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Monthly Archives: December 2018

State of the Frontier – Dec 2018

Happy New Year’s Eve! I thought about doing an “end of the year” recap but decided that I’ll save those types of retrospectives for the anniversaries of the site going live, so you’ll see that post in late April/early May. For this post I’m just going to look at December.

Looking Back

If you look back at my State of the Frontier post from November, you’ll notice immediately that I only finished half of what I had hoped to do, namely the PGC Records Vault adventure location. I actually got exactly zero work done on the Ghost Ship Osiris adventure.

There were a couple of reasons for that. First, the records vault project ended up taking a lot more time than I had anticipated. As I’ve said before, it always surprises me how much work it takes to turn my notes and ideas in to a finished form that I feel is usable by others. Maybe I’m putting to much detail into things. You’ll have to let me know.

Another issue was the holiday season. All the extra activities that go on this time of the year definitely cut into the time I have to spend on these projects. I need to remember that fact for future years and either build up a backlog of posts, plan lots of small things, or just accept the fact that I’m not going to get much done in December.

The final struggle I have with getting the Ghost Ship Osiris project done is that on a fundamental level it doesn’t call to me as strongly as some of the other projects. While I’m a fan of FrontierSpace, it just doesn’t hold the same place in my heart as Star Frontiers. So it’s often easy for me to put that project on hold when a Star Frontiers related one pops up. And it just goes to show that I’m not really doing this for the money since of all the projects I’m working on that one is a commercial project that will generate some revenue.

I have managed to keep the Star Frontiers timeline going as posts from @StarFrontiers on Twitter. That project will continue foward for several more years regardless of what happens otherwise. I’ve been having fun with that. Some of the posts this last month were activities from the online game I’ve been running. Unfortunately, the December sessions of that game fell victim to holiday activity conflicts and the timeline has caught up and passed the players so unless they manage to get in a some serious time jumps, their activities won’t be showing up any more.

Looking Forward

So what is coming up in January? We’ll start the year off with an update of the timeline, posting all the events of the last month which include the first of the events occurring in sathar space.

Then I’m going to buckle down and work on Ghost Ship Osiris. I’m all caught up on my Star Frontiers projects, or at least they are at a good stopping point so I can focus on this. At the very least, I want to finish the room descriptions and describe what happens when the PCs arrive at the outpost for the first time. I don’t think I’ll get much past that in January as I start teaching a class at the local university that will take up some of my free time.

While I’m working on the Outpost Osiris description, I won’t have much to post until its finished. In the intervening time I have a little critter I cooked up for my on-line game that I’ll be sharing. Additionally, several people have expressed interest in seeing more of my starship construction system so I’ll be posting bits of that for people to comment on as well.

I’m sure something else will come up to distract me but I’ll try to keep to this plan and only add more stuff rather than swap things out. I might actually get my play by post game started this month but we’ll have to see. If you have any thoughts or ideas as to things you’d like me to work on and post here, let me know in the comments below.

December 31, 2018 Tom Leave a comment

PGC Records Vault – finished

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Season’s Greetings. Here’s a post just in time for you to enjoy as you’re snuggled up to your fireplace on Christmas Eve.

In my first post about the records vault, I provided the maps and room descriptions, then I posted a few robots that also make an appearance although I didn’t specifically call them out as part of this project. In this post I provide the rest of the information about the records vault as well as a PDF with the complete write-up of the location.

In this post we’ll add in the details on the staff, the main computer, how to get “official” access to the vault, and how the vault and its staff respond to external or internal threats or problems. Let’s get started.

Gaining Access

In order to gain access to the data in the records vault, a person or organization needs to file a request with the PGC headquarters on Laco, located in Point Glass. The request includes the dates they desire to visit, the number of people to visit the vault, and the research topic. If the request is granted, the requestor is given an appointment date and an access code that will allow them through the outer gatehouse.

Once inside the main building the visitors’ ID are checked by the security guard at the front desk and then on of the archivists are called to escort them to the research room. Each visitor is given a unique passcode to access the computer terminals. This code is keyed to the level of access (typically just public although private/full access is available to PGC employees) which determines which data in the vault they have access to. It is also used to record the queries in the system so that PGC can track who is searching for what information and the type of queries being performed.

The main computer only contains an index of all the data stored at the vault and provides an interface so that the user can search for the type of data they are looking for. Once found, the actual data is then requested. Once the request is submitted, one of the two data retrieval robots (area 6) is activated, goes down to the vault, retrieves the requested data cubes and brings them up, and places them in the data portals in the computer room (area 8). It takes 7-10 minutes from the time the request is submitted until the data is available. Once the data cubes are in place, the computer informs the user that the data are available and the researcher can begin searching and looking through the actual data for the information they need.

If a researcher has any questions, problems, or difficulties, they can page one of the archivists who will come over from their office (area 4) and attempt to help the researcher.

Repeated queries about classified/locked information may trigger the user to be locked out of the system. This typically only applies to queries on PGC corporate details and operations or some restricted Tetrarch data when using a public access account.

