Infinite Stars Quest 19

"Who is that?" You blink in wonder.

"A scavenger of some sort." Bradford observes. "Judging from the conditions of the clothes, he's probably not part of the salvage crews."

"Independent? All the way out here?" Amy frowns.

"You'd be surprised where the dregs of society would hole up." Bradford grumbles and turns to you. "Captain, what's the call?"

"Open up the speakers." You say. "We'll try to communicate. Maybe they can help us out here."

"Yes, Captain." Bradford nods to Lida, who hits a key.

"Um, hi there." You speak through the remaining drone. "I'm Captain Wellings. You by chance wouldn't mind helping us out a bit, would you?"

The masked figure looks at you, or more accurately the drone, for a few seconds.

"Hello...?" You ask, wondering if the mystery person even heard you.

And then the mystery figure bolts in the other direction, carrying as many bot components as he could in his arms.

"Go after him!" Bradford barked. "That's Accord tech he's getting away with!"

"Rerouting all drones." Lida nods.

"Captain." Bradford turns to you. "I suggest we get a full search team in there. This is no regular distress signal."

>Just let the drones handle it.
>Send in combat bots.
>Send in TANK.
>Other

>Send in TANK.
They'd probably ambush and take apart the bots and drones.

>>Just let the drones handle it.

>>Send in TANK.

>Send in TANK.

>Send in TANK.

>Send in TANK.

>>Send in TANK.

Boy, i want to see Tank go together with Doomguy.

>Literally Warhammer 40K

>>Send in TANK.

Clearly the BEST option! But more seriously, Tank is probably much better than even entire squads of robots at this kind of thing, and would be able to react and adapt with his human-thinking, skills and experiences. Also, this gives him an opportunity to Hunt for !fun!!

We need to get him a toy space marine so he can fist bump it.

"Forget the bots." You shake your head. "Whoever this is, if they could take down one of our drones with ease, they've probably got a way of dealing with bots. Send in Tank."

"Understood." Bradford nods. "I'm sure he'll be happy to have something to do."

>Actually, you never explored a derelict ship before...
>Continue to monitor from the bridge.
>Other

>Actually, you never explored a derelict ship before...

>>Continue to monitor from the bridge.
Merc, can we switch to Tank PoV?

>Continue to monitor from the bridge.

>>Continue to monitor from the bridge.

>Continue to monitor from the bridge.

>Continue to monitor from the bridge.

>Continue to monitor from the bridge.

>>Continue to monitor from the bridge.

This is NOT like the other missions, and requires treading into dangerous and unknown territory. Thus, there's no reason why the captain should be risking herself for some fun. In fat, by going on the mission, she would be a liability that Tank would have to protect, which would hinder and slow Tank down.

You decide to stay on the bridge for this, and activate your tactical display to see through Tank's visual feed. From there, you can see Tank ready and waiting, sitting patiently in the shuttle as it headed back to the derelict cruiser.

>Battlefield Management
>From the Eyes of the Tank

>>Battlefield Management
Mission control time!

>From the Eyes of the Tank

>>Battlefield Management
Gotta make sure old weapon systems don't turn on and shoot us.

>>Battlefield Management
Watch over and guide him.

>>Battlefield Management

Can someone enlighten me as to why this isn't taken to I don't know... the board dedicated quests?

>Battlefield Management

Because qst is shit.

>Battlefield Management

"Bradford, do we have a map of the ship's interior?" You ask.

"Of course. The Hegemony has been using the same ships for almost a century. We have most of the basic data for them." Bradford nods. "Even if they did modify it over the years, the same basic layout should be the same."

"Bring it up." You instruct.

A hologram of an intact version of the stricken cruiser winks on in the bridge. Green highlights showed sections of the ship already explored by the drones. A large blinking blue dot signified Tank's position, disembarking at the location of a large hull breach torn into the side of the cruiser.

"Now, normally, the bridge is located on the bow of Hegemony ships." Bradford points to the front end of the cruiser. "Crew habitation modules are located on the underside of the ship. And of course, the rear is dedicated to the engine and engineering spaces."

