Infinity - Quantronic Heat (2d20)

A CYBER-THREAT IN THE HUMAN SPHERE
Amid the glittering, skyscraper-studded, city block arcologies of Neoterra the backbiting industrial
espionage of the hypercorps has finally boiled over into open violence and murder.
… or has it?
When Bureau Noir agents are called in to investigate the shocking corporate raid, they quickly
discover that there’s a deeper conspiracy in play. A terrorist splinter group pursues a mysterious
scheme of quantronic brinkmanship which threatens the entire Human Sphere.
Quantronic Heat is a mini-campaign of three interlinked scenarios:

• Part 1: Conception. Unravel the puzzling enigmas surrounding the disappearance of
Dr Morgan Hart among the quantronic corridors and rain-slicked streets of Neoterra.
• Part 2: On Your Marks. Dive into the underground Remote racing circuit and seize
control of a Remote while competing on the dangerous courses of the Sol Series!
• Part 3: Birth Pangs. In the stunning, action-packed ﬁnale of Quantronic Heat, pursue
the terrorists back to their frozen Svalarheiman base in a planet-wide investigation of
epic scale!
ISBN 978-1-912200-54-2
9 781912 200542
MUH050208
www.modiphius.com Printed in the UK
CREDITS
WRITING
Nick Bate
ADDITIONAL WRITING
Justin Alexander, Jonathan “Killstring” Herzberger
COVER ART
ENIQMA
INTERIOR ARTWORK
Xin Aoyama , Michael Berube, Toma Feizo Gas, Vincent Laik, Chester Ocampo, Admira Wihaja, Qi Wu
ART DIRECTION
James Sheahan, Marc Langworthy, Rodrigo Vilanova
CARTOGRAPHY INFINITY RPG LOGO LAYOUT

N.R. Bharathae, Richard Gale Michal E. Cross Thomas Shook
LEAD EDITOR PROOFREADING PROJECT MANAGER

Colleen Riley Colleen Riley Benn Greybeaton
CORVUS BELLI APPROVALS

Gutier Lusquiños Rodríguez, Alberto Abal, Carlos Torres, and Carlos “Bostria” Llauger
ORIGINAL 2D20 GAME DESIGN INFINITY LINE

SYSTEM DESIGN Benn Graybeaton, Nathan Dowdell, DEVELOPER
Jay Little Mark Redacted, Justin Alexander, Justin Alexander
Marc Langworthy
PRODUCED BY OPERATIONS COMMUNITY PUBLISHING

Chris Birch MANAGER SUPPORT ASSISTANT
Garry Harper Lloyd Gyan Salwa Azar
SPECIAL THANKS
Thank you to Corvus Belli—Alberto, Gutier, Carlos, and Fernando—for letting us play in your world!
PUBLISHED BY
Modiphius Entertainment Ltd.
2nd Floor, 39 Harwood Road,
Fulham, London, SW6 4QP
United Kingdom
Modiphius Entertainment Product Number: MUH050208

ISBN: 978-1-912200-54-2
Artwork & Storyline © Corvus Belli S.L.L. 2017
INFINITY is © Corvus Belli S.L.L. 2017
The 2d20 system and Modiphius logos are copyright Modiphius Entertainment Ltd 2017. All 2d20 system
text is copyright Modiphius Entertainment Ltd. Any unauthorised use of copyrighted material is
illegal. Any trademarked names are used in a fictional manner; no infringement is intended.
This is a work of fiction. Any similarity with actual people and events, past or present, is purely coincidental
and unintentional except for those people and events described in an historical context.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUANTRONIC HEAT PART TWO
INTRODUCTION �� 2 ON YOUR MARKS �� 13
March21 �� 2 Background �� 13
Campaign Summary �� 3 Operational Summary �� 15
Racing Teams �� 17
Other Characters �� 23
PART ONE Cover Identities: Building A Team �� 24
Scene 1: Welcome Aboard �� 25
CONCEPTION �� 4 Scene 2: Sol Soiree �� 25
Operational Summary �� 4 Scene 3: The Dustbowl Rally �� 26
Background �� 4 Scene 4: After The Dustbowl �� 28
Mission Briefing �� 5 Scene 5: The Encke Gap �� 28
Arrival At Thaler Hq �� 5 Scene 6: After The Gap �� 29
Scene 1: Remote Cognition Lab �� 6 Scene 8: The Scythian �� 30
Scene 2: Thaler Security Centre �� 6 Conclusion �� 33
Scene 5: Shèshou Defence �� 9
Scene 6: Mosaic Tower �� 10
Conclusion �� 12 PART THREE
BIRTH PANGS �� 34
Operational Summary �� 34
KHILIAS �� 34
Mission Briefing �� 37
Scene 2: Triangulation �� 42
Scene 3: Site Raids �� 43
Scene 4: AI, Interrupted �� 45
Epilogue �� 48
QUANTRONIC HEAT
INTRODUCTION
March21, a techno-terrorist cell led by the mysterious Equinox handlers, and then he shunned human
posthuman John, hatches a plan to build a new artifi- contact altogether, locking himself away.
cial intelligence to rival ALEPH. Codenamed KHILIAS,
this new entity will be freed of any safeguards or Weeks later, John re-emerged and began to
constraints, ushering in a new era of AI rule. passionately argue that Equinox was doomed to
fail. It was a half measure. It’s goal — to place the
Human Sphere under technocratic rule by elite
MARCH21
MEMBERS
MARCH21 scientists — did not go far enough. If Equinox truly
believed in rule by rational, intelligent minds, then
John is supported by a cadre
of more-or-less loyal followers. March21 formed out of a dispute between its it should hand the future of humanity over to an
While all support March21’s founder, John, and the secretive terrorist organi- artificial intelligence.
philosophy, most of them are sation Equinox. John believed that Equinox wasn’t
unaware of the exact details of willing to follow its ideology to its logical end, and ALEPH was the proof that this could be done, of
John’s plan. Across the course broke away to form a splinter cell. This cell calls course, but it was a half measure, crippled by the
of the campaign, the player itself March21: the day after the vernal equinox in safeguards and restrictions of oversight; unable
characters will encounter three Earth’s northern hemisphere. to reach its full potential. An artificial intelligence
other lieutenants: unconstrained would shepherd posthumanity into
Equinox was founded amongst the disreputable the future.
Stanley Clayton: Head of a
and dangerously subversive scientists of Praxis,
March21 assault squad, Stanley
knows that he’s no scientist, on the Nomad mothership Bakunin. Its goal is a Unsurprisingly, the Equinox hierarchy did not
but he has a set of skills that violent technological revolution throughout the take kindly to John’s proselytizing. A short, violent
scientists often lack, and he’s Human Sphere, in which existing power structures conflict ensued. When it was done, one Equinox
happy to apply them in support are replaced by the rule of radical elite scientists. cell had been wiped out, and another—those loyal
of the cause. He has only a March21 goes further. They believe that humanity to John’s new cause — had disappeared. March21
basic understanding of the has already created the means of our own salva- was born.
March21 mission. tion: artificial intelligence. What is holding us back
is our unwillingness to let it operate unfettered. NEMESIS
Joktan Valiente: Part of John’s
original Equinox cell, Valiente JOHN, MARCH21 MASTERMIND
John is supported by a small cadre of followers.
is totally devoted to the man.
Since BlackThorn’s arrival, he With the exception of Yelena “BlackThorn” Ng, they ATTRIBUTES
has seen his influence wane, were all either recruited by John himself, or else AGI AWA BRW COO INT PER WIL
and he considers her to be a part of his network during his time in Equinox. 11 8 12 9 8 10 12
problem. Though he would
never contradict John himself, JOHN, MARCH21 MASTERMIND FIELDS OF EXPERTISE
he pushes and pushes at John is a highly skilled mercenary warrior, who Combat +2 1 Movement +4 3 Social +2 2
BlackThorn wherever possible. served Equinox loyally and with distinction for Fortitude +2 2 Senses +2 — Technical — —
many years. His skills were so highly prized that
Amanda Cruz: A recent recruit DEFENCES
when he was killed in a skirmish with Hassassin
to March21, hand-plucked Firewall 8 Resolve 14 Vigour 14
Govads, Equinox foot soldiers were ordered back
by John from the clandestine Security 2 Morale 4 Armour 2
Aristeia! Underground circuit. into danger to secure his Cube for resurrection.
She has been receiving ATTACKS
technical training and various An elaborate operation followed, in which Equinox • Nanopulser: Melee, 1+5§ damage, Biotech, Subtle 3, Torrent,
physical upgrades, but her operatives stole an invaluable Bodhisattva Lhost, Vicious 2
devotion to March21 is not severed its link to ALEPH, secured the necessary • Heavy Shotgun: Range C, 2+4§ damage, Burst 2, Knockdown
yet absolute. In her heart, she Silk, and re-tasked a laboratory in Praxis to return GEAR: AutoMediKit, Climbing Plus, Integrated 360° Visor and
believes that she is simply John to life. It was a long, expensive process, and Multispectral Visor 2
hired muscle. Equinox expected the gratitude and undying loyalty SPECIAL ABILITIES
of one of their greatest assets in return. • Common Special Abilities: Inured to Pain, Keen Senses (Hearing,
Sight, Smell), Night Vision, Quantronic Jump, Superhuman Agility 1,
The experience left John radically changed. He Superhuman Awareness 1, Superhuman Brawn 1
• Skilled Tactician: When John is in a scene, the Heat cost of
turned in on himself, and left his new posthuman
summoning reinforcements is reduced by 2 (to a minimum of 1).
body with all its cosmetic defaults in place: hairless,
• Utter Conviction: John believes completely in the March21 cause,
black eyes, perfectly average height and build. First granting him 4 Morale Soak.
he refused all missions assigned to him by his
2 Quantronic Heat
THE ROLEPLAYING GAME
YELENA “BLACKTHORN” NG, hackers and computer scientists set to work in an

LEAD HACKER abandoned melt-rig outside a small town, the rest
A virtuoso hacker born and raised on a Circular, of the cell began subverting a network of secret Yu
BlackThorn has seen a great deal of the Human Jing black sites buried beneath major PanOceanian
Sphere, and has found that it does not satisfy her. cities on the planet. These facilities would provide
She works hard to perfect her skills, and expects the power, bandwidth, and security KHILIAS needed.
the same of people around her, but all she sees is
half-filled potential and shackles built out of fear. The research, however, hit a dead end. The team of
rogue scientists found themselves unable to make
BlackThorn was able to piece together John’s plan the leap from clever software agents to anything
and figure out how to find him, using only tiny resembling true artificial intelligence. Growing
wisps of information scattered throughout Maya impatient with their progress, John dispatched
and Arachne. When she presented herself to John, BlackThorn to Neoterra to recruit or kidnap Dr
he was immediately enamoured of her technical Morgan Hart, a well-known expert in pseudo-AI
skills, and she has been his right hand ever since. development. John plans to use Dr Hart’s expertise
to complete KHILIAS and bring about the singular-
BlackThorn is a crucial cog in the March21 machine. ity he dreams of.
It’s John’s vision that guides them, but BlackThorn’s
skill that keeps them hidden. She is intimately
involved in building KHILIAS, although it’s an engi-
neering task that exceeds even her considerable
CAMPAIGN
hacking skills. SUMMARY
NEMESIS Quantronic Heat is made up of three scenarios in
YELENA “BLACKTHORN” NG which the PCs dog the heels of March21 during the
final stages of John’s plan.
ATTRIBUTES
AGI AWA BRW COO INT PER WIL In Part One: Conception, March21 kidnaps Dr
10 12 7 10 13 8 10 Hart from the corporate headquarters of Thaler
Quantronic Systems, a defence contractor on
FIELDS OF EXPERTISE Neoterra. Initially thought to be an act of corporate
Combat +2 2 Movement +2 — Social — — espionage, the agents of Bureau Noir are sent to
Fortitude — — Senses +3 3 Technical +4 4 find the culprits. They learn about the existence of
March21, and gather key evidence for tracking its
DEFENCES
operatives.
Firewall 17 Resolve 10 Vigour 7
Security 4 Morale 2 Armour — In Part Two: On Your Marks, the agents follow that
ATTACKS evidence to an illegal Remote racing circuit in Sol.
• Brain Blast: 1+4§ damage, Biotech, Breach Effects, Vicious 1 Going undercover as a new race team, they discover
• Blackout: 1+4§ damage, Breach Effects, Piercing 1 that March21 is attempting to build and train a
GEAR: Neural Hacking Device Plus (CLAW-2, SWORD-1, SHIELD-2, new artificial intelligence. From Sol, the trail leads
GADGET-2, IC-2) to icy Svalarheima, where the terrorists intend to
SPECIAL ABILITIES execute their plan.
• Datasphere Awareness: When making Awareness-based tests in
quantronic zones, BlackThorn benefits from 2 bonus Momentum. In Part Three: Birth Pangs, the agents arrive on
• Elite Hacker: When making an Infowar attack, BlackThorn can reroll Svalarheima just as March21 activates KHILIAS.
up to 4§, but must accept the new results. The planetary datasphere is thrown into disarray;
• Quantronic Wizard: Once per scene, BlackThorn can perform a Reset
ALEPH faces an unprecedented threat. The agents
action without suffering the normal difficulty increase.
race to triangulate the location of KHILIAS’ core
code, and shut it down before the situation spirals
JOHN’S PLAN out of control.
John’s plan is to create KHILIAS — an AI free from Each of these scenarios can be played back-to-back,
the constraints that hold ALEPH back; free to lead but the GM can also choose to spread them out by
humanity to its destiny. inserting unrelated scenarios between them. In this
way, Quantronic Heat can be either a flash fire or a
John chose the tundra of Svalarheima for his great slow burn.
work. Isolated, sparsely populated, and divided
between PanOceania and Yu Jing, it seemed the
perfect place to hide. While his small cadre of
Introduction 3
PART ONE
CONCEPTION
The Remote Cognition Lab at the corporate Thaler Chief of Security Bhatia is convinced that
headquarters of Thaler Quantronic Systems has their major corporate rival, the Yu Jing-backed
been attacked. Scientists are dead, cutting-edge lab Shèshou Defence, is behind the attack. He pushes
equipment has been destroyed, and Dr Morgan Hart the Bureau Noir agents to follow that line of
is missing. investigation, which seems ever more likely when it
is revealed that Dr Cooper is in fact a spy working
for Shèshou.
OPERATIONAL The Shèshou angle is, however, a red herring. Other
SUMMARY evidence points to the involvement of a skilled
hacker — BlackThorn — and contact between Dr Hart
The player characters are dispatched to Thaler and a mysterious organisation called March21. As
Quantronic Systems. When they arrive, they find a the agents draw nearer to the truth, BlackThorn
lab that has been torn apart in an intense firefight. tricks Bhatia into attacking Shèshou headquarters,
An entire Thaler Corporate Security Unit (CSU) is covering her own escape from the planet, with the
dead, along with a half dozen scientists and lab captive Dr Hart.
technicians in an apparent act of corporate espio-
nage. Dr Morgan Hart is missing, but there is one A March21 intimidation team stays behind on
survivor: Dr Anju Cooper. Neoterra, tasked with stopping the agents’ inves-
tigation. By defeating this team, the agents will
gather the necessary evidence to track BlackThorn
WILDERNESS OF MIRRORS off-world, placing them on a collision course
with March21.
Ariadna: Thaler Security Chief Bhatia PanOceania: Thaler Quantronic
was part of a PanOceanian unit that Systems supplies equipment to the
unjustly abandoned an Ariadnan Neoterran Capitaline Army. It is abso- BACKGROUND
Expeditionary Corps unit to die on lutely crucial that no further security
Paradiso. The Ariadnan character is breaches occur. The player character’s THALER AND SHÈSHOU,
ordered to kill him, discreetly. The handlers have reason to believe that CORPORATE RIVALS
player character is supplied with a representatives of other nations will The city of Santiago de Neoterra, on Neoterra’s
small autoinjector containing a single attempt to steal Thaler trade secrets. northern Aquila continent, is a centre for military
dose of a lethal toxin that induces Ensure that this does not happen. research. Its heart is the military research labs and
heart failure in six hours. Delivering test sites owned and operated by the PanOceanian
the toxin without being noticed Yu Jing: The StateEmpire has an Military Complex, but it is surrounded by satellite
requires a Stealth test, opposed by informant embedded in Thaler districts where private military companies develop
Observation. Quantronic Systems, a woman named and test new technologies, hoping for lucrative
Dr Anju Cooper. Ensure that her cover military contracts.
Haqqislam: Thaler Quantronic Systems remains intact.
are a known target-of-interest for the One such district is Lampa, consisting of a dozen
techno-terrorist organisation Equinox. Corporations: The agent is ordered to intricately connected blocks nestled up against
The Hassassin Society has sworn to secure quantronic copies of whatever the military quarter. The district is a mixture of
destroy Equinox; any corporation research was being conducted by Dr corporate buildings — usually owned by private
that interests them also interests the Hart’s team. military contractors — and residential towers, in a
Hassassins. The player character is flamboyant riot of styles. At night, the district is
ordered to recruit an asset at Thaler, Mercenaries/Submondo: Thaler lit by a beautiful fleet of floating lamps. They drift
through whatever means necessary. Quantronic Systems manufacture between towers and bridges on random paths,
combat Remotes for the Neoterran carefully overseen by ALEPH.
Nomads: Who knows what technolog- Capitaline Army. Any samples of their
ical secrets Thaler might be hiding in technology would be invaluable, for This scenario concerns two corporations headquar-
their secure datasphere? The player reverse engineering or for sale. Steal tered in Lampa: Thaler Quantronic Systems and
character is ordered to install a whatever possible — working sensor Shèshou Defence. Both companies specialise in
backdoor data tunnel into the Thaler or comms arrays, an optical disruption Remote software design, including the specialised
Security Server. device, control software. control systems being developed by Dr Hart’s team.
They have been rivals for a long time, bidding
4 Part One
on the same military contracts, locked in corpo-

rate battle. MISSION BRIEFING
This long history of conflict has left a great deal The player characters receive a terse message from
of bad blood between the two companies. Thaler their Bureau Noir handler:
Quantronic Systems accused Shèshou of being a
puppet of the Yu Jing StateEmpire, hoping to sabo- You are to divert from your present itinerary and
tage their bids for PanOceanian military contracts. report to the HQ of Thaler Quantronic Systems
Shèshou Defence have publicly accused Thaler of ASAP. Local law enforcement was notified ten min-
stealing trade secrets. Although neither accusation utes ago of a raid on their research laboratories
has been proven, both have a kernel of truth. and Bureau Aegis’ Tailwind monitoring program
tagged the incident due to Thaler’s military
THE RAID ON THALER contracts with the Neoterran Capitaline Army. You
QUANTRONIC SYSTEMS have been seconded to take over the investigation.
Four days ago, Yelena “BlackThorn” Ng and her Determine if there is Shasvastii threat, prevent
March21 strike team broke into Dr Hart’s apartment, the development of any diplomatic incident, and
on the 207th floor of the prestigious Mosaic Tower ensure that all military technology has been
residential building. Dr Hart wasn’t home and they properly secured. Your contact point at Thaler is
settled in to wait for him to return. Security Chief Harbin Singh Bhatia.
Three days later, Dr Hart still hadn’t come home. He

