|
Sammad perks up as Belmarniss turns to walk way, eyebrows raising in unison. "I should do that as well. Hopefully the cargo was heat-resistant..."
His voice trails off as he stands up from the comms station and heads to the cargo bay.
As he enters the cargo bay shortly behind Belmarniss, he clears his throat to alert her to his presence, then speaks. "Well old friend, this has turned out to be a very...unconventional cargo run, hasn't it?"
Belmarniss examines the cargo bay, and she notes that while things HAVE gotten tossed around and jostled, with several of the shipping containers having dents and minor scorch-marks, the cargo is mostly intact.
"You have more experience with cargo runs than I do, Sammad. This is just a favor for my parents since this cargo's going in the same direction I am. But I'm glad that our clumsy attempt at heroism didn't destroy it...Otherwise this trip would have been a waste for you."
With the tension from your high-octane fight with the inferno whale (not to mention your close brush with death) leaving you, Flint takes the ship's helm and guides the Radiant Fire towards the Far Station. The trip there is filled with strange sounds from the ship as parts cool off, but thankfully the climate control manages to get the worst of the heat down by the time you get to the Station's docks.
The ship's airlock opens and you're greeted at the docks by Dr. Taeress, along with a small group of techs that start looking over the Radiant Fire right away. While they work, Taeress beckons the group of you to join her at the far end of the docks - a location with a clear view of the sun through the darkly tinted and force-fielded windows. She gives your team a lopsided smile. In person, you see that she's a broad shouldered korasha lashunta, wearing a utilitarian blue coat with dozens of pockets and a set of cargo pants.
"Considering the crisis, we never got a chance to introduce ourselves properly." She extends a hand. "Nice to meet you all. Dr. Taeress Suloro. I specialize in magnetospheric monitoring, deep spectrum prediction, and dabble in getting myself in trouble. I'm acting subdirector here at Far Station while Dr. Jori is on leave. And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?"
After finishing the cargo check and catching up with Sammad a bit, Belmarniss returns to the rest of them and joins them in disembarking to the Far Station.
When Flint introduces them to Doctor Suloro, she bows.
"It is an honor and a pleasure, Dr. Suloro. Captain Conners is perhaps being a bit too modest. Our gambit would not have succeeded without his coordination and leadership."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Sammad perks up as Belmarniss turns to walk way, eyebrows raising in unison. "I should do that as well. Hopefully the cargo was heat-resistant..."
His voice trails off as he stands up from the comms station and heads to the cargo bay.
As he enters the cargo bay shortly behind Belmarniss, he clears his throat to alert her to his presence, then speaks. "Well old friend, this has turned out to be a very...unconventional cargo run, hasn't it?"
Belmarniss examines the cargo bay, and she notes that while things HAVE gotten tossed around and jostled, with several of the shipping containers having dents and minor scorch-marks, the cargo is mostly intact.
"You have more experience with cargo runs than I do, Sammad. This is just a favor for my parents since this cargo's going in the same direction I am. But I'm glad that our clumsy attempt at heroism didn't destroy it...Otherwise this trip would have been a waste for you."
Sammad chuckled lightly at Belmarniss's remark, even as he moves to a crate marked with the Al-Fayir crest and begins inspecting it. "Yes, and my first unsupervised cargo run is hardly the place for failure. Quassela would never let me live it down...assuming she let me live at all, that is."
He pauses, then moves to stand next to Belmarniss before speaking in a softer voice. "You did well, you know. Kept me and the others alive, which I obviously appreciate. I'm glad you were here, old friend." He flashes her a friendly smile, then continues. "But let's get out of here, after the day's events I'm anxious to get my feet on solid ground. So to speak."
With the tension from your high-octane fight with the inferno whale (not to mention your close brush with death) leaving you, Flint takes the ship's helm and guides the Radiant Fire towards the Far Station. The trip there is filled with strange sounds from the ship as parts cool off, but thankfully the climate control manages to get the worst of the heat down by the time you get to the Station's docks.
The ship's airlock opens and you're greeted at the docks by Dr. Taeress, along with a small group of techs that start looking over the Radiant Fire right away. While they work, Taeress beckons the group of you to join her at the far end of the docks - a location with a clear view of the sun through the darkly tinted and force-fielded windows. She...
