Kepler Station is not a glamorous post. It's a research station on a small planetoid, founded on a Star League Astronomical facility, orbiting the edge of the Bangor System near Brocchi's Cluster in the Draconis Combine. Kepler Station is positioned two days from the nadir Jump Point
of the system; while Bangor III, the system's inhabited planet, is five days from the nadir Jump Point. The zenith Jump Point is only three days from Bangor III, but is six days from Kepler Station.
The station itself is above ground, in a domed environment. It originally had a crew of fifty, so there is plenty of room for the people here. The planetoid has a gravity of 0.2. Each of the larger rooms has airtight emergency doors. Several of the larger rooms are on a central ventilator system, with small inconspicuous grills near the floor. These grills are controlled by the same computer which closes the blast-tight doors. The main danger the station has faced over the years has been meteor showers; nevertheless, over 90% of the station was found undamaged and with constantly-freshened air.
There are two archaeologists on permanent duty there to examine any equipment found, and to cross-reference astronomical finds with the centuries-old data from the fragmentary memory core. The rest of the station's complement are the station commander, Senior Professor of Astronomy Nobu Muramasa from the Imperial Institute of Technology; his wife, Keiko; Assistant Professor Tadashi Matsumoto; and six graduate students who do the scutwork. Muramasa's nephew, Tai-i Kenichi Muramasa from the 1st Sword of Light regiment, returning to his company from convalescent leave on Bangor, has pulled strings to borrow a modified Mark VII Landing Craft to visit his uncle and aunt. His BattleMaster-K* is on board the ship.
- Battlemaster-K:
A variant of the 3025 'Mech, using a Battlemaster captured during the 3039 War as a base. The machine-guns and ammunition were removed, as were the rearfiring medium lasers. The PPC was replaced with two large lasers, and one extra ton of ammo for the SRM-6 was added. This keeps much of the long-range firepower of the original design while adding a heavy punch for close-in fighting. The loss of the rearfiring capability makes the Battlemaster-K a 'Mech for the experienced MechWarrior only. The Tai-i worked closely with his unit's Techs on his refit of the design.
As the scenario begins, Tai-i Muramasa has been onstation since yesterday 'afternoon'. At 1930 hours, a dinner will be held to welcome this hero. It is now 1630 hours, and the station is on Greenwich Mean Time. Keiko, Sara, and Beryl have spent most of the day persuading the food synth to create delicacies...
The Secret of Kepler Station A Scenario For MechWarrior 2
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