Someone was talking about wanting a "3I Sherlock" I realized that this is from the old server, and thus might not be in the archives... ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jeffrey Schwartz <schwartz.jeffrey@gmail.com> Date: Mon, Jul 8, 2013 at 12:09 PM Subject: Re: [TML] That Holmes Anthology To: The Traveller Mailing List <tml@travellercentral.com> On Mon, Jul 8, 2013 at 10:15 AM, Timothy Collinson <timothy.collinson@port.ac.uk> wrote: > > It did, at the very least, set me thinking about a Travelleresque Holmes > set in Third Imperium, but I realized it would "just" be another detective > story and what I really like about SH etc is the setting/atmosphere - as > well as the terrific character of course. The 'Sherlock' series has shown > it can be done and done very well in a modern setting, but I don't think > I'm up to that level of ability for a Traveller version! Still, if someone > tackled it... I'd be interested! > Thoughts on a 3I Holmes: (Putting names in quotes, since they should be changed some) Family scandal that's not commonly known: his great-great(as needed) grandfather "Vernet" was involved in Psionics before the Edict came down. The family may still be, given that two of the Institute's locations were 're-legalized'. The "Sherlockian Mind" is a variant of clairvoyance. Sherlock is addicted to a 7% solution of Special, the liquid/injectable psi-boost drug. When he doesn't get it on a regular basis, he falls into an Alzheimer-ish "sundowning" that leads to depression and eventually a catatonic state. He is a talented (insert Vilani word: cube-dj, player of music) but prefers to compose music that most people find creepy/eerie. He has a brother named "Mycoft" who is in Imperial Intel.. and is his 'handler'. He is aware of the psi/drug issue, and while he does not have the problem himself, understands it since other family members have had it. He has pulled strings to keep the gov't off his brother's back, but as part of that has arranged for him to meet and befriend an ex-Army doctor named "Watson" Langdale Pike is a TAS news reporter who is researching the whole "Psi/Vernet" story, and is convinced the 3I is using Psi's for different operations. He is on the trail of Sherlock, with the intent to expose him and thus become a household name in reporting. (Think of him as something like "Jack McGee" from the Incredible Hulk. ). On occasion, Sherlock leaves tid-bits around to nudge Pike into writing stories that are useful in flushing out badguys. Sherlock has a cousin-nth-degree whose ancestor , when the 3I outlawed Psionics, defected to the Zho. Said cousin has a sort of 'sibling rivalry' or 'branch of family rivalry' which has driven him to Zho Covert Ops, with a special penchant for giving Sherlock a hard time. ImpIntel has code named him "Moriarty". One of Moriarty's first ops was an attempt to lure Sherlock over to the Zho through the use of a 'honeypot' (a woman who seduced Sherlock) named "Irene". Holmes fell in love with her, then realized the plot, and now has a deep distrust of women and is pretty sure he'll never fall in love again.... but he also hates Moriarty for the emotional hurt and trauma. Mycroft supports his brother's dislike of Moriarty, because that is useful to the 3I. He has assigned a Scout named "Baker" who has an Irregular record of service to make use of his ship to take Sherlock and Watson in pursuit of Moriarty's operations in the sector. Baker's ship "Street Wise" is one of a limited production run of 200d-ton scout ships. It is the 21st of the series, and has been through two upgrades, now having all "Bravo" refits, and thus the tail number is 221-B, and it is sometimes refered to as "221-B, Baker's Street" The crew of the Streetwise is : Capt. Doyle Baker, a 46 year old Scout. A bit of a ruffian. Mrs. Hudson: 64 years old, retired Navy, widow to a Navy officer. Steward/Gunner. She has decent cooking skills, except for breakfast. Shinwell "Porky" Johnson : 22 year old Marine with a penchant for smuggling things and generally committing sundry minor offenses to the point where the Imperial Marines are glad he's been detached to act as muscle/bodyguard. Toby : Vargr engineer with a knack for forensic technofiddling Billy Baynes: 40, IISS, Ship's Engineer... and on the books as IISS Security/Covert Ops. He is the official "arresting officer" . He's a really good engineer, but he's also possessed of an analytical mind and a gift with computers that lets him keep up with Sherlock on investigations. He doesn't have the Psi "spark" that pushes Holmes over the top, though... so he does run into occasional dead