Stace [GM] (00:00:30): Welcome to Explorers Wanted. We are a weekly Numenera Actual Play podcast, except right now. During our first ever season break we are a Stars Are Fire podcast. This is Episode 2 of our most recent one-shot. I am everybody's second favorite GM, Stace Babcock and with me tonight is Alex Finn. Alex [Mox] (00:00:52): I am your favorite baby voiced baby of babies. Stace [GM] (00:00:56): That's true. Marietta Jones. Marietta [Ria] (00:00:58): I'm here, yep, mm-hmm (affirmative). I made it. Stace [GM] (00:01:02): And I always save the best for last I guess, Daniel Andrlik. Daniel [Tamara] (00:01:05): Do we get any magic items on this quest? Stace [GM] (00:01:08): No. Alex [Mox] (00:01:11): Can we get a pony? Stace [GM] (00:01:12): I imagine it would be kind of hard to find a pony. Marietta [Ria] (00:01:16): There's no ponies in the future, guys. Sorry. Daniel [Tamara] (00:01:18): What do you think all those leather seats were? Alex [Mox] (00:01:20): I was going to say we ate them all. Marietta [Ria] (00:01:22): Ponies are assholes. Stace [GM] (00:01:23): Okay, well... Marietta [Ria] (00:01:25): I mean, have you ever met a pony? Stace [GM] (00:01:27): Yes. Marietta [Ria] (00:01:27): They're way bigger dicks than horses. They like to bite. Stace [GM] (00:01:30): I would think they would be smaller dicks. Marietta [Ria] (00:01:32): They're more. I think they're compensating for something actually. Alex [Mox] (00:01:35): Aha. Daniel [Tamara] (00:01:37): Oh, that's the worst, yeah. Stace [GM] (00:01:38): All right. Marietta [Ria] (00:01:38): Yeah, it's a bummer. It's like, "Well, we know you're small. You didn't have to inform me with your anger and ferocity." Daniel [Tamara] (00:01:46): It's like a motorcycle or a car with a lot of exhaust drives by and you just know. Marietta [Ria] (00:01:49): Yeah, except it's a smaller horse and less fun to ride and more of an asshole during grooming, that's fine. Stace [GM] (00:01:57): Totally fine. Hey, Marietta? Marietta [Ria] (00:01:59): Hmm. Stace [GM] (00:01:59): What happened last episode? Marietta [Ria] (00:02:00): Oh man, it was kind of a cluster. Ria arrived after Tamara and Mox, who were grilled by the ship first, before existing their little speeder ship thing. Then they cleverly avoid the [00:02:17 Brandom Greens], then they come to me. Ria, who I'm playing, and we all have covers that we know very well. Like I'm Emily Graves, obviously. Stace [GM] (00:02:29): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Marietta [Ria] (00:02:30): So I meet with them and I'm like, "Okay, clearly these are the guys," and then we go. They get us into a back entrance, like a service entrance that will take us through. It'll take longer to get to the room, but that'll keep us out of the main thoroughfare because Ria's not really a talker. It'd be better to be sneaky about it than walk in through the casinos we've cited. And so there was some great miscommunication, which Marietta heard "Get in the trashcan," because that's what they'd be talking about, but then surprise, it was actually the serving cart, but then I was already in the trash can, so then Ria was in the trash can. It was great, highly recommend. Marietta [Ria] (00:03:06): Anyways, then they trash-canned her through the service area and out the other side and we ran into a guy who was slacking off, who was like "You should really get some suits on. Chad, that bastard, doesn't like it when you wear not the navy blue coveralls." Ria is still in the trash can. At some point, Mox throws some more trash on top of it. I guess, to, whatever. Then when we get to the spa thing Ria can't really see anything because, surprise, the room is a spa, some multi-purpose room. The lady there is like "Oh, I'm waiting for somebody" but Ria is still in the trash can and doesn't really know what's happening, so doesn't really pop out or say anything because, I don't know, this is not what she expected. Marietta [Ria] (00:03:51): Then we go into the spa area to get trash, where there's a bunch of people and I don't really remember the dialogue. All I remember is that it was pretty dick-ish to Ria, who was apparently supposed to know things and she doesn't, so she got really pissed off and stood up in the middle of the trash can and yelled. Then all of the spa people are like, "Aaagggh, call security." So someone runs and gets the front desk who's like "I really need you to come with me now." And these other people are then calling security. Marietta [Ria] (00:04:17): And then Tamara is like, "Okay, I'll come with you," and then Tamara punches this lady in the face and knocks her out. And then we hide her under the desk and, surprise, there's another room in there behind the desk that goes somewhere spooky. So we decide to take that route because those other people started calling security so we're looking for this stupid lab. And then we find out that the bathroom's also down this hallway, conveniently. We get to the end of the hall and there's a door, but we can't get into it, so we go back and we get her pass code. And then Daniel as Tamara rolled really well and was able to unlock the door for us. It was a lab and there was two other guys in there. And then Ria just goes and starts Synthesizing or refining the last parts of serum. Marietta [Ria] (00:05:02): And then these assholes, after she's done refining it, turn on them and release some sort of gas but Ria's far away from her fucking bag with her breather, so through a series of very sad roles, eventually passes out. But don't worry, Tamara and Mox are here to fuck up the bad guys and they take their breathers and it's great. Marietta [Ria] (00:05:19): So I think we left off with Ria being unconscious, them having the breathers, the other scientists being knocked out, and some very angry Star Force guards knocking at the door. Yeah? Stace [GM] (00:05:29): Pretty much, yeah. So yeah, you guys were in this secret lab that was hidden within the spa - which is a cover for the secret lab - and were essentially ambushed by two of the scientists, or supposed scientists. Ria is unconscious due to the sleeping gas, but now that she has her breather on its effects are slowly fading. She's not awake yet, I mean she's moving around or whatever. And Tamara and Mox were debating how to get out of this mess when the mess just got a little bit worse, and Star Force is banging on the outer door into the anteroom. Anteroom? Oh, whatever. Marietta [Ria] (00:06:12): Antechamber. Stace [GM] (00:06:13): Front room? Front room. Marietta [Ria] (00:06:14): The foyer. Stace [GM] (00:06:16): Of the spa. Daniel [Tamara] (00:06:19): Oh, that sounds bad. Stace [GM] (00:06:21): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Alex [Mox] (00:06:22): Do we kill them too? Or... Daniel [Tamara] (00:06:25): I guess we could see if we could wake up Rosie here. Probably should be somebody other than me though. Stace [GM] (00:06:30): Yeah, that it would be a nine medical intellect check to wake Rosie up. If only we had a doctor. Marietta [Ria] (00:06:40): Yeah, it would have been helpful to have someone trained in medicine, huh? Stace [GM] (00:06:43): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Daniel [Tamara] (00:06:44): Or we could try to wake... let's actually try to wake up the doctor first. Alex [Mox] (00:06:47): I mean, yeah. Stace [GM] (00:06:49): Okay. Alex [Mox] (00:06:50): Mox will do that I guess, so... Stace [GM] (00:06:53): Well, the doctor is already shifting a little. Does seem to be slowly coming back, so to wake the doctor up that would be a six medicine or intellect check. Alex [Mox] (00:07:06): Well, Mox is going to do it, but what if we mess up and give the doctor a brain aneurism, by getting a [inaudible 00:07:13]? Stace [GM] (00:07:13): Okay, so how do you wake her up? Marietta [Ria] (00:07:15): Kick her a few times. Stace [GM] (00:07:19): Right. Okay. Alex [Mox] (00:07:21): I got a 10. Stace [GM] (00:07:22): Doctor [inaudible 00:07:22] wakes up. Daniel [Tamara] (00:07:23): Ria's awake? Alex [Mox] (00:07:24): Yeah. Mox just roughly shakes her, puts some garbage in her face, kind of like smelling salts. Marietta [Ria] (00:07:30): I think she gasps and sits up. "Oh, I hate that stuff. It gives you such a bad headache." Alex [Mox] (00:07:36): Garbage? Marietta [Ria] (00:07:37): No. It's toxic, man. Garbage is gross too. Anyway. Wow, that's a lot of banging. What are we doing here? Daniel [Tamara] (00:07:44): Is the toxin still seeping into the room? Stace [GM] (00:07:47): It is. Although the rate seems to have slowed. Alex [Mox] (00:07:51): So we took a vote and decided you're waking up Rosie. Marietta [Ria] (00:07:54): Oh, okay. I'll crawl over to Rosie and see if I can wake her up. Stace [GM] (00:08:01): Okay, so I said earlier that would be a nine medicine, I think, but actually with the sleep gas on top of that you're going to need a 15 to