Situation

To read to the players: The year is 2015, and a new space race is on. In the early years of the 21st century, the Chinese announced their intention to build a permanent base on the moon. With a well-funded space program, and taking advantage of Chinese industry's ability to manufacture high-tech equipment at low cost, they were ready to launch the first base-building expeditions by the beginning of the next decade. By 2011, the Chinese had succeeded in their goal of establishing a permanent presence on the moon, building a base on the floor of the Posidonius impact crater.

The Americans and the Russians, fearing that a moon base might give China a dangerous strategic advantage in the event of a nuclear war, launched their own joint program to establish a competing base shortly after learning of the Chinese initiative in 2006. In 2012, one year after the Chinese, they established their own base at the former site of the Russian Luna 24 landing in the "Sea of Crises."

Since the establishment of the Russo-American moon base, each year half of the team has been rotated out and a new group rotated in. In 2015, with tensions rising between America and China, just before the third rotation, contact with the moon base was suddenly lost, after a mysterious communication from Collin Dixon, the base's engineer, in which he was unable to say anything but "I believe the base is in serious danger" before communication was cut off. Fearing the worst, and with rumors of a possible Chinese attack, the third rotation was expedited, with preparations for a possible rescue evacuation.

You are each members of that expedition, on the Soyuz-Explorer shuttle. Your mission is to restore communications between mission control and the moon base, evaluate the situation, and effect whatever repairs or rescue are necessary.

The launch proceeds normally, but as the space shuttle prepares to make its touchdown near the moon base, there is a sudden, mysterious collision that forces Captain Ivan Dubovsky to make a crash landing. In the crash, the captain is killed and the shuttle disabled. Two of the marines are seriously injured -- too seriously to contemplate attempting to move them.

A brief survey of the situation reveals that the shuttle has crash landed on the southern rim of the Mare Crisium, approximately 30 miles from the base. Unfortunately, the long-range communications system on the shuttle has been damaged, though it could perhaps be repaired with supplies from the moon base. Co-pilot Sharon Mortensen, now in command of the expedition, decides to set out over land for the base. The medical officer, Dr. Dmitri Kuchinsky, volunteers to remain in the shuttle, whose life support systems are fortunately still intact, in order to care for the wounded Marines. Other team members sustained minor injuries, but after receiving first aid from the good doctor and marine combat medic Barney Pollacco, they are sufficiently well to join the expedition.

There are two moon rovers on the shuttle that you will use to drive to the base, equipped with most everything you might need for any contingency. You each don your life support suits, and arm yourselves with flash lights and neutron rifles. The neutron rifles were developed by the American military for space defense. They emit powerful and deadly beams of neutron radiation, which have the advantage of killing people but leaving buildings and machines intact -- a feature that is quite convenient on the moon, where your lives will literally depend on air-tight walls and functioning life-support machines.

From the Mare rim, it is possible to see the lights of Crisium Base glimmering eerily in the distance. It looks oddly peaceful from here, hardly like it is "in danger," though your instincts tell you otherwise.

The moon rovers are lightweight and not fast, moving at a top speed of 15 miles per hour. The two hour ride to the moon base gives you time to think. Perhaps too much time. As you near the base, you see no signs that there has been any kind of attack or military struggle. The cluster of hexagonal domes, connected by narrow tunnels, look intact. All the lights are on, so the nuclear power generator must be running. You notice that a moon rover has been left outside in an odd place, not properly parked. That seems strange, but not necessarily a sign of catastrophe. Marine Commander Ben Sapsford and Marine Nadine Downing park the moon rovers in front of the Docking, Entry, and Decontamination dome.

"I recommend caution," says Sapsford, "But you're in charge, Captain Mortensen. How do we proceed?"

How do you proceed?

Additional background details: Although the ostensible purpose of the Russo-American base was for scientific research, a military presence also ensured its use for covert action, military experimentation, and espionage.

