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Thread: Contact Lost

  1. - Top - End - #61
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Goblin

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    Default Re: Contact Lost

    "Everyone, the main visual sensors have been compromised. Looks like a looped feed of some sort," Stern reports. "Engineering, run a diagnostic. See if you can find where the signal is being interrupted."

    So, what do I do? The rest of the ship's going straight to hell while I sit here playing second-string captain. Dammit, commodore. There needs to be a CO on the bridge, and I'm surrounded by Ensigns, so I can't rush off myself. Oh, to hell with it.

    "I need half the security group here to form up on me. I'm going below to find out what the hell is happening. Ensign Melern, you have the conn." With that, Stern draws and checks the charge on his custom sidearm, its weight reassuring in his hand. Once escorted, he heads out of the bridge, toward the officers' quarters to find whatever neutralized the marine team he contacted earlier.
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    Stealthy Snake avatar by Dawn
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  2. - Top - End - #62
    Barbarian in the Playground
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    Default Re: Contact Lost

    Nodding the Enginnering Ensign acknowledges the orders.... He saw something different on the view screen but it didn't make any sense. He continues to try to get a diagnostic on anything... so he could know were to start repairs

  3. - Top - End - #63
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    HalfOrcPirate

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    Default Re: Contact Lost

    Ensign Melern stands in shocked silence for a split moment before a big Sh!& eating grin breaks across his face.

    Zell salutes LCDR Stern as he leaves the bridge.

    "Yes Sir!"

    Zell then realizes that LCDR Stern has left the entire ship to the most junior office on board. Not audible but mouthed (slightly) "Oh, ..."

    Zell stands tall and decides that the weight of commanding the apparent Flagship of the fleet is just what he needed to start his carreer.

    Pointing at a young midshipman who looks lost. "You there. What are you waiting on? If you can't fix your station help at the weapons station!"

    Now pointing at the marines stationed on the deck near the door.
    "Secure that door Marines. Nobody less than L-7authorization gets access without direct authorization from myself or LCDR Stern until we get the Commodore back onto comm's. Just follow protocol."
    PC's
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    Contact Lost – Zell Melern
    Eberron:TC - Gander Qien
    Into the Breach - Jaxal Pralest
    Familiar - Toby the Cat
    Star Wars: Bounty Hunter - Slaw Nadier
    Greyhawk Adventures - Bonepicker

    Imagination is my way to escape your reality!
    -------------------------------------------
    To much DMing and not enough play makes a DM something something...

  4. - Top - End - #64
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Storm Bringer's Avatar

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    Default Re: Contact Lost

    ++Clyne here. We've secured the hanger. The docking clamps are stuck, so we can't launch anything. That means no long range comm or sensors, not though this hull.++ Andrew reported as he looked around the bay. A few of the marines was extracting the two pilots form the Dish, Whoose pilot suits had manged to save thier lives, if not keep them consious.he changed to a piravte channel with the officers++We have 7 dead crewmen here, plus 3 pilot and a marine who are unconsious due to explosive decompression. I'm not sure how many crewmen were in here at the time. However, from what I can see, it doesn't look like anyone forced entry here. Rather, we've had a hatch failure. I'll try and seal the hatch and get some air back in here.++
    Last edited by Storm Bringer; 2008-02-08 at 03:09 PM.
    Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Tommy, 'ow's yer soul? "
    But it's " Thin red line of 'eroes " when the drums begin to roll
    The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
    O it's " Thin red line of 'eroes, " when the drums begin to roll.

    "Tommy", Rudyard Kipling

  5. - Top - End - #65
    Orc in the Playground
     
    Elvith Jars's Avatar

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    Default Re: Contact Lost

    Wake up, Old Son, time to go hunting.

    Cheveyo “Chevy” Hudson woke up a few moments before the boson whistle and klaxons sounded general quarters, rapidly put on his Apache Somatic Combat Vehicle, jacked into its onboard computer, and told the computer system to quick start and haul a**.

    God*amn. First I get shanghaied from urban tactics training and dropped onto this bucket with no explanation, then I spend two weeks straightening out f*cked up paperwork that god*amn Frenchman left me, and now this, Hudson thought to himself. I’m gonna f*cking kill someone. At least I made Sergeant.

    Hudson grabbed his gear while the armor finished its boot sequence. He felt the computer generated sixth sense embrace his mind as tactical data began flowing into his vision and hearing. Radiant’s tactical maps were noticeably missing, so he couldn’t see the ship’s status. The marines’ shared data were coming in fine. Odd, LT Winters should’ve mustered the platoon by now.

    The ship’s complement of 160 included 50 marines divided up into 4 squads of 12, plus platoon commander and ship’s security chief LT Frank Winters, and SGT Hudson, newly promoted and assigned as platoon sergeant.

    “Squad leaders, sound off.” Hudson said on Marine Command channel as he made his way to his rally point on deck 4.

    “Brown.”

    “Clancy.”

    “Coonts.”

    Hudson waited. “Harrison? Echo Squad, report.” Technically, Hudson was second in command of the platoon, but it was turning out to be more of a desk job than a field position. At least he got a little action now and then.

