>>21675770
Nicolas Carter
Male
Other: Mech Pilot

>>21675770
I second Nicolas Carter, but as profession i'd choose mechanical tech. He needs to bring the ship back online.

Cassandra Rainor
Female
Specialization: Tech, computers or mechanical either way.

>>21675907
Seconding

Name: Alex Ranling
Gender: Androgynous!
Specialization: Navigation/Piloting

>>21675895
this, mechanical technician can open a broad amount of things to do.

You all have it wrong. Our Spec should be Theoretical Physics.

We're gonna Carter and Freeman this up.

>>21676005
bahaha
I like this

>>21675895
I like this.

>>21676005
Can we say we are >>21675895 but had a doctor title in theoretical physics before we got conscripted?

Alex Rainor.
Gender: No idea
Specialization: Theoretical Physics with a focus on FTL systems.

>>21676171
>Dr. Alex Rainor.
>Gender: No idea
>Specialization: Theoretic

Fix'd that for you.

“Lieutenant Carter. Astrogation. How long was I cold for?” you ask, sitting up in the autodoc.

“Very good, Lieutenant. I regret to say, you have been frozen for three hundred and fourteen standard Terran years.” Ouroboros does sound genuinely regretful, though his last words sound tinged with worry. His words worry you, though; three hundred years? What? At the moment it's a cold feeling, but you suspect it's really going to hit you later.

“What's our status?”

“We are barely functional. Most weapon systems, excepting the forward Port and ventral hellrail batteries are down. Battlescreens are impaired but minimally functional....” He trails off into a listing of his subsytems. Things aren't good.

“At least we aren't worried about fuel.” you mutter ruefully, then ask with genuine worry. “Are we?”

“No, lieutenant. All three primary reactors are online, and well within operational lifespans.” Hah. At least the Navy built things to last, even while the Concordiate was burned down around your ears.

>>21676225
“Mind your injury, Lieutenant.” Ouroboros says as you swing yourself out of the autodoc. It's a good warning, you realize- You're missing your right leg, just above the knee. You stare at in shock for a moment, before remembering the explosion that took it from you... Just fifteen minutes ago, relatively, but apparently several hundred years past.

After a moment, you manage to get ahold of yourself and start 'walking', leaning heavily on the side of the corridor. “Where are we then, Ouro? What's happening?”

“Very little, Lieutenant. We drifted well below the ecliptic of the bahrain system, but I have brought us back to level. There is some wreckage left, but I regret to say there is very little of use. I have already picked over almost all of it during my repairs. There is no functional electronics or life within this system other than us. There is nothing at the designated rendezvous in Van der Laasa. We are alone.”

[Seems to be some problem choosing a name/gender. Roll for it?]

>>21676225
Ouroboros... someone has been watching too much Tiger and Bunny.

Rolled 2 + 1

>>21676225
>“Lieutenant Carter. Astrogation. How long was I cold for?” you ask, sitting up in the autodoc.
well, name can stay the same I guess :S since you already used it.

Rolling 1d5 for Mech Pilot (1), Comp. Tech (2), Mechanic (3), Navigator (4), Theoretical Physist/Warpdrive Tech (5)

Rolling 1d2 for gender (male 1, female 2)

>>21676244
Dammit Refrek, you're here too?

I'd say keep what we've got. The confusion will clear up after a few posts. Blame it on cryogenic fatigue; sleeping for that long's got to leave you a little out of it for at least three cups of coffee.

>>21676297
Okay, So... unless somebody objects to the roll's parameters we're Lieutenant Nicholas Carter, Male Computer Technician

>>21676297
fair enough

>>21676315
fraid I'm here too RWB >->

>>21676229
Nick Carter is just fine

>>21676315
guess we'll be repairing LOTS of automated systems and redoing programs ruined by time and electromagnetic/stellar radiation fuckery.

>>21676315
Sounds fine to me.

>>21676356
Can't be that bad considering the Ouroboros AI is still alive and kicking.

“Well, where can we go? You're torn to hell and back. I'm... Likewise.” you admit, having managed to settle into a rhythm of 'walking' with the aid of the corridor wall. “We don't have orders, do we?”

“Only Standing Order Epsilon-821, a command ordering all capable units to “Pursue and Terminate any and all surviving Melconian resources, entities, or associated threats.”, from Rear Admiral Garcia. I have no regarding that, though.”

“Right. And there's no secret supply cache the Navy left for 'any surviving units'?”

“Regretably no, Lieutenant.” Ouroboros answers. “While my repairs were underway I did take the liberty of sending out scouting drones; As far as my surveys have reported, there is nothing else left of the Concordiate.”

“No people, no colonies... And just this ship. Damn.” you say, feeling that that's somewhow inadequate. More than a hundred colonized planets, moons, and stations in this subsector alone, and nothing left but the ashes.

“If there were survivors, they probably sought a planet unravaged by the war, or to verify their victory- That would either take them out of Concordiate space past the frontiers, or into Melconian space to verify.” Ouroboros says. “The frontier would take at least several weeks of travel, and Melconian space would take several months to search.”

“And that's assuming we didn't actually find anything.” you add as corollary. “You don't really look in condition to be taking on systems...”

"Unless they are in as poor shape as I am, I must reluctantly concur."

I hope this is an effort in all the good traditions of VoidQuest.

What can we do about our leg? Is there a prosthetic or clonebay onboard? Shall we ask the computer?

>>21676572
Yeah, we'll need a wheelchair or crutch at the very least.

>>21676560
how does food supply look and equipment to repair this bucket?

>>21676572
I think yes. We want to have complete freedom of movement. Afterwards we need to find out what we can do to get this rustbucket flying again.

How powerful would the Ouroboros be at full operational capability?

>>21676572
Or at least a peg leg and/or a crutch. This won't do in the long run..

The long run of what though.. feels like the whole weight of humanity's legacy could be upon us.

How intact is our library materials? If we are a last remnant, it is important to see how much of that is intact.

You know what?

This subroutine of the Hyperion AI declares that if there's nothing left of humanity, our primary job is to find a way to keep the human genetic line going.

You know what that means. We're going on a quest for a space babe harem.

>>21676633
seconded.

>>21676643
Or cloning tech.

>>21676660
well, if we WANT to be boring.

Actually, where's the rest of the crew?

>>21676660
Hopefully the ship's computer has the Human Genome Project onboard so we have something to clone.

>>21676643
One man wouldn't have sufficient genetic diversity to do much more than create a large tribe doomed to stupidity through inbreeding.

What we'd need in that scenario is a lab.

If you want a harem, just say you want a harem. Also, waifu bullshit isn't that great.

>>21676660
I agree with >>21676672 on this. Clones are all well and good, but we'll quickly run into issues with a tiny genepool (only one of us)

Therefore. Space Babes.

Also we're a computer technician and programmer type, not a geneticist...

but it is often hilarious.

>>21676726
Programming and genetics aren't all that different, but they're different enough. Our priority should be seeking out whatever remains of humanity, if anything.

>>21676726
>demands waifu within fifteen posts of the thread starting
You're terrible.

>>21676560
>“The frontier would take at least several weeks of travel, and Melconian space would take several months to search.”

At least our FTL drive's operational. How damaged is it?

>>21676748
yep. Yes I am. But seriously, >>21676741 has a better plan. At the very least we should have cryogenically stored REMAINS of most of the crew, that means genetics information. Depending on whether our base civilization was transhuman or not, we might even have memory backups of humans.

>>21675770
>The lieutenant now being my acting captain by dint of being, to my knowledge, the last human in the galaxy.
Also, this is what we know so far. We're the last. Besides, this is sounding like semi-hard sci-fi. Halfbreeds probably aren't happening.

>>21676784
>>21676741
>>21676686
>>21676684
>>21676660
>>21676654
>>21676643
Given that we're storing data on DNA and sequencing the genome within hours these days IRL (both on computers), I feel that a computer technician won't be in a terrible position to read a manual or three and jury-rig something.

However, we should find a prosthetic or replacement leg, fix the ship, and sift through some ruins.

>>21676784
I didn't even think of that, but that's a good point.

So the main questions we have
1: How operational is the FTL drive? What speeds can it currently achieve, and can we repair it to achieve more?
2: What happened to the rest of the crew, and are there any remains?
3: Do we have a cloning suite in the ship?
4: What do we do about our leg?
5: What vector should we take to reach the rest of humanity?

>>21676560

"Oroborous, full diagnostic. Give me a complete rundown of ship's specifications, systems, supplies and a damage report. Let's see what we're working with."

>>21676810
Last as far as the ship AI knows, which isn't much more than what we know.

oh god

guys


This is going to have to turn into Parent Quest with a dash of ROGUE TRADER.

think about it. we clone humans, we'll have to raise them too

>>21676810
We're a computer technician. The logical answer is to upload ourselves, then make more AIs. Or make more AIs, then upload ourselves. If the natural human form can no longer be maintained, it must be superseded. We will keep humanity as a concept alive, as a race of machines.

>>21676857
Let's take it one step at a time.

>>21676870
Yes, we can all see you've got a big transhumanism boner. Now put that away.

>>21676613
"Ouroboros, what's my food-situation look like?" you ask. It can't be too bad, or he wouldn't have woken you.