Robots

There are three types of robots at the records vault facility that help keep the facility running:

  • sixteen S-037 Security Robots
  • four M-022 Maintenance Robots
  • two G-092 Data Retrieval Robots

The details on each of these types of robots were given in the previous post. I’m not going to repeat them here.

Staff

The records vault nominally has a “daytime” staff of 10 PGC employees: the vault administrator and administrative assistant, two security officers, a roboticist/technician, and five researchers/archivists. In addition to the base staff, there are often outside researchers working with the data stored in the vault. The facility can accommodate up to six visitors.

During the “night” shift, there are just two security guards at the facility.  You can just reuse the stats for Nameer and Erich or create similar characters if the PCs decide to try a night raid on the facility.

Note:  Skill are taken from the “A Skilled Frontier” skill system published in Star Frontiersman issue 9 as that system provides some actual skills for the archivists to have.

Zat’zra K’tar

Vault Administrator/Lead Archivist

Vrusk, Male

STR/STA: 50/50   DEX/RS: 55/55   INT/LOG: 40/40   PER/LDR: 55/55

Skills:  History 4, Environmental 3, Politics 2, Computer 1

Equipment: chronocom, notebook, pen

Zat’zra is probably not the best of administrators or researchers which is probably why he’s assigned to this relatively out of the way records facility.  But that suits him just fine.  His administrative duties are light and he can spend his days working on his research.  He rarely leaves his office (area 3).

Weldon Tindal

Administrative Assistant

Human, Male

STR/STA: 30/30   DEX/RS: 50/45   INT/LOG: 55/55   PER/LDR: 45/45

Skills:  Law 2, Pop Culture 2, Persuasion 1, Projectile 1, Air vehicles 2, Literature 1

Equipment: chronocom, needler pistol, 2 needler clips

Weldon is bored out of his skull with his assignment here.  He has very little work to do as the facility is small and Zat’zra rarely has any assignments for him.  He can often be found in the break room chatting with whoever is in there.

Nameer Olnar

Head Security Officer

Yazirian, male

STR/STA: 45/45   DEX/RS: 65/65   INT/LOG: 75/75   PER/LDR: 50/50

Skills:  Beam 5, Melee 4, Unarmed combat 1, Thrown 1

Equipment:  chronocom, laser pistol, sonic stunner, sonic sword, 4 tangler grenades, albedo screen, military skeinsuit, power beltpack, 4 powerclips

Nameer is a career security officer and takes his assignment very seriously.  He considers any boring day a good one since there were no threats to the facility under his care.  While he takes his responsibility seriously, he also tries to keep the security requirements as much out of the way of the staff working at the vault as possible.

Erich Melchor

Security Officer

Human, male

STR/STA: 70/70   DEX/RS: 55/55   INT/LOG: 30/30   PER/LDR: 55/50

Skills: Beam 4, Unarmed Combat 2, Medic 1, Projectile 1, Technician 1

Equipment:  chronocom, laser pistol, electrostunner, albedo screen, military skiensuit, power belt pack, 4 power clips

Erich couldn’t be happier with his current assignment to man the front desk at the records vault.  Nothing ever happens and his busiest times are first thing after arriving and right before leaving for the day when he has to check all the visiting researchers in and out of the facility.  The rest of the day he typically spends reading or watching holovids at the front desk.

Pluami Krennta

Roboticist/Technician

Yazirian, female

STR/STA: 40/40   DEX/RS: 45/45   INT/LOG: 60/60   PER/LDR: 35/35

Skills:  Robotics 4, Computer 3, Technician 2, Enviromental 1

Equipment:  chronocom, techkit, robotcom kit, pocket tool, toxy-rad guage

While she doesn’t consider the records vault to be a plum assignment, Pluami can’t complain about the level of work or availability of interesting projects.  There are just enough robots at the facility that she has some maintenance that needs to be done each day alongside keeping the complex’s power system running in top shape.  When she does have some free time, she likes to peruse the vault’s vast data sets looking for interesting robotics and tech data.  She has starting looking through all the Tetrarch data for anything that might be robotics related and can often be found talking with Gh’dzz looking for new bits of data.

Kodub

Archivist

Dralasite, female

STR/STA: 35/35   DEX/RS: 35/35   INT/LOG: 55/55   PER/LDR: 35/35

Skills:  Economics 4, Philosophy/Theology 3, Law 1, Computers 2

Equipment:  chronocom

Kodub asked to be assigned to the records vault as she felt it would give her the best access to all the data she was interested in researching.  Not particularly interested in the Tetrarchs themselves, she studies how the presence of the ruins has shaped the economic structures on Laco.  She works out of the office on the main level (area 4).

