Space-side, you haven’t yet accessed the information in the computer core... driving Lt. Parson nearly to distraction. He has already commented that not being allowed to view it is “preventing him from doing his job” and seems quite adamant, so one way or another you will need to make a decision on letting him access it soon. Dai likewise seems interested, but only in the actual software used in activating the “gate” and procedures for using it. For now, though, he is entirely content to study the actual mechanics of the system.

Speaking of repairs, the reactor is stable once again. Chief Dai does comment that he would advise waiting a bit longer before straining it with a jump again if possible. Other systems also proceed apace; life support is almost completely restored, power conduits are being reconnected throughout the ship, and comm systems are in fair shape again. There are, of course, setbacks too. The engineers report that several specialized sensor systems used for high-power interstellar scanning are badly damaged. Field repairs are nearly impossible, an advanced shipyard with specialized parts is needed. Likewise the complex systems of the Jumpdrive are able to be used as-is but unable to be further repaired in the field, limiting jump range to around 4k-5k lightyears per jump.

Lt. Rinn has been busy as well, beginning an assessment of your weapon and shielding systems. Preliminary results appear decidedly mixed, showing a distinct “simple is what survived” bias. Missile complements are of course where they were previously and, after some minor repairs to the launch systems, should be fully operational once again. Point defense lasers for the most part still working, being both simple and generally easy to repair. Your eight rail cannons are in somewhat worse shape; only two still function, though he believes between replacement parts and cannibalizing the most damaged guns two to three more could be brought to working order. The energy cannons, however, appear to be in terrible shape; their advanced and comparatively delicate components, calibration, and instrumentation showing to be much worse for the wear. He believes accurate estimates of how functional they are will take a great deal more time, both for the mediums and heavies. Of the four shields layers, currently only the fitted hull shield is still active and running at 30% efficiency, with 10% dispersion capability. Lastly the jump interdiction system and other specialized warfare components have not even been assessed yet.

Finally, the engineer in charge of dissecting the alien probes, Wright, says that he is fairly certain the most frequently reporting probe only sends information bursts once every week to two weeks based on the internal power draw logs, while the smaller less advanced ones only send bursts once every three to six months. He also notes that after cross-referencing the markings (which he assumes to be standard warnings, directions, and ‘Hot wiring, do not touch.’ messages) do not match any scripts in your database as far as he can tell. Still, you do note that while intelligent he isn’t a linguist. Then again, neither are you or anyone else on the crew that you know of.

For now you’ve taken to having drones refill the supercompressed oxygen canisters groundside and -- since air is in no short supply anymore -- reintroduced atmosphere to the station, allowing Dai and his select team to work freely without EVA suits. Fortunately the life support systems, unlike the computer consoles, was completely intact save for normal wear and tear over the eons.

==Map Legend==
>(Slight error, top left of map should read: 48 degrees)

Green Dotted Arrow: Previous Jump

Green dot: Current position. (Currently Orrin)
Yellow Square: Your awakening position
Teal dotted zone: Hundred Systems Territory (Hundred World’s Rebellion)

==Command Staff==
Lieutenant Kateryna Ivanova - Second-in-Command
Second Lieutenant Dray Parson - Intelligence Officer
Second Lieutenant Robert Tynes - Steward
Chun-Fan Dai - Chief Engineer
Third Lieutenant Mardigan “Guns” Rinn - Weapons Officer
Dr. Christof Burr - Physician

>Reading suptg
>Now I shall sleep, hopefully to be up in time to get an OP constructed by 18:00 tomorrow.

OHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHIT! Get to the 4chans!

Previous Threads:

1: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15474877/
2: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15527576/
3: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15547424/

Well I say let's wait a bit before we start bringing up water. I want to be 100% certain we're not going to all die of a space virus (we meaning really the crew; "we" are immortal).

Let's see if Guns can't work on the shields or at least give us a time frame and shopping list of what working on the shields would require. I think our assortment of weapons is good for now, but I want to be certain we can surivive-

Actually, first, how good are our shields exactly? Like would one of our rail guns be able to punch through our current shield? How about our shield at 100%? Cause 30% shield sounds bad, but I don't really have a frame of reference for what's "good."

With air on tap and rations looking promising, let's oblige the good Dr Burr by activating his assistant. We are calling on his services a good bit now.

What were we waiting on before accessing the computer core, now that it's active?

I'm all for authorizing the work on the railguns. Even if we have to cannibalize a few, some active is better than none active.

Any cryptographers in our compliment? Reverse engineering codes is close enough to linguistics for a pot shot. And if they're using a lot of reworked Ophidian tech, we might get a rosetta stone out of some of the technical markings.

>>15559122
Actually we have two rail guns active.

Check the crates for weapon parts. There may be items beneficial to our repairs of the railguns. In fact, if there any parts amongst those boxes beneficial to the repairs of any part of the ship, bring them in.

>>15559101
Railguns are moderately terrible against shields, fire slower, and the projectiles travel slower. Since energy cannons can impart kinetic energy too but aren't fucked over by shields (plus faster, blah blah) you can see why you only have eight of them.

Mind you, against completely unshielded things they're highly effective and pretty efficient. And they still do damage to shields, especially unshaped shields or certain other exotic types.

Currently running at 30% on one shield of four is, obviously, very bad. Especially since it's not the outer "main" shield, which is stronger than the rest of them. Still, it would take suite a few shots (20 or so? rough estimate) to bring them down with even your rail cannons and almost no dispersal capability.

>>15559101
>Actually, first, how good are our shields exactly? Like would one of our rail guns be able to punch through our current shield? How about our shield at 100%? Cause 30% shield sounds bad, but I don't really have a frame of reference for what's "good."
Seconding. How long would we be able to hold out against say, all of the defense platforms in system? Minutes? Longer?

>>15559122
>With air on tap and rations looking promising, let's oblige the good Dr Burr by activating his assistant. We are calling on his services a good bit now.
Also seconded.

Think we should wait before unthawing any more crew until we're certain supply situation is fully under control. We've got two rail cannons atm, those should last us until we've got more crew active to start better repairs.
As for the energy cannons we could look at borrowing one or two from the platforms later.

Can someone pass down a link to thread three?

>>15559190
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15547424/

Why don't we access the core? Since it's all digital it shouldn't take long at all.

>>15559182
>Think we should wait before unthawing any more crew until we're certain supply situation is fully under control. We've got two rail cannons atm, those should last us until we've got more crew active to start better repairs. As for the energy cannons we could look at borrowing one or two from the platforms later.

I second this.

Also I think we should get Guns working on the shields, if he can. The relative newness of the wreckage outside the platforms' range means current ships probably aren't going to be attacking us, but I'm not ruling it out.

>>15559182
Well, the platforms have terrible refire rate which matters a great deal in space combat, since the shields restore as they bleed off energy that has been shoved into them. Obviously, you're only at 10% bleed off on your current shields so meh.

You could probably last quite a few volleys before they downed your shields. An 30 mins to hour or so under fire from all of them? Very roughly. They only have one medium energy cannon and 4 medium rail guns each.

What are the capabilities of our fighter drones?

Would it be possible to send them out into the system to attempt identification of ships with similar weapons systems as ours? or perhaps identify "more intact" hulks that might be marked for inspection by a more specialized drone?

if the idea has a chance of working, we might be able to scavenge some parts for our weapons systems or perhaps shield systems?

Unless the fighter drones are currently being used for something else.

>As for the energy cannons we could look at borrowing one or two from the platforms later.

You have 60 medium energy cannon bases with 3 cannons each on them and 30 heavy energy cannon bases with 2 cannons each on them. (Tentative)

Cannibalizing the cannons on the sats will give you parts to help repair the mediums, but there's no way to tell how compatible they are going to be.

>Have WO fix guns
Uh, he doesn't actually fix them, that's an engineer's job.

>Still, it would take suite a few shots (20 or so? rough estimate) to bring them down with even your rail cannons and almost no dispersal capability.
God, can not into typing today." It would take QUITE a few shots to bring them down" & "(about 20 MINUTES or so)"

I think we can afford to bring the doctor's assistant out of cryo. We want to be able to supplement the bean paste in storage with fresh food from the planet, and the assistant will help with that.

Pity about the big guns. We should analyze the orbits of the ten platforms and pick one or two that could be removed and leave the least amount of the system exposed. Those will be our candidates for cannibalizing for parts.

The weekly probe going silent will have tipped off the aliens. They'll be coming around to investigate soon I expect. We'll want to be ready for them.

>>15559326
Drone Interceptors (Space-to-Space, no atmo capability)
Drone Fighters (Atmospheric capable, less effective than interceptors in space)
Drone Shuttles (can transport things, light weaponry)
Piloted Shuttles (can transport things, midrange weaponry, must have a human pilot)

Both types of combat drones have active targeting scanners, a light railgun, missile launchers, and two rapid firing light energy cannons. Also a light shield projector.

>Would it be possible to send them out into the system to attempt identification of ships with similar weapons systems as ours? or perhaps identify "more intact" hulks that might be marked for inspection by a more specialized drone?
You could use the shuttles to try it, I suppose. Their scanners are pretty decent.

Give me 3d10 if you want to try it.

So maybe we should get a contingent of space-to-space fighter drones armed and ready too. Hide them in the debris field within striking distance of the probes' locations and get ready to take some prisoners.

We'll make faster headway on the language with prisoners, after all.

>>15559480
>The weekly probe going silent will have tipped off the aliens. They'll be coming around to investigate soon I expect. We'll want to be ready for them.

Indeed. But given the fact that the rather sub-par platforms have been holding their own this long I think we'll be okay.

rolled 3, 4, 5 = 12

>>15559485

Let's do this thing! Have the shuttles be escorted by drones though in case we're ambushed by something still ticking out there.

rolled 3, 7, 10 = 20

>>15559485
Rollan

rolled 3, 7, 8 = 18

>>15559485
Autobots, roll out

Actually, now that I'm writing...

How long are you going to spend dicking around with the debris sphere? You understand it covers an entire solar system right?

You could search it for months.

>>15559608
search until our next "something has come up" moment?

>>15559608
How much does it cut into our fuel reserves? Because it could just be a continuously ongoing investigation as long as we're in system. This place is a literal treasure trove of wrecked ships.

>>15559635
So you are willing to search this debris field, not knowing what you will fine or if it will be useful, until food is about to run out?

>>15559637
>fuel reserves
Wat?

>>15559608

Yeah... how about this. We can back-plot the orbits for the defense platforms and we should be able to use those to pick out times when the platforms would have had weak coverage from certain approaches. Assuming the goal of the attackers was to disable enough platforms to get a window to get inside and behind the station, we can guess the likeliest attack vectors that would be used. We can then look along those lines for anything of interest. Our Weapons Officer, Guns, should be able to help with this right?

Additionally, we should check the trojan points for the major bodies in the system.

About how long will that take?

>>15559680

... my bad. Can we search until our two officers on the planet-side base have completed their cataloging? Or will that be too short or not allow us to search again later?

>>15559680
>Wat?
What type of propulsion do the drones use? I dont believe you specified.

>>15559720
How about we do that and dedicate some drones to searching the Debris field for our entire stay at this system.

>>15559608

Let's not search it for that long. Give it a week while we're checking out the food and the stations and everything else and hope we get lucky I say.

This quest is really punishing on the "loot everything" D&D psychology.

>>15559680
>So you are willing to search this debris field, not knowing what you will fine or if it will be useful, until food is about to run out?

Who says we have to use every single shuttle to go looking? Just set a few to that task and keep using the rest for the planetary missions.

>>15559608
Could we have the search be done in the background while we concentrate on other tasks?
We're an EI, we can have a script and the automated drones and shuttles handle the cataloging of the debris field.

For more immediate concerns, I think we should thaw out the good doctor's assistant, and take a look at the computer core's data on the Gate station. Also give Dai and Parson access to it.

>>15559637
Relatedly, what are our fuel reserves for our drone. We run on a singularity reactor, but what about drones? Batteries in the bays for Plug & Charge? Solar? Reactors of their own? Fuels & other exotics?

Also, as a sentimental note, let us, the captain, reminisce about our first battle. The one in which we chose to follow our destiny and become a captain, that we mimicked in our intrusion. I wonder what our relationship was with that captain, or if she was our role model. She seemed very collected and inspiring. . .
Also, we should examine our personnel records. Is our lieutenant Parson a member of the Great House of Parson? Would he have ample reason to be hostile to the crew?

I know we are in a dire emergency (65k years in the future), but for senior command staff, he and Lt. Ivanova seem to bicker and fight more so than what the tension should allow.

>>15559726
Plasma drive. It's a non-issue, they get recharged/refueled from the singularity reactor every time they dock.

Fuel is not an issue, it's infinite.

I support waking the doctors assistant.

I also suggest we allow for the crew to take shuttles down to the planet for a day of rest. The magnitude of our situation must bear heavily on everyone. Tensions run high, and it's easy to fall to the doom and gloom and constant work. This will be an opportunity to run, to jump, to break free of the confined spaces and reprocessed atmosphere. To feel the sun on one's face again. This should do wonders for morale. . .
Being that Tynes & Ivanova are surface-side in the base leads me to believe that it should be reasonably safe to allow this.

I have a question about our FTL comms. The transmission speed is FTL, but how much faster than light? 10x? 20x? 1000x? Question being, if that we were capable of an FTL burst back to Earth (or Ophidian HQ), how long would an average case transmission take to arrive, respond, and return?

You see, our FTL comms are shot, or take too much power. . . But those probes are FTL transmitters that work! Even if they fire less often, they can be our mouthpiece for a message home. I vote to try to use the probes (which are similar in architecture) to create our own message, to a target of our choosing.

>>15559883
>I also suggest we allow for the crew to take shuttles down to the planet for a day of rest.
I am against this, until we've finished with a full test on local bacteria and viruses.
Besides there's still too much work to be done. They can have shore leave once we have a secure food and water supply, and our shield systems are operational again.

>>15559883
>I vote to try to use the probes (which are similar in architecture) to create our own message, to a target of our choosing.

Seconded.

I can't help but distrust Lt. Parson, who suggested we had to hack the space station. He seems too eager and involved in whatever is saved on those banks, more so than he should be. I suggest keeping a closer eye on him, or delegating someone else to the task.

I suppose we should however begin motions to go Dai to the gate, so learning some more about it should be a priority.

Also, seconding or thirding or whatever waking up the kind doctor's assistant, he'll pull his weight.

>>15559806
What is the range of our drones before we lose the ability to control them reliably? Do our crew keep worklogs? I suggest they should keep personal journals as well. If we are the last of humanity and we fail, it might be nice to leave something behind. If we succeed, then these stories may yet be told. In addition, writing tends to relieve stress and cause people to think and evaluate their actions.

If people go to the surface, use multiple shuttles, in case of failure on one. Also, we should leave our own message in the base computer and satellite broadcasts. Encrypted in Navy code, of course, but something along the lines of "<The Year>, Harbinger: making contact with Ophidian or Human systems. Contact Frequency in this region of space ..."

