(3) [Traveller] Voyages of the R.e.d. Dusk

Game Master mdt

Malt spends 15 minutes trying to talk to a computer that's not exactly swift, and finally confirms that the count down seems to be an atmosphere flush and recycle. It looks like the internal life support is at least partially functional. Given the size of the ship, if it was in perfect shape, it should only take about 45 minutes, so obviously the system isn't working at 100%.

The group counts down (With EAVE no doubt providing a second by second update on the clock time remaining). When 53 minutes have passed, the bubbling around the ship dies down to about a third of what it was at the peak. However it does continue to bubble along merrily the rest of the time.

At 138 minutes, the airlock begins to glow green, ready to cycle someone through.

"Well, shall we? I would like to get to the bridge and see if the mechanical systems are still operational, as well as power systems."

I'll come with you. maybe we can find a schematic with a layout of the ship.

"Best we all stick together for now,"Tam cautioned.

"Everyone moves as a unit," Jenni cautions. "In a situation such as this, it's safer."

Cycling through the airlock one at a time, the group finds themselves inside a dimly lit area, only one in 6 panels is providing light, and some of them are doing so fitfully. This doesn't seem to be a power issue so much as a panel issue.

The airlock leads into an area that has four sets of double doors. One to the immediate left after entering is a dark red, two sets about 10 and 20 meters further on on the right are both light blue with piping, and another set on the left about 30 meters ahead is red also. Looking forward it appears there is another airlock straight across from this one.

Along the left wall, between the two sets of doors, is a bank of 3 lifts with yellow doors. There is a vertical shaft to the left of the airlock, that leads down to other decks. It appears there is a matching shaft next to the other airlock as well.

Reference, in case my description was not good enough.

Scandalous looks around. She feels a little afraid, a little excited, and a little giddy. The blue doors seem to head in the direction that I'd guess the bridge is. She shrugs.

Recon: 2d6 - 3 ⇒ (4, 4) - 3 = 5

"Then to the bridge it is."

"I think the red ones might lead to engineering. Perhaps we should take a quick look there and see if we can bring some systems up."

"EAVE sorry, but EAVE better as recon unit, not 'stick with group' unit." EAVE says as the shiny purple-white-and-silver begins to fade from view. Certainly not invisible, but quite capable of hiding her presence in a dimly lit hallway. A deeper voice continues, "The Major works best alone." Turning on her Chameleolite Paint for +4 v. Sight.

Stealth (Dex): 2d6 + 0 + 3 ⇒ (4, 2) + 0 + 3 = 9 +4 v. sight

Recon (eInt): 2d6 + 0 + 2 ⇒ (6, 4) + 0 + 2 = 12
Recon (mInt): 2d6 + 0 + 2 ⇒ (3, 1) + 0 + 2 = 6

She then begins to skitter across the floor, using her low light sensors to peer down hallways and listening for anything that went bump in the dark. It didn't seem likely things would be stirring in here, but alien physiology was strange and spooky! She peers down into the shafts first, then look into what the others believed to be engineering, before eventually settling on wanting to 'clear' the floor first, by looking down the shortest lines first.

EAVE will examine the 'elevator shafts' first, then each red door, before looking into the blue doors. She'll definitely check blue before anything else!

"I think the red ones might lead to engineering. Perhaps we should take a quick look there and see if we can bring some systems up."

Scandalous looks at Dev with a perplexed look on her face. Weren't you the one who said that you needed to get to the bridge? Wouldn't the bridge be a better place to figure out what systems are up or down?

Recon (Int): 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (5, 5) + 1 = 11

Damn it, Tam cursed as EAVE skitters away. Shaking her head the Darrian stooped to examine the area and suggested, " There is a heavily worn path leading from the opposite airlock to the furthest set of double doors on the right. I suggest we go that way and find out what was so popular." She begins to head toward those double doors.

As EAVE scuttles off, it notices that the worn path on the floor actually leads from the shaft to the doors, which was hard to tell from the other end of the hallway.

As Tam and EAVE both get near the second set of blue doors, they actually open, unlike the other doors. The doors are slow, and make a small amount of noise beyond the 'woosh' one would expect, but they open under power.

