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Post by Game Master on Aug 22, 2014 14:36:49 GMT -6
Blue flames shot from the Valiant's exhaust, propelling the refurbished Turian vessel at sub-light speed toward the inner solar system. Every passive scanning system was active, listening for any activity within the star system, finding it mute. That didn't stop those on the ship from holding their collective breath. One Collector Cruiser was all it took to destroy the Valiant and any chance of rescuing the prisoners trapped within the base.
As the Valiant entered orbit around an uncharted gas giant, the Collector base peeked from over the planet's horizon. Calling it massive did not do it justice. It was carved from a former planetoid two kilometers in diameter, countless tons of graying rock trapped in orbit around it after being blasted away by the Collectors centuries ago. It formed a natural barrier with only a couple of clear paths to take. One did not need any scanners to realize this was a trap. Anyone with any sort of magnification technology could spot where the cannons were at in the rock field, protecting the pathways. The rocks left enough room for a smaller ship to pass through, avoiding the main paths.
The base itself was a strange mixture of light and shadow, hiding its true dimensions. Hot gas vented from its many shafts, the only hint that this was actually a base rather than a natural phenomena. The docking port was within visual range. No ship was docked. A few ports were open, the inhabitants unafraid of any intruders.
The Valiant hovers away from the base....
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The Collector Base
GM Note: The first challenge the PCs will face here is how to navigate through the rock field to the Collector base. After that, things become a touch more tricky.
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Post by Maelstrom on Sept 1, 2014 12:55:57 GMT -6
Maelstrom stood over Anelya and Enaya's shoulders, as Vengeance raced towards the Collector base with its stealth systems at operating at maximum. He would have preferred to have been piloting the craft himself. He did not know what to expect when they neared the base, though, and having to switch out pilots in them middle of a combat situation would have been a good way to sow even more chaos into the situation. Instead, he settled into the role of ship's captain, despite the exceedingly small size of the craft he was commanding.
"ETA: two minutes. Mark," Emily announced through the ship's speakers.
The base was still too distant to observe with the naked eye, but a combination of telescopic sensors and emissions detection fed out a detailed image of the base's exterior and surrounding area to a HUD overlaying the cockpit window. The roughly oblong mass of cratered rock would have been easy to dismiss as nothing more than another planetary capture, were it not for the scattered technological emplacements dotting its surface. A large field of natural debris surrounded the larger mass, their presence so close to the base more than anything identifying it as an artificial construct. Were it natural, the debris would have been pulled down into the much larger gas giant by the gravitational forces or have fallen back to the surface of the base. Mass effect fields had to be the cause, and there were doubtlessly also the cause of the two funnel-like breaks in the formation at either end of the base. They reminded him of nothing so much as ant-lion traps back on Earth.
Setting a hand on Enaya's shoulder, Maelstrom said, "Take us through the debris field. Just remember we've got our mech in tow."
She nodded curtly, too focused on her task to muster more of a response.
Maelstrom smirked, knowing that his VI's simulated personality would have been irked at his choice of path. With an organic pilot maneuvering through the densely-packed field, no ETA would be completely accurate.
"Anelya, keep an eye out for those fighters we read about," Maelstrom reminded. "Remember, Vengeance isn't a combat craft, especially with our mech in-tow."
"Trust me, I'm acutely aware of that," she assured. "On the subject of our mech, I'm still reading zero emissions from the craft."
"It must be getting cold in there," Enaya muttered.
"That's what an EV suit is for," Maelstrom said.
For their stealth approach to be successful, Thor would have to stay offline until they pierced the base's theorized inner sensor limit. Once they had closed to a certain point, the large combat vehicle's power signature would be too near the base and too overshadowed by the much greater energy output of the station itself to be detectable. Even if the power output of the mech was at that point detected, it would be nearly impossible to localize. At least, that was what they were hoping.
"Once we've all touched down, you're going to have the Vengeance withdraw into the debris field. You can poke out from time to time to help our mech, but the rest of the time, I want this ship floating like debris. The survival of this ship is more important than anything else. Without it, no one is getting off that base alive."
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Post by Game Master on Sept 1, 2014 16:14:52 GMT -6
[GM Note]
Small rocks bounced harmlessly off the Vengeance's hull, floating back out into the dense debris field. Within the shuttle, everything was deathly silent except for the faintest clang from each hit. Everything ran quiet within the shuttle.
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- The Collector Base shows no sign of activity, outside of what was already seen from a distance. No shuttles or cruisers were coming or going. Their defense system did not activate. Nor were they actively scanning the region for anything.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2014 20:01:03 GMT -6
Iskra swallowed as the Vengeance hurled itself through the asteroid belt, glad that the glass shield protected her expression from the others in the cabin. She was having trouble finding peace in this crowd, between the events not even hours ago and her already suffocating fear of close proximity to multiple people, the Drell had to keep her hands clenched to keep them from shaking.
"Please...let my heart be at peace like the dark space that surrounds us. Let my feet be as silent as the stars that watch overhead. May my hands be steady as the giants that forever circle their suns." Iskra whispered even though her external mics were off. "If we fall today allow our spirits return to you and one day used once again for the destiny you prescribed for us."
Iskra closed her eyes, beginning the prayer once more.
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Sept 2, 2014 22:32:20 GMT -6
Esteban stared at his HUD readouts while Data completed its last test of the suit's primary and secondary systems.
Life Support - Green Environmental Control - Green Oxygen Supply - 48 hours remaining Emergency E-Clip Re-charger - 2 charges remaining Anti-Gravity Magnetic Clamps - Green
The list scrolled on and on, each line glowing a gently green. That did not stop Esteban from reading every line studiously, just in case something was hidden within the wall of text. So he remained still within his armor, his dark eyes drinking in the light the HUD gave off. He did not have to pay such close attention. Data would have alerted him if he had his helmet off all the same, but it was important to him to do this.
He folded his hands, resting his elbows on his lap to learn forward. He wasn't nervous. Not really. He had what he believed were the team's two big guns watching his back. He really was not sure what was going to happen. So much of this was unknown... the team... the enemy... the terrain... so much. He hated that.
"ETA: Two Minutes. Mark," the Asari called out to the crew.
Close to showtime, he thought to himself.
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Post by Joe Fischer on Sept 3, 2014 8:12:01 GMT -6
With his legs sprawled out and his head on his chest, Joe looked like he was sleeping. While he was awake, he was in a highly relaxed state.
For him this was the hardest part of any mission: the insertion. Riding in a shuttle, your fate completely in the hands of others, most Marines hid behind crude jokes. When he first came in, he was so wound up he couldn't do anything but sit ramrod straight, clenching his assault rifle in a death grip. It wasn't until he reached his first unit did he learn how to calm down. His platoon sergeant, a seasoned veteran, pointed out that in a situation like this the best thing he could do was accept he had no control, and only then would he be able to relax.
He was skeptical at first, but after trying it, he found that it worked and now found himself able to relax while traveling, no matter how rough the ride was.
And I'd be very surprised if this wasn't one too, he thought.
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Post by Game Master on Sept 3, 2014 11:13:31 GMT -6
"Uhh. I think I'm seeing activity at the base," Enaya called out, trying her best to sound like a calm and collected pilot. "It looks like they are ejecting something. Please hold."
Enaya's hands moved like a blur, navigating through menus and submenus until a small neon orange circle glowed on the telescopic display. It flashed once before enlarging, magnifying a small section of rock.
"I can see it," she continued. "It looks like they are ejecting trash. I think it..."
Her voice died with sharp gasp. Her eyes widened larger and larger.
"By the goddess..." she choked. "I see three bodies...."
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[GM Note]
- Anyone who rushes to the cockpit to see, or is already up there, would be able to see what Enaya is referring to. On the screen are three naked corpses floating in space: one Asari, one Drell, and one Human. The Drell and Human are male, the Asari (obviously) female. Their bodies are covered with cuts (some with signs of healing, some not), bruising, surgical incisions, and signs of starvation.
- Any other piece of investigation would require RPing and using the Vengeance to magnify and/or going to collect the bodies
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Post by Joe Fischer on Sept 3, 2014 12:21:33 GMT -6
"By the Goddess...I see three bodies," Enaya forced out.
Joe was no stranger to the sometimes brutal nature of the galaxy and those who lived in it. He also remembered Shepard's description of what he had found on the Collector ship, so her announcement barely provoked any sort of emotion from him aside from a hardening of resolve. But he also knew many people never saw that side of the galaxy aside from news reports, so seeing something like that firsthand was always a shock.
He got out of his seat, removed his helmet and gauntlets, and went to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder but said nothing; no words could help her through this, but the fact of his touch--he hoped--would remind her that she was not alone in seeing it.
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Post by dargene on Sept 3, 2014 12:38:11 GMT -6
Meldom leaned against the side of the Vengeance doing various tasks on his omnitool, using it to check his Weapons and armour for anything wrong when satisfied with it he nodded before switching to his Emails. Enaya started to speak about the collectors ejecting trash before she Gasped. Meldom Moved towards the cockpit to see what Enaya was talking about Everyone Makes trash.. he thought to himself just as she spoke once more "By the goddess... I see three bodies...." This made Meldoms attention snap to the magnification box that held the far away image.
"They look.. terrible" was all he could say, he expected the Collectors to actually just collect the different species "Situation looks more dire then we thought if they are experimenting on different races.. should hurry" he said looking once more at the dead bodies "Probably should collect them too, will need to run tests about what happened to them.."
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Post by Maelstrom on Sept 3, 2014 12:46:42 GMT -6
"Probably should collect them too, will need to run tests about what happened to them..." Meldom said.
"Too risky," Maelstrom said. "Our hull armor and the conduits running through it capture the ship's thermal and EM emissions. Open a hatch to retrieve them, and we lose our element of stealth." After a moment's thought, he said, "Maybe they can be retrieved once we've made our insertion, after our mech pilot takes out some of the sensor emplacements on this side of the base."
Turning to Bridges and Lysander, he said, "Thoughts?"
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Post by Eric Lysander on Sept 3, 2014 15:53:53 GMT -6
"ETA: two minutes. Mark," Emily announced through the ship's speakers.
Eric unbuckled himself from his seat, stood and made a cursory check of his gear. He then fished out a stick of chewing gum – in actuality, a piece of C12 – and placed it in his mouth. A precautionary measure from firebugs of old as well as a means of keeping himself centered. If it came down to it, the concealed explosive could buy valuable time or clear a path to escape. He went over the faces of his teammates, the ones whose faces could be seen and noted the looks of concern and forced or relative calm. It was not just their own lives that hung in the balance for this mission. He tried to think of something he could say to them.
"Uhh. I think I'm seeing activity at the base," Enaya called out as she guided the shuttle. "It looks like they are ejecting something. Please hold."
Eric tensed up. Hopefully the base was only ejecting waste gases or garbage and not countermeasures against the Vengeance.
"By the goddess..." she choked ”I see three bodies...."
The N7 quickly walked into the cockpit right behind Joe and Meldom. Through the viewport he could see them: the emaciated and mutilated bodies of a human, drell and asari cast into space like refuse, their long suffering at an end. These were not prisoners of war; more likely civilians who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Their families and loved ones were either dead as well or alive wondering, agonizing over why they had disappeared so abruptly and mysteriously. Joe stood by Enaya resting an ungloved hand on her shoulder to console her. Meldom gave his assessment of the three bodies.
"They look… terrible. Situation looks more dire then we thought if they are experimenting on different races… should hurry. Probably should collect them too, will need to run tests about what happened to them…"
"Too risky," Maelstrom said. "Our hull armor and the conduits running through it capture the ship's thermal and EM emissions. Open a hatch to retrieve them, and we lose our element of stealth." After a moment's thought, he said, "Maybe they can be retrieved once we've made our insertion, after our mech pilot takes out some of the sensor emplacements on this side of the base."
Turning to Esteban and Eric, he said, "Thoughts?"
Eric lowered his head and folded his arms.