The moon is currently dominated by two extraterrene races: the Migo and the Moonbeasts. There are others as well -- Byakhee, and occational Cthonians and Flying Polyps. It was to a Flying Polyp, responsible for the downing of the shuttle, that Captain Dubovsky referred when he screamed, "The thing! The thing!"

When the rescue team arrives at Crisium Base, it has been a little over five days since losing contact with the moon base. Some members of the team have actually been killed and replaced by Migo, who actually sabotaged the communications array. Every 37 hours, the Migo will replace another member of the crew (see game timeline). In order for the mission to succeed, the team must uncover the Migo infiltration and report it without the Migo finding out. If the Migo realize that they have been exposed, they will immediately attack the base with three score or so Migo, and kill all the humans.

The order in which crew members will be replaced by Migo will be: Captain Hicks; Carrie Page; Ruby Riddle; Ivana Skalin; Nathan Salmon; and Natasha Rublyov. After that, select players randomly. Once a character is "changed," that character will have a dramatic change of demeanor, becoming much more calm and collected, and will begin to actively cooperate with the three "scientists" occupying the Observatory & Lab.

The Soyuz-Explorer Expedition (Player Characters)

This game is for 6-10 players. Roles should be assigned in the order listed below, adding the "marine" players if more than 6 characters are needed.

See character sheets for information about equipment possessed by members of the expedition. Note that the "neutron rifle" and "neutron bomb" damage numbers apply only humans. They do minimum damage (i.e., 2 or 3 hit points respectively) to extraterrene creatures. They cannot penetrate lead or any other material impervious to neutron radiation, and do not damage physical structures or equipment (which is important on the moon, where the users of the weaponry might depend on life support structures and equipment that could otherwise be damaged by weapons fire).

Captain Ivan Dubovsky, Pilot (died in the crash)

Just before the crash, he was heard sceaming, "The thing! The thing!" in Russian.

Sharon Mortensen, Co-Pilot

William Coppard, Lunar Geographer and Plate Techtonics Specialist

Helena Mirova, Lithologist (sustained minor injuries)

Dmitri Kuchinski, Medical Officer (remains behind to tend the seriously wounded)

Marc Leclerc, Astro-Physicist (sustained minor injuries)

Ben Sapsford, Marine Commander

Irene Merrell, Marine Communications Specialist

Barney Pollacco, Marine Combat Medic

Nadine Downing, Marine (sustained minor injuries)

Geraldo Martinez, Marine

Luther Read, Marine

Rebecca Grand, Marine (seriously wounded)

Michael Taylor, Marine (seriously wounded)

Crisium Base Crew (Non-Player Characters)

Collin Howard Dixon, Chief Engineer (murdered)

Dixon saw a Migo as it was putting on a body shell resembling the Communications Officer had replaced Giorgi Sokolov (the communications officer), flipped out, and attempted to communicate with mission control. "Giorgi Sokolov" caught him beginning an SOS transmission to earth ("Mission control! Mission control! I believe the base is in serious danger!") and was forced to murder him in order to stop him. He then sabotaged the communications array in order to prevent similar attempts by other crew until everyone had been replaced. Dixon's screams attracted the other crew members, though by the time they arrived "Sokolov" had disappeared and managed to arrive after others. (It takes 37 hours to create the body shell needed to replace a crew member, and it is impossible to create a successful body shell if the DNA sample taken to create it is taken from a person who has died, even for a brief time.)

Captain William Hicks, Pilot

The captain is in his early forties, with his crew-cut, blond hair thinning on the top. He is of medium height, muscular and compact. He always sweats.

The captain, co-pilot, and chief engineer of each mission are privy to the top secret military/espionage mission of the moon base. They are charged with conducting secret military research, and doing what they can to maintain tabs on the Chinese.

