Adventure idea--prison ship

[Garyius2003]

I stopped reading Star Wars fiction a long time ago because most of it is confusing and made up of references to other books. A friend recommended Deathtroopers, and they were right.

My next adventure run was going to be a Mongoose Fiery class, but because of the jump number I have been rethinking it. Then it hit me. A prison ship.

Not the same plotline as Deathtroopers, because the ‘plague ship drifting in space’ has already been done much better in Death Station, but a Imperial MOJ prison transportation ship.

My first thought was a type A2, but then I wanted to get a little more creative. Thus:

A type R 80 years old and purchased by the MOJ from a line. The ship’s drives/life support is rebuilt and the frame bought back up to spec.

The rear cargo bay gets a tank that gives two jump-1 and 6 weeks operation (and a hallway from the lift to the mid bay), fuel processors. The ship gets a military sensor pack and upgraded internal sensors, repair drones and two security drones. The middle bay gets 50 coldsleep tubes, and 10 cells engineered to provide food and water, and basic sewage, without allowing the inmates to cause any trouble. (The middle bay is two tiered?) (The cells are only for prisoners who would likely die if frozen?)

The front bay becomes a sickbay and inprocessing center, including a set of two foot by two foot armored storage bays for prisoner’s religious or family mementos. The middle bay has a cargo exo unit to bring tubes up to the sickbay.

Enlarged lockers and armories upstairs. Double beam turrets. The bridge access hatches from the lower level get a second, manual, hatch locked from above that blocks the iris hatch from working.

The crew is hired on salary only contract, but are persons of known good Imperial faith who are on a share system. At the end of 10 years the ship will be turned over to them free and clear so long as they are faithful.

The circuit is in the District 268 area, with changes from time to time to outlying areas to get new Imperial convicts.

What’s wrong with my idea? Please feel free to poke holes.

 

[Ran Targas]

No, it's pretty much brilliant! I'd like to see a set of deckplans if you get the chance.

I've played with prison ships but I never thought to transport the prisoners in stasis, duh!?! Makes pretty much any freighter a potential prison barge. If the contents of any cargo container could hold prisoners on ice, it becomes very difficult to attempt a break out. Very secure and no mess to clean up after. I wish I had thought of it!

One of my introductory SW adventures centered on a "slaver" ship that is actually a means of transporting Rebel refugee families under the nose of the Empire. The Rebels in command of the ship had captured a squad of Imperial troopers who spill the beans to the PCs forcing them to decide what side to take.

I like the idea of giving the PCs the opportunity to interact with the prisoners; maybe there's an accident or someone figures out that a prisoner has valuable information and attempts a premature release. Lots of fun options! Please be sure and share!

 

[Vargas]

I think it's a great idea, you should run with it like crazy.

The only question I have is why put a bunch of prisoners in cold sleep and ship them about when it would be cheaper and easier to just store them in a fixed location in the same state?

The first answer off the top of my head is that they are very very dangerous and/or political. Warehousing them in cold sleep on a planet could result in rescue attempts by minions. Or, to be more topical, these ships are the Guantanamo of their day and the prisoners aboard wouldn't be accepted by any world in the vicinity.

I think I really must steal, er borrow, this idea . . .

 

[Commander Truestar]

I think it's a great idea, you should run with it like crazy.

The only question I have is why put a bunch of prisoners in cold sleep and ship them about when it would be cheaper and easier to just store them in a fixed location in the same state?

The first answer off the top of my head is that they are very very dangerous and/or political. Warehousing them in cold sleep on a planet could result in rescue attempts by minions. Or, to be more topical, these ships are the Guantanamo of their day and the prisoners aboard wouldn't be accepted by any world in the vicinity.

I think I really must steal, er borrow, this idea . . .

Or you can get the DVD from FFE and use the various prison scenarios from them as a besis (muhahahah). They have both the prison hulk - although it does not travel and just orbits the Aramis System(The one in the Aramis Subsector as opposed to the other Aramis System in the Trin's Veil Subsector IIRC) As well as the Prison Planet Double Adventure.

Mix your ideas with details and support from the Canon books and end up with a hybrid that blows them both away!

Marc

 

[Major B]

The only question I have is why put a bunch of prisoners in cold sleep and ship them about when it would be cheaper and easier to just store them in a fixed location in the same state?

Gary, please feel free to confirm or deny, but I think the setting in District 268 answers this question. Given the nature of this sector, there would be a plausible need to transport imperial convicts to detention facilities outside the district where thay could be held legally until they serve out whatever term was imposed.

And I second Vargas' and Ran Targas' sentiments - great idea and I look forward to hearing more.

 

[Whipsnade]

Garyius,

Superb, superb idea. I'll echo the others and ask you to keep us updated on your campaign's progress. I'll go one further also. Please write up the campaign setting and post the material in the File Library. Send a copy to Freelance Traveller too.

