Heroica: Glory Amongst the Stars - Mission #7: My Bleeding Hart

[KotZ]

1 hour ago, The Legonater said:

MM Note: Fixed and fixed.

I... thank you. I could very much use a drink. I'm... I'm so sorry for all of that.  

"Cheers I'll drink to that." Varen replies as he give him the flask. "Take as much as you want. I hear booze helps with pain. And it's free back at the Hall, so enjoy. Other than that, how are you feeling buddy? Not gonna go all crazy right? Not that I think you would, you're a level-headed guy I bet." Varen attempts a persuasion. "Being captain is a lot of responsibility, nobody would blame you if something slipped your mind earlier."

[karmajay]

15 hours ago, Zepher said:

"That isn't a bad idea, Kirwin. But let's see what he has to say first, if he is more lucid. I also think it might be wise to reevaluate what we found in the wreckage. Zaria, would you mind terribly giving me one of your Aetherbrews? Or Kirwin? I am happy to part with something in return, but it seems best to spread our useful items out, or hand them to who needs and wants them most, as opposed to randomly leaving them with whoever came across them in space."

OoC: I think I should be down an Aetherbrew, having used it in battle, unless I ended up with two somehow?

Kirwin says "That's a good idea, here ya go!" Kirwin hands Valen an Aether Brew

[The Legonater]

11 hours ago, KotZ said:

"Cheers I'll drink to that." Varen replies as he give him the flask. "Take as much as you want. I hear booze helps with pain. And it's free back at the Hall, so enjoy. Other than that, how are you feeling buddy? Not gonna go all crazy right? Not that I think you would, you're a level-headed guy I bet." Varen attempts a persuasion. "Being captain is a lot of responsibility, nobody would blame you if something slipped your mind earlier."

Varen Persuasion Check (DC 1/3) - 6, 5, 6, 1, 5 (Four successes)

I... I think all of that infection is gone. But you can still feel it everywhere... like a cold shiver down your spine. That said... yes. I feel... clearer. I was not myself earlier, I- I apologize.

Slipped my mind...? I... am willing to tell you whatever you may need. It's time everyone was honest with themselves about this venture. Ask away. I admit to feeling quite... weak, however, so I will answer what I can. I'm sure any gaps can be filled by the filed in my office. 

[Zepher]

"I never say no to information, no matter how much. It is clear that there is something dangerous aboard the ship, and we've found some logs indicating some of the events that transpired. Do you know the origin of this strange creature? If it is even a creature at all? Where is the rest of the crew? What prompted you to fly this more dangerous route?"

[KotZ]

9 hours ago, karmajay said:

Kirwin says "That's a good idea, here ya go!" Kirwin hands Valen an Aether Brew

"Thanks, Kirwin."

6 hours ago, The Legonater said:

Varen Persuasion Check (DC 1/3) - 6, 5, 6, 1, 5 (Four successes)

I... I think all of that infection is gone. But you can still feel it everywhere... like a cold shiver down your spine. That said... yes. I feel... clearer. I was not myself earlier, I- I apologize.

Slipped my mind...? I... am willing to tell you whatever you may need. It's time everyone was honest with themselves about this venture. Ask away. I admit to feeling quite... weak, however, so I will answer what I can. I'm sure any gaps can be filled by the filed in my office. 

"Do you have any clue if Simon is alive?"

[The Legonater]

12 hours ago, Zepher said:

"I never say no to information, no matter how much. It is clear that there is something dangerous aboard the ship, and we've found some logs indicating some of the events that transpired. Do you know the origin of this strange creature? If it is even a creature at all? Where is the rest of the crew? What prompted you to fly this more dangerous route?"

9 hours ago, KotZ said:

"Do you have any clue if Simon is alive?"

I wish I knew this thing's origin. Near as I can tell, it just... it just appeared on the ship. Greenlaw dubbed it... GL... something or other, I don't remember. The crewmates all called it the Hydra; no matter what we did, nothing could put it down for good. It spread through the whole damn freighter... 

