Late March 1998 Official Responses

From:  Albin Johnson (Syzygy)

Wrap-up of Syzygy's current actions:

- order the others to pull out of the room, insisting vehemently and with a
display of force
- check to see if the door can be opened/closed/locked/unlocked from the
wall unit next to it (someone with a higher level technician skill should
do this, in fact, unless it's computer controlled in which case Syzygy
should - Layne? which is it?)
- try to find a defendable position outside the door
- check to see if the monorail car is still here - if it is, try to secure
it and keep it from leaving again
- load a barium paint clip into gyrojet pistol
- arm all four satchel charges

In addition:

- depending on the surroundings, plant TD-19 charges on all entrances,
arming them with motion or tripwire detonators. This will exclude any
entrance thru which the monorail car could move, setting them off.

- try to contact Streel to see if he has any suggestions/ try to get him to
slip up and show his hand if he's snowing us

- urge Taanik to lower his weapon

- kiss T'Klkk suddenly and passionately, because after two near-death
experiences Syzygy is concerned he may not live long enough to get another
chance


OOC: Layne, is there any way you can post a map of the surrounding area, so
we can plan our moves/positions?

From:  Ken Morefield (Zane)

Hello everyone,
Zane's mind is spinning at the moment. "What the hell is going
on?" He will draw his gyrojet pistol(with the tangler clip that he loaded
last round). He will follow the shouted orders from Syzygy to back out
the way we came. He will be horrified if any of his companions starts
to fire on any civillians and shoot them with a tangler. If for any reason
a civillian is hurt, he will immediately proceed to give them medical 
attention. He will yell, "I am a doctor! This person needs my help right
now!" and he will disregard his own safety to help any of the others( Be
they team mates or civillians). If things settle down he will also help any
of the armored individuals that might be hurt. If anyone proceeds to follow
us through he will try talking(shouting) to them. "We do not want any 
trouble! All that we want are some answers! Who are you? These people 
need medical attention! I'm a doctor! Let me help them! Please!" If for
some reason they actually motion or tell Zane to enter, he will not hesitate.
He will also try to find out what the hell is going on. If these people don't
tell him and we get away Streel will have a hell of a lot of explaining to do!
(By the way does Zane know anything about Streel's slave mining from
the SF module, I can't remember which one, Alcazzar?)

From:  John Whitfield (T'Klkk)


Wow! What a mess!!

T'Klkk will start backing off slowly and will instruct the rest of the
team to do the same. She'll turn her gun up so that it is not pointed
at anyone but can easily be snapped into firing position if needed. She
will make sure to be the last one to leave the room. As she's backing
up, she will say, "Hold your fire, and we'll do the same! We're not
here to cause trouble, and we certainly do not want anyone to get hurt."


(OOC: Layne, are there only Humans and Yazirians in this crowd? No
Vrusk or Dralasites? If so, T'Klkk will wonder to herself about the
racial composition of these refugees. Comprehension roll?)

While not expert at negotiation, T'Klkk will definitely use this tactic
if it will save bloodshed. At present, she considers herself to be the
most likely one to handle the negotiations since she sees this as a
military/combat situation and the only other military expert (Tork) is
in Battle Rage. 
She will point to herself, "This is self-T'Klkk. We offer seven
degrees of reassurance that we would like to have this situation
resolved peacefully. Is there someone who can talk with self-T'Klkk and
hopefully come to a mutual understanding?"

So that this does not become a drama on stage and so that neither side
has to risk losing face in front of the crowd, she will suggest that a
small delegation from each side meet near the monorail. If the other
side agrees to this, T'Klkk will insist that the numbers on each
negotiating team be equal. Now, who to go? She'll probably want to
include the following in this order:
(1.) Urugg - although he's in Battle Rage, he's a Yazirian (and as I
understand it, most of the refugees are Human and Yazirian) and an
eco-activist and may be able to find some common ground with them; (2.)
Zane - a Human (same argument as including a Yazirian) and has
demonstrated a remarkable sensitivity to the "human" (pardon the term!)
condition; if Zane insists on staying with the refugees to
examine/treat them, T'Klkk will certainly concede to that; (3) Taanik -
id comes across as less threatening than some of the others on the team,
and ids lie detection ability may come in handy; (4) Syzygy - albeit a
wildcard, he may be able to see a different angle because of his
less-than-orthodox approach to thinking and doing; (5 & 6) Tork really
should stay behind since he is the other military expert and he may be
needed for a rescue if something goes wrong, and Kare just plain-ole
seems too hotheaded for T'Klkk to want her in a sensitive negotiation
situation. T'Klkk will not express her reasoning out loud to the
others, obviously. 

