"Royalty is the filling in a mouth full of decay."

-- John Osbourne

the brief

Captive Jury is a roleplaying adventure for about four players set in the Jovian Chronicles universe. The PCs can be just about anybody, as long as they have a reason to travel through the Belt. Certain details about the adventure are left to the GM's discretion, to be individually tailored based on the nature of his campaign structure, if any. These are noted in the text of the adventure.

the scene

Captive jury can occur virtually anytime in the current Jovian Chronicles timeline, taking place as it does outside the squabbling of the major solar powers, with the year 2211 as the assumed default.

The initial setup (getting the PCs onto a ship passing through the Belt) is left up to the GM and should be specifically tailored to the campaign. Popular hooks are forhire jobs or calls from friends or families across the solar system requesting help. The reasons for the players' presence on the Storiii and what happens to the ship and its crew after they reach their destination is beyond the scope of this article. Think of this adventure as an in-flight movie - with guns.

The SS Storiji

Purchased in extremely used condition by Captain Theon in 2202, the Mule-class ship Storiji started out as a freighter plying the trade lanes between Venus and Earth. Theon used his savings to add larger reaction-mass tanks, improved motors and limited passenger space, transforming his vessel into a long-range combination courier/liner that could make continual runs on the profitable Jovian in-system routes. The number of crew and passengers aboard the Storiji is small, totaling about twenty, including the players.

The NPCs aboard ship (with the exception of Captain Theon) can be anybody the GM desires or needs, from faceless "red shirt" targets to the PCs' long-lost families, depending on how much intrigue the OM requires.

The ship's armory is stocked with a variety of civilian-class masers and stunner weapons, but heavy weapons (including assault weapons, lasers and anything bigger) are unavailable simply because any problem requiring military weaponry to solve is, in Captain Theon's opinion, best left to the military.

Players who have their own stocks of big guns will be required by Theon (not to mention the law) to leave them behind or put them in external storage where they cannot be reached during flight. This ain't Replacement Killers, kids.

Childress' Freehold

Since its completion in 2195, the Nomad colony of Childress' Freehold has made a profitable living as a waystation and refueling depot for ships traveling between the Jovian Confederation and the inner solar system. Freehold is a C-type asteroid with plenty of ice and carbon, highly suitable for mining, and measuring approximately 500 meters at its larger point.

Childress' Freehold consists of a single large habitat ring encircling the small asteroid. The ring is quite thick, allowing for three habitation/business levels with high ceilings, along with machinery and life support sub-levels. A large cargo elevator leads from the business offices in the habitat ring to the asteroid's surface, where a zero-gee docking bay/storage area is carved into the asteroid. Remote tethers and swing arms allow visiting vessels to anchor themselves near the station and transfer cargo and fuel from the docking bay.

a tale of two families

The Freehold was founded and built by Ternan Childress and his wealthy Venusian-expatriate family in order to maintain the family fortune away from the influence of the Venusian Bank.

They were assisted by the Soongs, a large middle-class Korean family that was forced to flee Earth by the CEGA, finding sanctuary and employment with the Childresses in the Belt. After the colony's construction, however, the Soongs demanded partnership status, pointing out that they had done most of the design and actual building of the installations. Reluctantly, the Childresses agreed.

The two families have lived in uneasy harmony over the years, working together in the interest of mutual survival. The recent boom in space travel has brought unprecedented profits, however, and in the absence of poverty, old wounds are beginning to throb. For more than a decade, the Childresses have resented the manner in which the Soongs "stole" their fifty percent stake in the station, seeing the Soong's demand for equality as a betrayal of the Childresses' generous offer of aid. The Childresses see the Soongs as greedy and self-important, riding on the coattails of the Childresses' wealth.

The Soongs, they say, would have been extremely well- treated as employees, and have proven lazy and arrogant as partners. The Childresses claim that Freehold's success has come as a result of the Childress family's excellent head for finance, and this despite the Soongs' sabotage.

For their part, the Soongs fondly remember their wealth and power back on Earth, and refuse to accept what they perceive as subhuman treatment by those who are their inferiors, both culturally and intellectually. They have, from their perspective, given their sweat and blood for the creation of this sanctuary in space, and have also indulged the Childresses in their petty displays of disdain.

Indeed, that indulgence might have gone on indefinitely, with the Soongs playing martyrs, had they not been pushed over the edge. There are about a hundred people living on Childress' Freehold, only ten percent of whom are not involved in the clan feud. These neutrals are generally transients, merchants or travelers who have stopped briefly to rest at the station. The remaining inhabitants are either members or retainers of one of the families. Although the Soongs number more than the Childresses (about fifty to forty), the Childresses have larger and more luxurious living accommodations; despite the technical partnership, they have managed to keep control of the allocation of station space.

Captive Jury Jovian Chronicles Murder Mystery Adventure

Introduction
The Crime
The Trial
Data Files and Judge's Bench