Original Archive - IAS Chapter 38

Chapter 38 (Original Archive)

mikejohnson_lordofdance 10/29/2006

[[OOC: Hope it's okay for me to pop back in? ]]

a few minutes before the external sensors indicate movement

Bud takes a moment to ponder the film he recently viewed (A Boy and his Dog) and hopes the 'Fertility Mandate' from earth is not carried out in similar fashion.

(Bud's brain has been wrapping around several threads, finally he speaks)

"Party."

Bud concentrates, "I...I was at a party on the Warden. Only people who'd been chosen for the Alpha Sequence Protocol were on the guest list." He furrows his brow, "I was talking with a smiley guy named Biff and he was going on about the bio-hazards of exploration. ..he said that Europeans brought horrible plagues to the Americas, often minor illnesses at home but fatal to the natives...and a woman, Doctor Walken piped in and said that Europeans often avoided the interior of Africa for the same reasons: no immunities."

Bud looks around to anyone who might be listening, then switches to sub-vocal radio-on for Bailey, Nike, Arkady, Chel & Percy. "We might want to consider full med exams for everyone from the Warden AND the natives...might shed some light on our friend Drake as well, especially if we're putting any credence to the 'shape-shifter' stories. I read the 'Martian Chronicles as a boy, part of the story involved a vanishing native race that could assume familiar forms as a disguise, not to say that we haven't already witnessed mutations of our own. And just to beat that robohorse to death, what if the locals are talking about automatons with advanced camouflage?"

Remembering Nike's skeptical expression, he continues the closed-circuit soliloquy, "While we're speaking of Drake and the natives, we might want to gather all the firearms and secure them."

Feeling a bit warmed up, "How feasible would it be to re-task the satellites to scan for the Warden and other near-space objects? We might be able to find something useful, like a space station, ships or orbital ladders...and on the subject of ships, weren't Hercules class droppers capable of planetary exit? Maybe we should get Pandora over there after all and see what we could cobble together?" pauses, speaking of space-matters, did anyone else catch that bit about the aliens being blasted to pieces by asteroids? Seems kinda coincidental, eh?"

After a good buzz, Bud always gets chatty-

"And how about Benaldino? The robologs list him at the 'archeology site of doom,' but he seems to have made a lasting impression among the natives, maybe they didn't all buy it there?"

"I propose we head to the archaeo site while we try and get a better idea about some of these things-" as the word arrives that a hundred bioforms are approaching.

"Frakking-Frell!"

supreme_arbiter 10/30/2006

Hey Mike! You and Bud are *always* welcome 8) Your post had some excellent observations... Some were dead on! Sorry, but you may have to wait until Saturday to find out which ones ;) Irsa and Alexei were also correct to avoid the natives for the time being. I'm almost finished with the MA4e conversion. Experience points will be included!

supreme_arbiter 11/4/2006

OOC: This all takes place *before* the angry mob arrives.

"Good idea, Bud," Nike replied over the sub-vocal comm. "I agree. We should have medical records for everyone we meet, including ourselves. Our records are spotty enough already. We have records for Horatio's student, David. Shlitzee determined he was a pure-strain human, no gene mods or anything unusual."

"Speaking of Drake and the natives, we might want to gather all the firearms and secure them."

"Arkady took care of that," Nike answered. She looked around for him, but he wasn't on the bridge. She wondered where he was. "All the weapons are safely locked away in the munitions locker."

"Did anyone else catch that bit about the aliens being blasted to pieces by asteroids?"

OOC: I'm curious how Bud interpreted the Alexandria log this way. What led you to this conclusion? There was a city on the moon built inside a crater, murals of air combat and heavily fortified buildings, but I didn't intend to imply the aliens were destroyed by asteroids.

"And how about Benalidino? The robologs list him at the 'archeology site of doom,' but he seems to have made a lasting impression among the natives..."

"Yes," Nike replied. "I'm curious too." She spoke off comm and asked Horatio to tell them about Benalidino.

"Benalidino was a great man," Horatio explained. "He was a Prophet second only to John Galt. He had many wives and lived in the sanctuary at Eden with John Galt until the day he died. He taught our engineers and prepared them for the day Warden would someday return."