    Echo squad wasn’t exactly “his” to lead, that role fell onto SGT Elaine Harrison. But LT Winters wanted Hudson to gain some leadership experience. So he was attached to Echo and he shadowed Harrison, who proved to be an excellent teacher. He was picking things up quick but his new job was also frustrating. Chevy liked being in the thick of things and gunning down marks, not leading a bunch of jarheads or worse, stuck behind a desk.

    “Corporal Hastings here, Echo is uh, coming together. Sergeant, sh*t’s hit the fan.” Hudson could hear the fear in his voice. “Harrison, Vasquez, and the LT were in the hangar when the outer airlock blew. A couple more I think too. Harrison got ganked by debris so she’s out for a few days. Vasquez got banged bad while pushing Harrison and herself to safety just in time. Then she collapsed. Somebody declared her dead but she was still breathing. I think they’re rushing her to sickbay. She’s tough, she’ll be ok.” Chevy felt relieved that Vasquez, the other half of his scout sniper team, would be ok, but he still had a job to do.

    “And the LT?” There was a long pause.

    “He was… sucked out the airlock. Without a suit.”

    “Swell,” Hudson said over the air.

    “Well that confirms my theory,” Brown chimed in, “Chevy never swears when he’s mad. You owe me 20 creds, Bob.”

    “Don't forget about flag country, Nancy, bet's not over yet. Hey, guess that means you’ll get promoted again, you’re now the defacto Chief of Security. Congratulations, Lieutenant Hudson.” SGT Clancy’s remarks practically oozed sarcasm.

    “F*ck off, Clancy.” Bravo Squad’s leader knew full well that even fast-tracked, Hudson had another two years before being eligible for promotion again. But Clancy didn’t like Hudson and his Fancy Marine Special Forces. And he made sure everybody knew it.

    “Ship-wide is down- pretty much everything is,” Brown said over the radio, changing subjects to diffuse the situation, “so we’re relaying comms. The squids ordered a squad outside, so I told Echo to suit up. That’ll give ‘em something to do and not dwell on Harrison. They’d appreciate you down there though, so if you hurry you can catch up. Want the rest of us to keep sweeping for baddies?”

    Brown, like Coonts and Harrison, had more leadership experience than Chevy, but none of them wanted the platoon sergeant’s job. Better to go with the devil you know, then one you don’t, so the three squad leaders were keeping things working while giving Hudson the right nudges to grow into his command while they themselves conveniently looked somewhat inept around the brass. They saw his potential, and even inexperienced, he was still better than the guy he replaced.

    “Yeah, that’s fine,” Chevy answered, “don’t let the squids break up the fire teams too much while they’re using them for phone sex. Keep me in the loop on what’s going on, but use your discretion.”

    “Aye aye, Sir- uh, Sergeant,” Clancy quipped. Hudson ignored him and proceeded to the airlock. Coonts told him he lost contact with one of his fire teams near the Commodore's quarters, but he was on it. Hudson quietly (moving silently into the airlock, old habits die hard), caught up with the last of the marines suiting up for a spacewalk inside the decompressed hangar and grabbed a jet pack just in case. While the marines looked out of sorts, even with the LT he noticed giving them a pep talk, Chevy looked and moved like a man with no fear. {OOC: Gotta love the Dreadnaught's fearless ability}

    Even if he sees me, he probably doesn’t even know who I am. F*ck, Vasquez and I might not even be on the crew manifest yet given how they shuffled us aboard. I’ll introduce myself later, let’s get this done.

    A quick thought to the Mjolinir's Apache’s computer sealed up his armor, its gold faceplate darkening to obscure his face. With his weapons checked and secured, Hudson stepped out into the hangar bay with the rest of Echo Squad to survey the damage. Chevy heard the LT give his report. Then one of the marines finally noticed him and did a double-take in his combat spacesuit.

    “Geezus! God*am Chevy, how the f*ck did you sneak up on us like that, in powered armor?

    “Practice.”
    Last edited by Elvith Jars; 2008-02-09 at 03:49 PM.
    My 3D art page: Contact Lost

  6. - Top - End - #66
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Storm Bringer's Avatar

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    Default Re: Contact Lost

    Andrew looked up at the marines

    "Right......Sergeant, you you and your squad stay here. I'm going to get a repair team together to seal the hatch and get some bloody air in he....".
    ++This is Coporal Wayland. we have a situation here.++

    Andrew frowned. Wayland was using the marines command loop, sergeants and above. whatever this was, he didn't want to many people to know it.

    ++Wayland, this is Clyne, go ahead++

    ++It's the commadore, sir. He's dead, sir++
    It took all of Andrew mental will to prevent form showing his reaction. with a voice that strained to be level, he responded.
    ++Say again, Coporal. Commadore Kazuma is what? ++

    ++Dead, sir. looks like he slipped in the shower when the power went and broke his neck.++

    ++.....Stand by, Coporal.++
    Andrew looked up at the marine sargent (what was his name.... Hubreck? Hondurez? something begining with H). He'd have heard this as well....
    Last edited by Storm Bringer; 2008-02-09 at 01:54 PM.
    Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Tommy, 'ow's yer soul? "
    But it's " Thin red line of 'eroes " when the drums begin to roll
    The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
    O it's " Thin red line of 'eroes, " when the drums begin to roll.

