COLONIAL TIMES

THE JOURNAL FOR THE 2300AD SCI-FI ROLE-PLAYING GAME

GRAPHIC LANGUAGE
COMIC BOOKS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS IN 2300

‘OPERATION BACK DOOR’ PART THREE

THIN SKIN: SPACESUITS IN 2300AD
PATRONS: SILAS CANTRELL
THE RAMTHA CULT
ON DECK: THE STORM PETREL
YOUR WORLD: NEWS FROM THE CORE & THE COLONIES

4 SPRING 2014
STYGIAN FOX
STYGIAN FOX
 CONTENTS
4 SIGNALS FROM THE DEEP DARK Writers
Steff. J Worthington, Gavin Dady,
5 EDITORIAL Chuck Gannon, Randy McDonald,
R.M.Rhodes
6 ‘OPERATION BACK DOOR’
BY CHARLES E GANNON Artists
PART 3: ‘SABOTEURS & Steff. J Worthington, Damseldams,
SKULLDUGGERY’ Ashen Sorrow, Aiko Nakagawa,
B F G Stock, Creative Stock,
Digital Heavens, DMA Land,
26 GRAPHIC LANGUAGE
COMICS IN 2300AD Fantasy Stock, Good WP,
BY RM RHODES ISO Stock, Jademacalla,
Kawaiistock, Knovocaine,
Matiii, Planetekrilin, Reddawgi,
31 ON DECK: THE STORM PETREL
THE RELIABLE CORVETTE
Resurgere, Richard A Spake,
Taeliac Stock, Wyldraven.
BY G. DADY & I. STEAD

38 THIN SKIN
SPACE SUITS
Cover art
‘Shanghai 2075’
BY RM RHODES
by Albert Urmanov
http://albyu.deviantart.com/

46 PATRON: SILAS CANTRELL

AN EARTH BASED
Direction & Editing
Steff. J. Worthington
PATRON
BY STEFF WORTHINGTON
Copyright
All contents are ©2013 by their respective
52 THE RAMTHA CULT
EXPANDING ON THE
creators. 2300AD is a trademark of Mongoose
Publishing for their science fiction roleplay-
ing game. Colonial Times is a trademark of
RELIGIOUS ORDER Stygian Fox for its magazine of sci-fi roleplay-
BY RANDY MCDONALD ing and futuristic design and is published to
an irregular, but charming, schedule.

59 YOUR WORLD
NEWS ROUNDUP Submissions
BY STEFF WORTHINGTON & Contact
steffworthington@hotmail.com
62 CONTRIBUTORS DETAILS

Colonial Times is an unofficial magazine dedicated to the science fiction RPG ‘2300AD’. ‘2300AD’ is copyright
2012 Mongoose Publishing. This free fan based magazine is not for sale and is a work of fiction. No similarities
to real world people or events are intended. As it is catering for both the GDW & Mongoose versions, it may
feature articles out of chronological order with the current Mongoose rules & setting.
 SIGNALS FROM THE
DEEP DARK
TOPICS BEING DISCUSSED ON FACEBOOK, G+, AND ELSEWHERE

FACEBOOK MONGOOSE FORUMS

A Question of Habitability Sung Power

If I understand the linked pa- I decided to try and develop some

per correctly (http://arxiv.org/ background and ship designs
pdf/1402.2378v2.pdf), Mars-mass for the Sung, so started to read
worlds in the circumstellar habit- through the sparse published ma-
able zones of red dwarf stars could terial. It states that the Sung are as
remain habitable for up to 10 bil- technologically advanced as hu-
lion years if they had sufficiently manity (more so in medical sci-
eccentric orbits. The tidal heating ence) but don’t have stutterwarp.
caused by these orbits would keep Fine. Then it states that their sys-
these worlds geologically active for tem ships make extensive use of
longer, allowing them to maintain Ion drives and light sails – I sim-
plate tectonics and magnetic fields ply don’t buy this. Why would a
long the point Mars lost it. civilisation with access to fusion
rockets, MHD thrusters and other
Randy McDonald drive systems subject themselves to
in-system travel times in months
GOOGLE+ or years when they have access to
faster drive systems? Light sails
Building Worlds have barely enough thrust to move
the sail, let alone the payload. I can
I’ve been looking at the original see the Sung using Ion drives in
2300AD star and worldgen system robotic tankers or cargo haulers,
to discover its idiosyncracies and for cargos they don’t need to get to
see how it compares to reality. In market for many months, but these
this first part of the series, I discuss drives make no sense whatever for
the issues and present some results transporting Sung in system.
from some automated worldgen
runs (Part 2 - in which I try to Ion drives trade off huge fuel effi-
solve the issues - will be posted ciency against pathetic thrust, and
soon!). http://evildrganymede. I bet a Sung’s time is as valuable to
net/2014/01/17/gdw-2300ad- it as mine is to me, even with its
worldbuilding-system-part-1/ 150 year lifespan.

Constantine Thomas ‘Yatima’

4
 EDITORIAL
ut of the blue recently came the I’d just posted a little Firefly class
news that Bryan Gibson, an artist transport whizzing past in the sky
whose excellent work had graced above a Droyne market stall.
2300AD and Traveller books, had
passed away unexpectedly. He was also a Browncoat. Instead
of giving me the ‘warm fuzzies’ it
Like many artists Bryan had con- made me incredibly sad.
cerned himself with art and less
with material wealth and his sud- There’s little we can do to hold off
den death has put his family into time except maybe cut back on
a bit of a fix regarding funeral ex- the snacks and processed foods we
penses. Usually when I hear of RPG gamers seem to be known for. Tak-
alumni getting into a financial bind ing care of ourselves a little better
it’s Americans having to shell out might hold off that sad day when
for medical expenses. It’s distress- you roll your dice for the last time.
ing to see your heroes struggle.
We’re a proud, opinionated bunch.
I’ve been lucky. I’m a Briton and- But we also stick up for others when
have the National Health Service it’s needed. We only have to look at
to take care of me if i fall ill but in the bundles on DriveThruRPG that
terms of actually dying then I’m in raise astonishing amounts for dis-
the same boat as Bryan. aster efforts around the world.

As i get older I begin to notice that So lets do it again. Bryan’s family

many of those I’ve admired in the need our help. No matter how little,
RPG industry are retiring like Greg it will all help in covering Bryan’s
Stafford or, like Lynn Willis and funeral expenses and sofetning the
Bryan Gibson, passing away. I re- financial burden to his loved ones.
cently worked on a major project I’m asking you to dig just a teeny
that Lynn had a hand in and being bit into your pocket and help out
so close to their work you get a per- with the expenses to send a Travel-
sonal perspective on their art. ler and a Browncoat on his way.

I had a similar moment when look- Donate here:

ing for a piece of Bryan’s art to ac- https://fundrazr.com/
company the excellent call to arms campaigns/1hR32/ab/02qoCe
via Fundrazr made by Rob Caswell.
When I posted the notice and pic-
ture and asked for donations I no-
ticed in the corner of the image Steff. J. Worthington
Editor

5
OPERATION BACK DOOR
THE COMPLETE ADVENTURE BY CHARLES E. GANNON

EPISODE 3 : SABOTEURS & SKULLDUGGERY

BEFORE: gagement against the Kafers in the Ylii

home system. The author recommends
After a journey through unknown using the STAR CRUISER rules for the
space, the mission team of OPERA- resolution of that combat.
TION BACK DOOR arrived in the
home system of the Ylii. There they Episode Three, The Tricolor Conspiracy,
encountered a special envoy named begins as the group leaves Ssuushni’a . . .
Vishzuss’zruhna’zhii (nicknamed Vish),
a Ylii who established communication DISASTERS AND DOUBLECROSS
with the group and then escorted them IN DEEP SPACE
to an important meeting with Ylii lead-
ers. Where: deep space, between systems
DM -4 4225 and DM +5 3409
After some discussion, the Ylii decided
that they wanted to learn more about What: The return voyage with the
the humans, and were also quite in- envoy is sabotaged by Dumaine.

Lily
terested in allying with them against a
mutual foe: the Kafers. The players must After departing Ssuushni’a with Vish on
return home with this information (and board, the mission team should head
various other data they have gathered), back to human space via Back Door
and deliver a Ylii envoy safely to Earth. with all possible speed. The Ylii leader-
Vish was selected as this envoy. ship will be glad to help them in this re-
gard by providing the group with a full
NOTE TO THE REFEREE: load of fuel prior to their departure.

by Parfum
This final episode of OPERATION Things will proceed routinely as the

Cassillon
BACK DOOR moves away from ex- characters retrace their steps through
ploration and first contact as the pri- Back Door, L 989-20, and DM -4 4225.
mary thrust and drama of the adven- Once in orbit around Ploughshare, the
ture. Instead, detective work and some Naval and AIA staffs will quickly debrief
fierce encounters with the minions of the group, make duplicates of all their
the treacherous Tricolor organization data, refuel the ship (the Cat’s Feet), and

6 are all but unavoidable. The escalating

whirlwind of skullduggery and aggres-
send them out for a rendezvous with
the unmarked Metal-class freighter that
sion culminates in an optional naval en- serves as this system’s stutterwarp tug.
The group will also be told to keep the With only one day to go to the DM +5 Reactions During
presence of Vish a secret, and to con- 3409 system, any players on-duty at 1800 Explosive and Sudden
tinue on to system DM +5 3409. How- hours will be stunned out of their star- Decompression
ever, they are instructed to wait at the gazing reverie by the shrill klaxon that
edge of the system when they arrive announces emergency decompression. A This is an oft travelled
there, rather than continuing in toward split second later, they will feel the hull nightmare for all space go-
ing people. Such is the dan-
the main world of Erie. jar under the force of a muffled explosion
ger that how to to react in
from the aft section of the Cat’s Feet. The such situations is drummed
Upon rendezvous with the silent environmental monitoring system fails, into each and every crew
Metal-class behemoth, the characters’ meaning that if those parts of the ship member from the start.
ship will be maneuvered into a huge are undergoing decompression, there’s no
Kindly referees should let
modular cargo container. This will be way to tell from the bridge. And in that
this become a Routine task
handled by the freighter’s remote ma- same moment, the stutterwarp drive cuts as the player characters slip
nipulator craft (otherwise known as out, several essential control circuits indi- into instinct and act with-
grabbers). Practiced naval eyes will cating 100% malfunction. out thinking. Whatever
realize that this outsized-container is their upbringing, decom-
pression procedures should
actually the size of nine standard-sized The referee should really not give the
be instinctual (else it can
modular freight containers, producing players a lot of time to think about what get others killed also).
a contiguous cargo volume of nearly they’re going to do next. Explosive de-
6700 cubic meters. The Cat’s Feet is compression is exactly that: explosive. If A referee who wishes to
maneuvered into a berthing cradle and your players seem to be unsure of what to make things awkward may
increase the difficulty.
the module is sealed up. do, the NPC’s will provide excellent exam-
ples as they scramble madly for p-suits (or
As was the case when the group was helmets, if they’re already in a suit). The
ferried out of system DM +5 3409 by next action will be to connect the suit’s
the unmarked Hudson-class freighter external c-clips to any sturdy handhold
(Episode One), communication with or protruberance; explosive decompres-
the crew of the tug is minimal and re- sion will suck unsecured individuals right
stricted to audio only. After about two out into space, possibly ripping their suit
days of tug operations, the characters’ as they bounce off bulkheads and through FOOD
ship will be offloaded by the now-fa- doorways. EXTRUDER
miliar `grabbers’ and sent on its way
with terse wishes of good-luck. Ironi- All told, these precautions --punctuated
cally, this is precisely where luck will by the savage pneumatic hiss of pressure- IS
take a turn for the worse. tight bulkheads sealing automatically--
will take only 10-15 seconds. And those YOURS
LIFE ZONE SYSTEM CHART FOR A
DM +5 3409A
FOOT
3409A

(hothouse)

ball)

LONG?
(debris)
+5

Erie

(ice
DM

7
AU 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 5.0 10 15 20 25
seconds SHOULD feel like forever. It turns out that Hannah is indeed alive:
Once everyone is secured and braced she was tending the powerplant --which
for the worst, they can start to think is in a separate, pressure-tight area-- at
about what comes next: exploring the the time of the disaster. However, her p-
ship for damage and the source of suit had been left in the same compart-
whatever disaster has befallen them. ment as the stutterwarp drive and is now
The answer will be fairly quick in com- --undoubtedly-- a piece of interstellar de-
ing. bris. She’ll need someone to bring her a
spare p-suit in order for her to move back
The on-duty bridge crew and any- to the main section of the ship.
one who was off-duty will encounter
Dumaine and the Ylii back near the However, it turns out that the stutter-
engineering section. The yellow-and- warp drive wasn’t the only thing lost;
black-striped emergency bulkhead is Morgan Lindstrom is dead. And accord-
down and the flashing red light next ing to Dumaine, that’s just as well --for
to it indicates that at least part of engi- clearly, Lindstrom was a traitor. Dumaine
neering section beyond is in full vac- will rouse out of his shock long enough
uum. A sullen and uncommunicative to describe the events leading up to the
Dumaine provides little help in the disaster.
efforts to determine if Hannah --who
was on duty in engineering at the Dumaine and Vish were talking, trying to
time-- is still alive or not. The players bridge the cultural confusions and com-
will have to use the next set of bulk- plexities that exist between human and
heads to create a temporary airlock, Ylii. Dumaine had brought up the con-
enter Engineering, and search for her cept of free choice and the Ylii had some
in their p-suits as they wade through questions about the human perspective
the wreckage of the stutterwarp drive. on this issue. Dumaine suggested that
Vish might learn the most by hearing

MORGAN’S UNSCHEDULED SPACE WALK

TWO human perspectives on it --il- actions between Dumaine and Lindstrom.