Sammad bows deeply to Dr. Taeress, then adjusts his uniform's tie as he rises. "Emmisary Sammad of the Al-Fayir Cooperative, happy to be of service, Doctor." He takes a step closer and then asks, in a lower voice, "What can you tell us about the status of the sunship? I'd like to know if our efforts to save it were successful..."
Flint allows himself a small smile at Belmarniss’ gracious comment, but says nothing overtly self-aggrandizing in response.
Instead, he defers to Sammad, saying, “Dr. Suloro, our Ambassador was quite comfortable in the elevated heat from the battle, but the rest of the crew and I could use a moment to refresh ourselves. If you would point us towards the facilities, I am sure Ambassador Sammad will be able to answer any questions you might have.”
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"I'm glad at least one of us thinks so...while I imagine piloting a more...well-maintained...ship would have made the maneuvers easier, it is a poor mechanic who blames their tools. At least after this I'll be able to wash my hands of Apostaean business for good. My parents got a stern warning to never contact me again after this job unless I initiate it. I don't know why you put up with it, your family treating you like a tool for profit."
Her sharp ears picking up Sammad's question, Belmarniss interjects.
"I wouldn't mind knowing that as well. It's difficult even for specialized vessels to accommodate the intense heat and gravity of a stellar body, but that vessel flew out of the sun like it was nothing! That alone is a marvel of starship engineering."
Marisol smiles tiredly at Dr Taeress, but initially says nothing until Conners's suggestion.
"Yes, that would be wonderful!" Mari says, seemingly reinvigorated at the mere idea of a warm shower and a cold drink.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Sammad gives Belmarniss a long look, sighs deeply, and then speaks. "I'm glad you're free, Belmarniss. Your family...hell, your whole world, has caused you enough grief."
He holds a hand up in front of his face for a long moment, as if examining it for flaws. "I should be nothing more than a grunt. A factory worker slinging ore or a faceless mercenary slinging death upon those who pissed off my clients. I know you find the family's business distasteful...but I'd be their tool no matter what. At least this way I'm a comfortable tool."
Dr. Taeress shakes hands with each of you as you're introduced by Flint, eyes widening as your very disparate backgrounds are mentioned. "You looked like a group with quite the history when you just came out of your starship, but it seems you've got quite the set of skills between you as well." She pinches the bridge of her nose, thoughts inward for a moment, before returning to her lopsided smile. "Skills that paid off quite well!"
When Flint mentions taking a shower, Taeress takes in your mostly very sweaty group in once more and gives a bit of a start of realization "Ah, I'm not a great host am I, keeping you out here? You look like you could use a dunk in the Lemenore. I'll get one of the interns show you to where you can refresh yourselves - we can talk in the mess once you're all feeling up to it."
------
After a round of showers and a round of some cool fruity beverage that the intern insists is a fairly accurate recreation of Zo! Refreshing's Sargonberry Smash flavor, you take a seat in Far Station's expansive mess hall with Doctor Taeress. She nurses a bottle of something that smells an awful lot like rubbing alcohol. "Looking better!"
"So you were asking about the deep sun ship you helped to rescue? It's a fascinating little craft. Scans show that it is packed with as yet unknown tech - some whose function is obvious from surface-level scans and some we're still guessing on." She nods, pleased. "While you were freshening up, we had a departmental meeting and pulled everyone off the other projects to start making heads or tails of what we have on our hands here."
She stares off into the distance, swept up into excited speculation. "Even just its outer hull is a marvel. It's not even clear if we're looking at advanced composites or some entirely new material. But as you saw, it was resistant enough that it could escape the Sun's internal unscathed. Thats... well, it's something we've theorized about for quite a long time! Even the efreeti ships from the Plane of Fire are not perfectly inured to the pressures and temperatures this ship must have seen on a regular basis."
She shakes her head. "And here I am waxing long to laypeople. You did a fine job distracting that inferno whale, but the ship didn't escape unscathed. It seems the fore and port sides were damaged most seriously, though the greatest tragedy is that its bridge was destroyed almost in its entirety." She sighs. "Could have been worse, I suppose. At least some of the ship remains intact."
She leans back with her bottle, giving you a chance to interject your thoughts and questions.
"Did any of the crew survive?" asks Marisol, a look of sorrow clearly visible on her face. "Much as I love playing with new tech, people are more important."
After waiting for Dr. Taeress to answer Mari’s question, Flint interjects his own thoughts. ”So this isn’t one of your projects, then? Do you have any idea where it came from?”