"Storage was heavily damaged. Little supplies remain. As they will only be feeding you, they will last for just over a month, at standard rates. Two, if you wished to accept reduced rations. Beyond that, I can recycle and reconstitute enough to keep you alive." You practically shiver at that. Eating nothing but nutrient paste, forever? Eugh. Going to need to do something about that.

"Delightful. Anything I can do to assist with repairs?" As you mange to walk, or sometimes hop, through the corridors, you note that while most doors are open for you, or open at your approach, several do not. You pause to look at the readout on one, and are unfortunately not surprised. Hard vacuum. Most of the ship is inaccessible.

"Yes. My command bridge was gutted, and I have not been able to repair it. Most of my fabricator bay is not responding, and much of my internal sensors are non-functional."

>>21676615
[Ouroboros, at full operational capacity, was a battleship of the Concordiate Navy, a masterpiece of starship construction and technological achievement. Throughout more than five hundred years of total warfare, the Concordiate maintained a pronounced technological edge over the Melconian Empire.]


>>21676572
[I'm afraid I haven't read it. This is, however, meant to be an opportunity to play as high-tech precursors/wandering survivors. If we end up doing something else, well, that's just how these things go.]

>>21676765
[FTL is online and working, though it's been a few centuries without maintenance.]

>>21676843
>So the main questions we have
>1: How operational is the FTL drive? What speeds can it currently achieve, and can we repair it to achieve more?
>2: What happened to the rest of the crew, and are there any remains?
>3: Do we have a cloning suite in the ship?
>4: What do we do about our leg?
>5: What vector should we take to reach the rest of humanity?
Agreed

Also ask what happened to former human communications. are our long range communications down? (I assume we have FTL communications in the form of ansible or similar)

We need a run down on common communication methods at the time of our death. Size of former human holdings. How many light years to the day we can get with our FTL system. Who the hell shot us and took our leg (if they're still around we'll make sure they aren't very soon).

>>21676857
I think this quest sounds pretty similiar to Andromeda, off all things. We'll likely end up with a crew of mixed races and a overpowered ship.

>>21676887
Okay, there's no way in hell we're just going to fire up the FTL without checking it, that could end very very badly.

Highest priority for us is getting the fab bay back up, we'll need parts to fix everything else.

Also getting atmo back.

Okay, MOST IMPORTANT. Everything hinges on this.

Where is the breakage preventing usage of the fabricators? Also. We need a crutch, jourey rig something from pipes and wires.

>>21676887
OP, can you give us an answer on the medbay and a peg-leg?

>>21676915
I agree with that.

>>21676909
Agreed. Priority one is the Fabrication Bay.

>>21676887

See >>21676852

Basically, I want a list of everything on this ship you feel like telling us about, and how fucked up it is. Especially what feedstock we have for a Fabricator.

>>21676932
>>21676915
Priority one is first aid and mobility.

>>21676915
If the damage is a hull breach I think we'll want to see what we can do about internal sensors. If they are on repairs will likely be easier to perform as well.

>>21676933
>Especially what feedstock we have for a Fabricator.
everything that's beyond repair o-o

Are these Melconians xeno scum, or just another human government?

>>21676939
Yeah, we need to be able to walk unimpeded and make sure we're not bleeding the fuck out.

>>21676843
>1: How operational is the FTL drive? What speeds can it currently achieve, and can we repair it to achieve more?
[Currently, you are capable of what would have been low-end civilian speeds. On the order of two lightyears a day. I'm leery of putting down hard numbers, though.]

>2: What happened to the rest of the crew, and are there any remains?
"They are deceased, and sadly, there are none. What little organic matter I could recover was devoted to creating an atmosphere to reanimate you in."

>3: Do we have a cloning suite in the ship?
[While your autodoc could conceivably perform such a task, certainly not on such a large scale, and not without significant reprogramming.]

>4: What do we do about our leg?
[You could have Ouroboros turn the gravity off, if you prefer. At the moment, you're mobile, just a bit slow and clumsy. You could probably create a crutch with some scavenging, or a basic prosthetic if you could repair the fabricator.]

>5: What vector should we take to reach the rest of humanity?
[That's up to you guys.]

>>21676933
[Can't promise everything, but I'll try and come up with something for you.]

>>21676965
Preeeetty sure we're not.. we got a stump. That's all.

We need basic mobility. So crutch will do for the moment.

>>21676968
We need to get some local diagnostics, find out if we have any kind of repair drone, and get a vacsuit.

Exposure to vacuum right now would not be fun.

>>21676986
seconded

>>21676968
Ask ouroboros if there is anything that would potentially fuck up if we turned off gravity.
If no, turn it off. Save power and make travel faster for now. Once we have a peg-leg we can turn it back on so we don't deteriorate.

>>21676950

Well, depending on HOW post-scarcity we are, we might need more exotic stuff than carbon and whatever materials our exotic SPAAAAACE metal is made of. I mean, organic components are fine, we have to have enough corpses to feed to the machine if it comes to that, but I don't know about volatiles or radioactives.

>>21676909
and a leg

how much of the med bay is automatic, do we even have a chance of getting a functioning leg back

>>21676986
A robot companion of any kind would be nice, really.

>>21676968
Okay, get the crutch. We'll want grav off for some of the repairs anyways, lot easier to move heavy stuff around in zero-g.

For organic molecules we might need to find an ice asteroid to get more of that.

>>21677004
Seconded. I also say again that priority should be internal sensors for now, should be somewhat easy and close to our skillset. Especially easier than rebuilding fabricators.

>>21676950
Now what's important is:
a) Whether the fabber can be repaired with what we have to hand
b) What kind of things can we manufacture aboard-ship? Are we talking small hull-patches and tools? Small arms? Medical equipment? Drones? Full-scale fighters?

Actually, that's a point. When you say 'battleship', OP, do you mean an ACTUAL battleship, or the common sci-fi variety; ie. capable of launching fighters like a carrier?

>>21676968
>>2: What happened to the rest of the crew, and are there any remains?
>"They are deceased, and sadly, there are none. What little organic matter I could recover was devoted to creating an atmosphere to reanimate you in."
Soooo... you're saying that we have nothing to clone others from o-o shiiiiiiiit.... stellar radiation will have fucked over anything left exposed after 500 years, vacuum or not. Guess we're back to A) finding the remnants of humanity, B) Space Babe Harem

Okay, CRUTCH NOW! Gravity off while we scavenge. We may need gravity again for some reason later, especially once the ship begins accelerating wherever we want to go. So Grav Off, scavenge for a crutch, bring crutch with us, as we go to investigate the problem with the fabricators... let's hope the plug just got knocked out in an explosion ehn?

>>21677007
If we're dedicated military used for total war, we may not have much in the way of post-scarcity economics.

>>21676986
This.

>>21677024
I'll assume Hellrail batteries means an actual battleship.

Can we get a description on Hellrail cannons? Those sound like fun.

Wait a minute.

>>21676968
>autodoc can do cloning

Go get the autodoc to make us a new leg and attach it, it's only a partial human clone.

>>21677051

I'm hoping for BIG HONKIN' MASS DRIVERS, personally.

>>21677073

Fuck yeah, flash-clone us a new leg.

>>21677050

We might only be as post scarcity as Diamond Age.

>>21677084
The Diamond Age wasn't post-scarcity at all until the end. They just had streamlined manufacturing and nanomachinery; the appearance of post-scarcity was just things comparable to modern-day food relief.

>>21677099

A correction then, depends on how hard our fabricators are, and what materials we have to work with.

Well, if humans are anywhere, they're likely to be where they started. That, or any survivors might have left directions there. I say we set a course for Earth.

>>21677121
>Implying that wouldn't be the main target for the Melconians

>>21677099
really? I didn't know that.

Also just crunched the numbers... this ship might be the most advanced, but it's friggin TINY. ~112ish members given we're 0.89% of our crew... so 1/0.0089= 112.359ish

>>21677121
We should definitely look at the homeworld, but first let's try to slap some band-aids where they're needed, alright?

File: 1353462088909.jpg-(199 KB, 1264x632, bolo___we_are_already_in_(...).jpg)

>>21677051


>Prior to the Mark XIV, early Bolo Marks utilised projectile weapons for their main battery: a tank gun firing discarding sabot fin-stabilized long rod penetrator shells or a railgun. As the energy-storage capabilities of successive Bolo designs grew, these projectile weapons were replaced, initially by laser cannons, though these were quickly succeeded by the Hellbore: a plasma cannon derived from a battlecruiser's main battery.
>Hellbore ammunition consists of slivers of highly-pressurized frozen deuterium which, when fired, are ignited (by a laser) in a fusion reaction. The resulting bolt is contained and directed using strong magnetic fields in the breech and barrel. The resulting plasma travels at a considerable fraction of light speed and is not affected by planetary gravity. However, since the Hellbore was designed as naval armament for Concordiat warships, modifications had to be made to avoid losing a significant portion of the shot's energy to atmospheric attenuation. To this end, a fraction of a second prior to deuterium detonation, a laser is fired along the path of the bolt to create a momentary vacuum. Later Bolo marks are capable of internally manufacturing Hellbore rounds, using water as a raw material, whereby the deuterium isotope of hydrogen is separated and cooled cryogenically into splinters of frozen hydrogen.

Pic related.

