((It would be foolish for the mission to not equip you with some kind of translation device, seeing as at least one is available in ultratech and it would fall into your already large mission budget almost without being noticed. Therefore, I'll provide the following.))
*The ships log is partially intact, with the most intact portion being the entires into the captains personal journal. The translation is partial, with a few holes in it, but an excellent amount has survived, providing a picture of the captains thoughts, and the goings of the vessel. Few entries were ever made into the journal, the surviving ones are posted below*
First entry:
The three are coming, each worse than the last. The scourge have already landed on our world, and are destroying everything. We got the design for this ship from the Resistance, who insist upon death before capture, and would rather destroy their bodies than allow their bodies to fall into ########### ########## We have designed everything to prevent that. I’ve collected as many as I can that still want to escape. There are a lot of very convincing things being said about staying, I just can’t take that risk. Even if it’s better, I agree with the resistance. We’ll try and meet up with them in ########### ######.
Second Entry:
The blockade is much more complete than we thought, we picked up a tail on our way out. We’re not too far from the barrier, we might try to slip through there and work our way around. Death before capture.
Third entry:
We’ve lost the tail, and the barrier is now in our sights. It’s a terrifying thing to behold. We’ll try to slip through and make our way around, and back to Altair.
Fourth entry:
The three are patrolling the barrier! A cruiser has hailed us. We can’t risk capture, our only hope is to try to rush their blockade, and get through to the barrier. They can’t find us in there.
Fifth entry:
We made it! We rushed the cruiser and they veered away, and now we’re inside the barrier. We used an inertial compass and deactivated our artificial gravity in order to make our turns. Another gem from the Resistance! We should be safe here until we get through.
Last entry:
I’m afraid this will be my last entry into this log, need to shut it down to save power. A scourge scout found us. We don’t know how they can detect anything in this mess, we’re still inside the barrier. We activated the countermeasure, we don’t want to fall into the hands of even the scourge, as they might kill us and turn us over the plague, or worse, the curse. We killed some of their troops in the airlock, but they shot away our engines and ruptured our hull a couple times. We can’t get outside to fix the damage, and if we deactivate our countermeasure we’ll all be vented into space. It seems that the three have seen this method before, but it kept them from capturing us. Our engineering crew is working on a way to get [molecule] out of the countermeasure, they think it might buy us some more time. I’m going to give my [molecule] tanks to them, they might need them to finish their work, they might finish in time to save the others. Yes, this is my [death of some kind, intonation of honor] note. Ideas of failure and a sense of guilt have plagued me. I have rendered my apology to the others, they have accepted it. We have avoided a fate worse than death. Slavery under the Scourge, possession under the Plague, or damnation under the Curse. We have chosen to control what fate we can, and take our own lives into our own hands. And with my life in my hands, I choose to squeeze it out. Good bye.
*There are no more entries.*
*The ships log is partially intact, with the most intact portion being the entires into the captains personal journal. The translation is partial, with a few holes in it, but an excellent amount has survived, providing a picture of the captains thoughts, and the goings of the vessel. Few entries were ever made into the journal, the surviving ones are posted below*
First entry:
The three are coming, each worse than the last. The scourge have already landed on our world, and are destroying everything. We got the design for this ship from the Resistance, who insist upon death before capture, and would rather destroy their bodies than allow their bodies to fall into ########### ########## We have designed everything to prevent that. I’ve collected as many as I can that still want to escape. There are a lot of very convincing things being said about staying, I just can’t take that risk. Even if it’s better, I agree with the resistance. We’ll try and meet up with them in ########### ######.
Second Entry:
The blockade is much more complete than we thought, we picked up a tail on our way out. We’re not too far from the barrier, we might try to slip through there and work our way around. Death before capture.
Third entry:
We’ve lost the tail, and the barrier is now in our sights. It’s a terrifying thing to behold. We’ll try to slip through and make our way around, and back to Altair.
Fourth entry:
The three are patrolling the barrier! A cruiser has hailed us. We can’t risk capture, our only hope is to try to rush their blockade, and get through to the barrier. They can’t find us in there.
