MILLION CREDIT COMM JOB

[Eris]

Electronics and Mechanical skills with the materials we have ought to allow us to make a crude detector easliy, I would think.

Good and bad news ...

... The VET ATV contains specialized imaging equipment that can easily scan through the snow for objects. It can be set to discriminate by material signatures. It can scan through up to a meter of earth. It employs multiple spectral arrays (ultrasound, magnetic imaging, radar). It is primarily used to locate buried cables or conduits inside walls/ceilings/floors.

... it is backpack sized and weighs 50kg making it best transported by 2 people.

Scanning the vicinity of the Station (500 meters along both trails) yields numerous small objects near the buildings (screws, fasteners, pens, things commonly dropped) but nothing of interest and nothing along the footprints leading away.

Scanning further will require a team to carry the unit and scan. (just specify how many kilometers you intend to travel along Mick's path or who will track the other path beyond the short distance that mick previously marked.)

Well, we *have* to find that part don't we?

Joe suggests that we scan the path not followed out several hundred meters more.

Team of 3, one to carry the equipment and scan, and two to provide cover. Of the folks remaining here, Olivia and Joe are probably the best to provide the cover and maybe Jim could do the scanning? If we do this someone else needs to be on the roof doing overwatch and letting us know if heat signatures come our way...and folks in the field need to be armed to the teeth.

We might want to take one of the ATV's not being used to power the buildings out a hundred meters and scan back and forth, then take it out another couple hundred meters and repeat? That would keep us close to an ATV to retreat to if we get attacked or need to warm up.

Thoughts?

[Thumper]

Eris…sounds reasonable to me.

Didn’t realize Val was with us…Sophie still is though.

Mick would ask Christophe about possibly pulling dried meat products from their food packs in the Adventure Packs and using it to draw the beasts out. Would it work to literally drop a meat “crumb trail” down on L1 and to what they can see of the entrance to L2 and L3. Get at least one of the beasts to expose themselves.

Even if we can fire on only 1 beast by the 3 (or 4) of us, we could increase our odds of surviving entering the cave later.

[atpollard]

Eris…sounds reasonable to me.

Didn’t realize Val was with us…Sophie still is though.

Mick would ask Christophe about possibly pulling dried meat products from their food packs in the Adventure Packs and using it to draw the beasts out. Would it work to literally drop a meat “crumb trail” down on L1 and to what they can see of the entrance to L2 and L3. Get at least one of the beasts to expose themselves.

Even if we can fire on only 1 beast by the 3 (or 4) of us, we could increase our odds of surviving entering the cave later.

Val isn't with you. I was mostly being funny. She could drive here. 9 km in an ATV at 25 kph is not a long trip (it is just long walking at 3 kph).

Christophe will go along with whatever YOU decide ... NPCs don't drive the adventure (that's what PLAYERS are for).

[Thumper]

Just trying to keep realistic RP consulting the expert to see if that is a waste of time. One hunting guide knows the value of another!!

This plan is Mick’s intention unless the expert on these beasts offered more info on that plan. Mick tosses chunks of dried meat down from their perch from the center of L1 toward L2 and asks Herbie to do the same toward L3. Then he stands ready with all hammers cocked on all 3 barrels….knowing the kick will knock him on his butt but he’ll do a ton of damage on one shot.

He knows the rising warm air carries their scent up and away from the animals. He knows it might pull the scent of the meat as well, but when one wolf stumbles walks near the meat, it should catch the scent. It may take a bit. He tells others to wait until at least one of the animals is fully exposed. It two emerge, Mick and Herbie sort the lead one while Christophe should target the trailer.

[atpollard]

2156.11.7.2050 - Smokey Crevice 9 km north of Arctic Complex

It required some patience. At first, there seemed little response. Then there was that strange bone on stone clicking sound. However, nothing actually approached the meat. After 30 minutes, Christolphe was the first to spot movement and signaled towards L2. “Ain’t no wolf or cat” whispered the Hunter into the COMM. “Never seen nothin like that before.”

