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  1. - Top - End - #31
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    Valmark's Avatar

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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    "Then we'll drop you in and stay outside" Nike nodded "Try not to spread out too much and let's keep each other update. Aside from checking anything weird we want to make sure the other containers are indeed filled with water and if you find whatever controls the weapons outside it'd be better to check one last time that they aren't waiting to come online" he said.

    Spoiler: Ooc
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    Yeah Nike's staying behind for now. Since he doesn't need his subpilots to pilot though Wolf and Einsberg can come check things out if need be- Wolf's not good exploration-wise but Einsberg has every knowledge skill.
    Last edited by Valmark; 2022-01-06 at 10:07 PM.

  2. - Top - End - #32
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    Ethan makes his way to the hangar and boards his Crimson Knight. Seeing it's currently in Mech mode to save room he flys a distance from the launching lane then transforms into fighter mode. "I'm breaking away pretty far glance over the outside, but I'll be back soon enough." he says over the com before accelerating towards the station.
    Last edited by YuweaCurtis; 2022-01-07 at 05:43 PM.

  3. - Top - End - #33
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    Behind the crusher
    Making their way behind the jaws, blades and spiked rollers of the crusher, Warm and Siren found themselves in a long chamber. Large heating elements and ventilators set in the wall in the wall suggested it'd be some kind of heating chamber intended to cook off volatile substances. This also would have required the chamber to have been pressurized in some way, though it's not clear how the chamber would be sealed off from the vacuum of space.

    Towards the end of the chamber it seemed to split off in four different directions. Three of the tubes are sealed off with heavy valves, but one is currently open. Travelling down the tube, which is just large enough for Siren's drone, eventually takes the two void engineers to a massive open space, filled with ice crystals slowly floating about. Based on the twists and turns the tunnel had made it is likely that they've now found themselves in one of the station's massive storage tanks.

    The station's exterior
    Evan's exploration of the station's exterior revealed a two things of note. Close examination of the part where the tank had broken off suggest that whatever caused the breaking did so by impacting the station, rather than by using some kind of weapon. The are no signs of scorchmarks as one would expect beam-weapons to leave, and the break between the station and the drifting container appears to be too clean for it to have been caused by some kind of high-explosive weapon.

    Evan's closer pass of the exterior station also reveals a single tiny spot that is just a little warmer than the rest of the hull. Closer examination reveals it to be the remains of a small antenna array, the antenna's themselves having been wrecked by some sort of impact. The heat is coming from a simple radioactive power-source linked to these antennae. It appears to be a simple communications array, maybe a back-up or emergency beacon of sorts, though the damage to the antennae suggest that, even though the power might still be working, there would be no way to send a signal.

    The large tunnel
    As Levi approaches the singular mech-size tunnel they also note what appears to be an inactive sentry turret mounted just above the entrance. The turret remains quiet during their approach, and makes no attempt to stop them from entering the hallway. The hallway itself stretches maybe forty meters deep, then makes a right angle turn, and after another forty meters opens up into a single room. The room is empty except for a cube 5 meter high cube in the center, and the remains of a large yellow mech laying face-down on the ground between the cube in the center and the entrance to the room. The mech itself is a blocky, utilitarian design, much like the station it is found in. A large flight-pack mounted on its back suggest it it quite capable of atmospheric and interplanetary flight, and several large drones are mounted on its back. Apart from that, it appears unarmed, though it's right arm appears to have been blown off, and is nowhere to be seen. The mech's left hand is stretched towards the cube in the middle of the room.

    Aboard the Brilliance
    "Hey Nike, Wolf made a suggestion for putting a date to the moment this station went dead." The ship's navigator spoke up. "I've run the numbers, and either Wolf's suggestion was garbage, or we're looking at the space equivalent of an archaeological digsite. You see, he thought that this station must have once been spun for gravity based on its shape, but now it's nearly stationary. That cloud of ice crystals does have some decent momentum to it though, and there's the broken off container to consider... well, long math short, if this station was spun to create some meaningful amount of internal gravity than it must be at least a 1000 years since it got wrecked, and could be several orders of magnitude more depending on how fast it was spun."
    Last edited by DeTess; 2022-01-08 at 11:05 AM.
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  4. - Top - End - #34
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    Warm records the layout of the ducts as he and Siren climb through them. His mech's hand reaches out to tap a big crystal.

    "Looks like water ice. The other valves might have been for chemical reagents to help release it, or they might have gone to the other capsules. Either way, I feel like they were in the middle of something when the station broke down."

    As there doesn't seem to be much else to see down here, Warm heads back to the hub unless Siren has any ideas.
    Last edited by Dr.Gunsforhands; 2022-01-09 at 12:31 AM.
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  5. - Top - End - #35
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    "They look so nice!" Siren transmits to Warm. "Do you think I should have my other two drones maneuver some crystals out? If not, I'll just follow you out.
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  6. - Top - End - #36
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    "Mrr? Oh, yeah, good idea! Then we can bring some to the lab for analysis."
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  7. - Top - End - #37
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    His mecha kneeling down to give him a better look at the fallen one, Levi gets on the comms as he examines it. "Found something. Looks like one of their version of mecha. I'm seeing analogues to one of our patrol packs, and some mounted drones. Seems to be an industrial design rather than military, by my reckoning." Levi frowns as his mech stands so he can look over the mech as a whole again, his gaze soon moving up to the cube. "I think this station wasn't abandoned. It was attacked. This mech's got a blown-off arm, and the way it's fallen suggests that it was stopped before it could get to...whatever I'm looking at is. If any of you haven't found anything your way, I'd appreciate opinions here. I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking at."

