Snowbeati need somethingto kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered Userregular
edited May 2013
No can do, mate. The bossman has decided to lock us out of that particular meshnet file.
---
Ixlis walks up to Gen and takes his hands. "Ah, Gen. Glad to see you're as no-nonsense as ever. Yes, our friend from Lunar Transportation is whole and well."
He gestures the black ovoid robot over and as it enters the light, you can see that it has several clustered bundles of sensors and lenses protruding from its rubbery shell. Cumberbatch cranes his head around to get a good look at it. "Goodness!" he exclaims. "That's the robotic interloper who caught my tail on the shuttle!"
Ixlis beams. "Yes, he does do good work, doesn't he? This is the newest addition to the security staff. His name is, appropriately enough, 'Sec'. He'll be running things from now on."
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Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
Hovering forward, Sec speaks in his standard deep resonating bass, "I am Security Drone R91," the name is spoken in Cantonese, before switching back to the previous language as Sec continues "or Sec as I am known to many. As Ixlis Granner states, I am a member of the security staff here." Not bothering to turn or signal his shift of attention Sec begins speaking to Ixlis, "As befits my duty, I would like to address the matter of the crash. If the pilot of the craft has been recovered as well, I would suggest interrogating him if you had not already. There is evidence to believe he was working with other parties to sabotage the shuttle, and worked to keep others from attempting to save it."
As he speaks Sec looks internally, going over the any information he can gather about that particular flight, other shuttle flights, and the pilot in question.
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
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CayrusConsulFriends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered Userregular
Thank you Wellington, your personal calculations are generally quite accurate. Please continue to scan the mesh for any details of what happened to us. The whole thing is rightly cocked-up."
Augustus slowly raises himself and "sits" on the reviving table.
"What the devil is going on, Mr. Granner? If it wasn't for my quick thinking, the miraculous appearance of our robot friend," he motions a tentacle at Sec, "and the piloting skills of that dear boy there," another tentacle at Gen, "we'd have been killed several second earlier than we actually were! That pilot was a bit of a bugger, too, trying to shoot us and planting tracking devices on the shuttle. I do hope you are investigating the matter."
Snowbeati need somethingto kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered Userregular
edited May 2013
Granner looks shocked. "The pilot was part of this? That seems unlikely. We performed a full background check before allowing Lunar to assign him to our transport." He shakes his head. "I just don't know... in any case, I've had enough virtual time for today. I'll leave that to you, Sec."
He turns. "I've arranged for clothing to be left for you in the locker room just outside that door. It is not exactly haute couture, I'm afraid." He blinks. "Ah. Well, I must be going. Gen, would you show them around the base after they've dressed? We'll reconvene later over dinner. I'd like to hear your opinions on our little operation." And with that, he claps Gen on the shoulder and strides from the room.
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RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
Gen listens to the other two, comforted that his memories match their accounts. Then he studies Ixlis for a moment. "I wonder if there's a delicate way to put this. Will there be an investigation, Ix? And I don't mean the official investigation. Somebody tried to kill me."
Grumbling, Gerrad massages his limbs as he rises and starts attempting basic stretches. They got anything interesting in the mesh here Tarn? Anything new about the dig or maybe our antimatter adventure?
"So how did you all get involved with our charming acquaintance there? I think I recall seeing a few of you on the mesh, though I doubt any of you would have heard of me. That was certainly an exciting introduction to the operations here."
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Snowbeati need somethingto kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered Userregular
Ixlis pauses as he is about to exit. "Gen, my boy, you should know this already." He turns and looks Gen in the eye. "No one fucks with me." Then he sweeps through the door.
---
Gerrad, your vitals aren't too hot. It's been a while since we've resleeved, hasn't it? Tarn's voice is sympathetic. In any case, it seems our new employer has marked anything relating to our demise or the dig site a matter for security and locked it to public access. I guess our reaper friend over there is the one to ask about it.
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Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
As Sec continues to go over security details, he accesses any information kept on a subroutine level while responding to Gerrad's question, "I received a message asking if I would like to work as security on this site, I looked over the information presented and the offer being made, and agreed to sign on as part of the security staff for the site."
