The Return to Laura II [IC]

[Sala]

Galactic Standard Time: 03:40 am / Landfall Planetary Time: 11:04 am
Hours Remaining to Deadline: ~7

Party Members and Status

 

 

 

 

 

 

Status
Aquilla Shuttle:
Baba: 4/4 Bennies
Carl: 3/3 Bennies
Geo: 3/3 Bennies
Ferny: 3/3 Bennies
Herbie:

Vernon:
Francis:

The Sathar Dome:
Keita: 2/2 Bennies
Beth:
Tiki: 3/3 Bennies, 1 Wounds
Yat: 3/3 Bennies
Becky:
Mox:
Kochinho:
Simba:

Halcyon Shuttle: At dome

Halcyon Merc Dropship Alpha: At Dome

Kershkick Mound:
Kirby:
Felix:
Captain Roark: 3/3 Bennies, 3 Wounds
Vinz: 1 Wound
Buubuu: 3/3 Bennies, 2 Wounds

Laura II Crash Site:
Corvid Shuttle:
Dove Shuttle:
Marg: ?
S'hax: ?
Hanna: ?

Missing Escape Pod:
Rudith: ?
Gloopurt: ?
Gohn: ?

Floating atop the Laura II, Carl helps Tobias and Francis out of their awkwardly tilted shuttle and out onto the slippery surface of the station, floating in the midst of a sparkling, purplish-blue alien sea. An image right out of a postcard, the light of the day making the water seem as though the surface were studded by gemstones.

Jace raises a hand to call on his comms. What reply comes in through their frequency is scrambled, full of static and indecipherable. It's clear that, though scrambled, Baba was at least able to tell there was something trying to come in over their short range comms. She glides down from her position circling above to conserve fuel, and Ferny waves from the gap of the ramp where the rope hangs down.

"I'm not sure how well I can rope climb, I was never the biggest guy in gym class," Tobias comments nervously, looking up at the heights. As he speaks, a speaker comes on above, whining to life.

"Testing, testing. Baba here. I'm using an external speaker right now. Couldn't hear a lick of what you said commander, but I can see our guys down there."

Carl grabs the rope and begins wrapping it around Tobias' waist. "This should work okay for the noodlearms, yeah? They just gotta hold on to keep from floppin' around and it'll keep him from falling."

Edited September 25, 2023 by Paro (see edit history)

[Paro]

Jace Falcone, Halcyon Field Commander & Acting Expedition Commander

---

Jace nodded and gave Baba a thumbs up gesture as she caught on they wanted an immediate pickup. He gave hand signals for the pilot to stay still as Carl worked.

"Don't worry, the rope will hold and Geo can lend some strength to haul you up."

Once they had Tobias into the shuttle, they aided Francis as well before getting themselves back aboard.

With all of them aboard, he instructed Baba, "Let's do a lazy circling that will best conserve fuel until we know more about what's going on here. I am tempted to let Geo down to see if he can make sense of what's going on and gain entry. But without comms, this operation is getting hairy."

"So, Francis, Tobias, fill us in on what happened."

 

Character Info

SWADE Character Sheet
Notice: 1d6+2
Parry: 5
Toughness: 6 Base (12 Ballistic, 14 Laser)

Bennies: 3/3

Weapon in hand: Laser Rifle

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by Paro (see edit history)

[Sala]

Galactic Standard Time: 03:45 am / Landfall Planetary Time: 11:09 am
Hours Remaining to Deadline: ~7

---

Party Members and Status

 

 

Status
Aquilla Shuttle:
Baba: 4/4 Bennies
Carl: 3/3 Bennies
Geo: 3/3 Bennies
Ferny: 3/3 Bennies
Herbie:

Vernon:
Francis:

The Sathar Dome:
Keita: 2/2 Bennies
Beth:
Tiki: 3/3 Bennies, 1 Wounds
Yat: 3/3 Bennies
Becky:
Mox:
Kochinho:
Simba:

Halcyon Shuttle: At dome

Halcyon Merc Dropship Alpha: At Dome

Kershkick Mound:
Kirby:
Felix:
Captain Roark: 3/3 Bennies, 3 Wounds
Vinz: 1 Wound
Buubuu: 3/3 Bennies, 2 Wounds

Laura II Crash Site:
Corvid Shuttle:
Dove Shuttle:
Marg: ?
S'hax: ?
Hanna: ?

