Alpha Panda, Serenity RPG IC

[Lentrax]

it could be worse, Sia thought to herself. Jack could have made me stay on the Panda.

Sia steps through with the rest of the crew, staying close to Cole. Her light plays over the sights of this side of the airlock, looking for anyone who may need help.

[Creed]

Morgan
Forward Airlock

As the airlocks open, Morgan steps forward to point, raising his rifle He advances into hold of the Buck, and looks around, passing his headlights over the contents of the room.
If all seems clear of life, he motions for the others to come up behind him.

[Erasmas]

Cole
Airlocks of the Alpha Panda & Buck

Cole fell into step directly behind Morgan, covering him around corners and sweeping an entrance into a new space opposite the mute man; if Morgan went right, Cole went left... always coming back to the group when nothing was found.

Anything immediately portable of value or use to the crew that fell under his light, the soldier snatched up and passed back behind him without even looking at who was taking it from him.

[Sunfall]

Grace Willows, Cargo Bay

(earlier)
The darkened cargo bay is only illuminated by a soft square of light, coming out of an old container tucked away in the corner of the bay. A soft humming can be heard inside, the melody of an old melancholy lullaby, said to origin on Earth-That-Was, having come into new popularity during the War. Grace, who doesn't seem to sleep much, had already been up, happily banging around stuff and setting things up when the captain's announcement came.

She looks up, a worried frown on her face, and proceeds to wipe her hands on rag, stepping from the container.

(now)
Grace steps onto the bridge, dodging a low beam and ducking under some of Lei's cables that seem to be everywhere in here, as if a vat full of electric spaghetti exploded.

"Hey, hon", she says to Lei, leaning over the diminutive pilot's shoulder. "They're already over there, ain't they? Anythin' I can do ter help?" Her gaze falls upon the hole in the derelict ship, pulled up on one of the monitors. "Oh my - that's lookin' bad. Peculiar way fer a ship ter get damaged, though, innit?" She takes a puzzled look at the sensor readings.

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Intelligence (1d12)[5] + Scientific expertise (if applicable) (1d6)[1]

(For reading the sensors correctly and gauging whether any of this looks familiar...)

[Space Lawyer]

Lei
Bridge of Alpha Panda

"Yep, they're taking a look for anything good. Want to make any requests?" Lei looks back up at the gash in Buck. "I'm not sure about the ship. I've been going through the logs, trying to see if they say something about what happened.She never stood a chance. Something like that happens, the whole world goes in a second. My family's ship had a bad hull breach once. Comet tore a hole right through my home. Luckily, it was in the cargo hold, and the airlocks shut immediately. Still, nothing like seeing 200 tons of rice shoot out of the side of a ship like a geyser."

[Shadow_Elf]

Greg
Bridge
As Grace enters, Greg stands and tips his hat. Evenin', Miss Grace, he says respectfully, before sitting back down. An' Lei, I done telled ya, that there hole was made by a boardin' ram. I'd bet my hat on it.

[Voltaire]

Shooter was bored. Waiting in his bunk seemed downright furtive to him. But a long time ago, there was a man called Murphy, and he made a law that said 'never volunteer for anything'. So he didn't. And he certainly wasn't going to start with slipping into a girly little suit that was going to be the only thing between him and the black cold, while on a derelict ship made derelict by Lord knows what. Shooter's momma was a smart woman, and she taught him better than that. What was it? Discretion? The better part of valor?

Still, the situation nagged him to the point where he found himself striding purposefully onto the bridge, shortly after Grace did the same.

'Good eve-, morn- ... ing, Captain!' Stirling said to the boss cheerfully, before turning to Grace and Lei, tipping his hat, 'M'am! And, uhh, m'am. So, how are them boys and, uhh... girl... doin' over there? Not dead yet? Good, good. Listen, y'all, if anything from over there yonder - anything unwholesome - makes its way over here, well, I promise you, I'll show 'em a real good time, now. Mah gun's always loaded. Just, uhh, stay me the hell away from airlocks, y'hear? I do not have a likin' for the black cold.'

[Sunfall]

Grace, Bridge

"Hmmm, wouldn't they look fer survivors first? But thank you m'dear, I'm good. I reckon the Cap'n an' folks can decide very well fer 'emselves what could be useful. Oh, hello Mr. Reaufort, dinnae see ya standin' there..."