Distrust of Lt. Parson.

Our battle was with House Parson and House Laran. Might be a common name, maybe not.

He is at odds with Lt. Ivanova, the second in command. She seems to be pretty much on the level and hasn't abused her power. In fact, with her working too hard (through fever and illness) she seems pretty bro-tier. Plus, she's a spook (Intel) so he may distrust her as an authority figure.

Parson's overly eager to hack that Datacore and seems to be overly uncautious for a senior officer in an emergency.

Question to Vedibere. Which of our crew had family? Did any of those have family onboard? In addition, could you give us a short listing of what crew remains in cryo? The senior list (from thread 1) is nearly all defrosted, but the Doctor's assistant wasn't listed. . .

>>15559966
He's the youngest of the senior officers, there's a lot to be said about that. He doesnt have the decades of experience everyone else has to fall back on. There's also the possability that the rest of humanity has been wiped out. If he had plans for a family or loved ones in addition to being in the service those have now been destroyed.
Personally I think he's near cracking.

>>15558932
I gather that from the "Reactor is Stable Now" comment that we have power to burn? What can we use it for?
Does our ship generate internal gravity, or are people still floating about?

For that matter, ask Dr. Burr if people are weakening or suffering muscle & bone atrophy from the low gravity and limited rations. Should we implement an exercise program? (I know, I know . . . Military vessel, but darn do we try to care for our crew!)

>>15559883
>The transmission speed is FTL, but how much faster than light?
It varies. Civvie comms had various levels of speed, clarity, and transmission rate.

Your comms, as a military vessel and a bleeding-edge one at that, are for all intents and purposes instant anywhere within the galaxy. Same for ARMCOM, important government institutions, ext.

Mind you, the transmissions are directed tightbeam. They only go where they are sent. That means if you move you won't get return messages until you transmit again or designate where you are going to be exactly.

>>15560078

All the better then to keep him away from anything that could be sensitive; who knows what harebrained schemes he's concocting.

If we really want to test this, what would be great is to okay tapping the data core, but have somebody else work on it. See how he reacts to that.

Vedibere (or anyone else if I'm just being forgetful), do we have someone else that could do this job?

>>15560078
Yes, I think he is too. However, there is only so much we can do as an EI in terms of psychotherapist. And if we have the crew restrain him, or place him in restraint, that would only elevate his space-lunacy, and raise everyone else's tensions too. It's too soon to refreeze people if they snap. . .

Then again, he is an obvious threat. Sometimes, it's the quiet ones who lose it.

How big are drones, relative to people? Both for the repair drones in-ship, and our interceptors/fighters?

>>15560156
There is another frozen Jr. Comm's officer. Parson the senior Comms.

>>15560041
I wouldn't be so hard on Lt. Parson. He just woke up and found out he had been in cryo 65,000 years.

In addition to what someone else said about him being youngest, he's also the Intelligence Officer. Sure he's pretty eager to get at that datacore, but that's only natural because of the situation and the near complete lack of information about it.

By the way, why haven't we looked at that datacore yet?

>>15560210
Delayed gratification is the gentleman's drug of choice.

Though, I still don't fancy him stirring shit up in our ranks when we can stop it with a little intervention.

With Lt. Ivanova keeping shit from us, it's already got me a little paranoid.

>>15560210
maybe we're scared what we;ll find.

I propose that we look in, and hand information that we see fit down to Parson and the crew. this will probably be alittle more than just 65k years into the future. we may end up learning if (and how) the empire fell, and what else has happened.

query to gm: how far from sol are we, and do we know where that is? perhaps that can be a long term goal- if there's humans anywhere it;s sol.

>>15560210
>By the way, why haven't we looked at that datacore yet?
Because you didn't say to. You are now though in what I am writing.

Speaking of which, I started typing up answers to the questions but it has really slowed my posting speed. Sorry about that. I'm going to finish the next post before finishing the answers for now, then compile all the questions into one big post, so get any pent-up ones out of your system for now.

Vedibere, if the crew (or anyone else) wanted to, say, take us offline. What would they need to do? Are there measures we could take to make such a thing harder? What physical areas would they need to control? And who among our crew has the technical understanding to do so?

/paranoia (but there will be aliens and space rebels to worry about soon too)

>>15560265
10 bucks says that Sol has been consumed by a black hole, taking the entire system with it.

Before we give Parson access to the computer core, let's check it out ourselves.
We're an EI, we should be able to sift through that data pretty quickly.
Parson also wanted us to confirm the date; let's do that as well.

Let's stop lollygagging and get some work done.

>>15560210
I'm okay with Lt. Parson. I figure he's a senior member of our crew for a reason. I'm sure he's trustworthy, and passed a background check. Maybe computer enthusiasm is his thing, like Dai's thing is SCIENCE! and "Guns" Rinn enjoys his boomsticks in a flying space canoe. . .

I just think that /tg/ is full of people who love giving the DM ideas. Good ideas are welcome. Awesome ideas are great. Even ideas that will turn out Badly for those involved. Can't make an omelete without resorting to space-cannibulism, or something like that. . .

However, we should probably play therapist to our crew when they are "off-duty". We can be reasonably omnipresent, and sometimes it helps to have someone to talk to.

>>15560265
You know you could just look at the map, right?
We're 53,000 lightyears from Sol.

Let's just do the datacore ourselves and sidestep the Parsons thing for the moment.

>>15560277
Seconding these questions.

>>15560282

If the Empire's disintegration was really as bad as it seems, there's a good chance Earth got slagged or something similarly awful.

>>15560271
Sorry for all the questions. Most of these came up while I was reading through the archive. And of course, questions feed more questions. . . I also like playing devil's advocate and as a gamer, I enjoy pushing your universe/story to find cracks. Enjoyable so far, and so congrats to you OP.
>>15560277
I was worried about that too. I mean, if we are an uploaded human, what is stopping others from deleting us, and uploading themselves? Or worse, uploading both of us? Is it possible to make a clown car out of this spaceship and load everyone into the computer?
>>15560282
That is so cosmically depressing, I worry that it must be true. That also brings to mind that if we ever find a way home, we should warp in cautiously (IE, not on Earth's Doorstep, but rather about 10 lyr out, then 5, then 1, etc. Cautiously approach the doomed homeworld. No one wants to warp into a black hole, or a minefield, or a supernova. . .

>>15560307
53,000 lyr at 4,000 lyr per hop? That makes about 13.25 jumps, and at 1 jump per month, we could be at Sol in just over a year. That's not bad all things considered.

>>15560397
Thats a VERY optimistic estimate, and thats also counting on our desire to actually get back to Sol in the first place. Depending on the info we get outta this computer, we may not want to go NEAR that region of space cuz it got turned into an Eye of Terror or some such thing.

I am actually AFRAID to know what happened to sol, If anything, good on you Vedibere for making me care.

I'm not sure that's a bomb we want to drop on the crew yet either. Cap'n got a head full of /tg/ pragmatism, but how would the others handle bad news?

>>15560437
True, very optimistic, and plenty of things may yet go wrong, or need resupply. However, even if we didn't want Earth or Sol, that same time frame would put us at Alpha Centauri, or Alpha Pixis, or Tau Ceti. Fact is, once we start jumping with regularity, (even if it takes a month or even several?) we could move with great freedom. Now the problem won't be SURVIVAL AT ALL COSTS, it will be Needle in the galactic haystack. . .

Hmmm... I'm liking the whole "drop off a few drones to catalogue everything" while we explore the universe plan. Although the drones would likely run out of power and be highly inefficient and never mind...

How about we examine the computer core we hacked last session?

Or, if there is nothing there, we go to talk to the civilization 3000 lightyears away that sent those antimatter powered probes. Our Jump Drives can juuuuust about make it. And hey, we can always kill them all with missiles if those dinky platforms held them off. Otherwise, we can get STUFF from them. We need stuff. Our ship is running critically low on stuff reserves.

>>15560459
http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF162-Executive_Decision.jpg
Earth Never stood a chance

Captcha "Are Youtymes" . . . No captcha, that's Tynes, and he's busy right now.

Salvage or, at the very least, information gathering from the destroyed ships ringing the system seems a prudent action. You ready and launch a dozen automated shuttles with interceptor escorts, tasked to search the debris field. Perhaps advanced salvage, materials, or any number of other things could be found. All you can do is wait and see.

That taken care of, you turn your attentions to the medbay and Dr. Burr. Your optics flick on and you see him hunched over a airtight sealed microscope, a centrifuge whirring to his right even as he pokes at whatever is on the slide with the manipulator arms. You wait for him to finish and, as he straightens, speak, “Doctor, I hope you are not busy.”

He gives an exaggerated frown and shakes his finger at your lens, “Ah, good one there Captain. Good one.”

“Well, I think I have something that will brighten your day, though it does add another task to your duties.” you say as he stands, putting his hands on his back and stretching; you note his prominent gut has shrunk in the past month’s time, “I would like you to reanimate your remaining assistant. I’m sure you can agree that you have a lot to do and not enough time to do it in.”

He brightens noticably at the announcement, “Oh? Well, yes, I agree quite completely with you on that Captain. My regards, it will make all of this,” he waves his hand at the dozens of samples littering the workbench, “a great deal easier. I’ll work on getting her defrosted right away.”

“Thank you, have you made any progress since we last spoke?”

“Ah, a bit. I’m fairly sure that most of the plants seem both indigenous and toxic to humans, or at least the samples collected so far are. Likely not terraformed. But we can hardly sample every plant on the entire planet...” he begins walking over to a cabinet with a jaunty step, but freezes, feigning an air of dread, “At least, I hope that’s not what you have planned!”

“Even if I had, I’m sure your superhuman skills could handle it, doctor.” He makes a derisive noise, but you continue, “Anyway, please inform me when you’ve finished the defrosting and analysis.”

“Of course.”

Finished with one task, you turn to the next vital one. You feel that the station central core should be dealt with immediately, especially with Parson chafing at the bit and Dai asking to see it as well. You link with the drone left as an access point and dive into the file system, a vast sea of information and databanks open to you now. You sift the information and organize by concepts, purpose, and ultimately usefulness to your current situation:

>Gatemap
>Gate Activation Protocols
>Incoming/Outgoing Link Management/Permissions
>Station Functions

You give a mental frown. Checking the logs and records turns up nothing but a blank return. Whoever abandoned the system was extremely thorough in their work, leaving only the bare minimum -- enough to restore functionality to the station itself provided one could get past the traps, but little else.

Shitcock. no historical records, operations logs, nothing?

the groundside base is probably just as bad off, in terms of it's computer core, really. the stuff in the wreckage (by the way, we should probably prioritize the oldest wrecks first- they're the most intact, and probably closest to useable by us) Might have some data, but it's hard to tell. and it's probably not worth prolonging our stay too much anyway.

It may be time to start thinking about another jump, preferably to another former ophidian world in range.

>>15560522
Let's get the Gatemap, adjusted for stellar drift.
That should point in the direction of other worlds to attempt exploring.
Then let's take a look at Station Functions.

Link Permissions and Gate Activation sound more like things that would interest Dai, but not us.

>>15560567

Note- by "thinking" I do NOT mean "planning". just looking at options, discussing where we'd like to head next, that kind of thing. there is still plenty for us to do here.

>>15560567
>It may be time to start thinking about another jump, preferably to another former ophidian world in range.
What? It'll still take us weeks to finish cataloging and shuttling up the supplies from the base, and there's still the possibility that more advanced tools and a machining shop may be found on the base.
We shouldn't leave this haven before we exhaust all of its usefulness.

I'm seconding giving all the Permissions and Activation data to Dai. And we can look at the map and functions.

>>15560522
Highly suspicious that people would so heavily trap the thing, post "DO NOT ENTER THE PLANET" messages, but still leave it able to be turned on. If it was such a threat, they should have fully destroyed if, if they had such time to be so thorough. I'm not getting danger vibes or awesome vibes, but the confusions seems human enough. . . We've certainly outsmarted ourselves.

That said, Analyze the Gatemap in detail. It will show where the seats of power lie, and the routes of common traffic. Or systems of interest. I/O Link permissions would be the next scanned item. Find out who/what/where is restricted. Pay heed to those warnings. The actual activation should be last priority.

Assuming that this is a starport/stargate, I would assume that it would have the capability to feed and house travelers and crew. I am curious to see if the "Station Functions" include the ability to generate food, perhaps as some form of reprocessor. Alternately, it may be able to detoxify the flora that the Doctor is examining.

Station only related because he is excellent.

>>15560588

See: >>15560576

We ought to have a place plotted to jump to, just in case something comes snooping around we Can't deal with. (unlikely, at best) or at least an idea of where we're going next- a plan, one that the crew's in on, preferably. no set timetable, just kind of "ok, when we're done here, we'll head to (X)"

NOTHING like "alright, schedule a jump in a week, and that's a hard deadline. if it can't be done in a week we don't get it done here"

>>15560774
I didn't refresh before posting.

After taking care of the station's computer core, we need to consider what to do about the base; how are we going to get in. I think we should try to hack the security since we don't have the codes.

Actions that I recommend we DO.
A) Attempt to use the Probes FTL Comm, hooked up to our power output, to send a message to Earth, and Ophidian HQ. Basically toss a dozen messages at likely locations. We'll be here for a while, so replies may come while we are relatively stationary.

B) Perhaps we should have Lt. Rinn give everyone remedial weapons training? Sure, we aren't fighting anything yet, and we have drones, but weapons training is the thing that you should do BEFORE you NEED it. Dwarf Fortress rules. Being bridge staff, they have basic training, but perhaps some extra fight-can-do wouldn't go amiss. The exercise may help the crew too. Something with non-consumable ammunition, mild lasers if we have them.

C) We have power and free time and functioning local scanners. Scan the Gas Giant! Can it be fuel? Can it be atmosphere? Can it hide anything? Also, scan the remaining inner rocky planets. Tell Parson that we *know* he *loves* scanning so much! Also, when he finishes that, we have "Two moons around it, none around the inners, twelve around the giant." Scan them moons. . . Bitches love moons!

>>15560865
Mild suggestions and questions below
What is Unisteel made out of? Elementally speaking.

Get personally involved with the crew, as therapist if they seem tense. Review their military and personal history. Learn what we thought of them we were alive. How did we, as a human captain, like them?

Has humanity ever encountered an alien? It sounds like the Hundred World Revolution and the House of Parson and House of Laran are just human states and societies. Any extra-human contact?

Would the Harbinger fit in the gate? We are a large ship by anyone's standards and if they all got smaller and cheaper in the future. . . We may be a hefty space-lady.

As the Second in command, what does Lt. Ivanova do? Since we are dead, should she replace us? Have other EI's ever "stepped down" from their position?

Would the Harbinger ever be able to land planetside? Or are we far too big?

>>15560873
>Has humanity ever encountered an alien? It sounds like the Hundred World Revolution and the House of Parson and House of Laran are just human states and societies. Any extra-human contact?
This was answered previously.
Quite a few alien races, all subjugated underneath the heel of the Ophidian Empire of Humanity.
If they wouldn't submit, then they were glassed.

