Iron Stars - maxwell

(Kind of at a loss for how to start maxwell since hes already so well defined. What do you think he would be trying to do right now)

(Probably get himself on an exploration flight from Jagrati)

Maxwell is not surprised to awaken and see a message on his compad, his pedigree allowing him a not commanding, but high ranking position on a scouting mission to a nearby planet. With the NMC empire in ruins now, a new sphere of expansion is set to begin- but resources being scarce as they are, directed thrusts made on good information is more critical than ever.

Maxwell gets up and reads the message. "Well, time to start another chapter I suppose." He gets up, shaves, showers, and irons his uniform before getting dressed. He heads out of his room, both excited for the opportunity, and sad at how many lives it took to get here. At least a few of his friends from school were able to avoid death at the shapers hands. (edited)

He heads to meet his new commanding officer

The ship you're assigned to is the Dawn Voyager , a small free merchant class. The lightly armed merchantman ship has a minimal crew, and is expected to observe and report, rather than take a highly kinetic or offensive role in scouting

Max sighs contentedly, happy for a chance to be in space again, hopefully with less chance of death. He heads to the docking bay and looks for whoever seems to be in charge.

02:32

(What would his rank be, like a lieutenant?)

(He’s captain of the ship)

(I meant max's) (edited)

(I guess so, It's not going to matter a whole lot but if you want to be)

He walks up to the captain and gives a salute. "Maxwell Buchannon sir, reporting for duty."

"Ah good, my second in command. Hop aboard. We're going to be departing soon, first to a check on the next world over. They're just a colony now as you know, but they might need some help or support"

"Are there any specific problems we should be expecting sir, or just be prepared for anything?" (edited)

“Hard to say. We need to be prepared for anything. Grab what you need and get aboard”

Max gives a salute, grabbing his things and heading aboard.

04:00

(Would he need to purchase a NMC rifle or would he be able to requisition one from the ship?)

(You can get one from the armory)

12:46

The ship is clean and freshly repaired, one of the few surviving light craft from Benavides. The conflict was a terrible one and when given the chance back in port nearly the entire crew retired from naval service on the spot

Maxwell takes a stroll around the ship, requisitioning a new rifle from the armory then dropping his things off in his quarters before heading to the bridge to prepare for their departure.

The bridge is the stateroom at the back of the ship, as it is on most Cooperative vessels. Sailors begin taking their stations and final checks are done to ensure the gun ports and cargo hatches are all shut for takeoff. The large solar sails begin unfurling, the moon phase insignia of the Cooperative proud and flowing in the emptiness of space once again. "Crew, this is Maxwell Buchannon, my second in command, and yours, for the duration of this scouting trip. We're going to see how much of the cooperative might still be out there, but first a quick check on our colony worlds. We do this right, take smart risks, and work hard, and we might just get back to where we were before the shaper disaster"

Maxwell checks with the various members of the bridge crew in charge of final preparations. Once they are completed he turns to the Captain. "All stations report ready for departure Captain."

(which of the two colonies did you want to visit first?)

(The one to the south, think thats the one his parents tried to take over, dont remember off the top of my head)

Anisah is the first destination , a day of spike travel away (yeah a core world like this is def not a 'colony world' )

(I don't think I specified which one it is, or I thought these were reduced to colonies. It's not a big deal, not going to worry about it now)

03:16

Maxwell spends his day in spike travel familiarizing himself with the ship and the crew, focusing mainly on the bridge crew and other officers on the ship.

(Arrituri. Similar name, but further out) The officers seem competent. Most of the bridge crew that survived elected to stay with the ship. A strange bond had formed between them all, the way those who all witness a particular tragedy tend to. Not having been aboard or even a known figure to them at the time it feels a bit like being an odd man out

04:14

They are polite enough in conversation, respecting the rank, not the man, and certainly not the lineage

Maxwell is used to this kind of treatment by now. "I'll just have to prove myself again as usual." He thinks to himself while he sits at his station next to the Captain as they prepare to exit spike.