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
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CayrusConsulFriends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered Userregular
"I'm not exactly sure why I'm here. My Somatek handlers shipped me here from Titan, which had to cost someone a great deal of credits. I take we were are here to assist in the investigation of the extraterrestrial ruins in Lyell Crater. My knowledge of nanotechnology would certainly be invaluable to such an expedition."
He turns to look at his two human compatriots, "And what, dear boys, do you bring to the metaphorical table vis a vis xenoarchaological research?"
RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
Gen goes over the uploaded copy of the site's employee manual while answering Gerrad. "I'm part of Mr. Granner's personal gatecrashing team. Why he thought he needed me here, of all places, I still have no idea. Up until our little accident, my skills weren't in high demand." He pauses, "Sorry about that, by the way. Tried my best to ditch that missile, but sometimes we just don't measure up."
"Huh, I suppose I'm one of those scientific minds mentioned in that little pamphlet. Spent most of my time buried in research or digs on some exoplanet or another. If you wanted to I suppose you could look up my works on the mesh, they probably have anything relevant I wrote to this dig floating around somewhere."
Gerrad directs a question towards Gen, "Don't think I've met you on a gatecrashing op before, but I don't suppose Granner thinks we might have found a Pandora Gate here on Luna do you? That'd be quite an exciting find."
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CayrusConsulFriends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered Userregular
Wellington, please pull up all the info you can about all the individuals on the shuttle and Mr. Granner.
RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
Gen gives it some thought then shakes his head, "I don't think even Ixliss Granner could keep a whole Pandora Gate to himself. But I guess anything's possible. And that could explain why someone would take a shot at the shuttle."
He stands up, stretching and testing the responsiveness of his new morph. "Clothes would probably be a good thing."
Snowbeati need somethingto kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered Userregular
Certainly, sir. Here you are.
Name: Ixlis Granner, KCPC
Actual Age: 76 (b. BF 66)
Gender: Male
Ixlis Granner was, pre-Fall, one of the wealthiest men in the Solar System. A self-made billionaire investor and entrepreneur, Granner helped start some of the largest technology hypercorporations, including Biocore, New Systems, and Von Neumann Designs. After the Fall, many of the companies he had invested heavily in either collapsed or were folded into other, larger corporations, leading to a 38% loss in his personal wealth and a massive blow to his respected status. Within the last four years, however, Granner has made a comeback as a gatecrashing investor and, lately, a gatecrasher himself. He has hosted several XP programs about his adventures and enjoys a high level of popularity. Unlike many of his peers, Granner keeps only a single companion for a retinue, one Gen Fulmis (see below file: FULMIS, GEN).
Name: Gerrad Lancaster, Ph.D
Actual Age: 73 (b. BF 63)
Gender: Male
Dr. Gerrad Lancaster was one of the first researchers to travel through the Pandora Gates in search of proof of alien life. He helped make some of the landmark discoveries of xeno ruins in the early post-Fall years. Then, in AF 3, the expedition he had traveled with through the Martian Gate to Wormwood disappeared to a man. Although unusual, mass disappearances in the early days of gatecrashing were not unheard of and were considered to be a known risk, so not much was thought of it- until Gerrad returned through the gate, alone and malnourished. Contemporary reports indicate that he had absolutely no memory of the time that he was missing. Since then, he has worked on numerous other xenoarchaeological missions, but always Solar-side, due to being on the Planetary Consortium's no-crash list.
Name: Gen Fulmis
Actual Age: 60 (b. BF 50)
Gender: Male
Gen Fulmis was a sort of small-time extreme sports guru pre- and early post-Fall and specialized in building advanced racing machines. He met Ixlis Granner when Granner dabbled briefly in comet diving and magbiking and apparently taken with Fulmis' mastery of the mechanical arts and his ability to deftly pilot nearly any type of vehicle. When Granner began setting up gatecrashing expeditions, he employed Gen first as a consultant, then as a personal pilot and bodyguard.
Name: "Sec"
Actual Age: No data found
Gender: No data found
I'm sorry, sir, but there is nothing on the public mesh about the individual calling himself "Sec". All I can dig up are several shipping records that may be related to the reaper synthmorph that he wears. It appears that Granner has shipped several spare reaper shells to Lyell and is keeping them in storage.
---
Gen stood and walked to the door of the locker room. He opened it and flipped the switch inside, illuminating a small, somewhat cramped space with several lockers and a short bench. On the bench were three plastic sacks with flexishape jumpsuits in them, one of which was obviously designed for an octomorph. Gen dressed quickly and tossed the other bags out into the recovery room for Gerrad and Cumberbatch.
