HARM: Horseshoe crabs Attack Ranga’s Methods

Mission

The team are hired by Pumice construction to investigate the deadly infestation of bipedal Horseshoe crabs (HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS) on Lantau Island and Chek Lap Kok. Pumice construction had started building the Hong Kong International airport on Chek Lap Kok, this has been stopped due to the infestation.

What is going on?

Rangi Doshi (CGC SCIENTIST) and his team of CGC SCIENTISTS have created the HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS. One of the breeding FEMALE HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS was blessed by all four of the Primeval deities, it then escaped the facility via the sewers. It became a BROODING HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANT, producing many HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS. It named itself Farrier and its brood scour the city, looking to rescue their kin.

Quarantine and martial law

Lantau Island and Chek Lap Kok are being quarantined from the rest of Hong Kong with martial law in place. The military on the island only consists of SAE INFANTRY with Beijing BJ212s (Light util. vehicle, 12HP, 1 ARMOR). The military have rounded up all citizens to Tung Chung, a fishing village turned town due to the new labour force for airport construction. None of the citizens are allowed to leave the town.

The team has special dispensation to take care of the menace but the military and others will not look kindly if they are caught snooping in the affairs of government or other companies. Pumice construction will provide them with a translator who knows the main language of the team and Cantonese (the main language of Hong Kong), the translator will not leave Tung Chung.

Clues

There are various clues that can help the team figure out what is going on. Please include your own if you would like.

Sightings & attacks

The FEMALE HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS are sighted in many areas but there is a noticeably higher amount near hospitals and graveyards. They have also been sighted, stalking the sick and elderly.

Surprisingly they are not that violent, seemingly only attacking when provoked. However, there are some humans they have attacked without provocation. If the team looks up the victim’s health records they will see that most were diagnosed with gout. This is because Farrier has been tortured by Dr. Ranga Doshi in the past and she remembers the smell of gout on him.

Food poisoning

A local restaurant, famous for only serving shellfish based meals is being closed down by the police as patrons have died of food poisoning. Some victims who were admitted to Yan Oi Tong (The University Of Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Centre For Training And Research) are being successfully treated. Those who went to North Lantau Hospital or Tung Chung Health Centre did not survive.

If they confront the owner or get information from the police they will find out the owner has been serving the HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANT meat. Their usual supply of canned horseshoe meat currently has a shortage. Unknown to them their supply was from the CGC who’s prized spawner (Farrier) escaped.

If the team successfully investigates at Yan Oi Tong they will find out the patients were treated for pufferfish poisoning (tetrodotoxin). One of the CGC scientists gave this advice to one of the doctors.

Medical conference

A medical conference was in force at one of Tung Chung’s hotels. Many medical researchers and doctors are now stuck during the quarantine. This keeps the nicest hotel out of the hands on evacuees and the military which they are more than happy to grumble about.

The large conference room has been changed into a disaster relief zone with many makeshift beds. The occupants are using the leftover posters as extra blankets. One poster is about Horseshoe crabs and how their blood is harvested to create compounds to help test vaccines. It was being presented by a PhD student of Dr. Ranga Roshi, based at Yan Oi Tong (The University Of Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Centre For Training And Research).

Environmental scientists

Environmental scientists are trying to map out the diversity of the island. They have been keeping track of the HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS movements. The player’s team may find them following the mutants around the Tung Chung and even outside of it, sneaking through a construction zone at the edge of the town.

The scientists have deduced they are some sort of hybrid between Atlantic horseshoe crabs and Mangrove horseshoe crabs. They have also deduced that the mutants are coming from the Mangrove forest west of Tung Chung. This is where Farrier is located.

Clogged sewers

There are issues with the sewers being clogged. This is due to the roe of the BROODING HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANT accumulating in the sewers. This is also where the FEMALE HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS hatch and emerge from.

Ranga and the CGC

Dr. Ranga Doshi (CGC SCIENTIST) and his team works for the CGC. They are responsible for the creation of the HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS. The CGC are powerful and the Hong Kong military and police will not take kindly to the team openly investigating them.

Dr. Doshi’s team carries out research in a hidden and secure floor below the basement of the Yan Oi Tong (The University Of Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Centre For Training And Research). Although they can speak Cantonese, they are so secretive they communicate and write in Hindi within the lab. The CGC specifically sent a Hindi team to Hong Kong for this reason.

Yan Oi Tong (The University Of Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Centre For Training And Research)

Dr. Ranga Doshi

Dr. Ranga Doshi is a well respected scientist of the CGC. He is a tired man with a limp due to his gout. He takes great care of his team and is a very likable man. However, he hates animals and enjoys inflicting pain on them. He is smart and hides his zoosadism, except when it comes to arthropods. He loves eating animals, especially shellfish. The only non meat food he eats are carb-based foods such as rice and bread to eat along with meat.

