I know they say there's no sound in space but we all have comlinks.
The computers need some work to restore power, but luckily CT-2 brought some power packs and Sergio is able to get them up and running. Jazzming's efforts get into the main system, bypassing at least the first level of encryption.
Nearby, a master systems display lights up, showing the entirety of the ship. Much of it registers as heavily damaged.
Sub-Lieutenant Mfumbe taps away at another console. "Ensign," he calls out to Sergio, batting away a floating piece of something, "This shows there is a mechanical problem on the next deck down in the main life support center. You may take Mister Vasquez if you go to fix it."
Also, Arianna's voice comes through the comms. "Bridge team to Engineering...I've always wanted to say something like that...Is this still on? It is? Well, shoot. Anyway, have you guys encountered any people or bodies yet?"
"We should probably at least do a cursory glance into the rooms to see if we spot any signs of a struggle, like weapon fire, claw marks, vicera as well as perhaps pilfering heavier weaponry; If all of their heavier weaponry is missing, it will tell us if they put up a fight, or were quickly taken before being able to mount a response."
Of course not! Why would I see any bod- oh, oh excellent point. Out here in space any body would hardly have decayed, especially this far from the sun! Either another ship recovered their dead or...I'm not sure. If you find any hints let me know! We'll keep you apprised of any information we discover.
Given the councilors revelation, it may actually not be safe to investigate the anomaly without the whole group. I'd be glad to have Vasquez's help, keep in contact though, there may be more going on here.
Corporal Brokato, it seems our assignment is taking us deeper into the ship, unless of course you feel you can accomplish more here with CT-2 for the time being.
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"So, shrink, how's your party doing? Find anything cool?"
Sergio shrugs at Vasquez, I guess that meams she's staying here? Let's get the life support on before getting too side tracked. Any chance of breathing air not recycled through my suit is too tempting to pass up. I'll investigate the object when we're back.
Sergio heads off towards the life support control center. Indicating Vasquez to follow him. Keep an eye out, who knows what we may run in to on this ship.
"We're checking out rooms as we go. We should have a better idea of what's going on by the time we get to the bridge." After a pause, she will add "Oh ya, I would avoid using lifts for now. All of them in our area are at the bottom of the ship, and that means that whoever is down there could be monitoring their use. See if you can find out what's at the bottom of the ship, since it could probably give us a better idea of what's going on."
Huh, looking for blood IS a pretty good use of my talent. Either she's read my profile or she was just lucky.
Having something he considers "useful" to do, Liam gets to work, with a marked reduction in tension.
Detailed technical information seems to be more tightly encrypted. You can probably work around it, but you will need physical access to the computer core to do that. Thanks to the schematics, it should be easy to get there.
At your mention of what you saw, Mfumbe orders Sergeant Alain up to investigate the figure in the upper reaches of the engineering bay. He deactivates his magnetic boots and carefully ascends, using various catwalks and the walls to stabilize his ascent. When he reaches the figure, he is far enough up that he uses his radio to call down.
"Lieutenant, it's definitely a body. Human. It's in good shape, sir. I think I can-" his voice is interrupted by a brilliant blue flash that illuminates engineering for a moment. When it clears, the faint blue that had lit the room before is gone, leaving only conventional lights. He screams, and the sound of his pistol firing can be heard.
Vasquez is not an overly talkative person beyond the occasional "aye sir" to orders, and just keeps his eyes open. His weapon is in his hand, ready to fire at the slightest sign of trouble.
Once you reach the life support system, it is very obvious what the problem is: the system uses an oddly archaic turbine system to drive air flow, and the turbine chutes are absolutely clogged with a thick phlegmy slime. In fact the whole room is marked with tendrils of it that cling to the floor, walls, and ceiling despite the lack of gravity. Completely cleaning it out would probably take weeks, but your familiarity with technology leads you to believe that your sleep gun's sonic output might be able to clear one of the turbines with Vasquez's help. It would allow for some limited life support at least, in enclosed areas. Obviously anything open to space right now would be beyond hope unless it's sealed somehow.
As you move and check rooms, it is obvious the people on this vessel lived in some luxury. Compared to your broom closets on the Deronda, these quarters were a four-star hotel.