Ordyt has changed out of his armor and into a plain but clean pale grey miner's jumpsuit. His drink pauses halfway to his lips when Dr. Taeress starts describing the damage to the other ship.
The oread nods in agreement with Marisol's question. "The bridge destroyed...who was in it, if it wasn't yours?" Ordyt set the drink back down untouched. "And whose Inferno Whale was that? That was no ordinary beast, it was covered in cybernetics and armor plates."
At Marisol's question, Dr Taeress points the bottle at her. "That right there's the big question. Our scanners are showing life signs, or at least something we're interpreting as life signs. But nothing on the ship is responding to our attempts at communication. And we are being very thorough with comms bands, including even adaptations of stelliferan chromatolocution and quorlu seismaphore. No response, though it does seem at least that the technology on the ship is receiving our broadcasts."
"The debate is raging right now on whether that's because they're too alien to understand us, or if they're unwilling to respond, or if they're simply unable to." She takes a swig. "I'm worried its the last one. The ship did take a lot of damage, after all."
To Flint's question she adds "The Sun, of course. And not the Burning Archipelago. Beyond that, we're not at all sure."
And to Ordyt's comment about the Inferno Whale she scowls "I'd like to know who sent it - give them a piece of my mind." She waves the bottle at some imagined miscreant. "Not sure who could have sent it or why, nor why it had such good timing. With how throughly it was blasted, I doubt we'd learn much from what's left either." Her mouth twists to the side as she recalls Inferno Whale.
Sammad turns over all of Dr. Taeress's comments in his mind, then leans forward to respond. "Well I'm glad something's alive, and that the ship is in good enough condition for you to get data."
He takes a sip of his drink, then continues. "Doctor, do you have any connection to the Deep Cultures Institute? If anyone has information that would be of aid in your investigation, it would be them."
Flint smiles, like he’s heard this storyline in a holovid somewhere before...
”So a mysterious ship, a communications blackout, and the only way to reach it is probably by sending a boarding party—and why not the ‘noble souls’ who helped save it from the inferno whale, eh? I assume it has an identifiable airlock?” he finishes with a wider, lopsided grin.
He takes a sip of his drink, then continues. "Doctor, do you have any connection to the Deep Cultures Institute? If anyone has information that would be of aid in your investigation, it would be them."
She barks out a laugh. "Connection?" She pulls a badge from her cargo pants and flashes it at your group - 'Deep Cultures Institute senior researcher' is printed next to her picture.
"My team here may not be the DCI's best and brightest - those'll have to conference in or come in by transport - but we've got some canny minds at work already unraveling the secrets of our deep sun traveler."
And at Flint's theorizing, she just grins. "Now you're getting it. We need someone to take a look inside. Could be anything in there - maybe something dangerous, maybe an opportunity to help a new alien species and establish first contact. And we don't have any field teams here at the Station for the job. Time is, of course, of the essence." She eyes each of you in turn. "I managed to requisition an honorarium from HQ for your help with the Whale - but if you're willing and interested, we could take you on for a contract."
Captain Flint’s widening smile is all the answer anyone halfway paying attention really needs to know his thoughts on the matter, but he speaks anyway, “Of course I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m in.”
With an almost imperceptible flip of his dark locks, he adds, ”But perhaps we should have a mobile holovid robot to record the...ah...first contact—for historical purposes, you understand,” he finishes laconically, barely suppressing his true eagerness.
Mari's mood brightens at the confirmation of survivors. At the suggestion of a rescue mission, she takes a step forward. "I'm ready to go! There's no telling how long that ship will be able to support life, we don't have any time to waste."
He takes a sip of his drink, then continues. "Doctor, do you have any connection to the Deep Cultures Institute? If anyone has information that would be of aid in your investigation, it would be them."She barks out a laugh. "Connection?" She pulls a badge from her cargo pants and flashes it at your group - 'Deep Cultures Institute senior researcher' is printed next to her picture.
"My team here may not be the DCI's best and brightest - those'll have to conference in or come in by transport - but we've got some canny minds at work already unraveling the secrets of our deep sun traveler."
Sammad grins as the doctor shows her badge. "Ah, of course; the Institute are the only people I've ever met who would be excited by a mystery craft flying out of the sun. I wasn't aware the Institute had any presence on Far Station, though it seems rather fitting, in retrospect."