Although he is generally of sound mind, the captain suffers from slight paranoia (he fears a mutiny by the crew and espionage by the Chinese) and stress and trauma of the recent past has left him with a tic (involuntary, spasmodic motor movement) on the left side of his face. He is furious at the crew for not cooperating with him in setting up a watch on the vital areas of the base -- the Nuclear Plant, Life Support, and the three entrances and exits. He has determined to keep watch on the Nuclear Plant, and has been contemplating the possibility of sabotaging it and causing a meltdown if the base falls to the Chinese.

Hicks will admit that he was the first to arrive at the scene of Dixon's murder. He is certain that the murder was the work of Chinese spies, and "it could be anybody."

Ruby Riddle, Biological Sciences Specialist

Riddle is in her late thirties, short and somewhat homely, with a barrel-shaped build and her dark brown hair cut extremely short. She wears thick glasses and speaks with a southern accent.

Riddle was the second to arrive at the scene of Dixon's murder, and will testify that Hicks was already there when she arrived. He had blood on his hands and his shirt, though it could have been from trying to revive Dixon. She remembers that after she arrived at the scene, Alexander Stokarovsky arrived, then Ivana Skalin, then Natasha Rublyov, then Oswald Buffet, then Giorgi Sokolov, then Nathan Salmon, and finally Carrie Page.

Salmon had performed the autopsy, though she saw the report. It concluded he had died of trauma to the head and the breaking of the spinal column. He had suffered a number of non-fatal piercing and bludgeoning injuries, and then his neck was broken. She is puzzled by the results, it doesn't seem to indicate any murder weapon she can imagine.

If asked, she (and Page) will express their fear that the murder may have been committed by one of the three crazies -- and most likely Skalin, if they had to say which.

If asked about right-handedness or left-handedness of crew members, she will of course have a perfect recollection of which hands were preferred by different crew members.

Photographic Memory 85%, Biology 65%

Carrie Page, Lithologist

Page is in her early thirties, petite build, and attractive. She wears her straight, red hair down to her shoulders. Her manner of speech is very rational and earnest, and she looks you directly in the eyes when she speaks to you.

She discovered the lithographs, and showed them to other crew members, though she refused to believe the conclusions drawn by Skalin, Salmon, and Rublyov (and thus kept her sanity intact). She knows more about the expedition to the temple than anyone else -- though she knows only that they believed the lithographs contained mathematical formulas providing instructions on how to find an archaeological site of great importance, and that they returned "not right."

Geology 65%

Ivana Skalin, Co-Pilot (insane)

Skalin is tall, big-boned, and blond. She is in her early forties and wears her hair up in a tight knot, and dresses completely in black, and has a commanding presence.

The captain, co-pilot, and chief engineer of each mission are privy to the top secret military/espionage mission of the moon base. They are charged with conducting secret military research, and doing what they can to maintain tabs on the Chinese.

After Carrie Page discovered the lithographs, she showed them to the rest of the crew. Skalin, Salmon, and Rublyov applied their skills to analyze the text on the stones, and became convinced that they were a genuine manifestation of indigenous lunar life. Salmon even became convinced that he had discerned a sort of map on the stones, and that they pointed to a particular location not far from where the moon base was located. The stones in fact pointed them to the Temple of Daoloth. Temporarily crazed by the discovery, the three scientists could not be dissuaded from following the map to the site. It was there, amidst the terrible non-Euclydian geometry of the sublunar catacombs and tunnels of the temple, that they had a regrettable encounter with Daoloth himself and all three went stark, raving mad.

They have completely repressed the encounter, including any memory of the lithographs themselves, replacing these memories with their own set of unique delusions. Any attempt to lead them back to the event by confronting them with the facts surrounding their ill-fated expedition to the temple can result in a violent, psychotic break. In any event, they have repressed it completely, and it could only possibly be recovered through hypnosis, drugs, or some other psycho-therapeutic treatment under very controlled circumstances.

The insane crew members do have recollections of the events surrounding the murder of Howard Dixon, though they are now colored by their particular psychopathologies.

