01: The Heart of the Living Beast (Rukellian)

[Fulci]

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 20:00, Beginning of Night-shift
Characters: Lawrence (Rukellian)
Location: Vault 14, Maintenance division (Level 4)
======================================================

Lawrence wakes from his 8-hour day-time nap. Despite his unusual schedule, he sleeps better than most Vault Dwellers - or maybe his biological clock is more in tune with some unknown underground pulsations? Well, that would be something for Doc Barnes to study! But speaking about pulsations... there is some weird vibrating noise in the air. Not the usual buzz of the auxiliary Vaut-Tek Night Phase™ lamps, but an equally subtle, almost subliminal vibration.

Well, if others hear it as well, Lawrence is sure he'll have to deal with it at a certain point, because he's sure it is of a mechanical source. Looks like the Vault machinery still holds little secrets.

He puts on his blue suit, zips up. It's time to get to work. And there's already a message waiting for him on the Termlink screen, all magnificent, fluorescent green on black.

[Rukellian]

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 20:15, Beginning of Night-shift
Characters: Lawrence (Rukellian)
Location: Vault 14, Maintenance division (Level 4)
======================================================

After having gone through his morning ritual of suiting up, washing his face, and downing another dry, barely tasteful, ration, Lawrence turns on his Pip-Boy and checks the time stamp. 'Fifteen minutes this time, a slight improvement, but not great. Got to shave another minute or two off.' He thinks to himself in the silence of his room. Well, almost silent. Putting aside the static buzz of the Vault-Tek Night Phase™ lamps, he cannot help but pick up a weird vibration in the air, something subtle and almost subliminal.

It does not come to Lawrence as too much of a surprise, having worked and lived in the walls of this underground community for all his life. Even though he has been maintaining the machinery and computers for a good 3-4 years now - or was it 5? Time seems to slip by him easily enough during the day - he still finds himself learning new things about the vault's built-in self-maintenance systems. That and he is not as aware of his surroundings during the day as he is at night. Having gotten a good day's worth of sleep on his last day off, he stretches once more and proceeds towards the Maintenance division of the vault.

As Lawrence passes the restrooms, a wave of nauseous air hits his face. He instantly reels back a step and holds the loose collar of his suit up to his face to cover nose and mouth. "What in the hell... That STENCH!" Without even reaching the Terminal in his work office, he already knows what his job will be tonight. He groans as he runs to the time stamp panel to quickly clock-in. Pulling a cord out of his Pip-Boy and connecting it to a plug slot within the wall's computer, it automatically recognizes Lawrence's device and stamp's his time in. 'To think the old generation used to use time cards, actual cards...'

Booting up the computer and logging into the Maintenance division's server, Lawrence quickly finds out that his boss left him a message. Quickly scanning over the contents, a smile slowly forms into a grin as he is being once again scolded for using the server as his own private journal. 'He responded much faster this time around, looks like he is actually taking his job seriously right now. Great. Hmmm... what's this? The time stamp is off 140 years! Now how did I miss something like THIS!' He allows himself to laugh out loud a bit, knowing full well he wouldn't be waking anyone up from here. Leaning back in the wheelie chair, he closes his eyes and thinks about how he will be tackling the crappy situation that just presented itself.

[Rukellian]

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 20:20, Beginning of Night-shift
Characters: Lawrence (Rukellian)
Location: Vault 14, Maintenance division (Level 4)
======================================================

'Well, first things first. I've got to pull myself out of 2077 and enter the year 2117, shouldn't take too long.' And it doesn't. With a blaze of keystrokes performed in just under a minute, Lawrence updates the automatic-time stamp to the correct one. After syncing the changes to the Vault's Mainframe, he starts to pull his personal logs off the Maintenance server and transfers it to his Pip-Boy database. 'Done and done. Now to deal with the big elephant in the room.'

Lawrence pulls up a digital copy of the Vault's pipe systems and enlarges the image on the terminal before him, focusing on Level 4. He then taps into the vault's wireless pipeline sensor network, checking for inconsistencies in water flow. Once Lawrence determines what and where the source is, he will gather the necessary equipment for the job and head out, mentally taking stock of everything the division currently has to see if any more orders need to be placed along with the sharpies. 'If he is giving me permission to use the urgent stamp, I might be able to get away with tacking on a few more items onto the request...'

Do let me know when I need to make rolls for anything. (Repair, Science... ect.)

