TEXT: FOR SCIENCE FICTION RPGs
  MODULE 1
  Introduction
  This scenario is designed for use with
  any of the leading SFRPG’S - Traveller,
  Star Trek, Space Opera, Star Frontiers,
  etc., though this isn’t the only reason why
  no player stats are included. To judge by
  some of the letters appearing in the
  leading RPG magazines, many Referees
  and GMs are still locked into a mental
  straightjacket which makes them try to
  run any printed game straight off the page
  - which is a big mistake - or to reject such
  scenarios because they don’t fit into the
  current game (which isjust as daft).
  Although the scenario produced here is
  complete within itself, it is designed to be
  a source of ideas rather than a finished
  unit, and is particulary unsuitable for
  ‘unedited use’, so to speak. On the
  contrary, anyone wishing to use this
  material is strongly advised to read
  through the entire text before (a) making
  any and all additions/deletions he/she
  thinks necessary, and (b) rolling up
  character points which will tailor the
  scenario to the preferrred game and style
  of play, and’the experience of his/her
  players. This scenario should ONLY be
  read by referees - NOT by players.
  And now, having got those few thoughts
  off my chest, let the action commence.
  It is assumed that the PCs will start the
  adventure either on a rest planet or on a
  relatively unimportant interstellar flight.
  They will be contacted by ‘Headquarters’
  (which will vary from game to game, of
  course) and ordered to report as quickly
  as possible for an urgent briefing.
  MODULE 2
  The Briefing (1)
  Once the players have been gathered
  together, they will be asked to take a
  single spacecraft out in order to act as a
  guard of honour for an interstellar
  ‘schooner’ which is bringing in an
  ambassador from an important outer
  planet. They will be warned of only two
  possible sources of trouble attached to
  this mission:
  (1) The ambassador, from one of the outer
  worlds, is known to be an inveterate
  tourist. That is to say, there is nothing he
  likes less than simply travelling directly
  from point A to point B without making at
  least half a dozen stops along the way.
  The players are warned that they must not
  allow this at any cost, as the ambassador
  is due to address a crucially important
  meeting on a fixed date. This meeting
  cannot be postponed - except under very
  exceptional cicumstances  - without
  causing serious political upheavals.
  Note:
  The need to deliver the ambassador to
  his destination on time is actually only
  one small part of the mission - as we will
  soon see.
  Still, the importance of
  carrying out this small task successfully
  (and without offending the ambassador,
  of course) is all that should be impressed
  upon the players for the moment - so as to
  catch them off guard when the real action
  starts.
  (2) A second reason for keeping the
  ambassador on course is concerned with
  a newly discovered planet which lies not
  far off of his flight path. The Federation /
  Imperium / or whoever are currently
  negotiating with some of the more
  enlightened leaders on the planet in order
  to be allowed to mine a portion of its rich
  minerial deposits. These negotiations are
  very close to completion, but full consid-
  eration has to be given to the people of
  this new world - a strange and super-
  stitious race who call themselves the
  URTHYKNOI. Sudden visits - by anyone -
  could set the whole process back for
  years.
  The Briefing (2)
  A complete rundown on the URTHYKNOI
  (pronounced ER - THICK - NOY) is still
  not available. Existing list of facts is as
  follows:
  (1) The URTHYKNOI people are on the
  small side compared with human beings -
  the average height is just under five feet,
  when they stand on their hind legs, or
  about three feet from ears to the ground
  when they’re ‘on all six’.
  (2) As the last note suggests, the
  URTHYKNOI have six legs positioned
  at the shoulder, waist and hip. The front
  legs double as arms, though they show a
  fair amount of dexterity in their feet as
  well.
  The middle pair of legs seem
  originally to have served the sole purpose
  of supporting immature youngsters during
  travel.
  As they have progressed,
  technically, a split has appeared between
  those who regard these arms as obsolete
  (and refuse to use them for anything
  except their original purpose - or not at
  all), and those who see them as an
  adaptive bonus and who have learned to
  use them as a second pair of arms.