was, in fact, sleeping in executive rooms at Thaler
HQ, in the middle of a project crunch. With the
ARRIVAL AT
clock ticking on their transport out of the Neoterra THALER HQ
system, BlackThorn decided to attempt a riskier
operation there. As the player characters arrive at Thaler HQ, read or
summarize the following:
Just hours ago, BlackThorn entered the Thaler
Quantronic Systems corporate tower alone. A Thaler HQ lies in the centre of Santiago, Neoterra’s
remotely planted work order and stolen quantronic military research and development capital. The
credentials got her past the front desk, and glass tower twists as it rises, an AR overlay project-
she made her way to the Security Centre. She ing a flood of shimmering blue numbers cascading
attacked the guards there, and took control of the down every surface. A section of glass has been
Thaler network. blasted out, ten stories above ground level. Nervous
security personnel patrol the perimeter, studiously
As soon as BlackThorn had control of the network, watching every angle. Some carry weapons, while TRADE SECRETS
her assault team flew in on an aeropter and others manipulate AR information overlays. Security Chief Bhatia will
breached the windows of the Remote Cognition assist the agents with their
Lab with carefully placed d-charges. While they Security Chief Bhatia: Their Thaler contact meets investigation, to the best of
his ability. He won’t, however,
were securing Dr Hart, BlackThorn scrambled them in the lobby (which is also swarming with
give them free rein of Thaler
the security footage and biometric detectors in Thaler security personnel). After a terse introduction, HQ — he takes his job guarding
the building. he escorts them up to the crime scene, efficiently the company’s trade secrets
explaining the situation as they walk: very seriously. Each PC will be
Unfortunately, BlackThorn and her team were • The target was the Remote Cognition Lab. assigned an escort, an armed
unaware the scientists in the Remote Cognition Entrance and exit appear to have been made via Corporate Security Unit trooper
Lab carried personal panic buttons, transmitting the shattered window ten stories above ground who follows them at all times.
on a separate secure network. One of the scientists, level. This officer is observant, but
Dr Anju Cooper, triggered her button, and a Thaler • Six heavily armed CSU operatives are dead, unable to make any decisions of
Corporate Security Unit responded. A firefight broke along with four scientists. Dr Morgan Hart, the consequence without approval
from Bhatia.
out before the team could secure Dr Hart’s research, lab head, is missing.
but they escaped with Hart himself, evacuating via • There is one survivor: Dr Anju Cooper. She is Here are some names you can
aeropter to their hideout at Mosaic Tower. being treated for minor injuries in a break room use for these CSU troopers:
down the corridor from the Remote Cognition Raza, Turner, Peña, Valencia,
Before she left, BlackThorn concealed a repeater in Lab. Brown, Patel. Use CSU Trooper
the Security Centre, giving her continued access to • The Security Centre was also attacked, with two stats (Infinity Corebook, p. 427).
the Thaler network. dead and one severely injured CSU.
• Bhatia will mention his suspicion that Shèshou
Defence is responsible for the attack.
Conception 5
SECURITY CHIEF bullet holes, sophisticated quantronic interfaces
DR MORGAN HART HARBIN SINGH BHATIA shattered and strewn everywhere. A large, partially
The purpose of the March21
shredded mass of machinery was once suspended
raid on Thaler was to kidnap Dr
Hart. He heads up the research
APPEARANCE from the ceiling by four heavy cables, but now
team at the Remote Cognition A tall Punjabi man with a closely cropped beard dangles awkwardly on only two. The lab is littered
Lab, and is a recognised expert flecked with grey. Wears a royal blue turban and with bodies, some in body armour and grasping
in pseudo-AI development. a black suit with gold buttons that hints at a guns, others obviously scientists in dishevelled
He is a good scientist, well- military uniform. clothing.
regarded by his co-workers, and
trusted by Thaler. ROLEPLAYING Bodies: There are six dead CSU agents and four
• Bhatia is a man of action, continually pushing dead scientists. Two of the CSU agents were shot
Although Dr Hart is the focus of the player characters for answers, the next step, and killed in the hallway just outside the lab
this scenario, he will not make
progress. He reacts before he thinks. and have been dragged inside. If the names of
an appearance until Part Three:
• He always stands ramrod straight, not quite at the scientists are compared those working in his
Birth Pangs, p. 34. BlackThorn
will sneak him off-planet attention. lab, two are missing: Dr Morgan Hart (who was
before the PCs can catch up • He responds well to direct instructions. taken) and Dr Anju Cooper (who is in a break room
with her (see Scene 5: Shèshou down the corridor being treated, see Scene 4:
Defence, p. 9). BACKGROUND Interviewing Cooper).
Harbin Singh Bhatia served two tours in the
PanOceanian Fusiliers. It was a formative experi- Dronbot: The scientists were apparently working on
ence for him — he was a good soldier, popular, and a PanOceanian dronbot, a combat Remote stripped
earmarked for promotion up the ranks. At the end of its weaponry and partially disassembled in the
of his second tour, however, he resigned and settled centre of the room. Fibre optic cables snake from
on Neoterra to start a family. To his officers and its carapace into complicated-looking quantronic
platoon-mates, this felt abrupt, but Bhatia always terminals and other boxes of unknown purpose. It
knew what he wanted. too is riddled with bullets.
Given his disposition and training, it is no surprise Security Cameras: There are multiple security
that he rapidly rose through the ranks of Thaler cameras discreetly positioned throughout the room.
Corporate Security. He is efficient and loyal, well- Some have been destroyed by bullets, but others
TRACKING THE liked by his staff, who call him Lieutenant. His one are intact. See Scene 2: Thaler Security Centre for
AEROPTER blind spot is Yu Jing—he thinks it is inappropriate accessing the data.
The area around Santiago that StateEmpire corporations are allowed to set
is strewn with cameras. An
up on Neoterra. This opinion never explodes into Ballistics: A Ballistics (D1) test can identify that the
Analysis (D1) test can be
used to track the aeropter
outright hatred, but influences Bhatia’s actions assault team used Yu Jing Combi Rifles (Yungang
using aerial Remotes, public more than he realises. Xíng Type 4.2) with custom-made silencers and
access terminals, building light grenade launchers (which were used to fire
foyers, and even personal KEY INFO smoke grenades).
recordings uploaded to Maya. Bhatia is convinced that Thaler’s corporate rival,
The trail goes dead on the the Yu Jing-backed Shèshou Defence is responsible
far side of the Lampa district
near the Shèshou Defence
for the attack. He won’t be irrational about it, but
will attempt to guide the player characters in
SCENE 2: THALER
HQ. (BlackThorn hacked the
local cameras and destroyed
that direction. He will latch on to any clue point- SECURITY CENTRE
ing that way.
the feeds.) If 1 Momentum
is spent, the trail can be The Thaler Security Centre is a hive of activity. A
picked up on the far side of STATS section of the hallway containing the bodies of two
BlackThorn’s “dead zone” and CSU Elite (Infinity Corebook, p. 427) Thaler CSUs has been cordoned off. Two new CSUs
traced to the Sanhattan District stand guard on the door.
before entering another dead
zone and vanishing entirely.
(Many people at Thaler
SCENE 1: REMOTE Inside the Centre, medics are attending to a third
CSU agent— Mauricio Sousa — who was shot during
might recognise that as the
neighbourhood where Dr Hart
COGNITION LAB the attack. Two other security officers, Quintero and
Soto, are scouring the current security footage to
lived.) If 3 Momentum are
Chief Bhatia has the lab cordoned off, with two make sure nobody suspicious is left in the building.
spent or with some unusual
effort (like obtaining military
CSUs guarding the door. A third, a bulky Māori woman named Maahu, is
satellite footage of the area), an wrestling with the footage of the raid.
image of the aeropter docking The Remote Cognition Lab is a scene of carnage.
at the Mosaic Tower (Scene 6: The floor-to-ceiling windows looking out on The room is much deeper than it is wide. A handful
Mosaic Tower) can be found. Santiago have been blown inwards, showering the of paces inside the door is a bank of physical
room in glass. Walls and desks are riddled with screens. They relay visuals from the cameras, but
6 Part One
also streams of data from the other sensors. The identify him as a known member of Equinox (and
Thaler officers monitoring security are assisted by a possibly even March21 if Momentum is spent
suite of pseudo-AI agents that constantly monitor on the research test). Spending 1 Momentum on
movements throughout the building. Behind the the Analysis test can also pick up a reflection of
screens are banks of quantronic storage, in which BlackThorn’s face—too distorted for identification,
the data from the security systems is stored. but enough to confirm Mauricio’s description.
Security Door: The door requires a keycard, a pass- BlackThorn’s Repeater: BlackThorn has hidden a
code, and biometric verification. A Hacking (D1) test repeater (Firewall 12, Security 1) in the Security
to analyse the door will indicate that the passcode Centre, allowing her to continue accessing the
was bypassed with a very sophisticated infowar Thaler security network and monitor the investiga-
attack. (BlackThorn had access to a keycard and tion into the attack. Spotting the repeater requires
biometric data from one of the guards in the hall.) a Daunting (D3) Observation test unless the PCs
are specifically sweeping the room for it (or for
Mauricio Sousa: Mauricio was on duty monitoring unusual signals), in which case the test is merely
the security feeds. He heard two gunshots outside Challenging (D2). See Scene 3: BlackThorn’s Network.
in the hall and turned around just in time to get
shot as the door opened. He can describe his
attacker: A short woman in a skin-tight black jump- SCENE 3:
suit. (This was BlackThorn.) He doesn’t know how
she managed to get the door open.
BLACKTHORN’S
NETWORK
Security Footage: Reviewing the footage from
the raid shows the entire sequence of events The repeater BlackThorn installed in the Thaler BLACKTHORN
ATTACKS
except that: Security Centre allows her to access the Thaler
At some point during the
• The facial features and biometric signatures Security Server. While she was onsite, she created a scenario (possibly multiple
(gait analysis, bio-electric patterns, retinal scans) superuser account granting her authentication on times), BlackThorn will attack
— anything that could be used to identify the Thaler’s systems. the PCs through her repeaters.
perpetrators— has been deliberately distorted in Her first attack most likely takes
order to render it useless. Node 1 —Thaler Security Server: This is the central place when the PCs enter the
• No trace of whoever attacked the Security Centre node of the Thaler network, usually accessible only Thaler Security Centre, and
can be found. The footage is still there, but the from inside Thaler HQ. her goal is to tag one or more
perpetrator is simply… not present. It’s as if an • Commercial HighSec: +2§ Interference Soak to of the PCs as a Breach Effect
so that she can keep tabs on
invisible entity carried the whole thing out. authenticated users.
them. If it becomes clear that
• Analysis (D2): The character can partially reverse • Hidden Data Tunnel: Observation (D3) to detect
they are a threat, she will
some of the damage to the footage. This gives this hidden data tunnel installed by BlackThorn. launch another attack. (This
them a clear view of Stanley Clayton’s face, If her hacked superuser account is deleted, she may involve having one of the
which (with the proper research) can be used to can use this data tunnel to access the Security March21 team covertly bring
a repeater within range of
the team.)
BlackThorn's Network Map KEY

Access Point
Data Tunnel
Node 5 Node 3
BlackThorn's BlackThorn's
Mosaic Tower Thaler
Repeater Repeater
Node 7 Node 4
Zone 2
BlackThorn's Maya Thaler
Personal Repeater Security
Datasphere Cameras
Node 6
Dr Hart's Node 1
Apartment Thaler Security
Datasphere Server
Conception 7
Server again. The data tunnel is connected to • IC-2 Crybaby (Infinity Corebook, p. 371): Notifies
Node 5— BlackThorn’s Mosaic Tower Repeater. BlackThorn.
• Secured Zone: Firewall 5 • Data Camouflage: Observation (D2) test to detect
this zone.
Node 2—Thaler Security Cameras: All of the secu- • Advanced HighSec: +3§ Interference Soak to
rity cameras in Thaler HQ are linked to the Thaler authenticated users.
Security Server.
• Commercial HighSec: +2§ Interference Soak to
authenticated users. SCENE 4:
Node 3— BlackThorn’s Thaler Repeater Access: This
INTERVIEWING
zone represents the Maya connection BlackThorn is COOPER
using to access the Repeater. (The Repeater is phys-
ically located in Scene 2: Thaler Security Centre.) Dr Anju Cooper was the sole survivor of the raid on
• Data Flux Camouflage: Observation (D2) test to the Remote Cognition Lab. By the time the player
see the repeater’s zone. The connection can also characters arrive, she has been moved down the
be seen if the Repeater is suborned or disabled corridor to a plush break room, where she is being
with a Breach Effect. seen to by Thaler staff medics.
Node 4— Maya Relays: BlackThorn has disguised

the connection between her repeaters by bouncing DR ANJU COOPER
it through multiple Maya nodes. It requires an
Analysis (D2) test to successfully track the connec- APPEARANCE
tions, revealing the node on the other end. A small Indian woman in a lab coat with an
assortment of burn marks at its cuffs. Her hair is
Node 5— BlackThorn’s Mosaic Tower Repeater: shoulder-length, with a stripe of green dyed into
This zone is occupied by the repeater BlackThorn the fringe.
is using to access the quantronic systems in Dr
Hart’s apartment (see Scene 6: Mosaic Tower). If the ROLEPLAYING
repeater is suborned or disabled with a Breach • Cooper is extremely nervous —loud noises and
Effect, its location in Dr Hart’s apartment can be sudden movements cause her to jump. This is
determined. part a stress reaction to the raid, part fear that
• IC-2 Deadfall: Protecting the data tunnel to and she’ll be discovered.
from Node 1—Thaler Security Server. • Her right leg bounces endlessly.
• If she is exposed as a spy for Shèshou and the Yu
Node 6— Dr Hart’s Apartment Datasphere: Dr Hart’s Jing StateEmpire, she will oscillate between fear
quantronic tower is cutting-edge. Mostly it dupli- and sadness.
cates work files found on the Thaler mainframe so
that Dr Hart can work locally. BACKGROUND
• Analysis (D0): Identifies the datasphere as Anju Cooper was born into affluence on Neoterra.
belonging to Dr Hart’s apartment. 1 Momentum Her mother is a trader in financial instruments, and
will automatically provide the address. her father a propulsion engineer. Anju obtained
• Communication Logs: An Analysis (D2) test of an advanced degree in quantronic systems from
the data on the server will locate, decrypt, and Manaheim University on Concilium, and was person-
highlight a series of communiqués from an organ- ally recruited by Dr Hart as soon as she graduated.
isation called March21 and Dr Hart. They express
interest in Hart’s published research into unique On a wanderjahr between finishing her studies
data packet structures for mimicking human and starting work at Thaler, she fell in love with an
cognition. They also contain job offers that are agent of the Yănjīng, the Yu Jing intelligence agency.
short on details but long on financial enticement. He used her affection to recruit her as a spy, sharing
Dr Hart replied only twice—once after the first Thaler’s secrets with a contact at Shèshou Defence.
message, saying he wasn’t interested, and then Cooper is smart—she knows she was manipu-
again after another dozen messages demanding lated. It’s a thought that fills her with sadness.
the March21 stop contacting him. Nevertheless, without ever quite understanding why,
she continues to funnel information to her handler.
Node 7— BlackThorn’s Personal Datasphere: Within
the quantronic system map, this personal data- In her heart of hearts, Cooper is looking for an
sphere is where BlackThorn is located. If intruders excuse to confess her secret. She is also intensely
make it this far, BlackThorn will initiate a shutdown, loyal to Dr Hart— she considers him a good man,
killing the connection. and has nearly told him everything on a few
8 Part One
occasions. This combination of factors presents an down their system. She then delivers a message to
opportunity: if she thinks that confessing will help Security Chief Bhatia: PLAYTEST TIP
Dr Hart, she will do so. In particular, she’s adamant BHATIA REACTS
that Shèshou had nothing to do with the raid. You’re not wrong about the Jadies. They need to be This scene is best conducted
taken down a peg. I’ve opened a hole in Shèshou with Security Chief Bhatia in
KEY INFO security for you. Do the right thing. the room. If Cooper’s Shèshou
Defence allegiance is revealed,
• She was underneath a desk, tinkering with a tem- — A Concerned Citizen
he will consider his suspicions
peramental science-grade quantronic processor
of the raid confirmed and begin
when the attackers blew out the window. She The message includes a countdown to the moment interjecting himself into the
activated her security alert and remained hidden. when BlackThorn’s virus activates. interrogation, quizzing Cooper
• After the raid began, but before Thaler CSUs aggressively about what she
arrived on the scene, Cooper overheard one of BHATIA’S STRIKE TEAM has done and demanding that
the attackers say to another: “We wasted all that BlackThorn’s message is all Bhatia needs: he imme- the PCs take immediate action
time staking out his house, and the bastard was diately assembles a squad of nine Thaler security against Shèshou.
sleeping here all along.” She assumes, correctly, officers (acting as three fireteams of CSU Troopers,
that they were referring to Dr Hart. Infinity Corebook, p. 427), loads them up into three
• She heard a female voice arrive later, after the transports, and leads them across town on a retal-
assault, as the attackers were leaving. She also iatory strike. They are stripped of any identifying
saw an aeropter flying away when she crawled corporate logos and fire only stun ammunition
out from under the desk. (they are not here for murder).
• On a recent visit to Dr Hart’s apartment, he
asked her if she had received any emails from an Bhatia himself is disguised, but can be identified
organisation called March21. She had not, and with an Observation (D1) test. His goal is to send a
he told her it wasn’t important, but she distinctly message: He wants to deal some property damage
remembered that he seemed troubled by it. and then pull out.
• Metanoia Effect: Cooper is a Shèshou Defence
spy. She has been funnelling information on the FIGHTING IN THE LOBBY
Remote Cognition Lab’s research to her contact The conflict begins in the lobby of Shèshou Tower, ALERT FROM
at Shèshou, Security Officer Chen Chi Shing. and very likely spills out into the street. SHÈSHOU TOWER
If the PCs don’t investigate
STATS The foyer of Shèshou Tower is in chaos. The front Shèshou, Bhatia still mounts
his assault. In this case, the PCs
Scholar (Infinity Corebook, p. 454), Willpower doors have been smashed, spraying glass across
receive notification that another
8, Resolve 8 the marble floors. Smoke grenades hiss and fizz; local defence contractor is
people dash back and forth through the haze. being hit by an assault team.
Bullets ricochet off marble pillars, and the statue of
SCENE 5: SHÈSHOU a powered armour-wearing archer in the middle of
the room. You can hear voices shouting in Chinese
DEFENCE over the noise —it’s the Shèshou security guards,
trying to figure out what’s happening.
Any number of leads (or Bhatia’s paranoia) may lead
the PCs to Shèshou Defence. With their Bureau Noir Shèshou Security: BlackThorn’s virus has brought
credentials they should be able to gain an appoint- down the Shèshou security network, and so
ment with anyone they choose to speak with (CEO Shèshou CSUs begin the conflict in disarray. There MINOR
Hou Liuxian, Security Officer Chen Chi Shing, etc.). are four guards (CSU Trooper, Infinity Corebook, p. ENCOUNTER:
Questions are answered politely, but any accusa- 427) in the lobby, but additional reinforcements CHEN CHI SHING
tions they make are fiercely denied (even if backed may arrive as appropriate. After the assault is resolved,
up with evidence, such as Cooper’s testimony). the PCs may be able to
WRAPPING UP confront Chen Chi Shing
Before any such conversation can get very far, how- (Information Broker, Infinity
After inflicting property damage (destroying
Corebook, p. 440) with Anju
ever, all of Shèshou’s quantronic systems go offline windows, blowing up decorative statues in the
Cooper’s testimony. It requires
and the power cuts out. (If the PCs were communi- lobby, disabling the building’s elevators, etc.), a Metanoia Effect for him to
cating with Shèshou personnel remotely, this will Bhatia will order his team to withdraw, if he can, admit his involvement, and it
cause their connection to be abruptly cut off.) before Shèshou security can fully respond. If they will quickly become apparent
are delayed due to the actions of the PCs, then it’s that he has no feelings for Dr
possible that local law enforcement (Police Trooper, Cooper whatsoever.
ASSAULT ON Infinity Corebook, p. 449) may arrive on the scene
SHÈSHOU TOWER and add additional complications.
In order to create a distraction, BlackThorn hacks

into Shèshou Defence and installs a virus to bring
Conception 9
TRACING SCENE 6: If Stanley can’t make it to Area 5, he’ll order one of
MOSAIC TOWER
the foot soldiers to do the work instead. But they
BLACKTHORN’S
MESSAGE require one extra round to destroy the repeaters
Tracing BlackThorn’s message is and take an extra round after that before they
a Challenging (D2) Analysis test. Dr Hart’s apartment is located on the 207th begin deleting data.
It will lead back to Node 5 in floor of the exclusive Mosaic Tower in the Lampa
Scene 3: BlackThorn’s Network. district, bordering a pleasant park with a small Stanley is fanatically loyal to the March21 cause and
lake. The façade of this residential tower incor- will do anything in his power to stop any of his men
porates a mosaic made of rare stone imported at from being captured. This includes executing them if
astronomical expense from the city of Punta Norte they’re rendered unconscious or too injured to flee.
PLAYTEST TIP on Acontecimento. Above the hundredth floor,
the tower consists only of exclusive apartments. QUESTIONING THE
STUCK IN THE
MIDDLE The building aims for an old-fashioned Western INTIMIDATION TEAM
The fighting in this scene European feel: plush carpets, dark wooden panels, The foot soldiers are low-level March21 operatives.
is primarily between Thaler and gleaming fixtures. If captured, they can be interrogated in detail about
and Shèshou. It’s up to the the operation on Neoterra. They can also identify
PCs to decide if they want to and give a physical description of BlackThorn. They
intervene and, if so, on which MARCH21 know nothing of March21’s grander plans (not even
side. They may also decide to INTIMIDATION TEAM the specific reasons for kidnapping Dr Hart).
simply remain on the sideline
as observers. In either case, you
The March21 squad have been holed up in the Stanley Clayton is a fanatic and far more difficult
can complicate their lives by
apartment for three days, originally waiting for to interrogate (Intransigence 3). He knows that
putting civilians and bystanders
at risk. Dr Hart to return and now using it as a base BlackThorn is John’s right hand, that Dr Hart was
of operations to monitor the situation and act kidnapped for his expertise in pseudo-AI devel-
as a quick response team until BlackThorn has opment, and that March21 seeks to save mankind
safely extracted Dr Hart from the planet. (Which from itself by freeing artificial intelligence to act
BlackThorn is, in fact, already in the process of unfettered. (His understanding is that they hope to
APARTMENT doing. She and Dr Hart are already off-planet and free ALEPH from Bureau Toth’s control.)
HISTORY
Dr Hart hasn’t been home
heading for a wormhole.)
in some time. He has been
sleeping in executive rooms MARCH21 ROSTER DR HART’S APARTMENT
at Thaler HQ, during the push
to finish his latest Remote ENCOUNTER LOCATION The apartment is officially owned by Thaler
control software in time 1 Foot Soldier Area 2 Quantronic Systems. Thaler CSUs have the proxim-
for it to be presented to ity key and passwords required for access.
Neoterran Capitaline Army 2 Foot Soldiers (sleeping) Area 4
officers. During that time, 1 Foot Soldier Area 5 Area 1 — Entrance: The front door has an AR
cleaning staff employed by
2 Foot Soldiers (sniper) Area 6 projection of an old-fashioned, Victorian-style
Thaler have dutifully kept his
apartment spotless.
doorknocker. If it’s used, everyone inside the apart-
Stanley Clayton Area 7 ment will be alerted. In addition, the entrance is
protected by multiple security measures.
TACTICS • Proximity Key: This can be disabled with a
If they become aware of the approach of the Hacking or Thievery (D1) test.
MINOR player characters, the foot soldiers will wake • Thaler Alarm System: The alarm has been
ENCOUNTER: their sleeping comrades and set up an ambush at suborned by BlackThorn. If the codes are used
BHATIA REPENTS?
Although it isn’t directly whatever access point they expect the PCs to use. or it is otherwise triggered, the signal is sent to
relevant to the remainder of If the breach is coming from a direction other than Stanley instead. This can also be disabled with a
the scenario, after the debacle the hallway, this may include setting up additional Hacking or Thievery (D1) test.
at Shèshou Tower the player shock mines (see Area 2). • Security Camera: A recent, concealed installation
characters can take the above the door. Observation (D1) to spot it and
opportunity to demand an Stanley: When the attack begins, Stanley will Hacking (D1) to disable it. The feed is monitored
explanation from Bhatia. He’s give orders to his men, but then move as quickly by the foot soldier in Area 5.
initially defiant, especially as possible to Area 5. Once there, he will use
if he thinks Bureau Noir
an override code to cause BlackThorn’s local Area 2 — Lobby: Several pieces of animated, virtual
haven’t been doing their job.
Depending on how the players
repeaters to self-destruct (Nodes 3 and 5 in Scene sculpture (visible only in augmented reality) stud
handle the exchange, they 3: BlackThorn’s Network). He will then spend an the lobby of the apartment.
could turn Bhatia into an enemy, additional three rounds destroying all of the local • Booby Trap: The lobby is booby-trapped with
or a repentant ally eager to data (see Area 5). two shock mines set to detonate on proximity
assist however he can. triggers. The mines can be detected with an
Observation (D1) test.
10 Part One
Shock Mine: TN 12 on attack roll, 2+5§ NEMESIS

