After a 6-month journey through the system the Shíyàn Nóngyé is finally back at her home port of Eros. The vessel docks in its reserved berth within Docking Bay 2. The crew has about two weeks of rest and relaxation before going back out again. During this two weeks some members of the crew go on extended leave or go to work at the company offices. These leaving crewmen are replaced by others.

---

The first night back in home port is pretty crazy for some crewmen as they hit the bars, clubs, casinos, and brothels. Others decide to have a low-key night, maybe having a nice meal or spend time with family they haven’t seen in six months.

---

The next day around the early evening Shinsato Hirotsugu (XO of the Zhidao), Dr. Abang Kaos (Ship’s Doctor for the Zhidao) and Asha Blackburn (a mechanic from the Zhidao) are all in the Shíyàn Nóngyé Company office on Eros station completing various reports and what not.

While working, the entirety of Eros station shakes as some sort of large explosion occurs somewhere on Eros Station.

Nobody feels the telltale signs of the pressure dropping, so at least there is not any danger of vacuum exposure or loss of air.

But the announcement broadcast over a PA speaker in the corridor is in a female voice, and in several languages, does indicate there is a problem.

[Language unknown: “Llelmeek Son wiursa tami ekomroioac t osnewace hailss beatce. Enc daywe eau bearpr, areentati staconsan nc erepo wassol le hahisa sa n ortthiore dihaic.”]

“Attention Eros station has experienced a radiation hazard breach. For your own safety, please proceed to the nearest hard shelter in an orderly fashion.”

[Language unknown: “Eschckun Notni foioio butsa waosalasmi un astromwerlat tinthuver anllch. Ave whing but ateurewhi, ectundnce allromwhi a nchat hipeho te paadfo n pr icatinith hermenhas.”]

[Language unknown: “Prncatel Eve inelatine of etitroilha tr ruttha'estent nceinekor enceeneau. Lespr tiich res ndewhesti, sanlesour undtheman a pa ekasng di tioaveare ho is waswilore verresall.”]

For those who take a look at their hand terminals they get a ‘breaking news' notification. The news notification shows a massive ice hauler in Docking Bay three exploding while in its berth. The accompanying captions at the bottom of the news feed switches between Belter Creole to English that reads: Ice Hauler explodes in dock causing massive radiation contamination of Eros Station.

A few minutes later there is a station wide text notification:
> Due to radiation hazard breach all dockings bay for Eros Station are locked down. Please proceed to the nearest hard shelter immediately. <

OOC: Please make a post describing what you did the night before. At this point in time the net work is still working, so you can communicate to maybe meet someone someplace.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:59, Fri 27 Aug 2021.

Sato enjoyed his work.  Having left active service in the military to pursue a career in science exploration in the field of biology he was truly doing what he felt he was meant to be doing...but...he always looked forward to returning to port on Eros Station.  The first thing he did every time he came into port was to make his way to his mother's apartment.  His mother, Mei Zhing, suffered from Alzheimer's for which he had had her moved to the station so that he could more easily check on her each time he returned there.

He'd left straight from the port when they landed.  They'd had a wonderful meal together and a few laughs before retiring for the night.  She seemed to be doing well this time.  She actually had periods of time where she remembered who he was and in those moments they'd spent reminiscing about the past.  On his last visit there had been far fewer opportunities to reminisce.  When he awoke he made her some breakfast, something her personal assistant would normally have done, and then he grabbed a shower.

As much as he would have preferred to spend more time with her, he knew that he had to file a lot of paperwork for their last mission and he wanted to oversee all of the transfer of data and experiments from the ship to the companies labs.  It wasn't that he didn't trust them to do a good job...he just knew that regardless of how well they did, he would do it better.  The research was his baby and he would make sure that it was properly tucked into the companies databases by his own hand.  He would have plenty of opportunity to spend with her over the next few weeks while they were at port.

As he gathered his things he kissed his mother on the forehead and told her he'd be back later that evening. The last thing she said to him as he departed was: "I love you my little Sato-sugu."

---

It had been an extremely long day but a very productive one as well.  They'd gotten every experiment successfully transferred to the labs and all of the necessary data had been entered into the companies systems. It was now only a matter of completing all of the necessary forms and he would be done for the day.

