Late October 1997 Official Responses

From:  Andy Campbell (Urugg)

[re: Cimmy's domicile / Shadow story]

Listening to Cimmy in the dim hovel, Urugg feels a deep sympathy for the old
woman - reduced to hiding out in a patch of forest until the hard metallic
sky of Metrosphere. Inconspicuously, he attempts to pick up the half-burned
ID card as Cimmy recites her story of the Shadows. Mentally, he burns the
name he spotted on the card - Simeonne Arielle - into his memory. He
half-listens to her chanting words, his mind working furiously. Surely Cimmy
had some relatives or friends here before she disappeared; perhaps they
never realized where she disappeared to. 

He will do his best to find them if they exist and restore her among friends
or kin. He thinks bitterly that they may have turned her out, alone and
clanless to scrape by in this steel coffin of a city. Grimacing, he turns
his thoughts back to the situation at hand. [with any luck, he will have
pocketed the ID by now - and will use it to track down Cimmy's identity and
history in the Spire with Syzygy's / Kare's / (or if noone else is
available)Taanik's help.

Before leaving, he will motion for Tork to wait outside a moment. 

"Cimmy, it is plain from your eyes that you speak the truth about the
Shadows. We [he gestures briefly with his head at Tork outside] have come
from the skies to cast out the Lord of Shadows... and perhaps the Dark Lord
as well. 

But we have been here only a short time, and are not wise in the ways of the
Sphere. I would ask of you priestess if we [again gestures towards Tork
outside] seek you out when we have need of your wisdom. You plainly know
much of the Sphere and its truths. In exchange, I can offer only small
things - I have some knowledge of the ways of medicine, and a human friend
knows yet more. Perhaps he and I could come to you again in secret and
minister to your health?"

Urugg will wait fir her reaction, and whether it is positive or negative (to
either proposal), he will respectfully bid goodbye to the elderly Yazirian
[hopefully with her ID safely in pocket]. As he and Tork leave the tangle of
bachanda braches, vines etc. he will make his best effort to mentally map
the way in - and incidentally keep an eye out for booby-traps in the trees.
You can never be too careful... 

From:  Albin Johnson (Syzygy)

Syzygy retreats from the meeting and proceeds to the hospital. There he
will check himself in, requesting medical attention to restore his
strength. He will hopefully be able to obtain free services as a part of
his contract with Streel as a special investigator. If they argue with
this idea, he will contract Mr. Streel himself or at least Fl'exx. Once he
feels better, he will report directly to Fl'exx's office and make a report.
There he will requisition replacement equipment, citing he lost his in the
line of duty and that Streel is responsible for it. If Streel refuses to
buy him new equipment, he will use his remaining money to buy another
chronocom, a flashlight, and a doze grenade.

After this, he will return to his room and try to find a way to track the
chronocom that was taken from him and transported south.

From:  John Groszkiewicz (Tork)

Hello Everyone,

There was a lot of stuff going on in the last move. I'm just starting to form Tork's 
OFFICIAL move but thought I would pass along this much so that others can start planing. 
:)

>From the Late October Story:
>"Where is Kare, anyway?" asks Urugg. 
>
>Tork and T'Klkk make eye contact. Both look concerned. 
>
>"I don't know where she is," says Taanik. "She must have turned her chronocom
>off. I can't trace her." 

This causes Tork to worry that his worst fears about Kare are true. Between this and 
Syzygy getting 'jumped' Tork feels he has twice failed the team. Tork will participate 
in the meeting ( specifics to follow ) but he is slightly distracted and his mood is as 
dark as his sungoggles.


>From Andy's "Late Oct. Story - unofficial" message:

>- It is not specifically mentioned either in player email or the story - do
>Tork and T'Klkk share their info about Kare with the rest of us or do they
>keep it confidential for the time being? If they do tell the rest of us, it
>will surely change our reactions to coming events.

Tork will not bring the subject up unless (1) T'Klkk requests Tork to inform the team of 
his findings, (2) Tork has evidence that Kare is working against the team, or (3) Tork 
finds solid evidence that Kare is behind/involved in the sabotage.


>From Albin's "Syzygy official move - late Oct." message:

>Syzygy retreats from the meeting and proceeds to the hospital.

Tork will *not* allow Syzygy to leave the meeting alone. As Team Security Tork is 
suppose to keep the team out of trouble. So what happens? Kare's missing, probably 
because of the information he found. Syzygy gets attacked and is Tork anywhere to be 
found - NO. I not even arround for the *$@#! rescue mission. Tork is definatly upset, 
although at this point it is mostly directed at himself.

