Y2156.11.25 - SHIPSHAPE

[atpollard]

Y2156.12.02-05 Ellie’s Place (East of Brulantfort) TECH

NYOTA:
The evacuation forced the Doctor into a strange ‘no-mans-land’. At first she found herself camping out several hours drive from The COLONY with an eclectic group that felt more like Strangers than anything else. She just wanted to get back to helping patients and the closest thing to a patient was an ‘Amazon’ that glared at most of them but seemed to like Nyota and Hol for some inexplicable reason.

Nyota hitched a ride back to the Colony at the first opportunity and was promptly arrested and interrogated for two days about …

• her Medical and Mechanical skill?
• what brought her to Brulantfort?
• her questionable background?

Eventually, the polite but insistent questioning gave way to less polite threats …

• Revocation of her citizenship.
• Prison for criminal activity.
• Execution as a foreign spy.

Ultimately all pretext was abandoned as a new individual questioned Nyota.
”Where did Ellie hide the prototype? Where are her notes?” the man whispered, inches from your face ”We can keep you here forever, or even make you completely disappear. So it would be best if you just told me everything that you know.”

Nyota’s mind raced. She had no answers. She had nothing to bargain with. Outside her door she had seen a dozen unconscious people dragged off. Others who had been “questioned” in this warehouse-turned-security-area. Then a woman wearing a medical insignia approached with a hypodermic spray …

Nyota woke in the Clinic, bruises on her wrists and ankles from restraints and her head foggy from some sort of drug cocktail. A man in a security uniform was standing outside the door.

”Nice talk, until we meet again.” he smiled and nodded, then turned to leave.

Nyota got dressed as quickly as she could and staggered from the Clinic still a bit unsteady. She ran into Guy and immediately left the Colony. As you rode, she told Guy and DJ about the interrogation. Guy was feeling more paranoid than usual and had DJ stop the vehicle. Scanning EVERYTHING, they discovered that both the Grav Pickup and Nyota’s shoes had trackers in them. The skilled team was able to locate and extract the TRACKERS, but needed to decide what to do with them.

If you destroyed them, that would tell whoever placed them there one thing. Instead, the group continued past the turnoff for Ellie’s and further along the main road to the next town. There they placed one tracker on each of two vehicles heading to different locations. By the time WHOEVER figured it out, they would have no idea where the change was made and where Nyota and DJ’s truck had gone to.

It was late and dark when you arrived at Ellie’s Campsite from a completely different direction.

SECURED COMMS:
The recent events moved the secured Comm issue WAY UP on everyone’s priority list. DJ brought his ELECTRONIC/COMM skill to assist with Tut and Guy (both COMPUTER skill) and the Comm equipment the group had acquired. Ellie’s ship already had the most secure system to provide a starting point for their efforts (and it was hard to beat a Starship Computer for encryption algorithms).

Nyota was bored again, but learned about Dr. Ellie and some mysterious “patient” of hers that lived inside the ship from Juliette (the ‘barbarian’). Curiosity piqued, Nyota worked her way aboard the ship to help with the Secured Comm. Her MECHANICAL skill would allow them to add an order of magnitude of complexity to their encryption beyond what electronics alone could provide. The fact that it allowed her to “peek around” was just a bonus.

It was the confluence of Nyota’s MEDICAL, Guy’s COMPUTER, Tut’s access to Ellie’s Notes on the Ship’s Computer (her work) and the effort to integrate your COMM and the Ship’s COMM that led to an unexpected discovery. The Ship’s Computer was currently functioning as an advanced Model/4 Computer and was innately capable of functioning as a MASTER UNIT to control ROBOTIC DRONES. It was presently able to operate up to 8 drones at SKILL-1 or 16 drones at SKILL-0 to assist in repairing the ship.

In addition, while Nyota could not understand EVERYTHING that Dr. Ellie was doing with the Organic Computer, she could understand enough to continue its Medical Treatment and accelerate its healing … If the group wanted to grant her and Guy that level of access (requires high MEDICAL and COMPUTER skill).

[ateno]

Tut knows there is more to what he has found out, but will grant access if the rest of the group agrees.