[Fulci]

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 20:20, Beginning of Night-shift
Characters: Lawrence (Rukellian)
Location: Vault 14, Maintenance division (Level 4)
======================================================

Lawrence puts on his googles and gets down to business. He reckons the fault of the date is due to some unwanted magnetic force - such things happen underground. The Overseer Mainframe is shielded against these disturbances, so it always keeps the time. Even old man Rokossovsky knows this. Now, re-setting the Termlink time-stamp is as easy as pie. But turns out that syncing it up to the Mainframe (only having a few limited access authorizations from Dr. Munro ) is more like those elaborate multi-storey wedding cakes...
Please, make a Science roll!


Luckily, checking the Vault pipe system is a routine task for Lawrence, especially in his "night phase". He easily locates a segment where pressure almost drops to zero. It's at Level 2, at the short corridor leading to the Community area. Lawrence will need a plumbing wrench, his basic toolkit, a big bushy Italian mustache, a bucket and a printout of the problematic section. A gas mask would be nice, after all he's going up face-to-face against the wicked stench! Lawrance checks the Maintenance division's lockers, but can't find this item. An "urgent" stamped request is usually processed in 45 minutes, but you can only turn it in in the morning, because there is no night shift Requisitions Officer...

[Rukellian]

Now, re-setting the Termlink time-stamp is as easy as pie. But turns out that syncing it up to the Mainframe (only having a few limited access authorizations from Dr. Munro ) is more like those elaborate multi-storey wedding cakes...
Please, make a Science roll!

Science Skill Check (night) 75% [1d100] = 77


======================================================
3/6/2117 - 20:20, Beginning of Night-shift
Characters: Lawrence (Rukellian)
Location: Vault 14, Maintenance division (Level 4)
======================================================

'Wrench, check. Toolkit, check. Bucket, check. Printout, on its way.' Starts to print out a copy of the affected area. 'Aaaand gas mask, heaven forbid I should go into this wit-' Lawrence's sudden realization that there are no gasmasks in the lockers, it sends him into a slight state of panic. 'You're kidding me, RIGHT?' He does another check, and another, but alas, his silent, frantic search proves fruitless.

"This..." he says out loud, "this is urgent, right? I cannot wait till morning to fix this problem, and the gas mask is a must." He looks around and peers into a mirror. He looks away in disgust, waving a hand towards his reflection. "Gah, who am I talking to anyways? I've got to do something, not just stand here and whine."

Knowing full well that the Overseer is VERY 'reasonable' person, Lawrence packs up what gear he does have and heads towards the elevators. 'I'll just swing by the Overseer's office and see if I can place an 'urgent' order directly. I'm sure if I explain why this must be done tonight, she will understand. I hope...' As he approaches the elevators, the plan he is cooking up in his mind, the story he is to give to the Overseer, it starts to sound less and less, smart. The smell in the air slaps Lawrence back into focus again. 'This is the reason I'm doing this, now, not in the morning. I will spare all the kiddies and working adults of this horrible stench!' With a silent fist clench and shake to the air, he enters the elevator and punches the button for floor 3.

[Fulci]

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 20:20, Beginning of Night-shift
Characters: Lawrence (Rukellian)
Location: Vault 14, Maintenance division (Level 4/Level 3)
======================================================

Science Skill Check (night) 75% [1d100] = 77

If only he had proper access to the mainframe! But the access codes provided by Dr. Munro were limited, with no feedback. Lawrence re-syncs the date stamps, but he will have to wait until the 00:00 system back-up to see if it all worked out properly.

======================================================

Lawrence gathers his tools and leaves the maintenance division. He passes a few people in the corridor, but he's too busy contemplating what to say to the Overseer to return their greetings. The elevator slowly transports him to the 3rd floor. Inside the cabin he is surrounded by all kinds of scraping and buzzing noises, but it's all the usual machine-born ambience, well-known to him. Outside the elevator, on Level 3, he is once again greeted by that unusual humming noise he encountered earlier. This time the vibration has a staccato quality - it stops and starts again rhythmically, with pauses inbetween, sometimes just a heartbeat, sometimes up to 3-4 seconds.

Lawrence crosses the hallway to the Overseer's office. He's just about to knock, when he hears a familiar voice: "Looks like she's out!"
Lawrence looks up and sees his boss, Alex Rokossovsky. A bespectacled man in his mid 40s.

alex rokossovsky.png (437.25 KiB) Viewed 1220 times

He's standing next to the Overseer's closed door.
"Umm... Heading out to check the plumbing?" he asks, seeing the tools in Lawrence's hands. Rokossovsky seems a bit awkward - maybe he's just not used to talking to Lawrence face to face. Usually their communication takes place via the various Pips and terminals.