Something crashed outside the door. You can all hear raised, if indistinct, voices.
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Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
Sec navigates around his companions, pushing open the door with one of his arms and hovers through, two of his limbs held dangling beneath his form as he investigates the cause of the commotion.
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
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"Uh, Sec, is it?" Gen tries to peer around the reaper. "Let's try not to make anyone anymore nervous than they already are."
Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
Sec, noticing Gen's consternation shifts slightly to the side as he moves to let the man see. "Do not be overly concerned, I will try not to alarm those involved, and if all else fails, I have a number of non-lethal crowd control options available to me."
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
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Snowbeati need somethingto kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered Userregular
A trio stand in the corridor, arguing.
"We need to get them out of there!" The man shouting was wearing a bloody flexisuit, a dirty and scratched vac helmet in his hand. "I've got three down, needing resleeving!"
A woman in a white suit stands in the way. "Look, Quince, I've told you already. We're going to have to put them in cases. We only had the three biomorphs and we just used them!"
A younger, short-haired woman stood with the man. "Fuck that! We're not fucking indentured; you can't just sleeve them into cases!"
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CayrusConsulFriends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered Userregular
Augustus ignored the commotion and focused on reading the files Wellington had pulled up on the others.
Interesting, three known gate-crashers, an unkown but destructive synthmorph, a renowned nano-tech scientist, and extraterrestrial ruins. I calculate the discovery of a exo-solar gate or similar structure at 74.3%. What do you think, Wellington?
I concur, sir. I cost of transporting us from Titan alone indicates an abundance of resources dedicated to this project. Coupled with the attempt on your life lead me to believe this operation is both contentious and highly valuable. I encourage caution, sir.
Noted.
Additionally, do not forget the package you were tasked with delivering to Mr. Granner. It was most likely destroyed or damaged in the crash. I will make inquires as to its location.
Snowbeati need somethingto kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered Userregular
edited May 2013
"Look, Tan..." The man's voice is almost pleading. "I'm going to go out there and tell them that their friends are going to be clankers and then there's going to be a riot."
The woman by the name of Tan looks at him severely. "No, there isn't, Quince. You're just under a lot of stress and are not thinking rationally-"
The other woman laughs shrilly and then turns on her heel and begins to walk away. "This is just fucking great!"
Quince shakes his head. "Christ, if Jackson gets out there and riles them up... Can you get them into the cases soon?"
Tan nods. "They'll be suited up in less than an hour. Now please, go out there and calm the workers. We don't need any extra vandalism." Quince pauses for a moment, as if looking for something to say, but merely raises a limp hand and then turns and follows Jackson.
Tan watches him go. Then she looks around smoothly at where Gen and Sec stand watching. "Ah. You're up. How are the morphs treating you? Integration proceeding smoothly?"
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Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
"As smoothly as ever." Sec replies, he gestures vaguely at the retreating forms of the two employees. "Perhaps I should follow them. This seems a volatile situation, and the presence of a new security officer could dissuade any... violent disagreement with the sleeving."
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
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Snowbeati need somethingto kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered Userregular
edited May 2013
Tan sizes you up. "I don't know if a reaper is going to calm them down. Half the work crew wanted to be on that shuttle when it returned to Nectar and, well..." She takes a deep breath. "It doesn't look like anyone is leaving soon, let's just say."
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Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
"Why are so many of the crew disgruntled? I noticed a number of personnel conflicts in the security records."
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
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Snowbeati need somethingto kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered Userregular
"It's pretty obvious, isn't it?" Tan says. The noise from outside grows louder. "I have to go talk to them. You might want to stay in here." She starts for the door.
Gerrad slipped into the clothes provided and walked towards the commotion. "Personnel conflicts eh?"
Thanks for the concern Tarn, haven't died in a while. Last time was a while ago, yeah? When I was working with those Titanians on those things at Tanaka I think. Freaky things those were.
Anyways... see if you can pull up dossiers on the rest of the staff here. Highlight anyone that looks interesting, if you can actually pull anything up. I'll follow up on those.