>There he will requisition replacement equipment, citing he lost his in the
>line of duty and that Streel is responsible for it. If Streel refuses to
>buy him new equipment, he will use his remaining money to buy another
>chronocom, a flashlight, and a doze grenade.

If the equipment is not replaced Tork will do what he can to get Syzygy re-equiped. 

FYI - part 2 of Tork's OFFICIAL move will follow as soon as I can go over some notes - 
probably tommorrow or the next day.

TTFN
John johngroz@ncinter.net

From:  Ruben Rivera (Kare)

Appearances,appearances...

Kare's mind races "Damn"...she knows this won't look good for her. If
shes caught Tork and T'lkik will believe that she is guilty of working
for outside forces. Kare knows that she not guility but concedes that
shes definitly not innocent.

Kare concedes that shooting her way out would hardly repair her image of
innocents. Thus with lightning speed, as soon as the door closes, Kare
removes her chronocom. She shuts off the answering feature and puts the
screen and mic on record, raiseing the volume as high as possible. Then
she quickly places/hides it near the door with a perfect view of the
computer and keyboard. When the big apes enter the room, she play it
cool...badge in hand.

"Gentlemen, my name is Kare and I'm with Mr. Streel's Special Ops Task
Force dealing with the Star Arm terriorist. Mr Streel can verify my
idenity." As soon as she gets a chance to talk to Mr Streel she'll say
"Mr.Streel, So good to see you again, I was attempting to determine the
depth of Stars Arm's penetration into the City. I'm ordering these
tunnels closed, because it is our belief that the terrorist are using
them to gain access to sensitive areas."

With that Kare smiles to herself, this is the big set up. "We believe
that they may have had access to your computer. I advise you cto heck
through your most sensitive files to ensure that they were not accessed,
tamperied, or alteried in any way. I'll have the work crew close that
tunnel first thing in the morning. Have a good day."

Kare has seen employer backstabbing before, so what could it hurt to
check up on Mr. Streel? If he's clean...good. But there is only one
way to be certain and thats by going through his computer. Kares hope
is that her chronocom is close enough to the door (volume all the way
up)that it records all conversation in both rooms. Also she hopes to get
a visual record of Mr. Streel's passwords and a list of files. That way
when she comes back later that night, she will have access to his
computer and have a record of his conversations...just to see if he is
on the up and up. 

Once inside the room again(later that night) Kare will recover her
Chronocom of course and booby trap both entrances while she works. Then
she will access his computer. Kare will attempt to give herself remote
access, to a public computer, like the computer lab at the university. 
Then she will download all files that she finds "interesting".

Interesting is defined as any and all personal files, anything that says
Stars Arm, Lost Point, any files with personal names...etc, any thing
that is useful or smells of being bad and/or improper. Oh also any
files labelled development,secret, blackmail, off planetside bank
accounts,etc...anything that may be juicy. If the files are
"Interesting" in a Unity mission type of way, Kare will make mulitiple
copies and attempt to get them back to the team, via email or regular
mail and via personal delievery. The files will have everything Kare
has learned to dates(ie the passages, Mr. Streels computer, its pass
word, and copies of his conversation and files. If the files are
interesting in a corporate/Gypsy Moon way, Kare will encrypt them and
email them via subspace static burst to accounts at Minatour station
under the names of Mr.Nightstick (aka Blackjack), Mr.Jack(of)Clubs(aka
Blackjack), Mr Jake (of) Spades (aka the one eye jack, aka Blackjack)and
Mr.King(of)Spades (aka the suicide king, aka Blackjack). She can count
the credits now...Cha-ching!!!

More Later Ruben

From:  Andy Campbell (Urugg)

Since the team's been pretty quiet the last few days - and I'll be out of
town on D-day (Friday the 31st), here's Urugg's moves to get the ball rolling
(besides his final discussion with / requests of Cimmy posted earlier):

1) Urugg agrees with Tork that Syzygy should *not* be roaming Metrosphere
alone in his injured condition. If noone volunteers to escort Syzygy to the
infirmary, Urugg will do so. En route, Urugg will try to ease his battered
comrade's wounded pride, first by offering some consolation / encouragement -


"You took an important hit for us out there, Syzygy. They may have taken you
by surprise and made off with your gear - but we got something much more
valuable in return. Now we know for sure that the thieves were using
holographic screens to camouflage themselves; not only that, but we know
exactly how they look at close range should they show themselves again. Not
only that, but they are obviously using the monorails to move their teams -
something they will be a lot more careful; about now that we know about them;
hopefully they missed your rail counter and it'll still monitor the tube.
Just because you got worked over out there doesn't mean you failed your
mission - on the contrary, you've picked up some very important data on our
opponents. And we'll make that data cost them dearly beofre this has all
shaken out..."

