gurps rimworld: crash and burn

[bramblefoot]

two rescue pods burn hard through the rimworlds atmosphere. inside, the ride is bumpy to say the least. were it not for the restraints and liberal amounts of stims flowing through your system, you would have blacked out a long time ago. with a thump, the pods land in a clearing, and the actuators hiss open, allowing hot, muggy air to flow into the pods along with a bevy of gnats and other insects. large trees stand like sentinels around the pods, and long, thick vines hang low from the branches. please describe your characters and how they feel about this

can i get a ht roll at -2 to shake off the aftereffects of the stims? failure inflicts 1d-3 fatigue

https://www.pexels.com/photo/green-leaves-of-various-tropical-plants-in-jungle-4190917/

[u-b]

A man climbs out of a rescue pod. He's careful not to touch the hot parts and shaking a little. Seems to be averagte height, average weight, in his thirties, brown hair, brown eyes... nothing special, really, except this man wears the marines' uniform, not the crew's and not the passengers' one. And he is appropriately armed. "Good morning, dammit!" The man was not quite sure if it's the morning, at this particular time and place, but he was woken up by the sireen and the things after that followed quite fast. The man gets on the ground and, holding his carabine in left hand, goes to check the other pod. "Any survivors?" He looks around while at it, checking what's with the ship.

[roll0] on HT 11 (13 base, -2 mod) or lose [roll1]-3 FP (minimum 0)
[roll2] on Perception 15

[Volthawk]

Alec had always been more of a planetside fighter than one who worked in space, so the events leading up to him having to abandon ship and the ride down was...a little disorientating, but it didn't take long to clear his head from the post-stimm daze and take stock of the situation. Before he steps out of the pod, he checks the situation - he was in his berth when the call went out, so he was able to grab his rifle, that's good. His machete too - handy if they have to stay here for a short while before rescue...if any came at all. He wasn't sure what the score was on that. He didn't have to look outside to know the kind of place they were in - that particular type of air, the noises, the goddamn insects...the jungle, huh? It was funny in a strange way, he was planning on getting away from places like this when he left the military, and here he was.

The other survivor's calls shakes him from his thoughts, and he calls back "Yeah, I'm alive." Getting out of the pod, he looks over at his comrade in disaster thoughtully. Uniformed, huh? Alec was just in civilian clothing, having left the uniform behind with most of his things. "Marine, huh? Any idea what the plan is on any response from up high? Do your people come looking for people like us, or are we on our own?"


Sticking a sheet link (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Qqrq0_ZIL1-53PSvfipzn1isF_Dc43B8/view?usp=sharing) here for ease of reference, particularly as I've made another few minor tweaks since the last time.

Doing the rolls before writing the post in so I know how he is first:
HT 11 (13 base - 2 circumstance): [roll0], fatigue: [roll1]

[bramblefoot]

you both hear a thunderous boom as the colony ship deorbits and sails by to crash roughly two klicks west of your position

you notice a different pod land roughly a half-klick, north of the ship

[u-b]

"Up high? There is no more "up high", man! They should have remained in orbit! They planned remaining in orbit! Oh, damn!" That was all sorts of bad. "We weren't done fixing the ship! Damned pirates!" Then it occured to Chad he should make sense of the man's civilian clothing. "What have you been woken up for? What did they want you to do?"

I mean, with 350 years travel time, all civilians should have been in cold sleep.

Chad Vreeland (http://roleplayer.narod.ru/files/Chad_Vreeland.pdf), now with backstory.

[roll0] on Spacer 15 to make sense of what has just happened

[Volthawk]

Alec shrugs. "I guess something malfunctioned, woke me up early. Good thing too. Meant I could grab my partner here," He indicates the scoped rifle he was carrying "And get to an escape pod myself rather than hoping whatever the normal protocol for passengers was would go smoothly when the ship was on fire." He thinks for a moment, making sense of Chad's worried statements and the sight of the ship crashing. "Okay. Do you know how far along we were in the journey? Guessing we're far enough away that help isn't coming any time soon, so we're on our own, right? Do you know anything about surviving out here, in these kinds of environments?"


The original prompt mentioned waking up on the ship and getting to the escape pods, so this explanation works I think.

[bramblefoot]

you know the colony ship had taken heavy damage to the engines, and was being held together by duct tape and chewing gum, so it's possible something failed, though it would take a catastrophic failure to have it come down that hard

there is a small single-file path leading west. you also hear the sound of drums in the distance, east, if the wind is any director

[u-b]

"350th year so far, but we've missed a jump a few years back, so not exactly on-course..." - says Chad seemingly thinking about something else - "I'll kill the guy who chose the approach. If he survives, that is. The engines were in bad shape and we've told them." Chad thinks about the notion of "help". "I guess nobody would bother to send their help here unless we can report that we can sleep for that long or establish a colony. Both are out, I guess, as are the means of reporting." But then those drums. "Hm. Seems inhabited, so that's your help right here, whatever it is. Hope they'll turn out friendly." The question about survial makes Chad think of something. "Spent all my life in a city and there onboard. But let's see if we have something..." Chad turns back to the pod to see if any survival equipment is in place and if anything could resonably be scavenged, like the parachute, some batteries or such...

[roll0] on Search 14
[roll1] on Scrounging 15

[Volthawk]

"Alright, so it's on us. I've spent..." One of Alec's hands subconsciously drifts down to his side, over the wound, as he talks. "Enough time in places like this to know how to survive here. It's never going to be a guarantee, but we have to try. As for the drums..." Alec looks to the east, thinking. "Inhabited, sure. Friendly, maybe. I'll keep watch in that direction while you finish what you're doing. If we see them first, we can guess their disposition from how they're armed and act. Maybe you're right, and they're here to help, but maybe not." With that, Alec gets moving, heading a short distance to the east and looking for somewhere to set himself up to hide and watch in the direction of the drums.


Stealth 16: [roll0]
Perception 15: [roll1]

[bramblefoot]

chad finds a pair of half-full C cells, along with a fully stocked medkit and a pop-up shelter in brightly reflective tones. you also find enough parts to kludge together some halfway decent commo units

alec, you flatten yourself against a tree as two tribesmen in penis-gourd casings walk by with spears at the ready. you do find a high vantage point and survey the area. you see a large column of smoke in the direction of the crashed ship. you also see what appear to be smoke signals from several different areas in the jungle

[Volthawk]

Hm. They're armed, but that isn't unreasonable in the circumstances. Mentally noting the directions of the smoke signals and the crashed ship, Alec starts heading back to Chad, trying to stay out of sight of the tribals.


Not sure if another roll is needed yet, but just in case Stealth 16: [roll0]

[u-b]

Not yet aware of the approaching locals, Chad proceeds to check for anything salvageable in the second pod.

[roll0] on Search 14
[roll1] on Scrounging 15

[bramblefoot]

chad finds 10 units of keflex, which is a combat drug and also an antibiotic. chad also manages to pull off the antenna, which will make a decent walking or combat staff, and just in time too as there is a shrill ululation and two tribesmen in penis-gourd casings charge out of the jungle brandishing spears. both hit

[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]
[roll3]

[Volthawk]

How close was Alec able to get to Chad before the tribals found him (and so how far he is from the tribals now)?

[u-b]

"What the..." says Chad and then gets two spear stabs in the back. Turning around, he drops the antenna and gets his rifle ready, yelling at the locals: "Stop it now or I'll have to kill you!"

Ready the rifle
The defenses are:
[roll0] on Parry and Retreat 12 (if there is a place to retreat)
[roll1] on Dodge 9 (I guess Chad had the backpack in the pod while he does all this searching)

[bramblefoot]

the tribesmen yell something in a strange tongue, and run back into the jungle. you have a feeling they're gonna bring reinforcements stat. you have one round to drop them, or they'll get away

[u-b]

Chad did not mind them getting away. The first contact seemed to be going as usual. Not that Chad has had any such kind of contacts, but he did read stuff and what he saw here was not atypical. That said, where the f*ck was the guy that was supposed to guard him?

[roll0] on Perception 15

[Volthawk]

After looking in the direction the tribals ran for a moment, Chad notices Alec hidden among the trees, rifle raised and following the tribals as they run, the man thinking over whether to fire or not. On the one hand, they were clearly hostile, but on the other hand he didn't have a lot of bullets and their people would probably assume that the people who crashlanded killed them, and it probably wasn't a good idea to elevate a baseline of hostility to outsiders into a blood vendetta. Alright. He lets them get away.

That done, he walks back over to Chad, giving the spear wounds an appraising look. "Pretty light. Could've been worse. For the best they backed off - I saw smoke signals all over the place, so it's not just one small group, but a bunch who are at least friendly enough with each other to coordinate around something like this happening. We better get moving, though. I took a look around and I can get us to the ship, if there's anything you think you can use from the wreck, but it'll also have the interest of the locals and they might not be as willing to back off next time. Something else is also putting up a lot of smoke in that direction, might be worth a look. Unless you've got an idea?"

[u-b]

Chad shrugs. "We'll have to interact with them closer and I'm not sure there is a clear benefit in delaying with that. Let's just do what we do, and if they apper here again, we'll see what comes out of it. Here's a medikit. Please patch me up and we'll set for the ship. The others will probably try to gather somewhere out there."

TL9 first aid takes 10 minutes and does 1d6+1.

[Volthawk]

Alec nods, taking the kit and treating Chad's wounds. "Sounds good to me. Just keep your wits about you when we get close - people who've lived in environments like this all their life can be pretty good at making themselves very hard to find, and given we're just wearing our clothes at the moment they can still put some serious hurt on us if we let them get close."


First Aid 13: [roll0]
Healing: [roll1]

Let me know if you want a Navigation roll or other skill for the journey, or if what Alec saw earlier is enough to get them there.