I don't know where Simon or the rest of the crew is. Hopefully they found somewhere to hide. Last I remembered... I think he set off after McSorley. Everything was coming undone by that point, it's so hard to put it back together. My head was already swimming by that point...

What prompted us to fly here... we got real spooked back on Port Charon. Damn Starblazers were making all sorts of threats, I think they'd sabotaged Valencia. We didn't know for sure, but we were on the clock. Then one of them snuck aboard my ship. He said, he said... something about how the Starblazers weren't going to let us get away with "this," whatever "this" was. So we thought we could shortcut through the Forbidden Sector and beeline straight to Cosmopoli. Next thing you know, our engines are cutting out and this alien specimen is crawling all over Valencia. Goes to show what a rushed job gets you...

[karmajay]

Kirwin nods and says "Ok, ok well we really need to investigate the rest oft this ship. I don't fancy getting eaten by a weird alien without my permission as we fly back! I also need to check the engineering spaces."

OOC: Did we ever go into the storage room?

Edited December 18, 2021 by karmajay

[Zepher]

7 hours ago, The Legonater said:

I wish I knew this thing's origin. Near as I can tell, it just... it just appeared on the ship. Greenlaw dubbed it... GL... something or other, I don't remember. The crewmates all called it the Hydra; no matter what we did, nothing could put it down for good. It spread through the whole damn freighter... 

I don't know where Simon or the rest of the crew is. Hopefully they found somewhere to hide. Last I remembered... I think he set off after McSorley. Everything was coming undone by that point, it's so hard to put it back together. My head was already swimming by that point...

What prompted us to fly here... we got real spooked back on Port Charon. Damn Starblazers were making all sorts of threats, I think they'd sabotaged Valencia. We didn't know for sure, but we were on the clock. Then one of them snuck aboard my ship. He said, he said... something about how the Starblazers weren't going to let us get away with "this," whatever "this" was. So we thought we could shortcut through the Forbidden Sector and beeline straight to Cosmopoli. Next thing you know, our engines are cutting out and this alien specimen is crawling all over Valencia. Goes to show what a rushed job gets you...

"It is good to put a name to things. The Hydra. Understood. The rest could do with some organization. Please, state things clearly. Tell us each member of the crew, and what position they held. We need to account for each of them. This looks like a rescue mission, so we must know when we are done. Secondly, there is reason to believe one of the Starblazers is actively aboard. Do you have any information on that? Finally, tell us the events leading up to the outbreak. We have been able to piece things together somewhat, the death of a crew member, a lockdown on the hallways, but please, in your own words and your own experience, we need a timeline. I want to find out where this Hydra hails from, either this dangerous area of space or a shipping container, and knowing how things happened is our best clue for that."

[Kintobor]

Zaria placed a pair of fingers on her temple as she leaned on a computer terminal, careful not to hit any buttons. As the rest of her comrades interrogated the captain, she took a moment to investigate the wound where the Hydra-creature attacked her, looking for any irregularities.

[The Legonater]

15 hours ago, Zepher said:

"It is good to put a name to things. The Hydra. Understood. The rest could do with some organization. Please, state things clearly. Tell us each member of the crew, and what position they held. We need to account for each of them. This looks like a rescue mission, so we must know when we are done. Secondly, there is reason to believe one of the Starblazers is actively aboard. Do you have any information on that? Finally, tell us the events leading up to the outbreak. We have been able to piece things together somewhat, the death of a crew member, a lockdown on the hallways, but please, in your own words and your own experience, we need a timeline. I want to find out where this Hydra hails from, either this dangerous area of space or a shipping container, and knowing how things happened is our best clue for that."

I'm not sure... memory recall is not exactly a pristine factor of my condition. Ilbery is clearly still woozy despite his healings. That said, you can access crew files from my office... it appears you already have the key. There were... twenty-two of us in all. The files can give you names and positions... 