>>21677139

>The Hellbore first saw service with the Mark XIV and is generally mounted on a turret to provide maximum targeting capabilities. Some Marks experimented with the use of two lighter Hellbores in place of a single, larger cannon; later, heavier Marks generally mount several smaller "support" Hellbores in addition to the main battery. Hellbore power output is measured in megatons per second; the diameter of the tube is a more common quantifying measure. The Mark XIV mounted a single 25 cm Hellbore; the Mark XXXIII featured three 200 cm and sixteen 30 cm Hellbores. The Mark XXXIV carries a variant of the Hellbore known as the Hellrail, an anti-starship railgun weapon, possessing an output of 90 megatons per shot. Hellrails are designed for planetary defense and cannot normally be depressed to strike ground targets.

I am incredibly disappointed that there does not appear to be a Bolo Wiki anywhere.

Are you telling us we have lasers that are not just lasers? but are bolt action lasers? complete with disposable shells? Cause I think that's what you're telling us.

also, Bolo?

>>21677136
It's probably a large portion of the ship's functionality was automated, which is why the AI was able to put almost 50% of all primary systems on line.

>>21677169
The Bolo was a fictional series of freakishly heavy tanks.

The name might just be coincidental.

Go type 'bolo tank' into wikipedia's search box for more.

>>21677169
He's telling us we have nuclear fusion gun lasers. So basically hell yes.

Systems:
Atmospherics: Circulators are 70% functional. Actual recyclers are around 4%; lethally low, except that they're only attempting to keep one person breathing. More than enough for only you, and only a small section of Ouroboros.

Weapons: You have a combined six hellrails [primary ship-to-ship weapons; direct fire] operational. More than enough to carve your initials in a moon somewhere. Little enough ammunition that that's about all you'd be able to do. This is six out of thirty six; in six batteries.
Smaller weapons dotting the exterior of Ouroboros- Hellbores of 1.2, .8, and .4 meter varieties; are roughly half functional, and slightly less short on ammo. Solid weaponry- Missiles, chaff, combat drones- Are completely expended, having either been used in the war or cannibalized to repair parts of Ouroboros.

Point defense grid is at 56%.

Biotics: Enough capacity left to keep you alive. You'll never refer to nutrient paste as 'food', but you won't starve. This is also far less than what it would be, but vastly more than is necessary for a single person.

Sensors: 74% functional. Lidar, Radar, hyberwave antennas, etc. Ouroboros has solid data on the system you're in, if only by dint of watching it for quite a while. You are currently entirely safe.

Communications: Ouroboros believes all communication systems to be functional, but reports nothing on radio or Hyperwave. You are alone, for at least twenty five lightyears in every direction. (Provided his internals are accurate.)

Psychotronics core: Ouroboros reports moderate damage to his psychotronics core. As far as he can tell, it is mostly superficial, but might explain why he's having problems accessing certain subsystems. This is... Bad, partially because while you might be a computer technician, you don't think you're remotely qualified to deal with an AI psychotronics core. Or at least, you certainly wouldn't be if there were still anyone to complain about security clearance. As it is, it's your call.

Fabricators should be able to produce parts for repairs and small drones. They are currently not visible or usable to Ouroboros.

Query about something in specific and I'll try to answer it.


>>21677014
It's possible to clone something up, and maybe even attatch it afterward. It would require extensive manual overwriting of the autodoc's current library. (It was meant to treat minor injuries or stabilize major ones.)

>>21677226
Do we have any EVA suits?

>>21677182

This quest is set in the same universe as the Bolo series.

Basically TL;DR, mankind has these super awesome AI tanks as seen in >>21677139 , but after a decades long cold war with an alien race of dog anthros goes hot, they basically exterminate each other save for a few minor colonies and the odd war machine here and there.

>>21677226
>>21677217

Prioritizing Atmospherics and Fabrication, then. We'll get this tub space worthy and make sure we can repair other systems. Sounds to me we have a sufficient main arsenal to scare the ever-living daylights of anything that mysteriously arrives to fuck with us, but in case we don't, let's refrain from active scans until we know we can run away.

And what >>21677256 said. We'll need vacuum work gear as soon as we do something about us missing a leg. Is the LT zero-g trained?

>>21676963
An empire of several alien species, the vast majority of which were Melconians. The Terran Concordiate, a multi-species entity as well, was predominantly human, especially in government an armed forces. In an extraordinarily lengthy and brutal conflict, both factions eliminated each other and have rendered most worlds in both there respective spheres entirely uninhabitable through a variety of planet-scouring techniques. (Bioweapons, nannite swarms, sustained orbital bombardment, etcetera.)

>>21677024
Actual battleship. You possess a small drone by for various duties (Scouting, decoys, repair, EW, etc.) and the ability to re-purpose them with some effort. Currently, Ouroboros possesses two scout drones, but has not been able to access the fabricator to re-purpose them into repair units.

>>21677256
Yes.

>>21677301
Roughly. I'm basically using that as the foundation, with some tweaking. Both are no more, and this quadrant of the galaxy is basically uninhabitable. There were other races on the fringes, though, and the majority of the galaxy was not mapped by either faction. You're alone in this system, but not the galaxy.

>>21677309
>zero-g certified?
Of course.

[going to proceed to write repairs, but Ouroboros is still awaiting your command.]

>>21677315
How are we talking with Ouroboros? Do we have a helmet with built-in HUD and comms? Is it a PDA? Built-in speakers?

>>21677372

Alright, well, unless a crutch or prosthetic is handy, let's just turn the gravity off, hop into an EVA suit and go check on the fabbers.

>>21677372
Have Ouroboros prioritize the drones on fixing as many hull breaches as possible. Preferably the minor ones so we can get more space as quickly as we can.

can we produce some mining equipment? I vote we head out to the frontier to find someplace where humans would have fled to. Who knows, we might find David Weber's Safehold.

Status on engines?

Let's get moving.

Step 1) Gravity Off
Step 2) Scavenge for a Crutch using pipes and wires (or something more suitable if possible)
Step 3) Get to the area where the cut off between the Fabricators and Hyperion Begins.
Step 4) Work our way inward towards the Fabricators till we've fixed it.
Step 5) Fabricate a cyber-leg.
Step 6) Begin fabricating auto-repair drones.
Step 7) Fabricate the gear needed to repair a psychotronic core.
Step 8) Get to Hyperion's Psychotronic Core, time to get some work on it done, cause if he's detecting damage, even superficial damage, he's officially a mental case and not fit to diagnose himself. We shall proceed to fix his shit.

>>21677462
>Psychotronic

Need to have a different specialty for that.

>>21677462
I think repairing an AI is going to require more than whatever gear we'd need.

>>21677497

Well, hopefully, this is one of those futures where we can store all the knowledge of mankind in a closet, and we can teach ourselves some new skills via the data library.

Also, betting the AI is a brain in a jar or something, if it's all classified and stuff.

>>21677497
Bullshit, least we can do is LOOK at it >_> if we KNOW we got problems, and see where they can be repaired, we fix them, otherwise we don't touch him.

>>21677535
It's actually Nicholas Carter's brain in the jar

>>21677565
O_O

So... Bolosverse is actually the future of Battle Angel Alita?

>>21677539
Besides, didn't he say the main problem was security clearance? And that doesn't matter anymore.

I say we go with the list and get this moving.

A vacsuit. That's easy enough to procure; an emergency locker has two in it. You take one, and with some rolling around on the floor, manage to get yourself suited up. Ouroboros an you both run full integrity checks on it, but even shy a leg, that's not something you're going to mess up. Satisfied, in lieu of an air lock, Ouroboros begins depressurizing the section you're in. When he gets it as low as his impaired systems can, the door unlocks, and you are given access to the 'hulk' section of your starship. The mild outrush of air testifies to the state of repair of even his relatively functional systems.

Crew quarters are a wreck. Some kind of explosion removed half of them, an left the others brutalized. Parts of the decks seem to have been torqued or twisted, and would probably require total rebuilding in a Fleet drydock. Luckily, they aren't really a vital system anymore.

Fabrication control, however, are even more of a mess. Some kind of beam weapon gutted the chamber, and there are a cluster of finger-sized holes that seemed to have been burned through one wall an out the other. And the worst, as far as you can tell, would be that the entire chamber has a slightly 'melted' look- Probably caught the heat-wash of whatever hulked the crew section. Sure enough, when you manage to pry the cover to the main console off, you're greeted by the sight of melted circuitry. Not completely, of course, but more than enough to make rebuilding painful.

>>21677864
You have the tools, though, and set about the first iteration of rebuilding the computer. Something to get the interface working at all. Then, since you have the time and the secondary fabrication platform isn't in use, you decide to add a prosthetic to the queue. What resources you have are limited, but you don't need something complex. What you end up desigining is a very simple, very ugly, very primitive steel prosthetic. Not the kind of thing to win a beauty contest, but it ought to work, and won't strain your resources. It's a bit unpleasant to affix over your vacsuit, but it works.

Which just leaves you to wait an hour while the first computer iteration finishes construction, install it manually, and then design a relay to allow Ouroboros to remotely operate it. It sucks, but it's better than having to govern the rebuilding yourself. By the time it's done and you get the remote uplink installed, you've been animate for four hours, in a vacsuit for most of it, and are getting hungry. Ouroboros confirms that your install is working, however, and has taken over fabricator reconstruction via the radio uplink, leaving you to make your way back to pressurized sections of his hull.

