Somehow, the tropical vacation seems inappropriate and unwise as the human race is being exterminated. So, being admirably crewed and equipped for exploration due to our last mission, we select the biggest potential information and/or treasure trove.
If there are still any aliens in the system, they undoubtedly saw us arrive and it is doubtful that anywhere is safe if they are hostile. The planet has little to offer for long-term colonization due to it's lack of land. The only interesting feature of the moon, the alien buildings, is likely dwarfed by whatever we'll find in the asteroid. Further, landing on the asteroid will likely be much less stressful on our poor little Baldie which contains all our supplies and which we will be depending upon for shelter. Even though Captain Elindos has been promising us an Elite or upgraded Baldie forever, we are still stuck with the same old tin can that we started with.
Our normal Baldie contingent is composed of myself (Eliza) with a mission specialist and either an elite Maintenance Staff or a second mission specialist. This is because the cargo hold is so small in the base Baldie that we can only fit life support, water and food for three people -- and that fills three of our four cargo slots. The Baldie itself has enough air, water and food for two people for fifty days. A Tom Beauty Air can extend that to 100 days with a second Beauty Air to keep the third person breathing for 100 days. One Soup and Cook provides a stockpile of 200 person/days of water and food which, combined with the Baldie's 100 person days, covers us for the 90 days until the Colombus arrives plus a healthy 10% margin. Our last cargo slot is reserved for a Tom Little Buddy.
Since we had been out exploring (and our elite Maintenance Staff kept turning out ordinary), we have two Exploration Officers. We thought that one was elite, but he has turned out to be pretty ordinary as well. We do have a Maintenance Droid (again, was falsely claimed to be elite) that we used to put into a Universal Fixer Suit until we were told that we couldn't do that. The two Exploration Officers' Spaceships skills frequently assist whenever the droid is stymied. With the Medical Bay, anyone can handle most medical emergencies and my training ensures that I can handle the rest. I wish that we had Shen along but other than his Medical skills (and certain other skills not "applicable" with a third person around), his talents just aren't aligned with peaceful research missions.
Without additional life support, our crew and passengers must be 100% robotic. In addition to the Maintenance Droid, we normally carry a KB-119 Kilbot for protection (and often as a pack mule). We rarely have passengers except for very quick hops but, on the station, we have just picked up a Mysterious AI and a Mysterious Robot that were supposed to join the Colombus. We don't know what they can do -- but it is rumored that both are highly intelligent and that the AI can take over our crew robots to enhance their capabilities with its own.
I am armed with a Karper Heavy and an RSD rifle, both with Autoguided Ammo. The Exploration Officers carry a Tom Survivor C05 instead of the rifle -- but they do have the Karper Heavy with Autoguided Ammo. Everyone has been instructed that, in the case of aliens, only warning shots are allowed. It is highly unlikely that we won't be outgunned and our ammunition is seriously limited. Space Lions will, of course, be exterminated on sight.
Unfortunately, I am the only one who is physically able to wear an Arena Powersuit so the other two have Spartan Elite suits. The good news is that they are really fast and well-protected as well as being great investigators. The Powersuit and the Little Buddy both have Planetscan VX software installed even if it doesn't show up on the inventory.
We will approach the asteroid slowly and cautiously, looking for signals or signs of movement. Since one side of the asteroid always faces the sun, we will land in the solar terminator between light and dark near, but not too near, a likely looking tunnel or three. We will then wait a little while before sending out the Tom Little Buddy to explore the tunnel. From there, we will play it by ear.
We expect that our biggest challenges will be aliens, defensive measures or traps left behind and ordinary injuries and mechanical breakdowns. The Little Buddy will lead wherever possible with the K-119, with strict do not engage orders, leading where confines are too tight for the Little Buddy. We will camouflage the Baldie and keep an eye out for other solar system entrants. We will also keep an eye out for solar flares and either move or hide in the tunnels as appropriate.
If there are aliens, we will use the standard Star Fleet Peaceful Contact protocol of presenting/leaving gifts while attempting numerous forms of communication. In the best case, we could end up with allies in our fight against the hostile aliens. In the worst case, our fate was probably sealed when we entered the system.
If you find this and no further messages -- jump out and do not look back. We will update this log as we can and the only likely reason for no further entries is alien aggression. Hopefully, we will meet again soon.
Baldie Personnel and Equipment Roster
https://digitalself.io/api_feed/exode/read_deck_viewer.php?account=%27digital-wisdom%27&deck=%27digwis%27
~==? |
