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DEEP SPACE

DEEP
SPACEI'M
The CYBERPUNK®
Space Supplement
Design
Chris Young
Scott Hedrick

From An Original Idea by

Mike Pond smith
David Ackerman
Glenn Wildemuth

Editing
Derek Quintanar, S.E.
Janice Sellers

Covers
Doug Andersen (0 1992, 1993

Interior Illustrations
Malcom Hee
Paulo Parente
Matteo Resinanti
Karl Martin
Harrison Fong
Glen Hallstrom
Mike Pondsmith
Chris Hockabout

Layout
Glen "I.C.E., I.C.E., Baby"
Hallstrom

CopyrIght 198ge,- R. Talsorlan Games,

Inc. All Rights Reserved under the
Universal Copyright Co nventio n.
OEEP SPACE '" and NEAR ORBIT are
trademarks of R. Talso rtan Games, Inc.

An R. TelllOrian Gamos Product.

Published br
R. 'alsorlan Gamos. Inc:.
P.O. Bo. 7356
Balkelo" CA 94707

stock #CP 3211

 DEEP SPACE

ON THE EDGE OF SPACE .. 4 Vehicles ...... .. ....... ....... ... ....... 53

Earth 2025 .............................. 5 Tools .................................... 55
Lunar System Map .................. 7 Personal Gear .... ...... .. 56
Who's Who in the Survival Gear ... ...................... 56
Solar System .. .... ..... ....... ..... .... 8 Weapons .............................. 57
The Solar System .......... ......... , 0 Newtech 2025 .................. .... 59
World Spaceport Map ........... 11 Equipment List ...................... 59
Planetary Data Table .............. , 5 Bioware List ........................... 61
Communication lagtime
Table .................................... 15 ARITIFICAL HABITA TS ... 62
Workshacks ........................... 63
THE ENVIRONMENT Autofactories ......................... 6 3
OF SPACE .. .•. ........ ........ 16 Battlestations ......................... 63
The Triad .......... ..... . .. 17 Orbital Colonies .................... 63
Atmosphere. .... , 7 Planetary Bases ...................... 65
Rad iation .............................. , 9 Habitat Modules ..... . .... 66
Radiation Effect Table ............ 21 Orbital Module Diagrams ..... 67
Long Term Effects Table ......... 22 Ground Bases ........................ 68
Gravity .... ....... . ... ....... 23 Crystal Palace Diagram .......... 70
Gravity Adaptation ................ 24 Tycho Moon Base Map .......... 71
Combat in Zero-Gee .............. 25
LIVING AND WORKING
GETTING AROUND THE IN SPACE •. ..•.• ..... ..... .•... 72
SOLAR SYSTEM ............. 26 Highriders ............................. 73
Hardware .... . .. ... 27 So What Do They Do? ....... .... 75
Surface-to-Space Spacecraft ... 27 Space Careers Table .. .. .......... 7S
Surface-ta-Orbit Spacecraft .... 28 Orbital Skills .......................... 76
Orbital Spacecraft ... .. ... 33 The Orbital Character ... ......... 77
Small Craft ............................ 34 The "Orbitals"-Space-based
Battle Satellites ................... ... 34 Corporations .......... ... ............ 78
Deep Space Ships .. ...... ... ....... 35 Living in the Belt .... .... ........... 80
Spacecraft Technology .......... 39 Colonizing New Worlds ......... 80
Orbital Mechanics in Three Easy
Lessons.... .. ... .... ...... .. 42 RED CONFLICT: A SPACE
Hohmann Orbit Diagram .... .. .42 ADVENTURE ... ... ..... ... ... 82
Hazards of Space Travel ......... 44 Part One: Groundside Blues ... 8 3
Space Combat .... ... ... ..... .. ..... 46 Dawn Facility Map .. ... .. .. .. ... ... 84
Communications ................... 48 Dawn Net Map ..................... 85
Psychological Effects of Long Part Two: Ticket to Ride ......... 87
Distance Travel ...................... 49 Part Three: Home
Interstellar Travel ... ................ 49 Sweet Home ......................... 97
Part Fo u r: Mu tiny ................ 108
EQUIPMENT AND Isidis Net Map ..................... 11 7
WEAPONS .. ............... ... 50 Isidis Base Map .......... ....... ... 11 8
Equipme nt ............................ 51
SELECTED REFERENCES •. 119

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.u.,--------------------
 DEEP SPACE

out enemy lasersats with their kinetic ground-based spaceplanes and

EARTH: 2025 kill weapons. shuttles dock with Orbital Transfer
Stations, shifting crews and cargo to
The corporations control the world At the stable orbit of l- ' , hanging outbound Orbital Transfer Vehicles
from their skyscraper fortresses, while suspended between Earth and luna, (OWs).
armies of cyborg killers roam the is the huge spinning wheel of the
shattered urban ruins. The seas are a Crystal Palace, Mankind's first true THE L-ZONES
chemical soup slicked with oil, the space colony and the glittering crown The "l points" (or l aGrange Station-
skies are black with acid rain, and of the Euro Space Agency's achieve- ary Points) occupy stable positions
vast deserts sweep across what was ments. l ooming just beyond at l -5 is relative to Earth and l una, making
once fertile farmland. The cities of O'Neill One: the titanic micro-planet them perfect for long-duration, self-
Earth teem with human scum, as whose cylindrical bulk spans twenty contained bases, factories and con-
fashion models rub biosculpt jobs miles (33km), a giant hive of human- struction sites. At the l points orbit
with battle-armored roadwarriors in ity surrounded by myriad OTV's and the largest space constructions in
the meanest streets this side of shuttles. On the far side of Earth existence-the roughly toroida ICrys-
Postholocaust. from O'Neill One lies the equally tal Palace space station (l -l ), the
massive O'Neill cylinder of Paradise mammoth O'Neill One Habitat (l -
This is the world of CYBERPUNK. Station; situated at l-4, this is the 5), Paradise Station (l -4), and the
final cylinder colony, and is eventu- smaller Galileo Cylinder (l -3). Be-
Butonlya scant hundred miles above ally planned to extend to approxi- hind the Moon sits the l-2 point,
the steaming, polluted atmosphere mately 100km in length. Its design home of the ESA's testbed cylinder
of the Cyberpunk Earth is another already contains the seeds for this and deep space explorer dock.
world. Silent and frigid, it is the further expansion.
world of great spinning cylinder- ON LUNA
worlds, speeding space-fighters, spi- On luna and Mars are self-sustain- Since the early 2000's ESA and its
der-like orbital vehicles, and the ti- ing colonies, tunnelled into the floors allied nations have maintained per-
tanic white lattices of the deep space and walls of their respective craters, manent bases on Luna. The original
explorers. with miles of solar collectors provid- bases were simple pressure domes
ing the raw energy to support life on and modified workshacks boosted
This is the world of DEEP SPACE. these dead worlds. The mile long by OTV's and soft landed in sections.
tracks of the l una massdrivers are Over the last twenty years, these
THE VIEW FROM SPACE buried deep within the crater rock, a foothol d s have been expanded
Motivated by a deteriorating ecosys- dark reminder of the time when ESA
t hrough t he use of nuclear and solar
tem and accelerating population used them to hurl multi-tonned rocks
powered laser-drills (collectors on
growth, mankind has exploded out at the Earth.
the surface, and cutting drill below),
into the stars. In the Near Earth Orbit which have created networks of sub-
Zones the skies are crowded with Welcome to the Space Age.
surface tunnels. Water is provided
space traffic: busy orbital transfer
through the mining of Lunar ice and
vehicles unloading cargos from space IN LOW ORBIT is heavily recycled, while air comes
shuttles, sleek spaceplanes docking In l ow/Near Earth Orbit (lEO), the
among the spiderweb girders of habi- from sub-surface hydroponic gar-
traffic is fai rly light. Communications, dens (l it by rolling back huge shut-
tats and stations. There are over two weather and spy sats shift from this
thousand factories in orbit, with au- ters on the surface).
zone to Geo-syn Orbit and back as
tomated workstations churning out their programmed routines dictate.
drugs, plastics, alloys and tools for There are two permanent cities on
lEO is also the domain of orbital
corporate markets on Earth. Luna, both controlled by the Euro
space fighters and battle satellites,
which require closer orbits and a Space Agency. Tycho/l una Colony,
Microwave satellites spread lattice higher degree of manoeuverability. the largest, maintains two
wings to catch the solar wind, con- massdrivers, used to boost Lunar
verting its energy to microwaves and GEOSYN ORBIT rock and ore out to the L-5 construc-
beaming it down to the power GEO-Synchronous Orbit (22,000 tions . The population (in 2025) is
starved millions below. Skirting the miles / 37,000 km) is dominated by approximately 18,000. The second
outer fringes of the atmosphere, the orbital workstations, small factories, colony, at Copernicus, supports a
sinister arrowhead shapes of space- battlesats (US and USSR), and other single massdriver, and a popula tion
fighters and deltas cruise, seeking stable platforms. It is here that of around 12,000.

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 DEEP SPACE

OUT TO MARS the void between Mars and the giant

TlME-UHE fOR DEEP SPACE From 201 1; after the landing of the gaseo us lupiter . Aided by the
first ESNSolI joint Mars mission, hu- colonisation of Mars and the prospect
1997 manity has maintained a tenuousfoot· of untold mineral wealth a steady
Tycho/Luna colony hold upon Mars. It was NASA, how- stream of robot mining droids, pro-
founded. ever, with its ambitious Columbus cessing factories and foolhardy indio
mission, who established the first per- viduals clutter the solar system's main
2000 manent colony atChryse Planitia, with asteroid belt.
Construction of Crystal ESA announcing formal completion
Palace begun. of their Isidis Base twelve m onths later.
FURTHER OUT
Since that time NASA has provided a Although mankind now possesses the
2002 technology to extend into the outer
Copernicus/Luna colony regular series of flights to support the
solar system, the intense cold and
founded. Mars colony. The latest generation of
inhospitable atmospheric conditions
NASA deep-space cycler transports,
the Explorer class, are performing the on the outer planets make further
2005 commercial expansion unlikely for
First Corporate war. Con- trip in under thirteen months. In con-
some time tocome. Advanced probes
struction on Crystal Palace junction with JAB, the Chryse base has
from both NASA and JAB continue to
delayed as Orbital Air become an important center, cur-
shed new light on the nature of the
plunges resources into rently supporting a population of over
outer solar system.
defense of Transworld 900.
against EBM. A stalemate
results. Martian orbital space has become pro- Based on data gathered by the 2018
gressively busier over the last three ESA unmannn ed p robe, NASA
2008 years and now supports its own launched a manned mission to Jupiter
Euro-American Conflict runs complement of workshacks and fac- in early 2023. The mission is aimed at
for only a few weeks before tories for production of materials and conducting scientific a nalysis on both
ESA destroys many strategic components At least a dozen operat. the gas giant and its moons. Curiously,
U.S. offenSive pOSitions by ing autofactories are known to orbit several corporations have taken an
hurling Luna rock via the Mars, with approximately two-thirds unusual degree of interest in the mission
Tycho massdrlver. of these operated by JAB. and it is believed that NASA may be
hiding certain information revealed by
2009 Although all major parties involved on the earlier probes. Whatever the infor-
ESNSov Mars mission Mars are interested in the possibility of mation is, itappears to have generated
departs. terraforming Mars to reduce the cost some interest outside of NASA, and
offurthercolonisation, there has been rumors speculate that systematic radio
2010 little real progress made in this area. A transmissions have been detected ema-
O'Neill One construction quasi-independent research organi- nating from the planet. In any event,
begins. zation, known as the Japanese Mars the expedition should enter the Jovian
Research laboratories OMRL), has con- system in November 2025.
2011 structed a significant research installa-
Crystal Palace opened. tion atthe Martian polar ice-cap. How- In addition, a joint JAB/ NASA un·
ESNSov mission arrives on ever, the extent of their investigations manned mission is scheduled for
Mars. is unknown. launch towards Saturn in 2025 to
foll ow up the Cassini probes. While it
Construction of L-3 and L-4 THE BELT will sUlVey the Rings and other aspects
colonies begins. Tumbling like tarnished jewels, a bil- of the Saturnian system, the focus for
lion tons of rock and ice spin through study is said to be the moon Titan .
2012
First viable nanotechnology
achieved concurrently by
Euro and Japanese corpo-
rate labs.
 DEEP SPACE
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DEEP SPACE
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Unfortunately, as ESA grew and ex-
nME-UNE FOR DEEP WHO'S WHO IN THE panded, it became more bureaucratic
SPACE (CONT.) SOLAR SYSTEM and authoritarian. The m ain orbital
2013 population (approximately 68%)
First IItrue" AI activated. In space the only laws are those of stemmed from the Hireout and was
physics and the corporations. Both growing exponentially. These indi-
2015 can kill you. viduals, many bom and bred in space,
Nanotech becomes a were hardy and individualistic and
commercial reality. ESA saw the orbital colonies as Nhome."
After its technological coup in 1998 This population, known as the
2016 with the Hermes II spaceplane, the Nhighriders,N eventually revolted
Bioware hits the streets. European Space Agency looked fit to against the growing pressure from
O'Neill OQe completed. control most of the rapidly expanding ESA to overc rowd the orbital colonies
sphere of colonized space. In the same and force many workers to operate in
2017 year ESA began the recruitment of sub-standard conditions for little re-
First self-aware clones. millions of people from the central ward. This blewup into a series of
L-3 colony completed; African nations. In an eventnowknown short but violent clashes between
named Galileo Cylinder as the ESA Hireout, entire African Highriders and ESA known as the
(O'Neill Two). townships were brought into orbit, "O'Neill Wars," during which ESA lost
NASA Mars mission de- trained and put to work. ESA took control of both O'Neill One and the
parts. control of LEO for manufacturing and newer Galileo Cylinder.
colonization, developing the more
2018 advanced Aries series space planes and By 2025 ESA still controls the majority
l~ colony completed; constructing hundreds of workshacks of facilities in LEO. It maintains both
named Paradise Station and the magnificent Crystal Palace Crystal Palace and Paradise Station
(ONiell Three). habitat (a glittering toroidal play- (an O'Neill cylinder at the L-4 point).
ground for the rich). ESAaiso has access to lo ng range drive
Second ESA/Sov Mars technology and with Soviet help has
mission departs. Since its founding, ESA has focused on set u p a Mars Base at Isidis Planitia. All
orbital manufacturing and has ob- ESA facilities are now kept under op-
ESA unmanned probe is tained funding from several Euro- pressive surveillance by Interpol and
sent to Jupiter. multinationals who have traded both elite ESA corporate squads to ensure
raw material and eurobucks for a slice that the O'Neill Wars do not have any
2019 of the orbital manufacturing industry. successors.
L-S colony revolt. ESA also implemented a historic deal
Highriders successfully repel with the Soviets, who p rovided heavy NASA
ESA forces and announce lift capacity in return for spaceplane Faced with budget cuts and the loss of
independence. payloads. Orbital Air (the main carrier military shuttle payloads to the United
l-4 colony placed under ot personnel 'lnto space) was insti- Slates Air fOTce (USAf) in the \ate
martial law. gated by ESA and is still the only 1990's, NASA became relegated to
licensed owner of the Aries series deep space probes and scientific ex-
NASA Mars mission arrives spaceplanes. ploration. The NASA "Galileo" space
station was finally abandoned in 2004.
2020 By 2015, ESA was the largest, richest This appeared to spell the end for
Second ESNSov Mars and most capable spacefaring o rgani- NASA as a serio us space pioneer.
mission arrives. zation in existence. It creamed a 1 0%
commission off all space-related manu- The successful commissioning of
2021 facturing, and controlled most of the NASA's deep space-capable Explorer
NASA's Chryse Base com- law enforcement in LEO and out to class manned vehicle (based on the
pleted on Mars. Luna through the EEC-controlled Proteus nuclear propulsion system)
Interpol space police. They proceeded quickly opened the highway to the
2022 to build several major orbital habitats, outer solar system. The now historic
First automated factories including three O'Neill colonies (huge Colombus Mars mission placed NASA.
appear in orbit around rotating cylinders of lunar rock and and its familiar technology partner,
Mars. metal framing several kilometers in JAB, firmly into the lead in planetary
diameter). colonization. This first mission suc-
 DEEP SPACE

cessfully landed sixty-three people on larty ESA's major headquarters - Crys-

Mars with suffkient equipment to can· tal Palace - would be easy prey for a nME·UNE FOR DEEP
structa small permanent base. Subse- "rogue" gunship. SPACE (CONT.)
quently, NASA has initiated regular
Mars flights which leave Earth ap- The USAF is the master in space sub- O'Neill Two declares inde-
proximately every fourteen months version and military double-think. It
(this will be shortened to a year very has more weapons, spy and laser sats,
pendent status.
soon). and armed vehicles than any other The "O'NeiWwar" between
orbital power, and is willing to use
NASA now provides the majority of them. The USAF is also suffering an
ESA and the Highriders
the personnel and equipment trans- eclipse of their popularity after NASA's
occurs, lasting approxi-
port to Mars, including renting pay- successful Mars colonisation attempts,
mately 7 hours. Due to
load space (at exorbitant rates) to the and are looking for a way to justify its
numbers, and the inherent
somewhat embarrassed ESNSoviet existence (and large budgets), to the
cooperation between
colony. NASA has also begun using its flailing U.S. government.
workgangers and space-
pilots, ESA is forced to
stable position on Mars as a base for rescind control of O'Neill
further exploration of the outer Solar SRC Two. They retain Crystal
System and the Belt. NASA has a With the slow disintegration of the Palace and L-4 (O'Neill
manned research station and four min- United Soviet Block under Gorbachev
and the subsequent revolts during the
Three).
ingfacilities already in operation in the
Belt and several more are planned in Yeltsin-to-Gorborev transition era, the
the next year. Soviet Rocket Corps was rapidly de-
ESA/Sov lsidis Base com·
mobilized from military to civilian sta-
pleted and a formal colonial
government introduced.
USAF tus. ln a brilliant move, the SRC refitted
The United States Air Force is the nearty 40% of its MIRV missile fleet to
heavy payload carriers, leasing them
2023
premierUS space partner. While NASA NASA ~ins regular flights
fought for funding in the 90's, USAF to ESA and other nations. With the to Mars, Initially every
reactivated its X·, 5 program (linked best heavy lifting vehicles and the
fou rteen months.
to the new scramjet technologies of largest body of data on long-term,
the "Orient Express" program), and man-in-space projects, the Soviets Major manned survey effort
created a series of low-and-high or- were able to trade themselves into the by NASA leaves for Jupiter.
bital fighters designed to knock out current space frontier boom. They
shuttJes, satetlitesandworkshacks. The sold advertising on spacesuits, set up
2025
USAf has a huge budget for "Star construction projects, and eventually
Wars" space technology such as laser established KOSMOSOV, the heavy
Arrival of the NASA
lifting vehicle combine.
manned Jupiter mission.
sats and kinetic kill weapons.

With the further degeneration of the Tradingfor ESA technical information,

Joint JAB/ NASA Saturn
the SRC also built up a moderate mili-
study set for launch.
American situation, the USAF has be-
come a dangerous and unpredictable tary presence with orbital stations, spy The (soon to be) present.
force. At least three deep space weap- and laser sats, battle sats and ground
ons platforms have been commis- laser arrays. The huge laser complex at
sioned over the last fIVe years. These Sary Shagan has since been entirely
huge floating "gunships" use NASA's converted to laser·lift vehicle support,
highly successful nuclear propulsion but can be reconverted within 72
system to provide enormous range hours.
and supposedly exist to protect Ameri-
can interests in space (whatever that Still working closely with ESA, the
means)1 The USAF has appeared in Soviets maintain a strong and active
incongruous places over the last few presence in Space. They are clear
years in support of several orbital revo· leaders in terms of raw lift power out
lutions. Although not yet acting in a of the Earth well and have been enor-
blatantly aggressive manner, several mously successful in construction of
other orbital powers (particularly ESA) long-term life-support systems. The
are becoming uneasy as to the USAF's Soviets are also the recognized ex-
intentions. Orbital facilities, particu· perts in space psychology. There is a

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 DEEP SPACE

minimal Soviet presence within the nudear reactors, you name it) used by gated by Uc. Suggestions that UC has
Chryse base on Mars; however, virtually all other major corporations. begun construction of its own deep
rumours abound that the Soviets are IEC is ranked as the number five corpo- space-capable craft have been met
planning their own unmanned mis- ration in overall terms; however, they with ridicule by UC executives.
sions to Mercury and Venus to set u p have moved virtually all operations
mining facilities. into off-Earth based facilities in prepa- SUMMARY
ration for an expected Orbital/Earth While the USAF still sees space as a
JAB war which they fear could see the battleground, the other orbital players
The JapaneseAerospace Bureau traded destruction of the more Earth-bound are all investing heavily in space con-
the ability to mass-produce cheap, ef- mega-corps. IEC has taken the lead in struction and colonization. NASA leads
ficient workshacks for access to space this move over both Arasaka and EBM, in deep space exploration while ESA
via ESA spaceplanes. As a result, close although these others are dearly pur- maintains the major orbital popula-
to 85% of all workshacks and space suing the same shift w ith vigor. Cur- tions and construction facilities. JAB
stations are Japanese built. JAB has little rently IEC rates as the second largest has the most advanced space con-
high-mass or passenger-lift capacity, orbital-based corporate and it has in- struction technology and the Soviets
although Japanese technology helped fl uences throughout the newly colo- control the largest amount of Earth-
construct the Kilamanjaro massdriver nized worlds. IEC is creating several based lift capability, as well as expertise
(the first massdriver was used on a research stations situated in the belt, in space environments and psychol-
Japanese railroad in the 1980's). The although the purpose of these bases is ogy.
Japanese a re also the main manufac- unclear.
turer of heavy colony construction Meanwhile, an entire generation of
equipment, including their "mobile UTOPIAN CORPORATION spacers are growing up in space free of
construction suits," and invented the When Microtech's board decided in the cultural heritage of Earth, and new
technology used to create "crete," a the early 2010's to target computer corporations are blossoming in an en-
mixture of native soils and chemical technology, a small team of forward- vironment that poses new challenges
brew used as a form of high-tech ce- thinki ng and frustrated scientists and rewards.
ment in construction of both l una and packed their briefcases and sl ipped out
Martian colonies. a back door to form their own company. The revolution has come.
Within five years they had perfected
The Japanese also lead the way in molecular scale techniques and began
space newtech, diving headlong into floating initial prototypes onto the
the nanotech revolution. Most of the market, mostly small scale healing THE SOLAR SYSTEM
active asteroid mining equipment and drugs, skinweave, etc.
life support suits used in the Belt are of PLANET EARTH
Japanese manufacture, and some of Once the base technology was per- The once magnificent blue-white orb
the latest technology just appearing fected it brought an asymptotic rise in of Earth has steadily become whiter as
from the Japanese research labs into the development of furthe r enhanced persistent douds of photo-synthetic
commercial production indicates they products. By 2025 all major corpora- smog shroud the densely populated
tions are investing in the development land masses. Over 78% of the planet'S
are far more techn ically advanced than
of nanotech construction, drugs, com- surface is covered by water or ice,
many Western corporales had feared.
puters and in fact anything else. With leaving a relatively small percentage to
this astonishing rise in new technology be overwhelmed by a teeming popu-
NASA's Chryse base sports a 58% Japa-
has begun the rise of UC, now the lation of billions. The constant genera-
nese presence and current construc-
largest orbital manufacturer and cor- tion of pollutants, wholesale destruc-
tion of a vast network of living quarters
porate shining star. UC's technological tion of forests, and rampant use of so-
under the existing base is totally regu-
capability currently far outstrips any called "natural resources" have left the
lated by JAB. JAB isalso investing heavily
other corporation and some frighten- planetary ecosystem in tatters. less
in exploration of the Belt, and already
ing rumours abound about their latest than 10% of the potential animal spe-
has dose to a dozen experimentallabo-
innovations. cies still survive in some capacity, many
ratory/factories in operation.
in isolated preserves protected by con-
UC has begu n building facil ities servationists, and the number of sur-
IEC throughout the solar system. Corpo- viving plant species is currently less
International Electric Corporation is one rate insiders suggest that the recent than 5%.
of the great survivors of the space destruction of USAF's flagship Androm-
revolution and manufactures compo- eda, billed as the most powerful gun- The Earth consists of an outer crust,
nents (weapons, electronics, polymers, ship in existence, may have been insti- broken in toaseries of tectonic plates,
 DEEP SPACE

WORLD SPACEPORT FACILITIES 2025

NASA
1. Kennedy Space Centu, Florida: 15. Canary Island Gover nment
Sh(ltt~/JpocepJone launch facility Proposed ,ite of orbital elevator 29. Alcantara, Brazil
2. Vandenburg Air Base, Caljfomia: 16. P,uis, France (jointly with Orbit.,t Air) Rockel lounchpod
Ge~rol vehic~ launch foci/ity Spoceplone "'"och focility 30. Bonn, Germany
SpocepJone/Dt!!lto launch facility
USAF Orbital Ai r 31. Palmllchin Air Force Bue, Israel
17. Paris, France (jointly with ESA) Rocket/SpacepJane /aum:h facility
3. Cape Canaveral Station, Florida:
Spaceplane launch facility 32. Sriharikota, India
Rockel and Delta launch foalily
18. Mojave Field Port, California Rocket launch focility
4. Vandenburg Air Base, California:
Spaceplane lounch facility 33. Xkhang. People's Republic of China
Generol vehicle launch facility
19. JFK Air Port, New Yorlc Rocket/Spa<eplane/Mossdrivttf
5. INhite Sands, New Mexico
Spcxeplone lounch facility (proposed)
HELL Jounch system
20. Midlands, England 34. Taoneg.uhim;l, J;lIpan
6. Edwards Base, Calilomia
~/a launch facility Spoceplone launch facility Rockel/Shultle/Spoceplone launches
21. Melbourne, Australia 35. Tokyo, japlln
ESA Spoceplone launch facility Spoceplone/Dello launch 'aei/ity
7. Kourou, French Guiana 22. london, England 36. Hong Kong. China
Spoceplane launch facili/y Spaceplanes/Deltos lounch facility Spoceplone launch facility
8. Cairo, Egypt 37. Beijing. China
Spocep/one /ounch focility SRC Spoceplont launch facility
9. Nairobi, Kenya 23. Plese Uk, Runia 38. Nanjing, China
Spoceplane launch facility Rocke/launchpad Spcxeplane/Delta launch facility
10. Madrid, Spain 24. Kasputin, Russia 39. Delhi, India
Spoceplane/Delta launch facility Rocketlaunc:hpad/Massdrivef (proposed) Spcxeplane launch facility
11. Rome, Italy 25. Baikonu r, Russia
SpocepiandDelta lallnch fodlily General launch facility Ot her Commerd al
12. Sydney, Australia 26. Sary Shagan, Runia 40. Kahili Point, Hawaii
Spoceplone/rocket launch facility HELL launch system Mandriver (under com/rue/ion)
13. Dakar, Senegal 27. Moscow, Russia 41. Cape '(orlc, Australia
Proposed Mandriver Spacep/one/Del/a launch fa<ili/y Rocke//Spaceplane launch facili/y
14. Kilamanjaro, Kenya 28. Vladivostok, Russia 42. Christchurch, New Zealand:
Mandriver Rockel/Delta /ounch fa<ility Massdriver
 DEEP SPACE

below which is the outer mantle of above the ocean floor. Valles Marineris tion efforts, with ESA, NASA and JAB
liquid rock, an inner mantle of liquid at 4000km long, 600km w ide, and all claiming rights to some or all of the
iron and a solid core (probably iron 6km deep, is a gully that would stretch moons' surfaces. Sofarthe issue hasn't
and nickel). Thiscombination of iron- from LA to New York on Earth. been contested too hotly; however,
rich liquid and solid phases creates a with only a limited amount of room
strong magnetic field which causes the Many surface areas of Mars show clear availabl~, the battle maystill be joined.
Earth to exhibit curious magnetic be- signs of water erosion and suggest
havior. The Earth has two "radiatio n that huge volumes of water o nce Mars is on its way to becoming a
belts~ which encircle the planet in a coursed across the planet's surface; stable human outpost and its orbital
toroidal formation beyond the levels of however, there are now few visible space is becoming cluttered with doz-
the atmosphere (77 1 7km rad ius, signs of this water. Mars has little ens of man-mad e sat e llites and
1365km width and 26,450km radius, remaining atmosphere as most of the autofactories. The colonies at Chryse
8000km width). These are known as atmospheric gases were long ago ab- and Isidis Planitias are both expand-
the Van Allen belts and, although not sorbed into carbonated rocks and, as ing rapidly and a constant stream of
inherently "radioactive," form a pair of the planet cooled, the water was de- new arrivals bolsters their numbers.
magnetic loops which capture charged posited as ice within the thick outer
atomic particles and present a signifi- crust. Because there is no shielding There is o ne further aspect of the
cant to both personnel and equip- ozone, the surface receives more solar colo nization of Mars: Early unmanned
ment. This places a limit on those areas UV than Earth, despite its greater dis- probes and NASA "fly-bys" showed
that may be safely "inhabited" by hu- tance away. several curio us formations which ap-
mans (and animals) and in some re- peared somewhat "unnatural." The
gions can damage or reduce the life- The Martian surface is thick with dust two most obvious artifacts were the
span of electronic equipment. which is, at times, raised into dust "Cydonia Face, " a strangely shaped
storms that can coverthe entire planet's mountain which appeared to the cam-
Earth has one majo r satellite, luna, an surface and make travelling extremely eras to be shaped like a hum an (or
airless ball of rock cratered by thou- hazardous, cutting off the sun for days near-human) face, and a series of
sands of past m eteor impacts. luna at a time. Some areas are highly volca- highly regular formations which sug-
already maintains two permanent hu- nic, while others consist of huge cra- gested they may have been shaped
man colonies and is heavily m ined for ters from meteor impacts which cause purposefully. It was expected that
raw materials used construction of the sections of the surface dust, lubricated closer inspection would show both of
large o rbital colonies positioned at the by trapped water ice, to flow outward these, and other, phenomena to have
La Grange points. Thethree massdrivers forming large depressions. been formed naturally. However, re-
located near the Tycho and search teams from both colonies have
Copernicious craters maintain a steady During winter the polar caps consistof studied the form ations in detail and
stream of lunar materail into Earth large areas of frozen CO 2 , During sum- have been unable to provide convinc-
o rbit. For the colonists, a l unar work- mer the carbon dioxide escapes into ing evidence of either natural or intel-
ing "day" is equivalent to some two the atmosphere to leave a residual cap ligent mechanisms having created
weeks on Earth. of polar water ice, a clear indication them. Indeed, NASA's file o n these
that much water (and atmosphere) is reports remains classified .
MARS trapped within the planet's surface.
As the planet whch most resembles This fact has long excited scientists MERCURY
Earth within the Solar System, Mars still and, with the construction of two The closest planetto the sun, Mercury
presents major differences, Its outer major colonies on the Martian surface, is a virtua lly airless ball of rock. It is so
crust is solid, and a large portio n of the several teams are studying the feasibil- close to the sun that its surface tem-
inner mantles appeared to have coiled, ity of grad ually releasing more of the perature reaches 200°C. However, as
resulting in extremely low magnetic trapped gasses to revitalize the Mar- its axis is nearly perpendicular to the
activity. Mars is still act ively volcanic tian atmosphere. sun, some areas of the pole may be
and the lack of moving tectonic plates freezing. Mercury rotates slowly, tak-
allows volcanoes, once they occur, to Mars is accompanied by two small ing almost 59 Earth days fo r a single
reach sizes many times larger than o n moons, Phobos and Diemos. Both ESA rotation, and has only a weak mag-
Earth. Many of these volcanoes arise in and NASA have installed small, manned netic field which temporarily catches
an area known as the "Tharsis region" installations on these tiny moons to a small amount of the intense ionizing
and the largest, Olympus Mons, is over monitor orbital communications. Use radiation streaming from the sun.
S50km across and 24km high. By com- of space on the moons has become an
parison the largest volcano on Earth is early point of conjecture between the Mercury is unlikely to be viewed as a
, 20km across at its base and rises 9km majo r players in the Martian coloniza- potential planet for colonization given
 DEEP SPACE

the extreme temperatures and high other minerals which a re required for THE GIANT PLANETS
levels of radiation. Along with Venus, modem manufacturing . It is mostly Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
however, it is a potential location for this lure of large a mounts of relatively are entirely unlike the terrestrial plan-
unmanned mining operations, espe- rare (at leaston Earth) materials simply ets such as Earth and Mars. These
cially near the poles. It may be a rich drifting in space which motivates many huge objects are virtually giant balls of
source of less volatile elements, al- of the major players in space to invest liquid, without any true "surface",
though mining operations within the heavily in reaching and monopolizing although Jupiter and Satum both have
Belt may provide a much greater re- sections of the Belt. solid cores many times larger than
turn with less expense and risk in- Earth. At their outer portions these
volved. There is also a suggestion that The largest asteroid in the belt, Ceres, planets are icy, due to their distance
a large-scale solar power conector/emit- is aproximately 9 30km across and con- from the sun. However, within their
ter might be assembled in orbit here. tains over a quarter of the e ntire mass liquid portions pressures are immense
within the Belt. NASA has already set and these generate extreme tempera-
VENUS up two small automated mining "fac- tures. Under these diverse conditions a
Venus is similar to Earth in size, density tories" on Ceres which extract raw number of unusual forms of elements
and position relative to the sun. How- material and partially process it before occur- such as metallic hydrogen.
ever, its dense carbon dioxide atmo- using asmall massdriver to eject "pack-
sphere (over 90 times the pressure at ages" out from the Belt. They are sub- The atmospheres of these planets are
sea level on Earth) and high surface sequently collected and taken to Mars chemical soups which blend at the
temperatures (460"C) make it one of for use in construction and manufac- lower altitudes w ith the liquid planet
the most inhospitable planets in the ture. itself, leaving little or no distinction
solar system. Sulphurous com pounds between planetand atmosphere. Heat
are extremely abundant and observa- JAB has recently begun collecting small, generated within the planet's cores
tion of the atmosphere indicates that a mineral-rich asteroids intact and using generate huge convections of mate-
dense layer of sulphuric acid particles "shunt rockets" to accelerate them out- rial which rise up toward the surface to
lies between 50-80km from the sur- side the areas of primary asteroid density. cool, before being returned by other
face. Thiswitches' brew of gases is litby rising material. The rotation of the
continuous lightning storms and stirred Working within the Belt is extremely liquid/gaseous planets creates violent
by powerful w inds (they aren't very hazardous. Although the Belt itself is in turbulences which can be seen as
fast, but the immense pressure and a relatively stable configuration, its com- great swirling patterns of clouds.
density give them enormous force). ponent asteroids swarm in random
Such conditions have ground the ter- paths, often spinning singly or paired For now the giant planets remain
rain down to a series of rolling plains with other objects. Collisions occur scientific curiosities which will be in-
broken by the rare volcano, of which regularly, sending cloud s of small par- creasingly probed and analyzed over
Maxwell Montes (aprox. 12km high) ticles and several larger pieces flying in the coming years.
appears to be the biggest. all directions, sometimes out of the
Belt entirely. Any of these particles can IUPITtR
At this time there is little place for puncture aship or workshack hull. The The largest planet in the Solar System
humankind in such an environment. larger pieces may be many kilometers presents a view of turbulence far be-
across and moving rapidly in an unpre- yond any earthly equivalent. The
THE BELT dictable direction. planet's surface is covered by rapidly
The re are many thousands of "known" moving bands of "cloud" which inter-
asteroids and a vast numbe r of others For this reason the majority of opera- act in tidal eddies to produce the
which have never been catalogued. tions within the Belt a re carried out by famili ar lines and "swirls" seen from
The largest congregation of asteroids remotely-operated automated systems space. The largest surface feature is
occurs in an area which stretches be- ca rrying the minimum of equipment known as the "Great Red Spot" and is
tween Mars and Jupiter a nd is gener- to extract the required material and a long-lived storm over 40,000km
ally described as the "Main Asteroid remove it from the Belt. It may be across which is estimated to have
Belt". Known as the "Belt" since the possible in the future to set up perma- been occurring for over 300 years.
dawn of space travel, this collection of nent stations in the Kirkwood Gaps,
asteroids provides a vast array of inter- areas of low object density caused by The most important feature of Jupiter
est for scientists and corps alike. gravitic resonances with Jupiter. for the current generation of spacers is
its magne tic field, which is more than
The compositions of asteroids vary. The table on page 14 lists information 1,200 times larger than Earth's and
They contain a variety of materials and regarding the largest known members 19,000 t imes stronger. This magnetic
in some cases are rich in metals and of the Belt. field causes multiple bands of radia-
 DEEP SPACE

series provided substantial data on

Name Radius Rotation Period Orbital Period
the composition and structure of Ti·
(km) (hours) (years)
tan, it appeared to do nothing to
Ceres 457 9.08 4.61
confirm or deny suggestions that this
Pallas 261 7.81 4.61
rain of organic compounds from the
Vesta 250 5.34 3.63
sky may have allowed life to form
Hygeia 215 18.40 5.59
under the misty haze of Titan's photo-
Davida 168 5.13 5.67
chemical atmosphere. Asaresult. Titan
Interamnia 167 8.73 5.36
has become a major target for the most
Europa 156 5.63 5.46
recent JAB/NASA probe.
Eunamia 136 6.08 4.30
Sylvia 136 5.18 6.52 URANUS
Uranus is an almost featureless, light
ticn, beginning above the upper lay- provide Jupiter with its dazzling colour blue frozen ball with clouds of meth-
ers of the atmosphere and extending do not fORTI on Satum. ane and ammonia scudding across its
over 3 million kilometres into space. skies. It has fifteen moons, several of
For much of this area, the radiation is Saturn's magnetic fi eld, although which are of substantial size (about a
hundreds of times higher than the lower than Jupiter's, is still many times third the radius of luna), and a series
dose required to kill an unprotected that of Earth and it exhibits similar of faint rings. Once again Uranus has
human. Several of its moons (all of the bands of lethal radiation. Saturn has a substantial magnetosphere which
larger ones), including Callisto and 10, seventeen moons and a complex set bombards its moons and ring system
reside well within this magnetic field of particle rings, many of which can with radiation and limits their useful-
and lethal radiation band. easily be seen, interspersed with ness for human habitation or mining.
"gaps" created by gravitational fluc-
NEPTUNE
Jupiter has sixteen known moons, all tuations of the moons. Immense elec-
Similar in size and composition to
of which remained locked in a fixed trical activity occurs between the rings
as they redistribute charge accumu- Uranus but even colder, Neptune
"tidal" orbit due to the planet'sstrong shows similar atmospheric distur-
gravitation, a well defined "ring", and lated via ma9netic interactions. Sat-
urn has a large magnetic field, al· bances to Jupiter and even manages
a halo of electrically charged particles its own (rather dark) "Spot." Neptune
orbiting just outside the ring itself. though it is substantially lower than
has eight moons, only one of w hich
The intense radiation and magnetic that of Jupiter. The moons and ring
(Triton) is of substantial size. Being
levels surrounding Jupiter make its system largely lie within the magnetic
similar in size and composition to
m oon system unsuitable for coloniza- field and radiation belts.
Uranus, Neptune's magnetic fields are
tion and restrict mining operations of similar strength and limit the po-
because of the damage caused to Saturn is undoubtedly one of the most tential uses for its small moons.
even well-shielded equipment. The visually stunning o bjects in the solar
o uter moons are generally too small system with many of its rings showing PLUTO
to provide even mining potential. clearly to the naked eye. A small ball of icy water and methane
TITAN twinned with its moon, Charon, Pluto is
Nonetheless, NASA has sent a major a frigid wanderer in the outer solar sys-
manned expedition to survey the Jo- Titan lies on the fringes of Saturn's
magnetosphere and is substantially tem. Its orbit is eccentric and passes
vian system and to drop probes into inside that of Neptune for part of the
the upper levels of jupiter's atmo- larger than luna. Unlike the other
moons within the solar system Titan cycle.
sphere. The DSS Pathfinder and its
can be considered to have a true Pluto is totally unsuitable for coloniza-
crew of eight will reach the gas giant
this year (2025) and the scientific atmosphere, consisting mostly of ni- tion being so far from the sun as to
community anxiously awaits the first trogen and methane which actually afford no useful amount of solar radia-
achieves pressures of 1 .5 times that of tion. It provides little motivation for
transmissions.
Earth. Titan's surface is mostly cov- attempts to reach it even for possible
SATURN ered by an ocean of liquid ethane. mining. It may, in the future, provide
Saturn is in some respects a slightly a fuelling point for potential interstel·
smaller version of Jupiter. Its atmo- Although Titan is relatively cold, its lar flights loading up water before
sphere is similarly disturbed and itshows upper atmosphere is warmed by sun- leaving the solar system, butso far the
a "Spot" similar to the Great Red Spot light The higher pressures and consti- only suggestion for its utilization has
Saturn's colors are less marked because, tution of the atmosphere allow com- been as a prison planet for recalcitrant
being further from the sun and thus plex hydrocarbons to form and drop cyberpyschos. It is unlikely to become
cooler, many of the compounds whkh to the surface. Although NASA'sCassini a popular holiday resort.
 DEEP SPACE

PLANETARY DATA

The following table summarizes some information about the major objects in the Solar System. Most figures are
given relative to Earth normals, which is far more intelligible to the average spacer than accurate values in millibars
and degrees Kelvin. Such fi gures can be accessed from any data-term if required.

Object Radius Rotation Gravity Av. Temp Atmospheric Main Atmospheric

(days) (0C) Pressure Components Composition
Earth 1 1 1 15 1 N21 02' H2O
Mercury 0.38 58.65 0.28 165 minimal He, Na, 0
Venus 0.95 243.01 0.88 457 90 CO 2, N2
Luna 0.27 27.32 0.17 @ 0 @
Mars 0.53 24.63 0.38 ·55 0.007 C0 21 N 2, Ar
Jupiter 11.2 0.41 2.34 ° ° H21 He, C H~
Saturn 9.45 0.43 0.93 ° • H2• He, C H~
Titan 0040 15.95 DAD -'70 1.5 H 2, CH 41 Ar
Uranus 4.01 0.75 0.79 • • H 21 He, CH4
Neptune 3.88 0.80 1.12 • • H 21 He, CH4
Pluto 0.18 6.39 0.04 <-250 minimal CH.

Notes:
*Because the giant planets have nodistinct "surface" these figures vary widely. Temperatures range from between
_270°C at the ou ter fringes of the atmospheres to thousands of degrees within the d epths of the fluid mantles.
Pressures vary through similar levels.
@These values are meaningless for an object without significant atmosphere.

COMMUNICATION LAG TIMES

Times are measured in minutes and seconds at both closest and furthest approaches to Earth.