[bramblefoot]

you arrive at the ship, which is currently heeled over on one side. an engine has spiraled off into the jungle leaving a mass of trashed trees in its wake. there is a large rent in the ships hull which should provide an easy access point.

you are all down another FP due to the walk and general hot weather

[u-b]

Chad tries to appraise the thing and determine what to do next. There was some relevant information scattered through various regulations and technical documents and Chad has read most of them, so now just a matter of correctly applying it...

[roll0] on Spacer 15
[roll1] on Enginier 15

Basically:
1. What it looks like (will it burn, explode, or just stay there)?
2. What parts seem to survive and what seem not to?
3. Is there still some emergency power?
4. Do we have to wake up people now or are there more pressing matters (like some damage control to prevent #1 above)?
5. Any dangers to use while we are at it?


you are all down another FP due to the walk and general hot weather.
Chad is still down 3 FP (one recovered while Alec was patching him, then lost again on the way)

[u-b]

And in case it is relevant...
[roll0] on Area Knowledge (The Ship)

[Volthawk]

While Chad figures out where they need to go, Alec takes a walk around the area, keeping an eye out for anyone else in the area - whether they be survivors from the ship crash or investigating tribals.


Perception/Observation 15: [roll0]

[bramblefoot]

chad: from what you can tell, it doesnt look like anything is about to explode. the engines are kaput, but he doesn't see any telltale signs of reactor meltdowns. from the sparks in the scattered wires and cables, there appears to be limited emergency power, but you could always get shocked

alec sees a pair of track marks leading away, human by the looks of it. alec sees no tribesmen or survivors yet

[u-b]

Chad says the thing is not about to explode, but will lose emergency power sooner or later, so the first thing to do would be to orderly rescue those crio-sleepers who might have survived the crash. Then we'll sort through the surviving equipment. Having said that, Chad proposes we get in and try to find our way to the passengers blocks, or wherever we can get through that hole. If no objections, he'll lead the way.

[Volthawk]

Mentally noting the direction of the tracks, Alec returns to Chad and hears him out. "Looks like two people were here and headed off that way. Maybe tribals heading off once they saw what landed, maybe survivors who woke up and decided they didn't want to hang around here. Something to look into once we're done here. As for the ship, your plan sounds good. Lead on."

[bramblefoot]

you enter the ship. you're somewhere on the 54th deck, probably hydroponics, judging by the water running down the ladders on the far wall. you see a partially open blast door that was jimmied open at your twelve o'clock, a large wall of partially ruined crates to your 3 o'clock, the jungle behind you and the pair of slippery ladders to your 9'oclock

where to colonists?

[u-b]

Chad trusts his years of experience with the ship to choose the best route, at least until he hits some obstacle and has to choose among the detours.

[roll0] on Area Knowledge (The Ship) 15

[bramblefoot]

slipping through the blast doors, and heading through the wrecked vehicle bay you find yourself at the cryo-pod storage. frankly, it's a nightmare. 1% of the cryo-pods have survived this landing. the silver lining is that the computer guessed that 0.1% would survive a devastating crash like this. can i get an iq roll at -3 to pop the remaing pods open?

other skills may be recommended

[u-b]

Chad is unsure how long the emergency power will hold, given the circumstances, but normally he should have enough time. He mostly kept away from cryo-pods, but he has read about them. He carefully opens some pods to make sure he gets the procedure right...

[roll0] on IQ 13 (15 base, -3 difficulty, +1 extra time) with complimentary [roll1] on Techie! 15

[bramblefoot]

three cryo-pods pop open and three people get out, weak and dizzy from the drugs coursing through their bodies. they look shocked to see the condition the ship is in, and one, and older man in his mid-fifties, makes an attempt at levity. "well it could have been worse" he chuckles halfheartedly. the other two, a younger woman and her son, look unconvinced

wdyd?

[u-b]

With a fresh knowledge of how this can be successfully done, Chad proceeds to open the cryo-pod in moderately-sized batches, letting Alec sort the woken-up people for their usefulnes in the sutuation at hand.

Will open no more than 10% per batch. Here we go:
[roll0] on IQ 16(?) (15 base, -3 difficulty, +4(?) following a known-good procedure) with complimentary [roll1] on Techie! 15
[roll2] on IQ 16(?) (15 base, -3 difficulty, +4(?) following a known-good procedure) with complimentary [roll3] on Techie! 15
[roll4] on IQ 16(?) (15 base, -3 difficulty, +4(?) following a known-good procedure) with complimentary [roll5] on Techie! 15
[roll6] on IQ 16(?) (15 base, -3 difficulty, +4(?) following a known-good procedure) with complimentary [roll7] on Techie! 15
[roll8] on IQ 16(?) (15 base, -3 difficulty, +4(?) following a known-good procedure) with complimentary [roll9] on Techie! 15
[roll10] on IQ 16(?) (15 base, -3 difficulty, +4(?) following a known-good procedure) with complimentary [roll11] on Techie! 15
[roll12] on IQ 16(?) (15 base, -3 difficulty, +4(?) following a known-good procedure) with complimentary [roll13] on Techie! 15
[roll14] on IQ 16(?) (15 base, -3 difficulty, +4(?) following a known-good procedure) with complimentary [roll15] on Techie! 15
[roll16] on IQ 16(?) (15 base, -3 difficulty, +4(?) following a known-good procedure) with complimentary [roll17] on Techie! 15
[roll18] on IQ 16(?) (15 base, -3 difficulty, +4(?) following a known-good procedure) with complimentary [roll19] on Techie! 15

[bramblefoot]

you awaken the rest of the people in cryo-sleep. they're all weak and dizzy, and are unlikely to travel far in their current condition.

[Volthawk]

While Chad wakes people up, Alec corrals them all into one place so he can address them as a group when they're ready. "Alright people, this is the situation - we're crashed in some rimworld or other, in a jungle to be specific, there are locals but we're not sure of their exact intent, scared tribals at the least, and odds are help isn't coming in...a while." Alec shrugs. "So we've got to sort ourselves out. Step one is figuring out what it is we can do, so - introductions!" Alec claps his hand for attention. "I'm Alec. Ex-military, trained in jungle survival, so I guess my job is to make sure we don't die out there. Chad there, working on the machines, was crew - marines, to be specific. He knows the ship, and a good amount about machines, so he'll help us get anything useful out of this place and keep anything we can take with us running. We're also both trained fighters, and have guns, so that's something. How about you guys? Who are you, what do you know about, anything else useful come to mind? Let's go down the line-" Alec grins. "I'll avoid the forced icebreakers, let's stay focused on the issue at hand for now."

[bramblefoot]

can i get an IQ roll at -2 to separate the useful ones from the bog standard please?

[Volthawk]

Chad has better IQ, so he might want to have a go, but for Alec:
IQ 11 (base 13 -2): [roll0]

[bramblefoot]

out of the roughly 75 people here, about a third of them are self-defense proficient, if not combat-trained. all of them know the base colonist skills. you have a trio of combat medics from the krailein wars, and about six general repair and maintence gurus from autus VII, a noted production planet. the biggest find however, is an honest-to-god psionic user of above average strength

[u-b]

Well, 75 was not much by any measure. Chad recognized these people will need food, water, shelter and medical help. So, he lets medics help any and all injured in the crash, and chooses the ship for the shelter. Food and water... the ship should have no huge problem with that, at least for the start, but that was also worth checking. So, Chad starts to assembel a list of things to do, and present it, soliciting suggestions:

1. Find the state of the ship's water supplies and water recirculation systems
2. Find the state of the ship's food stores and food storage equipment
3. Find the state of the ship's hydroponic and food processing equipment
4. Find the state of the ship's main power system and backup power systems
5. Find the state of the ship's in-flight workshops
6. Find the state of the ship's other systems, including the computers, comms, unused escape pods, Chad's own armor / vacc suit and the gear of other marines, etc., etc.
7. Find the state of the ship's cargo intended to use upon landing (including weapons, armor, tools, vehicles and materials)
8. Find a way to deal with the dead before they start decomposing (the options are to freeze or cremate them if we have the capacity, or to bury them if we do not)
9. Potentially set up a perimeter and find out more about the locals

Chad is inclined to take all techies with him and tackle on numbers #1..6 on this list while some people deal with #7 after escorted to the cargo holds and Alec deals with #9 (can the psi guy help him with that?) and the rest eventually deal with #8, but now just make one big heap of bodies.

Supposing we have 75 alive out of original 7500, how many of them are wounded and in need of medical help?

[bramblefoot]

alright. im just gonna do a montage of the stuff you see

1. water supplies are at 50% and draining rapidly due to a breach in the water-reclamation facility. getting the breach stopped up will take six hours of labor and a roll at -6 on techie

2. the food is fine. It's all like protein bars and freeze dried meals. the equipment is a tad battered but should work fine

3 & 4 hydroponics is shot. it took a hit from the spinal railgun, and is basically a writeoff. aint nothing getting it to work short of a spacedock. main power is offline, and the reserves are running on like 25% power. if you got the solar panels extended, that would work wonders towards getting the shortfall fixed. main power will take a dedicated effort to get back online and significant parts

5.workshops have insufficent power to print anything but basic schtuff like ammo or b-cells

6. computers are semi-functional, comms also. escape pods are lootable. there are two suits of marine armor and two-days of power for each suit

7. weapons and basic kevlar are fine. vehicles are smashed, tho you prolly could get a frankestein vehicle going if you really tried. (call it a techie roll at -5 and 4 hours of work). basic colony materials are purrfectly fine in their places

8. you should start a grave detail.