“… sounds like a good idea but we have no idea what the Collectors may have done,” replied Eric. “They could be infected with somethin’ that could put everyone in the shuttle at risk. Even if Enaya and Anelya wear environment suits the whole time or you can quarantine part o’ th’ hold, they’ll be busy enough guardin’ th’ ride ‘n th’ exit without havin’ ta worry ‘bout a zombie attack.”
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Sept 3, 2014 16:26:13 GMT -6
Esteban followed Eric, though stopping short of the cockpit. It was getting crowded enough in there already. He could see what mattered on screen, the three dead bodies floating in space.
"They look… terrible," Meldom spoke up first "Situation looks more dire then we thought if they are experimenting on different races… should hurry. Probably should collect them too, will need to run tests about what happened to them…"
"Too risky," Maelstrom said. "Our hull armor and the conduits running through it capture the ship's thermal and EM emissions. Open a hatch to retrieve them, and we lose our element of stealth." After a moment's thought, he said, "Maybe they can be retrieved once we've made our insertion, after our mech pilot takes out some of the sensor emplacements on this side of the base."
Turning to Esteban and Eric, he said, "Thoughts?"
Eric folded his arms and responded...“… sounds like a good idea but we have no idea what the Collectors may have done. They could be infected with somethin’ that could put everyone in the shuttle at risk. Even if Enaya and Anelya wear environment suits the whole time or you can quarantine part o’ th’ hold, they’ll be busy enough guardin’ th’ ride ‘n th’ exit without havin’ ta worry ‘bout a zombie attack.”
Esteban shook his head and took a step to the side, leaning against the nearby wall, in case anyone else wanted to have a look. "There's nothing we can do for them now," he gestured to the screen with a bob of his head. "But it feels wrong just leaving them out there. Can you have your VI project where they will be floating to so they can be grabbed easier? It wouldn't be ethical to leave anyone behind here, living or dead.
I believe your shuttle should have a decontamination area that we can place the bodies in to clean them off of any harmful bacterias. But I think Iskra would be the most qualified to say what should be done with them..."
He took a glance over at the Drell, just in case she had anything to add.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2014 17:55:03 GMT -6
The young doctor sat in the corner of the room, her body finally having stilled from its nervous tremors. Her arms lay relaxed across her lap as her cowl kept the dark glass from light, death having entered her thoughts, her emotions, and very movements.
The quiet, naive part in her soul began to shut the door, locking that small pure piece away from everything, from this bloodied weapon the assassin was soon to become. Iskra had always wonder, what that battle sleep had felt like.
Cold....dark....and so very alone....
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Sept 4, 2014 19:03:54 GMT -6
Esteban watched Iskra, waiting for some sign of life for a couple moments... just in case. But he saw no reaction. As if she did not hear him, or was not paying attention. Or in meditation.
"Okay...." he whispered, turning his attention back to Maelstrom and the rest. Best to not disturb her. This required his attention. "If all else fails, I am sure we can put the bodies into body bags. As long as everyone remains in their armor, the sealed suits will be more than enough to keep any potential diseases out until we can get to the Valiant for decontamination."
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Post by Maelstrom on Sept 4, 2014 19:29:56 GMT -6
"My feelings lean more towards Lysander's," Maelstrom said. "And the dead have no more concern for their bodies. Seems to me vacuum is more respectful than leaving them to rot or burning them into ash."
Sighing, knowing he was in the minority, he said, "If they're put in bags before being brought into the ship and a full decon-sweep is done after, I'll permit them on my ship. That's if and only if, though, it can be done without compromising the vessel's stealth status."
To himself, he thought, After this, Bridges and I are going to have to re-examine my pay scale if my shuttle's going to keep running the insertions and people keep coming up with plans to get it blown out of the sky...
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Post by Joe Fischer on Sept 5, 2014 3:49:28 GMT -6
Joe felt himself becoming nervous and irritated by the delay. The longer they stayed out here, the greater the chances of being discovered and the mission ending before it even began.
"Mission priority is the living," he said, taking his hand off Enaya's shoulder and turning to the others. "Once we've saved them, we come back for the rest--if we can."
