Avery/others: Longbow/Jumpstart/Empress

[Gatsby]

I am running a game set in the start of the fifth frontier war, and would like to add some upper echelon top secret stuff (ala CIA). There are hints to Operations Longbow and Jumpstart and of the Empress Wave. Thoug, i don't have all the sources, I have cross-referenced and took some wild guesses. Any other info would be good (if you feel it is not for a public forum, could you E-mail me at mscjec@msn.com ?)

Jumpstart: Strephon and a crew of others (going by code-names) hide socail and technilogical objects throughout the Imperium in cahces, to be used by wiser men in case of an new Dark Age. The objects could be used to Jumpstart the Imperium out of said Dark Age.

Longbow: no real idea. It could be a monitering operation, though what it moniters is unknown- the empress wave, other government states, the psychohistorical arcs that declare the Imperium's downfall? I don't know. It could be simply the delivery of Avery to Norris. It could be a 'team' of trusted souls that moniter all of this stuff.

Code names: the names Gabriel, Herod, Raphael and Pentecost are codes for what? I beleive Pentecost is Norris, and that the rest mgith be trusted agents at sights used to moniter the Empress Wave.

Empress wave: A field of energy that is eminating from the core at 1C. It effects psionic minds, first causing visions of a regal lady then, as it approaches, drives the psionic into a drunken state.

It is neat to note that the Empress wave was coming in on the Spinward as the Virus (standing in for the psychohistorians prediction of Imperial collpase)would be coming in from the center of the Imperium. I think Strephon was preparign for these things with the special operations. I think the Zhodani could also have know of some of this (they DO have a future predicting device).

My current game-universe puts the players in between the two covert forces (Zhodani and the Imperium) as both operations seek to save their societies and stop the inevitable Virus/Empress Wave pincer manuever (which details both can only guess at), all the while in the backdrop of the raging conflict of both societies fighting the Fifth Frontier war.

We have two Vilani, one Zhodani, and some Darrians and Sword Worlders mixxed in as NPCs.

The perfect spot in time/space for the conflict of humanties and the hope for salvation....sort of like Arthur meeting Lancelots forces at the end of Camelot.

So any info on those items would be of great help!

Thanks, Gats'

 

[ScottB]

I think the most comprehensive public treatment of these three topics is "The Regency Sourcebook: Keepers of the Flame", a TNE supplement. Worth picking up if you can find it.

Project Longbow is the LONG Baseline Observation Window, a system created in the 800s for observation of the galactic core and the Zhodani axis of exploration towards the core. It was essentially a huge observatory located in Depot/Lishun, with a collector plane consisting of billions of linked elements covering a total of 46 billion kilometres in diameter. It could observe events 1500 parsecs away to a resolution of 10 metres in infrared, or half a metre in visible light. Of course, it was observing data propogating at the speed of light, so at a range of 1500 parsecs it was watching events 4900 years ago, which dates roughly to the first Zhodani Core Expedition. By looking closer, other core expeditions could be seen - in 1100, the 7th expedition (departed in 750) was observed at a range of about 110 parsecs.

A more ambitious project, Longbow II, was started in 1103. This would have used observation stations along the entire coreward frontier, essentially making the baseline equal to the width of the Imperium. Observations would be couriered to Depot/Lishun for combination and analysis. In theory, this would act like a lens with a width of 160 parsecs, making minute examination of the galactic core possible. Longbow II was expected to take decades to get started.

Longbow also became an umbrella organization for other long-range observation projects focused on the Zhodani and the galactic core. This included smaller versions of the original array placed much closer to the core. It was also linked with Imperial psionics research.

Project Jumpstart was much as you've surmised. One point of interest is that the Jumpstart caches were entirely automated, and were set up only to reveal themselves to people who would make use of them. Assuming the total collapse of the Imperium, that would mean people interested in history and sufficiently curious and capable to start the rebuilding process.

The Empress Wavefront is a combined EM/psionic phenomenon travelling outward from the galactic core at the speed of light. The initial part of the wave - the part Strephon saw while his double was being assassinated - depicts a human female, dressed in black, standing before a city skyline. She's holding a staff that may be technological in function, and had a bearing of regal dignity that caused Strephon to call her an "Empress". In the background was a desert with two astronomical bodies hanging above the horizon. Rather than a still picture, Strephon and the psion who transmitted it to him (Jonathan Crocker) thought it was a pregnant moment in a motion picture. It's the last thing any of the coreward Longbow observation stations picked up before going offline. Whatever happens after that appears to be causing Zhodani society to break apart, as Longbow has observed fighting along the path of the core expeditions.

