[002] Away Boarders!

[The Bindoner]

Zhenya relays her video feed to the pinnace and team: This is a confusion of metal to me. Could an engineer please assess and advise?

[BackworldTraveller]

Rock
Using his medical scanner, Rock skips back across the readings taken from each of the children and compares their DNA profiles...How many different parents are we dealing with here? Are all these children siblings?

Rock notes that there are three family groups represented in the children. Within the three groups, they are all cousins or siblings.

Monsieur le Comte, The DNA scans from the children indicates that they are three extended families. That suggests to me that there are actually very few people supporting Mother. Perhaps less than two dozen - 6 grandparents, their offspring and any partners. That might explain why the children have no escort as they leave - It's not because they are uncaring, but because they just don't have the manpower.

Rock joins the group facing "Mother".

I have looked into the children - they are not all inter-related. So I am assuming your title is honorary for a child-minder. Why are you staying here? Surely these children are in your charge?

and when that topic is done

Mother, What systems are controlled by you, and what systems are controlled by Master (and what are in the middle)?

[joertexas]

Rock joins the group facing "Mother".

I have looked into the children - they are not all inter-related. So I am assuming your title is honorary for a child-minder. Why are you staying here? Surely these children are in your charge?

and when that topic is done

Mother, What systems are controlled by you, and what systems are controlled by Master (and what are in the middle)?

"I am their mother, and they are my children. This is our home." She lifts her hands and looks up. It is then that you see the ceiling is four meters above your heads, and that it has an excellent holo projection of a sky, complete with white clouds.

[BackworldTraveller]

Rock joins the group facing "Mother".

I have looked into the children - they are not all inter-related. So I am assuming your title is honorary for a child-minder. Why are you staying here? Surely these children are in your charge?

and when that topic is done

Mother, What systems are controlled by you, and what systems are controlled by Master (and what are in the middle)?

"I am their mother, and they are my children. This is our home." She lifts her hands and looks up. It is then that you see the ceiling is four meters above your heads, and that it has an excellent holo projection of a sky, complete with white clouds.

I indicate my medical instruments and ask "May I?"

[shaidar]

Anne throws up her hands in exasperation and turns to Foix "I tried. My tactical reassessment is that we take the children and go. It is madness for us to even attempt any kind of assistance here when those wanting our help repeatedly ignore our attempts to assist. It is utterly illogical and I think that Mother's programming is broken"

Anne heads back outside to help with the rescue bubbles.

[Tiglath]

Mother smiles slightly. "In any event, my long journey to Birach orbit will come to an end. We have worked for generations to bring my children to this place. It distresses me to see them die on the cusp of being set free from the confines of this ship, as their ancestors wished for them. They say the winners write the histories, Comte Foix. What will they write of my children? Those who have suffered so much, sacrificed so much, only to be blasted out of space when they finally complete their journey? Will anyone in the Birach System even care that our hopes were vaporized on their very doorstep?"

Nodding agreement with Anne, Foix frustratedly retorts “Madame, if you valued you people at all you would not commit them to an entirely futile and pointless offensive just when rescue is at hand”.

He adds grimly “As to history, Madame - I believe you will find that it will not care. Bands of homicidal degenerates that nearly arrive somewhere are more worthy of embarrassed relief than record. If anything is written at all it will surely conclude that at the end your people were betrayed by their leaders. You can perhaps find some comfort that your shameful conduct will likely be kept from Birach's records”.

Foix appears to have come to the conclusion that there's no helping these people.

[joertexas]

A voice comes from behind Mother, around the corner of the building. "Eka, where are you? Have you seen Mimi?" A woman steps around the corner and comes to a halt as she spots Foix and the others. She bears a strong resemblance to Eka, or Eka does to her, and she wears a jumpsuit with a utility belt. She has a holstered pistol on the belt, and some sort of rifle slung over her right shoulder, muzzle down. The rifle is at her back, and she makes no move toward either weapon. "Mother, who are these people?"