04:19

(That was his home world. I don't think the name of the place they tried to take over matters much now, its a ruin at this point)

(Let me worry about what matters)

(Ok, no worries)

The ship exists spike over the verdant world of Anisah , where the tall forests are beginning to reclaim much of the settled land. A small city of 1 million inhabitants clings to the northern coast, trying to rebuild

(All I was saying is that I'm fine with you deciding all that stuff, it isn't a big deal to me. The more surprises you can throw at me the happier I am as a player)

04:34

Maxwell looks on at the planet, wondering inwardly how many lives were pulled into the vortex of slaughter from this world alone. "Where do we start captain?"

“The colony itself to make a landing. Shake hands with the locals. See what’s still standing and what isn’t. “

"Very well." He turns to the bridge crew and begins going through the orders to make the ship ready for landing as they head to the colony.

Entering amphibious operations mode as soon as re entry is safely done, the large solar masts raise once again from their below deck housings, the solar sails now becoming true sails and the buoyant hull touches the water. For the last few nautical miles of this voyage the ships is traveling as the marvelous age of sail vessel it was meant to emulate

05:33

A beacon atop a tower in the small city begins to flash, and the ship moves to keep it at the bow

Maxwell observes the ruined landscape, borrowing the ships spyglass, trying to spot the real toll of the damage as well as any potential hazards along the way. (Just flavoring it, he doesn't have binoculars with him at all)

The colony itself is intact, the original settlement on tihs planet, but there are ruins far beyond your line of sight, seen from space. At the docks, traditional mooring lines are thrown over the sides, and a gangplank extends for you to disembark. Crates and barrels, along with other shipyard equipment are stacked neatly on the dock, and a harbormaster with a few local militia come out to formally welcome you

Maxwell walks off the ship behind the Captain to meet them.

The captain and some of the guards seem to know one another, and they move off to the side to talk for a moment. The harbormaster looks at you expectantly, even just to make a formal introduction

Max walks up to him. "Maxwell Buchannon sir, a pleasure."

"Nice to meet you. Here from the capital?" he asks, looking up at the ship, and the slow trickle of crewmen beginning to come off of it, happy to be on solid ground

"Yes. Making rounds to see what's left. How are things here?"

"Smaller, smaller than we used to be. We had to evacuate the outlying towns in a hurry and pull everyone back here. It was a war in itself to get everyone settled again and calmed down. Lots of scuffles with the provosts and citizens"

21:19

"Things are calm now, but everyone's just wondering what happens next"

"What was the reason for the evacuations? Invasion threat or something else?"

"You're military. You're the ones who ordered it" he scoffs. "Well, I'll just talk to the captain then" The harbormaster and captain spend a few moments in conversation, before their talks break up. The captain walks over to you. "Pick a team. Three sailors. we're going to explore some of those ruins out there, collect what we can, see if it might be safe for the people to return there"

21:27

"And more importantly, what might need to be brought in from home to get this into more than just a colony world"

Maxwell nods, picking two sailors with the most ground combat experience, along with one medic. He grabs his rifle from his locker and meets them on the docks.

A small aircraft, more of a scout helicopter, with a ghost driver, has been assigned to you. It looks like an old Da-Vinci creation in appearance, but the engineering is as sound as anything that other modern polities can field. "alright" the medic asks, hefting her med-bag over her shoulder "are we ready to set off? We've got two sites to explore. "

A second ship, this one far smaller and more nimble, a courier, splashes down into the harbor, and is making full sail for the dock. Commotion comes to a halt as everyone surveys the new arrival

(Was there any information about the two sites?)

18:58

(Like their previous uses?)

(Nothing that would matter now since they dont know whats out there or how things have changed)

(Okay)

19:06

Maxwell looks over at the new ship, curious, then looks back to his squad. "I'm going to go see what this other ship is doing here. You all get your equipment settled in the flier, I'll be right back." Maxwell says as he walks over to where the courier is heading to to wait on it.

As the ship pulls up, a 20 ft dark green snake with four arms, 2 sheaths, a large quiver and a bow slides over the side, landing smoothly on the dock, before coiling up, ending up at around 6'10''. It's head darts left, right, then fixates on the man in the tricorn hat.

19:09

"Ah, I'm guessing you are the man around here? Is that the way it's worded? The man? Sorry, I've been cooped up with research doctors in a lab for a little too long, might be a bit out of touch on the field talk."

