Star Trek Solo RPG: Mission 1. Outrageous fortune
Updated: Sep 3
So, I'll try to use this one blog post to add and keep up-to-date with my first solo play through of the Star Trek Solo RPG.
I've moved the file into Scrivener to make organising characters, places, and missions more easy as there is quite a lot to keep track off.
Also, I'm playing a game, not writing a book here so there'll be typos and missing words. Feel free to ignore them or let me know. Once I finish it all, I might go back through and edit, but I don't want to lose the flow of the game as I go - so just bear that in mind.
Also, bear in mind this is a game so many decisions or what I'm calling 'could bes' are decided by dice on probability tables. Successes or failures are rolled on a character sheet with D20s.
Anyway, Mission 1 (needs a title) - click on the title to expand that scene.
First Officer's Log
Stardate: 57498.6 (1/7/2380 12.00)
Log Entry: Stardate: 57498.6 -The USS Trinity has been assigned a patrol route within the Shackleton Expanse. It is our first time here and reports suggest the sector is ripe with new discoveries and cultures. Our mission parameters set out our main role is to monitor communication traffic along our route with several planetary systems to visit. There have been reports of some spatial phenomena in the Expanse which we must be aware of. It is uncertain whether they present an ongoing threat to navigation.
I must confess to some excitement, if that word honestly describes how I feel. The emotion chip and subroutines I have incorporated into my systems appears to be functioning appropriately though I have it operating on low power at all times. Once I become acclimatized and used to dealing with these feelings, I will slowly increase the power until I measure it similar to the levels experienced by other races.
We have picked up strange readings in the subspace band normally reserved for long range communications and set a course for the Woeti-Masog System. Early scans reveal the system’s sun to be of class K8II, a bright supergiant, with just two planets in orbit. It would be unusual, but not unheard of for planets orbiting far from their star to be inhabited yet it we will approach with caution as a database search shows no Federation survey has yet taken place.
Act 1 Scene 1
“Bring us out of warp, Lt, Belmont,” Interrogo said, his emotionless voice carrying easily across the bridge.
“Coming of warp,” Belmont repeated as her hands darted across the panel in front of her and a moment later the viewscreen was filled by the sight of a bright orange star.
“Nothing on sensors,” Logaz said from his station behind the command seating.
Interrogo looked to his Captain and raised an eyebrow. “This system has two planets, Captain and judging by their orbits,” he moved a hand on his small controls and the viewscreen split to show the star and a diagram of the planet’s orbital paths, “they are far outside any known ‘goldilocks zone’ for habitation.”
“Strange new worlds, Commander,” Captain Ailki said, her voice low and smooth.
“As you say, Captain,” Interrogo agreed. “Logaz, can you find any evidence of warp trails or subspace activity?”
“No warp trails,” Logaz said a moment later. “Subspace activity is inconclusive.”
“Inconclusive?” Interrogo turned in his seat to look up at Logaz who shrugged.
“Something is interfering with our sensors,” Logaz said.
“Something?” Ailki questioned. “You mean a ship or some natural phenomena? Lt ch’Faire, is there anything you can do to clear up the sensor data?”
The Ops officer swung her chair around, her pale blue skin stark against the backdrop of the viewscreen and her two antennae twitching as she considered her words.
“There are no warp trails in evidence except our own, Captain,” ch’Faire agreed, “yet as Lt Logaz states the subspace fields in this system are, the best word I can find to describe them is, unsteady.”
“Not helpful.” Ailki softened her words with a smile.
“Life signs?” Interrogo asked.
“The outermost planet, Woeti II, is a super-gas giant,” ch’Faire reported, “and initial surveys suggest three moons. The gas giant prevents detailed scans from here.”
“And Woeti I?” Interrogo asked, leaning forward in his seat.
Ch’Faire turned back to her panel and her hands swept across it. She frowned at her results. “I’m picking up faint life signs.”
“Civilisation?” Interoggo pushed.
“Impossible to say at this distance,” ch’Faire admitted after a few more presses on her panel.
Interoggo looked to Aikli who nodded in reponse.
