Play@YSDC

Laboratory Module - Styx Base, Pluto
0625 GMT - Tuesday, August 9, 2112

Major Natalia Orlova, Lt. Hu Xiang, Private Sofia Torres, and Private George Bond all ran into each other at the airlock to the tunnel leading to the central module. "Ah, good, there you are," said Major Orlova to the privates. "Let us examine the intruders' means of conveyance."

"I'm looking forward to this. Did you see the video sir? It just sort of appeared out of no where. I think its locked as one of the men tried to get back into it and couldn't." Sofia said.

Hu nods. "Yes, I saw it. Let's see if we can't find a panel or something so we can get a look at the electronics."

Major Orlova opened the airlock and led the group through. They traversed the tunnel to the central module, where there was another airlock.

An announcement came over the loudspeaker: "Attention all personnel," said the voice of the base commander. "This is General Pryce. I have some good news. Captain Desjardins, while out on patrol, has found and recovered the Persephone, the first ship to land on Pluto. There is as of yet no sign of what happened to her crew. However, the captain also encountered unknown, intelligent alien creatures near the ship. We are not alone on Pluto. I will let you know when we have further information."

OOC,For more information about the [i]Persephone[/i], you should read the Introduction thread if you haven't already.

Sofia stops for a second trying to comprehend what just came over the intercom. "Wow, first these guys pop in from nowhere and now we find out ET is living here. I guess its not going to be another boring day on Pluto?"

"I pray you're right. We don't want them to be Xenomorphs or Reavers... Though it does seem a little odd he would announce something like that. I would think it would be in a memo or similar."

George Bond
So what exactly do you think we're dealing with here? I was studying rock formations when the call came in, I'm not up to date on any video.

Sofia Torres

"I'm not 100% sure. This box just appears out of nowhere and then it opens and 4 people step out of it. I don't think you can cram 4 people in there. I've never seen anything like it. It does have the name police on it, so probably belongs to some government program."

ooc,so hard not to use our knowledge of the show. ;)

ooc,not a problem for me, I have only ever seen 1 episode =/

"Part of a government program? That may explain why the door opened for them, though it should be impossible without administrative permission."

"Whatever its origin," said Major Orlova, "I can't wait to get inside it and see what makes it tick." She led everyone into the airlock at the end of the tunnel and out the other side. They found themselves in the outer ring of the central module, and she started around the curve to the left, heading for the airlock leading to the storage module.

OOC,Everyone, please roll Listen.

Sofia stopped and held out her hands for everyone to stop as well. "Quiet for a second, I hear something."

Listen roll,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3200532/]Listen roll target = 60 (1d100=37)[/url]

ooc,good grief, this is not going well for Hu. [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3200548/]Listen Check - Target 25% (1d100=88)[/url]

Hu cocks his head. "What is it, Torres?"

Sofia relaxes, "Oh its General Pryce and a couple the other officers. Lets get back to what we were doing."

George Bond
After you.

OOC,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3201969/]1d100=85[/url] of 25% I'm totally in the dark here, only ever heard of Dr. Who. Where should I do any catching up?

Major Orlova stopped, her sharp hearing picking out every word. "He said the Persephone is going to dock," she said. "I'd like to talk to him about that, and he isn't out of our way." She led the way straight ahead, to the inner ring.

OOC,If you want to watch the classic series, you can find every episode (counting reconstructions of the missing ones) [url=http://www.dailymotion.com/matrixarchive#videoId=xhvitr]here[/url] and [url=http://www.dailymotion.com/tardismedia#videoId=xhxpah]here[/url]. They are listed in reverse order, with the more recent ones listed first. An Unearthly Child is the first story, followed by The Daleks. It would take quite a while to go through them. I started watching them from the very beginning in February 2010 and am about 90 percent done now, though I have been watching them on DVD when they're available, and it takes more time to watch all the bonus material. Don't feel as though you're obligated to watch them. Your character knows nothing of Doctor Who either, so it's perfectly fine if you don't either. However, I think you'll enjoy it if you watch it. Everyone is moving to the thread linked below.

Impromptu Meeting

Tertiary Storage - Styx Base, Pluto
0635 GMT - Tuesday, August 9, 2112

Major Orlova and George Bond reached Tertiary Storage. Everything was as it should be, except for a tall blue box that hadn't been there before. It looked barely big enough to hold four people. It stood about two meters tall and one meter on each side. There were two doors set into the front, and above them were the words "POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX."

"So this is the intruders' T-Mat capsule," said the chief scientist, examining the box carefully. She tried the doors. "Locked, of course. See if you can get it open, Private Bond."

OOC,[b]George[/b], please roll Mechanical Repair.

