Django rotates the ship slightly headed for the circular hole just a few meters away from where the ship has lain for a thousand years beneath the ruins.  He oversteers just a little, but Tump is there to compensate and together they maneuver the ship to the center of the 6 kilometer shaft.  With nervous hands, the two of them orient the ship to point its fore straight up the shaft, balancing on its rear end just two meters above the ground on repulsors.

Almost holding his breath, Tump manages to eek out "I have a bad feeling about this."

He exhales and looks over to Django. "You know, traveling through hyperspace ain’t like playing cops and robbers, marshall."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:00, Wed 03 May 2017.

Django looks over at Tump. "Ain't gone be like nothin' we ever done. Systems check. Thrusters are armed. Shields at fifty percent. Alluvial damper spooled an' ready to sing. Hows yer end?".

"All systems green." He looks over to the R2 unit. "Aice, you sure we're clear to make it into hyperspace?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:12, Wed 03 May 2017.

The droid's head swivels towards Tump and in a strangely effeminate voice says, "The chances of navigating through outdated star charts are approximately 3720 to 1."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:00, Wed 03 May 2017.

"Never tell me the odds, droid" says Django and he engages the thrusters and is held firm in his seat.

The Millennium Falcon accelerates like a bullet from a gun crossing the 6 kilometers to the surface in a couple of seconds.  On the monitor, the A-wing follows.  It is a glorious feeling to burst from the ground like some sort of rebirth from the planet.

Django has to tense his stomach muscles to fight against the g-forces pushing against him, in an effort to remain conscious. He grips the yoke tightly and levels out the Falcon a bit, so as to not to be at a complete ninety degree angle. "Hold on t' yer butts" he taunts as he jerks the yoke to the side and causes the Falcon to rotate and roll twice as it cuts through the skies of Core. Satisfied for now, he pulls the yoke back to raise the angle of attack skyward again, gaining hundreds of feet of elevation by the second.

The sudden jolt pins Tump's head to the back of the co-pilot's chair. Eyes forward, he focuses on keeping the ship centered while it exits.

The exhilaration of the ascension into the heavens is suddenly interrupted by a dazzling green blast of energy that just misses the ship.  Up ahead, a veritable storm of the green bolts is flashing toward the ship.

The Rain of Light.

Fortunately, the bolts don't seem to be very accurate.  They stream around the Falcon, some coming close, but not actually ever hitting.  Inarra's A-wing, in the Falcon's 'shadow' is also okay.

At the communication station, Irin gasps.  Her hand goes over her wide open mouth and tears well in her eyes.  "Dad..."

Tump whips his head around to see where the bolts of light hit and see what's happing on Corellia's surface.

"How soon'd y'all say them hunter droids would get there? That bast-... what in the hades is THAT?". A massive shapes looms overhead.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:11, Sat 06 May 2017.

"That, is an SSD Mark Two."  Ayce rolls over to a socket and extends a complicated manipulator that seems to shift shapes until it looks like the regular missile-shaped connector droids use to interface with computers.  He spins it a couple of times, then rotates his dome to the front viewport.  "Hyperspace route charted.  A-wing slaved to this navicomputer.  Let's hope we don't have a burnout."  His voice does not seem optimistic, but that may just be the nature of the recording he is using from the former captain.

The ship rotates away from the hail of green and toward open space.  Suddenly, the stars elongate and begin to spin around the ship until they are a morass of white energy around small black center.  There is no feeling of acceleration, only the visual.

Irin gasps as the ship leaps forward into the tunnel of light.  A moment later she bends over away from her station and vomits all over the floor.

Seeing the blaster bolts hit the surface, he slowly starts to turn back around. "Hmm?"

The shadow over an insanely large ship starts to eclipse them. "Now that doesn't seem fair at all..."

Django tells Tump to "Take the reigns" as he gets up to go assist Irin. "I'm sure your dad's probably fine. Those blasts looked aimed at us, probably centered on the ruins". In his mind, his thoughts wander to Tila.

Tump nods. "Those blasts are far too inaccurate to have really hit anything down there. More of a scare tactic, I'd wager."

Irin angrily punches keys at her station.  Tears fall freely now.  A picture appears in the screen in front of her.  She stares at it for a second then abruptly stands and flees.

On the screen is a picture of the shanty town and the surface of the ruins, captured before the Falcon jumped to hyperspace.

There is nothing left but a perfect circle of smoking rubble.  Nothing remains.

Django stares at the screen, a sick feeling forming in his gut. "I'm gonna personally deliver a slug to that son of the banshee's forehead when we come back. That's a promise".

He walks back over to his seat in the cockpit and plops down in the chair, seething. "So what now, Vyc? How long til we get to where we're goin'?".

Tump sighs heavily as guilt sets in. "We caused that...", he says softly.


After Django returns back to the pilots chair, he looks back at Vyctor. "Where are we going?"

Vyctor pulls his eyes away from the screen and looks out at the tunnel of light beyond the portal.  He finally shrugs, his voice quiet when he speaks.  "Ayce set the coordinates."  The man doesn't seemed dazed so much as thoughtful about the events of the past few minutes.  He frowns in thought, rises, and leaves the cockpit.

Django mutters to himself where only Tump can hear him. "Prolly shoulda waited a bit before I asked that. Mighta came across pretty stone hearted".