On the other side is indeed a command bridge. The group could not tell it was from the outside as it appears the viewports were in 'combat' mode, meaning the armor plates had been in place to cover the more fragile transparasteel.

There is a light layer of dust on the consoles. The only console that still has a seat is the central Captain's Console. A semi-wrap around console with a lighter layer of dust on it than any of the other consoles.

Oddly, the chair does not have what one would consider 'normal' cushions on it. Instead of something synthetic, animal skins have been patched together to form the seat covers. The skins look dry and old, and likely dry rotted.

The only console that seems to have power is the captain's console, the others are either dark, gutted for parts, or show signs of fire damage from internal fires.

Dev looks sheepishly back at Scandalous.

"Your right, of course. Just got a bit excited is all. Let's go and see what we can find."

He follows the others into the room and stands for a moment before going to examine the active console.

The console is written in Old Terran, so it's difficult to follow the prompts. Imagine trying to follow a book written in Elizabethan English, it's doable, but you have to puzzle out things slowly. After studying the console for 10 minutes, it turns out the console has the Ship's Log pulled up, ready to play logs or access existing logs.

Pulling up the most recent log, the computer is slow, and the playback is glitchy, and while the main holodisplay is off line, the captain's personal display still seems to be working.

The holodisplay crackles to reluctant life, and a scraggly haired woman with red puffy eyes looks out at you. Her jumpsuit looks like it's been patched dozens of times from different bits of cloth, until it's almost as if nothing of the original was even left, just patches on patches on patches. Bits of metal decorate it, almost in a mimicry of a military uniform.

She wipes at her eyes. As she does, it becomes obvious that her back has a hump in it and her shoulders are deformed. She begins to speak, in a thick heavy accent that is difficult to follow. "Grate Vladstock, Megga no good Camaner. Megga no do Richuls before day. Megga know now Megga no good Camaner, and why Grate Vladstoch no make Ulaa good. Megga only now. Megga know Megga duty, even tow Megga no good Camaner. Megga do Rotine Manenance Richul. Then Megga do Mota'bahla Richul, like Megga Fater Mangra teach. Megga no good Camaner, but Megga no be bad Camaner now, Grate Vladstoch. Megga do Mota'bahla Richul, then Megga go be with Ulaa. Megga beg Grate Vladstoch, forgive Megga for be no good Camaner, let Megga be with Ulaa in sky, no throw Megga in Fire Hails. Megga beg see Ulaa again." She bursts into tears again, and then wipes her face, forcing herself back under control. "Megga do last sign off, do Mota'bahla Richul. Megga so sorry she bad Camaner for Grate Vladstock." The woman reaches out a twisted arm and turns off the holo-recorder.

Going back two days, the second to last recording is the same woman, again puffy eyed and with tears. "Grate Vladstock, Megga beg Grate Vladstock make Ulaa good again. Ulaa no move, no laugh. Megga sorry Megga no good Camaner for Grate Vladstock. Please punish Megga, no punish Ulaa. Please Grate Vladstock, make Megga no more, not Ulaa. Ulaa be good Camaner, Megga promise, just make Ulaa good again." She wipes at her face, and then takes a few breaths. Her voice changes slightly, and her words clear up, but it seems more like a rote memorization, not actual speaking. "Megga paferm Manenance Richul on Watha Pums, Watha Pums good again. Megga paferm Manenance Richul on Pova Plank, Pova Plank Yal'low, but oba good. Megga paferm Manenance Richul on Camaner Deg, hollow play still no good, Camaner hollow play good..." She continues a list of 'Manenance Richul' speech for 10 minutes, and then again begs for Ulaa to 'be good' before signing off.

Going back two weeks and skimming, the recordings are similar, less crying the farther the recordings go back, and with more assurance that 'Grate Vladstock' will make 'Ulaa good again'.

Then the recording starts off slightly different. "Grate Vladstock! Ulaa no good, no laugh, no move! Please no take Ulaa! Megga promise make Ulaa good Camaner! Megga know Ulaa no do Richul yet, Ulaa small, Ulaa get better when bigger! Please Grate Vladstock! Make Ulaa good!" The woman wipes her tears, but seems stronger this time, and then goes through her normal literary of 'Manenance Richul' speech.

