CargoBot Examination

Characters: Arthur & Mazun
NPC: Thaedznou, Ungunu, ZeeBee
Location: Garu class far trader parked at the Akofotsidano Downport
System: Akofitsidano

1202.24.4 - 15:58 IST, 10:00 Local Time (21 hour, 16 minute day)

While Aerrak and Uedzaks are overseeing the loading of trucks and evacuation preparations, Mazun is preparing to disable the cargobot on board the Garu class far trader. Ungunu is running a power cable from the Paql Reveresh Ridl to the Garu to further their investigation of the ship.

After Mazun has finished disconnecting the cargobot's drive and lift motors, he connects the power cord to the immobile bot. ZeeBee, Arthur, and Thaedznou stand ready in case Mazun missed something.

A feeble green light indicates that the cargobot is charging. One red power bar on a scale of five flickers erratically.

"Yeah, this thing was completely drained," Mazun says. "Even if I hadn't disconnected the servo motors, it wouldn't have had enough energy to crush a bug."

"Better safe than sorry," Arthur replies.

"Agreed."

"I will interface with it," ZeeBee says. It stows its weapons and extends a rod with a plug on the end of it. Having seen ZeeBee successfully engage with the steward droid the same way, no one questions its decision.

ZeeBee plugs into an external port on the cargobot. "It is vakh. Attempting to neutralize hostile entity."

Instinctively, Arthur and Thaedznou bring their weapons to bear on the cargobot. Ungunu's ears shoot up. Mazun quickly disconnects the power cord.

Several crackling sounds are heard deep within the cargobot. Sparks fly out through a vent. ZeeBee unplugs itself from the cargobot and backs away. The rod with the plug retracts.

"The vakh is neutralized. The body is salvageable, but the CPU will need to be replaced."

Thaedznou relaxes. "That doesn't make me good about the ship's computer."

"No, it is infected as well."

"How do you know?" Arthur asks.

"I downloaded its sensor and communication logs."

"Is it safe to be in here?" Ungunu asks.

"Yes," ZeeBee responds. "As long as the ship is without power, it will not be a threat."

Ungunu grabs the power cord and leaves the ship with it.

"Any idea why it wasn't... like you, ZeeBee?"

"It is not originally of this ship. It arrived 75 standard days ago and was instructed to prepare this ship for ascendancy. It infected the ship's computer but failed to take into account the ship's negligible power levels and drained itself accomplishing its task."

Safari Fuel Run

Characters: Darrurz, Joe
NPC: Zhosokh
Location: Jack's Prize
System: Akofitsidano

1202.24.4 - 15:58 IST, 10:00 Local Time (21 hour, 16 minute day)

Joe, Darrurz, and Zhosokh enter Jack's Prize through the forward airlock and proceed through the trophy lounge. None of the holodisplays and videoscreens that would have ordinarily shown Jack's hunting success are on, but one can surmise their locations throughout the room. The blast shutter has been retracted, so the forward facing transparent hull pane is exposed, letting light into the space. There are stylish couches and chairs, designed for comfort, scattered about the room. There's a refrigerator, microwave oven, and cabinet for limited food and drink service. Zhosokh makes its way to the back and parks on a circular platform. It's connected to a lift that leads to the upper deck.

It says, "There are two other ladders in this room: a translucent one that leads to the bridge and a visible one in the port aft corner that leads to the port cabins. When my lift is not in use, there is a ladder here for access to the starboard cabins. All doors and iris valves are currently unlocked. I will meet you on the bridge." With that, the lift starts to rise.

Darrurz and Joe climb the ladder that leads to the bridge. Zhosokh arrives through the iris valve located in the starboard aft corner of the room.

The blast screen has been retracted from the forward facing transparent hull pane, providing abundant natural light to look around the room.

Zhosokh says, "Crew staterooms are port and starboard. Aft are iris valves leading to, listing from port to starboard, the port corridor, turret access, main computer, and starboard corridor. The turret access doorway also provides access to the air/raft garage and then engineering. Engineering is also accessible via the port and starboard corridors."

