In reply to Conrad son of Leif (msg # 16):

Sven frowns.

"Th' most concerning to me, Sir 'd be the trim bolts and valve poppets.  Th' bolts come from th' lining of an inner hatch.  Without 'm the hatches won't seal.  Can't tell which'r they're from just by lookin'.  The poppets, though, thes'r from the emergency reactor flood system."

In reply to GM (msg # 17):

"Probably merits a follow up"

We still don't know who... or what took them, though.  Magni, why don't you come with me as we search out this hatch, Uthor says, taking the corresponding parts, and patch it up if we find it?  Chief Sven, maybe you and Modi can go fix the reactor flood?  You know this ship better'n I do.

Assuming Sven is amenable to this arrangement, Uthor sets off with Magni on a sweep of the ship, checking each internal hatch.

[Notice 7, with Magni's assistance]

In reply to Uthor son of Magnusson (msg # 19):

"You lads go search the hatches.  The rest of us should probably investigate the reactor.  That piece sounded particularly important to me."

In reply to Conrad son of Leif (msg # 20):

Because the last time we had problems with a reactor on a gnomish submarine went exceedingly well for us.

Can we at least confirm that current reactor readouts are normal before we trudge into so much sterilant?

(Shrugging nonchalantly)

What? Alveris has the ladies of a 1000 kingdoms to think about!

In reply to Alveris Alderis (msg # 21):

Sven and Conrad break off to check on the reactor while Uthor and Magni begin to check the hatches.

Unsurprisingly, it takes several hours to check every hatch in the ship.  More (or possibly less) surprisingly, each bolt appears to have been taken from a different hatch so that a full quarter of them need to be repaired.

Sven takes a look at the gauges and assures you that the reactor is not in imminent danger.  He then mumbles something to himself as he dons a HazMat suit and enters the reactor for repairs.

Shortly before Uthor and Magni finish their sweep, Sven emerges.

"Got that shored up, Sir.  Poppets'r back where they belong."

So then the question is, I s'pose, how did near every device on the ship go missing a poppet or a bolt?

In reply to Uthor son of Magnusson (msg # 23):

OOOOOO We have an OCD traitor.  This could be fun.

In reply to James (msg # 24):

"Aside from Ultron and the rest of the fungineers, who or what has the technical knowledge to so situationally and arbitrarily disassemble such advanced machinery? Something tells me you (eyeing Ultron) already have an idea of what may be transpiring here, but your steadfast grip on reality and refusal to embrace the unlikely are leading to the binding of your tongue.

(Alveris taps his helm)

Think outside the box Ultron- it's yet to lead me astray.

Well except for that one time..

Uthor looks surprised at the insinuation that he knows more than he lets on.  It's usually quite the opposite.

I... I'm not quite sure what you mean.  Even if somebody were a traitor on here, it would've taken them forever to go through and take all them bits out, much less do it without being seen.

Unless it's somethin' else... that goblin snuck on here.  Think he tracked anything in with him?

In reply to Uthor son of Magnusson (msg # 26):

"I've been telling you people from the moment we picked up that map scribbled in Low Fey that we should be on the lookout from Gremlins and the like.  The Captain has, too.  Now, I don't know too much about them aside from stories, but those same tales make 'em seem really nasty."

Conrad turns earnestly toward his feyic companions, for perhaps the first time.

"Could this be the work of a creature like that?  And, if it is, how do we stop it?"

Forgive me C'mmander, but, I didn't think there was such thing as gremilns?
This message was last edited by the player at 04:16, Sun 29 Sept 2013.

In reply to Uthor son of Magnusson (msg # 28):

"I don't know what to think after seeing that jar of healing spit.  And it IS a lot of hatches for someone to have snuck into undetected."

Conrad looks a bit uncomfortable.

"I don't know what it could be, but until we're sure about what it's not, I don't want to rule anything out."

Well, if it could be ... gremlins, what do our fey crewmen know about them?

