- Location
- usa
[X] Hold off - just because there's no sign of life doesn't mean it's not there, and the locals - assuming they're present - probably won't react well to being shot at.
Fly Me To The Moon(s)
- Thread starter FC Error
- Start date
- Original Sci-Fi
- Location
- England
[X] Hold off - just because there's no sign of life doesn't mean it's not there, and the locals - assuming they're present - probably won't react well to being shot at.
MacroDaemon
Lachrymose Lapis
[X] Hold off - just because there's no sign of life doesn't mean it's not there, and the locals - assuming they're present - probably won't react well to being shot at.
There's so much we should do before shooting it with a torpedo. Like shooting it with something smaller caliber for instance. Or trying to land a probe on it. Get scrapings with said prove if possible. Even sending a single person out for some EVA to the material would be better. Investigating every square meter of this area before shooting it would also be a good idea. New materials new issues. Maybe the good old eye can see something the sensors can't pick up?
There's so much we should do before shooting it with a torpedo. Like shooting it with something smaller caliber for instance. Or trying to land a probe on it. Get scrapings with said prove if possible. Even sending a single person out for some EVA to the material would be better. Investigating every square meter of this area before shooting it would also be a good idea. New materials new issues. Maybe the good old eye can see something the sensors can't pick up?
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- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Hold off - just because there's no sign of life doesn't mean it's not there, and the locals - assuming they're present - probably won't react well to being shot at.
There's a LOT of work to be done before we reach that point.
There's a LOT of work to be done before we reach that point.
Log 08: Spaceship(s) in a Box
FC Error
Missileer
- Location
- Aware of where I am not
[X] Hold off - just because there's no sign of life doesn't mean it's not there, and the locals - assuming they're present - probably won't react well to being shot at.
"No?" you query the world at large. "No works for me. No need to, you know, shotgun the hinges off the door because nobody answered the first knock."
Reynolds throws a look at you over his shoulder. "Should I couch that in… slightly more diplomatic terms, commander?"
"Please." you return, eyes on the spectrographic readout. You're only mildly more knowledgeable about metallurgy than Shaw, but the data on screen still may as well be Greek to you; Feldssen's comment about titanium seems right, but the rest of it is, for the moment, magic.
"If we're not going to shoot it, though, what else can we do, beyond maybe trying to get some material samples or somesuch?" Shaw asks you, neatly derailing your train of thought. You pause, considering the question a moment.
"Mister Reynolds, are there any other features of note on the structure? Hatches, airlocks, whatever, on either passive or active systems?"
"Not that I saw, but I'll run it again." he answers, working his console. A moment later, he frowns at something, leaning forward. "Maybe. Thirty-four degree starboard, inclination negative twenty. Doctor?"
Feldssen obligingly looks over the man's shoulder, scanning the assorted readouts. "I see it. There's a small portion of the surface slightly warmer than the rest; perhaps a few degrees. Fairly easy to miss, even with this sensor suite."
"Pipe that to the Navy pukes and send one of our probes that way." you order, pushing off from your chair and attaching yourself to the ceiling, reading Reynolds' displays as he and Feldssen comb over the sensor readouts.
"An airlock." Captain Greene repeats, sounding mildly interested. "Well, that does sound promising. How much of a geek squad can we put together to go take a look?"
"I can probably get together six or so." James Chun, from the fleet's other Atlas-class, offers.
"I can do about the same, I think." you answer, glancing at Feldssen; he nods, and moves towards the ladder.
"Alright. Prep them - full suits and whatever kit they care to drag along - and shuttle them to that airlock in an hour. I'll send a team of Espatiers in first to make sure it's at least mostly safe about ten minutes before that, just in case. Anything else?"
You and Chun both reply negatively, and both sign off the Captains' Link with the UN officer. Turning to Shaw, you stand, anchoring yourself with a hand on the seatback. "Prep shuttle one? I'll go herd the geeks."
She nods, issuing the relevant orders to al Fassi as you snag an earpiece from the rack near the hatch, floating your way up the ladder towards the labs. A thankfully brief minute of nerd-herding later, you reverse course, heading for the shuttle lock.
Some time later, you're watching one of the undergrads wrestle with his suit with considerable amusement when Shaw sticks her head through the hatch. "Blue-hats shuttle just launched; ten minute warning."
Nodding, you float over to the flustered student and assist in untangling the mess he's made of… everything, really, half-listening to the chatter of the bridge crew in your earpiece.
"Huh. Alright, that's new."
You raise a mental eyebrow at al Fassi's unhelpful commentary. Nudging your comm against your shoulder, you inquire, "Expand upon that, Ops?"
"UN shuttle apparently tripped a motion sensor; some sort of neon sign-looking holo just popped up next to the airlock."
"The leathernecks shot at it yet?"
"Surprisingly, no." he returns. "Alien moonrunes or something… alright, they've got the airlock open. That was fast."
"On my way to the bridge." you note, cutting the link. Offering a wry grin to the rather chagrined undergrad (now in spacesuit clad), you kick off, returning to the command deck.
Settling once more into your chair, you bring up the feed from the bow camera - zoomed in on the airlock - and indeed, what looks for all the world like a holographic neon sign floats beside it - the destroyer's shuttle holding station nearby as the troopers slowly float across the gap.
"Navy is piping comms and helmet cameras to us and New Horizons." Reynolds informs you, putting the indicated feeds up on a nearby display.
