GM: This turn assumes that you have a copy of the map. Vamperina leads the three of you down to the engineering level to begin the tour there.
You are standing near the airlock in the engine room of the ship. To your right is a closet for holding vacc suits and other EVA equipment. The engine room itself is actually two levels. There is a "half level" below this one that is accessible by a couple of metal staircases leading down to allow engineers to access the guts of the engines. Next to the airlock is a control panel that contains the buttons for operating the airlock and the exterior door. The exterior door can be locked from here simply by pressing the "Lock Exterior Door" button. Vamperina tells you that they have been leaving it unlocked since, if they lock it, they cannot get in from the outside unless Max teleports.
Immediately to your left are couple of control stations. One is the engineering watch station, from which the ship's engineer monitors the engines. The second can be used as either a secondary engineering station or as "after steering", a position that can take control of the ship if something happens to the bridge.
Beyond the control stations is a door that leads to a small cargo hold. The walls are lined with shelves and many contain plastic boxes. Vamperina tells you that they are mostly filled with sealed packages of food. This room also contains the access to the elevator and another airlock. Vamperina explains that PEBBLE can line up with this airlock to load and unload cargo. However, when it is lined up with this airlock, the exterior hatch covers that hide PEBBLE's docking bay must remain open as the butt end of PEBBLE sticks out. So, except when loading or unloading cargo, PEBBLE always lines up with the upper airlock.
The group piles into the 5' x 5' elevator and heads up to the upper level.
You come out in a long hallway with many doors. The door to your right leads to the airlock that connects to PEBBLE.
From there, you begin exploring the staterooms. Staterooms 3 and 4 are empty of personal effects. The furniture in the staterooms is mostly built in and, in many cases, folds down from the walls. Each stateroom contains its own fold-out toilet and shower facilities. The storage area between staterooms 3 and 4 is lined with shelves and contains linens and other things that whoever last owned the ship didn't need elsewhere. It looks like it was primarily used as a junk closet.
In stateroom 2 is the young girl that Vamperina told you about. This room is similar to staterooms 3 and 4, except that a cold-sleep module has been installed in the center of the room. Inside the cold-sleep chamber is a girl of perhaps 9 or 10 years of age, sleeping peacefully. Some of the drawers contain a few personal effects that probably belong to the girl.
Stateroom 1 is larger than the others. The fold-out bed is a double bed. There are a few personal effects scattered around the room and the drawers and cabinets contain a few more personal effects that seem to indicate that a man and a woman lived here.
Outside stateroom 1 is a small sitting area with a couple of comfortable chairs bolted to the deck, as well as a table and reading lights. It looks like it was designed as a place to sit and relax, and maybe read a book.
Through the double doors in the reading area is the large bridge. Instrumentation lines every wall of the bridge. In the front of the bridge is a large view screen. Three control stations face the screen. One is obviously for the pilot while another is for a navigator. The third is the radio and sensor station.
To the right, as you enter the bridge is an airlock that leads to the wardroom. It functions as the eating and entertainment room for the ship. There is a small galley, and large entertainment center and a table surrounded by six chairs. The table is bolted to the floor while the chairs are latched to the floor on quick-release mechanisms allowing the chairs to be moved around when used, and then latched when necessary to keep them from floating around in zero-G. The far wall is a large viewport fully 2 meters by 2 meters. It is mostly covered by an external hatch, but the hatch is not closed all of the way. Vamperina tells you that it was this hatch cover that they broke to gain access to the ship. Once Max could see into this room, he was able to teleport in and, from there make his way down to the airlock and let everyone else in.
Back on the bridge, the door on the same wall as the door leading to the wardroom, leads to a small room, with metal rungs in the wall, leading up a narrow shaft. Vamperina tells you that the ship's gun turret is up there, concealed by another hatch. That particular hatch is broken and won't open automatically though it can be cranked open manually. The ship's radio antenna array is also deployed through the hatch. Vamperina says that, judging from the way it looks from the outside, ROCK was in a battle that damaged the hatch. She hopes that Surge and Eli will be able to repair both of the hatches.
