Iron Stars - thia-and-the-gang

@Witch @Enver Valle @Ezra Lockley (made a group thread for us since we're continuing )

8:54 AM

(this was our first site, and has been a days worth of effort. We can rest with the miners allowing us to recover any spent effort, one point of system strain, and if wounded our character level worth of health)

(Thia doesn't need that but if anyone else does she can say it's too late in the day to take off, bad lighting, etc.)

((don't believe I've had any damage so far))

(If any of our gun mages have used all their rune shots for the day testing would also restore that pool)

(good on my part too, didnt spent an effort yet iirc)

((thought I said this yesterday but in that case I would like a rest pls

)) (edited)

(Let’s do that. We will consider a day passing and then we can take off and pick a direction to explore )

3

(do you want to start us Neko? Otherwise I can.)

(If you've got something you want to start with, go ahead!)

Thia is uncomfortably roused from sleep from a single stubborn beam of sunlight lancing directly into her eyeballs. With a soft yelp she slaps a hand over her eyes and blinks rapidly to move from panspectral to regular vision as she mutters, "I've got to stop doing that. Fecking stupid head." Unable to go back to sleep after the rude awakening she gets up, running fingers through her blue hair and across her face. She takes a few moments to brush it and freshen herself up then decides to head for the plane. She sends a message to Ezra and Enver telling them where she is then sets off. Her arrival scares a small bird that had begun building a nest under one wing and Thia shakes her head. "That's not gonna work," she says as she strides over and gently lifts the mess of twigs. She moves it over to a low branch on a sturdy tree then goes back to the plane to run through the pre-flight checks as she waits for the others, antsy and ready to go.

(seen. I'm good to head out! Just need a D10 from someone and we'll roll a new hex to explore from here)

Witch

used /roll

Thia Nightbreeze Request: [1d10] Roll: [1] Result: 1

1

(1 and 10 are not good and bad, just helps me figure out what table I'm working from)

1

Heading east from the miners you overfly a grassy plain where a few thin trees mark the only landmarks of note. What looks to be a burned out convoy of eight vehicles occupies the middle of the plain. There is no evidence of people here anymore- but there is evidence of a fight with Terminals that those in the convoy look to have lost.

Thia banks the plane in a circle and goes in a little lower, drawing the other's attention to it. "Might be worth checking out. Maybe we could find some kind of identifier to let their families know if anyone was killed," she says as they fly over before banking around again. "I could probably set it down if we want a closer look or we can fly on."

( looks like its upt o you thia)

Enver looks at the burned convoy, noting the vehicles "Hmmm, those vehicles look promising, might have some transcript left in them for us to know what purpose of that convoy." He says, on board on going down to look closer

" 'Kay," Thia says nonchalantly as she adjusts the angle and goes down to land, watching for an unexpected animals that might be hiding in the field.

If there are any down there they hear you coming and are not present by the time you land, a short 100m walk from the row of burned vehicles. (edited)

Thia spools down the engines and kills the power, moving quickly to unbuckle the safety straps and pop outside. She takes a moment to stretch and look around before retrieving her bag from the plane and throwing it over her shoulder. "Let's go gang, and let's stick together," she says as they start moving toward the burned vehicles. She lifts her nose to the wind, checking if this is a recent fire or long since burned out.

The fire has burned out a long time ago though when the wind shifts you still get a taste of it as it blows off and through the wrecks.

Thia makes a sound of disgust and spits a few times. "Blegh, I can taste the soot. Fecking gross. It's old though," she says, swiping a hand over her mouth as they near it. She angles her path toward the vehicle in the rear of the convoy and circles around it to check for any logo or markings.

((wow, super sorry y'all. I've had a bunch of rl stuff and didn't realize I'd forgotten to turn on notifications for the new thread x__x))

10:23 AM

Ezra made a face as well, pulling on her pack as she followed along behind Thia, keeping an eye on the vehicles for markings or signs of what happened, though she suspects the fire will have burned away any useful evidence. There's also the danger of other things having taken up residence in the burnt-out wreckage. "I'm not sure I think much of use survived this fire."

