The Price of Fame

STARFLEET ORDERS

[TO: Commander Maxwell Harper

FROM: Commodore James Palmiotti

Starbase 12

Assignment: USS Andromeda

Stardate: 6828.0

Welcome to Starbase 12. Thank you for bringing the long-range shuttle here in one piece.

While the USS Bretagne is being repaired/recommissioned, all crewmen and staff have been put on temporary duty. In your case, assignment orders had been delayed for the duration of your recent board of inquiry.

While Starfleet is deliberating their final decision, you and 3 others have been temporarily assigned to the USS Andromeda, which will be arriving shortly. Your new uniform is enclosed with these orders. You are allowed to keep your current rank of Commander on a probationary basis.

The Andromeda is scheduled for a routine deep space maintenance check of the Echo 2 relay station, and then on to a survey of the Ceti Alpha system. . .if time permits. Your assignment is to serve as temporary First Officer.

Captain Van Tassel has been ordered to send me an evaluation of your performance at regular intervals.]

SYSTEM AND PLANETARY DATA

Starfleet has passed through this system only once before, and only briefly charted at that. By Starfleet standards, this area is quite literally “the middle of nowhere.”

Orestes III is the only inhabited planet in the system. It is M class, with one moon. Gravity is .95 G. Climate is standard, though there is a layer of ionized gas surrounding the planet close to the surface. Average temperature is 60 F. There is sentient life, humanoid, and not highly advanced. Tech level 5 and regressing. Population is roughly 300 million. This world is a prime example of Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planetary Development, circa Earth 1930s.

HISTORY AND CULTURE (per Casey St. James): Approximately 300 years ago, the planet suffered a cataclysmic World War, destroying 60 to 70 percent of the global population. At the end of the Great War, a single global government was established. After a hundred years, with the rebuilding effort complete, a period of prosperity emerged, and the people grew complacent. The populous turned to New Bismarck, the entertainment capital of the world, for something to occupy their time, now that War was gone. So anyone with any talent begins heading to New Bismarck. It became the largest and most powerful section of the world. The Screenwriters, Producers and Directors formed their own government (known as “The SPD association”) and gain much power; eventually controlling the entire planet. Autographs are traded like currency.

Then, in an accident, a celebrity loses a hand. It is replaced by a biomechanical (Basidiomycota-based) prosthetic, as there is too much damage to reattach it. A nurse steals the severed hand and sells it on the black market. That celebrity's autographs lose value because there is an actual piece of the person available. This causes a trend of celebs being attacked for body parts. Of course, this makes them stop wanting to be celebs, and they start to leave. The SPD, in order to maintain their power, must stop the celebs from leaving. They form Enforcement Squads, the Celebrity Enforcers, which hold the families of celebs in order to force them to continue to perform.

They have no warp technology, and are on the brink of space. They have only been able to launch a satellite and are many years away from manned space flights.

NPCs:

Andromeda Crew

Bryan Botz

Jennifer Churchill

Anastasia Hansz

Darwin Martin

Randi Bitz

Newspaper boy - stereotypical 1920's newspaper boy. Picks pockets. If the crew has the Starleef album with them and visible, he will offer to trade it for a paper and $9 cash. (handout)

“Hey, you got a Red Grange? AKA ‘The Galloping Ghost!” In his 20-game college career, he ran for 3,362 yards, caught 14 passes for 253 yards and completed 40-of-82 passes for 575 yards. Of his 31 touchdowns, 16 were from at least 20 yards, with nine from more than 50 yards. He scored at least one touchdown in every game he played but one, a 1925 loss to Europia. He earned MVP three consecutive years, and appeared on the October 5, 1925, cover of the Saturday Evening Sports!

Old man - Reading paper at street cafe while having morning cigarette. When splashed by passing vehicle, he will abandon paper and go home to change. Curses in a slovic tongue. (handout)

Broadhurst theater folks - Smoking, arguing over a script. Friends of Sarah St. James, will direct PCs to Equitable Assurance building if questioned. Have SPD poster in office (handout)

Casey St. James - Starfleet ensign who was marooned on the planet 3 years ago. Now, famous musician and murder suspect. Very nervous, but will steel himself when his wife and child are involved.

Crazed fans - Part of the general populous. They love the celebrites. They feel that, since they have loved them for years, the celebrities are OWED to them. They are not people, they are entertainment. They are commodities. They are the sum of their autographs.

SPD Association/ Celebrity enforcers - Bulldog from Warner Bros. cartoons. Big shouldered, dour faces, tommy guns. Typically neutral (will not involve themselves in street scuffles unless property damage or their own lives are risked, or unless a celebrity is involved. They will not stop autograph collectors, though they will give the celebs a head start. 5 minutes, max, depending on their mood.)

"Red" Grange - football player and friend of Casey and Sarah's. Just found religion. Will be very... philosophical, in a very thickheaded way. Can grant them access to the Fair Weather blimp. Next game is with the Amboy Dukes.

Blimp operator - underpaid, underwhelmed, under-everything. For a few bucks, he'll do or say whatever you want. Smells like soup.

