BOUNTY #25: WALDEK MCCUNE, TEAMSTER
A scenario expanded on and moved to Prospero's Dream.
From Wages of Sin; some wording and one map modified from there.
I've not playtested this yet. Eager to, though! If you try it, feedback would be appreciated!
Advert
“Urgent: After the wreck of the Samnite Wedding was discovered in the Rivenveil belt we recovered a single survivor. In the process of gathering their testimony as part of our insurance investigation they fled the Dockside medbay and are now loose in the station, most likely somewhere in the Dockside area. We are offering a reward for his safe return. Acceptance of contract requires NDA signature.”
Briefing
Waldek McCune worked as a Union teamster aboard the Samnite Wedding (Freighter J1C-II), which was wrecked 10 days ago in the Rivenveil asteroid belt. When collected six days ago and immediately brought here, he was nearly catatonic. Treatment brought him around, but at the mention of the wreck today he fled into the wider station. He has a lead of one hour. Tempest Mercenary Co. has closed exits from that section 50.5-A of Dockside.
On accepting the bounty contract, obtaining the briefing and signing the NDA, the PCs get a picture of McCune, HR record (a handout) and Company psychiatrist interview recording (audio file link provided below; and/or give text of recording from below).
PIC of Waldek McCune (use any wild-eyed man pic you like)
HR Record:
Waldek McCune
Human Resources record, employer: Sebaco Mining Inc.
Copy: Teamsters Union Local 32819L, Prospero’s Dream Station,
White male;
he/him.
Age: 29.
Birthplace:
Prospero’s Dream.
Relationship
status: Single.
Declared sexual
orientation: Asexual.
Medical
indications: Nearsighted.
Registered
cybermods: None.
Health record
assessment: Clean.
Reported
addictions: None declared.
Allergies:
Coriander.
Immunization
record: Up to date.
Residence:
Spinward Alleys, Teamsters Union Borough, tower 12, flat 13C.
Family: None declared.
Registered cleaner
and maintenance worker with Teamsters Union Local 32819L for past 9 years.
Salary grade 4,
spine point 21.
Next promotion
board: 6 years.
Biannual appraisal
record: Good. Manager noted keen attention to detail during work shifts.
Time-clock record:
Satisfactory. Median tardiness 2.9 minutes.
Annual leave
remaining: 5.2 days.
Mandatory training
and career development: Up to date. Monthly fire safety training due in 6 days.
Disciplinary actions: None to date. Manager has made formal note of employee consuming food during one work shift (halted and reported by fellow employee).
Union co-opted debt: 1123 credits. Estimated time until debt resolution: 3.6 years.
Recording of interview by psychiatrist:
Recording (as text):
Psychiatrist: “Company contracted
psychiatrist Dr. Dahlia Morris, station time 08:33. Interview with patient
Waldek McCune. Mr. McCune, I am glad you’ve come around. Please tell me what
happened.”
McCune: “No. No. Don’t make me. I’m not
going back there.”
Psychiatrist: “We’re not making you go
anywhere, Mr. McCune. You’re safe here. Please just talk. The Company needs to
know more.”
McCune: “Grizzled withered starved.”
Psychiatrist: “What do you mean by that,
Mr. McCune?”
McCune: “What? No room, no room! Too
full!”
Psychiatrist: “What’s too full, Mr.
McCune? Are you saying you can’t eat but someone else is hungry?”
McCune: “AIEEEE!!!”
Psychiatrist: “Patient Waldek McCune has
lapsed back into shock. Terminating interview for 15 minutes then will
chemically awaken patient to continue.”
Waldek McCune: Strength 33 Speed 40
Intellect 37 (or just Instinct 37) Combat 32; unarmed; special abilities
AP 1 tattered, filthy, bloody,
neon green FlySafe Corp. flight suit
W2(17) [healed self recently with Stimpak; has no
more, or other belongings]
McCune will not fight. He will do anything he can to escape
capture. He is out of his mind and won’t consider the consequences of his
actions.
