Coxa II: Village
Stardate 2271.3.24: 1640h
The Janus is due to rendezvous in orbit at 1800.
The surviving members of the landing party regroup, hunched over the destroyed body of the mysterious female known only as the Romulan Commander, to discuss their options.
Checking against their
copies of the pirate shuttle's log, you confirm that all but one planetbound pirates have been accounted for:
- the Romulan Commander lies dead at your feet;
- the vile pirate Captain Lawrance Caddigan, found dead in the jungle;
- the dominatrix Ursula Norton, Number One, captured and sedated;*
- onboard the Janus are Romulan Centurion Carlax, now a defiant prisoner of war, and the regretful archaeologist Dr. Leigh Moore;
- Leigh's lover and professional partner, the mercenary-hearted Dr. James Silliphant, and their flashy pirate companion Norman Meston, have both managed to escape aboard their fleeing pirate ship, the S.S. Arcadia.
- The Arcadia itself has escaped into deep space, the Janus being too crippled to pursue.
The only pirate to remain is the tempestuous young Stirling Komack, who was last spotted running for his life through the
vast and deadly savannah of Coxa II. His estimated chances of survival overnight, alone and without weapons or shelter, are 197.3 to 1 against.
(
*I made a DM goof: across the winter hiatus I had forgotten that Ursula had been sedated and carted along with the party to the village, hence the extra time taken to get there. Being a valuable prisoner and dead weight in combat, she was safely deposited in a building after the first surprise engagement with the Commander, and the two surviving ensigns have quickly retrieved her. The sedative will wear off in c. 20 minutes, and she can take 2 more doses (2 hours each) before it becomes risky to continue sedating.)
The subject of the Slaver Outpost is discussed. In her death throes, the Romulan Commander claimed to have initiated a self-destruct sequence that will occur within hours unless it is deactivated using her private passcode.
Dr. Ryerson points out that an energy source capable of blanketing an entire planet in radiation could create a planetary fallout if it were to explode. It is a speculative theory, but one worth considering.
Nadix points out that the outpost is 5 kilometers west from your present position, across wild ground and jungle. When you
first discovered the site, Nadix and Ryerson deduced that the strange planetary radiation
could be turned off by placing the Rod of Life into one of the podium terminals specially designed for it—one outside each door of the Outpost, and a similar one of special significance
resting in the native village's temple, where the Rod of Life had rested for unknown generations before the recent catastrophe.
Nadix also weighs the positives and negatives of allowing the Slaver Outpost to be destroyed:
- While the Rod of Life rests on its podium altar in the village, it channels a low-emission growth radiation that has sustained the agriculture and the longevity of the Coxan race for thousands of years; without it they will have famine until they learn new farming techniques, and their life spans will shrink from hundreds of years to dozens.
- When placed on one of the podiums at the Slaver Outpost, its doors can be unlocked and the secrets within revealed. Such knowledge would undoubtedly benefit the Federation.
- However, the Rod has a safeguard. As long as it is not resting on one of the podiums, the Slaver Outpost locks down, protected by a force field, and projects a catastrophic radiation around the planet depletes warp energy, and as a side effect slowly withers life. It is assumed that this was designed as a defense against interstellar attacks.
- The Coxans would not miss or possibly even notice the destruction of the Outpost, since for them it is a Forbidden Temple, visited only on pain of exile or death, and only the higher priests are given knowledge of its secret location. Furthermore, its removal would negate any incentive for competing star civilizations to interfere with the planet in the future.
Actions?
- Gareb Endilev — DX 13 (+1), CT 14/15 — plasma pistol (12/12)
- Nadix Ar Eth — DX 16 (+4), CT 12/12 — phaser II (24/24)
- Dr. Ned Ryerson — DX 13 (+1), CT 12/12 — phaser II (24/24)
- Ensign Patel — DX 10, MN 12, LK 12, CT 13/13 — phaser rifle (32/32)
- Ensign 2 — DX 10, LK 11, CT 12/12 — phaser rifle (32/32)
- Ensign 3
- Ensign Rodney