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14:35, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Destination: Unknown.

Posted by StarMasterFor group 0
StarMaster
GM, 796 posts
Tue 30 May 2017
at 19:13
  • msg #1

Destination: Unknown

The ship is 4 days into its trip through J-space. Everything is routine on board. Everyone's going about their business, though some don't have much to do except train and study, though that can get boring real fast.

It's 0559 when the schrack hits the fan. Well, kind of.

Where are you and what are you doing when it does?


The alarm klaxons suddenly go off! While this is the sound that all spacefarers dread, it's also one that most have never heard: it's the Misjump warning! If you were awake, you felt the ship drop out of J-space.

Sure, it was used in training sims, but, somehow, it's different when it actually happens on a ship.

A moment later, the ship's lights go out and the ship loses its artificial gravity.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:46, Wed 31 May 2017.
Samantha Kilgore
player, 352 posts
Pilot and Security expert
With more hidden talents
Wed 31 May 2017
at 07:06
  • msg #2

Destination: Unknown

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 1):

Depends on watches for Sam. If she was on watch would have been on the bridge, otherwise in her bunk, sleeping.
Walter Zeller
player, 398 posts
Merchant/Noble
Thu 1 Jun 2017
at 00:27
  • msg #3

Destination: Unknown

With his watch just about to come on, Sir Walter finished his paperwork in his cabin, making sure that it was ready for the custom inspectors before they got to their destination. Feeling the sudden lurch as the ship came out of jump, he quickly donned his vacc suit and headed to the bridge.

What's going on Samantha? Feels like we just came out of jump. he said as he checked the drives to make sure they were alright.

20:25, Today: Walter Zeller rolled 9 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 4,3.  Check drives to make sure they are okay.
Vonon Ronkunu
player, 312 posts
Vargr and Spacer
ex-Patrol Commander
Thu 1 Jun 2017
at 03:08
  • msg #4

Destination: Unknown

In reply to Walter Zeller (msg # 3):

Vonon had spent most of his shift - as he had every shift since the ship entered jumpspace - down in Drone Control working on learning the skill of Drone Operation. He had, actually, just shut down and secured the controls, prior to heading up to the Bridge to log off shift, when the ship lurches and alarms - some kind of Jump Engine Alert, if he remembered correctly - start going off.

Still seated when the lights go out, Vonon reaches for the button to open a comm-channel to the Bridge,

"What the frack just happened?" he asks, as he starts to feel himself floating in his chair.

With the power out, there is no reply.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:39, Thu 01 June 2017.
Gregory Jones
player, 38 posts
Human CyberAgent
Shoot First
Thu 1 Jun 2017
at 03:24
  • msg #5

Destination: Unknown

Jones had been up for about half an hour now, in preparation for his shift at 0600. He was heading for the bridge when the alarm went off, and then the ship went dark, and gravity cut out.

"That's not good," he commented to himself as he floated off the deck. Power was out, probably auto-shutdown when they dropped out of J-space.

That's what the alarm signaled--a premature termination of Jump-space. He didn't think it was a misjump; people didn't usually survive a misjump, though, when they did, they were usually nowhere near where they wanted to be.
Pablo Esteban Ryzov
player, 237 posts
End 8, Str 6, Dex 9
Gun for hire
Thu 1 Jun 2017
at 03:37
  • msg #6

Destination: Unknown

zzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Two seconds after the alarm began, Pablo was up with gun in hand, since it'd been under his pillow. A second later he was floating off his bunk, but reflexively, his non-gun hand darted out to grab the edge of the bunk.

He'd only been asleep for a few hours, but the alarm was loud enough to wake the dead!

"Oh, crap. Misjump. Mama said there'd be days like this. Don't know if it's good or bad that we aren't already dead."