Skalin's insanity manifests in the delusion that she has been called by God to become the leader of the world. The world refuses to hear her call to follow them into a new world of peace and beauty, and if they do not follow her, they will have to be destroyed in the coming Armageddon that will follow when "the Lord" returns from his sojourn in "the outer regions of Hell." She will challenge anyone attempting to address her, and ask if they recognize her as "the true leader of the New World Order." If they do not, she will curse them, condemn them to "die the thousand deaths of the unbelieving wicked," and refuse to have anything to do with them. If any attempt is made to restrain her, she will defend herself with deadly force. (She is armed with a neutron rifle that is fully charged, and she knows how to use it!) (This is consistent with the "destruction of the old world/rebirth of a new world" visions that have plagued the crew members who encountered Daoloth in his temple.)

If asked about the three scientists, Sokarovsky, Buffet and Sokolov, she will tell invesigators that they are "obedient to the new order." Further questioning may yield the hint that they "will be first in the new kingdom."

Linguistics 65%, Rifle 65%

Nathan Salmon, Medical Officer (insane)

Salmon bald, pudgy and round, and wears small round glasses. He huffs and puffs a lot as he speaks, and is constantly wiping his forhead. He is easily distracted and can stop in mid-sentence in order to arrange a pile of papers on his desk or get up and go to a bookshelf to make sure a certain book is where he last put it.

Salmon's insanity manifests in depersonalization -- his sense that he is not real, only a figment of some One's imagination, or a character in that One's dream -- and in derealization -- his sense that the whole material cosmos is only a dream which will soon come to an end when the One awakes. He sees the waking of "the One" as the birth of the new world, in which "all us dreams will come to an end, and fade from memory." (This is consistent with the "destruction of the old world/rebirth of a new world" visions that have plagued the crew members who encountered Daoloth in his temple.) He has been meticulously arranging his office into alphabetical order -- organizing objects as well as documents, books. Anyone who attempts to disturb the order he has been creating, he will perceive as "nightmares," who are attempting to kill him. If they do, he will threaten to "make the dream end" by killing himself. (A successful "psychology roll" will allow investigators to talk him down from this -- otherwise he will kill himself with a neutron rifle.)

It will be possible to speak with Salmon only if he becomes convinced that investigators are not "nightmares." Any attempt to rearrange any of the items in the Infirmary area will convince him that the arranger is a nightmare, and may even drive him to suicide. Despite his insanity, he can speak fairly rationally about his autopsy on Howard Dixon, though he will tend to speak of it as if it were a dream. According to him, Dixon must have been killed by "nightmares." "He's lucky to be out of the dream," he will say. "We still have it to be killed by nightmares ourselves, and though it's only a dream, I'm sure it can't be pleasant."

If asked about other crew members, he may tell them that he has a theory as to how to tell whether a crew member is a nightmare or not. "Nightmares are controlled by the right side of the brain, and so they are, of course, left handed. Beware of those whose predilections are sinister."

If asked specifically about the three scientists, Sokarovsky, Buffet and Sokolov, he will tell invesigators that he knows they are "nightmares disguised as dreams." "They live in a dream shell," he will tell them. "I have seen them take it on and off."

Semiotics 65%, Mathematics 65%

Natasha Rublyov, Lunar Geographer and Plate Tectonics Specialist (insane)

Rublyov is an attractive woman in her mid thirties, with piercing black eyes and long, flowing black hair. She is well proportioned and of medium build, and at the moment quite naked.

Rublyov's insanity manifests in nymphomania and a form of anorexia. She has taken refuge in the Terrarium and is under the delusion that it is a "new garden of Eden" to replace "the old Eden which shall soon be destroyed," and she is the "new Eve." She is terrified of "partaking of the fruit" (i.e., eating) for that will "bring evil into the world." She has removed all her clothes, and refuses to wear anything, for clothing is a sign of the "shame of the evil one." She also has come to believe that unihibited sex is proof of one's innocence, and so she will attempt to seduce any man whom she finds in "the garden." She will react to women with terror unless they remove their clothes, for she will see their clothing as a sign that they are under the control of "the evil one" or that they will "bring evil into the world." (This is consistent with the "destruction of the old world/rebirth of a new world" visions that have plagued the crew members who encountered Daoloth in his temple.)

