In reply to Kaengarr Ruzokh (msg # 43):

OOC:

Y'mean the vidshow "Reigning Cats and Dogs" starring Darrel Cromwell?  That's my favorite show!

As Sam went through the pre-flight check, she finds a couple of unusual things.

The first thing was that the flight controls can be set for simulation mode. That's almost never done on a ship. Sims are usually in controlled facilities.

The second thing that she finds is that the displays are of very high quality. She can have displays for every other system on the ship, all up on screens at the same time. These are only readouts; no visuals. For the size of the ship, it means she could operate all stations.

In addition, she can move the flight controls to any other station or screen on the bridge. This tends to be SOP for military ships, but is seldom available on civilian ships, and certainly not to this degree.

Thirdly, when it comes to the maneuver drives, she finds that she has to specify which configuration she wishes to use: 2 x M-1.5, 1 x M-3, or 2 x M-3. She was half-expecting this to show up, but didn't realize it'd be so blatant. But then she spots the 'minimize' button on the screen. When she clicks on that, the choice screen disappears and just shows the two engines. The program is designed to use whichever engine wasn't used the last time.

Khea then goes through the ship and examines all the circuitry that she can find. She discovers two significant features: redundancy and modularity.

The redundancy has both hardwire and ODN circuitry, usually run in parallel.

The majority of all circuitry is modular. Thus, if there is damage to a particular section, it can be repaired fairly easily simply by replacing the damaged module.

"I'll do it!" Vonon responds via the nearest intercom panel.

Vonon then heads for the lift and the lower deck.  As the doors close, Vonon suddenly barks a short laugh.

"What the frack do I know about drones?" he chortles, as the doors close on him.

Once down on the lower deck, Vonon turns down the companionway and heads forward, passing the security cargo bays and the mining lab -- actually pausing in front of the door to the lab and taking out his personal comm.

"Note to me. Next time we have a group meeting, ask if anyone is a trained geologist. The mining lab is no good to us if nobody can run it. Maybe we need to acquire a geologist. Or a 'bot.  Hurr-hurr.  Or a clue!"

Continuing forward, Vonon enters the secondary cargo bay and makes his way over to the starboard side wall, and the maintenance hatches for the repair droids.  After a few moments of study, he figures out how to open one of the hatches and presses the appropriate button.

Revealed is the repair drone.

"Yup. That's a drone, alright." Vonon says to himself, then reaches out with a foot and taps the side of the drone with a toe.

"Hey! Drone! Do you respond top verbal commands, or are you as dumb as you look?"

OOC:I'm assuming that everyone is reporting the information they have found about each system to each other.




Comms:"We've got a situation with the computer, everyone with computer skills please meet at the comp station."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:45, Thu 04 Feb 2016.

Back at Darrel with Comms "by the sounds of things, we have a situation regarding every system on this ship. So we could also do with all the pilots up here as well. But the computers as good a place to start as any. On my way " Sam gets up from the Pilots seat, and looks at the station shaking her head slightly.

She heads down to meet Darrel

ooc
Sam has Computer 0 for what its worth

Fearing that they have already broken something Khea also rushes to the bridge despite not having any knowledge about the inner workings of computers.

  A 'situation'? That was unhelpfully ambiguous by Kaengarr's reckoning, but on seeing Khea rush ahead in a panic, and knowing that she and Darrel had been working together for some time, he adjusted his assessment accordingly and made tracks for the bridge.

Fully aware that his knowledge of computers ended at the use and abuse of targeting programs, Pablo slid out of the turret he'd been playing in, and made his way to the bridge, and silently moved towards the computer spaces, already mentally reviewing where he'd put a plasma grenade to slag the damn thing if it was going to be uncooperative.

Computer reboot, Marine style.

Darrel waits until the computer folks show up...



"The 'library computer' makes me wonder,  but, it's the missing memory that makes me nervous...perhaps it's running a program that I can't find, or some other explanation? Needless to say, flying around in a ship with a computer that isn't operating at 100% isn't going to happen. So, let's all pool our brains and figure it out."

