Lt. Commander Foster - Remote Controlled Shenanigans
Jamie LeBlanc
((Onboard the MFT Maximum Thrusters, Outside the Temurian Trading Post))
The MTF had a lot of upgrades. But that didn’t change the fact that it was a big (by civilian standards), blocky cargo ship that had been reinforced like a tank even before it reached the StarBase 118 Impound yard for smuggling purposes.
It boggled Wyn’s mind how civilian ships routinely flew through stuff like this. He supposed if you needed to profit you had to do what you had to do, but still…
Watching the asteroids spin all too close to the MTF was making him feel a little queasy.
So he focused on the big one. The one with buildings on it, crafted from a massive colony ship, with outbuilding too numerous to count.
Foster: That looks like our destination. Mi’sh, find a good place to land and take us down. Tori, send a standard signal announcing our and that we’re here to trade.
Ysatch: Aye Captain!
sh’Sonora: Aye, Sir!
Foster: We’ll have teams disembarking with the Angry Pidgeon – but we need to dig through that drone data. As we’ve already covered, no one puts mines in a trading area for no reason. I want to know what’s hiding out there.
Ysatch: I wonder if our new friends down there will have anything to say about it.
Wyn could only hope. Initial intel said that the Temurians were friendly, at least friendly enough to make for respected traders. Hopefully that extended to information.
sh’Sonora: I think we’re about to find out. Hope they got a parking spot or we’ll be dodging mines all day.
Foster: Yeah, if we can also figure out what triggers the mines without setting them all off, that will only benefit us.
Ysatch: I'll starting looking into it. And worst case scenario, I do think the lieutenant's idea from earlier would still work if we need to make a hot exit.
sh’Sonora: ::Smirks:: What’s the point of having multi-million EC equipment if we can’t find new and interesting ways to use it?
Wyn couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Not only was it one of the most hotshot pilot hings he had heard from Mi’sh – and that was amongst quite a bit of hotshot pilot talk.
But he also remembered being a medical intern and thinking the exact same thing about high tech medical tools. Maybe that was a thing about youth. Or Andorians. Or both.
Ysatch: ::Glancing over at the ‘doorbell’ readout on the console.:: We have ah ... well they've given us permission to land in trade hanger three. ::pause:: I don't know where that is? ::points at the obvious landing spot to the front and side of the main settlement:: Is that trade hanger three? It looks like the only open spot, but then why would they call it "three?"
Foster: Maybe something’s lost in translation?
sh'Sonora: ::Grins.:: You know, you can always ask them.
Or do that. That was a good idea. Wyn shut his mouth, wondering why he didn’t think of it.
Ysatch: ::embarrassed:: Oh yeah, sure, I can ask them. Yeah, I'll just ask them. That's what I'm gonna do.
Ysatch: ::sheepishly:: They say they're blinking the light off and on. Don't look at me like that, it's just what the message says! Literally all it says!
So… not exactly the most helpful. Good to know.
sh'Sonora: Seriously? Signal lights? Like the primitive jet age? And they’re not even telling us what color or sequence? What in the ghetto colonist planet bulldren are they doing down there? ::She shakes her head.:: Alright, eyes, ears, and antennae folk. Let’s see what they’re talking about.
The Temurians were not an especially technologically advanced species – except in one area – they had the uncanny ability to meld other species technology into their own and make it work.
But that didn’t mean it communicated well to others.
Foster: Well, visually there is an open space and landing area, complete with blinking lights, off the port side, far end of the asteroid.
The area was almost comically lit up, with chasing lights directing them inwards. It reminded Wyn of the Christmas Decorations people would put on when he lived on Earth.
Ysatch: ::pointing at the blinking light:: Well either that is the place or they need to change that lightbulb.
sh'Sonora: One way to find out. Setting her down.
Foster: Nice and easy.
The MTF glided into the landing area smoothly and Mi’sh set her down with a professionally light touch. That didn’t mean it was light on the inside. As a big bulky tank of a ship, the weight landed in a lurch that the inertial dampeners couldn’t compensate for, pressing every member of the crew to their seats. It was followed by a loud bang as the ship settled. But externally? That was just how this ship landed. No one batted an eye.
So far they looked every bit the professional, hardened commercial crew that Madame Lurtz would hire for a job like this.
So far, so good.
sh’Sonora: Any landing we walk away from, amirite? ::She claps her hands together.:: We have officially landed, Sir.
Foster: Good. ::he let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Despite the good performance, Wyn wasn’t used to a ship with so much extra movement while it flew.:: Alright, I’ll let the crew know we have landed. Make sure everything is secure.
Ysatch/sh’Sonora: ?
Wyn punched up a commline to everyone, sending a general message to all that they had landed and put in a code blue to get ready for disembarking.
Then he looked back up at the bridge.
Foster: Alright, while our teams get out and get moving we have work to do. We need to figure out what those mines are protecting. Do we still have contact with those probes?
Ysatch/sh’Sonora: ?
He nodded, punching up some information and putting in his command codes.
Foster: Mi’sh – I’m giving you remote control capabilities on one of the probes. You should be able to pilot it like a long-distance vehicle. Tori – I’m routing the sensor data on that probe to you.
Ysatch/sh’Sonora: ?
Foster: There are a lot of asteroids out here, most of them are moving, and I’m not seeing any evidence of a lot of explosions. That indicates that the mines are either only attracted to certain things like… I dunno possibly warp signatures or power emissions of some sort – or they can be turned ‘on’ and ‘off’ by whoever put them there.
Ysatch/sh’Sonora: ?
~*~
tags/tbc
~*~
Lt. Commander Shar’Wyn Foster
Acting Commanding Officer
StarBase 118 Ops / MTF Maximum Thrusters
~Julian Beck
E239010ST0