or rendered into any electronic or machine-readable format without express
permission in writing from Ba'Rac Limited. The original purchaser only of
this software product is hereby granted a limited license to transfer the
program from its medium into the memory of a computer solely for the
purpose of executing the program. Any other use of this software product is
an infringement of the Ba'Rac Limited copyright.
Copyright (c) 1985 by Ba'Rac Limited.
Table of Contents
=================
INTRODUCTION.............................................................03
Standards and Assumptions...........................................03
Characters..........................................................04
Scoring.............................................................06
THE JOB OPPORTUNITY
Far Trader..........................................................06
Far Trader Down.....................................................07
Scout on the Ropes..................................................08
The Baron...........................................................08
The Baron's Proposition.............................................09
The Police Report...................................................10
Preparations........................................................11
ANIMALS..................................................................12
MERTACTOR................................................................13
THE DARRIAN EXPEDITION...................................................16
THE CAT HAT..............................................................17
APPENDICES
A: Introduction to TRAVELLER........................................18
B: Character Skills.................................................19
C: Interfacing STARCRYSTAL..........................................21
LIBRARY DATA.............................................................21
MAP......................................................................25
INTRODUCTION
============
This booklet and the accompanying computer software contains one
complete TRAVELLER adventure designed to be played solitaire. The computer
serves as a referee. No additional materials are necessary to successfully
resolve this adventure. A knowledge of Basic TRAVELLER is useful but not
required.
"Mertactor: The Volentine Gambit" is the first episode of the
STARCRYSTAL Campaign, a complete set of Traveller adventures in District
268 of the Spinward Marches. Each episode is playable independently or as
part of a campaign, where the consequences of your performance in prior
episodes carries over into the next.
For those who are not familiar with TRAVELLER, basic mechanics are
presented in the Appendix. It is sufficient to understand that TRAVELLER is
an internally consistant science fiction universe which has been developed
and detailed since Game Designers' Workshop published the first set of
TRAVELLER books in 1977. Contact with the system will teach most of what
you need to know. Study the background and documentation contained in this
booklet. You are at no greater disadvantage than anybody who has ever
started their first game of TRAVELLER.
STANDARDS AND ASSUMPTIONS
-------------------------
Dates: Dates used in this adventure correspond to the Imperial
Calendar, which counts years from the founding of the Imperium. Dates are
further expressed by the consecutive numbering of days within the year. For
example, the first day of the year 1107 is 001-1107, while the last day is
365-1107. The adventure begins on 117-1112, the day after the Far Trader
"Arax House" makes planetfall at Mertactor Down Starport.
Place: The adventure takes place on Mertactor (0707-B262732-B), which
is situated at the trailing edge of the District 268 Subsector, which in
turn is a rimward region of the Spinward Marches Sector, which is located
at the spinward fringe of the Imperium.
The Planet: Mertactor is a small world with a turbulent but otherwise
satisfactory atmosphere, relatively light gravity, and very great mass.
About 20% of the world's surface is covered by shallow oceans and coastal
wetlands. Ridges, forested and jungle areas rimming the oceans account for
8% of the surface. The rest of Mertactor is a self-perpetuating desolation
known as the "drisk."
The human population numbers under fifteen millions, virtually all of
whom live in and around the contiguous underground and surface complexes at
Rassad, Wind Harbor, and Mertactor Down Starport. The Class B starport
includes an orbital facility of extraordinary design and efficiency.
A technological level of B prevails on Mertactor. This level is
typical for the Imperium, but high for a frontier location.
Except for a brief period of anarchy followed by a religious
dictatorship, Mertactor has been governed since its colonial era by a
stable, self-perpetuating oligarchy. Few laws are codified on Mertactor,
but an elaborate system of custom is in place. Offworlders leaving the
starport are advised to behave in the most civilized and conservative
manner possible.
CHARACTERS
----------
This adventure is designed to be played with a single TRAVELLER
character who occupies the narrative point of view of the player. This
player-character may be the ex-Scout character supplied with the adventure,
or a character created on the CITIZENS character generator program and
transferred to this adventure according to the instructions contained in
CITIZENS. A different character and equipment set with different skills and
a different profession can significantly alter the course of play, though
not necessarily for the better.
Skills: No specific skills are required for success in this episode of
the STARCRYSTAL Campaign, but expertise in one or more personal weapons is
desirable. Other skills which may be useful include Brawling, Computer,
Electronics, Hunting, Mechanical, Recon, and Survival.
Air/raft skill is necessary for the character to travel from the
starport area to where the investigation begins. If the character does not
have Air/raft or Grav Vehicle skill then the system will arbitrarily assign
Air/raft-0, indicating a minimum proficiency which will help the character
get airborne, perhaps navigate well enough to reach the destination, and
maybe get back to civilization without being killed in a traffic accident.
Since the air/raft is the only available transportation, characters without
air/raft skill begin with a handicap.
Gender: Whether a character is male or female necessarily matters, but
is not crucial to the course of play except in local cultural
circumstances, which do not occur on Mertactor. Any character is playable
as either sex, except for the tendency for starship pilots and gunners to
be female. (Note, however, that this impression may be an artifact of
faulty observation rather than a statistical event.)
Pre-Generated Character: A suitable character is supplied with the
adventure and described below. An explanation of the character's skills and
characteristics and how they relate to the game is presented in the
appendix.
1. (Player Character) ex-Scout, 78B977, Age 38, 5 terms, Cr3000.
Electronics-3, Pilot-1, Air/raft-1, Vacc Suit-1, Mechanical-1, SMG-1,
Jack-of-All-Trades-2. SMG, blade.
The ex-Scout owns a submachine gun and ammunition, a blade, cloth
armor, and miscellaneous personal belongings. A 4mm Gauss pistol is
among the ex-Scout's possessions, but is not owned.
Non-Player Characters: During the course of the adventure one or more
of these non-player characters (NPC) may be encountered by the
player-character (PC) as patrons, adversaries, allies, or neutrals,
according to the story line and the context within which the NPC appears.
These descriptions are a rough guide. An NPC will not necessarily be
encountered during a given adventure.
2. Jamal Ito - Bureaucrat, 577BAA, Age 87, Cr unknown.
Administration-5, Leader-2, Liason-2, Instruction-1.
Represents the Ito family on Mertactor's ruling council. Director
of Mines and mineral projects for DerBonne Merchants, L.I.C., on
Mertactor.
3. Sandra Nakura Warren - Merchant Captain, 869877, Age 47, Cr40000.
Pilot-1, Navigation-2, Engineering-1, Ship's Tactics-2, Gunnery-1,
Leader-1, Forgery-1, Cutlass-2, Snub Pistol-2, Brawling-1.
Captain Warren is the owner of the Type A2 Far Trader "Arax
House."
4. Cyrano Wedge Nakura - Diplomat, 558965, Age 42, Cr unknown.
Liason-3, Interrogation-2, Carousing-2, Carbine-1, Computer-1,
Dagger-1.
Very little is known about this man. He tends to little bits of
business for various corporations and interests as a freelance
representative.
5. Rosco Thacker, a.k.a. "Thumper" - ex-Marine, A97576, Age 38,
5 terms, Cr minimal.
Blade-5, Rifle-1, Brawling-1, Cutlass-1.
Mr. Thacker is an employee of DerBonne Security Services.
6. Kaitlin Kai Nakura - Other, 687AA6, Age 34, Cr12000.
Computer-1, Auto Pistol-2, Brawling-1,Demolition-1, Streetwise-2,
Leader-1, Dagger-0.
She is a native Mertactan employed as a public relations
specialist by DerBonne Merchants, primarily to interact with the
Nakura Family.
7. Dwir Anastocia - ex-Marine Lt. Colonel, A8EA8C, Age 33, 3 terms,
Cr30000.
Gauss Pistol-3, Gauss Rifle-2, Streetwise-2, Interrogation-2, Blade-2,
Forgery-1, Bribery-1, Brawling-1, Recon-1, Vacc Suit-1, Battle
Dress-1, Demolition-1, Instruction-1, Computer-1.
No Awards or decorations. No military record.