You also come across an armory, or the remains of one. What was once a weapons locker hangs open, its door torn off one hinge and floating awkwardly in the lack of gravity. Nearby, another locker sits closed tight.
You also find what was probably a medical lab, suffused from above by a light blue glow from some unknown source. It's a large, complicated area, filled with experiment tables and heavy equipment. Near the back, you see a line of what look like glass pillars built into the wall, about eight feet tall.
A voice comes over the radio, that of Sergeant Alain of CT-2. "Lieutenant, it's definitely a body. Human. It's in good shape, sir. I think I can-" And then the voice cuts off in a scream.
I should be able to fix this with your help Vasquez but don't touch anything until I'm sure it's safe. He then reports in to the other half of his team.
Hey bridge team, have you encountered scorch marks or acid anywhere else on the ship? Or...uh...slime? The life support system is covered in it.
Lieutenant Mfumbe is every thing alright? Brokato what's going on? Vasquez and I are returning to engineering as soon as we can.
I know you probably want to run up there right now, so do I, but without knowing what's going on I still think life support is our best bet. That way if anyone tears a suit or needs emergency medical aid, we have a buffer between them and immediate death.
He explains the plan to clear out the turbines, and asks Vasquez to also remain alert. He suggests using their dominant hands to hold lethal weaponry and doing whatever they can with the other. It might slow them down, but Sergio is less sure of survival than he was a few minutes ago.
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"Mfumbe, report! What's going on up there?" Jazzming said into the radio. "Mfumbe, are you reading me? Sergio, get back here quickly, something's going on, or my name's Shirley. And it's not!"
"There was definitely some fighting going on over here. Someone used some sort of equipment to dismantle one of the armory doors."
After Lt. Alain's radio announcement, Arianna will add "Everyone remain calm and keep focused on the task at hand. Lieutenant, if you can hear us, let us know you're alright."
"We should probably head straight for the bridge and see what we can learn."
"Notice the lack of blood? Whatever happened here wasn't combat. Nobody would bother to clean up the blood.
Also, if it was a battle that came from outside, the heaviest damage would be around the airlock and then get progressiveness "better" the further in we get.
This is constant, like everyone onboard started shooting at the same time.
And yet nobody was hurt and no bodies can be found."
With a muffled curse, Lieutenant Mfumbe draws his weapon, peering up at the darkness above. In his other hand is a flashlight, almost useless at this distance. It is impossible to see The scream stops, and no further weapons fire can be heard.
"Corporal," Mfumbe says carefully, "Can you get us some lights on in this room? I will watch the ceiling." He then calls into his radio, "Sergeant Alain went up to investigate a body. We are not quite sure what happened. I suggest you all continue your assignments for now, but be ready to return quickly."
Fortunately, you are able to quickly find the light system, and can divert some power to the local illumination. Though they will flicker unsteadily, it will be easy to see Sergeant Alain's body floating near the ceiling, unmoving. His pistol floats nearby, having slipped out of his hand. There is no sign of anything else
Sub-Lieutenant Mfumbe's voice comes over the radio. "Sergeant Alain went up to investigate a body. We are not quite sure what happened. I suggest you all continue your assignments for now, but be ready to return quickly. Corporal Brokato and I will handle this for now."
Hmmm...
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An expletive escaped from Jazzming's lips as she gazed up at Alain's floating body. "Damn it, what the hell happened to him?" she whispered to herself. It was their first mission and it looks like they already had a death! "Mfumbe, do you see anything up there that might have done this?" she asked her partner, a slight quaver in her voice.
Luckily the acid misses, but you can hear it behind you hissing as it reacts with the ship's floor and wall.
Inside is a rifle unlike any you've ever seen before, and what look like half a dozen batteries. The rifle has a port that would probably take one of the batteries.
He disengages his magnetic boots and pushes off the floor, drifting upward through the glittering debris until he reaches Alain's body. You can see him checking the other man, and then he calls down with his radio. "Sergeant Alain is alive. There are some burns around his eyes, but his pulse is strong. I see nothing up here that could have attacked him."