Object Delay
Lun a 0.83 sec. close/l .12 sec. far
Mercury 4 min., 18 sec. c1ose/12 min., 18 sec. far
Venus 2 min., 7 sec. close/14 min., 30 sec. far
Mars 3 min., 1 sec. c1ose/22 min., 17 sec. far
Asteroid Belt 18 min., 20 sec. inner edge/22 min., 56 sec. outer edge
Jup iter 32 min., 41 sec. close/53 min ., 47 sec. far
Saturn 66 min., 23 sec. close/92 min., 10 sec. fa r
Uranus 14 3 min., 46 sec. close/175 min., 10 sec. far
Neptune 238 min., 53 sec. close/260 min., 40 sec. far
Pluto 237 min., 23 sec. close/417 min ., 40 sec. far
 DEEP SPACE

posed of 75% nitrogen, 24% oxygen, thin, shrill scream of pressure escaping
THE TRIAD and traces of carbon dioxide, water from a habitat. Even the smallest child
vapor, and other gases. However, in can clamber into a spacesuit or emer-
Humanity's headlong rush from its high pressure environ ments, nitrogen gency life bubble in a matte r of sec-
home world into the vast expanse of would be absorbed into the blood and onds. Nothing makes a Highrider mad-
interplanetary space has highlighted its must be replaced with an equivalent der tha n someone who has just done
fragile nature. Minor concerns of poli- level of helium, w hile in low pressure something stupid to puncture a pres-
tics and petty grievances are dwarfed environ ments the percentage of oxy- sure seal.
by the simple reality of living, and sur- gen must be increased to ensure an
viving, in a hostile environment. adequate supply. In habitats you also Something stupid like firing a gun.
have other concerns. The O'Neilis have
Forget your designer clothes, the to make sure enough Cal is available VIOLATING PRESSURE
biosculpts and the guns. Space is the for plant growth in the farms, the auto- It takes a certain amount of damage to
most hostile environment of all. An factories need to monitor their atmo- violate a pressure seal. This is based on
unprotected man can exist in its spheres for contaminants and scientific the Stopping Power of the hull itself,
unforgiving realm for only a few sec- satellites have to avoid the stray ions but walls and structures in space are not
onds before his lungs burst, his blood found in outer space. very thick. Materials are expensive and
boilsawaytosteam, and his body freeze- hard to come by; torque and thrust
dries. It's a place where you either learn RUNNING OUT OF OXYGEN
factors requi re a delicate balance be-
the rules fast or you don't survive to If your recycler malfunctions, you may tween mass and acceleration. An Or-
learn them at all. bital Transfer Vehicle hull is only a mil-
have plenty of air pressure but not
limeter or so of metal and a few centi-
enough oxygen. When there is no loss
Remember the Triad. of pressure it is sometimes difficult to meters of foam-just enough to hold in
the air and shrug off whatever minute
tell whether the air is bad, or just stuffy.
Every spaceborn child knows (and lives If a character is placed in this situation
particles strike it.
by) a triad of critical factors. These are the effect may not be noticeable imme-
Atmosphere, Radiation, and Gravity. diately. How long the oxygen levels last There's good reason why spacecraft
These conditions are drilled from birth hulls are so thin . When cosmic radiation
depends on how many people are bu rn-
into every child and form the basis for (such as an alpha particle) hits metal
ing it up, and how much they are
Orbital culture. The wrong atmosphere exerting themselves. and passes on through, the radiation
will kill you in minutes, too much rad ia- damage is fairly negligible; but if the
tion in days and too little gravity can One hour's worth of oxygen left: Air is radiation hits and only partially passes
permanently cripple you. There is an through, it breaks up into nastier sec-
hard to breathe. INT, REF, and COOL
old Highrider saying which has been ondary radiation. In short, you want to
are reduced by three points, but not
immortalised in "ARC" ea rrings and stop all radiation (as in a Tad shelter), or let
permanently.
tattoos: "ARC- if you don't remember the harmless stuff pass through easily.
it, it's the last thing you'll say." Five minutes of oxygen left: Every three
minutes after this characters will lose Luckily, space is pretty empty. The
chances of a micro meteor hit are about
ATMOSPHERE one point of INT. Cha racters regain all
one in a thousand, while the chances of
but 106/2 points (round down) of this
a serious encounter are even slimmer.
lost INT when the oxygen level is re-
The first leg of the Triad is Atmosphere. The greatest danger in space is from
stored.
It isn't enough to have the right pres- Man himself. Every year, more junk is
sure, you also need the right composi- All oxygen gone: All characters auto- thrown into orbit, where it waits for a
tion. It's not just about people-equip- matically pass out. In addition, all char- possible collision.
ment has atmospheric requirements as acters will lose 106 points of INT per
well, and there are waste gases to be turn in addition to whatever INT they Then there's always some idiot who
removed. A little oxygen in the argon rnay have previously lost. decides to fire a heavy caliber hand
welding chamber could turn out to be 1 D1 0 minutes after INT reaches zero, weapon in a habitat. While guns are
just as deadly as too much CO 2 in your characters a re DEAD. severely restricted in space, and are in
breathing mixture. fa ct illegal on space transportation, this
PRESSURE doesn't stop the more enterprising so-
COMPosmON Of course even if the right mixture of los. Every so often, some Croundside
Most characters are on Iy going to worry gases isavailable, there has to beenough yahoo tries to get away with a handgun
about breathing air. At a standard 1000 pressure in order to breathe. Nothing assassination in a p~riz:ed area, and
millibar pressure on Earth air is com- galvanizes a Highrider like hearing the ends up killing himself, his target. and
 DEEP SPACE
I I

several other people as his slug punches For example, a 30 meter cylinder with
through a wall. a 10 meter diameter has 2355 cubic
STOPPING POWERS FOR meters of air. We have made this sim-
VARIOUS HULLS Solos who do this and survive are usu· pler by showing the standard module
ally thrown out an ai rlock. Without a sizes and pressures for these units.
Spacecraft "skin" .............. 8SP suit.
These volumes are normally written o n
Internal bulkhead SSP the inner and o uter surfaces of space
Itdoesn'tend there. Here's an example:
Internal partition ............... 4SP Say you fire a .45 caliber burst through vehicles and living spaces, usually near
Heavy Cargo a space station hull. Assuming it pen- doors, hatches, a nd windows, in flu o-
etrates the wall with any force, it w ill rescent paint. When 1/ 4th of the total
craft skin ......•...•. 10SP
continue moving at the same velocity pressure has been lost, automatic sen-
Station Hull ....................... 20SP sors will seal off the area and sound an
essentially fo rever. If the burst is fired in
Workplatform Hull ..... :...•.. l0SP alarm.
the diredion of o rbit, it not only has its
Spacecraft Armor, own initial velocity, but that of the Example: A habitat module has
per point ............ 25SP statio n as well. A little w hile later, an 188m) of pressurized area. It takes a
O'Neill Colony Wall .......... 300SP OlY comes u prange from Earth. Mov- hit from a meteor, opening an 8 cm
ing at 3 km/ sec, the bullet rips through hole, and losing 24 m l per turn.
the thin hull of the OlY, and two dozen After @47m l have been lost (about
STANDARD VOLUMES AND construction workers die as their cabin two turns), the doors automatically
SIZES evacuates to open space. slam shut and seal the module off.
Hopefully, by this time the inhabit-
Habitat t-Aodule: Remember: Guns are not welcome in ants have either cleared out or are in
15mx4m ............... 188 m ' space. Bring a knife instead. spacesuits. These rules assume a
LabM'orkspace: standard 1000 millibar atmosphere
PENETRATION DAMAGE is used. If a lower atmosphere is
30mxl0m ......... " ... 2355 ml With air screaming out into vacuum, used, it w ill take proportionately
Airlock: how big a hole is made becomes the longer before the alarm is set off; if a
3mx3m ................. 21 m ' c ritical factor. To calculate this, use the higher pressure atmosphere is used,
following formula: it will take less time. Generally, nor-
Shuttle Ca'1l" Bay:
mally high- o r low-pressure areas are
20mx.5m ••.......••... . 392 m l Fo r every point of penetration, a 2 sealed off anyway.
Spa<eplane fl;ght Deck: cm diameter ho le is opened in the
4mx3m .... ............. 28 m 1 hull. Example: I fire a gyrojet in a There are two devICes that are commonly
spaceplane, doing 18 points of d a m -
Spaceplane Main Deck: found scattered throughout space ships
age. 13 get thro ugh. A 26 cm hole is
33mx3m ............... 233 m ' and habitats to help maintain a seal:
opened in the hull.
Orbital Torus: Goop 8alls: Ping-pong ball-sized plas-
1590mx46m ..... 2,641,085 m l Remember to account for armoron the tic spheres filled with a sticky white
external hull. fluid. When exposed to air, the goop
O'Neil; Colony:
hardens to a putty consistency, filling
16, l00mx6440m .. 524.16Bil. m 1 EVACUATION TIME the hole. One goop ball will cover a 5
For every 2 cm of hole, you will lose six cm hole, and m ost spacers carry six or
cubic meters (6ml) of air per turn. For seven stashed in their pockets at all
example, if a 8 cm hole is punched in times. 0.2 Eb apiece.
the hull, the compartment will lose
twenty-four (4 x 6 = 24) cubic m eters of Slap Patches: These are folded circles
air per turn.To know how long you'll of sticky-sided plastic with a foil back-
have before you're breathing vacuum, ing. They cover a 30 cm x 30 cm area.
you need to know how many cubic The backing is peeled away and the
meters of air you have in your enclosed patch applied . Most spacers have one
area. This is simplified by the fact t hat or two on hand in every room of a
most space habitats are cylindrical in habitat. 5 Eb each.
design. The general rule is;
Of course in an emergency almost any-
3.14 x length x (radius sq uared) thing that can form a seal can be used.
 !mlmDiEEP SPACE

A table can be slapped against a hole, even begoodforthebodybanks. Huge

held in place by air pressure, or perhaps bruises begin to form , sunace capillar-
even a body (dead or alive). ies begin to burst, and blood begins to
drip from the ears and the nose.
IF THE PATCH FAILS
When the pressure seal is violated by a
hole, a Referee must take into account
the effects of dropping air pressure on
Example: Scarv's stray shot rapidly
empties the tiny lab space he is in. In
afewmoments, the pressure is down
"You leave
Earth, and
'.
,
I

'

.'
the players. Checks must be made three
to half. Scarv makes a roll to stay
times: half volume, quarter volume,
and zero volume. Note that this as-
conscious. He fails and passes out. , anything you ,
'.
sumes standard pressure; if the pres- Luckily, Scarv's companion Lorani forget to ,
makes her roll. The reduced pressure bring with ,
sure is higher, rolls are not made until
the pressure is at half normal, and if starts to boil the nitrogen outof their ,
you will kill '.
"
lower, the half volume roll is ignored. blood, causing each of them 106/2
damage. She is able to painfully get you; anything ,'
Half Volume: At one-half normal vol- a slap patch over the hole just as you do bring ,
ume, the air in the area is be<:oming quarter pressure is reached, and she , with you ,
passes out herself.
thin and hard to breathe. Characters
must make a roll against an average
task, using their BodyType and a 1 01 a
Moments later, a rescue party makes
it into the lab, pumping new pres-
" which doesn't
work properly
"
,,
roll, or pass out until pressure is re- sure into the compartment. , will kill you; ,
stored.

Quarter Volume: The oxygen in the

Both Scarv and Lorani have lost three
points of INT (as Scarv isn't too
smart to begin with, he is now at 2,
" when In
doubt,
"
'
area is less than is needed to remain
conscious. Characters must roll against somewhere about the level of a cab- , assume ,
everything "
a Very Difficult task every turn to remain
conscious. After three minutes, they
bage). Both players roll 1 06/2 to see
how many lost INT points they fail to
recover. Lorani rolls a 1; this is di-
" will kill you. " ,
will lose 1 point of lNT for every addi-
,
'.
tional three minutes of 1/4 volume vided by 2, then rounded down. - COMMANDER
,
"
(brain damage from hypoxia). When Loranirecoversallher lost INT. Scarv NATHAN SPRINC,
pressure is restored, all but 1 06/2 points rolls a 4, so he is unable to recover 2 " STAR COPS"
(round down) will be restored with points. With his remaining 3 points
proper therapy. In addition, characters of INT, Scarv is now content to say
will suffer 1 06/2 damage every turn "Ouh?" a lot and wait for orders.
from "the bends" as nitrogen boils out
of the blood, until zero volume is
reached. This will not happen if the RADIATION
character is in a helium/oxygen atmo-
sphere. Once pressure is restored, the
character's Body Type is permanently The second leg of the Triad is Radia-
tion. Radiation consists of tiny atomic
reduced by 1 06/2 points.
particles which pass invisibly through
Zero Volume: At zero volume, the the human body, leaving chaos and
compartment is airless. If a character is damage in their wake. Radiation can
still conscious he has only 506 seconds damage DNA inside cells. giving rise
of consciousness left in which to watch to cancer in body cells and mutations
his life flash before his eyes. They suffer in reproductive cells, or can just plain
an additional 1 06 damage per turn kill.
from the remnants of blood nitrogen
and an additionall 06 1NT loss per turn Radiation is measured in millirads and
in addition to the INT he has have rads. Although a full radiation mea-
previously lost. After 1 01 a tums at zero surement is a fad, dosages are usually
INT, the character has reached death measured in millirads (1/1 aaath of a
state 1a and is DEAD; the parts won't rad) because a full rad of radiation is
 DEEP SPACE

a serious dose. Over a spacer's lifetime, with reproductive damage may be- nanotech can effectively cure cancer if
he will accumulate dozens of fads. come sterile. All of these should depend it is discovered early e no ug h. Consult
more on Referee discretion than on your nearest med-tech or ripper-doc.
When a groundsider thinks of radia- dice rolling. Also, a cancer may automatically go
tion, he thinks of nuclear bombs or into remission (roll a 101 0 and pray
mutant monsters from the movies. A RADIATION EfFECTS TABLES you roll a 1, sucker), which m eans it is
Highrider knows that radiation is m uch Note that the physical effects of radia- lying dormant. You never know when it
more subtle. Every living thing continu- tion damage do not usually occur im- might fl are up again, though.
ously undergoes some form of radioac- mediately, but are phased in during the
tive bombardment, whether fro m cos- noted time period after exposure. Any MUTATIONS
mic rays, solar exposure, o r naturally temporary decreases in stats w ithout Mutations in real life (unlike the Marvel
occurring carbon 14 o r potassium 40. specific durat ions will eventually be re- comics version) don't allow a player to
Excessive exposure mounts up until the stored proportionately over the conva- change himself. Mutations to a body
organism is severely damaged or dies. lescence period. All the radiation ab- cell usually just kills the cell, but the nasty
sorbed over the last week is counted part is that they may affect your offspring.
There are three major radiation sources when assessing immediate effects. Be-
in space. These are: cause the more radiation a person has Mutation of a reproductive cell is rarely
1) Cosmic and background radiation absorbed, the more sensitive he is, half favorable. Most mutations in offspring
2) Nuclear power plants and drives of the character's radiatio n history dos- are ultimately harmful. If a mutation
3) Solar fl ares age is also added to the immediate occurs in your rad history, roll 1 Dl 0
dosage to determine the immediate and consult the chart o n page 23.
Cosmic rays are tiny particles which effects. The immediate dosage (NOT
constantly bombard space. Over a life- including any radiation history adjust- CYBERNETICS
time, a person continuously absorbs ment) is added to the radiation history Cybernetics are not immune from ra-
tiny amounts of these radioactive par- for future use. diation effects just because they aren't
ticles, which can cause genetic muta- organic. The occasional stray cosmic
tions. Power plant radiation is very in- IMMEDIATE EFFECTS ray can play havoc with delicate cir-
tense and very lethal. Solar flares are Attribute losses, damage, and disease cuitry, not to mention what stronger
very short and incredibly intense (al- susceptibility are cumulative. For tem- doses can do. Whenever the character
though solar storms may last longer porary BODY loss, use the result of the needs to consult the Immediate Effects
and have less intensity). new level instead of the current level, table, a roll is made on Microwaver Side
should the dosage increase; this is NOT Effects table (CP 2020, p. 9B) for every
HOW MUCH DAMAGE CAN YOU cumulative. Re-roll fo r death as the level 100 rads the character is exposed to. If
TAKE 7 increases. Below 751 rads, add the Body results 1,3, or 4 are received more than
A Cyberpunk character can take up to Type Modifierto the chance of death. See three times, it is permanent- the limb is
50 rads (50,000 millirads) before seri- table on page 21 for further information. effectively destroyed (half purchase price
ous damage begins to occur. You should o r better to repair). The character's
tally the amount of radiation the char- Assuming the character survives the radiation history isn't used for this, just
acter has taken over a lifetime on his immediate effects, there are also long- the short-term dose. Shielding effec-
character sheet. This total is your term effects.Two types of damage de- tively subtracts 500 rads from the short·
character's radiation history, and is used serve further attention: Cancer and term dose for cybernetic effects.
to che<.k for radiation damage over his life. Mutations.
SP£CIRC RADlA110N TYPES
Radiation damage depends on both CANCER
the dosage and the time over which the This is the worst side effect of non-fatal COSMIC RAYS
dosage is received. Short-term effects radiation damage. It is up to the Referee Cosmic rays are measured in millirads.
a re rather easy to play, but long-term to determine the effects of a radiation- Normally, a human o n Earth takes about
effects are very subtle and most effects, caused cancer, but the more radiation 250 m illirads a year. At this level, a man
like cancer o r mutations, cannot be the cha racter has taken, the more likely could live 200 years before he reached
instantly applied to a character. In- the cancer is serious or fatal. If the the 50 rad danger limit.
stead, the Referee must use his judg- cancer is fatal, it is likely to spread
menton the best way to integrate these rapidly thro ugh the body and kill the However, in space there is no blanket of
factors into the game. For example, player within 201 0 + 4 months. ozone to shield humans fro m this bom·
characters w ith cancer or severe rad bardment (on Earth of 2020, there's
sickness might take minuses from their Of course, this is 2025. laser surgery, virtuaUy none e ither, but there's still
REF and BODY TYPE stats, while those chemotherapeutic II magic bullets", and more than in space). Within the thick
 DEEP SPACE
:i ~
RADIATION EFFECTS TABLE

Immediate Chance of Temp ,.= Suscept. ct'ullnce

Dose Stat Reduction BODY BODY REF ATT INT COOL Disease Oamilge of Dellth

<SO - - - - - - - - - -
50 50' •I
·100 2010
+4 hr.

' 0' 41''16 ·1 ., "0'16 29tH-81M

• 200 2010 2 months
+4 hr.
20' 70'16 •2 ., .'0'16 7%+8TM

.-
• '00 2010 2 months
+4 hr.
'01 90'16 ·2 ·1 ·1 ·2 , D6-2 30%+BTM

· .00 106/ patchy 106-1 wk.

2 days hair
~~

'0' 100'16 •I ., .1 .100'16 '06 SO%+BTM

·500 100 total 3010 days
'+"1 days hair
loss

501 '00'16 · , ·1 ., • I 00'16 1010·2 75%t-BTM

· 750 1010 306+2 days
+4 days
751 , 00'16 · , ·1 ., .'00'16 1010 90'16
·'000 2010 1010+4 days
+ldays
'00' , 00'16 ·2 ., ., ., ·2 ·2 .100'16 200 95'16
·5000 3010 106+1 days
d.".
>5000 I_ · , ·1 ·2 ., ., ., .100'16 2010 , 00'16
P" SOlO houu
8 hr.

walls of an orbital colony, enough pro- Groundsiders will never encounter the workshacks. Deep space ships have
tection can be provided to drop the results of a nuclear accident. Exposure enormous power-plants designed to
bombardment rate to nearly zero, to weapon or power..grade radioactiv- move them across the Solar System.
but the thin hulls of spaceships o r ity happens only when a nuclear power Anyone of these reactors can, at any
space suits can't stop this constant plant leaks or a weapon is dropped. time, develop a fault that will expose a
penetration. In short, every time you crew to nuclear radiation.
go outside of a workshack, orbital Oddly enough, this doesn't happen as
(olony, or dome, you will take some often as one might think. Radioactive Nuclear radiation kills fast! For every
cosmic ray damage. equipment is expensive and the Corpo- turn of exposure, rolll Dl O. Thisdam-
rations dislike waste. Of course if a age is measured in rads, not millirads!
For every hour you are exposed to groundsider is dumb enough to go A ten minute exposure could pack
cosmic radiation you gain 1 D6 millirads scrounging through radioactive waste enough radiation to kill a character
of radiation exposure. dumps ... rather horribly (think how fast Mr. Speck
went down in the movie Wroth of Khan).
POWER PLANTS k NUCLEAR In space there are hundreds of small
DRIVES nuclear reactors going all the time, Power-plant radiation can be protected
Under normal circumstances, most powering satellites, space probes, and against by wearing a special lead and
 DEEP SPACE

LONG TERM EFFECTS OF RADIATION Offspring Mutation Table

Total Roll Result
Dose Physical Effect Game Effect
>'0 None None; the body can absorb this level with liltle effed
1 Favorab le (Referee
determines)
-
(sure, SOMEBODY will get cancer from this amount,
2-3 Harmless
but this is Cyberpunk, not II medical journal)
4-7 Deformed, lose 1 06 I
100 Mutations See below
points from' 06/ 2
200 Minor Cancers See below
Stats as determined
300 C,ItarliCtli Characters will gradually become blind,
by the Referee
although this is corr«table ";<1 surgery
8-10 Stillbirth
No effect on cyberoptic.s
Stillbirths Any fem,le ch,uClIcters becoming pregnant ( heh what? )
will become increasingly more likely to have their children die
in the womb, or to suffer /I spontaneous abortion
.00 Leukemia There is /I 1 in 300 chance the chllro1cter will suffer from
leukemi<l within the nellt 5-7 ye<lrs;
this ch<lnce doubles with every <lddition<ll 50 r<lds
Modero1te Cancers 5ee below
45O Sterility There is a 10% eh<lnee th<lt the character is perm<lnently sterile;
this eh.,nee rises to 25% .,t 500 r<lds, 50% at 550 rads,
90% at 600 r<lds, 99% <It 650 r<lds, <lnd 100% o1t 750 rads.
600 Severe C<lneers See below
75O F<lu.1 C<lneers See below

80th u.bles <lnume a whole-body dose; dosages for smaller arus gener.,lIy affect only th<lt are." in the short term. Although there is no way to
lower a character's radiation history, the worst results Co1n be stopped or reversed through drugs, therapy, andlor surgery.

gold shielded suit. These suits have an occasional powerfluctuations from time fi nd it impossible to get to safe ground,
RSP (Radiation Stopping Power) of 6 to time. When the output of energy particularly if they are living in a work-
rads per turn. peaks, it creates a deadly wave of radio- shack. This is why most (80%) of all
active particles which sleet through smaller stations and all deep space ships
Example:1 enter a breached reactor space. This is a solar flare. have a small, heavily shielded chamber
vessel to shut it down. This emer- designed to shelter up to twenty people
gency task will take me about three Solar flares disru pt communications, from the effects of a flare. This 'storm
turns (about a half-minute) to ac- interrupt power sources, corrode solar shelter' has sufficient food, water, and
complish. I roll my exposure; , 0, 7, panels, make pretty lights in the sky, aidor up to twenty days, but it's incred-
8. Normally, I would have taken a and give you several lifetime doses of ibly small and mind-bogglingly dull.
total of 2S points just crossing the radiation. A flare can kill you almost as Many'cellars' have installed braindance
room. However, with my suit's RSP, fast as a nuclear plant or drive, generat- systems (see Rockerboy) to keep the
I took only a total of 7. The rest was ing as much as 60 rads in a six hour occupants from killing each other dur-
stopped by the suit. Of course, if I period. During a solar flare, there's only ing a long fla re. Any material placed
stay in this position long enough, a few safe places to be, such as on Earth, between the character and the Sun will
eventually I will take enough rads to behind lots of shielding on an orbital reduce the effects of a flare.
cause some serious damage. colony or under the Lunar or Martian
surface. FLARE OCCURRENCE
Mr. Spack should have puton a rad suit. The chance of a flare occurring in-
Solar flares are fairly rare and there are creases as time passes. Roll 201 0 each
SOLAR FLARES plenty of warning devices about which month (minus the number of months
The Sun is a fu sion reactor smack in the give at least two hours notice thata flare since the last flare); if you roll less than
middle of the solar systefll, prone to is building. Occasionally players will 2 a flare wi ll occur that month. A flare
 DEEP SPACE

will usually last 1 D10 days- roll an- There are five ways used by Orbital
other 1 D1 0 if you need to know the personnel to minimize the physical ef-
"fraction" of the last day. fects of zero-gee:
~r'\,A0.
I.Y V V' :.
Solar flares have a Strength, which 1) Drugs, such as calcium tabs, water
among other things determines the retention aids, and vasoconstrictors (to
number of D6 each player rolls per hour
to determine the number of rads of
radiation received; this radiation is re-
raise blood pressure). While useful in
the short term, drugs lose effectiveness
over time, and the body can become
.' ,
,
CANCER AND
YOU ,
, Okay. so the cancer rules are
'.
duced by armor, spacecraft hulls, water
or fuel tanks, lunar slag, other charac-
ters, etc. The Strength is determined by
dependent on them (affecting the body
when it returns to a gravity field). "
, fairly general. Do yoo really
want to play Treatments
lind Tumo urs? In mo st '.
,

rolling percentile dice and consulting

the chart in the sidebar.
2) Exercise, to stress the bones and
muscles as gravity does. The amount of
",
, cases, c harllcters will either
take eno ugh of II dose in a
flare or power plant '.
,

'.
exercise must gradually increase; after
several months, at least four hours a day II ccident to make worrying
GRAVITY ,
will be needed just to slow down the
deleterious effects. Two hours a day will
", a bout the long term effects
silly. Whe n you have a rad

The final leg of the Triad is Gravity.

There is no place in the Universe where
be needed on luna, and an hour a day
on Mars. Heavy aerobic exercise is nec-
essary, such as bicycling and running
•
, accident in Ne ar OrbitlDttp

,
I Space, yo u usually end up
glowing in the dark . '.
,

'.
gravity is absent, but in most places
gravitational attraction is so small it on a treadmill. ,
t, ,
might as well be nonexistant; this is
technically known as microgravity, but 3) Centrifuges, from rotating tables to
it is commonly referred to as "zero- gravity wheels to spinning habitats such
gee". Unfortunately, the human body as the Crystal Palace. The centrifugal
evolved in a gravity field, and doesn't force has the same effect as gravity.
easily adapt to its absence. Therefore, Unfortunately, one drawback is the Co-
since no "artificial gravity field" has yet riolis effect (a sideways motion created
been developed, spacers learn to either by the spin). In a small environment,
simulate gravity using centrifugal force, this force is powerful enough to cause FLARE STItENGTH TABLE
or live without it. dizziness, nausea, and sometimes in-
jury. Centrifuges are seldom used on Roll Strength
The effects of zero gravity on a terres- workshacks, since the torque can ad- 01-23 .............. ............ 1
trial body, while seldom fatal, can be versely affect some experiments and 24-42 ............................ 2
detrimental to someone who eventu- manufacturing processes. 43-59 ............................ )
ally wishes to return to terra firma. 60-72 ............................ 4
Fluids pool in the chest and face, mak- 4) Clothing, with built-in elastic to force 73·83 .................. .......... 5
ingyou puffy (and hiding wrinkles), but the body into positions which cause the 84·90 ............................ 6
also causing you to break down and muscles to exert fo rce to counteract; 91 ·95 .... ............... ......... 7
excrete what the body mistakenly con- the Soviets refer to these as "penguin 96-98 ............................ 8
siders "extra" blood (dehydrating you). suits," since that's what you resemble 99 ............................... .. 9
You gain up t05 cm in height, but your as you waddle down the hall. It's an- 00 ..... ........................... 10
bones begin to lose calcium, causing other form of exercise, only you can
them to weaken (and increasing your move about. One variation of this is the
chance to get a kidney or bladderstone). l ower Body Negative Pressure Device,
The body fl ushes out potassium, which a cylinder that covers the body from the
affects heart rhythm. The heart itself waist down, and which has a lower
pumps with a lower pressure due to a pressure than the outside air. Thisforces
lack of downward pull on the blood. blood into the legs, and the heart must
Since the muscles don't have to fight work to circulate it.
gravity, they lose tone, and begin to
break down. Eventually, the body will 5) Biotech/Nanotech, to repair and re-
be unable to stand in a gravity environ- build lost bone and muscle. Technol-
ment. And we haven't even discussed ogy can directly repair any damage
the psychological impact of zero-gee. caused by zero-gee, eliminating the
 DEEP SPACE

need for gravity wheels, drugs. and will never fu lly recover until you
exercise, but at a substantial cost. De- are in a gravity environment f\~:",-~
vices can be attached to stimulate the again; a large centrifuge will
muscles electrically, which will slow suffice. If you were bom in
muscle loss. space, you automat ically
subtract 4 from the roll. If
There are im- you got it on your first
GRAVITY mediate , flight, add 1 to the roll,
ADAPTATION short-term, as you will tend to get it
and long- again; if you didn't get
term effects as the body adapts to a it on your first flight,.
weightless environment. The most im- subtract 1, as you will
mediate effect is Space Adaptation Syn- not tend to get it in the
drome (see below). Short-term effects future.
are the tendency of the body to form a
crouch (known as the Space Neutral PHYSICAL DETERIORAnON
Body Posture); the pooling offluid in the After the first few days, characters will
abdomen, which the body interprets as begin losing bodily fluids, causing a problem of hanging upside down in
excess and flushes out (causing the body tendency toward dehydration. Muscle mid-air is negligible when the entire
to dehydrate), and the loss of minerals loss will begin, as well as bone deminer- area is less than six or seven feet high.
from bones (making them brittle). The alization. This increases the odds of a
eyes are also affected, with older astra. kklney stone. Magnesium and potas- The twenty-first century changed this.
nauts requiring glasses to see dose up; sium will also be lost, causing a ten- For starters, most of these new space
long-distance vision can actually im- dency for heart irregularities. travellers weren't trained scientists and
prove. long-term effects are lowered pilots; they were corporate execs, lab
immune system efficiency, and occa- Without exercise a character's BODY researchers, and so on. Adapting to null
sional skin infections. TYPE stat would drop by one point per gravity was far more of a problem for
month during the first two months. these civilians. Some became dizzy,
SPACE ADAPTAnON SYNDROME There would be no drop in the third disoriented, and "space sick Others
H
•

Space Adaptation Syndrome (SAS) is a month, a loss of one point in the fourth experienced constant anxiety without
form of motion sickness. About half of month, then a loss of one point in the a readily identifiable up or down.
those arriving in space for the first time sixth month, the ninth month, and so
suffer from it,. and there isn't any way to on, with the time interval increasing by Meanwhile, an entire generation of colo-
tell ahead of time who will be the lucky one month every succeeding period. As nists were growing up in space; adapt-
victims. It won't manifest itself until the long as two hours of exercise a day is ing their homes and workplaces to its
character has the opportunity to move obtained, increasing by one hour every conditions. These new spacers thought
around a bit; it is .seldom seen in small, six months to a total of six hours, the nothing of hanging upside down over
enclosed spaces, or when a character is effectsofzero-geeare stabilized. Strenu- a 500 meter hangar bay to work on an
straped down. Sudden, unexpected ous exercise isrequired; isometrics won't exposed panel; they'd been doing
vomiting is not unknown, and nausea is cut it U.se of a centrifuge would have things like this all their life. Although
a common symptom. There is also a loss the same effect as exercise, but special they dutifully took their pills and did
of appetite. It's very much like having clothing would only be half as effective their gravity-wheel therapy, most didn't
the flu . Regular drinkers of alcohol gen. (thus requiring more time). The re- think about up or down at all. The first
erally have few symptoms. $AS usually quired time remains the same for luna, spacers required special webbing to
fades away by the fourth day. but Mars requires only half the time. keep them from drifting out of their
Notethatanyvigorousmovement(such bunks. The second generation didn't
Within three hours of attaining zero-gee as a chase or a fight) counts as exercise. even use bunks half the time. In a
for the first time, roll 1 0 1O. On a roll of habitat, it became common for a two
2 or less on your first flight, you are PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS year old to curl up wherever he hap--
permanently immune from SAS; other· In the earliest days of space exploration, pened to be, snag a handhold, and
wise, you don't suffer from it this flight. the mental problems of weightlessness reflexively hold himself at station while
On a roll of 3, you are slightly queasy, weren't readily ~pparent. Most astro- sleeping. As these generations matured,
but get better in 1 to 1 0 hours. On a roll nauts were experienced in strange en- they began to shape their environment
of 4-9, you suffer the full effects of $AS vironments and had some simulation to fil Huge, open spaces were thrown
for 1 06/ 3 + (half your roll) days (3. 3-6.5 of zero-gee through special water tanks between areas of a habitat. without
days; keep the fraction). On a 10, you and free-fall experiments. Besides, the thought of bridges or catwalks. Corri·
 DEEP SPACE
mm
dors had moving hand holds installed ing weapon must make a REFLEX roll or RETURNING TO GRAVITY
to tow people from place to place. be pushed backwards. Things don't get back to normal right
Elevators, stairs, and laddersdisappeared away w hen you get back to normal
from constru ction. Chairs were The player must roll a 1 D1 0 + REflEX g ravity. Some bone damage will be
mounted on any convenient surface, or total higher than 15 or be knocked off permanent, and the general restora-
not used at all. his feet. This +15 Difficulty is further tion of pre-flight strength and body
modified by the followi ng table functions will be dependent upon the
The result? An environment designed to efforts the character made while in
scare the living daylights out of a gravity- Recoil Save Table zero-gee . The more exercise, and the
raised, gravity-loving Groundsider. Add modifier value to 15+ b~se Difficu lty. greater the amount of time spent in a
small Clalibe r(.22, .32) .................. +2 centrifu ge, the faster the recovery. In
Cyberpunk characters coming from Medium Caliber (9 mm, .18) .......... +5 general, one day of recovery per
Groundside have a serious adaptation Heavy Caliber (.'15, .'14, .35 7) ...... + 10 month of zero-gee will be needed
problem facing them. They will find Any rifle cal iber ..................... .... .. + 10 before the character can walk around
themselves plunged into an environ- Any auto matic burst .................... +10 again; halve this if the c ha racter exer-
ment where up and down don't exist 8raced Stance .. ............................... -4 cised vigorously or used a centrifuge
and nothing is arranged to facilitate a Velcro Soled Shoes ......................... ·2 in excess of the recommended
sense of gravity. Dinner parties may Body Type is Strong ....................... -2 amount, and double or more if the
have guests floating languidly at all Body Type is Very Strong ................ ·4 character failed to exercise at least
angles and an open corridor may sud- Magnetic 80015 ........ ............ ......... -4 the recommended amount. The lost
denly cross a bottomless airshaft. As for fluids will be replaced w ithin a week,
combat, forget it! For every point the player has failed by, and the lost muscle mass within a
he is pushed back 0.5 mlsec in the month or two, no matter how long
NEW SKILL: ZERO-GEE direction opposite of that in which the the flight. lost bone will take more
MANEUVER weapon was fired. If a wall is hit, the time to recover, and some of the loss
The skill of moving in zero-gee without character will take 1 D6 in bludgeon may be permanent. Once the charac-
f)/A packs, etc. By shifting body weight. damage for every 2 ml sec orfraction of ter is in a full gravity environment,
pushing off walls and even throwing a recoil speed. Thecharacter isalsothrown they will regain one point of BODY
hea\.y object the player can move about a into an uncontrolled spin (recovery takes every 1 06/2 weeks, longer if on Luna
zero gee environment with relative ease. an AVERAGE Zero-Gee Manoeuvring or Mars. One point is permanently
Pushing off a wall in a straight line and roll). lost fo r every year (or significant frac-
stopping at a far wall without knocking tion) spent in zero-gee.
yourself unconscious would be an AVER- Example: ScarY fires a .357 mag-
AGE (+15) task. See pg. 76 for details. num at a target fleeing down the
corridor. He fails his Recoil save by Example: Poor ScarY spent a year
Combat in a five points, and tumbles back 2.5 on a workshack performing menial
COMBAT IN gravity field meters/sec. Unfortunately, the wall labor while recovering from his bout
ZERO-GEE often depends is only two meters behind him. He with loss of pressure. The labor
on gravity. A hits solidly, taking 206 in bludgeon wasn't very taxing, however, and
fighter can throw himself into an oppo- damage to his torso. he isn't smart enough anymore to
nentand throw him offbalance, orthey remember to exercise properly. He
can grapple, one trying to overcome NEW SKILL: ZERO-GEE COMBAT started with a BODY TYPE of 9. At
the other by force, or one can attempt This skill assumes the player knows how the end of the first month, his BODY
to throw the other. But all of these to use recoil weapons in zero-gee (brac- TYPE dropped to 8. Atthe end of the
require gravity. You can't do much of a ing against walls, etc. to prevent fourth month, he had dropped to 7.
body slam if you lift yourself off the floor blowback). This skill is also a modified After six months, he was down to 6.
as fast as you throw your victim towards style of martial art that teachs the player After nine months, he had a BODY
it Fights end quickly when you swing a how to make punches and kicks in such TYPE of 5. Heaccidentially broke the
fistandsetyourself spinning. One prob- a way as to keep close to the target, and liquor cabinet, so he was fired and
lem in zero-gee is that lack of gravity how to use leverage to make throws sent back to Earth. Since he was in
doesn't cancel out Newton's Third law. and keep holds. Orbital Characters au· space a year, he has permanently
A heavy caliber handgun can easily tomatically have this skill at +1, and lost one BODY TYPE point. It will
propel its user into the opposite wall, may buy it at higher levels using IP. This take him anywhere from twelve to
from recoil. While gyrojet weapons can is not a maneuvering skill, and Zero- sixty-fo ur days to recover his
reduce or eliminate this recoil, as a Gee Maneuver is a prerequisite See pg. strength.
standing rule any player firing a recoil- 76 for details.
 DEEP SPACE

The re Drive Type: This is the number and Shuttlecraft: The smaller craft which
lHE HARDWARE are four type of drives the ship uses. All drives may be carried and the cargo space
types of are listed here. they occupy.
spacecraft. These are Surface-ta-Or-
bit, Orbital Transfer Vehicles, 5ur- Burn Elements: The total number of Thus a spacecraft with the code:
face-ta-Space and Deep Space Ships. burn elements available.
Each type of spacecraft is designed Cargo Shuttle - 200 - 2·0 - Chemi-
for a particular environment. Power Type: Types of power systems. cal - 10 - Battery, Fue l Ce ll - 50%-
3 - 1 x 200m) - 2 - 4 - 2 - 12 - 4 -1
SPACECRAFT CODES Sen sors: The base detection rating of x Flitter: 30m'
Each spacecraft is represented by cer- sensors.
tain characteristics such as the type of is a cargo shuttle worth approx 200
drive, minimum crew requirements Com puters: The number of onboard million eb list price with a crew of 2
and cost. These factors are recorded computers and capacity, and pro- and no passenger space. The craft
as a spacecraft code (a profile of the grams carried for each . has a single chemical engine provid-
craft): ing a total of 10 burn elements and
Cargo: The number of cargo bays uses batteries and fue l cells for power.
Type · Cost · Crew · Passengers · and their capacities. Every 20m) can It has sensors with 50% base detec-
Drive Type · Bu rn Elements· Power be converted to 8 berths. tion rating, 3 on-board computers
Type. Sensors. Com p uters. Cargo and 200 cubic metres of cargo space.
• Actions· Weapon Spaces · Armor Actions: The number of actions the In combat it has 2 actions per turn
• Damage Points· Overkill Points · ship has per combat t urn. and has 4 weapon spaces and a maxi-
Shuttlecraft mum hull armorof 2SP, with a total of
Weapon Spaces: How much room is 12 damage elements and capable of
Type: The type of spacecraft and use available for weapons, defenses and sustaining an extra 4 points of dam-
if applicable. armor. age before exploding messily. This
craft may also contain one Flitter
Cost : The manufacturer's suggested Armor: The maximum amount of which will occupy 30m) of cargo
retail price, in millions of euro. Used armor which this craft can support. space.
prices are 30-80% of this.
Damage Points: The number of pos- "I don 't care that you'll
Crew: The number of crew needed sible damage elements. shoot m e If I don 'tl I can 't
to operate the craft. take you to the Moon In
Ove rkill points: How much extra an orbital shuttle, period.
Passengers: The number and type of damage the craft can take (after be- Try hijacking an OTV
berths usually available. ing wrecked) before it explodes. next time, you idiot •.. "

SURFACE-lO-SPACE
As of yet, there are still no true Surface-to-Space ships. NASA has designed a
hybrid vehicle, with a TAV crew section and an orbital main d rive. The TAV would
liftoff from Earth, link with the main drive, and travel into deep space. So fa r, no
working prototype has been constructed. The Japanese are constructing their
Minerva STS prototype, though severe design flaws (and not a little contractor
fraud) have shown up. The Minerva uses a hydrogen fueled scramjet and a
nuclear-heated drive pile to allow it to lift off, then makes a link with a long range
fusion reactor and drive.
 DEEP SPACE

The backbone of the space age, these craft get cargo and people into (and back from) orbit.

ROCKETS
Usually consisiting of little more than •
an an engine, fu el tank and cargo
space, rockets are expensive and
rarely reuseable. Most lift cargo into
orbit and, once in orbit, are con-
verted into living space. Common
designs include the Eu roSpace
Agency's Ariane VI, the Japanese
Hiyaku V and the U.S. Advanced
Launch System(ALS). The largest rock-
ets are the Soviet-designed heavy lift
platforms.

The most common commercial

•
model is the HMLPV-15B(High Mass
lift Profile Vehicle) developed by Or-
bital Air. HMlPVs are robot<on-
trolled, Iower<ost solid fuel rockets
designed to get a huge amount of
mass into space. They have a reus-
able scramjet booster section to reach
a higher orbit.

SHUTTlES/ MINI· SHUTTlES

These are vehicles which are launched by either a rocket (such as the current u .s . Space Shuttle) or carried piggyback
by a lifting platform . Shuttles are used to carry work crews into orbit at altitudes higher than a normal spaceplane can
go and are also large enough to carry substantial cargo.

There are four types of shuttles in use in 2025: the standard NASA Shuttle II from the late 1990s; the almost identical
KosmoSov Shuttle from the same time; the Hermes I-b mini-shuttle, designed primarily for carrying construction crews;
and the NASA HL·25, which is optimized for cargo.

• Shuttle II • 200 • 2 • 0 • Chemical · 10 • Battery, Fuel Cell · 5096 • 3 • 200m J • 2 . 6 • 2 • 12 • 4 • 1 x Flitter

• HL-25 Shuttle. 100.2.2 · Chemical · 5 · Battery · 5096 · 2 · 50m J • 2 · 4 · I · 7 · 3· None
• Hermesl-b Shuttle· 120 · 2 · 12 · Chemical . 5. Battery. 5096 . 2 . 20m1 . 2 · 4·1 · 7 · 3 · None
 DEEP SPACE

"

DELTAS/CRUISERS
These are high·speed, suborbital spaceplanes designed for combat and interception. They usually have two
engines; a nonnal supersonic jet for reaching an altitude of 35,000 meters, and a solid-fueled rocket engine for
boosting into orbit. Occasionally. deltas are carried piggyback by larger jet aircraft, or boosted into orbit by using
disposable rockets. They are also carried aboard deep space craft.

Once in orbit,. deltas use maneuver thrusters to move in on orbital targets. Well armed with chemical lasers, space-
to-space missiles, ASAT miuiles for anti-satellite warfare, and kinetic-kill mines, deltas must strike quickly and then
use their remaining fuel to reenter safety. The EuroSpace Agency has only a few deltas (24). 10 the main, they are
used by the USAF (118 total) and the Soviets (67 total).

Delta· 80 • '·2 • 0 • Chemical· 7 • Batteries, Fuel Cell. 5596 • 2 • 2ml • 2. 8 • 1 • 5 • 2 • None

 DEEP SPACE

LANDERS
landers are spacecraft designed to
take off and land on Luna, Mars, and
smaller bodies. They are incapable
of landing on Earth. There are two
varieties: Luna-certified, which can
land on any body no larger than
luna; and Mars-certified, which can
land on Mars-sized bodies but carry
less cargo.

Luna Lander · 50 • 2 • 6 • Chemical

• 8 • Batteries, Fuel Cell · 50% • 2 •
7Sm1 • 1 • 3 • 2 • 5 • 3 • None

High-Ene rgy l aser lift systems are a small

ca rgo rockets which carry no rocket en-
gine. Instead, their fu el is heated by a laser
that remains on the ground. They are
cheap and effective at moving cargo.
 DEEP SPACE

SPACEPLANES LEO, where they dock with a work- Japanese TAV-12, which is slightly
Also known as TAVs (trans-atmo- station and transfer cargo and pas- smaller than the other two designs.
spheric vehicles), spaceplanes are sengers to an Orbital Transfer Ve-
capable of reaching low Earth orbit hicle, then reenter. Aries 1/ - 350 - 5 - 48 - Chemical- 8
using a combination of a normal jet - Batteries, FueICell - 50% - 3 _ 30m J
engine for takeoff, a scramjet which There are several models of - 3 -4-0-7- 3 - None
propels it at hypersonic speeds to spaceplane including the American
the edge of space, and a pure rocket designed Orient Express (rarely seen, TAV-12 - 220 - 3 - 4 - Chemical - 8
to allow it to move in space. l AYs are as only six of the original ten are left); - Batteries, FuelCell- 5096 - 3 - 30m J
not designed for deep space travel. the more common Hermes and Aries - 3 -4-0- 7 -3- None
They can reach the lowest ranges of series (both built by ESA); and the
DEEP SPACE

MASS DRIVERS
These are magnetic "rocket sleds"
which hurl a capsule into LEO. A
mass driver handles cargoes of up
to ten tons, usually in huge storage
containers. They cannot be used
for passengers, as the acceleration
is far too great. Mass drivers on
Earth are just over 3km. long; in
the Lunar gravity well, a 155m
track will suffice.
 DEEP SPACE

ORBITAL
CRAn
ORBITAL TRANSFER VEHICLES
(OTVS)
OTVs are used to move from LEO
to higher orbits, orto the LaGrange
points. There are three types:

Cargo OTVs are egg-shaped ve-

hicles which carry cargo between
orbital points. All engine and fuel
celis, they have wide docking rings
for easy access. The EuroSpace
Agency controls most of the cargo
DTVs, although a few are used by
the Soviets, while Orbital Air and
the ESA have a virtual monopoly
on the use of passenger OTV's.

Passenger OTV .. 50 .. 4 .. 16 ..
Chemical " 10 .. Batteries, Fuel Cell
or Solar Arrays " 50% .. 2 (1 OMU)"
2 x 10ml .. 1 .. None" 7-3 .. 5 .. 3
.. None

•
Deep Space OTVs are 1
much like cargo OlVs, I
but carry more power
and fuel and have a
larger crew cabin. They
can land on asteroids and
the smaller Jovian
moons. They are often
used by Deep Space Ex·
plorers as shuttlecraft.
Cargo ON " 40 .. 2 " 1 .. Chemical
.. '0 .. Batteries, Fuel Cell or Solar OS-OTV .. 70 .. 2 .. 16 ..
Arrays .. 50%" 2 (I OMU) " 2 x 30m ) Chemical · 70 " Batteries,
.. J .. 3 .. 1-3 .. 5 .. 3 .. None Fuel Cell or Solar Arrays -
50% - 2x(10MU) - I Om1
- '-None-2-4 - 7·4
- None
DEEP SPACE

SMALL mall craft are short·range vehicles used for personal

ranspart. They fall into two categories:
CRAFT
Flitte rs hold up to four people and a
cub ic meter or so of cargo. They are
used for transport between habitats.
They cannot land anywhere.

Flitter · 10 · 2 · 2 · Chemical- 3 ·
Batteries · 30% • 1 (1OMU) • 4m 1 •
' - None - O·3 - ' - None

capsules with manipulator arms

and rocket thrusters, used
mostly in the construction of
orbital workshacks. Work Mod-
ules have a very limited range.

WorkModule e S - ' - 0 -
Chemical · 2 • Batteries, S%r
Arrays · 3096 • 1 • 4m1 • , . 1
-, - 4 - 2 -None

BATTLE
SATELLITE
Battle satellites are u nmanned
weapons platforms. They are con-
trolled from the ground, but can
be p rogrammed with some
autonomy and initiative.

Battle Sot · 40 • none. none.

Chemical - 3 - Batteries, Solar - 65%
- 2 _ 0m J - 1 - 10 - 4 - 6 - 2 - none
 DEEP SPACE

These are the true long-haul vehicles

of the Solar System. There is a con·
siderable variety among their de-
signs, as each is optimized for its
particular mission . While on board a
DSS, most of the crew remains in the
stateofbraindance; bodies are cooled
down to near freezing. while auto-
nomic systems are controlled by di-
rec.t nerve links to a central com-
puter. Asensory "stirn" is maintained
while in the "dance", allowing the
dormant crew to experience sensa-
tions and keep them sane. These
links can even be shared, allowing an
entire crew to share the same
braindance (one way to deal with
the long period of suspended ani-
mation is to run the entire crew as
in a braindance-based scenario).
Characters and crew abord a DSS are
also shielded from stray radiation.
DEEP SPACE EXPLORERS
There are four main classes of DSS. (DSES)
These are spacegoing laboratories
which are loaded with sensors, com·
puters, and equipment. The flight
crew (often o n loan from the
military) rotate shifts in coldsleep,
while the scientific crew spends
nearly the entire trip in braindance,
from where they can process much
of the data whi le in flight ,
awakening only upon arrival at the
objective or when a significant
opportunity arises. There are cur-
rently four Deep Space Explorers:
the Soviet Gagarin, the ESA DaVinci,
the joint US-Japanese Far Frontier,
and the U.S.-only Pathfinder. One
more is under construction: ESA's
Kepler.