Vaguely surprising, for some reason, is the sheer… unremarkable design of the airlock. Alien text aside, it wouldn't look particularly out of place at Shiva or Tiara stations - some things are apparently universal. The soldiers pile in without incident, making sure to pan their cameras around liberally.
One of the troopers pauses, examining a panel near the door. Tapping it, the previously-unlit airlock is bathed in a purple glow; accompanied by the outer door sliding shut.
"Found the cycle button." the Espatier in question points out helpfully.
"Next time, ask before pressing buttons." grumps another voice; the airlock's lights flick to a cool blue, and the inner door slides open smoothly, revealing a long hallway, with several other corridors branching off at regular intervals to the left and right.
"Idle query; if the place still has power, why was there no response to any of our ships arriving or spamming EM emissions?" the button-presser asks the world at large.
"That's… actually a pretty good question." you note, glancing up at your bridge crew. Reynolds shrugs, but al Fassi frowns thoughtfully.
"We haven't moved, really… and the outer airlock hatch opened for the leathernecks when they moved towards it. Maybe the, uh, larger door works similarly?"
"...could be." Reynolds notes. "Why didn't it react to any of the probes, though?"
al Fassi shrugs. "Too small? Not enough thermal or EM output? Didn't say the magic word? No clue."
You ponder this a moment, eyes flicking back and forth between the Espatiers' helmet cameras and your own ship's sensor readouts.
[] Relay al Fassi's theory to Guangzhou and suggest one of the group's ships approach the outer door - cautiously.
[] First things first - let the gank squad check the area around the airlock and give the high-forehead types time to look things over before anything else.
[] Why not both? Suggests the science teams head out now and have a ship make a pass at the door while they're working.
_______________
Bit of a short one today, but I'm angling for a better update rate. Low bar to set, I know, but still.
"No?" you query the world at large. "No works for me. No need to, you know, shotgun the hinges off the door because nobody answered the first knock."
Reynolds throws a look at you over his shoulder. "Should I couch that in… slightly more diplomatic terms, commander?"
"Please." you return, eyes on the spectrographic readout. You're only mildly more knowledgeable about metallurgy than Shaw, but the data on screen still may as well be Greek to you; Feldssen's comment about titanium seems right, but the rest of it is, for the moment, magic.
"If we're not going to shoot it, though, what else can we do, beyond maybe trying to get some material samples or somesuch?" Shaw asks you, neatly derailing your train of thought. You pause, considering the question a moment.
"Mister Reynolds, are there any other features of note on the structure? Hatches, airlocks, whatever, on either passive or active systems?"
"Not that I saw, but I'll run it again." he answers, working his console. A moment later, he frowns at something, leaning forward. "Maybe. Thirty-four degree starboard, inclination negative twenty. Doctor?"
Feldssen obligingly looks over the man's shoulder, scanning the assorted readouts. "I see it. There's a small portion of the surface slightly warmer than the rest; perhaps a few degrees. Fairly easy to miss, even with this sensor suite."
"Pipe that to the Navy pukes and send one of our probes that way." you order, pushing off from your chair and attaching yourself to the ceiling, reading Reynolds' displays as he and Feldssen comb over the sensor readouts.
<><><>
"An airlock." Captain Greene repeats, sounding mildly interested. "Well, that does sound promising. How much of a geek squad can we put together to go take a look?"
"I can probably get together six or so." James Chun, from the fleet's other Atlas-class, offers.
"I can do about the same, I think." you answer, glancing at Feldssen; he nods, and moves towards the ladder.
"Alright. Prep them - full suits and whatever kit they care to drag along - and shuttle them to that airlock in an hour. I'll send a team of Espatiers in first to make sure it's at least mostly safe about ten minutes before that, just in case. Anything else?"
You and Chun both reply negatively, and both sign off the Captains' Link with the UN officer. Turning to Shaw, you stand, anchoring yourself with a hand on the seatback. "Prep shuttle one? I'll go herd the geeks."
She nods, issuing the relevant orders to al Fassi as you snag an earpiece from the rack near the hatch, floating your way up the ladder towards the labs. A thankfully brief minute of nerd-herding later, you reverse course, heading for the shuttle lock.
Some time later, you're watching one of the undergrads wrestle with his suit with considerable amusement when Shaw sticks her head through the hatch. "Blue-hats shuttle just launched; ten minute warning."
Nodding, you float over to the flustered student and assist in untangling the mess he's made of… everything, really, half-listening to the chatter of the bridge crew in your earpiece.
"Huh. Alright, that's new."
You raise a mental eyebrow at al Fassi's unhelpful commentary. Nudging your comm against your shoulder, you inquire, "Expand upon that, Ops?"
"UN shuttle apparently tripped a motion sensor; some sort of neon sign-looking holo just popped up next to the airlock."
"The leathernecks shot at it yet?"
"Surprisingly, no." he returns. "Alien moonrunes or something… alright, they've got the airlock open. That was fast."
"On my way to the bridge." you note, cutting the link. Offering a wry grin to the rather chagrined undergrad (now in spacesuit clad), you kick off, returning to the command deck.
<><><>
Settling once more into your chair, you bring up the feed from the bow camera - zoomed in on the airlock - and indeed, what looks for all the world like a holographic neon sign floats beside it - the destroyer's shuttle holding station nearby as the troopers slowly float across the gap.