awaken her. Marietta [Ria] (00:08:14): I am trained in medicine. Stace [GM] (00:08:16): Okay, 12. Marietta [Ria] (00:08:16): I roll a 14, so it looks like that's okay. Stace [GM] (00:08:20): A 14? Marietta [Ria] (00:08:20): Yeah. Stace [GM] (00:08:21): All right. How do you manage to wake up this concussed, front desk worker who is also inhaling sleeping gas? Daniel [Tamara] (00:08:29): Purple nurple. Marietta [Ria] (00:08:32): But maybe she would have... I don't know. I was thinking she would just smack her but I guess if it's still smoking then maybe she would try to find a way to turn that off or if there's another breather in the vicinity... Stace [GM] (00:08:47): There're a couple lockers along the wall. Marietta [Ria] (00:08:51): All right, I guess she'll look through those and see if she can find something. Stace [GM] (00:08:52): Okay. You open up one of the lockers and there is a breather on a shelf and below the breather there is a lab-coated woman with duct tape - or something like duct tape - over her mouth and restrained hands and feet. She looks at you wide-eyed. Marietta [Ria] (00:09:09): Well that's unfortunate. I think I found the actual scientist, and so I'll actually put the breather on this person, if they don't have one already, and let her out. Stace [GM] (00:09:19): They don't, they're looking drowsy. Marietta [Ria] (00:09:20): Okay. I'll put the breather on them and let her out and say "I'm really sorry about this, whoever you are. Clearly this is not the scenario we wanted to be in, but if you know how to turn off the ventilation system in here so that we can stop breathing this that would be great." Stace [GM] (00:09:33): M-mm (negative). Mm-mm-m-mm. Daniel [Tamara] (00:09:33): Duct tape. Marietta [Ria] (00:09:37): I did take the thing off and put the breather on her. Stace [GM] (00:09:40): Did you? All right. Okay, cool. So she says "They just put a gas grenade in the ventilation system, it's just got to run it's course." Marietta [Ria] (00:09:50): Okay. Do you have any more of these? Because yeah, that checks out. Stace [GM] (00:09:54): Okay. Yeah, in the other lockers with Barry and Tina. Marietta [Ria] (00:10:01): Fuck. Daniel [Tamara] (00:10:02): Is Rosie with you? Or is she with the other ones? Stace [GM] (00:10:08): No, Rosie is [phonetic 00:10:12] ex-kay. Marietta [Ria] (00:10:12): Okay. Daniel [Tamara] (00:10:13): Okay. Marietta [Ria] (00:10:13): And you guys don't have any breathers on you? Stace [GM] (00:10:16): Oh yeah, there's breathers in the other lockers. Marietta [Ria] (00:10:19): Okay, cool, I guess she'll pull them out. Stace [GM] (00:10:20): You need extra? We have extra. Marietta [Ria] (00:10:21): I need an extra one for Rosie because, what I'm saying, she does not have one and I would like to wake her up. Stace [GM] (00:10:27): Get Rosie's out of her locker. Marietta [Ria] (00:10:29): Okay, I'll get Rosie's out of her locker then. Great, excellent. Stace [GM] (00:10:32): Okay. Do you open up the other lockers? Marietta [Ria] (00:10:35): I think she'll let the others do that, she's going to wake up Rosie. That was what she was just told to do. Stace [GM] (00:10:43): Okay. Marietta [Ria] (00:10:43): Apparently there's two other guys in these other lockers, if you want to help them out. Daniel [Tamara] (00:10:47): Tamara's going to come up to doctor our keys and pull her aside and say "Is there anything in that device that you used that would be considered evidence of Project Pharaoh?" Marietta [Ria] (00:10:59): What do you mean? The machine we just used to refine it here? Daniel [Tamara] (00:11:03): Yeah. Is there any record in it that indicates what it did? Marietta [Ria] (00:11:08): Maybe, I mean you're welcome to destroy it if that makes you feel better. Stace [GM] (00:11:11): No no no. It's specifically designed not to record anything. This is a secret lab. Marietta [Ria] (00:11:17): It's not so secret anymore, I don't know if you noticed. Daniel [Tamara] (00:11:22): Okay, give me... I'm going to do some sort of insight check. Stace [GM] (00:11:25): Okay, that'll be a 12. Daniel [Tamara] (00:11:25): That is a 15. Stace [GM] (00:11:27): Yeah. Seems legit. Daniel [Tamara] (00:11:29): Okay. Marietta [Ria] (00:11:30): It seems so legit that there's other people in here that are nefarious, for this secret lab. Stace [GM] (00:11:35): Those are [phonetic 00:11:37] Laramy Corp. They came in here a couple hours ago. I don't even know how they knew where this place was. Marietta [Ria] (00:11:43): That's what I'm saying is I'm afraid this isn't as secret as you think it is. Stace [GM] (00:11:47): Yeah, no kidding. Marietta [Ria] (00:11:48): So maybe we should get rid of this. Stace [GM] (00:11:50): We need to get rid of the whole lab. Marietta [Ria] (00:11:52): That's what I'm saying. Is there an Explode The Lab button? Daniel [Tamara] (00:11:56): Is there a secret way out of here? Marietta [Ria] (00:11:58): Yeah, that's a good question. Stace [GM] (00:11:59): Yes. Daniel [Tamara] (00:12:00): Care to enlighten us? Then we can use that to exit. Stace [GM] (00:12:04): It's through the back of the shower. Marietta [Ria] (00:12:06): In that bathroom? Daniel [Tamara] (00:12:07): That's not creepy at all. Stace [GM] (00:12:08): We don't use that shower. Daniel [Tamara] (00:12:13): I would imagine not. Stace [GM] (00:12:13): No. It makes us uncomfortable. If we get Tina and Barry out, they're going to be able to help us scrub this place. Marietta [Ria] (00:12:19): Okay, let's get them out. All right, Rosie, I'll put the other... From a mysterious third locker, fourth locker. I'll put hers on her. Stace [GM] (00:12:29): So while you're doing this you hear a sudden loud crash against the door out into the outer area, the one down the hallway. Tamara, you recognize the sound of [inaudible 00:12:40], it's a battering ram. They're trying to ram down the door. Daniel [Tamara] (00:12:43): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Marietta [Ria] (00:12:45): So why don't you guys get them and we'll start scrubbing right now. Daniel [Tamara] (00:12:48): No, we don't have time to scrub. Dr Ortiz, we need to get you and Project Pharaoh out through the shower. Stace [GM] (00:12:54): We're going to have to destruct. Marietta [Ria] (00:12:56): Yeah, let's do that and get your people right now if you want them to live. Stace [GM] (00:13:00): Yeah. So, Mary-Beth, the scientist, opens up the other two lockers and the other two, Tina and Barry, clearly also kind of woozy although the sleeping gas didn't penetrate the lockers as much as the rest of the room. She helps them get their breathers on and they're ready to go. Daniel [Tamara] (00:13:18): Okay. As far as Tamara's concerned, if these guys want to clean up that's fine but Tamara's heading for that shower with Ortiz. Stace [GM] (00:13:26): Okay. So the fours ex-kay employees follow you out of the lab. They shut the door behind them, and follow you into the restroom to the shower. Marietta [Ria] (00:13:40): Did they set a self-destruct? Stace [GM] (00:13:42): One of them walks into the shower and... shower-controls? Faucet-controls? I don't know what they're called. Anyway, they're very complicated, more complicated than someones house you're visiting. They do something fairly complex with it and the left side of the shower stall slides open into a small-ish escape route. It's a crawl-space, it's about four feet tall and a foot and a half wide. Daniel [Tamara] (00:14:11): I hope you're not claustrophobic, Doctor. Alex [Mox] (00:14:14): I feel like we would have found out her claustrophobia with the trash. Marietta [Ria] (00:14:16): I'll just look really sternly at this lady and then walk in. Like really, this is the bullshit that you're giving me right now? Daniel [Tamara] (00:14:23): Tamara looks at Mox and says like "She really smells awful." Stace [GM] (00:14:27): She does. Alex [Mox] (00:14:28): So bad, we should have hosed her down. Marietta [Ria] (00:14:30): I did leave the trench coat. Stace [GM] (00:14:34): Okay. Daniel [Tamara] (00:14:34): Actually Tamara's going to go in front of the doctor. She's going to pull the doctor out and go in front, and then have Mox follow the doctor. Since Stace has devised a cruel escort mission for us. Stace [GM] (00:14:47): The doctors follow you in, or the other scientist follow you in. The door slides shut behind you, there's a panel on the left side. They input a code and in the distance you hear like a wumph sound and they say "The lab's been taken care of." Marietta [Ria] (00:15:03): Ah, that's convenient. Smart. Daniel [Tamara] (00:15:10): How much farther? And where does this lead us out? Stace [GM] (00:15:10): This is going to lead us outside the station. There are space suits at the end, we're going to have to space walk to the terminal. Daniel [Tamara] (00:15:16): Fuck, Stace, you're doing EVA to us again? Goddammit. Daniel [Tamara] (00:15:20): Listeners, listeners. You