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Post by Maelstrom on Mar 30, 2014 21:40:35 GMT -6
“Do you know which L series implant yours is?” Iskra asked.
Maelstrom was a little unsettled. He had opened the channel to Lysander and hadn't expected a second party to be listening.
Rallying his wits, he said, "My understanding, Doctor, is that it does not conform to any current L-classification. If you take a look at the schematic I just sent, I believe that will be readily apparent."
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Post by Eric Lysander on Mar 31, 2014 10:49:01 GMT -6
Eric pored over the schematics with Iskra, biotic technology also beyond his ken. As Maelstrom warned, the implant bore little to no physical resemblance to River's damaged unit. Eric was particularly struck by the man in black armor’s insistence that his compensation not be modified or enhanced in any way; many others would have taken advantage of an upgrade at another’s expense. But Maelstrom at all times knew what he was and what he was capable of, wanting nothing that could upset his balance and control, even if it afforded him greater power. To secure the mercenary’s cooperation in this matter was considerable; Eric would personally see to it that Maelstrom would get his due regardless of the outcome of River’s surgery. The N7 veteran decided to think out loud again; the last couple of times he did so seemed to inspire insight among members of the team. Perhaps it would work again.
“I don’t suppose you can overlay one schemat over the other n' have the computer see what we can keep and what can be left out or blocked off? Create a composite implant? I dunno tech stuff but if it's anything like an engine no matter how souped up it is, it's usually built on topa the same ol' hamster wheel. Same basic architecture or principles."
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Post by grandest on Mar 31, 2014 17:43:08 GMT -6
"Keelah, we could re-write galactic history as we know it!" Shala's voice became animated. "You can always tell who the engineers are," Cruendi'has quipped. "They're the ones going around fixing things that aren't broken." He said it, but the Batarian knew it wasn't true. The galaxy was broken, and its history was merely cobbled together to keep everyone from freaking out about the absolutely bleak madness of the universe. Cruendi'has had killed other living beings for the simple crime of not being like him. His people had enslaved others. Something needed to change. "Maybe it's not always a bad idea though. Changing things up." The lift came to a stop and Cruendi'has stepped off. He turned around and raised his hand to assist Shala.
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Mar 31, 2014 23:34:22 GMT -6
Esteban wore a smile beneath his helmet, his steely reputation protected by a thin piece of metal. He moved at a controlled pace, heading straight for the remains. The archaeologist in him loved discoveries like this. But... he knew he had to be safe.
So he activated his helmet's comm system and patched himself into the group comm channel.
"Meldom and I are approaching preserved remains," he said, tapping his wrist to pull up his omnitool. "It looks like a Keeper. Hard to say. I am keeping my comm open in case there is trouble. If you want to join us, I am activating my omnitool's homing beacon."
He tapped a couple of holographic buttons on his omnitool, sending out subtle pulses to announce his location to anyone who may be looking. It was just a precaution more than anything else. More eyes the better, that was the old saying.
He arrived at the crystal sarcophagus, stopping at its base.
"Any thoughts on how we proceed Meldom?"
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Post by Maelstrom on Apr 1, 2014 0:14:28 GMT -6
"Any thoughts on how we proceed Meldom?"
Maelstrom found himself irritated by their sidetracking. The salarian and his employer were looking over artifacts and remains while there was a potential threat just a few meters beyond the barrel of his gun. And yet, he was still alone. None of the group's techies or scientists. No tactical backup.
If Lysander were here instead of worrying over River, he'd have this lot straightened out, Maelstrom mused. He knew his strengths and his weaknesses. While some of the group might find him reasonably enjoyable to be around, he was too mysterious, too unknown, to be an effective leader. The only time they would really follow a command from him was in the heat of battle, when he was taking the risks in an effort to keep them safe.
Not that he was terribly bothered by Lysander seeing to the girl. If they were going to perform surgery, Iskra would definitely need a second set of hands. He just wished that the group would be a little more organized. Treat this like a threatening situation rather than the time to relax after a job was done. Besides any potential automated defenses they needed to watch out for and the possible threat of more of the things he had chased, they were on a ticking clock with an unknown amount of time on it. The Collectors would be back, and they needed to get the job done before that happened.
That, and he wanted to get back to looting more of the Collector corpses. The more profitable he could make the trip, the better. But doing the job he was contracted for came first.
He focused back on the wall before him, wondering how much time had passed since he truly paid attention to it. Sighing, he made up his mind. I'm getting too distracted standing here alone. I have no clue how long I was just off in my thoughts. If no one else is here in a couple minutes, I'll mark this spot on the map and head off to find the others. Otherwise, I'll end up daydreaming at the wrong moment and wind up taking a nap for the rest of eternity.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2014 4:57:07 GMT -6
All Iskra could do was blink. She had never been overly good with tech passed the equipment she used daily. Even with perfect memory there was always going to be gaps of knowledge.
