taalismn wrote:Mauve Adventure: In The Name of The Moon
Hook: While the SDF-1 is in Earth Orbit, the squadron gets called for a special mission. The UEDF has a number of lunar bases that have been operating in partial isolation since the arrival of the Zentraedi, and one of them, Moon Base Mica, has been erratic in its communications of late. In the latest message received, the base declared itself ‘The High Kingdome of Selene’, independent of Earth control, and has refused to comply with any subsequent instructions. Mauve Squadron is to go and investigate, and intervene if necessary, with preserving the base facilities a priority, so no heavy reflex weapons or ordnance are to be loaded.
Line: Flying to Moon should entail no problems, aside from dodging a roving Zentraedi long range patrol or two, and gaining access to the base, suspenseful, but not dangerous.
Once inside, the newcomers will be greeted by the staff of the facility, dressed in full medieval regalia, led by His Majesty the High Rumbold the First of the Kingdome of Selene. King Rumbold is/was, a quick glance of any intelligence files the squadron PCs may have asked to look over, a prominent Danish politician, minor politico in the UEG, and wealthy businessman who essentially bought himself a commission in the UEDF, and wound up in charge of Moon Base Mica on an extended tour of duty. During that time, Rumbold managed to have most of his material wealth (several MILLION in UEG currency) brought to the base, along with a number of his family supporters. Claiming ancestral links to ancient Scandanavian royalty, Rumbold has declared himself King of Moon Base Mica, and the area around it the sovereign Kingdome( keep emphasizing the ‘-dome’ pronunciation) of Selene Eternal. As the base was intended as a supply and support facility for other lunar activities, the facility has enough supplies to hold out for a half-CENTURY, even ruling out the hydroponics, solar cells, and enough tools and equipment to do their own mining and He2 harvesting, Furthermore, the base has access to a nice cache of weaponry(missile launchers and energy cannons) that can be easily mounted and used to defend the base, allowing Rumbold to actually back up his bombast. The base personnel are almost all completely looped on the same ‘moon kingdom’ schtick, buying into Rumbold’s declaration with all the zeal of a SCA convention being given unlimited free beer and mead.
And, icing on the cake, when the Mauve Squadron members introduce themselves, Rumbold’s eyes will go wide when Cmdr. Toombs introduces himself. Some hurried questioning and research in the background will have Rumbold announcing that the day is truly a ‘day of omens’; Toombs(or one of the PCs) is ALSO an descendant of royalty of the same line as the King. King Rumbold will be quick to offer his ‘esteemed royal cousin’ a place by his side as his new Minister of Defense, with a generous stipend, and jobs for squadron members as ‘knights of the realm’, also generously paid, if they join his cause and the Kingdome. Immediately, many of the beautiful/handsome (if slightly deranged) ladies in waiting/courtiers will begin looking at the Squadron with bedroom eyes, and start making hints that they’re not averse to ‘dynastic arrangements’.
Sinker:
King Rumbold will be lavishly entertaining his visitors(especially if they’ve accepted his offer) when a royal herald hurriedly comes in with a terrible announcement; Toombs’(or whoever the poor schmoe is who gets tagged as the ‘royal cousin’) ancestry was actually a TRAITOR to the throne, a REGICIDE. King Rumbold’s reaction will be immediate; the newcomers are on an attempt to assassinate him and usurp the throne of the Kingdome of Selene! Guards, seize them!
Squadron members are now in a fight for their lives; they’re outnumbered, and the SeleKnights are damned proficient with their swords(which incidentally pose no risk to accidentally decompressing the base). That fancy armor they’re wearing is also quite effective, having been made from MDC plate from the base’s material stocks. There’s also crossbows and daggers, and shields, which should make the PCs in their flightsuits appreciate ancient W.P.s. His Majesty’s Royal Mages have also concocted some rather spectacular flame throwers and blinding laser displays too, making the running around for ones’ lives even more interesting.
In the middle of this ruckus, the Zentraedi attack, old buddy Mytai having mistaken Mauve Squadron for Skull Squadron again, and Moon Base Mica for a secret forward military staging base aimed at operations against the heart of the Zentraedi fleet. This could further infuriate King Rumbold because the ‘assassins’ have ‘summoned their monstrous giant minions’, or, if MyTai’s forces are concentrating on beating up Mauve Squadron, he may see them as friendly forces coming to assist him.
Aftermath:
Depending on how the fight shakes out and whether or not Moon Base Mica survives, Mauve Squadron will come out of it criticized for screwing up the situation:
If Moon Base Mica was destroyed, the squadron will be dragged across the deckplates for losing a valuable outpost and its supplies, plus any survivors of the Kingdome, many of whom have acccess to considerable wealth and resources Earthside, will have declared a vendetta against the treacherous(and infamous) Mauve Squadron.
If King Rumbold throws in with the Zentraedi, the squadron will be castigated for driving a UEG facility into the hands of the Zentraedi, as the Kingdome has just announced an alliance with the ‘Honorable Lord Mytai’ and his ‘virtuous army’.
If Mauve Squadron had to call in reinforcements to save their bacon, they are forced to watch in dismay as Skull Squadron is publically honored for saving an outpost of Earth and/or the ‘provisional Kingdom of Selene’, and decorated by King Rumbold with very expensive-looking medallions of courage, then knighted by him as ‘outstanding Heroes of the Realm’, complete with generous gifts.
Not bad! I'd probably play this a little differently, but hey - to each his own.
Game of ToombsThe setup: RADM Rumbold was in charge of one of those ARMD platforms. After the Zentraedi attacked Macross and the SDF-1 vanished, his ship kind of... strayed. All the way out to wherever the PCs are now. He's not hailing the SDF-1, but the lights in the ship are on, so everyone's favorite expendables are sent to do a fly-by.
The rub: The PCs are asked to land and if they refuse, CMDR Toombs directly orders it. They go on the ship and find Rumbold lives a lavish, playboy life with all the female crew, who seem a little out of it. There are no male crew members, either. According to Rumbold, they all, like, got sick. Or left. Or something.
But look out! Rumbold is old, and sick, and needs to hand over the reigns to a second-in-command. A leader. A manly man. A guy like CMDR Toombs.
Once Toombs learns (and the PCs don't) that he has the opportunity to take over for Rumbold, he'll start trying to arrange "accidents" to take out the PCs. He's not trying to kill them! No! That air lock just opened itself.
After enough "accidents" even the PCs should know what Toombs is up to, but before they can do anything about it, Maitai attacks. The PCs are thus fighting Maitai with Toombs, who needs enough PCs to live long enough to kill the Zentraedi so he can survive, but wants the PCs to die so that he can take over as Hugh Hefner in space.
This adventure would also probably feature TED as a Searcher SFV. His personality is stuck on uncomfortable truth-telling, which means he says crap like this:
"CMDR Toombs appears to be attempting to kill you so that he may have more opportunities to mate the female crew. This is illogical, since you already have no chance of mating with them."TED also falls in love with a Ghost II. Sad story.
And so it begins. 
