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The call came late last night, but you were expecting it, so it was not a surprise. “Report to the Commandant’s office 0800h tomorrow morning” was all it said.
Talk had been going around for some time that something was wrong. Supply had been tearing the warehouses apart looking for parts, and Tech was busy attempting to come up with some sort of work around to the problem. That problem was the breakdown of the Heat Exchange System (HES). Civ had been complaining for months that the temperature in their quarters were fluctuating, and security had reported a number of illegal connections to the environmental systems as people attempted to bypass the main systems and create their own HES.
After talking to his department heads, and getting their suggestions, the Commandant sent out a call that you are now answering.
The office you are waiting in is both large and barren. Many of the complex computer systems seem to have been removed at some time in the past, leaving gaping holes in the walls and dangling wires snaking out of loose conduits. You do not have to wait long before the door slides open and the bent, shriveled form of the commandant shuffles in. Well over 100 years old, the commandant is a wizened old man who looks as frail as a spider’s web, but one look into his ice blue eyes will dispel and thought of softness or loss of ability.
”Ok, let’s get down to brass tacks. The HES is gone kaput and we need some parts to fix her up. I know that those parts can be found in the old Imperial Lab located on the other side of the moon. The last reports from the scientists were that they were all abandoning the place and heading to Pyt Prime. We never heard from them again, however they did give us brief access to their supply system and we copied their manifest for just such an emergency. From this list we can see they have all the parts we need….and more. Supply will give you a total list of what they need and the last known location. Lucky for us, their supply was all in one place, so you should not have to go wandering about looking for what we need. “
The old man takes a deep breath and then fixes the group with his piercing gaze.
”Now the bad news. There are only 3 ways to get to the base. The first is to walk. It would take you roughly 5 days to get from our outmost airlock to the lab. We have pressure tents and Vacc suits to lend, but the terrain will be harsh, to say the least. Second is the old grav train tunnel. We use to ship lots of supplies to the base, before the Incident, and a tunnel was cut to make this easier however, when they left, the scientists, for some reason, recalled all the cars and sealed the tunnel. It has no environmental controls at all, but it would only take 20 hours to get there. Finally, and the best as far as I am concerned, is repairing the grav sled in the hanger and driving to the lab. It would take 5 hours, but you would have to repair the vehicle before you left….and since time is of the essence, we can only give you 2 days to work on it.”
Again the commandant stops to take a breath and look over the party.
”So, this is how it is. We need you back as soon as possible with the parts. The lab is empty, but we have no idea if it is still under power or not, so you might need to be in your vac suits the entire time. Get the parts and get back fast! So, any questions?”
"It's got to be the grav sled," says Marcus. "We might get to the base through the tunnels, but hauling all that gear back without a vehicle will be impossible. And we can't rely on what's there. Any vehicles they have there haven't been maintained for thirty years."
"Emilyene, Aven, what's it going to take to fix the sled? I assume that our lack of parts is why Mister Cole is here?". He eyes the scavenger, clearly not thrilled to be paired with someone he's detained more than once.
Estelle listens to the breakdown silently, her face only falling slightly at the mention of vacc suits, and otherwise stoic, except for her eyes, which betray a curiosity and cautious excitement. She speaks up after Marcus has. "Agreed. The benefit of having the sled means it's worth at least exploring the option."
Doing her best to hide her excitement about the mission, she clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth, thinking. "Rest of us could make ourselves useful with gathering materials for the expedition while an assessment is done."
She doesn't point out that she hasn't had any Vacc Training at all, for fear that it might disqualify her.
Cole nods his head in agreement with Marcus's and Estelle's comments about using the sled. Upon hearing Marcus gripe about his presence he responds with a grin, "Didn't they tell you, I'm here to keep an eye on you." Not waiting for a reply he continues, "I can give Emilyene and Aven a hand in looking at the sled."
Once Emilyene and Aven are ready Cole will go to the hanger and take a look at the Grav Sled.
Estelle grimaces at the two of them. "Get it out of your system now, boys. Won't be any room for nonsense on this mission. I'll be damned if we die because you're both busy flexing." She grins mischievously. "Besides, I already know which of you is bigger." The smile is fast fading as she catches the Commandant's eye. "Sorry, sir." She says, clearing her throat.
Cole nods his head at Estelle's comments and with an equally mischievous grin adds, "Of course Doc, I wouldn't want to be the one who didn't measure up ..... to your expectations and jeopardize the mission."
Marcus smiles, something that momentarily makes him look years younger and less dour. "Always happy to contribute to science, Doc. You be sure and let me know if you need to take any more measurements."
"Alright, Mister Cole. You help the techs scrounge whatever they need for the sled. Meanwhile, I'll look into getting us supplies for the trip and will alert you if I can't find something mission-critical. Everyone let me know if you're missing any equipment necessary for the trip. Doctor, please pack whatever medical supplies you need. I'll stop by Sick Bay at 2000 hours and help you move them to the airlock."
