Second_Prototype's Space Adventure (CYOA)

The problems plaguing the ship go a lot deeper than you thought. [color=green]Repairing one system reveals subtle faults in others[/color]. By your reckoning the ship needs a full overhaul otherwise you can expect something to break every week.

After about two hours of tinkering the woman from the bar walks up to you.

"What the hell is taking you so long? Other techs can fix this in a few minutes."

You tersely explain the full extent of the ships problems to her.

"Huh...I'm really not surprised, but I don't have the money for an overhaul. Just do what you can. I gotta go attend to some business. Oh and [color=green]don't even think about stealing anything... or I will find you.[/color]"

With that the woman heads off to goodness knows where.

[The gall of that woman. Professional techs could charge her a significant amount of $tarbucks for the work you're about to do. Still you came to her...]

Six hours later you've rewired half the ship's power grid. [color=green]A computer diagnostic confirms that everything should hold together for the foreseeable future.[/color] Your engineering background served you in good stead.

Your new boss returns with [color=green]two other people in tow[/color]. You brief her on the changes you made to the ship and she seems mildly impressed.

"Not bad at all. I guess that means you've passed the test. By the way my name's Hanna, [color=green]Hanna Duo[/color]. Welcome to the crew of the [color=green]Centennial Pigeon[/color]."

Suit Status:


Cybernetics


Inventory:


ARFS Settings

"I'm Xenith. Xenith Landers. Former Spaceship Engineer and amateur hacker. Glad to be in your crew. So what will the Centennial Pigeons do now?"

Hanna gestures to the two newcomers.

"We've got a job. These two hired me to take them out to some unknown location."

The two people behind Hanna introduce themselves as [color=green]David and Dr. Averlyn[/color]. They claim to be Archaeologists looking to explore the ruins of some long dead alien civilization.

You can't really tell what they look like since both of them are wearing their helmets. You assume that they're aliens because their suits don't look of human make. [color=green]David is especially odd[/color] as he speaks through a translator and his suit seems to be made from sleek metal panels that look rigid yet bend when he moves.

Suit Status:


Cybernetics


Inventory:


ARFS Settings

"Interesting. Shall we go inside this ship whose name I don't know and go to the location now?"

((The Centennial Pigeon is the name of the ship. Aaand time for another massive post.))

Hanna ushers everybody on board and begins preparations for take off. As your ARFS said the Centennial Pigeon is a modified drop ship and you can see that it's once cavernous transport bay has been partitioned into several rooms, one of which Hanna assigns to you.

Your room is a small spartan affair being little more than a bunk with a small computer terminal joined to a tiny cubicle that serves as your toilet and shower.

---

A few hours later the Pigeon leaves Khartoum Station and begins the journey into frontier space.

You have a quick meal in the common room and in doing so meet the last member of the crew: a man named Tran.

Tran is the ship's medic, an old friend of Hanna's. He seems to be a slightly older man of asian descent. Tran tells you that both of them served in the Pan Galactic Space army during the last great space war several years ago. He also tells you that the last two engineers the ship had suffered horrible deaths...

---

Several days pass and the Centennial Pigeon reaches the inner regions of the unknown star system. Dr. Averland points out a barren planet on the outer edge of the local star's Goldilocks Zone and Hanna brings the ship in to orbit.

Surface scans reveal a large area of [color=green]ruins somewhere down on the Planet's surface[/color], but as the Pigeon prepares to enter the atmosphere sensors detect [color=green]a derelict spacecraft in low orbit[/color].

David and Averland want to start exploring the ruins as soon as possible but Hanna decides to ask for your opinion before making a decision.

Suit Status:


Cybernetics


Inventory:


ARFS Settings

"Well perhaps. We should approach the derelict spacecraft first. I don't think its capable of firing at us in its state. We should see if there are salvageable materials inside. I'm sure the ruins can wait. they're not going anywhere. Once we get near the spacecraft, I'll go out myself and check it."

((But then I'll need to pay for voice actors. :( Yeah okay I'll try to make them talk more it's just that I realised that when running a CYOA I should move the story along and only stop it when there's a meaningful choice to be made.))

Hanna shrugs.
"Alright let's check this out. We should probably give the ship a once over anyway just in case."

Dr. Averlyn is visibly annoyed.
"Yeah well the ship doesn't look like it's going anywhere either. Can't we check it out on the way back?"

"I got several space parachutes in the back if you want to get to the surface right now."

Averland just throws up her arms.
"Fine go ahead just be quick about it.

---

The Centennial Pigeon moves into position about 100 metres to the side of the derelict ship. After a brief space walk you clamp your mag boots to the side of the ship and contemplate your next move.

The derelict appears to be some kind of research vessel called the Rosken. It's roughly 400 metres in length and there are several large holes in it's hull towards the aft section, clearly the engine compartment has suffered massive damage. Scans of the ship are inconclusive, there seems to be something jamming them. From your perspective the ship is completely dead, no heat or power sources detected though if the Pigeon's scanners are being jammed then your suit's sensors can't quite be relied upon either.

You could enter the ship through one of [color=green]the hull breaches[/color], or you could try to [color=green]find an external hatch[/color]. Alternatively you could ask Hanna to [color=green]blast another hole in the hull[/color] with the Pigeon's weapons.

Suit Status:


Cybernetics


Inventory:


ARFS Settings

unholster P.E.W pistol and equip it in my right hand. Then enter the ship through on of the hull breaches

You draw your pistol and enter the derelict through a large breach in the aft section of the hull. Your sensors immediately go crazy, [color=green]it seems that there's a lot of radioactive dust in the air[/color]. Thankfully your suit's radiation shielding can deal with it.

You hear Hanna over the radio.
"Landers I'm having a hard time keeping track of you on sensors... repeat...can't...breaking..."

As you move deeper into the ship the quality of Hanna's comm signal degrades to the point where you lose contact with her.

Eventually you find your way to the engine room. The place is a mess, the entire area is a maze of tangled metal and scorched machines. [color=green]The ship's engines are totaled and the main power core appears to have been ruptured from within[/color], something that would either be the result of severe negligence on the part of the maintenance crew... or [color=green]a deliberate act of sabotage[/color].

The state of the engine room explains the radioactive dust cloud and the reason the ship is completely un-powered. You find a doorway leading out of the engine room and into the ship's midsection. From here you could:

1. Try to find the ship's auxiliary generator and bring it back online.
2. Move to the research lab in the ship's mid section.
3. Move to the cargo bay in the ship's mid section.
4. Move to the crew quarters in the ship's mid section.
5. Search the engine room for useful items.
6. Go back the way you came and return to the Centennial Pigeon, the place is best left alone.
7. Something else?


Suit Status:


Cybernetics


Inventory:


ARFS Settings

I choose #2 To go the research lab.

Maybe we'll find something interesting there.

Oh and I say to my ARFS "Thoughts about this place, Arfy?"

Following signs on the corridors you make your way to the research labs in the ship's mid section. It's slow going; all the doors are locked and un-powered. To open them you have to perform a lengthy manual override procedure that culminates in forcing the doors open with brute strength. Thankfully your powered exoskeleton comes in handy here.

[A derelict research vessel in orbit over a long forgotten world with alien ruins. I bet this thing either has a monster hiding on it or an insane AI... maybe both.]

You enter the research labs. The area is full of computers and lab equipment. One wall has a row of small cages, likely containing animal test subjects. Most of the cages either contain mummified rodent corpses or are empty. [color=green]One cage though has a broken door as if something burst out of it[/color].

Further up you find [color=green]a human corpse surrounded by dried blood stains[/color]. The corpse has been somewhat preserved by the cold vacuum and you can see that it has several [color=green]deep slash wounds[/color] across it's torso and limbs.

The blood stains lead to the other side of the room where you find [color=green]a single functional cryo pod. There's something humanoid frozen inside of it but the ice isn't transparent enough for you to make out the details.[/color] The pod is still active which you can believe since cyro pods usually have multiple auxiliary systems to keep their occupants alive in the event of a ship wide power failure. You could try to revive the pod's occupant but with the whole ship depressurized it would only suffocate.

[See this is how it all starts. Something has obviously gone horribly wrong here and I for one think we should leave before we find out what it is.]

What do you do next?

1. Search the research lab for useful items
2. Use your suit's micro generator to power up one of the computer terminals.
3. Move to crew quarters.
4. Move to the cargo bay.
5. Move to the front of the ship which contains the command center.
6. Move back to the aft section of the ship.
7. Leave the ship the way you came, this place is better left alone.
8. Something else?

Suit Status:


Cybernetics


Inventory:


ARFS Settings

I choose: 2. Use my suit's micro generator to power up one of the computer terminals.

Maybe I'll find some record or logs as to what they were doing in this place.

You connect your suit's power supply to one of the computer terminals. The terminal lights ups and you begin to tinker with it. Seeing as your suit's generator was not designed to power an entire research lab the amount of computing power you have is quite limited. Most of the files stored on computer are either corrupted or heavily encrypted. After fiddling around with the terminal you manage to extract the following files:

[Research Log 5: Preliminary Analysis of the "Green Goo"
Space Date: 1998 S.E.
Author: Dr. Farrow

The surface team has recovered a canister of what for lack of a better term can only be described as "green goo". So far 80% of it seems to be known organic compounds but the last 20% we can't identify.

All the tests we've run so far show that this goo seems to be inert. Some of the lab assistants swear that it sometimes "flows" in ways that are unnatural but I would hardly call that conclusive.]

[Research Log 3: Archaeology Report 2
Space Date: 1998 S.E.
Author: Dr. Farrow

Base camp has been set up and Dr. Averlyn has begun exploration of the ruins. The ruins themselves seem to have been created by an ancient race that are much larger than the average humanoid.

The ruins seem to have an underground section far larger than we initially thought. Exploring all of it could take years. Averlyn's team have discovered a few chambers that have some kind of pictographic depiction of alien rituals on it.]

[1998 S.E... That's 10 years ago going by the Space Era calender. The second report mentions a Dr. Averlyn... could that be our Averlyn?]

What should you do next?

1. Search the research lab for useful items
2. Try to extract more files from the computer terminal.
3. Move to crew quarters.
4. Move to the cargo bay.
5. Move to the front of the ship which contains the command center.
6. Move back to the aft section of the ship.
7. Leave the ship the way you came, this place is better left alone.
8. Something else?

Suit Status:


Cybernetics


Inventory:


ARFS Settings

I choose #2 I want to extract more files

You don't know what you did wrong but the computer starts to spark fizzle. After a few seconds it burns out completely. Just before it dies you manage to extract one more file.

Which one is it?

1. A map of the ruins.
2. The last report about the Green Goo.
3. A language decoder for the alien pictographs found in the ruins.

You store the data in your suits computer then decide what to do next.

1. Search the research lab for useful items
2. Move to crew quarters.
3. Move to the cargo bay.
4. Move to the front of the ship which contains the command center.
5. Move back to the aft section of the ship.
6. Leave the ship the way you came, this place is better left alone.
7. Something else?

Suit Status:


Cybernetics


Inventory:


ARFS Settings

I extract #3 the language decoder
Then go to #4 the command center

Moving to the Command Center is a painstaking process seeing as you need to unlock several more un-powered doors. As you force open the door to the ship's command center you "hear" a [color=green]clanging noise coming from further down one of the other corridors[/color]. The whole ship is de-pressurized so the sound must be travelling through the hull up through your boots.

Meanwhile the ship's command center lies before you. The main part of the room consists of a [color=green]captain's chair[/color] surrounded by various computer terminals that would be manned by the other crew members. In front of this are the [color=green]flight controls[/color] which are suspended out in the middle of a bulbous windscreen that offers a good view of the planet below you. At the base of the captain's chair is[color=green] a hatch labeled "AI core access"[/color].

Some of the consoles have [color=green]mummified corpses[/color] slumped over them.

[Hey just so you know we've been in here for over 4 hours now.]

1. Search the command center for useful items
2. Move back to one of the locations in the ship's mid section (research lab, crew quarters, cargo hold)
3. Investigate the source of the noise.
4. Use your micro generator to power up the Captain's Console.
5. Use your micro generator to power up the Comms Console.
6. Use your micro generator to power up the Flight Controls.
7. Use your micro generator to power up the AI Core.
8. Leave the ship the way you came, this place is better left alone.
9. Something else?

Suit Status:


Cybernetics


Inventory:


ARFS Settings

I choose 3. Investigate the source of the noise

You move down a side corridor towards the direction of the noise. As you do so the "clanging" noise repeats itself in a steady rhythm. Presently you come to another sealed doorway. It seems like the clanging is the result of [color=green]something striking the door repeatedly[/color].

[You're not seriously going to open that are you? Whatever is on the other side is likely gonna try and kill us.]

1. Open the door.
2. Move back to the command center.
3. Leave the ship the way you came, this place is better left alone.
4. Something else?

Suit Status:


Cybernetics


Inventory:


ARFS Settings

Safety first.
#2 Move back to the command center