This will be familiar to Traveller fans, being the style used in most of the news entries from the TAS (Traveller's Aid Society) in almost all of its incarnations.

After the story comes a fairly detailed description of the tavern and an overview of the employees, so referees have a solid feel for the place. I had toyed with the idea of making an encounter table, then scratched it, deciding to leave it to the reader. I made the same decision about a floorplan, this isn't a module.

*****

LOVELY PLACE

Captain Kromm, Wyder and Volot stopped outside the small structure that stood before them. There was no sign, but this was the last building at the end of pier three, like the cabbie had said. The man hadn't seemed drunk, so after making a quick survey of the area and finding no other suitable building, the trio decided that this must be the Sea Haven.

The tavern was well-known, painted with a somewhat infamous reputation as "a place where one could get anything." This wasn't causing the three any consternation, as the starship captain and the two merchants had made their living in similar places throughout the sector. It wasn't the

fact they were on the waterfront at night, nor the chilly sea air either.

It was the size of the place that was causing the trio to balk: it was so tiny that it looked like it could hold only a handful of people.

Tired of standing in the night breeze, the three deliberated briefly then crossed over the wooden gangway that linked the structure to the pier. They opened the door and entered.

They were right. It was about as big as one of the single staterooms aboard Kromm's starship, but darker, the only light coming from a circle of radiance set in the floor, which was nicely carpeted in a dark green theme. It was also very quiet: the three could hear the faint splash of

water as it lapped gently against the sea-borne structure's supports.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" a disembodied female voice broke the silence, coming from a speaker hidden in the ceiling.

"We're here to meet Rufus Kanra," Kromm spoke up.

There was a brief silence before the woman returned. "Thank you sir. Could you all please move back, outside the circle."

The men stepped back and the floor pulsed slightly. The circle of light rose from the floor. It turned out to be the top rim of a metallic tube. The tube kept rising until it almost touched the structure's ceiling. The front of the cylinder retracted revealing a small elevator inside, large enough to hold five people in close proximity. After a quick exchange of looks, the men

entered, and were lowered gently below the surface of the sea.

* * * * *

"This is more like it," Kromm almost had to shout to be heard above the din.

Loud music, laughter and screams issued from the tavern's main lounge. The twenty-second elevator ride ended with the tube rotating 180 degrees. The door retracted allowing them entrance to an underwater chamber. They passed a cashier's cage on the left, as they strolled into the tavern's darkened main lounge.

The place was packed, with well over a hundred people enjoying themselves drinking, gambling and dancing. A stunning blonde approached the group, cigarette in hand, begging for a light. Captain Kromm accomodated her.

"I'm Scarlet," the woman said, after blowing a cloud of smoke into the air. "Our group's this way," smiling, she turned and pushed her way through a throng of people chain-dancing.

There was a private booth set against the far wall, with two burly, oriental bodyguards standing on each side of the entrance. The man on the left held a garish curtain open for the trio to enter. Inside, seated alone at the small table was a well dressed, middle-aged oriental gentleman.

"Rufus Kanra, Kanra Power and Electric, pleased to meet you," the man, stood, shaking hands with all three. "Are you hungry?"

"Just thirsty," led Kromm.

Kanra called to one of the bodyguards who left, returning momentarily with a bar-bot. Each man placed an order and the group made small talk until the bar-bot left.

"Captain," purred lady Scarlet, "would you like to dance?" Kromm smiled as if the she had read his mind. She stubbed out her cigarette and the two excused themselves, disappearing into the pulsing crowd. The three businessmen were left to bargain.

"I understand you're in need of a power plant," offered Kanra.

* * * * *

"Your friends are going to be disappointed," whispered Scarlet into Kromm's ear.

The two had found a separate space away from the booth to talk and drink in-between dances. Kromm was attracted to the lady, but was under no illusions as to her presence at the deal. The two groups had used an intermediary who, after the initial discussion, put this meeting together.

