[IC] Mechsuit Mercenaries

[RFLS]

Mechsuit Mercenaries

It's been three months of non-stop roller coaster ride. The Falling Angels,a aboard their ship, the Asteria, have gone from non-existence to being at the top of their business. First, there was the business on Gegenees-Sigma. Then, they were hired to steal something - from OC Unlimited. After that, the jobs just started pouring in. They've made a lot of noise in a very, very quiet business....

You stand in a warehouse. Specifically, you stand in a warehouse on the planet Guran, headquarters of the mighty Saeder Krupp corporation. Dirty scrap metal litters the floor around you. Outside, you can hear passing vehicles and pedestrians. In here...you can hear money.

A Mr. Johnson is talking to you - specifically, he's offering you a job. He's not really named "Mr. Johnson," though. It's a cover name, and one you've heard dozens of times before. The name is several hundred years old at this point, and isn't likely to go away. The whole point is anonymity, and what better way to gain that than by hiding behind a few centuries of other impostors?

Regardless, it's not hard to guess who he's working for - you're standing on Guran, after all, and there are very few, if any, people ballsy enough to conduct their own covert affairs on Saeder-Krupp's homeworld.

"My client would like to offer you a rather simple job. A colony that they're financially invested in has recently gone dark. He wants to know why. The colony is on the rimward edge of the Outer Arm - exact coordinates are in these files. My client wants you to go to the colony, determine what happened, and communicate back here at that time. When you get to that point, you will be given further instructions via this device." He gestures towards a smallish box at his feet with a holoprojector.

"Of course, we wouldn't be hiring you if it were as simple as sending a few people out there to figure out what happened. We've sent three teams out already, and not one of them has reported back. At this point, we need to solve this, quickly and quietly - my client can't afford bad press. To that end, we will be offering you 300,000 credits simply to go to the planet, determine the problem, and report back. Depending on what needs to be done, we will offer you any where from an additional 100,000 to an additional 500,000. Bonuses will, of course, be given to you if you complete the job quickly, and, above all, quietly. So. Do we have a deal?"

"Going dark" is when a colony cuts all of their FTL communicators.

The box at his feet is a portable combo FTL communicator/holoprojector. They're very, very expensive devices, and you've never actually seen one this small.

[Jojomo]

Walker listens idly to the Johnson’s pitch, arms folded and absently tapping his foot on the cold stone floor. He was certain the Jonsons were getting more and more uniform as time went on; if he didn’t know for a fact they were different people he’d put plenty of money on them all coming out of the same vat, complete with the same boring grey suit.

As the dreary little man finishes his spiel, his foot stops tapping and he stares off into space, contemplating, “Quickly and quietly is always desirable of course, my associates and I are very aware of the detrimental effects of negative publicity.” His eyes snap back into focus, locking on the Johnson, “Regarding the teams you sent previously, what kind of equipment and experience did they have?”

Just in case, Sense Motive Check: [roll0]

Absent information to the contrary, I'm going to assume that the payment offered is reasonable for a job like this, if not I'll start trying to talk him up.

[RFLS]

Mr. Johnson looks up at the ceiling, thinking, before responding. "The first team had a light scout ship, side arms, and lots of supplies for basic repairs. The second team we sent had a pair of light mech suits, a small fighter attached to their ship, and automatic weaponry. The third team was fully outfitted with combat mechs, a trio of fighters, and enough weaponry to lay waste to a small city. Whatever happened to them happened fast and was deadly - not one of them sent any sort of word back to us."

You're pretty sure he's telling the truth here - he didn't show any signs of lying, and his response was quick and detailed.

Before, it sounded like a bit much for this kind of job. Now, it sounds about right.

[Jojomo]

Though he’s careful not to give any outward indication of it, that little addendum was enough to catch Walker’s interest; just the right mix of danger, mystery and high pay. He nods slowly, as if taking it in while his voice echoes in his teammates’ heads, Anyone think he’s crooked? Seems reasonable to me.

Have I mentioned recently how much I love telepathy? :smallbiggrin:

Not sure if people can reply without a similar ability... if not I guess entertaining body language cues as "pre-arranged" signals I guess.

Oh, and if anyone wants to notice his excitement IC, Bluff Check: [roll0]

[stack]

Thom stands at ease, eyes alternating between scanning the room and the Johnson. He says nothing, but gives his partners a sideways glance at the description of the previous teams. Went in heavy, didn't come back. Maybe a more subtle approach is needed.

