In the morning, the crews are summoned to the briefing room off the Ops Centre. Lieutenant Atek, Lieutenant (junior grade) Hightopp and CPO Schmidt are seated by the podium. Atek rises and begins, "Welcome to your first mission briefing here at Dyson Base. I am, as you know, the Outpost Commander, and though I am at the same rank level as Ms. Dul and Mr. Anderson, I am above both in the command hierarchy. My orders are just that—lawful orders under the Code of Starfleet Justice, and are to be obeyed as per regulations. I know you all have training in Starfleet Regulations, so ignorance is no excuse. Am I understood?" He pauses for effect. "This is our Chief of Operations, Lieutenant Tarrant Hightopp. He is my Executive Officer and second in command of the Outpost. You all have met Chief Petty Officer Schmidt. He is a seasoned Starfleet security man with 30 years experience under his belt. Chief?" he steps aside.

The Security Chief steps up. "I am aware that some of you have lingering doubts as to the situation vis a vis our late Romulan spy and her possible replacements. I am here to say that all Vulcan and Vulcanoid personnel have been extensively investigated and cleared. This includes new transfers like Lieutenant Kurasa. Ms. Kurasa is, as many of you know, the product of the union of Betazoid and Vulcan. Her bloodline is extensively documented. She is the daughter of Councillor Sormok of the Vulcan Science Council and a Betazoid woman. She was raised by the Kurasas, a Betazoid family and spent 17 years as a Rating in Starfleet, winding up on the USS Enterprise, where she was personally recommended by Lieutenant Worf for commissioning as an officer. Yes, that Worf—the current Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire and adoptive son of the current Chancellor. She is a decorated Dominion War hero who lost friends in the closing days of the War. She was promoted to Lieutenant (junior grade) for her efforts in saving other crew on the USS Haida and deserves you respect."

Atek resumes the podium. "I hope that will clear up any lingering doubts. End of discussion." There is a steely ring to his voice and his face is grim.

"Now, to the mission at hand.Early last year, the USS Thames discovered a tower in an ice field which was designated Gamma One. It was a spindle rising out of the ice-pack some 150 metres with a platform on top and a series of a dozen globes spiraling down the central shaft. The technology level evident was slightly higher than ours, and there was a computer interface in the form of a metre-wide disc capable of showing a number of different species avatars, including this generic humanoid." He flicks an icon on the podium and an image appears on the screen.


"It spoke with a voice easily translatable by the universal translator circuits built into their commbadges and took voice commands, but required security codes to reveal much beyond the basics. Computer Sciences has not had much luck cracking their security. Mr Gazzo, that's where you'll come in. For the rest of you, though Mr. Gazzo comes from a relatively low-tech world, Sigma Iotia II, he took to computers like a fish to water, and is Dodge City's live-in Alien Tech Assessment specialist; which is why, Mr. Anderson, he was 'parachuted' into your team... In your briefing documents..." The PADDS on everyone's desks flicker into life. "Gamma Two will be your destination. Since Gamma One nullified all power on the Thames causing it to crash-land on the ice-pack, it is suggested that you proceed in a pair of shuttlepods using inertial reckoning to approach the station. Mac, you will be senior officer, callsign Two-One. Cassy, you will be his backup, callsign Two-Two. The Type 15 Shuttlepods will fit on the landing elevators visible on the platform. You will enter through the doors into the habitable areas. On Gamma One, this was a lounge-reception area. We have no idea whether the same is true of Gamma Two, so you'll be on your own.

[OOC fixed image]
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:19, Thu 25 Aug 2016.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 1):

Mac mutters disgustedly under his breath. When Atek says, "Comments, Lieutenant Anderson? Care to share them with us?" he replies, "With respect, Sir, I don't like sneaking in like a coward. What if we put the Runabouts in a holding pattern and beam in?"

Atek sighs and explains, "Lieutenant, if you remember, I said that the tower killed all power to the Thames. Any scan at all, even a Transporter scan, will cause all power to be lost on your ship. Any other suggestions? Anyone?"

And again, the commander here fails to grasp the reality of Federation law.  No commander, regardless of how authoritarian he feels, can stop those under him or her raising concerns, logging those concerns to file, and reporting them to Federation command.  Attempting to force his viewpoint on matters was, in fact, counter to the law.   But... Cassy wasn't about to argue that point and so remained silent - even as she was placed under Lt. Anderson, someone she'd already some concerns about and who immediately demonstrated those concerns with his gung-ho (and possibly suicidal) attitude to the approach.  "How extensive is the nullification field?  And does it only affect electronic equipment?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:35, Thu 25 Aug 2016.

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 3):

[OOC The Lieutenant cannot, of course, stop you from reporting your suspicions to higher authorities, but he most certainly can order you not to discuss them with anyone on the base. Period. To do so would be disobeying a lawful command. Trust me on this. I was in the military and I know quite well how military law works. If you have any evidence, you may submit it to Starfleet Security at Starbase 21, but since it was they who performed the security checks, you had best make it hard evidence admissible in court, or you will find yourself (well, your character, anyway) up on charges of at minimum harrassment. And, in point of fact, we are not discussing Federation Law, which term refers to civil law—we are discussing Starfleet Regulations, which are a parallel but separate matter. Here is a page on Starfleet Regulations in this campaign. It is not complete, of course, but collects as many canon references as I could find, as well as a lot taken from the old FASA Trek RPG: http://www.coldnorth.com/owen/...erse/source/regs.htm ]
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:57, Thu 25 Aug 2016.

The following information is available on your PADDs.

http://www.coldnorth.com/owen/...gacy/gamma/gamma.htm

Cassy scans the information on her tablet as she waits for further question and indeed answers.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:21, Thu 25 Aug 2016.

Lieutenant Rai struggles not to roll her eyes or smirk at Anderson's objections. Every time he opens his mouth, she becomes further convinced that he is unfit for command, and the fact that he is leading this mission forms a knot in her stomach. She grits her teeth and goes to work familiarizing herself with the information on the PADD.

Gian's eyes dart between Mac, Atek, and Cassy as he watches the drama between them start to roll to a boil. Between this and Shione's outburst yesterday, it is not an auspicious start to their mission. He hopes it's just nerves -- and Mac's Klingon-like militant personality.

In reply to Gian Seingalt (msg # 8):

Shione sighs as Atek reads the riot act,indicating to her that someone still believes that damn Romulan rubbish.

 Addressing Atek ,her voice devoid of emotion,"Sir,Thank you ,but I really don't feel like a hero.The ones who paid with their lives are the ones who deserve the praise.

But as to approaching Gamma Two" she turns facing her engineering counterpart

Gian.these runabouts will float won't they?
And if we stand on top of it, might we be able to reach the hatch?.

If not,I'm a good climber,so Mac could boost me up.
 I could then lower a rope or a rope ladder so everyone else could come up.

And as to burning into the door why don't we just requisition another phaser ,just for that purpose?"

"Float? Technically, yes," Gian answers, straightening up as his fellow Ops-type addresses him, "but not remotely stable; a runabout's too top-heavy to remain upright without help. You could also conceivably submerge it, but it's not a stable underwater platform, either. I wouldn't recommend it."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:35, Thu 25 Aug 2016.

In reply to Gian Seingalt (msg # 10):

She was happy to be finally be back to working
"What if we instructed the computer to simply have it maintain position and attitude.?
That would be a passive system and shouldn't activate Gamma Two's energy drain.
We could make it work couldn't we Gian?"

Gian could pick up a positive emotional attitude from his fellow Engineer.She was clearly enjoying the problem solving

"That close to the platform, who knows if even the electronic gyroscopes might trigger the towers defences."  She shakes her head, "And if the thing is surrounded by ice, I don't think we need to worry about floating.  I'd suggest landing on the ice at a 'safe' distance from the towers, and then walking to it, and carrying a ladder and any other equipment we need.   It's only 6 meters up after all."

Gian smiled reflexively as the wave of positive emotion passed over him.

"No, Gamma One was on ice; Gamma Two comes up out of the water," the engineer replies. "A lot of this depends on the sensitivity of the tower's defenses; it's conceivable a simple approach won't trigger the disruptive signal. If I had a little time to check the logs, I might be able to make a determination.

"That said, I take it the Thames' flight logs were already analyzed, hence the decision to go in with Type 15s, Mr. Atek?"

Atek clarifies. "Right Mr. Seingalt. Gamma One was in an ice field—Gamma Two is in open water. Ambient temperature 27° Celsius, water temperature 19° Celsius. If Two was in ice, you could just use a scaffold to get up. Very well, Lieutenants Kurasa and Seingalt, your plan is approved. One note—Gamma One had a supply of some sort of robot drones to tend to their subjects. They are a bit over 2 metres tall, cylindrical, with a sensor cluster atop and a pair of manipulators hidden behind access panels. One's drones were non-belligerent, but take no chances. Try not to provoke them," he says looking at Mac.


Hightopp chimes in, "Yes, the plan to go with the shuttlepods was predicated on the fact that they fit into the tower's elevator pads. With the runabouts, you have a lot more resources. If I may make an addition to Lt. Kurasa's plan, I suggest you take along a set of transport enhancers hooked up to an ODN waveguide cable so the ships can beam you out without tripping the tower's security protocols."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:01, Thu 25 Aug 2016.

"Without any time reference," Argent speaks up, "isn't it possible that Gamma Two was once also in ice but that the ice melted? Or maybe Gamma One was once in water, too, but the water froze?"

"So we don't know how extensive these structures might be below the surface, right? If all electronics cut out, is that because of a duonetic field? 'Cause if that's the case, all our instruments will be useless as well."

The OPs officer replies, "Although all power was lost in a cascade sequence allowing the ship to land rather than crash, perhaps indicating that it wasn't an actual hostile attack but some sort of safety measure, all ancillary equipment such as tricorders and communicators remained active and were useable within the structure. Does that allay your fears, Mr. Merawdr, even though it does raise other questions about the stations security features?"

Atek continues, "To answer you broader question, Argent, we have no idea as to whether the climate in any given area is constant or whether it undergoes some sort of seasonal cycle. We have observed in some vegetated areas a seasonal cycle which may be local in order to facilitate the life cycle of flora and/or fauna. One more mystery to be solved. If you will note on your PADDs, basic deck plans of Gamma One are available. We are assuming that the layout of Gamma Two is similar if perhaps not identical."

http://www.coldnorth.com/owen/...e/gamma/gamma01a.gif
http://www.coldnorth.com/owen/...e/gamma/gamma01b.gif
http://www.coldnorth.com/owen/...e/gamma/gamma02a.gif
http://www.coldnorth.com/owen/...e/gamma/gamma02b.gif
http://www.coldnorth.com/owen/...se/gamma/gamma03.gif
This message was last edited by the player at 12:14, Thu 20 July 2017.

Upon Atek's approval, Gian flashes Shione a smile. Now, if they could finish this briefing, they could get started on finding a way to keep the more capable runabouts on the mission.

Since one of these places had already been investigated, that left a lot of questions still unanswered. If they'd been going in blind, then they would have had to answer all those questions themselves.

"Do we know what the frictional coefficient of the material is? I ask because if we need to climb, we need to know if ropes will slip easily no matter how tightly we tie them, or if adhesives will stick to the surface," he added.

"And that brings up another question: has there been any detection of vertical movement of these things? Does the whole thing raise or lower? Is there any signs that it ever has? And what about the spheres? Are they absolutely stationary, or do they move up and down... or even pivot around the central column? Can they rotate on their own axis?"

These all seemed like logical questions to him. If they went inside, and suddenly the whole thing sunk beneath the water... what would they do then?

"As I understand it, there's some sort of valve/airlock on the underside of each sphere. Is that correct?"

"Then what if we go underwater to enter? It would just require some non-electronic scuba gear. Of course, that begs another question: is there anything dangerous in the water?"

In reply to Argent Merawdr (msg # 19):

"Thank you Argent.I have a couple of concerns about that myself."Shione pipes up
"How hot would the metal at the threshold be after we cut the opening and if it is,could we replicate a mat of some sort to lay over it so I don't get burned when I reach to haul myself up.?
Also could I get a pair of climbing gloves made that would keep their grip even if it's wet and would also protect my hands and forearms in case I need to climb up before we place the mat across the opening"

Hightopp looks at Argent with interest. "All excellent questions, Argent. The surface has approximately the same surface characteristics as a duranium starship hull. Suction cups and adhesives, both temporary and permanent will hold, and the surface is non-magnetic. It can be breached using a phaser II. A phaser I will not generate enough power to penetrate. The material is incredibly tough, and it will take 20 minutes to cut a 1 metre hole, using the equivalent of 10 shots on setting 16 (1,000 charges) draining the phaser's power cell. The shots may be distributed between a number of phasers, so that none is fully drained. since it is smooth and the surface of Globe number 4 is wet, it would be extremely difficult to secure a rope around the upper surface or to climb unaided. The hatchway on the underside of Globe number 3 has a basic locking mechanism and ladder rungs of the hull material. A phaser will make easy work of the locking mechanism. The entrance is to a simple Jefferies Tube style maintenance tunnel in Gamma One—no airlock. Since Gamma One was ice-bound, we do not know how the subsurface hatches, if any, are configured. It is believed that the central shaft is too tough to be breached as it is structural. The tower does not, to our knowledge, elevate or rotate and the globes appear to be immobile. Shione, the material will, of course be white hot, as is any molten metal, although this appears to be a metal/ceramic composite. If you're cutting through the lock, you can hold onto the rungs with standard heavy duty non-slip insulated gloves and use protective glasses. A simple coolant spray as used to cool gamme-welded joints will cool the cut alloy enough for safety and comfort. Anything further?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:30, Fri 26 Aug 2016.

"Well, I was thinking of throwing a rope over the top of one of the sphere supports and then cinching the two ends together underneath to form a support mechanism," Argent asked. "Kind of like a saddle with stirrups. Someone might have to climb up to the top and secure the rope in place with adhesive, but that would enable us to rig up a rope ladder to climb up to the first under-hatch."

"I'm also noticing on these deck schematics that there does not appear to be any way to access the support tube, and therefore no way to access the central column."

