Play@YSDC

Posted: **Wed Nov 25, 2015 8:36 pm**

A few hours later...

The winds had whipped up a jolly number, not enough to disturb the robust ATV, but enough to make travelling in the T-Prop a disagreeable, albeit plausible option. It was a jolly number that felt cold and haunted, bristling against the metal shell of the vehicle.

The ground was stretches of rock and ice, sometimes cracked, spewing rubble and shards. Again, nothing the ATV could not handle, although vigilance was required.

Hattie, Seth, and Sam, armed (wisely) with plasma pistols and every bit of survey equipment they though they might need, proceeded to their target, the epicentre of the earthquake.

So far, so good. But no signs of life, and just static on the communications. Perhaps it was the persistent EM storm, perhaps it was that there was nothing out there. At least nothing left alive. At least nothing left human alive.

The scanner could detect the epicentre, a few hundred metres away. An array of rubble and rock and shards of ice, as far as could be determined. The hazy atmosphere and the low horizon of Titan (thanks to its small size) made visual confirmation a dismal prospect, at least until they were nearer...

Posted: **Thu Nov 26, 2015 5:08 am**

Samantha Golightly periodically checks her multiscanner for any signs of life in the area, particularly around the epicenter, as they get closer. There's something about the rocks in the region that seem familiar to her, but she can't quite place them. Attached to her belt, in addition to her plasma pistol, is an injector loaded with sedatives in case any surviving crew members are also mad. Doctor Bloom had measured out appropriate dosages and preloaded the injector before they left.

Posted: **Thu Nov 26, 2015 11:49 am**

"Ye gods!" Seth looks out at the desolation. "We might as well give up now; there's not a daisy's chance in hell of finding anyone in this!"

Posted: **Thu Nov 26, 2015 10:33 pm**

There is -Bob- we're the only carbon-based life forms big enough to register on our remote sensing equipment on this rock. We should be able to pick up traces of our MIA's if the EM-storms don't interfere too heavily with our equipment. Any luck, Sam?

Hattie looks over Sam's shoulder at her display.

Posted: **Fri Nov 27, 2015 6:07 am**

"Plus, they're chipped," says Sam. "As long as they haven't removed their chips, they'll be easy to find once we get close enough. I think I'm picking up something..." She focuses on the scanner's display.

Posted: **Fri Nov 27, 2015 9:54 am**

Amid the rubble ahead, Sam got a lock - a fuzzy lock - on a chip. The signal spluttered a little in the storm, but it was there, unquestionably. The chip of Commander Miriam Wu.

The ATV trudged, carefully, through the broken landscape, ripped apart by the earthquake. The rubble was extensive, a couple of hundred metres in diameter, and a true mess at its epicentre, which could hardly be seen - a spire of rock and ice, hazy in the titan air.

But at the edge, the crew found the chip, and the signal. A motionless body in an exosuit.

And no life signs.

Posted: **Sat Nov 28, 2015 3:17 am**

"That's Commander Wu," says Sam, lowering her head. "We'd better go have a look at the body and see if we can figure out how she died and why she came here, as well as any indication of what happened to Gina Croft. If anyone can make sense of these rocks, it's her."

Posted: **Sat Nov 28, 2015 8:47 pm**

Hattie picked up one of the scanners and slung it over her shoulder. She checked if her pistol was still good and went to the airlock.

"Let's go."

She secured her suit and breathing gear and prepared to exit the vehicle, her determination hiding her shock at seeing the lifeless body.

Posted: **Sat Nov 28, 2015 9:26 pm**

Seth fiddles with his equipment long enough to be trailing behind the others: he's in no hurry to examine the body or feel the storm.

Posted: **Sun Nov 29, 2015 12:05 am**

The ATV pulled up a mere few yards from the body. The trio bounced out of the vehicle, feet crunching on rock and ice. In Titan air, thick and hazy, sound travelled very well, and yet all that could be heard was the wind.

The body was mangled, and not well. It seemed corroded, broken, as if it has dissolved. The exosuit's power had, of course, long given out, but the suit was also eroded, barely covering half of the body. And the other half, where the body was...

It was hard to tell. Frozen flesh, but burnt, scarred, bone and organs lying exposed. The face was half eaten away, one side of the head dissolved to fragments of bone and brain.

It was Commander Wu, no doubt, but by best guess, only half of her. The other has was a mess of gloop.

Spoiler:

Posted: **Sun Nov 29, 2015 2:07 am**

Sam feels nauseous when she sees the partially melted remains of her friend and leader, but thankfully she is barely able to keep it together and does not vomit in her exosuit. "What could have done this?" she wonders aloud.

Posted: **Sun Nov 29, 2015 11:58 am**

Seth looks briefly down at the mangled mess with resignation. "Well there you go. Who'd have thought it." And then scans around slowly as far as he can see past the jumbled rocks and jets of noxious gases emitting from vents in the torn ground. "I suppose the Doc could guess how she died - which might help us avoid the same fate. "

Posted: **Sun Nov 29, 2015 2:17 pm**

Spoiler:

Posted: **Sun Nov 29, 2015 10:43 pm**

"It looks like acid caused this," says Sam, running her multiscanner up and down the corpse - or what was left of it. "Maybe whatever alien creature she ran into secretes the stuff. Or it could have acid in its blood, like something out of a twentieth century science fiction movie." She scans their surroundings looking for Gina Croft's chip or any other life signs.

Posted: **Sun Nov 29, 2015 11:19 pm**

There was no sign of life; at least, in the immediate vicinity. However, the multiscanner picked up several unusual chemical residues in the body. An acid, from what Sam could tell. Albeit the chemical was highly unusual and beyond her understanding.

By chance, the half of Commander Wu's body that had not been eaten away (although was blistered and frozen) was also the half that had her chip in, inserted into her forearm.

Posted: **Mon Nov 30, 2015 5:08 am**

"We should at least retrieve the chip," says Sam. "There may be data on it that will be helpful. We can also collect samples of the acidic chemical for later analysis, as well as rock and soil samples. We could bring the body back, but I'm concerned about possible contamination. We are dealing with an unknown alien entity or entities, after all."

Posted: **Mon Nov 30, 2015 9:36 am**

"Miriam? Miriam? Miriam..."

As Hattie sees the mangled corpse of her friend, her mind suddenly comes to the realisation that they are not the only thing on this rock, something else must be here, something very, very, aggressive. Aggressive and intrusive. What's that? It's crawling up her leg, a million pin pricks slowly climbing up over her belly.

Hattie screams maniacally as she starts to punch herself in the gut, slapping her thighs, and starts clawing at the sealing clamp around her neck. It takes a fraction of a second before the radio can compensate for her high pitch and her initial shriek is ear-piercing.

"It's inside! It's inside the suit!"

Posted: **Tue Dec 01, 2015 5:46 am**

"But that's impossible!" says Sam. "It would be obvious if your suit had been breached." When she sees Hattie trying to remove her helmet, she grabs her arms. "Whoa, what are you doing, Hattie?! You can't do that out here! We need to get back into he ATV!"

Posted: **Tue Dec 01, 2015 9:53 am**

Hattie screams as Sam grabs her and tries to pull away.

Surprisingly, she manages to squirm free of the stronger woman's grasp and she runs away in the direction of the epicentre, all the while clawing at her suit.
After a dozen or so metres, Hattie's suit jags on the uneven surface and she keels over, luckily not damaging her respirator.

"ARG!!! GET THEM OFF!!! GET THEM OFF!!! THEY'RE IN MY FACE!!!"

She keeps screaming as she trashes about and tries for the clamp on her breather again.

Posted: **Wed Dec 02, 2015 6:51 am**

"Hattie, no!" calls Sam, chasing after her and trying to restrain her. "You'll kill yourself! Wait until we're inside the ATV!"

Posted: **Wed Dec 02, 2015 8:28 pm**

Hattie's clawing was not enough to break her face mask, but her writhing was suitably powerful.

Riiipppppp!

A razor shard of ice caught on her suit, and tore open a large gaping hole in her Exosuit. A horrible freezing chill spread up her leg...

Spoiler:

Posted: **Wed Dec 02, 2015 9:08 pm**

Seth is torn from his reverie with the sight of Hattie thrashing on the ground with a ripped suit, he's seen this happen before and he dives back onto the ATV and rummages around in the repairs kit for a glue gun; he finds one but the nozzle is gummed up from poor maintenance. He wastes precious seconds cutting the gunk clear and then races back ready to seal Hattie's suit. "Get ready to nobble the alien should it leap onto us! I'll seal the suit!" He shouts at Sam.

Posted: **Thu Dec 03, 2015 4:32 am**

Sam nods and draws her plasma pistol, holding it steady. "Once you seal it, she says, "we've got to get her back inside the ATV fast if the alien doesn't come out. Only there can we safely remove the suit."

