Move 6 (Chapter 1.6)

[yhlee]

Time: 361
Place: out-rift near Station Moongray

The Wasp's cockpit/command center
The Naxorian Rosemallow ship continues to hold position. Kaliyan notices it's now scanning the Wasp with some primitive [handwave] scan technology, focusing especially on the mothdrive.

The Wasp's Engineering room
Presuming a short interval of time has passed while Alaric consults as to moths' feelings about the hexarchate, the Wasp's moth repeats its query: the six hexarchate emblems in space ASCII, followed by the "1 / 0" for "???" Then after another short pause, it adds the Liozh emblem, followed by "1 / 0" for "???"

Meanwhile, Sasha's luck and guesswork regarding the Naxarat ship's encryption bear fruit. It appears that the Naxorians are discussing navigational difficulties. They've been trying to get information out of the Nirai station so they can find their way back home, but the Nirai are being closemouthed about what they've discovered about the rifts so far. There's also a brief mention of personnel shortages.

The Wasp's airlock, welcoming party
Andan Bokali still hasn't touched any of the edible fidget spinners, although Pavn is munching away on a third. "If you're ready, we'd like to invite you back to Station Moongray. Rii, you and your assistants"--Bokali's eyes flicker as they try to figure out just which people are "assistants"--"can see the space we have available for artistic displays, and as for the rest of you, surely we can offer you the conveniences of station while you dock with us. Honored inquisitors, I'm sure our station administrator would like to meet you as soon as convenient."

Bokali coughs delicately, then adds, with a glance at Ankat for being the only one in the airlock with a remotely military bearing, "The station will insist that all firearms be left behind."

[The GM would like to note in Ankat's direction that a calendrical sword is sufficiently future-tech that it probably will only show up as "weird device" on Moongray's scanners, not as "lightsabre-alike weapon."]

[Tentatively, I'd like to get y'all onto the station next turn (Move 7) unless something happens to cause y'all to abort. :p ]

Comments

[venndaai]

"We are at the administrator's disposal," Sulen says. "Are they a Nirai themselves, or Liozh? I don't know much about what's usual on research stations."

Memos: Sasha to everyone: the second ship.

[zuhrovet]

[Sasha installed an encrypted memo system sometime during transit. Of course, if the wriggly virus or its ilk is virtually looking over our shoulders, that won't help.]

Memo: Sasha to all hands: Second ship

Analysis from myself, Yehan indicates second ship from alternate timeline where planet Naxarat never incorporated in heptarchate. Proceed with caution.

Memo: Sasha to Ashari, CC Kaliyan, Ankat, Sulen, Virmad, Yehan: Ship details

Markings on second ship indicate Rosemallow House. Group heretical even in Naxorian context in our timeline. Internal communications indicate interest in rift maps, more personnel. Yehan and I at significant risk for involuntary recruitment due to ethnic background.

Memo: Sasha to Ankat: Firearms restrictions

FUCK.

[pengwern]

Mikodez says cheerily, “It's lucky that Andan Rii’s projects require nothing like a gravity tractor, this time. I’m sure there won’t be any irreversible changes to the room. But just in case,” nodding at the still monumental pile of edible fidget spinner snacks, “We can offer them some of these.” The plate gets sealed in a half meter tall presentation box. Unfortunately it was made using the matter printer, and glitter spangled words are still visible against the night blue sides from an angle.

[If anyone cared to make the stanza out, it's not actually in cipher, just an near unreadable font of the high language, and recognizable with space internet as something by a famous poet from about a century before this time. “He visits my town once a year/He fills my mouth with kisses and nectar/I spend all my money on him/Who, girl, your man?”

With apologies to Amir Khusrow. The punchline is, of course, "A Mango." (\o/ links 1, 2!]

[yhlee]

Pavn says, "The administrator is Nirai Shan. It's usual for Nirai stations to be run by Nirai."

"That's because the Liozh hate dealing with you," Bokali says sardonically. "Prima donna scientists and all."