"Navy is piping comms and helmet cameras to us and New Horizons." Reynolds informs you, putting the indicated feeds up on a nearby display.
Vaguely surprising, for some reason, is the sheer… unremarkable design of the airlock. Alien text aside, it wouldn't look particularly out of place at Shiva or Tiara stations - some things are apparently universal. The soldiers pile in without incident, making sure to pan their cameras around liberally.
One of the troopers pauses, examining a panel near the door. Tapping it, the previously-unlit airlock is bathed in a purple glow; accompanied by the outer door sliding shut.
"Found the cycle button." the Espatier in question points out helpfully.
"Next time, ask before pressing buttons." grumps another voice; the airlock's lights flick to a cool blue, and the inner door slides open smoothly, revealing a long hallway, with several other corridors branching off at regular intervals to the left and right.
"Idle query; if the place still has power, why was there no response to any of our ships arriving or spamming EM emissions?" the button-presser asks the world at large.
"That's… actually a pretty good question." you note, glancing up at your bridge crew. Reynolds shrugs, but al Fassi frowns thoughtfully.
"We haven't moved, really… and the outer airlock hatch opened for the leathernecks when they moved towards it. Maybe the, uh, larger door works similarly?"
"...could be." Reynolds notes. "Why didn't it react to any of the probes, though?"
al Fassi shrugs. "Too small? Not enough thermal or EM output? Didn't say the magic word? No clue."
You ponder this a moment, eyes flicking back and forth between the Espatiers' helmet cameras and your own ship's sensor readouts.
[] Relay al Fassi's theory to Guangzhou and suggest one of the group's ships approach the outer door - cautiously.
[] First things first - let the gank squad check the area around the airlock and give the high-forehead types time to look things over before anything else.
[] Why not both? Suggests the science teams head out now and have a ship make a pass at the door while they're working.
_______________
Bit of a short one today, but I'm angling for a better update rate. Low bar to set, I know, but still.
- Location
- usa
[X] First things first - let the gank squad check the area around the airlock and give the high-forehead types time to look things over before anything else.
MacroDaemon
Lachrymose Lapis
[X] First things first - let the gank squad check the area around the airlock and give the high-forehead types time to look things over before anything else.
It would be best to figure out if we even want to open the larger bay doors, before we try. Who knows what could be out there?
It would be best to figure out if we even want to open the larger bay doors, before we try. Who knows what could be out there?
- Location
- Diamond City
[X] First things first - let the gank squad check the area around the airlock and give the high-forehead types time to look things over before anything else.
Log 09: Spaceships Out of a Box
FC Error
Missileer
- Location
- Aware of where I am not
[X] First things first - let the gank squad check the area around the airlock and give the high-forehead types time to look things over before anything else.
You opt to remain silent and let the gank squad continue on, moving up carefully as the corridor curves away to the right. Faced shortly thereafter with another door, the button-presser at least has the decency to wait for the team leader's 'go' signal before indulging this time, the hatch sliding silently open. On the far side is an airy, open room with large window on one wall; as the team moves in and fans out, you note the task group's ships are visible, floating in space.
"Is that a screen on the right, or a one-way mirror, or somesuch?" you inquire, glancing at the ship's cameras; the wall around the airlock looks entirely featureless, with no indication of an observation deck or the like.
Reynolds mutters something into the comm net, prompting an espatier to carefully advance towards the screen/window/thing and pan his helmet camera around. "No visible controls, no pixelation even up close - could go either way, but I'm inclined to say one-way window."
"Neat material." you opine as the leathernecks move on, stacking up near the only other hatch in the room, at the far end of the long observation deck.
"Bridge, Shuttle one is ready to launch." comes the somewhat-belated report from the skiff bay.
Prodding your intercom controls, you open a link to the shuttle. "Shuttle one clear to undock. Try not to wreck the paint job."
Shaw raises an eyebrow in your direction as the skiff pushes off and glides away on translation thrusters, joining New Horizons' somewhat weathered-looking twin. You spare a moment to return Shaw's raised brow before re-focusing on the feed from the espatiers, now through the next hatch and paused at a T-junction in the corridor.
You glance sidelong at Reynolds, ex-leatherneck that he is, as the team has a brief conversation comprised almost entirely of jargon and odd gestures before splitting into two groups and proceeding onwards, each taking one of the two available paths.
al Fassi switches the main screen to a split view, letting you comfortably track both teams' progress as the radar display indicates the two geek squad shuttles have arrived at the airlock, braking gently to a relative halt. You watch the Espatiers' cameras, arching an eyebrow at what looks for all the world like a large neon sign hanging from the ceiling.
The second team finds their way blocked by another door - though after some brief fiddling, it yields just as easily as the airlock. They continue in, finding another observation room - this one facing something other than the inside of the box. You blink and lean forwards as the camera pans across the large window. You're saved asking the grunt to keep his camera pointed that way when the team pauses, staring out at the newly-revealed scenery.
"Well. That probably explains why we've not met a welcome party." Feldssen notes dryly, eyes glued to the display. Dimly, you agree; visible out the window is what can only be the rest of the station; a huge - no, you muse, 'colossal' is a better term - structure, crescent-shaped; or it was, at least.
A sizable chunk of the sand-coloured facility seems to be missing; wreckage and structural members floating in a cloud near one end of the crescent. Several shapes, a bit too regular to be wreckage, also float in the debris cloud - ships, maybe?
