THIS IS THE TEST SITE OF EUROBRICKS!
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"Log date 001, this is Dr. Danielle Long. Air conditions breathable, background radiation read at 0.82 mSv/a. Temperature 15.5 degrees... I am conducting an Ecological Analysis of this site. Sensors read large deposits of sub-surface Awesomnium. I have dispatched several drone surveyors, and together we will amass sufficient data to provide Corporate with a detailed writeup regarding ecosystem concerns. I've noticed a large pond and assessed it's watershed specifications. It will need to be diverted, I suspect, but before we do so, I will dispatch a selection of Aquatic Specimen Acquisition drones to assist in cataloging the species before we remove their biome. I'll ensure that we collect sufficient biological material that should we discover one of the species therein had beneficial properties, we can clone the xeno back from extinction. The scenery is quite beautiful here, from an objective standpoint. Perhaps we should film an Advert for the folks back on earth here before we commence the mining process. First report on the new log after my previous dating system was jumbled by... clasified. Good to have a fresh new logbook. Dr. Long out." ~Insectoid Aristocrat
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Location: H06 Farmolis Tags: Science, Land Vehicle Previously... // PERSONAL DIARY // After meeting the twins Tomax and Xamot at the party I was happy to find that I'd apparently made quite an impression on them. They contacted our fantastic CEO pombe and had apparently inquired after a robotics specialist to aid them as they wrap up their latest prototype for an autonomous exploration unit. They were having some minor issues and thought that perhaps Octan would be able to help. I knew that as a corporate partner of Extensive Enterprises we would benefit from their success also so it made perfect sense for me to aid them. And ED-208 was back after receiving some upgrades. Sue informed me that she had personally verified his improvements and that he was fully functional. It was great having him back! We got to the facility and I was impressed by their High Intellect Semi-autonomous Sentry (HISS). While still an early pre-production model it was very well made. Some of the ground mapping intelligence was having problems when combined with the satellite and GPS info so they were keen to hear my thoughts. After some investigation the AI couldn't seem to decide what to trust when there was a conflict and so it made no choice. I adjusted some of the logic and it improved the response in simulations. Once they run more field tests they will be better able to determine how well it was solved. ED-208 was very disappointed that the HISS was unarmed, but Tomax or Xamot (I can't tell them apart) said that it had excellent armor. And he commented that the design allowed for future arming in upgrades and that this was simply a demonstrator vehicle. Plus he remarked that in a worst case scenario the HISS can overload its energy storage and cause an explosion that will wipe out a 1 kilometer square. ED-208 seemed to think that was a fantastic feature and said if they ever need help on armament to let him know. It was good to see him getting into things and trying to help out our partner corporation! I'm glad that pombe is so confident in my abilities that he would choose to send me. With such wonderful leaders like him and Dr. Long we can't help but be successful! Though as much as I like pombe and am glad that our CEO thinks so highly of me, I do miss Dr. Long and being able to work with her. Hopefully in the near future I can once again find myself in her company! ED-208 seems very happy with our interactions with pombe though, he said that Sue has "greatly expanded his knowledge of so many things." So I'm very glad to see him interacting so well with her. Extra Pics:
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Tags: Science Sector: H04 OK this is a redo of the build I never showed last week (because it sucked) story will actually come this time. along with it will be better pictures and more of them. It'll actually be a pretty good story... but I don't want to take the pictures in these mediocre light conditions. All other builds will be from past weeks. This is the only one to be judged. ~Insectoid Aristocrat
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Location: H05. Date: 27 Maian 3815. So this is our main xenobiology lab here on Livgorn. Wow, you managed to get all this set up already? We’ve only been in Andromeda for a couple of weeks! Yes, well, Octan’s science department is known for its efficiency. Here, I’ll introduce you to Dr Johnson. Good morning Dr Johnson, this is Big Sal. He’s a pilot who’s considering a career switch to science. Oh, nice to meet you! You too! Dr, would you mind giving Sal a brief tour of the lab? I have some other business to attend to quickly. Sure, no problem! So you're a pilot, huh? Yeah, but I had an accident a few weeks back – gate anomaly, y’know? Ouch… Yup. I was lucky to only lose an arm really, but there was a lot of nerve damage so they only managed to give me this crude thing as a replacement. I’m still a bit clumsy with it. Too clumsy for piloting? Yeah, though to be honest I’ve been thinking of getting into a less dangerous career for while. The accident was kinda the last straw I guess. Ooh, what are these? Legendary explorer Wick Nole brought them in from the swamps a few days ago. They seem to be surprisingly intelligent, though mostly harmless. Hey, Eddie, watch where you’re going with that- What? Arrgh! Oh no! I’m so sorry! It’s this damn robot arm! Hey, don’t worry about it. Accidents happen. What’s that purple stuff? Will drinking it hurt the frogs? It’s awesomnium serum. We don’t really know much about it yet, but what’s the worst that could happen? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! Thanks for reading! This is based on my build from all the way back in Week 2. C&C welcome!
