The Unseen Servant forums

Rock
Chief, any sign that the pod is aware of us or evading?

BackworldTraveller wrote: ↑Wed Feb 10, 2021 9:25 pm Rock
Chief, any sign that the pod is aware of us or evading?

The chief shakes his head. "They haven't thrusters, and only one small porthole. We're not even a dot at this distance, Sir."

[1437.003.0935 (Ship Time)] Princess One, Birach System

"We're in range to dock with the life pod," the CPO reports. "The other boat will be here in five minutes."

Zhenya moves to the airlock and checks her equipment.

Chief, would feed me the telemetry ? The Comte needs my assistance boarding a warship. The less I use my thrusters here the more use I will be there.

The Bindoner wrote: ↑Sat Feb 13, 2021 8:47 pm Zhenya checks her tether and the line-launcher, watching from the airlock and waiting for McConnell's team to secure their grappling line.

After a minute of work, McConnell straightens up from his console. "Contact on the life pod. Starting to reel it in. It will come up on the starboard side, near the hatch." He points to the hatch across from the customary entry hatch. "We will use the port hatch for personnel transfer to Princess Two."

Zhenya checks her tether and the line-launcher, watching from the airlock and waiting for McConnell's team to secure their grappling line.

The Bindoner wrote: ↑Sat Feb 13, 2021 8:59 pm Zhenya checks her tether and the line-launcher, watching from the airlock and waiting for McConnell's team to secure their grappling line.

From her viewpoint, the grappling line to the escape pod is securely connected, and the boat is slowly reeling it in.

joertexas wrote: ↑Sun Feb 14, 2021 2:32 am

The Bindoner wrote: ↑Sat Feb 13, 2021 8:59 pm Zhenya checks her tether and the line-launcher, watching from the airlock and waiting for McConnell's team to secure their grappling line.

From her viewpoint, the grappling line to the escape pod is securely connected, and the boat is slowly reeling it in.

The lifeboat draws close enough for the docking collar to reach, but its off-axis rotation is too much for the collar and the pinnace's computer to handle.

On the opposite side, Rock catches sight of the other pinnace as it decelerates for docking.

Zhenya estimates the relative angles and triggers the airlock line-thrower, attaching a second cable to stabilise the pod.

Kicking off from the Pinnace Zhenya crosses the gap to the hull of the escape pod, landing near the point that McConnell indicated. Engaging her "magnetic soles" she moves to attach the control module to the maintenance panel described.



Launcher: [2d6]=9

Zero-G: [2d6]=9

The Bindoner wrote: ↑Tue Feb 16, 2021 10:50 am Zhenya estimates the relative angles and triggers the airlock line-thrower, attaching a second cable to stabilise the pod.

Kicking off from the Pinnace Zhenya crosses the gap to the hull of the escape pod, landing near the point that McConnell indicated. Engaging her "magnetic soles" she moves to attach the control module to the maintenance panel described.



Launcher: [2d6]=9

Zero-G: [2d6]=9

The line thrower can't get an angle, so Zhenya will have to hand carry it across. I will presume she does this, and edit this post if she chooses to not do it.

Zheyna opens the outer hatch on the pinnace's tiny starboard airlock, unlocks the reel on the second retrieval cable, and clips the hook to her belt. The wire is a composite braid barely two millimeters in diameter, with a grappling plug on the end. She attaches the plug to her suit with a carabiner, locks her HUD on the pod's beacon, and pushes off. Her momentum carries her across the gap, and then she accidentally hits the connected cable. The next few seconds is a blur of instinct-level actions, at the end of which Zhenya finds herself hanging onto one of the pod's towel bars with both hands as her heart rate stabilizes.

Everyone watching sees the cable sideswipe Zheyna just below the knee and send her tumbling. She reaches out like a striking snake to grab the cable, rights herself, and uses the resulting momentum to propel herself towards the pod. It's very graceful, and it looks easy from their vantage point.

Over the next minute, Zhenya struggles with the cable and the pod's erratic motion. Having the tether attached has made the pod "cone" around the attachment point, and it's motion is threatening to tear Zhenya from her handhold. Worse, her mass is adding to the motion - and her cable is wrapping itself around the tether.

Coning motion diagramed here on p. 9: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/aeronautics ... _Lec29.pdf

Roll[2d6]=7 + Zero-g-1 = 8 - she's hanging in there. Literally.

Zhenya exclaims Pizdets! and begins to haul herself across the hull of the pod to free the tether. If she can get the thing loose and attach it this will all get so much simpler.

As the whirling pod does its best to throw he off she comments to herself K chertu vse eto der'mo, ya by predpochel, chtoby v menya strelyali.


Zero-G [2d6]=8 +1 Skill = 9

The Bindoner wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 10:41 pm Zhenya exclaims Pizdets! and begins to haul herself across the hull of the pod to free the tether. If she can get the thing loose and attach it this will all get so much simpler.

As the whirling pod does its best to throw he off she comments to herself K chertu vse eto der'mo, ya by predpochel, chtoby v menya strelyali.


Zero-G [2d6]=8 +1 Skill = 9

She manages to maneuver to the panel, but the second cable she carries has wrapped itself around the tether, and now it won't reach! She sees that, if she can attach herself to the handhold with one of her suit's two anchor straps (Avg Diff), she can use both hands to pull a little more slack from the cable reel.

Zhenya, silent now, concentrates on making herself secure and freeing enough cable to make the connection.

[2d6]=8+1 =9

The Bindoner wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 11:16 pm Zhenya, silent now, concentrates on making herself secure and freeing enough cable to make the connection.

[2d6]=8+1 =9

She struggles with the cable, and finally gets it plugged into the port. The power panel lights up, and Zhenya notes that it's the standard panel she trained on with the Confed Navy. There's manual thruster controls, and the switch to transfer thruster control to a recovery craft.

Exhaling her bated breath in a grateful sigh Zhenya throws the switch to give Princess One direct control of the pod's manoeuvre capability. She is no pilot, and takes care not to touch the manual controls as she does so.

Over comm to McConnell: You should have access to the pod's thrusters now. When you confirm this I will move to monitor the connection.


[2d6]=8 +0 Computer +1 Int =9

After another minute of gyrations, and the pod is finally cooperating. The craft correctly orients itself to the pinnace's hatch, and the collar extends. Zhenya moves to place herself inside the collar, and, after a moment, the collar continues outward until it mates with the pod. "Good seal," McConnel reports. "Pressure coming up."

Rock
Rock is up from his seat and hovering near the hatch, eager for sight of his children and torn between exploding and calm. Unsure who is actually going to be present he waits until the CPO cracks the seals...don't interfere with the staff.

Zhenya - do you have a count on the bodies inside?

I regret that I have not found the opportunity to determine that information yet, my apologies.

Zhenya looks at the panel by the airlock to see what information she can glean.

The Bindoner wrote: ↑Sun Feb 21, 2021 9:44 pm I regret that I have not found the opportunity to determine that information yet, my apologies.

Zhenya looks at the panel by the airlock to see what information she can glean.

There are three people aboard, according to what Zhenya sees. "Atmospheric pressure at point seven standard," McConnell intones a moment later. "It looks good, Ma'am. You can open the pod's hatch at your discretion, you have equal pressure on both sides. Please confirm that on the pod's environmental panel". Zhenya sees that the indicator to open the pod's hatch is green, and she feels her suit's fabric relax as it automatically equalizes pressure, as well. Her HUD also confirms that the air around her is breathable.