Since the wavefront was travelling at the speed of light and was to arrive at the coreward border of the Imperium in 1205, that means it's less than 100 light years away at the time of the Fifth Frontier War. Strephon's not supposed to learn about it until afterwards, but you could easily assume the super-spooks are aware of it and trying to work out what it is. Since it's only a handful of jumps away, there have probably been some missions launched.

In the Regency Sourcebook, Strephon's son Avery was supposed to have been genetically engineered, trained, psychologically conditioned, and raised by Strephon to investigate the Empress wavefront as a threat to the Imperium. It was essentially his sole purpose in life.

 

[Gatsby]

..but if a subsector is 32.6 LY long (to/from the core) and 26.08 LY wide (spinward/trailing), and a sector is 4 subsectors long and 4 wide, that would put the EW right in Zhdnt by the FFW, wouldn't it?

I always wondered, too, at the main causes of the FFW. I figured at the invention of JumpTank tech in the Spinward Marches (along with all the usual Zho/Imperial baggage).

But is it that there were some half-crazed Zhodani nobles spurring on a general war? that would provide a good amount of grist for the mill, what with sane Zhodani (the Proles and resistant Intendants and nobles) versus 'crazed' Zhodani (those affected by EW in whatever way - cults? - ) during the war effort.....

Any thoughts?

Gats'

 

[ScottB]

Yeah, including the EW means that much of the Consulate is within it during the FFW. I don't know if the FFW background for the Zhodani point of view has been explored in a detailed way. When you graft the EW on, you've got a bunch of possibilities:

- By 1200 (in the Regency sourcebook) there's a large Zhodani migration to the Regency, fleeing the effects of the EW. A similar migration was probably occurring into the Rimward/Trailing sectors of the Consulate by 1100, so the war might have been launched in hopes of relieving that population pressure.

- There could also be affected Zhodani forces making the attack, with the "normal" Zhodani trying to find some way to stop them.

- The Zhodani might suspect that the Imperium are somehow responsible for the EW, or at least know something about how to stop it. That would make the FFW partly a huge cover operation for Zhodani intelligence to raid one of the research stations.

- Or, the Zhodani might have thought that the Imperium was planning to attack and take advantage of the EW, so the FFW was pre-emptive. The idea being to get the war out of the way while before the Consulate became completely embroiled in its own problems. This one seems the most likely to me.

Or whatever else you come up with, perhaps several elements mixed together.

 

[Gatsby]

Thanks: This is how it shook out in play:

Vlezpridliashav (from the story nugget of the Zhodani Alien Module), a Zhodani noble and senior member of the council, uses the Artifact in his researches and sees the Empress Wave and it's effect on Zhodani Society and the madness that will trigger War with the Imperials. He is an intelligent and active man, but has an incredibly weakness for his family. He immediately decides on a plan - to see to it that his son ( a PC ), gets into Imperial space to battle the Empress Wave (EW), the insanity that causes the Fifth Frontier War and be saved from madness, himself, for a while. His son is an intendent, a Council Guard and going into the Games to be a very upward Zhodani and noble. Thus, Vlez' believe his son would never 'go' for potentially being the sole-survivor of the Zhodani - the son would rather die on his feet, as it were. So, Vlez' does the unthinkable: he lies to the Council and forms a plan: invents a vision that requires he take a trip into the Imperial space. He also rigs his son's loss at the Games - freeing the son up for travel of this sort. The 'vision' also tells of some non-zhodani on the zhodani ship -- this will allow Vlez to choose likely comrades that can accept and aid his son into Imperial society. Finally, Vlez plans a suitable punishment for himself....
The Zhodani ship, the Echtor Dazhia, follows the vision faithfully (why wouldn't it) - and all is arranged to have a select group of Imperials (the other PCs) and his son to meet, and be convinced to travel together for a strange un-clear 'common good' mission.
Vlez forces the mission onward, stopping only during humanitarian efforts that cannot be ignored (actually providing for the characters to become comrades...Vlez coulda been a Hiver with his planning...). He also knows that the Imperium is no dope - and the super-spooks of the mysterious Project Longbow will become aware of the Echtor Dazhia. This is fine, for he hopes his son may join, eventually, with this Imperial organization that is rumored to be researching the EW.

When the time is right, he informs the son of the betrayal, and the importance stopping the unstoppable EW. He asks for the the son to disembark with the PCs when the Echtor Dazhia finally encounters the Imperial Navy, and asks him to 'light up' the ship with ship-boat's sensors. The ship will then be captured or destroyed, and Vlez will be thus, punished for his crimes.
The PCs are caught, with the son betraying the Zhodani ship (the crew is WELL AWARE of that!). They are debreifed by Longbow agents.

