Session 6 2

[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: So much for my hopes of going back to sleep. But eh.
According to what Spyboy is seeing, the Nephilim acted like they knew what was going on, wide-eyed and awake to the situation.
[OOC] WC GM: :P
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Sorry. xD
[OOC] WC GM: You got here in time for log start; that's what counts.
Spyboy Pearson: "Looks like the Nephilim knew what they were here for. Either there are Integrated on the station, or the Kilrathi have neutrino comms of their own."
[OOC] Abraham: Is that over radio, or just normal speaking?
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Radio…
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Encrypted, obviously.
A quick check of personnel logs shows no lagos assigned to the station.
Spyboy Pearson: "….Or…."
Abraham: "It would not surprise me in the slightest if the Kilrathi have their own versions of the Neutrino communicators. I know they were working on them before before the war ended."
Spyboy Pearson: "Now that I think about it, the Kilrathi back in Collins were worried about Nephilim spies. I'd assume these Kilrathi were connected to those, but that may not be the case."
From the cameras, Spyboy can easily see the positions of the kilrathi if he wishes to interrogate for Integrated-style neutrino comms.
[OOC] Abraham: Or you could just Neutrino-ping them.
Spyboy Pearson: "[Hello!]"
No reply.
One of the kilrathi scratches at the back of his neck, about where the ping would be received.
[OOC] Abraham: Anyone know off the top of their heads how Kilrathi feel about cyberware and implants generally?
Spyboy Pearson: "Huh. Metis, you try. I don't speak Kilrathi…"
[OOC] WC GM: Mainstream kilrathi culture wouldn't apply in this case, assuming these are from Collins. You saw sufficient implants and cyberwear on Collins to know that they do not frown on them.
Ingenue: "[#Hello?#]"
[OOC] Abraham: Ah. Okay then.
Still no reply, though another of the kilrathi snaps around, as if lashing out at a backstabber, only to catch herself mid-swing upon seeing nobody there.
Spyboy Pearson: "Curiouser and curiouser."
Ingenue: "[Their response is atypical of an integrated. Perhaps their communicator is primitive, or they are recently integrated and unfamiliar with the sensations.]"
[OOC] Abraham: Or they're still in beta. And not the google version of beta.
After a moment, the nephilim shift their activity, trying to access station scanners.
[OOC] WC GM: Does Spyboy allow them access to external scanners?
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: …..sure. But while we're at it….
Spyboy Pearson: "[Metis, can you contact the Nephilim on-station? I think they might be looking for us.]"
Ingenue: "[Is there a specific message you wish transmitted?]"
Spyboy Pearson: "[Not really, just time to tell them we're here.]"
[OOC] Abraham: Demand that they reveal unto you the ultimate chicken salad recipe.
[OOC] WC GM: <Nephilim> "[Chicken. Salad. It is beautiful in its elegant simplicity.]"
Zinda Tegram: "Huh…"
Ingenue: "[Just that we are here?]"
Spyboy Pearson: "[Basically.]"
Ingenue: "[#Attention Nephilim presence: We are here.#]"
The nephilim stop immediately.
Zinda Tegram coughs.
Nephilim: "[#Please do not explode Kilrathi brains.#]"
[OOC] Abraham: All right. Which one of you let the Nephilim watch Scanners?
Ingenue: "[Do we have any goals or plans that involve causing Kilrathi brains to explode?]"
[OOC] Abraham: ConFed brass had ideas to broadcast episodes of Eek the Cat to them back during the war.
[OOC] Ingenue: To Metis' knowledge, is it even possible to use a neu-comm to explode an Integrated brain?
[OOC] Abraham: Beta is beta.
[OOC] WC GM: Engineering check - you've never thought of weaponizing it.
Ingenue rolled up 4dF: - 0 + 0 (Base: 6 Total: 6) ((Engineering to weaponize telepathy, there is no way this could go wrong…))
[OOC] Abraham: That's a very nice roll. A mister A. Bester would like to talk to you about that.
Thinking about it…actually, it could. The neutrino communicator works by sending neutrinos timed (via very precise control of their near-c velocity) to decay at a certain precise distance; these decays result in tiny explosions which are the signal. The "receptor" is little more than a standard-sized box with detectors for said decay.
While the signal is normally small, a ping - especially one repeated many times to try to precisely locate the receptor - might add up to extremely minute damage, unable to significantly affect things more robust than, say, delicate neural tissue as found in most brains.