Seeing Walkers excitement, Cool it Walker, we need more info.

sense motive [roll0]
do you want us to roll sense motive? It opens up some meta-gaming potential. Always assume Thom is suspicious of everyone, especially Johnsons.

I always found it helpful as a PBP DM to keep a table of dice-code for initiative, perception, and sense motive to roll en masse when needed, stored in the OP of one of the threads.

Also, Thom will be really good at remembering things with his +19 autohypnosis check.

[Erik Vale]

Aleandrea furrrowed her brows slightly at the description of the third group... Maybe they had gone in loud and got caught pantless, but that was slightly more than they had as far as fighters went.
"We're there any unusual messages before the colony went dark or do we have sudden silence."
Slavers and pirates would normally have already moved on for a quiet entry. I can't imagine a hostile takeover.

[darklink_shadow]

Todd didn't like being around the Mr. Johnsons. He felt as if they looked straight through him with cold, dead, emotionless eyes. Was it wrong that he felt more like surge out of the glowing video inputs on a machine than he did from a Mr. Johnson's eyes?

~It all seems fine enough to me. Dangerous, of course, probably slightly more than they are letting on, but no matter. We'll get it done.~ He thought, broadcasting his thoughts to his allies. The rest of this thoughts he kept to himself, however. If they dropped in a full combat unit, they probably went in like a dirty bomb, loud and hot. That's why they turned to us. Stealth is important to a shadowrunner.

I assume the file has things like the layout of the city and such, but can you tell us what the colony was for, or whatever? Then maybe we could have some idea who might be interested in taking it from you.

~It's possible they are just deeply entrenched with an abundance of anti-planar missiles. Or maybe they flew in too gunho and dropped out of warpspeed into a blackhole. They bastards can pop-up out of no where if you ignore your navigation system's blaring warnings.~ His thoughts went out to his allies again. ~Either way, let's just take the job and go. I hate these dead fish Mr. Johnsons.~

Legend:
~Telepathy~
Speech
Thoughts

I also have telepathy! 20 Mile radius telepathy with Mindsight? Check.

[Kymme]

Bayden shifted from foot to foot, eyes rotating behind the all encompassing shield of his facemask. The man would be damned to be caught without it at least on his person, if not already strapped to his head. He'd seen the old 'chloroform technique' used too many times before.

Nash gritted his teeth as he felt the mental intrusion of his companions. Damn spooks, he thought, gaze shifting from Walker, to Todd, then back to Walker. Them and their habits - useful or otherwise.

He eyed the Johnson, alert for any sign of falsehood. These worms had a talent for half-truths and clever exaggerations. Despicable.

Sense motive on Walker: [roll0]

Sense motive on the Johnson: [roll1]

[RFLS]

Mr. Johnson eyes Todd, a blank expression on his face. "Schematics for the colony are in the briefcase, as are dossiers on the colony's top personnel. They were working as a scientific outpost - a nearby binary system has interesting physical properties that we were interested in, but, for various reasons, that system is uninhabitable - so they were settled there."

[darklink_shadow]

Todd frowned and rubbed his chin. Like interesting gravity wells, or what? Is it possible the phenomena they were studying collapsed into a singularity that warping into spells doom? Can I have a look at those files?

Todd took a step forward and extended his arm, hand face up. Does give my initial thought of a blackhole some credit, though.

[RFLS]

Mr. Johnson frowns slightly at this question. "No, nothing like that. The system isn't capable of producing a black hole as far as we're aware, and its effects wouldn't even be felt on the colony."

[darklink_shadow]

Ok, ok, I'll get more of an idea what's going on by reading the data. I might even run through a few simulations once we get back on ship. Uh, ok? So can I get those files? Todd smiles awkwardly, not expecting the man to have not given the files, and unsure what to do about his outstreched arm. I don't want it to just sit out there forever... but I also don't want him to think I don't want the files...

[Jojomo]

Walker lets a small, wry grin creep across his face at Thom's admonishment, singling the gunner out for his next thought sending, My friend, you take all the fun out of this line of work, I'm not stupid enough to suggest we go in guns blazing but I am sick and tired of nothing but blue milk runs. If I wanted a safe life I'd be a corp wage-slave.

Widening the telepathy to include the rest he continues, Thom's right. We should treat the whole system as an unknown, keep things quiet as long as possible. Or put another way: standard operating procedure.

