Duvors

OoC: No worries! I wasn't really expecting anything on Christmas anyway. As Decker swings his flashlight into the algae-infused water, he can see that the pile is indeed... filth. Of a specific sort. It seems to have mushrooms growing on it. The sealant has long hardened, but remains flexible and somewhat sticky. With a strong pull Ronin is able to detach a length and pocket it. Hardened Sealant (Object, disappears at end of mission) However, before you two can take the left-hand passage you have to surmount the pipes barring the way. While you could simply go under them, that would require wading through the muck. Alternatively, you could attempt to clamber over them, but if you fail, who knows what will happen? Or you could try something else to get past them perhaps?

Decker Perception Check (DC 1): (4, 3, 4, 4) Three successes. Decker's decision to use the flashlight pays off, as the strong, clear light makes it much easier to determine colors and details than the dim orange glow. Looking around Decker doesn't see anything at first. But then, to his right, he notices a patch of what seems to be marks left by something filthy being kicked into the water. If you had to guess, someone shoved a pile of something out of their way here. Decker Engineering Check (DC 2): (4, 1, 6) Two successes, Ronin's check automatically passes. Having worked around heavy machinery before, Decker recognizes the substance as industrial rapid sealant gel. Specifically a Seatopia brand sealant noted for its tendency to host algal colonies in suitable environments. To get this much coming down someone must've dumped a whole bucketful of the stuff down the drain at some point, though why is anyone's guess. With this information, Ronin is able to determine that it's probably harmless.

The hatch, having been opened recently, offers no significant resistance to the pair. As for the trashcan, all it seems to contain is the remains of someone's lunch and an old newspaper. The headline reads: BLACKGUARD DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN BOREAL EXPRESS ATTACK with other articles reading New Force Rally in Vindjrahar Leads to Violence, Hart Freighter Disappears, and Notorious Smuggler Still at Large. Having raised the hatch, you steel yourselves for your job's real beginning, and descend into the depths. ~~~ The air here is stale and damp, though thankfully the breathing apparatus protects you from the worst of it. The air toxicity detectors on your suits still show green, but considering it smells like something died down here even though the filters, you feel in no hurry to remove them. The only light down here is from four buzzing orange lights that seem to denote two turns in the passage: What will you do?

"Right then! Let's get goin'!" Arno leads you back out front to the odd vehicle waiting outside, motioning you to sit in it. Taking his place in front, he presses a small button and the vehicle starts up with a hum and the warning lights start to flash. The car doesn't rise off the ground - at least not perceptibly - instead sliding smoothly along it as Arno pulls out into the street, leaving a small wake of detritus as it enters the most used paths. Going is slow, as there are many people still about and more than once thee trio are stuck behind a slow moving bicycle, scooter, and, once, a rickshaw. As they travel, Arno, clearly uncomfortable with driving in silence, recounts a long story about his first day working in maintenance - apparently it involved finding a live squid in a ventilation shaft. Eventually they turn into an alley not that far from where they started and the car comes to a stop - as does Arno's story. "Well, this is where I leave you. Good luck guys!" If you have any final preparations, now is the time. - Heroes - Decker DaCabe (Endgame)24 year old male HumanCharacter Points: 0/19Vitality: 7/7Velocity: 2Strength: 4Skill: 3Smarts: 1Proficiencies: Melee Weapons 1, Short Range Weapons 2, Medicine 1, Perception 1, Athletics 1Credits: 52Equipment: Double Barrel Voltaic Shotgun (Calibrated Energy Short Range Weapon), Sandblasted Cuirass (Standard Kinetic Armor),Inventory: Unloaded Pistol (Calibrated Kinetic Melee Weapon), Workman's Outfit (Standard Kinetic Armor) Filtration: Allows its wearer to breathe in toxic environments, Flashlight (Tool) Shines light in dark places, -1 Stealth successes, Plasma Potion 2x Ronin (Yzalirk)[REDACTED] Male [REDACTED]Character Points: 0/19Vitality: 7/7Velocity: 3Strength: 1Skill: 4Smarts: 3Spirit: 0/0Proficiencies: Athletics 1, Artillery 1, Deception 1, Melee Weapons 2, Perception 1, Stealth 1, Survival 1Known Spells: NoneCredits: 322Equipment: Cloaking Generator, Hard Light Katana (Calibrated Energy Melee Weapon), Workman's Outfit (Standard Kinetic Armor) Filtration: Allows its wearer to breathe in toxic environments Inventory: Gator Tooth (Can be converted into either a Kinetic or Elemental Standard Melee Weapon by a craftsman), Ion Laser (Calibrated Energy Artillery Weapon), Flashlight (Tool) Shines light in dark places, -1 Stealth successes