  "Is it still there physically?" Kaengarr wondered aloud at Darrel's description of it being 'missing'. Still, Kaengarr knew that he wasn't the one best suited to diagnosing computer problems - if anyone held that title, it was Walter - so he stood ready as before to produce whatever the would-be technicians might need.

  Kaengarr's assistance adds +1 to the result of... well, whomever's doing the in-depth work on the system!
This message was last edited by the player at 19:12, Fri 05 Feb 2016.

"Library computers are often installed on civilian craft," Jones offers. "It's so the main computer doesn't get overly taxed by too many passengers running entertainment programs at the same time. On a military ship, the main computer takes precedence, so the crew expects to have their entertainment interrupted when necessary. You can't really do that on a civilian craft--it's 'bad for business'."

19:06, Today: Gregory Jones rolled 9 using 2d6+4 ((4,1)). Computer check + Int. Poor roll, but success any way... maybe.


"How about you, Valeska? You any good with computers?"

"Well," Sharik noted idly, after a moment in answering Darrel's query about her opinion, "this ol' girl definitely has her secrets."  Then she added with a slightly enigmatic smile, "It seems to me that she has a bit of a multiple personality disorder..."  But then the diminutive dilettante could likely have said that about herself as well.

"You'll likely want to take a look at this transponder data when you get a chance." she noted off-hand, "though it can likely wait until we sort out the core."

Sharik watched the group gather, but as she was already present, she hardly felt the need to get up.  Or to interject herself immediately.

She usually let her intelligent agent do most of the heavy lifting when it came to the software side of things.  However, when the question of physical memory came up, Shar looked thoughtful for a moment before chiming in, "I can probably try to trace the leads on the actually physical memory...."  She started to pull up schematics for reference - pushing them to the dataglove and then started to open a couple of the access panels to get a better view of the central core and its layout to see if they matched what was on the schematics.

Though she worked efficiently, Sharik took her time, as everything was new to her and she did not want to damage anything, if at all possible.

OOC:  Well, here goes nothing.  Let's see what we can see...

  00:57, Today: Sharik Kaagira rolled 16 using 2d6+4.  Engineer (electronics)/Int Check (Schematics and Memory Layout) + Time.

Sam held back, when it came to computing she had some basic skills but nothing to in depth. She did listen in tho, it might help her understand the ship better

ooc

Greg has best Computer skill, so perhaps he should take the lead?

Khea could only helplessly stand aside while the others were working on the computer. Luckily some of them seemed to be competent in what they are doing so there was no immediate danger of the ship exploding.

There wasn't much more that Jones could tell everyone other than the Count already had. The so-called 'missing' memory was hidden behind a partition. That much he can tell. However, he can't figure out exactly how the partition was created. Nor can he get around it.


Sharik starts trying to trace the physical circuits, and immediately discovers a problem: there are far more circuits than the schematics show. She finds a dozen extra circuits leading out of the main computer.

She can only trace them so far before they disappear into a bulkhead.

Given all the strange, and wonderful things they have discovered about the ship,Count Cromwell put aside any preconceived notions about how a ships' system is or isn't supposed to function.

"Let's check out the auxiliary bridge and the computer there, maybe there's a connection."
Today: Darrel Cromwell rolled 13 using 2d6+5.  aux comp check +time, assistance.

As he's going about his task, just in case, he sends a comm to Casey, "We've run in to a mystery concerning the computer system (explains the findings)"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:46, Mon 08 Feb 2016.

There doesn't seem to be anything special about the Auxiliary Bridge or the computer. The computer is smaller; it's not meant for full ship operations. It basically was the bridge controls for the jump shuttle, and no one bothered to pull it out when the two ships were fused together.


Casey's response is that she knew about the partition, but was told that it had been set up to block off a damaged section of the computer. She'd never bothered trying to get the computer fixed because she had other expenses with a higher priority. And, since she was only doing in-system rock-hopping, she didn't feel she needed the rest of the computer.

  "Don't like this," Kaengarr growled, bristling and staring hard at the offending electronics as if he had a mind to start taking them apart on the spot, though he didn't actually make a move to do so. "Power plants and engines aren't dangerous for being different, but hidden computer systems mean we don't control the ship."

