You go straight through the doors into the escape pod "garage."

You find yourself in the center of a roughly cylindrical room.  It is obvious at first glance that escape pods are just one of many uses of this room.

OOC: Think of this room as longwise north to south, you having entered from the west.

The ceiling on this room is approximately 20 feet high at its highest.  It is about 100 feet long.  You stand about 20 feet away from its "southern" end.

You see on each side of the room a railing and walkway (where the stairs led).  About every 20 feet is a metal extendable ladder leading up and down to the walkways.

To the south (your right), you see mainly technician equipment and power tools of all kinds, including laser tools, parts, and an assorted array of what any normal repair garage might carry, complete with round metal stools and heavy steel tables.

There is a door straight across from you, and another one to the far south down a slight ramp.

To the north, you see small "bays" of doors leading to 12 escape pods.  Each is about 15 feet from the next in the long alley, merging well with the dome-like curves of the ceiling.  Each door provides about 3 feet of wall and circuits separating it from the next (i.e., cover).  Tools and equipment are scattered across the floor.  Also spread across the floor are mangled bodies of crewmen.

As you might have guessed, there are only two escape pods left.  The rest have left the ship and thus have red lights indicating they are empty.  The two with green lights are about 80 feet up at the end of the corridor.

Giving a great vista view of the stars outside is a round window filling the entire north wall.  It is, of course, extremely durable, but still there are signs all around the giant window indicating the dangers of using tools or discharging firearms nearby.

There is one other thing that gives you pause.  It is obviously the reason only the two most distant pods are available.  It is also obviously the reason there are mangled bloody bodies all around.

Blocking out half the view of the window is a robot 10 feet tall and at least as wide.  It has makeshift guns attached to its arms.  It may have once been a security robot.  Maybe it was modified here in the workroom.  Maybe it has just been assembled since the Matrix virus took over and is meant to keep people from escaping.  Whatever the reason, it sees you enter and snaps to attention, guns whirling in your direction.




This message was last edited by the GM at 00:26, Tue 19 Apr 2011.

OOC: Are there any weapons that we can see on the floor, spent shell casings, laser scorches, signs of battle, etc.?  Thinking maybe the robot won't attack if there's no weapons out or isn't attacked?

There are a few scattered weapons under the corpses.  You see a 3 laser pistols and a needler pistol.  There may be more if you move around the corpses to look under them.  But clearly not all of the dead were carrying weapons.

Remembering the response of the science bots to him, Bartja motions for everyone to move back.

"Take cover!  I don't think it will recognize me as a human and I may be able to deactivate it.  If you hear me getting blasted, feel free to intervene, but give me a chance to shut'er down before we start blasting the place apart."

It wasn't bravery - it seemed like the only chance they had against a robot of this size.  If Bartja knew his robots (and he was pretty sure he did), this thing could take a full clip from a laser rifle without flinching, then return ten times as much baster fire in a single round.  It would not be easy to defeat in direct combat....no...it would be practically impossible given the few weapons they had salvaged so far.

Once the group is safely out of sight, Bartja steps back through the portal and faces the robot.  If it restrains firing on him, he walks right up to it with purpose, toolkit in hand.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:03, Wed 20 Apr 2011.

Hammer mumbles under his breath, "Oh great.  OK, let's try this again."

Hammer walks into the room with an exaggerated robotic walk, like the other Matrix robots he's seen.
He speaks to the giant 'bot with an even tone.
"Do Not Fire.  Explosive Gas Detected.  Firing Weapons May Cause Explosion.
Repeat.
Do Not Fire.  Explosive Gas Detected.  Firing Weapons May Cause Explosion."


Hammer walks in a different angle than Bartje, offering himself as a distraction.

If a gun starts tracking him, he will move very fast out of the way.
Hammer is not brave -- but it seems that bypassing this obstacle
is the logical way to the pods & freedom.

Desiraye nods to Bartja and tries to wave the others to follow her and seek cover in the tech areea with the equipment and heavy tables to let Bartja & Hammer do their thing.

Doctor Kri'lik eyes the escape pods trying to determine how many individuals can fit in each one? He also takes note to where the abandoned laser pistols lie.

As Bartja and Hammer move forward and Hammer begins talking, the left arm gun trains on Hammer and the right arm gun trains on Bartja.  The left arm gun appears to be some sort of laser or similar weapon.  The right gun appears to be a projectile chain gun with high caliber bullets.