    "Tommy", Rudyard Kipling

  7. - Top - End - #67
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    HalfOrcPirate

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    Default Re: Contact Lost

    ---Zell---

    To the bridge crew:
    "Listen up people we have a hull breach in the Main Hangar the door system blew. There are casualties but no enemy action is noted. Take a look at your systems and see if that effected them at all I wan no chances taken. I want internal scanners up 10 minutes ago! I want to know who is on this ship, who is missing and do we or don't we have intruder present. Hop to it."

    Simultaneously monitoring the ships Comm's and attending to the bridge Zell chuckles a bit at the antics and comments from the marines. Phone Sex "heh" Squib? "I haven't heard that one in months" ever since Zero-G training with that latina instructor. Man Oh Man that brings back memories. To bad about their LT though, I wonder what the heck he was thinking going around without his armor on. I though the jar heads even showered with those things on...

    After another minute of listening to chatter the command line buzzes and the announcment about the Commodore comes across. "Mother of"

    "LCDR Stern did you read that? Of all the stupid things. LCRD, We also lost the Marines LT. Sounds like the Platoon SGT is currently in the hanger. Might I suggest a down and dirty temporary field promotion to organize them quickly? I also suggest having him pick a new temporary Platoon SGT to avoid any issues among his NCO's (Sergeants for you layman types ). LT Clyne is on the scene with him. Sir, do you want me to send the Doc in to determine if it was really a fall? If this is action how the heck did they get him?"

    "CPL Wayland, you stay there and keep your mouth buttoned up. LCDR Stern is on his way to your position. Not another word about this and nobody else gets into the Commodores quarters until he assesses the scene. Got it?"
    PC's
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    Contact Lost – Zell Melern
    Eberron:TC - Gander Qien
    Into the Breach - Jaxal Pralest
    Familiar - Toby the Cat
    Star Wars: Bounty Hunter - Slaw Nadier
    Greyhawk Adventures - Bonepicker

    Imagination is my way to escape your reality!
    -------------------------------------------
    To much DMing and not enough play makes a DM something something...

  8. - Top - End - #68
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    Elvith Jars's Avatar

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    Default Re: Contact Lost

    “Roger that, Sir,” Hudson says automatically to the LT. “Ok boys and girls, listen up. Make two fire teams, 4 and 3. I’ll go with the trio and round em out. You heard the LT, but fan out a bit keep an eye out for trouble.”

    He listens in on Marine Command as the bridge sounds off. I’m not an officer, I work for a living, Hudson thinks to himself in his not-swearing-because-he’s pissed tone. Hey genius, I don’t need a promotion. We’re already organized. But he’s partly right. If I take over, I’ll need someone to fill my spot. It’d be a bit unusual to have a SGT in command of a platoon, but hey, they stick Corporals into the PS slot that normally takes a Staff Sergeant, so stranger things have happened.

    “Commodore’s dead? I guess the PS and his girlfriend won’t be finding out why they’re really on board.” The way Clancy said it, PS sounded more like “PoS.”

    Gee thanks, Clancy, way to keep quiet. Then again, It’s gotta be pretty f*cking obvious we’re not here simply to replace an incompetent PS. Why the hell are we here?

    “Guess not, Clancy. Joe, you get all that from the bridge?”

    “Yeah honcho,” Coonts responded, “we were already moving to secure the quarters when we got the word from on high. Actual should be here shortly. I’m tapped into Wayland’s vid feed, looks like somebody had a fight. Anything else you need, honcho?” The way he asked sounded more like, “And what else do you think we should be doing?” Hudson came from the school of hard knocks, and nothing beats gaining experience than on the job training.

    Chevy thought for a moment. Something didn’t add up. “Coonts, you said you lost contact with one of your fire teams, right?”

    “Yeah. But it was just one marine, possibly two. We're short handed with all the squids having phone sex and there's a bit of chaos going on. Know why the Navy keeps Marines on board? Because sheep would be too obvious.” Coonts responded with a bit more energy than normal, a non-verbal clue that Hudson was on the right track.

    “Heh. Good one. What happened to the marine?”

    “Private Hicks said he got to the Commodore’s quarters, reported signs of a struggle, then got cut off. His mike was on and we heard a neck snap, a gasp, then nothing. His vitals flatlined before going off the air.”

    Chevy sent a thought to his armor, and checked Hicks’ black box recording but of course there was no trace of Hicks on JTIDS (Joint Tactical Information Distribution System). He then thought of something else, and a picture-on-vision display came up, piping in Wayland’s video feed of the Commodore’s quarters. The Corporal was now outside looking in. Hm.

    “Where is Hicks’ body?”

    Coonts piped up more. “Dunno. But makes you wonder if the Commodore really ‘slipped and fell’ in the shower, don’t it? Time for an expert investigator?”

    “Yeah, who we got?”

    “Well, we had Ensign Nathan Reeder, but he’s gone missing. He vanished a few days after we left port. We know he’s been in and out of his quarters, but we’ve never caught him doing it. He’s listed as AWOL.”

    “Missing? How do you vanish without a trace on a spaceship?”

    “How do you sneak around in that suit of yours?”

    “Point. Alright, Brown and Clancy, tell your teams to keep an eye out for an Ensign Nathan Reeder. We’ll want to talk with him. Don't turn it into a witch hunt though, maybe he just needed quiet time to beat off.” A brief "Alpha" and "Bravo" was all Hudson heard as Brown and Clancy acknowledged their orders.

