Imperial Fringe Online Game Chat Session Log January 18th
20:54:28 - Methuslah: OK with me! Now, where were we.......
20:54:46 - Methuslah: Waiting for the explosion to go off. You have thirty seconds before the bang.
20:54:50 - Methuslah: Actions, please!
20:55:06 - Kit: We have placed the explosive charges and were just taking cover.
20:55:14 - vance: vance runs, takes cover.
20:55:27 - Kit: Well, going for cover.
20:56:37 - Methuslah: OK. The explosiong goes off, and....
20:58:03 - Methuslah: There's your cliffhanger. See you next week!
20:58:08 - Methuslah: The explosion sends a cascade of rocks flying down the hill, all over the place. Dust is blown around into the air, making it impossible to see. Then, after a few minutes, you see that the rocks have covered the hole, but have revealed what appears to be the top of a metallic pyramid.
20:58:13 - Methuslah: (Just Kidding!)
20:58:33 - vance: 
20:58:59 - Kit: Nasty GM
20:59:07 - Kit: Now what DO we see?
20:59:35 - vance: vance checks to see if the pyramid is doing anything.
21:00:33 - Kit: Any Features on this "Pyramid", signs of hatches, sensors, openings, symbols etc?
21:00:53 - vance: what does the pyramid look like?
21:01:16 - Kit: Is the metal bright and polished, or dull and not very reflective?
21:01:53 - Methuslah: It looks old - there are distinct sings of rust. You can see a faint, circular outline in the metal.
21:02:03 - Kit: When we looked into the hole, it went down very far. In what relation is it to the top of the pyramid?
21:02:29 - Kit: Rust? Good old corroded iron rust?
21:02:56 - Kit: "Well Vance, seems we have found something."
21:02:59 - vance: if we have any recording capability, vance records the sight and everything around it.
21:03:49 - Kit: I'm taking a few photos of the structure, scanning the dimensions as far as they are visible. Any kind of energy signature scannable from the thing?
21:04:44 - Methuslah: No energy signature visible. The metal seems to be an alloy containing a high percentage of iron, but you cannot determine the identity of the other elements present.
21:05:28 - Kit: "Well guys, anyone besides me for taking a closer look?"
21:05:57 - vance: vance glances at the explosion's debris - did we blow anything off of the pyramid?
21:06:50 - Methuslah: Nothing but dust and rocks - the metal seems to have been impervious to the explosion.
21:07:20 - Kit: "If anybody is down there, he probably noticed our knocking now."
21:07:57 - vance: "maybe." vance walks slowly up to the metal and touches it.
21:08:18 - Kit: I carefully creep closer to the structure. I want to take a closer look. (My scout curiosity is kicking in 
)
21:09:03 - Kit: "Kraiger, keep an eye on the surrounding. If anything shows up, warn us. OK?"
21:09:34 - Methuslah: "Righto, Kit."
21:10:01 - Methuslah: The structure is completely inert. You can see the faint outline more clearly now, but it is still just that.
21:10:09 - Kit: How big is the part of the pyramid that has been revealed?
21:11:12 - Methuslah: Maybe ten feet high, but it definatley continues underground.
21:11:29 - vance: vance touches the outline.
21:11:51 - Kit: OK, I'll circle around it, taking pictures from several angles and checking for other marks on the surface.
21:13:12 - vance: by the way, have the discharges from the hole we blew up ceased?
21:13:41 - Methuslah: You feel the outline move slightly as you touch it, but only a fraction of an inch to the left.
21:13:52 - Methuslah: There is no sign of them at present.
21:14:48 - vance: vance pushes a little harder on the outlined area.
21:14:52 - Kit: Is it a 4-sided pyramid, and is anything visible on the other sides?
21:15:26 - Kraiger just entered this channel
21:15:54 - Kit: Besides the corrosion, is there any sign of scratches opn the surface, or is it completely smooth?
21:15:55 - Kraiger: Better late than never....
21:16:01 - Kit: (hi Kraiger)
21:16:51 - vance: (good day, kraiger)
21:18:13 - Kraiger: Kraiger takes up a good defensive position and surveys the surroundings, with only the occasional glance over at the pyramid
21:18:27 - Kraiger: 10 "Kit, what is that thing?"
21:19:26 - Kit: "Dunno yet. Maybe some kind of entrance to wherever thie hole was leading."
21:19:59 - Methuslah: It is a standard three sided pyramind, and besides the corrosion you see nothing.
21:20:04 - Methuslah: Hi, Kraiger!"
21:20:15 - Kraiger:
21:20:31 - Kraiger: (hi all, sorry I'm late....)
21:20:44 - Kit: Strange material. Vance any luck with the ... door?