[Rukellian]

Love the ambience you provided, nice touch!

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 20:??, Beginning of Night-shift
Characters: Lawrence (Rukellian)
Location: Vault 14, Maintenance division (Level 4/Level 3)
======================================================

'Pleasantries, remember, put on a smile and...' "Ah yes, good evening sir. There seems to be a blockage in part of the septic line, level 2 to be specific. I was hoping to meet with the Overseer first. I could not find any gas masks in the lockers, and I'd rather not pass out from noxious fumes while working... ha-ha! So I was going to try to place that urgent order now, instead of waiting till morning...?"Lawrence tries his best to make that laugh seem genuine, but he's not sure if he nailed it or just made himself look like a fool. He hefts his equipment for added emphasis, showing that he is indeed on-duty and following his assumed tasks.

[Fulci]

We all owe our thanks to Mark Morgan, composer of the Fallout 1 & 2 soundtracks! He also wrote the music for Planescape: Torment.

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 20:22, Beginning of Night-shift
Characters: Lawrence (Rukellian)
Location: Vault 14, Maintenance division (Level 4/Level 3)
======================================================

"No gas mask in the locker? I will order the dayshifters to do inventory tomorrow..." He punches a few buttons on his Pip-Boy, which chirps, beeps, and registers the task. "Done! All is good!" He looks at Lawrence, distracted, almost not understanding what else would the junior mechanic want. "...oh, you still need a mask. Go and ask Roman at the cafeteria for theirs. Tell him I sent you."

Roman is one of the cooks.

"And talking about noxious fumes, passing out and missing items... Have you seen Zack Lofftin around? He didn't show up for work today."

[Rukellian]

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 20:22, Beginning of Night-shift
Characters: Lawrence (Rukellian)
Location: Vault 14, Maintenance division (Level 4/Level 3)
======================================================

"Ah, good! Just dodged a bullet there... *clears throat* Thank you sir. The sooner I can take care of the blockage, the better for everyone I believe." The smile on Lawrence's face is genuine to be sure. He does not enjoy talking with the Overseer if he can help it, something about her intelligence intimidating his own. Lawrence gets the feeling, from looking at his boss, that he might feel the same way too at times.

"Zack? Eh noo, can't say I've been keeping track of him. Sorry sir. Doesn't surprise me though. Uh, if I spot him, did you want me to tell you first or... take care of his duties after I finish mine... both?" There is a level of tiredness to this statement, as if Lawrence has had to say this countless times before to a superior. He looks up from the floor to re-establish eye contact, a questioning look on his face, eyebrow slightly raised.

[Fulci]

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 20:23, Beginning of Night-shift
Characters: Lawrence (Rukellian)
Location: Vault 14, Level 3
======================================================

"Of course, of course, it's not your job to keep track of Zack. Just tell him to see me," says Alex Rokossovsky. There is tiredness in his words, but Lawrence also detects a deep and profound sadness. The Head Mechanic nods and mumbles some sort of a goodbye, then walks off in the direction of the Medical Ward.

Lawrence goes over to the kitchen & cafeteria area. It is supper time, there's quite a crowd around (which is good, there will be less people in the recreations area next to the place he'll open up the pipe system at!!). Lawrence is a bit hungry, but eating before plumbing is a big no-no... He walks up to Roman, the operator, and asks for the gas mask. Roman is a chunky, muscular guy, with a big nose. He nods (he is a man of few words), disappears into the kitchen, then returns with the requested item.
"Just don't f*ck with the headband," he warns Lawrence. "I set it for my size."

On the way out, he sees a few familiar faces - oh there they are, Quincy and Victoria, huddled up over their tray (one tray! for two people!? the Vault has plenty of trays!) at a cozy corner table...

[Rukellian]

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 20:23, Beginning of Night-shift
Characters: Lawrence (Rukellian)
Location: Vault 14, Level 3
======================================================

Lawrence nods silently to Roman. Lawrence knows a former bully when he sees one. The inner nerd within him is screaming not to f*ck up this gasmask. "T-thanks."

