Fritz downloads Itches assigned flight path.

They will be leaving Highport and skimming along the systems belt.  They then will need to turn at a lifeless little rock of a planet called Gouter.  Then to their assigned jump point.

See the map

They're running light on crew.  Looks like the owner...some lady named Belli...only picked up enough men to make the ship move.  Besides her there's three other crew.  No passengers.

There is a naval cruiser in system.  But it's parked at the other end of the system.  A few fighters are running birddog along the various jump routes.  But they aren't filing flight plans with Station Control.  They are moving at random.

Any other info you want to try digging up before we disembark?

Ledo looked at the data and the hairs raised on the back of his neck. It was almost too easy. Valuable cargo, light on crew, going near an ambush point and on the opposite side of the system as the navy patrol.

"Fritz, how sure are we that this is real? This is the motherlode for a pirate and I don't want us stumbling into some kind of pirate hunter double bluff. Rig, you think you can pull the history of the ship? Maybe find out if they're associated with any bounty hunter or merc organizations? Or see if there are any traces of armaments. If this ship is packing torpedoes and rail guns maybe then afford to be this bold."

This does seem too good to be true, right? From a pirate perspective this is the perfect bait...are they setting up some kind of pirate ambush themselves?"

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 3):

From what I can see of their history....

This Belli woman seems to be trader.  At least, she's got lots of records showing her docking and undocking here at the space port.  All of the records show fairly ordinary kind of manifests.

The three crew members are all new. Looks like she fired her last crew as soon as she got into dock.  Or they left.  You know no one requires anyone file anything about why personnel changes happen.

I can't find any records on two of the crew she picked up.  Looks like they arrived on the same ship about a month ago and have been hanging around the port since then.

The other one looks like a guy she's hired before.  He does seem to have a military background.  But he's about 80 years old now.

I don't know what to say Captain Ledo.  I can't find a subroutine that would let me evaluate this kind of risk.

It could be fate.  It could be some kind of trap.  Who knows?

Only one way to find out for sure.

Of course, you don't have to pick her boat.  You can try someone else.

Your call.

Ledo gave a sigh and nodded to himself, reassuring himself that it was the right call..

"Alright let's do it. No use second guessing ourselves or we will never make any progress. Let's go out there, bag us some pirates and come back and claim our bounties..">

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 5):

It Itches Where I Can't Scratch signals Flight Control.  They should be deboarding within the hour.

Are you just going to birddog them?  Got any specific flight plan in mind?  Just so I can figure out what's going to happen.

Thanks

Ledo called back to his days in the navy to figure out a plan of attack. Orbital mechanics were a pain and he didn't want to have to dump half his fuel but also he was under no obligation to actually save the merchant ship so there wasn't a need to necessarily be there right at the start of the fight either.

The idea would be to have a lazy parallel route so they would be in the area but wouldn't appear to be stalking them or really be a prime factor for an interception of the merchant ship.

However they would fill up the inflatable with fuel so that when shit hit the fan they could boost with the afterburners and help close that gap and once the pirate ship was committed to the fight they could loop around behind it, forcing the pirates to either flee towards the system core (and closer to local security and the naval patrols) or flip around and retreat past them.

Ordinarily a pincher maneuver like this would result in multiple ships but with only a single ship he had to make a best guess and do what he could.



The idea is that while the pirates are picking apart the merchant the Tia would loop in around behind them so on a flat plane it would look like this:

Tia - Pirates - It Itches - Stataion/Navy Patrol

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 7):

Gotcha.  Let's see how it goes.

You lay a parallel "lazy" course...

Hmmm.  Give me an Astrogation/Int check please.  Let's see how "lazy" your "lazy" is

It Itches flies fairly straight towards their jump point.

Give me two Sensor/Int cheks as well please

About two clicks away, everything seems to be going along swimmingly.

Rig wasn't a navigator by any stretch of the term but he was someone very familiar with shipping lanes and orbital mechanics. With a bit of help from the onboard computer he was able to put together something that fit the vague parameters Ledo had given him.


13:53, Today: Gary 'Rig' Rigan rolled 9 using 2d6+1.  astrogation/int.

Tepha was told to watch the sensors but after a long period of time with nothing going on she felt her attention span slipping.


14:00, Today: Tepha Pezal rolled 4 using 2d6+1.  sensor 2.

13:59, Today: Tepha Pezal rolled 5 using 2d6+1.  sensor 1.

In reply to Tepha Pezal (msg # 10):

Poor Teph.  She just never can get a break, can she?

When the attack starts, it catches you completely by surprise.

The pirates swoop in on It Itches.  Two of them.  One a patched up old Lancelot class short trader.  Probably something they salvaged and just use to draw fire power from their target.  The other ship seems to be an old yacht.  Old as in none of you were alive when it was commissioned.

Even for pirates, both these ships seem...bad.

They begin to fire on It Itches.  Who doesn't seem to be putting up too much of a fight.  They aren't even signaling for help.

Ledo got on the comms as he started the adjustment burn to plot an intercept course.

"Hmmmm...heads up people and keep an eye out. This looks...weird. Very weird. Best case is this is an elaborate embezzlement operation to steal from their own company. Worst case is this is a trap...for us."

He pointed Tepha at the sensors and told her to keep her attention glued to it while he signaled for BB to get in the turret and Silver to suit up for boarding (or repelling boarders). Nero...Nero just needed to stay in his room and NOT live stream their fight this time.

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 12):

Nero...there is a surprisingly active net community in this sector.  And the casts that are going on in it seem really, really dull...

---

The two pirates are running on a shielded comm band.  You haven't been able to hack it.

It's more a problem of it being so...archaic I guess is the word.  Will keep trying Captain Ledo.

As you approach, the yacht pulls around and starts to move towards you.  Sensors are picking up...