Stress 13 (keep track for
Panic Checks)
Special abilities:
1)
Traumatic
corporeal deformation: Slip through gaps/do other impossible stunts, he takes 1 Stress and 1 DMG (no armour); Sanity save for anyone spotting
2)
Doomed
dimensional doorway teleport, Panic Check and 2 DMG for
him; Sanity save for anyone spotting
3) [unaware; only uses if about to be captured or if captured, before attempting escape] Psychic flood = Close people roll Fear save or [-] on next actions (or flee)
Running McCune: He’s in no mood for conversation. If
talked to while chased, his initial replies are curt words like “Clean” and
“Pure”.
If captured, he babbles and struggles.
Once he switches focus to the wreck, he
says things like “[They] Must be alone.” And “Don’t open it” and “For their
sake”.
If he’s at the wreck, he psychically
wrestles with the Cabin’s influence, sometimes exclaiming about loneliness,
hunger, etc. Or “I hear the doorbell again”, “Nothing’s worse than that
knocking” and other mad thoughts.
If he’s gone suicidal, he is solemnly, tragically quiet.
Warden Information
Within an impossible cabin
discovered aboard the Samnite Wedding, McCune discovered he was the host to
other intelligences—not just the 200g of bacteria within his gut, but other
spiritual lodgers inhabiting his soul. He is looking for a way to evict them.
Currently McCune is
moving through the maintenance corridors in Dockside, acquiring various
cleaning chemicals with which to try and purify himself. He will gather such
supplies for two hours. If he must, to avoid capture he will throw himself into
a Dockside power station’s reactor.
Unless cornered he flees
any pursuers. He will throw himself across any distance or squeeze into any
gap, heedless of the injuries caused. His body is not his own. Where possible
he avoids doorways. If forced to use a door there is a 30%
chance he simply disappears through it (uses his teleport ability),
reappearing on the other side of a random doorway elsewhere in this Dockside
section. When this happens he screams in horror.
If he discovers that the remains
of the Samnite Wedding are docked with the station he instead dedicates
himself to destroying that. After gaining access he rams the semi-functional
hulk directly into the station, killing hundreds in this Dockside area and
causing massive explosive decompression that causes emergency sealing of
Dockside 50.5-A.
Timeline:
66 days ago: Samnite Wedding excavates
chiming crystals from asteroid.
53 days ago: Frank Hamid, then Waldek
McCune fall under the sway of Cabin 102-B. Begin odd cleaning logs.
41 days ago: Science officer Dr. Fischer
Hamilton inspects Sample 1.02C and logs comments on the manifest.
23 days ago: McCune gets printed hacked
report (requested at stop-off station) on Cabin 102-B.
17 days ago: Dr. Fischer Hamilton,
growing suspicious and investigating, prints log copy.
11 days ago: Hamid and McCune begin
acting crazy and causing trouble on ship. Captain confines them to quarters.
Hamid and McCune sneak to Cabin 102-B.
10 days ago: Hamid and McCune leave
Cabin 102-B and cause shipwreck.
6 days ago: Wreck retrieved.
1 day ago: Wreck arrives at Dream.
McCune awakened.
NOW: 0 hrs McCune escapes, is in maintenance tunnels of Lower
Dream (1d10x1d10 random section), Dockside 50.5-A. Crew begin bounty contract,
arriving at Dockside 50.5-A.
1:45 hrs “Magenta News” vid broadcast
(shown on Dockside screens) describes situation and mentions Samnite Wedding
wreck in Dockside 50.5.A.
2 hrs McCune moves up to Dockside
ground/upper level, leaping across rooftops etc.
2:15 hrs McCune reaches wreck; attempts
to start it and ram it.
2:30 hrs McCune succeeds; massive damage
at Dockside 50.5.A.