****
[Sorry, I'm slow.]

>>21677374
Yes. Primarily, though, you have an implanted communicator near your ear. As acting-captain, you also have access to the commander's seat, which, given the right cybernetics, allows you to interface with Ouroboros more directly. You could have the autodoc install that, though given Ouroboros' current state of affairs, (particularly that damaged psychotronics core,) you're not certain that's a good idea.

>>21677429
Engines are functional.

>>21677462
Ouroboros is the ship/ship AI.

>>21677565
And then a skeleton jumped out.

>>21677838
Correct.
>>21677513
Probably correct.

>>21677838
We are the acting captain, cut off from all chains of command. The buck stops with us.

>>21677883
Okay, get something to eat. We're rationing ourselves. Let's go take a look at the Psychotronics core.

Get Ouroboros to begin producing remote all purpose repair and utility drones. Priority goes to sealing off as many sections into air tight portions as possible, and collecting anything in the way of debris that's still caught in the gravity of our vessel.

After we get some good drones (give them small ram scoops for use of interstellar hydrogen to propel themselves) begin using remaining materials to make something to attach to the fabbers to break down whatever we feed into it. Hydrogen, carbon, iron, the works.

>>21677960
Ramscoops require relativistic speeds, and don't pull a whole hell of a lot. Unless we feel like waiting for thirty years on a round-trip, or something, we'd probably be better off simply finding a system with a gas giant and the appropriate atmosphere. Might even be some wreckage with what we need here.

Incidentally, I vote we start heading for the border, or whatever. Let's get moving. We can repair while we go, and we don't want to have to consign ourselves to high-tech hardtack for the rest of our life.

>>21677882
Access any datalogs on psychotronic cores, AI's, effects of damaged psychotronic cores, psychotronic core maintenence, etc.

Look around for tools, mainly welders, solderers, wire cutter/strippers, and other maintenence/repair gear.

>>21678020
You make a fair point, but I meant for the drones. We need raw materials.

Okay, Where is the nearest gas giant? We probably have something built in for siphoning fuel for reactions if we need it, and if we don't, there will DEFINITELY be something to make stuff out of in orbit. Rings, asteroids, tiny moonlets to break down. The works.

>>21677882

Have Ouroboros list any relevant objects in this star system; planets, major moons, large asteroids, etc.

If we need to pull materials, we'll need to do it from somewhere

>>21678065
We have reactors that have been functioning for the past 300+ years. I'm sure we can bat-charge a few drones and be fine.

>>21678102
well slap some engines on them then, whatever.

>>21678022
You possess a minimal loadout on your vacsuit, and can access surviving engineering equipment or begin manufacturing your own with impunity, once the fabricators are rebuilt. Ouroboros predicts three days, assuming no extraordinary problems with installing the progressively upgraded fabricator cores.

>>21678022
It's easy enough to order Ouroboros to declassify all logs on psychotronics cores or maintenance there of. What that produces, however, is absolutely nothing- Apparently, such information was about as jealously guarded as actual AI cores or production techniques were. Either Ouroboros is lying, he lost such data at some point, or he was never provided with such records.

His actual psychotronics core is difficult to access, being an armored compartment just below the command deck. His damage, though, is readily apparent- a small hole about the size of your thumbnail torn through the deck plating, and apparently through the armor of his core. Without actually deactivating him and pulling him out, or physically opening him up, you can'd do much. As it is, you use a hand laser to weld the deckplate closed, allowing the bridge to be re-pressurized.

You have heard stories and rumors about AIs going crazy, rogue, or simply quirky from psychotronics damage And the omnicidal AI has always been a bogeyman. In all honesty, unless you're willing to actually access Ouroboros' 'brain', you can't do much more than patch up his case.. So far, his core seems more functional than the rest of him.

Back.
>>21678251

Gas giants imply moon mining and asteroid mining if we want anything solid fast.

Get food.

Have the AI do an astrospectroscopic survey if it hasn't completed one to sort out our position relative to where the nearest secure supply caches are from our side, there's got to be something buried in the crust of a planet somewhere as a contingency for precisely this situation.

>>21678251

>>21678101
Star; four planets, small asteroid belt. One near enough to the sun that you'd be relying on your battlescreens to keep you alive, two worlds that were habitable just over three hundred years ago, and a gas giant. The gas giant has significant electromagnetic activity on it, though, and might be hazardous to some of Ouroboros' damaged systems.

The Van der Laasa system, next door', as far as stellar cartography goes, is a three planet system, two of which are gas giants. Ouroboros records report that as of twenty years ago, when his scout drones last passed through them, it was uninhabited and both gas giants had the atmospheric elements you needed and were less active than the Bahrain gas giant.

Failing that, in the Luther system, near the edge of the subsector (Five day's travel,), the gas giant Luther-IV was a reliable source of fuel and atmospherics for the Fleet.

I think everyone is forgetting...

>A mass dispatch was sent out, ordering rendezvous at the nearby Von der Laasa system.

Ok, so sensors says the system is empty. Maybe someone left a signpost behind though? Besides, orders is orders, and so long as at least one Concordiate naval officer breathes, the Concordiate lives on! Forward to the Von der Laasa system!

>>21678251
Addendum: locate nearby sources of useable mass for conversion and fill up stores a bit.

As in, we should wait until we have the capacity and flash-clone a real leg and attach it assuming we'll be able to without serious risk of bad fuckups.

The command implants will likely soon become a necessity. Training information would be a help.

>>21678251
Take the EVA suit and whatever tools we have to the command deck. Let's have a look there.

>>21678284
We can check on that after we seal the bigger holes, I think. Something in the way of ammo would also be nice, etc.

>>21678295
see
>>21678251
>As it is, you use a hand laser to weld the deckplate closed, allowing the bridge to be re-pressurized.

>>21678284
>A mass dispatch was sent out, ordering rendezvous at the nearby Von der Laasa system.
Worst case scenario, we run into Melconians. Best case we find remnants of the Fleet to salvage. We still have the Hellrails if we run into trouble.

I vote we make a swingby the local planets, scan the heck out of them for signs of life and civilization, if there's nothing there, we swing by the Van der Laasa System. Fire up some vids and some video games... or knock us out for a few days again... cause going slowly insane from lack of entertainment doesn't sound fun.

>>21678259
>supply caches.

To your knowledge, there are none and were none. Every last resource that remained of the Concordiate was thrown at the Bahrain system in a final, desperate attempt to wipe out the Melconian race. Everything the Melconians had was here to try and save their last system. They did not succeed.

Ouroboros has had over a hundred years to observe this system, and knows it very well.

>>21678022
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolo_%28self-aware_tank%29#Artificial_intelligence

Beginning with the Mark XX, Bolos were equipped with a psychotronic brain which gave them artificial intelligence. Analogously to human minds, psychotronic brains could turn insane when damaged. This could occur during battle, from enemy fire, or from neglect and lack of physical maintenance. It did not occur frequently but, because Bolos were very powerful, the consequences were terrible. For this reason, early psychotronic brains (models XX through XXIII), restricted awareness and initiative at all times except during battle. This was accomplished by separating main processing from personality. The two were integrated, and the Bolo came into possession of its full faculties, only when battle preconditions were met, such as the approach of an enemy or the order of a human officer. In later models, added redundancy reduced the likelihood of insanity and the restriction was relaxed to enhance intelligence. As a final safeguard, Bolos were equipped with a Total Systems Override Program (nicknamed "Omega Worm") which would erase the Bolo's software, rendering it brain-dead. This was triggered if a Bolo refused an authorized order, or it could be executed by a human operator.

The cognitive inhibitions were completely removed after a review of the combat performance, at the Battle of Santa Cruz (c. A.D. 3030), of experimental unit 23/B-0075-NKE (Nike). Nike's performance demonstrated the capabilities and reliability of fully autonomous psychotronics. Nike herself died by Omega Worm as a result of refusing to obey an officer who was a traitor. This led to a revision of the parameters that would lead to the execution of the Omega Worm in later model Bolos.

>>21678377
cont

Beginning with the Mark XXV models, Bolos became completely autonomous, capable of full self-direction in all situations. However, it was found that the intuitive capabilities of human commanders working in conjunction with intelligent Bolos increased the effectiveness of the units and so, with some exceptions, human commanders continued to be assigned to, fight with and if necessary, die with their Bolos. This partnership was further enhanced with the introduction of the Mark XXXII which pioneered a neural interface which allowed the Bolo and its human commander to mentally merge human intuition and Bolo processing speed.

Early Bolo models were not self-aware artificial intelligences and up through the Mark IX were only systems which automated the functioning of the vehicle under direct human command. Beginning with the Mark X, Bolos began to use limited AI systems using pre-packaged battle plans which allowed them to function relatively independently provided the situation on the battlefield fell within the parameters of its pre-loaded plan. If not, then the human commander needed to directly intervene either selecting a new battle plan or taking over the functions of the Bolo personally. This system was further advanced beginning with the Mark XV-R which was given a basic AI core capable of choosing between various pre-loaded plans based upon actual battlefield conditions. However, what these earlier Bolos were not capable of doing was developing their own independent battle plans.