didn't hear it in the last episode but we've done an unrecorded Stars Are Fire and EVA is terrible in Stars Are Fire. Stace [GM] (00:15:29): My favorite part. Daniel [Tamara] (00:15:32): Okay, let's go. And Tamara starts following this exit path. Stace [GM] (00:15:38): Okay. You get to the end and, sure enough, there are about 10 space suits that you can put on. It takes about 10 minutes to put one of these things on. Daniel [Tamara] (00:15:49): Okay. How many people, total, do we have again? Stace [GM] (00:15:52): We've got the four X-K employees, and you have you three. So seven. Daniel [Tamara] (00:15:57): Okay, so the three remaining ones Tamara's going to use her monomolecular blade and sabotage them so they can't be used. She's not going to be subtle about it, she's just going to do it in such a way that if the security somehow managed to follow them down to here they couldn't just hop into these suits and try to chase us. They would have to go find EVA suits. Stace [GM] (00:16:16): Okay, cool. Sweet. So there's a manual airlock at the end of this thing, so there's a big- Daniel [Tamara] (00:16:24): Did I mention Tamara's paranoid? Alex [Mox] (00:16:26): Just a little. Stace [GM] (00:16:27): Oh yes, you have. Yes you have. Stace [GM] (00:16:30): There's a big wheel that you'll have to turn to open the interior of the airlock... Daniel [Tamara] (00:16:36): Okay... Stace [GM] (00:16:37): So that's going to be fairly simple: a three might to turn it. Daniel [Tamara] (00:16:43): Tamara will do that. Mox, do you want to help? Alex [Mox] (00:16:45): I'll do that. Stace [GM] (00:16:46): Okay. Daniel [Tamara] (00:16:47): Then it's a freebie. Stace [GM] (00:16:48): Sweet. So when you get into that, you can close it behind you and it's the same thing, it's a manual door to the outside. Daniel [Tamara] (00:16:56): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Still the same difficulty levels? Stace [GM] (00:16:59): Yes. Daniel [Tamara] (00:17:01): Then if Mox is helping me it's a freebie. Alex [Mox] (00:17:02): Yep. Stace [GM] (00:17:03): Okay, cool. Alex [Mox] (00:17:04): Can we sabotage it? Daniel [Tamara] (00:17:06): Mox had a good idea. Stace [GM] (00:17:07): You want to sabotage it how? Daniel [Tamara] (00:17:09): We could sabotage the outer door so it can't close, so if they open up the inner door it would cause a massive problem. Stace [GM] (00:17:18): Oh, they would automatically be exposed to the void? Okay. Daniel [Tamara] (00:17:20): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Stace [GM] (00:17:21): So in order to sabotage that to that degree, it's going to be a... Well, honestly, you could just leave it open. You wouldn't even have to sabotage it. Daniel [Tamara] (00:17:33): Oh, because they're all manual doors. Stace [GM] (00:17:34): Yeah. Daniel [Tamara] (00:17:35): Yeah. Okay. Alex [Mox] (00:17:36): We're leaving it open. Like a kid visiting their parents. Daniel [Tamara] (00:17:40): And we have magnetic boots, right? Alex [Mox] (00:17:42): Ooh, yes. Stace [GM] (00:17:42): You do. So you get on the outside of the spiral and you actually see that you are only about 600 meters from the terminal. Now which part of the terminal you are closest to is hard discern from here, but you can see the docking stations for the ships. Daniel [Tamara] (00:18:08): Does our ship have an additional port beyond what's docked to the station? Stace [GM] (00:18:15): Any additional... like manual hatch? Daniel [Tamara] (00:18:16): Airlock. Mm-hmm (affirmative). Stace [GM] (00:18:18): Yeah, sure. Why not? For in case the airlock goes down, absolutely. Daniel [Tamara] (00:18:24): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Okay, let's start walking toward the terminal and then see how close our ship looks. Stace [GM] (00:18:29): Cool. And just as a reminder, everything in the void is hindered and- Daniel [Tamara] (00:18:35): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Alex [Mox] (00:18:36): Kind of hate this. Stace [GM] (00:18:37): You do have an AI on your ship that you can probably communicate with, just a reminder, with your comms badges. Or whatever you've got. So, okay. It's about 600 meters to successfully void-walk across it, I am going to need - it's not very difficult - a nine. But since it is the void, 12, for your guys to be able to walk to where the ships are without incident. Daniel [Tamara] (00:19:07): Okay. Before we do that, can I use comms to tell the ship AI to notify I us any potential threats on our way there that it can pick up on scan? Stace [GM] (00:19:19): Like on the exterior? Daniel [Tamara] (00:19:20): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Stace [GM] (00:19:20): Yes, absolutely. Daniel [Tamara] (00:19:20): Okay. Stace [GM] (00:19:23): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Alex [Mox] (00:19:24): Here's a second question: Can we make a rope chain, you know, like you do with pre-schoolers? To get some people and asset to not off into the void? Stace [GM] (00:19:37): You all have tethers, so yes, you could link yourselves together. Daniel [Tamara] (00:19:41): How easy is it to unhook the tethers if we want? Stace [GM] (00:19:43): They're like a carabiner. Daniel [Tamara] (00:19:48): Okay. What I would suggest is I will use our private comms to tell Mox to make sure that the other scientists are only tethered to her, make sure that we have the option that Mox can just unhook from the other scientists if we need to bail and just get Dr Ortiz out of here. Stace [GM] (00:20:06): Okay. So the other scientists tether themselves together and accept the tether to Mox, and they say, over suit-to-suit comms, "So we have a ship over on the other side that's our escape route. Do you want to come with us?" Daniel [Tamara] (00:20:26): No. If you have a ship there, we'll go to our ship. Stace [GM] (00:20:29): "Okay. So we're going to H terminal." Daniel [Tamara] (00:20:31): Okay, good luck. Stace [GM] (00:20:33): "Yeah, you too." So they'll actually decline the hook-up to Mox and start walking in the opposite direction. Alex [Mox] (00:20:42): I think Mox says on the private channel to Tamara "I hope they get hit by an asteroid." Daniel [Tamara] (00:20:49): Yeah, I guess that's the question, right? Do they count as evidence? Alex [Mox] (00:20:53): Ah. Do we have to... Can you shoot in space? Stace [GM] (00:20:56): Uh, you took your pistols? I don't believe they're vacuum pistols. You can check your character sheet. Daniel [Tamara] (00:21:05): I don't think they're vacuum pistols, no. Stace [GM] (00:21:05): If they're not vacuum pistols that's another level of hindrance. Daniel [Tamara] (00:21:09): Let's just hope that X-K doesn't have a problem with it. Alex [Mox] (00:21:12): Yeah. Do they count as evidence? Or are they people? Stace [GM] (00:21:17): They were apparently briefed in on Project Pharaoh. And they are X-K employees, allegedly. Oh you did insight. Daniel [Tamara] (00:21:24): [inaudible 00:21:24] answer the question, but... Stace [GM] (00:21:26): It's what you know. Alex [Mox] (00:21:28): Okay. I guess we let them go for now. God. Daniel [Tamara] (00:21:32): Yeah. Alex [Mox] (00:21:32): That's a tough one. Daniel [Tamara] (00:21:33): I don't like it, but probably have to let those guys live. Alex [Mox] (00:21:37): I mean, Mox could just slash one of the suits and kill them all. Daniel [Tamara] (00:21:41): Yeah, but my monomolecular blade is probably inside of my suit right now so I can't get it out. Alex [Mox] (00:21:47): How hard would it be to just rip off one of their helmets... Daniel [Tamara] (00:21:50): It's hard in EVA. You know how hard it is to do anything physical, they're pretty weak but still... It's probably not worth the chance of a fight drawing attention to us. Alex [Mox] (00:22:03): Okay. Then we're going to go to the ship and be like "I just hope they get hit by an asteroid." Daniel [Tamara] (00:22:19): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Stace [GM] (00:22:19): Okay. Go ahead and give me a 12, each of you. Alex [Mox] (00:22:19): Oh, I thought you were going to say for them to get hit by an asteroid. Stace [GM] (00:22:19): No, not to get hit by an asteroid. I guess... Eh. Daniel [Tamara] (00:22:21): What kind of roll is this? Stace [GM] (00:22:22): Speed? Daniel [Tamara] (00:22:23): Okay, I'm going to spend effort. Daniel [Tamara] (00:22:25): That was a waste. 