NSWRPF Archive Into the Void

IC: Mitsuko


So this was the reason the mission was so classified. For all they knew going out there, they could find a hole in the universe.
But this meeting did explain two things. It explained why there were two medics, there could have been an accident on the ship and so they might find the survivors and the survivors would need large-scale medical help.
Also, there was Agent Bryce. His comments and the Director saying: "your reputation precedes you" definately confirmed that he wasn't a regular crew member. But his saying that they might have found somehting other-worldly was ridiculous. Space travel had advanced so much over the years, surely if there were aliens out there they would have been encountered by now.
She raised her hand.
"Best case scenario, we find the crew and they are in need of medical help, is there anything I-I mean we need to know about the crew or any other factors?"

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IC: Marric Renar

"You already know that Volkoff is in orbit around a stable black hole. And now, we're telling you this - top of the classified pile - they found something big."

Marric sat up suddenly, any trace of exhaustion instantly removed. He didn't need to ask the question, another already spoke up. He in turn asked a different question. "After you answer Bryce's question, the one that we are on the edge of our seats for, could you tell us what captain was assigned to this mission?"

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IC Madison Duall

Something? Something big? Bryce had read her mind in terms of outside forces and out of this world possibilities. Madi had always suspected that there was something else out there, humans just weren't looking in the right place. She was both excited and anxious. "What did they find?" she asked more herself than anyone in particular.

Her thoughts strayed a little on what she had just heard and then blurted, "Have there been any notable changes in the black hole's form? Any unusual activity?" Presumably, the station was not only monitoring the black hole manually, but with technology also. Though, being so far into space, it was plausible that a remote would have some difficulties, despite the improvements that had been made in the last few years.

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IC: Jaden

"We're fairly certain the ship is intact, but without their updates, we can't be 100%. That's a design flaw we fixed in the Oppenheimer. And, Mr. Bryce, your reputation precedes you. No evidence of outside influence has been found, but you're welcome to look. We can't rule out insanity or a nervous breakdown, though."

After the others had voiced their questions Jaden decided to speak up. He didn't know quite what to make of all this but just take it in and go on.

"I would assume that one reason there are two doctors on this trip is so we can rule out anything biological and see if it was insanity. If we can tell that it wasnt anything like that it would pass to the others to see what happened. Also, bodies. If the crew is dead and not just... I don't know, the comm is broken or they are injured, are we to bring the bodies back with us or what? I hope you have proper autopsy facilities."

After speaking he looked at the other doctor, Mitsuko. The chances that this trip would be easy on them was slim to none. Most likly they would have a disaster on their hands. He gave Mitsuko a sympathetic look.

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OOC: Sorry if I don't post often. Ill try to keep up better.

 

IC: Mitsuko

Noticing the look she was being given by Jaden, Mitsuko was slightly taken aback and irritated. Was he throwing her sympathy because he thought she could not handle it? Mitsuko hated being patronised. She hated it when she was young and her grandparents did it to her, and she hated it even more now.
"I'm sure that it is standard issue on a recovery mission like this for a ship to have cryo storage chambers in the event of fatalities."
She gave Jaden a slightly icey look and turned back to the front.

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OOC: I'm not going to be able to post for a day or two; just letting you know.

 

Hark

Hark raised his hands in a calming gesture.

"People-" he began, but Smythe beat him to the punch.

"If you'd all relax for a moment, Director Hark will gladly answer your questions to the best of his knowledge."

Hark smiled, and Smythe gave him the floor. An installation commander had to do more than just look sharp.

"Thank you, Commander. Mr. Bryce, I'm sure that you of all people are sick of these words by now, but we can't tell you what they found. Not because it's classified, but because we don't know any more than you do about it at this point."

Hark thumbed the button again. "Mr. Renar, this is the crew- " Ten headshots replaced the previous charts. "-five men, five women. The captain is Johan Vanderglas, decorated with nearly every commendation and medal that can be given to a civilian. His XO's, Sarah Piper and Nguyen Sool, were handpicked by Vanderglas himself. The entire crew is the best of the best in what they do."

"This is standard recovery," interjected Smythe, "but don't let that catch you off guard. You'll be in cryosleep for most of the journey there and most of the way back. Automation will be provided by Deimos Station to and from your target."

Hark nodded in agreement. "Any more questions?"

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IC: Jayson Bryce
Briefing Room

Bryce groaned loudly and rolled his eyes a bit as Hark answered his question with the classic, 'We dunno.'

He looked at the various headshots before him. He didn't recognise any of the crew members...not even a few listed as computer technicians. It was actually for the best, as he wouldn't be predudiced against them from the get go.

"One more question Mr. Hark...Who is staying out of sleep to make sure nothing goes wrong...and when was the last scheduled check on the Deimos Station's Operating Systems?"

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OOC: sorry about the lack of posting from me... fixing as of now. working on getting caught up in a lot of things.

IC: Ian "Mad Dog" Lorn
Installation 003

Convoys. Enclosed spaces. Unknown people. Ian hated all of them. But then there weren't many open spaces and known people he liked either, so it balanced out ok. There had been talking the whole trip, and Ian had ignored it. It just didn't sit well with him at all, and having found a slightly messed up component in his bag his attention had been rather fixed.