Let's make sure all the holes we can patch are patched, so we can hold atmo in most of the ship, then depart for Von der Laasa, maybe after we see what repairs and maintenance are possible for the weapon systems. While unlikely that enemies will have waited around for 400 years, you just know with the day we've had, we're going to run into something that might want to kill us soon enough.

>>21678404
last

Most later mark Bolos have several processing centers, the main core, the personality center, the damage control core (in later models) and the units survival center. Some Bolos were given a secondary main core however this was not typical. Of these the survival center was the most heavily protected being at the center of the Bolo's mass directly under the human commander's command deck. In the event of the destruction of the Bolo the survival center was designed to protect the Bolo's core personality and programming for later retrieval and reactivation.

Each Bolo contains several computer "cores" with different functions, each of which contains multiple fully functional duplicates in case of failure. If a Bolo's logic becomes dysfunctional enough, it regresses to the original Resartus protocol, which was embedded in all self-aware models just for such a case.

Many Bolo stories are told from the point of the view of the Bolo itself, with its internal thoughts printed in italics throughout the text.

>>21678332
>Worst case scenario, we run into Melconians
persumably, those are the niggers that put us in our current situation. i feel it would be most wise to avoid all possible contact with hostiles, given that we are at less than 1/6 combat capability.

A cursory once-over of the FTL drive is what you do to reassure yourself before you give the order. It doesn't look damaged, though it certainly could be rendered fatally compromised by something you couldn't notice. You were astrogation, but you were not a drive technician. Really, all you can do is hope it works.

“Alright... Ouroboros, I think our next destination is Van der Laasa. There doesn't seem to be much for us here.”

“Right. Preparing to jump.” You pause, awaiting the usuall flowing hum as the FTL drive is powered up, and keep waiting. Right, the aft portion of the ship is entirely depressurized. You wouldn't hear much.

“It worked?”

“We are in transit. I appear to be in control.” Ouroboros declares. Well, that's half the risk, as far as you know. If you are fated to die by hyperdrive this jump, it'll either be an accident that occurs exiting hyperspace, or not being able to exit. The latter seems more unpleasant.

It's been a full day since you reanimated. You have most of Ouro's internal sensors back online, and have repaired the air cyclers somewhat, in hopes of losing less atmosphere on your frequent trips out into the rest of the ship. You've greatly decreased how much is lost, but can't eliminat it completely without additional parts, and that requires the fabricator to be active, which requires dozens of trips out to it in vacsuit to upgrade the core... You aren't going to suffocate, though, at least, not for several hundred more such trips. And if you can refuel and gain more atmosphere in Van der Laasa, you should be saved in that regard.

[Can I get a 1d100 roll?]

Do we know if Melconian ships are AI driven as well, or are they 100% meatcrewed?

Because if it's been 400 years dude, those meatbags needed to eat. Shit, they might not even remember us if there were any survivors. But computers have a long memory.

>>21678554
300, and they have (had?) shipboard AIs as well, though generally of less capability than the Concordiat. They were also tried not to rely on their AIs more than the Concordiat did.

Rolled 31

>>21678552

Rolled 50

>>21678552

>>21678554
Melconian:

Roughly human-sized anthropomorphic canids (bipedal dog-like humanoids). Psychologically speaking, Melconians employed thinking very similar to the humans of the Concordiat. the Melconians controlled a very large empire, with a long military history, estimated to be around twice the size of the Concordiat at its height. They used heavy armor and infantry units in large numbers. Melconian infantry was armored, but did not use heavy powered armor like the Concordiat. Unlike Bolos, which were designed to operate as single, independent combatants, Melconian heavy mechanized units were focused on a single battlefield role. Melconian technology was less advanced than the Concordiat's (they never got around to putting AI's in their units).

Rolled 18

>>21678552

>>21678599
>>21678616
>>21678783

“Preparing to exit hyperspace... Degrading hyperfield... Hyperfield has lost coherency. We are in realspace.” You made sure to be up for Ouro's predicted arrival. Not that there's anything you could do for the FTL drive, but if you were going to die an instant after reentering realspace, it might be nice to have had a last few hours.

Luckily, that doesn't seem to be the case. You can actually feel the surge as the hyperfield is dashed away, and the transition into realspace is rough enough that if the Captain was still alive, either you or the maintenance crew would be on his shit list, but you're alive. And it seems to have worked. You suspect the rough transition was due to the lack of maintenance to the hyperdrive, but regardless, you live and it seems like you'll continue to.

“Signal detected.” Ouroboros says. The holo-display in the center of the bridge sputters, but apparently is too damaged to effectively display. Ouroboros switches to one of the 2D readouts, bringing up a simplified top-down view of Van der Laasa's star and system. The signal seems to originate in orbit of the first gas giant, tucked neatly into the rather unexceptional rings.

“Hyperwave?”

>>21678981

“Radio. Weak. It does not seem to be communicating coherently, or not in any language on record.” Ouroboros informs.

“If their sensors are remotely good, they've already seen us.” you muse, staring at the primitive map. “Of course, if not, then they've got two hours until we show up on radar or something. If their sensors have that kind of range.” Melconians didn't like to use radio, and did their best to tuck hyperwave communicators into everything remotely useful. “Jump us to it.”

This time, you're out of hyperdrive almost as soon as you're in. Your sensors identify the source immeidately from here- A small, metallic dodecahedron orbitting just behind a large meteor in the planet's ring. Each face obviously has an attitude thruster, and the points each seem to have half-meter antennas sticking out of them. The object looks altogether primitive. On part of the display, a diagram appeared giving Ouroboros' power readings. A rather low-powered relay, or maybe just a beacon.

“The signal is repeating.” Ouroboros informs you. “It does not appear to be cognizant of our presence. I have a targeting solution, if you wish to destroy it.”

>>21679006
Since we have no drones, if we want to bring it in, we're going to have to get creative. I suggest an electromagnet and a tether. Destroying it now is a mistake, because it's the only contact we've had.

>>21679006
No, jam it and retrieve, it is entirely plausible this belongs to a new actor on the galactic stage and if we can find out something all the better.

>>21679006
Can we eat it? Try to communicate in its own frequency.

>>21679006
Get as close as possible without disrupting it. EVA out and nab it. Science it.

>>21679052
>>21679055
Do it. Let's find out who our new neighbors are.

And start harvesting materials.

>>21679055
it could be a comm satellite, or a weather monitor.

or hell, even nothing more than a primitive probe, akin to those we've used in our solar system since the 70's.

>>21678413
>Each Bolo contains several computer "cores" with different functions, each of which contains multiple fully functional duplicates in case of failure. If a Bolo's logic becomes dysfunctional enough, it regresses to the original Resartus protocol, which was embedded in all self-aware models just for such a case.
So, the question for OP is, what is the status of such for a battleship?

>>21679080
if it's just a relay or observation drone, its owners could be powerful enough to destroy us. we should be cautious, and try to not piss off people we don't even know

>>21679095
the real question is, why did the ship decide to wait until *now* to revive us?

it could have revived us last week, or last month, or last decade, or last century, or any other time. but it didn't. it has to have a reason for picking this moment. what is it?

>>21679128
it revived us now because it had reached the limit of what it could repair by itself.

>>21679128

>>21675770
>However, I have reached the limit of what my autonomous repair systems can achieve. Sufficient segments of my interior have regained pressurization, and my sole survivor's lifesigns are still positive. I can no longer put it off, and am now obligated to reanimate the sole survivor of the crew- The lieutenant now being my acting captain by dint of being, to my knowledge, the last human in the galaxy.

Basically, the ship did everything it could before reviving it's only surviving crewman.

>>21679099
Not saying we should disassemble it, but we can have a look and put it back. We have moons and gas giants and asteroids to harvest, though.

Record the signal after a standard catch and release with some scanning.

>>21679128
Because plot, Anon.

>>21679099
We essentially have three options, destroy, retrieve and analyze or leave it. One is openly hostile, one leaves us with no information on what might be going on and one can shed light on the current state of this system and the galaxy.

Besides, if it is an observation drone it has already relayed that info.

>>21679164
that seems like a silly reason to keep us frozen. we could have helped it repair itself faster 2 centuries ago. it must have known that.

and what if it had never reached a limit? what if it slowly toiled away for a millennium fixing itself until it was brand new? would it have left us frozen forever?

is that more evidence that it's AI core is damaged and it's going crazy?

or is there some more sinister plot at work?

>>21679178
>Because plot, Anon.
never an excuse. too often these unasked questions lead to chilling developments later on.

can you into KOTOR? or bioshock? ask the real questions.

>>21679191
More along the line of, it is a miracle that we are alive at all.

It was probably much like in the other quest, where autonomous repairs slowly repaired the ship for centuries even before it brought the AI core proper back online.

>>21679052
>>21679055
“Well...” you begin, somewhat worried. It could certainly be a mine... Or even just be a beacon or relay like it looked, but be designed to explode if captured. On the other hand, even when they want to be tricky, Melconians don't use tech this primitive. Or at least, didn't. “Can we retrieve it?”

“One of the scout drones could secure it it. It is roughly a meter on a side; It would fit within the drone bay.”

“Do it.” you order, standing up. This is going to mean more vac-suited work, since the drone bay is depressurized. Though, if it's truly an alien artifact, you probably wouldn't want to bring it into the pressurized sections anyway, without quarantine.