Abigail Zemke

Archivist

Human, female

STR/STA: 50/50   DEX/RS: 55/55   INT/LOG: 55/50   PER/LDR: 45/45

Skills:  Space Science 4, Law 2, Pop Culture 1, History 1, Melee 1

Equipment:  chronocom, pocket tool, sonic knife w/powerclip

Abigail is a Laco native and grew up around the Tetrarch ruins at Point Glass.  She was always fascinated by the space motifs found in the ruins and works at the records vault studying the astronomical and physical data found in the ruins in an attempt to nail down the time period that the planet was occupied by the Tetrarchs.  She will be assigned as the PCs liaison when they arrive at the facility and has on office on the main level (area 4).

Gliprell Anthor

Archivist

Yaziran, female

STR/STA: 35/35   DEX/RS: 45/45   INT/LOG: 55/55   PER/LDR: 40/40

Skills:  Environmental 4, Psycho-social 3, History 2, Literature 2

Equipment:  chronocom

Gliprell is at the records facility studying Laco’s flora and fauna and how it has interacted and reacted to the presence of the Frontier races on the planet as well as the populace’s reactions to and interactions with the native life.  Her office is down in the records vault (area 5) as she is constantly accessing new data cubes and is not quite patient enough for the retrieval delay working on the main level.

Gh’dzz Kl’tak

Archivist

Vrusk, male

STR/STA: 50/50   DEX/RS: 45/45   INT/LOG: 65/65   PER/LDR: 50/50

Skills:  Literature 4, Robotics 2, Law 2, Xeno language (Tetrarchs) 1

Equipment: chronocom

Gh’dzz works out of the main level office (area 4) and is slowly researching the Tetrarch language.  His specific interest is literature and poetry but without understanding the language, it is kind of hard to tell what the writings are about.  Despite his main focus on literature, he also has an interest in robotics, specifically in task automation and keeps his eyes open for instances of that in the Tetrarch artifact data.

Yk’rtz T’tk

Archivist

Vrusk, female

STR/STA: 40/40   DEX/RS: 45/45   INT/LOG: 65/65   PER/LDR:70/70

Skills:  Structural Art 4, Visual Art 3, Environmental 2, History 1

Equipment: chronocom

Yk’rtz plays right into the stereotype of a vrusk art fanatic, animatedly interested in all forms of physical and visual art.  She works out of an office on the records vault level (area 4) where she is constantly reviewing the various artifact found across the planet.  She also studies the impact of these artifacts on the art produced by the residents of Laco looking for Tetrarch influences in modern culture.

Main Computer

The vault’s computer is housed on the main level of the complex (area 8) and can only be accessed by the research room (area 7). The computer is level 4 (115 FP) and has the following programs:

  • Analysis – 4
  • Communication – 1
  • Computer Security – 3
  • Information Storage – 5
  • Installation Security – 4
  • Language – 4
  • Life Support – 1
  • Maintenance – 1
  • Robot Management – 4

The installation security program controls the gate house, the door locks, all the security cameras, and the sonic stunner turrets throughout the compound. It does not control the security robots. It can issue orders but cannot disable them.

Similarly, the robot management program controls the maintenance and data retrieval robots but cannot control or disable the security robots, they are designed to operate independently of the main computer.

The computer itself does not contain the archived data. Rather the information storage program contains a giant, detailed index of the data archived at the site. The data are stored on data cubes that can be plugged into ports and then accessed via the various computer terminals throughout the building.  One of the main roles of the archivists at the site is to keep this index updated as new data arrives each week.

All terminals in the building are connected to the main computer and grant access based on the passcodes supplied when logging into the program. Visitors only have access to the analysis, information storage, and language programs while the base staff have access to the programs needed to perform their functions.

The defeating security subskill can be used at any terminal, but the bypassing security subskill can only be employed on the main computer itself in area 8. Any failed attempt to use either of these skills immediately locks the terminal and notifies the security officers.

Threat Response

The exact response to any sort of threat will depend on the location and nature of the threat itself, some common possibilities are provided in this section. Any intruders captured will be detained, questioned, and transported to the PGC headquarters at Point Glass for further processing.

For the purpose of threat response, authorized personnel are the regular vault staff, whose visual, biometric, and id card information are stored in the main computer and robots, and visitors holding/wearing a special passcard only available from the PGC headquarters in Point Glass and used by visiting PGC personnel. Authorized visitors are those issued a visitor badge at the security desk (main level – area 1a) upon arrival. Anyone else is considered unauthorized.

Exterior threats

A common, low-level threat is a vehicle attempting to gain entrance through the gatehouse without a proper code. In this case, the main PGC compound in Point Glass is contacted to verify that there is not some mistake. If the visitor’s bonifides can be established, they are allowed to enter. Otherwise, they are simply turned away and asked to exit the gatehouse and leave the area.

If an air-vehicle (aircar, jetcopter, etc.) attempts to land in the compound, they are warned away unless proper clearance codes are provided before approaching within 1000 meters of the compound. At the 1000-meter range they are warned that deadly force will be used if they do not alter course. If the vehicle does not veer off, the robots in the guard towers will all open fire at 500 meters with the heavy lasers set to 20 SEU (maximum) damage in an attempt to down the intruding vehicle.

A similar response will occur for any land vehicles that attempt to approach the compound by any means other than the main access road.

