Late April 1998 Official Responses

From:  Albin Johnson (Syzygy)

OOC: Yippee! We're free!

IC:
Syzygy strolls over to where Taanik, still shaky from his recent morphing
trick, stands in reflection.

"Friend Taanik, it seems that you are much more effective at unorthodox
solutions than this one, and not as prone to endangering oneself in the
process. I salute you."

With that he plants a big buggy kiss on his helmet.

Syzygy will scan the room for anything not so obvious to the
eager-to-escape team. His first concern is the door - how solid is it? Is
there a computerized lock/mechanical lock/any lock at all? Can it be
barred against entry from the outside? Are there any other exits from this
room such as air ducts, loose deck plates for entry into service tunnels,
etc?

If there is a computerized lock or some such interface device of ANY kind
Syzygy will immediately start tinkering with it to find the following:

- their exact location in Lost Point
- current status of the life support system here, O2 level, etc.
- any domain names to any still-operational computers here
- location of the 9 goons and the civilians

He will then try to hack into the older computer network (if it exists) to
see if there is any workable software solution to the l.s. problem -
perhaps enough redundant systems are still in place he can re-route the
airflow in Lost Point through working, forgotten backup units - or perhaps
there is a supply of O2 stored in reserve tanks or in latent energy cells
somewhere. Most stations are probably built with reserve units of O2/power
somewhere as a first priority - if Lost Point was abandoned in a hurry,
then there's a chance someone forgot about the back-ups. If so, we can buy
ourselves some time with this temporary solution.

Syzygy will inspect the wrecked construction robots. If they are gone
beyond all hope he will not try to fix them but instead try to isolate
their radio units by which they were once controlled remotely. If
possible, he'll extricate the radios to be used by the team for
communications - they are so old that nobody would think to track us by
them. Also, they MIGHT still operate on an old channel the goons still use
after all these years (who changes their channels when they see no threat
of insiders mis-using that knowledge?) - if so, we can eavesdrop on their
radio communications.

Before Syzygy surrenders his chronocom, he sends a simple message to Zane
to let them know they've escaped. It won't be a verbal or straightforward
message - perhaps just a series of soft beeps in morse code saying 'wait'

Since he is not in possession of his chronocom any longer, Syzygy will make
sure ALL his charges are wired to his palm triggers now instead of any
radio-controllers.

All for now - more to come.

- your pal AL (Syzygy)

From:  John Whitfield (T'Klkk)

Glad to be free of her bonds and feeling more in control again, T'Klkk
will quickly survey the room. If she can find a spare enviro-suit,
she'll proffer it to Spider. After all the team's equipment and weapons
have been gathered, she will turn to Urugg and say, "Teammate-Urugg. 
You have some training in first aid. Would you attend to Spider as best
you can?" While this is going on, she will go to Kare and say,
"Teammate, Kare. We should keep an eye on our 'guest'", as she waves
her antennae at Spider. "Would you be so kind as to assume
responsibility for keeping near him and seeing to it that he behaves
himself?"

With that accomplished, she will declare the obvious (leave it to
T'Klkk!!) :-)
"Teammates, we should not linger in this room. As I see it, we have
two choices, we can either remain here at Lost Point or attempt to
return to First Landing. Either way, we face much peril. T'Klkk would
prefer staying at Lost Point until we find some answers. This place
seems to be the nexxus of all the intrigue which has transpired. 
Logically, this is where we will find answers. Any discussion?"

As far as where to go in Lost Point, that's the big question. If
possible, T'Klkk would like to find some kind of schematic which shows
the layout and location of things such as computer core, power
generators, environmental control, and any other vital systems.

She will ask that all who have barium-filled rounds use them on the
battlemechs. She desperately wants to even the odds in some way. While
she recognizes that she and Tork have superior training, the refugees
have the home-court advantage because they know the turf better, plus
they have their neat suits which can just plain kick our asses. If we
can find an unoccupied suit, T'Klkk will ask Tork if he would do the
honours of suiting up.

My pal Al, mentioned that Syzygy would try to track down parts from old
robots to make communicators for us. T'Klkk is very pleased with this
idea. She'll suggest that Taanik help since the good ole Dral has lots
of expertise with Robotics. :-)

T'Klkk is also debating the value of the group splitting up. While
there may be safety in numbers, they also have very little chance of
sneaking anywhere with a group this big. Also, dividing into 2 groups
doubles their chances of reaching an objective. A recon team to scout
ahead for trouble would be great, and T'Klkk would volunteer to lead
this team, if that is the route that the rest want to go. She would
want to include Urugg (because of his environmental skills) and Kare
(because of her technician skills). (If Kare were to be part of this
team, then the responsibility for watching Spider should probably go to
Taanik; Tork will be occupied with the safety of the entire group and
Syzygy has been too erratic to be depended upon, although T'Klkk will
not voice this reasoning).