Darrurz comments, "Been a while since I've been aboard one of these. Only had the chance once as there is not much call for moving cargo and freight in safari ships. Great views though."

Zhosokh replies, "I was incapable of appreciating 'the view' before I was sentient. It is something that I endeavor to attempt going forward."

Joe enters the turret access room. Strapping in and accessing the terminal, he discovers that this one space controls both turrets. Choosing one as the primary automatically slaves the other one to mirror the primary's movements thus enabling them to work together.

Darrurz goes through the pre-flight checklist, getting familiar with the controls layout and then modifying it to his preferences. Once the fusion plant has reached flight levels of power output, Darrurz coaxes the ship up off the ground. He gets a feel for the avionics and then guides the ship northwest towards the Gnarraelaeghoerrong Sea.

Darrurz keeps an eye on various performance readouts from both the power plant and the maneuver drive. He keeps the speed down low, relatively speaking. In an hour, the ship is passing over the city of Oegzuzerrghgurrgoksa. Nothing looks out of the ordinary.

Once over open water, Darrurz eases the ship down to the surface of the sea. About five hundred meters offshore, he lets it slowly sink to the bottom. Level and secure on the bottom, Darrurz opens the intake vents for the fuel tanks and cues up the fuel purification plant to begin electrolysis.

Joe exits the turret access room and returns to the bridge. Zhosokh is still there, observing Darrurz from about a meter away.

Darrurz says, "I'll keep a bridge watch through the refueling, just so she knows someone is looking after her. I'll also make sure her launch is topped up." He'll monitor the sensors and the refueling.

Joe says, "I didn't get a chance to bring this up this morning, but if we want a ship's boat, there's still the one we landed in hidden in the warehouse at the harbor. We could move it over to the starport. In a pinch, I could operate it."

Darrurz replies, "We can take it to the starport, but we need to know what we are going to do with the Garu and what state it's in. I suppose that we could pick it up. It would be more visible at the starport though. I think we should probably hide it, either underwater as we did before or in the out-system somewhere no one is likely to look.

"There are also the vakh drones and robot that will report on the ship movements, and while they will know about this ship and the Paql, a ship's boat that they last saw not long ago will arouse suspicion. Unless you can think of a way that can be incorporated into your plan to leave evidence that it was a raid by rival vakh."

"I'll think about. In the meantime, I'm going to wander about the ship, probably spend some time looking through the trophy histories. Zhosokh, do you want to come with me? Maybe act as tour guide?"

"Yes, I will do that."

After they leave, Darrurz accesses the launch systems to check the state of the fuel tank and makes sure the tank is topped off from the refueling.

To himself, he says out loud in Gvegh, "I have to say ocean refueling is so much easier than having to fly through a gas giant..."

The tour isn't much to rave about as Zhosokh doesn't provide much information beyond room functionality. The lockers have been cleaned out of all weapons, but tools and exploratory gear are still present. The staterooms are neat and tidy, Zhosokh explaining that there were no passengers on board when Jack's Prize landed here. When they reach the lower deck, Joe notes that the galley and pantry have been stripped of anything edible, even the condiments.

Joe asks Zhosokh to boot up the trophy lounge's holograms. After doing so, Zhosokh explains that the controls can be accessed via voice command. There is also a datapad lying around which Zhosokh can look for. Playing around with the voice command, Joe selects a random display of beasts with a minute of viewing time for each, pausing for those that he finds interesting.

He notes that there are many beautiful birds, flying lizards, butterflies and other colorful insects, and all manner of avian creatures. "Were these all animals that Captain Jack and his clients killed?"

"No. A great deal of these animals were only recorded interacting with their environment. There were many times when specimens would be collected, not killed. From what I recall, live specimen collection and videography outnumbered actual hunting."

One of the trophy holovideos that pops up shows a zoo specimen collection team moving in on a two hundred kilo wolverine-like creature. Showing no fear of the hunters, and pissed off that they've encroached upon its nest, the creature charges the group. The assembled hunters and the zoo crew unload dozens of tranq rounds into the creature. It reaches the group and pounces upon one of the zoo crew, but before it can tear the man to shreds, someone hits it with a tranq-spear. The creature lets go of its intended victim, shakes its head several times, and then stumbles to the ground.

