Countdown Script

Training Mode
Allow the crew to train on their stations for 5-10 minutes.

Call from Headquarters
Call as the Admiral.  End Training Mode.  Answer questions about the mission.
Slingshot the ship into orbit around Earth.

Provide the first clue (to North America)
Speaking as the Admiral, tell the crew that the Alloyal scout was detected by the Dominion Observatory in the capital city of the largest country in North America.  The crew must name this country and its capital.

Explain how to navigate and contact locations around the world
The crew is free to fly throughout the solar system, but all the relevant action takes place around Earth and the Moon.  When the crew identifies a destination, they will fly the ship directly above it so it can be clearly seen inside the main viewscreen.  They will then be able to send and receive calls and mail from that location.  In some locations the Mechanic can create portals to let the ship land.

Guide the crew to North America
Speaking as the Mechanic or Computer, assist the crew in identifying Canada as the largest country in North America and Ottawa as its capital.  Then guide the ship until it is above North America.

Call to North America
Have the crew call North America.  Answer as a scientist at the Dominion Observatory.  Share some details about North America and engage the crew in a conversation.  Demonstrate pride in your home continent and give the crew a chance to reciprocate.  If they are in the hurry to leave, act offended until the crew shows appreciation for North America and its features.  Use the following details in your conversation:

    • The world’s largest freshwater lake is Lake Superior
    • Three primary languages are English, Spanish, and French
    • Notable cities include New York, Washington D.C., Mexico City, and Toronto
    • Grand canyon
    • First airplane

Discuss the Alloyal scout sighting and provide the next clue
Once the crew has earned the friendship of the Dominion Observatory scientist, explain that you detected an unidentified object from space enter the atmosphere recently.   Provide a clue to the next location.  Aside from Africa and Antarctica, the order of the clues is not important.  Feel free to lead the crew to the other continents in any order you want.

Follow clues through South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia
Guide the crew from one location to the next in any order your choose.  At each location, follow this general process:

  1. Help the crew think through the clue
    The previous location will have given the crew a written clue about the next location.  This clue contains hints about notable features of the destination.  Speaking as the Mechanic, encourage the crew to work as a team to identify the continent described in the clue.  Question their conclusions to make sure they feel solid about their choice.  Involve the whole crew in the process.
  2. Guide the crew to position the ship above the destination continent
    Assist the crew in moving the ship so it is parked above the destination so the continent is visible in the viewscreen.  Help the crew be aware of the time of day at the location.  If the crew visits the wrong location, play along.  Send messages indicating confusion (e.g. “I’m sorry captain, but I’m not sure what you’re talking about.  We haven’t seen anything like that here.”) and then encourage the crew to rethink the clue until they get it right.
  3. Send the crew a greeting message
    When the crew arrives at the correct continent, send the corresponding greeting message.  These messages are pre-written and available in the Handy Tools.
  4. Interpret the greeting
    Help the crew interpret the author’s tone and understand his or her point of view.
  5. Construct a verbal reply
    Help the crew use what they know about the author to construct a response that effectively gets on his or her good side.  In many cases this will involve including specific details from the crew’s knowledge of the location to show admiration and respect for the area.  Involve the entire crew.  Help the captain collect these details and then call to deliver the crew’s response verbally.
  6. Iterate as needed
    If the crew’s reply is not sufficient, continue the conversation until they give an acceptable message.
  7. Provide a clue to the next location
    Once the crew has built sufficient rapport, send the crew the clue to the next location.
  8. Advance the Sunlight Inhibitor Device’s countdown timer
    Inform the crew about a timer change and ask them to calculate the change (elapsed time).
ContinentContactContact's Personality, Tone, and Characteristics
North AmericaSam Starr

Astronomer at the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa, Canada.
Satirical (modeled after the writing style of Mark Twain), enjoys the great outdoors, proud of North America’s freedom, somewhat lonely, eager to make new friends
AsiaLi Xun (pronounced “Shewn”)

Lieutenant General in China’s People's Liberation Army Air Force
Ironic, arrogant, annoyed at anyone who acts like they know more than he does, speaks his mind directly (modeled after the writing style of Lu Xun), superiority complex.
South AmericaCarmen Borges
Geologist for the Latin American Petrochemical and Chemical Association
Mixes fact with fantasy, doesn’t speak linearly (modeled after the writing style of Jorge Luis Borges), hypersensitive to paranormal explanations, conspiracy theorist.
EuropeQuinn Tolstoy

Physicist at CERN
Uncomplicated, careful construction, concrete expression (modeled after the writing style of Leo Tolstoy), dignified to the point of being snobbish, pretentious.
AustraliaPat Paterson

Amateur stargazer and Ham Radio operator
Rhythmical, avoids emotions, tells a story (modeled after the writing style of Andrew Barton “Banjo” Paterson), light-hearted, playful, treats serious matters frivolously.