Oh.  Never mind.  You can see it now. They've launched some torpedos.

We are in ship to ship combat people

Ledo called out the torpedoes. This was going to be bad.

<b><blue>"Two incoming fast movers. Tepha, hit them with the sensors and break their lock. Silver, BB, open fire on that yacht. I want this to be the last salvo they launch.

Ledo analyzed the situation which cost him a bit of time as a pilot letting his attention slip.


Allocating 2 thrust to dodging and 2 thrust to aiding gunners (failed)
22:52, Today: Ledo Typhin rolled 10,5 using 2d6+2,2d6+2.  naval tactics, pilot check.

Tepha brought the sensors to bear on one of the incoming torpedoes hoping to break its lock and cause it to explode or fly away.

"Two torpedoes coming in..."

"I'M WORKING ON IT!"


22:55, Today: Tepha Pezal rolled 8 using 2d6+1.

Silver gave a shrug at the argument coming over the comms. That was bridge crew stuff to figure out. Her job was to take out that yacht and she lined it up and squeezed the trigger sending an ion pulse blazing out towards the yacht.

She hits a 9 for 70 ion damage

22:56, Today: Silver rolled 9,7 using 2d6+2,2d6.  ion vs. yacht. damage is x10.

BB once again was on point defense duty with her double beams. She could have attacked the yacht but instead focused on taking out the torpedoes. One torpedo was better than two and she swept the beam turret to clip one of the torpedoes and hopefully pop it early and safely.

BB hits a 14 on the PD roll. Let me know if i need to roll damage
22:58, Today: BB Nova rolled 14 using 2d6+8.  point defense - +4 beam laser +1 short range +2 skill +1 dbl turret.

In reply to BB Nova (msg # 17):

The yacht barrels forward despite the bombardment from Silver.

One of the topedoes starts to veer, like a drunk man suddenly staggering.  Tepha's sensor jam worked!  And then BB blows that one up.

The other one pushes forward and slams into Tia.

The ship rocks and Rig's screens light up with damage reports.  The torpedo cut a hole in hull near the fore exhaust line.  Not critical, but definitely annoying.

Engineer Rig.  We've got a disruption in life support module 1 and 4.  Suggest turning on the auxiliary now in case 2 or 3 take any damage.

Meanwhile, It Itches begins to turn towards the trader bearing down on it.  As the pirate rains lasers down on them, It Itches opens up it's engine and charges at it like it's going to ram.

Tepha, you're picking up some weird chatter in the background.  But you're boards are more focused on sensors than they are on comms at the moment.  You can't make out what's going on.

The yacht is opening up another turret bay.

Your go.  Let me know what you want to do.  At the moment, all systems are functional

It might not be mission critical now but Rig knew that more damage was only going to keep coming in so might as well fix it as it came in and he could prioritize later.

"Flipping over to Aux 2...now."


13:51, Today: Gary 'Rig' Rigan rolled 10 using 2d6+02.  Repair - Engineer/Edu.

Seeing as there wasn't any immediate torpedoes at the moment, Tepha switched her console over to comms to try and figure out just what as going on.



13:53, Today: Tepha Pezal rolled 7 using 2d6.  comms check.

BB calmly and coolly swept the beam turret away from the torpedo debris and towards the yacht. The best point defense was a point offense. Double checking to see if it was even within range she swept the beam turret across its side.

BB hits on a 12 (at medium range) to do 4 damage
13:55, Today: BB Nova rolled 12 using 2d6+7.  +4 beam laser +2 skill.
13:57, Today: BB Nova rolled 4 using 1d6+1.  damage die.

Silver was whooping into the comms as she pumped more and more ion energy into the enemy yacht. She lived for the moment went its engines sputtered and its lights began to flicker.

BB hits a 6 for 70 ion damage
13:59, Today: BB Nova rolled 6,7 using 2d6+2,2d6.

Ledo continues to duck and weave as he brings the Tia into closer range to better engage with the yacht.

Devoting 1 thrust to closing to medium, 1 thrust to aid gunners, 2 thrust to evade incoming attacks
14:00, Today: Ledo Typhin rolled 10 using 2d6+2.  pilot check.

The boards are giving you more feedback Rig.  Nothing a day of some elbow grease won't patch up.  But there's one spot in the hull that's looking a bit thin right now.  If that area gets hit with a good clip...

---

The yacht takes the beam attack head on <puprle>BB</purple>, but swerves out of the way of the ion beam.  It suddenly drops, as if it's going to break away and maybe...maybe...make a run for it.

---

You flip through the frequencies Tepha, trying to pin down the chatter.  You're getting dribs and drabs.  But you aren't sure from what ship.  The cruiser? Itches?  Both?

...you bastards...

Fainter voices, as if someone in the background talking, or more likely shouting, on the other side of something heavy

You crazy bitch! Open this up now!

bzzzzzz up.  You were gonna die bzzzzzz...this is all I got now...this is all I got.  Fuck 'em all

BB wasn't sure what was happening but the enemy ship was still functional and so was her beam turret. Time to let the pirates get to know her baby a little better. She raced the beam across the yacht burning deeper into its hull.

BB hits on a 14 for 3 damage

22:04, Today: BB Nova rolled 3 using 1d6+1.  beam damage.

22:04, Today: BB Nova rolled 14 using 2d6+7.  +4 beam laser +1 short range +2 skill .

Silver cursed a bit as her shot went wide but she swung the barbette around to take aim and stabbed the fire button sending ion energy streaking out.

Silver hits on a 10 for 60 ion damage

22:06, Today: Silver rolled 10,6 using 2d6+2,2d6.  ion attack + damage.

Ledo throttled back the drive letting the afterburners cool off a bit as he positioned himself to better understand the situation unfolding in front of him.