He pauses for another moment, deep in thought. Todd's black hole theory is a bit out of left field, but if we jump towards it in small increments and line up right we should be able to spot any gravity lensing effects caused by something like that. Of course it'll be more dangerous than they're telling us, it always is. But the more dangerous it turns out to be, the bigger the bonus we'll get.

[stack]

How we stocked for probes? Jump them in staggered, spread out by light-days to watch what happened to our predecessors as the image reaches them.

What, I paid attention in school. Kids stuff.

[RFLS]

The Mr. Johnson starts; he'd apparently not even noticed your outstretched hand. "Of course, of course. My apologies. Here you are. I assume this means you'll take the job?"

[JKTrickster]

While everyone else was actively discussing the mission, E just silently stood at the back of the group with his arms by his side. He keep a blank face that would give any Mr. Johnson a run for his money. Even with all the mental shouting and teasing though, E didn't respond to the others. Instead he was running his own calculations in his head based on all of the information he had. It was an important skill after all - otherwise he would have died already from taking bad jobs a long time ago.

So everyone, he went as he broadcasted his thoughts to the group. Let's stop talking inside our heads for now. We've asked too many questions and delved too deep into this to really back out now. Besides more than half of us are already thinking of ways to start this mission so we're obviously pretty eager. We should grab the case and talk tactics somewhere more...private.

"Yes," E said when Todd finally had the briefcase. His soft spoken voice almost sounded strange among the other mercenaries. Still, he wouldn't have spoken out if he thought someone would have vehemently disagreed. "We will contact you when it's done."

Now let's get back to the ship and actually plan things out, he thought as he looked at everyone else. Even with your thoughts...you never know who might be listening.

[darklink_shadow]

Todd took the briefcase then smiled. Before he could say anything though, E answered for him. Looks like some of us are eager to save the day again. I'm just curious as to what happened now.

Todd back away and opened the briefcase. Seeing just how many files were inside his smiled turned genuine. Let's go? Todd asked the group.

~I don't think it matters if anyone is listening in. We aren't discussing anything private. But you're right about using going now. We have a lot of files to look over.~

[Jojomo]

Walker furrows his brow at E’s comment, What, can’t keep up with the repartee while talking to a man with all the charisma of an elderly weasel? The mental image of a grin accompanies the thought. However, I couldn’t agree more, let’s get out of this dump and back to the ship.

A sarcastic chuckle echoes in the group’s heads at Todd’s observation, Dude has a point, if the supersecret black-op corp agents are listening in on our banter, I hope they’re being well paid for spending their sad little lives listening to the far more interesting lives of other people. With that, he turns on his heel and strides to the door, longcoat trailing out behind him as he steps into the rain.

[darklink_shadow]

Todd takes the cue of Walker and turns on his heel at precisely the same time and walks to keep pace with Walker. ~Duncan, Aleandrea and Walker, once I get Asteria in flight, do you want to go over the data together?~ He sent the message only to those people, knowing that they were only ones with enough raw knowledge to make sense of the data. He intentionally left out the others, but he knew once plans were to be made, they'd want a summary of what they had figured out, not the raw information. He had no intention of excluding them from the planning process, though.

[Kymme]

Badyen could read body language easily enough. He takes a single step backwards, makes a half turn, and steps into line just behind Walker's right shoulder. Tiny beads of water run down the surface of his gasmask, and he grins behind it.

His filtered voice sounds like a hail of gravel in the pouring rain. "Sorry 'bout the silence, but you know what those guys do to me. Worms, the whole lot of 'em."

[Erik Vale]

Aleandrea simply nods as she walks, she has her normal face for when shes communing with her homunculi.

[darklink_shadow]

Todd looks at Baden and chuckles, They creep me out pretty badly too. Dead fish eyes, you know? Robots speak with more emotion. Did you see him jump earlier though? Like he hadn't even noticed me at first, when I asked for the files? I wonder if he was talking to someone else telepathically, or something. He just didn't feel there.

Todd shivers from the cold, and the thought of the cold, emptiness that was a Mr. Johnson.

[stack]

Thom remains impassive as they leave, his eyes never stop their roving, taking in every detail of the surround behind his dark glasses. Jobs a job. Get in the black, crunch the numbers. Sooner its done, sooner we get paid.

[JKTrickster]

E simply shrugged as he took out and opened his umbrella. His eyes squinted a little as he adjusted to the much brighter streets of Guran. It wasn't every day he got to visit the might capital of Saeder Krupp. Looking both ways, he casually kept stride with the back of the group. Despite his small frame, E was nicely wrapped up in his large coat as always and he didn't seem to mind the cold.