"That would make each sphere completely isolated from the others. Presumably, though, power and life support come out of the central column along the support tubes."

"While using a phaser to weld is all well and good, wouldn't we be better served using an actual welding tool?"

Welding was not his thing, but draining a phaser seemed needlessly tedious.

"Or else we take more phasers."

In reply to Argent Merawdr (msg # 22):

"Argent I can climb up into the hole and perhaps rig a bar across the opening to secure a rope with suction cups,Or I can simply hold it.I'm doubtful of being able to climb to the top of the exterior with nothing to grip onto

I did request a phaser just for that purpose,BTW"

"Um, Argent? Putting a rope over the globe supports would be doable, but you'd have to swing fifteen metres over to reach the hatch. Shoine's original idea to climb up onto the top of the Runabout with gravity boots would place her in easy reach of the hatch. Hell, she could even use a grav belt, which would be even easier. No need to over-think the process, as Captain Scott would say. And, Shione, there is a ladder rung," Hightopp says gently, not wanting to dissuade the officers from contributing any ideas they might have. "Anyone else have any ideas? Cassiadora, Mac, Prashanthi, Tony, Sosal?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:46, Fri 26 Aug 2016.

"Are taking a runabout? I thought that was a Bad Idea?" Argent asked.

"Otherwise how do you plan on climbing 15 meters up into the 'hole' in mid air? The point of putting an adhesive on top of the support bar was to secure the rope, not anchor it. You'd have the rope to climb up and down with, but we could just as easily pull someone up with a second rope thrown over the top."

"As for swinging, well, that would be pretty stupid, wouldn't it? When we could just as easily pull someone over to the hatch access."

"Is this supposed to be some sort of test? You have one rope--build the Eiffel Tower!"

"We can replicate a thousand ropes if we need to, and build a fraggin' rope bridge up to the hatch!"

"Wait! I know! Let's just throw someone up to the hatch. If we throw him hard enough, maybe he'll just stick!"

He refrained from mentioning springboards, trampolines and floating towers as those would clearly have been too complicated.

It just seemed to him that they'd already ruled out all the 'easy' ways.

He thought Hightopp must have meant magnetic boots; if they had gravboots, they could just fly up to it.

In reply to Argent Merawdr (msg # 25):

"Argent.
Gian and I can make the runabout into a stable platform from which to access the hatch

We cut the hole,use the coolant,then I climb up either on my own,with the boots or Mac could even boost me up.We use whichever solution seems best once we're there

I did not plan to use Grav boots,but having them there does give me the option.
Once I'm up I hook up the rope ladder and provide cover while you all come up and move past me into the structure.

Unless Mac wishes otherwise I will take back spot,leaving room for the scientists to begin their examination.

Mac,Cassy ,how does that sound to you?"

Atek sighs, "I'm sorry, Argent, you're not following us here. The globes are held out by a lateral support, as seen in the diagrammes. The hatch is at the nadir of the thirty metre diametre globe, hence the need to swing fifteen metres to get to the hatch using your plan. The hatch is only six metres above water level. When floating using the runabout's grav systems for stability, that means that the hatch is two metres above the upper surface of the runabout. The hatchway has a ladder rung immediately below it, easily grasped by a humanoid standing on the runabout. A short rope ladder can be hung from this rung to allow access. The runabout will then move so that its hatch is even the bottom of the ladder and, to use a Human expression, 'Bob's your uncle!' The only danger is the Lieutenant Kurasa will slip, and with gravitic boots, that risk is extremely remote." He calls up an animated image on the screen to illustrate.


This message was last edited by the player at 00:57, Sat 27 Aug 2016.

"Sure, if we're using the runabout, that's fine," Argent concedes. "And, yes, I understand that there would be a 15 foot distance to traverse from hanging down off the pylon, but I was saying that you wouldn't have to 'swing' that distance. We could just pull the person over to the hatch... no swinging necessary."

"Anyway, doesn't the runabout have an emergency dorsal hatch? Can't we all just climb up that way? If it doesn't... well, what exactly are we going to be standing on to access the rope ladder?"

"That'll give us access to one sphere. What about the others?"
This message was last edited by the player at 07:04, Sun 28 Aug 2016.

In reply to Argent Merawdr (msg # 28):

"That's fifteen metres, not the old system of feet. More like fifty feet. It seems rather more complicated your way, if you don't mind my saying so."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:02, Sun 28 Aug 2016.

Cassy remained silent.  This was ultimately, despite being given a command by Starfleet, not her operation and having no further suggestions to add (beyond some further investigation in to the lock which she'd follow through with after the meeting) she waited for the engineers to finish their brainstorming.

Nodding back at Gian,certain that they had covered as much as could be done here

"Lt Hightopp.Your suggestion regarding the ODN Waveguide cable seems a sound one.

Can you supply us with one so we could set up a spot inside to transport anything that the Scientists want to bring back for study,rather than carrying it down the ladder.

That along with another Phaser,the coolant spray,grav boots and the pair of the gloves I mentioned would seem to be all Gian and I need to get started on preparing the Runabouts.

May we be excused Lt Atek"?

"All the equipment can be simply requistioned from Stores. Just give the computer a 'want list'. The runabouts have a full rack of Phaser IIs each, and have transport enhancers and ODN cables as standard equipment. If there are no further questions or observations, this O-session is concluded. May the Great Bird speed you on your way."

In reply to Lieutenant Teranin Atek (msg # 32):

Shione smiles content to have that session over and with a quick look at Atek she moves over to Gian,offering her hand,smiling warmly
"Hi Gian I prefer Shione(pronouced Shee-OWN) to Lt.Let's get our asses in gear and get these runabouts ready

Working together makes sense to me.Two minds do better at troubleshooting,don't you think?
Which ship do you want to start with?"

And with the briefing over, Cassy will head back to her rooms.

"Your idea, Shione, your bird," Gian says with a smile as he takes the proffered hand. "Do you want to work on the runabout first, or look at the Thames' logs?"

In reply to Gian Seingalt (msg # 35):

"The logs,Hmmn.How about we go and work on the Kitch' so we get an idea as to how long it will take us and then judge from there as to how much time we have.?

What are you looking to find from the logs Gian?"Shione asked as they headed for the Runabout's bay



OOC Shione has the Innovative advantage .Does Gian have that as well.?I think it will make this task easier

"I want to get a look at the nature of the signal the Thames encountered, and see if I can glean something useful out of it," he says as they walk. "I'm not big on leaving things at 'like nothing we ever encountered.' Systems may be different, and codes may be different, but functions are universal."

OOC: Yes, Gian has Innovative.

Gazzo sits back during the discussions, observing what each of his new crew mates bring to the table. Each individual have some pretty 'keen' ideas and he is looking forward to getting this mission started.

With the briefing over, Gazzo heads to his quarters to prepare.

In reply to Gian Seingalt (msg # 37):

Shione nods"That hadn't occurred to me,good idea"

Once they get to the Kitchissippi Gian and Shione are looking to create a program that can be implemented once the Runabout is in position

"So what do you think?My thought is that we link the maneuvering thrusters to the inertial
Dampeners and then tie in the sensors so the computer can read the swells and maintain as level an attitude as possible.

That sound like the way to proceed?"

The records from the Thames shed little light on the situtation other than a micro-second by micro-second account of the shutdown sequence. The records from the Type 15's followup mission reveal the layout of the two levels of the platform and the contents of the globes. Analysis concludes that the layout of the platform levels and globes is likely to be substantially similar for gamma Two, the contents of the globes is equally likely to be quite different. The runabouts have been post-flighted, serviced and are ready to be pre-flighted for the flight. The standard loadout includes 4 type II phasers, 2 riot phaser extensions, 4 tricorders and a set of transport enhancers with cables for each ship, in addition to the type I phasers issued for daily carry and any specialty equipment requested, including all equipment discussed above. The ships also have a replicator for food/beverages and a small one for any tools they may need.

Tool depictions are available at http://www.coldnorth.com/owen/...ipment/equipment.htm

The flight out to the area of Gamma Two is uneventful, and Gian and Shione have plenty of time to digest the records. They, of course, have tight-beam inter-ship communications that should not set off the tower's power shut-off.

After a flight of several hours, the tower hoves into view through the forward viewports. Mac focuses a tight-beam communications laser on the Cuyahoga and hails the other runabout. "Cuyahoga, this is Kitchissippi. Maintain contact on this link only. Shut down all sensors other than a distance reading on the ocean surface and maintain height of three metres relative. Over."

"Skipper," Sosal calls to Cassie, "I've locked our comms relay onto Kitchissippi's whisker laser. Sensors confirm 3 meters altitude."

Cassy sat at the flight controls of Cuyahoga and ensured both the appropriate altitude, distance between runabouts and the comms tether where in place before silently acknowledging the orders.  She looked then to the others in the cockpit, "Everyone ready?"

"That's probably the best way to deal with it. I'd prefer to do this on one of the upper globes, so we don't have to factor in the water effects. It just feels like an extra complication we don't need," Gian muses. "Let's see what we can do, eh?"

OOC: That should allow us to move on to the next scene. :)

"As ready as I can be," the engineer says, his mind still working out the variables of trying to access the bottom of a globe that rests only a few meters above what amounts to a sea. It's not ideal, to say the least.

"Ms. Rai, could you boost the sensitivity of the passive sensors as high as they can go?" he asks. "If that thing sends out a signal of any kind, I would really like to get a look at it. The Thames' logs were...lacking, to be polite."

In reply to Mac Anderson (msg # 41):

Shione stands when they arrive on station and picks up her Grav boots and shoulders the Phaser

"I'm ready to go up and get started when you give me the go ahead Mac.I'd like to have someone poke their head out of the hatch and keep an eye on things while I'm working on the lock.They can then hand me up the rope ladder.

Ready when you are Skipper"

To the others in the Kitchissippi Shione seems cool,calm and collected as she stands below the hatch awaiting orders

"That's probably the best way to deal with it. I'd prefer to do this on one of the upper globes, so we don't have to factor in the water effects. It just feels like an extra complication we don't need," Gian muses.

Shione nods to Gian's comments and after mulling them over,responds
A complication yes,but it's less distance to fall if something goes wrong while we're coming and going

Mac listens to the back-and-forth between the two engineers. Finally he says, "Gian, Shione, you have some very good points. However, there's another entrance that sounds just as good - the hatch in the lower deck pf the platform. Look at the deck plan of the lower level, and focus on the lower right of the level. That hatch enters into an area we have clear maps of and also appears to have a ladder rung right beside it. Seems to me that it might be the best choice for an entry, given that we don't have any idea what might be in any of the globes. Lieutenant Dul, what do you think?"

In reply to Gian Seingalt (msg # 45):

" Aye, Mr. Seingalt," Lt. Rai replies, diverting all available power to the passive sensor to boost it's efficiency." Best to wring all the data we can out of that thing before we go mucking about in it."

OOC: Rolled a Sensors roll, just in case it was needed.

Her reply is to the point, "That would seem sensible, Lieutenant Anderson.  Although I wouldn't discount the effort our engineers have put into the planning."

In reply to Mac Anderson (msg # 48):

Shione does not let her exasperation show,thinking to herself that this was a discussion that should have been held back at the Outpost

"Orders Sir?
.Which hatch am I working on.?
And perhaps Tony should come out with me and see if perhaps he and Argent can figure a way to open it; that doesn't require a Phaser "

Mac says, "We'll take a look at the platform hatch. No sensor like the Mark One eyeball. At this height, however, Shione, you will wear the gravity boots." Rai's sensors on full passive scan, the two runabouts hover below the platform. The hatch in question is circular in shape, perhaps a metre and a half in diametre, with ladder rungs on either side of it. It's depressed about 25 centimetres into the hull material. The gravity boots are similar to those used by Spock in Star Trek V, and not only allow Shoine and Tony to stand on the runabout's surface, but also to fly.

In reply to Mac Anderson (msg # 52):

Shione climbs out,puts on her boots and waits for Tony

"Take a look to see if you can figure a way in ,otherwise"and she holds up the Phaser

"We go with the hard way"

In reply to Shione (msg # 53):

Gazzo slowly drifts up to the hatch to get a closer look. Though there appears to be no visible locking mechanism, the hatch has a u-shaped handle near one end. Eyeballing a miniscule seam around the outer perimeter of the hatch, he takes out a small penlight and shines it along the seam. Marking the handle end as the 12 o’clock position, Gazzo discovers what appear to be “deadbolts” in the 12, 3 and 9 o’clock postions.

“This should be rather simple dollface…I mean Lt”, he says to Shione. Hitting his comm badge for the rest to hear, Gazzo explains, “We should be able to use the 'heater' in a narrow beam setting to cut the bolts. As there appears to be no outer “hinge”, the door must swing out. I can jury rig a rope and pulley system to the handle to hold it in place. Once the bolts are ‘beat’ (broke), we lower the hatch open and rig up a ladder to the rungs and climb inside. Should be a piece of cake”, he grins.

“What do you think ‘Boss', he says to Mac.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 00:41, Fri 02 Sept 2016.

Mac says over their comm link, "Shione, you take the lead. Phasers on stun." The hatch opens to a corridor end. Ahead about three metres is a side-corridor to the left and about 1.5 metres further is a corridor to the right. Ahead are two doors to the right and an open space. The floor is a soft grey felt-like carpet and the waslls are a pale blue. The corridor is well lit, but the origin of the light is unclear.

Mac says, "Set up the transport enhancers in the corridor about halfway to the first junction." The transport enhancers are supposd to be set in a triangle about 1.5 to three metres in size, and the corridor allows for the minimum spacing. He continues, "I'm going to set the Kitchissippi to station-keeping. Cassie, have your people beam over to the Kitchissippi for relay to the station and send the Cuyahoga to keep station at 100 metres relative directly above. Dyson Base will be monitoring the Cuyahoga."

http://www.coldnorth.com/owen/...e/gamma/gamma02b.gif
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:57, Fri 02 Sept 2016.

"Just because you can't see an external hinge doesn't mean it isn't there," Argent comments. "It may open downward, but that would be rather awkward for anyone inside wanting to get out."