19:09

The snake proffers a hand, while another fiddles with the top of the bow.

19:10

"Salazan, experimental Archaeologist, and I've been told, a piece of living history."

(Nobody in the NMC knows what Slyth look like right? Or at least Maxwell wouldn't?)

(Neko would be able to answer better, but Salazan has been inside a research lab since he popped out of his pod)

(The NMC has ruins and former important slyth sites on a bunch of their former worlds. Knowing what they look like isnt a big secret, but seeing a live one is probably a bit of a shock)

Maxwell looks at him visibly shocked. "I'm, Maxwell, Buchannon, and no, I'm not the one in charge here, the harbormaster is over there." Max says, pointing him out.

Original message was deleted or could not be loaded.

Pinned a message.

19:16

(Salazan would have been briefed on your mission on the way over, we dont need to play all the talking around out. There's a map up of the planet on roll20, and posted here in the thread, you can let me know what ruin you want to check out first)

(The one to the south works for me)

"Oh. Well, I've been sent along to help with exploring, scouting, surveying, that sort of thing. I'll follow you fellows lead, offer what I can. Academic background, but practical applications. Eager to get going."

"Ah, in that case I am in charge I suppose. Follow me, we have a flier." Maxwell heads over to the flier "Everyone, this is Salazan, he will be joining us for this expedition. Let's get going, we have a lot of ground to cover." Max says, hopping into the seat with the controls.

Salazan slithers up to the flier, and inspects it. He nods the the rest of the expedition, before moving his way inside, and wrapping his tail around the base of one of the seats. He shifts his bow onto his back, and begins observing everything around him, his head turning with short sharp movements, his tongue flicking out every now and again.

The southern set of ruins is on a plains, where the forest is slowly beginning to reclaim the land in the absence of a continual human presence. The town is overgrown now from above, vines, and weeds beginning to choke out roofs and gardens. The farming fields outside town even sport some thin trees beginning to poke their way out of the ground. One of those fields is a suitable landing zone.

Salazan leans his head through into the cockpit, stretching his body.

22:30

"Do we land, or recon first? Normally I'd prefer a ground check, but this is technically a hostile area. Of course, it's also not hostile, since it's ruins, and I'm itching to get down there. But you've done this longer than me. So what do you think?"

"If we have binoculars, scouting from afar is what I'd do. Ancient Sslyth, those in the Cssthanic period, would use telescopes, err, tubes with glass lenses, to scout shore landings before landing. And lightweight warriors were valued because they could climb higher in trees to scout out passes." (edited)

Maxwell stops paying attention completely once he begins talking about the Ancient Slyth. "I'm going to orbit the city a few times. If everything looks alright we will set down in the field outside the city."

03:19

He sets up orbiting the ruins. If nothing jumps out at him or anyone else over the course of three full circles, he will set down the flier in the field.

The ruins look just like what they are, ruins, and aside from frightening a flock of birds roosting in the bell tower of the former town hall, your last pass over the settlement has you just as safe as when you started

“Looks safe enough” the medic offers

Maxwell sets the flier down, hopping out and turning to everyone else. "Let's stay together, be prepared for anything." He says before heading into the ruins.

The city wall is little@more than a large rubble mound now. An earthquake last year broke much of it apart and rebuilding was not worth the effort. The archway where the northern gate once stood is still there even though the doors are gone. A rounded disc of stone showing the moon phase emblem of the NMC is in good condition , set as the key of the arch

Max smiles inwardly. It occurs to him how much this parallels the cooperative as a whole, then thinks about how many other parallels he has witnessed. If they can restore this planet to its former glory, restoring the whole of the cooperative is within reach.

Salazan slides out of the flier, removing his bow from his back, and drawing an arrow to rest on the string. Quickly moving into the ruins, despite having a weapon drawn, he seems far more excited than wary. Though careful not to disturb any buildings, he does being sticking his head through broken windows and doors, clearly highly enthusiastic. (edited)

It becomes evident that something has been roosting in the village. There are marks of a fresh kill near the eastern gate, and drag marks in the soil leading to the town hall. The wooden double doors are intact, mostly, but partially open

15:27

It is dark inside, and too hard to see much into the building

Salazan moves towards the tracks, crouching down and inspecting them, looking to see if he can place what creature might be awaiting them inside the town hall.