As for the Starblazers... like I said, one of them hopped on board before we left. Tampered with my damn ship, made all sort of claims. We locked him up in Container Beta. Food, water... but no visitation. I guess we were going to drop him off in a cell on the Queen of Hearts. 

Timeline? It all still feels hazy... I remember we set off from Port Charon on 08/17. We caught that Carpathia scumbag, got him to talk, and he spouted a bunch of BS about Starblazer operatives and sabotaging Valencia. It was hard to tell what was fake or not. We make the final call to shortcut through the sector. Then with all the gravity surges... I don't know that Hydra thing hooked a ride to us, but I guess it got agitated. Bugsy was victim one, things got worse from there. Our engines shorted out, and we had to implement lockdown measures to ration our supplies. McSorley made a damn ruckus, kept saying we needed to get a message out through the cloud...

There's a bunch of power equipment stored in Container Delta, enough to light up a damn city if you ask me. Someone was shipping some heavy-duty batteries, I guess. McSorley wanted to hitch a comm device to the power supplies, he believed it could boost our output enough to get a clean signal out of the nebula. Radio for help. But... I said no. I told him to rig the equipment to overload instead. We've made enough mistakes here, it was time to blow this whole ship, take out this Hydra thing with it. ...I don't know what happened to McSorley. He went missing a couple of days before I lost myself, but I think he was headed back there. Shortly after... everything went black.

I think that's all I know. My personal console might give you more context... but that's up to you.  As for me... I think I'm going to sit here for a while. Try and catch myself some rest before whatever comes next. 

8 hours ago, Kintobor said:

Zaria placed a pair of fingers on her temple as she leaned on a computer terminal, careful not to hit any buttons. As the rest of her comrades interrogated the captain, she took a moment to investigate the wound where the Hydra-creature attacked her, looking for any irregularities.

Zaria Medicine/Nature Check (DC1/3) - 6, 1, 2 (One success)

As Zaria examines the wound, she sees some of the Hydra's substance lingering on the gash, but as far as she can tell, it appears to be innert. 

Edited December 19, 2021 by The Legonater

[karmajay]

Kirwin will use the security key to open the captain's cabin.

[The Legonater]

31 minutes ago, karmajay said:

Kirwin will use the security key to open the captain's cabin.

Kirwin steps into the cabin, and finds a surprisingly spacious office for an industrial freighter. He eyes some loose cabinetry and files, as well as a plush recliner to the side. In the center of the room is Ilbery's desk, and its still-active computer display. 

[karmajay]

16 minutes ago, The Legonater said:

Kirwin steps into the cabin, and finds a surprisingly spacious office for an industrial freighter. He eyes some loose cabinetry and files, as well as a plush recliner to the side. In the center of the room is Ilbery's desk, and its still-active computer display. 

Kirwin looks into the darkness and whispers "I'm not a fan of this no lights aesthetic they have going on here!"

Kirwin listens carefully for a few moments for any movement before using the terminal.

Edited December 19, 2021 by karmajay

[The Legonater]

49 minutes ago, karmajay said:

Kirwin looks into the darkness and whispers "I'm not a fan of this no lights aesthetic they have going on here!"

Kirwin listens carefully for a few moments for any movement before using the terminal.

Kirwin Perception Check (DC 1) - 1, 1, 3 (0 Successes)

As they step into the space, Kirwin glances around at the dark office, but cannot hear anything unusual in the room. 

[karmajay]

4 hours ago, The Legonater said:

Kirwin Perception Check (DC 1) - 1, 1, 3 (0 Successes)

As they step into the space, Kirwin glances around at the dark office, but cannot hear anything unusual in the room. 

Kirwin glance around the room and does not see any movement. They move over to the terminal and access it.

[Kintobor]

Zaria steps over to the terminal and peers over Kirwin as they work, curious about their coding prowess. "So, I think everyone here likely knows my stance on this Hydra creature." She says to no one in particular. "This thing is dangerous. It should be destroyed, but not before we get everyone off the ship."