"It'd more likely be a hidden hinge to protect it from the elements... and people like us."

Cassy will do as instructed despite the desire not to want to leave the Cuyahoga to its autopilot.  But orders are orders.   Once ready, the crew will beam aboard the Kitchissippi leaving her for last.  Hopefully the tower's defences will not trigger!

Gian secures his station and sets the engineering systems to respond to Dyson Base commands. He then mans the transporter controls and beams the two science officers over to the Kitsch.

As he sets up the controls for a time-delay transport for Cassy and himself, he admits, "I'm not keen on leaving the runabout hovering about like this."

"Mac the three of us will scout ahead.Whomever is 4th and 5th can bring in the cables and set it up.That alright with you?"

Shione turns to Argent and Tony behind her,whispering"Keep your eyes on your tricorders and let me know if you pick up anything you think I should be aware of.One of you guys stop at the first junction to make sure no one gets behind us.OK?"

Shione lets her Security training come to the fore and moves to the first junction.Scanning it first quickly,then looking and listening,then moving on.She will then duck up the short right hand corridor leaving someone watching the main one

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 57):

Sosal pipes up, "If it makes you feel better, Lieutenant, I'm qualified on CONN. I can take the runabout up to the desired level and keep an eye on things. It's not like you'll need an astrophysicist to explore the station, after all." He crosses over to stand behind Cassie's seat.

"It'd make me feel better," Gian adds.

"Oh, sure, leave the scientists on guard duty," Argent grouses good-naturedly.

"We'll stay here at this first intersection until you clear the left hand passage. Then we'll move up to the right hand passage."

As he spoke, he began directing his tricorder at the walls, floor, ceiling and down the passage. He was trying to get a reading on the composition of the material, trace any circuitry behind or in the area, and scanning for any other energy sources.

"Keep in mind that there might be secret doors and hidden passages. Just because the other sphere had this layout, it doesn't mean that this one does."

Mac snaps back, "Negative, Shione! First order of business in a potentially hostile area is to secure your line of retreat. We don't know what those drones can do or how these ones will react now that we've breached the hatch. Stay on guard while Gazzo sets up the transport enhancers. Where's your security training? Commander Worf'd be pissed."

In reply to Mac Anderson (msg # 63):

Covering her Comm badge for a moment,and whispering to Argent and Gazzo"He's beginning to get on my nerves,I really don't need to be lectured when he gives an order"

Uncovering it"Aye aye Skipper.Argent and I are holding while Tony assembles the enhancers"

She will remain vigilant and is still in the lead should trouble arrive.
Once he's done"All set Tony?"

Tapping her comm badge"All set Awaiting the rest of you,before proceeding,Sir."

Grinning at Argent "Hey don't grouse at me, I'm just an Engineer who got tapped for 2 years in Security.
Duty went from hours of boredom to moments of terror.Just thought I'd share it with my friends"
Her smile is a genuine one,but both men note that she doesn't relax her surveillance

In reply to Shione (msg # 64):

[OOC Argent is still aboard Cuyahoga. He's been communicating with you through your commbadge from the Cuyahoga.]

Once the transport enhancers are set up and Mac has sent through and retrieved a test module, he informs Cassie, "OK, we're ready to send everyone through. Commence at your discretion."

In reply to Mac Anderson (msg # 65):

OOC Uh Argent is on the Kitchissippi and was following Tony and I in.
Easy mistake to make with the switches we've undergoing these last few weeks

In reply to Shione (msg # 66):

[OOC You are correct. "Kitchissippi" I did not, however, see where he went out with you. His observations could well have been made from the runabout's forward viewport, but we'll take it as read that he did accompany you. However, Mac istill pulling rank to make sure everyone is together before proceeding. Once the Cuyahoga's crew, less Sosal, is over, we'll proceed.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:01, Sat 03 Sept 2016.

OOC: Wait. Are we beaming to the Kitsch or directly to the site?

In reply to Gian Seingalt (msg # 68):

[OOC Mac has the transporters set to relay your transport signal through the Kitchissippi to the transport enhancers in the tower by means of the high-bandwidth comms laser and the ODN cable. That way the tower's defenses will not pick up the transporter signal as an energy signal aimed at the tower, so it won't kill the Cuyahoga's power. Subjectively, it will be as if you beamed straight there.]

As Shione, Argent and Tony await the arrival of the others, they take up their planned positions at the corridor junctions. The low hum of the stations systems fills the air, adding perceptably to the tension. Argent notes a power reading moving down the corridor from the large open area. The source is off to the right of the open space, and moving at a slow walking pace. He feels his hackles rise as he refines the scan to indicate that a piece of machinery about 2.15 metres tall and made of the same ceramic alloy as the walls is approaching.

When Mac is ready, Gian transports Sosal and Rai first, then resets the system and puts on a 30-second delay. When Cassy enters the transporter, the engineer triggers the delay and joins her.

"Here's where the fun begins," he quips with a smile.

"I thought I was staying behind to watch the ships." Sosal says questioningly. "As I told the Skipper, I'm rated on this design."

OOC: *sigh* Sorry. Player error. It's been a long day, and I forgot. Gian wouldn't have.

Rai, Cassy and Gian materialise one at a time. As Sosal begins to move the Cuyahoga, Mac follows. "Sitrep?" he snaps.

At that instant, a large torpedo-shaped robot appears in the open space ahead, range: twelve metres. This is the object Argent had only just noticed on his scan, but has not had time to react as of yet. The robot is considerably different from the ones encountered at Gamma One and begins to unfold a pair of long manipulator arms.


This message was last edited by the GM at 05:13, Sun 04 Sept 2016.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 74):

Shione's voice drops to a whisper audible to everyone here
"It is my advice that no one point a phaser or a tricorder directly at it until we establish it's intent.I'm in it's line of fire so I'm going to attempt to address it"

She holsters her phaser and turns and takes a slow step towards the droid holding her hands out at waist level palms towards it.
She is attempting by moving to one side of the corridor  to alter the line of trajectory from the robot to her in in order to remove the others from the direct line between her and the drone,should it choose to aim and fire a weapon at her.

Greetings,my name is Shione
 I am an explorer from the United Federation of Planets.My comrades and I are here to make peaceful contact and do not desire to initiate any conflict.
How may we address you?"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:26, Sun 04 Sept 2016.

In reply to Shione (msg # 75):

"The Dame has guts", Gazzo thinks to himself.

Gazzo sets his phaser to the appropriate setting if all goes to hell.

In reply to Shione (msg # 75):

The robot moves steadily forward, its sensors glowing green and red. It makes an "R2D2" whistle-chirp noise and stops. Shiones's commbadge translates, "You will drop your weapon and stand aside."

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 77):

"My hands are empty.I present no threat to you.What is your intent,please?"

Shione is attempting to forestall it,without threatening it;in order to give the Scientists and Gian time to analyze this Drone and develop some ideas as to how to deal with it
This message was last edited by the player at 17:52, Sun 04 Sept 2016.

The robot repeats "Lower all weapons immediately or this unit will employ force. Identify yourselves and stand away from the hatch."

Apparently Shione now has the lead of the team.  Making first contact with these droids is now her decision....  At least Cassy understood the chain of command and quietly responds to Mac's request: <"Arrived safely aboard.   A droid has approached us - different from the previous ones.   Shione chose to approached it and it appears to have taken her actions as hostile.">  Shione, Cassy's mind is still closed to you....

The question then is, it told Shione to drop her weapon - since she'd only just holstered it.  To the others it had told them to lower their weapons.  Could it possibly be referring to their hands?  She does just that to test her theory.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 79):

Looking down, Shione decides to back against the wall and lower her hands to her side.

"There I have complied "

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 80):

Gazzo lowers his 'heater', but is read to attack if required....

Just for clarification, it is moving on rollers/wheels, rather than flying?


By the time Argent had gotten a reading on the robot, it had already rounded the corner. Based on the interaction between it and Shione, it was a security robot of some kind. Not unanticipated.

The first thing Argent did was scan for a comm signal. While it was possible that the robot was a stand-alone self-sufficient bot, more than likely it communicated with a central command... or at least had the means to do so. That would be Argent's way in. Whether he could bypass the system's security and firewalls, however, was problematical. He probably could, given enough time, but he didn't think he had that.


Have no idea what to roll for Sensors/Communications, but if Argent finds a signal, then he'll try hacking the computer inside the robot.

In reply to Argent Merawdr (msg # 83):

[OOC In this case you'd use Personal Equipment (Tricorder). On ship, you'd use Shipboard Systems (Sensors) or (Communications). To do the hacking, you'd use Computers (Hacking/Data Alteration)]

There is a data signal connecting the 'bot to a central system. If you want to hack into it, you'll need to roll a nine on the Computer roll.

Here's your current situation:


Argent can see a very large darkened room down his corridor. Tony can see a turn to the right at the end of his corridor, with two doors evident.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:33, Mon 05 Sept 2016.

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 80):

Simply lowering or holstering all the weapons seems to satisfy the robot, Presumably it was speaking to everyone. It continues towards the group, obviously intent on checking out the hatch.

Lieutenant Rai is satisfied to follow the others' lead. Animals, she understands: their motivations and behaviors are shaped by biological imperatives which are nearly universal across the known galaxy. Artificial intelligence, however, is a virtual black box in absence of knowledge about those who created it. Until she's satisfied that they're out of danger, she stands stock-still, hands at her side and palms facing front in as non-threatening a stance as she can muster.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 86):

Shione is going to attempt to observe and analyze anything she can see on or about the robot as it nears and passes her

OOC Please make an Engineering roll,or any and all other skills she has which might apply
For the other players benefit,I seem to be unable to bring up the full dice roller app and therefore am relying on the GM for my rolls

In reply to Shione (msg # 88):

The robot is a spindle-shaped cylindre about 2.15 metres tall, with several seams in the carapace which may indicate that it's made up of modules. The top cone-shaped module has what appears to be a complex sensor suite. Two pods on the side open up to reveal arms. The right arm has a close-up sensor head and a number of small probes, while the left is longer with a large manipulator 'hand' comprising a veritable Swiss Army Knife of tools and blades. The body has a number of ports and electronic devices, some of which appear to be beam emitters, and what appear to be muzzles of some form of projectile 'guns'. There also appear to be intakes and vents. The left arm is heavier in construction than the right and could be used as a formidable hand-to-hand weapon. The entire surface is a silvery grey metallic/ceramic composite. The robot is almost entirely silent.


This message was last edited by the GM at 15:47, Mon 10 Oct 2016.

In reply to Argent Merawdr (msg # 83):

Further scans, to which the robot seems not to object, reveal that the robot appears to be operating on broadcast power, but appears to have an on-board microfusion reactor as a backup. It also appears to have an independent backup processing unit. The sensors in the head are active, scanning in several spectra including some subspace bands, while the fine sensor in the right 'hand' is inactive by taking trickle power. The 'waist'-level emitter seems to be a form of disruptor beam, also apparently on standby.

Mac steps up. "I am Lieutenant M'kRzuRh, a'Ndrlee of the a'Ndruhsgns, captain of the USS Kitchissippi NCC-74982 and commander of this mission. Please state your intentions." Although he does not raise his phaser, his hand does not stray far from its butt.

In reply to Mac Anderson (msg # 91):

<Mac,this is Shione.This thing is a weapons and sensors platform!>
She goes on to quickly describe what she learned

<The droid could make chopped steak out of us in this narrow corridor>

Mac thinks "Get the frack out of my head, frell it!"

"I can see that. It's also a First Contact situation! Until it makes an overtly hostile move, we treat it politely," he says aloud. An image of a First Contact medal drifts through his mind.

Gian looks with interest at his tricorder readings. He's unsure how to react to the Lt. Anderson's statement, as if he was responding to a receiver in his ear; the man seems on edge, making the engineer wonder if he was the right man to be leading this expedition.

Cassy can't but help wonder if Shione is up to her old tricks once again.   Well, if Mac finds her intrusion to be... unacceptable... it will simply be another point against her if and when security take Cassy's report seriously.  For now though.... She waited as Mac exercised his leadership muscles, his first 'diplomatic' move having to be to deal with the distraction of a crew member.  She looks to Gian but doesn't interrupt Mac.

Gian responds with an uneasy glance back at his flight officer.

Gazzo waits patiently to see who is going to make the first move...Mac or the robot. He has his 'heater' concealed in case it's needed...

Argent holds off on trying to hack the robot. He's got no guarantee of success, and has no idea how such an intrusion might be perceived.

He doubts that Asimov's laws of robotics apply here, but it's a nice thought.

He waits to see what happens next.

In reply to Argent Merawdr (msg # 98):

The robot moves through the characters, close enough to touch, until he comes up to Mac, who has not moved. "Move aside. I must inspect the hatch." Mac waits to see what the robot does. He collapses as a low 'phu-ut' noise comes from the robot. The characters are unable to see anything to have caused the collapse from their viewing angles. Mac's tricorder clatters to the deck.

Gian moves immediately to Mac's side and gives him a once-over.

OOC: Breathing, not breathing? Pulse, no pulse?

Cassy looks to Gian, then to the Robot... then pointedly at the hatch.  If they were going to have an opportunity to dispatch this thing, pushing it out of the hatch 'now' was as good a time as any (assuming of course it couldn't fly).  It was a long shot, but it did have it's back to them!

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 101):

Shione reacts in surprise at Mac's decision to ignore the robot's demand,but when he drops;she moves quickly and closes the distance stopping beside Cassy.whispering
"You have a plan Lt?"

In reply to Gian Seingalt (msg # 100):

Mac is breathing normally and has a very slow but strong pulse. There is a small dart projecting from his chest, about 20mm (3/4") from his commbadge.

"Tranquilizer dart," Gian announces, his eyes moving to the robot. He attempts to determine if this thing could be housing a hover mechanism.

The robot turns back to the crews and says, "This hatch has been vandalised. You are unwelcome. You will leave now."