The right gun barrel begins spinning with a disconcerting whirring sound.

You hear sounds behind you of approaching robots.

Each escape pod holds up to 8 people.  They sit around in a circle octagon style with a control computer in the center.

The robots behind you will arrive in 3 rounds.

"Christ Bartja, that sounds like a high-powered weapon or a gatling gun ready to fire!  You and Hammer better be sure you know what your doing," Desi says to them over their communication devices as she seeks cover in the tech shop and unslings her laser rifle.

S'Krllk ponders for a moment, then moves to the rear as with his magnetic bar. As he does so, he looks for some constriction wherein he could affix the bar to prevent the robots from passing. If nothing else, perhaps he can slow them down to give the others time to deal with whatever technological terror is blocking the escape pods. So he mumbles, "I'll just use the magnetic force."

When Hammer's persuasion has no effect, he moves for cover.
His biggest concern is that there will be no effective cover for this type
of weapon.

"Alrighty then, that didn't work.
This giant robot is too stupid to process a perfectly reasonable order.
OK, I'm in trouble again, people!"
Hammer says all this while moving as fast as he can.

Not one to strike first, Doc Kri'lik aims his laser pistol at the robot and moves to cover like the rest of the group. He holds his fire until fired upon or Desi gives the signal.

While moving for cover he will try and work his way to one of the laser pistols lying on the ground. cover has priority however over the abandoned pistols.

Beam weapons 45% + aim. 5 SEU setting

Taking it all in after only the first two steps, Bartja stops and watches with horror the chain gun warming up in preparation to fire.  Time seems to slow as he takes in all the details he can from this distance - then retreats backwards to find cover from the hail of high-caliber bullets about to erupts in the escape-pod garage.

"That's no UPF robot!  The Matrix must have built itself a security bot and it looks like they've covered all the safety features.  I guess there's no need to deactivate one of the Hive-minded because that thing has no control panel that I could see.

We're surrounded, although I'd rather face the science-bots behind us than that thing in combat.  Maybe we can use the science-bot as shields.  I don't think big-mama down there is going to care what comes into the garage.  It's going to blast anything and everything that moves towards the pods - that's my guess."

Bartja removes an electro-drive from his toolkit and looks around the hallway for a suitable ambush point where he can hide, the idea being to quickly and effectively disable one of the oncoming robots before a melee begins.

Clicking her SEU output to 10, Desiraye takes careful aim at the Giant Robot, hopefully finding a vital system or weapon system to take out giving them a chance to get away.

Beam Weapons: 6
DEX: 30
Careful Aim
Laser Rifle 50/50 (Beltpack)

Laser Pistol: 12/20

...unless something else happens?

From behind his hidey spot, Hammer shouts out,

"Can't you jam it's reception?  Or maybe cover it's optical sensors with goop
so it doesn't blow me up?  Or something ... BEFORE ... it fires?"

Hammer looks around desperately for anything within reach.
He has a wimpy laser pistol, but that would probably do nothing to the combat 'bot.

"Maybe this rescue was not such a good idea?  Out of the frying pan..."

ROUND 1
You begin preparations.

Hammer dives to the side, and Bartja gets back toward the area where the robots will soon arrive.

The guns on the robot release.  Near Hammer, blasts of powerful lasers hit the wall.  He is in the nook of an escape pod bay.

Bartja doesn't have any really great place to wait for the robots but can go up top if he wants.  In any case, he steps out of the range of fire just as a barrage of bullets fly, ricochet, and send thunderous roars throughout the bay.

Desiraye gets her weapon out.

Kri'lik moves behind another of the nooks and draws his weapon.

S'Krllk steps back toward the hall with the robots and has his magnetic bar ready to help keep them at bay.

The giant robot takes a step toward you.

There does not appear to be any particularly susceptible area of the giant robot, though the neck and face might be options, or either of the guns.

The next few moments will likely determine the fate of this escape attempt, and Bartja sees few good opportunities to improve their odds.

"Aim for the head and neck.  If you can take out the sensor arrays, you can at least weaken the thing.  Someone should snipe those targets if possible" he says to those who are skilled with the weapons.

Looking up, Bartja notices the catwalk level above and decides that perhaps he can use it to drop in behind the approaching robot-party.  Anything he can do to disable this flanking attack has to help!  Besides, if he and S'Krllk can shut down this group quickly, they may also be able to reprogram them to enter the fray as allies instead of enemies.  Putting them in the line of fire of the mega-bot is preferable to any of the friends being up front.

