One Way to Deal with Pirates

A pirate ship, yo ho!

An encounter with pirates in Traveller

Referee: Dad

Josiah Greene, captain of SS Lioness: Zach

Zeke Mason, XO and head of security: Joel

Referee: The navigator tells you that the pirates that are in pursuit have reached overtake velocity. It is no longer possible to outrun them.

Josiah: What do we know about the pirate’s ship? How big is it?

Referee: Your sensors indicate it’s a 400-ton vessel, probably a modified Type-P corsair.

Josiah: I’d like to make an Education throw to determine the size of the crew.

Referee: Ok, that should be an average difficulty, so roll EDU or less, no DMs.

Josiah: (rolls) Made it!

Referee: The Type P usually has only 10 crewmen, possibly as many as 12.

Zeke: Are we going to fight them?

Josiah: Maybe, but I think we can outsmart them first. (writing) I want to rig this up in the airlock. (hands referee a list)

Referee: Ok but I’ll need a task throw to get this done right, and in time. Any mechanical skill?

Josiah: Yes, skill-1. (rolls) 7 plus one is 8, how’d I do?

Referee: Yes, you get it all done before the pirates finish matching vectors.

Zeke: I’m prepping my security team and taking positions near the airlock. (Describes who is present, and what weapons and armor they have) Josiah, are you sure this will work?

Josiah: Yes, it should work fine. How long until the pirates board us?  I’m directing the pilot to comply with all their demands and act like we’re not going to resist.

[Time Passes]

Josiah: I’m watching the monitor that shows the airlock. Have the pirates made it to the door?

Referee: Yes, a group of them are gathering at the airlock now.

Zeke: How many? What weapons can we see?

Referee: You see nine pirates in vacc suits, with shotguns, SMGs and one with a laser rifle.

Zeke: Hit the button, Josiah!

Josiah: I'll wait until the outer hatch closes.

Referee: Ok, the outer hatch has closed now, and they’re trying to open the inner hatch.

Josiah: I press button one.

 

Small, but effective.

Referee: You see the lubricant grenade you placed on the floor begin to discharge its non-stick spray. It gets on most of the pirates, but maybe not all.

Josiah: I tell the pilot to give the ship a jolt.

 

Referee: He does, and (rolls several times) six of the pirates slip and fall, as there is now no traction in the airlock. They pull (rolls again) two more down with them.

Josiah: I push button two!

Referee: The entangling grenades you attached to the ceiling activate, at a one second interval. The web-strands hit (rolls) wow, all of the pirates, they are now entangled. They’re in a big webby slippery mass pile on the floor of the airlock.

 

You get the idea. Pretend it's guys in vacc suits.

Zeke: I open the airlock door. Are there any weapons pointed our way?

Referee: No, their guns are all stuck to suits and walls. You can hear muffled shouting and cursing from inside the pirate’s suits.

Zeke: Ok, with my team covering the pirates, I’m placing a thermite grenade near the middle of the mess.

Referee: Make a DEX throw to avoid becoming stuck yourself. (Zeke rolls) Fine, you were able to plant the grenade safely.

Josiah: I tell the pilot to contact the pirate’s ship, tell them what’s what and demand that they surrender. They have two minutes before we set off the thermite grenade.

Referee: (ponders, then rolls) the remaining pirate crew have decided to make a run for it. They break contact and are vectoring away. Do you want to pursue?

Zeke: I’ll go fetch the thermite grenade and stow it away. My security guys can cut the pirates loose and take their weapons. We should contact the Space Patrol and have them take these guys off our hands.

 

Josiah: No, we won’t pursue. We’ll contact the Patrol, like Zeke said and wait for them here.

 . . . and the adventure continues.

Photo credits

Grenade "Interpolitex 2011 (405-5)" by Vitaly V. Kuzmin - http://vitalykuzmin.net/?q=node/405. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interpolitex_2011_(405-5).jpg#/media/File:Interpolitex_2011_(405-5).jpg 

Webs https://pixabay.com/en/spider-webs-weird-forest-nature-597649/

Pirates https://pixabay.com/en/pirates-symbol-skull-bone-prey-20285/