Emerald Shadows: Game Adventure LUG

Emerald Shadows -
“Emerald Shadows” is a new adventure for experienced players of Star Trek: The Next Generation Roleplaying Game by Last Unicorn Games. This is the espionage mission we were sent on into the heart of Romulan Space, to Romulus itself, to cure the empress and her daughter of a biogenic weapon. It’s also the mission where the Starship Twilight was fitted with a Federation Interphasing Cloak, the same cloaking device once used on the U.S.S. Pegasus. This is the mission we almost didn’t return from. After this, colonel Sela became a sworn enemy of Captain Jaryd Harker M.D., and the entire crew of the Twilight.

The Crew has some options for roleplaying. They can play the senior officers of Twilight, with Captain Harker as an NPC; or one of them can roleplay Captain Harker himself; finally, the captain’s character can be replaced by one of the PC characters who is an experienced captain. The rest of the characters should at least have obtained the rank of Lt. Commander. Finally, keep in mind, there is a very real possibility that on this mission, their characters can be killed, the Ship blasted right out of the Stars. It damn-near happened to us!

It is strongly recommended that the Crew download the Nova Class Technical Manual, elsewhere on this same website, and become thoroughly familiar with it. In your mind, walk her decks, become familiar with her general layout, what her systems are, what the Ship’s limitations are, and what the lady is truly capable of. Twilight is a small but capable science vessel, and you are literally flying past a dozen D’deridex B-class Warbirds, all under the command of Sela and the Tal Shiar, and all of them are out to kill you.

Background
You’re captain of the U.S.S. Twilight. You’re relaxing in your quarters, just cutting into a perfectly replicated London Broil steak, medium rare, with real, chilled red wine (Chateau Picard) in your glass, when the boson’s whistle goes off.

“''Captain, we have an incoming message from Starfleet Command. Code 47''.”

You stop short, the meat on your fork just millimeters from your watering mouth. You think, ''Good God! What has she got for us now?'' You rise from the dining room table, cross your cabin to your desk, turn the terminal around, and speak in a commanding voice. “Computer: recognize Harker, Jaryd, captain, U.S.S. Twilight. Authorization Harker-Alpha-Epsilon-125.”

“''Acknowledged. This transmission is Eyes and Ears Only. No recordings will be made, and the communications log will be deleted.''”

“Understood. Go.”  In a second, the blue and white flag of the United Federation of Planets is replaced by the image of a gently aging Starfleet admiral, a still-beautiful Nubian lady of Terran ancestry, 132 years old, with silver having overrun her hair. Her eyes twinkle as usual, but there’s steel in them as well.

“Admiral Uhura,” you say in greeting. This elegant woman is your direct commanding officer at Starfleet Intelligence.

“''Captain Harker. Good to see you. I’m recalling the Twilight to Earth immediately. I have a mission for you, one that’s highly dangerous….''”

The next thing you know, you’re ordering the Bridge to set course for Earth, maximum warp, safeties removed, and to only reduce to Warp 7 when it looks like the Warp Core is getting ready to blow the ship to smithereens.

LCARS 1.0 – Twilight arrives at Earth
At last, after more than a week at high warp (and your chief engineer crying bloody murder) you arrive in the Sol star system, and proceed to Earth at slightly over a quarter of lightspeed. There you finally see your destination: the giant orbiting Space Dock One, with the Big Blue Marble just beyond it. Your fingers drum on the command chair as the conn officer gracefully guides Twilight through the humongous space doors and to her berth. The tractor beams, physical moorings, and power cables attach automatically.

“We have hard-dock, sir,” the conn officer reports, turning to you.

“Very good. Senior officers, you’re with me,” you snap crisply, and the seven of you crowd into the turbolift, as you hear the thump of a hard-dock directly above you. “Admiral Uhura’s office,” you order the computer. The turbolift car leaves the Twilight and enters the Space Station’s network via the connect point above the Bridge.

“Sir, what’s so important that the Lady ordered us here—“

“All your questions will be answered momentarily, Commander. I assume you are aware of the term ‘Classified?’” you snap, and desperately try a meditation technique to get your breathing under control. An Alpha-One-Red emergency hasn’t been called more than a handful of times in all of Starfleet’s history, and Uhura had used it now. Two of the most dreaded words in the English language have been burning in your mind since you heard them: biogenic weapon. Twilight had been deliberately refit as a medical research vessel, and this crew had been assembled for this one purpose: to combat biogenic and metagenic weapons. Now, it was time to put this Ship to the test.

You and your officers enter a vast office, decorated with African artifacts. Seven deck-to-ceiling transparent aluminum windows dominate the outside bulkhead, through which Earth can be seen, floating majestically amid the stars. Standing behind the desk, Admiral Nyota Uhura breaks off a quiet conversation she’s been having with a stooped, elderly gentleman, garbed in a white uniform jacket with admiral’s pips on the collar. You immediately recognize your old professor from Starfleet Medical, Dr. Leonard McCoy. The old man is gruff.

“Took you long enough, boy!” McCoy grouses.

You smile in return, and extend your hand. “We caused a micro-fracture in the dilithium chamber of our Warp Core getting here, Leonard. How are you?”

You all take your seats; you’re surprised that the ergonomic chairs are embracing you, relieving your fatigue. Uhura is blunt, and to the point. Commander Sela of the Romulan Tal Shiar has infected the Royal Family with a biogenic weapon, tailored to their specific genome. It will only affect members of the Royal Family, and then, it was most virulent. Sela is of Royal blood by her father, and should the rest of her family die off, it would leave her with the throne.

McCoy informs all of you that a few years ago, in a mission code-named “Red Sector,” a similar virus tailored to this same family nearly wiped them all out. McCoy had produced an antigen in time, with the help of Dr. Beverly Crusher of the Enterprise-D. This new virus is similar to the last one, and McCoy was able to synthesize a cure for it rather quickly.

McCoy sets a silver box down on Uhura’s desk, and opens it. Inside is a hypospray, and six ampules with blue fluid inside each one. There’s enough of the drug to cure every member of the Royal Family, plus a dozen more. He hands the box to you with shaking hands, but his blue eyes are as steady as tritanium.

Uhura continues. “The empress Aelin Ael-Sheriah was once a Romulan commander, from whom Captain James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock stole a cloaking device in 2268—“

“Those were the days,” McCoy comments, and Uhura goes on as if she hadn’t heard. Uhura calls up a photograph of her. Empress Aelin (she has hardly aged)

“A strikingly beautiful woman. She apparently fell in love with Spock, and…continues to love him. They have a daughter, Princess Eviess, 14 years old. Very few know this secret. It makes this mission personal. The empress has granted us permission for one Federation starship to enter Romulan space, and to have free passage to Romulus itself. Further, she has granted us permission to operate a Federation cloaking device in Romulan Space. Since the head of the Romulan government has requested our aid through channels, the Prime Directive doesn’t apply—technically. The Federation Council could conceivably argue that this is a civil war, and therefore an internal matter.”

“Which is why SI is getting involved clandestinely,” Harker concluded.

Uhura nodded. “Aelin knows that her cousin Sela is behind the poisoning, and will stop of nothing to seize the throne—even if she has to murder her entire family.” Sela (the villainess)

At this time, hand each player a PADD containing the classified Starfleet Intelligence file on Commander Sela. It shows that she is a ruthless Tal Shiar agent, rumored to be the director or assistant director of that espionage service, in fact. She commands fleets of Romulan starships, and at 1,353 meters, a single D’deridex B-class warbird is over 5 times the size of the Twilight.