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Location: C-10, Marden Tags: Science, Exploration Tariq made his way to the central control system, he had found his way too an open clearing where he had picked up traces of rare materials in a nearby river. The SMP got into work immediately but the moment the saws hit the ice they made a nasty grinding sound and Tariq knew something was wrong. The ice was 5 times thicker than Tariq had thought, a consequence he had not foreseen. The extraction would take at least 5 hours, but he would keep on trying
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"They're saying it was an accident... but you know what I think? I think this was the Serpent head. I think that the dead lady, that Mrs. Long, was the target of this attack. Another rich unethical corporate type. Their MO." "Yeah, that's a load. Thay Monorail was on its last legs." ~Insectoid Aristocrat
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Location: F02 Lesser Drigo Tags: Science, Land Vehicle Previously... // PERSONAL DIARY // With Dr. Long still sidelined with all of the issues relating to our time machine discovery I once again found myself serving our delightfully different CEO. It is always an honor to have pombe ask for my assistance and I was overjoyed to have him request I stop by his office. Interestingly, I noticed that his copy of Domination for Dummies was different from my own. It must be because he is an executive that his was written by a Mistress T and based on her outfit from the cover she seemed to be VERY stern. I also really have to respect pombe, despite being an explorer he showed last week that he had a lab for conducting experiments and I noticed he also had a book titled "Advanced ATM" which must be his way of exploring his engineering side. I think he was also researching to hold out during interrogation because there was one titled "Learning to Love Pain." He was curious to see how we could manipulate plants into having larger root systems to access water deeper in the ground. He gave us some seeds and asked me to see what I could do with them on Lesser Drigo. I made great progress and we had many plants growing within a few days. I recognized this plant as the one from pombe's lab last week and it must be his favorite kind because he sent ED-208 very precise instructions on how to best harvest the plant. He also asked us to use the desert environment to dry the plants out, which makes sense as they would be easier to transport that way. We were also fortunate that pombe had supplied us with a helpful vehicle that we could use to spray various plant foods and other beneficial chemicals on the crop. I'm still not sure why pombe referred to it as the "3 baller", but he seemed very amused by the shape of the chemical storage container. ED-208 wasn't happy that the vehicle was unarmed but pombe was most insistent that we not have anything that could accidentally destroy the crop or set it on fire. He said that would be a disaster and that he would be "majorly bummed." And I certainly don't want to disappoint our CEO! ED-208 seems to have an affinity for pombe and he was actually very eager to help out. He got involved in some of the plant care, which was great to see. I'm very happy to see that ED-208 is such a fan of our CEO and I guess pombe's associate Sue has had ED-208 help teach her discipline. Which makes sense as robots are very logical and disciplined! Extra Pics: [
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Location: Marden Tags: Science, Kawashita I arrived on Marden and despite being over 50 meters away from my ship I could still smell the unmistakable stench of jet fuel. I made a mental note to get my ship repaired. I turned on my newly constructed Space Mining Probe (SMP) and it slowly started penetrating the thick, abundant layer of snow. I secretly prayed that we would hit as it were "the jackpot" and find any resources that would be useful to my corporation Kawashita. The SMP made the same whirring noise as it had done when I tested it back in the lab. It was the sort of whirring noise you would expect from a computer that was on its last legs.
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Location: F04 Illustria Tags: Science, Spaceship Previously... // PERSONAL DIARY // Given all that has been happening lately I decided to take out one of Octan's Personal Entertainment Recreational Vehicle space speeders to clear my mind. ED-208 was getting a thorough cleaning and would be gone for a few hours anyway. As I was speeding around outside the Axle I received a call that I was needed to return to the ship for a project from our CEO pombe. Knowing it must be important I returned and got ED-208 so that we could immediately begin whatever pombe needed from us. Some Octan office worker gave us the briefing on what we were to work on. It turns out pombe wanted to investigate the potential for Awesomnium enhanced lubricants. It was a very clever idea and one that I felt would greatly benefit the company. Oddly though the specifications from pombe only required thermal protection for +20 degrees above 98.6F and a breakdown resistance period of a few hours. Which all seemed very low. At first I thought maybe he meant 98.6C, but even that seemed like a low amount. I asked the office worker if this was all correct and he assured me it was. I then realized that pombe must be setting a low initial bar as a proof of concept, and then once we established it was possible we would increase the protection amount. I asked which lab I would be using and the office worker said there was no lab assignment and that all the labs were currently in use. I wasn't sure what to do, but luckily pombe arrived just then and said that I could use his personal lab. Initially I was quite surprised he had a lab given that he isn't a scientist, but then I realized it made sense since he is our CEO. When we first got to his lab I was very surprised that the first thing I saw was his name written on the floor. I asked why he had his name on the floor and he said: "How else would anyone know this was my lab?" I replied that he could certainly put a sign on the door and assign it in the ship's directory but he said: "Yeah, but how would they KNOW?" It occured to me that I clearly wasn't understanding his point and that I didn't want to appear dumb in front of our CEO so I quickly agreed with him and entered the lab while he went off to do important CEO things. I was so fortunate that he even took the time to show me to his lab and let me use it! I would have to ponder what he meant though. I was a bit confounded by what was in his lab. I'm not sure exactly what he did in there, but I did see that he had set up a small area with a laptop, some lubricants, and a microscope for me. The rest of the area had a lot of strange things in it. It also smelled strongly of whatever plant it was that he had growing. ED-208 commented that it was a "good strain" and "very potent". I'm not sure what that means. I told ED-208 not to disturb anything as I wasn't sure what experiments pombe was running, but he went over and picked up a drill looking device and said: "Oh, he did decide to upgrade to the Drilldo 5000... good choice." I wasn't sure what a "Drilldo" was, but ED-208 seemed to know what it was so he must have talked to pombe about it. If ED-208 was helping our CEO I certainly couldn't complain! I was sure that all of my hard work for Dr. Long must have gotten me noticed by our CEO and that is why he had me working on this special assignment. It isn't like he just randomly said he needed a scientist and picked the one who came first alphabetically! Extra Pics:
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Tags: Land Vehicle, Science (follow-up to past "experiments", although this aspect of the story is intentionally ambiguous.) Sector: G03 ~~~~~~~~~~~~Meanwhile, in real life~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dr. Long: "So, yeah, I will need you to file those follow-up behavioral reports by the end of the week. But it seems he's made excellent progress." Engineer: "Well yeah! He's hardly made a peep, since... you know..." Dr. Long: "Good to know. A quiet worker is a happy worker." "Log date 470, This is Dr. Danielle Long. The Subject's behavior has improved dramatically. I await a full data sheet from his handler, but I suspect that our behavioral improvement methods have finally rendered the subject a functional employee. Perhaps we can expand these methods to solve other problematic employees. I can think of a few who would potentially benefit from them... Dr. Long out, for now. Must check progress of Top Secret rescue mission." I've been experimenting (Science!) with that vertical border technique I'm seeing so often in GoH and some other expert builds. I'm actually quite pleased by even my own neophyte work here, so I will definitely try the technique again in the future. ~Insectoid Aristocrat
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Location: F04 Illustria Tags: Science, Land Vehicle Previously... // PERSONAL DIARY // Upon my return to the Axle I filed a detailed report about my time with the Ter Tahls and highly suggested that we collaborate with them. I also suggested to Dr. Long that Tor be invited to the Axle to meet with her. I wanted to go over my report in further detail in person, but Dr. Long said she was very busy with the issues around the time travel device. She also had a rather pressing matter that she said she needed me to take on personally. Of course I was honored that she would ask me to take on a task for her. Apparently our new CEO pombe had told her that he was giving her a new ground speeder as a way of thanking her for her dedicated service. She indicated she was nervous about such a gift given pombe's reputation as somewhat of a free spirit. I was tasked with checking over the speeder to ensure that there were no surprises. I was quite happy to be entrusted with such a task, so ED-208 and I set about reviewing the speeder thoroughly. It was being stored in a bay on the Axle while the finishing touches were added. The first thing we found was a note that read: "Hope you have some fun with this. I know you sure need some D!" I pointed out to ED-208 that clearly pombe's secretary Eshey had written it as there was a grammatical mistake, it should read: "Hope you have some fun with this. I know you sure need some, D!" ED-208 seemed to agree as he said "Yeah, that must be it." Although pombe seemed to be getting a little informal for my tastes calling Dr. Long by the first initial of her first name: Danielle. I visually inspected all of the speeder while ED-208 decrypted and analyzed the control software. It was running Octansoft and it must be that because we were aboard the Axle the decryption was so easy. I guess the encyption key was actually "password123". ED-208 said he had seen stronger encryption on vending machines, but that wouldn't make sense as all our vending machines also run Octansoft! It was good though that we found absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. Dr. Long seemed very relieved to hear that the speeder was just a standard speeder. After leaving her office I ran into pombe in the hallway and mentioned that Dr. Long was looking forward to using her speeder. He said that he hadn't installed the "special accessories" yet and that he was on his way to take care of it now. Based on the vibrating box he was holding he must be installing a massage chair in it. That should certainly help Dr. Long relax a bit! Extra Pics: I tried to detail it as much as possible, note the area between the seats. You really can't see it due to lighting, but the area under the green between the seats is red for a center brake light
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Tags: Science, Land Vehicle Location: H04 Story and better pictures to come tomorrow morning, but the crux is this is the capsule by which Jebediah will be returned to his proper time and space. The item you see Jebediah with in his story is its "key" and a means by which Dr. Long can very generally track his temporal location. True to form, and the subject matter, the story for last week's build was sent to last week's future... the present... or, rather, the future of my present, as I am definitely writing this in your "last week" it's a bit hard to explain... I'll let the good Doctor at it: "Log date 456, This is Dr. Danielle Long, recording a top secret mission report. Octan's--and my own--most trusted special forces operative, Jebediah O'Reilly must be sent into the past to retrieve the hapless fool of a physicist, Dr. Blenjamin Blandin who seems to have inadvertently triggered the machine to activate and create a rift in time and space centered around the blue box. I have reviewed the theoretical work done by Blandin, and he seems to believe that such a rift would not be able to shut unless the majority of any materials brought back in time are returned to their original time and place... while fascinating, this news is quite... um... irritating, to say the least. Once Blandin's anachronistic exploits have been reversed... well, he's definitely fired. Dr. Long out." Dr. Long: "Ok, Jebediah, I'll be brief. Retrieve Dr. Blandin, wherever.... or, Whenever, he may be, and return by activating this capsule with your noise-emitting leverage-optimizer. Dead or alive matters little. Just the majority of his anachronistic mass must be returned. He's as good as fired to me." Jebediah: "why does the capsule look like a car?" Dr. Long: "Well, we're a bit low on funds for "Employee retrieval and extraction". Normally we don't... do... much... of