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Inside the Beast's Lair is a short Alternity-Star*Drive adventure that could be adapted to other campaigns with a little extra work. Owning the Star*Drive Alien compendium is useful but not necessary.
Inside the Beast's Lair is an adventure for a small group ( 2 to 4 )
of low-level ( 1-3 ) players. Ill assume most players are level 2,
but the difficulty level could easily be lowered for 2 first level characters,
or heightened for fourth level players.
The party should include at least one combat specialist or someone
with capable fighting ability. Any other professions could be useful, but
are not necessary.
This adventure is tailored for pl.7 campaign, more specifically Star*Drive.
This adventure assume the heroes are traveling in the Verge for some reasons,
leaving a system, returning home from some trip, sent to investigate a
distress call, ect. Make up whatever reasons come to mind for to heroes
to be traveling. If the heroes do not have a ship they may be hired by
some scientist/organization as hired help/protection/tech ops for a mission
in deep space. If the heroes belong to a military or para-military organization
this organization commands them to board a ship for a survey/exploration/intelligence
mission in deep space. A small ship is provided later as a model for a
sample ship.
Space Encounters
Two months ago the THF Dragoon, a survey cruiser from the Thuldan Empire encountered in deep space a small vessel, alien in appearance, devoid of any life signs. Taking the ship aboard for closer inspection the THF Dragoon stored the ship in it's cargo bays. After a day of studying, the Thuldan science officers onboard finally opened the ship only the reveal a gory scene inside the ship. The ship's previous occupants, human in appearance, had all been killed. Their flesh had been consumed, their bloody bones littered the ship's deck plates. Their head still intact had expressions of terror on their faces. The science team found a man who had apparently died of his injuries, claw mark on his face and chest. The killer was never found.
The Alien ship was in truth a Intelligence vessel. These secret vessel used in intelligence mission are fast, stealthy and usually avoid the populated regions of space, and of course they do not have any kind of identification on them or their crew members. Being in deep space near the Aegis system. Far from the system but still at a reasonable range the ship was waiting for another ship, to which it would secretly deliver it's merchandise. A Warbeast. Unfortunately, the ship never made the delivery as the Warbeast escaped and started slaughtering the crew, facing a battle against 12 agents it was eventually slaughtered ( the survivor who later died of his injuries ). As all Warbeast it dissolved into a puddle of goo, until it regenerated itself when it was aboard the THF Dragoon. It escaped the vessel and began feeding on the crew of a 150. In the two months it was found and killed three times only, to reappear only stronger another day. After slaughtering a hundred man in two months the other survivors fled the vessel in escape pods, left to fend for themselves in deep space.
The Ships
The THF Dragoon
Survey Cruiser ( Thuldan Empire Military )
Length : 200 meters
Beam : 60 meters
Drive Rating : 32.5 light-years/starfall
Crew : 150
Armament : 10 turret mounted Plasma canons, 1 tractor beam, 3 turret
mounted rail canons
Armor : Light CeraMetal Armor d6-1 d6-1 d6-1
Small craft : 1 shuttle craft, 2 space probes, 1 repair boat + escape
pods
The THF Dragoon is an heavy armed but standard survey cruiser, it's mission consist of exploration, intelligence missions, scientific purposes, escorts and helping settlers and colonies. When charting some space anomalies near the Aegis system ( and scanning their fleet and sending their probes to spy on the Aegis system ), they encountered the alien ship which they towed aboard with their tractor beam.
The Lamprey
Light trader
Compartments : 6
Durability : 24
Maneuver rating : -1 Acceleration
: 3 Mpp/phase
Cruise speed : 2 AU / hour
Berthing : 10
Armament: 2 Laser canons
Defense: None
Armor: Light Alloy armor
d6-1 / d6-1 / d4-1
Computer : Ordinary computer core
Ordinary battle, communication and navigation
Engines : Induction Engines
Power: Mass reactor rated for 20 power factors
Drive: 5 light years per starfall
This sample ship can be used for a model to quickly design a ship for the players.