However, he did take in what was said. The names stuck with him, and what they did. Not knowing that could get you killed, or a teammate. Not knowing said teammate was no reason to put his life in danger That went against all propriety there was.

There was an announcement of ten minutes, and Ian decided to start packing the varied parts that had been removed from his bag of tricks. Odds were if anyone looked into the thing, they'd find it a rather crazy assortment of things. That was fitting for someone who was certifiably crazy.

Looking out the window as they neared their destination, he suddenly felt like they were being eaten by a giant mouth. Was someone's very bad idea of a joke? That's what the entrance to the place they had been taken to looked like, the cave entrance was decidedly less than appealing. The redhead found himself not amused. Demented, taking us down there. Like he was one to talk.

Then there was nothing to look at but the dark outside, and the others in the vehicle. The chill cutting through the air sent a shiver down his already twiching spine. Biting his tongue to keep from cursing, which was something he didn't approve of (only inferior beings swore).

After an interminable time, which thanks to an internal clock that was nearly accurate as an atomic one Mad Dog knew was almost precisely thirty-five minutes, they were told it was almost over. About time, this darkness wears on one terribly. Then he giggled. Definitely not a sane action, to say the least.

They were lead to some depot, and then onto a rather large metal plate... which moved. Downwards. Again biting his tongue, We're going DOWN! No one mentioned this. Stupid mission briefings, never give enough details. Suffice to say the Irishman was unhappy. Very unhappy.

Finally, after all of the traveling and not being told jack, the situation was explained. Space. Yay. Being locked into a tin can and launched into the void was definitely NOT an improvement on a cave. In fact it was drastically worse, and made Ian mutter to himself.

Then questions were apparently open to be asked... and answered. There were a couple intellegent questions. Whether they were going on the same style of ship, which would let them get familiar with the layout. A priceless opportunity depending on the situation. Whether or not they were still getting reports was less relevent, but knowing if the ship they were going to lacked oxygen or not was definitely high on Ian's list of priority information.

The possibility of outside influences made him scoff. Everyone knew that there was no such thing as an outside influence. There were humans, and there were machines. Machines served humans, and that was it. Spacer Syndrome was far more likely. Everyone knew it was a risk. Especially for those who were less than fond of being in tin cans in the first place.

Finding out that it wasn't the same class of ship made him sigh. Of course it was possible that another ship of that class didn't even exist yet, but that didn't make the lack any less irritating in his eyes. Tempted to start muttering in a slightly crazy fashion, just to see if he got any reactions, Ian listened to the rest. The fact that something had been found near a black hole immediately caught his attention. It really kind of defied physics, but the Volkoff was kind of doing that anyways. But if it was something natural that was doing that? That would indeed be big. Ian couldn't even begin to thin

 

Commander Smythe, Director Hark

"Look sharp, Lorn, we don't know what they found, much less who made it," snapped Smythe irritably. He was getting tired of answering their questions, and would have preferred it much more, thank you very much, if they had just been able to shove these sardines in their can and ship 'em off to Deimos.

Hark glowered at the other man, his first display of genuine emotion since who knew when. He looked back to Bryce, answering, "We're staying awake, Mr. Bryce. You won't be in deep freeze until Deimos ships you out, beyond that, you're drawing straws and taking shifts."

It was a bad joke, but Hark liked it anyways. "As for your question, Mr. Lorn, we don't know. For all we know the Volkoff passed the event horizon and all this is a quantum anomaly. The chances of that are slim - there's a reason we're at this black hole and not another, and that's because this one is the safest we could find."

Orbits around black holes were not uncommon, and it was speculated that the Milky Way was swirling safely around a supermassive black hole. As long as one didn't get too close, one could orbit around the hole indefinitely.

Hark checked his watch. Damn, he thought, and looked up at the team.

"I apologize, but we really must be moving ahead. Deimos is in range for another fifty-eight hours, and it's going to take you some time to get there."

Hark beckoned them to follow, and lead them through the double-doors he'd entered by. A short walk brought them to flight prep.

"Ladies that way, gents this way," barked Smythe, as they entered a room with a large partition in the centre.

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OOC: Update shortly, if that's what you're all waiting on.

 

Installation 03

As the men went into one room and the women to the other, they were each greeted by a doctor and team of nurses. As the doctor examined medical records, a nurse ordered the crew to strip down to their birthday suit. Blissfully, nudity was short-lived, as each crew member was swiftly given a bathrobe to cover themselves in.

As injections and samples were given and taken and heart rates tested, Smythe and Hark met with the crew's captain.

"They're a good lot - you've seen the files. They'll be easy to work with." Smythe checked over the folders and dossiers once again. Hark merely waited for the captain to speak.

In her space suit, Captain Sandra Owens held her helmet casually beneath an arm. Her short black hair seemed oddly feminine, and her features were full and warm. She nodded slowly. "The team's fine. It's the Oppenheimer I'm worried about."

