THE PBP GAME

AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
September 11, 2012 - 12:14am

Day One (Part One):

09/11/2399 at 1830 Hrs. Earth Standard Time: Sol Sector Hyperspace Gate (SHG)

The Colonial Space Fleet Exploration Cruiser C.S.S. William Logan: SCC-725 (http://www.starfrontiers.us/node/6813) arrives on schedule at the designated holding zone to begin it's final preparations for departure to the Vega System. Anchorage Space Station flight control operators and their Edon counterparts at the Sol Hyperspace Gate's (SHG) confirm that everything is clear to proceed with today's jump gate transit event. Throughout the crew there is a sense of anticipation that fills the air with an excited anxious energy.  Technicians and scientists scurry about the control rooms cross checking every detail for this historic FTL flight.

As the final hour passes the crew of the William Logan anxiously await final confirmation authorizing the ship to proceed into the jump gate. On the 'Logan's bridge the crew watches on the command station's overhead view screen as the swirling nebulous event horizon slowly begins to visibly take form inside the jump gate's driver ring. 

Only moments before the launch order is given, an unauthorized jump point is detected forming inside the Sol Hyperspace Gate's restricted fly zone. Seconds later, the unmistakable dark crescent shaped form of a Xin Taro Class Command Cruiser  pierces through the dark curtain of space with a blinding flash of light as it  transitions from hyperspace into normal space. 

Captain Bishop Crane stares at the surreal scene in complete disbelief as the dark warship takes form silhouetted against a glimmering background of stars. An agile and graceful predator, the Taro Class command cruiser (http://www.starfrontiers.us/node/6256) represents one of  the most sophisticated warships fielded by the Xin Confederation. It's very presence in the Sol system without authorization is a grevious violation of the Typo Accords Treaty. A mutual treaty of peaceful co-existence granting sanctuary to Xin refugees and prohibiting unauthorized Xin military technology from entering the Sol Sector. 

At two hundred thousand kilometers away the alien warship appeared on the magnified viewer to float in space with the innocence of a child's toy. However, all the souls on the'Logan knew the horrible significance that this harbingers' presence brought on their lives. The deep crimson color glinting mencingly in the ambiet light from the elaboratly decorated lines of its hull revealed the vessel to be warship of the Fen Clan.

The Fen, had long been recognized as a black sheep among the Xin people. Conceived and engineered solely as warriors for their Shi'an masters, the fen represented the most aggressive of the five clans. It was no mystery to anyone that the Fen mistrusted the Xin alliance with the Humans and longed to return to their old way of life. While they supported the other four clans during the uprising against their Shi'an masters the Fen never agreed that it was the correct way to gain their independence.  

"Commander Grant, what the hell is that bird doing in my sky!", Captain Crane shouted over to his equally shocked First Officer.

Before First Officer Amelia Grant could utter a reply to the Captain's inquiry something cought her eye on the screen above her helm station. A beautiful but brief chain of brightly flashing pale blue lightning that danced across space towards the 'Logan and the Hyperspace Gate. It took less time for Grant's mind to recognize the inbound blasts of disruptor fire then it did for her hand to slam down on the master alarm. Flashing strobe lights and chiming alarm bells filled the C.S.S. William Logan's command bridge shaking the stunned crew back into the present moment.

"All hands report to battle stations, this is not a drill, we are under attack!", Commander Grant shouted into the ship's communications panel. Barely able to believe the words coming from her own mouth, "Captain, what are your orders?"

Captain Bishop calmly looked at the view screen, any of the lingering spectre of shock was now banished from his face. "Lt. Commander Rojan, activate repulsor shields, set all batteries for defensive suppression fire, keep that vulture off our six'."

"Aye Captain", answered Ky Rojan as the stoic mechanical featured Ganai rushed to his seat at the ship's tactical console. "Target is 195,000 kilometers and closing on a direct intercept course." Out of habit Ky reached for the capacitor shield primer but then remembered that it would not function this close to a hyperspace jump gate. Something about the properties of the gate's mechanics overloaded capacitor shields in every simulation that was tested. Ky shook off the trained instinct remembering that every first year academy cadet knows that overloading a "Cap" shield is a recipe for epic disaster. Ky moved his hand deliberately away from the primer with a deep sigh. Ky knew that the ship would sorely miss the damage soaking power of the "Cap" shield if this ended up being a prolonged engagement. To push the urge of training out of his mind Ky turned his attention to his periscope like tactical scanner to get a better look at the approaching enemy. "Captain, it's definitely a Taro Class Cruiser. Energy signatures indicates she's running with both weapons and shields fully charged. Fortunately, we are still outside of her weapons range but It won't be long before she closes the distance."  