15:48

(Know or survive to identify the tracks?)

(You could make a case for using either one, rolled with intelligence)

(I'll roll know/int.) (edited)

15:54

(know/int 11)

Salazan is able to determine it is one creature, an apex predator, rather than a pack. It has four legs, though is scaled, not furred.

Salazan straightens up. "Big nasty creature. Something reptilian, so almost certainly carnivorous. It'll see us as invaders or prey, not as a threat, unless we have a mech I didn't see on the flier. Cold blooded, most likely, so more of an ambush predator, unlikely to be a pursuit hunter or endurance hunter. Might be less active at night, due to temperature, but waiting around in it's territory will increase the likelihood it gets angry and comes looking for us."

16:02

"However, the good news is that it is most likely alone, or with a family unit. So partner and maybe young. Scales makes me think unlikely to be compatible with domestication programs, as does solo carnivore, no pack instinct or hierarchy in place for us to supplant. I remember when an aquatic reptilian hunter was brought to the research centre, back in my prime learning cycle. It had been hand reared, but it's handler still wasn't able to go near it without it being fed and scent marking himself. So we will likely need to fight it off...."

16:04

Salazan's second pair of arms slowly slide the two mono-molecular blades out of their sheaths, holding them crossed slightly in-front of his trunk. (edited)

16:10

"Never really had the chance to indulge in big game hunting. Understand the appeal, but was always busy with studies. Got invited a few times...." Salazan tails off into silence.

"Well, even more reason for us to stay close and stick to cover. Keep your eyes peeled goes without saying."

"Well, what buildings would be important, except that one?" Salazan indicates the town hall "Because clearing those might bring the predator out of it's nest, and into an area that is more favourable for us."

(this would have been a good sized town, there would have been a production and manufacturing quarter , and then residential areas for people to live, along with a monument park, You could conceivably make a stand or dig through any of those places)

"Or we could try to lure it out, set an ambush now. Make it so we can search the rest of the town without pressure. Shouldn't be anything else too dangerous around here, due to whatever's inside the town hall."

(either one of those plans is great, Maxwell, any thoughts?)

(Sorry, fell asleep right after I got home from work yesterday evening)

13:42

"I think an ambush would be better. I'd rather us not have to walk on eggshells while we search the town."

"Well then! Who's going to be the bait? Because otherwise, it's not going to come out, and going in isn't a smart idea."

The medic pipes up "If you promise to keep me safe...I...I guess I'd be willing to put myself out there, for the team, and for the project"

"How fast can you run?"

"Fast enough. You need to be in order to join the medical service. Seconds count"

"Well, if you are volunteering, we'll set up. Atop buildings might be a good move, run towards me, and I'll get you out of danger as fast as possible. Don't get eaten, make sure it gets annoyed. Throw a rock if needed. Well, I'm certain you're sensible enough to know how to irritate a large, probably sleeping predator that wants to kill you. I'm sure you'll come up with something. Good luck!" Salazan nods to the medic, and glances around the buildings, looking for one near to the town hall, that's low enough for him to easily climb onto.

23:42

And looks stable enough not to collapse when he climbs up.

(I think you'd have your pick, with you guys planning, she would ensure to lead it past your fire lane even if you werent directly in front of the building)

(salazan just wants to make sure he can yank her out of danger when things kick off.)

Maxwell grimaces a bit, not wanting their medic to be eaten alive minutes after landing. "Be as safe as you can be, don't take any unnecessary risks if you can avoid them. If you can shoot at it from range then duck around a corner into safety that is preferable."

(Where's maxwell setting up shop during all this, what would his ideal position be?)