If there is an opportunity for it, T'Klkk will ask that Zane and Urugg
do an assessment of the medical condition of the refugees. She'll also
encourage Zane, Urugg, and Tork to do environmental scans to determine
just how bad the air supply is and how contaminated are the food and
water.

If Syte comes forward, she will point-blank ask him why he did not kill
Tork and Kare when he had the opportunity. She'll also try to determine
who it is that he has a beef against and why.

If all of this falls through and it turns into a bloodbath, T'Klkk will
use anything and everything in her arsonal to defend herself and her
teammates. She'll be very careful to not endanger the refugees; there
is simply no point in harming a defenseless being who is not involved in
the combat. At no point will she use or consider the use of the lives
of the refugees as bargaining chips. She'll yell for those carrying
barium cartridges to use them. Her main strategy will be to concentrate
her efforts on one target at a time. She'll also try to position
herself so that she has a view of all her teammates and will try to
coordinate the battle (i.e. "Urugg, two approaching you from behind!";
"Great shot, Taanik!"; "Tork, Zane is heading for a wounded woman. 
Cover him!", "Syzygy, join self-T'Klkk, Kare is surrounded and needs our
help.")

T'Klkk will not report anything to Selson until she understands what is
going on. She is confident that there is now more than meets the eye
and will not rest until the mystery is solved.

I hope this is enough "ifs" for Layne to work with! :-)

>
>- kiss T'Klkk suddenly and passionately, because after two near-death
>experiences Syzygy is concerned he may not live long enough to get
another
>chance

"Syzygy! What are you doing? Self-T'Klkk is already betrothed!! 
Self-T'Klkk now invokes the ancient law of tsa-ni-t'llkl and will remove
one of Syzygy's testicles as penance for this transgression." :-) 
Okay, okay, leave out the last part. But, she will be very surprised
and will not quite know what to do with him.

Al, my pal, you're a stinker!! :-)

Waiting anxiously for the next installment.

-JWW

From:  Andy Campbell (Urugg)

Well, the hour approaches... what to do, what to do. 


Urugg is completely taken by surprise at the sight of the refugees, though
he'd suspected something like this since speaking to and examining Cimmy. Now
his mind races with suspicions which have been growing in his mind during the
anxious monorail ride to Lost Point. Has the team been set up by their own
employer? Ever since the group arrived on this moon, Streel's promo vids and
records indicated that the mutineers of the Lost Point colony were "lost";
dozens were listed as simply "missing". Then Cimmy turned up, and now this.
How hard could it be to find this pitiful mob and rescue them!? Unless you
were never looking in the first place. And why did the invisible thugs just
rough Syzygy up out in the Metro terminal, leaving him close enough for us to
find and rescue? As a warning - to keep away from Streel's dirty secret? And
now there's no time to find out...

As T'Klkk starts talking and pulling back our team, Urugg lingers a moment.
He realizes, suddenly, that his sword is drawn and ready in his clenched fist.
The distant buzz of T'Klkk's voice snaps him back into focus. Following her
lead he backs towards the exit with the team, sword at the ready. An idea
pops into his head, and he points roughly with his empty hand at the nearest
thug. "You! Yes, you! We are here to see the Lord of Shadows! I have
spoken with a female who knew him and she said he could be found here! Radio
him at once and tell him we wish to talk."

If the thugs fail to react, Urugg will pull back with the others through the
airlock. Once through the lock, he will activate his magnetic boots and
gloves and spider-man up the wall outside of the lock, brace himself against
the top of the door, and prepare to cut down any thug who follows us. If
there is no place to brace himaself, he'll take up position next to the door,
crouched to spring on anyone entering.

If by some miracle the thugs do react, Urugg will attempt to use Persuasion to
get them to comply and produce the Lord (Urugg believes the "Lord of Shadows"
to be Dakka; it's quite possible he's mistaken but its worth a shot). If a
negotiation happens, see below for what Urugg will want to find out. 