Supporting cast members and creatures
The Warbeast ( from the Star*Drive Alien Compendium, page 20 )
Warbeast are killing predators genetically engineered by the Thuldan
Empire. It's a large gray monster with a long whip like tail, clawed hands
and a ferocious head. It can grasp small object as its hands are a little
bit prehensile, tough it walks on all four. When killed it transform into
a puddle of goo to regenerate itself in d20 +4 hours with extra toughness.
It can be killed with an attack that wipes all of it's mortal in a single
attack. For more information look in the Star*Drive Alien Compendium.
STR 11 ( d6+6 )
INT 10 ( d6+6 )
DEX 12 ( d6+8 )
WIL 12 ( d6+8 )
CON 8 ( d4+6 )
PER 8 ( d4+6 )
Durability : 8/8/4/4 Action
Check: 16+/15/7/3
#Actions : 2
Claws 13/6/3 d4+1w/d4+2w/d6+3w LI/O
Tail 12/6/3 d4w/d4+1w/d4+2w
LI/O
Teeth 14/7/3 d6w/d6+2w/s4+1m
HI/O
+1 res. vs. melee attack
+1 res. vs. ranged attack
+1 wil res.
Armor
d4+2 ( LI ) / other see text
This particular WarBeast was one of the newer models, tough it
has acquired ability while fighting the crew of the THF Dragoon, that and
knowledge of the ship, giving it home field advantage. The Beast has been
killed 4 times, 2 time by high impact weapons, giving it an armor of d6+3
for high impact, and two times by energy weapons, giving it an armor of
d6+1 for energy attack. Remember to keep track of what happens to the creature
and update it's armor accordingly. For how the creature fights, read chapter
3. The heroes can defeat it normally but they will be given a chance to
destroy it in totally in chapter 4. The creature is canny and prefer to
retreat and rethinks it's strategy when outgunned. It always attack by
ambush and even set's a trap later in the adventure.
Lektor Silwyn, Thuldan ship officer
Non-professional human, thuldan
STR 9
INT 11
DEX 9
WIL 10
CON 8
PER 10
Action Check : 10 / 5 / 2
# Actions : 2
Last Resorts : 0
Skills : Administration, Modern Ranged Weapons-pistol, System operation, Knowledge-computer operation, Leadership, Navigation
Equipment : Laser pistol, attack armor, Comm gear, computer gauntlet with science program, vacuum mask, jumpsuit
Lektor Silwyn has served for ten years onboard the THF Dragoon. Always playing it safe he never rose up the ranks past this level. But maybe not taking chances is what saved him. He will have to be convinced to tag along with the players but once he agree he will be faithful to the players, afraid to be left alone on the station. His cremates will follow him around and generally do as he says. He can be spineless but when face with clear and present danger ( i.e. in a combat situation ) he still knows how to keep his cool and keep his guard up while fighting for the common good of the group. Fearing for his life and wanting to escape badly he agrees to whatever the players do and promise them riches if he gets out.
Chapter 1 : Introduction
First, if the heroes posses a ship of their own and are traveling to Aegis you can make them miss their Drive Astrogation so they find themselves a little far from the system, near the THF Dragoon. The heroes could be going to Aegis on vacation, because of strange rumors, ect. If the heroes are in the Aegis system, while they are near the outskirts of the system they pick up strange readings and a radio distress signal from deep space, you should push the heroes to investigate. If the heroes are leaving Aegis , before going to drivespace they intercept the distress call and the strange sensor readings ( the anomaly the THF Dragoon was supposed to investigate ). You can also relocate the location of the adventure to another metropolitan system in the Verge which the Thuldan Empire could have been spying upon.
Part 1 : the distress call
"Suddenly your ship's computer emits a familiar beeping noise. The sensors have located something. Apparently, in deep space, a few day at most of traveling ahead, something or someone is emitting strange readings. Moments later the ships signal an incoming message."