“Set course for Woeti I,” the First Officer said. “Impulse power.”
“Course set,” Belmont answered.
“Let’s go,” Aikli said and the ship began to move.
Act 1 Scene 2
The Captain’s ready room was smaller than those on Galaxy Class or any of the large cruisers. On a Freedom Class vessel, with its single nacelle and no secondary hull, some of the saucer section and neck had to be given over to engineering so compromises had to be made. A reduced sized ready room was the least of those concerns.
Sat around the circular table were the Captain, Interoggo, Commander Berrohn who was the ship’s chief engineer, Lt ch’Faire, and an old grey haired man who was not part of the ship’s normal crew.
“This is our latest sensor data on Woeti I,” ch’Faire pointed to the screen which displayed graphs, maps, and constantly changing table of data. “Unlike Woeti II this planet does not have a moon but our scans suggest that there is liquid water upon the surface and in the atmosphere.”
“Class M planet then,” Interrogo nodded. “That will make planetside survey easer if we decide to investigate further.”
“And the subspace fluctuations you picked up?” the grey haired man asked, flicking a finger over his handheld Padd and the screen changed. “Have you determined a source?”
“Mr Vangelos,” Aikli said, “we were hoping your expertise would be useful here. After all, this is why you were brought to the Expanse and delivered by shuttle before we departed.”
Vangelos grunted and hunched in his seat. “Well, I can tell by the wave patterns that the fluctuations are not natural in origin. If you look here and here,” several sections of the wave form on the screen flashed red and yellow, “you can see the generally accepted signatures of artificial or technological interference.”
“Like a ship’s wake in subspace?” Berrohn asked, his light french accent pitching the vowels higher.
“If they were transient in nature, I would say so,” Vangelos agreed. “However, these appear to remain unchanged. Our own warp trail through subspace has, by contrast, already disappeared.”
Ch’Faire looked up from her padd, antennae focused upon Vangelos. “That’s far too quick. The trail should be should be detectable for days. Degrading, yes, but the eddies should still be there.”
“They are gone,” Vangelos said, selecting some on his padd and the screen changed again.
“What does this mean?” Interrogo asked.
“I dont know,” Vangelos answered. “I’ve never seen anything effect subspace in this way. It would explain why communications in this system are not as efficient as elsewhere, and the effect spreads light years beyond it.”
“Could it be something about the sun?” Berrohn asked.
“A moment,” Interrogo said, holding a hand and then pressed it to his commbadge. There was a subtle chirp and he said, “First Officer to Lt Logaz.”
“Logaz here,” the disembodied voice came clear from the commbadge on Interoggo’s chest.
“Scan for ships in the system,” Interrogo ordered, “and run an automatic sweep every ten minutes from now onward.”
“Yes, sir,” Logaz answered and the commbadge chirped once again closing the connection.
“If our warp trail is disappearing already there may be ships here we are not aware of,” the First Officer explained and turned his golden eyes upon the Communications Specialist. “Now, I believe our Chief Engineer mentioned the sun?”
“My scans of the sun’s corona and spot activity suggest that, although it is bright star with high output, there is nothing out of the ordinary about it,” Vangelos answered.
“My own scans agree,” ch’Faire said.
“So we are left with Woeti I or II being the culprit?” Aikli asked.
“If there is such a thing,” Interrogo replied and Berrohn nodded in assent. “It could be a natural phenomena despite the wave form signatures. I would not like to pin my tail to a particular donkey just yet.”
“I’m sorry?” Aikli looked to her First Officer and raised an eyebrow.
“Forgive me,” Interrogo said, making a note in his file system regarding the use of that colloquialism. “We are not in a position to give a definitive answer as yet.”
“I understood, Exec,” Aikli smiled. “So, suggestions?”
“Continue to Woeti I and investigate,” Interrogo said.
“I’ll work with Cmdr Berrohn and Vangelos on the Subspace changes here,” ch’Faire said.
“I would not eliminate the star as the cause just yet,” Berrohn added. “To influence subspace to the distance we’ve measured, it would need a large power source and Woeti-Masog is the only candidate at the moment.”