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Sept 5, 2014 11:56:08 GMT -6
"Right," Esteban agreed with Joseph, shoving his elbow agains the wall plating behind him. He turned first to Maelstrom. "Mael, make sure the faces of the three victims are recorded, in case we cannot retrieve them. Their relatives will want to know."
He reached and patted Meldom on his armored shoulder and looked at the rest. "Sounds like we're all in agreement. Let's get into our teams and get ready to deploy."
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Post by Eric Lysander on Sept 5, 2014 14:16:28 GMT -6
“Let’s hope we’re not too late to save the rest,” said Eric as he headed back to his seat to retrieve his helmet.
As Esteban and the others got ready the N7 put on his Bulldog helmet and secured its seals. Ready to deploy, he walked back into the cockpit to instruct the pilots.
“Anelya, see if you can zoom in on the docking port” his voice crackled over the helmets external amplifiers. “Let’s see the layout, what kinda reception’s waitin’ for us if any. The faster we can secure it the better chance we have of holdin’ it ‘til we make our escape.”
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Post by Game Master on Sept 5, 2014 22:02:34 GMT -6
Anelya worked the controls with grace and efficiency, using every piece of passive scanning equipment that the Vengeance has to collect information on the closest Collector docking bay. She pursed her lips, glaring at the interface intensely as she expertly toiled away. Text and images flashed on the dozens of holographic interfaces, each under her expert control. She ended up wiping her hand across the interface, sweeping up every screen and bit of information to the side. The view screen focused in on the closest docking bay. The doors were open, the bay home to three small reddish-orange crafts. The outer hulls of each craft was covered with something that very well could be an organic exoskeleton. It was well lit inside. No movement within could be seen. "I'm not seeing any activity in there," the Asari read from the scan's summary that she pulled up. "And it looks like there's a power feed coming from a panel to side right there..." She stopped long enough to create a holographic rectangle to the right of the open door. "I think that's the controls...." Her expression softened. "I can safely set us down there in thirty seconds..." She looked back at everyone around. "Is everyone ready?" --------------------- GM Note: Last chance before the landing happens The Collector Base's Dungeon Crawl will begin Saturday Evening!!! The rules 1. There will not be a map for the place. The Collector base itself is MASSIVE, filled with hundreds of passageways and thousands upon thousands of rooms. 2. The Engineers will be able to pull up a map for the base, able to hack into the base's internal sensors. Depending on RPing, the Engineers can determine potential enemies and identify places where seeker swarms are. This does not mean the Engineer is the only one that can, strictly speaking. Creativity and great RPing goes a long way. 3. Most enemies that will be encountered are mook-level enemies. 4. The GM will supply a basic description of what is within certain areas and what can be found. More can be discovered in each area through RPing. If you want your character to investigate something, please RP it (how you are doing it, etc) and send the GM a private message with what it is that you are investigating and hope to find. 5. If you have an interesting idea for the base, please do not hesitate to send the GM a message. There's enough potential here to allow for variety. 6. Above all else, have fun and please keep a good pace for this section!
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Post by Weyrloc Karn on Sept 6, 2014 11:33:01 GMT -6
The string of armored thuds travel around the area, the usual culprit to such intruding noises would be the very krogan himself, now actually sorted into his armor, helmet included. The glowing blue visors on the helmets sockets glow under the low light of the cockpit. The krogan was no stranger to anything so degrading as the inhuman treatment of the bodies on the scanners and screens, then again, he was probably more used to bodies then he was to actual collectors of all things. It still caused a slight grunt, a grimace under his armored mask. Karn looked ready for war, for the most half, but no one could doubt any krogan for looking like a war nut by the way they dress..
Regardless of such, he was ready. For what? Not even he really knew. It sent jolts down his brutish form, for once he was concerned, maybe this time he wasn't going home any points alive. A thought soon shaken off, a grunt resonating from his vocoder. His head turns to the asari pilot, "Is everyone ready?", she would cautiously state as she glances back.
Typical to his usual arrivals on the scene, his booming voice resonates the following, in his usual gruff tone. "Ready as I'll ever damn well be..", he chuckles out, at least trying to break away from the current present mood.
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