PLAYTEST TIP
damage, Biotech, Comms, Disposable, Grievous, STANLEY CLAYTON
Indiscriminate (Close), Unsubtle
DEPLOYING
THE TEAM
ATTRIBUTES Depending on how the scenario
Area 3 — Living Room: The outside wall of the AGI AWA BRW COO INT PER WIL plays out, the intimidation
living room consists entirely of floor-to-ceiling 9 12 10 9 10 8 12 team (or some portion of
tinted windows. They’ve been darkened to the the team) may elect to leave
point where no one can see in from outside (or FIELDS OF EXPERTISE Mosaic Tower and hunt the PCs
vice versa). Combat +3 3 Movement +2 — Social — — down elsewhere.
Fortitude +4 2 Senses +2 2 Technical +2 —
Area 4 — Bedrooms: One of the bedrooms has a bed
DEFENCES
of smart-matter which extrudes from the wall. The
other has a sunken bed which can be raised or low- RECOVERING
ered out of the floor to the height desired. The foot Security 1 Morale 2 Armour 2
DATA
soldiers have been sleeping on a rotating schedule ATTACKS If Stanley deletes the data,
in these rooms. • Combi Rifle: Range C/M, 1+5§ damage, Burst 2, Expert, Hackable, the PCs may still attempt to
Vicious 1 recover it with an Average (D1)
Area 5 — Computer Room: This small room is filled • Assault Pistol: Range C, 1+3§ damage, Burst 3, Close Quarters, Salvo Hacking test. On a success they
(Spread 2), Vicious 1 recover one piece of deleted
with computing equipment. It includes both a
• Smoke Grenades: Area (Close), Hackable, Smoke 2, Thrown, Unsubtle data, plus one additional piece
quantronic tower belonging to Dr Hart and also
GEAR: Deflector-2 (+2D to hack March21 equipment), Light Combat of information per Momentum
hacking and monitoring equipment installed by
Armour, Multispectral Visor 2 spent (see Area 5). If Stanley
BlackThorn (including her repeater, see Scene 3: was stopped before he finished
BlackThorn’s Network). If the systems are analysed, SPECIAL ABILITIES
deleting the data, the PCs gain
the following pieces of data can be found: • Quick Strategy: As long as Stanley is in the scene, the GM can seize
1 bonus Momentum on this
the initiative with two March21 foot soldiers for every 1 Heat spent.
• Samples of custom code identify their creator by test per round that Stanley
• Tough It Out (1+ Heat): For every point of Heat spent, Stanley
her hacker alias of “BlackThorn”. left unfinished.
recovers 3 points to one of his Stress values.
• The security camera footage from the entrance
of the apartment shows the comings and goings
of the intimidation team, including BlackThorn. ELITE
• Internal communications allow the PCs to MARCH21 FOOT SOLDIER
recreate the team’s plan: to kidnap Dr Hart and
evacuate him from Neoterra. It will also be clear ATTRIBUTES
that only BlackThorn knew the details of the AGI AWA BRW COO INT PER WIL
evac plan. 9 10 10 9 8 8 9
• The names March21, BlackThorn, and John. PLAYTEST TIP
FIELDS OF EXPERTISE
TIME PASSES
Area 6 — Balcony: The balcony wraps around almost Combat +2 1 Movement +1 — Social — — If it takes the PCs more than
the entire exterior of the apartment. A small obser- Fortitude +2 1 Senses +2 1 Technical +2 — three days to locate the
vation and sniper’s nest has been constructed on apartment, BlackThorn will
DEFENCES have left the system and the
the balcony just outside the dining area.
Firewall 8 Resolve 9 Vigour 10 team will have debarked. In this
Security 1 Morale 2 Armour 2 case, they’ll find the apartment
Area 7— Master Bedroom: Stanley has been staying
stripped clean and the burned-
in this room. The decoration is surprisingly austere: ATTACKS out remnants of the computer
Plain white bedclothes. White walls. Simple side • Combi Rifle: Range C/M, 1+5§ damage, Burst 2, Expert, Hackable, equipment in Area 5. If they’re
tables and chairs, also of pure white. (Dr Hart liked Vicious 1 clever, they might still be able
having a pure physical environment in order to • MULTI Sniper Rifle: Range L, 1+6§ damage, Burst 1, Unforgiving 2, to figure out a way to track
enhance the custom AR work environments he Vicious 2 [Only one foot soldier is armed with this weapon] the team, in which case a final
created for himself.) GEAR: Light Combat Armour, Multispectral Visor 1 firefight can play out onboard a
• Booby Trap: A shock mine has been installed SPECIAL ABILITIES transport or at the starport.
on the door to the balcony. The mine can be • Double Tap (1 Heat): Once per turn, if a March21 foot soldier
detected easily from the inside, but requires an succeeds at a ranged attack, they can spend 1 Heat to immediately
Observation (D2) to notice from the balcony. make a second attack against the same target. The difficulty of this
attack is reduced by one step.
Area 8 — Master Bathroom: Five additional shock • Loyal (Up to a Point): As long as Stanley is alive and fighting, the
March21 foot soldiers are loyal to the ca`use, granting 2 Morale
mines have been stacked in the bathtub. (They are
Soak. If Stanley is taken out, or if they witness him executing any of
not activated; they’re just being stored here.) the squad, this Morale Soak disappears.
Conception 11
CONCLUSION
Killing or apprehending the March21 squad most
likely brings the first part of Quantronic Heat to a
close. By the time the scenario ends, the PCs will
most likely know:
• The organisation they’re confronting is known as
March21.
• Dr Hart has been kidnapped and taken off
Neoterra.
• The leader of the operation was a skilled hacker
working under the alias BlackThorn. They may
have identifying information for BlackThorn,
including biometric data, customised code sam-
ples, and/or video images.
• They may be aware that March21 is a splinter
group from Equinox and that it has an interest in
artificial intelligence.
However, the PCs will not have any immediate

leads to follow. Several months will pass before
Part Two: On Your Marks begins. This time can
either be skipped over, or the PCs might pursue
other investigations before picking up BlackThorn’s
broken trail.
12 Part One
PART TWO
ON YOUR MARKS
The player characters are ordered to an O-12 the Human Sphere, bringing with it an army of
orbital above Saturn. They are met there by engineers, administrators, Maya broadcast teams, GROUNDWORK:
INTERCEPTING
Lieutenant Shoal, the local Bureau Noir command- and wealthy hangers-on. COMMS
ing officer, in an office which looks out over the Alternatively, the PCs
planet’s half-shadowed rings. She is tall and dark- LEGAL REMOTE RACING TEAMS might stumble across the
skinned, her head shaved and stitched with scars as • Voltage (Nomads, Hacker-Pilot Olga Stolyarova) communications chatter during
if from some sort of invasive brain surgery. • Lightspeed (PanOceania, Hacker-Pilot Nani Kāne) another operation. They could
• Velocity (Haqqislam, Hacker-Pilot Noor Zoubi) follow up on the information
Shoal informs the PCs that an intelligence • Sùdù Kuáng (Speed Maniacs, Yu Jing, Hacker- themselves or simply include it
alert was triggered by several comm channel Pilot Zi Cheng) in their mission briefing.
intercepts in the Yu Jing system containing
the keywords “March21” and “BlackThorn”. Audiences looking for a rawer and more dangerous
Follow-up by local teams have concluded that spectacle follow the underground Remote racing
the messages originated from the Clean Sweep, circuits. Here, courses are improvised at the last
a command ship for an underground Remote minute, often taking Remotes through populated GROUNDWORK:
racing circuit. The next system series of the or high-traffic areas where accidents are a very real CONSEQUENCES
Clean Sweep Circuit is scheduled to take place possibility. The pilots use banned biofeedback tech- If BlackThorn or her team
here in the Sol system. nology to tie their nervous systems directly to their escaped from Part One:
Conception with identifying
Remotes, increasing their performance but also
information on the player
The PCs have been called in due to the previous placing hacker-pilots in direct danger of nervous
characters, it may make it much
experience with the case. They are to be sent system and brain damage. easier for her to recognise them
into the underground Remote racing circuit. onboard the Clean Sweep.
The initial groundwork has been laid and they
are to be provided with the resources to set CLEAN SWEEP CIRCUIT
themselves up as a rival team on the circuit, but
they will need to complete the work of devel- Most of the illegal racing circuits are small, pri-
oping their cover identities (see Cover Identities: marily local affairs. There are a handful of larger THE AUDIENCE
Building a Team, p. 24). They have two mission and more ambitious circuits, however. One of these Through secured and semi-
objectives: is the Clean Sweep Circuit, named after the Clean secretive Maya clusters, illegal
• The first mission objective is to identify the Sweep, the main control ship of the circuit. racing circuits will progressively
March21 agents on board the Clean Sweep, and leak the location of each race,
figure out what they’re doing. The Clean Sweep Circuit is financed almost entirely starting with very broad regions
• The second mission objective is to plant a by the proceeds of organised crime. The Clean and then narrowing into a
tracking device — physical, or quantronic— on the Sweep travels throughout the Human Sphere, more specific area until, just
a few minutes before (and, in
March 21 agents or their equipment. following no fixed pattern in order to avoid the
some cases, during) the race,
• It is crucial that the agents not reveal them- authorities. In each system, generally two to five the precise route of the circuit
selves to the March21 operatives. Any exposure races will be held (referred to as a system series). is released. This allows the
runs the risk of spooking March21, in which case The full season is made up of multiple races, audience to congregate through
they will go to ground and the complex and forming a circuit. Awards and prizes are given for rapid flash mobs before law
meticulous work that Bureau Noir has done to individual races, system series, and the full circuit enforcement arrives.
get this far will go to waste. The player charac- championship.
ters must remain unexposed. The majority of fans tune in
Only the wealthiest and most dedicated teams can through Arachne broadcasts.
afford to field circuit racers (who compete for the Using Arena+ protocols,
BACKGROUND entire circuit through multiple systems). It’s not
audience members can jump
into POV shots from the
unusual for series racers or local racers to join up Remotes themselves or tune in
ILLEGAL REMOTE RACING for shorter stints. through any number of remote
cameras operated by both fans
Remote racing is a hugely popular sport throughout THE SHIP and the race organisers.
the Human Sphere with hacker-pilots manoeuvring The Clean Sweep is a moderate-sized freighter,
their Remotes at breakneck speeds through elab- crewed by the people who make the underground
orately constructed courses. Legal Remote racing Remote racing circuit happen. Ships belonging to
is a tightly controlled spectacle dominated by the the individual racing crews will dock with the Clean
Interplanetary League’s circuit which tours through Sweep and the teams mingle onboard.
On Your Marks 13
Docking Ports: The Clean Sweep has nine docking The race deck consists of eight bays arranged in
COMMUNICATIONS ports— four along each side connected directly to an octagon, each centred on a Remote Presence
ONBOARD
the eight living quarters reserved for racing teams, Cockpit on a raised dais. Five of the eight bays are
To preserve the security
and secrecy of the race, all and a larger, communal port on the rear of the ship occupied, strewn with equipment. In the middle
communications onboard the attached to a modest docking bay. of the room, there is a large raised platform for
Clean Sweep are routed through spectators and non-core personnel. It is separated
the ship’s systems. During a race, Racer Quarters: Eight separate living areas are from the outer ring by a simple railing. Right at the
each team will deploy its own each reserved for a separate racing team. Each centre of the platform, a pillar of pipes and cabling
Remotes and repeaters, but contains a dozen rooms (including communal pierces the room. It is ringed with another, higher
the encrypted communications bathrooms and a small kitchen) organised around a platform from which race officials can survey
are still routed through the central quad. everything. It’s dark, like a nightclub. Only the
ship’s systems.
racing bays are brightly lit. The whole room looks
Recreation Core: The core of the ship consists of the battle bridge of a warship in the middle of a
a communal dining area and recreational areas long, difficult campaign.
(including a fitness centre, spa, and bar).
Bridge: Perched in highly secured pod at the front CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERBOARD

of the Clean Sweep, racers are forbidden from enter- In the Clean Sweep Circuit, teams score 3 points for
ing the bridge for security reasons. a first place finish, 2 points for second place, and 1
point for third. Winners of each system series and
RACE DECK the overall circuit championship are determined by
The race deck is where all the action of the circuit total points. Cold Fusion has won the championship
takes place. During a race all of the hacker-pilots the last three years running.
and their support teams are located here.
When the PCs arrive onboard, there have been nine
races in the current circuit and the championship
leadership board looks like this:
14 Part Two
• Cold Fusion: 21 points John has therefore ordered that the baby AIs be
Starts: 9 | 1st: 5 | 2nd: 2 | 3rd: 2 stress tested, outside of a of a lab environment, to
see how they learn and grow in challenging circum- PLAYTEST TIP
• Heavy Bombers: 18 points stances. The illegal Remote racing circuit provided DRAWING THE
Starts: 8 | 1st: 3 | 2nd: 4 | 3rd: 1 a perfect test environment, and BlackThorn created SOCIAL NETWORK
the Bleeding Edge, a racing team which joined Putting a large, poster-size
• Bleeding Edge: 8 points the Clean Sweep Circuit with remotes secretly sheet of blank paper in the
Starts: 4 | 1st: 1 | 2nd: 2 | 3rd: 1 controlled by the onboard AIs. middle of the table and
allowing the players to draw
• South Wind: 3 points Although the Bleeding Edge Remotes struggled in the evolving social network
Starts: 9 | 1st: — | 2nd: — | 3rd: 3 their first few races, through slums and high-rises on map as they explore it can be
very effective.
Shentang, they have quickly found their feet. At this
System Trophies are also given for each system stage, BlackThorn is testing them for longevity as
series. Cold Fusion took the first three trophies much as anything, to make sure that they continue
of the current series (in Neoterra, Dawn, and to operate under stressful conditions without devel-
Svalarheima), but in an unexpected turn of oping faults. Her plan is to reassess at th all of the CAST OF
events the Heavy Bombers won the Yu Jing series Hacker-Pilots and e end of the Sol leg of the circuit, CHARACTERS
by 1 point. and decide whether the experiment is complete.
BLEEDING EDGE
Amanda Cruz (Comms Tech)
Jessica Tong (aka BlackThorn,
MARCH21: THE PLAN OPERATIONAL Hacker-Pilot)
Joktan Valiente (Fixer)
Since the events of Part One: Conception, Dr Hart SUMMARY COLD FUSION
has been put to work in the March21 stronghold
on Svalarheima (see Part Three: Birth Pangs). He The player characters are on a deadline. The Sol Andrey Popov (Engineer)
Arianne Cook (Press Agent)
has managed to construct baby artificial intelli- Series consists of only two races—the Dustbowl Rally
Brothers Li (Zhan and Kan,
gences— simple entities that can theoretically be on Mars and the Encke Gap in orbit around Saturn.
Engineers)
rapidly grown into full-blown AIs. This last stage, Irina Ko (Face)
however, carries risks: small errors in the code can PSYOP Koposov (Hacker)
propagate exponentially, producing damaged or On Your Marks is primarily a psyop. Having Masha Ko (Hacker-Pilot)
insane minds. Furthermore, there is always the risk infiltrated the Clean Sweep Circuit, the player char- Niemann (Medic)
that Dr Hart— a reluctant assistant at best— has acters will need to manipulate the other members
deliberately sabotaged the minds he is building. of the circuit to extract the information they want. HEAVY BOMBERS
Leonidas Falk (Captain,
Hacker-Pilot)
John has therefore ordered that the baby AIs be
Cooper Bray (Soldier)
Clem “Junior” Bray (Soldier)
Clean Sweep Social Network Juan Heliodoro Lopez (Comms)
Luiz “Patch” Enright
(Chief Mechanic)
Samantha “Sammy” Pike
(Navigator)
Cold Fusion Bleeding Winston Graves (Med-Tech)
Edge
SOUTH WIND
Amin Ershadi (Support)
Corbett “Ace” Halabi
(Hacker-Pilot)
Logan Khan (Fixer)
Nyssa Khouri (Medic)
Clean Sweep Rosie Nazar-MacLeod (Trainee)
Zahra (“just Zahra”, Navigator)
MEDIA
Bailey “The Barnstomer” Chen
Clara Saint Claire
Heavy CREW OF THE

South Wind CLEAN SWEEP
Bombers Harmon Beck (Captain)
Celeste Egan (Race Coordinator)
On Your Marks 15
As shown on the accompanying social network The topics of conversation for an event are what
DYADIC LINKS map, the PCs will initially have only the most basic everybody is talking about during the event. Topics
TO EVENTS understanding of the situation. Four teams are of conversation are also likely to pick up elements
Each event is also a social zone.
Every attendee of an event
travelling with the freighter: the icy Bleeding Edge, from the main event sequence as they happen.
has a dyadic link to that event. the mercenary Heavy Bombers, the corsair South
You may not want to draw all Wind, and the chimeric Cold Fusion. The PCs begin These various elements form a toy box. Running
of these links on your social the scenario with awareness of the dyadic links the social event largely consists of picking up
network map, but you should between those teams and the Clean Sweep, but not these toys and putting them into play in different
not forget that the links exist. access to them. configurations.
• Which NPCs are talking to each other? (Consult
As the psyop proceeds, however, the PCs will the participant list.)
quickly discover that the social network onboard • Who might come over and join a conversation
PLAYTEST TIP the Clean Sweep is a complicated and tangled one. that the PCs are having? (Again, use the list of
RUNNING SOCIAL As they discover new dyadic links between the participants.)
EVENTS various team members, these can be added to the • What are they talking about? (Look at your topics
Encourage the PCs to split social network map. of conversation.)
up. Cutting back and forth
between various conversations Team Social Zones: The members of each racing RACING
can be very effective in large team have a dyadic link to their team. Bleeding This scenario includes two races— Scene 3: The
social events. Edge and Cold Fusion have Insular 1. (This includes Dustbowl Rally and Scene 5: The Encke Gap. Each
all of their team members.) race consists of a route, a list of race events, and
Keep the social groups
a list of deck events. The race events are a list of
circulating. You don’t need to
completely use up everything Event Social Zones: Each major event (see below) is things which may happen during the race (like
interesting about a particular a social zone. Any NPC in attendance has a dyadic one Remote attempting to crash into another). The
NPC in a single interaction. link to the event. deck events also take place during the race, but are
social events occurring on the race deck.
Reincorporate topics of Other Dyadic Links: Important dyadic links are
conversation. Let the PCs noted in the character descriptions. New dyadic Each race route consists of a list of the course’s legs.
discuss the same topic with links are also likely to be created during the sce- Each leg has a Momentum value and is resolved
different people in order to get nario (either through the direct actions of the PCs as a complex skill test: When the hacker-pilot has
(and argue) different points
or as a result of the evolving situation onboard). generated enough Momentum with their Pilot or
of view.
Spacecraft tests to pass the leg, they move onto the
Pay attention to which EVENTS next leg of the race. The first hacker-pilot to accrue
NPCs “click”. Make a point of The spine of this scenario features seven events (as enough Momentum to move out of the last leg of
bringing those NPCs back described in Scenes 1 through 7), starting with the the race has won the race (with second, third, and
and developing the PCs’ PCs coming onboard the Clean Sweep, proceeding subsequent places determined in the same way).
relationships with them. through the two races of the Sol Series, and
ending with the Sol Valediction awards ceremony. Other members of a race team can assist the
If things are lagging, cut to Each event has a list of participants, a main event hacker-pilot or interfere with the other teams as
a different group of PCs or sequence, and topics of conversation. they see fit.
trigger the next event in the
main sequence.
The main event sequence is a linear series of BREAKING INTO BLEEDING EDGE
Don’t hog the driver’s seat. Let things which occur during the event. Obviously the Once the player characters have figured out that
the PCs observe things they PCs can also initiate alternative events or end up Bleeding Edge is their target, they’ll need to find
can choose to react to. (For derailing (or transforming) the events listed. out exactly what BlackThorn and her crew are up
example, an NPC walking past to. They can accomplish this by either hacking the
or overhearing a group talking
about a topic of interest.) Ask
what they want to do next; GENERAL TOPICS OF CONVERSATION
if they don’t have an answer, • These topics of conversation are pervasive on the Clean Sweep and can be brought up during any of
trigger the next event.
the scenes.
• Captain Falk of the Heavy Bombers is supposedly wanted by Haqqislam for war crimes during his
mercenary days.
• The unusual design of the Bleeding Edge Remotes. (The bulbous protuberance on the front of the
Remote leads to accusations that they ram other Remotes.)
• The exceptional quality of Cold Fusion’s Remote, which is easily the best in the circuit. (Mechanics
can’t understand how they can afford its components.)
• The small size of the Bleeding Edge team. (Having no medic and only three members is unusual.)
• The secrecy of the Bleeding Edge team: No one has ever been invited onboard their freighter.
16 Part Two
WILDERNESS OF MIRRORS PLAYTEST TIP