Tut

[gurusql]

Hol

Hol continues to marvel what his Aunt was up to.

[shaidar]

DJ

DJ has no objections to the others having access.

Once the comms is setup, DJ is happy to take the advanced electronics to St Landry. He feels that a known face will help cement relations, but is happy is others want to join him. He will hire a vehicle if needed, but would prefer to take one of the new grav vehicles if possible.

[Thumper]

I'm a bit confused as to how many of each you are proposing and what the total cost will be.

1x heavy grav= 107k cr
1x heavy tracked= 53k cr
1x medium tracked= 52k cr
3x drones (slaved)= 6k cr

Total: 218k cr

We should get 138 to 272 man hours per day from these robots/drones

[shaidar]

DJ

DJ thinks that the bots and drones are a worthwhile investment.

Thanks.

[atpollard]

Y2156.12.02-05 Ellie’s Place (East of Brulantfort) SHIP
With the arrival of SIX robots …

• Model F-55/15/5-Grav (TL 11; 500 kg; Cr 107,000) A large ROBOT equipped with a “Autonomy AI” (TL 11) and programmed with Engineering-2. The ROBOT comes equipped with Basic Sensors and Voder (enabling it to see, hear and speak) as well as one Medium Arm and two Light Arms. It is powered by a 70 kW Fuel Cell and 16 hours of on board LH2 [459 liters, Cr 16]. The Grav module allows it to fly at 160 kph (cruise), and 40 kph (NOE). The ROBOT has an effective STR=55, DEX=15, INT=5 and can carry a 260 kg payload in flight.
• Model F-65/4/4-Tracked (TL 10; 500 kg; Cr 53,000) A large ROBOT equipped with a “Low Autonomy AI” (TL 10) and programmed with Engineering-2. The ROBOT comes equipped with Basic Sensors and Voder (enabling it to see, hear and speak) as well as two Medium Arms. It is powered by a 15 kW Fuel Cell and 16 hours of on board LH2 [94 liters, Cr 3]. The tracks can propel it at 56 kph (highway), 38 kph (dirt road), and 8 kph (off-road). The ROBOT has an effective STR=65, DEX=5, INT=4.
• Model E-30/3/4-Tracked (TL 10; 200 kg; Cr 52,000) A large ROBOT equipped with a “Low Autonomy AI” (TL 10) and programmed with Engineering-2. The ROBOT comes equipped with Basic Sensors and Voder (enabling it to see, hear and speak) as well as one Medium Arm. It is powered by a 7 kW Fuel Cell and 16 hours of on board LH2 [47 liters, Cr 2]. The tracks can propel it at 56 kph (highway), 38 kph (dirt road), and 8 kph (off-road). The ROBOT has an effective STR=30, DEX=4, INT=4.
• [x 3] Model C-5/8/D-Tracked (TL 10; 50 kg; Cr 2,000) A small, simple ROBOT Drone equipped with a “Slave Unit” (TL 7) The ROBOT comes equipped with Basic Sensors and no Voder (enabling it to see and hear, but not speak) as well as two Very Light Arms. It is powered by a 4 kW Fuel Cell and 16 hours of on board LH2 [26 liters, Cr 1]. The tracks can propel it at 56 kph (highway), 38 kph (dirt road), and 8 kph (off-road). The ROBOT has an effective STR=5, DEX=9, INT=NA.

… Cr 218,000 left the corporate coffers and attention focused on the ship.

The three AI Drones went to work employing the MD parts in the small Cargo Hold to complete the service on the MD. Tut kept an eye on them, but had to admit they were faster at routine Engineering tasks than even he was. He just didn’t want to have to rely on them to make a decision in an unusual crisis. They reminded him of some of the most mediocre spacers he had met over the years … good at one thing, and worthless in a crisis. Watching them work, Tut saw no reason they couldn’t work around the clock (as long as someone refueled them) and his calculations estimated they would have the MD ready to pass Starport Certification in about 49 days (much better than the years they were looking at doing it themselves).

The Ship’s Computer tasked the three DRONES with repairing the Cockpit/Bridge. As one of the places in most need of repair, it made sense. Watching the little buggers work, they were pretty good Mechanics (Nyota estimated them at MECH-2). The Ship’s Computer projected (+1 qual) to the Cockpit every 12 days with Certification level in 36 days.