Should someone else take Syzygy to the infirmary, Urugg will pay him a visit
while he's being treated and try to cheer him up as per above; at the same
time, Urugg will try to pick Syzygy's memory for as much info about the
attack as possible - number of attackers, weapons used if any, etc. (if
Syzygy is agreeable, Urugg will try using Hypnosis to sharpen up
half-remembered facts as is sometimes done in modern courts). If time
allows, Urugg'll stop by one of the shopping zones and pick up a replacement
for Syzygy's shattered dralasite puzzle (assuming its breakage came up in
conversation)- or a bag of pistachios if the puzzle's tough to find;
hopefully the pistachios aren't too tough to crunch when your mandibles are
bruised.

2) Urugg will immediately suggest that 3 or 4 team members (including Urugg,
unless he's heading to the hospital with Syzygy) head back out to where we
found our injured teammate and scour the area for clues. I mean *scour* the
area - bootprints, tireprints, dropped gear or trash, use enviroscanner to
look for residual IR traces from boots or vehicles (or rocketpack exhaust),
vaccuum up the top cm of soil / regolith in a 5 meter area around Syzygy and
sift it for fibers / paint flakes / a souvenir Lost Point belt buckle /
*anything*, check the adjacent tube and airlocks for gloveprints / chemical
or dust traces / residual IR traces, etc etc. Anything interesting we can
bring into Metrosphere and check out with Enviroscanners or in the
university's geology lab (maybe the Security force's forensics lab if we can
get access). Also, we should check Syzygy's damaged suit for similar marks,
foreign dust / fibers etc. also (maybe figure out what cracked his suit
helmet & whether it was deliberateo or he just fell against a rock).

3) Now that Syzygy's verified (painfully) that the thieves are using some
sort of optical / holographic camouflage, we need to equip ourselves with
countermeasures - both for our safety and the colony's. Urugg will holo-dial
up Fl'exx (sp?) and put in a requisition for IR goggles for the whole team.
While doing this, he realizes - BRAIN FLASH!!! - that the holo-screens may
block non-visual spectra as well; after all, since vrusk have near-UV
spectrum vision and Syzygy didn't see anything in that range, there must be
at least some UV-distortion going on too. He will not mention this to Fl'exx
(only to the team afterward) and will firmly persist in the requisition; he
will only back down if strongly ordered to by the Streel liaison. Urugg also
requests 1 to 3 (the more the better) military / police broadband
radio-frequency scanners with linked audio recorders; the thieves must be
using suit radios (unless they maintain complete radio silence - unlikely I
hope) and with any luck we might pick up a transmission. 

If Fl'exx gives Urugg a hard time about the equipment, he will diplomatically
point out that the team has requested little so far (with the exception of
the trap gear from last update and Syzygy's replacement gear), and that
without adequate tools we may be unable to prevent potentially expensive acts
against the colony. He will reflectively ask Fl'exx just how much the Red
Eye lockdown is costing Streel per hour...

4) Urugg has noticed the recent tension in his fellow team members Kare and
Tork, and it disturbs him. Since Kare was the first one acting unsettled, he
will try to speak with her alone and find out what's eating her (assuming
events in the Streel offices and afterward don't bring it out). If she blows
him off about it, he will gruffly back off and leave her to her problems. He
will then approach Tork about his concerns; if rebuffed there, Urugg will
shrug and leave it at that. 

5) If Kare gets into trouble in the Streel offices, Urugg will follow the
group lead reacting to it; he'll be a little distracted and off-balance at
the moment (what with all the above going through his head) and will trust to
his team-mates' judgements.


Well, that should keep Urugg busy for the time being (whew). Look forward to
everyone else's moves! 

From:  Albin Johnson (Syzygy)

The events of the last couple days had been hectic and draining. Syzygy's
body aches from the countless cuts, bruises, and lacerations. His mind
reels from the chronic headaches and blurry vision doubtless brought on by
a concussion he received while out on the surface of the rock he'd come to
know as a temporary home.