Missing Escape Pod:
Rudith: ?
Gloopurt: ?
Gohn: ?

Assembled in the craft, their group settles in, most of Team Halcyon now reunited. The mere sight of Geo looming above when he's hauled aboard causes Francis to pale, and he shrinks into his seat. At once he is struggling not to look at the towering alien, and not to look away. Implacable as ever, the xeno displays no readable body language or expression.

"When we arrived," wiping at his glasses to clear them again in the warm, tropical ocean air, Tobias glances at Francis' condition and takes initiative with the explanation. "Commander Marg led S'hax and Hanna in to handle the investigation. The Dove shuttle was tethered to Laura to keep it from drifting away, and we remained in the Corvid shuttle keeping watch for trouble. We had comms with them for about ten minutes, then they entered the subspace radio station and there were no more calls..." with a deep frown, he adds, "At the time I assumed they were just busy working on the machine."

Chewing his lip, Francis looks at the floor and mutters, "Then I noticed the fuel going down."

"And more pooling on the water down by the other shuttle," Tobias concurs. "We tried to hail the team inside, then hail the crew back at our base camp. Nothing seemed to be going through, and there was interference when we tried to talk to each other. Some calls have tried to come through from inside since then, but we couldn't make out anything they were saying."

 

"Could be a pain getting in through the airlock if the jamming keeps us from hailing the system to allow access," sitting in her chair in the cockpit, Baba watches the ocean around them with each lazy turn of their glide. She sets her PDD into a port in the dash and drums across it with her fingers. "Brought up the ship specs here. Think if we had to force our way in, the best place would be breaking off one of the escape pod docks."

Edited September 28, 2023 by Sala (see edit history)

[Paro]

Jace Falcone, Halcyon Field Commander & Acting Expedition Commander

---

Jace frowned and looked stern as he took in the report. He nodded appreciatively at Baba's information. "Thanks, you are reading my mind."

 

"We have people trapped inside and we have to at least investigate what is happening inside. This feels like some nefarious intervention, but who could be sabotaging our efforts and Team Dove? The traitors that fled could not have gotten here, and we do not have any evidence that the mercenaries landed another team here to capture them. Of course, we did not ask our prisoners about that."

 

"So, I would be inclined to assess that we have some native entities at play here, destroying Laura Two and mechanical issues. But let's assume the worst and we have enemy infiltration at play. I am concerned about comms issues and fuel. Baba, our assault team will be dropped off and we shall beak our way inside. That will be myself, Geo, Baba, Carl, and Ferny."

 

"Francis will take over the piloting and give us one hour before returning to pick us up, even if there are no comms. Baba, I shall need some mechanical expertise breaking in and potentially fixing things inside. Vernon, you can stay and help him keep on schedule and watch. I recommend landing and conserving fuel. But stay on the shuttle and buttoned up."

 

"Any better ideas or refinements to my planning?"

 

Character Info

SWADE Character Sheet
Notice: 1d6+2
Parry: 5
Toughness: 6 Base (12 Ballistic, 14 Laser)

Bennies: 3/3

Weapon in hand: Laser Rifle

 

[Sala]

Galactic Standard Time: 04:05 am / Landfall Planetary Time: 11:29 am
Hours Remaining to Deadline: ~6.5

---

Party Members and Status

 

 

Status
Drop Team:
Baba: 3/4 Bennies, 1 Wound
Carl: 3/3 Bennies
Geo: 3/3 Bennies
Ferny: 3/3 Bennies

Aquilla Shuttle:

Vernon:
Francis:

Herbie:

The Sathar Dome:
Keita: 2/2 Bennies
Beth:
Tiki: 3/3 Bennies, 1 Wounds
Yat: 3/3 Bennies
Becky:
Mox:
Kochinho:
Simba:

Halcyon Shuttle: At dome

Halcyon Merc Dropship Alpha: At Dome

Kershkick Mound:
Kirby:
Felix:
Captain Roark: 3/3 Bennies, 3 Wounds
Vinz: 1 Wound
Buubuu: 3/3 Bennies, 2 Wounds

Laura II Crash Site:
Corvid Shuttle:
Dove Shuttle:
Marg: ?
S'hax: ?
Hanna: ?

