”Could be they are here for just this one relic and don’t care for anyone who isn’t a real threat? ..."
Thyx shrugged uncertain but happy to see someone was in agreement.
"The Administrator's house was also placed very close to cover. I'm grateful but they wouldn't have seen attackers until they were upon them." Thyx reflected as the team exited the jungle only to be right by the Administrator's."Cap, there's no power to the keypad. Should we get the genny up and running again? 50/50 we need it to search the place oor it draws unwanted attention. Should be simple, they just pulled some connectors." He had looked rather than touched the generator. He stopped and took a good look, 'Hmm, could be rigged' ... "Are Azlanti known for booby-trapping?"
'Hmm, could be rigged' ... "Are Azlanti known for booby-trapping?"
”I doubt they’d bother, as they seem to believe the have the locals properly under their heel already. Besides, no way off this rock for anyone who tries something funny, and most of them have friends and family the Azalanti can punish if the uppity colonists himself managed to run away into the jungle,” Robert grunted, but nodded in grudging respect as the android tapped into the building’s emergency power supply to work the door. ’Smoothly done,’ he thought, filing away the fact of Thyx’s proficiency for future use.
"What can you tell us about Madelon? If we're going to need to guess a password or find a hidden safe, the more we know the better."
"Looks like a job for brute strength, eh?" Sigirijus coughs, swelling in his flight suit as he limbers up. "Let me have a go before you start the generator - a lot of these colonist jobs are cheap trash. I tend to agree with Robert around the booby-trapping on this one."
The captain sighs "No. That's a quality lock. Alright, have at it."
Thyx reconnected the genny and got it started.
Kip took a look at the connections, making sure there was nothing dangerous lurking in the circuitry. "All clear," she declared.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
, chapel
Action 1:
Kamiya perked up at the mention of her home planet. It made her think of her family and her early days as TortAce and a smile came to her lips. "There are similarities between Castrovel and Nakondis so I can see him liking it here. Although it is quite a change from being part of AbadarCorp on Castrovel and administering this colony here on Nakondis. The was a huge change for him."
Action 2:
Kamiya almost clapped her hands when Thyx reconnected the power. Instead she settled for saying quietly, "Nicely done, Thyx, I'm sure the Captain's shoulder thanks you too."
The lashunta stepped into the chapel, realizing almost instantly what it was. I guess Madelon found another way to serve Abadar here on Nakondis.
She walked around the chapel, looking at the mess with dismay. "Looks like the rumours were true and we weren't the first ones to think about coming here to look. Let's hope they didn't find what we're looking for."
OOC: I had assumed you looked through both but you can make another perception roll if you like (accompanied with a little description of what you're looking for if you want a bonus).
Questions?
Game on!
Robert gave the altar a quiet sneer – another sign of the common weakness of the human mind, needing an outside power to bless for their good fortune and complain to when they didn’t get what they thought they deserved. Yet that was nothing new to him and he had better things to do than wallow in the weakness of his own species.
She walked around the chapel, looking at the mess with dismay. "Looks like the rumours were true and we weren't the first ones to think about coming here to look. Let's hope they didn't find what we're looking for."
”Might as well be quick about it, then,” Robert grunted, thinking back to what little they knew about the man. ”So, loved the planet, and had a thing with the money-grubbing so-called deity,” he muttered. ”The altar seems an obvious enough place to search, but did anyone spot a painting of holo or some local statuette large enough to hold a data chip inside it?” he asked, taking another look himself. ”If he did hide something here, I doubt he’d just put it in some random place he himself might forget if he didn’t need that whatever for a long time. But in, around or behind something he liked…”
Thyx looked about as the rest did and found nothing ... as the rest did. The image of the golden city painted on the door had fascinated him. Now, he couldn't take his eyes of the holy symbol and the image of the key. He wasn't spiritual by nature but some religions tapped into symbols of some power ... the key was one. He stared for some time then slowly reached out, to touch it.
Then he stopped himself, 'Just a symbol', he thought.