21:21:25 - vance: "looks like a door." vance smiles. "maybe it's a gun port."
21:22:15 - Kit: How big is the "door"?
21:23:38 - Kit: If it can be moved, even for just a fraction of an inch, then the outlined area cannot be completely level with the surrounding area. correct?
21:23:48 - Methuslah: Looks to be blout four feet round. A tight fit, but you should be able to crawl through.
21:24:33 - Kit: Well, if the builders intended this to be a dorr, they probably were around droyne sized.
21:25:55 - Methuslah: 
21:26:10 - Methuslah: It may be, but the naked eye cannot detect it.
21:26:43 - Kit: really strange. Well Vance, any luck opening it yet?
21:27:39 - Methuslah: It is not opening any further by itself - it appears to be stuck.
21:28:19 - Kit: Is there any kind of slit that a lever of some kind could be inserted into?
21:28:59 - vance: vance switches his eye to infra-red and then to microscope. anything new visible?
21:29:21 - Kit: Another option might be, to weld some kind of doorgrip to the material, if the metal can be welded.
21:30:14 - Kit: "Well, it does look as if this thing has not been used in a while. Maybe we are just dealing with some kind of automated defense system?"
21:30:35 - vance: "let's not change anything about it, at least not yet."
21:30:40 - Kit: "Or they usually use other entrances... whoever "they" are."
21:31:13 - vance: vance pushes around the "opening", looking for any change in the feel of it.
21:31:59 - Methuslah: (Sorry about that - had to leave computer).
21:32:09 - vance: (no problem)
21:32:52 - Methuslah just entered this channel
21:33:17 - Methuslah: (And just got thrown out!!)
21:33:36 - Methuslah: There is no sign of a slit, nothing new visible on other frequencies.
21:34:43 - vance: maybe it's like a chinese puzzle box. has anything changed on the other sides?
21:35:17 - Kit: How high up on the pyramid (measuered from current ground level) is the outline, and how steep is the pyramid?
21:35:50 - Kit: "I'll check" I move around the pyramid again, feeling along the wall while I do so.
21:37:06 - Methuslah: About two feet. The pyramid has a slope of about forty-five degrees.
21:37:18 - Methuslah: Nothing seems to be different on the other sides - just smooth metal.
21:38:02 - Kraiger: (Still watching for signs of movement around us)
21:38:09 - Kit: "Nothing changed here. I suggest we try to stick some kind of grip on the "door" and see if we can move it that way. Any other suggestions?"
21:38:38 - Methuslah: No signs of movement, Kraiger.
21:38:57 - vance: "just a moment." vance tries pushing harder on the plate, in various places.
21:39:27 - Methuslah: The effort does not provide any result.
21:40:33 - vance: to kit: "your turn."
21:41:07 - vance: one last: does the plate rotate at all?
21:42:17 - Methuslah: Just for a few millimeters back and forth.
21:42:45 - Kit: OK, I don't know if the metal can be welded, but if it is mostly iron, that should be possible. I pick something that might make a suitable grip from among my tools (maybe a wench) and try to weld it to the metal in such a way, that it is near the edge that would be towards the handle, not the hinges if the door continues it's movement in the manner observed so far.
21:43:11 - Kit: So that we have the best possible lever for opening and closing the door.
21:43:46 - Kit: Aw, wrench (I think we hat my wielding a wench before)
21:44:24 - Methuslah: OK. Make an Engineering check *base is 8 or more*
21:44:34 - Kit: 2D6: 6
21:44:42 - Kit: um.
21:44:43 - vance: vance smiles. "gotta be careful of welding those wenches."
21:44:54 - Kit: Do I add my engineering skill to that?
21:45:07 - Methuslah: Which means you did it - your skill is 3 I believe.
21:45:31 - Kit: yup, engoineering 3
21:46:05 - Kit: (when you tell us a difficulty, do you usually already figure our skill into it or not?)
21:47:04 - Methuslah: Usually.
21:48:01 - Kit: (unless you call it "base difficulty" am I correct?)
21:49:46 - Kit: OK, we now have something like a doorgrip. maybe we can open this thing now.
21:51:11 - Kraiger: "Need me to come pull on that thing?"
21:51:46 - Kit: "Well, at least we know that the material can be welded. That means even if we cannot open the door, we can still cut through it."
21:51:56 - Methuslah: (Yes)
21:52:12 - Kit: "I dunno which of you is stronger. Give it a try if you like."
21:52:15 - Methuslah: The circle begins to turn slightly.
21:52:42 - Kraiger: "Well, this powered armour is pretty strong..."
21:53:00 - vance: turning by itself?