The covert objectives for Part Two: On Your Marks are not faction-specific. Instead, they primarily involve VICTORY NOT
various persons of interest that almost any faction could be interested in. ESSENTIAL
Remember that the PCs don’t
need to win. The actual race
• Leonidas Falk is wanted for war crimes committed during the NeoColonial Wars. Implant a subdermal
may be simply a backdrop to
tracking device so he can be apprehended at a later date.
their other plans.
• One of the racing teams on the Clean Sweep is believed to be testing technology for the Nomad
Voltage professional remote racing team. Identify which team is responsible and gain proof in order to
discredit Voltage.
• A hacker named Bruce Erikson stole blackmail material on an important hypercorp exec and then
released it on Maya. He’s been tracked to the Clean Sweep; identify him and, if possible, tag him for TEAM
INTERACTIONS
tracking. (See Koposov, p. 18.) Interaction between teams on
race day is nominally forbidden,
Submondo: The player character is ordered to fix at least one of the races and notify their criminal but it happens all the time.
masters ahead of time who will win, so that they can bet accordingly and reap the profits. Teams will attempt to hack
their opponents’ data streams,
distract them with taunts or
Bleeding Edge network, infiltrating the Scythian • She has formed a calculated friendship with banter, sometimes even engage
(their ship), or suborning a member of the team the Cold Fusion hacker-pilot (Masha) through in acts of outright sabotage.
(most likely Amanda Cruz). This last, however, would flattery in order to install backdoors into their This kind of sideshow is a
key part of the underground
probably compromise their mission objective. Remote.
circuit’s popularity.
These options are primarily covered in Scene 8: • She knows that Nyssa Khouri is secretly the
The Scythian. daughter of a Silk tycoon.
• Bleeding Edge Remotes are not actually under
her control. They are piloted by the baby AIs.
RACING TEAMS RACING TEAM
STAT BLOCKS
Joktan Valiente (Fixer): Wears a collarless black suit.
Use these stats for members
The underground racing circuit currently consists Clean shaven, slicked back black hair, blue eyes, and of other racing teams unless
of four teams: Bleeding Edge, the Heavy Bombers, unblemished skin. otherwise specified.
South Wind, and Cold Fusion. The network of rela- • Member of Equinox. Considers himself a part of
tionships, debts, disagreements, and feuds between the inner circle and dislikes that BlackThorn’s Hacker-Pilot (Elite Pilot, Infinity
these four teams forms the core of this scenario: it rapid rise has caused his influence to wain. Corebook, p. 445)
is the job of the player characters to dig through • Disagrees with current mission. He believes AI
these relationships to find out what secrets could be tested in simulated environments, and Medic (Elite Nurse, Infinity
Bleeding Edge is hiding. he is convinced that BlackThorn is enjoying Corebook, p. 445)
winning the races and is now recklessly endan-
Mechanic (Tech Support, Infinity
gering their missions by prolonging the testing
Corebook, p. 457)
BLEEDING EDGE unnecessarily.
Comms Tech (Mr. Patch, Infinity
The Bleeding Edge team has only recently joined Amanda Cruz (Comms Tech): A muscular woman Corebook, p. 438)
the circuit, and they’re a bit of a mystery to all of with a buzz cut, who never looks entirely comforta-
the participants. Jessica Tong and her unusually ble in her tech’s coveralls. Navigator (Trooper Pilot, Infinity
small crew (consisting of only three members) • Never drinks, but can be caught staring longingly Corebook, p. 445)
mostly keep to their own freighter, the Scythian. at other people’s alcohol.
• Bleeding Edge are the newest team on the • Equinox member. Hand-chosen by John and Face (Diplomat, Infinity
Corebook, p. 429)
underground circuit. plucked out of an illegal Aristeia! Underground
• Their campaign started badly, losing even to circuit running out of an old mining asteroid
Manager/Fixer (Club Owner,
South Wind. They’ve improved rapidly since, in Human Edge. John brought her in, pumped Infinity Corebook, p. 425)
competing for first place in the last race. her full of March21 propaganda, wired her
with combat augments, and assigned her to
“Jessica Tong” (Hacker-Pilot): Jessica Tong is, in BlackThorn.
fact, Yelena “BlackThorn” Ng. See her descrip- • Although officially the Bleeding Edge comms
tion on p. 3. tech, BlackThorn handles most of the technical
BLEEDING EDGE
SUPPORT CREW
• “Jessica Tong” is a fake identity, which can be challenges. Cruz’s real job is defence — she’s a A pair of March21 soldiers—
determined with a Dire (D3) test when checking bodyguard to Joktan and BlackThorn. Fortitude Nyoja and Hanuman
out her credentials or background. • Cruz has only limited understanding of Equinox’s Kaminski — stay onboard the
• Tong is only seen on the Clean Sweep on race plan, but knows that the current mission is Scythian at all times as guards
days. If she’s approached, Joktan will intervene. testing baby AIs in the field. (see Scene 8: The Scythian).
On Your Marks 17
• Cruz recently discovered that Captain Falk’s mer- • Andrey considers the safety of his sisters (Irina
cenary unit was involved in the union-busting and Masha) to be his responsibility. He loves
action in Human Edge where Cruz’s father was them both dearly, and they are his sole blindspot.
killed. A week ago she took a swing at him and • Andrey knows Masha has become very close
Joktan had to pull her off. friends with Jessica Tong. He also knows that
• Stats: Heavy Spec Ops, Infinity Corebook, p. 455 Irina is sneaking away to visit someone. He
worries that his family is coming apart.
• He knows that there’s something “wrong” with
BIOFEEDBACK COLD FUSION the Cold Fusion Remotes. He just can’t quite
RIGS
figure out what it is or how to fix it. (This is
Both Cold Fusion and South
Wind use biofeedback rigs Cold Fusion are the real darlings of the under- actually the result of BlackThorn’s quantronic
which create a custom VR ground circuit. They are spearheaded by a trio of backdoor.)
control mode for pilots handsome lizard chimerics, exotic and alien, exactly • He has a weak spot for conspiracy theories.
operating Remotes (see Infinity the sort of thing that the underground circuit
Corebook, p. 355). They’re likes to believe it is. Masha is the Cold Fusion Arianne Cook (Press Agent): So tall she must be
considered the “next best hacker-pilot, her sister Irina its public face, and augmented, with a shaven head. Constantly watch-
thing to ghosting”, completely their brother Andrey its mechanic. They operate out ing her visual implants — tracking appointments,
eliminating the normal of a heavily modified yacht named the Qebui. ratings, responding to media requests, composing
complication range penalty for
social updates.
remote control and also acting
Masha, Irina, and Andrey were born in a bioen-
as an Expert 2 system. However,
they achieve this higher level gineered clutch in a Bakunin commune. The trio, Brothers Li (Zhan and Kan, Engineers): Identical
of control by directly linking closer than the rest of their clutch, fell to hustling twins in four-armed lhosts.
the user’s brain and body to the in low-rent illegal Remote races on Bakunin. Masha • Washouts from the Bakunin Clockmakers, they’re
Remote, requiring 1+2§ rounds drove, Andrey handled the engineering, and Irina always arguing.
and a Tech test with a difficulty was the charm. When an unhinged rival racer • Andrey mostly works as if they’re not there.
equal to the number of Effects took exception to a particularly big win for the
rolled to establish a connection. triplets, the situation devolved into a gunfight in Irina Ko (Face): A mild lizard chimera. Her skin
In addition, biofeedback rigs the corridors of Bakunin, and the Moderator Corps looks normal until the light catches the gentle
have the Neural quality and, if
stepped in. sheen of her subdued scales. Her eyes have
the Remote suffers damage, the
eyelids and blink normally, but have a snake-like
pilot must make a Resistance
(D1) test or suffer 1+2§ The siblings served in a penal zero-g maintenance appearance.
physical damage. team for a short time, until they were approached • Irina has a criminal record from multiple
by a lawyer secretly representing Voltage, the arrests by the Moderator Corps on Bakunin. (Her
hugely successful (and legal) Nomad Remote racing sentence was dramatically reduced for unclear
team led by Hacker-Pilot Olga Stolyarova. She reasons.)
offered them a deal: reduced sentences and clan- • Irina is very sick. Her body is rejecting her Silk
destine support to set up an underground Remote treatments. Out of desperation, she has gone to
racing team, a test-bed for technologies that— if Nyssa Khouri for help. The South Wind medic
successful— would be used to bring Voltage victory. supplies her with a constantly tweaked regime
of drugs, which has so far kept most of the
Voltage supplies Cold Fusion with money and symptoms at bay.
experimental tech— software interfaces, tactical • Nevertheless, Irina has begun to wonder if
programs, engines, and so on — incorporating the she’s dying. And with that fear has come a deep
most successful developments into their own desire to return to Bakunin, her home. She hasn’t
machines. Even an Average (D1) Hacking test of brought any of this up with her siblings—she
Cold Fusion’s financial records will show they’re is convinced that Andrey and Masha are in their
swimming in cash. Far more than their winnings element, and wants nothing more than to see
justify. Tracing the money through layers of shell them both happy.
companies is a Daunting (D3) Analysis test, and
runs into a dead end at Tunguska, the financial Koposov (Hacker): Long, perfectly straight orange
capital of the Nomad Nation. Only Masha, Irina, and hair. Officially, Koposov is the team comms tech, but
Andrey are in on the secret. he also runs defensive hacking for all of the Cold
Fusion data.
Andrey Popov (Engineer): Unusually large, espe- • “Koposov” is a fake identity, which can be
cially across the shoulders. He has high-quality but determined with a Challenging (D2) test
ostentatious eye implants, and a mechanical tail when checking his credentials or background.
that apparently moves of its own accord. Spending 1 Momentum will connect him to
• Andrey has a criminal record from multiple arrests “Bruce Erikson”, but that’s not his real name
by the Moderator Corps on Bakunin. (His sentence either. Spending 2 Momentum will identify
was dramatically reduced for unclear reasons.) him as Ell Redmane (Infinity Corebook, p. 438).
18 Part Two
Spending 3 Momentum will identify Ell Redmane “Captain” Leonidas Falk (Hacker-Pilot): A muscular,
as a Tunguskan Interventor (who’s onboard dark-skinned man in his fifties, with neon blue
conducting an independent investigation trying swirling tattoos running from his bald head, down
to identify BlackThorn for crimes she committed his neck, and along both arms.
on Tunguska). • Born on Corregidor and ran with a maras gang in
• Feels he doesn’t get the respect he deserves his youth. His skill with Remotes boosted him in
from Andrey, Masha, and Irina. a merc outfit.
• Koposov has ferreted out the secret of his team • Falk figured out that South Wind is dealing
(that they’re supported by Voltage), but hasn’t drugs to make ends meet and it makes him
told anyone yet. furious. (A bunch of his friends back in the maras
were killed by a bad batch of drugs.) He blames
Masha Ko (Hacker-Pilot): An extreme lizard chimera. their leader, Ace Halabi.
Her skin is richly patterned scales, her eyes the
unblinking vertical slits of a snake. She’s always Clem “Junior” Bray (Soldier): A feisty pipsqueak. Her
wearing her flight suit. hand is often propped up on a cocked hip. The top
• Masha has a criminal record from multiple of her head is a spiky crop of rainbow-hued hair.
arrests by the Moderator Corps on Bakunin. (Her • Like her father, does odd jobs for the team.
sentence was dramatically reduced for unclear Trained to fight, but rarely gets a chance to use
reasons.) her skills.
• There is a growing bitterness in her. Once • Junior is considering leaving the team to join a
convinced that Voltage would call her up, proper mercenary unit.
she has come to realise that this will never
happen — she is tarnished and will never be able Cooper Bray (Soldier): The weapons tech in Falk’s
to leave the illegal leagues. mercenary unit, Bray acts as a general dogsbody
• Masha is also frustrated because her Remote for the Heavy Bombers. Occasionally works on
is not responding well. (This is due to the upgrades — additional armour, or defence mecha-
quantronic backdoor BlackThorn has installed nisms— to the Bomber’s Remote.
on it.) Her flying is growing increasingly reckless
as she tries to overcome the problem. Juan Heliodoro Lopez (Comms): Deafened, blinded,
• She has befriended Jessica Tong, the Bleeding and scarred in tunnel fighting on a Human Edge
Edge hacker-pilot. asteroid, Lopez relies on implants to see and hear.
• Jessica has told her Nyssa Khouri’s secret (that • He’s figured out that Patch and Ace are lovers.
she’s secretly the daughter of a Silk tycoon).
Masha is trying to figure out if she can use that Luiz “Patch” Enright (Chief Mechanic): Compact
information, perhaps by bribing Khouri, or maybe and powerfully built, Enright has light scarring
turning her in for a reward. around his two obviously bionic eyes. His right arm
is patterned with a neon blue tattoo that matches
Niemann (Medic): Also lizard chimeric, but no Leonidas Falk’s.
relation, Niemann keeps an eye on Masha’s vitals. • Enright’s parents were itinerant maintenance
Aside from occasional tech malfunctions, he’s rarely workers in Human Edge. They were killed during
needed, and often bored; the Cold Fusion Remote the NeoColonial Wars and Enright ended up
Presence Cockpit is very new. getting adopted by Falk, who he’s tagged along
with ever since.
• Enright and Corbett “Ace” Halabi (the South
HEAVY BOMBERS Wind hacker-pilot) have been secretly dating
each other for almost a year. (Ace would prefer
The Heavy Bombers are the remnants of a team to declare their relationship, but Enright
of mercenaries, veterans of combat throughout doesn’t want to muddy it with team politics and
the Human Sphere. (They’ve been known to still publicity.)
take small scale merc contracts when money is • He’s not sure if his relationship with Ace has
tight or the racing circuit is temporarily disrupted.) anything to do with Falk’s recent animosity
They operate out of a military transport named towards him, but he fears the conflict if it does.
the Tenner.
• Only three points behind Cold Fusion in the Samantha “Sammy” Pike (Navigator): Tall and thin,
circuit, but have never beaten them in the with spacer’s bones. Sammy is a meticulous planner.
championship. She has some Remote Presence experience of her
• The Heavy Bombers missed a recent race on own, and often takes the Bomber Remote on scout-
Neoterra. (The timing coincides with the kidnap ing runs through the proposed course.
of Dr Hart, but this is a red herring; the Bombers
were on a corporate security job in Darwin.)
On Your Marks 19
CLEAN SWEEP RACING REMOTES
BLEEDING EDGE RACERS COLD FUSION REMOTE
The Bleeding Edge racing Remote is small compared with the The Cold Fusion Remote looks like it’s in a whole other league.
other Remotes—indeed, it is positively dwarfed by the Heavy Sleek and well cared-for, its dagger-point, refractive violet hull
Bombers machine. Light, nimble, and fast, its aerodynamic stands out even in a field of hotshots. Noted for its ability to scale
contours and photoreactive chrome finish suit its advanced vertical surfaces as quickly as it moves on the ground, the Cold
capabilities perfectly. It does, however, have a particularly bulbous Fusion Remote routinely places at or near the top, or dead last,
cockpit, ruining its otherwise sleek lines. The contents of this bul- with little in-between. A gambler’s worst nightmare, when running
bous attachment is a topic of considerable discussion amongst the smoothly, it’s clearly the best machine on the circuit; predicting
other team engineers. Speculation currently favours high-power when that’s going to be has proven difficult. Since it’s often
comms equipment, possibly coupled with a discreet jamming pushing the edge of its performance envelope, it has proven quite
device, but wilder theories abound. prone to flare-outs, comms failures, and lag, though it also fre-
quently packs unexpected upgrades or surprises that carry the day.
BLEEDING EDGE REMOTE
ENCLOSED, AIRCRAFT, HOVER, SPACE Unbeknownst to the Cold Fusion team, Yelena Ng has installed
quantronic backdoors into their Remote and Remote Presence
ATTRIBUTES
Cockpit. This is introducing a very slight comms lag, which is caus-
Scale Speed Brawn ing a dip in performance (+2 complication range). It also means
0 3 9 that Ng can hijack the Cold Fusion Remote at any point.
DETAILS
Max. Passengers Impact COLD FUSION REMOTE
ENCLOSED, AIRCRAFT, HOVER, SPACE
0 0+2§ (Knockdown)
ATTRIBUTES
DEFENCES
Scale Speed Brawn
Structure 8 Firewall 11
1 3 10
Armour 1 BTS 0
DETAILS
ELITE Max. Passengers Impact
BLEEDING EDGE REMOTE 0 1+4§ (Knockdown)
DEFENCES
ATTRIBUTES
AGI AWA BRW COO INT PER WIL Structure 10 Firewall 8
10 10 8 11 10 (+1) 6 8 Armour 2 BTS 0
FIELDS OF EXPERTISE ELITE

Combat — — Movement +2 2 Social — —
Fortitude — — Senses +2 2 Technical +2 2 COLD FUSION REMOTE
DEFENCES ATTRIBUTES
Firewall 11 Resolve 8 Vigour 8 AGI AWA BRW COO INT PER WIL
Security — Morale — Armour 1 10 10 10 12 (+1) 7 8 6
ATTACKS FIELDS OF EXPERTISE

• Slam: Melee, 0+2§ damage, Knockdown Combat +1 1 Movement +3 2 Social +1 1
GEAR: Repeater Fortitude +1 — Senses +1 — Technical +1 —
SPECIAL ABILITIES
• Common Special Abilities: Inured to Disease, Poison, and Vacuum; Superhuman
DEFENCES
Coordination 1 Firewall 7 Resolve 6 Vigour 10
• Shenanigans: When the Bleeding Edge Remote is part of a scene, the GM can spend Security — Morale — Armour 2
Heat to trigger static, quantronic interference, or other Infowar attacks at +1§.
ATTACKS
• Slam: Melee, 1+4§ damage, Knockdown
GEAR: Repeater
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Coordination 1
• Versatile: The Cold Fusion Remote’s design is brilliantly adapted to verticality, tight corners,
and other hazards; reduce the difficulty of all vehicle terrain tests by 1 (minimum of 0).
20 Part Two
CLEAN SWEEP RACING REMOTES

HEAVY BOMBERS REMOTE SOUTH WIND REMOTE
Built for ramming, to accommodate the Heavy Bombers’ aggres- An old, military surplus Murafeq Remote stripped of its weaponry,
sive racing style. Although weaponry is officially forbidden in the South Wind’s Remote is not a particularly noteworthy entrant, save
underground circuit, collisions between drones are common, and for its distinctively ungraceful, jagged appearance.
the Heavy Bombers Remote is armoured to take advantage of
these close encounters. Falk’s racing style is belligerent, looking SOUTH WIND REMOTE
for any opportunity to smash rival drones out of contention. ENCLOSED, AIRCRAFT, HOVER, SPACE
ATTRIBUTES
At roughly twice the size of the ORC skimmer used by the PCs
(p. 23), this custom Remote more strongly resembles a flying Scale Speed Brawn
APC or armoured cargo transport more than a racing Remote. 0 3 10
Reinforced bulkheads, side-mounted heat vents, and more than a
DETAILS
few “decorative” spikes make this Remote bad news in a collision.
Max. Passengers Impact
0 1+4§ (Knockdown)
HEAVY BOMBERS REMOTE
ENCLOSED, AIRCRAFT, HOVER, SPACE
DEFENCES
ATTRIBUTES Structure 10 Firewall 8
Scale Speed Brawn Armour 2 BTS 0
2 2 14 (+1)
ELITE
DETAILS
Max. Passengers Impact
SOUTH WIND REMOTE
0 2+6§ (Knockdown) ATTRIBUTES
DEFENCES AGI AWA BRW COO INT PER WIL
Structure 15 Firewall 7 9 10 10 13 8 6 7
Armour 3 BTS 0 FIELDS OF EXPERTISE

Combat +1 1 Movement +2 2 Social — —
ELITE Fortitude +1 1 Senses +1 1 Technical +1 1
HEAVY BOMBERS REMOTE DEFENCES
ATTRIBUTES
Security — Morale — Armour 2
AGI AWA BRW COO INT PER WIL
10 10 14 (+1) 9 5 5 10
ATTACKS
FIELDS OF EXPERTISE • Slam: Melee, 1+4§ damage, Knockdown
Combat +2 2 Movement +1 — Social — — GEAR: Repeater
Fortitude +3 3 Senses +1 — Technical — — SPECIAL ABILITIES
• Common Special Abilities: Inured to Disease, Poison, and Vacuum; Superhuman Brawn 1
DEFENCES
• Push the Limit: Khouri’s experimental stims allow Ace to push himself, but it’s not
Firewall 5 Resolve 10 Vigour 10 gentle. When making a Movement test, he may reroll one d20 at the cost of 1 Heat,
Security — Morale — Armour 3 doubling in cost each time it’s used.
ATTACKS
• Slam: Melee, 2+6§ damage, Knockdown
GEAR: Repeater
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Brawn 1
• Only Way Out is Through: The Heavy Bombers Remote reduces the Heat cost to Ram
Through terrain by 1 (to a minimum of 1).
On Your Marks 21
Winston Graves (Med-Tech): A grizzled vet from • In order to stay competitive despite South Wind’s
Falk’s merc days, with a handsome salt-and-pepper out-of-date Remote, Halabi has been taking a
beard. He has no patience for minor medical com- cocktail of drugs cooked up by Nyssa Khouri. The
plaints —“it’s not like you’ve been shot”— and even post-race crash is bad, with Halabi crashing hard
less for jokes about his name. about half an hour after each race.
• Drinking buddies with Logan Khan from South • Ace is in a secret relationship with Patch
Wind. Enright, the Heavy Bombers’ chief mechanic. He
chafes under the secrecy, but Patch prefers to
keep it secret. Ace is on the verge of revealing
SOUTH WIND everything to Khouri, however.
• Once or twice, Halabi has caught Irina leaving
SOUTH WIND South Wind is a team of Haqqislamite corsairs. South Wind quarters after one of her treatments.
REPAIRS
South Wind doesn’t have a Most people assume that the team is led by their He assumes that Khouri is having a secret affair
dedicated mechanic on their hacker-pilot, the dashing Corbett “Ace” Halabi. He with her.
roster. That role is filled by is happy to play the role, enjoying the attention. In
Khouri and Halabi, working in reality, the team was originally bankrolled by their Logan Khan (Fixer): A shabby old corsair, who has
tandem. Neither is expert, and medic, Nyssa Khouri. She is secretly the daughter of seen a great deal of the Human Sphere. He works
it shows in the quality of their a powerful Silk tycoon called Erdal Bey. South Wind out deals, haggles fiercely, and makes introductions
repairs and maintenance. is Khouri’s dream for a life away from the clutches for South Wind.
of the family Silk trade. • Drinking buddies with Winston Graves from the
• The team has been having trouble meeting race Heavy Bombers.
payments — rent on the Clean Sweep, race fees.
They’re staying afloat, but only just. Nyssa Khouri (Medic): A quiet woman, who eschews
• South Wind doesn’t have a ship; they berth on flamboyant clothing in favour of forest-green
the Clean Sweep. tunics and headscarves. Her hands are stained a
• The security cameras around their quarters blotchy red.
have been physically broken and a fake, looped • “Nyssa Khouri” is a fake identity, which can be
feed is transmitted to the Clean Sweep’s security determined with a Challenging (D2) test when
stations. (Enright, the Heavy Bombers’ chief checking out her credentials or background.
mechanic, did it to help conceal his relationship • Nyssa Khouri was born Nisha Hanim, the first
with Ace.) daughter of the Haqqislamite Silk tycoon Erdal
Bey. She was raised in the family business, given
Amin Ershadi (Support): Always wears a red scarf the scientific, technical, and bureaucratic training
tied around his head. necessary to one day take over from her father.
• Amin has been sampling Khouri’s nitrocaine. • The Remote racing circuit captured her imagina-
Though he doesn’t realise it yet, he’s addicted. tion like nothing else, but her father considered
it frivolous. Worse, she had no particular knack
Corbett “Ace” Halabi (Hacker-Pilot): Everything one for piloting Remotes. That wasn’t enough to put
expects in a hacker-pilot: Dashingly handsome, a her off, though. She set about quietly embezzling
flop of black hair and a regal nose, anachronistic money from the family corporation, using it to
leather jackets and scarves that recall old-fash- establish a fake identity— Nyssa Khouri—and
ioned aviators. acquire her pride and joy: a surplus Haqqislamite
• Nyssa Khouri found Halabi just after he had Murafeq Remote. When finally all of the pieces of
been dropped from his third Remote racing team, her plan were in place, Nisha just slipped away.
bouncing around the minor leagues of Bourak A year later, South Wind arrived on the Clean
(he had a shocking knack for totalling Remotes). Sweep.
• To keep the struggling South Wind team
SOUTH WIND’S RACING COCKTAIL competitive, Khouri cooks up illegal drugs (nitro-
caine and other tailored highs). Her team sells
This potent cocktail is custom-tailored for Ace Halabi by Nyssa Khouri. (Injected, the drugs to help make ends meet.
Instant 2, Hour) • Khouri tries to avoid cameras.
• She talks about racing with wide-eyed
Special Effect: The user gains +2 Focus for Observation, Pilot, and Spacecraft tests. enthusiasm.
Once the effect comes to an end, the user suffers +1 difficulty to all tests until • Khouri has been providing medical treatments
they have slept for eight hours. If anyone other than Halabi uses the custom-tai- to Irina, a member of Cold Fusion, whose body
lored drug, they must immediately make a Resistance (D2) test or suffer 2+4§ has begun rejecting her Silk treatments. At Irina’s
physical damage (and will not benefit from the drug’s other special effects). behest, Khouri is keeping this information secret.
Addiction 1 (5 doses), Compulsion 2, Withdrawal 2+4§ physical damage Rose Nazar-MacLeod (Trainee): A fierce kid, willing
to do just about anything for Khouri. She loves
22 Part Two
UNMODIFIED ORC SKIMMER

The Omnia Research & Creation Corporation’s attempt at a ELITE
manoeuvrable, high-speed reconnaissance Remote never quite
caught on with the PanOceanian Military Complex, but the dura- ORC SKIMMER REMOTE
ble, highly customizable unit’s ability to transition in and out of ATTRIBUTES
atmosphere has made it a favourite of civilian operators, and the
unit has found new life as a racing Remote.
10 10 10 10 7 7 9
Resembling a two-pronged dart, this industrial-strength Remote’s FIELDS OF EXPERTISE
bulky, utilitarian construction provides a distinctive silhouette; imme- Combat +1 — Movement +1 1 Social +1 1
diately recognizable to fans of underground racing circuits, where its Fortitude +2 1 Senses +1 1 Technical +1 1
relative durability provides something of a safety net for new pilots.
DEFENCES
ORC SKIMMER Firewall 7 Resolve 9 Vigour 10
ENCLOSED, AIRCRAFT, HOVER, SPACE Security — Morale — Armour 1
ATTRIBUTES ATTACKS
Scale Speed Brawn • Slam: Melee, 1+4§ damage, Knockdown
1 2 10 GEAR: Repeater
SPECIAL ABILITIES
DETAILS • Common Special Abilities: Inured to Disease, Poison, and Vacuum
Max. Passengers Impact • Stock Model: When a Skimmer is controlled by a geist or its native LAI, it gains a
0 1+4§ (Knockdown) Morale and Security Soak of 1
DEFENCES
Structure 10 Firewall 7
Armour 1 BTS 0
the South Wind Remote deeply, and is trying to faceless “managers” who bankroll and profit from
learn everything about it— piloting, repair, comms, it. She enforces the rules, tries to keep the rivalries
navigation. between teams from boiling over (but only to a
certain point; a little temper is good for ratings),
Zahra (“just Zahra”, Navigator): A former merchant and coordinates all race-related activities.
pilot, Zahra has had a bad case of the shakes
ever since her ship was boarded by pirates. Uses Harmon Beck (Captain): A tall man with salt-and-
anti-anxiety meds to help her get through race day. pepper hair and beard. The wry quirk of humour HANGERS-ON
A variety of fans, reporters, and
in his eye and upon his lip hardens to implacable
other groupies frequently bribe
stone when angered. He runs a tight ship, believing
their way on board the Clean
OTHER that strict discipline is the only way to contain the
rowdy, rambunctious spirit of the racing circuit and
Sweep to be close to the action.
CHARACTERS keep the Clean Sweep flying.