If any group designated as hostile by the security officers or the vault’s installation security program are visible inside the compound or are attempting to escape, the robots will use their weapons to attack the intruders using their weapons in an attempt to get them to surrender. Beings will be attacked using a 5 SEU damage setting while vehicles will be attacked using a 20 SEU setting. Fleeing parties will be attacked both inside and outside the compound until out of range.

Main level threats

If an authorized visitor is found wandering the halls, one of the security officers or archivists will come find them and offer them assistance and remind them they are only allowed access to the restrooms, the break room, and the research room. A second offence will result is a stiffer warning, and a third offence will result in them being escorted from the complex.

If the security cameras detect unauthorized personnel in any of the offices, the robotics lab, or the computer room, the security officers will respond immediately and attempt to subdue the intruders. If necessary, they can call on the security robot from the hallway to the elevator (main level – area 11) and from the hallway (area 3) or robot storage area in the deep vault (area 12). Note that it will take at least 5 minutes for robots to come up from the deep vault due to the elevator travel times unless a data retrieval robot is currently down in the vault, in which case it will only take 3 minutes.

If any unauthorized personnel penetrate the security lock (main level – area 10), both the security robot and the stunner turrets will immediately engage the intruder with their stunners attempting to subdue them. If stunning is not effective, the robot will switch to its laser weapon set at 5 SEU to encourage surrender and will fight to kill if the target does not surrender.

Deep vault threats

Any access to any portion of the deep vault by unauthorized personnel will be meet by an immediate response from the robots and stunner turrets. Like the security hallway on the main level, stunning attacks will be employed initially but if they fail, the robots will switch to deadly force. If the three robots already in the halls are deemed insufficient for the task, the six extra robots in area 12 will be activated and sent to assist.

Final Thoughts

This took a lot longer than I thought it would. And ended up being a bit bigger than I expected as well. It started as two pages of maps in my notebook and five paragraphs (including the combat robot stat block) of description. In the end the PDF file (attached below) is 16 pages long.

I ran my group through the location using the five paragraphs of notes. If any of them are reading this, they have probably realized by now that I completely forgot about the security robots inside the complex. It would have made their life a bit harder. The staff details are really the only bit I added after the fact. I knew they were all their but didn’t have details on any of them when I ran the game. Everything else was in my head if not written down when they went through the vault.

I hope you enjoy the location and the details provided and can use it in your game one way or another. As always, feel free to leave comments, questions, or suggestions below. Here’s the PDF with the full write-up.

Pan Galactic Records VaultDownload
December 24, 2018 Tom Leave a comment

Some PGC Robots

I haven’t gotten quite as far along in finishing up the Records Vault writeup as I’d like so the final version will have to wait a week. However, I did get the details on the robots found in the facility all written up so I’m presenting them here. Feel free to use them in your games

PGC S-037 Security Robot

The S-037 is a fairly typical security robot designed around a humanoid body.  It is capable of going anywhere one of the Frontier races can go.  It has a built-in sonic stunner and can carry and use any standard weapon.  It can respond to voice commands from authorized personnel and is capable of independent action within its mission and functions. 

The S-037 is designed to be a failsafe security system and will continue to function even when other security systems have been disabled.  While these robots have a computer link to share information with the facility’s computer, they cannot be deactivated via the computer’s robot management program if present. 

Level:  4
Body Type:  standard, two arms
Movement:  legs, 90 m/turn (max)
STA:  100
Attack:  70
IM:  7
Programs: Security Lock, Restrain, Attack/Defense, Computer Link
Equipment: Inertia Screen, power backpack, laser rifle, built-in sonic stunner, 4 tangler grenades
Cost: 13,950 cr.

The laser rifle and inertia screen are powered by the power backpack while the sonic stunner is powered by the robots internal Type 1 parabattery.  It uses the sonic stunner and tangler grenades by default but will switch to its laser rifle if seriously threatened or commanded to by an authorized person.

PGC M-022 Maintenance Robot

The M-022 is designed to do basic technical maintenance on buildings and equipment as well as janitorial duties.  Designed around a standard body with wheeled movement, the M-022 is a relatively small, boxy robot with two long manipulator arms and a sensor cluster in its “head” which is mounted on a flexible “neck”.

It can perform basic maintenance and assist a technician with their repair skills (granting a +10%) bonus on buildings and vehicles.  In addition, it is programmed for janitorial work to assist in keeping its assigned facility clean.  The M-022 can respond to simple voice command from authorized personnel but is typically controlled via the facility’s main computer.

Level:  3
Body Type:  standard, two arms
Movement: wheels, 60m/turn (max)
STA:  100
Attack:  60
IM:  6
Programs: Security Lock, Self Defense, Computer Link, Maintenance (1)
Equipment: techkit tools
Cost: 12,250 cr.