Fifth entry:
We made it! We rushed the cruiser and they veered away, and now we’re inside the barrier. We used an inertial compass and deactivated our artificial gravity in order to make our turns. Another gem from the Resistance! We should be safe here until we get through.
Last entry:
I’m afraid this will be my last entry into this log, need to shut it down to save power. A scourge scout found us. We don’t know how they can detect anything in this mess, we’re still inside the barrier. We activated the countermeasure, we don’t want to fall into the hands of even the scourge, as they might kill us and turn us over the plague, or worse, the curse. We killed some of their troops in the airlock, but they shot away our engines and ruptured our hull a couple times. We can’t get outside to fix the damage, and if we deactivate our countermeasure we’ll all be vented into space. It seems that the three have seen this method before, but it kept them from capturing us. Our engineering crew is working on a way to get [molecule] out of the countermeasure, they think it might buy us some more time. I’m going to give my [molecule] tanks to them, they might need them to finish their work, they might finish in time to save the others. Yes, this is my [death of some kind, intonation of honor] note. Ideas of failure and a sense of guilt have plagued me. I have rendered my apology to the others, they have accepted it. We have avoided a fate worse than death. Slavery under the Scourge, possession under the Plague, or damnation under the Curse. We have chosen to control what fate we can, and take our own lives into our own hands. And with my life in my hands, I choose to squeeze it out. Good bye.
*There are no more entries.*
*Ignac backs up the record for further anaylsis and examines the technology of the ship. He attempts to determine if repairs can be resonably be made to make the ship useful. Alwys good to add another to our fleet!
Systems are inspected for compatiblity to our ships technology for spare parts or better functionailty through integration. Data banks are further explored to determine more about the race. *
"Captian, Ignac here. I am uploading the captain's personal logs to you. I am working to determine more about their race and what exactly happened."
*Ignac turns to the super-woman*
"Exemplar, have you dissscovered anything?"
Systems are inspected for compatiblity to our ships technology for spare parts or better functionailty through integration. Data banks are further explored to determine more about the race. *
"Captian, Ignac here. I am uploading the captain's personal logs to you. I am working to determine more about their race and what exactly happened."
*Ignac turns to the super-woman*
"Exemplar, have you dissscovered anything?"
*the ship is far beyond repair. It is TL9, and is quite old. The reactor is past it's halflife, and though it may be able to tell you how old the ship is, neither it nor the ship is of any use to anyone, save as a grave. The only 'survivor' of the ship is the boarding countermeasure solution, which is alive and well. If the hull were patched, the ship could be drained of the countermeasure and then destroyed, as the captains log indicates is a preferable fate. The ship is a haunting place, with about a hundred corpses floating listlessly, some of the alien faces twisted in agony and panic, others serene and resolved.*
*The ships computers and records are almost entirely corrupted, the captains log was the only surviving record. A few things do become apparent about the race, from investigation of their hardware. They did not use FTL travel, or if they did this ship was not equipped to use it, although some external method might be used to get from point to point.*
*If the captains log is correct, then the ship was built specifically for the mission during which the crew and passengers died. An estimation of the age of the ship could be derived by measuring the radiation within the main reactor, the halflife of the isotope, and the parameters the calibration equipment are set to. This would require an engineering or science roll.*
*You are most certainly the first people to set foot inside this ship since the crew and passengers died. Without engines, the ship will be adrift forever, or until it reaches GF space and is pulled into a planet or star. It is not large enough to be a serious threat, and not moving fast enough to pose a navigation hazard. Still, it is up to you what to do with the ship and its crew.*
*The ships computers and records are almost entirely corrupted, the captains log was the only surviving record. A few things do become apparent about the race, from investigation of their hardware. They did not use FTL travel, or if they did this ship was not equipped to use it, although some external method might be used to get from point to point.*
