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nman Since: Mar, 2010
#1: Jan 7th 2012 at 10:51:06 PM

Read the discussion first.

The Tesla dropped back into normal space near the planet Varlus. The automated systems activated the deceleration thrusters and initiated the wake-up procedure. Within an hour, the first one-hundred crew members were defrosted and out of their capsules, allowing the robot assembly line to carry the empty pods back to storage and take out the next batch of popsickles. Ten hours after entering the system, a sixth of the crew had been thawed out, and the ship had reached its orbital velocity. Three transporters were in the shuttle bay, waiting until the ship was around the day-side of the planet, to descend to the surface and start setting up planet-side operations. Another two teams were about to embark to the nearby asteroid field and haul back the iron-rich objects. Several smaller vessels were already outside the ship, with Workers scanning the ship for any damage. A large portion of the men and women were in the mess hall, though, when the explosions rocked the ship.

The loudspeakers instantly turned on and blasted out information. "Alert, type-three failure, structural integrity compromised at four key locations. Sealing off necessary airlocks. Evacuate tiers five through eleven immediately."

"Son of a bitch" yelled the pilot of one of the transport shuttles, the Guppy, which was empty save for himself and a few crew-members who had arrived a bit early, "All you out there, get the hell inside NOW, I'm taking off". People emerged from every single passageway, running towards whatever shuttles were open. Some were forcing their way into the active shuttles, while others were powering on other shuttles in a mad attempt to escape. When at least fifty people - easily twenty over capacity - had crammed into the shuttle, the pilot ordered the doors shut and pressed the Big Red Button to undock. The passengers rattled around as the force that freed them from the doomed ship scraped them against the loosening exterior panels. "There goes one of the maneuvering thrusters, looks like we have to land where we land."

The small ship passed by the pieces of the Tesla that were coming off. A nearby shuttle collided with some of the debris as they passed by, destroying the other transporter. "God! That poor bastard", the pilot mournfully muttered. The minutes seemed like hours as the ship sailed down towards the dark planet. Nothing was visible through the windows, save for nighttime stars, which were occasionally blocked by the showering wreckage coming down about them. "Shit! Still too fast. This is going to be a rough landing." Suddenly the entire vessel shook as it hit... something, killing the artificial gravity, as the ship started falling downwards to the surface, knocking around those not seated and strapped in. With a large jolt, the shaking finally stopped, as the nose of the Guppy hit the ground and leaned over, killing the pilot and several of standing passengers near the front.

[Area info: The planet has a day roughly equal to thirty-four hours, eleven minutes, with 13 hours of night and 21 of light. Gravity is .9 (that's 90%, yo) of Earth's, but has about 8% more atmospheric pressure than Earth. It's the middle of the night, with almost nothing visible over twenty meters away from the transport shuttle, which is white all over, but silver at points it has been scratched. The ship resembles a stereotypical transporter, much like a space shuttle, and is nose-down on the ground, leaning against a tree. There is a damaged door near the nose and a hatch at the top, twenty meters above the surface. Temperature is about 60 degrees, and slightly humid. The ship landed in a heavily forrested area. The "trees" are orange-tinted, appear fifty meters wide, and are only separated by roughly ten meters, with no branches visible for the one hundred meters that can be seen (visibility is twenty meters upwards as well)]

edited 10th Jan '12 2:05:33 PM by nman

slowzombie Platypus! from Way up North Since: Jan, 2001
Platypus!
#2: Jan 8th 2012 at 4:55:10 AM

Blinking wearily, roger came to in his seat. As soon as the worst of the blur dissipated, he immediately began self-diagnosis. Any signs of concussion? Internal bleeding? No, he was fine, well, as fine as fine could be given the situation. "Is... is everyone ok?" He asked, fumbling with the safety harness, he had the nasty feeling about the question.

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SavageHeathen Pro-Freedom Fanatic from Somewhere Since: Feb, 2011
Pro-Freedom Fanatic
#3: Jan 8th 2012 at 5:57:08 AM

'Bout a half hour after the crash...

Astrid had it rough: She was standing at the very same region that got turned into a meat grinder: Twisted chunks of red-hot steel had slammed against her head and her spine. Although she'd vehemently deny it if asked, it'd been an instant knockout: Lights out, baby. Hell, even her artificial eye powered down for a while. Still, the power armor saved her life.

