Jean smiles. "Styx, as a matter of fact.", he says with a rascally grin. "Now, I can tell you all about our grand escape over whatever fine food you have here.", he chuckles.
Aster groans and slowly opens his eyes, wha, what, happpened?
"You'll be okay. Terra will have to explain what happened. All I saw was you standing and then you dropped to one knee and then fell. I've checked your leg. It's not broken. Should be good as new soon enough."
She begins packing in her medical supplies. "I'm glad you got off the moon safely. How did you do that?"
Jean, I have *no* idea how "real" betting works, but you put up 3000 credits in general, and 500 to the spectator sitting next to you, so you have at least 3500 credits more to play with. The group's pooled credits are somewhere north of 100,000, if I recall correctly.
Please let's talk in Discussion about a battlesuit.
Oh, and April, a delivery boy drops off about 27 pirates' hats at the Turing. :)
Jean, you and the blue-skinned woman (her name is Skarra) have a delightful evening, and at the end of it she invites you to her place for a "nightcap". If you accept, you'll have an even more delightful evening. ;)
Regarding re-stocking "better" food supplies, life at the pirate base is limited. The best rations are reserved for the Admiral, and can't be bought at any price. The next-best rations are for pirate ships' captains, and can be had for 3 times the Earth-normal rate.
Terra walks in to the med bay just as Astra comes to, and apologizes again for having to hurt him. She explains that she mistakenly thought she was fighting for the lives of her and her crewmates.
"Well, now that you're up and about, how about the three of us see what this pirate base has to offer in the way of entertainment?"
"Sounds good. Aster can tell us both the story of how he escaped from the moon and ended up as the admiral's champion. By the way, that reminds me of an old fantasy adventure story about two heroes named Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser. Have you read any of them?"
"No, I haven't. Did one of them end up being the king's champion?"
"Well the two characters are close friends who have had many exciting adventures, but in this story, they have a falling out. They go their separate ways and each becomes a kind of bodyguard of an important underground leader--literally underground, as they are both shrunk down to the size of rats and are in the sewers with rat-like people--or is that another story? Anyway, the leaders end up challenging each other to a duel but they have Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser serve as their champions, so they have to work out how they are to get out of the situation. They are supposed to fight to the death you see. I think I have all the stories in my PEFs.*"
Well, Rix and Terra (and maybe Aster?) go out for a "night on the town", but are somewhat disappointed. The entertainment offerings in the pirate base are mostly bars, and mostly rowdy ones at that.
They eventually find a restaurant (well, more of a diner) that offers reasonably good food for a good price, and isn't too rowdy.
Later on, they find a "shopping district" area of the moon, but again the clothing and wares are more suited for pirates (or lone spacers) than citizens.
In the morning, or whatever passes for morning on the pirate station, Jean leaves a hab on the station, fixing his tie on the way out. I do hope that the lipstick comes out..., he ponders, half-entertained.
Looking down towards his portable comms, he quickly scrolls through the unread messages, and types one of his own, directed at the crew.
Jean here,
I suggest we call the trip here a success, and I say we meet somewhere to discuss what we're doing next. See you on the ship!
Stopping by a corner and lighting up a cigarette, he takes in the sights of the metal hive. I wonder, what goods unbound by Earth law I might find here..., he muses, venturing further inside.
ALL - at some point the next morning, as you're going about your business, you hear a "forced" news broadcast (forced because it overrides whatever you're watching, and also speaks thru your comms link, even if it's off) :
"Marsgov announces that the attack on Mars by Baron Silus aboard his flagship the Gauntlet has not only been repulsed, but the ship boarded and the Baron arrested for crimes against humanity.
Earthgov has denounced the Baron as a traitor, and the Gauntlet's internal logs show that he was definitely responsible for the completely unprovoked attack on Luna base, resulting in over 25,000 casualties. It is estimated that that count could have been over ten *times* as large, if it were not for the prompt and brave actions of an unknown group of individuals.
Earthgov has put out an all-points bulletin asking that group to present themselves to them, in order to recognize and reward them. Please be advised, the Gauntlet's records show the unique shape of their ship, and surviving Luna base records show their faces, so fakers need not apply, and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
One further note, the reset of the Portal's navigation system has been reversed, allowing those far outside the solar system to be able to return. The Portal is now open for regular business, please contact Earthgov to schedule a departure.
That is all. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming."
