What Came Before
It is 2209. The solar system is at peace. Almost thirty years ago, Earth finally emerged from a global war and rejoined the interplanetary community. The first true space elevator prototype has been constructed on Mars, resulting in a massive boom for the Martian economy, and bringing peace to the red planet for the first time in decades. The solar sail barges of the Mercurian Merchant’s Guild ply the spacelanes, the banks and corporations of Venus drive the webs of commerce, Jovian scientists relentlessly push technology forward, and CEGA works to repair the damaged Earth.
Yet not all is as it seems and beneath the peaceful surface, ominous currents flow. The events of the next year will bring these currents to the surface, and will threaten to plunge the solar system into war once more.
The Scenario
The Venusians have been conducting illegal technology tests and expeditions into the Jovian atmosphere from a secret base orbiting close in to the gas giant. The high pressures and composition of the Jovian atmosphere combined with the powerful radiation and magnetic fields provide an excellent test environment for high-performance vehicles. The same magnetic fields and radiation effectively hide them from any watching eyes above. In the course of this work, they have discovered the Floaters - strange aliens in the Jovian atmosphere, attracted by the emissions of Dr. Peyjare’s CAT system.
These Venusians have captured several of these strange aliens and shipped them off to secure labs in Venusian orbit for further examination. Tests have confirmed the bizarre properties of the creatures, and the base has received orders to retrieve more specimens. This work has been delayed by the need to refurbish their prototype CAT-equipped exo-armors and probes - descending that far into the Jovian atmosphere puts the machines under incredible stress.
The players should somehow be involved in finding and eliminating the Venusian research station, code-named Slumbering Eidolon. This discovery and operation forms the foundation for the rest of the campaign, so the players should play an important role in the discovery or elimination of the station.
Character Involvement
JAF pilots are the easiest to involve at this stage. They can easily be central to the discovery or destruction of the station. They could discover it by finding a supply or courier ship headed there during a patrol, or stumble across a supporting organization on a Jovian colony. If you choose to have them take place in the assault, remember that the Valiant has not yet been built and that Athenas and Javelins are very, very rare. The assault force would most probably consist of two or three Thunderbolts and at most one Javelin or Athena. The ships would most likely be escorted by a small number of Pathfinders and Retaliators. (The Chariot from Europa Incident SEED might also come in handy.)
JIS agents and reporters are harder to integrate with the destruction of the station, but are more easily involved in the discovery process. Slumbering Eidolon could have a support organization based on one of the Jovian stations, to procure or ship supplies and provide emergency rescue if necessary. The PCs could stumble upon it in the course of another investigation and follow up, resulting in the discovery of Slumbering Eidolon. JAF pilots could, of course, also be involved here, but the GM has to remember that they will probably be much less skilled in the relevant areas than JIS agents or reporters. This is, of course, completely in-genre, as mecha pilots wind up out of their depths in such situations all the time. A good location for the support organization would be the largely lawless Joshua’s Station.
If the party consists mainly of JIS agents, it might be a good idea for the Agora to decide to capture Slumbering Eidolon instead of destroying it. Even JAF pilots can be integrated here, if they can pilot exo-suits. Of course, this doesn’t mean they’ll be successful in capturing the station - a hurried scramble as a self-destruct timer counts down and bulkheads slam shut is just as exciting as an action-packed firefight for control of the command center, after all.
NPCs, Organizations, and Plot Points
Devon Malachai (NPC)
Faction: VenusBank
Suggested Stereotype: Expert
Suggested Archtype: Official
Devon Malachai is always a useful individual when one needs a villain for a shaodwy Venusian operation. This rewrite of the Odyssey gives the GM an opportunity to foster his hatred for and involvement with the player characters for extended campaigns. His scheming and manipulative nature makes him an excellent villain for an intrigue adventure revolving around Slumbering Eidolon’s support organization. As a former Ronin operative or HDF pilot, depending on the needs of your plot, Malachai can also be an opponent for pilot characters. He would think nothing of getting his hands dirty to crush those who foil his plans, though he usually prefers to operate from behind the scenes.