A while later, her eye powered up again, and she regained enough strength of will to open the other one. It wasn't a pleasant wake-up, wreckage and dead bodies all around. "FUCK!", she yelled. She managed to slip out of the wrecked area, bending a thin metal that pinned her down. Once she got up, she reflexively checked her damage, her life support and her weapons systems. What she found was less than pleasant, too:

Her suit of armor had no power core 'cause the shrapnel borked it. That meant it was reduced to basic functionality, which wasn't particularly impressive: It bore its own weight and that was it. As for her weapons, she didn't have'em either: The machinegun was nowhere to be found. Her throat-slitter fistblade worked properly, at least. Astrid didn't look very wounded herself, which was a very good thing.

Overall, the situation sucked... But it could be much worse. She started scanning for survivors.

You exist because we allow it and you will end because we demand it.
CombatC122 from The Frozen Icebox Since: May, 2011
#4: Jan 8th 2012 at 7:49:00 AM

"Ugh, my head..." Matthew came to, a bit groggy and lightheaded, but otherwise okay. Thank goodness for seatbelts! Looking around, he noted several of the other passengers hadn't been quite so lucky, that pilot included...

A shame really. Not too long ago, Matthew had been up there on the Tesla working valiantly to figure out what the problem was and whether it could be fixed, but it soon became apparent that there was only so much he could do without putting his own life in serious danger, at which point he grabbed his welding kit and got the hell out of there. Now here he was, in a crashed shuttle craft stranded on the planet. Oh well, as an engineer, he figured the best thing to do now would be to survey the damage to the shuttle. It may not be able to get them very far, but still, a working ship would certainly be better than a damaged ship. Perhaps he'd start with that door up front.

nman Since: Mar, 2010
#5: Jan 8th 2012 at 10:22:57 AM

"ACK! THIS GUY'S DEAD!" yelled one of the passengers near the nose, shaking the body off of her as it fell ten feet down, landing with a crunch.

"So are those five - six - who knows." said another.

The door by the nose, now below the rest of the passengers, had a pile of at least half a dozen bodies in front of it. It was bent out of shape, curved inwards by nearly two feet, leaving a gap between it and the wall with the most recent corpse had half-landed in head-first, the unfortunate man's legs and lower body still inside the cabin.

slowzombie Platypus! from Way up North Since: Jan, 2001
Platypus!
#6: Jan 8th 2012 at 10:56:59 AM

Roger looked around, everyone certainly wasn't ok. Luckily, though, he wasn't the only survivor, among others, he saw a technician whose name he couldn't quite remember, could it be Young? "We need to get out of here." He said, running a quick inventory, a pre-triage of sorts.

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Ailedhoo Heroic Comedic Sociopath from an unknown location Since: Aug, 2011
#7: Jan 8th 2012 at 11:35:26 AM

Boris Studeyr had awakened from a bang to head from the crash, finding himself in a closet near a small storage room that had stored a few robots. Looking around the robotics engineer noticed that all the robots in the room were severely damaged… save for… standing in the corner… the reason why Boris ran into the storage area when the shuttle was heading to its crash…

“DRUMLAA!-“

After yelling this Studeyr got up and ran to his creation… only to trip over a robotic arm. The engineer got up and walked to his machine. After reaching Drumlaa, Boris looked for the plate on the side of the head. Grabbing a small screwdriver from the floor, Boris undid the screw on the plate and took it off, revealing the switch… a process that was positioned as such for security. Studeyr flipped the switch…

Drumlaa reporting for duty

Studeyr then embraced his creation in hug, saying “Drumlaa! I am glad you escaped damage…” only to discover that Drumlaa was damage. Along with the scratched and dented plating he notice the gap at the right of the head… a small gun should have been positioned there. It was not there… it was on the ground, wrecked beyond recognition.