Andrew - Owner of Parallax Recording studios. Will attempt to weasel money out of the PCs if at all possible. Will want money for information on Casey (though he does not know where he is hiding, but will pretend he does until he gets his money). Skinny with a white man afro.

LOCATIONS:

New Bismarck : Bustling city of restaurants and theaters. Full of cars like this (http://www.worldofstock.com/slides/TRC3310.jpg). People in tux and dress for restaurants and theater events, or head to toe covered in celebrity gear. Streets run E-to-W from 1st through 5th Ave, and N-to-S: Main, RR, Front, Sweet, and Bowen. Crew beams down at corner of 3rd and Front.

Broadhurst Theater Complex - bky1342 copy and Broadhurst theater photos attached.

Equitable Life Assurance - 17 story building, secret home of the Underground.

Sonora - Small farmtown where bits of the escape pod were found lodged 200 feet below the surface, due to a quake in progress at time of crash.

New Bismarck Airport - also where the Zeppelin is housed. Security very lax.

Crazed fan home - Typical suburban home.

SEQUENCE OF EVENTS:

(Highlighted portion indicates GM’s note)

    1. Recap [000] what happened from the board of inquiry until now. Even though Harper and Co. are temporary staff officers, they still have full access to the ship, right down to ship’s prefix code.

    1. [TEASER] The USS Andromeda is on course to Echo 2 relay station, one of the few fully-automated (i.e. unmanned) comm stations in Starfleet. Andromeda’s mission is to investigate a faulty relay signal. According to Chief Engineer Vladamir Govos, Echo 2 is fairly maintenance-heavy.

    1. PCs are on bridge duty. Nurse McMurphy shows up on the bridge and hands Captain Van Tassel a report, then stops by to ask T’Val what she thinks of her assignment.

    1. On arrival to the station [001, 002], communications discovers that Echo 2 is actually not malfunctioning. Instead, it has picked up a Starfleet distress signal, but it is no longer in current use; rather old. The origin of the distress signal is in the Orestes system, near a known shipping lane for Space Pirates.

    1. Captain Van Tassel sets a new course to Orestes, “Our mission to Ceti Alpha will have to wait (pointing his pipe for emphasis). Warp 6, Mr. Harper!” <- a piloting check is necessary.

    1. On arrival to the system [003], Captain Van Tassel orders standard orbit near the 3rd planet. Scans are started, but don’t yield results (planetary data handout) until after the opening theme.

    1. Navigation will detect a lone spacecraft, possibly a satellite, in high orbit around the planet. Communications will agree that this is exactly where the distress signal is coming from. When the craft appears on the viewscreen [004], it looks just like Sputnik.

  1. [cue SUSPENSE, THEN OPENING THEME]

  1. [HANDOUT [005] - TITLE CARD]

    1. On further monitoring, communications will note that the satellite is actually transmitting 2 signals. In addition to the subspace Federation distress call, there is an antique radio signal being emitted on another (much weaker) frequency.

    1. Captain Van Tassel solicits suggestions; then orders Harper and T’Val to the transporter room to beam the satellite aboard.

    1. In the transporter room, Harper and T’Val discover the contents (?) of the satellite, including Starleef Reborn album (November Charlie on back). Within the satellite casing, there is a Federation distress signal beacon. It appears most out of place, as if it were simply tossed-in after the fact.

    1. Captain Van Tassel orders a crew conference. Give data on satellite, including dimensions, alloy, age, and estimated date of launch.

    1. Captain Van Tassel opens the floor for discussion/suggestions, “The question is whether or not we should attempt a rescue.”

    1. PCs go undercover for rescue. <- They must provide a detailed description of the period clothing chosen for the mission.

    1. Beam down to New Bismarck. They’re standing in a back-alley, near corner of 3rd and Front Avenue (a quiet streetcorner) [006]. They must map their own journey through town. Encounter the Paperboy/old man.

- Newspaper boy: A stereotypical 1920's newspaper boy. Picks pockets. If the crew has the Starleef album with them and visible, he will offer to trade it for a paper and $9 cash. (handout)

- Old man: Reading paper at street cafe while having morning cigarette. When splashed by passing vehicle, he will abandon paper and go home to change. Curses in a slavic tongue. (handout)

    1. Find Casey St. James. [MORE DETAILED NARRATOR ADDENDUM TO FOLLOW]

    2. Work with St. James to rescue Sarah (get her at the premeire)

    3. She's carjacked (exploding car on side of road, Crazed fans take her car)

    4. Car chase!

    5. Either scare off Fans, or tail them to home, where they are arrested (and distracted enough that the PCs get her out)

    6. Figure out way off planet (airplane, blimp, tall building, creating ion disruption field.)

    7. *Scene*

HANDOUTS:

THE ECHO TWO RELAY STATION IS IN PERFECT WORKING ORDER. INSTEAD OF A MALFUNCTION, ECHO TWO IS ACTUALLY PICKING UP A STARFLEET DISTRESS SIGNAL!

THIS SIGNAL IS NO LONGER IN CURRENT USE; RATHER OLD.