Lieutenant Mfumbe's voice comes over the radio again. "Sergeant Alain is alive. There are some burns around his eyes, but his pulse is strong. I see nothing up here that could have attacked him."
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Not spotting anything, she listened with a sigh of relief as Mfumbe gave the news that Alain was still alive though unconscious. "Do you see anything nearby? What kind of scarring is around his eyes?" she asked.
Watch out for slime, we're currently under attack!
Liam holds up the rifle so Arianna can see clearly.
"Looks like they didn't get quite everything."
Inserting one battery into the rifle and pocketing the rest, Liam waits with anticipation.
Arianna will select an pistol from the armory, along with several magazines of ammo for it.
"Okay, we should head to the bridge now without delay. Let me know if you notice any other signs of combat, specifically hand weapons or unarmed combat. I'm thinking that we have someone moving about the ship that is good at ambush tactics, and I'd like to not get caught unawares."
"I cannot tell what kind of burns they are. They might be electrical?"
He reaches the ground safely, engaging his magnetic boots and then Alain's. The unconscious man drifts oddly in the absence of gravity.
Then Sergio's voice comes through the radio. "Watch out for slime, we're currently under attack!" Mfumbe looks at you, puzzled, mouthing the word "slime".
He speaks into his own radio now. "Please repeat, Ensign. Did you say slime?"
This leaves its side exposed, and Vasquez takes his shot - hitting the creature and leaving an oozing hole in its form, but not killing it.
Mfumbe's voice comes from the radio: "Please repeat, Ensign. Did you say slime?"
As you approach, the bridge doors open, and you see about a dozen humans sitting at their pristine bridge consoles and conversing softly as if nothing is wrong. Their uniforms are similar to yours, but distinctly different. One, wearing the insignia of a Lieutenant Commander, looks up at you as you enter with your weapons and your strange outfits, and in an instant she is on her feet and shouting "Security alert! Intruders on the bridge!"
Sergio will broadcast his response to the whole Deronda Crew on board the derelict vessel. That's correct Lieutenant, animated acidic slime. No damage to myself or Vasquez yet.
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"Slime, seriously?" Jazzming asked over the radio incredulously. "Should I take a mana potion and prepare to cast fireball? Could use a little more information here."
Appreciate your concern corporal, Sergio will grunt sarcastically, Detailed report coming when I'm no longer at risk.
"Jeez, calm down, we thought this derelict was abandoned.
Considering all the damage, that was a pretty fair assumption."
Not letting anything slip, and hoping the lady with me is better at talking than me
The computer system is becoming easier for you to work with, and you're able to access the summaries of a few logs. The most recent are dated almost 200 years ago, during the brief war with the aliens, and summaries give the impression that they are mostly letters to families from crew members. Older logs hint at research that could turn the tide of the war (or so the crew member, an older Canadian man, believed), but the logs you have here are low-security so there are few details. Top-security access would require the computer core, or potentially an override from the bridge.
The biological readings from down below are hard to pin down. It could be that the sensors aren't working properly, or it could be that whatever's giving off the readings naturally resists scanning somehow. The best you can do is an exact location - a large room, probably a cargo bay - and the approximate mass of the reading of more than 3000 kilograms.
Incidentally, you can see the bio-readings of yourself, Sergio, and CT-2 on the ship... but no sign of Sub-Lieutenants Grimaldi or McGregor. There's also a faint trace signature, nearly undetectable, in a medical bay.
The second woman stands from her seat and turns to face you, while three security personnel take up positions near you. They stop just short of drawing their weapons, but it is obvious they could do so in an instant. They look alert and well-trained.
The second woman wears the markings of an admiral, with grey hair and weathered, aged skin. She is not especially tall, but her bearing is pure military. When she speaks, it is accented and her voice is cold. "I am Lestari Gemaputri, captain of this vessel." She stresses the last word. "I am going to give you one minute to explain who you are and what you are doing on my ship, or else you will get to spend the rest of our voyage in the brig."