He was now glad that he'd given Hammer the gyrojet rifle with the full clip.  He felt unhindered by the need to fire randomly at the giant bot and his hands were free to disable robots.  Besides, he thought as he climbed frantically to the catwalk, now I'm free to glide down on these suckers!

Climbing Roll: 80 (if needed)
This message was last edited by the player at 22:42, Thu 28 Apr 2011.

Going on Bartja's advice, Desiray aims her laser rifle at the head area of the robot.

Beam Weapons: 6
DEX: 30
Careful Aim
Laser Rifle 50/50 (Beltpack)

From cover, Hammer shoots at the floor below the robot.
Is Hammer panicking?  Or is the ingenuity?

When you are thinking of your strategy, here is the basic situation:

The giant robot is essentially blocking most of the hall leading to the two escape pods.

You could theoretically jump from one escape pod nook to the other to use as cover, taking a risk there.

You could destroy the giant robot.

If you cross the floor, you must maneuver around bodies and objects, which could trip you or cause delays.

As Desiraye discovered, there are other items of cover too, such as the table.  I made it heavy metal (pardon the pun) to be an effective shield, if not 100%.

If you are on the catwalk, you have attack advantage to the oncoming robots (height) and light cover from the giant robot, allowing you to possibly run along it to the escape pod on the left.

The giant window behind the robot, if penetrated, would result in decompression and emergency procedures (which may be more or less severe depending on its damage).

The robots coming in from the hall are indeterminate in number but are likely not a few.  Their place in our story is more for the effect of giving you need to hurry rather than a new swarm of enemies.  Even if you overcome one or two, you are likely to be overwhelmed by the others.

I do not create the situation to railroad you into any one solution, so whatever road you take may or may not work.  I try to at least include several possible solutions.  So these are the things I had in mind, but you may think of something more or better.

The giant robot has 750 STA.  (High damage means you hit between armored plates and lower damage means you hit its armor.  Otherwise, you can do careful aim with the bonuses and penalties to maximize damage, as Desiraye is trying to do.)

In reply to GM Heath (msg #22):

In mesg #6, Desi stated she was going for the heavy metal tables for cover.  I knew that the big robot would have that many STA.

That's what I understood, so we're on the same page.

Realizing that the situation is, at least, as desperate as usual gives S'Krllk the push he needs to have a hare-brained stupid idea. He just had to figure out how to get to the catwalk and move on the thing. Perhaps he should count on quick movements, it seemed to work for earther cockroaches.
S'Krllk scurried to the catwalk ladder most obscured from the big bot, and ran up the thing.

After climbing up to the catwalk himself, Bartja listens to the many many feet, wheels, and tracks of approaching robots.  He shakes his head in defeat.

"Too many!  Who has the grenades?  I'm going to make a run for it which should distract it.  Take advantage, Des, and blast it's head off!"

Ready or not, Bartja chooses to run and dodge on the catwalk, trying to reach the escape pod just beyond the giant-heavy-duty-machine of destruction...

"I've got two frags on my belt Bartja.  Take one or both and use them however you need too!"

Tactics being a weak point for the doctor, he eyes Desi trying to shoot the robots head and does likewise.

Beam Weapons 45% + Aim (5 SEU)

ROUND 2
As Bartja and S'Krllk head up the catwalk, Desi tosses two grenades their way.  They each catch one.

Then Desi fires, hitting the robot in the head.  (Double damage. Robot is at -15% to hit.)

Kri'lik also fires.  His shot goes wide, hitting the glass behind the robot.  (Critical miss.)  The laser fire blast opens a hole to the vacuum of space, and you hear the hiss of air escaping.

Hammer shoots the floor in front of the robot.  That seems primarily to make it mad and it fires back.  At least Hammer is distracting the robot's firing.

The robot fires, its lasers scoping out Bartja as he moves along the upper catwalk.  Bartja is hit by an array of powerful lasers.  (51 STA damage.)  Bartja falls unconscious to the floor.  (Bartja is at -14 STA.)

Bartja flops to the floor of the catwalk, but S'Krllk makes it just past him.  S'Krllk is standing over the giant robot looking down, staring into the barrel of the large laser rifle.  (If he tries (and abandons Bartja), S'Krllk might be able to swing down and get into the escape pod next round.)

