There were 2 parallel tunnels leading from each level leading to a wide connecting corridor that was a little like a tube station. Not only were there dozens of corridors leading to the living/control areas but there were also a series of other large portals that appeared to lead back to other sectors of the agricultural module.

The access "tube" led to a large hatch. Behind that was a major access tunnel. If they turned one way they would find the side maintenance tunnel that led to the surface entry they'd found. The other way was towards the stern.

Every so often was a repeater module placed to maintain comms from the agro module base and the surface base where the cutters were being worked on.

(GM Note: the hatch to the agro module was found when the PCs decided to follow the main tunnel rearwards. You can also go the other way towards the bow.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:44, Sun 20 Dec 2020.

"I, for one, would be very happy to have you along Dr Mirost.  It would be really helpful to have some idea of what the locals are days, if we should meet any of them again."

Then he turns back to his fellow explorers, "Shall we take the main tunnel, towards the rear of the ship ... asteroid ... vessel ...  what ever it is?  Or should we go forwards?  I don't think it really matters much, as we don't have  any idea of where to search for anything.  Or try more of the side hatches?"

In reply to Billy (msg # 151):

Im for heading either way in the main tunnel for now. I am good with flipping a coin to be honest. but I think to find bigger better things we should see what the main tunnel offers first. then if we have to we search some of the smaller ones.  My 2c

"Agreed, we need to completely explore this rock!"

"Seems reasonable," said Linus.

"We should try to get to the centre of the asteroid, in my opinion. That's probably where the main command and control is..."

The Vargr, Dr. Goezghae, decided to accompany the exploration party as well.

"I'm coming along as well," she declared, strapping on her pistol belt with a holstered revolver and sheathed blade.

"Towards the rear, then!"

The main shaft they entered to make their way to the stern was 100m across and in zero-gee. Angus (who hadn't seen one before) could tell it was rigged to carry traffic of various kinds on several different series of rails (monorails, dual-gauge, trolley-tracks, immobile tow-lines in plexiglass tubes to carry along individual travelers, handrails to pull oneself along, etc.) There were also conduits, pipes, and cables. The sides themselves were smooth metal, bored through the massive nickel-iron body using fusion tunneling.

Occasionally they came across signs of damage, usually accidental-looking like ruptured or crushed pipes and wall dents from collisions. A very few were craters from explosions and the scars of laser beams. All looked quite ancient.

After 25 minutes of travelling in zero-G to sternward down the main access shaft, the party saw there was another large valve set into the side of the tunnel. Numerous tracks and rails branched off and led off to it.

At about 50m they could see there was a kind of docking-charging rack off to the side with room for dozens of small vehicles. A number of small sled-like scooters appeared to be still docked there.

Meanwhile, arrangements were made to shut down the work site left behind in the agri-module and bring in the equipment and the personnel who'd been left behind to guard it.

GM Note: Marching order?
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:56, Wed 13 Jan 2021.

Billy makes his way  over to the scooter sleds, to see if he can make them work.

In reply to Billy (msg # 157):

Angus tries to make himself useful and tries to help Billy. He makes his way in Zero-G over to the scooters.

In reply to Angus McStubbin (msg # 158):

It looked like the scooters could be cannibalised to make 3 or 4 functional ones. Their batteries would need to be replaced but they had spare power cells back at camp. Either they could bring the batteries here and attempt to salvage them in situ, or tow the carriers back to camp in the zero-gee main transit tube and replace the batteries there.

The party could take some time to do that. They could try to get into the module through either the main valve or the personnel hatches on either side. Or else continue following the access shaft.

"Lets see if we can get through the personnel hatches, at least to have a look and see what is behind there.  We can always take the scooters back to the base camp later."  Billy suggests.

In some ways, Billy would prefer to play with the scooters, but needs must .....

"I'll take a look at the personnel door," said Linus.

"Billy, you see if you can get those bikes going. Looks like you know more about them than I do."

Linus moved over to the door with practised ease. Clearly micro-gravity held no qualms for him.

Billy nods at Linus's suggestion and heads over to the scooters, just in case he can get one of them working, or at least get an idea of how they work.

In reply to Billy (msg # 162):

Angus was looking the scooters over as well, noting nothing out of the ordinary, he checks to see what makes it run.

In reply to Angus McStubbin (msg # 163):

I will help any way I can as well.

It looked like 3 or 4 working scooters could be cobbled together from the collection of sleds that were there. The main problem was their batteries were long-dead, but the expedition had plenty of those and ways to charge them. Either the batteries and tools were brought here, or the sleds towed back through the zero-G access shaft to one of the base camps to be worked on.

The group could concentrate on the getting the sleds operational, try to enter the massive valve nearby or the two small personnel hatches flanking it, or continue down the access shaft.

Billy looked over at Linus, "Any luck with that hatch?  These scooters need new batteries."

In reply to Billy (msg # 166):

The main valve looked unpowered and immobile to Linus. As it was a good 20m across getting it open would be impossible. Looking at the flanking side hatches, Billy could see they could be opened without power.

In reply to Linus Spruance (msg # 161):

The Vargr floated up behind Billy and stopped herself using a handhold.

"These seem like emergency personnel hatches in case the main hatch failed. Good luck when you open it! I'll just get back a bit."

The other scientists seemed to agree with her assessment.

Billy looks up sharply as Dr. Goezghae speaks, "Why?  What do you think is behind those doors?"

In reply to Billy (msg # 169):

"I don't know. But the Loeskalth built on the principle of massive redundancy."

Linus looked at the door, seeing if he could figure out how it operated.

In reply to Linus Spruance (msg # 171):

It looked like the main valves had various controls. Without power, it would remain closed. The hatches looked like standard starship-style hatches for the Sky Raiders culture and could be opened without power.

Given that it's the personnel side door Linus was looking at, he'll see if he can figure out how to open it unpowered.

In reply to Linus Spruance (msg # 173):

The somewhat oversized hatch was undogged, so spinning the handwheel in the middle released it. The hatch opened inwards, meaning it was designed to act as part of an airlock. Inside was a pitch-dark chamber.