DSE • 2500 • 8 • 60 • Chemical,

Nuclear· 8, '2· Nuclear, S%r, Fuel
Cell-9096 - S -4Bays: '-7Sm A 3
probe storoge, 2- 45 mJ supplies, 3-
45m} supplies, 4· 8 m 1 • 3 • None .
o • 15 • 6 • 2 l.anders, 20S·0rY's,
6 probes, 2 m J each
DEEP SPACE

CYCLERS
Cyclers are massiveopen-structure
craft which permanently cycle be-
tween two planets, currently only
in use between Earth and Mars.
Once set in motion, a Cycler
requires very little fuel to maintain
its orbit, making it cheap to
operate . Specialized orvs
intercept them as they pass near a
planet and transfer cargo and pas-
sengers. One Cycler has already
been built by the U.S. (Explorer II),
providing a , 4-month one-way
trip (soon to shorten to 12), and
another two are under
construction by the EuroSpace
Agency.

Cycler(one holf) .250·4.20 (up

to 200 in proposed models) •
Chemical, Ion • 6, 2 • Batteries,
Sofor · 6096 · 3 · 7DOOm J • 2 ·
None· 0 • 8 • 4 • 3-4 OTV's, 2
Landers
 DEEP SPACE

CLIPPERS
These a re fast cargo sh ips
consisting of an engine, fuel, and
minimal life support to ca ny h igh-
priority cargo. Although there are
several desig ns on the drawing
boa rd, no Clippers are yet in
operation.

dipper · 70 • 2 • 2 • Chemical,
Nuclear· 6, 12 • Batteries, Fuel
Cell, Sofor· 6096 • 2 • SOm) · 2 .
None · 0 • 6 • 2 • 1 CO(go ON
CARRIERS
The carrier is a proposed new type
of warship that would be a cross
between the DSEand a clipper. It
would depend on its large load of
fast-deploying mini-shuttles or
deltas for combat. None exist, but
the USAF has a few designs on the
drawing board.

Carrier · 1400.6 . 6 . Chemical,

Nuclear · 6, 12 . Nuclear, Fuel Cel/,
Safar . 8096 • 3 • 125mJ • 4 • 7 •
3· 15 • 4 • 6 deltas or 5 mini-
shuttles, 1 cargo/passenger OTV

INTERPLANETARY
EXPRESS- WHEN IT
ABSOLUTELY,
POsmVELY, HAS TO
GET THERE THIS YEARI
DEEP SPACE

GUNSHIPS
The battleships of space. Bristling
with weapon s, they enforce
national policies far from Earth .
Currently, the EuroSpace Agency
has two under construction, the
Soviets have one in lunar orbit and
another under construction, and
the United States has two. A third,
the Andromeda, di sappeared
mysteriously after report ing
contact with a massive space object
of unknown origin .

Gunship. 2500 • 8 • 4 • Chemical,

Nuclear · 8, 15 • Batteries, Nucfear.
5010( - 8096 . 4 -200m) . 6 ·74·
4 · 20 • 1 · 2 OS·OTY's, 4 deltos
 DEEP SPACE

SPACECRAFT Spacecraft Ships that use lightsails usually have a stantial amounts of power, but re-
are intricate small chemical rocket to use when quire sunlight and are inviting tar-
TECHNOLOGY networks of rapid maneuvers are needed. gets.
systems
which interact w ith each other for Anti-matter engines are being de- Fuel ce ll s generate electricity and
movement, life support and combat. veloped by NASA for Deep Space water from the recombination of oxy-
Often, there will be multiples of each Explorers, USAF for true dogfighting gen and hydrogen. They are used by
system as backup. spacecraft, and Orbital Air for fast, lunar OTVs because o ne oxygen tank
cheap cargo runs. The Soviet tourist can support power and life support
DRIVE SYSTEMS bureau, Intourist, has contracted with requirements. On space stations, liq-
Drive systems are the main engines Orbital Air to develop a version for uid wastes are often broken down by
used by ships to move. Small move- interplanetary tours. Anti-matter en- solar power into oxygen and hydro-
ments are taken care of by thrusters gines probably won't be availablefor gen fo r use in the night portions of
(which are ignored in these rules). at least another twenty years, min i- orbit; the fue l cell is thus acting like a
mum. battery.
Che m ical e ng ines use chemical fu-
els, such as liquid oxygen and hydro- BURN ELEMENTS Batteries si mply store power gener-
gen, which are combined to produce Burn elements approximate the ated elsewhere for use when solar
heat and pressure to produce thrust. amount of fuel a ship has. The larger power cannot operate, or as a tem-
They can react quickly, but require a the fuel load and the less fuel a drive porary boost to any power system.
great deal of fuel. system uses, the greater the number
of burn elements available. SENSORS
Ion engi nes do not produce a great Sensors are used to navigate and find
amount of thrust, but can be left on POWER SYSTEMS targets. Sensors can also be used to
for long periods, eventually develop- All spacecraft need power to operate find scientific data. The more sophis-
ing substantial velocities. They re- communications, life support, weap- ticated the sensor, the greater the
quire much less fuel than chemical ons, etc. The type of power system chance to find the target.
engines, but have minimal maneu- used will depend on the operating
verability. environment, energy requirements, COMPUTERS
and costs. Computers are absolutely vital to in-
Nuclear e ngines force a fuel such as terplanetary navigation, and it's al-
liquid hydrogen, ammonia, or water Nuclear reactors are used when a most impossible to navigate in Ea rth
through a nuclear reactor heat source. long-term power source is needed, orbit (VERY DIFFICULT task), particu-
The reactors can produce tremen- such as on deep space missions. They larly with traffic, without one. No
dous amounts of heat, and use less are bulky, but produce power for weapons can be used without com-
fuel than chemical rockets. years. puters. All ship computers require
the Local Navigation program, and
Solar dy nam ic drives use large mir- Solar power is fairly light, and re- Deep Space ships need the Interplan-
rors to concentrate sunlight onto a quires no fuel . Solar power is the etary Navigation and Astronomical
central chamber, where fuel is heated most common kind of power for un- Database programs. The Targeting
and expelled. In many respects, it's armed satellites and small lunar equip- program is necessary to fire weap-
like a nuclear engine, but in this case ment. It isn' t used beyond Mars, how- ons, although most defenses can be
the reactor is the sun. They are light- ever, because th ere simply isn't manually o perated . Because of the
weight, but the size of the mirrors enough light. Solar power cannot problems with stray radiation, most
makes for poor maneuvering . operate in planetary shadows, so so- ship systems have protected archive
lar power systems usually have sub- versionsof their critical programs(usu-
Lig htsail s require no fuel at all, since stantial banks of batteries, and to a ally the Navigation p rograms). Ar-
they use the photonic "pressure" of lesser extent fue l cells . chives take ten m inutes to unpack
light (solar or laser) for propulsion . and upload per MU.
The thrust is negligible, but it can be Brayton solar dynam ic gen erato rs
sustained indefinitely. However, consist of parabolic mirrors which Unless otherwise stated, a ship com-
lightsails have virtually zero maneu- focus sunlight on fluid-filled heat puter has two memories, a Speed of
verability, and also require several pipes. The heated flu id passes through 0, and a Strength of 2. Also, every
square kilometers of sail area, making a turbine, which is connected to computer will carry local Naviga-
jammers, chaff, and fl ares useless. dynamoes. They can generate sub- tion, and usually some version of
 DEEP SPACE

Drone. Ship and habitat computers Missiles use heat-seeking and/or ra- are no such systems available on board
are treated likesmall Nets. Obviously, dar sensors to actively hunt targets. the ship, it can only fire such weap-
the smaller and more specialized the They deliver high-explosive or n udear ons by draining its batteries/fuel cells.
spacecraft, the smaller the Net. packages. This will cause the loss of sensors,
computers, and life-support
WEAPON SYSTEMS Particle Beams propel charged par- functions.
Spacecraft weapons are designed to ticles which produce both heat dam-
destroy or cripple a large spacecraft. age and radiation . Particle Beams are DEFENSES
The levels of damage inflicted cause quickly dissipated in magnetic fields To counterthe increasing use of space-
instant death for an unprotected human. such as radiation belts. craft weaponry, a number of defen-
sive devices have been developed.
l asers release concentrated beams Kinetic Kill Weapons fire tiny projec-
of light to heat and melt the target. tiles at high speed, with area effect Armor: Layers of reinforced material
They can be fired long distances, but like a shotgun. Armor is penetrated d rapedoverthespacecrafthull. While
are degraded by aerosols. by use of fletchettes . very effective, it also adds consider-
ably to the mass of the ship, reducing
Railguns use powerful magnets to Note: due to their power consump- the number of burn elements avail-
hurl projectiles as hypersonic speeds. tion, Railguns and Particle beams re- able. The number of armor points is
The projectile can be metal or plastic quire at least one non-battery or fuel subtracted from the amount of in-
with a metal 'skirt' to grip the mag- cell power system to be assigned to coming damage to determine the
netic fields. each weapon of those types. If there final amount of damage. Any Armor

SPACECRAFT PROGRAM LIST

Name Function Str MU Cost

Local Nav NaVigate In planetary orbit: add strength to rolls for launCh, 1-, 2 1000/Str
landing and docking.
Interplanetary NaVigate between planets: add strength to success rolls. 1-2 2 1000/Str
Navigation Must have Astro Database to use.
Astra Planet and star data 1 3 600
Database
SCience Compiles sensor reaoings ,.or a particUlar branCh 0' space 1 1 500
science; needed for collecting and interpreting data
I ::,clence I t xtenslve oatao~se Tor a [)ranch of sCience. Add strength 1 J-j 200/ MU
Database to success rolls for collecting and interpreting data
largetlng I Lomplles sensor readings Into targeting data. Add strength 1-4 1 800/Str
to hit roll. Weapons cannot be aimed without this program.
Drone Enables automatic/remote operation. ReqUires code to access system. leve s listed below.
Levell l ocal Navigation only, Pilot +1, Grey security 1 1 2000
Level 2 I Local NaVigation only, Pilot +3, Grey security 2 2 4000
Can operate flares/chaff
Level 3 Interplanetary Navigation, Pilot +'; local Navigation, Pilot +3 3 3 6000
Can perform any defensive action, level 1 security
Level -4 As evel .l piUS weapon operation at -2 uSing 3 4 "UUU
targeting program. Level 2 security.
Level' I ~ level .l a.no can pe~orm .all actions Without cost. 4 4 15000+
Black security, currently only available to USAF
 DEEP SPACE

C£' - '=' I _7/7

~
c::::J

~ ~
"-

French "Surcouf" Closs Shuttle

..,..." II

doubles the cost of maneuvers; this tive -, 0% for lasers to hit per charge. proof. Bulkheads are structural mem-
cost is not reduced when all the ar- This also affects the firing ship. The bers. Partitions have an SP value of 4,
mor is lost. For those who insist on it, benefit of an aerosol is lost if the firing and must take 15 points of damage
spacecraft Armor is worth roughly ship performs an Evasive maneuver to make a hole large enough to pass
10 SP per point. Whenever Armor or Decrease Range. "Stardust" is just through . Bulkheads have an SP value
is penetrated, one point <1 0 SP) is coming into use with some ships: of8, and require 30 points of damage
lost. scientifically-produced glass crystals to make a man-sized hole.
with the same effect as aerosols. They
Chaff/Flares: Used to fool sensors take six turns to dissipate, but cost Partition doors are NOT airtight, but
and missiles. Chaff consists of mil- four times as much. bulkhead doors are. Bulkhead doors
lions of strips of aluminum cut to also provide an effective seal against
radar wavelengths, causing thousands Jammers: Jammers send out elec- biotoxins (except those that eat the
of targets to appear. Flares produce tronic signals to scramble enemy sen- seals, of course). Some bulkheads,
heat at spaceship frequencies, caus- sors. They require a non-battery/fuel particularly those surrounding nuclear
ing sensors to be confused and (hope- cell power system for full effect (-30% drives, power systems or flare shel-
fully) track the flare instead of the to sensor rolls). If operating on stored ters, are marked as radiation resis-
ship. Chaff and flares last for three power, their effect is haved (-15%). tant. These have triple value with
turns. They are usually fired together. respect to radiation.
A chafflflare dispenser has five DAMAGE POINTS
charges. Causes -, 0% to attackers Damage Points are a generic mea- PURCHASING,
lock-on roll (-15% for missiles) for surement of the types/amount of OUTFIITING AND
three turns. damage a ship can take. Each ship MAINTENANCE
damage listing shows the order in A spacecraft is a major investment.
Countermissiles: Miniature missiles which systems are damaged. Slight Even an OlY can exceed a million
which are designed to intercept other variations are possible, although the dollars, while larger craft can only be
missiles. They are fired in groups to vast majority of damage will occur to afforded by the larger corporations
increase the chance that at least one the burn elements. or national governments. Used space-
will hit. Successfully destroys incom- craft typically cost 30-80% of new,
ing missile on a roll of 1 from a 101 0. Each ship also has a certain number depending on age and condition.
Countermissiles cannot be fired un- of "overkill" points. These determine New spacecraft also require time: a
less there is an incoming missile. Ki- the likelihood of explosion, should a few months for an OlY, and several
netic-kill weapons can also be used in ship be sufficiently damaged. When- years for Deep Space Ships. Once a
the counter-missile role. This has a 2 ever all the systems listed are hit, a ship has been purchased, new or
in 10 interception chance, but you 010 roll (equal or less than the re- used, it can take months to custom-
cannot have fired the weapon offen- maining "overkill " points) must be ize and outfit for the individual user.
sively in the same turn. made to see if the ship explodes. A
ship only need roll in the turn it is hit. In addition to the initial costs, main-
Aerosols: Aerosols are opaque gases tenance can take a substantial amount
used to degrade lasers. While very INSIDE A SPACECRAFT of money. Ten percent of the initial
effective, they tend to dissipate Mostof the interior volume of a space- cost per year for a new craft, and
quickly. Aerosols last for four turns; craft is uninhabita ble and is utilized double or triple that for a used space-
subtract the number of turns since by fuel and engines. Interior walls will craft, is not unreasonable. Mainte-
launch from 5 to determine the re- be one of two types: partitions or nance is time-consuming, and failure
duction in la~~{ daroas~. 11R.("::''i.o~ d\'i.- b\l.~~I;-.~ad'i.. ~"to.'I"\\\\"::''''''i. 'M~ 'i.\~'P~~ d\- \...::. 'i.'Ptt\d \.ht ~b'!.h ~, \.'~t ~bt"\ ~
pensers have five charges. Cumula- viders; often, they aren't even sound- deadly.
 DEEP SPACE

ORBITAL MECHANICS IN St.go One: 0rbItM 1n>er1lon

HOHMANN ORBIT
THREE EASY LESSONS

LESSON ONE: TYPES OF ORBITS

...
[);IfIcuIIy •• 1 J PIloting Roll
Tho craft ........ In IUIH

~
~"""
5huttIa, etc.,
must stop ~. Pasoengooo
!"Nytr~".T'~
DIACRAM

St.go TWo: Bum tow.,'"

point (polKe). 0itIItuIIy ..
Ll

LEO, short for l ow Earth Orbit, is that Smion 10 I lwII-OoI.n:I . , II Aslfo9IIIon. _ 10 ott

region from about 1 50 km to 2000 OTV. 01VJ !"Ny _ tAb off up 0>UrM. .IS OTV PIIodn9
from EIrth. ~.
km. Most workshacks are found here,
as well as some orbital transfer stations.

GEO, short for Geostationary Orbit,

is where a satellite over the equator
wi ll stay over the same spot on Earth.
Virtually all communications and
weather satellites are here, as well as
a few workshacks. There aren't too
many permanently manned stations
here, as this orbit (also known as the
Clarke Belt) is sti ll within the outer
Van Allen radiation belt.

High orbit is anything above GEO,

such as the O'Neills. Some workshacks
are here, as well as Crystal Palace.
luna is in Hig h orbit.
S~ Sb.: {nl ... EIrth orbil
Polar orbit circles around both poles, (tliMwtIy ••1 J P'IIotlng).
OM dod< ~1h l,on" ...
eventually passing over every point SI.OIIon, _ 10 Shllllie Of
on Earth. Weather, resource, and spy SflKep-. LondIng ... 1 a
on PlatIng Roll.
satellites occupy this o rbit, which is
otherwise the same as a l ow orbit. jTRAvn nMES ' .......L)
Polar orbits take more fuel to reach, • frIwo U r -l TO ~

' ~UTOUliOltt.t _ o.S_

_2.5_ st.go Four. lnI... LuNr 0rtJ!L
£lect 101.0'" up 0IbIt (OIf!IcuIty
•• 1 S I'IIotIng). or go on - .
so ships launching into a polar orbit ' ~£.AATllIOU~ . o.s"",
10 IandO'I\I on lwII (DII!kuIIy •
.20 PIoIIng).
cannot carry as much cargo. • ~ £.AATll IOU. 1.'. 1.5'1.5"'"
·~UAAlI012 . 3_

Hohmann orbits, named forthe Ger-

man scientist who studied them, are
elliptical orbits which use the min i-
mal amount of fu el to travel from one
point to another. They trade fuel for
time. Essentially, the time to travel
using a Hohmann orbit is half the
average orbital period of the depar-
tureandarrival points, assuming they
are in reasonably circular orbits. FlJELTABLE
Spacecraft Total Bum.
Fast Transfer orbits travel between Spaceplane S
points as quickly as possible, but use
tremendous amo unts of fuel . They Shuttle 10
are seldom used, because once the OTV 10
fuel is loaded, the ship has almost no Delta 7
room for cargo. Satellite (any type) 3
Workshack 2
Solar orbits are simply orbits around
the Sun . Discarded fuel tanks, nuclear
 DEEP SPACE

THE HIGHER COSTS OF SPACE TRAVEL

METEOR DAMAGE Travel between planets is the province of government, the larger
TABLE corporations, and the obscenely wealthy who have nothing better to
Roll Damage do with their money.
0 1·50 ................................ 1DP
51-75 ....................... 10612DP
, One-Way Trip s, from Earth (Euro Dollars):
Passengers Cargo
76-90 ••..•..••.••..••..••.••.•• , 06 DP Destina tio n Cold sleep Coach Fi rst Class l kg To n
91·95 ........................ 1010DP
Mercury 4 0 7 000 40
96-98 ........................ 201 0 DP
99 .............................. 3010DP
e nus 4 4
00 ..... 5010 DP and roll againll Mars Or It 15000 30000 50000 150 110000
Mars Su ace 20000 35000 58000 180 130000
Because they travel so fast, ar- e res 4
mor is of negligable effect against
meteors; treat as half value. Re-
The Mars trips assume a Venus fly-by. For Hohmann orbits, add 8%.
gardless of armor value, ill me-
teor will always do 1 DP. that way. Instead, a spacecraft from will occur several times a day, and do
somewhere else can fly by a planet little more than make pock marks in
and gain speed-not relative to the the paint. Rarely, sand grain-sized
planet (that re mains the same), but particles or large r appear, and can do
PLANETARY RING relative to the Sun (making it a three- considerable damage. For every day
HAZARD RATINGS body problem: spaceship, planet, and in space, there is a cumulative 0 .1%
Sun). The spacecraft gains a part of chance of a collision with a suffi-
Saturn's Rings Rating the planet's momentum around the ciently large particle to worry about;
A 5 Sun (consequently, the planet loses this increases to 0 .3% while in the
B 0 speed and moves a tiny bit closer to Mai n Belt. Objects in Earth orbit must
C 2 the Sun). also roll for collision. If a collision
D 2 occurs, roll on the table in the sidebar
E 0 Gravity whips aren't always conve- to see the damage that results.
F 0 nient or available, but when they a re,
G 0 they can rea lize substantial savings in ASTEROIDS
time and fuel . l ook at the Mars trip-- Asteroids are sufficiently large to be
Uranus' Rings Rating a minimum-energy Hohmann is 971 picked up on sensors and avoided . In
#1 0.1 days round-trip, but Mars via Venus is fa ct, the Inte rplanetary Navigation
#5 0.1 only 51 0 days (granted, the stay time program does this automatically. As·
#4 0.1 is cut from 455 days to 10 days, but teroidswill be extremely rare. If a ship
alpha 0.1 by then you' ll have probably seen hits an asteroid, there's little point in
beta 0.1 and done everything you wanted to, worrying about it.
n 0.1 anyway).
r 0.1 PLANETARY RINGS/ COMETS
s 0 .1
HAZARDS OF Planeta ry ring compositions va ry from
e 0 .1 SPACE TRAVEL dust to building sized boulders. Each
ring has a Hazard Rating, (See Sidebar)
Not e to Ring Hazards: Space is fairly benign, if you pay which is the number of D6 to roll per
these are approximations attention to w hat you' re doing. Still, hour w hile t ravelling t hrough it. If the
for game play and not a numbe r of unpleasant events can rati ng is less than 1, add the ratings
direct representations. surprise even the experienced traveller. cumulatively per hour traveled, and
(011 when the sum is equal to or
METEORS g reater t han 1 (rolling resets the sum
Meteors aren't as common as you'd t o ze ro) . Comets are similar to
think. There isa lotof space out there, asteroids, but their dust and vapor
and very little to fill it up. Still, colli- trails act like planetary rings. Comets
i· sions do occur. Most particles will be have a Coma Hazard Rating, w hich is
the size of a grain of dust, or even t he number of D6 to roll per hour as
smaller; collision with these particles a ship passes through the comet.
 DEEP SPACE

and toxic waste, and other assorted

THE HIGH COST OF SPACE will ensure space travel stays pricey
trash tends to end up in solar orbit.
TRAVEL for years to come. On Earth, gravity
is generally your friend, but in space
LESSON TWO: SPACE
More than fifty years after Neil it is a persistent enemy.
NAVIGATION MADE SIMPLE I -
Armstrong planted the American flag
EARTH ORBIT
on luna, space travel is still prohibi- Wamlng: These are not actual or-
Unlike the spaceships from science
tively expensive. It's more than a bital mechanics; theyaresimplesimu-
fiction movies, Cyberpunk spaceships
simple trip to the store-there are lations of the real thing. This is a role-
have to deal with limits on fuel , Of-
fundamental differences between playing game, not an astrophysics
bital trajectories, and braking fire.
space travel and terrestrial travel that course.
Shown is a typical trip from Earth to
luna, called a Hohmann Figure 8.
Each of the dotted points isa pointwhere
two things occur. The pilot of the
TRAVEL COSTS
spacecraft must fbt cakulate his course One-Way Trips, from Earth (Euro Dollars):
(an Astrogation roI~, then bum fuel to
make the course changes he wants. Pa sse ngers Cargo
Destinatio n Coach First Class lkg Ton
Rather than deal with complexities LEO 1500 2500 50 40000
like delta-vee, constant boosting ver- GEO 2500 3000 65 50000
sus using gravity whips, and other Ll 2500 3000 70 53000
astrophysicist's nightmares, we've L2·5 3000 4000 70 53000
simplified fuel consumption into what luna Orbit 4000 5500 80 60000
are called Hburn elements." Every l una urface 5000 7500 95 72000
time a spacecraft makes a course
change, it expends one burn element Discounts: Ah, ha ha ha, Mon Ami! Surely, you jest! Highriders get an average
of fuel. When it is out of "burns," it 8% discount (because they know all the right people).
can no longer change course.
Orbital Air employees get a 5% discount on Orbital Air flights. Corporations
A standard course from Earth orbit to can buy in bulk (usually 1 00 million passengermiles, non-refundable, cash up
lunar orbit would use up three burn front) for a 15% discount. Some travel companies offer frequent-flyer dis-
elements: one to leave orbit, one to counts.
turn around at the halfway point
(notice how the Crystal Palace just
happens to be in the L1 halfway There are two techniques which re- movie 2010 used an aerobrake. Spe-
point?), and one to get into stable duce fuel consumption and increase cifically, the leonov used a ballute (a
Lunar orbit. speed and cargo mass: aerobraking collapsable aeroshield); unfortu-
and gravity whips. nately, no known material is even
Taking off from Earth uses up four bum theoretically capable of withstanding
elements, while reentJy uses up three. AEROBRAKING such stress, yet still be inflatable.
This is one reason why spaceplanes, It takes tremendous amounts of fuel
shuttles, and deltas are unable to do to move from planet to planet (and GRAVITY WHIPS
much more than take off, make .a few fuel to move the fuel, and fuel to Gravity whips allow a spacecraft to
orbits,and land. landing on Lunawould move that fuel , and so on). In fa ct, "steal" momentum from another
use an additional t'NO elements, while fuel occupies better t han half a ship's body. A common fallacy in science
take-off ......auld use three. Martian bum mass. By minimizing the amount of fiction is when a rocket dives toward
costs are similar to Luna's. braking fuel, the cargo load can be the planet it's orbiting to gain enough
increased, or a ship can move faster, speed to break free of the planet's
LESSON THREE: SPACE fo r a given fuel load. The ship, upon gravity. Unfortunately, it isn't that
NAVIGAnON MADE SIMPLE 11- arrival, dips into the planet's atmo- simple. By the time the spacecraft
INTERPLANETARY TRAVEL sphere, converting kinetic energy into again reaches the altitude it started
Interplanetary travel requires substan- thermal energy. The use of a n at, it has lost all the energy it gained
tial amounts of patience. You simply aerobrake can double a cargo load, by diving in t he first place. It isn't a
cannot travel between planets in a even after accounting for the mass of two-body (spaceshi p and planet)
hurry. the aeroshield. The Leonov in the problem; there can't be any net gain
 DEEP SPACE

SOLAR FLARES
The 5un periodically erupts like a RADIAnON DAMAGE CHART
volcano, only instead of lava it throws
energized protons. Forthose on Earth, The amount of Armor, and the armor value of all the partitions and bulkheads
it's barely noticable. large space sta- between the explosion and the person is subtracted from the number of rads taken,
tions and the O' Niell habitats have with a minimum of 0.1 rad. For computers, partitions count as 0.1 Armor and
flare shelters, as do the deep space bulkheads 3 Armor; for every 10 full points of Armor, the effects are reduced by one
ships. The lunar bases are covered level (minimum 0). The effects on computers are cumulative, and each computer
with slag, and the Mars bases are rolls separately.
covered by the Martian sands and
the Martian atmosphere. Butforthose Roll People Effects Computer Effects (Cumulative)
unlucky folks in an OTV halfway be-
tween Earth and Crystal Palace, don' t 0 0.1 x 010 Rads Down for 1 tum on a 6 (roll 06)
plan on having too many children.
1 106/2 Rads Down for 106/2 turns; u sy roll on Jul)' Rig or ElectroniC! to
Fortunately, those travelling near a reactivate
planet with radiation belts can sub-
tract the average strength of the belts 2 10 10/2 Rads Down for 106 turns; usy roll on jul)' Rig or Electronics to
reactivate
between the ship and the Sun (count-
ing the strongest one twice) from the 3 106+2 Rads Down for 206 turns, Sensors blind fOf ld6/2 turns; Average roll
strength of the solar flare; the down- on Jury Rig or ElectroniC! to reactivate
side is that the ship is moving and 4 1010 ...2 Rads Down indefinitely, Sensors blind for 106 turns; Difficult roll on
won't stay in a belt for long, and Jury Rig or Electronics to reactiv.,te
there is the chance that more radia-
tion will be received from the belt
, 306 R<lds Down indefinitely, Sensors blind for 206 turns <lnd <It .10 for
5dl 0 turns thereafter, 106/2 Memol)' IIre<lSerased; Very
than from the Sun . In addition, every- Difficult roll on Jury Rig or two consecutive Difficult rolls on
one can divide their current distance Electronio tore<lctiv<lte
from the Sun by 150,000,000, then 6 3010+5 Rads Down indefinitely, Sensors blind 3010 turns <lnd.,t -20 for
divide the flare strength by the result, 20d 10 turns thereafter, 1d6 Memol)' er.ned; Ne<lrly Impossible
rounding up, to find the effective roll on Jury Rig or two consecutive Vel)'Difficult rolls on Electronics
to re<lctiv<lte
flare strength .
7 5 x 0 10 Rads Down indefi nitely, SensOfs blind 10010 turns and <It -40
RADIATION BELTS permanently thereafter, <III Mernol)' erased; Ne<lrly Impossible
roll on Jul)' Rig <lnd two consecutive Nearly Impossible rolls
Planets with strong magnetic fi elds, onElectronics to reactivate
like Earth and Jupiter, tend to collect
charged particles in rings known as
, 8 I< 01 0 Rads Computer crippled beyond repa;ir,Sensors destroyed, <III Memory
erased
radiation belts. The stronger the mag-
netic field, the stronger and more
numerous the radiation belt; Earth
has two, Jupiter has ten. Each belt has
a characteristic Strength; this is the
number of times per d ay a roll on the RADIATION BELT STRENGTHS
Radiation Damage Chart is made. For lu[!ite r Belts Rad 5tr SaturnLUranusL
example, Earth's innerandouterbelts #1 5 Neptune Belts Rad Str
are Strength 2 and 1. On the other #2 10 #1 4
hand, jupiter's second belt (they are #3 9 #2 4
measured from the planet going out) #4 7 #3 4
has a Strength of 10, so every 2.4 #5 5 #4 3
hours the players roll on the radiation #6 4 #5 1
chart to see how many rads they #7 4
took. In fact, this belt has a true #8 3 Note t o Radiation Belts: these
strength of more than 20; this has #9 2 are approximations for game play
been reduced for playability purposes. #10 1 and not direct representations.
Players must ro ll at least once for every
belt they pass through . Armor and
spacecraft walls reduce this damage.
 DEEP SPACE

"THE GREAT GALACTIC defenses. Wartare on the High Fron- tion Belt the firing ship is in. This
CHOUL" tier will be a duel of wits and shifting means an intercepting delta will have
Spacecraft travelling between Earth strategies, punctuated by instanta- to cover much of this distance before
and Mars occasionally spontaneously neous destruction by weapons de- it can launch an attack. Objects in
develop 'glitches' in their operations, signed to stop a multi-ton ICBM in Geostationary Orbit are 3BOOO km
leading some to refer to the "Great one shot. The human element is re- out, requiring an even longer trip to
Galactic Ghoul" that lives there. It duced to intuition, strategy, or freeze- knock out most stable work plat-
was first noticed in the 1960s, when dried hamburger. forms and satetlites. Objects in Deep
two Soviet probes mysteriously went Space a re out of reach by anything
dead and Mariner 4 developed unex- COMBAT SEQUENCE other than another Deep Space
plained control problems. In 1969, Space combat breaks into five parts: ship.
Mariner 7 disappeared from the track- Trajectory, Weapon Lock-On, Action,
ing scopes; it reappeared seven hours Resolution, and Damage Allocation. It is assumed in these rules that space-
later, on a slightly different trajectory All five parts take place within a stan- craft move at 15 km per FNFFcombat
and with a reduction in its data trans- dard 10 second Friday Night Firefight phase (about 3 seconds) relative to
fer rate. Mariner 9, the first vehicle to turn. each other. This would mean that a
provide up close pictures of Mars, delta would take about 200 phases
mysteriously broke guidance lock but TRAJEC,'ORY (600 seconds/1 0 minutes) to climb
regained it. later, one Soviet Mars In this part of the turn, the relative from Earth to LEO, get a lock on, and
lander failed to activate its retro-rocket trajectories of the combatants are shoot.
and sailed on past, and another determined. Whether approaching
stopped working twenty seconds af- in deep space or closing in on a Low WEAPON LOCK-ON
ter touchdown, in spite of near-per- Earth orbit, your trajectories are lim- In this part of the turn, both sides
fect health. In Earth orbit, the Pega- ited to: attempt to detect and lock weapons
sus 1 satellite (which had been shut onto each other. To lock-on to a
down) began operating again. The 1) Attacker closing, target stationary. target, you must roll equal to or less
Ghoul then quieted down until the 2) Target closing, attacker stationary, than the current base detection abil-
first manned mission to Mars in 2009, waiting for a shot. ity of your ship's sensors. This is then
when all the loudspeakers began blar- 3) Target moving, attacker following modified according to Radiation Belts
ing "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (a selec- from behind. (-5 times Belt strength) and Solar
tion NOT in the computer) for nearly 4)Attacker overtaking the target from Flares (-5 times Flare strength). It is
a minute at full volume. The odds of behind. then modified by range (-5 per 500
the Ghoul appearing, and the effects 5) Both approaching head on. km or fraction after the first 500 km),
of the appearance, are entirely at the 6)Attacker perpendicularly intersect- jammer use (- '0 per jamming point)
discretion of the referee. ing the trajectory of target. and fin ally a bonus if it was detected
7) Target pulling away from attacker. the previous turn (+ 10).
SPACE COMBAT
Determine how far apart the com- Missiles must also roll for lock-on
"Lt. Buck Yeager brought the delta batants are at the initial point of each turn after launch, with a base
screaming around in a tight dive, intercept. The initial separation is chance of 80%. Without a lock-on,
releasing both of his wingtip missiles determined by 1 000 km + 301 0 x you cannot attack a target. You can
at the incoming Kosmos battlesat. 150 km. Note that this assumes that tell something's there, but you can't
The Soviet war machine spun back the attacker and target are in ap- get a good aim. Example: A USAF
and outof range, firing its own deadly proximately the same orbit, going delta is tracking a Kosmos XIIbattlesat,
barrage of tracers ... " the same direction; if one were going using a Militech StarTrak 5 sensor
retrograde to the other, they would (base 55%). The satellite is in the
Forget it. pass each other too quickly to lock on Inner Van Allen Belt (strength 2, -1 0).
and fire. In general, a satellite in Low There is no Solar Flare (-0), the satel-
Real space combat isn't going to be Earth Orbit (LEO) will be orbiting at lite is about 1600 km away (-20), it
like that at all. The realm of real space about 3000 km above the Earth. The isn't using a jammer (-0) and it was
combatwill be one of computers, not maximum range of any of the stan- tracked last turn. The chance for the
men . At nanosecond speeds, no mere dard space weapons is 1500 km, ex- delta to detect the battle sat is (55-
human mind can begin to assimilate cept for the Particle Beam; the range =
10-0-20-0+10) 35%. The pilot rolls
the needed data fast enough to match for a Particle Beam is 1 500 km di- a 50, and the battlesatfades from the
trajectories, lock on, fire, and run vided by the strength of the Radia- scope, at least until next turn.
 DEEP SPACE

ACTIONS of targets that can be fired WEAPON HIT CHANCE

In this part of the turn, combatants at, but any given weapon
program their computers forthe most can only be fired once per We apon Base Chance Damage
appropriate response. The number turn. Obviously, you need
of options that can be selected per enough power in order laser 70% or less 4010
turn is listed in the ship description . tofire railguns and particle artlc e eam or ess ••
To avoid any confusion, both sides beams. You must have de- KinetiC I or ess 1 +
should write down their selected ac· tected/locked-on the
al gun or ess
tions and reveal them at the same target in the turn of firing .
moment. Actions take place in the Mlssi e 50% or ess 6010
order they are written down, with MOVEMENT ., Particle Beams reduce their Base Chance to
defensive actions taking priority. A Because of the abstractness hit by -5% per Radiation Belt strength and by
player can always opt to do nothing. of this system, it is -5% per Solar Flare strength .
impossible to keep track of UP-Beams alsodo 06 rollson Radiation Damage
Increase range: Fire the engines to the true relative positions Chart. Actual damage points are divided by
alter the distance between ships. Sub- of spacecraft. It is also Radiation Belt Strength, if any.
tracts 15 km/ phase from the move- unnecessary, since ships
ment rate. Note that when the ship's can change their attitude
movement rate is negative, it is mov- and fire in any direction. There are no Each damage point marks off one
ing away. An Increase Range cancels dogfights in space. letter on the chart, which are different
an attacker's Decrease Range. This for each ship type. The letter codes
action uses one Burn Element. Once the initial separation is deter- indicate the loss of a particular system:
mined, keep track of any engine burns B= Burn Element, W= Weapon, 0=
Evasive Maneuver: -10 to hit roll for that alter range. This will affect the Defence, P= Power, S= Sensor.
both attacker and defender, and use time that missiles take to hit their
two Burn Elements. This can be used targets. Missiles accelerate to 1 00 km One of the given type of system is lost
by ships with damaged drive sys- per phase, and move after all other for each hit, except for Sensors, which
tems, since it uses auxiliary thrusters. actions. lose 1 5 percentage points from their
capability per hit, and Burn Elements.
Decrease range: Fire the engines to COMBAT RESOLUTION When there is a multiplier in paren-
get closer. Adds 15 km/ phase to Once the actions have been deter- thesis, that many elements are lost
speed. This cancels an Increase Range. mined, look at the Weapon Hit for one damage point. Very large or
Requires one Burn Element. Chance chart to determine the base modular targets such as habitats are
hit chance for each weapon . divided into sections which are con-
Activate Defense: There is no limit to sidered separately. Gradually, ships
the number of defenses which can be DAMAGE ALLOCATION become less and less able to fight. For
used each turn, but any given de- Once it has been determined which example, if a Gunship takes six points
fense can only be activated once per weapons have hit, the amount of of damage, two burn elements are
turn. Remember that many defenses damage and its location is deter- lost from the first point of damage,
affect the defender's wea pons as well. mined. This is done by rolling the than a weapon, then one more burn
number of damage dice, subtracting element, then a power system, then
Fire weapons: Fire one or moreweap- the value of any armor, then marking two more burn elements, and finally
ons. There is no limit to the number off letters on the ship's damage chart. another weapon. Although that is a

SHIP DAMAGE CHARTS

Shuttle: (Bx2)W B 5 B P BOB W B Deep Space OTV: (Bx2) W BOB W Clipper: (Bx2) P B W (Bx2) 0 2 1
54321 84321 Gun ship: (Bx2) W B P (Bx2) W B 0 B
Mini-shuttle: B W BPS 3 2 1 Work Module: B W B 2 1 SBW BPB 5BDBS7654321
Spaceplanes: B W B P BOB 3 2 1 Flitte r: B B B 1 Carrier: (Bx4) W (Bx3) P (Bx2) W 8
Delta:B WB PB21 Deep Space Explo rer: (Bx2) W S808S8W84321
landers: BWB 0 B 3 2 1 (8x2) 0 8 S 8 P 8 S 8W8 0 8 6 5 4 Cargo Drone: (8x2) P (8x2) P (Bx2)
Cargo/ Passenge r OTVs: (Bx2) W B 321 P 21
08321 Cycler: BW B PB D B 54321 Battle Satellite: W B W P W 0 2 1
 DEEP SPACE

total of eight damage elements, a and personnel alike. 11 a nuclear d eto- tween planets ·IS isolated. Having a
few of the burn element hits do double nation occurs, everything within a 5 conversation over interplanetary dis-
damage . The Gunship is still in ac- km radius is exposed to radiation tances is like voice mail- you never
tion, although it is reduced in ma- levels in excess of 10,000 rads (15 talk to a person, you only send and
neuverability and has lostsomeweap- rolls on the Rad Damage Chart, receive messages.
ons. If there are multiples of a system pg.45); between 5km and 1 a km this
type, the player chooses which one is drops to 5,000 rads (7 rolls); and The planetary descriptions in The
hit; in the above example, either the from 10 km to 20 km 2,000 rads (3 Solar System, 2025 section include
batteries, the nuclear reactor, or the rolls, all rolls are 106+2). one-way communications delay times
solar power unit would have been (called lag times) to Earth. These are,
rendered inoperative on the power This is modified by shielding such as of course, all approximate. To figure
hit. If a ship doesn't have a given type armor, large masses such as an aster- out the lag time between any two
of system, that damage point is lost. oid, o r to a lesser extent by a ship. points you should really work out
Eventually, when all damage elements their relative positions in orbit, then
are gone, the ship is a useless hulk. DEPLOYING DELTAS/ calculate the distance.
Any damage that goes beyond the SHUTTLECRAFT
last letter on the chart is marked as Gunships and Carriers can drop one To approximate the lag time between
"overkill points." At the end of the delta every other turn, in add ition to two other planets assume it will be
turn in which a ship's final damage other actions. It takes ten turns to somewhere between the difference
element is lost (or any later turn in retrieve a delta; only one can be of the two values given from Earth
which it takes overkill damage), roll retrieved at a time. Deltas can begin (closest orbits) and the su m of these
1010. If the roll is greater than t he performing actions two turns after values (furthest orbits). Either be pe-
overkill points remaining, the ship being dropped. dantic or take the average of these
explodes, with lots of secondary ex- numbers. It's up to you.
plosions for effect. COMMUNICATIONS
Also, communications will always be
It doesn't matter whether there is still In the latter half of t he twentieth cutoff while two planets are furthest
any u nused fuel or weapons to centu ry, the need for commu- away, since the Sun blocks radio
explod e-what's the point of dying if nications exploded like a bomb. In signals.
you can't do it in style? the first half of the twenty-first
century, it was a nuclear bomb. Even NETRUNNING
KILLS/ CRIPPLES the fastest spacecraft, travelling Netrunning from Earth to low-orbit-
When a ship has lost most of its drives nearly 100 kilometers per second, ing sate llite s is no p roblem.
and power, it is considered crip pled. can take months to travel between Netrunning to geostationary satel-
When it can no longer move or fire planets. On the other hand, radio lites produces a noticeable delay (-1
weapons, it is considered killed, waves can usually get there in REF). Netrunning to Crystal Palace
whether or not there are still people minutes. A radio map of the solar produces a significant delay (-3 REF).
alive. Killed vehicles are generally not system would have threebrightspots Netrunning to luna or the O'Niells is
worth salvaging. (the Sun, Earth, and Jupiter), and rat he r h aza rdou s (-4 REF ) .
thousands of smaller points, like salt Netrunning beyond lunar orbit is
NUCLEAR WEAPONS spilled on black felt. Radio is also virtually impossible (-20 REF to Mars,
Nuclearweapons aren't used on Earth substantially cheaper- a letter from -50 REF to Jupiter, and so on).
because there simply isn't enough Ea rth to Mars might cost 1 OOeb and
room and there are too many gov- take months to get there, but a non- Th at's not to say communication
ernments waiting to crack down on priority message can be sent by radio is impossib le- it's just that nodes
anyone who even thinks about it. Of for 10 euro and be received within a mo re than a few hundred thou-
course nobody worries about the few days or even hours, d epending sand kilo meters away h ave an
vacuum of space. Sure, there are trea- on traffic . unacceptable time delay that yo u
ties against the use of nuclear weap- just ca n ' t avoid; besides, there
ons in space, but once it's been LAG TIME are n 't any long-distance links past
popped, where's the evid ence? On the other hand, as fast as radio is, luna (excep t on so me s p acecraft),
it still isn't fast enough . Travelling at so yo u have to Hwalk" there. When
A nuclear ex plosion unleashes a fear- nearly 300,000 km per second, it can delays start reac hing seve ra l min-
some wave of radiation which fries still take hours to reach the outer utes, yo u ca n 't even hold face-to-
electronics, computers, equipment planets. A spacecraft in trouble be- face conve rsa tions.
 DEEP SPACE

TAPPING INTO THE OTHER them to the point where their metabo-
SHIP'S NET lism is virtually nil. The brain, how-
ever, remains fairly active. Without But They Tried ...
A ship's computer can be tapped PerMps the greatest long-distance
into, just like a computer on Earth. stimulation, the mind begins to
effort ever made wu that of "Brain-
Computers remain in constant com- dredge up all sorts of unpleasant
Dead" Gutierrez., who linked into
munication, even at interplanetary things. The braindance allows an
Voyager 21n 2008. Since there are no
distances. Real-time netrunning, how- individual to function within a virtual
long-distance Jinks out there, he had
ever, is virtually impossible unless the environment, providing all the stimu-
to "'wal~~ the whOle way. Fortunately,
two co mputers are in dose prox- lation a body would want. This allows
his father wu senior vice-president of
imity, due to the lag time. Otherwise, the crew to monitor the ship while in
lunaComm, a company which
a ship's computer is treated like a coldsleep, for example (although only
specializes In space communications.
data fortress, or a mini-net. Military the awake crew could take action).
HBrain·~d'" corn::octed a 'liNs that
compute r communication is en- Virtual environments allow passen·
ordered one of lunaComm's Fa rside
crypted, and the computers can be ger ships to provide a full itinerary
antennas to tr"ck Voyager 2 for nearly
isolated, making them impossible to without having to actually provide
a whole lunar night (1" days). He had
tap remotely. They can also detect facilities (which would make the ship
II med·te<:h friend hook up "n IV for
which antenna is receiving the signal; too large and heavy).
food, water lind stimulators, and he
if it's in the wrong direction, it will
jacked in. Even when you consider the
alert the security officer. INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL
tremendous speeds in Neupllce, it
took him len days 10 make the
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF As of yet there is no way to travel to
journey. The trip almost ended when /I
LONG DISTANCE TRAVEL another star within a reasonable pe-
technican noticed the antenna
riod of time. Currently the most dis-
trading" ~non-client~, but he chose
Interplanetary travel is a more secure tant spacecraft is the long-dead ro-
to trust the computers. Voyager 2
confinement than any prison. Once bot Voyager 2, about eight billion
didn't Mve enough brains for him to
you've started, there's no turning miles distant. That record will soon
do much, but he did manage to leave
back- you don't have the fuel. Most be eclipsed by Project TAU, launched
a cilliing card. A few weeks later, a
of the time will be spent in coldsleep, nearly twenty years ago, which will
routine data dump received by NASA
either frozen or in braindance, so travel a thousand Astronomical Units
included two pictures: a picture of a
there's no problem. But the non· (hence the name; an AU is about 150
camel, then the same camel
"corpse-sicles" left awake as moni· million kilometers), looking for the
exploding, with the caption "'See how
tors will be alone. Day in and day out, heliopause, where the solar wind
far I went to smoke" Camel???" He
except for a few days at arrival and merges with the interstellar medium,
had lost several pounds "nd hb f"ther
departure, there will be the same the true limitof the Solar System. The
got demoted, but his /lNrIy seven
monotonous view out the windows, EuroSpace Agency has contracts for
billion·mile link is" feat impossible to
and only the computer or a few other thedesign of a generation ship, based
thawed people to talk to. Such isola· on anti-matter drives, currently un- "','
tion, for months ata time, has caused der development. These ships will
some to go insane; the captain of the take hundreds of years to travel to Realistic Delays
A truly sadistic Refefff could impose"
early cycler shipExplorer I destroyed another star and only the children of
rea l delay. For example, while
the coldsleep controls, killing many the children of the children of the
netrunning to Crystal Palace, the
of the 94 passengers and crew in original crew will see the destination
Refefff could impose a one· turn delay
2024. Sending and receiving mes- star close up. There has also been a
on actions by the 'runner. For
sages just isn't the same as person-to- proposal for a similar type of ship,
netrunning to luna, there could be a
person contact. This is resolved by which will maintain frozen embryoes
two-tum delay. Characters 'Nnnlng to
periodically rotating the awake and until it gets near the star, then revive
Mal'$ would discover that the ice had
coldsleeping crew. them, grow them to adult, and train
already eaten them before they were
them to explore.
even aware they had arrived.
BRAINDANCE USE
The braindance is probably the single Note: to change Near Orbit/Deep
item most responsible for aI/owing Space into a tram-solar scenario,
human travel through deep space. merely add a "jump drive" which
Coldsleep doesn't actually free ze must be used at the edge of the solar
people (which would cause irrepa- gravity well, requiring a year long trip
rable tissue damage), it simply chills out and a year long trip back.
\ )
l
 DEEP SPACE

Tools, weapons, Worksuits are used byworkgangersfor

EQUIPMENT and equipment their durability and toughness. They Malntenence and
are necessary in are often produced in semi-rigid mod- Suit Failure
space just as they are on Earth. While
lots of things can be just as they are, Spacesuits lren't Just another piece of
many more need to be modified to dothlng. They are com~ pieces 01
account for the space environment. machinery th.tt require tegulv
maintenance, or like any piece of
SPACESUITS mKhinet)' they wiU cease to function. If
Without a spa<:esuit, you're not going your Clf fails, you're just late for work..
anywhere in space. Modern spacesuits If your suit f.. Us, you're de..d.
are designed to keep a standard atme· Suit maintenance for government Ind
sphere around both the head and body commercial firms Is wuaUy hllldled by
areas, and to maintain temperatures $peCillized contrKton. For small
within a comfortable range, despite organizations or indMdwlls, It's usuilly
enviromental extremes. up to the wearer. Spacesuits hive come
a tong way- the original '80s NASA
Thereareseveral typesofspacesuits. Stan- Space Shuttle suits required over
dard suits are the general-issuespac.esuits, twenty hourl of maintenance for every
used by nearly evef)'One. They maintain a hour of use. The standard 2020 suit
3psi pressure both in breathing and body takes about two houn maintenance for
areas, as 'Nell as keeping body tempera- e1Jef'j fifty hourl use. SkiNuits require
tures within livable ranges irregardless of about half that, while the much more
environmental extreme. mechanical Satllesult may take Ontl
hour maintenance for eveJ)' four hours
Sklnsuits are used by tourists and for use.
short trips, or where agility is necessary failure to maintain I suit may not be
(such as Delta and work module pilots). noticuble-until the oxygen line
They are skintight, tough rubberized brflaks. Most wit failurfl$ are merely
coveralls with a sim pie helmet and a 40- annoying JIow lellu. But some can kill
60 minute air supply. The surface ten- instantly. Foc every two hour$ 01 use,
sion of the suit holds the body together there is a 1% chance for suit failure .
against vacuum; pressure is distributed Skin~uits roll fNery lour hours. Failure to
through the foam -like inner skin. This els (hard-shell helmets and torsos, with properly maintain a suit doubles the
air is heated to maintain body tempera- flexible arms and legs) to withstand rate of rolling and adds S% to the
ture. Skinsuits provide little rad protec- unexpected punishment at construc- failure type roll, mould one hlppen
tion, and their temperature regulation tion sites. These suits will keep a human (per week of missed malntenance- but
units can only stand full darkness or comfortable in all space and lunar en- one maintenance seuion will reset
sunlight for ten minutes max. vironments for up to eight hours. this). It's worth the few minutes flVtl)'
day to check your suit fY'ief.