Tump looks over to Django out of the corner of his eye. "I can't say that I know you well enough to judge you, but I've seen enough to know you aren't a bad guy. Folks react to situations like this in different ways."

He sighs heavily. "The best we can do right now is make sure we live long enough to make it right."

Leaning back to Ayce, he asks "Where's our heading taking us, and what do you expect we'll find there?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:48, Sun 07 May 2017.

"We are heading to a place not under the control of the Star Demons.  It is a place that has been long forgotten as no organic forms live there any more.  It is the place of my birth.  Mechis Three."

"Well did Vyc inform you why we's goin' there?" Django asks Ayce.

"It may not have been Vyc's call. I think Ayce here is the one that plotted our destination. Thankfully, it's beyond the reach of Vex and his lackeys, but are we gunna be able to do what we need out there?"

"Tump is right.  Vyctor did not choose our destination.  I did.  Mechis Three will be a place to regroup and figure out what we're gonna do next."

Ayce's head swivels between the two men.  "You will have a little time to get used to your new roles as pilots among other things.  For now, the trip through hyperspace is self-regulating for the most part.  We have a week of travel since we are leaving the Core Region, which is a Galactic Region not to be confused with the improper modern name of Corellia, though they derive their names from the same origin."

Ayce pulls up a map of the Galaxy.  "Mechis III is in the Inner Rim along the Corellian Trade Spine denoted by the number 3 in orange.  Since we are fleeing the galactic core, travel takes longer.  You should get some rest and get your heads on straight.  This is not going to be a short adventure by even human standards."

{Map Ayce showed is too large to add to RPOL to get the detail needed.  Here is the link instead.  Might want to keep this one handy as it will be used for a long time in this game.

http://img12.deviantart.net/3b...y_offeye-d4xypv3.png}
This message was last edited by the player at 03:39, Mon 08 May 2017.

"A whole week a' sitting in this metal coffin... well.. aight then.  We're good to just let the ship fly? Don't seem safe".

"Yes, Captain Blint.  Once the calculations have been made and the jump has happened, the ship will follow it's course to the calculated destination.  The only thing that would pull us out early is if we did so manually, for which we have no reason, or if someone had installed an artificial gravity well along our path."

"Well, let's just hope that in 1000 years, no one has decided to put up any of those gravity wells in our way." Seeing there isn't anything to do at the moment, he gets up from his chair and heads back to check on Irin.

"Hollar if you need anything."

Irin is in the main crew hall slumped over an old, not working holotable.  Her head is buried in her arms and she is sobbing.

Django crawls into his rack. He just lays there, staring at the uncomfortably close ceiling of the rack above him, trying to process the day's events. He stays for what feels like hours, but he doesn't have a clue on how much time has actually elapsed. Visions of the townsfolk of Ant Hill Ease race through his head, each one ending in a searing flash of green. Yolte. The Void Chasers. Namben. Stacia... Tila. The only individuals he doesn't feel a pang of anxiety for are Dafe and Nerra. "Even they deserved to go down with a shred of dignity though. Hail of gunfire or somethin'" he thinks to himself.

After being unsuccessful at sleeping, he goes to find the cache of rifles and small arms he and Tump discovered, to begin looking them over and studying them inside and out. If he can find Ayce not busy, he plans to ask the droid to look them over with him, in the hopes the astromech will have some sort of knowledge on them.

Tump walks over to the busted holo-table and sits down next to Irin. He places a hand on her shoulder and says quietly, "I'm so sorry, Irin. If you want to be alone, I understand, but I'm here if you need someone to talk to."

Irin looks up at Tump for a moment, then throws herself into his arms.  A new round of sobbing comes from her face buried in Tump's chest.

She stays that way for a long time, but eventually calms down.  When she finally catches her breath and looks up, her voice is barely a whisper.  "Wh.what about Inarra?"

"Her A-Wing is following right behind in hyperspace."

He looks forward to the cockpit. "We could try to get her on comms if you'd like." Tump stands up. "Tell ya what. I'll get Ayce to hail her ship, and as soon as we get her, I'll patch her through to you."

Irin nods, but decides to follow Tump back to the cockpit.  Once the idea is passed on to Ayce, the droid interfaces with the communication station.  The screen crackles and remains staticky, but Inarra's tear-streaked face appears.

"Inarra, I'm sorry you have to be alone right now."

Inarra wipes her eyes clear.  "No, it's okay.  I lost some good friend's today and even though I'm kind of physically by myself, it's good to know that my new friends are still with me."  Her face hardens.  "My friends with the same goal...to crush that bas-"  Static washes out her last word before clearing up again.  "This thing has a sleep mode on it.  It's not quite hiber--tion, but it will get me to this -chis 3."  She touches the screen.  "I'm so sorry, Irin.  Hance was a good good man.  When we get out of this tunnel and land, I owe you a huge hug."

Irin's tears fall freely, but she does not sob again.  She nods and gives Inarra a sad smile.  "Sleep well."

Inarra nods and looks at Tump.  She simply nods then cuts the feed.

Irin shakes her head and gives a soft chuckle.  "She's so strong."  Once again she folds herself back in Tump's arms and just leans against him for a few.

