Jacklabs
Jacklabs
In an age where genetic engineering can be done with a "homejack" kit, some people want to go beyond hair color, skin tone, eye color, freckles and level of hairyness. Sure, you can wait 2 days for your new horns to grow in, or your back ridge to fully evolve within a week, but that's mainly for high society and the average citizen.
What some want though, is quite different, and there are two places to get that. A highly restricted, liscensed and monitored Mercenary Jacklab, or an underground or "gridless" jacklab.
A Gridless (as in "off the grid", slang for black ops, criminal or other quasi-legal or illegal operation) Jacklab can vary from lab to lab. One may be a gleaming neosteel operation with surgeons who have worked for corporations or government agencies who are now blacklisted for other reasons, while the next may be in the back of a garbage scow, packed in and using ancient equipment, staffed by three incompetants who will organleg you in hot second. Prices vary from Jacklab to Jacklab also. The skill and equipment will have very little to do with the prices.
Suprisingly, it's the Ratjacks who charge the most for what limited services they can provide.
Gaining access to a Griddrop (slang for high-tech, but abandoned through a mistake or corporate bankruptcy) Jacklab is hard to do, and a Gridless Jacklab above a Ratjack's burrow is even more difficult. Those places are hidden, staffed by the best, and value thier security. Corporations will gladly stomp on another corps Gridless Jacklab, or take over a Griddrop Jacklab, and the government will be pleased to stomp out a criminal Jacklab. Nobody likes Ratlabs.
First of all, the character will either have to gain the confidence and trust of a government or SuperCorps or make heavy connections into the thriving criminal underworld of Confederate Space. This is NOT easy, requiring bribery, diplomacy and favor calling.
Then, they will have to travel to the clinic in question. This can be difficult, or easy. In the case of the mythical Ebonlight Jacklab, it supposedly sat in the event horizon of a black hole in the Sol Subsector of the Terran Sector.
Lastly, the expense of what they want done. This can range from nearly the cost of a starship, to a few hundred credits, and can be as genetically invasive as adding a few blue spots to rebuilding the entire body.
The following are the types of Jacklabs, and what types of services each may offer.
Ratlab/Ratjack
These are small, scummy little operations, spending very little on hygeine, security, or proper medical appartus. Most likely, it has a small gene-therapy recombiner, a packet of inert "denatured viruses" for breeding, and a small amount of nano-genetweakers for delicate work.
They are often staffed by a doctor (Who will be using knoware, skills degraded by controlled substance abuse, or be just guessing) [4-6 ranks of Treat Injury, 2 ranks in Craft, Genetics, 2 ranks in Craft, Nanotech] but more than likely just some guy with an aptitude for the work. These lowrent, crappy little facilities will be guarded on by 4-8 over-jacked heavies, and often, the 'doctor' will simply huck the patient into an alley once the injection is complete.
Services
Knuckle-spike implants
This provides (1d4+STR bonus/slashing) lethal damage from an unarmed strike.
Normal Wealth Check DC: 15
Retractable: 17
Epidermal Reenforcement I-III
This provides the growth of a thicker, tougher skin that resists blows, piercing and slashing. This provides a DR of 1/- per level.
Wealth Check: 17+1 per level.
Ironails
This brings the bodies inherent iron and weds it to the fingernails. This gives the owner a 1d3 (slashing) lethal damage attack.
Purchase DC: 8
Class I-III Skeletal Enhancement
This reenforces the bones with iron from the repiants bloodstream, providing them with a heavier bone structure at the benefit of being able to withstand heavier thrust G-Force and higher G planets. The character can withstand +1 G force per level of skeletal enhancement, at the cost of -1 ft of speed and +10% weight.
Purchase DC: 20
Darkvision
A simple advance to place a lining of reflective cells inside the eyes and increase the rods over cones structure of the eyes, much like a cat, the eyes also give out a soft photoluminesce in the purple, green, red or yellow range.
This grants the reciepent Darkvision 30 ft. Ratjacks are blinded by bright light, acting as if they were
blinded while in any light brighter than twilight.