“Let’s get to it,” Aikli nodded and the meeting dissolved.
Act 1 Scene 3
“Closing on Woeti I,” Belmont said, her eyes fixed on her panels.
Interrogo could see her shoulder hunch and the mottled markings of her Trill skin wrinkling on the side of her neck. “Everything alright, Lt?”
“Sorry,” Belmont said, looking over her shoulder before focusing back on her panel, “for a moment I thought there was something there but I there wasn’t. I’ve run a quick diagnostic and its all fine.”
“On screen,” Aikli ordered and a magnified, computer enhanced, image of Woeti I appeared on the viewscreen.
“It’s green,” Logaz whispered loud enough for the entire bridge to hear.
“Indeed, Lt,” Interrogo agreed. “Life signs? Settlements?”
“Scans show no settlements or civilisations, Cmdr,” Logaz reported.
“Life signs everywhere though,” ch’Faire reported.
“Interesting,” Aikli said. “Can you show us the surface?”
“In a few moments,” ch’Faire answered. “Any particular environment?”
“Bring us a selection, Lt,” Interrogo said.
The viewscreen changed to show a coastline, high cliffs overlooking a thundering sea of light blues and dark greens. A dark forest of browns and greens, tall stalks which broke into starfish like crowns of fronds and drooping ropes which reached toward the vegetation shrouded ground. A bright desert of yellow. A frozen land of snow and ice. Open grasslands where herds of beasts roamed ignorant of the starship far above them.
“Captain,” ch’Faire said, hesitant.
“Lt?”
“I’m picking up a weak distress beacon from the surface,” the Ops officer said.
“Are you sure?” Aikli said, looking toward her own little panel on the armrest. “Lt Logaz, can you confirm?”
“Confirmed,” the tactical officer replied. “Something in the atmosphere is weakening the signal.”
“Related to the subspace issues?” Interrogo asked.
“I’m not sure,” ch’Faire answered.
“Pass your findings onto Mr Vangelos,” Interrogo ordered. “Perhaps it will make sense to him.”
“Aye,” ch’Faire said.
“Belmont, put us in standard orbit above the distress beacon and let’s see if we can get a clearer picture of it,” Aikli ordered.
“Standard orbit,” Belmont acknowledged and though the image on the screen did not change, Interrogo was subtly aware of the ship changing course.
“Three minutes till orbit established,” Belmont reported.
Interrogo settled back in his chair, watching the screen and the panels on his armrest as the planet grew on the view screen. Oceans passed below them and the northern ice cap was bright white against the dark of space.
“Entering-” Belmont’s words were cut off as the ship rocked and automatic alarms began blaring across the bridge.
“All stop. Shields up,” Aikli shouted.
“Damage report,” Interrogo demanded as the subtle whine of the ships engines faded and the lights changed to red.
All around the bridge the panels flickered on and off and mutters of suprise and irritation came from the crew. Ch’Faire glanced at his own panel which flickered and fluttered, and tried to make senses of the reports.
“Computer bay is damaged, Captain,” ch’Faire announced, “and we’ve a hull breach in the core. Closing off sections one through seven now.”
“Casualties?” Aikli demanded.
“Reports coming in,” Logaz announced, taking over some of ch’Faire’s duties while the Andorian tried to erect forced fields and seal bulkheads in the affected area. “Eighteen crew injured. None serious as yet, Captain. Medical bay is on alert and treating.”
“Find out what hit us, Lt Logaz,” Aikli ordered.
“On it,” Logaz called back.
“Engineering, damage control teams to computer core,” Aikli ordered.
“Already en route,” came the Berrohn’s reply via the ship’s communicators.
“Belmont, status,” Interrogo asked as he scrolled through the reports on his armrest panel.
“All stop,” Belmont confirmed. “Engines are undamaged and we have control.”
For a moment there was silence on the bridge. Interrogo looked around, trying to gauge the mood of the command crew and knew they were waiting for something else to happen.
“All breaches sealed,” ch’Faire reported. “Computer systems rerouted to secondary, though they’ll be slow until repairs are completed.”
