USN DrySurface project
** Dropship enters atmosphere of Planet 219 Harker.
** Surface readings show low volcanic activity. minimal surface vegetation.

The settling rights were cheap for this rock and your small party of colonists and engineers now know why. This is as far out as a USN ship has colonised in the past 150 years. Fleet has a minimal presence in this system.

The old colonial dropship your team was assigned for this project looks like it was in a war zone for a century or two. You cruise across the red vista of 219 Harker and look for a place to set down.
.

** Suitable stable area found.

** The dropship lands, as the thruster jets cool and hiss in the hot air a small step folds and digs into the red earth.
You step out and wait for your eyes to adjust to the new light. The wind is harsh and dry.

Hargrove takes a deep breath.
"Airs thin"
"Reminds me of New Sudan in the Aeries system."
Hargrove clips a breather unit over his mouth, Its recycling filter box hums on his belt.
"Lets set up camp I guess",
**can we deploy the dropship into a building?**

**Colonial dropship is deployed as a small habitat unit and medium to short range communication station.

http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Stratedgy

you want to ban me for spelling stratedgy ?

With the Ion storms in the upper Atmosphere getting Communications to work in atmosphere could be a problem, not to mention getting any information up to our Satellites.

I recommend deploying a Mark III radar dish with Communications bunker ASAP.

>grammar trolls
>grammar
>stratedgy

CONSTRUCT CLANKING REPLICATORS.
PROGRAM TO MINE THEN BUILD SPRAWLING HABITAT.

>>14059706

I concur-- clanking replicators of mining and resource delivery specification will speed colonization greatly.

Requesting schematics, or requisite research materials.

Soil samples look good. We should be able to farm the surface with minimal preparation. Don't expect any rolling fields of grain, though. The climate's fairly poor, at least in this area.

We should get that prefab greenhouse unfolded as soon as possible.

"I'd say nows 'bout time to think about setting up a Gen IV GreenHovel®. Rations here in the ship won't last much longer."

Jensen chews on a leftover coffee swizzle stick from 3 days past.

*** Mark III radar dish schematics received from fleet com and being fabricated.
***prefab greenhouse schematics received from fleet com

>>14059776
But... we should have at least a three month reserve.

Should I be worried about all these empty crates of artificial bacon?

*** locations for Mark III radar dish and prefab greenhouse set.

Once the Radar arrives we should make it our Priority to launch at least one LEO Communications satellite, to improve the quality of ground communications and allows us to send Tight beam data bursts back to USN command.

My personal recommendation is 2 LEO communications birds, and one HAAM Weather Probe.

LEO = Low Earth Orbit
HAAM = High Altitude Atmospheric Monitor.

>>14059828
The Ion Storms won't put the launch at risk, will they?

>>14059795
"We ain't all following guidelines strict as you, sometimes a man's gotta feast! Tell me what you think we can grow here in that prefab piece of junk you call a 'house', and maybe get a list of minerals we got nearby, maybe we can fertilize this dry red hellscape."

Mitch switches his swizzle stick to the other side of his mouth and sucks on the hydration tube, taking a quick sip of burnt coffee.

****

>>14059860

There's a chance. but the Disruptions are gonna fry the ships sensors if we keep them up and one blows In on top of us. Its better to be safe than sorry, at least this way we can give ourselves a little forewarning.

>Space Colony Stratedgy game.
>Stratedgy game
>Stratedgy

>>14059872
"We can grow any of the standard 'hardy' crops. One or two of the more temperamental ones, like UltraRice. I can't do the mineral survey until one of the Rovers is unloaded. The equipment isn't man-portable. Or at least, not enough of it is."

Stalvet contemplates slipping tainted psychadelics into Mitch's share of delicious homegrown DoubleWheat.

>>14059873
"Can't argue with that."

Willis pauses for a moment, adjusting his ever present Earpiece. As for the food situation, if were heading towards critical levels I could try and requsition some extra supplies from command. Word is, or at least last I heard, that they are sending a big Convoy towards the last first wave colony planet. It shouldn't bee too much trouble to get an extra container or two diverted to us.

>>14059924
"I hope that won't be necessary."

Stalvet's stomach rumbles.

"...If only this planet had trees."

>>14059940

*Nods, running his hand through his hair before looking upwards*

"Trees? I'm missing my Probes. I feel positively blind without my eyes and Ears in the sky"

>>14059895
"Well ain't you just a regular USN Techie,.. all business..,"
Mitch hacks up long wet pleghm slab and lets it slowly drip out of his mouth before hooking on his breather unit.
"Now that you mention the Rover though, I'm itchin' to spin some tires, lemme tag along on that survey you got planned. Grab me when you get the baby runnin',"
Mitch gives the Technician a firm slap on the back while chortling, and goes to make a count on the seed-stock for 'hardy' types of crop, stopping off to grab the 3rd standard daily ration allotment he's eaten in the past 4 hours.

rolled 2 = 2

OP, please check your email.