Snowbeati need somethingto kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered Userregular
"People!" Tan's voice echoes down the natural rock hallway. "Nielsan, Banner and Kelley are getting resleeved down the hall! Give the new people a break!"
"This is bullshit!" someone shouted. A crowd of around twenty people were gathered in the area outside the entrance to Medical, talking angrily.
The woman Jackson steps forward from the group. "Tan, we want out. Tell gramps that we're getting on the next shuttle and that his project can find a new bunch of suicidal-"
Tan cut her off with a chopping motion of the hand. "Shut up. No one's going anywhere."
Jackson looks at her in shocked anger. "The fuck does that mean-"
"It means that the Translunar Navy has cut off all transportation in this area until they determine the cause of the explosion. No shuttles. No rovers. Nothing."
The crowd's buzz grew louder into outright yelling. "What-" "No way!" "I'll fucking walk home!"
Jackson looks away from the crowd and her eyes find your group standing in the doorway, listening. "Hey!" she shouts. "There they are! The assholes on the shuttle! They know what hit them, right? Mystery fucking solved!"
The crowd presses forward and Jackson strides past Tan, pushing her aside, and then grabs Gerrad's shirtfront. "So what blew you dickheads up, huh? Just tell us the truth, right: the pilot was drunk and drove it into the side of a crater?"
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Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
Although the question had not been pointed at him specifically, Sec felt secure he was in a position to answer it, so he floated forward a bit and amplified his voice to be heard by the whole crowd could hear without causing too much consternation to those near him, "After accessing the security logs the information does not appear to be restricted, so I shall inform you simply that our shuttle was targeted by a Gorgon ground to orbit anti-matter missile carrying approximately 1 gram of antimatter. Only through quick thinking was the shuttle able to escape complete destruction, and enough of our morphs survived the following crash for cortical stack extraction."
He points some of his sensors towards Tan and lowered the amplification on his voice. "Does this short summary answer the question to your satisfaction?"
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
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Snowbeati need somethingto kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered Userregular
This doesn't seem to calm them at all, although Jackson drops Gerrad and backs away. Tan looks at you all in horror. "Who could possibly want to do that to you?" She turns to Sec. "Is that why Granner brought you in? To protect us against whoever did this? Are we in danger?"
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Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
Sec might have made a shrugging gesture, if it occurred to him, his voice remained calm and relatively flat, hopefully conveying the same range of emotion, "It is impossible to say at this juncture what, specifically, was the cause of the attempt. So long as you obey the interdiction on attempting to leave the crater until this matter has been resolved, your safety will be much easier to secure. As for whether you are in any immediate danger, I have seen nothing to indicate that you are under direct threat at this time. If you remain calm, those tasked with the security of this dig site will hopefully be able to investigate this incident, and hopefully resolve any security issues. The final authority on such matters is Granner, and the Translunar Navy. I am still new to this site, and so I do not have the full facts or yet know the extent of my authority on any such matters. That, too, is up to Granner and his current security staff."
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
Gerrad stares at the unfamiliar woman who grabbed his shirt. "Sec seems to have covered most of it, though I wonder. What the hell did you dig up? And would that really warrant the welcoming shot at us? There was also that traitor... Could it be another hypercorp? Or maybe they did it..." He continues on mumbling about various organizations that could have been responsible until he realizes he never introduced himself.
"Ah, I am Gerrad Lancaster, and I don't suppose this is a good time to ask... but I really would like to know what exactly I came from the other side of the system and got exploded to look at."
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Snowbeati need somethingto kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered Userregular
Tan looks at you. "You really don't know?" She grabs your arm and begins to pull you down the hall. "Come on."
The base is much larger than you expected. Something clicks in Gerrad's memory. "Tan? Anis Tan?" he mutters incredulously.
Yes, Gerrad. Anis Tan. She was one of the leads on our... ill-fated expedition. At least that's what my records tell me.
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RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
Gen shrugs, looking at Sec and Augustus. "I was told to sit tight, but it's probably better if the four of us stick together." He starts to follow Gerrad and Tan.
Snowbeati need somethingto kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered Userregular
Gerrad, I've found some information on our shuttle-mates. Would you like to see it?
