Don't see any point (at the moment) to do a separate thread for each system along the route, but if something changes, I can always start a new thread.

If everyone is settled in, it's time for lift off.

The ship gets clearance to depart from Efate, a vector is assigned, and the ship lifts off. It reaches the jump point without any problems.

"Last chance for whatever," Luise announces over the comms. "Transition in 5 minutes."


If there is any unfinished business, you can continue dealing with it in the other threads.


Reposting the route here so it's easy to find.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:26, Fri 26 June 2020.

Adriannah was relieved they had left the Planet, a different location would hold new experiences, situations and lessons. When they had been given the green light to depart she headed to Engineering to observe the process.

The week long trip through jump-space is routine. There are no mishaps aboard ship, all systems function normally, and the daily routine varies just enough to keep things from becoming boring.

Anyone who wants to train has plenty of time to do so.

The calculated destination point is 120 diameters out from the gas giant due to the presence of a moon.

Because the main planet is interdicted (for unknown reasons) and presumably has some sort of military space force guarding it, Luise takes the precaution of recording a transmission set for automatic and repetitious broadcast as soon as the ship comes out of jump.

"This is the Independent Far Trader Frumious Bandersnatch just passing through and refueling at the gas giant. Repeat: IFT Frumious Bandersnatch refueling at gas giant. Just passing through."

Harry plots the course for the gas giant, straight and true, attempting to avoid all contact with the interdicted planet.

After plotting and entering the course, Harry sent it to the pilot so he could make a true approach to the giant for fuel.

The astrogation course set for the system dropped the ship out of J-space at the expected location, which was far enough out from the indicted planet that there weren't any warning buoys or defensive ships. The only possible problem would have been if one of the defensive ships had been out here refueling. Since nothing is know about the planet, you don't know if there are refueling capabilities on the planet. Visual observation could tell you if there is water on the planet, so that might be an option for the defensive ships.

In any case, sensors don't register the presence of any ships in the area.

The current plan simply has the ship refueling by skimming the gas giant and then jumping to the next system since there really wasn't anything in this system to interest the crew. At least, nothing that anyone knew.

The next astrogation calculation can be part of the gas giant refuel, since the gas giant can be used to slingshot the ship onto its next course. If, for some reason, there is a problem refueling, the preset course can be aborted and a new one will have to be created.

"Free fuel," Gahler said as he studied the MFD plot for the gas giant refueling.  "The only thing better is free beer," he added.

"Free fuel is only good if you've got the scoops and processors to handle it," Steve mentions. "Maybe you should clarify it as 'free good fuel'. Bad fuel can sens us into a sun or halfway across the galaxy!"

"So would burning to a crisp inside a star stop with your pedantic tendencies?  Because that's looking like a pretty good tradeoff right now, Steve Cable," Grohlson said, rolling his eyes.

"Steve is right, only if it is 'good' fuel. We got good scoops and processors though, though it might be good to change the filters after scooping to keep from getting contaminated fuel."

Skimming the gas giant for hydrogen fuel goes about as smoothly as you can expect. Even the upper atmosphere can be turbulent at times, but nothing that the Bandersnatch can't handle.

It takes two orbits to get enough fuel, and then it's out of the planet's gravity well and out to the jump point.

Next stop: 871-438.

The next leg of the journey went smoothly, from the transition into J-space through the week's travel through nothingness. The 871-438 system didn't even have a name. It was uninhabited and the significant planet in the Life Zone was an unclaimed, poor, barren hellworld dustball. It is uninhabited and generally considered worthless. The system has no military or political strategic significance.

Once the ship was in jump-space again... from Grant, Luise came on the comms.

"Another week available for training and polishing the silverware," she said. "Our destination is another system requiring gas giant refueling, and then it's another jump to Tremous Dex, which is back to civilization!"

"At this rate of training, we'll all be experts at everything by the time we get to Foreven! Hope you all brought a good book to read."

"I was hoping I might persuade Siyeon to give us a small performance every so often to break up the routine."

"Oh. And further news, since the holodeck is malfunctioning, the Parrises Squares tournament scheduled for Saturday has been canceled."

"WHAT?? Parrises Squares has been canceled? I'm ended! Where is my sharp razor to open my veins?" he shouts with a laugh!

+++How about an all hands poker game? 1000 cr to enter, with a 25 cr starting bid?+++ Forge suggested.

A marathon game for 7 days?

"I'm in! 5 Card Stud? 5 Card Draw, Texas Hold'em?

"Jump space is all the poker I can handle, life is a gamble."

+++Dealers Choice+++ Forge said over the intercom.

"I'm always good for a game!" Steve chimes in.

"We usually play just for bragging rights, not real money. Penny ante stuff. If one wins too much, it can cause resentment among the rest of the crew."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:44, Sat 11 Apr 2020.

Doesn't seem to be any interest in the poker game, except for an occasional game during the week of transition.

Nothing untoward happens in J-space during the week. Nothing on the ship malfunctions or even needs repaired, and only the regular schedule maintenance that can be done in jump-space needs to be done.

Exit time arrives with the usual standard alert. It's just a precaution in case the jump wasn't quite accurate--makes sure no one is doing something that could cause a problem.

The three-second alert sounds... and then all hell seems to break loose!

The ship takes a hit! Artificial gravity cuts out! Alarm klaxons sound!

Everyone needs to make a damage roll of 1D-1.

04:23, Today: Arc Tangent rolled 2 using 1d6-1 ((3)).

Ouch!

Arc had been in his room laying down reading the latest Captain Tallant novel and when the transition signal sounded, he'd been considering getting up and heading to the bridge to see what this system was like. Not that there'd be anything really to see, but the computer could display a simulation. It could have anyway, but actually being there was made it more real.

And then he was getting tossed around! First up against the ceiling and then back down onto the floor!

"What the frell?!" he said out loud as he got to his feet... or tried to as he floated in the air.

"We're under attack?! How the hell is that even possible?"

The sudden jolt of the ship and its gravity failure throws Adriannah from her bunk. Landing heavily she slides across the floor into the bulkhead colliding with a solid thud. Her form lays in a bundle in the junction of floor and wall of her cabin.

Harry was on the bridge but had no time to react! He was slammed about in his chair, thank goodness he had bee strapped in! He thought his shoulder was separated anyway!



09:02, Today: Harry McStubbin rolled 1 using 1d6-1 with rolls of 2.  damage.

Roland had been in Engineering getting ready to switch over the drives to the maneuver drives when he was thrown from his seat, The only damage was a bruised butt and a bruised ego though.

09:03, Today: Roland Steel rolled 0 using 1d6-1 with rolls of 1.  damage.

Feeling the gravity start to cut out, Forge grabbed onto the door frame and avoided getting seriously injured.
10:00, Today: 'Forge' Harris rolled 1 using 1d6-1 with rolls of 2.  damage.

Luise had been on the bridge when the ship exited jump-space. She didn't really need to be there, and there was certainly not going to be anything to see, but she felt that was her place... just to make sure there weren't any problems.

10:54, Today: Luise Wechsler rolled 2 using 1d6-1 ((3)).

She had a momentary glimpse of what the sensors were suddenly showing before she was tossed against the nearest bulkhead as the artificial gravity cut out and the ship lurched under the impact of what felt like a missile hit.

Once Forge got his bearings, he started to secure his armor, before pulling out his stunner and cutlass in case they was some unexpected visitors.

13:48, Today: Steve Cable rolled 5 using 1d6-1 ((6)).


Ouch, ouch, ouch! The lurch and simultaneous cut out of the gravity caught Steve in mid-stride, tossing him down the hallway into the far bulkhead. In an effort to keep from landing head first, he put out an arm to brace himself but didn't get it around in time. He heard the crack of the bone just before the wave of pain swept up his arm.

"Oh, you damn frackin' puss=bucket!" he swore out loud, though if anyone heard him, it was probably unclear if he was swearing at himself, his arm, the bulkhead or situation. Probably all of them.

She'd been thinking about what to do with her career. There was enough material and recordings left behind to keep her on the charts for at least a year, maybe two... depending on how the marketing moguls played their cards. Fans tended to be loyal a lot longer  than management.

Would there be a new market for her music where they were going? Did she even want to find out? After all, she was here on the Frumious Bandersnatch to get away from it all. At the very least, she could wait and see what it was like and how she felt when she got there.

In the mean time, she could consider her options. She used to wonder how ancient music would be received in modern times if no one had ever heard the ancient music. Like that guy, Pelvis King... somebody was always covering his songs, but if no one had ever heard them till now, would he still become popular?

Would that be the case with her in the Foreven Sector? What's old is new again?

Or, when she got back, would she keep doing what she was doing? Or should she try something new? Should she be true to herself or to her career? What would make her happy?

18:06, Today: Siyeon Lee rolled 2 using 1d6-1 ((3)).

Her reverie was abruptly interrupted as she got bounced out of the chair! Fortunately, there was no one around to see her land on backside before bouncing back up to the ceiling in the zero-gravity.

As the designated Pilot, Gahler would have been in the pilot's seat, prepared to take control of the ship once it exited J-space, so he was strapped in to his seat. 99.9% of the time, seat harnesses weren't needed, but there was always that .1% that could happen.

Apparently, this was it.

Unaffected by the sudden lurching of the ship and the sudden cut-out of the gravity, Gahler was able to throw the ship into evasive maneuvering purely as instinct.

The ship still took another hit before the sensors fully registered what was going on and Gahler was able to interpret the sensor readings.

The ship had apparently emerged from J-space into the middle of a space battle--six ships on one side, 4 on the other. Additionally, the shields had come up automatically so the last hit hadn't done any damage.

A moment later, the back-up grav generators kicked in, restoring gravity to the whole ship.

"Orders captain?! We seem to be stuck in the middle!"


"Take evasive action Pilot!"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:21, Wed 15 Apr 2020.

As the sensors come fully on-line and begin displaying the status of surrounding space, it becomes clear that the four ships are from Tremous Dex. That, at least, is what their transponders say.

Oddly, the other ships either don't have transponders or they've been shut off/disconnected. Seems odder still when visuals clearly show a symbol and lettering on the sides of the ships, apparently representing some government force. It's not immediately determinable what government that is, though.

"Shields?" Luise said in surprise. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, SHIELDS?!" she nearly yelled at the display console.

"When the hell did we get shields? HOW did we get shields? And what the hell are 'shields'?" she demanded of everyone and no one.

She hit the comm switch.

"This is the free trader Frumious Bandersnatch! We're not on any side! So stop shooting at us!"

Harry ran to the computer consoles to read the readouts as well, the talk of shields confusing him.

Roland immediately went over his readouts and powerplants adjusting power for the drives and such so that they could get out of here.

Even as Gahler does his evasive maneuvering and Harry checks out the computers, one of the Tremous Dex ships gets targeted by two of the attackers... and blows up.

"This is Captain Zarn of the Tremous Dex Defense Ship Stormstriker!" came a reply over the comms. "We're being attacked by Federation of Arden ships! Either help us or get out of here!"

"Someone get on the guns!" Luise yells over the comms. "If anyone shoots at us, SHOOT BACK!"

In reply to Luise Wechsler (msg # 38):

"I'm the best gunner, I'll take it!" Harry ran for the turret and crawled inside and strapped himself in and powered up at the same time. "Let's get out of here!"

When Harry had been looking at the computer screens, he'd discovered a section of the display that he'd never seen before. For that matter, no one else had, either.

It was a dynamic display, and he can see the corner button that 'turned it off'. In retrospect, it kind of made sense: what did a restaurant need with shields? It wasn't until the ship took fire that automatic protocols brought it online again. Of course, if anyone had known it was there, they could have activated it at any time.