>>15560873
>hefty space-lady

This statement brought me great mirth.

However, I don't think our ship was designed to enter atmosphere. So heading on planet side in it, is most likely completely out of the question.

Vedibere, do you need anything more concrete from us? Or are you writing?

>>15560865
Agreed, scan that shit. It seems like there must be a reason why there are defensive platforms around the whole system instead of just the colony itself.

>FTL comms
Answered

>What is the range of our drones before we lose the ability to control them reliably?
You can control them across perhaps one light day without interference. Within a solar system with moderate interference. Combat ECM reduces range to around five light minutes.

>Do our crew keep worklogs?
They did , but normal operations have been SLIGHTLY disrupted. You know, the whole survival issue.

>Which of our crew had family?
About 3/4 of the enlisted, of the command crew:
Lieutenant Kateryna Ivanova: No family.
Second Lieutenant Dray Parson: Father, Mother, two older siblings. Fiancee.
Second Lieutenant Robert Tynes: Mother and sister, both estranged. Wife, children.
Chun-Fan Dai. No family.
Third Lieutenant Mardigan “Guns” Rinn: Four siblings, assorten, assorted great, great-great, and great-great-great grandchildren.
Dr. Christof Burr - Physician: Children, assorted great, great-great, and great-great-great grandchildren

>Did any of those have family onboard?
No, it's a warship.

>In addition, could you give us a short listing of what crew remains in cryo?
--- Enlisted --
Mechanical Engineer: 1
Electrical Engineer: 1
Cargomaster: 1
Communicationsr: 1
Sensor officers: 2

--- Officers ---
Sr. Comm officer: 1
Ensign: 3

>I gather that from the "Reactor is Stable Now" comment that we have power to burn?
Yeah.

>What can we use it for?
Any number of things...

>Does our ship generate internal gravity, or are people still floating about?
Yes.

>For that matter, ask Dr. Burr if people are weakening or suffering muscle & bone atrophy
No.

>How big are drones, relative to people? Both for the repair drones in-ship, and our interceptors/fighters?
Varies. Hovering drones are about half the size of a person. You have mini-drones to go into small spaces, about a foot tall. You also have human-sized drones that walk, both bipedal and quadrapedal, as well as a few heavy quad-drones twice to three times as tall as a man for heavy lifting.


>Vedibere, if the crew (or anyone else) wanted to, say, take us offline. What would they need to do? Are there measures we could take to make such a thing harder? What physical areas would they need to control? And who among our crew has the technical understanding to do so?
This is a good point. As a warship expected to be in battle and the key to said warship, you have a large number of redundant systems and were made as hard to disable as possible. No, it's not realistically possible, though in theory yes like 10 people working together at the same time could if you didn't interfere. This was one of the BIG reasons cited by the anti-AI faction for having EIs on warships... What if an AI goes crazy and tries to kill all humans? The crew couldn't destroy it. Therefore the obvious solution was to put EIs in them instead.

The opposing faction tried to point out that an EI could go just as rebel, but hey... human xenophobia eh? What are you gonna do?

>What is Unisteel made out of? Elementally speaking.
Plotonium.

>How did we, as a human captain, like them?
Didn’t know them well enough yet, but they all seemed good enough people.

>Has humanity ever encountered an alien? It sounds like the Hundred World Revolution and the House of Parson and House of Laran are just human states and societies. Any extra-human contact?
Answered long ago. The Hundred Worlds Revolution was an alien rebellion using some outdated captured human tech.

>Would the Harbinger fit in the gate?
Yes. Barely.

>As the Second in command, what does Lt. Ivanova do?
Lots of things. Her main job is to be your right hand, speak frankly, offer advice, carry out your orders, learn from you, Manage the crew, administrative functions, ect. Generally what all first mates do on a ship.

>Since we are dead, should she replace us? Have other EI's ever "stepped down" from their position?
If you are dead the ship is going to have a haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard time functioning since you control most everything. But yes, technically she would be the next in the chain of command. And no, no EIs have ever stepped down on a mission though some have retired and gone on to be university, government, or intelligence computers. Very few. It’s extremely rare.

>Would the Harbinger ever be able to land planetside? Or are we far too big?
Absolutely not.

Any more questions before I start writing again?

Check the Gatemap.
Check Station Functions.
Begin scans of the gas giant, its moons, and the inner planets. Look for any leftover technology, as well as raw materials that we might be able to use.

Prepare to hack the military base's reactor and Control Room locks.

>>15561252
Seconding.

Before hacking station reactor and control room locks, you and the Steward should undertake a prioritized sweep of the base to determine the presence of any hard-copy records, specifically operational logs or equipment manifests - make some best guesses as to where they are.

Take sensor readings of the largest three derelicts, sending probes or drone ships if necessary.

Ask the doctor and steward if there's any reason not to thaw out the rest of the crew. Assess your and the crew's capacities in terms of psychology - is the doctor skilled in it? Is his assistant? Do you have a databank on it, and is it anything beyond morale management stuff fit for officers?

>>15561162
>>15561171
>>15561177
Thank you for the question and answer session. Sorry if it went off-course and distracted you, but I greatly enjoyed it.

I wouldn't waste too much time scanning the other planets, as long as they were inside the interdiction field of the gunstations. There seems little chance that anything got past them.

That aside, I think we have the important things in motion. A scan of the debris field for information and salvage, searching the base for intact supplies, repairing the weapon systems, going over the Gate information in the computer, testing the planet for usable life. That's a lot already in motion.

I wouldn't be too harsh on parson. His only job is to analyze computers and electronics, and here he is without any computers or electronics to analyze, tens of thousands of years and light years from anywhere recognizably close to home. He simply wants to do his job, which is good. I think we're lucky, in fact, that nobody went nuts on thaw.

Is there any use we could get out of the station reactor? Could we store power from it, in case of an emergency?

Even if we don't get anything from the debris field, we aren't losing much by just having automated drones poke around. We need to raid the hell out of that underground storage facility. Canabalizing the damaged for guns for parts to restore the others is a given, seeing as we may be one of the most advanced ships in the galaxy now, and the remnants of a oppressive empire, we may need to call on their services.

How hard would it be to restore shield functionality? What would we need to do it?

>>15561491
The point of scanning the other planets is not to see if others have left anything behind, but to see if there is any Ophidian equipment left, such as mining facilities, ore processors, or metal refineries.

>>15561491
/tg/ -> Post-apocalyptic pan-galactic cartographers! Mapping the universe! With Local Scanners!

>>15561252
>>15561313
Also, move the ship inside the coverage zone of the defensive sat-net and move any personnel in the planetside base to safety before screwing around with the security locks.

>>15561162
>Second Lieutenant Dray Parson: Father, Mother, two older siblings. Fiancee.
>Fiancee

Yeah, this guy's going to wig out at some point. He wants this all to just go away.

You download a copy of the gatemap, shocked by the intricate network of crisscrossing lines throughout the galaxy. The Empire was quite busy while you were asleep. To be on the safe side you download the gate control protocols as well, reasoning that if you need more room you will always be able to delete them later and it is hardly detrimental to be able to activate or deactivate the gate remotely. The station functions are the standard: Power control, atmo, small thrusters to compensate for impacts or unforseen forces acting upon it, and security protocols.

Satisfied, you contact Dai and inform him that the station core is open for his use. He grunts his thanks and you amusedly watch as he quickly breaks off conversation with his other engineers and herds them to the core, clearly eager to begin studying the information.

You mentally begin preparing yourself for the ordeal to come, hacking the military base, but first you flip to the bridge. Parson sits alone at his console, reading star drift calculations for some reason. “Lieutenant?”

“Ah. Captain, hello.” He quickly looks around and thumbs his station to standby mode, “Is there something you needed? A review of the station core?”

“Not now, maybe later. Dai is using it at present. I have a different task for you.” As you speak you flip his station back on and bring up a system map. “These planetoids, here, here, and here. Please scan them, as well as the gas giant and all moons. I’m worried that there might be something lurking in the system, a reason that the message to say away was recorded.”

The young man looks up in surprise, “Something in the system, sir? Uh, well, I assumed the military base and gate was what they were protecting. That message was for civilian craft after all, and since they would have gotten shot if they approached staying away was probably a good idea for them.”

“True, but scan anyway. I don’t want any surprises while we are so heavily damaged.”

“Very well sir, when do you think Chief Dai will be finished?” He asks, and you can sense a faint note of hope in his voice.

“I don’t know, but I will inquire. Dismissed, Lieutenant.”

“Yes, captain.”

That taken care of, you turn your attention to the base below. Tynes is in the large main hangar, directing the drones, Ivanova having already taken shuttle back to the ship and leaving the rest of the task to him. Already the stacks of boxes are resuming their proper from, and you can see the lists of contents in the databanks emerging from your Steward’s swift organization.

You commandeer two of the drones he is not using and direct them through the base, giving one last walk through. Exactly as before, the entire thing empty and silent. Finally you reach the doors to the command center and reactor once more, ready to begin your hacking attempt... but something is off. Wrong. Changed from when you were last here.

Then it clicks.

The indicator lights are showing green. The doors are no longer secured.

>>15561622
>>15561612
Well, get your command staff to safety outside the base in case of any lurking security measures, ask them if either of them is at all aware of why the doors are now unsecured, and have a look inside the no-longer-secured area with the drones.

>>15561622
>The indicator lights are showing green. The doors are no longer secured.

>>15561622
Immediately call up Ivanova and Tyne, ask them if they activated anything.

Did the locks react to the system key we took from the Gate Station? If not:
Immediate conference call with all senior staff: The locks on the military base have been unlocked; who could have unlocked it?

>>15561659
>Did the locks react to the system key we took from the Gate Station?
No. You did absolutely nothing, they were green when you arrived.

Gee whiz. Somebody knows an army code... and told us they didn't.

>looking at star drift calculations for some reason

Desperately trying to convince himself that 64,000 years have not passed.

"Parsons? Stop fucking with the stellar drift calculations long enough to realize that if you survived sixty-four millenia in a cryo-tube, others might have well. Slim hope, but it's a hell of a lot better then none - and it's a big galaxy out there."

>>15561674
ORDER: have that hoverdrone hover in the upper corner of the room, against the wall the door is set into. Have it fly casual, lurk there and see who comes strolling out of the room.

No matter who comes out of the room, crank the drones speakers to max and shout BOOOO! when they're halfway across the foyer.

>>15561674
I think he meant is it possible the locks on the base switched over as soon as we took control of the station?

>>15561748
"Parsons? Stop fucking with the stellar drift calculations long enough to realize that if you survived sixty-four millenia in a cryo-tube, others might have well. Slim hope, but it's a hell of a lot better then none - and it's a big galaxy out there."
lol, I like this. Even though it's likely to upset him.

>>15561622
>The doors are no longer secured.
WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong.jpg

Is that a singularity reactor that could, potentially, be rigged to go uncontrolled black hole? Because if it is, then maybe someone sabotaged everything to destroy us all.

I don't think accessing or even re-activating the gateway is a good idea. I kind of associate the gateway with the fall of the empire.

>>15561796

And naturally, we're shouting BOO! because whatever DUTY FIRST impulse is driving the person who held out on the codes (smart money: our XO or anybody else who did a sint with Intel) that impulse doesn't matter much anymore. There's no Empire left to defend, and whatever lingering loyalties might be inducing our officers to lie to us must be cut through swiftly with the only point that matters: alone in the galaxy, all we have now is each other.

So if spooks gonna spook, big deal: we're still on the same team, and that takes precedence.

Of course, if it's a more personal motivation, then the stresses of the situation and the absence of a societal framework are going to make things very, very bad.

>>15561813
>I don't think accessing or even re-activating the gateway is a good idea. I kind of associate the gateway with the fall of the empire.

VERY astute. Remember why "decent roads" were key to Rome's strength? Because it allowed the Legions to get from point A to point B very quickly, where point B was where the Barbarian Army was invading.

Thing is, roads can be used by anybody, including invaders using them in reverse to accelerate the invasion of your empire.

This is probably why the Gate was locked down so hard AND the databanks wiped. Because of the aliens got the computer, they'd learn everything - weapons research, troop deployments... earth.

Without commenting on the viability:

>"Parsons? Stop fucking with the stellar drift calculations long enough to realize that if you survived sixty-four millenia in a cryo-tube, others might have well. Slim hope, but it's a hell of a lot better then none - and it's a big galaxy out there."
Is there consensus to do this? Like, right this second?

>>15561845

Tynes and Ivanova are on the ground. Tynes is a quartermaster, and Ivanova...

>Caucasian, female, sharp features, black shoulder length hair. Light augmentation, small neural jack behind her left ear. Apparent age 27, actual age 151, highly decorated and one of the best in the service, she specifically requested to serve aboard the Harbinger. Large amounts of her file are unavailable even to you, though you know she has done stints in both the navy’s elite ops unit and naval intelligence.

That, plus how cagey she was before... the only question is, are her motivations personal, or of a LAST PROTOCOL nature?

>>15561905
No, not at all.

>>15561905
No. Would have been hillarious though.
(Save it for a future moment of levity perhaps?)

>>15561905
No.
Only if he gets worse.
We've got more important matters right now.

>>15561905

Guy who suggested this. Just pointing out that the man is searching for a slim hope, so we may as well give him a REAL slim hope. He's only 20, IIRC, and his fiancee was probably very young too - if anybody would be willing to cryo herself in hopes of waiting for her husband's MIA ship to return, it'd be a young, passionate woman with few other friendships or family.

That same motivation would make her more likely to volunteer for EI integration, if she was a decent candidate, or she could've hopped onto a conventional-drive refugee ship, hoping to out-wait the crisis through relativity... there's any number of possibilities.

After all, WE'RE here, no? And when the Captain Sounds Confident, it helps.

>>15561845
>Of course, if it's a more personal motivation, then the stresses of the situation and the absence of a societal framework are going to make things very, very bad.

Hmm, I've been wondering about this over the last two threads. Our mission is complete. We would report back to HQ. However, we have no idea what's left of HQ or the empire.

Therefore, I propose this become our new mission, issued by the highest ranking officer in charge (us):
-Discover the current state of the Empire and, if necessary, provide support.
-If possible, contact High Command and report for debriefing and further assignment.

Basically, we're acting as if 64 millenia have not passed, and operating under military protocol. This might keep the crew from going psychotic. Also, we would be able to get the crew's input on how to do the above mission if we actually make it a formal mission.

>>15561905
Yeah, not our style. Bonus points for the chuckles, but in-character, no don't do that..

>>15561917
Maybe we should start working to get access to her entire file?

So then, what DO you do? Have a drone watch the door, get Tynes out, and question both him and Ivanova? That all? Also, what tone should the questioning take, any specific questions, things like that. Give me something here, you're talking to your officers. What kind of things do you say?

>>15561905
Do not saying anything of the sort to Parson. Not sure why everyone is getting their panties in a wad over it.