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"Attention all personnel, this is Corporal Brokato," Jazzming's voice says over the comms. "I have patched in to the computer systems and have accessed the life sign sensors. The reading below us is massive, almost three thousand kilos. Also, reading faint traces in medical, so... Wait..." Her voice drifts off before rapid typing is heard. "Grimaldi, McGregor, report. I'm not reading you on the sensors. I repeat, Grimaldi, McGregor, report. Has anybody heard from them recently?"
Sergio pulls the chemical analyzer from his pack and points it toward the pool of slime on the ground. Once he gets the results he runs a few chemistry calculations.
"We seem to have neutralized the threat, I'm running a few tests on it now for more information. Neither of us were injured. Mfumbe, how is Alain doing? Corporal Brokato, keep trying to contact the rest of our team. Once I have my information I'm going to finally fix this life support and return to engineering. Report to me every 10 minutes so I know we're still in contact, if I don't here from you I'll drop what we're doing and head back immediately instead."
"My name is Arianna Garibaldi, and I am the ship's councilor for my ship. We were doing a standard patrol when we noticed your vessel in distress. We came to offer what assistance we could."
Switching to internal communications, Arianna will say to Liam "Don't mention anything about us being from Earth or their ship being derelict. If they ask you directly, tell them that you don't speak English very well in Gaelic."
Mfumbe responds. "Ensign, Sergeant Alain is stable for now." He looks over at the unconscious security officer. "But a doctor should look at him. Hmm, something just occurred to me. You said some kind of slime attacked you. Could that large biological reading be more of the same thing?"
Mfumbe's reply comes over the radio. "Ensign, Sergeant Alain is stable for now." There is a pause. "But a doctor should look at him. Hmm, something just occurred to me. You said some kind of slime attacked you. Could that large biological reading be more of the same thing?"
One benefit of the slime's attack is that it helped clear quite a bit of the gunk that was clogging life support. You can get that one turbine working again without trouble now. It still won't restore life support to sections exposed to space, but it's something.
Your radios are putting out a fair amount of static.
The captain looks incredulous. "What kind of game are you playing at, counselor? Our vessel is not in distress." Without taking her eyes off of you, she calls over her shoulder, "Lieutenant, begin penetrating scans throughout the system. Find their vessel." One of the bridge crew leaps into action, following the orders.
She continues. "Unfortunately, I cannot have saboteurs or spies wandering freely on my ship. Wherever you have come from, you will need to learn that our peace is recent, but real all the same. Please surrender your weapons, and you will not be harmed."
The security personnel look ready to respond quickly to any order the captain gives.
Sergio looks at Vasquez and smirks, "Definitely exciting."
When Mfumbe suggests that the giant mass below may be more slime, however, the smile quickly fades.
After Sergio, with the help of his fellow crew member, finishes up life support repairs he looks over his analysis from the remains of their brief, but nerve wracking combat encounter.
"Be ready to run. I want to test a theory."
Speaking to the Captain of the ship, Arianna will say "Thank you for the invitation, but we should really be getting back to our sh...RUN!"
With that, she turns and sprints back the down the hallway they just came from, hoping that Liam will follow her. I wonder if they haven't been outside the bridge yet. We'll have to see if they follow.. thinks Arianna to herself.
When the captain makes her "generous invitation" Liams right eye begins to twitch as he attempts to hold back a decidedly undiplomatic response.
Consequently, he barely register Arianna's comment about running.
When she shouts however, he still follows quickly, a wry half-smile on his lips at the absurdity of the situation.
Well, that went well...MUCH better than I expected
You and Vasquez are able to easily get life support running, and as air returns to the ship you are able to faintly hear the groaning of the ship's damaged machinery and the whistling of atmosphere escaping breaches in the hull.
You run down the hall, security not far behind, until you reach the point at which the damage becomes obvious again. As you step from the pristine deck to the damaged deck, you can hear the security officers shout and then stop, looking around in confusion. They obviously do not see you.
"I was afraid of this. Something is preventing them from leaving the undamaged part of the ship."
I'm going to hate myself for saying this but..."
Liam pauses, takes a deep breath and tries again.
"It's like...
No!
It's too stupid, it cannot be a localized temporal rift, that's just stupid sci fi!"
As the two of you watch, the security officers more cautiously pursue you down the hallway, only to disappear as they cross the line into damaged territory.
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