Since it seems perfectly integrated into the existence display, it probably means it was of original Darrian design.

He had a brief chance to calculate the readings... it would seem to translate into a 20-point shield. Not all that impressive, but effective against light weapons.

Harry rotates the turret to point at the Federation of Arden ships as they accelerate. Holding his fire until they are fired on.

She certainly wasn't going to be of much help on the bridge, and she certainly didn't want to get in the way, but she hating not knowing what was going on!

Fortunately, the ship's evasive maneuvering didn't over-extend the inertial compensators... or whatever the system was called really. Technical terminology nearly bored her to tears... ooo... maybe there was a song in there?

She hurried to the bridge, making sure she stayed out of everyone else's way.

"Nothing like this happens in the recording studio!" she quips as she watches the viewscreen.

"Fraggin' crappola!" Luise swears. "Damned if we do, damned if we don't!"

"Since we're wanting to put into port here, if we managed to avoid the Arden ships, not sure we'd be particularly welcome on Tremous Dex. Don't know shrap about these damned shields, and I'm sure they'll cut out just when we need them, but as long as we've got them, let's put them to use. Harry, target the nearest Arden ship and fire when you have a solution!"

"Gahler, we're going from evasive defense to an aggressive attack run. I sure hope you know how to do that!"

She then activates the ship's intercom.

"Attention all hands! We're going into combat! Man your battle stations and buckle up!"

"Firing Captain!"

13:08, Today: Harry McStubbin rolled 8 using 2d6+4 with rolls of 3,1.  to hit.

Forge headed to the bridge to provide security.

Harry manages to hit one of the 'enemy' ships, but he has no idea how much damage he's done. Just as Forge reaches the Bridge, the Bandersnatch takes another hit but the shields seem to have absorbed it as all that anyone feels inside is a slight shudder.

Having realized that the Bandersnatch has some sort of defensive shield, two of the enemy ships start to converge on it. Harry, not wanting to be caught in a double-team, fires again at one of the ships.

15:34, Today: StarMaster, on behalf of Harry McStubbin, rolled 11 using 2d6+4 ((1,6)).

This time, he makes an even better hit. The other ship blurs for a minute before suddenly exploding.

The second ship manages to hit the Bandersnatch again, but, like last time, it only produces a shudder.

Perhaps realizing that they are now outmatched, the remaining enemy ships turn tail and run. In two minutes, they vanish into J-space.

After determining that the running space battle was over, Steve steps onto the bridge.

"What's this bull about our ship having shields?" he asks. "There's no such thing!"

Forge shook his head laughing at the comment. "At least we are finding out about it when we need it the most."

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 48):

"Keep lasers manned or stand down now?" Harry asked the captain.

"Stay on the lasers for now," Luise replies to Harry. "And someone find out what's up with these impossible shields! I've heard of black globes, but this is... hell, I don't know what this is. That's what I want to KNOW!"

"Meanwhile, I'll talk to our... hosts."

She switches the comms over to external broadcast.

"Hello, Captain Zarn. I'm Baroness Luise Wechsler. We're half far trader, half explorer, on our way to Foreven Sector. I apologize for crashing your little space battle party. Hope we didn't do any lasting harm."

"And, if you don't mind me asking, just who the hell is the Federation of Arden? Never heard of them where we came from."

==COMMS: "The Federation of Arden is a nearby system that has embarked on a program of expansion," Captain Zarn replies.

"I doubt if your assistance will deter them for long. They'll only come back with a great force."

"However, next time, we'll be ready for them."

"We thank you for that assistance, though. It will give us time. You are welcome to land on Tremous Dex and refuel your ship, resupply and engage in trade." :COMMS ==

Harry continues to be at the ready at his station, waiting for the stand down order now that the enemy fled. "Shoot any Arden ship that approaches I assume? Can't wait to land! Woot, got me one!"

Roland was in his vacc-suit with his weapon ready to defend the ship if boarded, he was visibly more relaxed now that the enemy ran away.

==COMMS: "Thank you, Captain Zarn. We'll do just that," Luise replies. "We can hold position a bit longer if needed." :COMMS==

When assured that there are no other Arden ships remaining in the system, she signs off.

Back on the ship's intercoms, she makes some new statements.

"Everybody can stand down now. The attackers have left the system."

"Gahler, set a course for Tremous Dex downport. Standard protocols should be in effect."

"Roland! Damage report! And as soon as we land on the planet, see what you can find out about our non-existent 'shields'."

"Arc, have we got any casualties? Make sure everybody's okay before we get to Tremous Dex."

"Harry, you might as well check the Net to see if there's anything to trade, particularly to the next leg of our journey."

"Steve, Forge, Oen-kek... prepare to repel boarders when we land... just in case they want the secret of our shields... which we don't have. Unless Roland can figure something out about them, in which case, we could possible trade that secret."

"Siyeon, you might as well tune in to the planet's music and see if you've got a market here."

"Adriannah, maybe you can assist Harry in his trade dealings."

"Luise out."

Roland goes about checking damage control, the shields came up so quick, there was no real damage. He wondered if the Darrians knew they scrapped shields into a restaurant!

Harry hooks into the local Trader's Guildhall to see if he could find a cargo headed to their next destination, Adriannah could work on selling the one they had first, then join in looking for a new one.

"Forge is doing a head count," Arc reports to the bridge, "but so far, only a bump on the head to Adriannah. Nothing serious that I can tell, but I'll keep an eye on her for a bit. Head wounds are always tricky since the brain gets sloshed around inside the cranium. If she shows any signs, I'll put her in the med bay for an MRI and sonogram. Arc out."

"If anyone has any interest in checking out the starport or planet, or doing a bit of shopping, just let me know," Luise announced. "I'm thinking, though, that we should employ the buddy system when leaving the ship."

"There might be Arden spies or sympathizers or advocates or even Fifth Columnists on planet. I'm sure word of our little exploit will be buzzing around the starport by the time we land."

"So, everyone... stay alert."

Harry made his way back to the bridge to stand watch.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:12, Sun 14 June 2020.

The ship continues to head inward towards the planet. While there aren't any space fireworks welcoming the crew, the ship does get priority clearance, though, considering the space traffic (or lack of), that's not such a big deal.

An inbound vector is transmitted to the ship, Gahler sets course and within an hour, the ship lands at the downport.

"If anyone needs a bodyguard, let me know." Forge said, still in armor from the warm reception the vessel received.

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 61):

"Stand by to protect the ship Forge, with Arden attacking us as we entered space here, there may be fifth columnists waiting to disrupt the starport. We need to be on alert while we are here."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:16, Sun 14 June 2020.

"Got it." Forge said "Maybe the next destination might be less hostile."

"Yeah, we opened a can of worms with those shields," Steve chimes in.

"The only reason we were attacked is because we came out of jump in the middle of the battle, and we only did that because we didn't come in on a standard jump route."

"On the one hand, I find it strange that we weren't told about the shields. Then again, it's possible that the previous owner didn't know about them either. After all, how many times did his restaurant get shot at by a spaceship?"

In reply to Steve Cable (msg # 64):

"Hehehehehehehehehe, never! I'm sure he didn't know it either or the price wouldn't have been right. He just missed us, we don't have shields, just remember that."

"I guess that's what all of the extra crap in the engines room is. The shield generator."

"You can repeat that theory all you want, Harry," Luise says, "and you might eventually believe it yourself, but I'm pretty sure the battle was captured on video by the other ships."

"At the very least, it might confuse the issue a bit. Half the people won't believe it anyway."

"However, you all have permission to sign autographs, especially Harry, since he's the one that shot the enemy ship."

"Steve, would you mind seeing that we get the proper refueling and service? We'll pick up some hooch for you."

In reply to Luise Wechsler (msg # 67):

"In and out quick I say. I'm going to go get something to eat" Hr heads to the galley.

"Well, it turns out that they've never heard of me or my music on this dirtball!" Siyeon announced as she prepared to disembark. "I'm going to go enlighten them!"

"And maybe see what is fashionable here. A girl can always use a new pair of shoes. After all, I don't have anything that goes with space combat!"

She strides out the airlock with Oen-Kek carrying her equipment.

"Anybody want to join me? Want me to pick up something for anyone?"

In reply to Siyeon Lee (msg # 69):

Harry tries to arrange for the sell of the cargo and look for more heading to Foreven. Adriannah would be a big help selling the cargo, but she don't seem to be around at the moment. He kept missing on connecting with her.

Adrianbah checked the operating log and noted Harry busy trying to sell their cargo and looking for an onload. 'Oh my, it looks like I'm not good enough trader... such a pitty... ' she thought

In reply to Adriannah Orilliah (msg # 71):

"There you are Adriannah, could you arrange to sell our current cargo and find a new one in the right direction, I have other things I need to do, and you're better at it than I am, or at least as good."

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 72):
It looked like you were enjoying yourself why stop now. Adriannah asked giving Harry a curiois smile then adding. Do you think thats a viable option?

In reply to Adriannah Orilliah (msg # 73):

"Do I think what is a viable option? I know you're a better diplomat with great abilities at persuasion than I. I'm a great broker, sorry persuader."

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 74):

Trading here... As a persuador you're more what would be classifed a Diplomat.

Luise makes enquiries about Darrian technical manuals, but nothing is available out here in the boondocks. Half the enquiries are met with blank stares; they've never even heard of the Darrians let alone know anything about them.

The hope was that a tramp freighter might have something, but, again, too far off the beaten path.

Luise has Roland buy the collapsible fuel tanks. He buys both external drop tanks and internal collapsible ones. The externals are to keep from taking up too much cargo space. One tank holds enough fuel for Jump-1, so two tanks will give you Jump-2 capabilities. The idea with the drop tanks is that once they are empty, you can just drop them in space.

Luise decides to stay in port for only two days. So if anyone has a pressing need/desire to stay in a hotel room for one night, that's fine.

Siyeon Lee and Oen-kek decide to leave the ship. Siyeon was suddenly inspired by this new fan base that wasn't familiar with her or any of her music. Apparently, she talked Oen-kek into being her stage manager/bodyguard.

Luise decides to go ahead and take all the cargo that's available, plus the mail. She arranges for it to get delivered to the ship and loaded into the cargo bay. That still leaves plenty of room for the collapsible fuel tanks.

She's still debating on whether to fill the drop tanks off here or not.

"One day? That's barely enough time to wet my whistle!" Steve grouses a bit at Luise's announcement.

"If that was meant as a challenge, then I accept!"

"For the next 24 hours, I'm going to hit every bar, pub and tavern in the starport! If it serves an inebriating beverage, I'll find it!"

"Anyone with me?"

"I'll stay on watch so the others can have liberty." he informs Luise. "Pick me up a case of brandy!"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:51, Thu 16 July 2020.

Harry arranges for delivery and installation of the drop tanks Luise gets, they were going to need plenty of fuel to get in the long jumps to Foreven. The cargo would pay for the trip so there was no debt.

"I'll go along Steve! We'll get good and soused and yes Harry, I'll pick up the brandy, as long as you pay for it now." he says with a wink.

Harry hands over his Credit Card, knowing more than the brandy would be included in the price.

Gahler checked the local net to see if he could arrange some Terran Chinese food delivery to the ship.  He'd been craving it for a bit.

In reply to Gahler Grohlson (msg # 82):

"Did I hear you say Chinese Gahler? My God that is my absolute favorite! Order me a Szechuan shrimp and rice with an eggroll if you can get it delivered! I'll have to pay you back because Rollie has my Credit Chit."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:09, Thu 16 July 2020.

"You got it.  I'm getting Peking Duck if they have it and the reviews look good," Grohlson said.  Duck didn't travel well if delivery couldn't be done quickly.  His fallback would be Sichuan pork.