Tactics roll of a 4
22:07, Today: Ledo Typhin rolled 4 using 2d6+2.  int/tactics.

Tepha continued to flip through the channels hoping to be able to figure out who was saying what. Maybe if they could hear the other conversation this fight would make a bit more sense.

In reply to Tepha Pezal (msg # 28):

Sorry.  Tepha will need to give me a sensors/edu check please.

Thanks

The yacht refuses to die BB.  But if they were planning on making a break for it, they can only limp away.  Looks like you nailed one of their thrusters.

It Itches has definitely changed course.  It's not making a break for it.  It's...well.  Either moving to ram the yacht or...coming to help you guys?

Ledo eyed the incoming transport and kept his finger on the afterburner. He didn't like that they hadn't figured out what was going on.

"Tepha, open a comms to that merchant ship and find out what it is doing."

Beside him, Tepha was tapping away at the sensors trying to make heads or tails of the chatter being thrown around.


23:34, Today: Tepha Pezal rolled 5 using 2d6.  Sensors/Edu.

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 30):

Poor Tepha.  She just can't get a break

The squawking is still insensible Tepha. All you can tell is people onboard It Itches seem to be yelling at each other through their intercomms.

You patch Ledo in to their line.

What does Ledo want to say to them please?

Oh, by the way:  Five.

"It Itches, this is Tiamat's Flight here to offer you aid against this pirates. If you would care to cut down the chatter we can work to coordinate our defense."

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 32):

Four

What you get back Ledo is a big burst of chaos

THIS BITCH

Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!

Help us!  She's

IS TRYIN'

They aren't getting away

fuckin' crazy

More of that.  You think there are maybe four people talking. But they are all talking over each other, so it's hard to tell.

Not quite sure what to make of the situation, Ledo focuses on keeping the ship steady to burn out the engines of the pirate yacht. If it was pulling a runner he was hoping they could disable it and keep it parked.

OOC: Using that to provide stability for the guns. Also keeping a bit in reserve in case this turns out to be double bluff and the It Itches suddenly makes a crazy play.

Silver keeps pouring fire into the pirate yacht to keep it from jumping.

Silver hits on an 8 for 60 ion damage
23:29, Today: Silver rolled 8,6 using 2d6+3,2d6.  ion shot, damage is ion x10, +1 for ledo's piloting.

BB likewise doesn't see any change in the situation nor hear any change of orders so she continues to pour fire into the fleeing yacht.

BB hits 19 (lol, nat 11 + 8 modifiers cuz beam weapon, short range, skill etc.) for 3 damage

Tepha tries to cut through the chatter and transmit to the pirate yacht a notice for surrender.

</b>"Pirate ship, power down your engines and weapons. You're done. Better to come in alive than get spread out as atoms in the vacuum of space."</b>


23:35, Today: Tepha Pezal rolled 7 using 2d6+2.  persuasion.

In reply to Tepha Pezal (msg # 37):

Sorry.  Thought I posted yesterday.

The yacht comes grinding to a halt, dead in the black of space.

Damage reports from it flash up on your screens Silver and BB.  It's lost 45% of internal integrity and is starting to leak atmo.  The crew on board seems to be too busy trying to close off the affected areas to be able to flee.

The trader starts to brake hard.  Is it about to try to run?

No. It opens fire on Tia.

Rig, you get the damage report on screen as the ship rattles back and forth.

They got a solid hit on the left side.  Some damage to propulsion.  Got a hole in the hull, though not a sizeable one.

Autoseal is engaging.  No loss of atmo, Fritz reports to anyone listening.

Uhmmm...It Itches is acting funny...

You can all see what he means.  It Itches has suddenly started to power up it's J-Drive.  But it's not doing a warm up.  It's also starting to power up it's M-Drive at a pretty wicked rate.

Three

Ledo doesn't know what is going on but in his experience it is better to run, regroup and re-assess before finding out a nasty surprise is coming.

He flips the ship 180 and hits the afterburners burning through their fuel reserves to put as much space as he can between the Tia and the It Itches.

Whatever was happening, he suddenly didn't want to be part of it anymore. Once they had popped off maybe he could come back and see what remained.

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 39):

...bawk...bawk bawk bawk BAWK...

Actually, good call.

Tia spins and jets forward.  The trader peels off and starts to head out in the opposite direction.

There's a huge amount of chatter from both the yacht and It Itches.  The yacht is screaming at the trader for running away.  And the chatter from It Itches makes it sound like there's a mutiny underway.

Rigg, you recognize what's going down a moment before it does.  Massive energy build up in both engines with no release.  And then, the spark.  In this case, someone from the bridge intentionally jams a valve release in the fuel lines.  It acts like a spark.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM

Or at least, that's how it would sound if space weren't a vacuum.

It Itches has self destructed.  The explosion laps over the disabled yacht, causing what little structural integrity it had to go the way of Silver's childlike innocence.

Apparently, the captain finally figured out a way to itch where she couldn't scratch.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:33, Thu 11 Aug 2022.

Once the explosion had exploded Ledo swings the ship back around with full sensors going. Maybe there were survivors, maybe there was salvage worth salvaging. Maybe there was something to justify the huge expenditure in fuel that had gotten him this far.

And there was also the trader...what were they up to? Perhaps 1/2 of a pirate crew alive would offset the 1/2 that was now dead.

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 41):

Sensor roll please.  Int or Edu.  Whichever you chose

Under orders from Ledo, Tepha swept the wreckage and debris looking for anything worth noting.



09:49, Today: Tepha Pezal rolled 8 using 2d6+1.  Sensor Roll Int/Electronic (Sensors).

In reply to Tepha Pezal (msg # 43):

Yah! Tepha made a successful roll!  I'm so proud of her!

It Itches no longer itches.  It's mostly debris at this point.  All hands and cargo are more or less radioactive waste at this point.