Name: "Lord" Augustus Cumberbatch
Age: 28 (b. BF 18)
Gender: Male
Lord Augustus Cumberbatch (Gus to his friends) was "born" eighteen years before the Fall on orbital station Clever Hands above Luna. That is when Somatek scientist uplifted the Great Pacific Octopus into sensience. The lead scientist on the project, Dr. Gustaw Wojciehowski, named Augustus after a popular XP meme of the time: a foppish Octopus with a top hat, monocle, and outrageous English accent. Despite being the butt of the joke, Augustus has embraced his name and does speak with a slight English accent, specifically the Received Pronunciation of the now defunct British Royal Family.
At Clever Hands, Augustus was trained in the latest nanotechnology and engineering. Despite reviewing top-notch training and life itself from Somatek, Augustus seemed to be deeply troubled by what he viewed as the serfdom of his fellow Uplifts.
Augustus' chance for that aomerhing more came five years ago when he was loaned out to a Titanian micro-corp to assist in the study of the Titan remains left on Iapetus. He is currently a researcher at Titan Tech in Aarhus on Titan. He seemed to be delighted in his work there and took the large step of becoming a citizen of the Titania Commonwealth. He even served the requisite 3 years in the armed service there.
(refer to above for rest)
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Snowbeati need somethingto kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered Userregular
edited June 2013
"Gerrad Lancaster, right?" Dr. Tan looks at you intently as she leads you along. "Your file indicates that you're an expert at xenoarchaeology. You were on some of the first gatecrashing expeditions, right?" A lab worker rides by on a scooter, reading something on an ecto's holo display. "I'm sure you saw some things you'll never forget." She stops in front of a lift and presses the button to go down, then looks back at the rest of the group.
"Oh. You're all coming along, then? I guess that's all right." She presses the button again. "Sorry for the lack of introductions. Anis Tan. I'm one of the founders of this project, although that's growing increasingly irrelevant these days."
The lift doors open and you all step into the roomy freight elevator. There's a slight jolt at the elevator begins its descent and you have to hold onto a railing to keep your feet from slowly drifting off the floor in the weak gravity. Tan stares at the wall for a moment for speaking again. "Dr. Lancaster, you know what it's like to be near a Gate. You too, Fulmis; you and Granner. The presence of the otherworldly, they say." She smooths a stray bang back into place. "Even I have to admit that there's a certain... awe."
The elevator comes to a sudden stop and, unprepared, you all jolt back into the floor. The doors slide open on another rock hallway, this one without the skylights. Tan steps out and you follow her down the hall to a pair of large, heavily-armored security group. She pauses and turns to your group. "Prepare yourselves," she says, then inputs a long code into a physical numeral pad. There's a quiet beep and the doors begin to swing open.
Through the bay windows you can see the glow. She walks forward and then leans forward, pressing her forehead to the glass. "Welcome to the Dig," she whispers.
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Snowbeati need somethingto kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered Userregular
edited June 2013
You look down at the crevasse at the heart of the crater, then up at the "roof". Tan smiles. "Yes, that is the floor of the crater. This is what we discovered when we first came here. The 'First Dig', we're calling it."
The crevasse glows weakly in the dim light, dancing eerily in clouds of dust. Tan motions you to continue following her and heads down a side hall marked "To Digsite". "The light is generated by a massive amount of Cherenkov radiation emitted by the object." She taps a code into another pad and a door slides open, letting you into a staging area with an airlock door at one end. Hung on racks on either wall are heavy rad-proofed vac suits. "So who's going with me down in? Granner will be furious if he finds out I took you down without supervision, but I figure we'll be 'safe' enough with his new security chief in tow." She gives Sec a knowing look.
This is all a lot for you guys; the questions tumble around in your heads.
---
Gerrad, this is just like back on- you know?
---
Holy Christ, the boss was hiding this the whole time? I wonder what else he's been keeping from us, right?
---
Sir, I've accessed the local micromesh and can confirm that the site's Geiger counters show dangerously high levels of ionising radiation near it. As I do not observe a suit designed for your frame in this locker, I would recommend against you visiting the site until we obtain one.
---
|WARNING|IONIZING RADIATION DETECTED|PROBABILITY OF DAMAGE TO UNSHIELDED ELECTRONICS 67%|
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CayrusConsulFriends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered Userregular
"As much as my curiosity compels me to go further, my self-preservation instincts compel me to stay. Do you perhaps have a radiation suit designed for a being with a superior number of limbs?"
