Re: Abyss Station - Ancient Artifact
McCreeg struggled to plot a quick blast off vector for the shuttle. There were multiple problems. One, the gravity well of the station itself, with its neutronium skin. Two, the antigrav field that make a 'light spot' on the surface. And three, the rotation of the looming black hole the station orbited, the massive radiation jets on its poles spewing deadly radiation out into space.
In the end, he simply didn't feel confident in his calculations... the gravity fields were in flux, and any calculations he made now would be meaningless in an hour. And he knew it.
That didn't mean someone couldn't pilot the shuttle out of here. But it would be harder, and have to be done on the fly.
Decker, meanwhile, studied his scanners. The situation outside was potentially dangerous for the shuttle or crew... if the antigrav fields failed, they'd likely become jelly on the surface of the station's neutronium skin. But as long as it held up, the shuttle was well-shielded enough to block the high radiation levels from the black hole, as were their environmental suits (for a shorter time). Nobody would want to set up lawn chairs out there, but they could move around.
The portal itself remained open. He couldn't detect any active scanners around it, or anywhere nearby. But he did identify several passive sensors that could likely have been triggered by the shuttle's own scanning beams, in the same way a spider can sense its prey by the vibrations of its web... oh wait, maybe that's a bad analogy...
Ch'Pertha, T'Lara and Preston all suited up and exited the shuttle via the airlock. The small ring of antigravity devices that formed a landing zone near the hatchway seemed miniscule in scope compared to the massive Earth-sized structure. The curvature of its surface acted much like a planet, giving it a visible horizon. Looming and vast. The surface wasn't perfectly smooth, but the details were minor and easily disappeared in the distance.
What wasn't distant, though, was the beckoning portal, light shining out from within.
While he was vigilant and careful, this was beyond ch'Pertha's knowledge set. What he did know was basic security protocols and common sense. It was an open door. That could mean an invitation... or a trap. His tricorder and MK II eyeballs (and antennae) could discern no suggestion of a trap. The path looked clear.
Moving up to the portal, the squad could feel the immense gravity of the station, looming just outside the antigrav field... but it thinned as they reached the portal. The portal itself was large enough to easily accommodate a shuttle. The interior was well-lit. It was obviously a landing bay of some kind, designed for humanoid use. One of Abyss Station's shuttlecraft sat within, powered down and dark. It was an older craft, a Type-F. Not all stations had gotten the new Type-5 craft the Independence carried.
There were no obvious controls on the exterior of the portal. Within the lit bay, the walls had some markings and features, but nothing identifiable from here. T'Lara can make an Insight + Science check with her Focus of Art to gain possible insight into the designers' culture.
As ch'Pertha's team scouted, Jav'Ker and Harada worked on ensuring the antigrav field would stay functional.
08:37, Today: LT Kimiko Harada rolled 3 using 1d20 with rolls of 3. Assist Engineering. Jav'Ker got 2 successes, Harada 1, giving a total of 3... the needed amount.
Conferring together, the two engineers mapped out the wiring and conduits that the Abyss Station crew had put together. It was good work, and looked solid. There were no signs of power failure or instability. Of course, the web itself was made of several independent parts. If any of them failed, or took damage, the web could begin to shrink or even collapse...
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:22, Mon 06 July 2020.