Nobody appointed Marcus as the leader, but he unconsciously assumes the role unless someone calls him on it.
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As the group talks among themselves, and start to decide on what equipment will be needed, the Commandant speak again/
"Oh right...equipment. Almost slipped my mind. Each of you will be able to draw a Vacc Suit and a weapon. Personal comms will also be provided as well as a fully stocked first aid kit. One weapon each will be provided, but only melee or slug throwers. You really should not even need them, as nothing is left at the lab, but better to be armed and not need it than have no weapons, am I right?"
Better safe than sorry, Cole thinks as he nods his head in agreement with the Commandants statement.
He considers for a moment and decides, "Carter, see if you can get me a snub pistol from supply." He scratches his chin and considers a moment and adds, "Some light intensifier goggles would be nice too, and some explosives might come in handy in case we need to blow a hatch or a door open."
Jasmine starts making a list of equipment that the commandant and the others have mentioned. "And one snub pistol for Cole, add another for me, we shouldn't need more than two ammo clips each, so I'll make it three, she mutters as she looks up from her list. "Anyone else have a weapon preference?"
Emilyene had been quiet ly contemplating as the others discussed the issue.
Why now? She looks the commandant directly in the eye. I mean, if you knew these supplies had been there for thirty years, and we only scrapped parts from the grav sled four years ago. Why now?
She pauses to work at maintaining her temper, Why didn't anyone go to get those supplies before?
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The Commandant stares right back at Emilyene.
"Easy to criticize when you are looking at past actions, eh! Well let me tell you a bit about how it was back when the Imperium fell. You see, we had no idea what had happened, or how far reaching the disaster was. Heck, for the first few months we thought a ship would show up and tell us everything was fixed and all was OK. But that never happened. Instead we received garbled messages about entire planets being destroyed, and fleets attacking each other. Several of the vessels here took off never to be seen again, and all the scientists and their people left the moon for Pyt Prime, also never to be heard from again. Pyt cut off all communications and suddenly we were all alone. It took us several years to get everything here sorted out, and get everyone working together. By that time we had finally created this little society that you seem to take for granted, we had lost almost half our number and were not looking to send people out on dangerous missions across the moon. Perhaps it was short sighted, but after all we had been though...well we just wanted things to get back to some sort of normalcy."
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With your orders given, the group head out of the Commandant's office and back into the corridor. Some of you head off to collect supplies, while others head down to the mechanic's dock to look at the grav-sled.
The vehicle is more of an old-time G-Carrier with the back 2/3rds removed and a box for carrying supplies added. The vehicle can still carry a dozen people and supplies in pressurized comfort, but looking at the contra-drive system shows many parts missing...some looking to have been torn out! It will take some work to get this vehicle working again!
Knowing he has little to offer to the mechanics and engineers at work, Marcus stays out of their way, showing up three time a day to check on progress and see what he can do to help. He ensures that they are undisturbed and he brings them hot meals from the galley. He is not above serving where others are doing the real work.
But Marcus's main occupations during the time it takes to get the G-Carrier online are twofold. First, he ensures the team has every item they requested and that each item is in good working order. He carefully goes over the lists given him by each member of the team to make sure his team (and he does think of it as his team) lacks for nothing they need. He encourages the team whenever he can.
The second task is learning everything he can about the old base to which they are traveling, using any records he can find.
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A Boon looks good for those working on the G-Carrier.
During your research, you can find very little about the base, other than it exists. Almost all references seem to have been destroyed 30-some years ago. A few delivery invoices for mundane equipment and a couple of emails detailing transfers of personnel are all you can find. The location is even shrouded in mystery, but you do finally get coordinates to the base.
Ephraim rolls up his sleeves and gets to work with Emilyene and Aven on the sled. At first he is annoyed at Marcus and what Ephraim views as his micromanaging of the project but soon realizes that Marcus's leadership has helped them stay on task.
Nothing Indicates what they were studying there?
Walking with his gear slung over his shoulder Cole makes his way toward the Grav-Sled. He secures his gear in the sled and looks at Marcus with a grin, "Shotgun."
Vacc Suit TL-12 P:+10, RAD: 90, Wt: 8kg, Skill: Vacc Suit 0
Mechanics tool kit
Light Intensifier Goggles
Snub pistol
Marcus rolls his eyes and hands Cole his gear. "Snub pistol" he replies.
"What's the time estimate for getting that thing rolling? We've had four new illegal HES connections in the last 24 hours."
Cole takes Marcus's gear and begins to secure it in the sled, sarcastically adding, "Let me give you a hand with that." He pauses in his work and bangs his hand gently on the side of the sled, "She's ready to roll. Just waiting on the rest of the team." He finishes securing the equipment and checks over the sled one last time.
