Re: Interactive Story - LARP/MMORG for the whole CofI to join in, if you like or dare

[Tierrennes]

Zeke moves his personnel sled to a safe distance away;just out of scanner range and slightly above the rover.he continues to track the larger vehicle trying to figure out what exactly these people are here for. TEAM-LEADER TO TEAM NCOick me up at the rendevous point,I'm on my way;ETA 30mins. Rhodes out! zeke brings up the display panel and punches in the security code;launching the tracking drone.He then enters the coordinates for the rendevous and hits enter.The sleds auto-pilot takes over and changes course toward the setting sun/ due west.
These new toys his employer supplied are very useful.With his own hand-picked and extremely loyal team Zeke feels confident that this will be a lucritive job;possibly even long term.As long as the pay keeps coming and the perks are good,that is!

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

Ben stares at Felix closely...

"And as for you. I would prefer that you keep your petty prejudices to yourself in future. I know many humans. Many I consider friends. They do not behave so. This vacation of mine is leaving much to be desired."

Ben turns away from Felix and begins typing on his computer...

Personal Security Agent Wanted:

Applicant must be female,

Must Have :
valid weapon permits/bonding.
extensive hand to hand combat experience.

Diplomatic Security experience a +.
Computer Literacy a +
Languages a +.
University or Military Academy a +
All equipment supplied and certain expenses.

Payment commesurate with experience.

Contact MBOZ57 on net local.

 

[MadGav]

Felix winces as he adjusts his weight and momentarily forgets to lean on his stick. “Listen – I didn’t sign up for this mission and I’m not sure I would have done if I’d had a choice,” he glances warily at Benny. “But I’m stuck here with you now and I guess I owe you all something for pulling me off the snow. So, until we get back to civilisation I’m going to throw my lot in with you. Remember though: I’m interested in survival not luck.”

“This leads me to the mission. The way I see it, Area 51 is a highly secret site. They’re surely going to be looking out for unwelcome visitors and by the look of the radar they may already have seen us. How close do we need to get to use the holocamera? The scutterbug will have a huge IR signature and will be seen easily. I say we should park it behind the horizon and someone should ski close enough to get a line of sight. Once we’ve got the images, we get out of here.”

“Can we make it there before it gets light again?”

 

[kafka47]

Ref says:

Socrates pauses for a moment from teaching Owen & Julianne. "Naw, it is at least a day's journey away (OOC: Saturday in Real World time). Plus, as I said it will not be my job to climb the caldera that will be your job. You can borrow some of the rigging from this vehicle but two conditions: (1) Want it back in the same condition that it was lent and (2) that you know what you are doing. The rigging however probably will only get you half way, so I would suggest that you use it judicially."

"I wouldn't worry too much about the IR signature, as it is on the base of a smoker that has breached the ice; it is a prime area for prospecting. Usually, the Impies leave us prospectors alone...but given that our communications suite is now blown to smithereens, it might be hard to relay our intentions. Funny, a moment ago, I could have sworn that the radar picked up something must’av been bouncing off the remains of the pod..." concludes Socrates and continues to show Julianne the ins and outs of the vehicle (being a quick learner she receives +1 on Vehicle skill).

Owen takes out his pen, nervously tapping it against the table pulls a map projection on the holosuite, "The way, I see it, the closest approach is here. We have about 200meters of rope and looking at the grade of the slope, we could probably make our way up 50m without any assistance. Then we will be on our own...and then we only have about 500m to climb. Who else here has some mountaineering experience?"

With wiry smile, he states "And I have sneaking suspicion, call it maybe...journalist intuition that whatever the Imperium is hiding, it will be in those warehouses...not just lying out in the open otherwise the satellite feeds would have picked it up."

-----------------------

The tracking drone's EMS screen switches on and it burrows under the ice and swims forward navigating the currents with ease. Zeke fumbles around with the controls. At least, now he can keep a safe distance. A bleep over a secure com, asks that he return to the warehouse to secure the perimeter against possible incursion. A frozen watch of marines commanded by his own platoon are awaiting orders.

 

[Klaus]

Panthera helps Owen puzzle out the topology of the caldera, based on the quality of equipment. Her experience in these conditions is rather limited, though she has assisted trek leaders in equivalent terrain on more clement worlds.

She checks the the supplies, and starts organising it into individual bundles. She also checks up on Ditzie.

 

[Tierrennes]

Zeke immediately responds;taking the sled off auto-pilot he changes course and heads toward the wharehouses.He checks the drone feed to see where the rover is and which way it's heading.
"Kurt! this is Zeke,I'm sending you a data stream feed from a tracking drone.See if you can determine where around the perimeter their most likely to end up.Set up extra guards peremeter wide,and get ready to captuer the incursionists as soon as they attempt to make entry. I'll be there in about 50 mins.Getthe guys ready.We're going to be the ones to capture these people; not the standing guard.I want to interigate them myself! Something about this stinks Sergeant;and I'm going to find out what it is.set perimeter coms on channel five,and our coms on the alternate.You know the drill,cover our own asses!From now on all coms between us will either be coded or face to face.Rhodes out!

 

[kafka47]

Ref says:

Day and Night the vehicle rambles on toward Area 51. The occasional Rampart screams overhead at high altitude before disappearing into the horizon. Tracking across the landscape is uneven due to breakage and flow of ice underneath.

Finally, the GPS indicator lets the players know that they have arrived at the site.

"Ok, children time for you to go and play." quips Socrates

The players scramble out of the vehicle in full climbing gear, Owen's & Walter's holocamera and Hostile Environment Suits...even in this low gravity all the items seem to be heavy. It will be another 2 hours before Brown Giant sets below the horizon and night begins then another hour before the deep freeze begins.

OOC: First, I need you arrange a climbing order. Use the Player's forum, I would suggest those with the strongest skills mix in with those with weaker skills in a staircase manner. Strong->Weak->Strong

Secondly, then I need everyone to make 50 rolls against their Dex to simulate the climb. Should one fail, then make a roll against Endurance and then the player behind you would make a Dex to catch you.

Thirdly, Please role play (not just posting your rolling) the results and use PM each other to simulate to climbs and pitfalls. Try to make it as exciting as possible.

After all have reached the summit, I will describe events within the volcano's crater.

BTW, I am sensing lethargy and fatigue… Is there a point to go on with the adventure? We have met our target of the highest number of postings. I find this kinda fun. PM with your thoughts.

 

[Klaus]

OOC: put up a suggested climbing order on the Player's Thread

 

[Klaus]

Panthera suggests the use of the grav modules salvaged from the pod to rig some kind of sling with her spare harness, at least to carry some of the other gear up.

"You never know when they might come in useful. And I literally sweated blood for 'em, so i'm keen to hold onto them".

She also spends 10 minutes drilling the group into the proper use of ropes and harness. She gives Benny extra attention in the case of hammering pitons into ice, as it will be his responsibility to secure any extra ropes that may be needed.

"Hey, Benny. When you look at the ice, close up, what do you see? I mean can you see any sub-surface features? Sometimes it's hard to tell what is bed-ice from frosted snow".

She warns Ditzie.. "I'm not going to be able to come back and help you if you get stuck. If it's too much wait for Benny to catch up and help out with the pitons and claws."

As Panthera is going first, and won't have ropes to help her, she has to travel light. She folds up her short skiis and straps them on her back. Then it's just a small ration kit, the flare gun, and her ice axe.

She starts scouting the base of the caldera for a useful route. She recommends that she spends 20 mins or so checking out any likely routes, just in case they run out.

 

[kafka47]

Ref says:

The grav modules on the sled make the climb seem much easier (50% reduction in rolls). The education session whilst taking 30 mins gives all characters without relevant skills the equalling of 0 in Mountaineering & Skiing.


The base of the caldera is an easy climb not necessitating the use of any ropes. However, it is the rocky out ledges that lie beyond the first 50 meters that will present the most challenges. Sheer cliffs, handholds that are less than 50 cm and snow, ice and wind to contend with. Fortunately, there is just enough rope to link the players together and whilst there is not enough skis to around. The grav sled could be modified to act as turbofan using its grav modules to slow descent down the other side. The only problem is that it is going to throw up a lot of snow making it quite visible. Waiting until nightfall runs the risk of cold weather injuries akin to what occurred during the repair work.

Felix shatters the cast and whilst, there is a pronounced limp, his leg seems normal and able to bear his weight and that of the others.

Owen makes some final checks on his suit. "You, ok, Bengie? You look a little more pink than usual. Climbing is easy. Think of it as just passing the time between you and the abyss."

Socrates eyes take on a sinister red reflection from the control panel. "Ok, Julianne here has programmed this rider to go on a broad circular sweep. I will return to this spot when the "sun" begins to rise again, which is in approximately six standard hours. Come back by then and I will be waiting, delay or cock-up, you're on your own and you can make your way back to civilization. Naturally, we never met. Hopefully, whomever you arranged transport for Walter back there will issue you a refund. However, if you were dealing with Black Market contacts...got to warn you...some of the local toughs here can be quite brutal, if they don't get paid in a timely manner."

Socrates fires up the airlock, and the green light indicates that all things are a go. The other players exit the vehicle and catch up with Panthera, as they watch the vehicle move off into the horizon beyond the Volcano.

OOC: Glad to hear that you are all committed to the adventure. When I notice that posts are rather uninspired (true, some of the blame lies with me) and their length is very short, I tend to get rather demoralized.

 

[MadGav]

Felix steps carefully out of the vehicle onto the icy vista. The wind immediately finds the openings in his clothing and he struggles to tighten the fastenings. His leg feels strange from the recently removed cast: light but cold.

As he walks around the end of the transport, he looks upwards and sees the edge of the caldera towering above them, shortly before his goggles mist up in the full force of the howling wind and the others start disappearing from view.

Then begins the ascent: scree and snow mixed to form a slippery combination. Felix steps into the footsteps left by those in front which makes things easier but it’s difficult to work out which have been left by Benny and do not fit his stride. Gradually, he builds a rhythm of his breathing and walking and is even beginning to sweat when the wind carries an additional faint note: perhaps just Socrates moving off in the vehicle or perhaps from a more inhuman source…

Felix breaks into a sprint and almost runs into Benny who has now stopped with Panthera and Ditzie at the foot of the vertical cliff. As the others catch up, Felix takes a last look back from where they have come. The wind is unrelenting and the gloom almost complete though for a second Felix feels sure he has seen a light briefly from below.

“Rope up people!” shouts Panthera as they step into the uncomfortable harnesses and string the line between them. They spend a minute or two practising on the level but as Panthera sees them starting to shiver, she takes the lead and begins the climb. First Panthera, then Ditzie and Benny disappear upwards . As the rope grows taut ahead of him, Felix feels for a hand-hold above and, with a growing sense of unease, pulls himself up.

 

[Klaus]

KERUNCHSHHHHH

Panthera slams in the axe and pulls herself up, the stickpads she's stuck on her fingers and toes just about giving a reasonable grip on the frosty surfce.
She slides her left hand inside a useful crack, makes a fist, jamming her hand into the crack, and takes her weight on her wrist, hoping the HES seals are up to this. Finding a narrow foothold and using her axe to brace she take's a hotpiton out of its sleave. Steam gushes off the hot titanium alloy as she slowly but firmly pushes it into the ice-wall. Once up to the hilt, she flicks a concealed stud and small 2cm spikes extend from the shaft of the piton. By now the hole has frozen solid again, securing the piton. Panthera slips the rope throught the safety clasp, and LOS microwave's down to Ditzie.

"First piton in, 3 metres up 2'o'clock from your position. Pass it on...."

She glances up at the next ascent, scanning for the best route, very aware that the hotpiton supply is low.....

OOC: Panthera has 13 pitons, so she and Ditzie have a piton every other roll. Benny also has 13 pitons, so those who follow after have a piton every roll. Up to the ref if a piton is properly secure or suffers metal fatigue; after all, they are likely to be more brittle than usual in these conditions.

 

[Klaus]

OOC: 25 rolls against a Dex of 12 (End 10). I'm assuming roll under here, snake eye's or rolling over meaning a fail

8 / 8 / 4 / 9 / 12 / 6 //OOC

Panthera get's into the zone, calmly assessing each hold and making steady progress. Every now and then she LOS's down to point out a rest spot or tricky climb. At one point, she underestimates the strenght of a handhold and it comes free. Luckily her ice axe, sharp as ever, digs in deep and she recovers. However, she lost a piton. It disappears into the haze....

OOC:
10 / 8 /6 / 5 / 11 / 4 //OOC

Panthera's really in the swing of it now. The second stretch goes by easily. She waits halfway for the others to catch up, and sucks on the strawberry milkshake nipple in her helmet

OOC:
6 / 6 / 3 / 8 / 10 / 6 //OOC

Now the hard stretch. Fatigue is setting in now. Panthera paces herself, checking in frequently with the others to make sure they're OK. A caution light in her mind is winking too. She scans around as best she can for any scanners or sensors on the cliff-face

OOC:
2 - Panthera loses her handhold. End check - 5, pass
Ditzie make a DEx roll to catch me, otherwise Panthera's weight will drag you off the cliff face. A piton one check down, but Benny will be there too.....
6 checks remaining - Will wait for outcome before continuing. //OOC

Disaster. Panthera swings her arm and the ice axe sinks in white. Unfortunately, it's a thin frost crust covering gravelly snow. The axe comes out when she puts her weight on it, and the frayed and torn stickpads on her left boot can't keep a grip. Panthera falls into space...

"FRREEELLLLL!"

It's as if time has slowed down. She swings her axe to slow her descent, and it does dig in. The hotpiton she was aqbout to deploy is gone, and Ditzie is coming up alarmingly quickly. Below she see's Benny holding on and operating one of his pitons at once. The rest are lost in the swirl of wind and snow.

With calm clarity, she thinks "Ditzie, please hold on......."

OOC: Listening to BSG Mini soundtrack whilst writing this; very atmospheric, gets the creative juices flowing.

 

[kafka47]

Ref says:

Winds howl around the Caldera, overhead a pair of Ramparts screams overhead before slowing and descending downward. They seem to have been escorting a Lambda-Class Imperial Shuttle which is also descending to the bottom of the crater.

The snow seems to be letting up, a bit making the climb a tad easier (apply -2 DM to your rolls) however, footholds seems to be getting fewer and fewer.

The jagged nature of the rocks crumbles away once the last player leaves. The rocks show incredible wear, occasionally flecks of quartz and gold can be seen reflecting and glistening against the sun.

The pistons hold their on in the balsamic rock but also subject to crumbling once the last player exits.

No wonder the Imperium wants this planet; it is venerable mother lode of resources just waiting to be exploited.

OOC: I strongly urge the playing of music to inspire. Is there a link to the BG mini soundtrack that you can share? If not, check out EVE Online which has some nice downloads or Anarchy Online...

One thing I regret about not mounting this somehow on the web is the fact that I am limited to just description but I have a whole host of images and sound files that would make this adventure perfect.

Guess people, if they want to "feel it" have to wait until the Pandemonium Con where I will Ref-ing 2 adventures (unrelated to this one but also mood pieces).

Lord Kafka...flattery will get you nowhere, you know that Baron/Benny/Chuck...

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

OOC: Dorking out totally, I used a dice roller program to make the first 25 rolls, and then actually graphed on graph paper the success curve. It was a slow day at work for certain.

Contrary to most of what is known of Hivers, Ben is of above average physical prowess unlike many of his kind. This comes from years of long travels around the Claw.

He starts out strong, gripping the surface with all six limbs. His six eyes hug the surface as well, offering a 360 degree worm's eye view...

(OOC: First Half of Ascent (25 Rolls)
9 7 6 10 11 5 3* 10 8 5
11 5 12* 8 6 9 9 10 11 6
5 8 9 7.
*= highlighted in character post)

He makes good time, backtracking and checking rope when need be. He periodically marks with arrows in black space pen the not-so-obvious but good hand and foot holds for his comrades as he goes...

A sudden shift in the ice sends him sliding back over the edge with 95% of the mountain left to climb. Scrambling frantically, Ben spikes the ice with his springblade, and slowly returns to a steady pace...

OOC: How much time does each roll represent again?
Can we use critical successes to counterbalance other character's critical failures, seeing how we are all tied together? I need these answered to post the next bit.)

 

[Tierrennes]

Zeke gathers all the security force together by vid-com and posts them in a manner as to appear as dauntingly as possible.Roving patrols on a 15 min. overlapping rotation,with standing posts every 150 meters apart;this is for the entire outer perimeter of the base.There are towers at each corner& at the gates there are two.These are little more than electronic survelience stations, but they are operated from the command post.Watch change is every four hours for standing posts and every two hours for roving patrols.As per orders,the security force and standing garrison is currently been turned over to Zeke.His team is not included in the watch rotation.
He has the drone recalled from watching the climbers and prepares to recieve their visit.
OOClease let me know just before they reach the perimeter.I have a suprise in store!
He gathers his team and assigns them to the main wharehouse/laboratory,where they set up their welcome for the party approaching.

 

[kafka47]

Ref says:

There is a muffled sound of a single propeller of helicopter emanating from the other side of the crater. As Ditzie Owen, Panthera, and Benny pull themselves to the top. They are complete invisible to the naked eye perched on a ledge ready to make their decent.

Through binoculars, they can see 3 black helicopters patrolling the bottom of crater with spotlights leading into areas that would be darkened by shadows or the descending gloom. The helicopters don't appear on any scopes however, more alarming is that than a few simple warehouses they see a massive security complex complete with barbed wire and watchtowers piercing the dusk.

At various interspersed distances, figures mounted on grav platforms can be seen circling the parameter. They are in full Imperial Battle Dress with the Imperial Sunburst crossed out and replaced with a Black Dragon. They seem also be armed to the teeth with grenades and FGMPs.

Off the centre lies a cluster of building roughly resembling what was on the satellite image. "Damn, they fudged the satellite imagery." Owen curses


Other than the helipads, there is a small landing pad where the shuttle and the two Ramparts are sitting. A red carpet was

Lights seem to be emanating from a group of buildings and the pathways to the warehouses to and from the administrative buildings are illuminated with fusion torches.

OOC: Of course, I would allow spectacular successes to offset failures in the dice roll.

BTW, the use of the Grav modules only necessitated the 25 rolls to make it to the summit.

Still waiting upon JULIANNE to roll. I have rolled for Ditzie and despite a few major mishaps, she also pulled through.

Next week, I will be on "vacation" taking care of my 1.5 mth son...I will try to get to posting on the daily basis but I cannot make any promises.

 

[Klaus]

"Uh, frell"

Panthera glances back down the iceface.

"Anyone got a white flag.....?"

She turns back to help Julianne and Felix over the last overhang, then gathers up the rope. She opens up one of the cases and retrieves her light kit, and buckles it on. Then she unfolds her skiis and straps them on. Unpacks the snow shoes for the others, then warms down gracefully.

"What next then guys? This is more your expertise."

 

[kafka47]

Ref says:

Owen grabs Panthera by the collar just before her decent.

"Given the law level on this ice cube, I would say surrender is not an option. What I suggest is that we try the stealth approach. So far we would not be too big to appear on their scopes, there is no guarantee of that once we start making our way down the side of the Caldera. If we use the grav sled, it is bound to whip up a lot of snow. We could always jump out before it reaches the bottom and creep in the main entrance, as they investigate the sled and their hole "security" and then there is also, over there..." says Owen in almost a cocky manner and pointing to an area where the lights from the watchtowers don't reach and too close to Caldera's wall that the helicopters don't approach it.

"The problem is how to get there and to get past the fence. Somehow, I have the sneaking suspension that we have come to expect tripwires, minefields and an electrified fence is probably all in order." says Owen gravely. "But, I welcome what other people have to say. We just have to hurry it is getting dark soon."

Looking down at his chronometer and it reveals 30mins before the Brown Dwarf falls below the horizon and probably sooner than that for the effects of the cold to be felt on the mountain to the shadows.

Julianne panting from the exercise of climbing the face. Looks down at the base, "Looks a high security Class A Imperial installation, its variable weak points are best accessed along the wayward flank. If we are mount an assault clearly it would be best if we can take out some of those lights. Panthera, when we get down there, however, we do it, I think I have a use for your flare gun..."

Everyone just sort of stares at Julianne.

OOC: Yup, I am ghosting Julianne again. If anyone else (from the larger board or our local clique) wants a stab just PM and Jame (who will hopefully joining us again soon).

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

OOC: I move we take this time to pause and review (and make observations) as a group all that has gone on so far, and discuss future plans...