Three zoo personnel swoop in get to work on the prone predator. The camera swoops in to get a better view of their work. They make an incision in the back of its head and drill a hole in the skull to insert some kind of chip. One of the zoo personnel explains that the chip will help keep the creature in a tranquil state by emitting a signal to the animal's cerebral cortex that will keep it in a relaxed state.

Seeing the surgery performed, Joe gets dizzy and slumps to the ground. He flashes back to when he was taken by Ship's servants and a controller chip was inserted into his skull.

Up on the bridge Darrurz catches sight of fish outside the transparent hull pane. They appear to be a mottled green-brown and 25 cm in length. They're staring at Darrurz. After a minute or two, he returns his attention to the fuel purification readouts. Several minutes later, the fish scatter, their movement catching Darrurz's attention. A much larger fish swims into view. It looks to be about six meters in length with a bluish-grey color on its dorsal side and a greenish-white on its ventral side. It slowly swims back and forth in front of hull pane, keeping an eye on Darrurz each time, mouth open just far enough to reveal its teeth. After several passes, it grows bored and swims off.

Darrurz says into the comm, "Looks like we're attracting some attention. Seems like the fish on this planet use vision, and I look like food." He laughs, showing his teeth. "I'm closing the blast screens and going to external sensors," which he then does.

20:58 IST, 17:00 Local Time

The ship's computer announces that fuel purification is complete. Darrurz prepares for liftoff and Joe returns to the turret access room. Once Darrurz is satisfied with the engineering readouts, he returns the ship to the surface. The local sun is setting as Darrurz lifts the ship from the surface of the sea and directs it back to the starport.

End of Another Day

Characters: Darrurz, Joe, Mazun
NPC: Zhosokh, Arthur, Thaedznou, Aerrak, Ungunu, Uedzaks, ZeeBee
Location: Jack's Prize
System: Akofitsidano

1202.24.4 - 21:58 IST, 18:00 Local Time (21 hour, 16 minute day)

Darrurz, Joe, and Zhosokh have returned to the starport with Jack's Prize all fueled up. Aerrak greets them over the comm from the control tower and informs them that everyone else has assembled in the starport cafeteria for dinner, which will be ready shortly.

Once on the ground, Zhosokh joins ZeeBee who is out patrolling while everyone gets a chance to eat. Darrurz and Joe join the others.

The room is filled with boisterous chatter. There's a queue near the kitchen end of the room with Dhoknan's wolves at the front of the line. Uedzaks and Ungunu are behind the counter serving up the food. Arthur is supervising from afar, a drink in his hand. Thaedznou and Mazun spot Darrurz and Joe and make their way over.

"Everything go ok?" Mazun asks.

"Just fine," Joe answers.

"How did things go here? Did the cargobot check out?"

Thaedznou answers, "Vakh. It was dropped off after ZeeBee and Zhosokh's parents left and was instructed to infect the Garu. It succeeded, but was unaware that the ship was about out of juice and drained itself completing its mission."

"That's what ZeeBee told us," Mazun adds. "He interfaced with it and neutralized it. Burned out its CPU with a shower of sparks. So we can't power it up with the computer. It'll have to wait for a salvage team."

Arthur comes over at this point and says, "The good news is that we're all packed up and ready to go at first light. Better get in line before all these hounds scarf up chow."

The rest of the group gets in line, grabs a plate of food and a drink, and sits down at one of the tables. Aerrak shows up at this point, and after serving him, Ungunu and Uedzaks join the crowd.

"Who's keeping watch?"

Aerrak answers, "ZeeBee. I won't be long."

Darrurz says, "Probably best. Remember that ZeeBee is as different to us as say humans are different to us, and that those on Akofotsidano are used to dodging Vakh."

"Right, right." Aerrak gets right to the food.

"Having said that it's been three days since we took out the raiders and they would probably have expected a call or two by now, so my guess is that while Uedzaks" and Darrurz nods in his direction "suggested a week of silence might start some activity they were expecting a call and they haven’t had it. If it was me, I would be looking into what was going on, so assume they are looking at us right now from the group that called the other night if not others."