>>14059991
"Same with me and the Rover. I've gotten so used to having the thing around all the time... I think I'll check the cargo bay. Maybe the elevator's jammed up again."

>>14059992
"Alright, you can come along. It's hardly cramped."

Stalvet heads back to the cargo bay, nearly slipping on a ration wrapper.

*Shaking his head slowly at the antics of the Chief Ecology Contractor, Issac Willis pushes his glasses back up the ridge of his nose, before turning on his heel and heading towards the planned area of the radar and communication bunker complex, pacing it out with his feet and using his fingers to frame the currently imaginary buildings*

**** Mark III radar dish completed
**** prefab greenhouse completed

>>14060119
"Perfect. It's planting time. Hope that Rover'll be unloaded by the time I'm done."

Stalvet grabs a couple of boxes of vacuum-packed seeds and heads out to the greenhouse, humming.

>>14060119
Niiiiiiiiiiiice

***USN Technician Stalvet Assigned with the duty of listing the crops planted and harvested.

>>14060119

((Okay that picture is more than Awesome OP))

Issac Willis examined the Exterior of the mark III radar dish, running his fingertips along the metal before hooking up his PDA, taking a few small readings before smiling broadly, muttering quietly to himself "Perfect"

He paused, keying his mike through the communications dish and into the global Frequency

"Congratulations folks, Communications are officially up and running, and we have an expanded sensor range around the base-camp."

*** Clanking replicator schematics not on file, please specify.

>>14060185
OP, could you check your email? Not that important, just a quick question about a character I'd like to play.

I don't suppose we could get a lab going in the near future?

I'd like to see if this planet is a suitable candidate for terraforming

>>14060038
After sending off the Tech with his box of seeds Mitch hollers over to Willis, completely oblivious of the headset with its mouthpiece folded by his sweaty bald head,

"Hey! You said somethin' 'bout callin' in more supplies!? Get on that, we got no more o' that fake bacon or those vitamin bars with the choco-bits left! We just got this wafer junk in vac-seals, its like a mouthful of this goddamn rust dirt"

Mitch dumps the upended vacuum packet over his face,mouth open catching the falling crumbs. He then proceeds to wander off to the greenhouse with a handheld sono-tiller, and a simple soil analyzer.

>>14060207
Specify lab schematics, Bio lab, Cryo lab, nano tech research lab, general research lab

*** after a 56 hours in the small deployed hab unit there is a sense of agitation and claustrophobia amongst the camp.

>>14060231
general research would be the most beneficial in the immediate future

The heck is all this. It's like a colony-building vidya, but in quest thread format? That seems quite impractical and very inefficient.

"Excuse me Mr. Jensen, while you're out on your survey would you mind collecting some soil and rock sample for me?"

>>14060231
general research please (OOC: this is my first time here, so warn me if i screw up)

>>14060154
Planting:

-DoubleWheat (Fast-growing, minimal water required, advertised as being twice as healthy as SingleWheat)
-UltraRice (Does not require flooding, but does need strict temperature control, extremely nutritious)
-TurboCarrots (Grows fast enough to stab you in the throat if you're not careful)
-Mini-Potatoes (Literally small potatoes, low resource requirements, grow anywhere)
-Fruit Medley Shrubs (An experimental gene-mod product, a bush-like plant that yields random fruits, such as apples, grapes, and pomegranates)
-Alpha Soy (Extremely versatile, grow anywhere, can serve as a replacement for almost any food)

"I'll expect the first batch of carrots in about half a day. I won't be able to grow a lot of them, though; they deplete the soil too fast. If we run out of rations, these are all we're going to have to eat for a while. Keep that in mind."

*** General research lab schematics received.
*** General research lab location set

>>14060251
The artwork supplied for efforts of the questers, and the subsequent story-line surrounding its construction provide a compelling method for entertainment.

*Issac cringes slightly at the yell, the holler carrying easily on the flat red plains, turing once again and pressing a few buttons on the PDA still connected to the Dish*

"USN Command, this is Communications Officer Issac Willis, stationed with the new second sphere Colonization, Planet name "Harker" Authorization code 2690-ALPHA-GAMMA-DELTA-346

Requesting a supply shipment the be Immediately re-routed to our current position. Food supplies have reached critical levels across several main Areas. If possible we are also requesting a Mark IV Hab dome, setup procedures have been slow, and its getting Crowded down here. Willis Out"

Oh, hell yeah!

Stratedgy game.

I thought you stopped doing these.

("Stratedgy" is a nametag for all you newfags)

>>14060216
Stalvet wipes his forehead, then stops planting.

"Wait. Wafers. Those are dehydrated rations! You're supposed to add water, not eat them dry. I can't even fathom how much food you've just wasted."

>>14060273
"The Greenhouse's moisture trap isn't enough to maintain both us and the crops for long. I recommend we either construct a well or a standalone capture system. If I had my Rover I could scan for an aquifer and drill a well myself."