SUIT FAILURE TYPE

Roll Failure Game Results
I 01-50 Slow Leak Uuratlon reduced by 1 Ul OI l percent.
I ' I-I> ast leal< All aIr lost In tlU I U minutes.
- ear ast ea utasa - atc sto SIt o t e tIme.
86-95 Cooling Character overheats in 301 0 minutes
System Failure
96-981Comm SUIt radio fails. Very Difficult task to repaIr.
System Failure
99 aceplate As tast leak, but a Slap-paten stops It 90% ot to.
Cracks time (and also blinds character)
uu lVIajor ,eal
FaIlure All pressure instantly lost.
 DEEP SPACE
Elmr--------
BattJesultsareupgradedworksuits, with
limited exoskeletal support (+1 to STR/
BOD to a maximum of 11).

Radsults are used in high radiation

areas, but otherwise are like worksuits.
Mars suits are standard suits adjusted
for the Martian surface, but they are
lighter, and they can be used in space.
It is rumored that the Soviets have
developed a suit for the surface of Ve-
nus, but there is no evidence to support
such rumors.

Since 2021, the biggest innovation has

been the adventof the Advanced Com-
bat/ Construction Personal Armor
(ACPA) unit. In space, a powered armor
suit doesn't need to support its m ass in
a G-field, and with maneuvering ver-
nier jets, a powered armor suit be-

""'.
comes a one-man, man-shaped space-
craft. When a job calls for extended EVA
activity (especially when large masses Small Maneuver Unit Manned Maneuver Unit
""'.
must be manipulated), more often than
not, a powered armor suit is used. Of
course, the single greatest user of pow-
ered armor in space is the USAF. For If the spacesuit is so equipped, the
more on ACPA capabilities, see the Manned Maneuvering Unit can be con-
supplement Maximum Metal. trolled via interface plugs. It provides
feedback through a readout and
EVA MANEUVER UNITS through a TImes Square Marquee. It
These are specialized jet packs used to has redundant inertial guidance units
move around outside a spacecraft or Hand UnIt and computers, and has attached lights
habitat. Theyare measured bythedelta- good for up to six hours. It takes ten
Vee, or difference in speed (in m/sec) minutes to prepare for use, and pro-
they provide. Any change in speed-- vides a total delta-Vee of 2000 m /sec.
forward, back, up, down, etc. uses some hand unit takes thirty seconds to pre-
delta-Vee. A character must remember pare before use, and provides a total BUBBLE SHELTERS
that half the delta-Vee will be needed to delta-Vee of 150 m/sec. The bubble shelte r is a plastic
stop any maneuvers performed. There enviromental shelter designed to pro-
are generally three types of maneuver 2) Small Backpack Maneuver Unit: tect survivors of a pressure accident.
units available: This device attaches to the bottom of They are found on all shuttles,
most suit backpacks with velcro and spaceplanes, workshacks, and OTVs.
1) Hand Maneuver Unit: used for quick provides more control than the hand Resembling a folded umbrella in its
trips, the unit consists of a nitrogen unit It includes an inertial guidance storage position, the bubble rapidly
canister, two nozzles, and a handle. unitanda rudimentary computer, which inflates to a large mylar sphere, one side
Squeeze the upper trigger and the left prevents the unit (and the suit it's at- opaque, the othersidesilvered. Through
nozzle fires; squeeze the lowe r trigger tached to)from tumbling. It takes three the core of the bubble runs a six inch
and the right nozzle fires. It takes con- minutes to prepare for use, and pro- metal rod, containing oxygen and oxy-
siderable practice to use these units vides a total delta-Vee of 500 m /sec. scrubbers, asmall water supply, a medi-
efficiently; roll against REF · ' every ten cal kit, a limited CO2 maneuver thruster
minutes of use until the character gains 3) Manned Maneuver Unit: This is the good for about 20 minutes, and a hom-
sufficient experience (1 06 weeks). Fail- largest maneuvering unit. It straps o n ing beacon with about a 1000 km
ure means the character tumbles. The the suit and provides the moststability. range. The shelter inflates around the
 DEEP SPACE

core in about three seconds. An ex- LUNAR ROVERS sion, with a complete mini-surgery and
tendable airlock allows the crew to Powerplant: Nuclear Isotope Decay three intensive-care beds.
enter. Thermocouple with Solar Backup
Performance: 500 km (600 km in day- The armed version replaces the comm
There are three sizes of bubble shelters: light) range; BO km/hr (95 km/hr in dish with a turreted minigun, and the
one-, four-, and six-man. Each carries daylight), 1/2 speed if carrying more cargo area carries several surface-to-
enough air and water to support its than 1000 kg surface or surface-to-space missiles. It
crew for 24 hours (obviously, if a single SOP: 20 normally has an SP of 6; it can be
man were to use a six-man shelter, he armored up to SP 50, but each SP 10
would extend his survival period to six The lunar Roveris the "pickup truck" of reduces the range by 5%, and the
days). the Moon. It is used for everything, armor does not cover the cargo (which,
from transporting are and people, to of course, can be armored separately).
Emergency Bubbles are a still-smaller
being a light annored fighting vehicle Rovers can be operated remotely, but
version of the one-man bubble shelter,
(if necessary). It has two articulated local control w ill always override re-
about a meter in diameter. Characters
grips, which can pick up nearly 400 kg. mote control. The lunar Rover can also
sit inside, zip it shut. put on the en-
The solar panels are fully moveable, be used on other satellites, but the solar
closed oxygen mask, and wait to be
enabling them to track the sun and panels are replaced with another nuclear
rescued.ltindudesa radio beacon good
make room for cargo. Thecrewcabin is generator.
for about 3 km, and a flashing light.
pressurized and normally holds two
Good for about two hours. Nicknamed
(although up to eight have been MARS ROVER
the "morale bubble."
crammed inside in an emergency), with Powerplant: Dual nuclear isotope de-
twenty man-days of supplies. Thecabin cay thermocouples
VEHICLES has limited armor against radiation. It Performance: 800 km range; 60 km/hr,
can carry up to 2000 kg cargo. For 30 km/hr if carrying more than 500 kg
Occasionally, there is a need to travel short-haul transportation, a personnel SOP: 30
the surface of the moon or Mars with- module is often placed on board, which
out using a spacecraft. Specialized can carry twenty people for up to two In most respects, the Mars Rover is like
vehicles are used for that purpose. days. There is also a field hospital ver- the lunar Rover. Therearecertainmodi-

Mars/Lunar Rover

o
o
DEEPSPA~C~~~_______________________________

Mars/ Lunar Buggy

let Cycle

Hopper
 DEEP SPACE

flCations necessaryfor the Martian envi· Performance: 400 km range, reduced orbit to another, just from habitat to
(on men!:. notably the absence of solar by 20 km for every 200 kg or fraction habitatat about the same altitude. They
panels. The Mars Rover is designed for cargo; up to 30 hops of up to 20 km are totally exposed, and cannot be
an atmosphere. The windows are cov- each; each minute of hover uses 25 km armored. They havea "stationkeeping"
ered with a peel-away layer of plastic, of range; up to 120 km/hr ground- mode, where the computerfires thrust-
which protects them from sandstorms. speed; can enter or leave lunar orbit ers to keep the 'cycle in the same posi-
Similarly, the powerplant has an active once, with no cargo SPO: 15 tion if it's disturbed.
cooling loop, sealed to prevent entry by
dust The cargo space is enclosed. The The hopper is designed for rapid short- Tools used in space
radio/ radar antenna is shielded, which haul transport. The hopper makes short TOOLS must take into ac-
would normally reduce its range; since hops, and can even enter or leave lunar count a wide vari-
Mars is larger, the horizon is farther awcry orbit. Hoppers typically make a few etyoffactors Earthbound toolscan ignore.
and therefore Mars generally has a longer dozen hops between refuelling stops. Using a noonal scfe\Ndriver, for example,
line-of-sightdistancethan luna. The Mars They can also be used to lift objects like is nearly impossible in zero-gee, as the
Rover can cany about 1000 kg of cargo, a helkopter; up to 1500 kg can be twisting motion will spin both screw and
and the articulated grips can liftabout 1SO carried for up to 120 km this way. The user. All space tools are therefore designed
kg each. The Rover can be armored to SP crew cabin is typically left unpressurized to be self-powered (using rechargeable
40 (" is normally SP 10), but each SP 10 if multiple hops are being made, since batterypacks and small motors), and to
reduces range by 10%. The Mars Rover it wo uld take too much air to damp out the effects of NeYIton's Third
can't be used anywhere else (except pos- repressurize. The cabin has two regular Law. All tools also have a generous allot-
sibly Titan), because it requires an atmo- and two fold-down seats, and in lieu of ment of rings, magnets, and Vekro, to
sphere for cooling. passengers has 3 m 3 of cargo space. minimize the likelihood of loss.
Typically, additional cargo is strapped
LUNAR BUGGY w herever on the body; this additional POWER TOOLS
Powerplant: Battery mass reduces range accordingly, and These tools have small motors with
Performance: 150 km range; 30 km/ hr, eliminate the ability to enter or leave rechargeable battery packs (packs are
20 km/hrwith 2 people and over 40 kg orbit. A hopper can act like a cramped good for 4 hours use, re<:harge in 4
cargo SOP: 10 OTV if it is already in orbit; it has the hours). They include:
equivalent of four burn elements. Hop- • Powerdriver with 15 interchange-
The lunar Buggy is virtually unchanged pers are also used in the asteroid belt, able heads, including screwdrivers,
from the original lunar Rove~ used in the but they aren't designed for it. Some socket wrenches, and hex keys. The
Apollo landings almost frfty yea~ ago. belters strap on a lotof provisions, hoist unit has a counterrotating adapter to
They can cany t'NO spacesuited people a solar power array, bolt on an airlock, compensate for lack of gravity.
and up to 100 kg cargo. They are com- and drift for a month or so between • Vac·solderer with high-heat tip and
pletely open, and cannot be armored. finds; some of these go whacko be- vacuum suction to pick up stray glob-
Theycan be operated by remote control, cause of the confinement Hoppers typi- ules of solder. There is also a small
but local control will override remote con- cally have ten man-days of supplies. brush to clear away solder in vacuum.
trol. They have been armed, but the;r They are usually used by science teams, The vac-solderer dispenses solder from
openness (SP 3, if you're hiding behind it) or by corporates on inspection tours. a re<:ess in the tip.
makes their military use limited. • Hand-held Mini-vac for cleaning
JET CYCLES up after EVA, catching spills, etc. This
MARS BUGGY Powerplant: rockets, batteries model can handle both liquids and
Powe rplant: Batteries Performance: 3000 km range; up to solids.
Performance: 50 km range; 25 km/hr, 300 km/hr SPO: 8
18 km/hr with two people and over 40 There are also other pie<:es of te<:hnical
kg cargo SOP: 14 Jet cycles are very cheap transportation equipment:
between satellites. One or two people • MiCl'C>toois, including tinyscrewdriv-
This is virtually identical to the lunar can strap themselves on, kick the thrust- e~, probes, calipers, and other small
version, except it has a folding enclcr ers, and in a few hours arrive at the next electronics work tools.
sure. Spacesuits are still required, how- habitat They are really o nly designed • Combo flash with a strobe flash in the
ever. The Mars buggy can be armored for a few hours duration, but they are hand~ base, and a poweriul adjustit>e
to SP 15 (from its normal SP 5), but this often pushed beyond this. The ir radar is beam in front
reduces the range to 35 km. more sophisticated than would be ex- • Technical scanners: thesearesmall
pected; this allows the 'cycle to show plug-in devices about the size of a
HOPPERS up more easily on other ships's radar. paperback book. They are inserted
PowerpIant: rockets; batteries They cannot be used to move from one into sockets built into control panels,
 DEEP SPACE

walls, and larger machines. Activated, "save" and it stores the page and rary shelter. Has a small airtock which
they can (80% of the time) produce clears the screen. Press Nre<all", and it can be used five times before the air
a detailed readout of the system's will present all the stored pages (up supply is depleted. The tent is pres--
condition, repairs required, etc. to 1 00) in reverse order of writing. surized to 5 psi pure oxygen. It is
• Sniffer. Small hand-held device When full, they can be plugged into rated for 1 5 man-days.lt hasan outer
which can be programmed to detect a computer to download, or the reflective surface to radiate heat There
levels of carbon dioxide, oxygen. car· memory chip can be replaced. They is a small battery powered air fitter,
bon monoxide, and other atmosplleric: can produce a keyboard on the screen heater, and light. A chemical toilet is
gases (90%), Wlevels are h;ghef than a for typing. They can also be pre- available. It collapses to a lxl x2 m
set optimum, the sniffer 'Hill sound an programmed with a variety of forms, cube, and inflates fully in two min·
alarm.AgoodW<rftoknowwhentheair to help check inventory or passenger utes.
is going bad. manifests, for example, orwith a tech • Flare Shelter. Often installed near
• Pressure Alarm: Tiny hand-held manual or book. More expensive ver· construction sites and periodically
barometer monitors current air pres- sions can tie into the habitat com- along the more popular trails, flare
sure, and will set off an alarm if pres- putervia radio link, store more pages, shelters provide a limited protection
sure rises or falls by more than 5%. accept interfacing, and/or include a against solar flares. They are cylindri.
Good for detecting small leaks, most small processor. cal, about 2.5x4 m, with an air lock at
Highriders wear these on lanyards or • Personal Radmeter: A three-centi- one end. When property buried, a
clips. They are often built into Sniff- meter-long grey wafer with a digital flare shelter reduces a flare's Strength
ers, readout. Keeps a record of total dos- by 3. When a flare is detected, a red
• Radiation Meter: Gives a reading age taken since it was last reset. Can light flashes to show the shelter's
of radiation present in rads. Sweep be worn clipped to clothing, and location, and a radio beacon acti·
covers immediate area within 2 even come in designer versions. vates. They are typically rated for 18
meters. • Electro-Stick Pad: Hand-held de- man-days. It has a battery powered
vice with a handle and battery pack air filter, heater, and light
PERSONAL C.EAR on one side, and an electro-magnet
Afew common items used by everyone on the other. Will stick to any metal There is a chemical toilet and four
on the High Frontier: surface (except 100% aluminum) built-in bunks. Emergencyrationsand
• Velcro: Two-sided Velcro strips or when switched on. up to SOO liters of water are available.
pads, one side with Velcro, the other • Rail Key: Many large permanent Since government policy (and com-
with adhesive. These are constantly work modules have a lightweight mon sense) dictates that they are
used to secure things: books/ pencils, cable running through a recessed slot useable by anyone in an emergency,
tools, sleeping children. Most habi· in the wall. The cable is continually everyone contributes to the upkeep
tats have wide areas of Velcro sur· fed through pulleys, creating a trolley fund . Those on the common routes
faces, allowing one to stick things system in miniature. Cables run each are regularly serviced. Some even
down with a corresponding Velcro way. The rail key is a handle designed have braindance units, since little com.
pad. Get used to it-Velcro is used on to snag onto the cable and tow the munication is possible during a flare.
desks, chairs, walls, clothes. Space is person to another area of the mod- They are even occasionally used as
filled with the constant ule. It lets go of the cable when the residences.
"scccrrriiittttchh'" of Velcro being grip is released. • Sandstonn Shelter: Similar to a
pulled apart. • Grip Slippers: Soft overshoes with flare shelter, sandstorm shelters are a
• Drink Bottle: Most Highriders Velcro soles and magnetic heel plates. welcome sight on Mars. Sandstorm
havetheir own personal drinking Good for traction in any zero-gee shelters have an enclosed awning to
bottle, usually plastered with environment. allow a rover to pull partially inside,
nametags, stickers, and other per· • Hands-Free Comset: An earphone minimizing the amount of sand en·
sonalized bits. Asquat plastic cylinder and boom mike headset, voice acti· tering the airlock. Sandstorm shelters
with a straw at one end and a shorter vated. Plugs into your spacesuit hel· are not buried, at least not voluntar·
self-sealing filler spout next to it, the met, or can be plugged into a belt ily. When a sandstorm is detected, a
drink bottle can be fastened toconve- module for interior use. green light flashes to show the
nient places wrth the ubiquitous Velcro shelter's location, and a radio beacon
strap, Holds about aliter, SURVIVAL GEAR activates. Shelters are rated for 18
• Lap pad™: A small LCD pad with a Nearly every Highrider at one time or man-days.lt has equipment and sup-
limited computer chip memory. You another has needed some of the follow- plies similar to those in a flare shelter,
draw or write on the pad with your ing equipment to survive: and they are also maintained in a
finger or stylus, and it mimics the • Lunar Tent: An inflatable tent similar manner. 8raindance units are
writing on its silvery surface. Press (3x3x2 m) which provides tempo· not as common in sandstorm shel·
 DEEP SPACE

ters, be<:ause radio communication is GYROJETS ficult to find). There is a version which
generally possible through a sand- Gyrojets use a self-propelled rocketshe ll. fires a rocket-powered bolt; it has no
storm. Sandstorm shelters are often A powerful spring launches the shell, recoil, but is much more difficult to use
located on trailers, though these do w hich coasts about a meter from the because of the backblast. Poppers are
not have the enclosed awning. barrel before igniting. No recoil, no often homemade. Poppers are useless
• Goop Balls and Slap-patches: de- mess. more than a few meters away.
scribed in The Environment of Space.
• Porta-power: A small nuclear iso- There are a few problems with gyrojets. SAFETY ROUNDS
tope decay thermocouple, itean pro- First, they are next to useless at close Another solution to firepower in pres-
vide up to 300 watts power indefi- range, as the rocket shell is only spring- surized environments is to employ safety
nitely. It also creates a lot of heat, and powered. It takes a good five meters of rounds. Oesigned in the 1980s for air-
cannot be shut off. It is 50x50xloo travel before the round accelerates to craft terrorist control, safety rounds will
em, and masses 100 kg. killing speeds. In a space habitat, a break up against even a thin metal hull .
• Breathers: Similar to a breathing potential assassin may be hard-pressed This makes them less effective against
mask, the breather covers the entire to find enough space to make his gyrojet armor (armor is doubled, but penetrat-
face and has an attached oxygen pistol useful! ing damage is tripled). Any hard surface
cylinder (good for a half-hour, if it is of greater than 10SP or 30S0P will
only used to supplement existing air). Second, most gyrojets will penetrate cause the round to burst harmlessly.
It is NOT a spacesuit replacement. the wall of a habitat without too much Available only to police and security
• Slag-Crete: This is a form of con- problem. Ouetoall of these factors, you forces.
crete made with lunarstag or Martian can most reasonably expect to find
soil. It is used as a buHding material, as gyrojets being used only outside habi- TASERS
radiation protection, and as insula- tats, or inside very, very large habitats Although not really a firearm, handheld
tion. It comes in several varieties: like the Crystal Palace or the Lunar tasers are very popular in space. A flash-
vacuum-activated, thermal-activated, colonies. light-like unit ends in two metal prongs.
water-activated, and chemically-ac- Press the prongs to flesh, and the sub-
tivated. The most common form is FLECHETTES AND BOLTERS jecttakes a powerful and stunning shock.
thermal-activated, because it allows Flechette weapons trade projectile Ranged tasers are less common, firing
you to work it into whatever shape speed for penetration. The fl echette is two probes on the end of thin trailing
you want, then either apply a heat thrown by a very low-powered shot- wires 5-10 meters.
source o r allow the Sun to do the job. gun-type round firing several flechettes
Water-activated is only used in inte- at once. Bolt throwers are heavier Tasers are even more effective in the
rior patch jobs. Vacuum-activated is flechetteweapons which throw a single Cyberpunk generation- a quick jolt to
used in pressurized areas that will thick bolt. a metal cyberarm could short the whole
laterbeexposed toavacuum. Chemi- thing out (20% chance un less shielded)
cally-activated is used in all these Neither of these weapons can deliver and make it useless up to the armpit!
places, and in areas where heat is a enough impact to penetrate a hull (ex-
problem. cept at Point Blank range for Bolters), ROCKET-PROPfLlED GRENADES
but because they are designed to pierce, RPGs are used outside habitats. They
WEAPONS theywill halve the SPof anybody armor can truly ruin the day of anyone on the
they encounter. In space, where even a receiving end. They are generally the
Weapons in space have a number of small rip is enough to send your enemy most powerful man-portable weapons
special factors which must be consid- scurrying to a patch kit, big damage found in space. In a vacuum, RPGs have
ered in their design. In zero-gee, reco il isn't quite as critical. Also, both types triple the volume of effect they do on
is one critical problem. Another is ran- can be coated with poison or narcotics Earth, a little less than triple on luna,
dom projectiles penetrating a thin habi- for added effectiveness. and about double on Mars. On Venus,
tat wall and letting the pressure out; a grenade's area of effect is halved. An
lasers are also eliminated for this reaso n, One variation of the bolter is the pop- RPG has a dial for the fuse timer, usually
since any laser that could bum through per. This is a hand-held cylinder w hich from 2-1 0 seconds in half-second inter-
a body could also bum through a wall. is pushed against a spacesuit or other va ls. When fired , the RPG will travel 5
While knives are the preferred (and surface and activated. A strong spring m the first second, 10m the next
socially acceptable) way to eliminate forces a spike through the suit . second, 15m the third second, 20 m
the opposition, three "fi xes" have Unfortunantly, a popper also has con- the fourth second, and 25 m the fifth
evolved to allow use of limited firearms: siderable recoil. But because of their second and every second thereafter
gyrojets, flechettes and bolters, and size (about that of a long, thick pencil), (less 1/5 on Mars, 1/ 2 on Earth, and
safety rounds. poppers are easily concealed 01ery Oif- 2 /3 on Venus).
 DEEP SPACE

w....ponUst DYNATECH INDUSTRIES HAND The M-99 Extra-Vehicular-Activity

TEXAS ARMS 351 CYROJET TASER Weapon is the signature weapon of the
PISTOL EXOP EStun121 VR USAF EVAT's, the astronaut troops of
P 0 J C/P 9mm Gyrojet 8 2 UR The most common taser weapon in the U.S. Aerospace Force. The weapon
Developed as a lightweight gyrojet space; the hand taser must be touched is a cumbersome monstrosity with two
weapon along the lines of the earlier to bareskin in order to deliver its charge. barrels, two massive magazines, and a
Mark II models of the 20th century, the Targets must make a Stun Save at -2, or C02 booster tank strapped to the EVA
351 pistol fires a 9mm rocket round be stunned unconscious for 1 010 min- Trooper's belt It fires two kinds of self-
(damage as a normal 9mm). Range is utes. If the save is made, REF &: COOL propelled rounds, usingthecompressecl
3x that of a normal pistol in vacuum. are still halved for 1 01 0 minutes. gas toeject the rounds from the barrel
The 351 is a commonly used military before their rocket propulsion ignites.
firearm, particularly on luna, but is MITSUBISHI TASER The first kind of round is a 12mm
rarely seen groundside. PO J P Stun 12 , ST 5m Range seeking slug that homes in on infrared
A standard defensive 'Io.'eapon for JAB and radar sensors (it's quite expensive);
MlunCH SILVER SHADOW security men in the construction shacks; in addition, there is an IFF reader in the
FLECHETT£ PISTOL this taserfires wire-trailing darts up to 5m shell to prevent itfrom trac~ng on friend~
P 0 J P Flechette 8 2 ST 30m Range ;may. Thedartswill penetrate upto5SPof targets. The second round is a standard
The civilian ancestor of the famous soft armor. If hit. the victim must make a 25mm high explosive grenade fitted with
" BIa<kWldow" developed for the USAF. Stun Save at -, or be stunned for 206 a small rocket booster and a proximity
Each shotgun-like shell has 6 flechettes minutes. Should the save be made, REF &: fuse. Both rounds are equipped with an
with a half-meter spread at medium COOL are still halved for 1D6+ 1 minutes. end-of-range self-destruct charge, which
range; roll (1/206)+2 to see how many destmys the round when it goes beyond
hit per shot. Each hit does 106/3 (1/2 M·99EVAW a .set range (usually' 0% beyond maxi-
armor) damage at all ranges, plus any RlF +5 N R6D6AP(12mm rocket) 30 2 ST mum range at velocity).
drug or poison added. HVYO - -206+1(25mm HE) 10 1 -
10m minimum Range, 2000m effec- The advantages of the EVAW are low
HAMMER M·ll BOLT PISTOL tive Range recoil, no heat emission, low gas ejec-
P+2jP9mmSaboteclBoltl02ST 30m
Range
The most common bolter in use, the M-
11 has better recoil control than most Texos Anm 351
flechette weapons. The 9mm bolt does CyroJd Pistol
106+2 at all ranges, but armor is x1/4,
damage xl /2, due to its high penetra-
tion.

MIUTtCH BLACK WIDOW

FLECHETIE PISTOL
P +1 J P Flechette 10 2 ST 30m Range
The 'Widow" was designed under con- Hommer M- I I Bolt
tract with the U.S. Air Force as a stan- Pistol
dard space sidearm, especial'yfor EVATs
(EVA Troops, the USAF Special Ops
unit). The idea was to create the poten- Mllltech Sliver Shodow
tial for a great deal of damage with low flechette Pistol
penetration/recoil for use in enclosed
environments. Ammo feeds from a
somewhat bulky 10-round clip. Each
round has 10 fletchettes with a one Dynotech Industria

we
meter spread at Medium range (roll hit Hond To",

~) ~
locations as per a shotgun). Flechettes
do 1/206 (1/2 armor) damage, plus
any drugs added.
 DEEP SPACE

EQUIPMENT LIST (ALL COSTS IN EUROS) EqulprMnt (cont.)

Spacesuits EVA MANEuvtR
Type Cost SP RSP Duration Put On Notes
UNITS:
Standard 15 000 10 2 6+2 3 mins .und Unit •...•....•.•... 100
Skinsuit
Worksuit
2,500
20,000
6
16
0
3
1
8+2
+' /3 2
4
nims
mins
Replacement nitrogen/C02
ClI'tfid9ts ,.......•..•.•.. 5
• SmAI Sackf*:k Unit 800
Battlesuit 50 000 25 6 6+2 8 mins Milita onl ; STR +1 MiMed Maneuver Unit.
Radsuit 30,000 16 6 8+2 4 mins 3000
Mars suit
Venus suit
15000
?
7
?
2
?
5+2
?
3 mins
? Probable rumor I BUBBLE SHUTtRS:
1o(nM\ •••••••••••••••••., •• 300
4of1'U1n ..................... 600
SP: Stopping Power
6-man ..................... 800
RSP: Radiation Stopping Power
Emergency Bubbles. 150
Duratio n: Hours of operation, plus reserve
Put On: Time needed to put on suit. Properly taking it off also takes about the same time,
VEHICLES:
though it can be done faster.
lunar RoYer ••••.•••••••• , 50,000
Man ROW( ............. , 150,000
lunar Buggy ........... 5,000
tion (standard rounds produce a cloud Nanotechnology relies on two main Milrs Buggy ••••••..•.•.•. ,..•. , •...•• 6,500
of smoke in zero--glzero-pressure atmo-- components. Assemblers are molecu- Hopper .............................. 350,000
sphere), practically no moving parts, lar sized "machines" which can per- Jet cycle .............................. 2,000
and built-in accuracy. Admittedly, it's form complex acts of construction, tak-
not as perfect a space weapon as a ing individual molecules and combin- TOOLS:
portable laser, but it's almost as good. ing them to form a particular material. Powerdrivff .......................... 100
Disassemblers can break a given mate- vilc-solderer .......................... 50
rial back into its component molecules. Minl-vac .............................. 30
NEWTECH 2025 Mluotools ............................ 1.5
Nanoids, the popular term for molecular Combo flash ......................... 5
When "Bioware" first hit the streets sized machines, can assemble or disas- Technical scanners ................ 100-1 SO
around 201 3 it hardly caused a ripple. semble almost anything given time and Sniffer .............................. 20
Slightly faster healing or stronger the rightraw material. We can rebuild you, Pressure ~rm ...................... 2
muscles seemed rather dull compared and anything else, for a price. Radiation Meter .................... 100
to the glitz of chromed Cyberware or
Video skin'"9rafts. But we now know BIOWARE PERSONAL GEAR:
that in the corporate laboratories an Asdescribed in the Cyberpunk 2020 rules, Velcro, 12 pit ........................ 1
entire new science was being born. nanoidtreatrnentscanbepurchasedfrom Drink bottle .......................... 2
Manipulation of molecular-scale ob- local clinics. These nanoids are carefully Lap pad 50-1 SO
jects, or "nano-technology," matured constructed machines which can manipu- Pemmal radmeter ................ 5
rapidly and soon changed the face of late living biological components. An in- Electro-stick pad ................... 20
society. jection of nanoids and suitable materials, Rail key ...... ,.......... ............. 5
a fewweeks of patience and voila: natural Crip slippers ......................... 5
By 2025 the language of nanotech has armor or enhanced antibodies at the flick Hilnds-frH comset ............... 30
become commonplace and Bioware of a few thousand Eurodollars.
abounds alongside designer skin grafts
andwhirringcybertimbs. Nanotechnology In truth, much more advanced bioware
ISthe newtech of today, competing with exists in the corporate labs and exclu-
Cybefware as the potential elixir of youth, sive European clinics. The most radical
the ultimate in chic. l.a'NS of supply and enhancements require connection to
demand (and raw greed), keep prices life support equipment while vital or-
high and restrict general use to the rich gans are altered or rearranged. After all,
and powerlul. the nanoids can rearrange anything,
DEEP SPACE

but how long can you live while your netic replacement of both eyes as these
Equl"",.nt (cont.) heart is rebuilt? are not protected by the nanoid treat-
ment. Rad Weave is also quite obvious,
SURVIVAL GEAR: The following list is by no means ex- as the skin takes o n a silver sheen similar
Lu..... rTent ............................ 800 haustive, so useyour imagination. Most to Thermal Weave.
FJare Shelter ............. ,............ lOOO enhancements, within reason, can be
Sandstotm Sheher ................ 3000 combined to give startling effects. Vac Weave: This is currently an experi-
Coop BaDs ........" .................. 0.2 mental concept only. It is designed to

-,
Slap Pitches ......................... 5 Muscle Enhancement: Interweaves strengthen the outer layers of skin in
POI'tlI..power ......................... 1500 synthetic muscle through the natural order to "hold" the body together and
BfUtheB100 muscle fiber, anchoring and strength- retain moisture and heat loss in a
ening them. This enhancement is virtu- vacuum. To be of any value this must be
02t.1~ , .................... 5 ally undetectable and results in an in- combined with specially constructed
Slag-cre:te, per 040 kg bag ..... 10 crease of strength, giving +1 to your cyber-optics (1200eb, 406 Hl), filter
Body Type stat for Strength Feats, lift- valves for all body cavities (300eb, 8pts
WEAPONS: ing/ throwing, and melee damage b0- HL), and reinforcement of internal or-
351 Gyrojet .......................... 420 nuses, but not for 8TM . gans (costcovered in initial treatment).
Silver Shadow Flechette Pistol300 A "cyber-Iung" (700eb, 106+1 Hl) is
M·l1 Bolter .......................... 320 Skin Weaves are a generic form of also inserted to provide asuitable atmo-
Spring Poppe ....................•... SO bioware involving nanoids that weave spheric m ixture and pressure during
Rocket Poppt'I" ...................... 100 the top three layers of skin with syn- exposure to a vacuum (good for 15min).
~ .......,...................... 1.5 thetic fibres. Other modifications are Character will not begin to suffer any
Safety Roundl. bolt of .so ...... 100 often included to provide a specific low-pressu re effects (see pg. 17) until
Dynatectl lIse ...................... 50 result. Some of these are described in his internal air is exausted; even then,
RPC ...................................... 1500 more detail below. Withall these weaves, the effects will be reduced. At Half
if the character sustains a Critical or Volume: no effect; Quarter Volume:
hig he r wound, he must undergo a equal to normal Half Volume effects;
maintenance treatment costing 500eb. Tenth Volume: equal to normal Quar-
ter Volu me effects, Zero Volum e: equal
Thermal Weave: Rather than provid- to normal Zero Volume effects, except
ing physical protection, this version additionallNT loss is 106-1 /tum.
deflects heat. It is quite obvious as the
skin takes on a silvery sheen. This allows Ne ural Enha ncements: The human
the character to function efficiently and brain is not exempt from the trespassof
normally in "shirt_sleeve" clothing (or molecular machines. Some possible ef-
less) in temperatures up to 1 07"F (42C). fects include:
Good for when you r worksuit
tempurature regulator fails . Reflex boost: Increases your reflexes
(not just Inititive, the stat itself) to a
Chem Weave: Here the top three layers of maximum of 11 . Cost and Humanity
skin are completely replaced by fibers Loss is per point, up to +2. There.is a
which can resistchemicals, including acids 25% chance that the treatment has
and biological agents. Required saves '15. "hardwired" your pain receptors as well
irritant gases and liquids (and skin-a" (-1 to Stun saves per point of REF boost).
sorbedpoisons)areincreased byt4. There Thisenhancementcannotbecombined
is also an 8SP defence '15. acid attacks (this with Kerenzikov or Sandevistan boosts.
protection is not reduced). The skin tends It cannot be redone or removed.
to takeon a SOfTleINhat pallid Iookand only
requires a Moderate Awareness check to Enhanced senses: Any of the senses of
notice. Requires 8....-eeks and provides no sight,. hearing or smell can be enhanced.
protection until theconversion is complete. Unlike Cyberware there is no "editing
function," althoughthepotentialforover-
Rad Weave: Similar to Thermal Weave load damage to these organs is actually
butdesigned to provide protection from reduced. Sudden brightlights, loud noises,
higher-energy radiation sources. Rad or strong chemical stenches can tempo-
Weave is usually combined with cyber- rarily "stun" the recipient For sight any 2
 DEEP SPACE

of the following optioos may be chosen, terials, or pre-shaped structural members stan tial radiation protection, while the
I~ lN, LowlJte, Telooptics (2.5x), Color or components. clear helmet is virtually unbreakable. A
Shift, Image Enhance (+1 Awareness). For small unit o n the integral belt performs
nearing (either or both): Amplified Hear- This is only the start. Rather than con- environmental monitoring and recy-
ing, Enhanced Hearing Range. For smell: structing com ponents of solid material, cling of a ll body waste. Such a suit can
~fucto<y Boon a wafer like construction is used. Within sustain its occupant for several d ays
the cavities a solution of nutrients and without recharging.
CRYOGENICS assemblers lie in wait, fo r a ny breach of
The use of cryogenic chambers has the structure. Activated by changes in COMPUTERS
long been perceived as a mechanism pressure or contact with atmosphere, Using molecular-scale construction, the
for keeping a living organism alive for the assemblers begin rapidly spinning a latest WiNe of AI's-~ 'Nill consist of
long periods of time. However, experi- seal to repair the break. Welcome to a intricate lattices of electronics spun by
ence has shown that the h uman physi- new era in engineering. assemblers. By reducing internal s'Nitch-
ology cannot stand being reduced to ing components and paths to molecular
the near zero temperatures for any SPACESUITS scales these computers 'Nill run at hun-
length of time before structu ral dam- Although rumored to have been in use dredsoftimesthespeedofearliersystems.
age occurs to cells and organs. by some corporates and the military fo r Third generation nano<omputers will be
some time, nanotech suits have only designed and constructed entirely by ear-
The suitable addition of nanoids into the recently come out of testing and are lief versions of themselves. Their potential
patient's bloodstream before the ayo- enormousIyexpensive. Charactef>""lIon~ complexity may go beyond the under-
genic. process adds a new dimension to beabletoobtainnanoid-basedskinsuitsas standing of the scientists and engineers
this technique. Nano-surgeons can equili- a Near Impossible deal of some sort. and Vv'ho oversee their leaming.
brate chemical and pressure imbalances the base pricewoulcl be around 100 times
and maintain the fIowoftrac.e elements to the cost of a normal suit CYBERWARE
biological mechanisms n<:J.N operating at Cyberware may be one of the first
drastical~ lower speeds. A nanotech skinsuit is hardly distin· technologies to benefit from the appli-
g uishable from a standard skinsuit and cation of nanotech. New materials will
'Nhile not perfect,. this mechanism has a would appear to be constructed from a lead to Cyberware which is stronger,
tested failure rate of less than 1 percent 2mm thickness of rubberized polymer. more flexible and partially self-repair-
and has been predicted to operate suc- In fact, the suit material consists of a ing w hile also being lighter and more
cessfully for periods of over 1,000 years. flexible high-strength nano-polymer. resistant to EMP effects. The cyberware
Within the honeycomb structure of the will be closer in feel and appearance to
CONSTRUCTION suit material lies a nano-soup of assem- its organic counterparts, allowing a
At first glance nanotech doesn't appear blers serving various functions. These minimum of Humanity l oss for a m inor
much use in large scale construction, ex- suits will repair most small p u nctures increase in price. Unfortunately, little of
cept for making small individual compo- without appreciable loss of pressure. this technology has yet bleed down
nents. The key is that assemblers can The suit's o uter surface provides sub- into the open market
create tailored mate-.
rial hundreds of times BIOWARE LIST (SEE PG . 60)
stronger than nor-
H

mal" engineering ma- Blowa re Surg Description Cost H. Loss

terials, and construct
tailored molecules of Muscle
staggeringcomplexity Enhancement (N) Increases Body Type stat by +1 1,000 1-2
to specific constraints. Chem Weave (N) Improves Chemical Saves by +4 2,000 106+3
Thus, large compo-
nents can be manu- Thermal Weave (N) Increases heat resistance by 20C 1,500 106+3
factured as a single Vac Weave (MA) Strengthens body against decompression 5,000 106
piece, with unsur· (Must be used w ith other options - see text)
pa=d strength and
resilience, by an anny Rad Weave (N) Provides radiatjon protection of 1 R5P 1,500 2D6
of molecular ma- Reflex Boost (N) Increases REF stat by +1 3,500 106+3
chines. The only catch
Enhanced 2 per
for nano<onStruction
is that it can only cre- Senses (M) Improves one sense (similar to cyber-options) 1,200 option
ate r.m building ma-
 DEEP SPACE
m
Since the earliest signed to produce zero-gravity prod- In order to acheive this level of self-
SPACE days of space ex- ucts, such as long-chain polymers sufficiency, habitats mustbevery large
BASE ploration, the goal and defect-free crystals. OlVs carry to start with. They must be capable of
has been to raw materials to an autofactory once generating their own spin gravity,
establish a permanent foothold on the or twice a month, pick up whatever which requires that they be either
High Frontier. In 2025, this goal has been has been produced, and restabilize torroidal or cylindrical in shape.
met in a wide variety of ways, including its orbit before leaving.
workshacks, autofactories, battlestations, The largest space habitats have been
orbital colonies, and planetary bases. Autofactories have al mo st no nicknamed l-5s, after their orbital
accomodations for personnel. They positions at the laGrange points
WORKSHACKS are primarily factories with only lim- around Earth and luna. The most
These are small, non-gravity stations, ited habitation at best. famous of these is the ESA's Crystal
designed to support corporate re- Palace station at l-l .
search, manufacturing, or repair. The BATTLESTATIONS
average workshack is made of five or These are relatively rare. Although an CRYSTAL PALACE
ten modular sections, including two enormous amount of "Star Wars" Constructed in an eleven year period
orthree living sections, a lab section, talk was generated by the US and between 2000 and 2011, the Palace
a life support module, and a power USSR in the late '90s, budgetary con- is a five torroidal ring structure built
module. These modules are fairly stan- siderations and the influence of the around a large core extending for
dardized; about85% of all workshack ESA kept the actua l number of almost two kilometers through the
sections in orbit are constructed by battlestations down to around seven center of the station. Each ring has a
Japanese corporations, working from confirmed installations. Four of these radius of 2.2 kilometers. The three
a base plan developed in 2006 by the are controlled by USAF Space Com- central rings are entirely enclosed,
Mitsubishi/ Korydanshu Corporation. mand, two larger ones are the prop- while the two outer rings have two-
Specialized modules are constructed erty of the Soviet Rocket Corps, and meter thick leaded-glass windows to
by the individual corporations them- in a surprise move, the last large one permit light to enter.
selves and mated to the basic modu- is Chinese.
lar design. There are nearly three The torroids are protected from hard
hundred workshacks in Earth orbit, Battlestations are very simi lar to radiation by a thick shield of lunar
several dozen in lunar orbit, and three workshacks, but are built around a rock. Aswith most space-borne equip-
in orbit around Mars. "core" weapon. This is usually a pow- ment, all hardware on the Palace is
erful laser or railgun weapon. Adja- hardened against EMP. The torroids
Workshacks do not have gravity; they cent modules may contain missiles, spin at sufficient rotation to provide
are far too fragile to apply spin to. nuclear weapons, smaller kinetic kill 0.8 G at the rim, dropping about 0.1
Instead, most have a gravity wheel weapons, or particle beam arrays. G for every 275 meters of altitude
attached to the central hub to pro- While battlestations are usually well towards the hub.
vide relief from the stresses of zero- hidden behind jammer screens, their
gee. Workshack personnel are usu- huge sensor arrays and high-pow- Inside each inner torus are four levels
ally rotated back to gravity after a ered radiation signatures make them of living facilities, manufacturing
four-month tour of duty. Most very distinctive on a dose visual ap- plants, life support systems, and apart-
workshacks support crews of ten to proach. If, of course, you live long ment blocks. The two ou ter torroids
twenty people. enough to get that dose. support huge open parks; they are
not only for recreation, but also pro-
Most workshacks have a small, heavily vide the bulk of the Palace's oxygen
shielded module designed to with- ORBITAL COLONIES supply. While most of this area is
stand a moderate solar fl are. These devoted to open space, there are
cramped modules can support twenty These are the most recent additions common buildings, restaurants, and
people for up to four days. But it to the orbital hardware display. Or- housing for high ranking Corporate
won't be a fun four days ... bital colonies are designed to be sta- and ESA officials.
tioned in deep space between Earth
AUTOFACTORIES and luna. Isolated from regular sup- While the ESA technically owns the
These are small structures, usually ply runs (but decreasingly so), they Palace, it is in fact used by all space-
consisting of a power module, a are self-supporting mini-worlds, ca- capable nations, each of which main-
monitoring station, and the main fac- pable of generating their own air, tains an embassy on the Palace for its
tory module. Autofactories are de- food, and water. nationals. living space is leased by
DEEP SPACE

Deck
Solar
Panels
 DEEP SPACE

the ESA to the highest bidders on a using a combination of blasting and

twenty year renewable basis. In turn, nuclear powered heat smelters. An
the ESA maintains emergency ser- extensive warren of heat fused tun-
nels open into central, park-like cav-
EUROPEAN SPACE
vices, general security, and station
upkeep. Police services and law en- erns. These caverns are topped with
AGENCY
Right now the single
forcement are the exclusive province geodesic pressure domes (the glass is
most powerful force In
of Interpol; the intra-European police formed from smelted lunar sand).
space, the ESA Is an
organization, under an agreement Besides creating open space for lunar
outgrowth of an
with the ESA, reserves the right of colonists, these open areas also pro-
economic consortium of
judicial power over criminal offenses. vide most of the air and recycling
European nations called
capacities.
the European Economic
O'NEILL COLONIES
Community. With the
The second step in the colonization Luna was actually easier to colonize
combined military and
of space was the establishment of the than open space. Gravity already ex-
economic forces of
O'Neill colonies. Built along the cy- isted, and the ability to soft-land
France, Britain, Greece,
lindrical plan, the titanic colonies, machinery had been possible for over
Spain, Belgium, the
named after the late space coloniza- fifty years. With the use of nuclear-
Netherlands, Ireland,
tion pioneer Dr. Gerard K. O'Neill, powered heat drills, it was relatively
Italy, luxembourg, the
are between sixteen and thirty kilo- simple to fuse the silicate lunar soil
United German Republic,
meters long and six to eight kilome- into glass-like tunnels. Pockets of
Portugal, Denmark, and
ters wide. The entire inner surface ;s buried ice were mined for air and
Austria (with Canada as
covered in earth, broken by running water, while plants were brought in
an associate member),
waterways and huge windows to al- to create a viable ecosystem. By 1999,
the "Common Market"
low sunlight to enter. modular sections of the Tycho mass-
nations control a
dri ver were softlanded and
disproportionate amount
The ESA's O'Neill One was the first of reassembled, allowing raw materials
of the High Frontier. And
the habitats, located at the L-S to be catapulted into space to con-
with the USSR's
laGrange point. O'Neill Two (Calileo struct the Crystal Palace.
continuing overtures to
Cylinder), at L- 3, was completed in
the EEC, It looks as
201 7, followed by O'Neill Three (Para- All this didn't happen overnight, of
though the so-called
dise Station, ajointUS-Japan project) course. The technology to colonize
"Pacific Century" has in
at L-4 in 2018. With the Highrider space was already in place by the
truth become the "Age of
Revolts, it is unlikely that future early 1990s. What was required was
New Europe".
Q'Neilis will be built byground-based the will and international coopera-
governments. A much smaller tech- tion to apply what was already known,
nology testbed version, which cur- plus a driving need to do so, gener-
rently serves as a spacecraft con- ated by a collapsing ecosystem and a
struction and maintenance depot, degenerating society.
orbits at L-2, over the lunar Farside.
You'd be amazed what rats can do to
PLANETARY BASES escape a sinking ship.