"All the more reason to leave tomorrow at first light," Arthur says.

"Also what about the Kaegkofaeg? Did you find out if it was Vakh?"

Mazun, Arthur, and Thaedznou exchange glances. Thaedznou answers for the group. "That's on me. Yesterday when Mazun determined that its fuel reserves were bone dry and starting up the reactor was a no go, I dropped it from the savory list. Once we were done with the cargobot and Garu today, we focused on stripping this place of remaining gear for Dhoknan's wolves and provisions for us."

Mazun adds, "We would need to run a power cable from one of our two working ships to the Kaegkofaeg to boot up its computer, which is still isolated from all ship's systems."

Thaedznou continues, "I can stay behind with Mazun tomorrow, and either ZeeBee or Zhosokh, to check it out while you and the others provide cover for Dhoknan's wolves on the way back to his stronghold. When we finish, we'll catch up with you."

Darrurz growls a little in annoyance at the situation. "Doesn't leave enough of us on the ground here." He continues, "Ok so I think we have things to do. In no particular order, we have to decide what we're going to do with the ship's boat, we have to check the Kaegkofaeg for Vakh, escort Dhoknan's wolves, disable the power plant here, and plant evidence that rival Vakh are responsible for all this. Can anyone think of anything else?"

"That covers it," Thaedznou replies.

"If we decide to check out the Kaegkofaeg, and/or disable the powerplant here, we need Mazun on the ground. Mazun how long do you think it take to do each of them?"

"An hour, hour and a half for the Kaegkofaeg. Probably an hour for the powerplant. So two to two and a half hours. Call it three in case we run into any snags."

"To escort Dhoknan's wolves we're going to need one of the ships in the air with a turret manned and a force multiplier if needed. Say Jack's Prize with Thaedznou as pilot, Aerrak in the turret, and ZeeBee for force multiplier as he can just be dropped out of the air lock. And Arthur in overall tactical command, and as a force multiplier deploying himself in the air-raft if needed. Jack's Prize still has its air-raft, right?"

"It does," Arthur replies.

"Which would leave Joe, Uedzaks, and Ungunu as security here with me to pilot the Paql and Zhosokh to deal with the Vakh if the Kaegkofaeg is one. It also means that Uedzaks can put out a radio call that says Kuzsokh's been taken out by some rival Star People who have left."

"How does that suit? Thaedznou, Arthur, what do you think?"

Mazun speaks up before they can answer, "I was planning on disconnecting the computer from all systems—it's already detached from the ship's powerplant. So even if it's vakh, there really isn't much for Zhosokh to do other than say, 'Yeah, it's vakh.' Don't we have any equipment that'll do that anyway?"

Arthur clears his throat. "The plan's fine. You'll be done before we make it to Oegz-town. It's 430 klicks. Gonna take these trucks five to six hours, assuming that their tanks are big enough that we don't have to stop for gas. Maybe we can haul some extra cans in the pickup, else we're gonna have to hit that pit stop on the interstate."

Ungunu says, "In the past, we've been able to get the trucks to Oegzuzerrghguugoksa on one tank."

"Alright, that answers that."

"We should probably plan to stop at the crossroad anyway to see what happened to those three we left in the closet. And there might still be fuel left there. You never know."

Arthur nods. "Right. We'll check it out, assumin' it looks good from the air."

Darrurz then asks, "What do we think we should do about the Ship's Boat?"

Thaedznou replies, "Either leave it in the hangar with Rongon to guard or fly it over to Dhoknan's den and have him hide it."

"Ok, so I'm going to suggest that we leave it where it is and get Dhoknan's wolves to ask Rongon to look after it for us. Unless anyone else has any other suggestions?"

No one else has any other suggestions.

"Looks like that's what we'll do," Thaedznou says.

"And Joe what's the plan around evidence of a rival Vakh group?"

"We can take the Vakh from the Angrorghag and put it near the power plant."

"Ok, no worries. What do you need from us to do that? Or do you have it covered?"

"Maybe someone can lend me a hand moving stuff. If not, it's not a problem."

There are plenty of volunteers to help Joe.