  (3) The seemingly trivial question of what
  BY A.J. BRADBURY
  to do with their central pair of arms is
  actually a central feature of URTHYKNOI
  life - not least because the main political
  parties are identified by their attitude
  towards this question.
  The more
  progressive faction (the people who are
  willing to negotiate for the mineral rights)
  support the use of all six limbs and are
  therefore known as the ‘sixers’. Their
  opponents, not surprisingly, are known as
  the ‘four only’ party (both names are only
  rough translations from the original ‘high
  Urthyknoi’ language, of course).
  (4) Those members of the four only who
  are known to be aware of the negotiations
  haven’t shown much enthusiasm for the
  project - but neither have they openly
  opposed it.
  It is essential that any
  dealings with the Urthyknoi take this
  situation into account and that everything
  (within reason) is done to avoid
  antagonising the members of the ‘four
  only’.
  (5) Whilst there is no single religion
  shared by all of the Urthyknoi, it is known
  that many ‘four only’ supporters also
  belong to the ‘wind from beyond’ cult
  (again this is only a rough translation of
  the original title).
  Followers of ‘wind from beyond’ share
  certain ideas found in the Polynesian
  ‘cargo cults’ here on earth. For example,
  whilst no visitor has been openly
  attacked, Urthyknoi cult members have
  made clear their contempt for the visitors
  from the federation/imperium/etc.  by’
  refusing to meet with them or accept any
  tokens of goodwill (ie. diplomatic bribes).
  The attitude of the cultists has intrigued
  the two or three anthropologists who have
  been allowed to make brief visits to the
  planet because it seems to be completely
  at odds with one of their central beliefs:
  That ‘He who was sent’ will come on the
  ‘Winds from beyond’ with many men and
  with many gifts for the Urthyknoi who
  have faithfully worshipped him. The only
  member of the Urthyknoi who ever openly
  commented on this point simply insisted
  that:
  “The true ‘He who was sent’ will
  make himself known beyond doubt when
  he cumes 1
  (6) The Urthyknoi are known to have
  certain, limited, telepathic powers, though
  their exact nature isn’t known.
  MODULE 3
  The Mission - Part 1
  The players should be expecting to
  meet up with the ambassador’s space
  
  1
  schooner shortly after it passes Greyp
  (pronounced Gree-lp) the home planet of
  the Urthyknoi. In fact they will intercept a
  mayday call from the Ambassadorial craft
  several hours before they reach the
  rendezvous.
  The call will make it clear that the ship is
  about to make a landing on Greyp, but
  everything else is hopelessly garbled.
  Even if a recording of the message is
  re-run with computer enhancement, etc.,
  it will not be possible to tell why the ship is
  being forced to land or whether the
  Captain is expecting to make a regular
  landing or a crash landing. Fortunately,
  the downed ship is carrying a rescue
  beacon, operated on one of the regular
  emergency channels.
  Locating the ship, once they reach
  Greyp, shouldn’t present any difficulties
  for the players. The big question, of
  course, is: having found the ship, how
  should they go about rescuing the
  ambassador and his crew? If the players
  don’t see this as much of a problem, the
  referee should emphasise the delicate
  nature of the investigations, and the fact
  that the appearance of two alien
  spacecraft in quick succession, might
  well be interpreted by the xenophobic
  members of the population as something
  closely resembling an invasion1 At this
  point, the players might feel that their
  best bet is to contact HQ for instructions
  as to how they should proceed. This
  action will turn out to be an extremely bad
  idea, as it will hasten the onset of the
  events described in Module 7.
  If on the other hand, the players decide
  to save time by sending down a search
  party immediately, they will walk straight
  into the situation described in Module 4.