“You will have to be stealthy in order to reach Romulus safely. Scotty—Admiral Montgomery Scott—is now aboard your ship, installing this highly-classified cloaking device—and yes, Engineer, he is also replacing your fractured Warp Core, and repairing and recalibrating a number of other systems.”  This causes the PC engineer to nod, as Scotty is the head of the SCE. If your chief engineer trusts anybody else in his engine room, it’s certainly Montgomery Scott!

Federation Interphase Cloaking Device Leaning back in her tall, leather-backed chair, Uhura now addresses the rest of the Crew:

“I won’t lie to you. This is an extremely dangerous mission, which will take your ship deep into Romulan Space, all the way to Romulus itself. If any of you are caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow all knowledge of your actions, citing the Prime Directive. He will not risk war. Starfleet will do nothing to return you safely. Captain Harker is a medical officer who has volunteered for this mission because of his Hippocratic Oath. A Nova Class starship is highly automated. If necessary, Twilight can be flown by a single officer at the primary conn station on the Bridge, combining also Ops and Tactical. I also have a dozen other officers who have already volunteered, and are standing by to assist him, if necessary. There is no shame in bowing out of this mission. To date, all of you, your service has been exemplary. You will simply be reassigned to another ship or starbase of your choice. Or, you may wait here on Earth, and resume your post when—if—Twilight returns.

The narrator now pauses to see if any PC wishes to bow out of this highly dangerous mission. It is expected that none of them will do so, but what happens if any of them elect to stay behind is up to the narrator. The rewards, if successful, are in proportion to the danger.

Uhura smiles at all of them. “I’m glad to see you’re all made of the same tritanium alloy another crew I once knew was. As of now, you’re all on liberty for 48 hours, till Scotty can prep your Ship. Make the most of it.”

The Cure for the Virus

Whatever each PC officer decides to do for the next two days is entirely up to them. (Although it’s expected that the PC engineer will want to supervise the installation of the cloak and other equipment himself, this is not required.  If he does, it grants him a +2 on operations and maintenance for the new cloaking device. Grant the PC engineer character a Shipboard Systems (Cloaking Device) 1 (2) to his character sheet.)

Captain Harker takes the opportunity to visit Hawaii. By the first evening, he is lounging on a beach by crystal clear water with balmy breezes, contemplating that before he dies, at least he’d enjoyed a few days’ well-deserved rest and relaxation. He takes one PADD with him, maps to plan the trip to Romulus; the rest of its memory is filled with fictional literature.

LCARS 2.0– Twilight Departs Space Dock
In 48 hours, at 1300 hours shiptime, the last of the stragglers from the crew have reported on board. Twilight’s needed repairs and calibrations have been completed, and she has taken on new supplies. Admiral Scott assures you that the new Warp Core he and his “lads” have installed will cruise at Warp 7 for ten sectors (where it was only designed for cruising at Warp 6.)  Romulus is roughly 2.5 sectors away, which means it will only take 27.5 days to make the trip. Harker sets his jaw. “That’s not good enough, Scotty. My patients are dying. We need Warp 8.”

“Ah was afraid ye’d say that. If yer Chief Engineer sits on the Warp Core and nurses her, she’ll do 7.5 and Warp 8 in bursts, which’ll get ye there in 16 days. Ah cannae do better.”

Harker grudgingly nods in acceptance. He really wants to get to Romulus in a week or less, but his ship won’t do Warp 9.

If the PC captain thinks of asking Uhura for a larger and faster ship to tractor the Twilight across two sectors of space, have him roll a Diplomacy (9) Test, with a +5 modifier for Harker’s contact to Uhura (that makes it a Diplomacy (4) Test.)  Then, roll 1d6 secretly; a result of 4, 5, or 6 means Uhura can have the U.S.S. Discovery, a Nebula-Class vessel, tow Twilight at Warp 9 to Starbase 10.  (If the captain spends 1 courage point, give him success on both.)  The Twilight will then make the rest of the journey across the Neutral Zone to Romulus under her own power. This will mean the entire trip will only take 8 Days instead of 16.

Once at Starbase 10, the captain accepts coded transmissions from Earth, containing detailed intelligence on the current locations of Romulan vessels. Also, there is a personal message from Ambassador Spock, on Romulus. The empress has taken a turn for the worse; speed is of the essence.

LCARS 2.1 – Stealthy Voyage
Normally, while under Cloak, the Ship can travel at a maximum velocity of Warp 4 (Warp 5 for this mission with the recalibrated Warp Core.)  This means it will take some 15 days to cross half a sector and reach Romulus, if cloaked all the way.

The captain must now make a command decision: cross the Neutral Zone and proceed to Romulus at Warp 8, meaning they will arrive in 3.5 days, assuming nobody challenges them. The Cloak draws an enormous amount of power; if all unneeded energy expenditures are discontinued (i.e. food replicators, turbolifts, holosuites, etc.) and life support is reduced to bare minimum levels, Twilight will be able to travel under Cloak at Warp 6.5, which would mean the Ship will arrive in 5 days.

If Harker elects to travel at Warp 8 without the cloak until they are spotted, and then activate the device, that means they will have cut several days off of the trip. FYI Narrator: Twilight will be able to travel most of the distance at Warp 8 before she is spotted by a Romulan D’deridex class ship, the Goraxus; she must then make the remainder of the journey at Warp 6.5. This means that they will arrive in 2 days total, but don’t tell the PC Crew this! Roll-play the situation out. Romulan Star System (4 planets)

If the captain elects to travel without the new cloak, the Ship is traveling at Warp 8 for most of the trip. With a Shipboard Systems (Engineering) (9) Challenging Test, the PC Chief Engineer has managed to rig the shields so that to another vessel’s long range sensors, the Ship appears to be a Belakian luxury liner, perhaps traveling a bit fast at Warp 8, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Three different PC Crewmembers are concentrating on the Ship’s sensors. If any of them succeed on a Routine (4) Shipboard Systems (Sensors) Test, they see the D’deridex B-Class warbird headed right for them at Warp Factor 9. A Routine (3) Computer (Research) Test reveals that this ship is the Goraxus, commanded by a Romulan officer named Sela. Tell the PC bridge officer that he is fighting down panic, and must report this information to the captain.

“Prepare to divert all power to the shields in case this doesn’t work,” your captain orders, and he calls for engineering to activate the Cloaking device.

Your engineer replies in a nervous voice, “Skipper, this thing destroyed the Pegasus!  It’ll likely overload our Warp Core too!”  (You’ve heard this warning before.)

NOW what do you do, hero?

(Hint: As captain, I spent 3 courage points to get us out of this mess!) before I rolled. Then, the GM (Tony) informed me, that wasn’t really necessary; the cloak was installed by Scotty, remember? It wouldn’t have overloaded the system.

'“Engineering: this is the Captain. We have three D’deridex Class warbirds shooting at us. I could care less if the cloak overloads our warp core. Push the damn button!”'

Sela's record: rather nasty, isn't she? If you survive this episode, she's you're Sworn Enemy!

If the captain elects to activate the cloak anyway (the most logical solution) the Romulan Warbird Goraxus fires upon the Twilight’s last known position; this has absolutely no effect on the Ship whatsoever; all enemy fire simply passes harmlessly through the Starfleet vessel.

An automatic action from Tactical, Shipboard Systems (Sensors) notices that there are two more B-Class Romulan warbirds decloaking, and firing on their last position. The quantum torpedoes likewise pass harmlessly right through the Ship’s phased hull (but it makes a spectacular fireworks display.)  You and your bridge crew breathe a sigh of relief, and continue onto Romulus, best speed.