The recoilless projectile rifle in the other robot hand fires at Hammer, but Hammer ducks behind cover just in time to feel the blast hit the wall of the escape pod bay door.

The robots outside are getting closer.  Two more rounds until they reach the room.

OOC: Just to make it clear, there is careful aim (getting a bonus to hit by delaying the shot) and there is a called shot (taking a penalty to try to hit a certain area of the opponent).

Kri'lik can reach the catwalk and stimdose Bartja at the end of next round if he gets cover fire and doesn't get shot.

STRATEGY OBSERVATION:  It appears from your encounter so far that the robot's primary targeting is centered on movement.

Cursing his bad luck and the escaping oxygen the Vrusk abandons the firefight and moves for the ladder to take him up to the catwalk and the injured Bartja.

Stimdose is the plan if I can get there in time...

S'Krllk drops the magnetic bar onto the huge robot before attempting to grab Bartja and get clear.

The lasers had cut him down, but not before he'd seen another potential weakness in the robot.  Now if he could only come out of dreamland to tell S'Krllk in time.....

*groan*

Desi was going to take another aimed shot at the head but, seeing that Doc's shot has begun a puncture in the glass.  "Crap!  This is going to get ugly real fast.  Start moving for the pods," she says as she tries to target either the head again or a weapon system with [1] x [10] SEU shot at the big robot.

Does the robot look like it's still tracking us with his sensors or sight?

Beam Weapons: 6
DEX: 30
Laser Rifle 40/50 (Beltpack)

Laser Pistol: 12/20
This message was last edited by the player at 01:14, Mon 02 May 2011.

"That blast was too close!  I have no advantage exchanging shots with an armored combat bot!
It's mass-produced to destroy, but I'm delicately crafted for refined endeavors.

I give up!"

Hammer makes a 'running while shooting' maneuver,
desparately hustling to get to the escape pod.

Despite his robotic nature, he isn't particularly good at it.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:18, Tue 03 May 2011.

ROUND 3

Kri'lik begins running up and toward Bartja.  This movement attracts the giant robot's attention.  It fires at Kri'lik...but the cover of the railing and height protect Kri'lik.  He bends down and gives Bartja a stimdose injection.  Bartja is revived.

Hammer begins firing and running toward the escape pod.  His shots go wide, but he gets the attention of the giant robot.  Amazingly, the recoilless rifle only hits him in the leg, doing mild damage.  (16 STA dmg.)  Hammer stumbles the rest of the way into the escape pod (on the left side where Bartja, S'krllk and Kri'lik are above).

The robots are getting really close to the large room...

Desi opens fire again, hitting the robot in the back of the head.  (58 dmg.)

S'Krllk throws the magnetic bar at the giant robot from above.  (The roll is a miss, which means he hits the robot with the magnetic bar, but it does not hit any critical functions.)  The magnetic bar hits the right leg of the giant robot, rending it inoperable.  (Speed slowed, rotation to turn slowed, etc.)

1 Round until the other robots reach you.

You hear Shinsa's voice over your microphones.  "It's the General!  He's compromised.  Get to those shuttles.  The master computer is attempting to disable all escape pods.  We can't hold it back for long."  Her voice then appears directed elsewhere.  "General, wait.  General!  No!"

Then there is silence.

Bartja wonders for a moment how the general who is flesh and blood (he thought) could be compromised - but there hardly seems time to worry about it.  They must escape now!

"Move slowly or throw something to distract it!  It seems to be keying in on motion more than heat."

Testing his own theory, Bartja sets the grenade Desi tossed him to explode in 0 rounds.  Turning his head to see the giant shred-bot, he judges its position as well as he can, then tosses the grenade to hopefully land at its feet.  He watches to see if the Robot will turn to fire at the arching projectile or if it will choose a larger moving target in preference.  Either way, he hopes the move will have some effect.

Grenade Roll: 58%
1/2 Dex: 40
Grenade Bounce Direction: 9
This message was last edited by the player at 20:51, Tue 03 May 2011.

Hearing the warning and then silence over the radio, Desiraye decides that it's time to finally move and get the hell out of here.  She uses her best speed and using available cover to get to an escape pod.  If she can help anyone get there with her, she certainly will.

S'Krllk decides to do something stupid, and gets as close to the escape pod as the catwalk permits before attempting to leap down to the pod.

