DEBRIEFING: THE STARGATE SG-1 ROLEPLAYING GAME

STARGATE MISSIONS - EPISODE TITLE: THE DUKE OF EARL

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Background Information

An older Air Force officer by the name of Brigadier General Joseph Caldwell is transferred to Cheyenne Mountain to remain until he wants to retire. He's served as a pilot (choose whichever conflict sounds most plausible, or keep it a secret) and has been a career soldier ever since. He's an aging man but an excellent officer and he goes strictly by the book (which makes him an ideal duty officer, if one hasn't been chosen). You can introduce Old Joe during other missions to establish him as the new guy on the block. Old Joe can be a hard man but he likes to socialize - it's just that his definition of socializing is reminiscing. He'll go into stories about the old days at the drop of a hat and he counts those days as the best - and they're gone, along with most of his companions.

One of the first things that Old Joe Caldwell insists on is more recreational time on Earth for the stargate teams, for the sake of their sanity and health. He begins to order outings - to the zoo, the movies, plays, etc. Characters can and will be ordered to recreate, which could end up in amusing scenes. Characters will also begin to hear about Caldwell's efforts to reoutfit the lounge on level 18 with better accoutrements: couches, small tables, a genuine classic jukebox and even an ice cream bar and soda fountain. The juke is full of oldies that he fires up every time he visits the lounge, and he always starts off with "The Duke of Earl" by Gene Chandler.

Music Matters

I made a CD when I ran this scenario, based on what I felt old Joe would play to remind him of his good old times and I played it during the climax scene outlined below. My players loved it. Quite a few of the songs came on at hilarious moments when events were heating up and they worked perfectly. I suggest sticking with oldies from the 1950s and 60s and if you're not familiar with these songs, give them an honest try. Although I was born after their heyday, I will always love them in the deepest parts of my heart. Some of the songs I used were:

• The Duke of Earl by Gene Chandler

• Working in a Coal Mine by Lee Dorsey

• Let the Good Times Roll by Shirley and Lee

• The Wanderer by Dion

• Keep a Knockin' by Little Richard

• Respect by Aretha Franklin

• Ain't That A Shame by Fats Domino

• Rhythm of the Rain by The Cascades

• Since I Don't Have You by The Skyliners

• Tears On My Pillow by Little Anthony and The Imperials

• The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens

• No Particular Place To Go by Chuck Berry

• Earth Angel by The Penguins

• Daddy's Home by Shep and the Limelights

• Fever by Little Willie John

• Be Bop a Lula by Gene Vincent

• In The Midnight Hour by Wilson Pickett

• Stand By Me by Ben E. King

Things Get Strange

A lot of the personnel, especially the younger ones, laugh behind Old Joe's back, which makes him very angry. He gets angrier and more forceful as time goes on, and one day he begins to report that airmen are playing tricks on him. They're turning on the juke when he's alone in the lounge. They've blown out the television set in his room. He's ordered to the medical bay for examination, to add insult to injury. The cameras in the lounge catch the jukebox turning on by itself but that's deemed a malfunction of the old machinery. When he hears that the juke is going to be sold, Caldwell shocks everyone by tendering his resignation.

Small machine malfunctions begin to happen all over the base and to the player characters. Battery-operated items are found dead (flash lights, radios) or begin to operate sporadically (cell phones ringing, playing games) for no discernable reason.

Brigadier General Caldwell finds his room a mess on the day he goes to pack, and he checks a video camera he set up to catch any miscreant activity. The camera has a patchy recording even though it's brand new. He tries to show others the footage but the picture is too unstable to see much, and the room is dark (even though he left the lights on). The images can be cleaned up using computer software (Surveillance check for black and white security camera DC 25, takes 1 hour). The footage reveals a great deal of activity: the telephone ringing, Old Joe's razor buzzing, the radio playing, and so on.

What's Going On?

There are two ways for the creatures responsible to have entered the base. One option is to send the player characters to P2Y-187, an abandoned world with a ruined civilization that was advanced in technology. Things are in obvious disarray but there's no obvious cause. The player characters will notice a few tiny flickers of electricity before returning.

On the other hand, another team might have visited P2Y-187 and brought the life form back with them. The life form is so tiny it can't be seen by the naked eye and it's able to take over power sources, from electricity to battery power. The species is mischievous, however, and only wants to play games and enjoy the electricity it craves - the little buggers don't realize the harm they cause until it's too late.

The intercom system begins to play "The Duke of Earl" throughout the mountain at about the same time computers and cell phones begin to act up, often playing simple games without being prompted. General Hammond orders a complete base lockdown, as well as a recall of all outside personnel and all of their devices. All exits have to be sealed manually. In the meantime, computers and all other machines (elevators, lights, temperature regulation) are unstable.

The species is comprised of biomechanoid nanocytes that, when active, give off energy signatures that can be found - if detection machinery is working well enough to be trusted, which is unlikely. Still, a search might turn up an uncontaminated, isolated terminal to work on. Communication can be attempted through the manipulation of the greater machine works in the complex (the mainframe, the main power grid) or via radio waves (Cultures, Languages). The species now calls itself the Tetri and the nanocytes can be reasoned with, although they're simple creatures and need simple explanations. They can jump from system to system when they're within 10 feet and quickly get used to their new environment.

The more complex the system is, the longer it takes for them to begin to manipulate it, but their manipulations are for their enjoyment: because they can, and because it feels good to them. When a machine is deprived of energy (disconnected, for example), the Tetri can try to draw upon their own stores to operate it, but this costs them lives. Most of the time they hibernate until energy flow begins again. When they're made to realize what they're doing to the base (and/or what they did to their former world), they will probably feel guilty enough to stop. EMP will kill them.

Resolution

If the player characters help the Tetri, they'll gain a good many of them as willing allies, confined most times to a special section of the base in which they agree to stay. If any of the characters come by any cybernetic implants, they could ask for permission to carry some Tetri with them. The Tetri can infiltrate technology and, with time, try to find out what it is used for, which can come in handy for the SGC.

If the player characters are helpful to Joe Caldwell in this escapade, they'll earn his gratitude. If they believe him when others don't and support him while others laugh, they'll earn a friend. Although Joe has his limits, he can be a useful person to have on your side, especially if he's the duty officer. And with new friends around, he'll be willing to stay.