Hello all,

As 20018 comes to a close I want to thank all of you for all the material that has be shared with me here on the TML and for putting up with a daft old retired submarine sailor over the years. I hope that those who have lost loved ones can take the time to reflect on the time they had with those who have gone before and feel the spirit of love.

Next my wandering thoughts go to three people for more thanks in keeping me with things to do: Jeff Zeitlin for his efforts on Freelance Traveller which is one of the highlights of my day, Bruce Johnson for taking the time to keep the TML up and running, and finally Timothy Collinson for his bibliographies and updates on his gaming sessions.

I hoping that Jeff Zeitlin's request for new material has borne fruit and now has enough to put out a several future issues of Freelance Traveller. The request that he made reminded me of the challenge made back in 2008 for hazardous cargo and of Andre Norton's stories about Free Traders in general and the author's Solar Queen series in particular. The one title in the series that came to mind was "Plague Ship" which inspired me to try and come up with a submission to Freelance Traveller. Unfortunately, my efforts have not fared well other than to repeat Andre Norton's story. Since I'm stumped and hopefully with Jeff Zeitlin's support to have the TML members come up with material based on "Plague Ship".

In short the crew of the "Solar Queen" had taken over the contract for a recently opened world from another Free Trader whose ship and crew had been taken over by criminals who where using a Forerunner device. Prior to going missing the other Free Trader had discovered a gem similar to amber that became very popular. During their time on planet they successfully defeated a take-over attempt by a large Trade Corporation and figured out natural materials like catnip and cedar with pleasant aromas  would work in getting the gems. Four of the Solar Queen's crew went on a hunt and one of this party thought that a particular type of tree analog would also probably be a viable product for carving and furniture. The crew loads the wood in a cargo hold. Unfortunately, the trees also carried several native critters that had chameleon like abilities. One of the critters was able to get into the ship's hydroponics compartment and during the trip was able to incapacitate all but the four who went on the hunt. When the Solar Queen returned to Earth's system they where tagged as a plague ship which sealed all ports against them. Of course the Solar Queen overcomes the problems but because of how the four handled the events lost the contract.

The submission idea would be how would a "Plague Ship" be handled in Traveller.

Finally, I am hoping that 2019 has more ups than downs for everyone.

Best wishes always and another thank you.

Tom Rux