Hol, Tut, DJ, Chester and Joceline (Chester’s wife) started some serious discussions about the Ship’s PP [Quality 1] and Hol’s waiting replacement in the Boneyard [Qual 8]. Joceline was pretty sure she could get her hands on a Grav Transport [a COACC Heavy Lift Wrecker used to recover crashed Small Craft] that could move the PPs … the issue was that you would still need about Cr 300,000 worth of new parts to complete the install and about 6000 Level x hours x people of labor. That would be 20 days work for all the robots combined. So there would be a large window of vulnerability where the old PP was outside the ship, but still jury-rigged to supply power and the new PP was inside the ship but not yet operational. Not to mention needing Cr 300,000 unrecorded cash if you didn’t want anyone to know what you are doing.


THE COMPUTER
Hol just couldn’t stop thinking about Ellie and her Brain Computer. While Guy and Nyota spent time discussing Ellie’s technical notes and debating the bio-mechanics of the thing. Hol just spent time in the Cockpit watching the DRONES assemble panels and wires. Hol would just stare at the image of his Aunt on one of the displays and think about her. Sometimes he would access the ship’s entertainment programs and just relax. Occasionally, he would just talk with the ship’s Computer.

It seemed strange at first … communicating with the ship like a person … but it came to feel more natural. Hol always felt that it knew more than it would say (and once accused it directly of deliberately ‘playing dumb’), but it was the only other … person? … that knew Ellie, so Hol had no one else to really talk to about her except Juliette and the Ship. Each seemed to know a completely different Dr Ellie. Which was the Aunt that he remembered?

Soon there were TWO chairs and Tut joined Hol sometimes. Tut had a strong suspicion that the Computer was a LOT smarter than it had been when he first met it. He didn’t think that it was hiding capabilities … from what he saw, it had continued to grow and filled over 60% of the space Ellie had carved out of the hull for it. Tut couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like when it reached full size and capacity? It was during one of Hol and Tut’s private conversations on the subject of the Computer’s recovery and the progress of Ship Repairs that the Computer informed you that by Y2156.12.07 it should be able to control six repair drones which would add another Cr 30,000 worth of repairs per week, doubling its current capacity, for an investment of only Cr 6000.

“That would allow me to accelerate repairs on the Cockpit or begin concurrent repairs on the Staterooms.” the SHIP offered.

[shaidar]

DJ

"300K in cash isn't an issue. Last time I delivered to St Landry they paid 200K in cash. If we get them to pay the 195K in cash this time we have more than we need."

[Thumper]

It was during one of Hol and Tut’s private conversations on the subject of the Computer’s recovery and the progress of Ship Repairs that the Computer informed you that by Y2156.12.07 it should be able to control six repair drones which would add another Cr 30,000 worth of repairs per week, doubling its current capacity, for an investment of only Cr 6000.

Mick is shocked to learn that the ships computer has taken over drone operation. He expected the drones to be controlled by their master robots. He votes to order up the 3 additional drones and have them available for when the computer can control them.

”Does the bionic brain tell you anything or converse about your aunt Ellie?“

He will also want to go on the trade delivery...he is after all a rural wheeler and dealer.

[gurusql]

Hol

In talking to the brain he will focus on personal memories and will ask a few question sprinkling into the conversation,

• "What are some of your favorite memories of Aunt Ellie?
• Can you tell me about a time when Aunt Ellie was happiest?
• What was something Aunt Ellie often talked about but I might not have had the chance to talk to you about yet?
• Did Aunt Ellie ever mention a dream or goal that she didn’t get to accomplish?
• Can you tell me a funny story about Aunt Ellie that I might not know?"

[shaidar]

DJ

DJ agrees it's worth buying three more drones.

[atpollard]

Y2156.12.01-07 Decuir (1200 km East of Brulantfort)
HOL & JOE:
Hol drove and Joe rode shotgun on the delivery of 13 tonnes of cargo. Since the load was too big for the Grav, they loaded the largest of the Wheeled Transports they had rented for a while. The 13 tonne cargo fit in the 16 tonne bed with a little room to spare and 12 hours later they arrived at the community of Decuir on the main road to Ville d’ Espoir. The community was situated on a narrow strip of land between the giant freshwater lake and the great ocean, so it was a crossroad between land and water trade networks and communities.