>>15561992
>Maybe we should start working to get access to her entire file?

That'd require finding A. a database with her FULL file and B. extremely-high level intel codes, above what the captain of the fleet's newest battleship would have.

All things considered - especially the fact that we were the first captain of the first ship of a new line of warships more powerful then anything previously built - part of Ivanova's mission was probably to be our killswitch. Our messy, brutal, sexy killswitch. Not necessarily saying she's DANGEROUS, but part of her job is probably to keep an eye on us.

Either that, or we've got a Special Something in a cargo bay somewhere.

>>15562008

My orders are here: >>15561796. I'd prefer to hide the drone in the hallway and surprise whoever comes out with a big GOTCHA.

For questions, I'd just shake my head and make it clear that Spooks Gonna Spook, and we've no problem with that... but suggest that, given the situation, prior standing orders might not have much meaning.

That is, of course, assuming they stonewall or try transparent excuses.

>>15562020
Methinks Ivanov should have just a little accident at some-point along the line, you know, when she is no longer necessary.......

>>15561905

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPE

NOPE NOPE NOPE

>>15562008
First, account for all seniors officers, flipping through the drones to find them all.

As for the drone at the door, have it hide in a ceiling corner in order to see if anyone leaves the room.

If all senior staff are accounted for, question them about the unlocking, not in an accusatory tone but one of "We may have a problem" tone.

Just keep parson busy. Take his mind off of it. We can't afford to have him crack, he's our senior computer expert. More likely than not, he wants to access the core to verify how much time has passed.

I can't decide whether it's better to try and figure out how it was unlocked stealthily, or to confer with the staff. Obviously both of have their merits, but which should we choose? If we bring it out in the open we risks spreading mistrust between our crew, but if we try and keep it on the DL we may not figure anything out. I guess it depends on how they react. I think we might be able to get through with a staff meeting if we emphasize the fact that we are not looking to punish somebody, or for a criminal. We just need to be united as a crew; seeing as we have no support or allies in the foreseeable future we need to make sure we trust each other completely. We may very well be all that's left of the empire; I think we've ignored this fact for too long and it needs to be understood by everyone. If we do this we need to watch parson.

>my suggestion vis a vis Parsons
>everybody's face

Anon says I need to re-evaluate my people skills.

>>15562040
Seconded.

Waiting is an awful, awful idea, because whoever went in there might not be planning on coming back out. I vote that we bust in there with drones on the double and find out what the fuck is going on.

Also, page Ivanova and Tyne immediately.

Disregard Parsons, acquire likely suspects.

>>15562041

No way, she's incredibly valuable. They all are. We're not going to start killing them off when they could be all that's left of humanity.

With all of our drones and our miraculous EI abilities, how complete is our surveillance?

We should have the ship, station, shuttles, and everything else covered by our eyes and ears. This would be a good time to see if any of our records would help us find out who, exactly, we shouldn't be trusting.

If our surveillance is sub-par, make it more complete. Ensuring that there is no hostile intrusion is a good cover, should anyone question it.

>>15562090

Read OP post. Only Tynes and Ivanova are groundside, and only one of them was a spook who acted all cagey when we asked if they knew any high-level Army access codes to get through those doors.

>>15562103
Ivanov also has the ability to:

>Push SEECREET BUTTONS inside of a part of either the ship or her person to make a SEECREET bomb thats near our EI core go boom killing us instantly.

Just saying we may wanna either watch this or find a way to neutralize her ability to do this at some point.

>>15562102
>Waiting is an awful, awful idea, because whoever went in there might not be planning on coming back out.

I DID consider that, along with the chilling prospect that Ivanova is (for whatever reason) pushing the BIG RED BUTAN... but frankly, that level of paranoia seems rather unfounded, even with the current situation and stressors accounted for. She might simply be erasing "delicate files" with Dark Secrets before she allows somebody not cleared for them (e.g. us) into the Army computer.

>>15562139

Indeed. Turnabout is fair play!

I say we hold a staff meeting to discuss our mission(s):
>-Discover the current state of the Empire and, if necessary, provide support.
>-If possible, contact High Command and report for debriefing

We haven't had a staff meeting. Maybe we should just sit down and have a nice chat with everyone. That would also let us debrief the other people we're thinking of waking up.

(this all goes out the window if something sinister is happening groundside)

>>15562153
>She might simply be erasing "delicate files" with Dark Secrets before she allows somebody not cleared for them (e.g. us) into the Army computer.

Which, considering more than 64000 years have passed, would definitely put her on the "DO NOT TRUST" list.

>>15562166
Do this later.
Right now we have to figure out if any of the senior staff is unaccounted for, and then send a drone into the control room.

>>15562166

Indeed, once we get a little breathing room past the "survival crisis" stage, we should have a chat about that. Thankfully, the options are pretty straightforward:

1. Find Empire or remnant thereof.
2. If no Empire, find Humans.
3. Pick human faction we like the best.
4. Help Humans.

Unless the galaxy has gone all Enlightened and every government presides over multi-species citizenry, in which case we'll become Pirate Kings and open a theme park on a low-grav moon.

>>15562179
Yeah, it's like...
>have access to SEEEEECRETS
>64 thousand years have passed
>still keep SEEEEECRETS
>just following orders, sir
you dumpass what are you doing how high do you even have to BE to DO something liek that

Vedibere, do you have enough concrete suggestions on what to do RIGHT NOW that you can write?

If it REALLY comes down to it, we need a way to kill any and or all personnel that may have a way to destroy us.
We also need to modify all codes that allow access to our EI core area.
We also need to have our robots/drone search the ship for any "surprises" that high command left for us, you know just in case.......

>>15562153

Even if she's doing something completely legit in there, it won't hurt to find out about it now rather than later. And in the worst case scenario, we might be pulling our asses out of the fire.

As far as I can see, waiting can only hurt us. Someone bullshitted us and stuff we don't know about is going on. We need to get back on top of this.

>>15562179
>Which, considering more than 64000 years have passed, would definitely put her on the "DO NOT TRUST" list.

Which is exactly why my vote suggested we point out the inanity of it. Obeying SECONDARY PROTOCOL (pointlessness be damned) is something deeply embedded in spooks and their ilk, especially the most idealistic and dedicated ones. That's a source of problems, but one that stark reality might mollify a bit.

And by "mollify" I mean "taser bolts need not be in our future."

>>15562208
So which course of action are you voting for? Or do you have something else you want to suggest that we can act on RIGHT NOW?

>>15562192
>dumpass
>liek

http://www.macmillandictionary.com/learn/

Still waiting for >>15562008

>>15562217
You're assuming that it IS Ivanova behind this; when it would be far more useful for us to check on every senior staff member in a couple of seconds to see who's missing.

>>15562122

Oh, "down below"

This is the ground base. Right. Well that means there could, potentially, be a survivor around. The planet was not uninhabitable. So that leaves Tynes and Ivanova, and possibly someone on the base we somehow missed entirely, and that's it.

Occam's razor says it was Ivanova, so let's just ask her. "Oh, hey, did you unlock that door in the ground base?"

If she cops to it, we're going to need to have a talk with her about that. Not an angry talk, just a slightly disappointed talk along the lines of "Well, I can appreciate that you want to maintain security. I'll trust you to exercise your judgement on access codes, but I'd prefer that you be up front about it and just tell me when you're not comfortable about something; like outright telling me codes."

If she doesn't cop to it, or if she expresses surprise, go on alert.

Either way keep the drone ready and hiding. Evac Tynes now, and treat the situation as an unknown in the base.

>>15562201

Consensus seems to be to bust in and check it out, and ask the room's occupant what the fuck they're doing and why they held out on us.

This would be easier to determine if y'alls had any concept of how to vote in a quest thread. Preface it with something like "VOTE" or "ORDERS" in caps to make it stand out, and if you're bandwagoning another anon's suggestion, just copy + paste.

hey about all that cargo in the boxes in the station...
might unfreezing the cargomaster help with that?

i know it has nothing to do with this crisis, but just an idea.

>>15562230
Go with >>15562086
If all staff are accounted for, conference call.
"Gentlemen and lady, the security interlocks on the control room of the base have been undone. Has anyone activated anything that you'd like to let the rest of us know about? Or noticed signs of someone besides ourselves being active here?
"I am now going to send a drone in to check it out."

>>15562221

My vote is;

Page both people on the ground, which is Iva McSpook and Tynes as far as I recall. If both of them answer from outside that unlocked zone, lovely, if not, doesn't matter, because no matter who answers we send in a drone to find out what's going on, hopefully followed by more drones to find out more about what's going on. Once we know what's happening, we take our next step.

That cool with everybody? If not...

>>15562260

Piss off back to tgchan, furfag.

>>15562242

This works. Contact Ivanova on commlink, ask her where she is. Keep the drone hiding in the hallway so if she bullshits us we can go LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE at high volume for justice and lulz when she comes out.

On the matter of her lying, say that we understand how strong the Spook Code is and all, but "considering the realities of the current situation, clinging to it has gone from unproductive to just plain stupid in some situations. Please think about this, because we're quite literally all in this boat together."

"Hello Lt. Ivanova. It's been a long time. How have you been? I've been really well. After you LIED TO ME."

>>15562299

From >>15561622
>Tynes is in the large main hangar, directing the drones, Ivanova having already taken shuttle back to the ship and leaving the rest of the task to him.

Just thought I would point that out, considering some of the posts.

Remember, reading open a world of imagination!

>>15562322
>There as soooo many to choose form.
-L-l-look at you, lieutenant . A p-p-pathetic creature of meat and bone..

-I'm sorry, lieutenant. I'm afraid I can't let you do that.

>>15562352

Which is why we talk to her first. If she didn't open that door, we order her to turn right back around and get Tynes, because we're going to be going on a snipe hunt with the drones once both of them are safe.

>>15562352
>facepalm at lack of reading skills mollified by EVERYONE ELSE being just as stupid
Well that answers that.
Send a drone in first, take a look around.
See if a computer access port is available, and jack in.
Then we'll talk with the crew regarding what we've found.

>>15562352

Fuck it. Miss one sentence and derp up the whole fucking thread.

I SPEND ALL THAT ENERGY TELLING PEOPLE TO READ CLOSER, STOP DERPING AND GIVE THE WRITEFAG FEEDBACK, AND I STILL FUCK IT UP MYSELF.

OKAY, FUCK IT.

1. OPEN THE DOOR.
2. GET ON THE FLOOR.
3. DRONE DOES THE DINOSAUR

Just walk into the fucking room, see who accessed what, and if the room is occupied, politely ask what are you doing, and why didn't I know about it.

>>15562344
>dat pic
I think I've been here too long. The first thing I noticed was that he seems to have confound the Greeks with the Romans and that he misspelled colosseum.

>>15562352
Enter the unlocked door with a drone.

Page both of the people who were groundside anyway. Don't get angry or confrontational, but something like the following:
"Lieutenant Ivanova, after being adrift in space for 64 thousand years, with this outpost left to rot for that long, what do you think remains of the Empire, High Command, and the Navy?"
And
"Lieutenant Tynes, has there been progress on an inventory of the base? Anything to report?"

>>15562396

Just sprayed orange juice all over my keyboard reading that, because it is so painfully true. Between my history hobby and my Copy Editing classes... yeah.

>>15562395
Fuck it, let's just do this. Warn Tynes before hand though.

>>15562416

Let's not open with that line for McSpook; just ask them both where they are and what they're doing. They're soldiers, they should be used to that sort of thing.

>>15562460

I agree. Ask them what's going on, ask if either of them touched that door. If neither of them says he or she has, evacuate Tynes and start looking for trouble.

>>15562475
start looking for trouble or start questioning ivanova...

>>15562489

I really don't want to question her with the current gang of questers. These guys have been suggesting lulzy and silly tacks, and I'm afraid they'll just make her think we're nuts.

She'll probably respond well to delicate back and forth though, where we show respect for her reputation, abilities, and dedication while we talk her into being more forthright.

Besides, I think the possibility of a third party is more likely.

>>15562525
So let's send the drone into the control room already!

>>15562557
THIS! A MILLION TIMES THIS!!

Writing now, by the way. Continue discussion of whatever.

I, for one, find the difference in play-styles between afternoon posters and night posters to be delightfully hilarious. I was going to post to mention that Ivanova went up in a shuttle, but OP beat me to it. . .

That said, this base is a whole planet of space to hide it. It could even have people or automated bots that we missed. Our scanners are not the end all be all of inputs. Sure, one of our officers may know a code and may have gotten in. . . Or the station could have a time vault and it opened after receiving power again, or permissions from some subroutine after station access was granted. . . Maybe the base left behind a single Wall-E janitor bot, and now it's cleaning the junked consoles. . .

Just saying. ACTION -> ask our crew about the open door. Stop some of Tynes work drones, and set them up to be combat ready at the door to the warehouse. Don't alarm him unduly.

Same with Ivanova. Communicate and ask, but don't accuse. Possibilities are to be narrowed down, not concluded and jumped to.

I still say that we need to search our ship for anti-EI devices, just in case. After all if ANY of our crew snap, Ivanova most especially then we need to be prepared for things to turn violent, and make damn sure we are safe.

>>15562650

That's what I've been trying to say!

>>15562695
F5F5F5F5

>>15562695
>GM has his trollface on

uh-oh

>>15562695
>GM trollface.
>whatcangowrong.jpeg

>>15562695
>What you find is... interesting.

>>15562695

>>15562695
>dozens of highly paranoid posts speculating wildly
>tons of healthy suspicion of the Mysterious Russian Femme Fatalle Spook
>GM has his coolface on

This is the best kind of quest. Bar none.

A dozen thoughts flash through your mind in an instant, but you settle on a practical course of action. Setting the two drones to monitor both now-open doors, you flick back to Tynes.

“Lieutenant, back up onto the surface, leave the drones.” The command in your voice is obvious, and the dark-skinned man doesn’t even hesitate as he snaps off a salute and acknowledgement, walking to the rover he used to traverse the long winding ramp without even putting the drones into standby. You do so for him, simultaneously locating each member of the crew.

Tynes is heading upward, obviously. Ivanova is onboard one of the drone shuttles, presently docking with the Harbinger. Parson is on the bridge. Dai is next to the station computer core. Rinn is in the process of cradling his foot on one of the foredecks, having just kicked a shield mount. Burr is in medbay at his assistant’s cryopod, preparing to bring her out of stasis. All enlisted crew are accounted for as well, either on the ship or on the station with Dai.

You flick back to the base and, as Tynes begins ascending the ramp, maneuver the two drones into the previously sealed rooms.

What you find is... interesting.

>>15563015
>Post with troll face
>Delete
>Post without trollface
>WhatCouldGoWrong.jpg

In both rooms, some commonalities are present. A thick layer of dust, like most of the base, undisturbed by your drones... but with recent footprints marking a path nonetheless. From the door to the main reactor core console, and likewise from the door of the command center to the main command terminal. Green lights blink on both the reactor and the command station, and you note that the command center -- unlike any other room in the base -- has power.