At some point we should try to reunite with Zane or at least try to
communicate with him. Maybe we could get Kare to pose as one of the
refugee women and sneak her into the common area where they're all
staying. A thought.

Well, it is hard to suggest further moves until I hear from the rest of
the group how they would like to proceed. I'm going out of town
tomorrow and won't get back until 14 May, so I look forward to lots of
mail when I return!!

-JWW

From:  Albin Johnson (Syzygy)

>With that accomplished, she will declare the obvious (leave it to
>T'Klkk!!) :-)
>"Teammates, we should not linger in this room. As I see it, we have
>two choices, we can either remain here at Lost Point or attempt to
>return to First Landing.

(OOC: I have a hard time figuring out what to do here in Lost Point since
we don't have a detailed enough map for me to know the logistics/tactics of
the area. I assumed certain facts about the area around the room where we
found the refugees and look where that got us - we were declared captured.)


>As far as where to go in Lost Point, that's the big question. If
>possible, T'Klkk would like to find some kind of schematic which shows
>the layout and location of things such as computer core, power
>generators, environmental control, and any other vital systems.

If there are ANY jacks visible in the walls, conduits, consoles, robots,
etc. Syzygy will probe them with his robcomkit to see if they are feasible
entry points for his talents in hooking up to a mother system. If not,
he'll try to link-up via radio to the spire and download any schematics on
Lost POint made available. Heck, we SHOULD have copies from the mission
briefing, but if not Syzygy will dig for them.


>She will ask that all who have barium-filled rounds use them on the
>battlemechs. She desperately wants to even the odds in some way. While
>she recognizes that she and Tork have superior training, the refugees
>have the home-court advantage because they know the turf better, plus
>they have their neat suits which can just plain kick our asses. If we
>can find an unoccupied suit, T'Klkk will ask Tork if he would do the
>honours of suiting up.

Syzygy speaks up, getting T'Klkk's attention, "Excuse me, but either of
those objectives are pipe dreams - we neither stand a chance of going
head-to-head with the enemy or successfully scouting for some
randomly-discarded suit. Our best bet is to use our superior mobility and
diversity of skills. Splitting up and engaging in guerilla warfare would
split their forces, keep them guessing, and allow us to do some damage from
a distance."


>My pal Al, mentioned that Syzygy would try to track down parts from old
>robots to make communicators for us. T'Klkk is very pleased with this
>idea. She'll suggest that Taanik help since the good ole Dral has lots
>of expertise with Robotics. :-)

Syzygy gladly accepts any help with the jerry-rigging he looks to do. He
will approach Taanik and Kare for help.

>T'Klkk is also debating the value of the group splitting up. While

>team, then the responsibility for watching Spider should probably go to
>Taanik; Tork will be occupied with the safety of the entire group and
>Syzygy has been too erratic to be depended upon, although T'Klkk will
>not voice this reasoning).

Syzygy is in favor of staying now that we have our equipment back.
However, if there are guards still outside our door, we can't do much. For
this reason Syzygy will look for any kind of ventilation ducts leading out
of the storage pod, or at least some plates that can be removed.

Syzygy will suggest splitting the group in two - one recon team and one
strike team as T'Klkk suggested. The recon team can scout ahead and cause
disruptions in Lost POint, leading the armored goons away from the refugee
camp. The strike team can move in and try to take advantage of the room's
possible resources, passages, radios, power supplies, controls, etc.

Suggested recon: T'Klkk, Syzygy, and Urugg. The Vruskan speed will enhance
the movement of this team, Syzygy can wire explosive diversions, Urugg can
use environmental skills to guide us through the less dangerous areas of
Lost Point.

Suggested insertion team: Tork, Taanik, Kare, Spider, and Zane (once
rendezvoused). Kare and Taanik together can figure out the technical
problems/controls of the refugee room that may be near a command post.
Tork will handle security. The insertion team's main goal is to infiltrate
the refugee area and look for any kind of operational command post -
anywhere that working controls exist that Taanik and Kare can take
advantage of.

As for any perceived lack of confidence from T'Klkk towards his person,
Syzygy will ignore it for the moment. Emotions were running high, he knows
that. If it were up to him, he'd bolt at the first opportunity and begin a
series of distractions to lead the enemy away from them. But his previous
attempts at furthering the group's goals on his own were met with scorn.
He decides to wait and see how the attack plan develops. He will busy
himself with the technical endeavors mentioned earlier.