Both signals are very faint but come from very far, presumably from a very strong source.
If the players ignore the message you can say the message is sent continually every 2 minutes, so you can prompt again the players. The message has recently arrived in the system and is degrading badly, it won't reach Bluefall, Aegis main planet.
When the players anwsers the message : " The Computer plays the audio signal on the ship's speakers, :Requesting help ... < static > ... Investigating an anomaly and then ... < static > ... please respond. Requesting help, any vessel in range please ... < static >. "
If the heroes decide to investigate continue to chapter 2 else continue with part 2.
Part 2 : escaped
If the hero continue with their normal business, you can say that they are detecting a small vessel on a collision course. After closer inspection, it's an escape pod. If the hero rescue to persons inside the pod. They discover famished Thuldan soldiers, 10 in number. They pose no threat and want to be escorted to Aegis, they say that their vessel had some problems ( they won't state the nature of the problem ) in deep space on a survey mission, they discovered a strange alien craft. They want medical attention. They say that the Thuldan Empire won't be able to send any ship's in any time soon. If the hero are not thinking about investigating or claiming the alien ship, hint it to them. If they don't go well that's it. If they do not rescue the escape pod, then those senseless bastards, shouldn't go on this adventure anyway.
You can use soldier stats from the GameMaster guide to flesh out the details of these supporting cast characters.
Chapter 2 : The Voyage
The THF Dragoon is 144 AU away. With the ship provided above, it would take exactly three days of continuous travel to reach that location. 144 AU is from the outskirts of the system. The voyage is uneventful and can be dealt with quickly, unless you want it otherwise, and want to give the players a run for their money. For example if the players have a powerful ship they could encounter space pirates, space monsters, ect.
Part 1 : Arriving at the scene
As the heroes ship approach the THF Dragoon, the strange readings are getting stronger and more frequent. Finally they arrive at the scene.
" As you approach the survey cruiser, you lower your speed and position yourself near the craft. This huge survey vessel is actually a cruiser, the same models as the battle cruiser, only this one, along with a few other have been refitted for exploration, speed and research. A little small for it's class, with 200 meters long and 60 meters wide the ship is still impressive compared to yours. It clearly bears the colors and marking of the Thuldan Empire, it's seem intact, in fact all the exterior lights are still on. It sits silently in space watching the starry expense. You do not receive any transmission, messages or hails but still the ship looks operational. "
The ship does not responds to hails or any other kind of contact. One of the cargo bay door is opened and the players can use this entry to enter the ship, although their vessel does not fit in completely they can dock inside and take a very short space walk to to the cargo doors. The ships seems fully operational. The strange readings from the so-called space anomaly seems to be emitted from another small vessel docked in the cargo bay. This small saucer shaped vessel in big enough for a crew of 20, at most and bears no marking. Only a few lights and antennas poke out of it's dark surface. The signal is actually coming from inside the ship, it's an alien artifact the crew recovered on it's way to delivering the Warbeast, but as soon as the heroes ship prepares to dock or the heroes approach this craft the signal disappear and the artifact powers down.
Part 2 : Docking the ship
The most probable and most interesting way to enter the ship is to dock it's nose in the cargo bay, leave the ship open the doors that lead into the ship and explore from there. Because the cargo bay doors can be opened, these are airtight airlock, whit a set of two sliding doors. The heroes can also investigate the cargo bay before entering the ship or investigating the alien craft. He the heroes investigate the alien craft peruse with part 3, if they leave the cargo bay continue with chapter 3, if instead they investigate or have a look around the cargo bay continue with this section.
If the players choose to investigate the cargo bay they find traces of an hasty departure, of fighting and of course that a lot of things most have flown of the cargo bay.
Part 3 : Investigating the Alien craft
" The dark blue Saucer shape craft has a very alien appearance. Approaching it you can see dried up blood stains on the door and a control panel that reads in plain english. "
Any player with computer operation can open the craft's door. If the heroes continue to investigate, it might be a good idea to keep track of how long they have been out.