14. Alex [Mox] (00:22:26): 17. Marietta [Ria] (00:22:27): 19. Stace [GM] (00:22:30): Ooh, all right. So all of you are going to make it over the curve of the spiral towards the terminal that you see. Marietta, what would you like for minor effect? Marietta [Ria] (00:22:41): I think Ria's just naturally talented with this so if I could have an asset on the next role? I presume there's more than one for EVA. Stace [GM] (00:22:48): Okay. For EVA? Yeah, strangely, as you start to approach the terminal you do see security patrol vessels, darts, shining spotlights along the outside of the spiral. Which is a standard security measure. Marietta [Ria] (00:23:06): Mm, lovely. Stace [GM] (00:23:07): They seem to be on a standard path. So what I'm going to have to have from you guys, well you can kind of decide how you want to try to handle it. There's not a great place for you guys to try and hide, but you can try and stay out of the way of the spotlight. Your EVA suits are dark. How do you guys want to try to avoid the spotlight? Daniel [Tamara] (00:23:27): Okay, so let me toss an idea out at you, since Tamara's leading. Tamara is familiar with the security of the station, right? Stace [GM] (00:23:35): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Daniel [Tamara] (00:23:36): So in theory she would have an asset on trying to spot the pattern. Stace [GM] (00:23:40): Okay, yeah. Daniel [Tamara] (00:23:41): She's trained in stealth... Stace [GM] (00:23:42): Okay. Daniel [Tamara] (00:23:43): So I think it's likely that she would be able to... And the suits are dark? Would that be an asset? Stace [GM] (00:23:49): Hmm... Daniel [Tamara] (00:23:49): Because I would assume that a dark suit is actually not normally optimal for... Stace [GM] (00:23:55): They're intentionally dark because they're for escape, so yes I would say that is an asset. Daniel [Tamara] (00:24:01): So I think Tamara would then, with her skill and those two assets, have three assets essentially. Stace [GM] (00:24:10): Sure. And the base difficulty of this... You're doing a stealth check then, in that case, right? Daniel [Tamara] (00:24:16): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Stace [GM] (00:24:17): Is it 12? Hindered 15, minus 3 is... Or minus 9 is... 6? Did I do all that right? Daniel [Tamara] (00:24:25): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Stace [GM] (00:24:25): All right. Daniel [Tamara] (00:24:26): Yep. I rolled a six exactly. Alex [Mox] (00:24:28): Woo. Stace [GM] (00:24:30): All right, so Tamara you just spot the pattern, you know that they do kind of a lazy M. They're not too precise about it, this particular shift is clearly just sort of checking the box, and you manage to guide the crew through without getting spotted by the spotlight. You find yourself over a docking station and you can see a placard on the outside of that docking station that says 'G9'. Daniel [Tamara] (00:24:59): Okay. So we're at the ship safely? Stace [GM] (00:25:01): You're at G9, so you're close. You got to get to G4. Daniel [Tamara] (00:25:08): Can we see our ship from here? Stace [GM] (00:25:09): You can. Daniel [Tamara] (00:25:09): Can we gauge how difficult it is to get to the ship? Stace [GM] (00:25:12): So there is a pretty steep drop-off, but you are in magnetic boots so you would essentially need to go over the curve of this part of the spiral, there's going to be a ceiling-type beneath that, above the ship, which is docked. Then of course there's a docking tube from the airlock into that foyer that you guys initially disembarked into. Daniel [Tamara] (00:25:34): Hmm. Stace [GM] (00:25:35): So you could either try to walk all the way around on the exterior of the station and get onto that airlock tube, or you could free-float across, land on your ship. Daniel [Tamara] (00:25:51): Fuck you, Stace. That's such a bad idea. So bad. Stace [GM] (00:25:59): But it is, probably, the less detectable option. Daniel [Tamara] (00:26:05): I know it's probably what Tamara would choose but I hate it so much. Stace [GM] (00:26:09): You should. Alex [Mox] (00:26:10): Do it. Stace [GM] (00:26:11): It's going to be difficult. Alex [Mox] (00:26:13): Do it, do it. Daniel [Tamara] (00:26:16): Okay. Tamara's going to turn to Mox and Ortiz and say "Okay, hear me out. This is incredibly dangerous, but probably the best way not to be noticed by anybody from Star Force is to try to free-float over to our ship and go in the port there. It's going to be very difficult, we could miss, but the alternative is going into the station and trying to get out of these suits and then get onto our ship normally. That's also highly risky, especially since Star Force just had a lab explode. On the plus side, the only inaccurate card key that was used on that lab door was Dr Ortiz's alias, so there's a plus there." Marietta [Ria] (00:27:10): Well I'm not really physically changed, do you think you could just go get it and then pick me up? Daniel [Tamara] (00:27:15): Not really, easily. Not without being even more noticed by the security. The ship coming over and just hovering over a part of the station, you would still have to jump to it in some way. Alex [Mox] (00:27:28): Yeah, it's a little suspicious and we'd rather not split the party like that. Marietta [Ria] (00:27:35): Okay. Alex [Mox] (00:27:36): Let's free-float it. Marietta [Ria] (00:27:39): Just to be very clear, this is not a skill I've ever possessed. Stace [GM] (00:27:43): Okay. So you guys get to the edge of that curved portion of the spiral. I assume you're trying to be pretty much directly above the ship? Daniel [Tamara] (00:27:51): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Stace [GM] (00:27:51): Or as close to it as you can. Stace [GM] (00:27:54): Okay. This is pretty dangerous to try, so it's a 15. You're hindered, it's an 18. Go ahead and apply whatever assets that you have. Daniel [Tamara] (00:28:07): What type of pool is this coming from? Stace [GM] (00:28:09): I think it's still speed because it requires a certain level of... Although honestly, it depends on how you approach it. I would accept different arguments. Daniel [Tamara] (00:28:19): So first thing I'm going to do is I'm going to take a recovery roll, an action recovery roll. Stace [GM] (00:28:22): Okay. Daniel [Tamara] (00:28:22): That's good. I'm back to full. And I'm going to try to spend a level of effort on this. Stace [GM] (00:28:30): Okay. Daniel [Tamara] (00:28:31): So that brings us down to a 15, right? Stace [GM] (00:28:32): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Daniel [Tamara] (00:28:33): Does my balancing help? Stace [GM] (00:28:35): Yes. Daniel [Tamara] (00:28:36): Yeah, so it's a 12 for me. 13. Stace [GM] (00:28:42): Okay. So are you all leaping at once? Or Tamara, are you going first? Daniel [Tamara] (00:28:48): I assume I'm going first so that I can possibly be in a situation to assist if somebody's getting to a close-but-no-cigar situation. Stace [GM] (00:28:58): Okay. So tell me how Tamara successfully makes this crossing. Daniel [Tamara] (00:29:02): She doesn't do anything fancy, she just kind of does the jump and kind of tries to, as unshowily as possible, get herself latched into place next to the hatch. Stace [GM] (00:29:18): Okay, she does that and the tether unrolls and extends along with her. Daniel [Tamara] (00:29:23): So I could use [inaudible 00:29:24] suit-to-suit with those guys and say, or private comms, and say "Okay, just have the doctor try her jump and I will tug on the tether to try to bring her here since I'm already magnetically locked." Stace [GM] (00:29:37): Yes, and that would give her an asset. Daniel [Tamara] (00:29:40): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Stace [GM] (00:29:42): That'd bring it down to a 15 for Ria. Marietta [Ria] (00:29:44): Okay, and I will spend a level of effort. Stace [GM] (00:29:47): Okay. Marietta [Ria] (00:29:48): I don't think she... She just has puzzle-solving which is not helpful. Okay. Stace [GM] (00:29:54): So this'll be a 12. It's going to be speed. Daniel [Tamara] (00:29:57): It's more a platformer than a puzzle game, really at this point. What did you do Marietta? Marietta [Ria] (00:30:04): That was a one. I don't have any XP. Daniel [Tamara] (00:30:07): I think the only person who has XP is Mox. Alex [Mox] (00:30:10): Yep, and I'm going to use one for that re-roll. Marietta [Ria] (00:30:13): Thank you. All right, I'm going to use an entirely different dice, again. Stace [GM] (00:30:18): Darn. Marietta [Ria] (00:30:19): Ah, that's 11. Stace [GM] (00:30:22): You spinning again? Okay. Marietta [Ria] (00:30:24): That's 16. Stace [GM] (00:30:27): All right. So I'm going to say that Dr Ortiz just sort of disengages the magnetic boots and floats off the edge. Marietta [Ria] (00:30:35): One more, yeah. Stace [GM] (00:30:37): To be tugged in by Tamara. All right, Mox, you're the last one. Daniel [Tamara] (00:30:42): So Dr Ortiz and Tamara can both tug at this point, right? Stace [GM] (00:30:46): Oh sure Daniel, why not. Daniel [Tamara] (00:30:48): So there's two assists. Stace [GM] (00:30:50): So that's going to knock it down to a 12 automatically for Mox. Alex [Mox] (00:30:56): And then I think leveraging risk applies so that gets down to a 9. It's risky, it's risky business. Stace [GM] (00:31:04): It's risky, but it's supposed to be more about chance. And this takes definite skill. Alex [Mox] (00:31:10): So does playing Poker. Stace [GM] (00:31:11): Yeah, but there's a random element with cards. Alex [Mox] (00:31:14): I could randomly get hit by an asteroid. Stace [GM] (00:31:16): Would you like that to happen? Alex [Mox] (00:31:18): No. Stace [GM] (00:31:19): Okay. Marietta [Ria] (00:31:20): I'm so disappointed. Stace [GM] (00:31:21): It is speed, if you want to spend effort. Alex [Mox] (00:31:23): Fine, I will. I'll spend a level of effort. Stace [GM] (00:31:25): Okay, that's a nine for you. Alex [Mox] (00:31:29): 17. Stace [GM] (00:31:30): Okay. Alex [Mox] (00:31:31): Like a graceful butterfly. Daniel [Tamara] (00:31:33): Okay. We're going to instruct the AI to open the outer hatch. Stace [GM] (00:31:39): You hear a hissing noise and you realize that it's unsealed but it is still a manual hatch that you're going to have to open yourself. Daniel [Tamara] (00:31:49): Of course. Stace [GM] (00:31:49): So since it is hindered, since you're in the void, go ahead and give me a three might there, Daniel. Daniel [Tamara] (00:31:56): Three exactly. Stace [GM] (00:31:59): All right. Wow. So you get that thing open and it's the same sort of little manual airlock you guys actually have to go in. It's a really tight fit, but you make it. You are inside the vessel. Annabelle comes over the ship loudspeaker and says "I have already began undocking procedures." She's not great on grammar. Alex [Mox] (00:32:24): That's fine, I'm not either. Daniel [Tamara] (00:32:26): Okay Mox, it's time to do what you do best. Alex [Mox] (00:32:30): Mox is going to just ooze into that chair, because this has been a stressful day for Mox. Stace [GM] (00:32:38): Okay. So, Mox. You know that you are going to have to try and undock discreetly, because typically you are given a departure window by control, that you're expected to adhere to. In fact, you want to do it fairly speedily because the AI starting the undocking process without prior authorization is going to alert the command tower of your intent to undock early. So, this is going to be a 12 piloting pass to manage to get away and evade any alerted patrols. Alex [Mox] (00:33:16): So then it comes down to a nine because Mox is trained in piloting. Stace [GM] (00:33:22): Okay. Alex [Mox] (00:33:22): But I also use vehicle driving to get it down to a six. Stace [GM] (00:33:26): No, it doesn't mean ships for vehicle driving. That would be like a motorcycle or hovercycle, whatever. Alex [Mox] (00:33:33): Fine. Daniel [Tamara] (00:33:33): Spacecycle. Stace [GM] (00:33:35): Yeah, some sort of cycle. Bicycle. Is that what you said Daniel, bicycle? Daniel [Tamara] (00:33:38): Spacecycle. Stace [GM] (00:33:38): Spacecycle, yes. All right. What did Mox get? Alex [Mox] (00:33:43): 16. Stace [GM] (00:33:44): 16? All right. So you managed to, just as the airlock has detached, within a half second Mox is stepping on the theoretical gas. You fall away from the spiral and Annabelle, the AI, comes over the loud speakers and says "I have set a course for Motford Station. Travel time is 12 hours." And the ship starts heading off in that direction, toward Venus. Alex [Mox] (00:34:13): We did it. Marietta [Ria] (00:34:13): Woo-hoo. Daniel [Tamara] (00:34:17): Dr Ortiz, you might want to make use of the showers. Just be aware we have limited water supplies, so your shower is limited to five minutes. Marietta [Ria] (00:34:24): You don't want to donate one of yours to the cause? Daniel [Tamara] (00:34:27): No, I'm going to need it too at some point. Marietta [Ria] (00:34:29): I'll disappear to the showers, I suppose. Stace [GM] (00:34:30): All right, cool. So you cruise toward Motford Station, and you're on the approach and you see a luxury yacht that has been converted to be stationary in orbit above Venus. You can see another small ship docked with it, and another clear docking bay. Annabelle comes over the loudspeaker and says "We have been cleared for docking by Motford Station. Mox, would you like me to bring her in?" Alex [Mox] (00:35:04): Yeah, because the way this day's going I'm just going to fuck it up and crash. Daniel [Tamara] (00:35:09): How long was the travel time, again? Stace [GM] (00:35:10): 12 hours. Daniel [Tamara] (00:35:11): Okay, so we're back to full, effectively, aren't we? Stace [GM] (00:35:14): Oh sure, yeah. Daniel [Tamara] (00:35:15): If we wanted to do recovery roles and sleep and things like that. Stace [GM] (00:35:18): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Alex [Mox] (00:35:19): Whoop-whoop. Daniel [Tamara] (00:35:21): Question. Stace [GM] (00:35:21): Mm-hmm? Daniel [Tamara] (00:35:21): Annabelle? Stace [GM] (00:35:21): Yes? Daniel [Tamara] (00:35:23): Is there a call sign associated with the other small ship that's docked at the station? Stace [GM] (00:35:28): The name of the ship is The Rochester. Daniel [Tamara] (00:35:31): Is that an X-K ship? Stace [GM] (00:35:32): It is an X-K Astro Ltd Partnership vessel. Daniel [Tamara] (00:35:36): Okay. Stace [GM] (00:35:36): All right. Daniel [Tamara] (00:35:37): So Tamara's going to go over and find Dr Ortiz and say "Dr Ortiz, are you decent? Are you ready? We're about to dock at the station." Marietta [Ria] (00:35:46): Yes, I'm ready. She'll grab her bag. Daniel [Tamara] (00:35:50): Okay. Stace [GM] (00:35:51): And Project Pharaoh? Marietta [Ria] (00:35:53): Yeah, that's somewhere on her person. Stace [GM] (00:35:55): Okay, good. All right. Marietta [Ria] (00:35:58): Oh it's there. Stace [GM] (00:35:59): So Annabelle docks the ship, the airlock pressurizes and opens. Would you guys like to do anything particular before you exit the ship? Daniel [Tamara] (00:36:13): Not in particular. Tamara's just going to make sure she has all her equipment. Stace [GM] (00:36:16): Yep. Annabelle doesn't alert you to any restrictions. You go through airlock, you walk in and you see a pretty plush waiting room. There's thick, scarlet carpet, some antique-looking wooden furniture, like the fancy stuff that you're scared to sit on that's got gold thread and it's weirdly embroidered. I know what furniture is called. Stace [GM] (00:36:43): In the middle of this room is a table and there are heaping platters on this table. We've got some charcuterie on one tray, we got fresh fruit on another, and there are several bottles of wine with glasses that are available. A woman with black hair emerges from a far door and says "Welcome to Motford Station, Dr Ortiz. Come with me, please. We've been waiting for you." Marietta [Ria] (00:37:17): I will go with her. Alex [Mox] (00:37:18): Mox is going to follow. Stace [GM] (00:37:20): Mox, Tamara, please stay here and enjoy the refreshments. Daniel [Tamara] (00:37:24): Our assignment is to stay with her. Yeah. We're supposed to keep with her the whole time. Alex [Mox] (00:37:30): We'll stop our mischief when we get paid. Stace [GM] (00:37:33): This is not an option. What Dr Ortiz has to do next is highly classified. Daniel [Tamara] (00:37:39): Can I roll like an insight check on this? Alex [Mox] (00:37:42): Yeah, I'm just like insight? Stace [GM] (00:37:44): Oh yeah, mm-hmm (affirmative). Stace [GM] (00:37:46): So that's going to be a 15. Daniel [Tamara] (00:37:49): Don't have anything in detecting deception, so- Stace [GM] (00:37:50): Okay. Daniel [Tamara] (00:37:51): I'll just spend some intellect to 12... 14. Stace [GM] (00:37:56): That's a success for you. Alex? Alex [Mox] (00:37:59): Mox got a 20. Stace [GM] (00:38:03): Okay. She is being sincere and serious. Daniel [Tamara] (00:38:07): Okay. Stace [GM] (00:38:07): And she says "We need to respect patient privacy. Only Dr Ortiz can come back into this area." Stace [GM] (00:38:16): Now Alex, what would you like for your major effect? Alex [Mox] (00:38:19): Extra damage? I don't know. Stace [GM] (00:38:32): It's related to insight. I will say that you can ask her a question and you can give her an honest answer. Alex [Mox] (00:38:40): Daniel, do we have any questions? Daniel [Tamara] (00:38:43): Can you give us an ETA on how soon Dr Ortiz will be back? Because we do need to get her to another stop after this. Stace [GM] (00:38:49): She will be returned almost immediately, but she is required to wait to ensure that there are no complications with the treatment. It could be a few hours. Daniel [Tamara] (00:38:59): A few hours is fine. Thank you. Stace [GM] (00:39:02): Dr Ortiz, will you come with me? Daniel [Tamara] (00:39:03): Understand also that, as employees of X-K, if it's excessive of two hours, don't receive an update, we will have to assume something has gone wrong and we need to intervene. Stace [GM] (00:39:14): Dr Ortiz will be returned to you in less than 30 minutes, unless something wrong with the administration. After that, we need you to wait for a few hours to ensure that the treatment goes well. Once we've ascertained that, then you are welcome to leave and go back to X-K. Daniel [Tamara] (00:39:32): Okay. Stace [GM] (00:39:33): Dr