The moment had passed.   She'd turned to Gian only to see him focus on their downed compatriot despite the droids presence and it had cost them.   Shione's arrival hadn't helped either and like a child 'keeping a secret' she'd drawn attention to Cassy resulting in the robot turning to face them.  Think!  She looks once again to her engineers and her brows furrow, "Focus now...."

She stepped forward to present herself to the robot though she hoped she posed no threat, "My apologies.  I take full responsibility for the damage.  We however knocked and it would appear the doorbell was malfunctioning.   As guests, I feel particularly aggrieved that you did not welcome us appropriately and I suggest that you have the door repaired, your sensors re-calibrated, and that you invite us in."

The aim here is to confuse the robot.  To put it into a situation it is not ideally designed to handle in the hope that it will be forced to communicate with some some central resource - a communication the group can possibly interrupt?

[I can't tell if that's a success or failure.

17:04, Today: Cassiadora rolled 8 using the Last Unicorn system with 4d6+2 (a dramatic failure) (({1}, 6, 3, 4)).
17:04, Today: Cassiadora rolled 2 using the Last Unicorn system with 1d6 (({2})).
]

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 106):

[OOC The die-roller is slightly broken, as it figures every Drama Die roll of 1 is a critical fail. This is a routine (7) roll, so an eight is a success.]

Argent is monitoring the computer link, and can attempt to hack it using computers (Hacking/Data Alteration), or his basic Computers skill of 2 since he doesn't have Hacking. He needs to roll 9 or better to hack the system, and can use Courage Points to increase his roll. Courage points may be added after making the roll if needed.

The robot basically is doing the bit from Mudd's Women—"Norman, coordinate..." The red and green status lights on its 'head' blink and flicker.

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 106):

Shione is going to hold her action waiting for the robot to react,Argent to possibly hack it and then Lt Dul's orders

Seeing that the robot is not being cooperative, Argent will attempt to hack into its operating system.

07:12, Today: Argent Merawdr rolled 7 using 4d6+2 ((2,3,1,5)). The dice rolls still confuse me. I'm sure if I was sitting around a gaming table playing the game, it'd be easy enough to learn. Just isn't working for me here.

So, don't know if I rolled it right, but spend Courage points if I need to.

In reply to Argent Merawdr (msg # 109):

[OOC Yes, you rolled it correctly. Applying 2 courage points makes it a success. You currently have one courage point left.]

Argent has successfully hacked into the robot's command systems and may override the station computer and give it his own simple commands.

Gazzo waits to see if Argent is able to take over the computer systems...

It's an unfamiliar 'alien' system, so rather than try to get fancy, Argent will simply follow the power feed back to the source and put it into 'standby' mode. Essentially, he's trying to put it to sleep.

In reply to Argent Merawdr (msg # 112):

Ah, the Locutus Manoeuvre! The robot suddenly stops all activity, retracts its arms and the lights all go dark, save for one amber light which starts slowly blinking.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:52, Mon 12 Sept 2016.

Well... that was... "Excellent.  Very well done." She doesn't know which of the engineers 'pulled the plug' and so she congratulates them as a group.  "We probably don't want to wake it up any time soon, but it would be good to know what makes it tick - especially if we stumble upon more of these.   So, the question is, how long do you think you'll need to rig something up?"  And then to Gian, "And how long do you think Mac will need to recover?"  There are no doubt other tasks in order (such as the relays) but priorities need to be set out.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:30, Mon 12 Sept 2016.

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 114):

"I was just wondering if anyone here has any medical training?
I do not.

With your permission Lt Dul ,I will head straight down the corridor to the end and watch the room beyond.If I see anything I will report it by comm badge
That is something I have been trained for"

She considers this and then nods to Shione, "Sure.  Though it may be worth keeping things as low tech as possible - especially considering we'll be using other tech in the vicinity.  Who knows, it might be the 'weight' of tech used that triggers the pulse."

In reply to Shione (msg # 115):

[OOC Argent, Cassy and Gian all have the First Aid skill.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:35, Mon 12 Sept 2016.

[OOC: I have a +4 in Medicine if we need it.  I was leaving it for now as Gian had focused on Mac :-)]

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 116):

[OOC From the logs by the crew of the Thames, it appears that only scans and communications from outside the station set off the defenses. Inside, things seemed to be handled by the robots... For what that's worth...]

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 116):

Shione will move to to end of the corridor(end of left hand wall) and use her tricorder on passive scan and also carefully lean out to get a visual on the room and the corridor heading south
She will then relay as accurate a description as possible through her comm badge to Lt Dul
(OOC Using her Recon skill I should think)

Her Phaser is in her left hand,setting returned to "Stun"

In reply to Shione (msg # 120):


The corridor opens into a large-ish open area, unfurnished. To the left is a corridor leading to a room in which Shione can see a floor-to-ceiling window looking out to sea, with a cross-corridor obviously connecting to the one Tony had noticed from his location. To the right is a curved wall which seems to correspond to the central shaft. A circular corridor seems to surround the shaft. This seems to be where the robot came from.

The robot continues to be immobile and inert. A check on Mac indicates that he is alive and in no obvious distress. The dart is not barbed and comes out cleanly, tipped in what seems to be a hollow needle.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 121):

"Lt Kurasa reporting.
Lt Dul I have two curved corridors to my north and west circling a large central core with no obvious entrances.One of those would be where the robot came from.
To my south is the other end of the corridor that Lt Gazzo described and further to the south of that point I can see part of a large room with a floor to ceiling window with a view of the sea
Holding position,scanning passively,phaser set to stun
Awaiting further orders"

'Excellent'.  Cassy had said to not use the comms or indeed other technology and the first thing Shione does is to take out her tricorder, then draw her weapon, activate it by changing settings, and then broadcast a message over the comms - something she'd specifically told her not to do.   Cassy simply could not understand this woman and despite her use of technology being minimal, the unknown threat still remained.   Cassy was not one for riding her luck.

Then, looking to the engineers she asks, "Suggestions please... do we transport the Commander back to the ship once the relays are up, or would it be safer to lower him back through the hatch?"

She's still waiting on Gian's report but knows that it can take some time for a full analysis so is patient.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:26, Tue 13 Sept 2016.

While Shione is scouting ahead, Gian sees what he can do for Mac's condition.

OOC: 09:46, Today: Gian Seingalt rolled 5 using the Last Unicorn system with 3d6+1 with rolls of {4}, 4, 4.  First Aid on Mac.

In reply to Gian Seingalt (msg # 124):

The diagnosis is unspecific other than the reading that he's been injected with an unknown sedative, but Mac appears to be stable and in no danger. He'll probably come out of it on his own, but should be removed from the conflict area. If he's moved to the Cuyahoga, Sosal should be able to monitor him.

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 123):

The transport enhancers are already up and were use to transport you and your crew to the tower. Since the transporter is a high-energy system, this would seem to indicate that use of energy systems may not be a concern, especially given that the robot came to inspect physical damage to the hatch, not seeming interested in the communicator, tricorder or transport use already in evidence...
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:27, Tue 13 Sept 2016.

Playing a hunch, the engineer taps his comm badge.

"Seingalt to Cuyahoga," he announces. "Sosal, lock onto Lt. Anderson's comm badge and beam him aboard. He's unconscious, but stable, and needs a little looking after. I'm sure he'll be in a foul mood when he wakes up."

Sosal replies, "Aye, Lieutenant. Energising now." Mac's body shimmers out of existence.

With Max dealt with, Cassy turns to Argent and the Engineers, "Any progress?  Knowing how to turn these guys off in a pinch - assuming there are more of them - would be pretty darn useful knowledge before we head off to investigate."

[OOC The robot has been set to standby. It is now inactive. Low skill levels like 1 or 2 are very basic knowledge, and not anywhere Spock or Scotty levels.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:52, Wed 14 Sept 2016.

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 129):

While she stands watch,monitoring her Tricorder as well as pivoting her head to keep all of the directions in her view as much as possible ,Shione will extend her Telepathic senses outwards and look for any sapient(or otherwise) minds in the area

OOC Ignoring the hallway where the party is

[OOC Resuming where we left off...]


The above image shows where everyone is positioned. Pink dots are labelled individuals, green pips are the transport enhancers and the red dot is the inactive robot standing beside the open hatch. The station does not seem to have objected, or even reacted to, the crew's use of tech, including hacking the robot's system, using the transporter, using tricorders, combadges and phasers—only when they physically damaged the hatch did it send the robot out. The robot is apparently still in the "sleep" mode.

Shione has just reported what she can see from her vantage point. Rai and Gian can see that Cassy is not happy about something - a distinct look of frustration clouds her features. Her commbadge chirps, "Skipper, I've got Lt. Anderson hooked up to the bio monitors. Computer says his system is table and is recommending a drug to counteract whatever he's under the influence of. Should I let it administer, or should I place him in stasis until we get back to Dodge?"

A tough call.  She pauses to consider the readout sent to her from the medical tricorder.  If she were to say yes and it affected the commander, then she'd be in the wrong.  If she said no and they lost out because they were a man down... then that would be her fault too.   Damned if you do.... Damned if you... hang on.  "Did you check his be glycosylation levels?  It hasn't been accounted for.  If we give him a stimulant now..." She lets the medic make his own conclusions, "Leave him in stasis until a more thorough examination can be made."

That done, she turns to the others, "Let's move out.  And if I didn't make myself clear earlier, let's keep the use of electronic equipment to a minimum please.  This includes tricorders and comm badges.   I don't like feeling 'lucky' and I don't want our equipment to rendered useless the next time we need them because we gave their use away by frivolously using them when we don't need them."

She then looks to Shione who'd taken point.  "Lead on Lieutenant."

[12:27, Today: Cassiadora rolled 10 using the Last Unicorn system with 4d6+4 (a dramatic failure) (({1}, 5, 6, 5)) - Medical Systems - To understand the readout.]

As they made their way to Shione's position, Gian casts a slight grin towards Cassy and says, "It's all right; I wasn't sure if I wanted to wake him up, either."

The engineer takes note of the structure and paneling of the space, looking for hidden system access.

Cassiadora can see that Mac's brainwaves are very erratic, but she doesn't know enough about neurobiology to recognise what exactly is transpiring. The medicomp on the Cuyahoga comes up blank on what drug was on the dart. His other lifesigns appear to be stable. Stasis does appear to be the prudent option. The dart remains on the decksole where Gian dropped it (assuming he didn't pocket it or have it beamed up with Mac).

 Shione receives nothing  other than a non-specific psionic buzzing which causes her a very slight headache. Think of it as the psionic equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard. It seems to be coming from below you, but it's really difficult to pin down.

Gian notes thatThe corridors are covered in a substance that looks like a slick vinyl, though it's not particularly glossy. The junctions of walls with decks and overheads are seamless and have a 1cm diametre fillet, making them all blend together. Down the corridor, past the junctions where Argent and Tony are standing, are a pair of doors. They have a panelling effect similar to many species starship doors. There are indecipherable markings on the doors—as Gian passes them, he sees the markings are about 2.5cm high and five to ten characters long, about a metre and a half above the decksole and embossed by a couple of millimetres. They vaguely remind Gian of Andorian writing, but are not Andorian.

Argent notices a smell which seems to be slightly rancid fish oil. It is very faint, barely noticeable even to his sensitive nose. It is coming from the large darkened chamber he noticed earlier.

Prashanthi is starting to get slightly nervous. The area is as silent as one of the ruined temples she got lost in on a school outing when she was a girl.

The silence is also eating at Tony's nerves. he feels as if a rival mob has the group in their sights. He grips his heater more tightly.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:15, Fri 23 Sept 2016.

Cassy gives Gian a tight smile in response.  There was an element of relief to that as Mac had been a stress she really didn't need but at the same time she felt a tad guilty despite probably having saved him from, at best, complications!

She moved with the others as they headed further down the passage though she waited for those before her to report their findings.

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 136):

Shione noted that the group was heading towards her and took a quick look up the left circular hallway before returning to the spot she left(OOC Just want to take enough of a look to get some idea of which of the 2 passages to suggest.Assuming the robot came down the right(eastern)side??

When the group reaches her spot she quickly indicates what she has seen and suggests the right side as a good start"Lt Dul.I have scanned telepathically looking for anything living,but nothing in range.However there is a background Psi static that is quite annoying and it seems to originate from somewhere below us.

As they start to move she turns back briefly as she heads out in front"Someone should be watching our flank as we move."

When Shione steps further toward the central core, she can see that the curved corridor seems to go around the core in both directions. She can see that there seems to be an intersection to the left, but can't see anything to the right. To the left of the open area, she sees a dining area with standard chairs and tables. Beyond that is an open area with more window-wall. As Cassy and Gian approach Shione, Gian notes an access panel on at the end of the corridor wall to his left (marked in red). In the absence of further orders from their players, Argent and Tony remain watching their respective intersections, and Prashanthi remains by the robot, wary of any reaction from it for the time being.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:35, Fri 23 Sept 2016.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 138):

Turning to Gian and Cassy ,Shione points down to the windowed room"I think it connects to the galley I observed to the west of us.While the others catch up to you,how about if Gian and I go down and reconnoiter to see if that is so.?
It shouldn't take more than a minute and we'll circle back and join the rest of you before moving on.
That will give us a more complete map of this section and ensure we know more of what is behind us as we move into the center of the sphere"

In reply to Shione (msg # 139):

[OOC Not sure what "galley" you are referencing. A galley is a kitchen space. You've not seen anything like that. Are you thinking of the dining hall you saw? Which direction are you heading? To the left of the drawing, or to the bottom of the drawing? I have no idea what you're talking about with compass directions like "west", et cetera.]

Cassy turns to Argent, Rai and Tony as the three up front move further down the corridor, "Keep an eye on things back there."  That should cover that.

Then noticing the Access Panel and Gian considering it she nods, "Go ahead.  Try not to set the alarm off though."  She smiles and then replies to Shione, "Let's go together while Gian's fins out what the access panel holds."

And with that, she'll heads west around the ring to first take a peek into the dining room and from then on around the ring - though she'll let Shione lead out considering scouting isn't Cassy's forte.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 140):

Circling in a counter-clockwise direction
Entering into the room with the tables and circling around and back to the corridor that Gian is in

Does that Answer the question?

