Freelance Traveller

Deliver Medicine

by P-O Bergstedt

This adventure originally appeared in Cepheus Journal #012 and wass reprinted with permission in the January/February 2024 issue.

Client:

Scientist, Doctor, Executive

Required Skills:

none

Required Equipment:

starship

Players’ Information:

The group is contacted by Roland von Sylt, an executive of the local KemKom chemical plant. He explains to the group that a terrible (but not deadly) disease has broken out at a nearby mining planet. His R&D team has just developed a cure and a vaccine, and now this needs to be delivered as soon as possible to the unlucky planet

Unfortunately, there is currently no KemKom ship in the system, so he hopes the group can deliver this, and if possible also help to distribute the cure. The group will be paid Cr. 100,000 for this delivery of 5 tons of cargo, and an additional Cr. 10,000, if they can help distributing the drugs.

Referee’s Information:

The real reason that KemKom wants to stop the disease is that they have caused it, but so far only a few local KemKom employees from von Sylt’s R&D department know that. That is also the reason that they don’t want KemKom personnel to be connected in any way with distributing the cure.

Possible directions to take this scenario:

1. All is as represented, except that at last minute, a medical doctor is boarding the ship. The doctor has come along to help the group deliver the medicine.
2. As 1, but the disease is actually deadly, and among the mining population a few people have already died. The doctor will tell the starport authority about the disease, (but not what caused it) and they will close down the starport until everyone is cured.
3. As 1, but when the ship arrives at the mining planet, they receive a message telling them that they are not allowed to land since the planet is quarantined. The doctor will try to convince the group to land anyway.
4. As 1, except that the disease was not caused by an accident. The miners have been used as guinea pigs by the KemKom R&D team.
5. As 4, except that the groups cargo doesn’t contain a cure. It contains a poison that will slowly kill the miners, so that they cannot tell anyone about how they were used. The doctor will try to convince the group that they also has been infected, and need to take the cure.
6. There is no disease. The KemKom executive is actually helping his friend the mining director to shanghai the group as miners, and to steal their ship.

In all cases the referee should determine the flow of subsequent events.