The third step in the colonization of With the Highrider revolts, the vari-
space was the construction of per- ous governments clamped down on
manently manned facilities on other the planetary facilities. Key parts of
planets. Colonies have been built on the life-support systems have been
Luna and Mars, and other stations modified so that they can be re-
exist on the Martian moon Phobos motely detonated. This insures that
and the asteroid Ceres. what happened on the Q'Neilis won't
happen elsewhere.
TYCHO/COPERNICUS
While the two lunar cities are not CHRYSE BASE
exactly space stations, they do fall A joint US-Japanese venture, Chryse
into the category of space colonies. Base is the first facility built with
Both were constructed underground, nanotechnology (used to form Mar-
 DEEP SPACE
lia; litit',: (;i:i, 4' ?.J
tian sand into structure walls). While Modules are described in the follow- Crew/Passengers: 6-' 0
the principles have refused to explic- ing manner: Power: batteries; normally depends
itly state so, the sheer speed with on core module for power.
which it was built denies any other Typical Cost: The manufacturer's Sensors: typically 25%; may be higher
explanation. suggestedretail price. Used prices are when scanning for research-related
generally 30-80% of this. subjects.
ISIDIS BASE Computers: normally one in each
The EuroSpace Agency venture on Crew/Passenge rs:The numberof CfeIN habitat section (1 CPU); one in the
Mars. It is smaller (500 people to needed to operate the module, and lab with at least 3 CPU . Most memory
Chryse's 900) than it's competitor, the number of passenger berths. will contain research programs and
but the potential for growth is stron- data files.
ger. ESA is putting considerable ef- Power: the types of power systems . Cargo Capacity: normally ' Om)
fort over the next fo ur years into Weapon Suites: none; sometimes 1
moving up to 600 more colonists to Sensors:The manufacturer and base or 2 points of armor.
the base. detection rating of sensors.
Damage Points: T T W T P T 3 2 1
HALL STATION Compute rs: The number, capacity,
The spacec raft and communications and programs carried fo r eac h AUTOFACTORY
way-station on Phebas is known as computer. Cost: 35 Million eb; usually rents for
Hall Station, named after Asaph Hall 350K eb/ month, plus core charges.
(who discovered the Martian moons Cargo Capacity: The number of cargo Crew/ Passengers: none; can
in 1877 while at the U.S. Naval Ob- bays, and their capacities, as well as accomodate 2-3 for brief overnight
servatory). Oxygen and slag is mined any restrictions on use. stays.
from the surface. The gravity is so Power: batteries; normally depends
slight that almost all spacecraft can Weapon Suites: The weapons and on core module for power.
land for servicing, and smaller space- defenses carried in typical suites for Sensors: typically 25%
craft are often carried by hand to this type of module. Computers: normally one with 3 CPU,
their dock space. and two backups (1 CPU). Programs
Damage Points : The damage depend on the manufacturing pro-
KIRKWOOD STATION elements and overkill points of the cess.
Located on Ceres, alongside one of module; it uses the same method as Cargo Capacity: 20m) fo r finished
the NASA autominers, Kirkwood Sta- Ships.T=general structu re hits is goods, 20-30m) for raw materials,
tion is the only regular gathering added to the list. and 5m) for waste products. Waste
place in the Belt. The station has no cannisters are sometimes launched
permanent residents, but is occupied TYPICAL CORE to burn up in the atmosphere.
on a rotating basis. Science teams, Cost 40 Million eb; usually rents for Weapon Suites: normally none; some
wandering surveyors, independant 350K eb/ month, split between mul- factories engaged in shady business
miners-whomever comes by is wel- tiple users if possible. may have a laser or two, but they take
come to open the facilities and make Crew/Passengers: usually none; can space away from the machinery. Usu-
use of them. Accomodations are support a few techs overnight. ally Armor 4.
sparse, but they're better than noth- Power: solar, batteries; rarely nuclear
ing: supplies are stored here, and Sensors: limited Damage Points: T T W T P T 3 2 1
there is a small hospital (although by Computers: normally two with , or 2
the time a prospector gets here, it's CPU each. BATTLESTAnON
usually too late for help). The nature Cargo Capacity: Sml Cost: 50-75 Million eb
of orbital mechanics means that most Weapon Suites: normally none; some- Crew/Passengers: 3-6; sometimes on
prospectors tend to travel directly times chaff or flares. automatic.
back to Earth, anyway. Power: solar, batteries, nuclear
Damage Points: T P T D T P 3 2 , Sensors: typically 70%
HABITAT MODULES Computers: one with 4 CPU; at least
TYPICAL WORKSTATION two backups (2 CPU). Has some sort
Habitats are built with modules to Cost: 20 Million eb; rents are dependant of auto-routine program that includes
allow the greatest flexibili ty. Mod- on the nature of the work. Materials targeting.
ules can generally be interchanged research would generally be 200K eb/ Cargo Capacity: 10m), plus ammuni-
among habitats of the sa me type. month, plus a share of the core rental. tion storage (missiles, railgun slugs)
 DEEP SPACE

TYPICAL STATION LAYOUTS

RESEARCH STATION
WORKSHACK

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 DEEP SPACE

of 10-20m). Some ammo is also stored O ' NEILL COLONY 2J 30 points damage: 2 small massdrivers,
outside. Cost: about 4 Billion eb sensors -, 0%, , 0 missiles lost, SOCK
Weapon Suites: lasers, 12-24 mis- Crew/Passengers: 20,000 m' cargo lost
siles, often a rallgun, kinetic kill de- Power: solar, batteries 3]30 points damage: 2 small massdrivers,
vice, orpartic1e beam. Jammers, chaffl Sensors: 45% sensors -S%, 10 missiles lost, , Million
flares, countermissiles. Usually Armor Computers: at least one with 4 m'cargo lost
4. CPU , at least twel ve with 2 CPU 4]30 points damage: 2 small massdrivers,
each. sensors -S%, 10 missiles lost, SCOm'
Damage Points: T W PDT W PST Cargo Capacity: 2000m) cargo lost
554321 Weapon Suites: none, armor 4 . S] 30 points damage: sensors ·S%,
1 S missiles lost, Jammers lost, , Million
SMALL ORBITAL COLONY (U Damage Points: (By their nature, it m'cargo lost
TEST-BED) takes a lot to destroy an O'Neill; not 6]30 points damage: sensors ·20%,10
Cost: 200 M illion eb for a SOOm as much to wreck one.) T T D T T P missiles lost, laser lost, 1 Million m'
diameter colony. TT 5 T 1817 16 15 1413 1211 cargo lost
Crew/Passengers: 15/200 1098 765432 1 7) 20 points damage: remaining sensors,
Powe r: solar, batteries 1SOCK m' cargo lost
Sensors: 35% GROUND BASES 8JOverkill points
Computers: three with 3 CPU each,
several backups with 1 CPU each. These use the same damage system Damage Points: Copernicus- SO,
Typically has scientific and engineer- as orbital habitats with the following with 20 overkill points
ing programs available with appro- exception: ground bases simply have 1]1 S points damage: , massdriver,
priate databases, plus various utility too many damage points to describe. sensors ·20%, 3 missiles lost, 2S0K m'
and recreational programs. When a certain amount of damage cargo lost
Cargo Capacity: 50- 100m) points are lost, the base loses the 2] 1 S points damage: , massdriver,
Weapon Suites: none; if others of this listed capability. Also, g round bases sensors . 10%,2 missiles lost, 2S0K ml
type were built, they could be armed have no armor protection; the pro- cargo lost
with lasers, missiles, and jammers. 2 tective value of the planet is figured 3) l Spointsdamage: 1 massdriver,sensors
points of armor. into the number of d amage points. · 10%, 3missileslost, SOCK m1cargoiost
Damage Points: T T W T PDP S W Note that exposed surface cargo can 4) l S points damage: sensors -, S%, 2
TPTWST87654321 be hit in addition to the base. missiles lost, SOOm'cargo lost
S) 10 points damage: any remaining
CRYSTAL PALACE TYCHO/ COPERNICUS massdrivers, sensors -1S%, remaining
Cost: at least 7 Bill ion eb Cost: Tycho, about 4 Billion eb; missiles lost, 2S0K m'cargo lost
Crew/Passengers: over 5000 Copernicus, about 6 Billion eb 6) 10 points damage: remaining sensors
Power: solar, fuel cells, batteries Crew/ Passengers: 12-18 thousand and cargo lost
Sensors: 85% Power: solar, nuclear 7) Overkill points
Computers: o ne with 6 CPU, at least Sensors: 80%
twelve with 4 CPU each, multiple Computers: at least twenty with 4 CPU, CHRYSE BASE (ALSO 151015)
dozens of smaller systems. multiple dozens of smaller systems. Cost: about 5 Billion eb
Cargo Capacity: 3000ml; capable of Cargo Capacity: Tycho, 5 Million m 1 Crew/ Passengers: 900 at Chryse, 500
docking with up to 6 vessels at once, enclosed; Copernicus, 2 Million m ) at Idisis
with the exception of Deep Space enclosed Power: solar, nuclear
Explorers. Weapon Suites:Tycho-main massdriver Sensors: 65%
Weapon Suites: 7 lasers (3 in the center (12D10damage), sixsmallermassdrivers Computers: o ne with 4 CPU, several
ring, ' in each of the others), 30 missiles (6010 damage), 60 misOles, 3 lasers, backups with 3 CPU each.
per ring, possibly a particle beam. jammers; Copernicus- three small Cargo Capacity: aprox. 750K m)en·
Countermissiles, jammers, armor 2. massdrivers (601 0 damage), 12 m issiles, dosed
1 laser, jammers. Weapon Suites: believed to be 30-50
Damage Points: core cannot be hit missiles, 3 lasers, jammer.
untit at least two rings are d estroyed. Damage Points: Tycho-200, with
Each ring: T T (Wx2) T TOT T 50 overkill points Damage Points: 70, with 50 overkill
(Wx2) T T 5 T T (Wx2) T T P TT 12 1J 30 points damage: main points
'110 98765 4 32 1. Core: T P massdrivef, sensors -30%, S missiles 1] 20 points damage: sensors ·2S%, 10
TWT OTWTPT B B 7 654 3 2 1 lost, SOCK m) cargo lost missiles lost, , SOK m 1 cargo lost
 DEEP SPACE

2) 15 points damage: sensors -, 5%, 10 Cargo Capacity: 250K m l, aprox. 30 Power: nuclear
missiles lost, 1 laser lost, 150Km ' cargo ship berthing spaces Sensors: 70%
lost Weapon Suites: 10 missiles, 1 laser Computers: one with 4 CPU, three
3J 15 points damage: sensors -15%, 10 with 2 CPU each.
missiles lost, 1 laser lost, 200K m'cargo Damage Points: 40, with 10 overkill Cargo Capacity: 200K m)
lost points Weapon Suites: 2 small massdrivers,
4] , S points damage: sensors -5%, 1]10 points damage: sensors ·20%, 3 6 missiles, jammer
remaining missiles lost, 1 laser lost, missiles lost, l OOK ml cargo lost
150m' cargo lost 2] , 0 points damage: sensors . , 0%, 2 Damage Points: 30, with 7 overkill
5] 10 points damage: lose remaining missiles lost, SOK m'cargo lost points
sensors, miSSiles, cargo 3) 10 points damage: sensors -1 0%, 3 1] 10 points damage: 1 massdriver lost,
6] Overkill points missiles lost, laser lost, 50m J cargo lost sensors -25%, 3 missiles lost, l OOK m J
4] 10 points damage: lose remaining cargo lost
HALLSTAnON sensors, missiles, cargo 2] 10 points damage: remaining
Cost: 600 Million eb 5] O .... erkill points massdriverlost, sensors-25%, 2 missiles
Crew/Passengers: aprox. 50 lost, SOK m )cargo lost
Power: solar KIRKWOOD STATION 3] 10 points damage: remaining missiles,
Sensors: 55% Cost: aprox. 250 Million eb sensors, cargo
Computers: one with 4 CPU, four Crew/Passengers: 100 man/days of 4] Overkill points
with 3 CPU each. accommodations

O' NEILL COLONY

DEEP SPACE

CRYSTAL PALACE
SPA(EPlANl (TO SOJ.E)

-----------.,"'.. '-----------
ROTA,lING MIRROR DISK ~~. .'1~ROTAT1NC; DOCKJNG COR£

ADMINISTAATM COilE
(Vr.Oe, UfO gr."'y)

LMNG/PARK TORUS (0.8 9'0",;ty)

RESIDENTIAL TOIlUS (0.19'''';1y)

fACTORV TORUS (o.a 9'• ...;ty)

RESlOENTlAl TORUS (o.a gtMy)

LMNGfI'AAK TORUS (0.8 9"vity)

P'OWI:R/Ufr SUPPORT CORr

CUno:le, l~fO 9'My}

TOP VIEW

------------.,··11--,··,--
 DEEP SPACE

This Is a multl·level, 5. Faciorl ••

underground facility.
TYCHO Population: 18,000 6. Labs and Scientific
Areas
1. Main Gallery
MOON 2. Main Business District

BASE 3. Uvlng Quarter.

4.Maln Control,
Atmosphere Plant and
Admlnlatarlve OffIce.

o landing Pads

Ma ••sdrlver #2
 DEEP SPACE

Highrider is identifications have, to some extent,

HIGHRIDER(S) an Earthside been absorbed even in the techni- SOIM Hlghr/der Slang
term used to cian a nd managerial classes, expand-
describe those who have been born, ing from their original African roots Nrio/j: To do zero-C gymnastk/
or spend most of their time working, to encompass Asian and European acrobalk stunts
in space. Highriders w ho have been legends. Theirc ultures thus combine
born outside the gravity well share a the best of African, Asian and Euro- Apog«: The be1.t.
number of common traits and most pean styles, with bold colors and a
share a genetic heritage towards vibrant exotic urgency. Brtoth va!:: To run out of . ir.
greater tolerance to zero gee, low air
pressure and radiation. They are usu- The space environment is danger- kit. kIrIng: The Molin Asteroid Bell
a lly sl ightly weake r than ous. Highriders tend to befast-react- AI$O to live 01' work in the Selt.
groundsiders, due to lack of gravity ing and level-headed, or dead.
(-1 mod to Body Type), but have Highrid e rs are u sually we ll ChooI.· To be tough.
tremendous stamina and determi- educated-in isolated workshacks
nation. and construction projects there is Conftg: To .rr.nge something; as in
little to do but read or talk. Most Nj conflgged to dock with her".
As described earlier, t he ESA Hireout Highriders can speak severa l
has biased the orbi tal gene pool lang uages; however, they have Tht Dork: Space.
toward a large proportion (68%) of developed their own d ialect, the
African base stock. The remaining orbital version of Streetspeak, which Dtlto'd: To m.ke ITwdmum speed to
portions are a mixture of European is known as The Word. The Word somewhere.
(11 %), Asian (1 0%), Middle Eastern includ es smatterings of French,
(1%), Soviet (4%) and American German, Japanese and a variety of Dirt Sniffer. See Groundsider
(6%). African d ialects and is both musical
and efficient. Most Highride rs can Drop OUt: Retum to the gravity well,
ORBITAL CULTURE also manage a conversation in sev- i.e., Elrth, lulU!, MoIn ...
A strong tribal culture pervades the e ral of the individual component
Highrider society. Institutions such languages. (}od(; To meet someone. Abo to
as manhood rituals and rites of pas- h.ve sex.
sage exist throughout the Orbital Space is crowded and workshacks
Zone and extend into the colonies usually don't provide much in the Go LEO: To leave the gravity well to
on luna and Mars . Although the way of privacy. like the Japanese, low firth Orbit.
authorities have attempted to dis- the Highriders have evolved many
courage these activities, they still social conventions to help create a Groundikkr. Someone who Is rarely
flourish, particularly in the "free N sense of privacy. For an outsider this in $poI«.
habitats. At the l-3 colonies young can lead tp some uncomfortable situ-
men a nd wome n chance a nerve- ations. In space there are no nudity Gu: Weight 01' gravity.
racking jou rney from the main cylin- taboos (not afte r the first time you
der out to the remnants of an ESA don a skinsuit with someone else Goop Boll: A boIll of sUcky polymer
battle sat w hich was destroyed in the helping), but it is conside red rude to which CoIn be u5ed to tempor.rily
O'Neill Wars. Using only a hand- stare while someone is undressed . se.1small pressure violations.
held EVA unit and a o ne-hour respi- Perso nal belongings are few and the
rator pack they scrounge in the " kit" or "o utfit" contains the Grab en: To spend time In. gr.vlty
wreckage for a token of their achieve- Highrider's most private things. This field, usually to counter the effecu of
ment before jetting back to their includes clothing, a rad detector, a prolonged aro gee.
awaiting friends. The return journey water fla sk and a small personal res-
itself takes almost an hour, w ithout pirator. Every Highrider also carries
mistakes. at least one "Goop BaliN in case of a
pressure violation. KrofIJton:To become violently
There is an extensive oral history in spacesick; IS In 'When we hit LEO
orbit. Highriders are fond of telling Highriders are slow to anger but are the dirt·~iffet pulled a Ktaruton
stories and legends, and have con- extremely nasty when riled. An easy rfUlneuvet. N
structed entirely new mythologies way to upset a Highrider is to do
based on life in space (or "The Dark", something really stupid to violate a
as it is often called). These cultural pressure seal, like firing a gun inside
DEEP SPACE
__r--------------------------------
Some Hl9hrid~r Slong (cont.) a habitat. Within the cultural groups no longer frowned upon; rather, they
there are dose bonds and a Highrider tend to taken in a group context as
PopsicH: Frozen corpse. usually from /I will always back upanother Highrider part of the social interaction. Many
spaceWYKk. in need. Angera Highriderand you'll of the newer drugs, rather than just
have an entire Workgroup down on providing a "high", also boost re-
Rod; Radiation. Also a dose of
you-hard. Most Highriders are flexes or intelligence, and many of
radiation. proficeint in some form of martial art these come complete with theirown
and highly adept with a knife. In forms of addiction.
SON: Reltieve space junk, usually for most cases they disdain g uns; not
reward,
only are t hey risky to use, but due to THE DANCE
recoil effects they are invariably less The most common Highrider addic-
Signol: Personal style, i,e., dothes, suit
lethal than a knife in the right hands. tion is the braindance, a neural
decorations, tattoos, etc. hookup which allows the user to
The O'Neill Wars have left an after- "live" in a pre-generated artificial
~ WOld: The spacers' own common math of anger and distrust which reality (much like early net-based
pervades space culture. In the so- interface programs). Interacting with
called "free" habitats, including the Dance is a lot like netrunning
O'Neill One and the Galileo Cylinder, through a controlled Virtual Reality.
strangers receive a cold reception. Once in the Dance, a participant
Any u nex pected vehicle which closes may "watch" a sim (audio/visual/
on the space of these habitats and tactile simulation), which is today's
cannot easily identify itself is quickly equiva lent to the old-fashioned
met by several well-armed Deltas "video. " In a sim you normally take
and a boarding party. Refusal to the part of one of the characters,
accede to their authority will quickly usually the lead role, and get to
escalate into the use of force. interact with the story. Masters at
the sim engage in one-to-one or
DRUGS AND SPACE group competitions, building new
An alcoholic Highrider is a dead challenges for one another with spe-
Highrider. The same goes for Smash, cial "gaming" sims. For a more de-
Crack, Dorph and most of the nasty tailed look at Braindancing, see the
synthetic nightmares that pollute the Cyberpunk 2020 sup plement,
streets and riddle its population. Rockerboy.
These kind of drugs blur your reac-
tions and slow your reflexes, both A NEW SKlll - BRAIN DANCE
certain to kill you soon enough. There (INT-BASED)
are no Dorpheads in space. This skill is similar in some respects
to the Netrunner's "I nterface" skill
Also, Highridersdon'tsmoke. Ever. If in that it measures the ability to
it isn't bad enough that smoking respond quickly to activity within
fouls the air scrubbers and messes up the Dance. Rather than executing
electronics (the smoke has a nasty programs, though, the participant
habit of carbonizing around elec- must use his imagination/intellect
tronic components), it also really to effectively steer the course of the
screws up your lungs. Remember, in stories. The better his ability, the
space air is the most precious thing more control he hasoverthe running
you have. of the Dance.

This doesn't mean space is "clean." For example: George has run a few
Highriders go for fast highs that give Dance sessions and has a Braindance
a blast and then leave their brain and skill of 1. He is currently in a Western
senses clear. Rapidly dispersing aero- sim and walks into a bar. He quickly
sols, such as nitrous oxide, are popu- recognizes a familiar figure in the
lar and many new drugs have fil- bar.ltis thefamousgunslingerTexas
tered into the Orbital conscience Jim, who is out to kill him. George
since the early days. Stimulants are reaches for his Colt 45 to gun down
 DEEP SPACE

the villain, but, the town sheriff shoots

him dead for attempting to draw a SPACE CAREERS TABLE
weapon inside the bar.

Cherice is a true expert who has 01 ·2S

spent many hours in the Dance. She Workganger ( Nomad)
is co mpeting against another 26 - 3S
Highrider in a generated sim, play- Support ( Filter, Media)
ing poker. Cherice is calm, confident 3S - SS
that she only requires an ace to win. Technkian/ Medtech/ Biotech (Tech)
Concentrating on the sim, she reo S6 - 60
quests a new card from the dealer, Corporate (Corp)
while across the table her opponent 61 - 66
looks at her with a smile of triumph. Security ( Solo)
The card slides across the table and 67 - 72
Cherice turns it over casually-an Marine ( Solo)
ace. She smiles sweetly and exits the 73 - 78
sim for some food. Shuttle Pilot ( Nomad)
79 - 84
Highriders OlY Pilot ( Nomad)
SO, WHAT DO can no 85 - 89
THEY DO? longer be Military Pilot ( Nomad)
considered 90
the "working class of space. They are
H Salver ( Nomad)
well educated and hold positions rang- 91 - 94
ing from construction workers to pi- Entertainer ( Rocker)
lots, scientists and colony managers. 9S - 00
All of the existing Cyberpunk character High Ranking Official ( Corp )
roles fit equally into the space culture
with their own Highrider-style twists.
For example, a Rocker is more likely to
be adept with vocals and story-telling new character classes are available PILOT
skills than massed ranks of high-pow- for space-based individuals: The rare breed who "fly" the many
ered amps and an axe. The most commercial, corporate and military
flexible space class is the Nomad, who WORKGANGERS vehicles w hich clutter space, and
may be a commercial or military pilot, The largest portion of the orbital control much of the transport of
a pioneer into the outer reaches of the population is still maintained within equipment and personnel. Special
Belt, or a modern space pirate. The the many construction crews and Ability: Brotherhood (a variant of
Space Careers Table lists the relative operational staff who make the run- Family). like Nomadson Earth, these
percentages of each type (a fast en- ning of habitats and workshacks pos- characters are often individualistic
counter table for referees) as well as sible. Workgangers are experienced and adventurous, but have a net-
the basic class types each standard in using spacesuits, EVA packs and work of other Pilots always ready to
Cyberpunk character will fall into. workmodules. Tough and self-reliant, back them up.
workgangers are also experienced in
ORBITAL CAREERS Zero Gee Maneuver and Combat. Skill Package: Space Survival, EVA,
Many of the potential careers avail- Special Ability: Workgang (a variant Astrogation, Pilot(OlV), Pilot(Space-
able in space are simitar to the No- of Family). The "Work-gangers" con- plane/Shuttle), Basic Tech or Elec-
mad character role, being suitable stitute the largest extended "family" tronics, Programming, Mathemat-
for these roving and hardy individu- imaginable and their influence extends ics, Physics
als. Characters electing to take these throughout the orbital culture.
careers will be generated as normal. SALVER
Those characters who have been SkillPockage:Space Survival, EVA, Zero- As the number of works hacks,
born in space (must be age 25 or G Maneuver, Operate Hvy. Machin- shuttles, laser sats and even small
lower) may also take advantages in ery, Pilot (OlV), Basic Tech, Electron- habitats increases exponentially,
avoiding spacesickness (pg 24) and ics, Expert(Construction Techniques), many disused hulks or wrecks litter
in Zero Gee Maneuver Skill. Several Strength Feat the orbital space. This new breed of
 DEEP SPACE
~--------------------------------

individual scouts around and collects fully operate in space. With the ex- in Zero Gee Maneuver Skill before
these disused relics, which sometimes ception of Astrogation these skills you can acquire this skill. Your Zero
contain a wealth of equipment or must be learned by experience. The Gee Combat Skill can never be higher
perhaps even a forgotten corporate reflex skills may be chipped but can- than your skill in Zero Gee Maneuver.
secret. Often themselves using al- not be adapted to without zero gee
most derelict shuttles or OlY's to experience. If spacesick, you will be EVA
search for the illusive "strike," Salvers unable to learn a chipped skill until (REF based)
wander the forgotten orbits. Of cured. How to use EVA packs, hand-held
course, sometimes there is mileage in thruster units, etc. Difficulties for such
"Salving" something which wasn't ZERO-G MANEUVER maneuvers as approaching habitats,
quite dead yet. Special Ability: Sal- (REF based) rendezvousing with another person,
vage. This encompasses the ability to This skill is the ability to maneuver in and so on, are set by the Referee.
spot a piece of valuable space-junk in low or zero gravity conditions. It
the first place and to know how to allows a character to kick off surfaces SPACE SURVIVAL
harness it without crippling your own and catch himself on the rebound, (INT based)
craft. It also functions as the Techie's make turns or flips in mid-air by When an emergency occurs in space
ability of Jury Rig at half level. Most body movements, and to hold posi- you have little time to respond and
Salvers are also pretty decent short tion if needed . Orbital-born charac- you can't afford to get it wrong,
distance pilots, and are usually handy ters automatically have this ski1l at otherwise you might find yourself
with a gyrojet pistol in a scrape. Sal- +3, and may buy it at higher levels breathing vac orglowing in the dark.
vers usually know several Fixers who using IP. In o rder to acquire Zero- This skill allows you to know the
help find buyers for their wares. Gee Maneuvering, you must first get proper procedures during emergen-
used to the conditions of weightless- cies. It includes how to use a goop
Skill Package: Space Survival, EVA, ness. This isn 't easy for everyone. ball; how to cycle an airlock; how to
Zero-G Maneuver, Astrogation, Each time a Groundsider character read a personal rad meter; what to
Operate Hvy. Machinery, Pilot (OTV), encounters a new condition of do and where to go in a solar flare .
Basic Tech or Electronics, Awareness/ weightlessness, such as c rossing an Referees may use this skill to deter-
Notice, Melee or Handgun airshaft, finding himself suspended mine whether a character knows a
at a height without visible means of given piece of important informa-
MARINE support, or some other sudden zero- tion about day-to-day survival in
Both governments and corpo rates gee shock, he must make a Cool roll space.
are fitting out elite squads of cybered (Cool + Dl 0) higher than 10 or be
warriors with armored work-suits and momentarily paralyzed by fear for SPACEPLANE!SHUTTLE PILOT
heavily-armed spaceplanes. These 1 D6 turns. Until the character has (REF based, IPd)
squadrons patrol sections of space successfully made five such rolls, he How to pilot a spaceplane or shuttle.
and are a law in their own right. will be considered unadapted to zero Knowle dge of scramjetengines, how
Special Ability: Space Combat. This gee and unable to master this skill. to dock with stations (Difficult task)
skill is added to both Zero Gee Com- Once adapted, he need not make and how to make a proper orbital
bat and Zero Gee Maneuver when any further Cool rolls. reentry 01ery Difficult) without burn-
involved in space-based combats and ing up in the atmosphere.
reflects the highly specialized train- ZERO-G COMBAT
ing these individuals have undergone (REF based, IPx2) OTV PILOT
to become adept at combat in space. Also known as rei·ju-ryoku-ryu, this is (REF based, IPx2)
a specific fighting style developed The skill of piloting OTV's and other
Skill Package: Space Survival, EVA, Zero- for use in zero gravity. This skill re- small cargo-type spacecraft. This skill
G Maneuver, Zero-G Combat, places Martial Arts or Brawling when allows the character to make soft
Awareness/Notice, Pilot (OlY), Driving you fight in a no-gravity situation (if lunar landings 01ery Difficult task),
or Motorcycle (for Moon/ Mars buggies! you were to use those other combat dock with space modules (Difficult)
trikes), Melee or Handgun, SMG or Rifle styles in O-G you would end up a and maneuver an OTV through
helpless spinning tangle of arms and space.
legs). The training also teaches the
ORBITAL SKILLS character how to use recoil weapons ASTROGATION
in zero gravity. When firing a recoil (INT based, IPx2)
The unusual environment of space weapon, he may add this Skill to the This skill allows a character to calcu-
introduces new skills which must be required Recoil Save Roll (pg. 25). late a spacecraft course using com-
learned if characters are to success- You must have at least three points puters, course tables and navigation
 DEEP SPACE

beacons (Difficult task). Without Of course in an isolated workshack netic weapons. In low-gee, pressure-
these navigation aids the d ifficulty of the old preprocessed food paste sealed environments these weapons
this task increases to Very Difficult. tubes may be the only option. must be replaced with less lethal
knives or reduced velocity versions.
THE ORBITAL Food is packaged in special prepara- Flechette weapons can be installed
tion labs in the spin gravity sections on a 24-hour turnaround by most
CHARACTER of larger stations. It is packed inside competent orbital techs, at a cost of
microwaveable bags, with all the about lS0-200eb per installation
Orbital characters of aU types may extra water removed and recycled, (plus the weapon cost). But then,
use Ufepath as normal. Referees or in recyclable dishes covered in that's 24 hours when you don't have
should adjust sit uations to reflect the plastic wrap (also microwaveable). a left arm, right?
Orbital background. Crumbly food s are avoided; you
won't see much bread in space. Even less obvious modifications like
WHAT DO THEY WEAR? scratchers can prove a problem in
The rigors of space have standard- Drinks are packaged in airtight bags space. Try putting on a skin suit
ized personal equipment to a mini- with drinking straws as part of the when your hands are terminated in
mum. The most common outfit, container - hot drinks like coffee 2cm long razor sharp carbo-fibre
known asa slap-suit, is a loose cover- have small creamer and sugar packs blades, and don't ever unsheath
all with a variety of pockets (with as part of the container. One just those rippers in a vacuum.
velcro fasteners) and covered in squeezes in however many portions
patches signifying the wearer's alle- are desired, then microwaves the On the other hand, certain fo rms of
giances. These include workgroup, entire package. The one drink you cyberware modification are very
corporation, and workshack and sta- won't ever see in orbit (except on common in space. At least 40% of
tion patches accumulated over many the Palace and maybe in the LSs) are Hig hriders have replaced both eyes
years. Short sleeves are also com- carbonated sodas or beer; these are with (shielded) cyberoptics, allow-
mon, but dresses, skirts and kilts are too likely to end up as impromptu ing them to d ispense with hea\l)'
N EVER seen-in zero-gee dresses end missiles in a workstation's zero gee. goggles and g lazed helmets. Radio
up around the wearer's head! splices are also common, as are vari-
CYBERWARE IN SPACE ousformsof reflex and sensory boost.
Many workganger g roups go nude, In space you rarely see the great With the increasing availability of
or close to it, within their home clunking cyborg monstrosities which nanotechnology, most Highriders are
environments. Hair is either short or prowl the urban ruins. The cascad- also investing heavily in bioware for
tied back-or else it also ends up in ing radiation and electromagnetic everything fro m greater strength to
your face! effects of LEO tend to make standard radiation protection. Bioware is fa r
cyberware malfunction . Th is de- more readily available in orbit than
Highriders aren't big on make-up, pends on the local radiation/mag- groundside. It is mostly constructed
complex hairstyles or accessories netic levels, but for most orbital habi- in the orbital factories and laborato-
such as long earrings o r necklaces. tats there is a , 0% chance fo r every ries and is usually cheaper( l 0 - 20%)
These last can be a nuisance, and week spent in orbit that a given to purchase as well.
dangerous, in space. Jewelery is piece of unshielded cyberware will
simple, to avoid entanglements in malfunction. Having an eye black In space, subtle is best.
zero gee, and many workgangers out is annoying, b ut when a cyberleg
affect tribal scars or tattoos. Perfume starts pu mping uncontrollably it be- POUTICS IN SPACE
is never worn - in the enclosed con- comes downright dangerous, espe- NobOOy controls space. Almost every-
fines of a workshack or OTV even the cially jf you are in zero gee at the one lHJNKS that theycontrol a piece of
best perfume gets pretty oppressive. t im e. This mea ns that orbita l it The vastness of scale involved means
cyberwa re must be shielded against that everything. even communications,
WHAT DO THEY EAT? stray electromagnetics, which in- takes time and money. Most large habi-
Hyd roponic tanks not only support creases the cost by 50-200% de- tats and each of the colonies have their
growing plants but also small aquat- pending on the item and where you 0INT1 Hoot" administrative and law en-

ics. The Highrider d iet runs to veg- are at the time. forcement agencies.
etables, tank-grown seafood, algae
and d ried sta rched like rice and In addition, most rea lly se rio us The hundreds of isolated workshacks,
noodles, all covered in thick (to hold cyberware is weapons-intensive and factories, laboratories and smaller habi-
it on the plate), usually highly spiced, includes high caliber projectile weap- tats owned by corporations and Earth-
sauces. ons, rocket launchers and other ki- based govemments are controlled by
 DEEP SPACE

the central administrative processes of new areas of exploitation. Charac-

their individual corporations and gov- ters will often become sandwiched
ernments. In many cases a head techni- between corporations as they vie for
cian Of corporate lackey runs the day to control of new technologies and new
day busines.s and has the final arbitration markets in a corporate arena that
in disputes. larger corporate or military makes Earth look like a children's
installations have their own forms of playground . Several new small cor-
police force, operating under whatever porations have appeared recently
local rules they see fit and are taking advantage of the op-

ESA still effectively controls t he larg-

portunities which abound in orbit
and in the colonies. Corp.
est portion of inhabited space through
the direct management of Crystal Pal·
ace, Paradise Station, the Tycho and
Copernicus bases on luna, the Mars
lsidis base and hundreds of workshacks los Angeles and Rome.
and satellites. They have an even larger Orbital Faci lities : Seventeen
sphere of influence through the EEC- autofactories and nine manned labo-
controlled Interpol, which polices many ratories.
of the independent transfer stations, Name and location of major share-
Orbital Air facilities and flights, and all holders: 80% of the shares are owned
ESA-maintained habitats and colonies. in equal proportions by Dr. Sergeii
Interpol agents are highty skilled and Ranon, Crystal Palace; Dr. Charon
have wide ranging authority wherever Twine, Utopia station; Dr. Carlos
they are authorized to act Renbro, Paris, France; and Dr. Janet
Hames, l os Angeles.
In space, whoever controls the at- International Electric Total Employees: 21 , 000
mosphere, food and water supplies Corporation Troops: 1,500
makes the rules. ltalso helps to been For a detailed description of IEC refer Covert: 230
the team with the most weapons. to the Cyberpunk supplement, Cor-
poration Report 2020, vol. 1 Background: As described earlier, Uto-
THE "ORBITALS" Main business: General Manufactur- pian Corporation was formed by a
ing group of brilliant and disgruntled
-SPACE BASED Headquarters: Superlink research Microtech scientists. After selectively
CORPORATIONS station. leaking small amounts of crafted
Groundside Installations: Berlin, l on- Bioware into the street market in 201 7,
While most large Corporations have don, Paris, Stockholm, Moscow and UC has begun manufacturing drugs,
been surprisingly slow at moving others. high-techno logy components,
their operations off "dirt," there are Orbital Facilities: Three manned re- skinsuits and other newtech creations
several notable exceptions. Apart search laboratories, a lunar com- which far outstrip the competitive
from the two major Corps (IEC &: plex, a major OTV construction facil- offerings. Utopian tries to keep a low
UC) listed earlier, many smaller op- ity, between twelve and fifteen profile, as it would be an attractive
erations have sprung up in the power autofactories. target for giants such as EBM and lEe.
vacuum which accompanied the real Name and location of major share- However, it is already far larger than its
vacuum of space. The new corpo- holders: Erich Kesssier at Superlink competition realizes.
rate arena of orbital control is, if station, 8%; in conjunction with Ber-
anything, dirtier and more highly lin Industrial Investments, 38% Equipment and Resources: Utopian
contested than the somewhat stag- Total Employees: 800,000 Corporation has fourteen armed del-
nant Earthside version. After all, in Troops: 50,000 tas, three private spaceplanes, twenty
space there are NO rules. Covert: 1 300 five OTV's and four battle sats. Its
Orbital construction and manufac- security forces are always armed with
turing have become the largest grow- Utopian Corporation the latestand most powerful weapons
jng areas of industry available to any Main business: Nano-construction available. The corporate policy of dis-
corporation, and the rapid expan- Headquarters: Utopia - a private or- tributing key personnel and facilities
sion of humanity into the colonies bital facility/ laboratory over a...roe area makes them diffICult to
on l una and Mars are opening vast Groundside Installations: london, harm.
 DEEP SPACE

Replltech Y..,..Nova Mltaublahl/Korldanau

Main business: Genetic Engineering Main Business: Environmental Tech- Main Business: Orbital Design and
Headquarters: Crystal Palace nology Construction
Groundside Installations: None Headquarters: Paradise Station Headquarters: Mitsubishi Torus-a
Orbital Facilities: Three autofactories Groundside In sta llati ons: New privately owned micro-habitat con-
and two manned laboratories. Mexico, Earth (Research) and taining approximately 500 occu-
Name and location of major share- Copernicus Base, luna (Support). pants situated at l-5
holder: Dr. Alexis Yulo, Crystal Pal- Orbital Facilities: Four autofactories Groundside Insta llation s: Tokyo,
ace, holding 35% of total shares. and eight manned workshacks. Hong Kong.
Total Employees: 2,500 Name and location of major share- Orbital Facilities: Four autofactories
Troops: 15 holder: Yohan libewitz, Paradise Sta- and eight manned workshacks.
Covert: 3 tion, holding 20% of the shares. Name and location of major share-
Total Employees: 3,400 holder: Wholly-owned subsidiary of
Background: Replitech was founded Troops: 85 Mitsubishi and Koryidansu corpora-
by a small group of Russian scientists Covert: 5 tions.
with American corporate backing in Total Employees: 14,000
2018 and is almost entirely based on Background: Terra Nova is a joint Troops: 240
experimentalwor1<withgeneticwheat Soviet/American venture specializ- Covert: 35
varieties which could be grown effec- ing in space environment construc-
tively in hydroponic vats. Since then tion and support. Terra Nova origi- Background: Mitsubishi/Koryidansu
they have developed several highly nally formed from the team which maintain intellectual property rights
successful food produce variants which designed and constructed the "life to the basic workshack module ex-
are now used by most major space support" systems at Copernicus Base panded upon by virtually all Japanese
habitats. Replitech is expanding rap- on luna and has since patented sev- corporations developing and manu-
idly but, because of its small size and eral design ideas which have been facturing orbital wo rkshacks and
limited troop resources, has invested used in atmospheric processing autofactories. Mitsubishi/Koryidansu
heavily in external military protection. plants in Paradise Station and the are still the largest manufacturers of
It is one of many orbital companies joint NASNJAB Mars base at Chryse small orbital facilities and gain royal-
which has made use of lazarus Planitia. ties from the design patents on their
Corporation's new HOrbital Strategic original concepts. Their products are
Guard" facility to its distinct benefit. Equipment and Resources: As a small famous for rei iability and spacers have
corporation Terra Nova relies heavily a saying-if you have to live in a
Equipment and Resources: Replitech has on the support of its employers at workshack "make it a Mitsubishi."
seven OlVs and three deltas which the various installations. Terra Nova
rotate between its installations. Most if its has fourOTV's and two armed delta's Equipment and Resources: Twenty three
troop resource is utilized as anti-infiltra- but has little access to heavy weap- warkshacks, eighteen autofactories,
tion police 'Nithin its own facilities. ons or large scale orbital transport eleven armed deltas, thirty OTV's, fif-
facilities. teen other small orbital habitats and
substantial orbital lift facilities and
ground-based resources. Mitsubishil
Koryidansu can also call upon the
 DEEP SPACE
.r--------------------------------
massive combined resources of its Belters themselves and will
two parent companies, making it happily core and begin
one of the less desirable targets for mining an asteroid even if
any potential corporate takeover. an unfortunate Belter has
set up camp there. Consid-
ering the thousands of ob-
LIVING IN THE BELT jects actually within the Belt
the chance of an accident
is currently remote, but as
The Belt provides a promise of vast the numberof factories and
wealth for those foolhardy enough Belters increases the dan-
to risk its dangers. Although auto- ger becomes steadily more
mated factories have already begun real.
sucking some of the larger asteroids
of their minerals, the real gains lie in Even with these dangers
a rare class of smaller asteroids which the pull isstill there and has
are particularly mineral rich. A single been glamorized by the
such silicate- or iron-rich asteroid well-known story of "Mad"
can make its discoverer wealthy. William Torso, who re-
Since many asteroids are (angram- turned after two months in
erationsofearlier, smaller pieces, the the Belt claiming he had
actual lode-bearing component may found the "big one." Mad
be deep within the core, relatively Will has since retired to
hidden to the broad sweep per- Crystal Palace, where he
formed by remote sensors and auto- lives permanently and earns
mated factories. a steady in come advising
others who intend to
The few Highriders who have so far chance the Belt.
risked their lives and survived in the
uncertain precincts of the tumbling For many As a result the off-Earth colonies are
asteroids are the hardiest and most COLONIZING the rigors expanding rapidly. In truth, how-
daring individuals. After hitching a NEW WORLDS of life in ever, conditions "off-world" are rela-
ride with a exploration or corpora te orbit and tively basic. Both ESAand NASA main-
vessel they set out in their own deep constant exposure to zero gee do not tain rigourous controls on the per-
space OlY with a hold full of sup- present an attractive picture, yet they sonnel who are allowed into the colo-
plies. Months later they may return do not wish to remain trapped among nies, and each colony is managed by
empty-handed or be found frozen the decaying remains of Earth's civi- a strict colonial government report-
with the wreck of their craft by a later lizations. For them, the colonies on ing directly to its parent organiza-
expedition. Several Beltershave hon- luna and, more particularly, Mars tions. Furthermore, JAB, who man-
eycombed living quarters out of a provide the lure of freedom and a ages over half of the population at
medium-sized asteroid and settled new life. The Martian colonies des- the joint Chryse Planitia facility, has
down to live there while waiting for perately require skilled technicians, completely separated its portion of
a major find. doctors and scientists to aid the task the community into a self-contained
of building a society on this harsh "micro-world" where the benefits of
As well as risking the vagaries of the new world. Active advertising cam- traditional Japanese culture and work
myriad huge tumbling members of paigns, particularly by ESAand NASA, ethics are placed above all other con-
the belt, they face another, man- present an idyllic view of life on Mars; cerns. There is little place for indi-
made threat. The newer automated they talk about air which is free of vidualists in these colonies and ad-
factories spawned by JAB and the pollutants and a non-violent society herence to colony regulations is
large corpora tes are "Hunters," so where everyone is working together strictly enforced for the safety of all
called because they move between in a spirit of comradeship toward a occupants.
asteroids drilling into their cores. common goal. Attractive packages
They look for deposits of particular are provided to highly skilled indi- The populations of the colonies are
materials and then move on to an- viduals to motivate them to sell their made up of approximately 40%
other if unsuccessful. These roving Earthly belongings and undertake the workgangers, many recruited from
machines pay little attention to arduous journey to Mars. orbit on the lure of better conditions
 DEEP SPACE