[OOC] Abraham: So we're looking at micro-lesions in the brain then. Not 'head blow up'.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: So, if you significantly increased the power available to the neutrino-hand set, say, by attaching it to the power supply of a laser cannon…
[OOC] Ingenue: Yeah, but they're micro-lesions caused by explosions. Teeny-tiny explosions. The cutest explosions ever.
[OOC] WC GM: That leads to a very important question.
[OOC] WC GM: Will Ingenue, or anyone else, tell Zinda what Ingenue just discovered?
[OOC] Ingenue: If Zinda has her comm out, she gets Nue's thought stream at least until someone teaches Nue how to not be chatty.
[OOC] WC GM: So - does Zinda cackle, and if so, who is able to hear it? :P
[OOC] Ingenue: If she's over the radio, everyone, and that's a maneuver to place the aspect 'chills down the spine'. Otherwise, she only torments Spyboy.
[OOC] Abraham: I can't imagine that it's possible to honestly cackle /only/ over neutrino.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Nah, Nue meant that since Spyboy is within earshot…
[OOC] Ingenue: Yeah, that.
[OOC] WC GM: The hardware would have to be reworked to handle that much power, but that is possible - especially if Ingenue helps.
[OOC] WC GM: And even then it may be more "flood of microbursts" than "one large burst".
[OOC] WC GM: Best aimed for fuel tanks and the like.
[OOC] WC GM: Anyway. Spyboy's or Ingenue's respones to their request to not explode the scientists' brains?
[OOC] Ingenue: Nue asked Spyboy if that was one of our goals and/or intentions. His response might have been stifled by by the subsequent datastream of 'yeah, we actually could do that'.
[OOC] WC GM: I see no IC response from Spyboy yet.
[OOC] Abraham: I suspect having had to work so closely with Zinda for so long, he is off forming a drinking problem.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: It was.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: xD
Spyboy Pearson: "[…..So the Kilrathi don't have neutrino comms, and we can hurt them but not explode their brains. Is that what I'm getting?]"
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Zinda probably hasn't made the connection yet.
Spyboy Pearson: "[….But that still leaves the question of why the Kilrathi are perfectly happy to work with their 'ancient enemy.']"
Ingenue: "[You should inquire in person, as you are closest to the subject Kilrathi.]"
Spyboy Pearson blinks in shock.
[OOC] Abraham: Hm…I wonder if Kilrathi just have a natural sensitivity to neutrinos…
Spyboy Pearson: "[….You mean….I should ask them?]"
Ingenue: "[That is a traditional method of gathering data.]"
Spyboy Pearson checks comm logs instead.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Not like the Kilrathi don't have radios, after all.
[OOC] WC GM: What is Spyboy checking for?
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Outgoing communications that aren't to a Crest vessel.
No outbound communications to non-Crest vessels are found in the past several hours. Even the calls to the Roland were made from elsewhere.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Have the Nephilim only been here for hours, then?
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Well, they've only been here long enough for Crest to panic, I suppose.
[OOC] WC GM: It's been less than a day, yeah.
[OOC] WC GM: The SOS went out as soon as they were seen - though it took a bit to relay all the way to Mu Cephei.
[OOC] Abraham: Is it wrong for me that whenever anyone mentions 'Crest', I think Novaria from Mass Effect 1?
[OOC] WC GM: Make of it what you will.
[OOC] WC GM: So what does Spyboy do next?
Spyboy Pearson sets up a secure communications bridge to the Roland.
Abraham: "This is The Roland. This channel is now secure."
[OOC] Abraham: Do I need to do a communications check to make that true?
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Nah, that's my job =D
[OOC] WC GM: Autopass.
Spyboy Pearson: "Ready to talk to the very locals?"
Abraham: "Quite please put them on."
Spyboy Pearson starts 'ringing the phone' as it were.
Abraham begins. "Whom am I addressing?"
Wayne: "Well howdy. Didn't expect to run into you out here."
Abraham blinks hard at that. "Ah. Hello Wayne, what brings you to this sector of space?"
[OOC] Abraham: Seriously, Spyboy doesn't recognize the only Kilrathi in the galaxy with a Texan drawl?
Wayne: "Crest Corporation, o'course. They heard about our little project and decided t' fund us."
Abraham: "Really? Which one?"
[OOC] WC GM: In spacesuit, face not to the camera, no voice contact, and Spyboy wasn't trying to identify.
[OOC] Abraham: But…Wayne!
Wayne: "Seriously? Y'all SAW it jus' now."
[OOC] WC GM: He probably recognizes Wayne *now*, of course.