Prior to her insanity, Rublyov had a(n innocent) crush on Communications Officer Sokolov (who was married). Now in her insanity, she has become obsessed with having sex with him. She refers to his wife as a siren of evil who has enslaved him, and from whom she could rescue him if only he would join her eternally in the New Eden, and impregnate her with his seed...

If asked about the three scientists, Sokarovsky, Buffet and Sokolov, she will tell invesigators that "just as I will become the new Eve, they are already the new Adams." "They have tasted of the fruit of eternal life."

Geology 65%, Natural History 65%

Alexander Stokarovsky, Life Support Specialist (Migo)

Stokarovsky is in his late fifties, with a thick shock of naturally curly, gray hair. He is tall and has very large hands. (He used to wear glasses, but he does not any more.)

The three "changelings" generally appear to be relatively calm. They have banded together and taken over the Observatory & Lab, and have essentially made it their own "command center." They will never volunteer information about Migo (or any other extraterrenes), but if investigators attempt to discuss life on the moon in a "theoretical" sense, they will open up, expressing the view that "if" such life existed, perhaps "we" humans would not show sufficient respect for it, etc. It may also be possible to lure them into discussions of their knowledge of astro-physics, stellar geography, xenobiology, etc., revealing that they know much more than humans should about such matters.

If questioned about the murder of Howard Dixon, they will let Sokolov tell the story -- as he is the only one who was present at the time and has specific recollections.

If questioned about the lithographs, they will, like Carrie Page, express serious doubts about their genuineness. "You have only to consider the mental state of those who have made these claims."

Unlike humans, 90% of whom are right handed, Migo are predominantly left-handed. The true Alexander Stokarovsky was right handed, but his replacement is not. To satisfy oneself that an individual is right-handed or left-handed, it may be simple enough to toss an object and see which hand they catch it with, or ask them to sign a paper and see which hand they use.

Xenobiology 95%

Oswald Buffet, Astro-Physicist (Migo)

Oswald is black, in his early forties, and of medium build. He dresses meticulously and speaks with a thin, Jamaican accent.

Unlike humans, 90% of whom are right handed, Migo are predominantly left-handed. The true Oswald Buffet was right handed, but his replacement is not. To satisfy oneself that an individual is right-handed or left-handed, it may be simple enough to toss an object and see which hand they catch it with, or ask them to sign a paper and see which hand they use.

Astrophysics 95%

Giorgi Sokolov, Communications Officer (Migo)

Sokolov is in his mid-forties. His hair is black and thinning, and he is somewhat overweight. (He used to wear glasses, but does no more.)

Giorgi's story is that he heard a commotion and a struggle in the Computer and Communications Center. When he arrived in the dome, he found Dixon dead and the communications array sabotaged. He claims to believe (and the other changelin scientists will agree) that Captain Hicks murdered Dixon in a fit of paranoia, believing him to be a Chinese spy.

Unlike humans, 90% of whom are right handed, Migo are predominantly left-handed. The true Giorgi Sokolov had also been left-handed, so his Migo replacement is not betrayed by this characteristic. However, the true Sokolov was the only member of the team who had been married. The Migo who replaced him does not wear a wedding ring, and destroyed the photos of Sokolov's family that he used to keep in his office. (It found them distasteful.)

Computer Use 95%

Crisium Base

Computer and Communications Center

Ivana Skalin has taken control of the Computer & Communications Center, has rigged it with a neutron bomb and is armed with a neutron rifle and 5 spare ammunition packs. She will only allow those who have sworn allegiance to her "as true Supreme Commander for the Age to Come" to enter. Once they have entered, she will only allow them to leave, if they can convince her they are leaving to perform a specific mission that she deems useful.

Trying to access the communications console may be particularly problematic.