Tump pulls Irin in and lets her compose herself. "We're going to make this right. If it's the last thing we do."

The week passes with little consequence.  By the end of it, the emotions have been locked down tight, but not forgotten.  Folks are even a little bored, but not on edge.  Ronan has made good use of the time getting the scavenged droids and exo-suits working to an extent.  Ayce predicts they can be made fully functional on Mechis III.

The droid also spends a good amount of time familiarizing all members of the crew, especially Django and Tump, with the controls and operations of the Falcon.  By the time the tunnel spins out and the starlines fade, the crew has more than just a passing acquaintance with the ship.

Inarra checks in a couple of times a day, but does not seem in any trouble.

The Mechis star is an older yellow waning toward orange.  The inner planet, Mechis II, is a lifeless ball of hot dirt.  Temperatures exceed 2000C on the surface star-side.

Mechis III is an arid planet with quite a number of active volcanoes.  It has about 34% surface coverage in water, but some parts of the oceans are very deep.  There is one major city, Mechis City, but it has no significant life signs.  The same goes for the rest of the planet.  It's atmosphere is hospitable, but too long out in the arid, rust-filled air will irritate the lungs and eyes.  Masks are recommended for exposure lasting more than a couple of hours.

There is a very high level of machine activity, droids and bigger.  Much of that comes from the foundaries, factories, and maintenance complexes found over much of the land surface of the planet.

"Nice place here Ayce. I'm curious though, with so few signs of life out there and all the droids roaming around, who or what is running this place?"

The droid's head swivels to Tump.  "We are."  The droid's voice is dark, ominous sounding as it's head swivels back out the viewpart.

"Where do we start, an is anythang here gonna try and kill us cause we ain't robots ".

Tump seconds the sentiment. "Yeah, how are things run here? We don't need to be riling up any droids while we're here."

The droid remains silent and unmoving except for the interface arm.  The Falcon continues its steady pace toward the planet.

Tump looks over at Django. "I guess we're winging it... as usual."

Ayce swivels his head back to Tump.  "Aw, c'mon guys.  Nothin'?"  The droid's voice is that of a whiny teen.  There is an electronic sigh and the droid leans over as if hanging it's head.  He returns to the Captain Solo voice.  "Fine.  I have no idea how things are here.  I've been on Corellia for a thousand years.  From what I can scan, there's no organic life down there.  It's all droids.  Droids being droids, they have been going about their programming for a thousand years.  It's probably like it was a thousand years ago.  Boring."

"Well we still need ta proceed with caution. Quick and clean, in and outta here. That's the plan until thangs end up changin', which I'm sure they will".

The Falcon arrives at the planet within a few minutes and powers down it's sublight drives for entrance into the atmosphere.  At that point, R10-AC retracts his interface arm.  "All yours, Captain," he says just before rolling out of the cockpit area.

Tump looks over at Django. "So, 'captain', you want to call everyone up and go over our game plan?". The word captain is dripping in sarcasm.

"Fine idea Mr. Tump. As first mate, it's yer job to round them up. Hop to it, son".

Tump's coy grin quickly transforms into a wry smirk. He reaches for the comm unit and radios over to Inarra as well as broadcasts over the internal system. "Alright folks, let's huddle up and game up with a game plan. The less trouble we can stir up here, the better."

It takes a little bit of work for Inarra to dock with the Falcon.  Three inexperienced pilots and a very patient droid eventually make it happen.  Two hours after Tump calls everyone together, the seven rebels sit or stand around the dejarik table in the common room.

Ayce plugs into the table and pulls up a hologram of Mechis III, but waits for someone else to begin the conversation.

"It's been a long road so far. I know everyones weary, and I understand that each of us has lost something, if not everything in the process. Vyc never promised us this would be easy, and so far it hasn't been. We're here to regroup, and get our bearings. I'm not askin everyone to forget what's happened. What I am askin', is that everybody keep their head on a swivel, and don't get complacent. We're here on business, not pleasure unfortunately. Ayce, what have you got for us".

Tump sits down and nods his head in agreement. "Do these star demons have a weakness?"

"I know nothing about these Star Demons.  I've been in sentry mode for a thousand years, hooked up to the research facility computers.  I do know Mechis III to an extent as I was manufactured here and spent a few months here going through initial trials.  It is a volcanic world with foundries harnessing that energy to forge droids of all sizes and purposes.  It used to have a city of organics to oversee things, but we have detected no organic life of any intelligence on the surface.  Likely that means that the droids have performed whatever functions they were last assigned, fulfilling quotas of production and repair.  However, that does not likely include a 'keep producing until we tell you to stop'.  Over time, a lot of droids may have fallen into disrepair.  We likely will find a world full of droids and factories in standby mode.  If the Star Demons have ignored this world as inconsequential, what we will find of value down here is data in an unadulterated form."

Tump grins and looks over to Irin. "That's music to my ears. What's the best place to get started?"

"Your most likely success will be had where the systems are designed for human interface.  Mechis City is almost directly below us currently.  It has a potential population of 3.5 million organics, though that number is currently 0 according to our scanners.  There is a major starport.  I can provide a map once we get there and interface with the city's computers.  We will likely want to head to the corporate capital building, which will house the central information center."