"Yeah well, them's the breaks. Good t' know you've done this sorta thing before." "Bout two days, though that's if y' never turn them off. We use some real heavy duty batteries in these things."

I use stud.io because it has an inbuilt renderer that allows you to take nice looking pictures, as well as some special color categories that emit light in the renders, allowing for in-scene lighting. There are some parts form ldd that it doesn't have, and is in some ways more limited, but if you have both programs you can import builds from one to the other to take advantage of the strengths and part selections of both.

"Sure I do! Y' don't think I was gonna send you down there with nothing, didjya? I have wading pants, boots, head protection - though you guys came with that already - breathing equipment so y' don't suffocate - Oh! and I gotcha some flashlights! You'd be blind down there without 'em!" He waves for you to follow him. "C'mon, I'll show you, the locker room an' equipment storage is right by the entrance." Arno leads you back down the way you came, taking you nearly to the door out before showing you into a sparsely furnished locker room. In it, already laid out, are a pair of outfits and two flashlights: Workman's Outfit x2: (Standard Kinetic Armor) Filtration: Allows it's wearer to breathe in toxic environments. Flashlight x2: (Tool) Shines light in dark places, -1 Stealth successes when equipped. "I'm sorry I don't have any flares, we don't really have much use fer 'em, specially not in places where there's a chance of flammable gas buildup. Now, d'you guys need anything else, or shall we get goin'?"

"Well, they're a latch system, you you hafta have some manual dexterity t' open 'em. They're also designed so that you need to put some effort into openin' them, so if something went t' that much trouble then they're probably smart enough t' figure out what they were an' how t' work them. Dust for prints? Sad t' say we don't have the knowledge to do that. We did try t' preserve 'em for the police, but the useless goons in charge down here haven't gotten back t' us since we handed in our report - an' the evidence." Arno's expression sours. "If I still had it I'd show it t' you, so you could have look yoursel... no forensic skills?" He stops, a bit perturbed. "Well, ah, I guess that's not strictly necessary. D'ya at least have prior experience in, I dunno, findin' people?"

Decker Nature Check (DC 3): (6,3,2) One successes. Decker Culture Check (DC 3): (4,5,6) Three successes. Decker can't immediately place what species his employer is, but he eventually dredges us enough half-remembered reading to place him as a Yrachnidi, soft-shelled crustacean-like creatures from the Eastern Periphery. "About a week by now. There's hope he's still alive, but it's gettin' slim. You aren't gonna be hooked up t' any tethers though, we want you t' be able to move freely through that maze. And if you get bushwhacked I don't think they'll be of any help anyway. But there's something about that- When we pulled up Greg's tether, the little latch at the end, the bit you hook on to the harness? That was intact, undamaged. An' there wasn't any shredded bits a' harness hangin' from it either, someone or something unhooked it." "We put him down what we call the south entrance, it's a dead end and seems t' be the bit farthest into Blackcoin. I have a shuttlecar waiting outside t' take you there, I'm sure you saw it. As for something living there, well, there's always rats. Cockroaches too. And we've heard plenty a' weird sounds down there that might be people or critters. Heck, we're half certain smugglers are using the parts we haven't explored, and Bob says he once saw a 'meat blob' down there with eyes and everything. And on top of that there's always rumors of sewer gators and brickonium snorting rat-men living down there."

