Imperial Fringe Online Game Chat Session Log 03.11.2002

20:37:05 - Kraiger: OK, so I found some evidence of "work" on the ship - although what anyone could be trying to do with this wreck I have no idea
20:37:38 - Kit: Can you determine what they were trying to do?
20:39:14 - Methuslah: The panel seems to control environmental systems - air, heat, light. Some of the wiring appears to be brand new, other reapired. The panel does not function, however.
20:39:58 - StewartBailey: (only Kraiger is there, right?)
20:40:13 - Kraiger: I am back with the group now
20:40:34 - Kit: Strange, I thought this was a wreck? Maybe there is still some areas here where the environmantal system works or has been repaired? My guess is, that thats probably also where our missing "guests" went.
20:40:38 - Kraiger: What say we take a bit of a wander around this ship?
20:40:54 - StewartBailey: Lead on.
20:41:03 - Kraiger: (How big is the ship meth? approx tonnage...)
20:41:16 - Kit: Fine with me. We aint gonna find out whats goin on here by sitting put on our arses.
20:41:34 - Kraiger: (Kraiger heads back to the control panel to show the others (pistol is drawn and ready)
20:41:55 - Kit: Silvaaa, are you fit enough to tag along?
20:42:02 - StewartBailey: Let me take a look at that (r26d).
20:42:10 - StewartBailey: oops, 2D6: 7
20:42:10 - Kraiger: brb (coffee!)
20:42:44 - Kit: (now where did Kraiger find a coffe machine?

)
20:42:47 - Methuslah: "I can manage."
20:43:07 - Kit: OK, then let's go.
20:44:38 - Methuslah: You soon catch up to where Kraiger is leaning beside the panel.
20:45:09 - Methuslah: (The ship is a large one, probably around 5000 tons - a fairly standard colony ship of a couple of centuries back.)
20:45:30 - Kit: Want me tzo take a look? ( 2D6: 8 just in case)
20:45:41 - Methuslah: The panel reveals nothing much more of interest - except that the new wire appears to be of a non-standard type, as though it were custom made.
20:46:21 - Kit: Any indication of what it controls or where the wiring leads?
20:46:37 - StewartBailey: Maybe we could turn their lights off from here?
20:47:12 - Kit: Id much rather find out where they are and take a little peek at what they're doin!
20:47:35 - Kit: Is there power goin through the wires?
20:47:40 - Methuslah: The panel has not been made functional yet - but it isn't far off. All the components are in place.
20:48:26 - Kit: Someone is certainly preparing this place for somethin. Hmm. Curious.
20:48:47 - StewartBailey: Let me see if I can get it working ( 2D6: 12 ). Any luck?
20:49:47 - Methuslah: You make the final connections, and the lights begins to glow softly. You feel a cold breeze as the air conditioning comes on. Lights all down the corridor are starting to function, and the telltales begin to activate, one by one.
20:50:14 - Kit: Wow.
20:50:39 - StewartBailey: I wonder where the power's coming from.
20:51:24 - Kit: So do I. Should we take a search? Maybe head for the former power plant area first?
20:51:57 - Kraiger: soryy, got waylaid
20:52:01 - StewartBailey: Sounds good. Any idea of which way to go?
20:52:35 - Kit: If this is a fairly standard ship design, I assume so. (GM?)
20:53:16 - Methuslah: (The power plant will be in the engineering section, at the base of the ship.)
20:53:22 - Kit: Maybe we can even locate a control center of some kind. If someone has been fixing the environmental systems here, maybe there are some more interesting things to be found (surveillance stuff and such)
20:53:46 - Kit: This way please (head towards general direction of engineering.)
20:54:11 - StewartBailey: A 5000 ton ship is pretty big. (a 747 is about 100 tons). I hope we don't get lost.
20:54:23 - Methuslah: After walking down the corridor a short way, you see a hatch on the floor - it appears to have been sealed.
20:54:44 - Kit: Don't worry, I've NEVER gotten lost on a starship.
