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Mission 1: Search and RescueModerator: Terl Obar Mission 1: Search and RescueAs you head into the airlock, you can't help but notice how new everything looks. Leading out of the airlock there is the elevator down to to the main space decks, a floor hatch leading to the bridge and another door in the wall leading up to the flying bridge. Once you are all on board, Yala and Lee close the airlock with a final "Good Luck".
The Laws of Physics will be enforced.
Re: Mission 1: Search and Rescue"No time to waste," Maria says, ducking into the bridge, throwing her gear on the deck and taking the main piloting station.
"Strap in, and let''s boost!" she adds, punching in the request for clearance, before undocking and jamming the throttle all the way to firewall, more at home now that she's flying for real. "So, no more running. I aim to misbehave."
—Malcolm Reynolds
Re: Mission 1: Search and RescueMalcom curses as Maria's rapid acceleration catches him still in the lift. He shouldn't have stopped for one of the combat bots after stashing his gear in Room 11.
"Hey hotshot," he calls over the intercom. "Cool it back to 1.4 gees, will you? Some of us still have work to do!" He waits for her crude retort and for her 5 extra minutes of revenge acceleration before trying to move with the com-bot into engineering. He sits at the engineer console and brings up the Robot Management program. "Good. They've already entered the Dart's crew into the recognition engine," he thinks. "Ok, let's start tweaking you out buddy." He prominently displays his OE patch and switches the 'droid on. "OEC-01 Combat Robot, recognize OE employee Malcom Smyth and give unique identifier." "Obar Enterprises human Malcom Smyth recognized," the 'bot says. "My designation is Omicron-00765..." "Belay designation. Begin programming mode. Enter secondary designation of Hercules Alpha and secure designation for response only to Dart crew. Respond." "Affirmative," Hercules Alpha responds after a moment of processing. "Programming mode activated for OE human employee Malcom Smyth. I will respond to identifier Hercules Alpha from members of the Dart's crew." "Hercules Alpha, list proficiencies with various classifications of weaponry," Malcom commands. "My programming has subroutines for unarmed, melee, gyrojet, projectile, beam, and thrown weapon classes. Each is available at level 5 efficiency." "Does the beam weapons subroutine include Pod Lasers?" "Negative. Starship configured weaponry is not included in my programming." "Well, nobody's perfect." Malcom types a new computer identifier and security code into the Dart's RM program. "Hercules Alpha, accept the new computer link security code. Apply command override security to accept computer link commands from this identifier only. Activate access panel open and command modification alarms. Respond." "Affirmative. Computer command override set to Dart computer VnNmILO8NGkzR6K8 access code fjqDHXkhu5VSUFAu. Alarms on the access panel and command modification are active." "Great. Let's give it a test." Malcom opens the access panel and notes the alarm beacon on the computer terminal. "Fantastic. Now we just need to get it to communicate with our chronocoms." Malcom triggers the intercom. "Leo, this is Malcom. Can you throw together a quick Bureaucracy program to get Robot Management talking to Communications? Thanks." "Now for the fun stuff. Hercules Alpha, list voice modulation options. In particular, demonstrate any smooth, human male bass voices that would sound really good saying things like 'anything for you, baby' ... " Be alert! After all, the galaxy needs more lerts!
Re: Mission 1: Search and Rescue"I'll tell ya what, Malcom," Maria tells him, as she continues burning towards midpoint at three gs,"I'll ratchet the acceleration back down when we reach New Pale. How's about that."
"Better yet," she adds,"how's about you strapping your worthless ass into your gunnery station and take a ten-hour shift standing ready in case those pirates try to ambush us en route to target?" With that, she shuts off comms, and locks down the space bridge, at the same time, calling up a holo of New Pale, including the orbital paths of all its satellites, calculating her orbital approach vector at the same time she calls down to Leo: "Leo, or someone near a computer terminal, run a cross-ref between the Star Storms and Obar and Associates' storied adventures on Volturnus, see if we can run down something resembling a motive for them singling out the mining camp and the Morning Glory." "B'Loone," she adds," could you please keep an eye on the engine. From what I gathered, the only time it had been fired up was in airdock, and I want to make sure we can keep up this lesiurely pace without blowing ourselves to Hells and gone." "I propose this, based on all the sim work the JO and I have been doing while the rest of you have been plotting and planning fun and amusing things to do dirtside: We take the Dart in at max burn, flip at midpoint, insert ourselves on the opposite side of the planet, swing round once pretending we're a satellite, so we can get some idea as to what we're facing down there, and, then we swing back round the other side, do a ballistic re-entry, glide in most of the way, fire the jets at as close to the last second as we can." "That's my input," she adds. "How and where you guys want to be inserted is up to you, though I'd send the combat and security bots in first, if I were you guys, sort of like canaries in the mineshaft ." She waits for them to shoot down her idea and come up with something stupid and terminal. In the mean time, she plots her vector. "So, no more running. I aim to misbehave."
