Post by Pawel on Nov 5, 2021 19:06:22 GMT
This scenario outline is built around a mysterious underwater discovery and its contested ownership status. Due to its remote location, it is best played as a standalone adventure, though the setting can also be used as a small sandbox for additional plots and events.
Player characters are dispatched to the Nashi Kure Atoll, west of New Hawaii, either to follow up on an unfinished field research project, to investigate the disappearance of one of the scientists running it, or to put an end to a slowly decaying stalemate between several factions present on the island. The characters - oceanographers, zoology researchers, geologists, field expedition assistants, wilderness guides, underwater technicians, prospectors, or security personnel - can be directly employed or subcontracted by the Haven Institute of Science and Technology, or they can travel to Nashi Kure to offer assistance to (or stick their noses into the business of) their fellow settlers, they can belong to an Incorporate patrol passing through, or they can even represent one of Poseidon’s law agencies. Regardless of their mode of long-distance transportation, it is advisable the characters take with them at least one seaworthy hard suit.
HERMITAGE
Nashi Kure Atoll (05°29’33”N 13°43’15”W) is located approximately 800 kilometres west of Cliffside and 700 kilometres north of Baffin Island, right in the middle of the Hawaiian Shallows. This puts it comfortably within range of most long-distance aircraft and sea vessels, as long as the refuelling station on the island remains operational. The seas surrounding Nashi Kure are generally calm in terms of weather patterns (though the region lies well within the Storm Belt) and interfactional conflicts, but some areas of the Shallows are surprisingly tricky to navigate due to scattered shoals and dense submarine and airborne wildlife, as well as frustratingly unreliable satellite coverage. With the exception of Oceanus Station, most of the time off-limits for unemployed visitors, there are no other notable settlements in the vicinity.
Nashi Kure Atoll consists of a ring-shaped coral reef structure, approximately 9 kilometres in diameter, surrounding a warm, sandy lagoon. The southwestern section of the atoll does not break the surface, allowing wildlife, cetaceans and watercraft access to the lagoon even at low tide. In its southeastern section, the atoll forms a nearly 2 kilometre long cay, triangular, flat and sandy, called Nashi Kure Island. Its rich soil supports dense tropical vegetation, even if the highest point of the island reaches no more than 8 metres above sea level. Nashi Kure Island hosts numerous avian analog species all year round, and even more outside of the Storm Season. The lagoon itself is approximately 25 metres deep, with the exception of its southeastern open part and a small depression in its centre, dubbed the Navel.
Immediately south and east of Nashi Kure Atoll, the seabed descends steeply, reaching depths of 3800 metres and exposing travellers to all the wildlife dangers Poseidon has to offer, including alarming numbers of greater whites. On the southeastern slope, some 20 kilometres away from Nashi Kure Island, and at the depth of 3500 metres, there’s an underwater cave complex called the Maw, though this recent discovery is yet to be added to commercial maps of the region.
DISAPPEARANCES
Since Planetfall, Nashi Kure saw little in the form of permanent settlement, though travellers to Neptune’s Cluster and nomadic sunburst hunting parties sometimes camped on the island. Two years ago, the Office of Colonial Affairs hired a small freelance firm, Beonyeong Explorations, to establish a hydrogen still on the island and the Haven Institute of Science and Technology sent one of their own along with the technicians, to ensure the atoll was safe for prolonged habitation.
Dr Kai Woytke, a field researcher with a reputation as a recluse, spent months (and all the budget at her disposal, including emergency expedition funding top-ups) scanning and cataloguing the local ecosystem, paying particular attention to the depths southeast of the atoll. Eventually summoned back to Haven, she quit her job at the university and stayed on Nashi Kure. A civil case was filed against her by HIST and there is a pending summons for her to attend investigatory meetings at the OCA, but as with many other such cases on the archipelago, the justice system’s tentacles are simply not long enough, and way too busy.
Dr Woytke made her discovery thanks to the deep-sea scanning equipment belonging to Beonyeong Explorations. The freelance firm quickly completed its original project, installing a quay platform on the southern shore of Nashi Kure Island and erecting several small prefab buildings in its centre, to provide visitors with living quarters, lab space and satellite comms. In early 2197, their team size reduced, they stayed on the atoll to oversee the infrastructure and, unofficially, to attempt to capitalise on Dr Woytke’s unpublished work. A chance discovery of a small Long John vein in the vicinity of the Maw’s entrance allowed them to financially support their continued presence on the island.
