MILLION CREDIT COMM JOB

[atpollard]

Y2156.11.7 : 2250 - Arctic Complex

The team was reunited at the Arctic Complex to rummage through the storage rooms and the VET Crawler for Med supplies to knock out a Great Wolverine. You were able to locate enough Human pain-killers to sedate it for a while [probably] … this was to some degree “out of the box” work for everyone in the team. The VET Crawler did turn up one item of some surprise. Packed in the box with the Signal Flare Gun were two flares, two colored smoke rounds … not a surprise … and one “gas” round designed to incapacitate people during riot control. Speculation ran that the VET Security Officer snuck it aboard as his personal “ace in the hole” for just the sort of attack that they seem to have suffered [against a pack of predators]. Range was not going to be long and accuracy would be poor - but it would fill a cave with incapacitating gas quickly and it would persist longer than in the open.

Looks like YOU found an “Ace in the hole” for a backup - at least, those with full Vacc Suits and Helmets.

It had been 16 hours since 0700 (when most of you started this day) and it would be another 25-30 minutes to drive and hike back to the cave.
Do you stop for 8 hours sleep and charge in fresh or push on tonight?

Any special plans, or just walk up and toss the drugged food to "Momma"?

[Thumper]

Would make sense to get some a night’s sleep then go feed mamma Wolverine to tryptophan.

[Eris]

Would make sense to get some a night’s sleep then go feed mamma Wolverine to tryptophan.

Sleep, but we need to do it in shifts and remember time is also our enemy here. If we can get by on 4 or 6 hours, even if we're a little tired, that might be worth it.

[Hvalreki]

Herbie

"Well we do have a Field Medical kit. That's usually enough supplies for a company aid station for a month. DJ has a medikit as well. We could probably rig up a long nap for momma but gosh we gotta make sure the babies don't eat any or they may never wake up!

If the gas round would work maybe we don't need the tranqs? I'm ready to drop though, me and Mick just humped all the way out and back. I'm knackered and need to sleep. I'm not a big fan of stims neither since that one time in basic."

He shudders remembering the "crawlies" and near psychosis after a week of nearly no sleep and too many dexies.

[Thumper]

Mick:
Good thinking Herbie. We don't want to overdose the little ones, or underdose mamma. Is the gas grenade any safer?

[atpollard]

2156.11.8.0600 - 9 km north of Arctic Complex

Y2156.11.7: 2300 - Group beds down in Building 1 for the night [6 hours sleep].
Y2156.11.8: 0500 - Group wakes up and prepares meat/tranq as backup to the Gas round and injections as a backup to the meat/tranq.
Y2156.11.8: 0530 - Arrive at “Abandoned Campsite” 8 km from Arctic Complex and 1 km from Smokey Crevice.

It is 6 AM … 4 hours before sunrise … and the group is standing just outside the cave entrance. A shimmer from the warm, humid air freezing as it mixes with the super cold Arctic air above the crevice creates patterns of distortion in your vision enhancement goggles that are probably beautiful in the sunlight. Ice crystals grow like magic crystal flowers along the rim. The cave is quiet.

Marching order and plan?

[Thumper]

Mick:
I’m thinking the gas grenade will be time and volume limited as the rising warm air will lift the gas up out of the crevice. It won’t linger like it would in still air. So to have a good effect, we either need to get down in the lair entrance, the mouth of L1 and lob the grenade into L3, the Wolverine lair…risking mammas wrath and potentially coming quickly into contact with the crab-alien whatever. Two, we could try to find just the right angle lob the grenade from the top lip. Three, we use small quantities of the meat to lure the mamma and babies to the mouth then execute plan one or two.

A fourth alternative could be to meat tranq the babies with just a little bit, once they’re out, drop the heavily laced stuff for mamma, and save the tranq grenade for the crab.

No matter how we do this, seeing mamma bear’s reaction to the crab-creature, it’s a predator held at check by mamma-bear’s brute force. We have to protect the wolverines once they’re down. If we start by going into the crevice, we’ll still need a team of shooters up top for overwatch of humans and wolverines.

Thoughts?

[Hvalreki]

Mick:
Thoughts?

Herbie

I think we post a sniper in an OP above the crevasse who can drop the meat first and then the gas. The OP can direct the assault element when it's clear to move in after the gas has done its job, with a backup of injectables handy just in case. Could we rig up something to shoot a dose of tranq rather than a syringe? We don't want to get too close to mama if we can avoid it.

I have the vaccsuit we bought and the rebreather, but I'm not sure who else brought what.

[atpollard]

Y2156.11.08:0610 - Smokey Crevice 9 km north of Arctic Complex

The sniper dropped the meat and the babies came to investigate. They sniffed it and seemed a bit more hesitant to eat. Momma showed up, offered a look around and a menacing growl at the ledge, then sniffed the meat and called the cubs off. They seemed reluctant … torn between hesitation and a desire to eat. A sharp growl from momma and they backed away from the meat.

From the vantage point, the Wolverines were clustered together below [L1]. There would never be a better gas shot for both the wolverines and “whatever” was on the ledge [L2] than that moment. You took the shot, placing the gas just behind the wolverines blocking the path to [L3]. The heavier-than-air gas expanded with a purple cloud, probably a dye for police crowd control, that quickly filled [L1], [L2] and [L3] before slowly creeping up the slope towards [L0].

The Wolverines managed only a few steps before collapsing to the ground. Then the lead assault team headed into the crevice.

[WHO?]

The Crevice.jpg (202.45 KiB) Viewed 110 times

[atpollard]

Y2156.11.08:0620 - Smokey Crevice 9 km north of Arctic Complex

Inside the cave, the wolverines were unconscious and the Radio Direction Finder indicated the signal was coming from the ledge [L2]. The air was warmer and moister than outside with a the warmer (near 10 C) air rising from the deepest part of the cave.