"The fact that they sent something so light in the first time shows that the colony probably wasn't expecting serious trouble or even an attack. For such a remote colony, its odd to even think of who would want to attack it anyway..." E thought aloud as he usually does. He wasn't really talking to anyone per se, but simply letting his thoughts speak aloud.

"It wouldn't even matter if he was," E said as he looked at Todd. "People like them are just faces for others to hide behind anyway."

[darklink_shadow]

Todd looked back at E, and then stopped so the man caught up and hid under his umbrella with him. Ah, smart. You bring up good points... both about the colony and the Johnsons. But I still don't like Johnsons. It might not matter what he was doing, but the effect is goosebumps all over my arms.

[Jojomo]

Walker strode along quietly at the front of the group, smiling to himself as the others conferred. It was always nice when meetings went off without a hitch and without either side contemplating violence. Not that actual violence was common, otherwise the business wouldn't have survived the centuries, but it did happen from time to time.

He'd been on Guran several times before, always for work; with the heavy industrialisation of almost all of the planet's usable landmass it didn't exactly make for a great holiday spot. Tonight they were lucky enough to see some breaks in the mixture of angry stormclouds and smog that usually choked the sky, sickly brown and yellow roils parting here and there to allow a little starlight to shine through. One of the oddities about company worlds like this one, where the credit was the first and final thing of importance, was the near-total lack of some of the more esoteric sciences. No-one had ever gone to the trouble of designating constellations in the skies of Guran. Why would they? It wouldn't do anything for the balance sheet. He began matching patterns in his head, seeing what shapes the brightest stars made.

As the clouds cover the stars once more, he sighs softly and speaks in a smooth baritone slightly incongruous with his slender frame, "We don't even know if the colony was attacked. The only thing the Johnson said was that it went dark suddenly and the three ships they sent in disappeared. Could be a stellar event, could be some kind of astral convergence, could be a space zombie outbreak..." he trails off, snorting softly with laughter, "My point is we shouldn't assume too much. In this world you never know, right?"

After a short pauses he adds, almost as an afterthought, "You get used to the Johnsons after a while. That one was obviously a bit new, they're usually pretty smooth customers."

[JKTrickster]

E nodded at Walker's words, although he doesn't say much anymore. In fact he seemed much more interested in walking silently with the rest of the group. After all if no one wanted to say much, he wasn't going to force anyone into a conversation. There wasn't much needed to talk either - until they could get on the ship and analyze the information, there wasn't much else to say about the mission.

E sighed and looked around. That was really what these people were after all. A group of professional mercenaries that work together because it makes sense...not really because of friendships. The silence was evidence enough. Still there wasn't a huge push to do anything about it and it wasn't affecting them so why bother?

Before he could even finish his thought, the group walked into the sight of the Asteria. Smiling, he couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the beauty. It was really the pride of the team and it was almost an embodiment of who they were. He could remember all the times that seeing that ship meant getting back up for some of those harder missions they have accepted in the past. It was a feeling he was just getting used to himself; back up isn't always available in such a lonely business.

"Well we're finally here, let's get started," he said simply in a monotone voice.

[darklink_shadow]

Right. I'll set a course to jump a few dozen light years away from our target, hopefully someplace with an uninhabited planet, so we can hide nearby while we plan out what he need to do. I'll go check out my options on locations. Todd said, handing the briefcase off to Walker.

Moving quickly inside the beautiful ship that he and the others had scrapped enough money together to build and then spent months building, and pausing to look back at them, Todd grinned, basking in the first ship in the armada he hoped to build. Todd continued talking all the while, though, not overly distracted by his thoughts. Mm, Walker, can you put the data on these files into the computer? Set it to analyze some of the raw numbers and produce charts and crap for everyone to look at. The AIs should have some idea what to do with it all. After all, the sprites we put in are pretty clever, huh?

Visibly pleased to be home, and proud of the ship, his part in it's construction and design, as well as the various computer networks they'd added in since, including a myriad of AI, the elf stroked the door to the thing. As if realizing he had stopped talking suddenly, he turned his attention ask to the group. Giving Walker an embarrassed, and clearly admonished frown, he chuckled nervously. Yeah. One day. Sometimes I forget. Robots and AIs never do that... Todd explained, as if that really explained why he always forgot that Walker knew what he was doing.