He listened then. If the hull had been penetrated, the sound of air escaping would carry through the bulkheads. No hull breech. Still, putting on his vacc-suit was advisable. He pushed off from the wall to carry him to the rack where his vacc-suit hung.
Sharik Kaagira
player, 276 posts
Freelance: ex-IISS, ex-IN
Serious about recreation
Thu 1 Jun 2017
at 06:21
  • msg #7

Destination: Unknown

Sharik had been asleep.  Fast asleep.  It had been a good dream.  With unicorns, grav racing, and confetti.  Lots of confetti.  And Darrel's hunky co-star from that vid a decade ago.  Meow...

Which meant that the sudden shock from the blaring alarm was compounded by her arousal from deep, satisfied REM at the time.  Her eyes darted open, forcing focus and comprehension, but with the power out there was nothing to transition to except for the intermittent flashing lights.  Still, she had had enough training to know that she was in free fall, which meant a couple of things - the least of which was that the inertial compensators had failed.

Slowly and deliberately, the diminutive dilettante reached out with both hands in opposite directions to slow her pronating body and steady her position.  Once she'd disentangled herself from her bed sheets, Shar moved to put on her vacc suit and her personal electronics.  As the dataglove and p-comm established their local connections and ran through a set of quick diagnostics, the auburn-haired navigator took stock of the situation.

The power outage was extremely troubling, but did explain the lack of gravity, potentially.  The alarm meant emergency power.  Though, any emergency lights on the ship would likely not last for that long, a few hours at most.  There should be enough fuel for a few weeks of normal operation still, even if the initiation of the jump had siphoned most of their tanks.  If the power plant were still on line (which didn't appear to be the case).

But, any misjump usually spelled disaster.  It was a miracle that their atoms weren't strewn over several parsecs of n-Space, which was the usual outcome of the hydrogen bubble around the ship rupturing in j-Space and leaking n-Matter which naturally returned to n-Space on its own.  On the other hand, if they were in the middle of nowhere (literally) - in the space between stars, then instant disintegration and scattering might be preferable to freezing to death as temperatures equilibrated with the outside at just above four Kelvin.  The prospect of their precious heat energy bleeding away to the surrounding Deep Black was not appetizing at all.  Entropy was a bitch.

With the diagnostics check on her dataglove done and the light glow of standby illuminating her helmet's HUD, Sharik pushed off of her cabin wall towards the door to her quarters.  She popped the dusty latch to engage the manual mechanism to open the door.  The crank screw required a bit of time, but thankfully it still worked.  Poking her head through the doorway, she turned on her helmet lights and gave the darkened hallway a once-over.

She assumed those in engineering were trying to get the power plant online again.  But once that was done, the computer would need to be next - whatever state it might be in.  Both of them.  Along with the sneak circuits and avionics.  So, Sharik figured that she'd be needed on the bridge.
Samantha Kilgore
player, 353 posts
Pilot and Security expert
With more hidden talents
Thu 1 Jun 2017
at 07:40
  • msg #8

Destination: Unknown

As usual Sam was having trouble staying focussed on watch. Her mind wandered as she scanned the readouts for anything out of the ordinary, but she kept bringing it back to staying focussed. Years of this sort of duty didn't make it easier, you just learned how to cope.

When she felt the ship beginning to drop out of jump she was surprised - apart from basic, and a few refreshers since, she hadn't ever experienced this for real, and part of her brain thought - this must be another sim.

When the lights went out, and Gravity failed, she quickly strapped herself into her seat and tried the control panels. She tried to pull up first and foremost damage control, to see what, if any, issues there were immediately to deal with on the ship. Secondarily she tried to pull up an immediate nav update - to see if they were about to drift into a gas giant, or something equally inconvenient.

When Walter came in she was glad to see he was suited up, it meant she didn't have to waste time bothering as he could keep on working if things got serious and she needed to, though she did sub consciously pat the emergency soft suit in the bum bag she wore most of the time

"Confirming that Walter, but it defintely felt like it" she gave him a quick smile "Still, I am sure shenanighans will now commence..." she said, and turned back to the control panel

ooc
Is all power off? or just lights and Gravity?

