In reply to Xander (msg # 29):

Cockpit Area

"Well, yeah," Durst replies. "You're not flying an AoS ship, right? So you probably only have standard radiation shielding. But we learned pretty quick that flying through the hoops was...um...irradiating, I think the brains said? Anyway, they did something to their ships that fixed the problem."

There's a moment of silence.

"You came through a hoop to spring the redhead, right? I thought you knew how they worked."
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:44, Mon 24 Apr 2017.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 30):

Cargo Bay

"Have to?"

Gestalt folds his arms.

"I don't think that's strictly true."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:44, Mon 24 Apr 2017.

Listen asshole, I don't have time to play games. Your best chance for pulling through this alive is to cooperate with us. We both know the AoS isn't going to take you back after this.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 19:51, Mon 24 Apr 2017.

In reply to Gestalt (msg # 31):

The UN Speaker's daughter, Tyndal, straps herself into the wasp with a look of uncertainty upon her features.

"Why...don't I get a suit of my own?" she asks, looking at the various prisoners now surrounding her. "Did I do something wrong?

"We came through the hoop following Husker to what we expected to be an AoS base.  The redhead was an unexpected discovery we couldn't pass up for multiple reasons. Your jailbreak was, and nothing personal by it, an accident.  We didn't know anything about the rings until shortly before we went through the first one.  Now all we know is that they're space-bending bullshit."

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 33):

"What, and you think the IDA will be more kindly disposed toward me?"

Gestalt smirks and shakes his head.

"No...no, I've got a head full of cards, and I'm only going to play them when it benefits me."

He looks around the cargo bay and frowns.

"Let's start small. The story of how we found the jump rings will cost you a meal and a cup of stim -- coffee, tea, whatever."

Gestalt jerks his head to the side.

"Well? Hop to it..."

Fiernas leaves Xander to interrogate Gestalt and heads to the cockpit.  "Not intruding, Captain.  Just need a clear view."  He gestures to the expanse of the tri-system in front of them.

In reply to Gestalt (msg # 35):

Cockpit Area

"Yeah, I don't think that's the technical term, but works for me," Durst agrees. "They're mostly...what's the word..."

He frowns, then snaps his fingers.

"...dormant! But there are a few that aren't. And whenever a new one wakes up, it worries the bigwigs, y'know? They get real concerned about that kind of thing."
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:59, Mon 24 Apr 2017.

"Bigwigs?" Billy asks before realizing those details are probably over Durst's former pay grade, "The Alliance have tabs on a lot of these rings?  Seems like kind of a big deal to keep covered up."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 38):

Durst shrugs.

"They seemed to. I've only ever gone through the one, myself, but some of the guys have gone through several. They told some wild stories, but I doubt even half of them were true."

"Fresh territory," Fiernas repeats his earlier sentiment from before they jumped.  "Nobody has been here in a very long time."

He looks over at the pilot's chair, occupied by Kayla. "We haven't been properly introduced.  Fiernas Holm.  Thank you for helping me off that rotting hulk."

In reply to Fiernas Holm (msg # 40):

"Nice to meet you, Fiernas. I'm Kayla," she says, glancing back at Fiernas with a smile. "And you're very welcome. I have this thing against leaving people stranded in space...might be a spacer thing, but I'm glad we were able to help."

Kayla makes a few adjustments to their course.

"So...what were you doing on Pragnanz?" she asks conversationally. "We've got prisoners, deserters, defectors, and captives, near as I can tell. Which are you?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:20, Mon 24 Apr 2017.

"Don't know much about spacing.  But its a good instinct."

Leo climbs into the cockpit, sniffing curiously at the instrument panels.  "Gestalt asked me to come on board.  Wanted to recruit me for the Alliance.  He thought he knew me, thought I was one of them at heart."  He scratches Leo behind the ears.  "Not so much."

In reply to Fiernas Holm (msg # 42):

Kayla nods thoughtfully.

"I had a similar experience with ACE," she says. "They thought a test pilot shouldn't care about what the machine she's flying is capable of."

She blows a stray strand of hair out of her eyes.

"They thought wrong."