The recording before that one is much different. The woman is smiling, and obviously hasn't been crying. She has a small girl with her, about 8 or 9. The girl's head is slightly misshapen, and her mismatched eyes look in different directions. The girl squeals and reaches out a hand with 7 partial fingers on it toward the holo-display. "No Ulaa, no good. No part of Repore Richul. See'ya Mooma!" The girl giggles and twists, her body bent and twisted, and her eyes obviously showing she has severe mental retardation. "Ulaa be Camaner one day, must learn Richul!" Megga says sternly, but can't resist smiling at the girls smiling face. Megga then goes into her 'Manenance Richul' speech, interrupted several times by the girl making loud random noises. Then the recording ends.

Going back to the oldest recording, which was entered, per the ship's computer, 437 years prior to the last entry, a woman with blood on her face and obviously recently hand stitched cuts on her forehead, looks up from the chair, obviously addressing the main holodisplay. She wears an obvious military uniform with ribbons on her chest and a name tag that reads 'Masterson'. Her speach is cleaner than Megga's, but still difficult to follow. An educated and cultured Elizabethan vs a commoner "Commander Elisa Masterson, Executive Officer of the Terran Confederation Heavy Cruiser Vladivostock. It has been 8 days, 12 hours, and some minutes since our jump was interrupted by a sub-space anomaly. We are unsure where we are, we managed to make an emergency landing on an uninhabited planet orbiting a gas giant. We have been unable to determine our galactic coordinates, and we are unsure if our message probe was able to make it out of the system. Our ship is heavily damaged, and we have lost 238 of our 1294 crew, including Captain Martin Wallace. I've taken command, per regulations. The Vladivostock was never intended to land on a planet, and will never leave the surface. Per regulations, I have wiped the computer's databanks, and destroyed the original memory stores with a plasma flush from the power system, along with all military sensitive documents and technology. I cannot scuttle the ship, given it is on a planetary surface, so per regulations, we will leave it unsecured for any rescue party. I have loaded the computer system with the emergency protocols. We are investigating, but the planet seems capable of sustaining human life. If Terra does not rescue us, we will likely live out the rest of our days here." Her voice is crisp and firm, and crew members move around behind her, obviously repairing damage where able, and discussing plans in whispers. "If you are watching this recording, then you are welcome to whatever you can have from our ship, as you are likely stranded like us. Our sensors indicate that there is a large amount of debris in orbit, much of it dating back to the First Imperium, back when we were all still just fighting brush wars on Earth. The two black holes are obviously responsible for our situation, and likely yours. I wish you luck. Hopefully, we will have been rescued and have left this ship behind when you read this. I'd even be fine with being rescued by Second Imperium Forces." She smiles, gallows humor, and then her control cracks for a moment and she swallows thickly. "If not, then I ask you to bring word of us back to the Confederation, our crew roster is attached to this message, along with a list of ships stores. The stores are accurate as of this recording, and I will try to keep it up to date, but I can't promise."

The attached stores file was last updated 112 years after the original message was recorded. The crew roster was last updated 428 years after the original recording. The last two names are just 'Megga' and 'Ulaa', with no family names. The crew roster is 26,973 names long. Early on in the records, there are very careful notes on child parentage, and it appears they were maximizing their DNA by ensuring it was spread as widely as possible to get the most diversity and prevent inbreeding. However, after a hundred years, the records begin to deteriorate, and the last two hundred, there's no attempt to prevent inbreeding at all, given the small number of survivors at that point, it was impossible anyway, everyone was heavily inbred.

The Terran Confederation existed during the Second Imperium, before the Great Milleau. That would make the ship 1200 or 1400 years old.

Tam let out a low whistle, "It looks like they started worshipping the ship at some point." She turns to the others, "Kill me if we start considering procreation as an option."

"Youngling died first." EAVE summarizes, though she's exceedingly difficult to see in her corner. "Ulaa was the child, and she was the commander of the vessel. Unranked Tam thinks they thought their ship was a god? EAVE is very sad to have met Megga. Fear not, EAVE will not breed with Unranked Tam."

EAVE stares at the video for a moment longer, "EAVE will store full data for return to any authorities it would be proper to return it to." A small, thin tendril slides out of a small gap that widens in the front of her carapace. It's clearly too large for her, but she seems to be able to use it with some degree of stability, a computer uplink slides out of the tip. "If we can find a way to uplink EAVE."