You're pulled out of your reverie by Shaw swearing quietly. Turning to her, you freeze as she enlarges a portion of the image - a hatch, or hangar door, or similar - one with a clearly-visible '07' prominently painted on it.
"What the hells?" you murmur, trying to wrap your head around it. Numbers - Arabic numerals - on a long-dead space station, who knows how far from Earth…
A beep brings you back to reality - Guangzhou opening the Captains' Link. Hitting ACCEPT, you sit back in your chair as Captain Greene's voice comes through. "Well. This… explains nothing, and raises even more questions. In the interest of not just sitting and not getting answers, Guangzhou will approach the door to our front and see if it will open without intervention. The Espatiers will continue searching the facility's interior - team leaders, no more than ten minutes' walk from the airlock you entered. Understood?"
"Understood, Captain." the platoon commander responds crisply, waving at his team to get moving again. Directing a Significant Look at Shaw, you hit your push-to-talk.
"Captain Greene, should the rest of us recall our teams for now, or continue as they were?"
A brief pause ensues as the UNSA officer considers. "Hold for now. If the door does open, we'll see about moving the task force out into open space - if nothing else, mapping the exterior of this station might give us some idea as to what it is, and why we got dragged here."
The other captains return acknowledgements as the destroyer creeps forwards on reaction thrusters, gliding away from formation. The bridge seems to collectively hold its breath as the ship approaches the far wall - you see Reynolds twitch as Guangzhou begins slowing, still several klicks from the surface - only to exhale as one when a seam appears, growing wider as the large door slides slowly open.
"Well, that answers that." you note idly, watching unfamiliar stars appear as the UN ship continues creeping forwards. Shaw snorts.
"Now I just feel like we should have done that from the word go."
"Bluntly? We have no idea where we're at." Reynolds informs you some twenty minutes later. "None of these stars are recognizable, nor the pattern; we've been trying to triangulate with pulsars, but none of the few we've spotted match known frequencies. We could be anywhere from the far side of the galaxy to the arse end of the universe."
"Less than encouraging, that." you admit, eyes glued to the visual feeds - the task force has fanned out, recording everything possible of the exterior of the station. The sheer scale of the thing is still hard to believe - al Fassi notes that were a significant chunk not missing, it would just about break two hundred klicks in length. You haven't even tried to speculate the mass.
"It's not all bad news. Reynolds returns, a half-smirk forming on his face. "There's patterns etched on the station's hull that we've been able to match to constellations visible from here - with only a couple of exceptions. The two centre bays - the one we arrived from, and the one adjacent left - both have pulsar maps - al Fassi," he nods to the man in question, "recognized our own arrival point as the one etched on the Voyager golden records. The other, naturally, we haven't a clue."
"And the boarding teams?" Shaw queries, eyeing the holotank; a model of the station rotates slowly therein, updating every now and then at the ships share ladar data.
"Nothing much; observation rooms with seats, what look like storage rooms or cargo bays, one control room of some sort; overlooked the arrival bay, so maybe some sort of ATC-equivalent. Geeks are looking into things, but what with the not-knowing-the-language, it's slow going."
"Alright. So the question is, now what?" Shaw turns to you, eyebrow raising. You ponder a moment, gaze sliding over to the holotank.
[] Send a probe to poke the debris field - ladar shows what are almost certainly ships in there, and some data on those can't hurt.
[] Join the geek squad - the Espatiers have found nothing more threatening than some free-floating dust, so Greene cleared Captains to go aboard.
[] Try and get some physical samples of the station's hull - whatever the material is, it seems to have caught Feldssen's attention quite effectively.
Extreme-super-ultra-late-update!
You opt to remain silent and let the gank squad continue on, moving up carefully as the corridor curves away to the right. Faced shortly thereafter with another door, the button-presser at least has the decency to wait for the team leader's 'go' signal before indulging this time, the hatch sliding silently open. On the far side is an airy, open room with large window on one wall; as the team moves in and fans out, you note the task group's ships are visible, floating in space.
"Is that a screen on the right, or a one-way mirror, or somesuch?" you inquire, glancing at the ship's cameras; the wall around the airlock looks entirely featureless, with no indication of an observation deck or the like.
Reynolds mutters something into the comm net, prompting an espatier to carefully advance towards the screen/window/thing and pan his helmet camera around. "No visible controls, no pixelation even up close - could go either way, but I'm inclined to say one-way window."
"Neat material." you opine as the leathernecks move on, stacking up near the only other hatch in the room, at the far end of the long observation deck.
"Bridge, Shuttle one is ready to launch." comes the somewhat-belated report from the skiff bay.
Prodding your intercom controls, you open a link to the shuttle. "Shuttle one clear to undock. Try not to wreck the paint job."
Shaw raises an eyebrow in your direction as the skiff pushes off and glides away on translation thrusters, joining New Horizons' somewhat weathered-looking twin. You spare a moment to return Shaw's raised brow before re-focusing on the feed from the espatiers, now through the next hatch and paused at a T-junction in the corridor.