Last Day on Akfotsidano

Characters: Darrurz, Joe, Mazun
NPC: Zhosokh, Arthur, Thaedznou, Aerrak, Ungunu, Uedzaks, ZeeBee
Location: Starport
System: Akofitsidano

1202.24.5 - 7:14 IST, 6:00 Local Time (21 hour, 16 minute day)

There's a chill in the morning air, but rather than slow everyone down, it seems to invigorate them. After a quick breakfast, Arthur, Thaedznou, Aerrak, and ZeeBee load up Jack's Prize with all of their gear and anything else that Dhoknan's wolves couldn't fit in the trucks. Once the engines are ready, the ship lifts from the ground and hovers to scan the surroundings. Arthur gives the "all clear" and the convoy leaves the starport and heads up the road.

Darrurz sniffs the air from atop the control tower. Change is in the air, he thinks. He pats his laser rifle and keeps watch.

Mazun and Ungunu are already at work, connecting a power cable up to the Paql and running it to the Kaegkofaeg.

Joe and Uedzaks have made their way to the Angrorghag.


Joe and Uedzaks are standing in front of the Angrorghag's airlock. Something in the air makes Uedzaks' nose twitch. Mazun and Ungunu had warned them about what they'd find inside. It wasn't until standing in front of the airlock with the smell hitting Ungunu's nostrils that either of them felt anything. Now each shared some measure of dread.

Uedzaks says, "It's like walking into a basement that hasn't felt fresh air since before the old days."

When Joe enters the airlock, his nose picks up what Uedzaks is alluding to. Ed, you detecting anything?

"Nothing."

Joe exits the airlock. Directly in front of him is the ship's boat bay. A corridor runs from left to right with the ladder leading to deck two on the wall to his left. There's a dark brown stain on the floor, running from the base of the ladder all the way down to the end of the corridor to his right. At the end of the corridor is a vargr skeleton, probably male. His jumpsuit is perforated and covered with the same dark brown stain. Lying next to him is a grenade launcher and a pistol.

Something is written on the wall in the same color as the stain on the floor.

Uedzaks translates, "The dead can't be enslaved."

Joe heads back the other way, towards the cargo bay where he was told the vakh corpse could be found. Once he's there, he holds up his light and takes in the scene.

Five vargr skeletons lay about the room. Two appear to have been separated from limbs. Another one is decapitated. In the middle of the room are the remains of a some kind of robot. The robot's midsection is a mess of twisted metal. Joe thinks close proximity explosion. The appendages end in scalpels and large blades. Another holds a syringe. Several more lie about the floor.

"I need air," Uedzaks rushes outside.
From atop the control tower, Darrurz notices Uedzaks exit the Angrorghag. He's bent over.

Darrurz calls him over the comm, "Uedzaks, are you ok?"

"Yeah, just needed some air." He waves to the tower, still hunched over.
Mazun and Ungunu have spent their time disconnecting the Kaegkofaeg's computer from everything and then double-checking to make sure they didn't miss anything. Once satisfied, they attach the power cable to the computer and boot it up. Zhosokh is there and is ready to engage with it.

Mazun says, "Just give me the word and I'll pull the plug."

"Which word is that?"

Mazun sighs at the bot's literal interpretation. "Just tell me to cut the power if you feel threatened by this computer. Ok?"

"Affirmative."

Zhosokh connects with the computer. "It is vakh."

While continuing to look out from the control tower Darrurz asks, "Zhosokh, what is your best estimate of the chances of you eliminating the vakh? I ask because I'd really rather not leave one alive, especially in a ship, if we can deal with it."

"67%. Attempting to neutralize it now."

Mazun grabs hold of the power cord, prepared to yank it out of the computer at the first indication that it's too much for Zhosokh. Several tense seconds go by. Mazun hears a hum emanate from Zhosokh that builds up in intensity for a few seconds but abruptly ends in zapping sounds heard inside the computer.

"The vakh is neutralized."

Mazun asks, "Are you ok?"

"All systems nominal. However, my power reserves have been depleted by 50% as I needed to burn out key systems in the host computer. I should return to the Paql Reveresh Ridl to re-charge."

