The White Rabbit Express

Recommended levels: 1-2. This adventure can take place in any major settlement and provides an opportunity for a party to earn their first star-ship.

A Hasty Introduction

The PCs are woken up in the middle of the night by message blaring from their comm units with an urgent request to accept an emergency job. The mission request is simple, a starship crew is required for a recovery mission. A ship will be provided and if successful they can keep the ship. If the party accepts, they are prompted to sign a confidentiality agreement and told to ready themselves for pick up in 10 minutes. 5 minutes later as the party is half dressed they hear desperate honking from a white hover limo idling outside their residence. As soon as the party enter the limo it speeds off. Inside is an female Elf in stylish business attire. She curtly asks the party if they want coffee and presses a button before they can answer. A drink dispenser in the back of the limo pours black coffee into small Styrofoam cups and hands them out towards each PC with robotic arms.

The business executive introduces herself as Lago Sylvia, head of PR for White Rabbit Couriers, an Elven delivery company. A character that succeeds at a DC 10 culture check recalls seeing commercials for the company boasting that White Rabbit Couriers is the only delivery service in the galaxy that is guaranteed to never be late. She asks for very brief introductions from the party members, moving to the next person if they take too long.

Once formalities are out of the way Lago cuts right to the point and begins briefing the party: The text in quotes can be read word for word or paraphrased. Lago will answer questions with short simple answers but deflects more complicated inquiries.

“The key to our company's on time guarantee is that we avoid the use of unpredictable drift engine technology. Instead, our ships utilize a network of magic teleportation gates of elvish design. While these are expensive to operate and maintain, our reliability is legendary, and we have never delivered a package late, except for once. That package has reemerged as a problem. This is a matter of utmost secrecy, and involving the authorities would be a PR disaster. “

The limo turns a sharp corner as it careens towards the spaceport, all PCs holding an unfinished drink must make a DC reflex save or spill their coffee.

“Around three hundred years ago the elvish colony planet of Weidori was under siege by the aggressive Caulderans, an expansionist military empire of lava based life forms. Sympathetic to their cause, we agreed to secretly aid them by weakening the closest Caulderan base threatening Weidori. We sent an express ship carrying a huge magical payload towards Cauldera-3 to destroy their orbital defense system. Unfortunately, the unstable magic infused in the ship interacted with the warp gates, and the ship disappeared in transit. Weidori fell to the Caulderan empire and the Elvish colonists were forced to flee. In the centuries that have passed our system now has a peace treaty with the Caulderans, but tensions still run deep.”

As the limo approaches the spaceport she rushes to finish debriefing the party. “The ship has suddenly re-appeared after all this time, and is on route to Cauldera-3. Attempts to stop it remotely have failed as the ship's AI seems to be damaged and glitching. I believe there is just enough time to stop the vessel between the last two warp gates before it reaches Cauldera-3's orbit and detonates.

The limo screeches to a halt near a White Rabbit delivery ship prepped to launch with several elves in company uniforms standing guard. Lago shoves a data pad into a party member's hands as the limo doors open.

“Please intercept the White Rabbit Express and disable it. Afterwards, board the ship and initiate the destruction sequence a safe distance from our warp gates. Failure not only means a PR disaster for my company, it may even fan the flames of war”

Lago ushers the party out onto the waiting ship and watches as they launch into space. If they hesitate to launch she sends messages to their comm units urging them to head directly to the bridge and depart immediately. The data pad she provided contains the ship specs and access codes as well as her contact information. She can answer more complicated questions the party has as they travel towards the warp gates.

Modern White Rabbit Courier (TIER 2) Sleek White Light Freighter

Speed 10; Maneuverability good (turn 1); Drift 1

AC 13; TL 11

HP 40; DT n/a; CT 8

Shields Basic 40 (forward 10, port 10, starboard 10, aft 10)

Attack (Forward) Tactical nuclear missile launcher (5d8), Laser net (2d6)

Attack (Port) Coilgun (4d4)

Attack (Starboard) Gyrolaser (1d8)

Power Core Pulse Green (150 PCU); Drift Engine Signal Basic

Systems basic medium-range sensors, crew quarters (common), mk 2 armor, mk 1 duonode computer (tier 1)

Expansion Bays Cargo hold (2), Smuggler Compartment (dc 20)

Modifiers +1 any two checks per round, +2 Computers, +1 Piloting

The interior of the modern White Rabbit ship is clean and white with smooth high strength ceramic walls. The only decoration is a subtle light grey pattern of leaping rabbits on the white floor tiles and upholstery. As the party investigates their new ship, it becomes apparent that the light freighter has been modified to increase its combat capabilities.

Race Against Time

Space travel takes a day during which the party has time to rest before arriving at the given coordinates. As the party approaches, the area is empty except two huge metal rings floating serenely in space, 30 hexes apart from each other. These warp gates remain inactive for several minutes until a ripple manifests inside one of the rings. Previously invisible elvish runes inscribed on the metal flash with bright blue energy as the lost White Rabbit Express floats through and begins heading towards the opposite warp gate.