You glance sidelong at Reynolds, ex-leatherneck that he is, as the team has a brief conversation comprised almost entirely of jargon and odd gestures before splitting into two groups and proceeding onwards, each taking one of the two available paths.
al Fassi switches the main screen to a split view, letting you comfortably track both teams' progress as the radar display indicates the two geek squad shuttles have arrived at the airlock, braking gently to a relative halt. You watch the Espatiers' cameras, arching an eyebrow at what looks for all the world like a large neon sign hanging from the ceiling.
The second team finds their way blocked by another door - though after some brief fiddling, it yields just as easily as the airlock. They continue in, finding another observation room - this one facing something other than the inside of the box. You blink and lean forwards as the camera pans across the large window. You're saved asking the grunt to keep his camera pointed that way when the team pauses, staring out at the newly-revealed scenery.
"Well. That probably explains why we've not met a welcome party." Feldssen notes dryly, eyes glued to the display. Dimly, you agree; visible out the window is what can only be the rest of the station; a huge - no, you muse, 'colossal' is a better term - structure, crescent-shaped; or it was, at least.
A sizable chunk of the sand-coloured facility seems to be missing; wreckage and structural members floating in a cloud near one end of the crescent. Several shapes, a bit too regular to be wreckage, also float in the debris cloud - ships, maybe?
You're pulled out of your reverie by Shaw swearing quietly. Turning to her, you freeze as she enlarges a portion of the image - a hatch, or hangar door, or similar - one with a clearly-visible '07' prominently painted on it.
"What the hells?" you murmur, trying to wrap your head around it. Numbers - Arabic numerals - on a long-dead space station, who knows how far from Earth…
A beep brings you back to reality - Guangzhou opening the Captains' Link. Hitting ACCEPT, you sit back in your chair as Captain Greene's voice comes through. "Well. This… explains nothing, and raises even more questions. In the interest of not just sitting and not getting answers, Guangzhou will approach the door to our front and see if it will open without intervention. The Espatiers will continue searching the facility's interior - team leaders, no more than ten minutes' walk from the airlock you entered. Understood?"
"Understood, Captain." the platoon commander responds crisply, waving at his team to get moving again. Directing a Significant Look at Shaw, you hit your push-to-talk.
"Captain Greene, should the rest of us recall our teams for now, or continue as they were?"
A brief pause ensues as the UNSA officer considers. "Hold for now. If the door does open, we'll see about moving the task force out into open space - if nothing else, mapping the exterior of this station might give us some idea as to what it is, and why we got dragged here."
The other captains return acknowledgements as the destroyer creeps forwards on reaction thrusters, gliding away from formation. The bridge seems to collectively hold its breath as the ship approaches the far wall - you see Reynolds twitch as Guangzhou begins slowing, still several klicks from the surface - only to exhale as one when a seam appears, growing wider as the large door slides slowly open.
"Well, that answers that." you note idly, watching unfamiliar stars appear as the UN ship continues creeping forwards. Shaw snorts.
"Now I just feel like we should have done that from the word go."
<><><>
"Bluntly? We have no idea where we're at." Reynolds informs you some twenty minutes later. "None of these stars are recognizable, nor the pattern; we've been trying to triangulate with pulsars, but none of the few we've spotted match known frequencies. We could be anywhere from the far side of the galaxy to the arse end of the universe."
"Less than encouraging, that." you admit, eyes glued to the visual feeds - the task force has fanned out, recording everything possible of the exterior of the station. The sheer scale of the thing is still hard to believe - al Fassi notes that were a significant chunk not missing, it would just about break two hundred klicks in length. You haven't even tried to speculate the mass.
"It's not all bad news. Reynolds returns, a half-smirk forming on his face. "There's patterns etched on the station's hull that we've been able to match to constellations visible from here - with only a couple of exceptions. The two centre bays - the one we arrived from, and the one adjacent left - both have pulsar maps - al Fassi," he nods to the man in question, "recognized our own arrival point as the one etched on the Voyager golden records. The other, naturally, we haven't a clue."
"And the boarding teams?" Shaw queries, eyeing the holotank; a model of the station rotates slowly therein, updating every now and then at the ships share ladar data.
"Nothing much; observation rooms with seats, what look like storage rooms or cargo bays, one control room of some sort; overlooked the arrival bay, so maybe some sort of ATC-equivalent. Geeks are looking into things, but what with the not-knowing-the-language, it's slow going."
"Alright. So the question is, now what?" Shaw turns to you, eyebrow raising. You ponder a moment, gaze sliding over to the holotank.
[] Send a probe to poke the debris field - ladar shows what are almost certainly ships in there, and some data on those can't hurt.
[] Join the geek squad - the Espatiers have found nothing more threatening than some free-floating dust, so Greene cleared Captains to go aboard.
[] Try and get some physical samples of the station's hull - whatever the material is, it seems to have caught Feldssen's attention quite effectively.
Extreme-super-ultra-late-update!
- Location
- Queensland, Australia
Yes, it's back! As for what to do... I still think cautious is better until we have a firmer idea for how long it will take to re-establish contact with Sol. So, this sub-vote fine?
[X] Send a probe to poke the debris field - ladar shows what are almost certainly ships in there, and some data on those can't hurt.
-[X] The floating wreckage should also allow us to obtain material samples for Feldssen without further damaging the station, or accidentally removing something that turns out critical later on, however unlikely.
Basic idea is that if there's a floating cloud of debris from the station, we may as well use it to obtain initial samples. We can also get a clearer idea of what's in the cloud whilst doing so to better target future investigations.
