Modiphius’s Star Trek Adventures has a wonderful Living Campaign, where players take control of their own ship in the Shackleton Expanse. This is a pocket of space galactic east of the Klingon Empire and Romulan Empire, yet to be explored. The Klingons and Federation share a lone base there, Narendra Station. However, the Living Campaign Season 1 takes place the year before the Klingons withdraw from the Khitomer Accords, thus ending the peace treaty between the Klingons and Federation.
It’s been many months since Season 1 of the Living Campaign ended, and we have no official module that shows how things go down on Stardate 49011.4, the day the Klingons and the Federation no longer are at peace. I wrote a fun module simulating the chaos of this date and threw in some espionage to keep Starfleet crews guessing. Enjoy Stardate 49011.4…
This adventure is serialized. Set a Course for: Part 2/Scene 2 and Part 3/Scenes 3 & 4. WARP SPEED! (Linda, Copy Editor)
Stardate 49011.4
By Garrett Crowe
For the Star Trek Adventures RPG by Modiphius
Background
On Stardate 49011.4, as a response to the Federation interference with the Klingon invasion of the Cardassian Union, the Klingons withdraw from the Khitomer Accords. The Accords are a peace treaty forged between the Klingon Empire and the Federation.
This causes total chaos on Narendra Station in the Shackleton Expanse. The station is co-operated by the Federation and the Klingons. With the announcement of the Klingon withdraw from the Khitomer Accords, the Klingon staff, supervised by General Kargan, are in disarray, awaiting orders from Kronos to seize the station from the Federation or to evacuate, destroying all data and computers before they leave. Federation station commander, Admiral April Hebert, ties up General Kargan and his high command in futile attempts to maintain the unification of the Narendra Station staff.
In the background, two Ferengi, Ynas and Nint, operate a casino and rare item procurement service. They receive a transmission from Grand Nagus Zek about the Klingons withdrawing from the Khitomer Accords and the chaos it’s guaranteed to cause on Narendra Station. He’s sent a Ferengi ship to smuggle Tribbles on board, plus robots that look like tribbles, which can hack into computers, download data quickly, all while being monitored remotely. Zek charges the Ferengi to create a Tribble outbreak, which will cover up the robots hacking and stealing Federation and Klingon secrets during the distractions.
Setup
The crew belong to one of the ships assigned to Narendra Station and have returned following a tense mission involving Romulans expanding into the Shackleton Expanse. Those looking to relax go to Ynas Ya’Drink Casino for drinking, food or gambling. The Captain is called into a meeting with General Hebert and General Kargan to try to stop the splitting of the Klingons from the station. Both of these scenarios are covered in provided scenes. The Gamemaster will have to improvise other scenes. For those unanticipated scenes, it would be easiest to place two of the crew members together in a place they agree upon and let them discuss the Romulan incursion into the Shackleton Expanse and the Klingons invading the Cardassians.
The following adventure includes the Prime Directive plus:
- Don’t make the situation with the Klingons any worse, considering the political situation.
- Protect the data on the station at all costs
Scene 1: The Tribble Nuisance
Part 1. The Futile Meeting
Admiral Hebert is doing everything she can to stay in motion. If she stops moving, you think she’ll put her head down on the conference room table and not get up for three days. Behind her, recorded footage of the Battle of Deep Space Nine plays out over and over. General Kargan points out every destroyed or damaged Klingon ship. “How can you expect our two governments to continue to work together, after all this?” General Kargan demands. “We expected your support and help in subduing the Dominion in the Cardassian Union. Instead, you secretly extracted prisoners of war to Deep Space Nine and refuse to give them up. This is not the Federation I thought I was working alongside.”
“There was no Dominion activity in the Cardassian government. The Changelings have us all jumping at shadows,” Admiral Hebert says.
“Some of those shadows may leap out and bite off your head,” General Kargan counters. “Your trusted captains here understand my logic, don’t you?”
All eyes turn to the crew’s Captain, waiting for him to respond.
This is a social encounter. The Captain needs to do his best to plant positive values concerning the Federation into General Kargan’s mind, while dealing with the negative aspects clouding his vision.
General Kargan has the additional following Values:
- Bitter by the Defeat at DS9
- Feels Betrayed by the Federation
- Paranoid Changelings are influencing Federation decisions
Allow the Captain a few minutes to negotiate with General Kargan.
When it feels appropriate, have the Captain make a Difficulty 1 Control + Security roll. If successful, read:
A tiny fur ball squeezes through an air vent. Then another, and then another.
When the Tribbles drop onto the conference room table, everyone notices them. They squeal joyfully, each going to a different leader, in hopes of being petted and fed.
The two generals stand at attention and call their Chiefs of Security. In unison they shout: “We have Tribbles!”
The station goes to Yellow Alert.
Part 2. The Wheel of Fate
The crew members gather around a Dabo table, placing their bets. The game can easily be simulated by having the players pick a number between one and twenty then rolling a d20 to see who wins and who loses. Players who lose gain the trait: Owes a Dabo Debt. Those who win gain the trait: Carrying Dabo Winnings.
Let the players play and discuss the current events. An attractive Risan female, dressed in a showgirl dress, keeps ordering drinks for the gamblers and trying to distract them from the game, in hope they make critical mistakes.
When everyone’s had enough fun, have the group make a Difficulty 1 Control + Security roll to see a furball scamper across the bartop. Nint swats the Tribble with a wet bar rag, sending the creature flying onto the Dabo wheel, where it squeals in fear as it goes around and around very quickly. Once the Tribble hits the Dabo table, everyone is aware what’s happening.
Then, four more Tribbles crawl out from behind the bar, cuddling up to customers’ feet, trying to look adorable and innocent. Nint marches up to the crew. “Isn’t one of you in Security? Destroy these monsters before they eat all our food! I’ll give a free spin on the Dabo table for every ten of these beasts brought in dead.”
Characters can make a Difficulty 3 Insight + Security roll to catch on that things aren’t as they seem, when it comes to Nint. He actually wants the Tribble infestation to grow. He also denies responsibility for bringing these little “beasties” onto Narendra Station.