THE ORIGIN OF THE DISTRESS SIGNAL IS IN THE ORESTES SYSTEM.

PLANETARY DATA:

ORESTES III IS THE ONLY INHABITED PLANET IN THIS SYSTEM. IT IS M-CLASS, WITH ONE MOON.

GRAVITY IS 0.95 G. CLIMATE IS STANDARD, THOUGH THERE IS A LAYER OF IONIZED GAS SURROUNDING THE PLANET CLOSE TO THE SURFACE. AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IS 60 F.

PLANT LIFE ON THE PLANET IS AVERAGE FOR AN M-CLASS PLANET, ALTHOUGH THERE IS AN EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF. . .AGARICACEAE.

THERE IS SENTIENT LIFE, HUMANOID, BUT NOT HIGHLY ADVANCED. CIVILIZATION IS TECH LEVEL 5, BUT APPEARS TO BE REGRESSING. POPULATION IS ROUGHLY 300 MILLION. THIS WORLD IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF HODGKIN’S LAW OF PARALLEL PLANETARY DEVELOPMENT, CIRCA EARTH 1930-1940…OR SOME ANACHRONISM THEREOF.

NAVIGATION SENSORS DETECT A LONE SPACECRAFT IN HIGH ORBIT ABOVE THE PLANET, POSSIBLY A SATTELITE. THIS OBJECT APPEARS TO BE THE SOURCE OF THE DISTRESS SIGNAL.

THE SATELLITE IS ACTUALLY TRANSMITTING TWO SIGNALS.

IN ADDITION TO THE SUBSPACE FEDERATION DISTRESS CALL, THERE IS ANOTHER RADIO SIGNAL BEING BROADCAST FROM THE SAME SATELLITE, THOUGH IT IS ON A MUCH WEAKER FREQUENCY (YOU ALMOST MISSED IT).

SATELLITE DATA (EXTERIOR):

MASS: 83.6 KILOS

SIZE: 585 MM DIAMETER SPHERE, COMPOSED OF TWO HEMISPHERES HERMETICALLY SEALED WITH AN O-RING AND THREE DOZEN BOLTS.

COMPOSITION: MAIN BODY COMPOSED OF A 2 MM THICK ALUMINUM-MAGNESIUM-TITANIUM ALLOY SHELL, WITH A SMALL VENT INSTALLED. FOUR ANTENNA OF EQUAL LENGTH ARE ATTACHED TO THE MAIN BODY, EACH MEASURING 3 METERS IN LENGTH.

SATELLITE DATA (INTERIOR)

POWER PLANT: CAPABLE OF ONE WATT OF POWER PROVIDED BY A SET OF SILVER-ZINC BATTERIES (3)

OTHER FEATURES:

- PRIMITIVE RADIO TRANSMITTER DESIGNED FOR A 0.4 SECOND DURATION SIGNAL ON TWO SHORTWAVE BANDS.

- A FEDERATION DISTRESS-SIGNAL BEACON, APPARENTLY DETACHED FROM A SMALL CONSOLE PANEL OF SOME SORT. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY NOT A PART OF THE INTERIOR DESIGN FOR THE SATELLITE. IN FACT, IT APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN SIMPLY TOSSED IN AS AN AFTERTHOUGHT. IT IS THE SAME TYPE FOUND ON FEDERATION ESCAPE PODS.

- ANOTHER CURIOUS OBJECT WAS TIED TO THE BEACON WITH A YELLOW RIBBON (ASK FOR HANDOUT)

SEQUENCE OF EVENTS - PART II.

[At this point, events are determined according to location]

Downtown New Bismarck

A bustling city of restaurants and theaters. Full of cars like this (http://www.worldofstock.com/slides/TRC3310.jpg). People in tux and dress for restaurants and theater events, or head to toe covered in celebrity gear.

DNB1. Broadhurst Theatre Complex.

Broadhurst theater folks - Smoking, arguing over a script. Friends of Sarah St. James, will direct PCs to Equitable Assurance building if questioned. Have SPD poster in office.

DNB 2. Parallax Recording studios.

Andrew - Owner of Parallax Recording studios. He will attempt to weasel money out of the PCs if at all possible. He will want money for information on Casey (though he does not know where he is hiding, but will pretend he does until he gets his money). Andrew is skinny with a white man afro.

DNB 3. Equitable Life Assurance - 17 story building, secret home of the Underground.

Other Locations

OL4. Sonora - Small farmtown where bits of the escape pod were found lodged 200 feet below the surface, due to a quake in progress at time of crash.

OL5. New Bismarck Airport - also where the Zeppelin is housed. Security very lax. Blimp operator - underpaid, underwhelmed, under-everything. For a few bucks, he'll do or say whatever you want. Smells like soup.

OL6. Crazed fan home - Typical suburban home.

OL7. State Fairgrounds – Hosting their first football game with new bleachers. Chantilly Bears vs. The Amboy Dukes. "Red" Grange - football player and friend of Casey and Sarah's. Just found religion. Will be very... philosophical, in a very thickheaded way. Can grant them access to the Fair Weather blimp.