Xmails for the Starjammer

The IMV Starjammer in dock at High Fargo starport, Double. In the foreground troops in combat armor prepare to load a waiting Broadsword-class mercenary cruiser.

TL13 mercenary troopers outfitted with combat armor and KG56A3 gauss rifles. Behind them is a TL9 ground APC.

Last week we were able to play the latest installment of our Into the Interface Traveller campaign, which saw the player characters’ starship, the IMV Starjammer, return to Imperial space for the first time in nearly two years.

In preparation for the session I wanted to show off the new 1:270 scale Starjammer model. This scale, which was popularized by the Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game, is extremely close to the 1:285 or 6mm scale occasionally used in wargaming for micro armor games and other uses.

In order to give the players a proper sense of the ship’s size, I ordered a platoon of 6mm sci-fi troopers from the igMakes Etsy Store to paint up. These are tiny 3D prints with a decent amount of definition, and they came with an APC and attack helicopter.

Painting up the platoon was a useful exercise and not nearly as difficult as I feared. I found this YouTube video to be very helpful: 6mm is Easy! Painting Teeny Napoleonic British Infantry [How I Paint Things]. Basically, at this scale you are really only able to suggest details by hitting the highlights of the highlights. I could see going down a real rabbit hole here: lots of 6mm scale pieces are available, including cargo containers, freight loaders, and the like.

As I was working on these props it occurred to me that a starship away from its home territory for an extended voyage would likely be barraged by incoming xmails once it returned. Some of these messages would be directed xmails sent months or even years earlier, while others would be the equivalent of spam generated on the fly. Some AI system probably monitors incoming traffic, cross references crew manifests with consumer databases and then sends a flood of personalized advertising towards the incoming ship. Hopefully a high stellar society would have developed AI assistants to cull through the terrabytes of garbage.

It also occurred to me that xmails could be used as handouts to set up a game session and to provide background color and plot hooks. Also, xmails provide an opportunity to promote Allies, Contacts, Rivals, and Enemies. While I really like this Mongoose Traveller mechanic in theory, in practice it can be difficult to implement if your Travellers are actually … travelling … acrosss a subsector. Xmails provide a means to connect PCs with these NPCs throughout a campaign.

I created a template in Word that resembled the old Xmail form from Traveller Supplement 12: Forms and Charts. Rather than drop all of the potential adventure leads into a starport bar, I wrote up some choice xmails that I handed to the players once the Starjammer emerged from jumpspace.

“My Imbecilic Progeny”

The following xmail completes some business and also establishes some background info on an NPC who might show up later in the game: Baronet Sir Cedric Radimir Garner of Montlivan, Knight of the Order of Sol (K.S.). The baronet is the father of Daren (HotLolz), one of the PCs as well as the employer of Sonny the android, Daren’s bodyguard. It’s no accident that Sir Cedric addresses the message to Sonny rather than Daren.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 105-1104
2. Addressee Bodyguard 3185D31A	3. Destination Aboard IMV Starjammer (Kline Registration No. 338-C-2725)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text Greetings, Salutations, etc., etc.: As you have no doubt already noted, per our standing arrangement I have instructed my bank to disburse another Cr10,000 into your account for yet another year of keeping my imbecilic progeny out of both the news and further legal entanglements. I commend your diligence and ingenuity in this endeavour; removing him to Solomani space was an inspired choice, though I wonder that, given his mother’s inexplicable affection for Terran religions and our poor son’s weakness of spirit he might yet take up the Sollie cause. I do read with some alarm that he has resumed public use of the Garner name; I would be indebted should you persuade him to adopt another pseudonym, though perhaps one somewhat more dignified than that risible Hotlolz. In any case, I bid you to carry on with your charge and offer you deepest felicitations and well wishes, etc. for the coming year. At Cinnel Estates, Rayim, Montilivan/New Mars. The Honourable Baronet Sir Cedric Radimir Garner of Montlivan, K.S.

