Our Story Continues in the York System of Albadawi Sub-Sector
* * BEGIN SESSION 3 - MAY 4, 2024 * *
An uneventful week passes in jump space, and the Eclipse arrives in the York system a safe distance from the planet, about 130,000k [as the planet has a 13,000k diameter, same as Terra]. Thus there is less than a half-second delay in radio communication with the Lysani Lab installation on York [as light waves travel about 300,000k/s]. Its mining of MSF [Molds, Spores, Fungi] for pharmaceutical purposes is the main export of the colony; there are other scientific and technical interests scattered in the most habitable locations despite its dense, tainted atmosphere and sparse seas.
Soon
after the exchange of routine travel info / ETA with York, a priority call
comes in from Leonard Clach, VP of operations, Lysani Laboratories, York. He
transmits to the flight crew, Simpson and Hildegard:
"Listen carefully! We have an emergency situation...after a period
of over over five hours without transmissions from the 400-ton lab ship Syncomens,
missing almost two safety checks and without answer to repeated requests for
data, a garbled transmission was made. The sender repeatedly laughed and
screamed out:
"Birnam Wood has come to Dunsinane Hill!
Birnam Wood has come to Dunsinane Hill!"
while there were shouts, screams, and possible shots being fired in the background. It has since been an additional 7 hours with no additional transmissions made from the Syncomens. We have mobilized two craft from York but from your present location you can be at the distressed ship nearly 23 hours before their arrival.
"I invoke Code 337, section 17, paragraph c.3 of Imperial Admiralty Law as the most proximate legal, corporate authority, demanding that Eclipse re-route to the coordinates given, intercept the Syncomens, and effect any rescue or other emergency operations needed until such time as she can be relieved."
Cpt Simpson and Hildegard, both familiar with 337:17:c.3 exchange troubled looks. "This is Cpt Simpson - message received. I will immediately notify our Administrative Officer, and must notify you that we are presently commandeered for Imperial Service. Transmit the coordinates and we will respond shortly."
Oran
Biel is immediately notified, and quickly arrives at the bridge, looking a bit
disheveled and needing a shave, and therefore a bit out of sorts. A quick recap
of the situation and Oran rubs his chin thoughtfully.
"I don't see any way around it - we have to tell the Kronogimp and
dump the responsibility on him, unless there's some aspect of 337:17:c.3 that
I'm not remembering." Oran and Hildegard concur. While Hildegard
receives the transmission with the coordinates, Oran returns to the quarters
deck and rousts Sub-Assistant Kronographer Fahlter Peck in his stateroom with a
certain satisfaction. He looks like he wasn't sleeping, and appears unsurprised
at the report - Oran finds this disconcerting. They quickly return to the
bridge.
Hildegard is engaged in exchanging arrival estimates with Klach's system
control officers, when Peck enters the vid screen pickup area over her
shoulder. Klach sees him and his eyes bulge, he mouth works like a fish's and
he puts up a hand. "Ah, eh, well..." he transmits, puffing and
hyperventilating in obvious fear. Thus revealing his true hide, that of a
gutless weasel [nicely illustrated HERE].
"Operations VP Klach, good to meet you," says Peck flatly,
looking like a snake with a weasel in its gaze, "please repeat your
request as I have commandeered this vessel." Klach visibly pulls
himself together, and stutteringly repeats his message. A long several seconds
pass as Peck stares at Klach unblinkingly.
"We will follow your direct, and respond as requested," he
finally says.
"Habba, a buh, buh, Ah, OK, ah Roger. York out." says Klach,
and the screen goes blank as he fumbles then finds the cutout switch.
"Captain," says Peck, "please provide me with an ETA at
your convenience."
"Will do, Kronographer." Peck leaves the bridge.
Oran, Simpson and Hildegard look at each other, but there are no answers
to the questions they all have.
"I'll inform the rest of the team," says Oran, turning away.
"We'll change course," says Simpson.
** ** **
As Eclipse approaches, all attempts to hail the Syncomens get no response. There doesn't appear to be any damage and there is no apparent reason for the silence...or the scarcity of internal lighting. The ship continues its constant rotation and course towards Clortho-9, 45.72 hours away.
Presently, she is turned-about, facing the chasing Eclipse. Being over halfway to the Gas Giant Clortho-9, the flight crew would normally be preparing to launch the pinnace and begin a deceleration process. The pinnace then skims the giant, tanks up on water, and returns to the lab ship at its deceleration point. Syncomens then accelerates back to York, repeating the supply process. This regular movement keeps the lab ship constantly available to Lysani Labs' York base while significantly reducing the pinnace's refuel trip. This keeps the pinnace crew happy.
Happy or not, there is no answer from the crew of the docked pinnace, either.
York provides some more information as Eclipse burns hard to intercept the lab ship. A few days earlier, a routine cargo run brought 5 additional crew to the Syncomens, and took away various waste, empty containers, and sealed products. The replacements routinely do a warm hand-off with departing crew, who depart on the next supply run return to York. The new personnel then stay on ship for 6-12 Imperial months, depending on task and contract. None of the new personnel have anything unusual in their files. The crew manifest was transmitted to Eclipse.
