Here's the new map. I suggest just downloading it to look at it, since it is now massive and ugly but functional. There are little notes on all the hexes that have been explored, if they have anything in them, at least.
http://i.imgur.com/KwB8x4I.png(note, this is up to date with the last post, not this one)
Taem Bue
"It's time for a bit of a break guys. Tell the cameras your thoughts about this weird shit and have something to eat and drink if you want while you rest. We'll get moving again in 20 minutes."
Find a good spot away from the distortion and take a break. Check the map for how far we've mapped in this zone and have a guess at what general shape the distortion might have. See if I can see anything weird in the distortion from here too.
You sit down and look at the map. It's hard to tell exactly what the shape of the distortion is since you've really only mapped one edge of it. But it seems have a fairly straight edge, not a gradient or a wavering line. You can't see anything weird about the distortion from here; at least nothing beyond the line of hovering rocks.
Flint Westwood - Blue squad - Sector 3
((I've got to agree with Sean on that one. I have given him a background that justifies a bit of science knowledge so that it seems OK in character to say some things, like the time-gravity correlation, but making a small speech about conflicting hypotheses about alien anomalies seems a bit too much. Plus, it would feel like cheating. EDIT: And just so that there are no misunderstandings, I'm not saying that people speaking without speech skill are cheating. I'm saying that *I* would feel like *I'm* cheating myself, if that makes sense.
And, speech and charisma aren't useless. I would have never gotten that child drunk enough to sleep if it weren't for my charisma skill.))
"Kinglet 1 is in the air, I repeat, Kinglet 1 is in the air. Fly my pretties! Fly!" *evil witch laughter*
Throw some rocks sideways, so that they pass through both zones and see what happens (at least one going from the fast to the slow one, one going from the slow to the fast one and one hitting the boundary right in the middle). Send the drone to explore the fast zone. If the drone finishes up very quickly (or gets destroyed) move on to the normal zone and send a drone to explore that one too. EDIT2: Rest with Bishop while waiting for the second drone to finish.
You test the zones some more with your pebbles. The one from the fast zone to the slow zone hits the slowzone like a bullet into a brick wall, but doesn't show any signs of damage. The one from the slow into the fast...well it hasn't reached the fast yet.
Attempts to map the fast zone only result in you going from 4 drones to 3. The way it is destroyed is quite odd. It all works fine till the first thruster gets in, at which point it tears itself in half along the edge of the zone. But the momentum of the piece outside the zone continues to carry it into the zone for it to be torn apart again. The result is a drone that looks like it went through a meat slicing machine ending up in a heap on the ground inside the fast zone. Ok.
The normal area goes just fine, though you only send the drone a few feet in and back, just to make sure.
Vich: Team Blue
((And from mine side, to make it clear, I was giving advice to Parisbre on how to roleplay Flint. I didn't mean to antagonize Pyrodesu (if I did), I was just using it as an example. The thing is, I'm all for having the stats reflect your character's strengths and behaviors, but I'm just saying that it's okay if they don't, especially if it's not somebody trying to meta-game, but simply change his roleplaying focus a bit in the middle.
I now declare this conversation closed! (Like that ever works...)
Did we map out the anomaly from both sides or only one?))
"The amount it is slowed by doesn't really make sense here. I've tried to determine by how much the time is slowed, and the rock and the laser data just don't match. The rocks we throw take about half an hour to go in, and the laser takes less than a second. I didn't think much of it at first, but if you do the math, if the rock is reduced by as much as the light has to be reduced to go that slow, it should take decades to travel that distance, not half-an-hour. Sorry if I'm not making much sense. It doesn't make much sense to me either, so it's a bit hard to explain. We might want to research what could be causing this when we get back.
Wait, Flint... WHAT?! Are you drunk or something?! Do you need a therapy? Or is it some elaborate joke I did not get? I haven't really socialized much since I lost my vision and until I got here, so I may be a little off. But....WHAT??"
Only one side has been mapped out. What you see on the map is more the "boundary edge" of it. You know it starts in that area, but it's not clear where it ends.
Zephyris Haizea - Team Blue - Sector 3
To Team: "Uhh..guys? I think I found a zone that seems rather normal. As in not incredible slow or fast."
Try to mark the ground before the normal-speed-area in any way like drawling lines in the sand or laying out elaborate patterns with rocks or whatever. Then go join Bishop and take a break. Write down our findings on my datapad while eating/drinking.
You mark down the edge of the normal zone and go sit down with bishop and have a snack. You make sure to send a log of your observations back to base.
Tum Gern((I try not to make Lars make too many logical leaps, given his 0 int, but I do sneak in a bit. I rationalize his use of grandiose speech and big words through his background in public speaking.))
Lars held up his hand. "Team, let us take a break. This circuit shouldn't be too hard, but we shall take a twenty minute break, rest ourselves, and have a snack. If you wish to test anything while you are here, feel free. Please stay out of the danger, though."
Lars sits down and grabs a bit of a snack. "May Steve bless our journey."
Rest for twenty minutes, then back to the path marking.
You sit down on a nice large rock outside of the radiation zone and have a snack. Your mind is filled with thoughts of nothing in particular.
Rest, and examine the anomaly with weirdvision again.
You sit down with Lars and take a look out at the zone with your faceplate up. You can see something quite bright glowing in near the center. Hard to tell what it is from this distance, but the math seems to be related to radiation and electricity, though you can only vaguely recognize it.
Rest abit and have a bit of food then follow lars again.
You snack with lars and rest your feet. You've probably walked 12 miles already. It's far more then you're used to walking.
Permission to futz with a drone sir?
I think i might be able to program the drone to fly directly above the center of the anomaly and record some images of whatever is there from a safe altitude above the radiation... the resolution is likely to be a bit iffy due to the necessary magnification but with a little enhancement we should get an idea of whats there.
write a new set of commands for the mapping drone telling it to fly over the radiation bubble and take sensor readings of whatever is there from several different magnifications before returning directly to its starting position.
If lars gives me permission, launch the drone and start writing a program that will enhance the resolution of any imagery and lidar data that the the drone returns with.
Problem: Drone doesn't have radiation monitoring sensors, so it doesn't know how high the "bubble" goes.
Also, you can't just use a program to make the cameras focus at a higher resolution. That would be a hardware upgrade.
Their feet rested and their thirst quenched, the team continues navigating around the radiation zone, mapping and marking as they do. They get another 3-4 miles marked out.
Tem Rud
Send following to the other teams:
Remember, we're only doing a quick reconnaissance run. We will send follow-up teams after we have an idea of what's out there, so keep going and mark anything you find on the map.
Rest for half an hour, drink something, then keep going along the path toward hex 7.
Team Red - Lukas
Keep following Miyamoto
Team Red- Denzel
Follow the team.
Follow team
After a bit of rest and food for those of the team who are still human and require such things, the team sets off again, walking along the edge of the flatzone toward Zone 7, mapping as they go. They reach the border of zone 7 and are somewhat surprised to find nothing acutely abnormal. The topology of zone 7 is quiet different, filled with sharp, tall rock spires, pits and odd angular formations of balanced stones, but it all looks natural enough, if odd, from the outskirts.
Team Safe and TinyDid nothing this turn.
How you guys liking your autonomy so far? Having fun?
Author
Topic: Einsteinian Roulette (Original Thread: Rules, Armory, Misson archive 1-11) (Read 3946120 times)