Your eyes skim along the angular letters on the strip, your finger idly playing with the jagged edge, peeling it off at the corners as you read and think. Silicon based, already knew that, uhh, wait, what? How could…
You frown, then double check the two figures, your eyes leaping from the middle to the top of the readout. No, it's definitely there: The first creature is silicon, some trace iron, carbonates...the kind of stuff you'd find on a rock floating in a ring system. But the second creature is
laced with duranium and hyperaluminum?
"Where was the gas giant?" you ask, looking at the super. "The one they cleaned the rocket?"
"Uh, it was an unnamed one - just a ringed giant in one of the BSes between some of the Beacons that they picked cause the whole system registered as non-viable," he says, nodding.
BS - boring system. Not boring enough, apparently. "The first thing is made up of the elements you'd find in a ring system of a gas giant. The
second is made up of Aquillian war-rocket hull material!" you nod. "It's eating the ship and procreating - and considering the speed, I think we just gave it a free buffet."
"There's just one problem: Where's it getting the energy?" Lera asks. You look at her and she frowns. "You know what they say: You cannot push without explosions."
"No one...says-" you start.
"Hull materials are non-reactive. That's why they're hull materials," she says, firmly. "Reactives are required for any biological life - even silicon. They need energy from
somewhere."
"Solar?" you shake your head, discarding it. Even the best photovoltaics couldn't…you smack your forehead, then push your chair along the recessed track on the floor with a soft
hiss of plastic on plastic. You grab onto the radiological scope and toggle it - and right there, the creatures are sitting on a band of radiation being emitted by the tug's torchdrive. Four of them, now. "They're feeding on the radiation from the tug!"
" Беда не приходит одна." The super mutters.
"So can I laser it?" Minder 4 asks, and your super hushes him as you brush your hand through your hair. Thinking...
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Time for a solution! You roll will not just be performing the action, but the outcomes. Basically, if your character has considered all possibilities in-character and properly intuitied the outcome
Your Astrogation is 3, your Research is 5, and your Signals is 2.
You can spend the two Trust points earned from the first Study roll to add +2 to the dice results of the Signals roll. You need a 4+ to hit, which means anything but a 1 will hit there.
2 hits is a full success, 1 hit is a partial.
Remember, though, no matter how good your roll is, the consequences will follow the fiction.
[ ] Well, easy enough, we just turn off the engines of the tug for a bit and they should stop multiplying. (Astrogation, 4+)
[ ] Well, easy enough. Somebody activate the war rocket's artificial magnetosphere. It'll stop the radiation from reaching the hull, and we don't have to stop pulling. (Research, 4+)
[ ] Well, easy enough, we use the gamma-scope on the sensor arm to project a radiation beam and move them away from the grapple. Like a cat chasing a laser pointer! (Signals, 4+)
[ ] Okay, Minder 4, cut them loose.
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