On the way out, he sees a few familiar faces - oh there they are, Quincy and Victoria, huddled up over their tray (one tray! for two people!? the Vault has plenty of trays!) at a cozy corner table...

*sigh* what disgustingly cute picture you've painted. Let me guess, they are feeding each other too?

"Lucky dog." Lawrence says between his teeth as he feels his fists tighten. He notices quickly enough and stops because it hurts. Exhaling deeply, he puts on that forced smile again, and carefully puts the gas mask he just obtained away with his other tools. 'Quincy is a good kid, a GOOD kid. He hasn't done anything wrong and Victoria too. I should be happy for her, she looks happy... and yet I...'

Lawrence approaches their table, but then thinks better of it and takes a seat at a nearby table close to the corner. He lays out his tools and makes it look like he is taking inventory. When they look his way by chance, he will be sure to make eye contact, wave, and smile his best.

A fleeting dark thought crosses the mechanic's mind as he looks at the lovey-dovey aura exuding from them, even if it is passively casual. 'I could just... forget, yeah forget to tell them I will be working on the septic line near the recreation area.' Lawrence frowns in disgust and looks down as he shakes away the idea. 'Victoria is a good friend, I couldn't do that to her...'

[Fulci]

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 20:23, Beginning of Night-shift
Characters: Lawrence (Rukellian)
Location: Vault 14, Level 3
======================================================

Victoria actually noticed Lawrence! She made eye contact and even smiled at him. Is that an invitation? Such an awkward, ambiguous situation...

[Rukellian]

The mechanic kindly declines the 'high quality' food, mentioning something about it not being a good idea considering what he will be doing. The next portion of the post will take place after his brief encounter with the two. If Victoria or Quincy continues to converse with Lawrence, he will respond thusly.

Shortly after leaving Quincy and Victoria...

With gas mask in tow and generous warning sent to the two lovebirds, Lawrence feels ready to tackle the task at foot tonight, the blockage in the septic line. Since it is getting close to, or at curfew time for most people now, Lawrence will take the extra few minutes to make sure no one is lingering near his work area, for their benefit of course. (pretty sure I won't need any persuasion rolls there...)

With the map printout of the trouble area in hand, it shouldn't take Lawrence too long to find the blockage in this all too familiar place. I will go off the assumption that this sort of work is all old hat for the mechanic, but that something makes this job a bit different. I will supply a repair roll.

Repair Skill Check (night) 65% [1d100] = 53 All seems to go well until...

[Fulci]

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 20:30, Night-shift
Characters: Lawrence (Rukellian)
Location: Vault 14, Level 2, corridor leading to the Community Area
======================================================

The encounter with Victoria (and Quincy) wasn't a complete disaster! Lawrence has a feeling that he walked away with dignity. Duty calls! Lawrence, mechanic extraordinaire, keeping the Vault nice and perfumed since 2093!

There were quite a few people in the Community Area, but it took no persuasion to make most of them leave the premises. Besides, the movie on screen was close to its grand finale (the pencil moustached charmer holding the curly haired beauty in his arms). Two elder Vault Dwellers stayed behind at a small table in the corner, over their chessboard (checkered in the Vault-Tec brand colors). The game's ending was not as predictable as the movie's.

Unfortunately, Roman's head is a good few sizes bigger than Lawrence's. The young mechanic faces a tough dilemma: should he "f*ck with the headband" and face possible bullying in the future, or should he risk insufficient protection right here, right now? It seems possible to tighten the straps than pull them back out to Roman's size.
The choice is yours!!

Luckily, the Vault's designers foresaw the frequent clogs. Special locks are installed at junctions, which allow to drain any section of choice. Equipped with the proper tools, the printout, his knowledge and skills, Lawrence easily isolates and dewaters the problematic pipes. He opens it up and starts looking for the blockage...

No more skill checks needed, I will continue the description after you make your decision!

piping vault2.jpg (139.84 KiB) Viewed 1188 times

[Rukellian]

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 20:30, Night-shift
Characters: Lawrence (Rukellian)
Location: Vault 14, Level 2, corridor leading to the Community Area
======================================================

..... Lawrence is doing it. He will adjust the gas mask temporarily to his size. 'If worse comes to worst, I will just have another reason to go visit the clinic. Yeah...' The mechanic is feeling pretty good right now, despite the crappy venture he is about to undertake. He has full confidence in his ability to remember how the gas mask was before he adjusts it and then switch it back just like so.

'Sorry Roman. What you don't know won't hurt you though, probably.'