And at Flint's theorizing, she just grins. "Now you're getting it. We need someone to take a look inside. Could be anything in there - maybe something dangerous, maybe an opportunity to help a new alien species and establish first contact. And we don't have any field teams here at the Station for the job. Time is, of course, of the essence." She eyes each of you in turn. "I managed to requisition an honorarium from HQ for your help with the Whale - but if you're willing and interested, we could take you on for a contract."
Sammad takes a long sip of his drink, raising one eyebrow a fraction at the mention of a contract. "Oh really? Well, how about we sort that out after this first contact mission. I'll come along, of course; any such mission requires a diplomat, and no one in our group does it better." He pulls himself up a little straighter in his chair, and raises his right hand to touch the distinctive brooch on his left lapel. "In fact, it would be my pleasure to do so, on behalf of the Al-Fayir Cooperative."
His ego deflating a bit at Sammad’s words, Captain Flint nonetheless sees the wisdom in the Ambassador’s words, resigning himself to a secondary role in this diplomatic endeavor.
”And it would be my pleasure to arrange the meeting,” responds Flint, saying, ”as long as we have a crew ready and willing to take part.” He looks at Ordyt and Belmarniss to gauge their willingness to help.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Ordyt nods levelly at Flint's unspoken question. "These beings seem to still need our help, I've never been one to leave a job half done. You may rely on me, Captain."
|
|
Sammad gives Belmarniss a long look, sighs deeply, and then speaks. "I'm glad you're free, Belmarniss. Your family...hell, your whole world, has caused you enough grief."
He holds a hand up in front of his face for a long moment, as if examining it for flaws. "I should be nothing more than a grunt. A factory worker slinging ore or a faceless mercenary slinging death upon those who pissed off my clients. I know you find the family's business distasteful...but I'd be their tool no matter what. At least this way I'm a comfortable tool."
Belmarniss frowns at Sammad's response. For someone glad for her, he seemed so sad. But she says nothing, turning instead and heading for the door.
"Come on, they'll be waiting for us."
After freshening up (and getting some iced coffee that's actually good), Belmarniss joins the others speaking with the Doctor, listening intently.
"Did any of the crew survive?" asks Marisol, a look of sorrow clearly visible on her face. "Much as I love playing with new tech, people are more important."
"Agreed. If we dove in to assist and nearly got incinerated by some dragon-whale for a shipload of corpses, then I've failed both as a Star Knight AND as a pilot!" Belmarniss adds with a curt nod.
At Marisol's question, Dr Taeress points the bottle at her. "That right there's the big question. Our scanners are showing life signs, or at least something we're interpreting as life signs. But nothing on the ship is responding to our attempts at communication. And we are being very thorough with comms bands, including even adaptations of stelliferan chromatolocution and quorlu seismaphore. No response, though it does seem at least that the technology on the ship is receiving our broadcasts."
"That's impressive, considering you generally don't encounter stelliferans here in the Pact Worlds, let alone this close to the sun where water has to be imported or caught from passing comets."
"The debate is raging right now on whether that's because they're too alien to understand us, or if they're unwilling to respond, or if they're simply unable to." She takes a swig. "I'm worried its the last one. The ship did take a lot of damage, after all."
Belmarniss looks clearly annoyed at that last statement, but says nothing.
To Flint's question she adds "The Sun, of course. And not the Burning Archipelago. Beyond that, we're not at all sure."
"That much we could all tell from its grand entrance."
And to Ordyt's comment about the Inferno Whale she scowls "I'd like to know who sent it - give them a piece of my mind." She waves the bottle at some imagined miscreant. "Not sure who could have sent it or why, nor why it had such good timing. With how throughly it was blasted, I doubt we'd learn much from what's left either." Her mouth twists to the side as she recalls Inferno Whale.
"Odds are the chase we were witness to began further in than we saw here. Do you know anything about those creatures? It looked like an oma cross-bred with a red dragon, but even something like THAT probably couldn't have survived the heat and pressure of the sun the way the escaping ship did."
|
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Sammad turns over all of Dr. Taeress's comments in his mind, then leans forward to respond. "Well I'm glad something's alive, and that the ship is in good enough condition for you to get data."
He takes a sip of his drink, then continues. "Doctor, do you have any connection to the Deep Cultures Institute? If anyone has information that would be of aid in your investigation, it would be them."
Belmarniss scoffs.
"The Deep Cultures Institute? Really?! Even on Apostae I'd heard of them. Their theories are the worst kind of popular tripe, their methods are sloppy and their conclusions are highly questionable. They are poor scientists, Sammad."