"Our preliminary sensors sweeps are indicating trace energy readings from those areas." Lida adds.

You know Bradford was listing the most likely places for a person to hide on a ship such as this. In order to control any still working systems, you'd need bridge access. If the mystery scavenger was living on the wreck long term, then they would need to have the habitation block online in some capacity. Finally, anything worth scavenging would be found in the engineering spaces.

>Send Tank to the bridge.
>Send Tank to the habitation block.
>Send Tank to the engine room.
>Other

>>Send Tank to the bridge.

>Send Tank to the engine room.

>>Send Tank to the engine room.

I'm guessing our Prospector went hiding in the remaining machinery.

I wonder how good Sam is in Management of a battlefield compared to her other skills.

>Send Tank to the habitation block.

>>Send Tank to the bridge.

>Send Tank to the bridge.
Get control first.

>Finally, anything worth scavenging would be found in the engineering spaces.
>And of course, the rear is dedicated to the engine and engineering spaces."

>>Send Tank to the engine room.

Yeah, if we're dealing with a scavenger, then the right place to go is definitely the engine room, where she would keep all of her loot.

Next thing we need to do: Find out how Veeky Forums Sam is, and whether she can CQC

>Send Tank to the engine room.

Time to start training with Tank, in suitability thin and breathable training tank top and shorts for ease of movement and sweat management. Oh yes, and remember to do lots of stretches for preventing injuries, and let Tank help her bend in all~ the ways for better flexibility, hue hue hue...

"Tank, head for the engine room." You say. "If there's a scavenger on the ship, that's the first place they'd go."

Tank click back a confirmation, and you see him turn and head towards the stern of the hulk.

Almost immediately, you could tell there were signs of external tampering. RECENT tampering. Fresh parts, jury rigged machines, and all sorts of hasty and patchwork repairs could be seen on not just basic systems like door controls and locks, but also major components like cooling lines, electric wiring, and major bulkheads.

"That's weird..." Amy frowned.

"Yeah, it looks like, like somebody's trying to FIX the ship." Elsa observes.

"Just that one person?" Bradford asked skeptically.

"Who knows?" Elizabeth smiles. "That scavenger has evaded our scans. Who's to say there isn't a tiny colony of them hiding out on the ship?"

"Oh, NOW you point this out to us?" You groan.

"Despite how... crude these repairs are, these certainly required a lot of work and time." Bradford says cautiously. "Perhaps we should pull Tank back and send in reinforcements?"

>Sounds like a good idea.
>Whatever's there, Tank can handle it.
>Other

>>Whatever's there, Tank can handle it.

>>Whatever's there, Tank can handle it.

>>Whatever's there, Tank can handle it
>Whatever's there, Tank can handle it

>>Whatever's there, Tank can handle it.
>Tank do whatever you need too, your safety is priority. Collateral is acceptable.

>>Whatever's there, Tank can handle it.

>Whatever's there, Tank can handle it.

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>Whatever's there, Tank can handle it.
RPG LOGS WHEN FUCKER?

Also, how's that going?

>>Whatever's there, Tank can handle it.
>>Tank do whatever you need too, your safety is priority. Collateral is acceptable.

>Also, how's that going?

We're just finishing up a major arc!

2-4-11

>>Whatever's there, Tank can handle it.

>They are cunning, sneaky, without mercy.
But you. You will be worse.
Grab and bag, until it is done.

>Whatever's there, Tank can handle it.

Exactly where she belongs

>Sounds like a good idea.

No bully.

"Whatever is in there, Tank can handle it." You assure Bradford. "Tank, keep going!"

Tank nods and continues deeper into the engine room. Signs of repair and habitation grow heavier and more evident. You also notice strange markings scrawled on the sides of the walls, but Tank pays them no heed so you never get quite a good glance at them. Instead, his gaze is drawn towards what looks to be a sealed bulkhead, a large glowing red light on the panel indicating the lock was powered.

"There's... there's atmosphere behind that bulkhead." Lida blinks. "Whoever was here, it looks like they set it up as a makeshift airlock..."

Looks like you were on the right track...

"So, how do we get in?" Bradford wonders.