COLONIAL TIMES
lustrating how human perspective was As a non-human who’s only been exposed
not at all uniform. Dumaine paged to these perplexing, small-eyed sophonts
Lindstrom, who had volunteered some for about a week, Vish still has huge gaps
of his free time to hellp Hannah check when it comes to understanding human
some powerplant circuitry. The French `body-language’ and vernacular, and pref-
xenosapientologist invited the Ameri- aces his statements by saying that he just
can to join the discussion. Lindstrom didn’t know how to read the last exchange
answered that he’d be delighted and between Lindstrom and Dumaine.
would head forward in a minute.
Vish will reveal that to him, Lindstrom
A few moments later, Dumaine sug- seemed very calm when they found him,
gested that he and Vish might as well and was not at all surprised at being dis-
go aft and meet Morgan in Engineer- covered. Lindstrom DID smile --and hu-
ing; the Ylii had not spent much time mans do seem to smile for all sorts of con-
looking over the human stutterwarp tradictory reasons-- but Vish himself did
technology yet. Arriving at Engineer- not sense any psychological imbalance or
ing, Dumaine was stunned to find extreme emotion behind it, nothing that
Lindstrom fiddling around with what suggested impending suicide. Vish de-
looked like a bomb near the stutter- scribes the smile as --maybe-- one of satis-
warp unit, his fingers on what looked faction? It was a very unusual expression.
like a detonator switch. Dumaine told Lastly, Vish (being so focused on human
him to put it down. Lindstrom turned, language these days) remembers Lind-
smiled, and told Dumaine that he was strom’s last words precisely. They might
about to die. Then Lindstom focused have been a threat on Dumaine’s life, but
his attention on the bomb once again. Vish pleads ignorance of the use of collo-
quialisms: Morgan’s last words were,
Staring into the distance, Dumaine ex- `Dumaine, you’re finished.’
plains that he only saw one option; try-
ing to sweep Lindstrom and his bomb A clever player may begin to wonder if
out into space. Dumaine hit the emer- Morgan was a saboteur, or was in fact
gency override and decompressed the attempting to undo someone else’s act
Engineering section by keying in the of treachery. His last words could be in-
command to open the aft airlock. Du- terpreted to mean that the bomb was
maine pulled Vish back beyond the proof-positive of Dumaine’s treachery,
safety bulkhead that came slamming and hence, that the Frenchman `was fin-
down to shut out the vacuum. But the ished.’ Characters with skills in Interview-
sudden violence of the explosive de- ing and Psychology may have some luck
compression apparently caused the in confronting Dumaine, but not much;
bomb to detonate --or Morgan man- Dumaine’s `stunned’ state seems to pre-
aged to carry out his suicide attack dispose him towards extreme taciturnity
before dying. After he’s told his tale, when his actions or motives are ques-
Dumaine will sit in stony, tight-lipped tioned. However, a very high success re-
silence. sult may lead a skilled observer of people
to wonder if the post-crisis shock is not in
If questioned, Vish will corroborate fact a sham.
Dumaine’s story. However, if pressed
for details, he will express some confu- At any rate, the characters have more im-
sion regarding some of the final inter- mediate problems on their hands, such as 9
 how to effect repairs, since several key journey. He did this by planting a bomb

COLONIAL TIMES
components for the stutterwarp drive near the stutterwarp drive while Lindstrom
have been wrecked. That will mean was working with Hannah on the power-
searching for replacements in the stores, plant. Then Dumaine came back to strike
and seeing if the system has enough in- up a conversation with Vish, ask Morgan to
tegrity remaining to hold-up under ju- join them, and then suggest they go look
ry-rigged operating conditions. for the American a moment later.

SUGGESTIONS TO THE REFEREE: Dumaine knew that Lindstrom’s trained

AIA eye would spot the bomb and that
Dumaine is (of course) the saboteur, not he would immediately stop to investigate,
Morgan. As has been established in the assessing the design and the risks before
previous episodes, Dumaine has been alerting (and possibly panicking) any crew-
subtly working to set the stage for this members. Dumaine had a motion sensor
single, potent act of treachery. And he imbedded in the bomb; when Lindstrom
has managed to make it look like Lind- began to handle it, a control element in Du-
strom was responsible -- or at least make maine’s wristwatch beeped twice.
the other team members unsure.
In this way, Dumaine was able to time it so
Dumaine’s plan was simple --and el- that he and Vish (the only person on the
egant. In the initial transit out to Back Cat’s Feet who is clearly above suspicion)
Door, he sabotaged the navigational se- arrived in Engineering, they `discovered’
quencer. Of course, during the recent re- Lindstrom manipulating the bomb. Count-
turn to DM -4 4225, the combined naval ing on Vish’s imperfect knowledge of hu-
forces at that site now have record of this man behavior, Dumaine played out the
`system failure,’ since they have copies scene, reacting with alarm when Lindstrom
of the *Cat’s Feet*’s log. turned his attention back to the bomb. Du-
maine then `made the decision’ to get rid
With Vish on board, Dumaine has what of Morgan and the bomb via emergency
he --and Tricolor-- always wanted; a decompression. However, the bomb’s deto-
live Ylii. However, their plans are a lit- nator was radio-linked to a command but-
tle different than those currently held by ton on Dumaine’s chronometer /calculator,
the nations of the Adlerhorst Alliance. so Dumaine was able to make sure that the
Consequently, they can’t allow Vish to bomb detonated as planned, rather than
remain in the custody of those nations. getting sucked out into space. As Dumaine
expected, Vish was so stunned at the un-
Given the established `history’ of navi- expected turn of events --and the speed at
gational `system failure’ that is currently which they moved-- that the Ylii was not
logged against the Cat’s Feet, there would able to understand the finer nuances of
be a logical explanation in the event that what he saw transpire.
the ship never made it all the way to the
AIA field headquarters in system DM By now, the players should have the sneak-
+5 3409: a second sequencer failure. ing suspicion that Dumaine is something
Such a hypothetical failure would offer a
less than the charming academic that he has
reasonable explanation for why the ship seemed to be. Likewise, the referee should
might never be heard from again. be getting a strong feel for just how ruthless
and treacherous Dumaine and Tricolor are
10 So Dumaine had to find a way to make --a feel which will make the next scene just
sure that Cat’s Feet never finished its that much easier to run.
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE . . . characters remark that they didn’t know Sample Boarding
such survey missions were common, Helen Party Member
Where: deep space, just beyond Oort Asweath will assure them (with a suspicious (Tricolor Operatives)
Cloud of DM +5 3409 frown) that they’re not. This luck is almost
The boarding party is
too good to be true. armed with non-recoil
What: a `pirate attack’ producing weapons, and
Only moments after the characters receive therefore is not hampered
While characters with any skill in space the incoming message announcing their in this way. The boarders
are Veteran and Experi-
drives, electronics and mechanical mat- imminent salvation, the ship --a Hamid
enced NPCs.
ters are trying to cobble together a quick class surveyor-- will show up on sensors.
fix for the stutterwarp drive (best esti- This may seem suspiciously sudden, but it The outcome of this sudden
mates suggest that it will require as much is not, really. After all, since the characters’ `pirate attack’ should be
as three days work), the remaining team maydays are only traveling at the speed of pretty inevitable; the play-
ers will be overcome (most
members take turns sending out distress light, any potential rescuer would have had
likely stunned) and left un-
calls and trying to overcome feelings of to be within 1 light-day’s distance to have conscious. Even if the first
terror and loss. received the call already. And of course, eight boarders CAN be de-
stutterwarp vessels can travel a light day in feated (good luck), another
A day into the repair process, the person almost no time at all. eight (similarly armed) are
ready to finish the job.
on communications duty will be reward-
ed with a response; a private research The Hamid will move quickly into a board-
For Mongoose
vessel named the Questor picked up ing position. Any attempts to communi-
2300AD stats use the
their distress call while conducting some cate with it will seem to be garbled by some
Mercenary NPC on
astrophysical surveys out beyond system sort of interference; the Hamid seems to be
page 279 of the Core
DM +5 3409’s Oort cloud. If any of the unable to hear the transmissions from the
rulebook.

For GDW 2300AD

stats consult pages
44-45 of the Direc-
tor’s Guide on creat-
ing NPCs (remem-
bering that they are
Veteran and Experi-
enced).

BOARDED!
11
 Cat’s Feet. And the player’s may indeed --making them easier targets for the at-

COLONIAL TIMES
be trying to communicate that they do tackers.
not wish to be boarded by an unofficial
vessel; after all, Vish is supposed to re- SUGGESTIONS TO THE REFEREE:
main a secret.
The crew of the Hamid-class survey
If extremely suspicious, the players may ship Questor are actually agents of
try to reject or avoid attempts by the Tricolor, operating a vessel acquired
crew of the Questor to sync up a board- through the `grey market’ connections
ing tube to the airlock of the Cat’s Feet. of (ironically) AmeriCo. They have
Seeing this, Dumaine will insist that the been waiting at 1 light-day’s range from
characters have become either mad or this rendesvous point for weeks. Their
paranoid. He will then surreptitiously orders were to wait for a distress signal
sneak away to Engineering to override from the Cat’s Feet. If they received one,
whatever the players are doing to pre- it meant that Dumaine had managed to
vent the boarding. `acquire’ a live sample of the `mystery
race’ that was helping the Kafers. Upon
By the time the players can regain con- receiving the message, the Questor was
trol, the Questor crew will have gotten to approach as a rescuing vessel using
on board and neutralized any circuitry a scientific cover identity (the Questor)
that could interrupt their continued ac- and recover Dumaine and the alien
cess to the Cat’s Feet. If, due to suspi- (without taking the risk of even stun-
cions (or any other reason), Dumaine ning the alien). The remainder of the
has been imprisoned, the boarding par- crew of the Cat’s Feet was to be left alive
ty from the Questor will use a breach- if possible, and minimum damage was
ing charge to enter Engineering and to be inflicted to the ship during the
seize control of the ship. boarding action.

The players will quickly realize The reason for this very `clean’ board-
--whether they are initially trusting or ing approach is to provide a `reasonable
not-- that the Questor boarders are not explanation’ for any forensics experts
here to conduct a rescue. Eight large who might one day stumble across the
P-suited individuals come storming wreck of the Cat’s Feet. Whatever evi-
onto the Cat’s Feet. Four are carrying dence of gunfire may be present, the
Brandt Audionique AS-3 stun pistols, cause of death will be anoxia, since the
--and right behind them are the other unconscious players are being left be-
four with Mueller-Rivera F-19 lasers. hind to die. Of course, the Questor’s
This squad will sweep through the Cat’s ruthless crew ensures this by disabling
Feet, stunning everyone (except the a key component of the power plant
Ylii). The lasers will only be used as a and removing the spares from the ship’s
last resort in order to bring down any stores. They also remove the spares
well-armed characters who might have (and repairs) to the stutterwarp drive
holed-up in a near-impregnable de- before engaging the Cat’s Feet’s thrust-
fensive position (several such exist in ers, giving the ship a 60 minute, 1.5 G
the Engineering section). The referee push away from the navigational path-
should remember that since the Cat’s way joining DM +5 3409 and DM -4
Feet is a ship without a spin-habitat, 4225. Then they leave the ship --and its
12 that using recoil-producing weapons
is likely to send characters spinning
crew-- to its fate, drifting ever further
away from the frequented spacelanes.
A SIGNAL FLARE AND A MESSAGE Until one of the characters remembers
IN A BOTTLE the SIM-14 missiles that are stored in
the launching bay of the IIb model of
Where: deep space, just beyond Oort the Merkur class (of which Cat’s Feet
Cloud of DM +5 3409 is an example). Hopefully a player will
think of this, but if not, Hannah might
What: an attempt to attract rescuers angrily wish that there was some way to
use those damn missiles on the Questor
When the characters awake, they will (which should jog the player’s memory
discover that Dumaine and Vish are if they’ve FORGOTTEN about the SIM-
gone. They will also discover that now 14s). With the Merkur’s communicator’s
both the stutterwarp drive AND the intact, it is still possible to launch and
power plant are inoperative (and irrepa- control the missiles. The only limiting
rable). Battery power can supply them factor is range, for as the missile goes
with perhaps one day of air at normal beyond a distance of one light-minute
consumption rates. A decision to `thin’ response time will be impracticably
the atmosphere will extend the supply slow.
to 2.5 days. (For every crewmember
other than Dumaine and Morgan who However, if the players pursue this idea,
is gone or dead, add 10% to the duration they should quickly come to realize that
of continued lifesupport) Clearly, the a preplotted flight trajectory could be
players are going to have to find an an- programmed into a missile’s on board
swer to their dilemma within that time, navigation systems. In the final analy-
or they are sure to perish. sis, a missile could be programmed to
follow a course that would take it over/
The radios still work, but by the time under the Oort cloud debris and into
the message travels even the slight frac- the DM +5 3409 system. But would it
tion of the light year that still separates be seen? And how would rescuers know
Cat’s Feet from system DM +5 3409, how to find the Cat’s Feet after the mis-
the characters will be long dead. There sile had drawn their attention?
would seem to be no options other than
crossed fingers . . . Answer: rigging the missile to detonate
at a predetermined point of its flight.
Such a detonation is sure to show up on
the ever watchful naval sensors. After
thusly attracting some considerable at-
tention, a second missile could follow,
traveling more slowly and coming to a
dead stop a few million kilometers away
from the coordinates of the first mis-
sile’s detonation. This second missile’s
warhead could be replaced with data
describing the position and status of
the Cat’s Feet --as well as the apparent
treachery that led to its current condi-
tion.

