Drifter keeps looking for some tech storage room that might have spare parts.
Spider follows the trail to its end and stops. He looks around, up, and down for signs of a hiding place or hidden passage.
Flatfoot listens for a moment, checking his communicator and trying to determine exactly where the music is coming from. After a moment, he keys his communicator.
"Guys? Is anyone else hearing music? Or other things that should not be there?"
"Sandman mentioned it and I heard it earlier. I am not sure where the music is coming from though." Drifter says.
"I hear it too. A soft song. How is that coming in over the comms? Are we picking up interference?
Spider, is that you with the light?" Mascot approaches the figure with the light, his rifle at the ready, but not aimed directly at the figure.
"Are you real?" she asks.
Flatfoot keys his communicator again.
"Hail the ship! Doctor Su, please."
When the medic comes on the communicator, Flatfoot inquires about the music.
"Doctor Su, all of us out here are hearing music. Are you picking that up on the comms, too? Do you mind asking if Hopper is also hearing the music?"
Su responds "Sandman says it's intermittent. He's not playing it over the comms. So no, we can't hear it now."
Spider looks around for any sign of his quarry, or Mascot.
Not seeing anyone, he answers Mascot,"I don't think so - I don't see you anywhere nearby." Then her raises his voice and addresses the darkness, "Hello? My name is Commander Webb. We don't mean you any harm - we are just here trying to refuel our ship."
Flatfoot replies to Doctor Su, "What about Hopper? Does he hear anything?
Mascot's heart thuds hard in his chest. He raises the rifle and scans the area, a bit frantic. "Uh, um. There was a girl and she just disappeared. And not went away. She literally faded away right in front of me." He kneels down where she disappeared and looks for any sign of her or what might have caused her appearance. His brain suddenly considers that she could have been a hologram or some other light projection.
”You’re not what I expected,” she said. ”Is this Lexol? Are you Doctor Heineman?”
He relaxes, leaning back into the seat and enjoying the wind blow through his air and the warmth of the Aubaine sun on his face.
"Say, are we going to need to stop for fuel? I could use a break and stretch my legs."
Drifter, you see Mascot start as if startled and nearly pitch forward to his death. He stops and looks at you.
[ooc]Something seems strange about this, but Flatfoot isn't certain why. Maybe it's a bit of anxiety about the destination. He seems to remember that they were going to a secret beach she knew about. Someplace special - he's a little fuzzy on the details, actually.
He turns slowly, looking out from his perch for any supplies
The nagging feeling could be for so many reasons.
"What makes this place so special?,"
Spider looks around the room, then wrinkles his brow as he looks at the woman. "No", he shakes his head, "I'm Commander Webb, and we're a long way from Lexol. What...how did you get here?"
Your comms crackle. "MS-7? I say again, this is Sandman. If you can hear me and cannot respond, be advised that Doctor Su and Hopper are suiting up and will be inbound to your last known position in ten minutes. I have localized the anomalous transmission. It appears to be emanating from the low building a hundred meters east of the refinery. Advise your situation if possible. Sandman out."
She laughs at the first question, but looks seriously at him for the second. "We've got to get there, of course. Getting to Lexol will prove the doctor was right. It will prove we can do it. It could win the whole war."
"What do you mean? If this isn't Lexol, where are we? Where's Doctor Heineman? Are you even with the project?"
Around you, the image of the wood-panelled drawing room begins to waver, like a ripple going through reality.
We have no comms with Flatfoot or Spider. Drifter and I are returning to the ship. I need the Doc to do quick examination of us before we go to retrieve the others. Can you try to isolate that signal? Maybe find a way to jam that frequency? And can you detect any lifeforms in that building?" He looks to Drifter for any other ideas.
"Mascot, Sandman. Acknowledged. Dr. Su says that your suits should exclude any hallucinogens so long as you keep them buttoned up. The signal is strange. It fades in and out at irregular intervals. I can try to jam it, yes. Initiating signal jamming now."
In that instant, Flatfoot finds himself back on Lira. He is in the courtyard between the refinery and the low building a hundred meters away, walking towards the low building. He spots Spider a few meters to his left, walking the same way.
In that instant, Spider finds himself back on Lira. He is in the courtyard between the refinery and the low building a hundred meters away, walking towards the low building. He spots Flatfoot a few meters to his left, walking the same way.
Flatfoot keys his comm. "Uhh ... that was ... weird is the best description. What has been happening?"
"Sandman found a building projecting a signal intermitantly. That is what caused the confusion. He is blocking it, but we should investigate and shut it down in case someone else stumbles onto this place." Drifter says as he begins heading to where Sandman told them to go.
"Let's rally up. Are you two ok? Drifter caught me about to take a header off a high catwalk." As they move together, he asks them about what they saw. "Anyone see a girl in their hallucination? She disappeared right in front of my eyes. But I think she was trying to tell me something."
"You, too?," asks Flatfoot. "I knew her, I thought. And she was about to tell me something, too."
"Spider, you are close to me. I had seen a building here with a light on right before ... you know. I am not certain what Sandman, Doctor Su and Hopper actually said to me."
"Flatfoot, only I spoke to you," says Sandman. "Anything with Dr. Su and Hopper must have been an hallucination."
Spider moves to join Flatfoot. "Drifter, Mascot, join us in the courtyard," he says. "We're going to find out what's happening. Let's keep fire discipline in case we start to hallucinate again."
"Sandman," he continues. "I want regular check-ins every ten minutes. If we don't respond for three hours, you are not to risk the lives of doctor or Hopper. Return to Dawn Base and report."
"Acknowledged, Captain," says Spider.
Drifter takes point and begins heading to the building.
Flatfoot follows Drifter, staying off to one side slightly. He looks around, looking for ... he doesn't know what, really ... in the shadows around the other buildings.
Mascot rejoins the others as they move in formation to the building. He eyes the shadows, thinking that he might just see the girl again.
The low building is about forty meters long and four high. There are a few windows at the east end, but not the west end. There is a single door at the east end. It is a standard sliding door, but stands at an odd angle. Clearly it was once broken outwards long ago. Snow swirls around the entrance and the dark, narrow opening.
Drifter puts his back to the wall and moves as quietly as possible as he goes to the door and listens to see if he hears anything moving within before looking in.
Mascot moves to the side of the door, waiting for Drifter's signal on what he sees.