There are several covers that could be used to explain Malachai’s presence in Jovian space. The simplest is that he is using no cover at all - he was slipped onto Slumbering Eidolon and resides there in secret. While this works well for a shadowy figure pulling strings, it doesn’t work as well if some interaction with the PCs is desired. Towards this end, Malachai could be assigned
to the Elysee or Joshua’s Station Bank branch offices as some sort of executive or manager, directing Slumbering Eidolon’s operations from behind this facade. Given the lack of living space in the Jovian habitats, he doesn’t even have to do much work to slip away when his real work demands his attention. Being a Bank official, he can easily afford to reside aboard a private yaught.
GMs should try to avoid killing Malachai if at all possible, as he’s very useful later in the campaign, and in future campaigns.
Avram Thorsen (NPC)
Faction: JAF
Suggested Stereotype: Veteran
Suggested Archtype: Soldier
The GM can (and probably should) use this adventure to introduce Thorsen, who is still the trusted and admired head of the JAF at this point. Since the players won’t be coming back to the Jovian system for a good, long while, this provides an excellent opportunity to provide a contrast for Thorsen’s future. Thorsen could step in once the nature of the players’ discovery becomes apparent and (covertly) try to redirect them or delay them long enough for the Venusians to escape or destroy evidence. He could also aid the players, only to turn against them later in the campaign. The exact nature of Throsen’s betrayl and precisely who was paying him have never been revealed, so the GM should feel free to use whatever is convenient.
Throughout the rest of the campaign, Thorsen should be a distant presence, sending orders and encouragement. He won’t be mentioned in any of the other writeups between now and Episode #5, as he has no real involvement with the action. Though he can be used to get things moving, by hooking the PCs up with contacts or JIS agents.
Project Dragonstriker (Plot)
Faction: CEGA
Project Dragonstriker is the top-secret CEGA program to develop next-generation exo-weapons systems, to provide an edge against the advanced weapons of the Confederation. The prototypes produced so far push the envelope of what even Jovian exo-engineering can achieve. This is thanks in part to the collection of skilled scientists assembled by CEGA (some willing, some not), but also to assistance provided by Venusian technicians and engineers.
The real power of the project comes from the CAT and Rapid-Scan systems, developed by Dr. Peyarje. These highly advanced systems allow a pilot to control an exo-armor with his mind alone and absorb the information from the machine’s sensors directly. While powerful, these systems are also extremely primitive and expensive. At this point, only an exceptionally disciplined pilot can utilize them, and adapting sensors and control systems to interface with them is difficult. Several early prototypes, employing both human- and AI-controlled CAT and Rapid-Scan systems, are being stress-tested by the Venusians at their Slumbering Eidolon station, as a favour to their CEGA allies.
At this point in the campaign, Dragonstriker should be a mystery wrapped in an enigma surrounded by uncertanty. The early prototypes aboard Slumbering Eidolon incorporate some of the project’s developments, but bear a much greater resemblence to traditional exo-armors than to the Dragonstriker prototype. Most are equipped with early (and thus, very hard to use) versions of the CAT/Rapid-scan systems, if they carry them at all. These are recognizable as implementations of Peyarje’s cyberlinkage technology, but without the genius that constructed them, their secrets will remain locked away.
Project Methuselah (Plot)
Faction: VenusBank
Deep in the Jovian atmosphere during the stress tests of the prototype exos, the Venusian personel of Slumbering Eidolon found something they did not expect. Strange, jellyfish-like lifeforms, drifting on the currents of gas and feeding off Jupiter’s magnetic fields and radiation. The creatures were skittish and fast, but also strangely attracted to the emanations of the CAT/Rapid-scan prototypes. Several specimins were captured and secretly shipped out to Venus, probably several months before this episode began.
Secret disection and examination (possibly aboard Station VII) revealed two surprises. The first was that, like humans, the creatures were DNA-based organisms. The second was that they survived in the intense and hostile environment of Jupiter through a remarkable regenerative mechanism that repaired the damage from radiation and aging. This lead to the creation of Project Methuselah by the Venus Bank. Even though it was a blatant violation of the Edicts, the lure of artificial life was too tempting for the Bank’s executives to ignore.
Unfortunately, all efforts to duplicate their regenerative mechanism proved futile, and the laboratory life of a Floater is extremely short. Orders were quickly sent to Slumbering Eidolon demanding more specimins, along with the authority to requistion the spare parts needed to refit the prototypes for another descent to the high-pressure areas where the Floaters dwell. These parts shipments could easily be what tip the players/Jovians off to Slumbering Eidolon’s existance.