Abraham: "Just making sure that it was you and not someone else working on a side project. Crest scientists are known for those."
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Look, I'm sorry! I have trouble telling Kilrathi apart. From Nephilim.
Wayne: "So I heard. Say, I saw somethin' come through an' go back. Didn't have my ears on - was that one o' yours? I tried t' wave and seem friendly like."
[OOC] Abraham: But we're talking about one of the five people we know who has a better than fifty percent chance of not being Wenser.
[OOC] WC GM: Spoiler: he's not Wenser. Unless he is.
Spyboy Pearson: "Yeah…they saw. They said 'whoa my gosh, nephilim and kilrathi working together! It must be a trap!'"
Abraham: "It was, briefly, until The Roland's registry showed up as KIA in their databanks. That's something we'll have to deal with later."
Wayne: "Really? Aww."
Wayne: "Y'were able t'correct 'im, I hope?"
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Hahahahahaha 'Not Wenser' ahahahahahahahaha.
Spyboy Pearson: "I think they decided we must be part of it? Eh, with any luck we'll have time later."
[OOC] WC GM: Even Wenser is not Wenser when he's not being Wenser. Honest.
[OOC] Ingenue: Wenser is; all else is supposition.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Please. If there's one person we know is Wenser, it's….Zinda.
Abraham: "Not before they went back through. But…Kilrathi and Nephilim…working together…how exactly did that come about. I can't believe Crest offered to fund them as well." , actually I totally could if they thought it would work.
Wayne: "Uh. That'll be a sit-u-ation, I bet. Anyway. D'you 'ave anythin' t' do with the helpfulest Nephilim I ever did see comin' by?"
[OOC] Abraham: Spyboy, you deserve a promotion for that. You are now Captain Obvious.
Wayne: "'Cause Crest sure didn' hire them. They done chased Crest's officers off the station an' let us get t' work."
Abraham: "I think I might have had a hand in that, yes. So Crest hired you, but was interfering with you then? Typical."
Wayne: "They wan'ed it t' be a secret. Jus' their own thing."
Wayne: "We weren't sure how we could pull it off t' any inhabited system w'out making it obvious. We were lookin' into how, turnin' our wheels, when the Nephs showed up."
Abraham: "Of course they did. They knew that the Navy would confiscate any successful jump point generation techniques in the name of galactic security, and Crest wouldn't have the grounds or standing to litigate. Crest hates it when it can't litigate."
Wayne: "So, uh, that mean yer gonna be confiscatin' our work?"
Abraham: "Ah. I misspoke. I meant the /patents/ would be confiscated, meaning that they would basically get the return we decide."
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Are we?
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: It's a good question.
[OOC] Ingenue: We have the biggest gun. Its time to stop pretending and start expanding our empire.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Please. Zinda couldn't even conquer Oldziey.
[OOC] Ingenue: She wasn't a virus then.
[OOC] Abraham: Ingenue is clearly talking about Heggy.
Wayne: "Whut patents?"
[OOC] Ingenue: Sounds like someone should start filing a patent right now…
[OOC] Ingenue: Then they can sue the Kilrathi!
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: You wanna bet, Spyboy?
Abraham: "Hm…let me put it this way. Since I don't see Crest wanting to keep you on, want to come work for the Navy? In a strictly non-combat role? You continue your research, maybe working out some refinements to the process and get a decent wage and facilities with a minimum of interference. Though I'm afraid that we can not offer you stock options in The Navy…"
Wayne: "Weren't gettin' stock options anyhow. Jus' resources. We're in it t' do things, to build an' prove our theories…an' help people out by doin' so, usually."
Wayne: "But what're ya gonna do 'bout Crest's fleet?"
[OOC] Abraham: Why bother confiscating the work when you can confiscate the workers?
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Zinda. Duh.
Abraham: "Depends. Is that 'helpfulest Nephilim' still around?"
Wayne: "Right here. But they only got a fighter squad."
Wayne: "Uh. Y'all *have* been scannin' that asteroid field what used t' be Aldrin Prime, right?"
[OOC] Ingenue: That's what we have crew for. Crew, anything we should know?
Abraham shoots the XO a look.
ExecutiveOfficer: "Scanning now. And…siiir, I…"
The XO blinks.
ExecutiveOfficer: "Screw it, I'm done with being surprised. Oldzieyan manufacturing techniques - they turned the asteroid field into a factory. Looks like a mostly-complete war fleet. Life support seems to be lacking; it's probably mostly a drone fleet."
[OOC] Abraham: "Bad news sir, there is a fleet hidden in the field…and yep their flagship is 'The lollipop'. The Lollipop is a good ship."
Spyboy Pearson: "I'm sorry, did you just say 'drone fleet?'"
ExecutiveOfficer: "At a guess, sir? I'd say they were hoping to stash this somewhere else."
ExecutiveOfficer: "Yes, Lieutenant." Spyboy can hear the XO's grin.
Spyboy Pearson: "Wierd."
Abraham: "Spyboy, any chance of a large jamming field to cut their control signals? I figure you got the tools and manpower you need right there."
Spyboy Pearson: "All I heard was 'opportunity.'"
Spyboy Pearson: "That seems like such a waste, sir."
[OOC] Abraham: Oh shit. Spyboy's gonna turn them into a fleet of Claptraps.
Spyboy Pearson starts analyzing data traffic, looking for nodes, priorities - the kind of thing that barely takes any decryption.
Abraham: "Well, I rarely turn down the opportunity to get another fleet."
Spyboy finds none.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Specifically looking for where the control systems would be.
It is as if the drone fleet is observing radio silence.
[OOC] Abraham: Well then, we win.
[OOC] Abraham: I'm strangely comfortable with that.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: But they'd only be doing that if *stop, turn to look at SOS* they knew we were coming…
Wayne: "They went dark 'bout the time the Nephs showed up. I figure, either they're incomplete or they didn't wanna risk signs of a battle just in case y'all stopped by."
Wayne: "But 'less you were in…hmm, Mu Cephei, was our first point? At th' time, y'probably wouldn't'a noticed."
Abraham: "Hm…they almost look…abandoned. And any abandoned ship is salvageable."
Spyboy Pearson starts perusing personal files. Now…where would the control codes be?
[OOC] Abraham: Oh where oh where have my little codes gone. Oh where oh where can they be…
The control codes for the drone fleet do not seem to be on this station. Even with poor information security, it looks like they were different departments.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Yeah, I was looking for said station, not said console.
[OOC] WC GM: Ah, sorry.
Spyboy already is in near-full control over the station. Only the jump point bay is sealed off from him, though he can control the amount of power sent to said bay…and the doors.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: ….I meant I was looking for the station that would have the control codes. As a destination.
Though there are no records about the drone fleet on this station, it is easy to conclude that the codes - if they exist - would be in or near the factories producing the ships.
That is, the asteroid belt technically still known as Aldrin Prime.
Spyboy Pearson: "Admiral, can I take leave for a few days?"
Abraham: "Um…what?"
Spyboy Pearson: "I'd like to go….see the sights?"
Abraham: "I mean…sure. Yeah, sure. You've been working hard. Take your wife out for a little stellar cruise."
Abraham figures out Spyboy's plan at about the second 'sure'.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: Wait….then……..rats. Now I'm getting them under orders. Which means I'll have to give them up…
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: D=
[OOC] Abraham: Fool me once, shame on me. Shame me twice, shame on Heggy.
[OOC] WC GM: Abraham has enough to deal with with Kali, Dakka, and Wenser without promoting Spyboy to the mix?
[OOC] Abraham: Fortunately they are all Wenser, which simplifies things.
Spyboy Pearson: "Hey, Zinda. We're going to go take in the sights. Want to come?"
Spyboy Pearson: "Figured we might get a look at some Oldziey-style asteroid factories while we're at it."
[OOC] Abraham: That's gonna be an /interesting/ trip…
ExecutiveOfficer: "…just a guess, sir, but will you be taking vacation as well, while we should remain parked by the station to render assistance?"
Abraham rubs his temples theatrically. "Yeah, I could use a break. Metis, want to come along and help me keep Zinda out of trouble?"
ExecutiveOfficer: "I'll have a fighter prepped for you with extra supplies."
Abraham: "Thank you. I'd best go prepare. You have the bridge."
Ingenue: "Experience indicates that attempting to keep Zinda out of trouble is futile. However, such endeavors have a high chance of producing usable data."
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Sorry emergency am back.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: There was a, uh, small, amount of flame. xD
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: But it's put out.
[OOC] Abraham: As always, I blame Fox News.
Zinda Tegram: "Sure. Why not?"
[OOC] WC GM: Alright. Early spot for a logend, but this seems like an appropriate point - unless you want to play out the initial approach and entrance today?
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Sorry. x_X
[OOC] WC GM: NP
[OOC] WC GM: Anyway, preferences?
[OOC] Abraham: Go ahead and logend. I figure the approach will be covered in the first post of next week.
[OOC] Ingenue: ^