Chase rules:
If McCune is spotted, he is moving in a
random direction unless he is headed for the wreck or reactor.
Use Stats checks
mini-game; each round, if pursuing McCune:
Any chasers roll Speed (Athletics); possible situational modifiers
McCune rolls Speed
(or Instinct)
Success = move 2 squares; Crit
success = -1 Stress, move 2 squares and do manouvre (jump well; hide; tackle;
etc.)
Fail = move 1 square; Crit
fail = fall/collide; move 0 squares and +1 Stress and Panic Check.
May attempt to grab/otherwise physically
interact with McCune if start round Adjacent to him
Ranged attacks if line-of-sight exists
are at [-] when McCune is running, and McCune
may use corporeal deformation special ability to amazingly avoid, if he expects
it
Otherwise, improvise. Note that McCune
may have Panic Checks as appropriate.
Consequences
If McCune is captured, the
insurance company successfully pins the wreck on him, avoiding most of the
payout for the disaster. McCune’s fate is sealed as confidential Company
business, with the Teamsters’ Union cooperating. The Samnite Wedding is
investigated, then quietly scrapped. A Cabin 102-B appears in a random
Dockside building.
If McCune is killed, the
menace ends but there is no payout. The Samnite Wedding is investigated, then
refurbished and returned to service.
If not captured but
prevented from killing himself, he enters a catatonic state. After four weeks
of this a new intelligence awakens within him. It begins calling for a way
home. A Cabin 102-B appears in a random Dockside building.
Where is McCune/where did he teleport
to?
Roll 1d10 (0-9) twice and consult map
below.
See
timeline above. Until 2 hours, McCune is only in the maintenance tunnels.
Changes location (to adjacent square; no
teleporting unless meets PCs) every 5 minutes real time or as appropriate.
Average movement of McCune is 1 square/5
minutes (walking; stopping often).
With 100 spaces across this section, he
will cover 24% in his first 2 hours.
If
McCune is atop/in/under Workshop A, Galley or Main Dock, he is immediately
aware of the wreck and heads there quickly, perhaps desperately teleporting
past security.
This map is for a complex that
has covered corridors and buildings within a much larger exposed space (that
has atmosphere, gravity, etc. too). So it is very possible to cross rooftops
etc.
Unassisted leaps across rooftops are Speed (Athletics) [-]; fail = stop short costing 1 round and +1 Stress; Crit fail = fall for 1d5 Blunt DMG (no armour) per level and Panic Check; Crit success = -1 Stress and make impressive manouvre or move 1 more square.
Section 50.5-A used to be a small local system station, “Crora”, captured and hauled here 22 years ago and melded with The Dream’s docking area. Old timers still call it “Daughter Crora”, whereas young locals have slang for it (for various reasons) like “Quora”, “Queera”, and “Corpah” (to some, it has a bad rep as a Corpo place).
DOCKSIDE 50.5-A MAP: (modified from Wages of Sin)
Locations:
NPCs may direct PCs to NPCs/locations such as Medbay and Office A, helping PCs to attain clues.
Medbay: 6 beds, medpod, 1 nurse Trevor
Griffin (they/them; in 30s, slicked back black hair in small top-knot;
frightened, concerned, helpful) or doctor Cassius Shepard (he/him; in
50s, bald with grey “halo” of hair, cybernetic eyes; distant, uptight, hiding
concern; hesitant) present 50% of time, working away with 1d5-1 patient(s). Anyone
here can elaborate on McCune’s description—flightsuit, etc.
Doctor can note that,
curiously, McCune was in a cryopod when the wreck was found, comatose until
stimpak’ed, but the cryopod was unpowered. Puzzling.
Nurse can give firsthand
info about McCune. They are a licensed Deep Tissue Nanogel Massager. Tell that
the psychiatrist recorded an interview before McCune fled.