The yacht still has pieces that have held together.  Three of them.  The cockpit area.  Part of a hold.  And what appears to be, ironically enough, an escape pod that isn't live.  There's no heat signatures on any part.  And it's possible something could be scrounged from them.

The trader took off.  You can see it's signature heading towards the nearest part of the asteroid field.

The Navy should have picked up the blast.  If you want to try to salvage, you'll need to do it now.  You've only got three or so hours before naval ships could reasonably show up.

Ledo eyes the hold but instead maneuvers to the cockpit. If they are going to claim this bounty there is hope that perhaps some bodies survived intact or the ship's black box core could be recovered to show the navy what had happened and they could collect their good boy pay.

"Silver, Rig, time to suit up. Looks like we're going salvaging..."

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 45):

Just Silver and Rig going?  Ledo too?

Need to do a little bit of leg work.  So I'll start us on Salvage of the Damned! tomorrow.

Thanks.

Ledo and BB will stay behind to watch for trouble and Tepha isn't really made for zero-g salvage operations... so yeah, just Rig and Silver at least for an initial scan.

In reply to Captain (msg # 47):

I swear my lamp didn't light up showing you had posted.

Sorry for the delay.  Here we go...

The two of you get suited and step into the pressure lock Rig and Silver.  There's the usual hiss as Tia sucks in as much atmo as she can before the door cycles open.  Then it's you and the cold and radioactivity.

Oooohhh.  There's just a ton a' radioactivity out here, isn't there?

Fritz has patched himself into both your suit comms.

This might make for some trouble with transmission.  Just sayin'

The escape pod is closet.  It came free from it's mooring and is floating out about one click from Tia

The still secured section of hold and the cockpit were blown in differing directions.  They are both about two and a half clicks out.  Five clicks from each other

As you study the scene you spot one other interesting tid bit.  Farthest out, about four clicks or so, is what looks like a transmission port.  But it's still lit up.  It must have it's own power source because it looks to still be transmitting.

On the bridge, Bridge Fritz reports in.  I'm not seeing any traces of naval cruisers yet.  It looks like there was another raid on the far end of the system, and that got all the attention on it.  Most of the navy comm traffic we can pick up indicates most of the navy's attention is over there.

But this explosion is going to get noticed...maybe in the next half hour.  I don't know what kind of situation is happening on the other side of the system, but I think we'll have maybe two to four hours before someone shows up.

Four possible targets.  The escape pod.  The hold.  The cock pit.  And mystery signal beacon.  Where to first?

Ledo moved towards the escape pod. Maybe someone had survived and his conscience wouldn't let him just ignore that. The fact it was closest and escape pods were worth a decent amount of money helped.

Ledo plotted out his course. Escape Pod -> Hold -> Mystery Signal.

"Tepha, it looks like they're transmitting. Can you pick up what the signal is?"</b>

"....probably not. There's a lot of radiation out there."

Oh Tepha, never change:
19:15, Today: Tepha Pezal rolled 5 using 2d6+01.  detect signal.

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 49):

Poor Tepha.

You know...you do have experience points you have never used...Just sayin'...

The escape pod isn't showing any hot spots.  No sign of anyone inside, nor any indication power is on inside.

Just to be sure...are you salvaging from the escape pod?  Or just flying by it?

If you want to salvage, you can try to pick the door.  Electronics/Edu roll please.  Or you can cut through the hull with a torch.  Or however else you can think to get inside.

Thanks

Assuming the escape pod was even intact, the plan was for Rig to slice into it, take control and pilot it back to the Tia's cargo bay for storage.

He hooked into the access panel and began hacking into it to gain control. If he could do it remotely that would be preferable to opening it up, otherwise if he couldn't control the escape pod from the outside he would have to open 'er up and climb inside.


To clarify a bit  more, the goal is to get it away from the debris cloud and to safely and softly pilot it into the cargo bay. If that isn't really something escape pods can do then Rig will instead maneuver it to a nice open space and then Ledo will carefully pilot the Tia to scoop it up.

14:55, Today: Gary 'Rig' Rigan rolled 11 using 2d6+4.  +2 EDU, +2 Electronics/Computers.

In reply to Gary 'Rig' Rigan (msg # 51):

Rig, you have to land on the pod's hull and hack into the mainframe through the exterior lines.  But it's not like it's a sophisticated security system.  You're in and out of it like a welding torch through algae-butter.

You pilot it back to the landing bay with little trouble.

Tepha needs to give me another of her fantastic Sensor checks please.  Also, can Rig and Silver give me Recon checks please.

What are BB and Nero doing right now as well?

Tepha had discovered that she could "picture-in-a-picture" and was watching the home shopping network instead of really studying the scanners.

Asked and delivered: 4 total
15:58, Today: Tepha Pezal rolled 4 using 2d6+1.  sensor check.

Rig and Silver were focused on their salvaging...


16:01, Today: Gary 'Rig' Rigan rolled 4 using 2d6-4.  recon (untrained).
16:01, Today: Silver rolled 2 using 2d6.  recon check.

Ledo (and BB) were at their stations. BB was in her beam turret and Ledo was at the controls maneuvering the Tia to bring in the salvage Rig and Silver sent his way.

"Hey Nero-knights it's ya boy NERRROOOOOOOO coming at you with another after battle footage. Check it out!"

The camera pans to a viewport where the wreckage of the two ships was slowly spinning in stable position compared to the Tia.

"Some pirates came at us and our lasers cut right to their core and them....KABLOOSH"

For added the effect the camera spins and shakes as Nero continues to make explosion sounds.

"We're currently pulling survivors and junk into the ship. Can't talk for long but you know you'll keep getting this pirate hunting footage straight from the source...NEROOOOOOOO! Later fam!">

In reply to Nerotes Madigan (msg # 56):

Wow.  That was the worst set of rolls I think you've ever had.