Enver winces at the sight of the burned vehicles "Well this isn't promising" He then cautiously nears one and looks for a black box of some sorts inside the vehicle "I don't think I can repair the whole thing but should we find a terminal or a dataslab, I can salvage those and probably know what's going on here" (looking for some kind of data device that is part of the vehicle and can be repaired by my Psychic) (edited)

(lets get a notice/int from everyone, and we'll hopefully get at least enough info to answer a couple of your questions)

(7 notice/int)

((8 notice))

(3, dice is really out to get us huh)

None of the vehicles look like they were important enough to have a black box in them. Civilian cars and trucks generally do not carry this sort of thing,as most private citizens even in the pre-scream world would have objected to having their movements monitored. To that end, it looks like Terminals have left the site alone for a while. Only one vehicle looks to be somewhat intact, an armored up truck that looks to have been unofficially modified in an after market capacity.

"This one looks reinforced," Thia calls out to the others. "Might have something interesting inside." Rising up on her toes she tries to peek into the windows before tugging on the handle.

The heat from the attempted fire has the doors sticking. You think you might be able to open them with some work, but you'll need more than just what strength you have in your arms.

Thia tugs a few times, even going so far as to brace her foot against the vehicle and pull fruitlessly. Wiping the ashy remnants on her jumpsuit she steps back and studies the vehicle, already sure busting the windows won't work. "The doors are stuck, kinda fused by the fire," she tells the other two. "Anyone have something that could help? A crowbar maybe, or a way to break the glass? I'm pretty sure it's reinforced."

((the description is a little vague, but would my toolkit have a crowbar or maybe some kinda cutter?))

(If it is a post tech tool kit, it would)

7:20 AM

(A metatool is like a swiss army knife or a leatherman so that wouldn't have enough heft behind it)

Nekosmash

(If it is a post tech tool kit, it would)

((it is!))

9:51 AM

"I have a cutter, in my bag," Ezra says, pulling off her pack and dropping to a knee to begin to fish it out. "Ought to be enough to get the door open." Once she's dug out the prybar and a cutting tool she closes everything back up, offering the bar first to Thia. "Want to try this first?"

"I'm good at breaking things, not so great at opening them. I've had a puzzle box for months and made zero progress on it. Never tried a prybar on it though." Her voice is joking and she takes the tool from Ezra and sets it into the edge of the door. "On three, with me?" she asks, indicating her slim (weak) build as she requests the help.

With the extra help from the tools, the door is wrenched open with a gentle squeal of metal on metal.

Enver totally helping the other two in wrenching the door open grunts as it opens and peers inside, pulling out his dataslab and turning on the flashlight (if it has it) "Well, here's to hoping the inside isn't burned too"

(I’ve always viewed them as modern day tablets or phones so it would have a weak flashlight. Glowbugs are large sources of illumination so I don’t want to totally invalidate their utility )

1

1:35 PM

(D100 Enver. What’s see what’s inside )

(61)

Inside the cab you find a deactivated floater ruck. A Type A power cell will get it floating again, and it looks like its tether will still work.

Enver blinks at finding the floater ruck and since he doesn't know what it is, he steps aside and let the other two see it "Anyone of you got any idea what that is used for?"

(its basically a little grav sled that you can pull behind you for carrying things you might find too heavy to carry on your person. I can post the item description if that helps you)

"Hauling things," Ezra said, peering in over his shoulder before he moves. "Could be useful if we find anything else worth keeping. Looks like it'll need some juice though."

"I've got the cells to get it going," Thia says after checking the compartment. "I don't use my laser pistol much since I have this." She pats the traditional style revolver at her thigh and hauls the ruck out then slots a power cell into place. (Note for myself, dock one power cell from sheet when I get to my computer)

The ruck begins to float and you can store some fairly heavy gear on it before it will be too heavy to float

Enver looks at the now-powered ruck and whistles "Neat, guess we can check off the manpower needed to haul stuff we find" He then looks back inside the truck "You guys reckon there's still something else inside this? Or maybe we can take the whole truck"

"Nah, they're all too fecked to be worth it I think. We can poke around a little and tag the coordinates for the Alliance if they want to recover anything." Thia tugs the floating ruck along with her and goes to give the other vehicles a quick check.