  8. - Top - End - #38
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    "How old does the mech look, Levi? Can you tell?" Nike inquired on the comms "Luna was just telling me that by the look of it this place should have been destroyed around a thousand years ago. I'd be amazed if there's a robot in good condition" he frowned "Though luckily it also hopefully implies nothing harmful survived all this time. Can you describe what you're looking at that is weird? Does it look like it's going to... Have any kind of reaction?"

    Spoiler: Ooc
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    Luna in this case would be the navigator. I think she'll be called Luna Starasky.

  9. - Top - End - #39
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    "Alright!" With a mental command, she orders her two remaining drones to begin moving two of the ice crystals carefully and soon Siren and drones join Warm on the path back.
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  10. - Top - End - #40
    Firbolg in the Playground
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    "I can't accurately age the mech, no. I can say that it's built with the same aesthetic style as the station itself, hence my assumptions, but at this moment I can't confirm. It may be worth taking it in for closer analysis. As for the cube..." Levi takes a few steps towards it, past the mech, but doesn't get too close to the cube. "Again, little I can tell for sure. Cube, around five meters tall. No obvious way of interacting with it that I can see from here, but a closer look might reveal more. Must be some way of getting a reaction, that mech's pilot was trying to do something here, but given that we don't know its function I'm reluctant to start messing with it. Too many potential bad outcomes - a self-destruction mechanism, for instance."

  11. - Top - End - #41
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    "Well, if it still hasn't done anything to anybody it's hopefully safe to leave it be" Nike nodded (to nobody as he was talking through the comms) "If this is all I think we could grab the robot to analyze it and regroup before contacting the Oregon. Sounds good?" he asked to all of his fellow Void Engeneers.

  12. - Top - End - #42
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    "Agreed." Levi looks the mech over again. "I could do with assistance moving it, though. It's on the larger side."

  13. - Top - End - #43
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    Anita pokes around the tunnel entrances tentatively, looking for secured doors that might lead to a command center of some kind. "Guys, I'm looking for wherever they controlled and maintained this place from. If I can get a layout of the station and it's security protocols, I can keep track of you in relation."

  14. - Top - End - #44
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    Evan steers his ship back towards the rest of the group "This is weird," he starts to say in the groups main channel, "It seems the damage was caused by some sort of impact a s the best I can tell there was no actual attack. At least not to the outside of the station. Also found the remains of an antenna array of some sort. The power is still leaking but without the antenna themselves nothing is being sent out. What else needs a look over?" He would shift back into mech mode upon reaching the entrance.
    Last edited by YuweaCurtis; 2022-01-11 at 05:05 PM.

  15. - Top - End - #45
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    "A worker robot? Let me have a look at it! Did you check to see if it was manned?"

    With a nod to Siren, Warm's small mech quickly zips back through the pipe to the entrance chamber and then to the larger hall. When he finds the cube room, he greets Levi and does a quick scan of the mech on the floor before he gets to work probing it.

    With a mental switch, Warm unlatches a pair of panels in the robot doctor's shoulders, which quickly eject and unspool the durable hoses he uses for medication in combat. With them, he quickly latches onto the fallen husk and runs the injection subroutine to automatically seek out its pilot seat, if there is one.

    Spoiler
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    He's also using the Scan spirit on it. It probably doesn't work on the dead in general, but it doesn't hurt to try, right?

    Scan[Ship Captain](5): Choose an opponent in view. You learn their max and current HP/energy/spirit points as well that of their mecha, their AC, DR, movement speed, feats, name(s) and equipped weapons. That opponent takes a -2 Scan penalty to AC and saves for 1 round.
    Last edited by Dr.Gunsforhands; 2022-01-11 at 06:33 PM.
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  16. - Top - End - #46
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    The hoses from Warm's mechs probe around in the large yellow mech, but eventually retract, their work undone. An error pops up on Warm's display, informing him that the hoses where unable to find the industrial mech's pilot.

    His attempt to scan the mech does come up with some information, but given that the mech is completely powered down and inactive, his systems can only really make an estimate of the mech's defensive capabilities and hull integrity.

    Spoiler: Scan results
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    Type: WARNING: UNKNOWN DESIGN. NO SIMILAR SILHOUETTES RECORDED IN DATABANK. SELECT COMPARISON FRAME MANUALLY.
    Hull Integrity: 42% Integrity estimates based on overall apparent hull integrity. Accurate estimate based on Higgs-Peterson scale impossible.
    Armor Class: 34
    DR: 15
    power capacity: UNKNOWN
    Mobility: UNKNOWN, LIKELY FLIGHT CAPABLE.
    Weaponry: NONE DETECTED
    Special Systems and Capabilities: UNKNOWN
    Last edited by DeTess; 2022-01-12 at 04:46 AM.
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  17. - Top - End - #47
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    Siren walks across her drone to watch Warm work.

