[192 and 193] Look out below, I know there's no decision [OPEN]

[bastionpc]

Who: Everyone!
Open: Open!
When: Day 192 and 193
Where: Skyway
What: We might be nearing the end...
Format: Any
Warnings: N/A

[Another stretch of time, another period of finding nothing new. It's been left to Zayna and her father now, to complete those maps. Which they've been doing diligently, but Zayna has been wondering if they've reached the end of parts of other worlds being pulled in to the sky above their own ruined home.

That is until day 192. And just like before, there's another three each on two different days.

So they return and like before Zayna offers off the sketches of what they've found.]

Comments

[freedom_engineer]

[Three isolated, identical, small buildings that seemed to have withstood the calamity to some degree. He'd bet anything they were the remnants of his site, the formation of their placement in the sketch confirmed it in his head. He'd asked for volunteers, and wasted no time in getting supplies ready for travel. If even a fraction of what was there was salvageable, it would be a major boon.]

[Now that he can see the buildings in the distance, his eyes widen slightly, and he scowls.]

Can't really say I was actually expecting to see this...

[gianthobo]

[AZ tilts his head at Colin's sudden change of expression. Something more personal, then.]

Just let us know what you need.

[freedom_engineer]

Just hoping that some of my team have been lucky enough to survive. I know it's unlikely, and I'm not relishing the implications. I'm going to need to gather their remains, even if it's just dust...

[He starts walking again.]

We came to this planet to study some anomalies in space time. We were probably detecting the precursor to the Calamity wave.

[gianthobo]

... Really? Huh... if we could track it...

[He moves a little closer to Colin, though. He doesn't know if Colin will need someone to lean on, but he's here in case he does.]

[freedom_engineer]

The technology behind it is... complex. I was setting beacons to try and get better readings when I blacked out. I doubt we'll be able to do anything of the sort.

My empire might, but it won't be easy. Or timely. It's not a hellmouth, it isn't remaining stationary.

[Colin shakes his head as he enters the camp, looking around at the state of the place. The buildings have seen better days, but they're intact. There are ash statues everywhere, and broken equipment of varying sorts as far as the eye can see. Colin frowns slightly as he looks at the statues.]

[gianthobo]

[He reaches out and puts a hand on Colin's shoulder.]

Take the time you need.

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin nods slightly, continuing to look over everything and everyone. He's memorizing this, and recording it as well. He reaches a hand up to rest it on AZ's briefly.]

Normally, we only devote five men to a distortion analysis team. It's dangerous work. This one was bigger, almost rivaling the Iowa Hellmouth of 616 Earth. I normally don't even get tapped for these missions, they're not my area of expertise, but the sensors had to be set and the computers had to be calibrated to account for the distortions.

Everyone here, EVERYONE here... is or was a genius in their field. Even the security team had science backgrounds.

The drain on the empire for losing this many experts will be immense...

[He steps away from AZ finally, taking off his backpack and pulling out several vials.]

I... need to collapse these statues and gather some of the remains, in the even I ever get home. These people need to go home too. Corsicans don't leave our own behind.

[gianthobo]

If... you're sure that's best.

[It seems somehow disrespectful to him, but he has no room to argue on this. It's Colin's world, Colin's customs, and Colin's way of dealing with it. He knows Colin isn't the most sensitive to other people at times, but that's no reason to be rude.]

What should we do? I don't want to set anything off that shouldn't be.

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin's setting about to work on his own task. Getting these people home is more important to him than his own survival right now. Corsicans DO NOT get left behind on some alien world after dying in the line of duty.]

There's... Look around for now. There was no automated security, so you aren't in danger of tripping any defenses. Anything sensitive that's still functioning will be locked down, and weapons are biometrically linked to their owners, so you won't accidentally discharge anything.

If you see anything that looks like it's still online, let me know. Otherwise, we'll scrounge for parts when I finish here. I need a lot of this stuff back at my workshop. ... Sadly, breaking down the structures won't happen. They're designed to function in hostile environments, even if they're temporary. These things can take a beating, which is probably why they're still standing.

[gianthobo]

[He nods, and goes to look around, checking it out. Golurk sticks close to AZ, careful to make sure it doesn't miss anything. It doesn't really trust that there's no danger.]

[freedom_engineer]

[Fortunately for Golurk and AZ, it really does seem that there's nothing else in the area to be a threat. There is absolutely no plant life to be found, no sign of any animals in the area. Even the only sign of water is a discolored patch of ground near a wrecked vehicle, seeming to indicate a puddle of water that's long since evaporated.]

[In terms of items, there's plenty of wrecked, broken, and charred equipment littering the area. Nonfunctional data pads, inert rifles and equipment that looks like it was made to be held in the palm of ones' hand, long-dead consoles for equipment that may once have been quite advanced, but is now little more than a paperweight.]

[Inside the titanium structures, however, there's less damage. Still lots of broken equipment, and several ash statues, but the damage is less severe. And every so often, there's a flicker of light from amidst the debris.]

[gianthobo]

[AZ pokes around through the debris, gently trying to sort some that looks less damaged. The weapons get a wary look and very careful nudging into their own pile. He leaves those for Colin to look over when he's up to it, and moves on.]

[The flickering light gets his attention, though. He has Golurk stand by as he digs through the debris. He's glad for his gloves, as old as they might be, since some of this stuff looks like it could cut him if he's not careful. Still, a light might mean something that still works...]

[freedom_engineer]

[The light appears to be an indicator for a console of some sort, covered under other debris. Should AZ clear the debris, the console's screen will activate, flashing several messages that are unmistakeable as warning indicators, as well as a simple message reading "Welcome, guest user."]

[Needless to say, something seems to still be working.]

[gianthobo]

[... Hm. He heads back out to try to find Colin. He doesn't want to activate something without knowing about it - and he's not the best with computers.]

Colin? I found a computer that still works.

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin looks up from a pile of ashes at AZ's words, and he nods quickly.]

First good news I've heard all day.

[He looks down at the pile of ash, and he quickly tucks it away in a vial which he then seals.]

Rest in peace.

[He gets up and jogs over to AZ quickly.]

Lead me to it, please.

[gianthobo]

[He nods, and Golurk trails behind them as he leads the way into the structure and over to the pile of debris where he found it.]

I'm not really a computer person...

[freedom_engineer]

That's okay. I can handle every computer in this place and more. You found this one, that's wonderful for us.

[He smiles up at AZ, and he starts to clear the debris.]

Lots of trash here, huh?

[gianthobo]

Yes. I only saw it because of the light from the monitor.

[Golurk starts shoving aside the heavier pieces. It doesn't really know which bits they should be saving but at least it's good at shoving.]

I'm not sure what half of this stuff is.

[freedom_engineer]

That puts you ahead of most of the people in the Bastion, really.

[Colin reaches out into the pile and snags a thin, disabled data pad. He holds it out to AZ, and he smiles.]

If we bring nothing else back from this place, we want to bring these back. They're pads, and they can hold and display massive amounts of information. These alone will be worth their weight in platinum to us. There should be dozens of them around here, everyone on the team would have had one, and we keep spares around at most consoles.

[He hasn't really looked up from the console in spite of his addressing AZ. Once the console is clear, Colin gets to work at it, typing at a holographic keyboard that materializes underneath his fingers, tapping at the screen, and mumbling commands in alien languages.]

[gianthobo]

I see. I'll keep an eye out for them. We might be able to repair even the broken ones if we're lucky.

[AZ nods to Golurk, and starts bending and looking around for more. The giant Pokemon keeps watch, just in case. It hasn't seen any threats, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.]

And they don't look too heavy, so they should be easy to carry back.

[freedom_engineer]

I don't think we'll be able to repair all of them, but if I can get even a half dozen of them working, then I'll consider it a success.

[Colin stares at the computer for a moment, then he sighs and leans his hands on either side of the monitor, bracing himself.]

Communications are offline, sensors are offline, atmospheric generation is offline. The camp is basically dead. It's a good thing that the Skyway was habitable, because the world we were on was a barren rock... Without artificial atmosphere, I would have been dead immediately.

[He glances to AZ.]

Are you looking forward to finding anything of your world?

[gianthobo]

We can still use the others for parts. Relying on the Monument for everything makes me... uneasy.

[They still don't know why or how it works. In case it stops generating things for some reason... he'd rather have materials.]

... I don't know. There's no place I really call home. Most places that I have strong memories of were demolished hundreds of years ago. I do know two places I wouldn't want to show up here, though - Lysandre's laboratory or Menhir Trail. There's enough destruction in this world without dragging in reminders of more.

[freedom_engineer]

My thoughts exactly. There's a reason I'm not using it to make more stuff. Especially not the advanced things I really want...

[Yeah, he feels uneasy with unexplained replication technology. He's sure that's what the monument is, but until it IS explained... he's not totally comfortable with it.]

I get that. I... was torn between hoping I'd find something, and hoping that it would stay gone. Finding this place confirms that the calamity had a further reach than I'd hoped...

[He shakes his head.]

I'm going to bring back this computer for certain. As many pads as possible, probably a couple of rifles if any of them have their power cells intact...

If we can find a medkit or two, we'll be in good shape also. Other than that, the rest of this stuff is only good for parts.

... Though, I need to find the comm array. If I can salvage that, I might be able to do something.

[gianthobo]

[AZ is quiet for a moment before speaking again, choosing his words carefully.]

... Just so you know, you can talk to me about anything. The offer is open for you all the time, and it's not like I'm going to go run and tell other people what you said.

[Listening is one skill he's gotten good at over the years. It's easier to just listen rather than try to make the words himself, at times.]

Do you have any idea where the medkits would be? That's probably one of the more important things to make sure to bring back, since your world's medicine seems more advanced than others.

[freedom_engineer]

I know, and I appreciate that AZ. I just haven't quite parsed my own thoughts well enough.

For one thing, though, the Monument worries me on several fronts. Firstly, it's got to have a limit somewhere. If we rely on it TOO much.. we're going to be screwed when it breaks down.

And secondly, I don't think any of us should forget that it was Caelondian science that caused the calamity in the first place. Used improperly, or given the wrong technology to recreate... I shudder to think of the ways it could be misused.

[He's pretty sure AZ's offer was made for something ELSE but his thoughts there are hard for even the trained professionals on the Nova to follow. Besides, his worries about the monument are a lot more pressing... at least in his own mind.]

As for medkits... Each pre-fab should have one near the door. There should also be one in each vehicle, though I'm not sure if we'll be able to get inside the vehicles... We could have up to six of them here, though that's rather optimistic.