When the players open the door, " The door drops to the floor in what could have been a huge bang, if some air would have been present to carry the sound. As you look into the ship a vision of horror greets your eyes. Bloody bones litter the floor, as intact heads float around in the zero-g. It looks has if something killed the crew members, who are in appearance very much human. This small craft is equipped with a small mass reactor and a Star*Drive, but strangely, just 4 small bunk beds found in the bridge itself. These are at least the remains of ten unfortunate people. "
The ship consist of two rooms, the bridge and engineering. If the players have a look around they can find the man who died of his injuries. They can also find the alien artifact in engineering.
" As you look behind the mass reactor you see a strange sight, at first you wonder if you were just dreaming. A wooden sphere is floating 1 meter ( +- 3 feet )above the ground. It floats with a bobbing motion. You notice that the sphere has lights on top and below it but they do not seem to work at the moment. "
The alien artifact has ceased functioning and is now completely useless, unless if used as a collector's item. There is no way the heroes can try and power it up. It is pretty tough but can be broken with guns or raw strength which cause it to explode in a small burst of fire. Causing 1d4 wounds to all within 4 feet of the explosion.
Chapter 3 : Inside the THF Dragoon
When the heroes enter the ship they expose themselves to the Warbeast. Although well fed he will try to kill them for the pleasure it brings him. The heroes will and should have many confrontations with the Warbeast, the important thing is not to let the Warbeast be destroyed completely. For example, if the heroes destroy the Warbeast, when it dissolve to goo it could fall into the metallic floor plates ( think of the metal floor plates sometimes found in the entrance of buildings which are constituted of vertical metal stripes, hold together by a few horizontal one, or the metal plates covering on the sidewalks of big city, the ones where the subway passes under them and let off hot air ). He could slip he the hero could not find him, then allow him a quick regeneration ( say 5 hours ) then he's back on the prowl. The Warbeast should always try evasive maneuvers and has the home field advantage, knowing the in and outs of the Dragoon. He should always attack from ambush and have an escape route through which he could outrun the players and loose them in a series of sharp turns and passage branch off. Following is the detail of some events, one which include a trap set by the Warbeast, that could be played in any order inside the ship although they could benefit from being played in the order shown. If the heroes are not strong enough you can remove an event or two, if the heroes are overpowered for this quest, look at the suggestion at the end of this document, before the conclusion of the adventure.
Part 1 : Ship's description
The ship looks pretty intact and is still operational except for it's
Star*Drive which has been damaged. The crew took what they could when they
left but their are still a lot of things the players could do or use. The
Warbeast has blocked some crawling tubes and even erected a barricade or
two in it's new domain.
Interesting Location
Engineering : Some equipment seems to have been disturbed by radiation and high frequencies and wave lengths, tough someone without technical science can only deduce the equipment seems broken.
Weapons Locker : In a training area there are two opened weapon locker,
each has been robbed of almost all of it's weapons, except for ; 2 11mm
charge riffle ( if you have the Arms and Equipment guide, these are IF-3
11mm charge riffles ), 4 9mm zero-g pistol and one autoflechette shotgun.
Each weapon is charged with an energy cell and a clip, another clip for
each weapon lies on the ground.
The heroes can also find two suits of attack armor on the ground. Roll
to see if a particular suit fits a character. The suits are designed for
human men.
1d20 Result
1-12 Suit fit
13-20 Suit does not fit
The hero can practice aiming in the target range where they are 20 meters from holographic people that dissolve when the sensors detect a hit. These can also be set as moving target offering a -1, -2 or -3 step penalty depending on the setting. The system also features a hit location system which tells you where the shots have been aimed.