    “I guess the doc will have to do instead. Coonts, you in a position to hump LT Grayson over to the crime scene?”

    “Yeah, if I can pry him out of sickbay, he’s been holed up there since we left port. I think he lives there now. If he’s… busy with Vasquez,” Coonts didn’t want to remind him that the good doctor may be working on Vasquez in ER surgery, “I'll come relieve you and you can do your ‘medicine man’ thing. Unless you know some other witchdoctor in the house...”

    “Ok, sounds g- wait... Bridge, this is SGT Cheveyo Hudson, XO of the marine contingent onboard. We need some help down here with the Commodore's death. Is uh... Ensign... St. Clair available? we could use some of his special talents I've heard about.”
    Last edited by Elvith Jars; 2008-02-09 at 07:21 PM.
    My 3D art page: Contact Lost

  9. - Top - End - #69
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Goblin

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    Default Re: Contact Lost

    Stern listens stoically to the news going over the radio channels.

    Damn. Damndamndamn.

    Shortly, he opens a comm to everyone on the ship as he and his security contingent stalk down the hallways. "Attention, this is LCDR Stern. Commodore Kazuma has been reported KIA, and I am officially taking command of the Radiant. My current orders stand; everyone not in a marine or security post is to continue repairing disabled systems as quickly as possible. Priority is internal sensors, external sensors, shields, weapons, and engines. If you can't do any of that, get to work on something else. Go to it."

    "All marines and security are on red alert until further notice. I'm provisionally appointing Sgt. Hudson marine platoon leader; he may designate a temporary platoon sergeant until the current crisis is over. All marines and security are to sweep the ship for intruders until they are found. Over."

    At this point, barring any obsructions, Stern and the security contingent arrive at the officers' quarters. "Cpl. Wayland," he returns the marine's salute. "LCDR Stern, I don't think we've met. Now, I'm actually less interested in the Commodore right now and more interested in what happened to the fire team that was originally sent to look for him. Have you found them?"
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  10. - Top - End - #70
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    HalfOrcPirate

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    Default Re: Contact Lost

    Realizing from the conversation among the Marines that they've activated HUD cam's Zell taps into the line and set it to record to his wrist computer. Never know when they're gonna get hit and not be able to tell us what happened like our missing private...

    "LCDR Stern, this is Melern sir. The Marines are asking for Ensign St Claire at the Commodor's quarters. Guess they need an engineer to babysit them for some reason, they think he's special." (Fills him in quickly on the jist of everything if he's not already patched in.)

    To himself:
    "Wonder if they think he's some sort of rabits foot? Meh, marines. Way to damned superstitious..."

    (Assuming that LCDR Stern agrees for St Claire to show at the Commodors)
    "St Claire this is Melern. We have a request for you to show your face at the Commodores quarters. Better make it quick. As you heard we've got a situation."
    Last edited by Dustyme; 2008-02-09 at 08:57 PM.
    PC's
    Spoiler
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    Contact Lost – Zell Melern
    Eberron:TC - Gander Qien
    Into the Breach - Jaxal Pralest
    Familiar - Toby the Cat
    Star Wars: Bounty Hunter - Slaw Nadier
    Greyhawk Adventures - Bonepicker

    Imagination is my way to escape your reality!
    -------------------------------------------
    To much DMing and not enough play makes a DM something something...

  11. - Top - End - #71
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Storm Bringer's Avatar

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    Default Re: Contact Lost

    wayland shook his head.++No, sir. we've not found any trace of them here. Their suits are not responding to any hails, either.++

    ooc:
    Spoiler
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    Spot check! Lets see if you can spot anything of intrest. Treat Injury check if you wish to examine the deceased, nerd.


    Andrew nodded as he got the order. he looked at Hudson.

    ++roger, Melrn. I'm on my way. have we heard anything form the engine room?++ Andrew headed towards the door, then turned back to the marines ++ the hanger is off limits to everyone else until futher notice. We can fix that hatch later. Right now, no one is to get near those craft without orders form above.++ he said, Guesturing to the shuttles, still prepped and ready to launch.

    with that, andrew headed back into the ship, passing thought he airlocks agian.
    Last edited by Storm Bringer; 2008-02-09 at 06:28 PM.
    Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Tommy, 'ow's yer soul? "
    But it's " Thin red line of 'eroes " when the drums begin to roll
    The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
    O it's " Thin red line of 'eroes, " when the drums begin to roll.

    "Tommy", Rudyard Kipling

  12. - Top - End - #72
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    Elvith Jars's Avatar

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    Default Re: Contact Lost

    "Doc is getting busy with Vasquez, he's not going anywhere," Coonts said. "On my way to relieve you, honcho. Clancy's gonna boss my guys around a bit."

    "Roger that."

    Over a private channel, Coonts adds, "You're officially in charge now. You might want to head over to the Commodore's and show your face, let 'em know you're part of the team. Hangar's pretty well taken care of at this point. Besides, brass like to chew on unattended privates. Boy that just didn't sound right..."

    Hudson was thinking of just having Wayland look around and check out the situation via video feed. With hi-def cameras, that would've been more efficient than trudging all they way up to the Commodore's place. But Coonts' idea had merit. "I get your meaning, thanks." Once Coonts arrives he keeps one fire team guarding the hangar proper, another guarding the airlock into it, and periodically rotates them so none get overly ZeeGee sick.

