Life on the Open Ocean

Buji Kern

Atlantis is perhaps the largest terraforming project to date, and as such there are still many questions about how surviving ecosystems interact with newly introduced organisms, changes in weather patterns, and other environmental factors affected by terraforming. Exploring the farthest reaches of the oceans for clues about the planet's history is also a goal of the Atlantean scientific community. Thus, research vessels are fairly common on Atlantis' planet-wide oceans. Teams from universities, commercial and non-profit organizations, and Atlantean governments have led countless scientific projects since colonization. The invasion of Atlantis by the CEF made the seas temporarily unsafe for unarmed research vessels, but after the CEF was largely confined to land, science ships returned to their voyages.

Starting Point: In the Name of Science

The Player Characters are the crew of a privately owned research ship, currently exploring a remote archipelago and taking water-temperature data as part of an ongoing project monitoring global climate changes. However, priorities change quickly when the crew discovers what appears to be evidence of previous visitors to the planet, predating the discovery of Tannhauser gates. This kind of discovery could be the crowning achievement of their careers-but it proves to be dangerous knowledge...

Possible Campaign Variations

1. The CEF attempts to capture the discovery and eliminate the crew.
2. The artifact is actually part of an Argo colony ship from Earth.
3. An Atlantean government tries to seize the crew and artifact.
4. A rival scientific vessel in the area tries to claim first discovery.
5. The artifact is not what it seems, and is in fact highly dangerous...
6. The crew discovers the artifact is not the first of its kind to be found.

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