None of the ports are the same as EAVE's connectors, and the connectors are 'universal', but they weren't designed for 2nd Imperium Tech. It will likely be easier, for now, for EAVE to simply scroll through the files at the maximum speed the holodisplay can manage and commit them to new files via OCR. They really need to be translated anyway, as they are in Confederation Standard (A mix of Old English, Spanish, and Cantonese) which will require much time to translate into something you can all understand. That will take some linguistics checks from someone with LInguistics or Jack of All Trades, and a lot of time. It's a lot easier to understand a list of names and birthdays than it is to understand a cargo list with paragraphs of descriptions.

Warren whistles and says "Well, that confirms it. This is a ship from the Second Imperium time. It's been here a long time and they were not rescued. That means we are on our own. I've some training in history, archeology and languages. I may be able to translate the cargo list to see what may be useful to us, if it is still here. If I can't do it, my computer may be able to translate. Heck, I should probably give it a go first as it has programs for that. Unless you want to start elsewhere first."

"Very sad, and yet they were still able to carry on for hundreds of years. I can only imagine what it would have been like, knowing you were stuck here forever."

The ex-crewman is silent for a few moments until Warren comments on translating the cargo lists.

"Well maybe I will head to the engineering area and see what we might be able to salvage from there."

"Procreation? I'm more worried about cannibalism as an option," Jenni says with a wry smile. "No offense, EAVE, but you guys did *taste* dinner last night, didn't you?" She is only half-joking. "We should check the engine room... see what she has remaining. There might be something that we can use.

"I have no intention of dying here," she finishes.

I should be able to help you in the translation. If we can find the spare parts already crated up and ready for use, that would be a great benefit. We should also find the flight bay and open it for the Pinnace. With luck, maybe we can find an additional small craft or vacc suits. Says Scandalous as she assist Warren

Languages (int or Edu): 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (5, 2) + 1 = 8

"EAVE can you pull up a schematic of the ship, that way we're not just wandering around. I would guess that after a coupl of hundred years just about everything useful has been used from the cargo list but we should check that out too," Tam added.

"EAVE cannot interface with machine. EAVE must do everything old fashioned way. Should EAVE collect data or should Doctor Warren collect data with computer?"

As EAVE and Tam talk, a half-dozen small bots come rolling into the Bridge, each about half the size of EAVE. They are painted in faded and scratched blue, red and gray trim.

The small droids roll over to the command console and pop the case and begin to poke about inside. As they do so, the holo display's glitchyness begins to resolve and static fade.

If EAVE can find examples of the interface ports and specs on them, it can try to cobble together a converter cable to attach to its system so it can access the computers. Then it'll need to cobble together a program to translate the older computer's transmissions into things it can understand. If it can find something already designed to communicate with the computer, it can use that to cannibalize and speed things up. I would not suggest using the repair droids that are functioning for that. :) On the other hand, if it can find a few broken droids, it might be able to recycle parts from them to gain both connectivity and software and not need to build a translator.

Just an FYI, this is going to require a week or so just to get where you can exploit the ship, potentially longer. So mostly, the GM is going to let you ask questions, RP, etc amongst yourselves for a bit, and then you let him know when you're ready to 'time skip' and make a bunch of skill checks

EAVE will totally haunt the ducts and follow the droids around to see where they come from and where they go. In the event they reach a point she can't go, she'll 'molt' down to their size to look around in their hidy holes... but that will come later. :)

"Oooooh. Symbiotes speaking strange language. EAVE can't talk to symbiote bots. Can we keep them!? EAVE will learn language and then teach them, and then have entire crew of Symbiote repair bots!"

"Sounds good, EAVE. Having such a crew would be a good thing."

"If they can help us repair our ship I'm all for it. But if your just looking for some robotic groupies we can find a better use for your time," Tam added playfully. After a short laugh at her own remarks she asked "Where to next?