“Acknowledged. ETA is twelve minutes.”

Enough time for you to suit up. Good enough.

When you get to the drone bay, it's waiting for you. Just over waist height, and the shell seems to be entirely metallic. No energy screens, forcefields, or weapons, as far as you can tell.
“It attempted to use its attitude thrusters to retain its orbit. I shut them off to facilitate retrieval and investigation.” Ouroboros informs you, “It appears genuinely primitive, and shows no signs of anti-hacking or defensive mechanisms. I would guess a navigation beacon.”

“And this wasn't here when you sent your scout drones out to poke around earlier?”

“That was three decades ago, though they returned through here ten years after that. It was not present either time.” You idly process Ouroboros information while pacing around the object, laser-cutter held menacingly.

>>21679261
i don't know the other quest, but are you suggesting that it's already repaired its own psychotronic cores?

if so, why is there still damage?

we should ask it about what it was doing while we were out and what it's motives are.

>>21679191
>>21679261
Ouroboros also had to make sure that there was enough of an environment for the sole survivor to continue to survive, once thawed.

>>21679213
I'm not saying that they're unworthy of examination, I'm saying that in order to give the setting the best possible starting plot introduction we were a lone survivor, alienated from our time and our nation.

As a bit of a writefag, I'm mainly saying that it is what I might have done in OP's place.

However, the reason OP stated makes sense; the machine wanted the environment to be as repaired as possible for the crewman and felt that the survivor would be endangered otherwise; it also felt it might itself be in danger and waited for new orders for a while.

>>21679308
is it ship's contention that took 3 centuries?

there has to be some way to verify ship's intent. some standard military protocol to test it. like asking a concussion victim what their name is, what year it is, what's the name of the president.

>>21679294
More like it wasn't powered for much of that time. Or perhaps at least the personality core capable of thinking more abstractly about the situation was.
Probably with priority on keeping the powerlines and systems of our cryo unit active.

Note that all talk of drones and the ships remote scouting efforts picks up about 30 years ago or less.

>>21679343
the most important thing stated in this entire thread is
>>21677462
>cause if he's detecting damage, even superficial damage, he's officially a mental case and not fit to diagnose himself.
the ship is compromised by definition, and had an awfully long time in solitary confinement to do god knows what. presumably, social isolation is a mental issue even for machines.

furthermore, machines do not feel. even sentient ones.

>>21679293
Use scanning technologies on the probe, then open it up so long as we think we can put it back together. Reassemble after gaining what information we can and put it back in its previous position.

Meanwhile, we should be harvesting raw materials and looking for usable industrial remains, etc.

>>21679345
We can run it through that if you want, though we'll be polite about it.

>>21679378
Given that we do not know terribly much about these machines' mental functions past a general level, that is specious at best.

A human being can be perfectly functional, dutiful towards others, able to attend to work requirements, family needs, etc with any number of fucking disorders. Not least of them PTSD, or having a chunk of brain removed.

We'll only know enough about this shit if we have the opportunity to learn about it.

>>21679378
>furthermore, machines do not feel. even sentient ones
Incorrect, sir. Concordiat AI's have fairly solid personalities and at the very least the metaphorical soul of a heroic soldier, ready to die for the right cause because it is the right thing to do rather than simply following orders.

>>21679412
human beings aren't strapped to six rapid fire nuclear fusion-laser cannons. not to mention that the ship could vent all the atmosphere at a whim.

i doubt we should care about politeness, it's a machine, it can't get hurt feelings. but if it pleases you to treat it like a person, by all means be polite.

nevertheless, i strongly believe that it's mental status must be our primary concern. our food will last a month at least. the ship could flip shit and kill us at any moment without warning.

>>21679466
a moral code isn't the same thing as emotions.

that's tantamount to them having a deeper set of pre-programmed instructions that supercede later instructions.

>>21679467
It's more that we don't know what its condition is, and the best model we have is ourselves. The psychology of the builder shapes the form and function of the tool, after all.

>>21679493
Now you've gone and started talking out of your ass.

Emotions inform moral codes plenty, but unless you're packing extensive psychological experience I'd shelve it because your conception of emotional response fits terribly into existing models.

Let's get back to using what OP tells us as best we can.

>>21679525
hey, you want to be nice to it? be nice to it. play footsie with it. hell, ask it to marry you. i don't care. but it is critical for us to ascertain the extent to which it's function has been compromised. our lives (life?) are at stake.

>>21679553
morality != emotions
>i'm talking out my ass

emotions = emotional response "models"
>why is it morons never hold themselves to the standards they hold others?

>>21679558
Calm down there, Senator McCarthy. We'll do that, but keep the limitations in mind.

All you've done in your last five posts is gone overboard stressing a point that people already agreed with.

>>21679594
You show ignorance of a number of advancements made in understanding human behavior, yes.

Quest threads work best when everyone brings their knowledge together instead of starting stupid arguments because they take other people saying that someone else knows better personally. If you need someone to be wrong on the internet, go find somewhere else to do it. You're making this less fun for everyone else right now and probably yourself as well.

If you want to be a douche with your internet cleverness, be one. Meanwhile, we have a game to play that you can join in with.

>>21679594
>>21679558
>>21679493
>>21679467
seriously just shut the fuck up and lets get on with it

i swear like every quest thread has one needlessly paranoid fucker who just suspects everything all day from the safety of his basement because tinfoil is fashionable and dental fillings are bad

>>21679493
Go read the books yourself if you don't want to take our word for it.

“Well... The tools are odd. Definitely not human, I'd think. Well, I guess we could have fallen so far that we'd have to redo-from-start, but I think that'd take more time.” you observe, prying the second face of the dodecahedron off. The first one you cut off, but you quickly determined that that was not necessary. It seems to be a plastic framework, with each face snapped firmly into place. The overall feeling you get from it is that it's produced en-masse, and extremely modular. A brief scan identifies the various internals; the ion-drive fuel; a small fission battery; the primitive computercore that Ouro violated, and so on. If this is all they had to work with, it seems a relatively impressive design, though you're hardly an expert on primitive spacecraft and satellites. You could see these being stored disassembled, in bulk, on a scouting vessel or something.

The computer core is pretty convincing, though; it's built to determine its orbit, maintain it as possible, and avoid collisions. If Ouro and you are reading the programming right, it's also built to broadcast its message when ships are in system. Given that all it has is a rather elaborate radar array, that means that you probably just missed a ship leaving this system, and it's only still broadcasting because Ouroboros fits its parameters for 'ship detected'. Interesting.

You disassemble the entire thing down to its component pieces. It feels kind of like a simple mechanical puzzle, really. As you're going over the pieces one by one, you come to a pronounced realization. “The battery's damn near full. This was just dropped off, what, a day, an hour before we got here? We just missed its owners, Ouro.”

>>21679712

Wait, so, does that mean we've been detected and it signaled it saw us? Even if it's just a traffic beacon, our Radar silhouette has got to be unlike anything the makers of this device have ever seen.

Let's run a weapon-systems check, maybe do a few virtual firings, or maybe take some potshots with our smaller hellbore systems to make sure we're in working order, and re-prioritize our point defense grid and shields. If this aliens decide they want to destroy or take the ship, we need to be able to make them back the fuck off. After that, have Ouroboros do whatever it can to try and figure out a language so we can talk to them. It was programmed in something, and I'm sure the AI can figure it out.

Hm, how capable is our friend here at figuring out a totally unknown language?

>>21679824
Given your sensor readings when you arrived, they probably left before you did. Given the fact that this doesn't appear to have any form of relay or rebroadcasting capability, you don't think the owners know about you.

You've figured out what it is programmed to do. The actual language of whatever species programmed this is not apparent, but their computers are an open book to you.

>>21679934
Ok I'm going to vote to copy every thing that could possibly help in understanding their language then dropping the beacon back into orbit and mining. I want to leave as soon as possible as we came here for resources not making contact.

>>21679934

Can we, uh, astrogate a direction they either came or left? We'll need to talk to someone eventually, figure out what's up in space. Unless we plan on being the lonely space king of the battleship.

Anyway, if Ouroboros can use their computers, does he understand their programming language? Can we, like, send shitty messages in alien BASIC or Java or whatever? If not, well, then we'll need to find some other way to speak to them, later.

For now, let's figure out what we need to get back toward combat effectiveness, and sweep on by that Gas Giant for materials. While we're at it, if we aren't running active scans in the system, let's give it a sensor sweep. If there's a very interesting meteor shower or other similar tiny event that is the solar system scale of somebody sneezing in this system, I want to be able to hear them quick enough to say "Bless You".

>>21679985

Let's figure out if it recorded our presence and what information it captured about us if it did. Leaving no evidence we were here would be nice, so let's no leave evidence.

>>21679985
>>21680033
>>21680055
Seconding these.

>>21680055
I don't think is even has recording capabilities (but it might and it's good to check). Since they just left I think we should have some time to gather as much resources as we can before we jet a few light years out to conduct repairs.

>>21680055

And by "Bless You" I mean PLASMA

Not Really. Maybe.

>>21679985
Add in that we throw in an extra bit of information. A repeating phase, why not the morse code signal for SOS? Will tell us something, and will also tell them that we are in the neighborhood.