Advance the timer
After each visit to a continent, send a message to the crew from Headquarters indicating that the Alloyal Fleet has advanced the timer on the Sunlight Inhibitor Device because of their resistance.  These messages are pre-written and available in the Handy Tools.  Speaking as the Mechanic or Infinity Knights admiral, instruct the crew to calculate how much time was eliminated and report that information back to Headquarters.

Engage the full crew
As the crew travels around the world, present a variety of obstacles to keep every station engaged, such as:

  1. Have the Alloyal fleet hack the ship’s computer.
  2. Allow the Hacker to hack into the Alloyal fleet’s computers.
  3. Damage systems to give the engineers something to repair.
  4. Create security alerts to occupy the Security Guards.
  5. Create a medical emergency for the doctor to handle.

A Note about Timing: The visits to the five continents so far can be done in any order, and some continents can be omitted entirely based on the time available for the mission.  The conclusion sequence (described below) takes approximately 15 minutes.  Advance the crew to this final sequence when the time is right.

Reveal the final clue
When about 15 minutes remain in the mission, deliver the final clue to the crew in the place of one of the other clues (or after the crew’s visit to the fifth continent).  This clue is pre-written and is available in the Handy Tools.  It refers to the “largest desert on Earth,” which the crew will likely interpret to mean the Sahara desert in Africa.

ContinentContactContact's Personality, Tone, and Characteristics
AfricaChinua

United Nations Specialist
Starkly simple, realistic, brief, honest (modeled after Chinua Achebe)
AntarcticaDr. Amundsen

Chief Scientist at Tor Antarctic Research Station (Norwegian)
Meticulous, seeks after glory (modeled after Roald Amundsen), eager to assist the crew against the Alloyals

When the crew interacts with characters in Africa and Antarctica, refer to the following guidelines:

Trip to Africa
If the crew chooses to search Africa, follow the standard protocol of positioning the ship above Africa and sending the pre-written greeting message.  This greeting doesn’t require much effort for the crew to build rapport.  Speak as Chinua and after a brief conversation invite the crew to land in the Sahara desert for a closer look.  Acting as the Computer or Mechanic, use a portal effect to bring the crew to the Sahara desert.

Realization about deserts
Once the ship arrives in the Sahara desert, speak as the Computer to conduct a scan for the Sunlight Inhibitor Device.  After a short delay, report that the scans failed to find anything.  Then, remind the crew that deserts are defined by low precipitation and don’t necessarily have to be hot.  Guide the crew to the decision to search Antarctica.

Trip to Antarctica
Guide the ship to Antarctica.  If time is tight, feel free to bypass the greeting/rapport step and use a portal to take the ship directly to Antarctica.  Speak as the Computer to scan for the Sunlight Inhibitor Device. 

Skirmish with the Alloyal Scout
Use the Alloyal Scout to engage the crew in a short combat sequence.  As the crew defeats it, speak as the Alloyal Scout to declare that even though the ship has obtained the Sunlight Inhibitor Device the Alloyal Fleet has nearly arrived and that Earth will never be able to withstand their attack.

Acquire the Sunlight Inhibitor Device
Add the Sunlight Inhibitor Device to the Cargo Bay and remove it from the sensor map.

Showdown with the Alloyal Fleet
Speaking as the Mechanic, suggest that the crew may be able to use the Alloyals’ deadly device against them.  To do this, the crew will need to activate its stealth mode and then fly as close to the Alloyal Fleet as possible.  Use the portal effect to bring the ship back into orbit and direct the crew toward the Alloyal Fleet, which is approaching Earth from the far side of the moon.

Dramatic Tension
The crew must deploy the Sunlight Inhibitor Device directly in front of the Alloyal Mothership.  To do so, they will pass by many other Alloyal ships, which risks detection.  Also, the stealth system generates high levels of radiation, which can be harmful to the crew.  Highlight these risks as the crew makes its approach.

Grand Finale
Speak as the Computer or Mechanic to narrate the deployment of the Sunlight Inhibitor Device in front of the Alloyal Mothership.  Explain that this process interrupts the ship’s stealth system.  Immediately cause the Alloyal ships to open fire on the crew.  Count down the final ten seconds on the Sunlight Inhibitor Device’s timer and then detonate it in the middle of the Alloyal Fleet.

Emergency escape portal
Once the Sunlight Inhibitor Device is detonated, the area will be filled with dangerous particles.  These will destroy the Alloyal Fleet, but the crew is also at risk.  Activate the emergency escape portal to bring the crew back to Headquarters.  Then, explain that their actions defeated the Alloyal Fleet and saved life on Earth!  Congratulate the crew on successfully completing the mission.

A Note about Sequence: This final sequence can be conducted in reverse order (visiting Antarctica first and Africa second), or one of the two continents can be skipped entirely if time requires.  Likewise, the conversations with Chinua and Dr. Amundsen can be abbreviated as necessary to give the crew enough time to complete the final sequence.