Here are some reminders:
FIRST, THE MAP:
SECOND, THE TIMELINE:
DAY EVENT
0 (Snobol closest to Venturi) Beta team descends to Jetsom and Alpha team
returns to Snobol.
6 The Matrix invades the Jetsom electronic systems.
19 (Snobol furthest from Venturi).
20-37 Minor problems with Jetsom electronic systems.
38 (Snobol closest to Venturi) Alpha team descends to Jetsom and Beta team
return to Snobol. Snobol and Moneyspider infected by the Matrix.
43 Disaster on Jetsom. During a magnetic storm, the Matrix takes over
Jetsom's systems. The Alpha team is either killed or incapacitated.
44 Parl Kiopta and three others from the Moneyspider are killed attempting to
reach Jetsom.
57 (Snobol furthest from Venturi).
72 The characters arrive at Snobol.
75 Captain Akizk makes his offer to you.
76 (Snobol closest to Venturi). You descended to Jetsom.
TO HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE
95 (Snobol furthest from Venturi).
114 (Snobol closest to Venturi). The date you are supposed to return to Snobol.
126 ByChem Corporation relief ship is expected to arrive.
You find that raising the temperature appears to have killed whatever strange lifeform had infected the system, when it was high enough for over an hour. You return the station to a normal, comfortable temperature and go about your work.
Over the next few days, you successfully do the following:
1- Under Kri'lik's care, Yag and everyone else is returned to normal stamina and health.
2- You refuel the shuttle with the supplies Kri'lik found.
3- You find that the food units are now working properly, giving you an adequate supply of food, as well as adequate food sources for the sapes. You also are able to normally recharge your weapons and the freeze fields.
4- You also turn your shuttle's life support system to a high level and find that you have killed the strange electronic life form (which the former crew had called the "Matrix"). Your shuttle appears to work normally now.
5- Due to external damage and exposure, you find that the temperature controls do not change the temperature in rooms A2, F1 or F2.
6- THe intercoms and computers now work properly, as well as the hatches.
7- You find that the reactor maintenance robot is radioactive and you isolate it to avoid hurting you.
8- You connect the "CRUDE Cys-DE/Meta-TI" tanks in the bio-chemical still so that it works properly and can fill the tanks, which you periodically replace when they become full.
A reminder of your mission:
quote:
For going to Jetsom, and repairing whatever systems are necessary to leave the platform in a stable, working condition, each character will receive
7000 Cr. This does not mean that the characters would be expected to repair all damage, merely that Jetsom should be made habitable, operational and safe. For every crewmember rescued (not including sapes), the characters will receive 1500 Cr each, and for every tank of crude bio-chemical, they will receive 150 Cr
each (sapes and Jetsom robots should not be brought back.)
Total bio-chemical tanks collected:
2 (previously filled and connected)
3 (previously filled and in storeroom)
15 (empty, but filled at the rate of 2 every 2 days -- since 2 connections exist)
You now have simply to wait.
S'Krllk and computer operators work on collecting as much data about what happened as they can, accessing the computers as efficiently as possible.
DAY 96
By Day 96, you have completely filled the 15 bio-chemical tanks and collected the following information:
About 66 days before the arrival of the characters in the Belnafaer system, a mutated form of the Matrix found its way into the main computer circuits of
Jetsom (Day 6 - see TIME CHART). Once inside, it began to spread and grow, infecting the robots and other systems. At first, it produced only minor
malfunctions, which caused no alarm amongst the crewmembers, and the normal changeover of personnel took place when Snobol came near to Venturi 32 days later (Day 38).
Meanwhile on Jetsom, in the middle of a magnetic storm 5 days after the changeover (Day 43), the Matrix infection caused a critical failure of the
platform's computer and robot systems. In a matter of hours, the members of the Alpha team were either dead or had retreated into freeze fields. The storm had damaged the subspace antenna (it later ripped it off completely) and so only a garbled distress message reached the Moneyspider.
The Matrix had been present in Jetsom's electronic systems for some time before it caused the disaster and had, up to then, caused only minor problems to the crew. However, during a magnetic storm (on Day 43), when the systems were under maximum strain, the Matrix produced some sudden system failures, particularly in the life-support systems, resulting in a dangerous drop in temperature. Two of the crew (Deed Fengall the team leader and Hal Sinclair the 2nd technician) put themselves into freeze fields (in area B2) to escape the effects of the system failure. Deed is still alive in her freeze-field, but the power supply to Hal's was cut off and he is dead.
The sapes in the maintenance module panicked and killed their keeper, Atata Myera (area C3). The sapes themselves have survived. The final crewmember, Akord Zon, who had become suspicious about the cause of the faults, fled to the
warmth of the reactor room (E7) but was killed by the radiation. You found her notes in area E7.
Snobol was already a long way from Venturi but Parl Kiopta, the Moneyspider's Human co-pilot, volunteered to attempt a rescue by manually
piloting a shuttle down to Jetsom. Most of the crew volunteered to go with Parl, but the Vrusk captain, Akizk Kass, chose only three; the astrogator's Vrusk
assistant Tak-Arbork, the Dralasite Beta team leader Nimbrus Hool and one of the Beta team technicians, a Human called Midge Arma. Parl's plan was a dangerous one, since the shuttle was designed to be able to reach Jetsom at Snobol's
closest approach and so could carry barely enough fuel for the longer trip. All went well until the shuttle reached Venturi's atmosphere; the shuttle's
ice shield was struck by lightning from the storm and shattered. Unprotected, the shuttle burned up, killing all on board.
Regarding the Matrix infection, you discover:
The Matrix
The stormy atmosphere of Venturi has given birth to "the Matrix", a microscopic, unintelligent life form. In its normal form, the Matrix consists of patterns of electrical impulses that gather together simple compounds from the atmosphere and build up large, complex bio-chemical molecules in which to "live". This form of the Matrix actually creates compounds like Cys-DE and Meta-TI, and is
completely harmless.
The matrix can mutate, however, enabling different forms of it to live in electronic circuits, causing malfunctions or giving the circuits strange
properties. These forms can spread through circuits and infect other circuits like an electronic virus.
Thus it is on Day 96 that you are feeling good about yourselves, despite your losses. All is well and you have simply to wait.
But then, one of the Sapes gets sick. It apparently is suffering from some sort of disease. (Remember that you have all the sapes in their jail-like pens being looked after by Sergi.) You had found that the sapes had begun accepting simple orders from you after they were well fed for a few days. But the sick one is not responding to your commands now.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:15, Tue 06 July 2010.