ends. -------- "A Scandal in _________" (Need subsector name.....) The Streetwise makes planetfall on Felstien (or better name) and Sherlock is approached by the Noble (Baron Ormstein) who has the starport a fief. The Noble is engaged to be married, but photographs of him with a woman he knew a couple years back have been delivered along with a blackmail note. Sherlock realizes the woman is Irene, the same Zho seductress that Moriarty sicced on him... Fearful that should the strictly principled family of his fiancée learn of this impropriety the marriage would be called off he had sought to recover a bracelet that he gave Irene - said bracelet has his family crest and sundry other identifying marks, and it would be definitive proof that the pictures are not fakes. Holmes disguises himself in the livery of one of the Baron's men and delivers the reply to the blackmail demand - since they don't want anyone hacking computers, all these messages are handwritten on paper, and hand-delivered. The message is delivered to the law offices of one "Godfrey Norton" who explains to Holmes that "I have no idea what my client is up to, but I am retained to handle the messages. " In the course of the conversation, and via a bit of spying/eavesdropping, Holmes learns that Norton types the messages into his computer and emails them to his client via a special email encryption program. Holmes returns to "221B Baker's Street" and meets with Watson and the rest of the crew. Mr. Baynes uses his hacking skills to enter Norton's computer, with the intent of tracing where the emails are sent. He finds and disassembles the "special crypto program" and finds that all it does is place a brief personal ad on the local equivalent of Craigslist, which does _not_ include the message or any encrypted form of it. It scrubs the message itself and never sends it anywhere. Holmes realizes that the point of the "crypto program" is to alert someone of when Norton _starts typing_. At that point, Holmes realizes, Moriarty (or his agent) can telepathically fetch the message from Norton's brain. Pondering further, Holmes realizes that this telepath cannot have that much range , and is probably in the same office building as Norton. A new message, with demands for more information about the starport and its security, arrives at the Baron's, and Holmes arranges for Watson to make the delivery of the reply... while Capt Doyle surreptitiously sets off a small IED in the office building's atrium and yells "Fire!!" a couple minutes after the hand-off. Watson knows that the diversion is going to happen, but Holmes does not tell him _why_ As the building is evacuated, Holmes stays on the street corner, watching, and follows the only man carrying a briefcase and a satchel out of the building. The man leads him down a series of streets as Baynes tracks Holmes. Arriving at a hotel, Holmes stops and waits. Doyle, Porky and Baynes arrive, but loiter around the lobby, apart from Sherlock, who slips into a fresher and changes disguises. Meanwhile, upstairs - the Zho agent meets up with Irene, and tells her 'the jig is up - they're on to us!' He was in the middle of 'listening in' on Norton when the fire alarm went off , and went ahead and scanned the other people on that floor of the office. Sensing Watson's nervous emotional state, he scanned deeper and picked up "flush out the Zho spy" and decided it was time to leave. As the agent and Irene flee the hotel, Baynes poses as a hotel patron checking out.. and then accuses Porky of trying to lift his wallet. Doyle plays the part of Porky's partner, and a fight breaks out, and spreads across the lobby as other patrons are hit by thrown luggage or are run into by the trio or by hotel security. The Zho agent and Irene slink around the edge of the fight. Porky throws an Imperial Tourister makeup case at Baynes, narrowly missing him but hitting an old man with dark glasses and the white cane/red tip used by the blind. Said old man stumbles, bumps into Irene, and then falls. In her hurry to leave, she hops around him and the Zho and she escape. As the melee winds down, Doyle and Porky are arrested.. but Baynes shows his ID and says,"I'll take them into my custody, officer," then leads them to the Street, where they find Watson, waiting for Holmes. An old blind man arrives at the Street, asking if they will give him passage to Green Hills... Watson begins rebuffing the man, telling him 'this isn't a merchant ship' before Baynes realizes it's a disguised Holmes. Holmes doffs the glasses and fake beard, then hands Watson the bracelet and asks Mrs Hudson to please arrange a meeting with the Baron.