"They are rescuing some of us. It is the best I can do, Child," Mother replies evenly.

Eka speaks up. "Mom, they are taking the children to where they will be safe."

The woman cocks her head as she regards Foix. "Who, exactly, are you?"

[Tiglath]

Foix says “Madam, I am Général Gauvain de Beauhernais a L’Espée Foix, Comte de Foix assisting the Birach Navy and I am at your service. Your brave daughter sent a message to summon us. All aboard are in danger and I am here to rescue those that I may. It is important that you understand that I plan to get you safely off this ship and that “the best” that Mother here plans is to get you all needlessly killed when rescue is at hand!”

(OOC: Leadership roll with Leader 2
Roll(2d6)+2:
4,3,+2
Total:9).

[joertexas]

The woman smiles grimly. "General Foix, welcome aboard the Caladia, or what's left of her, very late of the T-N-S. Mother said that we have to shut down the Master before we all die. None of us are soldiers, and we have two dead and three wounded to prove it. If you are here to help, we could certainly use it. I'm Bren Kagshi, by the way."

[Tiglath]

Foix replies with his own smile "Enchanté, Madame Kagshi".

He then asks "Why do you believe you have to die when you can simply step off this vessel and live? There is no need to engage an enemy you can evade!"

He goes on "Please bring your wounded here for treatment and evacuation. Rest assured the children that were here are already safe. How many of you are aboard that we could take off?"

(OOC: And for Foix everything now falls into place - he has found a damsel in distress... )

[SpinwardMarch]

Taheri

Through the comms: Zhenya, that appears to be the result of the general damage to the ship; things were knocked out of place. I would recommend returning.

roll to recognize damage: [1d6]=5 [1d6]=4 + Mechanical 1= 10

[joertexas]

Taheri

Through the comms: Zhenya, that appears to be the result of the general damage to the ship; things were knocked out of place. I would recommend returning.

roll to recognize damage: [1d6]=5 [1d6]=4 + Mechanical 1= 10

This information tallies with Taheri's prior experience regarding misjump-related damage.

[The Bindoner]

Zhenya pans her suit camera slowly over the space, making a recording for future reference should we decide to place charges, then carefully retraces her steps to rejoin Taheri.

Thank you for standing watch. Would you care to lead the way to the Comte?

[BackworldTraveller]

Rock
Rock takes a quick scan of Mother's medical condition, and passes on to Bren Kagashi.
Are any of the Children related? Are they physically well? Are they Human?

[joertexas]

Foix replies with his own smile "Enchanté, Madame Kagshi".

He then asks "Why do you believe you have to die when you can simply step off this vessel and live? There is no need to engage an enemy you can evade!"

He goes on "Please bring your wounded here for treatment and evacuation. Rest assured the children that were here are already safe. How many of you are aboard that we could take off?"

(OOC: And for Foix everything now falls into place - he has found a damsel in distress... )

Vee is doing some eye rolling of her own about now...

"We were told that the Birach Navy is coming to destroy us all. Is this true?" Bren crosses her arms and regards Foix calmly as Rock steps forward.

[joertexas]

Rock
Rock takes a quick scan of Mother's medical condition, and passes on to Bren Kagashi.
Are any of the Children related? Are they physically well? Are they Human?

Mother is a quite advanced android, Rock discovers. She even produces biological results on Rock's med scanner, but they're out of adjustment. A heart rate of 800 and a respiratory rate of 2 just don't fit with a person standing there looking at him with her enigmatic smile.

Bren glances at Rock. "If you want to help, we're bringing the wounded into the square." She points to her right, into the center of the compartment. Past her, Rock sees and open, grassy area between two small structures made from cargo containers. There are two more structures - houses, he sees now - across the open area in the center. Above, the ceiling is open all the way across the hull, giving the illusion of being outside.

[BackworldTraveller]

Rock
If they are badly injured, I should visit them to see if they can be safely moved. Can you spare an escort Milord? Shall we start?

