Turn 7.0 "To The Rescue" 

 

    Alex had gratefully followed the others up the lift.  His mind had
been awhirl with new thoughts and problems.  The scene had unfolded
slowly, but one thing stayed topmost in his mind when Zach had shown him
the view of the Hangar Bay through the station's cameras.  The shuttle was
definitely gone.  And with it, the core of his Artificial Intelligence's
programming... 

    "I know, Cal.  That's been running through my mind ever since I heard
the shuttle had taken off.  I didn't want to say anything until now."  His
voice sounded on the edge of cracking.  "But I'll do what I can to get the
rest of you back, Cal.  Make a checklist of what you've lost, the missing
gaps in your memory, and keep it for later use.  Right now, we've gotta get
the rest of the station under control.  Once that's done, we can organize
pursuit." 

    "But, Alex, I can't make a list...," Cal replied, her voice just as
worried, "I don't even *know* what I'm missing!  It's like having a mental
disability.  I know there's more of me out there somewhere, but I can't\
recall what it is..." 

    Suddenly, Jake's conversation with Reed penetrated Alex's thoughts.
The rest of the station was in danger!  "Zach!  Did you hear that?  What
can you tell us about the systems in that area?  Are they working correctly?
What can you affect from here?" 

    Soon, Nola's voice was added to the pilot's, "Hey Zach!  Can you turn
off the coolant systems, and put some heat back into the rooms from up here?
And can you also make sure all rooms are operating normally?  If not, fix
them, and tell us what's not normal.  Thanks." 

    Zach made some gestures with his hands when two or three different people
began to tell him to help the engineers, "Hey, I heard them!  This is one
area that I do know what I'm doing.  You guys mind your guns, I'll mind the
grid."  He went back to moving his hands around with his eyes closed and
tapping things into his gridcaster. 

    But having only partially heard the call for help, he finally opened his
eyes again and asked, "Where was she again?  Berthing Compartment Gamma?"  He
tried to access the controls to the berthing compartment to make it hospitable
for those caught inside.  The engineering controls responded just as smoothly
as when he'd last tested them from the main computer just a couple of weeks
ago.  The settings had been changed from "arctic" to "temperate".  It would
take some time to see any real change, though.

    Zach then kept pouring through the logs in the system, trying to see what
had happened, where the most damage had been, and if there were any more
survivors.  The system responded with reports of only minor damage.  One lift
was non-responsive...and some very minor alarms had been set off due to the
temporary loss of gravity.  All the other rooms seemed stable with respect to
their environmental controls.

    He scrolled through the views of the various security cameras to see who
was on board and then called up the station manifest to see how many were
supposed to be on board.  The security cameras showed only empty hallways...
with the exception of the dead body in the Hangar Bay airlock.  The station
manifest listed approximately 30 occupants in total, but there was no way to
get a headcount without physically visiting them all.

    He finally tried to gain access to the last command logs to see if the
scanners had picked up anything.  External sensors on the station had
definitely noted the shuttle's departure, but the security camera blackout
couldn't provide any pictures of the event.  According to the readings, the
shuttle appeared to have left sensor range approximately one astronomical-unit
(AU) from the station, heading back toward the civilized regions of the
StarMech Collective. 

    Zach double-checked the security data he had gathered and was disappointed
that none of the cameras had recorded anything during the ten-minute power
outage.  Before that, all he had were images of the ComTech team working in
the Comm Pit, Jonah Akers shutting stuff down, and a few people heading back
to their Berthing Compartments during the shift turnover.  It looked like
there was only one guy doing any damage... Akers.  But still, one man couldn't
have accounted for everything they'd seen so far.

    Then, he made a sudden realization.  There was one security camera that
was unaccounted for!  It was the simple observation mechanism for the AI
computer downstairs in the Communications Pit.  Not exactly a security camera,
it was meant to operate so that the AI inside the bulky communications
computer system could monitor the environment around it.  Perhaps its
recording device had managed to avoid the blackout?  After all, the heavy-duty
capacitors that the ComTech guys had built-in to that system would have kept
it running... and therefore its camera running... even in the event of a
station power outage.  At the very least, if he could break into that system
and get at its recorded images, that would give him some idea of what had
happened to the ComTech technicians that were on-duty.  Of course, to
interface with that system, he'd have to abandon his post at the station's
main computer and log-in to the secure network via the terminals in the Comm
Pit... "What would the security guys think of that?", he wondered. 