(We didnt check the back of the armored truck, or try to force our way into it for that matter, just the cab. Everything else is far more civilian model and burned)

"What about the back of this one?" Ezra had reclaimed her toolkit and she circled the armored truck's cargo hold now, finding and then testing its door.

(can enver use energy sensitivity to check if there's something powered left in the truck and maybe use Fix skill too to check if the truck is repairable?)

(If you commit an effort for energy sensitivity we can see if anything is left on, and after that we can roll that skill check)

Thia circles back, nodding to herself. "They're pretty badly burned so yea, focusing here is the best bet," she replies to Ezra.

Enver looking Ezra and Thia already at the back of the truck, quickly follows them and raises his hand "Uhh, lemme check if there's like a powered up trap in there and if there isn't lets hope that there isn't like a bear trap in it" He jokes before using his Electrokinesis to detect electrical chargers nearby

(1 effort, there is an electrical presence inside the cab but its not a trap, would be more like computing or gadgetry )

(Wait cab? Like front of the truck again?) (edited)

(the electrical charge is in the cab, its powering something in the back,we dont know what it is)

In Enver's mindscape something pings inside the cab, not a electric trap it seems "Huh, looks like there's something insid-" He pauses "Something is running in the cab where we got the floating hauler, a console of some sorts? Do we check that before we open the cargo hold?" He asks the two (edited)

(We got all we could out of the cab. We'd have to crack the back to figure out what's going on here)

Thia quirks an eyebrow at him, one eye faintly glowing in flame-like colors as the other is normal blue. "Psi?" she asks casually as she prepares to help Ezra open the back hatch, with crowbar or cutting tool as needed.

((Ezra did attempt to try the door, is it locked/sealed i assume?))

((also just to clarify, is the cab with something functioning the cab of the armored truck?))

(Yeah it needs to be more than just having the handle jiggled. The cab is the cab of the armored truck. There is a battery in it, leading to something in the rear section, we don't know what its powering. The decision looks to be do we try to get it open somehow and find out, or leave this all alone)

1

((gotcha, soz, my thought was maybe whatever was powered might open the doors if we could get it working, but i gotchu))

10:40 AM

Ezra is not particularly strong, and she's gone for the cutting tool, turning her attention to the attachment points on the door to start releasing it. But when Enver mentions something being powered, she pokes her head around the back to look up at him. "Don't suppose you think it'd open this up?" (edited)

Enver hums and thinks for a bit "Well maybe?" Enver shrugs "If we can't figure this out, brute force is always on the table" (oh yeah btw forgot about the fix skill to determine if the whole armored truck can be repaired to be useable if its broken. Also can Enver try to look for a button in the cab that may or may not open the back of the truck?)

(we have searched the cab extensively. There's no button. We need to cut into the back somehow. The truck cannot be salvaged)

Ezra shrugs, and returns to cutting the connection points on the door. "Just a thought. But this shouldn't take too long."

(fix./int ezra)

((7))

The rear door takes half an hour to cut through revealing a large climate controlled storage bank. It is damaged , but cell cultures look to be held in wall racks and are thawing, but still viable. Each is labeled with a first and last name.

"What the actual feck?" Thia exclaims, taking a step backwards in shock. Her face is clearly unnerved as she blinks rapidly, and puts a few feet of distance between her and the bank. She's almost more grossed out or horrified than anything as she hisses, "Are those people?!"

((could I do a know check to have a better idea what's going on here?))

(Sure. Let’s do a know/int)

((11))

It was known that pre-scream, and even now in this post-scream area a truly talented biopsionic could bring a person back from just a small amount of flesh or a handful of live cells.

Ezra's eyes widen, and she quickly steps back, trying to fit the door back in place. "Uh." She looks at Thia, clearly a bit startled. "Sort of, yes."

Enver gulps at seeing what the storage hold "I think this is above our paygrade. What now?" Enver asks, edging close to the door ezra is trying to fit back in place "We can't just leave this here"

"Like hell we can't," Thia snaps, the unsettled feeling making her unusually aggressive. "We close it up, report the convoy, and keep fecking going. Easy."