“Cmdr Berrohn,” Aikli called, affecting that look up in the air most of the crew did when speaking via the intraship communication. “Let me have your best guess on repair time when you’re able.”
“Aye, Captain,” Berrohn’s soft accent was edged with worry, “from initial reports, I’d say at least nine hours for the computers and nearer half a day or longer to make sure all the breaches are sealed and hull is secure. I’ll have teams on both.”
“Quick as you can be, Cmdr,” Aikli said.
“Of course, Captain,” Berrohn agreed and the connection was terminated.
“OK,” Aikli sighed and stood from her chair moving past ch’Faire to the viewscreen and turning around, “tell me what just happened and why I have eighteen of my crew in sick bay.”
Act 1 Scene 4
“Tracking the damage point and scanning,” Logaz said as his hands danced across the panel infront of him. “Captain, I’m picking up some anomalies. They’re small and localised, but they appear all around the planet.”
“And we didn’t spot them before because?” Interrogo asked.
“I think they’ve just become active,” ch’Faire added. “I’m using Lt Logaz’s data and focusing the sensors on one such anomaly.”
“What is it?” Aikli said, peering down at ch’Faire’s screen.
“Best guess,” Logaz said from the tactical station. “Micro-mines.”
“Micro-mines?” Interrogo asked.
“We hit one,” ch’Faire said, “and if these readings are correct we’re surrounded by them.”
“Send your data to Belmont,” Aikli ordered. “Plot a course which lifts us into a higher orbit out of the minefield.”
The view screen split again and this time there was a graphic of the planet with a hundreds and thousands of dots encircling it.
“Course plotted,” Belmont said.
“Let’s go,” Aikli ordered. “But careful.”
Belmont took a breath and applied her fingers to the Conn panel. “Reaction thrusters engaging.”
Slowly, the USS Trinity lifted out of the minefield, the graphic showing the ship as a green triangle climbing away from the planet. The bridge was silent as they all watched the screen the universal sigh of relief only came when they were clear.
Interrogo watched the crew relax and added his own artificial sigh to the chorus. Fitting in had always been difficult and even with the emotion chip in place it was still hard to guage the mood of the bridge crew. Logic circuits told him there would be relief and relaxation and the emotion chip provided just a quiet echo of that. The temptation, no, the curiousity was there to turn up the chip, but Interrogo resisted the urge. Better to be slow and cautious.
“Scan the local area,” Aikli ordered. “Let’s be sure there’s no other surprises for us. And let’s find out why we didn’t detect those micro-mines in orbit.”
Interrogo stood and walked around to the back of the bridge to one of the unoccupied secondary stations. Choosing from the menu of options he configured it for science and research and began looking at the scan data Logaz and ch’Faire had corrected.
He heard Aikli sit in her command chair with a grunt of effort. One day, perhaps, she would agree to the surgery to replace the fused vertebrate in her back, but not today.
“Captain to Sick bay,” she called out.
“Sick bay.”
“Cmdr Bis,” Aikli said, “how fares my crew.”
“Mostly superficial injures, Captain. A broken bone or two, some lacerations, and vacuum exposure. We’re treating now and a good bit of bed rest will see them back on their feet within a day or two.”
“Excellent work, Cmdr Bis,” Aikli said. “Bridge out.”
Interrogo sent a file across to ch’Faire for analysis and it came back within a few seconds, notes made and thoughts attached. He nodded at the Ops Officer’s thoughts, considering them alongside Belmonts course data and the timeline of events recorded by the computer. The work was slower than usual and he was forced to adjust his queries and demands for computer power to secondary cores. Some his own processors could handle much faster but there was a limit to how much he could store in his own databases and drawing too much processing time from his systems would be inefficient. So he waited for the ship’s computer to finish.
“Interesting, Captain,” he said finally, directing the output of his findings to the viewscreen.
The map of the planet was back, as were the dots which represented the micro-mines. Now there were faint lines connecting each mine to its nearest neighbour and fainter lines reaching down through the atmosphere to the planet.
“What are we looking at, Exec?”