With a nod to Cassy and Shione, Gian pulls out his tricorder and scans the panel.

"Let's see what we can see, eh?" he mumbles to himself.

OOC: Would this be a computers or other specialty of Systems Engineering?

Gian, the tricorder reveal dense circuitry behind the panel, with active EPS conduits. The panel looks to be easily removeable by way of clips.

Shione proceeds past the dining area, while Cassy only goes that far. Shione notes several comfortable couches and low coffee tables around what is obviously an observation deck. There appear to be at least three rooms off the observation and dining areas, blocking access to the other windowed area. All is quiet, save for the barely-audible humming previously noticed.

The odour Argent had noticed seems to be coming from the darkened room.

Hoping that the removal of a security panel won't wake up the sleeping sentry robot, Gian removes the panel to inspect the circuitry more closely.

If this is a dining area, can I assume it is for humanoid individuals?  The droids would imply a humanoid controlling race but the seats would too.   Also, are there any signs of recent activity or use?  Or old use?  Wear and tear maybe?

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 146):

Shione waves Cassy to come into the Dining room to give her cover to check out the area (To her right as she faces the window.Is that the darkened area and if it's dark she switches on the flashlight attached to her right wrist?)

If nothing there and assuming Cassy has moved up Shione will then move to the other(bottom) side and scan the door for Security systems)

The panel comes free with a light tug, and Gian is left looking at a block of circuitry with glowing EPS conduits embedded in it, much like what can be seen when a panel in a starship corridor is removed.

Cassy notes that the chairs and tables look very much like any humanoid species would use, and are sized for an average sized person. The chairs are made of a glossy light blue material and seem cast in a single piece. The tables are clear glass-like material mounted on a pedestal of the same glossy blue substance. The furniture appears to be unworn. The carpet on the decksole is a soft grey indoor/outdoor napless weave. which wraps slightly up into the walls and blends seamlessly into the wall material.

Shione does a slow walk-around of the observation deck, discovering two samll seating areas with a single armchair in each, a corridor which seems to connect to the central curved corridor, and peers into two of the side doors to the "south" of the observation room. One appears to be a smaller private observation room, while the other seems to be an empty storage room.

Cassy ponders the fact that the place does not appear to have been... used... and gestures for Shione to come back before pointing silently at the door to the 'west' of her earlier position.  She assumes its the galley but this isn't the time for assumptions.

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 149):

Shione moves to check out the door mentioned by Cassy and if that one isn't anything interesting then she will check out the door(OOC Directly south of the Cassy Icon)

As always Shione will check for security measures on each and every door she goes to

Opening the door Cassy has indicated, Shione sees an automated kitchen suite with what appears to be a refrigerated storage closet. She also notices outside the galley, on the wall to her right, another access panel of the type Gian is inspecting across the corridor from them.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:28, Mon 26 Sept 2016.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 151):

Shione will move into the room and open the refrigerated storage closet

She is wary as she does so,given that anything in here could be spoiled

After looking over the room she will head over to the door directly south of Cassy's position

She will check it,open it and look in

The storage unit is filled with flat sealed packets about 200 by 250 by 25mm (8x10x1") with brightly coloured images of food products on them. Some resemble familiar meals, others are strange. Lettering similar to that on the doors, and the temperature is slightly cooler than the outside air, but not exactly cold.

Proceeding to the door indicated, Shione finds what seems to be a private dining room with seating for 4. The walls in this room are a dusty lilac colour, while the chairs and table pedestal are glossy black. There are artworks on the walls in abstract styles.

[OOC What are the other characters (Argent, Tony, Prashanthi and Gian) doing?]

"It's almost as if the Federation built this 20 years ago and just forgot about it," he muses to himself. "Now, what do you all do?"

Pulling out his tricorder, the engineer scans each conduit, trying to determine which circuit or circuits each one supports.

OOC: 13:30, Today: Gian Seingalt rolled 8 using 3d6+2.  Intellect (+either edge) 3, Systems Engineering 2.

Cassy continues to keep an eye on things though she does take a keen interest in the 'rations' as she tries to make head or tail of the writing on the containers - though she doesn't move too close to Shione or she'd lose sight of the unexplored portions of the base.   Thinking though, this base does some to have 'prepared' for someone's arrival and not used - which is rather odd to say the least!

Gian notes that the EPS conduits seem to be general power systems and not circuit-specific. He also detects some ODN (optical data network) feeds. The specific circuits don't seem to be Federation-made, but closely equivalent. Neither are they Klingon or Romulan in origin.

Cassy inspects a couple of food-packs that Shione brought out for her inspection. The illustration on one seems to indicate a meat dish with vegetables ans a biscuit of some type accompanying it, while the other seems to be a reddish casserole with the same type of biscuit. The lettering is completely unfamiliar. Unlike Gian, Cassy doesn't think it looks all that much like Andorian, other than having a preponderance of circular forms. A quick tricorder scan reveals that the food inside is completely edible to base-line humanoids. It also indicates a heating circuit built in, triggered by peeling open the illustrated top panel. Each pack masses between 750 grammes and a kilo.

"This is too weird," Gian says. He records the visual appearance of the conduits, replaces the panel, and heads off to find Cassy and Shione.

"Edible ration packs with heating elements, I've seen no replicators yet though.   Humanoid seating and ceilings with 'enough' headroom.  Do you get the feeling that this might have been prepared by whoever made this place for... us... or at least people like us?"   Hopefully Gian and Shione will have more to report though she speaks aloud her suspicions.

"It's like it was a prefab colonial structure, and the colonists never arrived," Gian replies as he enters. "This is surprisingly like something we'd build -- at least on the inside. Circuitry is close enough to Federation designs that it might as well be one of our members who built it."

In reply to Gian Seingalt (msg # 159):

Speaking to both Cassy and Gian
"It could be a fall back shelter.In the event of disaster or war most cultures would have a place to send their government in order to plan for the future
It's secure,remote,guarded and stocked for arrivals.
Anyway I'm going to explore the last of the rooms by the windows and then I'll come up the corridor that Gian is near.
Perhaps the others can join us and we could start heading further into the base"?
This message was last edited by the player at 16:31, Wed 28 Sept 2016.

Cassy nods, "When they're done they'll report in."  She'll move to cover Shione as she continues exploring though she replies to Gian, "The circuitry is circa...?  I get the feeling it is a little 'older' than our current level?  Or am I wrong there?"

"Oh, I'm not doubting that it's as old as advertised, even if very well maintained by the autonomous staff," Gian answers. "It just looks near enough like Starfleet EPS circuitry that it's uncanny."

Argent notices a flicker of movement in the darkened room at the end of his corridor. No sooner does he see this than it is immediately followed by a flash of red and green lights and he, Prashanthi and Tony hear a clink of metal on metal.

[OOC Anyone? Anyone? Anyone... Buehler... Buehler...? <crickets chirping>]
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:20, Sat 01 Oct 2016.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 164):

OOC Well see Msg 160 and 161 to see what Cassy and Shione are doing

If the others are currently busy then we could either wait for them or continue as best we can and allow them to post when it becomes convenient and possible for them

RL does take priority over a Game after all

In reply to Shione (msg # 165):

[OOC <sigh> I guess you're right. We'll leave them "in stasis" as they deal with whatever is approaching them, while you, Cassy and Gian continue on here...]

Which route is Shione taking? There are two ways she can go—through the small private observation deck, which has a door presumably leading to the area in question, or down the corridor from the open area by the dining room. Whichever route she takes, Shione comes to a large observation deck with several couches. She can see the tail of the Kitchissippi through the window to her extreme left (the right edge of the map).


At the far end of the room, the wall takes a dog-leg, which seems to indicate yet another room coreward  of the observation room. This conjectural room seems to be only about 2.5m (8'-0") wide...As in the other observation rooms, the couches are in a dark blue-grey  material which looks like leather, while the coffee tables are similar in construction to the dining area furniture.

"Uncanny..."   What more can she say... it seemed rather odd to her but with Shione still exploring, she'll head south to ensure that she keeps the woman in sight, expecting her to head to the east and double back.  It wouldn't make sense to push further on leaving unexplored elements behind them.  To Gian, "Any chance you can access environmentals and work out if anyone else is in here?  My nerves aren't enjoying the tension."

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 167):

Shione will move back up the corridor and rejoin Gian and Cassy
"Hi Nothing much,more empty rooms.Good spot to rest though if we need to at sometime in the future during our explorations"
She looks back down the corridor towards the robot"What's going on with them Lt?"

Gian is able to determine that some of the ODN conduits seem to be carrying life support data for several areas further down the central shaft, with varying ecological specifications, such as gravity levels, atmospheric makeup and so forth.

"It looks like there are different homeworld zones further down the main trunk," Gian reports. "I'm seeing data on varied climate, atmospheric, and gravity on some circuits. I can't see anything specific on species."

"This just feels... too convenient.  Am I the only thinking that?"

"I'm not sure I follow, Lieutenant," Gian replies. "Unless this is some sort of benevolent prison or zoo, of some kind, built for the owners to study other species, I still think this is something more along the lines of a prospective colony.

"It could be that the builders were part of a a multi-world coalition, like the Federation? It's not like we have exclusive rights to federalism."

"No, but to find something so... suitable?  It just seems unlikely."

"Look how compatible most of us are -- the vast majority of us are effectively the same species; Terrans, Centaurans, Eminians, Sigma Iotians, Deltans, and Betazoids are all interfertile without any scientific help. We're effectively one species -- and even Vulcans need only the minimal amount of scientific help to produce a child with one of us; Shione is a prime example of that.

"What would make these people so different?"

"Our physiology may be similar."  She doesn't comment on Shione, "But our technology is certainly different - in many cases and despite cross pollination of ideas."

"Unless they're using some exotic transmission substance, there's going to be some similarities. Interfaces will certainly vary, but, if you think about it, EPS conduits are probably going to look a lot alike behind the panels. There's really only so many ways you can run power and signal.

"Now, if we can figure out the alien script, we can probably start using the control panels," Gian adds. "Maybe Sosal and Rai can work on it?"

She nods, accepting her Engineer's summation of the situation, "Sure.  Head back and pass on what you have, then get back here so we can finish scouting the rest of this level."   Cassy is still keen on limiting tech use to the absolute necessity.

"Yes, ma'am," he says with a smile. Turning smartly, Gian walks back to where the Lts. j.g. Rai and Merawdr were watching the other corridors.

"Seingalt to Cuyahoga. Sosal, Prashanthi, Cassy'd like you two to take a look at the script on the control panels in this hallway -- see if you or the tricorders can decipher any meaning out of them," he relays. "We're going to continue scouting the level."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:24, Tue 04 Oct 2016.

In reply to Gian Seingalt (msg # 178):

OOC Sosal is back on the ship with Mac
It's Argent Tony and Prashanta that are back with the robot

In reply to Gian Seingalt (msg # 178):

Sosal replies over Gian's commbadge, "Sure, just send me some images and I'll run it through the database back at Dodge City."

"Will do. Seingalt out."

Gian takes scans of as many examples of the script as he can find on the way back to Cassy, and transmits it to Rai's tricorder and the runabout.

"Squints are on the job, Cassy. Shall we continue?"

OOC: Fixed the gaffe in the previous post.

In reply to Gian Seingalt (msg # 181):

"Before we proceed up the corridor I feel we should check the large room that Argent is watching the entrance to.
I prefer not to have an unknown area unexplored behind us"

Argent, Prashanthi and Tony are still guarding the hatch and robot. Argent reports the sound, light and smell he has noted. All three look a little nervous.


Proceeding up the corridor past Argent, Shione, Cassy and Gian shine their lights into the large room. In the centre of the room on the farthest of three platforms about 10cm (4") high is a small air car. Bracketing the centre platform are two stub walls framing a large opening.
To the left, there is a shelving unit 5 shelves high, piled with what appear parts and tools, while to the right and behind the entrance is a workbench above which is a set of four shelves, and a series of eight lockers. The room smells vaguely of some sort of oil, and a pair of small lights can be seen in or around the air car.

Cassy gives Gian the 'nod' to say that she is covering him so he can take a look at the 'toy' while she moves up with Shione to continue scouting the rest of what must be something of a hanger bay.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 183):

Shione will move to climb up on the platform and in a crouch approach the Air Car at about it's middle
Her senses are focused and her Phaser (On Stun) is down at her side,pointed at the floor

She will continue to move until she can see the source of the lights

Gian follows Shione, his tricorder scanning the air car as they approach.

Shione and Gian proceed into the room and the overhead lights flicker on, momentarily blinding them. A high-pitched shriek comes from the area of the air car, accompanied by a loud clink, as if someone had dropped a metal tool on the decksole. The deck in this area is a hard composite not unlike the walls and overheads. The platforms are directly under a corresponding set of hatches in the overhead, and the blinking red and green lights are coming from the dashboard of the air car. The air car is finished in a glossy blue paint and has a full roof with windows all round, and has several seats inside in three rows. To the left are a small console  and a glassed-in cubicle.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:18, Fri 07 Oct 2016.

Gian continues around to the left, trying to find the source of the noise. "Cassy, did you see anything?" he asks, as a hand reflexively touches the grip of his phaser.

With three people now in the room that he was standing guard at, Argent feels that it is reasonably secure so that his attention can be focused elsewhere. Mainly, he places his back against the right-hand wall down by the cross corridor so that he can keep an eye out down the corridor. Yes, it was explored, but there is now no one down there so surprises can appear.

He also continues to monitor the robot, and attempts to study the robot's operating program... but without tampering with it. He's put the robot to sleep, but he doesn't know what might wake it up... outside stimulus, timed program loop, etc.

He'll also look over the alien script that was found. He notes that there are only 4 'characters' in the sample they have. Words or phrases were apparently formed by combining those characters in different ways. Standard used some 60 characters, yet still needed to have words with a dozen or more characters in them.

Without a longer sample, he couldn't tell how many characters they would string together to form a single 'word'. Of course, the language could be rather simple, or this could be some kind of shorthand used for signage.