Kromm pressed up close to the woman, face to face. Luckily, Scarlet didn't mind this at all, which was fine with Kromm, since passers-by kept bumping the freighter captain into the woman, forcing them to retreat into a nearby corner.

"Why's that?" Kromm placed his arm over the woman's shoulder, propping himself up against the wall.

"We can't export nuclear power beyond the Imperium," Scarlet placed her arms around Kromm's neck, tossing her hair to the side as she made eye contact. They began dancing in-place to the slow beat of the music.

Kromm understood her meaning: the Imperium had placed a nuclear embargo on the Sword Worlds. He'd found other types of restrictions on systems around the sector in one shape or another during his travels.

"Then we'll have to move it somewhere, so we can continue our relationship," Kromm winked, causing Scarlet to smirk.

"Unfortunately nuclear regulation is monstrous," Scarlet swiped a drink from a waiter wandering past. "I'm afraid there'll be imperial overseers in any business transaction we're a part of." She licked her lips after drinking. "Don't you Sword Worlders have Zhodani friends?"

Kromm blinked, thinking momentarily this might be some sort of imperial sting.

"I'm just a starship captain, but I understand they're short of raw materials at the site and the consulate is too far away to bring back help in a reasonable amount of time," the captain studied her reaction carefully.

"You came from the Swords to here?" Scarlet put down the empty glass on the floor in the corner behind her. "Must be a fast ship."

Kromm placed his arms around the woman's tiny waist. "I'll show her to you, right now if you like."

Scarlet shook her head, "Maybe later."

Then they kissed, slowly, wonderfully, magically.

END STORY

==================================================

THE SEA HAVEN TAVERN

SECTOR: Spinward Marches

SYSTEM: Denotam (90% water)

The Sea Haven is located about 30 miles south of the Ling Standard Products (LSP) "Wetport" on Denotam's northern continent's, western coast, in the small city of Mestauf. The wetport is a combination seaport and starport, where NJ Shipping along with its partner LSP, build and test starships capable of negotiating both liquid and vacuum environments.

For Traveller purposes the "Wetport" should be considered a Class-VI starport, and separate from the Denotam system's main starport.

The Sea Haven is infamous with starship captains and merchants as a "raucous place" where people come to have a good time along with being able to obtain just about anything.

Outwardly, the tavern isn't marked by any kind of sign. If you travel to Mestauf you'll need to find pier three and a local (cabbie or passerby) will tell you "it's at the end of the pier."

THE ENTRANCE

To enter, newcomers must cross the wooden walkway with handrails, over to a small, round building built upon pylons which disappear into the ocean. This leads to a door, which has a single green lantern suspended from a chain on the right-hand side. This entryway leads to the circular chamber described in the story.

The chamber is reminiscent of a large tan, diving bell, with portholes on either side. It seems to be made of some kind of composite plastic, which will defy most hand-held weapons and some explosives. A siderail circles the entire building, allowing people to walk around its circumference. Opposite the entrance is a rack where people might store oars, hooks and other nautical equipment. On top of the round chamber is a small, belfry which is illuminated softly during the hours of darkness. Capping the belfry is a radio antenna. The chamber looks as though it could only hold five or six people at the most.

Entering the doorway you step inside a nice, clean, carpeted area which is completely empty. The interior is somewhat murky, dimly lit by a single circle of light, sunk into the floor, about three feet in radius.

Sensors within the chamber will detect visitors and alert the hostess below. A voice greets the persons, male if they're female, female if they're male, generated electronically. Mixed groups get a female voice. Aliens are welcome too.

They'll be asked what they want and if they can give a reasonable answer, like "we want a drink" or "we're here to dance" they'll be allowed in. Since some of the customers are regulars and conduct business here, an answer like "we here to meet Dr. Grenly" will work too, as long as management has been made aware. Once accepted they'll be asked to step back beyond the perimeter of the circle.