OOC: family at my place (and they won't leave until Sunday) so I may not be able to post until then.
Questions?
Game on!
Kamiya pushed open the door into Madelon's personal quarters. In her mind, if he was going to hide something then it made more sense that he do it in the place that was his and others wouldn't regularly access.
The lashunta looked along the walls and other seams trying to find loose panels where Madelon may have stashed something. She also looked at any displayed personal belongings to see if anything may have been hidden inside or behind.
Having spent more time looking around than maybe she should have, Kamiya let out a long, frustrated sigh. "Well this was a colossal waste of time. He was either really good at hiding whatever it was that he hid or else it was already found by whoever ransacked this place."
Action 1:
Kamiya's frown of frustration morphed into a smile of triumph as Robert revealed his find. "Nicely done!"
The lashunta watched the video with rapt attention like everyone else. As the video ended she breathed a single word, "Whoa." She recovered quickly as the enormity of the discovery sank in and her body practically vibrated with excitement. "I can totally see why Cedona was so excited and why the Azlanti invaded to reacquire it. Hyper-fast travel without the drift? The implications are huge!"
Kamiya stopped suddenly, a puzzled look on her face. "But if this tech is Azlanti, why don't they use this tech today?" She gasped, "Unless this knowledge was lost to them too over time." She gave an exaggerated shudder, "The last thing everyone needs is the Azlanti having a way to travel without the Drift."
The captain frowned. "Really? I mean, Drift, non-Drift. Still has the same tactical implications. If it was that much better they'd be using it, right?"
"Alright. What now? I see we can make it look like we weren't here, leave quickly, or set a trap. I'm inclined towards option 1. We take the data, leave a crippled datapad here and head out. If they end up breaking Makelon they'll find the datapad and hopefully not kill him."
The captain frowned. "Really? I mean, Drift, non-Drift. Still has the same tactical implications. If it was that much better they'd be using it, right?"
Thyx thought for a moment, "Cap, it would mean the possibility of travel without the chance of encounters with 'other spacial' anomalies. No more power leeches, for example. And no more slow contamination of Drift space." Pause "Shall we take the pad. Evidence in case we can't find the artifact itself? The right people need to know about this ... right?. Also, do we leave the genny running? It might serve to increase the 'strange occurrences' quotient. Monsterous attacks, soldiers missing, chapel power turning itself back on ... it could play on their morale."
Thyx made for the door they came in, intending to head directly for the natural cover nearby.
Kip stared at the video, rewinding it, staring at the glyphs and crystals, wanting to reach out and touch it. Eyes shining, she said, "This has to be it. I'll bet when they found this, they triggered some kind of beacon, and brought the Azlanti here. We should go here next. Can we go see it for ourselves?"
At the suggestion they leave the data pad behind, Kip clutched it to her chest. "No! This is a nice one! Let's trash the alter a bit, leave the door open, then they might think the hobgars got in and snatched it."
At the suggestion they leave the data pad behind, Kip clutched it to her chest. "No! This is a nice one! Let's trash the alter a bit, leave the door open, then they might think the hobgars got in and snatched it."
Robert was practically drooling as the implications of the find struck him. Tech of that level would have potential buyers fighting each other for the chance of showering its holder - namely, Robert - with credits. With that kind of money, he could buy half the Arkanen, put the science centers and fabrication plants to work on projects of his own. He could set up whole corporations to manage it all while he could choose his own pet projects to pursue. He could...
'Get killed,' he thought, forcing himself back to reality.
"This is the kind of tech governments and corpos will kill for. With extreme prejudice. You, your family, your pets and their playmates," the techomancer growled. "Worth billions... and too hot to handle. Even if it was only close as fast and cheap and effective as the Drift, there would be a market for it, as not everyone is happy with how we just got handed the tech by a self-made god of all things. And if it was better..."