Purchase DC: 12
Enhanced Healing
This enables the possessor to heal at double the normal rate by enhancing the cellular reproduction, white blood cell response, coagulation. Unfortunately, a Ratjack job cranks the coagulation factor up to high to compensate for the tailored cells that normally react to damage control endorphins, resulting in anytimes a Fortitude Save is required due to a massive damage check or extreme physical excertion/punishment, they must make another Fortitude Save (DC: 15+Con Bonus) or suffer a heart attack, reducing them immediately to -1 HP.
Purchase DC: 15
Enhanced Attributes Level I-III
By increasing the folds of the brain, or adjusting the musculature or neurons,
modern medical science can adjust anything about a person. Ratjacks do this quite often, and it is the most common adjustment out there. However, for each attribute jacked up, they suffer 1 HP of PERMANENT damage per point. Additionally, every level, the reciepent must make Fortitude Save (DC: 15+level), that if they SUCEED, they lose take 1 HP of permanent damage per enhanced attribute. If they fail, they gain HP normally.
Purchase DC: 9+Level
Drawback of a Ratjack
Since the nanobots and genetweaker virii were not custom tailored for the customer, they often suffer serious side-effects. For every enhancement, roll once of the Disadvantageous Mutation chart.
Gridropped Jacklab
Often, in the shadow SuperCorp War going on, a lab will lost and forgetten as a division loses it's files, or a small, subsidiary is destroyed. In some rare cases, the TCMC or the TCN will create a medical facility, and then abandon it for reasons that vary from fiscal overrun to shifting boundaries, to war, to an Admiral/Colonel getting sacked before his privately funded hospital can be completed and staffed.
These labs are referred to as "Gridropped", meaning that for some reason, they fell off "The Grid" and are run by shadow sources such a powerful Merc or Organized Crime syndacites, rival companies performing a Gridless Op, or even a self-sufficent Jacklab that runs off it's own profits.
Highly professional Gridropped labs are ignored by the Confederate government as "not our problem" unless they begin building legions of UberSoldat's (In the case of the Amperhelion Lab in the Orion Sector that was crushed by a full division of TCMC droptroops) and many planetary governments feel the same.
For the most part, Gridropped laboratories are staffed by competant doctors that may have lost thier practice liscense for as varying reasons as: Illegal sentient experimentation, Illegal Jacking, Perfomance of a surgical operation under the influence, too many malpractice suits, or possession of illegal/stolen technology. Some doctors even have had their liscenses by local governments for being of the wrong political leaning. Occassionaly, a merc-surgeon, a TCN "Jacker" or a TCMC "Jacker" prefers to stay off The Grid rather than go into normal practice.
The doctors are usually very qualified:
Computer Use: 6+
Knowledge (Genetic Engineering): 6+
Craft (Nanotech): 6+
Craft (Genetic Engineering): 6+
Treat Injury: 8+
And very well equipped:
Nanoguidance System
Cyberlinkage (Medical)
Knoware (Medical, Cybernetic, Genetic) Level III or higher
The Gridropped Jacklabs often feature the following in thier facilities:
Forcegrowth Cloning Vats
VR Surgical Simulator Bays
Stasis Labs
P-5 Series Countermeasures
Genetic Recombination/Engineering Labs
Nantotech Surgical Labs
While anywhere from 1-50 years out of date, the technology is impressive and expensive, and heavily guarded. Ex-TCMC assault troops often find work guarding these facilities. The Mistletoe Nebula Jacklab was guarded by a decommissioned and refit MacArthur Class Battleship, a stolen Yamamoto Class Supercarrier, 3 decommissioned and refit TCN Detriot Class Assault Frigates, over 28 wings of fighters, no less than 8 decommissioned and refit TCN Kyoto Class Destroyers, 2 Planetary Assault Cyborgs, and nearly a division of ex-TCMC Assault troops. Rather than go through a messy assault upon a lab that had been lost in a paperwork transfer, the BASS chose to negotiate and eventually hire the salvors of the station rather than fight them.
The following is a sample of the services that the Gridropped and Gridless Jacklabs can provide:
Body Reconstruction
If the body is too heavily damage for normal grafting techniques, or has gotten too old to be serviceable, another one can be regrown, and the mind transferred to it while it is still in growth stasis. Creating a clone for someone over a certian limit is a sure way to bring the wrath of the Confederacy down upon a lab, and not even the most heavily guarded jacklab will risk doing this.
