Alien, 1979

Crew Expendable Zozer Games 2019

Visit Zozer Games at www.paulelliottbooks.com
Find me on Facebook as Zozer Games

Author
Paul Elliott

Cover
Ian Stead

Ship Design and Deckplans

Ian Stead (https://biomassart.wordpress.com/)

123

All rights reserved. Reproduction of this work by any means is expressly forbidden. This
book is fully compatible with the Cepheus Engine roleplaying game, a Classic-Era Science
Fiction 2D6-Based Open Gaming System. Cepheus Engine and Samardan Press are the
trademarks of Jason "Flynn" Kemp,” and Zozer Games is in no way affiliated with either
Jason "Flynn" Kemp or Samardan Press™.
1 INTRODUCTION 6
2 INTERSTELLAR HAULAGE 7
Major Starlines 8
Charter Lines 10
3 THE CREWS 12
Officers 12
Crewmen 13
Roles On-Board Ship 14
Life In Space 16
Crew Roster 17
4 THE CONTRACT 20
Locate A Cargo 21
Identify The Destination 24
Determine Bonus Payment 37
5 SHIPBOARD OPERATIONS 39
In-Flight Checklist 39
The Deadline 40
Flight Planning 40
Fuelling 40
Loading & Unloading 42
Take-Off & Flight 43
Hyperspace 45
Coming Out of Hypersleep 46
Landing 47
Comms & Engineering 48
Gas Giant Refuelling 49
6 ENCOUNTERS 51
Star System Encounters 51
Starport Encounters 54
7 SAMPLE PLAY 55
8 UPLIFT MAGAZINE: HARBINGER 59
Harbinger: The Modern Workhorse 60
Anytime – Anywhere! 63
The Manufacturer’s Summary 64
On-Board the Selene 70
Often, horror comes from the mundane. The banal and the ordinary are safe areas;
we feel familiar and we know the rules. This is what is supposed to happen … and
then of course the horror emerges and often it is all the more horrific because it
breaks the rules, it goes beyond the natural. It shocks and disturbs.

This book isn’t about the horrors of the HOSTILE universe, though - there are
plenty of shocks in Pioneer Station, Hot Zone, Alien Breeds and of course in the
main book. Instead it is about the mundane and the familiar. It is essentially a game
of routine space travel, interstellar haulage carried out by blue collar ‘space
truckers’, working Joes just trying to make ends meet – and to stay alive. The book
provides a ship, it provides a selection of available crewmembers and an array of
tables for creating contracts that must be fulfilled. The player character
crewmembers aren’t going to get rich quick, and that isn’t the aim of Crew
Expendable. It isn’t a space trading game where players use their wits to buy
cargoes cheaply and sell them for a profit. Instead it is a process of shipping cargoes
where they need to be, to a deadline – and the adventure comes along the way.
There are encounters at the starport, or within the star system, or events and
incidents that require player character intervention. This is low-key roleplaying. But it
gets the player characters out into the void, beyond help, where any problem
becomes magnified and both resources and assistance are weeks away – if they
come at all. It is a framework for adventure – with the referee providing the
adventure with situations, scenarios and encounters along the way.

It is here that the referee can spring on the players a pre-planned horror or incident.
Just like that classic movie Alien (1979), the crew isn’t expecting an alien parasitic
infestation (or whatever nasty the referee has planned), it is expecting to drop off
the cargo at the next star system. Certainly, the tables in this book will cause all
kinds of interesting incidents and dramatic moments, and these may require some
good roleplaying and quick thinking, but the rules here are best used as a backdrop
for something more dramatic, most likely an incident of the referee’s own devising.
Catch them unawares.

Crew Expendable is also perfectly suited to solitaire play, where the referee is also
the player. With a set of characters and a pair of dice, he can forge ahead delivering
cargoes across the American sector and roleplay his way through any tricky
incidents. This works even better with Zozer Games’ dedicated book for solo play,
titled SOLO. Find it at Zozer Games website: www.paulelliottbooks.com/solo
“Time critical, outsize, hazardous - however substantial or complex the
freight you need to shift and whenever you need it to be there, you can
rely on Eagle Star to deliver on time and on budget. Military supplies to
Tau Ceti? Excavators to Oppenheimer? Oil pipes to Telluride? Snow cats
to Epsilon Indi? We are the perfect partner to take the weight off your
shoulders. Eagle Star Shipping - Demand The Best.”
Eagle Star Shipping advertisement, Uplift Magazine, February 2224

Interstellar space was not colonized for high-minded, altruistic purposes. Mankind
wasn’t ‘looking for answers’ or even trying to locate a paradise world that could save
it from extinction. Colonization was always about resource extraction, about getting
valuable raw materials back to a stripped-out, deforested, overpopulated and
polluted Earth.

In that light, it becomes clear why there are no luxury star-liners touring the
cosmos. Space traffic is industrial – moving workers and machinery out to the Off-
World colonies and shipping back the raw or processed materials that they extract.
It is done on a massive scale, too. Multi-kiloton space-freighters and oil tankers ply
the hyperspace lanes and vast container ships resupply the larger colonial
settlements. Of course, this is very big business. And yet a community of ‘small-fry’
transport companies has carved itself a useful niche within this eco-system of super-
freighters and billion-dollar oil refineries.

This is the fast courier business. Small, colonial outposts only infrequently receive
supply drops from the large kiloton cargo carriers as they ply their circuitous routes
through the Outer Rim and Frontier territories. But these tiny colonies often need
specific goods at short notice. It might be water recyclers, emergency food supplies,
urgent medicines, replacements for damaged vehicles, key components for a mining
or mineral processing centre, and so on.

Of course these ships are the perfect vehicle for adventure. Player characters can
secure a contract to haul X out to Y and when the mission is completed they can
benefit from the handsome bonuses waiting for them in their Earth-side accounts.
Note that we referred to bonuses and not ‘wages’. In Crew Expendable, the client
agrees to pay all of the basic, predicted running costs of the contact, from
maintenance fees to life support, docking fees, fuel, licences and insurance. The
crew all receive a remuneration payment of $1000 on completion of the mission
from the starline, the contract adds a financial bonus agreed before-hand. This
bonus is shared out between the crewmembers equally. The bonus will only be paid
in full if the contract is completely satisfied; if some part of the mission is not
achieved, then only part of the bonus may be paid. Due to negligence or bad luck,
the mission may be a failure and the cargo lost or destroyed – in that circumstance
the bonus is forfeit, and the crewmembers will receive only their flat payment of
$1000.

All of the big corporate groups include an established interstellar starline. Starlines
operate cargo and passenger carrying starships along a well-established network of
transport routes. These starlines are integral to the megacorporate business model,
used for both transportation of raw materials and finished goods for all of the
businesses within the corporate group.

The big six starlines are Braniff Interstellar, Consolidated American (ConAm),
Frontier Line, Norsk, Red Giant and Transtar. Each transports huge volumes of cargo
across hyperspace in multi-million dollar starships. Most also ferry passengers that
are kept in stasis within hypersleep chambers. Starlines are operated in a similar
fashion to the shipping companies of the early 21st century.

– A successful and pioneering spaceline, part of

the Leyland-Okuda conglomerate, and famous for its brightly coloured starships,
each one painted in a single bold colour. Braniff has challenged some of the more
established star carriers with a more exotic appeal, shipping out colonists as a pre-
formed community, rather than individual slabs of frozen ‘meat’. The company is
famous for hiring the most personable and friendliest crews around, and the Braniff
uniforms change every two or three years, not following global fashion – but setting
it. Braniff is high profile, its advertising has reached all parts of the globe and it is a
starline that the people trust.

– Consolidated American is part of the Erebus

conglomerate, and has been the primary transport carrier to the American Sector for
the past fifty years. Times are changing, though, and the famous blue livery and
wire-globe logo is now being challenged by the bold full-color starships of Braniff, as
well as the blood-coloured ships of Red Giant and the stark black and white of
Frontier. But Con Am has some cachet, it offers a premium service and has good
business links with the Star Envoy Club. Its elite class travel service is renowned as
the best and its crews are some of the most educated and skilled in the business.

– Part of the Japanese Matsuyama conglomerate,

Frontier has a huge fleet of transport vessels that specialises in operating into the
Outer Rim. It does run routes through the Core Worlds, but in comparison with Red
Giant, Transtar and Braniff, not many. Frontier operates well-equipped bases at
many of the starports in the Outer Rim, and there are always personnel from the
starline on duty. Frontier, like several Matsuyama corporations, are trialling the use
of androids in some key positions. There a some starships and some bases with
several androids working together – something other companies have not done, and
which Transdyne Cybersystems do not recommend.

– Norsk is part of the Wu-Ketai conglomerate. Like

Transtar, Norsk was there are the start of the containerization of space transport
and has kept ahead of the pack ever since. Its profits and its high volumes speak of
efficiency and corporate success, but Norsk has had more than its fair share of
mishaps and accidents. Starships have gone missing in hyperspace, crews have
vanished leaving starships in orbit (fully fueled and loaded) and there have been
collisions in orbit. If there is a pattern here, then the accident investigators of the
ICO cannot see one, despite Norsk ’s full co-operation.

– The Red Giant starline is probably the biggest in the business

and it has captured a larger share of the transport market than any other, by a small
margin. Red Giant is part of the powerful Tharsis conglomerate and like its sister
corporations, made its way in the world through the mining business. Red Giant
made a concerted effort in the early years to cater to the mining market, shipping
out rigs, personnel, equipment and supplies and bringing back bulk minerals,
petroleum and liquid gas. Today that hold over the mining sector is gone, but Red
Giant still enjoys a reputation as a miner’s transport company. Many crewmembers
have served on mining rigs earlier in their careers, which might explain why miners
and mining bosses hold the starline in such high-esteem.

– Transtar is a starline operated as part of the Reiner-Gama

conglomerate, and not just throughout the Solar System but throughout interstellar
space and the Outer Rim. While the big starlines concentrate exclusively on multi-
kiloton behemoths, Transtar does include a large number of ‘smaller’ starships in its
fleet for charters and leasing. However, Transtar is best known for pioneering the
use of intermodal container operations in space travel and for its cargo handling
activities at starports. Transtar operate loading and unloading facilities throughout
the Core Worlds as well as the Outer Rim. The yellow sunburst is commonly seen on
loaders, containers and warehouses at many of these off-world ports.
The charter lines are independent of the major conglomerates, they are smaller and
more flexible starlines that specialize in on-demand cargo operations. Despite being
‘smaller’, that term may be misleading, since these companies must have the
financial clout to either own or lease long-term, several multi-million dollar starships.
The charter line business is a volatile one and scores of companies across the globe
compete with one another to secure the most lucrative cargo contracts. These
operations are going out of business or starting up with alarming frequency. Just
pray you’ve signed up with one of the more stable and profitable outfits … Corporate
clients charter entire starships for a single cargo drop - job done. The charter lines
must be ready to negotiate quickly, have starships ready to go at a moment’s notice
and be able to handle every type of unusual cargo (plus the insurance and legal
paperwork that goes with it!).

Most charter lines own or lease a fleet of perhaps a dozen starships, although
smaller start-up lines may only have access to one or two. Often investors
associated with the starline finance the leasing of its starships and in return receive
handsome annual dividends. No cargo starships are ever owned by their own crews,
the infrastructure required to operate just one multi-million dollar starship is huge –
consider the unlikely concept of a modern ocean-going container ship being owned
by its twelve crew-members. The days of the tramp freighter have been consigned
to the 1930s and ‘40s.

Some of the more well-known charter lines are described below:

Owned by a consortium of Chinese and

Singaporean businessmen, Telstar is a steady and reliable charter line that steadily,
but slowly, increases its market share each year.

Star Charter is a recent Texan start-up, established by

the wealthy oil magnate Kenny O’Keefe who made his billions supplying technology
and expertise to the oil fields on Hamilton/Ross 248. With his oil and mining
connections, O’Keefe provides Star Charter with a fabulous advantage, a client list
filled with old friends and grateful companies.

With a fleet of twenty cargo starships, Taurus is

currently the largest of the charter lines and one of the most long-lived. It has an
extensive client list and a solid reputation.

With its base in the Solomons, Hyperdyne is

well-placed to reach the outposts and colonies ahead of its rivals, but that comes at
a cost since many operations require ferrying high-tech goods from Earth. That said,
Hyperdyne is doing remarkably well, and seems to be moving towards inter-colonial
transfers of equipment and cargos.
 Pegasus is a charter line that survived the
collapse of its large parent starline, Huang Transport in 2219. It is a lean and mean
company, with management and staff that have incredible amounts of experience
and a great professionalism. Pegasus is a confident ‘can-do’ company.

With a name that conjures age-old

authenticity and guaranteed trust, Lloyd-Brannigan is a start-up with a shaky
reputation. One of its Harbinger-class transports vanished without trace whilst
refuelling at Zeta Reticuli, and another collided with a space station orbiting La
Paz/HR511, killing 12 people. Yet the starline has survived the ICO investigations
and continues to undercut and outperform more established outfits.

A descendant of American Eagle airline, Eagle

Star has built up good relationships with several of the big conglomerates. Their
associated starlines often pass on work to Eagle Star Shipping, who benefit from the
rigidity and inflexibility of the routes and schedules of the big starlines.

United Stellar Contractors (USC)

are headquartered in London, England; they are a starline with a powerful legal and
negotiating team that can win contracts and get the maximum profit from them, too.
USC often resorts to the courts of the United Corporate Combine to challenge any
competition and scare away rivals. USC is a healthy, going concern, with a good
future.

Peter Gok Li, the Hong Kong entrepreneur who had ran
Daedalus Transport for the past twenty years, set up CargoLogic after selling
Daedalus for a tidy profit. Before that, he had run another four charter line start-ups,
all of which failed. CargoLogic takes risks with its contracts, they seem to make
fantastic profits, or lose huge amounts of money. CargoLogic is a good company,
run by and staffed by good people, but it is teetering on bankruptcy through the
financial gambles of its chairman, Peter Gok Li.

– Colonial Endeavors is part of the ever-adaptable

Voroncovo conglomerate. Colonial grew out of the de-regulation of the space
industry at the start of the 21st century, and one of the corporation’s early
acquisitions was Space-X. Colonial went on to supply Mars transports throughout the
following decades, and in the 22nd century constructed the first hyperspace-capable
colony ship, once the technology had been declassified. Colonial has been a stable
fixture on the interstellar scene, surviving because of its adaptability, ingenuity and
willingness to innovate. It is the largest of the charter lines and the only one that
directly serves the needs of a major corporate conglomerate.
“When you’re not frozen, you’re working – hard; when you aren’t
working, then you’re asleep … and you just hope that pay check is going
into your Erebus bank account back on Earth. And you hope your long-
suffering wife is still faithful… how long has it been, now? Two years
since you saw her? “
Mitch Noonan, Assistant Engineer, USCS Hyams

Crews on commercial vessels are typically small. With so much automation, only a
small crew of officers is required to manage the command section and to handle
cargo. There will be other officers and perhaps one or two crewmen in the
engineering section. The command structure is unlike that of the military. The
commercial officer ranks represent levels of responsibility rather than seniority over
junior ranks. And with such small crews, everyone pulls together in a much more
informal way than on a large military starship. Commanding the ship, of course, is
the captain. Below him is the first officer, second officer and third officer. There may
be more than one third officer, and many ships also carry along a fourth officer or
two.