    "Where's my rabbit's foot? My lucky rabbit's foot, where is it?" a marine nearly freaks as Hudson gets ready to move out.

    "You check up your a**?" another responds.

    "F*ck you, this is serious."

    "Higgins, stow it. Ripley, give Agaki one of your lucky rubber bands for now." Coonts calmly orders.

    "But-"

    "Hey, you've got five of em, just give em one for now, ok? You can have it back later."

    "Ok..."

    Taking note of how Coonts handled the situation and learning from it, Hudson nods his approval and heads over to the crime scene.
    Last edited by Elvith Jars; 2008-02-10 at 03:19 AM.
    My 3D art page: Contact Lost

  13. - Top - End - #73
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    HalfOrcPirate

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    Default Re: Contact Lost

    Zell cuts Hudson into the command channel after letting LCDR Stern now he is doing so.

    "Sir, I haven't gotten a recent report from engineering. Their either too busy, dead, outside the ship, or got the flux drive opened up since that tends to wreak havoc on low band comm's. I think it is most likely the later. BTW LCDR Stern, SGT Havoc is on his way up to the I believe. Also, we're working on the internal scanners to get some visualization to go by. Keep your head down sir, fighter jocks (LT Clyne ) in command of carriers are a nightmare waiting to happen."

    Cuts a private line to SGT Hudson:
    "You Space Marines are more damn superstitious than the Solar League Spaceball teams on moon colony. How the heck he can fit anything extra into that tin can is beyond me."

    Security guarding the bridge hatch alerts Ensign Melern to the arrival of the bridge crew now arriving to assist with repairs. He signals the marines to triple check all personnel coming through the hatch and indicates for everone to change out stations with new arrivals.
    "Next shift on, all Station supervisors to me in 5, I want a Situation Report. Former shift take a break and get some coffee, you have 20 minutes and then your on ops while next shift continues with repairs."
    You heard LCDR Stern get this ship fixed."


    Zell walks over to his console and grabs a little box out of a drawer.
    "Private Neil, Post. Run these to LCDR Stern be quick but be carefull."

    ((Nerd, check your email. ))
    Last edited by Dustyme; 2008-02-10 at 12:55 AM.
    PC's
    Spoiler
    Show
    Contact Lost – Zell Melern
    Eberron:TC - Gander Qien
    Into the Breach - Jaxal Pralest
    Familiar - Toby the Cat
    Star Wars: Bounty Hunter - Slaw Nadier
    Greyhawk Adventures - Bonepicker

    Imagination is my way to escape your reality!
    -------------------------------------------
    To much DMing and not enough play makes a DM something something...

  14. - Top - End - #74
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Goblin

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    Default Re: Contact Lost

    Stern looks over the Commodore's quarters, leaving autopsies to the medical officers.

    Spot - (1d20+4)[10]

    "So you're telling me the Commodore's dead, and the leathernecks we sent to check on him just disappeared? Moreover, we've got two confirmed senior officer deaths and a ship who's dead in the water, but no one can confirm any hostiles or tell me what any of the problems are? This situation isn't just bad, it's contrived. You men, fan out, and either find me the missing marines or their corpses. People don't disappear of a starship."

    Well, there were rumors about the senior gunnery officer, who hadn't been officially seen since leaving port, but that had to be coincidence.

    Stern salutes Hudson as he arrives. "Sergeant. Your thoughts on this situation?" At this point, Stern's expression is fixed into a grimace of part-worry, part-anger that will probably last him the rest of his career, whether it be five minutes or fifty years.
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  15. - Top - End - #75
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    Storm Bringer's Avatar

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    Before hudson can relpy, one of the marines shouts "sir!". Both Stern and Hudson move to see what the private has found.

    In one of the long term storage rooms near to the commandores quarters, hidden behind a crate of spare parts, one of the missing marines has been found. He appears to be unharmed, but his suit does not appear to be working and he's been knocked out. The marine who found him has unsealed the suit and his checking him out. he looks up when you get thier.

    "Looks like someone hit his suit with an focused EMP charge. The feedback form the nureal links must'a knocked him out. Damm, with the shielding on these things, they would'a needed to slap the damm pluse generator on him...."
    Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Tommy, 'ow's yer soul? "
    But it's " Thin red line of 'eroes " when the drums begin to roll
    The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
    O it's " Thin red line of 'eroes, " when the drums begin to roll.

    "Tommy", Rudyard Kipling

  16. - Top - End - #76
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    Elvith Jars's Avatar

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    "You'd be surprised at what we could stuff where," Hudson says to Zell. Hm.

    "Clancy."

    "Yo."

    "When you get done sweeping corridors and rooms, check crawlspaces, spider holes, air ducts, stuff like that."

    "You think? We're already doing that as we sweep," Clancy pointed out, "Yes Oh Mighty One." Well, at least he's thorough.

    Taking Coonts' suggestion at his word, Hudson's golden faceplate is clear again, his gray eyes and Amerindian features clearly visible as he arrives and salutes LCDR Stern. Anyone looking at his eyes would notice a bit more wisdom than your typical Marine, and an unquestionable air of calm. He listens to the LCDR then approaches the recovered Marine as soon as he's found. The marine looks like he'll be coherent soon.