Kri'lik is having similar thoughts as S'Krllk but decides to what the other Vrusk go first. If his leap goes well the professor will follow.

"Ah, my leg!"  Hammer goes down, but crawls to the shuttle.

Inside the 5 seconds of safety in the shuttle, Hammer is unhappy and also deep in thought.
He says outloud,
"What is the chance this Matrix virus wants a ride along with us?
I'd say almost 99.9%.  Hopefully we can get someone to wipe it -- if we leave."

And then the thought, 'I wonder if I'm infected...?'

Hammer initiates a self-scan to see if he detects any infection in himself.

ROUND 4
Hammer is inside the pod.  The screen in the center of the pod lights up as he enters, displaying a screen that says, "Please enter security code for launch.  Do you wish to view your security question?"  Your understanding of escape pods is that they are locked in place but are unlocked in cases of emergencies.  Therefore, it shouldn't require a security code, not unless the computer virus that is taking over the ship has locked it up.

Bartja tosses the grenade down, and it bounces to the side, exploding near but not on the giant robot.  The robot is damaged and swings its guns around.

S'Krllk takes this opportunity to swing down.  He jumps over and scampers into the pod safely.

Kri'lik is right behind him, but now the guns are facing in his direction.

Bartja ducks to avoid fire.

Heavy Lasers and a recoiless rifle fire up at the catwalk area.  Bartja is not hit, but Kri'lik is hit in the arm (12 STA dmg) as he swings over the railing.  (Right arm unusable...luckily, Vrusk are ambidextrous.)

Yag and Desi are running toward the pod as fast as they can go.  The exploding grenade makes them stumble, but they are able to get into the pod.

The giant robot is now turning around to face the pod and the giant window.  Everyone is in the pod except Bartja, who is still on the catwalk.

The robots coming up the hall will enter the area at the beginning of the next round.

Holding his breath to see if the incoming robots distract the giant-bot, Bartja waits or the opportunity.  The moment the huge-bot turns to see the new entries into the fray (whether or not it fires on them), he rolls off the catwalk, dropping down to the floor below, and sprints to the escape pod.  The adrenaline and stimdose seem to be working together to help him feel "no pain"....at least at the moment.

"BARTJA!  WE ARE LEAVING," Desi yells out as she begins to cover his way down to the pod.

OOC: OK, I wasn't thinking of doing this but, is the window that is cracked within a reasonable shot of Desi in case she needs to shoot it out to use it agains the robot(s)?

Yes, she can fire out the door and hit the window to the left or to the right to hit the giant robot coming your way.

Oh, and don't forget about the message on the escape pod...

"If we don't know the security code, go to the security question."

Hammer looks at the screen, doesn't touch anything.
"I don't know the security code, I don't know the security question!!
I may be a Mechanon, but I'm not a computer person!  Tech support!!!"

Sometimes, fiddling with computers when you don't know what you're doing
messes things up worse than if you think you know.

Hammer is smart enough to know that much, so he doesn't do anything...
except nervous self-talk.
"Ooooh oh, this isn't good.  This isn't good..."

Once inside the pod Kri'lik does his best to start first aid on himself. The doctor can not be using only one arm...

Will apply one dose of biocort for +10 STA...hope that makes my arm work...

S'Krllk examines the escape pod, looking for anything that would allow them to override computer control and wondering which of the escape pods systems can be used by the matrix as environmental hazards.

Inside the escape pod, you have a few options:

You can make a Computer Check, Level 5, to try to get past the computer lock out, or

You can check the security question to see if there is another way to override.

If you fail, you will need to all get to the other escape pod to try again.

Remember that you can only do a computer check once per person, and each check will take 1 round.

Yag jumps to the computer, asking it to give the security question even as he begins trying to override the computer.

"I don't think we're going to have a chance to move to another shuttle so whatever you can do to override the system would be a pretty good idea."

"I should try last.  I'm not very good with computers."

"I'm right with you Hammer."

Desi won't close the door to the escape pod until Bartja is in (or anyone else that's still out).
This message was last edited by the player at 02:10, Fri 13 May 2011.

"In my rush to enter this pod I failed to see how far the door to the next one is if we should not succeed in launching this one." Says the doctor with a bit of concern.

"Fix this one, and it won't matter!!!  HURRY!"
Hammer tries to remain calm.  He fails.

S'Krllk figures he would attempt to override the computer if Yagrith fails, but is also wondering why there would be a security override question if the matrix is causing the problem in the first place.