Also, kind of surprised you didn't do the thing I thought you'd do.  But oh well.  Too late now.

Comments start coming in after you post the content Nero

Is that 4 reals?

Looks real

No way. That cam shake was sooo ghetto

I'll pull your fingernails out one by one

That does look real

---

Meanwhile, the life pod lands in the bay.

Fritz pipes in on both Ledo and Tepha's boards as well as over Silver and Rig's suit comms.

Life pod docked and secured.  No noticeable radiation contamination.  Thaw protocols initiated.  Hull scans show the pod is intact.  Only minor damage

---

BB, you stab the alien, shoving your bayonet into it's fang filled maw before pulling the trigger, blasting it's chin apart with your rifle...

Not really.  You spin the view finder, trying to find some interesting piece of debris to focus on.

Recon check from Ms. Nova please

---

The hold comes into view Rig and Silver.

It looks like two compartments attached to a part of a hall.  The hallway is now more or less a ledge.  But the two compartments look like they are both covered in armor.  The doors are blast shielded.  One of them looks to be labeled D14

The other one is labeled Poly-Forma

BB has been monitoring the comms chatter and has a thought.

"Hey, did anyone check to see if there was anyone inside the lifepod?"

The silence told her everything she needed to know.

"Alright, I'm not it. Leave the comms on for me. "

Right before leaving the turret she did another scan before heading back to her room and suiting up for combat.

Let the good times roll....
13:29, Today: BB Nova rolled 0 using 2d6-4.  recon (untrained).

Rig gave an assessment of the cargo hold. If it was small enough debris they could send it right into the Tia's hold and unpack it later. If it was too big then they would open 'er up and drift the cargo one-by-one through zero-g and Ledo could park the Tia and just grab it one by one.

Given the two options, Rig went with Poly-Forma.

In reply to Gary 'Rig' Rigan (msg # 59):

It's like the whole crew got distracted by something shiny.  You may want to drop some points in Recon

Fritz buzzes on to Ledo's and Tepha's boards.

Does Ms. Nova mean she's going to go down to the life pod?  You can tell her she's got a good half hour.  The cryochamber there isn't gonna finish dethawing until then.

---

The section of the hold is too large to try anything with.  Looks like you're going to need to   schlep any salvage.

You could rig a tether line.  Once you hook one end to Tia you can either use auto-hooks to ride individual boxes over to Tia</ir>.  Or you could use the line and a winch to draw the hold closer to <i>Tia.  Either way, someone needs to go hook the line up to Tia.

Otherwise, you will have to float any valuables over by hand.

You may be able to think of another option.  Just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

The door on Poly-Forma isn't too heavily bolted.  It comes open easy enough.

Inside is a long, narrow store room.  Shelves line each wall down to the end, two shelves a wall.  Rectangular crates about 5' long and 2' wide line the shelves.  Opening the nearest one reveals a long rod inside.

Need an engineering roll from Rig please.

Hey someone made a successful roll lol

18:29, Today: Gary 'Rig' Rigan rolled 8 using 2d6+2.  Eng/Edu roll.

In reply to Gary 'Rig' Rigan (msg # 61):

And the Heavens sing!

It's a P166-X Repercussion Capped Turbine Shaft.

Rig, you haven't seen one of these since you went to school.  But you are absolutely, 100%, sure-as-shit positive this is a P166-X Repercussion Capped Turbine Shaft.

Well, you'll be damned.

The P166-X Repercussion Capped Turbine Shaft is a part of the thrust system in a Gjallhorn class fighter.  One of the Sword World's fighers, they were tight, hard little machines that did quite a bit of damage to Imperioum troops throughout the various wars in days gone by.  The Sword World stopped making them for some reason or another.  But the Gjallhorn class fighter was one of those dream machines engineering students used to geek about back in school.

You glance in some of the other boxes.  A UX-Oh 4 Ninety guidance system.  A Loki-Wurther D10 targeting drive....

These are all parts for  Gjallhorn.

Here in the Imperium, they are more or less junk.  The Imperium has developed countermeasures for the Gjallhorn fighter two generations ago.  Not even collectors put much value in them.  But...

You have a good supply of parts for one of those ships.  Not enough to build one.  But a lot of parts for one.

Rig sent the message along the comms. Silver was puttering back and forth between the Tia and their salvage spot stringing up the cable they could use to clip the boxes to and send them down the line. Rig could clip 'em, Silver would catch 'em and stack 'em.

Fighter parts? Sure why not. The Tia was basically empty at the moment after burning all that fuel during the battle. Well empty might not be the right word but 25t free of storage was a lot for how they normally operated.

In reply to Gary 'Rig' Rigan (msg # 63):

Fritz beeps.  The cryo chamber on the life pod is entering second stage thaw.

Hey.  Did you guys see that guy in the space suit out there?  Should I say something to Engineer Rig?  Or is a friend or something?

---

Silver, you finish hooking up the cable to the winch.  Now Rig should be able to send crates over by hooking them to the line.

You turn around and squint.

You can see Rig.  He's looking back at you over the distance, waiting for you to give the signal.

Behind him, climbing over the top of the section of hold, is a guy in a space suit.  New Space Suit Guy has a rifle, training it at the top of Rig's helmet.

Ledo heard Fritz comment and shouted into the mic.

"Bogey! I repeat there is a bogey in the wreckage! Take cover!"

Silver looks up to see space suit guy aiming at Rig.

"Rig! Behind you!"

Rig only had a split second to think. He activated his jets to slide to the side. If someone was aiming at him he would make himself a difficult target until he could get to some cover and get a bead on this guy.

Taking cover!

In reply to Gary 'Rig' Rigan (msg # 67):

Ya see.  Now we gotta situation...