    Time to walk like an Egyptian, Hudson thinks, slipping into counter-terrorism mode. Hudson turns to the skipper to respond.

    "Sir, I'd prefer not to speculate too much until we get more evidence. But based on what we know, I think someone took advantage of the ship's unexpected engineering failure to accomplish their goal.

    "If the fire team did little more than a cursory check, they could've missed the Commodore as he was getting ready for a shower, especially if the shower was off. A talk with Jansen will clear that up.

    "Hicks reported signs of a struggle before he was apparently killed and Jansen was knocked out. I'm thinking it was more like someone was looking for something- quickly- and got trapped in the Commodore's cabin when the marines arrived. The intruder might have paniced, ambushed the marines, stuffed them away to hide their discovery, then made his escape. Jansen wasn't found too far from the Commodore's cabin, so likely the intruder didn't have much time to hide the bodies. We'll probably find Hicks or his corpse nearby.

    "The hangar explosively decompressed not long after, so maybe the intruder used it as an opportunity to get off the ship or to hide evidence. Jumping overboard with only a spacesuit is a ballsy thing to do, but doable if you know you'll have help lurking around. We might want to check the hangar for signs of sabotage when we recover, and take a head count as soon as we can.

    "At this point, I'd suggest checking the area for Hicks or his corpse. Like I said, given where we found Jansen, Hicks can't be far. I'd also question Jansen to see if he saw anything and ask him how thorough his search for the Commodore was. As soon as we're recovered, I'd have Engineering check to see if the hangar was tampered with, possibly the engines too, but I doubt it.

    "And with your permission, Sir, I'll do a cursory check on the Commodore and see if he really did just slip in the shower. If the intruder just wanted something out of the Commodore's cabin, then it wouldn't make sense to kill him unless the intruder was discovered by him.

    "I've also asked Ensign St. Clair down here for a quick look. Scuttlebutt is that he's got some special talents beyond engineering that might help. If so, he should do his thing quick before things grow cold. As soon as he's done, we should seal off the Commodore's quarters for when we have time for a more thorough investigation.

    Lastly, I'm not sure how Ensign Reeder fits into all this. He's a suspect given he's gone AWOL, but it could be that the pressure simply got to him and he went someplace quiet."


    If the skipper approves Hudson's medical exam of the Commodore, he detaches a very small medkit from his suit, links it to the medicomp in his left gauntlet, and performs a scan.

    Treat Injury: 1d20+14 = 32
    My 3D art page: Contact Lost

  17. - Top - End - #77
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    Stern nods at Hudson's assessment, and then again at his suggestion of checking over Kazuma's body. "So your assessment is that we had a spy on board, and he escaped, or planned to through the damaged hangar bay?" he summarizes. "That seems likely. I might take it one step further and guess that this spy was also a saboteur, and disabled our power supply and hangar by some means. However, we still can't be sure this was an inside job, nor can we tell if whomever's responsible successfully escaped until we get internal sensors back up. I want your men to continue their sweep until we can come to a conclusion."
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  18. - Top - End - #78
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    Hudson checks the corpse over with the eye of a combat medic. He quickly determines that while the commadore was indeed killed by his broken neck, the breakage itself and damage to the surrounding tissue is not consistant with him falling over and landing badly. It is consistant with someone very skilled in unarmed combat breaking his neck. You also note what you recognise as contact points for a nerual intferface device, simmilar to the one used in the Apache SCV. It appears that he was interfaced with a nueral link very recently, either at or just before his demise.

    ooc:
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    well, you all aussmed he was assassinated, and Elvith did get an exceptional roll, so threw in a teaser.

    everybody with Knowledge: tactics make a roll to asses what the assassins most likey actions are.

    Andrew roll: (1d20+7)[26]

    Dusty, if your character is activly seeking to try and fix scanners, comms, etc, make a Use Computer/Repair roll (whichever is highest) and specify what your working to fix.
    Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Tommy, 'ow's yer soul? "
    But it's " Thin red line of 'eroes " when the drums begin to roll
    The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
    O it's " Thin red line of 'eroes, " when the drums begin to roll.

    "Tommy", Rudyard Kipling

  19. - Top - End - #79
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    "Yes Sir, that's my working theory on what happened. Roger that, Sir, we'll keep looking." Hudson relays his findings about the Commodore to the skipper.

    Knowledge: Tactics 1d20+3 = 13

    "Jansen, how you doing? What's your rundown on what happened here?"
    Last edited by Elvith Jars; 2008-02-10 at 04:43 PM.
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  20. - Top - End - #80
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    Knowledge: Tactics - (1d20+11)[29]

    "So we can confirm that Commodore was indeed murdered," Stern concludes. "Now, starting from here...someone stealthy, probably unarmed, probably wanting to avoid conflict..."
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  21. - Top - End - #81
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    Alfred pulled up from his computer screen with a puzzled look when he was called. Why would he be wanted in the Commodore's quarters. It's not like he could fix a dead person.

    Still he was a solider and he had his orders. Acknowledging the orders he entered the hallway and passages that would allow him to get their in a reasonable amount of time.

    When he gets there he looks for the person in charge, when he find them he reports in "St. Clair. Here as ordered."

