Characters: All
NPC: Captain Nokh Khoen, Pack Leader Kfarollakh, Dr. Zan Aegzgorr
Location: The hospital. First Arthur's room, then Cryogenics Level
System: Tagan
Arthur is now dressed so the four sophonts open the door to find Captain Nokh
Khoen and Pack Leader Kfarollakh talking with Dr. Zan Aegzgorr in the hall.
Upon noticing them, Pack Leader Kfarollakh says, "Ready? Good. Dr. Aegzgorr will
lead us there."
The group follows them to the elevator and everyone gets in. It's crowded but
not uncomfortably so. The doctor stands next to a panel. There are no buttons.
She places her paw on a translucent rectangle and says, "Cryogenics.
Authorization, Dr. Zan Aegzgorr."
A light flashes on the panel followed by an audible ding and the elevator begins
its descent.
The ride is short, but long enough to indicate a few floors may have been
passed. A security guard sits a desk across from the elevator. He nods to the
doctor and, upon seeing Pack Leader Kfarollakh, he leaps to his feet to salute.
Kfarollakh returns the salute.
Dr. Aegzgorr leads the group down the brightly lit, but cool, corridor. There's
the faint scent of expelled cryogenic gases but nothing to indicate a leak. You
pass only a couple of other staff members on your walk.
The group follows the doctor as she enters a set of double doors at the end of
the corridor. The room on the other side is a large storeroom, probably about 10
meters wide and 15 meters long. The ceiling is around 5 meters high. The lights
come on as you enter. There's a mix of scents representing the various things
stored here: cleaning supply chemicals, refrigerants, etc. There are boxes of
cleaning supplies and tools, spare parts for equipment, some unused monitoring
equipment, and load jacks. In a corner are eight empty cryotubes. They're
powered off but the lids are closed.
"Here they are," the doctor says. She points out the ones for Darrurz, Mazun,
and Arthur. The latter two are identical: a clean white finish, albeit a bit
dulled by time. They look like they could be re-used for someone else. Darrurz's
looks a bit beat up with obvious scratches, gouges and dents. It doesn't look
like a cryoberth you'd want to use again unless you were facing imminent death.
Even then the odds wouldn't look much better.
She gestures to them. "Have a look if you want."
Mazun nods to both Dr. Aegzgorr and Kfarollakh and says, "Thank you, I will."
The group watches as he walks over to a shelf to pick up a basic set of
mechanical and electronics toolboxes and a flashlight. He then heads over to the
cryotubes for a thorough technical examination.
He carefully examines as much as he can from the outside, noting that the
cryoberths appear to be standard Naasirka LN-2000 cryoberths. Mazun proceeds to
remove the cover on his own cryotube and several access panels. Everything
appears to be in order without any obvious modifications, until he reaches the
power cord.
The LN-2000's carry an internal battery which is designed to provide power to
the unit in case of a power failure. Typically the units are powered (and the
battery kept at maximum charge) via an external power source. They can either be
hardwired directly into that power source or plugged in to an outlet (user
discretion). There are different modules to facilitate power input to the unit
(available from the manufacturer) and they can be plugged into the unit's power
input matrix port. The power cord has obviously been cut at some point in the
past and then spliced with another. The cords are two different colors—no
attempt was made to disguise it. A small plastic box protects the joint where
the two cords come together. The newer cord ends in a plug which Mazun notes
will fit into the hospital's wall sockets.
"Can anyone explain this?" he asks.
The group comes over to see what he's talking about.
Dr. Aegzgorr answers, "Yes. In the briefing I received, it was stated that the
pack that found the cryotubes said that the cryotubes were plugged into outlets
but they were of unknown design. They didn't have a replacement connector that
was compatible with the power input matrix port so they cut the cord and spliced
the wires. We undid their splice and spliced our own wire with our plug
receptacles attached here."
Mazun nods. He knows that the power input matrix port is hooked up to a current
modulator that adapts the electrical input to the proper amperage and voltage
for the unit.
Joe yawns and looks around for somewhere to sit down.
OOC Carlos: Is Mazun sure that there was no other tinkering with the
unit? No extraneous components?
OOC DED: Absolutely certain. He checks components and notes their
Naasirka serial #'s. He's actually impressed with the equipment. He knows that
Naasirka built these things to last but didn't realize just how long they could
work.
Mazun has a look at the computer interface and sees which information he can
pull. He expects logs indicating possible power failures and the like. The
computer screen lights up and a little battery icon appears to indicate that
it's running on battery power. He accesses the unit's diagnostics screen and
calls up the usage log. The freezing and thawing dates for the last occupant
(himself) correspond with what he remembers of that last day in the Imperium and
the date Zan told him when he was set free of its icy slumber.
The power supply log reveals that the unit went through a dozen switches between
steady power supply and short breaks (a couple of hours) of internal battery
usage between his freeze date in 1122 and 1126, then about one per year from
then to 1131.
OOC Carlos: 1126 to 1131, regular enough to match a yearly maintenance
check?
OOC DED: Quite possibly.
There was steady power until 1137 and then the unit switched to battery for...
forty-five years! Is that even possible?
Mazun thinks and thinks trying to figure out how the cryoberth coolant system
could keep out the heat for so long. And then it dawns on him: If the coolant
system never kicked on and no one operated the computer then the only things
running would be the internal clock and the thermometer and neither of those
drew any real power. The onboard battery was designed to provide the power
necessary to circulate and maintain cryogenic fluids; those two devices were a
pittance of electrical consumption compared to that. It would be as if the unit
were shut off.
But for the coolant system to never kick on, that would mean that the ambient
temperature of where his unit, and presumably the others too, were kept had to
be ridiculously cold. Like liquid nitrogen cold. So where were we?
But from 1182 until his rescue by the Tagan Pack weeks ago, his unit received a
steady stream of power.
Intriguing.
Mazun addresses everyone, "So far as I can tell, we are very lucky to be alive.
It seems the units were cut off from power and running on batteries for 45
years, from 1137 to 1182 Imperial. Which is only possible if we were in an
extremely cold environment, something like outer space or the surface of an
airless rockball in the outer part of a system. From then on it was steady
power, probably the Vakh. From the looks of it, we were ferried about until
1131, and then spent six years plugged in somewhere."
He scratches his chin.
"If I had to guess, we were traded in a number of times and then this Vakh
Collapse hit and from 31 on we were left in a dead ship or base, the ship's
remaining power run out six years later and the units turned to battery power.
We must have spent half a century there until some new Vakh found us."
Then he moves over to Arthur's cryoberth to make sure they share similar
histories and that it hasn't been tampered with either. His unit checks out.
Before he gets to work on Darrurz's he notices something etched in Gvegh on the
back side of the casing. It says, "VOZO VARGO," meaning, "Save him."
"I see you found the message," Kfarollakh says over Mazun's shoulder.
Darrurz's ears perk up and he races over to his cryotube to see the message for
himself.
Kfarollakh continues, "Someone went through an awful lot of trouble to find
something hard enough to scratch that metal and leave a message. The pack that
found him saw those words and took it as some kind of sign. With all the damage
the unit endured they weren't sure it would survive much longer and grabbed
him."
Darrurz looks at the message etched on his lowberth to see if it was scratched
by a Vargr paw or a Human hand, but he can't tell. He puts his paw over the
message, closes his eyes and with a low howl he gives thanks privately to
Llallaeknuez. And in a voice that only Mazun can hear still with his eyes
closed, “Show me how I can repay this kindness.”
Stepping away from his lowberth he turns towards Zan and points to the other two
lowberths. “I used to buy these for Shiishirnii back when I worked for them.
The standard Naasirka LN-2000 cryoberths have a software enabled medical
function. If you bought the license, the berth can be enabled to use the cryo
cycle to initiate a regenerative function."
Zan's ears perk up. "That would be useful to have."
Darrurz bursts her bubble. "It’s nothing special. Low level regen of bruises,
breaks, scratches, cuts etc. Gives you a good night’s sleep ... I mean you come
out refreshed and relaxed. Naasirka were a bit tight so they always charged for
it, and no one used to buy the license because it cost too much and all of that
stuff could be done by the auto docs anyway.
“Hacking the code is likely to be difficult, as I said Naasirka were a bit tight
so security on stuff that made them money was always good. A friend of mine
would have been able to do it in his sleep, but my guess is that he’s dead now."
He pauses. "Do you give us old timers a collective name?"
She cocks her head to the side. "No, we don't at the hospital." She turns to
face the two representatives from Pack Security.
"We don't have an offical one," Kfarollakh says, "but you've been referred to as
frozen assets."
Mazun grins, thinking of a number of Frozen Cocktails back in the 3I.
"Well, if you have one of us who is a computer expert and a TL-15 hand comp, he
may be able to crack it for you to reverse engineer.”
Kfarollakh says, "We'll put that on our list of items to recover from the
Wilds."
Turning back to Mazun he nods at his lowberth and just says in Galanglic, “Tell
me.”
Mazun replies, "I'll have a look at your unit now."
He discovers that Darrurz's unit went through numerous transitions between
steady power and battery back up from 1126 to 1131. Then there was steady power
to 1137. From there the power supply patterns match those of Mazun's and
Arthur's.
OOC Carlos: Any chance the logs will include data exchange with the
systems the unit were plugged to? Even unsuccessful attempts?
OOC DED: No.
OOC Carlos: In 1137, if Mazun's theory is correct, there must have
been some kind of alarm trigger as power run out. The logs might show a
difference between an active powering down (as e.g. for maintenance—a
switch is actively pulled) and energy running down and disappearing (1137: no
switch pulled).
OOC DED: Yes, there are entries that indicate manual power switching
to and from internal battery power. In 1137, it was an unscheduled power
failure. All others indicate user activated power switches. However, Darrurz's
power switches for the years 1127-1129 contain a mix of planned and interrupted
power losses.
Mazun turns to Darrurz. "Same story as ours. Your pod seems to have seen more
action than ours in '27 to '29. Maybe some of the trades were not quite
voluntary."
OOC Carlos: What about the first two uninterrupted runs of power
supply in 1122? One of those must cover the trip to the Extents and its duration
might give an idea of the distance travelled.
OOC DED: Not really. What was the jump drive rating on the ship(s) he
was on? Did they travel around in circles? Was a ship idle on the surface of a
world(s)? Was he even plugged into a ship's power supply or was it a portable
generator? Too many variables.
OOC Carlos: Still gives you the maximum distance for any given Jump
rating. But you are right, not very useful.
"Mr. Contreras," Kfarollakh interrupts Mazun's puzzle solving, "it's getting
late and I must be leaving soon. Shall we head back up?" He gestures towards the
door as he starts walking.
Mazun replies, "Yes, sure, thank you for letting look at this."
"You're welcome."
As they head for the door, Arthur says, “This was pretty creepy... and didn’t do
a lot for us, ‘side show we are really alone here. That’s a long time to spend,
bein’ drooled over by machines and treated as currency. Kinda makes me wanna’
find a piece of Vakh, and stomp on it. No offense, Joe.”
Joe removes his beret, revealing a long scar across his bald scalp. "Mr
McClendon, if the opportunity arises to stomp on the Vakh, don't worry about
upsetting my feelings - it will slow you down as I race to get there first. The
Vakh owes me a 'pound of flesh'." Joe pauses and grins. "Literally!"
He replaces his beret and heads towards the door to leave, continuing to smile
all the way.
Characters: All
NPC: Captain Nokh Khoen, Pack Leader Kfarollakh
Location: Arthur's room at the hospital
System: Tagan
Everyone except for Dr. Aegzgorr returns to Arthur's room. She had to excuse
herself to attend other hospital matters. Feeling a little fatigued, Arthur
climbs back into bed while Mazun stands near him. Joe stands next to Nokh.
Kfarollakh addresses the group (Mazun handles the translation for Arthur so that
they don't have to rely on the computer), "Now that you've had a chance to talk
among your packmates and seen your cryotubes, have you come to a decision about
joining Pack Security?"
Mazun answers, "Yes."
"What is your decision?"
Mazun looks briefly at everybody before speaking. He calls upon his "officer
voice" and makes his statement matter-of-factly.
"We agree that yours is a worthy endeavour and we are willing to join for
Trading-Exploration missions. We take the offer very seriously and we want to
make sure that everything will run smoothly and we will be able to devote
ourselves to the Pack without second thoughts."
"Excellent," Kfarollakh says.
Nokh's tail wags.
Mazun continues as if there were no interruption, "For that, there are some
details to be fixed, as the issue of wages, residence, starting position, and so
on. We have agreed that Darrurz will discuss those for all of us with whoever
handles all that on your side. Once those are settled, we are in."
After hearing the translation from Fae, a worn out Arthur agrees with Mazun.
"I can make that rather simple. If you accept now, I can have you out on
tomorrow's run to Igodosakfell. While Arthur looks tired now, he'll have a week
to recoup in jump. I'm sure that I can convince the good doctor to release him.
"You won't have to worry about residency until you return. You'll be put on the
waiting list for an apartment and I'd imagine that by the time you return from
your first mission your respective dens will be available.
"Your citizenship applications will also be filled out and submitted.
"Standard pay is five hundred Pack credits per week of service. And the clock
will start ticking the moment you step foot on the shuttle. Housing and
healthcare are included. A food stipend of fifty credits per week is granted for
shore leave.
"Your initial ranks are Oudoerrg which I'm told is the equivalent of Ensign in
the Imperial Navy. Those ranks will change once we've properly assessed your
skills and where you fit in. Once you're promoted you will receive a pay
increase.
"Your pack will be kept together for the duration of your initial enlistment. As
Darrurz can tell you, prematurely breaking up a pack is not a good idea. Your
initial enlistment is for one year, at which time your service to the Pack will
be evaluated and a decision will be made by Pack Security to either extend your
service or set you free. You will have the liberty to reject said extension of
service.
"And a written contract will be provided to back up what I've said.
"Anything else?"
Darrurz says, “I think we are all up for taking the next ship out to
Igodosakfell."
"Good," Kfarollakh says. "Eager to join the hunt."
Mazun raises an eyebrow at Darrurz, seems about to say something, but then shuts
up.
Darrurz continues, "Can we draw uniform and equipment on the way?”
"Yes."
After hearing the translation Arthur adds, "Sounds good, but what the hell am I
supposed to do about learnin’ the lingo? I’m at a huge disadvantage outside the
group, and this needs to change. Preferably by learning the lingo, or,
suboptimal, with mechanical assistance from a translator. Somehow I don’t think
a translator is part of my current loadout." He waves his hand to indicate his
basic clothing.
While Kfarollakh listens to the translation, Darrurz offers some advice with a
smile showing off some teeth, “You emulate an old Terran parachute regiment and
'Improvise, Adapt and Overcome'."
Arthur chuckles. "The way I ‘adapt and overcome’ is by superior application of
firepower, and aggressive mindset, but that approach may not work here."
Nokh laughs heartily. Kfarollakh laughs too once he gets the translation. "We
have a language program that you can use during your down time in jump. And
someone will instruct you on the basic words you'll need for combat. It'll be up
to you to avoid confusing 'fire' with 'flee'. But we will make sure you have a
language translator. And if you're on the ship, we can have the ship's computer
translate our speech into your comm."
Darrurz asks, “What about any equipment we might find on mission? Is there a
finders fee? A percentage of sale? Or do we get to keep it? And cargoes and
resources? Would you be happy for me to broker the cargo for a fee? And the most
important of all: prize money and ship shares?”
Kfarollakh growls a bit with his mouth closed. He tilts his head to the side for
a few moments and then answers. "Since you are part of Pack Security, we have
first pick on anything you find. Let me make this clear: The ship belongs to the
Pack, not Captain Nokh. The equipment we give you belongs to the Pack. You
belong to the Pack. There are no finders fees or commissions. We use what our
scroungers find in the field. We are not selling it for profit!" He takes a
deep breath before continuing. "There are already corsairs and independent
scroungers that sell us what they find, provided that we're willing to meet
their price. When your service with us has concluded you'll be free to pursue
that lifestyle.
"We can't pay you broker's fees—the government didn't put it in our
budget. While we were hoping to employ you in that capacity, negotiating in good
faith for the Pack, we're not a merchant guild. Arthur and Joe do not collect
bonuses for every enemy ship they disable. Mazun will not collect a bonus for
every machine he repairs. This will be your duty to the Pack. And you may
console yourselves in that it is only a year.
"Having said that, ship captains are afforded some leeway. Captain Nokh will
have a list of what the Pack is looking for. If something isn't on the list,"
he nods his head towards Nokh, "Captain Nokh will decide how to pay 'field
bonuses'."
Nokh adds, "We can talk about that later." He adds a conspiratorial wink that
Kfarollakh either doesn't notice or chooses to ignore.
Kfarollakh continues, "Darrurz, as a vargr, I understand the profit motive and
the need to advance one's status, but in Pack Security service to the Pack is
how one advances. We reward that service with promotions, which carry a higher
salary, and added responsibility. A command of your own perhaps.
"There is a heroes' fund. Deposits are made to it on behalf of those whose deeds
warrant special compensation. The money is held there until that warrior leaves
the service at which point it is presented to him or her. I believe the human
term is 'nest egg'." He walks over to Joe and places a paw on his shoulder.
"There is already a nest egg set aside for Joe."
Kfarollakh removes his paw from Joe's shoulder. He checks the chronometer on his
sleeve, then clasps his paws behind his back. "Anything else?
Darrurz replies, "Not from me." He turns slightly to look at Mazun and Arthur.
Mazun shrugs. "All clear. Where's the ship? Leave me a couple of hours alone
with your engines."
Nokh laughs. "My ship is on Igodosakfell. It isn't capable of making a four
parsec jump. Travel between Tagan and Igodosakfell is restricted to a pack of
Kfouzrraekho class freighters. One leaves every day for Igodosakfell."
"And it leaves promptly," Kfarollakh adds. "Stragglers are left behind. Your
ride to the downport will be here at seven-thirty. Don't be late." Sensing a
question, he offers, "You'll be provided with species appropriate clothing and a
grooming kit on the ship."
Kfarollakh says good bye to the three new recruits: a handshake with the humans
and the "smell ya later" vargr version. Nokh does the same.
Nokh and Joe leave as well.
A pleasant tone is emitted from Fae. They're now taking orders for dinner.
Characters: All
NPC: Nurse Aegazae
Location: Arthur's room at the hospital
System: Tagan
Just after Joe leaves the room, Mazun snaps his fingers as if he's just
remembered something and heads out after him.
"Hey, Joe! Since this is our last night on Tagan, I was wondering if you wanted
to join us and go out for a few beers."
Joe replies, "Sorry. My plans are simply to accompany Nokh, have a meal, and
rest for the night. After all I don't want to be late reporting in to the ship.
In my past life that was usually fatal."
"Ok, then. See you tomorrow." Mazun returns to the room.
"What was that about?" Arthur asks.
"Oh, I figured that since is our last night on Tagan that I'd see if Joe wanted
to go out for a few beers with us. You know. See the city for ourselves." He
pauses. "So how about it guys? Do you want go out?"
Darrurz’s ears go up as he looks at Mazun. “Interesting,” he says as he
considers Mazun’s question. “We have no clothes other than hospital training
ones, we have no idea how to or means of getting to the city, or how long Arthur
is likely to last on his feet out an about, and we have no money.” Looking him
up and down he asks, “Are you sure you’re not a Vargr? I ask because it sounds
like we have the basis of a cracking plan and I’m always up for a challenge!
Lets go!”
Arthur says, "I’m gonna pass for all the above reasons. And I’m beat. And I
don’t speak the lingo. And I have this incredible urge to hit something, which
probably wouldn't end well."
Mazun replies to Arthur, "OK." He smiles at Darrurz and says, "Let's figure it
out on the way."
The pair leave Arthur's room and head back to their own to put in their dinner
orders.
While they wait, Mazun explains his thoughts on the evening. "I'm planning to
simply ask the staff at the hospital for help here on getting out. After all
we're not prisoners, right? The only problem is money, but maybe the hospital
has an expense card or something. On the other hand, it shouldn't be too
troublesome now that we are Tagan Pack Security employees to get a couple of
money cards authorized online with rather low limits, right? Sort of an advance
on wages. Just for beers and a cab. And picking up some cooler clothes along the
way. I'll trust your merchant instincts on that. The money, not the clothes!"
Mazun goes online via Fae and checks to see how one obtains a debit card. He is
assuming they are already listed somewhere as Tagan Security. Each bank that
offers debit cards requires an account with them. It also states that customers
may not withdraw funds exceeding their account balance. In the event that an
overdraft occurs, the bank will charge 50 Pack credits to the account for each
infraction and charge 25% interest on the overdrawn balance until it is paid
back.
On the account application forms a physical address is required, along with comm
number. Not having either one, Mazun is unsure what to do. Attempts to submit
the form with those fields blank sends him back to the form with angry red
letters stating that those are required fields.
Twenty minutes after placing their order, Nurse Aegazae enters the room
carrying a tray with both of their meals.
Darrurz asks her, "Aegazae? We were thinking about going out for a beer, but as
you can imagine we are a little short of money. Does the hospital have funds
that they might be able to give or lend us?"
She laughs good-naturedly, "Oh no. Definitely not. But if you don't mind waiting
until the end of my shift, I can take you guys out to a bar that's just down
the street. A beer for each of you. My treat." She punctuates her offer with a
smile.
Darrurz smiles back at her. "Aegazae, thank you. That is most kind. We'd love
to. What time do you finish your shift?"
"At 19:00." A look over at the chronometer on Fae indicates that's a little less
than an hour from now. "The place gets a lot of off shift hospital employees so
you'll fit in dressed like that."
Next: A Night Out