---------- 

    With Zach having his hands full, Nola thought perhaps it would be better
to get remote control going before she swept the levels of the station.  "Dig,
are we going down now, or seeing if Zach can fix it up?  I'd prefer to sweep
and secure the levels than run into another ambush.  And if you are going to
mention Akers, he shot me.  He made me...mad.  Anyone who makes me mad will be
paid back in full, and interest, if you get what I mean."

    Jake nodded curtly, and then agreed with Nola's assessment, "Akers is
certainly a threat until we pin him down for sure.  And you've got a need for
revenge, I understand that... he made me look pretty silly up there on the
ceiling, too... but we'd better capture him for interrogation first.  If he's
sabotaged this station, there's no telling what else might be in danger." 

    "We'd better make certain we've got control over everything in the station
first, though," he continued, "This is the best place to start.  Let's make
sure these guys are secure before we go hunting him down, though...agreed?"

    Nola nodded as well and then headed off to check on Dimitrio and the
lifts... 

---------- 

    As Nola arrived, she looked at the small robot sitting beside Doctor
Lugwig again and tapped her chin, as if thinking something over.  Meanwhile,
Doctor Lugwig continued to help Dimitrio in every way possible, looking all
around with one of his pistols drawn.  There was little he could do to aid
the engineer while he had to stand guard duty...but he could do his best at
that, at least.

    Zach finally sat back and unplugged his gridcaster from the station's
main computer system, leaving his 'shadow' to continue the tasks he had
assigned to it.  He knew it might take some time and as the 'shadow' went
to work he called out across the noise of the room and said, "Repo, you
called us terrorists?  Were you just making an assumption or have you
actually seen non-station personnel here involved in terrorist-like
activities?" 

    Lugwig barely made out Zach's words, then looked up and asked Repo for
as much information about the 'terrorists' as he could get considering
their chaotic surroundings.  Repo, having missed Zach's question in the
noise and excitement, turned to look at Lugwig as the T'sa began asking
him questions. 

    "Oh, yeah," Repo nodded his head, mechanical servos rotating
emphatically, "I saw a couple of guys in the Hangar Bay.  Strange fellows.
I knew something was going on when I saw them pull some weapons out of a
couple bags on-board the shuttle.  It's kinda hard to hide things like that
from us shuttle'bots, you know?  We're the eyes and ears of everything that
goes on down there.  Why just the other day, you wouldn't believe the
things that were delivered for that Jonah Akers, fellow.  Some sort of
girlie-holo's, I think.  You know... the really racy kind.  Not that we
robots are into that sort of thing or nothin'..." 

----------

    As Lugwig and Repo held their conversation, Nola walked over to
Dimitrio, and tapped him on the shoulder.  She whispered to him, "What use
is that robot?  Because we have Doc with us, will we need it?  And, can you
shut it down without ruining it's programming?"  Knowing she was going to
get some questions herself she explained her questioning, "I think that
anyone or anything that came on-board after some accidents have occured is
suspicious.  I'd rather shut it down than have it running around behind
us." 

    Dimitrio looked at Nola and nodded at her, "Alright.  Let me talk to
Doc, though.  I don't want him geting mad or nothin'!"  He turned to Repo
and the T'sa, "You know Doc, there are just too many of us here and this
robot said it himself...he ain't any security 'bot or nothing and he's
just gonna get in the way.  For its own sake, and our own piece of mind,
we should put him in a safe room and shut him down for while, you know?
It just isn't worth looking out for him as well."