Hark sighed. "Again? Sandra, it's fine. The ship is in tip-top shape, the crew is in tip-top shape - nothing will go wrong."

Owens gave Hark a look. "That's what we said about the first ship."

Hark's face flushed, but he remained silent. This will go according to plan. It has to.

As the physicals and tests came to an end, the team were given full-body jumpsuits (with a great amount of thought given to modesty). As they slid into their new clothes, they were given forms to sign - Installation 03 would hold all possessions in a secure vault for when they returned. The fine print also notified astute readers that should they cease to be, their last will and testament was held on earth for safeguarding.

Next came the spacesuits.

Bulky and large, yet oddly fleet-fingered, the suits took a good ten minutes to put on with the help of teams of techies.

At long last, they were ready.

Owens met them at the end of the line, greeting each member with a smile and handshake. She would be Sandra, not Captain Owens, to them.

As the team mulled about, Owens spoke up. "This is it - any doubts, questions, comments, jokes, say 'em now, because we've got a quick jaunt ahead of us before a long nap."

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IC: Jayson Bryce
Installation 3

Bryce was not thrilled with the medical examination. People always looked funny at him when they saw the tattooed string of 1's and 0's around his wrist. Not to mention he felt naked...both literally and metaphorically speaking. yes, he was naked, but it was also the first time, in a very long time, he hadn't had his PDA or Omni-tool touching his body in some manner.

Which made him hesitant to sign the forms. In fact, he refused to until one of the assistants assured him that he could take both of them with him, and that they would be safe inside of a zippered front pocket on his suit. Eventually, he signed the forms, and in the back of his mind wondered who exactly would get his meager possessions should he not return. They would probably go back to TCU...it was the only family he had after all. Nonetheless, he had no explicit instructions on his will other than that he be "be buried face down so that anyone who doesn't like me can kiss it."

He raised his hand when Owens asked for questions.

"Um, mate...Self defense?" It wasn't really even a full question, but he cleared his throat to make it more clear, and gestured to his gun, which sat atop his folded clothes. "Do we have stunners or something in case we are dealing with Spacer's...or we have to face Spacer's from with in. Knock on wood you know..." He glanced around the stainless steel room for a peice of wood, and gave up quickly, "...em...We have to be prepared for anything."

He paused for a moment, waiting for an answer, but interupted before one could be offered.

"...And does anyone snore...cause I can't sleep if someone is snorin'..."

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IC: Mitsuko

As a doctor Mitsuko had given several physical examinations, but being the subject of one was something of an interesting change. But she was unfased by it, at least the men were devided by a screen. As long as the doctor didn't ask too many questions about her scar, it would be fine. The doctor didn't thankfully and so Mitsuko got into the jumpsuit and then spacesuit in peace. The experience really drove home that they were really about to leave and she felt a jolt of sadness thinking about how long it would be till she saw her mother and grandparents again.

Listening to Bryce's questions she had to stifle a laugh. She managed to work it down to a slight grin. She waved a hand to get his attention.
"It's suspended sleep, so I'm not even sure it's possible to snore."

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Sandra Owens

Owens smiled at Bryce. "It's all going to be fine, Jayson. We're all on first name terms from now on, right?" Though phrased as a question, it seemed more like a simple statement, as though it were the normal course to follow.

She looked about the crew. "All right - let's go."

As she lead them to the final set of doors, she called over her shoulder, "The sooner we leave, the sooner we get back."

The doors opened, revealing the awe-inspiring canyon launch site. All those elevators and driving served a purpose - they were in a large, deep, box canyon. And there was the Oppenheimer, at least as big as an apartment building, or at least as big as a small one, covered in gleaming metal and surrounded by scaffolding as machines pumped fuel inside the ship.

But there was no time to look as they were rushed to their final lift, taking them into the cockpit, going along as they were strapped in by teams of men and women. Hark and Smythe looked in before the cockpit was sealed off, Smythe nodding curtly, as close to a thumbs-up as he'd ever get.

And then, the countdown. The sounds of the scaffolding being pulled away were barely audible as the rockets warmed up and systems engaged.

"T-minus 30 seconds..."

Hark and Smythe watched from a control room at a safe distance.

"I can't help but think we're sending them off the deep end," murmured Hark.

Smythe said nothing.

"...10..."

The Volkoff was waiting - help was on it's way.

"...5...4...3...2...1...blast-off."

The rockets roared, and the crew members were pushed back into their seats. Suddenly they were going up, up, out of the canyon, into the early morning sky, then through the atmosphere, and then into the twinkling blackness of space.

As the Oppenheimer cruised away to Deimos, Owens flipped a switch and punched in a ten-digit code on a panel that popped down. A smooth computerized voice said, "Co-ordinates received. Course locked."

Owens unstrapped her harness, and floated up into the cockpit.

"That's it. We're off. Time to take off these suits."

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IC: Marric Renar

"That's it. We're off. Time to take off these suits."

Marric very gratefully removed the helmet, turning to the captain. "Well, we're on our way, anyone want to guess what the big something is?"

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