SCORING
-------
Episodic Goals: Do the job for baron Edkos Volentine, get paid for
high passage off Mertactor, and go home. You don't have to actually recover
the artifact. All you have to do is look around. You could waste the entire
weekend poking around the DerBonne facility, enjoying the scenery, and
visiting the nearby Sephir Temple, once a minor tourist attraction and not
without points of interest. Nobody is going to travel all the way out from
Rassad just to hassle you or to discover whether your search is
enthusiastic or indifferent. Right? Silly you.
When you're ready to leave the adventure, get into the air/raft and
head back to Rassad. However, be aware that returning to Rassad much in
advance of three standard days without tangible results would be bad form,
incompetence at best, and possibly criminal, depending on the equipment and
services Baron Volentine had made available or you had used. There are 72
hours before you are due back at the "Arax House." Use them.
For campaign purposes, the bottom line is to take possession of the
artifact known as the Star Crystal and escape with it in the air/raft back
toward Rassad, but without wounds or disease requiring medical attention.
Episode 2 begins before Episode 1 ends, so it is important to gather useful
information and equipment. Figure out what has happened on Mertactor, and
what is about to happen. Objects taken in this episode are portable to the
next episode, but within realistic constraints of weight and displacement.
Points are awarded for certain objects taken into the character's
possession and the discovery of vital information. Points for information
are awarded if the character encounters that information, regardless of
whether the player recognizes the discovery as important.
The Job Opportunity
===================
FAR TRADER
----------
The "Arax House" is a thirty-three year old 200-ton type A2 Far Trader
presenting Imperial registry out of Glisten/Glisten. This ship is owned by
Captain Sandra Nakura Warren, a native and resident of
Mertactor/District 268, and for the last twelve years has been operated
under exclusive contract to DerBonne Merchants, L.I.C. of New Rome/Glisten.
Capable of jump-2, "Arax House" has seen extensive service coreward into
the Sword Worlds, in addition to common carrier duty on the Spinward Main
and connecting Mertactor and Glisten. Cargo capacity is 61 tons. Each of
her two hardpoints mounts a triple turret heterogeneously fitted with beam
laser, missile rack, and sandcaster.
Pressed into Naval courier service from a distant coreward leg of her
route during the Fifth Frontier War, "Arax House" served in Regina and
Jewell Subsectors and eventually participated in the relief of Lanth,
delivering under fire a crucial resupply for the third battalion of the
Rassad Lift Regiment, a native Mertactan unit. Enormous attrition among
Scout/Courier vessels required that "Arax House" be committed to
communications duty. She successfully avoided interception with a fighting
withdrawal on two occasions, and supported Patrol Cruiser "Dunbar Glows" in
a boarding engagement near Forboldn, during which she sustained a 12-meter
laser strike across the ventral port aspect while the PC was lost with all
hands.
The breached cargo bay was patched inside a fleet tender at Naval
expense. "Arax House" was released from duty and sent homeward with a
commendation and a service code appended to her identification beacon,
along with the first news that the Fifth Frontier War had been stalemated
and Mertactan units would be among the first to stand down. The DerBonne
Marketing Department suggested that the laser strike not be painted over
until the patriotic evidence had been displayed throughout the DerBonne
service area.
DerBonne Merchants has great confidence in the performance and
enduring profitability of this vessel and crew. Her service record has been
consistently satisfactory. Passenger accommodations are above average for a
Far Trader. The cuisine is excellent, typical of Mertactan service. Two of
the crew can actually cook. The ship has earned a reputation worth
protecting and preserving.
Consequently, when Captain Warren announced the unexpected layover on
Mertactor, the delay was accepted as unfortunate but unavoidable.
FAR TRADER DOWN
---------------
Reportedly the last annual inspection and overhaul somehow failed to
expose the imminent and now present failure of magnetic couplings
throughout the maneuver drives and gravitics. Replacement parts are
available in Rassad, but the service personnel and facilities of Mertactor
Down Starport are fully occupied for the next nine days. Engineers employed
by DerBonne Merchants will be shuttled from Mertactor Orbital Starport to
do the job, which should take two or three days.
The ship is unable to lift, not even in an emergency. Normally, she
would be tugged underground, but the parking and service bays are full, and
attempts to bribe some space open have failed. "Arax House" must remain
immobile in a surface revetment. On Mertactor, this condition engages a
tangle of laws and customs, and triggers an astonishing bump in insurance
premiums.
Passengers are expected to disembark and not reoccupy their staterooms
until notified. Crew members whose presence is not required during repairs
are asked to vacate the ship. Passengers will be contacted on the PIG when
repairs are completed, when liftoff is rescheduled, and at hourly intervals
until liftoff is achieved.
Until then, have a nice weekend.
SCOUT ON THE ROPES
------------------
Astonishing. It's raining rocks on Mertactor, just like the ship's
Library Program said it might. The rocks aren't much, just dust and grit
and the occasional pebble, but they are coming from the advertised
direction. The near horizon over the mountains surrounding Wind Harbor
Basin and the starport is black and red and orange and impossibly active.
Somewhere on the other side of this small planet a drisk storm is dying
out. The residue is falling here. Few of the thousands of people in the
starport are entertained by the rain, but for you at least the layover on
Mertactor is no longer a total loss. You have seen something new.
Mertactor Down Starport is jammed with people. The transportation and
communications overload created by the Fifth Frontier War two sectors
coreward has reached Mertactor. The port authority is crowded. The public
transportation ramps are crowded. The bars and hotels and wonderful
restaurants are crowded. Sullen, unhappy people are lined up twenty deep
for a chance at the freshers. Customs is impossible. They are digging
through every bit of gear presented, searching for weapons and contraband.
People back in the lines are falling asleep.
Half the people in the starport are trying to leave the
extraterritorial boundaries and go home. The other half are trying to secure
outsystem passage and continue towards home. You might try to get a room
and meal, but everybody else has the same idea. You don't have any money to
spare anyway, and it's a cinch you'll have to come up with the extra Cr2000
to convert your middle passage on "Arax House" to high passage, either that
or get bumped from outgoing flights for the next month. The square meter of
pavement you staked out next to a retaining wall will no doubt seem to
shrink as the weekend wears on.
Just when you are beginning to think things couldn't get worse, they
do. Here comes a pair of goons in combat armor, swaggering through the
crowd, armed and curious but not in a hurry. The short one spots you. She
taps the side of her helmet and gestures for you to stay put, as if there
was someplace else you could get to.
The tall one does the talking. "If you're the Scout who came in
yesterday on that A2 what tossed her couplers, then Baron Edkos Volentine
requests that you attend a personal audience. Would you care to store your
gear and come with us?"
Both are armed with automatic shotguns, just the thing for crowd
control in a bust starport. The request is not much of a request. You're
off to see the Baron.
THE BARON
---------
The news is not entirely bad. You shared passage with Baron Volentine
since Glisten. He is a corporate director of DerBonne Merchants. The man is
gregarious, educated, and entertaining. He had been good company on the
trip, having a good time, traveling to Mertactor to meet his brother,
another Baron Volentine. They were going to do something important,
although the Baron never explained what. If people in combat armor come
around to pick you up, then better on behalf of someone you know isn't
already mad at you.
The goons are wearing insignia of DerBonne Security Service. Starport
customs waves the group through without a second glance. Outside, and
air/raft is waiting to whisk you over the congested ground traffic to
DerBonne's Rassad offices. The driver has to be a lunatic. He doesn't even
notice the rain.
THE BARON'S PROPOSITION
-----------------------
"My brother, Baron Aramis Volentine, was murdered. His body was found
on the landing zone serving the environmental shelter where he was working,
about a hundred kilometers north of here. DerBonne employees discovered the
body during a weekly supply mission. That, plus several other reasons I
cannot discuss, prevent me from fully thrusting the staff available to me
locally."
"Aramis was an ethnologist. He had a professional interest in the
Sephir Temple, near where he was killed, and -in several religions
practiced in that area from time to time during Mertactor's... ah...
sometimes obscure history. My family is native to Mertactor, though Aramis
and I were born on New Rome, so he could maintain a dispassionate interest
in the sometimes fanatic behaviors of our ancestors. Mertactor has always
had a share of lunatics which seem to have been more unbalanced than those
found elsewhere. Religion is a delicate matter. I'm sure you are familiar
with the situation on Pavabid. Mertactor was once controlled by a group
known as the Sendi Mai, as vicious a group of extremists as you can
possibly imagine."