After clearing his throat, he added. Shouldn't take me more than 20 minutes to do plot a course. 25 if I forget about Kelper... again. I'll meet you guys in the war room after? The inflection of Todd's voice changed at the end from thinking out loud to seeking approval of his plan. It was clear he was looking for objections before he acted, as a formality, but was otherwise confident in his decision.

Should no one object, Todd hurries to the command room and scans the navigation computer for likely jump locations within 10 to 15 minutes away from the target, or around one to one and a half light years away.

So, I've arbitrarily decided FTL drives travel at a rate of 6 light years an hour. I hope that's alright. And I hope nobody minds Todd taking point on all the navigation stuff.

[Jojomo]

Giving Todd an almost amused look as he takes the briefcase, Walker responds, “Y’know Allen, one of these days you’ll just hand me the files wordlessly, and I’ll still do everything right because it’s the same thing I’ve been doing for a hundred years.” He pauses long enough for a quick chuckle before continuing, ”Have fun plotting your course, and don’t forget to account for Kepler’s Laws.” That last sentence is accompanied by a mischievous wink.

Striding into the lab, he opens the case an spreads the assorted files on the scanning table in a manner similar to a street magician setting up a card trick. He proceeds to reel off a string of clipped commands to the computer, “Assimilate and catalogue. Annotate as per standard procedure. Places, names and dates on immediate recall complete with available information from databanks. Rank files by priority as normal. Display on all lab screens and disseminate to crew.”

A multitude of micromanipulators deploy from the table’s edge, gently drawing the various pieces of paper into place to be scanned and digitised. Within a couple of minutes the entire contents of the briefcase are carefully catalogued in the ships databanks. Screens around the lab display the highest priority information, including a 3D projection of the solar system and planet produced above the table.

[Erik Vale]

Aleandrea immidiately leaves the group, heading down to the mech-bay. They might not need long, but there would be some fiddling to prep for ... Not as much as usual though.

That wasn't to say her AI's weren't everywhere, or that she wasn't in the war room dead on 20 minutes later.

[JKTrickster]

As the others busied themselves, E simply walked to his quarters. As the door opened, he stepped in and carefully placed his umbrella into a small slot by the door. Turning around, he took off his huge coat and let it hang to dry. He carefully removed his clothing in complete darkness, before replacing it with almost exactly the same set of cloths. Underneath was still his tight Power suit but this time he simply wore a grey and white sweater and black pants on top. He figured he might as well get comfortable for now. Stretching, he could feel the nanobots move under his skin and shift into place. Taking a deep breath, he walked towards the War Room and waited for the others.

The War Room was a big and brightly lit room, with a large table in the middle and screens all around on the walls. Each screen could hold an abundance of information; they were connected to a computer so that they could draw from the ship's databanks. Normally Todd would put all the information down in the lab and they would view it all here. The table in the middle could even produce 3D models and allow advanced manipulations.

Honestly some days he thought it was almost too much of an exaggeration. Pulling up one of the chairs, he sighed as he sat down. He was used to being the first one there anyway.

[Kymme]

The second he made it inside the Asteria, Bayden looses the straps on his mask and lets it fall about his neck. Without the mask's trademark filter, Nash's voice returns to its deep baritone. "I'll be at the war room in twenty minutes. Behave yourselves, youngins." After a moment he adds, "and you too, Walker."

After that he turns and vanishes down one of the axial hallways. He reaches his chambers and flops onto his bed. A few moments pass and Bayden sits up, pulling off his mask and setting it down beside him. The polished surface of his gasmask glows in the dim, artificial light. Nash shakes his head and stands up. He paces up and down the length of his room, waiting for something to happen. Per the norm, nothing does, and Bayden sets off for the War Room. Just as he is about to leave his chamber the mercenary plucks a tiny picture from a desk beside his door.

It's a picture of a family. A gray-eyed, brown haired father with too many wrinkles on his face beside a beautiful woman with shoulder length black hair in long, lazy curls. They are crouched behind two children, a little boy and a little girl, and all of them are grinning and laughing. A grin begins to form on Bayden's face, but he stops himself and sets the picture down. "I'll see you soon," he whispers for the five hundredth time.

Then he sets off, arriving at the War Room shortly after E.

[RFLS]

The Asteria:

A few hours pass. You're given clearance to leave the planet, and you take it, point the Asteria out into the shining void. The files lie open before you on the War Room desk, open to perusal.