About serving prison sentences in low berths, IMTU I quickly examined and discarded the idea. I think it fails on both the punitive and rehabilitation levels, either of which is the primary reason for imprisonment depending on your viewpoint:

- Slapping a prisoner in a low berth for the length of their term means they won't "lose" those years of their life as part of the punishment for their crime(s).

- Slapping a prisoner in a low berth for the length of their term means they won't be able to receive the vocational training and psychological therapy they need in order to become rehabilitated.

Keeping a prisoner in a low berth while they are transported to where they'll be incarcerated is a good idea however. From one viewpoint, the prisoner is under complete control and thus no danger to those transporting them. From another standpoint, the prisoner's sentence isn't being added to via travel time.


Regards,
Bill

 

[BlackBat242]

However, cold sleep sentences DO fill the other 2 reasons for imprisonment...

Catharsis/security for the victim(s)... the victimizer is no longer a threat and is placed in an adverse situation, assuaging some of the emotional trauma of the victim.

Protection of society from repeat offenses: the criminal is unable to continue criminal activity.


Of course, these are only effective in the long term if you really do "lock them in the freezer & throw away the keys".

If you ever plan to release them back into society (as opposed to on an interdicted desert planet), then you DO have to thaw them out & perform the functions Whipsnade mentioned.

 

[Whipsnade]

However, cold sleep sentences DO fill the other 2 reasons for imprisonment... Catharsis/security for the victim(s)... Protection of society from repeat offenses...

BB242,

Sorry, I don't see either of those things happening unless, as you also note, you plan to freeze the perp and never thaw them out. If that's the idea, you might as well just shoot them and be done with it. (Please everyone, no capital punishment posts.)

If you ever plan to release them back into society (as opposed to on an interdicted desert planet), then you DO have to thaw them out & perform the functions Whipsnade mentioned.

I think leaving them warm obviates another major complaint the victim(s) may have with low berth sentences: A lack of aging.

Eneri the Leg Breaker, age 30, stomps Gami Q. Schmoe, age 30, gets grabbed up, gets tried, gets convicted, and gets sentenced to twenty standard years in stir. Imagine that you pop him in a low berth for that period. Eneri does his time on ice and gets released. By the calendar, he's now 50 years old and biologically he's still 20. Meanwhile Gami, the schlub who got stomped is both 50 by the calendar and biology. That means Eneri is actually better off for serving his sentence than Gami is for being the victim.

Punishment should mean you lose time from your lifespan and not that you just get put on pause.

When you consider that fact that humans commit crimes predominantly in their teens and twenties, freezing cons so that they're still in the middle of their "frisky" years even after serving decades long sentences doesn't make much sense either.


Regards,
Bill

 

[Icosahedron]

From the authorities' viewpoint, I'd make two changes:

1. Have the turret weapons aboard an escort rather than the prison ship.
2. Make the Engineering Section jettisonable.

I agree, freezing for transport only.

 

[kafka47]

Yes, excellent ideas...

IMTU, Prison "ships" are that comprises most of the Frozen Watch on reserve Fleets. Whereby, Naval personnel who where convicted of minor infractions of discipline or misdeamors get sentenced to the Frozen Watch on a reserve fleet. There are also high profile prisoners who often get sentenced to the Prison Hulks, as it is much easier to fend against someone trying to break them out. When you have a battery of lasers, missiles, etc. The navy also has added precaution of seeding the ranks of the prisoners with legitimate personnel and as each are thawed out at different times. It is very hard for the prisoners to know their compatriots are.

In the past, I have found the King Richard Liner suitably modified serves the nice purpose for this. The scenarios that I have run are...

1. Break out a top ranking Zhodani Noble who was being held in such a hulk. The players were commandos who had to infiltrate and then mingle.

2. Players from different Imperial Eras woke up in the madness of the 1210 Era.

3. Ship adrift. Players go salvage an old hulk but find that it is filled with prisoners who have been augmented in different ways. [variant]

4. Salvage operation but this time the ship is damaged and listing toward a Gas Giant. The Imperium had high profile prisoners. But, the manifest was destroyed, so there is no way of tracking them down. The players have to get the right prisoners out without having the prisoners turn on them.

 

[Darkhstarr]

'Prison Ship' scenarios can be fun. I ran one at the last Nuke-Con involving slavers operating out of the liner from an old Judges Guild booklet. The core ship was outfitted as a laboratory & prison. The two surviving moduleships (the third moduleship was destroyed when the syndicate acquired the vessel), one was outfitted as a feedership to the core ship with prison & lab facilities and had most of the length refitted as a dock for ships up to a 1000 tonnes. The feeder ship's MO was to jump to appointed systems at regular runs, meet slavers & pirates delivering slaves & deliver conditioned slaves to costumers. The first part of the adventure involved the players getting caught up in an ill-conceived kidnapping & having to team up with pirates (the parents of the kidnapped kids) to rescue the kidnapped. They rescued the prisoners & captured the renegade noble who worked as a slaver. The second game involved the parties teaming with the same pirates, the local Duke's intelligence forces to take the slavers' feeder ship & liberate any prisoners.