OK, when you are ready to do 'fast time' activities

Warren/Scandalous - Working up Translation
Archaelogy (Int) check : Difficult x 3 (Warren)
Linguistics (Edu) check : Difficult x 3 (Scandalous, +1 Bonus from Warren)

EAVE/Tam - Tracking down Repair Droids
Investigation (Int) : Average x 3 (Tam)
Recon (Int) : Average x 3 (EAVE)

Glitch - Modifying EAVE's inputs & working up Interface Software and translation routines based on Warren/Scandalous's work
Electronics (Engineering) (Int) : Average x 3 (Glitch)
Computer (Int) : Difficult x 3 (Glitch)

Dev/Malt - Boat Bay repair/Pinnace Access
Recon (Int) : Average x 3 (Dev)
Mechanics (Dex) : Difficult x 3 (Dev, +1 Bonus from Malt)
Piloting (Dex) : Difficult x 1 (Dev, +1 Bonus from Malt)

Each roll represents 2 days of work (except the piloting check, which represents one day of activity). Glitch's computer programming can't start until Warren/Scandalous have at least 2 successes each. So once everyone rolls, we'll see how far everyone gets in a week and pause for RP, then continue on another week, potentially adding more tasks if someone makes their rolls while others don't. Note that if you prefer, Malt can work with Glitch instead, which would give Glitch a +1 to all her checks, but cost Dev his bonus of +1 from Malt on his mechanics and piloting.

Warren pulls out his computer and begins working on translating the cargo list.

Archaelogy + Int: 2d6 + 1 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (5, 6) + 1 + 2 - 2 = 12
Archaelogy + Int: 2d6 + 1 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (1, 6) + 1 + 2 - 2 = 8

I may be able to help glitch as well since I have both electronics and computer as well.

Jenni begins working on EAVE. The work is fairly easy, but tedious, and more than once Jenni is forced to stop and take a break to rest her eyes.

Electronics + Int: 2d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (6, 2) + 1 + 1 = 10
Electronics + Int: 2d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (5, 4) + 1 + 1 = 11
Electronics + Int: 2d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (3, 5) + 1 + 1 = 10

@Warren, you need 3 checks, not 2. And you could, but then you wouldn't be working on the translations. If they don't make their rolls, and you do, you can then move over to helping. That's why we're going 6 days and regrouping

Something just isn't right, Tam thought as she got an uneasy feeling in her gut. She watched the repair drones try to figure out why they bothered her.

Investigate+Int: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (3, 5) + 1 = 9
Investigate+Int: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (5, 3) + 1 = 9
Investigate+Int: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (4, 3) + 1 = 8

Archaelogy + Int: 2d6 + 1 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (5, 6) + 1 + 2 - 2 = 12

Sorry, I thought I just needed two successes. Will work on translations and then help if I have time.

@Warren - Nope, you needed 3, each check took 2 days. 2x3 = 6, the first week of work

@Tam - The investigation check is more to figure out where they are coming from, how to track them down, etc. Not because they are up to nefarious purposes. :) They're just little brainless bots.

Recon (Int) : Average x 3 (Dev)
2d6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (6, 3) + 1 + 2 = 12
2d6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (2, 2) + 1 + 2 = 7
2d6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (2, 4) + 1 + 2 = 9

Mechanics (Dex) : Difficult x 3 (Dev, +1 Bonus from Malt)
2d6 + 3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4, 5) + 3 + 1 + 1 = 14
2d6 + 3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2, 1) + 3 + 1 + 1 = 8
2d6 + 3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4, 6) + 3 + 1 + 1 = 15

Piloting (Dex) : Difficult x 1 (Dev, +1 Bonus from Malt)
2d6 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (5, 6) + 2 + 1 + 1 = 15

Oh no they're up to something, I know it.

Linguistics Edu: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (5, 4) + 2 = 11
Linguistics Edu: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (4, 5) + 2 = 11
Linguistics Edu: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (2, 2) + 2 = 6

Recon eInt: 2d6 + 0 + 2 ⇒ (5, 2) + 0 + 2 = 9
Recon mInt: 2d6 + 0 + 1 ⇒ (2, 5) + 0 + 1 = 8
9

Recon eInt: 2d6 + 0 + 2 ⇒ (3, 1) + 0 + 2 = 6
Recon mInt: 2d6 + 0 + 1 ⇒ (2, 5) + 0 + 1 = 8
8

Recon eInt: 2d6 + 0 + 2 ⇒ (2, 3) + 0 + 2 = 7
Recon mInt: 2d6 + 0 + 1 ⇒ (3, 4) + 0 + 1 = 8
8

After a week of exploring the ship, working on it, and trying to translate things, the group has a day of rest to recouperate and see where they are.