If Ops orders that all unnecessary systems be shut down, and life support (including SIF and IDF generators) be reduced to bare minimum levels, the Ship can actually make Warp 6.5 with its recalibrated Warp Core. If the PC Ops Manager doesn’t think of this, and the captain doesn’t order it, the best the Ship can make is Warp 5. If Twilight makes Warp 6.5, Romulus is only half a day away; if Warp 5, it takes another 2 days. With all unnecessary systems shut down, the ship’s air is thinner than normal with lesser oxygen content, the temperature is cold (45 degrees Fahrenheit, 7.22 degrees Celsius) and the entire Crew is reduced to eating TKL rations. The decks are reduced to emergency lighting, and the gravity is reduced to 0.5g. Naturally, the turbolift system is shut down, so your crew has to climb ladders through the Jefferies tubes. You get a report from engineering that the Interphasing Cloak device is drawing most of the Ship’s power, but functioning perfectly.

The PC Engineer has to “sit” on both the Cloak and the Warp Core for the remainder of the trip, getting very little sleep. Have the Engineer run 3 Tests for each remaining day of the trip: Shipboard Systems (Warp Core), Shipboard Systems (EPS conduits), and Shipboard Systems (Cloaking Device), all at Moderate Difficulty (8). If the PC Engineer fails any of these Tests, have certain systems fail or flicker (the ship’s emergency lighting going to pitch darkness, the gravity cutting out to zero) that kind of thing.

Sometime during this long voyage, probably the tail end of it, the chosen Away Team (including Captain Harker, a doctor) report to sickbay to have their physical appearance altered (read explanation, below.)

LCARS 2.2 – Final briefing
The Crew is called to the Officer’s Conference Lounge on Deck One to be briefed on the mission, which includes details on the worlds. Nova Class Starship Twilight: 221.64 m. long vs.

D'deridex Class Warbird: 1,341 m. long.

This image is to scale (they really are that much bigger!)

If traveling under Cloak, the Ship arrives at Romulus at the prescribed time, and enters standard orbit. The star is called ch'Rihanah in Romulan, or Romii in Federation Standard. Both Romulus (Class-O, Pelagic) and Remus (Class-L, Marginal) orbit it, along with two other planets. Romulus is a paradise world, slightly warmer in temperature than Earth, with surface water covering 82% of the planet. Average surface temperature is 23.45 degrees,Celsius; its gravity is slightly higher, 1.04g. Under natural conditions, it rains part of virtually every week, followed by sunshine and clear skies. The landmasses have tropical conditions, except at 30° latitude and higher, which is temperate. Romulus has small icecaps. Romulus

In contrast, Remus is tidally-locked; one hemisphere faces the sun Romii constantly and boils, while one half faces freezing space. On the surface, only the temperate zone (the terminator between day and night) is habitable without pressure domes, although the winds are constantly at hurricane force. Most of the Remans live underground, where they mine the world’s vast natural resources.

The Romulan Capitol City of Val’danadex Trel The PC Crew, for their own protection, has been surgically altered to pass as Romulans. Captain Harker wears the military uniform with symbols declaring he is of the medical division. He also wears a number of devices developed by Starfleet R&D, SI, and SCE. Included is a black leather belt with a small device where the belt buckle normally would be; this is a personal shield. Once activated, it will generate a localized force field for five minutes, then gradually die off over 45 seconds, until there’s nothing left of the battery charge. This personal shield can withstand a total of two phaser blasts set for Level 14. In a small belt pouch, Harker carries a hypospray loaded with an ampule of the cure.

The remaining four ampules have been divided up between the remaining PC Crew members; each PC Crewman carries one hypospray, loaded with an ampule. As a holdout, one of the six ampules Dr. McCoy gave to Harker will remain on board in Sickbay. The mission is for at least one of the PC Crew to make it to the empress and her daughter, and vaccinate them both. If one or two of the PC Crew is vaporized by Romulan disruptor fire, the surviving PC Crew is to carry on. Curing the empress and the princess is of paramount importance.

A Nova Class Starship's small Transporter Room, Deck 2

LCARS 3.0 – Beam Down
The Away Team reports to the transporter room. Here, the PCs are issued standard-issue Phaser II, all disguised to resemble Romulan disruptors. Their Starfleet Commbadges are replaced with the Romulan equivalent, and everyone is issued a tricorder, which is the same hardware as a Starfleet version, only the case is Romulan.

The PC captain can of course choose his own Away Team, but the recommendation (what we used) is as follows: the captain, First Officer, Chief Medical Officer, Chief Tactical Officer, and two security guards. This leaves the Ops Manager and Chief Engineer in charge of the Ship.

Note: one of the important facts about this Federation Cloaking Device that all of the PCs were briefed on by Scotty, is that '''nobody can beam on or off the ship while the cloak is in operation! '''To even attempt this foolhardy action means '''instant death''' for all living persons being transported. This means the cloak must be dropped during transport.

Beaming down takes six seconds. Tying in the cloak controls and the transporter through the main computer takes a Computer (Programming) or Engineering Systems (Transporter) or Shipboard Systems (Transporter) (7) Moderate Test, so that the Cloak automatically drops, then the Crew is beamed down to the surface and materialized (6 seconds) and then the Cloak is automatically raised again. Either the Ops Manager or Chief Engineer should have the skills to make this roll on their own, but (hint!) a combined roll would definitely help. Programming the computer to do this is the best option, so everything goes smoothly.

What the Crew doesn’t know, is that Sela and her crew are working hard on penetrating this new Federation cloaking device. They haven’t got their scanners quite calibrated yet, but, they have a fair idea of where the Twilight is! Sela has deduced, through listening to the Comm traffic, that Twilight has the cure for the empress, and is attempting to deliver it to her; this will, naturally, spoil all of Sela’s dastardly plans.

If you check Sela’s Character Sheet, you’ll see that she has a rather nasty Trait of Vengeful -2, and she’s a Fanatic -1. This combines to a -3, which means by now, Sela’s out for blood—the blood of the PC Crew. Fortunately, this also means she’s not thinking clearly, so that -3 applies to all rolls she makes against Twilight and her Crew (this is why they call it a Disadvantage.)

The Ship’s Transporter Chief is at the controls, unless the PC Engineer insists on doing it. (It might actually be better if the Engineer were down in Engineering on Deck 7, closely monitoring the Cloaking Device. It’s up to the Narrator if he wishes to hint this or not.)

“Energize!”  It takes six seconds to beam down our heroes.

Twilight decloaks, rather spectacularly. Alarms instantly go off on every Romulan ship and installation on the planet. The jig is up, and the whole World of Romulus knows you’re here! Fortunately, it’s only for six seconds, and only one Warbird is expecting this: the Goraxus. The Warbird decloaks and opens fire! 'Narrator: Roll a Challenging (10) Shipboard Systems (Tactical) Test, for Goraxus'' to get a Weapons Lock and fire disruptors; alternatively, Sela attempts to fire blindly, without a proper lock. The Test becomes Difficult (12) to hit the Twilight, with a -3 modifier. '''

 

If the hit succeeds, it impacts on Twilight’s shields, which the computer automatically raises, upon detecting the decloaking Warbird. (Otherwise, the unshielded Ship would take serious damage.)  As it stands, the Main Computer has initiated an emergency override of the Cloaking Device, in order to raise the shields. It will take the Engineer a Routine (3) Shipboard Systems (Cloaking Device) or Shipboard Systems (Tactical) Test to override the Main Computer and transfer power back to the Cloak, then reactivate the Device. This should only take a round for the officer to do so, once he reads his board and understands what happened. Fortunately, all control surfaces on a 24th Century Starship are software driven, so it will take the Engineer an additional round to change the Transporter Console into an Engineering Control surface.

Alternatively, the Ops Manager can roll these Tests, if he is on the Bridge, and at his board, instead of sitting in the captain’s chair. Either way, Twilight lists in space, until Conn can get her under control again.

Goraxus firing disruptors at Twilight

U.S.S. Twilight's Bridge during Red Alert

It is not recommended that the Twilight try to shoot it out with the Romulan Warbird; that will have disastrous consequences for the Ship. Hopefully, the officers the captain left in command will realize the utter futility of the endeavor, or the PC Crew will have to find alternative transportation home.

LCARS 3.1 – Welcome to Romulus
When the Away Team materializes, they find themselves in the subbasement of a private building, which happens to be a department store in the Capitol City of Val’danadex Trel. Surrounding the PCs are metal shelving units, containing boxed products and merchandise, which has not yet been put on display in the store’s public portions, above them.

Also standing down here, waiting for them, is a lone figure attired in grey robes: Ambassador Spock of Vulcan. The gently aging Vulcan raises his hand in the customary salute. “Greetings, Captain Harker. I am Spock.” Ambassador Spock of Vulcan

Wasting no time, Spock inquires if you have the cure with you; the PC captain nods affirmative, and pats his leather belt pouch with the hypospray inside. “Excellent. If you will all follow me?”

Spock explains that all of the government buildings here have elaborate security systems, especially the Imperial Palace, where the dying empress and her daughter are. This is why his logic told him to have the Away Team materialize in the basement of a nearby department store. Security isn’t nearly as tight here; Spock was able to deactivate the transporter scrambler that prevented beaming with practiced ease. (Virtually all Spock and Scotty have to do is breathe on a device to get it to do what they want it to!)

To get inside the palace to deliver the cure, they have two options: a) go upstairs, and walk into the palace as part of a guided tour; b) go through a maze of underground caverns and tunnels, that interconnect all of the office buildings, and which only a handful of Romulans know about. Fortunately, Spock has many knowledgeable friends here in Val’danadex Trel. Unfortunately, these tunnels are as dangerous as any dragon’s lair in the game Dungeons and Dragons—and about as well stocked with monsters!

If the captain chooses option a), then use the following: LCARS 3.1 – Streets of Val’danadex Trel.  If the PC captain chooses option b), then proceed to LCARS 4.0 – Natural Caverns.

LCARS 3.1– Streets of Val’danadex Trel
Option a: Streets of Val’danadex Trel:

“That may not be wise, Captain,” Spock intones. “True, you are disguised as Romulan officers, but this is the capitol. The streets are crawling with armed guards, and the planet has already been alerted to your presence.”

“That may be so, Mr. Ambassador, but it appears to be the quickest path to the Romulan Imperial Palace. Besides, if we happen to be challenged, I’m sure the loyal citizens of Romulus will wish to aid their ailing ruler in any way they can. We may find they will escort us quickly to the palace.”

“Logical,” Spock replied, bowing to the PC captain’s judgement. “Up these steps, gentlemen.”

The Crew climbs a set of plastiform shaped stairs with a metal handrail, and exit through a duranium door. Nearby are a pair of public restrooms; no one notices the group exiting the basement. Just past this alcove the space opens to a large area, with clothing stacked neatly in cubbies, all different sizes. While the clothing is all of different styles, some jackets with hoods, some short-sleeve shirts, some slacks, some underwear, all of it appears in varying shades of grey. The only exception to this unwritten rule are the boots and leather belts, which are black. The store is crowded with patrons, men, women, and some children attending their parents. Nobody seems to notice the Away Team.

Spock leads them outside Nelis Department Store, and into a vast outdoor shopping mall. Stores line both sides of the huge area, displaying their names in Romulan script, and their wares behind transparent aluminum windows. The PCs follow Spock through the street. The sun is beating down upon everyone; the air is humid and close, and you feel that it will soon rain. The bay of Val’danadex Trel is quite lovely, with crystal clear, aquamarine water. A cool breeze wafts in across from the bay, refreshing. If the mission wasn’t so urgent, you and your Crew would quite honestly be tempted to tour this beautiful world, like so many around you.

Have all of the PCs, especially the Tactical Officer, roll for an Alertness, or Stealth Test at Challenging (11), every 2 – 3 rounds. After 8 Turns, the Test is reduced to (9), then (5), and finally (2) (automatic.)  Eventually, the Away Team notices the same Romulans tailing them, and closing in on their little group from all sides. The captain is informed, and the decision of what to do next is up to him. The group has four options, depending on how close the Tal Shiar officers are to them: a) beam back up to the ship (which is impossible at this point, because of both cloaking devices and planetary shields which went up); b) flee and attempt to hide in some building (which is fruitless, as all government buildings are locked down now, and even the public ones have security surveillance devices watching the streets); c) pull phasers and prepare to fight; d) surrender. If a or b, go to LCARS 3.2; if c, go to LCARS 3.3; if d, go to LCARS 3.4.

LCARS 3.2– Flee!
The captain taps his subcutaneous commbadge, and quickly finds that not only is communications jammed, but a Personal Equipment (Tricorder) Test of (5) reveals that a planetary shield is raised, and it’s impossible to beam back to the ship. They turn to run, but quickly learn that the front doors to all buildings are locked. If the Crew attempts to phaser their way in, have them roll a Combined Test of Energy Weapon (Phaser) at 12 (Difficult.)  It will take phasers set at Level 14 (the highest a Type 2 Phaser will go) roughly 3 minutes to melt through the reinforced tri-polymer door. By that time, the Crew is completely surrounded, and the Romulans are firing at them. Go to LCARS 3.3 Small Arms Combat:

LCARS 3.3– Small Arms Combat
The Crew takes what cover they can, behind statues, pillars, fountains, etc. (If in the cavern, behind large stalagmites.)  A firefight begins, and the Crew is caught in the cross-fire! There are ten Tal Shiar agents in front of them, ten behind, and five more approaching from the side alley or across the street. (Total of 25.)  The Romulan disruptors are set for heavy stun, unless the PCs are shooting to kill, or Sela has beamed down and ordered them all killed. Play the combat out, until all the PC Crew is dead, unconscious, or surrenders (go to LCARS 3.4: Surrender: )

LCARS 3.4– Surrender to the Tal Shiar
The captain visibly tosses his disguised hand-phaser onto the street, raises his hands, and orders his Crew to do the same. The Tal Shiar wastes no time gathering up the PCs weapons, and their lieutenant taps his commbadge and mutters something into it. In moments, Sela beams down from her Warbird, smiling. She’s easy to pick out: she’s the only blonde Romulan on the planet. She approaches the captain, not even bothering to draw her disruptor. “Dr. Harker, what a pleasure! You led us on a merry chase!” she preens.

“How did you find us so quickly?” Harker asks, suspicious because their cover was blown so quickly. “Obviously, there’s a mole somewhere at Starfleet Headquarters, feeding us false information—and giving the Tal Shiar intel at the same time.”

There was a twinkle in Sela’s blue eyes. “Since you’re all going to be put to death anyway, I might as well tell you. The metal insignia on your Romulan uniforms; the birds of prey are slightly off in design. A computer program in our surveillance net constantly monitors all public cameras on the street and in every office building; if something’s amiss, a silent alert goes off. A human, by the name of Cmdr. Wilhelm Garret, is a professor at Starfleet Academy. He teaches, of all things, counterintelligence and stealth against the Tal Shiar. His advice is just slightly off color, enough for any trained Tal Shiar agent to spot easily.”

“We’re here on invitation of your empress, Major Sela,” the PC captain responds in an even tone, trying to appeal to her better nature, or at least her patriotism. “Her Imperial Majesty is dying. I have the cure on me.”

“It’s Colonel Sela now, your intelligence is a little out of date. Unlike ours,” Sela gloats. “The Tal Shiar knew who you were and what you carried the moment the Twilight left Earth,

thanks to Garret. Oh, and I know my dear cousin is dying. I’m the one who administered the biogenic weapon. You see, my good doctor, with my royal father’s family all dead,  that leaves me as empress. I was 14th in line. Now I’m on the Throne.”

