08-15-2026, 09:50 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-15-2026, 10:08 PM by Ethan Diaz.)
"Indeed," Lieutenant Thorn answered him. "She has quite a collection of them. I helped program more than a few for her, but I say helped, because she knows her way around a holoprogram pretty well on her own. I did agree though that I would not bring one of my pet projects along on such exercises. I've been working on a drone program that is quite unique. DeeDee started out as a targeting program and I have customized it into quite a useful program for not only Damage Assessment, but Search and Rescue as well. It would have been perfect for something like this, but then where would our fun be, so no cheating for me on these."
Ethan nodded. "I see," was all he could think to say. It was pretty easy to see why Kalli made her career as an engineer though. Apparently she and Commander Talion had a passion for developing new technologies in common.
Just then, Cologero entered the shuttle. "Roomer has it this is one of many programs she has exactly like this, each has their own level of challenge. It is important to concentrate on not only what is said but also what is not said, there are always clues in places where you wouldn't think is one."
"Morning, sir," Ethan greeted with a nod. "I'm with you there. The XO obviously left behind plenty of breadcrumbs for us to follow. She probably had a pretty good idea of which information she'd omit too."
"Wait," said Cologero, as if he'd just remembered something. Ethan could practically see the wheels turning in the lieutenant's mind, and followed him as far as the rear hatch. He paused at the top of the ramp to watch Cologero go back to address their hologram guide. Lieutenant Mala was still standing there as well (along with an older man Ethan didn't recognize), poring over what looked like several different geographic and topographic displays. Ethan had heard the program answering questions while checking out the supplies, but he missed most of the specifics. However, both team leaders seemed to have the beginnings of a plan, and were obviously trying to cover all the bases. At that moment, Kalli also moved past him, intent on listening in as well. Ethan let her by, then leaned against the hatchway with his arms crossed, watching the three of them trade suggestions.
From what he could understand, they had a starship in orbit. That would definitely come in handy. Its scanner array could detect just about anything on the surface, and anything up to a few miles below it too. Their science team on the bridge would likely have a wealth of information on the area. A lot of it would probably just confirm what they'd already been told, but the accuracy would far surpass anything simple tricorder scans would turn up. Lieutenant Mala was clearly thinking along similar lines, because she promptly started listing items for a data packet request. She was also evidently opting for the cautious approach. Ethan didn't know that a security perimeter was necessary, given that the guide program had said there was no sign of hostiles in the AO, but then, that decision wasn't his to make.
Meanwhile, Cologero questioned the hologram about the other excavation sites, and the possibility of accessing additional drone footage. That would definitely come in handy, assuming it was an option. If they could pinpoint Commander Velaul and Talion's exact location before venturing into the cave system, it would certainly make their journey much less complicated.
Kalli took a slightly different tack, focusing on what devices they might already know to be in the area, and tracking them to what would presumably be Commander Talion's last known location. Also not a bad idea--networked signal traces were one of the standard procedures for jobs like this. Still, the fact remained that no matter what method of tracking the team used, at some point they would have to go underground to execute the actual extraction.
This wasn't Ethan's show, but at this stage he supposed there wasn't any harm in speaking up.
He waited for a pause in the conversation, then began: "If I may--I can see why they're splitting us into two groups. It seems like we already have what we need to find out where they are. It's getting to them that's the problem. We don't know if this stabilization infrastructure holding up the mountain still works, but I'd guess it's a self-sustaining system that can operate independently of any other existing power grids, in case of any outages. Also, with equipment that massive, there's probably some kind of above-ground substation that we can use to gain access from the surface. Assuming the whole thing is still functional, one team can fly to the AO and look for an access point that's far enough from the mountain that landing won't trigger any rock slides. The second team can get dropped off, say, halfway there, and continue on foot to the entrance of the cave. That way, by the time the first team gets inside and figures out how to turn the thing on, the second team will have reached the entrance of the cave, and they can go straight in without having to worry about a collapse. Plus, inserting that far out, both teams can easily avoid detection. If there do happen to be any hostiles around, they'll probably be much closer to the ruins. They're not as likely to notice us if we're landing several kilometers away. It's a low-profile approach, and it will give us plenty of time to make sure things are safe enough for whoever goes down to get the brass."