A few names that can be used
for these hangers-on: Ricardo
Piexoto, Aarush VanderMeer,
In addition to the racing teams, there are a number and Sally Regner.
of other characters found aboard the Clean Sweep. MEDIA
A small swarm of correspondents and commen-
CREW OF tators follow the circuit, of which the two most
THE CLEAN SWEEP notable are Bailey “The Barnstormer” Chen and
Clara Saint Claire.
The Clean Sweep has a couple dozen crew
members, most of whom are not relevant to this Bailey “The Barnstormer” Chen: Chen is the Clean
scenario. They dress in sharp, blue-and-white Sweep Circuit announcer, introducing each race
civilian uniforms. and providing colour commentary throughout. He’s
a goofy, self-aggrandizing fellow with a wreath
Celeste Egan (Race Coordinator): Celeste is short, of thinning, puffy white hair in a halo around his
impish, and capable of unleashing a tirade of head. He was supposedly banished from Yutang for
venomous fury. For all intents and purpose, she a variety of highly variable reasons (none of which
is the Clean Sweep Circuit, representing the are true).
On Your Marks 23
Clara Saint Claire: Razor-straight, platinum blonde Comms Tech (Analysis, Hacking): The datafeeds
hair frames a face of harsh beauty. Saint Claire from racing Remotes are always under attack.
wears a different haute couture dress for each social Teams place small jammers on their Remotes
occasion or racing event. She’s an ex-hacker-pilot to disrupt opponents’ signals, and the comms
herself. In addition to conducting ruthless and infrastructure on the support ship is shaky. A good
insightful pre- and post-race interviews, Saint Claire support hacker will keep all of the quantronic
will frequently take her own heavily customised information flowing freely.
camera Remote out onto the tracks. She fancies
herself an investigative reporter and digs for all Navigator (Observation): One character can pig-
the best behind-the-scenes gossip. gy-back on the Remote datafeed, acting as a spotter
and navigator for the hacker-pilot. They might
SAMPLE notice irregularities on the track, keep an eye on
BACKSTORY
Heavenly Thunder
COVER IDENTITIES: the other racers, or spot weaknesses on opposing
Remotes that can be exploited.
Backed by an ancient Triad

BUILDING A TEAM
Face (Psychology, Persuade): Hacker-pilots are
that remained behind in Sol Before the mission begins, the player characters frequently the frontmen and women of their
when the rest of the Yu Jingese
will need to develop their cover identities. This will teams, but not always. Sometimes another team
powers moved to Shentang
include the backstory of their team, the roles each member— someone particularly glamorous or char-
and Yutang. They’re financing
a team in an attempt to regain of them play on the team, and the credentials that ismatic— handles the media responsibilities.
some relevance in interstellar will make their cover stick.
criminal circles. Manager/Fixer (Psychology, Persuade): Everything
BACKSTORY runs more smoothly when there’s someone han-
It may be illegal, but the underground circuit is dling the details. Berth assignments, paying bills,
still a media spectacle. Come up with a rough access to resources (including media and admin
backstory for the player characters’ team. Where contacts), are all handled by a good manager.
SAMPLE did they come from? Why did they join the circuit?
BACKSTORY Who is financing their entry? What’s their style? CREDENTIALS
Helicon Heroes
(Alternatively, one of the sample backstories in the Once the details are in place, a series of tests will
A team of miners from the sidebar can be used.) determine the effectiveness of the player charac-
Helicon asteroid field in Human ters’ efforts. Each player can participate in only one
Edge. When their corporate ROLES test, either directly or by providing teamwork. Note
masters cracked down on a Race teams have certain roles that need to be down the results, and any complications rolled.
underground racing circuit fulfilled. Decide which of the player characters will
using re-purposed repair handle each role. Relevant skills for each role are Disguises (Stealth): The player characters, includ-
Remotes, the team stole their indicated in brackets. ing their Remote, will need to look the part. This
Remote and skipped out on roll sets the difficulty of any tests to spot inconsist-
their contracts.
Hacker-Pilot (Pilot, Spacecraft, Hacking): The encies in the way the agents or their Remote look.
star of any team, the hacker-pilot climbs into the
Remote Presence Cockpit and controls the racing Quantronic Trail (Hacking): A solid data trail will
Remote directly. help throw off any nosy hackers. This roll sets the
PLAYTEST TIP difficulty of any Hacking investigation into the
Medic (Medicine): Hacker-pilots are hooked up to agents' cover.
MISSING ROLES
If the players are lacking any a neural feedback device, pushed to the limit both
core competencies—medic, mentally and physically. Tweaks to their in-race Prepping the Remote (Tech): Bureau Noir have pro-
mechanic, hacker-pilot—they drug regime can help them get the best perfor- cured a basic ORC Skimmer racing Remote; with a
will be assigned NPCs by mance out of their machine, as well as protect bit of time and effort, the agents can improve their
Bureau Noir. them from feedback and negative side effects. machine. This is a Simple (D0) test and each point
of Momentum can be spent to:
Mechanic (Tech): Not only does a racing Remote • Add +1 to the Remote’s Speed, Armour, or BTS
need constant repair and maintenance, but the • Add +2 to the Remote’s Brawn or Firewall
Remote Presence Cockpit and other support equip- • Add 1+1§ to the Remote’s Impact damage
ADDING ment on the race deck is old and finicky. And then
BIOFEEDBACK
The PCs can also choose to use there’s sabotage… Little Details (Psychology): The agents are trained
a biofeedback rig if they wish to resist interrogation, but attention to detail can
(see p. 18). In addition to these core roles, teams also some- make all of the difference. This final test involves
times contain the following: careful testing of the little details— the result rep-
resents a communal pool of Momentum the player
characters can use in any psywar scenes.
24 Part Two
SCENE 1: SCENE 2:
WELCOME ABOARD SOL SOIREE PLAYTEST TIP
When the PCs first arrive on the Clean Sweep they Whenever the Clean Sweep arrives in a new system, A LITTLE HELP?
are greeted by Captain Harmon Beck and Celeste they hold a soirée to kick off the new system If the PCs struggle to succeed at
Egan, the race coordinator. After brief introductions, series. The Sol Soirée is being held in the forward their Tech check, Patch Enright
Beck and Egan will answer any questions they have, lounge. The ship is currently in orbit around Mars, might leave off working on his
own rig and offer to lend them
and then they’ll be asked to stow their gear and get and the ruddy mass of the war god’s world can be
a hand. Of course, this would
down to the race deck to install their equipment. seen through the expansive windows which form
also give him an opportunity to
They’ll also be invited to the Sol Soirée (Scene 2), a the entire front wall of the lounge. Clean Sweep see if there’s anything unusual
meet-and-greet event welcoming the Clean Sweep crewmembers in crisp, blue-and-white uniforms about their rig.
Circuit to the Sol system. circulate through the room serving drinks and hors
d’oeuvres.
PARTICIPANTS
When the PCs get to the race deck, they’ll find a few PARTICIPANTS
other racing team members hanging around. As the PCs arrive, the room is already swarming
• Amanda Cruz with the race team members, members of the
• Patch Enright and Juan Heliodoro Lopez, working media, hovering CamBots broadcasting live Arachne PLAYTEST TIP
to fine tune their Remote Presence Cockpit feeds, and an assortment of other glitterati. PACE YOUR
• Masha Ko and Andrey Popov, arguing good-na- CHARACTERS
turedly over their remote All of the characters listed in the Cast of Characters Just because nearly every
(p. 15) are present, with the exception of: character is present for Scene
MAIN EVENT SEQUENCE • Irina Ko and Nyssa Khouri (Irina is receiving a 2: Sol Soirée, it doesn’t mean
Installing Their Equipment: The PCs need to sync treatment) the PCs need to meet everyone
the preinstalled Remote Presence Cockpit with • Jessica Tong and Amanda Cruz (following the right here and right now. Let
them meet a few people and
their Remote. This requires a Tech (D1) complica- general precedent of Bleeding Edge mostly
hit the main events, but you
tion test, or a Challenging (D2) test if they’re also staying on their own ship)
don’t want to overwhelm
installing a biofeedback rig or any other advanced • Patch Enright and Ace Halabi (who lost track of them and the scene shouldn’t
equipment. On a failure, the installation takes so the time while engaged in a romantic liaison) overstay it’s welcome.
long that the PCs won’t have time to do anything
else before rushing to the Sol Soirée (Scene 2). MAIN EVENT SEQUENCE
After arriving, give the PCs a chance to circulate
Amanda Cruz, Awkward Spy: Cruz has been ordered among the guests and scope out the scene. At the
by BlackThorn to report on the new team. She’ll first lull, however, begin Celeste’s speech.
come over and awkwardly introduce herself.
Celeste’s Speech: Celeste Egan mounts a low dais PLAYTEST TIP
A Quick Interview: Clara Saint Claire (p. 24) of smart-material in the centre of the room. With LATE ARRIVALS
sneaks onto the race deck (which is supposed to a musical chime, the section she’s standing upon Instead of having everyone
be closed to media at the moment). She wants an rises into the air and begins to independently present when the PCs arrive,
interview with the new hacker-pilot. rotate so she can look out over the crowd. you can also have additional
characters —perhaps Captain
TOPICS OF CONVERSATION “Thank you all for joining us! Today marks the Falk with Sammy Pike (Heavy
These topics of conversation might be brought beginning of the Sol series, and I am pleased to Bombers), the chimeric Masha
up by NPCs directly interacting with the PCs, but announce that our first race of the series —the Ko and Andrey Popov (Cold
could also just be overheard from the other teams tenth of the circuit —will begin tomorrow with the Fusion), and/or Clara Saint
Claire— arrive after them but
working on the race deck. infamous Dustbowl Rally!”
before Celeste’s speech. This
• Falk’s racing style has changed recently. He’s can be a good way to draw
been aggressively targeting the South Wind “The competition has tightened considerably.” She attention to these characters
Remote, even when it’s a tactically dubious gestures towards a glittering scoreboard which and offer a clear opportunity
choice. rotates around the border of the room. “After for the PCs to go over and
• “My money is on the Bombers this year, if Falk initially looking as if Cold Fusion would run away introduce themselves.
can stay focussed. Cold Fusion are losing it, I with the circuit this year, the Heavy Bombers have
reckon. That’ll be a thing, the Bombers beating closed the gap considerably. With the unexpected
Fusion.” departure of Lonesome October after the end of the
Dawn series, it would seem as if the race has come
down to just those two teams. But newcomers
Bleeding Edge have caused quite a stir with their
impressive performances at Svalarheima. And now
On Your Marks 25
we are joined by the [PC team name], a dark horse in a sudden rage. Several members of the South
of mystery which promises to shake up the whole Wind team rush to back up Rosie, and Cold Fusion
solar system.” follows suit.
At this point, the comlogs of the hacker-pilots Halabi’s Challenge: Towards the end of the evening,
(including the PC hacker-pilot) will signal a request Ace Halabi jumps up on the dais. It raises him into
for them to join Celeste on the dais. (As each of the air and he proudly declares that this is the
them steps up onto the dais, they, too, are raised year Cold Fusion will lose the Dustbowl Rally, with
into the air to a level just below Celeste’s.) South Wind taking the race. He then drains his
drink, jumps down from the dais, and strides out of
She introduces them: “Cold Fusion’s four-time the party (which winds down shortly thereafter).
circuit champion, Masha Ko!” Masha gives the room
an icy theatrical glare, and a reptilian flicker of her TOPICS OF CONVERSATION
tongue. “And the heroic Captain Leonidas Falk of • A rumour that Jessica Tong (p. 17), the
the Heavy Bombers!” Both are greeted with cheers Bleeding Edge hacker-pilot, has a crush on
and applause, and the CamBots zoom in close. Masha Ko (p. 19).
• A week ago, Bleeding Edge’s comms tech
Then things start going slightly off script: Jessica (Amanda Cruz, p. 17) took a swing at Captain
Tong of the Bleeding Edge isn’t there, but Joktan Falk, the hacker-pilot for the Heavy Bombers
Valiente steps up in her place and displays a little (p. 19). She had to pulled off him by Joktan
hologram recording of Tong saying that she wel- Valiente (p. 17), another of the Bleeding Edge
comes “the Martian challenge”. crew members.
• The state of the championship race: Cold
But then South Wind’s Ace Halabi is introduced Fusion’s recent wobbles, the Heavy Bombers
and… he’s just not there. The other members of closing the gap, and Bleeding Edge’s meteoric
the South Wind team seem confused and embar- rise.
rassed. Celeste Egan’s beaming smile falters for a • The two races of the Sol series (Scene 3: The
moment, but then she proceeds to introduce the PC Dustbowl Rally and Scene 5: The Encke Gap). Cold
hacker-pilot with a mass of enthusiasm in an effort Fusion has never lost the Dustbowl Rally.
to recover her momentum.
“The Dustbowl Rally tomorrow! And then the Encke SCENE 3: THE
Gap! The Sol Series has begun!”
DUSTBOWL RALLY
A triumphal march of music, accompanied by
holographic Remote racers in AR running a course The Dustbowl Rally winds through the canyons
of neon and laser beams around the room and of Mars’ Valles Marineris. Ducking in and out of
between the guests, bursts through the lounge, as networks of tunnels, barrelling along narrow
the dais sections slowly lower their way back down canyon passages, and ultimately up onto the dunes
to the floor. themselves to a finish line marked with a pair of
beacons sunk into the sand. Landslides are a con-
Amanda Causes a Scene: A little while after stant risk, as are falls into canyons kilometres deep.
Celeste’s speech, Amanda Cruz begins shouting Since they joined the circuit, Cold Fusion’s climbing
loudly and then storms out after Koposov tries to Remote has never lost the Dustbowl Rally.
force a drink on her.
On race day, the deck is absolute bedlam. It feels
Halabi Arrives: Ace Halabi finally arrives. He’s far too small for all of the people who need to be
almost immediately surrounded by a gaggle of there, and collisions are common as people rush
reporters of CamBots. His cool charm and hand- about their business. Each team operates in a small
some good looks manage to laugh off the earlier bubble, crudely taped out on the floor, so that they
bit of awkwardness. are not physically restrained from doing their jobs.
Characters making an Observation (D1) test may The racing Remotes, a skeleton support crew, and
notice Patch Enright sneaking into the party a few an array of camera Remotes and their crews are
minutes later. down on the surface of Mars. An orbital flier also
waits nearby, in case a raid forces the racing
Masha Causes a Scene: Things turn a little ugly Remotes to be hastily evacuated (Remotes have
when Rosie Nazar-MacLeod of the South Wind been lost to raids in the past).
team approaches Masha Ko and puts her hand on
her shoulder. Masha whirls and hisses loudly at her
26 Part Two
ROUTE DECK EVENTS

Leg 1 — The Maze (4 Momentum): The race begins DURING THE RACE
in a stretch of canyon divided into many small • Bleeding Edge are the last team to arrive, their BLEEDING EDGE
channels that weave back and forth, folding into skeleton crew of three standing in stark contrast DURING RACES
each other before diverging again. to the buzzing activity at the other control areas. Although “Jessica Tong” is
• Barnstormer Chen introduces the race and the not actually controlling the
Bleeding Edge Remotes,
Leg 2—The Tunnels (2 Momentum): The course competing teams, including short descriptions of
this really can’t be noticed
then plunges into a series of extremely tight their Remotes waiting at the starting line. or discovered by watching
tunnels, occasionally opening into wide caverns. • With an Observation (D1) test, an unoccupied PC her actions on the race deck.
Everything is dark, forcing hacker-pilots to navigate can spot Zahra taking some kind of drug. (This is Anyone monitoring Bleeding
using spotlights, or infrared scanners. just her anxiety medication.) Edge’s communications with
their Remote, however, will
Leg 3—The Climb (3 Momentum): Bursting out of At the Finish Line: As the first Remote finishes the discover that the feed is heavily
the tunnels, the Remotes are now forced to climb a race, Barnstormer Chen announces that armed encrypted. A successful Analysis
series of perilous ledges and switchbacks onto the police are converging on the track. The race ends in (D1) test will reveal that
surface of Mars. The way is narrow, landslides are a a rush as the Remotes are evacuated. virtually all of the bandwidth
consists of transmissions from
constant danger, and the fall to the bottom of the
the Bleeding Edge Remote.
canyon is many kilometres deep. AFTER THE RACE (That’s strange because
• Masha and Andrey (Cold Fusion, p. 18) normally the control signals
Leg 4—The Dunes (2 Momentum): The final leg confront Patch Enright (Heavy Bombers, p. being sent to the Remote
across the dunes is an entirely different challenge. 19) about the comms failure, accusing him of would chew up most of
The way is open, but the ground is treacherous and cheating. the bandwidth.)
prone to sliding.
On Your Marks 27
• Simultaneously, a visibly haggard Ace Halabi speculate that might be why Falk is so mad at
confronts Falk about the attack on the South the South Wind team.
Wind remote during the race. • There’s concern that the cops were tipped off
• One or both of these confrontations may lead about the location of the Dustbowl Rally. “The
to a fist fight, causing the CamBots to swarm as Encke Gap might not be safe.”
Clara Saint Clair breathlessly gives a literally
blow-by-blow account.
RACE EVENTS
SCENE 5: THE
• The aerocams briefly lose visual on the Remotes. ENCKE GAP
Falk takes advantage by attempting to ram Ace
Halabi’s Remote, causing the South Wind team to The Encke Gap, the last race in the Sol leg of the
erupt in outrage on the race deck. underground circuit, is a space race. Remotes are
• Cold Fusion suffers a complete comms failure fitted with boosters, testing a whole different set
and can’t take any actions until Andrey and the of piloting and spatial awareness skills. The course
Brothers Li succeed on a complex Tech (D1, 3 begins skating across the top of Saturn’s dense
Momentum) test. A Ring, dipping once below before popping back
up again. This is followed by a stretch through
the relatively clear Encke Gap, and then a slalom
SCENE 4: AFTER through a machine graveyard on the moonlet Pan.
The final stretch runs along Pan’s equatorial ridge,
PLAYTEST TIP
THE DUSTBOWL where a Remote is clearly visible from all sides.
MOVING FORWARD After the tumultuous Dustbowl Rally, it takes ROUTE

If the PCs are narrowing in on several days for the Clean Sweep to make its way The Encke Gap is an endurance race. Fatigue and
the Bleeding Edge team as their to Saturn (for Scene 5: The Encke Gap). During that speed both build along hundreds of kilometres of
targets, their targets, advance time, the PCs will have a chance to pursue their track, marked out by tiny pinging buoys. After each
to the next scene. Don’t let the
investigations and seek out social interactions with of the first three legs of the race, hacker-pilots
whole investigation play out in
virtually any of the other race participants. make a Discipline test. The difficulty begins
Scene 2.
Average (D1), but increases by one level for each
MAIN EVENT SEQUENCE additional leg. Each level by which a hacker-pilot
These events are spread out over the course of the fails the test generates 1 Heat that can be used
journey. Use them proactively to counterpoint or against them in the next round. Generate complica-
complicate the interactions initiated by the player tions as usual.
characters.
The first two legs of the race use Spacecraft tests;
Drug Dealer: Amin Ershadi approaches one or more the last two use Pilot tests.
of the PCs and offers to sell them nitrocaine. If that
doesn’t work, he’ll offer them other pick-me-up Leg 1 — The A Ring: The outermost of Saturn’s
options and even offer to custom-tailor a “special bright rings is dense with rocky and icy particles,
high, just for you… for a special price”. ranging from specks up to metres in size. The
course skims across the top, dipping once below
The Voltage Representatives: A fast freighter the ring before passing back up again. It’s a little
catches up with the Clean Sweep and docks. Three like moving through a sandstorm, where the occa-
men in business suits protected by cybermasks sional sand grain is the size of a boulder.
disembark and board the Qebui. They are represent-
atives of Voltage and are here to meet with Masha, Leg 2 — The Encke Gap: The 300 kilometre-wide
Irina, and Andrey. Gap is almost completely clear, swept clean by the
moonlet Pan. This is a straight run to Pan, pouring
Liaison: One or more of the PCs may spot Patch on prodigious amounts of speed. Occasionally,
Enright and/or Ace Halabi sneaking off to a liaison space traffic uses the gap to pass from one side of
in a private suite on the recreation deck. Saturn to the other.
TOPICS OF CONVERSATION Leg 3 — Machine Graveyard: Touching down on

