"With just the two of us we've got about three days of air.  We can figure out who goes and who stays once your ride out is in one piece." With that Billy sits back in his seat and closes his eyes, letting momentum and the engines carry them through the void for most of the trip to nowhere.  About three hours in, however, he sits up and starts taking apart the malfunctioning console.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:52, Tue 05 Apr 2016.

Xander floats in his harness, considering their situation. This tech is extremely valuable, and shouldn't be left just laying around if we can help it.

He scans the net for inspiration. Does anybody know of any neutral party outposts in the area? We should hypothetically have the credentials to make use of an IDF base, even. These repairs wouldn't take long to do if we just had proper facilities.

In reply to Xander (msg # 497):

"The closest outpost I'm aware-aware of is our own," Viceroy says, drumming his fingers upon the console. "Let's fix-fix what we can-can now."

The next few hours pass slowly, marked as they are with grueling labor.


The Shuttle

Billy manages to take apart and repair the luxury shuttle's console, restoring it to like-new condition in terms of functionality.


Battalion manages to sit comfortably in the chair, strapped in, and supervises Billy's work magnificently.

The Roo

Rebecca mostly scowls and offers advice while the others work. "I have-have no objection to you call-calling ahead for a pickup," Viceroy tells her. "But others may inter-intercept the transmission. It is a risk."

Xander uses his mech's enormous hands to hold a sheet of metal over each hatch while Viceroy patches it with a handheld welder. It takes a very long time and isn't very secure -- any planetary re-entry would probably dislodge the patch. But it seems to be holding the vacuum of space at bay for now.

Not that it helps too terribly much, since the 'Roo has very little atmosphere of its own left to speak of.


This message was last edited by the GM at 16:58, Wed 06 Apr 2016.

"I'm a genius," Billy comments as he finishes with the ship's console and the display returns to normal.  He scans through the readings for any further damage of concern before radioing the others, "You want me to shoot those tacked on bits and hope it fuses them instead of punching a hole through or do you think it'll hold?  Also, do you have extra air tanks or is your trip home going to make some serious demands on that life support?"

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 499):

"No extra tanks," Viceroy says. "Two days of air, maybe, if we recycle-recycle it well and are ok being lightheaded. And even still, all but the pilot will need-need to sleep-sleep the entire way."

He pauses.

"Well. Not true. We do-do have-have walkabout suits. Pressure suits. Three of them. They contain-contain eight hours of air each, but only for one person per suit."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:47, Wed 06 Apr 2016.

In reply to Viceroy (msg # 500):

I vote for shooting giant lasers at our other ship and HOPING it doesn't blow up, JJ quips.

In reply to Viceroy (msg # 500):

So what you are saying is that we won't make it back regardless of how we play this...

Therefore our only choice is to take the atmosphere from Deimos or go to Phobos and 'dip in dip out' as it were.

We could have Abraxis dock to the ship like we did when fleeing SAGE, but I fear that Billy's vessel would not be as successful... unless...


She trails of significantly, her voice catches a certain steel

Xander.  All we need to do is accelerate Billy's ship and Abraxis to the speed our ship attains, or close to it.  Would Abraxis be able to hang on to both ships... thus acting like a rope to tether all three units together?

Viceroy, how much fine control do we have over our acceleration with the prototype drive?

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 502):

"I have-have control of two," Viceroy says, holding up two fingers to demonstrate. He lowers them as he lists off what they are. "Control one: On. Control two: Off."

He cocks his head to one side.

"But I love-love the idea! Let's try-try it? I can-cannot wait-wait to hear-hear your plan for decel-decelerating once we arrive-arrive."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:59, Wed 06 Apr 2016.

We magnetic clamp the shuttle and Abraxis to the hull of the 'Roo. With shared oxygen, our life support should hold out for the trip if we use the experimental drive. Barely. Xander nods to Viceroy. Decelerating will be the bigger issue. To get enough speed to make the trip in time, it's unlikely we'll be able to stop ourselves. But there is another option...

Xander bites his lip. Once we've accelerated to speed, we can radio ahead to the station to expect our arrival. They can arrest our momentum with the gravity array I designed. They should be able to spiral us to a stop without tearing us apart with the g forces. Hypothetically. That is, if they have the array functional. They should have had enough time to build it since I gave them the specs. Probably.

The pilot pauses and puts a finger to his temple. For the record, Sophia would like me to inform the general public that she thinks this is, quote, 'A completely and utterly mental idea, the only redeeming quality of which is its extreme likelihood of offing you before you have the opportunity to pollute humankind's gene pool with your lunacy,' end quote. I would tend to agree, but I don't see much other choice.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:17, Wed 06 Apr 2016.

In reply to Xander (msg # 504):

If Sophia has a better idea then tell her she better pipe up, or shut her figurative mouth.

I've never met an AI with such an attitude.

Viceroy, you worked on the ghost drive with me, do you believe it would be valuable to activate as we accelerate and would it cover Abraxis and the S.S. Billy?