By mid-2198, permanent human population on Nashi Kure Atoll shrunk to just half a dozen (still a curiously high number for such a middle of nowhere), as the Long John vein turned out to be a mere nugget. Beonyeong Explorations worked hard to keep all curious eyes off their island, a task made easier with the growing Sierra Nueva hostilities on the southern border of the Hawaiian Shallows. Increasingly paranoid and suffering from severe insomnia, Dr Woytke distanced herself from her freelance technician co-conspirators, frequently amending their shared timetable and then seemingly disappearing from the face of the planet.
In 2199, approximately 2 months ago, another HIST researcher arrived on Nashi Kure, accompanied by an ill-fated assistant. Dr Manuel Rivoir, a renowned expert in marine biodiversity, dug out Kai Woytke’s long forgotten reports on the Maw (only her initial, incomplete observations) and became curious enough to secure a small grant for a field expedition. Two days later - according to the authorities who are yet to investigate the incident - Dr Rivoir’s assistant had some sort of diving accident, resulting in his presumed death. His body hasn’t been found yet. Dr Rivoir remained on the island, locking himself up in the boathouse overlooking the lagoon. Beonyeong Explorations reported the incident to GEO Marshal Service and offered their full compliance. As a temporary, voluntary measure, their personal computers had restraining order software installed on them to ensure they keep the distance of at least 200 metres away from their guest.
NEWCOMER SURGE
New arrivals on Nashi Kure should not count on a warm welcome. Even the mooring and helipad guidance systems, though fully automated, seem rude and not very talkative. The southern quay has no available mooring space, on account of a sleek patrol submersible belonging to GenDiver, with poor docking manner or no consideration for potential neighbours, or both. The rest of the quay is occupied by a dual hard suit operations module, its both cranes currently empty. Several Beonyeong technicians are guarding the platform, engaged in a tense standoff with two armed but, so far, polite GenDiver operatives. The Incorps insist they are routinely visiting nearby settlements in risk of insurgent or criminal activity. They require refuelling and cooperation in what may soon become a more in-depth investigation. Beonyeong freelancers are keen to send them on their way as soon as possible, but refuse to let them freely wander around.
On the northwest side of the triangular island, a two-storey boathouse stands boarded up and apparently abandoned, even though for the past two months it was allegedly occupied by Dr Manuel Rivoir. If the player characters were sent to Nashi Kure on behalf of HIST, they were likely given the task of either assisting or replacing him, but it now turns out they have to locate him first. In recent weeks, his CommCore messages and videocalls became increasingly confusing and erratic. University administrators believe he was trying to organise a rental hard suit to be delivered to the island - whether to assist Beonyeong Explorations in searching for his lost assistant or, which seemed more the case, to continue Dr Woytke’s research. The Maw project promises to be a treasure trove of geological wonders, potentially never seen before by any other scientists, but it may also unlock other mysteries of Poseidon - for example, insight into hypothetical navigational functions of sunburst infrasound choirs. And there is always the allure of some unimaginable alien secrets just waiting to be uncovered in the deep.
Natural hazards, mainly coastal and shallow sea predators, shouldn’t overly complicate the search for Dr Rivoir, though the game moderator is welcome to ramp up the challenge, if required. The scientist, along with his borrowed hovercraft, can be found on the other side of the atoll. He is suffering from a high grade fever and hallucinations, caused by an infected bite wound on his leg. Depending on the players’ actions, he may initially mistake the approaching party for Beonyeong technicians, panic, and hurt himself or others, while trying to escape - he is armed with a saser pistol. The man requires medical help, though commercial biomonitors and pharmaceuticals should be sufficient to stabilise his condition. Half-awake, he keeps muttering delirious nonsense along the lines of “they’re listening” and “they’re coming back tonight”. His hovercraft is lightly damaged and very messy, the result of poor piloting skills and shockingly low hygiene standards. Decomposing mollusc specimens reek in unsealed containers, among half eaten protein bars and muddy diving equipment, scattered on the floor. A small, crudely carved, wooden figurine of a cat with a squid head can be found in the hovercraft’s first aid box.
