After returning to the asteroid belt, Surge and Eli work on getting the tools modified for use as lockpicking tools. Once this is done, Surge goes to work on the safe. This time he gets it open on the first try.
Inside are five bundles of imperial cash. Four of the bundles are full and still wrapped with a bank seal. They each hold one hundred Cr100 notes (Cr10,000 per bundle) while the last bundle holds only thirty Cr100 notes. Thus, there is a total of Cr43,000 in imperial cash. Also in the safe is a Lee Enfield AS7 Shotgun and 10 full boxes of shotgun rounds. Each box holds 20 rounds, so a total of 200 rounds.
CURT: Good going guys! Question. Now that you have it opened, can you program it so we can start using it ourselves?
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NOBODY:
June '67
Day 1: Tool modification
Day 2: Safe-cracking
Day 3: Safe combination modification (if Surge and Eli are up to the job)
Day 4: Hatch repair
Days 5-10: Further repairs on Rock and Pebble w/ Surge's assistance
Days 11-26: Searching Deck 2 again.
Days 27-28: Assisting Surge with attempt on Rock's computer. (Eli would really, really like Max to be present)
July '67
Weeks 1 and 2: Observe mining of the pod members and practice asteroid mining.
Weeks 3 and 4: Searching asteroid field using suit. Looking for ice asteroids and possible precious metals and gem deposits.
August '67
More searching through the asteroid field.
Note: This time may be modified by circumstances and needs.
NOBODY: "Surge, the reason for searching Deck 2 before attempting the ICE would be to see if we can find any clues that might help us. I recommend you search as well."
GM: Yes you can change the safe combination. Or you could leave it as is since you know it now. You repair the hatch with no problem, and conduct maintenance around the ship. For the attempt on the ICE we will have to resolve it by IRC. For mining, send me seven die rolls and I will determine how much you manage to mine during the two week period. You need a 9 or less. For searching for ice asteroids, send me two mining rolls and one mystery roll.
NOBODY: "I recommend that we change the combination. I don't want to make the mistake of suddenly finding that Lisan knows the combination and suddenly shows up with the shotgun in hand."
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NOBODY: During a group discussion, Eli hesitantly offers a suggestion. "I personally do not want to do this, but I thought that I should put the option out to the rest of you. I could attempt a deep telepathic scan of Lisan, the girl in cold-sleep. At this point I am unwilling to do it without her permission, or deep need, but I am willing to listen to any discussion the rest of you might present."
SURGE: "I really don't believe that is necessary. This is a little girl. From what I've picked up about her in her VR home and room has not raised any suspicions. I have no concerns that she may overpower us or represent a great threat. Understandably I would expect her to be upset with the situation but no more so than any other child. I agree the changing the safe's combination would be prudent but I'd hope her parents would not share the combination with her. I shudder to think of a child having access to any deadly weapon. I will continue to research the family's background and I suggest you do the same, Nobody. We will need to discuss once we are all aboard what we should do with her."
NOBODY: "Hmm. Good points. Let's hear what the others think. BTW, Surge, I did have the thought that the 'personality' that you got a fleeting glimpse of might be Lisan. She may have a plug in the back of her neck or cranium or some such."
VAMPERINA: "I agree with Surge. I don't think a telepathic scan is necessary. I think we should spend three more months mining and then make a trip down to Black Moon to pick up Jack and all necessary supplies. Once we are all back, we bring Lisan out of cold sleep and get her story."
GM: If everyone is happy with mining another three months, go ahead and send me your die rolls for the next three months.
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VAMPERINA: "Altogether we earned a total of over Cr44,000 for the last three months of mining. That is easily enough to buy the two vacc suits and food supplies, and maybe a few more star charts. At the very minimum, I would like to buy a star chart for the Regina subsector. Assuming everyone throws most of what they made into the kitty, that would leave us with about Cr25,000 when we leave here. Personally I would prefer to have a larger amount. Does anyone object to three more months of mining?"
SURGE: "My preference would be to have around Cr60,000 extra before leaving. That would already have paid for our star charts, supplies and extra food. I would also love to have some personal credits after we leave here as well. So I don't object to another three months. The reality is once we leave getting new jobs will require some effort and there's no guarantee we'll find easy, good paying jobs. It seems you are all enjoying your mining so another few months here seem fine."
VAMPERINA: "Here is a suggestion. Since some of us are mining, and some are not. And since some of us who are mining have quotas, and some do not, why don't we do this. All of the money that we make from mining ore for the next three months is pooled together. Out of this, each person gets Cr1000 for personal use and the remainder goes into the kitty. I made a total of Cr9500 in the last three months and am willing to throw all of that into the kitty. If we end up having a lot more than we expect, then maybe we can increase the personal allotment to something more than Cr1000."
CURT: Curt doens't mind mining another three months. He is actually getting excited though as we are finally begining to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Question. Do the amounts listed above include what we found in the safe, or are we going to just leave that for now?
GM: The amounts do not include what you found in the safe.
VAMPERINA: "Curt, you bring up a good point about the money in the safe. As far as I'm concerned, it is not our money. It belongs to the girl's parents or, they are dead, it belongs to the girl. The same is also true of the ship itself, of course. That being the case, then I have no problem deducting the cost for parts from the money that we found in the safe, but the rest we should leave alone. By my count, we've spent a total of Cr17,300 on parts to fix ROCK."
NOBODY: "I have no problem with it. We do have the cash we found in the safe, although I do not feel all that comfortable about spending it, except that we should take back the moneys for the repairs that Surge and I made. That would be fair. We should take the Cr15300 for the parts out of the safe's cash. We can always consider the work that Surge and I performed to be in exchange for use of the ship if we can't claim salvage rights.
NOBODY: Still, if this cuts deeply into our cash reserves, I wouldn't mind hanging around until we have about Cr50k (this is not counting what is in the safe) in the kitty, and I would like us to secure some weaponry. Some blades similar to what the Fleet Marines use (short swords, rapiers, or sabers), some onboard weaponry that won't endanger the skin of the ship, like that shotgun. But, we should have one big punch weapon. Crew served (tripod), but possibly within the strength capabilities of some of our stronger members to handle alone. I would also like to get some sleepy gas grenades/cannisters and protective masks for those people who don't have the ability to protect themselves from such."
NOBODY: *Backing up a little* When Vana tossed in that her last Cr3k in May, Eli would have recommended that we order the parts, even if we came up Cr300 short for shipping and handling since we could easily have that cash available in a month through mining or from what we may find in the safe.
NOBODY: *nods* "I forgot the Cr2k for the turret hatch parts. That sounds good, Vana." |