PGC G-092 Data Retrieval Robot

This small robot is designed to retrieve and transport data cubes within a computer facility.  It is built around a standard body with wheeled movement and two long (2m) manipulator arms.  In addition, the upper portion of its body can be raised on an internal hydraulic lift to allow it to reach high locations in the storage vaults, extending its height up to 3 meters.  Built into the top of the robot’s body is a “cradle” that allows it to carry up to four large data cubes in addition to carrying cubes in its hands.

The G-092 is really a mobile extension of the of the facility’s main computer and is only controlled via the computer’s robot management program.  It does not respond to voice commands and has no way of communicating other that via the computer.

Level:  2
Body Type: standard, two long arms
Movement: wheeled, 60m/turn (max)
STA: 100
Attack:  50
IM: 5
Programs:  Security Lock, Self Defense, Computer Link
Equipment
: none
Cost
: 7500 cr.

December 17, 2018 Tom 2 Comments

PGC Records Vault – part 1

While I had planned on presenting this all at once, I’ve decided to make this a two-parter (or maybe more).  Mainly because it turned out to be a bit bigger than I was anticipating.

I used this location in my on-line game.  For the game, all of my notes consisted of these three maps, and five paragraphs of notes including a partial stat block for the security robots.  Just writing up the room descriptions has ballooned to around 7 pages without the maps.  And I still need to write up all the stats for the robots and NPCs.  I always forget how much additional work is required to take something from your notes and transform it into something usable by others.

So this will take a bit longer than I had planned but in the end you’ll have a fun little location your characters can raid if desired.  In may game this was set on Laco but you could have another of these records vaults anywhere you want in your campaign.

For this part, I’ll be presenting the maps and room descriptions.  The other details will come in later posts.

Pan Galactic Records Vault on Laco

Nestled in the mountains to the northeast of Point Glass, the Pan Galactic Corporation has a records archive dug deep into the mountain to protect backups of all the data gathered by the company on Laco.  The vault houses hundreds of thousands of data cubes containing copies of data collected over the past 80 years of the company’s presence on the planet.  Content ranges from details on the Glass Pyramids, to data on local flora and fauna, to records from archaeology sites, and even detailed weather and climate data.

While parts of the data can be had at various locations around the planet, the only place where every bit is stored together is at the records vault and at PGC headquarters on Gran Quivera.  Because of this, PGC does allow a limited number of researchers access to the unclassified data in the archives.

 Exterior Compound

The main entrance to the vault is a structure built into a sheer cliff face in the side of the mountain. Surrounding this main building is a high (5m) wall topped by six guard towers.  Entrance through the wall is by a large gatehouse structure.  Inside the wall is the main building, a garage, and a power plant. A schematic of the external compound can be seen in the map below. 

1 – Gatehouse, wall, and guard towers – The gatehouse is a large enclosed structure with doors on each end.  It is easily large enough to accommodate an explorer or hover or ground transport.  Inside the gate house are several security cameras as well as a computer-controlled laser rifle, sonic stunner, and grenade launcher filled with doze and tangler grenades (10 each).  The weapons are connected to the complex’s power plant and have unlimited ammunition.

To enter, the outer doors open, the vehicle enters the gatehouse, and then the outer door closes. The driver is queried for passcodes for entrance via a terminal on a movable arm that adjusts for the height of the vehicle.  Once supplied, the inner door opens allowing the vehicle to proceed. 

If no proper codes are presented, security personnel in the main building are alerted.  If no threat is detected, the outer doors will re-open allowing the vehicle to exit.  If, on the other hand, the vehicle or occupants are deemed a threat, the outer doors do not re-open and the security personnel can use the weapons in the receiving area to disable the vehicle and incapacitate the occupants.

The outer wall of the compound is constructed of reinforced plastisteel and stands 5 meters tall and is a meter thick.  It is built into the mountain and completely surrounds the vault complex.

The guard towers stand an additional 5 meters over the wall and have access ladders on the inside of the wall.  Each tower contains a heavy laser operated by a level 4 security robot (see stats below). The heavy laser is powered by the compound’s power plant but also has a100 SEU powerpack as backup and can fire both inside and outside the compound.

The robots will respond to any threat against the compound and attempt to disable any vehicle deemed to be a threat that is attempting to leave the compound or escape from the gatehouse.  The robots are nominally controlled by the compound’s main computer but all PGC staff can override the computer commands.

For combat purposes, the walls, doors, and towers are considered to have 300 structure points.

2 – Garage– The garage is a single large building with two double doors on each end.  Any vehicle that can make it through the gatehouse can easily fit inside.  In addition to parking space, there is also a small work area with tools for field repairs and a small desk.

Whenever a vehicle is admitted into the gatehouse, the compound’s technician and robotics expert comes out to the garage to greet the arrivals and get their vehicle situated into a parking area and hooked up to recharge its parabatteries.

There are typically at least 3 vehicles here at all time:  two aircars and a ground car, all bearing the Pan Galactic Corporation’s corporate logo.  In addition, there could be up to five other private vehicles if researchers are visiting the facility.