Tump nods. "Alright. The starport sounds like a nice place to visit, but let's head for the capitol building first. That ought to help us get our bearings."

He begins to gather his gear, weapons, and provisions in preparation. "I'd suggest taking whatever protection you need, but keep it concealed unless you need it."

As the Millennium Falcon nears the surface of Mechis III, Django keeps a keen eye out for any obstacles. The Falcon extends its landing gear, and comes to a gentle stop on a dusty flat. "Nothin' to it" he says, gathering up his equipment, and arming himself with a collapsed BFG-9300 and the 8 disintegration rounds scavenged from the trade expo ruins.

Inarra's landing is far less smooth. The A-wing attempts to land, but bounces hard the first time, tilting to the side.  Then it touches down again, but only on two struts. The back one bends, then breaks and the rest of the ship drops to the Permanente.

The hatch pops open and the woman climbs out, obviously exasperated.  She looks up at everyone else at the bottom of the Falcon's ramp.  She smiles wanly.  "Piece of cake."

Ronan walks over to the ship once Inarra has her gear and is on the ground.  He lifts the side of the ship with the broken strut and inspects it.  "Welp.  That ain't good.  You go on ahead.  Me and 7X will get this fixed up while you're gone."

Tump looks at the mess and nods. "Yep, you got your hands full. Radio us if you need anything. Parts or whatnot."

"Lets move out. Ayce, you're up front with me and Tump, tour guide. The rest of you, watch our side and rear". Django waits for everyone to get in gear before stepping off.

The group moves cautiously through the streets of the city.  There is no visible activity.  However, the city looks maintained.  There are no collapsing buildings, no missing parts of roofs or signs, not even any windows with the insides obscured by dust.  The place is clean, like a prefabricated city just waiting for humans to move in.

The central computer building is easy to spot.  It's enormous.  The whole place is designed to impress investors and customers.  Bright white walls almost shine with their own luminosity despite the dark orange dust that creates the haze outside.  A central hub is surrounded by turbo lifts, stairs, hallways, and stacks of balconies and railed walkways rising up ten floors.

Ayce rolls over to a reception counter where a single humaniform robot sits, unmoving.  The astromech does not say anything, but waits for the humans to take the lead.

Django walks up to the counter, not really knowing what to say. "Uhh... hey".

There is no response from the droid.

Tump is the next to walk up to the counter and addresses the droid standing behind it. "Hi there. Is this the information center?"

He looks around and examines the counter to see if there are any active terminals near by.

The droid does not respond.  There doesn't seem to be power to anything in the vicinity.

Tump rolls his eyes at himself. "First rule of tech support. Is it plugged in?"

He starts searching the area. "Let's see if we can figure out how to turn the lights on..."

"I have done a scan.  There is no power anywhere.  I should have checked for it from space, but I didn't have sufficient cause to do so.  It's not just the building.  It's the whole planet."  The droid's voiceover sounds apprehensive.

Tump looks over to Ayce. "Maybe that's why this planet never showed up on Vexember's radar. With no power, there appeared to be no threat. Still, it's impressive the planet has held up as well as it has for not having any maintenance protocols running."

"Any idea where the main power grid is? Maybe we can get it restarted?"

Ayce's dome swivels back and forth.  "That is not a correct assessment.  This place is well maintained.  Something still functions.  However, without power to the systems, I cannot interface with the city or planet's computers and so I cannot access any map stored there."

"Hmm, well, if something is still running then it's gotta leave a power signature right? You think you can lock onto that signature and follow it to its source?"

Django removes the rifle from his shoulder sling and activate the button that fully assembles it. "If theys a cleaning crew mopping up the place, we have to assume it's gonna mistake us for trash that needs to be sorted out, until further notice".

A small dish pops up from Ayce's dome and begins whirling around.  "There are faint energy signatures here about, but the local star has all but washed them out.  What I am getting is remnants from three days past.  I'm sorry, Tump, but there is nothing for me to track."  Ayce retracts the dish and closes his dome.  "Maybe we can hook up a portable generator to the main server and it will operate long enough for me to figure out what's happening?"

Tump nods. "Yeah, let's radio back to the ship and see if Ronan has anything suitable we can use."

Once the connection is made, Ronan shares good news.  "Yeah, I can get you what you need.  Give me a few minutes."

True to his word, Ronan arrives in only a few minutes, far less time than it took the rest of you.  His speed was facilitated by the four legged droid found with Ayce down in the ruins.  He rode its back like a horse, but it's upper torso was able to easily carry the generator.

https://cdna.artstation.com/p/...ntaur.jpg?1475444363

"Ah, you got the CN-TRX model working.  Is the AI operational, or just the mechanical?"

"Just the chasis.  It didn't seem to have an AI installed.  I plugged in a simple command module, but it needs a lot of help.  Let's get this thing unloaded and hooked up."  He looks crestfallen as if suffering a personal failure, but the mood quickly passes.

The big engineer follows Ayce down into the guts of the building.  Once there, he unloads the generator from the CN-TRX and sets it gently on the ground.  He and Ayce go to work getting the system powered and booted up.  Fifteen minutes later, Ayce is ready to plug in.

Ronan steps back and dusts his hands off.  "Alright, Ayce.  All you."  He is as cheerful as ever.