[Tiglath]

Foix replies to Rock "Lead on Baron Darkrock I shall come with you".

"We were told that the Birach Navy is coming to destroy us all. Is this true?" Bren crosses her arms and regards Foix calmly as Rock steps forward.

Foix removes his vacc suit helmet and replies "Madame, I have to ask, how can you even be concerned that the Birach fleet will destroy you when you seem so determined to immediately achieve that by fighting for possession of a drifting space hulk with failing life support?"

Unzipping a pack of Gauloises from an outside pocket, he lights one with great relief before replying "Madame, I fear you have been mislead. Your vessel has indiscriminately fired its main armament at ships in this system and your course threatened the population of a space station. When the Birach Navy trustingly closed with your hostile ship in response to Eka's brave message a Birach naval officer was shot and badly wounded while my own craft was damaged by a defence battery. The Birach Navy would be entirely justified in firing on you without concern for quarter and yet here I am once again offering you an escape".

A faint waft of Foix's cologne mingles with the trailing cigarette smoke as he meets Bren's gaze with his blue eyes leans in to offer her a cigarette "Madame, I believe this is the third time I have offered to take you away from all this and my fragile ego copes very poorly with rejection, will you give me your answer now?"

Grimaud has a strange sense of "deja entendu"... and an odd flashback to wearing his chauffer's cap...

(OOC: There may be an audible "Ting" as Foix unleashes his patter...
Roll(2d6)+0:
5,4,+0
Total:9
He's not trying to take advantage of the fact that she (or her clone) have been stranded in space for 200 yrs - he just believes that in terms of romantic interest he's like a UN relief convoy!

The method to the madness of this very human approach is that it must be diametrically opposed to that of an android/wonky AI).

[joertexas]

Bren regards Foix calmly for a moment, and then she focuses on Vee, who is in her usual place at Foix's shoulder. "From the look on your face, you're romantically involved with Mister Foix here. Forgive me for what I'm about to say, for I'm almost sure that he's not always so overbearing, that he means well in his own bumbling way, and we really do need your help."

She takes a breath. "Mister Foix, while I believe you are telling the truth about the mess we've so inconveniently caused by surviving over two hundred years of isolation after a misjump, you know jack shit about what's really going on aboard this ship. We have wounded, and apparently we need to leave the ship, so I will talk as we work." She matches deeds to words, and she leads the way into the village square.

There, they find approximately sixty men and women, ranging in age from late teens to well into their later years. Five people lie on improvised pallets of blankets; two of them have large caliber gunshot wounds to the torso, and three others have indeterminate injuries. About half the people are armed, and four of the younger men are wearing unpowered combat armor of an unfamiliar style.

Bren is peppered with questions, and she briefly states that they have to abandon ship, and repeats that the Master has put them all at risk by firing on the local navy. There are quite a few quiet comments, but they all listen when Bren calls for an immediate evacuation. A tall man appears at her side. "This is Hiro Kagshi, my husband, and Eka's father. Hiro, our lovely daughter has called in help, apparently in time to prevent the Birach Navy from finishing the job on us."

"We have to get to the Master," Hiro replies. "If we don't, the slaves will die, too. Most of their war machines were elsewhere, but we didn't see one that wasn't, and we got hit hard. We have to try, Bren."

"These people don't care, Hiro. We have to save ourselves and evacuate before their leader, Mister Foix here, takes it upon himself to withdraw again."

[BackworldTraveller]

Rock
A cursory assessment of each of the patients will take rock at least an hour at a mere 60 seconds each! In practice, it's more likely to take a whole shift. As a standard procedure, Rock will gat their name, scan them for injury and take a DNA sample. The group size suggest that there should be far more children than we have found so far. As Rock progresses through the patients, he will start to ask about their roles aboard ship. however, in the mean time...

Has anyone else got first-aid abilities. We should see what we can do to move some of these to the shuttle, but unless we start a ferry service to the ship, they aren't all going to fit

What medical facilities and staff does the count's ship have?