Other contingencies:

Having brooded quietly by himself the entire monorail ride here, thinking
through the situation, Urugg's main concern was to locate and question Syte.
Unless absolutely necessary (ie. self-defense or defending a teammate), Urugg
will *not* kill Syte intentionally. Now that the refugee mob has been
discovered, Urugg's burning concern is to get them out of here and medically
treated. The sight of these poor people trapped in this miserable, abandoned
facility brings his own claustrophobia on full force, adding a wild edge to
his Battle Rage. One thought burns through his mind as the thugs shimmer and
advance: are these four "specters" jailers... or protectors to these people?

Should any negotiations (with the ghosts, the Lord of Shadows should he appear
- Syte or not, or with Dakka as himself), Urugg will assist the team as best
he can - whether as speaker or backing up the speaker. As described above, he
wants to locate Syte, find out why the mob is here, who the shadows are, and
whether or not Selson Streel has / had a hand in keeping these people trapped
here. If Streel is behind these folk being kept here in these conditions,
there will be a reckoning.

One further note - Urugg will maintain "radio silence" as best he can as far
as his suspicions of Streel are concerned. Should he discuss them with the
team (possibly the "thought of the day" post could be considered to have been
spoken aloud during the monorail trip, Layne?), Urugg will silently motion to
his teammates to shut off their radios and c-coms, and open their suit
faceplates to speak face to face (and hopefully not be monitored by the train
and / or Lost Point intercom systems). Assuming the cargo bots arrived at
Lost Point as Streel promised, Urugg will have donned his own suit rather than
the railcar suits, and will quickly check it before putting it on for any
foreign objects (tracking devices, bugs, etc.). He will have the magnetic
gloves on, and strap on the glove blades as well.

Well, that should do it for now. Now to see how this mess shakes out : )

From:  John Groszkiewicz (Tork)

Tork involentarily takes a step back. Dakka escaped, 200 people on the brink of death, 
and four ... whatever they are. His mind racing Tork still can not find the words to 
describe what he sees. Tork's confusion does not calm his anger but fuels it instead!

>Dirty Yazirian and Human faces: tired women, weakened children, screaming
>infants, dying elders--there are at least 200 of them, all huddled together,
>pulling back in fear at the sight of these seven spacesuited intruders.

Tork takes a quick military assessment of the situation. Are the "civilians" tring to 
move away from us? When the four entities appear what affect does it have on the 
"civilians" - does it increase their fear, does Tork detect a "the cavalry is here" 
attitude, or are 'the keepers back' (are these people slaves)? Either way Tork will 
quickly look back over his shoulder for a defendable area ( the monorail car is his 
prefered location ) and yell for the team to move to the 'fall back' position.

Tork reaches for his tangler grenades hoping to 'web' the doorway. Finding none he 
equips himself with his automatic pistol in one hand and his knife in the other. Tork 
will move quickly to the 'fall back' position but try to 1) keep himself between the 
entities and the rest of the team, and 2) move sideways, or backwards, so he can keep an 
eye on the entities.

Tork's plan at this point is to move any potential fighting away from the civilians. If 
the entites follow us out Tork will attempt to open a dialog "We're here for Dakka. Turn 
him over and noone gets hurt." At this point Tork has *no* plans on turning over Dakka 
to Streel. Tork is hoping to talk to Dakka and find out what is going on. IF (when?) 
fighting breaks out Tork will rely mostly on his martial arts and hand-to-hand combat 
combat skills. If there is an opening to use a frag grenade *without* endangering the 
civilians or the team Tork will use it. Tork will only fire his pistol in directions 
that won't go through the door if he misses. No matter what happens, Tork will not be 
the one to throw the first blow but if a fight ensues he will do his best to make sure 
that the team comes out victorous.

If the entites don'r follow us out, Tork will suggest we wait for Streel to deliver our 
suppiles via cargo bot and then move out into Lost Point and try to figure out what is 
going on.