Ayce extends his interface arm and plugs in.  It whirls and twists and spins about constantly.  This goes on for ten minutes and doesn't appear to be stopping.

Tump aids in the setup where he can, and stands by for a few more minutes beyond the initial ten. "Ronan, how much time will this generator buy us?"

The engineer shrugs.  "It's a microfusion generator.  Should last a few years at least.  Why?"

Tump nods. "Just wanted to make sure the lights didn't go back out before Ayce was done."

Django smirks, not knowing whether the slight against Ayce is intentional or not. "All I know is my guts tellin' me when the lights do come back on, the cleaning crew is comin' to investigate. For all we know, the loss a' power is by design".

"If that's the case, keep yer eyes peeled until Ayce is done. There's no telling what could come alive around us."

Access continues.  Another ten minutes pass.  So much time goes by that a pattern of repetition is detectable in Ayce's manipulator's rotations.

"Is he stuck or somethin'? Reminds me of when a PDS gets stuck inna infinite boot loop".

"I was thinking the same thing, but it may be too soon to tell for sure."

13:18, Today: Tump rolled 7 using 1d20+4.  Knowledge: Bot Logic.

The droid continues for another 2 minutes.  "Something is definitely wrong.  He should not be repeating that pattern like that.  That's definitely some kind of loop."  Inarra frowns.  "We can't just pull him loose. It could fry his AI.  Someone's gotta log on and try to extricate him."

"Well don't look at me t' do it. I jes shoot my problems away".

Tump furrows his brow. "Let me take a look." He saddles up next to the terminal and starts investigating.

Irin finds a human interface next to Tump.  "Follow me in, Tump.  This might get bumpy."  She begins digging down into the computer core, looking for traces of Ayce.  Tump follows with his not quite as good slicing skills.  Together they find him at some kind of gateway, locked in and unable to free himself.  "Looks like some kind of anchoring code.  Ayce is still Ayce, but he can't withdraw his AI which means he can't physically disconnect.  We have to free him."

She examines the code for a few minutes.  "Tump, can you slice a primitive retraction call iteratively?  You don't have to be fast, you just have to keep doing it, even if you miss a few times.  While you are doing that, I'm going to have to attack the anchor code and try to open the gateway.  Since we aren't physically connected, we can't get trapped and two independent non-binary human minds can overwhelm a single binary processor no matter how powerful it is."

{The slicing roll DC for the algorithm she is asking about is 17.  You can also write an iterative app to keep retrying that while adding to Irin's efforts to get in (giving her a synergy bonus), but you'll have to roll for all that.  For every point above 18, she gets +1 synergy to her own efforts.  Also, you'll get xp for rolling, not for taking 10 on an autocomplete skill check.}

Tump starts clacking away at the terminal. "I'm on it..."

The algorithm itself doesn't take long, but the manual repetition could become problematic if not executed properly. While the first iteration runs, he begins work on a secondary application to run in the background. Occasionally pausing to run another iteration of the retraction override, he finishes up the automation protocol.

"That should do it." He looks up at Irin. "I've got it running on an automated loop. Let me know when you're in, and I'll shut it down."

22:34, Today: Tump rolled 25 using 1d20+8.  Slicing check.

Irin types away at the keyboard, her face scrunched in concentration.  "That's...that's pretty good, Tump.  This is gonna...be...there, I'm in."

As soon as she says the last word, Ayce retracts his manipulator.  "Thank you.  That was...uncomfortable."

"Tump, you still in?  Look at this."  Irin has opened the gateway.  The flow of code behind it is enormous, definitely on the magnitude of AI.  "No wonder Ayce got trapped.  The complexity of this AI is...indescribable.  Do we even want to poke around further and try to find the light switch for this place?  Or maybe try to communicate with it?"

"Might wanna ask Ayce bout its attitude before making first contact with it. If it hijacked our droid, it probably ain't friendly"

"Yeah, the subroutine is still running. I can shut it down if you're finished with it. Ayce, what did you make of that system?"

He looks over to Irin. "I don't think we have a choice. We're here because it's off Vex's radar. If we plan to do anything useful, we're going to need the inhabitants here on our side."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:40, Mon 22 May 2017.

Ayce takes a few second to process the question.  "I cannot answer that question.  The trap I ran into was passive, what seemed like a regular precaution set up by the system to prevent intruder AIs from accessing the AI underneath.  Humans seem to have no problems, so it might just be a failsafe so that organics can access, but it overrides any droids programmed to come in and mess with the planet's systems.  I was not harmed, just locked in the loop.  I imagine a droid might arrive shortly to 'check' on me and safely remove me from the system if it is benign.  If it comes with intent to destroy, we will know that the system is more hostile."

The dome swivels to take in all six humans present.  "My database does not include more than cursory information on Mechis III.  I was relatively new when the last war happened and the Star Demons rose.  My information largely pertains to general knowledge of the galaxy and the 5 habitable planets of the Corellian system."

Vyctor snaps his head around.  "Did you say 'five habitable planets'?"

"Yes.  And not all populations are human.  Two of the planets have species called Drall and one has a species called Selonian."

Django arches an eyebrow and lets out a "Well I'll be" at the news of alien life, but says nothing more.