The Beast's Lair : Blocked on one side by a barricade the heroes can find the beast lair, the place where it sleeps and rest. It has accumulated many blankets that serve as it's bed. Several human carcasses can be found in proximity. The Warbeast is not there when the player visit it's lair, and unless the heroes stay here to wait for it for a few hours, presumably in ambush, then the beast has spotted them making their ambush or getting in their hiding place and go get a concussion grenade and throw's it in it's lair or the hiding place. Don't hit the players to hard with this one. It then goes into hiding and the player should leave, or they can stay and face a confrontation with the animal. Remember that the animal should not be totally destroyed in the confrontation.
Bridge : The bridge is empty, there is no sign of life left and most systems have been manually disable and key systems have been destroyed as it is proper in most military organization when abandoning ship ( to prevent enemies from gaining access to important system and information ).
Make sure that the player stumble across at least 2 or 3 of these locations before ending chapter 3. These can be used to build a sense of mystery or the sense of exploration.
Part 2 : Ambushed!
Sooner or later, as the heroes explore the ship and visit a place or two, the Warbeast will ambush them
As they turn a corner, the Warbeast lying on a ceiling metal plate falls into one of the character. Everybody in the party must roll for surprise. Those who are not surprise get a -1 step bonus on the roll to avoid the falling ceiling plate. As the plate falls one or two party members must make a dexterity feat with a +1 step penalty, if they are not surprised they get the bonus.
" The ceiling metal plate fall with tremendous speed to the ground. "
" It hits you with tremendous force, sending you crashing to the ground, as soon as it hits you the platform tumble and something big is facing you. "
" The deck plate fall to the ground with a large clang, a vicious gray armored creature lashes out at you with it's whip like tail. "
After falling the Warbeast still unbalanced can make an attack with it's tail, but only on a surprised character, this can include the target of the deck plate attack, even if it was successful.
The falling deck plate causes 1d6+3 wounds of low impact damage. Then resolve the tail attack and the fights begin. The creature fights till death. If the players make an attack that would kill the creature by taking out all of its mortal you could fudge the armor damage absorption in it's favor. When destroy the creatures dissolve into goo down the deck plates down 3 stories below in a small engineering crawling tube unreachable by the heroes. If the players try to reach it, leave the vessel or try something you don't like play the encounter part 4 Survivors and use part 3 later when you need it ( count at least 5 hours ). If the players juste explore the ship for 5 to 8 hours and you do not want to play survivors now, you can go on to trapped. Preferably you should go on whit part 4, than part 3 than part 5 and conclude this chapter.
Part 3 : Trapped!
Near the entrance of the cargo bay through which they came for the beast has unscrewed a floor plate. Before the first player step's on it he is allowed an intuition check. If the player succeed he gets -1 step bonus on his dexterity feat which his normally rolled at +3 step penalty. Those who fall suffer from impact damage as explained in the Alternity player handbook on page 58, under the heading Impact Damage. The fall is 6 meters high and considered a short fall ( S ). Roll for damage.
After one character as fallen or nearly fall, the Warbeast shuts the corridor emergency door, heavy armored metal doors, thus trapping the victims inside. The doors to the Cargo bay are not only manually locked by a powerful magnet and powered down ( those open automatically ) but are also barricaded with boxes full of teeth marks on both sides. The players will have to find another way out. The quantity of explosives required to blow these doors up would be hazardous to their health in such confined spaces ( remember the emergency corridor doors are shut down, they have about 20 meters of walking space ). They will have to find another way out.
The Warbeast uses this time to rethink it's strategy and set up another ambush.
The player can use the pit created by the trap to escape. If they search the bottom of the pit, they will find access to a crawl tube. After a bit of crawling ( lots of paths are blocked so they must follow a certain route ) they emerged in part 5 Log entries
Part 4 : Survivors
In this part the players encounter some survivors from the attack, they are hiding in the kitchen, laser pistol in hand, one has a suit of attack armor on, behind a barricade of chairs and tables.