“O well” said Boris. “At least you are functioning. We better get out of here… and find out the scale of this mess.”

edited 8th Jan '12 11:49:12 AM by Ailedhoo

I’m a lumberjack and I’m ok. I sleep all night and work all day.
CombatC122 from The Frozen Icebox Since: May, 2011
#8: Jan 8th 2012 at 12:05:43 PM

The door looked pretty banged up, and judging from the pile of bodies in front of it, Matt would probably have to go outside through the emergency hatch to get anything done. Admittedly, the situation was bad, but it wasn't like he had never seen anything like this. Keeping his cool, he began looking around for tools. There had to be some near the front of the ship in case of just such an emergency.

nman Since: Mar, 2010
#9: Jan 8th 2012 at 1:08:22 PM

The repair kit - a bright yellow toolbox usually stored near the front of the ship - had been hit and knocked open during the crash, with drills, screwdrivers, a riveter, and other items scattered about on the now-angled floor. An unlucky corpse had a crowbar lodged in his chest.

edited 8th Jan '12 1:08:38 PM by nman

Ailedhoo Heroic Comedic Sociopath from an unknown location Since: Aug, 2011
#10: Jan 8th 2012 at 1:42:44 PM

Boris and Drumlaa stoped at the storage room door. It had closed after the ship crashed... and the terminal was damaged. "Hmmm... the wiring looks damaged but I lack on me the tools to repair the terminal" stated Boris. "Thankfully... Drunlaa! What is the status of your tools?"

78% of my fuctions are able to be used. Wire repair fuctions: all fuctionable.

"Then... set to repair the wires so we could escape."

And with those words Drumlaa moved up to the terminal and begain to commence the repair of the first part of the pair's escape.

I’m a lumberjack and I’m ok. I sleep all night and work all day.
SavageHeathen Pro-Freedom Fanatic from Somewhere Since: Feb, 2011
Pro-Freedom Fanatic
#11: Jan 8th 2012 at 2:27:00 PM

Astrid was dazed and confused: She didn't recall the minutes leading up to the crash. She saw some survivors, but none of them was Security staff. As far as she could tell, the crashed pod wasn't on fire. She tried to find her weapon among the chaos... Any weapon at that. While she scavenged, she asked: "The fuck's goin'on?"

You exist because we allow it and you will end because we demand it.
CombatC122 from The Frozen Icebox Since: May, 2011
#12: Jan 8th 2012 at 2:51:55 PM

Let's see, Matt would probably have to pry the door off, form it back into a shape that would fit into the door frame, then rivet it back on. This could take a while if he was working by himself with only these primitive tools. That wasn't even taking into account the physical damage on the outside of the ship, the engines, the computer systems... all in all it could take weeks, even months to get this thing back into even semi-working order.

So let's see, he would need that crowbar to pry the door open at least. Wincing a bit, he pulled it out of the impaled dead man's chest, a small amount of blood spurting out as he did so. He briefly wonder if it was a safe proposition to go out through the emergency hatch by himself, even if he was to stay within the vicinity of the ship.

slowzombie Platypus! from Way up North Since: Jan, 2001
Platypus!
#13: Jan 8th 2012 at 3:08:53 PM

Roger got out of his seat, it was time to do his job, and just the thought made his brain feel clearer, more focused. He called out, his voice quite professional given the circumstances. "Everyone, please let me know if you're hurt... or if you know how to run triage" He started looking for what little supplies he had managed to bring. Needless to say, finding them was easier said than done. He hoped they weren't destroyed.

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nman Since: Mar, 2010
#14: Jan 8th 2012 at 3:42:09 PM

The terminal's GUI read out a warning at the inputted commands: System failure, command not accepted, status report: Primary actuators damaged, manual override required. Critical amount of electrical systems not responding, primary power core not detected. Backup battery active, output diminished, attached to lighting circuit. Life support disabled. Filtration damaged. Inertial dampener ruptured.

As the small robot messed with the wires, a new message appeared Alert, redundant node discovered, rotating... completed. The emergency lights were drowned out by the bright lights that replaced them. [If anyone was looking outside, they would see for 100 meters into the night. Still no branches in the trees.]


The shuttle was packed with people - living and dead - but no weapons were visible. There were plenty of field bags that had been thrown about during the crash, as well as a light-duty jackhammer, various small drills, a few hammers... and a pair of tennis rackets, a metal baseball bat, and a basketball.
Two men and a woman were frantically pulling the dead man out of the buckled door. "I can see the outside! It looks like a bunch of dirt and grass! We're free!" one of them told the others.
"Hey, she's hurt" someone yelled as the lights turned on, indicating a woman with a metal pole protruding from the damaged wall and sticking all the way thorough her torso.

"Over here!" said a man near the top, "I think my arm's broken!"