The trip was almost completely uneventful, until you were stopped at a security checkpoint about an hour from your destination by an APC pointing a Canon at you as you were removed from your vehicle for interrogation (separately) and your vehicle was thoroughly searched for “Contraband Technology”. Ultimately, you were allowed to continue your trip, but you understood why truckers were reluctant to take loads on the Ville d Espoir to Brulantfort run.

Upon arrival, both the Refinery and Factory were glad to receive your shipment and happy to hand you the cash. Hol held a case containing Cr 221,100 in cash as Joe looked around nervously. That was a lot of cash.

The community was about twice the population of the COLONY, and lived in a single large structure consisting of a handful of interlocking glass cubes all raised up on stilts. One “cube” appeared dedicated to heavy industry and processing, while another seemed to house all of the Civic and Cultural services. The remaining cubes were all mixed use residential and neighborhood commercial without the social hierarchy stratification of Brulatfort.

Industries are dominated by Fishing (mostly post catch processing), 3 Oil Wellfields and Oil Processing, Metal Fabrication and a small Printing Industry. Retail Trade includes a large Grocery Store, a large General Merchandise Store, a medium Clothing store, a medium Motor Vehicle Dealer, a medium Building/Garden Supply, a medium Vehicle Repair shop, and a handful of small shops

BEAU WHEELED 16-TON CARGO

(TL 8) Cr 83,000; 40,000 kg GVWR. A two-seat wheeled cargo transport with Electronic Controls for a 100 kg Driver, a seat for a 100 kg Passenger and a “pickup bed” with a 16,000 kg cargo capacity. The vehicle has a Top Speed of 200 kph, a Highway Cruise speed of 150 kph (2400 km range), a Dirt Road speed of 100 kph (1600 km range) and an Off-road speed of 40 kph (640 km range). The Internal Combustion Engine (TL 8) consumes 11,420 Liters of Biodiesel Fuel (Cr 2,855 to refuel) in 16 hours.

[Just cleaning up the items that accumulated up to day 12.07 ... starting with HOL & JOE].

[Thumper]

In addition, while Nyota could not understand EVERYTHING that Dr. Ellie was doing with the Organic Computer, she could understand enough to continue its Medical Treatment and accelerate its healing … If the group wanted to grant her and Guy that level of access (requires high MEDICAL and COMPUTER skill).

Mick gets very wigged out to see Nyota’s wounds and hear of her interrogations:

”Is this whole raid on the Colony about the Blockheads going after Ellie? My gosh, what are we sitting on here? Is it that bionic brain?

If y’all ever get this ship flyable, how are we ever going to get certified and hide the nature of the ships computer? I don’t know anything about this scheise. Way outta my woods here. But I can’t help but wonder what we stumbled into and what this all means?

Don’t get me wrong, the Blockheads don’t scare me…much. Just gotta stay ahead of ‘em, but I ain’t got a clue about all this. I guess I ought to just go order some more drones.

——
Later in the day he’ll go try to find alone time on the bridge. He’ll observe the alien creature for a while…then try to reach into himself to draw out his telepathy and try to direct a simple thought projection of ”Hello” to the brain…while opening himself to listen if psi strength is present.

[BackworldTraveller]

In addition, while Nyota could not understand EVERYTHING that Dr. Ellie was doing with the Organic Computer, she could understand enough to continue its Medical Treatment and accelerate its healing … If the group wanted to grant her and Guy that level of access (requires high MEDICAL and COMPUTER skill).

Mick gets very wigged out to see Nyota’s wounds and hear of her interrogations:

”Is this whole raid on the Colony about the Blockheads going after Ellie? My gosh, what are we sitting on here? Is it that bionic brain?

If y’all ever get this ship flyable, how are we ever going to get certified and hide the nature of the ships computer? I don’t know anything about this scheise. Way outta my woods here. But I can’t help but wonder what we stumbled into and what this all means?