" You are walking in a corridor while suddenly you hear some noise, as suddenly as it appeared, it fades back. It seems what was making the noise heard you. The sound was clearly coming from the door on your left which is barely open. Before you could think of doing anything ... ... ... you hear coughing from the same room. Followed by a muffled, shut up! Or it's gonna find us. "
Wait for the player's reaction and their action before proceeding any farther. They are several ways to approach this problem, the most probable being that the player's realize what is happening and make contact with the paranoiac, but still neutral Thuldan ship officer's.
There are four survivors, 3 of them or goons more than anything. Low ranking cadets with no purpose. The is an higher ranking ship officer. Lektor Silwyn, which is described in greater details in the supporting cast members section. They are willing to accompany the party. There likely to be the first to fall in any conflict.
Here are the stats of the cadets :
Brian Salmos, Ricky Quick-Shot Rigger, Micheal Brown
Based on the Spacehand Model in the Game Master guide page 99, in the
supporting cast.
Brian is Marginal, while Ricky and Micheal are Ordinary spacehands.
You can mark them off 1d4 wound box each.
They are equipped with laser pistols. They are currently on their last
clip, and in consequence are not trigger happy. They follow orders from
their superior, but if faced with a combat situation ( considering their
depraved, desperate situation ) they crack loose control, and either flee
guns blazing, or charge in guns blazing. You should let at least one person
survive for the players to save. Lektor Silwyn the superior officer does
not act in this radical manner and will stay calm and composed in a fight.
You should proceed with part 3 : trapped and end with log entries.
Part 5 : Log entries
This part will most likely begin when the players end part 3
crawling out into this room. If the situation is different you can always
modify the introduction text and slightly change the start of this part.
" As you finally exit the crawl tube, you find yourself in a small control room. A dead body is lying face down on a control console. Apparently killed by the beast a long time ago. This seems to be a science lab. The man was facing some computer controls. "
If the character investigate the control : " Investigating the controls you can read on the computer screen : Emergency Deletion of All files : (C)ontinue, (A)bort, c(A)ncel " If the player wish to delete the files they are prompted to enter an authorization code, which no one knows, including Lektor Silwyn.
If the players choose to investigate the files : " Recovered from Unidentified space craft audio recording : After Recovering the alien artifact we continued on our mission. I don't what happened by the WarBeast broke free. I hid in the ceiling, this is where I record this message, as the beast sleep under my feet. Feelings of guilt torment me, I should have fought. Tough know I have devised a plan to destroy the beast. At least temporarily, until we reach a the nearest Thuldan ship, I think the Dragoon is near our location. I just hope the beast does not regenerate before it is too late. "
There is another message in the same directory : " I killed it! But the beast is regenerating as I record this message, and alas, I have been wounded and will soon die of my injuries. To whom this may concern, destroy it! It is a potent genetically engineered weapon from the second galactic war, outlawed by the concord still used and sold by the Thuldan Empire. Every time it dies as DNA reverts to a jelly which reconstruct the creature with increase resistance to the attack that killed it. But a massive attack of tremendous proportion will do the trick. If you do make sure that there is no jelly left. The tiniest bit can be used to construct more of the abomination. Good luck. "
The players can investigate the lab and find some science equipment. Most of the important computers have been encrypted, password protected or deleted. There are no other things of interest in this room. When the hero have had a chance to browse around and are ready to leave : " As you exit the room you see the creature fleeing down the corridor. It must have been tracking you down. "
You can allow the hero to do many things, pursuit, fire or stay in place. If they fire any supporting cast member still alive runs for the creature, as the hero have only one shot they follow their friends who are in hot pursuit. Some heroes may fire while other chase the creature. If the hero chase the creature go to chapter 4, if they stay and continue their exploration they will be attacked later in an ambush by the creature. This event is not detailed but is of lesser importance. When the heroes are ready to leave or explore near the cargo bay go to chapter 4. You can steer them into this direction.
Chapter 4 : Final Fight
In this chapter the heroes finally defeat the creature. If for some reason the heroes have destroyed the Warbeast, then you can still play the final pirate encounter with a minor modification, no Warbeast after the fight.