Interrogo strode back to the centre of the bridge letting his internal maps guide him unerringly to his seat while his gaze was fixed on the viewscreen.
“Each mine is connected by a faint subspace entanglement with it is nearest counterpart and each is linked to a site on the planet’s surface.”
“The surface,” Aikli said, “does that mean there is something down there?”
“Indeed, Captain,” Interrogo said. “Lt Ch’Faire?”
The viewscreen changed and the green vegetation was replaced by a greyscale image. On it, clear lines and patterns could be seen.
“Cities?” Belmont was the first to speak.
“All overgrown by the vegetation,” Interrogo said. “My best estimates suggest that, if these are indeed settlements, due to weathering and erosion over time they are over half a million years old.”
Aikli whistled in response to the information. “Any indication when or why they were abandoned?”
“Given the presence of the minefield surrounding the planet, I suspect that there was some threat which necessitated a defensive screen,” Interoggo said, sitting down.
The bridge doors whisked open and Vangelos stepped out, looking around as if a little confused where he should go.
“Mr Vangelos,” Aikli said, “you have information to share?”
“I do, Captain,” the old man said using the steps to descend to the Command level. “The subspace fluctuations we’re detecting are linked to those mines. I mean, those mines gave me, us, a clue to cause of the fluctuations.”
“Explain,” Interrogo said, pointing to the spare chair next to him.
Vangelos nodded with a smile and sat with a grateful sigh.
“Well, these micromines, as you’re calling them, are actually, according to my readings, both in normal and subspace at the same moment. They exist in both dimensions at the same moment. It is quite incredible.”
“Does the Trinity not do the same thing at warp speeds?” ch’Faire said.
“Not quite,” Interrogo clarified. “We flick back and forth in time interval shorter than the planck time. In that way we can move faster than the speed of light without suffering from time dilation effects. Mr Vangelos, you’re saying these mines exist in both simultaneously?”
“Indeed,” Vangelos nodded. “It is a remarkable discovery.”
“Captain,” Logaz interrupted. “The distress beacon is back.”
All eyes turned to the viewscreen where a red square now flashed on the map of the planet.
“The signature is not known to our database,” Logaz reported. “I’d suggest its a trap.”
“Draw in a ship and let the mines destroy it?” Interrogo asked. “It is a theory.”
“However,” Aikli pointed out, “we are constrained by Starfleet protocols to render assistance and investigate any distress signals.”
“It would not be wise to bring the Trinity back into standard orbit for transporters, and with the computer core damaged they would not be reliable in the case of an emergency,” Interrogo said. “Belmont, could you plot a course for single shuttle to reach the planet’s surface safely?”
“There is a gap in the minefield where we went into orbit,” Belmont said, “but it is closing as the other mines drift to cover the hole.”
“How long till the hole closes?” Aikli asked. “You do need to get back out again, Exec.”
“At current rate of drift,” Belmont said, her voice tailing off in concentration. “About twelve hours from now.”
“Half a day,” Aikli nodded. “Best not to delay. Exec put your team together.”
“Aye, Captain,” Interrogo stood. “Belmont, Logaz, you’re with me.”
Logaz nodded and tapped his commbadge. “Reynolds, Ordca, meet me in the shuttle bay.”
Belmont stood and an Ensign left his bridge station and slid into her seat, taking over the role of keeping the Trinity away from the mines.
The turbolift doors whisked open and the three officers stepped in. This is what Starfleet was for, Interrogo thought. Exploration and discovery. Even on simple patrol missions the new, the strange, the unexpected was always there to be discovered.
“Shuttlebay,” he said and the Turbolift began to move.
NOTES: This scene is the first in which a Complication arose from my rolling - I got a 20. It will play out in Scene 5 alongside the failed roll. I do have a mometum to spend... just in case.
Act 1 Scene 5
Interrogo took the co-pilots seat while Belmont slipped into the pilot’s chair. Logaz and his two security took up the chairs at the rear of the shuttle.
“Shuttle Salinas ready for departure,” Interrogo announced.
“Clearance granted,” came the reply from Shuttle Control.