Ortiz? Marietta [Ria] (00:39:34): All right. Thank you for your concern, for the sake of your job I presume. Anyway, here we go. Stace [GM] (00:39:40): All right. She leads you back into the next room of the yacht. It doesn't look much like a yacht anymore, not from the inside. It feels very much like a house. She turns to you and she says "I'm Monica. Pleasure to meet you. The patient is this way." And she guides you through a few rooms and halls. Stace [GM] (00:40:03): You approach a door and she opens it. Inside there's a bed chamber with a patient. The patient is completely covered, with clothing or blankets, except for an exposed portion of their forearm. Even that has gauze wrapped around it with a catheter-type- Alex [Mox] (00:40:23): An IV? Stace [GM] (00:40:24): Yeah. Like an IV protruding out of that. Alex [Mox] (00:40:26): An IV port is what you're thinking. Marietta [Ria] (00:40:30): Yeah. Stace [GM] (00:40:30): IV port. Marietta [Ria] (00:40:30): Ports are nice because you don't have to stab their skin, it's all ready for you. Daniel [Tamara] (00:40:33): Man, I was hoping it was a suppository. Marietta [Ria] (00:40:34): So I'll make sure everything's prepped and I'll look from Monica to this patient, to Monica, and I'll be like "Look, I'm fine with this whole covering thing, I just want you to know that it's going to be really hard to observe symptoms with them covered. This is not the most pleasant process. Stace [GM] (00:40:51): We know. This is not the first time. This is simply the newest formula. Marietta [Ria] (00:40:56): Right. She'll pull the pen case out of her pocket and open it up and pull it out again. I presume there's some sort of med stand nearby, and pull out a sterile syringe. Stace [GM] (00:41:08): Okay. Marietta [Ria] (00:41:08): And prep everything and give whoever this individual is, the dose. Stace [GM] (00:41:14): It's the entire vial. Marietta [Ria] (00:41:15): Do you have an approximate weight for me? Stace [GM] (00:41:18): This is something that Dr Ortiz would know. It's expected of her. Marietta [Ria] (00:41:20): Oh, okay. I will administer the [inaudible 00:41:25] then. Stace [GM] (00:41:26): Okay. The screaming begins almost immediately. The body arches beneath the covers, and Monica looks at you and says "As you know, this will take some time. We will come and get you." Marietta [Ria] (00:41:41): Well it's much faster than the last one, I presume, because you've got to do it quick enough so that they don't die but slow enough so there's time for the new cells to reform their membranes, you know. Stace [GM] (00:41:51): Yes. Well, the screaming will go on for quite a while, but we will come and fetch you if they need assistance. Marietta [Ria] (00:41:58): Sure, let me know. Stace [GM] (00:42:01): Okay. A Synth appears near the doorway and leads you back to the waiting room with Mox and Tamara. Marietta [Ria] (00:42:08): Okay. Daniel [Tamara] (00:42:09): Tamara is pretending not to be intrigued by the hors d'oeuvres on the refreshment table, and is waiting for Mox to try them to make sure they're not poisoned. Alex [Mox] (00:42:21): Mox is smelling them. Stace [GM] (00:42:24): Smells like sobrassada and- Marietta [Ria] (00:42:26): It's fancy, man. Stace [GM] (00:42:27): Yeah, it's fancy. Stace [GM] (00:42:28): Various salamis, prosciutto, some weird cheeses. The cheeses don't all smell great. Marietta [Ria] (00:42:35): They're very stinky, yes. Stace [GM] (00:42:38): Some are soft. Daniel [Tamara] (00:42:38): Is there any bruschetta with goat cheese? Stace [GM] (00:42:40): Absolutely. Marietta [Ria] (00:42:41): There is now. Daniel [Tamara] (00:42:41): I know it's normally with mozzarella, but with goat cheese, oh my. Stace [GM] (00:42:46): Oh yeah. As time passes on, you can occasionally hear distant screams even in this room. How do you guys react to hearing screams in the distance? Alex [Mox] (00:42:59): Does it sound like the doctor's? Stace [GM] (00:43:01): It is somebody howling in pain. Alex [Mox] (00:43:04): Yeah, but, does it sound like our Ria? Marietta [Ria] (00:43:07): Does it sound female? Stace [GM] (00:43:11): Ria's with you. Marietta [Ria] (00:43:12): Oh, I've been returned? Okay, I've been returned. Alex [Mox] (00:43:13): Oh. Well then Mox doesn't care. Daniel [Tamara] (00:43:15): Yeah, Tamara doesn't care. It just sounds like all of her dreams. Marietta [Ria] (00:43:18): I think Ria's just sitting there with her hand on her head and leg shaking like "Please work." Alex [Mox] (00:43:24): I think Mox might be eating now. Stace [GM] (00:43:28): Okay. Daniel [Tamara] (00:43:28): Oh, if Mox is eating then Tamara's definitely eating because it's unlikely that this kind of luxury is easy to find, normally. Stace [GM] (00:43:36): Mm-hmm (affirmative). All right. Well the screams seem to reach a crescendo and then suddenly there is silence. A few second later you hear someone running and the door opens and it's the Synth and says "Dr Ortiz, it's gone bad." Marietta [Ria] (00:43:55): Lovely. Stace [GM] (00:43:56): "We need your help stabilizing the patient." Marietta [Ria] (00:43:58): All right. So she'll go run in and use her medical expertise to see what she can do. Stace [GM] (00:44:04): And in the rush, the Synth leaves the door open. Okay? Alex [Mox] (00:44:08): Mox is going in. Daniel [Tamara] (00:44:11): Tamara's going to follow Mox, kind of sighing and just whispering to Mox over their private comms to say "So, this doesn't sound good." Alex [Mox] (00:44:22): There was this weird thing she added to the formula, I'm not sure if it was supposed to be in there. Stace [GM] (00:44:28): All right, so you enter the bed room. The blankets have shifted around, in fact Monica's pulling - the woman who initially met you - is pulling the blankets off of the patient, clearly exposing them for access for medical intervention. They strip the patient and they're hooking up all sorts of equipment and she looks at you and she says "Dr Ortiz, can you assist? Can you figure out what's going on with this treatment? They've survived all the rest, it would be a shame for them to die on the last one." Marietta [Ria] (00:45:02): I'll pull out my scanner thing, my hand scanner, it's level four. I will use it in combination with my medical skills to see if I can figure out what specifically has gone wrong with the serum. I did think it took a little bit longer than maybe it should at this phase. I'll see what I can deduce quickly. Stace [GM] (00:45:25): Okay. Daniel [Tamara] (00:45:26): While you're doing that, Tamara looks at Mox and says "What do you think? That guy. Live or die?" Alex [Mox] (00:45:32): I'm going 10 lumen on dies. Daniel [Tamara] (00:45:35): Okay. 10 lumen on lives, let's go. Daniel [Tamara] (00:45:37): We didn't mention that we were also a part of the Tyson Foods management team. Marietta [Ria] (00:45:42): Amazing. Stace [GM] (00:45:44): Marietta, Ria is attempting to determine what has gone wrong, or what she needs to do intervene? Marietta [Ria] (00:45:50): Yeah. She's trying to figure out what has gone wrong in order to address it specifically. Stace [GM] (00:45:55): Okay, that's a target 12 to try to figure that out. Marietta [Ria] (00:45:58): Okay, and she has her scanner thing and she's trained in medicine. Stace [GM] (00:46:02): Okay, plus six. Marietta [Ria] (00:46:05): Okay good, because that's an eight. Stace [GM] (00:46:08): All right. So as you're scanning the patient you realize something strange. You realize that this patient is... If they were ever human, they're not quite anymore. In fact, as you're looking at them, you realize this was formally a human woman but now her skin has a weird gray tinge to it, she is nearly bald with a few wisps of hair on top of her head, and the problem right now is that she is in cardiac arrest. Marietta [Ria] (00:46:43): Okay, so I think I will reach over to the medical kit and grab a shot of adrenaline to try to prevent that cardiac arrest, and then I will see what else I can do to mitigate the effects that she's experiencing. Stace [GM] (00:46:59): Okay. So to your first attempt to stabilize the patient I'm going to need a target 12. Marietta [Ria] (00:47:05): Okay. That's a 17. Apparently the metal dice is the one we're using tonight. Stace [GM] (00:47:10): Okay. So your efforts are successful. You manage to stabilize the patient. Tell me what Dr Ortiz does. Marietta [Ria] (00:47:20): I think that's exactly what she does, is she sees that their heart rate is going so she just gives them a shot of adrenaline and that just seems to be sufficient to give this individual the wherewithal they need to continue, I guess. Stace [GM] (00:47:33): Okay. Marietta [Ria] (00:47:35): Very vigorously pumping heart now. Stace [GM] (00:47:38): All right. Few minutes go by, the patient seems to be doing okay, and Monica turns to you and says "That is all." Marietta [Ria] (00:47:47): Just so you know that this