MILLION CREDIT COMM JOB

[atpollard]

2156.11.7.1550 - Arctic Complex

DJ went to work searching every box and cubby in the VET ATV as Jim removed access panels and began to ready the vehicle to accept power cables and fittings never designed for it. It was mostly an exercise in fabricating adaptors and re-routing salvaged power lines from the Building 5 junction box to the ATV Power Plant without triggering an emergency shutoff in either system.

[roll = [9] … good] There were shouts from the crew as lights came on in Building 5 and the HVAC began to hiss as it attempted to cycle fresh air through the airlock [G0].

For a moment, the exterior floodlights from Building 5 cast a shadow on the tracks that Herbie had uncovered, which allowed Mick to identify the shape of the track from the different texture between the hard layer that was broken through and the soft snow that had filled it in. It was a human boot print … heading north.

In a moment, the exterior spotlights from Building 5 were turned off as Joe and Jim hurried to shut down non-essential systems and extend the life of this jury-rig.

[Thumper]

Mick:
Mick looks around and compliments DJ, Joe, and Jim on a job well done. He points at the tracks.

Human, heading North. About the same timeframe as the finger and gun we found…based on the snow layer it’s found in.

I’ve got my Night Vision Goggles, my NOGs, in the ATV. I think I should follow those boot prints now. Jim, May I borrow Sophie again?

Olivia, ya still got the multi-spectral binocs? Can ya get to the rooftop and Scan North. See anything? If I go that way, can ya keep overwatch on me and Herbie?

He’ll retrieve his Cold Light Lantern and secure it to the top of his backpack behind his head. The torch he’ll attach to his belt. He’ll also secure a length of rope to leash Sophie attached on his end to his belt, so as to keep her from running off but leaving his hands free for weapons use.

I read the boot prints as upright walking boot prints vs drag marks from boots…correct?

[Hvalreki]

If I go that way, can ya keep overwatch on me and Herbie?[/dialog]

He’ll retrieve his Cold Lantern and secure it to the top of his backpack behind his head. The torch he’ll attach to his belt. He’ll also secure a length of rope to leash Sophie attached on his end to his belt, so as to keep her from running off but leaving his hands free for weapons use.

I read the boot prints as upright walking boot prints vs drag marks from boots…correct?

"Wait, what? Now? Hold on Mick, one sec be right back."

Herbie quickly shuffles to the ATV and swaps out the field medical kit for his Adventure pack and puts in enough medical supplies for 2 if things go bad and swapping out the box of HE shells and adding a box of rifle shells for good measure.

"Ok Mick, I've got your six. Two's quieter than an ATV I 'spose"

[atpollard]

I read the boot prints as upright walking boot prints vs drag marks from boots…correct?

Correct.

[atpollard]

2156.11.7.1600 - Arctic Complex
Olivia confirmed that the path north was clear as far as she could see … which was pretty far at that elevation, scanning for heat signatures against a sub-zero background. You have critters to the distant southwest, but nothing but snow for half a dozen clicks to the north … then some hills.

Mick, Herbie and Sophie headed north following the tracks.

[atpollard]

2156.11.7.1700 - 3 km north of Arctic Complex

Mick observed a change in the tracks. What had been deep footprints became a wide, shallow drag path - like a toboggan. Some careful digging by herbie revealed footprints in the snow pushing or dragging something flat along with them (probably carrying it up to this point and just dragging it along behind from this point forward).

[atpollard]

2156.11.7.1800 - 6 km north of Arctic Complex

You enter the snow-covered foothills … still following the path. About another 2 km into the foothills, you come to an area of beaten down snow. Someone stopped here long enough to clear an area before moving on. New snow has covered any signs of what they might have been doing. While you could spend the time clearing snow and searching for clues, it is full darkness and the temperature is -35 C.

Beside that, a far more interesting sight is a rising cloud of warm air coming from about 1 km NNE of your position (visible in your Thermal imaging, but invisible in normal vision … so it is warm air, but not smoke from a fire).

Saving the abandoned clear area for later, you head towards the heat source (as anyone you might be searching for would and as the footprints do.)

