The Cleaved Helm

Sacnoth Dominate Exploring Expeditions

"It is with boldness and exhilaration that we venture across the coreward rift into the frontier beyond, launching a new era of prosperity for the proud people of Gram and all the worlds of the Horseshoe."
— Commander Skína Badawi, Across the Coreward Rift, 40 D.E.

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Badawi Adventure

The (Gram) Company of Merchant Adventurers of the Horseshoe — the "Badawi Adventure" — leaves Isenfang on 28 Nóvember 37 D.E. and returns 15 months later on 07 Febrúar 39 D.E., travelling across the coreward rift and along the Danuuz frontier trace as far as Aroundight (four one-parsec jumps from Isenfang), exploring four star systems.  This private expedition is led by Commander Skína Badawi, a Gram nobleman and chief supercargo aboard the barque Endeavour, commanded by Major Villum Cheung.  The other ships of the expedition are the 300-ton cutter Hart, commanded by Commandant Alfvin Quanguosson, and the 200-ton trader Wandering Solstice, commanded by Cornet Jakobine Tavleendottir.

The expedition includes a band of "merchant adventurers," a diverse collection of merchants, scientists and nautralists who assist in surveying planetary systems and their worlds, identfying valuable mineral resources and local flora and fauna with potential agricultural uses, and cataloguing information for potential future exploitation efforts.

Expedition Course

Badawi Adventure Course (Modified from The Traveller Map)

Depart Isenfang, 28 Nóvember 37 D.E.

Worlds visited:
• Deep space (02S04C), 37 D.E. (12)
• Hart, 38 D.E. (11-01)
• Danuuz, 38 D.E. (03-05)
• Aroundight, 38 D.E. (06-08)
• Danuuz (2nd), 38 D.E. (09-10)
• Svavasorm, 37 D.E. (12-02)
• Deep space (02S04C), 38 D.E. (01)

Return Isenfang, 07 Febrúar 39 D.E.

Worlds Surveyed

Barque Endeavour

Barque Endeavour[ᚠ]

The Endeavour is a Matador-class barque.  The ship has acccommodations for 25 crew and 20 passengers with a handful of single-occupancy staterooms, double-occupancy staterooms for most crew and passengers and no low berths.  The ship carries two pinnaces (50-ton small craft), two all-terrain vehicles and one air/raft.  It is armed with triple pulse laser turrets.  The partially-streamlined ship has fuel scoops for skimming unrefined fuel from a gas giant and a fuel purification plant.

Crew consists of the ship commander (Major Cheung), pilot (sergeant), navigator/chief gunner (cornet), chief engineer (cornet) and senior medic (sergeant), one signals/detection officer (sergeant), three engineers (corporal, troopers), seven gunners (sergeant, corporals, troopers), two pinnace pilots (corporals), two pinnace gunners (troopers), two medics (sergeant, corporal), three yeomen (troopers) — one adminisration, two operations, and twenty merchant adventurers, including Commander Badawi.

Generally, the Endeavour is responsible for planetary landings (or planetoid belt or gas giant moon surveys when a system does not have a main world).  The ship's pinnaces enable its complement of merchant adventurers to reach a world's surface.  Merchant adventurers are also frequently exchanged among the ships of the Expedition so that those with the appropriate skills are available in the locations where those skills would be most useful.

Cutter Hart

Cutter Hart[ᚢ]

The Hart is a Milu-class cutter.  The ship has accommodations for twelve crew with a handful of single-occupancy staterooms, double-occupancy staterooms for most of the crew and no low berths.  Hart carries one launch (20-ton small craft).  It is armed with triple pulse laser turrets.  The partially-streamlined, armored ship has fuel scoops for skimming unrefined fuel from a gas giant.

Crew consists of the ship commander/navigator (Commandant Quanguosson), pilot (sergeant), chief gunner (cornet) and ship's medic (corporal), and one gunner (corporal), two gunner's mates (troopers), two engineers (corporals), two engineer's mates (troopers) and one launch pilot (corporal).

The principal role of Hart is Expedition security.  The ship assumes the traditional high guard position when the other ships of the Expedition are refueling.  In situations where there are deemed to be few security threats, Hart often surveys a secondary gas giant or an interesting secondary world.  Hart carries no merchant adventurers but its crew is well-suited to orbital surveying.  The ship's launch is also often used to ferry merchant adventurers among other ships of the Expedition.

Trader Wandering Solstice

Trader Wandering Solstice[ᚦ]

The Wandering Solstice is a Voyageur-class trader.  The ship has accommodations for six crew and twelve passengers with a couple of single-occupancy staterooms and double-occupancy staterooms for most crew and passengers.  (The ship's original low berths have been converted into a sickbay.)  The ship has extensive cargo space and is armed with single pulse laser turrets.  The streamlined ship has fuel scoops for skimming unrefined fuel from a gas giant and a fuel purification plant.