"How feasible would it be to re-task the satellites to scan for the Warden and other near-space objects?

Percy logged into the satellite while Bud continued his runaway train of thought.

"...weren't Hercules class droppers capable of planetary exit? Maybe we should get Pandora over there after all and see what we could cobble together?"

"Yes, but that ship is in terrible condition," Bailey replied as he replayed portions of the video detailing the overgrown hull and damaged systems. "We'd have to rewire the entire ship and rebuild the hull. And we don't know what shape the engine is in! The doors to engineering are radioactive. It's a safe bet that what's inside is dangerously useless. It might even take less time to build a new dropship from scratch than rebuild that one."

Percy interrupted him. He'd connected to the satellite. He found collision software running with a database of nearby objects. The Warden was not listed among them but there were hundreds of meteors in standard, elliptical orbit with dates and times when the satellite had propelled itself from danger. There was also a spaceship orbiting nearby the satellite, the Alexandria!

--------------------------------------

OOC: We now return to the "Present"...

THX-1492 landed the aircar next to the Pandora. Chelydra lowered the cargo lift and THX drove onto it. Irsa and Alexei set their aircar down in the sand outside the gangplank as THX's aircar rose into the garage. Chelydra secured the garage lift and hurried over to Irsa's aircar.

Drake walked down the gangplank as a crowd of people came over the dune north of them. "What's going on?" he asked through a mouthful of food, the last onboard the ship. Irsa, Alexei, THX-1492, Becka and Chelydra all stared at the approaching mob. They were still a hundred meters or so away, but they could tell they were angry about something. They looked like farmers, wielding primitive farm tools.

-end transmission-

mikejohnson_lordofdance 11/7/2006

Bud

[Bud] {at the mention of the Alexandria} "SHANGHAI!" he crowds in close to Percy to view the screen, "What spectra can you scan that mudder-cruncher with?" pauses and squints as if it will reveal more of the Alexandria's condition, "hey, if the sats can broadcast to us, can we use them as broadcasters to the Alexandria?"

{assuming the life-sensors are picking up the bioforms approaching the Pandora}

Bud looks over the number of approaching organisms, glances toward their new priestly chum. "Hey there fella, there seems to be a welcoming committee heading this way."

Bud straightens and casually walks to Horatio, "Looks like they must be real anxious to say hello, comin' all this way into the dunes of tentacled death."

{Bud puts on his best 'let's put our heads together and make this happen' smile}

"Maybe we should go say hi?" pauses, "But ya know, I seem to recall our 'bird' seemed outta place here...maybe you'd be gracious enough to introduce us to the newcomers?"

{hopefully the natives agree; as they walk to the bay} "Hey, I'd sure love to hear more about the Prophets, how long ago did they walk the world as other men?"

"Chel, I'm heading down to the bay with our native pals, what can tell me about the crowd?...Percy, Bailey: If you can contact the Alexandria try these words 'The Oxen IS Slow, But The EARTH Is Patient.'... Nike: how fast can we lift off if it becomes 'prudent' to do so? ...Shlitzee, meet me at the hanger, bring some bioscanners, midgrade uppers, my plaser and a few extra shells. Thanks, toots..."

mikejohnson_lordofdance 11/7/2006

Bud

OOC: Thanks, glad to be back!

As to the alien-asteroid theory, I think I'd just taken too much dayquil...

aeraxbob 11/7/2006

shlitzfarl

OOC- this bot is back, baby

-Shlitzee instantly stops her low-speed liquimixing, loads the frothing compound into a high pressure dispensor and injests. Seconds later (after servo control returns) she quickly gathers a humanachem partypack dispensor and portable bioscanner or two from medbay then wobbles to Bud's quarters.

If it is locked, she'll patch into the Pandora mainframe, "Yeah P, this is S. You hear the fleshie? Yeah. Yeah, this door. Thanks."

After gathering the gear, she ambles to the hangar. En route Shlitzee ponders the many hours & years spent conversing with various electronica, trying to connect with the humans' phrase about the Oxen. One connection pops, a passkey phrase used by Special Security to 'deputize' civilian use mechanoforms.

previous | narration | home | next