Don’t get me wrong, the Blockheads don’t scare me…much. Just gotta stay ahead of ‘em, but I ain’t got a clue about all this. I guess I ought to just go order some more drones.

——
Later in the day he’ll go try to find alone time on the bridge. He’ll observe the alien creature for a while…then try to reach into himself to draw out his telepathy and try to direct a simple thought projection of ”Hello” to the brain…while opening himself to listen if psi strength is present.

What I don't get is why they sought to interrogate me at all, let alone injure as they did so.

One thing is why does the ship need to be certified here? If we take off from here where it arrives will see it as already certified. Similarly, if we arrive here we'll be arriving from somewhere else, presumably pre-certified. Do they certify everything every time it arrives? Could we find papers from somewhere obscure, copy those and run with that? Is there somewhere that we could register the ship that acts as a flag of convenience?

[Thumper]

What I don't get is why they sought to interrogate me at all, let alone injure as they did so.

”Ya, weird. The blockhead bureaucrats have always been abusive. Though I thought it was due to incompetence or negligence. I’ve never seen them so physically abusive. But the “New Dawn” annd others I’ve come to know recently obviously can tell you a different story…one of intentional Tyrannical Bureaucracy.

I was toying with the idea of hunting around the Galaxy. Now I just want to get out of here, and shed some light on whatever is behind this if we can. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”

[ateno]

”Does the bionic brain tell you anything or converse about your aunt Ellie?“

He will also want to go on the trade delivery...he is after all a rural wheeler and dealer.

"I'm not sure if this is a breakthrough, but Hol and I are going to work together to see what we can find. I lead the investigation for a bit, Hol has some idea's I want him to try."

Tut

[Eris]

Y2156.12.01-07 Decuir (1200 km East of Brulantfort)
HOL & JOE:
Hol drove and Joe rode shotgun on the delivery of 13 tonnes of cargo. Since the load was too big for the Grav, they loaded the largest of the Wheeled Transports they had rented for a while. The 13 tonne cargo fit in the 16 tonne bed with a little room to spare and 12 hours later they arrived at the community of Decuir on the main road to Ville d’ Espoir. The community was situated on a narrow strip of land between the giant freshwater lake and the great ocean, so it was a crossroad between land and water trade networks and communities.

The trip was almost completely uneventful, until you were stopped at a security checkpoint about an hour from your destination by an APC pointing a Canon at you as you were removed from your vehicle for interrogation (separately) and your vehicle was thoroughly searched for “Contraband Technology”. Ultimately, you were allowed to continue your trip, but you understood why truckers were reluctant to take loads on the Ville d Espoir to Brulantfort run.

Upon arrival, both the Refinery and Factory were glad to receive your shipment and happy to hand you the cash. Hol held a case containing Cr 221,100 in cash as Joe looked around nervously. That was a lot of cash.

The community was about twice the population of the COLONY, and lived in a single large structure consisting of a handful of interlocking glass cubes all raised up on stilts. One “cube” appeared dedicated to heavy industry and processing, while another seemed to house all of the Civic and Cultural services. The remaining cubes were all mixed use residential and neighborhood commercial without the social hierarchy stratification of Brulatfort.

Industries are dominated by Fishing (mostly post catch processing), 3 Oil Wellfields and Oil Processing, Metal Fabrication and a small Printing Industry. Retail Trade includes a large Grocery Store, a large General Merchandise Store, a medium Clothing store, a medium Motor Vehicle Dealer, a medium Building/Garden Supply, a medium Vehicle Repair shop, and a handful of small shops

BEAU WHEELED 16-TON CARGO

(TL 8) Cr 83,000; 40,000 kg GVWR. A two-seat wheeled cargo transport with Electronic Controls for a 100 kg Driver, a seat for a 100 kg Passenger and a “pickup bed” with a 16,000 kg cargo capacity. The vehicle has a Top Speed of 200 kph, a Highway Cruise speed of 150 kph (2400 km range), a Dirt Road speed of 100 kph (1600 km range) and an Off-road speed of 40 kph (640 km range). The Internal Combustion Engine (TL 8) consumes 11,420 Liters of Biodiesel Fuel (Cr 2,855 to refuel) in 16 hours.