In reply to Kayla Wallin (msg # 43):

I am detecting a faint signal from the far side of the planet, Dynamis chimes in. It...could be a communication band, but if it is, it's not one I am familiar with.

The pause lingers for a moment.

As the planet is tidally locked with its star, the source of the signal will not rotate toward us. We will need to get closer to learn more.

In reply to Dynamis (msg # 44):

Kayla frowns, nudging the controls forward a bit. Persephone responds, gliding toward the planet in a graceful arc.

"Might as well check it out," she murmurs. "It's not like the fleets have finished killing each other yet."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:40, Mon 24 Apr 2017.

Fiernas nods.  "Might want to consider landing, if the conditions aren't too harsh.  The atmosphere might give us some protection from this radiation."

In reply to Fiernas Holm (msg # 46):

Muse puts on his prototype SAGE EVA suit and sees to the comfort of the passengers, including the condemned.

Fiernas assures Kayla that they'll talk more later, and with a warm pat of the shoulder he heads back to the galley.  He flags down Muse as he helps one of the passengers into an EVA suit.  "You knew where the last gate was.  What are the odds that you could find another one nearby?"

"Go for it, if the sun's irradiating us I'll take a planet in between," Billy concurrs, "Dynamis see what you can make of that signal as we get closer. I don't know if this counts as first contact, but if there's someone there I'd like them to know we come in peace."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 49):

"Out of my hands. I found the gate because it wanted me to. The future only comes to me in waves. Never clear. I can try to sit with it again. How did you know what happened to Husker's vessel?"

He looks over at the cockpit's console.

"Actually, I have an idea. Dynamis, when you have some bandwidth, please let me know. I'd like to acquaint you with the darkforce energy signature. It may make your navigation tasks easier. I know we've asked a lot of you recently."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:20, Tue 25 Apr 2017.

In reply to Muse (msg # 50):

At first opportunity, Muse pulls Rebecca aside. He can be seen speaking to her with hands on hips, but the conversation seems to be traveling across their comms.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:17, Tue 25 Apr 2017.

In reply to Muse (msg # 51):

Evidence suggests that there is a roughly 10% chance that anyone we meet will be shot in the knee, Dynamis quips.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:29, Tue 25 Apr 2017.

In reply to Dynamis (msg # 52):

Kayla smiles at Dynamis's observation, but doesn't say anything. Instead, she guides the ship along an arcing course that brings the shuttle to the dark side of the exoplanet. About halfway through her approach, she gasps.

"That's...not what I expected," she breathes.

Anyone in the cockpit can follow her gaze, for while the bright side of the planet -- the side tidally locked facing its sun, and likely rendered a sterile desert by radiation and solar wind -- resembled a Martian desert, the dark side is covered by a hemisphere-sized dome of...something. Glass or plastic, maybe?

The overall effect is like a snow globe that has been knocked onto its side.

The dome provides no illumination of its own, leaving the surface shrouded in backlit shadows and swirling darkness.

Two signals detected, Dynamis observes. A stronger one, from above the dome. And a weaker one, from somewhere within it. The weaker one is indistinct from this distance. The stronger one, I can patch through.

A sound very much like an ancient dial-up modem reverberates through the speakers in the cockpit, and then a voice is heard. You cannot tell if it is male or female, and it speaks with an accent you cannot place. It seems to be speaking one sentence at a time, but you do not understand the words or even the languages at all until the 5th sentence.

"...Solese: This planet is under quarantine. Contact is forbidden."

The voice goes on to speak a few more sentences before repeating itself, such that you hear the "Solese" message again in its entirety at a regular cadence if you choose to keep listening.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:31, Tue 25 Apr 2017.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 53):

HOLY CRAP!  Nightmare squeaks.

This has to be first contact.  But the planet is under quarantine... by whom?  Why?  We need to get closer to hear the weaker signal.

At some point when Muse pulls her aside she looks equal parts embarassed, irritated, angry, confused and defensive.  The emotions playing out in typical teenage gestures that are universal even when seen in an EVA suit.


Nightmare's small fireplug form with its head down presses the globe of her EVA suit helmet into Muse's chest.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:16, Tue 25 Apr 2017.