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[Rtyh-C]

Without the orbit part, this is a bit like DF...

Well, this is my first suggestion game on Bay12 Forums. Actually, the first one I made anywhere... anyway, let's move on... hope some people will have a bit of fun.

You wake up inside a spaceship. You don't know how you got there, or where exactly you are. Come to think about it, you don't really know who you are. You see some people around you, probably spaceship crew. Unconsciously, you somehow know you're the captain.

You have a look around the ship. This is how it looks like.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

On the right of the ship there is a room with a nice panoramic view. To the front of the ship there is a panel with some buttons (I drew them all). There's also a screen. On the left are rooms which look like sleeping quarters and toilets. In the back of the ship (the 'fat' part) you find food and water. No booze, unfortunately.

The ship also seems to continue far to the back, but there seems to be no way to get there, and it sure seems dangerous to try to break that wall.

Through the windows you see a planet. You're in orbit around it. You mostly see brown areas and clouds. It has a blue atmosphere.

You look at the screen on the panel. It says:

Height: 350 km
Stocks: 3 months of food, 1 month of water
Energy: 98% (2 weeks remaining)
Fuel: 80%
Remote controlled probes: 5 airplanes, 10 landers

While staring at the numbers, you suddenly hear a low, robotic voice:

What are you doing there?

What do you do?

[LordBucket]

Respond, "Checking ship status. Why?"

[Rtyh-C]

You respond to the voice.

Voice: I just wanted to know if I could help you with anything. I am your onboard computer. If you need help, just ask.
You are somewhat relieved.

What do you do?

[cerapa]

I assume you arent using the darkling theme? Cause I cant see black text.

Ask the computer: Who am I? Where am I? And why am I here?

[LordBucket]

Voice: I just wanted to know if I could help you with anything.

Ask for a full mission and status report.

[Rtyh-C]

I assume you arent using the darkling theme? Cause I cant see black text.

Uh, yeah. Hope it's fixed now.

You: Who am I?
Computer: The captain of this ship.
You: Where am I?
Computer: In a spaceship, in orbit around planet 16AC.
You: It doesn't sound familiar. Why am I here?
Computer: To complete your mission.
You: Give me a full mission and status report.
Computer: Status nominal. In orbit around 16AC, 350 km high.
Mission: Potential intelligent life found on planet. Investigate, and try to make contact with anything that is there.

What do you do?

[LordBucket]

What not to do:
Announce that contact has already been made because we're an alien from the surface and while investigating the ship we've apparently assumed bodily control of the captain. Sorry. Simple mistake. But, hello strange bipeds. Interesting bodies you have.

What to do:
1) Since the mission details state that potential life has already been found, request details on the findings that prompted this mission to happen. What "potentials" were found? Irregular EM emissions? Telescope observations of space vessels?

2) Use shipboard scanners to look for notable EM sources. Radio transmissions, planetary shields, campfires, city lights, etc.

3) Launch four of the five remote flyers to scout the surface for likely places to investigate further. Obvious settlements, any of the above mentioned in #2, etc.

4) Give a few words of encouragement to the crew. Talk about how exciting this is, and how much faith we have in their abilities. That kind of thing.

5) Observe the crew during these words of encouragement. Who, how many, what do they look like, and what do their faces/emotional states suggest?

[Rtyh-C]

You: Why am I on this mission in the first place? What exactly did you discover that made you think there was life here?
Ship: In reality, there are no concrete signs. Our civilization's scan detected O2 and H2O. The above mentioned substances are possible indicators of life.
You: Huh.
[awkward silence]
You: Try to find any notable electromagnetic sources.

Computer: Starting up EM scan across the whole spectrum...
Scan complete. Results:
Radio sources: None detected.
Microwave sources: None detected.
Infrared sources: Small, static sources detected on planet surface.
Visible light sources: Small, reflective objects found.
UV sources: Small, moving sources detected.
X-Ray and gamma ray sources: None detected.

You: tl;dr

Ship: Potential intelligent life detected.
You: OK. Launch four remote fliers and look for any signs of important life.

Ship: Deploying 4 RC atmospheric vehicles...
Deorbiting probes...
Probes reentering atmosphere...
Probes deploying wings; starting engines...
4/4 probes status nominal and flying.
Remote mission statement: Attempt detection of life.
...
Tree-like objects detected.
Flying creatures detected.
An area resembling a village detected.
...
Probes out of fuel; initiating emergency probe landing...

You: Great, there is something, after all.

You gather the crew.
You: Everybody, listen. [dramatic speech]
You notice that everybody is acting dumb and passive. They seem to be bored and don't talk too much. When you finish, they all slowly go away.
Once, you seem to notice crew member #5 smile. When you look at it again though, you are pretty sure you imagined it.

What do you do?

[werty892]

Whack em all on the head, cure amnesia

[Rtyh-C]

You whack all crew members on the head, hoping that it cures their amnesia. It doesn't work.

They start walking around in circles.

[LordBucket]

You notice that everybody is acting dumb and passive.

Describe the behavior to the computer and ask for an explanation.

Probes out of fuel; initiating emergency probe landing

Tell the computer to reprogram the remaining probe so that it returns before running out of fuel. Do not launch.

[Ross Vernal]

Still alive?

Ask the computer names, positions, and ranks of all crew members. Examine #5.