20:55:00 - StewartBailey: Any sign of recent opening? Dust disturbed, etc?
20:55:09 - Kit: Any indication of how long this has been ago?
20:56:11 - Methuslah: You see a faint trace of rust on the handle.
20:56:52 - StewartBailey: Let me try opening it ( 2D6: 2)...
20:56:55 - Methuslah: The dust coverage is fairly uniform.
20:56:57 - StewartBailey: Ouch!
20:57:07 - Methuslah: The door refuses to open manually.
20:57:08 - Kit: I don't think this thing has been opened recently. Would this be one way to engineering? Are tehre others?
20:58:11 - Methuslah: On a ship of this type, you would expect three hatches, as well as the central elevators, but those would require power.
20:58:43 - Methuslah: The hatches would be fairly close to each other.
20:58:56 - StewartBailey: Anyone else care to try this one?
20:58:56 - Methuslah: But would have independant routes down as a safety measure.
20:59:16 - Kit: Maybe we can try to oil the gears a bit on this one. Want me to try? ( 2D6: 6)
20:59:52 - Methuslah: You seem to have loosened the gears a little. It might open now by hand.
21:00:30 - Kit: OK, well try Steward and Kraiger, give me a hand here ( 2D6: 7)
21:01:08 - Kraiger just entered this channel
21:01:33 - Methuslah: The hatch takes it's time, but gradually turns, until the mechanism disengages and the hatch opens.
21:01:37 - Methuslah: Having trouble?
21:02:03 - Kraiger: (Kraiger leads the way down)
21:02:44 - Kit: Well I dont think anybody else has used this particular route for some time. Maybe we can surprise them. Hmm, Silvaa, you comin along?
21:03:23 - Methuslah: The hatch leads down to a corridor that is completely dark. You can hear a faint sound of water sloshing below.
21:04:26 - Kraiger: (Do I have my cold-lantern with me?)
21:05:06 - Kit: I most certainly have a flashlight of some kind among the stuff in my pockets!
21:05:06 - Methuslah: Yes.
21:05:53 - Methuslah: Flashing it down reveals that the corridor is about three feet deep in water. The blue light of the lantern amkes for some eerie reflections on the black liquid.
21:05:55 - StewartBailey: I don't suppose that a TAS membership card does any good down here...
21:06:51 - Kit: Well guys. Do we want to continue down there or see where the lighted corridor up here is leading?
21:06:56 - Kraiger: Hmmm, not sure I really want to go that way....
21:07:05 - Kit: You're a TAs member steward?
21:07:33 - StewartBailey: Naturally. Let's follow the lights.
21:08:09 - Kit: I dont think anybody has been down there in a while. We shpuld chek the upper part first. If something is goin on here, it'll probably happen wherever they have environmental control. Why else bother reinstalling it.
21:08:11 - Kraiger: Keep on walking
21:08:33 - Kit: Close the hatch first.
21:09:09 - Methuslah: The corridor begins to curve to the left as you work your way around. Suddenly, you notice that you have left the lighted area, but can still se those behind you shining brightly. You come to another hatch on the floor, opposite a dilating door, stuck in the 'third-open' position.
21:09:11 - StewartBailey: Maybe if we find some sort of engineerig station we could find out where power is being used on the ship.
21:10:05 - Kit: Can anything be seen or heared through the door?
21:11:23 - Methuslah: You would have to stick your head through to get a good look - all you can see is bare bulkhead in the darkened room. You can hear a faint squeaking noise from inside. The corridor continues on, and you can make out the tracings of other doors along the opposite wall.
21:12:03 - Kit: Squeaking like in mechanical or like in animal?
21:12:04 - StewartBailey: I'll try the hatch on the floor ( 2D6: 8).
21:13:55 - Methuslah: Animal.
21:14:31 - Methuslah: This hatch comes open more easily, but is still covered with light rust. Opening it, you see the water down there. There appears to be an object floating on the surface of the water.
21:14:38 - Kraiger: Any chance you (_not_ sticking my head through!)