Alternately, a whole body can be constructed, and reflexes implanted as well as knowledge, to create an instant soldier. While this is not illegal, outside the BASS, it is considered immoral and wasteful. Creating these often annoys the BAS, who have a vitural monopoly on such creations, so Gridropped Jacklabs are careful to do these rarely.
Purchase DC: 25 (for a new body), 20+enhancements for a BAS.
Motor Reflex Implantation
By nanite and electorchemical repitition, a body can be "trained" to have a certian reflexes ingrained within muscle memory or reflexive reaction. This can be used to improve reaction time, instill certian habits, or allow something to be done without thought.
Motor Reflex Implantation can improve a single skill by 1 point, provide the Quickdraw, Rapid Reload or Improved Initiave Feats. It can also be something non-game mechanics related as being able to put on a survival suit when a certian tone goes off, or diving to the ground due to sound.
Purchase DC:
- Improved Initiave: 25
- Quickdraw: 20
- Rapid Reload (One type of weapon only): 15
- Skill Point: 20
- Simple, quick skill (1 round or less): 20
- Simple, long skill (1 minute or more: 25+1 per minute
- Complex, quick skill (1 round or less): 35
- Complex, long skill (1 minute or more): 40+1 per minute
Enhanced Neural Motor Response Level I-VI
By streamlining the neural cabling on the motor functions, as well providing "dedicated nerve trunks" for certian things such as cardiopulmanary/respiration and other autonamic responses, a persons action speed can be rapidly speeded up. This provides a DEFINATE combat edge, and is one of the most common (para)military jacks out there.
For each level the character gains the following feats according to level:
- Level I: Improved Initiave
- Level II: +1 to initiave, Lightning Reflexes
- Level III: Dodge, Quick Draw
- Level IV: +1 to initiave, Combat Reflexes
- Level V: Heroic Surge, Quick Reload
- Level VI: +1 to initiave, Reactive Shooter
Unfortunately, since reflexes do not often go off of full data, the character must roll two dice for initiave each round, and take the worst of the two rolls, each round.
Purchase DC: 35 + 15 per level. (Min 50, max 125)
Zero/Low/High-G Jacking
This increases bone density, muscle density and strength, increased heart strength, supplementary "pumps" on the soles of the feet, blood thinning, etc. This can be applied to chage the character into a Heavy Worlder/Low G/Zero G Template.
Purchase DC: 30
Accellerated Healing Level I-V
By strengthening the immune system and the bodies physical repair systems, the character can be given the Fast Healing ability. This is often fairly common in the successful mercenaries. The character gains the Fast Healing 1-5 ability depending on the level purchased.
Purchase DC: 40+10 per level (50 min, 90 max)
Tissue/Neural Regeneration Level I-V
Old genetic technology before weapons got to the point that they could blow through even this, the Gridropped and Gridless labs offer this for small mercenary units, highly paid specialists, etc. These labs will not do more than a handfull of these modifications a year, for fear of being accused of UberSoldat creation.
This allows the body to perform nearly miraculous healing upon itself, as one organ is modified to create nanites rather than cells, based upon the bodies own mineral intake.
Combined with a modified Soulchip, this allows a person to recover from anything but overkill, as well as shrug off damage that would kill your average citizen. Every scanner in the known universe has the ability to check for this modification, one of the reasons the military and government have ditched it centuries ago.
The character is considered to have Regeneration 1-5 (depending upon level), but must consume as much food in addition to normal diet as the rough percentage of damage they have healed from (Consider triple normal food consumption is that's too much trouble), and they may not consume merely violet rations. Characters who get this jack may not get further cyberware or further jacks.
Purchase DC: 70+10 per level
Homejack Kits
The Nova Wars equivelant of hair dye, nail polish and makeup, the Homejack kits are hot sellers out of the BASS, heavily liscensed and regulated. They provide neutral nanites that flood the system, and a series of small, microsopic nanite bays that are applied via a patch to the skin, are applied via a gel, or an eyedropper. The last image is held by the small storage batteries aboard the applicator/storage unit, and can be recalled up to 72 hours after use.
The nanites take genetic samples of the customer, take it back to the microscopic laboratories, then tailor white blood cells to perform the necessary operations upon the targetted cells. The white blood cells, nanite factories and nanites are passed through the system naturally, without problems.