Jean - with a success by only 3, I'm going to say that you can either locate a very used TL 9 Battlesuit (with helmet, 4500 credits), *or* several other interesting items - your choice.
Aster, after recovering from the injury and healing of Rix, joined Jean on his walkabout. So where do you think we should go from here?
Aster takes a look at the battlesuit, nice, only one patch. You gonna take it?
"Oh, bonjour, Aster...", greets Jean, as his face appears to phase through several different emotions at once. We couldn't have known, no? He sends a warm smile in the man's direction. "I hope the leg is alright, no? I'd say we see where the night takes us, Aster!" He sends another look at the battlesuit. "Hmmm... not sure... Olegsandrovich models can be a bit finnicky, and I'm not sure the shopkeep would let me take it apart and see if nothing major's damaged.", sending a knowing look in the shopkeep's direction, just as the message comes through the comm link.
Jean's face appears to have a singular grin show through and through, mixed with the feeling of pride. "Ha! Rouge signifie liberté et liberté signifie rouge, Terran bastards!", he shouts, pumping his fist in the air. "Mars ne s'inclinera jamais", a patriotic shout leaves his lungs. As the message continues, he lights up a cigarette with a relaxed gesture. "Well, that settles it. I'll be making the meal tonight, mon ami. I'll notify the others." He exhales, putting a knowing smile on his face. "Though, I wonder what they might be rewarding these notable individuals. Or whether Terra has something more... insidious in store."
Scratching his beard deep in thought, Jean finally looks away from the battlesuit. "Hm. I think I'll pass, monsieur. Though, I'm certain you'd have something else piquing my interest, no?"
Jean - name 5 items you would consider "interesting", and I'll make 3 of them be available...
And, by "food described above", do you mean the captains'-quality meals?
Rix gets a bite to eat with Terra in the least rowdy diner type establishment they can find. She is fairly quiet, struggling to process how she managed to go from an independent spacer to a wanted criminal hiding out on a pirate haven, completely cut off from all the family and comforts she knew a few short months ago.
After that, she really just wants to hide somewhere for a while and escape. She suggests they see if the base has any good sensies playing or else a good VR game. What she'd really like is a VR program that lets her be transported to a quiet forest glen by a beaver pond with otters playing in the water, deer nibbling on grass, and the occasional sound of a hawk or coyote, that plus a good book she can read.
Back at the Turing, if Terra was not too bored with any of these ideas, she asks if she could meet Terra in the medical bay. She asks April to turn off any sensing equipment to give them some privacy. She's quick to assure Terra this is just to allow them to talk and to try a medical experiment.
Assuming Terra meets with Rix, the doctor says, "We're both psychic, so I hope you can understand what I'm going through. I've always had abilities to see auras and sometimes heal using my mind. But I've never been able to read thoughts or project my own."
Trixy rubs up against Rix's leg. "Well, except with Trixy, but that is her ability to connect, not mine. But lately, ever since we took on that 'egg' thing that the Baron was going to use on the moon colony, I've felt like I could sort of hear someone's thoughts, at least when I'm fairly close. I always shut the sensations down, because I don't want to get in people's heads. But I think that if I focus, I might be able to actually connect with another person's mind and communicate. I'm hoping you'll consent to let me try to connect with you. I'll understand if you don't want to. I'll start by projecting something to you. If you receive it, send something appropriate back to see if I can pick it up. Okay?"
To begin the experiment, Rix starts by making skin-to-skin contact, holding Terra's hands.
Target skill + bonus = 10 + 3 = 13
Target skill + bonus = 10 + 3 = 13
Rix concentrates, but gets nothing. She concentrates again, feeling as if the effort is costing her some energy.
Target skill + bonus = 10 + 3 - 1 = 12
Terra's eyes go wide and what Rix hears back is "You said something about someone called...Shaki being the mother of the universe!"
"Oh goddess, that's right!" Rix exclaims aloud. "Shakti is the goddess I revere."
As long as she can and as long as Terra allows, Rix will attempt to communicate mentally, experimenting with whether she can do this at a distance and trying with Terra resisting the process.
Rix thanks Terra and promises to tell the others about her ability in the morning. She goes to sleep with all manner of questions and feelings.
In the morning, when the announcement breaks in, Rix becomes subdued, lost in memories of the events she lived through. "So many deaths!" She is relieved, of course, to learn that instead of being wanted fugitives, they are all wanted heroes.
