In reply to Ingrid Gustavdottir Sigar (msg # 15):

OOC:  Huh?  Distress Signal? mumble-mumble-mumble....Aw, dammit!  I missed that!  Screws up most of what I said.  Crap.  Well, just assume that Varca wasn't getting the same results as Zhouth, initially.  Maybe this new roll will get him something...
     But BB--still get the Troops suited up.  Better safe than dead.

In reply to Varca Lexand (msg # 16):

"Respond and set course for the signal" He quickly figures the astrogation and sets the course, he gives it to Viridian at the con.

In reply to Theodore McFarlane (msg # 17):

OOC: I got this, Zhouth.  Varca is trained to jam-up use comm systems!

     Varca isn't too sure about responding to the signal--it could still be a ruse!  But Vultan's sensors are confirming that the signal is a real Distress Signal, and with a very high probability of accuracy.

     But, as a precaution, Varca takes a few moments to configure a tight-beam transmission, so that his response will only be broadcast towards the area of the gas giant--and not out to every corner of this star system.


^{COMM START >>>} "Starship Vultan responding to Distress Call.  Repeat, this is Starship Vultan responding to Distress Call from region around Planet Frangar.  We have received your signal and are on course to you, now.  Please respond if you can."

      "Repeating, this is Starship Vultan responding to Distress Call from region around Planet Frangar.  We have received your signal and are on course to you, now.  Please respond if you can.  This is Starship Vultan, we are responding." ^{<<< END COMM}

With the matter of sensors and the response to them being handled by others, Zhouth reverts to his more typical behavior of frantically documenting everything,

"Okay, we're actually rescuing them and not raiding them right? Well, unless they turn out to be raiders themselves, in which case it's raid-or-retreat protocol depending on what we find. And we'll make the delivery to the planet afterward as long as those satellites don't start doing anything dangerous?" His eyes widened a bit as his voice grew slightly hushed, as if to guard his next words against unseen eavesdroppers - or perhaps the just-conceived prospect had simply left him breathless. "If they're Oghman satellites then maybe we could disable them and claim their parts as salvage!"

In reply to Zhouth (msg # 19):

Teddy turned to Zhouth with a grin on his face, "Salvage! Not a bad idea Zhouth, salvage them and sell them, they are in working order, must be worth something!"

Varca does figure out that the signal doesn't appear to be coming from a ship because he's not picking up any power signatures of a ship.

On the other hand, he can't get a better reading on the signal because it's not only so faint, but it's against the energy being given off by the gas giant.

The gas giant is nearly a third of the way around the system, so there's also radiation interference from the twin suns.

The Vultan will have to get a lot closer before it can get any clearer data.

In reply to Theodore McFarlane (msg # 20):

     "Yeah, I've been thinking about those satellites, myself." Varca adds into the conversation on the inter-comm,

     "Our sensor reading of the satellites shows that it wouldn't be impossible for the natives to have built and launched them--their tech-base might just barely be able to manage that!  But our readings also show that the satellites are just for observation of the planet surface--basically only useful to the Borites as optical weather-sats, at most."

     "The Borites must know that the first Oghman Raider to come along, after those birds got into orbit, would either steal them, or blow them away.  So, I think you may be right about them, Zhouth--I think they might have been put there by the Oghmans, in order to record events happening down on the planet.  And when an Oghman ship shows up, they download the recordings, review them, then attack wherever they see signs of technological development."

     "So, yes, I believe that our mission mandates that we steal them!" Varca grins to himself.

"I prefer t'e sound of denying assets to pirates, but destroy or acquire we can per'aps use t'eir data for our own purposes down below?" Rayjay suggested curious just how old that distress beacon might be, though not terribly familiar with comms systems himself.

In reply to Rayjaynul Brown (msg # 23):

After two hours of transit toward the signal, Teddy asks for an update. "Varca, check the signal a little closer, we're getting near to it now. Oghman pirate?"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:46, Thu 11 Mar 2021.

BB is already putting on her armored vacc suit and doing last minute checks on her plasma gun.


"Just get me on board and I'll figure out what's going on..."

In reply to BB Nova (msg # 25):

"Well BB's ready to eliminate them if they are a threat at least. She's been quiet lately."

Two hours isn't that much closer, but it is enough to reduce the conflicting energy and clear up the signal a bit. Though still faint, Varca is able to ascertain that it is a typical vacc-suit emergency locator beacon. It's not a ship signal at all, which explains why it's so faint--a vacc-suit doesn't have a very strong signal. The distant involved automatically generates a large amount of attenuation and dispersion.


It takes another 4 hours before the sensors can pinpoint the location and show you an orbital space station around the gas giant. There does not appear to be any energy coming from the station.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:35, Fri 12 Mar 2021.

"A vacc suit distress signal coming from a powered-down space station in the middle of nowhere?" The downward twist of Zhouth's ears was nearly lost in the sudden back and forth wave of his hands. "Oh, no. No, no! Even I've seen this one! We don't want to go anywhere near that thing!"