that. So I could not refuse when one of our Engineers volunteered his antique car for the task. He was very insistent on it actually. What an odd fellow." Jebediah: "Ok, and what about the Blue uniform?" Dr. Long: "well, we don't exactly have Historians on the Axle... so I had this modeled after the garb of the deceased inhabitants of the Facility. We don't know very much about his location or time... other than that it seems to be linked to earth or its moon. Both of which have had breathable atmosphere for a long time... so you should be fine in that. I had you inoculated against earth diseases long since irradicated, as well. Wouldn't want you bringing back to common cold, now, would we." Jebediah: "Sounds like you thought this all out." Dr. Long: "That is my job. Haven't missed a week." Jebediah: "alright, whelp, let's send me back in time then." Dr. Long: "Excellent." "Here it is. The rift exists right around the blue box. You simply need to touch it. I will watch you through your noise-emitting Leverage-optimizer, which can be tracked with some repurposed special equipment developed for long distance space flight. Good thing you're going back in time, and not forward. Although... who knows how this will effect the present... so... Don't step on any butterflies." "Got it." "Good luck." ~Insectoid Aristocrat
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Location: E01 Tags: Science Oh my, this is it! It all makes sense now! I have to tell Sal! ...constantly undermining me! You are, without a doubt, the most annoying, obstinate woman I've ever had the misfortune to meet! Computer, hang up! Hanging up. Sal! Sal! I've cracked it! Alright Henson, come in. I figured it out Sal! Once I saw the circular dichroism spectra it was obvious! The biomass is almost entirely D-amino acids and L-glucose! Um, right. Obvious! I, er, suspected as much, but explain your conclusions please, just so I know we're on the same page... It's the perfect diet product! There's just enough D-glucose for you to taste it, and of course the mass fills your stomach regardless, but your body doesn't recognise the enantiomers as food. It just goes straight throught you without a trace! Yes, uh, enantiomers, that's exactly what I concluded. Well done Henson, go tell the others while I, um, think this over. Righto! ... Good, she's gone. Computer, search for 'enantiomer'. Yes sir! Searching for 'anteater'! Damn it! Computer, permanently deactivate CLAPPIE, then search for 'enantiomer'. CLAPPIE temporarily disabled- Damn it! -Searching for 'enantiomer'. Hmmmm, ok, ok. Let's see... 'chemistry'... 'opposite'... 'mirror image'... Interesting... let me think... mithril makes the best mirrors... maybe, just maybe... Computer, call- no, wait. Is CLAPPIE still disabled? Yes sir. Good, I don't want a repeat of earlier. Ok computer, call 'Long'. Calling Chief Accountant Long. What is it, Sal? I already told you, no matter what the personnel promotion matrix says, we're not making you CEO again. We can't afford another CEO inauguration party a week after the last one. Wait, you threw SpacerSteve a party?? How come I didn't- You know what, never mind - I've figured out how the diet product works! It's about time. Can the effect be reversed? I think so, but I'll need some mithril. I know we don't have much and- I'll have Hawk bring you some at once. -you won't want to... wait, really? That easy? Yes. This project is very important to m... to M.A.N.T.I.S. Long out. Later... Finally! Hey, it's not our fault Hawk delivered it to the wrong lab. ...and that should do it. How is this supposed to work Sal? Well, Pritchett, as everyone knows, the best mirrors are made of mithril. By creating this suspension of mithril nanoparticles and introducing it to the fruit we should be able to mirror the amino acids and glucose back to forms that the body will recognise. Um... that doesn't make any- Here, hold the solution a minute, but be careful, it's very- -volatile! AAAAAAAAAAH! Is he going to be ok? Um... probably? The solution is mirroring him on a molecular level, ooh, there he goes! The solution was incredibly concentrated. He probably absorbed enough to be mirrored a few hundred times. So it'll stop eventually?? I think so? Let's hope he mirrors back to original the last time he flips! Hopefully this wasn't too long! Thanks for reading if you managed the whole thing! C&C welcome, and a few more pics in the spoiler.
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Location: F10 Arium Major Tags: Science, Land Vehicle Previously... // PERSONAL DIARY // The Ter Tahls had been kind enough to once again lend their facilities to ED-208 and myself. This was a much larger warehouse style facility that suited our task of creating and testing drones very well. ED-208 had decided to modify one of the drones I had created and gave it some armament. He had insisted that it was needed and it also would be useful in testing the new target acquisition and tracking software I had written. As he finished up the modifications on his drone I made a few last tweaks to the largest of the drones that would be used for recon. With its sophisticated communications gear I was sure it would be useful to the Ter Tahls. My other 6 legged drone was made to explore more uneven terrain and handle smaller locations. I had shared all of the designs and specifications with the Ter Tahls for their use. Tor seemed most interested in the 6 legged drone for its ability to handle underwater exploration. I told him that if he located any Awesomnium to be sure to let Octan know as they would be very happy to buy the rights for it. I'd come to really appreciate Tor's companionship and I think even ED-208 was beginning to settle in. He hadn't suggested we sabotage or blow up their facility in quite a while! And I noticed that he no longer insisted on having a weapon in his hand. He was willing to set it down on the cart the Ter Tahls had loaned to him for working on his drone. I think ED-208 was appreciative of their warrior culture and all of their many traditions. He even said I could learn from the Ter Tahls about being more of a man. Which didn't make any sense since they were a totally alien race and not humans! All of that made our orders from Dr. Long to return to the Axle all the more difficult. I knew that with an alien fleet in a neighboring system she had great concern over our safety, especially due to our knowledge of the time travel device but we still felt like there was so much to learn from the Ter Tahls. Tor said that we would always be welcomed and that perhaps in the future he could come to the Axle and meet the revered Dr. Long. I knew that she would be excited for that possibility and that Tor would be so amazed by her. I found myself excited at the possibility and I was sure Dr. Long would be thrilled to hear my full report! Extra Pics:
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Sector: H04 Tags: Science, Civil "Log Date 454, This is Dr. Danielle Long. Samples of the native species analogous to earth coral are currently being retrieved for testing on the Axle. It is in diverse biomes such as this one that the most profitable compounds are typically discovered. I expect this will yield many a new product for Octan... but only time and testing will reveal these compounds. I am surfacing presently. Dr. Long out." Odus Dillberg, Dr. Long's Secretary: "Ah, yeah, right there, biological samples collection droid. Right there on my shoulders. yeah. Lots of stress to relieve there. Mmm." Dr. Long: "Another day, another misappropriation of Octan equipment." Odus: "Ah! Didn't see you there Danielle!" Dr. Long: "What exactly have you tasked this specimen collection droid with? This is hardly protocol. Where are your clothes?" Odus: "Oh, I had the droid store them in one of his little compartments!" Dr. Long: "You know those compartments will not open after they've been shut except for within one of the Axle's "Hazard Assessment" Labs?... Right?" Odus: "Oh." Dr, Long: "I'll take that as a no. Any calls come in while I was working?" Odus: "Oh yeah! Thanks for reminding me! Kodan called! He's in sector F10 with that thing you told me to send to him! Well! He has some important news to share with you! I took a message!" Dr. Long: "If it was important, why didn't you forward it to me?" Odus: "Well, you sounded like you were having fun looking at all the cool animals and stuff under the sea, so I didn't want to bother you." Dr. Long: "What is the message?" Odus: "Oh yeah... Project Icarus is a time machine! Surprise!" Dr. Long: "A WHAT?! And you didn't inform me of this immediately?!" Odus: "Surprise!" Dr. Long: Cancel my appointments for tomorrow. I will be re-assuming control of this project. I want the object delivered to the Axle immediately. Thereafter, I will assess the object's safety and begin preparations for a thorough inspection of its capabilities. I also want any information Kodan may already have acquired. This must all be conducted with the utmost secrecy. I would not want a time machine to fall into the wrong hands." Odus: "You got it boss!" Dr. Long: "Oh... And one more thing. Send Kodan and his handler robot, ED-208, something to keep them safe. A pair of Ma.K. hard suits. Knowledge is dangerous." Odus: " Hard Suits for Kodan and that Ed guy, got it!" ______________________________________________________________ One Week Later, in the remote H04 sector........... In one of the Axle's ejectable high-risk labs... "Log Date 461, This is Dr. Danielle Long. This device is remarkable. Project Icarus was indeed an apt title for this project, as It must be the source of the anachronistic facility in which it was discovered. It would appear that the original Scientist who created this device are long dead. Perhaps slain in a Zoid raid. But some of the facility's personnel escaped with the Ter Tahl sentients of sector F10's Arium Major. I consulted with their people regarding this device, but the only novel information with which they could provide me was that the device was volatile. I have decided to house the object in its original container: a Blue Box, and perform a myriad of tests on it to assess its safety. Thereafter I will conduct tests to determine how... if... It works. A Time Machine is a fixture of science fiction, but the laws of physics preclude its creation in the real world. Should I indeed have my hands upon the genuine article... Well... This could fundamentally alter Humanity's understanding of the universe... And remove the restrictions of time and space from Octan's quest for resources. With a time machine... well... The possibilities are limitless.... But I'm getting ahead of myself. We first must determine if it works... And then how... before we can use it. To this end I've tasked a select team of theoretical physicists with the inspection of the machine, and its safe operation. We're working around the clock to figure this puzzle out. For the time being, I will leave this in the capable hands of Blenjamen Blandin, one of Octan's finest physicists. Dr. Long signing off." Dr. Long: "Dr. Blandin?" Blenjamen Blandin: "Y-y-y-yes, Dr. Long?" Dr. Long: "I will be in my office looking over this data. Please continue your work. I want this object monitored 24/7. Don't let anything happen to it... and if it activates, I want you to eject the lab. Even if you are in it. Understood?" Dr. Blandin: "I-I-I, uh, Understood." Dr. Long: "OK, Great." ___________________________________ Later....... Dr. Blandin: "Uh, oh! Great S-s-scott! The F-f-f-flux Inhibitor is l-l-loose!" "Wha-Whoah!" OoC: Don't worry. The "Octan has a time machine" will not last Long. No spoilers. but yeah. ~Insectoid Aristocrat
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Halloween Special! The mad Professors Frank and Stein are experimenting on human beings. The result is terrifying....
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Tags: Vehicle (pick one, I really don't care either way. ), Science Location: H09 IMG_20151018_174252 by Danny-Longlegs, on Flickr "Log date 454, this is Dr. Danielle Long. The tropic regions of Planet Wastyria in Sector H09 are host to the greatest biodiversity on this otherwise frigid planet. Here temperatures rarely sink below 0 degrees Celsius, allowing for a myriad of temperature sensitive creatures to thrive. I have stumbled upon an organism roughly analogous to earth coral here. Presently I am utilizing an Aquatic Hardsuit to get a closer look at this biome." IMG_20151018_174040 by Danny-Longlegs, on Flickr IMG_20151018_174358 by Danny-Longlegs, on Flickr IMG_20151018_174518 by Danny-Longlegs, on Flickr IMG_20151018_174607 by Danny-Longlegs, on Flickr No story this week. Dr. Long is finally doing some innocent Scientific research. She finds out that Kodan has a time machine later! I'd like as much feedback (be harsh! I can take it!) on the coral as I possibly can, as a coral reef not too dissimilar to this will feature as part of a contest entry for something else... ~Insectoid Aristocrat
