Traveller: The Adventure Begins w' DA1 Annic Nova

Off in the Solomanni Rim, they sure use some funny system names....

Silver was pleased with the result of the previous adventure, and said that "if they didn't have any better plans for work, they should contact a friend of his who always seemed to need a few good men willing to take some risks for significant compensation...."

An unusual business card was given to the party, somewhat holographic. Upon reporting to the address at the date and time Silver stated, they found a black door with a subdued "BW" logo on it. After a couple of attempts, the card gained them access into an antechamber, where an extremely polite greeter ushered them in, asked their business, checked out the card, etc. He then took them down a few corridors of a place that reeked of corporate money and subtlety.  All the corridors were black, with walls that showed the "BW" logo apparently deep within them.  Occasionally a door would materialize before or after the party, and smartly dressed staffers would move purposefully about their business.

Upon entering an expensively furnished office suite...

...the party met a distinguished looking fellow who introduced himself as Samual Troih, Kidashi office head of Black-Wagner Interstellar, LPC [Licensed Private Contractor]:

Troih is very courteous and professional, in a military fashion: eyes like a predator and carrying himself like a gymnast. He appears to have been had access to Silver, Adm. Tilsin and Col Geery - he asks pointed questions about operational details that dig deep into the professional skill sets of all the PCs, and is clearly gauging their responses to check boxes that are unclear but can be guessed at by any experienced Soldier or sailor - "are these guys the real deal?" It is hard to tell if Troih acts more like an officer or more like a very senior NCO, something the party debates later to no clear resolution.

After deftly drawing out every member of the party, Troih seems satisfied and asks if they'd like to find out more about Black-Wagner Interstellar LPC.  The group is suitably intrigued and led from Troih's office to spend the rest of the day getting the "corporate recruiting treatment" which entails a blend of low-key incentives and hard-thrust marketing, all of which is strongly flavored with serious funding of the type only large government contractors end up with. 

Every piece of furniture, every decoration, the food, the service, the latrines, is immaculately clean and expensive. The recruiting video is a clever blend of unstated risky action with obvious corporate incentives, of high quality, and very likely no actors at all, being somewhat reminiscent of the best blend of Psyops and Propaganda the party has seen on any operation, anywhere. Clearly, Black-Wagner Intersteller, LPC, has successfully blended the best of the corporate and military worlds and is reaping the rewards.

All the PCs eagerly sign on...

The Fine Print:

The PCs will have an ongoing patron in the form of Black-Wagner Intersteller, LPC, a Private Security Company [PSC], "Solving Your Most Lethal Problems"  This will provide stability for the group in mission selection and resourcing. Life with BWI is good - there are a number of sites away from the main Kidashi office, which Troih runs.  They provide excellent facilities for what can only be described as para-military activities, including numerous combat and support capabilities, and no skill that any member has is languishing for want of opportunity to exercise it.

Economy of BWI, LPC

BWI pays a minimum of Cr6,000 / year, an above-average middle class income. For veterans with real time in, BWI generally pays pension level +Cr2,000 [which would be in addition to any pension the PC is earning!].  For those with no pension, expect Cr6,000+ Cr/100 per skill level 1+ in skills, e.g. a Skill 3 Engineer would get Cr300 bonus.

NOTE: to translate buying power, multiply Interstellar Credits by 10 and you have "about" what things cost in today's dollars.

Military Pension Rates

20 years, 5-tour =  Cr4,000 + Cr2,000 / additional Tour

24 years, 6-tour = Cr6,000

28 years, 7-tour = Cr8,000

Paid at start of the year at any Class A or B starport.

Long-Term Cost of Living

- Subsistence Level - reasonable food Cr120 and acceptable lodging Cr180 = Cr300/month

Ergo Cr3600 / year to eat and have a roof overhead.

- Ordinary Level - good food Cr 200 and good lodging Cr200 = Cr400/month

Ergo Cr4,800 / year to be "middle class" veteran: requires 24 years for Cr6,000 annually.

- High Living Level - excellent food Cr 600 and excellent lodging Cr600 = Cr1200/month

Ergo Cr14,400 / year to be "upper class". Mandatory retirement kicks in at 7 tours, so it is unheard of for a pensioned veteran to be living at this level, unless they were forced to serve an additional 3 terms [12 years] to get to the Cr14,000 / year.

