Mascot works furiously to help Hopper patch the ship's systems, though the most he can do is keep them from failing rather than actually fix anything. "Maybe that industrial moon can have sufficient parts to allow us to get out of this system."
"Scans show several transmissions with origins in this system," says Sandman in response to Flatfoot's request. "St. Denis was a very high-tech system at one point, but the "main world" was a tiny airless rock that was nonetheless home to over nine billion people. They would have died as soon as a hostile viral entity gained control of their airlocks or life support systems."
That hangs in the air for a bit. Trillions of people died when the Imperium unleashed Virus on the galaxy and you've all become a bit numb to the magnitude of the slaughter. Still, no world in the Coalition even comes close to a billion people and here were a full nine billion lives cut off in minutes by a mad weapon released by a mad emperor.
"The records are confusing on the subject of Tech Level," Sandman continues after a while. St. Denis is listed as having both a Tech Level of 12 and 15. Possibly that represents a smaller class of technocrats who ruled over the rest. In any case, at either Tech Level there are bound to be a vast trove of machines the Coalition would be interested in. However, we're so far beyond the Area of Operations that the Senate would cashier us all if they knew we were out here."[/b]
"St. Denis had a Class C starport. There would be sufficient materials there to repair the ship, but it may still be under control of a hostile virus. Also, this system was a critical astrographical juncture in the local trade routes. Every ship crossing the local void had to stop either here or at Eberly. There are bound to be many ships in orbit around the mainworld. There may also be some nearby in orbit around this gas giant, but their orbits may have decayed by now. We might find them if we spend some time looking. My conclusion is that the local moon may be safer."
_____________________________
Hopper and Mascot have the fuel and power systems temporarily repaired, but the ship itself is so badly damaged that things are bound to start breaking again soon.
"I say we risk the facility. We might be able to make fuel if we land on the ice world, but entering and exiting orbit can be pretty stressful on ships. We may land successfully on the planet without the ability to ever take off again." Drifter says, "And the facility may still have workable fuel, weapons or other items we can scavenge."
Mascot works the sensors to try and get a full scan to have a better idea of what may be near the industrial facility.
"If any of the potential landing sites has an oxygen source, that would be a plus. If not, the industrial facility is worth a shot."
Spider jumps on the comms and scans for transmission sources around the system.
Mascot, there's a low haze on the surface of the moon and you can't see anything clearly. You can barely make out the landing site itself.
Spider, you can detect some low-level signals coming from the inner system, but you can't make them out. They're very low-power and the enormous magnetic field of the gas giant is interfering with reception.
Spider stares at the moon on the view-screen. "OK, Drifter, bring her down slow. Mascot, when we are close enough to see better, scan the facility for power sources."
Drifter will take her in to land as carefully as possible in the atmosphere.
"Sir," says Sandman. "We have just defeated a ship with a much higher tech level. Perhaps we should see if there is anything salvageable that the Coalition could use?"
Spider looks over at Sandman's avatar. "That's the kind of optimism the RCES likes to hear, Sandman! Go ahead, take her in closer to the debris cloud and have a look."
Flatfoot waits as Sandman pilots the ship closer.
"I can't help but wonder if this Virus ship also had slaves on board," he says to his companions.
"Sandman - can you also scan for lifeboats?"
Mascot gets up. "I'll get ready to retrieve any salvage." He heads down the damaged cargo bay.
"Scanning."
After several minutes, Sandman reports.
"No lifeboats. Most Viral Entities don't carry biologics, but some do. The Gazelle is in pieces, but several sections of the structure remain intact. I think it is possible that some major systems might be salvaged. I'm thinking particularly of the particle guns and drive systems. RCES would drool over the chance to recover those."
"I don't think we have the resources to perform any salvage ourselves, save for minor items, but we could do an in-person survey and if we find major systems intact, mark it with a transponder for RCES to recover when they can."
"That seems like a good plan. To bad we can't strip some guns off of it now. Lets go and mark what we can." Drifter says.
"Yes," agrees Flatfoot. "And note in our log and next message sent back home."
"Is anyone going to need to do EVA work?"
"And make sure that we record this in our log and next message home," adds Flatfoot.
"Will anyone need to do EVA work to survey or mark the wreckage?"
"I'll go. I'll tag the larger pieces for pick up later and see if there's anything that could help us now." Mascot begins suiting up to explore the wreckage. "Sandman, anything I should be watching out for Virus-wise?"
"You're same from any direct Viral assault, Mascot," says the AI. "Coalition vacc suits, like practically all Coalition technology, contain no computers. If your suit's comm array were to encounter the Virus, there would be nowhere for it to go. If anything, I'd be more concerned about any anti-boarding defenses that are still active, which I doubt. The most likely hazards are simply radiation, sharp edges and the vacuum of space. Each of which is deadly enough, so be careful."
