EPISODE 4: DRAWING DEEPLY FROM THE WELL

CAPTAIN’S LOG: STARDATE 48523.6. Starfleet has ordered the El Dorado to star system J05 833, near the border of
the Klingon Empire, to investigate a series of incidents occurring around an alien artifact nicknamed “The Big
Dipper.” Reports indicate damage from weapons fire and the Federation Science Council is concerned that the
Romulans or the Orion Syndicate may be attacking the artifact to deny the Federation the resources it generates.

ACT 1
SCENE 1: Read aloud: While it is unusual to exit warp over a full Astronomic Unit away from your destination,
Starfleet’s orders exist for a reason. Space-time flattens and the stars around the El Dorado slow to a halt as it drops
out of warp. The viewscreen dims as the intense glow of an F-type star overwhelms the exterior sensors. The
computer automatically raises shields as temperatures rise on the surface of the outer hull.

As sensors adjust, what can be seen ahead is the massive gas giant named Purgatory, over six times the mass of
Jupiter and nearly 50% larger. On Purgatory’s night side you see the constant strobing of lightning which makes the
planet’s clouds sparkle. On the day side, streaks of black, brown, pale tan, and neon red mark upwelling of different
materials from deep below the cloud tops.

While Purgatory is large and striking, the most obvious visible thing is the brightly glowing line over the planet. The
skyhook. The Big Dipper. Your destination.

It isn’t every day that Starfleet finds evidence of a vanished civilization advanced enough to construct something
this large and complex and still functioning. Starfleet engineers have reviewed the object but their discoveries about
the methods behind its construction remain inconclusive.

Characters who want to perform a sensor scan may do so with a Reason + Science task assisted by the ship’s
Sensors + Science with a Difficulty of 0. Informa�on gathered shows that Purgatory is the first of six planets in the
J05+833 system. The other planets are airless, Class-D worlds. Scans show that Purgatory has neither moons nor a
ring system. They learn basic informa�on about the skyhook:

• It is an orbital construc�on consis�ng of a long, carbon nanotube tether, reinforced by a graviton wave,
woven around monotanium ramscoop cores at each end that grab material from the atmosphere of the
planet. As it rotates around its own center of mass, it brings material grabbed from the planet up to
higher al�tudes and releases encased materials into orbit or flings it out into space. Remnants of decades
of launches are visible throughout the system. The ramscoops, which use gravity generators to pull in gas
and dust, are large enough to fit a Galaxy-class starship inside the intake.
• The Big Dipper is the largest skyhook project known. It is over 30,000 kilometers in length. At the center
of the mass and rota�on there is a habita�on and engineering structure named “The Hub.” The Hub is of
alien construc�on, is a few hundred years old, and is large enough to accommodate 200 personnel and its
shutlebay can hold six shutlecra�.
• The ramscoops use captured hydrogen that is funneled to the Big Dipper’s fusion engines that power
impulse drives on the trailing end of the ramscoop. Inside the scoops, forcefields and magne�c baffles
sort materials and move metals to furnaces, chemical reactors, and refineries that purify the metals. They
use common metals such as iron and nickel to create casings that house the finished refined materials.

The PCs detect three Sydney-class freighters moving through the inner system, the Catalina, the Kevera, and the
Infrared Dreams, and a single Miranda-class research vessel, the USS Bardeen. If the PCs wish to spend
Momentum, they can learn the following:

• The material makeup of Purgatory is primarily hydrogen and helium like most gas giants but it also has
valuable material such as dilithium, tritanium, and kemocite, along with more common important
elements such as �tanium, chromium, and cobalt.
 • Traces of dilithium can be picked up across the system as small dust-sized par�cles, forming a diffuse ring
around the star along the orbit of Purgatory.

