SilverTwin!
High-tech crimefighters of the Frontier

by Michael Therrien
Dragon Magazine, #102, pg. 82


To: All concerned planetary officials
From: Security Council
Star Law Laboratories
Port Loren, Morgaine's World, Prenglar

Honored sirs:

It has come to the Council's attention that the phenomenal success of the SilverTwin project (entire background included) has led to a flood of requests for such services. It must be understood by all that such projects are extremely expensive. Most local police agencies hardly have the funds to keep themselves in uniform, let alone to pay out 2,000,000 Cr for a pair of vehicles and six more personnel, regardless of how well skilled they are!


Captain-General Dwarg Uol has asked all planetary heads to reconsider their many requests...

History

After the Second Sathar War, white-collar criminals from several outlaw organizations began to stir things up in the Frontier, using gangs of moderately armed thugs. Hundreds of serious crimes were committed by these gangs each week. The crime lords behind these groups of thugs hoped to occupy Star Law's forces on an increasingly planetary level, thus reducing the organization's strength in open space and permitting the growth of piracy. Their ploy failed miserably, for their actions led to the development of the SilverTwin project.

Star Law Laboratory (Morgaine's World) reacted to the demand by officers throughout the Frontier for heavily armed combat vehicles. The SilverTwin project was revealed nearly a year ago; since then, it has been installed and activated in three Star Law planetary branches. With the widespread fame of this highly effective arm of law, the requests for many more SilverTwin units have reached the attention of the Security Council. The cities that so far have had a SilverTwin module included in their arsenal are Port Loren (Morgaine's World, Prenglar), Jancaith (Triad, Cassidine), and Tarnath's Realm (Truane's Star).

SilverTwin is the code name for a pair of all-terrain vehicles, both well armed and screened, which have been created for special missions of law enforcement. They are experimental in design and would only be used in conjunction with the law agencies of major cities, acting on orders from a Star Law Planetary Council, Planetary Officer, or higher authority.

A SilverTwin unit itself is composed of two vehicles: one car and one cycle. Both have the capability of being able to change from hover movement to ground movement. The speed limitations (see page 30, Expanded Rules) are better than most racing vehicles. A look at the basic statistics below will reveal a greater turning speed, better acceleration, and a faster deceleration. Also noted under each vehicle description is a Vehicle Damage Modifier (VDM). When a SilverTwin vehicle has been fired upon, subtract the VDM from the dice roll before consulting the vehicle damage table on page 32, Expanded Rules. This represents the armor quality and high-stress engineering which were incorporated into the SilverTwin project.

Talon (ground/hover car)

Speed: Accel: 90 m/turn Decel: 45 m/turn

Top: 260 m/turn Turn: 85 m/turn

Cargo: 100 kg, 1 cubic meter

VDM: -5

Onboard systems:

Details:

A Talon, as mentioned above, can use either hover or ground movement, depending on the situation. The change from one mode to another takes two turns (twelve seconds) of complete motionlessness.

Four crewmen ride inside a Talon under normal circumstances: a pilot (driver), copilot (weapons operator), coordinator (uses radiophone to coordinate actions between SilverTwin and other agencies or allies), and defender (uses RENDER to operate screens, monitor levels of ammunition, and perform damage control). The positions are listed according to where each person sits in the vehicle, moving clockwise from a left-handed driving seat. A Talon can carry two extra passengers (one of them Vrusks, though only with cramming.

The cargo storage space has a false bottom, beneath which is a hidden weapons cache containing 10 power beltpacks, 3 laser pistols, 2 space grenade magazines, a disguise hit (for four people, 2 different identities each), survival rations for 6 (lasting one week), 10 sticks of tornadium D-19 with variable timers, a freeze field, and a waterpack. This is the normal equipment carried on a Talon, though additions or changes may be made in special circumstances.

Talon will, while on a stakeout or similar operation, usually have the holo screen either offer camouflage or the image of a normal car, depending upon the situation.

Claw (ground/hover cycle)

Speed: Accel: 110 m/turn Decel: 45 m/turn

Top: 270 m/turn Turn: 100 m/turn

Cargo: 20 kg, .5 cubic meters

VDM: -3

Onboard systems:

Details:

A Claw is a cross between a ground cycle and a hover cycle. The switch between modes can be made if the Claw is traveling over 60 m/turn or is at a standstill. It takes one turn of the pilot's actions to activate the change, during which time the Claw cannot fire (since the driver/pilot operates the sighting controls of the weapon systems) or turn more than 30 degrees in any direction. A Claw has a parabattery type 2.

 A small weapons cache is included, in which are 4 power beltpacks, 2 normal laser pistols, a disguise kit (for two people, for four different disguises each), a survival kit (rations for 20 people for one day, plus 1 liter of water, toxy-rad gauge, 2 all-weather blankets, compass, everflame, flashlight, and three holoflares), and 4 sticks of tornadium D-19 and a like amount of variable timers.

