TEXT: March 1982
  Dragon
  33
  
  Dragon
  Vol. VI, No. 9
  Exonidas Spaceport
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  No spaceport can ever be said to be
  typical; these facilities have more indi-
  viduality than many cities. When space-
  ports are under consideration, however,
  Exonidas Spaceport on the planet Horl-
  theur is among the better examples of a
  well-planned port adapting to unusual
  circumstances.
  Horltheur is the third planet of the
  main-sequence star Taledde, a rather
  ordinary star of spectral class G3. (For a
  graphic display of the system, see Figure
  4 on page 41.) Of the seven planets and
  many asteroids orbiting Taledde, only
  Horltheur is extensively settled. Coad,
  its satellite, boasts a significant base,
  however, and Donade and Corrade, two
  Mars-like planets in an outer orbit, have
  permanent scientific colonies. There is a
  technologically advanced mining colony
  about the gas giant Colosse that slings
  compressed liquid hydrogen toward
  Horltheur. The Lesser Ring, similar to
  the asteroid belt of Sol’s system but
  slightly less dense, also is host to several
  standing colonies.
  Horltheur is a world of average size,
  composition, atmosphere, and hydro-
  graphic percentage. It has good depos-
  its of most strategic minerals, and its in-
  digenous life is richly varied, with beasts,
  birds, and sea creatures in orders of
  complexity up to, but not including, true
  intelligence.
  The UPP of A-866A78-F applies to
  Horla, the smaller of the world’s two ma-
  jor continents. The other continent,
  Theury, can best be described by the
  UPP of D-866500-0, having recently un-
  dergone a cataclysmic war.
  By the time the planet’s technology
  had advanced to the point where it could
  destroy itself, each of the two continents
  had fragmented into opposing nations
  with conflicting ideals. The crusading
  spirit rose, and nations tried to impose
  their solutions upon their neighbors.
  Each of the Theuran nations was jealous
  and proud of its sovereign status, unwil-
  ling to unite; ultimately, they all found
  equality in annihilation.
  Destroyed along with every important
  city on the continent was the Tatheur
  Great Port, a spaceport that was essen-
  tially the property of the interstellar go-
  vernment (as is Exonidas); the loss was
  resented, to say the least, by the go-
  vernment’s leaders.
  Horla continent escaped untouched
  by the weapons of the short but deadly
  war. Its fifteen nations were shocked into
  dropping their own squabbles by what
  they monitored as it took place across
  the ocean. Right after the war all pro-
  gress, all business, all activity, on both
  the ruined continent and the still-rich
  one, stopped. The world was numbed by
  the disaster. Those in power knew that
  the full effects of the war were yet to be
  felt. Within a couple of days, the realiza-
  tion came that three billion people had
  died, and tens of millions more were des-
  tined to die as well unless a quick and
  efficient rescue effort was mounted. 
  Into this hushed atmosphere came a
  great fleet: one of the interstellar go-
  vernment’s first-line Battleships, along
  with enough support craft to take on an
  empire. The fleet was led by Grand Ad-
  miral Jennifer de la Noue. First on her
  agenda: Rescue the people who could
  be rescued, and save what could be
  saved. Second was the laying of blame,
  and third the job of determining what
  changes needed to be made to punish
  those at fault and prevent a recurrence of
  this disaster.
  With her was Adrian Redmond of the
  interstellar government’s Department of
  Commerce, aboard an electromagnetic
  effects and communications ship that
  was a flying switchboard of tremendous
  capacity. His job was to find a way to
  restore the economy of a world more
  than half destroyed. 
  Directly on the site of the ruined capi-
  tal city of Tatheur, one of the Theury
  nations now dead, de la Noue’s fleet set
  up Emergency City, a class D spaceport,
  to aid survivors and treat the wounded.
  On the continent of Horla lies the na-
  tion named Dirla, and within that the city
  of Exonidas, Dirla’s capital. The most
  populous of the fifteen Horlan nations,
  by Jeff Swycaffer
  Dirla wears its great city (pop. 950,000)
  like a crown. Now, With Theury continent
  dead, Exonidas, with its huge spaceport,
  is the biggest city on the planet; the port
  is (by default) the center of all off-planet
  activity of any importance.
  Lying at the northern end of a long bay
  on the Sea of Lamps, Exonidas Space-
  port is actually the land-bound half of a
  two-element port facility. The other half
  is an orbiting structure whose path keeps
  it always over the longitude of Exonidas
  City. Twice each planetary day, the High
  Port is directly above the Down Port. The
  orbit, at a constant altitude of 38,500 ki-
  lometers, pulls the High Port around the
  world at a velocity of 3.3 kilometers per
  second. The same orbit is a convenient
  parking spot for cargo and for ships.
  This is the orbit that the fleet in presence
  now occupies,
  FIGURE 1: EXONIDAS DOWN PORT
  A: Spaceport Terminal. See Figure 2
  for detailed description.
  B: Main Boost-Grid. The boost-grid is
  the heart of any spaceport with the tech-
  nological base to support one. At older
  ports, ships must land under their own
  power, relying upon pilot expertise to
  avoid mid-air collisions or dangerously
  clumsy setdowns. Here, the boost-grid
  can reach out with gravitic force and
  either ease a ship to its landing pad or
  boost a ship from the ground into orbit.
  Using power from the main city power
  reactor (not in area of map), the boost-
  grid can focus gravitic energy with mi-
  crometer precision.
  The grid is composed of tungsten-
  steel rails 10 cm wide, set into the flat
  surface of the landing field in a precisely
  defined pattern. The energy conducted
  along these rails is perfectly controlled
  by the main computers in the Port Au-
  thority building.
  Any ship of up to 7,500 tons that is
  capable of landing on the field can be
  lifted up into high orbit, or can be brought
  down out of orbit and landed gently on
  the field. The point of focus can be
  moved by computer control in such a
  way as to take hold of objects as far as
  sixty degrees from the vertical line
  through the center of the grid; the range,
  or effective “reach,” is 50,000 kilometers.
  The main advantage of the boost-grid
  is that the ship being boosted into orbit
  has no need to use its own drives, or
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  March 1982
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  Dragon
  Vol. VI, No. 9
  indeed even to have a working drive. The
  grid can, for instance, boost prefabricat-
  ed sections of a larger ship up into orbit
  to be assembled in weightlessness. In
  general, the grid is used to lower shuttles
  and small spacecraft that nevertheless
  do have a backup drive for use in case of
  grid failure. The boosting and lowering
  of cargo and passenger containers with-
  out drives is not considered safe enough
  to justify the economy of such a measure.
  The fuel saved by a ship using the grid
  instead of its own thrusters is on the
  order of one ton of fuel times the ship’s
  drive number times the ship’s mass in
  kilotons (but always a minimum savings
  due to use of the grid of one ton of fuel).
  Thus, a 5,000-ton ship using 2G drive to
  escape the world’s gravity would use ten
  tons of fuel, which could be saved by use
  of the boost-grid.
  The grid has 100 channels, meaning
  that up to 100 ships can be simultane-
  ously handled by the grid, so long as the
  total tonnage being boosted does not
  exceed 7,500 tons. This multi-channel
  capacity helps cut down the average
  waiting time for use of the grid.
