Copyright © 2001 by Matthew S. Prager ( msprager AT hotmail DOT com). All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer
http://www.geocities.com/pentapod2300/best/ghost.htm
What do you do when something takes over your computer system and you face
ruin and possibly even death? This scenario takes place on an orbital
station and will allow the player characters a chance to use their non-combat
skills. -- Matthew.
"I thought it sounded like a great opportunity. I'd been trying
to get a job off world for awhile, and then this job came along.
Six months on an orbital station -- I'd get some excellent work experience
and use it as a stepping stone to something better. Yep, it was beginning
to look like my luck was turning around. I should have known better."
The PCs hear about a job offer, either through a contact or an employment agency. A company called INFONET has recently established an orbital platform, the ARCHIVE, which is used to collect and disseminate information around the world. INFONET is looking for a crew for the platform, offering a six-month contract at standard rates, with bonuses paid for acquiring new data or arranging customers for the company's data. The crew will be comprised of the following personnel:
NOTE: In addition to the requirements noted above, two crew members should also have a minimum Medical skill level of 1. If not, select crew members to receive this training as required. Although it would be beneficial if the PCs also had other space-oriented skills, the employment contract does not require it.
The director should fill any position not taken by the PCs with NPCs.
The PCs will receive a gear bag which contains two flight suits, a pair
of velcro boots, a set of tickets and travel instructions, and a pay advance
of Lv500. The PCs should be cautioned about bringing a large amount
of personal items along with them, as space is very limited on the ARCHIVE.
Carrying weapons is also discouraged, any weapons brought aboard the station
will be confiscated by the Captain. INFONET will allow the PCs two
days to clear up any personal business before heading for orbit.
"Whoever said getting there is half the fun should have been punched in the mouth. The flight to Libreville was short and sweet, but we had a ten-hour layover while we waited for the trip up the beanstalk. After five days of being cramped in that capsule it really felt good to stretch my legs at Gateway. I was really getting strung out and couldn't wait to get to the platform and settle in."
The PCs will travel by air to Libreville, where they will board a beanstalk capsule for the trip to Gateway. The director should use little incidents, such as lost luggage or a misunderstanding during a customs check, to give the PCs the feeling of a long, drawn out trip.
NOTE: Information on the beanstalk and Gateway Station is available
in GDW's ( now FFE's) Earth/Cybertech Sourcebook and Beanstalk.
Once the PCs have reached Gateway, they transfer to a chartered shuttle for the last part of their trip to the ARCHIVE, the orbital platform on which they will be stationed. As the PCs approach the ARCHIVE, they will be able to observe it from the shuttle's viewports. The habitat looks as if it has been cobbled together from bits and pieces of discarded junk, which is exactly the truth. The hull was originally a fuel tank, painted with the logo of some minor trading company. The paint is faded and chipped, and the hull has been patched in numerous places. Once inside, the PCs find the interior in worse shape. The insulation has been torn away from the walls in various spots so that work could be done. Bundles of fiber optic cable have been plastered to any handy surface with globs of spray adhesive. The place is a shambles.
NOTE: For specific information on the ARCHIVE, see Appendix A.
The shuttle that brought the crew to the ARCHIVE will immediately depart, so that the PCs are not given the chance to change their minds. The PCs will find the station's systems, with the exception of life support, powered down. It will be their job to bring the station up and make it operational. The PCs must perform a task to bring each of the systems listed below on-line.
TASK: Bring system on-line. Routine. Skill appropriate to system. 30 minutes.
Once the crew has the station up and functional they will begin their six-month tour of duty. They will quickly fall into a routine of watches, monitoring systems, collecting data from willing ( and unwilling) sources and transmitting information to INFONET Headquarters via communications satellites.
Life aboard the ARCHIVE will be dull, cramped, and generally unpleasant. The director should try to give the impression that they are trapped in an orbiting junk pile for the next few months. During their time in orbit various systems should breakdown, causing intolerable inconveniences such as the following:
The director should devise task rolls to repair these and other systems.
When the PCs attempt to repair these problems, they will find old, worn
out equipment that anyone else would have thrown out years ago and probably
did. It should become frustrating for them, placing patches upon
patches.