serum was made to work on mammalian creatures, preferably humans. I don't know what y'all were doing but that could have definitely cause some issues. Stace [GM] (00:47:57): "You certainly don't know what we're doing here." Marietta [Ria] (00:47:59): Clearly. Stace [GM] (00:48:00): "Yes. You may go now. Thank you." Stace [GM] (00:48:03): And before you turn away you see the tinge of gray become a deeper gray. The patient opens their eyes and you see that they're a strange yellow-brown color before Monica and the other Synth hustle you toward the door. Marietta [Ria] (00:48:22): Well, love that. Love that. Daniel [Tamara] (00:48:24): Ria, as you come into the hallway, Tamara's passing 10 lumen to Mox. Marietta [Ria] (00:48:30): Of whether she lived or died? Because she lived. Daniel [Tamara] (00:48:33): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Alex [Mox] (00:48:36): Mox is making bank on this. Stace [GM] (00:48:40): All right. A Synth appears, the same Synth, is clearly urging you guys down the hallway and back toward the airlock. Daniel [Tamara] (00:48:48): That's the mission. Come on Dr Ortiz, it's time to get you home. Marietta [Ria] (00:48:51): I think, at this point, Ortiz is just going to go along. She has no combat capabilities and doesn't really know what's happening, nor does fucking with these people seem like a wise choice. Stace [GM] (00:49:00): Okay. Do you grab any snacks on your way out? Wine? Fruit? Daniel [Tamara] (00:49:04): Yeah, Tamara's definitely grabbing food. Alex [Mox] (00:49:06): Mox fills all the pockets of the jumpsuit. Stace [GM] (00:49:10): All right, cool. You board your vessel and Annabelle comes over the loudspeakers again and says "Initiating undocking." And you separate from the station. It's going to be approximately a six hour... no. Marietta [Ria] (00:49:24): A three hour tour? Stace [GM] (00:49:25): 12 hours back to the X-K spiral. Daniel [Tamara] (00:49:30): Okay. Marietta [Ria] (00:49:31): Is that where we just got kicked off? Stace [GM] (00:49:32): No, you were on the Star Deep spiral. You guys work for the X-K Astro Ltd Partnership, which is like a joint venture, but it is housed in the X-K spiral. Anything you guys want to do en route? Marietta [Ria] (00:49:45): I think Ria just stares out the window and contemplates her life. Stace [GM] (00:49:48): So you dock at the spiral, near the Goodspeed, which is still undergoing significant repairs after the last trip out to Idris. Stella waves at you from across the docking bay. Stace [GM] (00:50:03): As you come off of the modified racer you see, at the end of the docking tube, a tall, gray-haired woman in an X-K FTL Division captain's uniform, a woman you've never seen before, and with her a shorter, broad-shouldered woman with blonde hair and scarred knuckles. She's wearing a tool belt, and they are clearly waiting for you. Daniel [Tamara] (00:50:28): Tamara sighs [inaudible 00:50:31] continues down the gangway with the group. Alex [Mox] (00:50:35): Mox follows, but behind Ria, kind of. Stace [GM] (00:50:39): Okay. The woman in the captain's uniform holds out her hand and she says "Tamara, Mox, welcome back. It's good to meet you, especially considering your exemplary actions on the last trip out to Idris. Unfortunately, your captain did not recover. My name is Benji Hagerty and I will be the new captain of the Goodspeed. This is chief engineer and first officer Dagna Lovrick." The woman with the tool belt holds out her hand as well. Daniel [Tamara] (00:51:09): Tamara will shake hands. Alex [Mox] (00:51:11): Mox will also shake hands. Marietta [Ria] (00:51:13): Ria's like "I'm not sure why I'm here anymore." Daniel [Tamara] (00:51:16): Tamara will say "We do have to reach out to the Director of Special Projects, though. We do have to cut our introductions short. Stace [GM] (00:51:24): "The Director of Special Projects has informed me that your mission was successful. She has authorized the dispersement of 3,000 lumens apiece to your accounts, as well as the favor that you may redeem at any point in the future. She will be reaching out to you for a more thorough debrief, but as of right now we need you guys to return to the Goodspeed and confine yourselves aboard until you're a little bit less hot, in terms of... You really drew the attention of Star Force and Star Deep security." Daniel [Tamara] (00:51:59): Okay. Stace [GM] (00:52:00): "We're going to stash you, and Dr Ortiz we're going to stash you aboard the Goodspeed as well." Marietta [Ria] (00:52:04): Oh. Really? Stace [GM] (00:52:05): "Yes." Marietta [Ria] (00:52:06): Is there a lab somewhere I could be working in? Stace [GM] (00:52:09): "There is a previously unoccupied lab, yes. And we actually have several specimens we've collected from the far-flung world, if you would like to analyze them." Marietta [Ria] (00:52:18): Oh, that sounds lovely. Don't mind if I do. Stace [GM] (00:52:21): Far-flung worlds. I think I said 'world'. There's more than one. Stace [GM] (00:52:24): Cool. So the captain holds out her hand and directs you back to the Goodspeed. Eventually you guys are debriefed and let out of confinement. Pretty soon you have orders to head back out on another one of your adventures. What do you do in between being released from your confinement and your next departure? Marietta [Ria] (00:52:48): Find out what my new job title is? Because I thought it was sitting my ass in a laboratory, experimenting. Stace [GM] (00:52:55): Yeah. So your title is Lead Scientist of the Goodspeed. At least temporarily, until we can take care of that little warrant. Marietta [Ria] (00:53:05): Oh. Stace [GM] (00:53:05): Yeah. Marietta [Ria] (00:53:06): Cool. Love that. Love how, while everyone's utilizing my knowledge- Stace [GM] (00:53:13): You guys have about two weeks of leave, except for Dr Ortiz who's still wanted, who's still confined aboard the Goodspeed. Mox and Tamara, what do you do with your time? Daniel [Tamara] (00:53:23): Do you want to go first, Alex? Or me? Alex [Mox] (00:53:24): You can go first. Daniel [Tamara] (00:53:26): So Tamara will go and meet with the Director of Special Projects and says "I'd like to cash in my favor, if I could." Stace [GM] (00:53:33): "Of course, Tamara. You've done good work for us, what can I do for you?" Daniel [Tamara] (00:53:38): "I need the location and all current intelligence you have on this individual." She holds out a small card and a hologram appears above it, of a woman in her late forties, about 5'7", auburn hair, and a scar across her forehead just above her right eye. That's Maya [inaudible 00:54:00]. Stace [GM] (00:54:00): Okay. Mox? Alex [Mox] (00:54:02): I think Mox is using their newfound 15 lumen to go on a pub trivia crawl. Stace [GM] (00:54:11): Oh my goodness. Alex [Mox] (00:54:12): And I think this time it goes better, because the more she hangs out with Tamara and Stella, the more confident and decisive she's getting. They get like third place this time. Stace [GM] (00:54:26): Nice, good work. I'm pleased for Mox. Alex [Mox] (00:54:30): Mox is improving. Stace [GM] (00:54:32): Dr Ortiz has a previously unused lab, has a bunch of specimens in storage above the Goodspeed and she can't leave so what is she up to? Marietta [Ria] (00:54:43): I think she's alternating between research and she's like "If I'm stuck with these chucklefucks I'd better get into shape" so she started doing sit-ups and that sort of thing in between. She's trying to get fit. Stace [GM] (00:54:56): Nice. Marietta [Ria] (00:54:57): She's like "I'm going to be able to punch them so good after this is over." She's like really unmotivated though so it's usually while she's waiting for a test to finish running or something she's like "Okay, I guess I will." Stace [GM] (00:55:08): You can do it. Cool. All right, well, this is another conclusion to another adventure. I won't forget this time, everybody go ahead and take 2 XP, and don't forget to mark your lumens- Marietta [Ria] (00:55:22): 3,000. Stace [GM] (00:55:25): That was a special rate for Mox and Tamara because it was a special job. Marietta [Ria] (00:55:28): Oh, I don't get any money? Okay, fine. I understand. Lovely, love it. Everything I wanted out of life. Alex [Mox] (00:55:37): We kidnapped you, that was your reward. Stace [GM] (00:55:39): No, you can mark 3,000 lumens for yourself as well. Marietta [Ria] (00:55:42): Oh. Stace [GM] (00:55:42): All right. So Marietta, what did you dig about the Stars Are Fire or Ria Ortiz or whatever? Marietta [Ria] (00:55:50): I liked the EVA walking, I'd like to do more of that- Stace [GM] (00:55:54): More of that? Marietta [Ria] (00:55:54): I appreciate running around on spaceships but I might have liked more of the wild frontier spacing, you know? I would like to see more of what it would be like for Ria if she was not just being a scientist, as she's done for most of her life. I think she's kind of gotten herself into a pickle a little bit. Perhaps, I guess we don't really know yet but, yeah. I don't know. It feels like there's more to explore, which is always what happens when we play these other games in the Cipher system. It's like "Oh this is cool, let's check this out. Oh, wait." Stace [GM] (00:56:27): You don't want to play games five nights a week? Marietta [Ria] (00:56:30): You know, I do, but I'm currently a student. Apparently I need to prioritize school occasionally, weird. Stace [GM] (00:56:39): All right. Cool. Stace [GM] (00:56:40): All right, here we are at our usual segment which we call Player Intrusions, where one of us will give you, the listener, an XP to check out something we think is pretty cool. This week it is Marietta. Hey Marietta, what would you give our listeners an XP to check out? Marietta [Ria] (00:56:53): Well first I would ask you: Are you tired of the global pandemic? Because if you are there's a solution, and it's called Pandemic. It's a board game. I think it's 2-4 people? You can play a board game called Pandemic that's really cool. I had never played it before but it had definitely been on the list of "This is a cool game." We'd had it on the shelf forever, and I recently acquired a couple of roommates so now we have people to play board games with, which is bananas. We were are like "Hey there's a pandemic, let's play Pandemic." And it was great. Marietta [Ria] (00:57:26): I'm not sure that we followed all the rules exactly, might need to watch a YouTube video if there's a convenient less-than-ten-minute one available. Some of the wording was a little confusing. You get different characters or specialties and you can do specific things, and you're trying to stop these outbreaks from happening all over the world. I was playing the researcher but the asset verbiage was a little weird and then it was different on the card than it was on the container so we had to do some googling. Then it was fine. Marietta [Ria] (00:57:56): Clearly I'm selling this. But it was a really fun game, I really enjoyed it because it was co-op, and I had not played many co-op games before that. As soon as I play with dudes and they get a little competitive and I'm just like "Guys, can we just play a board game please?" It felt good to be collectively doing a thing. Also, you feel like you're really successful but, with the way that game was set out with outbreaks and that sort of thing, it's really easy to feel like you're doing fine and then have it compound because an epidemic around one city expands to all of them around it. If any of them have enough infection rates then they'll also be entering an epidemic and that will spread more so it will just pan out if you aren't taking care of everything. Marietta [Ria] (00:58:40): But yeah, we didn't die from Pandemic the first time we played, but it was really enjoyable and I'm excited to play it again and have something... I've heard really good things about it and I see why people are into it. It wasn't a super long game... I think mostly I just liked that it was a co-op thing instead of, I feel like most of ours are competitive. Daniel [Tamara] (00:59:00): Yeah. Marietta [Ria] (00:59:00): So it's like "Let's save the world, together. Let's work as a team instead of 'Let's undermine each other but we're really just nice so yeah you can [inaudible 00:59:07], that's fine.'" Marietta [Ria] (00:59:10): You're trying to save the world from outbreaks and disease and you build research stations and then you collect cards of certain colors and when you get enough of the disease color you can take it to a research station and completely cure that disease. But there's three of them, we were playing with four people so the last one almost got us. We were like "Oh, Europe's fine." Europe was not fine. Europe needed some help. Stace [GM] (00:59:32): It's a really fun game, but it can definitely tear a group apart. Marietta [Ria] (00:59:35): It can also just... We were very close to winning, we had the cards for the last disease and there was an outbreak and it just spread everywhere. We were literally one outbreak-step away from losing the game and we had only been on step three before that or something. It was like "Wow. That easily could have been a loss right there." Stace [GM] (00:59:54): Yeah. You know what, I want to say it's avail... There's a video game version, I think it's on Steam. I think there is that opportunity. Daniel [Tamara] (01:00:02): There is, and it's also on iOS, too. Maybe even Android. Stace [GM] (01:00:07): Yeah, so you can play it online. Marietta [Ria] (01:00:08): If there's a good way to play online, that might be really nice. I'm thinking about that with family and stuff, how do you hang out right now? Stace [GM] (01:00:16): Yep. Marietta [Ria] (01:00:17): I only want to hang out with the three of us, I don't really think Among Us or Jackbox is going to be great with three people. Stace [GM] (01:00:22): I don't know if... So there are expansions of the base board game as well that allow you to have more players, different roles and specialties, I don't know if that's made it online yet, though. Daniel [Tamara] (01:00:33): Right. Marietta [Ria] (01:00:33): I'm not there with it yet. I am starting to get there with Catan, though, now that I've finally played it. If any of you guys have Catan recommendations for expansions, like I heard there was a Space one. I'm very curious about the Space one. Stace [GM] (01:00:43): That's exciting. Marietta [Ria] (01:00:44): It's quite large. Marietta [Ria] (01:00:46): Anyways, Pandemic. If you need a 2-4 person board game that's co-op and slightly scary and really show you how pandemics work for instance: Pandemic the Board Game. Check it out. Stace [GM] (01:00:57): Thanks, Marietta. If someone wants to reach out to us and talk to us about Pandemic the Board Game, how can they do that? Marietta [Ria] (01:01:04): Well, if they want to be done now they should just scooch on over to explorerswanted.fm. Fm. And there's links to all of our social medias on there. For instance, we are active on Twitter: we're @explorerswanted there, and we're on Instagram: Explorers Wanted Podcast. We are also on a Facebook page: Explorers Wanted Podcast. And if you're looking to support us financially we are on Patreon as Explorers Wanted, and we have some [inaudible 01:01:32] there so if that's within your means to support us and you want more content from the EW team, Patreon is the way to go. Marietta [Ria] (01:01:38): Then if you really want to hang out with us and talk about board games, or your plants, or your pet, or movies, or music, or anything, you should come on over to our Discord. There's links to the Discord channel on all of our social medias and our website, or you could even just reach out to us on our Twitters, which we'll talk about later, and we'd happily send y'all a link. Daniel [Tamara] (01:02:00): Although honestly, if you want to help us, if you like the show, the best thing you could do for us is to tell a friend. Tell them why you like the show and why they should listen to it. The second best thing you could do is to leave us a five-star review on a podcast directory, specifically Apple Podcasts, Podchaser, Stitcher. Those five-star reviews, especially if they have details, makes a huge difference in people checking us out, and it would make a huge impact on our listenership. Daniel [Tamara] (01:02:30): If you didn't like the podcast, or if you thought it was bad. Well, I've said this before in some ways but I need to remind you that every time we finish recording, these guys lock me in a windowless room with only a sleeve of Saltine crackers and a bowl of water for food. I'm not allowed to leave until I finish editing the episodes. Marietta [Ria] (01:02:51): Sometimes we pre-mix it for him. Daniel [Tamara] (01:02:54): Please. I just want to see my family. If you want to reach out to us on Twitter you can, you can find me: @andrlik Stace [GM] (01:03:03): You can find me on Twitter: @StaceWindu Alex [Mox] (01:03:07): You can remind me what I was doing: @realteaunicorn Marietta [Ria] (01:03:11): I'm still giving Twitter the good college try, and you can see that attempt: @imonahike Stace [GM] (01:03:17): All right, well that's it, that's this episode. Thank you for listening, have a good night, weekend, whatever. Thank you again, and bye. Marietta [Ria] (01:03:27): Bye. Alex [Mox] (01:03:27): Bye. Daniel [Tamara] (01:03:27): Bye. Stace [GM] (01:04:02): What if people want to talk to us about Pandemic? How can they reach out and do that? Marietta [Ria] (01:04:06): Well, if they don't want to listen to the rest of this- Daniel [Tamara] (01:04:09): Come on, Stace, that sounded so, like, begrudging. Stace [GM] (01:04:12): All right, hang on. Thank you, Marietta. Stace [GM] (01:04:16): Thanks for not leaving me hanging this time, you guys. Also, sorry if you can hear my cat.