  MODULE 4
  At Home with the Urthyknoi
  is to accompany the Urthyknoi voluntarily
  The ambassadorial spacecraft has
  landed approximately half a mile north of a
  small town. The town itself consists
  primarily of rows of dwellings built into the
  many banks and small hillsides in the area
  - a method of construction which leaves
  half of the habitation effectively
  underground, and half sticking out from
  the line of the slope with something that
  looks vaguely like a thatched roof. If the
  landing party set down close to the town,
  they will immediately be surrounded by
  the local population, who will try to drag
  them off to the regional governor - who
  lives 5-6 miles away in the opposite
  direction from the downed ship.
  Close observation of the Urthyknoi, and
  a bit of logical thought, will enable any of
  the players to spot that all the creatures
  have thin, almost hairless arms at ‘waist’
  level, which almost certainly means that
  they must be supporters of the ‘four only’
  school. This in turn, should suggest that
  there is a fair chance that they a) don’t
  like outsiders, and b) are probably very
  superstitious. On either, or both counts,
  they obviously need to be handled with
  great tact in order to avoid what could
  blow up into a major incident.
  In this situation, the players’ best move
  to the regional governor’s home where
  they will be dealt with more sympath-
  etically. If, on the other hand, the players
  try to resist - and especially if they try to
  use weapons of any sort - the Urthyknoi
  will swiftly disable them with implements
  not totally unlike electrical cattle prods.
  The effect of these implements is to
  temporarily scramble the central nervous
  system, thus causing the victim to
  collapse in a helpless heap.
  These
  effects are short-lived (lo-15 minutes
  depending on size, weight, constitution,
  etc.) and, though unpleasant, have no
  serious side-effects for a normally
  healthy person.
  Either way then, if the players enter the
  Urthyknoi town, they will end up visiting
  described above.
  the regional governor. The big difference
  is that, if the players resist the invitation
  to visit the governor, then they will be
  taken to him in chains, and he will be far
  less helpful than if they go there
  voluntarily.
  If on the other hand, the landing party
  sets down close to the ambassadorial
  craft, they will find that the ship is totally
  undamaged - it has made a near-perfect
  landing on the reasonably smooth, though
  unprepared landing site. Unfortunately,
  there is no sign of the ambassador, his
  staff, or the crew, and no clue as to where
  they have gone. (A diagram of the ship
  and a map of the landing area and village
  are given in module 5.) The landing party
  can either return to their ship, or move to
  the nearby town - with the results
  MBASSADOR’S SPACE LINER
  A.
  88 SPIRAL STAIRCASES
  
  MODULE 5
  Ambassador’s Space Schooner
  and Forced Landing Area
  The Space Liner
  The four illustrations show; an aerial
  view, with detail of one wing-mounted
  drive (a); the storage deck (b); the main
  passenger deck (c) and the upper deck
  navigation area (d). The numbered areas
  are as follows:
  Al). Two wing-mounted star drives.
  82). Fuel holders (Approx. half empty).
  83). General storage area. Note the two
  spiral staircases leading to the main
  deck. Entrance to this area is made
  through the hinged nose section.
  C4). Ambassador’s Quarters.
  C5). Captain’s Quarters.
  C6). Crew’s recreation area.
  C7 & 03). Crew’s quarters.
  C9 & Cl 0). Ambassador’s staff quarters.
  Cl 1). Ambassador’s work/leisure area.
  D12). Navigation Deck - room for Captain
  or first officer and three crew members at
  any one time.
  MODULE 6
  capital - but not the Ambassador. It
  seems that the local headman, who is
  also a priest of the ‘Wind from Beyond’
  cult, has decided that the ambassador is,
  in fact, ‘He who was sent’, and has had
  him taken off to the nearby ‘wind from
  beyond’ temple to await the arrival of the
  High Priest from the cult’s main temple.
  The inner section of the temple is
  regarded as absolutely sacrosanct, and
  whilst strangers might be permitted in the
  outer court, any attempt by the players to
  go further will meet the total resistance by
  the Urthyknoi (who would rather die than
  see their temple desecrated).