Stalvet absently wonders what could be keeping the cargo crew. That blasted thing was supposed to be unloaded days ago.

*Issac looks over at the man, the bag discarded by his feet. His eyes widening noticeably as they flick between the sliver wrapper and the Chief Ecology Contractor*

"Whatever yo do. Do. not. Drink.
Anything.
For at least a day.
Trust me."

*He continues to look at the man for several seconds, before shaking his head, sighing. and moving over to their resident scientist.*

"Hello there, Brown, was it?

once you have that lab up and running, would it be possible to begin Fabrication on a par of the HAAM probes? Not only will they help us detect any of the Ion storms, but they'll give us a birds eye view of the surrounding area, and may pick up anomalies that the ground survey misses"

>>14060262
"Sure thing Emmet, I've got a nice collection o' stones right here for ya!"

Mitch grabs his crotch and thrusts his hips provocatively, chortling loudly.

Finally figuring out the commsets are operating, Mitch shoves the mic too close into his mouth,

"Willis, how do I get some water down here? I need to call in some stills, condensers, vaporators--somethin' to feed our Techie's little sprouts. We got 'bout 3 months rationed supply of it stored, but you and I both know water goes quick, and who likes these restrictions on consumption anyway!"

>>14060306
Mitch gives Stalvet a friendly slap and blurts out,

"Hey! I know how much we all need water out here I'm not about to wash down everythin' I see with big swigs of it bein' wasteful, am I?"

Mitch sets the sono-tiller down and leaves the greenhouse, walking around the site for the research lab, picking up random rocks and shoving them in the sample analyser, and mumbling the highest mineral densities in each as they're scanned.

"Iron..."
"Iron..."
"IRON..."
"IRON!"

Jensen grows agitated and returns to his quarters, tossing the soil analyzer at Emmet.

>>14060371
Shouldn't be a problem once the lab is up and running, I don't want to even think about trying to build one in this dust. I'm sure with you're help we could even interface the system to broadcast any anomalous readings automatically over the comm system

>>14060404
The Doctor juggles the analyzer and almost drops both it and his glasses in the process, but manages to catch it.

"Thanks!" ha managed, but Jensen had already left

>>14060355
Mr. Stalvet, I'm sure with some help we could cannibalize the Dropship's engine coolant systems to produce a makeshift moisture vaporator. Of course, we may want do do this as a last resort.

>>14060404
"Pff. If you wasted water like you do food you'd be the only one left in a week."

Stalvet leans against the side of the Greenhouse, checking his watch.

"A couple of minutes and the carrots'll be ready. After they're out I'll put in some Soy. Now then, what else do we need?"

Stalvet suggests the construction of a hab complex. The dropship's a bit cramped. As for the replicator, which USN seems to have lost the schematics to, a nice automated refinery/factory structure should be sufficient.

"Without a comprehensive mineral survey Mitch is probably only going to find iron. I need that Rover."

The cargo elevator finally descends to the planet surface, rover upon it, and Sherman looks to the other colonists.

"Finally un-jammed the bloody elevator. Did I hear something about a ground survey?

*Issac jumps, cringing as Mitch's voice screams over the radio, his hand instinctively coming up to try and block out the nose as the Communications officer automatically re-tuned the loud man's voice, Bringing the raucous noise down to a tolerable level*

"Uhh, I'm not sure. to be perfectly honest I spent more time worrying about these Ion storms than looking at the Cargo manifests."

*he turns back to Prof. Brown*

"And yes, setting up an Early warning system would be more than advisable."

>>14060444
"That's not a bad idea. If it comes to that, though, we'd better get used to the terrain, because we won't be leaving."

Stalvet wanders over to the lab construction site, pushing a small cart.

"Carrot, Doctor?"

**** General Research lab construction completed.
**** Small moisture evaporation unit locations set

>>14060474
"Oh, thank God I was beginning to get worried. MITCH! Get over here, it's survey time."

Stalvet looks around the makeshift camp, squinting. His instincts tell him North is as good a direction as any.

"The Rover's a four-seater. Anyone else want to tag along?"

>>14060495
"Much obliged. I'd like to tag along with you int he rover if I could, Mr. Jensen's survey work was less than thorough" Dr. Brown waves the mineral scanner for emphasis

"I'm going to have to agree with Stalvern on this One. we need a Hab dome, subterranean if Possible. if the readings we got regarding this Planet's Ion Storms is correct, we won't want to be on the surface if one hits.

*He reaches forwards, taking a carrot out of the Cart, looking at for a moment*

"My mother alwyas told me to eat these, she packed 3-4 or four of them for me to eat at school every day. for my eyes."

*he takes a small bite, grimicing slightly*

"Never did begin to enjoy the taste."

>>14060530
"No problem. This baby's got the best eyes this side of orbit."

Stalvet bangs the Rover's side for emphasis, and grins.

"If you see anything interesting, shout. I'll have my hands full with the deep-scan."