"The thought of more planets of intelligent oppressed by these cretins just ..." Tump doesn't finish his sentence. "We need to find a way, even if we have to do it ourselves. We can't be on a planet loaded with technology without a way to use it."

Django looks over at Vyctor, then at Tump as he speaks. "Pretty sure startin' at least one insurrection was in the job description. What's a few more?.

Vyctor just shakes his head at all the new implications.  Then he takes a deep breath and exhales.  "One step at a time, gentlemen.  Let's see where this world stands and what we can do about it."  He turns to Irin.  "Try communication first.  Best to be non-hostile up front and let it make the first move just in case.  No reason to irk a planet-wide AI if we don't have to."

Irin nods and types away on the keyboard again.  "I think I've got something.  I found a kind of standby mode that's been running...for a while.  It looks like," she pauses to peer more closely at her screen.  "There is a command application here that indicates that if no organic commands are entered-  No, that's not right.  If no orders are placed, then the planet goes into this standby mode to both conserve power and prevent wear and tear.  It should be a matter of-"  She frowns.  "Tump, give me a hand.  It's going to take both of us to clear the application and wake the planet up.  At that point we should be able to speak to the AI that runs this place.  It's simply called MECHIS according to this."

{Roll Computer Slicing - DC 17 to keep up with Irin and synchromatically issue the application kill and wake up command.  Take 10 allowed.}

Tump slides in next to her and starts typing away. "Almost like old times, eh?"

Occasionally he glances over her shoulder, making sure he is keying up the same commands and input.

Taking 10 on slicing: 18 total.

Time passes quickly as the two slicers make there way into the mainframe of the planet's computer.  They aren't technically slicing, just issuing a series of preprogrammed protocols to let the planet know that organics are once again in control of the facility.  At last, Irin presses an execute and steps back.  "That should do it."

There is a whirring as the lights in the area come up to full strength.  Motion is suddenly all around as droids awake and begin routines.  A rather powerful looking humaniform droid comes around the corner right toward the group.  "Welcome to Mechis III.  I am JR-VS, human-cyborg liaison.  May I escort you to our reception area?"

Tump raises an eyebrow, looking rather impressed with himself. "Why yes, yes you may." He looks over to Irin, with a triumphant grin. "After you, my dear."

The droid escorts the group to a small, theater-style room with stadium seating.  A holographic menu pops up as each human takes their seat.  Ayce stays at the back of the room, taking everything in.  JR-VS walks smoothly to the bottom of the seats and gives a shallow bow.  "Please make your orders.  Refreshments are on the house to our honored guests.  Mechis 3.4 will be with you shortly."

The droid moves off through a side door.  There is no hurry to his step, but the precision of his movements mean that he is gone before anyone thinks to interrupt his exit with a question.

The menu has any manner of drink, alcoholic or not, and a vast variety of al a carte menu items as food.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:47, Tue 23 May 2017.

Inarra skips through the menu rapidly pressing several items in quick succession.  In less than a minute she is done.  The summary screen is a full list in a small font.

She looks around and shrugs.  "What?  I'm hungry and all we've had is ships rations for days."

Vyctor chuckles and makes his on selections.  His screen is still full, but the text is in a much larger font.  Once completed, he starts scanning through the application, looking for anything else the interface might provide.

After a minute, he smiles and his eyes narrow like a predator who has just spotted his next meal.  A new menu pops up and he begins scrolling through what look like various droids and vehicles.

Irin taps her chin and scrolls slowly through the menu.  Though she started at the same time as Inarra and Vyctor, she has yet to select anything other than a drink by the time the other two were finished.  She is still scrolling, pulling up more details, then rejecting each item in turn.  Sometimes she goes back to a previous item, only to reject it again.

Django orders what he figures passes for an ale, and a light meal consisting of a few things that look good. "I s'pose it's best not to ask how fresh everything is..".

Tump flips through the menu as he mutters under his breath. "Some of that, a couple of those. Oh, definitely a shot of that." After he finishes his requests, he looks over Vyctor's shoulder and does a double take.

"What have you got there?"

"Looks like a broader menu for customers who come here to shop for droids."  He flips through to one of the larger machines.  "Still listed as a droid, but this thing is built for war.  The array of weapons on this is impressive.  Check out that armor.  That's better than the Falcon."

He scrolls through to a sleek looking model slightly smaller than a human.  "This thing is built for infiltration and sabotage.  I think we've hit the sabacc pot."

From out of the sides of the theater a series of wheeled droids rolls in bearing steaming plates of food and chilled drinks.  Everything smells perfectly wonderful and looks amazing.  Top of the line.  The droids place the ordered food on a tray that extends from the back of the seat in front of the person who ordered it.  The trays are on stabilizers so there will be no spillage if the chair in front moves.  Since the group is relatively spread out, that is not likely to happen.

Django also pops open the droid menu as his food is arriving. He asks one of the waiter droids "How does somebody go about ordering and payin' for one a these?"

"Mechis III will be with you in a moment to answer all your questions.  Thank you for shopping at Industrial Automaton, a subsidiary of Bornaryn Trading."

The waiting droids retreat to the edges of the room, but do not leave.  As everyone sits back and lays into the meal before them - a delicious fare better than most have ever tasted - the screen at the fore of the theater lights up.  A handsome, middle-aged man walks out of the screen to stand in mid-air about five meters off the floor.