[yhlee]

Pavn looks happy at the thought of a continued supply of edible fidget spinners. "I hope you don't mind us asking for the recipe? They would liven up some of our meetings. As for the room, well, you'll have to talk to whoever's in charge of the dance studio at the moment. I don't dance myself--"

Bokali interrupts. "Unless there was some kind of bloody coup over the space, it's Nirai Alissa. Older woman, absolutely ravishing dancer, and very lackadaisical about scheduling. Not that I would know."

[Heh, that's adorable! I love riddles and that's one I hadn't heard.]

Re: Memos: Sasha to everyone: the second ship.

[yhlee]

[GM note: Have you read Greg Bear's Queen of Angels by any chance? There's this one part where the heroine uses nanite goo to create a gun when she's technically supposed to be unarmed in a foreign country. You could plausibly use the matter printer to try to work up something similar if you don't like the thought of being unarmed on not-necessarily-friendly territory. Or not--whatever you think would be more interesting!]

[smokedetective]

"I'll talk to Nirai Alissa," says Ashari. "I would be honored if she decided to... if not clear out, then cooperate with the project. The dance could add... an exciting twist to the presentation."

Re: Memos: Sasha to everyone: the second ship.

[pengwern]

[So can someone pick the matter printer up and run away with it? I had in mind something less portable, but we could always transport it down to the station with the rest of Ashari's displays, assuming none of the Nirai notice it, or if we make excuses about the high strung Andan temperament, which requires the materials for any potential repairs to their artwork on hand.]

[the matter printer and assemble-able weapons]

[yhlee]

[I was envisioning it as a little bigger than that, but, I mean, there are probably ways to shift machinery so we'll say it can be done. Or y'all can use the matter printer to create something smaller to carry with you that can be assembled later. Whichever y'all prefer!]

[yhlee]

Bokali brightens. "Do you dance? It will make her much more positively disposed toward you if you do. But either way, I will be happy to make the introductions once we're on station."

Re: Memos: Sasha to everyone: the second ship.

[zuhrovet]

[Wait, I thought we didn't trust the matter printer tolerances to create ammunition? If so, I'm definitely not making a gun with it. If only the ammunition is a problem I'm going to ask my dad about reloading and win the Family Bonding Experience of the Year prize.

I'm assuming the hexarchate's scan technology can pick up dangerous items made of plastic, glass, etc.?]

Re: Memos: Sasha to everyone: the second ship.

[zuhrovet]

[Oooh. Construction equipment is our friend! If Sasha can just go buy a staple gun on station, many of her fears will be allayed.]

[zuhrovet]

[The message in Move 3 had a different administrator name, Paerani. Is this more likely to be different names for the same person, multiple administrators, or some sort of coup?]

[Administrator Nirai Paerani Shan]

[yhlee]

[AUGH, no, this is what happens when I post on too little sleep and have been delinquent either checking the wiki or keeping it up to date. Thank you for the catch. I can't edit comments responded to. Let's say Nirai Paerani Shan has a double-barreled name and move on while the GM hides their face in shame. :p ]

hacking: station edition

[zuhrovet]

Sasha's wriggly-virus clone seems to be squirming along nicely, so she turns her attention to the station.

She sends an ordinary lattice request from her own ship about station resources for construction equipment (nobody's building houses, but there will be renovations and miscellaneous fabrication for experiments), textiles, and art supplies. She also looks for boards where people advertise special events.

She sends her false-Naxorian virus after three things: personnel records of Nirai on station, station drills & emergency procedures, and physical safety installations. She got started checking the fire-drill procedures of every place she ever visited back in Junior Mining Engineers. On a station the protections should be more extensive and easier to weaponize: fire doors sealing off areas, clinging foam to suffocate chemical fires . . . [She'll keep an eye out for strangely wide ventilation shafts, too.]

Re: [Administrator Nirai Paerani Shan]

[zuhrovet]

[It absolutely makes sense for Nirai to be on a first-name basis with other Nirai!]