The survival kit is a standard model and can be purchased for 50 Cr. However, different companies have different ideas as to what a person needs to survive, and the price will vary according to the contents.

Twinsuit

A Twinsuit is a special combat uniform, made exclusively for the crew of the SilverTwin modules. They are fitted to the team members, with no chance of them being usable to any other being. The methods of creating Twinsuits are kept completely secret. Each has a lock keyed to the brainwave patterns of its host, which cannot be duplicated, permitting only the person for which the suit was fitted to use it.

Twinsuit Equipment:

Twinteams

Because of the limited space for seating on the Talon and Claw vehicles, Vrusks could not be considered for membership on a Twinteam. However, Vrusks do make a sizable contribution to the SilverTwin project, particularly in the area of design. Vrusks now make up nearly 45% of all SilverTwin technical crews. The Twinteams' identities are known only to the Star Law Security Council, the Planetary Council (if there is one), and the Planetary Officer.

A tight team feeling is highly stressed when developing a Twinteam. The chosen few will live together for more than two years after attaining Star Law Ranger rank, becoming accustomed to their partners. They live and train inside a special set of huge domes on Morgaine's World.

Players who wish to join a SilverTwin project must be Star Law Rangers (see Dragon issues #87 and 91). They then have the option of either joining a Twinteam missing a member or two, or beginning their own team (six people only). Those needing details on the Star Law ranking system should refer to Alex Curylo's article, "Careers in Star Law," in issue #91.

The following are the names, races abilities, and skills of the first and foremost Twinteam, which operates inside Port Loren, Morgaine's World, Prenglar. These people made the SilverTwin project a success for Star Law. The referee will note that this Twinteam is very powerful; it has trained extensively for the benefits SilverTwin has to offer.

Blarg Dramiloud: Dralasite (STR/STA 61/85, DEX/RS 56/55; INT/LOG 69/83, PER/LDR 86/86, PS 4, IM 6). PSA: Technological. Technician 6, Computer 5, Robotics 5, Beam Weapons 5, Melee 6. Talon pilot.

Yalik Califor: Female Yazirian (STR/STA 56/76, DEX/RS 65/60, INT/LOG 65/77, PER/LDR 81/81, PS 3, IM 6). PSA: Technological. Technician 5, Computer 5, Robotics 6, Beam Weapons 5, Melee 6. Claw pilot.

Lucretia Xerxes: Female Human (STR/STA 57/71, DEX/RS 76/85, INT/LOG 63/71, PER/LDR 77/77, PS 3, IM 9). PSA: Military. Beam Weapons 6, Projectile Weapons 6, Computer 5, Melee 5, Martial Arts 5, Demolitions 4. Talon copilot.

Garlib Rampous: Dralasite (STR/STA 60/84, DEX/RS 60/55, INT/LOG 64/74, PER/LDR 74/74, PS 3, IM 6). PSA: Biosocial. Beam Weapons 5, Medic 6, Environmental 4, Melee 6, Psycho-Social 4, Computer 2. Garlib works Spur, riding on the back of Claw.

Fraw Talm: Male Yazirian (STR/STA 65/70, DEX/RS 66/65, INT/LOG 71/69, PER/LDR 72/72, PS 4, IM 7). PSA: Military. Beam Weapons 5, Melee 6, Computer 6, Technician 6, Martial Arts 4, Demolitions 4. Fraw operates RENDER from inside Talon.

Johnathon Killbear: Male Human (STR/STA 85/94, DEX/RS 69/63, INT/LOG 60/65, PER/LDR 71/71, PS 5, IM 7). PSA: Military. Beam Weapons 5, Thrown Weapons 5, Martial Arts 5, Demolitions 5, Medic 6, Environmental 4. John coordinates Talon, Claw, and the local law force with a radiophone in the back of Talon.

A Twinteam member has all the legal power of a Star Law Ranger. All legal powers and restrictions are listed in Dragon issue #91. Twinteam members will not, under any circumstances other than to save a life, break the law.

SilverTwin Scenarios

It is readily apparent that SilverTwin is a powerful tool for the forces of planetary good. Numerous scenarios may be built around it, with the player characters either supporting, fighting against, or being a part of a Twinteam. The first encounter with a SilverTwin force should be in a large city, with the PCs watching from the sidelines as a SilverTwin force stops a major robbery or hijacking. PCs may help, though the Twinteam will prefer not to have civilians involved in their operations unless the situation is dire. The Twinteam will use all resources available (within legal limits), including calling in the local law enforcement agency and military forces if necessary.

SilverTwin is meant for adding more excitement to your Star Frontiers gaming. It represents the best that Star Law has to offer, and as such it requires special handling in adventure creation. The referee should carefully work out scenarios that will challenge Twinteam PCs, without making things entirely too easy for the team. After all, SilverTwin was created to fight a menace - and the more menacing, the better!