"Not if we can't make sure we haven't busted the containment. I don't want to be responsible for destroying what's here."

(caught up, just dont want to interrupt the big decision we're making)

(with her familiarity with "high society" could Thia read the names to see if she recognizes any?)

None of the names look to be from any of the important families, or at least none that came from Dremlas- and therefore would be outside your knowledge (edited)

1

"I can try to repair what I can repair so that the storage can hold out until it gets reported." Enver suggests before pausing "Don't known if any kind of Psi might mess up the whole thing tho. But I'm up for Thia's plan"

Rubbing the ring on her finger for good luck Thia pictures them reporting the findings, then pauses before she reaches for her Psi as a thought occurs. "The Alliance would come grab them quick if we reported them, but who knows how long it would be after that before they did anything with the ... remnants," she says with distaste. "I feel like we should walk away but I can't just leave their families without closure. Even if the cells are all dead by the time they're recovered then at least the IA can notify the families. Anything after that is their problem, not mine." It's clear that after her knee jerk reaction to get away from the cell bank her brain and heart took over again, and she's thinking logically.

(We can try to repair it so the refrigeration lasts longer, if we decide to call it in, things won't be worse at least)

"I can try to help you repair it. Let's see what we can do."

(fix/int)

((6 from me))

You're able to make a work around to keep the refrigeration system going for another few weeks. If this is called into the Alliance, the cell cultures should be recoverable.

nice. Enver would have helped Ezra in repairing the refrigeration system. "Now that's done, we continue on then. Still heading eastward?"

(We can roll up a new hex if we're ready to push on, the only thing I'd want to know before moving on is if we're actually reporting this to the IA or not.)

"Are we in agreement about reporting it?" Thia questions, shifting her weight from foot to foot. "I think we should. Families deserve closure regardless of what the IA chooses to do."

"I'm all up for it" Enver shrugs "Guess IA back home is gonna get their hands full with this one"

The Alliance takes the report , and it looks as though within the next day or two a medical service will be here to collect the samples. From there, the Academy branch in Dremlas will have to determine if a biopsionic of requisite skill is available, and what to do with the cell cultures if one is not.

Glad that's out of their hands now Thia fires the engines and lifts into the sky, loving the freedom it brings. Drawing a mental line between their location and the airport at Dremlas she pictures the spot that would create a triangle and turns the nose that way. (I hope I explained that decently.)

(Yep I get it! Roll an d10 for me and we will see what’s in the next region)

(3)

Making the final leg of your route before returning to Dremlas you have several regions in front of you to scan. The Alliance HQ confirms that your report has been filed and they are going to do what they can on their side to find the requisite experts to ameliorate that situation. As Thia pilots, the box begins to open even more. One inscription seems to be present now as more of the complex latticework shifts into position. LEADERSHIP is inscribed there. Passing over the mountains, you see a verdant lowland below, more akin to a bog or swamp. A large temple made of moss covered local stone, about the size of one of the Academy's dormitory buildings (so like 5 or 6 stories in height) looks to have been built here, and there is nothing in previous pre-scream records about a religious site being constructed in this area. The grisly totems adorning its roof and processional to its peak look to be Terminal in manufacture.

3

"Uh, guys? You're seeing this right?" Thia's voice has a sort of scared awe tone as she keeps the plane at a safe height and circles. "That looks bad, right?"

Enver looks at what seems to be a Termie City, gulping a bit he turns to the two and shakily nods. "I think we need to do another report to IA, this is BIG" (edited)

8:04 AM

"Do we wander in o skedaddle?"

(does Thia see anywhere safe to land, if she wanted to which she doesn't?)

(Yep, this is a grav flyer so it hovers, we could land in any reasonably big enough clearing of trees, which we could find if the group decided to land. _)

Looking over the area below Thia shakes her head slowly. "Doesn't look like any easily accessible places to land," she casually lies. "We can report it and head on back, I think. It seems way beyond our capabilities anyway."