"Aramis had a curious idea - that fanatic or cultist religious
movements in the Imperium have tended to originate on worlds with a
hydrographic percentage of less than 30%. Perhaps something about a desert
or a desolation plucks a murderous chord somewhere deep within us,
somewhere very basic and very human. I rather tend to agree with Aramis'
hypothesis - probably something about being dirty and thirsty all the
time."
"Be that as it may, several months ago I received an xboat message and
image transmission from him. requesting that we meet on Mertactor to take
possession of an artifact in which my family has had a passing interest for
several generations. During the course of his ethnological studies, Aramis
either located the artifact or actually took possession of it. I rather
suspect the former, as the image transmitted was indistinct, as if recorded
from a photograph. The object is associated in oral history and family
traditions with the Sendi Mai religion I mentioned a moment ago. The Sendi
Mai followers were wiped out over a hundred years ago. There was no hope of
locating anything of theirs on the drisk, but something could have been
preserved in the jungle, as was the Sephir Temple site."
"The artifact is known as the STARCRYSTAL. Of course, I don't know
whether it is actually a crystal, or a jewel, or what... but it is
definitely an example of early Mertactan craftmanship and art. A number of
chains support the crystal, a necklace or headband sort of affair. As I
said, the image was indistinct. As you have no doubt seen or read by now,
the people here are marvelous jewelers and metalworkers. There's no way to
determine the historical or monetary value of this piece without actually
recovering it. Now that it is known to exist, I feel that the effort is
worthwhile. Aramis certainly thought so."
"Your value is that you are an offworlder with no ties to Mertactor.
Mertactor natives can be trusted absolutely, but only regarding each other.
During our brief travel together, I found you to be a competent individual.
I have no particular reason to trust you, but neither do I have any reason
to distrust you. I know that the ship we arrived on is undergoing repairs
which will last a couple of days, enough time for you to go out to the
shelter where my brother's body was discovered and to have a look around.
See if you can pick up the trail on which Aramis was interrupted. Find the
STARCRYSTAL if you can. Get it back to me here in Rassad. In return, I will
pay Cr20,000 and provide the high passage on "Arax House" you will need to
continue your trip home."
"Are we agreed?"
Without a high passage ticket, you realize you'll be stuck on
Mertactor for months, being bumped off every ship leaving port by every
person willing to pay extra just to keep going. Securing passage the rest
of the way home would be a fine reward for working three days which were
going to be wasted anyway. Furthermore, a Baron is always a useful person
to make happy. What could go wrong? Of course, you'll have to spend three
days in the boondocks because it would be bad form to come back early and
empty-handed, but a pressurized shelter is a good place to rest and the
Sephir Temple is probably an interesting place to see, a real tourist
attraction. And who knows what the Baron might pay if you turned up with
the STARCRYSTAL? And if the Baron would pay that much, who knows how much
somebody else would pay? You don't have any reason to cheat the Baron - yet
- but it's an option to consider. Of course you agree.
Baron Edkos Volentine smiles. "Welcome to Mertactor."
THE POLICE REPORT
-----------------
Subject Baron Aramis Volentine, an ethnologist representing a noble
family with established economic and cultural ties to Mertactor, was
discovered on the landing zone of a DerBonne Merchants pressurized shelter
located in the jungle immediately southwest of the Sephir Temple at the
base of North Ridge. Subject had been stabbed 32 times. Wounds in chest and
abdomen arranged in concentric circles. Tendons of arms and legs severed by
deep laceration. Time of death estimated in the neighborhood of 108-1112.
Subject was discovered by occupants of a DerBonne air/raft delivering
supplies. These native Mertactans must remain under minimal suspicion. They
individually attest to the honor of the other. Of course, if all were Sendi
Mai then they would not be able to fail such oaths. In passing, note that
the ritual aspects of this murder must not be exposed to public
speculation. Any reference to the resurgent practice of Sendi Mai or to any
of the similar murders within the last several years must be avoided.
These are the DerBonne employees involved. Kaitlin Kai Nakura is a
public relations specialist who states that she accompanied the others to
enjoy the ride and visit the Sephir Temple for the first time.
Cyrano Wedge Nakura is employed by DerBonne Operations Group, through
which offices the resupply of the DerBonne shelter would have normally been
arranged.
Rosco Thacker is employed by DerBonne Security Services, and offered
no explanation for his presence in the air/raft. Naturally, DerBonne would
not be expected to comment on their security requirements in this area. Mr.
Thacker is also known to this office as "Thumper."
It is worth noting that subject's youngest sister, Alesia Lai
Volentine, was killed three years ago leading the rescue attempt mounted
from M.O.S. when the Subsidized Liner "Sharron Dale" fell from parking
orbit and suffered catastrophic reentry into the atmosphere. Volentines
have lived here for a very long time. It is not in our interest to acquire
a reputation for allowing Volentines to be killed here as well.
PREPARATIONS
------------
Baron Volentine arranges for your personal gear and weapons to be
delivered from storage at the starport. In addition, he supplies a Gauss
pistol, a large scale map of the general area, and a copy of the police
report concerning his brother's death. You are given formal permission to
use food supplies and any equipment found at the shelter, including the
computer. Unfortunately, the computer's key was not among Aramis' personal
effects recovered from the body and returned by the police. Baron Volentine
is certain the computer files will contain Aramis' field notes and perhaps
a clue to the motivation behind his murder. It is not impossible that his
work had somehow given unintentional but nevertheless mortal offense.
Ordinarily, a military fire team from DerBonne Security Services would
accompany a jungle or forest investigation, but Baron Volentine cannot
entirely trust his local employees. He has been gone from Mertactor too
long to absolutely rely upon family loyalties. Natural trust may have been
Aramis' fatal error, or it could have been unnatural distrust. Aramis had
had neither bodyguard nor colleagues nor companions.
Furthermore, the Baron has hired transportation for the trip of
approximately 100 kilometers out to the shelter site. You are to take an
air/raft from Fast Eddie's Rassad Rentals, instead of attracting attention
by using a DerBonne air/raft without a DerBonne pilot. Each pilot is
responsible for their vehicle, almost to the point of personal property.
Even a noble would give serious offense by merely suggesting, much less
insisting, that a pilot relinquish their vehicle to an offworlder. In the
course of such things, the pilot would naturally obtain satisfaction from
the stranger, a headache anybody could live without and few would be likely
to continue living with for very long.
While Fast Eddy's crew moves an air/raft out to his seedy, dusty LZ
you take the opportunity to browse a nearby PIG terminal and spend a
handful of credits for hardcopy of useful screens. Then down into the
revetment. A hot breeze whistles around in the revetment well, stirring up
dirt and litter.
Time to go to work.
ANIMALS
=======
Animals are described and ordinarily identified in terms of behavior,
weight, and modes of interaction with adventurers. A 4-kilogram flying
gatherer on Mertactor (any of several thousand Tiziar species) little
resembles Terran flying gatherers (Ducks, for example) but both organisms
exhibit similar behaviors and are thus equivalent in game terms. The Andrax
is Mertactor's 100-kilogram killer which behaves like a big killer on
Terra, but does not in any other way resemble a shark, being in fact a
bipedal quasi-arboreal semi-intelligent creature suggestive of genetic
interaction between a striped leopard and - because of a rather unique jaw
structure - a chainsaw. However, the interaction of andrax and sharks with
adventurers is as equivalent as ducks and tiziari.
Beck's Beast is an important facet of Mertactor's history. The animal
is a genetically engineered Terran hippopotamus, a food factory, designed
to eat Mertactor's mineral and metal packed vegetation and turn it into
forms easily digested by humans. Beck's Beast is acknowledged as an Ancient
artifact, and circumstantial proof that a human colony had been
transplanted to Mertactor by the Ancients, though no evidence of that
colony exists.
The animal contains glands specifically adapted to removing minerals
and trace elements from vegetable matter, and isolating those materials from
the animal's musculature. The animal's droppings are of such high metallic
content that they are actually worth harvesting.
Terran cats are extinct on Mertactor, but Terran rats have thrived.
Over thousands of generations on this low gravity world, they have
developed into remarkably intelligent creatures averaging twenty kilograms
in size. Wild rats can be dangerous, but occupy an important part of the
forest food chain. Trained rats are herded down jungle trails eaten or
bruised through the root systems by Beck's Beasts and used by hunters to
trigger a Scylitha ambush. If the rat pack starts dwindling then danger is
at hand. Rats are an important feature of the remarkable Mertactan cuisine.
