Traveller Adventure: Drop That MacGuffin!

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Drop That MacGuffin!


An adventure for Classic Traveller Little Black Books set on or near Elysium, a TL8 agrarian world.

Summary
A 5-person extraction team from MediShield arrives and stealthily assesses the characters' capabilities, looking to retrieve the data crystal. They'll steal it if possible, but fight to overpower if provoked. This could happen on Elysium or another world entirely.

Background
Once the non-corrupt executives at MediShield figure out that the data crystal is missing, they'll send their best operatives to get it back by whatever means necessary. Feel free to spring this encounter on the characters if the action starts to drag.

These characters should be challenging. They're very experienced and well-funded. Assume they have whatever they need to pull off a quiet recovery mission, including wagonloads of bribery money.

Adventure

The extraction team will observe the characters and assess their capabilities. They will attempt to steal the data crystal and disappear. If they're caught looking or have no other way to obtain it, they'll open negotiations to get it back or take it by force depending on what they think will work best against the characters.

Matt Stern (UPP ABA9A6 Brawling-2, Cutlass-3, Forward Observer-2, Gauss Rifle-4, Gunnery-2, Leader-4, Recon-3, Ship Tactics-1, Tactics-3, Vacc Suit-1, Zero-G Combat-1) leads the team. He rose through the ranks in the Marines as a deadly sniper with a reputation for being tough but fair. He usually hangs back to observe and offer long-range firepower with his Gauss Rifle if needed.

Janet Faraday (UPP CAC755 ACR-4, Brawling-3, Cutlass-3, Demolitions-2, Gambling-1, Instruction-1, Recon-2, Rifle-2, Vacc Suit-2, Wilderness Survival-1, Zero-G Combat-2) focuses on combat and trains with weapons every day. She has a few dirty tricks up her sleeve which got her kicked out of the Army on her high-gravity homeworld, and she is extremely difficult to kill.

Lindsay Westlake (UPP 479AB9 Admin-1, Body Pistol-1, Bribery-2, Broker-2, Leader-1, Liason-4, Navigation-1, Pilot-2) knows someone on every planet she lands on. She can talk your ear off and then sell it back to you. She's on the Scout Bureau's speed dial for first contact situations, but she started her career on a merchant ship. Nobody knows she's a latent telepath (Psionic Strength 6) which lets her detect lies and read emotions, giving her an edge in any negotiation.

Macintosh Guyver (UPP 956996 Blade-2, Brawling-1, Communications-2, Electronics-3, Engineering-4, Gravitics-2, Gunnery-1, Mechanical-3, Vacc Suit-1, Zero-G Combat-1) usually goes by Mac, and he can fix anything. Age has slowed him down a bit, but he still packs a mean punch. His many years in the Imperial Navy taught him everything there is to know about how starships work, and he can jury-rig just about anything.

Uther "Nul" Thomasson (UPP 6A9CB4 Bribery-2, Computer-3, Forgery-3, Interrogation-2, JoT-3, Navigation-2, SMG-2, Streetwise-1) continues to gain computer expertise. His time in the Imperial Navy Intelligence School taught him to read obsessively, and his list of contingency plans dwarfs most chess analysis books.

Further Hooks
If negotiations work, they will be happy to open communications with their boss in MediShield. It's up to you exactly who they work for - if they work for one of the corrupt executives who are involved in the black market side of the business, then the infiltration of Pandora Research Station will be much harder. If they work for one of the above-board execs, then there may be rewards or future employment forthcoming from MediShield.