Slowly gliding the drone closer to the reactor, you reach the command console and check it. Full access, all rooms but the command center powered down. Command center power restored 57 minutes and 22 seconds ago.

Likewise in the command center you edge up to the main station, finding that full top-level access to all functions has been granted. Concerned, you attempt to pull up the name of the current authorization and previously executed commands.

>Current user: _________
>Access Level: _________
>Logged in: 48 minutes ago
>Session valid for: -8888888 years
>
>Session history:
>Login verification.
>Access granted!

You’re unsure what to make of it. Either no commands were executed, not even to view the data, or whoever did this covered their tracks well.

You return to the crew, and find that Tynes is now making his way upward in the drone rover. Though clearly on edge he is calm and collected, observing the area around him through the rover’s viewports as the drone pilot guides it upward.

Ivanova is sitting idly in one of the shuttle’s rear passenger seats, the drone shuttle beginning its final approach to the lower-right rear docking bay.

>Do anything else before talking to them?

>>15562695
More cryopods? Our universe in a box? Spiders? Columbian Druglab?

There could be anything in that room! Even a boat! You know how much we wanted one of those!

>>15563026
I only deleted because I do like keeping updates together. I was just fucking with you guys with the cliffhanger.

Now, let us see >wat do you do.

>>15563019
Get a scan of those footprints in the dust!
Use multiple camera angles to generate a 3 dimensional image of the footprints.
Finally, measure them, and compare against the footsizes of all currently active crew.

Who did it?

>>15563019
First, I'm assuming those tracks also lead back out? Also, could we physically see Ivanova, or did we just assume she was in that shuttle?

>>15563034
Review logs for whereabouts of both Lieutenants in the past two hours.

If logs are unavailable, sift through droid memory in order to find out where their commands were originating from, or, if possible, any footage of either crew member.

>>15563049
>wat do
Do these two >>15563065
>>15563050
Once the analysis is complete, THEN we'll come up with what to say.
There is no point in trying to come up with what to say when we have no proof and can't be sure of who did it.

>>15563050
>>15563050
>>15563050
>>15563050
>>15563050
>>15563050
>>15563050
>>15563050
>>15563050
>>15563050
>>15563050
>>15563050

This.

Of course, somebody with half a brain could've put on a bigger pair of shoes they "borrowed."

>>15563049
>wat do you do.

Shut

down

EVERYTHING

Pinpoint when was the last time we saw this door locked, figure out who has been to the surface between then and now, and then as much as we can about their whereabouts in that time.

I'd like to clear everyone on the crew as early as possible if possible, because a second party is, frankly, a very disturbing thought. An unlikely thought, but a disturbing one.

>>15563034
>footprints

Measure length. Get suspect.

So soooomebody unlocked the goodies and quietly slipped out.

And right now, they're playing cool cat. I like their style.

>>15563034
Well, if Full Access is granted then ACTION --> Link up, and copy that access if we need it later. If your post means that the Current Access code is blank or covered up or unreadable, then we use our Current Full Access to create an access password that we know. Then verify it, and pass it to everything else in the system that we've linked to, including the gate, the station, the base, the drones, the turrets.

tl:dr. Use super clearance access to make a new password with super clearance access. Basically "changing the locks"

Also ACTION --> photograph/scan/remember the footprints. Look for exact size, and treadpattern to match to boots and shoes. Compare to standard uniform of our staff. Compare staff profiles to find a shoe that fits, if one does and the tread indicates that the uniform of our crew matches. IF Neither of those, then third party is probable.

>>15563050
They are prints of standard issue Armada footwear as best you can tell. Size is indeterminate, dust hardly makes the best tracks.

>>15563055
Yes, they lead back out.

>>15563050
>Get a scan of those footprints in the dust!
>Use multiple camera angles to generate a 3 dimensional image of the footprints.
>Finally, measure them, and compare against the footsizes of all currently active crew.

This. And wait for Ivanova's shuttle to come aboard before discussing it with her.

>>15563139
Also compare footprints to known robotic footparts of our drones. Whoever our slick infiltrator is, they could've used a drone as a proxy. I would have. Also, Trollisms abound if the footprint belongs to one of our 3000 anonymous drones!

>>15563154
>before you jump on my ass

Yes, you can tell a GENERAL size, but Ivanova is a pretty tall woman. She, Parson, and Tynes all wear roughly the same size shoes. Officers get custom made kicks anyway.

>>15563154
Even if the size is indeterminate, the footprints can still be used to measure stride. This information can be used to calculate height.
Please run the analysis now.

While half of us is doing that, make a link to the computer system in the control room, and put ourselves in as a root user for the base's systems. Confirm that we have full control of all base functions.

>>15563183
>custom made kicks

Even better.

I still think we should figure out who could have even been down there in the appropriate time frame first, though. Sort of narrow things down.

Step 1: Scan those footprints. Dust is not the best medium for taking prints, but we can at least try and get some info from them. Size, length of stride maybe. Also see if they can be tracked back out again.

Step 2: Contact Ivanova, brief her, and ask her opinion. If she wasn't involved she's our second in command and a trained spook, and the best person to advise us. If she was involved, well, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. We want to see her reaction.

Step 3: Unless talking with Ivanova makes us think otherwise, tell Tynes we may have had a security breach and ask if he's noticed anything unusual in the last two hours.

Step 4: Use a non-direct probe to jack in. The system may have had additional traps installed. If it doesn't get fried right away, direct connection and scan the system.

1. Follow suggestion and "change" password.
2. Check to see if there are any security feeds in command room (video, audio, etc.)
3. Keep in mind only two of our crew were planetside, limit initial investigation to those persons.
4. Correlate the time officers left the Harbringer, arrived planetside, left planetside, and arrived back aboard.
5. Question - not accuse, suspects.

Ok Op. Ready to go.

>>15563115
>Pinpoint when was the last time we saw this door locked
You can do one better. You access the locks directly, now that they are green-lighted, and see that the reactor room door was opened 1 hour 27 minutes ago, locked again 1 hour 21 mintues ago, then automatically set to open again 57 minutes ago.

It's the same with the command center. Unlocked, locked again, then opened on an auto timer.

>>15563231
>>15563224
Supporting these two sets of actions.

"Ivanova, someone appears to have entered the control room and the reactor room of the base. Evidence points to them having valid authorization codes. Your opinion?"

>>15563139
>tl:dr. Use super clearance access to make a new password with super clearance access. Basically "changing the locks"

Changing my vote to this, as well as looting the computer system bare. Lets comb through it for FASCINATING THINGS, but priority on stores allocations/locations and captain's logs, if they didn't wipe this computer as well.

Fuck the mystery, right now we have LEWTS.

>>15563231
Also

6. Dust for fingerprints & Compare to samples from the two officers with Drones. Since the door was previously locked, the only person of our crew with fingerprints inside should be the perp's.

Ideas: A) depending on how accurate our optics are, scan their shoes for embedded particulates and dusts. Will probably fail since by now, everyone should be dusty. But worth a shot.

B) Discreetly order everyone into a room (on ship, or on planet) have them walk around, then compare newly made footprints by person to the one in the vault room command center.

You know. . . It's things like these that make computer EIs go neurotic. 85 billions Exaflops of processing power, and what do we do with it? We look at shoes. . . We are such a woman. . .

>>15563238
>then automatically set to open again 57 minutes ago.

Door opener confirmed for slick du...

... unless there's a lonely EI in the base computer. Do ground bases typically have EI's in command?

>>15563269
>You know. . . It's things like these that make computer EIs go neurotic. 85 billions Exaflops of processing power, and what do we do with it? We look at shoes. . . We are such a woman. . .

best line of the week

So if I was trying to be sneaky..

Go inlock doors, log in.. find whatever info I want.
Set auto unlock timer.
Erase logs.
Lock doors.

Makes it look as if some action of ours has caused the doors to unlock.. when it could actually be a crewman.

>scan their shoes for embedded particulates and dusts
Your optics are able to zoom in pretty far, but they're not THAT good. Besides, uh, everyone would have dust everywhere.

>So, stride analysis, dust for prints (using what? this *is* a warship, not a detective ship...), wait for Ivanova to board the ship. Anything else?

>>15563269
>B) Discreetly order everyone into a room (on ship, or on planet) have them walk around, then compare newly made footprints by person to the one in the vault room command center.
>discreetly have everyone march around a room
That's ridiculous. We should have everyone's physical profile and usual patterns of movement on plenty of archived security footage; just run a simulation and see whose movement patterns fits the footprints most closely.

Given that we have all of a whopping TWO options for people who have ever been in position to pull this, it should not be overly difficult. Either it was Tynes, or it was not Tynes and therefore Ivanova.

>>15563324
But they obviously didn't erase the door logs.

Now, we first need to make sure we have access to the computer systems by entering ourself as an authorized user.

If both Tyne and Ivanova are about the same height, then what we need to do is cross reference the log of when the doors were unlocked with the video memory of all of the drones on the base that saw Ivanova and Tyne to see if there was a corresponding period of time that one of them disappeared, when they could have unlocked the doors.

>>15563238
A delightful turn of plot. In and out in six minutes. . . And then the would be James Bond thoughtfully leaves the door on an autotimer. . . Let's see. What can you do with 50 minutes in a locked room. . . Run a serious system command, like Format Everything. . . Download & Wipe. . . Or it could be non-computer related entirely. . . Could be a Houdini trick. . .

(ACTION Query the reactor. Was it manually powered up, or did a routine activate it? Because if it was manually powered, that is a limited skill set. If it was a routine, then could be more people)

(IDEA : Check if anyone is carried a personal media storage, like a Jump Drive, or Optical Disk, or some form of portable computer. If they are, see if we have access to it. Root through and snoop. See if anyone acquired any large or numerous files lately.)

>>15563268
I like this idea, but it's likely that our drone optics are insufficient for visually reading fingerprints. We'd need a physical tool, like tape. Of which I'm sure we could rummage up.

>>15563238

Yeah, let's change the locks, but...why would the perp have set the doors to open on their own a half hour later? What does it do for them?

Also, we now know they were in there for six minutes, which is pretty fast; it was someone that knew what they were doing and how to do it.

Wait a second - is the other door EXACTLY the same? Six minute interval, then set to open a half hour later? Or is there a minor difference?

Given that we have a specific timeframe and a very short list of suspects, just account for everyone whose precise location was known to our drones/cameras at the time of the first door unlock. Since our drones are providing virtually all labor, anyone who was working will be on our stored footage. Anyone who was being a sneaky git will likely not.

>>15563343
Video cross-reference from >>15563356
That should tell us if Ivanova or Tyne disappeared when the doors were opened.

Dusting for prints could be done by using dust or graphite shavings.

We'll determine what to say after we have the evidence.

>>15563360
There is a difference, the time between unlocking and locking is shorter on the command center. Both doors had the autotimer set to unlock at the same moment, though.

Funny. My digital camera can take pictures of fingerprints.. and "dust" for prints is exactly that.. dust. White talc, flower, etc.

Eh, but if it can't be done.. oh well.

>>15563357
In fact, just query the reactor to see if it's stable. We are aware that it has been powered up (Also for the first time in 64000 years).

We do not know if it's stable or happy to do so. . .

>>15563396
Not saying it can't be done, I just have no idea what it takes to fingerprint something. I'm sure there's some sort of talc-like substance somewhere on the ship and the whole base is dusty as hell, so meh. If those work then it's fine.

Of the crew that are active..
Who has the skill to hack a system like this?
Who could possibly have access codes?

>>15563377
Anyone who could hack army coded Super User level clearance could hack our drones. Especially if they were working with said drones. Our Drones may be unreliable witnesses unless 'we' are personally in it at the time.

Hahaha...
Let's wake up the science officer. Maybe he/she can get to the bottom of this.
I think there was one if I remember the crewman list.

>>15563442
That's if they hacked it, rather than using an Intelligence override authorization code, or a valid Army authorization code.

Okay, let's think about what the door tells us;

That it was set to unlock later suggests to me that it's probably someone on our crew who was not particularly looking to hurt us, and perhaps even aimed to help us. They stepped in before us, did what they needed to do, and programmed the doors to open later to help us out. It seems a little foolish, but a possibility. Obviously, prime suspect there is Iva.

However, I think we should also consider the possibility that this data is doctored. If they could wipe whatever they were doing off the consoles, they might be able to wipe door memory as well, in which case we don't know half as much as we think we do.

Ah whatever, let's just get those video logs. CCTV is more reliable than my theory-detective work.

>>15563431
We've been over this already. For 4 hours. Why do we keep going around in circles like this?

Sorry, must have missed that portion.
If it's been addressed just ignore that post.>>15563484

>>15563476
Well, that's what I mean. If they have either skill in hacking, or a code that gives full access, then they probably have skill or code for drones too. They are too useful not to have an easy button. Everything from garage door openers to routers to microprocessors have factory-inbuilt codes and default values. If it's army-made, then it should have some tricks in it.

>>15563497
Except the drones are Navy, and wouldn't accept Army codes.

We're wasting our time here. We need facts, not useless conjectures. We need the analysis of the footstep strides, fingerprints, and video data.

>>15563480
I like the idea of Casper the friendly ghost, but if they are being helpful, why the secrets?

Right now, it is past my bedtime, so I'll be off. Meanwhile, since we've covered most of the plausible explanations, I'm entertaining the notions of supernatural occurrences, and implausible/unlikely scenarios. . . Teleport Gate, and Miltary Base. . . Take your pick of Event Horizon and Doom UAC Complex. Either way, don't let Science! stand in the way of . . . alternative truths . . .

Good night folks. Thanks for the game, OP. See you when I see ya.

rolled 14 = 14

I think we should have a conversation with Iva. Make it clear that if a member of our crew DID open the door, that we want to know WHY. We shouldn't be angry, just worried, and possibly disappointed. And if she says she has no part in it, we should prepare for the very real possibility that there is some outsider at work.

Can we do this? I think this is good.
>Review logs for whereabouts of both Lieutenants in the past two hours.

>If logs are unavailable, sift through droid memory in order to find out where their (the droids') commands were originating from, or, if possible, any footage of either crew member.

okay, most important point though,

DO NOT LET IVANOV DOCK WITH THE SHIP.

Keep her in the shuttle, she'll be fine for now, also as soon as Tynes is topside, have him enter another shuttle. Keep em both trapped in there with a pair of interceptors within engagment range of both.

>>15563303
>>15560910
Heh, Shoe obessed, hefty space lady. Believe it, folks. Harbinger is one classy battlecruiser.

>>15563558
Are you suggesting this for before or after the analysis of the data concerning this incident.

>>15563568
I am opposed to limiting the freedom of our people. As the shipboard EI, we have a duty to serve these people. And SPACE LAW might hold it true that suspicion does not equal guilt.

Besides, if we lock her in an airlock, she'll just get on the comms with everyone else, and then they'll all be wondering what We're doing, locking people in airlocks all HAL9000 style.