SCENE 2: The El Dorado enters orbit over Purgatory alongside the Hub. Boarding the sta�on requires either a
shutlecra� or a transporter. The unusual construc�on of the Big Dipper prevents a direct transporter lock, meaning
the El Dorado must make a “handshake” with the Hub’s transporter pad and the El Dorado’s systems. Upon arrival,
the PCs no�ce that the Hub interior is not designed for humans. The doorways and rooms are larger and taller than
normal, sugges�ng a larger humanoid species built it. The walls, surfaces, and furniture are striking and almost
ar�s�c, made of highly reflec�ve chrome with a patern reminiscent of wood grain.

The PCs meet with the head of the facility, Captain Patricia Cosalia of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers. Cosalia will
meet the PCs and take them on a tour, poin�ng out the alien hardware providing power for the Hub, the crew
recrea�on center, and the command center. A small briefing area has been set up with prefabricated chairs and a
table. Si�ng on the table is small model of the skyhook. It’s here that Cosalia will brief the characters.

CAPTAIN PATRICIA COSALIA [NOTABLE NPC]

TRAITS: Human
VALUES: We Need Some Big Thinking Here
ATTRIBUTES
CONTROL 09 FITNESS 09 PRESENCE 09
DARING 08 INSIGHT 09 REASON 10
DISCIPLINES
COMMAND 02 SECURITY 01 SCIENCE 02
CONN 01 ENGINEERING 03 MEDICINE -

FOCUSES: Power Systems, Zero-gravity Engineering

STRESS: 10 RESISTANCE: 0
ATTACKS:
• Unarmed Melee Strike (Melee, 2 CD, Knockdown, Size 1H, Non-lethal)
• Phaser Type-1 (Ranged, 3 CD, Size 1H, Charge, Hidden 1)

SPECIAL RULES:
• A Litle More Power (Talent)
• Jury-Rig (Talent)

The Skyhook was discovered inac�ve twenty years ago by the USS Horatio. The scans Horatio provided showed the
planet was a treasure trove of dilithium and other rare materials, and they determined that whoever had built the
skyhook had done so to access the materials in the planet’s atmosphere. Corps of Engineers teams arrived that
same year along with a team of archaeologists and xenoanthropologists to discover any informa�on about the
builders of the skyhook and to reac�vate the skyhook system.

The Corps of Engineers was able to reac�vate the Big Dipper 8 months ago a�er replacing all of the deuterium
intakes in the ramscoop fusion impulse racks that had become clogged with recrystallized dilithium. The scien�sts
had less success; the Hub’s on-board computers didn’t have any informa�onal databases beyond the internal
programming language for the skyhook consoles. What insights this provided was limited; the language has some
root words in common with Klingon, their number system used a base six format, and the control surfaces were
designed for users with digits finer than humanoid fingers. An Insight + Science Task with a Difficulty of 3 reveals
that the Big Dipper could be a Hur’q structure. The Hur’q – meaning “outsider” in the Klingon language – was the
name given to a now-ex�nct galac�c society that invaded and plundered Qo’noS 1000 years ago.
The problem began 2 months ago when the Big Dipper began scooping the atmosphere. The dilithium
concentra�ons in the atmosphere peak at around 50 degrees la�tude north and south of the planetary equator
and are almost nothing at the equator. The Big Dipper seemed to have reset its orbit to an inclina�on of zero
degrees as a failsafe when there was no input from operators for however long it had been abandoned, and the
skyhook’s propulsion systems have been slowly increasing the orbital inclina�on since the Corps of Engineers got it
opera�onal. The problems at first were minor – unexpected energy anomalies in the power systems causing
shutdowns of the refineries and minor orbital anomalies. In the past couple of weeks things have been more
extreme.

It started when one of the ramscoops shut down en�rely and an engineering inspec�on team found evidence of
radia�on damage from what could have been a powerful nuclear weapon or a photo torpedo. Sensors didn’t
indicate an atack, just regular opera�ons. The damage has been increasing and each of the ramscoops are
pockmarked with scars. So far the engineering teams and inves�gators on the Bardeen have been theorizing it is a
covert atack to prevent this rich source of dilithium from being used by the Federa�on.

Captain Cosalia will finish the briefing by saying that because of the importance of the dilithium and the
strangeness of the atacks, she requested Starfleet deploy a beter-suited starship to the system. She informs them
that they have full access to any system on the Big Dipper and may u�lize any personnel or equipment aboard.