A Mother’s Love

Dame Augustina Rigby-Garner is the estranged wife of Daren’s father and may yet show up in the game. The following xmail helps color Daren’s privileged upbringing and gives some insight into the Imperial aristocracy.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 110-1104
2. Addressee Sir Daren Rigby-Garner	3. Destination Aboard IMV Starjammer (Kline Registration No. 338-C-2725)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text Dearest Darikin, I do so hope this little missive finds you in good health and standing, wherever you might be. Know that your poor mother thinks often on you and that you, her only son, are always in her fervid prayers. Brantine is ever so lonesome these days with all the servants away on winter leave, though last week the Good Lord allowed the pollution index to abate just enough for me to walk the gardens unaided. They are so quiet and peaceful this time of year, though I did espy one forlorn shufflewing in the hedges by the gardner’s cottage. We must all of us count our blessings, even in solitude. I received communion at the Cathedral three weeks ago, and the kind Bishop Asher spoke approvingly of your exposé of that terrible business at Einkamp. We both agreed it is simply intolerable for the Imperium to turn a blind eye to the likes of horrid dictators such as General Zakiah. I cannot tell you how pleased I am to see you using your given name again, and I pray that perhaps you have finally put your youthful discretions behind you once and for all. A mother can certainly hope, can she not?  And as I am hoping I do so wish that the halls of Brantine might one day be graced again with your presence while I still have whatever is left of my health. How many years has it been? Oh far, far too many my Darikin. At Brantine, your devoted mother, Dame Augustina Rigby Garner, Beta/New Mars. Postscript. I was informed the other day from Lady Loucyd that your father has apparently taken up with yet another one of his servant girls, and this little trollop is said to be even younger than you, if such horrid rumours are to be believed. Have you corresponded with him lately?

O Captain My Captain

One of my players dropped out of the campaign a while ago, but since he played the Starjammer’s captain I’ve been running his character as an NPC for a while. This has been convenient since I could use the captain to provide information drops about starships, interstellar travel, and the Charted Space setting. But the ship’s computer, Juno, can also serve that role and besides, the Starjammer crew is a bit overstuffed. Finally, Captain Cryo has an excellent Navy pension—so it wasn’t really clear why he would keep hanging on.

Given all this, it was high time for this NPC to move on and I wanted to play out this transition. Following my house rules on Certifications for Starship Crew the Starjammer needs a captain who holds at least a Limited Mate’s License. The crew could always hire another captain, but one of the PCs, Astrogator Wayne Masada, had an outside chance of obtaining this certification himself. This xmail, like any good hook, both introduces a dilemma and offers a potential resolution.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 095-1104
2. Addressee Wayne Masada	3. Destination Aboard IMV Starjammer (Kline Registration No. 338-C-2725)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text The Travellers’ Aid Society oversees licensure of all commercial starship positions in the Third Imperium and beyond. This message provides notice of upcoming examinations for Limited Master’s Licenses. This license entitles the holder to serve as the master of a starship of less than 1,000 tons. A licensed master can fulfil the crew requirements of an astrogator, pilot, sensop, or executive officer. Exams are administered monthly at all Imperial Class A and many Class B starports. The next step in your professional development may be just one jump away. Licensure is Yet More Benefit of Travellers’ Aid Society Membership!

Sitting for the Boards

The following xmail is an example of personalized advertising but it also offers one player an opportunity to obtain a needed certification for his character. As noted in Doctor, Doctor Howard, the Starjammer’s medical officer, is more than qualified to be a ship’s surgeon. This xmail is an invitation to finally check that box.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 243-1103
2. Addressee Medical Officer Howard Barrera	3. Destination Aboard IMV Starjammer (Kline Registration No. 338-C-2725)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text Dear Corporal Barrera: The Kobayashi School of Medicine is a fully accredited institution widely recognized throughout Magyar sector as a premier centre for medical training. After a thorough review of your service record we believe you have demonstrated sufficient experience and credentials to sit for our Medical Boards Exam. Successful completion of the Boards will entitle you to Imperial licensure as a Doctor of Medicine. Medical Boards Exams are administered twice a month at all Class A Imperial starports in Clown subsector. As a decorated veteran of Imperial military service we are prepared to waive the standard exam fee. The exam require one standard week to complete, with results available within 24 hours. We hope you will consider this exciting opportunity to continue your medical training. Dean Emilia Zengur, Kobayashi School of Medicine, Kobayashi University, Seloo/Clown.

Good Fences

During the last adventure the PCs looted the wreck of a Class M liner, the Speedwell. They had loaded a secure vault into the hold of the Speedwell’s ship’s boat, and then crammed that boat into the Starjammer’s cargo hold. This xmail introduces an NPC who might be interested in buying the ship’s boat, might help them convert their Solomani credits into Imperial notes, and could be useful for moving other, more sensitive goods.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 152-1104
2. Addressee Brogue Enyo	3. Destination Aboard IMV Starjammer (Kline Registration No. 338-C-2725)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text While on Double visit Crazy Saiful, Small Craft Dealer! We buy and sell used spacecraft of all kinds, from Gigs to Shuttles and everything in between. Boats for every budget. Solomani credits accepted at par! No one beats Crazy Saiful on price! No one! If it flies, we buys!