Preparing the missiles for this mission

will take about a day, as will the com-
13
 putation and programing of an optimal their rescue, due to their oxygen-de-

COLONIAL TIMES
trajectory for the missiles. The referee prived state. Consequently, this scene
should construct a number of task rolls, should end rather abruptly. No sudden
and should remember that one missile- blackness of unconsciousness, but rath-
disabling mishap is permissable, since er a sudden entry into the next scene
the players have THREE missiles avail- --thereby producing the sense of lost
able and they need only two for this op- memory without the recollection of los-
eration. However, in the final analysis, ing consciousness.
they should manage to rig the SIM-14’s
for this very non-standard mission. Any WHEELS WITHIN WHEELS:
repeated failures may take the characters WHAT’S GOING ON BEHIND THE
dangerously close to the limit of their BACK DOOR
life support. At any rate, after 1.5 days in
thin atmosphere, characters may start Where: AIA complex, Coldseas, system
suffering from drowsiness, shortness DM +5 3409 B
of breath, short-term memory loss, and
other anoxic symptoms that will make What: Larkin reveals the reasons be-
their last hours a dim memory at best. hind Dumaine’s treachery

SUGGESTIONS TO THE REFEREE: IMPORTANT: BEFORE PRESENT-

ING THIS SCENE, THE REFEREE
The flare-and-message plan will work, SHOULD READ AND BECOME FA-
attracting the attention of numerous MILIAR WITH THE BACKGROUND
naval elements in well-patrolled DM +5 INFORMATION ON THE AMERI-
3409 (the ASF presence has been grow- CAN INTELLIGENCE AGENCY,
ing ever since Operation Back Door be- FOUND IN THE DATA ANNEX AT
gan). After cautiously approaching the THE END OF THE NEXT EPISODE.
second missile, its contents will be stud-
ied ONLY by the AIA officer on board The next thing the players know, they
whatever ship discovers. This procedure are sitting half-propped up in hospital
will be followed strictly, since Shamus beds in a windowless medical center. In
Larkin (AIA Deputy Director in charge the room with them is Shamus Larkin,
of security for Operation Back Door) whom they have not seen since he hired
already knows that the mission team is them for this mission many weeks ago
overdue for arrival, given messages that on Abernathy, King’s most-developed
have been received from DM -4 4225 moon.
regarding their date and time of depar-
ture. Larkin will therefore try to contain It is highly likely that the players will
any unusual news regarding the fate be filled with questions --and possibly,
of Operation Back Door to a handful anger-- for Larkin. The Deputy Direc-
of trusted AIA operatives, rather than tor expects this and will endure their
letting such information get into the vituperation with patience and no small
armed forces pipeline. measure of empathy. When they’re done
venting and/or barraging him with que-
Accordingly, it will be a vessel from the ries, Larkin will begin to explain that
AIA headquarters in system DM +5 --unfortunately-- Operation Back Door
3409 that finds the Cat’s Feet and res- was never just a military operation to
14 cues the dazed, semi-conscious survi- try to get an advantage on the Kafers; it
vors. The characters will not remember was a political operation as well. It was
 COLONIAL TIMES
a `policy offensive’ against what many that give Operation Back Door its tre-
nations --but particularly Germany, mendous political importance. While
America, and Australia-- considered to it is certainly not necessary to go into
be French mismanagement of the Kafer all such detail, the following informa-
Conflict. tion suggests why the friction between
France and the nations of the Adlerhorst
Apparently however, some Frenchmen Alliance may have motivated Imperial
decided to take countermeasures into ultranationalists to resort to Dumaine’s
their own hands. Although Larkin does treachery. Alternately, the referee may
not have all the details, he is sure that choose to photocopy the following sec-
Dumaine and the crew of the Questor tion and distribute it to the players; this
did not act alone. Quite the contrary; will approximate the lengthy explana-
Dumaine did not become a part of the tion given by Larkin.
mission team for Operation Back Door
by applying for the job. After all, the BEHIND THE BACK DOOR
job was a secret. Rather, Dumaine was
recommended for the job by some very The discovery of BD -111 094307, oth-
high-placed French officials. Larkin feels erwise known as `Back Door,’ had ob-
sure that somewhere in the French gov- vious military implications for sub-
ernment there must be a radical cabal sequent efforts against the Kafer war
of ultranationalists who are behind the machine. `Back Door’ provided human
plot to ruin Operation Back Door --or forces with an accessway to the enemy’s
worse yet, to pervert it into something rear flank. Also, the presence of this
of their own design. (In effect, without humble brown dwarf served to catalyze
knowing its name, Larkin has deduced the formation of an even greater mili-
the existence of Tricolor, which is de- tary advantage for humanity; true in-
tailed fully in an upcoming scene) ternational cooperation. However, one
nation stood to lose stature if that kind
This is a natural introduction to Larkin’s
explanation of the events and attitudes
of cooperation were achieved. France,
as world leader, would find its influence
15
 drastically reduced in such a scenario, Vice-Admirals displayed a tendency to

COLONIAL TIMES
becoming only an equal peer instead delay and wait, rather than strike when
of remaining the preeminent leader opportunities presented themselves.
amongst nations. With the exception of Rochemont’s
later successes, the only headlines dedi-
The seeds of strong international co- cated to French commanders were the
operation had been planted in July of announcements of their deaths --each
2301. During the first two weeks of perishing along with a Talleyrand class
that month, joint victories in the Vogel- battleship.
heim system (at Adlerhorst) and at Eta
Bootis (the ambush at Laodemon and When push finally came to shove in the
other associated engagements) created conclusive Battle of Beowulf (Queen
an emergent sense of unity between Alice’s Star) in July of 2302, it was the
American, German, and Australian American, British, and German forces
units. Their key role in those combats that carried the day. The contingents of
and their willingness to work together these nations were cited for their cour-
stood in sharp contrast to the aloof ab- age, commitment, and elan; the French
solutism of the French commanders. barely warranted a mention in the after-
Vice-Admirals DuBoise, Bertrand, and action dispatches. Worse yet, Rochem-
finally Rochemont all evinced an al- ont was not in position to capitalize on
most petulant insistence that they --and the Kafer retreat to Kimanjano. The fact
Imperial France-- retain the reins of that this was not due to any inability on
supreme command over the human ef- his part was a detail that both the press
forts against the Kafers. This arrogance and the public seemed uninterested in.
not only alienated various non-French
commanders, but whole populations of In actuality, Rochemont’s ascension to
other nations. Despite their insistence command in mid-2301 had marked an
on command, this succession of Gallic upswing in the overall quality of Gallic

16
 COLONIAL TIMES
naval leadership, but the growing sense releases from Great Britain, Germany,
of dissatisfaction with the style --and America, and the Ukraine emphasized
apparent lethargy-- of the French com- that this decision was based on Gra-
manders had stoked the embers of anti- ham’s seniority and the fact that he had
Imperial sentiment. Many nations still been in command during the decisive
looked askance upon Nicholas Ruffin’s Battle of Beowulf. In reality however,
ascension to a renewed Imperial throne the decision was predominantly moti-
and the sweeping Gallic elitism it rep- vated by diplomatic attempts to appease
resented. It was hardly a surprise when French sensitivities.
both naval and civilian leaders from
around the world called for the French The French still had a bad taste in their
to step down from their position of na- mouth from the War of Reunification
val preeminence. and were not about to accept a German
in command. Borodin’s performance
French resistance to this move was quite had (unintentionally) shamed the in-
extreme in military circles. Rochem- decisive French admirals and damaged
ont lost his icy cool and slapped the Gallic pride. Lastly, giving America the
Ukrainian officer who delivered the in- leading role was still anathema to the
ternational request for a new command Empire, and many other nations. Such
structure (a major diplomatic incident a move was seen as leading to a new era
was narrowly avoided). However, the of superpower politics --a possibility
French people did not rise up to protest which seemed all too likely as Ameri-
the French fall from military leadership ca’s titanic military industries went into
as Ruffin and his officers expected. In- overdrive in the wake of the Kafer victo-
stead, the public reaction was to voice ries of 2301. Furthermore, although the
dismay at their leaders’ questionable Earth itself was at stake, France still felt
prosecution of the war. Command staff that events on its arm of space should
and government councillors huddled for not be turned over to `American inter-
a long week in Paris, refusing to make lopers.’
any comments to the press. Finally, in a
terse statement, Ruffin announced that So, by process of elimination, Admi-
Vice Admiral Rochemont had `indicat- ral Graham was officially confirmed as
ed his willingness to dedicate more of Senior Admiral on September 12, 2302.
his abilities to the betterment of French Unfortunately, Rochemont --who re-
naval performance, thereby partially tained the next position in the chain
withdrawing from responsibilities of an of command-- immediately displayed
international nature.’ The press spent a a willingness to quarrel with `Chappie’
week scoffing at and lampooning the Graham at every occasion. It became
pompous bureaucratese, which the Pan- fleet scuttlebutt that Rochemont was
Azanian Herald explained `is simply looking for any opportunity to regain
the French way of saying, “Rochemont overall command --a fact which eroded
is stepping down.”’ Graham’s attempt to evolve a team spirit
among the naval units in the French
However, with the senior command Arm.
chair open, a new problem arose; who
should fill it? Although sentiment for The German-Australian-American af-
the Ukraine’s Borodin and even Ameri-
ca’s Elkhart ran high, British Vice Admi-
finity was the counterpoise to the French
tendency for dissent. Unfortunately, 17
ral Charles Graham got the nod. Press Graham had to maintain a certain dis-
 tance from the command-

COLONIAL TIMES
ers of these ~three `allied’
contingents --even though
they had his support. This
charade was essential,
since closer relations on
Graham’s part might have
given Rochemont grounds
for complaints of favorit-
ism.

However, the bonds that

had been forged in battle
were not forgotten. Amer- particularly strong feelings regarding
ican, German, and Australian com- changing the French role in both mili-
manders continued to work together, tary and global matters. Germany had
share intelligence, and look for opportu- spent several centuries under the watch-
nities that emphasized joint operations. ful eyes from across the Rhine, eternally
The discovery of BD -111 094307 in late on a leash. The proud nationalism that
September, 2302 laid just such an op- characterizes (often infamously) the
portunity on the collective doorstep of German nation did not always suffer
these three new allies --an opportunity this easily or with good grace, and the
to both beat the Kafers and wrest com- fruits of that bitterness were only par-
mand initiative away from the French. tially tasted during the War of Reunifi-
cation. Many of the German people and
Consequently, Operation Back Door their leaders feel that three centuries
became a secret skirmishing ground for of their destiny was `stolen’ by France,
a growing rivalry between French su- and that Germany’s presence in space
premacists and the nations of the Adler- and its prestige among the world’s lead-
horst Alliance. ing nations had suffered as a result. The
Germans are not interested in venge-
ance, but from their perspective, they
want to take their rightful place as a
HIDDEN AGENDAS: highly influential nation --and that will
A WAR OF ATTITUDES AND IDEAS mean usurping some of the influence
IN THE PUBLIC ARENA currently held by France.