SCENE 3: Inves�ga�ng the sensor logs, analyzing informa�on gathered from the command systems, and
interviewing the personnel in the Hub are logical steps for the PCs to make. Ques�oning personnel if they have
personally witnessed anything strange goings-on will require a Presence + Command Task with a Difficulty of 0. The
SCE are generally helpful and will answer any ques�ons. They will state that they haven’t seen anything stranger
than what seems to be the norm for the Big Dipper. While they have figured out how to get the structure rota�ng
again, most of the systems are automa�c.

Personnel at the Big Dipper include:

• Lieutenant (j.g.) Fabian Stevens, an SCE officer specializing in materials science.

• Chief Joanne Piotrowski, an SCE opera�ons non-com.
• Crewman Boq’ta Brot, a Bolian SCE technician.
• Minister Songmin Wong, a representa�ve of the Federa�on Science Council observing the alien ar�fact.
• Vance Hawkins, a cargo handler on the SS Catalina.
• Denise Lankford, first mate of the SS Kevera.
• Tai’Mio, a Deltan engineer from the SS Infrared Dreams.

Checking the sensor logs for various systems or vessels in the system during the �me of these atacks depends on
which source they are checking. Contac�ng USS Bardeen will put the PCs in contact with Captain Has Ha�, a surly –
even by Tellarite standards – but competent commanding officer, or Bardeen’s science officer, Commander Nelia
Yot, a Tellarite with a sharp mind and tongue. Note: Bardeen is en�rely crewed by Tellarites.

Analyzing the logs will require an Insight or Reason + Science Task with a Difficulty of 1. Success will show that
Bardeen has been patrolling the inner system for 11 days and has detected neither Romulan nor Orion vessels in
the sector. The closest non-Starfleet vessel near the system in that �me was a bulk freighter out of Aacamar that
didn’t approach any closer than 5.3 parsecs. Spending a Momentum on this Task will give the PCs addi�onal insight:
each �me the Big Dipper is at its deepest in the atmosphere, there are small gravita�onal fluctua�ons in space-
�me that ripple out from the tethers. If the PCs have already analyzed the sensor data from the Hub, the PCs may
make another Insight + Science Task with a Difficulty of 2 to conclude that there would be increased strain on the
graviton systems maintaining the integrity of the tethers during this �me in its rota�on. There shouldn’t be any
ripples in space-�me generated unless something was interfering with the tethers directly or causing a significant
amount of damage to the ramscoops.
With the easy op�ons explored, the PCs should explore the ramscoops themselves.

ACT 2
CAPTAIN’S LOG: SUPPLEMENTAL. While the crew has interviewed several personnel at the Big Dipper, the effort has
provided no new information. It remains within the realm of possibility that an outside party would attack this
facility to deny the Federation the dilithium located here but, for the moment, known agitators are not under
suspicion. What can be said for certain is that something is attacking the ramscoops. I have directed the crew to
focus their efforts on these asteroid-sized pods.

SCENE 1: The PCs can visit the ramscoop a�er it has finished discharging its refined materials. Hub personnel will
warn the PCs away as the refined materials are launched with magne�c accelerators, causing deadly projec�les to
move at high speeds, and the refineries emit significant EM interference that may blind sensors and emit harmful
par�cles, causing radia�on sickness or burns. Going in the hours before the ramscoop shuts down means that PCs
will face the possibility of being on the ramscoop as it starts tearing through Purgatory’s atmosphere. Captain
Cosalia will recommend PCs use a shutlecra� to visit the ramscoops as there are no true docking ports on the
structure and its’s far easier to land inside with a smaller vehicle rather than a full starship, even though there is
ample room for one.