Belmont applied her deft fingers to the control panel and shuttle lifted from the deck with a barely perceptible whine of the reaction thrusters and edged out of the shuttlebay into the dark of space.
“Course plotted,” she announced.
“Engage,” Interrogo ordered.
Once more Belmont’s fingers swept across the control panel and the shuttle dippled toward the green planet below.
“Exec to Captain,” Interrogo said, “Salinas is en route.”
“We’re keeping a close eye on you,” Aikli’s voice responded through the shuttles Comms.
“Salinas out.”
Bringing up his own panel, Interrogo configured it with a view of the planet, the course projections, the relative positions of the mines, and constantly scrolling window of data on atmospheric conditions. He took it all in, his positronic brain processing multiple streams of data all at once.
“Trinity to Salinas,” the Comms came to life, ch’Faire’s voice, “we’re detecting increased movement in the micromines.”
Interoggo connected his data fields to those of the Trinity, updating the feed, and saw the relative speeds of the micromines along their flight path increasing. It was slow but perceptible.
“Lt Belmont,” he said, “do you expect to be able to complete your planned course?”
“With a few alterations, Cmdr,” Belmont said, not taking her gaze from her own readouts. “It’ll be closer though. Recommend shields. Just in case.”
“I cannot fault your cautioness, Lt,” Interrogo said. “Lt Logaz, raise the shields and ready phasers.”
“I’d not recommend phasers,” Vangelos’s voice came over the comms. “Phased energy may interact with the subspace fields and cause a chain reaction, and I don’t know what effect that will have on the minefields or the planet.”
“Last resort only,” Interrogo agreed. “Tractor beam?”
“Will have little effect on the subspace aspect of the mines,” Logaz answered.
“Fly careful, Lt,” Interrogo said, letting the low powered emotion chip search for gallows humour.
“Aye,” Belmont agreed.
Looking over Interrogo could see her eyes narrow and the tip of her tongue poke out of pressed lips.
Silence weighed heavy on the small, cramped bridge of the shuttle. Subtle chirps and beeps from the control panels and displays, the constant hum of the small impulse engine which drove the vessel through space and toward the atmosphere.
Interrogo had no need to hold his breath, but even his autonomic actions designed to mimic humans stilled as he focused upon the panels.
The edge of the minefield came closer and it was clear, using the Trinity’s more powerful sensors fed to the shuttle, that the subspace micromines were adjusting the shuttle’s approach, closing the gap.
“Lt?” Interrogo queried in a quiet voice.
“I’ve got this,” Belmont answered. “Just strap in and hold on. Course changes in five, four, three, two, one, now.”
The shuttle’s inertial dampeners tried to keep up with Belmont’s rapid course changes but lagged behind. Interrogo felt himself yanked from side to side, up and down, as the shuttle banked, yawed and rolled. All the while, Belmont kept her gaze on the readouts and her hands on the controls.
“Mine closing in,” Logaz shouted.
The shuttle twisted in the air, the heat shield glowing orange as it skipped across the edge of the atmosphere, and the green planet came back into view.
“We’re through,” Belmont announced with a loud sigh.
“Excellent,” Interrogo said.
“Not sure how we’re getting back out again,” Belmont continued. “Trinity is reporting the hole we made is still closing up.”
“But slower,” Interoggo answered a moment later. “New estimates give us six hours.”
“Atmospheric readings show strong crosswinds in the upper atmosphere,” Logaz said and a moment later the shuttle was slammed to the side.
Alarms blared and the lights dimmed to red.
“Wind sheer,” Belmont called. “Inertial dampers compensating. Thrusters off line.”
The shuttle rocked and jerk as it fell through the atmosphere. Heatshield changing from orange to white.
“Hull temperature increasing,” Logaz called.
“Systems failing,” Interrrogo said. “Re-routing.”
“I can’t get control,” Belmont said, her voice steady and calm as training took over. “Shutting off thrusters. Going to impulse and calculating glide path.”
On his screen, the glide path looked like a falling stone. Interoggo closed down the emotion chip and assessed his options in the blink of an eye, searching his database for similar situations handled successfully, and applied complex probability matrices to each suggested action.