Dr. Trask, Twilight’s CMO, is appalled. Sela takes several steps toward them, smug and overconfident. “You’d murder your own family? Your father, too? Why?”

“It’s called power, Dr. Trask. Granted, in recent centuries the seat of power has mostly shifted to the Praetor, but I have maneuvered to the point where I am deputy director of the Tal Shiar. I have accumulated nearly as much power as he has. That, and I get to live in a much grander palace! The Throne is about to be all mine.”  By now, the PCs notice how wild Sela’s eyes are; if she’s not insane, she’s certainly power-hungry and a fanatic.

As Sela paces in front of the line of PCs, from Dr. Trask to Harker. As she passes T’Lura, or whomever the PC First Officer of Twilight is, the Vulcan moves too quickly to be stopped, and scratches Sela’s neck with a specially prepared ring. A hidden needle has just drawn blood. Sela’s smile vanishes, her blue eyes go wide, and she clutches her neck with her left hand; it comes back, smeared with green blood.

“T’Lura!” Harker cries in anguish. “What’ve you done?”

“Forgive me, Captain. I was following orders. Admiral Uhura knew you’d never agree to this, because of your Hippocratic Oath. I’ve just infected Sela with a biogenic weapon tailored specifically for her. The only cure is on Twilight,” the calm Vulcan officer calmly explains. “They don’t dare stop us now.”

“Thrai!” Sela screams, which is automatically translated through the PC Commbadges as “female wolf.”  From the look on her face, and the tone of Sela’s voice, it was not meant as a complement. Sela draws her disruptor, thumbs the power level up, and fires at point-blank range. There’s now a huge hole where the Vulcan First Officer’s abdomen used to be. T’Lura’s eyes grow wide; to her credit, she does not even cry out in pain. The Vulcan simply closes her eyes and collapses to the ground, dead.

Both Captain Harker and Dr. Trask drop to their knees, kneeling next to the body, but it’s far too late to do anything.

“I’ll kill you all,” Sela says, pointing her disruptor at Harker now. Her eyes drip venom.

“Do that, and you’ll die as well,” Harker told her. “T’Lura said the cure’s hidden somewhere on my Ship. Twilight’s cloaked, and you don’t even know where it is. Here are my terms, Colonel. One: you allow me to do my job as a physician, and to cure the empress, the princess, and everyone else you’ve infected. Two: you allow my ship to peacefully leave Romulan space, completely unharmed. Refuse, and you’re dead.”

Sela screams in frustration, points her disruptor at a beautiful, flowering tree, and vaporizes it with a single blast of verdant energy. “I agree to your terms, Dr. Harker. But beware: once you leave Romulus, watch your back. The Tal Shiar are extremely patient. If it takes us another hundred years to get our revenge, we will. Subcommander Solik, escort these Terrans to the Imperial Palace.”  The Tal Shiar operative taps her commbadge, and a moment later, dissolves in quantum mist as she’s beamed back up to her ship.

Go To: LCARS 5.0: The Imperial Palace.

Natural Caverns far beneath the Romulan Capitol of Val’danadex Trel

LCARS 4.0– Natural Caverns
The captain, after introducing his officers quickly, follow Ambassador Spock through the subbasement of Nelis Department Store, which he explains is part of the Market District, intended for the families of senators, Romulan officers, and important citizens. Spock holds a standard issue Starfleet tricorder, taps a prearranged code into it, and suddenly a whole section of concrete wall slides aside. Palm beacons reveal a rough-hewn stone spiral staircase, leading down into total darkness. Spock goes forward without hesitation. The PC characters follow.

The spiral stairs descend into natural stone caverns. An underground river trickles somewhere off in the distance, and water drips from stalagmites into pools. Light from palm beacons and torches reflect beautifully off of breathtaking natural formations and hundreds of gems embedded in the rock walls. A Moderate (9) Personal Equipment (Tricorder) Test reveals an enormous wealth of diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. The walls also show signs of mining sometime in the distant past, before replicators were invented. This same Tricorder Test reveals abundant lifesigns, all lower animals, moss, and fungus. A Personal Equipment (Espionage) Routine (4) Test, informs the PC characters that if the Romulans are utilizing an Intelligence Tricorder, the device can easily mask their life-signs.

The PC Crew has descended into Area 2. There are several large crates and containers here, all marked in Romulan. A tricorder set for Universal Translation of text reveals that these crates contain new clothing; apparently, Nelis uses this underground chamber as a stock room for excess merchandise.

The sound of an ocean and waves striking rock echoes from Area 1. A Personal Equipment (Tricorder) Test at Routine (3) reveals that fresh air comes from that direction, and a cavern entrance to the outside lies in there. A Personal Equipment (Tricorder) Moderate Test (8) reveals the presence of several duotronic “bugs” or surveillance devices, set high in the walls. A Personal Equipment (Tricorder) Challenging (10) Test will jam these devices; alternatively, use of a Computer Jammer, or one wearing a Anti-Sensor Belt, will produce the same effect. Finally, a less-subtle approach, a Phaser Set at Setting 7, will vaporize the 4 “bugs” instantly. Such an action will inevitably result in someone eventually noticing that these surveillance devices are no longer transmitting, and someone will come down in 1d6 hours to investigate. If these devices are ignored, or if they are not even noticed, then Tal Shiar agents will come to investigate these strange goings on in 1d6+2 minutes. (The entire planet has been alerted to the presence of a Federation starship in orbit.)

If the Crew lingers here too long (15 minutes or more) the Tarkassian Razor Beasts from Area 1 will come to investigate, and attack the intruders who have come so close to their nest and young. There are three Razor Beasts; one male and two female. The females will fight with twice the ferocity as the male. (If these beasts are defeated, and the Crew actually investigates, they will discover six young Razor Beasts, all about 3 months old.)

The Crew continues on to Area 3. The sound of squeaking comes from down the tunnel, long before the Away Team arrives in that cavern. A Moderate (7) Personal Equipment (Tricorder) Test reveals the presence of 1d6+10 Bulgallian Rats, out in the open, and another 25 hiding among the cracks of the stone walls. There are hundreds more scurrying about these underground caverns, far beneath the city.

These rats, each as large as an Earth terrier dog, have been genetically enhanced by Romulan scientists to be watchdogs, of a sort. A phaser set at Level 1 or 2 will have no effect; neither will a phaser set at wide beam, to strike all of them at once. Each individual rat must be struck by a Phaser set at Level 3 or higher, in order to affect it. Energy weapons discharge of Level 4 or higher will set off a silent alarm from the surveillance devices in the walls (there are 6 of them); alternatively, after 30 firings, there is a cumulative chance that Tal Shiar or city security will come down here to investigate. Roll 1d6 for every phaser shot past 30; when the sum total reaches 60, 30 Romulan soldiers will approach through the cavern tunnels, from both directions. (Should this occur, go to LCARS 3.3 Small Arms Combat.)

The entire area in Area 4, as well as the tunnel connecting 3 and 4, are covered in thick cobwebs. A Personal Equipment (Tricorder) Routine (4) Test reveals the presence of several hundred arachnids, from tiny size to huge (body 12 cm across, legs 10 cm long.)  The webs brush aside easily, but the spiders are not as easily dealt with. They can be crushed underfoot, but to use phasers will only build upon the blasts begun in Area 3; when the total number of phaser blasts reach 35, the Tal Shiar will respond within 5 turns, beaming in from both sides of the cavern to catch the Away Team intruders in a crossfire. Go to LCARS 3.3 or LCARS 3.4, depending on whether the Crew wishes to fight or surrender.