Officers hold a commercial space license from the ICO, they are known as ‘licensed’
or commissioned personnel. Officers on-board a commercial vessel are able spacers,
technically competent and cross-trained. Below the rank of captain sits a ladder of
ranks named first, second, third and fourth officer. Although the captain and first
officer are both qualified starship pilots, the other rank titles do not have specific
roles associated with them. The second officer may be the engineer or the medic,
for example. The second, third and fourth officer rank structure establishes seniority,
responsibility and experience with higher ranks able to carry out training, sign
important documents, organize routine drills or maintenance schedules, and so forth.
All officers stand watch, that is, take a turn manning the bridge so that an officer is
present to monitor systems during the critical phases of flight (loading, take-
off/undocking, acceleration, coasting, deceleration, landing/docking and unloading).
The officers take these watch duties in shifts. Pay is typically scaled according to
rank.
Roles must be filled for the ship to function; most require a pilot, a navigator, a
ship’s doctor (or medic), an engineer or two, and a sensor operator. The first officer
is always trained to pilot the ship, but that may not be his primary role and another
officer may be the designated pilot, the navigator may also be the sensor operator.
A great deal of cross-training occurs as a matter of course; several officers may be
able to navigate the ship and both the captain and a fourth officer (for example)
may be skilled electricians. Rank and responsibility are divorced from the officer’s
role aboard ship. However, both the captain and the first officer are trained pilots.

There are a lot of jobs that need attending to on-board a starship that fall outside
the specific job that a spacer has been hired on to do. Cargo needs loading and
unloading, orbital craft launched and retrieved, life support systems checked,
airlocks cycled, radio messages sent and received and a host of checks on every part
of the spacecraft in a never-ending maintenance and replacement cycle. Much of the
work and responsibility is shared, most starship crews are small (less than twelve in
number) and there’s very little ‘pulling rank’ between first, second, third and fourth
officers. Everyone works together, but when the captain and first officer are absent,
it’s the second officer who calls the shots. When he’s unavailable it’s the third officer
who is in charge. The first officer has some extra duties; he is a qualified pilot, able
to take control of the vehicle in the absence of the captain. Additional responsibilities
include the welfare of the crew and their training in fire-fighting, explosive
decompression and other emergency situations. The first officer will decide who is
on watch and assign jobs to crew members in order that the captain’s orders may be
carried out most effectively. On-board large vessels with several departments and a
large number of crewmen, there may well be more than one third or fourth officer.
This often happens on executive transports, large repair and construction ships and
on hospital ships, where responsible officers are required to lead departments.
Should two equally-ranked officers have no senior officer in charge, then the one
serving the most terms has seniority.

Although some unlicensed (non-officer) crewmen can be quite skilled, holding levels
in engineering, sensors, navigation or pilot, for example, they hold no licence, have
no command responsibility and are not allowed to stand watches (i.e. be the sole
person on the bridge). They are far from being the 2225 AD version of the hull-
painting, deck-scrubbing able seaman, however. They are technically proficient and
able to work with the officers as part of a tight-knit team. Most will be skilled in
space suit operation, zero G activities, communications and mechanics. On small
starships there may not be many crewman on board and most personnel will be
made up of officers (purely so that watch duties can be shared out) but when they
are, they are typically assigned to the engineering section, although military vehicles
may assign some to the weapons section and executive transports to the customer
service (stewards) section. Just like officers, crewmen receive a good deal of cross-
training.
What do the standard roles on-board a commercial starship entail? What kind of
duties are carried out?

Captain: The captain is a representative of the owner of the starship (usually a

large shipping corporation). His or her focus is on the flight, the mission and the
objective – looking out at the big picture, the costs, the time delays, the legal
ramifications, and so on. He leaves most internal matters, such as schedules, conflict
resolution, inspections and crew efficiency to the first officer. Within small crews,
however, the captain will take on some of these tasks too. It is only on the biggest
ships, with large crews, that the captain is distant and out-of-touch. Typically, in the
HOSTILE universe, the captain is ‘one of the guys’, ready to joke around, ready to
reprimand or caution a crewman, but always with one eye on the cost overruns and
delays.

Pilot: The pilot controls all of the ship movements and maneuvers either directly,
using the controls, or by resetting the autopilot in real time. Every ship requires a
pilot; they come into their own during key phases of flight, such as re-entry and
landing, take-off, acceleration and docking. However, the pilot’s station can be
unmanned for long periods. The pilot works closely with the navigator.

Navigator: The navigator plots complex in-system trajectories for the reaction
drive, as well as the location of viable hyperspace points within the current and
destination star systems. Every ship displacing 200 tons of more requires a
navigator, although some larger vessels (particularly military) carry a back-up that
can serve as a replacement due to combat loss or in order to work in shifts.
Navigators have training in astrophysics and are able to provide the captain with
good advice on astronomical anomalies. They are also able to locate and track
navigational beacons.

Sensor Operator: Sensor operators operate the scanners, telescopes and

communication equipment, most also maintain and operate the computer system
and serve as ‘systems operators’. All ships of 1,000 tons or larger generally carry a
sensor operator. Some vessels, particularly exploration or military craft, carry more
than one operator in order that they can rotate shifts, serve as replacements due to
combat losses or be tasked with a specific type of sensor. The sensor operator will
contact traffic control, get clearances, and monitor traffic, but they also use the
high-powered sensor suite to scan ahead of the ship as it moves through a star
system to provide early warning of asteroids or wreckage. In orbit, this officer will
make a routine radar and infra-red scan of a colony world’s surface.

Engineer: Engineers are responsible for the maintenance, regulation and operation
of the powerplant, hyperdrive and reaction motors. They must also deal with general
ship maintenance. Any ship of 200 tons or greater must have one engineer on board
per 1000 tons of drive (or part thereof). As with other crew positions, large industrial
vessels or military craft may include many more engineers in order to keep a
continuous engineering presence, or to replace combat losses. If there is more than
one engineer, then the most senior or experienced is designated the Chief Engineer
and his associates are ranked accordingly as Assistant Engineers (‘first assistant’,
‘second assistant’ etc). Some assistant engineers will be tasked with oversight of
certain drives or ship systems. Engineers are always busy, even when things aren’t
malfunctioning, they are running scheduled tests, replacing equipment and
machinery before it fails and calibrating machinery.

Steward: A steward on a corporate ship attends to the need of the passengers (if
carried). There must be one steward per ten passengers if the vessel spends any
appreciable time out of hyperspace. These passengers will have paid for an Elite-
class ticket and the ship will be equipped with passenger staterooms, lounges and so
forth. Most frozen passengers flying commercial ships have no need of stewards,
since they are brought out of hypersleep at the destination starport. The role of
steward includes preparing meals, ensuring the comfort of passengers, and isolating
them from the busy routines of the crew with entertainments or distractions. If there
is more than one steward, then the most senior or experienced is designated the
Purser and his associates are ranked accordingly as Stewards. Stewards are common
on executive transports.

Medic: Each starship capable of hyperspace travel or spaceship over 5,000 tons
(that is also intended for long duration missions) must carry a medic (Medical 1 skill
or better). In addition, there should generally be additional medics onboard if the
crew is large. Assume one medic per 90 crew or passengers (or part thereof). For
example, a drill-rig with 146 people onboard would need a complement of 2
dedicated medics. One might be a doctor (Medical 3), the other a nurse. If there is
more than one medic, then the most senior or experienced is designated the Ship’s
Doctor. Medics conduct physical examinations of the crew after they emerge from
hypersleep, and are key to maintaining surface security and quarantine regulations
are upheld. Just as the navigator is a trained astrophysicist, the medic has some
degree of knowledge about currently recognized alien lifeforms and organisms. He
or she can serve as an ad hoc field biologist.

Shuttle Pilot: Each shuttle, lander or important carried spacecraft might have a
dedicated pilot as part of the crew. This does not apply to lifeboats or EEVs, and
many starship operators go so far as to combine the role of rarely-needed shuttle
pilot with that of another crewmember.

Loadmaster: Some ships require the services of a dedicated loadmaster, who can
direct ground-based loading crews, calculate weights, volumes and
loading/unloading priorities. Often these tasks are carried out by the first or second
officer of a commercial starship. Military craft, or container ships may require a
dedicated loadmaster who manages the cargo deck and drives any cargo-handling
vehicles carried on-board.
Who are these commercial spacers and what kind of life do they lead? The job
demands many months away from home, sometimes years. The crews therefore
have a lifestyle similar to modern oil-rig workers, or naval or merchant marine crews
- long periods in space, followed by several weeks or months of leave. The basic pay
is terrible but much of the money a spacer takes home actually comes from bonuses
awarded by the client (the corporate entity that is paying for the cargo to be shipped
out to the colonies). The bonuses are efficiency incentives designed to get the cargo
to its destination on time and intact.

Typically, the charter line recalls the crews from leave and they fly into low Earth
orbit by spaceplane from their nearest starport. From there they take a transfer
shuttle up to Liberty Transfer Station. Liberty is in geostationary orbit and anchored
to the incredible Transatmospheric Petroleum Pipeline (TAPP). Their freighter will
already be docked at Liberty station, powered down, and waiting for the crew to
reactivate its systems, arrange for refuelling and resupply and conduct a thorough
set of checks. Crewmembers must check in at the company office on Liberty for a
full pre-flight briefing. Once the captain has signed off the ship, he can begin the
loading of the cargo, or, if the cargo is elsewhere, can undock and head off to a
rendezvous point in the Solar System or some other star system to meet up with the
cargo. Once loaded, this too has to be signed for and then the race is on to get it to
the destination on time.

Life on-board is typically informal, ranks are never referred to and uniforms quickly
get modified, bits replaced with a favourite bit of clothing (a shirt, a hat, a pair of
boots, etc.) But everyone still wears some of the uniform … you’re getting paid by
the company, after all. Show willing. Some crewmembers are married, with their
spouses back on Earth, some are married to another crewmember, although this
isn’t very common. Relationships between crewmembers are quite common,
however, but they are typically informal and casual. Intense relationships disrupt the
harmony of the crew and endanger everyone on-board. The crews know each other
very well and work closely with one another, relying on each other for their safety
and survival. An odd-ball or ‘maverick’ will soon be transferred out to another ship.

It is very common for crews to get off the ship at the destination, sleeping in hotels
or local accommodation, to feel real gravity, eat some different foods and have new
people around them. Such a pleasant change from the icy cold of hypersleep, or the
cramped confines of a space freighter’s dark corridors.
Thirty-six spacers, useable as NPCs or even as PCs in a pinch. They include a one-
word summary of the company’s psych-evaluation [in brackets]. Decide which crew
role you need filled and then roll 1D6 to determine which crewman you’ve been
saddled with. Do not accept more than one crewman of rank first or second Officer.

CAPTAINS

1 Captain Louise Sanchez 433977 Age 46 7 Terms [Boastful]

Broker-3, Navigation-1, Brawling-1, Mechnical-2, Bribery-2, Pilot-1

2 Captain James Boon 698D76 Age 38 5 Terms [Cautious]

Vacc Suit-2, Loader-2, Bribery-3, Pilot-1, Comms-1

3 Captain Lawrence Corolla 754F87 Age 46 7 Terms [Ambitious]

Loader-1, Comms-2, Navigation-3, Medical-1, Broker-3

4 Captain Nicholas Tan 9428B6 Age 46 7 Term [Stubborn]

Navigation-3, Computer-2, Loader-1, Pilot-2, Comms-2, Vacc Suit-1

5 Captain Asif Lee-Forrestor 646E65 Age 46 7 Terms [Cowardly]

Loader-1, Broker-3, Bribery-2, Steward-1, Pilot-1, Medical-1, Mechanical-2

6 Captain Cade Nikanor 324AD5 Age 50 8 Terms [Steady]

Comms-3, Admin-1, Navigation-3. Vacc Suit-2, Gun Cbt-2, Pilot-3

PILOTS

1 First Officer Kara Hoffman 4CB997 Age 30 3 Terms [Adventurous]

Medical-2, Gun Cbt-1, Pilot-2, Electronics-1, Brawling-1

2 First Officer Ed Correia 379968 Age 42 6 Terms [Competitive]

Mechanical-3, Vacc Suit-2, Pilot-1, Comms-3, Gun Cbt-1

3 Second Officer Bryant Haney 8698B6 Age 26 2 Terms [Arrogant]

Medical-1, Brawling-1, Computer-1, Pilot-2

4 First Officer Wade Lee-Chan BA6BC7 Age 30 3 Terms [Optimistic]

Pilot-2, Navigation-1, Engineering-1, Broker-1, Bribery-1

5 Second Officer Sam Delgado 9C7595 Age 26 2 Terms [Steady]

Pilot-1, Broker-1, Brawling-1, Computer-1

6 Third Officer Verity Lam 646C89 Age 46 6 Terms [Proud]

Loader-2, Pilot-2, Broker-2, Gun Cbt-1, Computer-1
NAVIGATORS

1 Third Officer Guy Brookland A966684 Age 22 1 Term [Lazy]

Navigation-1, Steward-1, Gun Cbt-1

2 Second Officer Lara Tyrell 358842 Age 30 3 Terms [Cautious]

Loader-1, Mechanical-1, Navigation-1, Bribery-1, Brawling-1

3 Second Officer Henri Pascal 3787BA Age 26 2 Terms

Navigation-1, Bribery-1, Vacc Suit-1, Electronics-1 [Argumentative]

4 Third Officer Teri Washington 569AB9 Age 22 1 Term [Cynical]

Navigation-1. Loader-1, Medical-1

5 Second Officer Cassandra McConnell 3787BA Age 26 2 Terms [Steady]

Navigation-1, Computer-3, Gun Cbt-1, Admin-1, Vacc Suit-1

6 First Officer Kirk Fulton 878996 Age 34 4 Terms [Bitter]

Navigation-1, Loader-3, Computer-2, Pilot-1, Gun Cbt-1

ENGINEERS

1 First Officer Sergei Kamov 697987 Age 30 3 Terms [Driven]

Engineering-2, Electronics-1, Navigation-2, Loader-1, Pilot-1, Gun Cbt-1

2 Third Officer Mitch Noonan 868A52 Age 26 2 Terms [Optimistic]

Mechanical-1, Comms-1, Brawling-1

3 Second Officer Jules Ankor 864A93 Age 26 2 Terms [Cowardly]

Engineering-2, Mechanical-1, Medical-2

4 Fourth Officer Tanvir Morsay 3B959A Age 34 4 Terms [Easy Going]

Electronics-3, Admin-1

5 Second Officer Sara Dutton 2589B9 Age 30 3 Terms [Driven]

Engineering-1, Comms-1, Bribery-1, Mechanical-1

6 First Officer Jared Brandt B28688 Age 46 7 Terms [Competitive]

Engineering-2, Electronics-2, Computer-1, Pilot-1, Comms-1, Brawling-1
MEDICS

1 Third Officer Martin Bedoe 848C89 Age 46 7 Terms [Rational]

Loader-2, Medical-2, Bribery-2, Gun Cbt-1, Steward-1

2 Fourth Officer Kadie Diem 4986C4 Age 22 1 Term [Calm]

Medical-1, Vacc Suit-1

3 Third Officer Roxanna Sloane 6B8472 Age 22 1 Term

Medical-1, Gun Cbt-2 [Argumentative]

4 Fourth Officer Teejay Fry 6486A4 Age 22 1 Term [Joker]

Medical-1, Loader-1

5 Third Officer Romario Perez 772877 Age 30 3 Terms [Quiet]

Medical-3, Bribery-1, Comms-1

6 Second Officer Adrian McNeill A43967 Age 38 5 Terms [Lazy]

Medical-3, Vacc Suit-1, Navigation-1, Ground Vehicle-1, Gun Cbt-1

SENSOR OPERATORS

1 First Officer Archie Przewalski B78355 Age 34 4 Terms [Unstable]

Comms-2, Electronics-3, Mechanical-1, Ground Vehicle-1, Loader-1, Pilot-1

2 Fourth Officer Ellie Mankowski 734C84 Age 26 2 Terms [ Ambitious]

Computer-1, Broker, Comms-1

3 Third Officer Nicola Santiago 5989B9 Age 22 1 Term [Stubborn]

Comms-1, Vacc Suit-1, Medical-1

4 Third Officer Maya Gambino 665C77 Age 30 3 Terms [Boastful]

Comms-2, Electronics-1, Broker-2

5 Fourth Officer Skyla Adams 465A87 Age 34 4 Terms [Cautious]

Comms-1, Computer-2, Navigation-1, Ground Vehicle-1

6 Crewman Marvin Ryder C78773 Age 22 1 Term [Adventurous]

Comms-1, Brawling-1
“The universe never did make sense; I suspect it was built on
government contract”.
Robert A. Heinlein

Any flight first begins with the contract – the reason for the flight. What will be
transported? Where does it need to go? And how much will the crew be paid for
taking it there? All of these things will be handled by the company’s operations team
in the office, negotiating fees and rates to gain the maximum profit out of the
charter.