"Get me some fried dumplings, make that a double order please. I have not had that in ages." Forge said as the orders were getting placed.

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 85):

"Finding a Chinese joint that delivers is one thing, finding one that makes duck and delivers is another! Good luck with that Peking Duck!" Harry warns Gahler.

"We have the technology to fly around in space ships.  If they can't pull off a self-heating Peking Duck, that's their fault,", Gahler said with a laugh.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:49, Fri 17 July 2020.

Considering all the food delivery services there are (today!), it's not hard to find a Chinese restaurant that makes Peking Duck in 7 different varieties and it can get delivered via ShipDash delivery service, one that specializes in delivering food to ships in the starport.

The best rated place is Nemo's Restaurante right there in the Starport. You'd have to go about 2,000 miles to the other place on planet that is equally rated, and while you could pay for delivery from there, it might not get to you before the ship left.

The order is delivered to the ship in 45 minutes and costs only 60 credits, which includes the delivery charge, but also comes with a lot of extras--rice, eggrolls, soup and fortune cookies.

Considering that there probably isn't anyone on this planet that has ever been to Earth, let alone China-that-was, it's pretty good Peking Duck.

"I don't think we can afford to upgrade the computer," Luise comms Adriannah after seeing the memo in her queue from Harry.

"We might be able to do a trade, but it'd take too long right now. Besides, I don't really want to be heading into unknown with an untested computer."

"Or were you merely talking about programs? If so, you have my permission to shop around the port for new ones. We can spare up to a million credits on that."

"Damn, I could have had Peking Duck, that's okay though, because the Szechuan shrimp was AWESOME!, Want some Adriannah? You see what Luise said about the computers? You can upgrade the software up to a million credits but not the computers themselves. Is upgrading the software worth it? If so, go ahead and use your initiative."

When the food arrived, Forge was happy see in the accessories, a few packages of chopsticks were included. Having used them a few times in the past when he was growing up, he quickly poured the sauce on the dumplings and started to eat. A few miss steps along the way as it has been a while since he last used them but the muscle memory quickly returned. In short work half the dumplings disappeared, leaving him with a content grin.

Getting confident with them, he then showed the crew how to eat rice, putting the small container close to him.

Harry used a fork! First he ate the veggies, followed in short order by the shrimp. The eggroll disappeared next and the leftover sauce from the shrimp was mixed with the rice and eaten! Mmmmm, that was good! A little rice beer followed to wash it down!

Gahler made sure to give these guys 5 Imperial Stars, or whatever the local rating system was.  This was good chow!

"Definitely a 5 star place! On a par with the TAS! Too bad Adriannah missed it! That was great."

Roland came back aboard a little wobbly a few hours later, carrying a case of good brandy for Harry. Something Rollie knew he would share with the rest of the crew.

Rollie, having a sweet tooth, also bought a case of chocolate chip cookies. He knew there would be a party when they got to the Foreven Sector. They would be leaving here soon.

"Let me take that off of your hands Rollie, fragile and all!." He takes the case of Brandy and his credit chit.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:46, Sat 18 July 2020.

 Adriannah cautiously peeked out of her cabin, checking to see if there was any immediate threat. The area was clear allowing her to move cautiously in the direction of the sounds. Pausing at corners she glanced around before proceeding.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:42, Mon 20 July 2020.

"Hey Adriannah, want some Chinese?! Hiding in your room this whole time?"

Adriannah was relieved that the roudies weren't what she'd envisaged.Why the racket! you guys win the Lottery or something...
This message was last edited by the player at 13:47, Mon 20 July 2020.

"Eating good food, drinking good beer. We're here for a bit so we're celebrating. Care to join us?. Steve and Rollie were out barhopping, Luise is taking it easy. Rollie I think is sleeping off a tie-on."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:17, Mon 20 July 2020.

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 100):

Adriannah appeared puzzle by Harry's statement. Celebrating because you're here... she hesitantly states then adds Is this Planet Important?
This message was last edited by the player at 01:51, Tue 21 July 2020.

"No, we're alive and on the ground, reason to celebrate. It's all good, it's all good! No one is twisting your arm to join us. All your choice."

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 102):

Thank you I welcome the invitation & opportunity giving Harry a warm smile. Is this practice local?
This message was last edited by the player at 05:06, Wed 22 July 2020.

"No, we do it planetside on occasion, usually special occasion. The occasion here is that we're alive and heading into the unknown of the Foreven Sector, here, have a cold beer and some fried rice if you want it. Gahler, Forge, and I decided to eat and drink to life! By the way, Gahler, pass me another beer as well." He hands the food and beer to Adriannah.

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 104):

Taking the offered food and beverage Adriannah samples each, assessing the flavor and nutrition they have.

How Adriannah reacts to the flavors is up to her, but the nutritional value is rather nil.

Steve is dragged back aboard the ship by a taxi driver 24 hours later... conscious, but staggeringly drunk... but happy! He claims to have visited 85 bars. At least, you think that's what he's saying. Plus, he's not sure he didn't visit some of them more than once. And, you aren't sure if 'Marina's House' is an actual bar or just someone's house.

Sufficient supplies have been laid in, the drop tanks are flying empty at this point, but one of the collapsible fuel bladders is filled.


The ship is ready to depart. Last chance for civilization for a couple of weeks!

"Stations everybody." Harry says over comms. "Ready when you are Luise. You can take astrogation Adriannah, I'll take sensors,"

With the ship getting ready to depart, Forge headed to the turret control and pulled up the training manual on the thing to read up on it in case heavier firepower was needed. At least it will give him something to do while in jump.

Adriannah moved to a workstation bringing up the relevant application and running a through the process.

Gahler strapped himself into a flight station and prepared to get his piloting skill on.  He started to sing an old Terran song as he did the pre-flight...

"Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away
If you can use some exotic booze
There's a bar in far Bombay
Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away

Come fly with me, let's float down to Peru
In llama-land there's a one-man band
And he'll toot his flute for you
Come fly with me, let's take off in the blue"

"That's good Gahler! Glad you can carry a tune. I only sing in the shower and it hurts my ears there too!" he says with a grin.

Cringing Adriannah slipped a pair of earplugs You think that doesn't hurt ears.

"Hehehehehehehehehehehehe, I think he did well!"

Hearing the song echoing through the craft, Forge hollered back. "He sang better than me, I sing to the key of "OFF!", but I sound better with more booze in my system." he quipped back.

"I always sing after a whiskey," Gahler said...

And with that, he started to pilot the spacecraft.

"Only to yourself Forge, only to yourself." He digs out his ears trying to get the noise out of them.

How often do you lot allow Grohlson access to Whisky... That was like listening to the sound of a pack of raging Duringes.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:06, Thu 30 July 2020.

Harry smiles back, "We keep the liquor cabinet locked in flight. Only dig the key out on the ground usually."

With no further business on the ground and no dissension, Luise gave the 'Go' sign to ASTC and is approved with no immediate air traffic in the vicinity.

"Go ahead and take her up, Gahler," Luise tells him. "You've got the vector on your helm--straight to the jump point."

"Nothing in the system that can reach us to challenge us, but keep a close eye on the sensors. I don't want any more surprises for awhile."

In reply to Luise Wechsler (msg # 119):

"Where to next Luise? Chance of making money?"

"Roger that," Gahler said as he pushed the throttles forward and tracked the target waypoint in his HUD.  Once clear of any possible traffic, he checked the sensors and double checked the transponder to make sure everything was in order.

"We're heading for Edinina," Luise answers. "It's an Amber Zone, but we're just going to refuel at the gas giant. So you'll need to adjust the destination coordinates, Adriannah. Also, since we aren't stopping for any appreciable amount of time, you might as well do the calcs for the next destination after that--Quare. No rush, and you'll probably have to tweak it a bit once we reach Edinina to take into account any spacial variations."

"Doubt if we'll get any automated updates from Edinina. I couldn't even find out any data on why there's even a population there. I'm guessing it's mining."

"Also, stay alert for Arden ships. Can't imagine why they'd target Edinina at this point, but, remember... NO SURPRISES!"

Adriannah acknowledged Luise's plan then started the online process, which was facilitaded by the Astrogation app on the ships internal mainframe.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:08, Sun 02 Aug 2020.

In reply to Adriannah Orilliah (msg # 123):


STEP 1: Efate to Grant         Jump-3; interdicted world; gas giant refuel
STEP 2: Grant to 871-438 Jump-3; gas giant refuel
STEP 3: 871-438 to Tremous Dex Jump-2; should be safe
STEP 4: Tremous Dex to Edinina Jump-3; Amber Zone; gas giant refuel
STEP 5: Edinina to Quare Jump-3; should be safe
STEP 6: Quare to Thanbar Jump-3; should be safe
STEP 7: Thanbar to Faisal Jump-2; might be a problem; no gas giant
STEP 8: Faisal to Bael         Jump-3; gas giant refuel
STEP 9: Bael to… 3217 or 3119 Jump-2 or 3 depending on intel we pick up

Werten 3217 P A343942-A Hi, In, Na, Po A G
Sieven 3119 R C451454-8 Ni, Po


"We sell our current cargo on Quare. If we find a good shipyard Luise, can we pick up a particle accelerator barbette? I vote Werten for our first destination in Foreven."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:21, Wed 05 Aug 2020.

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 124):

Roland keeps the engines running smoothly. Checking the computer for fuel mix, polishing the chrome which was in abundance. It was clear she was a custom job in his eyes.

OOC - Rob, is the ship in the 'Game map' thread the Frumious Bandersnatch?
This message was last edited by the player at 18:22, Wed 05 Aug 2020.

Yes it is. You had the guns installed on it.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 126):

The laser turrets right? How about a particle accelerator Barbette?

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 127):

OOC - Train in Electronics and robotics so we can have some helping hands around here! While in jump space.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:27, Sat 08 Aug 2020.

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 124):

Adriannah smiled Sounds like you've a detailed wish list.

In reply to Adriannah Orilliah (msg # 129):

Very, you? You got a detailed wish list? I want to trade with impunity, explore with impunity too. I want to be able to travel where I want without much fear of being attacked."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:49, Thu 13 Aug 2020.

"Werten? Are you naming planets already?" Arc asks Harry. "What if we get there and its already inhabited and the people call it Skronk?"

"We probably should do some cross-training, unless we hire more crew. I suggest everyone have at least two areas that they are qualified for. Of course, that means we need to make a list of what areas we're talking about."

"What, you don't like that they call their planet Werten? I got a library update for a few sub-sectors from a scout I know. Cross training is a good idea Arc, a very good idea." He smiles at Arc as he says this.

"Thanks for sharing that update with the rest of us," Arc replies, "particularly Luise... you know, THE CAPTAIN?"

"Considering the travel times, even for Scouts, there could have been a dozen changes of government on Werten by the time we get there. Or there could be a war going on. We barely just avoided one of those, and we've been running from the Frontier War ever since we got together. We don't seem to be too keen in getting involved in a war, although now that we have shields, at least we have a chance of surviving."

"Sure, cross-training is a good idea, but that's assuming we don't already have those bases covered. At the very least, we need at least 2 pilots, 2 astrogators, 2 engineers and 2 gunners."

In reply to Arc Tangent (msg # 133):

"I'd like to need 3 gunners, I want a particle accelerator installed to discourage pirates."

"I'm a gunner, a VERY good gunner, and broker, VERY good broker too. I need to learn more about the ship so I'll cross train and learn comms and computers a little better too. I already know how to do them, just need to learn to do it with my eyes closed."

"Luise has them already, I can't make her use them."

"I'll work on Astrogation then Engineering and computers."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:54, Sat 15 Aug 2020.