After 45 minutes of waiting, with the movement JUST out of sight [towards L2], Mick shifted positions slightly to try and get a peek. What he thought he saw resembled a “Snow Crab leg” made out of glass or ice or snow probing from the dark towards the general direction of the meat.

Suddenly a low subsonic growl shook the ground and ice cascaded from the rim. You could “feel” the noise inside you … like the subwoofer on a vehicle vibrating all vehicles around it.

A mountain of white fur with a dark ridge of raised hair running down its back briefy flashed an appearance along the [L3] side of the cave. It seemed oblivious to the meat, but was intently focused on whatever was in [L2]. Two small versions of the hairy mountain, pups about the size of Sophie [Terrier size], rushed forward to attack the meat as the low growls from the mother send those clickety-clacks scurrying back into [L2].

Giant Wolverine.jpg (132.25 KiB) Viewed 206 times

“A Great Wolverine” whispered Christolphe. “Good news is they don’t generally eat ANYTHING that isn’t already dead. Serious scavengers. But tough and mean if attacked. If there is a Wolverine here, then there won’t be any Wolves or Cats. Natural enemies. One would have killed the other. Since that wolverine looks to weigh almost 2 tonnes and they can kill animals two or three times their weight … my money would have been on the wolverine in that cave.”

“If you start shooting, don’t stop. Once we attack it, we or it will die. That's just how they are.” Christolphe stood beside you to focus all the fire on the one target. “It’s your hunt, so it’s your call.” he whispered as he took aim.

Down below, the babies were working their way along the trail of meat and the mother had followed them into the crevice. Mick had the eight-legged, 1600 kg bear-like creature in his sights. It watched the babies eat and cast an occasional warning growl at [L2].

[Hvalreki]

"Gosh Mick, it's a momma and her babies, do we really have to kill her? Maybe we could drive or scare her off somehow. I dunno, fire or loud noises? Could we drug some food and maybe knock her out long enough search the cave? She seems interested in that other cave, maybe something else is in there she don't like?"

[Thumper]

Feeling a rise of the thrill of the hunt, especially when it involves risk to the hunter, Mick forces himself to breath deeply and rationally evaluate the situation.

The part…the job…that’s what matters. A human walked North from the site. Why? Did they carry the part on them? Why would they leave the site carrying it them succumb to the elements to then get dragged by a scavenger to this lair.

Far more likely that a worker carrying the part was ambushed on site and got drug off than it was that someone trying to flee the site with the part on their person. The SW trail seems far likelier.

We could rule out this possibility while we’re here. But if this is the wrong location, killing the Great Wolverine unnecessarily permits occupancy of a lair for more threatening creatures close to the site.

We can always come back here, if we strike out at the more likely SW option.

Mick decocks his hammers and lowers the big shotgun.

No, let’s check out our other, more likely options first. If needed, we can always return.

Hey Joe and DJ? Bypassing on searching this cave…for now. Can that scanner operate well if two people sit on the hood of the ATV, like hood ornaments, and hold the unit forward facing? If so, why don’t you scan our North trail and come pick us up while scanning that route. Then we can all go scan the South West trail together.

If that works, we’ll backtrack South far enough away from this Crevice Cave so as not to excite the Wolverines. If not proceed SW, and well walk back to the site.

[Hvalreki]

Mick decocks his hammers and lowers the big shotgun.

No, let’s check out our other, more likely options first. If needed, we can always return.

Hey Joe and DJ? Bypassing on searching this cave…for now. Can that scanner operate well if two people sit on the hood of the ATV, like hood ornaments, and hold the unit forward facing? If so, why don’t you scan our North trail and come pick us up while scanning that route. Then we can all go scan the South West trail together.

If that works, we’ll backtrack South far enough away from this Crevice Cave so as not to excite the Wolverines. If not proceed SW, and well walk back to the site.