Tank punches his palm with hits armored fists. It's clear what his choice is.

"Well, you better watch out for explosive decompression then." Amy warns.

>Force it open.
>Knock?
>Investigate the area.
>Other

>Investigate the area.

>>Knock?

>>Knock?
"hello, do you have time to hear and learn about our wonderful petite captain?"

>>Investigate the area.

>Knock?
if that doesn't bear fruit
>Investigate the area.

>Investigate the area.

>>Knock?

>>Investigate the area.

>>Knock

Keep it civil for now.

>Investigate the area.

ALSO, BREAKING NEWS

So our second major arc concluded, and, well... this is partly a sendoff to one of our players who's going into Army training next week.

youtube.com/watch?v=OKlNdzpICW0

F

>Investigate the area.

"Tank, why don't you investigate the area for a bit?" You ask. "Maybe you can find a clue or something to open up that door."

Tank stomps his armored boot on the deck to signify his disappointment at not being able to resort to force, and the helmet view begins to swing side to side as he actually starts EXAMINING the surrounding room.

>Roll 1d20

Rolled 12 (1d20)

Rolled 12 (1d20)

INVESTIGATE

Rolled 18 (1d20)

Rolled 19 (1d20)

MAXIMUM INVESTIGATION

Did Tank find a Blue Keycard that's outside the Blue Airlock Door for some reason?

A toast to him. May the game stay joyous ever onward, and the player have a hell of a time in the military

"Wait a minute, Tank." You tell him. "Can you look at that wall for a second?"

Tank acknowledges and turns to face one of the walls with all of the writings scrawled onto it. And now that Tank is actually focusing on the writings, you can tell what they are.

THE SHIP MUST MOVE

And it says that over, and over, and over again.

THE SHIP MUST MOVE

"Okay, does anybody else find that extremely creepy?" Amy looks around. "Like, even a little bit?"

"What does it mean?" Bradford frowns.

"Um, I think I know." Scott says a bit nervously. "That line... it's supposed to be the motto of the Cogs."

"Cogs?" You frown.

"Um, yeah, they're kinda an urban legend among us engineering folk." Scott says a bit nervously. "The story is, they prowl the spacelanes, looking for derelict or damaged ships, and then fix them up. If the ship's still inhabited, they let the crew go on their merry way and don't ask for any payment. If not, they just take the ship for themselves."

"So... basically a mechanic service?" You frown.

"It's more than that." Scott clarifies. "Um, as the stories go, they're kinda... dedicated to their craft.They worship ships like deities, which is why they go around making sure every ship they come across is in working order. It's like their form of worship."

"Religious nuts with engineering experience? Wonderful." Elsa groans.

"This does not help us get through the door." Bradford points out.

"Actually..." Lida squints and taps several keys on her console. Several of the letters light up on the display. "There's a rudimentary cipher hidden in the writings. It looks like a door code."

"In case more of their kind come along, I assume." Bradford nods. "I guess we have our in."

Tank cracks his armored knuckles again. All that matters to him he can finally open the door.

>We're supposed to come in peace, Tank.
>Go in hot, Tank.
>Other

Amen to that!

>>We're supposed to come in peace, Tank.

We know that there's at least one of them who may or may not be sweating bullets.

Cheers gents. It was an experience.

>We're supposed to come in peace, Tank.

>Shield up, but keep you weapon holstered, for now

>We're supposed to come in peace, Tank.
I mean, if they go around helping stranded spacers for free, then they're pretty okay in my book, even if they are a bit of a kooky cult.

We can mark up a lost drone as a miscommunication, in that case.

>>We're supposed to come in peace, Tank.
Please try NOT to break any part of the ship Tank. We do want to talk after all.

>>We're supposed to come in peace, Tank.

>We're supposed to come in peace, Tank.

>THE SHIP MUST MOVE

Why the hell does that tagline sound so familiar?

>THE SHIP IS ALL
>THE SHIP MOVES

likely from some game/etc; Merc is fond of such references.

1d4chan.org/wiki/The_ship_moves

I remember reading this, was kinda crazy for a setting.

Aaaaaand there it is. Now I remember--that was 50k, wasn't it?