Prior to the Kafer Conflict, many na- America’s perspective is different. After
tions --and colonies-- had been getting the Twilight War, America relapsed into
sick and tired of the French elitism that partial isolationism, emerging slowly
exists throughout human space. This and cautiously back into the family of
pervasive Imperial hauteur became nations. By sheer dint of its size, re-
laughable (and brutally satirized) as sources, and geographical location, it
Gallic performance in the Kafer conflict quickly regained its status as a world
suggested that France had become se- power. However, America’s attitude had
nile and incapable of prosecuting a war changed; it was no longer interested in
with vigor and determination. being a global policeman. It had spent
18 The American and German publics had
the latter half of the Twentieth Century
trying to fill that role and was nearly
obliterated for its troubles.
However, the French return to Imperial- However, students of the Twilight War

COLONIAL TIMES
ism marked the beginning of a counter- are already reminding leaders that such
swing in American attitudes. The tradi- policy is easier to support than it is to
tional American dislike and distrust of conduct. A similar set of convictions got
anything even vaguely resembling au- America embroiled in the three World
tocracies (but most of all, monarchies) Wars of the Twentieth Century.
began to resurface in subtle reaction
to the resurgent French nationalism. In the final analysis, the contemporary
There was an increased emphasis on German and American attitudes obvi-
military spending, colonization efforts, ously have an affinity for one another
and industrial capacity. In the words of and have gone a long way toward ce-
one noted British news commentator, menting the bond between these na-
Washington was beginning a `dance of tions. Both nations have always taken
defiance; the instinctual threat-display special pride in their militaries, which
that America employs when confronted are now distinguishing themselves as
with a despot.’ He also noted --rightly-- `giant-killers’ in the war against the
that most Americans were not even Kafer goliaths. Consequently, Opera-
aware that it was happening, or that tion Back Door is more than just a pru-
they were participating in it. dent strategic move; it is an attempt to
wrest control over the conduct of the
Other events fed this slowly mount- war out of French hands. If it works,
ing tide of American assertiveness. The America, Germany, and Australia will
breaking of the 7.7 light year barrier in have driven home their unspoken point
2300 and the location of a brown dwarf that France is unfit to lead, and that mil-
that reopened the `closed’ American itary matters should be turned over to
Arm in the same year began to turn the individuals and nations who move deci-
attitude of protective vigilance into one sively and with determination.
of expansionism. This rode on a crest
of American-led (or enabled) victories After his explanation of the frictions
over Kafers in the French Arm. From between the Adlerhorst Alliance and the
Wall Street to Waikiki, Americans be- Empire, Larkin will then try to explain
gan to ask themselves; what makes the American Intelligence Agency’s role
France think it has the right to lead, to in the operation. Even before Operation
give orders to the rest of humanity? Back Door was finalized, the AIA had
been the `secure channel’ that was en-
In all fairness, it must be said that this at- trusted with all the facts, including the
titude is not focused on making Amer- existence of the `mystery race,’ the dis-
ica a superpower. Instead, recent events covery of Back Door and the signficance
have simply made Americans feel that of the alien crystal artifact. It was logical
the French no longer have any right to to make them the operation’s watchdog;
a position of international preeminence that way, no new agency or bureau had
--if they ever did. And if no one else is to be involved --and become a potential
going to --or is able to-- challenge the source of information leaks.
French assumption that they have a
right to such leadership, then America Morgan Lindstrom was assigned to the
will. Very few Americans want to their mission team as an insurance against
nation to usurp France’s role; they just poor judgments that could have threat-
want to establish true equality between ened the entire mission. However, nei-
the nations of the earth (and beyond). ther he, nor anyone at the AIA, had
 suspected that there was a traitor in alize that the AIA has found the wreck

COLONIAL TIMES
the mission team. Dumaine had come of the Cat’s Feet and determined that
highly recommended from Paris, the the project was sabotaged, not lost. It
IEX, and the DGSE (the French intel- also means that they strongly suspect
ligence service). Of course, the AIA did (or KNOW) the sabotage was facilitated
its own check, and found everything in by an AIA mole. And that means that
order. the AIA suspects the missing Dumaine,
whose trail must eventually lead back to
But the most disturbing fact is not that at least one of the French leaders who
there is a French supremacist group that submitted his name for the mission
has entwined itself into and around the team.
vital organs of the Empire’s government.
The critical realization is that these fa- This deductive domino theory all boils
natics must also have a mole in the AIA; down to one key certainty: the members
how else would Dumaine have known of the conspiracy will know they have
that Morgan was an AIA agent? And been found out the moment Larkin tries
he clearly had that knowledge from the to open an investigation. And if Vish is
very first. Upon reconstructing Du- to be saved --and relations with the Ylii
maine’s subtle combination of ploys and to be kept amicable-- that means that the
strategies --starting with his disabling of conspirators must not know that they
the navigational sequencer-- he always HAVE been found out. The ultranation-
had things rigged so that if his handi- alists must be taken by surprise, or Vish
work was discovered, it was Morgan may disappear forever; he is the most
who would bear the brunt of any sus- incriminating evidence against them.
picion. BUT --explains Larkin with a sheepish
look at the characters-- he can’t use any
Clearly, this gives Larkin a huge prob- of his agents to trace Dumaine and re-
lem; he can only be sure that a few peo- trieve Vish. The reasons for this include:
ple in his local headquarters are loyal:
those who were unaware of Morgan’s in- 1) If some of the French conspirators
clusion on the mission team and those are using offical government facilities
who never had any means of commu- to further their plot, AIA agents would
nicating that knowledge (on deep-space not be able to proceed. Otherwise, they
patrol during the weeks it would have would be conducting potentially hos-
had to have been relayed, etc.). Follow- tile operations against France, possibly
ing this reasoning, Larkin cannot trust creating enough of an incident to incite
ANY other AIA agents; the leak could open warfare. Larkin would require a
have occurred anywhere between Cold- set of special approvals for such an op-
seas and Earth. This could mean that eration, which can only be given after
any AIA agent with clearance for the the initiatives go before the Congres-
project data on Operation Back Door is sional Committee on National Security.
suspect. Even a rush, high-priority item such as
this would have to travel in proposal
Consequently, Larkin can’t mount an form to Earth, be approved, and sent
internal investigation without tipping back as confirmation. Larkin could take
his hand to the French ultranational- it there himself, but his unexplained
ists. If their mole learns that there is an departure from his current post would
20 internal investigation under way, that
also means that he will immediately re-
invite all sorts of speculations as to what
was so confidential that he had to han-
dle it himself. If the conspirators started 3) Larkin can’t spare the dozen or so in-

COLONIAL TIMES
asking question like that, Larkin would dividuals he could trust to conduct this
never make it to Earth. operation. Only THEY know that Cat’s
Feet was recovered, and are therefore
2) The movements of AIA agents must the only people who can keep work-
be reported to AIA headquarters in a ing on the project according to its true
prompt fashion. Even if he just sends status; everyone else believe the team
investigators after Dumaine and Vish, is gone and the mission over. In addi-
those movements will tell the mole that tion, Larkin and his inner circle have
Larkin has found Cat’s Feet and possibly to `keep their backs together’ and pro-
debriefed the characters. Even if Larkin vide security for each other, should the
were to delay notifying AIA headquar- conspirators grow suspicious and try to
ters regarding the movement of his eliminate them.
agents, their identities would still show
up at any number of checkpoints (such Larkin concludes with the inevitable
as Orbital Quarantine Control) that statement: the only people who can put
employ retinal scans. Either way, the an end to this conspiracy are the char-
French conspirators would have plenty acters. As far as anyone knows, they
of time to cover their tracks and dispose are all dead. Their retinal scans will be
of Vish. removed from data banks, as will their
fingerprints. Larkin does not have to re-

A designer’s model of the A.I.A. Scramjet facility

at Roberts-Foden A.A.F.B. at Blauvelt, NY

21
THE
AMERICAN
INTELLIGENCE
AGENCY
 port their movements to anybody and he will provide them with new identi-

COLONIAL TIMES
no one will be out looking for them. ties as `security consultants’ from Erie,
Additionally, their personal knowledge along with appropriate documenta-
of Vish means that he is likely to trust tion. As `first-time’ travellers from this
them implicitly if they come to rescue American backwater, their new identi-
him and require his unquestioning co- ties will have not be expected to have
operation. The only character who is retinal records or fingerprints on file an-
not suitable for this rescue mission is ywhere. Consequently, security systems
Helen Asweath; her newsworthy dis- will not be expecting to find a match for
coveries have made her too widely their retinal patterns --and will not do
recognized. Larkin will offer the other so, since the old records connected with
characters another Lv10,000 each, but their REAL identities will already have
if the interaction between Vish and the been wiped from the systems.
players has been nurtured properly, the
players should be eager to get on with While the players are off on their mis-
his rescue, regardless of reward. sion, Larkin will repair their ship, and
keep an eye open for anyone who visits
Larkin can make their mission easier Erie’s public records building in Cham-
in a number of ways. First, he can is- plain trying to find information on their
sue them a limited number of `helpful new identities. Unbeknownst to the
tools’ --including one Rottman LK-1 la- players, Larkin will also send two of his
ser and two M-2 Assault rifles. He can men and two `blind’ (or unknowing)
also provide them with one S & W ISP couriers to an FBI drop-point to for-
106 and inertial armor vest per person. ward all the information he has on the
Ammunition is restricted only by how French ultranationalist conspiracy. As
much the players want to carry. Second, the internal affairs arm of the AIA, the
he can issue them permits to transport FBI has had no reason to even be aware
all the weapons, including permission of the details of Operation Back Door,
to CARRY the S & W ISP 106’s (weapon and therefore, is certainly NOT where
stats are included in the DATA ANNEX the French mole resides. Consequent-
at the end of next episode). He can also ly, the FBI could mount an operation
arrange for an unlimited travel account against the conspirators without tipping
with an international travel reserva- off the mole. But this will take more
tions agency, and set up a Lv10,000 line time, since such an action will require
of credit for each character with Finan- Congressional approval and unusual
cia, AG, an international banking cartel `double-blind’ security precautions.
with a major outlet in Libreville. Lastly,

22
Larkin can offer the ‘LARKIN’, AIA DEPUTY DIRECTOR.

COLONIAL TIMES
players one piece of ad-
vice; go see a gentleman
living in Lubeck, Ger-
many under the name
of Herman Untener. The
Deputy Director indi-
cates that the charac-
ters should tell Untener
how they know Larkin,
should answer ALL of
his questions with com-
plete honesty, and then
ask his advice about
what to do next --he has
ears in the highest of-
fices of the French Gov-
ernment, and may have
heard rumors of the ul-
tranationalist group.

After that, Larkin will

allow the players to get
some rest. But not more
than a day; the only
passenger-carrying mer-
chant currently in the
Erie system is due to de-
part on the following evening.

SUGGESTIONS TO THE REFEREE:

Regardless of the plenitude --or lack--
This is one of the best places for a ref- of adventures during the trip Coreward,
eree to expand this adventure into a the players will arrive at Earth and be
full-blown campaign. The players will processed through the OQC clearance
have to travel to earth, and there may facility.
be occasional travel delays as they wait
out the period between their arrival and ‘Operation Back Door’ continues and
the next appropriate departure. During ends in issue #5 of Colonial Times.
such times, they may decide to explore
the planet that they’re laying-over upon.
In addition, the players might encoun-
ter NPCs who are interested in joining
them (even though the exact `job’ re-
mains unspecified) for the right price.
Just as likely, the players may run into
less friendly NPCs who want to steal
their money, credit vouchers, or weap-
ons.
23
TAKE PART IN
THE 2300AD
COMMUNITIES
ON FACEBOOK
AND GOOGLE+

JUST SEARCH
FOR US THERE
AND JOIN IN THE
DISCUSSIONS
THAT ARE
SHAPING THE
UNIVERSE
OF 2300AD
GRAPHIC
LANGUAGE
COMIC BOOKS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS IN 2300

by rm rhodes
In the pre-Twilight years of the late 20th tural and economic superpower ex-
Century, there were three major comic panded the markets for its cultural ex-
book cultures, organized principally ports and BD was among the easiest
around language and geographical lines items to introduce. Many countries used
– English language (comics), French BD aimed at children as an excellent re-
AT language (Bandes Desinees or BD) and source for teaching French, a common
TIMES Japanese language (manga). Of these, practice today.
WE only two survived Twilight intact – BD

F LY SANDERSON
KEACH
and manga, both of which enjoyed far
more robust cultural and economic sup-
As the nations of Earth began to expand
to the stars, the logistical considerations
OMI port. of exporting written material (books,
magazines, BD) underwent serious
The English language comics market scrutiny. Early on, it was determined
NIGHTMARES was largely American based and with that the cost of launching paper into
THRILLING GRAPHIC the destabilization of that country dur- orbit – much less shipping it to another
TA L E S O F H O R R O R
F R O M T H E I N T E R WA R Y E A R S ing Twilight, most of the cultural ex- solar system – was simply too expen-
ports that the country was known for sive. Books and magazine articles could
dried up. While the American television be converted into text files, but BD
and film industries eventually returned, faced a more complex challenge, which
HP LOVECRAFT the comics industry was simply not ro- was eventually solved with digital imag-
DENNIS DETWILLER
STEPHEN KING
CLIVE BARKER
bust enough to fully bounce back. ing. However, text files and digital im-
POPPY Z. BRITE
T O M LY N C H ages did not entirely replicate the ease
With the resurgence of the ESA and and convenience of books.
NEIL GAIMAN
ARTHUR WILDEN
RAMSEY CAMBELL
ALFREDO ALCALA
the increased cultural ties between the
UK and France, British comics creators Rene Giraoud, a relatively early settler
were folded into the BD market in the in Nouvelle Provence, came from the
same way that Spanish, Italian, Ger- small town of Angouleme – an area of
man, Dutch, Scandinavian and Eastern France that has been making paper and
European creators had been during the printing books for centuries. Settling
pre-Twilight years. A similar process near what would eventually become the
occurred in the Eastern Pacific as the capital city of Mirambeau, Giraoud set
Japanese expanded their cultural and up a small plantation of industrial hemp
geopolitical influence. as a supply source for the first off-world
26 The subsequent rise of France as a cul-
paper factory, specifically to ensure that
BD could become part of French colo-
nial life – an easy way to remember the (Interestingly, this paradigm was quickly
homeworld and to record the colonial adopted by other industries where pro- THE DEVIL
experience. duction can be sourced locally, like cloth-
ing, shoes, hats, accessories, toys and BOOK TWO

Although Giraoud experimented with other items that are simply too expensive
various types of native Tiranese plant or fragile to be lifted into orbit. With very
stocks over the years, it was determined specific exceptions, most small finished
that hemp paper was the easiest, cheap- goods for individual use that are trans- PRICE AND sTONE
est and most sustainable to make. The ported from one world to another travel
fact that the industrial hemp could also with colonists or tourists.)
be used to make clothes also factored
into the cost-benefit analysis. Accord-
ingly, the Method Giraoud has become
the default model for paper making in LYNX
THE

colonies across Human Space, regard-

less of nationality. A paper making op-
eration is, more often than not, among
the first industries to be established (of-
ten subsidized by local colonial govern- THE SHADOW OVER LIBREVILLE

ance – another Giraoud innovation),

after the basics like food, water and
Laemon, dennis, hiromi, and dag

shelter are set up.