Posted: **Fri Dec 04, 2015 9:06 am**

Hattie screams as the biting cold enters her suit. She keeps writhing, but instead trying for her mask, she pushes her fingers into the tear, scratching at her skin.

"GET IT OUT, GET IT OUT! IT'S INSIDE ME!"

Posted: **Sun Dec 06, 2015 6:00 pm**

Spoiler:

Posted: **Mon Dec 07, 2015 2:23 am**

"We'll get it out, but inside the ATV!" says Sam, trying to hustle Hattie back to the vehicle.

Posted: **Mon Dec 07, 2015 5:29 pm**

Seth keeps pace as Sam drags Hattie over to the ATV, he peers closely, "I don't reckon there's anything in there after all, except for Hattie that is." He squirts the glue gun messily over the hole in the suit, the glue dripping on the ground as the leg bounces across the rocks. "That'll hold until she's safely inside at least."

Posted: **Mon Dec 07, 2015 5:53 pm**

With Hatties writhing, it took every last drop of glue to seal the gash. Her left leg was almost solid, and she could barely move it - the glue had sprayed everywhere. For all the excess, it worked. Hattie could feel her suit's heaters pumping over-drive, and warmth spreading to her leg.

Spoiler:

Posted: **Tue Dec 08, 2015 9:13 am**

Hattie was still writhing and trashing when Seth dragged her into the ATV. She stopped screaming and stared about morosely, the glue on her leg offering a strange anchor to reality.

Suddenly she sobs, loud and deep and starts crying.

"I don't want to die here, Sam, I don't want to die."

She grabs Seth and hugs him, a move made more awkward by the cumbersome suit.

Posted: **Tue Dec 08, 2015 12:11 pm**

"Ah, yes, there, there." Seth pats Hattie awkwardly on the shoulder, embarrassed by her emotion. He gently extricates himself and starts picking off the glue strands that have attached to him from Hattie's leg. "It's just a case of the heeby-jeebies - no aliens haha." He turns to Sam, "Do you want to run a quick scan over her and then we can sort out that leg. Maybe we ought to return to base?" He says, ever hopeful.

Posted: **Wed Dec 09, 2015 7:08 am**

"I won't let that happen, Hattie," Sam reassures her. She'd have hugged her herself, but the suits would get in the way. "We'll look at her leg now that we're inside and we can take the suit off safely. We'll try to treat it ourselves, but she may need Dr. Bloom's help. We'll want to collect samples and the chip before we go back as long as we're here. If we can't find any trace of Gina Croft, then we probably should head back."

Posted: **Wed Dec 09, 2015 12:23 pm**

It ought to be a straighforward firstaid repair but Seth still has glue on his fingers, "I'll leave you to sort out the leg, I'll just nip out and retrieve that chip... I shouldn't be more than five minutes." He adds ominously and heads to the air lock to exit the ATV.

Posted: **Thu Dec 10, 2015 3:38 am**

"Okay, just be careful," says Sam. Once the ATV is sealed, she takes off Hattie's suit and has a look at her leg. She tries to treat it with the supplies in her first aid kit, but there isn't much she can do to help. "Looks like you'll need Doctor Bloom for this one." She helps Hattie put the suit back on and takes out her multiscanner. "I'll just collect the samples for analysis and try one last scan for Gina before we go."

Posted: **Thu Dec 10, 2015 9:51 pm**

The ATV did, of course, have spare exo-suits, and it was easy enough to change. The team had also the foresight to bring sampling kits, for geological and chemical purposes. A multiscanner would do a good job in the field, but was no substitute for the in depth analysis that could be performed back in the laboratories.

Spoiler:

Posted: **Fri Dec 11, 2015 1:06 am**

Hattie had cried some more whilst changing her suit and then looked at Sam in a determined way.

"We owe it to them to find out what happened, I'm not going back without answers, Sam. I need to know, just for the sake of knowing alone. We're scientists."

She picked up her gear and went out with the rest of the away team. Scanning and looking around, trying not to look at Wu's corpse.

Hattie frowns at the readings on the scanners.

"I...I'm picking up some strange readings here. There's a slight fluctuation in the air pressure readings and the density of the atmosphere, suggesting motion or at least some meteorological event, but we should be able to see it..."

She looks around, but fails to notice anything.

Posted: **Fri Dec 11, 2015 4:30 am**

"My scanner's on the fritz," says Sam, shaking and thumping the device. "Must be the EM interference." She turns to look in the direction Hattie indicated and she gasps in shock. "It's the aliens! They look like some kind of mushroomy lobsters with wings, and they're flying this way! Quick, back into the ATV!"

Posted: **Fri Dec 11, 2015 4:01 pm**

Seth cuts out the chip from Wu's body with the minimum of fuss, trying to think of her as just part of the torn landscape. He secures it in a pocket and then takes a scanner from Hattie as the others return from the ATV. These scanners have updated software however and it takes Seth five minutes to even understand the various signals showing on the screen let alone interpret them. He's concentrating so hard that he only catches Sam's 'Back to the ATV!' "Yeah, yeah, okay, make up your mind." He mutters and, head down trying to understand the scanner, he starts to walk slowly back towards the ATV.

Posted: **Sat Dec 12, 2015 6:38 am**

"NOW!" shouts Sam, scooping Seth up under one arm and carrying him back to the ATV, shoving him inside before climbing in herself. Even if she weren't in Titan's low gravity, she still probably could have done it, though she'd have needed both arms.

Posted: **Sat Dec 12, 2015 1:16 pm**

In the dim haze of Titan's atmosphere, little could be seen. Flashlight beams swept across the rock and ice, illuminating snapshots of wings and limbs and transclucent pink flesh, all of bizarre and alien make.

The three explorers made for the ATV as the two shadows approached. In their limbs - and they had several - brief flashes of strange metal and glass objects.

And yet despite their visual presence, hardly a blip on the multiscanners...

As they approached the ATV the ground below them shuddered and split, cracks crawling along the ice like a shattered plasti-glass frame. Some yawned, some remained hair thin, and some spat out chunks of rock and ice...

Spoiler:

Posted: **Sat Dec 12, 2015 4:36 pm**

As Sam grabs him, Seth looks up and finally sees the diabolical aliens lit up in a flash of lightning. "Cripes!" He plants two feet on the ground, pushes down and, with Sam still holding him, he propels them both into the air in an almighty leap over all the yawning chasms and lands neatly next to the ATV. Without further ado, he pushes the airlock button and yells "Where's Hattie?!"

Posted: **Sun Dec 13, 2015 6:41 am**

Sam has no problem remaining on her feet. Agile as always, she leaps back to the ATV with Seth and looks around for Hattie.

Posted: **Mon Dec 14, 2015 11:14 pm**

Hattie had momentarily frozen over because of Sam's announcement. The tremors snap her to her senses though, but unfortunately she's too late and falls over and starts to scream again as she tries to regain her footing..

Posted: **Tue Dec 15, 2015 6:21 am**

Posted: **Tue Dec 15, 2015 12:48 pm**

Seth waits with his hand on the door panel, ready to close it. He watches, with his heart in his mouth, as Hattie races towards the ATV. "Come on, COME ON!" It's touch and go whether she'll make it...

Posted: **Wed Dec 16, 2015 7:27 pm**

As the three Titanauts bustled into the ATV, the aliens swarmed into view. There was an awful buzzing in the air, like a clattering, low toned grind that reverberated horribly in the head.

The insects - or whatever they were - were pink, almost translucent in parts, and with far too many spindly limbs with far to many joints that bent in all the wrong places. Their bodies unfurled and twisted. Although one might suppose they had a multitude of organs, it was impossible to guess what any of them did.

Each carried a different metal device. One was an almost perfect cube, with dim lights, somehow it looked like it was vibrating in an almost subliminal way. The other, a kind of spray gun, all tubes, and shrieks and odd plastics.

From this device, a thin mist of purple gas sprayed forth, eating the ground as it passed, the rock and ice hissing and steaming and melting. The gas was not fast, but it rolled through Titan's haze at a worrisome rate...

Spoiler:

Posted: **Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:32 am**

"Let's get out of here!" cries Sam, working feverishly to start up the ATV and drive it away from the spreading gas once everyone is safely inside.

Posted: **Thu Dec 17, 2015 10:27 am**

"Yahooo!" Seth hoots, holding on like grim death as Sam spins the ATV in a 360, the wheels scattering small rocks in a swath towards the aliens. These pop and melt as they hit the purple cloud, the ATV gets purchase and leaps ahead with a bounce, "This is too crazy, man! What are those things? That acid is what got Wu, I bet."

Posted: **Fri Dec 18, 2015 4:34 am**

"Space lobsters," says Sam as she speeds away. "Well, that's what I'm calling them. I think you're right about the acid. At least they don't have acid for blood or something. Although, how do I know they don't?"

Posted: **Fri Dec 18, 2015 12:55 pm**

"You watch too many movies!" Seth shouts above the noise of the engine.