08:35, Today: Samantha Kilgore rolled 9 using 2d6 with rolls of 4,4.  Strapping self in Zero G 0 Dex +1. Forgot +1 on roller

08:34, Today: Samantha Kilgore rolled 11 using 2d6 with rolls of 5,6.  Pulling up Damage Control. Not sure what this would be Int is +1 - is this Sensors (+1) or Computers (0) -

08:35, Today: Samantha Kilgore rolled 11 using 2d6 with rolls of 5,6.  Checking for outside hazards. Again Not sure what this would be Int is +1 - is this Sensors (+1) or Computers (0)
Again, potentially 12 (computers) or 13 (sensors)

Darrel Cromwell
player, 720 posts
Noble (Count)
Retired actor
Thu 1 Jun 2017
at 14:25
  • msg #9

Destination: Unknown

After his late-night shift, though on a ship such classifications were rather moot, he'd finished up some paperwork... funny how it was still called that when almost no one used paper any more... before going to bed, but quickly realized he was going to have trouble sleeping. Instead of continuing to fight it, he got up again, did a bit of studying but found his mind wasn't focused enough to retain anything.

Lately, he'd been feeling the actor bug again, which is probably what prompted him to watch his old vid, "The Ghostring of Spinstorme", a moderately successful sequel to his earlier hit, "The Ghost Moon of Spinstorme".

He wasn't really watching it for entertainment value, although he still found it reasonably entertaining; he just had a hard time realizing that it was him on the screen. The show had really been carried by Xavier Manse, who played the villain Dr. Dharkayne. Anyway, he was reviewing its technical merits, making notes on how it could have been improved, with the vague possibility of a remake (he'd play the dread doctor this time!), when it happened.

The end credits were rolling, and he was contemplating watching it again when he realized he still wasn't sleepy.

"OOOOOGA! OOOOOOGA! OOOOOOGA!" the alarm klaxons suddenly blared out.

"Damn! Misjump! So much for restarting my acting career!" he swore as the ship dropped out of J-space, the lights and then the gravity went out.

"Wait! If I can hear the damn alarm, that must mean I'm not dead, the ship hasn't been destroyed, and maybe, just maybe, there's something we can do about it!"

Although he thought it was a futile gesture, he began pulling on his vacc-suit by the flashlight function of his comm.
StarMaster
GM, 800 posts
Thu 1 Jun 2017
at 16:26
  • msg #10

Destination: Unknown

When the lights and gravity went out, it was just the obvious signs that all power had gone out. However, emergency power systems kicked in within about 3 seconds.

Almost as quickly as emergency power came on (re-booting sensors), the proximity alarm sounded!


By the time Walter reached the bridge, Sam had already run a systems check.

The Jump log showed a premature departure from J-space due to a gravitic anomaly in the flight path. The ship's default programming automatically shut down the reactor to conserve fuel, since it might still be needed to make another jump.

Emergency power is good for about a week.

There's no damage to the ship.

External sensors are indicating a nearby dwarf planet, but the visuals aren't registering it.
Kheaiftouaw
player, 498 posts
Aslan outcast
Thu 1 Jun 2017
at 19:02
  • msg #11

Destination: Unknown

Having just went to sleep a few hours ago Khea needed some minutes to realize that the alarm indicated something bad and that there was supposed to be gravity and light. When the realization hit her she immediately scrambled to grab her communicator and computer and to float to the door while still in her underwear, dressing in zero G and complete dark takes too much time after all, and to go as quickly as possible to the engine room.

Using her computer display to shine a little light and hoping that her natural night vision will warn her when she is about to hit a bulkhead she just screamed into the communicator "WHAT HAPPENED?" but didn't even bother to wait for a reply.

When the emergency power kicked in and the returning gravity dumped her on the floor she was just outside the ships locker trying to find a way to open the door without power, a problem luckily solved now so she continued to the engine room.