"Welcome, my friends.  I am Mechis III.  It has been a long time since we've had customers.  I-"  A bit of static washes through the room as the image freezes for a moment and partially de-rezzes.  "My apologies.  We are not at 100% right now, but hopefully that will be fixed soon enough.  I'm afraid we are currently not able to fill any large...or medium orders.  If you are here for individual droids, I can offer a discount because of the inconvenience.  Please refer to the menus before you and select from any of our models.  I would suggest the latest models given the d-d-d-d-d-discount-t-t-t-t we of-f-f-f-f-f-fer t-t-t-t-to-"

The voice cuts off again and the image freezes once more.  This time, there is a significant delay.  The lights flicker and the image dims and becomes see through.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 22:15, Fri 02 June 2017.

Tump glances over to the rest of the group, and then Ayce. "Still working out the bugs?"

"I dunno, kid.  Looks like power issues to me."  The 'kid' reference is probably an artifact left over from the voice recordings of Captain Solo and not meant as a personal slight.

Django asks Ayce "So does'at mean the generator y'all set up ain't enough to power this fella, or that somethin' is leeching the power away?".

"Our generator was for the city computer.  This is the primary planet computer that runs all the factories."

"Perhaps, as a gesture of good will, we could help track down their power problems. If all goes well, maybe they'll throw in a few droids to boot. Hey Ayce, you think we could track down the source of the problem?"

Django holds up a finger to Ayce, interrupting his incoming response as he walks over to Tump, and leans in to speak quietly to him. "This whole planet sounds like it's run by a single hive mind Tump. If he's havin' problems, that ain't by design flaw. There's a skunk-rat here somewheres, and it smells somethin' awful. And whatever it is, it don't want thangs to run right, and us muckin' around is gonna piss it off. I ain't sayin' don't proceed, but don't let yer guard down for a nanosecond. If Ayce can get locked up like that, some sort of AI bug could just as easy have any one a' these tin cans in here turn on us. Fer a group a robots that takes such good care of people, it makes me real uneasy that we're the only people here ".

Django leans up and says "Sorry Ayce, didn't mean to be rude like that and cut ya off. Ol' bladders bout to pop and I had t' give the first mate here instructions on not spendin' too many credits if I'm gone too long". He says this to Ayce loud enough to where any droids that may be listening could hear. "Now then, which one a' you fine droids can point me in the direction of tha men's room?".

"Dually noted"

Tump grunts. "A marshall with a bladder the size of a thimble. Must have been tough on stake outs."

One of the droids leads Django out of the theater and around the corner to the refresher.

Inarra and Irin approach Tump.  Vyctor keeps scanning through the droid menu.

"What's going on, Tump?"

Tump shifts in his chair. "I think this whole captain thing is going to Django's head." He casually glances in the direction Django exited.

In a fairly hushed voice, he continues. "I reckon he's going to poke around a bit. He's got a funny feeling about this place, and I think he might be right. Keep your wits about ya until we figure this place out. Might want to keep an eye on Ayce too. If there's something going on here, we don't want him getting sucked into it."

Irin's eyes go wide and she looks around furtively.  "Should we send him back to the ship?"

She realizes too late that her voice was not hushed and she repeats herself in a whisper.  "Should we send him back to the ship?"

"That might come off as suspicious too. For now, we may just need to keep an eye on things."

Inarra looks up at the frozen image of Mechis III.  Then over at Vyctor.  "Vyctor doesn't look all that worked up over it.  Think he knows something?"

"Fair point. We should see if he smells anything fishy."

The women stand up straight and head down a few rows to where Vyctor is still scanning through the menu.  They voice their concerns quietly.  Vyctor remains silent through their entire presentation.

Once they have laid out the case, he scratches his chin in thought.

"That could be the case, but I am inclined to disagree.  What I am gathering here is that this is a planet that was largely automated, but had a skeleton crew to see to maintenance and the few things that robots simply cannot.  When the Star Demons took over, the skeleton crew here abandoned the place.  Without organic presence, this place was bypassed for control by the Demons.  Without organic guidance, it was left to do what it did best for as long as it could on its own.  These designs, their latest, all date back to nearly a thousand years.  I predict that what has happened is the natural deterioration of the system without organics to maintain it.  We might face some vermin and perhaps some powerful, but neglected defenses in the core system areas, but I don't think there is anything nefarious or malevolent here beyond entropy."

Tump raises an eyebrow. "Hmm. Let's hope that's right. I've seen enough lately to doubt just about anything. Still, I'm curious to see what's going on around here."

He walks back over to his chair, sits down, and pages through the droid menu.

Django returns a few moments later, and sits at the table across from Tump. "Nuthin'" he says quietly. "So did'ya break the bank yet?".

Ayce rolls down the inclined path between the seats.  "I know that you don't trust me right now, and I understand why, but I do have a map that has a 94% chance of leading us to the power core for the planetary systems."

Tump grins sheepishly. "Nothing personal, Ayce, but this place gives me the willies right now." He takes a glance at the map. "How far down is this power core?"

"The power core is linked to the planetary core for power.  It is one thousand two hundred and sixty kilometers below ground.  There is a transportation tunnel that runs from this city to that power station.  The power for the maglev rail is out, but two of our generators should get us there."