The rifle is a gauss.  Small steel needs fly forth...one of them tearing through Rig's suit, just above his left elbow.

The needle misses the skin.  But of course

Whoooooosssh

Rig, your suit triggers the emergency seal.  But most of your atmo is already part of the void by the time it kicks in.

An alarm raises on your helmet screen.  You have thirty seconds of oxygen left.

Your rockets land you in front of te D14 doorway.  It's sealed shut.  But there's a recess you can hunker under.

Rifle guy is above you.  You can't see him at the moment. But at least he can't see you.

Silver was currently unarmed, not that anything she owned would work in zero-g but she did have an armored space suit, a rocket booster, and a bad attitude.

With a woosh she hit the thrusters full throttle to tackle pirate. Hopefully while she had this guy tied up Rig could try and zip his way back to the Tia.

No clue what I'm rolling here, lol

In reply to Silver (msg # 69):

That is a toughie.

She's rocketing along a tow line, trying to tackle a guy.

Hmmm.

Either an Athletics or a Battle Armor for the rocket along move.

And a good old fashion Melee for the tackle

So two rolls.

Damn. The dice roller curse strikes again:


13:08, Today: Silver rolled 6 using 2d6+3.  vacc suit + dex (+3).

In reply to Silver (msg # 71):

No sense making that melee roll then

You zip across the line, trying to set your self up for the tackle <puprle>Silver</purple>. But you mistime the turn just a snooch.  Wham.  You hit the side of the hold section.

The strike causes the Hold to wobble and start to turn.  Rifle Guy starts looking around.

No damage for our favorite cussing-machine.  But she will have a penalty if she tries that attack next round.  Just a -1 though

You may go.

The miss got Silver completely disoriented but she knew she had to keep moving as she had lost sight of rifle guy. Just out of pure instinct she picked a direction and charged without even bothering to try and lock onto him. As expected, her random direction wasn't the right one.


14:17, Today: Silver rolled 3 using 2d6-2.  tackle take 2.

In reply to Silver (msg # 73):

Rifle jumps downwards, to land not far from Rig.  The sudden move throws your tackle off Silver.

Rig,, your suit is flashing up warning signs.  Twenty seconds of breathable air left.  You see Mr. Rifle land on the hallway section next to you.  Seems he wants to try for a point blank shot this time.

Rig realizes he doesn't have a choice. His air will run out long before he reaches the Tia...however there is a guy in front of him with a full air tank.

Rig rushes forward trying to grappled with rifle man hoping that he and Silver can hold him steady long enough for Rig to steal the man's air supply.


13:27, Today: Silver rolled 6 using 2d6+1.  unarmed combat..

At what point do we just call it because the dice roller obviously has zero interest in helping me out. Just assume every roll I fail from now on...apparently...

In reply to Gary 'Rig' Rigan (msg # 75):

Don't give up hope.  Because I bombed my roll too.  And I really bombed it.

By the way, you said th elast roll was for Silver, but did you mean for Rig?

Rifle Guy steps back, avoiding your rush Rig...

...and manages to snag himself on a metal outcropping.  He's partially pinned.

Yes.  I fumbled.  Rig and Silver gets a +2 to their next attack roll.

Rig and Silver team up to try and take this guy down before Rig loses consciousness. Rig is barely holding it together while  his air runs out but maybe...just maybe... Silver can stun the pirate long enough for Rig to snatch up the oxygen supply.

And the days of my poor rolling shall come to a middle. At least I might have possibly passed with Silver...

00:00, Today: Gary 'Rig' Rigan rolled 6 using 2d6-2.  unarmed combat.
00:00, Today: Silver rolled 8 using 2d6+3.  unarmed attack.

In reply to Silver (msg # 77):

Silver, you land behind Mr. Rifle and smack into him...or at least as well as you can do that in Zero G.

Rig, you lunge.  But the alarm klaxon in your suit comes on, showing a countdown on potable air at 12...11..

It's enough to throw you off.

Mr. Rifle drops his rifle and grabs at you Silver.  Seems he's hoping to shove you off the piece of debris.

---

Meanwhile...Back on Tia

BB, you arrive in the hold.  The life pod lays there.  From the hatch window in the door, you can see flickering lights.  Something is going on in there.

Rig starts grabbing for the oxygen supply to do a cross over while Silver dances with Mr. Rifle.

Silver is finally done with this guy. She activates the magnetic boots and latches onto the debris straddling the Mr. Rifle. Using her internal commands she increases the magnets to their maximum strength to try and pin the pirate between her armored thighs and the metal behind him like she was a giant Silver staple.

With her free hands she grabs both ends of the rifle and shoves the barrel into the gap between the pirate's helmet and body. If they weren't all wearing space suits this would be choking off his windpipe but here in outer space what she was doing was pinning him hard against the side giving Rig enough time to (hopefully) get his oxygen supply figured out. Because if he couldn't, he'd need to be borrowing some of Silver's instead.

Silver figured they would call that "plan b"

Ayyyyy a good roll!
22:09, Today: Silver rolled 10 using 2d6+1.  unarmed attack.

BB had come locked and loaded for bear. She had her armor on, she had her chainsword at her side and her gyrojet rifle in hand. She had time to prepare cover from the crates in the cargo hold...if someone inside that life pod decided to give her trouble that was likely the last thing they would ever do.

In reply to Silver (msg # 80):

I need Rig to make me a check for Vacc Suit please.

The rifle jam works mostly.  Mr. Rifle seems stymied at the moment.

Rig, you fumble towards his AAS cannister...

---

BB, you stop outside the still closed hatch.  You think you can see movement through the hatch window.  But it's hard to tell what it is...

Was the decision ever made to allow Fritz to talk to BB?  Or is he not allowed to speak to her and/or Nero yet?

