OOC

Sorry about posting so fast.  I have little else to do most of the day.

IC

Porter tries to work the GPS information out again, and maybe he has done that?


10:46, Today: Sgt. Porter Min rolled 24 using 1d100.  Computer check.

No, I like that. I take work breaks and respond during weekdays, so it's helpful to have something to respond to.

Porter successfully gets the chronocom to input the other chronocom's GPS number to track it. Unfortunately, it does not show up in range.

OOC: Remember that the chronocom has a ping distance of 20 km. This means Marlboro's chronocom is over 20 km away. At least you know the general direction to get closer.

Orvo is happy that Porter got it working so they could go off to save the captain.

Then Orvo sees the results, or non results, and says, "Let's take the gondola in the general direction of east and see if the signal pops up. That will let us know when we are within 20 kilometers."

Let's finish waiting out the given hour for the aircar.  I hope they just had a glitch and will be back online soon.

Orvo nods in agreement to Porter's plan but also says, "I was just thinking that we could use the gondola to sort of fly a perimeter to determine where the 20 kilometer limit is in a wide circle. Once we map that, we can land at the end of the hour and determine how to help the others, or just go straight there since we'll already be in the gondola."

That is a good idea, let me add that we will need the four looking every direction to see if we spot the aircar, especially south.

You hop in the gondola and begin going west until you hear the telltale beep of the GPS. You begin flying in a circle to establish the perimeter. After about twenty minutes of zigzagging to match the signal, you get a pretty good idea of where the boundaries and center of the circle would be, indicating where the lost chronocom is at.  (This does not mean it will not move later or be subject to other issues.)

In your fly around, you also do not encounter any buildings or foreign objects, but you stay just inside the perimeter (see map) and do not stray too close yet. The area inside the circle is primarily dense foliage. You look south down the ravine you traversed to the river where you boarded your rafts.


On the ground below, you see another pair of the vicious dinosaur-like creatures and remember having two encounters with that species just two days ago. But this time, you are not stuck on the ground with minimal ammo.

* * * *

Looking east toward the center of the perimeter, you see only thick foliage. However, it would be easy to hide installations, vehicles, and even a small ship within those trees. The 20 km range to the center also gives you a very poor view of what might be at the center, at least from this distance.





* * * *

Similarly, Bartja and S'krllk are too far away to see since they crashed in the forest. You heard the warning about an EMP pulse before they crashed and are wary of such. You do have a sense of where they crashed approximately (see map). However, they are on the far side of the hills and ravines in dense forest and cannot be seen from the air.



* * * *

Despite the long distance, you also have a decent view of the top of the ridge area where Dentin's ship might have crashed since it is a plateau with grasses and shrubbery and not so much hidden with trees.

But you do not see his ship, meaning it might have crashed slightly south in the tree area on the far side of the ridge.



* * * *
OOC: Note that S'rkllk and Bartja are being run on a different private thread, so you don't know what's happening or how they are posting at the moment. This thread remains public.

This message was last edited by the GM at 07:17, Thu 08 Oct 2020.

I recommend we move to the south and keep a low approach to where we thing the aircar is.  If we follow the their expected route, we may find them.

"Sounds like a winner Sarge.  Let's do it!"

You move the gondola toward the south and continue toward the aircar's general vicinity, keeping its last known GPS coordinates locked in.

When you reach the southern edge of the ridgeline (10 northwest of 4), your alarm lights go off and the monitors flash "EMP PULSE DETECTED." This occurs even though you were flying close to the ground just above the treeline.

You immediately turn the gondola around and land momentarily on the plateau (10 hexes northwest of 5) to determine next steps.

OOC: You can analyze the EMP signal or try determine its source, power, etc. through a computer check, or make other plans. So far, everything seems to be fully operational still.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:41, Fri 09 Oct 2020.

Porter suggest, "we could take the gondola north a mile or so, then travel due east until we get just past the last known location of the aircar.  Then turn south from there, hoping to skirt the edge of the EMP.  Once we get east of the aircar, presuming we do, we set out on foot.  We have to prioritize at this point, and getting our computer folks with us to figure things out has suddenly become the number one priority.

Orvo says, "I think that's a good idea. Does anyone have the computer skills to see what we can find out about this EMP?"

Yes, Bartja and S'Krilk.

Orvo laughs at that and then tries to do an unskilled check to learn about the EMP.

Orvo's check does not go so well. He fails completely. 10:32, Today: GM Heath rolled 97 using 1d100.

Count your fingers there, Orvo.  Let's see if we can find the aircar.

Desi next tries an unskilled check. She figures out what's going on. 11:31, Today: GM Heath rolled 10 using 1d100.

Desi determines that the EMP is a regular pulse 30 seconds apart. Looking a little deeper, she can see the computer pattern. Not only is it 30 seconds apart, but it seems to be rotating in a circle, reaching a full circle once every 30 seconds. So you assume it must come from some rotating beacon. Also, the pulse dies out, meaning it it will be stronger toward the center and weaker as it reaches out to where you are currently at, where it hardly makes an impact but can still be detected by the computers.

Interesting.  I think we might be able to take it out with full biologicals and something that doesn't rely on electronics to work.  Maybe some T-19, or a good old-fashioned hammer and screwdriver.  In the meantime, let's find our missing folks.  Put down just outside of its range, nearest to where we last knew the aircar to be.

Orvo says in good humor, "We may have to tow it out of the red zone, so to speak. He agrees with the plan but tries to map out the radius of the ping so they can zero in on its place of origin.

"As long as we can get our people out, they can probably fix anything, just like we can take out anything."

Orvo says, "Do we have TD19 handy? Or do we need to go back to the ship to get something like that? Maybe a quick trip back to the Moraes for supplies is in order."

We will do that, after we get the aircar.  We can't take that crew with us, but maybe they can provide overwatch support.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:01, Wed 14 Oct 2020.

OOC: Timewise, you guys are about 45 minutes after the air car went down and the other group is about 5 minutes after, but they should move forward quickly very soon, and then we can advance you there. Feel free to discuss in the meantime.

When we land, be ready for action and stay alert.