The Tilok Lizard is another curious facet of Mertactor wildlife. These
are small (under 1kg each) carnivore/scavengers which swarm throughout the
root systems of the jungle and forest, rapidly consuming any dead animal
matter which hits the ground. Tiloks can be found in enormous quantities
anywhere other animals are found. Hunters are fond of providing a
spectacular show for tourists by killing a rat and throwing it as far as
possible down a trail to trigger the Tilok swarm which engulfs the corpse
moments after it hits the ground. The Tilok feeding frenzy can be observed
from very close range, as the creatures simply will not bite humans, alive
or dead, unless someone is silly enough to stick a hand into a feeding
mass.
Animals on Mertactor are much more intelligent than usual. There are
very few major species, all contending for similar resources and all
territorial in the extreme. The food chain is simple and uncomplicated, and
thus vulnerable. All wildlife on Mertactor are protected by law and by
custom. Only licensed hunters may take Beck's Beast for food. Andrax may be
killed in self-defense, but as far as is known, this has never been
successfully accomplished.
Scylitha are specially protected because of the extraordinarily
beautiful horn masks covering their face. Scylitha masks have found
extensive ceremonial use since the colonial era, and are collective
treasures owned by Family. Ideally, the Scylitha can be taken only in
self-defense, but licensed hunters will trigger an ambush attempting to get
a flank shot. The mask is so important that native Mertactan hunters have
died defending against a frontal attack rather than deface the mask,
through which the animal is vulnerable only to a rifle shot or arrow placed
through an eye socket. About twenty years ago, an albino Scylitha was taken
with a laser carbine equipped with electronic sights and boresighted down a
trail known to be part of the animal's territory. One hunter died in the
ambush and two others were killed leading the creature into the carbine's
fire line. The albino mask was sent to the Emperor as a token from the
people of Mertactor.
Biologists have not been able to reconcile Mertactor's narrow
ecosystem with the geological age of the planet. There simply has not been
enough time for what convincingly appears to be native wildlife to have
evolved naturally, yet except for Beck's Beast there is no evidence of
engineering or transplantation from other worlds. Similarly, the passive
plant life is too complicated for the timespan involved, and the
territorial, aggressive plant life is too complicated for any time span.
Mertactan trees seem to spend most of their time trying to kill each other,
while Mertactan animals seem to be consciously balancing each other's
populations. However, the lack of an obvious or accessible explanation does
not mean that an explanation does not exist. It does mean that biologists
have been slow to generalize from the Darrian contention about Mertactor's
geology and origins to a similar explanation of Mertactor's flora and
fauna.
MERTACTOR
=========
Colonies were first established on Mertactor between -2000 and -1750
by Terran traders, Solomani immigrants, and light fleet elements following
up the defeat of the First Imperium by the Terran Confederation. The small
population almost perished during the collapse of interstellar commerce and
communication during the Long Night, and endured regular attrition by
Mertactor's environment until the colony remnant was securely established
in the Wind Harbor Basin and Rassad's growing underground residential
areas. A small segment of the population followed a nomadic existence out
on the drisk, but did not participate in the mainstream of Mertactor
history.
Modern Mertactor society is rooted in the colonial hardships. The
people lived close together in the safest place on the planet, rather than
following the normal colonial practice of dispersing the population to
prevent destruction by a single disaster. Extensive, detailed geneologies
were set up and maintained, originally to diminish the genetic casualties
inevitable to intermarriages among a small, isolated population, then later
as an enduring institution of unity. Everybody on Mertactor seems to know
each other. Cousins are acknowledged so far out that a native could choose
to be associated with literally half the families on the planet.
Internal affairs are handled entirely by family representatives. The
few laws codified on Mertactor deal with extreme behaviors, such as murder,
and with protecting animal life. Property, marriage, manners, and other
civil matters are handled through the family. The most unusual example is
the provision made by the Imperium for Mertactor natives serving in the
Imperial armed forces. Instead of being assigned to whatever unit needs
replacements, a Mertactan volunteer is automatically assigned to the Rassad
Lift Infantry/Mertactor's Own Imperial, regardless of where that unit
happens to be in action. The regiment is 100% native Mertactan. Its battle
record is phenomenal, but the few times it has been caught in a disaster
have been planetary tragedies on Mertactor, as heavy casualties repeatedly
touch every family. A battalion being rotated home is cause for widespread
celebration, bordering on anarchy.
External affairs are handled by a self-perpetuating Council. Concerned
mainly with the starport, offworlders, commerce, the disposition of the
Rassad Lift Infantry, and with interstellar relations, the Council meets
when an occasion arises and constitutes what amounts to the planetary
government. Membership on the Council is entirely voluntary. A native who
feels so moved can ordinarily obtain a seat upon petition to one of the
families. Seats change hands when a member hands the seat over to another
native. A Council member may retire out of boredom, or a desire to do
something else, or to give honor to a friend or relative. There are many
examples of children sitting in Council, as well as natives given a seat on
their deathbed and then immediately returning it, a last token of honor and
respect.
Mertactor is known for many things, but to the ordinary Imperial
citizen it is renowned for a truly remarkable cuisine. Fully 3% of the
chefs serving the Imperial Household are native Mertactans. The rather high
mineral and metallic content of the native plant and animal life led to the
development of light and heavy sauces of every imaginable nuance to
accentuate or obscure flavors as called for by the occasion and the chef's
inclinations. Heavy marinades were developed which, in effect, predigested
meat otherwise difficult for humans to use. The closeness of extended
families in fact living near each other and in practice enjoying each
other's company created many occasions for feasting and partying. When a
family banquet could reasonably expect to seat 3000 people, food management
and preparation became a subject of much attention. Children start learning
to cook as soon as they are able to wield a knife. Mertactan natives grow
up with an unnatural familiarity with edged tools and weapons - knives,
cleavers, boning blades - everything associated with butchery and cutlery.
The strategic importance of Mertactor has been obvious since the
publication of the First Survey in 420. The original measurements were
discounted as erroneous, but they were correct. Mertactor is a very small
world, about 3200 kilometers in diameter, with a gravity of .82, holding a
light but standard atmosphere, and rotating once every 14 hours. The bottom
line is enormous mass. Mertactor is made of abnormal concentrations of
metals and heavy elements. Most importantly, the geological age of the
world appears to be about 325,000 years, far to short a period to account
for atmosphere, plant life, animal life, or anything. Yet the dating is not
wrong. Something else about Mertactor is wrong.
If it were not for the drisk storms, Mertactor would have long ago
been developed into the largest open pit mine in the Imperium. The
apparently random and regular occurrence of these storms has so far
rendered economic exploitation of Mertactor's surface economically marginal
at best.
It is worth noting that neither District 268 nor Mertactor are members
of the Imperium, yet most Imperial maps are charts are gerrymandered to
include Mertactor within the Imperial borders. The xboat route from
Glisten/Glisten terminates at Mertactor, but there is every reason to
believe that an uncharted, unpublicized route continues from Mertactor
across District 268 and into the rimward regions of Five Sisters Subsector
and the many naval bases maintained there. The only other xboat route into
Iderati/Five Sisters and the core/trailing corner of Five Sisters makes a
stop in Sword Worlds territory, no doubt an inconvience to both parties. A
deepsite meson gun dedicated to planetary defense is located somewhere
within the Rassad Ridgeline. The Imperial Scout Service base at Mertactor
Down Starport ordinarily maintains a dozen scout/courier ships. A company
of Imperial Marines is stationed at the starport. The Imperium is prepared
to defend Mertactor, although the last military action in the system was
fought nearly 500 years ago.
After the Second Frontier War and the following Civil Wars, the
Imperium occupied several Sword Worlds systems. In the Battle of Narsil's
(628), after the wholesale destruction of Narsil's armed forces, a Sword
Worlds admiral escaped with several squadrons of new ships and took up
commerce raiding against the Imperium. Years later, his squadrons were
cornered by an Imperial fleet covering Mertactor and defeated in what is
called the Battle of Mertactor. The only reason the Sword Worlds squadrons
were caught was that they happened to jump into the Mertactor system, where
the Imperials had been waiting - not to catch a bunch of commerce raiders
but rather to protect Mertactor. So far, the Imperium has been subtle in
its regard for Mertactor, but as soon as the problem of the drisk storms is
solved the benign neglect will end. The Navy can be expected to take
Mertactor apart layer by layer, transport it across District 268 to the
shipyards at Iderati, and turn the planet into battle squadrons.