Since you really only have to 'pilot' the ship while in Normal Space, not Jump Space, Gahler will work on his Steward skill while in J-Space.  He'll use his TL-A Steward's tool kit to make meals by hand!

TL-A Steward's Toolkit [Self Sharpening Chef's Knives, Robotic Peeler
 and Mandolin, Reusable Microcleaners, 711th Generation Roombaa, Autosew,
 Smart Steam Bag, Shoe Autopolisher, etc.]

In reply to Gahler Grohlson (msg # 135):

"Cool! I'd love to get into robotics, but that is down the road. I'm already an Astrogator and computer guy, just want to improve those skills. Engineering and robotics would be a boon."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:17, Mon 17 Aug 2020.

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 136):

"I could use a little help in engineering, thanks for that."

"Put me wherever you need me." Forge said "Other than a bit of engineering skill and pushing paperwork, I am only useful in boarding actions."

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 138):

"Sounds like you just volunteered to help Roland in Engineering!" Harry says to Forge.

"Sounds like a plan, Forge!" Arc says.

"Have you got a particular area in mind that might want to focus on? There's always a debate about whether Jump-Drive or Life Support is the most important. If your Jump-Drive malfunctions or breaks down, you could wind up in the middle of nowhere, and it would take you years to get somewhere survivable. No one's life support lasts that long."

"The argument for Life Support is that you have to stay alive long enough to get somewhere or else get rescued."

"Always reminds me of the old 'glass half full vs. glass half empty' routine. Both miss the point--the glass is refillable! Ha-ha-ha."

"Well, I'm going to continue my studies in biology, and then I think I'll switch to sensors... to fill out my suite of electronics skills."

"Speaking of which, does anyone have Remote Operations?"

In reply to Arc Tangent (msg # 140):

"I don't have Remote Ops. Arc. Roland is currently working on his J Drive proficiency. I plan on getting some little helpers in Engineering and clean up duty. I'm going to build some robots when I can afford to. Need some Electronic skill to for that I guess, as well as remote ops."

"Getting someone else with Life Support would be good, Roland can't do it all.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:35, Tue 18 Aug 2020.

"That's true of just about everyone," Steve comments.

"Even if someone is trained in all the Electronics fields, if more than one system needs repaired at the same time, it takes more than one person."

"I'm going to work on my Astrogation skill and then maybe how to be stealthy."

In reply to Steve Cable (msg # 142):

"Excellent Steve, I just want to be the best engineer ever!

I guess Adriannah decided it wasn't for her, Hey Adri, what skills you going to learn?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:18, Tue 18 Aug 2020.

Adriannah listens to the chatter asbout skills, which sounds like wishful thinking I'll be improving the skills I have.

In reply to Adriannah Orilliah (msg # 144):

"Good, you'll be an expert at everything you know then, thats good. We have enough jacks of all trades masters of none."

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 145):

Oh great another of 'those' types... thought Adriannah as she headed to the galley for a cuppa.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:05, Thu 20 Aug 2020.

The first week passes uneventfully; no one kills anyone else in the crew.

The ship drops out of J-space at the 100-diameter limit of Edinina's small gas giant, Karimissaak. According to the astrogation data, Edinina's eccentric orbit carries it through the gas giant's ring about 3 times a year. At this time, it's at apogee, and Karimissaak is at aphelion around the binary star. It makes astrogation rather tricky, but even a minor misjump doesn't tend to be dangerous.

There's almost nothing detected here as far as ships or orbital facilities. There's one ore hauler in orbit, and a small mining facility on the planet.

Skimming the gas giant to refuel also proceeds uneventfully. It's soon time to jump again... onward to Quare.

And you're stuck with each other for another week!

"Halfway to Foreven! Quare next. Sale our cargo and refresh our stores! My cigars are getting low as is my Brandy. Anyone need to do any shopping on Quare while we sale our cargo and find a new one. Mail and some speculative would be nice."

"Quare looks like a good place to test of my vacc suit katas and drills.  It's 100 percent hard vacuum, just like funky cold Edinina," Gahler said as he looked over the world data for their next stop.  "Only they've got a lot more people there."

Harry and Roland continue to work on their skills to get in their two weeks of training before test time on the computer. Learning a skill was tough, practice, practice, practice, read and test. It was quite thorough!

Forge was busy studying for the engineering test, when he was not busy learning the various components.

Arc continues his studies as well. He tries extra hard not to hope that something goes wrong... just something minor to break up the monotonous routine... maybe change a light bulb or something.

"Wonder if we'll pick up any new data at Quare?" he asked idly at meal time.

Harry goes about his job very professionally, he began studying ahead for their next destination to see what might sell, not knowing enough. He had no problem consulting Adriannah, she was smart and beautiful. He enjoyed her company, he hoped she enjoyed his, but was less than sure about that.

Harry looked Thanbar up in the library as it was next after Quare. Mail would be safe so would a standard shipped cargo. They didn't have to speculate all the time, though it equated to a higher profit if all went well. They could lose money too.

Listening to Harry her opinion about Aspects, Market trends and such of the various destinations, prompted a smile. She was able to keep up with his speculations, albeit some of the nuances of his findings required consideration, being derived from Brokering knowledge & abilities which surpassed her own megar capability.

In reply to Adriannah Orilliah (msg # 154):

"What do you think Adriannah, speculate, or just carry standard cargo until we get where we're going? I can barely wait to see what the Foreven Subsector will hold for us. The Zhodani are there too so we need to be careful.""

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 155):

Humm... which should it be, In for a... or Look before... Your much more able to determine the better option. 

In reply to Adriannah Orilliah (msg # 156):

"Ahhhh, but I'm delegating my authority and leaving it to you. If you trust yourself? Suggestions, Let's hear what you think."

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 157):

Adriannah gives a chuckle and shake of her head. How is that men think they have such authority. Well that's a fine how do you do. she commented  fixing Harry with an inquisitive eye. Did you clear that with your boss
This message was last edited by the player at 14:46, Fri 28 Aug 2020.

In reply to Adriannah Orilliah (msg # 158):

"I'm the broker, I make the decision on this. I accept input from the captain, and obey on all other things, but this is mine and I'm trying to teach it to you as well. Sometimes and education is expensive, sometimes not so much. We can speculate a cargo and risk losing money or breaking even, or we can carry freight and get paid a fixed amount of profit."

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 159):

Interesting how you are using a  randomization methodology. Deciding to facilitate this process Adriannah steps over to the screen, closes her eyes and carefully rests her thumb  and index finger on the screen.  Glancing at where they are resting she reads off what indicated.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:13, Fri 04 Sept 2020.

"I feel like I'm spinning my wheels here."

"You are probably right, Harry," Luise responds.

"Freight from Quare to Thanber is the best bet. Thanber is a corporate world with no atmosphere, as Forge said. Well, faint and tainted. Not much population."

"They are either living in domes on the surface or underground."

"Mining is the major industry there, but there's also a major terraforming project underway."

"There's just not a big enough population and trade base for speculative cargo to be profitable, particularly with the high import tariffs"

"On the other hand, some luxuries might be good, some staples like toilet paper, and water is definitely needed. We might even consider donating that."

"We'll have to see what kind of freight is getting shipped."

In reply to Luise Wechsler (msg # 162):

"Never kill us to donate a hold of water and TP."

Adriannah gives a shrug then heads back to her cabin.

In reply to Adriannah Orilliah (msg # 164):

Harry arranges for 25 tons of Toilet Paper and 100 tons of water to be readied to transport to Thanber. The donation is good for public relations and it will be cheap, time to give back a little, but only if they can't find profitable cargo.

Farm equipment or parts for their CO² filters is a possibility for Faisal too.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:47, Sat 19 Sept 2020.

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 165):

Harry arranges for 25 tons of Toilet Paper and 100 tons of water to be readied to transport to Thanber. The donation is good for public relations and it will be cheap, time to give back a little.

He snags up some CO² filters for Faisal too. He would donate them as well. He would look for cargo on Thanber.

The week in J-space to reach Quare goes as expected--boring and too long.

But then the alert for exit sounds almost all too soon.

Within 30 seconds, the ship receives the standard transponder request, which, as far as the console shows, has already been transmitted. This is because the communication/sensor satellite is farther away than normal. It detected the J-space transition and issued its request before it received the ship's transponder signal.

It's not a big deal; it happens sometimes. You're just way out in the sticks.

There are advantages to having a starport in orbit. In the case of Quare, they outweigh the problems of having it down on the airless planet.

There seems to be no problem with your approach to the highport--a vector is automatically transmitted to the ship, which includes a docking bay assignment. Since all you're doing here is refueling and taking on cargo, that's just standard protocol.

An hour or so later, your ship docks at the indicated bay.


When you look into what kind of freight is available for shipment to Thanber, you find there's nothing. It's strictly a mining world with two small dome cities on the surface and three extensive underground cities.

It's a vacuum desert world. It could USE some water and toilet paper!

"Damn! I've been in space too long!" Luise says when she sees the data feed from the planet!

"How the hell did I get the two worlds transposed? Somehow, I was reading the data for Quare and thought it was for Thanber. And vice versa."

"Well, we aren't going to get much in terms of supplies. Anything that's here will be expensive, and there won't be much in quantity."

"However... there might be freight waiting to be trans-shipped to Thanber. One can only hope."

In reply to Luise Wechsler (msg # 168):

"Hmmmm, I should have done better research myself Luise. I didn't use my initiative to double check what you said. Standard freight and mail if there is any, or just jump without cargo I guess. We can't get it right every time, as long as we're right 95% of the time." he says with a smile.

13:30, Today: Harry McStubbin rolled 9 using 2d6+5 with rolls of 2,2.  broker.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:31, Mon 28 Sept 2020.

"Any chance for shore leave?" Forge asked when the ship arrived at the dock. "Maybe we can find something that needs our talents."

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 170):

Harry stayed on the ship this stop, he'd be security so others could go ashore.

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 171):

"Let's get a cold beer Forge, I need a drink!"

"Works for me." Forge said as he headed out with Roland to get something to drink and see what is going on. Maybe there was a patron that need some help that the group might be able to handle.

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 173):

"Lucky Jack's? It's here in the Starport with our kind, get whatever is cold and on tap! I was here once when I was in the service!"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:47, Sun 04 Oct 2020.

In reply to Roland Steel (msg # 174):

Harry checked to see if there was any freight or mail for Thanber. Hopefully they could salvage a little bit from this jump to make a profit.

"Sounds good, and real food would be nice for a change, not prepackaged." Forge said to Roland.

Lucky Jack's is, for all intents and purposes, a Spacer's dive. There's not enough traffic through Quare Highport to support anything better or larger, but the quality of food and drink isn't bad... what there is of it. Variety is only about a third of what you'd find in a normal bar. That mostly has to do with how long it takes to reorder.

You don't look like high-end customers, so all that's offered on the menu is carni-culture synthebeef. There really isn't any place on the planet to grow food animals, even if that was done any more.

Determined merely by observation, there appear to be a few 'regulars' at the bar. There's a game of poker going on at one of the tables in the back corner.

The decor is Early Modern Industrial liberally accented with rust--patina the decorators call it.

No sooner than you've ordered your food and drink than a stranger slides into one of the extra seats.

He looks like a Spacer in need of a shave, wearing worn and greasy gray coveralls. On the other hand, his hands and nails are clean, and his face doesn't have any of the telltale dirt streaks of dirt and grime that are the usual marks of an engineer.

"If you can spare a few minutes of your time, I'm buying drinks for everyone," he begins.

"The name's Arlo Thresh, assistant engineer on the ISS Dreadful. That's the big ship parked outside. We're on station because of Arden. Don't expect to be here much longer. Figure Arden will invade as soon as we leave."

"Found something on one of the gas giant moons that should be... investigated." At that point, he lowers his head and whispers. "Ancient."