She barks out a laugh. "Connection?" She pulls a badge from her cargo pants and flashes it at your group - 'Deep Cultures Institute senior researcher' is printed next to her picture.
And then she makes a strangled noise when she realizes just how badly she's stuck her foot in her mouth.
"My team here may not be the DCI's best and brightest - those'll have to conference in or come in by transport - but we've got some canny minds at work already unraveling the secrets of our deep sun traveler."
She hastily bows.
"I sincerely apologize, Doctor Taeress. I was arrogant and rude."
And at Flint's theorizing, she just grins. "Now you're getting it. We need someone to take a look inside. Could be anything in there - maybe something dangerous, maybe an opportunity to help a new alien species and establish first contact. And we don't have any field teams here at the Station for the job. Time is, of course, of the essence." She eyes each of you in turn. "I managed to requisition an honorarium from HQ for your help with the Whale - but if you're willing and interested, we could take you on for a contract."
"I do wish to finish aiding this craft. Regardless of my feelings on the DCI, I would not save her crew only to leave them adrift in the void."
She dons her helmet, both to signal her readiness to help and to hide her continued embarrassment.
Ordyt nods levelly at Flint's unspoken question. "These beings seem to still need our help, I've never been one to leave a job half done. You may rely on me, Captain."
"My thoughts exactly, Ordyt. I'm with you, Captain Conners."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Right, then. Let's get back to the ship and set about our rescue mission," says Flint with a hint of urgency to his voice.
As they approach the Radiant Fire, though, he lets out a low whistle as he sees the massive fire damage done to the fore and aft sections of the ship. It would be kind of pretty if your artistic tastes inclined towards turbulent flow kinematics in a molten slag medium.
Turning uncertainly to his engineer, he asks softly, "Do you think she'll hold together for us, Mari? Unable to resist, he adds with a smile, "And are we going to have to fly sideways so we can see where we are going?"
Marisol stops and tilts her head at Conners's question. "Maybe? But until she gets fixed up, the Radiant Fire isn't suited for anything more demanding than being the centerpiece of a modern art installation. It was a small miracle that it got into port at all, and an even bigger one that we weren't all crisped in the first place." She shakes her head slowly before continuing. "It's not any slight against the girl, she quite literally pulled us out of the fire. But she needs a vacation before we drag her back into it."
Mari looks at the ship again before turning back to Conners with a smirk. "And I dunno why you think we'd need to fly sideways to see where we're goin. Everyone knows you lower the windscreen and stick your head out."
Sammad winces at the sight of the Radiant Fire, now mostly a melted heap. "She looks like a hunk of refuse from the Al-Fayir forges...You can't think to pilot her in this condition?"
Flint looks around the docking area for any other options, hoping somewhat irrationally that his Flame Dancer would miraculously be available.
"Well, if we had any other choices, I would say...wait a moment, look over there..." Flint remarks, seeing another opportunity just down the way.
"Now Sammad, she's not THAT bad," Flint starts out like a husband trying to put a brave face on his new wife's first feast day cooking effort, "Why, I'll bet she turns quite nicely now that the extra inertia of the forward bulkhead is no longer a problem."
Doctor Taeress takes Belmarniss' insults of the DCI with a practiced neutral expression on her face. Clearly this isn't the first time that the DCI has been belittled in her presence, nor will it be the last. When Bel is done, she shows her badge and fends off Bel's apologies with "No apologies accepted. And none needed. We just need to win you over with some results, don't we?" She raises an eyebrow and an antennae at the drow.
Doctor Taeress downs the rest of her drink as you each chime in, agreeing to take up the task of investigating the deep sun traveler. "Good! Now, I'm sure you're eager to take your ship back over there. But let's be honest, any more damage and its likely to fall apart. So I'll get you over to the deep sun traveler with one of our short-range shuttles. They're normally used to inspect the Far Portal up close, but they'll take you where you're going just as well."
"Now, some ground rules. Especially for Belmarniss here, who thinks the DCI isn't capable of sciencing our way out of a paper bag." She winks at the drow. "There's what appears to be one undamaged airlock at the aft. If you can't take that in for whatever reason, no opening up other holes in the hull. There's plenty enough of those already. In that case we'll haul out equipment to try to pressurize an area around a bulkhead in one of the damaged sections - get the ship to detect that the breach has been repaired so the door can be reopened."