Beonyeong Explorations freelancers eventually welcome the party on their island, albeit begrudgingly. They’re an irritable bunch, concerned mostly with their own pecking order and with secrecy of their underwater activities. They give the player characters an abridged tour of the shared living facilities and outright ban them from entering the lab module, which is supposedly under quarantine, without any further explanation. If the characters have access to their own submersible vessel, especially one that can reach the depth of 3500 metres, the freelancers may become even more hostile. Situation is further aggravated by the GenDiver operatives’ decision to remain on Nashi Kure until at least the next day, and by an unexpected visit of a well-armed killer whale Warden named Tenakee.
A BUSY NIGHT
Between 26:00 and 08:00, all satellite uplinks on Nashi Kure, including its main dish array, have access to only one communication satellite, catering mainly to Incorporate customers - the Biogene Libra-1. Commercial CommCore traffic, handled by this satellite, has extremely limited bandwidth, causing various personal electronics not accustomed to such frontier conditions to panic. Game moderator is encouraged to use this factor to increase the session’s overall atmosphere of isolation.
With the coming of night, a massive, two million strong sunburst herd approaches Nashi Kure from southeast, a sea of glistering hides reflecting starlight under the cloudless sky. It will take the herd many days to pass the atoll, but during the first few hours a peculiar phenomenon can be witnessed by lucky or well prepared observers. Dozens of sunbursts take deep, suicidal dives, drown, and slowly fall towards the distant seabed. Dr Woytke’s notes, jealously guarded by Beonyeong Explorations, suggest that at least some of the animals expiring in this coordinated manner are old or ill, and that others may have been assisted or even dragged for a considerable distance in order to reach Nashi Kure.
Beonyeong Explorations technicians have a small fleet of sonar operated drones patrolling the area and recording the ongoing event. They wear customised, lightly armed hard suits and keep to approximately 2800 metre depth. They are committed to continuing the Maw project on their own, without any external meddling. Some of them believe that great financial rewards are bound to follow Dr Woytke’s discovery, once it is thoroughly explored and documented. Others have a more personal approach to the mystery of the Maw, bordering with superstition. The freelancers are well aware that further deaths would only draw more attention to their little atoll, so they will refrain from directly attacking outsiders - they will, however, do all they can to discourage, mislead or otherwise repel them, if they get too close to the Maw itself, or if they attempt to break into the quarantined lab on the island, where they keep their precious collection of scientific equipment, encrypted data and geological and biological samples belonging to the project.
PIGNAPPING
The orca Warden Tenakee came to Nashi Kure in search of a bunch of pot-bellied pigs, stolen several days earlier from Adobe Walls - a native settlement in the southeast Hawaiian Shallows. At first glance this might not look like a crime meriting a Warden’s attention, but Tenakee believes this could be another Incorporate provocation in the ongoing Sierra Nueva conflict, and she has reasons to believe the pigs were taken to Nashi Kure Atoll. Her multitasking pod of drones and recon remotes can just about outgun both Gendiver operatives, who are evidently here to cause trouble, and the armoured harness she wears gives her enough firepower to take on their submersible, if needed.
As it happens, Gendiver personnel are tracking the same missing livestock, suspecting it may lead them to an insurgent cell hiding somewhere on Nashi Kure. And seeing how Beonyeong Explorations focus their operations southeast of the island, at the depth of several kilometres, the Incorps do what they can to investigate their activities there, covertly at first, but probably not for long. Blatant display of authority and trigger happiness are in their job description, even if they’re a long way from reinforcements.
Game moderator is invited to find the right moment to throw the deadlock between these factions off balance and escalate the situation. Any party that manages to locate the Maw and attempts to enter it despite Beonyeong Explorations’ warnings, will likely meet with their violent resistance. Breaking into the locked down lab may have similar consequences, especially if the intruders lay their hands on Dr Woytke’s weakly encrypted data, or if they ask too many questions about the small, wooden figurines of a squid head cat, placed on some of the shelves. Another powderkeg spark may come from Tenakee, who will eventually locate the stolen pot-bellied pigs, kept in a shoddy enclosure at the northern tip of the island.
None of these complications would have come to be if Beonyeong technicians hadn’t attempted to stop Dr Rivoir’s assistant from entering the Maw two months earlier, which resulted in catastrophic depressurising of his hard suit. Getting caught red handed while snatching some very vocal pigs in Adobe Walls a week ago didn’t help either. But the main reason why the Nashi Kure freelancers are so pressed for time is the fact that sunburst migrations in this part of the archipelago occur only twice a year. If they miss the event, they may not get another chance.