Rig took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Maybe not the best thing to do when oxygen alarms were blaring but he needed to be focused and steady. Silver had the guy pinned, this was his one shot.

Calmly he let his training wash over him. He had hooked up and unhooked oxygen tanks a million times over his career. By this point it was second nature. Just ignore the alarms, or the pain, or the guy struggling. Those are all just insignificant details. Just focus on actions. Release the safety clamp, unscrew the nozzle, plug it into the emergency intake. The system was designed to do emergency transfers of oxygen just...like...this...

Using EDU arguing that he is a career space engineer and he can rely on his rote muscle memory to get the job done.
10:37, Today: Gary 'Rig' Rigan rolled 10 using 2d6+2.  EDU/Vacc Suit.

Ledo was up in the control room trying to keep track of many operations at once. He had an external camera fixed on the struggle between Silver, Rig and the one pilot, he had another camera in the cargo bay watching BB prepare for whoever was inside the escape pod, and then another eye on the scanners.

Fritz wouldn't talk to BB directly, instead he would talk to the rest of the crew, probably Ledo or Tepha at this point, and they would relay it back.

In reply to Gary 'Rig' Rigan (msg # 83):

You slip the patch onto Mr. Rifle's air tank Rig.  Air, sweet air, starts to flow in.  You're still at danger levels.  But...if Silver can hold this guy a bit longer...

Let's have ol' Silver make another combat roll please.  To keep Mr. Rifle standing still.

---

Okay.  Wasn't sure if Fritz was allowed to rely directly to BB or not,

Tepha.  I'm gettign some data from the life pod.  It has four cryo units inside.  But one was occupied.  When we boarded the pod into the hold, the pod's sensors tripped the thaw function on that unit.

From what I can tell...that guy who was in there?  He's been in freeze for at least a year.

---

BB, you are seeing definite movement.  A hand slaps down on the hatch window.  Then drags off.  You hear some thumping from inside.  Like someone is banging on the door.

"Easy does it. Just hold 'er steady now..."

The guy flail and shove all he wanted but from this position it would be hard to get the leverage needed to override her magnetic boots on full power. Not impossible, but very very difficult, especially while your air was being siphoned off.


14:25, Today: Silver rolled 8 using 2d6+1.  keep 'em pinned.

Hopefully that's a pass. The goal is to get enough air so Rig can make the transfer and hopefully get this guy to pass out from exhaustion so they can send his limp body over for the brig.

Tepha frowned at Fritz's assessment and relayed the information to BB.

"Hey BB, our sensors show someone inside and...well...they've been in the freeze for awhile now. This isn't anyone we faced in the recent battle so be prepared."

BB wasn't going to move a muscle. Either this guy would calm down long enough to figure out how to pop the hatch or he would  work himself to exhaustion. Either way she wasn't going to move from her defensive barricade until that guy inside stopped moving.

"Hey Tepha, is it possible to patch into the comms for the lifepod? Get this fella to settle down so I don't have to fill him with lead?"</b>

Back up in the bridge, Tepha  started poking around to see if she could get a signal into the lifepod.

"Attention rescued lifepod. I understand you're confused and unaware of what is going on but you need to acknowledge this message and calm down. We can open up the pod and rescue you but we need to make sure you're not going to harm us or yourself in the process. Please acknowledge."

In reply to BB Nova (msg # 88):

Mr. Rifle manages to get an elbow into your side Silver, and starts to try to get some leverage...

We tied.  Another roll please.  Thanks

---

The patch into the pod's systems is surprisingly easy Tepha.  Though the cameras are down.

Soon, you can hear a man screaming.

"They're in my eyes!  They're in my eyes!  Please!  Please take them outta my eyes!"

Fritz comes on your line Tepha.  Got the life pod records from the pod.  He was frozen with a high level of dopamine.  Like really high.  I think he was frozen while drugged.

Oh. I gotta an ID on him.  He's the kidnapped son of a noble over in the Egypt system.  Kla Mirken.  He's been missing for about six years.

Silver was tempted to give out a pithy quip but she had to be honest with herself that she was barely holding on and needed all her focus on keeping this guy pinned.


10:30, Today: Silver rolled 8 using 2d6+1.  keep 'em pinned.

Tepha frowned at that information. If he was drugged that might make things considerably more difficult.

"Is it dangerous? Can we just wait it out?"

She hit the button to open up the comms back to the lifepod. Tepha did her best to adopt a soothing, motherly voice. She was just the calming presence this guy was needed if her words could just sink in.

"We will get them out of your eyes but we need you to hold still. We don't want anyone to get hurt so please, just hold still."

10:37, Today: Tepha Pezal rolled 8 using 2d6+2.  persuasion.

In reply to Tepha Pezal (msg # 91):

Mr. Rifle can't seem to make a quip either.  It might be because he's running out of air.

Rig, you're feeling better.  Suit's at about 57%.  In the stable range.

Mr. Rifle's movements are getting weaker.

---

Never mind that.  Did Tepha actually make a roll?

She did!!!! She did!!!!!! Tepha succeeded on a roll!!!!!

Oh!  This is like that moment on the Charlie Brown Christmas Special where the sad little Charlie Brown tree becomes a beautiful pine!

Oh happy dance!  Oh happy dance!

BB, you notice the thrashing in the life pod has subsided for a second.

You can hear hoarse panting over the intercom Tepha.  "...plllleeeez...get 'em outta my eyes...plllleeeaz momma....please...."

He called you Mom Tepha!  He's like my brother now, isn't he?

The records on the life pod's autodoc aren't real through.  I can't tell what kind of poison it is.  His heart rate was waaaaay too high for someone coming out of cryo though.

I think he needs to be sedated and put into our autodoc.  Sooner rather than later.

Rig keeps an eye on the monitors trying to mentally judge  how much oxygen the guy would need for them to transit back to the Tia. For all they knew this guy was a civilian or had a giant bounty on his head. Either way better alive than dead.