If the PC Crew manages to make it past all of these obstacles without alerting the Tal Shiar, and successfully reach the stone circular stairs in Area 5 which lead upward to the Royal Palace, '''give each PC an extra 2 Points''' for original thinking and innovation, not to mention plain dumb luck.

LCARS 5.0– The Royal Palace
A loyal servant meets the team at the top of the stairs, which lead to a slide-away bookcase into an elegant study, with real books on shelves, and ancient furniture. The colors gray and green in many shades predominate. The servant leads the PC doctors (including the captain) directly to the empress and the 14-year-old princess, who both lay dying in their beds, covered in sweat and shivering.

The cure shows immediate results. In moments, the fever breaks, and in 2d6 minutes, the empress is lucid again. Ael-sheriah apologizes for the PCs being chased all the way from Earth; she explains that there’s a double agent named Wilhelm Garret deep undercover at Starfleet Academy, and that Garret is fiercely loyal to the Tal Shiar and to Sela. After inoculating the rest of the Royal Family on Romulus, the Crew prepares to beam up.

If the Twilight was destroyed in LCARS 3.0, they will need another means of getting back to Federation space, which the empress will happily provide: a Romulan runabout, equipped with the latest cloaking device—cold comfort for the loss of their starship.

The empress gives to Harker a Romulan Isolinear cube (the equivalent of isolinear chips), containing a signed* copy of her permission to enter Romulan space, as well as an official 99-Year license, granting permission for Starfleet Intelligence to own and operate 15 Federation-made Cloaking Devices, so long as they are installed on medical ships or science vessels, like Twilight.

[*Signed means an attached electronic record of the empress’s biosignature and codes, proving that she herself indeed approved it.]

LCARS 5.1– Space Combat in Orbit
Sela is NOT pleased that the Twilight has made it all the way to Romulus with the cure for the bioweapon she’s infected the Royal Family with. Needless to say, Sela intends to make good on her threat to kill the entire Crew of Twilight for their heroic actions (“And I would have gotten away with it too, meddling kids!”)

When the Crew beams back up to the Ship, Twilight is holding orbital position directly above Romulus’ North Pole, using the planet’s powerful magnetic field to hide the ship from sensors, and to save energy on the Cloak. This time, in the 6 seconds it takes to beam up the Crew, nobody detects the Twilight decloaking, then recloaking. The Crew is visibly upset over the death of First Officer T’Lura, but they’re too professional to let it interfere with their jobs as Starfleet officers.

Have the PC captain choose another PC to serve as acting Executive Officer, until a permanent replacement can be made. (Although it is assumed that whomever he chooses will be the permanent XO, even after/if Twilight makes it back to Federation space.)  The captain simply informs the Ship’s main computer, and the system notes this change in the official ship’s log. From now on, the Main Computer will recognize that PC character as the Twilight’s First Officer, for everything from accepting commands, to accepting the destruct codes for the Autodestruct system. A prickly Narrator/GM will make certain that this PC gets his command authorization codes correct, and remembers them.

“Conn, plot a course back to Federation space, Warp 5. Engineering, this is the captain. Cut all unnecessary power expenditures, with the exception of sensors and warp drive. Be prepared to transfer power immediately to the shields and weapons on my command,” you order. “All Hands, this is the captain. We’ve cured the empress, her young daughter, and the rest of the Romulan Royal family. Now, I expect things to get dicey. Secure all blast doors between compartments and sections, and prepare for battle. Red Alert!”

An automatic (1) Shipboard Systems (Communications) Test, reveals to Tactical or Ops that Twilight is being hailed. Notify the captain of this event. The captain orders, open a channel.

Colonel Sela is on the screen (perhaps looking a bit peeked, but that could be your imagination?)  Her eyes are like chips of blue ice. “''Dr. Harker. You promised me something.''”

Harker nodded seriously at the woman on the screen. “I have my entire ship’s security force searching for the cure to your ailment now, Colonel. We’ll beam it over to you the moment it’s found.”

“''You’re stalling, Doctor. I didn’t think you had it in you,''” Sela said, with a hint of an ironic grin on her lips.

“I assure you, Colonel Sela, that I do not joke or deceive when it comes to the health of a sentient being. That would violate my Hippocratic Oath as a physician.”

“ch’Serth to Bridge,” the intercom in the ceiling announces. The captain taps his commbadge.

“Go ahead, Commander.”

“''Sir, we’ve found a vial of purplish liquid T’Lura hid in her quarters. Dr. Trask scanned it with her tricorder, and we believe this is it. Should we take it down to the Transporter Room?''”

Your captain has several options at this point:

a)     Beam over the serum to cure Sela and hope she doesn’t decide to slaughter your crew anyway;

b)     Tell Sela you’ll give her the cure once your ship is safely away from Romulus;

c)      Your ship is cloaked; you can simply phase through Romulus to the other side and escape, or,

d)     You can simply leave orbit while invisible, and hope you get far from here before Sela finds some way to blast the Twilight to smithereens anyway.

If a), go to LCARS 5.2; if b), go to LCARS 5.3; if c) go to LCARS 5.4; if d), go to LCARS 5.5

LCARS 5.2 – Decloak the ship and beam over the serum.
Your Tactical Officer PC drops the cloak, and you instruct the Transporter Room to beam over the serum to Sela’s Warbird, the Goraxus.

As your Conn officer enters the commands to leave orbit, Sela offers you a wicked smile, and says, “Watch your back, Doctor Harker.”

Goto LCARS 5.4

LCARS 5.3 – All in good time, my pretty, all in good time….
Sela shoots you an astounded look for a moment, then turns off-screen. “''Tactical, lock all disruptors onto that ship! No, don’t destroy it, I need it disabled! What?!? Well, find a way around their cloaking device! Do it, or I’ll have your whole family executed!''”

You shoot your Ops manager a cutting motion, and the communications line is disconnected, and the main view screen returns to the blissful view of Romulus floating among the stars.

You turn to the Flight Control Officer. “Conn, I think now would be a good time to go home. Set course for Federation Space, full impulse. Go to Warp 5 as soon as we’re past the gravity well.”

Goto LCARS 5.5

LCARS 5.5 – Fly right through the Planet Romulus!
The PC captain tries something rather unique and innovative with the new technology; an Interphasing Cloak causes the entire ship to  phase through solid matter as if you were flying right through fog. (At the end of the game, award the captain +1 to +2 extra points just for thinking of it.)   He orders the ship to fly right through Romulus. This of course works, but depending on how fast (.25c of light-speed, full impulse, will take 10 minutes or so) to reach orbital altitude on the opposite side of the planet. (9.16 seconds plus a few more to travel through the atmosphere and achieve orbit again.)  Go to LCARS 5.4

LCARS 5.6 – Leave Orbit, then go to Warp
You’re invisible, and you’re not sure that the Romulans can see you while cloaked—that’s just an educated guess from your officers, so you simply instruct the conn to leave orbit and go full impulse till he’s out of the gravity well.

Twilight makes it for about 15 minutes, just out of the Romulus Star System, when you hear your Tactical Officer audibly gulp. You look up and ask for a report.

“''You’re not going to like it, Sir. I’m reading 8 ships pursuing us from behind, 4 of them D’deridex Class. 9 more directly in our flight path, forming a line with roughly 30,000 klicks between each ship, and another 8 coming in from our flanks, to port and starboard. They’ve all got shields up and weapons charged, not even bothering with cloaks.''”

“That’s Sela’s entire fleet,” you realize with a Starship Tactics (Romulan) Moderate (7) roll. Another Difficult (10) roll helps you realize that the Romulans have found a way to at least partially penetrate your own cloaking device. If the captain doesn’t make this roll, then either the Tactical, Conn, or Operations Manager can make this roll, with a Difficult (10) Shipboard Systems (Sensors) roll. If so, they report, “Captain, I think they’ve found a way to see us.”