All for now

- your pal AL

From:  Ruben Rivera (Kare)

Well boys and blobs,

Kare is all for making friends. We can not go home again. If the
imposter can make the police chief "disappear", it would take much for
him to get rid of the rest of us. Considering some of our actions and
backgrounds.

Kare is confused, why can't a place (lostpoint) with as many
enviromental/lifesupport units as Lost point not be capable of producing
enough air. Maybe the units require repair, or maybe theyve been
tampered with. Kare thinks if we can't beat them, (physically) we
should join them. Translation: Lets make friends. This is Unity,
isn't it.

We'll convince the goons that they don't have to go to First landing,
they could live here and be free. And we can help them (or whatever 
line takes, to get them to play our game). Lets win there heart (lungs)
and minds. While going through the machinery (trying to repair it) Kare
will work (in secret if she has to) assembleing machinery that she
considers useful. Her plans is to discover if its possible to sever the
communication link between the imposter and the goons (or take
communications over, sending false messeges to both sides, we may have
all the holo equipment needed, or we could steal it). This may make our
job easier.

Also, Kare has considered freeing the monkey police woman and replacing
her with a holo image. She may be of use to us. But we could free her
later.

All for now.
R

From:  Andy Campbell (Urugg)

Hi all. Well, I've got to declare actions since I'll be flying out tomorrow,
so here goes:

Urugg is enraged beyond words at his recent captivity - not at Syzygy, not
even at his captors specifically (though if he ever gets his hands on the
cocky bastard that was mouthing off as they escorted us here...), but simply
because he is claustrophobic and simply cannot stand being onfined by anyone.
He won't say much about it, but his 'mates will notice he's gone eerily silent
lately, beyond responding to others' questions and / or requests. As the team
discusses our next move, he will spend some time sharpening his blades (sword
& knife) and will slowly, thoughtfully mount his bladed gloves on his suit
using the rigs he set up for this back in First Landing.

Urugg will volunteer for the scout team, and will relish the opportunity to
"hunt" again - even if it is in the cramped corrdors and accessways of Lost
Point. He will keep the bladed gloves at the ready, pistol holstered at hip,
and sling his rifle over his back. in combat, he will preferentially loose a
grenade or two if there's time and then wade into melee with the sword (Layne,
is his Melee / DEX good enough to fight "florentine" with sword in right and
knife blocking in left?). He will not harm civilians if it is humanly
(yazirianly) possible to avoid it (up to and including taking a hit for them
if the situation calls for it). If a firefight erupts, Urugg will try to use
his rifle to snipe, making every shot count; since our ammo supplies are
limited, he will observe strict fire discipline. 

If the team manages to gain access to any life support equipment / controls /
equipment, Urugg will do his Yazirian best to get them working properly, using
his Environmental skill and past experience (from our investigations) with
First Landing's LS systems. Besides enriching the O2 % in the air and
restoring the pressure to normal, he will specifically look for signs that
someone (read: The Lord of Shadows and flunkies) have deliberately tampered
with it / sabotaged to make the refugees desperate and dependent on the LoS
for their needs. If such evidence is found, he will document it (dump the
data into his e-scanner or one of the computer spec's portacomps, & use the
holocamera for physical evidence) for later. Also, if we get into an area
where we can observe the main refugee chamber (ie. the opening to a crawlway
or somesuch), Urugg will take holoimages of the scene with his camera for
future evidence of what went on here.

Beyodn the above, Urugg will follow whatever plan the team cooks up. Should
combat erupt with the inviso-guys, Urugg will use whatever force is necessary
to protect his teammates - no quarter, if the situation calls for it.

Finally, as stated before, Urugg is interested now in figuring out what the
hell is going on, exacting blood revenge on our employer, and getting off
Metrosphere posthaste (not necessarily in that order). 

So now I'm off for vacation. Don't get us killed guys ; )

See you in 3 weeks or so,
Andy / Urugg

From:  Clark Valentine (Taanik)

Layne,

Sorry this is so a) late and b) abbrieviated. A rough month for me, didn't
have much time to spend on gaming. Please forward to the group.

Taanik makes it a priority to speak to Syzygy. "Sorry I snapped at you,
pal. We're not going to get out of this sniping at each other. No hard
feelings?" Taanik gives Syzygy a friendly slap on the back.

Is there a way for Taanik to perform an "Alter Function" or "Alter Mission"
on that police android remotely? If so, we just might be able to get it on
our side and have it feed us information. If there's a way to do this
without unacceptable risk of detection Taanik will give it a try.

Otherwise Taanik will avocate heading back to First Landing to call in the
cavalry (Maybe a call to Star Law would be in order...), but will cheerfully
help out if the leadership decides to stay here in Lost Point.