9. yes the psi can help

only bumps and bruises. the cryo-pods are remarkably resilient

[Volthawk]

When it comes to securing the perimeter, Alec takes the psion along as he starts by patrolling the exterior of the ship, looking for any other easy ways into the ship. Along the way, he asks the psychic what it was he could actually do - that kind of thing had always been a little outside of his speciality, but the guy said he could help with Alec's job and if nothing else an extra pair of eyes was useful at this point.

If any entrances are found other than the one they were planning on using (the way they first came in, presumably), Alec starts figuring out ways to secure them, seeing if any basic traps could be rigged out of some combination of ship debris and jungle materials, or if there was some way to cover or conceal the other ways in. The main entrance gets a little bit of this treatment, Alec pointing out to the colonists where he put them along with letting them know the wider state of the perimeter - after all, checking the ship was still secure was a job that some of the colonists capable of fighting would have to take on down the line.

Next...the locals. Assuming nothing goes wrong up until this point, Alec intends to report back to Chad with an update on the situation, then starts mapping out the area to the best of his knowledge (from what he saw from his vantage point and the walk from there to here, estimating relative distances from that). It was nowhere near perfect, and he intended to work on it as they explored more of the area, but he hoped it'd be enough to figure out the right way to go to reach one of the smoke signals he saw before - if that wasn't happening in a settlement itself, it must have been nearby. He also noted which direction the tracks he saw earlier were going - he still didn't know if they were colonist or tribal, but either way it was worth following up on, particularly if it was on the way to one of his potential targets.

He then asks around the colonists to see if anyone has anything in the way of diplomatic experience or training - Alec didn't see himself as the best option for potentially brokering some kind of truce, and he figured someone here must have relevant experience - along with a few people with some ability to defend themselves, just in case. He also stops by Chad again, seeing if his salvage work and the inventory of the surviving equipment had thrown up anything useful for the trip to find the tribals, and to see if he wanted to come along.


Rolls that may be relevant, let me know if anything else comes up:
Ship Patrol - Perception 15: [roll0]
Trapping - Traps 12: [roll1]
Mapping - Cartography 12: [roll2]

[u-b]

After performing an examination of the state at hand, the first thing Chad wants done is stopping the water leak. Some alternative source of water could be produced, of course, but nothing as good and reliable as what they have onboard. He takes all six techies to aid him and sets to perform the task now. When interrupted by Alec, Chad only says he trusts the two to do their good enough best, hands them two gray-colored reflex tacsuits (complete with combat infantry helmets and batteries), still bearing the marks of the colonial marines, including one named "TSgt. C. Vreeland", tells to go to the storage to pick up a gun for psi guy, and continues on with the fixing.

[roll0] on Techie 9 (15 skill, -6 difficulty) and up to six persons helping, as practical, with [roll1] [roll2] [roll3] [roll4] [roll5] [roll6] on skill 12+ for +1 each?

[bramblefoot]

alec

the psion, whose name is jakob, has good skill in telepathy and psychokinesis, which he shows by flinging rocks and hitting a bird on the wing as it gets a tad too close. he also has an annoying tendency of finishing your sentences. traps are set, positions are staffed, and the remaining colonists set up for the night

chad:

you do get the breach stopped in reclamation. the water is currently at 35% which should last you for several months. you and the gurus are soaked to the skin and bone tired. night is rapidly falling, as the twin moons come out over the jungle. you both have about two hours before you need to tuck in for the night

wdyd?

[u-b]

Having stopped the water leak, Chad has his dinner in the company of some of the other colonists. He sort of has some free time so if anyone wants to address him about something, this is a good time to do that. After the dinner, Chad makes sure everyone able to use a gun has one and also has some light body armor. He gets some light armor for himself. He then tries to arrange the new colonial militia into something not exactly resembling a crowd. That is, he expects to be busy for a few more days, so if some people have field experience, command experience, or have had military ranks, those should be appointed to command the militia in some simple structure. Chad then lets the newly-formed militia organize the night guard and goes to sleep.

[Volthawk]

From what Alec can tell, how close are the smoke signal sites from the ship? Close enough to have a look tonight?

[bramblefoot]

not tonight. but tomorrow yes

the militia set up a watch system. nothing happens the first night save for strange rustlings in the jungle

[u-b]

In the morning, Chad has the breakfast along with some other colonists. He asks if some of the techies could unfold the solar panels while the rest will help him make some vehicle.

Chad's vehicle-making efforts:
[roll0] on Techie 10 (15 skill, -5 difficulty) with four techies helping [roll1] [roll2] [roll3] [roll4] on 12+
Ideally, it would be something smallish, tracked (rubber tracks will do), with an open cargo section in th back and a dozer blade in the front, but Chad is not picky.

Two guys unfolding some solar panels:
[roll5] on Techie 12+ with complimentary [roll6] on the same

[bramblefoot]

chad:

the solar panels are set up on the back of the ship where the sun shines brightest, and a small half-track is assembled and pronounced fit for travel by the gurus. the half-track has a full tank of fuel and is raring to go.

alec
chronic pain
[roll0]<6

nightmares
[roll1] <12

[Volthawk]

Alec was a little dishevelled when he wakes up and joins the others. He doesn't talk about why, but if anyone was paying attention to him (and probably the guy who woke him up for his turn on watch) might guess that he'd been having some kind of nightmare all night. He decides to wait until the techies are done with their project before setting off - he reckoned they might come up with something useful, and when he sees the halftrack he's impressed. He took that into mind as he started planning the excursion to the tribals.


At 12FP at the start of the day from that Nightmares roll. As for the last bit of disadvantage business, First Aid 13 to see if Alec's taken care of his wound properly: [roll0]

So what's the capacity like on the halftrack? How many people can Alec bring with him? Working on a list of priorities for putting a team together for the trip, but I'd like to know how many are coming first. Also, u-b, is Chad coming along or would he rather stay in the base to work on things here?

[bramblefoot]

the half track seats six, with handles for four to ride on the outside. Such travel costs 1 fp per hour in addition to heat penalties, and imposes a -4 to guns skill while hanging off it. The nearest smoke signal by your reckoning is two klicks northeast

[Volthawk]

Alright. Since they're not heading out to war and Alec doesn't want to present too aggressive a front to the tribals, he'll leave off the side riders this trip. That leaves six seats to fill, and what Alec's looking for is something along the following lines. He's preferably looking for militia volunteers, for the decent chance a fight starts, but if need be he'll draw from the two-thirds of the colonists without any combat skill.


Someone to drive the thing. Alec can drive, but he'd rather someone else did so he can focus on navigation and looking out for threats.
One of the combat medics, for obvious reasons. Things might get violent, and in any case the jungle isn't a kind place and accidents or animals might happen.
Someone with some mechanical aptitude. Chad if he wants to come along, otherwise someone drawn from the crew - the gurus probably have better things to do, so just someone with a decent ability to deal with any typical field issues would be handy. They did just put this thing together today, after all, and jungles can be troublesome places.
Given they want to deal with the tribals peacefully, anyone with some of diplomatic or speaking experience - hell, even just a pretty face, point is someone to present a softer face to the colonists and make it more likely they can come to an agreement. Mercantile experience might be handy too, in case they can make some kind of trading deal with the tribals. Naturally, Alec's less stringent on looking in the militia for this, since people with the right skills are likely to be in the other two-thirds.
Jakob, if he's up to accompany Alec for a little longer. Telepaths are handy when dealing with a group with unknown intentions.
Alec himself, naturally.
Any remaining slots (none if all works out, maybe some if an earlier slot can't be filled or someone doubles up) with militia, so they've got some more guns on their side if the tribals are not willing to talk.


Incidentally, any word from the other prospective players, GM? Been awfully quiet in the recruitment thread. Is it just going to be u-b and me playing?

[u-b]

When Alec proposes to ride out on the newly-fixed half-track, Chad makes sure the colonists proceed with digging a grave some short distance away, protected by militia, while he is away. He also makes ture the tech guys have someting to do, like unfolding the rest of the solar panels, digging through ship's logs to have this planet located in space and space catalogs and suchlike. Chad takes, in addition to his normal load, two tactical knifes from the storage, half a backpack of tasty preserved food (nuts-in-honey class of thing, but varied), a mirror taken from a wall in some bathroom and a medikit.

[bramblefoot]

alright. everyone piles into the halftrack and about a half-hour into the journey, you come across a giant monolith. a heavy stone door sits ajar, and you feel a strange sense of foreboding as you look at it. it appears to be at least a half-football field long, and half as wide

[u-b]

Chad looks at the thing and is quite impressed. "I do not think it's going anywhere. Check for tracks, mark its location and move on?"

I guess our tasks would be to investigete anything smoky to...
1. Establish contact with the locals
2. Find those who landed in other escape pods, and the pods themselves

[Volthawk]

Alec nods. "Exactly. We're here to make contact, not root around in their possessions." He makes the necessary notes on his map and then start looking around the immediate area for tracks or anything else of interest that might indicate a good direction other than towards the other smoke signal sites.


Perception/Observation 15: [roll0]
Tracking 16: [roll1]

[bramblefoot]

alec picks up several sets of insectoid tracks leading inside the monolith. you also get a weird feeling of being watched, but the whole place seems silent as a tomb.

an hour and a half later you arrive at the first smoke signal. It's a medium village surrounded by a wooden palisade and holding maybe forty-odd souls. the village hetman, a wizened, stooped man of indeterminate age hobbles out on a gnarled stick. "have you come to take the strong away?" he asks in broken galactic standard

you are all down 1 fp from the jungle

[u-b]

Chad greets the man in a more modern and clear galactic standard. "No, that's not the purpose of our visit. We've come to establish contact with your people and find our people that have landed in the escape pods. Maybe yours have already met some of them. We will then want to establish a trading relationship."