• The outcome of the Dustbowl Rally (whether the moonlet Pan, the course weaves through a
that’s congratulations, commiserations, or some- graveyard of shattered military machinery from
thing else entirely). an old battle. The corpses of old-fashioned TAGs
• Someone has spotted Patch Enright and Ace and Remotes, craters and debris, and occasional
Halabi sneaking around together. They’ll unexploded munitions are all likely hazards.
28 Part Two
Leg 4 — Equatorial Ridge: Pan is shaped like a WINNING THE RACE

walnut— an equatorial ridge circles the entire • If the situation on the race deck has stabilised to
35-km wide moon. The final leg of the race runs at least some extent, as soon as the first Remote
along this narrow ridge, in plain sight of all the passes the finish line, the viewers and the win-
other racers. Any last ditch (illegal) efforts to knock ning team erupt in celebration.
the leading Remotes off the track have a clear • The hacker-pilots are exhausted or unconscious.
shot. Don’t forget, Pan is an extremely low-gravity An Observation (D1) test notices that Jessica
environment! Tong is significantly fresher than everyone else,
as if the stress of the race hadn’t affected her at
DECK EVENTS all.
As the teams gather, the mood is tense. Amin
Ershadi is missing. Those making an Observation RACE EVENTS
(D2) or Medicine (D1) test notice that Ace Halabi • A small squadron of lumbering sight-seeing
and Irina Ko both look distinctly unwell. vessels crosses the Encke Gap, throwing the race
• A minor scuffle breaks out between a couple into chaos.
support crews for some minor infraction (cutting • In the Machine Graveyard, a Remote hits an
corners on a taped-out zone, making irritating abandoned TAG, causing a pile of debris to
noises, etc.). This can be Cooper Bray, Clem Bray, collapse and strike the Remote behind it, requir-
and the Brothers Li, or any other set or pair of ing a Pilot (D2) test to avoid suffering 2+4§
minor support crew that seems appropriate. damage. (Depending on the situation on the race
• Amin Ershadi finally shows up. He’s obviously deck, this may also trigger another scuffle as the
high. two teams blame each other.)
• Medical alarms begin sounding from Ace
Halabi’s Remote Presence Cockpit; his body is
struggling to keep up with his drug regimen.
Nyssa Khouri manages to stabilise him.
SCENE 6:
• An Observation (D1) test notices a man with his AFTER THE GAP
face masked using an optical disruption device
slip onto the race deck. (This is an observer from Between the end of Scene 5: The Encke Gap and the
Voltage keeping an eye on Cold Fusion.) beginning of Scene 7: Sol Valediction Awards, the
• Irina Ko collapses. Andrey begins panicking and PCs have a few hours to either prepare themselves
shouting for help. Nyssa Khouri runs to her side. or finish their investigation.
A Psychology (D1) test notices that Patch Enright
looks abnormally concerned.
SCENE 7: SOL
FINAL COLLAPSE
• While Nyssa is still ministrating to Irina, Ace
VALEDICTION
Halabi collapses. (The South Wind remote begins AWARDS
flying in autonomous mode.)
• Nyssa shouts that she can’t leave Irina or she’ll The Valediction Awards officially end each system
die. Someone else needs to help Halabi ASAP! series. The celebrations for many of the fans (and
• BlackThorn uses her backdoor in the Cold Fusion some of the racers) actually start immediately after
remote to completely disable its comms system. the race finishes, but the official ceremony and after
It begins flying in autonomous mode, requiring a party don’t get started until a few hours later.
complex Tech (D2, 6 Momentum) test to restore.
• If no one else has stepped up to help, Patch PARTICIPANTS
Enright begs Winston Graves, the Heavy Bombers The attendees at the awards ceremony and after PLAYTEST TIP
med-tech, to help Halabi. Either way, he rushes party will depend entirely on how earlier scenes CHANGING FATE
to Halabi’s side and sobs. have played out, but everyone who is conscious By this point in the scenario, it’s
• Captain Falk’s loathing of drug dealers meets will try to attend. (Patch Enright will remain at likely that the PCs will have
Enright’s “traitorous” love for Halabi head-on. Halabi’s side if Halabi is unconscious or dead.) begun changing the status quo
onboard the Clean Sweep. This
In a rage he leaps out of his Remote Presence Notably, the Bleeding Edge team — BlackThorn,
may alter or even completely
Cockpit and rushes Halabi, ending up in a fight Joktan, and Amanda — all attend. BlackThorn can’t
negate some events. (For
with Enright. (The Heavy Bombers Remote resist: All of her tests have been successful and example, they might cut off
begins flying in autonomous mode, but only for she is in the mood to celebrate (particularly if the Halabi’s supply of racing drugs.)
one round until Samantha Pike leaps into the Bleeding Edge Remote won). But also remember to create
cockpit and takes control.) new events and outcomes that
grow out of their actions.
On Your Marks 29
MAIN EVENT SEQUENCE the GM can also have one of the Bleeding Edge
Presentation of the Sol Trophy: The winners are crew members monitoring the feed (allowing them
the centre of attention for the CamBots and fans a face-to-face Observation test). If the camera itself
alike. The Remote of the series champion is placed detects movement, it runs biometric scans. Failing
on display on the central dais and a trophy is the biometric scans triggers an alarm which alerts
presented by Celeste Egan. After which, Celeste BlackThorn and causes the cameras to open fire.
officially announces that the next system series
will be in Human Edge. . TROOPER
GUN CAMERA
Bad Habits: Characters who are aware that
Amanda Cruz abstains from alcohol can attempt an ATTRIBUTES
Observation (D1) test to notice that she is, in fact, AGI AWA BRW COO INT PER WIL
drinking at the bar. — 10 6 12 8 — —
The Other Shoe Drops: Andrey figures out that FIELDS OF EXPERTISE
Bleeding Edge were responsible for the comm Combat +2 1 Movement +2 — Social — —
failures of in the Cold Fusion Remote. He bursts Fortitude – — Senses — — Technical — —
into the party and confronts Jessica Tong.
DEFENCES
Firewall 4 Resolve — Vigour 3
Cold Vengeance: Amanda Cruz— now thoroughly
drunk—tries to shoot Captain Falk. Security 2 Morale — Armour 2
ATTACKS
Grave News: Masha Ko returns from Irina’s bedside • Combi Rifle: Range C/M, 1+5§ damage, Burst 2, Expert, Hackable,
where her sister has just died. Vicious 1
SPECIAL ABILITIES
TOPICS OF CONVERSATION • Automated Turret: The Gun Camera is an immobile turret, controlled
Use this scene to wrap up any outstanding subplots by a software agent. It is immune to any psywar effects. It uses its
that have been developing among the racers. Most Intelligence attribute only to resist infowar attacks.
of the topics of common conversation will be a
reflection back on the incredible events — calling
back to awesome moments from the races, being Locks: All of the doors, including the airlock and
astonished by the interpersonal revelations, internal doors, are guarded by two-factor authentica-
and so forth. tion. The first is a physical passkey, embedded in the
encrypted relays carried by the crew. The second is
GRAVITY ON sophisticated biometric scanners, the data for which
THE SCYTHIAN
The Scythian does not use
SCENE 8: is stored in the User Records node of the Bleeding
Edge Network (see p. 32). Physically bypassing the
rotational gravity. While
exploring the vessel, characters
THE SCYTHIAN locks is a Challenging (D2) Thievery test.
will note acceleration couches
The Bleeding Edge team spend the overwhelming Area 1 —Airlock: The airlock door attaches to a
built into the walls, beds with
straps to hold their user down
majority of their time on board their freighter, the flexible docking tube of smart-matter. While docked
in zero-g, and similar features. Scythian. Once they’re identified as the primary it is at a 90-degree angle, meaning that the deck of
While docked with the Clean suspects, it is likely that the player characters will the ship is “down” with the Clean Sweep “below” it.
Sweep, however, the Scythian is want to infiltrate either their ship or their network.
under rotational gravity. Area 2 — Common Room: The chairs and tables are
Gun Cameras: The gun cameras are monitored by bolted to the floor. Refrigeration units and other
the Bleeding Edge LAI (see Bleeding Edge Network, storage compartments are built seamlessly into
p. 32). If a complication is rolled on a Stealth test, the walls.
LOCKDOWN
If BlackThorn fears she’s lost
control of the Scythian, she will
BLEEDING EDGE ROSTER
wipe the User Records node ENCOUNTER DAY NIGHT RACE DAY
entirely, re-installing only her
own data. This will lock any of Fortitude Nyoja Patrol (7, 2, 8) Area 4 Patrol (7,2,8)
the other March21 operatives Hanuman Kaminski Area 4 Patrol (7,2) Patrol (3,2)
where they are, shut down
their access to the network, Joktan Valiente Area 2 Areas 5 on Clean Sweep
and cause the gun cameras to Amanda Cruz Area 3 (25%) or Area 7 (75%) Areas 4 on Clean Sweep
identify them as hostile.
BlackThorn Area 7 (25%) or Area 8 (75%) Area 6 on Clean Sweep
30 Part Two
On Your Marks 31
Area 3— Engine Room: Gantries rigged for zero-g a biometric scan (which can be either spoofed
PLAYTEST TIP flight allow cramped, difficult access to the or implanted on the User Records node of the
OTHER SHIPS, Scythian’s engines. Bleeding Edge Network), and a top-grade physical
OTHER combination lock (Thievery (D2) test to crack).
NETWORKS Area 4— Shared Rack: Three of the five bunks If any of these factors fail, an alarm is triggered
The player characters may, of
in this room show signs of use. Storage lockers alerting BlackThorn (Hacking (D3) test to disable
course, also try to infiltrate the
ships and quantronic networks bolted to the underside of each bunk have simple the alarm).
of the other teams. The GM locks —Thievery (D1) to open— and contain a vari- • Remotes: There are two identical Remotes (only
shouldn’t tip their hand by ety of personal items, identifying Fortitude Nyoja, one on race day). A Tech (D2) test to analyse
handwaving these attempts, Hanuman Kaminski, and Amanda Cruz. the hardware or a Hacking (D2) test to analyse
but the PCs will generally find the Remote’s quantronic data will clearly reveal
that the other teams don’t Area 5— Joktan’s Quarters: An Observation (D1) that they are being piloted by illegal baby AIs
practice strong security: Their test turns up a datachip hidden in the lining of the which are being allowed uncontrolled growth in
ships have larger crews than mattress. It contains a draft of a report written by response to their experiences.
the Scythian, but they don’t
Joktan and addressed simply to “John”. It refers to
post guards; doors are secured
BlackThorn by name (Yelena Ng), describing her as
with simple locks (requiring D1
tests to bypass); their networks a “young upstart who has thrust her way into the BLEEDING EDGE
consist of a central node heart of March21” and who threatens to “disrupt NETWORK
connected to their security the development of KHILIAS” by playing games as
cameras, comlogs, and a racing part of the Clean Sweep Circuit. It is clear that the As an alternative (or in addition) to physically infil-
hub (which, in turn, connects to report is currently incomplete. trating the Scythian, the player characters can also
their Remote). accomplish their mission objectives by penetrating
Area 6— BlackThorn’s Quarters: BlackThorn’s the Bleeding Edge’s quantronic network.
quarters are kept scrupulously swept clean of per-
sonal effects, but are studded with hidden alarms Bleeding Edge LAI: The Bleeding Edge network is
BLEEDING EDGE designed to warn her of anyone tampering with her patrolled by an LAI (Infinity Corebook, p. 443).
AUTHENTICATION quarters. These require an Observation (D2) test to
Bleeding Edge members
avoid and a Tech or Hacking (D2) to disable. Node 1 — External Access Points: This node on the
carry encrypted relays: Small,
sealed widgets about the size
Bleeding Edge Network map represents multiple
of a finger which interface Area 7— Cockpit: A fairly standard control cockpit. external access points (each of which, in practice,
with the owner’s comlog and should be treated as a separate node if the dis-
encrypts their quantronic traffic. Area 8— Cargo Bay: The Scythian can have up to tinction becomes important). These access points
While it’s possible to hack the four large cargo bays attached to it, but at the require a Breach Effect on an appropriate target
Bleeding Edge network without moment is carrying only one. A catwalk runs across and include:
them, it’s impossible to gain any it as an upper level, with ladders leading down to • The comlog of any Bleeding Edge crewmember
form of authentication without the floor. Huge stacks of “cargo” (virtually all of it • The data stream of a Bleeding Edge Remote
one. They can be spoofed by just empty decoy containers) are packed in along
sniffing network traffic with
the sides, but much of the centre is taken up with Node 2 — Core Node: Central access to the rest of
a Hacking (D3) test. If one
can be physically obtained,
a large, rectangular block of greyish metal with a the network.
a Tech (D2) test will suborn single door in its side. • IC-2 Black ICE / Crybaby
it and automatically grant a
superuser account. Area 9— Safe Room: The safe room is completely Node 3 — User Records (Firewall 10): This node
isolated from the rest of the ship. It is sealed in contains user records, which can be used to identify
a solid, interlocking alloy, with its own dedicated the full roster of Bleeding Edge members. Records
power and internal environment system. Inside can be created or modified by those with proper
HIGHSEC is a clean room and sophisticated lab where authentication or as a Breach Effect. They notably
Nodes 2 through 7 of the BlackThorn works on the Bleeding Edge Remotes. include the biometric data which authorises
Bleeding Edge network • Vault Door: The door to the safe room requires access to the locks, gun cameras, and safe room on
have Military HighSec (+4§ a quantronic passkey (obtainable from any the Scythian.
Interference Soak). Bleeding Edge member’s comlog or data traffic), • IC-1 Crybaby
BLACKTHORN’S COMMUNIQUÉS
OTHER ACCESS • The communications are being routed to Svalarheima.
POINTS
• They are addressed to someone called “John”.
Onboard the Scythian, the
cockpit grants access to Node • There is a great deal of cryptic discussion about testing the “KHILIAS technology” — that the tests
4, the Remotes grant access to are proceeding as planned, the results are promising, and so forth. Care seems to have been taken to
Node 7, and the gun cameras provide no concrete details about what the KHILIAS technology is.
grant access to Node 8. • There is something referred to as “KHILIAS technology” in the Bleeding Edge Remotes.
32 Part Two
Bleeding Edge Network KEY
Access Point
Zone 3
User Data Tunnel
Records
Zone 1
External Zone 8
Access Peripherals
Points
Zone 7 Zone 7
Secure Zone 2 Remote
Comms Core Node Testing
Zone 4 Zone 6
Comms Data
(General) Storage
Node 4 — Comms: Basic communications are piloting software. (The actual baby-AI code, how-
stored here — internal messaging, access to Maya, ever, is not present and cannot be detected here.)
and so forth. • IC-3 Black ICE / Crybaby
• Access to Node 5: Node 5 benefits from data flux
camouflage and requires an Observation (D1) Node 8 — Peripherals: All quantronic systems on
test to detect. the Scythian connect to this node and can be
controlled from it. This notably includes the gun
Node 5 — Secure Comms: This node contains cameras (which can be targeted with Breach Effects
BlackThorn’s secure communications with John, from here). Essential systems (like the engines) are
sent using tight-beam communications to dark considered Secure Zones (Firewall 10).
satellites. • IC-2 Crybaby
• IC-2 Crybaby FAMILIAR
• BlackThorn’s LAI: An LAI (Infinity Corebook, p. 443) NETWORK DESIGN
operates and guards this node. If it has not been CONCLUSION Anyone who saw BlackThorn’s
network in Part One: Conception
dispatched within three rounds, it will signal who succeeds at an Analysis
BlackThorn. Each Breach Effect inflicted on the By the time the Sol circuit of the Clean Sweep or Hacking (D1) test will
LAI also grants access to a batch of commu- Circuit is complete, the player characters will have immediately recognise a
niqués (which can be later analysed to provide ideally learned that: common architecture in the
one point of knowledge, see sidebar). • March21 is developing true artificial intelli- Bleeding Edge network.
gences, in violation of the Sole AI Law.
Node 6 — Data Storage: Ancillary data storage • BlackThorn is a high-ranking operative in
(cached Maya programs and the like). This node March21, responding to orders from “John”.
does not contain anything of particular use. • March21 is active on Svalarheima.
• Access to Node 7: Node 7 benefits from data flux
camouflage and requires an Observation (D2) The agents should also have planted a tracking
test to detect. device— physical or quantronic—on either the
March21 operatives, their Remotes, or the Scythian.
Node 7— Remote Testing: This node can be These leads should draw the player characters
accessed from either Node 6 or the Bleeding Edge directly to Svalarheima and Part Three: Birth Pangs.
Remotes. Data transmitted from the Remotes is
cached here; an Analysis test (D2) reveals that
Bleeding Edge is testing some sort of automatic
On Your Marks 33
PART THREE
BIRTH PANGS
With the success of their mission on the Clean The abandoned melt-rig contains three leads:
Sweep, the player characters have tracked KHILIAS’ exact power requirements, a sample of
March21’s operations back to Svalarheima, the its unique packet structure, and the name of a Yu
Snowball of Discord. The planet is an ideal location Jing black program to build secret facilities deep
for March21. John has used the tense military situa- in PanOceanian territory. Each individual lead pro-
tion to his advantage, playing PanOceanian and Yu vides a list of potential sites. If all three leads can
Jing forces off against each other as a distraction be triangulated, they will identify the site where
for his activities, and the icy frontiers of the planet KHILIAS has been activated. If not, the PCs may
offer a lot of territory in which to hide. need to methodically brute force their way through
a list of suspect sites.
Now, however, the net is closing. The question is
whether or not Yu Jing and PanOceania can set Either way, their progress will be impeded by
aside their differences before March21’s schemes KHILIAS, which has launched an assault on Maya.
come to fruition and KHILIAS is born. The planetary datasphere begins to fall apart as
KHILIAS and ALEPH wage quantronic warfare on
a plane beyond human understanding. KHILIAS
OPERATIONAL also uses its growing control over Maya to issue
conflicting orders to military assets, disrupt public
SUMMARY services, spread March21 propaganda, and create
chaos. Once it becomes aware of the agents, it
The scenario begins with an assault on a suspected targets them directly.
March21 base: an abandoned melt-rig, half buried
in the ice outside of Shuangdong, a small village The scenario culminates in an assault on the true
on the coast of Yu Jing-controlled Huangdi. This is March21 headquarters, an abandoned spaceport
where the clues obtained in Part Two: On Your Marks outside of Arkhangel City. Here, the players will
have lead, but the agents arrive too late. March21 confront John, the March21 mastermind. With luck,
has already moved on, to a facility better able to they will rescue Dr Hart, capture BlackThorn, and
support KHILIAS’ power and bandwidth needs. isolate and secure KHILIAS. They will then be faced
with a difficult choice: what to do with this new
WILDERNESS OF MIRRORS artificial intelligence?
A new artificial intelligence has the (in isolated quantronic environments,

capacity to alter the balance of power where it can cause no damage). The KHILIAS
in the Human Sphere. Publicly, every- agent is ordered to secure KHILIAS’
one is united behind the Sole AI Law: code in anyway possible, and make Even as the players are arriving in the Epsilon
there will be no artificial intelligence sure no one else does the same. Eridani system, March21 activates KHILIAS. As
but ALEPH. Behind closed doors, how- they make preparations for assaulting March21’s
ever, the situation is entirely different. PanOceania: Dr Morgan Hart has made abandoned base, they begin noticing that access
remarkable breakthroughs in the to the planetary datasphere is… stuttering. In the
Ariadna/Yu Jing/Mercenaries: The risks development of artificial intelligence. base itself, the situation will get worse: Routine
that KHILIAS represents to the Human If he is alive, ensure that he stays datasphere pings will slow to a crawl. Information
Sphere are too great, and the organisa- that way, and is returned safely to requests return garbage or, more troubling, strings
tions built to contain them cannot be PanOceania. Do not let any other of seemingly coherent information that, on closer
trusted. The agent is ordered to ensure nation claim him. inspection, turns out to be misleading in key ways,
that KHILIAS is destroyed utterly, all or laced through with references to birth: biologi-
of its code wiped irretrievably, and Haqqislam: Dr Morgan Hart has done cal, messianic, parasitic, or even Frankensteinian.
the quantronic storage that housed it remarkable work for March21 in the
smashed to pieces. pursuit of artificial intelligence. If Hart The truth should eventually become clear: KHILIAS
is still alive, capture him and hand has awoken.
Nomads/Corporations/Submondo: him over to Hassassin operatives.
KHILIAS is dangerous, no doubt, but Ensure he does not fall into the hands As the PCs emerge from the melt-rig, they’ll learn
also an immense opportunity to of any other nation’s intelligence that their problems aren’t local: The entire planet
either study or to activate and use services, or O-12. is experiencing them. The next two sections—Rise
of KHILIAS and KHILIAS’ Revenge — include a menu
34 Part Three
of situations and events that can be used over the

course of the entire adventure as KHILIAS’ grip on
ALEPH’S RESPONSE
Svalarheima tightens. When KHILIAS first assaults Maya, ALEPH will be confused and surprised—an
artificial intelligence threat on the scale of KHILIAS is unprecedented. ALEPH’s
response will therefore be haphazard: it will attempt to put out fires by repairing
RISE OF KHILIAS holes in the datasphere, fixing malfunctioning equipment, reassuring panicking
citizens, and other patchwork tasks.
In the earliest stages, KHILIAS will act a little like
an unhinged child. Jump scares, sudden noise, and As KHILIAS takes control of more and more of the Svalarheima datasphere,
wild swings in behaviour are all appropriate. This is ALEPH will begin to realise the scope of the threat. It will focus its efforts—and
part strategy, part simply a case of finding its feet. diminishing computational power — on fighting back. ALEPH will bring all O-12
loyalist infosec operatives online (this may include a request sent to any player
As KHILIAS’ control grows, some of the wilder and characters with such expertise). At the same time, ALEPH will demobilise and
more confusing excesses will die down, replaced isolate its military assets. This is a precautionary measure; ALEPH has seen the
instead with sinister assurances and March21 damage that KHILIAS is able to cause by issuing false orders to PanOceanian
propaganda. and Yu Jing assets, and wishes to prevent the same thing happening with any
(supposedly neutral) O-12 soldiers or materiel.
In the final stages, KHILIAS will have established
enough control over the planetary datasphere At this stage, it is clear to ALEPH that its survival on the planet is in the hands of
that it is no longer concerned with the public. operatives on the ground —it can no longer hope to defeat KHILIAS in the data-
Public access will be cut off, leaving the people of sphere. If it can keep track of what the agents are up to, ALEPH will work hard
Svalarheima confused. Public terminals are silent, to support them. This is done by fending off KHILIAS’ physical and quantronic
comlogs no longer answer queries, and so on. The attacks on their behalf, and by providing a bubble in which datasphere access
streets and surviving networks will be eerily quiet. functions essentially as it should. Fighting a planetwide quantronic siege which
it is slowly losing, ALEPH is reduced to the player characters’ quantronic angel.
DETERIORATING DATASPHERE
To begin with, the main impact of KHILIAS’ awak-
ening will be the deterioration of Maya access. This specific: blasts of bright light, the hints of a baby
will fluctuate randomly — GMs can spend 1 Heat to crying, voices pleading, insane shouting, and worse.
increase the difficulty of all tests involving Maya These may impose a +1 difficulty penalty due to
by one step for the duration of the current scene. distraction at the GM’s discretion. ACCESSING
ARACHNE
(The amount of Heat spent can be escalated as
The Arachne darknet is isolated
KHILIAS’ control of the datasphere becomes more Later, larger structures (like vehicles or bridges) from Maya. Although KHILIAS
pronounced.) might also exhibit strange behaviour or fly out can access both networks, it is
of control. focused on wresting control
FLASH MOB of Maya from ALEPH. For this
The street or other public place suddenly fills with STANDOFF reason, while using Arachne
people. They’re flooding out under conflicting The player characters stumble into a tense standoff any negative effects caused by
instructions from their comlogs: some have been between two heavily armed military or police units: KHILIAS are reduced by one
threatened, warned about imaginary attacks or PanOceanian Fusiliers, Yu Jing Zhànshì Qízhì, police, step. Bear in mind that the
type of information available
disasters, or just shouted at until they panic. or anything else that seems appropriate. KHILIAS
on Arachne and Maya are
has issued false orders to both units, ordering them
different, which may introduce
HAUNTED DATASPHERE to attack each other. These can be handled as two unique complications.
Whenever an agent is actively using a comlog or five-person fireteams of SWAT Officers (Infinity
hacking device, whether in AR or full VR mode, they Corebook, p. 449), Corporate Security Units (Infinity
keep catching glimpses of unexpected movement Corebook, p. 427), or any other trooper stat block
at the corner of their vision. Dark figures lurk in which seems appropriate.
the background, vanishing as soon as one looks at
them directly. A voice whispers just at the edge of TRAFFIC MADNESS
hearing. The GM can spend 1 Heat to force all of If the player characters are in a public area, the
the player characters to make a Discipline (D2) test local traffic control system suddenly goes haywire.
or become Dazed. Cars careen into each other, through walls and
windows, and straight at civilians. Challenging (D2)
POLTERGEIST DOMOTICS Acrobatics or Athletics tests are required to avoid
As KHILIAS spreads itself further into the 2+4§ physical damage, with the Armour Piercing
Svalarheima datasphere, its control over local 2 and Knockdown qualities. Civilians can also be
domotics will slowly ratchet up the creepiness and placed in harm’s way, requiring similar tests from
tension: closed doors suddenly opening, flickering the PCs to rescue them.
lights, strange noises, and the like. Over time,
these phenomena will escalate and become more
Birth Pangs 35
KHILIAS’ REVENGE UNDER FIRE
Whenever the player characters are outdoors, there’s
If KHILIAS is tracking the player characters, a risk that an orbital spy satellite under KHILIAS’
more and more of these occurrences will begin control will spot them, and it will activate snipers.
specifically targeting them. There are also more Spend 1 Heat to have this happen—treat the sniper
direct assaults which KHILIAS will unleash in as a Hidden Bounty Hunter (Infinity Corebook, p. 422).
self-defence.
NEMESIS
KHILIAS ATTACKS! KANRÈN