21:14:58 - StewartBailey: I'll reach down and retrieve the floating object.
21:15:05 - Kit: Rats?! Ill try to shine my flashlight through the hatch.
21:16:34 - Methuslah: The flshlight lights up the room somewhat, but does not increase your field of vision. You can see footprints on the floor inside, leading to the left. It appears to be a large room, probably a cargo bay.
21:17:07 - Kit: footprints? Someone must have been in here recently.
21:17:14 - Methuslah: The object is a food wrapper 'Yitzo's Golden Pastry'. Some of the sticky pastry comes off onto your hands.
21:17:23 - Kit: Any signs on the bulkhead of recent usage?
21:17:59 - Kit: Bon appetit Steward!
21:18:25 - Kraiger: (Follow footprints (in "scout" mode))
21:18:32 - StewartBailey: Sticky? It must be fairly fresh. I'll clean off the wrapper and my hands and put the wrapper in my pocket.
21:19:15 - Kit: Kraiger I think we better opeb the bulkhead first, or do you wanna squeeze through?
21:19:16 - Methuslah: YOu can't quite be sure, but a portion of it seems to have been cleaned off - it has a black sheen, like a visual display.
21:20:03 - Kit: Ill take a closer look and then try to open it farther. Watch it guys.
21:20:32 - StewartBailey: I'll check for light switches around here.
21:21:22 - Methuslah: There is a maintainance panel on the far wall that seems to have been opened recently.
21:24:37 - StewartBailey: I'll check the maintenance panel. How does it look?
21:25:18 - Methuslah: There is a small release, just inside the door. The switch on this side appears inoperative.
21:25:52 - Methuslah: The panel clatters to the floor as soon as you touch it. A couple of circuits have been pulled far enough out of the panel to render it inoperative, but there is nothing else wrong with it.
21:26:34 - StewartBailey: I'll try to put the pieces back together and get it working again ( 2D6: 6).
21:27:18 - Methuslah: The circuits slide back into place, and the lights begin to come on. YOu feel a warm breeze running down the corridor. Additionally, a piece of the bulkhead next to the door lights up.
21:28:07 - StewartBailey: Lit bulkead? Let me see what that is.
21:29:23 - Methuslah: It is a small rectangle, about 5 by 2 cm. It is glowing an electric green - and you notice that there are lightt fingerprints on it, on ly barely visible.
21:30:05 - Kit: Could this be a fingerprint scanner or just a button?
21:31:06 - Methuslah: You think a scanner.
21:31:52 - StewartBailey: Let me try it and find out. I'll put my finger on the place where the other fingerprint is and see what happens.
21:32:07 - Kit: Anybody here authorized to enter? Aw, probably not. Maybe we can override it or grab through that hatch for the button inside.
21:33:26 - Methuslah: The panel blinks red once, then returns to green when you remove your hand.
21:34:00 - Kit: wrong finger I guess.
21:34:47 - Kit: Any way to override the scanner?
21:34:53 - StewartBailey: Does the panel look like original ship's equipment, or was it added later?
21:35:08 - Kraiger just entered this channel
21:35:57 - Methuslah: The panel seems to match with the wall perfectly - it doesn'tlook like a 'patch up' job.
21:36:05 - Methuslah: Is there a problem, Kraiger?
21:36:52 - Kraiger: (802.11b - drops the connection occasionally)
21:37:21 - Kraiger: ('cause I'm sitting out in the hot sunshine drinking beer! :->

21:37:49 - StewartBailey: (Don't you mean keeps the connection occasionally?)
21:38:44 - StewartBailey: OK, let me try to figure a way to bypass it ( 2D6: 11), computer-1
21:38:58 - Methuslah: (Sunshine? I remember that - I think the sun came out up here a few weeks back.)
21:40:09 - StewartBailey: (That was the day that I was there. I remember it.)
21:42:15 - Methuslah: You think that there might be a way to trick the system, by tinkering with the wiring behind it. It'll take an engineering and computer check, and you run the risk of breaking the panel.
