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.
ooc,Yes, unfortunately the whiskey arrived too late.
"So what is the deal with Kingsley, David?"
Nicole glances at her old instructor and at the bottle, fills both the glass and the cup, then starts to move closer to the door carrying both. She edges a little to the left, to try and see what he's hiding.
"Tyson brought this bottle straight from Kingsley's office, do you trust him?"
Spot Hidden - Pass,Spot Hidden Roll in case it's a possibility (I won't be pushing the roll if it fails)
Spot Hidden (60%): [dice]0[/dice]
Nicole,Perhaps unsurprisingly, Nicole can see Montrose is holding a gun beside him, probably a shotgun, hidden in the shadows. He looks pretty damn rough, hollowed out and a shadow of the man she knew. His hands and face seem to have patches of discoloration, some kind of rash, it's powdery, like a fine sand or dust.
Montrose puts out his free hand to take the cup, 'Kingsley? Typical corporate type. All he's interested in is money. He's in over his head and doesn't even realise it. The works at Waystation, they uncovered something, something...alien. I don't know, I can't...can't remember. There's something there, it's, it's talking to me...'Montrose falls into silence.
"I can see why you want the whiskey and not to be knocked out with the pills."Jojo interjects. "It looks like you were exposed to something at the Waystation. How long ago was your first contact with it? Do you know if others have been infected? "Jojo continues.
He's now in clinical mode as he steps around to get a better look at Sergeant Montrose. Jojo is non-threatening and appears to not be cognizant of any potential danger from Sergeant Montrose.
OOC,Spot Hidden 50
[dice]0[/dice]
Life is a tragedy to those who feel
Life is a comedy to those who think
Life is a fantasy to those who game
As Dr Johnson steps around to get a closer look at Montrose he sees that the security chief is clutching a shotgun, hidden in the shadows. His hands and face have red sores alternating with a powdery rash, like a fine sand or dust, giving him an odd patchwork appearance. Through his open shirt collar Jojo can see a lattice-like network of fine red lines spreading out to his neck. This does not look like any infection that Jojo is familiar with but the odour of putrescence confirms his suspicion that the Sergeant is not long for this world.
Keeper rolls,Luck 31% [dice]0[/dice]
When the doctor edges around Nicole and into Montrose's full view his eyes widen in panic, 'You're not taking me' he hisses, scrabbling backwards into the darkness of the doorway
Jojo stops and doesn't go any closer as he continues speaking.
"You're right. I'm not going to take you."Jojo replies. "I'm not going to force you to get treatment for whatever you got exposed to. I do require you to let me know as much information about this as you know so I can do what I can to help anyone else that comes into contact with it. Now again, how long ago was your first contact with it? Do you know if others have been infected? "
Life is a tragedy to those who feel
Life is a comedy to those who think
Life is a fantasy to those who game
Montrose sits quivering in the dark. He looks terrified. 'I don't, I don't remember' he says, his voice unsteady.
After a minute or so of silence he says, 'There's twenty, maybe thirty convicts at Waystation, something like that. I don't know if they're sick. I don't even know what happened to me. But something's there. Looking at me. Calling me. Summoning me. Aaagghh. I can't think straight. make it stop!'
"If you won't accept my help, I can't make it stop."Jojo says to Montrose. "To be honest, I'm not sure I could make it stop if you let me try to help you. I've never really seen anything quite like this."
Jojo bows his head and looks at the ground in front of him. "I'm sorry."
Life is a tragedy to those who feel
Life is a comedy to those who think
Life is a fantasy to those who game
Moving a little closer to Montrose she pleads, "David! Please put the gun down for a minute and let Doctor Johnson help, while there's still a chance to get you out of here."
Montrose drinks deeply from the neck of the whiskey bottle. His gravelly voice becomes higher pitched '"You're so small, you're so weak and worthless. Nothing in the eyes of Ëka-Galä, who the fuck is Ëka-Galä?'. He emits a wail, 'I'm not worthy of attention, "Cross the sea, find the gate!", prove myself...'. Before he can finish the weak illumination from the green emergency lights blinks out. The corridor is pitch black and completely silent. 'Not the dark' whimpers Sergeant Montrose.
-----
After a few seconds of quiet they hear 'Nicole, I'm sorry' followed by the loud crack of a shot. It echoes through the corridor as warm liquid splatters onto the faces of Nicole and Jojo. This is followed by a thud then complete silence.
-----
After about ten seconds floor level LED lights come on, bright pinpricks of intense white light that flash progressively indicating the direction to follow for evacuation towards an assembly point. After another minute there are red flashing beacons spaced widely along the walls and a whining siren starts.
Jojo wipes out the whiskey residue and tries his best to scrape a sample of the powder into the cup. It is difficult to see in the poor illumination but he thinks he managed to get a sample. The powder has an odd consistency, like a soft sand. He wonders if it might be some kind of mold.
Keeper rolls,[dice]0[/dice],[dice]1[/dice]
------
The temperature seems to drop and Nicole thinks she can see her breath condensing into misty water droplets.
Jojo will store the sample as best he can and then head back to the medical clinic if he is able to. He wants to secure the sample for further study before leaving the building.
Life is a tragedy to those who feel
Life is a comedy to those who think
Life is a fantasy to those who game
Jojo is not sure he can find his way back to the Medical Clinic under these circumstances. At least, he knows how to get there, but in the low light and noise he would find it a challenge.
Jojo,To find his way back to the clinic he could roll Navigate with a bonus die, or Spot Hidden with a penalty die
There is no answer from CENTRAL. Jojo seems to have taken a wrong turn and finds himself in what looks like a commercial district. A dark neon sign nearby reads 'The Claim Jumper' above what looks like a bar.
ooc,Would you like me to make a SAN roll for Nicole?
I know that she'd not normally have to worry about seeing gunshot victims, but during the interactions in this thread, we've established that they were fairly good friends I think.
As he is lost, Jojo will go to the Claim Jumper and see if there is anyone there who could help him find the medical clinic or tell him what's going on.
Life is a tragedy to those who feel
Life is a comedy to those who think
Life is a fantasy to those who game