"Miserable ingrates", Syzygy mumbles under his breath as he rises and exits
from the gathering in the Park Dome. He doesn't mean it. He may have
difficulty assimilating the thought of having partners, allies, maybe even
friends. But the surly sentiment came more from a wounded ego, aching
antennae, and the thought of screwing up so badly on his first lone foray
into adventure.

Syzygy limps to the entrance and makes his way to the pedestrian walkways.
(If Urugg joins him:) Syzygy turns and notices Urugg at his side. His
mind scrambles for an appropriate reply to a Yazirian comrade, but with as
little experience as he's had with his own kind, relating is hard no matter
who the other person tends to be. Dralasites were the easiest - they were
the ones he'd dealt with immediately after his exodus from Circe. Their
laid-back attitude suited him, as did their amorphous archetypal thinking
systems. Much more organic and 'outside the circle' like he liked to
reason. They employed many more degrees of freedom than his own brethren,
and never felt hurried to reduce things by hardened deduction. Humans were
another story. Humans had competed with his hive every step of the way on
the foundling colony worlds. He'd seen their cruelty first-hand, and kept
that potential in mind every time he met one. 'Dangerously random', he
thinks, 'even moreso than me. Scary.'

Syzygy returns to the presence of his comrade. "You...need not baby this
one, Urugg. As ZED among my people, I've had my ass kicked more than once.
I'll be okay." Syzygy has a hard time saying it, but he truly is grateful
for the company. He will listen attentively to anything Urugg offers as
conversation and will attempt to contribute in turn. If there is silence
between them, he will not force the issue. When he gets to the hospital,
he will give the Yazirian every opportunity to return to the team, for he
his needed there more than here. The solitude would give him time to
think.

OFFICIAL DECLARATIONS:

If Syzygy gets out of the hospital in reasonable enough time to still do
something (this turn) his priorities will be (in order of importance):

* find a way to track his lost chronocom - buy a new chronocom once he gets
the money (unless Streel finally issues him some replacement equipment)

* find a way to access the radio signal he set the relay device on the
monorail tracks to send on whenever it was triggered

* consolidate all his research to-date on the anomalies found in the Spire
machine code involving the security access programs / access control
subroutines that managed to malfunction recently

* use 16 XP to raise his computer skill to level 4, saving the other 2 XP
for later

* access Metrosphere's vaunted computer relay system to contact Maxim
Zek'et - engineer who founded Metrosphere project - and try to initiate a
regular discourse with him. If he is old and prefers to stay a shut-in
Syzygy will attempt to begin such a correspondence via email or holo-unit
contact. If Maxim is willing, Syzygy will request a face-to-face visit at
the place of his choosing, once Syzygy is well enough. Since Maxim is a
fellow Vrusk, Syzygy will play down any signs of his being ZED, covering up
the symbol on his shoulder. He hopes to start a genuine friendship with
the older Vrusk, interested in what a great engineer has to share with a
rookie. If possible, though, he will ask pointed questions about tactical
considerations in the city and will make no secret that he is actually part
of a Streel-hired team out to investigate the Star's Arm activities. In
fact, he will try to probe Maxim for info on Selson and other prominent
figures and how the history of Metrosphere plays into it all.


* Lastly, Syzygy will finally address the variable known as Dakka Syte, the
human hacker who may be loose in this system. Rising to Computer Level 4,
Syzygy feels confident to begin a computer campaign to track this human
down if he is in Metrosphere. This will begin with searches of the Spire
database cross-referencing: recent human applicants for citizenship (a
long shot - too orthodox for him - but a starting point), recent arrests on
small charges, large-ticket-item purchases of computer equipment or
software, recent personnel changes in the Spire itself (programmers),
records of any sizable errors reported by the accounting division of
Metrosphere (in the event he embezzles money), and lastly any remarkable
billing activity for phone time/computer link time from a personal address.
Again, this is all cross-referenced.

From:  John Groszkiewicz (Tork)

I've been going over my notes and there are basically four things Tork wishes to 
accomplish this turn, assuming he has time. :) These actions are listed in priority.

1- T'Klkk ( John W. ) has talked to Tork about revealing the information Tork found on 
Kare. Tork has reservations about this but with Kare being missing... Tork has also 
started to think over the situation - He is upset at Kare witholding information from 
the group, how will the group feel if he witholds that same information from them? Tork 
hopes that T'Klkk will bring the matter up but if she does not Tork will.