But the end of the day would not come so soon nor so easily...for it was then that the announcement over they PA could be heard.  He quickly grabbed his hand terminal to find out what the cause of such a radiation breach.  It becomes pretty clear that an Ice Hauler had 'exploded' in the docking area...but what wasn't very clear was 'why' the Ice Hauler had exploded.  It didn't make any sense...but he would have to worry about finding out the why later.

He gathered up his things and shouted instructions to Abang and Asha and anyone else in the office:

"Gather your things and make your way to  hard shelter 47." It was the nearest shelter and wasn't all that far from where they currently were.  He was usually one to heed his own advice, but in this instance his heart overruled his mind.  He would make his way to his mother's room and get her to the nearest hard shelter.  He couldn't stand the thought of taking care of his own safety at the expense of her own.

It wasn't until he was making his way to her apartment that his thoughts went to the Shíyàn Nóngyé...he wondered how this was all going to turn out...and if he'd ever manage to set foot upon her again?  He shrugged the thought off and redoubled his efforts to get to his his mother.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:35, Tue 31 Aug 2021.

Last night Hope walked off the ship into comfortable surroundings. Even with the haunting nature of Eros, there was a certain ease to being amid so many Belters. She walked paths she had walked many times before, eventually ending up at a bar. She ran into a Ronny, a not-too-close friend from childhood, there and reminisced over too many drinks, though notably less than she'd made it through at many sittings recently. Later she dressed beside his sleeping body and headed back to the ship to get a good rest before working tomorrow; the ship had become home now, and she could sleep there better.

After a good "night's" sleep she got up to go to Shíyàn Nóngyè company office. Hope knew chief engineer Xi Yichen wouldn't make it. Most likely he'd not be seen for a couple days. As he probably would have messed up the paperwork anyway, it was better for Hope to take care of it as she had done on each of the previous docking since she got the job. No big deal, better it be done right and everyone be content than having to deal with the results otherwise.

---

Sitting at her terminal when the shaking happens, Hope glances around with her eyes briefly, her head still toward the terminal. The feeling is too much for any typical OPA bombing. She starts checking the terminal just as the message starts coming in over the PA system, noting Docking Bay 3 rather than Docking Bay 2. And then the XO gives his instructions.

Hope sweeps her hand terminal up from the tabletop and slides it into a pocket. She swings around off the chair to head for the doorway with the others. Initially heading toward the hard shelter seems fine, but she notices the XO veering off and says to him, "Hey, bosmang, it's this way. You're gonna be pashtang if you get stuck in the wrong spot."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:02, Sat 28 Aug 2021.

As he started to head off Asha spoke to him.  He had no idea what pashtang meant but from the context of the rest of what she said, he didn't imagine it was something good.

In response he said, "I appreciate your concern but I have to try to get my mother to safety as she won't be able to do so for herself given her illness. As soon as I get to her apartment, I'll be booting it to a hard shelter with her."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:37, Tue 31 Aug 2021.

When the ship berthed, Dr Kaos was greeting by messages spamming his terminal, the small handful of local clinics he'd volunteered at over the years all trying to get his attention for the weeks he was going to be on station again.  He sighed at it, yes, being needed (and wanted) was a grand part of the joy he took in his work, but sometimes he wished they'd cooperate a bit more with each other so he didn't have to triage them and do the hard part of breaking their hearts when he couldn't see to everyone.

He'd learned long ago, downtime needed downtime.

But he made time for two clinics the first evening off ship, consulted with the younger doctors and agreed with their assessments, they were bright and eager youngsters, brilliant in their own ways, they just needed some time to grow more confident in their own diagnosis.  Then he swung by the bar he knew Hope enjoyed most, the one her feet always found first on Eros.  Seeing she was already relaxed and enjoying herself, he passed by with a drink, caught her eye and toasted her evening.  He finished his drink and slide out, calling it an early night.

Waking only a few hours later, he checked the thrid clinic, spent a few hours talking with the doctor and nurses, agreeing with them overall on most the of the cases they'd held aside for his eyes, but suggested something a bit more extreme on the last.  The surgery was complicated, but one he'd done several times, and once done correctly would lead to the patient having an easier time with their prosthesis, better seating and finer nerve connections.  It was a 'small' improvement, but would mean they'd be far less likely to ever need adjustment in the future and suffer less discomfort overall.  He scheduled a surgery window for a few days next week, to give the clinic time to get the patient briefed and make sure a suite was available.

