June 4, 3200 - The Seeds of Amir (Michael/Malachi)

[Mister-Kent]

Continued from AMIR thread

Noon
Green Zone, Planet Amir

You mill about the tour group and the circle of ATVs, reminded by your guides to stay within certain boundaries as engineers skirt the edge of the fauna, their equipment quite similar to Malachi's, testing soil and air particles.

Tobin Thrace, the pretech expert of the expedition, leads the group. He motions to the flickering sky. "The seeders are using nanotechnology to break down pollutants. Each unit takes anything hostile to carbon life and recreates it as nutrients, minerals, and so forth. I'm tempted to call it 'state of the art', but this isn't cutting edge--it's all quite ancient."

He holds back a frown as he reads the results on his device, then sidles over to whisper to the Vizier and Dr. Kleinsmith.

Kleinsmith clears her throat and speaks up as Thrace and the Vizier walk back from the group a few feet. "All around you has been specially selected for Amir. These plants--these animals--you'll find them nowhere else!" she crows proudly as luminous thunder cracks just beyond the ridge.

Curious and possibly unnerved, Zedra tugs on Michael's arm.

Malachi, please make a Pretech skill roll, please!

[Marullus]

Malachi scans his internal databases for pretech of this type, trying to mind the truth and gaps of the engineer's explanations.

pretech [2d6] = 3
Specialist reroll:
pretech reroll [2d6] = 5

[Coleridge]

Michael Hilkowitz, Xenobiologist

Michael whispers softly to Zedra, allowing the woman to take his arm as he does his best to reassure her.

“Ha. Like there wasn’t a unique ecosystem here before the seeders? That’s not much of a boast Kleinsmith is making, is it?”
Behind his dark glasses, the Xenobiologist is running his own scans trying to get a feel for what Kleinsmith has really been up to. He’s curious what Thrace was frowning about and will see if his instruments can clue him in.

Michael turns to Zedra and whispers to her again.

“Can you do me a favor darling and see if you can distract Kleinsmith for a second? I want to get a minute alone with that ‘expert’ over there.” Michael nods in the direction of Tobin, or at least his tech, he thinks to himself.

Sorry for the delay. I'll get my post count back up. For some reason, Michael doesn't seem to want to be very snarky right now...

[Mister-Kent]

Malachi
Your own scans aren't clear--in fact, there seems to be some strange interference. If you try to check your compad it's the same story--"signal lost"…

Michael
Zedra clears her throat and without hesitation runs up to Kleinsmith. "Fascinating creatures!" she calls to the arrogant scientist, pointing out the lizard-birds soaring overhead. She goes on to talk Kleinsmith's ear off about animals, drawing in several of the tourists into a small group.

Tobin Thrace is walking off towards a seeder that has stopped in its tracks, the Vizier of Cultivation walking towards a seeder still on the move and waving his arms.

[Marullus]

Malachi tucks away his equipment. Jamming. Typical. Should have assumed as much from a classified site, he thinks. He follows the Vizer, watching and listening as he flags down the seeder. He takes a moment to count the number of visible seeders and their spacing to do rough calculations of their span and efficacy.

As the Vizer finishes, he smiles and approaches him, thrilled to meet a real member of State, gushing over the program, and asking rapid fire questions about the process amidst his glib compliments and flattery.

[Mister-Kent]

Malachi
Bjorn al-Ahmed, the Vizier of Cultivation, spins around to greet your enthusiastic questions, letting them wash over him. His expression is one of frustration and immediate worry.

"I…yes, I'm sorry my boy…I can't really talk right now," the older gentleman says quickly, and looks off into the distance. The green crackling glow of the sky is turning a sickly yellow. "We have some…ah, inclement weather incoming, and we'll need to head to the service station shortly." He points a klick southeast towards a plain-looking bunker-like building built into a hillside.

He tries to remain calm as walks towards one of the massive seeders, which up-close looks as if its plowing the earth like a metal farm animal.

All in all, there are three seeders positioned around the site--two digging and spewing green clouds into the immediate area, and one idling by the bunker in the distance.