He is normally found in one of 6 places:

  1. His office: Taking calls, having one-on-one meetings, researching, preparing lectures etc. He can also be found sleeping in a temporary cot.
  2. Patrolling the lab: Although a nice boss in ways he tends to micromanage and change his mind often.
  3. Teaching: He gives lectures and tutorials within the lecture theatres and labs of the main hospital.
  4. Mingling: He will go to the hotel hosting the medical conference to mingle with other medical researchers.
  5. Restaurants: He always eats at restaurants.
  6. Spawning pen: He sometimes likes to find a newly spawned MUTANT HORSESHOE CRAB to torture alone.

Outside of his research lab he is always escorted by two CGC SECURITY members.

CGC staff

Dr. Doshi’s team consists of 2 types of staff:

The team can be found in the main hospital from time to time. The scientists help tutor students. All the staff take their breaks in the canteen and recreational rooms of the main hospital. Currently some are sleeping in the main hospital due to the quarantine and martial law.

Research

The team carries out research and experiments on:

  • Atlantic horseshoe crabs: collected for blood harvesting.
    • The blood contains amebocytes which are used to create LALs, used to test vaccines.
  • Mangrove horseshoe crabs: contain tetrodotoxin.
    • Lethal neurotoxin, the same that makes pufferfish, and blue-ringed octopuses so deadly.
    • If used correctly it can also be used as a treatment of cancer-associated pain.
    • May also be able to be used as a recreational drug, as seen by dolphins who get high on it via pufferfish.

The team genetically engineered the HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS. They have carried this out to get a variety of uses from them.

  • FEMALE HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS
    • Blood harvested for LALs
    • Roe is sold as food
    • Some used to spawn more HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS
    • Once no longer of use they are killed and their tetrodotoxin is harvested
  • MALE HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS
    • Fertilisers
    • Sold as meat as they do not contain tetrodotoxin

The team have also created a toxin that only kills the HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS. Dr. Doshi initially does not want to use it as it will taint the island’s water supply and most likely make its way into their research lab, killing their specimens.

Research floor

The CGC research floor is a large hallway branching off like a trident from the elevator. All rooms have large windows that allow a generous view into and from the hallway.

The CGC SCIENTISTS primarily work in the:

  • Research rooms: Tables with computers and notes along with a library of medical & zoology textbooks.
  • Dissection lab: Room to study the anatomy of Horseshoe crabs and the mutants.
  • Tetrodotoxin extraction: The scientists carry out tetrodotoxin extraction as it is too technical for the security staff.

The CGC SECURITY patrol the halls and work within the following rooms:

  • Spawning pen: Contains 6 dedicated cages for FEMALE HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS to produce new spawn. One cage has been ripped apart from the inside.
  • Harvesting room: Along the walls are tied up FEMALE HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS. Tubes are collecting their dark blue blood.
  • Roe prep: Roe are passed through a fine-mesh screen, salted and packed into metal tins, ready for sale.
  • Meat prep: Males are cleaned and cut. The meat is then shredded, refrigerated, and sent to a canning company.

There are no recreational rooms, staff having to use other floors for this. There are 2 toilets but one is out of service as it was ripped off the floor when the BROODING HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANT escaped. The exposed pipe has been blocked.

Farrier

Farrier is a BROODING HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANT. It has become intelligent and formed a hive mind with its children, aiming to find and rescue its brethren from the CGC. It is staying within the Mangrove forest west of Tung Chung (Hong Kong Wetland Park as of 2006). It does not remember where it escaped from, only that it smelt of human blood, the sick, and the dead. It sends out its daughters (FEMALE HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS) to search. It produces an abundance of offspring with 4 MALE HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS that were on its back when it escaped the lab.

The Mangrove forests are wetlands in coastal intertidal zones. They are named for the Mangroves that inhabit them. They are incredibly wet making travel by car or foot very difficult. If the team wants to explore the Mangrove forest they will most likely need a boat. They could fly by helicopter but will find it difficult to find Farrier’s nest due to the Mangrove canopy.

Resolution

Although the team could resolve this in many ways there are 2 main methods.

Kill Farrier

The most obvious method is to kill Farrier, the BROODING HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANT. If she is killed the hivemind will break and cannot be reformed. This will cause all the remaining HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANTS to become unintelligent and unorganised creatures that can be easily dealt with by the Hong Kong military. With this option the team may be able to talk with Dr. Doshi to gain his help in their plan. If, so and they successfully kill Farrier, he will reward the team with a choice of either a CGC body serum or a CGC mind serum

Help Farrier

The other method is to help Farrier, the BROODING HORSESHOE CRAB MUTANT. If the team encounters her she will telepathically communicate with them. She will ask they help her free her kin from the CGC. If they do, she will leave the island to go live within the oceans. She will reward the team with a blessed barnacle.

Blessed barnacle: Once per mission attach the barnacle surface to a hard surface. This causes many tennis ball sized barnacles to cover the surface. This may strengthen the surface and make it more climbable.

Mission completion

As long as they rid the islands of the MUTANT HORSESHOE CRAB infestation the team’s employer (Pumice construction) will be happy. They will reward the team with:

Type 79 submachine gun (1D6+1 DAMAGE, LIGHT)

LIGHT weapon tag: Weighs almost nothing. Grants +1 on REFLEXIVE rolls that involve this weapon. (F:UE)