ROUND 5
The robots flood into the main area.  This distracts the giant robot, which turns in their direction, apparently notices they are not enemies, and turns back.  This delay gives Bartja the time he needs to swing over the top of the railing and get into the escape pod.

Inside the escape pod...

Yag tries but fails to crack the computer security.

"Security Question Number One" pops up on the computer screen, along with the following text:

I am in the earth,
And in the air;
I dwell in space,
And every planet there.
What am I?

There is a cursor below this for you to type the answer.

Once Bartja is in the pod, Desi tries to close the escape pod door.  It won't budge.  A screen on the locking mechanism states:  "Security Lock.  Shuttle Not Free For Launch."

The giant robot has turned and is now facing your direction.  Although you are all out of direct fire in the shuttle, if the robot proceeds forward, unless it is distracted or otherwise delayed, it will be able to fire into the shuttle after one more round.

Bartja begins opening his toolkit, still working on adrenaline alone as his life-blood pours out on the escape pod floor.  If they can't figure out this security question, he's got a few tricks in the toolbox that might be able to help.

"Gravity?" he suggests as he quickly reads the riddle on the pod screen while removing an electro-drive and a set of tool-tips.

For final guesses, an answer will need to be typed into the computer.

Yag says, "I'll try to be a distraction while getting the info on the other shuttle."

He goes to the door and sprints across the open area to the far shuttle, looks inside, attempts to override the computer if possible, and yells the results back across to his companions.

"Wish me luck," he says.

"Crap!  Is there gravity in space?  Minerals?  I don't know, this isn't my sort of thing.  I'm usually blowing stuff up," Desi says as she watches Yag go running off to another escape pod.

You can roll a 1/2 logic check to get a hint.

Not even in the same universe...

20:03, Today: Desiraye Lipost rolled 87 using 1d100. 1/2 LOGIC (20).

"Crap! What kind of life saving escape pod has a stupid riddle to launch! Wait I think I may have an idea!"

20:53, Today: Kri'lik rolled 4 using 1d100. 1/2 logic (75). Hey my High Logic comes in handy here boys and girls!

"Good, because I've got no ideas."

Hammer rolled 76 using 1d100. logic thinking about logic.

"Considering the way it keeps trying to kill us and fails, I think the universal constant would be incompetence... or maybe hydrogen."
S'Krllk is wondering if giving up is an option, at least that way he might get a matched pair of hands.

OOC: 09:47, Today: S'Krllk rolled 81 using 1d100. logic check.

Bartja thinks about it for a few moments longer.  The ideas seem to be coming to him now....

PM - your clue:

I should add that I created this scenario so that different things can happen simultaneously, such as fighting and distracting the large robot while a couple of others work out the computer.  You don't all have to be hunched around the computer with the riddle.

"Radiation?  Gamma Rays?  I'm not good at these riddles but I could try to manually override with some tools." Bartja waits to see if anyone comes up with a solid idea before he starts to un-rig the door.

"Atoms...? Something to do with the alphabet perhaps?"

Seeing that the dor won't budge, Desi will take another aimed shot at something important on the robot, looking like a weapon system or audio/visual sensor.

B thought about that a moment.  "Nah!  No atoms in space but I think you're right on the alphabet track.  That's what made me think of radiation - alpha, beta, and gamma are all forms of it and they're letters of the alphabet, which itself is short for alpha beta".

Time was wasting and Bartja had a strong urge to physically crack open the machine and short-circuit the door to close.  However, they might need the computer systems to be intact if they were to make a safe descent onto any habitable place.

"We may be on the wrong track.  It may not be something physical like radiation but more like a concept or theory.  Not gravity but perhaps something else from the quantum, like strings or void-space, although my hunch is that its simpler than that.

So what would fit this riddle and have something to do with the alphabet?"  Bartja begins to muse, hoping his ramblings might inspire someone to realize the answer.  "A to Z; A B C; A, bee, sea, dee, E, ef, gee.  I, jay, kay, el, em, en, oh, pee, que, are, es, tee, you, vee, double you, ex, why, zed (or zee)."

GM Heath:

"Security Question Number One":

I am in the earth,
And in the air;
I dwell in space,
And every planet there.
What am I?

"Security Lock.  Shuttle Not Free For Launch."

