Robotech - Southern Cross Adventure

[Sherwood]

Deunan says, "Good work on that radio, Neo. Shit. I don't like the idea of being stuck between two hostile forces, especially since we don't know if the drones are going to play nice with us." With the one group coming closer, she is very tempted to try something stupid. "I am thinking, if the drones are getting their signal from the main computer to recognize our IFF codes as friendly, we should be golden. Gabi, is it possible to use one of your drones to broadcast that signal to see if they react to it? That way we don't have to worry about the internal security and the Bioroids messing with us."

 

[D. Rex]

"Hey, boss." Marlon said over the radio, "looks like we are closed in. I don't suppose you can walk us through on how to open it again?" He said, as he looked over the door console. "If not, I can try jury rigging it."

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan replies, "Don't try to blast it unless you have no choice. Lets see if I can't get you thorough it."

 

[Psychie]

Once Marlon starts to access the keypad, he sees that the door is not locked, and opens up quite easily for you. Perhaps the door is set to do so for those already inside the spire, or perhaps it is a effect of the virus. Either way, you are now 'outside' and ready to hoof it over to Gabi's Ajax.

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan continues to watch for the drones, all the while keeping her fingers crossed that Marlon and Alan will get back to Gabi's position without incident. She does not like the feeling of having so many of her team out of their mecha like this.

 

[Psychie]

Assuming that D. Rex and Rykon don't mind, we'll assume that both Marlon and Alan are hot-footing it towards Gabi's Ajax as fast as they can.

By this point, Deunan can hear the sounds of the drones' metal feet clanging as they run. Now there is not enough time to seek out any other hiding spot before the robotic forces of the Factory are on top of your position.

In mere moments, the first of the light drones come into view, quickly followed by several more. Then the heavy combat drones, followed by the primary combat drone. The light drones come zipping along, and one comes to a stop just one hundred feet from Neo's position. The younger woman can be heard breathing heavy as the robot turns to examine her mecha.

Neo sounds scared as she says, "Boss? I really, really hope that this virus is working!"

Lt. Costas replies, "Don't fire! If it is recognizing our mecha as allied and you shoot, it will activate the self defense protocols that they must have and they will all see you as hostile!"

"Easy for you to say! You aren't the one with her ass in the cross hairs!"

As the light drone is examining Neo's tank, it is soon joined by a pair of the heavy drones. Then, just as fast as they came to a stop, the trio of stationary drones turns and heads along their original path towards the exit.

Neo lets out a nervous chuckle. "I don't mind saying so, but I damn near pissed myself, wondering if they were about to fire on me! Holy shit, what an adrenaline rush! Not one that I would suggest to anyone with a weak heart, though!"

Lt. Costas lets out a relieved sigh. "Good work, keeping cool under pressure there. Lt. Conway? If I recall correctly, the virus was set to target the computer's ability to sort out allied from hostile forces early on in its deployment, so there are most likely more systems still set to be compromised by our little program. But I am seeing this as a sure sign that the virus is working as intended, and soon, the entirety of the Factory's systems will be at our disposal! I would have to say that this is mission accomplished! Well done, everyone!"

 

[Psychie]

A half hour passes by, and both Alan and Marlon have returned to their mecha without any complications. There are no further encounters with the drones, and there is no sign of the Bioroids that you were told that had gained entry into the Factory. At this point, you continue to get signals from outside, giving you the indication that there is a general scramble from both the ASC and the Robotech Master forces trying to get to the Factory.

Right now, the last few remaining aerospace forces that are assigned to the Moon base are being scrambled to try and reinforce the few ASC units in the space around you, even as a Robotech Master Mothership is flying in your direction as fast as it can go. As all of this is going on, Neo reports that there are so many signals coming your way trying to get a hold of you that you can practically fry an egg on the outer hull, with everyone trying to find out your status.

You know that you can receive signals inside the Factory; perhaps you'll be able to transmit out to the array of allied forces?

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan takes a deep breath, and then says, "Damn. It looks like we may have this place in our pocket. Lets see if our radios can get outside." She switches her radio to a wide band signal, and calls out, "This is Lt. Conway of the Third Heavy Recon calling any ASC unit. Any ASC unit in the area that can hear me, we have successfully uploaded the control program into the computer, and the IFF codes seem to be working to show our mecha as friendly. Are there any ASC forces in the area that read me?"

 

[Psychie]

It takes a few seconds for any kind of reply, but then you get the following, a woman's voice saying "Lieutenant Conway, if you can hear me, I am Capt. Brandt of Hydra Squad. Authenticate, please, Gamma, Gamma, Oscar, Whiskey, Zulu, Sierra, Tango, Niner, Delta." Deunan would know that he's asking for a series of code words that will help identify you as a member of the ASC. As one of the GMP, you have memorized your own set of codes that change on a rotating basis so that each day a new set of codes are now active. Do you give Capt. Brandt the proper code in reply?