Posted: **Sun Dec 20, 2015 3:20 pm**

Hattie scrambles up, unsure how she made it to safety and clicks into one of the seats.

"I...wha..tha...", tears run down her cheeks as she begins to laugh.

"That...those thi..no those creatures! They're extra-terrestrial complex organisms! They were using technology!"

She emphasises the latter as if it were the most important thing.

"Sam, we have to try and communicate with them."

She seems to recall the acid all of a sudden.

"But try for some distance first, yes."

Posted: **Sun Dec 20, 2015 7:20 pm**

"Yeah, good idea," says Sam dryly as she speeds away from the aliens, heading back to base.

Posted: **Tue Dec 22, 2015 1:50 pm**

'I reckon they'll have tapped into our communications already. Can you remember if there was acid damage at the base? They must have attacked and sent George and Ron mad; they're unholy looking creatures that's for sure.
We need to send a mayday out as soon as we're back; can you alert Boss from here to do it? And then we need to hunker down and try and survive until help comes. I reckon. Phew what a mess. Real nasty bad-ass aliens.' Seth looks out at the speeding, bumping landscape. 'Just my luck.'

Posted: **Tue Dec 22, 2015 7:05 pm**

The ATV sped through the ice and snow back to beta base. The terrain was still cracked and awkward, but nothing particularly dangerous. The ATV was built for resilience.

But unfortunately not speed. Beta base was some time away. The aliens had wings. And Titan was a thick atmosphere, low gravity moon. Perfect for wings. Whilst the ATV could out pace them (it appeared), it would not put a massive distance between them.

And all the while, the EM storm flared.

Spoiler:

Posted: **Wed Dec 23, 2015 5:58 am**

Sam manages to cut through the electromagnetic storm and contact Boss, telling him about the encounter with the hostile aliens and to add that information to the message being sent to Earth.

Posted: **Wed Dec 23, 2015 3:41 pm**

"I really think we shouldn't jump to conclusions. If they were truly hostile, don't you think they'd have attacked Beta by now? Maybe they're just looking for a way to communicate with us too, maybe they're just as scared of us as we are of them. Did you ever even consider that?"

Hattie frowns, thinking.

"We don't know if they purposefully killed Wu, do we? The only confirmed hostility we have was performed by humans against humans."

Posted: **Thu Dec 24, 2015 4:54 am**

"Ordinarily, I'd agree with you," says Sam, "but I think the fact that they just tried to dissolve us with their acid doohickey is ample evidence of their hostility. Of course, they are aliens, so maybe that's just how they say hello for all we know. I'll grant you that this is their world and we're intruders here, but their first response was to attack us."

Posted: **Thu Dec 24, 2015 5:45 pm**

"I'll second that; it's not exactly been a bed of roses since the aliens appeared, has it? Look at the mess their ambassadors left at Alpha. You might not mind martyring yourself for the forwarding of alien-human relations but count me out. I'm not even meant to be here - give me a nice cosy miner's billet on Mars over this!"
Seth looks forward to see Beta base in the distance.

Posted: **Fri Dec 25, 2015 1:08 am**

Hattie sighs deeply.
"I don't know, it just feels like we're making a big mistake...And are we even sure they did this to Alpha? Maybe it was just the away team that lost it..."

Posted: **Fri Dec 25, 2015 4:41 am**

"I remember those Mars recruitment ads," says Sam with a wistful look. "They tried to make it sound so glamorous, but everyone knew it wasn't. Men outnumber women four to one in the mines, so they had this one ad with an incredibly gorgeous gal in a spotless miner's outfit and the slogan 'Mars Needs Women.' Nobody on Mars looks like that. Martian women look like me. I wanted to go offworld, and I could have been a mining engineer on Mars, but I was holding out for something better. Now I wish I'd taken the offer. They had a hefty signing bonus too."

Posted: **Mon Dec 28, 2015 9:35 pm**

"Hell, you ain't got nothing on the Mars women: they're the meanest mothers I ever saw. Bigger stronger and uglier than any of the men.
Couldn't tell them apart half the time. Are we sure those things are aliens? Maybe they're some sort of high tech flying robot thing. I know they looked organic but we didn't really look for long enough."

Posted: **Wed Dec 30, 2015 11:24 pm**

Hattie stares at the other two for a moment, dumbfounded.

"Mars? There's nothing on Mars like this! Imagine we find a way to communicate with them, what boundless leaps Humanity would take into the future! We just have to find a way to understand each other. We just have to... "

Posted: **Thu Dec 31, 2015 5:04 am**

"So far the only language they've used to communicate with us is violence," says Sam. "At least it's a universal language, one I have no trouble understanding. it would be nice to learn their language, assuming they have one. We could try telling them we come in peace, but I'm not sure if that would work. However, being able to understand what they say to each other would be an advantage. Xenolinguistics isn't my specialty, though. All I can do in that regard is make the communications gear work. Victor probably knows more about it than anyone on Titan."

Posted: **Sat Jan 02, 2016 10:12 pm**

Blustering winds did not stop the ATV, but they did reduce visibility. Methane rain swarmed down, frigid, onto the ATV, whose heating system was certainly earning its keep.

But how fast did they dare go in the broken terrain and the horrible visibility?. Even the radar was of little use in the storm...How fast did the aliens travel?

Spoiler:

Posted: **Sun Jan 03, 2016 4:51 am**

Posted: **Sun Jan 03, 2016 5:47 pm**

Seth turns round and watches the storm-torn sky through the rear window but he can't be sure what the lightning is lighting up, "I can't see anything in this mess but you'd better step on it. Although we're probably leading whatever they are straight to the base."

Posted: **Mon Jan 04, 2016 11:17 pm**

Visibility in the dark, hazy Titan atmosphere was never good, and today was no exception. Shadows might have been seen in the occasional flash of lightning, but with the methane rain, one could not be certain.

Minutes later...

Beta base swam into view. It was, to eye and to scanner intact.

*Bzzzt! Bzzzt!* Thank the fates you are back! came a distorted Doctor Bloom over the radiowaves. At this distance, the EM storm gave a crackling quality to transmissions but there was no real difficulty when the powerful base and ATV transmitters were used.

I've kept everyone sedated...although it's probably treason or something...our commander demanded he be awake. I have put him down as delerious with pain and been liberal with the pain killers....keeps mumbling....

The ATV duly docked with Beta Base airlock. But how far behind were the two horrors?

Spoiler:

Posted: **Tue Jan 05, 2016 3:33 am**

"As medical officer, you can overrule higher ranking officers when they are unfit to give orders, such as when they're raving bonkers," says Sam. "I'll back you up on that, Doctor Bloom. But we've got far worse to worry about. There were a couple of flying alien lobster-looking things out at the quake site that attacked us with an acid-shooting weapon. We barely got out of there in one piece. Commander Wu wasn't so lucky. We found her half-dissolved right before the aliens showed up. They may be hot on our tail. Can your patients be moved? We need to prep for evac at a moment's notice, in case we can't hold Beta. I suggest we take a T-Prop, it's faster. The only other place we could go is Alpha, but they're probably aware of it.'

Posted: **Tue Jan 05, 2016 10:15 am**

"Taking the T-prop in this weather is about as risky as running out on the surface in our pyjama's.", Hattie interjects "And besides, we can't load everyone into a T-prop and keep it airborne."

She gets up, checks if her gears is still in place and makes for the door.

"I still say we try establishing communications, we've nowhere to run, Sam."

Posted: **Wed Jan 06, 2016 2:57 am**

A minute later...

Methane rain hammered on the base, an almost pleasant droning noise.

"Three patients in Medbay, all heavily sedated. Mercy!" grumbled Doctor Bloom as the party entered. He was not wrong on that count, either. The machines all beeped dutifully away.

"Welcome back" lilted Boss over the speakers. "I have good news. The Electromagnetic Saturn Storm has receded by 1.8%!"

Spoiler:

Posted: **Wed Jan 06, 2016 5:42 am**

"That gives us a slightly better chance of getting our warning through to Earth," says Sam. She tries to cut through the interference, but the signal isn't strong enough. "Not that any help they send will get here in time, but at least they'll know what happened if we all get melted into goo."

Posted: **Wed Jan 06, 2016 6:54 pm**

"Have you tried realigning the output frequency with the recent electromagnetic shifts due to the storm's discharges?", Hattie touches a few keys too and slides a slider or two, but the machine just ejects more static.

"Well, nope, that doesn't do it either..."

Posted: **Thu Jan 07, 2016 12:54 pm**

Seth digs Commander Wu's chip out and feeds it into Boss's interface panel. "What can you make of this, Boss?" And then walks over to the communications panel and gives it a hard thump with the heel of his hand,

"This usually works if all else fails..."
He looks glumly at the screen. "Hmm and then again maybe not." He looks at the levels, "What you need to do is jury rig a cross-modulation oscillator to the auxiliary and play around with the signal amplitude. We ought to be able to pulse the signal through gaps in the static." He frowns. "But that would mean going outside and climbing the ladder."