SHUTTLECRAFT
SYSTEMS
COMMS 07 ENGINES 05 STRUCTURE 05
COMPUTERS 06 SENSORS 05 WEAPONS 00
DEPARTMENTS
COMMAND 00 SECURITY 01 SCIENCE 00
CONN 01 ENGINEERING 01 MEDICINE 00

POWER: 3 SCALE: 1
SHIELDS: 4 RESISTANCE: 1
CREW COMPLIMENTS: 1 or 2, plus 6 passengers

Rendezvousing with a ramscoop isn’t complicated but keeping sta�on on it is due to its constantly charging vector.
Every change in posi�on the PCs make requires a Control + Conn Task assisted by the shutle’s Engines + Conn with
a Difficulty of 1. Failure adds a level of Difficulty to any observa�ons made of the ramscoop exterior. The GM may
use Threat to ac�vate a series of casings accelera�ng away from the ramscoop, an automated process that was
supposed to be completed by the �me the PCs arrived. They fire in the direc�on of the PCs’ shutle and each
Threat spent, one canister comes close, ac�ng as if it were controlled by a Proficient crew (Atribute 9, Discipline 2)
and as a photon torpedo (Torpedo, Long Range, 5 CD, High-Yield).

The ramscoop’s exterior is sooty black from repeated passage through Purgatory’s atmosphere. There are areas
near the a� of the ramscoops that are behind protuberances that will show cleaner areas of the exterior being
originally a deep gold or brass color. Scans of the ramscop require a Reason + Science Task assisted by the shutle’s
Sensors + Science with a Difficulty of 1 and show that there are signs of incredible energy usage including ionizing
radia�on pouring out of vents, cooling fins s�ll glowing bright yellow, and a wide spectrum of EM interference from
various sources. PCs who spend Momentum will also learn that as extreme as the environment outside of the
ramscoop is now, it is currently in low power mode as it awaits its next dip into the atmosphere.

PCs can zero in on notable objects, including radia�on ven�ng, cooling fins, and sources of EM interference. Also
important is an area giving off high levels of infrared and x-ray radia�on on the far side of the ramscoop. To
inves�gate, PCs will need to perform a Control + Conn Task assisted by the shutle’s Engines + Conn with a Difficulty
of 2 to approach safely. Failure represents not taking into account the orbital mo�on of the ramscoop and bumping
into it (a 3 CD atack for failing by 1), or approaching too closely to an area that is pouring out radia�on or plasma
(a 5 CD atack for failing by 2). Arriving means PCs atemp�ng a Reason or Insight + Science or Engineering Task
assisted by the shutle’s Sensors + Science with a Difficulty of 2 to get good sensor readings.

• Radia�on ven�ng: There are two types of vents: one is part of a set of refineries and cyclotrons that purify
radioac�ve material, while the other is for waste material from fission reactors. Judging by the levels of
energy needed, these fission reactors must be backups for backup systems, long-term nucleothermic
generators. The cyclotron and refinery vents show that there are literally hundreds of by-products emited
from them, meaning the ramscoop is making many different isotopes and radioac�ve elements.
• Cooling fins: The fins extend outwards from the main body of the ramscoop a�er it has le� the
atmosphere. They radiate excess heat away from the ramscoop. These fins glow a deep orange and are
composed of an alloy of tungsten and rhenium, layered with a magne�c conduit that channels plasma
from the structure into the fins.
• EM interference: There are few sources of EM interference coming from the ramscoop. One is a faulty
containment vessel in one of the many fusion reactors for the impulse drive at the rear of the ramscoop.
The other major source is a large blast crater on the leading dorsal sec�on where hard radia�on is s�ll
emana�ng. The usual dark pa�na has been blasted away to show a shiny and almost polished hull. Success
in studying this feature will reveal that a high-energy device detonated directly against the hull.
Radioac�ve decay by-products show that it was not an an�-mater weapon like a photon torpedo, and the
only reason the damage isn’t more severe is that the hull of the ramscoop is incredibly tough. Spending a
Momentum for this test will give more informa�on about the possible weapon used. The blast patern and
radioac�ve decay elements show it was a combina�on fission/fusion device with a projected yield of six
hundred megatons, far larger than anything ever developed on Earth. The atack must have occurred
during the last �me the ramscoop was in Purgatory’s atmosphere.