Suddenly, Ethan remembered he hadn't requested his item yet. "Speaking of which, since we are going underground at some point, we'll need all the light we can get. Computer, could you produce a waterproof, wideband headlamp equipped with a secondary night-vision scope?"
== GM Input: Just requesting this item in case something similar isn't already included with our supplies. ==
== Tag All. ==
Ethan nodded. "I see," was all he could think to say. It was pretty easy to see why Kalli made her career as an engineer though. Apparently she and Commander Talion had a passion for developing new technologies in common.
Just then, Cologero entered the shuttle. "Roomer has it this is one of many programs she has exactly like this, each has their own level of challenge. It is important to concentrate on not only what is said but also what is not said, there are always clues in places where you wouldn't think is one."
"Morning, sir," Ethan greeted with a nod. "I'm with you there. The XO obviously left behind plenty of breadcrumbs for us to follow. She probably had a pretty good idea of which information she'd omit too."
"Wait," said Cologero, as if he'd just remembered something. Ethan could practically see the wheels turning in the lieutenant's mind, and followed him as far as the rear hatch. He paused at the top of the ramp to watch Cologero go back to address their hologram guide. Lieutenant Mala was still standing there as well (along with an older man Ethan didn't recognize), poring over what looked like several different geographic and topographic displays. Ethan had heard the program answering questions while checking out the supplies, but he missed most of the specifics. However, both team leaders seemed to have the beginnings of a plan, and were obviously trying to cover all the bases. At that moment, Kalli also moved past him, intent on listening in as well. Ethan let her by, then leaned against the hatchway with his arms crossed, watching the three of them trade suggestions.
From what he could understand, they had a starship in orbit. That would definitely come in handy. Its scanner array could detect just about anything on the surface, and anything up to a few miles below it too. Their science team on the bridge would likely have a wealth of information on the area. A lot of it would probably just confirm what they'd already been told, but the accuracy would far surpass anything simple tricorder scans would turn up. Lieutenant Mala was clearly thinking along similar lines, because she promptly started listing items for a data packet request. She was also evidently opting for the cautious approach. Ethan didn't know that a security perimeter was necessary, given that the guide program had said there was no sign of hostiles in the AO, but then, that decision wasn't his to make.
Meanwhile, Cologero questioned the hologram about the other excavation sites, and the possibility of accessing additional drone footage. That would definitely come in handy, assuming it was an option. If they could pinpoint Commander Velaul and Talion's exact location before venturing into the cave system, it would certainly make their journey much less complicated.
Kalli took a slightly different tack, focusing on what devices they might already know to be in the area, and tracking them to what would presumably be Commander Talion's last known location. Also not a bad idea--networked signal traces were one of the standard procedures for jobs like this. Still, the fact remained that no matter what method of tracking the team used, at some point they would have to go underground to execute the actual extraction.
This wasn't Ethan's show, but at this stage he supposed there wasn't any harm in speaking up.
He waited for a pause in the conversation, then began: "If I may--I can see why they're splitting us into two groups. It seems like we already have what we need to find out where they are. It's getting to them that's the problem. We don't know if this stabilization infrastructure holding up the mountain still works, but I'd guess it's a self-sustaining system that can operate independently of any other existing power grids, in case of any outages. Also, with equipment that massive, there's probably some kind of above-ground substation that we can use to gain access from the surface. Assuming the whole thing is still functional, one team can fly to the AO and look for an access point that's far enough from the mountain that landing won't trigger any rock slides. The second team can get dropped off, say, halfway there, and continue on foot to the entrance of the cave. That way, by the time the first team gets inside and figures out how to turn the thing on, the second team will have reached the entrance of the cave, and they can go straight in without having to worry about a collapse. Plus, inserting that far out, both teams can easily avoid detection. If there do happen to be any hostiles around, they'll probably be much closer to the ruins. They're not as likely to notice us if we're landing several kilometers away. It's a low-profile approach, and it will give us plenty of time to make sure things are safe enough for whoever goes down to get the brass."
Suddenly, Ethan remembered he hadn't requested his item yet. "Speaking of which, since we are going underground at some point, we'll need all the light we can get. Computer, could you produce a waterproof, wideband headlamp equipped with a secondary night-vision scope?"
== GM Input: Just requesting this item in case something similar isn't already included with our supplies. ==
== Tag All. ==