Docking, Entry and Decontamination Dome

Ruby Riddle and Carrie Page have taken refuge in this part of the base.

Riddle and Page are afraid of all the insane crew members and are afraid "for" the captain. As his condition seems to deteriorate, they fear he will go over the edge like the others. Since Hicks refuses to leave the Nuclear Power Plant, they have been helping him by making sure that he is stocked with enough food and water. They travel outside, using space suits, rather than risk contending with the loonies occupying the interior of the moon base. They are angry with the three scientists next door to them, whom they feel have become cool, distant, and arrogant, unlike the way they were before all this madness began to occur. Their suspicion could easily turn them to actively work against them. They will be greatly relieved by the arrival of the rescue expedition, and will immediately cooperate with them.

Infirmary, Fitness and Physical Therapy Center

Dr. Nathan Salmon has occupied this part of the base.

A portion of the doctor's office to the east of this dome has been converted into a makeshift morgue. The body of Howard Dixon has been sealed in a hermetic body sack and the temperature of the office has been allowed to fall to below freezing in order to preserve the body.

The body shows signs of trauma, with numerous cuts, abrasions, and puncture wounds on the upper body. The neck is broken. (Results of attacks by Migo claws.)

Kitchen and Mess Dome

Life Support Dome (Air and Water Recycling)

Men's Living Quarters

Nuclear Power Plant

Captain William Hicks has occupied this part of the base.

Hicks reaction to the rescue team will depend on how he perceives them. If he sees them as in close alliance with Page and Riddle, he will tend to view them as allies and cooperate with them (though his paranoia will not allow him to leave the Nuclear Power Plant). If he sees them as too close to the three scientists, he may become suspicious and fearful of them, even to the point of accusing them of being spies. If he sees them as allied with an of the crazies, his attitude may become one of open hostility and even warfare.

Observatory and Lab

The Observatory & Lab have been occupied by the three Migo "changelings," Alexander Stokarovsky, Oswald Buffet, and Giorgi Sokolov.

Their relationships with the rest of the moon base crew are cool. They will be superficially friendly but suspicious and uncooperative toward the investigators. They will only allow investigators to examine the lithographs if pressed, and then only for a short time, not long enough to subject them to any kind of extended analysis.

The "Lithographs"

The lithographs were discovered by Carrie Page, the day of Dixon's murder. They are a collection of three broken stone tablets, ranging in size from 4-10 inches in length (see diagram). They are engraven with fine characters that are unquestionably the product of sentient life.

Decoding and linguistic analysis of the characters will reveal that they are not the product of any human/terrestrial language. Lithological analysis will reveal that they are made of basalt that is indigenous to the moon. Study of the stones and the realization of these two facts requires a sanity check (0/1D8). Succeeding at a sanity check means that one disbelieves that the stones are genuinely what they appear to be, or one believes that they are some kind of hoax, etc.

Terrarium

The cieling of the dome is filled with bright lights that simulate sunlight. It is warm and moist, and generally comfortable. The greenery gives one a sense of calm upon entering. It is probably the most pleasant portion of the moon base. The entire dome is filled with growing plants, fruit trees and bushes, which seemed to have thrived in the lower gravity environment of the moon. The Terrarium is maze-like, with prolific plant growth blocking the view of most of the interior of the dome except for the portions of pathway nearest to where one is.

This is where Natasha Rublyov has taken refuge in her "New Eden" delusion.

Women's Living Quarters

The Extraterrenes

The Migo (see COC 5.5, p. 149) and the Moon Beasts (see COC 5.5, pp. 149-150) were content to remain hidden in their sublunar cities, and leave human explorers with the impression that there was not (and had never been) any life on the moon. However, once it became clear that the humans wished to establish a permanent presence, they grew to realize that measures would be necessary to protect their dominions. The Migo were the first to act, in part because the Russo-American base was too close to their Holy Temple to Daoloth. Their plan was to use Migo body-shell technology to replace and impersonate the moon base scientists. This would give them complete control over what Earth learned of the moon. The first scientist to be replaced was the communications officer. But when the Base Engineer caught sight of the Migo replacement putting on the communications officer's body shell, he tried to warn earth...