*If the captains log is correct, then the ship was built specifically for the mission during which the crew and passengers died. An estimation of the age of the ship could be derived by measuring the radiation within the main reactor, the halflife of the isotope, and the parameters the calibration equipment are set to. This would require an engineering or science roll.*
*You are most certainly the first people to set foot inside this ship since the crew and passengers died. Without engines, the ship will be adrift forever, or until it reaches GF space and is pulled into a planet or star. It is not large enough to be a serious threat, and not moving fast enough to pose a navigation hazard. Still, it is up to you what to do with the ship and its crew.*
*Engineering Roll to determine age of vessel
[3,3,4] = (10) http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1562366/ *
[3,3,4] = (10) http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1562366/ *
*the vessel is 498 years old. your determination also concludes that it is in fact a TL11 reactor that was sort of "cut and pasted" into the TL9 ship, it seems that parts were cannibalized from other ships. It has not received any maintenance for something like 495-498 years, it might have been stable for a few years before deviating from its optimal parameters without maintenance. Though the ship is 'moving slowly', it is still moving at a reasonable speed, relative to actual stationary objects. If this ship was disabled and has not been interfered with since, you must be getting fairly close to the areas described in the log.*
*Ignac record findings and continues to move about the ship, looking for anything of interest. Before leaving, he will take some large sample of the "countermeasure" microbial goo and as much of the lab's experiment regarding the goo so that he may attemot to finish their work*
"Well everyone. Looksss like this ship has been without a crew for nearly five-hundred years. It seems we may be nearing it's destination. This 'Three' may no longer exist, or may have expanded since the time of the logs. Considering the warnings given, I suggest we be careful from this point forward."
"Well everyone. Looksss like this ship has been without a crew for nearly five-hundred years. It seems we may be nearing it's destination. This 'Three' may no longer exist, or may have expanded since the time of the logs. Considering the warnings given, I suggest we be careful from this point forward."
*the doctor has been able to determine that the goo is harmless.*
*the "countermeasure", if infused into a nutritive medium, will colonize the medium until a specific concentration is reached, and will likewise secrete their protective protein matrix until desired levels are reached. At this point, it will photosynthesize it's own energy and oxygenate the medium, which may or may not affect it's performance. All it needs is light and a carbon source, as it seems to be able to fix carbon by photo-excitation.*
*the "countermeasure", if infused into a nutritive medium, will colonize the medium until a specific concentration is reached, and will likewise secrete their protective protein matrix until desired levels are reached. At this point, it will photosynthesize it's own energy and oxygenate the medium, which may or may not affect it's performance. All it needs is light and a carbon source, as it seems to be able to fix carbon by photo-excitation.*
OOC: *blink blink. Reads there times then gets it...*
*Ignac gathers his goods and places them on the shuttle. He taps his comm badge or whatever and hails the captain*
"Ignac to Captain. I believe I have determined all I can at his time. Unless anyone else wishes to search further, it looks like we are ready to return. I recommend we torch the place and leave."
*Ignac gathers his goods and places them on the shuttle. He taps his comm badge or whatever and hails the captain*
"Ignac to Captain. I believe I have determined all I can at his time. Unless anyone else wishes to search further, it looks like we are ready to return. I recommend we torch the place and leave."
"I can replicate more goo, er, microbial solution. Still, I hates leaving the surviving microbes aboard. They will again freeze, remaining in hibernation until the ship is pulled into a some stellar body.
Unless you have some business here, then we may return."
*Ignac departs unless something interesting happens, eager to get to his lab and play with the goo*
Unless you have some business here, then we may return."