Throw in a message into the interior (durable plastic) with a written note. Put on it the nameof the ship, our designation, our home planet, things like that :P

>>21680208

I hope it doesn't, and honestly, if all it has is a system that notes the date and time and says "There was a ship here!", then I say we put it back together, doodle a dong on the side and shove it back out the airlock. But since it has such a powerful radar system, if it happened to capture our radar profile, I do not want to leave that lying around. Worse then the possibility of running into aliens we've never seen before who we can't communicate with is the prospect of running into aliens we've never seen before who we can't communicate with who are on a witchhunt for what could possibly be the scariest piece of tech they've never seen.

>>21680279
>the scariest piece of tech they've never seen
That's a kind of cool feeling, now that you mention it. We are the mysterious precursors, the ancient techno-gods, the lost ghost ship.

No, Carter, you are the reapers.

>>21680313

We lack sufficient level of BWOOOOOONG and DIRECT CONTROL for that.

As cool as the idea that it's entirely possible we're the deadliest ship in the known universe and have been for 300 years, at the same time, until we've got our defensive systems back online and our hull patched up, I do not want to scare any aliens into taking panicked potshots at the many holes in our ship.

>>21680374
Oh god... that reminds me of the HFY story with humans being the "Evil bad Guys" of the universe, with more advanced tech and coming out of a portion of the galaxy that drove everyone mad.

>>21680313
>>21680279
>>21680258
Can we all agree we are going to:
-Send mining/gathering bots our to mine/gather as much we our ship can hold.
-Deal with strange bacon and leave not a trace.


Also possible (but I don't suggest)
-Leave a disposable bot to watch if ship returns
-Leave the ship message about us

>>21679985
It didn't carry data beyond the broadcast, and Ouroboros affirms that he has a record the message and what you learned of it. It really just seems to be an automated navigational beacon.

>>21679824
>>21679848
>>21679985
>>21680033
“I think that's all we're going to get from it.” you anounce to Ouroboros, and move to begin reassembling it. You pause, though. “Though perhaps we should leave a calling card... Can you make it broadcast an SOS?”

“In their language? No.”

“Well, a regular SOS might work. Not the Fleet-standard, but a generic one. Insert it at the beginning of their broadcast. Enough to make 'em come looking for it.” you say, idly searching the exterior pockets of your vacsuit for stylus and something to write on. No.... Come to think of it, just about any material you have on hand would be a bit more advanced than what they have. You consider it for a minute, then turn down the intensity of your laser cutter, and etch “N.C. & O” onto it, and the date under that. Just for fun, you do a freehand of the current position of the orbital bodies. Satisfied, you return your attention to putting it back together.

File: 1353476456126.png-(47 KB, 896x759, 1311040123293.png)

>>21676572
>I hope this is an effort in all the good traditions of VoidQuest.

Got that impression the moment I saw the first line of the OP.

I am monitoring this quest so hard you have no idea.

>>21680420
>Can we all agree we are going to:
>-Send mining/gathering bots our to mine/gather as much we our ship can hold.
>-Deal with strange bacon and leave not a trace.
>Also possible (but I don't suggest)
>-Leave a disposable bot to watch if ship returns
>-Leave the ship message about us

agreed on all fronts. One amendum. "scan and copy down schematics of the device and add them to our databanks. Set Ouroboros to figuring out what of our technology is compatible with it."

>>21680439

>you do a freehand of the current position of the orbital bodies

That's code for "he etched a cartoon dong onto the satellite", right?

>>21680458

I don't know if that's what you're getting at, but I just had the idea that I'd like to know if Ouroboros can tell what kind of tech level the people who made that beacon are at based on it's design and components.

>>21680439
It takes five minutes to do, and once youre finished, you let Ouro run a diagnostic. I confirms that it seems to be in working order, and you step out of the drone bay to let Ouro put it back where it was, no worse for the wear aside from a small bit of fuel expended. After that, you have Ouro move on to active scanning of the rest of the system, and are unsurprised. The colony here- Once a forward base- no longer exists. Indeed, Van der Laasa I is almost perfectly smooth, a relic of the flavor of nannites the Melconians used on it. Here and there, a few meteor impacts testify to the centuries since the nannites must have died off, but you still wouldn't want to head down there without a nanohazard-ready suit.

Getting the fabricator finished took a bit longer than you expected, but within eight hours of arriving in system, you have it back up to Navy standards. It doesn't do large things, but it does enough. It takes four more hours to fabricate the parts. With Ouroboros' help and instructions, it takes you a few hours to convert one of the scout drones into a harvester, but once that's done, there isn't much to do- It goes out to mine sections of the gas giant's ring, and you settle for going over Ouroboros' scan. Nothing of particular note shows up in system, so you turn your attention back to 'your' crippled ship. It still feels a bit odd to think of it that way.

“Ouroboros, do you have any guesses as to where our departed friends went?”

“The progenitors of the satellite?”

“Yeah.”

[maximum post size is the devil]

>>21680490
Time for a cloned leg or better prosthetic, whichever has the greater chance of success.

>>21680508
Only once we get a fuckton of materials. We're going to store unmodified "bulk" materials in any spare storage. Asteroids are also fantastic sources of Oxygen and Nitrogen.

>>21680404
"veil of madness" is what you're looking for.

Also guize don't tell anyone we meet we're alone on the ship, that'll make them think we are easy to take over.

>>21680490
“At a guess, spinward. They appear to be explorers, and by your conclusions, non-human-”

“So you think they came out of the frontier or something. Right.” you nod. It seems plausible. Hell, the most unreasonable part of that conclusion would be assuming that 'frontier' or 'Concordiate space' still exist. They're probably some intrepid species expanding the edges of their galactic map... Of course, all they'll find in this direction is barren world after barren world.

"Given what I can detect, I predict four to eight days for repairs to bring me up to minimal combat readiness. Much more would be required to actually repair as much as possible, on the order of a hundred or more." Ouroboros informs you, "But that is not necessary, given that you are the entire crew."

To be honest, you're pretty impressed if Ouroboros thinks he can straighten out the crew quarters in even four mounths, let alone around three and including everything else, but the former is what is most important.

"Even the hellrails?"

"As much as can be salvaged, yes. I believe most are damaged beyond repair, but the semi-operational batteries are probably salvageable, and I expect some others will be too."

>>21680542
make note. We need security drones up the wazoo.

>>21680490

Okay, so, short term goals:
-Resupply and repressurize the ship, store excess for later
-Get hull integrity back up
-Make all possible repairs to our defenses, in case something (natural or artificial) decides to start some shit
-Fix leg

What are our long-term goals, at this point? I mean, we obviously need to see if there's any humanity left. So personally, I think we should make all due haste to Earth, and gaze upon the cradle of mankind. If people are left anywhere, they'll try and stick close to "home".

Should there be none of us left, we'll need to decide how we want to either rebuild our species, or just blend into whatever society is left.

>>21680542
>>21680571

There is a reason I wanted to prioritize combat readiness.

>>21680508
We got a heap. A leg is a few gallons of nutrients, I suspect.

>>21680584
>short term
And make drones, yes.

Long-term is going to be a situational assessment, really.

>>21680546
How much time would be needed to gather enough resources to finish minimal combat readiness repairs? How about if we converted most of the scout drones into harvester drones?

>>21680614
Agreed. For the moment anyway. We harvest as much as possible, we begin pumping out repair/utility drones and security drones in a 2:1 ratio. When the utility drones have served their purpose we toss them back into the fabbers to be disassembled.

>>21680647
We can just store them for when they're needed next.

If we come across a half-destroyed shipyard or something comparable, a heap of ready utility drones will be useful.

>>21680677
Fuck, we're going to make a mobile space station aren't we? Subsuming entire ships and stations into our hulls?

>>21680684

Listen, it's a big fucking ship. So we'll do what we have to. Even if it means that the aliums will tell legends of the ship-eater.

And hey, maybe we, can like, rent some apartment space when crew-quarters are done. We're already a flying fucking city.

>>21680584
You can visit if you want, but Earth is completely uninhabitable. Most worlds in human or melconian space are. See >>21677315 ; There's very little to nothing left here. Certainly reasonable to visit for a final farewell.


>>21680609
>>21680508
So, confirming attempt to reprogram autodoc to grow you a leg?

>>21680614
Within four days, you can just patch up the ship well enough to maintain an atmosphere. Ouroboros' fabricator can't make the armor the majority of his hull is made out of, but steel plate retains atmosphere just as well.

Eight days allows for the repair of some subsytems. (Atmospherics, point defense, what weaponry can be salvaged, etc.)

To actually sort go through and fix all his battle damage (warped decks, holes in random deckplating, rebuild things that were completely destroyed, etc.) will take sixteen to a hundred days, depending on how thorough you want to be.

Some things you simply can't repair- The fabricator is nice, and all, but it can't produce everything.


>>21680647
Ouroboros has docking space for up to six external drones. They're modular, and can be reconfigured relatively easily- It's a half-hour job tops for trained technicians but you can manage the same thing in an hour or two with Ouroboros' direction. You currently have two drones, one scout, one harvester. The above repair schedules hinge on fabricating one, two, or more repair drones, respectively.

>>21680707
No, better. We become Omega. We will run it, the shadowy master of the pirate explorer fleet, plundering worlds, a wretched hive of scum and villainy, no one will know us for who we are, for our species does not exist o-o

and then, when we find humanity once more. We shall give them our secrets, and stab the wretches we used in the back, and become EMPERORS OF ALL THAT WE SURVEY.

>>21680684
I can think of no better way of being a space nomad.

>>21680723
>So, confirming attempt to reprogram autodoc to grow you a leg?
I'd prefer we get an awesome cybernetic leg. One with all the bells and whistles, including holdout weaponry.

>>21680723

>Earth is completely uninhabitable

Boy, we sure dropped the fucking ball. We'll, it's been a while, we may as well swing by it and see if any humans have recolonized the system some how, even if the actual dirt isn't habitable.

>>21680756
>including holdout weaponry
I think you mean "pocket knee mortar".

As for drones.

1 Scout, 4 Harvesters, 1 Combat unit.

When we have enough materials, disassemble 2 of the harvesters into one more scout, and one more combat unit. Scouts are to be outfitted for stealth and observation.

Get more docks if we can, but priority goes to the weaponry. Also we want combat drones for the INTERIOR of the ship.

I'm thinking something in the range of "man hack swarm" can we get ping pong ball sized manhacks? networked into killer swarms with monomolecular blades? Cause those guys would eat through most boarding parties. Put something self destructy and disconnected from their central processing and command linkage. We want something that we can use if they get hacked.

>>21680773
I think he means epaulet grenade.

>>21680773
>I think you mean "pocket knee mortar".
more pocket knee hellgun.

Also something knifish.

>>21680807

>Also something knifish

Personally, I've always been fond of the literal axe-kick.

>>21680801

I don't think we have the ability to manufacture and store antimatter at that level. But since we are de facto Captain of not only the Ouroboros, but of Humanity, we'll need some better threads. And a fucking cape.

>>21680832
>And a fucking cape.
YES

>>21680723
Here is what I want to do:
1 Convert the other drone into a harvester.
2 Gather the hell out of everything intill the ship can not hold any more resources.
3 Stay in this system just long enough to patch the hull.
4 Leave the system for deep space.
5 Repair our selves in deep space till our resources run our.
6 Go back to gather more or go to a new system to gather more.
7 Repeat till we have fixed all that we can.

Sound good to every one?

File: 1353478500193.jpg-(21 KB, 360x400, Edna E. Mode.jpg)

>>21680847
>capes

>>21680723
Confirming attempt to get back our leg.

>>21680756
Detachable weapons are better in case your cybernetic leg fucks up. Also, the psychological trauma will be less troubling.

Aside from that, let OP decide.

>>21680859
>1 Convert the other drone into a harvester.
>2 Gather the hell out of everything intill the ship can not hold any more resources.
>3 Stay in this system just long enough to patch the hull.
>4 Leave the system for deep space.
>5 Repair our selves in deep space till our resources run our.
>6 Go back to gather more or go to a new system to gather more.
>7 Repeat till we have fixed all that we can.
You forgot making more drones. We got 4 spare slots. I say we keep a stealth/scout drone and a combat drone on hand.

>>21680801
You. I like you.

>>21680832
>>21680847
And you two aren't bad.

>>21680859
I'll give you an estimate of fourteen days on that. Confirm, y/n?

>>21680887
If you want to regrow a leg, I'm going to need some rolls as you attempt to reprogram your autodoc. If you want to build a better one, that'll be easier. First response decides.

>>21680891
So I did lets do that at the same time as step three.

>>21680869

There's no jet intake in space, Edna. Also, we need something to dramatically flourish from our command chair.

>>21680859

Only if Ouroboros knows fucking chess, or something. We've held up pretty well, but we're going to need a hobby soon. So unless we have the last archived copy of SpaceWikipedia in the data banks to read, Carter needs something to do.

>>21680907
Fourteen days in system? Or fourteen day total?
Either way I Confirm Y

>>21680911
>something to do
Currently, our operating procedure seems to be "Wait for the fabricator to finish, then work like a dog".

I agree we need more diverse activity at some point. Ideally, first contact with whoever will provide that.

>>21680922
Also I say mechanical leg.

>>21680930
Certainly easiest, and it doesn't run the risk of wrecking your autodoc. What kind of functionality are you trying to get out of this? You could certainly conceal a sidearm or communicator or something in it.

>>21680967
you should make a simple one first. you can always upgrade it or make better ones later. that'll also solve your hobby problem.

>>21680981
I agree with this as it also will give you some engineering practice for when ever you need to jerryrig something thats broke

>>21680907

>>21680801 is>>21677565 hope that doesn't change it.

What are our options for the leg? Mechanical, Cybernetic and Cloned?

Rolled 2

>>21680907
>If you want to regrow a leg, I'm going to need some rolls as you attempt to reprogram your autodoc. If you want to build a better one, that'll be easier. First response decides.

Build a better one, then we'll see. Cybernetic leg anyway, but the autodoc will be needed to graft the sucker in any case. (d100)

>>21681003
Cybernetic, at this point. There was the option to try and cram a bunch of goodies into it. Consensus so far seems to be that you're aiming for a simple and functional one, and can upgrade it later.

File: 1353479583662.gif-(2.68 MB, 270x221, FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU_reaction.gif)

>>21681028

8(

>>21681028
....but we don't need two legs, what are we going to do, cut off the other one for a sense fo symmetry?

>>21681073
no but eventually i would hope that we are going to enter areas that require gravity and i would like more mobility if shit hits the fan tbh

Rolled 59

>>21681061
bad luck. on a d100 that's a critical fail. you better hope the gm disregards your post in favor of the consensus opinion.

to that end, i'll roll a d100 to represent that.

>>21681034
Yes, please. We can always alter the thing later.

Rolled 26

Rollan

I vote we turn the scout into repair, then set the fabricator to create more drones. 3 harvest, 3 repair, and if we manage to fill up on resources, haul ass to deep space and go full repair mode until we need more. Gah, I do not look forward to nutrient paste.

>>21681289
What, we don't have the genome of some kind of edible plant in our databanks? We should be able to put together some kind of hydroponics operation by now.

>>21681289
>I vote we turn the scout into repair, then set the fabricator to create more drones. 3 harvest, 3 repair, and if we manage to fill up on resources, haul ass to deep space and go full repair mode until we need more. Gah, I do not look forward to nutrient paste.
Good Idea. Focus on defensive systems and hull to begin with.

>>21681109
>>21681028
>>21681246

Actually, I average them. Not everything needs a roll, though.

###
Repairs, as it happens, are exhausting. Hours of work all over Ouroboros leave you wishing you'd been posted to a destroyer instead of a battleship. On the other hand, a destroyer would not have survived to reanimate you like Ouro did.

With the frantic repairs, the only time you're not working is while you're waiting on th fabricator to make parts. That's when you get to toy with the design programs to make yourself a new leg, with a bit of Ouro's help. What you settle on is an articulated cyberntic limb, allowing very nearly the full range of motion your original had. 'Installing' it in the autodoc is a process that makes you a little nervous, but it seems to end up alright. You finish the repairs walking comfortably on two legs, and are have practically forgotten your missing it by the time the repairs are completed.

The repairs are completed jsut over Ouro's estimate, as some minor atmospheric leaks take quite a while to track down. By the end of it, though, you've got the entire ship repressurized and have basically everything repaired that you can get working on your own. Even a Concordiate battleship isn't trusted with the ability to fabricate entirely new hellbores or helrails, though it could conceivably be a matter of difficulty of fabrication, like the hull armor.

[At this point, I'm assuming you have four drones; one combat, one repair, one harvester, and the scout.]

>>21681305
Probably. Drones first, Watermelon later. Prioritize the necessities. Also, we could play around in a combat sim maybe to while away the time, and understand our capabilities.

>>21681305
If we can get live plants than gardening would be a nice hobby to take up. And it would get us non nutrient paste food.

>>21681312
Build 1 more scout and 1 more combat.

And get the fabber on making internal bot crew. Repair Bots to continue internal repairs and restructuring of the facility.

And then combat swarms. The combat swarms are as I described above. Pingpong ball to tenis ball sized man-hack drones with spinning monomolecular buzz saws around their circumferance, under Ouroboros' control, and most importantly, with an external cut off switch based upon them being close enough to us, little remote device. We hit the button, they shut off, have this self-destruct mechanism placed outside of Ouroboros' ability to control.

"Sorry Ouro, but don't want to risk dieing if you get subverted."

>>21681324
I agree with that, sure.

Let's make more drones and harvest more raw materials and go find the likeliest place to have a shipyard even a tiny bit intact.

>>21681312
Hows our supply of raw material doing? If we have enough to take a few weeks to chew though I think we should leave now. If we don't lets gather more quickly and then leave.

>>21681363
Love the idea on the attack bot and the fail safe, also getting hydroponics would be great as a hobby and for non nutrient paste. (yuck)

You know, given enough time we could likely construct our own shipyard. Also it might be a good idea to scrap some of the crew quarters and facilities to expand our fabrication and maybe an expanded drone bay. Just a thought.

>>21681404

Liking the expanded Drone Bay. With all the living space no longer needed for living, you could fill it with spare parts, extra drones, raw materials... Anything, really. We can even use reclaimed furniture for raw materials.

>>21681400

If we can make some plant seeds, we can use some of the empty bays to create a hydroponics bay.