"And I am guessing that it would be helpful if it was checked out while there is still a chance, before Arden comes and pays a social call." Forge said in a low voice, more use to boarding actions and not scouting. "You paying, so you have my ear, what is the scuttlebutt?" he asked.

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 178):

Roland listened to the tale too, half interested. As long as he was buying he'd at least pretend to listen.

It wasn't that he had been stuck with ship duty, but he didn't like the look of this highport. It looked like it was about to fall out of the sky at any moment! It wasn't; it took more than decrepit looks to do that. So, he'd gone through all the files and reports about the place. In the end, he couldn't find anything bad to say about the place, but he did find a couple of mentions of scavvers--scavenger rats, people looking to scavenger or scrounge or outright steal anything that wasn't nailed down.

So, he double checked the security protocols before exiting the ship. He need a couple of drinks... just to be 'sociable.

Not many choices in this backwater highport. There were always dives, even deep dives. Somehow, spacers always found a way to make hooch.

He found Lucky Jack's. It didn't even claim to be a bar and grill, or even just a bar; it was simply Lucky Jack's. He quickly spotted Harry and the others as eh entered. He didn't have much hope for finding a real steak, but then again, sometimes these out of the way places surprised you. If the food was too bad, no one wanted to hang around, workers were lazy and work was shoddy.

"So, this is what you guys are up to!"

Then he noticed the other guy... who was definitely not one of the crew! And the whispering.

"What'd I miss?"

"Not much, he just started, sounds like he wants to get us involved in trouble, I don't know about that."

"Okay, so the Dreadful was out patrolling the system, more like an exercise," Arlo continues to whisper, "when the captain decided we needed to practice refueling at one of the gas giants."

"Personally, if you ask me, I think he was just bored. Wanted to see some action. Thinks he's regular Hornblower. He's not, but he takes it out on his crew."

"So, we're doing the refueling and he was testing everyone by having us perform odds and ends. Me, I had to do a space walk to polish the name on the hull. No biggie, you know? But, see, while I'm out there, just as I finish up the polishing... better than even what the captain wanted, if I say so myself, I turn to head back to the airlock. I pause for a moment just to take a look at the gas giant and one of the moons coming around the curve of the planet. I got kind of caught up on the moment, you know?"

"So I see this feature on the moon. It was like a canyon or a big crevasse... whatever. And I spot this... building. It was built right into the side of the canyon, like those old cliff dwellers."

"When I get back inside, I check the sensors to see if I was imagining it. And it don't show up on the sensors! So, I think, yeah, just my imagination playing tricks with the shadows. I couldn't shake the image, though, so I wait for it to come around again and there it is again! And it still don't show up on sensors! It's only visible from a narrow angle."

"Didn't think to take a picture then. I would have the next time it came around, but we'd finished refueling and we hauled ass out of them... one of the captain's emergency procedure drills."

"We kept busy around the system for about a month and then came back to station. I've been waiting for a ship to dock that I felt had some potential... partners."

He pauses then to see what everyone's response is.

"What's your cut? Which gasser and pong? Any atmo? Is there room for an arf?" Forge asked, with the thought of doing something other than being cooped in a merchant ship, besides reading the manual on the turret.

"You got vacation time? Maybe you can join us since you are a scout. Might be a promo if you play your cards right." He added, trying to get an idea as to the risk.

OOC:
Gasser - Gas Giant
Pong - Moon (referencing a ping pong ball)
Arf - Air raft

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 183):

Roland listened but was unimpressed, but then again, it could be Ancients!

In reply to Roland Steel (msg # 184):

The more he listened, the more interested Roland became. It could be a serious opportunity for them, but he let Forge do the talking.

"What? You think I'm daft?" Arlo replies. "I got the info, you got the ship."

"Yeah, I figured I'd go with you, but, hell, if I play my cards right, screw the promotion! I'll just retire!"

"I'm thinking there must be lots of good stuff out there. The location alone would be worth a lot, but probably not enough to retire on, not when we split it. But, put our hands on some artifacts... the sky's the limit on them!"

"Not sure where we'd sell them, being out here in the Big Empty."

"Of course, it might not be the Ancients at all. Could be something else. Every once in a while you hear a rumor about another race that was out this way--the D'Nari. Just rumors, but you never know."

"So, you interested in making a deal? We can do it up like a mining claim."

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 186):

"I'd be interested, but you'd have to run it by the captain too, and the rest of the crew will follow if she agrees."

"If she agrees to what?" Luise said as she joined them at the table, drink in hand.

"Didn't think you'd get that far ahead of me already!"

When it was explained to her in hushed tones, she thought about it for a minute before she replied.

"I don't see any problem with that. Breaks up the routine. This way, we won't have to spacewalk and paint the ship pink."

"Without knowing specifics, of course, I estimate we'll have a minimum of six hours to check out the mine, see if it's been depleted, before we have to bug out in case Big Daddy comes looking. That'd give us plenty of time to reach the Limit without having to risk a screw-job."

She was speaking in a sort of code just in case. Deniability.

Harry finds that there are 7 lots of 20 tons each going to Thanber. They are all minor cargoes at 3,000Cr per ton. There's no time limit on them. It is apparently cargo ordered by Thanber. Out here, it's practically expected that it'll take up to a year to get something shipped in.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 189):

I think we can take 6 at 360,000Cr. Correct me if I'm wrong SM.

"Works for me, then again, I will be the knuckle dragger to keep you guys out of trouble. Count me in." Forge said.

"So. Do you know how to write up a mining claim, Arlo? Or do we just use a standard mining agreement from the archives?" Luise asks.

"We're not on any schedule, so whenever you're ready. Clearly, though, we shouldn't hang around here too long. People will start to wonder, considering what a hotbed of excitement this place is. I looked up Quare in the database--it said 'see drudgery'."

Harry forgot that you picked up 76 tons of cargo on Tremous Dex. You haven't had any place to unload it yet. That only leaves you 50 tons of cargo space empty.

Also, the freight isn't anything you have to pay for--you get paid when you deliver it.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 193):

sorry.

"I'm no legal eagle, but I've throw together a few mining claims in my day," Arlo replies.

"I've got unused leave time and the ship's kind of on hold; that is, it ain't going anywhere soon unless something crazy happens. So, I can take off whenever I want."

In reply to Arlo Thresh (msg # 195):

"Sounds good to me, what do you think captain?" Rollie asks Luise.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 193):

We'll deliver 2 of them then, 40 tons. 120,000Cr for us.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:48, Wed 21 Oct 2020.

"I'm in. Depending on distance, do we want to microjump or use standard acceleration?" Steve asks.

"Microjump is going to put us close to two weeks travel if we're bringing Arlo back."

"If we hit the jackpot, it's possible that we won't be coming back here. Is that going to be a problem for you, Arlo?"

"And that's especially true if we have to jump out for some reason."

"Might want to use standard acceleration. No use popping out in the middle of a war zone." Forge suggested.

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 199):

"What do you think Captain? We going for it? When do you want to kick off?"

"Two weeks could be a problem, but if we don't come back, it probably won't matter," Arlo responds. "I can always comm my resignation to them. While they have the right to refuse it, it'd be pointless for them to do so when they'd know I wasn't coming back. Besides, I ain't 'essential' personnel anyway."

He pulls out his epad, types on it for a few minutes, and then shows the result to the others.

"Standard mining claim form. It splits anything found equally between the two parties--your ship and me. That work for you? You'll notice that the exact location isn't mentioned yet. I'll fill that in once we're about half way there."

"Any questions?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:24, Wed 04 Nov 2020.

In reply to Arlo Thresh (msg # 201):

"Up to the captain in the end Arlo, but it works for me." He takes a swallow from his beer and sits the mug down on the table.

"It could be nothing, or it could make us rich!"

"Looks good to me," she replies to both Roland and Arlo.

She doesn't bother mentioning that there wasn't anything to keep them from spacing Arlo after the halfway point. He didn't seen unscrupulous to her, and she was pretty sure none of them appeared that way to him. In that sense, he'd been smart to select a ship captained by a Baroness.

Besides, he probably had some sort of contingency plan in place, just in case. She'd certainly have one if she was dealing with strangers.

On the other hand, it could be a trap. He could be working with pirates. His story sounded totally legit, but it'd have to in order to lure a ship out.

On yet another hand, he probably didn't know about the ship's shields... or any of its other capabilities and surprises, so if pirates did attack, they'd be in a for a very rude awakening.

She made a mental note to have Steve keep an eye on Arlo just in case.

"Yeah, we'll head out at sublight. Departure in... 2 hours? We can claim we want to test out our upgraded fuel scoops and processors at the gas giant."

"Two hours? Aye - aye captain!" Roland drinks the last of his beer and slams the stein and heads for the ship to make ready for flight, he'll let the captain give the flight alert, who would listen to him!

In reply to Roland Steel (msg # 204):

When Harry got the recall order, he called and cancelled the 2 containers of cargo, not enough time now. He'd get with them later if he could.

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 205):

Harry got the refuel done and the Life support serviced as quick as he could, readying for flight. He wondered what Luise had found that was getting them off of this rock so damn fast.

Having another drink for the road, Forge headed back to the ship to get ready, starting by putting on his armor.

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 207):

Roland got back to the ship in record time and got ready for lift-off. He began the start sequence to fire the maneuver drives since they did not intend to jump and began to polish the chrome and clean. When he was done you could eat off the floor, no dust or dirt, anywhere!

Thirty minutes before their scheduled departure time, Luise checked to make sure everyone was on board, including their 'guide' Arlo.

When Arlo made an appearance on the bridge, Luise asked:

"Everything go okay? Just checking. I don't want us to get shot at as we leave because they think we've kidnapped you!"

"Ha-ha... ha... I don't know whether to laugh at that or be worried," Arlo replies, "but, no, everything's fine. Just told them I needed a few days off. No one even asked what I was going to do on my days off."

"They don't need as many people when they're on station. It's almost a joke to find work for everyone. It takes a really competent captain to do so, or to ignore the crew that aren't working. Alas, Captain Strang isn't one of them."

In reply to Arlo Thresh (msg # 210):

Harry took his station at the astrogation seat and went to setting their course to the moon/world that they were headed to. When Arlo told him.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:17, Thu 12 Nov 2020.

There wasn't any point in him putting in the course because the others would figure out the destination anyway, so he just said:

"Set a course for the 2nd gas giant out. It's called Thunder. The first one is called Lightning and the third one is called Tiny. It's going to take about six days to get there, unless this ship's got a secret or two."

Harry set the course. Soon he would find out what was going on.

"What's up Captain? Who is this?"

Once they were under way, Luise called all the crew together. The ship was on autopilot now and should be okay for a few minutes.

"For those of you who weren't at the bar, this is Arlo Thresh," she began. "For the moment, he's a guest and a crewmen on that Imperial gunship docked at the station."

"Circumstances caused him to spot a possible Ancient site on one of the moons of the gas giant. Those same circumstances kept him from reporting the find to his superiors. So he came to us as possible partners. I agreed."

"Since we aren't on any schedule to get somewhere, and the trip has been rather... monotonous so far, I figured this was a good way to break up the routine, even if it turns out to be nothing."

"According to Arlo, this site doesn't register on sensors, and it's only visible from a certain angle. So, without him, we could search for years and never find it."

"Now, I'll be the first to admit that it doesn't seem to match any other Ancient places we've stumbled across, so this could be something else entirely, even just a trick of the lighting."

"Anyone have any thoughts or questions about it?"

Harry nods and looks over Arlo, taking it all in. An Ancient site, could be interesting, as long as it doesn't interfere with getting to their final destination in Foreven too long.

Hmmmm, could be worth a fortune if it pans out he thought to himself.