    "What are you learning?" she asks curiously.
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  18. - Top - End - #48
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    Warm sighs. The comms wouldn't normally pick that up, but the neural interface perfectly transmits the note of concentration and mild disappointment. The robot doctor retracts its injector-tentacles and folds them back into its compressed frame.

    "Well, I'm learning that it's definitely alien, and that if it ever had a pilot, they're not in there anymore. We'll have to take it apart to see whether it was fully automated or just unoccupied." He knocks his fist on the yellow hulk's chassis demonstratively. "Its armor is quite tough, too. It's intact enough that we might be able to reactivate it, provided we can figure out how it works."
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  19. - Top - End - #49
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    "So... A potentially salvageable robot which Einsberg will love? Nice" Nike smiled on the comms "Could we find out what was being sent out if the antenna still works? Perhaps by trying to repair it?"

    Spoiler: Ooc
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    Mmm... Would it be possible to try and find the likely location of the manteinance section or what's it called what Anita is searching for by scanning the base's shape from outside or similar?

  20. - Top - End - #50
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    A moment of introspection leads Anita to transform into her beast mode. In this shape, she runs to the large hanger and down into the tunnels. She keeps a lookout for anything that might give access to station security measures.

  21. - Top - End - #51
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    The small tunnel Anita entered seems to be a part of a labyrinthine web of of maintenance shafts and access tunnels. Her exploration takes her quite deep into the station, but at no point does she see anything resembling a control room, or any other accommodations for a crew. The tunnels are studded on all sides with hatches to give access to cables, switchboards, pipes and other devices that seem necessary for the station's operation.

    Eventually Anita finds herself in a fairly large circular room, at the center of which is a massive bundle of thick cables that run down from what might be the ceiling if there was gravity and then spread around the room, splitting off into smaller cables and disappearing into the walls and floor. A check of her sensor array reveals that this room must be right below the room where Levi found the large yellow mech, as her sensors indicate that Levi, Warm and Siren are all right above her.
    Last edited by DeTess; 2022-01-14 at 02:52 PM.
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  22. - Top - End - #52
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    "Levi, Warm, Siren, I have discovered a large room beneath you. Large cables look like they might connect to your location." Anita begins circling the room, noting every point of entry, while seeking displays and/or control panels. "Please inform me if anything I do causes a reaction of any kind, yes?"

  23. - Top - End - #53
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    "Cables?" Warm's mech stands up and looks around, wondering what they might be connected to. The big cube stands out as the most likely candidate, so he watches it. "Understood. We're all clear of the crushing machine, so you should be fine to proceed."
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  24. - Top - End - #54
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    "On it!" Siren responds, waiting to see some kind of sign of Anita's actions.
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  25. - Top - End - #55
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    The circular room had four points of entry spaced evenly along it's round wall. All four entries led into fairly small maintenance shafts, much like the one Anita had come from. There was a small screen hidden behind a cover in one of the walls, which was connected by several small cables to a series of rings set around the main cables emerging from the ceiling. The screen was dark, but when Anita touched it it flickered to life, though she got a warning from her systems that apparently the screen was drawing energy directly from her.

    The screen itself showed a bunch of strange symbols after booting up. The display's layout suggested it was some kind of status display, but Anita could determine no more from looking at the alien script.

    Up in the room above her, Levi, Warm and Siren would all note that suddenly a row of tiny red light started blinking on the central cube.
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  26. - Top - End - #56
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    Anita holds nearly motionless as she studies the screen, hoping for some kind of clarity. Her only movements are to pull out and engage her hologram recorder to capture everything that's happening. "A display has lit up down here. I can't understand what is showing beyond possibly a status monitoring system. Lacking any native power source, it's instead drawing power directly from me. Is anything happening anywhere else?"

  27. - Top - End - #57
    Firbolg in the Playground
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    Seeing the reaction from the cube, Levi approaches it, reporting back to Anita. "The cube has lit up. A row of small red lights, currently just blinking. It looks like you've started to turn it on."

  28. - Top - End - #58
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    "Send a recording to the Brilliance" Nike suggested on the comms to Anita "Maybe we can try puzzling it out"

    Spoiler: Ooc
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    I will roll a Speak Languages prehemptively- (1d20+11)[20]

    I haven't added a stat to it since I wasn't sure it had one.

    If Anita can't send it to the Brilliance Nike will probably get down there on foot (with a space suit of course).

  29. - Top - End - #59
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    "Patching you in, Nike. I look forward to your input." Anita initiates a live stream of holo-data to the Brilliance.

  30. - Top - End - #60
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    Default Re: Trail of Stars - IC

    Warm thinks about this for a moment as he realizes what the captain is up to. "Nike, we have the solution for the language barrier back on the Oregon, right? We just need to get a hold of someone with the right spell."
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