After realizing the merits of this team of PCs (Vlez chose well and they ARE the PCs, after all!), Longbow offers them membership. and tells them of what they know of the Empress Wave and of the Imperium's impending doom: the PhsychoHistorians predict a disaster that will shatter the Imperium - they just don't know what it will be (it will be Virus). There is no pay for being a member of the super-secret Longbow, loyalty to the cause of fighting for the mutual survival of both societies being the only coin required. Also, Longbow agents aren't always 'active', just they are always 'on call', so the PCs can go about any other adventures their life will hold - as long as they check in at every new location. This allows the PCs free will and I can force them into any adventure, as long as it would interest Longbow.

Longbow, thus is like TV's Millenium Group (from Millenium, trying to find and delay what will doom the universe - knowing there is a 'force' (whether it is EM or PsychoHistory) trying to unravel society. It watches the EW, studies Psionics, and prepares Jumpstart (or will). Is it just another mass-murder - or is it Empress? The Zhodani are our enemies - but we will soon fight Choas together and the enemy of my enemy is my friend...


Mike

 

[Elliot]

If the Empress Wave causes problems to Psions what happens to the Droyne in the Spinward area?

 

[Murph]

Twilight 2000/Aftermath style traveller, not my cup of tea. I always thought it was a bad, bad idea that led to the death of GDW. Classic Traveller was great, and if somewhat boring, adventure on the fringes: Reavers Deep, Gateway, Spica, Antares.

 

[Christopher Jennings]

"Twilight 2000/Aftermath style traveller, not my cup of tea."
Couldn't agree with you more - we called TNE by another name- "Twilight 5600". It was sort of revenge for that "Traveller 2300" fiasco that GDW tried to pull. For better or for worse, Chadwick rode his "Twilight" system, and the rest of the company, right into the dirt.

 

[Gaming Glen]

Wow, did I miss out when I read the books. Guess I need to work on my "read-between-the-lines" skill.

But a thought occurred: maybe EW will cause the downfall of Virus? Or hasten it's downfall into madness and suicides?

Or, (evil D&Dish thought) Virus + EW will form a new AI of vast power and intellect (a Q-continuum/demon sort of thing)?

Hmm, all sorts of intriguing role-playing possibilities I hadn't considered before.

Glen

 

[Gatsby]

Many, many possibilities....In an earlier campaign, I ran during the Virus. It shook out like this (briefly):
Using a earlier Referee concept (mine, actually

) from an even earlier CT game, the Megacorps where devolping Bio-navigators - people who were Psionic telepaths with special training. The Bionavs were trained by Dolphins to 'sing' in computer binary, trained to float in zero-g bubbles making subtle electrical connections along the pyrex sphere and use their telepathy to navigate. This had the result of speeding up and correcting calculations and input compared to a normal navigational human/computer interface. But the few hundred trainees were ultimately deemed too ineffective cost-wise and the program was scrapped before the Fifth Frontier War.
Now with the threat of Virus, the Regency re-invested in the technology using it to put a 'wet-ware' block in their milatary defense against Virus. The very few recruits were often patriots and, traditionally, assumed the names of the few vessels they served upon.
The players were three CT characters (who misjumped years earlier, their original bio-nav PC pointing the ship into a distant parsec for an orbit, while the crew cold-sleeped - they were found), a few regular characters and the cybernetically enhanced "Azh" - the new bionav (now called Biosys) of the Azhanti High Lightning.
The first adventure invovled a powerful, near immortal bio-project of the Ancient Droyne: a human woman, named Enlightenment. She is SO psionic, she lives for the Empress Wave, and sought to single-handedly take over the AHL (she's THAT good...manipulative and tricky, too). She wanted to interface with the AHL Biosys station and use the ship to 'commune' with the Empress Wave.
She had, earlier, set up a third-party in an attempt to steal ships from a depot - an event calling for the largest of nearby vessels: the Azhanti high Lighting. During the ensuing conflict, made more chaotic by her, Enlightenment went right for the AHL biosys station during the conflict.
The players used the cranky old CT ship's guns to force her out.
Never one to miss an oppurtunity, Norris decided to loan the stalwart, victorious players use of the biosys character 'Azh'(since their old CT ship was bio-nav equipped), if they would perform tasks OUTSIDE the Regency quarantine.

That was the slow FIRST night.....

Gats'