1

(If we're resolved to move on, we can move into a new hex, I';m good either way)

(Thia definitely does not want to stop here, but let's see how the others feel about it.) (edited)

Enver nods at Thia not really catching the lie "I'm okay with reporting, we really don't know what to do with that anyway" Enver shrugs, nobody really taught him what to do if he somehow found a Termie City, do they torch it or reclaim? So he just turns to the two "Are we still continuing the original mission?" He asks as he heads over their supplies and check if they have enough

4:25 AM

(Enver is okay with continuing on, the original goal he was hired on isnt met yet anyway)

(We've got a few more hexes we could explore before going home, we're in a plane so we'll see them all over the course of a day or two depending on stops. Food will last that long_

"Wasn't the original mission just exploration? That's all I signed on for anyway." Accepting the majority vote Thia tags the coordinates and sends off a message to the IA. Somebody else's problem she thinks to herself as she checks their location on the displayed map. "Beany beamy biney bo," she chants as she picks a direction. Landing on south she looks at the others and asks, "Any objections?"

Heading further south, the flyer passes over what looks to be the ruins of a former settlement. Its resonator was destroyed during The Scream and resulting resurgence of the null breaches. Resonator parts are in great demand back at Alliance HQ.

Taking the flyer low Thia squints at the ground, looking for any sign of Termies before she decides to land or not. "This looks good, we could find some useful stuff here," she says over her shoulder to the others.

There does not seem to be terminals living in the ruins themselves. There may be some in the surrounding woods, but it is impossible to tell from the air given the thick tree cover

(we don't have to stop and investigater this if we don't want to. This is our last hex before getting to Dremlas, and if we want to arrange another mission for those interested in salvaging we can too )

(im good for salvaging but imma wait for Ezra's decision. I'm assuming they got caught up with irl things?)

(I don't know, that is why I'm offering alternatives )

(Two for salvage, one non-vote. We win.) Getting the nod from Enver she banks around and finds a landing spot, setting down with a bit more of a bump than she planned. She shrugs it off and unbuckles so she can exit, snagging the floating ruck as she goes. "I'm going for resonator parts, whatever I can grab. They're needed elsewhere to keep shields up, they don't do a fecking bit of good out here."

Enver nods at that "Guess that floater ruck is getting it's mileage already huh" After that comment Enver follows Thia out of flyer "We explore or we focus salvaging and leave after?"

"I'm here for salvage first. I'll get whatever I can, load it on the grav flyer, then maybe explore a little. Number one goal is to not get in any fights since I've only got a handful of rounds left." Thia clips the ruck to her belt and shoulders her own bag, then checks the revolver strapped to her leg. "You can come along or go look for whatever tweaks your eye, up to you."

Enver thinks for a bit "Meet up later by the resonator? I can sweep the settlement for a bit" He suggests as he points towards the ruin settlement (how big is the settlement anyway?) "If I don't find anything interesting I'll head towards you after"

(A medium sized village, so we're splitting up? )

"Cool, that works. Ezra can tag along with whoever. I'd say don't take more than two hours checking the place out and check in on the comms when you can." Thia tugs the floating ruck as she turns, making her way toward the resonator she saw as they flew in. (terrible idea, but yep, we're splitting up)

(do you want to cut to personal threads, or should I just move the spotlight in this one? )

(Spotlight here? So Ezra can follow up if theyre back)

10:52 AM

Enver nods at the two, pulling out his data slab, he the gestures at it "Just send a message if we need to regroup. See ya later and careful out there"

(I think that is a great idea. ) The immediate square around the resonator consists of the ruins of town hall, a series of abandoned market stalls, a temple, and a large workshop. The buildings are each dark and silent aside from settling stone and the groans of the buildings "talking to themselves" like one may hear in their homes at night.

(that description spooks me, good job. What time approximately is it in game?)

Enver stares at the ruins of what seems to be quite a well built settlement from before. Slightly whistling, Enver beelines for the large workshop as he still has his Energy Sensitivity still on "Let's see what they have in store there" He silently grumbles

(Mid day, we woke up and overflew a couple areas but that is relatively ffast since we're in a plane, this is the first we've set down anywhere recently, so time is going to move a bit slower now)

Even with the sun nearly overhead the place has a spooky feeling and Thia's eyes dart everywhere at every little sound. She unhooks the strap around her revolver nervously then takes a deep breath before she pushes forward to see what she can find from the resonator.