Posts
---
Ixlis walks up to Gen and takes his hands. "Ah, Gen. Glad to see you're as no-nonsense as ever. Yes, our friend from Lunar Transportation is whole and well."
He gestures the black ovoid robot over and as it enters the light, you can see that it has several clustered bundles of sensors and lenses protruding from its rubbery shell. Cumberbatch cranes his head around to get a good look at it. "Goodness!" he exclaims. "That's the robotic interloper who caught my tail on the shuttle!"
Ixlis beams. "Yes, he does do good work, doesn't he? This is the newest addition to the security staff. His name is, appropriately enough, 'Sec'. He'll be running things from now on."
As he speaks Sec looks internally, going over the any information he can gather about that particular flight, other shuttle flights, and the pilot in question.
Augustus slowly raises himself and "sits" on the reviving table.
"What the devil is going on, Mr. Granner? If it wasn't for my quick thinking, the miraculous appearance of our robot friend," he motions a tentacle at Sec, "and the piloting skills of that dear boy there," another tentacle at Gen, "we'd have been killed several second earlier than we actually were! That pilot was a bit of a bugger, too, trying to shoot us and planting tracking devices on the shuttle. I do hope you are investigating the matter."
Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before
Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
He turns. "I've arranged for clothing to be left for you in the locker room just outside that door. It is not exactly haute couture, I'm afraid." He blinks. "Ah. Well, I must be going. Gen, would you show them around the base after they've dressed? We'll reconvene later over dinner. I'd like to hear your opinions on our little operation." And with that, he claps Gen on the shoulder and strides from the room.
"So how did you all get involved with our charming acquaintance there? I think I recall seeing a few of you on the mesh, though I doubt any of you would have heard of me. That was certainly an exciting introduction to the operations here."
---
Gerrad, your vitals aren't too hot. It's been a while since we've resleeved, hasn't it? Tarn's voice is sympathetic. In any case, it seems our new employer has marked anything relating to our demise or the dig site a matter for security and locked it to public access. I guess our reaper friend over there is the one to ask about it.
He turns to look at his two human compatriots, "And what, dear boys, do you bring to the metaphorical table vis a vis xenoarchaological research?"
Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before
Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
Gerrad directs a question towards Gen, "Don't think I've met you on a gatecrashing op before, but I don't suppose Granner thinks we might have found a Pandora Gate here on Luna do you? That'd be quite an exciting find."
Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before
Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
Research for muse: Muse Research vs 30: 1d100 4
Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before
Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
He stands up, stretching and testing the responsiveness of his new morph. "Clothes would probably be a good thing."
Name: Ixlis Granner, KCPC
Actual Age: 76 (b. BF 66)
Gender: Male
Ixlis Granner was, pre-Fall, one of the wealthiest men in the Solar System. A self-made billionaire investor and entrepreneur, Granner helped start some of the largest technology hypercorporations, including Biocore, New Systems, and Von Neumann Designs. After the Fall, many of the companies he had invested heavily in either collapsed or were folded into other, larger corporations, leading to a 38% loss in his personal wealth and a massive blow to his respected status. Within the last four years, however, Granner has made a comeback as a gatecrashing investor and, lately, a gatecrasher himself. He has hosted several XP programs about his adventures and enjoys a high level of popularity. Unlike many of his peers, Granner keeps only a single companion for a retinue, one Gen Fulmis (see below file: FULMIS, GEN).
Name: Gerrad Lancaster, Ph.D
Actual Age: 73 (b. BF 63)
Gender: Male
Dr. Gerrad Lancaster was one of the first researchers to travel through the Pandora Gates in search of proof of alien life. He helped make some of the landmark discoveries of xeno ruins in the early post-Fall years. Then, in AF 3, the expedition he had traveled with through the Martian Gate to Wormwood disappeared to a man. Although unusual, mass disappearances in the early days of gatecrashing were not unheard of and were considered to be a known risk, so not much was thought of it- until Gerrad returned through the gate, alone and malnourished. Contemporary reports indicate that he had absolutely no memory of the time that he was missing. Since then, he has worked on numerous other xenoarchaeological missions, but always Solar-side, due to being on the Planetary Consortium's no-crash list.