"Oh, you can bet we should take the pad with us," he echoed Kip's and Thyx's thoughts. "This ain't the tech itself, but it might be a bargaining chip if things go south for us. And it at least sheds some light on why the Azlanti are to hot and bothered about this relic of a ship. Perhaps one of their tech weenies went rogue and ran away with the tech they were working on - if they got far enough from a gravity well to go FTL... well, the space is a big place to lose a single ship."
"No sense in making traps here, since the Azlanti were here already - might be some local kid scavenging for supplies who would "find" it. I say we just hide the evidence we were ever here and move on."
"No sense in making traps here, since the Azlanti were here already - might be some local kid scavenging for supplies who would "find" it. I say we just hide the evidence we were ever here and move on."
Thyx nodded.
"I have news both good and bad the captain announced. The good news is that we think we know why the Azlanti are here. The bad news is there's likely to be more of them in the future."
He turns to his comrades and then back "That wreck isn't a gold mine - it's more valuable than that. There's a secret there, or there was. So long as anyone knows about it, this whole place is in danger. A resource too strong for you is a curse. There's also a question about how many people get told what the secret is, given the Azlanti may murder anyone who knows."
The captain drank some water, struggling with the glass formed for a flat human muzzle. "I see that long term, you either need a significant military presence, you need to remove the ship, you need to make the secret not-secret, or you need to destroy the wreck utterly. Some of these can be done while the Azlanti are here, some of these cannot."
Action 2
Kamiya listened to the Captain's summary. "Hopefully we can liberate the colonists before more Azlanti show up." She projected her next thought into the minds of her crew mates but not Aibretta, Or at least, Cedona
The lashunta looked over at the mechanic, "Who all knows where the wreck is? Seems to me that we either boost the morale of the imprisoned colonists but either ending the water rationing by the Azlanti or taking out another one of their patrols...or finding the wreck and learning what we can from it."
The pilot looked over at the Captain, "You mentioned making this secret not-secret." and then over at Aibretta, "Are there any comms reaching off-planet that aren't controlled by the Azlanti?"
The pilot looked over at the Captain, "You mentioned making this secret not-secret." and then over at Aibretta, "Are there any comms reaching off-planet that aren't controlled by the Azlanti?"
”Drift beacons aren’t a quick solution, remember,” Robert grunted. ”Takes as long to relay a message as for a ship to fly, so any message would take days to reach the recipient, and their reply just as long to get here. Might be hard to hang onto an interstellar comms that long while the Azlanti are still around. Besides, who would we call that won’t become just as big an issue as the Azlanti themselves? If they believed we had what we claimed, they’d come with an army, and considering the billions of value involved in being the ones to possess this tech… they might just salt the earth with orbital kinetic bombardment to “pacify” the system. As long as they knew where the good were, to keep that out of the way of stray KEWs.”
”No, what I think is, either we get rid of the Azlanti ourselves while there’s only a small advance party like this with boots on the ground, or we destroy the prize and make holding onto the system pointless,” he said. He didn’t add that the very thought of the second option pained him.
"Although, might be a third option as well," Robert mused. "The ship crashed, but might still be spaceworthy. Or repairable. Someone could take the ship out, hide it in the void between the stars, then Drift-jump out with another ship while keeping the stellar coordinates. Take away what makes this rock valuable to the Azlanti, and keep open the option of trying to cash in later. Might be worth looking into."
Kip was itching to get her paws on the ancient ship, but recognized there might be other priorities. "Maybe we should take out the patrol first. Then, if there's a fight at the moisture collector, that's three fewer cadets that can respond to it."
"Maybe we should gather a little more information, check the ship out, try to find Cedona, at least find out her location." If the team didn't know better they'd swear they could hear something in Thyx voice. It sounded a tiny bit like a whiney child promising to eat his spinach. "Then we create some mayhem. Moisture collector, bam. Hobgar cage, bam. Maybe try to collect a few guns in the cemetery." The sound was gone. "After that we make our final play to help Cedona and the other colonists. If that means we escape with the ship ... or just the artifact ... or we destroy the box."
"Drift it out? I like that. Were there more recordings? Maybe a map? Or maybe we could make one. What's the tonnage on that thing, anyway?"