Captain Crane leaned over the communications panel next to Commander Grant at the central command station. As the Captain depressed the transmit key the look on his face told Grant that this was not the message he wanted to send but had to. "Mayday, Mayday, this is the Colonial Space Fleet Exploration Cruiser William Logan. We are under attack by an unknown Xin warship. We require immediate assistance from any able vessel."   

A torrent of deadly disruptor blasts rained down from the Fen warship as it began to close in on the 'Logan. As the warship grew larger and larger in the bridge's magnified view screen the crew knew that it would not be long before the Taro's cannon blasts would enter a lethal range where they were no longer diffused across the distance of space. However, even at the their currently depleted strength, the crew could still feel the impact of every feint blow on the 'Logan's shields. 

Suddenly, the command bridge's view screen filled with the brilliant gleam of another starship's hull as it passed so close to the exterior camera that the ambient glare filled the bridge with a radiant glow. The C.S.S. Aspire (http://www.starfrontiers.us/node/6189), an elegant and nimble Mercury Class frigate raced past the 'Logan and pitched the back of its hull forward like a medieval shield in front of the besieged spacecraft.

"Crane to Simms, Come in Simms..." The Captain  shouted urgently into the open channel of the communications panel. "What the hell are you doing out there?", Captain Crane's  voice echoed the graven expression of concern chiseled on his weathered face. 

"Simms here, Captain Crane, well...hello there handsome" The sultry female voice replied over the open audio channel in an almost playful manner. "If you haven't noticed Bishop, I'm trying to save your ass. I suppose a thank you is out of the question?" Simms words danced from the open comm channel as the 'Logan's command crew watched her ship on the view screen fire a blinding salvo of missiles and laser fire towards the approaching Taro. A collective surge of hope filled the hearts of the 'Logan's crew as they witnessed Captain Simms' small starship shielding them from the unending blasts of pale blue lighting burning from the Taro's cannons.

"This is hardly the time to show off Karyn. Your ship is in no position to stand up against that Taro so get out of there before you get cooked.", Crane scolded with an almost frantic parental tone borne from a long career filled with too many experiences with the horrific events of space battle.

"Why Captain Crane, If I didn't know you better... I'd say... you were getting soft on me." Simms jabbed back with a now less convincing bravado as the sound of her frantically opening panels filled the pauses between her words. "Besides, you really should get out of here Bishop, your ship is filled with colonists, mine is filled with leather necks, you know we love this sort of thing."

The words barely escaped Captain Simms' mouth when the channel suddenly went dead. The crew of the 'Logan watched the view screen in horror as the Taro's four disruptor cannons ripped through the Aspire's hull. Gutting the small starship like a fisherman's prize trophy. The scene played out before their eyes as if it were some kind of slow motion replay at a sports game. In the quiet darkness of space the structural integrity of Simms' ship collapsed forcing large chunks of debris, flaming plumes of atmosphere, and the expelled bodies of the dying crew from the doomed ship. 

"Oh Dear Lord, No. Not Simms", The Captain's shocked pleading gasp of a prayer barely escaping his lips. Crane knew he had to hold it together right now and maintain his composure. Now was not the time to mourn over lost friends, the very lives of his crew depended on his leadership.

The crew of the 'Logan watched helplessly as the Taro gave the ruined Aspire a final parting shot from its aft cannons and continued to move forward on its original course. Several nearby scientific observation craft, not much larger then a cargo shuttle, attempted to flee in hopes they may slip by the prowling monster unnoticed. A wave of pale blue lighting reduced the craft to smoldering hulks in a single blast. The Taro's commander seemed bent on laying waste to any living soul in his path as his ship paused momentarily to scan the burning wreckage as if he were admiring his handy work. 

In a flash, three gleaming Colonial Corsair patrol ships (http://www.starfrontiers.us/node/6919) streaked past the 'Logan and engaged the crescent shaped crimson war machine. The smaller Corsairs darted around the large command cruiser in all out assault. It seemed that the tiny warships had stunned the ravenous beast like a swarm of angry bees. Challenged by this new agile foe the Taro released its four wing mounted fighter craft to deal with this new nuisance as they continued to advance on the 'Logan's position.

Captain Crane knew that news of the attack must have reached the rest of the fleet by now and that it would only be a matter of time before the mighty colonial battle-cruiser Hyperion would arrive from its perimeter station near Mars. The only real question was, could the 'Logan hold out long enough against the vastly superior Xin command cruiser that was bent on their annihilation.
 
Lt. Commander Rojan emitted a self-satisfied growl as the Logan's fire control linked laser batteries reduced one of the Taro's attack fighters to burning embers and sent another fleeing back to its mothership. Crane managed a brief smile at his tactical officer's success but knew that his ship was far from in this fight. Status reports flowed in over the communications panel indicating that the gunnery crews were close to bringing the 'Logan's main cannons and torpedo launchers online. They had seemed excessive to crew during a non-military mission; an oversight the Captain swore to himself never to repeat.