 

[Sherwood]

A wave of relief washes over Deunan as she hears the signal. They were not cut off and alone. There was solid contact with allied forces outside the Factory. "Understood, Capt. Brandt. I authenticate Mike, Mike, Alpha, Romeo, Five, Two, Charlie, Hotel, November. Captain, spread the word that the Factory and its drones recognize our IFF codes as non-hostile, so do not attack any of the defense drones or else their own self-defense program will engage and then they will engage." She takes a deep breath and lets it out, feeling some stress leave her as she does so.

"We have a large asset here that is in desperate need of reinforcements. I strongly request that any and all available forces in the area get over here ASAP to help keep it secured from the enemy. We can hold out here for a time, but we will need support soon."

 

[Psychie]

After Deunan sends out her ident code, Capt. Brandt says, "Wait one." After a few moments, she comes back on the line. "Lieutenant Conway, it is good to hear from you. Be advised that there are multiple teams on their way to help secure the Factory and hold it from Robotech Master counterattack. You'll need all the help you can get; there is a Mothership on its way to your position right now. Reinforcements are expected to be there in the next two hours from Delphi and Gamma Squadrons."

She pauses, then says, "Standby for an encrypted data burst from Moon Base Aluce."

The transmission then switches to a repeated signal. Neo says, "I have the signal coming in. Its somewhat garbled. Trying to piece it together from the repeated signals." She is quiet for a moment, then says, "Got it. Its a text message. It reads,:

"Third Heavy Recon, if you are reading this, you have successfully implanted the virus into the computer. Outstanding job. First, let me say that you have all earned an increase in rank of one step, already approved by High Admiral Lennard himself, effective immediately. With the lack of higher ranking officers in the area, I am assigning you, Capt. Conway, as the temporary commanding officer of the station until a flag officer arrives to take charge.

Your two primary objectives are: First, do what you have to in order to keep the station under ASC control. IF that turns out to be impossible, you must destroy the station to keep it from being used against us. Any and all actions that you feel are needed are hereby approved. If it turns out that you cannot keep the Robotech Masters from reclaiming the station, included in this transmission is a key code that will trigger the main reactor to go critical. Unfortunately, that will undoubtedly result in the death of the person inputting that key code in. While it is unfortunate, balance this loss against the lives of all the people on Earth that will suffer at the hands of the aliens.

Keep your heads about you, and you'll get through this with one hell of a story to tell.
Maj. Gen. Malcom
Message Ends"

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan smiles. A Captain now! Holy crap! I'm sure that the rest of the team will be happy to hear about their own promotions! She then sobers up a bit, thinking, What is the old saying? Promotions come from bloody wars and sickly seasons? This war has damn sure been plenty bloody.

She then makes sure that the squad sees the text message. "Congrats on the promotion, guys! It couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of people! But on a more serious note, you all can see our orders are to keep this Factory away from the Robotech Masters at all costs, even if it involves blowing this place straight to hell. But lets all work hard to make sure that we don't have to do that! Right now, we know that there are Bioroids on the Factory now, so even though the drones aren't gunning for us, we still need to watch our backs, but we'll have help in just over two hours, so we have to hold out at least that long."

Deunan looks around at the team and then says, " We have to stand guard over the command tower, and while we're at it, I want to get a better look at that computer. Perhaps I can get the combat drones on the station all on line and ready to kick some ass for us. Better the drones get blasted instead of us. Lets shag our butts over to that tower and see how hard it will be for me to make this computer dance."

 

[Purr]

"Go Third Heavy Recon! Made 1st Sergeant! E-6, baby! More rank means more privileges an' more dinero ("money")!"

Wow, Gabriela thought, I wonder what my muchachos in Recon Patrol would be thinking if they knew I now outrank some of them? I wish the Swamp Rats were alive to party with - we'd throw down like nobody else in the ASC! Ai Dios mio! ("Oh my god!") Mama and Papa are gonna be so proud o' me!

"'Ey, LT? You want me up there with you? My Zentraedi's pretty good, you know?"

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan thinks for a moment, then says, "Yeah, you can come along. You, too, Neo. Marlon, keep an eye out for those Bioroids and deploy the squad around the spire." She pauses, then says, "How large are those doors into the spire? If they are Zentraedi sized, we can take our mecha up into the control room with us for some added security."