But she contacts the others through secure channels and asks, "Can we verify this in some way? I'll see what I can locate on the news channels."
Computer Operations 12
All the news channels are basically repeating the announcement verbatim. But then there's a lot of commentator speculation about who these "heroes" might be, where they might be, and what reward EarthGov might want to give them. The speculation is all over the map.
Jean taps his comms, as the message spins again. "Merde, I've got it!", he sighs in exasperation, as he opens a channel to the good doctor in his ear. "Doubt we can get a reliable Earth source in here... I think we should thread carefully regardless. But, we can check what actually happened on Mars is true." He takes another look at the various stalls and merchants inside the station. "We could ask someone at the docks after we're finished shopping, no? And then we feast!", he suggests, as he continues towards the next stall. "Or we could ask the Admiral?", he says out loud, then looks at Aster. "Though I'm not sure you're the man he wants to see right now!", he chuckles through a sympathetic smile.
I'd rather stock up on what doesn't have overly marked up prices, get out in the black, and we can independently verify these signals.
Aster considers buying the battlesuit and sets it back down, I think I'd like to just get off this rock and move on. I was really hoping to keep that ship, it would have been a nice addition to our group.
"I can OBserve over THREE thouSAND inforMAtion CHANnels and SIX thouSAND newsPAPers SImultaneOUSly," APRIL suggests. "If WE can FIND a fasTER data RATE, I can asSESS and REport ON the NEWS situAtion."
Jean - I'd say Streetwise since you're dealing with pirates (especially if you're dealing with dockers).
Is anyone going to try to talk to the Admiral? Aster, Terra, and April are *not* good choices...
April, make a Research roll just for the heck of it.
Jean and Aster -
You find a smuggler's attache case ($40), a long-range computer monitor scanner ($500), and a bionic eye ($500, Nictating Membrane 2; Night Vision 2 [No Depth Perception]; Telescopic Vision 1 [No Depth Perception]). April and/or Dr. Rix would have to make a Surgery roll at -2, it would take a week to recover, and heaven help you if she fails the roll!
The owner, seeing you both interested in the Battlesuit, comes over and says "Greetings, fellow travelers! I see you're interested in my battlesuit, eh? It's old, but I guarantee it still works! Would you be interested in trying it on? I can let you have it for...shall we say...4400 credits?"
Jean - you can get the provisions for a *really* nice meal for 4 for 180 credits.
After several hours of scanning, April has discovered :
You can relay whatever you want out of that to the crew.
Nodding, deep in thought, Jean points towards the items he'd found. "We'll take them. All of them.", he relays to the owner with a smile, then gives another long glance at the battlesuit. "It's basically a classic. Would be rude of me to refuse, monsieur", he replies when proposed the battlesuit again, as he taps his wrist computer for data link, and presses the button for it to open.
Aster watches as Jean finishes up his purchases, let's get back to the ship, we can start the pre-flights.
After some back and forth over the comms about whether we can trust the news and the offer for those who saved lives on the moon colony to come forward for recognition, Rix says, "It looks like maybe we should think about returning to see what is on offer. I would like send word to my family on earth and I won't feel right doing that until I'm sure we're no longer fugatives."
When talk of the admiral comes up, Rix offers, "I can talk to the admiral. I don't think he would have any reason to resent me. What information would we like to learn and should we identify ourselves as the people earth is looking to congratulate?"
"By the way, I've learned something new that I want to share with you all once we are back face to face."
You all meet back up at the ship, Jean with all his purchases (and Aster carrying some of them for him), Rix and Terra already there.
Jean prepares an absolutely fabulous meal for the four of you, and over it you continue to discuss options as to what to do next.
Rix looks more relaxed than she has for a while. She enjoys the meal, chats about her family and some of her favorite foods (various dishes of India) and feeds choice morsels to Trixy.
When the discussion gets round to what to do next, she says, "Jean, what if we went to Mars and tried to verify the fate of the Gauntlet and the other parts of the announcement? If anything turns out to be false, we will be in relatively safe company, since it is my impression there is no love lost between martians and the earth government. If it is all true, we should return to earth to settle our status. Perhaps there will be a reward and we could get a better ship and get out and do some real exploring, maybe go out through the gate into the larger galaxy." Her voice and features indicate that this last prospect really excites her.
Aster grabs a dish and loads it up, turning to the table he subconsciously rubs his thigh before sitting at the otehr end from Dr. Rix. Just hope they don't want to make us poster people.