>>14060542
"There should be some ranch dressing left in the ship, if Mitch hasn't found it. I always thought it went well with carrots."

Stalvet motions to the Rover.

"Fancy a ride?"

>>14060521

"I think I'll stay here, I like the Rover just about as much as I like carrots. Plus if i stay here I can tell you if we make any progress with the Request to the USN, and make sure none of the crops..... Wilt. Or whatever it is crops do."

>>14060473
Mitch agrees with a new habitation complex. Waking up, he mumbles to the other crew,

"There's no way I'm stayin' in these cramped quarters another 3 months, I can't stand the smell in this damn hunk of tin!",

He bashes his fist against the wall, but is surprised when he hears "rover" over the comm, and hustles out.

>>14060563
"Suit yourself. The only thing I'm worried about is the Rice. A stiff breeze'll kill it. So don't hold the door open or anything."

Stalvet climbs into the driver's seat of the Rover, switching on the electric cell and checking the gauges.

"Everything looks good. Well, let's get cracking."

The Rover soon bounces off over the hellish landscape, engine whining, passengers uncomfortable. The scanner starts seeking ore, and immediately finds a large underground reservoir of water.

Stalvet makes a mental note to begin constructing a well after the survey's done.

The Doctor tries to tinker with the mineral scanner, but the overwhelming feeling of motion sickness convinces him to wait until the rover has come to a halt

*Issac nods, waving as he watches the rover peel off into the Distance, before turning and making his way back into the ship, settling into a chair, his earpiece keyed into the radar, the static a calming white nose as he concentrated, listening in for any signs of Communication*

In the sky, through the swirling upper atmosphere, a falling star begins to slowly make it's way across the sky.

>>14060629
"I hope that's a good omen"

>>14060617
Simultaneous with the arrival of the shooting star, a subtle static begins to play across the waves.

*** Evaporator units completed,
*** Rover lowered from dropship cargo.

The Rover skids to a stop on the dry, cracked bed of a depression just North of the camp. Stalvet peers intently at one of the scanner readouts.

"Hmmm."

He takes a bite of a carrot and starts fiddling with the control panel.

"I haven't seen this much Iron... ever. Looks like there's tin, magnesium, copper, hell, just about everything, in varying amounts."

Stalvet leans closer to the display, zooming in.

"Doctor, are you seeing this? I've got some interesting readings on the ultrasonic. Could be a cave system."

"I don't know if its just because I'm keyed directly into the Communications dish guys, but I'm getting some anomalous noises over the Coms. Everything alright out there?"

>>14060602
Jensen, riled up from the bouncy suspension and swift driving methods of the man behind the wheel, begins hollering,

"Woooooooooooo! YEAH! Go for the big craters Techie! WOOO!" But a bright object in the sky catches his attention, he shuts his mouth abruptly.

"What's that fallin' down? The supplies?"

Mitch keys in to relay the comm back to Willis,
"Hey, Willis, you up? Get us coordinates on the incoming impact object, it's probably that cargo shipment, and those wafers ain't sittin so well in my gut, I wanna see what they dropped off for us."

Mitch sucks a gulp of cold burnt coffee from his hydration tube.

>>14060660
"Excellent. We should be fine for water now. As long as nothing happens to those evaporators."

>>14060665
"...Now that you mention it..."

Stalvet turns up the volume on the Rover's com unit.

"What is that?"

>>14060674
"DON'T DRINK ANYTHING, DAMMIT, YOU COULD EXPLODE AND KILL US ALL"

>>14060664
"Apart from the high concentration of iron, the surface seems to be mostly homogenized in the metal department. I'm detecting large seams of iron, aluminum, and silicon..."

The doctor paused

"Most perturbatory. While we know the planet has little in the way of groundwater, I'm detecting a large concentration of organic material in the crust."

>>14060700
Stalvet zooms in further, and rubs his chin.

"Care to make a guess, Doctor? Do you think it'd be safe to drill? Get a sample?"

The star is dull, but growing brighter. It's falling through the atmosphere, but . . . something's amiss. It's going to slow. Inching across the horizon, drifting listlessly lower, and perhaps dangerously closer towards the new settlement.

In a moment, it glows shockingly bright as it hits the upper atmosphere, and the air begins to burn. Soon, the fire around it begins to shrink as the object's speed slows. It continues to move ever closer towards the encampment.

It moves faster than can be seen as it passes over the colony. Hardly more than a blur of dark metal(?) and followed by a rush of wind behind it.

It slows and slows, until it's as if it were gliding. And then it stops in mid air. Little less than half a mile past the settlement, it hangs for a few moments several dozen feet above the ground, before slowly coming to a drop.

Resting among the red dirt, a very old, and extremely damaged ship sits, its' armor torn in places, and the tip still slightly glowing and smoking.

>>14060689
MItches belches with such force it shakes the instrument panels.