Learning about the recent thermonuclear strike and where it must have happened, the PCs should think about
either scanning Purgatory or figure out a method to modify a shutle to enter the thick and toxic atmosphere.

SCENE 2: All scenes in the ramscoop have the Complica�on Low Gravity as there is no ar�ficial gravity, only spin
gravity caused by the rota�on of the en�re skyhook structure. The effec�ve gravity is about 15% of Earth standard,
meaning PCs born in low gravity environments may ignore this Complica�on. Furthermore, the interior of the
ramscoop is constructed to not be influenced by magne�c fields, so magne�c boots do not func�on.

PCs may land on the inside of the ramscoop to study any equipment or damage. The interior is a massive opening
that tapers back towards an intake area with many sealed ports. The hull is polished bright bronze. The only visible
damage are dep gouges in the metal that look as though the hull was melted and quickly solidified. There is no
residual radia�on. PCs may make an Insight + Security Task with a Difficulty of 2 to recognize the odd damage as
being from a high-energy laser rather than a phaser.

Atemp�ng to go further into the ramscoop is next to impossible because of the automa�c seals. Even if PC get
them open (requiring a Control + Engineering Task with a Difficulty of 3) the interior is not designed for humanoids
to move around in. Captain Cosalia will warn the PCs against going inside the actual structure as it has yet to be
mapped beyond 20 meters in from the main hatches and the automated repair systems are not fond of visitors. If
PC do wish to enter, the confined spaces inside give a further Complica�on Claustrophobic. Further inves�ga�on
inside will show healed scars of previous damage, either from heavy impacts, a nuclear detona�on, or laser fire.

The auto-repair system registers the PCs and their shutlecra� as dangerous foreign objects. Several auto-repair
bots “ooze” from the hull and atempt to disassemble the foreign objects. One auto-repair unit per character plus
one per every Threat spent move in.
 SKYHOOK AUTO-REPAIR UNIT [MINOR NPC]
TRAITS: AI
VALUES: The Skyhook Is My Home
ATTRIBUTES
CONTROL 06 FITNESS 06 PRESENCE 04
DARING 06 INSIGHT 06 REASON 08
DISCIPLINES
COMMAND - SECURITY 01 SCIENCE 01
CONN - ENGINEERING 03 MEDICINE -

FOCUSES: Damage Control

STRESS: 7 RESISTANCE: 2
ATTACKS:
• Plasma Cuter (Melee, 4 CD, Piercing 2, Size 1H, Deadly)
SPECIAL RULES:
• Machine 2

SCENE 3: Whatever is happening to the ramscoops is happening while the ramscoops are deep inside the planetary
atmosphere. Sensor scans of the planet have been performed before the PCs arrived and found nothing. The PCs
may atempt to perform their own scan by succeeding at a Reason + Science Task with a Difficulty of 2. Success will
show that there are no power sources detected on the planet, no vessels of any kind, and no life signs. Spending a
Momentum will reveal that like every gas giant, there are mul�ple atmospheric layers of different compounds and
elements and that it is possible that a combina�on of these layers could hide a vessel from sensors. Spending a
second Momentum will reveal that the powerful sensor pla�orms on their ship are able to tease out a faint
detec�on of an�-neutrinos with an energy sugges�ng a nuclear reactor as a source.

Federa�on starships and shutles won’t survive in a gas giant atmosphere and those that can maneuver in an
atmosphere can’t go as deep as needed to get to the areas where the ramscoop operates. Starfleet atempted to
send probes into Purgatory’s atmosphere in the 8 years ago but the combina�on of strong magne�c fields, ionizing
radia�on, high temperatures, and crushing pressures have made very probe fail before reaching the opera�onal
layer.