The shrieking noise easily carried to Argent's ears, startling him. He ran down to the room in case one of his crewmates had made the noise. Now that the lights were on, he glanced around.

Argent enters the vehicle bay area beside Cassy just in time to see Gian moving around the back of a small blue vehicle. As Gian does so, he (Gian, that is) sees a small grey creature on the floor by the air car. Screeching, it leaps at him.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 190):

Shione will move as quickly as she can to get herself in position to either assist physically or get a phaser shot in

She will reach out with her mind
<Be Calm We mean you no harm>

OOC In case it is intelligent

It's a long shot but Caddy has been 'covering' them and the moment she hears the creature screech and sees it leap, she'll fire.  Unfortunately the shot is wide of the target (and fortunately Gian too!)

[23:04, Today: Cassiadora rolled 4 using the Last Unicorn system with 2d6+2 (({2}, 1)).]

Gian's first instinct is to twist out of the path of the critter. Of course, there's a difference between instinct and effect.

OOC: 22:07, Today: Gian Seingalt rolled 5 using the Last Unicorn system with 2d6+1 with rolls of {2}, 4.  Dodge.

Gian fails in his attempt to dodge the little creature, which wraps its arms around his head.
As Gian backpedals, Cassie's phaser beam zaps past him and Shione hits him and the creature dead on with a stun blast. Together they fall to the deck, unconscious. As Shione strides up to Gian's crumpled form, she notes that the creature is a small primate with variegated grey fur and a long tail. On the front of its face in place of the usual nose and mouth is a heavy beak like that of a parrot. It twitches slightly, breathing heavily.


10:09, Today: Relic GM, on behalf of Shione, rolled 14 using the Last Unicorn system with 3d6+2 (a dramatic success) (({6}, 6, 3)).

Cassy follows up closing on the prone forms of the Gian and the creature.  She doesn't comment about the fact that Shione had hit Gian and instead, kneels down and opens her tricorder.   "Make sure there aren't any others, Shione."  First things first... was Gian ok?  Once she'd determined that he was (and if possible can wake him) then she'll scan the creature.

[18:01, Today: Cassiadora rolled 9 using the Last Unicorn system with 4d6+4 (({3}, 5, 4, 4)).  Scan Gian and the Beast and Wake Gian if possible.]

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 195):

"Aye aye"
She moves clockwise around the air car turning briefly to Argent"Argent could you move up a bit and cover them while I look around,please?"

After checking she returns and reports,adding as she looks down "They were just too close together and I didn't think it wise not to assume that the primate could carry a disease or a toxin in it's bite"
Is Gian alright?"

Gian is OK. Seems he just caught a light stun—the primate took the brunt of it. Gian should awaken in about five minutes with no ill effects other than a slight headache. The primate looks like nothing so much as an Earth spider monkey with a parrot's beak. Unsuual, but a completely reasonable way for a species to evolve under certain environmental circumstances. The "beaked monkey" (for want of a better term) also seems to be reasonably healthy showing no ill effects. A medium-sized wrench lies on the floor beside the air-car where the beaked monkey was hiding—surely if it was behaving belligerently, it would have used the wrench as a bludgeon. It appears rather that the small simian was acting out of terror and rather than attacking was just seeking the highest point around it, which just happened to be Gian.

Shione shuts the tricorder, "He'll be fine.   The primate should be fine too - we should sedate it for the time being."  She calls for Rai to follow them in and deal sedate the creature before standing, "Now either the creature was using the wrench," she points to the floor, "Or the owner of said wrench is somewhere close.  And with its screech, I doubt we'll be a surprise.   Keep a sharp eye."  Caddy motions for Shione and the others to push on.   The clock is now ticking.

Gian moans, holds his hand to his forehead and rolls over. He vomits violently on the decksole, not an uncommon reaction to a stun, then gets unsteadily to his feet, picking up his
dropped phaser. He groans and wipes his lips.

Cassy pats Gian's shoulder, "Sorry bud.   It'll pass... nothing permanent."

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 199):

Shione assists Gian to stand"I'm sorry Gian.I was worried that it's bite might be dangerous.
If it's any comfort I do know how you feel,been stunned a few times myself"

While standing next to Gian she turns to Cassy"Lt,I think we should be staying together and not rush into anything,while leaving others behind.

It might also be helpful to let Prashanta check out this creature.We might learn something,that could prove useful later"

She stands and moves to the large opening to the unexplored area,peering,with the aid of her light,into that corridor"I will stand watch while we get ready.
How does that sound,Ma'am ?

"It sounds, Lieutenant, that you are countermanding my orders.  If you wish to take command, please do so.   I'll make you wish clear on my mission report."  Cassy was not about to micromanage Rai.  Initiate was always present and anyone sedating the creature would surely monitor the creatures vitals and analyse the creature for further useful information.  To suggest otherwise would surely be an insult - something she could not understand why Shione continued to insist on.  "If you do not wish to take command, then I do not wish to stand here arguing about my orders.   I signalled for you to continue on... I need to be sure we aren't surprised while Gian is given the time to recover and Rai the time to sedate and yes, analyse, the creature.  If you find this too hard an order to follow, please return to the runabout."  Why did Shione have to continually rub her up the wrong way?

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 202):

She shrugs,her advice overreacted to as usual"Just a suggestion Lt,nothing more"
What have I done to earn her bitchy attitude? she wondered silently

Aye aye Ma'am.Who's covering me Lt?

Shione moves into the hall silently worried about stretching the group out so much
This message was last edited by the player at 01:11, Mon 10 Oct 2016.

Gian is in a fog as he tries to spit the taste of vomit out of his mouth. The interchange between Cassy and Shione is pounds through his skill like a screeching monkey.

"Will you two cut it out?" he rasps weakly. "You're giving me a headache."

The smell of his partially-digested last meal threatening to force him examine the remaining contents of his stomach, Gian rolls away from the pool of discharge. His head continued to throb, like he had spent an hour in zero-gravity. This was not his best day ever.

Expecting the light of the sun focusing through a lens right onto his retina, he ventures to open his eyes.

A humming noise comes from past the glassed-in cubical. As the crew whirls to confront this new challenge, two more robot drones enter the area. These are radically different from the security drone they disabled earlier. One, the shorter of the two, seems to be a janitorial drone and begins clearing away the vomit on the deck, while the other moves to collect the unconscious beaked monkey. A third drone activates from a corner of the garage and moves forward to retrieve the wrench dropped by the monkey. If anyone gets in the way of any of the robots, a voice comes from the specific robot. "Please move away from this unit so it may proceed with its task."

Gian doesn't immediately react to the approaching robot. When it asks him to move, the engineer gives it a sideways glance.

"Hold your horses, 'duster,'" he groans. Slowly, Gian slides over just enough to clear the robot's vector.

In reply to Gian Seingalt (msg # 206):

Looking at the robot picking up he unconscious primate,Shione whispered to Cassy

"Maybe we should follow that robot,Lt and see where it takes the monkey.
That might show us what the purpose of this facility is and perhaps reveal if they have any intelligent life here"

Shione's reply had been a little on the odd side considering Cassy had been covering her this entire time but with the woman heading off, Cassy joined her only to have Gian blurt out his complaint.   She raised an eyebrow and chalked it up to his 'delicate' state.   Only to have the droids appear.  Cleanup droids?  Cassy considered whether she should stop the droids but Shione's suggestion made sense.  "Good idea.   Take the lead."  Caddy will, as before, cover her leaving Shione to discover what she can.

Shione trails the veterinary robot as far as the glassed in cubicle, so she can see the robot enter a door in the central shaft. The robot wheels up to the door and the door simply blinks out of existence long enough for the robot to enter. Tricorder scans reveal that the door is a force-field construct which simply "turns off" for a few seconds then reappears. The janitorial robot remains in place, sucking up the remains of Gian's breakfast, while the mechanical robot places the wrench in an internal bin and returns to the corner from whence it came. Cassy, Gian and Argent follow Shione as a distance. Prashanthi and Tony remain guarding the security robot while trying to decipher the lettering.

The team has now explored most of two-thirds of the level.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:58, Tue 11 Oct 2016.

"Odd...."   She looks over at Gian, "You're feeling better?  Not sure I can handle grumpy Gian."   Clearly humour.  And that done and with the two larger droids having left or powered down she motions for Gian and Shione to look to their right where there are two doors leading to an unexplored area.

The engineer flashes his trademark grin. "I'm right as the mail," he declares, though the hammer in his head would beg to differ.

"Interesting door design, though whoever built it wasn't concerned about safety during a power failure."

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 210):

Shione notes the robot's entrance to the force field door and immediately returns to Cassy
"Lt.I have a concern.
Both my Security and my small unit tactics training suggests that we have become far too spread out and it leaves either of the two groups potentially vulnerable.We cannot predict; now that we are aware of the force field technology present here,whether or not they might be able to employ a force field in order to cut us off from each other.

Ma'am ,it is in my opinion better for all concerned if we stay close to one another .We may never know which of our respective skills or abilities might be necessary in a life threatening situation"

Shione continues to keep her perspective on a swivel

"Besides I feel the force field door is something that would be in Lt Gazzo's area of expertise and Lt Rai would likely be interested in the likelihood that animals are being kept within"

Shione waits for Cassy's answer

OOC Once they are ready to play it would make things simpler if they were with us.
That is what I would want if I were in their place
This message was last edited by the player at 22:48, Thu 13 Oct 2016.

As Shione confers with Cassy and the rest, the janitorial robot finishes its cleanup and rolls past the away team and up the corridor opposite the door in the shaft. Gian's headache is easing off fairly quickly as the residual effects of the stun wear off.

She replies to Gian's comment about the Force Field, "Unless a physical door is present and closes in situations of a power failure leaving the force field purely there for convenience rather than security."

Shione then speaks up, "Your objections are, once again, noted.   Fire teams (Ref: http://wiki.fed-space.com/Fire_Team) within the Federation military have standardised on four members for quite some time.  As we are four, I see no reason to deviate from this norm.   Further, their use of forcefield technology is no surprise given the selective disruption caused to our sister craft.   When Lt Rai and Gazzo have concluded their tasks, they can join us - until then, we can conclude our own task - that of scouting this floor - to ensure when they do come to analyse the door and the primate, that they are safe."

She steps over to the door just to the north of their position and motions to the others that she will be opening it, "Once again, your lack of confidence in my ability to lead this group is noted and will reported.  If our command agree with you, you will doubtlessly receive leadership of the next mission."  And who knows what will happen to Cassy!

[OOC:

Thanks Shione.  Please can we leave the meta-gaming to the GM.   I'm sure when the others rejoin the GM can give them something interesting to investigate to get them back up to speed before rejoining us - or just have them arrive having covered the distance safely.  The alternative is to force the GM to NPC them which will make rejoining the game harder for returning players and make more work for our GM who already puts in quite a bit!   If the GM would like them to rejoin the group, he can of course simply walk them back to us as NPCs.]

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 214):

"No further suggestions from me.Understood Ma'am."

Shione takes a support position remaining vigilant,but if her position allows a look up the corridor where the Janitorial robot went she will take note and report what she sees

AS Shione moves to the door in the central shaft, she looks up the corridor and notes a door in the far end, with two branches off to the left. It seems to her that the robot must have entered one of the side branches, as it could not have arrived at the door in the time which has passed. Returning her gaze to the door, she notes a panel with two inscriptions and a 2cm dimple beside each.

Meanwhile back beside the glassed-in cubical, Gian and Argent notice a console in the cubicle and another beside it. Each console has a rack of small silvery marbles and a circular screen above it.

It occurs to Cassy that while Prashanthi and Tony are trained officers and capable of handling themselves, that leaving them alone without informing them might be counterproductive. If they are accosted by another security robot, the only option might be for them to beam out, but without contingency orders or at least guidelines, they might not be able to intuit your desires.

Shione turns to Cassy after inspecting the door"The robot headed down a side corridor,so there must be a waste processing facility."
She nods to the door"Would you like me to open that for you Lt?
Security systems are included in my security training."

The engineer taps Argent on the shoulder. "This must be one of their computer terminals," Gian says, lifting his tricorder and taking a detailed scan. Hopefully, he can get an idea of how the terminal works and how the beads are associated with each other.

OOC: 09:36, Today: Gian Seingalt rolled 7 using the Last Unicorn system with 3d6+3 with rolls of {4}, 4, 1.  Intellect+Logic, Systems Engineering (Computers).
This message was last edited by the player at 16:36, Tue 18 Oct 2016.

As Gian sits before the console, the screen lights up and humanoid face appears. "Can I be of... assistance?" it says. Gian's commbadge translates it into Centauri Prime. Argent hears it in Caitian. The face appears to be a middle-aged, bearded Caucasian humanoid wearing archaic spectacles. His speech is stiff and formal in a baritone register.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:42, Tue 18 Oct 2016.

Gian trades a glance with the Caitian before answering.

"Yes," he says. "What are the functions of the marble-like spheres on this terminals, if any?"

The computer interface avatar hesitates for a second with a blank expression, then blinks three times and relies, "No spheres are constructed of marble. Please respecify..."

Gian smiles; of course, it wouldn't know about a human invention -- or, at least, it would likely call it something different.

"Allow me to rephrase the question; what are the functions of the small silver-colored spheres on the terminal?"

The avatar replies, "Small metallic spheres are data solids. Each sphere contains 100 teraquads of data concerning a single subject. Data are accessed by placing sphere into the reader dimple on the console."

There are a number of dimples similar to what Shione has seen at the door in the central shaft, as well as one in the centre of the console with a rubbery gasket the size of one of the data spheres. Each sphere is labelled with the same circular script as the door labels.

Cassy nods to Shione, "Please."   She then looks over to Gian as he considers the terminal and see it wake.  The terminals response to Gian's question is interesting - as is the simple fact that it responded to him.   Security was clearly not super tight.

Wait! The commbadge translated it! Gian taps his communicator.

"Seingalt to Cuyahoga. My commbadge is translating the local language. If I can find and record an example of their script and orthography, we can probably translate all of the writing," he says. "Tap into my commbadge and record the computer's native tongue.

