Chronology: The Cerebus Encounter

By The Dark Knight

Preface:

 

This is a quest that I tried on my players... unfortunatly, both of them seem to have some form of attention deficit disorder, and it was scrapped. here, I post the random bits and pieces. I'm hopping that by the end of this story arc I will have something that is publishable... assuming I can make anything of my notes.

 

The Story so far:

 

Ages before man had evolved the science of space travel, or had walked on the moon, or even had a society in general there was a race called the Zanites. The zanites were a advanced race of insectoids, and had built a empire that spanned the galaxy. They had mastered the art of space travel, and had colonized millions of systems. The only foe they had left was time itself.

 

One of thier scientists, Zehctor Nzel, had mastered just such a concept. Pouring many millions of dollars in funding and resorces into a device, he imagined seeing the day that his people would rule the galaxy, and ascend like the gods themselves. Using his machine, he stepped forward in time, only to return days latter an shrivled husk of his former self. The empire, through some stroke fo fate, fell to ruin and disapeared from both time and space...

 

But the station still existed...

 

Plot hooks:

 

-The lone scientist

 

    A race from a local system have discovered a odd space station on the edge of thier system. Ever curious, they send a detachment of five scientists to discover it's secrets. Roughly two days later, the ship returnes with one scientist, on autopilot. The scientist is massively deranged, claming that the entire galaxy was overrun with praying mantises. Shocked and horrified, the goverment contracts your crew to go investigate the causse of this disaster.

 

 

Introduction:

 

    With a jolt, your ship comes out of hyperspace, at the coordinates you were given. Infront of you looms a massive iron structure, and through the viewscreen you can see it shimmer with some sort of reflection. There is the sound of several alarms, and various warning messages flash across your console. A warning blares over the systems, and then seems to be immediatly silenced. Something is strange here...

 

    On the side facing your ship is a docking bay, and on the right side a ship lies silent, still docked. There is room for your ship to dock on the left side.

 

**Note**

The ship belongs to a scientist, Albret Zhesker, who decided to plumb the depths of this station alone after the first reports came in. He is still inside the space station, only in a different time.

 

This space station exiss in many seperate fields of time, seperated into five seperatly sealed areas. the space station was originally designed to seal off each area when the time core was being used, although a failure mechanism was placed in so that seperate areas could be acessed in case of disaster. When the heros arive to the ship, only zone one and zone two will be availible. Please see attached map(When I get to scanning it).

 

Every tiome the characters leave a zone, they are transfered randomly into one of seven time zones. the only thing that differs is the chance of combat and the description.

 

Zone one - Zanis Collective - This room seems to be shiney and new, almost as if it was just created yesterday. - Combat chance 75% (1d4 Zanis Spawn)

 

Zone two - Zanis End - This room seems to be well used, and many sets of scuff marks lead into the room from each door. - Combat Chance 55%(1d4 zanis spawn, 1 zanis drone)

 

Zone three - The Deep Sleep - This room is covered in a thin layer of dust, and seems to not have been used in some time. - Combat Chance 0%

 

Zone four - The Long Night - This room seems to be covered in a thick layer of dust, and has not been used in some time.

 

Zone five - The discovery - The air in this room seems very stale, hoiwever there are manny different sets of footprints leading through both doors. Encounter Chance 15%

 

Zone Six - The War - You are startled by the flshing of lights outside. looking out the window, you can see thousands of ships, seeming to be at war, many are of a design you do not recognise. - Combat Chance 25%(1d6 zanis drone, 1d4 zanis troop, 1d12 zanis spawn) - 10% chance of depresurization.

 

Zone seven - The Return -The station seems to be fully powered, and new equipment is everywhere. Unfortunatly, you cannot decipher how to use any of it.

 

A Note about cards: For all continuity purposes, if a card is retrieved, remove it from that location in all time periods.

**END**

-Area 1-

--DOCKING BAY--

 

The docking bay is a long, octagonal structure. There is a gravity in this structure, and it is always functioning. Each wall of the bay is armoured with titanium plates, designed to keep atmosphere even in the event of a attack. There are three dorrs in this hall, onle leading back to the characters ship, one to the other ship, and a third leading deeper into the station. The doors leading into the station and to the other ship are closed.(Note:This will always start the adventure in Zone Five. For all intensive purposes, zone five is the present.)

 

Tresure: DC-25 There is a small, grey keycard here, partially consealed by a bent wall plate. It can be used as one of the keys to open up Area 5.

 

--SCIENTIST'S SHIP--

 

This is a small, short range shuttle, that acts as both the scientist's home and his makeshift lab. There are various types of diagnostic equipment here, like microscopes and different detectors. It is almost out of power. It is extremely messy.

 

Tresure: DC-30 There is a bundle of notes here that he had made before adventuring deeper into the ship, and attached is a small, blue keycard. The notes basically explain that the readings he is getting from the station are impossible, and that this many types of atoms can't possibly exist in one frame of space. he does not go on to say what the atoms are.

 

DC-15 There is also a pair of fully powered walkie talkies here.

 

--CARGO BAY--

 

This is a large, rectangular room. The light here is dim, and there is only a few working lights around the corners. Many different iron boxes are stored here. most seem to be quite old, and some of them are rusted quite badly. There is also three large crates. There are four doors in this room, one on the right (cafeteria) and left side(observation room 1) and one straight ahead(Hall 1). The door behind you silently wheezes closed.