What about centrifugal force?  Gyroscopic force?  G-force for short?  That's something that occurs in space and in planets as does its opponent, centripetal force."  It wouldn't hurt to try it, unless that robot reached the doorway...
This message was last edited by the player at 15:07, Thu 19 May 2011.

"Liquid or water?" Desi says as she continues her aim on the robot.

Bartja considers the suggestion and mulls it over aloud as they continue discussing the possible answers.  "Liquids like water change form in space.  They can be either gas, liquid, or solids.  Water can only exist in the life zones around stars.  Elsewhere its either ice or gas, and in deep space, there isn't any of it."

"I like the radiation idea the best so far..." Says the Vrusk with a slight shrug of his shoulders indicating he's not really sure if thats right or not.

You can always type a guess in and see if it succeeds or fails...and what the results might be.

"Hurry up!  We need to get this thing going!"
Hammer sits in the escape pod watching others.
He never had any combat training -- maybe he needed some in the future?

"The correct answer is probably death."

"Start typing people!"

With Yag having sprinted back into the corridor, Bartja feels a little more relaxed and willing to guess what the pass-code might be.  Sliding over to the keyboard, he quickly types in G-FORCE.  If that fails, he tries his second favorite, RADIATION.

"If this doesn't work, I'm opening her up with my toolkit" he says in great angst as he tries to crack the security.

"No, no!  Try dust!  Atoms are also everywhere, as is the void.
But it sounds like dust to me.

I didn't see that hint on that screen, sorry about that.

I'm an exobiologist, I know something about these things."

Hammer looks smug, but inside, he has no idea if that's the right answer.
Despite being an astute scientist, he's never been good with riddles.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:13, Wed 25 May 2011.

After Desi takes her shot (this round), if the escape pod doesn't work, she will move over to the other one where Yag went and check on him.

Yag runs across.  The large robot is distracted.  It fires everything it has at Yag.  Unfortunately, Yag is also between the robot and the giant windows looking out on the beauty of space.  The lasers hit the windows, and they begin melting and warbling.  Then the large recoilless rifle is trained on Yag...

Desi fires at the large robot, hitting it in the spot between its neck and head.  It seems to warble slightly, and its recoilless rifle goes off...

Yag is hit.  (66 dmg.)

The recoilless also slams bullets into the window area, and tne weakened glass gives way, sending air flying out into the vacuum of space.

Yag is too close.  He is pulled to the hole in the window, where he luckily grabs on.

Debris in the room begins flying toward the ever increasingly large hole, which is now about 6 feet across.  The large robot stumbles.  (Robot cannot attack next round.  Robot is at a -10 percent to hit.)

And then...to your dismay...Yag is hit by flying debris.  He loses his grip and goes flying out into space.  (Yag is dead.)

The other robots had been coming your way.  There are 12 total.  Each has a 10% chance next round of braving the decompression and being able to reach the escape pod.

Hammer seems to be getting inspiration...

Bartja sits at the console of the escape pod, the stress of the moment becoming too much.  The injuries he carries should have been fatal and he knew he was only alert and active thanks to the pseudo-adrenaline injected into him (Stimdose).  Fortunately the steroids used also speed healing and stop bleeding or he would be dead for certain - almost as certainly dead as Yag now seemed to be.

For a moment, Bartja grieved and grimaced for his fallen comrade - but there wasn't time to properly do so.  He would have to let the rage out later, when everyone else that could be saved had been saved.

Then he noticed Hammer seemingly muttering to himself as the decompression began to swell his ears.  Of course Hammer was yelling, but the rush of wind and pressure change was making it difficult to hear.  It looked and almost sounded like Hammer had a better idea for the password......

"Hit "a", the answer is the letter "a."!!!!!"  Hammer yells,
hopefully louder than the decompression noise.

If Bartja can't hear him, he will yell it at him.
If he still can't get the info across, he will type it.

Hammer does not suffer from the lack of air,
but he realizes he may soon be the only one still alive.
"a!!!!"

Desi watches her shot hit home but too little too late as she sees the recoiless rifle discharge its round and Yagrith is hit by it.  Before she can react any further, she also sees & hears the windoes starting to give way and the air inside the escape pod area start to go out as well as the body of Yagrith.  Her screaming his name out is probably barely audible as the area starts to decompress.  All she can do is hope that someone can break the code and get them out of here before the other robots sent to stop them keep coming towards them.

The letter "a" is pushed.  A screen lights up:


You have successfully answered the first security question.  Congratulations, human.