They are tiny, they are miserable, and we tolerate them only as a function of our whimsy, in that they piss you and the humans off, and we find that hilarious.

If we are dealing with a gremlin, and let's hope it's only one, things are about to get much worse before they get better. I can't believe I'm once again preaching the practicality of the chain of command, but this would seem the sort of information pertinent to the Captain, no?

In reply to Alveris Alderis (msg # 31):

Conrad shakes his head slightly.

"The Captain likes to be informed on matters that require his immediate action, and this does not.  We've mentioned it as a possibility back when we found the map, anyway.  Standing orders are to take care of the ship and root out the trouble - seems like we're close to doing just that."

He looks at those gathered around him.

"While he remains indisposed, this vessel is mine to command, and I will not see it ripped apart while we go running for additional help.  I -" he stops himself. "We can do this.  The next report I want to be giving Captain Olek is one detailing the success of this operation."

"So.  Those familiar with the situation.  Does one draw out a gremlin as they would any other fey?  Should we set out some wine?"

In much the same way a find ice wine is the ultimate in seduction for Alveris Alderis, technology, in all it's breakable and tinkerable glory, is the seduction of the gremlin.

Put the shiniest toy, in the shiniest box, in the shiniest area, and you'll find your menace.

Uthor pulls the cartridge marked "Frivolity" from his pouch, with all its layers of clockwork and tiny gears.

Something like this?

In reply to Uthor son of Magnusson (msg # 34):

Conrad shrugs.

"If we don't need it and it looks irresistible to a gremlin... let's set it out somewhere and lay in wait."

He looks a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing.

"Despite the armor we liberated from the Reach, covert operations has never been my strong suit.  Once the creature reveals itself, we can harm it in the usual manner, right?"

In reply to Conrad son of Leif (msg # 35):

Gremlins must be opposed by the forces of the mundane. While somewhat heathen to you, a simple box trap with a weight above it may be all that's required to capture the Gremlin.

Of course, that's assuming we're dealing with Gremlins, and that this one (or ones) is high as a kite. While they tend to not have complex schemes, make no mistake- these are creatures capable of forethought, reaction, and adaptation; they just have a proclivity for the destruction of the technological which tends to undermine their machinations.

Just like catching dire rats back home.  Let's rig up a trap then.

In reply to Uthor son of Magnusson (msg # 37):

The normal hum of submarine machinery lowers by an octave.  Anyone who has been onboard for a while would recognize a problem immediately.

Just then the intercom crackles to life.

"Sir, Lt. Commander Conrad, this is the helm.  It looks as if our air regulators are having some issues, we may need to evacuate Engineering temporarily."

There is a brief pause.  The voice continues but with less confidence.  "I tried raising the Captain, but he said to talk to you, sir.  There's an awful lot of radiation coming off the Dark Reach.  Should we continue to hold position or do we have a heading?"

The intercom stays on but for a moment nobody speaks.

"Also, sir... I thought you should know that the Mirror is ringing again..."

The intercom finally clicks off.

With a heretofore unknown severity of tone:

FUCKING PUCK!!!

Alveris bounds off toward the mirror

C'mmander, I'm no navigator, but we probably ought to get going while we deal with this gremlin thing, if that's what it is.

In reply to Alveris Alderis (msg # 39):

"You aren't alloed to wander the ship without-" Conrad begins, but Alveris has already torn off toward the mirror.  "Magni, Modi?  Go with him. Keep an eye on both fey,  and report back everything that happens. Do not leave his side for any reason. No matter what he says. That's an order."

He activates the intercom.

"Acknowledged, helm. Heading to the bridge."

Conrad rubs his temples for a moment, overwhelmed.

"Sven, make sure the reactor stays stable until we return. Uthor? Walk with me, and explain to me why we'd need to evacuate engineering and whether that should worry me."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:04, Mon 30 Sept 2013.