Op�ons:

• Modifying the ship’s sensors. This can be through linking them with the sensors on the Bardeen and
some deployed probes to allow interferometric analysis, a Reason + Engineering Task with a Difficulty of
4, assisted by the ship’s Sensors + Science). It could also be made through improving and adap�ng
sensors to par�ally pierce the sensor masking the atmospheric layers provide. This could be through
long-term improvement to sensors through the process described in Scientific Discoveries and
Developments (pg. 157-160). Or, as a specific improvement that gives the ship the Advantage Peering
into Purgatory and is only applicable for this mission and is made by performing a Reason + Science Task
with a Difficulty of 4, assisted by the ship’s Sensors + Science. Achieving this will allow PCs to detect
mul�ple power sources radia�ng an�-neutrinos scatered across the planet. They will also be able to
determine where large concentra�ons of these power sources are located, giving them a beter idea
where they should send a modified probe or shutlecra�.
• Modifying a probe. Modifica�on of a robe can also work but won’t provide as much informa�on as
modifying a shutlecra�. Modifying a probe to survive a brief �me deep in the atmosphere of Purgatory
will require a Reason + Engineering Task with a Difficulty of 3. The limita�on of this solu�on is that
increasing the shielding to allow the probe to survive requires a greater power capacity. Even improving
the onboard power capacity, the probe will only last 10 seconds in the layer where the dilithium is being
 mined. As the probe only lasts a short amount of �me, it will not send back much more informa�on
besides a distorted sensor image of what looks to be structures. A transporter lock onto these structures
is impossible due to distance, highly ionizing radia�on, and the metallic dust. If PCs succeed in the Task
with more than 3 successes, they also learn that before it failed, the probe detected no life that it
detected a type of LADAR scanning.
• Modifying a shutlecra�. Modifying a probe first is a logical solu�on. When the probe fails a�er about 10
seconds, it should be clear that a shutlecra� provides more power and could further be modified to
generate enough energy to reinforce the shield grid to allow around 30 minutes of explora�on. Modifying
shutlecra� will require success at a Reason + Engineering Task with a Difficulty of 3. The modified
shutle will end up with most of its interior space filled with a spare fusion power core and extra EPS
relays between the power plants and the shield grid. The leaves space for only two crew members, so
PCs will have to make a careful choice as to who to send into Purgatory’s atmosphere.

By the �me the PCs complete the modifica�ons to a shutle, one of the ramscoops is making a dip into the
atmosphere. Power levels increase on the Big Dipper and the tethers begin to glow a deep purple as gravimetric
waves ripple out of subspace, causing space itself to glow with a Cherenkov radia�on-like effect. PCs on the Hub
will be jolted off their feet as the en�re structure is slammed by a powerful force. Neutrino detectors everywhere
across the system register the detona�on of a massive thermonuclear weapon in Purgatory’s atmosphere.

A Reason + Science Task with a Difficulty of 1 will reveal that the detona�on occurred at the interface between the
ramscoop’s gravimetric wave and the outside atmosphere and had a yield close to two gigatons, more than
anything Starfleet has for its weapon systems. Even with this kind of power, the detona�on makes no visible mark
on the planet’s upper atmospheric layers. Something is atacking the Big Dipper down in Purgatory.

ACT 3
CAPTAIN’S LOG: SUPPLEMENTAL. The most recent attack on the Big Dipper artifact has shown that something exists
in the dilithium layer of Purgatory’s atmosphere. Scans that have been able to penetrate the interference have
shown no lifeforms, only structures and technology. The only way to put to rest what is happening is to send a
modified shuttle down into the atmosphere.

SCENE 1:
Note: This scene is focused on pilo�ng but be sure to introduce further challenges that require the co-pilot to
assist, such as EM radia�on scrambling the shutle’s guidance systems as it struggles with the increasing
temperatures and pressures outside and the science officer must modify the equipment on the fly using Control +
Science Task with a Difficulty of 2.

The shutlecra�’s journey is easy for the first several minutes. Communica�ons interference occurs when it enters
the atmosphere. Plasma begins streaming on the outer hull before the shields automa�cally ac�vate. Nearly 2000
kilometers above the visible cloud tops, high al�tude winds buffet the shutlecra�. The pilot must make a Control +
Conn Task assisted by the shutle’s Engines + Conn with a Difficulty of 1; otherwise, the shutlecra� suffers as
through it were struck by a 2 CD atack as it tumbles in its re-entry.

