Play@YSDC

Ground Control - Styx Base, Pluto
0600 GMT - Tuesday, August 9, 2112

2nd Lieutenant Colleen Rose sat at her station in Ground Control, wearing the headphones that enabled her to communicate with Captain Juliette Desjardins, who was out flying a patrol mission this morning. So far everything had been quiet. Juliette's course was visible on the radar screen, the Demeter ranging fairly far from the base as the bold pilot sought to explore new territory.

"Ground control, this is the Demeter," said the voice of Captain Juliette Desjardins on the radio, "there seem to be an anomaly in the landscape. There is a rocky formation that seems to be too symmetric in shape. It stands out when you first notice it. I'll transmit visual readings of it to you. I think this might be something for Lt. Barrett. I'm also logging the coordinates in the computer, there is something about it that makes it... slightly wrong."

Colleen could see the transmitted image of the rock formation. It had a slope on either side, but they looked to be at identical angles and both seemed perfectly smooth. The coordinates of its location positioned it about ten kilometers from Styx Base, roughly to the northeast.

"Roger that, Captain," replied Colleen. "Forwarding the image to Lt. Barrett. Let me know if you discover anything further about it." She used her terminal to send the image to Lt. Edward Barrett's terminal in the geology lab along with the coordinates of the formation.

Before she could do anything further, an alarm began to ring. "Attention!" shouted a voice from an unseen speaker. "Security breach in Tertiary Storage!"

"Ground Control, this is the Demeter," said Juliette's voice again. "I have found a cave. It is alarmingly regular in shape. My insticts tell me it would be best to check it out on foot. Permission to go outside to check out the cave?"

"Hold on and let me find out, Captain," replied Colleen. She contacted Colonel Indira Patel on the base's internal communications network. "Colonel Patel," she said, "this is Lt. Rose. Captain Desjardins has discovered a rock formation that might not be natural. It has a cave that appears regular to her, and she wishes to disembark and explore it on foot. What shall I tell her, ma'am?"

"I'll have to discuss this with the general, Lieutenant," said Patel's stern voice.

OOC,[b]Colleen[/b], you may roll Fast Talk or Persuade if you want to try to convince [b]Colonel Patel[/b] one way or the other.

After a minute or so, Colonel Patel came back on the line. "General Pryce has decided to give Captain Desjardins permission to land and explore the cave, against my better judgment," she said.

"Thank you, ma'am," said Colleen. "I'll let her know." She opened up a channel to the Demeter. "Captain, this is Ground Control. Permission has been granted."

"Roger that, Ground Control," replied Juliette. "Initiating landing procedure."

"2nd Lt. Rose," said the voice of Karin Bauer on another channel, "this is Captain Bauer in the Med Bay. What's the heads-up on the security breach? Is it anything serious?"

Another call comes in, this one from Lt. Edward Barrett. "Lt. Rose, this is Lt. Barrett in the Geology Lab. I had a look at the image you sent me, and that formation has clearly been altered by an intelligent life form of some sort. You should advise Captain Desjardins to exercise caution."

OOC,[b]Colleen[/b], please roll Psychology.

"This is Lt. Colonel Bruce," said the security chief's voice from the public address system. "The intruders are in custody, and nobody is injured. You may stand down from alert and resume your normal duties."

Colleen detected a hint of amusement in Barrett's voice when he told her to advise Captain Desjardins to exercise caution. From what Colleen knew of Juliette, this wasn't surprising. The pilot didn't seem to have a cautious bone in her body.

"Captain Desjardins, this is Mission Control," Colleen said. "Lt. Barrett reports that the rock formation has clearly been altered by an intelligent life form of some sort. He advises you to exercise caution."

Colleen got another message from Captain Juliette Desjardins: "Roger, Mission Control, this is Captain Desjardins. There is a tunnel sloping downwards that look like it has been dug out. It is very regular and smooth, it goes down farther than my flashlight can reach. I suspect I will lose signal if I enter the tunnel. Should I proceed?"

Shortly thereafter, there was a buzz from the intercom. "Lt. Rose," said the medical officer's voice on the other side of the door, "this is Captain Bauer. May I request entry?"

A few moments later, the excited voice of Captain Desjardins came from Colleen's headset: "Mission Control, can you hear me? This is Captain Desjardins. Would you please patch me over to Colonel Patel? This is extremely urgent, I repeat, extremely urgent."

"One moment Captain Bauer," muttered Rose in the intercom. Then she turns back to the headset. "Captain Desjardins? Patching you through now." She does so - is there any way she can listen in on the communications once established?

OOC,Yes, that's trivial for you to do.

Colleen relayed communications between Captain Desjardins and Colonel Patel in the command center and made she that she could receive the transmissions on her panel.

"This is Colonel Patel," said the stern voice of Indira Patel on the other end of the call. "Go ahead, Captain."

OOC,[b]Colleen[/b] is moving to the thread linked below.

A Failure to Communicate