  The
  ambassador is actually suffering from
  severe shock and is very unlikely to try to
  escape from the alcove on the left of the
  high attar, where he has been made to sit
  in the ritual ‘throne’, a standard feature of
  all ‘wind from beyond’ temples (reserved,
  of course, for ‘He who was sent’.)
  By the way, in case someone gets the
  idea of making a back ‘door’ assault on
  the temple to catch the Urthyknoi off
  guard - there is no back door, and no back
  windows either. The temple is - as befits
  such a rural area - comparitively  spartan.
  It is built of something that resembles
  ‘wattle and daub’ or dwellings. It follows
  the traditional pattern, but not with the
  exactness seen in the stone temples in
  the cities, and some larger towns. The
  (1) The Maln Gate - about eight feet
  high and six feet across the face o! each
  gate. The gates are kept closed at all
  times (except on the three special days
  celebrated by the cult members each
  year), but they are only locked at night,
  and only then if no-one is on duty.
  (2) The Outer Court - a grassed-over
  area with stone-flagged paths leading to
  the inner temple. the public rooms and the
  two ‘offices’.
  (3) Public Rooms - it is impossible to
  explain the exact purpose of these rooms
  without entering into a full blown
  description of the rituals of the ‘wind from
  beyond’ cult. Suffice it to say that quite a
  number of the townspeople will be moving
  in and out of these rooms as long as, and
  whenever the temple is open.
  (4) Priest’s Room - for all practical
  purposes, this room can be seen as the
  equivalent of the vestry in an English
  church.
  The ‘Wind from Beyond’ Temple
  (5) Guard Room - this room is used by
  all of the officials of the temple, in fact,
  including half a dozen guards. Only two
  guards will be present at any given time
  as they work a shift system.
  (6) The Inner Temple
  (7) The High Altar is a plain stone
  block above which hovers a small
  cloud-like object which signifies the
  unknown ‘Beyond’ from which ‘He who
  When the players are eventually
  brought before the Regional Governor,
  and assuming that they haven’t
  antagonised everyone in sight, they will
  learn that the anbassador’s staff and
  crew have already arrived in the regional
  sections of the temple are as follows:
  was sent ’ will-come.
  
  The Temple of The “Wind From Beyond” Cult
  There are four small windows, high up on
  The temple is always in semi-darkness.
  the wall behind the altar, and the only
  other light comes from the lamp - the
  ‘Eternal Lamp’ in the alcove marked (8)
  The second alcove in the Inner Temple
  is occupied by the Throne of “He who was
  sent’. This ‘throne ’ (9) - little more than a
  straight -backed chair made of iron-wood
  and Beethp-skin - is presently occupied
  by the kidnapped Ambassador.
  MODULE 7
  The Mission - A Complication
  Sooner or later the players should begin
  to realise that they are not, in fact, the
  only aliens running around Greyp. But
  who are the others?
  Given its abundant supply of minerals, it
  is hardly surprising that news of the
  discovery of Greyp and its riches has
  spread throughout the length and breadth
  of the known universe - and probably
  beyond it too. Unfortunately, this news
  has travelled just as quickly through the
  grapevines of the galactic underworld as
  it has through more conventional
  channels. Greyp has become an object
  of unhealthy curiosity and avarice for
  more than one band of unsavoury
  interstellar cut-throats, but only one
  group has actually succeeded in
  sneaking past the Federation/Imperium
  patrol cruisers in order to set up a covert
  base on the planet surface - the
  Intersteller Craft Appreciation Society
  (the ‘Incas’ for short).
  on the Incas (see module 8), their primary
  aims are to subvert entire governments
  As can be seen from the detailed report
  or, where this is not possible, to at least
  stir up armed revolutions against govern-
  ments who insist on remaining loyal to the
  Federation /Imperium.
  In some respects, they are several
  steps ahead of the players in the present
  situation since most of what has
  happened has been engineered by the
  Incas.