[X] Send a probe to poke the debris field - ladar shows what are almost certainly ships in there, and some data on those can't hurt.
-[X] The floating wreckage should also allow us to obtain material samples for Feldssen without further damaging the station, or accidentally removing something that turns out critical later on, however unlikely.
Basic idea is that if there's a floating cloud of debris from the station, we may as well use it to obtain initial samples. We can also get a clearer idea of what's in the cloud whilst doing so to better target future investigations.
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Durand Durand
Space-sauce'er
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Well that was a surprise notification I didn't think I'd see for a while.
[X] Join the geek squad - the Espatiers have found nothing more threatening than some free-floating dust, so Greene cleared Captains to go aboard.
I don't think we're dealing with anything particularly dangerous on this leg of the station, so might as well expedite things and go for a more direct investigatory approach, might even find something useful inside here.
[X] Join the geek squad - the Espatiers have found nothing more threatening than some free-floating dust, so Greene cleared Captains to go aboard.
I don't think we're dealing with anything particularly dangerous on this leg of the station, so might as well expedite things and go for a more direct investigatory approach, might even find something useful inside here.
- Location
- usa
[X] Send a probe to poke the debris field - ladar shows what are almost certainly ships in there, and some data on those can't hurt.
-[X] The floating wreckage should also allow us to obtain material samples for Feldssen without further damaging the station, or accidentally removing something that turns out critical later on, however unlikely.
-[X] The floating wreckage should also allow us to obtain material samples for Feldssen without further damaging the station, or accidentally removing something that turns out critical later on, however unlikely.
MacroDaemon
Lachrymose Lapis
Is it possible to send a probe or multiple to map out the stations external hull? The might be visible points of interest.
Also, are there any theories yet on what could have damaged the station? Internal explosion, external impact, etc?
Also, are there any theories yet on what could have damaged the station? Internal explosion, external impact, etc?
Last edited:
FC Error
Missileer
- Location
- Aware of where I am not
Respectively: the task force has been doing exactly that - the probe's only on there because maneuvering an 80,000+ tonne ship into a debris field is, ehm, touchy. As to the station's damage, one could speculate all day. If you'd like to ask other characters or just theorycraft idly, you can do a write-in vote.
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Send a probe to poke the debris field - ladar shows what are almost certainly ships in there, and some data on those can't hurt.
-[X] The floating wreckage should also allow us to obtain material samples for Feldssen without further damaging the station, or accidentally removing something that turns out critical later on, however unlikely.
-[X] The floating wreckage should also allow us to obtain material samples for Feldssen without further damaging the station, or accidentally removing something that turns out critical later on, however unlikely.
Log 10: Deep Space Archaeology, Question Mark
FC Error
Missileer
- Location
- Aware of where I am not
[X] Send a probe to poke the debris field - ladar shows what are almost certainly ships in there, and some data on those can't hurt.
--[X] The floating wreckage should also allow us to obtain material samples for Feldssen without further damaging the station, or accidentally removing something that turns out critical later on, however unlikely.
"al Fassi," you inquire, "Think you can get a survey probe into that debris field and retrieve some material samples? And maybe get a good scan of the larger objects while you're there?"
Your systems officer scans the display briefly, nodding. "Aye, can do. Launching probe now. How detailed do you want those object scans?"
You wave your hand in a 'so-so' manner. "Not necessarily micrometric precision, but enough that the geek squad has something to chew on. See if there's any EM emissions, too - I doubt it, but there's enough crap surrounding those objects if they are emitting we might miss it from here."
al Fassi nods, setting to work navigating the probe; casting a Look at Shaw, you push off from your chair, drifting into the captain's office. Maglocking yourself to the deck, you close the door behind Shaw, who opts to float in place with a hand on the desk. "What's up?"
You half-grin, bringing up a holo of the derelict station - mostly for distraction. "We're on the far side of the universe or somesuch, poking an abandoned, possibly alien, space station that somehow has recognizable numerals on it and may, or may not, be a bunch of FTL jump-gates tacked together. While I'm sure I - and most of the geek squad - could lose ourselves in studying the thing for ages, it does occur that most people might start having issues with the 'stuck an unknown distance from home with an uncertain means of returning' thing."
Shaw blinks, apparently processing that statement. Exhaling slowly, she pulls herself into the chair across from you and buckles in. "Alright. Yeah, that's fair. I was trying to not think about that myself."
You wince. "Sorry."
She waves you off, shaking her head. "No, no, it's a valid point and one we do need to address. Though I will say I have no idea how."
"Nor do I." you deadpan. "I was kinda hoping you might have some input."
"And yet." Shaw returns, equally deadpan. "Alright. For now, I feel like just rolling with 'carry on as usual' will work - everyone aboard was prepared for a few months lurking out near Neptune being bored out of their skulls, so we haven't been completely dropped in the deep end."
"Only mostly?"
"Only mostly." she agrees, a grim smile forming on her face. "Maybe bounce this off Greene, quiet-like. I sincerely doubt she'll miss a problem like this - you don't hit full-bird Captain without a good bit of situational awareness - so she might have some ideas."
You nod, silently chewing the idea over. Some of the other captains might be thinking on this, as well - though nobody's mentioned it on the Captains' Link yet. "Not a bad idea. In the meantime- hold up." you cut yourself off, noting Reynolds gesturing at you through the glass surrounding the office. Pulling yourself off the deck, you follow Shaw back out onto the bridge. "Mister Reynolds?"
