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Author Topic: [Traveller] Antebellum Blues  (Read 8088 times)

Ian Absentia

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[Traveller] Antebellum Blues
« Reply #15 on: June 19, 2007, 11:04:25 PM »
Eraan peers inside the doors and toward the location off to the side where one would expect to find the manual light switches.  Between the three of you, you're able to produce a small worklight and some basic tools, and the location of the manual switch is revealed.  Maybe a minute's worth of work later, Eraan gets the lights to turn on...at least mostly.  The light is dimmer than it should be, and one or two banks of peripheral lights flicker and blink unnervingly.

The light does, however, reveal your new ship, formerly The Aduncus.  She's generally conical in shape, sort of flattened horizontally, with wing-like flanges protruding from mid-ships and tapering inward toward aft.  Bay doors above the wings are the general size and shape for a 20-ton ship's boat.  A singluar large bay door located on the ventral surface is surely the primary cargo bay door.  She's certainly worn all over, but it looks like her last crew was attempting some kind of maintenance on her exterior, and she's in surprisingly nice-looking condition for such an old ship.

The berth that surrounds the ship is in a fair state of disarray, with tool trolleys and tarps left out here and there, as if work on the ship was suddenly abandoned, which, given the state of affairs at the end of the war, may very well have been the case for a government-appropriated and operated ship.

!i!

beeber

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« Reply #16 on: June 19, 2007, 11:35:21 PM »
"some light's better'n none," eraan mutters.  "i hope the interior of this baby isn't in the same state of disarray that's out here."

i wander around the outside, gathering tools together, cleaning up a tad.  if there turns out to be a passable elec toolkit, i'll put that aside near the main airlock & bring it in with me.

Dr Rotwang!

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« Reply #17 on: June 20, 2007, 12:55:43 PM »
Sten sniffs at the air and his spirits wane.  "I hope it doesn't smell so bad on the inside..."

During the process of getting the lights back on, the youth's pointed lack of experience with such stuff is painfully obvious as he immediately offers to help by holding things, pulling wires aside, keeping out of the way, etc.

The work done, he stands back and regards the ship from stem to stern.  "So this is our ship.  Ours.  To use.  To take...where?"
Dr Rotwang!
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Werekoala

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« Reply #18 on: June 20, 2007, 03:04:34 PM »
Gerrard beging poking at the access panel for the cargo bay on the ship.

"Well, we'll need to find a cargo and a destination, or take something on speculation. Once we do that, then we'll know where we're going."

Flicking bits of packing gel from the panel and trying again, Gerrard frowns slightly.

"First, we have to make sure this thing CAN go anywhere..."
Lan Astaslem


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Ian Absentia

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« Reply #19 on: June 20, 2007, 03:52:03 PM »
The bay doors part slowly, but smoothely, and the broad cargo ramp descends with a flashing of amber lights and an ear-piercing warning buzz.  The exchange of atmospheres between the ship and the now-stable berth is fairly even, with only a gentle waft of air coming from the ship.  As expected, the air is stale, though not putrid.

The ship has been running on standby battery power for close to two years now, and life support was turned off.  Only a ghostly backup light comes on inside the cargo bay, and the air remains dead-still -- the ship's power plant will have to be brought back online before life support and full lighting can be restored.  All in all, the cargo bay looks in orderly condition, a broad and tall expanse of space just waiting to be filled with goods to ship.

Only...there's something wrong with it.  Hard to put your finger on what, but there's something amiss.  Gerrard certainly notices this, Eraan might have a feel for it.  To Sten, it's just a big ol' room.

!i!

Ian Absentia

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« Reply #20 on: June 23, 2007, 02:32:24 PM »
It's too small.  It looks just about right -- the proportions of the bay have been maintained -- but the bay is just too small.  Closer inspection reveals new bulkheads, retrofitted to accommodate some sort of change in the floorplan, and done with some care to match the previously existing bulkheads.  It's fairly recent too -- it hasn't seen the sort of wear that the other surrounding walls have.

!i!

Werekoala

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« Reply #21 on: June 23, 2007, 11:52:36 PM »
"If I were a betting man.... and I am.... I'd say someone's installed some smuggling compartments."
Lan Astaslem


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beeber

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« Reply #22 on: June 24, 2007, 12:02:13 PM »
"i wonder how much you could put in there?  we should probably make sure there isn't anything left inside them, tho.  just to make sure.  let's give those compartments a thorough inspection before continuing, just to be on the safe side."

Dr Rotwang!

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« Reply #23 on: June 25, 2007, 08:45:02 PM »
Quote from: Werekoala
"If I were a betting man.... and I am.... I'd say someone's installed some smuggling compartments."
"That' as may be, but..."

Sten eyes the other men with wide-eyed seriousness.  "We're not going to use them?"
Dr Rotwang!
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Werekoala

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« Reply #24 on: June 26, 2007, 10:50:09 AM »
(They're so cute when they're young...)

"Son, we need every ounce of space we can muster to make money as a trader, so of course we're going to use them. Not to smuggle, of course - if we could spot the modifications that fast, a half-blind custom's official or SDB boarding crew would find it in a nanosecond. We'll find a way to fit regulation cargo in there until we can afford to have them ripped out.

Besides, there are better ways to smuggle things..."
Lan Astaslem


"It's rpg.net The population there would call the Second Coming of Jesus Christ a hate crime." - thedungeondelver

Ian Absentia

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« Reply #25 on: June 26, 2007, 08:22:16 PM »
From the cargo bay, there are essentially two logical directions to go.  Somewhere aft of the re-aligned bulkheads should be the engineering section.  To port and starboard are gangways that lead up to catwalks that encircle the bay, which, in turn, lead to the crew and passenger section, at the fore of which you'll find the bridge.

Which way do you go?
(A)ft, (P)ort, (S)tarboard

!i!

Dr Rotwang!

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« Reply #26 on: June 26, 2007, 08:36:26 PM »
"Well," Sten says sheepishly, "I was just sayin' I think we'd better stay on the right side of the law."

Of course, that won't stop him from thinking about it -- if the reward is commesurate with the risk...

He heads to Port and up the gangway.
Dr Rotwang!
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beeber

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« Reply #27 on: June 26, 2007, 08:58:08 PM »
"i'll take starboard."

are there comm panels around the ship?  if so, eraan checks them as he explores the starboard side.  "testing, testing.  can you hear me now?"  :D

Werekoala

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« Reply #28 on: June 26, 2007, 09:16:06 PM »
And that leaves me with aft for $400, Alex.
Lan Astaslem


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Ian Absentia

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« Reply #29 on: June 26, 2007, 09:55:43 PM »
Sten and Eraan find themselves walking essentially mirrored pathways that lead to a central catwalk in the direction of the bow, overlooking the broad expanse of the shadowy bay, and circles to either side of the bay to meet again in the aft.  In the middle of the catwalk at either end, there is a reinforced bulkhead with an iris hatch. At the one that leads to fore, presumably into the main compartment, there is a wall-mounted comlink to the right side of the hatch, and it responds to emergency battery power like the dim lights above and those that light the floors along traffic areas.  Testing the com leads to a faint echo you can hear from down in the cargo bay itself.  Presumably the hatch at the aft end of the catwalk is identical.

The iris hatch is not currently functioning under power, and it takes no small amount of effort for one or both of Sten and Eraan to open the manual controls.  Beyond the forward hatch, is a very small common area, beyond which lie the staterooms -- nine of them in all.  Also, to starboard is another closed iris hatch, beside which is mounted a small placard that reads "Fire Control: Authorised Personnel Only".

Moving farther forward toward the bow, Sten and Eraan find the proper common room, the galley, the computer room, and farthest forward, the bridge.  All in all, most of the compartments look in decent order, and at first glance the bridge looks good, too.  The computer room is a mess, though -- a tangle of wires and circuitry with no apparent sense or order, cabinet-like components that don't seem to fit anywhere.  A closer examination of the bridge reveals that panels have been removed from a number of controls there, too, with wires and circuits hanging loose here and there.

To aft, Gerrard's surprise is more immediate.  Dealing with an iris hatch in the same manner that Sten and Eraan did, the space beyond is not more cargo space as a trained eye would expect, but improvised engineering space.  Quite a bit of it.  And even the most cursory examination of the drives located here reveals that they are considerably larger than the drives indicated in the specs for this class.  Still, even the enlarged engineering compartment doesn't account for all of the cargo space lost.

Like the discovery in the bow, the engineering room is obviously an abandoned work in progress.  Parts and cables and wires lay all about, not in an especially disorganised fashion, but obviously not in functioning order.  The faint glow of the comlink lights do seem to be functioning, though.  This is especially evident when Eraan tests the system.

!i!