Once the details of the charter have been agreed upon, a starship from the fleet,
(along with its crew) will be tasked to carry out the mission. This is where the player
characters come in. In an ideal world the ship will already be sat in dock close to
where the cargo is waiting to be shipped. But sometimes the ship will need to be
flown from its current position to another star system, where the cargo can then be
loaded and the charter begun.
The cargo will ‘pay its way’ - just leave the details to the accountants back at
headquarters. The cargo hold may be packed with silver ore or it may only be
partially filled, carrying a high-value electrical transformer, for example, or a pair of
military tilt-rotor planes for the Marine Corps on Tau Ceti. The nature of the cargo
provides the mission with its flavour, but may have other, incidental effects on the
scenario.

Roll 2D6 to determine the availability and nature of the cargo, whether it is Raw
Materials or Finished Goods, once per week.

NATURE OF THE CARGO

Current Location No Cargo Raw Materials Finished Goods
Starport A 2-4 - 5-12
Starport B 2-5 - 6-12
Starport C 2-5 6-9 10-12
Starport D 2-5 6-12 -
Starport E 2-9 10-12

RAW MATERIALS
The referee can roll 3D6 on the following table to determine the nature of the cargo.
‘Value’ is used in determining the crew’s bonus payment.

3D6 RAW MATERIAL VALUE

3-5 Passengers in hyper- 1 Scientists and their ‘live’ specimens Med
sleep chambers returning 2 Scientists and their equipment Med
to the core worlds. 3 Prospectors and their equipment Med
4 Miners and their equipment Med
5 Corporate workers relocating Med
6 Mercenaries with weapons and kit Med
6 Polymers Low
7 Ore Low
8 Natural Fibers Low
9 Crystals Med
10 Industrial Chemicals Low
11 Metal Ingots or Pellets Med
12 Agricultural Produce Med
13 Industrial Gasses Low
14 Radioactive Ore High
15-16 Oil Low
17-18 Wreckage Med
FINISHED GOODS
The referee can roll D66 on the following table to determine the nature of the cargo.
‘Value’ is used in determining the crew’s bonus payment.

D66 FINISHED GOODS VALUE

11 Scientists with cryotubes, plus huge cages for animal capture. Med
12 Structural building materials for a colony extension. Low
13 Parts of a fusion reactor for an atmospheric processor or power-plant. High
14 Colonists in hypersleep chambers, along with baggage and supplies. Med
15 Agricultural machinery, fertilizers and animal feed. Med
16 Power tools and construction machinery. Med
21 Medical supplies and hospital equipment. Low
22 Scientists in hypersleep with expedition vehicles, a base and supplies. Med
23 Prospectors with mining vehicles, a base and supplies. Med
24 Air compressors, airlines and hydraulic motors. Low
25 Special alloys manufactured for the Off-World colonies. High
26 Computer, IT equipment, workstations and electronic components. High
31 Farm animals in hypersleep. Low
32 Survival equipment, masks, vacc suits, shelters and life support parts. Low
33 Refining machinery, ore processors, drill pipes and drill bits. Med
34 Refined petrochemicals, used as fuel or lubricants. Low
35 Cryogenic chemicals and hypersleep chamber parts. Low
36 Solar arrays and power distribution equipment. Med
41 Processed food supplies. Low
42 Life support spares, plus gases, filters and flushing agents. Low
43 Habitat equipment – beds, furniture, chairs, etc. Low
44 Android spare parts, android replacements, recharge stations and tools. Med
45 Firearms, ammo, vehicles and armour for a Colonial Defence Force. Med
46 Radioactives for fusion – deuterium, helium-3 and tritium. High
51 Liquid hydrogen refined fuel Low
52 Industrial chemicals for processing ores: cyanide, hydrochloric acid etc. Low
53 Consumer goods: clothes, electronics, fashion items, gadgets, etc. Low
54 Vehicles for a colony – suitable for that world. High
55 Industrial machinery for installation into a factory. Med
56 Wind or tidal turbines and power distribution equipment. Med
61 Miners in hypersleep, vacc suits, mining equipment and supplies. Med
62 In vitro clones in hypersleep going out to a colony to work. Low
63 Pipes of various lengths and diameters for industrial use. Low
64 Modular colony buildings. Med
65 Mercenaries in hypersleep, plus their vehicles, weapons and equipment. Med
66 Explosives and detonators for a mining colony. Med
The referee may already have a destination in mind for the cargo or starship, or may
prefer to leave that judgement to the dice. One table covers the destination for Raw
Materials, where they need to be shipped back to the core worlds where they are
needed. Further tables cover the possible destinations for Finished Goods moving
out to the colonies from the core, or from one colony to another.

RAW MATERIALS : DESTINATION

3D6 DESTNATION
3-10 Earth (NEZ 0406)
11 Tau Ceti (NEZ 0807)
12 Prosperity (NEZ 0303)
13 Jade Palace (NEZ 0603)
14 Columbia (NEZ 0804)
15 Leviticus (CAP 0407)
16-18 Fomalhaut (FOM 0402)

For Finished Goods, roll first for the zone of interstellar space, and then again for the
specific world within that zone.

FINISHED GOODS : DETERMINE ZONE

2D6 ZONE
2-4 Near Earth Zone (NEZ)
5-6 Fomalhaut Settlement Zone (FOM)
7 Capella Extraction Zone (CAP)
8 New Concessions Zone (NEW)
9-10 Extraction Zone 6 (EZ6)
11-12 Extraction Zone 9 (EZ9)
NEAR EARTH ZONE DESTINATIONS
D66 Name Hex UWP Remarks
LQ105 0105 X000000-0 Asteroid G
11 Nevermind 0107 D577487-C Garden, Non-Ind G
12 Olympus 0108 C6A2469-C Non-Industrial
13 Ixion 0206 D5C5314-C Fluid Oceans G
14 Kibo 0301 E200312-C Vacuum G
15 Forlorn 0302 DA25258-C
16-21 Prosperity 0303 C559614-C Non-Ind, Water World G
22-23 Hiroshima 0304 B774633-C Agri, Garden, Non-Ind G
24 New Tokyo 0305 C6586B8-C Agricultural, Non-Ind G
25 Cyclops 0310 D331512-C Poor, Non-Industrial
26 Edo 0402 E445312-C
EARTH 0406 A877976-C Industrial, Garden G
31 Oppenheimer 0409 C6C0454-C Desert, Non-Industrial
32-33 Armstrong 0410 B486665-C Agricultural, Rich, Non-Ind G
34 Crown 0509 D300373-C Vacuum
35 Attica 0510 CA63342-C Non-Industrial G
36 Exile 0601 E000243-C Asteroid
41-42 Jade Palace 0603 B952651-C Poor, Non-Industrial
Rock 17 0609 XD00000-0
43 Paydirt 0701 D899543-C Non-Industrial G
44 Goldstone 0702 D593333-C G
45 Abyss 0704 C779643-C Non-Industrial G
46 Aurora 0707 C552552-C Non-Industrial, Poor
51-52 Defiance 0709 B868744-C Garden, Agricultural, Rich
53 Columbia 0804 C554645-C Agricultural, Garden, Non-Industrial G
54-55 Hamilton 0805 B554696-C Non-Industrial, Agricultural, Garden
56 Inferno 0806 DC106B8-C Non-Agricultural G
61-62 Tau Ceti 0807 B444762-C Agricultural G
63-65 The Solomons 0808 A000675-C Asteroid, Non-Ind, Non-Agricultural G
66 Requiem 0810 D8A1200-C Fluid Oceans
FOMALHAUT SETTLEMENT ZONE DESTINATIONS
D66 Name Hex UWP Remarks
11-12 Leavenworth 0102 C3125B8-C Non-Ind, Ice Capped G
13 Medusa 0105 E347345-C Garden G
14-15 Storro 0107 C444423-C Garden, Non-Ind
16-21 Seven Sisters 0109 CD54443-C Garden, Non-Ind G
LR203 0203 X639000-0
22-23 Isolation 0207 D211388-C Ice-Capped G
LR210 0210 XC30000-0 Desert
24-25 Iron King 0304 DB90431-C Desert, Non-Ind G
26-31 Mammoth 0305 D868420-C Garden, Non-Ind G
32-33 Washout 0309 D665365-C Garden G
34-35 Oracle 0401 C3215B9-C Poor, Non-Ind G
36-41 Fomalhaut 0402 B000670-C Asteroid, Non-Ind, Non-Ag G
42-43 Galena 0406 D263300-C G
43-44 Covenant 0407 C790546-C Non-Ind G
LR408 0408 X122000-0
46-51 Borian 0410 C444393-C Garden G
52-53 Mine 44 0503 D100356-C Vacuum
54-55 Resurrection 0505 D890444-C Desert
56-61 Boston Harbor 0507 D000311-C Asteroid G
62-63 Pioneer 0509 E100210-C Vacuum
64-65 La Paz 0608 B554486-C Garden, Non-Ind G
LR708 0708 X9A2000-0 Fluid Oceans G
LR804 0804 X120000-0 Poor, Desert
66 LR806 0806 E553401-C Poor, Non-Ind G

CAPELLA EXTRACTION ZONE DESTINATIONS

3D6 Name Hex UWP Remarks
LW102 0102 X463000-0 Poor
LW201 0201 X465000-0 Garden G
LW203 0203 X200000-0 Vacuum
3-4 Vernier 0208 E426310-C
5 Mine 17 0210 D000224-C Asteroid
LW302 0302 XB60000-0 Desert
6 Commercial 0303 D000313-C Asteroid
7 Paradise 0305 C150123-C Desert, Poor
8 Moser’s Landing 0502 C5A4446-C Fluid Oceans, Non-Ind G
LW505 0505 X8B2000-0 Fluid Oceans G
LW508 0508 X466000-0 Garden
9 Zircon 0601 CB63400-C Non-Ind
10 Maricopa 0604 D9754A8-C Garden, Non-Ind G
11 Leviticus 0407 BA85636-C Rich, Garden, Non-Ind G
12 Carpathia 0607 E532311-C Poor G
LW610 0610 X9A7000-0 Fluid Oceans G
13 Tohono 0701 C975457-C Garden, Non-Ind G
14 Upper Hell 0704 C211455-C Ice Capped, Non-Ind G
LW707 0707 X333000-0 Poor G
15 Tombstone 0802 C473314-C
LW806 0806 X697000-0 Garden
16-18 Utopia 0810 CAB1431-C Fluid Oceans, Non-Ind G
NEW CONCESSIONS ZONE DESTINATIONS
2D6 Name Hex UWP Remarks
2-3 Serpentine 0101 D590355-C Desert G
LV207 0207 X800000-0 Vacuum G
LV209 0209 X3A1000-0 Fluid Oceans G
4 Blue Steel 0310 D324410-C Non-Ind
5 Congress 0402 E774295-C Garden G
6 Mausoleum 0503 DAAA231-C Fluid Oceans
7 Megiddo 0602 D121258-C Poor G
LV603 0603 X870000-0 Desert G
8 Telluride 0610 D970520-C Desert, Non-Ind G
9 St. Lawrence 0701 D994445-C Non-Ind, Garden G
10 Americo 0702 D583441-C Non-Ind G
11-12 Tora Bora 0706 D7A7243-C Fluid Oceans G

EXTRACTION ZONE 6 DESTINATIONS

1D6 Name Hex UWP Remarks
LS102 0102 XA6A000-0 Water World G
1-2 Limbo 0104 C000410-C Asteroid, Non-Ind
3 Atacama 0205 C790123-C Desert G
4 Orontes 0308 C438342-C G
LS402 0402 X100000-0 G
5 Alabama Station 0405 D223413-C Poor, Non-Ind
6 Cartagena 0606 E262110-C G
LS803 0803 X58A000-0 Water World
LS809 0809 X580000-0 Desert