Missing Escape Pod:
Rudith: ?
Gloopurt: ?
Gohn: ?

"I can handle that," with a nod, Francis looks to the cockpit, where Baba is giving a thumbs up over her shoulder. She brings them down, slowly descending to the surface of the Laura II.

Landing gear unfurls from the bottom of the shuttle, designed to maglock to the outside of craft in space when necessary. Baba bites her lip, slowly bringing down the engines. As they settle in, the Laura II shifts beneath the new weight, the sound of water and shifting metal coming up from beneath them. "Okay. I... think I'm balanced with the other shuttle stuck up here. Does it feel like we're sinking?" she pauses, and lets silence hold over the shuttle's interior for a moment. "No. Laura's still nice and buoyant inside. But we're gonna have to be careful not to let in a ton of water when we force our way in, or this thing could capsize." Carl takes a cloth and wipes his forehead. From nervousness, probably, but the tropical heat has everyone sweating. Everyone capable of it, at least. If the station still has power, the air conditioned interior might be a nice change of atmosphere.

"Good luck," Vernon wishes them as they step off of the shuttle.

 

Waves rock against the craft, making the metal surface beneath them unsteady. But Baba's landing job has made it less lopsided - for now. Carl motions for Geo to proceed slowly as they make their way over to the side of the Laura II, where the escape pod is docked. Baba squats to peer over the edge while Ferny reaches out and holds her steady with a concerned vine. Water isn't too far up the sides of the Laura II, but it's lapping around the edges of the dock.

"Can't just cleave it off or the water will flood in. I can use a laser cutter to carve open a hole on top of the airlock here for us to slip into like some kinda cartoon. Failsafes will keep it from activating with a structural hole, so I'd have to carve open the inner door too. Not sure Geo will fit in through here, though. Carl?"

With Carl and Ferny's help, Baba is lowered down on top of the small docking bridge. Carl lowers himself down beside her. She kneels and opens her tool kit, slipping on a pair of dark goggles. "Might not wanna look directly into the laser if you like not needing corrective eye surgery," she cautions before getting to work. The device's engine whirs loudly, and sparks fly off of the metal as the laser torch gradually carves a molten line through the material.

 

It's not a fast process, but Baba's steady hand saves her time. With her signal, Carl uses his boot to stomp the round chunk, which comes free and drops into the short airlock corridor below. Red lights and a warning siren start to blare up from inside following the breach. "Going to need to suck in my gut for this one," Baba says, looking up at Jace and Ferny - and Geo looming behind. "Only two of us will fit in this little passage at a time and still give me space to work with. I'll need somebody who can help my old bones pry open the airlock doors once I melt through the locking mechanisms. The other two will have to come down once we get it open."

"Do you think this noise'll draw any freaky alien ocean critters?" Carl wonders, looking out over the water. "Oh hey. I wonder if the Dove shuttle's got any scannin' stuff on it for that."

"Probably," Baba answers, grunting as she works to squeeze herself down through the hole, cursing under her breath. "Come on you saggy mothers..." eventually she manages to get through and drop down, but it's followed by a "Mawk!" Carl peers down inside, reaching up to adjust his hat. "Hurt my shoulder getting in," she calls up. "That's all. I'm good. Still good."

OOC

Baba has Wounded herself in the process of getting inside.

 

Edited October 14, 2023 by Sala (see edit history)

[Paro]

Jace Falcone, Halcyon Field Commander & Acting Expedition Commander

---

Jace was concerned. He had not been paying much attention to the old woman's risk taking as he let her do her stuff unsupervised. And here they were without a medic. "Alright, take it easier, Granny Baba. If you break a hip, we don't have a wheelchair to cart you around with during the pirate ship assault."

 

"Since you are cutting a hole, might as well make it big enough for Geo. And let him do the prying with his strength. He might not even need you to do all the cutting." They had seen the native wrecking machine do a number before.