Michael
The air is alive with static…

[Coleridge]

Michael, super stylish, Xenobiologist

Smiling at Zedra’s distraction, Michael approaches Tobin at the seeder.

“Almost state of the art eh? Looks like your old seeder has an issue there. Maybe Kleinsmith is feeding it too much manure?”

Michael introduces himself to Tobin, using his comp pad to research the scientist as he does.

If any interesting articles/information about Tobin pop up on the view screen behind Michael’s glasses, he will use the information as an ice breaker pretending to be familiar with the man’s work….

“As a fellow scientist, perhaps you can tell me more about the seeders? What’s with all this static, anyway?”

[Mister-Kent]

Michael
Though he seems distracted, Tobin Thrace almost laughs at your crack about Kleinsmith. "Ah, yeah…You were at the presentation, right? I thought that was you. Kleinsmith's not used to people naysaying her 'utopia'. But you really took her to task about that. It's kinda refreshing…in a fellow scientist." He stammers for another moment, the returns to his concerned look.

He turns back at the seeder, and then up at the crackling sky. "Well, the seeders can be a touch moody sometimes, but this isn't…it's been happening more lately, actually. The nanotech the seeders release, to effect out atmosphere? Stirs up these storms. I don't know..."

He pauses and hastens to lead you back to the group. "We should head inside…I'll tell you about it in the shelter."

There are a few articles on Tobin, typical academic accomplishments--originally from planet Bittori, he earned a reputation as a pretech wunderkind, spearheading several projects on his homeworld. His career seems to have peaked early, however, and at the age of 30 he "retired" from the high-stakes world of pretech R&D and took a part-time government position here with the Caliphate of Amir.

Approaching the tour, Tobin waves his arms. "Bad weather ahead, people! Everyone in the vans, we're heading indoors 'til it passes!"

Malachi
You stand with Bjorn al-Ahmed as he motions for the seeder to stop. You witness the hulking mega-tractor halt, it's nanotech-dispensing chimneys puffing to a halt. The driver's cockpit opens and a heavily-suited figure climbs out, shouting questions in their native tongue.

You hear Tobin Thrace calling the tour group together, and as the crowd begins to converge, there is a crack of green light, a deafening boom, and a sizzling bolt of electricity erupts from the sky.

Both of you, please make an Evasion Save!

[Coleridge]

Evasion check

Evasion check. 12 needed [1d20+1] = 16+1 = 17

[Marullus]

Evasion save. 12. [1d20+1] = 7+1 = 8

[Mister-Kent]

Every member of the 35-person expedition looks up as the sky flashes, but only some are able to hit the ground before a massive wave of energy cascades down from the clouds. Some individuals screams as

Malachi's compad and survey scanner crackle and go dark, rendered inoperable. They will have to be fixed upon return to civilization or tinkered with at a safe place.

Michael rushes to a vehicle with Tobin Thrace, and Malachi is close enough to rush alongside Bjorn al-Ahmed, but the both of you lose sight of Zedra Rabin and Dr. Lyla Kleinsmith in the chaos, and don’t know which vehicles they jumped into.

The electrical storm chases the caravan to the southward bunker's waiting underground garage, and a large blast door drops behind them. The tourists emerge from the vehicles terrified and dazed, still not quite certain what just happened.

[Coleridge]

Michael, Expert Xenobiologist

Michael stares at Tobit Thrace.

“What the <bleep> was that? Given the garage’s fortifications, I’m guessing this isn’t something…. Unexpected.”

Michael waves to Malachi, realizing that they can no longer communicate via compad.

“You ok man?”

Michael surveys the garage. Are all the cars and tourists here?

[Marullus]

Malachi is lost for a long moment in the initial dismay of his damaged equipment, trying futilely to resuscitate it. As Michael breaks his reverie, his attention returns abruptly to his surroundings, the broken gear sliding back into his satchel. Much can be learned by observing emergency response and he turns his attention to the crews to learn from this opportunity. How are they responding to the event? To the presence of tourists? To the protection of state officials? Are they practiced in this drill, executing an untried plan, or improvising?