THE ELEVATOR

A cylinder, the size of the circle in the floor will arise, until it almost reaches the ceiling. Retractable doors will allow people into the tube, five at the most, scrunched together. This is the elevator which will lower them below the surface of the water into the tavern "proper."

Six stories below the surface, the elevator will stop, rotate, so that the group is facing towards the open ocean. This gives way to a large chamber, which is the main lounge.

THE MAIN LOUNGE

This chamber is almost always packed save for between the hours of 7AM-7PM. The lounge resembles a standard night club: bar, dance-floor, tables and of course, loud music. Employees wear special earplugs to stay in constant communication with other staff.

Before you go into the lounge a cashier's cage is available to arrange payment: imperial credits only. If you have a TAS card and valid imperial ID your account will be billed.

A small army of bar-bots and game-bots ply the routes between the main lounge and the two side rooms, reserved for private functions. There are also private booths at the end of the main lounge, which are part of the lounge but offer privacy by being enclosed in curtains.

Physically, the main lounge and side rooms are housed in a steel-reinforced structure on the sea bottom. It is a flattened cylinder and is built to withstand the underwater environment.

SIDE ROOMS

Two oval rooms are paired off, perpendicular to the lounge. The oval shape allows storage space for goods and services (and occaisionally people) during any planned celebrations. Each room can seat about 30 guests. The intervening wall can be removed to produce a single room for larger events.

UNDERWATER LOCK

People arriving at the bar early for a meeting may try posting a lookout near the elevator, only to discover the person has entered by alternate means. Since the wetport is nearby, certain individuals have access to the tavern's underwater lock. It's quite common for the owner and certain high-powered guests to arrive via small submarines. New customers who want to use their own subs to dock, must join the CAPTAIN'S DEEP CLUB.

Currently the underwater lock can handle six small submarines, so the referee can roll a d6 if he doesn't have a scenario prepared. Think of submersibles like Stingray, or the flying sub from the TV show Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. The surface pier can handle mooring a small submersible or three.

Next to the lock is the manager's office, employee's restrooms and the customer restrooms.

Local authorities have knowledge about the underwater lock and before arriving to detain or apprehend a customer, will arrange to have a coastal patrol submarine around to blockade it. No one, so far, has ever entered or exited via scuba or by powered sleds.

EMERGENCIES

Should the elevator break and there be no submarines on-hand, a radio in the manager's office can be used to communicate with the surface. Life support is provided by a power plant disguised as one of the nearby warehouses on the surface. Food and supplies arrive daily by sub, so the tavern is always well stocked. Life support can function for 10 days continuously.

EMPLOYEES

OWNER:

Benny Kaklor, 54 years old, greying, always in a tuxedo.

MANAGER:

Sid Gaf, 44 years old, slightly balding, loud jacket.

EMPLOYEES:

6 bouncers, four on-duty, 2 in manager's office, mid-30's, 6-foot-6, 230 lbs range. None are armed.

12 waitresses, young, varying hair colors, short dresses, long legs, "can-do attitude," but don't touch!

5 waiters, young, dress jackets, "can-do attitude."

2 cashiers, women, mid-thirties, bright, "can-do attitude."

2 hostesses, women, late-thirties, very-bright, "can-do attitude."

BAR-BOT:

10 mobile robots, size of a small refrigerator, which if you push the right buttons will eject a custom-made, plastic container with your favorite drink.

GAME-BOT:

12 jukebox-size mobile robots, which can simulate, in 3D holographics, just about any electronic games at your favorite casino. One game-bot doubles as the club DJ.

DRINKS:

Mixed and well drinks are 5 CR each, non-alchohlic 3 CR each. The house wine is 100 CR per bottle, and any alien liquids run from 50 CR to 500 CR per glass.

CAPTAIN'S DEEP CLUB:

Costs 5000 CR per year, sorry no valet parking. This also provides you with leverage in getting reservations, which are by seniority.

So if you're in the neighborhood...

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