Warren and Scandalous are close to finalizing a 'translation pack' for the ancient computer, and have enough done for Glitch to start programming the actual translation routines.

Glitch has finalized a new interface unit for EAVE to add to her universal connector array, designed to work with the ship's connections. Now she can start working on the computer program to handle communication protocols and translations of data for EAVE.

EAVE and Tam have been trying to track down the source for the repair bots, and have managed to locate three repair bot bays deep in the core of the ship. Tam is convinced there's at least three more bays that they haven't found, and that it's likely they haven't found them because they are off line. If that's true, they may be able to get bots from those inactive ones.

Dev & Malt have been trying to find a working boat bay, but so far, their luck has been not as good as the rest. They found one boat bay that was apparently damaged in the landing, four fighter craft are in it, and they apparently came free during landing, smashing around the bay tearing it apart and themselves in the process. The original crew just sealed off the bay, as the fighter remains are full of jagged metal and moderately radioactive due to nuclear weapons that were cracked open. The radiation levels are low now, but would have been high at the time. The other boat bay they found was empty, but below the water line, so opening it would flood the ship. They continue to look, but without a schematic of the ship's floor plan, and with the internal bulk heads down and sealed in random locations with no rhyme or reason, it's going to take some more time.

RP amongst yourselves with these results, and I'll give another list of altered rolls based on these results.

"A sad tale, certainly. These people made the best of a tragic situation. Still...I am no biologist, but the rate of mutation seems high, even for humans. Dr. Connery, do you think inbreeding accounts for what we saw in the logs, or should we be concerned about genetic damage from environmental factors?"

"Don't worry, Engineer Malt. EAVE has lived here for years with absolutely no genetic damage!" she says without a touch of sarcasm.

"EAVE finds several tinybays for tinybots. They come out, fix things, go back into hiding. Haven't found any connector bits to scavenge. EAVE thinks maybe symbiotes repair other symbiotes? Would need to find symbiote nests and move to ship to graft symbiotes into our ship. Unranked Tam may have better ideas for where to find? Or maybe engineers know where power outages are? Likely bays offline where no power."

As the days wear on, Scandalous becomes more and more dour. She was used to people, parties, and pomp. The drudgery of commoner work, really effected her in ways she was not ready for. Everyone off working, searching and exploring while she kept her nose in a data pad. She knew the work was important, and she appreciated Dr. Connery's help and guidance. However, it was a hollow succor to her dying soul.

She worked hard, and she told herself that she would learn something fun as a reward once it was done.

--------------------------------------------------

The scared little girl and her dying mother did effect her. The idea of being left alone on a planet with no one but a behemoth metal god to keep her company, pushed her to tears more than once. I'd prefer not to know, If it's something we cannot do anything about. I'd rather focus on leaving as fast and as safely as we can.

Tam agreed with EAVE, "Yes we found many repair bots and their bays but I think there are probably some bays with inactive bots in them. It might be easier to reprogram the in active ones."

When Malt asks Warren about the deformities he stops an thinks for a moment. "Well, the bad news is that the radiation is high here. The good news is that it would take decades for damage to be done. If we get out of here in a few years and back to modern medicine we should be fine. You said some of the bays had radiation in them. Is there any fissionable material in there do you think?"

"Always possible," Jenni replies to Warren. "We'll need to check that out as well." She continues tinkering as she alternates eating and talking, glad to have something to take her mind off of both the situation and the food.

Dev is unusually quiet at the dinner. He is still smarting at his failure to find anything useful, either in the shuttle bays, or the ship in general.
He quietly listens to the others and their successes make him feel slightly better, but he still keeps quiet.

After she eats, Scandalous uses her smart phone to play background music and she starts to sing.

Tam reminds the group, "Before we get too caught up in our exploration and repairs we should remember our food supplies grow short. Also, while we are here no progress is made on repairing our ships." With a shake of her head, "As much as I hate to say it we may have to split up and prioritize our efforts."