Herbie is relieved. Mick's in charge where wild animals are concerned but he's very happy they didn't have to shoot the huge octoped and her offspring.

He keeps a careful watch to their rear as they make their way back to the base, periodically checking his inertial locator to make sure they are on the path but letting Mick lead.

He does keep wondering what was that silvery leg they saw poking toward the meat before the other cubs got to it. What could set up camp next to a creature like the wolverine and survive?

[Thumper]

He does keep wondering what was that silvery leg they saw poking toward the meat before the other cubs got to it. What could set up camp next to a creature like the wolverine and survive?

That question becomes the subject of conversation for the walk/ride back. Mick asks Christophe about the possibilities. Christophe previously said he had never seen it before. Alien? If so, maybe the spacefarers know something of it. He’ll run a comms discussion as the three of them walk away.

There is a very unknown variable in Mick’s calculus now.

[shaidar]

DJ offers to drive the ATV.

[atpollard]

2156.11.7.2100 - 9 km north of Arctic Complex

Christophe led the way back, scanning for trouble along the path ahead. Herbie followed in the rear, tracking the Wolverine at the Crevice entrance as it watched you depart. That freed Mick to just think about things from the middle and focus for signs of anything he might have missed on the way in.

Herbie yelled and face planted in the snow. It was not a yell of fear, but definitely one of surprise. The result was the same, either way … instant hypervigilance and weapons at the ready.

For his part, Herbie had divided his attention between checking the inertial locator to confirm they were still on track, scanning the momma Wolverine that was slowly following you, but falling further behind rather than gaining, which left only minimal attention to placing one foot in front of the other along the now well worn path. At first, Herbie thought he might have caught a boot on a rock and tripped, until he turned over and discovered an eight legged cub had burrowed under the snow and pounced on his foot. Sophie momentarily broke free of Micks arms and leapt into the fray to face off against the cub. There was a tense moment of uncertainty before Sophie received a lick on the nose from a giant tongue. Sophie relaxed and Mick scooped her back up.

The cub was not through playing and Herbie found himself wrestling with a creature a tenth his weight, but half his strength. Eight legs allowed considerable advantage in leverage and a bipedal could only block so many attacks from an octopodal wrestling opponent. Eventually, Herbie was able to get his feet under himself and apply his superior size and strength to roll the cub over and scratch its belly … eliciting a reaction of pure delight (from both). However, the cub had not lost its intense focus on Herbie’s backpack and Mick noticed the lid on the Jerky container was loose.

Christophe pointed to the Mother just watching from a distance. “She must view us like a couple Grazers … neither food because we are not dead, nor a danger because we are not wolves or cats. I suggest we do everything in our power to let her keep on thinking of us that way.”

******

DJ drove the ATV with Joe and Jim on the hood. It was able to scan with reasonable accuracy even while traveling at some speed … It seemed that scanning through a meter of snow was a trivial task compared to scanning through a meter of rock. Not falling off the ATV generally set the pace of travel.

[Eris]

"Keep scanning!" Joe comms, "No part, no fixie, no money!"

[Thumper]

Mick smiles at:

I suggest we do everything in our power to let her keep on thinking of us that way.

He is stunned that this little thing can burrow as fast as it did. Snowshoeing is a slow walk, but...really? When he sees the can of jerky out, he picks it up and looks inside. He holds it up and shakes it a bit...

Herbie, mind if we treat it and Sophie a little bit? If Herbie agrees:

Mick will feed Sophie and her playmate equal parts of jerky. He knows the young wolverine will be encouraged to beg and follow for a while, but it shouldn't really get in the way once they meet the ATV.

[Hvalreki]

Herbie

Herbie enjoys a good wrassle with the cub and happily shares out the jerky in between ear scratches and belly rubs. He does regular checks with the multi-spectrum binos to make sure momma's not sneaking up on them while they play but wonders how this little fella got in front of them so fast.