[atpollard]

2156.11.7.1900 - 9 km north of Arctic Complex

A large snow-covered hill stands before you, like an overturned salad bowl, with a giant crack splitting it in half and extending deep into the ground. Standing at one edge of the crevice [L0] and looking into it, it is about 30 meters [100 feet] from the top of the rim to the bottom of the crevice with the crack about 1.5 meters wide and 20 meters long. From where you stand, the rock descends in a steep slope about 15 meters down as the hill rises about 15 meters up in the same distance. The crevice is open to the sky and appears to end in some sort of natural cave [L1].

The warm, moist air is rising from the crevice and freezing around the rim, creating dangerous and unstable ice crystal growths along the rim of the crevice from [L0] to [L1].

[Thumper]

Mick will report his findings back to the rest while investigating the area around the entrance for sign of non-human activity.

If he sees predator tracks, he’ll want backup. If he sees only human sign, he’ll suggest he and Herbie proceed on in…it is the way a known human went…and within the past few days.

[atpollard]

2156.11.7.1910 - 9 km north of Arctic Complex

There are definitely “non-humans” living there. Mick discovers the tracks of a pair of creatures, each around 800 kg, that appear to travel together single file. Mick discovered multiple trips both to and from the cave.

[atpollard]

2156.11.7.1600 - Arctic Complex

Joe, Jim and Val set to work on the more permanent Power repairs (step one was locating and safely removing unused power cables to run a new line from Building 3 to Building 5). DJ took advantage of the power in the building to familiarize himself with the equipment and run diagnostics.


2156.11.7.1700 - Arctic Complex

DJ’s diagnostic Testing revealed that Building 5 equipment had taken a lot of minor damage from the power surge and once the Critical part was installed, there wot\uld still be a lot of time spent in small repairs. Fortunately, there were redundant systems and a well stocked storage room for common spare parts, so it was just a matter of running down all the issues and fixing them to get the secondary control room back online.

Joe, Jim and Val located and collected the cables. They had dragged them back to the general area of the ATVs when Olivia needed to rotate indoors to warm up.


2156.11.7.1800 - Arctic Complex

Joe rotated to the ROOF of Building 1 to stand overwatch since he was the best Rifleman among those left in camp. He spotted some activity at the extreme northern perimeter (about 1.5 km away) but nothing came near.

Jim, Val and DJ moved cables into position and made connections. Unfortunately, when a test load was applied, one of the cables began to smoke indicating internal damage - probably from the original power surge.


2156.11.7.1900 - Arctic Complex

Olivia had food, coffee and warmth and returned to her Overwatch to relieve Joe.

Joe joined Jim, Val and DJ in locating, transporting and installing a replacement cable. This time the connection functioned perfectly (roll=[10]) and Building 3 was now powering Building 5.

Shortly after 1900, you received a comm from Mick …

[Thumper]

Mick will hold off on entering.

He’ll put everyone on comms and dial in the St Oykand guide.

After describing his findings,
“Mates, it’s a lair. Could this be a couple of Arctic Wolves?

Looks to me like a pack of Cats to the SouthWest and Wolves to the North.

DJ, Joe. What’s the next step in your repair job? How badly do we need that part? I’m going a bit out on a limb here and suggesting that the VET repair crew was ambushed by Cats on site. Someone ran North and got taken by Wolves.

Where your part went, anybody want to venture a guess? Mine guess is with the Cats…only because that blood stain at Building 1 is the start of their trail. But it could very easily be that a VET repair man had it on him when he fled North.

Thoughts?”

[shaidar]

DJ

"Sorry Mick, but no part no fix. I'm not sure which option to go with. If there both just as likely then what about the easiest? Not really my area of expertise."

[Thumper]

Mick:
Bloody Hell then…since we’re here, might as well either go get the part or rule out this as it’s location.

If the lot of you are staying to work at the site, I think ya need Olivia’s overwatch. (Using the name of the guide) are ya interested in getting some wolf hides?

He will reload every gun to St Oyland HE rounds.