21:53:01 - Kraiger: "Of course, it may be stroonger than your weld, Kit.."
21:53:11 - Kit: Around what axle does it circle? As if it was rolling away to one side, or as if it was "unscrewing"?
21:54:09 - Kit: "Well Kraiger, try not to break off the doorknob."
21:55:30 - Methuslah: It seems to be unscrewing - inwards. The door is now facing problems, as thw wrench is obsrcturing the passage of thedoor.
21:56:16 - Kit: Ok, the I'll just cut it off and reposition it at a different angle. Now that I know which way the door is moving, that should be possible.
21:57:10 - Kit: if you want another roll 2D6: 8
21:57:37 - Methuslah: Ok. It is now turning more easily.
21:58:36 - Kit: As soon as some are visible, I examine the screw grooves on the inside of the doorframe.
22:01:00 - Kit: "Somehow I don't think this opening was intended to be opened from the outside. Maybe it's some kind of escape hatch?"
22:02:32 - vance: (I can't recall - are we in vaccuum here?)
22:03:01 - Kit: No, but the atmosphere is not very breathable.
22:03:07 - Methuslah just entered this channel
22:03:23 - vance: is the screw going into the pyramid or coming out of it?
22:03:25 - Methuslah: (Sorry about that - connection failed again!)
22:03:40 - Kit: to humans that is. And we have seen no signs or traces of life on the surface.
22:03:52 - Methuslah: The atmosphere is minimal - similar to that of Mars, but slightly higher in Oxygen.
22:05:14 - vance: "if it's moving in, it probably isn't an escape hatch."
22:06:49 - Kit: "I don't know what it is, maybe it's some kind of plug." What about the screw grooves on the inside of the doorframe?
22:07:46 - Methuslah: They are there, but are barely perceptible to the human eye. The door is still turning, stiffly now, as if some force is resisting you.
22:09:04 - Kit: That is some very precice work here. Whoever build this was good.
22:09:44 - Kit: Any way to judge the thight of the "door" form looking at what is visible on the inside of the doorframe?
22:11:21 - Methuslah: Probably about a meter.
22:12:38 - Kit: wow, some door. How far in is it so far?
22:14:43 - Methuslah: About a quarter if that and getting slower.
22:15:17 - Kit: And it was not possible to turn it the other way to screw it "out"?
22:19:44 - Methuslah: It didn't move any other way.
22:20:36 - Kit: Well, if it only goes one way, then we'll just have to accept that. maybe we can lengthen the grip somehow to give us more leverage.
22:22:17 - Methuslah: It seems to be stck at about half way down, refusing to turn any more.
22:23:08 - Kit: even if we add a longer lever?
22:24:04 - Methuslah: It still refuses to budge.
22:24:21 - Kit: Maybe it'll also help if we apply some kind of grease or oil to the srew grooves.
22:25:13 - Methuslah: What do you intend to use?
22:25:18 - Kit: OK, it seems to be stuck. We can try to cut through the rest. Unless you have some other ideas?
22:25:55 - Methuslah: YOu can see a hole developing in the door, near the top. More of a bulge. A jet of what appears to be staem is moving out of t. I'll now need your exact locations.
22:26:10 - Kit: I examine the inside of the doorframe, as far as it is now visible. Scan it for grooves, material faults or something else.
22:27:05 - Kit: Probably peering into the hole as best as i can. the strongest one of us is probably half inside the hole, turning the doorknob.
22:27:27 - Kraiger: "What the hells that????" (Kraiger is under cover about 15 meters from the pyramid)
22:28:02 - Methuslah: There is a fault developing around the hole. It appears to e spreading.
22:28:20 - Kit: "better take cover, that looks bad" withdrawing my head and pulling out Vance.
22:28:48 - vance: diving for cover.
22:29:19 - Kit: "The pressure inside is blowing up, take cover!" Running away from the pyramid heading for the nearest cover.
22:30:33 - Methuslah: You can almost hear a strained rumbling noise, and then you see the hatch blow off. Smoke and dust is everywhere, but you can see something moving in the inky night - and it is heading directly for you......
22:30:43 - Methuslah: Tune in, next week, for the next exciting episode....
22:31:14 - Kit: gaaaa 
22:31:26 - Kit: bad bad GM!!
22:31:45 - Kit: Why did I expect such a thing 
22:32:03 - Methuslah: Sorry.
22:32:36 - Kit: Somehow I don't believe you are really sorry for leaving us a t a cliffhanger each and every week.
22:32:51 - Kraiger: 
22:33:04 - Kraiger: Looking forward to next week's episode then!
22:33:18 - Methuslah: Well, anyway, have a good week everyone! See you then.