(notice/wis Enver) ---- Thia looks over the fallen remains of the resonator. Once housed in a large stone tower, it looks as though some kind of failure near the center of the structure caused the bottom half to mushroom out in a spreading wave of crumbling masonry, while the top impacted the ground like a descending spear, bricks flying everywhere in impact. The large metal disc that separated the resonator and its sensitive machinery from the rest of the structure caused the vital components to be nestled near the top of the tall pile of rubble. A careful climb to the top looks to be in order, before you can then determine how long it has been left to the elements, and what can be saved

(does this seem to be a normal way for it to fail, or does it look sabotaged? Also, does the floating ruck have a weight limit?) (edited)

(It would be a normal way to fall if there was a fault in its mid section, we'd have to investigate to answer the natural or intentional question there. The rucks can hold 250 kilos of cargo)

(Rolled 1, Mannn dice is out to get me. Also no pings on my Energy Sensitivity?)

(Nope, would tell you if there were)

7:22 AM

There is a rattle of cans on each side of the doorway as Enver steps into the workshop. The thin, almost transparent line they were attached to breaks against Enver's boot to set off the makeshift alarm of weights, cans, and counterweights. There is no immediate reaction if something is lurking here, or closeby. You cannot tell if anything has heard it. The workshop has eight benches where simple materials like wood and metal were manufactured into finished products that the homes here needed with the use of skilled craftsmen and hand tools. Even before The Scream and the breaches that followed it, this sort of cottage industry arrangement was not uncommon on the frontier when supplies coming from more urban areas were on uncertain delivery schedules. The locals learned to adapt to as many of their own needs as possible, and this looks to be no different.

Enver freezes as he tripped the most basic alarm in existence, well in his existence that is. "God dammit" He grumbles silently, drawing his pistol, and powering up with his Psi before creeping into the workshop. "Seems empty" He comments before studying the room if there are other ways of entrance other than the door he went into (doing a sweep to see if the workshop is connected elsewhere), done with that he then examines the workbenches if they seem to be recently used

Thia finds a short length of what feels like rebar or some kind of structural support and plops her behind on the floating ruck, tucking her legs up. Using the makeshift oar she begins to work her way up the rubble toward the top, keeping an eye out for anything interesting. (edited)

(going to move on with Thia for right now and then circle back to Enver, this isn't exactly what I meant by moving the spotlight)

9:30 AM

The rebar provides a strong walking stick, and leverage to get to the top of the pile. You see the complicated resonator machinery resting near the top, along with a tangle of wires, gears and other fine machinery that has been bent out of shape and would need a workshop and dozens of hours to repair. A gray hand reached out from some of the debris pile. It is covered in dust, and carrion eaters have picked most of the meet on the hand and fingers clean. It does not look that everyone made it out of the structure before it collapsed.

Thia swallows hard as she sees the hand and her eyes fill as she looks away to focus on her task. She steers carefully around the remains and murmurs a quiet prayer for them as she reaches the top of the mound, swiping quickly at her eyes. "From the dust," she explains, though no one is around to hear the pitiful lie. Finding a relatively stable chunk of the tower she climbs off the floating ruck and crosses to the visible equipment, crouching down beside it. She's not exactly sure what is what but begins tugging free pieces that aren't connected to anything and piling them on the ruck, no matter how poor their condition. We can sort them later, she thinks to herself as she moves them. And between my knife and my toolkit I should be able to get the more complicated stuff too.

(fix/int Thia)

(7)

(This passes the Dc, so for the moment we'll leave Thia scavenging and switch back to Enver) Enver looks through the shop and there is nothing connected to it. The workbenches were used briefly just after The Scream, so several years ago now , but since then the settlement looks to have been entirely abandoned.

Enver nods to himself as he notes that the benches look unused for some time now. Turning his attention back to the workshop interior once again, he lists the point of interest he can pursue. "The alarm then" he pauses, cursing silently "This is gonna bite me in the back somehow" Forgoing in inspecting the alarm (more like stalling), Enver rummages around the workshop looking for where the raw materials and finished products are kept if there are any that is.