Part 1 : Pirates
If the heroes are chasing after the Warbeast, they loose near the cargo, previously where the trap was set, but instead they find opened doors and a pirate crew guns in hand waiting for them. Even tough the have their weapon drawn to thought the ship was empty and roll for surprise normally.
For the pirates use the Ordinary soldier template in the Gamemaster guide in the supporting cast members chapter. Half of them are armed with 11mm charge pistols and the other half with autoflechette shotgun, their are 8 of them. If you want to decrease or increase to challenge, you could change their numbers to 6 or 10.
A gun fight ensue as the merciless space pirate retreat in the now closed cargo bay ( to a distance of 40 meters, where is there ship ? It's actually outside, quite safe ) and start firing like there's no tomorrow. The doors leading to the corridor close behind the heroes asa stray bullet hits the control panel, jamming it. If the Warbeast is dead this is the final fight. If it is still alive, when the pirates or the party are beginning to tire or their ammo reserve have dwindled enough, the Warbeast uses the confusion to act. It attack one pirate and begin concentrating it's attack on him, the other pirates flee into their vessel. If the players try and pursue the heroes they get blocked by the Warbeast who attacks them. They then start their engines and launch the signal to open the cargo bay.
" As you fight the room is suddenly flooded by an audio message
: Warning opening of cargo bay door in 1 minute. "
The heroes have one minute to do something and unless they kill the
Warbeast, at least one person must keep it busy by engaging it in combat
or it will attack the players trying to save their skin. Only one hero
is needed to stop to cargo doors from opening. There is a manual override
command control on a computer terminal and someone could locate it after
about 30 seconds and disable it with few seconds to spare. The heroes then
should kill the Warbeast, if they seem to be loosing send a pirate or two
who jumps out of the ship and fights against the beast with the heroes.
After the fight the engines of the pirate shuttle are still running. The
pirates have barricaded themselves into the cargo door.
" The creature has finally been killed. The Pirate ship is still facing the cargo door, ready for take off. They will soon have to leave as the engines spew extremely hot air. Ready to emit a glowing trail of fire to permit the ship's fast movement.The room is getting hotter by the minute. " If the players do not think of throwing the creature into the fiery engines supporting cast members or even pirates is desperation could hint them to this conclusion or even suggest it to them. It is possible climb on top of the ship and throw the goo in.
" As you throw the goo into the engines, they belch a powerful fire burst. The goo is consumed in an instant " After this the pirate start shooting at the cargo bay doors in the hopes of opening them. The players should realize this. If they inspect the doors, they can find near it boxes with an explosive label ( it's not the label that is explosive, but rather a little sign like on a spray can ). Inside they can find many kilo of explosive. Allow them a demolition check to install the explosive. Consider any other creative solution by the players to open the doors. After they blow up the first door they can open the second one and then close it in time to save themselves from the lack of oxygen and pressure. After which it should be a breeze to find hard e-suits for the players to use. They can in fact see their ship floating in the void by any window. All they need to do is open to door, make a short space walk to their ship, enter, and leave this scene.
Part 2 : Arrest
As they leave the vessel you could arrange for a scene in which the
heroes encounter a Thuldan ship which has arrested the pirates for attacking
the THF Dragoon or any other phony charge which has to do with the THF
Dragoon.
How to make the adventure harder
-Give the Warbeast an additional +1 bonus to armor in all 3 categories
( LI/HI/EN )
- Increase the armament of pirates to 11mm charge riffles or autoflechette
shotgun, you could also give them concussion grenades
- Increase the damage of the two traps of the Warbeast
Concluding the adventure
The players can the return to Aegis. After a while they hear rumor of
pirates, a Warbeast, an alien vessel containing an artifact and a Thuldan
ship caught in the middle. They are free to do what they want with the
information they collected about the Thuldan Empire and the Warbeast, tough
they should be careful as the Thuldan Empire is very powerful.