(Ideally inside a building at the end of a wider street or something overlooking a plaza)

(Sounds like you guys have the same idea, relatively)

(Salazan is a little closer)

The medic gulps. Both of you take positions on the ends of the street, about 200m from the door of the building in question. The street itself is wide, and relatively free of obstructions. Evacuation here was done in relatively good order. Approaching to within 10m of the door, the medic takes a flagstone from the paved street, and throws it inside

03:16

it bounces around, evidently striking something inside the building. Something made of glass breaks, and then something inside roars and irritated roar

"RUN!, GET TO COVER!." Max calls, pulling up his rifle and aiming at the door.

Salazan draws back his arrow, aimed at the door of the town hall (edited)

the medic is able to doge the striking scorpion like tail of the beast, and it buries itself deep in the flat pavers of the road, before the powerful muscles pull the tail back up. (lets get initiative so I can keep track of things)

(7)

(4)

(Maxwell, beast, salazan, medic)

Original message was deleted or could not be loaded.

Pinned a message.

03:24

(execution won't work either here, since a minute of setup time on the target is needed)

Maxwell steadies his rifle and fires at the beast. (18/11)

03:25

(That thought didn't even cross my mind)

(We have some new players, just making a general bulletin)

(Ah, okay)

The shot sparks off the thick plating of the creature, but you can see a burn left behind, and a slight arch in the back where the shot struck. Enough of it got through to hurt it at least partially

03:31

The beast lashes out again with its stinging tail. The medic is not able to get entirely out of the way, and cries out in pain as a crazing hit takes her in the thigh. For now she's still able to move, and still standing. (salazan)

Salazan lets loose his arrow, then moves to the edge of his roof, reaching down to give the medic a hand up (Main action then move)

03:33

(16/3)

(Forgot to mention it, but Maxwell reloads with his move-action)

(shes at the opposite end of the street)

03:43

(200m away)

03:44

The arrow shatters as it hits the tough exterior shell. the medic is now in flight, sprinting to close the distance to you, now 160m away. Her webbing and gear scatters down the street as she attempts to do everything she can to go even faster. (maxwell)

Maxwell levels his weapon and fires again, reloading afterwards (Crit, so 15 damage I think? We just double the dice like normal right?) (edited)

03:46

(Also are the other two soldiers with us firing too?)

(double the dice)

(Okay, so 15 damage then)

The creature reels, the shot severing the long tail halfway down its sinewy length. It falls into the street on a cauterized stump, the muscles inside of it still quivering.

03:49

The pain of its wounds, and the sudden loss of its safe habitat, it turns abruptly east, smashing through one of the wooden colonial homes, and upon breaching the opposite wall, begins clearly moving in a route toward the forest- no longer willing to defense this ill-gotten territory.

Salazan waits till he can no longer hear it, before sliding down off the roof, and moving towards the tail. Passing the medic, he pauses, glancing at the wound

03:51

(What roll would it be to try to identify if there was any poison injected into her?)

(I would in this case say know, or heal)

(Know/Int 11)

The stinger is capable of delivering poison. The medic is not showing signs of it right now since she did not take a direct hit. It is possible the situation or her condition could change

"Hmmm. Might want to get a general anti-venom on that wound. Or at least a venom test. Stingers typically deliver some sort of foreign agent into the prey body, otherwise what would be the biological advantage yielded by such a complex appendage? I'll check it, let you know. Who knows, being so big, unlikely to be lethal? Most likely a soporific, or paralytic." (edited)

03:56

On that cheery note, Salazan will move towards the tail, and inspect the tip of it carefully, using one of his blades to tip it over.

04:01

He turns his head and calls over his shoulder.

04:02

"Almost certainly not a neurotoxin. Though xenozoology was not my specialty!" (edited)

"Oh, and next time, maybe we should hunt those things from the air. Deeply unfair, I know, but lets face it, I doubt it would play fair in the same way."

Maxwell is mostly ignoring Salazan, kneeling next to the medic to offer her a hand getting up. "You all right?"

“Think so. I feel a light headed. Like I stood up too fast. Thanks for the save...both of you” she says. She is trying to open the clasps of her supply kit but her fingers do not seem to be cooperating

"Ah, paralytic. As I thought."

13:44

Salazan slips over, and takes over the process of getting the supply kit open.