Tempting

It is well established that the Far, Far Future of Traveller is not the clean and bright post-scarcity setting of Star Trek. This xmail is a reminder of that and also establishes a potential locale for several different plot hooks.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 152-1104
2. Addressee Barry Russell	3. Destination Aboard IMV Starjammer (Kline Registration No. 338-C-2725)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text Barry Russell, this is your personal invitation to TEMPTATIONS, the premier entertainment club on Double. We cater to all persuasions. Why go dirtside if you aren’t going to get dirty? Visit TEMPTATIONS, located at 1178 Commercial Centre, Fargotown. Free Shuttle and Cover.

Patronizing

The Starjammer’s sensor operator, Ronald Gill, has a criminal past. One of his allies, Lerato Botha, was killed in an earlier adventure and Ronald had to provide information to a cloning facility in order to activate Lerato’s “backup.” This xmail reintroduces Lerato, who might become a useful patron, and the themes of cloning and resurrection. A couple of the PCs have insurance policies that entitle them to their own clone backups, which have not been needed … yet.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 217-1103
2. Addressee Ronald Gill	3. Destination Aboard IMV Starjammer (Kline Registration No. 338-C-2725)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text It is your old friend Lerato Botha! I am back, my brother. Or at least his clone, with all Lerato’s old memories. It is a very strange thing, I must assure you, to be dead and I have to admit it is still all extremely confusing. The last thing I remember before my resurrection was going to the KST clinic on Sinott to record my mind, which made me feel very sick. I remember being placed into the scanner tube, covered with wires, and then the next thing I knew your friend Lerato was waking up in a metabolic chamber, with every muscle and bone on fire from having been force-grown from a frozen embryo. They say it took half a year to grow this new body and it took another half a year of physical and mental therapy to make sure that the cloning had been done without any problems. So many tests: memory, reflexes, puzzles, and such. At the clinic they said flawed clones were destroyed and the whole process started all over. Perhaps I was not their first product? Your friend Lerato did not want to go through any of that business again, I assure you! But all of that is behind me now. I am using a new name to fit my new body: Lossiomo. I am currently residing on Double and I hope we shall see each other soon. It is not a very charming world, but it has the benefit of being very far away from our friends from Jarslav. I am deeply indebted for your help in getting my paperwork to the KST clinic, and as I recall you are not a man to be in debt to, no matter how good a friend!

Opportunity Knocks and Also Texts

Competition for critical crew positions such as Starship Engineer is probably quite intense. Most PCs are usually on the wrong side of the stick, either looking for ships or crew. Savvy captains and companies probably don’t wait for prospects to show up at the local hiring hall: they likely use recruiters that identify and aggressively court potential candidates before they even reach the starport. I thought it would be interesting to have one of the best-qualified crewmembers of the Starjammer receive some unsolicited offers.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 152-1104
2. Addressee Chief Engineer Richy Jamoor	3. Destination Aboard IMV Starjammer (Kline Registration No. 338-C-2725)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text A lucrative and rewarding position awaits you, Chief Engineer Jamoor! The IMV Double Jeopardy is an Akkigish-class Type R Subsidized Merchant operating in the Nauvoo Cluster, with its home port at Tolson/Clown (Magyar 2106). The Double Jeopardy has an immediate opening for a chief engineer with your exact qualifications. We are prepared to offer you a one-time signing bonus of Cr50000 and monthly salary of Cr6000. All offers are subject to standard medical and psychological competency exams. The Nauvoo Trading company is an equal opportunity employer offering competitive salary, advancement opportunities, and profit sharing. Further details available upon request. If interested, please contact Captain Fabiana Eshni at Berth B12, Fargo Highport. Celina Wong, Senior Recruiter - Nauvoo Trading.

A Son’s Reply

Daren’s player decided to write a response to his mother’s message, which is exactly the sort of engagement I was hoping to prompt with these xmails.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 156-1104
2. Addressee Dame Augustina Rigby-Garner	3. Destination Brantine Estates, Beta/New Mars (Magyar 3128)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text Dearest Mommikins, so lovely to hear from you. XXOOXX. I fear I have not spoken to Father since the regrettable cinnamon bun incident. I have changed my life and have been Slurm free for over two years now. Surprise! (I know.) I feel sobriety suits me well and I’m even more impressive and charming without the chemical crutch. I will try to visit soon but my men need me and I worry what would happen without my steady guidance. All of my love, your dearest son Darren Rigby-Garner. Double/Clown.

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