[bramblefoot]

the hetman looks a little taken aback. "strangers only take the strong away" he murmurs, then composes himself and says "what will you be trading for?"

the village has plenty of scrap electronics, and other things they dont know how to use

[Volthawk]

"Ah, well, we have some ideas - Chad there might be interested in some of your junk, and I'm interested to hear first-hand about how you live out here and the techniques and equipment you use. I know my way around a jungle, but hearing first-hand experiences may be helpful. However, this first visit was, yes, to see if we could talk peacefully and establish contact, so if you're happy to deal we can return later with stuff to trade." He glances over at Chad, unsure what said trade goods would be, but doesn't let that stop him. "What do you mean about taking the strong away? Are you having problems with another group of strangers? Some kind of conscription, forcing your skilled and strong warriors to fight for them?" He couldn't help but be a little concerned at the implication - if there was a group around here with that attitude towards recruitment, they'd have to be careful since a crashed ship full of colonists would be an open buffet to those types.

[bramblefoot]

the hetman says to alec "they come in large beast-less carriages stinking of smoke from the east and take the strong. none return"

to chad "that junk. we have no use for it. take as much as you would like"

[u-b]

"We kind of expected a more primitive society and had no time to prepare, so my choice of goods might be suboptimal." Chad presents two tactical knives (fine quality by default), a glass mirror and half a backpack worth of tasty preserved food. "We'll take all your junk. You say what you need and we'll try to deliver it to you as soon as practival, limited by availability. For example, we have competent medics and can treat your ill. We can produce high-quality arrowheads. We can make tools on request and there are other options."

How many opunds of "junk" are we loading? Chad filters for anything at least potentially usable, at least for parts, but otherwise is willing to load up to capacity.

[bramblefoot]

the hetman takes the knives and the food and in return you get around 25 pounds of scrap electronics.

[Volthawk]

Alec has another question when they're done trading. "The other places we saw smoke signals from - your people live in those spots too, right? Can you pass the word on that we're not here for war, or to take your people away, and just want to live in peace while we sort ourselves out?"

[bramblefoot]

"they not our people" the hetman responds gruffly. "other tribes no like us"

[u-b]

Chad bags the broken electronics. "I suppose you saw things drop from the sky. Can you give us directions to some that fell close by?"


the hetman takes the knives and the food and in return you get around 25 pounds of scrap electronics.
Is that all that they had or there is more to trade for?

[bramblefoot]

the hetman nods. "big pod fell by the danger lake. bigger than normal" he hobbles away, tucking the knives in his ratty belt and shooing you away

there are roughly another 15 pounds of scrap here

[u-b]

Chad nods. "We will be going then. Which way, how far, and what's the danger about thie danger lake?" He plans to be on the way as soon as he gets the directions and a rough idea about what to expect.

[bramblefoot]

"leeches. big ones. drain you dry real quick" the hetman shudders. and enters his hut, but not before pointing out directions

[Volthawk]

"So stay out of the water, got it." Roughly noting the directions on his map, Alec heads back to the car and indicates them to the driver. "Guess that's our next stop. Any idea what to expect, Chad? What would go into a 'bigger than normal' pod?"

[bramblefoot]

the halftrack pulls up to the lake. the pod is in the shallows about twenty feet from shore. the water is still and murky.

feathersnow, if you'll introduce your character and roll ht to avoid taking 1d-2 fatigue

[Feathersnow]

A small, bedraggled woman splashes up to the shore. Her eyes are covered by an electronic visor. She is of unclear ethnicity with possible transgenic modification and scars disrupting her close-cropped hair. She pulls herself to soild ground and announces, looking in entirely the wrong direction,
"Hello, I... I'm The th-thirty sev-venth second Myggie Sun. I am bound to the Aerheardt. Pl-Please tell me you have electricity?"

Behind her, a metal colossus, equal part goat, Foo Lion, and metal box, rises from the muck and strides ponderously forward.


Hope I understood what was happening right...
[roll0]

[u-b]

"Ahh, this one!" Chad recognizes the vehicle, but apparently not the rider. "Hello, Myggie! Carefull with the water, it's full of giant leeches!" Chad makes sure to have the rifle ready and target any leeches that he sees too close to Myggie. "We should have the power all right. Take your big boy and let's go there."

[Volthawk]

Alec, meanwhile, had no idea that the ship was transporting anything like this. "...larger than usual pod, huh." He shrugs. "Alright then. Sure. This...will help. We're in the shipwreck, and we've got power and the basics set up, sure."

[Feathersnow]

"C-can you help s-strap me in? I I always have a support crew. I I I can't read the gauges. N-no in-internal camera." She taps the area between her eye sockets, where the visor feeds information directly into her brain.


After a second, she thinks, "I have about 20 hou-ours of charge, so keep that in mind if you have other stops"


Behind her, The Aerheardt kneels and the mouth distends to reveal a small cockpit located at the base of the neck of the colossal creature.

[u-b]

Chad helps Myggie strap in to her mech. He has had no experience in that, but knew the theory and could make sense of most of the labels, let alone having a live and conscious Myggie to clarify things. "Something like that. Go ahead and check it. The ship did not properly land and we don't have a ramp into the storage bay sort of thing, but I'll see what could be done about it. If anything, we could just run out a cable."

Ready to go back, then see about powering Aerheardt, then see what time it would be.

[bramblefoot]

the party makes it back to the wreck of the colony ship. the mass grave is coming along nicely. It's about late afternoon, with four to five hours before sunset. the colonists look on in awe as the mech lumbers out of the jungle, and get out of its way in a hurry. the gurus are practically ecstatic to have a big vehicle to build things for, and start chattering to themselves on upgrades and the like

you have five hours before sunset. whatcha gonna do?

[Feathersnow]

"DD'o-Do you have any images of the hy-hydroponics? I can clear a fufield if there is an anything left alive with roots. I can tyyest its viability bu-by feel if you grab a specimen"

"And- and I can fill in the grave when it's time" She looks heartbroken. It occurs to those watching she may have been sent here because she lacked the will to fight alongside her clone-sisters.


[roll0] gardening to see if there is anything to save
[roll1] gardening to use my striker and beam weapon to prepare ground for planting if relevant.

[Volthawk]

"If you want to sort out growing stuff, go ahead. I was going to check it out myself, but this frees me up to set up other food sources and, well, I doubt I could plow better than you can in that thing." The mention of graves gets a small shrug from Alec. "Some of the others have been working on graves for the people that didn't make it. There's...a lot. We shouldn't have need for more for a while - not if I can help it. I've gone through losing people in the jungle before, and I don't plan on repeating the experience. Once was bad enough."

With the new girl handling the plants and Chad presumably off doing tech guy things somewhere, Alec gets to work on making traps - sure, they had the stockpile of rations, and sooner or later they'd have crops of some kind, but given that they were here for the long haul he felt it was better they had supplemental sources too. Trapping a few small animals to add some fresh meat to the stores felt like a worthwhile use of a few free hours (even if it wouldn't feed everyone), and he felt better knowing that he was contributing to something at home.


The Survival skill description says it takes about 30 minutes to make a trap out of ordinary materials, so adding on a bit of travel time let's say he tries to make eight traps and sets them about the jungle nearby to the ship before sunset.

Hm. Normally, using Survival on an alien planet gives a -4 penalty, but Rimworld planets seem to all be quite similar to each other (what with most of the animals in the game being earth animals and environments otherwise being very earthlike). Is the penalty the same as normal or less? Assuming it's still there:

Survival 13: [roll0]
Survival 13: [roll1]
Survival 13: [roll2]
Survival 13: [roll3]
Survival 13: [roll4]
Survival 13: [roll5]
Survival 13: [roll6]
Survival 13: [roll7]

[bramblefoot]

myggie clears a patch of land with little to no trouble. most of the hydroponics bays were shot, but alec managed to save a few dozen live plants from a nook in greenhouse 3A.

alec manages to catch a few red-skinned lizards in one trap, and a few spotted pygmy deer in the rest

the suns are starting to dip below the horizon

[Feathersnow]

Myggie sets up, with exaggerated care, an altar and, with a straight-edge and a permanent marker, draws the eight arrows of The Undivided Pantheon, aligned to solar north. She then burns a pinch of oily, smoking plastic and prays to Eris and the Four Watchtowers as the suns go down.

[u-b]

Having made sure that Aerheardt can be powered, the next thing Chad does is to bring some sensors online. The steam-powered transportation should be distinctive enough in all frequencies, be that radar, thermal imaging or vision, and, in fact, at a good enough range. He then hooks these to warn everyone onboard and everyone with a radio, including Alec, Jacob and Myggie. He also sets thermal imaging to recognize large animals, but with less of alert, notifying only the man monitoring the sensors.

[roll0] on Techie! 15? with some help from the other tech guys [roll1] [roll2] [roll3]

[bramblefoot]

sometime in the middle of the night, you all hear the sound of engines rapidly approaching

[Volthawk]

Alec's a light sleeper at the best of times, so the noise is more than enough to wake him up. Grabbing the rifle laid next to where he slept, and loading the armour-piercing rounds as he goes, he makes his way to the militia on watch.

[u-b]

Chad goes to the monitors to observe the sensors, raises a general alarm and relays what he sees over the radio to Alec and Jacob.

[Feathersnow]

Myggie, asleep in her Throne, rouses the Aerheardt. She switches on the running lights "Ahem. T-Testing waa-one two three." Booms the mech's loudspeaker as the headlights switch on.

[bramblefoot]

you see on the sensors about two dozen vehicles tearing towards your position, most are jeeps and a few light assault hovercraft, but you do see a pair of tanks lumbering about a minute behind the main force.