Moments later the Taro destroyed one of the Colonial Corsairs and disabled the other two with several fierce volleys of battery fire. The 'Logans' crew  could feel the ship shutter with each successively closer disruptor blast wearing down the ship's repulsor shields. A few  brief seconds later, the command crew collectively felt the very moment when the shields failed and the ship rolled violently to one side after a direct hit from the Taro's disruptors . The only thing left now between the crew and certain death was the ship's thick reflective polymetal reactive armor and the defensive fire of the 'Logan's laser batteries. Fortunately for the 'Logan the Taro's commander had over confidently decided to try to cover more ground by dividing his cannon fire between the exploration cruiser and the hyperspace gate. 

Chief Astrogator Mike Bell urgently shouted, "Captain, the warship's attack on the gate is destabilizing the event horizon!"

Captain Crane slowly surveyed the faces of his valiant command crew. "Options?", he barked in an urgent yet supportive tone.     

Comments:

rattraveller's picture
rattraveller
October 2, 2012 - 4:41pm
Lt. Finsletter tries to hide a smile and thinks to herself "Remain calm all is well, Remain calm all is well, some Bacon would go nice right now."
Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go?

AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
October 6, 2012 - 6:36pm

OOC: Remember To Post What Your Characters Are Now Doing With What They Have Discovered About What Is Happening Around Them. Results For Your Log Checks Were Revealed In My Last OOC Post.


rattraveller's picture
rattraveller
October 7, 2012 - 7:57am
Lt. Finsletter thinks to herself, "All is Well but we are in an unknown sector of space so SOP is to establish a standard gravity and slow the ship so that damage control teams can get to work and the astrogators can establish a more precise location."

Fingers flying over the controls she sets to getting a better control of herself and the ship.
Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go?

TerlObar's picture
TerlObar
October 7, 2012 - 1:02pm
"Well done," Mike says quietly to Lt. Finsletter, squeezing her shoulder in support as they come out of the Void.  Quickly returning to his station, he begins to assess the situation.

Initial sensor reading show that they are in a relativly dense nebula.  There are not a lot of stars visible on the exterior views.  Knowing that only light from the brightest stars will make it through the dust and gas of the nebula, he focuses his work on the stars in the database which are very bright and located along their estimated direction of travel.

After several minutes nothing checks out and Mike is beginning to doubt himself.  He runs a diagnostic on his system and the senors as a sanity check, just be sure but everything comes back nominal.

"Okay," he thinks to himself, "what do we know?  We're in a nebula.  Starlight is going to be fainter and redder than if we were out in normal space.  The exact amount depends on the density of the nebula.  So we need to determine that.

"Second, we were traveling at a huge velocity, exact amount unknown.  We could have traveled quite a ways and so stars that are normally faint would appear bright since we'd be much closer to them.  I'll need to open up the search window in the database to allow for that.

"What else? What am I missing?," he wonders as he starts to set up the search parameters in the computer and relay orders to the ships telescopses to start collecting spectra on the brightest stars visible through the nebula for comparison against the ship's database.  Just as he finishes it hits him.  "Duh.  The telescopes can't see due aft and that's the first place we should be looking as Sol, or more likely Vega will be visible behind us."

"Lt. Finsletter," Mike calls out.  "Can you bring us about 180 degrees so we are pointing back the way we came.  I need to get some measurements in the area that is due aft of our current attitude."  As the ship swings around, Mike focuses one of the ships external cameras back in the direction they came.  There's not much there but almost due aft is a faint star.  Overriding his inital search plan he focuses the ship's main telescope on that star.

After several minutes he gets an inital spectrum and launches a search through the database for a match, starting with Sol and Vega.  After a couple more minutes of searching the computer spits out an answer:

BD+36 3311 - Sp. Type: F2III

Mike just stares at the screen.  "That can't be right," he thinks as he pulls up the data on that star.  Once again he double checks the instruments but the diagnostics come back all green.

"Okay, let's assume this is correct," he says to himself.  "BD 36 3111" is nearly 4500 light years from Sol.  We saw it looking back the way we came.  Based on it's brightness, we're at least another one to three thousand light years beyond it.  That puts us quite near the galactic center, and a long, long way from home."

Astrogation Check: Find Location (50%) - roll 07


Mike sits back and lets out a deep breath.   "Okay, if that's where we're at, what other bright stars should be around?"  Getting down to work, it takes him another half hour before he's satisfied.  However, after identifying several other giant stars that are faint from Sol, including a blue supergiant that is still ahead of them, he has a good handle on their postiion.