The shutlecra� will con�nue to descend through hazy layers of increasing density un�l it is just above the visible
cloud tops. Here the sky is burnt orange and the clouds below are brown and black, resembling thunderheads
made of volcanic ash and strobing with 1000-kilometer-long lightning bolts. The atmospheric density is almost that
of water and the pilot must make a Control + Conn Task assisted by the shutle’s Engines + Conn with a Difficulty of
2 to maintain control or suffer from extreme wind shear blas�ng the shutlecra� around and ac�ng as a 4 CD
atack. Inside the clouds it is pitch black, the only illumina�on being that of lightning and the shutlecra�’s shields
straining and glowing. By this point, external communica�ons are blocked.
Inside this darkness there are mul�ple layers of chemicals and increasing density that sensor pick up as blips of
data. Nothing can be seen un�l minutes later, at a depth of thousands of kilometers, the sky around the shutlecra�
begins to glow a deep red from the heat of the planet itself. There is minor buffe�ng, and the shutlecra� bursts
forth into the target layer that is visually transparent and rela�vely stable with “calm” winds of hundreds of
kilometers an hour and pressures greater than that found at the botom of Earth’s oceans.

SCENE 2: Life on Purgatory exists in the planet’s transparent layer. When the shutle first emerges into this layer, it
is disorien�ng – the “sky” is dull red and black, the “air” is slightly brighter red, and the “ground” thousands of
kilometers below is a roiling, churning morass of cherry red clouds.

The layer is like an ocean, with small “plants” gathering falling dust from the layers above, conver�ng them through
chemical reac�ons into useable compounds. Kilometers long and massive filter feeding organisms shaped like
whales move through the air. Smaller crystalline coral-like creatures that exist off conver�ng the temperatures of
the “ground” clouds into energy. The plants and animals all look alive even though they all exhibit crystalline forms,
their skin refrac�ng light in strange ways. A Reason + Science Task with a Difficulty of 2 will reveal that the plants
and animals are silicon- and arsenic-based, with trace amounts of dilithium. Federa�on science had only theorized
about life such as this and had never encountered anything similar before. Spending a Momentum will reveal a
detailed scan of a simple “fish” that shows the dilithium in the creature corresponds to sensory organs, nerve
fibers, and a brain of sorts composed of dilithium and phosphate glass.

As the shutle descends, the shields sparkle and the shutle’s computer detects a LADAR pulse scanning the vessel.
PCs may atempt a Reason + Conn Task with a Difficulty of 1 to get a lock on the source and plot a course. The
LADAR beam is coming from near the middle of the layer, and as PCs approach the source, they see a floa�ng
crystalline city in the distance with laser light sparkling from nearly every surface. The city seems to be buoyed by
iridescent bags, and long-range sensors will pick out numerous large animals and metallic cra� circling the city.

Three alien beings known as “The Free” cau�ously approach the shutlecra�. Their main central eyes con�nually
“paint” the shutlecra� in a low-power laser intended to act as both a personal LADAR and as a warning. This laser
does not damage the shutlecra�. Their fins are splayed wide with iridescent crystalline �ssue between the fins’
spars flashing different colors indica�ng fear and warning. The only thing se�ng the Free apart from other
organisms is that they are carrying what are clearly weapons in their tendrils and that there is some sort of unique
ritual carving in one of their hides. They are very alien and uninten�onally in�mida�ng due to being larger than the
shutlecra�.

The Free with the carved hide closes in and splays its rear tendrils in a wide circle while flashing its central eye in
different colors and shi�ing the angle of its fin �ssue to produce flashes of light across the spectrum. An Insight +
Command Task with a Difficulty of 2 will allow a PC to understand that the Free are not aggressive as they have not
used or made threatening gestures with their weapons. A Reason + Science Task with a Difficulty of 1 reveals that
their weapons are similar to 21st century automa�c rifles but the ammuni�on is made from radioac�ve elements
and are designed to compress on impact and detonate in a small nuclear blast.

An Insight + Science Task assisted by the shutlecra�’s Computers + Science and a Difficulty of 2, can show that
what is occurring is an atempt to communicate. Success on the Task allows the shutle computer to translate the
Free’s language into a broken transla�on. Spending a Momentum will provide a clear transla�on. Conver�ng
systems on the shutlecra� to respond will require success a Control + Engineering Task with a Difficulty of 1. This
modifies the shielding and the Bussard collectors on the shutlecra� to mimic the flashing fins and the laser eye.

The Free say things such as “The Old Gods are no longer worshipped here!,” “We are Free! We will fight you even if
our souls are consumed!”, and “Leave us as you le� us before.” Once two-way communica�on is established, the
Free will ini�ally be irritated and disbelieving. The speaking Free – aka Third Shackle Breaker of the Desecra�on of
the Brave – will say “The Old Gods came in metal cra�. They used us to harvest our souls. The sent the Eater of
Souls to devour us when we said we would no longer serve them. They le� and the Eater of Souls le�. Now the
Eater of Souls returns along with �ny creatures in metal cra�. Do not deceive us!” Convincing them that Starfleet is
not atemp�ng to enslave or harm them requires a Presence + Command Task with a Difficulty of 2.

Success will have the Free con�nue to press the PCs, but with less anger or disbelief. They have had reports from
the southernmost ci�es of the Eater of Souls descending from the heavens and scouring the sky of life. Third
Shackle Breaker will say, “Millions of the Free flee from the Eater of Souls but we have learned the secrets of the
Heavens and are figh�ng back. We will destroy the Eater of Souls and any Old Gods that come to defend it!”

Reac�va�ng the Big Dipper to mine dilithium has killed swaths of the planetary ecosystem and perhaps even
countless innocent sen�ent beings. That the Free aren’t atacking them is telling and suggests they are terrified of
the PCs and what they may represent.

SCENE 3: The PCs have limited �me before the shutlecra� shields fail. There is �me for 5 diploma�c tests before
�me runs out. Each should be a Presence or Insight + Command Task with a Difficulty of 1. These Tasks may be
used to determine how evasive the Free will be in answering ques�ons, or how direct they are in asking theirs. The
total number of successes will indicate how well the first contact went between the Free and the Federa�on.

• 0 – 2 Successes – Failure. First contact, already tainted by the ramscoop mining system, was disastrous.
The Free will refuse further contact with the Federa�on and atack any vessels approaching their ci�es.
They demand the Big Dipper be dismantled.
• 3 – 5 Successes – Distrust. First contact could have gone much beter. The use of ramscoops and the
destruc�on of much of the Free’s property and lives means there is a distrust among the Free of the
Federa�on’s intents. They will ask to be le� alone but will not refuse future diploma�c overtures. They
demand the Big Dipper be dismantled.
• 6 – 8 Successes – Condi�onal Trust. First contact went well, but the Free do not forgive the Federa�on.
They will ask for aid in repairing any damage, something the SCE will find a challenge. They will also ask
the Federa�on to allow them to visit the Big Dipper, to inspect it before it is deac�vated and le� in orbit as
a reminder of their dark history.
• 9+ Successes – Forgiveness. The Free will forgive the Federa�on. They will ask for aid to rebuild their
infrastructure and will begin nego�a�ng how the Big Dipper may be used without hur�ng them. This
would mean mining no dilithium, only large amounts of more common materials from the higher
atmospheric layers, and they would ask for most of it to be returned to them for use in building their
civiliza�on. This would s�ll be a diploma�c and strategic victory.

When the PCs return, Captain Cosalia will be physically ill when she hears that the ramscoop was harming the Free,
and possibly killing them. She will order the deac�va�on of the Big Dipper, slowing its rota�on so that the
ramscoops remain parallel to the atmosphere below. She will tender her resigna�on and ask that the PCs return
her to nearest starbase for court mar�al. PCs with insight into judicial processes or Federa�on law can make an
insight + Command Task with a Difficulty of 2 to understand that there was no way she could have known what
was happening. She would never be convicted of a crime but her conscience has already declared herself guilty.