Name: Gen Fulmis
Actual Age: 60 (b. BF 50)
Gender: Male
Gen Fulmis was a sort of small-time extreme sports guru pre- and early post-Fall and specialized in building advanced racing machines. He met Ixlis Granner when Granner dabbled briefly in comet diving and magbiking and apparently taken with Fulmis' mastery of the mechanical arts and his ability to deftly pilot nearly any type of vehicle. When Granner began setting up gatecrashing expeditions, he employed Gen first as a consultant, then as a personal pilot and bodyguard.
Name: "Sec"
Actual Age: No data found
Gender: No data found
I'm sorry, sir, but there is nothing on the public mesh about the individual calling himself "Sec". All I can dig up are several shipping records that may be related to the reaper synthmorph that he wears. It appears that Granner has shipped several spare reaper shells to Lyell and is keeping them in storage.
---
Gen stood and walked to the door of the locker room. He opened it and flipped the switch inside, illuminating a small, somewhat cramped space with several lockers and a short bench. On the bench were three plastic sacks with flexishape jumpsuits in them, one of which was obviously designed for an octomorph. Gen dressed quickly and tossed the other bags out into the recovery room for Gerrad and Cumberbatch.
Something crashed outside the door. You can all hear raised, if indistinct, voices.
"We need to get them out of there!" The man shouting was wearing a bloody flexisuit, a dirty and scratched vac helmet in his hand. "I've got three down, needing resleeving!"
A woman in a white suit stands in the way. "Look, Quince, I've told you already. We're going to have to put them in cases. We only had the three biomorphs and we just used them!"
A younger, short-haired woman stood with the man. "Fuck that! We're not fucking indentured; you can't just sleeve them into cases!"
Interesting, three known gate-crashers, an unkown but destructive synthmorph, a renowned nano-tech scientist, and extraterrestrial ruins. I calculate the discovery of a exo-solar gate or similar structure at 74.3%. What do you think, Wellington?
I concur, sir. I cost of transporting us from Titan alone indicates an abundance of resources dedicated to this project. Coupled with the attempt on your life lead me to believe this operation is both contentious and highly valuable. I encourage caution, sir.
Noted.
Additionally, do not forget the package you were tasked with delivering to Mr. Granner. It was most likely destroyed or damaged in the crash. I will make inquires as to its location.
Thank you Wellington, you are a help as always.
Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before
Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
The woman by the name of Tan looks at him severely. "No, there isn't, Quince. You're just under a lot of stress and are not thinking rationally-"
The other woman laughs shrilly and then turns on her heel and begins to walk away. "This is just fucking great!"
Quince shakes his head. "Christ, if Jackson gets out there and riles them up... Can you get them into the cases soon?"
Tan nods. "They'll be suited up in less than an hour. Now please, go out there and calm the workers. We don't need any extra vandalism." Quince pauses for a moment, as if looking for something to say, but merely raises a limp hand and then turns and follows Jackson.
Tan watches him go. Then she looks around smoothly at where Gen and Sec stand watching. "Ah. You're up. How are the morphs treating you? Integration proceeding smoothly?"
Thanks for the concern Tarn, haven't died in a while. Last time was a while ago, yeah? When I was working with those Titanians on those things at Tanaka I think. Freaky things those were.
Anyways... see if you can pull up dossiers on the rest of the staff here. Highlight anyone that looks interesting, if you can actually pull anything up. I'll follow up on those.
Research vs 40: 1d100 37
Muse Research vs 30: 1d100 12
"Chaps, what's this commotion all about?"
Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before
Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
"This is bullshit!" someone shouted. A crowd of around twenty people were gathered in the area outside the entrance to Medical, talking angrily.
The woman Jackson steps forward from the group. "Tan, we want out. Tell gramps that we're getting on the next shuttle and that his project can find a new bunch of suicidal-"
Tan cut her off with a chopping motion of the hand. "Shut up. No one's going anywhere."
Jackson looks at her in shocked anger. "The fuck does that mean-"
"It means that the Translunar Navy has cut off all transportation in this area until they determine the cause of the explosion. No shuttles. No rovers. Nothing."
The crowd's buzz grew louder into outright yelling. "What-" "No way!" "I'll fucking walk home!"
Jackson looks away from the crowd and her eyes find your group standing in the doorway, listening. "Hey!" she shouts. "There they are! The assholes on the shuttle! They know what hit them, right? Mystery fucking solved!"