“Maelstrom said that even his engineering friend couldn’t figure out the L-series it was even based on. It doesn’t sound like anything will match it even on the most basic of levels. Even if it did, this is different from a machine. You cannot just throw together something. It’s her brain we’re dealing with, we put anything less than perfect in there it would kill her or worse.”
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Post by dargene on Apr 1, 2014 6:53:45 GMT -6
"Any thoughts on how we proceed Meldom?"
Meldom leveled his eyes with the floor checking for any minor imperfection "No Visible traps" he scanned the area with his omnitool "Scanner is not picking anything up, however this technology seems old then ours..My scans show that this has some same genetic markers as a keeper but not entirely similar.. maybe they evolved on the citadel?.. Other then carefully no tactical advice yet"
He took a glance around the room before realizing that he and Esteban had left Maelstrom in the room somewhere "Maelstrom you okay, sorry for ignoring ya, sometimes get caught up in the discovery, what did you find?"
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Post by Eric Lysander on Apr 1, 2014 8:04:44 GMT -6
“Maelstrom said that even his engineering friend couldn’t figure out the L-series it was even based on," Iskra noted. "It doesn’t sound like anything will match it even on the most basic of levels. Even if it did, this is different from a machine. You cannot just throw together something. It’s her brain we’re dealing with, we put anything less than perfect in there it would kill her or worse.”
Eric stood at the console, toggling between River's implant scan and Maelstrom's implant schematics.
"I know... there's gotta be something to this… a lotta human doctors liketa compare organs to machines. Make it easier to understand, less… squishy… in high school they paired me with this dweeb for the science fair. Brilliant kid but would faint at the sight of blood. We built – actually I built, he supervised – a mock-up of the human digestive system using mechanical parts. Modified water filter for a liver, compressor for a heart, tubes for veins and so on. It barely worked, made a helluva racket and smelled godawful. Got an honorable mention, though… still, ya can’t beat Nature’s kitchen for engineering... we just try to copy it…”
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Post by Maelstrom on Apr 1, 2014 12:23:37 GMT -6
"Maelstrom you okay, sorry for ignoring ya, sometimes get caught up in the discovery, what did you find?" Meldom asked.
Maelstrom activated a couple quick locator pulses; he never liked leaving them on for long, in case an enemy wanted to triangulate his position with them. "I'm at the indicated location. A couple minutes ago, our keeper-look-alike ran through what appears to be a solid wall."
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Post by grandest on Apr 1, 2014 12:48:23 GMT -6
[POST SHALA'S REACTION TO CRUENDI'HAS OFFERING A HAND DOWN.] Cruendi'has made a beeline to Maelstrom's position and found the merc in black with weapons drawn and aimed at a wall. "Everything alright in here?"
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Post by dargene on Apr 1, 2014 12:57:27 GMT -6
Meldom stopped looking at the Odd mummified remains and looked at his omnitool to see the location "Solid.. like pure solid wall, have you touched the wall yet?" he took a deep breath trying to think
"Wall may be holograph.. but to hold a holograph for that long and that size, then again, Sealed Tomb who knows what race this belonged too or what technology they have.. well had"
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Post by Maelstrom on Apr 1, 2014 13:04:34 GMT -6
"I considered the possibility of holographics, but since I can't get a read on what's on the other side, I thought it would be best to wait for backup," Maelstrom explained. "No telling if there are more of those things or if there are automated defenses of some kind."
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Post by Game Master on Apr 2, 2014 0:02:26 GMT -6
[GM Post: River's biotic implant]
1. Keep in mind that the Mass Effect setting uses futuristic technologies that appears to be borderline magic to our unadvanced eyes. What is normal for these people is nothing short of a miracle for us. Biotics, faster than light technology, structures that are over a mile long, manipulating matter density, hard light constructs, etc. Medicine should be able to do the extraordinary as if it is commonplace.
2. River's chip may be modified heavily, but if the PC can get ahold of a replacement chip, it is possible to duplicate the modifications. Any amount of research on the extranet would provide the necessary information on how to do it.
3. There are already plans presented by two different PCs on how to get ahold of the chip. If all else fails, there is a replacement chip available in the medbay. Corwin is paranoid about River and this is his ship, so it would make sense for there to be one or two.
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Apr 2, 2014 18:46:01 GMT -6
"Wall may be holograph.. but to hold a holograph for that long and that size, then again, Sealed Tomb who knows what race this belonged too or what technology they have.. well had"
Esteban waved his omnitool across the side of the crystal, scanning it. He took a glance at the results.
"I'm not detecting any hard light structures here," he commented, studying the results before him. "Though I'm starting to wonder how this place is powered still. Any reserve supplies should have dried up centuries ago...."
Esteban took a step to the side and knelt down, spotting something.