"Once inside, you're to investigate the craft fore to aft, looking especially for any living creatures. Act with caution. Sammad, I trust you'll be able to handle first contact if that's what we have. If we have deep sun species on this craft that are injured and you think you can save them..." Taeress pauses, considering. "Best you contact us back here on Far Station. Alien biologies can be quite the obstacle. Beyond this primary mission, make sure that the craft is safe for the rest of our teams to arrive. And as a tertiary goal: If there's unknown technology of non-Pact Worlds origin, keep it intact if possible, and if you can recover it from the craft, do so. If something happens on there while you're investigating and you have to evacuate, it would be good to have at least something recovered."
"I am a bit concerned about communication with a possible alien life form. Do you have any translator programs that might prove useful?" Flint asks Dr. Taeress as he indicates his datapad.
"Also, if there is an injured life form, do you have a general purpose medpatches or a healing serum that would likely be safe enough to use on it to stabilize it for transport to your medical facilities?" he adds with concern.
Sammad gives Dr. Taeress a curt nod. "Your trust is well placed, Doctor. I'll give everything I have to ensure this mission proceeds as diplomatically as possible."
He then looks to Captain Conners. "Captain, I actually carry some healing serums, as per Al-Fayir policy for unsupervised travel. I'd happily use them in service of this mission, if need arises. "
Flint nods at Sammad at the mention of healing serums, then waits for the good doctor to answer his other questions as well as any that may arise from the others. It is clear he is eager to get started, though.
Ordyt heaves a relieved sigh when Dr. Taeress offers the shuttle, then realizes what he did and carefully doesn't glance at Flint or Marisol.
"Well, uh, when would you like us to get started?" he asks Taeress a bit too loudly.
"We have a Tetrad that's been gathering dust, you're welcome to borrow it for this investigation. And we'll provide some medical supplies to supplement your own."
Doctor Taeress stands up and tosses her bottle into a recycling drawer. "No time like the present to get going. Let's get you those supplies and the shuttle. You'll be able to contact us back at the Station which you're out there via the shuttle's comms."
Satisfied (and secretly glad to use an undamaged shuttle for the mission), Flint heads towards the shuttle, planning to grab the translator and one of the healing serums and give her a once over before getting on board, just in case there are further...complications...on the way to the sunship.
Hopefully she has a good name, not Shuttle #3 or something similarly pedestrian.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Doctor Taeress takes Belmarniss' insults of the DCI with a practiced neutral expression on her face. Clearly this isn't the first time that the DCI has been belittled in her presence, nor will it be the last. When Bel is done, she shows her badge and fends off Bel's apologies with "No apologies accepted. And none needed. We just need to win you over with some results, don't we?" She raises an eyebrow and an antennae at the drow.
Belmarniss blinks, the only hint of her expression behind the blank faceplate of her helmet.
"W-w-well, that IS what the scientific method is for, Dr. Taeress!" she stammers. "Should the observed results disprove the initial hypothesis, a new hypothesis is required."
"Now, some ground rules. Especially for Belmarniss here, who thinks the DCI isn't capable of sciencing our way out of a paper bag." She winks at the drow.
"Gaaaahhhhh!" Belmarniss groans to no one in particular.
Flint finds the shuttle to be named Shuttie McShuttleface Mk 4.
You take the shuttle out of the Station at a leisurely pace. In fact, this cramped transport can't achieve speeds above 'leisurely', and its amenities leave a lot to be desired. Nevertheless, it takes less than an hour to catch up with the mystery ship. Per Taeress' instructions, you approach from the aft.
Even battered and buckled by the assault, the ship remains a work of art. Curves and spines of gleaming brass combine with dark plating to give the ship a feel that’s half architectural and half insectile. Oblong domes are set in the top of the ship like eyes, opaque enough to hide their secrets. Sections of the ship along the port and aft, as well as a sizable portion of the central fore section feature jagged tears where the inferno whale's enhanced jaws rent the hull.
As the Far Station's scans determined, the airlock at the starboard-side aft section appears to still be intact. You approach close with your shuttle and try to initiate a docking procedure. There's no response from the mystery ship to your docking signal - nor is there a fit-up between the shuttle and the ship. As you inspect the airlock, you don't see any of the Pact Worlds standard features used for docking!
It seems you'll need to move between the two ships via a brief spacewalk.