"Destroy it?!" Kip's voice squeaked in disbelief. "We can't destroy it! It's precious!" She stared at the vid again, lovingly, as a mother might gaze upon a newborn pup.
"Although, might be a third option as well," Robert mused. "The ship crashed, but might still be spaceworthy. Or repairable. Someone could take the ship out, hide it in the void between the stars, then Drift-jump out with another ship while keeping the stellar coordinates. Take away what makes this rock valuable to the Azlanti, and keep open the option of trying to cash in later. Might be worth looking into."
Kamiya rewound the video to show the engine room. She pointed at the jungle on screen, "As much as I would love to find and even possibly fly that ship, the presence of jungle and that charred metal makes me think that it isn't. I don't think the ship is fully intact. But I would love to be proved wrong."
The envoy gave Kip an understanding smile, "And I agree with Kip, we can't destroy that box. Provided that it can even be destroyed. Who knows what material it's made out of since this tech has obviously been lost to current knowledge."
"Wait - are you saying we just need the box? they just need the box?" the Captain asks.
OOC: Cedona, along with the others that were at the ancient crash site, were taken prisoners and are currently in the Azlanti 'compound'.
You don't know where the ancient crash site is.
Questions?
Game on!
"Well, we need to bust out our friend to get to the goods, so might as well thin out the herd a bit before we try their local stronghold," Robert said, half of his attention focused on one of the comms they had "liberated" from the patrols in the forest. "I don't fancy tackling with the local beasts - we haven't had a good track record with the local fauna to date - but picking small patrols one by one seems doable. Of course, that kinda puts us on a timer, since there's only so many troopers who can vanish before the people in charge get all antsy."
Checking her stolen rifle, Kip made sure it was loaded then stood up. "Let's go to the cemetery, then it'll be easier when we rescue Cedona."
The corner of Thyx mouth bent upward. He was smiling.
“Wait - are you saying we just need the box? They just need the box?” the Captain asked.
Kamiya looked thoughtful, "I guess we're beginning to see why everyone was so excited if all you need is a box that size."
"I agree with Robert," the lashunta began, "and with Kip. Freeing the hobgars could backfire on us so let's start with the cemetery and thin the herd of Azlanti a little more. The fewer cadets around to guard Cedona the better when we go to break her out."
The captain sighs. "Cemetary it is then. Give me a few minutes first."
Thyx checked his weapons against jams and waited at the door.
That is correct.
I like you getting creative but I must maintain game balance. :)
Questions?
Game on!
As they made their way to the cemetery Thyx talked strategy, "Cap, what if Kip and I hide in the cemetery. If we call the gate the centre of the clock we could hide around 1 and 2 o'clock. You could hide between 7 and 8, perpendicular to the gate. Kam and Mags could hide near you, around 6 and 9. When the guards go to enter the cemetery, Kam could toss a grenade and Mags could do his thing. When the guards try to take cover then Kip and I ambush, and you come up the centre. If the guards try to attack Kam and Mags or try to escape then we all pounce."
Kamiya wasn't one for any kind of military strategy so she was relieved to have Thyx put forward a plan. She added what she could, "I have one special grenade that makes everything sticky when it explodes. If the cadets are close enough together, I may be able to stick them to the ground and you guys can pick them off."
OOC: the cadets just walk past the cemetery.
Questions?
Game on!
"If they walk past the cemetery perhaps we can draw them in? A noise? A ... I donno ... 'mind trick'? Kamiya, you got anything? Mags?"
"Well, I don't know about luring them in but I can help with the ambush part," Robert said, kneeling down to inspect the graveyard from various angles. "Old trick, but works wonders. I can cover part of the cemetery in an illusion... of the cemetery, minus our presence. We know it's fake, so we see through it unimpeded. The Atzlanti grunts don't, not before we give them a reason to doubt their eyes... like putting a few bullets into them from absolutely nowhere as far as they are concerned. A good way to start a fight."