"Heh, friend, my mouth feels like its full o' that dust we've been kickin' up right now, an' yer tellin' me not to drink!? It's just a little indigestion, ain't nothin I haven't dealt with before."

He wipes the spittle forming on the corners of his lips with the back of his glove.

"You said somethin' bout caves? Might be some subterranean ecosystems we could check into, what with the aquifer you waypointed just over there, water's all we need to have an excuse for some explorin'!"

>>14060665
The humming static has localized to the landing object. The signal is weak, and indecipherable.

>>14060674

*Almost the moment the man stops talking Issac hears a small but insistent beeping through his headset as the dish picks up the small, fast moving object hurtling towards the planets surface. Looking down at his PDF the Communications officer makes a few quick motions, frowning as he double checks the readout*

"Well, its not the Supplies...

To be perfectly honest I'm not sure what it is. some sort or small meteor, by the look of it."

>>14060722
"...Willis, what the hell was that?"

>>14060721
"Oh, certainly. Perhaps this planet wasn't always a barren rock. Some samples should shed some light."

>>14060727
Stalvet taps the steering wheel.

"We've got a lot on our plate already. And that organic material doesn't bode well. In my mind, at least. I wouldn't recommend an expedition right now."

He smiles.

"By which I mean, you first."

*Issac picks himself up, having fallen oven when he first saw the metal object, apparently headed right for him, trembling slightly, and looking nervously over his shoulder at the hovering Object, he keyed his mike*

"G-guys... Get back here, fast...

Something just landed, and its close, Really, Really close."

*he paused for a moment, before adding*

"Hurry, please."

>>14060746
"Good enough for me."

At the touch of a button, the Rover begins extending its drilling arm. The tough piece of machinery swings out to the side, and opens, revealing a large spool of cable, a rather large bit, and a lens. With a crack of thunder the mining laser fires, clearing a short path through the now-glowing rock. The drill descends.

"Should only be a few minutes. It's a straight shot."

>>14060767
"Say again, Base. Did you just say something landed?"

Stalvet checks the drill monitor.

"Three minutes, thirty seconds."

>>14060767
"What in--"

Mitch begins to breathe heavily and his voice rasps, and he rolls side to side holding his oversized gut

"You.. HEARD...THE MAN... LET'S G---",

The end of Mitch's shout is cut off by a bone wracking dry heaving cough, followed by a series of bear-like groans.

Jensen then promptly loses consciousness as his midsection distends horribly.

>>14060767
Dr. Brown was experiencing some interference with his comm as he radioed for clarification

"Wha.....chu....talking...bout....Willis?"

>>14060800
Dr. Brown rushes over to the collapsed form of Mitch

"Damnit, I'm a scientist, not a gastro-intestinal surgeon!"

"We need to get him back to base ASAP!"

"I repeat, something has *Landed* about half a click outside of the camp. It came screaming over, right for me, and then actively braked and is now hovering in a Field. Its the source of that Radio disturbance I was picking up"

*he paused, clearing his throat*

"I'd i'd prefer not to be the only one here if something decides to come out of it."

*Keying his headset again, not waiting for a response he joined the USN requisition servers*

"USN HQ this is Issac Willis, Communications Officer on the Planet 'Harker' I am requesting Classified schematics for a set Low altitude Point defense weapons, we have Unidentified flying objects coming danger clse into the Camp"

>>14060800
For a moment, Stalvet feels vindicated. Then shock kicks in.

"Jesus Christ we've got a crewman down here!"

Stalvet quickly checks Mitch's pulse, then pulls one of the emergency levers. With a hiss, the drill arm ejects from the Rover, and Stalvet shifts into drive.

"Doctor, see what you can do for him. Base! Break out the medics, Mitch is down!"

The Rover roars off toward the base, screaming over red dunes.

*** additional hab unit construction set.

*** low altitude Point defense weapon schematics approved and sent from fleet.

It's all black. He's at the controls of that bitch, and he's sitting there, next to a body that had long ago gone to bone. He didn't check the ID. He didn't want to know. He just wanted to be free of it. Free of it all. He was going home.

The black hole was several light years away. The ship was headed straight towards it now. Soon it would be one with a singularity. It would be nothing more than an atom sized speck within an immense pool of nothingness. The idea appealed to him.
........

He couldn't remember why, be he was running through the flight deck. Someone was chasing him? He heard foot steps. Loud ones. And laughter. Hard and sharp as a knife against stone. He was scared. Terrified, even. He was so ready for death, for oblivion, and yet he didn't want to die like this. Who was behind him? Who was the disembodied laugh? He couldn't remember?

He was climbing down a shaft now. Sliding down long cables and jumping from support beam to support beam. He hit a landing badly and smacked his hip against cold steel. God damn it hurt. He couldn't believe it. It was easy to forget how old he was. He heard the man behind him. Above him. Coming closer. He shot blindly into the dark shaft above him and ran.