Margot Barineau, a neighbor from the

same small town in France, settled near Legends of
Giraoud and set up the first off-world Leviathan
book bindery and industrial printer
specializing in limited print runs. Their
intentions dovetailed and her operation
eventually grew large enough to export
books of all kinds across the planet. Barineau also established a series of ki-
osks across Tirane that allowed a cus- into Farhaven!
In addition to obvious titles like the tomer to print a single copy of any book
bd
Bible and French classics by authors in the Barineau library on demand. These
like Dumas and Hugo, Barineau made distinctive royal purple Barineau kiosks
arrangements with publishers of BD, (which always use locally made Papier du
books and magazines in Paris and Brus- Giraoud) are found through the French adieu au monde
sels to print licensed copies of their colonies and in several non-French col-
works for the people of Tirane, starting onies on French worlds. The only non-
with Tintin and Asterix. As the business French world to feature these kiosks in
model she created proved profitable, any great number is Nibelungen. Not
so-called Contracts Barineau became everything that is produced is printed,
the default across Tirane and into the of course – the majority of books, maga-
Frontier. More than any one individual, zines and BD were consumed on com- SALVATORE
it was her pioneering work that estab- puter screens long before Tirane was bd
lished the paradigm for exporting cul- settled – but the Barineau kiosks allow
ture to the colony worlds, regardless of anyone who wants their entertainment
nationality. in book form to fulfill that desire.
27
 Despite the fact that the majority of her At the same time, relatively unknown ti-

THE END business was focused on printing es-

tablished works of proven marketabil-
tles from the Core have to compete with
local products, which are often easier
ity, Barineau also sought out creators to sell to locals. It is rare for a creator’s
from among the settlers of the nascent reputation to make it off-world in both
colony. A second generation colonist, the Core and the Frontier and most of
Anais Quenneville, became the first the great cartoonists, writers, creators
best-selling cartoonist on Tirane with and designers in the colonies have lived
K R AY
her BD, Mirambeau, about her life in and died without ever making a dent in
BARKER the constantly changing capital city. the Core markets. Historically, those that
sr CZEURK Barineau licensed the rights to the pub- have – Alain Vibert (Beowulf), Denis
lisher Dargaud and it became a major “Dege” Gendarme (Beta Canum), Chez
hit on Earth, in part due to support by Viel (Alderhorst), and Saki Zed (Joi) to
the Colonial Office, who recognized the name but a small few – enjoy wide suc-
PR value of a work that depicted a dis- cess.
tant colony in a positive light.
Beren
&Luthien As it has for millennia, fashion (in pop
Despite the robust manga markets in the
Core, there are far fewer Japanese than
culture as well as clothing) in the Fron- French colonies and those that exist do
tier usually lags several years behind not share the close proximity to other co-
the Core and it is common for several lonial markets that French colonies en-
trends to come and go on Earth or Ti- joy. As a result, manga markets are not
rane without ever making it to the Fron- nearly as robust overall as BD markets.
tier. It is not unusual for a brief trend While BD can be found throughout the
Tolkien
Matsumoro - Erhardt from the Core to take root on a colony French Arm and scattered through the
world and persist long after it has be- American Arm (where far less success-
come passé. Nevertheless, the colonies ful American-made knock off versions
always look to the Core in hopes of of Barineau kiosks provide more or less
finding something new and different to the same service), manga does not have
emulate. the same sort of general exposure in the
Chinese Arm and is largely limited to
The most popular publications on any Daikoku. (BD is, of course, entirely un-
of the Frontier worlds are the ones that known in the Chinese Arm.)
offer reviews of what’s new, good and
worth reading. Those who take up the Unsurprisingly, Tirane boasts a thriving
burden of cataloging the enormous di- market in both BD and manga, arguably
aspora of material available on each as strong as the markets on Earth. De-
world are fairly well regarded and de- spite the relatively young age of both the
cently rewarded. More often than not, French and Japanese colonies, Joi boast-
reviewers and catalogers are better ed the biggest BD/manga market in the
known off-planet than the creators they Frontier during the 2270s, 80s and 90s
are curating. It is these tastemakers that because of the feedback and mutual sup-
drive the bulk of the Frontier-to-Fron- port of the two cultures. During and af-
tier creative trade. Reviews and catalogs ter the war of Elysian Independence, the
of material from the Core face a much market on Joi collapsed and the BD half
larger challenge because of the sheer of the market shows no signs of coming
volume, so only the titles that can sur- back any time soon.

28 vive on word of mouth make their way

to the Frontier.
29
 popularity in the Core – it remains to be

COLONIAL TIMES
Kid Eternity seen if the Kafer invasion of Aurore will
change that opinion.

The audiences on different planets in the

Frontier favor different kinds of mate-
rial, judging by what tops the best-seller
lists in each market as the 24th Centu-
ry dawns. Horror, for example, is very
popular on Beowulf – especially stories
about vampires that take advantage of
the planet’s long day/night cycle. The
Kimanjano market tends to favor pirate
fiction and adventure on the high seas
DC Urbane – and has seen a real renaissance of art-

warfare ists using the ligne clare style. Nous Voila

has a very strong interest in fantasy and
Cassidy Moore folk tales. Beta Canum’s audience seems
to have an unfortunate enjoyment of
Subsequent to the collapse of the mar- goofy stories of bumbling settlers on the
ket on Joi, Beta Canum reclaimed the Chinese Arm in a retro Charleroi style.
title as the largest producer of BD in the With the recent political turmoil on Al-
French Arm. One of the reasons for this derhorst, local cartoonists have turned
is the strong presence of the UK creators to documenting the various native pseu-
on New Africa, the only French colony do-avian species – a project that has
world with more foreign than French been likened to James Audubon’s work
creators contributing to the success of and has attracted some strong interest
the material. The French colonies on on Tirane. Dominant themes on Aurore
Alderhorst, Beowulf, Nous Voila, Au- have recently switched to war stories and
rore and Kimanjano all boast strong BD survivor tales from the Kafer invasion.
markets, as does Nibelungen – the only The markets on Joi and Nibelungen are a
non-French colony world to have any mixed bag at present, with no clear dom-
sort of serious reputation among those inant genre or style.
in the know.
To the average citizen of Imperial France,
The pre-Twilight BD and manga mar- BD is merely the ninth art, a medium
kets supported a wide variety of genre that has taken a place alongside poetry,
material and art styles and this has not painting, music and all the rest. It is an
changed in the post-Twilight era. There integral part of French society and visi-
was a surge in general science fiction tors to the colonies in the French Arm
narratives that came with the settlement are utterly unsurprised to see that it has
of Tirane, but that calmed down as colo- travelled to the stars. Few on Earth know
nization became more common. When the struggles that Giraoud and Barineau
the Sung, the Xiang, the Pentapods went through to establish the infrastruc-
and the Ebers were contacted within ture that would allow BD to thrive on al-
the space of a decade, there was a mas- ien soil, but every off-Earth cartoonist is

30 sive interest in first contact narratives,

a genre that still enjoys a great deal of
keenly aware of the significant debt owed
to these two pioneers.
 COLONIAL TIMES
STARSHIP ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
THE STORM PETREL CORVETTE BY GAVIN DADY & IAN STEAD
The Storm Petrel Class Corvette Some areas on the upper deck that were
(Low Observable) previously used as fuel tankage have
been developed into 6 tons of modular
Original date of design: June 2289 space, in two bays, one forward and aft.
This modular space can be configured
First Example Laid down: April 2292 with a laser turret mounting two UTES
equipped Hyde lasers, and a 4 shot Sil-
First Example Completed: ka missile bay with remote station. It is
September 2292 more commonly used to bolster the ships
troops accommodation and add extra
Fleets of Service: Great Britain mission specific cargo space.

Britain has always been a strong propo- The design is a streamlined, advanced
nent of flexible taskforce composition, lifting body with STOL capability. An
and has paid special attention to the role air-breathing bypass thruster provides
of special forces within it’s military. The modest acceleration and sufficient fuel
proud traditions of the SAS, SBS, Royal is provided for 7 hours of atmospheric
Marine Commandos and the Orbital flight, usually sufficient for several glide
Paratroops Corps have been maintained landings and lift offs, or one powered
through hundreds of years of tradition descent and STOL lift-off. The ship also
and excellence. As the turn of the cen- has a reasonable efficiency stutterwarp
tury approached and Britain was once drive, but she has short legs, with only 10
again a nation with far flung colonies, days endurance on the power plant fuel.
the requirements to be able to get small This can be extended by a further week
units of highly trained men in and out if the thruster fuel is instead used to run
of places they were not meant to be was the power plant. Oversize radiator arrays
once again in the minds of the Combined have also been added to the ship to help
Chiefs of Staff. reduce its passive signature as much as
possible. Advanced sensors round out
The Storm Petrel is based on a small cou- the electronics fit.
rier used for fleet communications and
military liaison, the Petrel. The ship has The Storm Petrel is a cramped ship with
no spin. Space is set aside for crew rec-
31
been slightly modified externally, with
a sensor absorbing coating added and reation space, but even so, fully loaded
some sensors placed into shrouded pods. with troops, the ship is uncomfortable to
be aboard for any length of time.
 Theoretical wartime doctrine requires class have been built to date, the HMS
the Storm Petrel to use its stealth and Isolde, HMS Ygraine, HMS Nimue and
emissions reduction to act as advanced HMS Blasine. A planned 5th hull, HMS
fleet pickets or as stealthy missile assets. Ganieda, is currently under construction
The ships MHD plant does not provide and a 6th has been planned for, but con-
sufficient power to operate the weapons, struction has yet to begin and no name
sensors and drives at the same time, so has been allocated. It is widely believed
the ship has to typically shoot and scoot. that the class will be considered complete
after Ganieda and the 6th hull cancelled,
For special forces operations the ship is unless events at the end of the French
rarely armed, and relies entirely upon it’s arm suggest an alternative plan.
stealth and speed. The extra space avail-
able in the modular bays, plus the vacant Position Crew
cabins for gunnery and remote crew,
mean that up to 24 troops can be carried Bridge 15
under “hot bunking” conditions. Since
the ships life support is not Lasers 2

sufficient to support this number of crew, Engineering 3

the modular quarters unit also includes
additional life support supplies and Remote 2
equipment.
Ships Troops 8
32 The high cost, and relatively small re-
quirement, has kept the Storm Petrel fleet Total: 26
quite small and only four ships of the
CHAIR MACHINERY

ACCELERATION SHOWER UNIT

CHAIR
BED TOILET/BASIN

CEILING HATCH WALL HATCH

FLOOR HATCH DOOR

BULKHEAD INTERNAL WALL
1.5 METRES

3 METRES

33
34
 If you're from up high, come visit down under.

great deals on a relaxing stay in Tasmania and Queensland

Visit your travel agent today.
Call 61 0800 341111 (Earth) or visit www.cradlemount.au.sol

do you want to be at the forefront of business?

you could be part of the next tantalum strike.

con am

consolidated american mining is looking for investors

for its 28th orbital mining platform. call your
local broker to secure your investment opportunity
conam.us.sol
 Q
º
Quinn ™
Optronics

They're not always little angels, but

when they are... Trust Quinn.

Quinn Optronics,
bringing the world to light™
cameras, visual storage,
organic eidetic memory, optical relay,
laser based security, weather cubes,
Drift™ storage, media programming,
and much more...

Call 1 800 472795 (Earth) or visit www.quinnoptronics.us.sol

THIN SKIN

PRESSURE SUITS IN 2300AD

BY MATT RHODES
Spacesuit technology in 2300 is very
robust after 200+ years of constant
evolution and development to meet the
changing needs of the modern traveler.
In fact, as requirements have expanded
over time, there has long been recog-
nized that a single type of space suit
is not enough to meet the needs of all
travelers in all environments. The ma-
jor types of suits are as follows:

Extreme adverse environment suit –

These suits are generally known as hard
suits and have a hard outer shell that
helps maintain internal pressure in the
face of high-pressure or other corrosive
environments. These likely to be used
at the bottom of deep ocean trenches,
the surface of Venus or deep inside a
gas giant (BISJX researchers use these
suits to observe the fauna of Bour-
lag in their natural environment, for
example). Although these suits contain
the full spectrum of life support func-
tionality that allow their users to exist
in adverse environments, they are not
designed to be worn for more than a
few hours at a time – 8 hours at most.
Because of the hard exterior, these are
not easy suits to get in and out of and
are generally regarded as a chore to
wear. Of course, the people who wear
these suits have generally chosen to
travel to an extreme environment, so
they get very little sympathy.