BB was watching and waiting for when the call came through from Tepha.

"We think this is a hostage that was drugged up and then frozen. I think he's calmed down but go in carefully, and...uh...hold fire, right? Grab some sedatives from the first aid kit, get under, and then lets get him to the autodoc, okay?"


BB nodded to herself. She didn't like bagging live ones but a mission was a mission and given how much Nero was worth she figured this might get her yet another nice payday with minimal risk. Sure a drugged up person can do some damage, but probably not when faced with a fully armed and armored orbital drop marine.

BB went over to the first aid kit, went through the hypos until she found the sedatives and then went up to the escape pod to wade on in and drop her target...for his own own good of course.

In reply to BB Nova (msg # 94):

Of course.  It's not like BB would just want to punch someone up for no reason.

Her name's not Silver after all...

BB, you grab up a couple of ampules of BlizzOff...The Spacer's Friend.  That stuff should knock him out.

The hatch to the pod opens.  Probably Tepha triggering it from the Bridge.

Inside, the pod is a wreck.  A scrawny guy without a shirt is standing, staring at a wall comm.  Then at you.  He has permafrost in his hair and several patches of frostbite.  He did not dethaw well.

He blinks at you and then screams, "Mommy!  There's an ugly man here!"

He then turns and is trying to crawl up a storage locker to get to the ceiling.

---

That Rigg.  Always looking our for the little guy.

Make me a Vacc Suit/Edu roll for Rig's estimation please.

You don't become a seasoned career starship engineer without being able to calculate oxygen supplies off the top of your head. It might not be scientifically accurate but it'll get you in the ballpark and more importantly, get you on the right side of the "living or dead" line.


12:56, Today: Gary 'Rig' Rigan rolled 10 using 2d6+2.  vacc suit/edu.

BB didn't take offense to the guy's comment. Not only was he tripping balls but her armor wasn't exactly cut to accentuate her feminine wiles. She had been called far far worse during boot camp and on deployment and honestly she would rather deal with a straight up insult than whatever the hell dealing with Nero always got her. At least here she could punch the guy out and figure he deserved it. It's hard to justify roughing up your client just for being an annoying little shit.

BB tried her best to calm the guy as she slowly but surely got him into position to inject the drugs.

"Easy there, just a little something to let you take the edge off. Just helping bring you back to reality, that's all."

In reply to BB Nova (msg # 97):

You get the levels to even out Rig.  Enough to keep Mr. Rifle alive but not much else.  You can head back to Tia if you wish.

---

The guy blinks at you <puprle>BB</purple>.

You can try a Diplomacy/Edu roll if you like.  Figuring that's not BB's strong suit

Rig pushes off and away from the salvage operation heading towards the cargo bay of the Tia. It is easy enough to navigate the line they had set up to transfer cargo and salvage in, only this time he was moving the barely conscious form of Mr. Rifle. Hopefully this guy was worth the trouble they had just gone through.

BB was a complete stranger to diplomacy that wasn't at the barrel of a gun...


10:47, Today: BB Nova rolled 5 using 2d6-3.  diplomacy untrained.

In reply to BB Nova (msg # 100):

Rig, you come to the end of the tether in more ways than one, stepping down and pulling the semi-conscious Mr. Rifle down into the air lock with you.

Did Silver come along too?  Or is she still at the wreck?

BB, High Guy blinks at you, then suddenly rushes towards the intercom, screaming into it, "Mommy!  Mommy!  The ugly fat man wants to edge me off!"

BB paused a little at this remark. Fat? Really dude?"

On the comms Tepha put as much motherly calm into her voice as she replied.

"Calm down, dear. The...man just wants to help. Just relax and I promise you everything will feel better soon. You just have to let usu help."

Ayyye lookie there:
22:04, Today: Tepha Pezal rolled 13 using 2d6+2.  persuasion.

Silver was still on the wreck. Someone had to keep this salvage operation on schedule and it sure as hell wasn't going to be "Broadside of the Barn" Rig and his leaky suit.

Rig entered the airlock, dragging a semi-conscious pirate along with him.

"Ledo, get down here.  Help me secure this guy before he puts another hole in me."

Ledo didn't have to be told twice. He didn't like abandoning his post but it shouldn't take that long to strip this guy of weapons and toss him into the ship's brig.

In reply to Gary 'Rig' Rigan (msg # 105):

And that's when everything blows up!!!!

Not really.

Tepha got a 13??!!!??  Holy Muffins Prague Man!  She's on a roll!

The freaked out guy calms down under Tepha's gentle persuasion.  He even stops calling BB fat.

He soon has the downers in his system and is drooping like a toddler near nap time.

Mr. Rifle turns out to be a grizzled old guy with tats all over his face.  He seems to like the suit of clubs in cards as he has a lot of those cards inked on his neck.

He's suffering early stages of the Bends.  He'll need to go into the med bay.  But then so does droopy Frozen Guy.

Ledo, Rig, and BB ended up converging on the ship's medbay slash crew common area. Seeing the dilemma Ledo attempted to triage while Rig immediately began making sure the bends didn't kill their prisoner while BB flopped the cyro guy onto the medbay to get his levels...leveled off.



01:04, Today: Ledo Typhin rolled 7 using 2d6+1.  INT/Medical - Triage? Who needs care the most.
01:04, Today: Gary 'Rig' Rigan rolled 11 using 2d6+3.  EDU/Medical - standard "bends" treatments.

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 107):

Rig already has his guy on the table Ledo.  So that must be the guy who needs help the most!

The medi-doc seals Mr. Rifle in a small pressurized chamber.  It starts to level him off.

Cryo Guy starts moaning.  "...mommy...I don't like uncle gary...he and his friends keep wanting to kill me..."