On his way to the Shíyàn Nóngyè offices, to follow up on any paperwork and surreptitiously resupply his kit (Abang a bad habit of passing on his own supplies when visiting the clinics), he stopped by a supplier of fine goods he knew, who'd messaged him "I've got it".  Oh, this would be a treat, he'd been promising Hope a 'good' bottle of gin for their "drink ourselves stupid and not talk about whatever nightmares haunt the past" ritual for a couple of runs now, it would be a delight to deliver on this promise.

"So ya really gon drink this ya?  Lotta qián for somethin ya drink."

"Of course we'll be drinking this, what else would you do with it?  Keep it hidden away, only bringing it out to gently stroke the bottle and imagine it's richness?" He scoffs and smiles with the purveyor, knowing it was exactly what the previous owner had been doing for years, "Medicine must be administered for the patient to benefit, and this medicine will benefit us tonight!  Hah!"

He slide the old wooden box, with it's artful logo and icons of authenticity shut and noticed it was too bulky to fit properly in his medical duffel.  "Hmmm," he removed the bottle from the box, "here my friend, this display will be unnecessary after tonight, please pass this on to someone who may want a decorative wooden box, or whatever, saves me the recycling fees, eh?"

Bottle safely wrapped in a medical brace and cushioned by the gauze packs on one side and medigel plasters on the other, he finished his morning at the offices.  He spent the day carefully making sure the supply requisitions were properly doctored to cover the supplies he'd been squirreling away to pass along to the free clinics on Eros.

He'd just wrapped up the day, paperwork in quintuplicate, and was popping over to Hope's area of the offices to see if she was done as well when the PA blared it's announcement, warning, and safety recommendation.  He falls in beside her and draws up sharply when she does, looking to their XO to see if he knows something they didn't.

Hope takes a moment when she has Shinsato Hirotsugu's attention. "Bosmang, do you know where tha hard shelters are if you get stuck without electronics? Personally, I'd feel better if we could get to our ship; I don't why the other bays are locked down."

Abang, looks at the crowd moving down the hall, "No boss, I'm coming with you.  Got anti-rad chelates if we get stuck outside of a shelter." He pats the emt bag slung on his shoulder, "Long as it's no worse than a walk outside in a papersuit, we'll be fine.  Uncomfortable, but fine."

He then catches what Hope had asked, "Couple of reasons port authority would close down ship access, most of them end with the words 'deliberate sabotage'."  Though his voice is steady and calm, there is tension around his eyes and his hand griping the medical bag's straps is going white.

Shinsato saw the logic in Abang coming with him.  Should he have trouble getting to a hard shelter, he had anti-rad medication that could afford him more time to get to shelter if need be.  He nodded his consent to the man.

"Do you have enough anti-rad for four? If not...Asha, I want you to go for shelter now.  No sense risking necks when it isn't necessary."

As an afterthought he added, to Asha:

"I'd rather be on the ship too, but if the radiation issues are in the docking bay area, we wouldn't likely make it to the ship.  Better that we find shelter for now.  Like I said, I have to get to my mother to safety if I can."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:38, Tue 31 Aug 2021.

"If the doc's got enough for four, I'm with you, bosmang. I've played it safe before. Besides, I grew up here, so I probably know the routes better than anyone else if we need to improvise."

"I just restocked, so yes, I have a standard pack which is fourteen days supply of chelating gels.  As long as we aren't under irradiated conditions for more than three days, or nuked, we should be fine.  Let's go save your mother."


[Private to GM: I'm more than willing to throw a wrinkle into his "yes I have XX amount", like if we get into it and you need Abang to have less capacity, just say the word.  I can fluff out reasons that he was wrong or forgetful.]
This message was last edited by the player at 19:37, Tue 31 Aug 2021.

Sato was glad to have help but he also felt a sense of guilt as he was now putting two more lives in addition  to his own at risk by not insisting that they head to a shelter immediately.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on which position one took), his crew were somewhat stubborn.   They followed orders alright, but they'd become more of a family, as do most crews that work closely together.  He knew that in this instance they weren't likely to follow such an order.

He couldn't afford to take the time to have the argument that he was bound to lose anyway, so he simply headed off toward to his mother's apartment.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:39, Tue 31 Aug 2021.

BY the time  Asha, Dr. Kaos and Sato finish their conversation everyone else who was in the office has left.