Bonuses. Employees cheerfully inform the PCs that very reasonable bonuses are paid for anything that nets the company additional profits, all in line with standard fees and contracts in the sector.

Risk.  BWI employees explain that there is often risk associated with their missions, but nothing that is unreasonable considering their skill sets.  While all material and personnel risks are minimized as much as possible, sometimes worst-case scenarios happen.  When there are losses, the company is diligent about everything from recovering remains, to repatriation bonding, to getting personal belongings and such to next of kin. The company takes a very dim view of lost equipment, however, and sometimes employees have to pay scaled % on losses.

GEAR.  BWI provides essential gear for all missions.  Their gear the PCs will have to pay scaled % for being lost or damaged, depending on circumstances. If PCs lose their own gear, compensation is available, also at a scaled %. 

BWI provides quality room and board at a rate less than half of what it would cost "on the market".  Nearly no employees live anywhere else, and the culture is similar to living as officers at a very well-appointed base close to the Galactic Core. However, nothing is fancy or excessive. 

All the other employees are clearly very similar to the party - veterans of various kinds, some with more experience than others, none are less than superior at whatever it is they did or do or will do and are learning it. 

There are amply opportunities for PCs to learn martial skills of all kinds, from exotic weapons to unusual close combat techniques; all the technical skill sets essential to military operations also have ample opportunities to use simulators and periodically get introduced to standard and rare craft and technical artifacts.  Sustainment skills are also exercised, with some well-equipped shops and genuinely damaged or broken gear to keep technical skills sharp.

In short, BWI is a sort of military dream ticket, with an impressive employee base and great resources.  The only things that become clear are that while most people will talk about themselves and what they're doing or have done, no one goes into details about BWI operations - you never know who might be listening.  Also, employees periodically disappear, and new ones appear, apparently just returned from "elsewhere".

After about a month of acclimating to life with BWI, the PCs were just starting to get a bit restless amidst all the interesting ways to kill time at the various living and training sites, and getting into routines that were demanding but comfortable.  

Then Troih summoned the entire party to the briefing room.

There, he informed them that they had a contract with the Imperium, to investigate an unusual ship which has been noted but note closely investigated by any source. It has appeared periodically and there is a Traveller Aid Society watch for it.

The ship was most recently scanned by a survey ship in the Kishakhpap System; unfortunately the survey ship was in the final stages of a jump and only barely managed to see it at all.  It appeared to be stablishing an orbit around the sun, oddly.

Outfitted with a standard scout vessel, aged but in excellent working condition ["pedigreed and distinguished" the BWI pilot cheerfully informed you all], the group jumps to Kishakhpap without incident, finding the vessel easily. The pilot skillfully closed with the orbiting vessel, one of very unusual, even Alien design:

The vessel appears to have the words, "Annic Nova" written on it...

...most systems were shut down, there were no significant signs of life detected, and the party realized it was time to earn their excellent salaries...

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I don't want to spoil the scenario for someone else.  

I chose Double-Scenario 1 Annic Nova as it is self-contained, in outer space and really emphasizes what Traveller is all about, which is more than just shooting everything up - there's a more intelligent bottom line [Salvage, Salaries] and it all reminds me more of an original series Star Trek episode - smart, space, classic.

Exploration of the engine rooms and drives:

I had to blow up the deck plans at the copier - much easier than any terrain setup!

Above, classic "Snapshot" counters.

Below, the team is wielding hand weapons and low-velocity projectile weapons so as not to hole the hull and damage the prize!

Engineering genius on the bridge with a battle-buddy, deciphering the alien technology.

Extra copies of the enlarged deck plans were given to the party - after all, they have scanners to show the decks, just not capable of deciphering every signal that bounces back.

Suffice it to say that Annic Nova _is_ an interesting ship to explore.  The PCs used caution and intelligent protocols to avoid dangers without any hints.  The longest debate was whether or not to turn the power back on, which itself was both revealing and humorous.

With the power back on [finally] the essential aspects of the ship figured out, the party just has to return with the salvage to Kidashi in order to have a successful operation.

What could go wrong??