"I may know why Kare is not here." Tork's voice is almost apologetic. Tork will 
continue and fill the team in on the information he found on Kare. Tork will downplay 
the talk he and T'Klkk had with Kare saying only "I confronted Kare with the report. 
She never acknowledged that the information but.." Torks voice and eyes drop as he 
continues "She also did not denied it."

2- Tork does not want Syzygy leaving the meeting alone. From other messages it looks 
like Urugg has intentions of escorting Syzygy. If Tork sees the two leave together he 
will stay with the rest of the team and discuss stratgies. If noone else goes with 
Syzygy, Tork will go with him.

3- Tork will tell Chimmy's story of the Shadows. He will conclude with "Team-mate Urugg 
thinks that Chimmy may be a little, hmm what was that 'medical' term?" Tork lets out a 
short laugh "Oh yes, 'not playing with full hyperdrive'. This may be true but there is 
an aire of truth to her story. Things fit if you think of this moon as the 'Sphere', 
Streel is 'the Great One', Snarr is 'the Evil One', and Lost Point is the 'Realm of 
Shadows'. The only question is who is 'the Lord of Shadows'? It would have to be 
someone who hates Streel enough to.." Torks voice suddenly trails off as he fights not 
to hear what his subconscience is saying. Tork wants desperatly to ignore his thoughs 
and their implications but for all his trying his mind continues to shout one name: 
"BLACKJACK"!

Chimmy also said that the Shadows 'fear not light', so the question is: what do they 
fear?

4- While at the Ore Refinery T'Klkk and Taanik recieved word of two storage pods that 
were broken into and robbed. They were on their way to the scene when Zane reported 
Syzygy's plight. I think we sould investigate this latest crime scene.

5- Syzygy did an excellent job of tracking down the whereabouts of 27 suspected Star's 
Arm members. Tork would like to interview these people about Star's Arm in general and 
the raids and Lohr An-Tehr in specific.

6- From Lohr An-Tehr's background information she was hired in a teaching position here 
in Metrosphere. Tork would like to interview her supervisor and some of her associates 
and students.

7- While discussing the investigation (or Shadows) Tork will recall something said in 
one of his investigations. The Yazarian supervisor of the Food Production Plant at D16 
said he could have sworn he heard footsteps and voices but noone was around. The 
Shadows may be invisible *BUT* they are *not* silent!.

TTFN
John johngroz@ncinter.net

From:  Clark Valentine (Taanik)

Syzygy says "Dralasites were the easiest - they were
the ones he'd dealt with immediately after his exodus from Circe. Their
laid-back attitude suited him, as did their amorphous archetypal thinking
systems. Much more organic and 'outside the circle' like he liked to
reason."

TAANIK:" Hey, Urugg, I'll go with him to the hospital if you'd like."

"Syzygy, what's eating you, buddy?" Taanik inquires cheerfully but not overly so, 
being careful of Syzygy's bruised ego. "Really, if you need to talk stuff over, I'll 
listen. I'm good at that. I don't have any psyche skills so I won't pull any of that 
psycho-babble B.S. on you. I respect you, Syzygy; you're a free thinker. You don't 
let convention get in the way of a good idea."

"Just make sure you take some backup with you next time you decide to have your 
ass handed to you," he continues with a good-natured grin.

If Kare calls for help I will of course go immediately to help, but it sounds like she's 
got things under control.

Urugg said:"My best guess is that she got the Red Eye virus from contaminated Ixiol. 
She purchased a dose recently from a Dralasite peddler in the far west recreation area. 
We'd better get her to a medical center."

Taanik volunteers to go undercover to pose as a potential Ixiol buyer to flush out the 
guy who sold that woman the bad batch. Since Ixiol is produced in Dramune, a Dral 
might be the most convincing being to pose as a buyer. We might be able to find out 
through this drug pusher if the contaminated Ixiol has anything to do with the thieves, 
Star's Arm, or what.

Taanik also thinks that an investigation of Lost Point might be in order (it seems pretty 
clear the mines were a dead end). We should start by performing surveillance on the 
monorail tube with motion sensors and/or IR sensors. See if we can pick up on any 
movement. We should combine this with a good brain-picking of Cimmy by our Simian 
friends. Taanik makes sure he always has his IR goggles with him.

Syzygy would be ideal to track down Cimmy's true identity via computer if he's going to 
be laid up for a while.