  Firstly, the ambassadorial was forced
  down because of drive failure brought on
  by a jamming device invented by Incas’
  R&D section . Once the ship had landed it
  w a s  I n c a s  a g e n t s  w h o  l e d  t h e
  townspeople out to the ‘crash’ site.
  These same agents - whilst leading the
  mob against the ‘Invaders’ - took
  advantage of the general chaos to break
  into the ambassador’s cabin and tattoo
  him with the sacred mark of the ‘Wind from
  Beyond’ (a cloud shape like the object
  above the altar in the temple) which
  convinced the headman that the
  ambassador was the long awaited ‘He who
  was sent’.
  The players face a unique challenge in
  handling the Incas agents since they
  occupy the bodies of members of the
  native Urthyknoi population and are
  therefore indistinguishable from them.
  This is not an immpossible problem,
  however, though the players will need to
  attack the ‘root’ of the problem, so to
  speak, rajher than just dealing with
  symptoms. Naturally the Incas agents
  will hold those positions which will do tham
  the most good - as guards at the ‘Wind
  from Beyond’ temple, for example. As
  long as they survive, there is NO way that
  the players can hope to reach the
  ambassador to save him. Once the
  agents have been removed, however, if
  players can reach the ambassador
  without causing a general free-for-all in
  the process then they should be able to
  remove the tattoo without too much
  difficulty, thus removing the biggest
  barrier to the successful completion of
  their mission.
  MODULE 8
  The Incas
  The Incas title is, of course, intentially
  misleading - though not entirely so. The
  purpose of the organisation is to subvert
  the governments of the planets within the
  Federation I Imperium on a gradual basis,
  at the same time setting up a rival
  confederation headed by the Incas. The
  title of the society is designed to divert
  suspicion from their true purpose when,
  as they frequently do, they visit the many
  ‘less advanced’ planets - supposedly in
  order to trade for hand - made goods,
  works of art, etc. to be sold on the richer,
  inner planets.
  Naturally the Incas do buy and sell craft
  to maintain their cover, but most of their
  journeys are primarily concerned with
  placing agents, arranging secret
  negotiations, arms smuggling and the
  like.
  The Incas already control several of the
  outer planets, so they enjoy an income
  which allows them to maintain a very high
  level of technical progress (though their
  ‘subjects’ seldom if ever enjoy any benefit
  from these developments). They also
  have extensive training facilities
  throughout the area that they control -
  partly for general weapons/ space craft
  drill, but mainly for officers and men
  training with the items developed by their
  R&D section. Very often these items are
  not weapons, as such, though they are
  always for aggressive use of some kind.
  One such item which has only recently
  been released for widespread use - and
  one which is certainly being used by the
  Incas agents on Greyp - is the
  ‘Personal Displacement’ machine
  (see module 9).
  The personnel of Incas has been
  recruited from throughout the Federation/
  Imperium. However, unlike some other
  organisations, it is not composed entirely
  of criminals (wanted or otherwise). Many
  of the Incas are simply self-exiles from
  their own society - some because they
  disagree with the political system on their
  home planet and/or the Federation/
  Imperium, some because they want
  adventure, and some (of a more scientific
  turn of mind) because they want :o be free
  to carry out their research with almost
  limitless funds and no one to ask irritating
  questions like ‘is it useful for anything
  except making war?
  Incas fall into four main categories:
  a). AdmInistratIon - responsible for
  running Incas itself plus supplying aid in
  the running of any of the planets under
  
  their control. The decision to ‘aid’ an
  Incas-controlled planet rests with the
  admin. branch - Not the people of the
  planet in question.
  b). Research & Development - this
  branch is
  responsible both for
  devising/making/ testing and supplying
  new items, and for the maintenance of all
  existing equipment throughout the Incas
  organisation.
  c). Combat - the armed branch of Incas
  aids R&D in testing new weaponry, as well
  as using it whenever necessary to
  enforce Inca’s power. Combat is primarily
  concerned
  with
  straight-forward
  ‘conventional’/ physical operations,
  though it does occasional work with
  and/support operations mounted by
  ‘Special Services’.
  d ) .  Speciallsed Scanning Services
  - the last and most secretive branch of
  Incas. The SSS branch fields all of Incas’
  spies and agents (ie. spies work in
  unfriendly territory, agents work in neutral
  or friendly territory.) The senior members
  of the SSS are constantly on the look out
  for new recruits with unusual powers. It
  was one such recruit who gave R&D the
  idea for the personnel displacement
  machine.