[KotZ]

"Shoot our way out?" Varen asks. "I agree with Zaria. Get everyone off and then contain this damn ship. Maybe we should just jettison it into a star to be rid of it."

[The Legonater]

6 hours ago, karmajay said:

Kirwin glance around the room and does not see any movement. They move over to the terminal and access it.

Kirwin Coding Check (DC 1/3) - 5, 4, 4, 3, 4 (Four successes)

The regular message appears over the screen:

NOTICE:
The system has undergone an unscheduled shut-down. Ship-wide communications now operating on backup power!
As standard procedure, the last 3 recorded messages have been stored in backup files. Here are your messages:

<08/22|1231> [Interior Recording: Captain Edward Ilbery, Head Pilot Simon Dunn]
<09/04|1027> [Interior Recording: Captain Edward Ilbery, Cheif Engineer Ernest McSorley]
<09/71|1421> [Interior Recording: Captain Edward Ilbery, Dr Jamie C. Luce]

Would you like to play back recordings?

With some tinkering, however, and the knowledge from the captain, Kirwin is able to access deeper latent files from the computer's backup.

<Valencia|CargoManifest>
<Valencia|PersonellFiles>
<Valencia|CoreReadouts>

Edited December 20, 2021 by The Legonater

[Zepher]

"Play them all, Kirwin," says Merei as she steps into the room. She lowers her voice. "Zaria, how can we confirm that the Captain is fully safe to put aboard the shuttle? And other crew members who have been infected, for that matter? I don't think it is wise to bring the crew around Jace and Alexa until we know it is safe. I'm not sure we can even fit a full 22 crew members on the shuttle. Though we are already down two, unfortunately."

[karmajay]

Kirwin nods and plays the messages. Afterwards they open up the other files.

[The Legonater]

MM Note: Well this post came out meatier than I thought it would. 

8 hours ago, karmajay said:

Kirwin nods and plays the messages. Afterwards they open up the other files.

"Playing <08/22|1231> [Interior Recording: Captain Edward Ilbery, Head Pilot Simon Dunn]"

Simon, to what do I owe the-

With all due respect, Cap, I'd like to cut through the BS. I thought we'd talked about this back at Charon, now we're looking at riding between Scylla and Charybdis again?

The information we've pulled from Carpathia has, unfortunately, forced our hand. I'm not willing to dock at a civilian port with these kinds of risks, we'll go to the Queen of Harts and get Mortizar's engineers to do a full inspection. Besides, you said yourself you could handle the Forbidden Sector.

I could handle it in one-man ship, not in a tug boat like this. Look, Cap, I've been around guys like Viper Carpathia before, I ain't about to claim any of his intel as reliable.

I understand that, Simon, but I'm responsible for this ship and for the assets onboard it. I'm afraid I have to take all the precautions available to me.

An' what about this crew? I have kids and a partner I'm responsible for. I ain't the only guy on board with a family; where's our security rank compared to the boxes we have in the cargo hold?

Simon, I appreciate your concerns. But my decision is final. We're trusting you at this point, after all. If everything goes smoothly, we might still be able to meet our deadlines with both crew and cargo properly intact. That's all anyone can hope for at this point. Thank you for your time.

I'm not sure we should be counting on things working for us at this point, Cap... Respectfully speaking.

"Playing <09/04|1027> [Interior Recording: Captain Edward Ilbery, Cheif Engineer Ernest McSorley]"

Well, you've properly screwed us this time, Ed.

Thank you for your candor, Ernest. Would you like to be more specific, or are you satisfied with hollering in the mess hall?

Ah, c'mon, you know I'm hardly liable for what comes out of my mouth after a few drinks. It's been a stressful trip, Ed, I-

You publically undermined me. I thought we were better than that? 