Posted: **Fri Jan 08, 2016 4:56 am**

"With flying aliens toting acid shooters up there?" asks Sam with her own frown. "The communications array will probably be their first target when they get here, which will probably be before anyone can get up there. We have the message on a continuous loop already, so maybe it already got through while we were away. I have to wonder if the aliens are responsible for the EM storm. The timing couldn't have worked out better for them."

Posted: **Mon Jan 11, 2016 8:36 pm**

"Warning: Atmospheric breach, outer airlock...." chimed in Boss, helpfully.

Readouts popped up on the infirmary door. The seal on the outer door was breached, not severely, but there was a pressure and temperature anomaly. And it was rising. Almost as if the organo-plastic foam around the door was being eroded by acid...

Posted: **Mon Jan 11, 2016 9:23 pm**

"Feck! Oh my god, they're here! Time's up! We'd better barricade ourselves in! How long have we got?" Seth spins round wildly; looking for anything helpful whilst not being so himself.

Posted: **Tue Jan 12, 2016 7:13 am**

"Don't panic," says Sam, though those words are more likely to inspire someone to panic. "We just need to neutralize their weapon. We need to find a strong chemical base, like lye, and spray it at their weapon from inside the airlock. They'll neutralize each other in a violent chemical reaction that should destroy their weapon."

Posted: **Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:13 am**

Hattie is visibly shaken by Boss's announcement and her mind goes blank.

"uhm...why are they breaking in?"

She looks around at the others, seemingly lost.

"What are we going to do? They're between us and the vehicle."

Posted: **Wed Jan 13, 2016 6:44 am**

"Lye is a key ingredient in soap," says Sam, "and there is plenty of it right here in the infirmary for hygiene purposes!" She works feverishly to extract the lye from the soap and synthesize a chemical specifically intended to neutralize the acid. Once it's ready, she loads it into stirrup-like pumps with hoses attached to direct the spray. "Done! Now let's get suited up and into the airlock. We'll close the inner door, then pop the outer door and spray before they can breach it."

Posted: **Wed Jan 13, 2016 11:46 am**

Oh, yes! Let's do that! Good thinking, Sam!

Hattie suits up again, glad to have something to do. As she puts on her gear, her gaze lingers on the plasma pistol for a moment. She wonders if she'd be able to do it if the need came.
She shakes her head, clearing her thoughts and helps Sam get ready.

Posted: **Fri Jan 15, 2016 10:51 am**

Whilst the two ladies extract the alkaline, Seth has a glance over the prisoners to see how they are doing. He also surreptitiously explores escape options such as other regular exits and air ducts. Once Boss has processed Wu's chip, Seth presses play and replays her final moments.

Posted: **Sun Jan 17, 2016 10:50 pm**

Wu's chip had been damaged, and the chip was not really designed for recording...

Spoiler:

Inside the airlock, the air was chilly, and the oxygen thin. Signs of bubbling foam could be seen at the outer airlock seal.

When the out door swished open, that same purple mist could be seen, eating away at the outer door. Beyond, through haze and dimness, the two aliens. Up close, and horrible. Limbs, limbs, pink pale flesh, sometimes with an exoskeleton, sometimes not. Too many eyes, wings...and...other things...

Spoiler:

There was a buzzing in the air, inside the skull...was it words?

Where is Drake?

Spoiler:

Posted: **Tue Jan 19, 2016 5:14 am**

The instant the hatch is opened, Sam sprays the alkaline directly at the aliens' weapon. She is getting used to the sight of them, so it doesn't disturb her so much this time. The chemical reaction causes the weapon to explode!

Posted: **Wed Jan 20, 2016 12:25 am**

A horrible buzzing screamed from the Alien with the explosion. The purple acid mist seemed not to harm the creatures at all, but an exploding weapon did. Shrapnel hissed in the Titan air, and many pieces embedded themselves in pink insect flesh.

And then, the two creatures spread their wings, buzzing awfully, and sped through the Titan air with great speed. As far as could be told, back from whence they had came; the epicentre of the earthquake where they had first been found.

OOC: Sam can make an Idea roll to notice below

Spoiler:

Posted: **Wed Jan 20, 2016 7:05 am**

"Yeah!" cheers Sam, thrusting a fist in the air. "Science triumphs again!" She steps over to the airlock entrance and tries to salvage the pieces of the destroyed weapon, taking care not to let the acid or base touch her exosuit. "Maybe we can figure out how this thing worked so we can reverse engineer it." She looks into the sky at the retreating aliens. "They're fast, but they don't fly so smoothly. I don't think their wings are designed to work in atmosphere."

Posted: **Wed Jan 20, 2016 11:24 am**

Hattie had joined Samto support her. Maybe it was the presence of a science-fueled weapon or the outlandishness of the situation, but it didn't fase her.

Once the creatures have fled, she stares after them, watching their strange forms disappear into the dark skies.

"Sam, did you hear them too? Inside your mind? They were talking." She pauses for a moment. "They were talking, Sam..."

She lets the realisation, the ecstacy of more-or-less first contact sink in for a bit before being suddenly shaken back to science by Sam's remark.

"Not for atmospheric flight? But, but that would imply that either they are aquatic and that those were fins and not wings, which would indicate the presence of a vast subterranean watermass and a myriad of other complex lifeforms beneath the surface of this moon, or it...it would indicate space flight, but that's impossible. That's impossible, right, Sam? Not only would the temperature kill, radiation, pressure fluctuations would be lethal, not to mention the time it takes to fly anywhere, even in the solar system without the ability to approach the speed of light. No, no, that's inconceivable."

Hattie looks at Sam's mechanical approach to retrieving the weapon and mumbles.

"They must have been vestigial. Maybe they were airborne once and came to this place and rediscovered the use of their wings."

Posted: **Wed Jan 20, 2016 3:57 pm**

Back at the control panel, with one ear out towards the airlock, Seth works feverishly to decrypt the chip; it's probably pointless but any knowledge he can gain might help in the next few minutes. The video is badly damaged, just noise in places, but he can see a little bit of Wu's final moments by carefully adjusting the levels.

Posted: **Wed Jan 20, 2016 4:33 pm**

Commander Wu Biochip Recording...

Gina...what do you make of this? How could this have happened?...This is no earthquake....

....

A city?

Stay there, Gina, I'm coming...

Gina? Gina?

Oh my God! What's down there?

What did you see George? What is it?

Bzzzt Bzzzt

Everyone, get back! GET BACK NOW!

They are coming...RUN! RUN!

Communications end.

Posted: **Thu Jan 21, 2016 6:17 am**

"Yeah, I heard it too," says Sam. "They must communicate by telepathy. And they were looking for Drake. I wonder why? We'd better have Dr. Bloom give him a thorough examination, and we'll have to wake him up and talk to him. Anyway, these things are completely alien. Who knows if they can survive in the vacuum of space or how long their lifespan -and patience - is? And maybe they get an assist from technology, so perhaps they do simply fly through space without ships. We already know the acid doesn't hurt them. They will return, and in greater numbers, but at least I've bought us some time to prepare, get a message to Earth, and get to the bottom of this. Of course, when they do come back, they're liable to try something different." Once she has collected the parts of the destroyed acid shooter, she steps back inside the airlock and seals the outer door. "The airlock door will need repairs, but that's probably the least of our worries."

Posted: **Mon Jan 25, 2016 12:10 pm**

Seth is sitting by the control panel with his head in his hands, there seems to be no imminent invasion and the girls are busy at the airlock; but listening to Wu's last moments hasn't really improved matters. "Hey Boss? Do you have whiskey in your supplies? Or anything similar? I feel it might be a good idea right now."

Posted: **Mon Jan 25, 2016 1:30 pm**

"We should get Drake talking, you're right. Let's go back to the others.Perhaps we could temporarily fix the airlock with the sealing foam? What do you think?"

Posted: **Tue Jan 26, 2016 5:37 am**

"It's sure better than nothing," says Sam. She uses the sealing foam to shore up the damaged sections of the outer airlock door.

Posted: **Sat Jan 30, 2016 5:38 am**

Once back inside the infirmary with the inner airlock door sealed behind her, Sam rushes to the communications gear and resumes trying to get her message out, this time with added information from her recent close encounter. "See if you can get Drake up and talking," she says. "My first priority is to warn Earth."

Posted: **Sun Jan 31, 2016 3:14 pm**

Hattie nods.

"Good luck, I'll see what I can do."

Hattie strips off her exo-suit and gets back into her normal base clothes and then finds Dr. Bloom.

"Doctor Bloom, those creatures, the aliens, they're able to communicate via a form of telepathy. They were asking for Commander Drake. I think it's imperative for mission security to try and wake Drake and find out what he knows."

Posted: **Mon Feb 01, 2016 9:59 pm**

Spoiler:

Dr Bloom cut the omni-calm feed to his patient, and administered a light sedative.