THE DARRIAN EXPEDITION
======================
After the First Frontier War, around 611, the Darrians obtained
permission to establish a research station on Mertactor to investigate the
nature of the drisk storms in particular and the planet and its star in
general. Permission was granted by the Council on the condition that the
Darrian findings be published first on Mertactor, and that the Darrian base
be supplied by native Mertactor corporations. Since the Darrians had
carefully chosen representatives descended from Solomani traders, just as
were the native Mertactans, an agreement was quickly reached. While
Imperial scientists were studying the First Survey, scratching their heads,
and wondering how Mertactor could be so dense and be only 300,000 years
old, the Darrians had already gone to work.
The mission was headed by a Darrian Navy Lt. Commander named Sisera
Barak, who established the research station and maintained good relations
with the natives through the services of a bright young merchant named Wadi
de Edkos. The men were well matched in ambition, intellect, and ancestry
(mostly Terran), while dissimilar enough to entertain and inform each
other. They became close friends.
Barak verified that Mertactor was a very young planet. He discovered
some of the highest concentrations of minerals and heavy elements in the
Spinward Marches. He concluded that the concentration should have been
greater, but that drisk storms had reduced the planet's surface. Analysis
of the drisk failed to revel heavy elements in the predicted quantities.
Either the elements weren't there, or they had been removed. Baral's
discovery of the role played by the drisk storms was directly related to
stories about colonial M\Mertactor told to him by Wadi de Edkos. Most
importantly, the storms never struck the jungle and forested areas behind
the ridgelines, only rarely struck the Elotal Sea, and occasionally reached
into the populated areas of the Wind Harbor Basin. This was curious. Out on
the drisk, the appearance of storms appeared to be entirely random, without
meteorological precursors. One moment a column of the atmosphere was
normal, then the next moment it was turbulent, then the next moment there
was a storm.
Barak contended that the entire planet of Mertactor was an Ancient
artifact, an example of planetary engineering. The Ancients were perfectly
capable of undertaking such an experiment just to see if it could be done.
Barak proposed that they tugged a core into orbit, then coalesced material
literally sucked from Mertactor's star in order to quickly create a
concentration of heavy elements which could be easily mined and exploited.
The event, if it happened that way, was either natural or induced. Either
the Ancients were able to time the third nova of Mertactor's star and be
ready to take advantage of the opportunity, or the star was put to work
when the Ancients were ready to build Mertactor. Both explanations were so
ridiculous that Barak was confident his findings could be published
anywhere in the Imperium and be totally disregarded, except of course among
the Darrians.
The drisk storms, Barak proposed, were created artificially by a
deepsite Ancient base which used gravitics to create the storms, and that
the storms were a method of strip mining the entire surface of the planet.
That storms never strike the jungle and only rarely hit the ocean or
populated mountain regions suggests that the Ancients did not want to
jeopardize transplanted humans more than necessary. The present day
survival of Beck's Beast has long been a hint of Ancient intervention on
Mertactor, but Barak's hypothesis was so improbable that it was filed away
and forgotten, just as Barak had expected.
The young merchant, Wadi de Edkos, was the only person on Mertactor
who noticed the timing of Barak's report to Mire/Darrian. About 614, a
Darrian Scout/Courier arrived to take Sisera Barak and his research back
home as quickly as possible. The rest of the Darrian Expedition dismantled
the base and were transported home within the year.
By 615, the Second Frontier War had begun and the Zhodani were
advancing through Querion Subsector toward Darrian. Wadi de Edkos and the
corporation which eventually became DerBonne Merchants became wealthy
during this period. By 619, the Zhodani were voluntarily withdrawing from
Querion without a fight. The Darrians had come up with something very
dangerous and very impressive. Wadi de Edkos made the correct connection
that it had something to do with Mertactor.
Wadi de Edkos and Sisera Barak remained friends, though older now,
hardened and scarred by war, did business together, prospered, and could
trust each other when it came time to store some fragile merchandise. Some
eight to ten years after the Second Frontier War, Wadi de Edkos returned to
his native Mertactor. He brought a message. He would be back. In about five
hundred years. Everybody he talked with took him very very seriously. They
believed, and they began to wait. So did the Darrians, although in time the
Darrians almost forgot why. The native Mertactans, however, the people of
Sendia, the Sendi Mai, knew why they were waiting.
THE CAT HAT
===========
Developed by Ling-Standard as an inexpensive alternative to the
dedicated computer interface implant, the CAT HAT is a recent product which
has most often been used by the Imperial Scout Service and various
scientific disciplines to assist in making field observations and transmit
those files to a dedicated computer. CAT HAT itself is an acronym for
"Cybernetic Assisted Thought, Heuristic Analog Transmitter," one of those
rare designations with favorable marketing consequences.
The CAT HAT is a useful compromise, giving up the surgical implant's
performance, expense, and psychological hazards while providing more
flexible access than voice or keyboard. The CAT HAT is based on a theory of
consciousness rather than neuroanatonmy. This theory holds that the engram,
the basic unit of human memory, is very large rather than very small, that
memory is not a matter of storage but rather recreated on the spot by
immediate stimuli (which may be a memory), and that changes in the
neurological and - to a very limited extent - electrochemical composition
of the brain can be detected by sensors sited over the frontal lobes, over
Wernicke's Area, and over Broca's Area. The use of certain drugs can
enhance CAT HAT performance by decreasing the chemical variability in the
brain to within narrower parameters, but the side effects are not worth the
benefit.
Only one person at a time can use the CAT HAT dedicated to a given
computer. Before another person can use the CAT HAT, a calibration program
must be run while wearing the CAT HAT to adapt the device as much as
possible to the electrochemical nature of the person's mind being
calibrated.
The most basic CAT HAT operation is to open files created with the CAT
HAT. There is a natural associative lock on such files, so that another
person using the CAT HAT cannot open the files unless after having
recreated the experience of the individual who created the original files.
In one sense, this lock is very secure. In another, it is not. Any user can
obtain a directory by wearing a calibrated CAT HAT and thinking or saying
"ACCESS COMPUTER DIRECTORY."
CAT HATS used in field observations are ordinarily equipped with a
camera which allows a SCAN function. The user observes an object, requests
a SCAN, and the computer transmits a close estimate of the objects
dimensions and mass.
The device is well suited to recording or transmitting leisurely
observations, a daydreaming situation which leaves the consciousness free
to interact with the CAT HAT. If the activity is unfamiliar, stressful, or
complicated, then performance will quickly degrade. The first loss will be
the ability to communicate with the computer. Next will be the loss of the
computer's ability to communicate with the user.
The operating range of a CAT HAT is about five kilometers, although
proficiency quickly degrades within that parameter. Less than two
kilometers is a reliable distance. Most users will find themselves treating
the CAT HAT as a household appliance, doing their computer work while
wandering around tending to idle chores and doing computer work without
actually having to be in front of the computer.
APPENDIX A: INTRODUCTION TO TRAVELLER
=====================================
Assumptions: As science fiction, TRAVELLER posits some basic notions
which define the universe in which it takes place. First are the practical
realities of fusion energy and faster-than-light travel. The speed of
interstellar communications is therefore limited to the speed of travel.
Consequently, enlightened feudalism is a viable structure to maintain the
fabric of an interstellar government and society, depending much upon
personal loyalties and initiatives to carry out and defend that society
over distances which prevent consultation with or direct supervision by
higher authority. The Third Imperium exists as a generally benevolent,
tolerant government which promulgates few specific policies, maintains
trade, communications, and cultural exchange among worlds, and actively
controls the space between worlds rather than controlling the worlds
themselves.
Perhaps the most basic TRAVELLER assumption is that human behavior has
been consistent and is likely to remain so. Ordinary citizens will remain
ordinary, being no more influenced by interstellar travel than modern
Americans are by intercontinental travel. Inevitably, however, there will
emerge a new kind of citizen, one who will take advantage of the
opportunity to indulge an inclination so basic and so human that it cannot
be distinguished from the myriad hearts in which it has risen since the
dawn of time - to become starfarers, to travel in a universe which was made
for us to discover.