Nurse information example:“McCune had many bruises and scrapes across his body when examined. He was very agitated. The circumstances of McCune’s escape are… unusual. I don’t understand what I saw. For his safety, his hands were ziptied and he was locked in the medbay, attended by Company psychiatrist Dahlia Morris and myself. Somehow he slipped his bonds and we both saw him… somehow… pass through that door or its frame, screaming as he went. His… howl… that I heard is going to keep me awake tonight.”
2 first aid kits, 2
stimpaks (reluctant to use unless emergency), stretcher, medscanner,15x automed
pills, 15x rad pills.
Medical Office: 1 nurse or doctor present 50% of time
(see above), working away on paperwork, routine labwork, etc.
Aeroponics gardens A-C: Long, tall warehouses stuffed with
rows of aeroponic gardens, walkways overhead with UV light and watering
systems; gentle music playing.
Office A: FlySafe Insurance Co., one junior
administrator always present (Tanner Finnick, he/him; 20s, pale,
athletic, tousled blonde hair; barely useful, defers to Dr.).
Company psychiatrist Dr.
Dahlia Morris present (she/her; curly ginger-haired, in 30s, cyberware
evident). Certified Artificial Wellness Counselor. Can discuss the interview recording and other matters.
Pensive, prone to linger in deep thought, concerned about Company assets,
willing to help to a point. Remaining remarkably calm; stoic.
Psychiatrist's information example: “McCune
showed signs of extreme mental trauma. The circumstances of his escape are
unnatural. I saw what I saw. For his safety, his hands were ziptied and he was
locked in the Medbay, attended by myself and the Medbay nurse on duty. Somehow
he slipped his bonds and we both saw him literally pass through the door, or maybe
its frame, screaming in abject terror as he went. I am not sure he truly wanted
to leave, and yet he did, and yet not by a mundane route. Very curious.”
Office B: Dockside 50.5A Teamsters Union office,
1d5-1 Teamsters present.
Farming Supply: Solarian stockroom and office linked
to aeroponics; 1d5 Solarians present. 20% chance of being in prayer.
Water Purification: Plant packed with pipes and tanks and
lots of obstacles or places to hide. 1 teamster present 33% of time, working
away.
Deactivated turret: Door security locked. Under
maintenance; room is crowded with scaffolding etc. Faces into Drydock, but also
has door to exit. Door security locked.
Security office: Local security hired by Teamsters.
1d5-1 present. Low motivation. Security camera feed from many rooms and
passages; 1 minute to check each. 25% chance of having current information on
McCune’s location.
Rec rooms (x2): Tables, chairs. Variety of games and
exercise gear. 1d5-1 random locals present.
Bridge & Comms: Door security locked. 1d5+1 Dockside
Teamsters and 33% chance of Novo droog inspector present. Can be convinced
(bribed 100cr?) to issue temporary security keycards. May have updated
information on spotting McCune. 20% chance of having current information on
McCune’s location.
Storage: Door security locked. Two levels of
rows of shelves. Exoloader. 1 teamster present 33% of time, working away.
Rental rooms A-K: Doors security locked (residents +
Dockside security). Cramped. Seen better days.
Living A, B: Spacious but subdivided but heavily
used and poorly maintained, with old staircase up to mezzanine overlooking
ground floor. Worn/stained sofas, tables, vidscreens, kitchenette,
toilets/shower, etc. 1d5+2 random locals present; travellers, teamsters, etc..
Reactor + Atmo: Door security locked. Warning sign
outside: Radiation level 1. Small leakage under
repair. Door into reactor security locked; needs 2 keycards (but McCune could
slip through). 1-2 teamsters present 50% of time, working away.
Atmo subdivision on
southeast corner, password-locked (Hacking), can
get access to local environment controls (any room: atmosphere, gravity,
lights, etc.).
2 Hazard suits in locked
case with Geiger counter.
Galley: Grubby mess hall and kitchen with benches and long tables
extending length of room. 1d5 staff and 2d10 random people are here.
Workshop A, B: Tall, wide, long teamster facilities.