**********************

Planet: K-type Subgiant star. Planet named Achlys, M-Class planet.
Co-ordinates: 62° φ, .2° θ, 42,073 LY.
Properties: High-oxygen atmosphere, large seas, verdant forests. Most of the planet is at least temperate in climate.
Flora and Fauna: Proliferous plant life, indigenous fauna.

**********************

Mission: A small colony has disappeared from the surface of the planet Achlys, along with all previous rescue attempts. Your job is to find out what happened, and, if possible, rescue any survivors.

Payment: Upon return, you will be paid a sum of 300,000 credits. Meet Mr. Johnson at the same place you received this datapad. He will be there at local noon and midnight of every day. Payment will be in untraceable credsticks. Bonuses are available for exceptional work or unforeseen complications.

**********************



There are a large number of lab technicians, mechanics, and general support staff, but a noticeable lack of scientists. In fact, upon perusing the list of colonists, only one name crops up - Dr. Harold Carter, xenobiologist. No mention is made of the work he's undertaking, beyond a list of generic duties about the station.


The journey will take a while - at top speed, you can make it in just short of 8 days. Of course, stopping to fire off probes will add a little time to your travels, but not much.


Make any checks you feel are relevant. Otherwise, I'll push it ahead to firing probes off at the system, as soon as I finish brewing up how they, you know. Work.

[darklink_shadow]

We'll be within peeping range in about 8 days, not counting probe dropping time. I'd figure no more than 9, really, after giving us time to look at the probe data. Todd says as he walks into the conference room, slightly later than he had told them he'd be.

Let's see what our good friend, Mr. Johnson decided was worth knowing about this place, and try to deduce what he left out, shall we? Todd chuckles a little as he sits down, and stares at the data. After bringing up his own computer, he waits the fraction of a second it takes for it to all upload onto his own device from the ship's main computer.

Without saying much else, Todd mulls over the raw data, and sends a few requests to the computer to look up additional information and to compile information.


[roll0] Knowledge Life Sciences to see if there is anything interesting about the planet itself. Fauna, Flora, what have you.

[roll1] Knowledge Engineering while analyzing the information given about station, to see if they have any special features about the station that might give some clue to it's purpose. Such as obvious holding cells, etc.

[roll2] Physical Science on the planet, its surroundings etc. to see if anything odd crops up about that.

[roll3] Technology to see if I can tell or guess at the technology they are using, which might help me to know what they are studying there.

[roll4] Computers to do a datamining mission into anything about this planet that might have been said any time ever on any network that saves logs.

[roll5] Perception to notice anything funny, besides the single scientist. Also to aid in my other knowledges, I guess.

[roll6] History to see if I recognize the Xenobiologist's name.

[roll7] Computer to make a sprite with the explicit purpose of continuing to datamine into more secure places to search for info about the planet and it's purpose.

[Erik Vale]

Oriana spends most of the time putting finishing touches on her mech, and having viewed the planets environments begins updating the mech's camouflages. She chooses to stay away from the initial planning stage, instead spending a lot of time altering her Homunculi unusually, who are also spending time on the firing range.

[Jojomo]

Walker strolls into the War Room, one hand holding a tablet while his other dances across its screen, shifting and cataloguing data. Seeing only three of the others present he looks momentarily surprised, "Wow, thin on the ground today, huh? Doesn't matter, they'll have a while to catch up with the distance we're going."

He flops down into one of the large chairs and sweeps the data from the tablet on to the table's surface where he goes to work on the data in earnest with both hands.

If I ever look like I'm setting up a Dr. Strangelove reference, somebody shoot me. :smalltongue:

Along similar lines to darklink:

Knowledge (Engineering): [roll0]
Knowledge (History): [roll1]
Knowledge (Life Sciences): [roll2]
Knowledge (Physical Sciences): [roll3]
Knowledge (Technology): [roll4]
Perception: [roll5]

Also, Knowledge (Arcana): [roll6] in case there's anything in the files that might be mojo-related that other observers may have missed.

Do we have FTL communications while travelling? If we do, then Diplomacy (Gather Information): [roll7] to see if I can (discreetly) dig up any extra intel on the planet, system or the good doctor.

Actually I could probably do that in the few hours it takes us to get flight clearance (one of my traits let's me do it in half the time, so I might even be able to squeeze in a few checks).

[stack]

Thom reviews the data quietly. "Odd, only one scientist. Very odd. Xenobiologist too, thought they were studied the neighboring system...doesn't add up."