  Finally, whatever their motives for
  joining Incas, its members will have been
  steadily (and completely without their
  knowledge or consent) brainwashed in
  order to instill perfect loyalty to the
  organisation. This knowledge, should it
  ever leak out, would be very upsetting (to
  put it mildly) for many members of the
  organisation - possibly even leading them
  to desert. It should be pointed out,
  however, that like all efficient brain-
  washing,
  the treatment includes
  instruction to the effect that the victims
  should never believe that they have been
  brainwashed. So, ti the players want to
  ‘turn’ one of the Incas, they will have to do
  more than just grab one of the enemy and
  e x p l a i n  t h a t  h e / s h e  h a s  b e e n
  indoctrinated.
  Module 9
  The ‘Personal Displacement’
  Machine
  The notion of building a ‘personal
  displacement’ machine came as a result
  of the recruitment into ‘specialised
  services’ of a young Malathurk (the
  secondary race of the planet, Aerabius
  IXg) named lyubl Sarognll.
  For some strange reason (no amount of
  research has yet discovered anything as
  simple as a straightforward genetic
  cause), the Malathurks occasionally
  produce a youngster who shows some
  degree of ability towards ‘personal
  displacement’ (ie, the ability to transfer
  one’s personality into another body). In
  some cases, this ability fades away as
  the young Malathurk grows towards
  maturity, in others the ability can only be
  applied to individuals from Aerabius IXg
  (of any race). But once in a while - a very
  bng while - a Malathurk comes along who
  can transfer him/herself into, and
  dominate, any other sentient being within
  range.
  lyubi Sarognii was the first
  Malathurk to show the ultimate degree of
  displacement ability in six generations.
  Sarognii’s parents, only too well aware of
  the Vartiera’s dislike of any signs of
  undue talent amongst the Malathurks,
  concealed lyubi’s skill from everyone
  except an OM sage, who, though having
  only a very limited ability himself, helped
  lyubi to develop his ability as far as it
  would go (The Vartiera are the dominant
  race on Aerabius 1Xg.)
  As soon as he was old enough to leave
  home, 
  lyubi 
  chose 
  to 
  join 
  an
  ‘underground’ group of Malathurk
  dissidents. His timing proved to be pretty
  near perfect (from lyubi’s point of view, at
  least),
  as Incas agents started to
  infittrate various Malathurk groups only a
  few months later as a preliminary to
  inciting a full scale rebellion.
  lyubi’s
  talents were swiftly and accurately
  assessed by the Incas, and it wasn’t long
  before the young Malathurk was on his
  way to a SSS training camp on Piograt
  Minor.
  lt was during the particularly demanding
  SSS graduation test that Sarognii first
  tried to use his powers of personal
  displacement away from his home planet.
  The results were impressive, especially
  for lyubi’s instructors when they found
  out exactly what he had done. Never one
  to let a good thing go unappreciated,
  Sarognii’s commanding officer at
  specialised services sent him - wih a
  covering letter - to his opposite number at
  R&D. Just under one year, and many,
  many experimants, tests, dummy runs,
  etc., Incas ‘backroom boys’ came up with
  a portable machine which would allow
  anyone to simulate Sarognii’s astonishing
  ability.