"We just got word from New Horizons." He explains. "They've been trying to spot planets - given we're obviously not too far out from a star-" Entirely true, the local primary's comparable to Sol viewed from Jupiter "-they figured they could check for anything else in-system. They just got a hit - two, actually. Pair of worlds, some ways in-system; within the Goldilocks zone, given the readings we're getting off the star."
"Two planets in the habitable zone?" Shaw queries, arching an eyebrow. "As in, the green zone proper?"
"Aye." your helmsman-slash-comm officer affirms. "Even better - they both orbit a common barycenter, and they're each about point-nine times the size of Earth. If what New Horizons science guy is saying is accurate, they're both around point-nine gees, so density similar to Earth, too."
You consider that, mapping it out in your mind. "I honestly didn't think two same-size bodies were stable like that, not only an AU or so from their primary." you note. "Any indications of life? Given, well." you gesture at the station on the nav display.
He shakes his head. "None they've mentioned, so if it's there, it's being real quiet. They're working on a more detailed analysis now - something about spectroscopy and atmospheres, I didn't catch all of the details."
You eye the system map Reynolds has brought up - the primary and station the only things marked solidly, with the new-found planets indicated by a dot and question mark.
[] Any of the ships present have fuel for the trip to those planets and back a couple times over; suggest to Greene that a hull or two can be detached to go make a more detailed analysis.
[] Wait and see - the station's more pressing right now, even if shedding light on the system as a whole is appealing for later.
"Huh." al Fassi comments quietly. You turn as he brings an image from the drone up on his screen. "Is it me, or does that look a lot like a plasma drive's engine bell?"
You examine the image in question - part of the drifting wreckage in the debris field, it seems. Looking at it unobstructed, it looks, fairly obviously, like a ship - or part of one, at least - and indeed, the clustered quartet of pods at the end look remarkably like the four-pack engine bells on your own vessel. "It does indeed. The geek section on this?"
The sensor officer nods. "Freaking out over it, more like, but yeah. Weirdest thing, though-" he switches to another image "-it looks, from the other end, like the thing was melted. No sign of explosion, and it wasn't cut in half or whatever by collision. Someone cut this thing in half with a laser or something similar."
That is… cause for concern, you note idly. Possibly. If the laser-wielder in question is still around in any capacity, at least.
"Keep at it, for now. Think you can figure out what the hulk used to be? Freighter, tanker, survey ship…?" you inquire. al Fassi considers, eyeing the images.
"Maybe. I'll have a go at it, at least. Here's hoping they lay out ships at least vaguely similar to us."
You nod, pushing off his seat and back to your own. Settling in, you bring up the comm interface and begin composing a message to Captain Greene.
[] What say?
_____________
Marginally less late than before! Maybe. Probably not.
--[X] The floating wreckage should also allow us to obtain material samples for Feldssen without further damaging the station, or accidentally removing something that turns out critical later on, however unlikely.
"al Fassi," you inquire, "Think you can get a survey probe into that debris field and retrieve some material samples? And maybe get a good scan of the larger objects while you're there?"
Your systems officer scans the display briefly, nodding. "Aye, can do. Launching probe now. How detailed do you want those object scans?"
You wave your hand in a 'so-so' manner. "Not necessarily micrometric precision, but enough that the geek squad has something to chew on. See if there's any EM emissions, too - I doubt it, but there's enough crap surrounding those objects if they are emitting we might miss it from here."
al Fassi nods, setting to work navigating the probe; casting a Look at Shaw, you push off from your chair, drifting into the captain's office. Maglocking yourself to the deck, you close the door behind Shaw, who opts to float in place with a hand on the desk. "What's up?"
You half-grin, bringing up a holo of the derelict station - mostly for distraction. "We're on the far side of the universe or somesuch, poking an abandoned, possibly alien, space station that somehow has recognizable numerals on it and may, or may not, be a bunch of FTL jump-gates tacked together. While I'm sure I - and most of the geek squad - could lose ourselves in studying the thing for ages, it does occur that most people might start having issues with the 'stuck an unknown distance from home with an uncertain means of returning' thing."
Shaw blinks, apparently processing that statement. Exhaling slowly, she pulls herself into the chair across from you and buckles in. "Alright. Yeah, that's fair. I was trying to not think about that myself."
You wince. "Sorry."
She waves you off, shaking her head. "No, no, it's a valid point and one we do need to address. Though I will say I have no idea how."
"Nor do I." you deadpan. "I was kinda hoping you might have some input."
"And yet." Shaw returns, equally deadpan. "Alright. For now, I feel like just rolling with 'carry on as usual' will work - everyone aboard was prepared for a few months lurking out near Neptune being bored out of their skulls, so we haven't been completely dropped in the deep end."
"Only mostly?"
"Only mostly." she agrees, a grim smile forming on her face. "Maybe bounce this off Greene, quiet-like. I sincerely doubt she'll miss a problem like this - you don't hit full-bird Captain without a good bit of situational awareness - so she might have some ideas."
You nod, silently chewing the idea over. Some of the other captains might be thinking on this, as well - though nobody's mentioned it on the Captains' Link yet. "Not a bad idea. In the meantime- hold up." you cut yourself off, noting Reynolds gesturing at you through the glass surrounding the office. Pulling yourself off the deck, you follow Shaw back out onto the bridge. "Mister Reynolds?"