EXTRACTION ZONE 9 DESTINATIONS

1D6 Name Hex UWP Remarks
1 Utah Station 0101 E000316-C Asteroid G
2 Outpost Nero 0103 D31258A-C Ice-Capped G
3 Cinnabar 0105 E6B0225-C G
4 Tennessee Station 0106 C433355-C Poor G
LX201 0201 X635000-0
LX307 0307 X8B2000-0 Fluid Oceans
LX410 0410 X98A000-0 Water World
LX504 0504 X503000-0 Vacuum, Ice-Capped G
LX606 0606 X644000-0 Garden G
5 Arajona 0609 D76A415-C Non-Ind, Water World
6 Outpost Daza 0704 C9B5320-C Fluid Oceans G
LX805 0805 X211000-0 Ice-Capped
LX810 0810 X481000-0 G
 CATALOG OF OFF-WORLD COLONIES
World Location Star Name Star Type
Abyss NEZ 0704 EZ Aquarii Trinary; all M5V
Alabama EZ6 0405 G29-38 White Dwarf
Station
Americo NEW 0702 Delta Triangulum Close Binary G0V + G9V
Arajona EZ9 0609 94 Ceti Binary F8V + M3V
Armstrong NEZ 0410 Procyon F5V
Atacama EZ6 0205 HN Pegasi Binary G0V + Brown Dwarf
Attica NEZ 0510 Luyten’s Star M3V
Aurora NEZ 0707 UV Ceti Binary M5V + M6V
Blue Steel NEW 0310 Beta Eridani A3III
Borian FOM 0410 HR 753 Trinary K3V, M3V + M7V
Boston Habor FOM 0507 Zeta Tucanae F9V
Carpathia CAP 0607 111 Tauri Binary F8V + M3V
Cartagena EZ6 0606 Alpha Phoenix KOIII
Cinnabar EZ9 0105 Tau Eridani F7V
Columbia NEZ 0804 Epsilon Indi Trinary K5V + two Brown
Dwarfs
Commercial CAP 0303 QY Aurigae Binary M5V + M5V
Congress NEW 0402 Kappa Ceti G5V
Covenant FOM 0407 Mu Cassiopeia Binary G5VI + M5V
Crown NEZ 0509 Wolf 359 M6V
Cyclops NEZ 0312 DX Cancri M6V
Defiance NEZ 0709 Teegarden’s Star M7V
Earth NEZ 0406 The Sun G2V
Edo NEZ 0402 Struve 2398 Binary; both M3V
Exile NEZ 0601 Altair A7V
Fomalhaut FOM 0402 Fomalhaut Trinary A3V, K5V + M4V
Forlorn NEZ 0302 Gliese 674 M3V
Galena FOM 0406 Beta Hydri G2IV
Goldstone NEZ 0702 Sigma Draconis G9V
Hamilton NEZ 0805 Ross 248 M6V
Hiroshima NEZ 0304 Ross 154 M3V
Inferno NEZ 0806 Groombridge 34 Close Binary M1V + M4V
Iron King FOM 0304 Gliese 892 K3V
Isolation FOM 0207 Eta Cassiopae Binary G0V + K7V Eccentric
Ixion NEZ 0206 Alpha Centauri Binary G2V + K1V
Jade Palace NEZ 0603 61 Cygni System Close Binary K5V + K7V
Kibo NEZ 0301 36 Ophiucus Binary K2V stars
La Paz FOM 0608 HR 511 K0V
Leavenworth FOM 0102 Ross 775 M3V
Leviticus CAP 0407 Alpha Mensae Binary G7V + M3V
Limbo EZ6 0104 Iota Piscinum F7V
LQ105 NEZ 0105 Wise 0855-0714 Brown Dwarf
LR203 FOM 0203 EV Lacertae M3V
LR210 FOM 0210 82 Eridani G8V
World Location Star Name Star Type
LR408 FOM 0408 107 Piscinum K1V
LR708 FOM 0708 54 Piscinum Binary KOV + white dwarf
LR804 FOM 0804 51 Pegasi G5V
LR806 FOM 0806 85 Pegasi Binary G5V + K7V
LS102 EZ6 0102 Gliese 785 K2V
LS402 EZ6 0402 L935-50 M3V
LS803 EZ6 0803 Alpha Pegasi AOIV
LS809 EZ6 0809 Gliese 9028 M2V
LV207 NEW 0207 58 Eridani G1V
LV209 NEW 0209 Epsilon Reticuli Binary K2IV + white dwarf
LV603 NEW 0603 Zeta Reticuli Binary G3V + G2V
LW102 CAP 0102 Ross 619 M4V
LW201 CAP 0201 YZ Canis Minoris M4V
LW203 CAP 0203 Gliese 293 White dwarf
LW302 CAP 0302 Wolf 294 M3V
LW505 CAP 0503 Chi Orionis Binary G0V + M6V
LW508 CAP 0508 Eta Leporis F2V
LW610 CAP 0610 Pi Mensae G0V
LW707 CAP 707 Capella Close Binary KOIII + G1III
LW806 CAP 0806 Lambda Aurigae G1V
LX201 EZ9 0201 Nu Phoenix F9V
LX307 EZ9 0307 Gamma Ceti Binary A3V + F3V
LX410 EZ9 0410 Theta Eridani Binary A4IV + A1IV
LX504 EZ9 0504 Alpha Hydri F0IV
LX606 EZ9 0606 Epsilon Ceti Close Binary F2V + F7
LX805 EZ9 0805 Alpha Eridani Close Binary B6 + A1IV
LX810 EZ9 0810 HD 20367 G0III
Mammoth FOM 0305 EQ Pegasi Binary M3V + M4V
Maricopa CAP 0604 Gamma Leporis F6V
Mausoleum NEW 0503 Iota Persei F7V
Medusa FOM 0105 Ross 780 M4V
Megiddo NEW 602 Theta Persei Binary F7V + M1V
Mine 17 CAP 0210 Alpha Pictoris A8V
Mine 44 FOM 0503 Gliese 884 K5V
Moser’s Landing CAP 0502 Gliese 233 Binary K3V + M4V
Nevermind NEZ 0107 Luhman 16 Close Binary Brown Dwarfs
New Tokyo NEZ 0305 Barnard’s Star M4V
Olympus NEZ 0108 Lalande 21185 M2V
Oppenheimer NEZ 0409 Sirius A1V with White Dwarf
Companion
Oracle FOM 0401 Gliese 849 M3V
Orontes EZ6 0308 Beta Ceti K0III
Outpost Daza EZ9 0704 Delta Cassiopeia A5IV
Outpost Nero EZ9 0103 Alpha Triangulum Binary F5III + M3V
Paradise CAP 0305 Gliese 250 Binary K3V + M3V
Paydirt NEZ 0701 Herschel 5173 Binary K3V + M4V
World Location Star Name Star Type
Pioneer FOM 0509 Rho Eridani A5V
Prosperity NEZ 0303 SCR 1845-6357 M8V
Requiem NEZ 0810 Keid Trinary K1V, M4V + white
dwarf
Resurrection FOM 0505 Gliese 1289 M5V
Rock 17 NEZ 0609 Kapteyn’s Star M1sd (Sub-Dwarf)
St. Lawrence NEW 0701 Gliese 86 Binary KIV + white dwarf
Serpentine NEW 0101 Rana K0IV
Seven Sisters FOM 0109 Gliese 832 M2V
Solomons, The NEZ 0808 Epsilon Eridani K2V
Storro FOM 0107 Van Maanen’s Star white dwarf
Tau Ceti NEZ 0807 Tau Ceti G8V
Telluride NEW 0610 Mu Ceti Binary F0V + G3V
Tennessee Station EZ9 0106 Alpha Fornacis F8IV
Tohono CAP 0701 Stein 2051 Binary M4V +white dwarf
Tombstone CAP 0802 Pi Orionis F6V
Tora Bora NEW 0706 10 Tauri F8V
Upper Hell CAP 0704 Gliese 183 Binary K3V + M3V
Utah Station EZ9 0101 Upsilon Andromeda Binary F8V + M4V
Utopia CAP 0810 Beta Pictoris A6V
Vernier CAP 0208 Beta Aurigae Binary A1IV + A1IV
Washout FOM 0309 Gliese 33 K2V
Zircon CAP 0601 Luyten 1723 M4V
Commercial spacers in the charter line industry do not typically receive a monthly
salary. Instead, to encourage fast turnarounds, efficiency and speed, crews are
awarded a nominal mission payment for the completion of a mission, with a hefty
bonus added on. For the player characters, the mission payment will be $1000 per
mission – now you can see why we call it ‘nominal’. In fact, the rest of the
commercial spacing industry pay their officers different amounts depending on rank.
See the Mission Payments table, below. We don’t recommend this for a group of
player characters because they may have come from other careers and may not
even hold commercial shipping ranks. Pay them all $1000 and be done with it.

MISSION PAYMENTS The bonus varies in value from contract to contract,

depending on the distance traversed, the type of
Rank Payment the starport the cargo is held at, the nature of the
($) cargo and the negotiating skills of the charter line
Captain 2000 sales-people. The bonus can be randomized by the
First Officer 1200 referee using rules below. It is awarded as a lump
Second Officer 1100 sum to the crew on completion of the mission, to be
Third Officer 1000 divided as the captain sees fit. Nearly all split the
Fourth Officer 900 bonus equally between all of the crew-members.
Crewman 600 This ‘share’ is of course added to the starline’s
nominal mission payment.

Bonus payments are awarded only after

BONUS MODIFICATION
the cargo consignment is signed over to a
2D6 Bonus Modification
third party, and the evidence of this is
2 70%
received via FTL hyperwave
3 75%
communications back at the company HQ
4 80%
on Earth. The statutory mission payment
5 90%
is also received at this time once the
6 100%
flight is completed, whether or not the
7 100%
cargo was damaged, destroyed, lost or
8 100%
stolen.
9 110%
10 120%
Bonus Base Figure is: $2000 x
11 125%
Distance in Parsecs
12+ 130%

High Value Cargo +2 Modify this with a 2D6 roll on the Bonus
Medium Value Cargo +1 Modification table (left).
Low Value Cargo 0
Broker Skill (Raw Materials) +1 Broker skill: Having to negotiate a fee
on a distant world for Raw Materials only,
a character with Broker makes an Average Broker roll, and if successful gets to add
a +1 DM to the Bonus Modification roll. HQ leave the filling of the ships hold with
cheap raw materials heading back to the core to the crew themselves.
Example: Let us say that the crew have been contracted to haul a shipment of
agricultural machinery to Tau Ceti, in the Near Earth Zone, 4 parsecs away. This
gives us a base payment figure of 4 x $2,000 or $8,000. We roll on the Bonus
Modification table with a result of 9+1 (the agri-machinery is medium value) for 10.
The bonus is modified to $9,600. This would be split between (let us say) 7 crew-
members for a bonus share equalling $1,371. Add on that mission payment of
$1,000 and that increases to $2,371. If the mission had been out to HN Pegasi, 14
parsecs distant, in Extraction Zone 6, that would have been a $33,600 bonus for
$5,800 each. Of course the run to Tau Ceti only takes around 9 or 10 days. The trip
out to HN Pegasi takes just over three-and-a-half weeks. These figures compare well
to the monthly salaries awarded to regular freighter crews as listed in Cepheus
Engine’s Chapter 6: Starships and Interstellar Travel.

Of course the bonus situation may be in question should the crew not arrive when
expected, or if the cargo is damaged, destroyed or missing. By how much will the
client reduce their bonus?

PAYMENT PENALTIES
Intact?
 Minor Damage/Loss -10%
 Significant Damage/Loss -50%
 Major Damage/Loss -75%
 Total Damage/Loss -100%

On-Time?
 Each day over the agreed arrival -1% Bonus Payment
(to a maximum of -50%)
 Determine Start Location (Default Earth – Liberty Orbital Station).
A Contract
1 Locate a Cargo (Raw Material or Finished Goods?).
2 Identify the Destination:
 Raw Material - Roll 3D6.
 Finished Goods – Determine Zone, then Star System, then record UWP.
3 Determine Bonus – Base is $2000 x parsecs; roll 2D6 to modify this.
B Flight Day
1 Roll Starport Encounter.
2 Flight Planning, with Fuelling and Loading requires all day.
3 Fuelling. Roll 1D6; a ‘1’ indicates a hold-up in fuelling.
4 Loading. Crewman makes a Routine Loader roll. Failure indicates a hold-up.
C Take-Off & Flight Out
1 Crew skill rolls: Routine Pilot, Routine Engineer and Average Navigator.
2 Roll for a Star System Encounter
3 Travel to Hyperspace Point 2D6 x 10 MKM (add star and navigator’s DM).
4 Crew enter hypersleep; ship enters hyperspace.
5 During hyperspace travel, players roll 2D6, on a ‘2’ – drop out of hyperspace.
D Flight In & Landing
1 Exit hyperspace; crew emerge from hypersleep. Routine End rolls needed.
2 Crew skill rolls: Routine Pilot, and Average Navigator; sensor operator makes
Routine Comms roll for position fixing.
3 Roll for a Star System Encounter
4 Travel to Destination:
 Mainworld - 2D6 x 10 MKM (add star and navigator’s DM).
 Gas Giant for refuelling - 1D6 x 1D6 x 20 MKM (add star and navigator’s
DM).
 Planet Inner System - 1D6 x 1D6 x 20 MKM (add star and navigator’s
DM).
 Planet Outer System - 1D6 x 1D6 x 100 MKM (add star and navigator’s
DM).
5 Landing. Routine Pilot roll required, failure indicates a fine and/or damage.
6 Roll Starport Encounter.
7 Unloading. Crewman makes a Routine Loader roll. Failure indicates a hold-up.
8 Update Burns (‘fuel’) total. Update tally of full or partial days that have passed.
E Off-Duty
1 Bonus payment. Make deductions & divide between crew. Add $1000 salary.
2 Downtime for 2-3 days. Resolve any adventure opportunity, job or encounter.
3 Return to A1.
From lift-off day the crew is operating to a deadline – hold-ups, complications and
equipment failures will eat into their bonuses. The pressure is on. The time allotted
to complete the mission is equal to the pre-calculated time in hyperspace plus seven
days only for flight planning, loading, orbital transfers and in-system maneuvering.
The clock begins when the crew arrive at the ship on lift-off day and stops when the
cargo is off-loaded.

Plotting a trajectory to the nearest hyperspace point and a navigation route through
hyperspace is flight planning, along with compiling all flight data, gaining ATC
clearances for lift-off or undocking, satisfying customs officials of the flight’s and the
crew’s legality, and booking a refuelling and ship replenishment slot with the
starport’s ground handlers. All of this should take around one day (the day of the
flight). On worlds with government type 8, 9 or 13+, make an Average Admin roll,
with failure indicating bureaucratic hold-ups, taking one extra day.

Starships require copious amounts of liquid hydrogen fuel, which is refined at an A

or B class starport either from gasses skimmed from a nearby gas giant, or from
local water resources. Commercial starships can purchase this refined fuel at a rate
of $500 per ton. Unrefined fuel (water) is available at C and D class ports, but using
this type of fuel as a reaction mass degrades the maneuver drive’s efficiency; lower
Mn number by 1-G (or to 0.5-G if the drive is rated at 1-G). This is because water
has a lower specific impulse, which is an expression of the reaction mass's exhaust
velocity, the energy put into it and the weight of the particles in the reaction mass.
For a given plasma rocket, liquid hydrogen can be accelerated to higher velocities
than water because H2 molecules are so light. Remember that force equals mass
times velocity squared, so the speed that those particles are escaping the rocket
motor is critical. If unrefined fuel is used, then the first Ship Malfunction roll will be
for the maneuver drive. Unrefined fuel costs $100 per ton. C and D class ports only
have this unrefined fuel available. The charter line will cover the cost of fuel for the
mission (along with life support and supply costs). If the ship has fuel processors, it
can actually refine its own fuel on the pad or in flight at the rate stated in the ship’s
description (20 tons per day per ton of equipment).

If speed of refuelling is important to the plot, use these figures: fuelling takes 15
minutes for a small craft, 2 hours for starships of 1000 tons or less, 3 hours for
starships of 6,000 tons or less, 4 hours for starships of between 6,100 and 15,000
tons, and 6 hours for starships massing larger than 15,100 tons. Double these times
for a D class starport.

The referee might want to check for hold-ups. Roll 1D6, on a ‘1’ the fuelling is
delayed for ½ day. A character might be able to make an Average Admin roll to
circumvent this hold-up.

Maneuver Drive Fuel: Ships require liquid hydrogen to the amount of 0.1 x Hull
Tonnage x Mn. Example: A 3,000 ton ship with a 3G drive requires: 0.1 x 3000 x 3
tons of fuel (equating to 900 tons). This provides 24 ‘Burns’ at the reaction drive’s
rating. Once 24 burns are completed, the fuel tanks are dry! This maneuver drive
fuel forms the bulk of all fuel loaded onto a starship.

Powerplant Fuel: The fusion reactor requires an amount of liquid hydrogen

coolant equal in tonnage to the Powerplant tonnage. It provides for 12 months of
operation and does not need replenishing after each flight. In HOSTILE the
maneuver drive is typically a fusion plasma reaction drive powered directly through
the fusion powerplant. Reaction mass (fuel: liquid hydrogen or unrefined water) is
fed through the fusion reactor which superheats it to plasma state. Smallcraft use
either a liquid chemical rocket, or, if atmospheric, a scramjet drive system.
Maneuver drives are rated as a measure of G (acceleration); a rating of 3 indicates a
3-G acceleration (30m/sec²).