When Greg voices his suspicions, the old woman grows a shade paler. "Well, I'm not sure if it looks ter me like a comet's gone through, but a boardin' ram!?"

[Space Lawyer]

Lei
Bridge of Alpha Panda

"Ah, yep, boarding ram it is. Take a look at the sensor logs." Lei points to a line on the screen that suddenly jumps up in the middle "Right here, the kinetic force applied to hull spikes. Overall though, somethings wrong. I'm just getting the logs from what cached in the sensors. They must've turned off the central database soon as they got on. " Lei frowns. Stirling, you might want to go up to the main passage, just make sure nothing comes back unwelcome from Buck. A few quick keystrokes, and Lei is broadcasting to the crew on Buck. Keep your eyes open. The ship was hit by a boarding ram, and the crew turned off just about everything useful as soon as they got on board. There is no manifest of crew list that I can find. No log, nothing.

[Sunfall]

Grace, Bridge

The old woman's features distort into an expression of extreme discomfort as she sits down on one of the chairs in the back of the bridge, the bluish light of the monitors reflecting eerily on her worn features.

"Lao tyen yeh", she says quietly. "I've seen quite a bit o' piratin' in my time, but... Cuttin' that bitta metal open what keeps us all from floatin' out there, tha's just... tha's..."

She shoots a worried look at Shooter, who had just voiced his fear of open space. "Are ye quite alright, lad?"

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Translation:

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My God!

[Shadow_Elf]

Greg
Bridge
S'long as the raider ship's still attached, there prob'ly ain't much loss a' atmosphere. S'when they leave that things go pear-shaped... reflects Greg. Now, admittedly, I dunno much about ships. Never really much liked em', t'be honest, 'cept 'course when they're the only thing 'twixt me an' the black, but ships on a long trip go too fast to accurately ram em', don't they? So, even if we don't have the logs, this bird must've been goin' some'ere close, am I right?

[Aneurin]

Jack
Buck's Airlock

Following the others down the passageway, Jack pauses for a moment to answer Lei.

"Thanks for the heads up. Are we alone over here, or should we expect some company soon?" he glances at the others - which in a space suit, involves basically turning around to stare at them head on. "We'll split up. Cole and Sia; head for the crew quarters, look for survivors.

I'll head down to the cargo bay with Morgan, to try and seal of some bulkheads so's we can pump her full of air and get any survivors out alive. It's not much of a rescue if all you do is watch the blood boil out of their ears because you opened the wrong door.

I know you've all heard this often enough, but I ain't losing any of you to a rookie mistake; so keep together, and keep in touch. Dohn ma?"


The airlock doors slide together with a thump that can be felt through the deckplates.

[Creed]

Morgan
Buck's Airlock

Morgan nods at the captain's instructions, and looks for stairs, an elevator, even a simple ladder down to the cargo bay.

You're the boss, boss, he thinks to himself, But if there's anything aboard that wants to gouge our eyes out, it's not going to be in the cargo bay. Sure hope the doctor can handle a gun if somethings comes up.

[Erasmas]

Cole
The Buck

"Dohn ma, Cap... you ain't gotta tell me twice."

Cole started making his way towards the quarters, carefully checking his corners and behind any hidey spots that they came across. Once they got there, he gently rapped on the first door that found, waiting several long seconds for a response before opening the door. Before he started, he turned to Sia.

"I know you know yer business, Sia, and I ain't tryin' to tell you what to do... just don't jump if and when we find somebody that needs yer help. We need to figure out who they are first."

[Voltaire]

'Alright, m'am! Sounds swell.'

Tipping his hat to the women and the cat, Shooter strode off, bee-lining for the main access corridor. There was no shame in making sure that asses were covered. Asses were very important to people. They provided cushioning. He was going to protect their cushioning.

Once he was there though, things got awkward. How was he going to go about the protecting? Should he get behind a box, pistol drawn? Should he just stand there, waiting, like some kind of idiot?

Eventually, he decided to just take his hat off, chew his jerky and take a load off, leaning against the harshly metallic wall. A yawn or two escaped his lips. He rubbed his eyes a little and looked at the airlock. Still kind of close.