21:43:03 - Kit: Can I help?
21:43:33 - StewartBailey: Maybe your superior knowledge of engineering can help us out?
21:44:18 - Kit: Well, someone else will have to take over the computer part, as for engineering, I think I can help.
21:44:43 - Kit: If it can be helped at all 2D6: 5
21:44:52 - Kit: ugh
21:45:06 - Kit: Ive had better days.
21:45:47 - StewartBailey: Oops, let me see if it's OK. ( 2D6: 3, engineering-2)
21:46:09 - Kit: you're evne worse!

21:46:12 - StewartBailey: I guess that I'd better stick to *flying* ships.
21:46:29 - Kit: Maybe we should go for that release switch inside?
21:46:41 - Methuslah: You manage to pry out the circuitry and fit things together. Now the computer can be reached, and the modifications will take effect. However, you will be unable to hide the evidence of your work - you've pulled some of the systems out for keeps.
21:47:22 - StewartBailey: Whew! Who want's to try their finger now?
21:47:37 - Kit: Oh well, so we've left our signature. Whos property is this huss officially anyways?
21:47:55 - Kit: I can try but im no computer expert.
21:48:17 - Methuslah: (Stewart has the highest...well, only computer skill.)
21:48:20 - StewartBailey: (do we need another computer check now?)
21:48:42 - Kit: (I have jack of all Trades 2

)
21:48:59 - Kit: (just in case

)
21:49:00 - StewartBailey: OK, let me try it ( 2D6: 9, computer-1).
21:49:30 - Methuslah: You've managed to fix up the panel, but you will have to disable the computer, while leaving the panel active - which you have done. The panel should not respond to any touch.
21:50:14 - StewartBailey: Kraiger? I'm afraid to touch it again.
21:50:47 - Kit: Oh heck (touching it)
21:51:01 - Methuslah: The door dilates open.
21:51:47 - Kit: Good. Silvaa? Ready?
21:52:08 - Methuslah: As the door opens, the lights inside activate.
21:52:14 - Methuslah: "Ready, ma'am."
21:53:00 - Kit: Just stay behind me and keep quiet. We have to fugure out what's goin on here.
21:54:13 - Kraiger: (Sorry, got distracted)
21:54:16 - Methuslah: "As you say."
21:54:23 - Kraiger: (Kraiger leads the way...)
21:55:39 - Methuslah: You literally cannot see the side walls of this room - it is huge, probably covering a large fraction of the ship. It is largely empty, but you can see a stck of boxes standing in the middle of the room, to your left. The footprints lead up to them. There is a mug sitting on the floor, next to them.
21:56:49 - StewartBailey: I'll go to the stack and take a closer look at those boxes. The mug also.
21:57:01 - Kit: Are the footprints just leading towards the crates or are there some leading away as well?
21:57:34 - Methuslah: The mug is still warm, and half full of some sort of brown liquid. The footsteps only lead to the crates and back.
21:57:36 - Kraiger: (Kraier checks the perimiter...)
21:58:05 - Methuslah: Some of the boxes are marked 'Trane', others 'Berengaria', some are empty. They are all sealed tightly shut.
21:59:02 - Methuslah: There is nothing else of note in the room. The environment panel has been connected in thsi room, and seems rigged to activate as the door opens.
21:59:06 - Kit: Hmm Smugglers? Certainly someone was here recently, and it cant have been our guests, they hadn't the time to cook up a warm drink.
21:59:23 - StewartBailey: I'll try to open some of the boxes to see what's inside.
21:59:53 - Kit: Any other exits to the room?
22:00:40 - Methuslah: The topmost box opens with a crack to reveal several smaller boxes, again sealed. They have some alien writing on them. Another box opens to reveal gun components, you think for Laser carbines. There are no other exits to the room.
22:01:42 - Kraiger just entered this channel
22:01:48 - StewartBailey: I'll show a box to Silvaa to see if he can read the writing, and continue opening boxes.
22:01:48 - Kit: Weapons! Any indication of where they were made?