[shaidar]

DJ

"I ain't going to be much help hunting, more of a hindrance. I'm more use here getting more familiar with the systems."

[Eris]

DJ

"Sorry Mick, but no part no fix. I'm not sure which option to go with. If there both just as likely then what about the easiest? Not really my area of expertise."

"Yeah, that's my thoughts on the subject, too. No part, no fix." says Joe then adds in a hopeful voice, "Hey, a thought!"

"Has the part we're missing got metal in it?" asks Joe, "And if so, do we have any sort of metal detector available to us or can we make one? If we could scan the snow along the two trails to see if we could pick up metal its likely we could pick it up. You know there's not much metal just lying around up here so anything we ping could be our part."

Electronics and Mechanical skills with the materials we have ought to allow us to make a crude detector easliy, I would think.

[atpollard]

Electronics and Mechanical skills with the materials we have ought to allow us to make a crude detector easliy, I would think.

Good and bad news ...

... The VET ATV contains specialized imaging equipment that can easily scan through the snow for objects. It can be set to discriminate by material signatures. It can scan through up to a meter of earth. It employs multiple spectral arrays (ultrasound, magnetic imaging, radar). It is primarily used to locate buried cables or conduits inside walls/ceilings/floors.

... it is backpack sized and weighs 50kg making it best transported by 2 people.

Scanning the vicinity of the Station (500 meters along both trails) yields numerous small objects near the buildings (screws, fasteners, pens, things commonly dropped) but nothing of interest and nothing along the footprints leading away.

Scanning further will require a team to carry the unit and scan. (just specify how many kilometers you intend to travel along Mick's path or who will track the other path beyond the short distance that mick previously marked.)

FYI:
The Guide from Saint Oyland commed back that he in on his way to Mick's position. (He knows where the Smoking Crevice is.)

[Hvalreki]

"Hey Mick, if there is at least a pair of heavy predators in that cave maybe we move to stand off range where we can still observe the entrance but not, like, you know, get eaten?"

"Also, I don't think we want to spend the night here, how far away was our hunter guide? If you keep watch I can start to dig a snow cave once we get some distance from the entrance until he gets here."

[Thumper]

“Good thinking Herbie. While we wait for the guide, we could find a better spot. Still need to be able to engage them should they emerge as they will either sniff us out or go after the site.”

Mick will look around the area behind them at the entrance then pay special attention to the area of the dome above the crevice. Would it be possible to set up on top with line of site down into the entrance channel providing a chance to shoot anything emerging or in the main chamber?

Survive/hunt: [2d6+3]=5+3=8

[atpollard]

2156.11.7.1910 - 9 km north of Arctic Complex

Mick and Herbie scanned the vicinity for a suitable spot and quickly settled on the opposite end of the crevice. While the ground sloped up and the hill sloped down to meet at [L0], the ground sloped down and the hill sloped up towards [L1] with the result that the far edge of the crevice was a 30 meter vertical drop with an almost level area above it. From the top, the entire length of the crevice from [L1] to [L0] formed a shooting gallery with Mick and Herbie occupying the high ground and shooting down on any prey that ran the gauntlet. Anything that survived to reach [L0] would still need to charge uphill to your position at the far end of the crevice granting one or two additional shots as they closed range.

Being located at the top of the crevice offered one additional benefit … unlike the -35 C of your long walk, the air rising from the crevice was around 0 C (although it quickly fell off to -10 C within 3 meters and -20 C within 6 meters.) Still, nobody complained about a little less cold.


2156.11.7.2000 - 9 km north of Arctic Complex

Christophe Tostain of the Black Clan, the guide from Saint Oyland arrived in just under an hour. He had been following your track since you reported leaving around 1530, but was on the other side of the complex.
During your vigil, you had seen nothing, but several times you thought you heard the faint scratching of claws or bone on stone from the cave below. It sounded like no animal noise Mick was familiar with.

“We could wait for daylight, but it’s a cave. Wherever we go it will be dark” said Christophe, “Guess that makes now as good a time as any.”

[Will Mick take point or hide behind Christophe? Val is wearing a red shirt, should we get Val to go first? ]