Jean, long ago finished with his food, leans back on the chair. "Oh! Madame Docteur! I've had that when I was on Earth. Maybe you'll cook the next time we leave a station, no?", Jean suggests enthusiastically.
As the topic goes back to the plan, Jean nods. "Especially now, with the Gauntlet being captured by Mars, I would imagine Earth playing safer.", he takes a sip from his wine, clearly enjoying the moment. "Though, I do have some... eh... people who don't like me... harboring ill intentions..." He shakes his head, the word escaping him. "Bah! I can worry about them later. As for poster people, monsieur Diagef, considering our situation a week before, that's by far not the worst that can happen to someone." The alcohol seems to have affected Jean to be a lot more wordier than usual.
"If they do attempt such a thing, I believe I could reason with them. Besides, I think that the news of that will be buried the next time the government wants to distract the people with something. A famous performer visiting, or something of the sort." He sighs wistfully. "So, set a course for Mars, then, APRIL? And... Do you have a use for all those hats?", Jean asks, raising a hat at where the AI's camera is.
When Aster and Jean discuss "poster people" a perverse imp in Rix's imagination conjures up images of the group as made entirely of posters, walking around like strange marionettes. She touches Trixy and communicates what she is imagining, which draws a curious response by the animal, who wonders if these people really exist. Then Rix remembers that she had news to share with the group and decides this would be a good time and place to do it.
"I need to tell you all of something that I've discovered I can do, using my psionic abilities. Heretofore, I've only been able to use my mind to do various tasks associated with diagnosis and healing. But I've always felt that it would not be much of a stretch to be able to read someone's thoughts. I did not really try to do anything like that, mostly because I did not want to invade the privacy of someone's mind. Trixy has the ability to communicate telepathically, of course, but she is the source of that and it only happens when someone touches her."
Rix takes a sip of wine before continuing, glancing at Terra for a moment. "Ever since we took that 'egg' thingy on board, however, I've been noticing little mental squibs that seemed to be words or ideas that I began to sense were connected to what others in the area might be thinking. Last night, Terra and I did an experiment and it turns out, if I concentrate, I can actually communicate telepathically with someone. I sent a sentence which Terra understood and then I picked up her response. It isn't highly reliable, yet, but I wanted to be sure you all knew that I could do this. I assure you I will not use it without your knowledge and permission. But if we ever encounter another situation where we are in danger it might be useful to communicate with each other or to know what an enemy is thinking. Or perhaps if we encounter some intelligent non-human life forms, I might be able to communicate with them, if not in words, then perhaps in images or emotions." This last possibility obviously would please her immensely.
Since it looks like the group has decided to go to Mars, you notify the Admiral that you're leaving. He makes a half-hearted attempt to keep Aster on the moon, but finally begrudingly gives in, saying that he *never* wants to see him again.
I'm assuming you've replenished your stores, and that the cost was minimal, so with everyone on board, you close the airlock, power up the ship, notify Ceres control of your intention to leave, and about 10 minutes later you're cleared for takeoff.
Since you're basically already in orbit around Mars, all you have to do is apply your engines as brakes to slow down and drop into the atmosphere, where your jet engines take over.
I'm assuming you're going to land at Marsport, which is right next to the center of Marsgov, the colony of Romulus.
How do you identify yourselves to Marsport?
What do you do once you've landed?
Jean listens with great interest to the doctor's story. "Hah! I admit, psionics were always a bit of a mistery to me. I've yet to have someone explain them to me properly!", he laughs, before pouring himself another glass of wine.
--------------------------------------------
As the pre-flight checks are made, Jean walks into the cockpit, logging himself to a console without saying anything. Poking around for a bit, he raises his head towards APRIL's camera. "APRIL, do you have track of any of the ship leaving through the gate? Figure we might go undercover as one of them, until we figure out it's safe to... announce our arrival.", he asks, before digging into the console once more. "If you have the memory, give me a hand, s'il vous plaît.", he asks, continuing to dig.
Once having a signature, if a trace of one, he stands up, and then returns a couple of minutes later, carrying an immense cup of coffee, then sits down without saying a word, eyes digged into the console, as he types, shifts files around, and breaks into a poorly whistled version of the Martian hymn.
"Hah! I admit, psionics were always a bit of a mistery to me. I've yet to have someone explain them to me properly!"
