This week we've started a short adventure using the Alien RPG from Free League. But we're not using the Alien universe - instead I've reverted to Gerry Anderson's much-loved Space 1999 setting, from the 1970s TV series which used to terrify me as a young lad. I don't think parents properly appreciated how scary it was.
I'm running a one-shot which occurs prior to the beginning for the first series of Space 1999. Note that anyone who expects me to respect the canon of the series will be sadly disappointed. Commander John Koenig has just been appointed as commander of Moonbase Alpha, but the Moon has yet to be detached from Earth's orbit.
The PCs are part of an investigative team put together by UN Space Command to look into the circumstances surrounding the death of a geologist, Dr Daniel Stevens, circumstances which seem to have driven his fellow geologist Dr Natalie Jones into a catatonic stupor.
A quick summary of the PCs:
- Major Joan Harnst: an Eagle pilot, sole survivor of an alien encounter aboad an Eagle in Earth orbit
- Carol Wren: a CIA operative which the US has squeezed into the team to be its eyes and ears on the mission
- Captain Daniel Weymouth: a UN special police investigator attached to Space Command, the primary civil authority in the team
- Dr John Hart: an expert in manias induced by long term exposure to living in space
The group was briefed while still on Earth in the wake of news coverage of the disappearance of Stevens and Jones on the Moon. The two geologists had gone missing during a routine sample survey. Following an extensive search, first Jones had been found, but in a catatonic state, and then later Stevens' mutilated body. The official story put out by UN Space Command was that he had died of a suit malfunction.
Before they boarded their Eagle transporter, however, the group heard of strange electro-magnetic emanations being detected on the Moon. Professor Victor Bergman, senior scientist based at Alpha, told press that he did not see a link between this activity and the death of Dr Stevens.
Wren contacted her superiors at Langley about a lack of firepower and has been - quite illegally - provided with a plasma pulse rifle. Possession of such military grade weapons on the Moon is frowned upon by international convention. The CIA is taking a risk here.
The team flew to the Moon on board an Eagle piloted by Alan Carter, one of the senior pilots stationed at Alpha. Major Harnst rode up front with him and tried to engage the affable Australian in conversation, but her lack of charm seems to have torpedoed the conversation at an early stage. The rest of the flight was completed in surly silence.
Arriving at the Moon, the group met Paul Morrow, the operations director at the base, and also had an initial meeting with Commander Koenig. They heard that Dr Helena Russell, chief medical officer at Alpha, was keen to get Jones back earthside for specialist treatment due to her parlous psychological condition.
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| "The CCTV footage has been tampered with commander!" |
Koenig told the team that Stevens had not died from 'suit failure' which is the official explanation, but some kind of attack which had literally torn him to shreds. That said, there were no footprints or other signs of an attacker. Jones was found 4-5 miles away from where Stevens' body was discovered. Both still had oxygen reserves in their tanks when found.
Depositing their bags in the accommodation block, the group moved onto the medbay, where they met Russell, who gave them some further insights on the condition of Stevens' body. There were no traces of anything other than the geologist's suit in the wounds, even at a cellular level. The wounds were inflicted by an external source - there was some speculation here that it might have been an experimental weapon of some kind (Russell's opinion). There was also wild talk from Weymouth and Hart about possible alien activity, which freaked Harnst out (+1 Stress).
Note: Players of Alien are obviously alive to the possibility of encountering a xenomorph in any Alien scenario - despite being in the Space 1999 universe, mine were very intent on evidence of a xenomorph from the start, especially when they examined the post morten records of Dr Stephens. They even asked Helena Russell to carry out a full X-ray of the corpse - just in case there was a xenomorph embryo inside it.
Hart asked Russell to bring Jones out of sedation, whereupon the geologist began raving about Stevens being torn apart, that her "data was not anomalous" and shouting something about the "hollow moon project". Hart comcluded that Jones' condition could not be improved without long term treatment and authorised Russell to send her back to Earth on an Eagle.
Having ruled out the presence of a xenomorph, the players returned to the command centre and asked Morrow to retrieve the data recorders that Stevens and Jones had used to film their geological survey. Sadly, they turned out to be missing. An examination of Jones' computer terminal retrieved the data of her survey records on the Moon, including details of a high level of malfunctioning equipment, especially geological sensors. On the strength of three stunts on a Comtech roll, the players were able to see that at one point the sensors picked up a large underground cavity which simply disappeared again, something Jones put down to a technical error in her report.
The group called an emergency conference with Morrow and Koenig, in which Koenig berated Morrow for being sloppy with base security. Both Morrow and Koenig produced their security cards for the team, to show them they still had them in their possession. Morrow speculated that there was a spy in Alpha. Koenig said there was constant traffic with Earth, with many visiting scientists coming to Alpha, sometimes for stays of only a few weeks or months, so it was conceivable that a foreign power had smuggled an agent provocateur into the moonbase.
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| The security team is on its way. |
The team asked for and viewed CCTV footage of the secure locker room, which they deduced had been tampered with, but in a very sophisticated fashion so as to be hard to notice. This requires a very high level of technical proficiency. While also scanning records of the accommodation block to see if anyone had broken into Koenig's or Morrow's quarters, they detected a figure in a space suit entering Morrow's room 12 hours earlier. He had not since exited as far as they could see. His suit bore the name tag 'Stevens'.
A security team was hastily assembled, and Morrow and the players headed to the accommodation block. Entering the room, they found no evidence of an intruder. A thorough search failed to uncover any sign of the man in the spacesuit, including how he managed to get out of the room. The team also checked the floor for secret trap doors.
A further meeting was called with Morrow and Koenig - the group were keen to put Koenig on the spot about his theories on what could have caused Stevens' death. Alien activity was again put the fore. Koenig was evasive on this one, but Hart could tell the commander was excited about the prospect of alien contact.
The session ended with the group retiring to their rooms to avoid an Exhaustion check and to remove accumulated Stress (nobody had more than 2 Stress at this point in the proceedings).
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