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[Parisbre56]

Flint Westwood - Blue squad - Sector 3

((That's why I should have waited for my suit. Now I don't have a laser to fire in the "stop" anomaly. Oh wait, but I do have a drone.))

"Let's see if I can get this damn thing to work." said Flint while shaking the drone and giving it a few light strokes.

See if I can activate the drone while it's in my hands and check the distance its laser rangefinder says while looking inside the zone. If the light is taking too long to return, just leave the drone there propped up in some stones (hopefully the laser pulse will have returned by the time we return to base). Continue mapping.

[Sean Mirrsen]

You wait outside the infirmary door, Bishop's supplies in hand, ready to seal the hole just as soon as someone, ANYONE, reaching their goddamn hand in and gets out that hot potato.

((Um, Anton is supposed to chuck out the hot potato. We're assuming that we'd need a much longer hand than a human's, and any battlesuit/exosuit/large robot arms would aggravate the hole to the point of it being too hard to repair. The plan is for him to open the door when the area depressurizes so as not to lose any atmosphere, chuck the radioactive thing out - through the hole it made breaking in - as quickly as possible, and start patching up the hole.))

[Thearpox]

((A simple flashlight would work as well. Something really pisses me off about using mainly using heavy mining suits as flashlights. So overkill.))

"Remind me again why we're using lasers when we have our suit's lamps to do that?"

Activate suit lamps into the stop anomaly. If the light stops, make a graffiti made out of light on the anomaly "wall". If making a graffiti that way doesn't work, spraypaint it on the anomaly "wall". Then continue exploring.

[Parisbre56]

"Remind me again why we're using lasers when we have our suit's lamps to do that?"

"And what if light takes a day to return? Would you be willing to wait here for a day? Wouldn't it be simpler to simply fire a laser or leave a drone and then return to see whether or not the ground boiled or the drone got a reading? That way, we both save time and determine if things stop or just move incredibly slowly, like that guy who couldn't overtake the turtle."

((Also, Sean, no reason to get crispy. Let the giant death robot handle it. We can spare the metal. We cannot spare the men.))

[Sean Mirrsen]

((Also, Sean, no reason to get crispy. Let the giant death robot handle it. We can spare the metal. We cannot spare the men.))

((True enough, but doing that is the whole reason Anton's still in Flint's exosuit. Extra radiation shielding, so that it can be disposed of from the inside. If he wanted the thing gone quicker, he could've punched a hole through from the outside and be done with it, but aside from lakes of molten iron we aren't exactly swimming in repair supplies.))

[Parisbre56]

  ((@Sean: Can you at least please consider just throwing the thing out the hole and then let Lukas bury it somewhere?))

((Hey, look. I made another one of those things. This time we witness Paris' futile attempt to simulate realistic human relations.))

"So, where were we? Ah, yes, I had just finished telling you about how a bunch of lunatics led by a psychopath had made a mini-coup on their planet, stole a few military ships and went off to colonize a worthless arid barren rock."

Spoiler: Flint's Backstory 2: Lineage and Religion (click to show/hide)

"So right now you're probably wondering 'Wow, Flint! And how could a man as good, as smart and as handsome as you come into being in a hole full of idiots like that?' Well, you see, not all of them were religious fanatics willing to give their life for their prophet. Some of them (the megacorps and the ones closer to the Robopope) were in it for the power or the money or whatever crazyness drived the people in power there. Some of them went there because it was their only way out of the overpopulated hellhole Home of Faith had become. And some of them, like my grandparents, were there to escape from their troubles and start over. You see, my grandfather, Ben Westwood, was an engineer and a darn good one. While most people boarding the transports were either volunteers or people who had no other choice except stay back and beg for food, Ben and his wife Elizabeth were paid proffessionals.
And why did a man like Ben went from one hellhole to a worst one? Because Lizzy was under investigation from the inquisitors for conducting illigal genetic modification experiments and Ben was seeking a way out. The new goverment needed people that would maintain the ships and help build the infrastracture of the planet and they paid good money for it. So, in order to save his family, my grandfather agreed to work for them. Of course inflation made the money worthless within the first few months of work but Ben wasn't in it for that. He was given a large part of desert where he was to construct desert farms to feed the populace. And food and energy was more precious than any other resource in the early days.
And so the days went by, and soon my father, Adam, was born. He never really talked about grandfather much. Hell, the damned idiot never really talked about anything. From what I gathered, he and his father never really got along. My grandparents died like anyone else of the first settlers. Grandmother from cancer, grandfather from an accident while working in the farms. And then my father got married to Anna, my mother. He had three sons, Auer, Steel and me, Flint.
My mother died soon after my birth. I never really got to know her, I just have fragments of memory, no, less than that, a memory of a memory of her. From what my brothers told me, she was an angel, beautiful, sweet and kind. That's why I always wondered how she could possibly stand living with a dick like my father. Don't look at me like that. The guy WAS a dick, to everyone but especially to me. I don't know if he was like that before my mother died, but all of my memories of him are with a drink in hand, beating me up and telling me how much of a useless stupid brat I am.
I wasn't good with machines, I wasn't good with plants. All I wanted was to go to school so that I could leave this nightmare and go live in the city. But he always said that school was a waste of time. The happiest days of my life were the Sundays, when we would go to the Blessed Springs village for our compulsory mass attendance in the church there, where we learnt of how 'Jeebus killed the altered, demons born out of man's sin and arrogance' and other such crap. I enjoyed seeing the people coming and going, imagining all the interesting stories that led them here, seeing all those new gadgets the traders brought, begging for sweets near in the bakery... But the most interesting things were the things the other children told me, the things that they had learned at school. Sure the the answer to all questions starting with 'Who invented/discovered...' always had 'Jeebus Christ' as the answer, but they also learnt a learnt a lot of useful, fun and interesting things like what pi is or how capacitors work. It still depresses me to think about those days. I remember praying to Jeebus so that he would come save me. Heh. I guess all children need an imaginary friend. But before long, I realised that nobody would help me. If I wanted things to change, if I wanted to make the world a better place, I had to make the change myself, because nobody else cared."