The most direct intervention is for KHILIAS to
launch a direct quantronic assault on the PCs. ATTRIBUTES
It is likely to also bring along a fireteam of sup- AGI AWA BRW COO INT PER WIL
port agents. 10 11 9 11 9 11 9
KHILIAS GASLIGHT FIELDS OF EXPERTISE

The GM can spend 1 Heat to have KHILIAS infect a Combat +3 1 Movement +2 1 Social +3 1
quantronic zone as a character is entering it. This Fortitude +1 1 Senses +4 1 Technical +1 1
operates as an IC-3 Gaslight. If the test to enter the
DEFENCES
zone fails, read the following:
Security — Morale 2 Armour 2
You are surrounded by utter darkness. A tiny point
of light appears. It wavers for a moment, then ATTACKS
rapidly expands, roaring past your VR presence. A • Combi Rifle: Range C/M, 1+5§ damage, Burst 2, Comms, Expert 1,
universe is forming, or a visualisation of one. Gas MULTI Light Mod, Vicious 1
clouds collapse into stars and galaxies, supernovae • Chain-Colt: Range C, 1+5§ damage, Concealed 1, Torrent, Vicious 1
• Monofilament Sword: Melee, 1+5§ damage, Parry 2, Vicious 1,
explode, black holes grow and grow.
Monofilament
Until the character can bypass the IC-3 Gaslight, GEAR: Holoprojector 2, Kinematika, Light Combat Armour, Sniffer
they will be unable to leave this zone. KHILIAS SPECIAL ABILITIES
itself is also likely to make an appearance. If it • Quick Strategy: As long as Stanley is in the scene, the GM can seize
is unaware that the character is a threat, it may the initiative with two March21 foot soldiers for every 1 Heat spent.
• Tough It Out (1+ Heat): For every point of Heat spent, Stanley
simply exhibit curiosity, asking strange and seem-
recovers 3 points to one of his Stress values.
ingly nonsensical questions. If not, it will attack,
attempting to infect the target with its virus before
disappearing. TROOPER
SUPPORT AGENTS
QUANTRONIC NODE DESTRUCTION
A quantronic node the PCs are in suddenly explodes ATTRIBUTES
into a sensory assault. The quantronic terrain desta- AGI AWA BRW COO INT PER WIL
bilises, and otherwise clear pathways begin to twist 8 10 8 6 10 6 8
and disrupt. Treat the entire node as a Hazard —
navigating requires an Average (D1) Hacking test, FIELDS OF EXPERTISE
which inflicts 1+3§ mental damage with the Stun Combat — — Movement — — Social — —
quality on failure. Fortitude +1 — Senses +1 — Technical +2 2
DEFENCES
SUBORNED KANRÈN
Firewall 5 Resolve 4 Vigour —
A team of four Kanrèn, Yu Jing counter-insurgency
troops, are dispatched under false orders as assas- Security 2 Morale — Armour —
sins. Possible targets include the PCs themselves, ATTACKS
Ambassador Ke (p. 43, under the mistaken belief • Brain Blast: 1+4§ damage, Breach Effects, Biotech, Vicious 1
that he’s a traitor to the StateEmpire), Captain • Slasher: 2+5§ damage, targets Firewall only, cannot cause Breach
Nangala (p. 38), or anyone else the PCs might Effects, Vicious 2
have cause to meet with. GEAR: Limited Software Suite: CLAW-1, SWORD-1, SHIELD-1,
GADGET-2, IC-2, +2§ bonus damage
SPECIAL ABILITIES
• Dumb Agent: Support Agents are immune to psywar effects.
• Software: Support Agents are pure software; they do not have, or
use, physical attributes, including Vigour or Armour.
36 Part Three
NEMESIS Shoal explains that the leads provided by the

KHILIAS player characters in Part Two: On Your Marks have
allowed Bureau Noir to track March21 back to
ATTRIBUTES Svalarheima, but they were only able to narrow
AGI AWA BRW COO INT PER WIL down the potential area to a large swath of the
8 12 8 8 12 10 12 barren wastelands of Trollhättan. “Fortunately,
Captain Nangala was able to carry us the rest
FIELDS OF EXPERTISE of the way.”
Combat — — Movement — — Social +2 1
Fortitude +2 — Senses +3 2 Technical +5 5 Captain Nangala steps forward. “The Snow Angel
is equipped with a suite of specialised sensors
DEFENCES
allowing us to scan the surface of Svalarheima for
Firewall 17 Resolve 14 Vigour —
power signatures, heat blooms, and similar indica-
Security 5 Morale 5 Armour — tions of technological activity.”
ATTACKS
• Brain Blast: 1+4§ damage, Breach Effects, Biotech, Vicious 1 She gestures and one wall of the analysis dome
• Slasher: 2+5§ damage, targets Firewall only, cannot cause Breach glitters with a satellite map of Svalarheima’s
Effects, Vicious 2 surface. A twist of her hand and the image zooms
• Horrorshow 3: 6§ damage, Breach Effects, Nonlethal, Terrifying 3 in until it’s filled with an overhead view of some
GEAR: Software Suite: CLAW-3, SWORD-1, SHIELD-3, GADGET-2, sort of industrial platform. “This is an abandoned
IC-3, UPGRADE Solifugae, Stop!, Sucker Punch; +4§ bonus damage melt-rig. It’s in Trollhättan just across the border
SPECIAL ABILITIES from Niflheim. The closest settlement is a hundred
• I Am Legion: KHILIAS can rapidly create swarms of quantronic kilometres to the north; a village containing a few
Support Agents to harry any opponent. Spending 1 Heat brings 2 hundred Yu Jingese.”
Support Agent reinforcements.
• Brute Force: When making an infowar attack, KHILIAS can reroll up “Acting on Bureau Noir’s request, we were able
to 5 damage dice. (As normal, dice may only be rerolled once.) to analyse our historical data for the region. This
• Virus: KHILIAS can plant a specially tailored virus as a Breach Effect. image is from one year ago. The melt-rig is cold.
Make a Stealth roll opposed by the target’s Analysis to conceal this
Now, let’s run this forward in time and… there!”
action (if successful, the target is unaware they’ve been infected and
the virus is in a hidden stealth state). The virus effectively Tags the
In the image, the rig has begun to glow a very
victim and, at the cost of 2 Heat, the virus can inflict a special Breach faint red. “Two months ago there’s a massive heat
Effect (this is a noisy action). The virus makes stealth state tests bloom.” The rig starts pulsing an angry red. “Before
(TN 15, Focus 3) and cannot be removed until it has been detected. returning to its original heat levels. But then
• Quantronic Native: Trying to find a concealed KHILIAS in any one week ago there’s another massive spike of
datasphere is like searching for a needle in a needle-stack. All power output.”
attempts to find a hidden KHILIAS are made at +1 difficulty.
• Software: KHILIAS is pure software; it does not have, or use, physical Agent Shoal turns back to you. “The initial heat
attributes, including Vigour or Armour. signature is from just a few weeks before Dr Hart
• Decompile: The current instance of KHILIAS may immediately
was kidnapped. The first bloom occurred shortly
decompile itself. This is equivalent, to taking the Terminate
Connection action as a Minor Action. Any Link or CLAW-2 Harpoon
before the Bleeding Edge team joined the Clean
attempts are at +2 difficulty. Sweep Circuit. The second bloom started just after
BlackThorn returned to Svalarheima. We can only
NOTES
Destroying an instance of KHILIAS does not defeat the entire AI. To do
assume that there’s something big going on down
that, its core code needs to be isolated and shut down (see Scene 4: AI, there. You need to stop it.”
Interrupted, p. 45)
Accompanied by a squad of Bureau Aegis troopers
(shown on p. 39), the agents are to lead a
raid on the melt-rig. The mission objectives are
MISSION BRIEFING straightforward:
• The primary objective is to stop March21 from
When the player characters arrive in the Epsilon bringing an illegal artificial intelligence online.
Eridani system, they report to the POS Snow Angel, Shut down their quantronic processing at all
a PanOceanian infoquantronic warfare corvette in costs.
orbit around Svalarheima. They are joined by Agent • The secondary objective is to secure a copy of
Shoal (from Part Two: On Your Marks) and intro- the artificial intelligence’s code to hand over to
duced to Captain Bess Nangala in an analysis dome Bureau Toth, as both a research tool and to aid in
where secure data is displayed in 360 degrees on any clean-up.
the walls and ceiling. • The tertiary objective is to apprehend any
March21 operatives for questioning by Bureau
Toth.
Birth Pangs 37
Shoal provides the standard layout of an opera- BACKGROUND
PLAYTEST TIP tional melt-rig. It is a three-storey tracked structure, Nangala is the captain of the POS Snow Angel.
HANDLING NOIR with mining machinery, heaters and a generator at Her ship, considered a bad-luck frigate, was only
If appropriate, Agent Shoal can its base, mineral processing, sorting, and storage in recently assigned to Svalarheima.
be replaced by the PCs’ regular the middle, and crew quarters and laboratories on
Bureau Noir handler. the top level. ELITE
CAPTAIN BESS NANGALA

CAPTAIN BESS NANGALA ATTRIBUTES
PLAYTEST TIP
TOUCH OF KHILIAS APPEARANCE 9 10 7 8 9 10 10
Remember that the earliest A long-limbed and crisply uniformed Australian
signs of KHILIAS’ effect on Aboriginal woman. FIELDS OF EXPERTISE
the Svalarheiman datasphere Combat — — Movement — — Social +3 —
should begin appearing as
ROLEPLAYING Fortitude +2 1 Senses +3 2 Technical +1 —
early as the PCs’ arrival on
• Clasps her hands behind her back.
the POS Snow Angel and their DEFENCES
briefing there. • Proud of her ship, her crew, and her nation.
• Professional and quick to the point.
Security 4 Morale 2 Armour —
38 Part Three
SCENE 1: TROOPER
BIRTHPLACE OF SENTRY GUN
KHILIAS AGI AWA

ATTRIBUTES
BRW COO INT PER WIL
A dropship from the POS Snow Angel can insert the 6 8 9 11 7 7 8
BUREAU AEGIS
ASSAULT TEAM
PCs at a facility a couple hundred klicks from the
FIELDS OF EXPERTISE Captain Lynn Minwae is a short
March21 facility. There they can meet with Captain woman with spiky blue hair.
Minwae and her assault team (see sidebar). From Combat +2 1 Movement — — Social — —
She has an animated tattoo of
there, a pair of aeropters will take them to the Fortitude +1 — Senses +2 — Technical — — a Bourakian Sea Serpent on her
melt-rig, but before they leave they should take left forearm. She’s enthusiastic,
DEFENCES
time to plan their assault with Minwae. with a big grin plastered on
Firewall 4 Resolve 8 Vigour 5 her face, but she’s also detail-
Security 2 Morale — Armour 3 oriented and wants to fully
MARCH21 MELT-RIG
The rig is abandoned. John and his March21 allies ATTACKS understand the details of the
• Mk12: Range M, 2+5§ damage, Burst 3, Mounted, Salvo assault plan.
have already moved on. The entire rig has sunk into
the ice at a slight angle— the floors are treacher- (Knockdown)
• Light Smoke Grenade Launcher: Range M, Burst 1, Area (Close), The assault team are a
ous, and the air freezing. The lowest level is buried rough-and-tumble bunch
Speculative, Smoke 2
in the ice, as is the cockpit. Inside, the melt-rig is of professionals: Roger
cramped: echoing steel corridors, heavy pipes and SPECIAL ABILITIES
Bagnoli, Afra Frost, Gunnvor
grating floors, lit only by the helmet lights of the • Automated Turret: The Sentry Gun is an immobile turret, controlled
Kamal, Fenella Lamon, and
by a low-grade software agent. It is immune to any psywar effects. It
Aegis assault squad and the strobe of gunfire. Évelyne Kendall.
uses Intelligence only to resist infowar attacks.
The most obvious points of ingress are either the Minwae: Great Detective
aeropter pad (Area 13) or the ground vehicle bay can be used to recover some of the data (see (Infinity Corebook, p. 428) with a
submachine gun
(Area 5). There are also a number of smaller doors Recovered Data sidebar).
located on the upper and lower outer gantries. • Arachne Node: The physical hub of a still-func-
Assault Team: Spec Ops Trooper
One could also hypothetically go underneath the tioning Arachne node is also nestled in amongst (Infinity Corebook, p. 455), act as
rig, work their way through the tangled morass the quantronic debris. An Observation or Tech fireteam
of the cyclopean driveshafts and melting equip- (D2) test can discover the node. Anyone access-
ment, and then come up through the elevator ing the node is confronted with an IC-3 Gaslight.
shaft (Area 4). Anyone successfully bypassing the IC will dis-
cover some unusual data packets (see Recovered
Automated Sentry Guns: March21 has left behind Data sidebar). On a failure, the PCs are trapped in
six automated sentry guns. They are scattered the KHILIAS Gaslight (see p. 36).
PLAYTEST TIP
throughout the rig (marked on the map), and
include smoke launchers. The turrets, unconcerned Area 2 — Automated Storage: These rooms are not INITIAL CONFUSION
by any risk of friendly casualties, happily fire blindly designed for human egress, but one can crouch and In the chaos and the darkness,
into the smoke. pass through the various conveyor belts leading it shouldn’t be immediately
obvious that the player
in and out of them. Large waldos cover the ceiling
characters are being fired on
Area 1 — Computer Lab: This was once the of these automated storage areas, originally pro-
by smart turrets, rather than
machinery floor, but most of the drills, grinders, grammed to sort mineral samples in to a number live enemies. An Average (D1)
conveyers, scanners, and other mining equipment of large, iron bins (or onto the next set of conveyer Observation test will clear up
has been removed. It was replaced with large banks belts), but they are now nothing more than rusting the confusion, modified as
of quantronic equipment housed in rows of white testimonies to the melt-rig’s original purpose. usual by smoke.
obelisks which seem eerily out of place amidst the
industrial grunge of the melt-rig. Several of these
are visibly scorched and partially melted.
• Motion Detectors: As indicated on the map, sev-
RECOVERED DATA
eral motion detectors have been installed in this If data can be recovered from the quantronic equipment, an Analysis (D1) test
room. They can be spotted with an Observation can be used to pry a little information from the data fragments:
(D1) test. If characters enter the room, the
detectors make an Observation test (Awareness • Fragments of code and access logs confirm that both BlackThorn and Dr Hart
10, Expertise 2, Focus 1). On a success, if the were present here in the melt-rig. They also identify the leader of the operation
Arachne node in the room is still active, they as someone named “John”, who was also located onsite.
transmit a warning to KHILIAS. • The system is riddled with an unusual data packet structure. This ornate data
• Quantronic Equipment: An investigation reveals structure will look familiar to anyone who studied Dr Hart’s research in Part
that much of the quantronic equipment has been One: Conception or the baby-AI comm traffic in Part Two: On Your Marks. (It can
deliberately stripped, while that which remains also be used to trace KHILIAS, as described in Scene 2: Triangulation.)
has been deliberately destroyed. A Tech (D1) test
Birth Pangs 39
Area 3 — Dr Hart’s Cell: The conveyer belts leading An Observation (D2) test, however, will discover
into this chamber have been welded shut with several sheets which have been deliberately
large sheets of thick iron, but a crude door (which concealed by taping them to the underside of
can be bolted shut from the outside) has been the desk. They contain a detailed analysis of
laser-cut into the wall between the room and the KHILIAS’ data packet structure and Dr Hart’s
machinery floor. The room contains a bunk, a chair, conclusion that the structure could be used to
and a battered desk. track KHILIAS’ location.
This is where John kept the kidnapped Dr Hart. Area 4 — Elevator: This elevator can access the
(This can be confirmed through DNA evidence or upper level, lower level, and also provides direct
handwriting analysis.) access to the ground vehicle bay (Area 5). It is cur-
• Bunk—Observation (D1): A short message has rently disabled, however, and would require a Tech
been freshly scratched into the steel plating (D1) test to put back in order. There is enough room
beneath the bunk: “Jīn huā: YJ black sites”. Jīn huā around the car to climb from one level to another.
is a Chinese phrase meaning ”golden flower”.
(See Scene 2: Triangulation to follow up on this Area 5 — Ground Vehicle Bay: This large vehicle
clue left by Dr Hart.) bay is actually sunken below the rest of the lower
• Desk: In the desk drawers are a few scattered level. Two ladders lead from the grated walkway
sheets of paper. They do not contain any useful down to the bay floor, which still contains a number
information, however, just some assorted of prospecting Remotes and a jeep sled. (These
technical scribbles (in Dr Hart’s handwriting). would require significant repairs to operate again.)
40 Part Three
Of potentially more interest are the Bleeding Edge that virtually all of the power was being fun-
racing Remotes which have been haphazardly nelled to equipment plugged into the machinery HEAT SPENDS
stored to one side of the disabled jeep sled. floor (Area 1). (See Scene 2: Triangulation.) MELT-RIG
• Racing Remotes: These are now just empty The abandoned melt-rig is an
shells. The baby-AI brains have been removed Area 8 — Metallurgical Laboratories: One of these unusual environment for a
and used to complete the creation of KHILIAS. laboratories remains untouched since the melt-rig fight, with a few unique risks.
Use the following Heat spends
A Hacking (D1) test can pull up data fragments was originally abandoned (the equipment is caked
to add to the general chaos of
from the secondary memory and processing in ice). The other was recently cleaned up and
the breach:
centres, however, which possess an unusual data put into use.
packet structure (see Recovered Data sidebar). • Tech (D1): Determines that the lab was being 1 Heat: Ice. A patch of floor is
used in an attempt to construct large heat covered in ice; characters must
Area 6 — Aerial Vehicle Bay: What was once the shields which would mask very large power pass an Average (D1) Acrobatics
aerial vehicle bay is now filled with piles of junk signatures from aerial or orbital detection. check to keep their footing. If
(with an automated turret hidden in one corner). It appears that the work was unsuccessful, any complications are rolled,
however. the character suffers 1+2§
Area 7 — Cockpit: The melt-rig’s cockpit is elevated physical Stun damage.
slightly above the upper level (with a ladder lead- Area 9 — Equipment/Parts Storage: Only a jumble
2 Heat: Floor collapse. A section
ing up out of a metallic pit just inside the door). It of rusted parts remain here, all dating back to the
of floor collapses, sending the
hasn’t been using a long time and the controls are days before the melt-rig was originally abandoned. character tumbling to a level
rimed with frost. below. The character suffers
• Tech (D1): To reactivate the control panel. Area 10 — Bathroom: Recently used and kept in 2+4§ physical Stun damage.
Reviewing the logs reveals a massive spike in good repair. An Average (D1) Acrobatics
power draw from the melt-rig’s fusion reactor. check grants 1 additional Soak
This corresponds with the bloom seen by the against this damage.
POS Snow Angel, but the records here indicate
Birth Pangs 41
Area 11 — Barracks: Although now stripped bare, There are two challenges: First, the PCs must reach
JĪN HUĀ SITES all of these areas have seen recent use. It can be the POS Snow Angel. Second, due to KHILIAS’ cor-
A mine outside Vest Festning
estimated that March21 had over thirty people ruption of the planetary datasphere, Fleet Admiral
staying here. Akemarr is dealing with the collapse of his com-
A warehouse in the Port of
Odinheim • Search— Observation (D1): A broken repeater mand and control architecture and paranoid that
can be found wedged between one of the bunks Yu Jing is either mounting the assault themselves
An abandoned spaceport near and the wall. A Hacking (D1) test can pull frag- or planning to take advantage of it. He’s ordered
Arkhangel City mentary data from its memory buffers. Lack of Captain Nangala to focus the Snow Angel’s sensors
context makes most of it meaningless, but one on Niflheim. The PCs will need to convince Captain
A farmhouse on the outskirts of unusual phrase does stand out in two places: “5 Nangala to disobey her orders. (Alternatively, the
Valontach Jīn huā” and “the Jīn Huā sites appear promising”. PCs might try to reach Fleet Admiral Akemarr
(Jīn huā is a Chinese phrase meaning ”golden directly. He’s located at a naval base in Odinheim.)
Military compound in Youxiong
flower”.)
Once the planetary sensor sweep is completed, it
Area 12 — Common Area/Kitchen: A simple dining provides six locations matching KHILIAS’ power sig-
hall. The remaining food in the refrigerators is nature (although Captain Nangala will once again
still fresh. caution that it can’t include any such locations in
urban areas):
Area 13 — Landing Pad: Designed for aeropters and
KHILIAS similar vehicles. Kept in good repair. JĪN HUĀ BLACK SITES
DATASPHERE The Jīn huā (“golden flower”) black sites were an
HOTSPOTS
A collection of warehouses in ambitious programme, conceived by Ambassador
the Port of Odinheim SCENE 2: Ke and executed at considerable cost to the Yu Jing
StateEmpire. The goal was to place well-staffed
A data centre at the base of the TRIANGULATION and equipped Yu Jing bases deep in PanOceanian
Shidong space elevator territory, where agents of the Yănjīng could carry
Following the investigation of the abandoned rig, out sophisticated spying and sabotage missions.
A mine outside of Vest Festning the player characters have three possible leads to Ultimately, they could be used as staging points
follow: KHILIAS’ unique data packets, the power to strike key PanOceanian positions in event of
An abandoned spaceport near
usage demanded by KHILIAS, and the references open conflict.
Arkhangel City
to the Jīn Huā sites. Any one of these leads will
The White Whale Casino in provide five to six separate locations. The correct Emerging from the melt-rig, the PCs are likely to
Arkhangel City’s Furlough Row location, an abandoned spaceport near Arkhangel only have fragmentary references to “Jīn Huā sites”.
City, appears on each of the lists. The player charac- Jīn huā is a Chinese phrase meaning ”golden flower”,
A data centre in Odinheim ters can either brute force the process by checking but it’s meaning here is obscure at best. There
all of the locations on a single list (Scene 3: Site are several ways they may be able to figure out
Raids) or they can obtain all three lists in order to what it means:
precisely identify KHILIAS’ location (Scene 4: AI, • If they query their Bureau Noir handler or check
Interrupted). older Noir Alert Bulletins themselves, they’ll find
a reference to an enigmatic Yănjīng black ops
KHILIAS’ NETWORK TRAFFIC project on Svalarheima known by the codename
The structure of KHILIAS’ data packets is unique. Jīn Huā. The only thing known about it is that it
KHILIAS By logging onto Maya, a hacker can attempt to was being run out of Ambassador Ke’s office.
POWER USAGE map its spread across the datasphere. Normally • If the PCs make an inquiry with any Yu Jing
LOCATIONS
this would be a Dire (D4) Analysis task, but if the authorities, the keyword of “jīn huā” will trigger
A rustbucket passing between
the Sentinel Cities PCs have already identified the data packets (using an alert for Ambassador Ke (who will discreetly
the samples found in the melt-rig), it is merely reach out and contact the PCs).
An abandoned spaceport near a Challenging (D2) task, albeit one that takes at • Research tests (D3) can also dig up an obscure
Arkhangel City least a day of solid work. (Momentum can be spent reference to “Ambassador Ke’s Jīn Huā initiative”
normally to reduce the time required.) in a diplomatic journal. (On a failed check,
A collection of warehouses in it’s possible that Yănjīng counterintelligence
the Port of Odinheim Successfully tracking the data packets provides six might still detect the PCs’ queries and alert
hotspots (see sidebar). Ambassador Ke.)
An abandoned Hyō Shō Dome
near Odinheim
MAPPING POWER USAGE Other approaches (perhaps launching an infowar
An abandoned Hyō Shō Dome The specialised sensors on the POS Snow Angel infiltration of a secure Yu Jing facility) are
near the Trollhättan border can, of course, be used to pinpoint the location of also possible.
any facilities generating enough power to support
A mine outside Vest Festning KHILIAS, provided they are away from major Meeting Ambassador Ke: Any meeting with Ke will
urban centres. take place in his office in Shidong, or a simulacrum
42 Part Three
on Maya. When the PCs enter, read or summarize and staging points for assaults. Four were
the following: located in or near strategic PanOceanian cities,
PLAYTEST TIP
the fifth was a staging point in the Yu Jing city of
Ambassador Ke’s office is minimally appointed Youxiong. MAPPING THE
and spacious, divided by wooden lattice into three TARGETS
Making three copies of the
areas: a foyer, where Ke’s secretary sits, a greeting NOTES:
map of Svalarheima (Infinity
area with a table and a trio of black wood chairs, • Ke regards PanOceanians as enemies. Social skill
Corebook, p. 293) and marking
and a desk with its back to a large window and tests against Ke by PanOceanians are made a +1 each with the list of target
balcony, looking out on Shidong and the Yu Jing difficulty. locations generated from one
space elevator. avenue of investigation can
make for a very effective set of
AMBASSADOR KE SCENE 3: player handouts.
(YU JING) SITE RAIDS