Universal Personality Profile: The basic characteristics of a
TRAVELLER character are expressed in a specific sequence using hexadecimal
(base 16) numbers. The values 0 through 9 are represented by normal arabic
numbers; values between 10 through 15 are represented by the letters A
through F, respectively. Listed as a string of six values, these
characters always refer to a TRAVELLER character's strength, dexterity,
endurance, intelligence, education, and social standing.
Damage absorbed by a character as a result of combat or environmental
attrition is recorded by decrementing the first three (physical) values of
the UPP. Damage is inflicted in the same units in which the UPP
characteristics is reduced to zero, the character is unconscious. When two
are reduced to zero, the character is seriously injured and requires
medical attention. When all three physical characteristics are reduced to
zero the character is dead.
APPENDIX B: CHARACTER SKILLS
============================
A summary of skills excerpted from Traveller Book 1, and how those
skills may relate to the course of play with the ex-Scout character in the
STARCRYSTAL Campaign.
Electronics-3: "The individual has skill in the use, operation, and
repair of electronic devices. The person is considered handy in this field,
with the equivalent of a green thumb talent. This skill includes the repair
of energy weapons. Generally, the skill is applied in an attempt to
understand, repair, assemble, or operate electronic items. Complex
electronic items may also require a certain level of education of a very
high intelligence; many devices also require some degree of dexterity."
Level-3 is a high measure of any skill, and in the campaign will prove
most useful in attempts to repair broken or malfunctioning electronic
equipment. This skill will also help in the recognition of electronic
equipment for what it is and what it does.
Mechanical-1: "The individual has skill in the use, operation, and
repair of mechanical devices. The person is considered to be handy in this
field. This skill is specifically excludes the field of engineering; it
does include non-energy weapon repair. Mechanical expertise allows a
character the ability to operate mechanical devices easily, as well as to
repair them quickly and efficiently. Success in any mechanical enterprise
is also affected by such variables as tool availability, personal strength
and dexterity, education, and the situation."
Mechanical skill will often be useful to repair non-functioning
objects or equipment, and in ease of identifying machines and making them
work. The ability to repair weapons may be useful.
Pilot-1: "The individual has training and experience in the operation
of starships and large interplanetary ships. This skill encompasses both
the interplanetary and interstellar aspects of large ship operation."
As Pilot skill applies only to space travel, it will not be used while
adventuring on Mertactor. However, Pilot skill will prove handy when it
comes time to leave Mertactor, especially if it has to be done in a hurry.
Vacc Suit-1: "The individual has basic skill and training in the use
of the standard vacuum suit (space suit), including suits for use on
various planetary surfaces in the presence of exotic, corrosive, or
insidious atmospheres."
Mertactor's breathable atmosphere won't be leaving any time soon. Vacc
Suit skill is not used in this episode.
Air/raft-1: "The individual is skilled in the use of the air/raft
vehicle, in its safe and efficient operation, and to some extent its
maintenance."
An air/raft is the only means of transportation from Rassad to the
DerBonne shelter where the investigation begins, and the only way to get
out of the jungle and back to civilization.
SMG-1: "The individual is skilled in the use of a submachine gun as a
personal weapon, the maintenance and repair of this weapon, and its safe
handling."
The submachine gun is comparable to contemporary models such as the
Israeli Uzi. Skill in a weapon increases the chances of hitting a target,
enables more efficient handling, and avoids the many disadvantages
associated with attempting to use an unfamiliar weapon. During the course
of an episode, a character may have the opportunity to acquire a variety of
different weapons. Personal skill has to be a consideration in when or
whether to use those weapons.
Jack of All Trades-2: "The individual is proven capable of handling a
wide variety of situations, and is resourceful in finding solutions and
remedies. This skill is a general ability which may be applied to nearly
any endeavor, allowing the character to at least attempt activities which
would ordinarily be impossible due to lack of skill or expertise."
The referee has some latitude in deciding which actions a character
may attempt with at least a token chance of success. The absence of a
creative human referee to actively participate in the course of play is
partially compensated for by a character with this skill at this level,
which allows the character a legitimate attempt at the broadest possible
variety of activities. The skill contributes little toward actual chances
for success. There are many human activities which the uninformed
individual literally has no idea how to even begin. This skill at least
confers the opportunity to try within the rules, and was arbitrarily
assigned to the ex-Scout character is an attempt to balance a complicated
environment against a limited set of skills.
APPENDIX C: INTERFACING THE STARSRYSTAL EPISODE WITH AN ONGOING CAMPAIGN
========================================================================
The STARCRYSTAL Campaign is completely playable as a standard
TRAVELLER adventure without the computer. Mertactor is an interesting place
to visit (and will soon become more so), with many opportunities for
employment and intrigue for a group of adventurers knocking around District
268 with nothing better to do.
Exploration and development of the drisk's mineral wealth is a
dangerous assignment but one which pays often and well. Companies are
always looking for teams willing to undertake missions onto the drisk.
Newcomers are often assigned to rescue attempts.
The underground sections of Rassad have been under construction since
the colonial era. Remodeling and new construction is always uncovering
"lost" areas which require surveying and exploration before work can
proceed. Natives don't care for the work, so offworlders are welcome.
Offworlders leaving the starport are encouraged to behave in the most
civilized and conservative manner possible. Breaking Mertactor law is
difficult because the few codified laws address only the extremes of
behavior, but intricate family and cultural customs provide ample
opportunity to produce deadly friction.
Several Broadsword class mercenary cruisers operate out of Mertactor
Orbital, and may be a source of employment for a group which can provide
references from a native or from a Family Center.
An interesting job always available to offworlders is wandering
through the forest and harvesting Beck's Beast droppings. Local refineries
pay well, but only by the ton. When your grandchildren ask "What did you do
in the Fifth Frontier War?" you can say "I shoveled dung on Mertactor."
LIBRARY DATA
============
Air/Raft: A small, open flying vehicle which uses solid state
gravitics for lift and propulsion. Cruising speed is about 100 kph, but is
vulnerable to wind effects. The craft weighs about four tons, has a low
load capacity, and handles poorly. Simple controls cause the craft to
hover, land, and move. Basic instrumentation indicates speed and direction.
Ancients: Collective name given to a race of intelligent, non-human
beings who inhabited locations throughout this portion of the galaxy about
300,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Ancients
destroyed their own civilization during a war which lasted about 2000
years.
The Ancients are regarded as responsible for the dissemination of
Humaniti when they transplanted genetic stock from Terra to at least 40
worlds across a span of 360 parsecs. Many other Terran plant and animal
forms were transported at the same time. There are no clear explanations
for this practice, but much of what the Ancients did appears strange.
Directions, Galactic: Familiar conventions of direction do not easily
apply to descriptions of locations within a galaxy. North, South, East, and
West are not descriptive of the relationships among stars lying within the
galactic plane. Instead, the following concepts have come into widespread
use: Toward the galactic core is coreward. Away from the core is rimward.
The direction in which the galaxy rotates is spinward, while the opposite
direction, against the galaxy's rotation, is trailing.
District 268: Subsector N of the Spinward Marches Sector. Contains 32
worlds with a population of 2.4 billion. Created in 810 as an Imperial
Protectorate. Membership in the Imperium is pending. The Imperial
bureaucracy is present on Mertactor, and the Scout Service maintains
several bases throughout the subsector.
Drisk: Vernacular, meaning "without worth" or "value beyond
measuring," depending on context. Alternately, the self-perpetuating
desolation which covers most of the surface of Mertactor.
Ethnology: The study of the classifications and subdivisions of
Humaniti, their origins, characteristics, distribution, and linguistic and
physical classification.
Fifth Frontier War: The most recent of the border wars which have
erupted at irregular intervals ever since the Imperium name contact with
the expanding Zhodani Consulate. Sword Worlds forces coordinated with the
opening Zhodani attacks achieved initial gains before suffering major
reversals at Lanth. Following the pattern of previous Frontier Wars,
Imperial and local forces fought a protracted holding action before the
arrival of major Imperial fleet elements enabled a sustained
counter-offensive which re-established the status quo.