From there she has enough motor control to administer the needed healing powders herself. Nano machine production loss and other factors have pre scream medicine in short supply

“Alright. I need to rest for a few minutes but you guys push on. Hopefully there’s records or something inside the town center”

Shrugging, Salazan turns back to the tail, inspecting it for a venom sack

It appears to be close to the stinger, at the top of the tail , though protected by a thick layer of natural armor

Salazan will attempt to lever off armour plates with his blades, trying to cut them off of flesh, in order to access the venom sack.

(survive/wis)

(Well, depending on if we are ignoring the first one where the macro screwed up, either 9 or 14) (edited)

(9 is enough) The blades bite deep into the chitin like armor, and with a wet wrench, the tail section is pulled open to expose the storage organ within

"If we intend to repopulate this place, a reliable anti-venom is needed. I'll drop this back at the lab once we're back on Jagrati. The good doctors can see if they can't isolate the necessary protein chains, work out what it does, how to counter it, so on and so forth. Who knows, might even have medical applications as an aesthetic."

19:11

"Do you happen to have a syringe in that medical bag? And maybe a sample jar of some sort?"

19:12

Salazan twists his head back to look at the medic.

She nods and with some effort, steadies her hands and fishes through her bag to get the required supplies

00:36

“Here. Just a few of them left”

Salazan nods, and attempts to extract a sample of the venom from the sack, and store it inside the sample jar

Now knowing the medic is alright, Maxwell takes a peek into the former lair of the beast, bayoneted rifle at the ready for any others lying in wait.

The lair is filled with animal waste and tufts of fur. The bones of other prey animals cover the floor in a deadly carpet of sharpened pieces. Your boots crunch over the uneven boards and organic debris. It looks like the creature never was slim enough to make it upstairs to the office level. There are no signs of young or a mate

Salazan clips the sample jar onto his belt, and picks up the plates of armour he cut off. He then slithers after Maxwell, peering around the town hall, looking for a way up to the higher levels.

02:27

"If we can find town records, or something similar, it'll make searching the rest of the town a breeze."

(Is this building the town hall?)

(Think so)

(Yes)

03:47

(That’s why I said the animal is living in the town hall. You just killed the animal)

(I somehow missed that part)

03:48

"Let's head upstairs, see what we can find."

The upstairs floor has a large conference room with two doors in , that takes up the entire left side of the hallway (only room on that side is the conference room) The right side has three offices. All are of roughly equal size. Their doors are closed

Maxwell starts looking through each of the rooms on the right, still cautious in case there is anything that ran up here

Each of the handles is locked by a simple mechanical lock when tested

Maxwell attempts to kick the first door open

Salazan will go to the second door, and try to use his blades to lever open the lock, then break it open.

(lets get an exert/str maxwell)

15:28

The lock shatters under Salazan's blade. The door opens heavily, and something in the desk drawer inside makes a dull crump. Soft whifts of white smoke begin to come out from the cracks in the drawer

Salazan holds his breath, and then moves to open the drawer

On the inside of the door, an electronic anti tampering device was set to send a signal if the door was not unlocked properly. A set of compads in the drawer Salazan has opened are gently cooking off, internal workings fried as the remote signal was sent

(5)

Maxwell is unable to get through the door, it bends slightly, and some of it cracks, but largely remains standing

Salazan calls back to Maxwell

19:19

"Anti-tampering locks on the door! We should look for a key, or something similar."

19:19

He then goes to look at the conference room

The conference room is unlocked. A large wooden table with six chairs is arranged in the center of the carpeted floor. The room is surprisingly clean compared to the animal inspired devastation downstairs. Each chair has one part of the NMC sigil placed on it, and sitting in the center of the table is a speaker once used for conference calling. The Full Moon seat has a small wooden box placed in front of it , the lid of which is closed, but not latched

Salazan moves closer to the box, carefully inspecting it, before using the tip of one of his blades to gently flip it up

A small brass key sits inside, on a bed of red felt, and looks like it will open the offices around the building

Feeling a little annoyed, Salazan will quickly hurry over to Maxwell, and unlock the first office, before hurrying over to third door and heading inside

Max heads inside the first room and looks around

This room, is much the same as the second office though the desk is not burning. A display case on the wall has a fine laser lock pistol inside of it, marked with the crest of one of the powerful local families. The other art has been taken already during the evacuation. You can see spaces on the wall where it is slightly cleaner- where pictures once hung

19:59

In the third office, this room is far more modern, and a computer system with thick cables running from it connects to sockets in the floor, and up the western wall into the roof.