And the way it doesn't add up is very disconcerting. No such thing as aliens, right?

Yeah, and people don't shred mechs with their brain either.

[JKTrickster]

E moved toward the computer as everyone start dissecting the information. He briefly glanced at the list of people on board before studying the planet more closely. Rubbing his hands together, he almost seemed happy to do the boring work.

Let's see, let's see, he thought as he looked into the planet more closely. What kind of place this is. And what they could possibly hope to study from here...


All Knowledge checks about the planet in particular. I have every knowledge skill so I really just want to cover anything the others don't cover already.

[roll0]

[roll1]

[roll2]

[roll3]

[roll4]

[roll5]

[RFLS]

There's nothing particularly out of the ordinary as far as the flora and fauna go. The plants have a fairly high iron concentration, but nothing outside what's been encountered on other planets. A machete would have a difficult time. The fauna is generally fairly tame - the largest predator yet encountered is about the size of a panther. Enough to give a person a hard time, but someone in a mech suit wouldn't even notice it.



The compound is composed of three bunkers: housing, storage, and research. The housing and storage bunkers are fairly standard, but the research bunker has reinforcements to outer walls and a few inner rooms that would prevent anything short of a bunker buster or a nuke from getting in.



The planet's soil contains caesium 137, which only exists in nature if a nuclear weapon has been detonated within the last few centuries.



While you have blueprints and whatnot, the specs on the colony are entirely lacking on technical specifications. No mention of computers, telescopes - anything.



Not only is there no information on Achlys, it looks as though any mention of it has been systematically removed from the nets.


He was mentioned a few times on various news nets a few years back. He'd developed a faster method for DNA manipulation.

[Jojomo]

Eyes softly defocussed as he sifts through the reams of data, something niggles at Walker. The encephalon, miraculous invention that it is, leaves something to be desired in these situations. A computer interlaced with the brain sounds great in theory, but all it does it supply cold facts. Linking them together is something still best left to a living mind.

Still staring intently at the tabletop in front of him, he begins talking as if thinking out loud, "So the specs on the place are a little off. Either they were removed from the records or there isn't actually any research equipment that you'd need for an astronomical mission," eyes still roving through the readouts, his features crease into a frown, "either that Johnson was a better liar than I thought or this base's equipment is totally off the books and even he didn't know about it."

Combing through the colony blueprints, his brows shoot up when he notices the reinforcements and multiple redundancy on the research bunker, "Yeah, definitely something weird about this: who needs a research centre that could stand up to orbital bombardment?"

He remains silent as he skims through the rest of the data for interesting titbits unable to shake the feeling that he's missing something. After sorting through the files he leans back in his chair, still frowning as the niggling feeling grows.

Suddenly, he snaps his fingers, "Howard Carter! I knew I'd heard the name before. He made the news a while back, something to do with high-speed genetic manipulation..." He trails off, realising the implications of what he just said. "OK guys, I'm calling it now. This job's gonna get interesting." He leans a little on the last word, leaving the assembly unsure as to whether or not he considers that to be a bad thing.

Truth be told, it's probably a bit of both.

At least it wouldn't be boring.

Anything from those Gather Information checks I made?

[stack]

"A hard bunker run by a xenobiologist who gene tweaks? I've seen this movie before, its going to get messy. How much we get paid to nuke the place from orbit?" It's the only way to be sure.

[Jojomo]

Walker looks askance at Thom before staring at the ceiling and theatrically stroking his chin, "Hmmm...the Johnson said "quickly and quietly". I guess a nuke would be pretty quick and you could argue that if we did it from orbit we'd never hear the bang, but I get the feeling it wouldn't do much for our reputation."

[stack]

"It was that way when we found it, honest. Last team must have had a core breach."

[JKTrickster]

E couldn't help but shake his head and smile as the others started joking around. This was interesting though - why would the planet be chosen as a base for experimental gene research? Even if it was successful, it seemed awfully far away and remote for no real reason. This couldn't be simply gene research then...

Looking up, he stretched his arms before getting up. "Let's hold up on that first. Just send a few drones and see what that brings us. At least they'll tell us where to aim the nukes in the first place," he said as absentmindedly looked through some of the files.

[darklink_shadow]

Todd frowned at all the data, and what he had been hearing, and the implications that they formed.