“Diverting all available power to shields,” he narrated, his voice cold and empty.
“Strengthening Structural Integrity field. Inertial dampers to full.”
The shaking lessened and Belmont’s hands flew across the controls, righting the shuttle but doing little to stop its descent.
“Angling deflectors,” Interrogo said. In his display, the shields thinned along the width of the shuttle, spreading out to each side in a stubby imitation of wings. “I’m not sure how long the shields will hold, Lt, so please be quick.”
Belmont nodded, a fixed grin on her face, as she directed the shuttles flight, gliding now, pushed by gravity and directed by the less then gentle thrust of impulse engines much more suited to space than the atmosphere. “Not easy.”
“It is the best I can do,” Interrogo answered, adjusting the shields every moment, struggling to keep them in place against the constant battering of the wind.
“Landing site,” Lagoz said, “feeding it to conn. Looks open.”
“Got it,” Belmont called back and the shuttle executed a buffeting, jerky bank to the left.
In the window, an open patch of grass, a premium in the forest below, appeared.
“This isn’t going to be pretty,” Belmont said as she pointed the nose of the shuttle at the opening in the canopy.
Interrogo held the shields until near fifteen meters off the ground and then shunted all the power to Structural Intergrity and Inertial Dampers.
“Brace. Brace. Brace.” Belmont called out just before the shuttle hit the group.
Alarms, all of them it seemed, went off at once. Sparks flew from the panels and smoke rose from more than one. The tall plants at the opposite side of the clearing rushed toward them with inevitability.
“Shields forward,” Interrogo shouted over the alarms, drawing power from the engines and brought up the shields.
There was a loud crunch and crash the shields made contact with the vegetation and a moment later the hull impacted too. However, the shuttle halted and the air filters hummed, clearing the smoke from the interior.
“Damage report,” Interrogo demanded as the crew righted themselves.
“No one hurt,” Logaz answered.
“Engines damaged, but operable. Reaction thrusters offline. Minor structural damage. Shield generators will need recalibrating and some repair.”
“Is that all?” Interrogo was suprised. They built the shuttles to be strong and resilient, never knowing what they might encounter.
“And communications are out,” Belmont said, stabbing her finger again and again at her panel. “That wind sheer was made of ionic particles. A think layer it seems. Probably does an amazing job of filtering out the UV from Woeti-Masog itself, but has destroyed our communication array.”
“Can we repair it?”
“Not in six hours and not with what we have onboard,” Belmont answered.
“So our mission has changed a little,” Interrogo said. “Find the source distress signal, the link between the micromines and the ancient settlements, and now a way to shut them off or at least a route through them. The readings suggest we’re only four kilometers from the distress signal.”
“And repair the shuttle,” Belmont said. “We’re not lifting off until those reaction thrusters are back online and working.”
“That’s your task then,” Interrogo said. “Logaz, Ordca, you’re with me. Reynolds secure the landing site and guard while Belmont works. Will our communicators work?”
“Within ten kilometers or so,” Logaz agreed. “Outside of that it would be patchy at best.”
Interrogo nodded. “Let’s get to it. Our first deadline is six hours away.”
NOTES:
Failed some rolls here and picked up a threat which took out the communications.
Act 2 Scene 1
Interrogo flipped open his Tricorder and examined the readings.
“Without contact with the ship, we’re a little blind, but the shuttle has downloaded its scans and maps into the Tircorders. We can use the commbadges as rudimentary guidance makers,” he explained to Logaz and Ordca. “Four kilometres isn’t too far and we’ll stop to check bearings every kilometre. Hope you’ve kept up with your running.”
“Standard training for security and tactical,” Logaz answered with a smile. “Terrain here doesn’t look to bad. Maps shows a few inclines but nothing we can’t handle.”
“No point putting it off,” Interrogo ordered. The run would be nothing to him. He had no heart to beat, no muscles to stress, and his power would recharge with the sunlight and gases.