Only when she was outside it she realized that wearing a vacc suit (or anything besides underwear) would be quite helpful in this situation. But as time was running she had to do with whatever readout about the atmospheric conditions of the engine rooms were available to make sure she wouldn't meet her end due to a hull breach or ball of burning plasma when entering in order to check the machines and to find out what happened.

OOC: Kheaiftouaw rolled 8 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 1,5.  Checking Power and Jump Drive status (Edu + Skill).

The emergency power did turn gravity back on? If not ignore that part in my post.

Walter Zeller
player, 399 posts
Merchant/Noble
Thu 1 Jun 2017
at 20:26
  • msg #12

Destination: Unknown

Sir Walter moved to the shipboard communications panel to update the crew.

+++Attention crew, the good thing is we are still alive, the bad, we came out of jump way too early. There does not seem to be any damage to the drives and we still have some jump fuel. We are on emergency power for the time being so plan on manual operation for the doors and such. All hands to your battle stations.+++ he said.

"Sharik, please run a check to figure out where we ended up at and the best way out. Gregory, run a sensors sweep. Computer says there was a dwarf planet that caused us to come out of jump, need you to find it since we can not see it on visual.
Samantha, prepare for emergency maneuvering.
" Walter said as he waited for Darrell to come to the bridge in order to take over.
Vonon Ronkunu
player, 313 posts
Vargr and Spacer
ex-Patrol Commander
Fri 2 Jun 2017
at 03:32
  • msg #13

Destination: Unknown

In reply to Walter Zeller (msg # 12):

After a time that seemed longer than it probably was, some lights and gravity came back on, and Vonon settled back into his chair at the drone control console. He sat silent for moment, listening to the ship.

Only about half the lights were on, but he could see that. But as he listened, he realized he was hearing something a little disconcerting - quiet.

Normally the ship was abuzz with minor sounds - the whirring of ventilator fans, 60-cycle hums from lights, the steady thrum of the engines, even structural creaking as the ship moved.

Now, all he could hear was the whirring of a few ventilator fans and the bussing of a couple of light. Main power was obviously off-line, or much more of the ship's electronics would be active and making slight ultrasonic noise.

Then the intercom clicked open and Walter announced the ship had dropped from j-space and he wanted everyone to battle stations.

"Can he do that?" Vonon said out loud, to himself, as he looked over the drone controls, "I thought Sam was Bridge Officer this Watch. Oh, well - ah!"

Just as he had recently trained himself to do, Vonon switched drone master control over to bridge control. Then he relocked the board, here, and headed for the manual hatch out of Remote Ops, into the Secondary Cargo Bay. Opening the manual hatch, then crossing the secondary cargo bay, Vonon approached the iris-valve door out to the central companionway with caution, not sure if the automatics were working at emergency power levels - but the door opened when he reached out to touch it.

*...Boarding Armor or E-Suit...Boarding Armor or E-Suit...* Vonon considered as he walked, *...my stateroom's on the way to the Bridge...but there's a locker with E-Suits just down the hall from here, on this deck...Boarding Armor or E-Suit...Boarding Armor is a little bulky for the confines of a bridge station...that settles it...Boarding Armor it is...it was never really a question...*

Heading aft down the companionway, Vonon stopped at the corner where both the lift doors and the manual hatch into the landing bay were located. Again, not sure that it was working under emergency power, Vonon pressed the lift call button, and was relieved when the lift responded. He wasn't looking forward to going out into the landing bay to climb the ladder up to Engineering.

When the lift opens, he enters and pushes the button for the Main Deck.
Samantha Kilgore
player, 354 posts
Pilot and Security expert
With more hidden talents
Fri 2 Jun 2017
at 07:19
  • msg #14

Destination: Unknown

Sam ignored Walters protocol breach - technically she was in charge until the end of shift hand over, but unless he started doing stupid things it wasn't worth arguing now - they had bigger things to worry about.

Calling up the Sensors, she started them on a sweep pattern, focussing on the apparent dwarf planet, leaving them to run, she then returned her console to the piloting station, and began pre flight checks, checking all was in working order

ooc

Start sensor sweep 08:18, Today: Samantha Kilgore rolled 10 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 4,4.  Sensors 1 Int 1.