(which usually aren't really there); them suitable for human coloniza- surface. Differing conditions in its
35%colony managerial, scientific and tion . Of all of the planetary bodies in development have lead to its current
security staff reporting directly to the the solar system only two are posi- state, a cold dry world with a thin
individual colonies' management tioned such that they could easily be atmosphere. This is potentially re-
board; and 25% colonists who have modified to sustain human life. The versible. Water and many of the gases
taken individual contracts for em- others are either too small to maintain necessary for a substantive atmo-
ployment and living space within the an atmosphere, have too large a grav- sphere remain locked in its polar ice
colony. These colonists do not di- ity field, are far too hot or cold, or are caps and rocky surface. It is feas ible
rectly work for the controlling body, bathed in waves of lethal radiation. that this potential atmosphere could
such as ESA, but are on long-term be unlocked and, as the tempera-
(minimum five year) guaranteed con- One of these bodies is Earth. Human- ture rose, that much of the trapped
tracts directly with the colonial man- ity is successfully modifying the atmo- water would flow again and Mars
agement boards. spheric conditions and ecologies of would once more see rivers flowing
Earth so that it becomes progressively across its surface. Although currently
TERRAFORMING LESS suitable for sustaining life. a long-term dream, there are already
Terraforming is a relatively new sci- several research projects, led by the
ence which is concerned with the The other is Mars. In the past, Mars Japanese Mars Research Laborato-
modification of entire planetary at- has had a substantial atmosphere ries, actively pursuing the redevel-
mospheres and eeo-systems to make and water has abounded upon its opment of a Martian atmosphere.
 DEEP SPACE
.;J§.iq·Uii!t§ _
The following scena rio Is designed can make an attractive offer if you
Carlo Santos
to thrust the characters Into the are wi lling to accept the contract.
ROll: FIXER
expanded wond of Cyberpunk in The initial details are provided within
INT 8, REF 7, COOL 8, MA 5, BODY 5,
2025 and the Deep Space arena. this envelope. Obviously you should
TECH 6, All 7. EMP 6
Characters from an existing cam- treat all information regarding this
paign can easily be integrated into conversation, and the content of the
CY8ERNETICS: One Cyberoptk with
this scenario. However, it Is some- envelope, as strictly confidential. I
low-light and ul"!"lera; One set of plugs
what of a o ne-way ticket Into Deep assure you that you will be under
(righ l wrist); Cyberaudlo with radio
Space and It Is not intended that surveillance until after the operation
splice, digital ~()I"det" and amplified
characters return to groundside . At is complete, whatever your answer."
~/lring .
least, not q uickly. You may wish to
create new characters forthls run; It Carlo hands the character(s) an en-
SKIllS: Streetdeal +S, Stn:etwise +6,
could also be the basis for an entire velope (or equivalent). It contains
Wardrobe « Style +2, Penuasion iii: Fast
space-based campaign, similar to 4, OOOeb and a single sheet of opaque
Tlilk +4, Human Perception +3,
the movies Outland or Alien. plastic inside a plain folder. The plas-
Seduction +2. Camble +6, Handgun +2.
tic sheet has printing on one side
It would be advisable if one charac- which reads:
OUTFIT: Trauma Team™ card,
ter involved in the scenario has sub-
Federated Arms X-22 one-shot.
stantial Netrunning skills. At least Precis - target 209.
one combat-trained indiv idua l Minimum requirement
should also be available. 4 personnel, includes 2 x combat
specialist, 1 x technical. M e d i c a I July Keyes
PART ONE: skillsandNetoperativealsopreferred. ROLE: SOLO
GROUNDSIDE BLUES Function: INT 6. REF 9 (11), COOL 7, MA 6.
Minimal exposure extraction of COf"- BODY 6, TECH 3, An 6, EMP 3
It is 2025, somewhere. A favorite porate personnel.
bar. A jail cell . Deep in the 'face. The Target profile: CYBERNETICS: Two Cyberoptics, l e ft:
characters are approached by a fixer Male, Caucasian. Age 46 years. Non- with IR, Targeting scope and Anti-
with a small problem and a pile of combatant dauJe, Right; Dartgun and An tl-daule;
euro to solve it. Equipment One set of plugs (left wrist); Kerenzikov
Team to provide own equipment Booster (+2); Rippers.
If the characters are part of an exist- including ...veapons and software. An
ing campaign then replace the fixer AV-4 Tacwill be provided with expe- SKILLS: Combat Sense +3, Handgun
described with someone who is fa- rienced pilot if necessary. +S, Rifle +2. Melee +7. Brawling +5,
miliar with the characters. The fi xer Compensation: Athletiu +4, Wardrobe & Style +2,
has been contacted by an anony- 5,OOOeb per team member, 20% in Shadow +5, Streetwise +2.
mous corporate and commissioned advance. o.vn expenses payable by
to find an infiltration team, fast. He is team members. OUTFIT: Smart-chipped Federated
backed up by a competent solo who Notes: Arms X-9mm Medium Autoplstot.
will provide the characters with some Damage to spurious equipment and
serious trouble if they decide to play personnel is not required. COMMENTS; July Is a nasty piece of
rough . b usiness and is particularly unplea~nt.
and skilled, at hand-to-hand combat.
The fixer is short, dark-skinned male After two minutes the plastic sheet She is extremely fond of using
who wea rs a cheap suit which at- disintegrates quietly, literally falling whatever dirty trick will give her the
tempts to masquerade as an expen- apart without warning into a fine edge in /I combat and is equally /It
sive suit and fail s badly. He intro- dust. If the characters enquire about home with.n lIuto-pistol or a jagged
duces himself as Carlo Santos, ad- the money contained in the enve- broken bottle.
dressing the characters in Street. The lope Carlo will reply.
jumble of words rattle quickly in a
guttural tone, underlin ed by a Medi- "This is to ensure your sile nce."
terranean accent.
Carlo is rather impatient. He requires
"I have been commissioned in rather an answer and will try to obtain one
a hurry to find an extraction team. I before he leaves. If the character(s)
 DEEP SPACE

DAWN
SECURITY
FAOUTY

Admin
Section

Main
Entrance
(Ground
Floo r)

r----14 Meters
• Auto Weapon Systems
Security Cameras
c:::Jo

o Guard post Perimeter Fer,,,,

do not wish to accept the contract Keyes, will act to protect him and will a marketing front and cannot even
he will go elsewhere. Once the char- not hesitate to open fire if necessary. provide useful Net access to internal
acters accept (of course they'lt Ole- systems. Dawn maintains a secure
cept~ventually they will get bored The mini.cd can be read by most compound fifty kilometers north
with rolling new characters and hav- equipment, including any Cyber- (unless that's in the ocean from your
ing the same encounter!) Carlo hands deck. It begins with a warning that home town!) of the city which
one character a mini-cd which will fit the information contained within is contains its R&D division. This is
any standard reader. He turns to confidential, etc, etc. It then imparts where Dr. Wilk works and, currently,
leave, saying only: the following information : lives.

"This matter is our little secret. The target for the extraction is a Wilk has been contacted by your
You understand, yes ?" communications technician named prospective employer and offered a
AlexanderWilk, who is currently em- position which, it seems, he has ac-
If the encounter occurs in a pub- ployed by a medium-sized electron- cepted . His current contract contin-
lic place then any character mak- ics firm called Dawn Electronics. The ues for four years and does not pro-
ing a MODERATE Awarenes s roll company is relatively new and the vide a polite clause for him to leave,
notices a woman across the room characters are unlikely to have heard particularly not to work for a com-
who appears to be watching the of it. A simple Net check reveals that petitor trading corporate secrets.
interchange . She catches Ca rlo 's Dawn has won several large con- Each evening he strolls around the
eye for moment, nods slightly tracts recently for the supply of ad- grounds from 5.30pm to 5.45 pm to
and then disappears from sight. va nced communications systems, "take some air. In two days you are
H

and is growing rapidly. Suitable re- to provide a little more "air" than
If the characters follow either search will reveal its main competi- normal.
Carlo or July, they both leave in tors would be Smith Communica-
separate cars and are soon lost in tions, Worldsat and IEC. The AV-4 is to be collected from a
City traffic . If they take any vio- private area near the Dawn facility
lent actions against Carlo then Although Dawn has a small office in and, after extracting Wilk from the
the woman , a solo named July the nearest major city, this is simply compound, you are to deliver him to
 DEEP SPACE

Thirdly, the characters' Gatn of Hell

DAWN NET MAP employers found out Class: Anti'~l"$Onncl (Carries 3
about the decoy and pi"ograms)
have planned a new Strength: S
operation to extract MU: -4 -+ MU of contained programs
Wilk. However, they
cannot afford not to Cates of Hen Is the equivalent of A
conti nue with the Demon program for use AGAINST
orig inal ope rati on netn.mners. It stores sevet"a' Anti.
without arousing sus- Personnel and/or detection/alarm
picion. Thus they have programs to pervent illegal entry into a
hired a crew of expend- system and provides the netrunner with
able independent a 'false' view of NetSp.ace to confuse and
operators to continue delay him. ~ stored programs all Act at
with the original plan the nrength of the Cates of Hell, I.e., S.
as a ruse ... Unlike Demon series programs, the
auoci<llted software ~n't 'packed' to s.ave
Enter the characters. space, so there is no speed dls.advanlaoge.
If the host Gates program Is -killed' , all
They may take what- carried programs are also de-fuzed
ever equip ment they Immediately.
require with them on ICON: None, actually. The Gates of Hell
the strike. Dawn's looks like a standard SKtiOn of the
--f--1 complex has several netgrid and creates {<IIlse (Str S) data
weaknesses which the walls which shift and mange each time a
'-_J...._..J..._-'_--'__'-_-'-_....._-'_-' characters may attempt 'runner tries to negotiate them. When a
- to exploit. stored program is activated it seems to
e~trude out from a nearby wall 10 attack
a third location. You will be met WEAKNESS 1 the runner, taking on its normal ICON.
there by a representative from your Although the co mputer sys tem
employer and your vehicles, etc. will within the compound cannot be DAWN NET KEY
be waiting at the new location . accessed directly through the Net, a
1] Admin lites
high security Net access line is pro- 2J Conference files
The CD provides a map of the Dawn vided between the compound com- 3J Gates of Hell stor<llge and System
compound, ind icating major loca- puter systems and the company's maintainence files
41 Blueprints, Assembly instructions,
tions and defenses. It also details management, who are located in
Rese<llfch files
available Net access for the com- Tokyo. This line can only be accessed SI Blueprints, Assembly instructions,
pound compute r system, which is by either breaking into the head- Research files
described in more d etail below. quarters computer system or physi- 6] Working Memory
ca lly tapping the phone company 7] Gates of Hell storage
BJ Blueprints, Assembly instructions,
What the characters don't know is circuits. It is protected by several Research files
... Iots actually. layers of software. The final defense 9jlong Distance Unk to Tokyo HQ
is a Hydra Systems program known 1OJ Worluta tion Group A
as "The Gates of Hell" (as d escribed 111 Workstation Group B
Firstly, Wilk isn't so much an engi-
12) Workstlltion Group C
neer as a bio-engineer. He has d evel- in the sidebar). The Dawn version 13] Hydr~
oped a neat way of interfacing im- curre ntly has loaded Knockout, SeeYa 14] Pitbull keyed to Sysop
planted communications equipment and Watchdog. 15] Pitbull keyed to Sysop
16] Perimeter Alarms
so that it can be used without any
17] Interior Al~rms
need to "sub_vocalize," a nd is virtu- The characters have been provid ed 18J Mini AIlto-assembler for electronic
ally unnoticeable even when in use. w ith the Net access cod e for the components
Dawn headquarters complex and 19] Main Gate
Secondly, Dawn found out about the ID of the secure line. 20) Holo Display system for designers
21] Cameras covering Llwn <IIru
the extraction plan three days ago 22J Cameras covering rese<llrch area
and has substituted a "decoy" Wi lk Once within the compound com- USUALlY TWO SYSOPS ON DUTY AT
to sabotage the attempt. pute r it is possible to disrupt the AlL TIMES
DEEP SPACE

compound security system and feed going off, weapons targeting on the
Dawn CUDrds (8): false information to the security staff AV-4, and guards firing automatic
ROlE: SOLO and automated defenses. weapons to create a rain of death as
the characters land. Amidst this chaos
INT 4, REF 8 (9), COOL 5, TECH 4, WEAKNESS 2 Wilk looks confused , but he will drop
LUCK 5, ATT 4, MA 6, BODY 8, EMP 4. The compound normally accepts to the ground once the level of fire
power from the public grid. Some threatens to endanger him. At this
SKILLS: Combat Sen$e +3, Rifle +4, subtle technical work, strategically stage he will make no action to indi-
Handgun +5, Submllchinegun +4, placed explosives, or even infiltra- cate that he is the "ta rget"; it should
Athletics +3, Awareneu +2, Stealth + 1, tion of the power company com- be obvious.
Melee ..6 puter (details left to the referee )will
force the entire compound to switch The AV-4 can land quite close to
CYBERNETICS: Plugs, Reflex Boost, to the reserve power supply. While Wilk's position. If the AV-4 doors are
Optics with u.rgetJinfna-red. this switch occurs instantly and with- opened then Wilk will attempt to
out noticeable interruption, the leap into the vehicle. As he does a
PERSO,NAUTY: ~God, this job's II weapon systems cannot draw suffi- guard rakes him with automatic fire,
drag." cient power until three minutes have bullets ripping across his torso as he
elapsed. During this period, the power lands inside the vehicle. Wilk col-
OUTFIT: Medium Armor Jilc:ket, Ught for the rest of the complex is provided lapses unconscious inside the ve-
Helmet, federated Arms X-9mm from storage units while the generators hicle. If any character moves to aid
medium autopblol or H&K MPK-9 reach maximum output. him they will discover that he is still
medium $ubmachinegun. Two of the alive, as most of the damage was
guards twove smilrt.c;hipped weapons. WEAKNESS 3 absorbed by a Kevlar vest hidden
A careful analysis of the maps pro- under his clothing. He is still badly
COMMENTS: Dawn is still a small vided to the characters and a suc- wounded and bleeding profusely.
outfit lind these guards are father low cessful Difficult vs. Electronic Secu-
grade. Ne~eless:, they are well rity roll indicates that the NE corner Attempting to leave the compound
equipped and know the compound of the compound is slightly "blind." is still no easy task. Even if the weapon
layout well. It will take security an extra 15 sec- systems have been damaged/dis-
onds to respond to an infiltration abled by the characters in some form
from this section of the perimeter. they will be fi xed quickly. Two heavy
After all, every little bit helps. weapons train in on the fleeing AV-4
while two armed Dawn AV-4's liftoff
The perimeter defenses themselves in pursuit.
are quite strong and a purely ground-
based infiltration is likely to fail. There Under this blaze of fire the charac-
is an average of eight guards on duty ters flee . They can easily find the
at any time and their statistics are rendezvous point, but-the location
summarized in the sidebar. is deserted and neither the charac-
ters' vehicles, an expected pick-up
As usual at S.30pm "Dr. Wilk" steps van forWilk, nor any supporting fire-
from the research block and strolls power is on hand. Also there is those
slowly into the open. He stares up- two AV-4's to think about.
wards, as if surveying the heavens
for stars. This may appear to be a Meanwhile ... what did the charac-
curious action given the usual layer ters do with "Wilk" in the back? This
of photosynthetic smog obscuring is actually a Solo known as "Insider"
the evening sky; however, Wilk al- Ronson. If he has been under medi-
ways does this. As with so many cal treatment then an Average roll
brilliant minds, he is a little eccentric. vs. Medicol Tech (or a Difficult roll if
he has simply been under close sur-
As the characters act there is much veillance), reveals that his condition
noise and confusion. Depending on has improved rapidly. Unknown to
the success of any covert anti-secu- anyone, including his employers,
rity operations there will be alarms Ronson had undergone a treatment
 DEEP SPACE

of lifesaver Bodyweave (Chromebook, open market or even decide to keep

pg.38) which has saved his life, along
with Nanosurgeons which have been
it. Of course, the owners may come
lookingl
'"'ns'' ' ' '
WI".,
AOIISOfI (IIlItII '"Dr.
rapidly repairing the internal dam- ROLE: SOlO
age. If the characters search the prone Either way the characters should be INT 8, REf. 10, COOl 9. fAA 6, BODY 8,
form they discover a smart-chipped grateful to be rid of that particular TECHCS, ATT 7
5ternmeyer Type 35 Autopistal hid- employer.
den in a shoulder holster under his CYBERNETICS: One Cyf;Ietoptic with III..
clothing. If the pistol hasn't been Perhaps ... Targeting KOpe, Image Enhancement
removed then Ronson will wake and, and Antklu.zle; two sets of Plugs (one
after two minutes of disorientation, PART TWO: NCh wrist); K~ Booster (+2);
will attempt to overpower the charac- TICKET TO RIDE Ufesaver 8odywHve; Nanosurgeons
ters and radio for help. Ronson also
has a small knife strapped to his left leg Thecharacterswillnodoubtberatheron SKILLS: Comblt Sense ...5, Handgun
and carries a tiny homing transmitter edge when, several days later, they are +6, Rifle ..... Melee ...6, Athletics +<4,
taped inside his right armpit. contacted by the fixer (Carlo?) who Wardrobe Iil Style ...9, Stefllth +<4,
offered them the Dawn contract Shadow ...3, StrHtwlH +5.
If Ronson wakes to find his pistol and
the transmitter gone and the charac- Don't forget to substitute your" own" OUTFIT: Smlrt-chlpped Stemmeyet'
ters asking some serious questions fixer if available. Type 35 Autoplstol, sharp knife, boring
about his identity he will divulge outdated suit.
what he knows to the characters in "My friends. I can understand that
the hope that they will let him live. you may harbor some ill feeling to- PERSONAUTY: Mottvation: Highly
He has a reasonable idea of why he ward myself regarding your recent professional but wliluke Inordinate
was hired but doesn't know where contract. I would like to apologize as ri$k$ for money; Competence: Very;
Wilk is. He was supposed to play at I personally was unaware that your Aggressiwness: Controlled but
being Wilk as long as possible in an mission was to be a 'decoy'." potentially highly violent.
attempt to trace the instigators of
the plot. Carlo grimaces as he says the last COMMENTS: If Ronson thinks he has
words. any dance to CIWf'JX'WeI' the charac-
If the characters haven't removed ters and collect hls payment from
the transmitter then they will be Hit appears that your actions in over- Dawn he will illite It. Otherw\se he will
hounded by further goons until they coming the inherent difficulties in ~ppily rat everythlng he knows since
lose Ronson. He will use any distrac- that mission have come to the notice Dawn almost IdIIed him. He will even
tions as an opportunity to flee. of your recent employer. I have been team up with the charKten if they
asked to offer you a further contract. want to hit Dawn again. Just fOf kiclu,
Assuming the characters survive the I am assured that this o ne is com- you know.
entire episode they are undoubtedly pletely legitimate."
pretty pissed off. Noone likes being
sent on a suicide mission . If the characters agree to consider
the proposal Carlo hands them a
Curiously, the money promised for video-cd and indicates they should
payment arrives as advised with a meet him at the sa me location in two
brief note indicating that their con- days to give an answer.
tract has been successfully com-
pleted. Their vehicles and any other Once again the CD contains the
equipment which were left at the information the characters require.
AV-4 pick-up point all remain there; However, the content of the mes-
it is otherwise deserted. If an AV-4 sage is surprising. Rather than sim-
pilot was provided he also turns out ply containing "information" the
to be a freelance operative and is just video-cd provides a visual message.
as annoyed by the whole deal as the It is delivered by an elderly gentle-
characters. Along with the payment men, clearly of French descent,
they can always attempt to sell the seated behind a huge wooden desk.
now slightly damaged AV-4 on the The location, and the identity of the
 DEEP SPACE
~

speaker, are unknown. He speaks now, they may grow to be a strong Of course it is unlikely that the char-
softly, staring earnestly in the direc· threat in the future. We can guaran- acters fit all (if any) of these criteria.
tion of the device which recorded tee passage, including a return flight They have been provided with suffi-
the speech and clears his throat sev- to Earth if you wish, for all partici- cient funds in advance to take pas-
eral times during the delivery. pants in this exercise. If you agree sage to orbit and their new employ-
you will each be paid 50,OOOeb up ers (being in control of the colony
"ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you front as a retainer. The remaining anyway) have provided suitable ex-
for considering our offer of further amount will be placed immediately amination results to cover the char-
employment. You may find what I in a private account in each acters' relative lack of skills. To aid in
have to say next a little daunting but, individual's name, with the require· adoption into the colony each char-
be assured, I am completely serious. ment that it cannot be withdrawn acter is provided with a new identity
You will be well rewarded for your until three years have elapsed. and several skill/memory chips to
full participation. facilitate the charade. Characters
"My colleague will contact you fur- should attempt to adopt a role which
"I represent the coundl of a small ther to ascertain your answer. The most closely matches the skills they
city. This responsibility is, as you can next scheduled Mars flight leaves already possess. Further, during the
imagine, a great one. Recently, we within two months and places have journey to Mars they have a large
have been faced by a problem which already been reselVed . I urge you to period of "consciousness" within the
we cannot easily resolve. Certain in- consider this offer carefully. Dance and can use some of this time
dividuals have begun causing a sig- to learn INT or TECH based skills.
nificant civil disturbance in our nor- "Thank you for your time." Each character can obtain up to ten
mally peaceful city. Their motives (1 0) points of skill during this period;
are purely personal but they are re- Are they stunned yet? however, they cannot increase any
markably persuasive and have re· skill more than +4 in this way. They
cruited a number of supporters. We This is supposed to be an offer too must have, or obtain during the jour-
have tried, so far with little success, good to refuse. If the characters are ney, the minimums listed to success·
to negotiate with these individuals already wealthy offer more money. fully adopt any given role. Any char·
and when that failed, to use force to They shouldn't be able to say no. acter who does not have a processor
disperse them. Unfortunately we installation should undergo installa-
have been unsuccessful. Carlo will contact them two days tion before the journey.
later to request an answer. let us
"We, the city council, feel that this assume they say yes. Medias and Rockers could maintain
disturbance can only be removed by their existing roles fairly intact, as
individuals acting from inside their Moving to the "colonies" is rapidly there is as much use for entertain-
ranks. To this end we intend to re- becoming the new dream for the ment and news dissemination facili-
cruit others who cannot be traced untold millions still trapped in the ties in the colonies as there is on
back to us. That is why we have polluted and violent cities of Earth. Earth . Howeverthere is limited scope
called upon you, However, the COlt of tranlporting for any real "action" for such charac·
and maintaining each individual is ters, as the potential audience for
"We will pay aU necessary expenses still crippling and so a careful selec- either of these roles is rather limited.
for the period of your employment. tion process is involved. Firstly po- It is also clear that the colony man-
Further, each active member of the tential applicants must possess skills agement would actively resist the
team will be paid the sum of which are considered useful in the type of "'trouble-making" most
300,OOOeb on successful comple- maintenance and growth of their Medias or Rockers are involved in .
tion of the contract. You will under- chosen colony. Arduous acceptance
stand why in a few moments. tests and health checks ensure that Some sample roles are described be·
on ly "productive" personnel are low:
"The period of employment will be given the opportunity to join. They
for a minimum of three years. The must also have sufficient resources ORBITAL CONTROLLER
reason for this length is quite simple. to be able to reach one of the many (SOLO)
Our city is on Mars. We wish you to orbital platforms where they can The volume of atmospheric and or-
come to Mars in our employ, posing begin a journey to their new home. bit·to-surface traffic on Mars is in-
as colonists, and infiltrate a fanatical This ensures that the vast majority of creasing exponentially and must be
g rou p who are th reatening the safety street scum never get close to hav- carefully managed to limit the risk of
of the entire colony. While small ing the opportunity. an accident. Although much of this

~
••
 DEEP SPACE

traffic is m onitored and managed by SURVIVAL TUTOR nuclear propulsion units used to travel
Als these artificial systems are often (SOLO) such huge distances cannot be used
too inflexible in their approach, par- Although the societies within the where the highly energized stream of
ticularly w hen dealing w ith a crisis. colonies are relatively small and stable exhaust partidescould inadvertentlyrake
The automatic systems still lack the they will undoubtedly g row larger across an inhabited orbital facility-it
intuitive reactions of a human opera- and crime and violence will creep could easily cook the occupants alive.
tor which can often avert a disaster into their fabric . The young children
before the recursive analysis routines being born on Mars cannot be raised The first step has changed little since
of an AI have recognized a problem. to be naive and defenseless against the early 2000's. Thecharacters board
The native instinct in a highly t rained these factors, particularly since they a newly com missioned Aries III
solo and high reflexes makes you a may come from outside the colony spaceplane, finding themselves inside
perfect candidate for this position. as t ime passes. You are required to a plushly decorated craft reminiscent
teach the younger members of the of the Boeing 747's of the 90's. The
Character requires minimum of: colony the basics of personal defense spaceplane takes off horizontally like a
Awareness +6, Aero Tech + 4 and survival skills so that they can face normal aircraftand climbs al most con-
Skill chips: Mathematics+2, PilotOlV +3 the future. Of course, projectile weap- tinuously until it leaves the upper at-
ons are generally unavailable in the mosphere and docks with Johnson
SCIENTIFIC TECHNICIAN colony and this is not a skill the man- Space Platform. There are only three
(TECH) agement wishes taught. points of real interest d uring the
No trouble, dude. They want you to spaceplane flight.
help research new ways of applying Character requires minimums of:
technology to suit the environment Athletics +2, anyone Martial Arts After forty minutes of reasonably stiff
on Mars. Mind you, you'll need a skill +5 acceleration you are feeling some-
little more than basic Math and Phys- Skill chips: Teaching +3, Martian w hat uncomfortable. By now you are
ics to get by_ You w ill be d esigning Survival +3 also feeling rather hungry and won-
new tools for exploration, construc- dering w hy you haven't had more
tion and environmental monitoring SUPPLY COORDINATOR then a light snack. Just about now you
fo r use specifically on Mars. You will (FIXER) begin to feel a slight tickling sensation
also be helping test and refine newer You are required to manage the cen- in your inner ear. Anyone w ho hasn't
technologies such as nano-technol- tral d istribution of equipment, drugs been into space before also feels a
ogy and cryotank storage. and supplies for the colonists. This similar sensation in their stomach
also involves submitting orders to (make an Average roll vs. BODYor lose
Character requires minimvms of: the Colonial Board for new materi- that snack).
Basic Tech +6, Mathematics +4 als, equipment o r personnel re-
Skill chips: Physics +3, Cyber Tech sources. You will of course be tig htly Also about now you are warned by a
+2, Cryotank Operation +2 constrained in your actions by the brief announcement to brace for a
Colonial Board, w hich actually man- small jolt. Having reached the limits of
PROGRAMMER ages all direct import and export the upper atmosphere the crew acti-
(NETRUNNER) into and out of the colony. Still there vate the rocket engines which take
Your task is to help construct new is bound to be some scope for your over from the failing jet un its and push
software for the efficient operation of real skills in all of this bureaucracy. the craft clear into low orbit.
the colony. This may include software
fo r maintaining specific automated Character requires minimums of:
Welcome to Zero Gravity.
tasks, such as running an electric tube-
subway, or for scientifIC analysis of Accounting +4 The stewards have begun taking great
information, such as geological or at- Skill chips: Library Search +2 care in their movements and you real-
mospheric surveys. You are also re- ize exactly why the carpet on the aisles
quired to help construct virtuals for STAIRWAY TO HELL looked more like velcro than wool
education and recreation with the aid Catching an interpianetary cruiser is blend.
of the colony's Als. still, even in 2025, a difficult and com-
plex process. The huge latticework You probably feel lousy, but the view
Character requires minimums of: structures of the 'Space Liners' must is just great.
Programming +6, Basic Tech +2 be kept well clear of the effects of
Skill chips: System Knowledge +3 planetary gravitational fields or risk After a seemingly interminable period
(Mars specific), Language (Meta I) +2 immense stresses. Furthermore, the you dock at the Johnson Space Plat-
 DEEP SPACE

form and are led to the customs led into a large cyl indrical room which The characters should begin to real-
area. In the unfamiliar zero-G envi· is slowly spun to match the rotation ize after a short while that the entire
ronment you bump painfully into of the cylinder. As you step into the place seems somewhat deserted. The
walls, doors and other hapless trav- elevator which takes you down one world was originally constructed to
ellers. You can tell the locals. They end wall of the torus, you are treated contain several times its current
sped off up ahead several minutes to your first view of the habitat. The population . ESA's increasingly dicta-
ago, skimming off the walls like dol- elevator is glass and you are now torial control of living standards, par-
phins in water. You hang (literally) suspended 3 miles (5 km) from the ticularly for Workgangers, eventu-
around for another thirty minutes 'ground' stretched out below (and ally sparked the famous O'Neill war.
until you pass through customs and above, and all around) you and ex- The ESA has retained control of this
are searched, metal-detected, X- tending 15 miles (25 km) to the artificial world and most 'gangers
rayed and put through any other other end of the cylinder. Hope fled for one of the other indepen-
form of impersonal security proce- noone here gets vertigo. Make an dent orbitals when they realized they
dure which Interpol can devise to Easy vs. COOL roll or start clutching were losing this particular battle. The
ensure that you are not carrying any the rail in terror. 'gangers now call this world Hell.
illegal drugs or weapons.
As you descend the terrain features Most of those who will be travelling
You aren't, are you? below can be seen clearly. Meander- onward to Mars on the NASA flight
ing roads, scattered forests, rivers are stopping over at Paradise Station
Johnson Space Platform is just that: a and lakes course between scattered briefly before continuing on to ren-
large, roughly rectangular flat scaf- suburban areas and office complexes. dezvous with the ship. Some, par-
fold which is used to transfer be- Nothing could be more different ticularly the families, retreat to pri-
tween spaceplanes and shuttles to from the cluttered nightmare you so vate rooms to spend their last time
and from Earth, and OlY's which are recently left groundside. It is a sim- together before the journey. Many
used to travel from here to one of the ply awe inspiring sight. others, including some late addi-
larger space habitats or the moon . tions to the crew and technical staff
Your eventual destination is a deep- Several minutes later, feeling d ecid- for the colony, take the opportunity
space cruiser, NASA's Explorer II, edly more comfortable already as for a final fling . The bars and casinos
which is 'parked ' in a stable position the gravity has returned to 0.9 G at at Paradise gear up specifically for
well outside the Luna orbit. You will the cylinder floor, you are deposited the brief burst of activity brought on
be rendezvousing with a second, at the base of the waiL A bank of by each new Mars flight. Not only
NASA--owned, OlY at the ESA-main- information displays provide direc- the passengers themselves but
tained l04 orbital facility, an immense tions to most major locations within friends, colleagues and even curious
O'Neill cylinder known generally as the cylinder and small electric shuttles onlookers often gather together be-
Paradise Station. stand waiting for passengers. fore such an event.

You are bundled into a OS-OlY. It is The characters now have two days On the day the characters are to
much more cramped than the to recu perate from the outward tlig ht depart for the deep-space ship itself,
spaceplane and has no windows; it and the space version of 'jet-lag'. a large "open-air" rock concert has
hauls you and eighty others out to Since their accommodation is pre- been arranged. The lead band, a
the luna orbit and the waiting Para- paid and they each have (had) new orbital-based group called Plati-
dise Station. The trip, which takes 1 O,OOOeb dumped in their accounts, num Wave, has had several medium
twenty three hours, is extremely dull they are quite comfortable. How- hits with their mixture of chromatic
and much of it is spent sleeping or ever, unlike Crystal Palace, Paradise rock and workshack blues. They are
connected to braindance entertain- Station is not an exotic playground fronted by the popular groundside
ment units. You actually arrive be- for the rich. Rather, it is a fully opera- trio of Lazo, Sumi & Tenko, whose
fore you know it. Would I lie to you? tional living, self sustaining micro- modernistic synthetic compositions
world with a population of 1 50,000 invoke images of ancient Japanese
As the OlY has no windows to speak semi-permanent residents. Itstill pro- culture.
of, your first view of Paradise is an vides four-star accommodation, res-
antiseptic-smelling corridor leading taurants, casinos, bars, strip joints In fact, Platinum Wave are becom-
toward the disembarkation lounge. and most other form s of entertain- ing just a little too successful. Their
Here, still in zero g, you are put ment and relaxation. There is also latest hit, Breathe Vac, contains some
through more tedious paperwork, plenty of room for "outdoor" pas- pointed truths about the activities of
this time by ESA staff. Finally you are times such as tennis or cycling. several large orbital corps. One of
 DEEP SPACE

these corporations has decided to synth-skin, which oscillates between

silence their voice before the band garish swirling patterns and a video Goons 1, 2, and 3
gains too much popularity to easily image of the band w hich also covers ROLE: SOLO
dismiss. In an empty office block the entire backdrop of the stage. The INT 5, REF 9 (12), COOL 7,
almost a kilometer from the concert music beats on and the crowd is MA 4, BODY 9, TECH 3, ATT
a sniper has been placed with a clearly enjoying the show. 4
tripod-mounted Scorpion missile
launche r equipped with a modified At this point the characters have a CYBERNETICS: One
laser-guided missile. There are two second chance ata roll . If a character Cyberoptic witH IR, Targeting
armed solos in the crowd who have succeeds a Very Difficult roll vs Aware- scope, Image Enhancement
been briefed to terminate the band's ness they notice a large goon nearby and Anti-dazzle; two sets of
leader if the sniper fail s. who a ppears to have a weapon Plugs (one each wrist);
chipped into his w rist sockets. Acloser Sandevistan Booster (+3);
The characters would be foo lish to in spection and another Very Diffcult
miss the event. If they don't attend, roll vs Awareness and they identify SKilLS: Combat Sense +4,
then they simply hear about the the outline of a Federated Arms X- Handgun +4, Rifle +2, Melee
assassination of the band's leader in 9mm pistol secreted under his +4, Heavy Weapons +2,
the news on the following morning. clothes. The gun is decidedly out of Athletics +3, Stealth +4,
If they are early for the gig then any place in an environment were even Shadow +3.
character succeeding a Difficult roll t he Interpol police generally carry
liS.Awareness notices several secu- flechettes. If any character confro nts OUTFIT: Smart-chipped
rity guards checking out the stage the goon he will bolt into the crowd Federated Arms X-9mm
tho roughly and surveying the crowd and attempt to flee the scene. If the Autopisto!, Kendachi
as it begins to buitd . The guards all characters pursue the figure, once monoknife, bad attitude.
look extremely edgy, as if they are clear of the crowd he will turn on his
expecting some kind of trouble. pursuers and draw a monoknife, but
will resist engaging them in a melee.
A large crowd well in excess of 3,000 He snarls at the nearest character
people gathers for the event. The and calls out,
mood is rather more peaceful than
the characters expect at a rock con- "Leave off, fool. This t hing is bigger
cert and is substantially differen t than you know and you won't get
fro m the howling raucous confusion much help from the local police."
w hich surrounds the violent mobs
at mostgroundside venues. Ind eed, He will then attempt to flee the
as Lazo st e ps onto the stage and characters again. If they continue
begins crooni ng his opening chant, pursuit he will turn to figh t and this
the crowd fall s silent, mesmerised time will kick in his Speedwa re for
by the music. The opening set is a fu ll effect.
hit and the trio leave to rousing
applause . Some distance away the sniper is
already locking a laser sight onto
After a pause the band members Janet's weaving body. The task is
from Platinum Wave filter onto the complicated by the synth-skin pat-
stage and quickly set up their equip- terns which tend to confuse the sight;
ment. As the crowd's expectation however, it will take only a few min-
increases Janet Maul, lead singer and utes for the sniper to readjust the
songwriter for Platinum Wave, struts weapon and achieve a good ai m.
onto t h e stage. Never one fo r During this time any character who
subtlety, Janet begins belting the has cyberoptics with infrared has the
opening lyrics of her hit song, Re- chance to make a Difficult roll vs
cycled and Row, even before she Awareness (AVERAGE for a solo) to
reaches the center. As usual, Janet is notice the laser sig ht sig nature
naked, but her body is clothed in amongst the other swirling patterns
streaming colors generated by her on Janet's body. There is certainly
 DEEP SPACE

notsuffident time to reach the sniper the entire band in a massive fireball plorer is a major feat of engineering.
and attempt to disable him, even if which rips through the stage and The characters have docked some-
the characters had a means of doing rains fire upon the fro nt rows of the where near the cente r of a large
so. The characters are well back in a crowd. Janet's shattered corpse is lattice of gleaming girders three miles
crowd of 3,000 people who are rock- blown directly out into the crowd as long and over a mile wide. At the
ing hard to 65 decibels of pure noise. people scatter in panic. • 'rear' of the lattice lie the two huge
Gaining anyone's attention is a Httle nuclear engines which provide the
hard right now. All those leaving for Mars, including continual thrust required to reach
the characters, are left with a final Mars within a reasonable period.
If the characters contact the local searing memory of the pointless vio- These are surrounded by a cluster of
authorities via phone link they are lence rampant w ithin both cylindrical fuel pods containing the
greeted by the usual: groundside and orbital societies. By nuclear fuel, in the form of measured
now they should really be ready to pellets, which is used during the
"Oh, so you think someone is about leave. journey. At the 'front' of the lattice
to be killed. Right. A sniper you say. rears the impact shield, a thick poly-
Can you give me a description of the ROCKIN' ON mer barrier d esigned to reduce the
assailant. Hair and eye color per- Two days after arriving at l-4 the energy of small particles which may
haps. No. Right. Can you give me characters must pack again and re- collide with the major axis of the ship
the address of this sniper's current turn to the cramped confines of during travel. Scattered through the
location . No. Right. Who did you say space, this time via a NASA-owned remainder of the ship are a multi-
the victim was, a rock singer. Sorry. DS-OTV. Theycan gain one last wist- tude of oddly shaped modules, as
can you repeat that. Sorry, can you ful view of the cylinder as they as- well as OTV's and landing craft for
turn the radio down a bit, I really cend the elevator and weightless- personnel and cargo transport. The
can't hear you very welL" ness returns to plague them, before ship's three 'gravity wheels' can also
the doors close behind them. The be seen, located in separate sections
Before they can get a useful response SS-Roosevelt is an older model than of the lattice. These provide a gravity
from this direction the sniperwill strike. the ESA transport and has a very environment for active crew, insur-
basic interior. The security on this ing that muscles do not atrophy
Two courses of action which will be leg of the journey is even more se- during the long journey.
effective are: vere than the earlier portion, mostly
due to NASA's well founded fear of Eventually the group reaches one of
1) Phone the concert organ izer di- sabotage of their all-too-successful the gravity wheels and are soon
rect and tell them their band is about Mars program. Unless the characters seated in a comfortable common
to get aced. can make an Average vs. BODY roll room at O.BG. After ensuring every-
they fin d themselves ill again due to one has arrived and is seated com-
2) Cause enough of a disruption, like the effects of weightlessness. They fortably, their guide proceeds to the
a small brawl, in the crowd to worry may well be regretting any partying front of the room. She speaks loudly
the already nervous band guards. they have done in the last few days at and clearly, obviously delivering a
Paradise Station. Another long eigh- well rehearsed presentation.
In either case above the guards will teen hours passes before they dock
throw the lights and pull the band off. with the first operational Mars-Earth 'Welcome to you all . My name is
Even before they can broadcast an Cycler, the DSS-Explorer II, and the Julie and I will be your crew liaison
apology for this "short interruption," pride of NASA's deep-space fleet. during the waking periods of the
the stage explodes into afireball as the voyage. If you have any problems or
sniper, reacting to the sudden and After passing a final security check questio ns please don't hesitate to
unexpected tum of events, attempts the characters, as part of over five ask. This will also be my first voyage
to catch the fleeing band. Several hundred oddly assorted personnel, on the Explorer; however, I already
hundred members of the audience are led to an "introduction sem inar" know the ship's facilities quite well,
are injured by the explosion from the by an attractive American woman, as I have been living here for the last
hastily fired missile. Janet and the band, who says little during the journey. two months in readiness for this voy-
however, manage to escape with only The characters gain their first chance age.
minor injuries. to view the craft as they are led
forward, passing through several tun- "As well as the necessary crew we
If the characters fail to warn the nels with large windowed sections will be transporting 250 passengers
guards, then the sniper attackcatches affording an amazing view. The Ex- including yourselves. Most of these
 DEEP SPACE

passengers will remain upon Mars, lure chambers which effectively re- pumped into the prone form, and
many taking residence at the joint moves the need for regular exercise the temperatu re within the chamber
U.S. and Japanese facility at ChT)'se and greatly reduces intake of nutri- drops.
Planitia. I would like to extend an ents. To keep the occupants sane
early welcome to all of you who will during this long period of inactivity Withinminutesthecharactersare"'lCed."
be joining us at Chryse. We look they are connected directly into the
forward to your membership in a ' dance, an interactive computer DANCE THE LIGHT
thriving cotony. simulation which provides neural sig- Bright lights swirl before your eyes,
nals to replace lost sensory input. their colors and brightness so daz-
The remaining passenger comple- From the 'dance you can experience zling it hurts. Yet, when you raise
ment consists of a number of scien- blockbuster 'sims first hand, actually your arm to shield against the glare,
tists and, I believe, even some 'tour- being the hero/heroine of the latest it has no effect. Indeed, you realize
ists' who will be making a return trip Hollywood creation. You can also with surprise, you appear to have no
to Earth. There are also a significant browse the ship's library, something arm I Before you can begin to worry
number of colonists who will be join- recommended for all colonists as a the lights dim, and the swirling slows
ing the joint Euro/Sov colony at Isidis method of becoming familiar with to reveal a scene. You are seated in a
Planitia. We at NASA extend our best the peculiarities of their new planet room you have never seen before . It
wishes for your journey and future before they make a fatal mistake. is remarkably well furnished and ap-
success with our cousins at the Isidis You can even have conferences with pears to be an ancient study. Shelves
base. H your colleagues, though they aren't line the walls covered with all man-
guaranteed to be private. nerofbooks, videos and disks. Across
Julie pauses briefly, as if to catch her a largedesksitsa young man/woman
breath . Any character making an Av- Around the characters the other colo- (insert a ppropriate opposite sex) who
erage roll vs. Awareness or Human nists within this group begin saying is extremely attractive. He/she greets
Perception realizes she is also carefully their final farewells before entering you in a sensual voice.
checking the reactions of members of the simulation. Young couples, es-
the audience to her spiel. It is not clear caping from the torrid muck of NHello. I am your guide through the
what she is hoping to find . groundside existence, whisper qui- library. You may browse for informa-
etly to one another while families tion, select a new 'sim or simply
"Shortly you will be directed to enter make their shared goodbyes. relax. If you wish to contact another
the sleep compartments for the du- Amongst all of this honest emotion passenger I can relay a message to
ration of the voyage. Ican assure you the characters may begin to feel him . That door there (pointing to a
these are quite safe. Not only have rather out of place. large wooden door to one side of the
they been used without incident on room) leads to your audience lounge.
several proceeding flights but most Soon enough the characters are led From there you may easily address
of the crew, including myself, will be to their individual sleepers. These others. You may also request a shared
using them during some portion of prove to be daunting looking coffin 'sim for as many participants as you
the journey. You may find the pro- shaped devices cluttered with an wish. Information about open group
cess slightly uncomfortable the first array of evil looking wires and tubes. 'sims will be posted on the note-
time but be assured it is completely In a rather impersonal, and only board here, behind the desk, as they
safe. You will also be connected into vaguely private, process each pas- are instigated. You may initiate one
the interactive entertainment sys- senger must strip and lie prone in of these yourself if you wish.
tem before the chamber is activated their chamber. Connection of the
and you may use this to request aid various waste tubes, nutrient feed s "Feel free to take your time."
at any time if you have a problem." and interface sockets is almost im-
possible, usually requiring the some- The "library" is truly immense, carry-
Several of the passengers around what embarrassing help of a stew- ing vast amounts of knowledge on
you exhibit the still red scars of re- ard/ess to help make the final con- almost every topic. Simply by asking
cent socket implants. Now you un- nections. Once the 'face is connected the "librarian " the character can be
derstand why - the ship has insuffi- the character quickly loses conscious- provided with lists of books, movies,
cient resources to maintain a passen- ness of the outside world, becoming 'sims and interactive games which
ger complement of this size con- absorbed in the artificiallygenerated are all duplicated within the massive
scious for the entire journey. Instead reality of the 'dance instead. The memory systems on board the Ex-
the passengers, and portions of the cover lowers slowly as a mixture of plorer. The ship's advanced AI's can
crew, are placed into low tempera- nutrients and nano-surgeons are manage these detailed simulations
DEEP SPACE

forthe entire passenger complement If a character refuses the challenge,

Camlng HIghlights and crew with only a portion of their the Kid will heckle and jeer and peri-
awareness, while still helping to run odically "drop by" to see if the charac-
WlZ/Irds' Duel has become so
most of the ship's vital functions, ter has changed his mind. He is a
popular thilt professional
plotting required course variations complete nuisance.
competitions hil~ Mllrfy
(usually due to magnetic distur-
achieved the st.ltUJ of the chess
bances) and performing scientific If you accept then you are in for a
championships of the twentieth
analysis for the active scientific team serious challenge. The Kid o btains a
century. The Guiness 800II of
engaged during the flight. +2 bonus 01;'1 his Braindance skill rolls
Records hu two entires regarding
when playing Wizards' Duel due to
the game:
The 'sim library is the modern day his famili arity w ith this particular
equivalent of the ancient "video li- game. He also has lots of nasty tricks
longest Rec:orded Game:
braries" which were common in the up his sleeve.
Between Hllrimakl Nughu and
early 90's. In the 'sim you actually
Tong Ghiyan, which lasted for 93
become a part of the story, with titles If any character defeats the Kid then
houu before the tCHJmament was
ranging from comedy, action, ad- he will be suitably impressed . Tho-
""nailed by officials. 80th
venture and (of course) sex. With mas is the son of Alexis Short, a
opponents begin with the
entertainment like this, time almost geologist who will be taking a posi-
famous Jacob's Block maneuver,
ceases to exist. Feel free to go to the tion at the Isidis colony with his wife
in which they each chose Inert
wall here. (Maria) and children (Stuart, Tho-
objects. Neither player was
mas and Anna). Thomas can provide
willing to break the imp.me they
There are also well over a hundred an inroad to meeting his parents,
had crtated.
other "sleepers" on the ship who who are extremely serious about their
can communicate and interact with move and very interested in meeting
Shor1 est Recorded Game:
the characters during the journey. other colonists who will be joining
Jonathon Shelly w.n disqualified
Many of these are simply legitimate them at Isidis.
in the French tournament in
scientists, engineers, teachers or
2021 IIft~ 1'11$ unfair behavior in
other skilled personnel and associ- RUNNING HARD
the third round. During the first
ated members of families. Others are As the journey progresses, the Ne-
twQ seconds of the 9i1me
highe r ranking officials for NASA and trunner character(s?) in the group
JOMthon conYffted into II 111(9('
JAB, while members of the ship's will begin to hear rumours that on~
land·mine lind exploded.
crew also spend some of the period of the iced passengers on this ship
defeating his opponenL This
iced. Some individuals of particular has successfully "hacked" the ship's
t.loctic was considered to hllYe
note are described below. Feel free computers. They are unable to dis-
broken an unspoken tenet of the
to add as much detail as you like into cover further details. However, they
gllme that participants should
encounters during this period. do ascertain that o ne passenger has
allow their opponents: at least five
also proven particularly adept at the
uconds at the beginning or each
THE VIDEO KID 'dance simulations and competitions.
snsion to orient t~msel~. This
During the voyage one or more char-
rtoquiremeot has since been
acters will be challenged by this little In fact, one of the passengers has
officially induded in ItM! Midden
nuisance to a game of 'WIZardS' Duel," found a loophole in the 'sim. She is a
rule set.
an astonishingly popular game played Netrunner named Sherie Phils who
entirely within thesim. Thegame is an is moving to NASA's Chryse as a
electronic adaptation of a fantasy battle legitimate colonist, with much of
between wizards-each player her initial fundin g being provided by
"changes" into different objects or Highriders sympathetic to the cause
creatures in an attempt to "destroy" of the rebellious colonists on Mars.
his opponent-and is enormously Sherie will be a key player in the
complex with millions of computer coming rebellion, as the colonists
generated rules controlling the game know they must disrupt computer
play. The Kid has wasted many hours services to the colony if any takeover
playing the game and is quite an bid is to succeed.
expert. He is also a fourteen year old
punk who just loves showing up these Sherie has discovered a "back door"
pathetic oldies. in the simulation which allows ac-
 DEEP SPACE

cess to information on the other to occur near the "middle"-the

passengers, their backgrounds and characters find themselves drawn The Video Kid
skills. Sherie is specifically looking for into a 'sim which is completely out- (Thomas ShOd)
someone w ho might be being sid e t hei r control. This happens
brought in by the colony "govern- gradually, so that the characters don't ROLE, PUNK
ment" to help stop the rebellion. realize their environment is being INT 8, REF 8, COOL 4, MA 3,
(Someone like the characters.) manipulated until they are already 80DY 4, ATI 7, TECH 4,
immersed in the new 'si m. Try to EMP 5
It isn't too hard to trace $herie and merge the following se quen ce SKillS: Braindance +4
discover that she is quite adept at 'sim smoothly into previous events. Dur- CYBERNETICS: Chipware
competitions. Sherie is fairly curt and ing this sequence the characters are Socket and Processor.
businesslike to most of the other completely isolated from each other COMMENT: Thomas is a
passe ngers and will deny any and cannot communicate outside bright lad who is just asking
Netrunning experience. She will be the 'sim. They are completely cut off to get his teeth kicked in.
employed as a computer programmer from the outside world .
atNASAand she has a valid background
as a commercial programmer to explain "You are walking. Slowly. The only
her experience with the Interface. sound you can hear is your own
breathing, oddly muffled. As you
If th e characters watch her closely look around you realize you are walk-
they may also be able to discover the ing upon a huge plain, a desolate
"back door" exit to the 'si m. Both waste of sand and rock which ex-
Sherie and the characters have well tends off in every direction. You are
constructed fa ke backgrou nds stored alone."
in the ship's computers and will learn
nothing from these record s. The characters can now begin to
interact with the 'sim . Each is wea r-
COUNTERPLOY ing an advanced d esign of space suit
Also in cold sleep heading for Isidis which is equipped with an interface
along with the characters are two activated radio which any character
solos who have been hired by the can learn to use by making an Aver-
colonists to help them win the re- age roll vs. INT. The suit also pro-
volt. Like the characters, they have vides b iomon ito ring and atmo-
fake backgrounds but will be at- spheric details via interface, although
tempting to learn cover skills to "fit the characters cannot understand
in" to new roles in the colony. most of the data .

