By the waning years of the 22nd century, humanity has expanded beyond Earth, establishing colonies on Mars, Ceres, and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn; the latter of these being largely penal or mining colonies, taking advantage of the isolation and mineral wealth of these moons. One such colony, known as Benedict’s Rest, was established on the shores of the north polar sea of Ligeia Mare on the moon Titan, in the year 2169. Originally a penal colony that used convict labor to harvest liquid methane, Benedict’s Rest was bought out by a German energy conglomerate, Richter Dynamics, and expanded; now, in 2189, contract, or “free” miners outnumber convicts 5 to 1—158 free miners to 31 convicts.
The colony’s productivity, formerly the highest of any Richter colony site, has dropped 19% in the last month with no reasonable explanation provided. In the same period, the colony medic, Dr. Henry Holzer, has died; the administration has been vague regarding cause, though it has been intimated that he committed suicide. Over the objections of colony administrator James Kingsley, Richter Dynamics has sent a team of corporate troubleshooters to investigate these two issues and make recommendations to revive productivity.
“Never mind being drunk; the guy’s mentally ill: proper paranoid schizophrenia!”Kiara glares at Tyson, demanding he do something. “If he’s armed he needs to be restrained for his safety and that of the whole base.”
She frowns; something else nagging her mind for attention.
“Those weird things he’s saying: they phonetically match the words written by Dr. Holzer before he died...”
'Well how do you suggest I get the door open without him shooting someone?' asks Tyson incredulouly. 'I mean, well, they should only be loaded with riot rounds, but I don't really want to push my luck.'
He presses the intercom button, 'Hey Dave, would you like me to get you a drink?'
There is a long silence then David Montrose replies in a quiet voice, 'Whiskey, I'd like some whiskey.'
"I will take in the whisky," says Nicole. "I doubt he's going to actually come to the door."
She considers for a moment and then draws her handgun, offering it to her companions, "Does anyone know how to handle this? He is going to be suspicious and I'd prefer not to shoot my old friend anyway."
"Thank you, I've had firearms training," says Sam, accepting the pistol. "I'm sure I'm not as good a shot as you, but I'm decent enough. I just hope I don't have to use it."
Kiara,You can go back to the Medical Centre temporarily in this thread: [url]https://www.callofcthulhu.org.uk/pbp/viewtopic.php?f=472&t=7200&start=20#p242191[/url]
Nicole paces impatiently while awaiting the return of Kiara and Tyson, wondering exactly what awaits inside the apartment. The David Montrose that she knew was a good instructor - self assured and knowledgeable, someone to respect - and a good friend. The haunted, crazy talking David Montrose drinking away his demons beyond the door is not someone she looks forward to meeting.
And he's holding a shotgun.
"CENTRAL, when did Sergeant Montrose last enter his apartment? Who did he last speak to outside of the security centre? And when did he last leave this complex?"
CENTRAL answers Nicole, 'Hello Marshal Favre. Sergeant Montrose last entered his suite on the 28th of February at 4.15pm Earth Central European Time. He last left his suite at 8.15am on the 28th of February.'
There is a barely perceptible pause and then it continues, 'My records do not indicate that he has been visited by anyone other than Security Officer Tyson since he last entered his suite. I am unable to determine the last person he talked to outside the security centre as he was outside Barnard's Rest between 8.43am and 4.03pm on the 28th of February. He has only had remote communication outside of the security centre since then. I am sorry, I am unable to disclose with whom he has communicated remotely due to my privacy protocols.'
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'Uh, shouldn't we let Administrator Kingsley know what's going on?' asks Moses, looking distinctly unhappy with the talk of guns.
'Hello Science Officer Khan. Security Officer Tyson is currently on the top floor of the administrative complex,' responds CENTRAL's synthesised female voice.