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Location: F10 Arium Major Tags: Science Previously... // PERSONAL DIARY // Dr. Long had sent me something to investigate urgently. The Ter Tahls were kind enough to allow me to use one of their research labs to do my scientific inquiry into the blue box I had been sent. As it turns out the blue box was just a container for what was inside. What it was that was inside turned out to be a bit trickier to figure out. I wasn't sure if it was some arcade dancing game, medical scanner, or some sort of sex thing (sadly pombe wasn't here to ask about that one). I had spent an hour looking it over when Tor stopped in to check on things. He offered his assistance or the assistance of any of the Ter Tahls scientists if they could be of help. I thanked him for his kind offer but told him that this was very advanced scientific stuff and that I wasn't sure they could be of help right now. I mentioned that once I knew what I was dealing with I may need further assistance. Then Tor said: "You mean with your time machine?" WHHHHAAAAA?!?!?! So I guess Tor and the Ter Tahls had seen this thing before and it was a time machine. The Ter Tahls themselves had a moral objection to using it, but they had helped some early humans in Andromeda and prevented the time machine from falling into Zoid hands. Tor expressed surprise that we humans had seemingly forgotten about such a powerful device, but I assured him that it was not the case at all. I told him that I was sure Dr. Long had sent it to me knowing that the Ter Tahls would know about it and help me to keep it safe. I decided that given the profound power of the device I had better contact Dr. Long immediately. I had a holo-call with her and explained that I had managed to use my considerable skill and thorough data analysis to figure out that it was a time travel device. She was quite shocked and insisted that I send the device back to her immediately for her to properly handle it. She ended the call quickly likely due to her shock, but I suspect once she has time to process all of this that she will realize just how valuable I am and give me the recognition I have earned. Extra Pics:
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Tags: Science Planet: Farmolis "Log Date 447, This is Dr. Danielle Long, Performing weekly verbal summary of progress report on selected Top-Secret Octan Science projects. Project 2, Code-name: Trooper 2 is progressing excellently. The body's mutation rates have been successfully slowed while subject remains in induced coma. Subject's cryogenic freezing chamber is functioning adequately, and the tubing is checked twice a day, along with vitals. Subject's transformation is fascinating, and we've recorded a myriad of changes on the genetic level. It's hard to believe that even Kawashita was capable of creating such a destructive super-predator. Max security protocol is followed strictly. Project 13, Code-name: Project Icarus is at a stand still. We can't quite figure out what the Blue Box recovered from the ancient space facility on G09 is intended to do, nor how activate it. I have decided to have the object delivered to Kodan Black, to see if he can figure it out, but as it is, I see no reason for the project file to continue taking up space on my desk. It's just a big blue box, after all. Kodan can handle it. *snip* Summary Complete. Now, I have a meeting to attend. Dr. Long out." Later.... In the Human Resources building in Headquarters City on Farmolis. Dr. Long: "Book three adjacent rooms. This weather has delayed take-offs, so we'll have to stay the night on Farmolis." Odus Dillberg, Dr. Long's Secretary: "You got it boss!" Dr. Long turned to face the man before her, as her secretary left to attend business. Kevin: "Have a seat, Danny. Can I call you Danny?" Dr. Long: "I'd rather you didn't. So, Kevin, It's been a while since we last met in person." Kevin: "We haven't needed to in a while." He beamed. Dr. Long: "Well, your office looks nice. A lot of red." Kevin: "Well, while I do love all Octan colours equally, some colours are just more equal than others, don't you agree? And, by the way, I simply love the Octanis Orchids. They brighten a room like only Shawn from sales ever could. May he rest in peace." Dr. Long: "I didn't give you those flowers... I just engineered them." Kevin: "And by doing so, you gave them to us all, for a reasonable price." Dr. Long: "I trust you didn't call me here just to discuss my bachelor's degree final project?" Kevin: "Of course not, Danny, we're here to talk about your recent performance. You are aware that Pombe has been promoted to a higher position than yours, yes?" Dr. Long: "I am... aware." She stated, through grit teeth. Kevin: "Ok, good. If you didn't know that'd be a little awkward. Glad we got that out of the way. So, any notion as to why that may be?" Dr. Long: "I avoid making judgements as to how Corporate makes its decisions." Kevin: "Excellent answer! The less one knows, the better! But in your case their reasoning is fairly straight forward. You've really been dragging your feet on some of your projects, Danny." Dr. Long: "Science must be performed by the book, and protocol must be followed. All this takes time." Kevin: "Well, I think we both know that your investigation of 'the facility' could have been a bit quicker... and certainly more productive, considering we've got nothing to show for it. Time is money Danny." Dr. Long: "Of course. You know... we could have discussed this over a holo-chat." Kevin: "Well, There's another reason Pombe has been promoted so fast." Dr. Long: "Go on?" Kevin: "Well he's great! The man's funny, well adjusted, and he brings in plenty of new customers and employees on a daily basis! It's unbelievable all the stuff he get's away with!" Dr. Long: "oh." Kevin: "Unbelievable. Really. We've watched your security tapes. He's not cheating. He is simply amazing." Dr. Long: "We could have done this in a Holo-chat." Kevin: "You've observed this, right? How he seems to be able to do whatever he likes? With no consequences to his actions? How even physics seems to bend to his will? And how the paperwork you file on him never seems to bother him in the least? You've sited his dress code violations literally 420,247 times." Dr. Long: "I recall each and every one. " Kevin: "Well, Corporate wants to know how he does it!" Dr. Long: "Huh?" Kevin: "We've considered he may have some passive psychic powers capable of casually warping reality... and we want to know if we can monetize this! This is why I called you here. I want you to look into this and try to figure it out. You're a scientist. You can handle this. Corporate has its utmost faith in your abilities.... That's why you got so far in the first place, after all!" Dr. Long: "Hm. Ok, fine. I will look into Pombe's 'Reality warping' potential." Kevin: "There's our Danny! Keep up the good work, you! Excellent meeting! And remember, miss one week of work and the next person behind you takes your place! No pressure!" Dr. Long: "Of course. Have a fine evening, Kevin." Later, in Dr. Long's hotel room on Farmolis. Dr. Long: "That was sufficient, Odus, you're no longer needed." Odus: *nervous laughter* "Alright Danielle." Dr. Long: "Put a shirt on, and comb your hair. I won't have my secretary appearing like a slob. And when you've finished that you may leave. I have a Holo-Chat to attend in 10 minutes." Odus: "Cool, I'm on it." Dr. Long: "OK, Great." A few minutes later. Dr. Long: "Hello, Kodan, this is Dr. Danielle Long. Can you confirm that you have received the files on Project Icarus? The Object should arrive at your location in a week's time....." The following day. Bob: "How're you doing Danielle!? Long time no see, eh?" Dr. Long: "That's still not funny." Bob: "Hehe, well, I think it is. I've been busy piloting! We should catch up some time, though." Dr. Long: "Yeah" Bob: "Do you remember how we used to look up at the stars on those chilly autumn nights on earth? And you used to point out where Andromeda was, and the constellations? I was thinking about that the other day. They're so different here. Do you ever just... look at the stars?" Dr. Long: "No." ...... _______________________________________ Extra pictures: ~Insectoid Aristocrat