"Captain, I've got good news and I've got bad news," he finally says out loud.  "The good news is that I've determined our approximate location, as best I can given the astronomical data we have and the fact that we're sitting in the middle of this nebula which is obscuring our view.  The bad new is that we're are a long way from home.  Nearly 6000 light years from Sol in the general direction of the galactic center."
Ad Astra Per Ardua!
My blog - Expanding Frontier
Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site
Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine
Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine

OnceFarOff's picture
OnceFarOff
October 8, 2012 - 6:20am
Intrigued by the presence of Lt. Stone in the wrong place during an emergency, Kyrell thinks about the best route to take and moves to accost him.

Ronin84's picture
Ronin84
October 8, 2012 - 12:31pm
"Damnit!"  Dr. Forrest dismisses the medbot.  "Captain, I need to freeze the XO, there is no other safe medical solution."  

Activating the cryotube with a heavy hand his whisper barely heard, "When I have the time to do this right I will have you out of there and back where you belong."

"Captain, unless there is something else we have endured other injuries, I would like to get back down to medical and take charge from down there, sir."

Barely waiting to be dismissed, Duke leaves the bridge...

AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
October 8, 2012 - 9:17pm
Day Two (Part Three):

The roar of commotion about the bridge slowly subsides to busy murmmer as crew members, support robots, and officers go about their work repairing damage and restoring systems throughout the C.S.S. William Logan. Damage reports continue to flow to the bridge throughout the ship with troubling news of significant damage that will take valuable time and resources to repair.

"Good idea, Stars'", Captain Crane says overhearing the Lt. Commander's idea to turn the ship. "Lt. Finsletter, Lt. Commander Bell has the Conn while I attend to getting the ship's repairs in order." Captain Crane then departs the command bridge and walks to the lift. "I'll be in engineering for a while, let me know if anything develops".

"Stars', by the way, when you have a moment get any of your extra staff working on analyzing that nebula. While we are here we should learn as much as we can about it and maybe conduct a survey sweep if there is anything left that still works in astrogation", the Captain says with a smile from the lift as the automated doors close. Lt. Commander Bell sighs, knowing all too well that the subtle smile on the Captain's face is because Star's had just "volunteered himself" for more work by showing extra initiative on the bridge.

The newly discovered nebula still provides a sense of curiosity for the crew and officers. While its hazy clouds of gas and random electrical disturbances provides a safe refuge for the battered vessel it also could bring unseen troubles to the crippled ship.

Meanwhile in the FTL Drive Module, Commander Kyrell exits the control room and carefully walks down middle of the "H" junction corridor that surrounds outside of the FTL Drive Core Chamber. Kyrell knows that stone is not where he should be and during a crisis situation like this it is a sure trip to the Brig. Kyrell wonders to himself what brings the big man down here? What possible purpose could he have in the equipment room? As Kyrell approaches the end of the corridor his heart beats a little faster with anxious energy. Peering around the corner, Kyrell observes Darius Stone thirty five feet down the corridor walking away at a brisk pace. As Lt. Stone walks through the corridor Commander Kyrell can see him shedding off parts of the space suit he was wearing and dropping them on the floor as he goes.

Back on the bridge, Lt. Finsletter carefully completes the 180 degree turn bringing the ship about so Lt. Commander Bell can use the ship's powerful telescope and sensor arrays to establish a location fix. Everything is going smoothly in the maneuver when suddenly a quiet alert tone chimes over Finsletter's console. "Warning... Proximity alert... Object detected 20,000 Kilometers ahead... Advise adjust course Z 15 degrees", the electronic female voice of the ship's computer core chimes.




AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
October 8, 2012 - 7:31pm
OOC:

Lt. Finsletter: Conduct a Piloting skill check to effect the sudden course change.

Commander Kyrell: Conduct a LOG check to see what you discern about your situation and a dexterity check to remain unseen while watching Lt. Darius Stone.

Doc Forest is successful in activating the cryo-stasis system in the med pod and puts Commander Grant in stasis. Duke proceeding to medical to treat other patients who were injured.

Lt. Commander Bell is still working on his astrogation tasks and has control of the bridge at this time while the Captain is in Engineering.
 

TerlObar's picture
TerlObar
October 8, 2012 - 7:35pm
"Oh boy," Mike thinks to himself as the computer calls out the alert.

"Helm, pitch down 15 degrees per the recommendation," Mike calls out to Lt. Finsletter.  "Then keep her steady but be prepared to alter course quickly if necessary."