[Volthawk]

Hearing the sensor report Alec swears under his breath, bringing his rifle to bear in the direction indicated to see if there's anything visible through the hyperspectral scope - a sneakier forward detachment, for instance. While he does, he thinks and talks on the radio. "Alright, so I'm assuming these are the people the locals warned us about. Probably going to want some of the colonists. I don't want to hand them over, but if we're not playing ball we need a plan. My rifle's APHEX can do some damage, but not taking out two tank's worth of damage - unless they're improvised enough I can hit a weak spot or pierce through into the crew, I suppose. Maybe if we act fast, hit the fast forward vehicles hard enough and inflict enough casualties, they'll back off thinking we're a harder target than they thought. Will mean we'll be in for it next time, though, and it'll remove any chance of dealing with this nicely. Thoughts, people? Main questions now are whether to act aggressively and first, or let them come and make their demands before reacting, and if any of you have tricks up your sleeves to deal with armoured vehicles."

[Feathersnow]

"M-my only arm-armaments are my h-horns and the p-plasma. Neither are grreat against armor. C-could try flipping the h-hovers"

[u-b]

Chad curses himself for not testing the datalink with Aerheardt and tries to establish a communication as he describes what he sees. Judging the size and composition of the approaching forces, he considers an armed conflict highly impractical. "We are not, I repeat, NOT fighting those guys. They'll want our tech and maybe out trained personnel, but to have it intact, they'll have to negotiate. Prepare to prevent them entering and taking over of the ship and get ready to listen." Chad repeats the same message through the ship's internal emergency loudspeakers and continues observing the approaching forces, commenting on any observations that he deems relevant.

[roll0] on Techie! 15? to establish a datalink with Aerheardt
[roll1] on Techie! 15? to classify the tanks (at least TL and gun type)

[bramblefoot]

alec: you see no infantry in the hyperspectral scope, but you do pick up a lotta heat sigs in the jeeps and hovercraft

chad: the tanks are a mixture of techs. you see older slag armor on the first tank, but it has a smooth-bore hyper-velocity main gun on it. the second has a pair of hellstrome batteries that are from at least fifty years ago, but modern armor. you also get a link to myggie

[Volthawk]

Alec swears under his breath and off-mic when Chad tells him the sensible choice. He knew it was the smart choice before he started talking but...damn, he hated it. "Looks like they haven't send anyone ahead, so the first of them will come on the fast vehicles as expected. We'll want patrols around the rest of the perimeter, just in case they try something, but I want the majority of the militia here when they arrive. You too, Myggie, Aerheardt is probably the most visually impressive thing we have. If we're negotiating, we need to put on a strong front, make them think they have less of an advantage than they might otherwise."

[bramblefoot]

the vehicles pull up outside the crashed hulk and a hulking man jumps out of the back. he hefts a light Gatling laser like it was an assault rifle, and stalks up to whoever is in charge "whoo boy, aint this just a peach of a find!" he crows, looking over the ship and the mech. "we're the tax-men, and we tax what we find. the only question is, what can you pay?"

[Feathersnow]

The Aerheardt trundles at reduced speed up to the man, keeping pace with the people on foot, belying its true speed.

[u-b]

Still at the sensors, Chad quickly opens the ship's cargo manifest on one of the monitors and starts to skim through it, looking for stuff, that:
1. Is valuable.
2. Is likely to have survived the impact.
2. We have had lots of and can deal with less.

An ideal case would be a load of light kevlar for everyone onboard, but Chad is not picky. He describes most interesting positions over the radio for Alec, Myggie and Jacob.

[Volthawk]

"Tax, huh. I see." Alec doesn't really hide the fact that he knows exactly what's going on here. "A lot of the people died when the ship crashed, so we've got spare equipment." He waits for Chad to have a good idea of what that spare equipment is exactly, before relaying it to the 'taxmen'.

[bramblefoot]

chad, make up what you give them and gimme a reaction roll at -5 pls

[u-b]

Chad proposes we offer a tax payment of:
1. Two tons of kevlar bodysuits (600 total).
2. Two tons of assorted medical supplies.
3. Two tons of assorted raw chemicals (pesticide, herbicide, alcohol, plastic granules, whatever).
4. Two tons of metal (tools, screws, copper wires, whatever)

Negotiations are to be done by someone other than Chad. Maybe by Jacob, using his modifiers. Chad just provides an initial list of the stuff we are willing to offer.
Reaction: [roll0] (with extra -5 and +whatever)
Diplomacy: [roll1] (likely same mods)

Well, let's hope Jacob has enough diplomacy to succeed even on 12, overriding that disastorous reaction... :smalleek:

[bramblefoot]

the hulking man grudgingly accepts the tax, and his underlings bundle it back onto the jeeps. with a mocking salute, he hops back up on the overloaded chassis and the vehicles speed away

[Volthawk]

As he watches them drive away, Alec sighs before speaking his thoughts over the radio. "I wonder how often we're going to have to expect that, and if they're always coming with that many people and vehicles. I'm guessing they came in force this time in case we were better armed - say, if we were military rather than a colony ship - so they might not bring all of that every time. It's still going to be a problem..." He thinks for a moment. "Chad. Do we have the materials to rig up anything capable of dealing with an armoured vehicle? One of these days, their demands might be too much or they decide they want everything rather than a 'tax' and we're in the way, so we should prepare for the possiblity of having to disable one or more of those tanks, just in case."

[Feathersnow]

"I-I can dig ho-holes for p-pit traps" offers Myggie helpfully. "The Aerheardt i-is a-antipersonel and support. I-I am not able to deal with Armor with m-my current loadout."

"B-but it's bad t-to take things from p-people h-who are already str-struggling. They sh-shame their ancestors."

[u-b]

"I'll think about it, but if they ever decide we are hostile and they have artillery, then we are screwed. We can rig up some counter-battery radar and maybe arm some recon flyer, but that would be a weak and delayed reaction every time they decide to shell us. The problem is we are staying put around the shipwreck. I'd say we absolutely don't want to be labeled enemies of any local military. Shall have a recon drone to look at the state of theirs. Maybe they are small enough, but have to make sure."

1. Is the ship armed with something for space combat?
2. Can that something be taken off or made to work where it is?
3. Anything suitable for Aerheardt ?
4. I am assuming we have some recon drones in whatever condition.

[roll0] on Techie! 15 to fix a recon drone

[Volthawk]

"This isn't about making enemies. It's about being as prepared as possible for the very real possibility that they make the decision for us. I'm not saying we need to be on a war footing tomorrow, just...keep it in mind going forward, would you, that we're going to have to prepare for the worst? That said, at the moment getting more intel would be helpful, yes."

[bramblefoot]

1, 2, & 3. the ship does have some anti-ship and point-defense weaponry, however, getting it refitted and repurposed onto the aerhaerdt is gonna be a long one, full of blood sweat and tears.

4. you easily get a recon drone operational. im assuming your sending it in the general direction of the column of vehicles?

[u-b]

The recon drone is sent to follow the tracks, climbing to some height where they are still visible, and maybe to catch up with the column of vehicles, depending of how far and how fast it goes. In either case, will climb some more when anything other than the tracks is observed, to avoid undue attention.

1. Can point-defense weaponry made to work off the ship as it is?
2. Can bigger guns?
3. What kinds of weapons we have? Chad would like to have something like anti-missile lasers capable of shooting artillery shells, and something like anti-missile missiles capable of being repurposed for anti-ground service. Not sure about anti-shipping (nuke) missiles. I guess if we had any, some should have been used up.

[bramblefoot]

1. the point-defense guns are currently recessed on the ships back due to lack of power. you could attempt to crack one open, but that is fraught with danger. you prolly could pop the anti-missile lasers out easily, the only problem is the targeting software is designed to lock up when you detach it from the ship.

2. the main spinal railgun is shot. you prolly could get some of the guided missiles out of their storage bays with a lot of work and a lotta cussing

3. the ship had a spinal mounted railgun, two anti-ship missile batteries, and about a dozen anti missile lasers and point-defense cannons each

the drone spots the convoy headed into a walled base about 25 klicks southwest. it cant get too close, but it does get a good view of its defenses. whoever designed the defense grid was no slouch in the saddle. you're seeing a mismatch of old and new tech hardwired together in decent harmony, but you're sure with enough time to study the footage there will be a weakness. the drone hangs around long enough to get a decent picture of the base, then heads back to base

[u-b]

After the drone returns, Chad replaces its batteries, puts the drained batteries into a charger, then takes two techie guys and shows them how to operate the thing. While the drone is out again to start mapping the area around the ship, up to a practical radius, however many sorties that would take, and while Alec reviews photo-map of the settlement where the armed guys reside, Chad tries to estimate the remaining combat capabilities of the ship, given the current state of its weapons, solar panels and reserve batteries.

Suppose about six lasers and six cannons are now on the upper side of the ship. Chad is going to run remote automatic diagnostics and perform a visual inspection on all of them. Then he will see if either of the two missile batteries is okay and points the right way w.r.t. the sky and the ground. The missiles (and maybe the cannons) should be ok with minimal power. The lasers not necessarily so.

[roll0] on Techie! 15 (running the diagnostics, performing inspection, analyzing results and power requirements)

[bramblefoot]

from the glitchy auto-diagnostic readings, you get that the cannons and lasers are operational, but you don't get an ammo count for the point-defense guns or the missile batteries. to manually verify will take a check of the ammo racks (for missiles) or a crawl through the duct-work to check the flechette canisters mounted to each gun

also, the anti-missile lasers are currently unfireable due to the power restrictions. and you have no idea on the missile batteries, as their auto diagnositcs refuse to respond

[u-b]

This was going to take some time, but Chad absolutely checks the ammo racks and crawls the duct-work.