Gram Munitions: The primary contractor for ordinance and military
equipment (especially grav and tracked armor) used by combined Sword Worlds
forces. Ordinarily, each world in a Sword Worlds alliance raises and equips
its own units then places them under a unified command. Gram Munitions
produces equipment to fill out depleted or understrength units, for export
to client states, and trade for strategic materials and services which
benefit the Sword Worlds as a whole. Gram Munitions is seen as a step
toward the permanent unification of the Sword Worlds Subsector.
Lanthanum: A rare earth element, the first of the inner transition
metals. Vital to the construction of the inner coils of interstellar jump
drive units, and thus of enormous strategic importance. For years, the
Imperium has attempted to control the discovery and distribution of
Lanthanum, as well as the price. The presence of Lanthanum on Mertactor in
abnormal concentrations is a continuing influence of Imperial policy in
District 268.
Mertactor: (0707-B262732-B) Nominal subsector capital of District 268.
Not actually a member of the Imperium, although for decades Imperial maps
and charts have depicted the gerrymandered border which includes Mertactor
within the Imperium. Mertactor has been the object of considerable
scientific and political interest ever since the First Survey was published
in 420.
PIG: Originally an acronym for the Planetary Information Grid common
to high tech worlds (especially those with a dispersed population) where
global communications and access to common information are a necessary
facet of society. PIG has entered the vernacular to describe any public
database of broad utility, especially the dumb terminals maintained by the
Traveller's Aid Society at Class A and Class B starports.
The Mertactor PIG is a commercial utility supported by families,
donations, subscribers, and providers of services. There is a charge for
access, and additional charges for hardcopy. However, a regularly updated
News Service is broadcast without charge from Mertactor Orbital Starport or
via landlines to personal computers capable of reception.
Prancer Foil: An aerodynamic embellishment to parking revetments at
Mertactor Down Starport. On the occasions when drisk storms reach into Wind
Harbor, starships caught in a surface revetment are partially protected by
the prancer foil, which helps vector storm winds and debris away from the
horizontal and maintains a high pressure area above the hull which helps
prevent the ship from being lifted from the revetment and blown away by the
storm.
Repatriation Bond: The employer of mercenary units deposits sufficient
funds in offworld escrow accounts to pay for middle passage (including
medical care when necessary) for each hired trooper to leave the world in
case the employer's cause is lost. Repatriation Bonds do not include heavy
equipment, although personal weapons are allowed against the middle passage
baggage allowance.
The Repatriation Bond is the core of a system which works well. The
Imperium encourages the hiring of mercenaries because the introduction of
high technological military units into a local conflict tends to produce a
quick decision which limits the economic disruption of a long war. Locals
have no reason to slaughter mercenaries who will logically surrender if
caught in an untenable situation. Mercenaries will not inflict atrocities
which will dishonor the unit or jeopardize the repatriation bond. Opposing
mercenary units will, if possible, maneuver to capture prisoners and
destroy equipment, rather than inflict unnecessary casualties.
Sendi Mai: An obscure religion practiced from about 650 to 850 by
Mertactor families inhabiting forest areas along North Ridgeline. Adherents
claim to have seen the Gates of Heaven. Sendi Mai is extinct.
Sendi Mai Suppressions: From 848 to 850, civil and family authorities
acted to eliminate the practice of the Sendi Mai religion from Mertactor
society, in response to violence, torture, and mayhem perpetrated by the
Sendi Mai. The suppression was successful. Sendi Mai ceased to present a
threat to society.
Solomani Hypothesis: The widely accepted theory that all Humaniti
originated on Terra, and that all human races native to other worlds in
fact arise from stock transported there by the Ancients, for reasons
unknown. The theory explains the large number of independent human races
within the Imperium without recourse to the far-fetched concept of "parallel
evolution."
Space Gas: Idiomatic expression for the oral traditions and stories
which offer plausible, sometimes obscene, and not necessarily accurate
explanations of how certain aspects of how the universe came to be a
certain way. Space Gas has acquired status as a performing art, a form of
popular entertainment traditionally presented aboard starships to pass some
of the time spent in jump space. A popular Space Gas story in the Spinward
Marches is "How the Scylitha Got a Mask."
Strephon: Forty-third emperor of the Imperium. Born 1049. Coronation
1071. (UPP 768ABF)
Sword Worlds: A loose interstellar confederation of worlds settled
between -400 and -200 by Solomani exiles and Terran traders and colonists.
The region has always been at odds with the Imperium, and during the five
frontier wars has allied with the Zhodani against the Imperium, uniformly
to the Sword Worlds' detriment. The present government was established in
852 on Gram, and survives by according individual worlds independence
regarding internal affairs and expecting cooperation regarding interstellar
affairs which affect the region as a whole. The Sword Worlds are so-called
because most of the systems in that subsector were named after famous edged
weapons from Terran history and mythology.
Tiziar: A 4-kilogram flying gatherer native to the coastal wetlands of
Mertactor/District 268. Nearly a thousand subspecies have been noted and
more are presumed. Tiziari move freely about the planet, even over the
desolation of the drisk, yet still exhibit the extreme territorial
behaviors which characterize all life on Mertactor.
Volentine Hypothesis: An ethnological contention that religious or
cultic practices or extreme or fanatic persuasion, in general, tend to
originate on worlds with a hydrographic percentage of 20% or less. For
purposes of the hypothesis, fanatic behavior is narrowly defined as the
willingness to do murder or torture on behalf of one's beliefs. The
Volentine Hypothesis has not gained broad acceptance among ethnologists and
cultural psychologists, but neither is it regarded as without merit.
Further research is necessary to verify the hypothesis or expose it as
erroneous.
Wind Harbor: The second largest population center on
Mertactor/District 268. So named since the colonial era for the
conveniently positioned ridgelines and basin which shelter the area from
drisk storms for most of the year, and which helped the original colonists
to survive long enough to move underground into the Rassad facilities.
Application has been made for Imperial assistance in closing off the
remaining 15 kilometers of open terrain exposing Wind Harbor to the
hazardous facets of Mertactor's environment.
Windslide: An environmental event encountered on Mertactor and
associated with drisk storms. The combination of low gravity, high velocity
winds, and highly variable pressure systems creates storms often
accompanied by an avalanche moving horizontal to the terrain. Most of the
destructive force of a drisk storm is contained in the windslide, and has
much to do with the self-perpetuating nature of the drisk desolation.
MAP
===
MERTACTOR/DISTRICT 268
IISS Catalog# P67E88V3356-L
UPP: B262732-B-S
RECORD# 0025788-338-72
ORBITAL DISTANCE 1278.93 Kmet
North / | |
| | | |
West--|--East / | |
| / North _/ /
South DRISK / Ridge / /
/ / |
/ / /
* DerBonne / Sephir / | Elotal Sea
Site 12 | Mountains / /
/ * Sephir /
/ / Temple | _____
/ __/ \___/ \_________________
DRISK | _/ ____
\ | ______/ \______ ______
| \____/ * Rassad \______/ \_________
Stone \____ * Wind Harbor RASSAD MOUNTAINS
Fields \_________________ ____________________
\______/
DRISK
ASTRO-TOPOGRAPHICAL COMPUTER ENHANCEMENT by TUKERA LINES
SURVEY DATE: 109-1042
SURVEYOR: ETKO ITO (IISS)
[Instructions Sheet]
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPLE COMPUTER SYSTEMS:
1. Components: The game box should contain a Program Disk, a Data
Disk, a TRAVELLER adventure book, and this instruction sheet. Depending on
which edition of the game is represented in this package, there may also be
various inserts, feedback cards, or advertising materials which are
irrelevant to the course of play.
2. The first thing to do is make a backup copy of the Data Disk. Play
the game with the backup copy. The Data Disk gets enormous workout during
the course of play.
3. Insert Program Disk into the disk drive and turn computer on. The
STARCRYSTAL Program will automatically load.
4. A brief title display is followed by a menu:
1. START A NEW GAME
2. RESTART A SAVED GAME
3. SAVE GAME IN PROGRESS
4. SAVE CHARACTER TO TRANSFER DISK
5. FORMAT A BLANK DISK
6. RESUME GAME
Type the number of the activity you want the system to do. When
further steps are necessary to complete a choice, then prompts will be
presented until the process is complete.
