Water Source

A short scenario for 2300 by Steve Hatherley.
Copyright © 1990, 1997-2005 by Steve Hatherley. All rights reserved.
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Originally posted on 21 November 1997.

Location: Dunkelheim (DM+36 2393 I)
A German Colony in the French Arm

The honeycombed habitat of the camel fly dominates the landscape of the barren, dry world of Dunkelheim. Secreted resin and sand particles form this architectural masterpiece, a tough kilometre wide coral-like structure. Unfortunately, most of Dunkelheim's water is trapped within abandoned camel fly habitats. Evaporation is slow and the honeycombing makes it ridiculously difficult to get out. Until now.

Amos Chemicals have been working on an additive which will cause the habitat to dissolve and mix with the water. Hopefully, after a period of time, the residue will settle, leaving a resevoir ready to be pumped. They are hiring adventurers to accompany two scientists and guide them to suitable deserted, water logged, habitats to try the additive. They have ten different samples, and wish to try each on a different habitat.

It takes about a day to reach a new site;

To find a suitable site: Routine. (Unskilled) Education. (Absolute) 1 Day.

and then several holes must be drilled into the habitat. In these, a pre-packaged explosive charge containing the additive is placed. These must be set properly (as per rulebook) by the players for an effective burst. Then, the scientists can evaluate whether the additive was successful or not.

To conduct a successful test: Formidable. Average of Chemistry and Biology. Instant.

They will want to test all of their samples.

At completion each character will be paid Lv 1000. Dunkelheim and the camel fly are covered in more detail in GDW's _Colonial Atlas_.

Variations:

  1. The trip goes well. The characters are paid at the end of it.
  2. One of the characters is approached by Chemox, a rival company. They will pay Lv 10,000 if the character can steal successful formulae and otherwise wreck the expedition.
  3. The expedition disturbs a swarm of camel fly. Individually these are not dangerous, but when swarming can easily suffocate and clog up filters on vehicles. Note: A habitat currently used by camel fly is easy to identify.
  4. The expedition encounters a Sand Crawler. This is a large, very territorial omnivore that prefers to feed on camel fly larvae by digging through the habitat with incredibly strong claws. It senses the habitats by smell and has very poor eyesight. It might mistake the vehicles as another Crawler invading its territory. It can move surprisingly fast and will charge in attack. A Sand Crawler territory often covers hundreds of square kilometres.
  5. The characters encounter signs of a human habitation unmarked on the maps. Investigation reveals this to be part of an illegal organisation which is manipulating genes to create super-humans. They are ruthless, and will try to kill characters discovering their base. They have a true immortality drug, taken from a chemical found only in three week old babies. These they harvest, and will offer immortality to bribe the players if outgunned.

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