[roll0] on Techie! 15 (missiles)
[roll1] on Techie! 15 (cannons)
(and maybe so on as required)

[bramblefoot]

the missile racks contain two dozen anti-ship missiles. only one of the batteries faces the right way. and it needs parts to repair it, parts you'll need to trade, raid, or kludge together.

the point defense guns have enough flechettes for one, maybe two encounters with that raider group or any other bad guys, but you still need to get them out of their recesses

[Volthawk]

While Chad deals with the ship's weapons, Alec cooks up the animals he caught last night and shares them out among any of the militia sentries who want some - it's not a massive amount of meat (and not particularly necessary at the moment given the stockpile on the ship) but it's a nice bit of variety from protein bars and freeze-dried food, and Alec just felt a small bit of satisfaction eating something he caught himself. Once his early breakfast is done, he investigates the tracks close by to the ship he found when they first arrived here, following them a short while on foot - he doesn't want to stray too far from the ship at this point, but still wants to see if he can figure out the story there.


Since I suppose we're treating this as the next morning, Alec's usual daily checks:
Nightmares, frequency 12: [roll0]
First Aid 13: [roll1]

As for following the tracks, Tracking to do the main job and Perception/Observation to try and pick out anything on the way that might give context to them:
Tracking 16: [roll2]
Per/Observation 15: [roll3]

[bramblefoot]

the track marks though slightly washed away by the rain, are still visible and go towards the monolith that you discovered

how far do you follow before you head back?

[u-b]

Chad considers the problem of getting the cannons out of their recesses. That is, why this is a problem and how one can solve it. Are the servos out or something?

Then he starts to review the maps from the drone. Of particular interest are...
1. The settlements (location, apparent size / population, apparent technology level).
2. The roads (any type, including just trampled ground).
3. The fields (anything cultivated).
4. Major structures (of whatever origin).
5. Anything else that is not the normal wilderness.

Chad also wants to come to a conclusion if the settlement getting the "tax" is a part of some larger country or something.

[roll0] on Techie! 15 (recesses)
[roll1] to analyze the maps (either Soldier 14 or some default)

[bramblefoot]

it appears that the recesses have suffered either a jam in the servos, or metal fatigue. the first will be harder to clear than the second

1.aside from the tax-mens base, you see the small village you traded with, and two other medium primitive villages that look decidedly unfriendly, judging by the heads on spikes thing they got going. there are also some caravans moving around, mostly with beasts of burden.

2. the only roads you see are trampled ground and deer paths

3. around the taxmans base, you see big plots of land worked by slaves

4. you see other monoliths of the same size in varying states of disrepair, and a large blasted tower sticking out of the ground about 10 klicks northeast

5. there is also a "ship graveyard" about 5 klicks from the tower

[Feathersnow]

"I wonder what those towers are for? And getting some scrap metal from the ship graveyard might be a goal, but we probably have enough salvage for a while. Best we fortify and plant."

[Volthawk]

Having returned once he was satisfied he knew where the tracks went, and eager to also go through the drone's feeds, Alec collates the information with his own map to get a better idea of where everything is, and notes the tracks he's found and the locations of the smoke signals (presumably they were located near to either the monoliths or other villages). "Guess those fields explain why they've been taking strong people away from the village. Good thing we had enough stuff to pay them off for now. Life as a slave in the fields is not a fate I want any of our people to end up with."

Myggie's observations get a nod from him. "We checked out one of the monoliths earlier. Bug tracks and offerings from the local tribals. Best to be careful around them - we didn't have any trouble there, and the tribals must be able to go there and back regularly without much trouble, but the risk of insectoids makes me nervous. Never seen one myself, but...you hear stories, you know? The big tower, though...not a clue. When we do need the graveyard, I'd temper our expectations there. If the taxmen were willing to come find us to check out the ship and see if there was anyone they could exort, they'll be willing to head out there too and will have taken a lot of the good stuff. Explains their mishmash of tech, too, thinking about it - the mix of old and new, presumably taken from a load of different ships and made to work together for vehicles and defences by their techies."

Her plan going forward gets another nod. "Yeah, digging in and getting set up seems like the plan. Let me know if you want a hand setting up the crops, but otherwise I'll keep supplementing our current food stocks with whatever I can find out there. Situation's not urgent enough to hunt big game, so I'll save the risk and the bullets and stick with trapping, foraging and...hm, maybe fishing, now I think about it. Could go for some fish..." Trailing off for a moment, Alec blinks and gets back into focus. "Anyway. On the note of fortifications, that should be doable. We've got enough scrap metal here to put some things together, right Chad? Might be worth setting up camouflaged positions a little into the jungle, too - besides the tactical advantages, having places outside the ship we can hide people and resources if things go south might be a good idea. Also...Chad, do we have any rope in our supplies? I'm thinking it might be a good idea to figure out a good route for getting up onto the top of the ship and that might involve a little climbing, but it'll be a good position if we do get attacked, and if you figure out how to get at the weapons having access to the space up top might be useful."

[u-b]

"Fortification-wise, I'd mostly stick to the ship. It is fortified enough as is and it would be too problematic to move the cannons. We can dig in some fortifications around, all right, but I'd only sparsely man them. Earthworks should do, maybe up to steel pillboxes. Go ahead."

Chad directs the two techies operating the drone to fly it closer over and around the "ship graveyard" while he takes the other four to try fix the servo (or what not) of one point-defense cannon.

[roll0] on Techie! 15 with complimentary [roll1] [roll2] [roll3] [roll4] on Techie! 12

[bramblefoot]

with a lotta cussing and more than a few skinned knuckles over several hours, you pop open the first of the point defense cannons. the cannon comes out of its recess and rotates. it doesn't fire yet, but its not quite sure whether y'all are targets or not

the techies say from the ground "uh sir, you're gonna wanna see this"

wdyd?

[u-b]

Chad switches the cannon to "safe" and goes to see that, picking up Alec and Myggie as appropriate.

[bramblefoot]

the drone is currently losing altitude rapidly. "the drone is fighting us sir, its almost like she wants to go to the tower" the two techies say in unison

[u-b]

"Okay, make sure it does that in circles and sends us good shots on the way. I want to know how that thing looks up close and whether attraction increases at reduced distance. How far away from the thing you have noticed the problems?"

Chad is committed to expend one drone to learn more details about the tower.

[bramblefoot]

the drone spirals in circles around the tower sending back as much data as possible. the attraction grows the closer the drone gets, and the signal steadily degrades until it is lost around 500 yards outside of the tower.

can i get a relevant roll at -7 to interpret the fragmented data?

[u-b]

With the help of a whole team of technical and some non-technical folk, Chad tries to make sense of the data. He thinks he has a pretty solid explanation, fron his technical side, at least insofar as such an explanation can be had...

I guess this one is important, so we should all team together and try to make sense of it. The six technicians helping:
[roll0] [roll1] [roll2] [roll3] [roll4] [roll5] on complimentary Techie! 12

And then everyone tries to make sense of their side of the deal. Chad, from a technical standpoint:
[roll6] on Techie! 12 (15 skill, -7 difficulty, +4 aides)

Then Alec is to roll his Observation and Myggie is to roll Electronics Operation (it's part of Techie!, but the additional insight would be certainly welcome), with the same aid.

[Feathersnow]

Myggie tries to interpret the data through her cybernetics.


[roll0]

[Volthawk]

Alec focuses less on the technical aspects of what happened, and instead focuses on extracting as much useful information from the recorded feed as he can, playing it and replaying it to see what he can find, the technicians helping where they can to clear up things he points out as potentially being of interest. Besides generally looking for points of interest, he also examines the nature around the tower - if it was insectoid-infested, like the tracks they saw around the monolith, they might have left a mark on the environment around their nest.


Observation 13 (Skill 15 + 5 aid - 7 circumstance): [roll0]
Naturalist 12 (Skill 14 + 5 aid - 7 circumstance): [roll1]

[bramblefoot]

Chad and myggie: you see purple glyphs pop up sporadically in the feed. They seem to pop up more frequently as the signal degrades. Can I get a will roll please from both of you?

Alec: you see no tracks outside the tower, only tread marks.

You can ask me five questions in total

[u-b]

Question 0: What the **** are those glyphs?
Question 1: What effect this has had on all our equipment (not just the drone, but also processing equipment this side etc.)?
Question 2: What effect this has had, or could have had, on people working with the feed?

The second question is conditional on us noticing that we've made saving throws about something.
The 0th question is what Chad wants to find out, but please only count it if there is a separate sensible answer.

@Players: will you suggest otehr questions?

[bramblefoot]

#1 so far it has done nothing, but it is lingering like a stubborn cold in the machinery
#2 so far nothing, but it could be some sort of memetic influence

[u-b]

Question 3: Where those tread marks lead from and to?

[bramblefoot]

the treads seem to lead in and out of the tower

[Volthawk]

Can we see anything in the way of a particular direction or destination to the tracks - do they seem to be going anywhere, or are they just generally around the tower (the former implying something's travelling between the tower and somewhere else, while the latter would be implying something inside patrolling around it)?

[bramblefoot]

to the graveyard and back the tread marks go

[Volthawk]

After looking at the recordings for a bit, Alec nods to himself and looks over at Chad. "Tread trails between the ship graveyard and the tower, huh. Looks like salvaging that place might not be so easy - whoever or whatever is behind that tower seems to have a claim on it. That makes sense, if it likes taking control of tech it'll be able to get as much as it needs out of there. Thoughts on sending a drone over to check out the graveyard, you two? Might tell us more, but it might also get jacked just like this one. I'm not sure which way is the right call there."

[u-b]

Chad thinks about this, asking the techies about the distance between the tower and the drone when the first symptoms appeared, and comparing this distance to that between the tower and the ship graveyard.

I don't think this should count as a separate question, but what is the size of the tower?