If the characters make a concerted What the characters cannot find a

effort to interview the other passen- way to do is exit the simulation-
gers during the voyage, particularly they must play it through to
those heading for Isidis, then they completion. If any character takes a
have a chance to become suspicious foolish action such as unsealing the
of these solos even before they ar- helm et, whic h requires both a
rive. Any character attempting this Difficult roll vs. INT to discover the
type of activity must succeed in a mechanism and a Difficult roll vs.
DIFFICULT roll vs Human Pe rception REF to actually undo it, he suffers
for each passenger they are ques- through the extremely unpleasant
tioning. Asuccessful roll allows them process of asphyxiating messily in
to identify that a particular passen- the rarefied atmosphere of Mars.
ger is (or isn't) legitimate. The computer provides an excellent
si mulation of his death until he blacks
DARK MOMENTS out in agony. That character is ren-
Sometime during the journey - the dered unconscious for the remain-
characters have no real sense of der of this simulation and will suffer
when, al though it ca n be considered recurring nightmares for 106+2
 DEEP SPACE

months. This causes a reduction of shelter quickly. Ahead, the bright suit has malfunctioned or the supply
103 + 1 REF for the same period. reflection begins to clarify into a is simply low. You realise you cannot
regular structure. Soon it is clear that find any indication of a problem.
A few minutes passes during which you have found a settlement; the You begin to gag for lack of oxygen
the characters can attempt to sort large pressure domes bear testament as the weight of the dust presses
out what is happening, possibly make to potential shelter, if only you can over you. Somewhere nearby a child
futile attempts to call for help, and reach it in time." screams."
hopefully realize that they are in a
simulation of Mars. Then: Draw this out enough to build some At this point the characters black out
real tension. in agony. An indeterminate period
"You begin to notice a slight change later they find themselves continu-
in the quality of light in your sur- "Ex ha usted, you r lungs almost burst- ing w here they left off in their previ-
roundings. At first you cannot find ing from exertion, you stumble the ous entertainment, as if nothing had
any cause but after a moment you last meters toward a clearly defined occurred . Attempts to question the
notice a darkening upon the horizon airlock. To your relief the lights on system about what has happened
behind you. As you watch a thin the external access panel appear provoke only puzzled questions.
band of dark brown begins crawling active and, indeed, a figure can be There has been no interruption to
slowly above the horizon," seen staring out through several feet normal programming. The charac-
of clear material which appears to ters are mistaken. If anything had
Oh dear. Not only is each character fo rm a viewport in this section of the occurred the ship's systems would
stuck in a simulation of Mars but dome." have reacted immediately to rectify
there seems to be a Martian d ust the problem.
storm heading his way. With winds About now someone should be ex-
of several hundred meters per sec- pecting the airlock to crack open so If the characters ask around they will
ond carrying rocks the size of a hu- that they can stumble to safety. It discover that many other passen-
man fist, this is not something to doesn't. Indeed, even activating the gers experienced the strange se-
treat lightly. Yes, it is definitely head- external access device has no effect. quence. If anyone bothers to cross-
ing his way. Fast. The figure inside is a male in his early check they discover that only those
forties. He watches the characters passengers headed for Isidis were
A quick survey of the surrounding coldly, making no move to respond affected. None of the other passen-
area will reveal that their are no land to any gestures or their attempts to ge rs or crew noticed anything
features, crevasses or even large rocks open the lock. Their suit radios, ex- stra nge.
which the group could shelter be- cept for their own cries of exaspera-
hind. However, anyone making an tion, remain silent. The ' dance continues as before and
Average roll vs. AWARENESS eventu- there are no further interruptions.
ally spots a small bright spot toward "Behind you, the full fury of the Seemingly rather soon the charac-
the opposite horizon. This may, per- storm can be seen. The wall of dust ters are interrupted by the "librar-
haps, provide some form of shelter. stretches beyond sight in each direc- ian" system advising them that they
With the Martian surface gravity tion, towering several kilometers will be brought back to being fully
roughly O.4G the characters find above you . Already the wind is pick- awake shortly.
themselves bounding along in great ing up in your location, beginning to
leaps if they aren't careful. A success- cause small eddies in the sand at They have arrived.
fu l Average roll vs. REF is required to your feet. Soon you are buffeted by
avoid taking bruises from a hard fall . gusts growing stronger every sec- RISE AND MOAN
There is no dange r that the helmets ond and Martian dust rasps across The rewakening process is actually
will crack or the suits puncture-this your visor like sandpaper. The door quite painful, as muscles w hich have
is a 'sim after all. refuses to budge and no response lain dormant for many months are
comes to your embattled pleas. No fo rced to provide tension again. As
''You begin moving q uickly toward other form of shelter can be seen. the temperature is slowly raised and
the small spot on the horizon. Al- Then the storm is upon you. You are the nano -soup mixture being
though it seems to become nearer quickly buried beneath tons of dust pumped into their blood is replaced
surprisingly quickly, the thin band as it swirls down over the colony. by a new set of nano-surgeons to aid
on the horizon has become a raging You struggle but you cannot release the reversal of cooling, the charac-
wall of fury rushing down upon you yourself. Suddenly you find yourself ters suffer severe muscle spasms and
from behind. You had better find gasping for air, unsure whether the an agonizing case of "p in s and
 DEEP SPACE

needles" in their limbs. Initially the and the landing veh icles will ported by the first ESA craft to arrive,
chambers' restraints ensure they do travel directly from Explorer to leaving the potential colonists to wait
not disconnect vital connections, and groundside. for a subsequent vehicle. The char-
they must simply endure the pain. acters are some of the last to be
Soon, however, they have reached "Du ring the waiting period you will ushered to the docking area where,
normal temperature again (actually find that an excellent view of Ma~ once more in zero-G, they are packed
they still feel freezing and are shiver- can be gained from the observation into a Mars lander. This vehicle is
ing with vestiges of cold) and are port adjacent to this gravity wheel. similar to an OlY but is capable of
released to massage limbs and allow Once you reach the surface we ad- landing directly on the Martian sur-
their eyes to accustom to light. Char- vise you to listen closely to all infor- face due to the highly rarefied atmo-
acters with cyber eyes have a distinct mation regarding you r new home. sphere.
advantage as these components have The Martian environment is still ex-
been relatively unaffected by the tremely hostile to humans and many PART THREE:
cooling process. rules and regulations exist for the HOME SWEET HOME
safety of you~e lves, and the others
Remember that eyber-limbs have within your habitat. The journey from orbit to the surface
been disconnected and need to be of Mars takes only seven hours, rela-
reactivated by a suitably skilled ey- "Have a nice day." tively rapid after the intervening pe-
ber-tech. Someone will get around riods, and the craft lands rather sol-
to them, eventually. Each passenger is provided with an idly. The lander docks directly with
information pack which contains Isidis Base via a fle xible docking mod-
Pallid, naked, and floating oddly in maps, information, regulations, sur- ule and the characters are ushered
zero-G, the characters can wash (a vival hints, more regulations, and a out into a waiting area. The lighter
damp sponge is provided) and dress . variety of forms which must be com- Martian gravity is rather uncomfort-
After a substantial delay a steward pleted for processing by the colonies able and characte~ find themselves
drifts past, requesting that all pas- systems. The characters may realize, tripping over their own feet. Anyone
senge~ follow him to the debriefing if they succeed on an Average roll vs. failing an Average roll vs. REF finds
area. Entering theO.8G environment Awareness, that the packs provided himself sprawled face down on the
of the gravity wheel now feels op- to those heading for Isidis Base, clearly ground. The docking area is ~on­
pressive, as long unused muscles marked with the ESA logo, seem nected to the main complex via an
buckle under the renewed strain. As rather thicker and more cumber- underground subway, through
they enter the wheel each passenger some than those for Chryse. That's which runs a small electric train which
is handed a small carrying tray which good, old fa shioned, European bu- can carry approximately fifty pas-
contains a flask of warm, evil smell- reaucracy fo r you. senge~. After a short wait the char-
ing fluid and a dry brown biscuit. acters are treated to a smooth jour-
They are advised that, "These'li help If the characters choose to make ney into the heart of Isid is Base, the
get ya system worki n' again." by a their way to the observation deck administration wing. Here they are
large Black male who appears to find they are in for a treat. While the herded like sheep into a large open
something funny about the entire radiation shutters are partially closed area for processing . Forms, scan-
situation. At the front of the room to keep out the direct sunlight, the ners, inane questions, and more
their original guide, Julie, looks re- spectacle before them is truly awe- form s ad nauseum await the hapless
freshed and comfortable. She has some. Mars looms brightly in the colonist who might wish to start a
obviously been awake for some time distance, a glowing orb of ruddy new life at Isidis. Eventually the group
in preparation for this portion of the red-brown suspended against the is welcomed by the Mayor of Isidis
voyage. sta rk, speckled backdrop of space. colony.
Many of the colonists have come up
"Welcome again to you all. The DSS here to obtain a fi~t view of their Another boring welcoming speech
Explorer II, and all of us, are now new planet, most standing silently as is to follow. However, it is likely that
parked in a holding orbit around they survey its details closely for the the newcomers won't hear much of
Mars. After this session you will have fi~t time. what is being said. Each character
a short wait as we begin to deliver There is little else to do until the ESA clearly recognizes the charismatic
passengers to the planet'S surface. landing vehicle arrives to ferry pas- gentleman now presented on the
Fortunately, Mars' smaller size and sengers to Isidis. A further delay is enormous view screen situated on
lower gravity allow us to bring Ex- introduced as a number of ESA offi- the far wall. While they have never
plorer much closer than to Earth cials and special "guests" are trans- met the Mayor of Isidis, he is all too
 DEEP SPACE

familiar. This is the face from their has been set for the day of their The colony itself maintains a small
nightmarish excursion in the 'dance arrival. They are warmly greeted by "police" force known as the Colonial
during the trip; the face of the man fellow colonists and provided with a Militia. This appears to be tolerated
who watched the storm engulf them buffet of refreshments, the first real by the base management as a small
without lifting a finger to aid them. food the characters have eaten in a compromise to growing complaints
long time. The gatherings are usu- that the colonists have little power in
But after all, it was only a 'sim and, no ally chaired by Dr. Sergei lerpovsky, management of their own lives. The
doubt:. some form of malfunction at the colony's head medic, who speaks militia are provided only with tasers
that dearly despite a pronounced Rus- No projectile weapons or armor is
sian accent. He gives a rousing wel- allowed for use by colonists.
The ESA staff and temporary visitors coming speech for the new arrivals
are being processed somewhere else, and then spends twenty minutes life as a colonist is rather dull. The
leaving the characters in a group of discussing more mundane matters: accommodation is much smaller and
325 newcoionists who have travelled costs of improved educational facili- less comfortable than suggested by
to Isidis to live. The colonists have all ties for children, concerns over seals the many advertising campaigns held
been accepted into the Isidis Base in Residential Module 11, and so on. by ESA in the European continent,
Colonization Program byvirtue of their and the variety offood from the vats
possessing skills which were consicJ.. By now the characters are probably and small number of bio-engineered
ered useful to the operations of the asleep. Eventually the new colonists stock is limited and usually rather
colony. Each colonist, maleorfemale, are able to retire for some well earned bland. The 'gangers use vast quanti-
has been assigned a position within rest in their new beds. The charac- ties of spices to enliven their food,
the colony structure. Children are ters no doubt now understand why usually making it inedible to most
enrolled in mandatory educational the gatherings generally get such European palates. Within a few days
classes until age eighteen, after which small turnouts. many of the newer colonists are
they can either join the colony's grumbl ing about the conditions and
workforce or opt for further rigourous SETTLING IN threatening to complain.
education. All members of the colony From here the characters are essen-
are encouraged to undertake con- tially on their own. They have been The characters are free to wander
tinual training to improve the overall provided with a security code and around a large portion of the com-
skill levels of all participants. In a small password for the one of the colony'S plex. However, a substantial portion
colony such as Isidis there is no room three main computers, which will of the management wing is restricted
for those who would wish to be car- provide access into a secure area to official ( ESA) personnel and is off
ried by the system. where they can leave and receive limits. If the characters try to sneak or
messages from their employer. Until force their way in they will discover it
GATHER 'ROUND their first briefing, however, theywill is well secured and that access is
Once the official welcomes are over, obtain no response to messages left impossible. It is also guarded by well
the characters and the other new here. Each character has been pro- trained goons carrying smart-
colonists are led off to find their ac- vided with a cover and a position in chipped flechette rifles. As days roll
commodations and become familiar the colony and these may offer a into weeks and little happens the
with their new home. Each new colo- better future t han life "back home. H characters will rapidly become
nist ( or family ) is shown around bored.lt is unlikely that any of them
briefly by a more experienced colo- The colony contains a truly mixed are really cut out for colonial life.
nist. After a brief tour which takes group of personnel. Whilemanycolo-
them to their living quarters they are nists are highly skilled scientists or Neither, of course, are many of the
led to another large area where, they technicians who have paid into the colonists. However, most of them do
are advised, there are regular meet- scheme in the hope of finding a not have anything to return to and
ings of the cok>niru' unofficial "colonial better life for themselves and their must make the best of circumstances
council" VoIhich has been voted by the fami lies, many others are here.
colonists to represent their needs to the workgangers who were recruited
lsidis Base Management Board. These from the orbital constructions well FIRST ORDERS
meetings are held f!\Iery two months before the O'Neill wars. Since the After the characters have been in the
and are known as the "gatherings." eruption of the turmoil in orbit, rela- colony for five weeks they each find
tionships between this portion of the themselves visiting the management
To help introduce the new colonists colony and the base management wing of the base for various reasons.
to life at Isidis the latest gathering have become strained. Eventually they are all led into the
 DEEP SPACE

same room which consists of a nurn· progress in this matter ourselves and sidebar, pg. 92). They are reminded
ber of comfortable couches and a we are counting on you to gather that they are under contract to the
large bar. They are left to "make the information we require. The man- managementboard and thatany "sub-
themselves comfortable," agement of this base will NOT allow versive" infiltration against the com-
anyone to jeopardize the safety or puter systems on the base would be
Two minutes later a stranger enters success of this colony. Remember, considered grounds for termination
the room. He introduces himself as you are being well paid to aid us, but of contract. Theycan also be provided
Robert Forrin. a member of the Isidis do not take us lightly. If you attempt to with several programs, including a
security forces in charge of internal cross us you will sincerely regret it.H boosted version of Invisibility with a
security. He assures the characters strength of 4, which Fornn explains
that the room is secure from outside Robert has access to all the informa- will help them trace others who might
prying and begins to brief them on tion ESA currently knows about the attempt to disrupt the operation of
H
the details of their "mission ." "rebellion. The information he can the colony's computer systems. He
provide the characters is, however, stresses that the programs that have
"By now you have had an opportu- limited. There are several colonists been provided will trigger an alarm if
nity to blend into life in the colony who are considered to be potential used against any of the Isidis Base
and adopt your new personas. I am dissidents and there are also two defenses. Fornn will NOT provide a
sorry that this process has taken so workgangers who Forrin believes are Netrunner with any more support
long. but we wish to ensure that no the main trading link with Corps and than this-he has hisown pet Netrun-
one suspects your real purpose here. individuals in Mars orbit. Precise in- ners on standby for when things get
This will hopefully be our only direct formation is provided on each of rough.
meeting until you have completed these individuals and is described in
your period of employment here. detail in the following sections. Fornn then indicates that the meeting
Any further information you require, is completed. The characters are led
or messages we may need to deliver Fornn has not been willing to alert back off in different directions to com-
to you, can be relayed through the these individuals by restricting their plete their original tasks, armed with
secure Net area we have already activities. He has hoped they would at least a little more information than
provided for you r use. lead to the location of other mem- before.
bers of the group and possibTy to the
"'The entire colony is under threat position and identity of the corpora- It is likely that. giver few other av-
from a serious attempt to undermine tion/s involved . He hopes the char- enues, the characters may attempt to
our authority. We believe this is being acters may be able to use them to become familiar with the personnel
led by several indivkluals who see discover further information . that FOrTin has indicated may have
themselves as Martian 'crimelords' and some involvement with the distur-
who have an illicit trade in drugs and The characters may also request bances against the base management.
weapons with Chryse Base and equipment fo rm Forrin, as this is the The following sections provide some
individuals already stationed in orbit first direct contact they have had information for e ncounters with each
around this planet. We have outlawed with their employers. Clearly there is individual.
personal weapons and many drugs a limit to anything the characte rs
for the good of everyone in the colony. can possess without risking their DR. SERGEI LERPOVSKY
However, we have appropriated covers. Any character who has a Sergei is the colony's head medic and
several samples of both which have cyberlimb can have a flechette pistol is described by Forrin as a "stubborn
been smuggled in without our knowl- installed in it; however, Forrin rec- Russian fool ." l erpovksy originally
edge. We have also discovered that ommends that any other character worked in a major hospital in Moscow
these so called rebels have an who requires weapons should apply as one of their leading experts in
important ally at Chryse Base who to join the militia . Not only will this trauma surgery. He had become ex-
uses the cover name of 'Sandman .' give them access to Rubin (see be- ceedingly dissillwioned by the lack of
We have been unable to discover his low), but it will provide an excuse for facilities available to him and could
identity or role in the plot. their possession of weapons. Forrin see no sign of improvement in the
"We must find out who the key stresses that any weapons should mediocre lifestyle afforded to him and
players are in this dissident group only be used as a last resort as it may his family. After a brief visit to Europe.
and who their main contacts are compromise their positions. where he was introduced to many
outside this base . We must also pin- new techniques and trained in nana-
point this 'Sandman' and block his Netrunner characters can also be surgery, he enrolled in the Soviet
usefulness. We have not been able to p rovided with a cyberdeck (See colony program.
DEEP SPACE

Modem: As the characters have already dis- ERICK IONS

Solari' VI cybermodem, covered, he, is now a prominent A shuttle pilot who ferries supplies
Speed +5, Memory 20mu, figure in the colony and chairs most and personnel between Isidis and
Data WaUs+8 of the gatherings held to discuss the the orbital stations, Erick proves to
colonists own affairs. Sergei will be impossible to meet casually as he
Programs Available: readily discuss his views on life, and seems to avoid strangers at all cost.
the future of the colony. with the Attempts to phone his accommoda-
B.........nd characters. He is convinced that the tion or leave messages for him will
Strength: 3 colonists should be given the same be ignored, and if the characters ask
MU:5 authority and access to the base as about his location, other
Type: Detection ESA and Soviet staff members and workgangers will simply shrug, say-
should be the controlling voice in ing, "0h Erick, he's probably off
...v, any decisions wh ich affect the colony somewhere on one of his trips. I' d try
Strength: 3 as a whole. again next week if I was you."
MU: 1
Type: Oeiectlon RUBIN HANAUB If the characters haven't come up
As head cf the Colonial Militia Rubin with a VERY plausible excuse when
Invldbllity is in a strong position to influence they try to contact him, then Erick
Strength:. .. the other colonists. An ex·member will quickly become suspicious of
MU:l of the Indian national military, Rubin their motives. If this happens then
Type: Stealth is both an excellent leader and tac- one of the characters will be "tagged"
tician and is determined to see that as described in more detail shortly.
Fora Shield the colony never suffers from the
Strength: 4 kind of internal disputes which so PALLA KARMUUN
MU:2 disrupted his country. He believes Palla drives construction equipment
Type: Protection that the militia will provide a suit· for the base and is currently engaged
able deterrent from future civil un· in a rostered shift at the planned
Killer IV rest within the colony itself. How· Olympus colony site. She is a dealer of
Strength: .. ever, he feels that the dictatorial most things illegal and has begun a
MU:S methods of the current man age· small trade in illicit drugs and equip.
Type:: Anti-Program ment are at odds with the purpose ment. Palla has several main sources
of the colony as a whole. Rubin is which include Erick, who scavenges
Hyd.. one of the few colonists who seems equipment and drugs while in orbit,
Strength: 3 able to bridge the gap between several individuals from the growing
MU: workgangers and "others" and is Chryse Base (where trade is some-
Type: Anti·Demon well respected by most members of what less restrictive), and a small group
the colo ny. of Highriders living in orbit around
AI,... MARGARET HILTON
Mars who provide the best line for
drugs and weapons.
Strength: 3
MU: 3 Margaret is a strong willed Commu·
Type: Demon nications Engineer who arrived in Palla is extremely dangerous and has
the previous influx of colonists. She seve ral colleagues within the
Jad< 4 .... is apt to argue with anyone given the workgangers who provide her with
SWngth: 3 slightest provocation . It is difficult to some "muscle" if required. She al·
MU:] have a conversation of any sort with ready has several weapons stashed in
Type: Antl·Personnel her because she is so liable to take the base and only a few chosen indi·
, issue with something. Margaretfeels
that the base management is a bu·
viduals know the locations. As with
Erick, Palla will become suspicious
Firestarter
Strength: 4 reaucratic monstrosity which is try· quickly unless the characters are very
MU:4 ing to crush her freedom. She also subtle in any approach. If they are too
Type: Antl·PerwnneI considers that the dissenters such as obvious then she will arrange the fol·
Dr. lerpovsky are just trouble mak- lowing "tag" herself.
ers who will get everyone else into
trouble. It doesn't help anyone that "TAGGED"
she is actually right in both cases. If the characters alert either Erick or
 DEEP SPACE

RubIn Hanaub Erlde jons Palla Kannulln

ROLE:SOLO ROLE:PILOT ROLE:WORKGANGER

INT 8, REF 7, COOL 9, MA 6, BODY 8, INT 7, REF 7/8, COOL 6, MA 7, BODY INT9, REF 7, COOLS, MA<I, BODY 5,
TECH 5, ATT 8, EMP 9, LUCK 5 6, TECH 6, ATT 5, EMP 3, LUCK <I TECH 7, ATT 5, EMP 5, LUCK 7

SKILLS: Combat Sense +6, Endurance SKillS: Brotherhood +3, Astrogation SKIllS: workgang +6, Intimidate +2,
+2, Oratory +2, leadel'$hip +5, Social +S, Physics +2, Progr<1mming+2, Streetwise +6, Human Perception +3,
+2, AW<1u'.Ow +4, Expert (Sm<111 Unit Awareness +4, System Knowledge Awareness +3, Education/~n.Know.
Tactics) +4, Ubrary Search +2, S~ce (Mars Colonies) +2, Pilot OlY +6, Space +4, Expert (Construction) +6, Space
SUMal +3, Athletics +3, Zero Gee Survival +3, Pilot Spaceplane/Shuttle SW'lival +<4, Op.Hvy.Machinery +5,
MaMuver +3, SMG +4, Rifle +3, Melee +3, Zero-G Mllnewer +4, EVA +5, 8aslc Zero·G Maneuver +3, EVA +3, Basic
+3, Stealth +3, BaslcTech +4, Tech +3, Handgun +<4, Electronics +3, Tech +3, Handgun +3, Melee +3,
Demolitions +2, Electronics +2, Elect Wup Pharmaceuticals +3.
Security +1
CYBERNETICS: Basic Processor with CY8ERNETlCS; Sasic Processor with
CYBERNETICS: Basic Processor with Vehicle link, Smartgun link, and VehIcle link; one set of plugs (both
Smartgun link and Sandevilti1n boost; Sandevistan boost; two sets of plugs wrists); biomonitor; voice syrllheslzer;
one set of plugs (right wrist); (one each wrist); biomonitor; enhanced Slice 'n Dice
biomonltor antibodies; Adrenalin booster;
cyi>etoptk: with antldazz/e, teleoptics, COMMENTS: Dangerous, careful,
COMMENTS: Firm, ca~ble. Support- targeting formidable.
i~ of the colonist's position, but
against disnJptiYe violence. COMMENTS: Cautious and competent.
 DEEP SPACE

Palla or are just d ownright obvious in Social +3, Persuasion +4, Chemistry continues watching they see the
their investigations then one of the +6, Mathematics +4, Athletics +4, guards return, now dragging the
characters will be seduced by a young Zero Gee Maneuver +8, Zero Gee kicking and screaming form of the
African woman named Anetta Tula. Combat+3, Basic Tech +4, Paint+3 . child. Obviously the character can-
This will happen gradually and may not hear anything which is being
be easy to slip in if any of the charac- CYBERNETICS: One setof plugs (right said, or yelled, from this distance.
ters are have particularly large egos wrist)
or over-active hormones. Unless the character is ma king some
COMMENTS: This is one lady to look attempt to shield his presence from
Anetta knows little of any use to the out for. the guards on the far side there is a
characters or their e mployers. She chance, if the character fails an Easy
has spent most of her life in orbit, Anetta has no knowledge of any roll vs. LUCK, that he isspottedwatch-
having been brought from Earth as a plots or anything of relevance ex- ing . As the figures disappear beyond
child in the initial Hireout by ESA. cept her own suspicions that some- the wall at the far side the character
Anetta is addicted to a nasty syn- thing is going on. She w ill strongly is left w ith a strange feeling that
thet ic drug known as Starlight, a deny any suggestion that she was set something, other than the obvious
euphoric which also generates a +1 up to check on the characters and nature of the events, was seriously
increase to tNT during use it is highly she can be very convincing when wrong w ith t he scene he has just
addictive and very expensive. The required. She has been asked simply witnessed.
drug is also very rare in orbit and at to "get dose" to one of the charac-
Isidis, Palla is the only cu rrent chan- ters and t ry to find out what they are This thought plagues the character.
nel. Handy for Palla really. d oing. If the characters discuss any· However, he cannot place the cause
t hing relevant to the real mission or for his concern. Hopefully he w ill
Having spent almost her entire life in employer w hile Anetta is a round, recount the encounter to his col-
low gravity Anetta is tall and rather then assume this is relayed directly leagues. As he is midway through
frai l looking but very attractive. Anetta to the workgangers and act accord- describing the scene, it suddenly
works as a chemist in the ESA labora· ingly. occurs to him what was wrong.
tories and was hooked onto the drug
by a "frie nd" d uring a party. She is If the characters resistAnetta's charms The child's arms were too long.
unwilling to admit to the authorities then she will sulk off and seduce one
that she is an addict, fearing that she of the other colonists instead, just to FIRST CONTACT
may be thrown out of the colony by get back at them. An uneasy peace reig ns for almost
the management, and has hidden the two weeks, during which the char-
fact from all but a few workgangers. STRANGE RELATIONS acters will draw blanks on any lines
Unfortunately, to e nsure hersupplyof The next event is only witnessed by of inquiry. Several other individuals
the drug, Anetta now fi nds herself an one character. Preferably pick the are placed under house arrest over
unwilling pawn in Erick and Palla's one most susceptible to pathos. the next few weeks and it becomes
game. Anetta will play her part well clear that even "private" quarters
mostly out of fear of losing her supply. At some point the character is on the a re not as private as had been imag-
However, she is also a rampant fl irt in ner boundary of the general colony ined. During this pe riod the charac-
who drops men as q uickly as she finds area, near the ESA administration ters begin to notice many of the
them. Her "talents" tend to be rather block. A large glass w indow at this workganger members of the colony
wasted in the limited e nvironment of location affords a view of the Mar· involved in short meetings, often
the Mars base, and Anetta is one of the tian surface and, across some dis- catching glimpses of a curious sign
fewworkga ngers who really looks for· tance, to another similar window in language being used in brief ex·
ward to the arrival of a new group of a corridor in the private ESA sector. changes. Any attempt to question
colonists. As the character g lances out at the the individuals concerned draws only
Martian landscape his attention is blank looks of surprise. If the charac-
Andta Tula captured by a movement within the ters push questioning too hard they
ROLE: Tech ( Chemist) opposite corridor. A small figure, find the mselves confronted by raw
INT 8, REF 5, COOl 4, MA 6, apparently that of a young child, distrust and anger. Either way they
BODY 5, TECH 8, ATI 9, EM P 7 races past the window toward the cannot discover anything furth er.
end of that corridor section. Sec-
SKILLS: Wardrobe & Style +3, Hu· onds later several heavily a rmed ESA Something is, however, obviously
man Pe rception +4, Seduction +5, guards do likewise. If the character going on.
 DEEP SPACE

If the characters begin asking around tions. He trudges slowly to the ve- throwing its unfortunate occupants
about the child they saw, or make hicle bay and climbs into the cabin of violently about. At this point the
any reference in general company to a survey vehicle, directing the char- crevasse has narrowed sufficiently
experiments or genetic de....elop- acters into the aft passenger cabin, and the vehicle is now firmlywedged,
ments, they w ill find that most of the which has seating for up to ten occu- nose down, into the narrow gap.
colonists cannot shed any light on pants. The cabin only provides suffi- Rock and dust continue to fall past
the mystery. Similarly, if the charac- cient room for the driver and he will the vehicle for several minutes, drop-
ters begin asking around about any- refuse to impart any information ping past and down into the depths
one called Sandman (or Sandy) they regarding their destination. He will of the crevasse, several hundred
will generally only receive blan k looks. indicate as many times as ne<:essary meters further below.
If they ask Dr. lerpovsky he will look that the characters should refrain from
quite concerned and say, in a hushed conversation over the suit radios. The characters are bruised and, in
voice: several cases, slightlyconcussed. They
Once inside the vehicle the cabin is are otherwise unhurt and the com-
HI have SUspiCions that there are pressurized and the characters can partment has retained pressure. They
things going on in orbi t around Mars remove their helmets. Conversation soon d!scover, however, that they
which should not be allowed. I do can resume; the African (separated cannot obtain any response from their
not know anything for certain though from the characters by a securely driver. Intenace sockets provide ac-
and, if you will take the advice of a locked door into the cabin) refuses cess to the vehkle's support systems,
paranoid old man, you will not say to join in. A few moments later and which indicate that the front cabin is
this thing too loudly." the vehicle hums to life, moving no longer pressurized.
slowly onto the rocky terrain and
If the characters q uestion any then weaving its way across the In fact the driver is quite dead, as the
workgangers about Sandman or the Martian desert as its navigation impact crushed both the nose of the
child they will receive slightly odd equ ipment skirts crevasses and faults vehicle and its occupant. The vehicle
looks but still not obtai n any furthe r in the parched soil. is completely inoperable and it is
information . well beyond the character's abilities
The vehicle travels for over an hour, to salvage it. Although the exit is not
Once you feel that the characters bouncing across the Martian land- jammed, anyone who attempts to
have made enough inquiries to be- scape. Through the observation ports leave the vehicle is presented with a
come noticed then they receive a the characters can watch their view along a yawning chasm which
brief note which reads: progress across the barren terrain . extends hundreds of meters into
They appear to be heading well away darkness bo th out from the door and
If you wish to find out more from any form of habitation; even down. The walls of the chasm are
about me you and your Chryse Base is in the opposite direc- approximately two meters to either
colleagues should meet m¥ tion from their current course. side of the lock and extend upward
representative at lock D3b to where light filters down from the
with suits at 1700 hours Simultaneously an alarm pierces their hole left by their drop.
tomorrow . conversation and the survey vehicle
Sandy is thrown violently forward . Beneath Further investigation reveals that the
them a huge section of soil and rock impact has destroyed most of the
The note is hand-written in flowing gives way, as the seemingly solid vehicle's electronics except for light-
script and looks curious to the char- ground collapses into a yawning cre- ing and the status system itself. Ufe
acters, who probably have rarely (if vasse. Although the area had ap- suppo rt, navigation and communi·
ever) seen a document created us- peared sufficiently solid to the sonar, cations equipment are all inoper.
ing an ink pen. Attempts to match the vehicle's vibrations caused an able. The suit radios are clearly of
the writing to that of any colony unfortunate harmonic disturbance insufficient power to summon help
member, past or present, fail s. which loosened a large section of and, although the suits can provide
rock several meters below. Several air (and water) for several d ays the
The following "afternoon" a brusque hundred tons of rock, dust and sur- characters will rapidly become hun·
heavyset African male awaits at lock vey vehicle slip down into a crevasse gry. Since no-ne knew where they
D3b. He makes little conversation, slightly wider than the vehicle itself. were headed, or in fact who was
simply indicating that the characters leaving in the first place, it may be
should follow him outside, and re- Approximately ten meters below the some time before any form of search
fuses to answer any further ques- sunace the vehicle stops suddenly, is organized.
 DEEP SPACE

Theyappearto be stuck. Waiting will heads slowly toward the characters, agement board. He has begun a
prove fruitless and days may pass stopping nearby. A single figure in a personal campaign, mostly through
without contact wh i Ie the characte rs suit steps from the vehicle and nods the Net, to attempt to disrupt the
are still unable to escape, Of repair to the characters. Although the char- experiments in the "Adapt" project
any of the systems damaged in the acters can easily communicate to which he feels are immoral. His ma-
fall. each other using the suit radios, the jor comp laint is regarding the
newco mer does not appea r to project's "failures·, which are either
On searching the interior of the ve- hear any of the communications killed or used in fu rther experiments
hicle thoroughly the characters dis- and does not respond to them in either in orbit or in isolated sections
cover some climbing equipment in a any way. of Isidis Base. It was o ne of these
small locker which could aid them in failures that one of the characters
scaling the walls out of the hole. The Unknown to the characters, this soli- saw trying to escape from her cap-
equipment includes a pressurized tary figure is their target. His name is tors. George has managed to gain
"gun" for embedding divots and George Tarant and he is a genetic the support of several workgangers
several hundred meters of polymer engineer working for NASA at Chryse at Isidis, who feel that the more
rope, with loops at one meter inter- Base. George is also a competent active resistance against ESA, the
vals. The climb out is still not an easy netrunner and a te<:hnology buffwho better for their own cause, and they
process, and is made more difficult has melded so much cyberware with provide him with inside information
by the unstable nature of the sand his body he is suffering from ad- about ESA activity.
on the upper level of the hole. The va nced cyberpsychosis, resulting in
first character to attempt the climb severe schizophrenia and dual per- "George" is quiet, introverted and
must succeed in two DIFFICULT rolls sonalities. He is both George Tarant intelligent. In th is personality he is
vsAthletics, and each later character and "Sandman", the figure whom unaware of the vast amounts of
must succeed in one such roll. ESA sec urity believes is master- cyberware now grafted into his body
minding the colon ists' revolt and does not use them even in emer-
A character who fails a roll slips and against them. gencies.
plummets downward . If he is tied
somehow then he will be saved by Several years ago, when the main "Sandman" is extroverted and vio-
the tether, but will take 2D6damage computer installations at Isidis were lent. The change between personali-
as he crashs against the rocky side of just being completed, George per- ties is abrupt and spectacular, culmi-
the chasm. A character who is not formed several "runs" against them. nating in activation of patterns within
suitably tethered fall s several hun- As a budding genetic engineer, his cyberoptics which cause them to
dred meters to his death. As the last George figured he might find some glow a deep swirling red, giving him
characters reach the surface they useful secrets in the ESA and JAB files a look of manic determination. In
accidently dislodge a further section already stored there. What George this personality he sees himself as the
of the edge, which almost takes them was looking for was something use- protector of the "new race" of ge-
back into the chasm with it. Under fu l fo r his work, perhaps new breeds netically bred misfits which are be-
the weight of falling debris the of fish, or plant food which grew ing dumped onto Mars and in orbit
crawler creaks loudly and then slips, better in culture, or even something by the corporates. He will use any
dropping several meters further be- which could survive and grow in the means necessary to protect himself
fore being torn in two by a rocky airless waste of Mars. What he dis- and his "charges" and to stop fur-
outcrop. A resounding explosion covered were files on "Proje<:tAdapt", ther tampering with genetic mate-
follows as the leaking fuel meets an a project funded by several major rial by the corporations.
scaping torrent of oxygen from the corporates, including ESA, to geneti-
storage tanks and leaves no question cally engineer organisms suited for During the early portions of this en-
as to the state of the crawler. life in orbit and on the surface of counter "George" remains calm.
Mars. Of course ESA wasn't bother- However, he appears constantly dis-
Once on the surface the Martian ing with animals or pla nt- thi s tracted, as if thinking of other things.
terrain stretches in each direction research was on humans. He is clearly uncomfortable in the
and the characters have only a vague presence of several strangers but
idea which diredion to head. After George has had only minor contact seems to be putting himself out to
an hour, however, the characters with the rebel workgangers, who help them. George had arranged to
sight a small surface vehicle heading have provided him with programs meet with the characters (the crawler
roughly in their direction. The ve- and weapons, and knows nothing of was an accident) because he has
hicle soon changes direction and their plans to replace the ESA man- heard they were asking about him or
 DEEP SPACE

the mutant child, and believes they look upset at any news that their
may be sympathetic to his cause. If driver has been killed. He will not
the characters attempt to detain him admit to knowing him and claim
or use force in any way then he will only that he hates pointless deaths. rz::
initially attempt to laugh off their A successful Psychology roll at this ~~
actions as paranoid and foolish, in- point suggests that the questioning

" W1
sisting on his cover. If they persist, or is earnest and the George is si mply
clearly intend him harm, then he will trying to make conversation. Any
become angry and the switch in character succeeding in a Difficult
personalities will occur. roll vs Psychology gets the impres-
( ' ~j
~~
sion that there is much more to
The suit is a modern design but is George than is apparent. They can-
obviously different from those of the not, however, gain any more than a
characters. A NASA logo adorns the disquieting feeling about their host.