George tried everything he could think of to penetrate the mysterious blue box. He spent ten minutes and did everything right, but it was all in vain. He broke two drill bits trying to breach the lock. Nothing could cause the doors to budge nor damage them. Sofia Torres entered just as he gave up.

"Ah, there you are, Private Torres," said Major Natalia Orlova. "We still haven't managed to gain entry to the capsule, so we cannot yet get a look at its systems." She spoke into her headset radio. "Security, this is Major Orlova. We are unable to gain entry to the intruders' capsule. Was there by any chance a key found on the prisoners when they were searched?"

While waiting for a reply, Sofia starts a new file on her system labeled Blue Box. She starts with some pictures, then moves on to dimensions and material composition. She also checks for any energy signatures around the outside of the box. Is there any radiation, or other strange energy readings.

Meanwhile she is logging all of this.

Sofia scanned the blue box, but she wasn't getting any unusual readings from it. As far as the scanner was concerned, it was what it appeared to be: a tall blue box. There was no radiation coming from it, and no energy signatures.

"Private Bond tried everything to get it open," said Major Orlova. "Even the laser cutter did nothing to the doors. Not a scratch! What sorts of wonders are inside?"

Sofia spoke up, "I'm not reading anything unusual. As far as I can tell its just normal, the drill bits should have torn right into it. This is weird."

ooc,can you describe what we are seeing in more detail, ie. do we see the lock, does it appear to be made of wood, is there any glass on it, etc... I don't want to comment on things I know out of game, in case you have changed them up. I.e. the key lock which is common in Dr. Who, we probably haven't seen anything like that or at least not for 20 years or so.

ooc,thanks

Sofia frowned. "I can find no reason we can't get into here." She tries to look through the glass with no luck. "How the hell did 4 people fit in here, they had to be horribly cramped. Well this antique lock would use a mechanical key. These are usually pretty easy to drill out. Did you try drilling the lock aready?" She scratches her head while walking around the backside of the box.

"First thing I tried," said George Bond. "The major already told you I broke two drill bits."

"Four people could fit inside," said Major Orlova, "but only barely. The intruders must have had a key. I just have to wait for Security to get back to me about it."

Sofia walked all the way around the box. It looked the same on all four sides, though the doors were only on the front.

"Have you tried tipping it over? Maybe something on the top or bottom might give us some clue we are missing?" Sofia asked.

"No, not yet," said Major Orlova, "but that is a thought. Let us lay the box on its back. I believe the three of us are strong enough if we work together."

Lt. Edward Barrett's voice came on the intercom. He asked Major Orlova where exactly Captain Desjardins had found the rock sample he was analyzing and if a larger scale survey could be conducted there.

"I do not know where precisely she found it," said Major Orlova. "There were numerous samples collected, all labeled. Your best bet is to ask her yourself when she gets back. Currently she's out retrieving the Demeter. We do have the means to conduct a larger survey and even small-scale mining operations. Why, did you find something interesting?"

OOC,[b]Sofia[/b] or [b]George[/b], whoever posts first, please make a roll of 1d100 on the Resistance Table, pitting your combined STR score of 32 (which includes [b]Natalia Orlova[/b]'s STR of 7) against the box's SIZ of 25. This gives you an 85% chance of success.

roll,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3226970/]strength res, target = 85 (1d100=48)[/url]

The 3 of us gently lay it on its back. Sofia continues to take measurements and notes. Does she find anything on the top or bottom of any significance.

Working together, the three of them had no difficulty laying the box on its back. The underside appeared to made of the same wood, though it was unpainted. The top of the box tapered slightly, and in its center there was a cylindrical electric light of some sort, which was currently turned off.

"There's little more we can accomplish here," said Major Orlova. "Let's load it onto the gravcart and take it back to the lab for further analysis." She indicated the large antigravity dolly hovering in the wedge-shaped storage room's only corner, which was designed for hauling crates around. It looked like it would work just as well with the mysterious blue box.

"Well yes actually," replied Edward on the intercom, "the sample of rock Captain Desjardins brought back contained an alloy, part titanium, part something else. I will have to characterize the unknown metal further but it is very light and very strong." He paused. "Once we know more from the Captain, any chance I can get out to see the site myself?"

"Something like that could be very useful," replied the major. "Yes, I think a visit to the site could be arranged once Captain Desjardins returns. If we can find a large enough deposit of this metal, we may be able to do something useful with it. Is there anything else?"

Sofia hops up, obviously disappointed at not being able to open the box, and heads over to grab the cart and pull it over to the box.

"No, Major, that's all," said Edward before he disconnected.

With the blue box on the gravcart, the three of them pushed it out of Tertiary Storage and down the tunnels to the laboratory module.

OOC,[b]Sofia[/b] and [b]George[/b] are moving to the thread linked below.

The Mystery Deepens