Long-term use suit – This is the stand-

ard type of suit used by most people
who have to spend any time in an
adverse environment on a regular basis
– on the surface of a planet or in space.
These can be comfortably worn for 12
or 16 hours at a time without refresh-
ing the life support essentials, but there
is anecdotal evidence (usually in the
Belt) of people who wear these for days
at a time. Unlike the Apollo suits from
the 20th century, these suits are made
of a lightweight, high tensile strength
So what happens should
material and are fairly easy to get in the needs of their wearers. These suits
a suit fail? and out of; and can be put on in a mat- are remarkably easy to get in and out
ter of minutes, if necessary. Anyone of, however, which is why they are gen-
Conventional fiction who has to wear this type of suit prob- erally issued for emergency use.
comes up with all sorts of ably owns their own and many owners
unfortunate events when have customized theirs to suit personal Skinsuit – Similar to a wetsuit, the
a suit rips or tears but the preference. In many cases, their suit is skinsuit is little more than an unpres-
actuality of such an event the most expensive thing they own. surized body stocking made of the
is different than is usually same high tensile strength material that
portrayed in cinema. Short-term use suit – These are often other suits are made of, with a plastic
know as tourist suits or emergency retractable helmet and a small oxygen
There have been, thank-
fully, very few opportuni-
suits and are often easy to spot because bottle with barely an hour of use. It is
ties to study a body after they show very little evidence of daily very common for people wearing hard
exposure to vacuum but use and are usually not customized. suits and long term suits to wear a
it has happened. It all They are not rated for long-term use skinsuit under their normal suit as an
depends on the length of and the life support will start to provide emergency backup and, in these cases,
exposure and how that warnings at 3 hours and fail completely the life support for the exterior suit
exposure at 6. Most suits of this type do not have can be switched over to the skinsuit.
occurs.
40
the robust communications, command Skinsuits are often used by explorers in
and control features of working suits alien oceans who don’t want to expose
and cannot be easily customized to fit their skin to unknown waters.
It is common for hard suits and long- the same kind of suit to minimize the In a catastrophic accident
term use suits to be modified to meet amount of maintenance equipment similar to that seen in
specific environmental circumstances, necessary on a worksite, but this is the movie ‘Gravity’ then
given that these are almost always used usually only found in the larger instal- there’s so much shrapnel
in a single environment. In addition, lations. dancing around you at
many of these suits are outfitted with speed that your odds are
computers that can be used for com- People who use and wear space suits slim. If the trauma doesnt
mand and control of drones or other on a regular basis are fastidious about kill you then you have
remotes. maintaining them and ensuring that hard vacuum to contend
they are ready to be worn at a moment’s with. That means you
have about END x2 in
Many long-term suits sport custom notice. Those that do not pick up this
seconds before you lose
paint jobs and/or decoration that habit early on don’t tend to survive in consciousness (provided
makes it easier to identify individuals the extreme environments that these you’ve remembered to
when in use. Some employers frown suits protect against. A common dep- exhale. Failure to do so
on this kind of thing, but most allow it recating remark is that someone “can’t will show you a very lit-
as long as the decoration is not porno- even take care of his suit,” indicating eral demonstration of
graphic and does not impede mobility. that they are incapable of paying atten- ‘explosive decompres-
tion to the little things. sion’ as your lungs burst.)
Because long-term use suits are the
most common type of suit in current On one shuttle mission
use, there are a number of aftermarket an astronaut had an
itchy right palm and just
options available including (but not
ignored it until he got
limited to) flexible helmets and face back on board. It turns
screens, work boots with steel toes and/ out part of the structure
or magnetic soles, head’s up display had ripped a small hole
(HUD) on the inside of the helmet, in the palm of his suit
integral video cameras, simple video and the blood from his
games, long range radio transmitters, small wound froze and,
Geiger counters and emergency bea- Touching or modifying someone else’s after a fashion, resealed
cons. In most jurisdictions, it is illegal suit without permission is a major of- the suit and slowed
to install weapons in a space suit, but fense and can even lead to accusations down the decompression.
some of the less legal customization of attempted murder – the suit is life. The general effects are
fogging of vision as your
shops might be willing to, for a price. By the same token, suit technicians are
surface water evaporates,
among the most valuable members of unconsciousness in about
Because these suits have become such the team and people often go out of 16 seconds, and death
an essential and ubiquitous item, there their way to make friends with them – from hypoxia or heart
are many different manufacturers from even those workers that are notoriously failure soon after. You do
all of the major spacefaring nations. anti-social work to maintain good not freeze or boil. ‘If re-
In general, parts from one manufac- relationships with the people who keep covered and pressurised
turer will not work with parts from them alive. within about 2 minutes
another without a lot of modification the victim can recover
– something that almost never hap- swiftly with few ill effects.’1
pens. There are the usual complaints
Source
about backwards compatibility when 1
Bioastronautics Data
a manufacturer comes out with a new Book, Parker, West 1973
model sporting newer features and the
inevitable disagreements over which
manufacturers make better suits. Some
employers require all workers to use 41
 SUMMIT MEETING

No other vehicle in the universe reaches the same

heights as the Bridgeport Swift Baker Special.
 Bridgeport-Swift ™

We’re the air in your wheels

The best off-road vehicle by far. For more information,
call1-800-110110 (Earth) or visit www.bridgeportswift.us.sol
 Donated Advertisement

Cosmic Pack 3 from Digital Heavens

Cosmic Pack 3 contains actions and textures for
creating space art. With the this pack you can create
stunning 2D space art without any brushing needed.

FEATURING:
• 10 Actions including 3 all new actions.
• 50 base textures.
• 20 Nebula images.
• 10 Polar ice cap images.
• 10 Gas giant planet meshes for the liquify tool.
• Star brushes for painting stars in your artwork.
• Expert tutorials teach you how to use the actions.
 Donated Advertisement

‘Horizon’
(Created with Cosmic Pack 3D currently in Beta)

What is Cosmic Pack?

Cosmic Pack is an action set for Adobe Photoshop that

will create realistic looking planets quick and easily.
For Adobe® Photoshop® CS2 and above .
ALL THE TOOLS YOU NEED:

Creating space art could not be easier!

With Cosmic Pack 3 no brushing is needed to create awesome space art.
With the built in actions and stock images the only limitation is your imagination.
• Easy to use.
• For artists of all skill levels.

Visit http://www.digitalheavens.co.uk/shop/cosmic-pack-3 for more!

 PATRONS by STEFF. WORTHINGTON

SILAS CANTRELL
ON
EARTH
The Graffiti Movement
Silas is an art collector of some renown early age that items that were not utilitar-
Post-WW3 Japan was and has built up his small but profitable ian were of little practical use. Silas’ an-
reinvigorating itself and business, Salamander, from the ground up cestors during Twilight and for a century
was expanding into for- and it is now widely considered one of the after formed part of the West Penn Com-
eign territories initially to
foremost art houses in the Core. His repu- munes. A group of townships and farming
aid in relief efforts. This
turned to possession once tation is vitally important to him and it is communities that banded together during
Japan’s government could in the capacity of ‘discrete investigators’ the worst years to feed each other, defend
see the value in claim- that the Player Characters are to be hired. against bandits, and finally, to demand
ing resources before other concessions from the re-formed union
nations did. This brought Based initially in the American capital of of American states. Fiercely independent
sorrow to His imperial Reston, he found it necessary to move his they resisted inducements to re-join the
highness but he was pow- entire operation to London so he could union prematurely and instead relied on
erless to intervene in the access European markets, visit the French their own resources until the memory of
face of such need at home. art sellers in Paris, and to utilise favour- U.S. infighting faded after a generation.
The populace too were un- able trade and duty tariffs between the
happy as they had already
countries of the European Co-Prosperity Despite this austere and practical outlook
seen war and it’s dire ef-
fects and were once again Sphere, or ECoPS (Britain, France, Spain, Silas began to notice the effect that pre-
the targets of destructive Flanders, Ireland, The Netherlands, & The cious things would have on others. Enam-
weapons. The last thing Scandinavian Union). oured with such artists as Delit, Nilsen,
the Japanese wanted was Nacario, and other members of the Post-
an excuse for right wing Brought up in an austere community in Americana movement, Silas left his home
west Pennsylvania, Silas knew from an and journeyed to Reston to work for a
small auction house, Franklin’s, spe- markers but judging by the excellent video parties to go on another
cialising in pre-Twilight art. He quickly from security cameras outside the gallery empire building expedi-
learned his trade and started out on his he knew exactly where to go and also his tion, further causing ca-
own with his savings and a small com- escape route. It is a fair assumption that lamity for the people in
the thief knows the gallery well. the home islands.
munity bank loan.

Inspector Reg. Miller of New Scotland At this time of social

His business grew because he was only conflict, where nation-
interested in reclaiming famous art Yard is a self important little man who
al pre-Twilight guilt
from before Twilight as opposed to eve- thinks he’s right and any dissenters are clashed with social
rything, and because he also had an un- obviously wrong. He’s convinced himself need, vibrant new ex-
canny eye for what was going to break that it was a crime of theft perpetrated by pressions were taking
into the art world a short time before an organised crime syndicate that he’s had place. Theatre, sculp-
it did. This made him popular with in- a few run ins with, the White Dragon. A ture, and painting all
vestors who trust his judgment without small but effective Asian criminal gang showed schizophrenic
question. He now owns 12 branches of akin to the Triads, the White Dragon have dichotomy and a need
cornered the upper class drug market and to rebel but also be re-
Salamander which are split between
use corrupt city traders to be the middle spectful to culture and
America and Europe and he plans to
men for their trade. Miller is obsessed it’s mores.
open a branch in Wellon by the year’s
end. with taking them down after his son over-
The graffiti movement
dosed on drugs 3 years ago. was a way for artists
All that may be suddenly thrown into to be anonymous and
jeopardy if the PC’s cannot help him re- Sensing a degree of narrow mindedness show their dislike of the
cover an item stolen from his London from the Inspector, Cantrell hires the PCs regime. After a year or
office. through their agency to track down the two the National Police
artwork before it’s owner, Mr Hinata Om- Agency or NPA, were no
About 7pm last Wednesday a young uru, and his wider client base hears about nearer to catching the
the theft. artists than they were
man on a hoverbike drove past the Sala-
previously and frustra-
mander gallery on the corner of Dun-
If the PCs think to check the security tions were starting to
cannon Street & the Strand in London set in. That all changed
and threw an Systeme Audionique con- footage for the past 2 weeks they notice
when a Time Magazine
cussion grenade at 2 guards transport- an oddly nervous young Japanese male interview with the Em-
ing a priceless work of art to a waiting walking into the gallery on a couple of peror was accompanied
van. The vehicle transponders and the occasions and going straight to ‘Time with photographs of
rider’s license signal in his helmet had Changes’ by Lady Aiko Nakagawa whilst him in his sitting room
been disabled. This has meant that the ignoring all other pieces. The PCs should at the palace. On the
rider’s identity is unknown to both the get the feeling he’s casing the place. After wall in one of the pho-
police and to the gallery. Unfortunately, a week he stops visiting and on his last tographs was an image
visit looks considerably frustrated before of ‘21st Century Samu-
because Cantrell wanted the police to be
striding out. It is at this point the suspect rai’ by Arata (depicting
discrete, they arrived a little later than
decides to rob the painting when it’s be- a samurai wielding an
was helpful and the rider got away with AR-15 on battlements).
the painting. They sent up a drone from ing put back into storage at the end of it’s
Once the people saw
their Bridgeport Jailbird to seek out and run in the gallery (frequent patrons know that the Emperor ap-
tag or EMP the bike but he was gone. that each artwork, if unsold, will stay in proved then political
The police are trying in vain to track all the gallery for a month and then go back pressure was off and
the hover bikes in London but Cantrell into storage or to their owners). the graffiti of various
needs a swift resolution as his reputa-

47
tion is on the line. Due to Inspector Miller’s blinkered ap-
proach, the police are yet to check the se-
The rider may have disabled his I.D. curity footage inside the gallery.
artists was highly sought
after. In truth, the whole
‘Emperor loves graffiti’