The workshop looks to have had its contents taken when the people that used to live here fled. You find a few random tools here, and an old combat shotgun, but nothint else.

Guess Enver faces no consequence once again. Nabbing the shotgun and seeing nothing of use in the workshop, Enver finally proceeds to inspect the trap from before looking at where the trap is connected to "Now lets see if this only makes noise or is connected to somewhere else"

(its a 2 enc item, if you are over-encumbered or dont want to carry it we can stow it in the flyer after this) The alarm just makes noise. Whoever or whatever assembled it does not seem to be home right now, or at least has chosen not to act for the moment.

(Can carry it, if battery cells were left in the flyer) As Enver inspects the trap, he quickly figures out that he won't be getting any useful info from it "Well, this is a bust" he grumbles, leaving the workshop and starts heading towards the market stalls (can I go to all the places in the ruined settlement or do i just pass over some?) (edited)

(You can go to all the ones I mentioned in this post https://discord.com/channels/345912178072879106/1027941890248675458/1044709664962654238 )

8:54 AM

(We haven't been beyond our initial landing zone, and you're not being forced to check out every single building if you don't want to, but I also won't hand out items or anything if we don't explore them because I feel like that's just blitzing through a mission to get to a dungeon clear screen, and that's not much fun )

Heading towards the market stalls, Enver would fully rely on his Energy Sensitivity to sniff out points of interest and when that fails, would focus on rummaging on three stalls that he can find that fits the Small, Medium, Large categories "Hope this place would be more fruitful"

Back at the ruins of the resonator, Thia continues digging. (know/int for Thia)

(3)

Some of the bricks are scorched. You're not sure why. The ruck is loaded with half its carry weight of materials that look decent enough to make the effort of salvaging them worth it. The truly sensitive machinery has been destroyed in the collapse- but what you've found will be recycled, allowing a future resonator to be built more quickly, or an aging one to be replaced in record time somewhere else.

Sure she's gotten everything she's capable of recovering Thia uses the ruck as a gondola again to make her way down the rubble, giving the skeletal remains a wide berth. Once back on solid ground she hops off and clips it to her again, leaving the rebar near at hand just in case. She pulls out her compad and sends a message to Enver. Finished at the resonator. Meet in town or at the glider? (edited)

Enver still rummaging around the market, receives the message and looks to other parts of the town "Hmmm, that was quick"

Town, I'm still in the markets. Rendevous in the Temple. Oh and also watch out for traps, run into a simple tripwire alarm earlier

It will take me a bit to get over there, I'm gonna poke around along the way if there's anything interesting. Thia slips the compad back into her bag and tugs the ruck into motion. She walks a circle around the resonator ruins to look for anything that might've tumbled away as it came down, then studies the nearby buildings and chooses the most sturdy one to inspect.

The workshop has already been picked through by Enver, but is the closest. Enver has since moved on to the market, leaving just the temple and the town hall unexplored.

"Town Hall," she decides, nodding her head slowly. "Sometimes there's a jail there too, maybe weapons, maybe a safe." She shrugs as she talks to herself then points her steps that way, moving cautiously and watching her surroundings after Enver's warning about traps.

(notice/wis Thia)

(4)

Entering the town hall, there is another trip wire here, this time made from old bullet casings. They ring and chime in the lack of wind, and near the market stalls, this time, something howls like a wolf.

Oh feck, I don't like that. Thia steps inside and keeps the ruck with her, hoping the cover of the building is better than being exposed outdoors. She glances around for a quick second for any immediate threat and finding none she sends a fast message. Tripped an alarm at town hall and something howled outside. Gonna hide if I can't find a back door outta here.

(did we want to find our way back to each other since it sounds like things got more dangerous? )

(did enver also hear the dangerously near howl?)