TTFN
John johngroz@velocity.net
----------
"Can't say. Saying would be knowing. Don't know. So, can't say." - Zathrus

From:  John Groszkiewicz (Tork)

Kveldulf wrote:
> 
> An idea
> pops into his head, and he points roughly with his empty hand at the nearest
> thug. "You! Yes, you! We are here to see the Lord of Shadows! I have
> spoken with a female who knew him and she said he could be found here! Radio
> him at once and tell him we wish to talk."

Tork will shoot an icy glare at Urugg, to Tork this situation is quickly escallating 
further out of control. Memories of the Academy, seniors bullying the freshman Tork 
into a corner, unwelcomly come rushing through his mind. Tork is ready to take out his 
anger and lash out... the question is "at whom?" Are the 'ghosts' protecting the 
civilians or holding them against their will? Why didn't Dakka live up to his 
reputation and kill Kare and Tork on sight? Has Streel set up the team to do his dirty 
work and then take the fall for it?

Tork tries to clear his reeling mind. He will use whatever training he can to pull his 
mind back to focus on the task at hand. Tork's first priority is the saftey of the 
team, second is the saftey of the "innocent civilians". Innocent civilians is exactly 
what Tork will consider the Humans and Yazarians unless given cause to believe 
otherwise.

> Unless absolutely necessary (ie. self-defense or defending a teammate), Urugg
> will *not* kill Syte intentionally. Now that the refugee mob has been

If fighting breaks out I don't think we should kill anyone unless we have to. Tork will 
try to capture the ghosts but if things go bad... The team-mates safty is number one 
priority, if trying to capture a ghost will put the team at risk Tork will have no 
reservations about 'toasting' two or three and then ganging up to capture the rest.

TTFN
John johngroz@velocity.net
----------
"Can't say. Saying would be knowing. Don't know. So, can't say." - Zathrus

From:  John Whitfield (T'Klkk)

>
>Having brooded quietly by himself the entire monorail ride here,
thinking
>through the situation, Urugg's main concern was to locate and question
Syte.
>Unless absolutely necessary (ie. self-defense or defending a
teammate), 
>Urugg
>will *not* kill Syte intentionally. Now that the refugee mob has
been
>discovered, Urugg's burning concern is to get them out of here and
medically
>treated. The sight of these poor people trapped in this miserable,
abandoned
>facility brings his own claustrophobia on full force, adding a wild
edge to
>his Battle Rage. One thought burns through his mind as the thugs
shimmer 
>and
>advance: are these four "specters" jailers... or protectors to these
people?

Good point! John (the other one, not me!!) :-) mentioned that Tork
will be 
attempting to assess whether the guys in the snazzy armour are
defending or controlling the refugees. T'Klkk will also be looking for
clues to answer this question. Comprehension roll, Layne? :-)



>
>One further note - Urugg will maintain "radio silence" as best he can
as far
>as his suspicions of Streel are concerned. Should he discuss them
with the
>team (possibly the "thought of the day" post could be considered to
have 
>been
>spoken aloud during the monorail trip, Layne?), Urugg will silently
motion to
>his teammates to shut off their radios and c-coms, and open their
suit
>faceplates to speak face to face (and hopefully not be monitored by
the train
>and / or Lost Point intercom systems). 

T'Klkk will fully support the suggestion of radio silence and will
voice her questions/concerns/suspicions once the team is alone and has
their coms off. If Streel calls in asking for a report, T'Klkk will be
extremely vague and evasive. If he pushes the issue, she will say,
"Self-T'Klkk does not mean to be disrespectful, but individuals were
hired and forged into this cell ...er.... team to do a job and were
given the impression that we would have a great deal of latitude in
doing that job. Self-T'Klkk offers six degrees of assurance that
matters are currently under control. This team is evaluating the
situation and is assessing the best way to proceed. Self-T'Klkk is not
aware of any negotiations which would result in a change in the terms of
our contract, and thus will proceed by continuing to exercise the
latitude that was originally granted. T'Klkk out."

Suffice it to say that T'Klkk is hell-bent to get the bottom of all
this!

Please consider this an addendum to T'Klkk's Official Actions!

Thanks.

-JWW

From:  Ruben Rivera (Kare)

Layne please post


Alright!!!!! Some action!!!! I'm still going to kick Dakka's Butt!!!

But first bussiness before pleasure. Kare doesn't like this situation
either. Being the Intergalatic Patsy would hurt her "Reputation". Now
lets think about the situation at hand...shall we.