Emilyene hurried down the tunnel from where she had just dropped off the other mechanic kit they had used, seeing as the boss was only letting them take one.
She'd also taken the time to transfer the contents of an electronics kit into her backpack. The one she'd scrapped together from odds and ends. The shoulder straps were padded with foam insulation from a pipe, while conduits provided an external frame from which she'd hung a coil of rope on one side. The other had a last minute pocket and loop sewn on with a shotgun sticking up over her right shoulder. From the left shoulder a strap hung down to a holster on her hip where her personal comp was secured.
A ball cap with a faded logo for Corellian Engineering Corp emblazoned on it did its best to contain her red hair.
Now that I'm here, we can leave, since I'm piloting.
"Nice hat,"Cole remarks to Emilyene. He climbs into the sled sitting in the front passenger seat.
When the others are ready he looks back at the rest of the team and advises, "best strap yourselves in this could get interesting.
He mutters under his breath to the grav-sled, "come on baby you can do it"
Thanks! My father's favorite.
After locking her vaccsuit helmet into its slot, Emilyene plugs her hand comp into the console and brings up a moon map. The coordinates of the science facility are already plugged in.
A button pushed, lever pulled, and the sled hums to life.
I want to route us over the tunnel, we can check for any surface breaks along the route.
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The trip is uneventful and within 6 hours you can see a distinct tower-like structure jutting from the moon's surface. A number of domes surround this slender needle, but all is dark...no navigation beacons or flight indicator lights are on. The entire area looks cold, dark and dead.
Arriving at the main loading dock, the outer blast doors are down and, again, no lights come on when you drive up.
"Everyone check your vacc suit seals," says Marcus. "Cole, you and I are on guard. You right, me left. Emilyene and Jasmine, you get the door open. Doc, I want you to stay in the vehicle until we know it's safe."
Emilyene looks for a manual override for the doors.
Jasmine checks the electronic lock to see if there's some way to provide it temporary power from the Grav-sled's engines.
Jasmine carefully takes her toolkit from its belt clip and removes an access panel from the door. She looks at the tangle of exposed wires and shakes her head. "Why couldn't they make these to the same specs as the doors on our base?"
"Maybe we can muscle it open," Cole suggests as he removes a crowbar from his tool kit. He wedges the bar into the door seam and heaves with all his might.
Marcus sighs when Cole leaves guard position, and shifts to cover everyone as best he can.
Damn security peeps didn't bother with a manual override in case of power failure. Go figure.
Emilyene watches as Jasmine works on jumping the power circuits of the door console.
"We'll probably find the override on the inside," Jasmine muses. "Cutting the power to break in is an old trick. Want to give me a hand with this? I don't want to fry the lock's circuits pulling juice from the sled."
Emilyene pulls out her handcomp and digs through the database looking for old schematics on the console, after a half hour she finds some forum posts and starts reading through them, after ten minutes or so she smiles and walks up to Jasmine.
Ahh, I think I see the problem. Emilyene pulls out her spanner wrench and wacks the side of the console. These Centurian 12's have a tendency to have a stuck power coupling in transducer coil. Sometimes you just need to jar it loose.
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Between the two women, they are able to get power to the door. With a couple of key strokes on Emilyene's handcomp the door pops open. Within all is still and dark. This outer door leads into an airlock. The door on the other side of the room is firmly shut...however a small blinking red light can be seen on the door's operations control panel. When you investigate it shows that the area beyond is pressurized and this door will not open until the outer door is once again shut.
Main loading dock...
Is this outer lock large enough to bring in the grav?
"Good job," says Marcus, approaching the door and flipping off the safety of his advanced combat rifle. "There shouldn't be anyone or anything left alive in the base, but we're not going to take any chances. Follow me and stay together."
"Doc? Secure the grav car and come join us, please." With that, he flips on his light and leads the team inside.
"Nice, Cole says as he watches, with admiration, the ladies open the door.
Cole follows Marcus into the airlock, "Aye,aye sir." Once everyone is in he stands by the control panel and attempts to seal the outer door. Once that is done he will open the innermost door.
Estelle initially grumbles as the others move off towards the door, wanting to be on the front-lines. But she knows that her place is further back, that she would need to be safe in case anything happened to anyone else. Who knows what mysteries would be here.
Locking down the grav car, she grabs a couple of items from it, and follows the others into the airlock. "Here goes." she mutters as the door begins to hiss closed behind her.
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As the one door closes, a feeble light comes on the other door. It cycles through red, then yellow. As it changes colour, you can hear a hissing as air is pumped into the airlock. After a few minutes, it stops and the door light becomes green. You also notice that gravity has reasserted itself here in the lab base.
The far door now blinks with a weak green light.
Emilyene checks the inner door, cycles it, and steps back, waving a hand to Marcus after you, no, really, I insist.