Experiments on Syncomens include antibiotics for low-G thriving bacteria, vaccinations for recent viral outbreaks in nearby sub-sectors, and - when pressed - Klach admits there are also performance enhancing pharma being developed - military grade. He is especially concerned about these, as it is among the most competitive and profitable product in the industry, along with mass vaccinations.
Examining
the blueprints and armed with both legal authority and the various key-codes to
gain access, Bravo Team makes the following plan:
-
match the rotation and velocity of Syncomens
-
effect entry at Air Raft 1 with Flight, Security and Medical Teams
-
clear the Cargo Bay then the Hard Point
-
enter the bridge, begin unraveling the mysterious silence
From the bridge, Team Flight can access the ship's log, check out the
various operating systems, un/lock iris valves, and gain insight into the
situation - perhaps with the crew's help.
- Team Security can clear the rest of Quadrant III.
As
planned, the initial Teams unlock and enter Air/Raft #1. The raft is present
and the light is smashed. The Cargo Bay has...cargo.
Hard
Point #1 is unmanned, the laser appears operational. Drive Pod #1 appears to be
operational but also unmanned. Oran checks out the second level.
"See anything?" asks Jerek.
"Sure looks like a Drive to me," replies Oran, who was a
Marine, not an engineer.
"This could get ugly" he says, reporting it to the Team by vox-push, as they are all in 'suits. Besides, this includes the Teams on the Eclipse since the ship is so close it is tethered to Syncomens.
"I'm in," states Jerek. He locks the two iris doors of
QIII, keeping whatever is out, OUT, but also whatever is in the nearby staterooms...IN!
"Some of the cameras are INOP, a lot of the lights are down or off
or...smashed I think, there's debris on the floors. The system only covers key
access points and quadrant doors, plus a few systems like the Drive pods,
auxiliary bridge...the pinnace...raft #2 is missing. No obvious threats, no
crew visible. I'll keep looking after I do a real systems check. But per the
spot check, all ship systems appear functional, including pressure and atmo
mix."
"Keep the helmets on," says Doc from Eclipse.
"There's still a contamination risk."
"Roger," says Oran. "Come on over, and we can finish
clearing Q3 while digging into the ship's systems and logs."
"I will join you as well," says Peck. There's a silence, as
Oran tries and fails to come up with a reason to say 'no'.
"Roger," he says instead.
So, Doc L, Winestin E, Neo A, as well as the Sub Assistant Kronographer Peck B and his Kronopolizman Zack Z all arrive via the tether to Raft #1.
With
them on the bridge, Oran L, Jerek A, Glitch K and
Stinks H clear the rest of Q3, five staterooms. A quick check
reveals that they are the rooms for the flight crew, and some are neatly kept,
while a couple have been trashed. One, the medic's, shows signs of a struggle
and two bottles of whiskey are smashed on the ground. "A
crime," says Oran, "Old Everholt, the Navy's finest medicinal
whiskey."
A faint trail of dried blood leads out of the room past the last room and
goes through the locked iris into Quadrant 2. "Disconcerting," says
Jerek, looking meaningfully at Glitch. "Do you think he was unhappy with
the Navy's finest?"
With Q3 cleared, and the iris to Q2 locked, the Teams decide to double-back and head to Quadrant 4, which contains the Main Lab, to see if they can get some answers.
Steadily entering the main lab, the adventurers Team is lead by Oran L, Gabriel B, Neo A, Glitch K and Stinks H. The rear is guarded by Wineston, Peck and Zack. It's mostly dark, and the lab is in some disarray. As they approach the center of the laboratory, they note a computer that is constantly flashing and altering data. Examination shows it to be an Ichiban Model/0.5, and it is processing elementary data about the lab's experiments. Wineston and Peck stop to check it out as the Security Team presses onwards while Kronopoliz Zack guards their back.
As
they move forwards, they note that both sides of the lab are lined with boxes
of sizable plants. They approach and examine them more closely, but just
as they start to take a good look... some of the plants begin moving upon
them! Others fling darts from their branches. It’s reminiscent of their
encounter in "Shadows". Suddenly, they are in a full-fledged
foliage fire-fight! Shotguns and SMGs bang and clatter, leaves and
branches fly, and a savage contest against salad erupts!
While a few wounds are taken, the lawn is quickly mowed; plants are no match for people. Having suppressed the saps, the Team presses on. In the far end of the lab, near the floor access plate that allows cargo to be loaded directly into the lab, they find something very...odd. A pile of tables, bedding and trash, and...(yuck!) garbage, bones and excrement. Careful investigation reveals a hole has been cut to access the maintenance tunnels below; the fuel tankage is visible [intact] and life support and many other systems are routed along the tunnel. As the hole appears to have been created with a blowtorch, and the edges are padded with filthy rags and wads of bedclothing, humaniti is clearly to blame [albeit in a degraded state, obviously!].
This provokes some puzzled speculation among the Security Team. However, it is soon decided that following “the beast into its lair” is time-consuming and dangerous. The most pressing problem is to sweep the rest of the ship, find survivors and establish how safe and stable the situation is. After that, perhaps the Team can investigate more of the Syncomens mystery.
The security sweep of the lab complete, Quadrant 4 is secured after heavy objects are placed atop the gopher hole [to prevent egress behind their back], the Floor Cargo Access plate and iris door to Q1 are found to be intact.
* * END SESSION 3 - MAY 4,
2024 * *
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