    "Yesss Mr. Fontecelli," Lugwig responded, "Do asss you deem you
musssst.  Let'sss asssk him a few quessstionsss firssst and then letsss
sssecure him in Sssick Bay."  Lugwig tried to get as much information
from the robot as he could before the little guy was shut down, but the
robot didn't seem to have much else to offer, especially after hearing
that they planned to shut him down.  "Yesssss, paranoia will desssstroy
you," Lugwig mumbled. 

    "Oh, but wait... I... I... I don't need to be shut down.  Honest!"
Repo looked around and wheeled himself back from Dimitrio a little ways,
"Please...I can help...really.  You guys seem like nice people.  I'm
really glad I ran into you.  It was dark and creepy until you came along.
Please don't put me back into storage.  Please?!  I'll do whatever I can
to help!" 

    Dimitrio simply looked at the robot, searching for obvious switches.
His cybereye shuttered a few times while he added,  

    
Julia answered, obviously embarrassed at her lack of knowledge on the
subject, 

     she finally admitted,  

    Dimitrio paused. 

    In the silence, Zach began to get information back from his 'shadow'
program, and he called out again, saying, "Doc, I just looked at the
temperature reading in Berthing Compartment Gamma.  It's about 1 degrees
Celcius now, but it was a lot lower before I started cranking up the heat.
I think they might need some help down there..." 

    Lugwig looked up again with concern in his eyes.  "Mr. Fontecelli they
are going to expire down there unlessss we go now!  Pleassse go with me to
free them, yesss, yesss?"  Lugwig exclaimed.  The T'sa was obviously
willing to go to help even if he had to go by himself, but he preferred if
Dimitrio went with him. 

    "Yeah, I hear you Doc, I guess it is kind of chilly down there eh?
Maybe you wanna go into your cryo-whatchamacullit sleep that T'sa go into.
Is that like hibernation or something?  Be curious to try it for a bit
myself.  Has anyone found the control to override and keep those people
warm? 

    Zach yelled back, "I said I've got the heater on... but it's gonna
take time to bring it back to normal!  Even then, they've been exposed
down there for... gee, I dunno... a half-hour at least now.  I wouldn't
wanna be in there shoes..."  The computer technician shivered in his chair
just thinking about it.

-------------------------------------
---------- Turn 7 Comments ----------
-------------------------------------

    1.  The party is presented with lots of choices.  Will you split up in
separate teams?  Zach and Alex are currently monitoring the station's
systems, although Zach could clearly learn more if he proceeded down the
steps to the Comm Pit, which is within sight of the catwalk he, Jake, and
Alex are currently upon.  Dimitrio and Lugwig want to go free the trapped
engineers in Berthing Compartment Gamma, but Nola has urged them to
shutdown Repo.  Which will you do first?  Repo certainly doesn't seem
willing to allow that to happen, and robots in the Star*Drive universe are
somewhat free-willed.  You're basically suggesting incarcerating him.  In
addition, Nola and Jake appear to want to go hunt down Akers... although
they would prefer to hear that the station's computer systems are under
Zach's control before doing so...and presumably, they would like to rescue
Teri Reed first (who at the moment represents everyone's commanding
officer now that she's been located... sorry Lugwig!  Your stint as
commander-in-chief was short-lived).  :) 

    2.  Earlier someone (I believe it was Brian) asked if owning the
Star*Drive Campaign Setting hardcover book would be good or bad for a
player to have.  I would say it would certainly help you to learn the
universe a bit better, as well as the political motivations behind it all.
I've set the timeline for the current campaign a little behind what the
book has (it's way up in 2501... five or six years from now).  Even so, by
reading ahead, you can see where you'll eventually be headed.  Just keep
in mind that I might change some of the info as you visit each system.
So read at your own risk... and don't make too many assumptions based on
what you learn. 

    3.  I apologize again for the lateness of a turn summary in this
instance.  Paul sort of led me to believe that a quick reply would be
forthcoming.  Unfortunately, his computer isn't cooperating.  So, in the
interest of keeping things moving smoothly along, I'm posting again without
him.  Hopefully, he'll find the means to rejoin us. 

    4.  Actions?  Questions?  Concerns? 

-- Neil

    Source: geocities.com/collegepark/quad/6096/rpgs/rverge