Cave.jpg (208.29 KiB) Viewed 110 times

[shooting not possible, injection only] ... So, Tranq (inject) the wolverines first or head to the ledge first?

[Thumper]

Wearing his body pressure suit with the hood up to keep from breathing gas, Mick steps forward into the chasm…the Tri-barrel at ready. He motions for (someone) to go inject the wolverines while he leads to the ledge. H’ell ask the person at the top OP to reposition to be able to snipe into the ledge.

He’ll move slowly in case the gas was ineffective against this creature. In which case, Hh would expect this creature to come out to predate upon the in-moving wolverines.

Approaching the ledge he’ll cock all 3 barrels…knowing that the combined shot will HURT, but…

[shaidar]

DJ

DJ also wears a BPS like Mick. He follows the others, operating the direction finder to home in on the signal. He looks around nervously, hands never to far from his weapons.

[Eris]

Joe is staying at the Artic Complex. Someone has to do that to make sure someone doesn't swoop in and take over. He'll be on the roof in communication with the others, though.

[Hvalreki]

Herbie

Hands shaking, Herbie checks momma and the cubs to make sure they are still breathing. He checks the dose again against the estimated weight of the huge creature. He doesn't want to hurt her but can't afford to have the gas wear off early. He focuses his breathing like the doc back in basic taught him and his hand steadies. Resolute, he injects Momma first down to the big X he marked on the syringe, saving 2 smaller doses for the cubs.

"Ok Mick, that should give us about 2 hrs by weight so I say set an hour timer and make sure we're gone by then. Between the gas and the tranq they should be out a while past that, but animals aren't people so let's not push our luck."

[atpollard]

Y2156.11.08:0630 - Smokey Crevice 9 km north of Arctic Complex




Mick scanned for trouble as Herbie administered the shots. The colored gas didn’t block the sensors, but the density and movement gave everything a slightly ‘eerie’ appearance. Nothing was as clear and crisp as normal and even rock walls gave an appearance of moving. Still … the sleeping Wolverines were the only visible heat sources (although the view up on the ledge [L2] wasn’t good from the floor [L1]).

DJ worked his COMM skills and determined with 100% certainty that the source of the transmission was from up on the ledge [L2] but even pacing the length of [L1] to attempt a triangulation, the signal was too weak and distorted by the rock to accurately fix an exact position.

As Herbie gave the “all clear” on the wolverines, Mick climbed the ladder-steep slope up to the ledge. INSECTS! Well, sort of. If an insect was made of glass and between a third and half a meter long … then these would be insects.

[atpollard]

Crystal Reducer.jpg (159.81 KiB) Viewed 57 times

The bad news was they seemed immune to the Gas. They were skittering around like everything was normal.

The good news was they seemed completely indifferent to your presence. Mick held the Tri-barrel at the ready … but there were a lot more than three of them. DJ arrived a moment later and could pinpoint the exact location of the COMM unit. However, in this case the old Mk 1 eyeball was more useful.

What was probably once a man lay slumped against a far wall next to a comm unit and a large equipment storage box. “Man“ was more guess than observation. All of the soft tissue was gone. All of the cloth was gone. The metal fasteners were still in place over the skeletal remains. The synthetic soles of the boots and some synthetic parts of a face mask remained. The carbon-filter from inside the rebreather was gone.

Looking at the COMM unit, all of the metal and silicon circuits and parts were still intact and functioning, but the plastic case that enclosed it was gone.

Then there was that large box. The padded cover was missing, but you could see the straps and rivets that had once attached it. There were metal clasps fastening shut a thick molded case of plastic-ceramic composite.

The “creatures” ignored you, but were focused on the case. As you watched, the long legs would secrete a small quantity of some liquid on the case. The composite shell would form a blister and the creature would suck up some liquid. Small solid flakes would fall off. This process was repeated with slow but methodical precision. Inch by inch over the surface.

DJ noted that the case was large enough to hold the missing part.

Mick approached one of a score of the creatures around the cave. At first it did nothing. Mick poked it with the barrel and it backed off, scuttling away.

This was not the behavior of a predator, but of a scavenger … and a timid scavenger at that. Still, whatever it was, it spit flesh dissolving acids. Caution was definitely the word for the day.

[OOC: The Traveller term is “reducer” … the bottom of the food pyramid … like the maggots and bacteria on earth that help things to decompose.]

[Thumper]

Mick:
Bloody Hell! These … creatures … are giant decomposers. Microbiology turned macro. About 20 of them the size of dogs. Like dog-sized Silverfish. Ya poke ‘em and they move away. No signs of aggression, but best be careful. So far, timid. Don’t know if they get provoked by somethin’.

Herbie, DJ, if I stand watch in case these things spooked; do you think you could retrieve the case and box over there? Pull them back behind me and take a look inside?

[shaidar]

DJ

"I aint so sure I should get that close. If the acid damages my hands then I won't able to fix the comms. I'm no animal expert, but I reckon they won't like their food being took. Do we have anything more tasty we could distract them with?"

[Thumper]

Mick:
Ya, your right.

Look, bones are left. As is metal and synthetics. Gone is composite fiber and anything carbon based. Is it the carbon they are feeding upon?

Herbie? Ya got anymore food you can throw over in the corner to draw them away? Give them something more enticing to feed on?

DJ, if you reach into my backpack, there's a grappling hook and launcher inside. The rope is a nylon synthetic. Maybe we can use that to pull the case to a position where we can peer into and, if we want it, possibly remove whatever is inside?

[shaidar]

DJ

Will do, Mick."

He moves slowly to retrieve the grapple, then waits for the food distraction to see how effective that is. If it seems to be doing the job he will try to grapple the case.