  There will be at least three Incas agents
  (using Urthyknoi bodies) in the vicinity of
  the town and/or the temple at any one
  time, with an Incas ship within radio
  distance at all times. The Incas agents
  are, of course, making use of the
  personal displacement machine - and are
  therefore subject to one major limitation -
  they cannot move more than 9.76
  Trossards (equal to 3 Earth Miles) away
  from the place where their original bodies
  are being stored, during the period of
  displacement.
  If they go even a few
  yards beyond this limit, the host body will
  become progressively weaker as the
  Incas invader loses strength. After
  approximately 25-35 minutes outside the
  communication limit, the Incas invader will
  lose all power and die - a couple of
  minutes later, the host’s body will be
  restored to its normal state, but with no
  knowledge or memory of the invasion it
  has suffered (but the players won’t
  necessarify  know about that!) The players
  have little or no chance of distinguishing
  the invaded Urthyknoi from their normal
  colleagues, so the Incas agents can only
  be incapacitated by finding their real
  bodies. These can be hidden (in their pale
  grey, tubular storage capsules) anywhere
  the referee chooses, given that they are
  unlikely to be more than three miles away
  from either the town or the temple.
  Incidentally, whilst the Urthyknoi, being
  a low-tech society, are unlikely to find the
  Incas’ Storage Capsules - let alone
  damage them - one of the agents will
  almost certainly (as a matter of policy) try
  to visit the hiding place at every second
  or third day to check that everything is
  OK.
  Module 10
  The Death Trauma of
  the Urthyknoi
  The primary purpose of the Incas
  invasion of Greyp was motivated by the
  rich supply of minerals which they are
  already mining in a couple of remote
  areas. The kidnapping of the ambassador
  is simply intended to discomfort the
  Federation/ Imperium through the failure
  of the conference that the ambassador is
  supposed to be attending.
  In other
  words, the Incas aren’t particularly
  interested in the ambassador as such,
  and have no plans to harm him except if a
  change of circumstances means that it is
  advantageous to them to do so. Indeed,
  they feel strongly that he is best left alive
  - a living ‘P.O.W.’ is much more useful
  than a dead one!
  Despite the limited scope of their
  operations, the Incas must, of course,
  remove the mined minerals from the
  planet surface - probably by ‘short range’
  matter transmitters. Once the materials
  are on board an Incas ship, they will be
  flown as quickly as possible to the
  nearest Incas-controlled planet for
  refining, etc. When the mission starts,
  these flights will have gone on totally
  undetected, of course, so this is
  something else thst the players must
  detect and deal with for themselves, in
  order to complete the entire mission
  satisfactorily. And naturally, there is a
  catch.
  In anticipation of the moment of the
  discovery, the Incas transporters carry
  half a dozen kidnapped Urthyknoi each -
  including the son of the headman of the
  town where the ambassador’s space
  schooner set down. These hostages
  aren’t really aware of what they are being
  used for - they are literally just going
  along for the ride.
  Any attempt to
  interface with an Incas ship will be met
  with a message concerning the presence
  of the Urthyknoi.
  In case any of the
  players take the attitude that a few
  Urthyknoi more or less isn’t going to make
  much difference one way or t’other -
  especially when they are to die far from
  their own planet and with no-one on Greyp
  any the wiser - the Incas will, if pushed,
  supply a second piece of information.
  From what the Incas say (and they are,
  in fact, telling the truth) every member of
  the Urthyknoi race has the gift of thought
  transference - but only at the moment of
  death! This ability - known as the ‘Death
  Trauma of the Urthyknoi’ - means that
  they can transmit a thought picture in
  great detail and clarity for just a few
  seconds at the moment of death, and
  over the vast distances to be received by
  a special sub-committee of the High
  Council of Greyp. So, if an Incas ship is
  attacked and damaged or destroyed by
  the players, then, if only one Urthyknoi is
  killed as a result of that attack, it will
  certainly pass that information back to
  the High Council  of Greyp - and bang go
  any chances of signing a peace and trade
  treaty!
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Star Frontiers (osr)/Star Frontier 1st Edition/3rd Party/SFAD - Adventure - BigTrouble.pdf