Fingers flying over his keyboard, he orders some of the ships external camera onto the bearing of the object and brings their feed up on the main forward screen.  "Let's see what we have here."
Ad Astra Per Ardua!
My blog - Expanding Frontier
Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site
Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine
Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine

OnceFarOff's picture
OnceFarOff
October 9, 2012 - 9:11am
AZ_GAMER wrote:

Day Two (Part Three):
Meanwhile in the FTL Drive Module, Commander Kyrell exits the control room and carefully walks down middle of the "H" junction corridor that surrounds outside of the FTL Drive Core Chamber. Kyrell knows that stone is not where he should be and during a crisis situation like this it is a sure trip to the Brig. Kyrell wonders to himself what brings the big man down here? What possible purpose could he have in the equipment room? As Kyrell approaches the end of the corridor his heart beats a little faster with anxious energy. Peering around the corner, Kyrell observes Darius Stone thirty five feet down the corridor walking away at a brisk pace. As Lt. Stone walks through the corridor Commander Kyrell can see him shedding off parts of the space suit he was wearing and dropping them on the floor as he goes.


Kyrell continues to pursue Lt. Stone, maintaining his distance, moving from cover to cover to avoid being detected.

(OOC: Log roll: 98 DOH!!! Dex roll: 11 - live to spy another day)

rattraveller's picture
rattraveller
October 10, 2012 - 5:47pm
Lt Finsletter piloting roll 43

That is a close one.
Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go?

AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
October 12, 2012 - 12:57am

DAY TWO (PART FOUR):

A hush grew over the command crew on the bridge as Lt. Finsletter maneuvered the C.S.S. William Logan to avoid the unseen object in their path. All experienced spacers know about the risks and problems involved in executing a blind emergency jump. Some of the most common of these problems include arriving in normal space in the wrong place, arriving in the path of another object, or even worse in the same place occupied by another object. Emergency jumps do not give the ship's sensor devices adequate time to gather data about the new destination before the jump and often require recalibration after the jump. Now the crew of the 'Logan had a text book example of what can go wrong in a emergency jump drifting through space right at them.  

Fortunately for the 'Logan and its crew the object before them was adrift travelling at a low velocity and still some distance away. Lt. Commander Bell repositioned the exterior hull cameras to get a magnified view of the approaching object while Lt. Finsletter adjusted the ship's course. Slowing the ship to a near stop, Lt. Finsletter maneuvers the 'Logan to a new position underneath the course of the drifting object.

After a few moments of searching through the hull camera video feeds, Lt. Commander Bell locates the appropriate camera and locks it on the object. With a few more quick key strokes on the control panel at the command station Bell brings the distant blurry image up on the main view screen. Even at twenty thousand kilometers the object still appears quite tiny on the magnified view of the powerful exterior cameras. A small shiny metallic object with triangular shaped aero-dynamic wings appeared on the screen before the crew. As the shiny speck grew closer and closer on the view screen and the command crew could now see more distinguishable features forming the unmistakable shape of a spacecraft. This unknown vessel had a bright reflective hull which seemed to be to be cratered with holes and rips which intermittently emitted plumes of leaking atmosphere and escaping flames. The vessel tumbled from end to end on an erratic course with no indication of controlled flight. A few more adjustments on the camera control panel and Lt. Commander Bell enhanced the image resolution of the ship's hull. While the ship had the apperance of something man made it's design most certainly did not look like any spacecraft launched by one of Earth's Colonies or its allies. 

Lt. Ky Rojan leaned back from his scope catching Bells' attention with a waive of his metallic hand. "Lt. Commander Bell, It's definitely a spacecraft of some kind but not any configuration I am familiar with. Whatever this ship is, it has been through the eight Hells of the broken anvil and back again. If I were a human and prone to speculative wager, I'd bet by the looks of that hull that whatever happened here...was a fight."

Meanwhile, deep inside the engineering section Commander Kyrell quietly observes the suspicious behaviour of gravity dynamics engineer Lt. Darius Stone. From the shadowed corner of the corridor junction, Kyrell observes Stone walking to the bulkhead hatch. Stone pauses momentarily at the hatch, glancing over his massive shoulder as if to see if anyone was approaching. Remaining unseen by Stone's quick glance, Commander Kyrell watched as Stone sliped through the hatch and sealed it behind him. While the whole surreal scene played out like some kind of bad holovid detective drama Commander Kyrell saw nothing that explained what had just transpired. Unable to ignore the pressing concerns of his work in engineering any longer Commander Kyrell felt that it would be best to bring the matter to the new Security Chief at his first opportunity. 

At the Medical Bay, Doctor Forest finds himself bombarded with a constant stream of injured crew members. Casualty reports indicate that at least six crew members were killed during the attack and twelve more were still unaccounted for. Even with some of the best medical technology in the colonies at his disposal the Doctor can't help but feel a little off balance by the seemingly unending stream of new patients lining up on top of his already lingering thoughts of Commander Grant stuck in Cryostasis. Doctor Forest knows that at time like this the Ship needs it's XO more than ever. However there just is no changing the inescapable circumstances of the situation.  

rattraveller's picture
rattraveller
October 12, 2012 - 3:27am
Trying to anticipate, Lt. Finsletter prepares a course which will take the ship closer to the unknown damaged  vessel. Another part of her mind wonders if despite the loss of life on their ship, did the Fates bring them here to save whoever might be on that ship?
Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go?