...we're gonna go straight into it, eh? Okay, Ed. I get this has been a lot for you, but, you've gotta admit that this op has gone FUBAR. A man is dead now, and what have we done about it? Sit in a nebula from hell with a dead engine and some alien creeping through our vents? We've got to do something. The inaction is killing us now, it's already killed our boy Bugsy. Now we go way back, Ed, and I respect you a lot, but you really have properly screwed us here and it's time to realize that and act on it. Now, I've been talking with Gail, and I understand that in Delta there's some power equipment being shipped. I think I could wire up a device to send out a comm signal through the cloud, maybe actually get some help. With luck, we salvage the cargo, if nothing else, we save the crew. 

Okay. That's valid. But I'm willing to risk another ship going down like we have. You're right, I've already brought Valencia down, no sense dragging anyone down with us. I have thought about this. Instead of sending out a signal, you're going to rip those batteries to overload. We're going down with the ship. 

Down with the ship? Ed, the crew is never going to stand for that. Simon is already-

I've heard Simon out on a number of occasions. This is going to be a hard sell, I know. But those are my orders, Ernest. Tell me when it's done. Thank you.

"Playing <09/07|1421> [Interior Recording: Captain Edward Ilbery, Dr Jamie C. Luce]"

Ilbery rubs at his temples, looking decidedly more weary at this point. Dr. Luce, I don't suppose you're here for a casual chat.

I can't believe you, Ilbery. I'm astonished. You would abandon Fitzgerald and Lightfoot to that thing?

It's... time we started taking ownership for our actions. That calls for sacrifices. I'm sorry; I... I thought they would have left the mess hall before we dismantled it. 

"Dismantled"- you blew a damn hole in it, Ilbery! 

Last I talked with her, Greenlaw was under the impression this... Hydra might be trying to feed. I figured we might be able to cut off its source.

This thing is intelligent - what exactly do you think it's trying to feed on? 

It hardly matters now. McSorley set out... this morning? Yesterday? He's going to destroy the ship. We'll all go down in this grave we've buried together...

Gods, Ilbery. Well, you might be satisfied with this fate you've constructed, but I'm not leaving Fitzgerald and Lightfoot like that. I'm getting them out. I'm not leaving them to... whatever this Hydra is going to do to them. She storms out of the office and the recording ends with Ilbery slowly sinking his head into his hands.

<Playback ended>

<Valencia|Cargo Manifest>
Kirwin looks through the collective files, sorting through readouts of fine jewels, crates of cash, and other relics, ordered by all sorts of clientele. Then, in Container Gamma, they find a collection of orders from Jefferson Mortizar. There are five crates, all labeled RESTRICTED. 

<Valencia|PersonellFiles>
Barlow, Ruby - Cargo Engineer
Callaghan, Artemis - Assistant Engineer
Dunn, Simon - Head Pilot
Fitzgerald, Gordon - Assistant Pilot
Gail, Andrea - Chief of Security
Greenlaw, Linda - Lead Scientist
Ilbery, Edward - Captain
Irving, Jane - Assistant Pilot
Larson, Alexi - Bridge Engineer
Lightfoot, Edmund - Comms Officer
Luce, Jamie - Doctor
McMaugh, Jim - Custodian
McSorley, Ernest - Chief Engineer
Moran, Michael - Cargo Security
Morrison, Joan - Security Sergeant
Noble, Jim - Bridge Engineer
Shatford, Robert - Bridge Engineer
Shaw, Quincy - Assistant Doctor
Truxton, Tamsin - Cargo Security
Tyne Jr., Wiliam - Cargo Security
Worley, Frederik - Engineer
Wood, Greg - Comms Officer

<Valencia|CoreReadouts>
<Warning:Irreparable Damage to - Mess Hall|Starboard Dock|Engineering Airlock|Containers Epsilon-Iota>
<Main Engines Heavily Damaged, Require Repairs>
<Warning: Foreign Lifeform dedicated in [all] Ship Areas>

[Zepher]

59 minutes ago, The Legonater said:

<Valencia|PersonellFiles>
Barlow, Ruby - Cargo Engineer
Callaghan, Artemis - Assistant Engineer
Dunn, Simon - Head Pilot
Fitzgerald, Gordon - Assistant Pilot ("Abandoned" in Mess Hall/possibly dead?)
Gail, Andrea - Chief of Security
Greenlaw, Linda - Lead Scientist
Ilbery, Edward - Captain (Retrieved)
Irving, Jane - Assistant Pilot
Larson, Alexi - Bridge Engineer
Lightfoot, Edmund - Comms Officer ("Abandoned" in Mess Hall/possibly dead?)
Luce, Jamie - Doctor (Went to retrieve Fitzgerald and Lightfoot)
McMaugh, Jim - Custodian
McSorley, Ernest - Chief Engineer (Set Off To Destroy The Ship)
Moran, Michael - Cargo Security (Deceased, Medical Bay)
Morrison, Joan - Security Sergeant
Noble, Jim - Bridge Engineer
Shatford, Robert - Bridge Engineer
Shaw, Quincy - Assistant Doctor
Truxton, Tamsin - Cargo Security
Tyne Jr., Wiliam - Cargo Security
Worley, Frederik - Engineer
Wood, Greg - Comms Officer (Deceased, Hallway Explosion)

Merei copies the list of personnel to her own device, adding notes about their status. "This looks like it was poorly handled," she mutters. "Kirwin, Gamma is gone. Can you possibly override the restriction? I'd like to know what Hart was shipping." Returning to the Bridge, she addresses the Captain. "McSorley was sent to destroy the ship. When did that happen? Delta is still attached. Have we stepped aboard a bomb that is likely to go off shortly?" She calls back to the others. "I think we will need to move swiftly!"

[KotZ]

Varen shakes his head as he listens to the recording. "What an absolute and complete mess they made this." He then looks to the list. "So some of these names are underlined. Are they alive? Does this ship have accurate biosigs still?"

[The Legonater]

8 hours ago, Zepher said:

Returning to the Bridge, she addresses the Captain. "McSorley was sent to destroy the ship. When did that happen? Delta is still attached. Have we stepped aboard a bomb that is likely to go off shortly?" 

I... never heard from him after that. That was so long ago by this point, before I... lost myself. I don't know what happened to him. Or what the state of our ship is... my ship...

7 hours ago, KotZ said:

Varen shakes his head as he listens to the recording. "What an absolute and complete mess they made this." He then looks to the list. "So some of these names are underlined. Are they alive? Does this ship have accurate biosigs still?"

Varen Coding Check (DC 1) - 5, 3, 5 (Two successes)

Staring at the screen, and given what he already knows of the crew, Varen is able to suss out that the underlined roster likely marks out the leadership staff of Valencia.

As the group is mulling over their most recent information, Valencia violently shakes for the briefest of moments.The heroes glance amongst themselves for a moment before a voice rings within all of their heads.

Hey kids, how are things going in there? Thought I lost you for a moment back there, your voices got real cloudy. Sorry to show up unannounced, but Jace thought you might want to hear - some sort of ship just came out of nowhere and force-docked with the starboard airlock. I couldn't get a clear read on them, just be careful. 

[Kintobor]

Zaria ponders on the situation, thinking through the events that have transpired. "Ilbery, what did McSorley leave in to destroy the ship? Would it have been a standard Hart shuttle?"

3 hours ago, The Legonater said:

As the group is mulling over their most recent information, Valencia violently shakes for the briefest of moments.The heroes glance amongst themselves for a moment before a voice rings within all of their heads.

 

Hey kids, how are things going in there? Thought I lost you for a moment back there, your voices got real cloudy. Sorry to show up unannounced, but Jace thought you might want to hear - some sort of ship just came out of nowhere and force-docked with the starboard airlock. I couldn't get a clear read on them, just be careful. 

Zaria looked to the others in the Bridge, grimacing. This could be any number of groups, and not knowing who it was made Zaria uncomfortable. "If they have docked with the starboard airlock, they will likely be making their way to the bridge sooner than later; this is not that big of a ship."