—Malcolm Reynolds
Re: Mission 1: Search and Rescue"ahh, just like the good ole days when I was but a rookie in the marines. I was a private on the UPFS Vorpal, a pre-assualt scout corvette. Chasin that damn pirate thruogh the Gruna Garu system, what was his name? I'm gettin' to old, can't remember the damn fools name."
"Sounds good to me, Maria. I would suggest that we drop the bots on the landing pad side of the base several clicks out. Drop the rest of us on the building side of the base just over the ridge. We can make our way up the ridge and get some eyes on the base. we can use the buildings to help provide cover from the towers on the far side of the base, limiting the number of towers we may need to take out. This should help keep the collateral damage to the base down to a minimum." "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
-Albert Einstein
Re: Mission 1: Search and Rescue
"For frak's sake you could wait 'till we're all inside the door before you take off!!" B'Looone scrambles to get a good hand hold to steady himself as the engines come on. "I'm on my way to the engine room." "Malcom, can we do the 'bot modifications in engineering? That way I can install the booby traps and keep an eye on the engines at the same time." Are we there yet?
Re: Mission 1: Search and Rescue
"That's the best place, I think. I'll grab a combat 'bot and meet you there."
Malcom chuckles and pauses in reconfiguring the 'bots. He pokes a thumb at the intercom, checking to make sure it isn't broadcasting, and says to B'Looone, "Looks like our fearless leader didn't check out the layout of the Dart too well. The laser pod controls for space flight are right here! Anyway, you and I both know that we can't work at three gees. We'll all get there fatigued, as if we had a 300kg gorilla sitting on us for 6 hours. I'm all for getting there in a hurry, but we have to have everything ready to go too, including ourselves. Unfortunately, I've antagonized her too much for her to listen to me. You should try to reason with her, make sure to let her know that her fly-by plan is excellent. If she doesn't cut it back to a reasonable rate, I say shut down an engine. She even gave you a built in excuse to do so!" Be alert! After all, the galaxy needs more lerts!
Re: Mission 1: Search and RescueI assume the "jamming the throttle all the way to firewall" occurs after you have safely cleared your way out of the docking berth, exited the station hub and moved beyond the controlled space around the station (takes about 30 minutes around Pale Station). Otherwise:
![]() Just kidding ![]() Back to the real story: The station receives your request for departure clearance and after a few moments clearance is granted and a departure vector assigned. Maria and Sebastian ease the Dart out of the docking berth and, following cues from Pale station control, out of the station's central hub. Once clear of the hub a departure vector toward New Pale is given and you are on your way. (At this point we assume Maria jams the throttles and all the previous dialog occurs) If you desire, you can make the transit to New Pale at 3 gee with the following effects and restrictions:
If you make the transit at 2 g, some lesser restrictions will apply (transit time is 14.2 hours, you can get half the bots ready and you only suffer a -10 penalty for fatigue). Making the transit at 1.4 g gives no restrictions or penalties. Anyway, It's up to you guys how you want to proceed. In reading the posts that have occurred since I starting writing this, It looks like things are well in hand ![]() The Laws of Physics will be enforced.
Re: Mission 1: Search and RescueSome comments on Maria's insertion plan quoted here:
This is only important if you are trying to time your landing to a specific part of the day. The Laws of Physics will be enforced.
Re: Mission 1: Search and Rescue
"Works for the JO," Sebastian echoes. "Although I'd like a chance at positioning myself at the outer hull hatch with ol' Chatterbox to provide some landing cover fire if we need it." Sebastian will mind the radar and communication arrays in the meantime, along with the insystem navigation computer. Activating the OE channel of the subspace radio, Sebastian calls in: "Coming up on the midpoint of our maiden voyage, one hour GST at current vector. So far, so good." Forever Three Hoverfans
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Re: Mission 1: Search and RescueOOC:Naturally, she doesn't bust the gate 'til well clear of the hub. Gimme some credit....
"No worries," Maria whispers to Sebastian. "We're not going to run at max burn all the way there." "There," she adds, after entering the appropriate commands. "We'll thrust at three gees for another couple hours, then we'll throttle down to 1.4 g. It won;t shave too much off our travel time, but, hopefully, just enough to matter." "Just," she smiles, "don't let Malcom in on that just yet, kay?" OOC again: Apparentally, Malcom doesn't know the Dart only has one engine.... ![]() "So, no more running. I aim to misbehave."