"I have no problem if it brings in some credits for each of us." Forge said

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 216):

"I know I like it and am completely in favor of it!"

"Sounded like a plan to me, too!" Steve chimed in. "Just a word of caution, though--we might get some immediate funds from it, but any great fortune could take years to realize. Usually, you have to take a percentage or just negotiate a finder's fee."

"Also, it depends on jurisdiction. We check to see who holds the legal claim to the system. In general, only a colonized world can be claimed. No one can actually claim an entire system, though governments do it all the time. It's a technicality, though. What they really claim is the colonized world or worlds. If there's belt mining going on, that's included."

"Something else to keep in mind--no plan survives contact with the enemy. If you have expectations, they'll probably get dashed. So, either don't have any or have them so low or ridiculous that it won't matter if things don't turn out that way."

In reply to Steve Cable (msg # 218):

Harry nods at Steve's advice, it was good! He hadn't heard what Arlo said yet, so he reserved his expectations.

The next six days pass uneventfully except that they only take 5 days. There's 2 reasons for that which Roland determines. The first is that the orbits are closer than expected due to a lack of astronomical updates. The second is that the engines perform a bit better than expected, better than they should be capable of.

Roland discovers that they are somehow connected to the shield generator.

As you near the gas giant, Arlo tells you which moon it is you need to go to.

Circling the moon, your sensors register nothing out of the ordinary. It takes three orbits before Arlo recognizes the canyon where he spotted the supposed Ancient 'ruins'. The canyon is long and narrow and about 300 feet deep. It was probably caused by gravitational stress from the gas giant.

Only when the ship hits just the right angle are the 'ruins' visible.

Clearly they aren't in ruin, but at the moment, you have no idea what else to call this place. It's built into the side of the canyon. Visual scans are able to determine that it is 140 feet high and 310 feet long.

You can see what appear to be windows in it. There is a geometric pattern 'carved' or 'cast' into the surface. It appears to be architectural rather than structural.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 220):

"Hmmm, absolutely intriguing, they are definitely 'ruins' and not an anomaly. Someone or something made them. Great eyes Arlo!"

"I can't really take credit for that," Arlo responds. "To be honest, I was half expecting it not to be here... that it was all just a figment of my imagination."

"It was all coincidence. The ship being here, the captain being an ass, me space-walking, the moon in just the right orbit, the sun at just the right angle... If it had shown up on sensors, I would have reported it."

"So, what's the plan now?"

"So much for thinking this through!" Luise groused. "There's no way this ship is going to fit down there, not even sideways. And we don't have a shuttle or even an air/raft."

"I'm open to suggestions."

In reply to Luise Wechsler (msg # 223):

"Grav belts? Do we have them in the Ship's Locker? Should."

"That is a awful long walk home if they fail." Forge said looking out the view port "How close can we get this ship? If we find anything, we will have to haul it back. Maybe do a sensor sweep and see if there is another entrance?" he suggested.

"How about exploring with a drone?" Harry suggests. Grav belts that Roland suggested for getting them down there might work too.

"Good idea, Roland," Luise said, "but unless you bought some and put them in there, I don't think there's any in there."

"On the other hand... did we bother taking an inventory of the Ship's Locker when we took over? It was a restaurant... had been for years... so, I suspect we all thought it'd be full of leftover restaurant supplies."

"My fault. As captain, I should have checked on that."

"On the other other hand, that's about all I could think of, too, Forge. We should be able to land atop the canyon and then rappel down... if we have enough rope. I estimate it's about a 100-meter drop to the first window."

"Speaking of windows, did anyone spot a door?"

"I wasn't really expecting to haul anything large out of the place. And remember, Forge, this place doesn't register on sensors. We've already flown around the moon three times trying to find Arlo's canyon. Nothing showed up. We can make another orbit... this time focusing on looking visually for anything that might be considered a door."

"Do we have drones, Harry? Doesn't sound like those'll work anyway. If sensors can't detect it, then we'd lose control of the drone as soon as it entered."

In reply to Luise Wechsler (msg # 227):

"Hmmm, do we have rappelling equipment and rope even? I think we came ill prepared and need to get some stuff first." Harry said with a sad look on his face.

At Luise's prompt, Arc had begun running through all the areas on the ship that he'd visited, trying to recall if there was anything he'd seen that could be used.

"Cargo nets!" he blurted out. "I'm pretty sure we have enough of them to reach that far down. I don't know if we ever did an inventory on them, but we add what we needed when we loaded cargo. Even if we have to pull off what's there... temporarily."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Luise responded. "I couldn't believe we had an entire starship at our fingertips and couldn't figure this out!"

"Okay, Gahler, take us around the moon again. Everyone, keep an eye on the viewports and cameras for anything out of the ordinary."

"Steve, check the sensor readouts. They may not be registering anything individually, but see if there's any correlation between them. Let's see... we've got standard radar, GPR, lidar, neutrino sensors, mass detectors, magnetic resonance sensors, full EMS sensors... something's got to show!"

"Roland, how about if you do a full inventory of the Ship's Locker and give us a recommendation of what we need?"

"Adriannah. Can you research what an air/raft will cost. Better make it an enclosed one. Seems we're going to need that more than we expected. Grav belts, too. They're expensive, if I recall correctly. Do we need one for every member of the crew?"

"Harry, Forge... want to see what you can come up with for a place to park the air/raft when we get it? Inside or outside are both options."

"Arc... since it was your brilliant idea, why don't you take an inventory of the cargo nets and straps we have. Just in case we don't find the back door."

"Arlo, would you mind helping Arc? After all, this is your little junket."

"Some of these things don't have to be done right now, but get to it when  you can."

In reply to Luise Wechsler (msg # 230):

"Aye-aye Captain!" Roland says as he heads for the ship's locker to go through it to see what they have on board!

In reply to Roland Steel (msg # 231):

Aye-aye captain, Forge, where you want to start? Cargo hold, or external over a iris valve to be installed so we can have access without spacewalking? Slows us from Foreven, but it might make us filthy rich!"

"Cargo hold would be the easiest so we would not need to punch another hole in the ship." Forge suggested.

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 233):

"That's a good thing, we don't need no holes in the ship!"

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 234):

"We can store cargo in the air raft too when not in use so we don't have to give up ALL of the space."

Arc obediently followed Luise's instructions and headed for the cargo bay, grumbling something about not volunteering anymore.

Once in the cargo bay, he started checking all the storage spaces for the nets and straps he'd mentioned. Besides the nets on rollers concealed in the floor, there were additional nets stored in compartments on the walls.

The nets were typically used for the pallets--a flat skid piled up with small loose cargo secured by a plastic wrap or the occasional shrink wrap. The pallet was anchored to the floor with the usual clamps, but then a net was pulled up over the whole pallet in case the wrapping burst.

The straps were primarily used for containers. Floor clamps were usually all that was needed for them, but it never hurt to secure them with additional strapping.

Arc had heard more than one spacer's tale about loose containers and ruptured pallets. Cargo loaders sometimes got complacent or lazy. Arc wasn't going to be the one to clean up 1,000 gallons of syrup off the walls, floors and ceiling of the cargo bay! That was for sure!

Since everything was relatively neat and orderly, it only took him about a half hour to count all the straps and nets, both by quantity and by total length.

He even pulled out enough nets and straps to give them a way to climb down the cliff face to the place It seemed silly to call them ruins, since they didn't appear to be in ruins at all.

After his task was done, he reported his findings to Luise.

Waiting in his combat armor, Forge checked to make sure that everything was sealed in preparation to having to EVA from the ship to the structure to connect the webbing, once he gets an idea of how much they got. It looks like the pilot will have their work cut out keeping the ship close enough to make the connection, hopefully not one way.

Checking the cutlass to make sure that it was strapped to his side, along with the stunner, he debated on taking all the stun grenades but decided on just one. "Are we a go?" he asked over the intercom.

Roland finds the ship's locker to be full of the usual equipment. Most of it seems rather old, but it's all Darrian, so probably still functional.

There are some weapons, survival gear, rope, life bubbles... As expected, there are no gravbelts. They are way too expensive to be stocked in a ship's locker.

OOC: The way ship's lockers work is the contents are kept nebulous and undefined until you need something from there. Most of it is meant to be inexpensive and relatively low tech (such as a knife, a flashlight, fishing rod, etc.).

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 238):

"We got life bubbles and every day stuff, no Grav Belts, too expensive of an item I guess."

The cargo hold would be the first choice, but we can store a boat on the top as well and have an iris valve and air lock put in to board it. Time and expense are the consideration there. We can store cargo inside the air raft in space if we have to so we won't lose too much space."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:14, Fri 11 Dec 2020.

"So captain, orders? What and how do you wish to investigate this anomaly?"

"The moon's big enough for us to land on," Luise said, "so takes us in."

"We can use the cargo nets to get down to the side of that place, but we should look around on the surface first. There must be some way to get into it other than breaking in from the front. Or maybe it's the back... or side."

"It was hard to get a good view of it. I didn't see any signs of a door. We should be prepared to climb down first for a survey, and if we don't find a way in, climb back up and bring tools back down. After all, we won't know what we might need."

"Does that sound okay to everyone? Any other ideas?"

"Sounds awesome to me, Rollie? The rest of you?" Harry says.

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 243):

"Sounds good. I never climbed down the nets on a ship before like the old vids, might be fun!"

"Fine with me, much better than trying to EVA to the surface. " Forge said.

"Since that's about the only option we have," Gahler replied as he piloted the ship down to a landing, "sounds like a great plan to me!"

"The only alternative I could think of was just jumping off and hoping that the site catches us! If it was an active Ancient site, that would be a real possibility. So far, though, it doesn't look like an Ancient site, but I'm hardly an expert on those."

"Yeah, I'm all for it, too," Arlo agrees. "Going back for any kind of extra equipment is problematic at best, and highly suspicious if we then come back out this way. Ditto if I say I need more leave time. Like, where the hell could I be going?"

"Nothing we need is likely to be available. The station's just not big enough, busy enough or important enough to have a surplus of equipment. If you think gravbelts are expensive normally, they could be ten times that on the station, even if you could find any."
This message was last updated by the player at 14:57, Tue 22 Dec 2020.

"So, as I understand what you've been saying, we need to land, then do an EVA recon of the area looking for an alternate way in, and if we can't find one, we deploy the nets over the edge and climb down to the face of this structure and try to find a way to get in there," Arc summarizes.

"So, Forge, looks like we've doing an EVA after all."

"Times a waiting!" Forge said as he heading to the airlock to await the landing.

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 249):

Roland and Harry strap in for the landing.

The ship lands maybe a hundred feet from the edge of the rift. Any closer probably isn't wise since you don't know how stable the rock ledge is. In any case, someone will be sitting in the pilot's seat the whole time... just in case. If the ledge starts to give way, the gravity maneuver drive can easily keep the ship from falling into the rift.

Those who want to go EVA and look for an alternate entrance do so. Sensors, of course, are useless for finding such an entrance. If there is an alternate entrance... actually, a 'normal' entrance rather than crashing through a window on the side of the building, it'll have to be spotted visually. In a way, it's like finding the fake rock with the hidden key.

Presumably, the builders had some way of detecting the entrance, or else they just knew where it was.

It takes nearly two hours of kicking rocky outcroppings and bouncing across the asteroid before Forge spots the anomaly--a straight line. As he gets closer, he sees that it is a lever probably made of some composite material. Hidden in a hollow in the shadow of an outcropping, it is parallel to the surface, clearly has a pivot point on one end, and there is just enough space to pull it up about six inches. However, try as he might, Forge cannot detect the outline of a door.