Use the drive’s Maneuver number MANEUVER DRIVE RATING

(Mn) to determine the distance
covered by the spaceship in one
day. These craft will coast without
thrust for the middle-part of the
journey and so it is the G-rating
during acceleration and deceleration
which really determines how long
that journey will last. Mn values and
travel times using Millions of
kilometres (MKM) are given in the
table. Every large ship holds enough
reaction fuel for 24 burns of
reaction acceleration/deceleration.
Acceleration Distance per Day in
(G) Mkm
1 10
2 20
3 30
4 40
5 50
6 60
7 70
8 80
Assume that the cargo charter will occupy all of the capacity of the cargo hold.
Speeds for loading and unloading bulk cargoes are given in the HOSTILE book,
under Cargo Handling Equipment. For other cargoes, including containerized cargo,
the rate is dictated by the starport class. The 1000-ton Harbinger class freighter has
a 350-ton cargo deck, and can be unloaded at a C-class starport in around 58
minutes. Rosa Norsk, the 20,000 ton container carrier from the HOSTILE main
book, has a capacity of 15,200 tons-worth of containers. At the same port it will
require 55 hours to fully unload. However, such huge container ships typically only
make partial drop-offs at each stopping point on their journey - at each port only
unloading 30-180 (3D6 x 10) containers at a time. At our C-class starport, for
example, the Rosa Norsk might unload 80 containers, taking around 40 minutes.

Starport Loading Rate of Cargo Loading/Unloading

Class DM
A - 15 tons (5 containers) per minute
B - 9 tons (3 containers) per minute
C -1 6 tons (2 containers) per minute
D -1 6 tons (2 containers) per minute
E - none

Loading is supervised by the crew of the transport ship, in particular a character with
Loader skill. The character overseeing the operation makes a Routine (+2) Loader
skill roll; apply the Loading DM from the table (above). Failure indicates a problem
has not been averted - the freight cannot be loaded or off-loaded for 24 hours at
the earliest. The reason might be political, legal, administrative, technical or logistical
(other ships need loading first). A player character may make a task roll to
circumvent the hold-up. Make either a Difficult (-2) Admin or Difficult Loader roll to
get the loading started in ½ day. If that fails, try again in 24 hours, this time at 8+
(an Average task). If that fails, try again in 24 hours, this time at 6+ (a Routine
task). You will eventually get off the ground! These rules all apply to both loading
and off-loading. The referee might want to replace this second Admin or Loader roll
with ingenious roleplaying, as the player characters plot to jump the queue or solve
the hold-up dilemma.

Self-Loading: Ships with their own cargo handling vehicles might be allowed to
circumvent such hold-ups, or unload at E-class starports, by taking matters into their
own hands. This might require a successful Loader or Admin roll as just described.

Vehicle Rate of Cargo Loading/Unloading

Workloader 1 ton (not-containerized) per minute
Reachstacker 6 tons (2 containers) per minute
Forklift 2 tons (not-containerized) per minute
Once fuel, cargo and supplies have been loaded on-board and ATC have given
permission for take-off, the ship can power up and lift off, heading directly out into
space on a trajectory already plotted to take it to the nearest viable hyperspace
point (see Hyperspace, below). The reaction drives are powerful rockets creating a
terrible din and rattling the colony infrastructure. Ships docked to an orbital space
station (often above A and B class starports) simply undock, using Vernier thrusters
to back away several kilometres, before igniting the reaction motor for the journey
out of orbit. Using such an orbital ‘highport’ will save the starship fuel it would have
burned reaching orbit from the surface (see the Maneuvers table, below). Antarctica
Traffic Control does not allow starships to land on Earth, all must dock in orbit at the
huge and well-equipped Liberty Station. Their cargoes are sent to Earth via heavy lift
shuttle.

All smallcraft carry enough fuel for 12 burns of their reaction drive, whilst starships
have enough for 24 burns. Below is a table that illustrates the fuel costs for a variety
of maneuvers.

Maneuver Carried Out Burns

Required
Leave orbit for trip to another planet 4
Decelerate & enter orbit around a planet of gas giant 4
Leave orbit for a trip to a local moon 1
Enter orbit around a moon or planet 1
Travel out to the Hyperspace Point 4
Travel from Hyperspace Point to mainworld or gas giant -
Smallcraft/lifting body starship deorbit burn & descent to moon’s 1
surface
Smallcraft/lifting body starship ascends to orbit from moon’s 1
surface
Standard starship deorbit burn & descent to planetary surface. 2
Streamlined starship deorbit burn & descent to planetary surface. 1
Standard or streamlined starship ascends from planetary surface 2

Note: A change in orbit or vector will not require any burns if the Pilot can
make an Average Pilot skill roll. If failed, the cost is 1 burn.

Burns left remaining must be cautiously rationed, no-one wants to be stranded in

some remote star system without enough fuel to get home. Plan ahead. How many
burns will my entire trip take? Is that enough? Is there any reserve? Do I need to
refuel at a starport or a gas giant (if one exists in the destination star system). The
referee might ask the pilot to make a Routine (6+) Pilot skill roll. If failed then a
problem that could not be avoided costs the ship +1 Burn of fuel to get the
destination in-system (whether it be a hyperspace point, moon, gas giant or other
planet).
TIME TO IN-SYSTEM DESTINATION
Maneuver Distance per Day
Drive Rating in Mkm
1 10
2 20
3 30
4 40
5 50
6 60
7 70
8 80
Where are you going? We try to keep
all in-system distances listed as Millions
of kilometres (MKM). The pilot opens
up the reaction motors for a long-
duration burn lasting several hours,
before turning them off to coast mid-
way. The final third of the trip involves
decelerating and (usually) entering the
destination world’s orbit. Divide the
distance to destination (a planet, a gas
giant or a hyperspace point) by the
Distance Per Day value in the table
below to determine how long the flight
will take.

Example: The referee sets Jupiter’s distance from Earth at 780 MKM (of course it
varies as both planets move in their orbits). A 4-G ship travelling from Earth to
Jupiter will arrive in 20 days (780/40 = 19.5). It will use 4 burns in its initial
acceleration and another 4 burns to decelerate and enter Jovian orbit.

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

“But I don’t want to fly to the mainworld!”, you say. Perhaps you are dropping off
scientists at a remote moon, or resupplying prospectors in the outer regions of the
star system. How far away is it? How long will that trip take? As referee you can
choose a distance. Jupiter is 780 MKM from the Sun, Saturn is 1,400, Neptune is
4,500 while the distant, frozen Kuiper Belt is 6,000 MKM away! Alternatively make a
random roll:

If the destination is in the Inner System roll 1D6 x 1D6 x 20 MKM

If the destination is in the Outer System roll 1D6 x 1D6 x 100 MKM

You can add the DM from the star’s luminosity class (see Hyperspace, below) for
more realism. Note the Habitable Zone sits somewhere between the Inner and Outer
Zones, and is the assumed location of the star system’s mainworld. The navigator
may also have a part to play: make an Average Navigation roll. Failure provides a
penalty DM of +1 on one of the 1D6 being rolled.

Moons - Moons are on a different scale of distance to planets, and ships will not
have enough time for a coast stage, merely accelerating midway then decelerating
to then enter orbit around the moon. Use these simple rules to determine the time
taken to reach a planet’s moon starting from orbit.

Moon around a planet: 1D6+2 hours

Moon around a gas giant: 2D6+2 hours
Entry into and an exit from, hyperspace is most effectively carried out well beyond a
star’s habitable zone; the gravitational effect and size of a star affects a starship’s
ability to cross from one universe into another. Stars are classified by luminosity and
this describes the actual size of a star, determined by its atmospheric pressure.

The larger or more luminous the star, the further out the hyperspace ‘points’ will be.
Hyperspace points are surveyed locations beyond a star’s habitable zone, they are
the perfect confluence of gravity, dark matter, orbital mechanics and fluctuations
through time that allow easy access to hyperspace. There are scores of HSPs in any
one star system, and the random roll below, provides a distance to the nearest
hyperspace point from the mainworld. Starships can enter hyperspace with a
substantial velocity. A clever navigator will have charted a course that will see the
ship exiting a hyperspace point in the destination system taking it directly to the
mainworld. This means that accelerating to a hyperspace point costs 4 burns, and
decelerating from the exit point toward the mainworld (and entering its orbit) costs
another 4 burns. Hyperspace points are invisible ‘bubbles’ of ‘hyperweak’ space in
the outer system that are several thousands of kilometres in diameter.

Distance to Nearest Hyperspace Point: 2D6 x 10 MKM (Million km)

Luminosity Class Description DM

0 Hypergiants +12
I Supergiants +6
II Bright Giants +4
III Giants +3
IV Sub-Giants +2
V Dwarfs +0
sd Sub-Dwarfs -5
D White Dwarfs -6
T Brown Dwarf -6

Make an Average Navigation roll. Failure provides a penalty DM of +1

Note: Our Sun is classified as a G2V star, with ‘V’ indicating a dwarf star; Beta
Hydri, on the other hand is a G2IV star, with ‘IV’ indicating a sub-giant star. Find
the class of star on the Catalog of Off-World Colonies table, on pages 34-36.

As the hyperspace points themselves move in their orbits, the roll to determine their
distance from the mainworld must be made every time the system is visited or
exited. Prior to arriving at the hyperspace point (at some considerable velocity), the
crew enter hypersleep. Once the ship enters the zone occupied by the hyperspace
point, the ship’s computer activates the hyperdrive – propelling it into hyperspace
along its preplanned course. Further information about hyperspace can be found in
Zozer Games’ free supplement titled the Hostile Technical Manual.
HYPERDRIVE LIMITS
A hyperdrive does not have a maximum range – instead, the starship’s drive rating
(1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6) indicates the number of parsecs crossed per week of travel.
Speeds are rated at ‘parsecs per week’. Hyperdrives do not consume additional fuel,
but use electrical power. Within the ship the drain on even the most overpowered
reactors is sufficient to leech power from most on-board systems so lights are dim,
many tertiary systems and crew luxuries inoperable and the temperature
uncomfortably cold, some inherent element of hyperspace leeching the heat even
from a wide open reactor.

STASIS – INTERRUPTED - FIRE IN - CRYOGENIC COMPARTMENT

During hyperspace travel, the referee (or engineer, if he feels brave) should roll
2D6. On a result of ‘2’ there is some on-board malfunction serious enough to force
the computer to follow ICO protocols and drop the ship back into normal space.
What could the problem be? It is almost certainly repairable, but how long will it
take?

1D6 Malfunction Difficulty to Repair Time

1 Life Support Routine ½ day
2 Fuel Pump Average ½ day
3 Hyperdrive Coupler Average 1 day
4 Field Generator Difficult 1 day
5 Cryogenic Bay Average ½ day
6 Fusion Reactor Difficult 1-3 days

Maybe your engineers should have carried out routine maintenance? See Comms &
Engineering, later.

Days or weeks will pass until the ship enters the destination star system where it will
emerge from hyperspace at a pre-calculated hyperspace point (again roll randomly
for its distance from your intended destination world). It will travel on a coasting
trajectory with engines shut down toward the destination. Automated systems wake
the sleeping crew and the starship is then brought online, systems checked, nav co-
ordinates confirmed and the flight plan for the trip to the main world activated. The
flight into the mainworld starport will typically take a couple of days or so, during
which time the crew will contact local traffic control and make arrangements for
unloading and refuelling (if needed). The ship’s computer automatically revives the
crew who each make their own Routine (+2) Endurance check. Failure to revive
successfully results in feeling ill and groggy for the rest of the day. All skill rolls that
day (piloting, engineering, comms, etc.) are conducted with a DM of -1. The ship’s
medic can assist anyone suffering from the effects of hypersleep with an Average
(0) Medical check for each patient. Success removes that -1 penalty.
Once in orbit around the mainworld, the starship begins a deorbit burn and enters
the atmosphere (if one exists). It will touch down around half-an-hour later at an
assigned landing pad assigned by local traffic control. Some missions will involve the
unloading of a cargo in orbit (either at an orbital highport above the A or B-class
port, or perhaps at some remote asteroid or deep space transfer location, far from
the mainworld). Landing is a relief – but the crew cannot relax yet, the contract is
only fulfilled once the cargo is unloaded and signed for. Remember the deadline that
was discussed in the section called Loading & Unloading? Unloading is supervised by
a crewman skilled in Loader, even if local port-workers are doing the work. At E-
class ports, the crew will be unloading the ship themselves. Once a local
representative of the client signs for the cargo, the contract is fulfilled.

PILOTING TASKS
Docking at a station, or landing at a starport are critical phases of the mission that
are entirely in the hands of the pilot. In normal conditions, he makes a Routine (+2)
Pilot roll to successfully dock or land. If the docking station is not responding for
some reason (Power out? Alien infestation?) or the starport is non-existent (a class X
port), then the difficulty increases to Average (0). There may be atmospheric
problems, due to extreme weather, or the atmosphere type may be type B or C, in
which case there will be a penalty DM of -2. Failure normally indicates the pilot
exceeded ICO tolerances, and is subjected to a corporate fine (which the company
translates as a penalty to the crew’s bonus by way of a -5% overall reduction. Now
if the ship was landing in bad atmospheric conditions or in the wilderness, away
from any starport, the penalty is accompanied by a Ship Malfunction.

CHILLIN’ OUT
Companies typically mandate some enforced ‘down time’ at this point. The crew may
be on a rock, next to a colony of 200 miners, but the accepted practice is to provide
two or three days leave to get off the ship, mingle with the locals, ‘explore’, ‘make
friends’ and have a few drinks. This enforced recreation was recommended by the
ICO after noticing that crews who simply took off and left after dropping a cargo
began to suffer long-term psychological problems, exacerbated by the distance from
Earth and the habitual non-life of hypersleep. These crews were described as being
‘in the bubble’, cut off from humankind, unconscious for 95% of their working lives
and incredibly busy and stressed during their brief waking hours. They became
obnoxious, intolerant and impatient to the point of violence when they did not often
mix with people. They were continually on-edge and stressed. The stop-overs also
allow ship systems to be checked, and routine maintenance and flight
instrumentation checks to be carried out. But crews often get drunk, make friends,
get into arguments, fall in love – in short, live a little. The ICO approves of this
behaviour as long as no local laws are broken. All too soon the captain recalls the
crew-members and the ship is prepared for take-off, either back to Earth, or on to
another frontier star system where a new cargo is waiting to be transported on a
journey to … who knows where?
Do the engineers and the sensor operator have anything to do of significance during
these routine operations?

ENGINEERING TASKS
Routine Maintenance is carried out prior to entering hyperspace. This involves
checking for anything that might malfunction, because while the crew are in
hypersleep, they are powerless to fix the ship. If a serious problem is detected the
mainframe computer will follow its protocols and disengage the hyperdrive, dropping
the ship into normal space, and reviving the crew in order that they can fix the
problem. Nobody wants that!

During transit to the hyperspace point the chief engineer makes a Routine (+2)
Engineering roll. Up to two assistant engineers can help with this task, each
providing a +1 DM if succeeding, or a -1 DM if failing their skill roll. Success means
that the starship will not drop out of hyperspace due to technical issues. It also
means that in the destination star system, if the Encounter result ‘Ship Malfunction’
comes up, the crew don’t need to spend time diagnosing the problem and they
receive an automatic +2 to fix the malfunction.