THE MAW THAT MEOWS
Though sunburst calls are only partially audible to unmodified humans, a wide array of audio devices and cybernetic implants can be used to listen to them in their full glory and to tell one herd from the other. This particular herd, named Fatcats IV by Haven zoologists and Epokhe by the equatorial native communities, has a distinctive meowing accent. In fact, the eerie, feline noise is so potent, it appears to be reaching all the way down, to the bottom of the ocean. And the Maw cave complex meows back, its basalt corridors reflecting the infrasound song with surprising accuracy.
Before Dr Woytke parted ways with Beonyeong Explorations, during one of their early dives she came up with the name “squitten”, which she gave to a lean, blind, cat-sized cephalopod sporting two fins resembling feline ears. Hundreds of these creatures lurk by the entrance of the Maw and deep in its rocky bowels. They spend months in a semi-comatose state, camouflaged, responding only to direct danger and patiently waiting for the arrival of the sunburst herds. When caneopoise corpses begin falling from above, they emerge from their hideouts, in long, orderly shoals, and they feast on all drowned mammaloids they can find. Beonyeong freelancers intend to feed them some of the pigs they stole from Adobe Walls, using sonar controlled drones as waiters.
Squittens do not take kindly to competition. Once agitated, they attack relentlessly, with no regard for their own survival. Their beaks are not capable of penetrating hard suit shells, but they swarm divers in great numbers, clog their MHD tubes, obscure their view and distract them - and there might be larger predators in the area just waiting for such an opportunity. Lack of any digestive tracts appears to suggest they are an eusocial species, perhaps reliant on metamorphosis, and that an unknown beneficiary resides somewhere in their noisy lair, waiting for the regurgitated meal.
The Maw’s entrance has a roughly circular shape, resembling a 20 metre long crater or a natural radio dish pointing upcurrent towards New Hawaii Wash. The cave complex itself can be entered through a dangerously narrow corridor, smooth at first, but some 50 metres later becoming craggy and jagged, with plenty of scratch damage left on basalt bottlenecks. This leads to a length of corridor overgrown by reflective crystalline formations, where flashlights and sonar equipment are best used in moderation. Sharp mineral fragments pose a threat even to experienced divers, especially in the area where underwater currents suddenly become unpredictable and violent. The meowing-like sounds continuously bounce off the rocky walls. In the past, Dr Woytke and her Beonyeong assistants managed to pass these obstacles several times, but squitten swarms would always eventually force them to retreat. Only once have they reached the wider labyrinth of corridors they dubbed the Greet. If player characters ever reach this section of the cave, game moderator is welcome to tease their curiosity and fears with a distant, elusive silhouette of a nereid Technician.
The idea that the Maw could be somehow connected to a small, tubular vent in the middle of Nashi Kure lagoon, over 15 kilometres away, seems outlandish, but hundreds of pregnant Epokhe females for some reason gather right there for a synchronous calving event, even though sunbursts ordinarily give birth in the open ocean. As the herd passes by the atoll, a number of caneopoise young break away from the migration and approach the Navel, where they bask for hours among loudly meowing mothers and their newborns. And there is some oinking too. Several of the stolen Adobe Walls pigs were pregnant or underage and Beonyeong Explorations technicians intend to give them a thorough bath right in the centre of the lagoon, for science. They will later need access to a trustworthy geneticist to analyse all collected data.
FRONTIER JUSTICE
Although the conclusion of this scenario is highly dependant on the party’s composition and goals, majority of the action will likely take place over the span of a single day or so. The volatile mixture of paranoid conspirators with blood on their hands, inquisitive Incorporate agents with overpaid egos, a crusading orca with too much firepower, and a mysterious, not entirely natural phenomenon, can be easily set off - and once bullets start flying, the only thing that matters is survival of one group against all the others, at the distant outskirts of civilisation. Investigating the disappearance of Dr Rivoir’s assistant and pursuing the Maw project’s loose ends are only slightly less dangerous, even when the clashing groups temporarily back away to lick their wounds. Game moderator is encouraged to use greed, mistrust, hatred, limited resources and even superstitious delusions to repeatedly push any of the factions against any others, to control the scenario’s pacing.
Regardless of who ends up in control of the infrastructure and mysteries of Nashi Kure, the situation will eventually settle. Squitten shoals will return to their hidey-holes, Epokhe sunbursts will head away towards the horizon, and the Maw will fall silent for the remainder of the season. Players are welcome to compare total casualties on the atoll to the answers they’ve managed to gather and decide whether it was all worth it.