The crowd presses forward and Jackson strides past Tan, pushing her aside, and then grabs Gerrad's shirtfront. "So what blew you dickheads up, huh? Just tell us the truth, right: the pilot was drunk and drove it into the side of a crater?"
He points some of his sensors towards Tan and lowered the amplification on his voice. "Does this short summary answer the question to your satisfaction?"
"Ah, I am Gerrad Lancaster, and I don't suppose this is a good time to ask... but I really would like to know what exactly I came from the other side of the system and got exploded to look at."
The base is much larger than you expected. Something clicks in Gerrad's memory. "Tan? Anis Tan?" he mutters incredulously.
Yes, Gerrad. Anis Tan. She was one of the leads on our... ill-fated expedition. At least that's what my records tell me.
Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before
Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
Name: "Lord" Augustus Cumberbatch
Age: 28 (b. BF 18)
Gender: Male
Lord Augustus Cumberbatch (Gus to his friends) was "born" eighteen years before the Fall on orbital station Clever Hands above Luna. That is when Somatek scientist uplifted the Great Pacific Octopus into sensience. The lead scientist on the project, Dr. Gustaw Wojciehowski, named Augustus after a popular XP meme of the time: a foppish Octopus with a top hat, monocle, and outrageous English accent. Despite being the butt of the joke, Augustus has embraced his name and does speak with a slight English accent, specifically the Received Pronunciation of the now defunct British Royal Family.
At Clever Hands, Augustus was trained in the latest nanotechnology and engineering. Despite reviewing top-notch training and life itself from Somatek, Augustus seemed to be deeply troubled by what he viewed as the serfdom of his fellow Uplifts.
Augustus' chance for that aomerhing more came five years ago when he was loaned out to a Titanian micro-corp to assist in the study of the Titan remains left on Iapetus. He is currently a researcher at Titan Tech in Aarhus on Titan. He seemed to be delighted in his work there and took the large step of becoming a citizen of the Titania Commonwealth. He even served the requisite 3 years in the armed service there.
(refer to above for rest)
"Oh. You're all coming along, then? I guess that's all right." She presses the button again. "Sorry for the lack of introductions. Anis Tan. I'm one of the founders of this project, although that's growing increasingly irrelevant these days."
The lift doors open and you all step into the roomy freight elevator. There's a slight jolt at the elevator begins its descent and you have to hold onto a railing to keep your feet from slowly drifting off the floor in the weak gravity. Tan stares at the wall for a moment for speaking again. "Dr. Lancaster, you know what it's like to be near a Gate. You too, Fulmis; you and Granner. The presence of the otherworldly, they say." She smooths a stray bang back into place. "Even I have to admit that there's a certain... awe."
The elevator comes to a sudden stop and, unprepared, you all jolt back into the floor. The doors slide open on another rock hallway, this one without the skylights. Tan steps out and you follow her down the hall to a pair of large, heavily-armored security group. She pauses and turns to your group. "Prepare yourselves," she says, then inputs a long code into a physical numeral pad. There's a quiet beep and the doors begin to swing open.
Through the bay windows you can see the glow. She walks forward and then leans forward, pressing her forehead to the glass. "Welcome to the Dig," she whispers.
The crevasse glows weakly in the dim light, dancing eerily in clouds of dust. Tan motions you to continue following her and heads down a side hall marked "To Digsite". "The light is generated by a massive amount of Cherenkov radiation emitted by the object." She taps a code into another pad and a door slides open, letting you into a staging area with an airlock door at one end. Hung on racks on either wall are heavy rad-proofed vac suits. "So who's going with me down in? Granner will be furious if he finds out I took you down without supervision, but I figure we'll be 'safe' enough with his new security chief in tow." She gives Sec a knowing look.
This is all a lot for you guys; the questions tumble around in your heads.
---
Gerrad, this is just like back on- you know?
---
Holy Christ, the boss was hiding this the whole time? I wonder what else he's been keeping from us, right?
---
Sir, I've accessed the local micromesh and can confirm that the site's Geiger counters show dangerously high levels of ionising radiation near it. As I do not observe a suit designed for your frame in this locker, I would recommend against you visiting the site until we obtain one.
---
|WARNING|IONIZING RADIATION DETECTED|PROBABILITY OF DAMAGE TO UNSHIELDED ELECTRONICS 67%|
Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before
Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase