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RP: SNV Gam'trosha [Chapter 4.1] Into a Den of Trouble Part 2!

Engineering

Quin' looked and checked the system, peering through the logs and smiling when she noticed a secure connection - but then a frown appeared when she saw that the sensor fidelity was still low and opened a link to Keri. "While the computer is now reading a clear signal, there is something reducing the fidelity of the array, I'm afraid a diagnostic isn't telling me much about the 'cause', so looks like you will have to go for a space walk. Don't worry, you're to cute of a target to hit anyway if we get unwelcomed guests," she grinned as she said that and moved over to another terminal.

Bridge

As Sa'kira waited patiently for the crew to launch, one of the other bridge crew yelped which got her attention. "What's wrong?"

"We have a comm. bouy that was just sent from the surface, coming into range shortly. Looks like its from the expedition," the crewmen said as they brought the communications suite online and started to gather the message.

"~Gam'trosha, your close enough for us to get a read on you, but we can't communicate through normal methods so we are sending this bouy with ours. Please hurry with those supplies, we've got wounded down here after a cave collapse and need medical support. This bouy contains our precise location along with a trejectory map for your shuttle, I'd advise that they not deviate from it as the area is very rocky and dangerous even for a small vessel. Please advise your crew to hurry.~"

Sa'kira sighed. "Send this message off to the Lexicon please, let her know that we are now on a deadline."

As the crewmen nodded, Sa'kira brought up the topology data from the buoy and let out a low whisle when she saw where the expedition was located. "Well, that's certainly different from the original data we had... they must've moved their campsite," the area was in the crevice of a large, broken, land. Large spiky outcropping jutted from the land high up into the air. A few feet into it, was a green identifying marker that showed wher ethe camp was - despite the surroundings - that camp itself was fairly large in size although only two routes seemed to be provided entry into the area, one from the east and another from the southwest."

Elsewhere on the ship

Shi'sha'tra moved cautiously through the forward area of the ship, keeping an eye out for any crewmen that walked around. She walked up to a small panel on the wall and removed it, and looked inside before pulling a small device from her sachel and shoving it neatly behind a large steel box. Then she looked around, put the panel back in place, and walked away as if nothing had happened.
 
Dar turned to Shar, "Elza'beth is my life, the Lexicon is my Duty. Duty shall always comes first, Sah." He replied in a calm tone and nodded to Shar. He then moved to find a spot to secure himself for descent. He looked at Elza'beth and gave a smile to reassure her and strapped himself in.
 
C'ross nodded an affirmative to Shar, proceeding to retrieve a few extra field rations as she advised him to. He removed the power crystal from his energy bow, examining it from different angles before inserting it back into its place. The Swordmaster quickly followed after the rest of the away team. Rubbing the pommel of his sword as he entered the shuttle, he seated himself near the exit to the shuttle for a quick disembark. He leaned forward in his seat and brought his hands together, placing his forehead on the union as he began silently praying.
 
Deck 03 - Aft Sensor Compartment

Keri's ears visibly wilted in response to Xeui's message. "Srisa, not again," The platinum furred kit murmured with notable dismay in his voice. He looked rebellious for a few moments -- as though he was going to refuse Xeui's instruction -- before he managed to regain his nerve, sighed dramatically, the sent verbally back over the open comms channel, "Alright, alright. If I have to, I have to. Though I'm expecting you to come get me if I'm sent flying off into the vacuum of space, Xeui."

With a faintly martyred expression, Keri packed up his tool kit and started making his way to deck one and the airlock.

Deck 01 - Airlock

Once the young engineer reached the airlock, he opened the adjacent storage locker and withdrew a helmet, a pair of mag-boots and an attachment for around his tail to keep that area pressurized. Keri started removing the outer layer of his uniform -- leaving the armoured bodysuit portion that he normally wore beneath. Then he put the helmet, tail attachment and boots on, before the youth checked and rechecked his suits seals. With an awkward and more than a little unpleasant sense of deja vu, Keri stepped into the airlock and pressed a button on the control panel to begin cycling and depressurizing the airlock.

Small insects fluttered around the inside of his belly when the airlock finished its task and hydraulics slid the thick outer hatch open.

Gam'trosha Hull

Keri took a few hesitant steps toward edge of the now open outer hatch, his mag-boots keeping him firmly attached to the deck below him. Slowly he edged over the lip of the hatch and began to navigate his way across the Gam'trosha's armoured surface. It would take him a while to reach the aft section of the hull -- you couldn't move around using mag boots quite as fast as when one walked normally.
 
[Shuttle Bay]

Okay, he thought to himself, final preparations are completely finished. Engine shows green across the board, ship-bound GPS is functioning, stabilizers are calibrated, and the footing is modified for this mission, everything should be green. Softly closing an access panel on the shuttle's underside, Ry'ken peered from behind the landing gear. Now, he gathered his standard kit and placed it in the left side pocket, getting out of here. He scanned the room, several armed persons stood reading themselves, completely unaware of his presence. The My'leke brought himself to full height, only to hit his head on the sleek surface of the ship. Ouch, bringing a paw up to his head, that is why I should wear a helmet. Regaining his composure, and being a bit more careful underneath the craft, Ry'ken stood only in the shadow of the ship. Overhead the lights buzzed and the crew started making their way toward the shuttle.
Oh no, he flattened his ears and quickly raced to the other side of the vessel. He watched the figures board the ship, close one, he peeked from behind his barricade, time to get moving. Tracing the edge of the room he continued at a short trot, only pausing for a second to observe the two females speaking. But then regained his pace and came to the next Bay, he stopped short. I could at least see them go, he said more in admiration for the ship than in the faceless marines. Briskly, he ensconced himself a weapons rack, double checking for everything to be in its correct place.
 
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Shuttle Bay

The Shuttle's pilot, a Laibe, strod into the bay carrying a bag of tools on his back; he walked up to the front of the small craft and placed a hand on the nose and then his eyes followed the curviture of the craft all the way toward the back and nodded. "Good," he made his way toward the back and then entered the craft and soon the cockpit, where he took a seat in the pilots chair and began to run a preflight checklist; including instructing the crafts computer to run a brief engines test which would cause two holographic displays to appear in the back of the engiens saying 'engine test in progress'.
 
Shuttle

Shar strapped herself next to Def'leor. As far as the black-furred daur new, that ground team did not forget anything. Everyone had ammo and supplies to survive on the ground for a while if needed. Shar hoped that the mission would go all right. The logic stated that if no one would fire a gun, that would be a good thing. The fighter in her though... the fighter in her longed to see some action.

"So Lex," Shar turned to Def'leor. "We got any news on whoever is down on the ground? Did they meet any more of the nasties we saw last time."
 
Kil'nda was strapped in and ready to go. His rifle and ammo secured. He sat back listening to the briefing and looking around. There were many faces he recognized from his last mission ground side, and a few new ones as well
 
Def'leor looked over at Shar. "You want things easy? We had limited communications. There are injured personnel from a cave in. Beyond that, they were not sharing. And once we are down, we'll have limited communications. The folks on the surface are using a bouy, but that will only work when the Gam'trosha happens to have LOS. Hence why I said I wanted us to come prepared for dealing with as much as possible. It seems unlikely if there is trouble that we will get a rapid response from the Gam'trosha."
 
Shuttle

"So it is like I thought." Shar replied an nodded to herself. She sighed and leaned back in her seat. "Good thing we are loaded for a bear. I bet we will use those guns today. Bad feeling and all that. I just hope those guys down there are all right."
 
Kil'nda listened as the two talked some more about the mission and that they were armed to the teeth with weapons in case more of the aliens from last time were present. "All things considered though I hope they aren't." he said as they waited to make planet fall. I'd never shy away from a fight but I'm crossing my fingers hoping we don't find Civilans being attacked once we make planet fall."
 
Def'leor stood up and walked to the entrance to the flight deck. "Take us out and down to the surface. We are not going to learn anything sitting up here and speculating. Stay Sharp though. The communications problems may be nothing, or they could be a sign of hostiles. Until we are down safe and secure, feel free to consider the LZ to be a hot zone."

She resumed her seat. "Shar, likewise have your folks ready to respond as if we are in a hot LZ. I would rather be pleasantly surprised to find things peaceful. But until we are sure, we err on caution." Def'leor then adjusted her restraints.

She activated her communicator. "Bridge, Shuttle one deploying."

The sound of the engines muffled by the shuttle hull increased, and through the view ports, the walls of the ship's interior slowly moved past. Once clear of the Gam'trosha the pilot increased speed and started their descent. As the craft plunged into the upper layers of the atmosphere, the rarefied air heated by the crafts passing and formed a glowing field.
 
Shuttle One

Shar nodded back to Def'leor and stood up herself. She looked at her small group of soldiers and sighed. She wished she could have more people. At least eight to make a proper squad that could work in two four men teams. But no she only had a swordsman, an engineer and a single My'leke. At least Shar knew that Lex could take care of herself in a fight, when push comes to shove.

"All right you mutts," Shar looked at her man and grabbed a handle to remain stable while that Shuttle was starting. "We do not know the situation, so I want you to be ready for combat landing. I want Dar first our of the door, C'ross right behind him. Me and Kil will provide cover. Check your guns again. Any questions?"
 
[Shuttle Bay]

Ry'ken watched as the Shuttle not-so-gently brought itself a few feet from the floor. The turbine's whines steadily reached a higher pitch as more throttle was put to them. It appeared if it was levitating, but the screaming of engines tore any such though out of his head. The vessel gingerly rotated until faced with the yawning Bay-door. With a powerful sound, of fuel little more being poured onto the engines at this point, the maneuvering thrusters kicked off and retracted. The vessel shot past the exterior hull, oxygen flooded the room as the hatch closed. The My'leke pried himself from the wall, and slouched deeply. Dull ringing from the engines made everything seem numb, but if it bothered him, he showed no signs of it. I am glad that everything went well, a warm smile showed for a second, but one of the thrusters appeared weak... Frowning, he took to all legs and arched his back like a common house cat. But the thrusters are basic air intake systems, and more than enough compensation is present. Nothing was wrong clearly, the pilot would not have taken off otherwise. Ry'ken stook his head as if to clear the thoughts then began his way toward another Shuttle. CC-32 Orso'dian Dropship... He jumped onto the outcropping underneath the raised wing. It was almost as if the thing had injured itself, the broken limb kept high for it to heal. But cynestran cannot heal itself, that was his job.
 
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Shuttle One

As the shuttle dipped into the atmosphere, those onboard would be rocked beliefly from the turbulence. "Hold on," shouted the pilot as they pointed the shuttles nose downward to get them through the clouds. Electrical discharges danced across the canopy, causing the pilot to briefly worry about what it was as their eyes danced from one side of the canopy to another before the effect began to dissipate. Finally the shuttle punched through the upper atmosphere and found itself in a craggy mountainious area.

It was a rather ominious, scary, sight to beyond. A large rib-cage like jagged mountain lay out before them, the pilot looked at the coordinates for landing and it was right in the centre of this oddly formed terrain. They manuvered the shuttle below the rib-like mountains and then skimmed the ground up to twenty meters before the main campsite came into view. "Look alive!" the pilot shouted again as they spun the shuttle around and began to land.

The campsite was bustling with activity, people in white body suits were running around, carrying medical kits, excevation tools, and other items. Smoke bellowed from a cave and groups of armoured indivisuals were moving boulders out while others were propping up support structs.
 
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Ross made an effort to be the first out, hand on the hilt of his sword as the shuttle landed. He immediately removed his grasp on his preferred weapon, upon seeing the state of their initial contact with the presumed colonists of this planet. "LZ void of hostile presence." The Swordmaster reported loud enough for the NCOs present to hear him. His eyes narrowed as they scanned the surrounding terrain. "All they would need is a pouch of explosives..." He noted sourly, noting the portions of the mountain that finished the illusion of a rib cage. The nobleman stepped two or three meters away from the entrance of the shuttle so that he wouldn't preclude the deployment in any way as he depolarized his visor. "Hiding one's face wouldn't be very conducive in terms of gaining a beleaguered group's trust." Regardless, the look on his face was a carefully constructed mask.
 
Shuttle

Shar moved to the exit of the shuttle, raised her rifle an looked aroun. She was glad for her helmet to protect her from the fierce weather outside. She frowned as she saw C'ross get out first. Ignoring her orders again? No most likely just forgot. Shar looked back in the shuttle and raised her hand. She circled her finger in the air and then pointed out.

"Landing side looks clear. Dar get out there and cover us." Shar shouted orders. "Everyone else let's unload this thing. We do not want it to sit here longer than needed."
 
Shipside

Sa'kira rubbed the bridge of her nose as she watched the shuttle vanish from the sensor displays, they were on their own for now. "Monitor the area," she said and leaned back in her chair for a moment of thought before tapping the comm. button. "Engineering."

~"Quin' here mah"~

"Is there anyway to get a signal through the planets interference?" Sa'kira asked.

The line was quiet for a moment. ~"I'll get my team together and we'll see if there is a possibility."~

"Do it."

Engineering

Quin' relaxed a bit and allowed herself to float freely, arms folded over her chest, the Kit let out a tiny yawn before corrected herself and gripped the edge of a console. "Keri, Ry'ken, the Shipmistress wants a solution to this planets interference. It is blocking communications and sensors."
 
Planetside

Kil'nda stayed back as per instructions weapons at the ready. The orders came out from Shar about unoading and he took to action. He began to grab some of the items around trying to take the biggest of items that he could carry off first so that the ship could be cleared faster. "Come on Ross, grab something and get to it. WEe got to try and help these civis anyway we can." he said
 
Gam'trosha Hull

Xeui'na said:
"Keri, Ry'ken, the Shipmistress wants a solution to this planets interference. It is blocking communications and sensors."
Click to expand...

Keri paused his progress across the hull to the aft sensor array when Xeui's voice came from his comms. He blinked after a moment as the content of the message registered and was processed by his brain, then replied verbally, "A problem with communications due to interference is tricky to work around; generally, the only ways to bypass it are either to overpower the interference via a brute force approach, eliminate the source of the interference where possible, or else use an alternative method of communication that isn't affected by the same problem. In example, if the comms interference around the planet is scrambling radio and subspace transmissions passing through the atmosphere, then using comms lasers is probably the best alternative, etc -- lasers are probably the best bet anyway, as they can't easily be blocked so long as the skies are reasonably clear and light is actually reaching the surface. As long the Gam'trosha remains in line-of-sight of the shore party's shuttle we can use their landing craft as a relay and hopefully maintain contact with planet-side crew."

The platinum-haired kit paused to take a breath, then continued talking as he resumed walking, "As for sensors, I'm almost to the aft array -- I'll let you know what I find when I get to it. For the other sensors on the ship, specifically which aren't working for you or aren't giving clear results? EM sensors? Gravity? The optics should at least be working... I mean..." Keri looked up at the scene above him, taking in the view of the luminescent sphere above. "I can see the planet myself, so at the least we should be able to get old-fashioned satellite views unless the problem is internal to the ships systems."

Having reached the aft sensor array while he was talking, the young engineer began to visually inspect it as he awaited a response from Xeui'na. The kit's eyes darted over optical clusters and a half dozen different specialized sensors, each designed to detect and analyse one specific variety of phenomenon like electromagnetic radiation, gravity, subspace activity, etc.
 
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