SILAS CANTRELL
idea was an embarrassing
misunderstanding. The
TIME photo was taken
at the exact moment
there was a projection of
a news broadcast showing
the picture in a bulletin
about how to report graf-
fiti artists for the good of
the nation. The Emperor
has never endorsed an art
form and, as usual, has
remained silent on the
issue of common media
and culture.
‘Mr. Omuru’s Keepsake’ • 3 The owner, Hinata Omuru, recent-
Lady Aiko Nakagawa’s ly lost his wife and had a breakdown.
paintings and prints are What’s Really Going On: Roll a D6 or As the CEO of the Manila-Okinawa
highly sought after and select whichever one of the following Trust Bank the share price will plum-
‘Time Changes’ was sold situations appeals to you the most: met if the public become aware of Mr.
to the late Mrs. Omuru Omuru’s ‘predicament’.
for v L 1.4m as a gift to
• 1 All is as represented. Cantrell
her husband. The image To save face, Mr Omuru’s Fuku (or
shows a tableaux of peo- wants the artwork found before the
artworld discovers that his company deputy) has stepped forward and ar-
ple in various stages of a
can’t keep valuable items safe. The ranged for Mr. Omuru to visit the
kiss and embrace and was
created in 2008. It imbues young Japanese man is a fan and Civic Free Hospital to receive be-
pop art with deepening simply wants to keep it for himself. reavement counselling. In truth, his
sexuality. He sees himself as the only person deputy (Mr Nori Himura) arranged
devoted enough to the picture to be for his memory to be altered by a
able to look after it and appreciate it. Quinn technician so that he can func-
tion without memory of his wife. It
A relatively simple facial recogni- was Mr Himura who has put ‘Time
tion check should reveal his name Changes’ up for sale at Salamander.
and whereabouts.
However, he did not anticipate that
Taro Matsuoka (Mr Omouru’s es-
• 2 The thief is Riku Harusha and
tranged son) would emerge to pay his
intends to sell the painting to a local
respects. Himura was unaware of his
fence so he can return home to Joi.
existence. Knowing what the painting
He isn’t intrinsically bad, he’s just
represents to his father, Taro has sto-
broke. The problem is that Mr Om-
len the painting unaware that his fa-
uru is the leader of ‘White Dragon’
ther no longer remembers it.
‘Time Changes’ and the gallery has been laundering
money for the gang. He will not rest
Mr Himura will go to any lengths to
until he sees Harusha at the bottom
secure the company’s future and to, as
of the River Thames. Again, his face
he sees it, protect his honourable em-
48 should give him away but the White
Dragon may already be hot on his
ployer from more grief. Grief that, he
believes, would lead to his employer’s
trail.
 suicide. Mrs Omuru comitted sui- him to extraordinary lengths to fin-
cide after suffering a lengthy depres- ish Cantrell. Cantrell asks the PCs CAN
sion. Mr Omuru, would have killed to track him down and retrieve the
himself to be with his wife in the painting. He will then pay White YOU
next world and considered the act
Shinjū, or double suicide between
Dragon hitmen to kill Matsuoka and
remove the threat once and for all.
FILL
lovers, even though his wife has The length of the PCs involvement THIS
been gone for 3 months. depends on how much they want
to question Matsuoka. If Cantrell
SPACE?
While Mr Himura saved him from suspects the PCs are siding with his

THEN
this he knows that Omuru’s son is nemesis then they too will become
a problem and has decided, using targets of the White Dragon.
hired Yakuza, to have Omuru’s son COLONIAL
‘disappeared’. He already knows of • 5 Salamander has made some un-
TIMES

the theft of the painting and of the characteristically bad investments
PC ‘Gaijin’ (foreigners) involved in
this debacle he has found himself
and Silas Cantrell appears to have NEEDS
lost his touch. He is watching his
the centre of. His first thought is to business crumble so pays a young YOU!
way-lay the PCs to find out what Japanese aquaintence to steal the
they know. Ultimately, the quest painting. Silas will claim on the in-
may lead back to a very tense situa- surance, then Matsuoka will use his WE
tion in the Omuru mansion in Berk-
shire between father, son, the PCs,
contacts to sell the painting on the
black market. Unbeknownst to each NEED
and Himura and his hired Yakuza
muscle.
of them, the other is planning to ART
murder his associate and keep the
entire money. AND
One possible resolution would
be filling Mr Omuru in on all he’s
TEXT
• 6 In actuality there has been no
lost (essentially his married life theft. Both Matsuoka and ‘Inspec-
SEE
and his dearest love) and watching tor’ Miller are hirelings of Cantrell’s.
Omuru wail in anguish at Himura. This has all been a test in order
Shamed, Himura will then commit to see how efficient the PCs are at CONTACT
Seppuku, or ritual suicide to atone
for his shame and misdeeds to his
their work, how quick to the use of
force, and how discrete they can be.
INFO
employer in front of him (or his
house if communication is not face-
Cantrell has been approached by a ON
CONTENTS
Canadian who is acting on behalf of
to-face). His Yakuza hirelings how- a prominent Sung family who wish
ever, have been paid to do a job and
will not stop until dead.
to aquire Human art. If successful, PAGE
the PCs are to take ‘Time Changes’
to Stark and act as intermediaries
• 4 The painting is a forgery. Both between the seller, Mr Omuru and
Cantrell and Matsuoka know this Cantrell, and the leader of the Sung
and the young Japanese man is de- family. If they break the law or use STYGIAN FOX

termined to prove it. Matsuoka was force at any point they will have
once part of the arts division of the failed the test. The picture is genu-
National Police Agency of Japan un- ine.
til he was framed by Cantrell to get
him off his tail. Matsuoka escaped
from prison and shame is driving
Further events are up to the referee. 49
DONATED advert
 DONATED advert

Sequel to national bestseller Fire with Fire.

Science fiction adventure on a grand scale.

When reluctant interstellar diplomat

and intelligence operative Caine
Riordan returns from humanity’s first
encounter with alien races, sudden war clouds
burst. With Earth’s fleet shattered by a sneak
attack and its survivors fighting for their lives,
Caine must rely upon both his first contact and
weaponry skills to contend with the
non-humanoid enemy. And when the
technologically superior attackers sweep aside
the solar system’s last defenses, and traitorous
corporations invite the invaders to land
‘security forces,’ humanity fights back with its
best weapons: cunning, inventiveness, and guts.

But as Earth hurtles towards a final trial by fire

that is certain to scar its collective memory,
Caine discovers that there may also be large and
disturbing gaps in that memory. Clues point to a
much earlier inter-species apocalypse, buried in
humanity’s own prehistory. Which raises a
terrifying possibility: what if the aliens'
invasion of Earth is not one of conquest, but
preemption? And what if their harrowing
memories of a long-past cataclysmic war makes
them willing to do anything to keep it from
reigniting?

Even if that means exterminating the human

race.

About prequel Fire with Fire:

“Chuck Gannon is one of those

marvelous finds—someone as comfortable with
characters as he is with technology, and equally
adept at providing those characters with prob-
lems to solve. Imaginative, fun, and not afraid to
step on the occasional toe or gore the occasional
sacred cow, his stories do not disappoint.”
—David Weber

"If we meet strong aliens out there, Available at Baen Books and
will we suffer the fate of the Aztecs and Incas,
or find the agility to survive? Amazon.com
Gannon fizzes with ideas about the dangerous
politics of first contact.”—David Brin
"The plot is intriguing and then some. Well-developed and self-consistent; intelligent readers are going to like it."
—Jerry Pournelle

About Starfire series hit, Extremis, coauthored by Charles E. Gannon:

“Vivid. . . Battle sequences mingle with thought-provoking exegesis . . .”–Publishers Weekly
“It’s a grand, fun series of battles and campaigns, worthy of anything Dale Brown or Larry Bond ever wrote.” –Analog
About Charles E. Gannon:
“[A] strong [writer of] . . . military SF. . .[much] action going on in his work, with a lot of physics behind it. There is a
real sense of the urgency of war and the sacrifices it demands.” –Locus
THE RAMTHA CULT
BY Randy McDonald
From the book
‘The Unification of
Thought’
History that happened to be closest to Sol. Gar-
den worlds could orbit very young stars
”It amazes me that When Tirane was discovered and ex- like Neubayern or Epsilon Indi or old
before the discovery of plored, humans were taken aback. and highly evolved stars like Delta Pa-
Tirane, it was widely Leading theorists had speculated that vonis, be tidelocked like Nibelungen or
speculated by sophisti- Earth-type life would be rare, and that possess a normal rotation period like
cated, educated people these Earth-type biospheres would like- Chengdu, be low-G like Nibelungen or
that the discovery of ly to quite deadly to unprotected hu- high-G like Chengdu--it didn’t seem
life on other worlds mans, triggering fatal allergic attacks or to matter. How, a large number of peo-
might somehow present inflicting lethal for unprepared humans. ple asked themselves, did this all come
difficulties for people of The discovery that, orbiting Alpha Cen- about? Orthodox religions tended to
faith. Yet, the discovery argue that the abundance of worlds
tauri A, there existed an world that not
of Tirane was one great
only possessed as complex a biosphere constituted proof of intelligent design.
moments in human
spiritual history. as Terra’s but one that was just as hospi- Others of a more secular bent believed
table to humans as Terra, stunned many. this to be confirmation of the theory of
Here is this place, of More, as at least one observer noted, the natural panspermia, with the implica-
all the worlds we have fact was that Tirane was arguably more tions that the galaxy would be popu-
found, best suited to suitable for humanity than Earth, with lated by Earth-like garden worlds. More
us, other than our own a distribution of biomes (fewer deserts, adventurous groups, like the Edenites of
Earth. Every vari- less tundra, somewhat smaller polar ice Wellon who believe that Tirane was the
able, every feature is caps) that made relatively more of Ti- actual Biblical Eden, adapted existing
pleasant for us. Right rane’s land surface available to human religions.
next door, waiting for
habitation than Terra’s. Orthodox reli-
human beings. And
gious authorities were able to adapt to Others were unsatisfied by these two
this was a chance oc-
currence? this discovery, arguments. In 2198, Emmeline Gbagbo,
an electronics engineer who had immi-
A lucky convergence of grated several years earlier to Nouveau
natural law? The odds The later discovery of Nibelungen and Provence from the Guinea Coast, had
of Tirane being what it Beowulf on the French Arm in the a series of disturbing dreams, of earlier
is, where it is, is so re- 2140s, followed by the explorations of residents of Tirane and war. Concerned
mote that it defies any Han Shan and Chengdu on the Chi- and confused, at a voudun ceremony in
explanation that does nese Arm and Beta Canum on the her new home of Mirambeau Gbagbo
not invoke the benevo- French Arm later in the 22nd century, presented herself for an extended exor-
revealed that broadly Earth-compatible cism. Gbagbo astonished everyone pre-

52 biospheres quite commonly existed on

the very different worlds in the stars
sent when she announced that she was
possessed by Ramtha, an ancient Terran
warrior who possessed great knowl-
edge about past history and guidelines ers who saw links between the Cult and lence of a divine creator
for present conduct and was actually an their colonies’ well-managed planning. is obviously insufficient.
aspect of the orisha Ogoun, lord of war After Gbagbo’s death in 2254, the Cult This planet is the very
and metal and the entity that found the survived, slowly evolving and elabo- proof theologians have
first land for human beings. At future rating over time. Gbagbo’s appointed sought all along of Intel-
ligent Design.” ~ Father
sessions, Gbagbo continued to channel heir, Nordgartener Lena Schneider,
Maximillian Adolfo.
Ramtha, who not only communicated continued in her tradition, expanding
an ethical system based on the denial on the first revelations and formalized
of the concepts of original sin and an the training the Enlightened, spiritually
undesirable material world and the em- and socially attuned members of the
brace of knowledge in all its forms, but Ramtha Cult who would propagate the
told listeners that life was everywhere movement’s goals--and membership-
in the neighbourhood of Sol because of -in wider Tiranean society.
the Precursors, an amazingly advanced
civilization with paraphysical and phys- In recent years, the Cult has gone from
ical manifestations. For thousands of strength to strength. Freihafen and Ti-
millions of years, the Precursors had rania have become a major focus of the
roamed the universe, seeding life on Enlightened, as the unsettled social con-
lifeless worlds and protecting living dition in the two countries combines
worlds from catastrophes. Alpha Cen- with the technocratism of Freihafen in
tauri was a major Precursor centre, with particular to create interesting potential The Ramtha Cult’s
two garden worlds, one each orbiting A markets, but the Cult has established at emblem/motif.
and B. Eight hundred million years ago, least a nominal presence in nearly all
a great conflict broke of the Tiranean societies. It hasn’t hurt
out within this civilization when a fac- that the movement has made a series
tion of would-be conquerors tried to of canny political choices, opting to re-
make these seeded worlds into an em- main quiet in Nouvelle Provence dur-
pire. The war ended up destroying both ing the junta, supporting Freihafen’s
sides, with the last survivors of the orig- independence movement, and applaud-
inal Precursors sealed on underground ing the establishment of a rationally-
caverns on a Ramtha--Limbes--made planned French Empire. Some of the
an uninhabitable hell. It was human- beliefs of the Cult have begun to spread
ity’s responsibility, Ramtha said, to free into mainstream religions, certain be-
them. lievers rationalizing Ramtha as an angel
or a djinn. The Cult has even begun to
Gbagbo’s visions were mocked by most spread beyond Tirane, taken to a Terra
Tiraneans, but her undeniable charisma that’s seen as playing a critical role in the
and the content of her communications liberation of the Limbes Precursors and
were taken seriously by a few. Many fel- to a Nibelungen that’s seen as one of the
low practitioners of voudun believed in Precursors’ last, greatest achievements.
the authenticity of Ramtha and made With an estimated two million follow-
Gbagbo his priestess. Some members ers, the Ramtha Cult is a movement to
of Tirane’s New Age religious move- watch.
ments claimed Ramtha as their own
and also came closer to Gbagbo’s orbit. Ideology
Elsewhere, the Ramtha Cult’s empha-
sis on the need for critical thought and
research appealed to many technically
The Ramtha Cult is an increasingly well-
disciplined movement that’s devoted to 53
trained people, particularly to Garten-
 the perfection of knowledge about the Cult believes that the Precursors can