The remaining door in the bridge leads to an avionics space that contains the guts of the machinery for the bridge, including the computer. There is a small workstation there.
VAMPERINA: "Now that you guys have seen the ship, I want to head over to the mining pod to let Max and Chase know that I am back. Did any of you want to head over with me or do you want to stay here?"
CURT: Curt says that for now why don't just you head back. Once you've made sure everything is normal there, you can come back and get us in a day or so. This will also give all of as a chance to look over the ship. Granted I have no skill flying one, but I would like to make myself familiar as to where everything is located.
SURGE: "I guess I'd lean towards going with you so that I know where the mining pod is. That way if we need to one of us can get there in case you aren't around. How fast do you move in your vacc suit? You said 45 minutes right?"
GM: Surge knows that vacc suits function a lot like spaceships in that they accelerate until they reach the halfway point, and then deccelerate the rest of the way. You compare notes with Vamperina and Eli and come up with an estimate of 200 km to the mining pod.
SURGE: Surge will do the math on the distance so those of us with personal flight powers can guess how long it will take if it's different.
GM: You calculate that it will take you about 3 hours using your personal flight.
NOBODY: "Surge, do you have a suit? Are you familiar with using a vacc suit with flight jets? Of course Vana could probably tow you along since you can survive space just fine on your own. The question is, is Serene at the pod right now? It might be safer for Vana to go back alone to check out the situation. Still, if you want to go, and you know how to use a suit, then you can use mine. I plan to get a meal and a 4 hour nap, then spend quite some time going over this ship from top to bottom. Full inspection and inventory. I do think that we should keep someone familiar with space ships on board at all times. Curt? How are you doing?"
CURT: I'm doing fine. Kind of interested in exploring a bit here before I start mining.
SURGE: Surge shakes his head, "No, my familiarity with vacc suits is academic only. Since I don't need them I've never become proficient with them. I estimate it will take me three hours to return here on my own power. Given the information that Vana has indicated I'm not concerned about being spotted by Serene. I can easily hide from their ship if it approaches. I should be able to be back here by the time you wake up from your nap. I do feel it's important that we know where the pod is sooner than later. I don't plan on leaving ROCK beyond this trip so I'll have more than enough time to do thorough searches and repairs on my return."
GM: Just to clarify, it will take you 3 hours to make a one way journey between the ship and the mining pod.
SURGE: Surge will want to figure out what this means exactly. For instance, Surge is an astrogator and an engineer but technically does not have any skill with starships. Vana is a pilot. I'm not sure about anyone else's skill with ships. Steve, could you indicate how proficient each of us can get with various systems and tasks on the ship? Surge will definitely agree with having as much cross-training as possible and always have someone on board that can run the ship to some degree.
To be a skilled pilot you need Starship Pilot skill. To be an engineer you need Starship Engineering skill. To be an astrogator, you need Astrogator skill. All three have prerequisites. Right now Vana is the only pilot, Eli the only engineer and Surge the only astrogator. To operate the sensors and radio gear, you need Sensor Operations skill which several people have. To operate the guns, you need weapon familiarity with Heavy Weapons.
..........
Vamperina and Surge cycle through the airlock on ROCK and head out into space. Vamperina is, of course, in her vacc suit. Surge is not wearing a vacc suit. Instead, he has rigged up some straps so that Vamperina can haul him along on the journey to the mining pod. Vamperina begins accelerating towards the mining pod almost immediately after leaving ROCK. Finding the mining pod is extremely easy for someone in a vacc suit that is equipped with a navigation system. The mining pod broadcasts a constant radio beacon that someone in a suitably equipped vacc suit can home in on rather easily. In addition, the mining pod has a visual beacon in the form of a flashing light that travels around the waist of the cylindrical mining pod flashing a bright light in all directions. This light becomes occasionally visible when Vamperina and Surge get within 50 km of the pod, and steadily more visible as they get closer.
It takes the two about 45 minutes to reach the mining pod. Surge feels very comfortable that he can easily find his way back to ROCK, and can find his way back to this pod from ROCK any time he needs to do so. |