"This guy, he's not breathing!" said a woman near the nose.

edited 8th Jan '12 3:43:02 PM by nman

CombatC122 from The Frozen Icebox Since: May, 2011
#15: Jan 8th 2012 at 3:51:44 PM

"Stand back everyone! I can get the door open, but we should stay close to the ship." With the bodies cleared away, Matt lodged the crowbar in the crack and attempted to pry it open.

nman Since: Mar, 2010
#16: Jan 8th 2012 at 4:08:41 PM

The door was stuck tight. The three who had taken the dead body away grabbed on, pulling. With four bodies leveraging it, it gave way and fell to the ground with a thud. A few of the more panicked passengers started getting out of their seats and walking (or climbing) downwards in a hurry.

slowzombie Platypus! from Way up North Since: Jan, 2001
Platypus!
#17: Jan 8th 2012 at 4:16:25 PM

Roger found his equipment, much to his relief, it seemed unharmed. Rudimentary, yes, but intact, he could save lives with this. "Stand back." He said, walking at a brisk pace towards the non-breathing one, kneeling next to him to assess the situation.

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CombatC122 from The Frozen Icebox Since: May, 2011
#18: Jan 8th 2012 at 4:47:41 PM

"Um, everyone, you really should stay back now until someone can survey the situation." In truth, Matt wasn't really the type who was used to barking orders or anything. He was much more comfortable with the background technical work.

nman Since: Mar, 2010
#19: Jan 8th 2012 at 7:16:04 PM

The man was still strapped into his seat, a large cut running along the top of his scalp.


"I'm getting out of this coffin!" said a man as he pushed through and exited, then sat down in the grass near one of the bright exterior lights and threw up to the side, massaging his forehead.

CombatC122 from The Frozen Icebox Since: May, 2011
#20: Jan 8th 2012 at 7:23:02 PM

Fine, whatever. It's not like he was responsible for safety or anything. Now that the door was unstuck, maybe he could at least check to see what else was operational on the shuttle. He went over to access the onboard computer.

nman Since: Mar, 2010
#21: Jan 8th 2012 at 7:29:16 PM

The main computer terminals - located near the pilot's area - had been destroyed in the crash, limiting access to the storage room terminals, one of which was already in use, located about midway between the nose and rear.

edited 8th Jan '12 7:30:03 PM by nman

CombatC122 from The Frozen Icebox Since: May, 2011
#22: Jan 8th 2012 at 9:02:18 PM

Well crap, this was a major problem. Sure, there were storage room consoles, but with the main one in the cockpit smashed to pieces, the best they could do would be manual control, and that would only really be useful with a trained pilot and everything else in perfect working order. He supposed he could cannibalize one of those secondary consoles and somehow install it in the cockpit, but he had to imagine many of the controls would be shot too since the front of the craft was so banged up. Unless he could find another shuttle somewhere else on the planet, he couldn't see them finding any replacement parts for that.

Ailedhoo Heroic Comedic Sociopath from an unknown location Since: Aug, 2011
#23: Jan 9th 2012 at 5:15:21 AM

Boris observed the terminal as Drumlaa continued to try and repair it. The messages had given the engineer a sence of panic. "Drumlaa... conduct a system contection to the terminal and open this door." As Drumlaa yelp A-OK, Boris started to look around the storage room. May as well check if there was anything useful to pick up before leaving...

I’m a lumberjack and I’m ok. I sleep all night and work all day.
nman Since: Mar, 2010
#24: Jan 9th 2012 at 10:04:34 AM

There were various pieces of metal lying around, all of which came from one of the now-broken machinery, robotics, and tools that had been destroyed. Among the piles of garbage, though, were a few of the tiny, durable lanterns and flashlights that had been hanging from the opposite wall.

The terminal displayed another message Command accepted, door opening.

As the door to the tiny storage room opened, someone seated in the main cabin remarked "Hey, look, someone's in there."

edited 9th Jan '12 10:05:02 AM by nman

Ailedhoo Heroic Comedic Sociopath from an unknown location Since: Aug, 2011
#25: Jan 9th 2012 at 10:10:07 AM

Boris, grabbing one of the flashlights, looked in the direction of the door. Slowly the engineer walked. A word uttered in a mixture of pleasant surprise and worrying concern came from the mouth of Boris.

Hello.”

I’m a lumberjack and I’m ok. I sleep all night and work all day.

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