22:02:20 - StewartBailey: (remind me not to get 802.11!)
22:02:29 - Methuslah: "Angel Dust. Danger. This is a narcotic!"
22:03:02 - Methuslah: The components are well-made, machine parts. The gun is a standard Imperial design - definately not from this world, as the industry does not exist to make them so well.
22:03:19 - Kit: What does my medical knowledge say about the stuff and the amount kept here?
22:04:30 - Methuslah: You seem to remember that it was used on POW's in the Fourth Frontier War - it is a hallucinogen, with the addect effect of suggestion. It is dissolved in water, and is totally tasteless - and highly addictive.
22:05:13 - StewartBailey: Hmm. Is this stuff either illegal or valuable?
22:05:16 - Kit: Is it used as a recreational drug or only for warfare?
22:06:17 - Kit: I dunno 'bout this world, but such a highly addictive substance can't usually ba bought on the legal market, unless you are a certified doctor with a very good reason for aquiring it.
22:06:32 - Methuslah: "It is highly illegal in the Consulate. I believe it was created as an interrogation drug - but when the addictive nature was determined, it was withdrawn from use...mostly." He sighs.
22:07:56 - Kraiger just entered this channel
22:08:02 - Kit: So there's obviously some kind of smuggling racket going on here. The question is, are these just some local smugglers or are they working for a larger scheeme.
22:08:30 - Kit: (Kraiger are you gonna keep entering ore are we going to hear something else from you

)
22:10:23 - StewartBailey: How about the other boxes? There's some strange stuff here.
22:10:32 - Kraiger: (You'll hear something when the baddies show up!

)
22:11:31 - StewartBailey: Hey, Kraiger! Are these laser weapons worth keeping or not?
22:12:36 - Methuslah: The third box is more laser carbine components. The fourth is filled with smaller boxes, that seem unusually heavy.
22:13:16 - StewartBailey: I'll open the strange, heavy ones.
22:13:48 - Kraiger: (Just components, right? Or any weapons we could "liberate"?)
22:14:52 - Methuslah: You open it to see a purple crystal, suspended in a null-grav field. The crystal is perfectly formed.
22:15:11 - Methuslah: (Components, but enough to make at least a dozen weapons a box.)
22:15:36 - StewartBailey: Kit, any idea what this could be?
22:15:50 - Kit: do I?
22:16:45 - Methuslah: Make a Navigation roll.
22:17:04 - Kit: 2D6: 4
22:17:14 - Kit: not my day
22:17:22 - StewartBailey: (maybe I do, 2D6: 6, navigation-2)
22:18:58 - Methuslah: It look something like an Ison crystal. These are an experimental model, being tested on Imperial ships - the crystals are natural perfect gyroscopes - that must be suspended in null-grav. No method of producing them artificially is known, so they are rather valuable.
22:21:44 - Kraiger just entered this channel
22:22:16 - Kit: strange. Where do these crystals come from?
22:22:17 - StewartBailey: Valuable. How many of them are there?
22:22:53 - Methuslah: Maybe twenty in the box, at nearly 5K each.
22:24:01 - StewartBailey: Any more boxes to open?
22:25:06 - Methuslah: There are five or six more yet.
22:25:28 - Methuslah: The next two contain more laser parts. The seventh contains some heavier weapon parts that you cannot immediately identify.
22:25:31 - StewartBailey: I'll keep at it until they are all opened.
22:26:41 - StewartBailey: Hey, Kraiger (showing him the heavy weapon parts), any idea what this is?
22:27:18 - Methuslah: The eighth contains more laser parts. The ninth contains rolls of silver fabric, that feels very smooth to the skin.
22:28:08 - Kraiger just entered this channel
22:28:42 - Kraiger: Hmm, they're <fill in here>, and that is <reflec?>
22:29:39 - Methuslah: (PGMP-12) (Yes).
22:30:37 - StewartBailey: Whoa! Are there complete PGMP-12 systems here, or are they missing any pieces?