*Ignac departs unless something interesting happens, eager to get to his lab and play with the goo*
*for purposes of interpretation of disadvantages, the "goo" is a lifeform engineered with the "duty" disadvantage. Also, if the goal is to destroy the ship at any point, the goo must be drained, otherwise, unless nuclear weapons are used, it will carbonize and leave an irregular rubbery mass interspersed with pieces of the ship and the crew. If the ship is to be left derelict, then in three or four thousand years into the future it will eventually accelerate under some stars gravity and be atomized, unless someone else finds it first. It's course and speed are already determined, so it's approximate wherabouts could some day be relayed to the GF, if so desired. The GF is now beyond communications range, though if you choose at the time of ship creation, you might design a courier device to be launched from the missile bay, travel FTL, and hopefully make it back to the GF and broadcast its message. If you fully intend to integrate such a device into your mission loadout, then you may use such a device now to relate the coordinates of the derelict to the GF. Otherwise, it is yours alone to deal with, or choose not to.*
*note that enough of the microbial countermeasure solution is present aboard the ship to fill it's interior spaces at two atmospheres of pressure. This would fill at least half of your ship, and the high pressure properties of the solution are as yet unelucidated, though the increase in temperature with pressure would "probably" cause rubberization before all of the solution were of a conviniently storable size.*
*I believe the doctor has the biochemical background to design a signal molecule that would cause the microbes to encyst and precipitate, allowing you to store them in a much much smaller space. If you wish to do this, I'll call for an appropriate sciences roll from anyone with the appropriate skill. The workshops and labs are more than enough to customize such a molecule, and it seems like you'll have a TL12 sickbay, which would also be able to supplement the process. It will take a full 24 hour standard day to design the molecule, test it, and synthesize enough to the trick. Then you would also need to build a massive filter, which can be done in the workshops, and essentially allow the derelict to pump all of its solution through the airlock into your filter and hose, which will vent the water into space. about 99% of the microbes could be salvaged in this way, and their storage would take up little more than a few dozen jars in one of the labs. The microbes would be safe and in a biochemical hybernation until put back into solution. The only remaining issue is patching the hull to allow the removal of the already frozen sections and the general draining of the ship, this would be going on simultaneously during your full day of work.*
((this is the kind of solution I think that your characters would be able to come up with, but few of us besides myself have the micro background to think of independently. I will pipe up if an idea requires knowledge that I have outside of game, even if its something that some of you might have the background for. I do not mean to do this as a condescending anything, merely to occasionally add some real science to the sci fi. You never *have* to do something like this, if its something you don't want to do. I'm only mentioning it as a possibility.))
*note that enough of the microbial countermeasure solution is present aboard the ship to fill it's interior spaces at two atmospheres of pressure. This would fill at least half of your ship, and the high pressure properties of the solution are as yet unelucidated, though the increase in temperature with pressure would "probably" cause rubberization before all of the solution were of a conviniently storable size.*
*I believe the doctor has the biochemical background to design a signal molecule that would cause the microbes to encyst and precipitate, allowing you to store them in a much much smaller space. If you wish to do this, I'll call for an appropriate sciences roll from anyone with the appropriate skill. The workshops and labs are more than enough to customize such a molecule, and it seems like you'll have a TL12 sickbay, which would also be able to supplement the process. It will take a full 24 hour standard day to design the molecule, test it, and synthesize enough to the trick. Then you would also need to build a massive filter, which can be done in the workshops, and essentially allow the derelict to pump all of its solution through the airlock into your filter and hose, which will vent the water into space. about 99% of the microbes could be salvaged in this way, and their storage would take up little more than a few dozen jars in one of the labs. The microbes would be safe and in a biochemical hybernation until put back into solution. The only remaining issue is patching the hull to allow the removal of the already frozen sections and the general draining of the ship, this would be going on simultaneously during your full day of work.*
((this is the kind of solution I think that your characters would be able to come up with, but few of us besides myself have the micro background to think of independently. I will pipe up if an idea requires knowledge that I have outside of game, even if its something that some of you might have the background for. I do not mean to do this as a condescending anything, merely to occasionally add some real science to the sci fi. You never *have* to do something like this, if its something you don't want to do. I'm only mentioning it as a possibility.))
(works for me)
*assuming that the crew wouldn't leave this new species to die, Exemplar begins patching the ship*
(if i need rolls, you roll for me. my science skills are at 11's i think, though this isn't under stress so it shouldn't be as difficult accourding to the skills section)
*assuming that the crew wouldn't leave this new species to die, Exemplar begins patching the ship*
(if i need rolls, you roll for me. my science skills are at 11's i think, though this isn't under stress so it shouldn't be as difficult accourding to the skills section)
Threading the Gerbil since 1982