Hair/Fur Coloring
The nanites adjust the hair coloring by putting trace minerals in the root growth cells, as well as redo the existing hair strands. The color can range from natural, to metallic, to varying shades of color. The user chooses the hair style via the small computer on the patch, with thier image hovering above the patch adjustable by a simple touch. Once it begins, the selection computer devotes all of it's power to doing it, so it cannot be changed.
Hair color change takes 15 minutes.
Purchase DC: 8
Retinal Coloring
Coming as eye-drops, the retinal color pattern is chosen by interfacing with the small holoprojecting computer in the squeeze-bulb. Once dropped in, the change occurs within 5 minutes.
Purchase DC: 5
Eye Coloring
Coming as eye-drops, the retinal and surrounding color and pattern is chosen by interfacing with the small holoprojecting computer in the squeeze-bulb. Once dropped in, the change occurs within 10 minutes.
Purchase DC: 7
Skin Coloring
By adjusting mellalin production, or enabling it, as well as doping the epidermal cells with certian minerals, chemicals and crystals, the users skin color can be changed to everything from transparent to a scintillating cascade of color. The design is chosen by using the embedded computer and holosystem in the squeeze tube that this gel comes in.
The coloration takes 30 minutes, and lasts for 1 week.
Purchase DC: 10
Basic Features Change
By shaving away or adding cartiledge, bone, fat and skin thickness, as well as repairing scars, etc, this gel can totally make over someone's cosmetic appearance. The process takes 48 hours, and is minorly painful. It does 1d4 points of nonlethal damage, and no natural healing can take place during the first 24 hours, and any nanite treatment, Treat Injury Check, or medical treatment will not sure the 1d4 points of damage. Basic Features Change cannot heal damage.
Purchase DC: 12
Dental Adjustment
This is a simple pad that is bitten down upon, and the nanites adjust the dental array and appearance within 20 minutes. This is often used for cosmetic repair as well as maintenance.
Purchase DC: 6
Nail Coloring
This laquer is applied, and a "smart stylus" is used to apply either netdropped patterns, user created patterns, or basic colors. The laquer lasts for 1 week before the piezoelectric crystals embedded in the laquer crack beyond use, failing to power the nanites that change thier color.
Purchase DC: 3
Blood Coloring
This floods the bloodstream with nanites that adjust the visual spectrum color of the blood. Often used with very light, or transparent skin coloration, the blood coloring can be a work of art. It takes 10 minutes to fully take affect, but only lasts for 2 hours.
Purchase DC: 9
Fixjack Items
Home remedies have come a long way since leeches and herbal teas, and while herbal teas are still in use, the leeches have long since been replaced by nanite.
Planets that use "soup" often provide some of the following (marked by italicized names) as part of thier "quality of life" to thier citizens. Purchase DC's are for single applications outside of the "soup".
Bownfuze
A nanite infusion that searches out and repairs cracks and breaks in bone structure. They are limited to only fractured bones, real breaks with a gap of larger than 1.5mm cannot be repaired by Bownfuze. The repair takes 20 minutes to complete.
Purchase DC: 10
Payneze
By stimulating endorphin production and "shocking" inflamed nerves into quietescence, Payneze is usually applied via dermal patch or salve. It numbs the area as far as pain goes, but still allows mild sensation and full use.
Purchase DC: 5
JJ's Aid
Capable of fixing small injuries, this repairs approximately 1 hp of damage a minute, and is capable of stabalizing a critically wounded person. It also will attempt to close bleeding wounds, seal off ruptured arteries and stop screaming nerve trunks.
Purchase DC: 12
Fixit Patch
A fixit patch is roughly the size of a quarter, and allows nanobots to pierce the skin, get a diagnostic blueprint from the receptors personal ID implant, and go to work. Each patch can fix 2d8 points of damage. Only one patch can be used per injury.
DocSpider Class I-V
This small robot is capable of doing emergency surgery. It won't be pretty, but it sure will keep you alive. The DocSpider is roughly the size of a toaster, and will clamp it's legs around the chest of a patient. In the case of a dangerous atmosphere, it will use a jolt of electiricity to stop the diaphram from functioning (stopping respirtation) and oxygenize the blood itself.
Treat as a character with the Surgery feat, 4 ranks of Treat Injury per level (maximum of 20 ranks), a medikit and the ability to treat poison.
Purchase DC: 5+10 per class. +10 for one with Xenosurgery skill.