 

Character Info

SWADE Character Sheet
Notice: 1d6+2
Parry: 5
Toughness: 6 Base (12 Ballistic, 14 Laser)

Bennies: 3/3

Weapon in hand: Laser Rifle

 

[Sala]

Galactic Standard Time: 04:10 am / Landfall Planetary Time: 11:34 am
Hours Remaining to Deadline: ~6.5

---

Party Members and Status

 

 

Status
Drop Team:
Baba: 3/4 Bennies, 1 Wound
Carl: 3/3 Bennies
Geo: 3/3 Bennies
Ferny: 3/3 Bennies

Aquilla Shuttle:

Vernon:
Francis:

Herbie:

The Sathar Dome:
Keita: 2/2 Bennies
Beth:
Tiki: 3/3 Bennies, 1 Wounds
Yat: 3/3 Bennies
Becky:
Mox:
Kochinho:
Simba:

Halcyon Shuttle: At dome

Halcyon Merc Dropship Alpha: At Dome

Kershkick Mound:
Kirby:
Felix:
Captain Roark: 3/3 Bennies, 3 Wounds
Vinz: 1 Wound
Buubuu: 3/3 Bennies, 2 Wounds

Laura II Crash Site:
Corvid Shuttle:
Dove Shuttle:
Marg: ?
S'hax: ?
Hanna: ?

Missing Escape Pod:
Rudith: ?
Gloopurt: ?
Gohn: ?

The old woman's slightly pained laugh echoes up out of the hole. "I'll just borrow Moxie's," she responds, stepping back to peer up through the opening. "Is not really the hole that's the problem," she adds, measuring the passage's width with a reach of her arms, the passage inside not even her full wingspan wide. "This passage is made for - erm, not-monster-sized people. If I want to cut it wide enough to fit the big guy, I would have to cut open some space down the sides. We would take on water through it. And I would be laser-sawing an airlock open while giving him a very cozy lapdance. I'm too old to be living that wild, boss."

Taking up the laser cutter again, she flicks her goggles down and steps out of view. Its engine whirs up while she gets to work. Carl shrugs up at Jace from his position beside the hole, no particular opinion on who should go down.

 

Working through the locks takes a while longer, giving more time to think on the issue. Getting Geo in through the escape passage would still be possible, if time consuming and risky. Taking on too much water would tilt the ship.

While silent and unresponsive to the discussions surrounding him, Geo shifts his position for the first time in several minutes during Baba's work, facing to track something unseen by the rest of their team - everyone but Jace, who noticed the same from his perch. "There is movement," the alien's statement translates into their ears. Jace watches three dark shapes moving below the water's surface and slithering underneath the fallen station. They wriggle like eels, but he can make out appendages a little too much like limbs as opposed to fins.

OOC

 

 

[Paro]

Jace Falcone, Halcyon Field Commander & Acting Expedition Commander

---

Jace shrugged in response to Carl's non-verbal communication, showing his own agreement that there was no obvious answer. But then events sort of had a way of making some decisions for a commander when they were not forced into making one for the sake of making one.

 

"Geo, what do you know about prey that swims in the big water like here? Could these visitors be water peoples like Ferny's people? Or are we likely to deal with competitive animals that want to eat us? What about you, Ferny?"

 

He kept his laser rifle ready and alerted Carl to the danger so the three of them could handle it while Baba worked.

 

Character Info

SWADE Character Sheet
Notice: 1d6+2
Parry: 5
Toughness: 6 Base (12 Ballistic, 14 Laser)

Bennies: 3/3

Weapon in hand: Laser Rifle

 

[Sala]

Galactic Standard Time: 04:15 am / Landfall Planetary Time: 11:39 am
Hours Remaining to Deadline: ~6.5

---

Party Members and Status

 

 

Status
Drop Team:
Baba: 3/4 Bennies, 1 Wound
Carl: 3/3 Bennies
Geo: 3/3 Bennies
Ferny: 3/3 Bennies

Aquilla Shuttle:

Vernon:
Francis:

Herbie:

The Sathar Dome:
Keita: 2/2 Bennies
Beth:
Tiki: 3/3 Bennies, 1 Wounds
Yat: 3/3 Bennies
Becky:
Mox:
Kochinho:
Simba:

Halcyon Shuttle: At dome

Halcyon Merc Dropship Alpha: At Dome

Kershkick Mound:
Kirby:
Felix:
Captain Roark: 3/3 Bennies, 3 Wounds
Vinz: 1 Wound
Buubuu: 3/3 Bennies, 2 Wounds

Laura II Crash Site:
Corvid Shuttle:
Dove Shuttle:
Marg: ?
S'hax: ?
Hanna: ?