(My DM made it rather obvious, dropping green miniature Romulan Warbirds all over the hex Battlemat, and announcing, “Oh, yeah: they can see you!”)

Deciding what to do next is entirely up to the captain; the crew cannot make these decisions on their own: that’s what you’re in the center seat for! One thing which is rather obvious: LCARS 5.6: RED ALERT!

LCARS 5.7 – RED ALERT!
You have one of two options: a) Continue as you are, under cloak, gambling that the phasing portion of the device will protect your ship from the onslaught of enemy disruptor and torpedo fire; or, option b) drop the cloak, raise the shields, and prepare for combat—a move you know is very likely to prove fatal for ship and Crew—but then, that’s why you’re the captain: to make the tough choices! If a), goto LCARS 5.6, if b), goto LCARS 5.8

Either way, now’s a good time to review the rules of combat:

Combat: If you are using miniature starships and a battle mat, each hex is representative of 10,000 km.  A move at full impulse is six hexes, with a single turn to one side of a hex counting as one. The phasers at normal power deal 12 points of damage; if overpowered, they can deal a maximum of 20 points damage for 22 points of power. Type-VI photon torpedoes deal 21 points of damage, and the firing tubes cost 5 power points for each tube (there are two of them, for a total of 4 torpedoes and cost of 10 power points per firing.)  The warp core and impulse reactors deliver 120 Power Points every other Round. Emergency Power is available from the auxiliary fusion reactors: 20 more points every 4 rounds—usually this power is kept in reserve for shields. (There is also 120 more power points available in the Batteries—use this power wisely; battery power is a one-shot deal.  The batteries are an absolute last resort in case all reactors are damaged and off-line, for powering life support for 12 hours till repairs can be made.)  The Ops manager (PC player) has to play a balancing game with the power, ensuring sufficient power is available for phasers, torpedo tubes, shields, impulse engines, and life support. The Ops manager therefore has to stretch 120 power units out for the two rounds. The Tactical officer has to keep the total energy available in mind, as well as the PC manning the Conn. If the Tactical officer fires phasers at half power, that frees up 6 power units per shot to be used elsewhere. If Tactical overpowers the phasers (costing 22 power points per shot) that means the impulse engines are strained, and probably the Conn has less than six hexes of movement per Round. If the Crew coordinates with each other while role-playing the combat, give them an extra 2 points at the end of the episode adventure. points of power. Type-VI photon torpedoes deal 21 points of damage, and the firing tubes cost 5 power points for each tube (there are two of them, for a total of 4 torpedoes and cost of 10 power points per firing.)  The warp core and impulse reactors deliver 120 Power Points every other Round. Emergency Power is available from the auxiliary fusion reactors: 20 more points every 4 rounds—usually this power is kept in reserve for shields. (There is also 120 more power points available in the Batteries— use this power wisely; battery power is a one-shot deal.  The batteries are an absolute last resort in case all reactors are damaged and off-line, for powering life support for 12 hours till repairs can be made.)  The Ops manager (PC player) has to play a balancing game with the power, ensuring sufficient power is available for phasers, torpedo tubes, shields, impulse engines, and life support. The Ops manager therefore has to stretch 120 power units out for the two rounds. The Tactical officer has to keep the total energy available in mind, as well as the PC manning the Conn.  If the Tactical officer fires phasers at half power, that frees up 6 power units per shot to be used elsewhere. If Tactical overpowers the phasers (costing 22 power points per shot) that means the impulse engines are strained, and probably the Conn has less than six hexes of movement per Round. If the Crew coordinates with each other while role-playing the combat, give them an extra 2 points at the end of the episode adventure.

LCARS 5.8 – Continue Under Cloak
If you continue forward under cloak, the Romulan vessels, all types but mostly D’deridex Class Warbirds, continue to approach your position. Worse, the closest Warbirds are beginning to open fire on you! This requires their weapons officers to make a Nearly Impossible (15) Shipboard Systems (Tactical) roll. They know approximately where your Ship is—BUT—they cannot lock on weapons! The disruptor beams come close, but do not strike your ship, unless they roll very lucky, and get a 15 between the two dice and their skill with Tactical. Since this is Sela’s ship, the roll includes a -3, so the Nearly Impossible will most likely become an impossible hit; the only exception is rolling a “6” on the Drama Die. If in this high unlikelyhood a disruptor beam does strike Twilight, then roll 1d6 to see if their recalibrated disruptors have any effect at all. If the Romulans then roll a 6, the blast will only have ¼ effect, or 5 points damage (narrator decides what on the ship takes damage) and of course the ship’s Structural Points are reduced by 5. There may also be casualties, 1d6 crewmen will require a visit to sickbay.

If the PC captain or his Crew are extremely crafty (as my Conn officer was) have the captain roll a Starship Tactics (Starfleet or Romulan) (12) Difficult Roll, then inform him of the following strategy: ask your Conn officer to phase the Twilight right through one of the Warbird’s shields, and hide right in that huge cavernous gap between her nacelles!  This requires the Conn Officer to roll a  Shipboard Systems (Conn) Challenging (10) roll; if necessary, the Conn Officer or the Captain can add in 1 – 4 courage points, AFTER the roll is made, to help him make it. Result: the Twilight is now sitting right between the Warbird’s nacelles: that ship’s disruptors are not designed to fire down there! They can’t hit you. Furthermore, if your Tactical Officer drops the cloak and raises shields (an automatic Shipboard Systems (2) Roll) that means that the Warbird’s own shields are protecting Twilight, along with your own shields, and neither can they use their transporter to beam 200 assault troops onto your tiny science vessel. They cannot harm you, and you cannot harm them—unless you want to get really nasty, and lock your phasers onto a vulnerable part of their ship—that requires a Shipboard Systems (Tactical) (3) Routine Roll to lock on phasers and fire—at point blank range! Goto LCARS 5.9

LCARS 5.9 – Combat with Shields up
“Drop Cloak, raise shields to maximum (i.e., overpower the shields to 70, which cost 75 units of power.  As noted above, this power can all come from Primary Power (120 units), or some or all can from Emergency Power (the auxiliary fusion reactors, of which there are four of them—there are 20 extra points to use, and these get replenished every 4 Rounds.)  Tactical will charge phasers and torpedoes at your discretion. Remember, the ship is only armed with Photon Torpedoes Type VI, not yet Quantum Torpedoes, because the Dominion War has not begun yet.  Damage on these torpedoes is slightly higher, 21 Points of Damage.  Each tube fires 2 Photons, and there are two forward tubes, so the Power cost for firing both tubes is 10 points, for 4 torpedoes; only firing one tube costs 5 points of power.  The Tactical Officer must then successfully roll for each torpedo to see if they hit; if he rolls well, all 4 torpedoes will strike the Romulan Warbird (and remember that it’s a BIG target!) dealing to them 84 points of Damage, total.  If the Warbird’s shields are below that 84 Points, that means anything left over causes damage to the Warbird, structural points plus a random system taken out.

Twilight has a number of classified system available to aid her in this hopeless situation. One of those is a sensor jammer. Essentially, the auxiliary deflector dish sends out false sensor data on all frequencies, “jamming” all targeting scanners on the particular Warbird being targeted by the jamming system. This requires a Shipboard Systems (Tactical) roll of Moderate (6). If the Tactical Officer is attempting to jam more than one Warbird’s tactical sensors on a broadcast frequency, the roll jumps by 3 points of difficulty for every 3 extra Warbirds in the same general direction, which makes it a Challenging Roll of (9).

LCARS 6.0–The Valdore decloaks!
Your Ops manager sees his short-range scanners, chokes, and looks like he’s having a coronary. “Captain! New Warbird decloaking! Directly above us! It’s…Sir, that Warbird is larger than anything we thought the Romulans have!”

