IC-Ep 4-Take the Long Way Home(Everyone else)

The confrontation with the Mi-Go turns violent, and the survivors must flee Pluto for their lives. But will the crew of Styx Base bring humanity's doom back to Earth with them?

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Re: IC-Ep 4-Take the Long Way Home(Everyone else)

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Juliette looks up at Karin, cradling her cup of cappucino in her lap. Off duty she allways lets her long brown hair hang loose. She has taken off the uniform jacket and her shoes, and she is lounging in her bunk reading on her tablet. "Might I ask what kind of evidence and who is it that has seen this evidence? I have been searching the ship, top to bottom, and found no trace of the Mi-goo. And just what is it you want us to do? Why do you believe we will be able to fight the mi-goo onboard in outer space? The Mi-goo were flying around outside on pluto, do they even need air?"

Juliette takes a sip of cappucino. "I am sorry for what I said to you earlier. But the only one on ship that acts irrational to me is you. You were in on Patels mutiny, and that is the only reason for my wanting to listen to you now. I want to know why you were able to first say that the General was unfit, then say that he was fit, then back to unfit again. You are beeing, what is the english word for it...." As she searches for an unknown word Juliettes accent is more french than ever. She frowns as she searches her mind."Indécis... indecisive. That's the word. Please explain so that I can understand your decisions." Juliettes grey eyes studies Karin as she takes yet another sip of her Cappucino.
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Re: IC-Ep 4-Take the Long Way Home(Everyone else)

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Karin sips her herbal tea and smiles wryly. "Too right I was indecisive. When everyone and everything is shouting otherwise it is very difficult to stick to one's own theory. I could have handled it better" she admits. "Back on Pluto, the General was acting odd; unlike his usual self and different to his evaluated psychological profile. Then, when Col. Patel, my direct superior, voiced her own apprehension about him I used my doctor's prerogative to remove him from command pending a medical analysis. It seemed the safest thing to do. It was all done to correct protocol. If the analysis was good he could be reinstated, if not then we'd least got him before he caused trouble. Obviously he called court martial for all involved but that was by the by.

The trouble is, Patel wanted to call off the evacuation and Heinrich and I couldn't understand why. Plus, my examination seemed to suggest he was fine; physically excellent, mentally stable. So I had to allow him to be reinstated. He promptly had Patel killed. Which was again unlike his profile but I'd done the evaluation and there was nothing else I could do."


She sighs. "You know everything else. Except when I was with them on the Persephone. Then I had time to evaluate Bruce psychologically. He was devoid of any emotion, wooden and expressionless; totally unhuman in this respect. The Doctor Storey wondered if mind-control had been applied by the Mi-go to Bruce. The General stuck up for Bruce when I gave him my report and I realised, he too, is suffering form this same emotionless mind-state. I'm not the only one who has seen it. I think the General knows I know but he doesn't care- what can I do?"

Karin finishes her tea. "So there you have it. We are carrying an unprovable menace back to Earth. I have some questions. One, the Mi-Go can travel in space but why have they not reached Earth before? Is it too far-do they need a vehicle? Two, The Mi-Go killed the first crew and Earth knew nothing about them still. Now they are allowing us to travel back with knowledge of their existence. Why? Actually, they didn't kill the crew, they've kept their brains alive in tanks apparently." Karin shudders. "And three, do you think the Mi-Go are benevolent or hostile?"
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Re: IC-Ep 4-Take the Long Way Home(Everyone else)

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OOC,Nobody has posted for some time. If there is anything anyone wants to do before the ship gets within communications range of Earth, please post soon. If nobody posts within the next couple of days, I will move things forward.
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Re: IC-Ep 4-Take the Long Way Home(Everyone else)

Post by aine »

Mr. Handy,Karin tells a similar story to Major Orlova so that at least all the senior officers are aware. It doesn't matter if they go blabbing to the General because Karin knows he knows she knows. Her theory is the more people that know, the better and more chance a warning can get through to some one on Earth. Even to the Resistance.
Karin says to the conspirators, "At least make sure the message gets through to Earth: there are hostile aliens on Pluto called the Mi-Go and they have captured the crew of the Persephone."
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Re: IC-Ep 4-Take the Long Way Home(Everyone else)

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In early October, Charon's Ferry finally passed the asteroid belt and made her way into the inner solar system. The crew was now in the home stretch, and the ship was finally close enough to communicate with Earth using Colleen's range-boosting modifications.