1d10 Teamsters at work here. Loads of tools and resources. Door from A is
airlocked to Main Dock.
Main Dock: All three doors (airlocks)
security locked. Teamster-run controls and service station for the small dock
here. 2 vacc suits, 4 O2 tanks, 2 rebreathers and 1 mag-boots hanging near
airlock door (with signout/signin clipboard), with wall-box holding first aid
kit and 2 uses of patching kit.
Colourful encounters in Dockside 50.5-A: Sprinkle as needed. Tip: avoid violent
encounters. Where possible, nudge the mission to focus on investigation and
problem-solving leading to increasingly tense, frantic action. Choose or roll;
reroll if rolled twice. (1d10:)
0. “The
Oracle” news reporter, microphone and cassette reporter in hand, asking around
about this fleeing teamster from the shipwreck.
1.
Leather-clad
Novo droog, Slug drug hawker, brazenly advertising doses and no one is
troubling them.
2. Tempest Co. patrol, 1d5+1 Probies,
feeling aggressive, stop and search. Check contraband, O2 debt, etc.
3.
A
Gravball match holo-advertisement flickers on a local wall. A few passersby are
discussing it.
4.
A
group of 1d5+1 women; travellers from another system, just landed and were
celebrating in the Galley; are grouped around their girlfriend. She is
unresponsive on the ground. They are all drunk.
5.
A
group of 1d5+1 stray synth-dogs overturn a trash can and begin to search the
contents. Their ears are upright as they search the trash. They are not eating
it. They are sorting it for waste processing.
6.
The
scent of rich Chinese food (tofu noodle stirfry) wafts from a small stand
“Cyberstirred”. The 1d5+1 patrons around them are dressed in corporate style
suits; are FlySafe Insurance Co. middle managers.
7.
Two
FlySafe Co. security are running. If asked, they are pursuing a lead on
McCune’s location and can give a tip if convinced. They will not find him, but
their tip would help.
8.
A
photosynthetic-tattooed Solarian monk from the Sunlit Path (Bioascetic; Lich aspect) is preaching of the fragility of life and the need for humility in the
face of death. Seeking donations for Doptowners’ plight. 10 credits (“one
breath”) for a personalised prayer (5 minutes).
9.
People
are gathering around a spot on the floor. If inspected, it is a strange,
bubbling, grey, oozy, very sticky pool that is seeping up from the ground.
Smells of cinnamon. Vile taste. It is organic, of unknown origin. Soon it’s
cordoned off by security. (Caliban manifestation)
1d10 Street
level obstacles or scenery for PCs to use or to aid the Warden in immersive environmental
descriptions: (roll when desired)
0. Stinking rubbish pile
1. Nearby fire escape, to top of
building (may need Strength check to extend
quickly)
2. Chilli-falafel street food stand (2
cr; Body save or -1 Health)
3. Breakdancer with boombox (or other performer), drawing a crowd
4. Oil slick from dripping pipe (Speed check to move through quickly; flammable)
5. Stack of supply crates, top reaching
close to building roof
6. 1d10[+] Union teamsters (or Novo
droogs) carousing, slowing foot traffic
7. No lights around street; dark
8. Stack of 1d10[+] empty steel drums
9. Tempest Merc on break, urinating on a
wall
1d10 roof level obstacles or scenery for PCs to use or to aid the Warden in immersive environmental descriptions: (roll when desired)
0. Junk pile
1. Nearby fire escape, down from
building (may need Strength check to extend
quickly)
2. Vent; shaft leads down to next
building level below
3. Exhaust pipe spewing noxious gas: Body save or -1 Heath and [-] for 5 minutes
4. Protrusions from roof provide
excellent cover
5. Large antenna; obstacle or other
usage?