Mascot exits the ship with a basic EVA suit tethered back to the ship. "I'll take a survey for anything major and we'll see if something bears closer inspection." He activates the lights on his helmet and begins drifting with short bursts of gas towards the wreckage.
At TL 12, Antigrav suits are clunky and not reliable enough for the dangerous work of an EVA. So Mascot scoots over to the wrecked ship in a rig that would have been recognizable to his Terran ancestors thousands of years ago.
The voyage takes him far longer than the ship's boat would have,but that was wrecked in the fight. Approaching the closest and largest piece of the ship, he can see that it is the starbord tail section. He can see that while the maneuver drive is damaged, much of the Jump engine appears to be intact. It won't fly on its own, but it might be salvaged.
A little further on, he spots something interesting - the command section floating on its own. It appears to be intact.
Flatfoot suits up, too. It's been a while since he last did an EVA but he should be able to remember how.
He waits inside the ship while Mascot conducts the first EVA.
PING!
Mascot marks the Jump drive for future salvage. "Hey, I think I see the Command module intact. I'm going to investigate." He pilots his suit towards the module.
I should have pointed out that the salvageable jump drive is a TL [u]15[/u] jump drive. RCES would kill to have access to that.
As Mascot arrives at the command module, his suit readings tell him he has a few hours of oxygen left, meaning this is about as far as he can go and still preserve a safety margin for return. A brief orbit of the large section shows jagged metal where the module was shaken loose from the rest of the hull when the fuel exploded. The long "necks" of the Gazelle class ensured that damage to the bridge was minimal. However, in addition to that torn and jagged metal, the module has a pronounced spin, making it difficult to approach safely.
"It's intact, but it's going to be hard to access with its spin. We'd need to try and match the rotation perfectly. But the Jump drive is definitely worth getting hold of. I'm coming back in, Flatfoot." Mascot heads back to the ship to replenish his air.
No. Your warship has a very small cargo capacity. If you could board the command module you might possibly find smaller things there, but the jump engines are huge.
"Standing by until you return to the ship," replies Flatfoot.
Once Mascot is back in the ship, Flatfoot starts his own EVA. He heads to the jump engine identified by his companion. As he approaches, he studies the engine and tries to determine the best method of approach. Once he is ready, he calls the ship.
"Do we have anyone else ready to EVA who can back me up?"
If no one is suited up, Flatfoot will scout for other salvage (perhaps that command module).
Drifter watches the scanner and listens to what they are doing in case the virus is not dead yet and more aid is needed.
There is an expanding cloud of scrap, some of it moving quite fast and some nearly stationary. Useful salvage is likely to come in three varieties: whole systems (like a lightly damaged TL 15 jump engine or recoverable weapon turret), random bits of high-value equipment, or data - a computer or other system with important information stored in it.
Flatfoot scans the area visually and in addition to the command module and drive section there's not much left. He can identify the struts of what might have been the Gazelle's long neck, as well as something that might be a partial hull structure with wires and torn crystaliron.
There is an expanding cloud of scrap, some of it moving quite fast and some nearly stationary. Useful salvage is likely to come in three varieties: whole systems (like a lightly damaged TL 15 jump engine or recoverable weapon turret), random bits of high-value equipment, or data - a computer or other system with important information stored in it.
Flatfoot scans the area visually and in addition to the command module and drive section there's not much left. He can identify the struts of what might have been the Gazelle's long neck, as well as something that might be a partial hull structure with wires and torn crystaliron.
With Dex.
Flatfoot tries to safely navigate through the debris towards what he thinks is the former command module.
Flatfoot comes in too slow and the spinning command module threatens to hit him at eight kilometers per second, which would be far worse than falling from a skyscraper. He manages to wave off at the last second, adrenaline burning in his veins, his heart pounding.
Spider, watching from the bridge, keys the comms. "Dammit, Flatfoot, stay sharp! There's nothing in there worth getting pulverized over."
Fltfoot hovers, trying to still his nerves. When his breath steadies, he surveys the surrounding volume of space in search of something less challenging to approach.
There's pretty much nothing else worthy of salvage in this expanding cloud of debris.
We ready to head down to the Moon? Or will we attempt another landing on the spinning Command Module?
Flatfoot keys his comm, "Setting the marker and then coming back to the ship."
He does so, then carefully maneuvers back to the airlock. Once he is inside, he doffs the vacc suit and stores it in the locker before finding his way to his companions.
"Sorry, guys. I could not manage to reach the module."
"Hopefully we'll have another shot at it later, Flatfoot. Good try."