"Any clue if critters what like was in the ruins under Ant Hill Ease lurk around down there? Last thang I wanna do is stumble up on some ticked off octo-rat mamma again, or them dang vytes".

"Previous scans showed no signs of organic life. I'm sure that rules out any octo-rats as well." He pulls out his comm unit. "We should call ahead to Ronin. See how many generators we can spare to get us down to the main power core."

Tump raises the unit to speak. "Ronin, you there?"

"Ronan here."

"Looks like we've got another power situation down here. We're gunna need to daisy chain a couple generators to get ourselves down to the main core. How many do you think can we spare?"

"We have eight if you include those two still running the city computers.  I don't know how much juice they have left though considering what all you're doing over there.  These other six are fully charged, though."

"I think the two here should hold for now. If we can get two of those fully charged ones to power up the maglev, we should be able to get to the main power core. Once that's patched up, we'll probably be able to pull the generators back."

Tump punches in a few numbers on his datapad. "I'm sending you the coordinates."

"Meet you there, Cap'n.  Ronan out."

Vyctor shuts down his terminal and finishes his meal.  "While you are down there working on the power core, I'm going to poke around up here and see what I can find."

Irin grabs Inarra's arm and the women grin at each other in anticipation of the adventure toward the planet core.

Everyone follows Ayce, who is true to his word and leads the group to some sort of maglev tram.

Ronan arrives a few minutes later with three of the generators.  He offloads two to the tram car and begins wiring them to the vehicle's system in parallel.  He suggests Tump and Django hook the other one up to the rail system computer and see what requirements the rails themselves have energy-wise.

[Roll Knowledge: Engineering or similar skill.  DC 17 to correctly hook up the generator to the ancient system.]

Tump grabs a handful of cable and wires and gets to work.  A few curses and a nearly fried generator later, he calls for Ronan's assistance.

"Hey, uhh... this doesn't quite look right. Are these cables supposed to be over here?"

Ronan pops up from the compartment he's in and hoists himself back to the tram's floor.  He comes over to inspect Tump's work.  "No.  This one goes there.  That one goes here."  He seems slightly frustrated at the situation.  "You have your electron spin alignment trying to spin the electrons both ways simultaneously.  You also tried to hook up the voltage in circuit instead of across it.  Did you not learn quantum ring fundamentals?  You're lucky you didn't burn out the rail system."

[Both gain +1 XP to Knowledge: Engineering from Ronan's diatribe...erm, training.]

Tump chuckles nervously under his breath. "Nah, too busy running from the law." Immediately after saying it, his eyes dart over to Django. "Uhh... kidding, of course."

Django chuckles. "Wouldn't matter much if I was still a law man or not at this point. I swore a oath to enforce Core law. But we ain't Core now, are we. Loot, pillage, riot, and plunder to your heart's content".

Trying to keep the subject off their near critical failure, Tump shrugs and continues with their banter. "Well now, I wouldn't go that far, but a few new trinkets here and there wouldn't hurt."

"Ready to roll out? I have a feeling it won't be easy getting this power core back online."

"All ready here.  I'll drive."  Ronan gets into the proper place on the tram and gets it fired up.

Irin and Inarra climb on board as well.  The seats are all along the wall except for the driver's seat.  Enough space is available for up to twelve people sitting and there are harnesses, which Ronan highly recommends.

There is a hum and the tram lifts up off the rail a little and floats.  Ronan looks back to see if everyone is on board.

Tump gives a thumbs up.

Django nods.

The ride on the tram is rather exciting, at least for the women.  They scream in terror and sheer joy as Ronan rockets them down the rails into the core of the planet.  There is a whoomp and then no sound at all, indicating a likely vacuum outside the tram.  The vehicle seems to be in free fall for a couple of minutes before the mag lev system engages a counter force to decrease and then end the acceleration.

Ronan looks back and grins.  "Thanks for riding the Core Express.  We are currently traveling at one klick per second and holding.  We should arrive at our destination in forty two local minutes."  He faces front again and continues to monitor the controls.

"Django, what are our initial plans when we arrive?  I know we're trying to find the core and reboot the energy generation for the planet, but when the tram stops, we don't know what we're going to find.  With your experience in law enforcement, you are probably best for leading a small group down here.  If Tump and the others don't mind, I nominate that you be in charge down here."  She looks to Tump to find assurance that he's okay with that.

Tump shrugs. "We need someone to lead this crazy mission. I ain't no leader." He scratches his chin. "Only led to bad memories."

Django listens and nods. "While the techies figure out if an' how y'all are gonna get this core up an' running, I and one other, y'all pick, are gonna poke around a bit to see if we can figure out whether or not foul play was involved. I know the place is old as dirt, but it still feels awful strange to me that an all seein' AI can lose a grip on its central areas. We also need t' be keepin' an eye out, and I mean all of us, for any sort'a defunct security droid team or somethin' along those lines. Once we secure our area a' operation, we'll see what we can do about settin' thangs up - if possible - to avoid any future shut downs... with a twist. Ronan, you got any way to rig up a kill switch to undo the work yer gonna be performin'? If this core's AI tries to spaz out on us, I wanna be good an' sure we can be more of a problem for it that it can be fer us".