OnceFarOff's picture
OnceFarOff
October 12, 2012 - 1:32pm
Kyrell notes the time and glances about quickly for the presence of security cameras, then heads back toward engineering. As he briskly walks back, he calls security. "Security - I need to see the chief when he can come by engineering. No immediate threat. Kyrell out."

AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
October 14, 2012 - 11:24pm
OOC:
My last narrative post was just lost after I hit summit. After a half hour of composing I can't take the time to rewrite the whole thing again. So here is the ugly short version.

Day Two (Part Five):

Kyrell: the Captain meets with you in Engineering and assess the damage reports. 4 of 6 FTL generators are fused and so maybe at best you can still get 1 to 2 LY per day on a jump. Aft Engineer section is badly damaged with the destruction of the exterior dropship and docking cradle. Capacitor shields are still out and should be able to repaired in the next day.

Stars: Rojan reports that his analysis of the derelict detects two sophisticated atomic fission engines on board with a lot of nuclear shielding. He also detects one smaller atomic fision engine in the dorsal side of the fuselage which he thinks maybe a weapon because of its lack of protective shielding. Rojan does not detect any energy emissions which would indicate actively charged weapons. Rojan recommends the activation of the 'Logan's repulsor shields as precaution as we are unfamiliar with the ship's design and capabilities.

Forrest: while triaging patients in the corridor outside of medical the Doctor recognizes a Xin patient named Ensign K'zel who you treated earlier for food poisoning. The Ensign has an mild head wound, an injured arm, and starts displaying symptoms of Jump Illness (Which is unheard of among the Xin). In a psychotic break, the Xin ensign seizes one of the near by nurses and is holding her captive with a laser scalpel he acquired from a near by medical tray pointed at her head. K'zel tells everyone "Get back" in badly broken Alliance English.

Lt. Finsletter: You observe a low frequency emission that keeps repeating every 45 seconds on your communications monitor. It only appears as a very brief spike on the band monitor that is barely noticeable and looks a lot like white noise or static.


OnceFarOff's picture
OnceFarOff
October 15, 2012 - 8:15am
Kyrell snaps out orders to his team as the repairs continue. He turns to the Captain and says, "So Captain, unless you want to prioritize something else, we'll continue to work at getting the Capacitor Shields back online, and of course the ongoing assessments." For a moment, Kyrell debates telling the CO about Stone, but then decides to wait until he has more information. "Cap's having a busy day, too" he muses...

TerlObar's picture
TerlObar
October 15, 2012 - 11:45am
"Looks like we stumbled upon the victim," Mike thinks to himself.  "I wonder where the attacker is?"

"Weapons," Mike calls out to the bridge crew, "bring up our repulsor shields.  This one may be out of the fight but whomever beat them up may still be out there.   Be alert and be ready to put the weapons on-line on short notice but keep them off for now."

"Helm," Mike continues as he is issuing commands on his console to bring the tumbling ship's course up on the main display, "Bring us up and over the vessel's course and then match course on the other side.  Start with a two kilometer separation on the course match and slowly bring us in to 250 meters."

"Comm, see if you can open a communication channel with the vessel.  I doubt we'll be able to understand them whatever they are but at least we can try."

"Sensors," Mike calls out then pauses, "wait that's me.  Initiating a full sensor scan."  Mike keys in the command to train every available sensor on the vessel to try to glean as much data as possible as quickly as possible.  He also activates the 'Logan's radar (and any other sensors, not actively engaged in scanning the ship) in maximum sensitivity passive mode to look for any other ships nearby that may be emitting radiation.

Activiating a comm link to the captain he reports in.  "Skipper, you might want to get back up to the bridge.  We seem to have stumbed across an unidentified vessel.  It is of unknown design and looks pretty beat up like it just came out of the wrong end of a bar fight.  Current range 20,000 kilometers and closing.  We are moving in to investigate.  Premission requested to go active to look for potential hostiles."

OOC:
How big is the ship relative to the Logan?  I assume we can determine that based on the information we now have or can quickly aquire from sensors.  Also since it is tumbling, we should be able to quickly determine the source of that unshielded fission engine and build up a full image of the ship.

LDR roll (if necessary): 39 (LDR= 45)
Ad Astra Per Ardua!
My blog - Expanding Frontier
Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site
Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine
Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine

rattraveller's picture
rattraveller
October 16, 2012 - 5:30pm
Having figured the course already, Lt. Finsletter hits it and then attempts to refine the signal clearing away the background noise.
Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go?

AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
October 19, 2012 - 5:01pm
OOC: @ Terlobar: The William Logan is around HS 9 to HS 10 by SFKH standards and the derelict spacecraft is an HS 3 twin engine atomic drive spacecraft. So the derelict is considerably smaller than the 'Logan. Your sensor mapping detects five distinct compartments in a top down configuration. No artificial gravity field generator detected and intermittent heat signatures which could include small electrical fires, equipment in use, and / or crew. Two of the compartments are vented to space due to substantial hull breaches. The reactor and engines are still producing power but at a minimal output. There is a fair amount of electronic emissions from the vessel but no indication of any kind of defensive screen or force field generators. The atomic drives and reactor are very sophisticated for a fission drive.

AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
October 19, 2012 - 5:50pm

Lt. Finsletter: While running the signal through the Grey 3000 computer's pattern filter you see a recognizable pattern begin to emerge in the frequency waves as the computer strips away layer upon background noise. The signal looks a lot like a subspace carrier signal but broadcasting on an extremely low frequency. You find it a wonder that you even found the signal at all buried under all of that background noise caused by the derelicts other electronic emissions.

OOC: Finsletter roll a piloting skill check to see if you can match the derelicts erratic course and speed.


AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
October 19, 2012 - 5:15pm

Kyrell: "Very well Commander, it looks like you have everything under control here so I'll do my best to stay out of your way. This ship certainly wasn't designed for this, you are doing an exceptional job holding her together throughout all of this.", Captain Crane Remarks as he takes one more look survey of the control monitors in Engineering. "Getting the Cap' Shields operational again is the priority now, repulsor shields are good but nothing soaks up an damage like an operational Cap'. I hope we won't need to use it but the last two days have been proof enough that we will. Give me a report on the your progress as soon as possible.", Captain Crane says as he leaves the engineering control room to return to the lift.

OOC: Roll an engineering skill check to determine what the cause of the malfunction with the Capacitor Shields is and how many hours the repair will take. If you recall, the Cap' Shields were deactivated while preparing for the jump to Vega because the Hyperspace Gate interferes with their operation. With the Cap' Shield deactivated the generator network should have weathered the jumps without any problem so there must be another problem causing the malfunction


AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
October 19, 2012 - 5:36pm
OOC: Forest rolls a 35 for his dexterity check and executes a martial arts skill disarm.

Forest (NPC): In a moment of pure instinct Dr. Forest leaps into action, seizes the Xin's laser scaple wielding hand pushing it towards the ceiling, simultaneously pushing the captive nurse out of harms way. In his weakened state, Lt. K'Zel finds the struggle too much even for his psychotic rage and collapses in the corridor. His body fights itself, convulsively trying to get back on his feet. K'zel finds that his injuries are just too much to overcome and falls again to the floor. Within seconds two more nurses run to Dr. Forest's aid holding the thrashing Xin as he begins to foam at the mouth and shout even more unintelligible ramblings. The violent tirade continues for only a few short moments before Dr. Forest finds a sedative syringe and jabs it into the alien's thigh. "Nurse, let's get this Gum Drop on ice before he wakes up and realizes he's the first recorded case of Xin Jump Illness and picks up the mayhem where he left off. I'm getting too old for this crap and that's for Damn Sure!" 

AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
October 19, 2012 - 5:50pm

While heading for the Lift, Captain Crane receives Lt. Commander Bell's hail on his com link. "When it rains, it pours!", the Captain says in near disbelief of Star's report. "I'm on my way back to the bridge now Lt. Commander. Have Finsletter match course and speed, take us in to 2000 Kilometers, I want to get a closer look at this ship. Maybe, there is something or someone that can help us figure out where the hell we are or how to get home."

OOC: Lt. Cmdr. Bell roll an intution check to determine the best course to approach the erratically tumbling derelict and advise Lt. Finsletter of your findings."


rattraveller's picture
rattraveller
October 20, 2012 - 4:30am
Lt. Finsletter starts running the signal through the translation programs and also announces to the bridge officers that an intelligent signal is being transmitted from the ship.

OOC already plotted matching course so just waiting on the order
Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go?

OnceFarOff's picture
OnceFarOff
October 20, 2012 - 6:31am
AZ_GAMER wrote:

OOC: Roll an engineering skill check to determine what the cause of the malfunction with the Capacitor Shields is and how many hours the repair will take. If you recall, the Cap' Shields were deactivated while preparing for the jump to Vega because the Hyperspace Gate interferes with their operation. With the Cap' Shield deactivated the generator network should have weathered the jumps without any problem so there must be another problem causing the malfunction



OOC: Engineering Skill Check - ROLL: 37. Kyrell is HIGHLY suspicious of Stone and will start his troubleshooting of the Capacitor Shields by checking against the area he saw Stone in to see if there is any possibility the two are related. If it is possible, he will look for evidence to support the theory. If he finds any, he will alert security and the captain. He will also try to remember if there were any security cameras in the area he saw Stone in to provide further evidence.