*Willis whitened Visibly at the news, his hand almost glued to the earpiece of his headset, frozen for a moment before springing into action. There was a tiny med bay on their ship, only room enough for a single tiny bed, luckily there were also several cu boards full of medical supplies and medical kits in its shelves. Skidding to a halt in the cramped space, and slightly out of breath he gasped*

"What are we dealing with? whose down? do you have them on the rover?"

>>14060844
He was in another ship now. He couldn't remember how he got there. He saw a glowing blue light out on the deck, near a fuel tank. His heart pounded. The shuttle they'd was beat to hell from their landing, but this one had been there for years. Their? That's right. He had come with him here. Together. He engaged power. The lights on the console flickered. "Come on! FUCK YOU, COME ON! NOT LIKE THIS!" He smacked his fist against the plastic case and something clicked. The engines fired. He lifted off the floor, saw the figure coming into the light, shaking a large jagged blade in the air in front of him. "I'm sorry, kid." He pressed down hard and the ship pulsed away, out the hangar bay and back through the energy field.
........

He woke up in the seat of the chair, drifting through space. He could see the green glow that surrounded the Ulysses now, far off in the distance. He sat and wept.
........

He covered the wound on his face with a bandage and cursed himself. He should have stayed on the bridge. He was twice a coward now. He hoped the ship would stay on course and end it's curse.
........

He slipped into the cry chamber and closed his eyes.
........

He woke suddenly. Disoriented. The lights in the shuttle were dimmer than he remembered. Maybe? He stood and stumbled. Got sick and puked on the floor. The screens were blank. Dead. He was in his suit already. He rubbed his face, wiping away at nothing he could find. He picked up his helmet, and opened the door. The sun(s?) were bright and blinded him. He stepped out sluggishly, and found his footing with trouble.

He stood outside the ship, looking into the horizon. He walked.

>>14060861
"It's Mitch! I told him not to drink, dammit, he's in the Rover but not good-"

The Rover tears across the barren surface, skidding as Stalvet struggles to maintain control. The little vehicle turns, leans, and almost topples over, before launching over a conveniently ramp-shaped rock and landing hard, right in front of the lab.

Stalvet's head smacks the steering wheel with an audible *crack*.

Stalvert is unconscious.

OOC: That's as long as I can put off sleep. Thanks for the art, drawinganondude, and thanks for playing, everybody.

>>14060861
"It's Jensen. Possible stomach rupture. He needs medical help!"

>>14060832
>>14060861


Inside the cramped medbay of the dropship, Bellamy pauses the routine cleaning of his surgical equipment as calls for a doctor ring out in his earpiece. Sighing, he put down the scalpel gently, just as Willis barges into the room, nearly knocking over a table.

"Don't tell me, dry rations and water ingestion? I'll get the stomach pump ready."

Waving the comms officer out of the room, he opens a cabinet and begins rummaging about, before pulling out a small kit with a long thin tube attached.

>>14060868
*** Artemis Montag arrives on the outskirts of the base camp.

"Stomach rupture? we didn't bring supplies for a stomach rupture. I don't..

He'll need surgery. I'm coming out with the Medi-Case, keep him stable. I'm coming"

*With that he reaches forward, grabbing one of the largest cases and immediately heading out to the rove,r presenting the case to Dr. Brown.*

"Is there anything you can do?"

>>14060893
Dr. Brown struggles to heap the form of Mitch Jensen onto the surgical table.

"Boy, he's a heavy one. He's all yours doctor."

>>14060902
You are awesome, just wanted you to know that

Still unconscious, Mitch's bowels evacuate thanks to the fast and furious driving of the Tech. His stomach sags, as if pressure had somehow been released, and a fetid odor begins to emanate from his limp unconscious body.

(Just go ahead and let this disgusting fucker die or become 100% useless, I won't be around too much longer to keep up with the questing, but I'll check in every few hours to scope the awesome pics.)

>>14060883
>>14060910

"Wait, dammit, use this kit to--"

But of course, Willis had already scrambled off with the medi-case. With another sigh, Bellamy begins to prep the surgery area. Tapping his earpiece, he contacts the scientist, Brown.

"Just keep him stabilized, bring him in here."

>>14060933
"Well, this is beyond my area of expertise, but judging from the smell, I do believe he's soiled himself"

Hiding his nose under his lab coat, Dr. Brown quickly evacuated the med-bay and headed for the rover

*Issac paused, still holding the case, his brain finally recognizing the presence of the doctor, having ignored them in his rush to the med-bay*

"I.. Uhm, we should get him to the bay. Doctors orders"

>>14060912
>>14060926

Despite being reasonably experience in his field, the officer couldn't help but widen his eyes at the sight.

"Just how many rations did this asshole eat? We're definitely not equipped to hand--"

Before he can finish, the patient's bowels decide to conveniently void themselves, filling the tiny space with an overpowering stench. Struggling to maintain his stoicism, he immediately reaches over for a breathing mask on the wall, strapping it over his mouth and nose.

"Well, great. I can keep him from dying, but he'll have to take the next ride off the planet. Unless we're calling in a dedicated medical facility."

*Wrings his hands, looking down at the bloated form, his eyes watering Slightly*

"I don't think we qualify for a large Scale medical facility at this current tim-"

*He stops suddenly, freezing*

"Holy hell, The meteor. I'll be back"

*With that he rushed out of the bay, heading back to his PDA, hoping to be able to chekc the Radar for any More anomalies*

The crisis averted, Dr. Brown returned to the rover, and detached the core sample from the drilling apparatus. Placing it on a cart, he wheeled it over to the lab.
....

After many hours of analysis, he confirmed his observation. The crust of planet Harker was abundant in organic compounds, and the Doctor's eyes blazed with excitement.

If he could find a way to exploit this discovery by breaking down the organic molecules into more useful components (water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, methane, etc.) , he could solve the colony's water problem. It would also certainly help in the long-term transforming of the planet. Of course the question now was, how? And how to make it on a large enough scale to be useful. A microbe perhaps?

"Mr. Willis, could you radio command and requisition some drilling equipment, I may have solved out water problem and would like to dig some test wells."

((Bah, unfortunately I need to go for now. But i will certinally be back in a bit. Feel free to NPC me until I get back, as long as you don't run me off a cliff))

Hello? Hello is this thing on? Is anybody there?
No? Yes?
Hello colony... 91-B. This is your colonial handler speaking to you from colony 08-A. You know, the guy who handles you and nineteen other colonies and forwards the supplies requisitions for your ungrateful asses. Tell me that this medical emergency is some kind of sick prank? I'm already working late tonight if that's what you want.
Tell me somebody's listening to this. I can't go home until this gets sorted out...

Taking a moment to savor the fresh flow of oxygen from the mask's internal supply, Bellamy gets to work. Thankfully, the unscheduled defecation allowed for reduced pressure acting on Jensen's stomach walls, allowing the doctor to safely pump out the rest of the food from his system.

"Right, crisis averted. Fortunately for Jensen, his stomach hasn't sustained any permanent damage. Unfortunately, he'll definitely be shipped off once the higher-ups hear about his gross negligence of OHS."

With yet another sigh, Bellamy then begins the unenviable task of cleaning the patient up.

**** Drilling equipment schematics downloaded to the dropship computer, an engineer can begin construction

itt: stratedgy thread hijacked by rp

>>14061035
"Well, I suppose I can handle that! Now where are those instructions..."

Time to build some test wells!

He marches across the dirt and dust, his feet leaving little footprints behind him. His chest feels heavy but he doesn't think he's having a heart attack. It's something deeper than that. His conscious is weighing on him. Why'd he leave? He was going to die anyway. He was going to find absolution. He hoped it was gone. He thought of little else as he walked over a dunes of sand and around boulders the size of shopping malls.

Before he realized, he was standing next to a green house, and could hear people yelling to each other. He found an empty crate left sitting on the ground and squatted down next to it, leaning against it on his back and closing his eyes. He felt drained. Physically, emotionally, psychologically. He felt weightless and as heavy as stone all at once. It was an odd sensation, and he ached as he cried. Why won't he let himself die?

**** Drilling equipment construction completed.

** H2O storage tanks needed for additional reserves generated from evaporation units.

>>14061060
"Blast! Looks like I'll have to put off research until the engineers wake from cryo-sleep."

Dr. Brown heads towards the dropship witht he intent of requisitioning some storage tanks, but notices a new face by the green house

>>14061060
"Say, you wouldn't happen to be an engineer would you?"

>>14061042
Role playing seems to have been a central part of Stratedgy ever since Stratedgy SPACEcolony that ran in april last year actually.

Colony 91-B I'm still waiting on the status of your medical emergency. And I'm picking up an unidentified person on your security cameras. AND a test mine dug without authorization. Not even so much as a Triple D form.
I want a status report, the unidentified person identified, and that Triple D.

If you can even hear me. Hey Tim, do you reckon they can hear me?
No it says here on the screen they can. Yeah I dunno either. Yeah, its gonna be a long night. Wife won't be happy. Mmmm. Least I'm not a colonist though, haha. I know right? Shit planet hey. Some people have the worst luck. Oh hey it is on.

Colony 91-B respond please.

>>14058999
Alex?

>>14061095
This is chief researcher Dr. Emmett Brown, serial Epsilon-one-zero-one. I authorized the drilling and had it approved by command. You wouldn't happen to have any spare water tanks would you?

>>14061060
Well then, lets get some water tanks up after the hab unit is finished

>>14061114
Finally, Colony 91-B. Was worried you couldn't hear me. Alright then, let's sort this out. Dr. Brown you may or may not know that all forms and requests for authorization have to go through me for Earthen Assent but now you do. I'll let it slide today but when I come back in tommorow I expect to be swamped in paperwork from your backwater.
Now, about watertanks. I have here...... 3 standard tanks for you. I'll arrange a drop off.
I'm assuming the medical situation has sorted itself out due to the lack of screaming?
At any rate, I'll be here all night handling Colony 91-A's accident reports so I'll be on the comms.
Also, status on that unidentified person?

>>14061141
I'll make sure to remember that for the future

I'm unaware of any unidentified person. Perhaps you could spare a small security detail for a sweep?

**** Additional expanded hab unit completed.
Unit can house 10 personnel.


>>14061111 ??

>>14061148
I'll lead the sweep. I've just been unloading boxes, i'd like to get a look at the lay of the land and stretch my legs.

*dons helmet and hoists M-128 Carbine*

>>14061152
Lets get some water tanks in case of an emergency

H2O storage tank positions set.

>>14061156
Ah, excellent! I feel safer already.

While we wait for the storage tanks, I'll get back to my research. I can either pursue my goal of terraforming the planet, or research environmental psychology in the hope of increasing hab unit occupancy limits. What do you guys thing?

>>14061095

"Whoops, forgot my headset doesn't transmit on this frequency by default. Med Officer Bellamy here, ID Epsilon-oh-four-nine, medical situation has been contained. Patient is CEC Mitch Jensen, ID Epsilon-one-oh-two. Written diagnostic and prognostic report to come."

>>14061152
USNCommand, golf romeo zero zero one, commencing sweep for unidentified personnel.

>>14061148
Make sure you do. I like my forms. Security detail eh? Let me just check quickly.
...
Hmmm. It's tricky. According to USN Police Command I can only send volunteers to brand spanking new colonies like yours seeing as they have a tendancy to fail violently and often-times amusingly. Not that your death would be amusing. It would be less work for me though. So, I've put out the word around your sector but unless some local Constable feels like giving you a hand you're outta luck.
Oh, and I picked up the unidentified person over by your new greenhouse - which you can thank yours-truly for.

>>14061162
Damn it, power levels are marginal at best.

Command, can we get a generator?

>>14061174
Oh it's a very nice greenhouse, thank you!

We've got a colonial marine here, hopefully he can take care of our unwelcome guest

>>14061171
>>14061174
Disregard my last, just noticed you have a security escort. I really should read your manifests. What the hell is the brass expecting out there?
>>14061169
Well remember it next time doc. I had an ambulance ship set up and everything. Anyway,that's good news and I await the thirty minute reading session with eagerness.
>>14061175
I'll see what I can do but it shouldn't be a problem.

****H2O storage tank construction completed.

*** 2 water evaporation units have malfunctioned and are not functioning.
*** Power supply's needed to keep drilling apparatus and lab online.

>>14061190
Handler. Precaution. since Colony 88N was lost to those Bugs we get volunteered for a three month rotation on a new colony. Security.

Hey...

USNCommand, I've found something. Golf Romeo zero zero six, looks like a cable of some sort. leading to a box.
Can I get a technician over here to look at this. it looks old.

>>14061202
Dr. Brown's PDA flashes red with malfunction warnings. 2 of the vaporators had stopped functioning

Well, with no engineers in sight, guess it's up to me. This brings me back to my university days! Should be fun

>>14061217
Oh yeah, the bug incident. Shitty luck on your planet, hey? Now, what's that about an old cable - we didn't send out any second hand gear for you guys.

>>14061234
Handler, its in the dirt, half buried, almost tripped on it. Its leading to some sort of box. Doesnt look like anything we placed here. I aint touching it. If you can spare one of the technicians or Xenosociologists to have a look send em over, otherwise i'll mark it here and continue the sweep.

>>14061243
Sorry, volunteers only, again. Unless someone's listening in and decides to stop lurking in the shadows I can't help you. Just carry on and hope I can find someone desperate enough to send out there,

>>14061249
Roger. continuing sweep.

The sun is burning against his skin. He covers his eyes with his hand, and feels respite for a moment. He stands and feels his body ache and creak, no longer the body of a young man; not for years. He stumbles against the greenhouse and walks along it. "Just need some sleep," he mumbles to himself.

*** small power unit construction completed
*** additional power units in construction que

*** evaporation units completed but running at 70%
*** storage tanks 55 % capacity and holding steady.


(OOC) thats it for tonight folks, be back next Sunday to continue. email drawinganondude@gmail.com to get a heads up an hour before the session starts.

can somebody archive this ?

Dammit I missed it DAMMIT

Interesting read.

You're back? Awesome

Robotics Engineer Schmidt is BACK

(OOC )Schmidt ah good to see you back, will be online every sunday for a while. I will be making more assets every time so the list of things is growing that we can build. Once the USN universe if filled to the point of bursting with assets i'l release a Stratedgy pack for other people to host similar style games. should be cool once its done, but yeah, loads of assets to make before that happens.

>>14061438
You on GMT? Just want to know when your Sunday is

>>14061502
Sunday Australian EST usually 11 am onwards.

>>14061367
Same. God. Damn. Slept right through it.