In reply to Linus Spruance (msg # 224):

"You want company Linus? No one should be alone, you need to be in pairs and armed, just in case."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:50, Sun 07 Mar 2021.

"You'd be very welcome, Angus."

Linus headed off moving quite quickly.

Billy checks his shotgun is ready to fire.  "I'll keep an eye on the hatch, and check there is nothing coming up behind us.  Let me know if you need backup, or  a warning shot fired." He says leaving the initial contact to the others.

Then he backs towards the hatch door, so that he can keep an eye out in both directions.

In reply to Billy (msg # 227):

As he sped away with Linus, Try tapping a code on the door, maybe he'll open."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:46, Mon 08 Mar 2021.

Now they were closer their suit radios were more able to get a signal through the hatch and bulkhead.

After a pause they heard over the radio, "Are you guys outside? I locked the hatches behind me."

"I'm just outside the hatch.  Linus and Angus are approaching the natives." Billy replies to Dr. Goezghae.

Drs. Chandragora and Mirost followed behind, using their own grav belts for propulsion.

They decided to wait at the industrial module entry for everyone to reassemble. They helped Billy keep a watch.

Linus took off followed by Angus. They were looking for the people Dr. Goezghae had spotted following behind them. There were four of them, quite a ways away. About 500m. They were skillfully using the various protrubances and protrusions along the shaft wall to remain hidden. Once it was obvious they were spotted they began bounding back down the access shaft using the microgravity to their advantage with expert precision. Linus and Angus found they were not gaining as fast as they had expected even despite using grav belts, although they would catch up eventually.

The hatch was undogged from the inside and the wheel spun open.

"Hi! Glad to see you guys," she said.

In reply to Dr. Goezghae (msg # 232):

"Likewise. See anything interesting in there?" he asked.

In reply to Dr. Vledistart Mirost (msg # 233):

She sounded excited. "As a matter of fact I did. There looks to be a lot of spare parts and components still available in the fabrication sections of the module. They were waiting use when they shut down the factory. And if we can get the factory going we can maybe make more!"

Linus and Angus slowly gained on the party of natives. It looked like there were 2 of them, expertly using the zero-G to maneuver down the access shaft. They would catch up in a few minutes.

Referee Note: Are you going to catch up? Or hang back and keep them in sight?

I had been thinking of catching up. Angus, what do you want to do?

In reply to Linus Spruance (msg # 236):

Fine with me, I'll follow your lead.

Billy grins as the hatch opens, then listens to the exchange between the two academics.

"That is good news, and gives a purpose to our search for a power supply.  I suspect that we will need to divert power from somewhere else, IF we are going to get the factory working again."

In reply to Billy (msg # 238):

"Yeah. We would definitely need to restore power to this module to get it functional again. And I'm sure it would work if we did. If we do it would be a great help!"

In reply to Angus McStubbin (msg # 237):

Angus and Linus tried catching up to the fleeing natives. It took several minutes, but they eventually found themselves keeping pace using their grav belts as their quarry expertly bounded down the zero-gee shaft. They certainly knew they were there, but didn't seem to be slowing down. There appeared to be six or seven of them, although it was hard to tell, and all were armed with melee and missile weapons.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:35, Sun 28 Mar 2021.

"All the more reason to find a power source then." Billy answers Dr Goezghae, happier now that there is a good reason behind the search.  "We might be able to manufacture some of the parts we need to get a ship working well enough to get us in and out of jump.  We will need fuel though." he pauses for a moment and then remembers that Jedec was one of the main ship's navigators.

"Jedec? Do you remember if there was a gas giant or any  other natural fuel sources around when we found this asteroid."

In reply to Billy (msg # 241):

Jedec recalled, and the scientists confirmed, that the Sky Raider mothership was on a ballistic course into the void, crossing several parsecs of empty space before its coreward course would take it across the boundary of the Zhodani Consulate. It was deep space and the Inquisitor's sensors did not indicate any planetary or other large masses within at least a light year. The closest fuel source was the outer fringe of the Oort Cloud of the Galatea system, but Galatea was to rimward so they were heading away from it.

Billy grimaces at the news.  A working ship without fuel isn't going to be a lot of good.  Better just hope they can find some, or perhaps synthesise some in this factory unit.

Flipping the comms switch, he calls Angus and Linus.  "How are you doing, guys?  How far are you going to chase those natives?"

Linus was getting out of breath.

"It doesn't seem that they want to talk. Every time we get close, they're off again. They are amazingly agile, though. It's like chasing monkeys..."

Still, by observing the way they moved, he was developing a few new moves of his own.

"Maybe it's time to regroup ..." Billy suggests to the ex-navy man.

In reply to Billy (msg # 245):

Angus looks at Linus with a what do you want to do expression on his face.

In reply to Billy (msg # 245):

Sounds good. lets regroup.

In reply to Jedec Istec (msg # 247):

"Time to head back Linus, we don't want led into an ambush either. Are they the same ones from up top, or are these the enemies I wonder?"

Linus grinned.

"Okie dokie. Regroup it is... coming, Angus?"

He performed an aerial turn inspired by the natives' antics and headed back the way they'd come.