"God dammit it," Billy groans as he comes out if his inexplicable fugue, and procedes to delete the farthest suggested coordinate from the display, "If we're in an action movie it's this one," he points at the farther if the two remaining options, "But if we're in a thriller we find the threat at the shortest necessary interval," he points at the closer destination, "How fucked do you guys normally get on your missions?  Do you lose people on a regular basis?" Billy seems completely serious as he questions the other three.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 46):

We usually end up fighting someone after being lied to, floating in the vaccuum of space, and picked up by a salvage ship kind of fucked.

Rebecca says bitterly

I was going to give Kelce a peice of my mind, shes lucky she wasn't there.  I did not sign up for combat duty.  Though to date our only casualties on our side was Flux and Viceroy.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:20, Wed 10 Aug 2016.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 47):

The console blinks unhelpfully.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 48):

We could always call back and either have them send a ship to each of the points, or send us a resupply

"No one's sending a resupply to the middle of nowhere, and radioing for two ships to travel four and five weeks to investigate an SOS is probably not high on anyone's priority list.  Especially if the guy's dead after waiting that long."

"Dammit," Billy ruffles his hair in frustration before jabbing the closer of the two possible destinations, setting the navigation computer to plotting their new course, "Could probably figure this out if we knew what stupid gate he was talking about," Billy grumbles, "Or if you guys weren't apparently so boring without me."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 51):

One of our former compatriots got shot in the head and put in a coma.  Does that count as interesting?  Or or the time that we stormed a SAGE compound pulled the alarms and took a bunch of data and some prototypes.

That qualify as interesting?

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 52):

"Interesting" usually means "stupid"

In reply to Batallion (msg # 53):

This group has been horrendously mismanaged to date.

"Comas are boring and data is boring," Billy informs the crew matter-of-factly.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 55):

Battalion nods solemnly You got that right, princess.

Xander busies himself with creating an algorithm to track the signal strength throughout the course change to begin narrowing down the actual position of the transmission.

Data is what is going to help us spend less time being bored and spend more time enacting heroic rescues and completing our mission, he remarks to the general crowd as he works.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:59, Mon 15 Aug 2016.

In reply to Xander (msg # 57):

Rebecca rolls her eyes.  Percy is holding a flag with an erlenmeyer flask on it.

Yay team science.

She says completely devoid of enthusiasm

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 58):

Billy directs the transport toward the nearest signal, a maneuver that proves more immediately satisfying than Xander's triangulation attempt. The S.O.S. is so sporadic and weak that it is difficult get a better read on it as you travel, though getting closer to your destination also seems to bring you closer to the origin point of the signal itself.

A week later, the transport finds itself approaching a what appears to be a field of metallic debris. Judging by the amount, it is either the remains of a small space station or a large capital vessel.

The twisted charnel simply floats through the void of space, bits and pieces swirling around one another in accordance with their inertia. There are dozens of pieces that could conceivably house a survivor, but you're not detecting anything but the faintest of energy readings -- and those could simply be the continued dissipation of whatever once provided thrust and power to the wreckage.

If there are identifying symbols to be found, you cannot yet discern them.

Another burst of static enters your comms, and the console lights up as its crosshairs zero in on a modestly sized chunk floating about two-thirds of the way into the field.

A signal consistent with the S.O.S. is coming from that direction.

Billy slowly directs the ship toward the chunk the ship has identified as most relevant before something occurs to him, "Uh, we didn't put any convenient robot arms on this ship did we?  Because a) we should.  Maybe with like a giant hand gun and a huge axe or something. But also, it's gonna be real hard to find out what's in that wreckage without something to stabalize it," with this he turns to Xander, known giant robot pilot, meaningfully.

Already on the way, Xander replies, sealing the helmet of his EVA suit with a click and a hiss.

He strides off to the mechbay with a spring in his step, happy for any opportunity to get out and play after the boredom of extensive space travel.

In reply to Xander (msg # 61):

Xander pops into the cockpit of his mech with glee, which is swiftly hurled into the voice via the cargo bay doors.

It's worth noting that your ship lacks a proper launch bay (it's far too small), so the process is far less graceful than normal.

Regardless, Xander soon finds himself flitting through the void of space... although that term feels less appropriate within the chaos of the debris field.

The mech is quickly lost from visual contact from the viewport, but the console has no trouble tracking the mech's approach for the crew to watch as it speeds toward the signal.

Xander flies out to explore the signal

Billy takes the ship as close as he can with reasonable safety before setting it to orbit the worst of the debris field while Abraxis goes about being more maneuverable and well-armored amongst the chunks of space junk.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 64):

Rebecca snaps up the microphone and clicks it on after a few moments of silence.

Xander please keep constant contact so we know you are proceeding as planned.

"Or else your mother might worry," Billy snarks, "Just let us know when you reach the signal or if anything goes wrong."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 66):

That is not how it is laid out in the guide books, sir.

She replies equally snarky

"That's why it's a guide book.  It's supposed to guide you when you aren't sure what to do.  I know exactly what to do.  I am going to sit here and wait for our giant robot to find out what's in the box," Billy leans back and throws his feet up onto a mostly empty portion of the console. "If you wanna do something, figure out how to get someone out of a ruined chunk of spaceship and into our ship without, yknow, having them suffocate and expolode in the vacuum of space."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 68):

Rolls her eyes and with a duh tween voice the transcends space and time

I'm a biologist... not a mechanic.  Your mechanic is outside.

She pauses a moment in reflection then her poise return

Though maybe....
She rubs her thumb against her forefinger a sign she is working through something in her head.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:41, Tue 16 Aug 2016.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 69):

The Transport

Those within the ship watch as Xander carefully pilots Abraxas into the field, where it disappears from sight. The beeping signal on the transport's console allow them to further track his progress as he hops, skips, and jumps his way toward the SOS origin point.

After a harrowing handful of minutes, the signal for Abraxas lurches backwards for a brief interval and then disappears entirely from your console.

The Debris Field

Xander zigs and zags his way through the swirling field, relying on Sophia's calculations and his own instinct to find safe passage.

It is never clear which of the two failed him, but the end result is the same: a jagged piece of metal about the size of a cement mixer slams into him at incredible speeds.

He quickly fires the necessary thrusters to put himself back on course, but the images on his HUD appear twisted and distorted.

External sensor suite has been damaged, Sophia informs him. I've lost contact with the transport. But good news! Emergency transponders remain online. We can still track the SOS through our targeting computer.

The transparasteel viewport lights up and a moving reticle appears, exactly the same as the one used when wielding the rail gun. After a moment flitting back and forth across the screen, it finally encircles a moving target roughly 2000 meters distant.

Target locked. Sophia confirms. Just fight back the urge to pull the trigger on your approach.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:37, Wed 17 Aug 2016.