I like T'Klkk's idea of a unified plan. How can we do this? Maybe the players can set up 
an evening where we can spend an hour or two brainstorming online together?

XP Expenditures: 12 to get Beam Weaps level 2
12 to get Robotics level 3
That about taps me out (3 left by my count)

See ya on the Frontier!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Clark AKA Taanik

From:  Ruben Rivera (Kare)

Kare adds some steps to her movement, as the monkeys come from her, just
in case they decide to get violent she will prime a dose gernade for
impact.

When she comes back that night, she will boobytrap both exits, the vent
and the door while she works.

During the day Kare will check up on her team mates. To make sure they
haven't jumped to conclussions about her. If they go out on a mission
she may participate, or she may follow depending on their mood. If no
mission occurs she may attempt hypo training for Tech, but she figures
this route to be risky, fearing super hackers may be in the system. If
hypo training is a option she will ask Syzygy to monitor the procedure,
to ensure all goes well.

Kare has considered that she may have to complete this mission
independently from the group, to this end she will attempt to make fake
IDs, secretly obtain a spare room (safehouse), she will create a number
counter security programs to aid escape, ie. a virus that will
automaticly remove her from police and customs files, a virus that will
automaticly shut off all the lights in town...what choas that would
make, etc. She may make a list of security, combat and other useful
robots. Then attempt to reprogram them for later use.

More to come
Ruben

From:  John Whitfield (T'Klkk)

Place: [Park Dome, G15 on First Landing Underground Map]
>
> Syzygy's chitonous faceplates are swollen and discolored. His neck and
> mandibles are stained with yellow bruises. He is now conscious, but very
> dazed. [He has sustained 34 points of damage.]
>
> Taanik, Tork, Urugg and Zane are sitting around him on the park grass.
> T'Klkk is standing in front of the group.
>
> "Team-mates. I have called us together so that we can all touch base and
> come to a common agreement on how this team should proceed. So far, I have
> managed to locate everyone but team-mate Kare."
>
> "Where is Kare, anyway?" asks Urugg.
>
> Tork and T'Klkk make eye contact. Both look concerned.
>
> "I don't know where she is," says Taanik. "She must have turned her
> chronocom off. I can't trace her."


"Before we proceed, there is information about Teammate-Kare. Teammate-Tork
discovered that she may have had past involvements with the Gypsy Moon
Corporation, a well-known enemy of Streel. And, she may have been involved in
actual raids against Streel holdings. Teammate-Tork and self-T'Klkk met with
Teammate-Kare to discuss this finding. She did not comment one way or the
other, neither confessing to involvement nor denying it. In fact, she was a
bit hostile...er...more hostile....when she left the room, and that is the
last we heard of her. Tork and I made it clear that we were not accusing,
but merely trying to gather information. After all, if we were able
to track down this information, then we know that our employer is able to do
so. We felt that the rest of this cell...er...team...should be made aware of
what we know to this point. Self-T'Klkk is reserving judgement until there is
more information. Teammate-Kare has contributed to this team and should be
given our support. If she is innocent of treachery, then we should defend
her. However, if she is guilty, then self-T'Klkk has no reservations about
dealing with her personally. It is a horrible crime in my culture to
sabotage one's own team. Are there comments on this matter?"

T'Klkk will wait for discussion to get a feel for how others on the team react
to this information. She will advocate for the team to remain neutral and
reserve judgement, particularly until Kare can speak on her own behalf. When
the topic seems to die down or when it becomes a topic for hot debate, T'Klkk
will try to move the conversation onto other matters at hand.

"Well, we have other pressing business so let us continue. We have gathered a
lot of information, have come across several leads, and have heard some great
suggestions from one another. But, we do not have a clear, focused plan of
action. If we are to succeed, it is necessary that we formulate such a plan.
Each of us brings strengths, and we are starting to learn how to rely on one
another. We are a good team, and we can become a great team." (at this point
there is patriotic music in the background) Just kidding. :-)

"Teammate-Syzygy has commented that he believes the colony's law enforcement
is not sharing all the information that they have available to the. 'Keeping
us in the dark' were the word he used, I believe." T'Klkk will nod her head
slightly at Syzygy and click in acknowledgement of him. "I must agree. In
fact, I believe that we are ...um... in the dark on several fronts. At one
point Syzygy was trying to run a program which failed because of a system
error; the supervisor at the Computer Spire, Rejj, indicated that there was a
problem with the security algorithm even though Syzygy did indeed have the
appropriate authorization. When Syzygy asked if this problem occurs often,
Rejj responded with a standard line used by all the help-techs. As you know,
Vrusks are able to discern subtle nuances in social patterns because of the
intricies of Vrusk society. Well, it was obvious to me that Rejj did not want
to admit that these problems are apparently occuring with some degree of
frequency. We should keep this in mind when using the colony computer. In
fact, as far as I am concerned, nothing that we store on-line is secure. I
suggest that we all approach our work with this perspective."