"This is real fun Mick but we outta get inside and set a night watch before the temp really drops. I could use a good thaw too after all that wrasslin'."

[atpollard]

2156.11.7.2130 - 8 km north of Arctic Complex

Your furry playmate enjoyed the tossel and the dried meat (Christophe recorded that information for future reference) and returned to ‘mamma’. Herbie studied closer with the goggles as it quickly burrowed away and discovered the creatures were less “fast burrowers” [although they did burrow about as fast as a person walked] and more natural stalkers. The cub quickly burrowed back to your footpath and ran at nearly three times your speed along the deep, narrow path … never once becoming visible from the surface.

The walk back was occupied by a general search for trouble (part of life in the Arctic) and conversation about the “other” life form that y’all had caught a glimpse of. Mick speculated with Christophe about the possibility of it being extraterrestrial. The guide couldn’t rule out the possibility, but there was so much of this planet that hadn’t really been explored yet. Sure they had flown over nearly every part and mapped it from the air, but how many creatures live in remote caves just like that one still waiting to be discovered? Maybe it is from somewhere else. Maybe it is just an undiscovered species. Maybe we just got a bad view of something we will recognize when we can see all of it. Christophe shrugged … The Arctic's like that.

******

Jim and Joe had multiple pings at the snow camp that Mick and Herbie had located about a click from the crevice. They were searching the location when Mick and Christophe arrived, Herbie trailing a little behind. Mostly they found ration containers and an empty canteen. It appears that the water in it froze and split the seams, then someone heated it to melt the ice and discarded the split container.

Herbie climbed into the ATV to warm up. The scan showed lots of small items around the camp, but nothing large enough to be the part you were searching for.

DJ sent an update that Mick, Herbie (and Sophie) were safe back at the ATV. As he finished the message and was about to turn off the COMM, he detected a strange signal. At first DJ was feeling a bit paranoid and thought that someone might be eavesdropping on your COMM transmission (which was encrypted). Then DJ’s COMM training curiosity forced him to poke at it a little more. DJ concluded that it was “signal bleed” from another COMM operating on a different, but close frequency. A little tuning of the COMM and DJ was ably to locate the exact frequency of the other COMM.

That was where things got a bit strange. It was just a carrier signal. Like having an open mike broadcasting static and not saying anything into it. Given the signal strength, it cannot have a range of more than 10 to 20 km depending on the height of the antenna. Somebody with a COMM unit is close.

[Thumper]

Mick says: Well that's interesting. Aliens and now neighbors...

[shaidar]

DJ

"Maybe someone is out there injured, and needs help. I'm going to have try working a out a direction."

DJ tries to cobble something together than might let him home in on the general direction of the signal.

Electronics: [_2d6+2]=(4+6)=10+2=12

[atpollard]

2156.11.7.2210 - 8 km north of Arctic Complex

DJ managed a “direction finder” from the parts on hand. Within a few degrees, the bearing was almost exactly back the way that Mick and Herbie had just come. However a swath even 1 degree wide by 20 kilometers long left a LOT of snow to search in the dark and potentially walk right past the target (or constantly stop to take new bearings on the signal).

Instead, DJ contacted Val back at the Station and had her set up a second location with a parabolic dish from the VET crawler back at the Station. With the information about the exact frequency to look for and the approximate bearing, she quickly located it. A little basic NAV skill trigonometry and the group had an exact point on the map where the beams crossed … the current location of the transmitter.

“Hey, that’s the cave we were just at.” exclaimed Herbie (who learned to read a map in “wayfinding” on his third time through basic training … or was it his fourth … no, it was definitely his third because that was the time where he broke his leg and he read the map to report his position and call for help.)

[Thumper]

Mick:
Holy sneickies! Anybody got some tranquilizers?

Shootable or edible in meat…either works.

[shaidar]

DJ

"Me and herbie can try and rustle something up from the medical supplies we have, and see what there is in the abandoned ATVs. What do you think, Herb?"