The Derelict

A Black Box Adventure Seed
Old Captain Flood had an illustrious career. Pirate, trader and explorer, the Captain's exploits have become legendary across the galaxy. Notorious by some accounts, Captain Flood was yet not without her charms and many a story has been woven about her adventures. To this day, Captain Flood stories are often talked about wherever space travellers gather to share a drink, and a tale or two, and her fate is well known - or is it?
Captain Flood enjoyed many adventures and reputedly amassed many fortunes during her long and checkered career. As all good stories must, hers eventually came to an end. In a far corner of the galaxy, the Captain's legendary luck finally ran out and her enemies caught up with her - some say she was betrayed, perhaps by a jilted lover. Set adrift and left for dead, her frozen corpse was found by the pursuing authorities, but a few mysteries remain - such as the location of her secret hide-out.
Your searches have led you to this place...at the ends of the galaxy...to a huge debris field. How it all got here is anyone's guess. Some ancient civilization that destroyed itself? Some natural phenomenon, perhaps the leftovers from "a big bang" - stuff that never formed into a solar system or planet? However it formed, it is enormous and The Derelict is supposed to be hidden here. The Derelict is rumored to have been Captain Flood's secret "hide-out" - an old space-ship or station out here on the rim of known space - a refuge that may hold secrets to who knows what!
Unfortunately you were not alone in uncovering this knowledge. A pesky rival has learned the supposed location of The Derelict even as you did and now the two of you are here, each looking to cheat the other out of this "big score". Will you sneak about, hoping to avoid each other - there are plenty of rocks and debris clouds to mask your maneuvers. Will you confront the rival and fight-it-out for the right to claim the prize? Will you try "negotiations" and split the winnings?
Whether played as a two-player or team "wargame" pitting one ship and crew against the other, or as an RPG with the judge controlling the rival ship and crew, The Derelict poses an interesting scenario. Locating and exploring The Derelict may prove a challenging task - who knows what "traps" and securities may have been left to guard the legendary captain's secret hide-out? Then there is the question of the rival ship and her crew? Is a straight-up space fight in order? And what secrets and treasures await the victor? I guess we will have to play in order to find out!

I offer this adventure seed in hopes that it may be the beginning of something fun to be shared at gaming tables. As I see it, the hobby is about shared fun. Over the decades I have borrowed many ideas from countless sources who have never received credit. Where the idea for this seed came from - besides a dream last night and some applied imagination today - I have no way of knowing. You will need to make it your own in order to use it by drawing - or borrowing from another source - some maps and ship plans and adding your own characters, NPCs and rules. In other words, this is just a "seed" - something to jump-start the imagination - and hopefully it allows me an opportunity to contribute a little something to someone else's fun.
Hoping you enjoy!