Janzi nods. I always think everything could be a trap, which is why I'm still alive.
"I will accept the decision of you pessimists, even if I do have to walk further."
Leaving with credits (but no health plan or retirement) the party heads to the tower. Landing is simple enough. The smooth, spiraling metal ramp rises from the tower’s base, adjacent to the exterior of the hangar.
Gig begins his scan of the tower by casting detect magic and looking for any source that gives off a signal.
Meanwhile, he opens a fresh stick of gum, pops it in his mouth and begins chewing. He drops the wrapper on the ground.
"If they are paying us as much as they are, they must really be having some issues with this tower. I would make sure that you are loaded with fully recharged batteries in your blasters. I think we are going to need them."
Back at the meeting Hack-It doesn't leave Dunk hanging, delivering a solid fist bump in return.
Once at the tower, the mechanic checks his sonic pistol and runs a quick diagnostic check on Hum. "Guys, let's not kid ourselves. There will be nasty things inside, and we're going to be killing them. Same as it always is."
The party skips the main landing area for now, and opts for the outside pathway. It's an easy climb, making one full revolution of the tower before ending in a large door. the door is just ahead...
(Darkvision 60')
(Darkvision 60')
(Darkvision 60')
--->
Booker steps on a plate which opens underfoot. The opening isn't enough to trap him, but he almost gets his foot does get stuck in it. A swarm of nanites which come out to ...do something to him though!
They begin "cleansing" him!
Gig will use Engineering to convince the nanites that we are no threat to them and they should return to their home.
"Aren't you just a cute bunch of nanites. You have nothing to fear from us. You may go back to your nest."
"Heh, that stings a bit," Booker smirks, leaping away from the nanites. His rebreather takes the bite out of the acid.
Booker tucks and rolls just as Gig shuts down the system as quickly as he replaces an instrument cable mid-show!
After, Gig concludes that the nanites would have eventually overwhelmed Booker in a matter of about 18 seconds had both men not acted so confidently.
Booker grunts in acknowledgement of the danger, then gives the door a thorough look. "Might be another one here..."
Janzi, less diligent than Booker, will take 10 for 33.
Nanites! Janzi whispers to Munro's camera. Teeny, tiny little machines! They're the future, you know, of cybernetic medicine! Though, I'm legally obligated to tell you, I'm not a real doctor.
No one finds another like it, getting all the way up to the door.
There's another segment of external pathway, but it's not connected here. It would be an easy reach with jump jets though.
Booker glances up at the next platform. "Whatta we think? Try this door, or climb all th'way up first, then back down on th'inside?"
Janzi peers up the tower. Eh, why not? At least nothing is likely to come down on our heads that way.
"If you're on board, it's probably a bad idea," Booker chuckles to Janzi. Still, he starts climbing to the next level, as if on an invisible staircase. At the top, he lowers a titanium cable line for the others to climb.
The party takes the exterior route up to the next ramp. This one too ends in a door, and a new ramp begins on the other side of the tower. Map updated
Gig follows along, curious what comes next. Gig comments, "This place sure is clean. They don't really leave any trash about. I'm going to see if anybody picks up after me."
Gig unwraps another stick of gum, tosses it in the air and catches it in his mouth. He drops the wrapper on the floor as he starts chewing and blowing bubbles.
"Never pegged you as a litterbug, Gig," Hack-It says with a chuckle. He flies about with Hum in its transformed jetpack mode. "Still, nice work on the nanites."
"Hack, I admit, I don't normally litter, but this place seems a little too clean. Besides, I maybe able to pick up some extra gum business with the Booker Bubble Gum wrapper as an advertisement. I don't know, maybe the nanites do the cleaning. We were really fortunate that we didn't have to fight them. That would not have been fun."
Indeed, a smaller, and far more discerning cloud of nanites breaks down the wrapper into a few MicroBPUs....
"No reason to stop now, I s'ppose," Booker says. He climbs again through the air to the next level.
Booker leads the way via another shortcut. The final spiral leads to one final door.
Gig follows Booker from the back of the party. He remains vigilant as he chomps away at his gum. He dashes for part of it to see if he can get his cape to flow in the wind.
Janzi lingers behind a bit, directing Munro's camera to close in on the gum wrapper. People start pollution. People can stop it.