[Fulci]

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 20:31, Night-shift
Characters: Lawrence (Rukellian)
Location: Vault 14, Level 2, corridor leading to the Community Area
======================================================

The adjusted mask fits well, and the filters seem to be doing their job: Lawrence can only sense the smell of sweat and rubber. Some sewage pours out right beside the bucket, but the cleaning crew will be able to take care of that later. Lawrence slowly works his way through the pipes, locates the clog, and starts "digging" with a telescopic metal rod from his toolbox ('mental note - sterilize everything afterwards!').

What he pulls out of the pipes looks like a HUGE ball of hairs at first.

Or rather, a ball of FUR. It's a dead rat.

Lawrence drops it into the bucket, suppresses vomit (yes, he was definitely right not to eat beforehand!) then extracts three more similar creatures from the pipe. They all miss a few legs or tails, and bear bitemarks on their body - though Lawrence doesn't really feel like examining the things thoroughly.

At least the plumbing problem is solved...

[Rukellian]

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 20:31, Night-shift
Characters: Lawrence (Rukellian)
Location: Vault 14, Level 2, corridor leading to the Community Area
======================================================

'Rats, partially... eaten... dead rats... what the hell?'

Lawrence is glad that the job is done, having removed the source of the blockage with relative ease, and avoiding an abrupt case of stomach sickness too; however, looking back over at the bucket as he refastens the pipeline, the sight of what he just pulled out still unnerves him.

Being that this was a straightforward operation on his part, what comes next should be standard routine now, procedural actions dictated by the manuals set forth for each division of the vault. 'Heaven forbid I should go against regulations and proper procedure now. Now what page was it on and which section of which paragraph...?' I will not pretend to know what those outlined procedures are, but I will assume it follows the general idea of taking the bucket full of crap to a designated area for removal and sanitation.
When he has finished cleaning his equipment, and carefully readjusting the gas mask to its original, uh, adjustments, Lawrence will update the Maintenance division's Terminal with the completion of the blockage removal. He will keep the message brief, but make important note about what was found in the pipes. Afterwards he will place that order request for large sharpies and deliver a cleaned up, and 'totally not tampered' gas mask back to Roman.

Before I actually type out the terminal message, I would like to know how 'strange' this occurrence would be rated. Are rats generally bred in the vault for medicinal, research-related purposes? If not, those in charge will surely want to know why some were found. If it is commonplace, those in charge would probably still want to know that their lab rats are being eaten and stuffed down toilets. Depending on what my character knows of vault-life and any potential connection to rats, the message written will vary.

[Fulci]

Before I actually type out the terminal message, I would like to know how 'strange' this occurrence would be rated. Are rats generally bred in the vault for medicinal, research-related purposes? If not, those in charge will surely want to know why some were found. If it is commonplace, those in charge would probably still want to know that their lab rats are being eaten and stuffed down toilets. Depending on what my character knows of vault-life and any potential connection to rats, the message written will vary.

To Lawrence's knowledge, there are no lab rats in the Vault.
Rats occur in the ventilation systems (who knows how they get there! But these vermin are sneakier than Zack!) and from there sometimes spread to other parts of the vault. Generally, they keep out of the way. Sometimes they are found in the stockroom, hiding behind the shelves (not in the kitchen, though - the rodents seem to prefer chewing on crates and cables to eating the jellies and soylents).

So, yes, file under 'strange'!

[Rukellian]

Vault-Tec Systems - Facility 14 Termlink
======================================================
<User Login- Lawrence>
======================================================

ENTRY 3/6/2117 - 20:??

TO: [Alex Rokossovsky [OVERSEER#]]

---BLOCKAGE REPORT:
The blockage in septic line 72 4b has been removed. All systems involved were functioning normally, no apparent signs of external or internal damage found within pipe's infrastructure, from what I could see. The blockage in question was attributed to the presence of 'half-bitten' rats, dead.

The rats in question have been sent through proper channels as per regulations in the Vault-Tech Rules and Regulations Manual.

---OBSERVATION, STRANGE
I did not get a good look at the rats, nor do I think was it my duty to do so at the time. For that, I leave such observations to those responsible for their disposal. However, it struck me as quite strange to see them in such a state, found in such a place too I might add. If left unchecked, this might cause more problems for us in the future, more mechanical failures to fix.

[Rukellian]

Would you like for me to wait on a response, or can I continue Lawrence's night shift duties?