Comms<< "Pull the lever already Forge, as you said a few hours ago, Times a wasting!">> comms he moves in to help if it is stuck and if there is room. If there isn't, he stands back.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 15:41, Thu 07 Jan 2021.

"Hold your horses!" Reaching over, Forge tested the lever to see if it would open the door.

On the one hand, it's a bit surprising that the lever moves at all, but then again, there's no weather or dust on the moon to have affected it. It's in perpetual shadow as well, so there's no temperature variations.

The lever moves easily, but it seems to be a switch-type lever. Nothing happens until it's in the full 'open' position. When that happens, there is a slow shift in the rock on the other side of the stone with the lever. A 3-meter by 3-meter section rises about 10 centimeters before it slides aside revealing a dark hole in the rock.

Shining your helmet light into the hole, it appears to be a rocky tunnel that goes in as far as your vision can see even though the light goes farther as there is no atmosphere to diffuse it. It isn't helped by the fact that all four walls of the tunnel are made of irregular semi-flat black rock.

Clearly, it's meant to be unnoticeable when the door is open.

"We got an opening, turning everything on, cameras and recording devices and lights.  You want to go in first Forge? Or do you want me to? Leaving comms open so you can hear everything."

Pulling out his cutlass and stunner, Forge headed inside, not sure what to expect as he recorded what he saw.

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 256):

Harry followed close on his heels, weapons at the ready. "You got my video feed there on the ship?"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:22, Sun 10 Jan 2021.

Although you are on a moon of the gas giant, it's one of the smaller moons. Still, it's rather surprising to find that the tunnel goes on a long ways before you come to another airlock door. Although the symbols aren't readable, the intent seems to be rather standard. For safety reasons, airlocks aren't meant to be complicated to operate.

The only real difference is that there's no window nor any viewscreen to show what lies beyond.

Since there are only two buttons, one is likely to open it and the other to close it. Being closed already, that button wouldn't be operable. Hitting the top button causes the bottom light to glow red. In a few seconds, the red light goes out and the one above lights up purple!

With no atmosphere in the tunnel, it should now mean that the air on the other side has been vacated.

Once again, it's a lever that opens the door. Currently in the upright position on the right side, pushing it down to a horizontal position allows the door to swing inward.

There's a light on inside the hatch-like airlock with another door on the opposite side of the room. It's large enough to fit everyone.

Once inside, the hatch can be closed and the lever (duplicated on the inside) can be raised to a vertical position again, and the light shifts from purple to red... indicating that the atmosphere/pressure on the inside is now different from the outside tunnel.

The inner airlock shows purple at the same time. That should mean that the air on the other side of the door is the same as that now in the airlock. Your suit sensors indicate it's close to standard content and pressure with no harmful contaminants.

You can also see that the walls in here are finished metal, not the rough stone of the tunnel. There's a definite copperish tint to the metal.

The inside door has two levers, though.

"Wow, I wonder what the second lever is for? I'm not for messing with too much until we know what it is. You getting the feed back on the ship?"

"Not sure but I would guess that in an emergency that they turn off the cycling system and open both, like in case of a fire or such." Forge suggested. "If everyone is in a vacc suit, opening the doors to the vacuum would kill any fire real quick."

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 260):

"Kill the oxygen supply too, could be, we'll see."

"Safety," Arlo offers, having served on a space station before. "Or security. Probably a bit of both."

"Unless the base is even bigger than we think, there's still a long way to get through the moon to that crevasse."

"The lights indicate the atmosphere on the other side matches it here, so it should be safe."

He grabs one of the levers and moves it to the 'open' or 'unlock' position.

In reply to Arlo Thresh (msg # 262):

Harry readies and awaits the door to open. Weapon at the ready just in case, light shining.

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 263):

Roland headed down to join Harry and Arlo and whoever else went down. He had recording and photographing equipment to document what they found. He kept his comms and cameras rolling and sending everything to the ship.

Forge headed forward to see what they were dealing with, as the door opened

The door cycles open and you are all a bit disappointed and surprised by what lies beyond: a large cavern. There are no lights, but your suit lights just barely manage to reach the other side... in all directions, which reveal that there are numerous passages leading off from this cavern.

After a minute or so of taking it all in, you realize that this is a mine. Although there is no mining equipment visible, the unmistakable marks on the walls that mining machines make are unmistakable.

There's nothing directly across the cavern from where you are that indicates that is the way to go, but your suits' inertial compasses tell you that's 'straight' ahead to where the structure was.

With few other options, you are able to fly over to the other passage because the gravity is so low.

It isn't until you enter the other passage that you realize that though the passage isn't all that regular in shape, the walls have been sprayed with some kind of clear polymer that serves as reinforcement.

The passage goes for about a hundred meters before it comes to another cavern. There's another passage and another cavern. At the opposite side of this third cavern, your lights reflect off of another hatch.

Crossing to it, you see it has the same mechanism as the other hatches. After cycling it open, entering, closing it, and then cycling open the inner hatch, you are are  finally in an artificial corridor. At first, the walls and floor look metallic, but after moving down the hall a ways, you realize that it's probably made of that polymer, only this time its colored to appear metallic.

This hall only goes about 30 meters before it opens on both sides to the facility itself.

On the right, there is clearly an ore processor. It takes up an area 36 meters deep and about the same across.

To the left is large empty space also about 36 meters square and probably that high. After a minute or so of studying it, you decide it was probably a hangar bay, though it's clearly empty now. You also can't see any way out of it for a craft, but there is a door on the opposite wall.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 266):

"Nothing but a mining operation, nothing really valuable."

Forge looked around in the room. "Strange, while I do not know much of mining operations, why would they have a hanger here? I would think they would have the ore transferred to the surface and pick it up there. We can check the other door." he suggested

Harry continues to look around the large room, using his lights to see what he can.







ooc - oxygen atmosphere throughout or are we suited tight on our own air supply?

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 269):

Roland goes right using his lights to explore that side a bit. What do I see? Anything?

Once you went through the last airlock, your suits' enviro gauges all showed a breathable atmosphere... pressure, temperature and oxygen levels within 3% of norm, nothing harmful in the air, slightly higher nitrogen content and the remainder difference made of inert gasses--argon and xenon.

Crossing over the hangar bay space on the left to the other door, it is another hatch, and it shows the air on the other side is the same as the hangar. Opening the hatch, you find a hallway going left and right. It is dimly lit by what you'd normally think of as emergency lighting. To the left, it dead ends about 8 meters away. To the right, it goes about 25 meters before ending in another hatch.

Roland moves to the right and examines the ore processing equipment. While it more or less appears like any type of processor he's seen before--ore goes in one end and slag and metal comes out the other end. It's not a small processor, nor is it all that large... it's somewhere in between.

What he finds odd, however, is that the controls are made in a circular pattern. He also can't read the symbols, which are all lines and small circles... clearly some kind of alien font.

On the other side of the processor, though, he find another room/chamber that contains an array of electronic control panels. While the symbols are similar to the processor, some of the gauges look like they are for sensors. This room appears to be the same size as the hangar bay--18 x 25 meters.

There's another door on the far wall.

Arc tagged along on the expedition into this alien facility. At least, they all assumed it was alien. Nothing they'd seen from outside really confirmed that, and it wasn't until they found the alien font that things started to look that way.

"It looks like a hangar bay," Arc comments as he surveys the large room to the left, "but how would a ship get out?"

"It's clearly a mining operation, but that wall of windows makes me think that the miners lived here. It also seems like there's more to this place than we're seeing so far."

"Then again, we are talking about aliens... at least, we think we are. If they were a race of intelligent badgers, for instance, this might mean something completely different to them."

"Just saying."

He waited for Forge or Harry to open the next door.

Looking at the enviro gauges and frowned. "Let's hold off on popping our tops until we fully explore it. For all we know there could be a busted can of oil that is toxic to us." Forge said as he made his way to open the far door.

Harry and Roland followed Forge.

In the next room, Harry looked to the left, Roland to the right.

00C - What do we see Rob?

When Forge opens the door, beyond is a hallway going left and right that appears to mirror the hallway pas the hangar. To the right, the hallway goes only about 8 meters and appears to dead end. It looks like it was built for future expansion, but never got added on to.

To the left, the hallway goes 25 meters and ends in a hatch. It is lit by 'emergency' lighting.

Waiting for the others to enter the hallway, Forge then headed to check out the hatch.

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 277):

Harry and Roland stay close to Forge as they approach the hatch, not sure if it is safe or not.

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 278):

Roland inspects the hatch to see if this one works the same as the other.

In reply to Roland Steel (msg # 279):

Harry opens the hatch and looks through!
This message was last edited by the player at 13:56, Mon 22 Feb 2021.

Yes, all the hatches seem to work the same way. You haven't seen any that are different. In this case, because the facility is on a moon with no atmosphere, it makes sense that all hatches/doorways are meant to be air tight. The design is a little more sophisticated than the hatches used on ships to keep water out.

Opening this hatch reveals... another hallway... going off to the left. In the dim light, you can see at least a dozen doors lining both sides of the hallway. The closest one doesn't look like a hatch-style door, though. Also, the hallway is different in other ways. It's a bit wider and it appears to be have some sort of covering on the floor. It's not carpet, but may be some sort of cushioning material like rubber.

Harry steps through the hatch. "Well Arlo, here's your discovery, an old mining operation. we'll see if there is any value in it."

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 282):

Harry checks out the area wondering if there was any value in an old mining operation. Maybe a little, good hideout for pirates maybe, maybe not.

"Looks like this hallway goes down to that other hallway on the other side of the hangar," he comments.

He follows Harry down the hallway to the first door and examines it for any markings.

"I don't see any doorknob or handle. Wonder how it opens?"

"No markings, not even in an alien script. I suppose it was too much to ask for it to say 'Captain's Quarters' or 'Super-Science Lab'."

He taps on the door with his knuckles to see if he can tell if it's metal.

"Not a mining expert, so I'm struggling to think of something valuable enough that an obviously expensive, long-term mining operation would have been set up. Drawing a blank. Lanthanum, maybe. Doesn't it usually occur with other rare earths? So, maybe several of them together made it worthwhile."

"Oh, here's a thought--what if there are markings on the door but just not visible to normal light? Anyone bring a black light?"

In reply to Arc Tangent (msg # 284):

Roland shook his head no, as did Harry. Roland inspects the door with Arc. Feeling all around the seal looking for a button of some kind anywhere.

You weren't able to see any markings on the doors from the end of the hallway, and even standing in front of one of the doors now, no marking are visible. The doors are perfectly smooth so not even something like braille is there.

No doorknobs or handles for sure, so it's always possible that the doors opened by way of sensors that detected someone standing in front of it or holding the proper electronic card or device.

The door doesn't look particularly outsized; it has typical width and could conceivably be a bit higher than it needs to be for humans, but humans have a tendency to make doors higher than necessary as a sign of importance. There are no hinges visible, so it might be a sliding door.

Arc does spot three tiny holes on one side of the door, possibly where a doorknob might be. The three holes form a triangle and are about 3 centimeters apart. It could easily be a keyhole.

Harry, on the other hand, examines the door, looks down at the next one to make sure they are all the same, and notices a slight different. In fact, as he looks down the hallway again, he realizes that each door is a slightly different color... shade, actually. It's a subtle difference, one that's not only hard to detect but could easily be misconstrued as an effect of the lighting.

Arc's knuckle rap on the door produces a dull *thud* sound. It doesn't sound like metal, nor does it sound like wood or plastic or glass or ceramic. Barring some otherwise unknown material, it's probably some type of polycarbonate. You can't really get a sense of how thick the door is or whether it's hollow or solid.


On the other hand, after Roland looks it over, he decides that it might be flexible. There's no curve to it that he can detect, but it could bend slightly when it opens... however that might be.