5. After the menu choices have been made, the system will display
"ENTER A NEW CHARACTER (Y/N)." Unless you have the "CITIZENS" Character
Generator program which creates new characters which can be entered into
this adventure, then enter "N" and press RETURN. If you press "Y" and
RETURN and don't have a CITIZENS character disk, then you'll have to reboot
the entire program by turning the computer off then back on, or pressing
CONTROL/Open Apple/RESET.
6. This version of STARCRYSTAL is playable on the Apple-IIe,
Apple-IIc, and Apple-II+ with language card. An 80 column display is
preferred, but not necessary.
COMMUNICATING WITH STARCRYSTAL
1. "Mertactor: The Volentine Gambit" is a text adventure. The screen
display presents written descriptions of the environment, objects,
characters, and actions which comprise the course of play. The player
participates in the text environment by typing ordinary English sentences
describing a course of action to be made in response to the situation
described in the screen display. The computer processes the instructions,
updates the screen display according to the results of those instructions,
then waits for the player's next commands.
2. The screen display is divided into two parts by a horizontal line.
The top part of the display contains a description of the character's
surroundings, visible objects, visible animals, and other visible
characters. The bottom part of the display contains commands entered by the
player and the system's responses to those commands.
It is important to note that the system will not call your attention
every time it changes something in the top display, nor does it require
input to make changes. Depending upon the circumstances, the system does
not always remain static, waiting for your next command.
3. Basically, to enter a command you type a sentence in plain, simple
English describing what you want your character to do.
4. A single entry of commands and sentences can be a maximum of any
160 characters and spaces.
5. STARCRYSTAL will accept multiple sentences (under 160 characters in
length) in a single command as long as the sentences are ended with a
period. An alternate method of accomplishing the same thing is to use the
word "THEN."
For example, "Get the shotgun. Put the meal in the oven. Open the
pantry." is the same as "Get the shotgun then put the meal in the oven then
open the pantry."
6. STARCRYSTAL accepts multiple direct objects conjuncted with the
word "AND" or with commas. For example, "Get the shotgun, the shotgun
magazine, and the blade."
7. It is important to distinguish among objects by using the
adjectives the system uses with those objects, especially when multiple
examples of similar objects are within reach. If the system calls an object
for example, "RED HAT," it is to distinguish this hat from other hats.
Be careful about using adjectives to distinguish among objects. It is
not difficult to remove an empty clip from a weapon, and then reload the
weapon with the same empty clip.
Similarly, the system treats READ and EXAMINE commands differently.
EXAMINE (with a specified object) will tell you what the object looks like,
and maybe what it does. READ (with a specified object) will tell you what
any writing on the object says.
For example, "EXAMINE THE SHOTGUN." The system replies, "THE SHOTGUN
IS A DRUM-FED AUTOMATIC WEAPON LOADED WITH TEN ALTERNATING ROUNDS OF SHOT
AND SHELL, AND CAPABLE OF BLOWING AWAY ANYTHING THAT GETS CLOSE."
Similarly, "READ THE SHOTGUN." The system replies, "MADE IN HONG
KONG."
MOVEMENT COMMANDS:
1. Movement can be within a location or between locations.
2. Movement within a location is accomplished by entering the
direction you want the character to move: North, Northeast, East,
Southeast, South, Southwest, West, Northwest, Up, or Down. (These direction
commands may be abbreviated N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW, U, or D.)
3. Movement between locations is accomplished with the commands "EXIT"
or "ENTER," along with a specified direction. For example, "EXIT NORTH."
Movement between locations also occurs when the character is next to an
exit and is given a simple movement command in the direction of the exit.
Use EXIT to move quickly. Use directional commands to wander around
within a location to examine things in detail or take advantage of range or
cover in combat.
If you want to quickly reach an object without having to wander around
trying to get close enough to pick it up, then use the command GO TO THE
(specified object). For example, "GO TO THE SHOTGUN."
GENERAL COMMANDS:
1. QUIT. Returns you to the top menu. Use this command when you want
to save a game position. Up to five positions can be saved on the disk.
2. INVENTORY. Lists all visible objects upon the character's person,
but will not list objects which are inside pockets or holsters or scabbards
(unless the object is visible within those holders).
3. STATUS. Displays the character's current Universal Personality
Profile (UPP), as explained in the adventure booklet (manual).
4. TIME. If the character has access to a timekeeping device, such as
a wristwatch or wallclock, the TIME command will display the elapsed number
of Standard hours since the adventure began. The last two digits are
minutes. Preceding digits represent hours.
COMPUTER COMMANDS:
1. The commands ACCESS, CALIBRATE, and SCAN are used with the computer
functioning as an object within the game. These commands must ordinarily be
followed by the name of the object or computer file to which the command is
meant to apply. For example, ACCESS PHONE NUMBERS.
COMBAT COMMANDS:
1. The commands DRAW or READY along with the name of the weapon you
want drawn or readied will initiate the combat system. If you don't specify
a weapon, the system will READY the weapon in your hand. For example,
"READY SMG," or "READY SHOTGUN" are legitimate commands.
2. The command RUN (with a specified direction) is an attempt by the
character to break off from combat and run away. For example, "RUN NORTH."
3. The command EVADE is an attempt to open the range between the
character and the opponent. A direction may be specified but is not
necessary. EVADE assumes that the character is rational and will use all
available cover. The system recognizes cover within a location. EVADE down
a corridor is much more dangerous than EVADE on a jungle trail.
4. The command ADVANCE is an attempt to close the range between the
character and the adversary. A direction may be specified, but is not
necessary. ADVANCE works like EVADE, assuming that the character will use
cover.
5. The command ATTACK initiates or continues hand to hand fighting.
The ATTACK command will use as a club any object which happens to be in the
character's hand. Sometimes this is necessary, but on other occasions it is
a good way to wreck a delicate weapon.
6. The command SNAPSHOT (with a specified target) is a quick, unaimed
shot or burst fired without regard for accuracy. A READY weapon must be in
hand before a SNAPSHOT can be executed. The example which immediately come
to mind is "DRAW. SNAPHOT."
7. The command FIRE (with a specified target) is a deliberate, aimed
shot or burst which sacrifices quickness for accuracy, even to the point of
tracking a moving target. A READY weapon must be in hand before a FIRE can
be executed.
[ERRATA]
ADDENDUM to First Edition STARCRYSTAL:
Operating Instructions for Apple systems: The "CAPS LOCK" key must be
engaged for the program to process properly. Before inserting the program
disk and turning the power ON, press the CAPS LOCK key. Leave the CAPS LOCK
key engaged while running the STARCRYSTAL program.
The Police Report in the documentation (manual) fails to mention that
a monel rod found on the body of Aramis Volentine was returned to his
brother, the Baron Edkos Volentine, and was made available to the Imperial
Scout hired to investigate the younger Volentine's untimely demise.
[Back Cover from Software Packaging]
STARCRYSTAL, Episode I - Mertactor: The Volentine Gambit
The planet is Mertactor/District 268 of the Spinward Marches, located
at the fringe of the Imperium. The assignment is simple and profitable -
recover a flashy artifact recently taken from a representative of DerBonne
Merchants, L.I.C., and return it to Baron Edkos Volentine, a corporate
director. You've got two days before your passage home, the Far Trader
"Arax House," is loaded with cargo and ready to leave. There's not really
enough time, but it couldn't hurt to look around - the Mertactor out back
is supposed to be fairly scenic, and you might get lucky. Baron Volentine
could be a useful man to make happy.
"Gambit" is a term from chess, an ancient Solomani pastime, describing
the early sacrifice of a pawn in exchange for a long term positional
advantage. Baron Edkos Volentine had many pawns on Mertactor to choose
from, but guess who got the job?
Welcome to Mertactor.
STARCRYSTAL is a solitaire text adventure series based on the
TRAVELLER science fiction role-playing game system. Each episode is
playable separately or in sequence as a solitaire TRAVELLER campaign.
"Mertactor - The Volentine Gambit" features five non-player characters, 200
locations, 380 interactive objects, and incidental graphic support. Playing
time is 10 to 50 hours. The package contains a program disk, a data disk,
and a booklet of documentation and TRAVELLER background information. The
game is absolutely playable by those who are not familiar with the
TRAVELLER system.
TRAVELLER is FarFuture's registered trademark for its science-fiction
role-playing game set in the far future. Used by permission.
Software by Ba'Rac Limited.
[End of documentation.]