6. Short ladder up to a
watchtower/viewing platform with good 360 degrees view 1 building away
7. Slug addict in a daze
8. Fragile roof collapses underfoot
(unless seen); Body save or fall into next
level, 1d10(half armour) Blunt DMG
9. Foetid pool of wastewater and algae; Speed check to cross quickly or slip/fall
Wreck of the Samnite Wedding:
Ship
locations:
1d5 Company security officers around entry areas restrict
entry but allow it, under supervision, if contract with Company is demonstrated.
All digital records are corrupted beyond retrieval.
Explosive decompressions (from laser cutter) in 1 cargo
bay, life support and command (now patched) vented most contents and 10 crew.
IF CLUES BELOW ARE NOT FOUND BY PCS IN A TIMELY WAY, HAVE
NPCS DELIVER THEM, EVEN OVER COMMS.
1.
Airlocks;
umbilical. Interior: 3 vacc suits hanging, 4 O2 tanks
2.
Habitat/life
support deck: 7 small decks =
1.
Life
Support (repaired; fully functional)
2.
Workspace
3.
Galley
4.
Bathing
5.
Quarters
(4 crew, 4 small rooms)
i. Extra
room (taped off as “Security Investigation: No Access”): Cabin 102-B:
see Unconfirmed Contact Reports pg. 10. Sanity Save each hour spent inside Cabin 102-B. Improvise results
if entered (bad!).
6.
Quarters
(4 crew, 4 larger rooms (senior crew)
i. Science officer Dr. Fischer Hamilton
(geologist and planetologist): has crew log printout; investigating Cabin.
ii. Frank Hamid (chief engineer) cabin: scrawlings about Cabin 102-B similar to
crew log.
iii. Captain Satai Sorai Mok: functional backup black box here.
7.
Quarters
(4 crew, 4 small rooms)
i. McCune’s cabin: has printed report on Cabin 102-B
(secretly requisitioned via CANYONHEAVY.market)
3.
Command/Bridge
(under repair; semi-functional)
a.
Possible
to reconstruct from black box (Hacking, 10 minutes; Computers, 20 minutes; Intellect check w/o
skill, 1 hour; halve time and -1 Stress on Critical success; box lockdown on
Critical failure and Panic Check; can
slow down and take 2x time to avoid roll): Box
includes terminal logs and main rooms’ camera feeds.
i. Frank Hamid insanely attempted to
redirect the jump drive to hurtle the Samnite Wedding into the Setebos sun.
ii. Failing that (Captain’s override), he put
on a vacc suit and mag-boots, took a laser cutter and ran around the ship,
moving in impossible ways (Sanity save to watch)
blasting holes in the hull (3 locations; as above).
iii. Frank Hamid then stripped naked, tearing
hair and flesh with clothes, and hurled himself into Cabin 102-B (vanished—into
another dimension?). (Sanity save to watch)
iv. Meanwhile, a maddened Waldek McCune
struggled with the Captain and Science Officer, then fled to Cryo and tried to
freeze himself; Cabin 102-B’s entity preserved him once cryo failed and the ship
was wrecked.
v. The Samnite Wedding impacted with a
small asteroid, rendering it adrift. Its black box set off an automated
distress signal that soon was discovered and the wreck was hauled to The Dream
for investigation. Dock repairs quickly re-established functionality.
4.
Cargo
deck (see inset map): main cargo is rare earth minerals from Rivenveil asteroid
belt. Manifest notes printout
on clipboard: “Sample 1.02C = Chiming crystalline growths from
asteroid Jovial-7. McCune calls them “Doorbells”. Access restricted to science
officer Dr. Fischer Hamilton. Secure delivery to Sebaco Mining R&D office indicated.” (sample is now missing; Frank Hamid
blasted this cargo pod to vent them)
5.
Cryochamber
(destroyed; bulkheads patched; one cryopod was McCune’s; least damaged)
6.
Reactor:
damaged but stabilised and operational.
Handouts from the wreck:
Log printout from Science Officer's room: (modified from Unconfirmed Contact Reports)