"That's enough for today I think. Next time I'll tell you the story of what I think was the day that shaped my future and set me on the path that led me to where I am today."

Spoiler: Desert Farms (click to show/hide)

A combination of moisture extraction equipment, nitrification equipment, solar farms and nearly air tight biospheres. Most of the work is automated, reducing human needs to maintanence and the occasional pesticide and harvest. Genetically modified crops are used to ensure maximum efficiency. Some animls may also be raised, however the high maintenence cost means that only the rich can afford them. Robotic "horses", automated quadruped freight carriers of many sizes are used to carry equipment and people in the farm and in the dunes.

Jeebus killing some sinners and mutants. Recovered from one of the ancient holy RAID harddrives by the University of Truthology of Home of Faith. ((Incidentally, also the way I imagine experienced amp users like Jim fight.))

[Unholy_Pariah]

stick close to lars, pray no-one gets hurt now that my primitive medkit is nothing more than ash.

((Are sample containers radiation proof?))

[Sean Mirrsen]

  ((@Sean: Can you at least please consider just throwing the thing out the hole and then let Lukas bury it somewhere?))

((Uh, well -

((Um, Anton is supposed to chuck out the hot potato. We're assuming that we'd need a much longer hand than a human's, and any battlesuit/exosuit/large robot arms would aggravate the hole to the point of it being too hard to repair. The plan is for him to open the door when the area depressurizes so as not to lose any atmosphere, chuck the radioactive thing out - through the hole it made breaking in - as quickly as possible, and start patching up the hole.))

- sure?))

[Zako]

"Well, that doesn't look healthy to go in. Let's keep moving, there's a lot more planet to map out yet."

Keep mapping this rock out, and keep updating my map with new information and sending it back to base every now and then.

[kisame12794]

"Well, the lice weigh around three tons, are made mostly of silicon and carbon, and they eat rock. Now, I need to go. Don't follow me."

Hand Lars my gun, and run away from the group. When I can no longer see the group, look for the figures again.

[Toaster]

Lars blinked.  "Wait, what?  Where are you... going?"  He sighed.  "May Pathmas be in his favor..."

[Sean Mirrsen]

((Just in case it's not obvious, Anton is still poised to do what was planned.))

Proceed with the plan, for fury's sake. Make sure there's nobody in the corridor, make sure the repair equipment and supplies are ready, and order ALVIN to open the shutter. Shout a warning to the people outside to get clear. Approach the radioactive thingy, as long as the overpenetrating radiation doesn't reach instantly deadly levels, and jam it out through the hole in the wall, followed by all the lesser fragments that are inside. Begin the repairs as soon as the radioactive rock is out.

[Radio Controlled]

Help Anton out with getting that thing out of our base. Using Gilgamesh of course.

((I'm afraid prosperus won't be here to help us in time. so I'll just try to lend a hand.))

"Once we get this out of here, We're going to keep it away from the base from the time being. Once it's gone, we'll be on our way again while base team does repairs. Then they can try to find a better storage place for it."

[piecewise]

Happy One year Anniversary everybody! One full year of...whatever it is we do here.

Team Blue:

"Well, that doesn't look healthy to go in. Let's keep moving, there's a lot more planet to map out yet."