 

Tresure: Three of the small boxes are filled with 15 medium sized glass fuses, with a gold fillament in the center. They are worth in total about 10,000$ total. The others are filled with machinery of a type and function which is indecipherable to the characters. The three large boxes have one unpowered Zanis troop and about 5 to 10 power blocks each. There is a hole in the back into which these cubes fit, which will power the drone. once all three are powered, they will attack.

 

DC-10 There is a small, yellow keycard hidden under one of the crates.(Note: you want the players to find this card, so make all possible attempts to guide them to it. This opens up most fo the station.

 

--CAFFETIRIA--

 

This large room seems to be set at a slight curving rectangular shape. A long sieries of windows made out of thick glass cover the outside edge, and from here you can see deep space. There is a door leading back to the cargo bay, a door on the inner wall of the room(Hall 1), and a door on the far side of the room leading to another room(Observation Room 2). There is some sort of card reader built into the far side door. In the corners of this room are a number of chairs, haphazardly stacked.

 

Tresure: DC-20:There is three small bars of eternium hidden under one of the overturned chairs in the corner.(Value 30,000$)

 

--OBSERVATION ROOM 1--

 

This large room, like the caffetiria, seems to be set at a slight curving rectangular shape. The room is basically empty, save for a small controll panel on the far wall. The outer wall is lined with many large, thick windows, and you can see deep into outer space. There are three doors here, One back to the cargo bay, one on the opposite wall which seems to have a card reader built into it, and a third on the inner wall(Hall 1).

 

--HALL 1--

 

This is a large and very shiney hall. From the looks of it, it is brand new and has never been used, which is completely odd knowing the state the other rooms are in. There are six doors in this hall, one on either end with keycard readers built into them, Three on the outer side(The cafetirria, cargo bay, and observatory 1 respectivly), and one on the inner side. The door on the inner side looks sort of out of place, and has fifteen card slots in it.

 

(This is one of the four halls in the station, each with a bridging hall leading into the center fo the station. For all intensive purpooses, all four halls are exactly the same, except to where the outer doors lead. The inner door can only be opened by five of the fifteen keycards, leading to one of four inner halls.)

 

-Area 2-

--OBSERVATION ROOM 2--

 

 This large room, like the caffetiria, seems to be set at a slight curving rectangular shape. The room is lind with benches made out of some sort of soft, pliable unidentifiable material. It seems to be unaffected by age. The outer wall is lined with many large, thick windows, and you can see deep into outer space. There are three doors here, One back to the caffiteria which has a card reader built into it, one on the opposite wall(lounge 1), and a third on the inner wall(Hall 2).

 

Treasure: DC-20 Hidden beneath one of the seats is a small magneta keycard.

 

--LOUNGE 1--

 

This is a massive room which is covered in small, octagonal table like surfaces(If in Zone 1, 2 or 7, will have small holographic images of the station or different 3D representations of various stations, like power, etc.) There are absolutly no buttons or any type of switches of any kind on them. the room extends out past the others hand has a very large window, staring dirrectly out into the depths of space. There is a door leading back to the observation room, one on the opposite wall(baracks), and a final door on the inner wall(Hall 2).

 

Treasure: DC-15 In a distant and dark corner of the room, a very small canister sits propped against the wall. It is used to open the reward in the canter of the station.

 

--BARACKS--

 

This is a long, curving room filled with many sets of chambers inset into the floor. All of them seem to be empty. Along the outer edge of the rom are many small, triagular windows, making a almost artistic view outside. There is a door leading back to the Lounge, a door on the inside wall(Hall 2), and a door on the other side of the room with a keycard reader built into it.

 

-If used without opening area 3:

 

The keycard reader shows a sieries of strange symbols and then grows silent.

 

-Subsequent uses:

 

The keycard reader is dark.

 

-If area 3 has been opened:

 

The keycard reader glows and the door slides open.

 

 

Roleplaying help - Mixing up descriptions:

 

Each time the characters move through a area or experience a zone change, they should know they did something. A few simple was to let them know that something has changed:

 

-The air suddenly smells staler.

-For a moment you feel as though you were dunked in ice water.

-Your whole body tingles.

-You feel weightless for a moment.

-You hear a distant explosion.

-You suddenly feel very warm.

-For a moment, you are confronted with a number of new smells. They dissapate.

-You see a large battlecruiser float by the window. You don't recognise it's makeup.

 

Hower, don't strand characters in a different time zone. That tends to be too much of a headache.

 

Here is a example of battle messages:

 

-A number of small, sharp looking fighters fly past the window at high speed.

-Two large battlecruisers blast at each other far off in the distance.

-You watch as one battlecruiser rams into a number of smaller frigates, exploding and destroying all the ships.

-Far off, you can see a cloud of small ships dogfighting.

-There is a massive flash as a ship spins past the window and detonates far above.

 

Copyright 2008 Dark Knight Industries, All rights reserved. This may not be reproduced in any manner, with the exception of for home game use. This product cannot be included in any commercial product without the express written consent of the author. Please send any questions about reproduction or sale of the material to tvstand@hotmail.com with the name of the material in the header line.