  22. - Top - End - #82
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    ---Zell--

    Tactics (1d20+5)[23]

    Computer Use (1d20+6)[15] (Scanners Internal then External)

    Hmm, If it was me what systems would I gank up 1st? Maybe the power relay at junction box A23 on deck 2 aft...

    Zell takes the update brief and points out a few ideas for the teams to try keeping in mind that this might be an internal sabotage.
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    Contact Lost – Zell Melern
    Eberron:TC - Gander Qien
    Into the Breach - Jaxal Pralest
    Familiar - Toby the Cat
    Star Wars: Bounty Hunter - Slaw Nadier
    Greyhawk Adventures - Bonepicker

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  23. - Top - End - #83
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    Zell:try as you might, the scanning systems refuse to come back online. The power-outs affected many cuircits, but even so, you seem to be making exceptionally little headway in fixing things.... if you were an assassin, screwing with the scanners like this would make sense. You can't see any solid proof someones tampering with the scanners, but it's not semi-plausable.....

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    you screwed up the repair role, so not hard proof of tampering, but you're tactics roll is good enough to guess at it. you can try and fix other systems, or have another bash at the scanners.


    Nerd: if you were charged with killing the commadore and escaping without alerting the wider world, their would be two tasks you think they'd been to achive: first, complete the disabling of the engines systems, preferablbly so that they appear to malfunctioned, giving the power-outs a plausable reason, and sufficenlt thoughly so that the system won't be repaired by the crew, disposing of the evidence. Second, escape via a shuttle. Thier were definatly no ships within a couple of AU of your position, when you lost power, and your still immense speed means you'd have seen anyone trying to catch you (not that they could). The only way to escape to a pick-up ship would be via a shuttle burning a lot of it's fuel to slow down enough to be picked up.

    assuming the assassin is planning on leaving, and not blowing the ship up with her....

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    damm good roll, so a wack form the clue bat for you! (not that you need it. you guys have played FAR too many games to be anything but highly paranoid and cyncial.


    ++Clyne here. I'm going to check on engineering quickly, see if i can get a ETA on powerup.++
    Last edited by Storm Bringer; 2008-02-11 at 09:55 AM.
    Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Tommy, 'ow's yer soul? "
    But it's " Thin red line of 'eroes " when the drums begin to roll
    The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
    O it's " Thin red line of 'eroes, " when the drums begin to roll.

    "Tommy", Rudyard Kipling

  24. - Top - End - #84
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    Seeing that Pvt Jansen hasn't recovered enough to respond yet, Hudson turns his attention to the young Ensign St. Clair.

    "Sir, I know you're busy getting things working again, but we could use your expertise to help square things away here ASAP. If the skipper approves, we'll want to seal up this room shortly after moving the Commodore's body to the morgue, and make sure we preserve any evidence until we can take a closer look at what happened.

    "But before we seal the place up, is there any surveillance data we have access to in this room or the corridor outside, that we can review and see what happened, say, a half hour ago or so? It would be great if we could catch whover did this in the act."
    It's obvious Hudson is looking at the Ensign's GIFTED insignias on his uniform, but he's also positioned so that only th Ensign would notice.

    "Oh and one more thing. It looks like somebody jacked into the Commodore's neural link. Know anybody that can pry any data out of his head?"

    {{OOC: Not sure if Hudson can hack a dead guy's brain...}}
    Last edited by Elvith Jars; 2008-02-11 at 01:38 PM.
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  25. - Top - End - #85
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    ---Zell---
    Monitors the comand channel:
    "SGT Hudson, regarding that video footage. We have nothing until the main computer comes online again. I can't even track a toilet flush as of right now... What about the HUD display on your suits? Were you marines using them when they searched before they got hit? Maybe you can pull something off of them."

    "DarkRed"]"Ensign St Claire, this is Ensign Melern. I need you to assign an engineering team to assist my crewman in repairs on the brigde.[/COLOR] (Looking for that +2 modifier ) I'm still having problems getting these systems online and we need these systems as much as anything else including the flux engine."

    Zell passes orders for the marines to check and pass any engineering crewman that show to assist repairs.
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    I'm going to roll again for scanners if I don't pass I'll move on to the next system until I get assistance I'm also going to use an action point if I roll at least a 13 to 20. (Anotherwords, if my roll falls between 13-20 add it otherwise consider it not posted. I just don'twant to double post.)
    Computer Use (1d20+6)[16]
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    Contact Lost – Zell Melern
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  26. - Top - End - #86
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    "Alright. Our hostile has one of two options. On a standard mission, he or she is going for a shuttle - one moment," he says, and quickly switches on his comm to contact Lt. Clyne.

    "Mr. Clyne, please confirm that no shuttlecraft are missing from the hangar, and be on guard for hostiles attempting to take one."

    ((Clyne is still in the hangar, right?))

    Stern turns back to the marines. "As I was saying, that's if it's a standard mission. The saboteur's only other real option is to destroy the Radiant. Now, this would render all this extra effort to disable her and sneak around rather moot, unless he has access to a working Mass Transceiver and was aboard to steal information. Sergeant, can you pick up any signals in the MT band on your HUD? You're wearing the best sensors on the ship right now."