Keep mapping this rock out, and keep updating my map with new information and sending it back to base every now and then.

You map out a few more miles but find that the effects of this zone form a sort of wall across it. Well, at least they seem to; that normal speed zone may be the hole in the wall you need.

Flint Westwood - Blue squad - Sector 3

((That's why I should have waited for my suit. Now I don't have a laser to fire in the "stop" anomaly. Oh wait, but I do have a drone.))

"Let's see if I can get this damn thing to work." said Flint while shaking the drone and giving it a few light strokes.

See if I can activate the drone while it's in my hands and check the distance its laser rangefinder says while looking inside the zone. If the light is taking too long to return, just leave the drone there propped up in some stones (hopefully the laser pulse will have returned by the time we return to base). Continue mapping.

You think that Vich and his spraypaint have this handled. You help Bishop in his mapping.

((A simple flashlight would work as well. Something really pisses me off about using mainly using heavy mining suits as flashlights. So overkill.))

"Remind me again why we're using lasers when we have our suit's lamps to do that?"

Activate suit lamps into the stop anomaly. If the light stops, make a graffiti made out of light on the anomaly "wall". If making a graffiti that way doesn't work, spraypaint it on the anomaly "wall". Then continue exploring.

You use a combination of your lamps and spraypaint to mark the anomaly, both discovering that it indeed does appear to be a completely "stopped" area and also marking it with a nice big spraypainted "X" every few feet.

Team Green:

stick close to lars, pray no-one gets hurt now that my primitive medkit is nothing more than ash.

((Are sample containers radiation proof?))

(They are to a degree, although it's not perfect. Also there are some that are more insulated then others; there are all sorts of sample containers in the vault.)

"Well, the lice weigh around three tons, are made mostly of silicon and carbon, and they eat rock. Now, I need to go. Don't follow me."

Hand Lars my gun, and run away from the group. When I can no longer see the group, look for the figures again.

You hand off your gun and run away from the group. When you're a mile or so away  and the group is out of sight, you look for the figures again. They're there, in the cracks of the rock, closer, more numerous then before. Your head is starting to hurt.


Team Base (With help from team red)

Help Anton out with getting that thing out of our base. Using Gilgamesh of course.

((I'm afraid prosperus won't be here to help us in time. so I'll just try to lend a hand.))

"Once we get this out of here, We're going to keep it away from the base from the time being. Once it's gone, we'll be on our way again while base team does repairs. Then they can try to find a better storage place for it."

((Just in case it's not obvious, Anton is still poised to do what was planned.))

Proceed with the plan, for fury's sake. Make sure there's nobody in the corridor, make sure the repair equipment and supplies are ready, and order ALVIN to open the shutter. Shout a warning to the people outside to get clear. Approach the radioactive thingy, as long as the overpenetrating radiation doesn't reach instantly deadly levels, and jam it out through the hole in the wall, followed by all the lesser fragments that are inside. Begin the repairs as soon as the radioactive rock is out.

Anton waits as the shutters near the infirmary close and then the infirmary door opens, venting atmosphere into the ruptured infirmary umbilical. The Suit's radiation monitor beeps as minor amounts of radiation begin leaking through the suit; Nothing dangerous so far, but not the sort of thing you want to stand around in for too long. The Hot potato itself is an irregular lump of brightly glowing material, vaguely crystalline with sharp edges and points where it fractured off from a larger whole. It's surrounded by a dozen more of those beads, as well as chunks of black stone with beads embedded in them.

Anton walks slowly over to the thing, ignoring the quickly increasing radiation levels, and sweeps it up off the ground in both hands. St. Elmo's fire arcs off his arms and surrounds his body, crackling and arcing from him to the walls of the umbilical. His suit is throwing up massive amounts of warnings, screaming about disproportionate levels of radiation. His monitor is distorting so badly that it's hard to find the hole and hand the object off to Miyamoto, but he manages after a few terrified seconds of blind groping. Miyamoto takes the thing in both hands of the battlesuit, closing it's hands around it, trying to keep the radiation contained as much as possible. He activates his rockets and burns off to the edge of the home zone, near zone 6, and leaves the thing there.

Anton seals the inner side of the umbilical, welding a metal plate in place. He leaves the Umbilical and seals it behind him and is just about to head out side and finish the repairs when he drops his welding torch. He bends down to pick it up and finds himself unable to. His hands are moving slowly, awkwardly, and are completely numb. He feels a little bit ill otherwise, but mostly fine.

[Tavik Toth]

((Uh oh. Radioation poisioning!))

Wait for others to start walking.

"Can we move on now?"