"Sir, we can transmit to Earth now," Colleen Rose told General Pryce on the bridge.

"Good," he said. "Open a channel, please."

"Yes, sir." Colleen did as ordered and spoke into the microphone. "This is Lt. Colleen Rose aboard Charon's Ferry calling Earth. General Pryce would like to speak to you."

There was a long delay while the message transmitted. Even at light speed, it took several minutes for the signal to reach Earth, and several more for the reply to return. It finally came: "Charon's Ferry, this is Earth Command. We've had no communications from Styx Base for nearly two months and heard no response to our hails. General Pryce, please explain the situation."

The general approached the microphone and spoke into it: "Earth Command, this is General Richard Pryce. It was necessary to evacuate Styx Base and return to Earth. I accept full responsibility for this decision.

"We were unable to contact Earth sooner, as the Styx Base communications array had been sabotaged sometime on 8 or 9 August. On the morning of 9 August, Captain Juliette Desjardins discovered an unusual rock formation which she discovered concealed an underground tunnel. Exploring it, she found and recovered the long lost Persephone. It was in the possession of a previously unknown alien race called the Mi-Go. First contact with them did not go well. When she returned with Lt. Colonel Howard Bruce and Lt. Hu Xiang to retrieve the Demeter, which she had had to leave on the surface in order to retrieve the Persphone, a group of Mi-Go came out of the rock formation and approached them. Lt. Colonel Bruce was captured, but the others returned safely to base with both craft and Captain Desjardins also captured one of the Mi-Go that had been waiting inside the Demeter. It is my recommendation that she be awarded the highest honour for her heroism and bravery.

"The Mi-Go are a highly technologically advanced species. Captain Karin Bauer has conducted a full medical examination of the Mi-Go that we had captured, and we are bringing her data back with us. They are somewhat insectoid and crustacean in appearance, but they are unlike any known life form. They are, at least in part, composed of fungal matter. We also recovered the energy weapon carried by the Mi-Go, a handheld electrical gun. Our science and engineering staff managed to reverse engineer this weapon and adapt it so that it is usable by a human. The initial test showed it to be very powerful, superior to our latest blaster pistols. We have this weapon with us as well. These creatures have a very disturbing appearance that can induce a fear reaction in those who observe them. When I went to see the captive Mi-Go, I was affected and shot it. It proved resistant to firearms, and while little physical damage was done, the incident made diplomacy difficult. The Mi-Go insisted that we leave Pluto, which is their planet, and return to Earth. The Mi-Go also said that the crew of the Persephone attacked them. They survived, but were injured badly. The Mi-Go are keeping them alive and said they would arrange their repatriation to Earth. We were able to arrange a prisoner exchange, and several Mi-Go brought Lt. Colonel Bruce back to Styx Base. They returned him to us when we released the Mi-Go we had, though they remained in the base to ensure that evacuation proceeded in an orderly manner.

"I regret to say that it did not. Colonel Indira Patel disagreed with my decision to evacuate, and she took advantage of the confusion to instigate a coup against me. Fortunately, Lt. Colonel Bruce and the other security officers were able to put the mutiny down and restore me to command. Colonel Patel was summarily executed at Lt. Colonel Bruce's order. There were also four human visitors who had somehow found their way into Styx Base shortly before we made first contact, all of them unregistered. They were led by a Mr. Story, who claimed to have invented a new variety of transmat with the range to reach Pluto. All attempts to analyze or enter his transmat capsule were unsuccessful. One of the Mi-Go escorted the visitors to their capsule along with Sergeant Heinrich Kohl during the evacuation. From the report of the incident, it seems that they balked when the Mi-Go insisted on accompanying them to Earth in their transmat. That Mi-Go was killed, and the other Mi-Go who remained in the docking bay regarded this as a breach of our agreement and attacked the base personnel still in the bay. Thanks to the courage of Lt. Edward Barrett, Private Alison Silver, and Private Robert MacCrimmon, the Mi-Go were defeated. However, Lt. Barrett was slain, and one of the Mi-Go escaped with his body. Other members of the crew were injured, but they have since made a full recovery. We were able to bring out both the Persephone and Charon's Ferry.