"We just got word from New Horizons." He explains. "They've been trying to spot planets - given we're obviously not too far out from a star-" Entirely true, the local primary's comparable to Sol viewed from Jupiter "-they figured they could check for anything else in-system. They just got a hit - two, actually. Pair of worlds, some ways in-system; within the Goldilocks zone, given the readings we're getting off the star."
"Two planets in the habitable zone?" Shaw queries, arching an eyebrow. "As in, the green zone proper?"
"Aye." your helmsman-slash-comm officer affirms. "Even better - they both orbit a common barycenter, and they're each about point-nine times the size of Earth. If what New Horizons science guy is saying is accurate, they're both around point-nine gees, so density similar to Earth, too."
You consider that, mapping it out in your mind. "I honestly didn't think two same-size bodies were stable like that, not only an AU or so from their primary." you note. "Any indications of life? Given, well." you gesture at the station on the nav display.
He shakes his head. "None they've mentioned, so if it's there, it's being real quiet. They're working on a more detailed analysis now - something about spectroscopy and atmospheres, I didn't catch all of the details."
You eye the system map Reynolds has brought up - the primary and station the only things marked solidly, with the new-found planets indicated by a dot and question mark.
[] Any of the ships present have fuel for the trip to those planets and back a couple times over; suggest to Greene that a hull or two can be detached to go make a more detailed analysis.
[] Wait and see - the station's more pressing right now, even if shedding light on the system as a whole is appealing for later.
"Huh." al Fassi comments quietly. You turn as he brings an image from the drone up on his screen. "Is it me, or does that look a lot like a plasma drive's engine bell?"
You examine the image in question - part of the drifting wreckage in the debris field, it seems. Looking at it unobstructed, it looks, fairly obviously, like a ship - or part of one, at least - and indeed, the clustered quartet of pods at the end look remarkably like the four-pack engine bells on your own vessel. "It does indeed. The geek section on this?"
The sensor officer nods. "Freaking out over it, more like, but yeah. Weirdest thing, though-" he switches to another image "-it looks, from the other end, like the thing was melted. No sign of explosion, and it wasn't cut in half or whatever by collision. Someone cut this thing in half with a laser or something similar."
That is… cause for concern, you note idly. Possibly. If the laser-wielder in question is still around in any capacity, at least.
"Keep at it, for now. Think you can figure out what the hulk used to be? Freighter, tanker, survey ship…?" you inquire. al Fassi considers, eyeing the images.
"Maybe. I'll have a go at it, at least. Here's hoping they lay out ships at least vaguely similar to us."
You nod, pushing off his seat and back to your own. Settling in, you bring up the comm interface and begin composing a message to Captain Greene.
[] What say?
_____________
Marginally less late than before! Maybe. Probably not.
Durand Durand
Space-sauce'er
- Pronouns
- She/Her
It's back!
[X] Any of the ships present have fuel for the trip to those planets and back a couple times over; suggest to Greene that a hull or two can be detached to go make a more detailed analysis.
Shedding light is good, we should always endeavour to shine as many lights as possible. Not to mention that if said laser-er is still around, it'd be better to have people going out to get a closer look now than waiting around and potentially seeing them get offed before they can be useful. Plus, those planets will probably be a good place to look for context to the station, which we can really only learn so much from the darn thing itself.
[X] Any of the ships present have fuel for the trip to those planets and back a couple times over; suggest to Greene that a hull or two can be detached to go make a more detailed analysis.
Shedding light is good, we should always endeavour to shine as many lights as possible. Not to mention that if said laser-er is still around, it'd be better to have people going out to get a closer look now than waiting around and potentially seeing them get offed before they can be useful. Plus, those planets will probably be a good place to look for context to the station, which we can really only learn so much from the darn thing itself.
- Location
- Queensland, Australia
[X] Any of the ships present have fuel for the trip to those planets and back a couple times over; suggest to Greene that a hull or two can be detached to go make a more detailed analysis.
Worst case scenario, if we're stuck here, we'll want to know if those worlds are inhabitable to set up a long term colony on. If they aren't, we'll also want to know that so we know we're going to have to explore the rest of the system to find somewhere that can be made to be not so frosty and contains easy access to abundant safe water supplies. Don't need to be clean drinkable water supplies. Just safe, because it's a lot simpler to set up a filtering system to turn dirty water into drinkable water than it is to make it contaminated water pure enough to be safely able to be drunk.
After all, dirty water can be drunk, it's just not a good or healthy idea to do so. Drinking unsafe contaminated water leads to things like heavy metal and/or radiation poisoning.
Not sure on what to say to Greene though.
Worst case scenario, if we're stuck here, we'll want to know if those worlds are inhabitable to set up a long term colony on. If they aren't, we'll also want to know that so we know we're going to have to explore the rest of the system to find somewhere that can be made to be not so frosty and contains easy access to abundant safe water supplies. Don't need to be clean drinkable water supplies. Just safe, because it's a lot simpler to set up a filtering system to turn dirty water into drinkable water than it is to make it contaminated water pure enough to be safely able to be drunk.
After all, dirty water can be drunk, it's just not a good or healthy idea to do so. Drinking unsafe contaminated water leads to things like heavy metal and/or radiation poisoning.
Not sure on what to say to Greene though.