>From Albin's "Syzygy official move - late Oct." message:
> Syzygy waits. He sits silently during the meeting, listening for short
> stretches until his mind wanders back to ideas of his next move. Before
> too long he can't take the shame any longer and stands.
>
> "You guys go on without me - I'm feeling a bit dizzy. Think I'll go lie
> down for a while."


"Teammate-Syzygy, are you in need of assistance. Teammate-Urugg, please check
on him to see what can be done," says T'Klkk, taking charge of the situation.


>From John G's "Tork official move - late Oct." message:
> Tork will *not* allow Syzygy to leave the meeting alone. As Team Security
> Tork is suppose to keep the team out of trouble. So what happens? Kare's
> missing, probably because of the information he found. Syzygy gets attacked
> and is Tork anywhere to be found - NO. I not even arround for the *$@#!
> rescue mission. Tork is definatly upset, although at this point it is mostly
> directed at himself.
(I'm assuming that Layne will add dialogue to the effect.)


"Self-T'Klkk agrees. Teammate-Syzygy is too important to this group to
simply leave if he is injured and needs assistance. Part of being a team
is helping one another." She pulls out her credit stick and hands it to
Syzygy. "Here. Take this. If the medical treatment at the infirmary is not
covered by our employer, then use my account. If there are credits left over,
use them to replace your equipment." If Syzygy protests about not wanting
to take her money, she will say, "I am part of this team. My skills and
resources are for this team. This I do not out of charity but because it
is right. You would do no less for me." She will make it VERY clear that
this is not up for debate.

>From Andy's "Urugg official move - late Oct." message:
> Urugg agrees with Tork that Syzygy should *not* be roaming Metrosphere alone
> in his injured condition. If noone volunteers to escort Syzygy to the
> infirmary, Urugg will do so.

T'Klkk will then turn to Urugg, "Teammate-Urugg, would you accompany
Teammate-Syzygy to the infirmary and let us know about his condition as soon
as you hear anything?"

When they leave, she will get back to business. "I suggest that we make a
list of all the facts that we know. A list of all leads that we may have. A
list of all suspicions or guesses. And, from those lists, we should formulate
our plan."

At this point, she will wait for feedback from others. Her ultimate goal is to
slow down the pace of things, get everyone to look at all of the pieces of the
puzzle at once, and then come up with a group decision on the appropriate
action to take.

"We know that the saboteurs are able to move undetected, probably using a
holo-screen of some kind. Thanks to Syzygy, we know that it highly likely
there are people at Lost Point since his attackers appeared to be going in
that direction. We know that most of the raids have been to gather survival
equipment: food, clothing, blankets, water, some weapons. We know that there
have been minute changes to the computer systems which allow for remote access
and control of key systems. We know that 27 suspected Star's Arm members have
given up their apartments but have not left this colony and are, assumingly,
unaccounted for. We know that the Red Eye epidemic was brought here by
contaminated Ixiol sold by a Dralasite in the far west recreation area. So,
what do we do with all of this information? How do we want to proceed?

"Teammate-Urugg has suggested that at least part of us return to the site
where Syzygy was found to look for more clues. I concur. Teammate-Tork, you
have both combat and environmental skills; you would be a logical candidate
for this mission. Teammate-Urugg has expressed an interest in going, and
since he also has environmental skills, he could assist, thereby cutting down
the time that would be needed in doing this investigation. Since
Teammate-Syzygy is injured, he should restrict his activity until he is fully
healed. Teammate-Kare is unaccounted for. That only leaves 3 more of us. I
believe that there may be need for safety in numbers on this mission, so the
rest of us should also go, unless Teammate-Zane or Teammate-Taanik sees a need
to stay behind." If one does stay behind, T'Klkk will suggest that this
person be in contact with the "away team" at all times so that they can know
what is happening and call for help if needed.
(Layne, we'll want to do all of the stuff Andy mentioned in his note!! Also,
T'Klkk will go armed to the teeth. If anything happens while they're out,
she'll take a "kick ass now and take names later" attitude with any
attackers.)