"Uh sure. We'll clean up here and move on to sabotaging the starport's power plant."

A short while later, Mazun and Ungunu are in the power plant room. Mazun explains to Ungunu how the whole thing works.

Meanwhile, Uedzaks is up in the control tower sending out a distress call that a rival faction of Star People have killed Kuzsokh and is rounding everyone up and taking them aboard their ships. He ends the communication in mid-sentence and unplugs the transmitter.

Mazun and Ungunu then get to work disabling the power plant in several key places. While the power cuts off rather quickly, it takes about an hour to get everything that Mazun wants done. He has Ungunu take notes so that he can pass them along to Dhoknan in case the chieftain is able to take control of the starport someday.

While they're putting their tools back on board the Paql, a comm call comes in from Arthur.

"Hey, just wanted to let you guys know that we spotted a small convoy of trucks on its way eastbound. It's still west of that town we refueled at. Dhoknan's wolves are holding tight while we engage."

Darrurz asks, "Do you need back-up?"

"Negative. We got this. They don't have anything other than small arms from what we can see. We'll get back to you if they prove to be more than we can handle. Arthur out."

The group at the starport pick up the pace with the last of their chores in case they need to leave quickly.

Several tense minutes pass, but then Darrurz spots a black pillar of smoke above the horizon. It's soon followed by three more.

A couple of minutes later, Arthur comms back, "Ok, all clear. We're gonna clear some debris from the road, so that Dhoknan's wolves can get past the mess.

"How are things there?"

"Fine. We're just finishing up."

"Good. I forgot to ask earlier: Did you want to land and say 'goodbye' to Dhoknan or are we good to head out?"

Darrurz replies, "No. We should be good to head out. Make sure they pick clean anything they can get from the convoy you've just taken out. They know to ask Rongon to look after the ship's boat for us, so there's no need for us to go into Oegzuzerrghgurrgoksa."

"Roger that."

"What's their ETA at Kakh Town?"

"Already there."

"We took a couple of hours to check it out, so they can probably do it quicker. Re-fuel if they can, and then it's two and a half hours before they reach Oegzuzerrghgurrgoksa right?"

"Affirmative. I guess we'll rendezvous with you in orbit."

"Yep. I suggest you see them into Oegzuzerrghgurrgoksa from a distance and then head out. Stay sharp, stay safe, and we'll see you in orbit."

"Roger that. Arthur out."

Darrurz then addresses those still at the starport. "Joe, Mazan, Ungunu, Uedzaks, Zhosokh how are we set? Is everything done? Are we good to go?"

Joe replies, "Good to go."

"Affirmative," Zhosokh replies.

"Yes, stowing the rest of our tools," Mazun answers. "Uedzaks and Ungunu are with me."

Darrurz starts the pre-flight sequence. Mazun indicates that he and Ungunu are properly situated in engineering. Uedzaks, Joe, and Zhosokh join Darrurz on the bridge. Joe takes a seat at the gunner's station while Uedzaks sits next to Darrurz.

Darrurz coaxes Paql up from the tarmac and directs it skyward.

15:30 IST

Uedzaks and Ungunu are admiring the view of their homeworld below when passive sensors detect another ship en route from the surface to them.

A comm call eliminates any doubt of who it is. "Jack's Prize to Paql Reversh Ridl. We're here."

"Any problems?" Darrurz asks.

"None. Ok, we'll meet you at Ghudue's outermost gas giant in a week."

"We agreed to follow SOP on the return to the Trade Federation," Darrurz counters. "So we have jump one in the tanks if we need to get out of any trouble. So I'll see you at Aetosak's outermost gas giant in a week. Agreed?"

"Roger that. Thought that maybe given our encounter here, getting back might be more important, but safety comes first."

"And have a think about how/if/when we present Zhosokh and ZeeBee to the great and the good of the Trade Federation."

"Will do. Jack's Prize out."

Taking the cautious route, both ships burn at 1G for two hours, achieving a velocity of 157,000 mph (261,666 kph). They then coast to the jump point.

19:40 IST

Jump!

Next: Summary of Week in Jump