We got armoured combatant infront of us. If they are robots, they
should not be capable of attacking us, unless we attack them.

Am I right? Kare thinks back to Alcazzar, those robot were reprogrammed
to attack on sight. Damn Streel Jerks.

If they are human they can attack via free will.

Either way we shouldn't fight in this crowded room.

SOOOO, whats Kare's point? We don't attack and withdraw to the hallway!
Maybe they won't follow (outside their programing) or maybe they will
not see us as hostile. But if it does come down to blows...we can "Pile
on" the fire power...frags, fully automatic weapons, the whole nine. 
Without fear of hurting innocent people.

Once we resolve the situation with the hostiles we should consider what
to do next. If these are the lost pointers, we should keep it quite
until we figure out who in the Streel corp is responcible for this.

Kare doesn't believe Geekboy Streel is involved. But maybe his
assistant Madam IceQueen or maybe the orginal Superintendent Mr.
Smartguy Bugface.

At a later time we should consider creating a false manifest and moving
these people to a cargo bay, with better air and food. Then seal it off
from prying eyes. IE. destroying the holounit and sealing the doors.

I'm with T'Kikk if anyone calls, tell they we are busy. "C*n't hear
y*u, t*o m*ch stat*c, w*ll c*ntact y*u l*ter"

KARE FEELS HER OLD INSTINCTS COMING BACK, KICKING STREEL BUTT IS FUN!!!!

From:  John Groszkiewicz (Tork)

Layne K. Saltern wrote:
> 
> This in from Ruben.
> 
> At a later time we should consider creating a false manifest and moving
> these people to a cargo bay, with better air and food. Then seal it off
> from prying eyes. IE. destroying the holounit and sealing the doors.

At one time it was suggested that we make a false manifest for a cargo bay to try and 
lure out the sabotures. Perhaps we can use this story to get Streel to give us control 
over a cargo bay. Only problem would be his access to the security cameras. :(

TTFN
John johngroz@velocity.net
----------
"Can't say. Saying would be knowing. Don't know. So, can't say." - Zathrus

From:  Albin Johnson (Syzygy)

>>
>>- kiss T'Klkk suddenly and passionately, because after two near-death
>>experiences Syzygy is concerned he may not live long enough to get
>another
>>chance
>
>"Syzygy! What are you doing? Self-T'Klkk is already betrothed!!
>Self-T'Klkk now invokes the ancient law of tsa-ni-t'llkl and will remove
>one of Syzygy's testicles as penance for this transgression." :-)

(LOL) Well, at least we got to third base!

>Okay, okay, leave out the last part. But, she will be very surprised
>and will not quite know what to do with him.

Syzygy leaves it at that, satisfied to once again prove himself totally
unpredictable and only mildly crude. His naivete convinces him that the
simple statement will only leave T'Klkk wanting more...

- Syzygy the kissing bandit

Layne,

I'm not sure if you got this or not. I didn't see it on the website.

Clark

----------
From: Clark Valentine[SMTP:cgv@flash.net]
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 1998 8:59 PM
Subject: [Unity] Taanik official

Taanik will lower ids weapon immediately if ordered to do so by T'Klkk, and will 
do so but more slowly if ordered to by Syzygy. Id will use ids Robots Identify subskill 
to try to see if our adversaries are 'bots or armored carbons.

If the team withdraws from the room, a tactic that Taanik will advocate, id will suggest 
that they close the door behind them and try to lock it. If it can be locked, buying a 
few turns, id suggests that they rig up a booby-trap; if anyone opens the door, set off 
several of the barium paint grenades. Id also insists that the team set up a defensive 
perimeter in the tube, making sure to protect their monorail car. 

If attacked Taanik will return fire vigorously. At the first sign that the enemy is 
retreating, id will throw paint grenades as rapidly as possible.

If negotiations break out, id will attempt to use ids lie detection as much as 
possible, while wishing that id had spent some XP on increasing it.

If Syzygy trains his weapon on Taanik, Taanik will, when things calm down, 
corner Syzygy, and say, angrily, "You are my friend, Syzygy, but even friendship 
has its limits. Do not EVER point your weapon at me again." Taanik will then walk 
away, never saying anything about it again, and acting as if it never happened.