With Sato abruptly leaving, it is up to Asha, or Dr. Kaos to lock the office up....

Outside the office the wide open court area that serves as the location for several business offices is full of people heading in every direction.

[Private to Dr. Abang Kaos:
I do not see why you would not have a supply of radiation prevention meds on you.

https://www.askaprepper.com/16...-radiation-exposure/]

OOC: It makes no difference to me if you guys split up or stay together.

Abang stops to lock up the offices, saying to Hope, "Go, follow the XO, I'll be right behind you."

"OK. Be quick. It looks like chaos out here." Hope follows along behind the XO while using her hand terminal to let Abang track her.

Sato heads off to meet his mother along with Asha as Dr. Kaos finishes locking up the office. Once done it doesn't take too long for the Earther to catch up to the Martian and Belter.

The three stay close together as they find themselves going in the opposite direction of just about everyone else who are (probably) on their way to a hard shelter. As such instead of taking an easy ten minutes to reach the small apartment where Sato's mother lives it takes almost thirty minutes.

OOC: Can everyone please include a perception test in their next post?

[Private to Shinsato Hirotsugu: Does your character's mother have a caregiver?]

Abang brings up the rear, keeping Hope in sight, but remaining a few yards behind in case some one slipped or some thug lunged out of the crowd at Sato or Hope, hopefully he could see them and head them off.



OOC: 01:30, Today: Dr. Abang Kaos rolled 7 using 3d6+1 with the AGE System with rolls of {2}, 1, 3.  Perception Test.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:55, Sat 11 Sept 2021.

Asha does her best to keep Sato in view and stay nearly right behind him.

05:11, Today: Asha Blackburn rolled 11 using 3d6+2 (5 stunt points) with the AGE System with rolls of {5}, 2, 2.  Perception test.

I don't think perception generates stunt points.

He knew every turn along the route to get to his mother's apartment and thus was able to focus much of his attention while getting there to his surroundings.  His eyes ever scanning for anything that might impede there progress, any hazard that might prevent him from getting to her.

---

OOC: 11:12, Today: Shinsato Hirotsugu rolled 16 using 3d6 (5 stunt points) with the AGE System with rolls of {5}, 6, 5.  perception test.

[Private to GM: I see her as being in assisted living.  A care giver sees her for personal care, meals, etc., but spends much of her day milling about her apartment keeping herself amuzed.  Unless you see a more facility style care model existing on the station?

So, under an assisted living situation, it would depend on time of day and what she would be doing at that time.  Hope that helps?]

Sato, Asha, and Dr. Koas reach the the apartment belonging to Sato's mother without any trouble. with a keycard to the apartment, Sato easily gain access and find both his mother and her caregiver Kaeya, a young Belter girl of 17 years old present.

Upon seeing her son, Sato's mother begins talking to him. "Oh Shinsato you finally came! Am I right that the Earthers are attacking us here in Londres Nova? Kaeya doesn't think so. She says we're on Eros of all places and there is a radiation alert."

Kaeya who knows all about Ms. Hirotsugu's condition says nothing about the older woman's statement. "I didn't want to leave until you showed up. I packed a bag of your Mother's things."

[Private to Shinsato Hirotsugu: Looking at your hand terminal you notice that it no longer has a network connection.]

Shinsato ran to his mother and hugged her, grateful that she was okay.  He knew that explaining what was happening would only cause her more confusion and delay their moving to safety.  He made a choice to go with the story she currently believed:

"Yes mom, the Earther's are attacking.  Please forgive Kaeya, it is a very difficult situation...I'm sure she simply panicked."  He turned his head toward Kaeya and offered her a look that said he knew that hadn't been the case, and hoped she would just go along with it.  He then mouthed the words "thank you" to her, for having stayed with his mother when she could just as easily have left her to he own devices and run for safety.

"Now, we really have to be getting out of here mother.  Please take my hand and follow me...Kaeya, please come with us."  He took a quick look at his hand terminal, made a face that conveyed frustration, and put it back in a side pocket on his pants.

With that Shinsato took his mother's hand and led her out of the room.  He looked to Abang, "Please grab my mother's bag.  We must be going."  He then spoke to Asha in low tones as he made his way for the door, "the network is down...our hand terminals won't be able to provide us any further intel on the situation.  Lets make our way to the nearest hard shelter."