3 – Power plant – This is the complex’s power source. It is a small generator situated over a natural geothermal vent.  The location of this vent was a major factor in selecting this location for the vault. It is a Type III generator capable of supplying up to 2000 SEU/hour,more than enough to power the complex. In addition, there are solar arrays on the roof that supply an additional 250 SEU/hour during the daylight hours.

The doors closest to the gatehouse provide maintenance access to the generator itself.  The other doors also provide maintenance access but are also the entrance to a small control room allowing the technician to monitor the status of the generator.

4 – Main vault building – This is the main vault complex.  There are windows on the side of the building on either side of the door.  The building is about 4 meters tall and built into the side of the mountain.  It extends dozens of meters into the mountain and then descends hundreds of meters into the bedrock of the area.  It is described in detail in the next section.

Main Level

This is the main level of the records vault where most of the staff and all visitors spend their time.  Every room on this level, including the hallways, have at least one security camera and an intercom panel.  Locations of the security cameras will be given in the room descriptions.  Unless otherwise stated, the intercom panel is located right inside the door.

1 – Main Entrance – This is the main reception area for the vault.  The room is well lit and relatively spacious.  It is divided by a desk (1a)behind which sits one of the vaults two security guards.  To the left and right are double doors that lead further back into the complex. These doors have level 3 security locks that key to the ID badges of the PGC staff.  There is another door behind the security desk.

When visitors arrive, the security guard calls back to one of the archivists who then come out and take the visitors back to the Research Room (area 7). 

1a – Security Desk – This is the work location for one of the two security guards on duty.  The desk is a about 1.2m in height and the guard sits on a raised chair behind it and has a computer terminal to work on.

Access to this area is via a door into the breakroom (area 2).  This door also has a level 3security lock.  The only way to get directly between the main entrance and the area behind the desk is to climb over the desk, there are no openings.

2 – Breakroom/Kitchenette– This is the main communal area for the complex.  It contains several tables and chairs as well as a refrigerator & freezer, oven and range, sink, microwaves, storage cupboards, and several vending machines. There is a security camera mounted in the lower right corner of the room (closest to area 8).

3 – Office –This office contains the desks for the two office staff and the computer &robotics technician.  The half of the room farthest from the door is separated by a wall and door into a private office for the vault’s administrator. The other two desks are in the main area. The door to this room is a level 2 security lock and the door to the administrator’s office has a level 3 lock.

Each desk has a computer terminal with access to all the information in the systems main computer.  The bypass security skill cannot be performed on these terminals.

There is a security camera mounted over the door to the storage room (area 3a) and an intercom panel right inside the entrance.

3a – Storage –This storage room contains a variety of office supplies and small electronics and computer parts.

4 – Office –This office contains four desks in an open plan.  The desks are for the security officer not manning the front desk (area 1a), and three of the site’s research librarians and archivists. 

Each desk contains a terminal that connects to the vault’s main computer.  Like the terminals in the other office (area 3), these terminals have full access to the computer’s systems.  In addition, the security officer’s desk has a second monitor that contains feeds from all the various security cameras around the complex.

4a – Storage –This storage room has a level 4 lock that keys only to the two security officers’ and the site administrators badges plus their fingerprint.  Inside is a small weapons locker containing

  • 6 doze grenades
  • 6 tangler grenades
  • 2 laser rifles
  • 10 power clips
  • 2 sonic stunners
  • 2 electrostunners
  • 2 power beltpacks

5 – Restrooms– This room contains three restroom stalls that cater to the anatomy of the various Frontier races.  In the outer room are several sinks and paper towel dispensers.  There is a camera in the outer area to the right just in side the door that can see the sinks but not into the restrooms proper.

6 – Robot Storage/Workroom – This area is the robotics storage and maintenance room.  Along the wall are recharging and storage bays for eight robots.  Typically, six of the bays are occupied by four maintenance robots and two data retrieval robots.  Occasionally, the other two bays may be occupied by security robots.  The center of the room is a workspace for repairing and maintaining the site’s robots.  There is the equivalent of a robotcom kit scattered throughout the room. 

The door to his room has a level 2 lock that is keyed to the badges of the site administrator, the security officers, and the technician.  It will also open automatically for any of the site’s robots entering and exiting.  The security camera in this room is mounted in the corner opposite the door above the robot recharging bays.

7 – Research Room – This room has six desks with computer terminals along the walls.  Each terminal provides access to the computer limited by the passcode provided. This is where visitors to the vault spend their time working on their research.  The entrance to this room from the hall is not locked.  The security camera is located in the upper right corner of the room.

8 – Computer Room – This room houses the vaults main computer as well as a number of data cube ports allowing more data to be connected as needed.  The computer itself is arrange around the outer walls of the room and there are a dozen pedestals in the center of the room that can have data cubes set into them. There are two terminals to allow direct access to the computer in this room.

The door to this room has a level 4 security lock that only opens for the site administrator and the computer technician.  It will also open for either of the two data retrieval robots when they are bringing data cubes from the vault to be placed on the various pedestals in the room for the researchers to access.  The room contains two security cameras: one in the corner near the door and the second in the opposite corner.