TerlObar's picture
TerlObar
October 20, 2012 - 7:28pm
INT roll: 55 (INT=60)

Mike studies the tumbling ship trying to get a feel for its motion and decide the best way to approach it.  After a few moments hesitation he looks over Lt. Finsletter's course.  "Looks good, Lieutenant.  Go ahead and execute the maneuver."

"I wonder who they are," Mike muses to himself.  "I get the feeling the captain's going to send us over to find out.  I just hope that if there are survivors, they turn out to be friendly."
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AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
November 5, 2012 - 10:09pm
DAY THREE (PART ONE):

Lt. Finsletter and Lt. Commander Bell successfully work out a safe approach to the derelict ship. Matching speed and course the Command Officers work well together plotting a very efficient flight path that will bring the 'Logan along side the ship at just under 2000 kilometers on its next roll. Captain Crane gives the two officers a much needed congratulations in the form of an approving nod and smile. "Good work, let's take a look at this hulk and see if there's anything helpful over there. I can't say I've ever seen a ship quite like this one but it sure does look human enough in design and construction. It certainly isn't Shi'an or Xin that's for sure.", The Captain says while studying the image of the derelict spacecraft on the view screen. The Captain's words ring a little too close to home after the recent attack from the Fen cruiser. Seeing an unknown, and possibly alien ship, that was not Xin or Shi'an was certainly a source of both relief and apprehension for everyone on the 'Logan.

After inputting the ship's maneuvers, Lt. Finsletter takes a moment to turn her attention to the mysterious transmission that she found.. With a couple of key strokes on her station's communications panel Finsletter tasks the ship's powerful computer core with filtering the transmission for pattern recognition.

A few minutes pass, while Finsletter attends to some minor course corrections the computer alerts her of its results with cheerful chime on her console. "Subspace Carrier Wave Detected. Pattern Search Complete... Affirmative Presence Of Language Syntax... Language Unknown... Pattern Suggests Automated Emergency Beacon.", the Grey 3000 computer core announces calmly in it's artificial female voice.

Meanwhile, in the Engineering Control room Commander Kyrell continues to search for the problem vexing the Capacitor Shield System. Since their departure from Space Dock the Cap Shields have been offline in preparation for the Hyperspace Gate Jump. After all, the Gate's energy field interfered with Cap Shield Operation and the crew certainly was not expecting to take the 'Logan in to combat. With the Cap Shields off line and no obvious damage to the shield network sustained during either the attack or misjump there was no known reason for the malfunction.

After two hours of diagnostic work and trouble shooting Commander Kyrell finally finds the problem. A power transfer junction had been cut at each of connection nodes depriving the shield grid of the power it needs to activate. Upon closer inspection, Commander Kyrell detects the tell tale signs that a plasma torch was used to cut the connections. "Sabotage", The Commander thinks to himself surveying the damage before him. The almost surgically clean cuts and fused metal could only be achieved by the metal melting power from  one of the ship's plasma torches.

Now that Kyrell has found the problem repairing the damage and restoriing the Cap Shields should only take about six hours. Whoever committed this unspeakable act certainly was not a skilled sabotuer because the clean cuts from the plasma torch made for easier replacement of the damaged transfer junction. Commander Kyrell's thought immediately raced back to Lt. Stone's unusual presence in the FTL Drive Module's equipment room when he should have been at his duty station. Could Stone be responsible for this? What could possibly be the reason for disabling the ship's primary defense system?

Back on the Bridge, the command crew works dilligently at uncovering the mystery of the derelict ship. Ensign Shadak (http://www.starfrontiers.us/node/7147), A young female Edon, quietly delivers data pads to all of the command stations with the latest status reports and repair schedules. While passing by the helm station, in a typically sneaky unobtrusive Edon fashion, Ensign Shadak pauses momentarily to look over Lt. Finsletter's shoulder at her work. "Oh, you've got yourself a subspace distress beacon there", Shadak says interrupting Finsletter's concentration. "Looks like a coded carrier message in there too, better clean it up with low frequency filter or else it just gonna sound like garbled crap. Hmmmpf", The Edon grumbles as she scurries away leaving the astonished command crew with their mouths hanging open in amazement.    

AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
October 23, 2012 - 11:37pm

(Double post goodness)


AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
October 23, 2012 - 11:36pm
OOC: All players have earned a total of four experience points each for completion of Days One and Two. The XP will be added shortly to your current totals. Also two days pay for your respective rank rate will be added to your accounts.

OnceFarOff's picture
OnceFarOff
October 24, 2012 - 7:28pm
OOC: @AZ_GAMER - Were either of the locations where the sabotage took place the same as where I saw Stone? If so I'm going to call security immediately. If I don't have slam dunk evidence, I'm going to keep looking as I make repairs.