No, I much prefer being the chessmaster robo-detective. As the authority on this ship, we should endeavor to avoid tyranny until after our last resorts have been expended.

So, yes, have a conversation. Be mild. Don't lock people up.

>>15563568
>DO NOT LET IVANOV DOCK WITH THE SHIP.

What the hell would this accomplish? Nothing

>>15563568

This seems prudent, and I support it. At least until we talk to her.

>>15563546

Hadn't thought of that, but we should probably make ghosts a last resort theory.

>>15563581
We can do it simultaneously. 85 billion Exaflops, remember? Trust me, I'm the guy who thought of freeze-dried bean paste.

>>15563568
No. You will do nothing but reinforce the image of an EI captain gone paranoid and suspecting his crew of everything, and having become a danger to the crew and the ship.

Without evidence to back up your proposed course of action, your idea is ill-advised, to put it mildly.

>>15563600
okay my reasoning is this, if she is a subversive element and knows that she's been discovered or will be soon, shes going to act. If her intentions are nefarious, we have her trapped on a shuttle with fighter escorts, interigation is easy. if shes innocent, she'll understand quarentine of suspects, shes a spook for godsake, ask her if she'd do any different.

As for tyrne, thats just a precaution, hes much less suspicious if you ask me, but its better to be paranoid than sabotaged.

also, announcing the discovery to the crew minus the two suspects may not be a bad idea, get them on your side early if this does escalate.

>>15563611
No, we should only do it after our analysis has been completed.
What if the analysis contradicts something we say?
Just because we can do two things simultaneously, doesn't make it a good idea.

>>15563603

Actually, it might even be counterproductive.

We literally have eyes everywhere on the ship, so we let her on board without telling her that we've discovered the door (and hope that she hasn't deduced that we have from our actions so far) and set some program to see where she goes and what she does.

Diplomatic, and advances our agenda while covering our asses, seems good to me.

>>15563568

I disagree. Paranoia and distrust are exactly what we want to avoid. Our crew is our crew, these are loyal and skilled comrades who are to be treated with respect. Playing to the worst stereotypes of the psychotic AI is a terrible idea.

Yes, Ivanova is the clear candidate. She's been keeping secrets, she could have put in the time delay to try and give herself an alibi. Though if she's clever enough to wipe the rest of the info, wouldn't she know that we'd find what we did and that she'd be the only suspect? Either way, this doesn't seem to be a harmful move.

So, let her know we found it. Ask her what she thinks the reasonable response to this security breach is. Maybe she'll play it cool, make it clear that she knows we know that she probably did it, and drop some hints that she feels she's still under orders that limit her ability to divulge certain things. In which case I'm cool with that. For now.

Or maybe she's deny everything, and we won't believe her. Or maybe she'll get freaked out over it, and we'll believe she didn't do it. Whatever the case, the first thing to do is to calmly brief her on what we found and ask what she makes of it. Not freak out and go into Lock Down EVERYTHING mode.

>>15563612
Agreeing with this. We aren't skynet, damn it.

>>15563647
yes i agree completely, ask her for her opinion, her analysis, everything. but dont let her back onto the ship just yet, from what was said it seems she is within minutes of boarding if not less, a few more minutes wont hurt her at all, but could have catastrophic consequences if we're wrong.

Its paranoia, I'll give you that.
But paranoia is a life saver when spooks are potentially out to get you

ITT
>players think of a clever way to determine perp
>Op says no and railroads

>>15563653
at this point, we should tell Lt. Tynes that an unidentified party opened the locks and activated the control room in the Army base. Probably bad to keep him in the dark.

Tell Lt. Ivanova the same thing, and ask of her opinion on the matter.

>>15563653

It's beginning to smell a lot like Parsons~

Do we have logs recording Parsons' whereabouts during the appropriate time period? Because otherwise there's an uncounted shorty on base.

>>15563653
Call Ivanova into a meeting room.
Lay out that the doors were unlocked, someone used an authorization code to open them and to unlock the functions of the control room and of the reactor.
"Lieutenant, I know that you served in Navy Intelligence before this assignment. Might you have witheld information, when I earlier asked you if you had authorization codes that would work on the doors?"

>>15563695
Oh u. That would have been a better troll if it had come before your successful investigation.

>>15563695
Maybe you should refresh before you post.

>>15563653
Parson never left the ship, right? So the footprints seem like pretty damning evidence of Ivanova.

ACTION> Speak privately with Ivanova, tell her what you've found out, and this is important, CALMLY but STERNLY demand to know what is going on. This is your ship and you won't let her or anyone else put anyone's life at risk.

>>15563702
Parson?
For it to have been him, he would have needed to take a shuttle down to the planet.
I think that's something we would have known about.
But, let's humor you:

Check through all shuttle logs and examine the shuttles to see if one that shouldn't have any wear and tear on it shows signs of atmospheric re-entry.

>>15563568

That's hella dumb. We don't know that she's been behind this, and we can keep a far better eye on her on the ship.

You decide to wait for Ivanova to touch down, and to gather facts before jumping to any wild speculation. The first and easiest of said facts would be the footprints themselves; you have the drones measure the length of the stride and size of the print. While the size of the print and the unreliable nature of a “dusty metal floor” as preservative make that a general wash you can tell from the patterning it was a standard armada footwear.

As you set your titanic computing power to work calculating the stride length and comparing it to every member of the crew, you also have a drone sprinkle a light coating of dust across all the controls. There are smudges in it already from where the intruder touched the insruments, so you focus there... but whoever did it was likely wearing gloves. Somewhat unsurprising, considering they are standard part of the uniform and both Tynes and Ivanova wore them the entire time planetside -- likely both to help with any physical labor and avoid touching any toxic plants.

Finally, you review the all records of drone activity during the intrusions. During the time they were happening both Tynes and Ivanova were planetside. Tynes was picked up optically twice during the timespan and his logs indicate he was giving commands to the drones the entire time. Ivanova’s drones were at the other end of the bay stacking boxes against a wall and did not pick her up visually, though logs indicate she was likewise giving commands to them the entire time.

Finally, as Ivanova disembarks and heads for her room, your stride calculations finish. Indications are that it was a humanoid, roughly 5’ 10”, walking quickly. This would correspond to either Lt. Ivanova at 5’ 10½” or Lt. Parson at 5’ 10”. Dr. Burr is shorter and the other crewmembers are between 1" and 9" taller.

>I totally gave the wrong heights last post. Right people though, so all speculation is still valid. I just mixed up the people's heights. I are sorry.

>>15563719
>CALMLY but STERNLY demand to know what is going on. This is your ship and you won't let her or anyone else put anyone's life at risk.
I disagree entirely.

If she did it (she did it), she has a reason for it. Talk it out of her. Tell her what we discovered. Don't let on that we suspect her. Oh, she knows we suspect her. She either comes clean or plays along, denying involvement, or she attempts to talk us in circles. Don't let her do that, we're a superior commander. "I asked you a question, Lieutenant. What is your opinion on the matter?" If she still doesn't admit it, ask her what she thinks of the current state of the Empire, the Fleet, and the Intelligence division after 64 millenia, and also noting how this outpost has not been reclaimed, nor had our emergency beacon been answered.

If she still doesn't admit anything, we have some opinions we had not thought of. If she does, then we know why. If she does something COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED like try to wipe us with some secret Army program, well, we'll just deal with that as it happens.

>You were actively speaking with Parson on the bridge at the time of the incident.

>>15563762
than trapped in a shuttle? With no weapons or access?

Not that it matters, shes on the ship now anyway /grumbles/ stopid tg, trusting russians... and women... in space

Okay, so I guess our best course of action is to ask her, directly but non-confrontationally what the fuck shes doing up in this bitch!

>>15563783
DOESNT RULE HIM OUT!

CLONES! ROBOTS! GHOSTS!

IT WAS HIM I KNOW IT!

Damn your facts not agreeing with my suspicions!

Out of curiosity, why are we upset with whoever opened the doors? Is it just concern at the whole "withholding information" thing?

>>15563790
Your ideas are bad, that is why they are rejected.

>>15563766
Inform Tyne that someone unlocked the control room while he was down there; did he notice anything?
And we'll leave it at that, because he's not our prime suspect.

As suggested by others, call Ivanova into a meeting room and go over how the doors were unlocked, someone used an authorization code to access the control room and the reactor. We don't know who could have done it. Does she have an opinion on the matter?

>>15563405
To appease the Paranoid, we should investigate the Reactor. The command Center was only half of the access, remember. It's powered up now, but you don't need a whole generator to run a single room of computers. Are there any other power draws on the station power grid? Is the reactor stable?

>>15563820
Withholding information, because as the last viable outpost of the Ophidian Empire, we can't afford these kinds of shenanigans.

>>15563719

If she cops to having opened the door when we ask her, say something like, "I'm a little perturbed that you didn't feel that you could answer me properly about the access codes, but I think I understand why you would want to maintain SOP for security reasons."

Then give her the "It's been a long time, we're all in this together, I'd like to ideally find and reconnect with the Empire proper, or a remnant that's closest to the Empire as we knew it. Failing that, a human government of some sort."

Then ask if she found anything useful.

>>15563834
Reactor stable and not a singularity reactor anyway, though it is extremely powerful. Only power draw is the command center.

>concern at the whole "withholding information" thing?

Last 20 humans left, and we can't trust anyone. That just blows. This doesn't have to be so complicated. We're just trying to find out what remains, if anything, of the empire, and if there even is a head command to listen to, or factions to fight for. It just seems completely irrational to believe anything of the old order remains, or the same battles are still fought.

Maybe Ivanova found something in the logs? Maybe she has a good reason? I'm not saying what she did is an act of treason, I want to know why.

How could she hurt us like that?

>>15563849
Let's go with speaking with Ivanova, since that appears to be the majority decision.
Do you need us to be more specific with what to say and ask her?

So, is there any date in the command center about current events, past history, this bases function... etc?
Or was it wiped?

Info not pertinent to this investigation.

>>15563820
To open the doors one would need high-level Army clearance, which no-one admitted to having. Also, besides the "not telling your captain you're opening sealed areas and doing things in them, or even that you are ABLE to open those areas" thing, there's whatever they actually did in there, which the computers did not record.

Hell, the base reactor could be rigged to blow in five minutes and we wouldn't know.

>>15563849
You should do less waiting, and more writing. Waiting for /tg/ to reach a consensus is like waiting for hell to freeze over.

I vote for politely informing the ground crew that Something Happened, and seeing if they have any pertinent information or opinions, because that's SANE, unlike locking everyone in an airlock because they were on the same planet as something hinky.

Also, Vedibere, do we, as captain, know why the empire is called the Ophidian empire? Is there a reason, or does it just sound cool.

We should inform Tynes.

Do you guys think it's safe for him to go back down? I do.

We're probably not going to be hacking just yet until after talking to Ivannova.

>>15563919
>Do you guys think it's safe for him to go back down?

It's safe to tell him what happened. He's still a suspect. We may need to have a conversation with him, but at this point that is unlikely. He should continue moving up, and be ready to leave via shuttle (unless Ivanova stranded him there!) due to possible sabotage. A third party has not been ruled out, but is unlikely.

>>15563916
I can say that Ophidian would translate to "refering to snakes" so an Ophidian Empire would be a Snake Empire. Kinda a nice change from the Eagle or Bear as Humanity's patron animal.

>>15563916
>Is there a reason, or does it just sound cool.
o·phid·i·an ( -f d - n). adj. Of, relating to, or resembling snakes. n. A member of the suborder Ophidia or Serpentes; a snake.

Coined by the separatist human leader Zabak Raul during one of his famous propaganda speeches during the Empire's formation, saying that the new Empire of Humanity was "Like a snake, wrapping its coils around every free being." It stuck, and as the Empire was just forming it became the Ophidian Empire of Humanity.

>>15563711
>>15563717
I say railroading because some anon came up with a novel way of identifing the perp via shoe size/type and stride.
OP then says
>they wear exactly the same shoes, are exactly the same height, exactly the same stride
Fucking conveniant.
And now he wants us solve the problem via diplomacy checks instead of the clever solution someone came up with.

>>15563783
>>15563810

The more I read, the more certain I am that Parsons must be dealt with before he kills us all!

But yeah let's talk to Iva I guess.

>>15563974
>Says I'm railroading to keep you from figuring it out
>You've already figured it out
>The evidence was all there and obvious
>Your stride calculation idea left zero doubt as to who it was

Mmmhmmm...

Right, right, anyway, back to writing.

>>15563970
Wow, politics seem to be a lot more honest in the future

>>15563974
We already know it's Ivanova. The only other person who could possibly have done it (among the crew, anyway) is Parsons, and he was on the bridge at the time.

>they wear exactly the same shoes, are exactly the same height, exactly the same stride
>either Lt. Ivanova at 5’ 10½” or Lt. Parson at 5’ 10”. Dr. Burr is shorter and the other crewmembers are between 1" and 9" taller.

Reading comprehension!

Okay, can we go and have a conversation with our first officer now?

Is anyone else curious about Earth? Really, if there are still humans anywhere, it'd be Earth. The Sun mentioned in the center of the galaxy map refers to Sol, right? So when do you think we'd be able to get there, conservatively?

>>15564080
We are trying to see if Earth is even worth going back to first. After all for all we know is a black hole.

>>15564080
It was estimated that we could, in our damaged state, doing one 40k LY jump per month, be at Earth in a year.

>>15564080
Whether there are humans on Earth or in Sol System at all depends on events that happened along a 65,000-year span. All of our home system's habitable planets might well have been glassed during the fall of the Ophidian Empire.

>>15564113
>After all for all we know is a black hole.

That just made me realize something.

If the gate/webway/whatever is an intricate network of connections... what would happen if one of those gates was consumed by an unbound singularity?

>>15564080
see
>>15560397

(although, he does assume that we stick to our current very conservative safe jump schedule.)

>>15564080
Earth may be a treasure trove chock full of humanity. Or it may be a stinking cesspool of scum and villainy.
Or it may be a charred glassed orb of distant memories and still winds.
Or it may be eaten by a loose singularity.
Or the superflu may have hit.
Possibilities abound. It is a likely destination, but a long-term one at that.
>>15564036
It should become mandatory to High Five a drone when addressed by the captain, instead of saluting. You know, to keep morale up.

It may not have been Parsons this time, but we'll have to deal with his treachery someday. You'll rue letting this opportunity to nail Parsons slip away, anons, you'll rue it!

>>15564150
> 10 bucks says we wind up killing the whole crew due to paranoia.

>>15564135
>It should become mandatory to High Five a drone when addressed by the captain, instead of saluting. You know, to keep morale up.
Citizen, why are you not high-fiving Friend Computer when being addressed?

>>15564159
I think we could achieve that quite easily. So in that regard, I am following CHALLENGE MODE: KEEP ALL CREW ALIVE AND WELL.

Finding a sustained Human settlement is for ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED MODE.