"I will deliver a more detailed report upon our arrival. Our ETA to Earth is approximately six days. We request permission to dock at Medical Centre 1 for quarantine and complete examinations before being permitted planetside. Pryce out."

The twenty or so minutes that passed before the reply came seemed to go by very slowly. At last it came: "General Pryce, this is Earth Command. Permission granted. Welcome home."
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Re: IC-Ep 4-Take the Long Way Home(Everyone else)

Post by aine »

Karin prepares a full medical report on the Mi-Go, including their highly evolved medical skill and possible mind-control abilities. This she gives to Colleen for forwarding. "So they can prepare the necessary quarantines and examinations for us."
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Re: IC-Ep 4-Take the Long Way Home(Everyone else)

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"Yes, ma'am," said Colleen. She transmitted the data to Earth Command.
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Re: IC-Ep 4-Take the Long Way Home(Everyone else)

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OOC,Is there anything anyone wants to do before arriving at the space station? If nobody posts by Sunday, I'll move things ahead to that point.
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Re: IC-Ep 4-Take the Long Way Home(Everyone else)

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Six days later, Charon's Ferry approached Earth orbit at last. Medical Center 1 was a large space station in high orbit. Constructed in the mid-21st century, it has been used since then to quarantine returning astronauts until they could be medically cleared to return to Earth's surface. The crew of the Persephone would have docked here had they succeeded in returning from Pluto before Charon's Ferry had even departed.

"Open a channel, Lt. Rose," said General Pryce on the bridge. "Request permission to dock."

"Yes, sir," said Colleen, complying. She spoke into the ship-to-ship communicator. "Medical Centre 1, this is Charon's Ferry requesting permission to dock."

"Permission granted, Charon's Ferry," replied a man's voice. "The primary docking bay is being opened now. After docking is complete, all personnel will disembark. You will each be taken to isolation rooms for full examinations, and you will be kept isolated from each other for the duration of your stay."

Once the space station's docking bay dome finished opening, the general addressed Captain Juliette Desjardins. "Take us in," he said.
OOC,[b]Juliette[/b], please roll Pilot Space Transport at double your skill. This means you will only fail on a 100.
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Re: IC-Ep 4-Take the Long Way Home(Everyone else)

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Juliette docked with near-perfect smoothness, as always. The docking bay was soon sealed and repressurized.

"Charon's Ferry, this is Medical Center 1," said the man on the communicator. "We are ready to receive you now."

"All right," said General Pryce, unbuckling his straps and standing up. "Let us disembark."
OOC,Nobody has posted in over a week, and only one player has posted for more than the last two weeks. If nobody posts in the next few days, I'll assume that everyone disembarks and goes quietly into isolation and quaratine and then bring things to a close.
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Re: IC-Ep 4-Take the Long Way Home(Everyone else)

Post by aine »

Image

Karin has written her reports, hidden extra copies around the ship and alerted the crew. There is nothing else she can do with no support. She hopes that by being calm and professional people may respect her judgement.

At the call to disembark, she picks up her bag and computer and goes meekly into quarantine. As the airlock hisses shut behind her hope dies within; she is about to be processed and there is nothing she can do about it.
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Re: IC-Ep 4-Take the Long Way Home(Everyone else)

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OOC,If you do want to try to convince the medical staff of the possibility of mind control, please roll Persuade.
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Re: IC-Ep 4-Take the Long Way Home(Everyone else)

Post by aine »

The medics stare at her as Karin tries to explain her theories about mind control. They are not impressed.
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Re: IC-Ep 4-Take the Long Way Home(Everyone else)

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Without proof, Karin was unable to convince the medical staff. From the course of treatment they gave her, it was clear that they believed she was suffering from space madness. She had failed to act before reaching Medical Center 1, and now it was too late. Events would take their course.
OOC,Episode 4 concludes in the following thread.
Epilogue
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