Rayjay was a little surprised by Zhouth's sudden outburst, not because he expected bravery or charity from the Vargr scientist, but that he would be so superstitious. "Well Zhouth it's not in t'e middle of no-where, it's above a gas giant and was likely used for scooping up 'ydrogen or some ot'er valuable gas. But more importantly, 'ow would you want ot'ers to react if you were t'e unfortunate soul trapped on a slowly freezing vessel as your every breat' turned t'e air more toxic?" Rayjay asked Zhouth a hypothetical question before getting to the point.

"Eit'er case I do believe t'ere are Naval procedures for such events, but I'll also relent t'at besides maybe t'e satellite back in orbit of Borite t'at we plan on dismantling t'ere probably aren't any sensors in system t'at could place us 'ere at t'ese coordinates at t'is point in time wit' a faint distress signal. So t'e decision is up to you Captain, but I wouldn't want to be left to die on a station like t'at if I was in t'eir shoes. Not to mention, t'at if we don't find any survivors, salvage rights fall to t'e first to find said derelict." Rayjay said confidently though perhaps not entirely informed on the exact procedure and legalities of Imperial salvage rights.

In reply to Rayjaynul Brown (msg # 29):

     As Vultan approaches the power-less space station, Varca performs a final active scan, searching for any vessels in the area around the station.  And he will repeat his tightbeam broadcast to the source of the beacon, one final time.


     "No need to worry about those satellites abouve Borite catching any sign of us, Rayjay." Varca says, "Our scans of them were pretty conclusive that they are pointed straight down at the planet surface--they're not looking out into space.  And I don't think we got close enough to Borite that we might have been picked up in the background, or anything, either."

In reply to Varca Lexand (msg # 30):

"Varca, you want to lead the away team, or BB?" he said less than enthusiastically, it smelled like a trap.

Zhouth slumped - nay, deflated -  a little. "Of course I'd want to get pulled out of the death trap! That's how everyone else gets lured into it!" Eyes fixed on the sensor readout, he muttered something under his breath about a night incident, xenomorphitics, and biocontamination, tone somehow managing to transition from despairing to revelatory in that brief span.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:29, Fri 12 Mar 2021.

"You think we should let them die Zhouth? We can. Just hope it ain't us next time and he is the one in the rescue ship."

In reply to Theodore McFarlane (msg # 33):

Collyn dons his hazard suit for a boarding action.

BB was strapped and ready for action.

"This is a security issue, right? Leave it up to your chief of security."

With an audible hum she powered up her plasma gun. It wasn't that it needed to be made ready at the time but more as a final punctuation mark to her statement.

If whatever was floating out there turned out to be unfriendly, BB should be the first (and quickly last) crew they meet.

In reply to BB Nova (msg # 35):

"I got your six BB." Collyn tells her as he chambers a round in his shotgun.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:02, Sun 14 Mar 2021.

"No, I don't think we should leave them," Zhouth admitted heavily, albeit with an important caveat. "If there's actually anyone there to rescue, and not just something waiting for a ship to come by."" It wasn't clear whether his fingers were meant to resemble tentacles or teeth as they snapped shut around an unseen victim.

"I'm going to wear that armor suit anyway, just in case." And with that, Zhouth marched off to don his own boarding suit - though he clearly had no intention of using it to board anything at this time!
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 23:02, Fri 12 Mar 2021.

In reply to Zhouth (msg # 37):

"Check for life signs before going over, no reason to bother if they are already dead, though we could get salvage rights."

"Not discounting t'e possibility, but if t'ere is a dangerous alien life form on t'ere, 'ow would it 'ave gotten t'ere? I mean t'ere aren't any ot'er vessels docked wit' t'e station are t'ere?" Rayjay asked, wondering if the sensors could have somehow missed something super obvious like a docked ship.

"'onestly it's more likely to be a trap by pirates or per'aps simply a fuel lifter t'ey frequent meaning we could expect 'ostile company mid exploration." Rayjay added trying to alleviate Zhouth's probably unfounded fears with some more well founded fears.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:46, Sat 13 Mar 2021.

In reply to Rayjaynul Brown (msg # 39):

     "Dammit.  I think Rayjay may have just made a good point." Varca comments, "This system gets raided by Oghmen all the time--they steal technology and anyone who might understand it.  Add to that, the fact that most space stations found orbiting Gas Giant planets usually are involved in fuel processing.  Take those two things into account, and I come up with one of two conclusions--either this space station is used by the Oghmen when they raid this system, and they only power it up when they are here, or, the station isn't used by the Oghmen, because they have already stripped it of all usable technology, and it's actually a powerless hulk."

     "And if it is a wrecked hulk, that just makes my 'No Disintegrations' comment a tiny bit more relevant!  So you better be really accurate with that damned plasma gun, if you're taking it over there, BB!"