They set off an at easy lope, Tricorders open in their hands. Ordca took the lead with Logaz brining up the rear. In amongst the tall vegetation with its crown of fronds, it was easy to get turned around and without the Trinity’s guidance or signals to plot their route even easier.
After the first kilometre, they stopped and checked their position using the commbadges and discovered they had indeed gone off track. It took time to get them back on the right path and it was time they did not have.
“Hold,” Logaz called as they entered the third kilometre.
“Lt?” Interrogo asked as they slowed and stopped. “The distress signal is less than two kilometres away.”
“I’m tracking movement, Commander,” Logaz said, pointing off to the right, “coming our way. Three hundred meters.”
“Life signs?” Interrogo asked, consulting his own tricorder.
“Large,” Logaz said, “not moving too fast. We could outrun it.”
“Has it spotted us?” Interrogo’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“Uknown,” Logaz answered in the same tone. “Suggest we avoid.”
“I agree,” Interrogo said. “We don’t know what senses it relies upon, so let’s rely on pace and endurance. The signal is in that direction. If we speed up a little, that life sign should pass behind us.”
“Could it be sentient?” Ordca asked.
“Unlikely,” Interrogo answered, “but I’d rather we didn’t interfere with this planet too much. Not until we know what we’re dealing with and have a way off the surface.”
They set off once more, Interrogo taking the lead and increasing the pace until he heard Ordca and Logaz puffing a little. Not enough to exhaust them, but close to their top maintainable speed.
“It’s passing behind, Commander,” Logaz wheezed after a few minutes, “and I’m losing its signal.”
“Good,” Interrogo agreed. “The signal is only five hundred meters away. Catch your breath and let us investigate.”
They pushed on through the tall vegetation, trees as Interrogo had come to think of them as the closest terrestrial equivalent. The brush was similar, long fronds from a simple segmented stalk.
He stopped for a moment and pulled out his own tricorder, setting it for lifeforms and scanned the local vegetation.
“Interesting,” he mused, filing the information away.
“Sir?” Ordca asked.
“No insects,” Interrogo said.
“No flowers,” Logaz added.
“Which might account for some reduction in species,” Interrogo acknowledged, “but I’d expect to see some around or on the plants.”
“If we assume they pollinate like the majority of species in the Federation,” Ordca said. “I did a minor in xenobiology at the Academy.”
“Any conclusions?” Interrogo asked.
“Too little information at present,” Ordca said, “I’d like to collect some samples.”
“On our return,” Interrogo agreed. “It would be interesting to see how these species propagate. The ruins are just ahead.”
He adjusted his tricorder, lifted it to chest height and held it steady. The screen picked out the outline of the ruins ahead. They were low, barely to his knees and would have been almost invisible under the brush.
Interrogo moved forward, following the pathways between the ruins, making notes as he went. Behind him, Ordca kept watch amnd Logaz knelt down next to one of the ruins, his own tricorder beeping. The trees grew from inside the ruins hardly respecting its age.
“I think this is a doorway,” Logaz said, “but to what I have no idea.”
“The road is four metres wide,” Interrogo said, “and my scans show that this settlement is laid out on a regular rectangular basis.”
“This doorway is about one point five metres across,” Logaz added, standing, “but I’ve no idea what that means.”
Interrogo nodded and changed the settings on his tricorder, sweeping it slow from left to right, and holding it just above one of the ruins. “I am detecting advanced minerals and metals in the walls, but little evidence of power conduits or intact technology.”
“I am picking up an open space about two hundred metres on bearing zero three five,” Logaz said. “Its not as large as our landing zone, but scans suggest there is a depression in the surface.”
Logaz led the way and Interrogo took up the central position, his tricorder scanning constantly but the readings changing little. They were following one of the roads, keeping to the centre as much as possible and between the low walls which marked out the buildings. There was hardly a break in those walls until an intersection was reached and Interrogo was intrigued to discover that there was so little open space woven into the fabric of the settlement.
“Through here,” Logaz said, stepping between two trees and a line of brush.
Interrogo followed, stepped to the side to allow Ordca through, and stopped. His positronic processors registered the surprise his emotion chip conveyed and for once he found himself lost for words.