Here is your second security question:


The screen suddenly fades and you hear General Ashe in your ear.

"I'm alive," he says.  "We've gotten into one of the computers and we see your situation.  The computer is sending you an endless list of riddles to delay you.  We're overriding right now."

A moment later, you hear a voice overhead:

"Override accepted.  Preparing to launch pod.  Please press the gr..."

The voice cuts out.

The general cuts in again.  "Push the button!  It's going to lock me out soon.  Hurry and..."

His voice also cuts out.

The giant robot is positioning itself to fire into the cabin of the escape pod.  It will fire next round.  The air is also whooshing out.  Luckily, the other smaller robots are being thrown off balance by the decompression.

Looking down, in addition to the keyboard, you see several buttons:

A red button
A blue button
A gray button
A green button
A black button

Green or Gray, that was what Bartja thought he started to hear before it cut out.  Gray didn't make any sense and Green always seemed to mean "Go".

Taking a chance before the big robot fired, Bartja reached out and pressed the Green button....

OOC: I'm thinking the Green button makes sense myself.  Gray would be our luck though...

Actually, I will roll randomly...  :)

"Send it now or we're all gunna die real soon!"

"Hurry! Its about to fire!" Yelled the doctor as he prayed the doors to the pod will close.

S'Krllk mumbles something about meeting someone and dignity, then expresses his disgust at the idea as he rolls up like a woodlouse to await the inevitable.

The green button is pushed...

OOC: Sorry, guys, the roll came up gray.

After you push the green button, a voice comes over the intercom.  "You have indicated the escape pod doors must be held open for further boarding.  Holding..."

The giant robot rounds the corner, guns blazing.  The inside of the escape pod erupts with the fire as recoiless rounds fire into the room along with blasts from a laser rifle.

OOC: Okay, this time you got lucky.

Apparently, between the damage done to the giant robot and the whooshing of air in decompression, something has messed up the robot's recoilless rifle.  It explodes in the robot's face.  (78 dmg--critical miss)  No one inside is hurt, and the recoilless is disabled.  The laser misses you as everyone ducks.

One of the smaller robots appears in the entryway.  It has some kind of weapon in its hand that it will fire next round.

OOC: You can now post for next round.  Someone might want to try the other button.

Not green, gray!  Bartja pushes the gray button with vehemence as he recovers from dodging the laser.  He also ducks the sight of the new threat as well as he can....

Desiraye brings the business end of her laser rifle up on to the armed robots chest and fires a single 10-SEU shot into it trying to buy them another few seconds to get the escape pod into space and away from here.  "GRAY, NOW!!!"

Beam Weapons: 6
DEX: 30
Laser Rifle 30/50 (Beltpack)

Laser Pistol: 12/20

"You're terminated!"  Hammer shouts, shooting.   Looks around, "What?  I saw it on an old recording."

If a shot presents itself Professor Kri'lik will also fire his laser pistol out of the pod door at one of the approaching robots, but only if he can do so safely without shooting one of his companions.

Beam weapons 45% + aim 5 SEU

Desi and Kri'lik fire at the robot entering the door, both hitting it.  Hammer's shot goes wide.

Bartja pushes the gray button.

A voice on the intercom states:


"Emergency evacuation intitiated.  Closing doors.  Please remove all objects from the doorway."

Desi and Kri'lik had disabled the small robot in the doorway, and Desi kicks it, sending it flying out into the quickly decompressing chamber beyond.

The door closes, locking you all inside.

The intercom voice says:

"Evacuation beginning.  Please fasten safety restraints.  Ejection in 10...9...8...7..."


You hear pounding against the door as blasts from beyond hit it, lasers and other things.  Air begins pouring into the escape pod, counteracting the decompression effects.

You get strapped in quickly.

"2...1..."

The escape pod takes off with a whoosh.  The coordinates are preset to Starstation Aurora.  The trip is long and uneventful, but you can't help wondering about General Ashe and Shinsa and the efforts to take back the Pegasus.

The escape pod lands safely in the Aurora, and you are greeted by military personnel from UPF, who are aware of the situation on the Pegasus.  You are again put through a decontamination procedure, and several hours later, you are cleared.

By that time, the fate of the Pegasus is known.  General Ashe and Shinsa were able to take control of the bridge with the help of some others.  The Matrix infection was put down, but the Pegasus will have to orbit the station without docking until the all clear is given.