"Computer, which data solids before me contains data regarding the language you speak, and the script and orthography of the writing used in this complex?"

The avatar responds, "Select sphere number 4Q2." When asked which sphere this is, the display shows a shot of the sphere rack with sphere 4Q2 highlighted. When placed in the rubber cup, the screen flickers and the avatar reappears. "Welcome to the Finori language database. Please select a topic from the following list: Basic introduction..." and continues with a long list of subjects.

Sosal replies, "Tied in Lieutenant. Proceed..."

Gian sets his tricorder to record, and asks the avatar to play the basic introduction and next two topics.

OOC Cassy had asked Shione to open the door that she is standing in front of
I'm guessing you missed that

[OOC No, just hadn't had a chance to do more replies, as I'm over at Dave's this afternoon—will respond a little later.]

[OOC Please leave all messages that are solely OOC comments in the OOC Out of character discussions thread or vas a PM. If you are leaving an in-character message, an OOC comment may be appended to the message.]

As noted, there are two dimples by the door These appear to be the equivalent to call buttons at a turbolift. Each has a label in the same script. It would appear that the "call buttons" are activated by placing a fingertip in the dimple. Logically the upper dimple would call for an up elevator (if that is what it truly is) and the lower would call for a down elevator. Which dimple does Shione use?

Cassy should note that for the two of you to leave this would leave three two-person teams at disparate locations, and that Prashanthi's task of trying to decipher the text is now redundant as Gian has now accessed a linguistic database and is relaying it to Sosal in the runabout. This is a high-bandwidth signal being relayed through the communications link in the transporter enhancers and cannot be missed by station the computer, not even taking into account that it is being accessed through the computer itself.

Shione's security training tells her that having contacted the computer (this assuming that Gian and/or Argent have notified Shione and Cassy - such is my basic operating assumption at all times) Gian should be able to request that the anti-approach power drain be discontinued, allowing contact and scanning by the runabouts directly.

[OOC Prashanthi and Tony, if no replies are received by Monday, I will have to review your participation. The minimum activity is only one message per turn (Mon-Wed/Thurs-Sun) , which should be doable even in a high-activity period like a move or health crisis. Otherwise please let me know how long you anticipate being of-line al what your contingency order for your character are.]

With Shione busy examining the door and Gian interfacing with the rather odd looking terminal (high bandwidth aside, the risk had been taken and had appeared to not affect matters - even if she was still concerned about triggering the base's defences), it left Cassy with time to consider her surroundings.

"How long before we can get active translations, Gian?"  Shione's discovery will not prompt Cassy to suggest the pair leave.

[OOC: I can send Tony and Prashanthi back to the ship if you wish, or call them here.  As I said before, I do not want to complicate matter there :-)]

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 231):

[OOC Since Tony and Prashanthi are working on getting a translation of the script using only their tricorders, they would likely be put to better use on the ship working with the data Gian is feeding to the runabout's computers. This would serve two purposes - A) removing them from immediate play where it would make less of a problem while their players sort out matters, and B) in character, it would place them out of harm's way.]

Gian is unable to come up with a time-frame for translation. While Prashanthi has no linguistics-specific skills, she does have Computers (Simulations/Modelling) 2 (3), which would give her an advantage in decoding the alphabet using the runabout's computers; while Tony will also be able to use the computers to assess the station's computer technology. Gian and Argent would be able to position the tricorder to read the screen and continue the transmission while they accompany you.

So, with a 'task' needing doing the split not an ideal situation, Cassy comms the two near the portal out of the sphere, "Tony, Prashanthi... please set up a warning beacon at the droid - to detect it waking or moving - and then head back to runabout.  Gian is sending over a linguistics database for you to analyse.   Soon as you make any headway, please tell us."

Then to Gian, "If you can leave it transmitting, we can keep moving?"

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 233):

"Excuse me Skipper, it occurs to me that if Tony takes the 'bot back to the Kitchissippi, he can begin investigating the robot itself. Presumably, the dart magazine in the weapons array of the robot will have more of the drugged darts and we can beam a sample back to Dodge City for a full analysis by Hawkeye. And maybe we can take a rack of data spheres as well so we can analyse them as well..."

In reply to Ensign Sosal (msg # 234):

In keeping with her security analysis Shione waits until Cassy is done ordering the two back to the ship,and speaks up

"Lt; Gian should be able to request that the computer cancel the power drain so that the runabouts could begin scanning the sphere while we continue to explore.
Assuming that this is an elevator, perhaps it might be prudent to map out this level before proceeding to another"

"Hmmm.  Thank you Ensign.  The idea to transport the droid has merit but I don't think it is an ideal solution given the transport itself may wake the droid and given its apparently security tasks, might have more than tranquilisers aboard.   Containment in force fields aboard the runabout may seem sufficient unless the droid can counter them and given what their technology did to the previous runabout, I don't want to take the risk.  The runabout is our way out."  Decision made.  "Please focus on the data and use the monitoring beacon to study the droid remotely.   I'll have Lt Seingalt investigate the transport of the data spheres."

And then to Gian who no doubt heard her conversation, "You'd better ask the computer.  We wouldn't want to upset it.   And while you're at it, find out if we can get access to the skimmer?"  The vehicle in the bay behind them.

Then to Shione, "Good call, Lieutenant."   She looks to Gian and nods before looking back to Shione, "I agree.   Let's move further down the corridor so we avoid any surprises for Gian while he's setting things in motion."  And she'll cover Shione as she continues her investigation.

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 236):

Shione will check and open the other door to the left of the "Elevator" and after assessing it she will move to the northern corridor and proceed up it to the one which the bot went down

In reply to Shione (msg # 237):


There is no door to either side of the supposed elevator door, merely a corridor which wraps around the central shaft. Following the corridor 'north' reveals a series of what appear to be charging stalls for various types of robots. One of the janitorial robots is plugged into a port in the decksole by a flexible, transparent 75mm (3") tube or hose and is happily chugging away, presumably disposing of Gian's mess. Gian is finishing Cassy's instructions under the watchful gaze of Argent and Cassy, while Tony and Prashanthi acknowledge their orders and beam out to the runabouts. Once they've beamed out, Prashanthi takes over from Sosal and Tony takes temporary command of the Kitchissippi, leaving both runabouts manned.

Sosal asks Cassy by commmunicator "Skipper, do you want me to come over there as backup? I could bring a Type 3 or a riot phaser in case you have trouble."
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:53, Sat 22 Oct 2016.

OK, in response to Shione's PM to me about the doors, the "door to the left" was referring to the large door to the left on the one beside Cassy. I'll basically take it as read that before she checks up on the janitorial robot she looks into this door. Behind it is a large room with another platform upon which is a similar air-car, or skimmer as Cassy refers to them. As with the other three platforms, there is a large hatch in the overhead above it. Closer to the large door is a console desk with screen, and on the 'north' wall is another large door, while on the 'east' wall are two humanoid-sized doors.

Cassy having followed Shione (still covering her) will call back to Argent (and Gian if he isn't yet ready to follow), "Another of the vehicles here - and another console."  And then to Shione, "Anything else of interest?"

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 240):

Shione is wary about crossing down the corridor if there are active robots in them ,so she moves to look,consulting her tricorder to reveal if there is any activity from them
If not she will move to get a better look at the openings further down the corridor

In reply to Shione (msg # 241):

None of the robots are mobile—all seem to be in recharge mode and non-reactive. About the time she returns, Sosal has beamed over with a few extra tricorders, so that the team will still all have at least one with them. He's also brought a riot phaser extension for Shione.


Shione is familiar with this extension unit for the phaser. It is a module into which the Type two phaser plugs, effectively turning it into a Type three phaser. It can be attached to the belt until needed, though it takes several seconds to ready and is usually carried with the phaser in place. It is less cumbersome than a Type three phaser rifle, and usually has a sling. "Thought you might want these," he says with a grin. "So, Lieutenant Dul, want me to hang around or go back to the Cuyahoga?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:31, Sat 22 Oct 2016.

Argent has been following along somewhat dutifully but mostly out of curiosity. At Cassiadora's request, he stops at the first vehicle they found. He uses his tricorder to get as many readings as he can from it.

The first thing he wants to know is how it got in here. Is there a hatch on the ceiling, or is it on the floor?

He examines the seats to try and determine what type of species might have made or used the seats. They probably aren't designed to accommodate his tail, for instance. He's not familiar with any species (except the Horta) that wasn't two-legged, so do the seats look like they'd be comfortable for the posterior of a two-legged creature?

He'll next examine the controls, if there are any that aren't an electronic panel. If they aren't electronic, he'll try to figure out if a creature with just two arms could operate it. Normal hands? And he'll try to determine how to start the vehicle.

Power is next. Can he determine what the power source is, and whether it still has power? Is the grid its sitting on some sort of power charging station?

What is its motive force? He's guessing anti-gravity, but he's not ruling out magnetism or vectored air thrusts. He has a momentary flash of there being a giant spring on the bottom and the vehicle just hops along! It'd be hell for the occupants!

In reply to Argent Merawdr (msg # 243):

It's a fairly standard air-car of relatively familiar design. Argent doesn't recognize the make or model, but it could have been manufactured on any Federation planet or the equivalent. There is a standard dashboard with touchscreen readouts and a control yoke similar to that found in Federation vehicles on planets that allow manual operation. The seats are very similar to Federation seats—not actually designed for Caitian backsides, but still reasonably adaptable. From his tricorder readings the power source seems to be an advanced fusion reactor similar to that found on Workbees, fueled by a slush-deuterium tank and the means of propulsion is indeed antigrav with vectored thrusters. There is a roof hatch above each of the three platforms large enough for the air-car, and the platforms appear to be landing elevators. All in all, except for minor cosmetic quirks he would not even notice this car in a parking facility on Earth. It is outfitted similarly to a minivan, with two seats up front and three rows of three seats behind.

Once Shione has done a full once-over of the robot stalls, including what looks like a robot service facility, she returns to report to Cassy, only to find Sosal there with a riot phaser attachment and spare tricorders. Shione is familiar with this extension unit for the phaser. It is a module into which the Type two phaser plugs, effectively turning it into a Type three phaser. It can be attached to the belt until needed, though it takes several seconds to ready and is usually carried with the phaser in place. It is less cumbersome than a Type three phaser rifle, and usually has a sling. "Thought you might want this," he says with a grin.

Shione has seen several robots in their charging stalls, of all four types encountered to date as well as a couple of the type seen at the Gamma One tower. All seem to be on standby.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 245):

"I'm beginning to think this level is a maintenance area.Robots and Aircars.
Seating in the eating area for about 20,suggests to me that this isn't a general living level

There are a few areas we have yet to look in,but it seems the real secrets might end up being behind that force field door.

Lt,you and I could look over the rest of the level,while Gian,Argent and Sosal try and get us through that door",she suggests;while assembling the riot phaser.

Holding it up,she grins wryly"Especially now that we're ready for any lethal surprises"

"Maintenance level, possibly," Argent says, "but it could also be an engineering level or just a work level. You humans are prone to slapping labels on things, so I would caution you not to attribute human applications to this."

"It does seem as if this was being used by humans, but may not have been built by them."

He heads over to the force field door, but lets Gian and Sosal lead the way as he hasn't actually seen it yet.

In reply to Argent Merawdr (msg # 247):

Shione starts at Argent's comment

"No Human here,Argent.I'm a Betazoid,Vulcan.
Logically,given the extensive robot repair facility and the presence of two aircar bays suggested that to me
Just enough living quarters,to suggest it's for the staff to man those two work areas "

"Same base stock... and you all look the same to me," Argent quips. "Now if you had fur and a tail..."

"I understand that you make a distinction between species, but it's mostly cultural. You can interbreed with each other. You still think like a human. When you walk down the hall, do you skip? Crawl? Hop? Yes, you can, but you don't. That's all I'm saying."

In reply to Argent Merawdr (msg # 249):

Shione chuckles"I think I'd love to have a tail,but I'd imagine it's not always easy to find comfortable seating though,Hmmn?"

"Ha-ha! No, chairs with backs are The Enemy," Argent replies, "but stools are just fine. Also, chairs with back but no arms work, as I can sit sideways on them."

"Yeah, unless you are born with a tail and have the natural instincts that come with it, you have a tendency to sit on it, step on it, or trip over it. There have been test conducted that demonstrated that, especially since the tail doesn't do anything."

Sosal walks over to the supposed elevator door. "The two dimples look like they might be controls. One stacked above the other would seem to denote up and down call-'buttons'."

He sticks a finger into the upper dimple the lettering beside it glows with a red light. Several seconds later the door flicks out of existence, revealing a small, glass-walled capsule looking out into the now brilliantly lit central shaft.

"I think I figured out how to open it," he says with a grin. "When you stick your finger into the dimple, it sort of gives the tip a tactile flick. You still want to do a quick check of the remaining spaces?"


This message was last edited by the player at 22:33, Sun 23 Oct 2016.

In reply to Ensign Sosal (msg # 252):

"That's up to the Lt,but it would give the three of you time to work out the force field door mechanism
Perhaps isolate the remote mechanism in one of the robots and mimic it with a tricorder?"

OOC: I'm confused. Just what 'force field' door are we talking about?

Argent heads over to what Sosal has now revealed is an elevator. Of course, he has the same skeptical approach as did to Shione's statement that this level was a maintenance level.

"Are you sure it's an elevator? Maybe it's a garbage disposal chute that drops everything down into an incinerator."

Without stepping into the elevator, he peers through the glass wall at the central shaft. He looks up and down and around in an effort to discern what the purpose of the central shaft was.

Well, here goes nothing, he thinks.

"Computer, I have three queries for you," Gian begins. "First, please increase the playback speed of the linguistics database to 168-times the current speed, and play the entire linguistics database from the beginning.

"Second, we would like to closely inspect the passenger vehicles in the two bays. We request access to the interiors, engine compartment, and controls of each.

"Third, your station emits an energy beam that disables our transports when we attempt to use our sensors to study your facility," Gian continues. "It also interferes with our ability to transport personnel to and from the station. Please disable that beam."