—Malcolm Reynolds
Re: Mission 1: Search and Rescue
"My thoughts exactly, Gren," Maria says to the elderly fleabag. "So, no more running. I aim to misbehave."
—Malcolm Reynolds
Re: Mission 1: Search and RescueLeo boards the Dart and stows his gear (The double bunk cabin marked as 12 on the passenger deck)
Assuming he can find a place to work the computers during 3 gees he will, otherwise he waits, until they throttle back. First he verifies that the setup is like he had been told it would be. He verifies his admin status and well and making sure everyone else had the proper privileges to perform their duties. Then he performs the requested search on Star Storms and Obar and Associates actions on Volturnus. Followed by a search for backdoors and other hidden access points.
Re: Mission 1: Search and Rescue
OOC: Oops! It's a good thing that I'm not the engineer! "Hey, where'd the other engine go?" ![]() ![]() BIC: Malcom helped B'Looone set up a bit of assembly line for robot modification. Given the limited space, he keeps no more then two 'bots on the engineering deck at a time. Malcom handles the simple configuration settings then hands the bot over to B'Looone for the advanced mod work. Mal was a little disappointed in the voice modulators. But what could he expect? These are fighting 'droids, not service 'bots. He had to settle for a slightly deeper but still distinctly robotic voice for his little joke. By the time he was done, he had named the two combat 'bots Hercules Alpha and Hercules Beta, and the 4 security 'droids Cerberus Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta. He started to get a little attached to his metal buddies, envisioning additional upgrades to make to them at some future time. "You know what these bots need?" he asked B'Looone rhetorically. "Choroncoms for starters. As they are now, we'll either have to be in visual sight or relay via the computer link to give them commands. Then I'd add in a paraglide handling routine." Mal shifts his focus to the sec-bot he's modding. "You'd like that, wouldn't you Cerberus Gamma?" "Invalid query. Please restate." Mal chuckles. "It must be afraid of heights. It's dodging the question." Be alert! After all, the galaxy needs more lerts!
Re: Mission 1: Search and RescueGren finishes stowing his gear in cabin #7 and makes it to the acceleration couches just before Maria guns it. After she slows down, he gets up and heads to the storage area and find his recoiless with shells in locker 18. He does a full inspection of the rifle and shells as any good marine would do. He doesn't put it away until he has done so several times, and seems satisfied with it. Gren than makes his way to the nearest galley, "Anyone Hungery? think I'll whip-up some Hargut Stew." Gren says into an open comm.
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
-Albert Einstein
Re: Mission 1: Search and RescueHargut Stew's better then nothing I suppose. Malcom thinks before triggering the com. "I hope Engineering is in your delivery area. I'll take a bowl of that."
Be alert! After all, the galaxy needs more lerts!
Re: Mission 1: Search and Rescue"Well, I thought that maybe you would like to take a break at sometime and then you could come up here and get yourself a bowl." Gren replies to Malcoms inquiry.
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
-Albert Einstein
Re: Mission 1: Search and RescueMaria tells the Minotaur,"I've programmed the ship to throttle back up to 3 gs at the tail end of our deceleration burn, and to let the rest of the crew know beforehand."
"Other than that," she adds, yawning,"just wake me up in ten, or if something interesting happens." She then closes her eyes and falls asleep in her seat. "So, no more running. I aim to misbehave."
—Malcolm Reynolds
Re: Mission 1: Search and Rescue
"Well shoot," says Malcom lazily. "Shoot what Malcom Smyth? My sensors indicate no danger." asks Cerberus Delta. "Belay shoot command," Mal orders. Then he smiles. "Cerberus Delta, find OE yazarian employee Gren, uh, Grenomenorach on the crew deck of the Dart. Restrain two bowls of Hargut Stew and two spoons from him and deliver them into my safe keeping. Respond." "Hargut Stew does not meet the danger parameters of my Restrain program," replies the robot. "I know. Consider this a training exercise. The stew is a simulation for, um, explosives. You need to retrieve them and bring them to me for defusing." Malcom's mouth stretches into a mischievous grin. "For this simulation, use code name 'Alice' as a security code to retrieve the 'explosives'." "Affirmative. Executing simulation." Cerberus Delta summons the lift and takes it to the crew deck. Be alert! After all, the galaxy needs more lerts!
Re: Mission 1: Search and RescueSebastian takes the stick. Every 20 minutes he makes a gentle course deviation followed by a correction 10 mintues later, turning to port and starboard in sequence to make sure nobody is tailing them just outside of radar range. He also keeps an eye peeled on the radar to note any ghosts that may appear in case said tail is sporting ion drives in window mode.
"So this is it," He thinks to himself. "Civilian life: no restrictions, no restraints." Forever Three Hoverfans
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