[Lentrax]

Sia
Aboard the Buck

Before Cole can turn away, Sia puts a hand on his shoulder. She holds up Three fingers, to let him know what frequency she is on.

"You know I can hold my own, Cole. You know I was at Serenity Valley. And that changed all of us. Most of us who were there will never be able to leave. but I can do the job, love"

She puts her hand from her faceplate to his, transferring a kiss between them.

"C'mon, let's go."

[Narmoth]

Adrian Starr
Derelict Ship

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Adrian starts to look for any alternative exits from his cabin. Musing quickly on the plumbing system, he decides that he'll rather risk the airless corridor and continues searching

[Erasmas]

Cole
Aboard the Buck

"I know."

That was all that Cole replied, before he set himself back to the task at hand. Once they reached the first of the crew's quarters, he rapped three times on the steel door. Hearing no reply, he opened the room and leveled his shotgun... only to realize that the person in the room was only still sitting upright because they had frozen that way. A hole, no more than the size of Cole's fists, was punched through the back wall of the room near the ceiling. The twinkle of starlight could be seen through the hull breech. Poor bastard, the soldier thought to himself before moving on. Cole found similar situations in almost every room... dead, possibly from head trauma from the impact... dead, depressurization... dead, lifesupport system to room compromised...

And then finally, when he knocked on one room, there was a response.

[Space Lawyer]

Lei
Bridge of Alpha Panda

"黑色是空的, 船长. I'll keep any eye out, 但是我们是在不着村后不着。If anybody over there could figure out why she's off, I might be able to get her started from here."

Translations:

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黑色是空的, 船长. = The black is empty, captain.
但是我们是在不着村后不着 ＝ but we are in the middle of nowhere

[Sunfall]

Grace, Bridge

It takes Grace a moment to gather her wits after Shooter leaves. Then she blinks and turns to Lei. "Did he jes' call me Ma'am?"

She listens to Lei's transmission, after which she repeats her initial offer: "If ya need ter remote-control the Buck, hon, do ya need someone ter watch the black for ya? I'm na totally useless 'round sensors..."

She maybe wouldn't admit it, but at the moment she feels safest here, on the bridge. At least, if something happens, in here you'll probably know what hit ye.

[Unkabear]

Tap sits and waits by the airlocks, knowing that they can be cycled from the bridge, but is ready in case there was any difficulty that needed manual work done.

[Lentrax]

Sia
Crew Quarters, Buck

Sia waits paitently as Cole goes about knocking on doors.

She haits waiting, especially here, this close to the black. It reminds her of just how fragile life is, to require a suit that keeps her from swelling up like a gāisǐ* melon.

It reminds her of the War, of all those kids on her table, kids who will never be whole again. Kids. That was who fought the war. High Command just told 'em where to- Cole was taking longer at this door, was something behind it?

"What is it, Cole?"

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*Gāisǐ: Damn (according to google translate, anyway.)

[Erasmas]

"You didn't feel that?"

Cole pressed his hand up to the door once more, straining to feel for what he thought he felt the first time through his feet. The soldier knocks again, louder this time.

"I swear, Sia... I felt somebody move nearby. They might be in here! Here, feel this door... it's all bowed out... the room on the other side must still be song shway pressurized! We're gonna need extra Vac Suits."

Cole kept his hand on the door while he switched his commlink back over to Channel 1.

"Cap... Morgan... if you read me... we may have survivors here in the crew's quarters. Did you find any of the ship's Vac Suits? We're gonna need to re-pressurize this corridor and suit up anyone we find!"

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Translation: song shway = 'Random expletive'.

[Narmoth]

Adrian Starr
Derelict ship

"My luck be damned!" Adrian whispers as something bumps into the door from the outside. It could be some object moving in zero gravity, or someone could be trying to get in. Or something? Could it be something? Adrian had heard tales of beasts living in outer space and had laughed of them. That is, until now. There was something out there, and by the conditions of, well, everything, that was something bad.... Really bad.
Well, if there was no pressure on the outside, that would be the end of everything when the door went up, but he would at least get a shot on it first. Oxygen would flow out fast, but the gaus gun could maybe get a shot first.
So Adrian readies his gun and waits....

