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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Water Bob" data-source="post: 6196655" data-attributes="member: 92305">THE GHOST PLANETI. The Rings of the Ghost PlanetStardate 26.06.4. While on stellar mapping duty, the Enterprise discoveres an interesting phenomenon: a set of rings, like those around Saturn, but with no planet in the ring's center.Closer observation will reveal sensor interference. A new type of radiation is playing havok with the sensors and blocking the Enterprise's "eyes", keeping it from seeing the planet that must be at the center of those rings.The disturbance from the radiation is so strong that the only method of detecting the planet is to take the Enterprise into the ring system--to punch through, so to speak, for a closer look.This scene takes place on the ship's bridge. The GM should play up the mystery, Star Trek style, and give the ship's science officer a few task rolls with the ship's sensors, revealing details slowly. Frustrate or intrigue the ship's captain, if at all possible. Do a scene with the department heads in the briefing room, if necessary. Have some intriguing details about the rings ready as rewards for good scensor throws or information from NPC science department types who may participate in informing the captain. The rings emit a lot of an unidentified radiation, and that radiation is deadly after prolonged exposure. This radiation has a side effect in that is scrambles Federation sensor technology. The sensors show, simply, "nothing" in the center of the rings, where the planet should be. And, that is the primary reason it can be deduced that sensors are being blocked. By boosting power to the ship's sensors and moving into orbit around the unseen planet, placing the ship between the rings and the world, there is a chance that the sensors will be strong enough to detect the world.Besides the radiation, a strong magnetic field is detected, which is stronger at the planet's poles than it is at its equator. It's not quite on the scale of degenerate matter (Black Hole), but the field is strong enough that, if the ship's helmsman attempts entry at the world's poles, attempting to avoid the ring debris, there is a chance that the magnetic field will "push" the Enterprise into the ring field. Whether this happens should be determined by the Helmsman's throws when the ship moves closer.Anoter aspect of the rings is that they are heavy in copper. This is a red herring meant to screw with the heads of the players.Using the transporter is out of the question, not only because of the radiation interference but also because the transporter chief cannot lock onto a landing point.Using a shuttle is highly dangerous and will probably be ruled out. But, if the ship's captain refuses to risk his ship but will risk a shuttle, then the GM should make the probability of success very low--with a high chance of shuttle passenger death. If the shuttle does succeed, communications with the Enterprise will be blocked by the radiation (and that rules out a remote piloted shuttle--or even a probe).</blockquote>

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