----
"Mari, can you get us securely tethered to the sunship? I wouldn't want our ride to...drift away," says Flint as he moves towards the airlock, switching on his armor's environmental protection. Flint follows his own advice and ties himself off to the shuttle in preparation for the spacewalk.
Flint finds the shuttle to be named Shuttie McShuttleface Mk 4.
Mari nods to Conners and sets about ensuring their shuttle won't wander off while they're away. Once that's completed, she ties her hair into a tight bun, confirms the magnetic locks on her armor are holding her gear in place, and then tests the invisible field that will protect her from hard vacuum and all the fun that comes with it.
Coming up behind Bel, she examines the airlock and its adjacent bulb. "Now that's interesting, wonder what it does..."
Marisol examines the override switch and accompanying black bulb. While the purpose of the bulb isn't entirely clear without trying to dismantle the device, she comes to the conclusion that its some kind of security device to ensure that only the right people can tamper with the airlock override. Most likely, without dealing with it first, attempting to open up the airlock would result in something happening. Probably something very dangerous.
Thankfully, it seems that the damage done to the ship has loosened the bulb from its housing. A deft engineer might be able to disable it.
After spending some time thinking on the device, Marisol finally speaks, saying, "Hard to tell, since it's all new tech to me, but I think it might be a safeguard against unwanted boarders." With a shrug, she continues, "Might be able to disconnect it, what with all the battle damage. Don't recommend trying to open the door before then. Bel, would you mind lending a hand? You're a pretty good tech and I'd hate to blow us all up cause I missed something."
Ordyt remains on the ship, periodically checking the scanners and ready to man the coilgun turret if a threat were to suddenly bear down. "Old pirate trick out in the Diaspora, get the jump on a ship preoccupied with salvage or mining when it's vulnerable and immobile. Let me know when you're ready to board."
Sammad looks up from the comms station, towards the crowd assembled around the airlock. "Let me know when we're ready. I'm keeping on comms, in case we need to get in touch with Far Station."
He hears Ordyt address the others, and nods towards the soldier. "How thoughtful of you, I'm sure nobody's keen to be ambushed again."
As she works her own brand of technomagic on the device, Marisol says, "All right, let's see what we're working with here..."
Marisol's efforts yield a pale yellow light within the black bulb for a moment before she snips the right wire and the light vanishes. Fairly confident that you've managed to authorize yourselves, you pull the emergency airlock override switch.
The airlock irises open. Inside, you see an environment that looks both strangely familiar and totally uncanny. Walls that seem to be made of brass with inlaid black paneling. Accents of dark basalt and white granite. The ceilings are dotted with tiny brass hook-like objects that hold flames that flicker and provide a degree of light to the space.
You squeeze a little to all get inside at once, and as you do you find yourselves floating down to rest solidly upon the ship's deck. It seems the ship's artificial gravity is still functional, though it seems rather... low... in comparison to Pact Standard.
While the airlock slowly pressurizes up with unpleasantly hot air, you find your attentions drawn to an inscription on the wall of the airlock. Rather surprisingly, it is written in Ignan.
"Tada! Mari says, as the airlock opens wide. Rushing inside, she immediately focuses on the inscription and begins reading it aloud. "Welcome to the Breath of Embers...the ship's commissar is...blank? What? Did they forget to finish the detail work?"
|
|
"Tada! Mari says, as the airlock opens wide. Rushing inside, she immediately focuses on the inscription and begins reading it aloud. "Welcome to the Breath of Embers...the ship's commissar is...blank? What? Did they forget to finish the detail work?"
"Maybe this ship was stolen or hijacked," Belmarniss suggests as they enter. "It would certainly explain the aggressive pursuit. Better to destroy your prize vessel than to have it out there in the hands of a thief."
"You may be right at that, Belmarniss. The writing in Ignan and the decor suggest beings from the plane of fire. What do you think, Sammad?"
While he is waiting for an answer, Flint looks around for an exit from this small chamber (it is difficult to tell on the map where a door might be), and moves to open it unless someone else wants to check it out first.
Ordyt glances at the inscription for but doesn't read Ignan so shrugs at the others' speculation. "We saw it come through a portal. It not being from around here seems likely, doesn't it?"
Bouncing on his feel a little to test the gravity, Ordyt frowns in puzzlement. "Is this a deliberate setting, or were grav controls damaged by the whale? Could provide a clue to what manner of creatures we may encounter."