"I like the magnetic clamps better than the battlemech tether idea," Billy chimes in, "And if we can do that, why not just strap them facing opposite directions?  My ship can't pull the speeds you people are talking about, but a full burn going the opposite way should slow something down. Or tear it apart in an inertial mess, I guess," the idea of his own ship destroying itself to stop their arrival clearly makes Billy uneasy, but surprisingly doesn't involve as much emotion as the damaged console did.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 506):

I agree with you, the magnetic clamps are a better idea and Abraxis could provide some fine control.  Between those two items and the gravity lensing array I'd say that you would have a decent chance of survival.

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 507):

JJ stares idly at the ceiling, the weight of solving everyone else's problems clearly straining him.

Can't we just, I mean, throw out tons of mass to slow us down?  Maybe some disposable crew... at a rate of a dozen a minute?

Billy goes cross eyed for a moment at Batallion's suggestion, "I'm not a physicist but I'm pretty sure inertia doesn't work that way." After a pause he turns and looks very carefully at Batallion, "Actually, how does that work?  Do you just have the mass of several hundred guys at all times?  Do you spontaneously generate matter when you make a guy?  A-are you a wizard?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:09, Wed 06 Apr 2016.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 509):

JJ never breaks eye contact with the ceiling.

Yes.

In reply to Batallion (msg # 510):

"We are agree-agreed on a course of action, then?" Viceroy's voice burbles over the comms. "We don't have-have air to spare for a prolonged debate."

"We buckle in, you go fast and when we get there I hit the breaks.  Who needs cargo bays?" Billy quips as he begins maneuvering his shuttle backward under the aborted 'Roo.  As the vehicles come into position he casually requests Viceroy's personal contact information.  Almost immediately after being told, a development contract is forwarded to Viceroy's datapad.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 512):

We are agreed.  Xander please send me the genetics data you downloaded.  Thank you.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:11, Thu 07 Apr 2016.

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 513):

Viceroy agrees to the plan with perhaps more enthusiasm than is warranted, given the situation, and in short order the ships are lashed together according to Billy's plan. There's enough technical knowledge among those gathered to manage this without fiddling with rolls, though it does take some time to complete.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 514):

"We are ready," Viceroy transmits once all the preparations have been completed. "Acknow-ackowledge when you are strap-strapped in. It will be a bumpy ride."

[Crossroads]

In reply to Viceroy (msg # 515):

It always is. JJ agrees with a smile.

If we survive this, I need a long nap and a beer.

JJ checks his harness once more for safety.

Xander tucks himself in to a seat, securing himself tightly, then quickly fades out to interface with the bevy of machinery around him.

Billy hops out of the pilot's seat and runs to one corner to fuss about in what is apparently a minifridge.  He returns to his seat and tosses Batallion a bottle of Space Beer (great for low G and when you're too drunk to keep your liquids to yourself) "Why wait?" he asks before he takes a drink of his own.  Once he fastens his harness he radios over, "All good in here."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:07, Fri 08 Apr 2016.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 518):

Rebecca takes her doll and spends some time setting it up in the seat holding onto the ghost drive.  She then dances (literally) back to her seat and buckles herself in.

Percy and I are ready Viceroy!

She says, cheery as ever.

/ooc Percy will man the ghost drive.  If the ghost drive will cover all of us then I will activate it (using karma), if not then I will activate it when shit goes horribly wrong. /ooc
This message was last edited by the player at 15:18, Fri 08 Apr 2016.

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 519):

Everyone straps in and braces themselves to the best of their abilities, even Rebecca's creepy doll which is placed snugly next to the controls for the ghost drive.

Viceroy hums quietly to himself, rapidly claps his hands together in excitement, wriggles the fingers on his right hand in expectation, and finally jabs his index finger into a button on the control panel.

When nothing happens, he jabs the button a second time, and then a third and fourth time before it becomes impossible to keep track of how many depressions are occurring due to the blur of motion which is his finger as it continually attempts to activate the drive.

"No! No no no no no no no no no no no GO-GO!"

He slams a fist upon the panel, and is hurled backward into his seat as juryrigged Roo lurches into motion at last.

As the craft gains speed, those who have experienced this sensation before will note that there is decidedly more shuddering this time around. The hull seems to bow outward and inward like an aluminium can in a trash compactor, and the rattling is such that both Viceroy and Rebecca are soon rendered unconscious.

Those in the luxury shuttle fare no better, though Battalion does manage to completely drain his beverage without spilling a drop before being shaken into a sleep-like state scientists refer to as "being knocked out". Billy's freshly repaired console shows lots of numbers and readouts, none of them good, and he is sent to join the ranks of the incapacitated secure in the knowledge that his slap-dash repair job was at least sufficient to keep the internals working during the most intense of circumstances.

Xander, hooked into the cockpit of Abraxis, suffers the least, but even he cannot maintain consciousness for long. His head rattles against the cockpit's neck rest -- which was built to contain the kind of forces fighter jets contend with -- with enough force to batter him into dreamland, too, though he makes it longer than any of the others.

45 minutes after launch, not a soul aboard is conscious.

~~ End Chapter 03 ~~

+500 Karma to all!
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:58, Thu 14 Apr 2016.