SENSOR OP TASKS
Routine tasks carried out by the sensor operator include contacting Local Traffic
Control, announcing flight intentions, asking for clearances to land, dock or enter
orbit, and also include conducting routine sensor sweeps as the starship moves
through real-space. These tasks do not require dice rolls.

A task roll is, however, required when emerging from hyperspace. The sensor op
must use the ship’s scanning equipment to determine its exact location, before
corrective burns need to be made to ensure that the ship is on course to the
system’s mainworld (or whichever planet is the destination). This is a Routine (+2)
Comms roll that takes 10 minutes. Failure means a retry taking one hour. Another
failure means that scans are not available, and that the normal coast toward to the
mainworld will unfortunately cost an additional +1 Burn.

During encounters in real-space, the sensor op will have many opportunities to make
significant Comms skill rolls: identifying starship types or names and calculating their
trajectories and getting to the bottom of several mysteries that appear on the In-
System Encounters table.
Refuelling far from Earth or far from a fully-equipped colonial starport may be
required. Starships fitted with fuel scoops may dive into the upper atmosphere of a
gas giant and fill their tanks with unrefined hydrogen. This is known as gas giant
refuelling, or ‘wilderness refuelling’. The star system must first have a gas giant
present and the standard Universal World Profile provides this information. Once
that has been established, the navigator can plot a trajectory from the hyperspace
point of exit into the system, out to the gas giant, emerging into real space at speed
directly toward the gas planet. This distance varies wildly from system to system.

Distance from nearest hyperspace point is 1D6 x 1D6 x 20 MKM

Once in orbit around the target gas giant, the pilot can attempt a close approach
into the upper atmosphere. The fuel scoops are opened and everyone holds on!
Meanwhile the engineer monitors the gas intake and fuel tank pressures throughout
the maneuver. Scooping takes 1D6 hours although there is no obligation to wait until
the tanks are full. In an emergency, the crew might only be after enough fuel to
reach a safe planet in the system. The pilot makes an Average Pilot roll to carry out
this maneuver. Failure indicates a problem:

Task Effect Problem and Solution

-1 or -2 Takes longer than it should; 1D6+2 hours
-3 Scoops damaged. Difficult Engineer roll (taking 1D6 hours) required
to repair.
-4 High velocity winds. Ship suffers 1D6 damage and skimming must be
abandoned for ½ day.
-5 or -6 Storm with severe down drafts. Ship suffers 1D6 damage every 15
minutes unless the pilot can make a Difficult Pilot roll each 15
minutes, to get the craft back into orbit. Skimming must then be
abandoned for 1D3 hours.

REFINING FUEL
Starships fitted with fuel processing equipment can refine the unrefined fuel they
might have bought, taken on-board by skimming a gas giant or pumping on-board
melted water ice or ocean water. This equipment turns the water or raw gases into
liquid hydrogen. Water can be cracked using electrolysis which uses electricity to
split the water into hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen goes into the life support
system, the hydrogen must be purified. The liquefaction process requires clean
hydrogen and several cycles of compression, liquid nitrogen/helium cooling, and
then expansion. Gases skimmed from a gas giant are always contaminated with
other constituent gases including helium, ammonia, sulfur, methane and water
vapor; these must be filtered out before the hydrogen can be purified and liquefied.
Hydrogen only remains a liquid under high pressure, and at below -272ºC. A
starship’s fuel processors can convert 20 tons of water or skimmed hydrogen gas,
per ton of machinery, per day. Ten tons of installed processors, for example, can
convert 200 tons of unrefined fuel into refined fuel, per day.
I’m tellin’ you. Gas giants are dangerous places. No captain
goes there for a routine refuel – even the biggest of the
kiloton bulk carriers are nothing but a speck of dust inside a
Louisiana hurricane. Lightning storms, high-velocity winds,
extreme down-drafts and the effects of high-gee and that
crippling pressure are the biggest dangers to anyone inside a
gas giant’s upper atmosphere.

Remember back in ’18 when the Honest John lost partial

reactor power and couldn’t maintain lift inside that gas giant,
Leviathan, the one that orbits HR 511? It dropped like a
stone – God knows how anyone survived to tell the tale after
parts of the hull cracked under a 22 Earth-atmosphere
pressure. Buy your fuel from a starport if you can, but if you
can’t – cross your fingers and skim with care!

Con-Am pilot Ed Correia

D66 Encounter
11-12 Ship Encounter if mainworld has an A class starport
13-14 Ship Encounter if mainworld has an A or B class starport
15-16 Ship Encounter if mainworld has an A, B or C class starport
21-22 Ship Encounter if mainworld has an A, B, C or D class starport
23-24 Ship Encounter if mainworld has an A, B, C, D or E class starport
25-26 Ship Encounter if mainworld has a A, B, C, D, E or X class starport
31 A distress call is picked up by the ship. ICO regulations demand such calls
to be investigated, or a 50% penalty will be made to the crew’s total bonus
payment. Make an Average Comms per hour roll to locate the signal.
32 Sensor op may detect some type of wreckage.
33 An Average Comms roll reveals that a ship seems suspicious. Perhaps
crewed by desperate miners, smugglers, shady salvors, rogue colonists,
hijackers, or anti-corporate guerrillas. Failure means a surprise!
34-36 Ship Malfunction. Check the Ship Malfunction table.
41 Strange readings on the bridge suggest there might be a stowaway. Make a
series of Comms rolls to locate the source.
42 The ship computer is acting oddly. Why? Is it malfunctioning? Has it been
reprogrammed? Make a series of Computer rolls to locate the trouble.
43 Fire in the cargo (or other) area.
44 Routine maintenance requires all crew to help replace a huge component.
45 Sensors are producing false readings. Or are they? If so, why? Comms.
46 Cargo has shifted due to compensator malfunction. Needs to be stabilized.
51 NPC Crewman becomes sullen, uncommunicative and makes mistakes, but
will not discuss.
52 Captain runs a crew training session: see Starship Training Table.
53 Two NPC crew have a blazing and unresolved argument. It needs resolving!
54 Crewman is very ill, but the reason is a little mysterious.
55 An accident aboard ship requires repair, and involves an injury to a crew-
member. See Ship Malfunction Table.
56 Two NPC crewmen fall out and refuse to talk to, or work with, each other.
61-66 Ship Malfunction. Check the Ship Malfunction table.
 SHIP ENCOUNTERS
[A, B, C, D, E Starport]
3D6 Encounter
1 Resource Exploration Vessel
2 Mobile Drill Ship
3 Heavy Towship
4 Colonial Support Vessel
5 Petroleum Carrier
6 Bulk Cargo Carrier
7 Heavy Lift Shuttle
8 Modular Shuttle
9 Ship’s Boat
10 Light Towship
11 Container Carrier
12 Executive Transport
13 Patrol Vessel
14 Gunboat
15 Military Shuttle
16 Vertical Assault Ship

If USSC Base in that system: DM +2

If A or B Starport in that system: DM +2
If D or E Starport in that system: DM - 2

SHIP ENCOUNTERS
[X Starport]
1D6 Encounter
1-3 Resource Exploration Vessel
4 Mobile Drill Ship
5 Expedition Lander
6 Colonial Support Vessel

SHIPBOARD TRAINING
2D Training Duties 2D Training Duties
2 Nav Training 8 Radiation Leak Drill
3 Fuel-Leak 9 Anti-Hijack or Anti-Piracy
4 Depressurization 10 Computer Malfunction
5 Seminar on Procedures 11 Zero-G Training
6 Fire-fighting 12 Vacc Suit Operations
7 Individual training
 SHIP MALFUNCTION
D66 Malfunction Skill Required
11 Airlock malfunction Mechanical
12 Grav plates Electronics
13 Water recycling Mechanical
14 Computer glitch Computer
15 Hypersleep chamber Electronics or Mechanical
16 Flooding Mechanical
21 Fusion overheat Engineering
22 Plasma leak Engineering
23 Air recycling Mechanical
24 Ship’s Boat/Lifeboat/Auxiliary Craft drive Engineering
25 Heating/Life support problems Mechanical
26 Hyperdrive calibration Electronics or Engineering
31 Security lock-outs Computer
32 Long range sensor maging Electronics or Comms
33 Sensor hardware failure Electronics or Comms
34 Hull stresses Mechanical
35 Micrometeoroid strike, 1D6 damage -
36 Hyperdrive field generator Engineering or
41-42 Hyperdrive initiation trigger Engineering
43 Fuel pump problem Engineering or Mechanical
44 Gas build-up Mechanical
45 Radiation leak Engineering
46 Fusion plant sensor failure Electronics
51 Plasma coil replacement Engineering
52 Computer core failures Computer
53 Bridge instrument display glitch Electronics or Computer
54 Inertial compensators failing Electronics
55-56 Maneuver drive Engineering
61 Fuel pump problem Engineering or Mechanical
62 Bay-door jamming Mechanical
63 Coolant leak Engineering
64 Undercarriage stress weakness Mechanical
65 Kitchen malfunction Mechanical
66 Waste disposal problem Mechanical

FIXING A MALFUNCTION
Roll Average Engineering skill every hour to diagnose the problem. Once diagnosed,
roll 1D+5 as a target number for repair and use the ‘Skill Required’ as a positive
DM. Each attempt requires 1D6+1 hours of work; there should be tools and spares
on-board. An Exceptional Failure (failed by six or less) means the malfunction
cannot be fixed at all without outside help. Several skilled crewmen may help. One
is the leader and makes the skill roll. One or two assistants can make their rolls,
providing a +1 DM if succeeding, or a -1 DM if failing their skill roll. Failure to
address a malfunction may have dire (or just annoying) consequences later on …
 STARPORT ENCOUNTERS
D66 Starport Event
11 Starport Shutdown - 1 week. Issue is a labour dispute, accident, quarantine or
security problem.
12 Your cargo is in the wrong place (either waiting for loading, or just unloaded by you)
and your ship can't wait till whenever for it to be moved. Will Bribery or Admin help ?
13 Your ship or ship's crew are in trouble, perhaps legally, perhaps personally or
perhaps mechanically. They may need assistance.
14 Customs - Roll 5+ for the cargo to clear customs. If not, there may be a 1 week
delay. Is there a way around it? An Average Admin roll will find a loophole.
15 Red Tape - Transfer papers contain irregularities. Bribery or Admin might help.
16 Security - Security at starports is always high, you and your cargo are searched. The
search will throw up some issue to do with your cargo or luggage you were unaware
of on a 6 on 1d6. Arrest? Detention? Week-long delay? Roleplay the results.
21 Meet a fellow traveller as a potential contact. When met again, they may either offer
assistance or ask for your help.
22 One of your contacts needs your financial, legal, administrative or personal help
23 Your cargo is pilfered or suffers some minor damage.
24 Asteroid miners in port cause trouble all week for port officials and other travellers.
25 Meet a minor celebrity/dignitary/notable in the company of a couple of aides/guards.
26 Port personnel confuse you with someone else; roll 1D6 and on 1-3 this is good, on
4-6 it is bad. A quick ID check should sort it out – shouldn’t it?
31 A ship has limped into port this week with damage and crew casualties.
32 Meet one of your contacts – they are desperate for help.
33 Find a great hang-out/bar/cafe/restaurant at the port. Perfect for hiding away,
making deals or wooing someone.
34 Mysterious ship landed at the port, no-one allowed to see it or go near it, though
there are plenty of rumours around.
35 Commercial ship crew arrested and their ship seized.
36 Someone needs to get off-world fast ... but it’s not as simple as that ....
41- One of your skills is recognized by a port employee ... they have a little problem,
43 could you help them with it?
44 You are approached to smuggle illegal goods off-planet. If you accept, make
Average Bribery roll to succeed. There may be other complications. If you refuse
you may make an enemy of the smuggler.
45 A corporate ship is in port, it’s personnel are looking for someone - or something.
46 A US Space Command ship in is port causing a variety of problems for travellers.
51- Meet a fellow traveller as a potential contact. When met again, they may offer
53 assistance, or ask for your help.
54- Meet one of your contacts.
56
61- Nothing out of the ordinary occurs. What a relief!
66
Let’s follow the USCS Diocletian CSV-106067 on a flight out from Earth, to see how
the Inflight Checklist and the rules work together. Remember that this system isn’t
intended to be a game in-itself, but a framework for adventures, scenarios and
interstellar body-invading horrors. The Ship’s Log on pg.75 can be used to record
events as they occur, serving as a diary; alternatively use a sheet of lined paper.

CONTRACT
We are docked at Liberty Station in Earth orbit. Our cargo is rolled
and appears to be Medical Supplies (Low value), bound for Orontes in
EZ6, 0308. I record the UWP as C438342-C-G (gas giant)-K0III (the
star type, we’ll need that). That’s 15 parsecs or 26 days, add 7 days
for a deadline of 33 days. Our bonus is $24,000 to be shared equally.

PRE-FLIGHT
We roll a starport encounter but nothing out of the ordinary occurs.
No real adventure point there, then. Fuel is next and there is a hold-
up. Hiro successfully makes an Admin roll to skirt the issue, though.
1 24
[Loaded: 24 ‘Burns’ of fuel] Cargo loading: First Officer Symons
successfully makes the Loader roll to avoid any delays. Great!

FLIGHT-OUT
Undocking and accelerate out to the hyperspace point [Burns reduced
20
by 4 to 20]. Skill rolls. The pilot makes a successful Routine roll (to
match the trajectory to the hyperspace point), the engineer makes a
successful routine roll to ignore any drop out of hyperspace, but the
navigator fails her Average roll to find a close hyperspace point. The
In-System Encounter is ‘an accident’ related to a ‘Ship Malfunction’.
We decide this occurs during the 80 MKM trip to the hyperspace point
(it would have been 70 MKM, but the failed nav roll forced an added
10 MKM penalty). The Diocletian coasts at 40 MKM per day, indicating
3
a 2 day flight before hyperspace. Now, what happened? It seems to
have been the hyperdrive calibration unit, maybe giving the chief
engineer a nasty burn. We roll 2D6 for damage - he is injured. This is
a good plot point, and could all be roleplayed out once the referee
has seen the results of the dice. The assistant engineer takes an hour
to diagnose the problem, the task roll is 7+. Captain Vincent fixes the
unit with his Electronics-3 expertise. The crew enters hypersleep and
the ship then enters hyperspace; 3 days have passed.
FLIGHT IN/LANDING
We roll 2D6 to see if the ship drops out of hyperspace, it does not –
but our engineer had made his roll, nullifying any such hazard,
29
anyway. The ship spent 26 days in hyperspace. Now each player
character makes a Routine (+2) End roll to shrug off the day-long ill
effects of hypersleep. All make their rolls. Hiro the sensor op
successfully makes a Routine Comms roll to establish position. The
ship is heading for the mainworld at the high velocity that it entered
hyperspace. In-System Encounter – Ship Malfunction, since the
engineer made his roll before the hyperspace jump, there is no roll
for diagnosis and a +2 DM to fix the problem. The malfunction is a
fuel pump, and the assistant engineer makes the roll.

Unfortunately the navigator fails her Navigation roll again, adding a

32 16
DM +1 penalty to the distance to be travelled. Orontes is 120 MKM
away, requiring 3 long days of coasting. The pilot makes his Routine
15
Pilot roll to match the required trajectory. The ship decelerates
toward Orontes and enters orbit. It then lands, the pilot making his
14
Routine Pilot roll. Our deadline is 33 days. We are close to that
deadline!