 

[Purr]

Gabi brought her Ajax alongside Conway's VHT-1S. "There is a human-sized door on the top, LT. You know what that means. It's meant for Tirolians, you know?" Gabi prepared her mind for whatever lie ahead. She felt comforted by her group - if she couldn't break into it, chances were Alan certainly could. With this mix of team players, they had a crew capable of keeping this factory out of the hands of the Robotech Masters.

All they had to do was be smart about it and not get complacent.

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan lets out a sigh. "I had to ask. And its Captain now, or have you forgotten already?" She laughs to show she's not being harsh or critical. "In any case, we won't get any progress made from here. Lets move out."

 

[Purr]

Deunan lets out a sigh. "I had to ask. And its Captain now, or have you forgotten already?" She laughs to show she's not being harsh or critical. "In any case, we won't get any progress made from here. Lets move out."

Gabriela exited the Ajax and slung her Dragonfly over her armor's shoulder. "You mean we don' have until they put the bars on your shoulders?" she teased. "Wonder what they're gonna do with us now that we're hitting the big time? I mean, you get much higher and you're behind a desk, aren't you?"

 

[Sherwood]

Gabriela exited the Ajax and slung her Dragonfly over her armor's shoulder. "You mean we don' have until they put the bars on your shoulders?" she teased. "Wonder what they're gonna do with us now that we're hitting the big time? I mean, you get much higher and you're behind a desk, aren't you?"

Making sure that her personal weapons were on her and safely secured, Deunan jumps down from her hover tank and heads for the spire with the command center in it. As the trio of women head up the elevators, the newly promoted captain chuckles. "I don't know about you, but I am not ready to pilot a laptop instead of my Spartas. Life just wouldn't be the same. Besides, I strongly suspect that we will be kept busy with the Robotech Masters for a while to come. Now, lets take a good look at this command center and see what we're dealing with."

 

[Psychie]

Up in the top of the tower, Deunan, Gabi and Neo take a look around at the banks of computers and holographic monitors that are displaying views both inside and outside of the Factory. The room is huge, able to seat dozens of communications technicians, all working to try and coordinate dozens of ships and thousands of mecha all at once.

Many screens are lit up with lines of code, and text in both Zentraedi and English can be seen racing across the monitors. If you were to guess, you might think that the virus program is still being inserted into all the nooks and crannies of the computer.

Sherwood Purr Please give me Perception rolls.

 

[Sherwood]

Moving slowly into the room with her rifle held at the ready, Deunan takes her time looking around, trying to get a read on the activity in the room.

Spoiler

On Foot:
Number of Attacks: 6
Strike: +10
Parry: +13 - +17 with Heavy Combat Shield
Dodge: +14
Roll: +8
Perception: +12
Initiative: +2
Damage: +2 from Ps
Critical Strike on a natural 18-20

 

[Psychie]

Neo seems to be pretty overwhelmed by the scope of the room, and so she doesn't see what both Gabi and Deunan spot. On one monitor, there is a countdown timer running, with what looks to be only 10 minutes left before it reaches zero. It is not a self destruct; that much is clear. On a closer look, you also spot a series of numbers being flashed up on the screen, and it doesn't take the two of you much time to be able to figure out that this is the fold space engine, still counting down to activation! The numbers on the screen must be coordinates for the jump, which will put you far out into deep space! Unless something is done in the next nine and a half minutes, you are going on a looooong trip!

 

[Sherwood]

A sudden chill goes down Deunan's spine. "Oh, shit! We got trouble!" She races over to the terminal and takes a seat, looking over the unfamiliar keyboard and control layout. "We have got to figure out how to shut off the fold space engine or we're screwed! And there is no way for us to get out of the Factory before the time runs out! Help me out here, guys!"

OOC What skill rolls do you want for us to try?

 

[Purr]

The more Conway's fear began to lift off into orbit, the calmer Gabi got. This countdown clock was an opponent they would need their brains for - and that meant calling upon their calmness. Gabi immediately took some deep breaths and focused her mind. "Whoa there, Cappy. Panic isn't gonna get us anywhere, you know? We gotta use this time wisely." By now, Gabi sounded cool and collected, but most importantly she was in total control of herself.

Using every bit of her education (especially her engineering background), Gabriela tried to figure out how to cancel or otherwise abort the countdown.

 

[Rykon]

"Worst case scenario we disable the Foldspace Drive, right? Any mechanism at our disposal to disconnect it from the ship's power generation temporarily?" Alan asked seriously, trying to focus the team on troubleshooting their dilemma.

 

[Purr]

Gabi nodded, liking Alan's thinking. "Good thinking, amigo. 'Ey, Captain? Maybe get Alan to look at that while we still can? Me, I'm wondering if this countdown started automatically or if the Robotech Master group onboard slipped this command to the facility somehow. Either way, somebody turned it on, right? Gotta figure out the off sequence to turn it off. But... how?"