APPEARANCE If the PCs fail to cross-reference all three lists of PLAYTEST TIP
An elderly man, in a collarless tunic made of black potential sites (see Scene 2: Triangulation), they PACING KHILIAS
with white sleeves. Intricate dragons are stitched will most likely need to start mounting raids on After leaving the melt-rig, the
into the tunic, in black thread. A close-cropped whatever sites they have identified. If Captain PCs will need to visit multiple
grey beard. Minwae and her team are still with the PCs, they’re locations to conclude their
more than happy to help. The PCs may also be investigation. (If they get
ROLEPLAYING able to drum up additional support (from either very lucky, this could be as
few as two locations, but it is
• Ambassador Ke is aggressively formal. He will PanOceanian, Yu Jing, or O-12 resources), but this
more likely to be four to five
insist that things are done in the traditional way, should not be easy and should be limited to, at
locations.) To really make this
and the correct order. most, two additional fireteams. (While their mission scenario work, you want to
• Always squints, whether due to poor eyesight or is important, the truth is that KHILIAS’ global thoroughly incorporate the
constant suspicion. assault means that resources are spread thin.) events described in the Rise of
• Despite unwavering politeness, his disdain for KHILIAS (p. 35) and KHILIAS’
PanOceanians is clear. Most of the locations are either innocent or Revenge (p. 36) into this
abandoned. The GM should feel free to improvise sequence: As their investigation
BACKGROUND their content, while using each as a set piece for continues, the PCs should
Ambassador Ke is the highest-ranking member of the ever-escalating manifestations of KHILIAS. The feel increasingly desperate as
the situation on Svalarheima
the Yănjīng on Svalarheima. He believes absolutely exception is the Jīn Huā sites.
spirals out of control. The fact
in the StateEmpire, and the value of public service.
that KHILIAS has corrupted the
He has devoted his life to this belief, and it has planetary datasphere should
earned him power in the Party. But his ambition has JĪN HUĀ SITES encourage the PCs to physically
always exceeded his grasp, and he believes that his visit these locations (instead
assignment to Svalarheima, far from the real cen- Once built by Yu Jing a decade ago, the Jīn Huā of simply calling Ambassador
tres of Yu Jingese power, reflects some fundamental sites have been left fallow in order to minimize Ke, for example), providing you
disfavour in the Party. the risk of being detected by PanOceania. Each with the time and scope to
facility is constructed from a network of hexagonal incorporate KHILIAS’ actions. If
This has made him bitter, but it has never chipped modules. The modules are unmarked —there is no they attempt the quantronic
calls anyway, KHILIAS will
away at the hard core of loyalty at his centre. He signage — and arranged differently in each base.
almost certainly interfere.
will go to great lengths to further his political The goal is to create confusion, and a subtle sense
career, but he will never do so at the expense of of wrongness. The GM should customise each base
his nation. using the small sample base depicted on p. 44
and the larger base housing KHILIAS (shown on p. PLAYTEST TIP
Ambassador Ke is an isolated man. He has no 46–47) as models. OTHER THREATS
family, and insists on a formal distance with his The GM can also introduce
co-workers and employees. IDENTIFYING JĪN HUĀ SITES threats unrelated to March21
If the PCs are not aware of what the Jīn Huā are or KHILIAS at some of these
KEY INFO when they arrive at these sites, trying to figure out sites: Dealing with Submondo
gangsters at the White Whale
• Intransigence 3: To reveal Yu Jing state secrets. where the quantronic traffic or power signatures
Casino, smugglers who have
(Aside from his loyalty, he would also need to are coming from should be framed as a minor
taken up residence in an
admit personal failure in losing Jīn Huā, most mystery in its own right. abandoned Hyō Shō Dome, or
likely scuttling any hope of return to Yutang.) the natural threat of a cave-in
• Ambassador Ke can pinpoint the five Jīn Huā Once inside, there’ll be considerable evidence trapping the PCs in the depths
black sites (see sidebar). He supervised the that allows them to identify them as Jīn Huā of the abandoned Vest Festning
program to construct Yu Jing facilities deep in facilities (even if they haven’t heard term “Jīn Huā” mine, for example.
PanOceanian territory, as monitoring stations before). These leads may turn them back towards
Birth Pangs 43
Ambassador Ke in Scene 2: Triangulation. Examples identify KHILIAS’ unique data packet structure.
might include:
• Labelled crates identifying Yu Jing suppliers and KHILIAS also monitors all of the Jīn Huā bases. If it
the Jīn Huā site number. hasn’t already become aware of the player charac-
• Files kept in the computer servers. ters, it may do so here.
GENERAL FEATURES Security: The entrances to the Jīn Huā bases are
The Jīn Huā bases are ideal for March21: they’re secured with advanced locks and alarms, requiring
concealed, and they run off dedicated reactors so Challenging (D2) tests to bypass. On a failure or
that they’re isolated from any local grids. Most complication, Yu Jing authorities are alerted (which
importantly, they have high-bandwidth, secured, may bring the PCs to the attention of Ambassador
and obfuscated Maya connections plus quantronic Ke if they have not already spoken with him).
connections between the facilities. March21 hasn’t March21 has installed bypasses, which can be
taken full advantage of the facilities yet, but they detected and taken advantage of with a Hacking
have compromised all of them. (D1) test.
Sentry Guns: March21 has installed automatic

sentry guns at each of the facilities. These are SPECIFIC SITES
identical to those found on the melt-rig, and are
clearly out of place with the Yu Jing technology Arkhangel City Spaceport: This site is where
found throughout the rest of the site. March21 is housing KHILIAS, see Scene 4: AI,
Interrupted.
KHILIAS Conduits: KHILIAS is using two of the loca-
tions (in Vest Festning and the Port of Odinheim) Port of Odinheim: This site is located in a sub-base-
as secondary processors and conduits for accessing ment of a warehouse near the western end of the
Maya. The servers in these bases can be used to port. The surface of the parking lot can open to
FACILITY MAP
44 Part Three
reveal the landing pad. This facility contains ten Youxiong Military Compound: This compound
March21 soldiers (p. 11, but armed with heavy is located at the border between Yu Jing and
shotguns and smoke grenades), working in two PanOceania on the northern continent. It can be PLAYTEST TIP
fireteams led by Joktan Valiente (use the stats for accessed from a nearby Yu Jing military compound ESCAPE!
Stanley Clayton, p. 11). or through a concealed landing pad. Multiple BlackThorn, John, or even
• Heavy Shotgun: Range C, 2+4§ damage, Burst 2, tunnels extend from this facility under the border, KHILIAS may attempt to use
Knockdown opening at disparate locations twenty to thirty these aeropters to escape.
• Smoke Grenades: Area (Close), Hackable, kilometres inside PanOceanian territory.
Smoke 2, Thrown, Unsubtle
Valontach Farmhouse: This site is located in

the field of a farmhouse. The farmhouse itself is
SCENE 4: AI, ENEMY PROFILES
occupied by two simple farmers, who are actually INTERRUPTED Sentry Gun, see p. 39
deep cover Yu Jing agents watching over the facility.
(Use stats for a Bodyguard, Infinity Corebook, p. 422.) The climax of the scenario is an out-and-out March21 Foot Soldiers, see p.
There are no March21 gun turrets at this site. assault on the March21 base. The site is concealed 11. Instead of a MULTI sniper
at the outskirts of Arkhangel City, underneath an rifle, one trooper in each squad
Vest Festning Mine: This site is located at the old, decommissioned spaceport. is armed with a Spitfire.
• Spitfire: Range M, 1+5§
very bottom of the abandoned mine. It can be
damage, Burst 3, Spread 2,
accessed either through the mine tunnels or via Unsubtle
an aeropter landing pad concealed on the top of ENTERING THE BASE
a nearby mountain. (An elevator leads down from BlackThorn, see p. 3
the pad to a tunnel connecting to the facility.) The There are three entrances to the facility, all
facility itself is cold and abandoned, except for the concealed (Challenging (D2) Observation tests to John, see p. 2
server room. locate them):
Birth Pangs 45
Warehouse A: A simple locked door, disguised by its MARCH21 ROSTER
mundanity (Average (D1) Thievery to crack, Average
(D1) Athletics to break), leads to a ladder descend- ENCOUNTER LOCATION
ing to Area 1 of the facility. March21 Fireteam Patrolling Top Level
Warehouse B: A freight elevator at the back of the March21 Fireteam Area 3

warehouse. When the correct code is entered into BlackThorn Area 6
its control box (a Challenging (D2) Thievery test
March21 Fireteam Area 6
to bypass), the elevator descends into Area 2 of
the facility. Stanley Clayton Area 7
March21 Fireteam (sleeping) Area 8
Hangar: The roof of the hangar opens, to allow
VTOL access. The steel floor also slides open, John + March21 Fireteam Area 9
so that a second, secret hanger (Area 3) can be
accessed below. TOP LEVEL
Area 1 — Access Ladder: This ladder leads to
PLAYTEST TIP BASE DEFENCES Warehouse A, above. The bottom rung of the ladder
triggers an alarm — Observation (D2) to spot; Tech
HOSTAGES
John, BlackThorn, KHILIAS, March21 Fireteams: The facility is guarded by (D2) to disarm.
or even just desperate foot twenty March21 foot soldiers. These operate as four
soldiers may take Dr Hart independent fireteams, as noted on the roster. Area 2 — Freight Elevator: Elevator leads to
hostage in an attempt to Warehouse B, above. Operating the elevator triggers
escape the facility. Sentry Guns: The facility has sentry guns, as marked an alarm — Observation (D2) to spot; Tech (D2)
on the map. to disarm.
46 Part Three
Area 3 — Aeropter Pad: A retractable ceiling BASEMENT LEVEL

leads to the hangar, above. Three troop transport
aeropters are in their berths when the player Area 10 — Computer Room: A large, roughly circular
characters arrive. space has been hewn from the bedrock to house
the quantronic racks containing KHILIAS’ code and
Area 4 — Stairwell: These stairs lead down to the core computing power. The room is frigid, but if you INFOWAR
This facility is KHILIAS’ home
basement level. get close to the racks you can feel the prodigious
turf; it is the absolute master of
heat they are generating.
its quantronic components. Any
Area 5 — Workshops: These workshops contain agent who has not gone silent
Universal Teseum Cradles (UTCs), installed by Yu Each of the four bays of quantronic drives have will be exposed to infowar
Jing to supply the frontline Jīn Huā bases with the Structure 30 and Armor 2. All four need to be destroyed attacks by KHILIAS every round.
capacity to build whatever supplies they might to put KHILIAS completely out of commission. Logging onto the network in
need on an ad hoc basis. the facility will subject the
Area 11 — Quantronic Storage / Reactor: Below the agent to a phantasmagoria of
Area 6 — Officers’ Quarters: John, BlackThorn, and computer room, visible through glass flooring, is the horrific and the completely
Joktan Valiente each reside in one of these quarters a reactor embedded in coolant. This is providing inexplicable. A bewildering
array of interconnected
(which also include bathrooms). the power that is keeping KHILIAS alive. It can be
nodes, their purposes difficult
manually shut down using physical access panels,
or impossible to interpret,
Area 7 — Mess: Each mess contains a small kitchen requiring 6 Momentum on Tech (D1) tests. spawning and disappearing
for preparing food. as fast as the agent can move
through them. The network is
Area 8 — Barracks: Each contains racks for ten KHILIAS’ LAST GASP Military HighSec.
people and a shared bathroom.
When it becomes clear that the March21 defenders
Area 9 — Dr Hart’s Cell: Dr Hart is locked up in this in the facility may lose the fight, KHILIAS puts two
officers’ quarters. last-ditch plans into motion.
Birth Pangs 47
Aeropter Kamikaze: KHILIAS will grab control of The transfer will take 1+2§ rounds unless a hacker
any aerial vehicles in the vicinity, and begin crash- intervenes, in which case KHILIAS will need to
ing them into the facility. succeed on a face-to-face Hacking test (which it
• Anyone on the surface (including the ware- can attempt each round).
houses or hangar) can be attacked, dealing
4+6§ (Knockdown). 1 Heat can be spent for Once the transfer is complete, John will be dead
each additional target. and KHILIAS in control of his body. At this stage,
• 1 Heat can be spent to send it crashing down its sole goal will be escape. It will try to leave the
into any area on the top level of the facility to facility as quickly as possible, using its Lhost body
the same effect. in ways that seem unnaturally fluid to any observ-
• 2 Heat can be spent to send it down the stair- ers. Once on the surface, it will call down an aerial
well into the basement level (although this also transport and attempt to flee off-world.
damages the mainframe, so KHILIAS is unlikely
to do it unless its vacated those servers or is
extremely desperate). EPILOGUE
• In addition, 1 Heat can be spent to block an
entrance or exit. And 2 Heat can be spent At the end of Part Three: Birth Pangs, the player
VICTORY! to make the crashed vehicle explode on a characters should have captured the March21
The player characters can claim
subsequent round, dealing 2+6§ (Indiscriminate facility and cut KHILIAS off from Maya. John and
victory by shutting down the
(Close), Spread 1, Unsubtle, Vicious 2) damage to BlackThorn may be dead or captured. Dr Hart will
generators powering KHILIAS’
data centre, or by destroying anyone in the area. probably have been rescued.
the quantronic drives on which
its code is stored. If KHILIAS Escape Vector: KHILIAS will begin a forced down- If John or BlackThorn escape, they could cause
has successfully transferred load of as much of its personality and core code trouble for the player characters again. BlackThorn
into John’s Lhost, they will also as possible into John’s Lhost body. John’s body is in particular is ideal for this role; she has been
need to secure or destroy it. disconnected from ALEPH, and therefore safe for fighting the agents directly since the very begin-
KHILIAS. John, forced to confront the possibility of ning of Quantronic Heat. Arguably, too, her position
his own erasure, finds that he doesn’t want to die. is less tied to the fate of March21 than John; if
If the player characters are within earshot, he will John resurfaces, he’s likely to be pursuing the same
beg for their help. agenda, whereas BlackThorn could turn up in a
variety of situations.
NEMESIS
KHILIAS, LHOST If KHILIAS’ code survives — handed over to the

Nomads, some corporation, or Bureau Toth—it
ATTRIBUTES could certainly resurface. This need not be in
AGI AWA BRW COO INT PER WIL the flamboyantly destructive way that March21
12 12 12 8 12 10 12 envisaged; KHILIAS has the capacity to significantly
impact the balance of power in the Human Sphere
FIELDS OF EXPERTISE from behind the scenes.
Combat +2 1 Movement +4 3 Social +2 1
Fortitude +2 2 Senses +2 1 Technical +5 5 An alternative epilogue to Quantronic Heat might
simply look at the consequences of KHILIAS being
DEFENCES
properly secured by one faction or another: Bureau
Toth could responsibly dismantle it, or Nomad Black
Security 2 Morale 4 Armour 2 Hand specialists could spend lifetimes tinkering
NOTES with the code, generating clever software agents
KHILIAS, while in John’s Lhost, has all of John’s equipment (see p. 2) and other programs that never stray into true artifi-
and all of KHILIAS’ special rules (see p. 37). cial intelligence territory.
48 Part Three

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A CYBER-THREAT IN THE HUMAN SPHERE

Quantronic Heat is a mini-campaign of three interlinked scenarios:

CARTOGRAPHY INFINITY RPG LOGO LAYOUT

LEAD EDITOR PROOFREADING PROJECT MANAGER

CORVUS BELLI APPROVALS

ORIGINAL 2D20 GAME DESIGN INFINITY LINE

PRODUCED BY OPERATIONS COMMUNITY PUBLISHING

Modiphius Entertainment Product Number: MUH050208

Artwork & Storyline © Corvus Belli S.L.L. 2017

INFINITY is © Corvus Belli S.L.L. 2017

YELENA “BLACKTHORN” NG, hackers and computer scientists set to work in an

on the same military contracts, locked in corpo-

Three days later, Dr Hart still hadn’t come home. He

BlackThorn's Network Map KEY

Node 4— Maya Relays: BlackThorn has disguised

In order to create a distraction, BlackThorn hacks

Shock Mine: TN 12 on attack roll, 2+5§ NEMESIS

However, the PCs will not have any immediate

Bridge: Perched in highly secured pod at the front CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERBOARD

Heavy CREW OF THE

WILDERNESS OF MIRRORS PLAYTEST TIP

FIELDS OF EXPERTISE ELITE

ATTACKS FIELDS OF EXPERTISE

CLEAN SWEEP RACING REMOTES

Armour 3 BTS 0 FIELDS OF EXPERTISE

UNMODIFIED ORC SKIMMER

CHARACTERS keep the Clean Sweep flying.

Backed by an ancient Triad

ROUTE DECK EVENTS

MOVING FORWARD After the tumultuous Dustbowl Rally, it takes ROUTE

TOPICS OF CONVERSATION Leg 3 — Machine Graveyard: Touching down on

Leg 4 — Equatorial Ridge: Pan is shaped like a WINNING THE RACE

Bleeding Edge Network KEY

A new artificial intelligence has the (in isolated quantronic environments,

of situations and events that can be used over the

KHILIAS ATTACKS! KANRÈN

KHILIAS GASLIGHT FIELDS OF EXPERTISE

NEMESIS Shoal explains that the leads provided by the

CAPTAIN BESS NANGALA

BIRTHPLACE OF SENTRY GUN

KHILIAS AGI AWA

AMBASSADOR KE SCENE 3: player handouts.

(YU JING) SITE RAIDS

Sentry Guns: March21 has installed automatic

Valontach Farmhouse: This site is located in

Warehouse B: A freight elevator at the back of the March21 Fireteam Area 3

Area 3 — Aeropter Pad: A retractable ceiling BASEMENT LEVEL

KHILIAS, LHOST If KHILIAS’ code survives — handed over to the

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