9 – Hallway –This is the main hallway of the vault that connects the various rooms.  It has two security cameras located in the corners near the Robot Storage/Workroom (area 6) and the Computer Room (area 8)that can see everywhere in the hall.

10 – Security Lock – This room functions as an airlock to secure access to the vault.  Both doors contain level 3security locks that key to any of the site’s staff.  The doors will also open for any of the site’s robots.  Only one door may be open at any time and must be closed to open the other door.  This is a mechanical design and not electronic and cannot be bypassed.  Each door takes two rounds to open.

11 – Hallway –This long hallway extends from the Security Lock to the elevator that descends to the data vault proper.  It has a pair of armed security cameras as shown on the map. Each camera has a sonic stunner connected to the vault’s power grid and cannot run out of ammunition unless the power is shut off.  Additionally, there is a security robot sitting in the center of the hallway that will attack any non PGC staff that enter this restricted area.

12 – Elevator –  This large elevator connects the upper main level to the lower vault.  It takes two minutes to traverse the 200 meters between the two levels.

13 – Stairwell– This is a long flight of stairs that runs parallel to the elevator shaft connecting the upper and lower levels allowing for access and escape from the vault level in the case of a power loss or malfunction of the elevator.  It’s not so bad going down but coming up is a bit of a climb.

Deep Vault

This is where the records are actually stored.  This level is located 200 meters below the main level and is dug into the mountain’s bedrock.

1 – Elevator– This is the elevator access on the lower vault level.

2 – Stairwell– This area is the bottom of the long stairwell from the upper level.

3 – Hallway –This large hallway connects all the offices and data vaults on this level with the elevator and stairwell.  There are a number of security cameras armed with sonic stunners placed throughout this hallway to cover all the various locations. Like the ones in the hallway on the main level (area 11), they are connected to the vault’s power grid and controlled by the main computer.

In addition to the security camera turrets, there are three security robots that rove about the hallway patrolling the area.  These robots will attack anyone who is not a member of the PGC staff immediately attempting to incapacitate them.

4 – Office –This office contains a desk with a computer terminal.  In addition, there are four data cube port pedestals along the wall near the door. A security camera is mounted right above the door.  These offices are used by the PGC researchers working with the data.  They have direct access to the data in the vaults and do not have to wait for the robots to retrieve the data cubes.  They are also used when working on sensitive PGC classified information so that the data does not leave the vault area.  This office is currently being used by one of the vault staff.

5 – Office –This office is identical to area 4 although rotated 90 degrees.  It is currently in use by one of the PGC staff.

6 – Office –This office is a mirror image of area 5 and is currently unoccupied.

7 – Restrooms– Similar to the restrooms on the main level, this area is for use by the researchers working down in the vault.

8 – Data Vault 1 – The data vault room, unlike the rest of the complex, has 4m high ceilings instead of the standard 3m height. Most of the room is taken up by a compact shelving unit to maximize the storage space.  All the shelves in this room move on a series of tracks on the floor and access is only available to one set of shelves at a time.  A control pad on the side of each shelf allows for access, causing all the shelves to move to open up a walkway where needed. It takes 30 seconds for the shelves to move once activated.  They can also be moved by the main computer

On any given shelf there are rows of filing boxes that are coded and labeled.  The labels contain both a barcode, an alphanumeric code, and a short description.  In each box are the data cubes containing the data specified by the barcode.  A box will typically have from one to five data cubes inside.

There are four security cameras in each room, one in each corner.  They cannot see down into the open passageway between the shelves but can see everything in the area on either side of the shelves.  The doors to this room are protected with a level 2 lock that keys to any of the site’s staff and will also open for any of the site’s robots as well.

This vault is used to store all data related to the flora and fauna of Laco.

9 – Data Vault 2 –This vault is identical in construction to Data Vault 1 and holds all data related to the geology and climate of Laco as well as any astronomical data related to the Dixon’s Star system.

10 – Data Vault 3 –This vault is identical in construction to Data Vault 1 and holds all the socio-political data about Laco, such as information on the culture and other corporations, and all PGC corporate data.

11 – Data Vault 4 – This vault is identical in construction to Data Vault 1.  This data holds all the collected information on the Techrachs and related sites that have been collected on the planet.  The data on the Glass Pyramid activation will be stored in this vault.

12 – Security Robot Storage – This room is a storage and recharging station for the security robots in use around the complex. There are ten charging stations here. There are six security robots in the charging stations that can be activated by the main computer if a threat is detected.  The door to this room is locked with a level3 security lock that is accessible only by the site administrator, the security officers, and the roboticist.  The door will open automatically for any of the security robots.

Closing Thoughts

If you’d like a PDF version of this location, you can download the file linked below.  I’ll post updated versions of this as I add to it in later posts.

Pan Galactic Records VaultDownload

As usual, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, let me know in the comments section.

December 11, 2018 Tom 1 Comment

Detailed Frontier Timeline – FY59.346 – FY59.367

I had hoped to get the records vault up this week but I’ll do that next week.  In the mean time, here are the first three weeks of the Detailed Frontier Timeline as posted by the @StarFrontiers account on Twitter. 

Dates are in the YY.DDD format with the digits before the decimal being the year since the founding of the UPF and the numbers after the decimal being the day of that year.  There are 400 standard days in a year so the current events presented are coming at the close of of FY59.

FY Event
59.042 First Volturnus expedition leaves Pale
59.346 Second Voltrunus expedition leaves Pale for Zebulon system.
59.347 Jack Legrange murdered on Kraatar. Rioting breaks out in Gozzorf City. (Fulborn-McKoy prize in bio-engineering)
59.348 Broadcast claiming responsibility for the Lagrange murder by the Vrusk Protection Force is released.
59.349 Vist’Lat, the employer of Legrange’s assassins, fires and forcibly evicts all Human workers from corporate offices and housing.
59.350 Medical Services Organization issues an alert that Ixiol, a new drug previously confined to Inner Reach, has begun appearing in other systems in the Frontier.  Users develop a deep yellow tinge to their skin or carapace.
59.351 * Strike Force Nova arrives in the Prenglar system for its annual maintenance and refit.  UPFS Admiral Clinton moves immediately into drydock for maintenance.  It will be tied up for 26 days.

* Vist’Lat expelled from the Commercial Council on Kraatar – “The council feels that much of the recent unrest can be attributed to VL’s policies. Its latest move to sack its human workers and evict them from their homes in untenable. The council cannot condone or accept this behavior.”
59.352 Funeral announced for Jack Legrange to occur in 6 days (59.358)
59.353 Vist’Lat shuts down all spaceport operations effectively cutting Kraatar off from the rest of the Frontier.
59.354 Contact lost with second Volturnus expedition.  Suspected pirate activity in the Zebulon system.  Pale government officials begin investigation into possible leak of jump data.
59.355 Rumors leak about a secret Spacefleet starship research and training center in an “unexplored” system within the Frontier.
59.356 * Attack by KLC troops on monorail headed to Quazzt’s Depression where Legrange’s funeral is to be held.  Train crashes. Rescue teams dispatched

* Legrange’s funeral moved forward and held today.  Body is cremated, not a common practice on Kraatar
59.357 Survivors of train crash arrive in Quazzt.
59.358 WarTech unveils its new line of “Ke” laser weapons to be available in the new year.
59.359 Missile launched from Kraatar’s moon, Setarz.  It self-destructs en route. 
59.360 Information released by the Kraatar government reveals that the missile contained a bio-weapon designed to kill all vrusk on the planet.  Also revealed is that Jack Legrange is still alive and orchestrated the unrest on Kraatar and faked his death.  Unfortunately, the team that was able to stop the missile and gather the information were not able to capture Legrange and he is currently at large.
59.361 Based on information obtained from Artemis Base, Ral’Ik’Ka security forces stop a planned uprising by the KLC on the surface of Kraatar.  The planet returns to an uneasy peace.
59.362 Astronomers on Histran (Scree Fron system), release news of the discovery of a previously unknown brown dwarf approximately 100ly from the Frontier. Its motion indicates that it had a close encounter with a K4 star some 175 years ago.  Initial news of the discovery is quickly suppressed by the Family of One.
59.363 Sathar cybernuk creature (Frontier Explorer #6) discovered on Pale with cyber implant. It was thought that the nuks were confined to New Pale.  The cyber implant seems to be of recent construction and not a relic from the war.
59.364 Pan Galactic unveils a new “Thunder” line of hoverbikes with nods to early PGC models. Old-time bike enthusiasts praise the antique styling coupled with modern safety features but others complain that the bikes live up to their name and are too loud.
59.365 TransTravel’s newest luxury starliner, the TTSS Destiny, emerges from the starship construction center at Gran Quivera. It will begin a “Grand Tour of the Frontier” starting with a run to Truane’s Star in a few days.
59.366 New breed of quickdeath discovered on Pale. Descended from creatures released during the Great Sathar War, this new variant is smaller but travels in packs unlike the solitary or pair hunters of the original strain. 
59.367 With both Strike Force Nova and Task Force Prenglar in the Prenglar system, Spacefleet begins a series of training exercises to last until the UPFS Admiral Clinton completes its refit.

The events presented will either be specific events I have in the timeline, events from my various campaigns happening during this time, or fluff pieces to provide some background and color to the Frontier on days when no significant events are happening.  This first bit of material only involves events happening in the Frontier.  As the timeline progresses, there will also be events happening in sathar controlled space.  I’m still debating where to put those into the published tweets and include them in these posts.

In addition to posting the timeline as a table here on the blog, I’ll also be providing it as a PDF that can be downloaded.  In future posts, the body of the post will only present the new material since the last post.  The file, however, will always be the cumulative timeline starting from the beginning.  Here’s the first installment of that:

DetailedFrontierTimelineDownload

Feel free to let me know if you have any comments, questions or suggestions below.  Do you want to see the sathar related events as well?

December 5, 2018 Tom 5 Comments
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