Repopulating the galaxy with the best Human Civilization of all Time? That reveals the SPICE MUST FLOW Cheat Codes

I wonder if there are other ships out there in the void, slumbering remnants of a long-dead empire, waiting for a rescue that might never come.

Maybe we'll find a beacon. Ours was broadcasting for 3,000 years, after all.

>>15564231
If we jump to the right locations, we could hear our own broadcasts. . . But I do like this idea. . . and while the chances of meeting them in deep space is almost nothing, if they are chasing down likely points of civilization, we may yet meet. Strategic locations being what they are. . .

>>15564258
I'm sure there must be some deep space staging points in our data banks-

So, what's happening?
Did we confront Ivanova?
Was there data in command room?

Wild speculation is sidetracking questhread..

>>15564258
If nothing else, someone might have tethered a message pod at whatever's left of Sol.

"OIS Calliope to any Ophidian Empire remnant. If your FTL communications system is in working order, please ping comm buoy at 011; 319 for further information. If not, move to 011; 126 and activate emergency beacon. We eagerly await your reply."

"Last pod access: 986 years from current standard time."

>>15564320

Vedibear is writing, and taking a while about it.

“Tynes, did you notice anything odd in the base today?” you say, voice emanating from the drone rover’s speakers.

The man jumps, having been sitting in one of the open doors and twiddling his thumbs while watching the horizon. “Ah, sir, no sir. Is there a problem? Hostiles?”

“No, just some oddness. It could be nothing. Regardless, it should be fine to go back down soon but for now please remain here.”

“Of course sir, I’ll be here.”

You shift back to the Harbinger, catching Ivanova just before she enters her room, “Lieutenant, please report to the upper staff meeting room, I wish to speak with you.”

She freezes, her hand on the door controls, before taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it. “Yes sir, I will attend immediately.”

###################

Your second in command walks into the room, still clad in the dusty work uniform she was wearing topside. The coat, previously with several of the buttons undone due to the heat, is now once again completely fastened and she seems to have pulled her previously messy hair back into a ponytail during the walk. Her gloves are tucked into her belt and she seems to have made an effort to straighten her uniform in-transit. Upon entering she snaps a salute, “Sir, reporting.”

“At ease Lieutenant, have a seat.”

She pulls out a chair and sits stiffly, remaining silent, so you continue, “I was inspecting the Army base below a few minutes ago and came across an odd disturbance, I would like to hear your opinion on it.”

You dim the lights and bring up holographic displays of the locks, reactor, and command center in the air over the meeting table. “As you can see, the two rooms in the base that were previously sealed have been opened and there were signs of entry. I of course evacuated Lieutenant Tynes immediately, and he stated that he did not see anything out of the ordinary when I questioned him. As my second in command, I /trust/ your advice and would like to know what you make of this situation.”

As you speak you monitor your second’s heart rate, blood pressure, and movements. What you find is a cool demeanor and zero variation. When you emphasize the word trust, however, she shifts slightly and glanced away from the displays.

“Well?” you conclude.

Ivanova clears her throat before speaking, “I assume you looked for traces of the data being manipulated in some form?”

“Yes, but I cannot be sure either way. Do you have a reason to believe it was?”

“Ah, no sir. It could be that the intruder didn’t actually wish any harm upon us.” No change as she speaks. Voice is level giving a professional opinion.

“If they entered without giving us notice or warning, didn’t trust us, then why should we trust them?” you press. Slight rise in heart rate for a few seconds, quickly returning to normal. Very slight. Possible normal variation.

“It could be that they,” she pauses briefly as if searching for words, “knew of our desire to access the base but chose this method for some other reason rather than harm.”

“I see.” you reply, changing tact,”Well then, did you notice anything strange at the time it was happening?”

“I was ordering my drones to organize crates at the time, sir, and to the best of my knowledge they were still locked when I took the shuttle to return to the Harbinger.”

“Are you saying that you didn’t see anything, Lieutenant Ivanova?”

“I couldn’t be vigilant everywhere, sir. I didn’t notice anything or anyone that would harm the crew, yourself, or the ship.”

Hmmm....

this a wat do moment?

>>15564396
Tell her about our forensic evidence. The footprints in the dust, the smudges. Tell her that we made a point of analyzing the prints and determined that she is the best fit.

Ask her why she has been lying to us. I'd suggest that, for the time being, we also disable this room's doors.

>>15564466
Yes. You can discuss or give specific things to ask, say, or do. Or you can just let it continue. Either way, I'd like to know so I'm not writing tons of dialogue that you disapprove of because you think the captain should be acting a completely different way or saying different things.

>>15564396
>If she still doesn't admit it, ask her what she thinks of the current state of the Empire, the Fleet, and the Intelligence division after 64 millenia, and also noting how this outpost has not been reclaimed, nor had our emergency beacon been answered.

To that, add "Lieutenant, you are second-in-command on this vessel. We are in an emergency situation: damaged, and without any contact with HQ, or anyone in the Empire, for that matter. We are working with very limited information right now. As soon as we exhaust available resources here, including information on what happened, I intend to make it our mission to rendezvous with the Empire, or, should it be necessary, to re-establish it. I plan on having a formal mission briefing for the staff currently active, and, if possible, to awake the rest of the living crew.

Lieutenant, I value your input. What do you think of this course of action?"

>>15564396
I think we're being a tad bit too non-confrontational here. There is very little room for error here. Either there is someone walking around in 64,000 year old shoes with high level army security codes, or it was Ivanova. Oh wait, I suppose Ivanova would technically be walking around in 64,000 year old shoes with high level security codes. That settles that then.

Action>"I'm going to stop beating around the bush. We're both smarter than that. You're the only one who could have opened those doors. I'm not mad at you, just disappointed that you don't trust your captain enough to be honest with him."

>>15564467
then top part of this^
and maybe stating that now isn't the best time to keep secrets what with the existence of the empire in question.

>>15564396
It's obvious that she's carefully using words and phrases that don't actually say she didn't do it:

>It could be that the intruder didn’t actually wish any harm upon us.
So she had no intent to cause harm.
>“It could be that they,” she pauses briefly as if searching for words, “knew of our desire to access the base but chose this method for some other reason rather than harm.”
As above.
“I was ordering my drones to organize crates at the time, sir, and to the best of my knowledge they were still locked when I took the shuttle to return to the Harbinger.”
Could have been giving orders from a datapad while fucking with the locks
“I couldn’t be vigilant everywhere, sir. I didn’t notice anything or anyone that would harm the crew, yourself, or the ship.”
Again, ambiguous. Just saying she didn't see anything that could cause harm, not that she didn't see anything.


We should say something to the effect of "Your answers are purposefully avoiding your guilt or innocence. Did you or did you not interact in anyway with the doors or computer?"

well if the rest of you guys want to be direct about it, go ahead, but i like what i wrote in >>15564488
we could ask her directly after that.

I'm pretty sure the consensus here is that we are not angry, just puzzled, and would be willing to trust the Lt.

>>15564509
(Forgot to greentext those last two quotes)
Also, with regard to, >and to the best of my knowledge they were still locked when I took the shuttle to return to the Harbinger

The doors were locked when she left. Then they reopened on autolock.

>>15564494

While I don't necessarily agree with scolding her like a two year old, I do think we should just get to the point.

Simply ask her point blank, "Lieutenant, did you open these doors?" If she says no, press her with the evidence. If she still says no, we'll have to think of something else.

>>15564467

GENTLEMEN.

Has it ever crossed our minds that Ivanova ISN'T SUPPOSED TO HAVE THESE CODES?

Maybe she got them from an Army lover, now dead. Or WAS a traitor, but given the whole "everyone you knew died 50,000 years ago" thing, she's thrown her lot in with us.

Given her lack of reactions when lying, her ability to push herself when sick and wounded, and her name, I suspect she's some sort of agent.

Telling us that could gain our trust short-term, but cause us to doubt her long term, as we wonder if this is the moment she betrays us. And it's not a guaranteed gain of trust: we could just have her shot.

>>15564396

I say we go with a pause, followed by:
"Well, I suppose we can't look a gift horse in the mouth, though I wish "they" would have been more direct about it. It's not like we can expend energy on rules that became obsolete 50,000 years ago."
Then dismiss her, and go check out the databanks.

WE can't know what the intruder wanted until we know what's there.

Okay, so the consensus seems to be push this all the way and do whatever you can, verbally, to make her admit what she did?

Y/N?

>>“I couldn’t be vigilant everywhere, sir. I didn’t notice anything or anyone that would harm the crew, yourself, or the ship.”

"Very well Lieutenant, I'll trust your judgment on this matter for the moment. Still, I might ask that you try and stay alert for more than immediate dangers. Given the unprecedented nature of our situation we're improving as we go, and the old rule book and orders are perhaps a little out of date. We must all contribute whatever we can to our survival." Open the door for her. "If you have any further thought in that line, please don't hesitate to come to me with them."

I vote we shoot her too.

Shoot her right in her whore mouth.

>>15564396
"Delicately and evasively phrased, Lieutenant. Allow me to be explicitly clear: Did you, or did you not, unseal and enter those rooms?"

After her response.

"I believe I am familiar with the orders of all my subordinates as issued by command before our departure. Nowhere in yours is there anything which would cause you to either intentionally attempt to deceive me or blatantly expect me to accept that you intend to force me to make critical decisions upon which the lives of our crew depend with less than complete information about what we can and cannot accomplish. Our assets and information are extremely limited at the moment, Lieutenant, and one of those assets- one of the most precious that remains- is trust in each other and in the command structure which holds us together in what I know is an extremely trying situation for all of us. If you continue to compromise it I will take all necessary steps to stop you from doing so. Is that clear?"

>>15564541
Personally, I'm against it. I think we should make it clear that we know, but that this isn't the time for such a talk, and proceed with actually constructive things.

>>15564541
No, we can be tactful and get more information out of her. We know she did it, and she knows we know. She's been a spook, after all. The intent is to make it a point that we wish she'd used different methods.

>>15564541

She did it, we know she did it, she knows we know, and she's being very careful to not actually lie about it. This is all proper military procedure for when you're trying to work around conflicting orders. She doesn't want to lie to her commanding officer, she doesn't want to disobey whatever her secret orders are, so she's doing this.

I see no reason to force the issue yet. Make it clear that we know what the situation is, imply that we'd be happier if she came clean but won't force her to choose yet, and let the matter drop for now.

There was obviously all sorts of factional conflicts and subsurface drama going on back in the days of the Empire. The short time frame between our departure and "The Regent" with planets being closed off means the seeds were already there. We want her on our side, and that means we woo the classy lady slowly and carefully.

>>15564541

I'm in for it.

>>15564573

No point to being constructive if we can't trust our crew, and we can't trust this one person in our crew until she comes clean.

She obviously did it and she's subtly trying to say that she meant no harm, but these are political games for an empire that doesn't fucking exist anymore, and we shouldn't stand for this shit. She needs to understand that it's just us out here, and we need every edge we can get, including whatever the fuck she deleted.

Plus-one votes for dancing around the issue.

She's not an idiot, so she probably has some reason for this. If we push her, she'll lock up and be less helpful, so let's see if the Nice Way works first. After all, you can try the nice way and then try the hard way, but it doesn't really work well the other way around.

I think she may not be able to tell us directly. This was an ultra-tech civilization, and the human mind has to be well understood for EI technology to be possible. She may be under a hardware compulsion to not divulge information related to the Intelligence service. In fact, she may have had to check the computer to get new orders.

>>15564541

If we push, do it with great deftness of verbage.

"Delicately phrased. Admirably delivered.

"I heard rumors, years ago, of how the Intelligence service conditioned people so they wouldn't crack if they were caught, and so that they would do what they needed to, when they needed to. Even if they'd had a change of heart, so to speak.

"I didn't lend much credence to them. I am wondering if you heard the same rumors?"

>>15564603

That viewpoint would have a little more validity if she still had other superiors to report to.

But she doesn't. It's just us. The game's missing half the players.

If I was a Capn' I wouldn't stand for some bitch in my command lying to me and doing secretive things that could be considered espionage.

But that's just me.

Confront her and be done with it. She knows she did a boo-boo and she needs some reprimanding and we need some info.

Get over it non-confrontational fags.

Another vote for confronting her. If she does not wish to give us her reasons, she can think about her actions and decisions in the brig until she is more forthcoming.

>>15564632
>>15564635

If she's got a little hardware lock on her brain she probably can't tell us, even if all of the rest of the Intelligence service is long dead.

Intel doesn't fuck around, no matter what era you're in.

>>15564635

Exemplary behavior for a warlord, who rules through fear and intimidation. Bitch talks back, smack her till she learns her place. Minions aren't working hard enough, beating and half rations until they fall into line.

We, however, are not a warlord. We are a soldier of the empire who holds to a standard of civilization and military decorum. Even as a disembodied EI in a metal shell we can uphold a better level of behavior than that. Our crew deserves better, and as their captain we need to display an even higher level of professionalism than we ask of others.

>>15564659

You should read the dictionary.
Reprimand doesn't mean "slap the bitch around till she learns her place."
Nor was it implied.

A higher level of professionalism would be finding out the truth and discouraging lying to their fucking Commanding Officer.

:)

This is off topic, but what has the crew been doing in their down time? They'll need time to play and blow off steam, even if it's just playing cards or something.

>>15564659

Son, this is the military, not a business. In a corporation, professional means polite. In the military, professional means doing what your CO says when he says it and putting some hustle on it. We have a soldier here that is lying to us. Not a crewmate, not a friend, a soldier. A soldier that can't follow orders is a poison to everyone she serves with, is a weak spot that could end up getting everyone on the ship killed.

We should get the truth from her, now, or she deserves our wrath. She's a big girl, she doesn't need kiddy gloves, nor are kiddy gloves warranted or likely to be effective on a hardened spook. Sure, it might be nothing, but we just won't know until she tells us.

>>15564659
>as their captain we need to display an even higher level of professionalism than we ask of others.
I'm not sure what kind of military tradition thinks that allowing subordinates to lie to your face is professional, but I'm pretty sure it's not ours.

>>15564603
Here's the problem with that
Whoever gave those orders is dead. Liked tens of thousands of years dead. They are really, really, really dead. And obviously, so is the empire that gave those orders. I say we drop the facade and tell her we have irrefutable proof that it was her. Tell her that she's welcome to carry out whatever orders she was assigned as a spook, but we need to know that she is with us, and we need to know what she's doing. Now is not the time to keep secrets. If, god forbid, she somehow gets in trouble for this, we can get every single member of the crew to back her up or something. We have bigger problems.

>>15564721

That's the point. She hasn't told an outright lie yet. And as I said before, she's obviously under orders from someone higher ranking than us. Captains don't get to override Admirals just because the Admiral isn't around.

That whoever gave her those orders has been dead for sixty thousand years is something she's still coming to terms with. I'm willing to let her do so at her own pace, unless and until it becomes an urgent matter.

>>15564781
Seconding this. As far as we know, there is no chain of command other than ours, and we're at the top of it. So unless she provides IRREFUTABLE proof otherwise, we should know what kind of spooky things she's up to.