  He worked to damp down his agitation before continuing. "Maybe it's just set-aside for the other hardware. Maybe it really was damaged. But we need to know."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:28, Mon 08 Feb 2016.

OOC: Keep in mind, my math might be off and my logic flawed, but, this is how Count Cromwell thinks...Note; I apologize to the gm if it seems I'm trying to get "behind the Oz curtain",

Based on what they have so far discovered, including Casey statements....

Darrel sits in front of the computer, tapping his fingers slowly on the counter, practicing something his father had mentioned, his anger rises but, "People are going to depend on you, if you start acting simple minded, you can be assured that people will assume you are simple." A deep breath, exhale.




(head in hands rubbing his forehead)"Damn it, The woman(optionally say captain) had the ship for 19+ years and allowed a major refit without taking this into account. I'm just not getting it. Frak.

Flips options in his head, "Flight test is cancelled until the computer problem is resolved.

Thinks about the different ways to fix the problem, resolving to try to do it internally, and only if necessary to call for outside help.

"1. We can wait another day for the densometer and other equipment (and all cargo), and use it ourselves which might give a better idea of what we are dealing with."

"2. We hire the best of the best, costly, time-consuming and we open our closets. But, probably effective."

"3. Or something I'm not thinking of? Any ideas, speak up!"
This message was last edited by the player at 01:40, Tue 09 Feb 2016.

"Two things come to mind. First, get this thing on the deck, and then sell it to the first sucker you can find, or piece it out and sell off all this tech we can barely understand,  and then book passage to Outpost and buy a ship we at least can comprehend. Or, get on the deck, burn this computer out with fire, rip it all out, down to the hull struts, and put it back together again piece by piece, making darn sure we understand what we are installing."  Pablo said this from the computer spaces, where he still was, though he'd abandoned the plasma grenade plan once people had come through tracing hardware.

  "'Kill it with fire,' Pablo? Spoken like a true marine." The toothy grin came through clearly even though Kaengarr was out of Pablo's sight.

  His tone turned both firm and serious then, and each point was emphasized by a small cut of the air with one hand as he addressed the crowd gathered on the bridge. "We're looking into this ourselves, thoroughly, with all the tools we now have or soon will. With our recent contacts we can find someone discreet to get us answers if we're still not sure. Cost doesn't matter with our bank accounts right now, and we're not so desperate to get out of here that we can't wait a few more days, especially when it's between that and flying away in a ship we can't trust!"

  "Whoever isn't comfortable pulling the computer apart - most of us, I suspect - can use the time to get the rest of the ship into shape and deal with any business we still have planetside. If worst comes to worst, we'll pool our remaining credits and replace the computer entirely since we were planning some other refits anyway."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:10, Tue 09 Feb 2016.

In reply to Kaengarr Ruzokh (msg # 65):

"Look, there is no rush, we were applying a quick timeframe to ourselves without basis, only what we might want to do. Let's do this right, we're not running from anything. In the morning, there will be some instruments that might help us solve the problem. "

Glancing towards Pablo (and Kaen), "How about we give some time to non-fire solutions, then, if they don't work, ok, we'll talk about it."

  Had something been lost in the translation? That wasn't common with his Anglic...

  "I was talking about the instruments, Darrel!" Kaengarr had to work at not sounding exasperated, and it wasn't easy. His next few words overcompensated for that, coming with a slow precision that went far beyond even his usual and inadvertently close to a caricature of a toddler's educational show. "We. Inspect. It. Ourselves. At. Length. With. The. Fancy. Tools. Then. Call. In. An. Expert. If. Need. Be!"

  The pace picked up, and if the prior tone might have been taken as patronizing, the new and self-consciously uncertain one cleared up any potential misunderstanding. "Nnh. Did I translate the meaning this time?"
This message was last edited by the player at 02:53, Tue 09 Feb 2016.

"Right...no plasma grenades till ordered. Duly noted."

Pablo smiled at Darrel, walking over and clapping him on the shoulder. "Don''t worry, Sarge. This group has a hell of a lot of brain wattage. Hell, even Vonon ain't all that dumb, for an officer. It'll work out."