Missing Escape Pod:
Rudith: ?
Gloopurt: ?
Gohn: ?

Standing completely still, poised to strike anything that may lunge into range, Geo is momentarily silent in anticipation. Then he begins to respond, "The big water is not a place hunted." Coming from the desert, he may not be familiar with large bodies of water like this, in spite of any resemblance to a mantis shrimp. Curling her vines around some supports, Ferny slinks down near where Carl is swapping weapons to his hefty handgun and steadying himself on the structure of the escape pod. Ferny raises her new polymer shield from the last fight.

"We have seen water animals swimming that chew on other animals. Some of them crawl on the beach/sand to eat fruit. No water people of them have tried to talk to us like the sky people," the floral explorer voices. "In the great lake/big water/ocean the water is hungry and can pull an explorer away forever if they try to go inside. We use big rocks to keep anchored when we collect water flora. Flora inside the ocean make home nursery/garden/farm grow very well when you plant/bury them."

"Sounds like undertow by the beach, real scary stuff," scanning the surface, Carl doesn't see anything either of the others don't. "Gotta be something we can- oh! Hey, I bet Sshax's submersible drone's somewhere on the Dove shuttle," he suggests over the noise of Baba's cutting below, struggling with the Vruskan name.

 

Several more minutes pass, but nothing emerges from below the shuttle or attacks. The sound of the laser cutter pauses and there's a mechanical straining sound as Baba tests the airlock door. "Alright," Baba calls up. "Think I cut through both of the locks. Now we just gotta pry it open."

"Got a huntin' knife we could jab in between," Carl mentions.

OOC

 

 

[Paro]

Jace Falcone, Halcyon Field Commander & Acting Expedition Commander

---

Jace shrugged, "Well, maybe we are not seeing anything like intelligent people under there. We have important priorities anyway if there are no threats. Perhaps if we have time we can see if Team Dove learned anything interesting later. But right now, we have a timer counting down on our mission and not much time to waste."

"Ready to go, let's be about this."

"Carl, you pry it open, I will follow, then Ferny and Baba brings up the rear. I have a knife as well, if necessary."

He moved into position, taking his time to avoid getting burned or tangled up in the airlock as they shuffled around their order. When everyone was ready he signaled Carl to go ahead and proceed. he had his laser rifle on its chest sling readily at hand to bear, just in case.

"Vernon, Comm check. We are about to enter through the airlocks," he tested to see if they were being jammed or not.

 

Character Info

SWADE Character Sheet
Notice: 1d6+2
Parry: 5
Toughness: 6 Base (12 Ballistic, 14 Laser)

Bennies: 3/3

Weapon in hand: Laser Rifle

 

[Sala]

Galactic Standard Time: 04:18 am / Landfall Planetary Time: 11:42 am
Hours Remaining to Deadline: ~6.5

---

Party Members and Status

 

 

Status
Drop Team:
Baba: 3/4 Bennies, 1 Wound
Carl: 3/3 Bennies
Ferny: 3/3 Bennies

Station Roof:

Geo: 3/3 Bennies

 

Aquilla Shuttle:

Vernon:
Francis:

Herbie:

The Sathar Dome:
Keita: 2/2 Bennies
Beth:
Tiki: 3/3 Bennies, 1 Wounds
Yat: 3/3 Bennies
Becky:
Mox:
Kochinho:
Simba:

Halcyon Shuttle: At dome

Halcyon Merc Dropship Alpha: At Dome

Kershkick Mound:
Kirby:
Felix:
Captain Roark: 3/3 Bennies, 3 Wounds
Vinz: 1 Wound
Buubuu: 3/3 Bennies, 2 Wounds

Laura II Crash Site:
Corvid Shuttle:
Dove Shuttle:
Marg: ?
S'hax: ?
Hanna: ?

Missing Escape Pod:
Rudith: ?
Gloopurt: ?
Gohn: ?

Remaining perched above like a gargoyle, Geo will certainly be a deterrent to anything trying to jump out of the water at them. Jace slides down onto the airlock roof, while Carl squeezes inside to join Baba. Using his hunting knife for leverage, he's able to get it open a crack. Then the two of them work their fingers in and pry it apart. The blade of the knife is bent in the process, but doesn't snap off. Carl fiddles with it to get it back in its sheath.