The computer avatar blinks myopically and replies, "Playback parameters modified. Playback will recommence on your mark." It blinks again and resumes, "Vehicles are unsecured and may be accessed freely." Another blink, "Security parameters modified from security console alpha. Applied..." The avatar pauses, blinks and states, "Playback standing by..."

The engineer sets up a new recording on his tricorder and sets it down wehre it will pick up both video and audio.

"Recommence playback," he orders. Once he's comfortable that the recording is functioning, he gets up and joins Cassy.

"Okay, the defenses are disabled and the computer tells me the air cars are 'unsecured.' We can inspect and operate them freely," he reports. "I also have the tricorder and playback synched. It'll take about an hour to download their linguistics database."

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 256):

Shione leans in and speaks quietly to Gian

"Security console Alpha? Where would we find that Gian?"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:59, Mon 24 Oct 2016.

As far as Gian can figure, this is Security Console Alpha. It is ideally positioned to view the elevator entrance and the vehicle bay.

"You heard it say that?" Gian asks, not realizing the avatar's voice was so loud. It certainly didn't seem loud to him when he sat at the terminal. "I assume the terminal I was using is what it was calling 'console alpha.'"

In reply to Gian Seingalt (msg # 260):

"Sharp ears,don't cha know?" and she winks at Gian
"I had just leaned in to see what you were up to
Makes sense that this would be the Alpha

Another question if you don't mind
How long prior to this access was the previous one?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:28, Mon 24 Oct 2016.

Gian smiles in response to Shione's wink; when she suggests asking about the last access, he says, "Oh, that's a good question."

Turning to the console, he repeats it. "When was your system last accessed from this console?"

Cassy had been keeping an eye on things as the others investigated.  She'd nodded to Sosal, "Might as well stick around while you're here.  An extra pair of hands could help."  She smiles knowing that the Ensign was as keen as the others to be aboard the ship, exploring.

Gian's 'theory'is appreciated and Argent's comment, similarly so - despite it being a little depreciative (not to mention the casual racism - but she doesn't comment about that either).

Sosal, having investigated the Force Field and opened it, prompts Cassy to call out.  "Let's not split up.  We're still busy here with the Terminal.  If that is a lift of some sort, we'd definitely not be together and I'm not comfortable with that despite the apparent inactivity around here."

Gian's disabling of the transporters does however take a weight off her mind and Shione now seemed focused on delivery rather than commanding provided a very astute question, "Good call.  That should give us a frame of reference for this place."

The avatar responds to Gian, "System access from Security Console Alpha last occurred 63.325 solar cycles ago." A solar cycle presumably indicates local 26.5 hour 'days', based on the artificial 'day' and 'night' produced by the periodic polarisation of the upper layer of atmosphere, meaning the last access would have been approximately 1620 hours ago, or about two standard months.

Sosal asks, "Shall I contact Tony on the Kitchissippi to test the security beam cutoff?"

[OOC to Argent: The doors of the rooms so far accessed appear to be force field projections which simply 'disappear' instead of opening.]

[OOC to Cassy: Which remark did you see as 'casual racism'?]
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:41, Fri 11 Nov 2016.

"When was the last time a humanoid resident accessed your system from any of the security or other computer consoles?" Gian continued.

The system avatar blinks three times and states, "System access from Security Console Alpha last occurred 63.325 solar cycles ago."

Gian furrows his brow. "Prior to our arrival, how many solar cycles ago was the last humanoid lifeform in this complex?"

There were others here two months ago?   Preparing for us she suspected.  It made far more sense considering the apparent 'preparations' put in place to provide a habitable location.   But it also posed a whole bunch of questions.   She did however wait to see what Gian could extract from the computer - there was clearly more information available here given the AIs willingness to share (and assuming it wasn't altering the results for some nefarious reason!)

[OOC: Argent's comments about humanoids effectively all looking the same ;-)]

OOC: Near-humans would be more accurate; Caitians are humanoids, too. ;) And I have a theory about the "solar cycles" thing, but I'll wait 'til the avatar responds before Gian posits it.

 The avatar blinks once and replies, "There are currently six humanoids in this complex."

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 270):

"Interesting.There is someone else.
Might be handy to know where and on what level"

Gian grunted a response as he leaned back in the console chair. "Okay, let's try that: Computer, other than myself and the four humanoids in close proximity to me on this deck, what is the location and species of the sixth humanoid on the station?"

"There is one humanoid—species indeterminate—in specimen globe 6."
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:44, Wed 26 Oct 2016.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 273):

"Specimen globe 6?!
Might just be beyond that force field door.
Have we determined how to get in there?"

"Please display an isometric graphic of this station's layout. Mark the location of this terminal, and the location of the humanoid in Specimen Globe Six."

"Displaying... Laboratory Level Two is displayed in green. Security Console Alpha is on Laboratory Level Two. Humanoid subject is in Specimen Globe Six, displayed in red."
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:48, Wed 26 Oct 2016.

Interesting.  The area was far larger than she'd expected.   The exploration was going to take more than a little time but with a cooperative computer, maybe they could speed things up.   "Gian.  Please ask the computer for the schematic plans of all the decks in this establishment, the location of living and mechanical constructs, and to please label all areas based on service or use."   She then adds, "And can you ensure that we've asked it to validate our presence here.   I'd prefer not to have to deal with another security droid."

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 277):

Shione grew impatient with standing around and shoulders the phaser
"Lt.I'm going to go check out the two doors off the upper air car bay.
I'll shout out if I see something.
OK?"
And she makes to leave and will pause if Cassy forbids it

OOC There is no way I can see the DM handing us maps to the entire complex ,even assuming he has them all done and available to be viewed

The air-car in the smaller hangar bay is similar in exterior appearance to the one in the larger bay, but has only one rear row of three seats in addition to the two seats up front, and a large caged area in the aft section.

The two doors in the 'west' wall both lead into a large biological laboratory space. At one end is an office space, while the rest is taken up by two medical-style examination tables, what appears to be a dissection table with a grated top for allowing fluids to drain, and a cryo-tube. The cryo-tube's transparent lid is frosted over and tell-tales reveal that there is a life-form inside. The frost is on the inside of the tube and cannot be cleared from the outside.

Assuming that Shione also peeks into the large vehicle-style door to the 'north' of the vehicle bay, it is merely a small parts storage chamber.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:10, Thu 27 Oct 2016.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 279):

"Lt.You better come see this.I have a life form present.We may need a biologist though"
And Shione describes where she is located
When Cassy arrives Shione points her to the cryo unit"Life form contained within,Ma'am"

AS Shione waits on Cassy's arrival, her tricorder reveals the creature within the cryotube. Readings reveal that it is alive in cryostasis. It is 2.25m tall and 500kg, with an exoskeleton. It appears to be semi-insectoid.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 281):

Shione taps her comm and alerts Cassy and Prashanta as to what she has found including the specs from her tricorder
"Don't think we want to wake this beastie anytime soon"

Having walked over at Shione's call, Cassy shakes her head, agreeing, "No....   In fact, the simple fact that this computer will have control over its waking leaves me feeling rather uncomfortable."  Her own tricorder was taking in details and using her experience as a medic, she consider the creature for further useful information (like, for example, isolating the cryochamber for safety, and possible origins of the species.)

[OOC: 03:12, Today: Cassiadora rolled 16 using the Last Unicorn system with 4d6+4 (a dramatic success) (({6}, 6, 1, 4)).]

Not wanting to interrupt the playing of the linguistic database, Gian leaves the security terminal and steps over to the terminal next to it.

"Computer, do you have levels of increasing security and command access for personnel on this outpost? If so, what are the levels, and what level of access have I been granted?"

The avatar blinks and shakes its head sadly. "Sorry, that information... is not available from this terminal..."

Cassy's scans reveal that the creature is female, oviparous and likely carnivorous. It appears to have great strength, possibly being from a high-gee environment, and is an oxygen breather. The cryochamber appears to be quite secure, with no release mechanism on the inside, and the creature is in deep hibernation.

Figures. "Where is the closest security terminal besides Alpha?"

The avatar blinks and replies, "Nearest alternate security console is in the main Security office on the upper Lab Deck," and displays a map of that deck.


The avatar blinks again and continues, "The Security office is highlighted in red."

[OOC: Woo Hoo! 775 messages!]
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:05, Mon 31 Oct 2016.

"Female, oviparous and likely carnivorous.  Probably from a high-gee environment and an oxygen breather."   Hmm.   "At least she's deep under though I'm still concerned that the computer here has control over her."   She let's Shione see the results, "I wonder if there are others like her inside the space?"  Not meaning the station but the space in general.

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 289):

"I am very glad that she is deeply hibernated"Shione adds with a tone of apprehension to her voice

"Not too sure how we would deal with one of them if we were in a combat situation.
The outer shell could ablate a phaser shot and my nerve pinch would likely be useless".

She nods to the Lt's comments
"You're right Cassy we should confirm with the computer regarding the protocols for awakening.
And I'm not sure we shouldn't let the home base know about this race asap"

According to Cassy's tricorder readings, the creature's chitin is mostly calcium and silicates—nothing resilient enough to resist phaser fire on force eight (capable of vapourising a humanoid), even a Type I 'Cricket' phaser, let alone a Type II Pistol phaser, even without the Type III Riot extension; unless it has powers like a Q or shields like a Jen'Hadar or Borg. There is no indication of any tech implants which would generate shields.

"Right."

Gian looks around and catches sight of Sosal. "Sosal, come here and bring your tricorder -- mine's indisposed for the next hour," he says.

Sosal walks over and approaches Gian. "Sorry, Lieutenant, you were busy so I couldn't give you one of the spares I brought along. I thought you might need some more to set up at other consoles..." He flips open a fresh tricorder. "You need to set this one up at this console? I have two more extras just in case."

"This one will be short; we just need to ask the computer for a layout of each deck and record it."

Upon asking the computer for maps of the decks, the avatar produces the following maps:


This message was last edited by the GM at 05:57, Tue 01 Nov 2016.

"I have to agree."  She taps several buttons on the tricorders, "I'll leave my tricorder here to monitor her remotely.  Maybe we can learn more while we continue investigating the sphere."   She then hooks the tricorder up with the runabout and sets it to stream data about the creature and gives orders to monitor, record and report.

That done, she adds, "Anything more here?"  She'll continue looking around until they've 'cleared' this section of the sphere and will then return to Gian and Sosal (and hopefully pick up one of the spare tricorders).

There is a short corridor leading to the 'west', flanked by two doors. The doors lead to rooms which are both empty, while the corridor leads to a larger room with no door. In the corner is a pile of vegetable matter like a large nest or makeshift bed.

Gian shifts seats as the second tricorder picks up the base layout. Settling back into the security terminal, he orders the computer to pause the playback and pauses the tricorder.

"Computer, do you have levels of increasing security and command access for personnel on this outpost? If so, what are the levels, and what level of access have I and my compatriots  been granted?"

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 296):

"This seems like a long shot ,but would you like me to try and "Read" the alien?
You could link with me and pull me out if there was a problem,but the chances to learn about this species is there for us.The sheer odds of having two telepaths in one room with a new life form does make the idea somewhat attractive.
What do you think?"

Cassy considers it and then shakes her head, "I don't know.  It seems like a needless risk."  Cassy isn't certain - Shione might be able to sway her though.

In reply to Gian Seingalt (msg # 298):

The avatar blinks and replies, "There are three levels of access: Command, Security and Researcher. Your access is defaulted to Researcher. Commands entered via Security Console Alpha or the Main Security Console are at Security level. Command staff are granted Command access."

"All right, then. Please disable all security robot response to our presence and action; please send security robots to assist us if we call for one," Gian says. It's worth a short, being a security terminal.

The avatar blinks three times and replies, "Acknowledged. Party of five Researcher level humanoids granted immunity from Security Drone supervision and emergency access to Security Drones enabled."

"Thank you. Please provide a list of all command personnel currently assigned to this facility."

A blink and, "No Command level personnel are currently assigned to this station."

"All right, then," he muses. He gets the tricorder recording again, and adds, "Computer, resume playback with current playback parameters."

With that, Gian stands from the terminal. To Sosal he says, "Shall we go find the ladies?"

"Right with you, sir. I think they went this way," indicating the door Shione and Cassy had gone through. He calls down the corridor to Argent, "Lt. Merawdr, we're going to find Lieutenants Dul and Kurasa. Coming, sir?"

After inspecting the "Nest" in the far room Shione,she returns to Cassy,nodding back in the direction from which she had come
"Some kind of animal's nest in there.Open access to the lab and since we haven't noticed it I am going to war the others to be alert."

Tapping her comm badge"Shione to the team at the computer.Lt Dul and I have found evidence that a living animal could be loose.Just be cautious."

Cassy nods, "It doesn't look like it belonged to the monkey... probably best to be alert."

"Aye, ma'am. Lieutenants Merawdr and Seingalt, and I are proceeding to your location. Is it a large beastie? Any description?" Sosal's voice, usually calm, betrays some nervousness.
"One other thing: it's getting on 13:00 hours. Shall we break out the rations?"

They really only have the impression in the nest to give them an idea of the size - which Cassy passes on to the others.   Regarding the rations, "Hmm... let's keep going until this level is secure.  I wouldn't want to be having a picnic only to have whatever creature is here stumble upon us!"

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 311):

"That is a prudent plan Lt.

If we search in a counter clockwise fashion from here we will get through the areas we haven't searched and end up back at the cafeteria area,which also leaves us close to the exit in case of trouble"

She smiles then, "And is a sensible place for a picnic."  She chuckles at that, "Lead on then, Shione."

Gian catches up to Cassy and Shione, and makes a quick report of the results of his activities.

"So, we're considered 'researchers' here, and the security robots won't respond to our activities; they will, however, respond if we call," he says.

In reply to Cassiadora (msg # 313):

"Aye aye Lt"
Shione will lead the group through the robot recharge area in order to get to the area below where she feels the computer core may reside

Cassy follows, making sure Shione is covered, and will reply to Gian, "Researchers?  Is this something you arranged or was this place 'expecting' us - or someone like us?"