[Shadow_Elf]

Greg
Bridge
The tactician appears to have been lost in thought for a moment or two, and then speaks. Y'know, I'm not seein' any signs a damage other than that Boardin' Ram hole. No mag-grapplers, no grazing collision. A direct hit like that, wit' no hullabaloo... I'm thinkin' might be that Buck 'ere was a sittin' duck, 'scuse the rhyme. Respondin' to a distress call, or waitin' fer a meet. Crackin' a bird's a bad way to go. Only do that ta people what's pissed y'all off real bad... he muses, sounding somewhat worried. Y'all trainin' yer sensors on the Black, Lei? I'd not like to be treated to the same welcome them who was on Buck got...

[Aneurin]

Jack
Angel On My Shoulder, many years ago

"...this...automated distress beacon...respond...Criti-... Sys-...Failure...This is the Independant ship...-ince Rurik...auto-...-eacon..."

The rest of the message is finally drowned out by static.

Ahead of the ship, a badly damaged ship is turning slow circles in the Black. She's clearly in a bad way. The decals on her side spell out the name; Prince Rurik.

Jack thumbs at - and then just thumps - the control panel in an effort to raise the distress beacon again, but even the static dies away. They'd picked up the beacon a long way off, but as they'd followed it, it had weakened to virtually nothing.

Jack
Buck's Cargo Bay, here and now

The final airlock door slams shut with a dull vibration. The empty darkness of the hold is disturbing, to say the least. Anything in the cargo bay that wasn't taken in the attack, clearly went with all the atmosphere and must be drifting in space.

Jack pauses for a long moment to stare through a viewing panel in to the hold, and suppresses a shiver. There's nothing worse than a dead ship. A ship is a living, breathing thing with personality, thoughts and history... seeing one just floating's almost as bad as seeing a corpse.

At that moment, the radio comes to life.

"...right. We hear you, Cole. We're about done down here; we'll head up to the bridge and try and find a way start her up," Jack says after listening for a moment. "Try and seal off the passageway between where you are and the airlock, in case we've missed hull breaches. We'll look for those suits, but it might be easier to bring one over from the Panda instead,"

Jack taps Morgan on the shoulder, and points down the passageway - at the end of it, a shadowy set of stairs vanishes up in to the gloom that's barely illuminated by the lights on the suits.

"You can take point,"

[Space Lawyer]

Lei
Bridge of Alpha Panda

Lei turns to Grace and sticks her tongue out. "I think so, 老女子. A second pair of eyes wouldn't hurt. A few keystrokes, and a screen at another station springs to life, replicating the same readings on Lei's sensor screen. "Feeling better now, Greg?" she says with a smile. Of course, maybe we ought to switch the guns to active status, just in case..."

When Cole's transmission comes in, she lets out a small whoop of excitement. "Yay! Somebody survived! Stirling, they need a vac suit. There should still be some near the shuttles. Tap, be ready with the tools. We might need to get creative to get the suit to whoever's over there without them, you know, exploding, freezing, and suffocating simultaneously."


老女子＝old woman

[Sunfall]

Grace, Bridge

Grace smiles fondly at Lei and takes her place at the sensor station, keeping a keen eye on the readings from outer space around them.

She frowns at Greg's musings about this probably being personal and she really doesn't care for that talk about people mayhap coming back... Nope, no harm at all in watching the black a bit more closely while the others are busy with the derelict ship's corpse.

[Creed]

Morgan Blake
Buck's Cargo Bay

Morgan stares at the captain for a split second, then nods and walks calmly down the hallway, making a point of leaving his rifle hanging comfortably at his side: not at the ready, but easily within arm's reach.

Whatever is on this boat, the soldier thinks to himself, It's not worth the risk of getting caught by whatever did this.

[Erasmas]

"Aye, sir."

Cole immediately began searching for the control panel that may allow him to pressurize the corridor. But before doing so, he turned to Sia and switched his commlink back over the Channel 3. He then moves back over to the door and pounds on it with the meat of his fist, after which he flattens his palm out on the metal once more, feeling for more of a response.

"Mei mei, can you head back on over to the airlocks and see if you can't rustle up some Vac Suits? We're gonna try n' pressurize the ship all the way back yonder to the Panda, but we may not be able to."