[Mister-Kent]

Tobin Thrace slumps down over the steering column of the vehicle, catching his breath. "Okay…so we didn't expect it today, but…but yes, this is a problem of increasing frequency," he says, before opening the craft's doors and darting out to survey the tour group.

Four of the five ATV buses have made it to the shelter, with one still out in the storm.

Tourists are leaving their vehicles, some of them singed from the electrical pulses, but astonishingly nothing worse. No sign of Zedra or Kleinsmith.

Vizier of Cultivation Bjorn al-Ahmed dashes to the fortified storm-windows that line the bunker and stares out into green flickering chaos. Inundated with questions from concerned tourists, al-Ahmed can only tell everyone to sit tight and the storm will pass.

"This work we're doing with the seeders…it's not an exact science," Tobin quietly admits to you both. "The first Caliphs barely understood the tech when they started using it--how does anyone expect a techie from Bittori to grasp the intricacies of nano-terraforming in just one lifetime?" he asks guiltily, his face flush with concern.

[Coleridge]

Michael, Xenobiologist

“Hmm, by my count, one of our tour vehicles is still out there in the storm, and I don’t see sourpuss anywhere. Does anyone still have contact with the city? Do we need to call for help?”

Michael looks around, realizing that Zedra is missing too. His expression turns fearful, his eyes widening behind his dark glasses, but only for a moment. His emotions quickly pulled back beneath his mask.

He lights up a cigarette and approaches one of the vehicles.

“Where I come from, we don’t leave our friends behind in raging death storms.”

He slips behind the wheel.

“I’m going back out there to get Kleinsmith. She’s got a lot of friggin explaining to do.”

“Anyone else coming?”

Michael looks pointedly at Malachi and signals him with a quick jerk of his head to hop in.

[Marullus]

. Much can be learned by observing emergency response and he turns his attention to the crews to learn from this opportunity. How are they responding to the event? To the presence of tourists? To the protection of state officials? Are they practiced in this drill, executing an untried plan, or improvising?

Can I get an answer on the nature, quantity, and quality of the official response? It impacts how Malachi jumps in.

[Mister-Kent]

Malachi
Between the half dozen or so official government aids, there seems to be two distinct groups--those tending to the needs of the tourists, and the more organized and defensive group looking after the well-being of the dignitaries.

The tourist-focused group seems quite prepared at pulling emergency supplies from all nooks in this bunker. Likewise, the aides attending Tobin and the Vizier seem to know exactly where the comms server is and are practiced as they send messages in their native tongue back to the city of Oasis. There is no response, however.

"Okay…try the secure line," Tobin commands the others, who switch their comms frequencies to no avail.

"I think we can boost the signal, but I'll need some help," Tobin says desperately, looking around the room as he pops open his toolkit.

Michael
"Of course, of course we're mounting a return to the site as we speak!" the Vizier assures you. When he sees you jump behind the wheel, he is flabbergasted. "But-but-but--! The storm is at its height--if we go out now, we could be torn apart crossing the ridge. If their other truck remains on the lower plain, why the storm could pass right over them…" He sounds very measured and diplomatic, as if he's weighed these options in his head many times before.

[Marullus]

Malachi watches the response. Good at hiding, avoiding operations. He switches his demeanor, briefly flashing an official-looking badge and exuding official competence as he turns to the Visier and talks quietly. "We'll handle recovery of your experts, Visier. It is not in my nature to leave a man behind. We'll discuss when we return, yes?" He then hops in the truck with Michael and nods for him to hit the gas.

Executing as a bluff; combining his military training with a ruse that takes advantage of the chaos of the event. When we return from the Special Ops mission, competence lends credence and we can talk him into letting us "avoid future trouble" with "the organization" by taking one of the seeders for testing/evaluation quietly. It is best for him and everyone if we just keep this below board, after all...

[Mister-Kent]

The Vizier stammers, but ultimately allows your action. With the whole room watching, he's not really in a position to refuse you even if he didn't agree.

He waves to the armed aides to let you go...

There are armed personnel nearby. Do you take any with you?

[Marullus]

Michael is at the wheel, I'll defer final decision to him. I am fine either way; one gives us more capability/options, the other more leeway in our ruse.