"That should wake him up, although he will still be under light sedation. Probably be woozy, to say the least. His wounds..." he indicated the plasma burns. "Nasty. Even with dermafix spray, that's gonna sting, to say the least. I can't cut his pain killers, not without him being in agony. I'm afraid poor Drake is going to be out of it..."

He paused, then carried on.

"Another thing, and this may be breaking confidentiality, but to hell with it. I found evidence of a lethal mutation in his DNA. Cotard-Wilkinson* sequence. It attacks the peripheral nervous system. Probably only mild symptoms right now, but he is facing slow progression and death in 10 years, and that's if treated..." he said sadly. "I don't know when it happened. Perhaps recently, perhaps years ago. Can be due to radiation exposure. Very rare sequence, only a few dozen cases reported. Had to look it up myself..." he said, apologetically.

*

Spoiler:

And so the commander was, mumbling and slipping in and out of consciousness.

"*Mumble Mumble* Wu...wu...can't die....can't....no...promised...sorry...no..." he whispered, delirious.

"What happened...what happened?" he said, reaching out weakly with a burnt hand. "It hurts...who fried me? who?" he asked, more strongly.

Posted: **Tue Feb 02, 2016 6:05 am**

Sam revises and transmits her message, putting it on a continuous loop. She is finally able to get through the EM interference.

Posted: **Tue Feb 02, 2016 2:16 pm**

Hattie looks at Bloom with a considerable look of concern.

"Why wasn't this registered when Drake signed on to the mission? That would indicate that the mutation occurred post-factum, wouldn't it? Have you checked yourself, Doctor Bloom? Maybe you should investigate us all, it might be a side effect of being on this rock."

When Drake awakens she leans over him.

"Ron! Ron, those creatures. They were here, Ron. What are they?"

Posted: **Wed Feb 03, 2016 2:58 pm**

Seth wanders up to the coms desk and watches Sam send the message. He's got an open bottle of scotch in his hand and a glass. "So your commander Wu said she saw a city just before her transmission went down. That would be an alien city then wouldn't it? Full of aliens, lots of them. Not just two." He sighs and pours some whiskey into the glass. He sips it despondently. "Looks like it went through then, the message. That's good."

Posted: **Wed Feb 03, 2016 8:23 pm**

As far as Seth and Sam could tell, the EM storm had cleared - perhaps transiently - enough for a clear message to be sent through to earth. At this stage of rotation, the signal would take just a fraction under 2 hours to reach the blue planet*

DrPeterson wrote:
"Ron! Ron, those creatures. They were here, Ron. What are they?"

Drake was still sedated, but fighting it. His mind seemed to slip in and out of defiance.

"Get me up! Get me up! I have to...I have to...gotta wake up...."

zzzz

"Meegoe Meegoe...help me! save me!...Meegoe....they are the Meegoe...." he mumbled, delirious.

"They can save us all...help us...transform us...Klute...Klute...horrible...please...."**

He spiked up again from his mumbling.

"Get me up Bloom! Thats an order! I don't care how I look or how you do it!" he screamed, sweat, fear and pain gripping his body.

Dr Bloom jolted, and looked at the others, clearly conflicted...

Spoiler:

Posted: **Wed Feb 03, 2016 10:23 pm**

Hattie holds up a hand, signalling Dr. Bloom to keep back.

"Shhh, Ron, try to calm down, we're doing what we can for you. Klute's gone, Ron's, she's been gone for a long time."

Hattie gently takes Drake's hand, trying not to touch any of the burnt bits, and speaks in a softer voice.

"I know they'll change us, Ron, they'll show us the stars. First contact is a fact."

A look of concern comes over her face.

"But they tried to kill us with their acid evaporator, I don't think it was entirely intentional, but we need to be able to talk to them, to these Meegoe?"

Posted: **Wed Feb 03, 2016 10:32 pm**

Dr Bloom looks pensive, a syringe full of caffstim in his hand.

"...I....that's a direct order...." he said, nervously, his eyes flicking from Hattie to Drake and back again.

Spoiler:

Drake continued to mumble, making some buzzing clicking noises with his tongue and teeth.

"Bzzz...Bzzzz....can't you hear them? Always that buzzing...buzzing....they can Speak....speak to us...but always that BUZZING!" he rambled, before passing out again.

Posted: **Thu Feb 04, 2016 4:25 am**

"Yeah, at least they know now," says Sam with a faint smile. "Of course, it takes a couple hours for the message to reach Earth, then another couple for a reply to get to us. And it'll take a good deal longer for the ship I requested to arrive and evacuate us. But you're right, there must be an awful lot of aliens. If they want to wipe us out, we can't hold them off forever. We're going to need to find some way to communicate with them. In the meantime, we can't have the power going out, and we never did fix the reactor. Want to help me finish the job?"

Posted: **Fri Feb 05, 2016 2:01 pm**

"Maybe we can escape in the ATV and keep going until the ship arrives. Those things can fly but possibly not forever. How long does, say a class one, take to get here from Earth. Or actually, they'd send something from one of the Mars colonies or something that just happens to be passing by wouldn't they? What about those hush-hush missions the Navy are apparently running out here?"
The whiskey has apparently loosened Seth's brain and he's now full of bright ideas.
"We could set the reactor to blow, head out of here, and the aliens would think we'd died in the blast. That would buy us time, we could..." He hears the commotion in the infirmary. "Sounds like he's awake, shall we check on Hattie on the way to the reactor; see what she thinks of my plan."

Posted: **Sat Feb 06, 2016 6:23 am**

"Let's go see her," says Sam, "but to be honest, your plan could use some work. The ATV can't drive forever either, and we won't have enough oxygen, water, and food for all of us in there. Not to mention, where would we go to the bathroom? And blowing up the reactor is a really, really bad idea."

Posted: **Fri Feb 12, 2016 12:13 pm**

Seth shrugs, thinking that there'd be enough oxygen for one person. He follows Sam into the infirmary to find Hattie and Dr. Bloom standing over Ron who is still unconscious, by the looks of it. "No luck then? We don't know how long we've got before the aliens come back. What perimeter scopes do we have outside so we can see them coming? I don't mind going out in a vehicle and posting sentry a mile or two out so long as I can maintain radio contact here."

Posted: **Tue Feb 16, 2016 10:53 pm**

"Dr. Bloom, you can't just neutralise his sedation, he'll be in inhuman pain, the burns...", Hattie's voice waivers and she looks the Doc deep in the eyes.
"Please, Casper, he's clearly suffering. The mission's chief medical officer has the power to override the commander's authority based on medical unfitness, doesn't he?"

Posted: **Fri Feb 19, 2016 9:42 pm**

"Well, I guess he does..." answered Dr Bloom, wiping his brow. "And he is pretty unfit. I guess that makes you the commanding officer, Hattie" he concluded. "Based on mission time. That's the protocol...."

"Boss, please note this for mission records: I, Dr Casper Bloom, medical officer for Titan Colony Mission, relieve Commander Drake of command on medical grounds, until formally assessed as fit...."

"Certainly, Doctor Bloom. Time noted. Harriet Barton is now acting commanding officer. Congratulations, Commander Barton..." said Boss, pleasantly, through the speakers.

"Well, I guess its your call then commander" said the Doctor. "I can give him a stimulant to wake him up. Dexomonamine V, should do the trick. Spark him up like a bolt of lightning, despite the painkillers. Not without risk though..." he added. "That degree of stimulation could be strain on his already strained heart...." he explained, cautiously.

"Oh, Mr Dylan, in answer to your question, the perimeter has only basic geo-activity and weather sensors. I cannot say whether they would pick up any danger...." added Boss as an afterthought.

Spoiler:

Posted: **Sat Feb 20, 2016 11:58 am**

"Wha..uh...ok, ok, I guess...", Hattie's rather caught off guard by the sudden field promotion, but quickly gathers her composure.

"No, leave him sedated, Dr. Bloom, I don't think he'll be able to tell us more that could be of use to our situation. Besides, as you said, the strain might be too big. At least now, if ..when we get out of here, his flesh can be regrown in a tissue tank and I'm sure the damage to his nerve system can be repaired in the Hawkins Hospital on Luna.
"

She turns to the others.

"Now as to getting out of here. Any suggestions apart from fortifying ourselves here and hoping nothing comes?"

Posted: **Tue Feb 23, 2016 9:23 pm**

"Well, seeing as there's a city, I expects there's a regular army of the beasts heading this way. And it won't matter how much soap we've got, this base won't keep them out. I still reckon we ought to rig the reactor to blow. And you might want to hang around and discuss civil rights with 'em but I'd rather not, personally." Seth says defensively.

"I'm happy to get out and re-rig whatever sensors you've got outside to alien detectors. least then we'll have some warning." He nods to the patients, "Did you get anything out of them?" He watches Hattie carefully, wondering how she'll take being in command.