Pre flight
08:19, Today: Samantha Kilgore rolled 8 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 2,3.  Pre flight Pilot 2 Int 1.

Kheaiftouaw
player, 499 posts
Aslan outcast
Wed 7 Jun 2017
at 21:48
  • msg #15

Destination: Unknown

Once the first rush of adrenalin has passed and she has confirmed that the machines are not about to blow up Khea takes stock and especially checks the fuel status. Cassandra is two parsecs away from Outpost so the Long Shot should have enough fuel for a one parsec jump left.
Vonon Ronkunu
player, 314 posts
Vargr and Spacer
ex-Patrol Commander
Wed 7 Jun 2017
at 23:15
  • msg #16

Destination: Unknown

In reply to Kheaiftouaw (msg # 15):
OOC: If I've read the posts correctly - Sam is sitting at the Pilot Station, Sir Walter dropped into the Navigator Station, Darrel is at the Captain Station - and, I think, Sharik sat at the Comm Station. Everyone else is just standing at somebody's shoulder. So...


Vonon clomps onto the Bridge wearing his Boarding Armor spacesuit - the helmet open and folded back. Although Vonon had added a little 'Vargr Graffiti' to this suit, it still looked like a standard Imperial suit. Now has more artwork and 'bits-and-pieces' added to it, and looks much more - Vargr.

"What the frack happened?" he asks, as he heads for the Sensor Station (position 4, on the Map - unless that's where Sharik is sitting?), and plops into the chair (which automatically adjusts to his greater bulk).

Vonon opens a pair of comm-channels; accessing each weapon turret.

"Pablo? Kaengarr? We're at Battle Stations, you two strapped in and ready? I'll power up your sensor feeds on acknowledgement. Weapon charging will wait for Captain's Authorization."
StarMaster
GM, 801 posts
Thu 8 Jun 2017
at 04:49
  • msg #17

Destination: Unknown

The initial alarm and confusion quickly passes, and everyone gets the systems to spit out data.

Khea determines that there is enough fuel for a 1-parsec Jump, so the ship can continue on its course. There is also enough extra fuel for about a week of normal operations.

Sam is able to get the sensors to make sense of the anomalous readings. The ship dropped out of J-space due to a large gravitic field, registering as a Dwarf Planet. If it had been any smaller, it probably wouldn't have affected the ship.

As it is, the source of this gravity field was intersecting the Long Shot's course, so presumably it is a rogue planet.

Except... she can't find it on visual sensors. Finally, she focuses on the point of origin for the gravity... and finds... a pyramid.

With optical range finder, it's 250 meters across on its base, and 160 meters high. Although the surface has been made to look like stone, optical spectography indicates that it's a heavy metal... 170.

Why it is generating such a high gravity field is unknown. It'll take about a day to get there on emergency power with the gravity drive.

Sam's pre-flight check is a no-go: without the main reactor up and running, there's not enough power for a jump.
Samantha Kilgore
player, 355 posts
Pilot and Security expert
With more hidden talents
Thu 8 Jun 2017
at 09:35
  • msg #18

Destination: Unknown

Sam pulls the Pyramid up on to the screen and says to Vonun "Thats what happened, V. Though not exactly sure what that is. Can you get the sensors locked onto it and start scanning it - might be worth checking out. Its what caused us to drop out of the jump." Swivelling in her chair she says "Darrell, main power is still offline so no jump capability yet." She swivels back to her console and continues trying to get flight systems back up and running

ooc
should have been clearer - Sam was wanting to pre-flight for insystem maneovering - can we do any of that?

StarMaster
GM, 802 posts
Fri 9 Jun 2017
at 02:48
  • msg #19

Destination: Unknown

[OOC: Actually, I think I realized that's what Sam meant, and then I forgot to mention it.]