While the others are getting gear together, T'Klkk will get in touch with
Fle'xx and give him a report. "You may not yet be aware, but at the same time
that there was a raid on two more storage areas, Teammate-Syzygy was attacked
and nearly killed by "invisible" aggressors. He was taken halfway to Lost
Point and was left lying unconscious on the moonscape. We are assembling a
team of  to investigate the site where Teammate-Syzygy
was recovered. At some point, we would like to proceed to Lost Point to learn
who is there and why. On this latter excursion, we would like to have a team
of security personnel or robots to increase our numbers in case we meet with
resistance. Any reactions or suggestions?" T'Klkk will carefully omit the
information about Syzygy going outside the dome alone and will not offer this
information unless specifically asked.


"Teammates, we need to start planning for an away mission to Lost Point." I'm
leaving this part open for general discussion from the entire group.


At some point, T'Klkk will visit Syzygy in the hospital. "Eight degrees of
concern that you are feeling better, Teammate-Syzygy. Self-T'Klkk is not here
to scold or reprimand, but rather to gain enlightenment. Your actionsgoing
out of the sphere alonewere irrational, dangerous, and totally unexpected.
Although you bear the mark of Zed, I know that you are not for I have seen the
extreme competence of your performance when focused on a task. Even a Zed
would not have done such a thing as to enter such a dangerous situation
without getting assistance from teammates. What you did demonstrates bad
judgement, but cannot be explained away by you being "zed". So, if the reason
does not lie within your ability to reason, then the only explanation is that
this team is at fault. Tell me, Teammate-Syzygy, how has this team failed
you? We are all responsible for and to one another. If something has
happened which has disconnected you from this, then we have failed, and I want
to know how to correct it. Self-T'Klkk presents herself to Teammate-Syzygy
with nine degrees of humble apologies and offers ninth degree pleas for
answers." Her sleek antennae are pressed flat against her head which is bowed
slightly toward Syzygy.


If there has not been enough lapse in time for T'Klkk's wounds to have healed,
she will go to Zane or Urugg for treatment. If going into a potential combat
situation, every hit point helps!! :-)

Also, she will continue training in Martial Arts (spending 6 experience points
to go to level 2). She will spend another 5 experience points to raise her
strength to 50 to reflect the rigorous training she has done to develop her
hand to hand fighting skills. She ll save the remaining experience for a
rainy day! :-)

I hope this is enough for this round of action! I can t wait to see the next
installment!!!

From:  John Groszkiewicz (Tork)

Layne K. Saltern wrote:
> 
> <<
> 5- Syzygy did an excellent job of tracking
> down the whereabouts of 27 suspected
> Star's Arm members. Tork would like to
> interview these people about Star's Arm in
> general and the raids and Lohr An-Tehr in specific.
> >>
> 
> Hi John!
> 
> Just a quick question: Does Tork want to do this officially as a member of
> the investigation team or undercover? If he goes undercover, how does he
> want to present himself? Let me know as soon as possible. Thanks!
> 

Tork was not planning on going underground on this one. My thinking, possibly wrong but 
thats the breaks, is that Star's Arm is not involved with the 'Shadows'. The 'Shadows' 
may be using them to provide 'cover' but I'm not convinced that Star's Arm has a 
conscience link to the Shadows. Tork admires Star's Arm for having the guts to stand up 
to the status quo and speak out against the establishment. Back home there were few 
people willing to publically speak out against The Family of One.

If you want more insite into Tork's line of thinking let me know. At this point Tork is 
mainly trying to determine if his thoughts on Star's Arm's "innocence" is correct.

Sorry about not replying sooner. We are doing Physical Inventory at work this weekend 
and my schedule is all messed up. :(

TTFN
John johngroz@ncinter.net

From:  Dan Biediger (Zane)

1. Zane will spend 15 Xp on Medical Lvl 3, and 6 Xp on Beam weapons Lvl 1.

2. With an attack on the city and a team member, Zane will be anxious to 
survey the scenes of the crime, looking for any and every bit of information.
He will go to the scene of the latest terrorist attack first, since any 
evidence might be removed by cleaning crews.

3. If and when any information trickles down about Kare, Zane will check 
the story out for himself and reserve judgement until he can talk with 
care about it. If such a situation presents itself, he will use an 
unaccusatory approach.

I think that's everything, sorry for the delay.
Zane