Posted: **Wed Feb 24, 2016 6:34 am**

"Congratulations, Hattie!" says Sam, embracing her friend in a big bear hug. "I think you're right that we do need a way to communicate and negotiate with them, though I don't believe their intent is at all peaceful. They can probably overrun us before an evacuation ship reaches us. However, now we can negotiate from a position of strength. They know we can neutralize their weapons and hurt them now, and taking us down will cost them. We can offer them a less expensive alternative. If they regard us as invaders, perhaps agreeing to leave Titan will be sufficient. We could rig the reactor to blow, but we should only detonate it as a last resort. That could give us additional leverage."

Posted: **Sat Feb 27, 2016 2:34 pm**

Hattie feels a bit awkward after the bearhug, but manages a smile nonetheless.

"I'm concerned about rigging the reactor to blow. The explosion might cause a chain reaction catalysed by the chemical composition of the Titan's atmosphere, not just causing a nuclear blast in the local area, but maybe taking out a bit of the moon as well. "

She frowns pensively.

"Sam, try to make a projection of the potential yield of the explosion, if it doesn't destroy significant features of the Solar System, I'm inclined to agree.
Se..Bob, ugh, whatever...See if you can modify our hand-held units first, that way we'll get some advance warning while we're out working on the long-range sensors. You may also want to take a CAT-scan of Ron's brain, see where he show more activity, or even, uhm...alteration?"

She then turns back to the doctor, apparently hesitant and somewhat reluctant.

"Doctor Bloom, I need you to look up anything...relevant...you can find regarding ESP and telepathy and what not." She sighs again, obviously not really hot about the topic. "Do we know anything about it? Any way to stimulate neural receptivity? Or to shield it off?"

Posted: **Sun Feb 28, 2016 12:24 am**

Doctor Bloom sighed and pressed his fingers to his head.

"ESP? Telepathy? A load of psychic mumbo-jumbo!" he protested, but not to hard. He looked awfully relieved that it was Hattie in command, not Ron. "Well, I can take a look" he grumbled, and spun his chair to a console of three screens.

"Boss, lets pull up your files on parapsychology...I suppose its no crazier than aliens...." he conceded, and started tapping at the holographic display in front of him.

Posted: **Sun Feb 28, 2016 5:49 am**

Sam runs the calculations, working out approximately how to rig the reactor to explode and determining whether or not it would do irreperable harm to Titan.

Posted: **Sat Mar 05, 2016 12:42 pm**

"Right, well I'll sort out some sort of early warning system then." And Seth heads out of the area.

Posted: **Wed Mar 23, 2016 1:34 am**

The T Prop seemed in fine working condition, despite dust. Overall, everything was fairly shabby but workable. Mostly workable, a least. For all the damage done by the earthquake, they had not come out too badly. The crew set to work checking and running tests and minor repairs.

A little later...

"Bzzzz....

Bzzz....bzzzzz....."

Something awful was coming through the radio, on the standard transmission frequency.

"Bzzz....izzz that you....bzzzz.....who izzz there....bzzzz.....let me in....let me in...."

The voice sounded corrupted and horrible. And vaguely familiar....

"Its all a great adventure. A great, wonderful adventure..."

OOC: Idea roll at a penalty INT x3% for Hattie

Spoiler:

Posted: **Wed Mar 23, 2016 5:07 am**

"I wonder if that's Gina Croft," says Sam. "She's still unaccounted for. Whoever it is sounds a few rods short of a reactor core."

Posted: **Wed Mar 23, 2016 10:58 am**

"I..I..For a second I thought I recognised that voice, but I can't place it. "

Hattie walks over to the comms panel and clears her throat.

"This is Acting Commander Harriett Barton. Identify yourself."

Posted: **Thu Mar 24, 2016 1:19 am**

"Bzzzarton? Bzzzarton? Yezzz....." came the awful buzzing sound.

"I remember...I wazzzz....."

There was the longest, awful pause.

"Bzzz...Bzzzt....Jane....Jane Croft....I think that makes me acting commander...."

Jane Croft was an energetic, impulsive and brilliant woman who had been the Second in command to Miriam in the initial stages of the colony. She had gone missing, MIA, months ago, and Drake had been sent to replace her.

Boss helpfully chimed in. "Voice identification verified. Welcome back, commander Croft!" came the happy tones of the computer. "Transferring command functions back to Colonist Jane Croft!" it said with a verbal smile.

"Let me innnn....." came the buzzing over the radio.

The external sensors picked up motion.

"Of course, commander! Opening airlock external doors...."

Said doors slid almost silently open.

OOC: 1/1D4 San loss for Hattie and bloom, 0/1D2 San loss for Sam, whilst Seth is relatively and blissfully ignorant to the shock

Posted: **Thu Mar 24, 2016 4:29 am**

"Something's very wrong here," says Sam, recoiling in shock. She tries to scan Croft if indeed that is who is entering the airlock, but the scanners don't appear to be working.

Posted: **Thu Mar 24, 2016 9:49 am**

Hattie gasps, her mind reels and she clutches the table to remain standing.

She breathes heavily, almost hyperventilating, but then her mind takes over again.

"Boss, override transfer of command. Jane Croft has neglected compulsory physical and psychiatric evaluation for the past months. Crew safety and health protocol clearly dictate that any crew member that miss out on two consecutive check-ups is to be relieved of duty and held until motives for refusal of collaboration can be established by both the medical officer and the mission commander."

She gasps, trying to get a hold of her breathing again.

"And please lock all doors and airlocks, they are only to be opened by my express permission."

Posted: **Fri Mar 25, 2016 1:36 am**

OOC: Luck roll![dice]0[/dice]

"Why, that is correct, acting commander Barton!" said Boss, as cheerful as always.

The holographic display showed the exterior and interior airlock doors sealed tightly.

After a briefest of pause, for sweat and breath and one drum of Doctor Blooms fingertips, a beeping sound came from the holo-display.

Something was trying to bypass the interior airlock door...

Posted: **Fri Mar 25, 2016 4:33 am**

Hurriedly, Sam attempts to perform a manual override to keep the inner door from opening.

Posted: **Fri Mar 25, 2016 6:30 pm**

OOC: That sound perfectly plausible, although it is being opposed by the thing in the airlock which makes it tricky. Ill say a D100 roll, if it matches INTx1% you have it trapped (by some clever false protocols, sealing both doors permanently) if it matches INTx5%, you slow it down, meaning the outer door opens, and the inner door is hard to open

Posted: **Sat Mar 26, 2016 4:55 am**

"I can't stop it!" cries Sam. "Hattie, try to get Boss to open the outer door. Then the inner door can't open!"

Posted: **Sat Mar 26, 2016 1:41 pm**

Once Seth has got the T-prop ready for immediate evac, he rummages around for kit with which to adjust the outer scanners. Once loaded up and kitted up he attempts to open the hanger door to exit the base. But the doors stay sealed and he can't override it. He presses the comm link by the door.

"Boss? Se -er- Dylan here. Can you open the hanger door for me? I want to get out and fix those scanners."

Posted: **Sat Mar 26, 2016 11:49 pm**

"Boss, initiate emergency venting sequence, open the outer airlock external doors, security clearance Barton-Tango-Hotel-Xray-1138!"

She looked at Sam with a look of worry.

"We'd better go check this out. Doctor Bloom, stay with the patients."

Posted: **Sun Mar 27, 2016 1:01 am**

"I am sorry, Mr Dylan, Acting Commander Barton has ordered all external doors sealed..."

"One moment..."

"Correction. Acting Commander Barton has opened exterior airlock door of command module...."

Always happy to oblige, Boss conceded to Hatties authority and opened the outer airlock door. The inner door locked itself down, overriding any command otherwise.

To all in the base, the ever-cheerful Boss continued...

"I am detecting a heat signature from Command module airlock. Shall I activate airlock cameras?"

Posted: **Sun Mar 27, 2016 2:56 am**

"Yes, on screen!"

Posted: **Sun Mar 27, 2016 4:56 am**

Sam watches the monitor, dreading what she might see.

Posted: **Sun Mar 27, 2016 2:31 pm**

The airlock-cam snapped into focus, displaying on a holo-projector. It was not HD, but it was good enough to show the horror.

Jane was there, or at least, the ragged and warped remains of her. Her body hung like a puppet, suspended by alien tubes and nails that ran up and down its frozen and broken flesh. Only the head seemed animated, a horrible thing that looked like it had been bolted on as an afterthought. Around its neck was a ring of strange metal, and it was this that sealed the bond between head and body. Tubes filled with purple liquid traversed the head, both under and over the skin, and the skin itself was mottled and ravaged.

"Its me! Let me in! I have wonderful newzzzzzz!" came the distorted voice of Jane. The sound came not from her head, but emitted, in a buzzing manner, from some spider like cybernetic horror by the throat.

The horror was not, apparently, hopeful of that she would be let in, for it was plying apart the control mechanism with her horrible hands, each finger tip replaced by some ghastly tool - an artificial tentacle, a snipping tweezer, a plasma torch...