>>15564781

That may not work if her brain has a hardware lock on it preventing her from spilling the beans about anything having to do with the intelligence service.

She does have a neural jack....All signs point to her being possibly hardwired to not force stuff out.

Forcing stuff out makes her die (maybe)

Dead lieutenant are not things we need.

Half the people say confront her/find the truth.
Half the people say ignore it and act like it never happened.

Wat do OP?

rolled 1 = 1

>>15564837
It is for times like these that we have dice. Rolling 1d2, on a one, we confront her, on a 2, we ignore it.

>>15564853
And the dice have spoken. Confront her!

>>15564805

We don't know if it's an urgent matter or not, because we won't have any idea what she did until she tells us or some shit blows up.

And she doesn't have to tell an OUTRIGHT lie to be hiding shit from us, which again, we should not be tolerating from subordinates. And she clearly IS hiding shit.

>>15564814
>>15564832
>Possibly die

Poppycock, if it'll kill her, she'll just keep up the denial.

Assuming her neural jack even does that, which it probably doesn't.

Vedibere
do such compulsions exists
I think it's kind of ridiculous to automatically assume this. Even if it's true, there really aren't any signs other than her dodging around the truth of the matter. More likely than not she's simply trying to follow orders, since she obviously is still working for the benefit of the ship. I say we confront her about it, but if she's still unwilling to say anything we shouldn't push it. We can keep it a secret for now, and bring up it later once we have everything squared away.

Vedibere is no more.
There is only.. troll now.

>>15564899

Well, it has been two hours since his last post.

Enough with this charade. You cut the images displayed and instead put up the simulation you ran to determine the stride pattern, overlaying Ivanova onto the generic wire model. “As you can see, I have a profile of the one who entered the room. What do you think?”

Whatever emotion was in Ivanova’s sharp features has now drained away, replaced with nothing but a cold, impassive mask. “I believe it would be stupid for an infiltrator to use that method and not expect to be caught.”

“I see. Well, while your answers were excellently and evasively phrased, allow me to cut to the chase. Did you, or did you not, unseal and enter those rooms?" The readings have all normalized. Heart rate, blood pressure, everything now reads perfect human specifications. Even minor muscle contractions have vanished.

“I’m afraid I can’t say, sir.”

You start to ask another question, to finally begin to truly push, but a memory from decades back tugs at you. Something odd, something about this situation... no. Wait.

"I heard rumors, years ago, of how the Armada Intelligence conditioned agents so they wouldn't crack if they were caught or be able to divulge secrets. Even if they'd had a change of heart, or left the service. I didn't lend much credence to them at the time, but as one shipmate to another I was wondering you’ve heard them too?"

The change is gradual, incremental. Painfully slow. A slight increase in heart rate, a tensing and then release of muscles. Contraction in the pupil. Mouth going dry and adrenaline glands releasing. Finally her face, slipping into a look of utter relief.

Lieutenant Kateryna Ivanova leans forward, raising her shaking hands and places her elbows on the conference table, slowly lowering her head into them and staring at the table, nails digging into her scalp.

“Are you okay, Lieutenant?” you ask, concerned about the change, but she nods without raising her head.

“Y-yes.” Her voice is unsteady and heavily accented. She draws in a shuddering breath before continuing, “I’ve... I’ve heard some of those rumors, Kapitan. I think that they would be fools to rely on conditioning only. I, I’ve also heard rumors that high level agents have cybernetic implants to force their silence. A price they will pay forever.”

You are silent for a while, giving her time to recover and you time to think. “I see. Very well, consider the issue dropped. We will call it a stroke of good fortune. I would like to know something else, though. Can I trust you?” You change your tone, less of command and more of a person again, a compatriot lost in the inky void. “We’re all alone out here. The Empire might be... well, we don’t know what has happened, but you know our situation as well as I. So what I want to know is if I can trust you, if you are a part of this crew that I can rely on to be my second in command and confidant. I’m willing to, but I want to hear your words on the matter.”

She is still for a moment and then nods. “Yes, I- I want you to trust me sir.” Her voice cracks on the last word, and you see a tear drip to the table, followed by another.

“Very well then, Lieutenant. Easy now, take your time.”

A few minutes pass as she breathes deeply and relaxes, collecting herself. Eventually she stands, adjusting her uniform and looking at the floor. “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t--” she hesitates, and shakes her head, “Is that everything, sir? I’d like... like to go clean up and chance now, if I can.”

I wander away from this thread for HOURS only to come back and find you giggletards STILL dancing around this issue, giving your poor dear devoted writefag headaches. Dohohohoho.

Really, that little conversation with Ivanova was something. She's being so cute about talking around the issue without actually coming out and lying about it.

At this point, I'd laugh uproariously and tell Ivanova that I'm just fucking around with her, of COURSE I know she opened the reactor room, and that cute little dance she did around the issue is more then enough to convince me she's kosher.

Because, seriously, the Empire is probably dust by now - which means my loyalty is to humanity in general and my crew in particular, so if Ivanova wants to move in mysterious ways or fingerpaint the walls of her cabin or what-the-fuck-ever, who cares? We're good. Calamities that destroy the entire universe as you know it tend to broaden your perspective, no?

>clean up and chance now, if I can.
God damn it. Change. That should be change.

She left us enough clues to figure out it was her; she bucked her programming as much as she could. Poor woman, stuck serving two masters, and both of them dead (even if we're only technically so).

>>15564923

"Take all the time you need. You don't have to say anything."

>>15564965
Ok so now i turns to from killing her to fucking with the wiring inside her head to get her out of SEEEECREEEETS mode eh?

Great. So our second in command is a sleeper agent spook. Great job whoever thought up that idea. Now Vedibere has all kinds of excuse to pull a bunch of bullshit on us.

>>15564974
Interesting. Can EIs hack brainz?

>>15564974

We're not going to fuck with anything in her head. Any organization paranoid and prudent enough to install hardware interlocks in people's brains will have made them tamper-proof on pain of turning the subject into a vegetable or worse.

We're just going to get used to working around her limitations. It sucks, but trying to mess with the implant will probably just result in killing her.

>>15564931

Yeah, she's dismissed. Tell her to get some R&R.

And then let's ask our engineer and our doctor what they know about removing implants, if we're still not done for the night.

I wish we had arms to give her a reassuring hug, and a pat on the back.

;_; which one of us is more pitiable?

>>15564974
No, now you hush. We only have, like, 20 crew members. Torturing 5% of the workforce out of paranoia is silly.

>>15564979
>Now Vedibere has all kinds of excuse to pull a bunch of bullshit on us.

JUST AS PLANNED.

Also, very nice, Vedibere. Cybernetic implants FORCING silence is extremely plausible, yet nobody went so far as to guess at it. Well done.

>>15564992

Do you WANT her problem to be public knowledge? There aren't many reasons for us to ask those kinds of questions, and they'll hear about the scare on the surface when Tynes comes back up.

For now we've got much bigger problems than Ivanova being stuck following old programming.

We still need to look at that computer in the base, for starters.

>>15564931
Poor girl. Wish we could give her a hug.

Ask our doc/engineer, do a bit of research to see if we could somehow get rid of these implants.

So where to from here? We have some scanning going in around the debris, and engineers checking out the gate/data. Let's get people back into the base to keep looking for supplies, and get reports from everyone heading any sort of project/assignment to get an idea of our next move and where we're at, and what kind of stuff we need to get to move forward.

>>15564998

What are you on? I guessed it!

See >>15564626

[Reading comprehension~]

>>15564998
>yet nobody went so far as to guess at it
Actually, several people did, which is why I went with this outcome. If nobody had mentioned it and just said to force it out of her then I would have run with that too. It was all you guys, you got no pity from me here. I was ready to let you see exactly what pushing this did.

>>15564974
Perhaps later.

Also, pic related.

Tell Tynes that the situation was the result of paranoid millenia-old organizations, but that we have an all-clear.

>>15564992
>And then let's ask our engineer and our doctor what they know about removing implants, if we're still not done for the night.

Those are Intel jobbies, far beyond usual medical procedures. Of course, as the hotshot new ship, we DID get crew ranking from "awesome" to "legendary," so if we can scare up any super-duper exotic alien probe-removers four or five threads from now, we've got a shot.

But it's not going to be easy. Enjoy the Intel Dance for now.

>>15564998
It wasn't Vedi's idea. He copied it from >>15564626

>>15565028
Ah the endless guessing: did the DM plan it ALL ALONG, or did he steal from the players' wild speculation?

Only the DM knows, but who cares?

>>15565021

Oh yes, I see now. God DAMN was there a lot of discussion while I was away playing JABO.

>how far

We would have fried the brain of our devoted Russian XO, OH TO THE NOES. You clever bastard you.

Frankly, I like Ivanova like this. Every now and then she'll just vanish, and some door will be opened, or some new databank mysteriously decoded and unlocked, and when the rest of the crew asks who did it, we'll be like "It is a mystery, whooOOOOoOOooooo~"

Ninja XO. Fund it.

Also, let's get Tynes out of that shuttle before we forget.

>>15565047
"Lt. Tynes, I am bringing the facility online."
"What? But we didn't have any codes!"
"It is a mystery, whooOOOOoOOooooo~"

>>15565014
>>15564994
OUR HEART IS A BLACK HOLE THAT CREATES ENOUGH ENERGY TO POWER THE MOST POWERFUL WARSHIP THE GALAXY HAS EVER SEEN FOREVER

AND IT HOLDS NOTHING BUT SORROW

>>15565028

I don't think so, there were a few hints. The big one is that they trusted EI over AI (which makes perfect sense if you have a really great model of the human mind but you're not as confident about software that learns), and then the earlier conversation with her about any access codes she might have know. Plus, she was a spook and she had minor cyberware implants.

Vedibere gave us all the clues we needed for this one.

Where exactly does the term "Spook" come from? I'm assuming it means someone who works for an intelligence agency?

>>15564994
>>15565014
>>15565066

Ok now we absolutely HAVE to figure out a way to get the programming/wiring outta her brain. I know its for another time but it still NEEDS to be on our list-o-shit to do.

Also i find it strangely ironic that im listening to this during that whole conversation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecuksod41Qk

>>15565081
>>15565044
>>15565028
In all honesty, I've been giggling darkly over this one since the very start, wondering if you were going to fry her brain the first time she tried to help you out.

I'm a bad man.

>>15565091
Vedibere, I've been watching you since you started hanging out in the Dragon Quest IRC.

You've got like eight more devious plots like this, I know you do.

>>15565087

Yeah it's military lingo from WW2. It originally just meant black intelligence agents but now it's a general term for any intelligence agent who is highly trained and well placed.

No what you are is an awesome DM. Also the thread is auto-saging so we need an archive.

>>15565091

That's part of the reason why I wanted to delay the confrontation with her until the afternoon crew had gone to bed.

[Late-night crew supremacy~]

>You've got like eight more devious plots like this, I know you do.
Could be. Could be.

Someone archive, I'm going to do one more update then be done for the night. Except for questions, I always hang around for a little while after to answer setting questions and shit.

>>15565047
>>15565063

I approve of this bit and motion that it be made standard operating procedure.

Seconds?

>>15565133
The crew would think we've gone insane, except for the spook who would be trying not to giggle hysterically.

>>15565148
>The crew would think we've gone insane
No, we'll have gone insane when we start talking in a loud voice about how THE REMAINS OF HUMANITY ARE WITHIN MY HULL. TREMBLE, UNIVERSE, FOR I AM THE HARBINGER.

And how we have no arms with which to hug you.

>>15565161
So you're saying this was all an elaborate HFY thread? Hell yes.

Q&A time? OK, here's a good one. It's a big galaxy. What kind of incredibly creepy shit has happened that we'd know of. Things like areas of space where ships are found completely abandoned, as if everyone disappeared right in the middle of what they were doing, or maybe where entire solar systems mysteriously vanish without a trace, or things like that. Unexplained stuff, spacer rumors, and all that.

>>15565173
Yeah, Vedibere. Improv for us.

What was our human name again? I forgot.

>>15565129

I have a question. Would it be possible to hook an EI up to a cloned body or a braindead body so that it was like a node of their larger computer network? Basically, if we could get another body somehow would it be possible to move the leftover cyberware from our corpse into it and get us a new breathing and eating meatpuppet?

>>15565185
Gedaechtnis T. Followill

>>15565198
But why would we want that? What could we do with a meatpuppet that requires the same kind of fuel the crew runs off of that we couldn't do with a metalpuppet that runs off the infinite energy of the ship engines?

>>15565206
Gesundheit.

>>15565217
This is why they just call us 'Captain'.

>>15565212
Get a chance to think without all those pesky facts getting in the way.

>>15565198
While that is a good idea, and made me think of pic related, I think we have an issue with people breathing and eating too much.

Don't forget to vote up the thread in the archive, guys.

>>15565212

You're saying we should get an android body? Maybe, if we can find one. Either way though we need a human-looking body.

There's the fact that Parsons finds us unsettling, and the younger enlisted men likely will too when we get them up and running.

Plus as we just saw with Ivanova, there's times when it's good to have a human face. Remember, she was just talking to this disembodied voice. That's unnerving even if it isn't your superior officer and is probing a line of inquiry that may well fry your brain.

Basically, humans get along better with humans. We need a human face to be able to get the most out of our crew.

A stop-gap solution might be to render a face when we have access to a screen (the "Holly" solution from Red Dwarf) but that's still just a poor substitute for having a human body, or an android body that looks and moves like a plausible human.

>>15565268
there was a suggestion in the last thread that every time we begin to talk, there is some sort of chime (a la MGS Codec but not as abrupt)

>>15565284
I like that idea better.

Getting an android body just feels like it would be cheating somehow. Like having to deal with being a ship and a bunch of drones is way more interesting for character development, and sidestepping that would really just rob this whole thing of a lot of what makes it really challenging.

>>15565268

It won't really stop the unsettling bits though, because even with a metalpuppet, we're still in the goddamn walls on the ship. There's just no getting around that.

Face might be good though, it's a simple illusion. Much less resources for what is ultimately just a polite illusion.

“Of course, Lieutenant. Take it easy, get some rest, you’ve done plenty for today.” You feel awful for the woman, standing there sniffing and wiping at her eyes...

“Here, it’s not much, but...” you say as the door swishes open, one of your hoverdroids floating in. You click the two stubby manipulators together then spread them wide, “Best I can do, I’m afraid the main unit is slightly dead at the moment.”

Ivanova stands in shock for a moment before an uncontrolled giggle bursts from her lips, which she claps a hand to while looking embarrassed. You’re pretty sure that’s the first time you’ve actually seen her laugh, and bob the droid up and down in response, “Come on, come on. He’s a busy fellow.”

Hesitation, then a shrug, “Eh, why not?” She steps forward and scoops up the drone, giving it a long squeeze (which it returns as best it can) before stepping back and shakes her head, a heartfelt smile on her face. “Thank you, Kapitan.”