When the two of them move into the Laura II proper, room opens up for Jace and Ferny to drop down. They shuffle places momentarily, with Jace and Carl taking the lead. "We're at the upper starboard escape pods," Baba indicates. The room they're in now has three airlocks out into pods, one of which they've broken their way inside of. Some lockers line the wall, filled with space suits and small survival packs. Red warning lights pulsate from the wall atop the locker, and sirens continue to go off, warning of the breach.

Vernon's only reply is scrambled static. Jace can tell somebody is speaking, but it's impossible to make out words.

There is one door, leading into the upper deck hallway. "Just to our left out there will be stairs," the old woman continues refreshing. "Atmospherics straight ahead, virology to our right." She pulls a blaster pistol from its holster for the close quarters. Putting his side to the wall, Carl moves up next to one side of the hallway door. "When the team got here, where do you think they would go first?"

OOC

 

 

[Paro]

Jace Falcone, Halcyon Field Commander & Acting Expedition Commander

---

Jace replied, "We are likely going to need to search everywhere. I am assuming that we have potential hostiles on board, and we need to systematically search while not allowing anyone to flank us and get around to our rear. Basically, stick to the hallways and check compartments."

"Now, if the ship has power, we can potentially shorten the search if we make to the command section and use the systems there to get a better handle on what's going on."

He moved forward to check the stairs up, and stayed put. He motioned for Carl to move past and check the entrance to virology. Then he motioned for Baba to take his place and he wound move forward to check the entrance to Atmospherics while Baba and Ferny covered the stairs.

 

Character Info

SWADE Character Sheet
Notice: 1d6+2
Parry: 5
Toughness: 6 Base (12 Ballistic, 14 Laser)

Bennies: 3/3

Weapon in hand: Laser Rifle

 

[Sala]

Galactic Standard Time: 04:20 am / Landfall Planetary Time: 11:44 am
Hours Remaining to Deadline: ~6.5

---

Party Members and Status

 

 

Status
Drop Team:
Baba: 3/4 Bennies, 1 Wound
Carl: 3/3 Bennies
Ferny: 3/3 Bennies

Station Roof:

Geo: 3/3 Bennies

 

Aquilla Shuttle:

Vernon:
Francis:

Herbie:

The Sathar Dome:
Keita: 2/2 Bennies
Beth:
Tiki: 3/3 Bennies, 1 Wounds
Yat: 3/3 Bennies
Becky:
Mox:
Kochinho:
Simba:

Halcyon Shuttle: At dome

Halcyon Merc Dropship Alpha: At Dome

Kershkick Mound:
Kirby:
Felix:
Captain Roark: 3/3 Bennies, 3 Wounds
Vinz: 1 Wound
Buubuu: 3/3 Bennies, 2 Wounds

Laura II Crash Site:
Corvid Shuttle:
Dove Shuttle:
Marg: ?
S'hax: ?
Hanna: ?

Missing Escape Pod:
Rudith: ?
Gloopurt: ?
Gohn: ?

In the glare of the warning lights, Jace stares down into the mid-deck. Taking a knee gives a clear view of the hallway below, ending in a door to the shuttle hangar. Near the next level of the stairwell is a door leading into the second starboard escape pod bay, and the opposite side of the hall would promise a short walk through Robotics onto the Bridge. The stair railing turns as it coils around on itself and descends down towards the crew deck, out of sight.

Beyond the stairwell, Jace has a clear view of the starboard hallway on their current level. The men's lavatory door is on the other side of the stairs, with the mess hall and cargo hold along the wall to his right. All clear so far. Hearing the electronic door to Virology make a beep behind him, Jace presses the switch next to the Atmospherics door. A similar, upset-sounding beep accompanies a small red light on the panel. A tiny screen flashes the words ATMOSPHERE BREACH.

"Guess 'cause it thinks we're venting into space," Carl presses his button again with a similar result.

Baba glances over from the top of the stairs, Ferny coiled at her feet with her shield positioned to give the older woman cover from below. "There should be a manual override. Try holding down the button for twenty seconds, that one is usually the factory default for these doors."