Re: [Administrator Nirai Paerani Shan]

[venndaai]

[Well, I also completely forgot the administrator had been mentioned before. Ursula, you have a sharp memory!]

Engineering

[slybrarian]

Alaric starts by defining the word (or rather collection of symbols) for 'moth' using the general physical characteristics of the beasts, and then using the specific characteristics of the ship to define 'Wasp'. He then sends a Euler diagram indicating that, while the general set of 'moths' is mostly contained within a big box along with the hexarchate symbols, the Wasp is outside that box. Instead it is in a box with several humans - long story short, ugly bags of mostly water - representing the crew. After a moment, he then indicates their travel through the rift, including that this means going through time from the hexarchate period to the heptarchate.

That done, and the Wasp's moth hopefully either satisfied or confused, Alaric calls up to the cockpit. Hopefully a Kel will know a thing or two about moths and their behaviors.

"I just thought I should let someone know that the moth is talking to me," he says, "and I think it's asking about what factions we're part of. I implied we're not technically part of any of them."

[I swear I will rejoin all y'all when we dock, assuming the space monster doesn't eat us for being heretics.]

[weapons and security theater]

[yhlee]

[Yeah, that's probably right. I'm being driven nuts by the fact that I can't figure out how to search this comm other than manually going through some very long threads. I will try to set aside some time this weekend to index what's already been established, but it may be slow going, and unfortunately I'm also up against a work deadline.

Let's say it's just the ammunition that's a problem.

Scan tech will pick up obvious dangerous items made of plastic, glass, etc. but, I mean, Nirai are probably much less into security theater than the TSA. If you need to bring on crochet hooks, they're not going to confiscate those.]

Re: hacking: station edition

[yhlee]

The ordinary lattice request turns up a cheerful welcome message and directory for "honored guests," including a basic menu and inquiry as to whether dietary accommodations will be required.

Some detector apparatus is in the process of being repaired/debugged, and there is, in fact, a fair amount of fabrication for various experiments in progress. There's a reasonable supply of materials for making clothing, apparently as a result of the dance studio's insistence on costumes for periodic performances. Art supplies might be a little dodgier.

The false-Naxorian virus is able to pull condensed records of Nirai personnel. The Rahal stuff is locked down pretty tight, and there appear to be records on previous visitors that are also locked down pretty tight. On the other hand, station drills, emergency procedures, and safety installations are public information (and reviewed during regular training sessions).

[There are definitely some ventilation and maintenance shafts that a non-giant person could fit into.]

Re: Engineering [paging Kaliyan above, probably]

[yhlee]

The moth trips up for a bit on the use of boxes to indicate sets, then seems to get the idea. It sends a bag-of-water human diagram, then goes through the entire set of seven faction emblems, with a "0" after each one. It then sends a box containing "1 / 0" and follows that with a "1 / 0"--perhaps asking if its passengers are a member of some other set.

[construction equipment]

[yhlee]

[I'm pretty sure Sasha could even cozen a helpful Nirai lab assistant into selling her a staple gun.]

Re: [weapons and security theater]

[zuhrovet]

[I might be able to find some wiki time this weekend, too.

How intrusive would Sasha expect their security measures to be outside "customs"? Would someone carrying an unidentified object in a holster be stopped? If so, would the primary worry be human security or a security program running on the station's grid?

On the family bonding front, my dad reports that fire doors are thus far the most lethal item on my wishlist.]

Re: hacking: station edition

[zuhrovet]

Sasha will download the honored guests directory if it lets her; this seems easier than writing code to pretend to be a tourist.

After carefully covering her tracks, she extracts the records for Remi, Pavn, and the administrator.

Re: Engineering [paging Alaric]

[zuhrovet]

Sasha uncurls from the corner of Engineering where she's been hacking away to peer over Alaric's shoulder. "Humans divide by zero?" she asks. "Oh, that's your question! Does the rebellion have a logo?"