The Jovians have no idea that the Floaters exist. The Bank is aware of the importance of the operation and the damage Slumbering Eidolon’s capture could do to it, so there is little information about the creatures aboard the station. There might be information about the initial encounter in a prototype’s logs, or strange, unexplained, pictures in the station mainframe. No more than a hint that something unusual is going on.
Slumbering Eidolon (Plot)
Faction: VenusBank
Slumbering Eidolon is a secret Venusian research station, orbiting very close-in to Jupiter itself. The station uses Jupiter’s intense magnetic fields and radiation to hide from prying eyes, and contains a number of small laboratories where Venus tests Edicts-violating technology and other things they shouldn’t have. The station’s staff is small - a dozen each of scientists, technicians, test pilots, and security personel. The station itself is very neary an Edicts violation. It has incredibly strong screens, to keep out sudden radiation storms, and an impressive computer network, to store and process all the information gathered by the tests. Most of the station is currently given over to testing CAT-equipped exo-armors or retrieving more Floater creatures.
The PCs should be involved in the discovery and elimination of Slumbering Eidolon. Being so close to Jupiter, it probably has a support organization on one of the Jovian stations. Its relative lawlessness and heavy traffic seem to make Joshua’s Station a natural choice, though any could do in a pinch. This organization would provide Slumbering Eidolon with the food and other consumables its crew needs, the parts needed to keep it operating, and materials for the experiments being run. The players could stumble across this - most likely literally, in the case of JAF pilots. For reporters or JIS agents, their discovery could be more elegant. They could discover the support organization in the course of an existing investigation, or find a trial of clues leading to it as part of a routine data review.
If possible, the PCs should also be involved in the destruction or capture of Slumbering Eidolon. The station has some decent defenses, including a PDS, a couple of capital weapon batteries (probably KKCs), and the prototype exo-armors being tested there. This is, as mentioned above, ideal for pilot PCs. Reporters and JIS agents could be involved in fighting (or reporting on) a battle through the corridors, as the Jovian forces try to take the control room before the Venusians can arm the self-destruct. They could also be involved in the aftermath, put to work extracting information from the station’s systems/personnel. Or, if more tension is desired, they could be doing so while the battle rages on, trying to get what they can before the Venusians scuttle the station.
The Jovians could, at the GM’s discretion, capture some or all of the station’s memory core. This should, however, provide only hints of what the Bank is up to - nothing that could do more than arouse the JIS’ suspicions. There should also be nothing that can conclusively connect it to Venus, though there should be enough to work out that Venusians were doing exo-armor tests in the upper Jovian atmosphere.
Timing and Objectives
This adventure should be a short one. Four or five sessions at most. Get the players used to the system, technology, their characters, and their home. Introduce some hints about the bigger machinations of Operation Methuselah, and possibly a long-term subplot or villain. And, as always, kick off some character-based subplots! Though don’t do anything too dependent on things or people that will be stuck in Jovian space, as the players will be taking off for Venus at the start of the next episode.
Next Episode
The Jovians, of course, shouldn’t be able to find any conclusive evidence linking Slumbering Eidolon to Venus. They should, however, find evidence of CAT system research, prompting closer consideration of Dr. Peyarje’s request for asylum. (See Episode #2 for more details) This will lead to the players, already involved and familiar with what is rapidly becoming a highly classified and sensitive situation, being dispatched to Venus to investigate the hints of Venusian involvement in Slumbering Eidolon and to free Peyarje from the hands of CEGA.
Transition Notes
Those familiar with the original Green Book Odyssey will note that I’ve smushed episodes one (Mystery Ship) and two (The Workshop of the God of War) together. The primary reason is that I never really liked the idea of Venusians operating in Jupiter’s atmosphere from a hidden base in Martian orbit. Or a passenger liner being used to transport top-secret exo parts. I think this works better.
Technology Notes
The early prototypes being tested at Slumbering Eidolon will probably by Wyvernstrikers, or Syreens with similar modifications. They will definitely have the HEP: Extreme Pressure and CAT packs. One or two should have the beam cannon prototypes.