Yes, all systems are go for sublight maneuvering, using the gravitic drive with emergency power.
Vonon Ronkunu
player, 315 posts
Vargr and Spacer
ex-Patrol Commander
Fri 9 Jun 2017
at 03:03
  • msg #20

Destination: Unknown

In reply to Samantha Kilgore (msg # 18):

"What is that? Is that a mountain?" Vonon asks, squinting up at the main monitor, "No, it's too regular. Gotta be a ship. Anybody know if the Zho's are building Pyramid Ships, these days? Kheaiftouaw, one of yours, perhaps?"

Vonon turns his attention to the Sensor Station he's sitting at, and links into the feed Sam's already established. Then he begins a variety of scans to see what he can find out about the object.

However, the very first thing he does is determine if he can establish a stable weapon lock on the thing, that he can send to the targeting systems in the turrets. Then he'll start analyzing the object.




OOC: 22:58, Today: Vonon Ronkunu rolled 12 using 2d6((4,6)) +2 (INT or EDU +1, Sensors +1, unknown equipment bonus) to establish weapons lock on pyramid.
22:55, Today: Vonon Ronkunu rolled 8 using 2d6((5,1)) +2 (INT or EDU +1, Sensors +1, unknown equipment bonus) for general scan of the pyramid.

StarMaster
GM, 803 posts
Fri 9 Jun 2017
at 03:20
  • msg #21

Destination: Unknown

The weapons have a number of ways to get a lock on a target: radar, visual, IR... or, in this case, gravity. The weapons can target the center of the gravity well, and even use radar and visual. Radar is a bit tricky because the angles of the pyramid don't reflect the radar waves back correctly. IR isn't possible because there is no heat signature to the pyramid.


While it seems highly likely that the pyramid is generating an artificial gravity field, the technology makes it indistinguishable from a planetary gravity.

On the other hand, it's possible that there is a significant amount of collapsite, neutronium or white dwarf matter within the pyramid that would be causing the gravity.

The sensors aren't able to penetrate the other hull, nor can they give any reason why.
Darrel Cromwell
player, 721 posts
Noble (Count)
Retired actor
Fri 9 Jun 2017
at 03:26
  • msg #22

Destination: Unknown

"I was about to say, 'let's go check it out'," Darrel spoke up then, "but I have to keep reminding myself that this isn't one of my holovids."

"If I read the sensors correctly, we are just at the edge of the jump limit, so we shouldn't have any trouble getting back on course. One hour either way and we would have missed it completely."

"I'm seriously tempted to go check it out anyway. We have the resources at the moment, with only a bit of reserve, but if we exceed that, it could doom us."

"So, I'm putting it out there for the rest of the crew: do you want to investigate, or resume our course?"

Vonon Ronkunu
player, 316 posts
Vargr and Spacer
ex-Patrol Commander
Fri 9 Jun 2017
at 06:02
  • msg #23

Destination: Unknown

In reply to Darrel Cromwell (msg # 22):

Vonon shifts the gravity-targeting data to the weapon turrets, so that Pablo and Kaengarr can get a look at what we're facing, and keep the lasers pointed at it (though not powered up, yet). He takes note of Darrel's question with the back of his mind, as he focuses on the data coming in.



OOC:
Okay, only getting surface data, so, get a reading on the exact strength of the G-Field. "Gravity of a Dwarf Planet" - well, Mars has a 0.3 G local gravity, and it's a full blown (small) Planet. So what're we talking, 0.15G, 0.25G?

Also, space is not empty. Scan the surface of the object for debris deposits - layered dust, micro-meteorite impacts, metal fragments from other ships that have crashed against it, etc.

Try to get decent RADAR and LIDAR scans of each of the 5 sides (4 triangles and 1 square base) of the pyramid to create a surface map. You said it "looked like stone" but was detecting as metallic Element 179, but does that mean that it just has a rough, stone-like finish all over, or does it have a pattern of lines, mimicking stone blocks?

Vonon may have to ask Sam to maneuver the ship in order to get better angles for these RADAR and LIDAR shots.
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