Except for an occasional system failure, life aboard the ARCHIVE should become very routine, until Day 92. On this day, while a cyberjockey is collecting data for the company, a virus is inadvertently loaded into the station's computer system.
This virus was written by an obscure terrorist group that has taken up the cause against data piracy. The virus is called "The Apocalypse" and is particularly virulent. See Appendix B for detail concerning the virus.
At first the PCs may not realize that a virus has infected their system, mistaking the system malfunctions as problems resulting from the condition of the station. One of these problems is that the virus has sealed the airlock, preventing it from cycling, and effectively trapping the characters in the station. However, with the coming of the "Second Rider", they will know that they have been infected and must attempt to clear the virus from the system.
The characters will probably attempt to power down the computer and reload the system, but this will not remove the virus. In order to clear the virus program from the system several actions must be taken. First, an antibody program must be written to deactivate the loop portion of the virus. The characters will have to figure a way to load this antibody into the system, since all consoles are disabled. The easiest way would be to utilize a personal portacomp or cyberdeck. Once the loop has been rendered useless and they have regained use of their consoles the crew will have to initiate a full stand down of the station and a cold restart of all systems from programs located in protected memory. Once this has been accomplished, they will have successfully removed the virus.
TASK: To write an antibody program ( Uncertain). Formidable. Computer. 1 hour.
The characters must remove the virus in order to survive this situation.
They cannot be removed from the station because the airlock is sealed.
Once they have removed the virus, their duties will continue on normally
until the next crew relieves them.
The ARCHIVE is a small, zero-g habitat with a comfort level of -2 for crewmembers. A total of four megawatts is provided for station power by two solar arrays. There is no powerplant installed, however there is a battery backup system which should last approximately 48 hours in the event of a failure of the solar arrays. Life support systems for the station can maintain oxygen levels indefinitely, however should life support fail, emergency life support will last only six hours. Standard maneuvering thrusters are installed; otherwise there is no other form of propulsion.
There are two solar arrays installed, each providing two megawatts of power. The station could easily function with only one array, however the massive memory cores require a large amount of power. A battery backup system is also installed and has been rated at a duration of 48 hours, but it has never been tested. If required, the director should roll five d10 to determine the actual amount of time the batteries will last.
The memory core consists of millions of arrays of nonvolatile memory ( data is not lost if power is removed). This is separated into two sections, system memory and data memory. System memory has a volume of 10,000 and contains all the programs to monitor and control the habitat. Data memory has never been fully mapped, but it is huge and contains an undetermined number of files. The memory core is pressurized and access is available through a hatch connecting it to the airlock.
The airlock contains racks for the inhabitant's EVA suits and facilities for recharging a suit's life support system. The airlock is fitted with a standard coupling ring to allow docking of shuttlecraft.
The floor of this deck is a steel grating, through which can be seen the crew deck. An opening in the center of the floor allows access to the crew deck, while an opening in the ceiling allows access to the airlock. Located around the walls are various computer workstations for monitoring station operations.
This is where the crew spends their off-duty hours. The space is small and cramped, and smells slightly due to poor ventilation. It contains the following areas:
NOTE: "T" = time program is initially loaded into the system.T+1 hour: A system infector is loaded. At times it will effect the computer processors, preventing them from functioning. A system restart will temporarily fix this problem, but it will return after 3d10 minutes. These problems will tend to look like routine errors, and may not necessarily arouse any suspicions.
T+4 hours: A "loop" is initiated, rendering program files inoperative. All consoles will be locked out of the system and the following message will be displayed on all active consoles: "Behold the Apocalypse, the end of your world! It is judgment day, prepare to pay for your sins against personal privacy. You have been visited by the First Rider of the Apocalypse. He has infected your system and freezes your processor with a glance. Now comes the Second Rider. He denies you access to your ill-gotten data and renders you helpless against the Four Riders of the Apocalypse. In 20 hours the Third rider will come. He will devour your precious data files bit by bit before your very eyes. In 24 hours the fourth and final Rider will approach. Look upon him with dread, for he is your destruction and will ensure a long, excruciating death."
T+20 hours: A "worm" is loaded into the memory core and will be to slowly destroy the files stored there.
T+24 hours: The system infector will shutdown life support for the station.