The Migo will generally try to perpetuate the illusion that they are human, in order to move forward with their plan to replace the entire moon base crew. The Migo only have one body shell creation pod, and it takes 37 hours to create each body shell. Furthermore, it is impossible to create a successful body shell if the cell matter sample needed to create the shell is taken from a dead person. (The immediate process of decay which begins at death results in contamination of the sample.)

The Migo will try to cast suspicion on Captain Hicks as the murderer, insinuating that the pressure of living in space has caused him to become neurotic and paranoid (both true), and that he murdered Dixon because he suspected him to be a Chinese spy.

The Temple of Daoloth

The temple of Daoloth consists of an enormous crevasse, into which investigators will see an enormous stair-case (with 5-foot-high steps) descending into the darkness beneath the moon's surface. Sanity loss to see the enormous stair case: 1D4/1D10. At the base of the stair case (which takes approximately 45 minutes to descend) is a cyclopean hallway, built with non-euclydian geometry, with huge inscriptions on the walls and floors. Sanity loss to see the cyclopean hall: 1D4/1D10. As investigators walk down the hall (of which it takes approximately 45 minutes to reach the end), they will see a bizarre purple-green light glowing at the end beyond a row of pillars. Beyond the pillars, at the bottom of a vast pit resides Daoloth. The pit is his "sanctuary," though he is effectively contained through a series of glyphs and other magical wards and protections created by his Migo worshippers. Sanity loss to see Daoloth: 1D10/1D100. Because of the magical wards in place to contain him, Daoloth cannot leave his pit in order to attack investigators. (Though he can "accept" any "offerings" that pass beyond the magical wards and attempt to enter the pit itself.)

Daoloth is regularly summoned and dismissed according to the liturgical calendar of the Migo, during the "Season of Revelation." He/it has an energizing effect on the Migo, and is considered the root of all wisdom among the Migo civilization of the moon. (See COC 5.5, p. 165.)

Obtaining Proof of the Migo Presence

Proving that Migo have replaced moon base crew members is difficult but not impossible. The Migo are forced to change out of their body shells for at least one out of every 13 hours, or else they will suffocate. During these times, constant (secret) surveillance of the three scientists would be very revealing: they might be observed slipping away from the base without life support suits or may even be observed changing in and out of the body shells in a more isolated part of the base (like the kitchen or the living quarters). There is photographic gear in the Computer & Communications Center that would allow one to record such observations (if Ivana can be convinced to relinquish it). The Migo also occasionally "shed" while they are making such changes. Successful "Spot Hidden" checks on the floors in the corners of the Observatory & Lab, the Kitchen & Mess and/or in the Living Quarters of the appropriate sex would reveal certain alien fungoid matter which could be analyzed, and data on which could be stored and transmitted in electronic format.

Finally, a systematic search of the surrounding area might also reveal the dismembered corpses of the "replaced." The corpses would have the brains removed (these are kept alive and stored in the infamous Migo brain canisters). If corpses have been too far dismembered to recognize, DNA checks against the computer database could confirm their identities. This would be conclusive evidence that the scientists posing as them were not who they claimed.

Remember, the party must expose the Migo without letting on that they know what is happening. Confronting and killing one or all of the Migo might be a short-term victory that would lead to defeat within 37 hours at the most.

Transmitting the information to earth will require communications parts to be cannibalized from the smashed communications array and brought back to the shuttle where they can be used to effect repairs on the shuttle communications equipment. Then convincing evidence of alien infestation must be trasmitted to command and control on coded frequencies.

Success in the mission may not result in a happy ending for the individual investigators. There might be no way for them to save themselves from being replaced by a Migo changeling, dismembered, and their brains placed in brain cannisters. But at least they will have made Earth aware of a new alien threat!