[bramblefoot]

the tower is basically the ruins of an old skyscraper. also the glyphs started a little ways into the ship graveyard

[u-b]

Again, not sure if this should be a separate question, but are there, anywhere around that ruinied skyscraper, any signs of (formerly) urban terrain as normal for skyscrapers?

[bramblefoot]

the earth is scorched and dry where the skyscraper is

edit: i will not count that as a question

[u-b]

Question 4: What sort of shielding or other defense could be expected to work against whatever the tower was doing?

[bramblefoot]

right now, it's unknown. you just don't have enough information. you may have to do research or go to the tower or find other ways to recreate the glyphs

[u-b]

Question 5: How the activity from the direction of the tower registers on the ship's own passive sensors (like the SDR radio scanner)? Things like spectrum, power levels, emission patterns, etcetera are of interest. We can also try to make sense of the transmissions, but Chad is careful to disconnect the radio scanning equipment from the rest of the ship if it seems to pick up anything.

[bramblefoot]

the strange thing is, you got nada on the passive and active sensors. seems like whatever this is is either extremely advanced or possessing a sensor cloak, possibly both

[u-b]

Leaving the strange skyscraper be for some time, Chad proceeds to adapt the ship's armaments to the situation at hand. It seems the first thing to do now that he has a cannon would be to make the automatic targeted system a bit semi-automatic and a lot more tolerant to and aware of the various nuances of a ground combat on an atmospheric planet. Chad thinks this is all rather important, so he takes his time to do it all right.

Adapting the automatic targeting software...
[roll0] on Techie 16 (15 skill, +1 extra time) - make the software recognize and classify land targets
[roll1] on Techie 16 (15 skill, +1 extra time) - make the software correctly prioritize land targets and choose the right amount of rounds to shoot depending on target class
[roll2] on Techie 16 (15 skill, +1 extra time) - make the software selectable between "kill them all" mode and taking targets designated by the operator
[roll3] on Techie 16 (15 skill, +1 extra time) - make the software account for atmospheric conditions
[roll4] on Techie 16 (15 skill, +1 extra time) - test the software (first the logic with no ammo and with people doing their usual work outside, then accuracy with live rounds while everyone is inside)

[bramblefoot]

all of those things take time to complete, but they'll get done in a few days of work

[Volthawk]

Alec's still a little concerned about their situation, so he grabs a carbine from the armoury (wanting to save his more scarce storm rifle rounds) and goes on a long patrol through the jungle around the ship, looking for any signs of people that he hadn't already noticed - someone from the taxemen sticking around to cause trouble, or one of the tribes they hadn't contacted yet (he remembered the hetman they talked to saying they weren't on good terms with the other tribes, so there was the possibility that they would be hostile to the colonists too). Along the way, he sets more small traps to bulk up his supply of meat and hides.


For the patrol:
Perception/Observation 15: [roll0]
Stealth 16: [roll1]

And for traps, let's say he has time for five more?
Survival 17: [roll2]
Survival 17: [roll3]
Survival 17: [roll4]
Survival 17: [roll5]
Survival 17: [roll6]

[Feathersnow]

Myggie loses herself in the manual work of overseeing the planting and the building of barricades.

[bramblefoot]

alec: you notice large paw-like tracks surrounding the crashsite in the jungle. the tracks appears to be semi-upright, with a loping gait that suggests an endurance runner.

myggie: can i get a gardening roll from you and a iq roll at -2 to properly place the barricades?

[Volthawk]

When he finds the tracks, Alec immediately reports in on what he's found and his position relative to the ship - for all he knew whatever creature made these was still in the area, after all, and might be preparing to strike so it was better to ensure the others knew where to come if he needed help. Providing said attack doesn't come, he notes the direction of the tracks and tries to figure out how recent they are while he has a think if any creatures he knew of matched those prints, or if he could recall any more general information that might provide a clue. While something of that size would probably give a good amount of meat and hide, if it wasn't a predator or otherwise a threat to the colony there wasn't an urgent need to go chasing after it.


Tracking 16: [roll0]
Naturalist 14: [roll1]

[Feathersnow]

Gardening [roll0] needs 14 or lower

Barricades [roll1] needs 13 or lower

[bramblefoot]

alec: the tracks lead around and around the campsite, finally leading down a small animal trail. you do find the carcasses of several pygmy deer torn practically to ribbons by scything claws and fearsome teeth. this thing eats meat and with a vengeance. you also get a feeling you're being watched

myggie: the planting goes well. the barricades are a tad shoddy, but that can be worked on later

chad: you hear a commotion from the barricades. you cant tell what, but it seems important

[u-b]

Since he is already nearby, Chad decides against resorting to the sensors and just comes over himself, with his carabine in hand, to see what's the matter.

[bramblefoot]

you see a man, half-conscious and caked in grime. a dart rifle hangs over his shoulder, and a large knife sits at his hip. he looks bone-tired and he's on his last legs

JbeJ275: feel free to introduce your character

[JbeJ275]

Doctor Kaleen stops for just a second, feeling at his wirst then sighs with relief and procceds towards a the barricades at a slow unsteady walk, his hands raised above his head.

"Ah... umm.. Hello. I am Doctor Maxamillian Kaleen.. I.. I recently arrived here from a ship that suffered heavy damage while I was out. I was intended to take a position as head doctor upon my arrival.. are you also from that same ship?"

[Feathersnow]

Myggie adjusts the scopes on The Aerheardt to see the newcomer...

The Aerheardt and I j-just got out-t of st-stasis. I !-assume we ca-came from the sa-same ship. I've been h-helping this ship, anyway.

[u-b]

"This same ship?" says a man in a marine uniform pointing at an obviously recent shipwreck a short distance behind his back "Sure we are. Consider yourself back onboard and funny thing is, you can as well be a head doctor with no active patients. We've buried most of the our people in a sort of mass grave and everybody alive is surprisingly well. Not the way I would have envisioned crashes, but something to do with the construction and operation of those cryostasis cells." The man in a marine uniform seems to think for a moment. "Chad Vreeland. Head of the thingy part of this ship the way the things go. I'll leave it up to you how you study local biome. There are local people, so there should be local diseases. No idea how these relate to those we are familiar with."

[JbeJ275]

The Doctor begins corssing to the inside of the camp as he replies.

"A damn shame about those who were lost, cryostasis readers are good at what they do but if they've got last genertion's quick release protocals they can damn you in an emergency. Good to hear the rest are in fair nick though, hopefully I'll get the chance to actually put together some medicines and a work space before anything requires my talents. How does the the camp fare in other terms Mr Vreeland, and you there.. what's your name sorry? Does the camp have enough food? And could you tell me of those local people you mentioned?

[Feathersnow]

I-I'm Myggie S-sun 2.37. I've b-been s-seeing to the g-gardens. We hopefully will have e-enough.

[Volthawk]

Hm. This was concerning. Alec checks that the carbine he grabbed is ready to fire as he gets on the comms to give another update. "There's some kind of predator sniffing around out here. Large, dangerous. Might be watching me. Be on the lookout in case it attacks the camp, don't be out there alone just in case. Heading back now, would appreciate a nearby patrol meeting up with me on the way in case I'm right and it's after me." With that, he promptly starts heading back towards the ship, a thought hitting him as he moves that warrants another message over comms. "And someone grab my rifle, I left it by the entrance and this is big enough game that it might be warranted."

[u-b]

Chad probably does not have a comm on him, but alerted by Myggie about Alec's update, gets ready to meet him or respond to more news, like e.g. shooting. Meanwhile he comments to the Doc: "We have food stores intact and they were stuffed for full complement, so I am pretty sure we will have enough until the garden kicks in, and then some. Alec is doing some hunting and there is nonzero chance we'll get our hands on something suitable to breed sooner or later... hm, I haven't actually checked if the cryocapsules with farm animals have survived the impact. Had too much going on about our defenses. Right now our hunter Alec got a contact with fresh trails and the thing that has left it does not seem herbivore. The locals... well, it seems this world has had quite a lot of shipwrecks over the years, so people came from good technological background, but have lost what they have had, to various extents. Some have tanks. Some have spears. It varies.".

[bramblefoot]

alec: you are suddenly charged by a large boar-like thing with heavy warty plates on its body. it is closing quite rapidly and looks quite pissed off

[JbeJ275]

Chad probably does not have a comm on him, but alerted by Myggie about Alec's update, gets ready to meet him or respond to more news, like e.g. shooting. Meanwhile he comments to the Doc: "We have food stores intact and they were stuffed for full complement, so I am pretty sure we will have enough until the garden kicks in, and then some. Alec is doing some hunting and there is nonzero chance we'll get our hands on something suitable to breed sooner or later... hm, I haven't actually checked if the cryocapsules with farm animals have survived the impact. Had too much going on about our defenses. Right now our hunter Alec got a contact with fresh trails and the thing that has left it does not seem herbivore. The locals... well, it seems this world has had quite a lot of shipwrecks over the years, so people came from good technological background, but have lost what they have had, to various extents. Some have tanks. Some have spears. It varies.".

"Hmmm.. sounds like you're stable for now at least. If it's clear to you then I'll check what medical supplies have ended up around this site, and see what of the local life can be used for our needs. If you're gonna be hunting or taking animals down to try domesticating I might be able to help with that as well, I can make anesthetics or safe to consime poisons for that sort of thing."

[Volthawk]

Ah. He was right. Not a situation to be happy about being right in, though. Alec doesn't get back onto the comms, instead focusing on the beast and letting the sound of automatic gunfire combined with his previous transmission clue the others on to his situation.


Attack action, firing a 9-shot burst at it. From the description, guessing it's 7-10 yards away for a range penalty of -4? Adjust if necessary if my reckoning is inaccurate.