Spoiler:

Posted: **Sun Mar 27, 2016 9:33 pm**

Sam's eyes go wide. "The aliens must have done this to her," she says. "They're using her to try to gain entry to the base. We have to stop her before she breaches the inner door. With the outer door open, that will cause the command module to depressurize. Maybe we can go out another exit and come around at her from behind. We can use those sedatives again."

Posted: **Mon Mar 28, 2016 12:17 am**

"JANE!", Hattie exclaims into the microphone. "What have they done to you?! What...wonderful news? You're a head."

She looks at Doctor Bloom and Sam and covered the receiver.

"I think you're right, Sam, but I'm not sure if those sedatives will work on that thing. Let's suit up and try to make her surrender before we fry her."

Hattie hurriedly starts putting on her EV-suit

Posted: **Mon Mar 28, 2016 4:47 am**

Sam nods and quickly suits up as well, clipping her injector and plasma pistol to the belt on the suit's exterior.

Posted: **Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:27 pm**

Seth frowns, a heat signature in the airlock? Sounds like there may be no need for those scanners; he keeps the tools with him but turns around and heads back to the command module.

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2016 12:52 am**

There were plenty of airlocks in the base; each module had a separate one. It was simply a matter of time...

Swish.. the doors to the hydroponics module opened up. Hattie and Sam strode through the vats of fungus and algae, and, with Hattie's authority, unlocked the Hydroponic module.

Outside, the cold thick atmosphere hit them. They could hear the motors of the Env Suits kick in, flooding them with warmth despite the bitter freeze. It was almost completely dark, Saturn was eclipsing the faint glow of the sun, so distant and alien this far away. The atmosphere was hazy, and their lights struggled to penetrate.

Ahead, they could dimly see the command module, and the open airlock, in which the horror that was Jane Klute was presumably still in...

Spoiler:

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2016 2:32 am**

Sam leans her helmet against Hattie's, using the old spacer's trick to speak to her without using electronic communications that could be jammed or intercepted. "She's not wearing an environment suit," she says, whispering unconsciously even though the sound won't travel beyond the air bubbles in their helmets, "yet somehow she was able to survive outside."

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2016 10:25 pm**

"That's why I think the sedatives won't work. She looked like a zombie or an automaton, more machine than man. There's no telling what she'll do, but I'll try talking first. Just keep your pistol ready, Sam."

She sighed deeply and then nodded.

"Let's go."

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2016 10:58 pm**

As the pair entered the airlock, they could see the horrible creation hard at work, cutting and chipping away at the inner airlock. Understandably, it was a robust door, but it would not resist a concerted effort to cut through it. Out of one of Klutes finger blew a purple flame of plasma, and it was slowly, and surely, melting through the airlock.

Whether the horror was absorbed in its task and not taking notice, or whether the multitude of tubes and nails that peppered its skin- a dead, frozen skin - had numbed its senses, one could not say. But it seemed oblivious to their approach...

Posted: **Fri Apr 01, 2016 12:53 am**

Hattie motioned to Sam to be ready to neutralise whatever had become of Jane Klute, switched on her intercom to transmit throughout the station, cleared her throat and spoke up.

"Stop what you're doing. We're here to talk."

Posted: **Fri Apr 01, 2016 2:50 am**

Sam holds her plasma pistol ready, but behind her back so it cannot be seen.

Posted: **Sun Apr 03, 2016 8:41 pm**

The aberration turned, slowly, the tubes pumping oily creamy liquid, the flesh moving in most unsettling ways. The alien tools at the tips of her fingertips retracted.

"Hattie...Hattie..." she gurgled, in a buzzing, droning voice.

"I have seen the most incredible things...things you people would not believe!" she said. It was hard to discern any emotion in that strange voice from unmoving lips, but there was some cracked excitement there.

"There are worlds and universes beyond our own! Burning suns and wheeling pipes! It is more than we could ever have dreamed of! The aliens you have zzzzeeen...they can take us away...far away!"

The horror did not seem to notice, or perhaps not care, about Sam.

Posted: **Sun Apr 03, 2016 8:53 pm**

"Can you help us establish communications with the aliens?" asks Sam, trying to remain calm while looking at the thing that isn't quite human any more. "We got off on the wrong...appendage with them, and things got hostile. We want them to know that we have come in peace. We reacted the way we did because we were under attack."

Posted: **Sun Apr 03, 2016 10:25 pm**

"What happened to Jane? And what do these beings want, these Mee-go?"

Hattie tried not to stare at the moving fleshing and the pumping tubes, but wasn't very successful.

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2016 9:12 pm**

"What happened to Jane?" buzzed Jane. "I am Jane, ztill Jane...ztill...." it paused, uncertain for a moment.

"The Mi-go are masters of all forms of science, but they excel in the transplantation of tranformation of flesh. I have zzzeen it. By marvellous devices, they can preserve the brain independent of flesh...wicked...fragile...flesssssh...." she buzzed.

"And in such form, see the stars! Beyond Sol...think of it! Have you not ever wanted to travel further? An immortal, never dying, but always seeing....seeing!!!!"

For someone so concerned with sight, her eyes looked glassy and dead. More peculiar where several nails and bolts to her head, some of which could be sensors of some type, one might suppose.

"The Mi-Go are here to see, too...they have found a city beneath the ice and rock...full of metals that are most precious to them, but beyond our sciences or understanding. They mine, ever mining. And they have found the city, old and strange....they wish to see.....they offer you, brave and curious friends...they would offer you the same opportunity they have given me! immortality and wonder! They would study you, and show you!"

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2016 10:20 pm**

Hattie couldn't deny being tempted by an eternity to study the stars, but the abomination that was all that was left of Jane was succeeding marvellously at showing her how attached she was to her own body.

"Why don't they come to talk and study us in person then? I will not be dissected like some rat and re-animated for their obscure purposes. If they gather minerals and knowledge, they are in essence similar to us, exploring the stars to further their species and to further their understanding of the universe. Surely the Mi-Go...", suddenly she wondered what the species' name meant in their own language," surely the Mi-Go understand we want to maintain our individuality. Tell them we wish them no harm and would call a parley. We can mutually benefit from this exchange...without compromising the other's physical integrity."

Posted: **Tue Apr 05, 2016 5:02 am**

"If that's an example of how the Mi-Go change you," says Sam, "I think I'll stick with my body. Jane, would you let Dr. Bloom examine the...modifications the Mi-Go made to you so we can better understand how they work?"

Posted: **Tue Apr 05, 2016 9:24 am**

The door doesn't open. Seth tries again to no avail. "Total shutdown. I wonder what's happened now." He grumbles and then heads over to the main hanger door. "Well, we'll see about that."

He checks his suit is ready for activation and then starts tinkering with the electronic lock hoping to override it. He thinks about trying to raise Sam or Hattie, he doesn't trust Boss, but being a loner he waits, "I'm sure to bump into them sooner or later." He thinks and then curses as he receives a minor electric shock. He sucks his finger.

Posted: **Wed Apr 06, 2016 11:48 pm**

Jane shuddered...more like a vibration, again with that horrible buzzing, at frequencies that felt strange and unnatural. She cocked her head, listening to something inaudible through some invisible ether.

"Your forms cannot cross space, not in your ships. You do not understand, do not see. There are stars and realms beyond the universe, and you just scratch...scratch....scratch..."

She cocked her head back, at an angle that looked horribly obtuse.

"If you will not see, if you will not come....then...the city is ours! yes, I will follow them, I will! tell us! tell us! whom have you told? whom have you told?"

Meanwhile....

Despite the Lockdown, the doors where not impossible to bypass. After all, the colony was not expecting burgulars. It was built to ensure no accidental openings, to ensure no damage would breach. All it would take was time and a little jiggery pokery...

Posted: **Thu Apr 07, 2016 3:25 am**

"Whom have we told what?" asks Sam. confused.

Posted: **Thu Apr 07, 2016 8:07 pm**

Glass eyes stared back.

"Whom did you tell of them?" came the reply, without any movement.

"They do not wish to be known to humans. A few select travellers, with open minds....that is all!"

Posted: **Fri Apr 08, 2016 2:48 am**

"You mean the Mi-Go?" asks Sam. "Well, we told Dr. Bloom, of course. And I think Drake knows about them already. The two Mi-Go who tried to get into the base earlier were looking for him. Why do they want him specifically?" She keeps the fact that she has informed Earth to herself for now.

Posted: **Sat Apr 09, 2016 11:33 am**

The door lock finally flashes green. Seth activates his suit and then has a thought, He goes to the hanger storage and rummages through the supplies to find something useful as a weapon. He still has his knife but something with a bit of range could be useful. There isn't very much immediate to hand unless he spends time constructing, say, a flame thrower. He grabs an all-atmos blow torch, which might be useful v cockroaches, and then opens the door and peers into the swirling atmosphere outside.