[Just cleaning up the items that accumulated up to day 12.07 ... starting with HOL & JOE].

Joe chatted with Hol as the pair drove to Decuir about his travels to various systems during his time as a crewman aboard merchant ships. He'll ask him about his background as well.

Getting more serious, Joe asks if the local authorities have always been as heavy handed as they seem to be right now.

Joe quietly complies with the people on the APC, but he's shuck by it and mutters to Hol after they are allowed to leave, "What the heck is up with these people? We're going to have to deal with them on the way back, too."

At Decuir, Joe chats with the locals as they do business. He will ask if the authorities have seemed more heavy handed and more present than usual? He'll also be on the look out for goods that might be a good fit for sale back in Brulantfort...goods that aren't 'contraband' and likely to get he and Hol arrested/shot as they transport it back.

[gurusql]

Hol

During the travel Hol will tell Joe, arms crossed as if the whole universe was just one big joke he was in on. His eyes gleamed with the kind of reckless confidence that only comes from flying too fast, pushing too hard, and surviving anyway.

"I was in the Navy," he started, voice smooth but edged with a touch of nostalgia. "Got to fly all the cool ships—the kind that make your heart pound. Cutting through the void at speeds that make your bones hum." He let out a small chuckle, shaking his head. "And the best part? Going up against the Ursoid pilots.You don’t know adrenaline till you’ve had one of them on your six, growling in your comms while you pull every trick in the book to shake ‘em."

For a moment, his gaze drifted, like he could still hear the roar of thrusters and the pulse of laser fire. Then his smirk returned, sharp and self-deprecating.

"Yeah, it was all good—real good—until a little… incident." He let out a breath, feigning nonchalance but not quite hiding the bite behind it. "Call it hazing gone wrong, a joke taken too far—whatever makes you sleep at night. Navy brass didn’t care. Rules are rules, and next thing I knew, I was grounded, stripped of my wings, and dumped here like yesterday’s garbage."


"But let me tell you something… you can take a pilot out of the cockpit, but you can’t take the sky out of his blood. And one way or another, I’m getting back up there."

After the sale, Hol will help to find another purchase so we not driving with that much cash.

[Eris]

"Well, Hol, I want to get back up in the deep black, too." Joe chuckles, "Not to play tag with Ursoids, though."

Joe continues, "For me space is the distance that I have to travel that gets me from one world to another. It's the worlds, the sites, the people, and the cultures that keep me coming back for more. Trade is how I pay for the travel, space what I travel through, and the ship is how I do the trade and the travel...so for me, I guess, the Ship comes first."

"Give me a working ship that takes me into space and takes me to all those other worlds." Joe grins, "A ship that let's me make the trades as I travel from world to world that pays to keep the ship and keep it flying. That's what I'm after."

OOC: I think we have access to secure comms, yes? If so, Joe is going to contact the others back at Base and ask how much cash we need to come back with. I think we need a hunk of cash to pay for some of the drones and other machinery...and parts, etc. He wants to know how much of the 221,100 he needs to keep liquid and how much he can use to buy whatever Decuir has that Brulantfort doesn't.

[atpollard]

Y2156.12.05-07 The Colony (Brulantfort) [Mark Jensen]

GUY, TUT & NYOTA
Guy has scheduled an appointment to meet with Mark Jensen. Tut had been VERY interested in information on Building 7 [“Data Processing & Storage”] and offered to come along as an opportunity to get a look inside. Guy’s meeting was primarily to extend an offer to help with any equipment that Mark might need. You had lightly brushed past one another on the [DARK WEB], aware of each other’s respectable skills within different spheres of the COMPUTER world.

Mark and Building 7 were “somehow” linked to Ellie, but the place was both a physical and digital fortress. The ship’s COMM records indicated that Ellie had a history of regular, encrypted communication with Building 7 and that encryption was beyond Military Grade - strictly cutting edge.

Nyota had a hard decision to make … return to the COLONY and attempt to discover if Mark knew anything about Ellie’s “Patient” [the Ship’s Computer], or stay far away from the Security Forces at Brulantfort and remain safe at the ship and camp.

(Just let me know if anyone else really wants in - I tried to give everyone something.)