"Alright, here we are. Let's lock 'n load." Booker thoroughly inspects the doorway for traps, even taking out his scanning kit.
The door seems safe, so Booker hits the button. The automated door whirs and squeals as it strains against the unseen objects piled against it. When the door snaps open, a pile of metal crates, broken equipment, and mummified corpses spill onto the platform.
This circular chamber has transparent walls overlooking the surrounding landscape. To the north, a treadmill workstation faces a computer equipped with an impressive triple monitor display. A bulky silver machine covered in radio frequency dials stands to the west of the workstation. The circular skylight built into the ceiling immediately north of the door offers a glimpse of the rooftop above.
Booker turns his attention first to the corpses. "Janzi?"
Booker determines that these are a heretofore unknown species, and they died from wounds inflicted by unarmed attacks from their own species.
Janzi isn't sure what he's looking at.
"I can only assume thos're sivvs," Booker says when Janzi shakes his head. "Dead in a fist fight with their own, looks like. What've we got on those monitors?" he asks the ysoki.
Gig quickly runs over and takes a seat at the triple monitor set up.
His fingers quickly begin dancing over the keyboard as he tries to break into this system.
Gig saddles up to a keyboard and gets ready to work. As soon as his fingers make contact, a severe tinnitus begins to affect everyone in the area.... in moments it becomes extremely painful. Some kind of radio transmission is creating an awful mental feedback loop, and it's only getting worse!
Janzi shakes off the worst of it, evidently accustomed to feedback from Munro. Nevertheless, he looks at Hack-It. Well?
"Turn it off!" Booker growls, gritting his teeth against the pain.
Gig immediately tries to find an engineering solution by disabling the power source.
Gig immediately reroutes the power to a harmless system. A moment later the only ringing is residual.
Hack-It looks back at Janzi. "What?"
Whether it's that he's gun shy after setting off the trap or what, Gig struggles to get into the system....
"See if'n you can get in wit'out settin' off the alarm..." Booker suggests, rubbing his ear.
"Gig, move over. This is more my jam," Hack-It says, taking over at the console. He attempts to gain access to the system.
plus Hack Directory
Hack-it gets in, albeit barely. Before he can look around, a video plays....
A bantrid furiously types at a keypad, their wheel spinning frantically on a treadmill desk. The bantrid turns to face the screen and speaks in a grim voice. “ASERTTY ASDFwedftgh yuwffa QWERETY^ff aRTTWYYHs,” their voice intones the final word like an expletive, “ASWEGETYJHH fqegertuy dfgearet56uy tdhser678i yhwqe4fe4t2” The bantrid suddenly convulses and then lunges at an unseen foe. The transmission ends in static. A few seconds later, the video repeats.
It looks like this system control's the tower's electrical mainframe, radio broadcasting equipment, and quantum communications antenna.
Gig pipes in that he sees that full control of the tower's systems requires the coordination of two simultaneous users. Given the amount of hardware connecting this room to the roof, likely there's an antenna station there.
"Dunk, you watch cooking shows? Is that how you got so good at it? Do you watch the shoot em up shows as well?"
Gig accompanies Dunklezahn and tries to get up to the antennae on the roof where he can access the system.
Janzi watches the playback twice, then casts tongues to try and decipher the exchange.
A bantrid furiously types at a keypad, their wheel spinning frantically on a treadmill desk. The bantrid turns to face the screen and speaks in a grim voice. “I am Ofi, bud of the unending cycle. If you can hear my words, my kindred, know that you all fought bravely. Still, we cannot overcome them. Even now the sivvs,” their voice intones this word like an expletive, “are preparing to flood the towers with deadly feedback. It will reach you soon. But know that you do not die in vain. I used the security codes the sivvs foolishly gave me to sabotage the planetary reactor. The sivvs will die here with us. Our hope needs not die, however. Look up. Do you see that rising star in the sky? Hundreds of our kindred are there, within the Worldseed. They are flying to freedom. I am uploading the sequence so they can gain control—” The bantrid suddenly convulses and then lunges at an unseen foe. The transmission ends in static. A few seconds later, the video repeats.
”It looks like Ofi, bud of the unending cycle, like to repeat himself. He certainly doesn’t have a very optimistic outlook on the situation.”
Gig tries to determine what rising star he is talking about.