  The procedure for a small ship — a
  Scout, for example—taking off from the
  grid would be as follows: After final ap-
  proval for takeoff is received from the
  Port Authority computers, the ship, under
  its own power, flies up from its current
  docking bay (location M, see text below)
  until it is within the cone of the grid’s
  effectiveness. At an altitude of about
  thirty meters, the gravitic focus of the
  boost-grid is aligned upon the ship, and
  a gentle force begins to push it away
  from the planet, while the ship’s own
  maneuver drives are throttled back to an
  “idle” setting. The grid has the precision
  to release the ship either into an escape
  orbit, any of a number of closed orbits, or
  exactly into the orbit of the High Port.
  For more on the High Port and its own
  boost-grids, see below.
  C: Airport and Heliport. This all-in-one
  transportation center has an internation-
  al airport, a national heliport, a train sta-
  tion and a subway terminal.
  D: Headquarters and home location of
  the 119th Heavy Marine Division. This
  division is a regular unit in the military of
  the interstellar government, and is based
  here with the permission of the Dirlan
  nation. Although Dirla is the host nation
  to the Exonidas Spaceport, the port area
  itself is considered to be legally a part of
  the interstellar government. Relations
  are cordial, and the right to base the div-
  ision here was freely given by the Dirlan
  government. The 119th supplies the
  spaceport with security personnel and
  can provide riot-control troops if needed.
  At this time, only one of the division’s
  four regiments is based here; the other
  three are working to clean up the dis-
  order on Theury continent.
  E: Naval Base with military boost-grid.
  This smaller but stronger grid is run off
  an independent power supply, as are all
  of the military installations at the space-
  port. This grid also has 100 channels,
  and can boost loads totaling 10,000 tons
  at one time; despite this, the military
  commander here prefers to, purchase
  power from the city and use the larger,
  public grid in Peacetime, because of the
  greater computer power (hence, less
  chance of a crash) available to the civili-
  an authority,
  F: Scout Base with military boost-grid.
  This grid is identical to the Navy’s grid.
  Normally, a force of 30 Scouts is based
  here, most of which would be in high
  orbit at any given time. Currently, due to
  the attention being paid this planet in its
  unusual circumstances, 48 more Scouts
  are attached to the fleet in orbit; this base
  supplies their needs as well.
  G: Energy reactor. This reactor supp-
  lies emergency power to the entire space-
  port, and all power for the military bases.
  H: Fuel storage. Most of the fuel for
  planet-based energy production comes
  from the system’s gas giant, Colosse. It
  is skimmed, refined, and compressed in
  facilities in orbit about the gas giant,
  then shipped toward Horltheur in huge,
  free-falling fuel canisters. At the High
  Port, this fuel is pumped into great fuel
  tankers which are lowered by the boost-
  grid to the surface to be unloaded. The
  overall benefit seems marginal: roughly
  a thirty-five per cent savings in fuel, con-
  sidering what is gained and what is used
  to get it into storage. But multiplied by
  the thousands of ships and tens of thou-
  sands of cargo shuttles that yearly visit
  the port, the savings are substantial.
  I: Fighter Base. While most of the in-
  system Fighter strength is based at the
  High Port, this base has a portion of the
  spaceworthy Fighters and is also an Air-
  craft base. Currently, 200 Fighters and
  700 Aircraft are based here. While space-
  worthy Fighters must be made to ma-
  neuver in vacuum, and to operate as well
  in any atmosphere, aircraft, specifically
  high-performance jets, can be tailored to
  the planet’s air. The result is that many
  Aircraft can outfight Fighters as long as
  the battle is limited to the lower atmos-
  phere. This base was built with that fact
  well in mind.
  J: Construction Yards. The yards here,
  with direct access onto the landing field
  and boost-grid, have a total construction
  capacity of 6.8 million tons, limited pri-
  marily by the boost-grid’s capacity of
  7,500 tons. The yards are generally in-
  volved with building Scouts, Merchants,
  and Colonial Cruisers for resale; larger
  ships are not generally under construc-
  tion at any given time.
  K and L: Planetary Defense Sites. The
  batteries of heavy lasers and rapid-fire
  missile launchers based here are situat-
  ed in heavily armored combat wells.
  36
  The city has many other such sites.
  M: Hangars and Storage. The hangars
  have the capacity to house two million
  tons of spacecraft and shuttles, plus
  eight million tons of cargo.
  N: Exonidas City. The city, its popula-
  tion temporarily (at least) swelled to
  more than one million by the influx of
  refugees, soldiers, and fortune seekers
  wrought by the war, is a nexus for com-
  munication and transportation of all
  types; phones, electricity, and broadcast-
  ing facilities are among its strong points,
  as are all modes of ground, air, sea, and
  space transport.
  FIGURE 2: SPACEPORT TERMINAL
  Although Figure 2 (facing page) only
  shows one level of the five-level building,
  the levels are all laid out in similar fa-
  shion. Level 4 is the highest-class, with
  the most expensive shops and most
  competent businesses. (This is not to
  say that Level 1, with the most approach-
  able and inexpensive places of business,
  is “low class.” Far from it.)
  In Figure 2, general areas of interest
  are labeled with letters, followed by a
  number which designates the level, un-
  less all levels are laid out similarly with
  respect to the function, in which case the
  suffix “-all” is appended. Specific offi-
  ces, shops, or other items of interest will
  be labeled with a number for reference,
  and a number to show the level. (See
  also Figure 8: A typical office suite.)
  A-1: Main Entrance. The road loops
  close to the entrance, with automatic
  parking service in nearby underground
  garages.
  B-1: Terminal services and customer
  service counters. Ticketing and weigh-in
  is handled here.
  C-1: Portmaster’s Representative. In
  effect, a high-class advertising agency
  for the interstellar government. Maps,
  insurance, and miscellaneous services
  can be had here.
  Currently working out of this office,
  using a false name and papers, is Inspec-
  tor General Robert Lawrence of the In-
  terstellar Port Authority. His mission is
  to investigate the feasibility of ending
  the planet’s political independence by
  absorbing it into the domain of the inter-
  stellar government.
  D-all: Shops. Always within easy walk-
  ing distance in these areas are restau-
  rants, gift shops, services (barbers, in-
  formation booths, rest rooms), luggage,
  clothiers, jewelers and watchmakers,
  pharmacies, travel agencies, stores for
  sporting goods and supplies, military re-
  cruiting offices, and a large establish-
  ment belonging to the Travellers’ Aid
  Society. Several individual shops will be
  described below. See also the note on
  area F below for details on room layouts.
  E-1: The International Airport. This is
  one section of the transportation com-
  plex described in area C on Figure 1.
  
  March 1982
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  Activity in this area of the complex is
  much less than normal, now with far
  fewer travel sites left on the planet.
  F-all: Businesses and Offices. Ship-
  ping brokers in abundance operate here,
  as do resale brokers, importers, manu-
  facturers, shipping line headquarters,
  and mercantile guilds.
  Note: the divisions and lines shown on
  the map are those between larger sec-
  tions of rooms; the walls portrayed are
  the permanent, load-bearing walls. Each
  of the “rooms” shown in Figure 2 is actu-
  ally a suite of rooms or shops. The aver-
  age business-office suite will be of this
  configuration: Entrance is through a
  large, lockable plate-glass door, either a
  swinging or a sliding type. Reception
  areas, work areas, and conference cubi-
  cles might be separated by small, flimsy
  screens, while file rooms, computer
  rooms, and meeting rooms might be se-
  parated by more permanent walls (which
  do not show on the floor plan). The
  floors are quite thick, made of perma-
  crete and reinforced with structural steel.
  The ceilings; however, are often mere
  panels of decorative material at a height
  of 2½ to 3 meters, somewhat lower than
  the full 4-meter height of the main ceiling
  that is the floor of the next higher level.