~
front but no other markings can be
seen. The figure inside is a male, Eventually George begins asking
possibly in his late 30's with thinning about the Isidis management. He
hair and clear blue eyes which dart claims to have heard rumors that
between each character. He looks many colonists are unhappy at lsi
slightly perturbed and directs them is and wonders if this is true. If the h ::':: t'
into the vehicle. It is an older design hAL
6..1~
characters admit there are problems
and not pressurized. After a short George offers any help that he, and
and bumpy journey they arrive at a his colleagues, can provide.
temporary pressure dome, of the
type used by Martian residents in If the characters mention the disfig-
emergency. ured young girl in George's pres-
Ceotp Tarant (alias
ence he will appear extremely upset.
Once inside, the characters and their SGndnHIn)
strange host can unseal their suits. "As a genetic engineer I can only
ROlE: NETRUNNER
Their host introduces himself, in a presume someone is tinkering with
INT 8, REF 8, COOL 3, MA 5, BODY 7,
pronounced American accent, and human genes. Such things are ille-
An S, nCH 7, EMP 0 (6 see note)
explains that he is currently taking a gal, and rightly so. I cannot believe
vacation while he collects some rock anyone would perform such experi-
SKILLS: George: Interlace .....
samples for his growing collection . ments but I expect the corporations
Awareness +6, Neural Symbolic.
He also claims that his communica- are still content to live by their own
Language (NSL) +6, Programming +3,
tions equipment, including his suit laws. You say they had this child in
S~tem Knowledge +3, Athletic! +2,
radio, is malfunctioning and no the base itself. It is unthinkable they
Ba~kTech+S.CyberTech"". ,
longer appears to work. Inside the should be so bold."
ElKttOnks ....
pressure dome the scene fi ts that of
a temporary base camp, with equip- George will pry them for any further
"Sandman": InterlACe +2, Awlfef'leSS
ment and survey holo's littering the information on the encounter and
+7, Leadefshlp +'f, AthJetics +6
ground. asks, if they see anything further, to
let him know at Chryse Sase, where C'(BERNEncs: Cyberoptia (both eyes)
George is a curious introverted chap he will report the information to the with Image Enhancemf:Flt. Anti-d.tule
who seems uncomfortable with their authorities. and ColOI' Shift; Cyberlegs (both) wI
presence. His eyes dart from one Re.tbkinn, Rad-sniekland ReInforced
joinu; Cyberarm (Left) w/Realsldnn,
character to another quickly, as if he If asked about the "Sandma n " RId-shield and Mic.ro.mIuiIe launcher,
is unsure where to rest t hem. He George looks startled and will ask P,in Editor; Chipwal'e Socket lind
talks constantly, prying the charac- the characters for more information . -~.
ters for information about their He denies any knowledge of who
homes, families and occupations. If "Sandman" actually is, saying: (Continued on _ 98)
the topic does not come up itself
then Georgewill ask innocently about "Actually you are referring to a myth.
their own vehicle and whether there Although its origin is lost, I know that
was anyone else in the crash. He will many Highriders in orbit held similar
DEEP SPACE

beliefs before the O'Neill wars. They If the characters agree, he will
said that a leader would come continue.
amongst them and lead them to
~ TOl'flnt (01110 victory against the oppressors. In "You are new at the colony and it is
Sandmon--cont.) this case, the oppressor was mainly unlikely that you will be suspected of
ESA and its domination of the orbital anything yet. I believe that ESA is
OUTFIT: At his base he has /Ieee" to /I habitats," performing illegal experiments on
wide vlriety of tools and _pons. At genetically engineered humans at
minimum M carries: ~mOI)' chips. He smiles as he speaks. the base, as well as in orbit. Indeed I
Martian Survival, Euro culture; Reflex have collected some information al-
Chips. Handgun ...2, Pilot Crawler +2; "The Highriders felt that ESA was readyon their project. I require more
TechtroniClilS Microwavei'. crushing their freedom and that they, conclusive proof before I can expose
as the real citizens of space, had the this to the authorities. If you can
COMMENTS: In addition to' all the right to rule their own lives. In the collect such proof then I will be
commenb above it should be noted end, of course, this happened . Un- eternally gratefuL"
that the ~irophreoia has rftulted In fortunately many lives were lost in
true personality separation. Curiously the process." It is likely that the characters will ask
the mauive amounu of cybefwl:ll'e George what they may expect in
melded into his body ..... not fflulted George pauses, standing as if to get return, or at least what he can pro-
In destructive reduction of ~Humanity" himself a drink, then sits again un- vide them to help. He will look a little
for the entire peocnality. Rat~ it 15 comfortably as if he had forgotten perturbed and respond,
"'George.., who is unaware of the something.
Cyberware, ~ suffen the mind. "As I said earlier, I am a scientist, not
numbing EMP redlKtion, whi~ the "Many of the colonists here on Mars, a spy. However, there are others
·Sandman" ~s both charismatic in particularly at Isidis, came from the who may be willing to provide you
his personality and able to' fully utilize early orbitals . Obviously they carry with equipment and, perhaps, may
his cybernetic enhancements. This is /I with them a similar cultural heritage. also have use for your services. I will
potentially disastrous situation which Of course, for them the battle is yet contact them overthe nextfewweeks
wi', eventually. culminate in II miu,sive to be fought." and see if they wish to discuss things
and violent nervous breakdown. with you further. "
George looks at each of them for a
moment, his eyes gleaming with a Shortly thereafter George suggests
new intensity. Then h e relaxes they return to Isidis. He drops them
again and the characters are left a few hundred meters from the base
feeling that perhaps they had but refuses to go nearer and will
imagined his momentary change politely refuse any offers of hospital-
of mood . ity, claiming he has things he needs
to do. He departs, saying,
The conversation can now proceed
in two ways. "I will contact you again soon . look
for me in the Net in the next few
One: If the characters manage to weeks once I have had time to dis-
maintain a facade of concern about cuss your requirements with oth-
the base management and in particular ers."
about the young girl, George will even-
tually lean fO/Ward and say quietly: Two: Altematively the characters may
confront George and insist they believe
"My friends, you seem sincere in he is Sandman. This conversation will
your concern about the behavior of become confused since, although
the official management at Isidis. I George is actually Sandman, he is not
am simply a genetic engineer who is involved with the wori<ganger plot He
concerned about misuse of my sci- will eventually become angry and
ence but I have friends who are also attempt to don his suit and leave the
concerned about these things. Are characters. If they attempt to detain him
you willing to help us ?" then he will becomeviolentand attempt
 DEEP SPACE
.;J3·Xq.Uii![f11i
to use force to escape. The characters raged workganger in a public area. all future use of colony vehicles must
will want to be careful-remember Although they vaguely recognize the be approved by the management
this is only a thin pressure shelter and African he is not well known to them. board. Any member of the colony
even a flechette w ill puncture the He does not bother with introduc- who wishes to use colony property,
seal. Assuming that most of the group tions and is clearly extremely angry. other than their personal worksuit,
has joined this venture then they to travel outside the confines of the
should be able to overwhelm George "What can have happened out there base must submit an appropriate
eventually. Investigation of his shelter that you return without our friend? authorization request to the appro-
reveals: Do you not even have the decency priations committee.
to return his body to us? Are we
• The radio has been tampered with really expected to believe that he 'We are sure you will JOin us in
(apparently byGeorge)and can eas- was stupid enough to drive head first supporting this requirement to im-
ily be fixed. The characters can then into a chasm, o r that the radios sim- prove the safety and effectiveness of
use this to contact the base. ply malfunctioned!?" the base for all residents .

• As well as the legiti mate contents Any attempt to reason or calm the "Thank you."
of the shelter they find a microwave annoyed colonist is a failure. He snaps
pistol and several maps of the Mar- "We will not forget this," before The characters may wish to lay low
tian su rface which are covered in storming off. after the publication of this state-
annotations. It will take hours to sift ment since they were clearly at least
through the scrawled notes, most of GATHER, DARKNESS partly responsible for its appearance.
which refer to rock collections. How- As the end of the characters' second Secondly, Thomas King, one of the
ever, the map also contains a refer- month on Isidis draws near, the mood members of the colonial militia, is
ence to the location at which George within the colony undergoes a sud- arrested by the security forces for
usually meets his contact from Isidis. den shift. This is provoked by two allegedly possessing unlicensed fire-
This cannot be done until they re- incidents, which occur within the arms. An official statement is issued
turn to the base. Once translated it same week. which indicates that Thomas has
indicates that George is expected to been found guilty of infringements
rendezvous at this location again in Firstly, the management board is- which endanger the base security and
16 days time. There appears to be no sues a colony-wide statement. will be held in custody until he can be
information about how to reach the returned to Earth on the next available
contact earlier. The characters can "Due to several recent cases of d am- flight. His family are advised that they
d etermine that the location of the age to colony equipment and ve- are free to leave with him if they
meetings is well within range of the hicles resulting fro m careless use dur- choose. Thisactionangers many colcr
Olympus construction site where ing unnecessary outside excursions, nists, particularly J:tubin Hanaub.
many of the workgangers a re
based o n shifts of severa l weeks'
d urati on.
On returning to the base the charac-
ters have a g reat deal of explaining
to do. The bureaucrats in the base
management(who obviously do not
know that the characters actually
work for ESA) will be furious at the
loss of the crawler and will question
each character in turn as to why they
were engaged in such reckless activ-
ity.

If the characters check the storywhich

George provided them then it can
be easily verified by Chryse Base.

Only hours after their return the

cha racters are confronted by an en-
 DEEP SPACE

Tempers are now running high and "Our requests, pleas and petitions possible confrontation and to return
mutterings indicate that a response have gone essentially unanswered. to the meeting room the following
to these actions will be the main item Why are our food sources still so night ready to grasp their destiny.
at the next gathering, which is to be limited? Why do we obtain only
held later that week. under-grade equipment? What is Do the characters report on the meet-
happening to the terraforming ing ? They easily overheard the names
The meeting attracts a large turnout project and why are we, the people of all those involved in the plot and
of adult colonists, 795 in all, but few who must build a new life here, not the ringleader is dearly the doctor.
workgangers are evident. As usual it consulted about its progress?" Perhaps the contract will prove far
is chaired by Dr. lerpovsky, who easier to complete than their em-
rapidly dispenses with the general Atall woman within the crowd stands ployers had anticipated.
business and then calls the crowd to and calls out, sarcasm evident.
attention. In a voice tinged with Even if the characters do not report
concern he begins. "Perhaps, doctor, we should move the incident, the doctor and the
to Chryse, or even back to Earth. other members of the 'conspiracy'
"I would now like to ask any of you, Would it be better there?" are placed under house arrest the
particularly new arrivals, who do not following day by heavily armed and
wish to be disillusioned by the "No, Margaret. Nodoubtitwouldn't. armored ESA guards. A statement is
gripings of a few old timers to leave But we cannot stand by and watch issued by the mayor which advises
the meeting. " these corporate lackies run this that certain civilians have been re-
planet, perhaps destroy its potential, strained in the interest of security,
There is some surprised shuffling at for their own gain. I will not live and that subversive actions against
this comment but, predictably, under a dictatorship, no matter how theofficial lsidis Management Board
noone leaves. Shrugging his shout· benevolent. We must seize control will not be tolerated.
ders, the doctor then requests the of our own futures. We, the colo-
militia, possibly including some of nists, now comprise over two thirds Are the characters beginning to feel
the characters, to check that the of the population of this colony. It is like heels yet?
corridor outside is dear and to lock time we were given input into those
the doors. An Average roll vs. Aware- decisions which affect us, our chil- PART FOUR: MUTINY
ness will indicate that unlike most of dren and the generations to come."
the rest of the colony this room is By now the characters may be start-
free of the ubiquitous security cam- You can extend this discussion as ing to gain a pktureofthe size of the
eras which monitor most public ar- you see fit. The doctor suggests that problem at Isidis.
eas. The doctor then continues. the colonists can easily arm them-
selves with "weapons" if required, Firstly: The colony is substantially
"We came here to find a new home, by adapting engineering tools they run by the ESA and there are many
and to escape the crowds, pollution already posses. The tone of his voice colonists with Highrider backgrounds
and despair of Earth . But here we do indicates that he has already taken who intend to usurp power from the
not find freedom. Here we may only this action himself. He believes that ESA on Mars, just as they did in many
go where we are told . We may only the colonists' superior numbers will places in orbit during the Highrider war.
visit the outside when it is accept- allow them to conduct a bloodless
able to do so. We may not carry guns coup and obtain control of the com- Secondly: The remaining bulk of the
and, worst of all, we do not have a munications equipment, weapons colony are disenchanted with the
voice as to the future of this colony and main transport systems. It be- current management for a variety of
or planet. comes dear that other than the doc- reasons. Feelings within the colony
tor, only a handful of colonists are run high as the issue of the colony's
"Are we children to be treated so?" willing to risk active involvemnet in future is seen as a matter of life and
any 'subversive' activity against the death to those who intend to remain
The doctors speech has become pro- current management. The small and bring up famil ies on their "New
gressively more impassioned as he workganger contingent, mainly of World,"
has gone on. While the new-comers Afro-American descent, seems curi-
sit quietly many others are nodding ously reserved during the meeting . A large percentage of the colony is
and murmuring vigorously. It is evi- directly involved with the dissenting
dent that these are not isolated com- The meeting ends with the doctor workgangers in some way and it will
plaints. urging everyone to prepare for a be difficult for the management
 DEEP SPACE

board to round up the culprits. Thus revolted against the ESA in the or-
the security force has decided to bital colonies around Earth many
allow the workgangers to revolt and, Europeans and Asians had mingled
once they have determined who is with the Africa n base stock and con-
leading the activity, crush the revolt sidered themselves part of the or-
and deport its leaders. Forrin and his bital culture. Bill, who in those days
cronies hope that the characters will used his real name of James Mclvoy,
help them pinpoint the leaders and was a delta pilot for Orbital Air run-
may help limit the success of the ning protection flights alongside the
revolt itself if the characters can be- commercial liners when times got
come sufficiently entrenched w ith rough. Although in the pay of ESA,
the rebellious group. Bill never really liked their way of
doing things, especially not the way
The characters may now mess about they treated people.
for some time in the colony. It will
eventually become dear that they need When the storm blew up and
to contact the rebel workgangers Highriders all over orbit took up a rms
directly somehow. There are a variety against the ESA, Bill gunned his delta
of ways in which the characters may into the free orbits a nd began using
be able to build enough interest in ESA troop carriers for target practice.
themselves so that the workgangers Unfortunately his home, and many
will chance a meeting with them. friends, were lost when the ESA suc-
Several encounters are provided below cessfullyheld Paradise Station against
which may provide hooks for the Highrider revolt. Several d ays
generating a meeting with a later Bill's crippled ESA delta limped
workganger representative. The best into dock at O'Neill One with a gap-
option for the characters will be to ing hole in one side and most of its
BIll Bu".
attempt to trade some information to engines blown apart.
ROLE: PILOT
them. Forrin "leaks" the characters a
INT 7, REF 7, COOlS, MA 7, 8ODY9,
detailed map of the ventilation system Bill now works as an electronics tech-
nCH 5, ATT 5, EMP 6
within the managemen t wing, nician at Isidis and is just biding time
infoonation which the colonists do not until he can have another crack at
SKIllS: Brotherhood . 5, PIJot ~ta
have and v'tf!w as extremely valuable. the ESA. This time he doesn't intend
...-4, Pilot OTV +2, Zero-<; ManetNff
to lose.
+5, Zero-G Combat +3, Space
Although virtually everyone in the Survi ...,,1.3, Awareness +3, Basic Tech
colony could be conside red to be Tara Ha rtley
+ot, Handgun +1, Melee +5, Hea'l)'
"involved" in the unrest which is Tara is probably one of the few people
Weapons +2, Programming +3, •
building, there a re several key play- at Isidis who doesn't have some some
Russian +2, G«man +2
ers. It is unlikely that these individu- kind of a gripe with the ESA. She isn't
als will ever openly reveal to the really bothered by them much at all.
CYBERNETICS: 8asIc Proceuor with
c haracters that they are in some way However, Tara came to Isidis over
Vehl~ link; two sets of Plugs (both on
"in charge" of the rebellio n. How- two years earlier with her husband as
wrist)
ever, the characters may be able to part of a Soviet-funded scientific team
deduce that some of these individu- to help survey Mars. Tara and her
OUTFIT: Sklnwit. TooI8eIt with micro-
als are particularly influential, espe- husband, Michael, were specialists
lools, Kendachl monoknife. bad
cially with those colonists who are in electromagnetic radiation and
. ttitude tow.rds ESA.
from orbital backgrounds. These in- were to chart the Martia n ionosphere
dividuals are described briefly be- in detail to aid orbital navigation a
low. It is these four, along with Palla d placement of satellites. Two months
and Erick, who the council is really into the studies, Michael was killed
after to disperse the b ulk of the un- when his suit, provided by the Soviet
rest in the colony. team, malfunctioned. Due to poor
procedures used by the Russian crew,
Bill Burke help arrived far too late and Michael's
By the time the Highriders finally corpse was dragged back into the
DEEP SPACE

Ternr Hartky Angelina Tomas Shamat Hulltb

ROLE: TECH ROlE: MEDTECH ROLE: MEDTECH

INT 8, REF 5, COOL". MA 5, BODY INT 9, REF 6, COOL 5, MA 6, BODY S, tNT 9, REF 7. COOL 6, MA 6, BODY 7,
6, TECH 6,ATT 7,EMP4 TECH 7, ATT 8, EMP 8, LUCK 6 TECH 7, ATT 6, EMP 6, LUCK 9

SKIllS: Jul)' Rig ... 3, Elec.llonics ..s, SKilLS: Medical Tec.h +3, Hurmn SKilLS: Medical Tech +5, Human
Physics+S, MathefNtIcs +5, Bask Perception +4, Persuasion +3, Biology Perception +4, Persuasion ....., Leader·
Tech +2, Progr,mming +5, Pilot OTV +6, Chemistry +6, Dillgnose Illness +2, $hip +2, Biology +2, Botany ......
+1, Zero-G Milnevver+2, EVA ... 3, Cryotlnk Operation +3, Pharmaceuti- Zoology +3, Diagnose lIlness +2,
S~ce Survival+2, Awareness +2, tals +4, Ubrllry Search +3, Zero-C Cf)'otank OpeUltlon +3, Electronics +3,
M~1ee +2, Edueatlon/Cen.Know. +5, Maneuver +2. S~ce Survival+3, Ubraf)' Search +3, Awareneu ...... Basic
Russian +-2, Awareness +2, Basic Tech +4, Tech +3, Education/Ceo.Know. +4.
Education/Ceo.Know. +6, French +1, French +2. Athletla +3, Handgun +3,
CYBERNETICS: &nic Processorwith Stealth +2
MachlnefT ech link; one sets of Plugs CYBERNETICS: Salic Processor with
(on wrist); Chipware socket MachlnefTech Unk; one set of PlUgi CYBERNETICS: s.sic Processor; one set
(on wris15); Chipwlll'e $OCkel; of Plugs (on wrbu); Chlpware $OCket
OUTFIT: Skiosuit. Tool Belt with Slomonitor
micro-toob, Kendadli moooknffl!, OUTFIT: Sklnsult. laptop computei'.
bad attitude towards [SA. OlJTFrT: Skinsuit. laptop computer, hands-free comse1, rocket "popper'"
portable autodoc unit. Dynatech hand with ~o.d$. Dynatech hand laser,
tasef'. chips for Hondgun +2, Spoa chips for lpoc~ SuMvai +2. Mm +2
~(Mars) +3, MottiaIMs (GMs
choice) +2
 DEEP SPACE
.dg·iq·Ui4!tYIl
workshack with a look of pure agony He is also becoming convinced that HARDBALL
locked on his features . A distraught the ESA is stalling research into If a Netrunner character is spending
Tara has kept on with the work they terraforming purely so that it can any time in the Net (See Net Map,
came to do, but she has a violent control the influx of personnel onto Pg. 11 7) then they will have the
hatred of the Soviets and thei r Mars and attempt to instigate a Mars- following encounter:
methods and would like not hing based government with a substan-
better than seeing them driven out tial ESA presence. The character notices a movement
of the base entirely. behind him in the Net and turns to
THE RUB glimpse another 'runner in the sys-
Angelina Tomas The workgangers include a we ll tem nearby. This runner is not a
Angelina is a talented African bio- trained group of over thirty-five indi- usual sight inside the lsidis net-grid
chemist who had a budding career viduals who are skilled at combat, as and the character will not recognise
with an orbital-based corporation at well as the two Solos brought up the ICON. In fact, it is Sherie Phils,
Crystal Palace, before the ESA forced from dirt-side. They also have two who he should have bumped into
the corporation to close d ue to its Netrunners, one at Isidis and one during the journey to Mars. There is
supposed involvement with the currently at Chryse Base (Sherie Phils no reason for either of the two run-
Highrider revolt. Angelina suddenly -see late r) . They also have a ners to recognize each other fro m
found herself out of work and trying problem ... this enco unter.
to survive in the immensely expen-
sive environment at the Palace. She There isn't much point taking over Sherie Phlls (See pg.112)
discovered to her dismay that other the colony if they can't access the Sherie is attempting a run against
corporations didn't seem to want to management wing. So far the the Isidis colony system to gauge
get involved with those who were workgangers haven't been able to the strength of the d efenses around
associated with her previous em- find anyone inside the ESA structure the power gene ration and
ployer. they can trust to help them, and they atmospheric process ing plant
have little chance of gaining access cont ro ls. Unfo rtun a t e ly, her
Eventually Ang elina fled to Mars to the complex without being no- Invisibility program has just crashed
where she can make only limited use ticed. O riginally one of the colonists, and she is momentarily engaged in
of her skills. Angelina would like to Thomas King, was supposed to infil- re-starting it. If the character
see every ESA employee at Isidis trate the management wing just currently has Invisibility runn ing then
thrown out the nearest lock, without before the strike and ensure the he is not noticed and he watches
a suit. workgangers could gain access . He Sherie activate Invisibility and fade
is now under d etention by the ESA. from view. He mayattempttofollow
Shamat Hullth A!; a fallback the workgangers had using programs such as SeeYa and
Shamat has come to Isidis directly convinced Rubin Haubes to help then his own stealth routines.
from groundside, but that doesn't if Thomas failed . Raubin is under
prevent him having a real gripe house arrest however, and also of If the character follows using Invis-
against the ESA an)"Nay. His parents little use. In desperation they had ibility has four turns before Sherie
were both killed by a misdirected hoped that Sherie might be able to detects him. If he uses t he Blood-
rock thrown by the ESA mass-d rivers access the internal security systems hound routine she will notice imme-
on luna during the first o rbital con- via the base computers; the system diately. Once Sherie detects the char-
flicts. has proven too heavily guarded. Thus acter she will begin to take offensive
the workgangers are currently look- action. Unlike the 'dance encoun-
Sha mat has essentially come to Ma rs ing for someone else with in the colony ters, Sherie is now well stocked with
looking for a chance to disrupt the who might be willing to help them . serious software and will not allow
ESA foothold within the colony. He is anyone to jeopardize her mission.
an extremely bright African male The characters look like a potential Clearly Sherie is no fool and she will
who performs genetic engineering option. They are relatively new and attempt to jack out if she believes
experiments on plant life for atmo- thus it is unlikely that the manage- she is in real danger at any time.
spheric reprocessing and is a firm ment wi ll suspect them . They seem
advocate of the plans to terraform interested and willing . Obviously the The encounter with Sherie should
Mars. Shamat is in contact with workgangers are n 't taking any indicate to the characters that the
George (Sandman) and is well aware chances but they certainly have a opposition is active and may be plan-
of the ESA manipulation of human motivation to talk to the characters if ning something in the near future. It
genetic material in the orbital labs. they play it right. may also provide an opportunity for
DEEP SPACE
~

them to offer a trade of information UNFRIENDLY NEIGHBOURS

through Sherie. If the characters have had George
apprehended by the ESA he will sim-
DON'T allow the characters to cap- ply "vanish" without a trace. The
ture or trash Sherie this time as they workgangers who were helping him
will get another opportunity later. will eventually realize that something
is seriously wrong when he doesn't
SANDS OF TIME arrive for the arranged meeting and,
If the characters are waiting for particularly after the curious death
George (Sandman) to contact them, of their co ll eag u e in t h e crawle r,
he will pay a visit to one of the w ill turn to the c h aracters for an
Netrunners in a public section of the answer.
Isidis Base Netgrid. George will not
use his Sandman ICON during this This will culminate in some or all of
encounter but a simple weefle-run- the characters being Hambushed"
ner outline which he uses for such by several workgangers in an iso-
occasions. The meeting will be brief lated part of the base. The 'gangers
and to the point. If the character are angry and the situation could
attempts to detain or attack George easily end in a violent tussle if the
during the encounter he is equipped characters don't handle things gen-
with the fo llowing equipment! tly. One of the workgangers has a
programs. flechette pistol hidden under his
clothing and two others are carrying
Cyberdedc Private manufacture, Speed knives. However, the characters may
+3, Memory 10mu, Data Walls +2 be able to bluff their way out of any
violence.
Programs loaded: Reflector ( 5 ),
Sh.rI. PltIIJ Force Shield (4), Replicator( 3), and NEGOTIATIONS AND
Invisibility ( 3 ) CONTRACTS
ROlf: NETRUNNER
Eventually you should have the char-
George carries with him a small file acters arrange a meeting with the
INT 8, REF 6, COOL 7, MA 5, BODY
which holds the details of Net loca- rebels. If all else fail s then they re-
5, An 5, TECH 3, EMP ~
tion at which the characters can ceive a message from Forrin urging
leave messages to be collected by them to initiate a discussion quickly
SKILLS:
George or his colleagues. as he believes the dissidents are al-
Interlace .6, AW/lreneu +6,
most ready to use violence against
Programming +5, System Knowl-
"Greetings again my friend. It seems the colony.
edge +6, Athletic.s ...
my colleagues would be interested The workga ngers are fairly desper-
in your services but do not seem ate and will agree to a meeting with
CYBERNETICS: Chlpware Socket and
convinced that you currently have the characters. They will indicate
Processor. that the characters should meet with
anything to offer them. If you can
provide some token of your good them after normal hours at an iso-
OUTFIT: E1yshlll cybef-modem.
will you will find what you need here lated location within the colony.
Speed +4, Memory 20mu, Oatil
and I hope to see you again soon. I None of the "leaders" of the group
Walls +6
have been asked to warn you that will be present, nor will Erick or Palla,
any attempt to double cross us will but the workgangers will send sev-
Program'~;
be dealt with harshly, although I am eral representatives who have asome-
IUolron (5): Worm, Hammer,
sure their concern is unjustified. We what lower profile.
Spee<jlrIlP, Wizard's Book ( all lit .-4
must stop this evil which is being
to deck lpftd )
d one. It is too much, what they are The two representatives, African
Afreet (3): OetKRASH, HeUbolt (
doing." males by the names of Khual Chantha
both IIt·2 to deck speed)
and Fogrin Humal, are construction
SeeYa (3)
Once the character has copied the workers with indirect involvement in
Invisibility ( 3 )
file George jacks out and his ICON the dissident group . Both men are
simply blinks out of existence. single and originally worked on con-
 DEEP SPACE

struction of Paradise Station, but were

drafted to Mars well before the
O'Neill wars. Both men owe Palla
money and have agreed to act as
intermediaries for the rebels in order
to reduce their mounting (drug-re-
lated) debts.

The information the characters have

regarding the management wing lay-
out is of substantial value to the
rebels and will be seen as a distinct
sign that the characters are willing to
help. If the characters refuse to deal
with the two Ngoons" and insist on
meeting one of the rebellion leaders,
they will initially be refused. How-
ever, eventually they will be met by
Shamat Hulith. The rebels will ini-
tially try to convince the characters
to help by poiniting out that the
future of the base is as much an issue
for the characters as the rest of the
colonists. If that doesn't work they
will point out that the colony is mostly
run by the ESA, which is well known
for always having its own interests at
heart. The rebels will even admit
knowledge of the Adapt project in hope
that the characters will back them.
will acton purely moral grounds. If they 2) The attack occurs without direct
If all else fail the colonists may be help the colonists they can certainly involvement by the characters.
able to raise up to 50,OOOeb to try to expect a strong position in the new
pay the characters off. Of course hierarchy which must be built to 3) The characters choose to aid the
since the information is a ruse any· replace the current administration. workgangers and set up ESA. In this
way, it is of little concern to the ESA Building a new life at Isidis may be case the characters' unique position
what actually happens. highly preferable to returning to the as ESA moles provides them with an
muck-ridden violence of Earth. opportunity to gain access to the
VIVA LA REVOLUTION Regardless of whether the charac· management wing, as well as extra
If the characters stick with the ESA ters have become involved with the weapons, and they can provide a
they stand to gain a substantial re· rebels or not, they will mount their substantial element of surprise for
ward, but they must remain on Mars attempt three weeks later. This can the colonists.
for the entire three years of the con- have several results:
tract and co-exist with many colo- The colonists believe they can force
nists who may well begin to guess 1) The characters have helped to set the joint ESA and Soviet "benefac-
their part in the whole deal. There is the workgangers up and the revolt tors" of the Isidis base to accede to
also the question of whether, given fails. The ESA uses a decided amount their requests for overall decision
that the characters now know about of unnecessary force, killing or injur- making power of the base if they
the Adapt project and the true situ- ing many colonists in the process. The can assert control of four main
ation for colonists at Isidis, that the leaders are captured or killed and the sections of the colony. It should be
ESA will really allow them to return colony restored to full control by the remembered that virtually all
to Earth. P£ddentsdohappen, after all. management board. The remaining facilities within the colony are
ringleaders, including Palla andErick, duplicated to ensure continual
The colonists are largely in the right. are deported back to Earth to face operation in the case of a disaster in
HO'Ne\Ief", it is unlikely that the characters trial by the European courts. one sector.
DEEP SPACE

• Atmospheric processing pl ant concern that a revolt m ay occur two

Situated in the lowest levels of the guards have been posted at this lo-
base there are two separate plants cation and both are lightly armored
which recycle all air, water and waste and armed with flechette pistols.
The $arne ROLE, SKILLS, products from the colony for fe- use .
CYBERWARE. and OUTFIT as They maintain t he atmospheric con- The colonists hope that capturing
before.(See page 112}. ditions in all portions of the colony. this faci lity will allow t hem access to
It is possible to alter atmospheric incoming and outgoing communi-
Progr.uns loaded: conditions in various parts of the cations faci lities. The communica-
841ron (M US, SuS): Worm, Krl5h, colony from this facility, alt hough tions rooms can be shutdown from
Hammer WLUtd'$ Book ( all at -4 sections of the colony canno t be t he power distribution facilities and
to d&k spHd) sealed off, as manual overrides exist via the main com puters.
~lIboI t (M~.Str4) on all internal d oors for safety rea·
SeeV. (MUt,S tr3) sons. • Co mputer faciliti es
Invi$lbility (MUl ,Stl3) The hub of the colony is the base
Armor (MU2,Str4) These plants are easy targets for the computer installations, which pro·
Killer VI (MU5,Str6) colonists as they are manned prima- vide daily management of virtually
rily by colonists (workgangers) and all support systems within the colony.
COMMENTS: Dressed to kill. can be sealed of and defended by a These facilities are located within the
shnie will U5f: ~hing in her kit relatively small force. management section of the base
without ~a tion and, if forced and are protected by both armed
out of the net. will jack back in • Power Ge ne ratio n Facilities personnel and automated secu rity
and keep trylng. SM kas a resefVe Isidis Base is provided power via solar systems. Most other faci lities within
Elysla II (standard) cyber-modem cell arrays, backed up by two nuclear the base can be controlled and dis·
a nd backup copfe$ of all program, fission generators located 1 km on abled directly via the base comput.
ready if necessary. Sherie came 1111 each side of the main base. These ers and, without gain ing control of
the way 'rom Earth for this run stations are automated and are run these facilities, any revolt within the
and she Intends to make it,. or die entirely by independent AI's without base is destined to fail.
"",,,,. human intervention . Gaining direct
access to the generation facilities is The main force of the colonists' at-
virtually impossible. Thedistribution tack will be aimed at gaining access
of power within the colony is con· to the computer facilities and thus
trolled through a room located near essentially gaining control of the en-
the atmospheric processing facili· tire base. It is here that any serious
ties. Power distribution to the colony combat will take place and that both
is also computer-managed. The room the colonists and management forces
is accessible by maintenance crews will be willing to use force to gain
and usually manned by two techni· their objective.
clans.
DOWNTIME
Disrupting power supply to any por- At 7:00pm Sherie Phils (see new
tion of the base can have a disastrous sidebar), guarded by the two solos
affect on the operation of the entire who accompanied her from Earth,
facility and the colonists are unlikely begins a Net run against the colony
to tamper with this facility except as computer system from a cross·wired
a last resort. high security line. Sherie has been
smuggled into the base and is backed
• Co mmunicatio n s up by a second Netrunner, a
The main communications head· workganger named Robert Saler.
q uarters for the colony is situated They are both concealed in a venti-
centrally within the management lation duct in t he lower portions of
wing and is a difficult target. The the base and it is virtually impossible
second facility lies in a joint section to physically locate them. Sherie has
of the colony and is generally guarded recently upgraded both her cyber·
by a single guard. Due to growing deck and software and is making a
 DEEP SPACE

last ditch attempt to disrupt the se· cessor sections, where Sherie intends
curity monitoring and control
portions of the base computer
to selectively disrupt the security pro·
cessors. If the character closes and
Rollaf Sa""
systems as t h e majority of the appears to be overcoming Sherie ROU:NElRlJNNER
workangers position themselves to then Robert will move in and at· INT " REF " COOl 6, MA 7,
overrun base security forces. tempt to stall the character while BODY 6, ATT 8, TECH 6, EMP S
Sherie proceeds.
If the characters' own Netrunner at· SKILlS:
tempts to block Sherie from her ob· MOVING IN Inlerl.ee +3, Awareness +3,
jectives in the Net he tracks her While Sherie begins her Net run there System KnowIedge ... 3
down to be faced with the following is a different kind of activity occuring
events. Read the following: far above her in the upper levels of the CYBERNETICS: ChipwNe Socket
base. Almost the entire population of and Processor.
Far ahead of you within the maze of workgangers, many armedwith knives
the outer defenses you see another or flechette pistols, have moved to OUTFIT: Zetatech 7710 cyber-
'runner, a familiar figure who is one of pre-determined locations around the modem, Speed +-4. Memory
the sysops. Suddenly the runnerpauses base and are preparing to overrun the lOmu. Data Walls +4
and activates a program. In front of security forces. Sherie has rIVe minutes
him a huge metallic skeleton appears leeway to attempt to disrupt at least Program~ 1oaded:8alron
dressed in black robes and wearing a some of the security systems before (MUS,StrS): Fladine, Helibolt (
blackened crown. Thaugh you may the colonists move in, regardless of both at -2 to deck ,peed)
never have seen a Uche program, you her success or failure. Flatline (MU2,Str3)
have heard many stories of its strength ~Ubolt (M U4,Str4)
and the horrible affect it has on its The initial attack begins as colonists, Reflector (MU2.StrS)
victims. There is a flicker of energy and armed with tasers, overcome several SeeYa (MU1 ,St(3)
a third figure appears. This figure's security guards posted at the main Invisibitity (MU1.Str3)
ICON is a slender woman dressed in a access to the management wing Armor (MU2,Str4)
dancing gown of flames and holding a while others secure the atmospheric
vast scimitarin one hand. The skeleton and power distribution faci lities. De· COMMENTS: Robert is a
reaches toward the woman with a pending on Sherie'ssuccess, and her woO:gangel" v.tlo has built up
hideous laugh but is struck full on by encounters with the characters within substantial Netruonlng eKpt:rience.
the figure's sword and, with a cry, the Net, they may be provided with ~ is not sufficiently GiIIplIbie of
dissolves into a rotting pile of flesh. a delay before any alarm is raised. attemptlog the baw run himJelf
The colonists also move to seal off but will shadow Sherie and help
Without pausing the woman holds out the auxiliary communication room defend her from other Netrunners
her hand and you see a bolt of crimson and to block access throug h all and defenm-e progranu where
energy flare from her palm and strike airlocks within the colonists' portion po»ible.
the startled sysop, who reels of the base to stop security forces
backwards. A second bolt of fire lances entering from outside.
out toward the hapless 'runner, who
cries out in agony and then vanishes- Three small groups of colonists are
you cannot be sure whether he has also converging on the computer
jacked out or been rendered facility via the ventilation ducts, hop-
unconscious, or even killed. ing that they may be able to gain
access through the ventilation sys-
There is a flicker and the woman fades tem and overpower any guards in-
from view. stalled inside the computer facility
itself. Two similar groups are crawl·
The character may well choose to ing toward the security control cen·
tackle Sherie. Of course he still doesn't ter and all five parties should reach
know that Sherie is backed up by their destinations just as the dead·
Robert, who is just behind her in the line on Sherie's efforts expires.
Net. The two invading Netrunners
will attempt to ditch any pursuit and As a small fo rce of angry colonists
push their way into the central pro- storm the management wing and
DEEP SPACE
~

push downward toward the computer In the Net Sherie may reach the
nerve·center, alarms begin ringing at processor core. However, she will be

~
--
If';I
security central. The management
have been expecting this action from
the colonists for some time and are
already well prepared. Once an alarm
is given the various sections of the
met here by two Interpol-trained
Netrunners toting ultra-modern cy-
ber-decks and an array of lethal black-
Ie. These 'runners will ensure nei-
ther Sherie nor Robert can jack out
management wing will be isolated (using Glue and Jack Attack ). Rob-
within thirty seconds and control ert, who is clearly less capable, will
~- facilities, including the auxiliary simply be fried using a Firestarter
communications center and power while Sherie watches, helpless. The
1 distribution rooms, will be disabled. 'runners will then turn on Sherie,
~ Ii.
Forrin and his colleagues see no rea-
son for the security forces to directly
who screams in agony as a liche rips
away her foreb rain, implanting a
engage the colonists in conflict unless controlled personality in its place and
absolutely necessary - in most cases leaving her a simple-minded idiot.
they will simply seal the intermediate
~ doors, preventing further access into There are only two scenarios in which
the management wing, and wait for the colonists could succeed, both
the colonists to give up. As long as the requiring the help (rather than hin-
management board maintains control drance) of the characters:
1--- 't' of the main communications facility,
computer installations and security 1) Sherie reaches the central pro-
control center, the colonists can gain cessing core of the security systems
little ground. backed by one or more Netrunning
(SA Guard characters and begins opening doors
If all goes according to Forrin's plan and disabling security lasers within
ROLE: SOLO then: the various sections of the colony.
INT 5, REF 7, COOL 6, MA 5, BODY 7, The support of at least one extra
ATT 04. TECH 2, EMP 3, LUCK 4 The colonists soon find themselves Netrunner should be sufficient to
sealed in various portions of the put the advantage on Sherie's side
SKIlLS: colony unable to continue forward, and allow them to defeat the Isidis
and unable to return. Key areas such Icemen.
Combat ~rue +"4, AWllreneu +2, Zero- as the atmospheric processing plant
G M,IneuYef +5, Zero·C:; Combat +3, and power control room are pro- 2) The characters use their position
FVA +4, Space Survival +3, Handgun tected by security-controlled lasers with the ESA to get inside the man-
+3, Athletics +2, Intimidllte"," 1 and colonists attempting to hold agement wing during, or just be-
these positions against the manage- fore, the revolt begins and aid the
CVBERWAAE: Cyberoptic with Anti- ment board are advised to leave colonists in gaining access to the
da.ule lind Targeting; Pain Editor; immediately as hidden wall sections computer rooms. They can also help
Chipware Socket; Basic Proces.sor.with slide back to reveal the daunting to implant false information with
Smartgun link lind Kerenzikov Boost,. 1 glint of a laser barrel targeting their Forrin about when the disturbance
movements. The lasers will be used if will occur and who the major players
OUTfIT: Uniform, Armor vest (SP 10). necessary. will be. The more confusion gener-
Standard Spacesuit, Silver Shadow ated the more likely the activity has
flechette pistol or H&K P·ll rocket The colonists edging through the to succeed.
pbtol (P 0 I P .. 06/6mm Rkt 5 1 VR_ ventilation shafts soon discover that
trea t liS gyrojet. ~ Eun)j()lJrce, pg.74 reinforced grills have been inserted Since neither of these options is re-
for details), Breather set, Hands-free in all access shafts. They cannot be ally likely to occur, it is probable that
Comset. cut without heavy duty equipment the colonists' revolt will fail and its
and a substantial delay. As they are leaders will be arrested and deported
debating their next moves, security to Earth. The characters must now
forces appear behind them and bide their time until the contract
quickly overpower the small resis- expires. Of course there are several
tance they can mount. workgangers who are extremely sus-
 DEEP SPACE

HA Socurlty Off/co,

ROLE: SOLO
)NT 6, REf 8, COOL 7, MA 7, BODY 6,
ATT 5, TECH 5, EMP 3, LUCK"

SK)LLS: Combat Sen~ +S, Awareness

+4, Zero-C Maneuver "t"5. Zero-G

..
~
Q
Z
Combat +4, EVA +4, Stealth +4, Splice
SUrvivlIl ... 3, Handgun +3, BKtfonia
+2,lntimidate +3

c CYBERNETICS: Cyberoptic with Anti-

ti dazzle, Targeting, and IR; Chipware
z Socket; Baslc Processor.with Smllrtgun
ell

..e-
link and Kerenzikov Boost -t 1; Adrenal
Booster

OUTFIT: Same OI.Itfit as guards; ch~nge

Armor vest to hidden Kev1~r T (8 SP),
add Dynatech Hand Taser. Access to
~ny raven, buggies, or hoppers
needed.
ISIDtS MAlI'! SYSTEM NET K[Y 26' Coionl>1 .....tuutloN
• CPU, II'IT 12. OATA W ..... L Slll.6 27) Bloodhound
USUAlLY ONE SYS(w ON DUTY At AU- ll MU 2t)FIo_
Inl eUeW,w/ AI, (lbw:f'Y&tIoNI ,ucllon., qeomotric ICON 2"?) Knockout ESA/ Hetwatch 1«curlty
11 Confldoontlll comspo<>donce lO) K....ao..t
'Runner
[file Ioc:k Slll ~ J .............................................. I OMU 11) Stun
1) SKurttyfile. [file Ioc:k STlt 4J ...... .. ................ IOMU 12) Flotllne
l].odmln It(<><d$ ............. 1QMU H) Wolf (C/ItOmf8oolt I, ~ . 91)
4) naif", and C<llTltlWfce lKOI'd. ...................... 1OMU H) Guord-Oog (C/ItOmf8oolt I. ~ . 91) ROLE.: NETRUNNER
1] ProIe<I: AOAPT and rel&ttd maletlll]f1le led S1lI6] H) WoW
INT B, REf 7, COOL 6, MA 5. BODY 6.
10MU 16) Guo,d.oog
6Jlr.tfk _ C_rce r«Ofd . ..................... IOMU 17) CoIonI>1-rutotion.
la) CoIonI>I ....,n,utlon<
An 5, TECH 7, EMP 5
7) Admin f«OI'cf> ............................_ .............. 1OMU
8J CO.II'tu<lion .nd Vehicle log. . ..... IOMU 19) Coionl>l ....... butlon.
9] Admin f«O<d. ................... .. ....... 10MU 40) CoIonI>I -uUtlon,
41 ) CoIonl>1 -uUtlon. SKILLS: InterlllCC!: +4 or -tS, Awareness
10jllfterve MU .t(lta<)* .•.•....•.• ...... ..... I OMU
11 J S<IfnUflc ....... rch fllft .................. ....... H)MU 421 Coionl>l ..... koutlonl +4, System Knowledge +4 (Mars
12] Sdomtlflc fc .....:h file!. .. "..... ...•.• IOMU 41) Admin Blockalorm.
III Vln ...1 .t...:ly/ .....oteh SIM ............................ 8MU ~ ~) Admin worbutloN specific), Programming +6
14] ) VI"... ltoaching SIM' .......... ~.~ .2 MU 45) AdmOn worbtatlon.
151 Scientific ,uun;h nlM .....•. ..... 10MU 46) ........ n """"""'tlolll
16' Scientific research r.1M .. .......... 10MU ~ 7) PrImoI)' Ilrtlght Keen cIoon to ESA wing CYBERNETICS: Chipware Socket and
1 7] Air recydlng pI.ont «)/"lito!' ~ ') PrimoI)' .,rt1ght K(t" cIoon to [SA wing
1'1 w.tt, rKyding pI.ont <onuolo 49) ~d In common "'U' Proceuof.
191 ~ lot space u.m.:<onltol .so) ~rd In common ..-U,
:ntl VIcIeobo¥d 10< spact It.~ control 51) Power pIon\ """'"Dring .nd pow<1 dbtrlbutlon
21 1 HoIo dlsplqlo< space It.~ <ontroI 52) Knockout OUTFIT: E8M 7·0 c.ybermodem; Speed
221 long Obtance link to P..-odM S~tIon 51) ~r.eIUlnce <I"",'a. ln <.......- ......
2Jllong 0iIW0<_ Unk toCIwyIe aa ... 54) SulYe\llon(C Umet•• In <otnmon . .. a. +S, Memory 20mu, Dllta Walls +7
241 Co!onbt-uutlonl 55) Stlrvellllnci Glmeta, In Ioblm.onufKIU'1ng "'ll'
25) Co!oni>1 ..... lut.tIon. 56) Suf"o'fllionce .. metl' In Ioblm.onufK\Urlng a ....
Programs loaded: CM's choi!e,
depending 00 how nlllly he w~nu to
picious of their role in the failure of dumped unceremoniously at Chryse be, but definitely Clue, Ja!k Attack. and
the rebellion and the characters may Base to fend for themselves until firestllrter.
find life in the colony becoming in- they can find a way to return to
creasingly unpleasant for them as Earth. Maybe now they wish they
time passes. had helped the colonists ?

If the rebellion is crushed by the ESA Of course, if the colonists do suc-

but the characters have failed to ceed, it will be partly due to support
warn their employers, then they dis- from the characters and they will be
cover their contract has suddenly welcome to stay if they wish to help
elapsed and they are arrested and build a brave new world ....
DEEP SPACE

ISIDIS BASE MAP Train to

i'l',nd"'9 P,d
Road and
landlines
to Reactor GROUND LEVEL
'2 (Main base is aproximately 400 meters across)

0-1'._"'' _ B,y
Road and
landlines to

~~~_';S====================~R~eactor#l
LOCATION KEY
1. labs and Manufacturing
_",m"" CENTER Facilities
2. Living Quarters
3. Atmosphere Processing
4. Main Communications
Room
5. AUK, Camm. Room
6. Main Computer Room
7. Main Airlock Terminus
8. Pressurized Garage
9. Storerage Areas
10. PROJECT ADAPT labs
11 . Security Controlroom
(Anti·ship weapon batteries are
in hills surrounding the base)

SYMBOL KEY

Airtight Door
DODD SO,"
Panels

Security Camera w/laser

Interior Corridor _

Airlock
~
Pressure Wall
I .• .
•
' '. ' .•••
• ••
ESA Limited Access Zone

Elevator
I
®
••

••
•• ••
•
•
••
SUBLEVEl 1
(Underground below
Administrative Center)

•• •• SECOND ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER

•'. .'
•• I •• I • •.' (Under constructi on and unpressurized)
 DEEP SPACE

5) Space Travellers Handbook 11) An Illustrated Guide to Space

SELECTED Michael Freeman Warfare
Golden Press (1979) David Hobbs
REFERENCES 6) The Road to the Stars
Simon & Schuster (1 986)

Ian Nicolson 12) Foundations of Astronomy

1) The New Solar System Cassel Australia Limited Michael Seeds
J. Kelly Beatty and Andrew (1978) Wadsworth Publishing <;0.
Chaiken (Editors) (1990)
Cambridge University Press I 7) Engines of Creation: The
Sky Publishing coming era of 13) Introduction to Space
Third Edition (1990) Nanotechnology by Dynamics
K. Eric Drexler William Tyrell Thomson
2) Pioneering The Space Fron Anchor Press/ Doubleday Dover Publications, Inc.
tier (The Report of the Na (1990) (1986)
tional Commission on Space)
Bantam (1986) 8) Space Weapons 14) Selected issues of Scientic
Frank Barnaby American magazine
3) The Science in Science Gallery Books (1984) 1977·1979,1985·1988,
Fiction 1990·1992
Peter Nicholls (Ed) 9) The Encyclopedia of Space
Michael Joseph (1982) Nicholas Booth 15) Selected issues of Sky &
Mallard Press (1990) Telescope magazine
4) Cosmos 1987, 1989·1990
Carl Sagan 10) Space Almanac
Macdonald (1981) Anthony R, Curtis 16) Se lected issues of Fina l
Arcsoft Publishers (19'90) Frontier magazine
1988·1992