Starport Encounter – ‘cargo is pilfered or damaged’. I hold on to that

idea, maybe for the cargo that will be loaded onboard later in the
game. The Routine Loader roll is failed, it will be a ½ day wait. But
Hiro steps in again with her Admin skill to bypass the regulations. The
medical supplies are signed off just in time.

OFF-DUTY
The flight took 32 days, one day inside the 33-day deadline! Each
crewman receives $3,428 plus $1,000 corporate salary = $4,428 for
32 days work. I roll a ‘Random Encounter’ from Chapter 14 of the
Cepheus Engine, and on the Patron table of that same chapter, just
to see if anything catches my imagination whilst the crew are relaxing
at the busy, working seaport on Orontes. I roll ‘Peasants’, probably
hard-working colonists, maybe giving the crew a hard-time. Or
perhaps there is a disease on Orontes (hence the medical supplies)
and the colonists want access to some, threatening or bribing the
crew to get some for them. The patron was ‘Mercenary’, in HOSTILE
that is some Private Military Contractor or corporate security officer.
What does he want? What skills or talents do the crew possess that
would interest a corporate officer? Does he need a little job doing
while they are on Orontes? We roll randomly for downtime and the
35
crew can ‘enjoy’ 3 days of leave on this little colony.
CONTRACT
It’s time to work. Did the player characters have some kind of
adventure on Orontes? Did they steal medical drugs from the starport
14
warehouse? Or disable an electronic surveillance system for a
corporate security chief? Extra cash always helps to pay off that
mortgage and finance the kids through college back on Earth. Or
maybe you have gambling debts, alimony to pay, or a huge back-pay
of child support. Work out here on the frontier is hard, and the
money goes back to Earth – you rarely get to see it or spend it…
Time for the next flight. Where to?

Our cargo is rolled, Natural Fibers (Low value) bound for Jade Palace
in the Japanese sector of space. At least its back in the core. Jade
Palace is at NEZ 0603, UWP: B952651-C-no gas giant. That is 13
parsecs or 23 days in hyperspace, add 7 days for a deadline of 30
days. Our bonus will be $26,000, but Captain Vincent got to make a
Broker roll which provided a bonus, amending the total to $28,600.

PRE-FLIGHT
Planning and preflight. We roll on the starport encounter which is
1
making a contact, I decide it is the chief engineer’s old friend, now
working as a consultant in the colonies, called Jeffries. I note him
down. We don’t need fuel, the company will want to know why we
can’t get home on 14 burns, but Vincent wants to top up the tanks
with unrefined fuel. There is no hold-up, but it is unwise to use
2 24
unrefined fuel, and so the Harbinger sits on the pad for a day while it
refines that fuel. There is no hold up for loading the cargo.

FLIGHT-OUT
Lift-off and accelerate out to the nearest hyperspace point. Skill rolls.
22
As before, the pilot and engineer make their rolls, the navigator does
not, adding a +1 penalty to the roll to determine distance to the
hyperspace point. The In-System Encounter is a US Space Command
gunboat, a routine patrol, detached from a bigger USSC vessel in the
star system somewhere. I roll 2D6 for a reaction, ‘10’ looks pretty
good to me. They leave us in peace. The trip out is 80 MKM or 2 days
4 18
travel, costing 4 burns. The crew enter hypersleep and the ship
enters hyperspace for 23 days.

FLIGHT IN/LANDING
We roll 2D6 to see if the ship drops out of hyperspace, it does not –
27
but our engineer had made his roll, anyway. The ship spent 23 days
in hyperspace. Now each player character makes a Routine (+2) End
roll to shrug off the day-long ill effects of hypersleep. Hiro the sensor
op is ill, but Arkady our medic makes his roll and brings her around.
She’s fine. Hiro then makes her Comms roll to determine position,
and both the pilot and navigator make their rolls.
In-system Encounter – Ship Malfunction, since the engineer made his
roll before the hyperspace jump, there is no roll for diagnosis and a
+2 DM to fix the problem. The malfunction is flooding in one of the
27 18
compartments, and the task is 11+. Luckily the chief engineer has
Mechanical-1 and gets a +2 bonus for making his engineer skill
earlier. He rolls an ‘11’, great! Flood sorted in 2 hours. The Diocletian
coasts for 100 MKM toward the mainworld, taking 2 ½ days. Then it
29.5 14
makes its long burn to decelerate, and enters orbit around Jade
13
Palace.

First Officer Symons lands the ship at the busy B-class starport with a
12
successful skill roll. Starport Encounter: none. Unloading goes OK,
Symons makes her Loader roll successfully. The natural fiber cargo is
signed off.

OFF-DUTY
I was thinking about that ‘goods pilfered or damaged’ encounter we
rolled on the last flight, but never used …. Maybe that flood got into
the cargo hold and damaged some of the natural fibers? That would
incur a -10% penalty on the bonus payment. The shipment was
within the deadline, though – by ½ day. Well done. The bonus is
reduced to $25,740 or $3,677 each; with that basic $1,000 payment
added on, each crewman receives $4,677 for 29 ½ days work.

I roll a ‘Random Encounter’ from Chapter 14 of the Cepheus Engine,

and on the Patron table of that same chapter, just to see if anything
catches my imagination whilst the crew are relaxing at the bustling
starport. The encounter we roll is Merchants, maybe the company
waiting for the fibers are really unhappy. Will they cause our crew
problems on Jade Palace? The patron I roll is a naval officer, a
member of the Japanese Space Defense Force? Or maybe a major in
the Nararshino Airborne Brigade. Now why does he want help from
this crew? Is the next mission going to be a cover for a JASDF spying
mission?

Who knows? Anyway, that’s for another day. Right now we get to
start our 3 days of leave, down amongst the spectacular canyon cities
of this impressive Asia Pacific Partnership world… So long.

USING SOLO
Zozer Games publishes Solo, a book devoted to solo or
solitaire roleplaying with Cepheus Engine. Used alongside
Crew Expendable, it will provide an exciting dynamic between
crew members, a scene resolution mechanic and a number of
other mechanics, tables and systems to turn the book you are
reading into a fully-fledged and evolving solo roleplaying game.

Find it at www.paulelliottbooks.com/solo
 HARBINGER: THE
MODERN WORKHORSE
Upstream Reporter – Lucas Bodeman

“Keep going till your reactor runs dry, then you’ll find yourself at Beta Pictoris … and
Utopia. So the locals say. It’s a real hell-world, an atmosphere of carbon monoxide,
lakes of liquid carbonyl; a toxic, deadly, poisonous, corrosive bitch of a planet. But a
‘scramble for Utopia’ quickly began once scouts discovered rich ore veins full of
fullerenes like naturally-occurring stacked carbon nanotubes and valuable ‘bucky
beads’. Unfortunately these super high-tensile materials first had to be cut out of
solid cliffs of diamond. I remember the frenzy; our Harbinger, the USCS Valerian
shuttled the world’s best excavation and drilling equipment out to Utopia, and ferried
back small samples of newly discovered fullerenes. And then it was straight back out
to Utopia with fresh equipment. The hellish environment was melting, blunting,
short-circuiting and crushing the top-of-the-range mining gear within weeks.”

“It was a farce. Three big corporations had teams there, and it became a war of
attrition, a competition for the spoils of Utopia, with Harbingers constantly ferrying
out fresh machinery until it burned out and needed replacing. Prospectors needed
replacing too – the death toll was high. It was like the god-damn Siege of Khe Sahn!
Only Tharsis lasted the course, and they put their success down to the invention of
newly-patented high-grade shielding for their machinery, and to the tiny fleet of
Harbingers that they had hired. Now that’s an accolade! With the profits from the
‘scramble for Utopia’, that little fleet transformed into the industry’s stalwart charter
line, Taurus Shipping.”
Taurus Shipping CEO, Terry Innes

Readers will no doubt be aware that the impressive Hercules tow-ship recently
entered service and has been receiving both press attention and industry accolades.
We thought that Upstream readers might want to pause a moment to consider the
great unsung hero of the colonial transport world – the Rockwell Harbinger.
ANYTIME – ANYWHERE!
Massing only 1000 displacement tons, the Rockwell Harbinger is dwarfed by some of
the newest bulk carriers and petroleum tankers; but of course, that is its strength.
The billion-dollar transports don’t tend to stop off at lonely outposts or start-up
colonies, and if they did there certainly won’t be the infrastructure present to allow
them to land and unload. Rockwell’s transport ship was designed to support these
small colonial ventures as well as exploration mines, prospecting outposts and
remote space-stations. Small enough to land on even the smallest landing pads, this
general-purpose cargo hauler can carry anything-anywhere.

Rival designs from the likes of Tharsis and Aerodyne have come and gone and the
Harbinger will soon be marking its twenty-fifth year in service, although sales have
dropped significantly in recent years. There are currently 421 of these workhorses
currently plying the space-lanes, they’re ubiquitous and they’re visible at every large
starport and in every holding orbit. Not only that, but this fleet is spread across the
American, European and Japanese sectors – sales have been good!

All of the big carriers operate a number of Harbingers, however, it is the smaller
charter lines which have purchased the bulk of the Harbinger fleet. This old girl fits
their business model perfectly. They operate on an on-demand, single charter
principle and the Harbinger has the speed to respond at short notice. Urgent
demands for replacement parts or life-saving supplies get there quickly with the
ship’s combination of level-4 hyperdrive and its 4-G real-space acceleration. And a
cargo capacity of 350 tons is easily enough to transport anything a small colony or
outpost might need in a hurry.

A key selling point is the ability of the vessel to accept ‘roll-on roll-off’ cryotubes.
Massing one displacement ton, these hypersleep chambers can be loaded into the
hold just like any other cargo, which gives the Harbinger the ability to carry
passengers in hypersleep alongside more conventional cargo. Teams of scientists,
miners, prospectors and even private military contractors have taken advantage of
this capability. Entering the cryotubes at the starport prior to lift-off, these teams
can now accompany all of their vehicles, equipment and mobile bases that will be
essential for the success of their mission. And the Harbinger allows them to be
dropped far from the well-travelled space lanes and transport corridors. Crews revive
the team-members in the cargo hold after landing and then assist them in assembly
and off-loading of their equipment. The mobile cryotubes are then kept on board
and eventually returned to the point of origin to await the time the team requires
extraction. Interested parties can purchase the Mobile Cryo Unit from Haruna
Biotech, each masses one displacement ton and currently costs around $75,000.
Each unit is plugged directly into the ship’s power grid and also into the computer
network, allowing the loadmaster or ship’s doctor to monitor the life-signs of the
sleeping passengers during the flight.

How long will the Harbinger be with us? Uplift magazine predicts that these
workhorses will remain a familiar sight on the frontier for at least another two
decades. That is, if a replacement can ever be found!
THE MANUFACTURER’S SUMMARY
The Rockwell Harbinger is a general purpose cargo and container transport, serving
small colonial settlements and installations. Using a 1000-ton streamlined standard
hull (Hull 20, Structure 20) the starship mounts an Aerodyne GRR Hyperdrive
allowing a cruise speed of 4 parsecs per week; a Nortinghouse N-2306 4 Gigawatt
Fusion Reactor and a Tharsis Vector 400 4-G reaction drive (capable of vectored
thrust for planetary landings). The reaction drives provide an acceleration of 40
meters per second². Fuel tankage comprising 430 tons of liquid hydrogen is used by
the reaction drive and can provide coolant to the fusion reactor for 12 months of
continuous operation. The bridge is suspended above the centrally-mounted forward
retro-rocket; it provides great visibility for landing at remote ports with few
navigational aids. Adjacent to the bridge is a level-2 Hosaka M7F computer
mainframe and a basic civilian sensor package. There are nine hypersleep pods for
crew use in-transit and nine staterooms provided for orbital lay-overs. Twin side-
mounted cargo sponsons of 175 tons each (for a total capacity of 350 tons) carry
the supplies and technical spares required by Off-World colonies. These cargo
sponsons and central hull cargo deck are loaded via side-mounted cargo ramps. The
Harbinger is equipped with landing gear for planetary landings. The ship is fitted
with an office, fuel scoops, fuel processing equipment and a medbay; it also carries
a 20-ton lifeboat as well as a single RS1000 Reachstacker, to help unload the ship.

The ship requires a crew of seven: commanding officer, pilot, sensor operator,
navigator, medic, chief engineer and an assistant engineer. Two spare hypersleep
pods and staterooms are included to allow for two non-fee-paying passengers to be
carried. The USCS Harbinger costs $286.1M.

ROCKWELL HARBINGER - CONSTRUCTION HISTORY

Name Date
First Prototype Completed 3/24/2201
First Flight 6/9/2201
Second Prototype Completed 8/12/2201
Customer Delivery (Colonial Endeavours) 11/30/2204
Second Prototype Lost (not found) 6/15/2207
US Space Command Trials 9/23/2212
Hull Number 100 Completed 8/3/2212
Hull Number 250 Completed 12/19/2218
ESA Balbinus Disaster 4/13/2225
ROCKWELL HARBINGER - SPECIFICATIONS
Component Tonnage $M
Hull
Hull Config: Standard 1,000 100
Length 67 meters -
Width 40 meters -
Height 27 meters -
Mass 5,000 metric tons -
Drives
Hyperdrive 4 parsec/week 50 100
Powerplant 4 30 (4 GW) 75
Maneuver Drive 4-G 17.5 9
Fuel – 12 months Power 30 [110,952 US Gal] -
Fuel – Maneuver Drive 400 [1,479,363 US Galls] -
Control Section
Bridge 20 5
Computer Model/4 - 5
Basic Civilian Electronics 1 0.05
Cargo Hold 350 -
Crew Manifest
7: captain, pilot, navigator, medic, sensor operator, chief engineer,
asst. engineer
Accommodation
Staterooms 9 36 4.5
Hypersleep Pods 9 4.5 0.45
Additional Ship Components
Medbay 4 1
Aerodyne Lifeboat 20 5.43
Reachstacker RS1000 3 0.08
Fuel Scoops - 1.0
Fuel Processors (440 tons/day) 22 1.1
Office 2 0.25
Landing Gear 10 10
TOTALS 1,000 tons $286.1M
E DECK
1 Secure Hold
2 Fire Fighting
3 Side Cargo Lock
4 Reachstacker R1000
5 Tool Bay
6 Airlock
7 Aft Cargo Lock
D DECK

1 Suit Store
2 Airlock
3 Powerplant
4 Engineering Spaces
5 Engineering Control
6 Maneuver Drives

C DECK
1 Bridge
2 Office
3 Ship’s Computer
4 Hypersleep Chamber
5 Freshers
6 Medbay
7 Water Tanks
8 Life Support
9 Rec Room/Gym
10 Equipment Store
11 Hyperdrive
B DECK A DECK
1 Primary Airlock 1 Fuel Scoops
2 Ship’s Locker 2 Fuel Processors
3 EVA Room
4 Sensors
5 Common Room/Galley SHUTTLE DECK
6 Staterooms 1 Tool Lockers
7 Food Storage 2 Drives
8 Laundry 3 Fresher
9 Fuel Pump Control 4 Cargo Deck
10 Workshop 5 Fuel
11 Maneuver Drives 6 Hyperspace Pods
12 Inspection Airlock 7 Passenger Cabin
and Cockpit
ON-BOARD THE SELENE
I’ve been in this industry for thirty years, first as a roustabout and driller on Iron
King, then a mining engineer at Mine 44 and for the second half of my career
(before I took up journalism!) as an assistant engineer for Colonial Endeavours on
… you guessed it, a Harbinger cargo ship. But my memory might prove a little hazy
after all these years, and so I took the opportunity several months ago to tour the
USCS Selene, a fifteen year old example of the class, while I was on a visit to that
hostile salt-pan, Americo.