The captain smiles knowingly. “It’s about time, Lieutenant. Is Commander Donatra throwing her Warbird’s shields around us?”

The Ops Manager blinks at his screens, then nods. “Aye, sir!  The Warbird’s protecting us! I’m getting ship to ship communications.”

“On speakers,” the captain replies calmly.

“Goraxus, this is Commander Donatra aboard the IRW Valdore''. Colonel Sela, you are advised that this Federation Starship and her crew are under the protection of the Empress. You are ordered to cease and desist. Respond or be fired upon.''”

“Donatra,” Sela’s silky smooth voice replies after a tense few seconds. “''Those are Federation spies you’re protecting! The Tal Shiar is under orders to destroy that ship!''”

“And, as a high-ranking Tal Shiar agent, it was you who gave those orders,” Donatra responded. “''Unless you wish to start a Civil War, Sela, I suggest you stand down and disperse your fleet. Comply''.”

If Harker has not yet delivered the cure for the disease T’Lura infected her with, now would be a good time. The PC captain cuts in, announces that the cure will be beamed over to the Goraxus, just as soon as all shields have been dropped. Donatra laughs softly, and suggests that Sela disperse her fleet, all but her own Warbird; then, the remaining three ships can drop their shields, and the cure can be beamed over. Sela complies, gritting her teeth.

As soon as all the other Warbirds leave the immediate area, Harker gives instructions for Transporter Room I to beam over the vial of cure they found in Lt. Cmdr. T’Lura’s quarters. The shields are dropped for precisely 6 seconds, no longer. The next moment, and the shields go back up. The Goraxus turns majestically in space, and glides away at full impulse, then jumps to warp.

Donatra hails the Twilight. “''Doctor Harker, I’m pleased to make your acquaintance. You’ve saved my empress’ life.''”

“Just doing my job, Commander. Thanks for the assist.”

“''Her Imperial Majesty requested it. We will escort you to the border of Federation Space, just to make sure nothing else… untoward… happens.''”

“That will be greatly appreciated, Commander. May I invite you to dinner? I set a handsome table, but I’m afraid the Romulan Ale is replicated.”

Donatra smiles. “''I’ll bring my own, Captain. And my personal chef will prepare the appetizers.''”

“I’ll be looking forward to that. Shall we say, 1800 Hours?”

The communications channel is closed.

The official trappings of the Crew Mess Hall on Deck 2 were specially decorated for the celebration that evening; tables were pushed together to make one banquet table, and covered with a large white tablecloth from storage.

That night, the Ship’s senior officers—all those especially who risked their lives down on the surface of Romulus, are treated to a gourmet meal cooked by one of the finest chefs in the entire Star Empire. The Romulan Ale flows freely in the Crew Mess hall, and those crew members who know how to play musical instruments have a corner all to themselves, filling the compartment with beautiful chamber music.

The Valdore escorts Twilight to the edge of Federation space, just inside the Romulan Neutral Zone. Harker’s last comment expresses his regrets that their two peoples should be separated by so wide a gulf, and wishes that one day their peoples can at least be allies. Twilight sets course for Starbase 10, Warp 7. Meanwhile, you report in, direct commlink to Admiral Uhura at Starfleet Headquarters, Earth, coded and scrambled. This requires the Crew to complete a Shipboard Systems (Communications) Test at Difficulty (12). Once the link is established, you can take it in your ready room, at the desk. “Mission accomplished.”  Uhura informs you that your ship may keep the Cloaking device; it’ll probably come in handy later.

Once at Starbase 10, the Twilight’s crew will get a few well-earned days off, then set course for the next mission.

Final Determination of Scores:
This was an extremely dangerous mission, during which the entire Crew could’ve died and the Ship been destroyed.

'''If the PC Crew survived, award each one who participated in the risk +10 Points.'''

'If the Twilight'' was destroyed, and the Crew was required to find alternative transport back home, subtract -5 points for each senior Crew member from the above 10, and subtract -8 points from the PC who role-played Captain Harker. (The captain is responsible for his ship, and the lives of his crew.)'''

If the Crew worked together on the bridge during combat—or near combat—give each one of them an extra +2 points for cooperation.

If the Crew worked together planetside, helping to get the cure as quickly as possible to the empress and the Royal Family, award each of them an extra +2 points.

'''If the Crew accomplished all of the challenges in an extraordinary way, award each of them +15 points and 5 courage points each. '''

'''If the Crew’s work on all 10 tasks of the mission was merely satisfactory, award each of them +1 for each section, a total of +10 points each. '''

'''Finally, there is the matter of the captain choosing a new First Officer. T’Lura is dead on Romulus, having performed her mission above and beyond the call of duty. The position can be filled on this ship by anyone with a rank of Lt. Commander or Commander, so the Narrator will issue enough points to promote the character if he or she doesn’t have enough, and the captain will appoint that person as the new First Officer of USS Twilight. '''

'''The Ship’s Chief Engineer, Tactical Officer, Ops Manager, and Conn Officer each deserve special recognition for their efforts, no matter which of them is chosen as the new Executive Officer. Award each of them another +2 Points on their character sheets; all points can be spent any way the player chooses.'''

'''The captain is leader of the group, and assumes the greatest risk. Award him an extra +4 points to develop his character, and an extra 3 courage points.'''

Afterward:

The special Isolinear cube given by the Romulan empress grants a 99-year license for the Federation to own and operate 15 cloaking devices, in any portion of space, so long as it is used on a Starfleet medical vessel. Starship Twilight has one of those Cloaking Devices.

The Narrator/Gamemaster may choose to develop another mission, featuring this Cloak. Recommended suggestions:

·         The Ship lands on an inhabited world with a pre-warp society. Twilight is fit with an external hologram system to disguise it as a hillside or some other natural feature. The atmosphere of a Class-L world could ionize the air, making this system useless, so that the cloak is necessary.

·         The Ship travels to a hostile area of space, perhaps the Cardassians, and Twilight is sent to find a cure for a biogenic weapon; the cloak is required to pass through enemy space to reach the mission site.

·         The Ship is called into a dangerous area of space, where another Federation starship is stranded and has sent out a distress call. The cloak is required to reach the survivors in time.

Romulan Star System

Nova Class Bridge Handout

Captain’s Ready Room Handout

Main Engineering Handout

Captain’s Quarters Cabin Handout

Map of Planet Romulus Handout

Map of Caverns beneath Val’danadex Trel, 

Capitol Romulan City

Handout

COVER 

 

Emerald Shadows                  Authors: Lawrence Jeffrey Cohen & Tony Mendez

''                                                  Star Trek: The Next Generation Role Playing Game ''  originally created by: Jose Sanchez*

Line Developer: Ross A. Isaacs

Last Unicorn Games Web Developer: Don Martin

Star Trek™ ® & © 2017 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved. STAR TREK and Related Marks are Trademarks of Paramount Pictures Corp. Last Unicorn Games, Inc. Authorized User.

©2017 Last Unicorn Games

* My friend, Jose Sanchez, originally developed this Star Trek: The Next Generation Role Playing Game  and the Icon Game system, and we his close friends, game-tested it in his basement in the early 1990’s, all sworn to secrecy. Joe eventually sold it to the people who became Last Unicorn Games; I am mentioning this because Joe never received proper credit for it.

We were the Crew of the U.S.S El Dorado, a Galaxy-Class Starship; I played the Chief Medical Officer, Ricky was Chief Engineer, Ian was Ops Manager, and Joe roleplayed the captain, as well as being narrator/gamemaster. My medical officer eventually became Captain Jaryd Harker, captain of U.S.S. Twilight.