Dropping some drones would be great... I don't want to tangle with the sorts of horrors genetic engineering can make. But we should rescue the people if we can. Remembering his company he added, The doctor alone probably has a pretty big dollar sign attached to his head, if we bring him back alive. If not, we can keep him. Maybe he can make us a little horror shop to use on our next mission.

[stack]

"If they've taken out two teams there won't be survivors. Its possible, but don't get your hopes up."

"Unless of course the scientist is controlling his monsters or experimented on himself and his coworkers. That would be fun."

[darklink_shadow]

Or the survivors are holed up in bunkers, and the nasty brutes are outside. I do wonder though... how does a WHOLE attack group get wiped out so fast they can even send a distress signal? Todd's frown deepened. Long range probes, and some short range video recording probes will give us more information than we have in our data banks. I'll spool some up and send them right after this.

[Erik Vale]

"Hmm. What's our ETA? I might be able to churn out some expendables."

[stack]

"Make them. We can delay arrival. Better late than dead."

[darklink_shadow]

Todd looked at the other mechanic aboard the ship, gesturing by tilting his hand back and forth that he was approximating the number: 9 or so days, if we slow to deploy drones.

[Jojomo]

Nodding as the others spoke, Walker breaks out in a grin and sweeps his hand across the table in front of him, banishing the reams of data. "Great, so we've got a plan. Give me a call if you need a hand with the probes. Otherwise..." he pauses for effect and flicks his wrist and (as if by magic) a pack of cards appears in his hand, "who's up for some poker?"

[darklink_shadow]

Poker? Todd asked with a laugh. I think I've given you enough of my money. I'll got work on the probes with Aleandria.

[stack]

"Pass. Getting in some driving time, even if its only in sim. Get used to the suit you techheads keep tweaking on me."

[Jojomo]

Caught a little unawares by the young man's frankness, Walker breaks out in raucous laughter, "I knew you'd catch on eventually kid, next time we get some R&R time remind me to let you win some games when there are some pretty girls watching."

Still chuckling happily to himself, he starts running through his favourite card tricks, the deck almost dancing in his hands.

[Erik Vale]

Todd finds Aleandrea in front of the projector display in the build room, moving around schematics with flicks of her hand that just barely go past the line that marks where the sensor reads.

"Ok, I've a few ideas, depending on exactly how expendible we want these things. Just wait, I'll blow up the schematics."

Suddenly, five images vastly increase in size and 'stand' side by side, each a rotating construct, each are of medium size and seem to be in order of construction time:
Clockwork (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/clockwork-creature-cr-2)_Stalker (https://sites.google.com/site/pathfinderogc/bestiary/monster-listings/humanoids/bugbear)
Animate_Battlesuit (https://sites.google.com/site/pathfinderogc/bestiary/monster-listings/constructs/animated-object)
Macro-Compound-Golem (https://sites.google.com/site/pathfinderogc/bestiary/monster-listings/constructs/golem/golem-junk)
Smart Golem (https://sites.google.com/site/pathfinderogc/bestiary/monster-listings/constructs/terra-cotta-soldier)
Clockwork Soldier (https://sites.google.com/site/pathfinderogc/bestiary/monster-listings/constructs/clockwork/clockwork-soldier)

"So, we could make 4 Smart's and update their AI's fairly easily. They would be self piloting and a little smarter than a mech, self-piloting and easy to arm for their numbers, I think. If we want them smart in case we break link then a Clockwork Stalker would go better, and we could reasonably assemble 12, arming would be harder and they would be less competent though. Either group we could split into fireteams and send with my Homuculi. The others would need Homunculi Lead, others are, the Animate-Battlesuit is basically worse but we don't have any problems with intellect, and we could give them jets or some other movement mode, and we could make just as many. Then there is the Macro-Compound-Golem, surprisingly tough and easy to make, and we can put out 8, it's also hardy against spells. Finally is the Clockwork Soldier, maybe the best fighter, but dumb, and most expensive, we could just put out two."

Aleandrea turns to face you as you look over the schematics.
"I'm not quite sure how fast I can put out firearms, but I think you should do the construct work seeing as you somehow manage to cut corners in a oh so wonderful way that saves on resources without cutting on combat effectiveness and the numbers produced is based on you and my homunculi... Now, I've only presented human-size constructs simply for getting into places, and while I think about it the Macro-Composit-Golum as it's name suggests can 'fall apart', allowing it to get into smaller places... I'm personally thinking say 8 Stalker's and 2 MCG's, that way there's a bit of time spare for helping me churn out weapons if I need it.