Following her directions, Carl presses his thumb against the button and holds it there. About half a minute later, the door beeps with a yellow light that flashes around the button for three seconds. Then, it slides open with a hiss. On the other side is a prep and suiting area, separated from a viral lab by a wall with windows set into it. Samples in glass vials sit in cooled shelves on the other side. Holding his handgun in front of him and directed at the floor, Carl cautiously enters and looks around. "Not seein' anybody in here or in the lab, chief."

Jace's door proves amenable to the same method. With a beep and a hiss, it opens into the Atmospherics control center. One wall to his left is lined with computer monitors and a pair of sliding office chairs locked to tracks on the floor, while oxygen scrubbers, air tanks, pipes and venting fill the rest of the room. Upon one of the computer monitors he sees an outline of the ship floorplan, with flashing red text indicating the breach in the escape pod bay and a sector lockdown in connected areas of the ship to prevent loss of atmosphere. A door to his right, between two rows of pipes, leads into Virology. And directly ahead, a door to the Xenobio lab.

OOC

 

 

Edited November 30, 2023 by Sala (see edit history)

[Paro]

Jace Falcone, Halcyon Field Commander & Acting Expedition Commander

---

Jace gave a thumbs up on the report from Carl, “Copy that.”

“Baba, come with me into Atmospherics. Carl, you and Ferny cover the door. I think the lockdown would have slowed down any potential intruder movement.”

Once everyone shuffled around, he moved to the computer bank with Baba. He asked, “Can we pull up more information on compartment status and possibly remote camera footage from this terminal? Maybe we can figure out what rooms are locked up and breached to save us some time. Also, are we able to lock down rooms from here too?”

“What about intercom control to broadcast messages from here?”

 

Character Info

SWADE Character Sheet
Notice: 1d6+2
Parry: 5
Toughness: 6 Base (12 Ballistic, 14 Laser)

Bennies: 3/3

Weapon in hand: Laser Rifle

 

[Sala]

Galactic Standard Time: 04:25 am / Landfall Planetary Time: 11:49 am
Hours Remaining to Deadline: ~6.5

---

Party Members and Status

 

 

Status
Drop Team:
Baba: 3/4 Bennies, 1 Wound
Carl: 3/3 Bennies
Ferny: 3/3 Bennies

Station Roof:

Geo: 3/3 Bennies

 

Aquilla Shuttle:

Vernon:
Francis:

Herbie:

The Sathar Dome:
Keita: 2/2 Bennies
Beth:
Tiki: 3/3 Bennies, 1 Wounds
Yat: 3/3 Bennies
Becky:
Mox:
Kochinho:
Simba:

Halcyon Shuttle: At dome

Halcyon Merc Dropship Alpha: At Dome

Kershkick Mound:
Kirby:
Felix:
Captain Roark: 3/3 Bennies, 3 Wounds
Vinz: 1 Wound
Buubuu: 3/3 Bennies, 2 Wounds

Laura II Crash Site:
Corvid Shuttle:
Dove Shuttle:
Marg: ?
S'hax: ?
Hanna: ?

Missing Escape Pod:
Rudith: ?
Gloopurt: ?
Gohn: ?

Falling back into the hall, Carl stands watch with Ferny while Jace and Baba poke around the Atmos computers.

Taking a seat in the fancy chair, Baba starts tapping at the keyboards. "How do you log in again?" she asks in an exaggerated old-woman voice, then she chuckles as she starts cycling through windows. "Only joking. Just give me a second, need to figure out where everything is on the machine," she waves a hand at Jace to slow down with the requests. Tongue in cheek, she scans through the maps of each floor. "For safety reasons, the doors to the escape pod chambers do not auto-lock. Needs to be input manually," she begins narrating her findings. "So those are open on all levels... all other doors into the starboard main hallways are locked down, to contain the breach. Everything else is open right now."

A series of keystrokes later, she shakes her head. "There's manual lockdown controls, but it's password protected. Vernon must have the password, since he's the Atmos technician. If one of us wants to climb up and ask him, I could lock down specific areas from here."

Turning in her chair, Baba points out a white box on the wall near the door, within reach of the control chair if it slid over to that side. "That should be this room's intercom system. Just swipe your crew ID and I think you can call over it. There's a little selector touch screen, if you want to call to a specific department."

OOC