Posted: **Thu Apr 14, 2016 9:34 am**

"We can arrange to meet them somewhere, talk to their representatives. Maybe see if we can establish an understanding that can be beneficial to both our races?"

And maybe also explain why we don't like having our heads removed, Hattie thought.

Posted: **Mon Apr 18, 2016 7:40 pm**

Seth could just about see, through the dim swirling gases of Titan, Hattie and Sam and....the thing...

The thing in question seemed eager to please, in response to Hattie's proposal.

"yes! Yes! They would meet! Show you the beyond!" came the buzzing sound. "They have discovered the city beneath the surface. Many strange and precious stones, and metals, and millions of years old! Meet them at the city! The earth quake, its centre!"

"They would show us the mysteries of the universe, of space, of time!" she buzzed. She sounded rather, or completely, insane.

Posted: **Tue Apr 19, 2016 5:42 am**

"We tried going to the epicenter earlier," says Sam. "They attacked us, and we barely got out of there alive. Before that, they killed Commander Wu there with their acid shooter. How can we be sure they won't try again?"

Posted: **Tue Apr 19, 2016 9:20 am**

Hattie agrees with Sam.

"What guarantees can you offer us that we won't be attacked there?"

Posted: **Tue Apr 19, 2016 10:16 am**

Seth steps outside and looks around. He decides to make his way to the nearest module and starts stomping across the dusty ground.

Posted: **Thu Apr 21, 2016 10:01 pm**

"The City they have found is full of most precious metals and stones, beyond our understanding of chemistry! They would not share such treasure lightly!"

"You must understand! All flesh and thought you know are nothing. If you resist them, or stop their mining, you will surely be destroyed. They care nothing for us, we are but insects. They do not wish to step on us, nor to avoid stepping on us. They might study us, and transform us, to understand us...I have seen so much that is strange and beyond description! I have been transformed, so they might understand me!"

A vague sense of madness and sadness crept into her voice.

"They will not attack you, as long as you amuse them!"

Posted: **Fri Apr 22, 2016 4:39 am**

"Well, I know a few jokes," says Sam. "Or I could always fall back on slapstick. I know, that's not what you meant. That was a joke, and a bad one. I don't know, maybe they find it amusing for us primitive humans to demonstrate our scientific capabilities. What does amuse them?"

Posted: **Fri Apr 22, 2016 9:55 am**

"Share treasure? Stop them?
You and I both know that this is a peaceful mission of scientific exploration. We're not here to fight them."

She sighed deeply, somewhat saddened by the tone of this first contact. It was nothing she'd imagined it to be as a child, No Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind, no classical orchestra theme...

"But we're not here to entertain either. We're looking for a peaceful meeting on equal footing."

Posted: **Mon Apr 25, 2016 12:18 am**

For the first time, the cyborg horror seemed to be angry, or at least close to it. The buzzing sound worsened, and the tubes fizzed with strange chemicals. What was left of her brain seemed awash with some primitive endocrine rage.

"Equal? Equal? Do not think of them as your equals. You are ants to them. Do not mistake their invitation for equality. You are nothing, of no consequence, insignificant. An irritation at best, or worst!" she buzzed, her skin crawling with agitation.

She held up one arm, full of strange dull metal and stranger liquids. A small flame of plasma came out of her index finger, which was, they noted, an inch or two longer than it should be.

"Do not mistake this parley for negotiation. My masters will have their way with or without you. Your communication with earth will be destroyed, for they do not wish to be known. All that remains is for you to wither, to die, or to see the city and all its wonders. To be transformed!"

Posted: **Mon Apr 25, 2016 5:50 am**

Since Hattie is in charge, Sam says nothing and defers to her.

Posted: **Mon Apr 25, 2016 7:50 pm**

"Don't! Don't shoot! Or whatever it is, you do with that finger."

This definitely wasn't what Hattie was expecting contact with the races of the Universe to be. And she had had no formal training in this. Sweat beaded on her brow and she turned a furtive glance towards Sam before looking at the Jane-creature again.

"I can't decide this for my companions. We'll need to discuss it. Would you be so kind as to give us an hour?"

Posted: **Thu Apr 28, 2016 3:14 pm**

There was a pause, as the winds of Titan blew uncaring across the ice and rock.

"I shall wait..." same the reply.

The horror seemed to power down, or go into hibernation. The flesh seemed to freeze still, the liquids slowed to a turgid pace, so slow they hardly seemed to move at all, lest one examined the tubes most closely. The eyes lost any shine they might have had, and the whole body became motionless, staring to infinity.

Posted: **Thu Apr 28, 2016 10:26 pm**

A shiver runs down Hattie's spine and she looks at Sam.

"Let's go inside."

She starts moving back the way they came and patches into the station's radio system.

"I want all personnel to convene in my office, ASAP."

Posted: **Fri Apr 29, 2016 4:18 am**

Sam hurries alongside Hattie. "Maybe we should meet in the infirmary instead," she suggests when they are well away from the abomination that used to be Jane. "Not everyone in there can move around so well, and we don't want to leave anyone injured unattended."

Posted: **Mon May 02, 2016 9:58 am**

"I agree, let's hurry back indoors."

Posted: **Sat May 07, 2016 12:03 pm**

A little later

"Jesus..what is that thing?" said, Bloom. He was staring at the grainy black and white air lock camera, where the alien cyborg thing had frozen in what looked like hibernation. It was possibly dead. Who could tell? it just looked like a hunk of deformed frozen flesh, pipes and nails.

"I mean...I'm not sure I want to know..." he said, wiping his brow.

His patient remained under heavy sedation.

"Give them rest" he explained. "I don't think Ron's state of mind is too good. Between Bob Dylan frying him and the pain killers he is on. And, to be honest, I never liked the guy anyway" he said, jittery.

"Don't record that!" he added, for Boss' benefit.

"I am afraid I am programmed to record everything, Doctor Bloom...."

"Well put it under classified patient information then! Not to be released to Ron as it would damage his mental health...."

"Anyway" he said, returning to the conscious crew members. "I don't want to expose him to anything that would fracture his already unhinged mind. Heavy sedation for now..."

Posted: **Sun May 08, 2016 3:57 am**

"No, obviously he can't go anywhere," says Sam. "Jane - or that thing that used to be her - said that our communications with Earth would be destroyed, as the aliens don't want their presence known. We already sent the message at the speed of light during a lull in the EM storm, and it should have gone through. Maybe they did block it somehow, or that could have been a bluff." She tries to think how long it would take a ship from Earth to reach Titan.

Posted: **Mon May 09, 2016 2:47 pm**

Hattie sighs and looks at Ron's body for a moment, lost in thought.

"No ship from Earth or any of the outposts could reach us in time, Sam, we both know that. I wasn't lying when I said it outside. I don't think this a group choice we can make. The way I see it, there are only two options. Either we choose conflict or we choose to go with the Jane-thing and see what these Mi-Go are up to. I can't, I won't force anyone to choose either way, to each his own choice."

She looks at everyone present and continues.

"I'm going to try and make it to the Shelter. There is a ship there that could help us break orbit. If we manage to engage the autopilot. And if we manage to distract those Mi-Go long enough..."

Posted: **Tue May 10, 2016 4:59 am**

"I know a ship won't reach us in time," says Sam. "I was thinking more in terms of making sure Earth is warned in case we don't make it back. There is one way we could distract the Mi-Go: if at least one of us goes to the city while the rest go for the ship. Whoever does that clearly won't be leaving on it, though. They'll also need an ace in the hole. These Mi-Go looked vaguely fungoid, and you're a mycologist. Maybe you could whip up some sort of fungicide weapon that anyone going to the city could smuggle in, just in case."

Posted: **Wed May 11, 2016 8:38 pm**

"I'll need to have a look at that weapon, maybe there's some trace material on there. If I find out their structure, we might be able to engineer a viral agent that would react with their spoors and infect every individual it encounters. If we had a few months and a dedicated research team, that is. We have an hour before the Jane-machine will want an answer. I'll see what I can scrounge up."

Hattie hurries around the lab, gathering some gear and places the weapon under an isolated microscope and issues some orders before turning her attention to the microscope.

"Dr. Bloom, prepare commander Drake for transportation. Sam, you can drive the ATV, Seth, Bob, whatever, you're a pilot, you said, think you'll be able to course correct in case something goes wrong with the autopilot?"

Posted: **Thu May 12, 2016 4:27 am**

"You got it, Hattie," says Sam. "I'm ready to get off this rock as soon as you are."

Posted: **Tue May 17, 2016 1:45 pm**

(Seth has returned quietly and been watching the playback from the camera.)
He sighs, "I'm not an astro-pilot; gravity only. But I've been on and around various craft all my life so I'm probably your best bet. It'll have E-EAP anyway if it's to get you off this rock: I've activated those once or twice. The T-prop is all ready to fly; we just need an excuse to use it without being swarmed by these Mi-goes."

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