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Tags: Science, Spaceship Planet: F03, Foring The sun shined brightly in the field where the meeting was to be held. The Merchant Confederacy had decided a plantation on Foring (one belonging to a wealthy local client of theirs) as the place where the talks would be held. They had prepared a platform in the field. They had chosen a gains using the plantation itself as the facility was atmosphere controlled, and the air was not conducive to extended breathing by those with lungs... A bizarre ship descended from the heavens, carrying one of the two ambassadors of the Confederacy. Dr. Long and her colleagues has assembled before the platform, engaged in pre-meeting talks. Dr. Long: "the briefing mentioned extensively the refugee issue being faced by the Confederacy. I hope you aren't planning to offer free handouts to these people." John Hannibal: "They're not looking for Charity. We are here to discuss equitable trade arrangements. We are both looking for mutually beneficial arrangements. The refugees need somewhere to live and work... we need laborers on planets with atmospheres foreign to us, and colonists for our homesteads. I don't see that our goals are at odds." Dr. Long: "Very good. Another source of cheap Labor is always beneficial. I just want to ensure that these talks are productive." John Hannibal: "You don't have to babysit us. I am the CEO, after all." Dr. Long: "Of course, Mr. Hannibal." The final dignitary arrived, and the introductions began. John introduced the group to Callahan, with whom he'd been talking, and the new dignitary, a representative from the he plantation owner's company. Dr. Long found the new arrival most intriguing. "Fascinating" she stated, looking the man over, "I was lead to believe that the Merchant Confederacy is comprised solely of Humans... so that would make this specimen a human as well... the genetic modification is extensive... and perplexing. I wonder what purpose these appendages serve?" Dr. Long queried, gently lifting one of the dignitary's tentacles. John Hannibal: "Dr.Long, I don't see how this is appropriate. We are their guests. Well have time for medical examinations following the talks." Dr. Long: "Of course. This genetic modification technology is simply fascinating..." Dignitary: " performed by the Zoid to my people a hundred years or more ago. They desired an amphibious servitor of human stock. We were made to harvest the Awesomnium from the depths of Sorn, but We rebelled and joined the Confederacy, and now our proud traditions are practiced in freedom from the oppression of slavery." Wick Nole: "Greetings. Shall we begin?" Dignitary: "Yes, Let's" The talks continued for several hours as many important topics were brought to bare. Including the discussion of the refugees joining Octan as colonists, and Octan's inclusion in the confederacy, as well as the continued threat posed by the Zoid raiders. Callihan resolved that he wanted to inspect some of Octan's famous ships and to observe their pilots in action. When the meeting concluded, a fit 20 something year old with scruffy hair in a tight suit and brown kaki pants rushed to Dr. Long. Dr. Long: "What Is it?" She asked her secretary, Odus Dillberg. Odus: "Sorry to interrupt you Dr. Long!" Dr. Long: "What's done is done. What do you have for me?" Odus: "Well I just noticed you have a new meeting on your agenda for next week with HR on Farmolis!" Dr. Long: "I didn't schedule anyrhing... unless... Kevin." Odus: "Who?" Dr. Long: "A colleague. Sounds like I have to take a trip to Farmolis then..." Odus: "Alright! Roadtrip!" Dr. Long: "You can leave now." "Log date 440, This is Dr. Danielle Long, Recording from Foring. Diplomatic talks with the Merchant Confederacy have gone exceedingly well... I anticipate extensive collaboration in the futures. John Hannibal was right, their brand of Anarcho-Capitalism is quite compatible with Octan's practices. Furthermore, this time served as an excellent chance for one of my interns to gather flora samples. Time is money, after all. On another note... it may be prudent to take Zoid captives when next we encounter them... it sounds as though their gen-mod tech could be quite profitable should we be able to reverse engineer it... alright, that's it for now. Dr. Long out." Dr. Long has assigned an intern to gather specimens of local flora to be analyzed on the Axle! How industrious of her! Time is money, after all! The Science must get done! The ship is "The Flying Pig" ~Insectoid Aristocrat
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Location: F10 Arium Major Tags: Science, Land Vehicle // PERSONAL DIARY // So as it turns out the turtles were actually the infant state of some aliens that inhabited Arium Major. The babies had made a distress call which just so happened to mess with human brains in a weird way. I guess they were nervous because from the signal intercepts they had gotten one corporation seemed to eat anything they could get their hands on, another corporation was of a warrior culture and therefore a threat, and as for our own corporation they feared we would take them as pets. Which I feigned surprise at and explained that as a scientist I was simply attempting to better observe them. It turns out that these aliens, they called themselves "Ter Tahls", lived underground on Arium Major because they liked to keep a humid environment. They also hoped it would keep our corporations from bothering them. Surprisingly they let ED-208 keep his gun as they took us into their subterranean living space. I guess the fact that we were massively outnumbered meant they were pretty secure in allowing him that bit of security. Once underground one of their elders, "Tor Tuss", came to guide us around. He explained that they had learned our language while studying us and from the signals they had intercepted. I was excited to tell him all about Dr. Long and how great she was and how he had to meet her because I was sure she would be so happy to help his species. He nodded and said there would be time for such things later. I was a bit disappointed because I wanted to show her all of this and tell her right away so she would know and be impressed with what I had discovered. I would off course leave off the psychotic episode I had where I imagined her with flames shooting out of her hand. And the panda. The Ter Tahls had a very advanced setup underground, it was quite impressive. I was sure that Dr. Long would love to learn more for our own scientific knowledge. Maybe we could even leverage their knowledge for the betterment of our own species! We headed out onto a landing platform and awaited a supply skiff that would take us to another part where Tor wanted to show us more of their incredible facility. Though we were vastly outnumbered and quite alone with an alien species, having ED-208 with me was reassuring. It was good to have a companion on this journey. And I knew just how excited Dr. Long would be and how valuable she would find me after I reported all of this to her! Extra Pics:
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Planet: E11 Tags: Science, Spaceship, Land Vehicle In an undisclosed location in MANTIS space.... Big Sal: "Ah! Accountant Long is driving me up the wall! I can't believe her last assignment!" Dave from accounting: "Well what'd she ask you to do?" Big Sal: "She tasked me with building a scientific spy satellite." Dave: "That doesn't sound too bad." Big Sal: "It wasn't challenging at all! We have kits of those things! She wouldn't even let me add a death ray to it! That's hardly scientific." Dave: "That doesn't sound too bad." Big Sal: "Well, instead of a death ray, I added a huge honking rear engine and an array of grabber arms and some other hidden defensive and offensive capabilities!" Dave: "Cool." Big Sal: "I call it the Gunless Noiseless Asteroid Tacker, or GNAT!" ................................. Later, in the asteroid fields of E11..... Big Sal: "Alright... GNAT is nearing target..." Big Sal: "What the blazes?! Is that a giant space Panda holding a Vacuum?!" ........................................ "Log date 433, This is Dr. Danielle Long checking in from aboard my Personal Asteroid Navigation Defense Armour, or O-AN1PMAc555D. I've been informed that there's supposed to be an acronym in the vessel's name, but Acronym's are hardly scientific, and unauthorized use of acronyms can easily result in miscommunication and a subsequent drop in efficiency and work-place harmony, and therefore are subject to a rigorous approval process. I don't believe I approved an acronym for the AN1PMAc555D. Semantics aside, I am currently among the asteroids of E11, planting the Metal Eater bacterium on a host asteroid. I mean to test the viability of E11's asteroids as a growth medium for the Axle's gene-manipulation Labs' newest product. We've developed this fascinating organism, the Metal Eater Bacterium, to be a safe and nutritious source of Biomass for our valued employees. Once I have seeded this asteroid, we will track it and examine the growth habits of the bacterium natural void conditions. Almost done now. Dr. Long signing off." As usual, better pictures pending. I'm back in the saddle, baby! To be clear, the Mech can freely fly in space, but can also crawl/walk on larger asteroids, and therefor counts as both a land vehicle, and a space vehicle. ~Insectoid Aristocrat
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Location: A06 - Guinevere Tags: Science, Exploration Mission Log Recording - This is Dr. Steven Quin Livingston with my tenth weekly mission in Andromeda. For this mission I have been asked to go to Guinevere and explore a network of caves. I entered into the caves loaded down with all kinds of sophisticated mapping equipment and tools to detect small quantities of gold. Within about 90 minutes I found a large vein of gold ore that was begging to be removed. I left the equipment in the cave and returned with all the gold that I could carry. I would need to return with different tools. Comments and criticism are welcome.
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Location: D10 Tags: Science, Vehicle, Land Vehicle Well, it wasn’t me who forgot to charge the batteries! Yes it was! I specifically remember you saying “I’m going to charge the batteries”. What?! I definitely remember telling you to charge them! You don’t get to tell me to do anything! Ah, so you admit that I did tell you to do it! No, I’m just saying… Will you two please shut up. We're stuck here until they rescue us, so just be quiet. … … … … This is all your fault. Is not. Is too! Shut up! … … … … Well, this whole experiment was a waste of time anyway. We drilled for hours and didn’t find any awesomnium. Might have found some if someone had charged the batteries. Someone like you? When they find us, you two are both walking back. But we’re on an asteroid… Yes. … … Just a quick one this week! Thanks for reading, C&C welcome
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Location: F10 Arium Major Tags: Science, Land Vehicle // PERSONAL DIARY // ED-208 and I had finally narrowed down the location on Arium Major to a fairly specific spot. We decided to really get it to a narrow location we needed to head out on foot. I grabbed the detector and he kept an eye out for trouble. After a few minutes we reached a beach and the detector started going crazy, we had found the spot! Except it was just some turtles. I put down my detector and picked up one of the cute little fellas. Even ED-208 admitted they were "surprisingly non-murder inducing". The little guy didn't seem to mind me handling him and I even thought of grabbing one as a pet. But I also wondered how the detector had shown such a strong signal from this spot that just had turtles. It wasn't possible that the listening posts had been sending the signal right to these little cuties! ED-208 asked me if I was aware of the sound the turtles were emitting. At first I thought he was joking as everyone knows turtles don't make any sound. But then he said it appeared to be at a frequency that would "negatively impact the human brain, most likely causing delusional hallucinations." I laughed and told him the little baby turtles wouldn't mess up my head, that maybe the sea air had caused a malfunction in HIS brain! That is when he said "Oh, maybe these guys can tell us what is going on. I bet the noise summoned them." And as I turned I saw Dr. Long standing there with ... a panda? I asked "What are you doing here Dr. Long? And what is up with that panda? And why are you shooting flames from your hand?" ED-208 then said: "Yeah, no way those baby turtles mess with your head!" I wasn't sure what he was talking about or why he was being so glib when there was clearly some sort of weird situation here. I mean, I can't ever remember Dr. Long having a PANDA! Extra Pics:
