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[Eclipse Phase PbP] Session 1: Tranquil Sea, Burning Earth [IC]

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  • SnowbeatSnowbeat i need something to kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered User regular
    Tan thinks for a second. "No, I don't believe so. I'll talk to Lyonel about modifying a vac suit for you, unless you'd like to go do that right now."

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  • Lord_AsmodeusLord_Asmodeus goeticSobriquet: Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered User regular
    "I must inquire as to whether Granner has anything built to shield a morph like this one from the effects of radiation damage. Though I know there are a number of backups for this morph in storage, I do not feel it would be economical for me to damage this one through preventable radiation exposure, and I feel our employer would agree with that assessment. If I cannot accompany you, Granner would likely be even less appreciative than if I had been able to visit as well. In this situation, I would have to respectfully veto the proposition until further notice, for the sake of my own career safety if nothing else."

    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
  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    "My dear, I'd love to! Point me in the right direction."

    Former Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Ford in Call of Cthulhu: Whispers in the Darkness

    Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before

    Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
  • SnowbeatSnowbeat i need something to kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered User regular
    Tan begins to step into a suit's open back. "Lyonel would be the one to talk to about that as well." She slides her arms into the sleeves and then steps back out of the rack. "Take that door on the left and keep walking until you come to an elevator. It'll take you directly to the hangar where he works."

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  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    "M'lady, Gentlemen." Augustus bows and them heads off toward the hanger.

    Former Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Ford in Call of Cthulhu: Whispers in the Darkness

    Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before

    Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
  • SnowbeatSnowbeat i need something to kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered User regular
    edited June 2013
    Tan nods acknowledgement and then continues putting on the suit. "Fulmis? Lancaster? If you want to see what Granner's been keeping from the world, I'd recommend suiting up." The suit hisses as the back seals. She pulls a heavy armored helmet from another rack and tucks it under an arm, then turns to Sec. "You're still here? Look, if you want me to stop working, you're going to have to put me in a cell. My team was performing perfectly well before you people decided to take the project away, so if you have an issue take it up with Granner."

    Snowbeat on
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  • ZandraconZandracon Registered User regular
    Gerrad grabs a suit and zips up, occasionally glancing at Tan and furrowing his brows. He had been tumbling the idea of straight out asking who the hell this Tan was around in his head for a while but the sight of the Dig completely distracted him. "Well, I'd feel bad if whatever down there kills this morph, but... This is something I'd like to see. And I don't think Granner has antimatter bombs set up in there so I feel in a bit of a risk taking mood."

    Tarn, try and continue digging around the mesh, I want to know if this is actually Tan or some fork or clone or something and whether Granner has any other people I previously thought were dead walking around here.

  • RingoRingo He/Him a distinct lack of substanceRegistered User regular
    This is probably a dumb risk on my part, so I'm gonna assume you're all for it.

    Gen nods, and starts suiting up. "Can't see what use Ixlis is going to have for me down there, so this might be my only chance to get up close. Why the hell not."

    Sterica wrote: »
    I know my last visit to my grandpa on his deathbed was to find out how the whole Nazi werewolf thing turned out.
    Edcrab's Exigency RPG
  • Lord_AsmodeusLord_Asmodeus goeticSobriquet: Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered User regular
    Wordlessly, Sec leaves to follow Augustus without acknowledging whether or not he had even heard Tan' second statement, hovering along toward the elevator.

    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
  • SnowbeatSnowbeat i need something to kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered User regular
    edited June 2013
    It seems as if I'm being restricted from casting my nets very far. I can't tell whether it's merely due to the limited network capabilities of this station or some sort of subtle block. I'm sorry.

    ---

    As Sec comes up, the elevator doors open. The prefab cabin has a small touchscreen with four keys: HANGAR, 1, 2 (which is highlighted by a rotating circle icon), and STORAGE.

    ---

    Tan waits for the two of you to get into your suits and to seal your helmets and then you each get a ping through the mesh to allow voice communication. "The site is in a near-vacuum environment, so we rely upon mesh communication," she says, walking to the airlock and opening the inside door. "After you, gentlemen."

    Snowbeat on
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  • RingoRingo He/Him a distinct lack of substanceRegistered User regular
    Gen enters the airlock. "What's the danger here, besides the radiation? I'd rather not wake up in a Case if I don't have to."

    Sterica wrote: »
    I know my last visit to my grandpa on his deathbed was to find out how the whole Nazi werewolf thing turned out.
    Edcrab's Exigency RPG
  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    Once they are both on the lift, Augustus turns to SEC.

    "What say you, chap? Shall we be good little boys and go to the Hanger, or should we be a bit cheeky and explore a bit?"

    Former Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Ford in Call of Cthulhu: Whispers in the Darkness

    Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before

    Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
  • SnowbeatSnowbeat i need something to kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered User regular
    Tan pauses before opening the outside airlock door. She seems hesitant and embarrassed. "Nothing like that." She begins to key in the password to exit. "I'm just glad the other two had to stay behind. You and Dr. Lancaster... you're the only ones who might understand what this is like." With a hiss, the air begins to leave the room. "The only ones who might show the proper respect." With a thud, the airlock seals release and the door swings open, Tan leading the way once more and lighting the path with lights on her palms and head.

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  • Lord_AsmodeusLord_Asmodeus goeticSobriquet: Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered User regular
    Sec turns his hovering ovoid toward the Octopus as he speaks, "I have little need to explore, as I have as access to a fairly comprehensive map of the whole area, and I do have a duty to oversee the safety of staff, especially in such a critical area of the dig. If you do wish to use this opportunity to explore without the presence of someone to guide you, I would express caution. The atmosphere here seems clearly charged, and it is hard to tell how some of those who recognize you as a newcomer will react to your presence, not to mention any unknown dangers of the site. Besides, though there is perhaps much to explore. I know one of the reasons I accepted this job in the first place was my curiosity about the possible xeno-archeological significance of this dig 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
  • ZandraconZandracon Registered User regular
    Stewing in a bout of excessive paranoia, Gerrad flinches with the hiss of the air exiting the room. Making sure to have committed Tan's movements on the pads to memory, he moves forward, following the woman. "What has some of the staff here so riled up? Surely a find like this should have quelled any complaints, at least for a time? What killed those crew members?"

  • SnowbeatSnowbeat i need something to kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered User regular
    "Nothing 'killed' them, Dr. Lancaster," Tan says as she leads the way down the rocky path to the crevasse. "Their morphs were crushed in a tunnel collapse. This cavern seems to be natural, but with the artifact where it is, we have decided to perform exploratory digging to see if there are any more ruins near it." She jumps lightly over a large rock, landing easily on her feet. "The miners are menials, you understand. Some of them are only a few months past being re-instantiated. Pathfinder does not have a large presence in the inner system and we had to contract out some of our labor to a local mining corp."

    As you catch up, she turns her helmet to you. You can see her smile, an expression grotesque in the cold glow of her helmet lights. "Weaker minds are more easily frightened by the unknown. You probably know that the best of us all, Doctor."

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  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    "You speak wisely, my synthetic friend."

    Augustus pushed the button to the Hangar.

    "So, SEC, was it? Tell me a bit a out yourself. You don't have much presence on the mesh."

    Former Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Ford in Call of Cthulhu: Whispers in the Darkness

    Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before

    Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
  • RingoRingo He/Him a distinct lack of substanceRegistered User regular
    Gen stops to gawk for a few seconds before moving after Tan and Gerrad. "The artifact - what's known about it so far?"

    Sterica wrote: »
    I know my last visit to my grandpa on his deathbed was to find out how the whole Nazi werewolf thing turned out.
    Edcrab's Exigency RPG
  • SnowbeatSnowbeat i need something to kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered User regular
    Sorry guys, I'm having trouble with the forums right now. More posts tomorrow.

    "The summary? Basically nothing." She watches yours and Gerrad's faces. "We've scanned it in every spectrum, tried magnetizing it, even tried blowing a chunk off with plastique. Nothing. Same as the Gates." She rubs the top of her helmet. "Except we can't find any way of turning it on."

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  • RingoRingo He/Him a distinct lack of substanceRegistered User regular
    Gen shrugs and smiles, "Well if that's the case, have you tried doing peyote and communing with your spirit animal yet? That seems about as likely as anything when you get down to it."

    Sterica wrote: »
    I know my last visit to my grandpa on his deathbed was to find out how the whole Nazi werewolf thing turned out.
    Edcrab's Exigency RPG
  • SnowbeatSnowbeat i need something to kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered User regular
    "You laugh, but that's worked on certain 'crashes by all reports." She stops at the top landing of a stairway that descends into the pit. "We could go down, if you like. There's no danger."

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  • RingoRingo He/Him a distinct lack of substanceRegistered User regular
    Gen turns to Gerrad. "I'm game if you are."

    Sterica wrote: »
    I know my last visit to my grandpa on his deathbed was to find out how the whole Nazi werewolf thing turned out.
    Edcrab's Exigency RPG
  • ZandraconZandracon Registered User regular
    "Wishing I had an adaptive interface with me, but hell, I can try this the old fashioned way. Wonder if it responds to good old human bodily fluids. I remember blood working pretty well on one occasion."

  • SnowbeatSnowbeat i need something to kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered User regular
    "Then come on." Tan leads the way down the stairs. The intense blue glow is blinding and you can hardly see the artifact in the center of the crevasse, but you notice it appears to be covered in some kind of transparent dome. Stepping from the bottom of the stair, she heads for a small airlock built into the side of the dome. She types a long code into the pad and then hauls the door open, gesturing you inside, climbing in after you. The door slams silently shut behind you and you hear a hiss as the airlock slowly pressurizes.

    After a few minutes, and to your horror, you see her begin to remove her helmet. She notices the two of you staring. "Don't worry; there's no radiation. We've rigged the Geigers to show a high count and told the menials to stay away." There's a beep and a click as the inner door unbolts. As Tan pulls it open, the glow is nearly unbearable. She pulls a pair of sunglasses from her jumpsuit pocket and fits them to her eyes. "There are sunglasses in your jumpsuits as well. I recommend wearing them. We still haven't figured out a way to turn off the glow."

    Through squinted eyes you can see the edges of the artifact. It's very square and mundane in appearance; something that looks like a large, molded piece of plastic. If it wasn't for its rectangular shape and regular edges, you would swear it was a natural object. But as you approach, a feeling impossible to describe overtakes you. But you can't get any closer with the glow being as powerful as it is; you have your eyes squeezed nearly shut already.

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  • RingoRingo He/Him a distinct lack of substanceRegistered User regular
    Gen puts on his sunglasses, and then, thinking of the nightlight he had as a child, he claps his hands twice.

    Sterica wrote: »
    I know my last visit to my grandpa on his deathbed was to find out how the whole Nazi werewolf thing turned out.
    Edcrab's Exigency RPG
  • SnowbeatSnowbeat i need something to kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered User regular
    Well done.

    You see the artifact is even larger than you thought, but even with the sunglasses on you can't see much more detail on its surface. Then you realize that's because the detail isn't there. Each side of the object is perfectly, terribly smooth, without even the most minor scratch or pitting. The light (which, even through the glasses, is still bright), emanates from no particular source. It seems to seep from the very skin of the artifact.

    You both feel a strong urge to run your fingers over the surface and feel for yourselves exactly how smooth it is.
    Both of you roll against WIL.

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  • Lord_AsmodeusLord_Asmodeus goeticSobriquet: Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered User regular
    Sec is silent for a small moment before responding, "I'm a security professional, and information security is an important aspect of my job. It would be sloppy of me to leave information about myself floating around where anyone can access it."

    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
  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    "Quite right, old boy. You think of everything!"

    Augustus preoccupies himself with perusing the project files Wellington had downloaded for him.

    Former Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Ford in Call of Cthulhu: Whispers in the Darkness

    Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before

    Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
  • SnowbeatSnowbeat i need something to kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered User regular
    edited June 2013
    The elevator doors ding open and Cumberbatch walks forward on four of his legs, followed by the humming, hovering Sec. The hanger and drone bay is a large, warehouse-like space, with a huge open area in the middle surrounded by walls covered in prefab shelving up to the ceiling. There's a space near a set of large doors at one end of the hangar with a forty-by-forty square marked off with yellow tape and conspicuously empty. Against one wall is a large structure like a shipping container stood on one end and hollowed out like a honeycomb. Each cell has a reaper drone body placed inside and held in place with pincer arms. Near it is a low workdesk with a emaciated figure huddled over something on its surface. An archaic stereo device is playing loud, rough-sounding music, which you immediately identify, if not recognize. Cumberbatch gently taps the figure on the shoulder with one tentacle and it jumps, knocking some tools off the desk. Lyonel Sark angrily turns to face you. "The hell, man? Say something, don't just scare me like that!" Lyonel's an uplifted chimpanzee, somewhat more ape-like than the ones you've previously encountered in your travels. He's wearing a pair of welder's goggles pushed up into his bristly hair, a pair of bermuda shorts, and an ancient-looking t-shirt with a 20th-century political leader on it. He points at a mess of gears scattered across the desk. "Look at that. Now I'm going to have to start over." He stares at them despondently. "Why did you come up here, anyway? I thought that riot would have kept you in the med bay."

    ---

    Sir, I don't want to alarm you, but I think you should know the nine remaining drones in that structure are worth approximately a half-million credits and an untold amount of rep. There's something to consider, there.

    ---

    |LYONEL SARK|AGE: 23|PART OF SECOND BATCH OF UPLIFTED HOMINIDS|CONTRACTS FOR PATHFINDER CORP BUT IS A STATELESS INDIVIDUAL WITHOUT PERMANENT HYPERCORP TIES|MINOR AMOUNT OF POLITICAL ACTIVISM|ZERO REPORTED CRIMINAL ACTIVITY|

    Snowbeat on
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  • Lord_AsmodeusLord_Asmodeus goeticSobriquet: Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered User regular
    "Dr.Tan told us you might be able to furnish Augustus and I with proper shielding to protect us from the radiation put off by the artifact. He will need a rad suit built for an Octomorph, and I will need some shielding for this morph's electronics, if that is possible."

    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
  • Lord_AsmodeusLord_Asmodeus goeticSobriquet: Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered User regular
    edited June 2013
    EDIT: IGNORE ME

    Lord_Asmodeus on
    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
  • Lord_AsmodeusLord_Asmodeus goeticSobriquet: Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered User regular
    edited June 2013
    EDIT: IGNORE ME

    Lord_Asmodeus on
    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
  • SnowbeatSnowbeat i need something to kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered User regular
    The room is still. The unnatural light bathes every surface evenly, turning every color a shade of blue. Gerrad watches dreamily as Gen steps forward, fingers outstretched, towards the artifact. Something seems to be saying something to him, but all he can do is stand still. Gen takes a step forward, then another.

    "It's nice, isn't it?" Gerrad looks at Tan as the words filter through his brain. She's swaying slowly, eyes shut and mouth curved in a distant smile. She's tapping a couple of fingers against her leg in a regular pattern: tap, tap tap, tap, tap tap, tap... "It's nice, isn't it?" she says again. Gerrad feels hypnotized by the tapping fingers.

    Gerrad! GERRAD!

    Gen can feel a humming all around him, traveling through the floor, the walls, the artifact. The light itself. He's so close to the thing that he could touch it...

    ---

    Lyonel looks at you incredulously. "Radiation shielding? The hell is she talking about? She knows there isn't any-"

    The entire base rumbles. The lights flicker for a few seconds, then go out entirely.

    "Great." You hear him hop to his feet and go padding off into the darkness. A light switches on a few feet away and Lyonel sweeps you with the beam of the handtorch a couple of times. "Welcome to the party, guys."

    ---

    Gen opens his eyes. There's a dim light from somewhere nearby, but otherwise the dome has gone completely dark. Gerrad is dimly illuminated nearby, leaning against the dome wall, breathing heavily. Gen sits up and memory slowly trickles back... the approach, arm outstretched... the eerie lack of friction as his fingertips brushed it... then a terrible noise and a feeling like the entire Moon had just leapt ten feet straight into the air.

    About ten feet away, on the other side of the now-dark artifact, Tan's body lies motionless.

    Christ, you had me worried for a second. You know you're my ride, right? Don't go dark on me like that again, please.

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  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    "Lyonel, my dear boy, what's happened? Is it another attack?"

    Wellington, scan the mesh and tell me the instance you know what's happened. This expedition is entirely too well funded and secretive for my tastes."

    Former Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Ford in Call of Cthulhu: Whispers in the Darkness

    Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before

    Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
  • SnowbeatSnowbeat i need something to kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered User regular
    Lyonel shakes his head- whether at you, or at the situation, you can't tell. "I don't know. I hope not. Probably just another tunnel collapse." He shines the torch around the massive void of the hangar. "If it is, it'd be the biggest we've had yet."

    Sir, I've detected the activation of fourteen individual emergency mesh beacons, including that of Dr. Anis Tan. They seem to be concentrated mostly in the lower tunnels, as Mr. Sark posited might be the case. Might I suggest that we hurry to render aid?

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  • Lord_AsmodeusLord_Asmodeus goeticSobriquet: Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered User regular
    "You were about to say something. Did you mean she knows you have no method of radiation shielding? That would seem odd, given the levels of radiation my senses detected near the artifact."

    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
  • SnowbeatSnowbeat i need something to kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered User regular
    edited June 2013
    Lyonel waves a long-fingered, hairy hand. "Come on, man, don't have a cow." He starts fiddling with the exit door as he talks. "You get how the whole corporate secrecy thing goes. One guy asks another to keep something under wraps, second guy now has two things to ask the third guy to keep secret, so on and so forth." He pulls hard on the handle, but the door won't budge. "Damn. It's stuck."

    Snowbeat on
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  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    "I suggest we make our way to the lower tunnels as quickly as possible. SEC, can you help open the door?"

    Former Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Ford in Call of Cthulhu: Whispers in the Darkness

    Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before

    Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
  • Lord_AsmodeusLord_Asmodeus goeticSobriquet: Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered User regular
    edited June 2013
    Sec hovers towards the door to examine it and open if by force if necessary "I understand very intimately the workings of corporate security, I also understand that it is ill-advised to keep your own security personnel uninformed for its sake. More often than not, it backfires. Some corporations simply require I install a memory-lock for the duration of my job, and often have me sign a waiver and have certain memories wiped from my stack and back-up when I finish a job. It's much more efficient and allows me the luxury of all the knowledge I need to do my job to its fullest extent while the job needs doing. Right now I need to know if there is a way to shield my electronics from the effects of radiation damage. If I cannot, I may be placed in the position of damaging an expensive piece of equipment provided by our employer. I assume it will be your job to fix that equipment if it becomes damaged, of course."

    Lord_Asmodeus on
    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
  • SnowbeatSnowbeat i need something to kick this thing's ass over the lineRegistered User regular
    Lyonel gives you that look again. "What, seriously? You haven't figured it out? There's no radiation, man. They told me to cook up a false positive in your sensor readings on the artifact site. They don't like anyone other than the science team being down there, anyway, so I figured it was just par for the course, y'know?"

    |NO POWER TO DOOR DETECTED|ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE ON OPPOSITE SIDE NORMAL|SUGGEST EXPLOSIVE REMOVAL OF OBSTACLE?|

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