  The hollow space between the ceilings is
  often filled with piping, wiring, and air-
  conditioning conduits.
  (Several years ago, noted criminal Ec-
  chel Anstove escaped capture by cra-
  wling through such a space with enough
  silence and dexterity to avoid his pursuit.
  The feat was unknowingly duplicated by
  the then-hunted Navy Captain Athalos
  Steldan on the world Chirkun.)
  G-all: Open Area. On the second
  through fifth levels, the area inside the
  circle of dashes is open to the first level.
  On the first level is a planted area, styled
  as an indoor garden.
  H-1: Security Gate. Tended at all times
  by a small but efficient 119th Division
  Marine detachment, this gate has a very
  secure weapons detector.
  l-all: Observation Area. On the first
  level, this is an open waiting area where
  passengers prepare for imminent depar-
  ture. On higher levels this area is an ex-
  tension of the shopping promenade, with
  an observation deck overlooking the
  boost-grid.
  J-1-3: Port Authority Building. Space-
  port Authority Kevin Munrow, and his
  flight controllers, computers, radio traf-
  fic controllers, and other staff are here.
  The Port Authority (or, technically,
  Commissioner of the Port) is a member
  of the Commerce Department, and there-
  fore subordinate to Adrian Redmond.
  From working with the local planetary
  authorities as long as he has, Portmaster
  Munrow has developed a great deal of
  respect for Dirlan policies. He does not
  favor forcing the world into subservience
  to the interste!lar government.
  The Port Authority computers are
  roughly equivalent to three model/g-fib
  computers; their main purpose is to main-
  tain a clear and free airspace.
  Area 1-4: The offices of Dentos, Cahn,
  and Cahn, shipping and resale brokers.
  For Traveller purposes this is a +4 brok-
  er. Approaching a clerk of this office with
  even a hint of an unsavory or illegal deal
  is to invite immediate report and arrest.
  The brokers here have an almost uncan-
  ny reputation for being unbribable, in-
  corruptible, and, in business dealings,
  savage.
  Area 2-2: S. Grimaldi, shipping and re-
  sale broker. Equal to a +3 broker. Crimi-
  nals might find a warmer reception here
  than at Dentos, Cahn, and Cahn, but be
  warned: S. Grimaldi will play both sides
  of any fence. If reselling hot cargo turns
  out to be unprofitable, blackmailing the
  seller might not be.
  Scattered throughout the terminal are
  +2 and +1 brokers of any stripe, from
  struggling and honest to filthy rich and
  totally criminal.
  Area 3-1: In a visible spot stands the
  recruiting booth of the Turga Lancers, a
  mercenary regiment active on this world.
  The Lancers are carving out a fledgling
  empire in the ruins of Theury continent,
  across the ocean; the appeal of so much
  untenanted real estate was too much to
  be resisted. As much as the interstellar
  government and the Portmaster resent
  such an operation, no laws are being vio-
  lated, and thus Commissioner Munrow
  is unable to legally evict the Lancers’
  recruiters.
  Area 4-1: Drake’s Slashers, another
  mercenary regiment, has a recruiting
  booth here. The Slashers, unlike the
  Turga Lancers, are building their empire
  on a foundation of good will. Where the
  Lancers, a heliborne unit, are conquer-
  ing wherever they can, the Slashers, a
  heavy armor unit, have mobilized in what
  is basically a rescue mission, bringing
  food, supplies, medicines and medical
  aid, and most importantly order, to the
  survivors of the war on Theury. In ex-
  change for the relief the Slashers bring,
  the survivors are all too glad to legally
  cede great estates of land that are cur-
  rently useless to them in any case.
  Whether or not these contracts bear the
  force of law is an issue the Slashers feel
  will be decided in their favor by their
  prowling hovertanks.
  See Figure 9 (on page 48) for the cur-
  rent zones of operation of these and oth-
  er military units.
  Area 5-2: Hansen’s Supplies Store.
  Respirator helmets, air tanks, filters,
  masks, and all other manner of survival
  gear is for sale here. Atmosphere testers
  and fallout detectors are popular items
  these days. The Theury war was fought
  with heavy, high-explosive warheads,
  very few of which were thermonuclear.
  38
  Vol. VI, No. 9
  Thus, fallout over Horla continent has
  not been, and will not be, severe. Radia-
  tion testers are popular items neverthe-
  less, and public awareness of health ha-
  zards is high.
  Area 6-1: Navy, Army, and Marine re-
  cruiting. Situated near the Portmaster’s
  representative, this is the sanctioned re-
  cruiting effort of the interstellar govern-
  ment. Policy dictates that recruits be
  trained on a planet other than their home
  world, but in this time of troubles, few
  recruits care to leave home. Even in spite
  of this, the station is pulling in its quota
  of man and womanpower.
  Area 7-1: Bank of Exonidas. An inter-
  stellar exchange bank, fully integrated
  with the computers that run banking
  throughout the sector, the Bank of Exon-
  idas can convert currency, make loans,
  prepare stock portfolios, collect forfei-
  tures, and in general take care of just
  about any financial needs of travellers
  and businessmen. The bank is protected
  by a system similar to a spaceship’s anti-
  hijack program; further, at any given
  time there will be two Marines of the
  119th keeping a somewhat alert eye on
  the doorway.
  Area 8-4: Wrokla’s Port Best. This res-
  taurant is an offshoot of Wrokla’s Down-
  town, which itself makes a plausible
  claim to be the best restaurant in the city.
  Although this place endeavors to cater
  to the better class of people, it is man-
  aged by a man, Hill Darsen, who knows
  that most spaceport travellers are not
  rich. Thus, to avoid a very unpleasant
  meal, a diner intending to patronize this
  spot must have a minimum social level of
  9. This is better than Wrokla’s Down-
  town, where even to be admitted to the
  foyer requires a social level of 11. A meal
  here for two, including tipping and other
  required gratuities, will cost upwards of
  100 credits.
  Area 9-1: Traveller’s Aid Society Out-
  post. The main Traveller’s Aid Society
  station was destroyed with Tatheur
  Spaceport in the war. The station here is
  working hard to gain the rich reputation
  the Theuran station once enjoyed.
  Twice-hourly tram service is made
  available to the better hotels in the city,
  for those who are staying for some time;
  for the casual passenger, stopping here
  only for a connection, good-quality
  meals are dispensed, and a waiting
  lounge is provided away from the noise
  of normal traffic. A travel agency is
  based here, staffed by experts who are
  easily capable of helping travellers sched-
  ule their routes most efficiently. Ticket-
  ing can be prearranged here also, as can
  luggage check-through and most pass-
  port requirements.
  Although the Traveller’s Aid Society
  deals mostly with members of the Socie-
  ty, non-members may benefit from the
  services offered, at prices that are actual-
  ly reasonable. How the higher-ups of the
  
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  March 1982
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  Dragon
  Society can consistently manage to bring
  good to excellent services to the public
  at comfortable prices has ever been a
  mystery; the policy is very well received.
  Area 10-3: Susato, Morely, and Dow-
  land Legal Services. This law office, re-
  cuperating from an unfortunate incident
  in which a live grenade was tossed
  through the doors, is perhaps the planet’s
  leading firm for dealings in interstellar
  law. Local law and criminal law cases will
  also be handled by the firm.
  Area 11-1: The Brass Beast. A wood-
  paneled alehouse with a low ceiling, re-
  producing the popular image of a rowdy
  hotspot of an era long past. Few things in
  the “inn” are beyond tech level 2, and the
  things that are — the soundproofing, the
  beer coolers, and the splat-gun hidden
  beneath the bar — are well out of sight.
  Managed with precise absurdity by a
  well trained pair of anachronists, the
  spot’s rare dull moments are relieved by
  staged fights between trained duelists,
  whose choreographed swordfights take
  them from the fireplace to the kitchen
  and back, noisily but with no damage
  done.
  Area 12-2: Offices of Birkenlines Inter-
  stellar Shipping. Characters seeking em-
  ployment will find it at the following pro-
  babilities: Roll two six-sided dice. If the
  result listed below is achieved, employ-
  ment is offered immediately. If the result
  is one or two less than the minimum
  needed, employment will be available in
  that many months. Required rolls are:
  Pilot 7+; Navigator 7+; Engineer 6+; Ste-
  ward 6+; Medic 8+; Gunner 9+. Die Modi-
  fiers: +1 for every level of expertise above
  level 1.
  In general, when using the above me-
  thod of hiring on, the higher the two-dice
  roll, the better the position obtained. For
  example, a roll of 7 for a pilot hiring on
  might land him or her the position of
  backup pilot for a Subsidized Trader,
  while a roll of 16 (assuming the pilot had
  at least Pilot-5 skill) might mean the job
  of chief pilot for a large luxury liner. As
  always, the referee may choose to mod-
  erate these results.
  Area 13-3: Pilots’ lounge. A private and
  secluded gathering spot for pilots and
  navigators, where a quiet atmosphere is
  carefully cultivated. A discreet player
  character, having either pilot or naviga-
  tor skill, can sometimes find rumors here
  — rumors of the most productive and
  rewarding sort. Too many people have
  the notion that a pilot is no more than a
  chauffeur, with no considerations be-
  yond the comfort of his or her pas-
  sengers. But pilots are more than this,
  and the popular illusion is resented. Who
  has the best view of the planet during
  terminal approach? The pilot. Whose life
  depends upon keeping two eyes always
  carefully open? The pilot. Whose job is it
  to know exactly where he or she is at any
  moment? The navigator . . . .
  “You may not have noticed, but the
  last ship that left, just as we were coming
  in, was in a tearing hurry, and his identi-
  fication transponders weren’t working.”
  Who but a pilot would have noticed?
  Area 14-1: First aid station. Treatment
  is available here for the many little things
  that plague travellers: nausea, overstress,
  headaches, and so on.
  Area 15-2: Port Hospital. For things
  that no first aid station can be expected
  to handle. Excellent medical care is dis-
  pensed here by trained Naval medical
  personnel. The fact that the medics here
  are acting in an official capacity means
  that if a character comes in suffering
  from bullet wounds, for example, the fact
  will be reported, and the character will
  likely be interviewed by the police, or by
  port officials. Given a choice between
  crawling off somewhere to die and giv-
  ing oneself up in order to receive treat-
  ment, most people will choose the latter
  course. Some, however, will try to reach
  a civilian hospital away from the space-
  port to minimize the ramifications. Some
  people even know of outlaw doctors in
  the city who work for organized crime.
  The port hospital has a special area
  staffed with experts on burn medicine, a
  necessary specialization considering
  how flammable spaceship fuel is. Cur-
  rently this department is desperately
  understaffed, since all doctors and med-
  ics having any expertise in burn treat-
  ment are working desperately at Emer-
  gency City to save survivors of the war.
  Area 16-1: Computer and traffic con-
  trol center. Here the massive computers
  control the multi-channeled boost-grid.
  The machines are constantly alert for
  fluctuations in the titanic gravitic forces
  constantly being re-focused. There is a
  human backup for any computer sys-
  tem, for the very good reason that ma-
  chine failures are always possible. Safe-
  ty is uppermost in the minds of the area’s
  personnel, and the first consideration of
  the computers’ programming.
  FIGURE 3: EXONIDAS HIGH PORT
  The High Port is a 100-million-ton fa-
  cility quite removed in structure from
  any spaceship. Despite this, it can be
  described in the terms of Traveller Book
  5, 1980 edition, as follows:
  1OO,OOO,OOO tons
  SW-Z400GJ4-00000Z-00000-L
  Batteries
  2
  TL=15
  Crew = 1400
  Fuel tankage = 10,000,000 tons
  More than anything else, the High Port
  is an orbiting fuel tank where ships can
  refuel before Jump, without having to
  carry that fuel down to the planet and
  back up. Since Jump fuel usually com-
  poses a sizable percentage of a ship’s
  mass, the overall savings are significant.
  40
  Vol. VI, No. 9
  A: Accelerator Terminus. This facility
  sends unmanned cargo containers at
  high velocity outward into minimum-
  energy transfer orbits, providing the main
  source of supplies and expendables for
  the five major bases in the system other
  than Horltheur itself.
  B: Fuel Storage and Power Plant. Fuel
  coming in from the gas giant Colosse is
  held here for eventual transshipment to
  Horltheur, for use in refueling ships be-
  fore their departure from the system.
  The fuel is sent from Colosse to the High
  Port in great, unmanned cannisters
  which are then grappled by the High
  Port’s gravitic boost-grids and unloaded.
  C: Main Port Building. Located here
  are the offices and apartments of the
  many permanent residents of the High
  Port. The platforms extending from the
  central sphere are landing decks for
  such ships that can land; these decks are
  oriented by small gravitic generators, so
  that small ships landing on any of the
  many platforms are held firmly “down”
  toward the main body of the port with an
  even 1 G acceleration. Ships that cannot
  be landed on a planet Iikewise cannot be
  landed on these platforms. However,
  several of the platforms are landing-
  shuttle bases, with a quick enough cycle
  of takeoffs and landings to comfortably
  ferry the passengers and cargo of, for
  instance, a Liner, to the world below with
  minimal delay. The main port facility
  here has no shopping complex, and very
  little hotel space; the High Port is primar-
  ily a working port.
  Some of the facilities to be found in the
  Main Port Building; but not shown indi-
  vidually on the map, are:
  C-1 The Manufacturing Alley. Here, in
  an area of zero gravity, with industrial
  quality vacuum readily to hand, high-
  tech manufacturing concerns have based
  themselves, to manufacture and build
  everything from ball bearings to preci-
  sion microelectronics to made-to-order
  microorganisms.
  Although the High Port is, legally, en-
  tirely the property of the interstellar go-
  vernment, it has been judged wise to rent
  manufacturing space to the corporations
  of the planet below. The result is a profit
  for everyone. The companies renting
  space here are from everywhere on the
  planet, Horla and Theury alike. Since the
  major population centers of Theury con-
  tinent are virtually dead, this now means
  that some 50% of Theury’s wealth is tied
  up at the High Port, with the orbiting
  factories suddenly having become entire
  corporations, rather than just branch of-
  fices. The legal questions are still hang-
  ing over everyone’s heads.
  C-2: The Portmaster’s Assistant’s Of-
  fice. Here, the Commissioner of the High
  Port, Donald Wensley, oversees the com-
  plex operations of the port. He checks all
  cargo handling, monitors traffic, and
  maintains law and order, and provides a
  
  March 1982
  Dragon
  human backup for the all-important com-
  puters that control the smaller boost-
  grids. Fortunately for the irascible ex-
  Navy Pilot, he has a capable aide to han-
  dle public relations and to deal with
  complaints. Merely keeping the port op-
  erating smoothly takes up all of Wens-
  ley’s time, and most of his temper.
  C-3: Zero-Gravity Hospital. This has
  become the ideal place to treat burn vic-
  tims, leprosy patients, and those suffer-
  ing from damage to large muscles. Heal-
  ing in zero-gravity is not much slower
  than healing on a planet’s surface, and
  the absence of hampering gravity and
  weight is a godsend for suffering pa-
  tients. It would be possible, using gravit-
  ic neutralizers, to construct a zero-G
  hospital or ward on the planet’s surface,
  and for extreme emergencies this is in-
  deed done. But the high cost of running
  such neutralizers makes the High Port’s
  hospital a better investment.
  At this time, the hospital is virtually
  overrun with burn victims from the war-
  heads that fell on Theury continent just
  five weeks ago. It has been estimated
  that of all the people burned on that fiery
  day, less than five per cent ever received
  any treatment. Since burns, when left
  untreated, are more deadly than nearly
  any other injury, this means that about
  ninety per cent of those burned that day
  who might have been saved have already
  died. This is, of course, a drop in the
  bucket when compared to the 2.8 billion
  people who died within minutes of the
  falling of the first bombs.
  C-4: The Research Alley. High-energy
  research in weightless conditions has
  been an ongoing concern of the High
  Port since its dedication. The sub-quan-
  tum labs here are most heavily involved
  with duplication of other labs’ experi-
  ments, for validation purposes; little tru-
  ly original research is done here. The
  same is true for the jump-technology
  labs and the meson-gun experimental
  station; testing the claims of more ad-
  vanced research is the order of the day.
  D: Gravitic Boost-Grids. Like the main
  boost-grid at the Down Port, these are
  used for the landings and takeoffs of
  spacecraft, and of the unmanned canis-
  ters that this port handles. Unlike the
  Down Port’s, these grids are tightly fo-
  cused by their dish antennae, have only
  one channel, and maneuver the point of
  focus by rotating and elevating of the
  dishes themselves.
  These grids are distinctly less power-
  ful than the main grid below, since there
  is no gravity to be overcome, and they
  have a more sharply limited range. Each
  of these grids can exert a push or pull of
  100,000,000 Newtons — which means
  that a ship of 10,000 tons could be
  pushed or pulled at an acceleration of
  1G, or a 1,000-ton ship at 10G. Since
  there is no weight to work against, even a
  ship much larger than 10,000 tons can be
  pushed into place. . . slowly. Each grid’s
  reach is 5,000 kilometers, with a sharp
  dropoff in power beyond that range. Like
  the main boost-grid at the Down Port,
  these grids are not limited to simple
  pushing or pulling in the straight line
  between them and their targets; trans-
  verse force can also be applied.
  The operation of these smaller grids is
  as follows: A ship, either coming into the
  system from its in-jump or moving up
  from the planet below, passes at low ve-
  locity near the High Port. Guided by the
  gravitic equivalent of radar, whichever of
  the two grid-dishes is closer maneuvers
  itself until it points at the ship. Then (as-
  suming the ship is to be docked at the
  High Port) the dish swings slowly about,
  towing the ship closer to the landing
  platforms at location C or location G
  (described below). As soon as the ship
  has been settled comfortably onto the
  platform, the dish swings back around to
  latch on to its next target. The same
  procedure is used for capturing the in-
  frequent fuel canister shipments from
  Colosse; the canisters, massing 150,000
  tons, once slowed, are maneuvered to
  location B.
  These grids can be used for pushing
  objects away, as well as for pulling tar-
  gets in; this explains the two batteries of
  Repulsors-Z listed in the USP above. Mil-
  itarily, these are of questionable value in
  a fight, but the High Port was never de-
  signed as a fighting port.
  E: Solar Power Relay. Aimed always at
  one of three receiving stations on the
  world below, this facility beams solar
  power that is collected from five large,
  sail-like reflective mirrors (not shown) in
  an orbit parallel to the High Port’s.
  F: Weapons Station, and Scout and
  Fighter Base. In truth, the High Port is
  not capable of defending itself. The heavy
  lasers and missile bays mounted here
  are a meager defense at best. The Scout
  and Fighter fleets based here go only so
  far to make up the gap. As just menti-
  oned, the High Port was never designed
  with warfare in mind, at least not as a
  primary concern. This small installation
  is somewhat of an afterthought.
  G: Landing Platforms. Similar to the
  platforms at C, above, these grids are
  used more for cargo than for passengers.
  H: The Battleship Fair Phyllis, for scale
  comparison. Ships too big to be landed
  on either the planet or the platforms of
  the High Port can hang in orbit parallel to
  the port, tended by shuttles. This is how
  large ships are constructed; there is no
  “drydock” as such. When a ship too large
  to be handled by the Down Port is to be
  built, its pieces are boosted into the High
  Port’s orbit and assembled. Indeed, this
  is how the High Port itself was built.
  41
  
  Dragon
  ������� �� ������ ��� �������
  Thumbnail sketches
  Grand Admiral Jennifer de la Noue
  667BF9; age 42
  The youngest-ever Grand Admiral of
  the Navy, de la Noue has risen to the top
  through the vacancies left by her super-
  iors, who either died in the disaster at
  First Binary or were forced to resign after
  the cover-ups of Second Binary. De la
  Noue has survived primarily by being
  uncorrupt and ‘incorruptible. She passed
  through the recent ethics investigations
  of the higher ranks with an absolutely
  untarnished record.
  Commodore Athalos Steldan
  687BB9, age 38
  Although Steldan has a slightly more
  scandalous service record than is usual
  for his rank, including one unprecedent-
  ed case of flight from prosecution, the
  facts have always served to acquit him.
  He seems to attract misunderstandings
  from his superior, the Grand Admiral, in
  direct relation to his frequent — some
  would say regular — breakthroughs and
  successes in his field. If he appeared to
  have sparked the abortive mutiny of two
  years past, the fracas clearly revealed
  the degree of danger in the old fleet or-
  ganization. Steldan’s greatest coup was
  to rescue Grand Admiral Rothar Sienne
  from six years’ captivity, when all others
  thought the old war hero dead.
  Captain Alexis Wren
  89A999, age 34
  Of good record and unimpeachable
  reputation, Captain Wren’s top achieve-
  ment seems to be the remarkable speed
  with which he reacted to the Theuran
  war. By the time his orbital satellites
  warned him of the missiles, there was
  nothing he could do to prevent the death
  of a continent. Singlehandedly, howev-
  er, he kept the war from crossing the sea
  to Horla continent. His Fighter command
  intercepted and destroyed the very few
  intercontinental missiles launched —
  which seemed to have been fired for no
  better reason than to leave no survivors
  at all, neutrals or not — and his desper-
  ate videophone diplomacy with the lead-
  ers of the Horlan nations quieted their
  fears thoroughly enough to prevent an
  outbreak on that continent.
  Vol. VI, No. 9
  Commander Charles Denis
  9A88A9, age 34
  Sent to Theury continent directly on
  the heels of the war, Commander Denis
  had the assignment directly from Cap-
  tain Wren to bury the dead, treat the in-
  jured, aid the survivors, enforce order,
  put out the forest fires, and get food to
  the people starving in the hinterlands.
  That the commander has succeeded at
  all is amazing; that he has succeeded
  well is little short of miraculous. Working
  out of Emergency City, little more than a
  tent town built around a makeshift Type
  D Spaceport (See Figure 7), he has es-
  tablished a system of advance camps
  that distribute medical supplies, and has
  put people to other work than fighting.
  Major General Danielle Avin
  B9D999, age 38
  Using the mobile elements of the 119th
  Heavy Marines, she has stopped the
  outbreak of violence across the waste-
  lands of Theury continent, sometimes
  without firing a shot. The interstellar Ma-
  rines have long enjoyed a reputation for
  invincibility; no would-be bandit chief-
  tain could stand against them, and few
  would try. General Avin leads her troops
  with a personal touch that is respected
  and admired, overseeing every aspect of
  the subdivisional operation with untiring
  attention. In areas she has pacified, no
  one has dared to renew the fighting.
  Lieutenant General Roland Baker
  687989, age 46
  When the great battleship Fair Phyllis
  dropped out of jumpspace, the first peo-
  ple from its fleet to set foot on Horltheur
  were the 4427th Marines, and first among
  them was General Baker. This has been
  the first operation in the Division’s histo-
  ry when the order of the day was to keep
  peace, suppress banditry, and help ferry
  casualties of someone else’s war to safe-
  ty. General Baker has adapted fairly well.
  Proud of being “a soldier, not a police-
  man,” his operations have been perhaps
  carried out with too much of a show of
  strength. Advised by his staff against
  such overreactions as softening up target
  zones with artillery, air strikes, or orbital
  bombardment, he has swallowed his
  pride and proven himself quite a police-
  man indeed.
  Adrian Redmond
  596DF9, age 50
  Aboard his complex command post of
  a spaceship, Redmond is here as a rep-
  resentative of the Commerce Department
  of the interstellar government. Wars dis-
  rupt commerce almost as much as they
  disrupt human life; Redmond’s job is to
  do what he can to restore economic
  order. The peculiarities of the world
  Horltheur — its independent status and
  fierce nationalistic pride, its high taxes
  and great armies — brought about a
  42
  
  March 1982
  Dragon
  ������� �
  ���� ������ ��� ��������
  43
  
  Dragon
  Vol. VI, No. 9
  ������� ��� ���� ������ ��� ��������
  Battleship: Fair Phyllis
  1,OOO,OOO tons
  BB-Y3336J4-F09909-90009-W
  Batteries bearing
  400 100 400
  Batteries
  800 200 800
  TL=15
  Crew = 38,000
  Agility = 3
  Heavy Cruisers: Cator, Dynamme, Forodh,
  Horor, Interpe, Flamme
  75,000 tons
  CR-Q3336J3-F09909-90009-3
  Batteries bearing
  45 10 45
  Batteries
  60 15 60
  TL=15
  Crew = 700
  Agility = 3
  Light Cruisers: Desideriche, Todanga, Todega, Okemo,
  Lusederiche, Posata, Dand, Rung, Crusedereche
  20,000 tons
  CL-L3336J3-F09909-90009-0
  Batteries bearing
  15 4 15
  Batteries
  16 4 16
  TL=15
  Crew = 450
  Agility = 3
  Fighters: 300 aboard the Fair Phyllis and
  30 aboard each of the heavy cruisers
  25 tons
  FF-0106Y31-000000-40000-0
  Batteries bearing
  1
  Batteries
  1
  TL=15
  Crew = 1
  Agility = 6
  state of confusion when the war hit. Even
  though no more bombs will fail, the un-
  touched areas will be hit with economic
  dislocations that only a master hand can
  minimize. No one has ever denied that
  Adrian Redmond is a master hand.
  Kevin Munrow
  768899, age 30
  As Portmaster, Munrow has the duty
  to aid his superior, Redmond, in any way
  he might. For five weeks now, since the
  war, flights have been coming and going
  via the international airport to and from
  Theury, carrying volunteers, supplies,
  and other aid. Since Redmond’s arrival,
  the additional use of the Spaceport has
  been called upon, and it has been Mun-
  row’s job to keep it running smoothly as
  a participant in the rescue/recovery with-
  out interrupting its other, usual duties.
  Donald Wensley
  7F6889, age 34
  This grouchy ex-pilot is in charge of
  the High Port, and has been strained to
  the limit taking care of de la Noue’s fleet.
  Hospital ships: Barber, Diezette, Remedy,
  Haven, First Assist, Health, Tinct, Salve
  30,000 tons
  AH-M3334J3-000200-0
  TL=15
  Crew = 950
  Agility = 0
  Electromagnetic Effects/Communications Ship: Graphein
  9,000 tons
  NL-J3336J3-200000-00000-0
  x8
  TL=15
  Crew = 400
  Agility = 3
  Fuel Tankers: x 
  40,000 tons
  A0-N5334C3-400700-00000-0
  TL=13
  Crew = 250
  Agility = 0
  Destroyers: x23
  2,000 tons
  DD-B333CJ2-F07609-90009-0
  Batteries bearing
  31 
  1
  Batteries
  31 
  1
  TL=15
  Crew = 45
  Agility = 3
  Scouts: x48
  100 tons
  S-13339R1-000000-40000-0
  Batteries bearing
  1
  Batteries
  1
  T L = 1 3
  Crew = 1
  Agility = 3
  Most of the shuttles transporting mate-
  rial from orbit to ground, from ground to
  orbit, and from one orbit to another, have
  come from his port; when the space-
  hands of de la Noue’s fleet take a break
  from duty, they take it at his port. His
  other duties cannot be forgotten either,
  leaving him busy with some problem or
  other for thirty hours out of every twenty-
  four-hour day. If one of his lieutenants is
  foolish enough to volunteer to take over
  some trivial chore, Wensley has plenty of
  energy to curse the fellow up and down.
  Since these emotional outbursts seem to
  relax Wensley, his staff somehow man-
  ages to provoke one every ten hours or
  so. Work gets done much more efficient-
  ly because of this, and so everyone is
  happy.
  Robert Lawrence
  ABAA99, age 34
  Paradox: A loud-voiced, thick, tall man,
  with an aggressive manner of conversa-
  tion, who is actually of a retiring disposi-
  tion when allowed to be, Inspector Gen-
  eral Lawrence of the Interstellar Port Au-
  44
  thority wields more behind-the-scenes
  power than do either de la Noue or Red-
  mond, while technically subordinate to
  the latter.
  Lawrence’s responsibility is to investi-
  gate, tactfully, whether or not it would be
  a good idea for the interstellar govern-
  ment to quash Horltheur’s independence
  and incorporate the planet. How is one
  to investigate an issue of such sensitivity
  without causing repercussions? Law-
  rence manages. He is to be a field agent
  for Redmond, without anyone knowing
  it. When neither one’s employer nor
  one’s contacts know whom is being dealt
  with, how can results be achieved? Law-
  rence manages. And when one is himself
  such a contradiction, how can he recon-
  cile himself to his somewhat distasteful
  mission? Lawrence manages. Perhaps
  Redmond is better off not knowing just
  how.
  FIGURE 7: EMERGENCY CITY
  A: Water Desalinization and Power
  Reactor. This facility supplies 600 liters
  of drinkable water per minute, and nine
  
  March 1982
  Dragon
  per cent of the city’s electrical power.
  The rest of the power comes from im-
  ported fuel.
  B: Hospitals. Like all the other hospi-
  tals on the planet, these are filled to over-
  flowing, primarily with burn victims.
  Treatment has been effective, however;
  very few patients have been lost after
  being hospitalized.
  C: Tent City. The city proper. Plumb-
  ing, drainage, and heating are all sup-
  plied from prefabricated units shipped
  here by cargo carrier and set up virtually
  overnight. Living is as comfortable here
  as might be expected, with little in the
  way of luxuries, but with all subsistence
  needs cared for. Currently, some 7,600
  people inhabit the “city”; of these, only
  280 are Navy and Marine personnel. Vir-
  tually every citizen of the city is single,
  and the only survivor of his or her family.
  Only luck has allowed them to live; the
  psychological injuries treated here are
  very nearly as deadly as the physical
  ones — or, say some doctors, more
  deadly. Since more citizens here die
  ������� �
  from suicide than wounds, this may well
  be true.
  D: The Ruins. Extending for dozens of
  miles to the north, the ruins of the old
  city are perhaps the prime cause of these
  suicides. Beyond the horizon, occupy-
  ing the entire northern aspect of Emer-
  gency City, the blackened hectares pre-
  sent one of the most memorable and
  horrifying vistas conceivable. The top-
  pled buildings all lean to the south, away
  from the impact point of the nearest of
  the seventeen bombs that hit this once-
  city. Black, gritty dust constantly drifts
  to the east, a thin veil against the sun.
  A short distance into the ruins, some
  survivors have erected a small monu-
  ment, built of stones salvaged from the
  toppled buildings and covered with ce-
  ment. No one had the means to cast a
  bronze plaque, so the legend was scrawl-
  ed into the wet cement, which then har-
  dened, leaving the inscription perman-
  ent. The words are a quote from an ano-
  nymous survivor, who was heard to ut-
  ter, just before dying of his burns: “This
  ���������� ����
  whole thing was kind of dumb, wasn’t
  it?”
  E: The Spaceport, class D. No boost-
  grid is installed here, nor terminal build-
  ing, shops, construction yards, or ware-
  houses Ships must take off and land on
  their own power, and must share the
  runway strips with normal aircraft that
  fly in regularly from Horla continent.
  Spaced around the flattened and ce-
  mented field are landing-signal towers,
  so that ships may land by instrument
  during the city’s frequent thick fogs.
  F: Headquarters. From here Com-
  mander Charles Denis oversees the
  operation of the city, as well as activities
  around the continent. There are five
  computer model/1’s here, some radio
  equipment, and little else. Contact is
  maintained with the advance camps
  spread over the continent from this head-
  quarters, and with the orbiting fleet. For
  its part, the fleet sends down updated
  orbital photographs of weather patterns
  and of surviving settlements.
  G: Radio tower. Equipped to send and
  45
  
  Dragon
  receive radio signals, and with the gravit-
  ic equivalent of radar, this tower is the
  city’s link with the rest of the world.
  FIGURE 8: TYPICAL OFFICE SUITE
  A: Corridor. Each square is 1.5 meters
  on a side.
  B: Offices.
  C: Entrance to Torman and Son, ex-
  cess stock liquidators. The firm is a
  struggling concern, equivalent to a +1
  broker. No one can quite tell if the Tor-
  mans are honest businessmen or not,
  although their twice-yearly audit never
  uncovers anything more suspicious than
  arithmetic errors. They don’t run a rich
  firm, or a really successful one, but they
  seem capable of handling the assign-
  ments people bring to them. In this area
  of the office, the receptionists deal with
  customers by phone, vid, or in person.
  There is a waiting room, neither spa-
  cious nor comfortable, but Torman and
  Son are not usually so busy as to keep
  customers waiting overlong.
  D: Work cubicle. Here, clerk Jan War-
  ner makes his retreat, filing his personal
  papers and worksheets. A customer com-
  ing into the offices with an assignment
  that didn’t require the personal attention
  of the Messrs. Torman would probably
  be shown in here to deal with Warner as a
  representative of the company. Jan can
  handle his routine, perhaps without im-
  agination, perhaps without initiative, but
  with something close to competence.
  E: Work cubicle. Similar to D (above),
  this is the work space of Hjalmar Tar,
  company senior clerk. Although he’d
  never admit it to anyone, Tar has every
  hope of someday wresting control of the
  company from the younger Mr. Torman.
  Tar’s every effort has gone into knowing
  more about how the company works
  than either of his employers — so that,
  on the long-awaited day when the senior
  Mr. Torman dies, Tar will be the only one
  capable of keeping the company afloat.
  F: Office of Richard Torman, the junior
  partner. In general, Richard runs the of-
  fice while Arnesco Torman, his father
  and the senior partner, runs the com-
  pany. There are phones to be answered,
  letters to be dictated, and clerks to be
  harried. Richard keeps things running
  smoothly enough, not knowing that
  Hjalmar Tar, the senior clerk he hates
  and is hated by, has already made him-
  self indispensable. Richard wouldn’t last
  ten days without Tar; when the proper
  time comes, Tar intends for Richard to
  find that out.
  G: Office of Arnesco Torman, the se-
  nior partner. Privacy, more than any-
  thing else, is to be found here. Arnesco’s
  dealings are almost always by video-
  phone, where his aggressive personality
  can most effectively be applied. Arnes-
  co’s foes accuse him of browbeating
  customers and clients; in truth, his tac-
  tics go far beyond mere browbeating. By
  switching from being stubborn to being
  reasonable, and at exactly the right mo-
  ment, he achieves amazing results. Ar-
  nesco is not just the crank old price-
  gouger he lets himself appear to be, but a
  crafty and successful businessman, self-
  trained, poorly educated, and, if the truth
  be said, just a little bit brilliant. For eight
  months now, he has secretly been train-
  ing a more loyal replacement for the in-
  sidious Hjalmar Tar, so that when the
  time comes, the disloyal clerk will unex-
  pectedly find himself unemployed. That,
  he congratulates himself, was easy. Now
  on to real work.
  H: The junior clerks’ work area. some-
  one needs to draft the sales contracts
  into good legal formula; three junior
  clerks take care of that necessary bit of
  drudgery.
  I: Files Room. Somewhere in here,
  filed where not even Arnesco Torman
  could find it, is the first credit ever made
  by the firm. The rest of the files are dupli-
  cates of such things as stock certificates,
  letters mailed out, letters received, con-
  tracts signed, and so on. The originals of
  anything truly valuable are deposited
  downtown at the main branch of the
  Bank of Exonidas.
  J: Hallway. This way to the restrooms.
  In this area are the commonplace things
  to be found in any office: unopened
  boxes of forms, the copying machine,
  and of course, the water cooler.
  K: The Computer. Only Hjalmar Tar
  really knows how to use the computer
  —or so he thinks. Hjalmar gains prestige
  and pay bonuses for programming it,
  debugging it, kicking it when it crashes,
  and tending it in general. Of course this
  takes some time away from his regular
  duties, and some of the office staff have
  come to look on him as a well trained
  loafer. Hjalmar’s replacement, when the
  surprise is finally sprung, knows more
  about this class of computer than Hjal-
  mar has any hope of learning. There is
  no justice.
  L: Conference room. Since Torman
  and Son holds very few conferences, this
  has turned into an unofficial storeroom,
  with boxes, bundles, and form verifiers.
  The table is nice, though, when it hasn’t
  got junk piled a meter deep on top of it.
  Outer space encounters
  Immediately upon breaking out of
  Jumpspace, player characters’ ships
  have a great chance of having an orbital
  or insystem encounter. Roll 2D6 and
  consult the following table.
  2: No encounter of note: Normal traffic
  about the system.
  3-5: Free Trader. Roll on subtable
  below.
  6: Pirate. Although the law level of this
  system as a whole is quite high, the im-
  mensity of the system makes the occa-
  sional grab for loot a feasible act — even
  now, while the system is swarming with
  46
  Vol. VI, No. 9
  Navy ships because of the one-continent
  war below. Roll on subtable below.
  7-8: Patrol. Roll on subtable below.
  9-10: Subsidized Merchant. Roll on
  subtable below.
  11-12: Yacht. Roll on subtable below.
  Free Trader subtable
  2-3: Smuggler
  4-8: Legitimate
  9-10: Forged papers
  11-12: Forged papers/smuggler/refe-
  ree’s choice
  Pirate subtable
  2-4: Scout
  5: Yacht
  6-10: Cruiser
  11: Roll twice, ignoring 11 or 12
  12: Roll three times, ignoring 11 or 12
  Patrol subtable
  2-6: scout (x 1D6)
  7-10: Cruiser (x 1-2)
  11: Something heavier (ref’s choice)
  12: Roll twice, ignoring 12
  Subsidized Merchant subtable
  2-4: Smuggler
  5-8: Legitimate
  9-11: Forged papers
  12: Carrying inspector plus bodyguard
  squad; or, ref’s choice
  Yacht subtable
  2: Kidnap victim
  3-5: Smuggler
  6-11: Legitimate
  12: Ref’s choice
  In all cases, before radio contact is
  established, roll 2D6 for the other ship’s
  captain’s reaction, with 2 meaning overt
  hostility, 12 meaning genuine friendli-
  ness, and other results being shaded in
  between. Modify these results due to the
  realistic mission of the encounter. A Pi-
  rate, rolling a 2, will attack, to board and
  kill; rolling a 12, he might seek to entice
  the players into a partnership. A Patrol,
  on the other hand, would be limited to
  extremes of either firing a warning shot
  and boarding for inspection, or letting
  the players pass without delay, while ra-
  dioing across a friendly and perhaps
  useful message.
  Down Port encounters
  Roll 1D6 twice, to give results from 11
  to 66, reading one die as tens and one as
  digits.
  11: Unexpected -2 on sale price of
  cargo.
  12: All the passengers you need.
  13: Ship’s weapons for sale at 5%
  discount.
  14: Unexpected +3 on cargo resale.
  15: Cargo for sale: your choice of first
  digit on Trade table.
  16: Cargo for sale: Your choice.
  21: Unexpected +1 on cargo resale.
  
  Dragon
  March 1982
  F i g u r e  8  T y p i c a l  o f f i c e  s u i t e
  22: Fuel at 75% normal cost.
  23: Unexpected +2 on cargo resale.
  24: Cargo for sale at -1 on price.
  25: -10% on annual overhaul, good
  here only, any time in the next six months.
  26: -30% on price of missiles/reloads.
  31: Bargain in a shop or store (low
  value).
  32: Bargain in a shop or store (low to
  average value).
  33: Bargain in a shop or store (above
  average value on needed items).
  34: Bargain in a shop or store (excel-
  lent value).
  35: Rumor.
  36: Rumor.
  41: Favorable business offer; ref’s
  choice.
  42: Rich passenger in need of quick
  passage.
  43: Shipping delay.
  44: Insult.
  45: False accusation.
  46: Papers served on your ship, pre-
  venting departure or loading.
  51: Small bomb placed on your ship;
  50% chance bomb threat called in.
  52: Broker defaults, pocketing his fee.
  53: Embarrassing fiasco with friendly
  natives and two marines.
  54: You are mixed up with and impli-
  cated in illegal drug dealings.
  55: An accident occurs (1-2, to you;
  3-6, to another).
  56: Illegal business offer (1-2, trap; 3-6,
  for real).
  61: You suffer a false arrest.
  62: You suffer a false arrest, and find
  that the evidence could easily lead to a
  conviction.
  63: An attack from a person with a club
  or fists (1-2, on you; 3-6, on another).
  64: An attack from a person with a
  knife (1-2: on you; 3-6: on another).
  65: An attack from a person with a gun
  (1-2, on you; 3-6, on another).
  66: An attack from a hidden Psionicist
  (1-2, on you; 3-6, on another).
  This table is used once per day, at
  most. At the players’ option, this table
  might be used only once per week.
  Players may, by their option, act with
  circumspection, trying to avoid unplea-
    sant encounters. If so, results on the ta-
  ble will be restricted to 31-46 inclusive.
  Options for adventure
  This world is legally independent of
  the larger interstellar government, so
  that going into business as an importer,
  for instance, while difficult, may be re-
  warding. There is great profit to be made
  in mining or salvaging the sites of the
  ruined cities of Theury continent, organ-
  izing relief efforts (for pay), capitalizing
  on the nearly vacant continent itself
  (land prices are wildly unpredictable), or
  even setting oneself up as a bandit king.
  (Many such have gone into business
  despite the order-keeping efforts of the
  47
  
  Dragon
  Vol. VI, No. 9
  Navy and the Marines. Can you do better
  than they have?)
  In space, the Fleet in Presence tends
  to put a damper on piracy, a disadvan-
  tage equally offset by the presence of
  plentiful, rich traffic ripe for raiding. In
  other fields, trade is needed in the items
  that Theury continent used to produce.
  Shortages of these products — mostly
  high-tech stuff such as computers— will
  begin to be felt on Horla continent be-
  fore too long.
  The operations of the fleet are concen-
  trated toward the planet below. What
  would happen if an enemy fleet made a
  sortie at this time? Although this is felt to
  be unlikely, so were the historic raids on
  Pearl Harbor and on Port Arthur.
  Back in the hinterlands of Theury, up
  in the high hills, survivors and bandits
  skirmish for control of the few unde-
  stroyed resources. The Marines are
  spread dangerously thin. Could a bandit
  horde, of tech level equivalent to 5 or 6,
  successfully ambush a patrol of Marines
  at tech level 15? Can the Marines keep
  order while killing an absolute minimum
  of troublemakers?
  There’s an assassin high in the moun-
  tains, stalking one of the few living offi-
  cials of Theury continent. Is that in-
  tended victim now the legal president of
  the continent? Can he be saved?
  Emergency City needs doctors. Theury
  needs able and willing workers of any
  description. No skill would be unwel-
  come. There is a government—an entire
  continent — to rebuild from scratch.
  A rumor: Fifteen massive warheads
  are unaccounted for. Are they buried,
  undetonated, where they fell? Were they
  ever launched? Are the records incor-
  rect? Some might object that this is a
  trifling complaint: The Turga Lancers
  carry more than forty low-power tactical
  warheads, and Drake’s Slashers more
  than one hundred. But these that are ru-
  mored to be missing are city-busting de-
  vices. In the wrong hands . . . .
  A rumor: A group called the Planetary
  Independence Party is planning to use
  this opportunity for confusion to take
  over the Spaceport at Exonidas in a
  commando-style guerrilla raid. Is it non-
  sense, propaganda, or truth?
  A rumor: Theury continent has been
  opened up to colonization. It’s up for
  grabs, folks. Although not true, the story
  has gotten wide enough circulation that
  entire planeloads of would-be adventur-
  ers have gotten themselves a grubstake
  and some camping equipment, intend-
  ing to become frontiersmen and settlers.
  How are they to be stopped? Or should
  they be?
  There are opportunities on Horltheur;
  if you don’t seek them out, they’ll never
  pay off.
  ������� �
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  48
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Traveller/01 - Classic Traveller/Third Party Materials - CT/Misc Adventures/Classic Traveller - Exonidas Spaceport.pdf