"Meldom, over here," Esteban quickly said with a sudden burst of excitement. He wasted no time scanning it. "It looks like a plaque... translating the engraving now..."
Esteban paused, waiting for a few moments. On his holographic interface, it read.....
Here lies Emperor Neri Lord and god of the Nithian Empire Savior of the Nithian Race He saved us from the Devourers of Worlds and Souls May he find the rest denied to him in life
"what in the world......" Esteban whispered, glancing up at Meldom for a reaction.
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Post by dargene on Apr 3, 2014 5:06:46 GMT -6
Meldom read the Translation "Savior of the Nithian race.." he mumbled "devourers of worlds and souls"
He crossed his arms "Well.. i have never heard of the Nithian race.. this is incredible!" he exclaimed "A whole new race.. who knows how long this has been buried, we could learn so much!" he had started to pace back and forth talking before realizing how excited he was getting about this,.
"I wonder Who the Devourer of worlds was.." he looked back at the mummified remains "Does this mean.. the Nithian race are.. Keepers ?" he asked almost with hesitation.
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Post by Eric Lysander on Apr 3, 2014 7:44:55 GMT -6
Minutes more of staring at the schematics, growing more frustrated. One other person Eric thought of that might have made some sense of this tech as far as wiring or programming was out saving the galaxy.
He pounded the table and pivoted towards River's bed. "Damn! There hasta be something we can do..." He looked upon the only calm face in the room. "She said she came armed to the teeth, wanted to be ready for anything... never occured to her to pack an extra implant or two? I brought spare parts for my armor, my guns, slugs, heat sinks, ordnance..."
He turned to the drell scientist. "Iskra, are you sure you checked everywhere?"
Eric suddenly moved to the opposite end of the room and keyed open a drawer. "I'll check this side. Implants have to be kept sterile, right? If there's nothing here I'll go through River's things. What kind of package and markings should I look for?"
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2014 9:22:59 GMT -6
“Most likely, it will look like a computer chip in a clear small box.” Iskra tried hard to think, she hadn’t seen an implant that wasn’t on a brain scan. It was impossible to know what the color of the chip had been or the design of the markings on it. “I imagine it will be labeled in your language as an implant, or perhaps in a box marked especially for River.”
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Post by Eric Lysander on Apr 3, 2014 12:53:22 GMT -6
Systematically Eric went through each shelf, drawer and cupboard on his side of the medical bay removing or shuffling about their contents, then arranging them again as he found them before closing up in consideration of Iskra. Each compartment had a number-letter designation on the outside as well as the inner wall for cataloguing purposes. Every single one he checked did not have anything that looked like she described.
Eric opened the last cupboard door. It was completely empty, only a catalogue number staring back at him. He slammed the door shut, causing the adjacent door to go ajar. As Eric motioned to slam this door shut as well, a discrepancy caught his eye. The outer cupboard door had the usual letter-number marking on it. But inside where its counterpart would be was instead a strange symbol. Eric’s hand reached in to move some bottles aside to get a better look, accidentally brushing against the back panel.
It buckled slightly.
Unbeknownst to Eric the symbol was a representation of one of the drell gods. Arashu, Goddess of Motherhood and Protection.
“… a false wall…” he mouthed, pushing against it.
Eric quickly emptied the cupboard’s items on to the counter below. He then jiggled the back panel to see which way it opened. With a bit of effort it slid to one side exposing a silver rectangular case with the initials “C.H.” engraved towards its front. Eric placed it on the countertop and undid its latches.
“Doc…? Would it look anything like one of these…?
He turned to display the open case. Within the cut-to-form black cushioning lay two tiny, brownish black implants side by side, each sealed in its own protective clear brick. Near the front latches was a separate notch that held a data chip.
“Was behind this panel with a weird mark on it,” his head tilted at the cupboard with an odd grin. “That chip could have instructions on it… looks like Maelstrom’s not the only guy with special hardware in his head if these hadda be hidden!”
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2014 16:22:11 GMT -6
Iskra sighed in relief. This made her life so much easier though...
Her thumb absentmindedly runs over the clear box, why didn't Corwin tell her that there was extras on the ship? Then there was the issue of Maelstrom's implant, it was unheard of for people to make any kind of serious modifications to the implant but now there are two on the ship. If he aquired his from the same place as River did...
She shook her head. No time to mull over things that didn't effect what was happening now.
"Thank you, Eric." She rested the chip next to the rest of her tools. "The surgeory will take a few hours, hopefully I will be successful."
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Post by Eric Lysander on Apr 3, 2014 21:01:11 GMT -6
"Now that you really do have everything you need," assured Eric "I don't see why you shouldn't be."
He glanced at River in her bed. "'Course if you need an extra set of steady hands... defusing a bomb requires the same delicate touch... just needta walk me through what to do..."
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