19:59

The Town Management program is up, requiring a password to enter

Maxwell takes the pistol from the display case, wrapping it in whatever cloth he can find in good condition, and puts it in his bag, hoping to return it when they get back.

20:01

He heads over to the other room

"Maxwell, did you receive any information in your briefing about common passwords?"

20:04

"I can try to reboot it and access the core drives, but if there is something that means we don't need to do this, I'd prefer it."

"I wasn't informed of anything. Let me see if I can a message to my captain." Maxwell sends a message to his captain, asking if anyone there knows the town management password.

The town staff is currently not available, they're in talks with the planetary governor right now for re-opening things there. You'll have to figure out another way

"I can try to reboot it, access the bios systems?"

"Go for it. We aren't getting any help from the town staff today."

Salazan will begin the process of rebooting the computer, in order to be able to bypass the password block.

00:24

(Program/int?)

(Yes please)

(erggh, 4)

The machine flickers twice and then shuts down, locked out until tomorrow morning.

Salazan narrows his eyes, and his tongue flicks out of his mouth in frustration.

01:04

"Well, that's it for the day. I can try to get in again tomorrow. So, we can fortify here, or continue to explore. Keep this as a base to expand out from, clear out the carcasses so wild life don't try to come in. Also help with the taste of the air." (edited)

01:04

"And who knows maybe tomorrow the town council will be available to tell us the password."

(that isa great thing to do in the interim)

"Good idea. I'll check and see if I can get to the roof. If its stable I'll have the flyer come and land on it so we have a safer path out." Maxwell lets the others know about the plan before looking through the building for a roof access point to check what the roof is like.

There is a metal ladder in the conference room corner leading to the roof. The structure of the building has remained solid despite the large predators less than reverent treatment of the ground floor. Any kind of pickup would need to involve hovering while you board

Maxwell looks around for a roof nearby that seems stable enough to land the flyer on.

The plaza and street are wide enough, none of the roofs look stable enough to support an aircraft

Maxwell parks the flyer in the plaza in front of the town hall before helping the others clear out the bottom floor and set up a defensive position and sleeping arrangements for the night.

(what did we do about the ground floor, since it was very recently an animal den and quite gross)

(Cleaning out the animal crap, the bones, and all that stuff, throwing it outside, setting up some barricades using old furniture that can be used as fighting positions. If we can get it clean enough the beds will go down there)

05:00

(Maybe some that we find in nearby buildings)

(Alright, so the site is being prepared. Salazar, anything to add or is this good?)

Salazan will help with setting up the campsite, then attempt to coat some of his arrows in the left over venom from the venom sack he kept.

The last of the sun's light passes as you finish making the bottom floor of the town hall habitable, and some rudimentary barricades have been set up. They aren't much of a deterrent- there is only so much time in a day even split between four beings, but for now they'll at least slow something down.

Salazan coils himself up, and looks across at Maxwell. Waiting till the other members of the away team are out of earshot, he begins to speak.

15:52

"I understand why you aren't too happy with my being here. I'm on your turf, on your mission, assigned at the last moment by people who didn't warn you. However, I would like to reassure you I'm as motivated as you are to see this done properly. From what I've read of recent history, your people are possibly the only ones who can empathise with me about the state of our respective nations. Shapers tried to end one empire, and then we did it for them. Now that they are not a sector wide threat, I'll not see the same happen to those who lost the most to them this time around."

(take a re-roll token for good RP salazan)

Maxwell looks up at him as he cleans the burnt carbon out of the barrel of his Las-Lock. "Your motivation isn't the problem, its that your background is a mystery to me. All of the other members of my crew have whole pages of information about them I accessed to read up on who they were and what their skills are. I know they have been through the same training as I have. I know what I can and cannot ask them to do, but I don't know that about you. You are obviously intelligent, if a little rambly about things that don't really matter in the moment, but it will take me some time to get to trust you the same way I trust them."