Guns 15 (Skill 17 + 2 RoF - 4 Range): [roll0], Rcl 2
Damage (rolling enough for max hits possible, most will likely not apply): [roll1] pi, [roll2] pi, [roll3] pi, [roll4] pi, [roll5] pi, [roll6] pi, [roll7] pi
So that's 6 hits, dealing 24, 16, 17, 19, 24 and 23 piercing damage. If it's 5 yards or closer, there's a seventh hit for 25, while if it's further than 10 yards a shot is lost (two if it's over 20 yards away).

Taking a 1-yard step away from the creature after attacking.

[bramblefoot]

surprisingly, the pig weathered the storm of fire with only a few superficial scorings and closes to melee. it bellows loudly and makes an attack

[roll0] hit
[roll1]

the rest of you at the base, you hear automatic weapons fire, followed by a thunderous bellow.

[Feathersnow]

Myggie begins to head to The Aerheardt while directing the mech to approach her. Once they are together she climbs into the hold, being unable to hook into the cockpit without help. Whatever was getting shot probably doesn't know that.

[Volthawk]

The tacsuit protects Alec from the blow, but he's still going to be feeling that later. Undeterred (or more accurately unsure whether he could outrun the thing), he steps backwards and fires another burst, being more careful to aim at the areas where he figured the thing's vital organs would be.


Attacking with a 5-shot burst, this time aiming at the vitals, stepping backwards before attacking in case we're in close combat (if its melee attacks have a 1-yard reach and it did that, then he's 2 yards away and still suffers no range penalty).

Guns 15 (Skill 17 + 1 RoF - 3 hit location): [roll0], Rcl 2
Damage (pi, x3 wounding mult): [roll1], [roll2], [roll3], [roll4], [roll5]
Two hits for 24 and 21 piercing damage, with a x3 wounding multiplier.

[bramblefoot]

the pig takes those shots, but it cannot get up anymore. it looks at alec with murder in its eyes, daring him to come within goring range

chad: you can tell that those are carbine shots, but distance is hard due to the jungle

myggie, you're in the hold. what's your next move

[u-b]

Chad helps Myggie plug herself in. "That's Alec shooting. When it's over, we'll ask him if he is all right. Meanwhile, let's move!" Chad leads anyone who wants to follow towards the shots he had heard.

"Oh, Doc, he might need your help." Chad is unsure if he wants to take unarmored doc into the jungle, but he might be vital, literally, so he is willing to risk it.

[Volthawk]

Making sure he's not in goring range, Alec takes his time now, lining up the shot to finish it off as he gets on the comms again. "It's down, but not dead. Would still appreciate backup - if nothing else, dragging this thing home is going to need several men, and there's always a risk there are more predators out here."


Stepping back to 2 yards if he's not already that far, and then taking Aim actions until I reach the full bonus.

[Feathersnow]

The Aerheardt trots with deceptive grace towards the noise. It's speakers roar at the boar-thing! G-go away, p-please, mmmmister P-pig.

[roll0] Intimidation, default to diplomacy(?), with penalties for stuttering.

[bramblefoot]

alec, tell me what you see for a split second out of the corner of your eye before it fades into the jungle like a ghost

myggie, you got a sensor ping, 200 meters to your left. gonna detour to check it out

chad and doctor Maximilian: can i get observation rolls at -4 from the both of you?

[Feathersnow]

The Aerheardt saunters closer, I thing I detect something...

[Volthawk]

Alec's about to fire when he notices...something? What was that? Humanoid, he was pretty sure. Quick and stealthy enough that he doesn't get a second look, anyway. That was worth checking out, but first it was time to finish the job here. Another burst, from this range and carefully aimed, should do the job just fine at finishing the beast off. Once that's done, he reloads and gets back on the comms. "There's someone or something out here too, doesn't seem hostile but still. Eyes open."


Firing the last five rounds of the magazine to hopefully finish the thing off, aimed at the eye.

Guns 16 (Skill 17 + 5 Accuracy + 2 Aim + 1 RoF - 9 hit location): [roll0]
Damage: [roll1], [roll2], [roll3], [roll4], [roll5], all pi and at x4 wounding multiplier
So one hit at 23 damage with a x multiplier.

[bramblefoot]

the burst finishes off the pig and it slumps to the ground dead.

[JbeJ275]

Doc nods in response to Chads request and makes to follow him at speed.

Rolling for a 6 for Observation -4 [roll0]

[u-b]

Chad does not notice anything suspicious. Aerheardt does, but then, it is not said whether that's Alec... All things considered, Chad lets Myggie make her best guess and follows whatever way she chooses, presumably accompanied by the doctor. He does not feel like splitting the group even more.

Errm... are we waiting for me? :smallredface:

[bramblefoot]

myggie: the aerhaerdt finds its way to the clearing. there is a giant pig dead on the ground and Alec standing guard. you have that ping on the motion tracker again. It's just circling the area about 200 meters out.

alec. you see chad and doc enter the clearing. at the same time you see that doc's shadow looks funny, like its dancing on its own

chad: tell me just how lucky Alec was to have survived something like this

doc: you see something shiny a little ways into the brush. gonna check it out?

[u-b]

Chad is relieved, but not particularly impressed. To him, an armored professional hunter taking out a big pig is well on the "expected" part of the spectrum. That leaves a question of who or what was there on Aerheardt's sensors, but hopefully that can wait. "A nice trophy you have here, Alec! Let's load it onto the big guy and haul it back to base. I feel it is less than perfectly safe here, especially to repeat the feat alone, and I want to see how the situation looks like on the ship's own sensors."

[JbeJ275]

Doc taps Chad’s shoulder to get his attention, then points out and heads towards the relevant object.

[u-b]

Chad is not quite sure he sees anything in the direction pointed, less so is able to clearly identify it. He is not quite comfortalbe with having unarmored people wander around more than necessary, but says nothing and just proceeds to cover Doc in case any more pigs or what not do show up.

[roll0] on Perception 15 (with whatever modifiers)

[Volthawk]

Turning to acknowledge the others as they arrive, Alec nods in response to Chad's comment. "Yeah. That hide might come in useful later, and it looks like it'd probably be good eating. I..." He trails off when he sees the newcomer. A colonist he hadn't particularly paid much attention to before, he guessed. But what was going on with his shadow? In any case, the man heading off gets Alec to move again, keeping his gun in hand as he heads to Chad, whispers "Something weird is going on here. Seems like your friend there is involved - target, maybe? His...shadow is moving independently of him. Keeping a closer eye on him, keep covering us." before jogging after Doc - it's not particularly hard to notice that his gaze is frequently flickering to the man's shadow, keeping an eye on whatever is going on there.

[bramblefoot]

myggie: there is a second dot on the motion tracker. 100 meters out and closing rapidly. the energy signature is high, likely some sort of combat robot

chad: are you examining the pig at all? or just letting it lie there

doc: you see a small ancient metal glove lying on the ground. gonna pick it up?

alec: as doc gets closer to the shine, his shadow gets more and more wonky. gonna say anything?

[Feathersnow]

"S- something's c-coming, possibly a b-battle drone! Be ready."

Myggie points The Aerheardt's weapons and horns toward the second contact.

[u-b]

Chand intends to attend to th pig when it is all safe and quiet, but mostly to load it on Aerheardt and haul it back. Now though, he takes a look at Aerheardt to see which way it is facing and tries to keep his eye both on that way and on the way Doc and Alec are.

[Volthawk]

From hs position a few paces back, Alec calls out as he keeps an eye on the shadow. "Hold up a second, new guy. Either you're the target of something strange, or you've got some explaining to do." He gestures towards the man's shadow with one hand, the other still holding his carbine. "Care to explain what the hell is going on with your shadow? It's been getting worse, so if you don't know what's up..."

[JbeJ275]

Doc picks up the glove and examines it.

[bramblefoot]

myggie, your sensors have the war droid at 50 meters and then it just vanishes off scopes.

alec: the shadow wavers and vanishes after he picks up the glove. suddenly, the glove attempts to attach itself to his left hand

doc: the glove leaps onto your left hand, i'm gonna need a strength test at -4 to avoid having it attached to you like glue

chad: what are you doing in this ****show?

[Volthawk]

Alec raises his carbine and slowly backs away, unsure of what's going on but not convinced about the man's innocence in it all. "Chad, who the hell is this guy?"

[u-b]

Chad shrugs. "Some newcomer. Tells he's a doc. I suspect, one of ours, but I haven't checked."

[JbeJ275]

Doc initially tries to force the glove off but it seems to flow around his attempts at getting fingers under it, he holds out his left arm at maximum extension and raises the other in response to the carbine pointed at him. He's peering down at the arm, trying to diagnose if any har, is being done and taking a long few seconds to calm down. Eventually he draws his left arm back in, and experimentally flexes his left hand checking for any anomolous qualities.

"Hang on, I was meant to be the colony doctor but I don't know quite what this is. Have you seen any tech like this here before?"

[bramblefoot]

doc: the glove seems to be meshed with you now. a small beep emits from the glove, and you feel like you could run far and fast without dropping. can i get a iq or physician roll at -3 to see if you realize what happened to you?

alec: what's your plan now that the glove has meshed with doc?

chad. this is clearly advanced tech. gonna take a look at it after this whole debacle is over?

myggie: you see the robot moving through a small gap in the canopy. its closing fast on the party

[JbeJ275]

Physician at 20-3=17: [roll0]

Doc takes a further second to come to terms with how this seems to have effected him.

[Feathersnow]

The Aerheardt's speakers go live! "IT'S COMING!" Myggie prepares the plasma jets, if she can get a clear shot.

[u-b]

The doc seems quite preoccupied with whatever it is, and Alec seems to be preoccupied with the doc, so Chad takes The Aerheardt's warning to face whatever direction The Aerheardt is facing and get ready for whatever the thing that's incoming.