Crew consists of the ship commander/gunner (Cornet Tavleendottir), pilot/navigator (sergeant), two engineers (corporal), gunner's mate (trooper), and ship's medic (corporal) and twelve merchant adventurers.

The principal role of Wandering Solstice is Expedition support.  The ship carries extensive supplies in its cargo holds, including spare components for critical systems of the ships of the Expedition (one of Wandering Solstice's engineers is responsible for Expedition ship maintenance).  Wandering Solstice is able to deliver its merchant adventurers directly to a world's surface; the band complement is slightly smaller but similar in composition to that of Endeavour.

Notes:
^[ᚠ] Original illustration by William H. Keith, Jr. (of Type C Mercenary Cruiser) which appeared in the Imperial Encyclopedia.  No endorsement of The Cleaved Helm has been made or is implied.
^[ᚡ] Unless otherwise indicated, the UWP values for Size, Atmosphere and Hydrosphere are those from the Traveller⁵ Second Survey as reported in The Spinward Marches: Second Survey.  All other values (Starport, Population, Government, Law and Technology) have been created specifically for The Cleaved Helm campaign era.
^[ᚢ] Original illustration by Jennel Jaquays (of Gazelle-class close escort) which appeared in Supplement 9: Fighting Ships.  No endorsement of The Cleaved Helm has been made or is implied.
^[ᚣ] Unless otherwise indicated, Stellar Data is from the Traveller⁵ Second Survey as reported in The Spinward Marches: Second Survey.
^[ᚤ] In the Classic era Spinward Marches Campaign (1985), in the Rebellion era Imperial Encyclopedia (1987), and in the New Era Regency Sourcebook (1995), stellar data for Hart was "M9V M4D."  On the other hand, it is "K9V M4V" in The Spinward Marches: Second Survey (2016), reflecting data revised in the "T5 Second Survey."  The revision of the stellar data from "M9V M4D" to "K9V M4V" aligns with the "T5 Second Survey Adjustments" criteria to fix "M class [primary] stars to a minimum of M4 if the [main] world is habitable" and to replace "dwarf (D) class stars with M class stars."
    An M9V star does not have a Habitable Zone but a K9V star has a Habitable Zone (in "Orbit 0").  In this case, with no atmosphere or hydrosphere, Hart itself is not habitable regardless of its location with respect to its primary star's Habitable Zone.  Nevertheless, reflecting the general preference for Second Survey information, those values for Hart's primary and secondary stars are used here.
    In the alternative Classic era Behind the Claw (1998), Hart is identified as "the largest moon of the [system's single] gas giant."  At the same time, Hart is not identified in the Secondary Survey information as being either a "Twilight Zone" (Tz) world — where it would be located separately in "Orbit 0" or "Orbit 1" — or a Satellite (Sa) world — where it would orbit the gas giant or another large, rocky body world in the system.  It seems unlikely that a small, airless — and waterless — world orbiting by itself would be the main world in the system, especially as the single gas giant, being the only source of naturally-occurring unrefined fuel in the system, would be a key destination for transiting starships.
    Therefore, Hart is assumed to be orbiting the gas giant as described in Behind the Claw.  Furthermore, the gas giant is assumed to be located in "Orbit 0," making it tidally-locked and therefore somewhat unusual.  Hart can then potentially serve as a useful location from which to assist in wilderness refuelling and to study the tidally-locked gas giant.
^[ᚥ] In the Classic era Spinward Marches Campaign and in the Rebellion era Imperial Encyclopedia, the UWP values for Aroundight were "446" and the stellar data was "M8V," while they are "546" and "G8V" in The Spinward Marches: Second Survey, reflecting data revised in the "T5 Second Survey."  (In the New Era Regency Sourcebook, the UWP data was "446," matching the Classic and Rebellion era data, while the stellar data was "G8V," matching the Second Survey data.)  The revision of the stellar data from "M8V" to "G8V" aligns with the "T5 Second Survey Adjustments" criterion to fix "M class [primary] stars to a minimum of M4 if the [main] world is habitable," while the increase in the world size from "4" to "5" aligns with the adjustments criterion to increase "the size of worlds with thin or better atmospheres to match the physics that small worlds can't hold atmospheres."  The adjusted Secondary Survey data are used here.
^[ᚦ] Original illustration by William H. Keith, Jr. (of Type-A free trader) which appeared in The Traveller Book.  No endorsement of The Cleaved Helm has been made or is implied.
^[ᚧ] UWP and stellar data for Svavasorm is consistent across all data sources but the alternative Classic era Behind the Claw notes that the world has an "industrial pollutant taint," indicating that its atmospheric taint is artificial, the product of it being an Industrial world in the Classic era.  Because Svavasorm has not yet been settled in The Cleaved Helm campaign era, it is assumed that this artificial atmospheric taint does not (yet) exist, and the Atmosphere UWP value has been adjusted from "9" (dense, tainted) to "8" (dense).

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