COLONIAL TIMES
spiritual and physical worlds, as com- only be freed once Limbes becomes a
municated by Ramtha through Gbagbo, beautiful garden world again. To do
Schneider, and their eventual succes- this, Cult theology teaches that human
sors. The Cult is flexible: it can be prac- knowledge and technology must ad-
ticed as a polytheistic religion, with dif- vance rapidly, with bio/nanotechnology
ferent loa appearing in different forms, and information technology and space
or as a monotheistic religion, with dif- technology all combining to produce a
ferent loa all ultimately subordinate to a technology capable of shifting Limbes
supreme creator. As such, it’s potentially in its orbit and stripping away its super-
compatible with established religions: at dense carbon dioxide atmosphere for
no point has Ramtha explicitly denied a garden environment. As soon as that
(say) the divinity of Jesus Christ or Mu- task is achieved, humans--and other,
hammad, or the precepts of Buddhism, suitable, sapient species--can become as
or the existence of the Hindu pantheon. one with the Precursors. Until that time,
It’s quite possible for members of the humans must work to perfect their tech-
Cult to consider themselves in good nology, spreading life to as many worlds
faith to be good Lutherans or Ismaili, as it can.
whatever their fellows might think.
Different sects of the Ramtha Cult prac-
Members of the Cult are concerned tice their faith in different ways. Some
with achieving Enlightenment, a state of more orthodox sects borrow extensively
being marked by--in Gbagbo’s original from voudun, for instance additionally
words--”a lucidity that will illuminate invoking the psychopomp Papa Guédé
the universe.” This Enlightenment has as an intermediary between the physi-
traditionally been achieved by the en- cal world in the afterlife. Others place
gagement of the body and the mind with an emphasis on the use of technology
the mysteries of the Precursors, through as part of a general philosophy of self-
activity devoted to the betterment of improvement that has as its aim contact
the human community and through a with paraphysical realms. All the differ-
process of self-examination tradition- ent sects share a common belief in Ram-
ally achieved by meditation, although tha as a paraphysical messenger from
the ingestion of psychotropics has also the Precursors.
played a role. Cybernetic enhancements
are also starting to be used towards this Activities
end, particularly those which expand
the capabilities of the mind, although The Ramtha Cult has gotten quite a lot
they are still controversial to the body of derisory press attention thanks to the
of Cult members. activities of less rigourous Ramtha Cult-
ists who have been attracted to oddities
Once Cult members achieve Enlighten- on Tirane, to places like the Watchtow-
ment, they are expected to work toward er in south-central Wellon and those
the Cult’s goal of freeing the Precur- who play a major role in the unofficial
sors from their Limbesian exile. Sim- Ramtha research program of Provincia
ple methods, like simply blasting the do Brasil’s University of Nova Ostia.
Limbesian crust away, are profoundly This has exacerbated significant ten-
54 unacceptable, as no difference from
the acts of the Destroyers. Instead, the
sions within the Ramtha Cult between
the more and less rigourous factions of
 COLONIAL TIMES
the Cult, with Schneider--before her Orbital Quarantine Control has already
current career, an aerospace engineer- had some run-ins with Cultists.) Ram-
-mostly coming down on the side of the tha Cultists are almost uniformly hos-
more scientific factions while generous- tile to the Kafers, seeiing them as beings
ly allowing for the possibility that other like the Destroyers, casual devastators
technological civilizations may well of lives, worlds, and civilizations. Some
have visited Tirane between the Precur- Cultist organizations are involved in aid
sors’ departure and humanity’s arrival. efforts on Beta Canum and Kimanjano.
They just aren’t that important.
The Cult has numerous enemies. With-
What does matter to the Cult, and what in the Cult itself, the “technocrats” and
disturbs many who are in the knowl- “Illuminated” are locked in conflict
edge, is the emphasis placed by the Cult over control of the future direction of
on its members’ acquisition of scientific the movement. Outside the Cult, most
and technological prowess. Many seri- of the established religions of Tirane are
ous Ramtha Cultists are interested in strongly opposed to the Cult, deeming it
megascale engineering, especially terra- a mistake at best and a heresy at worst.
forming: The activities of the French on (Despite its similarites to Afro-Brazilian
Nous Voila and Sans Souci, the Ameri- religions, the Brazilian church’s vigi-
cans on Ellis, the Australians on King- lance kept the Cult from getting a foot-
sland, and the Manchurians and UAR hold in Provincia do Brasil.) Many Ti-
on Syun in the Zeta Tucanae system are ranean intelligence and police agencies
all studied in detail by Cultists, even if are concerned that the Ramtha Cult’s
these efforts don’t include any Cultists members are becoming increasingly
as workers or planners. Other Cultists prominent in various fields of scientific
seek to develop the advanced biotech- and technological research in Tirane,
nologies necessary to alter planetary with Freihafen’s Nachrichtendienst go-
atmospheres, perhaps also with the ad- ing so far as to open a secret department
dition of cybertech that could help co- dedicated to the surveillance of the Cult
ordinate these projects and the devel- and its members. It doesn’t help matters
opment of stutterwarp drives capable that there is some overlap in member-
of longer trips to more worlds offering ship between the Ramtha Cult and the
more potential. Pro-Entwicklung movement, owing to
the movements’ shared interest in de-
Cultists’ views of politics vary, although veloping advanced technologies and
the bulk of members (and Schneider using them to transcend the mundane
herself) would prefer that humanity human condition.
unite in a federation of some kind, in-
cluding whatever alien species would
be interested in joining humans in their
great adventure. The protection of ecol-
ogies everywhere from overexploitation
is a central concern, although many
Cultists see nothing wrong with com-
bining species from different worlds-
-if alll species and ecologies on most
worlds have the same origins, the trans-
plantation of species to different worlds 55
could help accelerate evolution. (Terra’s
COLONIAL TIMES

It might not look like much but DunArmCo don’t go on looks alone. These small
shards can make the difference between life and death in space.
It’s our patented RoundShield™ ablative defensive chaff and it’s held magentically
around a ship to dissipate incoming laser fire. We are at the cutting edge of material
and weapon technology. Visit our site today for our catalog of exciting products.

DUNARMCO.
Visit dunarmco.aus.sol for more info
or if you’re on Earth, call +61 9001 346 3466
to speak to one of our representatives.

InterPlanetary Corruption
Nepotism
Fraud
Deception
Smuggling

Murder

Why You Shouldn’t Trust

AmeriCo.
with Tara McKenzie
58 BBC Home - 11pm Tele 1 - 12 midnight Watch the InterPlanetary
ATV 1 - 6pm EST PSR - 3am Exposé
April 4th
 YOUR WORLD
THE LATEST NEWS BROUGHT TO YOUR FINGERTIPS

Not So Blue Moon

This photograph, which seemingly shows the moon
alight, won the Patrick Zaentz Jury Prize in the nature
category. It triumphed over some remarkable competi-
tion to win the $15,000 prize. The artist, Maria Ger-
gorian, told us she was going to use the prize to give
up her regular job as a store assistant and go freelance.
With quality images of this caliber, we can see why.

“They must breed ‘em dumb on Beowulf.”

An antique weapon is still a weapon and OQC official Cpt
Mike Bridges pulled no punches in his evaluation of the
Beowulf man who tried to sneak this priceless .357 onto
Earth. The big Texan arrested the suspect but also had
praise for his maintenance of the firearm.
“She’s a beauty. Lovingly maintained. I reckon she must be
pre-Twilight. Three hundred years old and not a scratch on
her.” It will be up to the courts to decide the man’s fate and
also the fate of the weapon. Many at OQC think it should
be admired in a museum.

“An Opportunity To Heal.”

In Brussels’ Palace of Justice (seen left) the Reconciliation Com-
mission convenes to hear the tragic cases of abuse, murder, and
rape that took place during the Flemish war of independence.
Judge Choatan set out the way he saw the sessions as “An opportu-
nity to heal. An opportunity to hear the wrongs, and the rights, of
the vile conflict which cost so many lives. We are here as wintesses
for the dead, but we must also remember that Flanders lives on
and we must heal together, whatever our side in the
war. I will not be swayed.”
Judge Choatan alluding there to the murder of his
predecessor Judge Gillissen who was shot by the
59
Pro-French terrorist group ‘Unite’ last month.
 YOUR WORLD

When is ‘you’, still ‘you’?

We’ve seen enormous advances in re-
cent years in the field of surgery but an
interesting argument is taking place on
the Drift™ channels. French housewife
Marie Fonstad (seen left) recently had a
full facial transplant after a horrific house
collapse in Lyon. We think the results of
the surgery are amazing but many still
balk at the idea of wearing a dead person’s
face. The late donor’s husband is suing the
hospital and, while these operations are
run of the mill, feelings still run deep on
such issues. Fonstad is still suffering some
personality disphasia and sometimes
doesn’t feel she is still who she’s grown up
to be. Doctors think she will make a full
recovery.

He’s back. Naturally.

‘Killing Time’, has been wowing it’s fans for
the past 3 seasons and it seems that people
can’t get enough of everybody’s favourite
psychopath, Mr Nathaniel August.

The playboy billionaire (played by Kris Weiss-

man) returns after a brief absence while on
vacation to Paris (the actor had theatre com-
mitments) to his usual stomping ground of
Premiere, BCV.

This season, premiering 08-April on Earth,

will see August face his demons over his dead
father, seek to bring down corrupt police chief
Duvallier, and evade capture by the PCM.

The rumour mill is rife with speculation about

the return of one of Augusts foes to the series
but cast and production members are keeping
tight lipped.

‘Killing Time’ has broken all viewing records

for major channels with an average of 120m
viewers per episode (location adjusted).
 ‘Empty Gestures’
This is the scene on most tube trains
in Victoria, Wellon, today as citizens
protest the 15% increase in fares
by simply staying away. GNAL had
recently aquired the transit system
and had immediately raised it’s
prices to offset the cost of buying the
network. Officials from GNAL have
offered to enter talks with passenger
groups but this has been described
as “an empty gesture” by consumer
groups.
For the most part, the tram system
has been picking up the slack but
the possible loss of revenue has even
alarmed the Governer General.

NEXT ISSUE
GUNS
COLONIAL TIMES
THE JOURNAL FOR THE 2300AD SCI-FI ROLE-PLAYING GAME OBD
GUNS
VEHICLES
GUNS
PATRONS
NEWS
..Did I mention guns?
In order for Colonial Times to
continue we need your input!
See the Contents page for the
5 SUMMER 2014
STYGIAN FOX

e-mail address to send your

submissions ideas to.
INPUT
THE GENEROUS CONTRIBUTORS
WHO HAVE MADE THIS ISSUE OF
COLONIAL TIMES POSSIBLE.
THEY’VE STEPPED UP. YOUR TURN.

Steff. J. Worthington
Contact info is steffworthington@hotmail.com .
Available for cartography projects, trade dress, and
graphic design for RPG’s and other books.

R. M. Rhodes
Contact info is oletheros@yahoo.com
Writer
Available for Comic Book projects.

Charles E. Gannon
‘Fire with Fire’ out now http://www.charlesegannon.com/
‘Trial by Fire’
cegwebmaster@hotmail.com
Release date
July 2014 Author of ‘Fire With Fire’
Baen Books
available now from all good book retailers.

Randy McDonald
Writer
Contact info is rfmcdonald@sympatico.ca

Gavin Dady
Contact info is Gavindady@gmail.com
Mechanical designs (starships, vehicles, guns, satellites)
hobbyist
 Creative Stock
http://creativestock.deviantart.com/

Richard Spake
Contact info is http://spake759.deviantart.com/
Artist | Professional | Traditional Art

Albert Urmanov
Contact info is http://albyu.deviantart.com/
Artist | Digital Art

Wyld Raven
http://wyldraven.deviantart.com/

Dmaland
http://www.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&global=1&q=dmaland

Fantasy Stock
http://fantasystock.deviantart.com/gallery/377999?offset=48
 Sean & Ashlie Nelson
- http://ashensorrow.deviantart.com/

Jademacalla
http://jademacalla.deviantart.com/

Kawaii Stock
http://kawaiistock.deviantart.com/

Knovocaine
http://knovocaine.deviantart.com/

Matiii
http://matiiii.deviantart.com/

Planetekrilin
http://planetekrilin.deviantart.com/
Reddawgi
http://reddawgi.deviantart.com/

Resurgere
http://resurgere.deviantart.com/

Taeliac-stock
http://taeliac-stock.deviantart.com/

Digital Heavens
http://www.digitalheavens.co.uk/

STYGIAN FOX
STYGIAN FOX

COLONIAL TIMES