(yes)

Enver hearing a howl nearby ducks under a relatively sturdy market stall that can reasonably hide him. Slowing his breathing, he notices the dataslab ping and sees Thia's message "Goddangit" He quietly grumbles The howl is near me. I'm hiding but I'll sent a single letter if I need backup After sending message, Enver strains his ears to to try hear nearby activity while also keeping his pistol drawn

(sneak/dex enver)

(2d6, then modifiers right? -1 if untrained on the skill? Rolled 11 if this is correct)

(that is correct, 2d6, then modifiers , -1 if untrained in the skill. )

1

(11 is the roll)

(Thanks. I saw you did it on the 7th, but I have the dice channel muted since so much happens in there)

7:14 AM

Whatever is out there, it sniffs around the market stalls but seems to lose the scent it is following, and though it passes the stall you are hiding in ,it looks to be heading in Thia's direction instead.

(Do i see it heading towards Thia or im all stealth and no see?)

(you can hear it heading in the direction she told you she was checking out)

9:05 AM

(but you can't see what it is )

Breathing out a sigh of relief as the unknown howler passes by, Enver pats himself down "Still in one piece" He silently mutters before pulling out his dataslab and contacting Thia

The howler passed by me here in the markets, didn't see what it looks like but seems to be heading in your direction. Be careful and watch out for more alarms, Do I try to shadow it? You might beed backup

(edited)

In the town hall Thia feels the buzz against her back of Enver's reply but doesn't spare a moment to check it. Moving cautiously she goes deeper into the building, looking for any signs that might indicate a back door while also eyeballing anywhere she might hide and be decently protected. As she walks she tries to keep her boot steps quiet and keeps the ruck close so it doesn't bump anything. Her brain whirls quickly through her school lessons, trying to pinpoint something that has the intelligence to set an alarm but also howls.

Terminals might do this. Thia thinks back to the first outside the walls expedition the Inheritor Alliance had her posted on. The gas station, the hotel, the crude traps in some of the rooms set by terminals. This feels like the same work- more refined, or of a different flavor, but the workmanship and strange combination of practical and primal intelligence seems to be the same. The inside of the town hall is a warren of offices, and there is a back door that leads out to an employee parking lot now overgrown by weeds.

Thia curses thoroughly but silently, keeping the words in her mind as she realizes what's probably out there. An animal with a simple hunting instinct wouldn't have been so bad and maybe you could reason with a person but there's not a lot of options with a Termie. She takes a few precious seconds as she steps to the door, touching the ring on her thumb and using her Precog to see what happens after she opens the door.

The parking lot is on the other side. It will be empty and the creature will crash through the front doors of the building a few seconds later

Thia holds her breath for just a moment then moves, going in a rush through the door to the parking lot, catching the door before it can bang on the wall, then banking hard to the side and running toward the glider.

(is Enver also leaving? or trying to get there? )

(Against better judgement, Enver eould try to get there) Enver not receiving any reply Thia decides to shadow the Howler. Keeping himself stealthy he follows behind the Howler, seeing it approach the Townhall, Enver tries to see if he can spot Thia nearby

The hunting creature is thrashing through the town hall, smelling Thia's recent scent there. Both of you make it to the flyer, and the floater ruck with the resonator parts has secured itself in the hold already.

Snapping her harness on Thia flips the switches and the moment the engines are ready she lifts off. She rapidly climbs to approximately 200 feet and makes a pass over the town hall area, trying to get a look at what was pursuing her as she asks Enver if they're okay.

"I think I'm the one who needs to ask you that" Envrr huffs as he relaxes "Guess we found a Termie turf? Not as bad as that Termie City but still"

Down below a large terminal, about 7m high with crab claws and a shell roars at the sky in vain- cheated at a delicious meal of humanoid flesh.

Enver freezes at the roar, and looks down at what seems to be a crab Termie "Uhhh, anyone encountered that before?"

A quick search shows that prior to being relocated to the moon, Saliv did have a small mosk population that lived primarily underground. They have been changed into terminals just like humans have, so this mutation is not uncommon though the size is

"I'm good, no new injuries and I managed to get some resonator parts... It might be worth letting the IA know there's Mosk/Termies around here though. Maybe put a big "Do Not Enter" on this location because gods, you'd need a missile to hurt that thing." Shaking her head to hide the slight tremor in her hands she sets up a heading back to Dremlas and kicks the speed up, ready to be home and in her jetted tub.

(3xp, 5000 credits each. We can return to personal threads, and when Ezra is ready to come back they can pick up in theirs too. )

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