The Selene was sat on a secondary pad at the tiny, dust-swept starport, while it
waited patiently for a hyperdrive coupler from Earth. Chief engineer Jay ‘Roddy’
Rodriguez, was only kicking his heels until the part arrived (on a Harbinger, no less)
and seemed happy to give me a tour.

As we stood on the pad, the ship towered over us. To minimize its footprint and
allow it make it down on to some of the small landing sites, the Harbinger stacks its
decks high. There are five decks A to E (or six if you count the shuttle bay on the
dorsal surface), and we were about to enter Deck E, the cargo deck on the lowest
level. A central cargo deck is flanked by two cargo sponsons, all three of which
include retractable cargo ramps. Roddy leads us through an airlock at the ship’s rear
however, he tells me he doesn’t want any more of this damn wind-blown salty grit
on his ship. We are inside a large rectangular cargo hold, a beat-up, scratched
reachstacker parked casually nearby. There are 30 or 40 containers stacked here,
anchored to the floor with twist-locks. Big cargo doors to left and right give a
glimpse into the dimly lit recesses of the other cargo areas, but we are moving to
companionway in the centre of the deck. A swift climb up the ladder brings us out
into the power section of D Deck.

I recognise all of this immediately, this was my old ‘stomping ground’, running the
fusion reactor, maintaining the plasma rockets – keeping the beast alive. Auxiliary
power is on, but like most of these vessels, engineering is kept dark and shadowy,
preserving energy. Of course the fusion reactor cannot be switched off; as we pass
beneath the primary coolant feed pipe I can hear the whine of the magnetos as they
regulate the plasma flow. We pass the forward companionway to take a glimpse of
the auxiliary airlock, and the access hatch to the primary retro rocket. Roddy then
leads us back to the nearby companionway where we climb up to the operations
level - C Deck.

The bare metal grilles, open pipework, gantries and harsh metal flooring of
engineering has been replaced by a white and muted-avocado décor, ridged and
padded surfaces line the walls and ceiling, and the flooring is composed of sectional
polymer. This is a well-used crew area.

“I hope you aren’t here for an interview”, laughs Roddy, “the crew are all on leave at
Hot Springs, the little colonial town behind the starport. There’s no-one here.” Life
support semiotics plaster the walls around the ladder, but we go forward, peering
into the dimly lit medbay through a large picture window. Opposite is the hypersleep
bay, the door open, and the pods wide open, like chromium Venus fly-traps,
sleeping in the semi-dark.

The corridor on C Deck ends at a dimly-lit open space, the door to the bridge dead
ahead, with doors left and right, that allow access to the captain’s office and the
computer core, respectively.

“C’mon, Lucas, everyone wants to see the bridge…”, he punches in the code on the
keypad and the door swishes open noisily.

“We both know that the ship is really controlled from the engine room… right?”
Roddy finds my quip amusing as we step onto the ship’s control centre, a clear
blister hanging below the blunt-edged nose of the Selene. There are four primary
stations here, belonging to captain, pilot, navigator and sensor operator, each with
their empty acceleration couches - their five-point harnesses hanging loose and
limp. Their view out across the Great Salt Sea of Americo is impressive. It gets even
more impressive in low orbit, trust me. Everything is utilitarian, with reliable and
durable CRT monitors serving as workstations, and hanging from ceiling mounts as
data feeds. Two jump seats sit, unused to the rear, ready to carry the engineers
should they be needed during flight operations. Most engineers prefer to remain out
the way, close to the engines – and to the source of any problem, should one arise.

“I won’t take you aft on this deck to see the hyperdrive control section,” mutters the
chief engineer, “I’ve just pulled up the deck plates trying to fix this coupler problem.
It’s like spaghetti down there …”

“So what’s left?” I ask.

“The long deck, I guess, B Deck - upper drives and habitation.”

I follow him back to the companionway and we climb the ladder up to B Deck. It’s
the same type of padded and contoured corridor that we’ve just left. I spot the
semiotic for the laundry, but the rest of the doors all lead into private crew
staterooms. Roddy moves forward. Opening up on our left is the dimly-lit and eerily
quiet galley, chairs askew, coffee cups still scattered across the table, and a faulty
neon strip light flickering on and off. “That’s at the bottom of my job list,” smirks
Roddy. Close to the bow, the corridor opens out into a hexagonal working area.
There are two access doors into the sensor bays, left and right, and on the front
bulkhead the ship’s locker, and the EVA room - its clear Plexiglas door allowing us to
peer in at the dark pressure suits hanging on the walls. Directly ahead sits the main
airlock, used primarily when docked to a space-station or to another ship.

“Last part of the tour, then, Lucas…’ announces Roddy, and he hustles me back the
way we came, passing the cabin doors, the laundry and equipment lockers, to enter
the more familiar metallic, grille and pipework covered corridors of engineering.
There are fuel pump controls at an access door to the left, but we keep on until we
reach the workshop on B Deck. Like the rest of the ship, it is dark, cluttered and full
of shadows. Machine benches, workstations and tool racks fill the space, and behind,
around and above them sit cages and poly-carbon crates full of spare parts. The
overpowering smell of oil here is somehow comforting to me. We continue, through
a bulkhead and into the reaction drive control room, where all aspects of the
powerful Tharsis motors can be monitored and adjusted. The plasma rockets
themselves sit behind several feet of reinforced and soundproofed material,
protecting the engineers from noise, vibration and searing heat. A ladder at a
companionway in engineering leads down to C Deck, and up to a ceiling hatch - this
leads into the ship’s lifeboat, a 20-ton Orchid class. It’s used in emergency situations
of course, but the crew often use it for orbital transfers or even flights to remote
parts of a planet.

Finally we reach the stern of the moribund Selene. Here an inspection airlock sits
against the rear bulkhead, and allows access to the exterior of the ship while it is
coasting through space, or in orbit. If we were to open it now, we’d face a four
storey fall on to the dusty landing pad below.

It’s time to go, and so we head back to engineering and use the companionway’s
ladder to pass through D Deck to emerge out onto the main cargo hold of E Deck. I
give my thanks to Roddy, and wish him well with the repairs. Then its one last
glance over my shoulder at the Selene; she looks tired and worn, but still ready to
cross the universe on another ‘need it tomorrow’ mission.
 Determine Start Location (Default Earth – Liberty Orbital Station).
A Contract
1 Locate a Cargo (Raw Material or Finished Goods?).
2 Identify the Destination:
 Raw Material - Roll 3D6.
 Finished Goods – Determine Zone, then Star System, then record UWP.
3 Determine Bonus – Base is $2000 x parsecs; roll 2D6 to modify this.
B Flight Day
1 Roll Starport Encounter.
2 Flight Planning, with Fuelling and Loading requires all day.
3 Fuelling. Roll 1D6; a ‘1’ indicates a hold-up in fuelling.
4 Loading. Crewman makes a Routine Loader roll. Failure indicates a hold-up.
C Take-Off & Flight Out
1 Crew skill rolls: Routine Pilot, Routine Engineer and Average Navigator.
2 Roll for a Star System Encounter
3 Travel to Hyperspace Point 2D6 x 10 MKM (add star and navigator’s DM).
4 Crew enter hypersleep; ship enters hyperspace.
5 During hyperspace travel, players roll 2D6, on a ‘2’ – drop out of hyperspace.
D Flight In & Landing
1 Exit hyperspace; crew emerge from hypersleep. Routine End rolls needed.
2 Crew skill rolls: Routine Pilot, and Average Navigator; sensor operator makes
Routine Comms roll for position fixing.
3 Roll for a Star System Encounter
4 Travel to Destination:
 Mainworld - 2D6 x 10 MKM (add star and navigator’s DM).
 Gas Giant for refuelling - 1D6 x 1D6 x 20 MKM (add star and navigator’s
DM).
 Planet Inner System - 1D6 x 1D6 x 20 MKM (add star and navigator’s
DM).
 Planet Outer System - 1D6 x 1D6 x 100 MKM (add star and navigator’s
DM).
5 Landing. Routine Pilot roll required, failure indicates a fine and/or damage.
6 Roll Starport Encounter.
7 Unloading. Crewman makes a Routine Loader roll. Failure indicates a hold-up.
8 Update Burns (‘fuel’) total. Update tally of full or partial days that have passed.
E Off-Duty
1 Bonus payment. Make deductions & divide between crew. Add $1000 salary.
2 Downtime for 2-3 days. Resolve any adventure opportunity, job or encounter.
3 Return to A1.
 CERTIFICATE OF FLIGHT 12-45-CL

SHIP NAME ICO Reg.

SHIP CLASS CARGO CAP.
OWNER HOMEPORT
FUEL CAP. TONNAGE
CREW No. PASSENGERS
BURN 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13
COUNT 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
REPAIRS HULL
REQUIRED
STRUCTURE

CAPTAIN

PILOT

NAVIGATOR

SENSOR OPERATOR

CHIEF ENGINEER

ASST. ENGINEER

MEDIC

SIGNATURE ICO 55300-208 FBLMD-0173-X FOURTH SERIES

DATE ICO-67X
 SHEET
SHIP’S LOG 15-40-CL

SHIP NAME FLIGHT [from/to] MISSION BURNS

ICO Reg. DEADLINE [days] DAYS REMAIN
CONTRACT
PRE-FLIGHT
FLIGHT OUT
FLIGHT IN/LANDING
OFF-DUTY

ICO 55360-208 FBLMD-250-X THIRD SERIES ICO-68X

The Following Is An Important Notice
This Product is derived from the Traveller System Reference Document and other
Open Gaming Content made available by the Open Gaming License, and does not
contain closed content from products published by either Mongoose Publishing or
Far Future Enterprises. This Product is not affiliated with either Mongoose Publishing
or Far Future Enterprises, and it makes no claim to or challenge to any trademarks
held by either entity. The use of the Traveller System Reference Document does not
convey the endorsement of this Product by either Mongoose Publishing or Far Future
Enterprises as a product of either of their product lines.

Open Game License Version 1.0a

The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000
Wizards of the Coast, Inc (‘Wizards’). All Rights Reserved.
1. Definitions: (a)’Contributors’ means the copyright and/or trademark owners who
have contributed Open Game Content;
(b)’Derivative Material’ means copyrighted material including derivative works and
translations (including into other computer languages), potation, modification,
correction, addition, extension, upgrade, improvement, compilation, abridgment or
other form in which an existing work may be recast, transformed or adapted; (c)
‘Distribute’ means to reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell, broadcast, publicly display,
transmit or otherwise distribute; (d)’Open Game Content’ means the game mechanic
and includes the methods, procedures, processes and routines to the extent such
content does not embody the Product Identity and is an enhancement over the prior
art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the
Contributor, and means any work covered by this License, including translations and
derivative works under copyright law, but specifically excludes Product Identity. (e)
‘Product Identity’ means product and product line names, logos and identifying
marks including trade dress; artefacts; creatures characters; stories, storylines,
plots, thematic elements, dialogue, incidents, language, artwork, symbols, designs,
depictions, likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes and graphic, photographic
and other visual or audio representations; names and descriptions of characters,
spells, enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and special abilities;
places, locations, environments, creatures, equipment, magical or supernatural
abilities or effects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any other trademark or
registered trademark clearly identified as Product identity by the owner of the
Product Identity, and which specifically excludes the Open Game Content; (f)
‘Trademark’ means the logos, names, mark, sign, motto, designs that are used by a
Contributor to identify itself or its products or the associated products contributed to
the Open Game License by the Contributor (g) ‘Use’, ‘Used’ or ‘Using’ means to use,
Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify, translate and otherwise create Derivative
Material of Open Game Content. (h) ‘You’ or ‘Your’ means the licensee in terms of
this agreement.
2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains a
notice indicating that the Open Game Content may only be Used under and in terms
of this License. You must affix such a notice to any Open Game Content that you
Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted from this License except as described
by the License itself. No other terms or conditions may be applied to any Open
Game Content distributed using this License.
3. Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate Your
acceptance of the terms of this License.
4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the
Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license
with the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content.
5. Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original
material as Open Game Content, You represent that Your Contributions are Your
original creation and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights conveyed by
this License.
6. Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE
portion of this License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any
Open Game Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, and You must add
the title, the copyright date, and the copyright holder’s name to the COPYRIGHT
NOTICE of any original Open Game Content you Distribute.
7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including
as an indication as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another,
independent Agreement with the owner of each element of that Product Identity.
You agree not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability with any Trademark or
Registered Trademark in conjunction with a work containing Open Game Content
except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner of
such Trademark or Registered Trademark. The use of any Product Identity in Open
Game Content does not constitute a challenge to the ownership of that Product
Identity. The owner of any Product Identity used in Open Game Content shall retain
all rights, title and interest in and to that Product Identity.
8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly indicate
which portions of the work that you are distributing are Open Game Content. All of
the ‘shipboard operations’ and ‘encounters’ rules within this book are Open Content.
All references to the HOSTILE setting, including names, corporations, starships, stars
and planets are copyright Zozer Games 2019.
9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated
versions of this License. You may use any authorized version of this License to copy,
modify and distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed under any
version of this License.
10. Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License with every copy
of the Open Game Content You Distribute.
11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open Game
Content using the name of any Contributor unless You have written permission from
the Contributor to do so.
12. Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms
of this License with respect to some or all of the Open Game Content due to statute,
judicial order, or governmental regulation then You may not Use any Open Game
Material so affected.
13. Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply
with all terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming aware
of the breach. All sublicenses shall survive the termination of this License.
14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such
provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable.
15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
High Guard System Reference Document Copyright © 2008, Mongoose Publishing.
Mercenary System Reference Document Copyright © 2008, Mongoose Publishing.
Modern System Reference Document Copyright 2002-2004, Wizards of the Coast,
Inc.; Authors Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Charles Ryan, Eric Cagle,
David Noonan, Stan!, Christopher Perkins, Rodney Thompson, and JD Wiker, based
on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, Peter
Adkison, Bruce R. Cordell, John Tynes, Andy Collins, and JD Wiker. Swords &
Wizardry Core Rules, Copyright 2008, Matthew J. Finch System Reference
Document, Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet,
Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave
Arneson. T20 - The Traveller’s Handbook Copyright 2002, Quiklink Interactive, Inc.
Traveller is a trademark of Far Future Enterprises and is used under license.

Traveller System Reference Document Copyright © 2008, Mongoose Publishing.

Vehicle Handbook System Reference Document Copyright © 2012, Mongoose
Publishing.

Traveller is © 2008 Mongoose Publishing. Traveller and related logos, character,

names, and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Far Future Enterprises
unless otherwise noted. All Rights Reserved. Mongoose Publishing Ltd Authorized
User. Cepheus Engine System Reference Document, Copyright © 2016 Samardan
Press; Author Jason "Flynn" Kemp

HOSTILE is Copyright © 2019 Zozer Games, author Paul Elliott

ADVERTISEMENT