22:30:57 - Kit: (??? please explanation)
22:32:07 - StewartBailey: plasma weapons (Plasma Gun Man-Portable, Tech Level 12)
22:33:10 - Kit: Wow. I REALLY would like to know who's stocking this stuff!!
22:33:38 - Methuslah: Looks to be sufficient to two weapons.
22:34:20 - StewartBailey: Kraiger, are these Imperial designs or not? Can you assemble them?
22:35:16 - Methuslah: They look to be Imperial design. As to assembly, that would require time (and a successful engineering roll).
22:35:17 - Kraiger just entered this channel
22:37:13 - Kraiger: Hard to tell where they're from - (could I assemble them?)
22:37:17 - StewartBailey: I make a note of any serial numbers that I can find. That should be enough to let the appropriate authorities track down where these weapons came from. You don't just find these lying around!
22:37:58 - Kit: I have a Hypothesys: The Smugglers here are in contact with our Zhodani guests. They plan a meeting. Someone here waits for them. The Storm confuses things a bit but they manage to get here and probably meet their contact. Now their contact must have a boat or somesuch. We should try to find them and the boat and find out exactly what is going on and most importantly, get a message to orbital.
22:38:01 - Methuslah: The serial numbers appear to have been filed off.
22:39:15 - StewartBailey: Kraiger, what do you think? Bring the PGMPs or not? You could kick some a** with those!
22:39:24 - Kit: (do i find my camera among the stuff in my pockets? if yes, I'm taking a couple of photos.)
22:39:55 - Kit: Guys, we aint here for kicking some ** we're here 'cause we wanna find out whats goin on here!
22:40:00 - Methuslah: Yes - you can take some good shots of the equipment.
22:45:42 - StewartBailey: Kit, your hypothesis sounds reasonable. If we keep a watch outside, we should be able to see any boats approaching after the storm dies down.
22:46:45 - Kraiger just entered this channel
22:46:48 - Kit: We should also try to find the others. They must be somewhere here. maybe we can listen in on what they're talking about.
22:47:31 - Methuslah: You can hear footsteps approaching, down the corridor. They sound quite distant.
22:48:06 - Kit: Quick everybody hide!
22:48:49 - Kit: (trying to do so, making sure Silvaa does as well)
22:48:53 - Kraiger: (Kraiger back in combat mode - can I tell where they're coming from?)
22:49:42 - StewartBailey: If they're the Zhodani, how do we hide from their mind reading?
22:50:17 - Methuslah: The footsteps are approaching closer.
22:50:28 - Kit: Dunno. Silvaa, any suggestions? Anyways, I want to see whos comin before they see me.
22:50:34 - Methuslah: They seem to be coming from the opposite direction to that which you took.
22:50:36 - Kraiger: (Kraiger goes against the wall near where they footsteps are coming from - pistol ready)
22:50:46 - Methuslah: "They aer not my kin. I would know their presence."
22:51:43 - StewartBailey: Into the shadows!
22:52:14 - Kit: (hiding, at the ready for any action)
22:52:53 - Methuslah: The footsteps stop outside the door. You her a voice call out "By Tain!", and then the footsteps head off, back again - at a running pace this time.
22:53:15 - Kraiger: (Could I open the door?)
22:53:47 - Kit: try to stop him kraiger!
22:54:11 - Kit: Or at least we should follow. hell be leading us to the others!
22:54:38 - Methuslah: You can open the door with a switch by the side - it is not a fingerprint panel. You can see the shadow of the man, eading down the curve of the corridor.
22:54:50 - StewartBailey: (I've got to go in a few minutes.)
22:54:52 - Kraiger: (If I can, I open and follow *quietly*)
22:56:01 - Kit: Ill follow quietly some distance behind Kraiger. Silvaa, tag along. If you sense your people, please tell me!
22:57:04 - Methuslah: (OK - we can hold here - it seems to be a suitably climactic moment.)
22:58:24 - Kit: dammnd, another cliffhanger

22:58:45 - Kraiger: Yes, definately a good cliffhanger