    While Hudson sees if he can pick up any anomalous comm signals, Stern sends another transmission up to the bridge. "Mr. Melern. I want you to keep a very close eye on the ship's external comms array. If it comes back up without explanation, alert me immediately. Hostiles may attempt to repair and use it to send intelligence off the ship."
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  27. - Top - End - #87
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    Alfred

    Responding back to the command line call he said, "Ensign Melern. I need to take care of something at the Commadore's quarters. After that I will personally be back to help get the systems on-line. Expect me in no more then 5 minutes."

    Then turning off his command link, he turns to Hudson, "You and I will enter the room. Observing each other to make sure neither of us compromises the evidence. Once inside I will see if I can do one better then the cameras. I will try to observe things as they were when he was attacked, and see if I can get a face."

    While he is talking Ensign St. Clair removes his right handed glove that he uses to prevent human contact.

    Spoiler
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    Visioning power roll
    (1d20+5)[17]
    If I don't get a 15 or greater I'll use an action point
    (1d6)[5]


  28. - Top - End - #88
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    "Affirmative Sir," Hudson replies to the skipper's inquiry, "the US Marine Corps has seen fit to equip my suit with some of the best sensory gear available to a powered armor. I'll set up the scan and keep you posted." Chevy does a quick mental activation of his sensory gear and programs it to alert him if it sees any activity on the MT bands.

    Use Computer (program the scanner): 1d20+9=20

    "Thank you Sir," he says to the Ensign, "your help is appreciated." The pair step into the room, and while Alfred is checking out the place, the Sgt responds to Zell.

    "Ensign Melern, Sir, I'll check and confirm, Sir, but an EMP shock powerful enough to take an SCA down and off the air would also wipe its blackbox too." If the downed marine's armor is back online, Hudson remotes into its computer, checking its blackbox. Otherwise, he waits until he's back in the storage area (or wherever the marine is now) to check the marine's computer.

    Use Computer (Check Pvt Jansen's blackbox) 1d20+9=18

    Once completed with his tasks, Hudson does a thorough scan of the area where the Commodore's body was found (outlines it on the video too), flags sick bay to send someone down to retrieve the body and isolate it in the morgue. He then makes a request to the doctor to see if any data can be retrieved from the corpse's neural interface.

    "Just a reminder, Sirs, the Commodore's neural link was recently accessed. Possibly right before or right after his death. We may find something there but I don't know enough about the technology to know if it can be retrieved after someone's dead."
    Last edited by Elvith Jars; 2008-02-11 at 09:09 PM.
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  29. - Top - End - #89
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    Alfred

    Ensign St. Clair moves into the room and tunes out Hudson's chatter.
    He moves with his bare right hand leading the way. Almost as if he was blind and feeling his way forward. He gets near the Commodore's body and drops down and kneels by it, his right hand about a foot way from his head.

    With his eyes closed he seems motionless expect for the occasional face twitch. Then with a gasp he falls back, "She killed him..." He was expecting it, but still feeling someone death was a shock. "She killed him and then downloaded something from his neural net."

    Pulling himself together St. Clair stands up and puts his glove back on. "I need to access the personnel files." Which meant he need to fix the system so he could access the files

  30. - Top - End - #90
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    ++clyne here. both shuttles are still in the hanger. thedocking clamps are still screwed however. the shutles have got the power to break teh clmaps, but then we wouldn't be able to recover them until we'd fixed the clamps, which is a drydock job. Techs think we might be able to unstick them in an hour or two++

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    eg we can't launch ships since we need to land them again, but our assassin can escape on a one way trip.


    Elvith: You suits onboard systems are not really built to monitor MT bands but they can answer the question: the ships neturonite hull would scramble or block any MT signals unless they were broadcast via the primary comms array which would be trackable on the bridge. since they've not tracked any outbound messages, the assassin cannot have contacted anyone since the power failure.

    you cannot get any ideas about the identiy of the attacker form the blackbox (visual memory banks are sufficently screwed to need replacing) but you get a feel for the EMP device that did the damage. As the other marine theorised, the device would need to be physically touching the suit when it was fired. it was placed on the suits rear, and not too far form the primary CPU. whoever placed this knew where to get the best effect.

    The charge was only just able to penatrate the suits EMP shielding, and the pluse traveled mainly though the suits own wiring, so wouldn't have affected anyone else. The marines internal cyberware surived pretty much unaffected, but that was due to the suit taking the hit. if used on a unsuited person with cyberware, the effects would shut down the cyberware for certian, and maybe induce crippling feedback in the target.

    It appears to be a grenade sized device which was attached via a gravity field, and would likey have burnt itself out creating the pulse. The charge strength is much higher than you've seen before in a handheld device. This sort of gear would be very rare and expenisive.

    as to the commadores neural net, the system is suffciently reliant on living neurons that it will only function if the target is alive or has only just died. within about 2-3 minutes death the brain has deteriorated beyond the networks ability to cope. access must have occured before then, and it is not possible to determine what was downloaded at this stage.
    Last edited by Storm Bringer; 2008-02-12 at 12:36 PM.
    Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Tommy, 'ow's yer soul? "
    But it's " Thin red line of 'eroes " when the drums begin to roll
    The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
    O it's " Thin red line of 'eroes, " when the drums begin to roll.

    "Tommy", Rudyard Kipling

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