"We got anything to mark the doors or such so we do not get lost in here?" Forge asked, looked at the various options for the doors and where they might lead them.

"Adriannah says we may not be alone, signs of activity from the power readings."

"I'm an engineer," Arlo answers Forge. "We're always marking stuff."

"There's always the old standby of using a knife to scratch something, but even if it'd mark these doors, I'd be reluctant to deface the door. But, I've got chalk, grease pencil, and even glow-in-the-dark spray paint."

"Watcha wanta mark on the doors? Just numbers?"

"An "X" is fine as long as we can find our way back out of here. With all these doors, I am not sure what we will find on the other side." Forge said.

"Not everyone makes doors that open automatically," Arc comments, "so I wouldn't assume that these door are inoperable."

"If something was chasing you, you wouldn't want all the doors to open as  you ran by."

"Those little holes are probably the equivalent of keyholes and maybe even the doorknob... assuming that one is needed. Could be like a security elevator... slide the card and the elevator doors open."

"Anyone think of anything we might be carrying that could fit in those holes?"

"Sheesh! Don't you guys carrying anything?" Arlo grumbles.

"I've got some wire about that size. I can twist it into three prongs that should do the trick."

As he says that, he pulls out the can of spray paint and paints the number 1 on the first door. He half expects the paint not to stick to the door, or else some effect wipes it away as soon as it's on.

After he does that, he passes the can to Steve, and then pulls out the wire he mentioned and begins working with it.

Steve takes the can from Arlo and, grinning widely (though it may not be discernible through the helmet), starts spray painting numbers on all the doors. He makes them a bit smaller than Arlo did to try and make what little paint is in the can last.

"You got a point there, Arlo," he comments as he and Arlo work. "What we carry is a wide range of other stuff. Didn't really expect to need something so detailed. I didn't bring any paperclips or bubble gum either."

"He could make a bomb out of that!" Harry grinned inside his helmet.

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 294):

"Need a hand Arlo? I'm willing to try and help if you do."

He'd just finished twisting the wires together, held it up to the door and adjusted them to fit in the three holes.

"I'm not fastening the other ends together until I'm sure there's no current coming through," Arlo explains to Roland.

"I'll use the VOM on them first to determine if there's current and what kind of resistance there is. If resistance is high, then it doesn't need  current--it's probably just a mechanical release. Makes me wonder if these aliens had fingers like that."

After connecting the twisted ends to his VOM, he then slowly inserts the wires into the holes. He has the VOM dialed up to the highest setting, just in case, and then slowly starts dialing it back down.

"No current, high resistance. I think it's just a latch."

He pushes the wires in a bit farther, and then says:

"Okay, someone try to slide the door aside... or even up!"

In reply to Arlo Thresh (msg # 296):

Roland tries to open the door in all directions, in, out, up, down and left and right.

Without visible hinges (though hidden hinges are always possible) and with the door recessed inside the casing, it has the appearance of a sliding door.

Roland places his hands on the door and tries to slide the door, succeeding when he pushes it to the left. It's a bit of a pain at first until the right hand edge comes into sight and he can slip his fingers over it and pull it open to the left.

There's a dim (emergency?) light in the room beyond, just enough to show that it is some sort of laboratory. It looks like some sort of electronics or physics lab, rather than, say, a chemistry lab.

There are banks of electronic equipment against both side walls and the back wall, though the middle of the back wall has a door in it. Two tables are in the room, running length-wise on the left and right. There is what appears to be a desk to either side of the door.

While the equipment is clearly electronic in nature, there is something just a little bit odd about it.

The tables, or perhaps they are counters, seem a bit high. That makes you notice that the ceiling is a bit higher than it needs to be. The emergency lighting comes from a narrow of tubing (?) that runs along the ceiling-wall seam on either side. And you now realize that there is no sign of light fixtures in the room.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 298):

Harry steps in to investigate. Leaving Roland to hold the door to make sure it didn't close and lock. He used his equipment to film the room and make a record of it as he went around.

Forge looked into the for something to wedge the open before entering.
"Whoever used this place before must have been taller than us, judging from the height of these counters. Might see if we can find something in here with wheels or such so we can take anything that is not bolted down." he suggested

Harry and Roland continue to look, at and for everything including a cart as Forge mentioned.

Oddly, there are no chairs in the room, which would be a logical item to wedge in the open door. The best you can come up with is one of the smaller devices on the counter. None of them seem to be bolted down. Anything that could shake the room enough to knock a device off the counter would probably be doing a lot more damage to the whole facility.

"Stating to feel like we should have brought a shopping cart!" Arc comments as he looks around as well.

"I can't tell what any of this equipment does, but it looks kind of familiar yet strange. Really, if you think about it, would an alien popsicle look any different than one we'd eat? Same for a lot of stuff."

"If one of these doohickeys measures radiation, for instance, that'd look kind of familiar, right? But the symbols would all be different. And they might use a different scale... base 8 or base 12. Hell, for that matter, they could use base 7 or 17 because they are prime numbers."

He attempts to pick up one the devices that's about the size of a breadbox and haul it over to the door.

Roland searches the counters as well with Arc, looking to see what is in the room.

The item Arc selected lifts easily enough in the light gravity, and he carries it over to the door and sets it on the floor between the door and the jamb to keep the door from closing.

While it is 'lightweight', he can tell it has mass to it, meaning it is probably fairly dense and therefore sturdy enough to hold the door. If it isn't, then those doors are super dangerous!

Roland doesn't really see anything different from another angle.

A few of the larger pieces of equipment are sitting atop metal cabinets that appear to have storage space underneath, but all the ones in this room are empty except for a lone beaker with a strange funnel-like top.

He does get the impression, though, that this is a materials lab... meant to analyze various substances.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 305):

"Should we go to the next room then?"

"I like the shopping cart idea," he commented as they all looked around the room. "We could pile a lot of this into it. Getting it back to the ship could be a problem, though."

"You'd think some of it would be valuable, though, right? The archaeological sophontologists construct an entire species and culture based on their artifacts. Of course, that's mostly pottery shards. A place like this would have them... well, let's just say it would be ecstatic! Heh-heh."

"Sure, next room. Hopefully, Arlo's makeshift key will work on that one, too. Just a reminder to everyone: just because one door works one way doesn't mean every door will work that way. Remember, these are aliens. At least, we assume they are. The next door may have 4 holes, or an eye scanner or a pull cord! Until we have enough evidence to decide they think like us, ASSUME that they don't!"

"Since the door is open, let's drag the stuff out to the main hallway and pick it up on the way out." Forge suggested.

In reply to 'Forge' Harris (msg # 308):

"Good idea!" Roland and Harry carry and drag stuff into the hall.

As Harry and Roland drag equipment out into the hall, they quickly realize that there is a lot more equipment than will fit into the hallway conveniently.

Meanwhile, Forge, Steve, Arc and Arlo move on to the next door on the same wall. It, too, has the three little holes, and Arlo's 'wire-key' does the trick again. This is another 'lab'. Or maybe it's more of a machine shop. The apparatus in here all seems oriented toward mechanical things, though clearly not vehicles.

The equipment in here is more readily identifiable, such as a metal lathe and the tools you'd use to shape the metal. Most of these items would have a sale value of about 600-800 credits for normal stuff. If this alien, that could double or triple it... to a collector or even a museum.

At this point, you can see the central 'door' in the opposite wall of the hallway--it's clearly an airlock door, though it still looks like the other doors, except it has a large window in it.

There are doors on the opposite wall of the hallway, too, but Harry and Roland seem intent on blocking them with equipment.

"Lets leave it, too much and we need a passage through too." Harry says to Roland.

In reply to Harry McStubbin (msg # 311):

"You're right, hang it all. Machine shop is nice!"

"If we can find a way for craft to use it, it might still useful as a base for the local forces." Forge suggested as they made their way through the place.

"I don't know about that," Arlo answers Forge.

"It's more like a spy base. Unless there's more to this base than we've yet discovered, I don't see how any ships could get in here."

"It was clearly a mine, but it also looks like some research was being done here. That means it was either corporate or government. Well, or alien. It might have made sense to an alien mind or culture. Consolidated effort... that sort of thing."

Due to his general hunting experience, where you always clean up your campsite before you leave, Arc first notices that there's no scrap, trash or waste in the two rooms. It wasn't obvious in the first room, but in this one, he was almost expecting it.

The second thing he notices is that there are no raw materials.

And thirdly, he realizes that the benches and counter and cabinets are all made of some synthetic material. It could be plastic (one of the hundreds possible), but it could also be composite. In particular, there is no wood. Anywhere.

As ARC notices these things, a puzzled expression crosses his face.

He then points his observations out to the others.

"Neatness counts, of course. Keeping this place clean is a good way to prolong the life of the machinery. Nothing to gum up the works," he comments.

"And in a sealed environment like this, that's almost mandatory."

"However, it would also seem to indicate that when the aliens left this base, they did so in an orderly and methodical way. It wasn't abandoned in a hurry. They might have taken all the raw materials, but don't know why they wouldn't take the equipment... unless they were planning on coming back."

"On the other hand, I don't even see any place for storing raw materials. I mean, there are a few pockets that could hold rods and bars and such, but that hardly seems sufficient."

"Are we missing something?"

In reply to Arc Tangent (msg # 316):

"A lot I'd say. Wracking my brain for answers and an coming up with nothing. We should be more careful though, the place may not be empty after all."

"Hadn't really thought about it until you brought it up, Arc," Arlo adds, "I think maybe these back walls are actually storage lockers."

"Remember, these are aliens. Their thinking isn't going to be like ours all the time... except maybe when form follows function. For instance, we don't normally try to... hide... our storage cabinets, except when there's something particularly valuable, dangerous or illegal involved... like a wall safe or a panic room."

"But you notice that here aren't any shelves on any of these walls. That is, nothing fastened to the walls. What few shelves there are are either freestanding or part of another piece of equipment."

As he talks, he walks back to the rear walls and begins examining them more closely.

"I'm surprised that there aren't any pictures or instructions or warnings posted on the walls. It's probably a case of aesthetics. Or maybe this was supposed to be so secret that they didn't want to give away any clues with obvious printed material."

"And you'll notice that there's a significant gap between some of these machines along the back wall. That might just be because of safety reasons, of course, but..."

"Ah-ha! Three holes in the wall... in three places! Let's see if my wire claw will work on them."

He manipulates the three-pronged wire device he built into the first set of holes.

In short order, there's a slight click and a previously undetected door pops open just a little bit. Arlo is able to pull the door open further without any difficulty.

Behind it is either a small storeroom or a large cabinet. It's actually too small to be a reasonable storeroom or closet, but it's also too large to be a 'normal' cabinet.

Again, though, 'odd' alien thinking at play.

In the first cabinet thus revealed are a variety of long metal rods and bars of various diameters and shapes, all stored vertically in slots that run around all four walls (except for where the door is). It all looks to be steel of various types.

The second door opens the same way and has the same sort of cabinet behind it. Here, though, the walls are lined with narrow (front to back) shelves that have maybe a hundred or so small metal ingots on them. The upright supports seem to have a small metal plate with raised areas reminiscent of Braille. Then you notice the jars. On one of the end wall shelves are several dozen small opaque (possibly) ceramic jars, about the size and shape you'd find canned tuna fish in. Each of those also has a metal label.

The third door is similar in configuration to the other two, but the contents are even more bizarre and unidentifiable. The shelves are a little deeper than the last cabinet, but what is on them is any assortment of materials ranging from what looks like lumps of clay or putty to rough crystals. Some might be considered 'ingots' except they are in odd shapes--cubes, cylinders, spheres, tetrahedrons, etc. Textures vary as do size and colors.