The lost ship's Artificial intelligence is glitching but still very concerned with being late. When the party attacks or interposes itself in the ship's way, the AI hails the party. It appears on screen as a white rabbit's face formed from floating geometric shapes. The White Rabbit informs the party to cease interfering with its delivery mission as it is running 296 years, 37 days, 10 hours, 41 minutes and 5.8 seconds late. The ship is damaged from age and has a speed of 6. It heads towards the opposite warp gate at full speed every turn as it fires at the party ship.

Lost White Rabbit Express (TIER 1) Light freighter, painted white but worn with age

Speed 6; Maneuverability good (turn 1) AC 14; TL 13

HP 40; DT n/a; CT 8

Shields Basic 40 (forward 10, port 10, starboard 10, aft 10)

Attack (Forward) Light spore torpedo launcher: Instead of spores, the torpedo infects the enemy ship with a computer glitch that takes over console screens with pixel animations of rabbits (3d6), Light laser cannon (2d4)

Attack (Port) Gyrolaser (1d8)

Attack (Starboard) Gyrolaser (1d8)

Power Core Pulse Brown (90 PCU); Drift Engine None;

Systems budget medium-range sensors, crew quarters (common), mk 2 armor, mk 1 defences, mk 1 mononode computer (tier 1);

Expansion Bays cargo hold (2)

Modifiers +1 any one check per round, +1 Piloting

Crew- The Ship AI can take the following actions each turn: Engineer- Engineering +10 (1 rank)

Gunner (1)-gunnery +5

Pilot- Piloting +6 (1 rank)

Science Officer- Computers +5 (1 rank)

When the ship is disabled it can be safely boarded. If it reaches the opposite warp gate the mission is a failure.

Ship Interior

Use any ship map that is small enough that the party can travel from the boarding site to the bridge in 1 minute (10 turns). I designed this encounter with the Paizo Starship Flipmat in mind, specifically the courier ship side.

Cargo Holds

The party enters through the airlock into one of two cargo holds. The walls, floor and ceiling are covered in red glowing magic runes in elvish script. They are too complex for the party to defuse, but can be identified as evocation magic, specifically the spell fireball, with a DC 16 Mysticism check. If a party member speaks Elven, reduce the check DC by 5.

Halls

The halls are clean and empty, glowing red runes cover the walls.

Bridge

The bridge contains the command console where the vessel's self destruction sequence can be activated. The ship's AI appears on screen as the White Rabbit and reiterates how it is very late and to cease interference with its mission. The AI will activate the shocking console trap countermeasures if the party reveals their intentions to detonate the ship or tries to access the console without permission. A PC can make a DC 18 bluff check to convince the ship the party is a repair crew or a similarly plausible lie.

Shocking Console Trap

When the command console is accessed without permission an arc of electricity shoots forth from the computer.

Perception DC 21 Disable Engineering/computers DC 18

10' radius 3d6 E damage reflex save DC 14 for ½

A Narrow Escape

The team can set the self destruct sequence to whatever time amount they want, but after doing so the AI informs the party that is running late and glitches the timer to 1 minute (10 rounds). Red emergency lights bathe the ship as the AI counts down. At this point, begin tracking initiative.

A PC can attempt to reset the timer with a DC 16 Computers check, but the timer glitches back to 1 minute and 6 seconds (11 Rounds).

As the party escapes through the ship, one of the hallway runes explodes prematurely. Have this event occur at the top of the initiative order when at least 2 PCs are near each other in the hallway. A ceiling support falls on top of the team and each PC must make a DC 10 reflex save or take 2d6 damage and become pinned under a beam. Removing the beam requires a DC 12 Athletics check. The Airlock door to the PCs ship locks after the sequence is initiated, a DC 11 Engineering/Computers check is require to open it.

Conclusion

If the party returns to their ship before the timer is up, they have just enough time to fly away before the destruction chain reaction reaches the cargo bay payload. If the party escapes, they are given the promised reward by the White Rabbit Express company. They allow the team to keep the ship used in the mission and allow them access to the company's warp gates. If they don't make it out in time, the team is killed in the massive explosion. In this unfortunate event Lago Sylvia does her best to ensure that her company fulfills their end of the contract. An unmarked White Rabbit Express ship is delivered to one of the party's next of kin.

If the party allows the rogue ship to escape, the detonation of the ship in Cauldera-3's orbit is on the info-sphere news the following morning. Free travel to the Caulderan space is halted until the CEO of White Rabbit Express publicly resigns. The company stocks plummet and Caulderan equipment and delicacies (such as Obsidian Oil, Basalt Bites and Smoked Scoria Scotch) are difficult to find in the galaxy for some time.