"You and me both! If anyone can explain it, he or she will be either instantly famous or instantly missing. Perhaps it's like a philosopher once said, 'If anyone fully explains the universe, it will disappear and be replaced by something more mysterious. Some says this has already happened... more than once.'"
Once the ship is ready to go, Rix sits at the navigator's console and begins to practice working out the best trajectory to various places of interest around the solar system, running simulations to test her routes for efficiency, etc. Trixy curls up near her, her tail tapping out a silent beat to the music of the spheres.
So, you still use your engines as brakes to bring you into Mars orbit, but it takes a few days to spiral in.
Aster sat in the co-pilot's seat as they didn't expect a hostile reception.
His hands flicked quickly across the controls as he assisted with the final approach.
I'm hoping there's a decent cash reward, enough to rebuild a few systems on this collection of loose bolts.
JC, psionics is a bunch of hocus-pocus. Sleight of hand and intuitive deductions. You really shouldn't believe everything you see in the rag sheets.
Raising a suspicious eyebrow, Jean smiles at Aster. "I've knew it!", he chuckles, leaning in conspiratively. "Truth be told, my job's surprisingly simple, too, I just reverse every polarity I see. Child's play.", he laughs, taking away his gaze away from the console.
He picks up his coffee mug, then takes a long sip. "Uh, JC... Could I possibly ask of you all to refrain from using my full name on Mars? Some... previous altercations with some men on the other side of the law.", he shares. "JC will be fine, I imagine. And I should try and stay away from all the cameras." Swiping his fingers on the console, he snorts, and starts pulling out a list of all the systems he deems outdated and in dire need of replacement.
"Dr. Rix, if you don't mind the question?", Jean asks after a short while, watching as navigational charts are drawn. "Where does a medical professional learn celestial navigation? With such proficiency, too.", he continues, staring into the calculations with an appraising look.
JC, psionics is a bunch of hocus-pocus. Sleight of hand and intuitive deductions. You really shouldn't believe everything you see in the rag sheets.
Rix just smiled and stroked Trixy's fur, thinking, "Trix, Aster over there doesn't believe in telepathy. Why don't you rub against his leg and introduce yourself?"
The small version of a sabretooth tiger strolls over and rubs against Aster's leg.
"Dr. Rix, if you don't mind the question?" Jean asks after a short while, watching as navigational charts are drawn. "Where does a medical professional learn celestial navigation? With such proficiency, too," he continues, staring into the calculations with an appraising look.
Rix blushes a little and smiles with pride at the complement. "I've always been interested in traveling among the stars. So I've done a lot of reading about what has been discovered and I suppose that has given me the basic vocabulary. I've learned enough math while studying medicine to have the basic math skills. So starting back when I first started travelling on the Turing, I began to study how such a spacecraft knows how to get to its destination. April provided me with some learning programs and I've had lots of time to practice. I wouldn't trust my own work without April or someone double-checking it, but I hope I can contribute something beyond bandages and inoculations."
Jean, please give me a Streetwise roll just for the fun of it...
"Let's see which of my contacts are still up...", ponders Jean, booting his contact list.
"When WE reach Mars, WOULD the CREW preFER I mainTAIN an armed OR UNarmed PREsence?" APRIL asks.
Ok, let's see...
One of Jean's old contacts is now a low-level government official (that *wasn't* the Streetwise roll), and after looking into it, he confirms that as far as he can tell, Earthgov is sincere about rewarding the crew of the Turing.
At Jean's request, his friend does *not* let his superiors know that the "heroes" are on Mars, so there's very little fuss made, and y'all can move around freely. Fortunately, Jean manages to stay out of sight of the people looking for him (*that* was the Streetwise roll).
If you wish to "explore" (i.e., shop) around Romulus dome, you can post that, otherwise the Turing blasts off for Earth!
If you wish to have some between-PC conversations on the way (it'll take about 2 weeks), you can post that.
Otherwise, after another couple of days (IRL), I'll post the Turing's arrival on Earth.
Aster glares at Rix, before cocking an eyebrow. [i]Knock it off. Your jedi mind tricks won't work on me.[/b] Just the barest hint of a smile touches one corner of his mouth as he turns back to the conversation at hand.
Well April, that depends on what the laws are for armed AI's. And remind me to look at your grammar circuits, they seem to still be bugged.
*****
I've never been on Mars, only ever stopped through at the spaceport. Any suggestions on sites to see JC?