The sounds of the building swell around you... Arno reciprocates the shake in kind - his grip is as firm as yours, clearly a guy who works with his hands a lot. "Pleasure t' meetcha, both of you. You guys have no idea how grateful I am." His face falls a bit when you mention the person you're here to find. "Yeah, something like that." "That's an understatement." the security guard mutters. "Gunnbor, why don't you head back to your post? I can take this from here." As Gunnbor leaves, humming something under his breath, Arno seems to steel himself for the coming explanation. "So, I guess I'd better start from the beginning. Ebria's an old station, real old, an' there's a buncha' stuff in it that's been repurposed or everyone's forgotten what it was for or is just plain weird. Now, one of the things in that last category is a system a' waste pipe-tunnel thingamajigs under the Southeastern Docks that stretch from Blackcoin to the warehouses in Blue Moon. And I'm gonna tell you right out, everybody who works here hates 'em. They're too big, the layout makes no sense, they're full a' mold an' fungus, they can't be sealed off properly if there's a atmosphere breach, we can't get equipment down there to repair 'em, and there's something in the walls that blocks scanners and communicators. So, a while back, we made some requests, made some space in the budget, and settled on a plan to tear the whole thing out an' replace it with something that wasn't designed by a crazy person." He sighs at this point, clearly a bit frustrated. "A' course it turns out that there aren't any gods-damned plans a' the system anywhere on file, so we have t' start sendin' guys down there t' map it out properly, cause what little we've got is really sketchy. We only really know about a couple a' entrances, so we pick one a' them and send one of our boys, Gregory Smiles, down into the system. We do the whole thing properly, full safety equipment and a tether an' everything. Anyway, we send him down and everything's fine for a bit, but then his tether stops unwinding' for a bit too long and, valuing the safety of my guys like I do, we reel it back in. He was gone when the end came back." Arno is quiet for a moment, clearly affected by something. "I was in charge a' that, so I guess that makes me responsible."

To be honest, if WBD's idea of having a repository of location and character images comes to fruition, this sort of thing is likely to happen more and more as time goes on. Also, there's one detail I forgot to add yesterday, so it'll be in the upcoming post.

I should probably explain at this point that Arno is one of two characters I built before I realized I'd have to do most of my building digitally and can't be replicated in stud.io. They're both in the mission, but the other one is easy to miss.

"Hardly unusual, he does work here y'know. Eh, whatever. The boss is waiting so let's get a-movin'. Your friend got anything to say before we head on? No? Okay." The guard motions you on with a wave and heads on in. He leads you on into the building, taking the third right and first left as the message said. The interior of the building is little different from the exterior, the same pipes and yellow girders line the walls at regular intervals. The trio soon reach a larger room (oddly lit compared to the rest of the building) were a man in workman's clothes is examining a pressure gauge. Hearing you enter, he turns to face you. "Oh, hey, glad t' see ya! Sorry I wasn't there to meet you, I didn't expect you this early and I kinda got distracted checking up on some stuff that's been botherin' me. Oh! where are my manners!" He extends his hand to you. "Arno Milver, Chief of Level Three Maintenance." His voice is filled with pride as he enunciates his fairly unglamorous title.

They don't have to wait long. Even while they're still processing the information they can already hear distant footsteps and jaunty whistling from behind the door. The sounds grow closer slowly, slowly, ever so slowly. Finally, they reach the far side of the door, the knob turns, and the door swings open to reveal... "You know, I'm not supposed to leave my post unless someone's there to take over." the hairy creature gruffly grumbles.

From arnomilver66@ebriamaintnence.sad R u here 4 job or 2 rob the place? Sending security guy 2 get u, hold on.

Decker cannot find any windows to peer through. It appears the building is designed purely for function in the most unartistic sense. Nothing happens as Decker and Ronin wait for something. After a few moments, nothing continues to happen. Then, suddenly!... ... nothing happens. Finally, just as they're starting to relax, a new window pops up on the terminal; -New Message!- Urgent Open? Yes No

Decker Perception Check (DC 1): (5,4,4,1) Three successes. While there isn't any mud around (Ebria has little in the way of ground cover) Decker is able to spot some greasy footprints and a dropped ticket from yesterday's musical. However most of this stuff is over a day old, with only a couple of sets being recent. As Ronin opens the message, he notices a small clock in the corner of the screen showing the time as 8:30. The message itself reads; From arnomilver66@ebriamaintnence.sad Sry not there 4 u, got here early. Door is open, let yrselves in. Take third right and first left and you'l find me. At this point there's a click from the direction of the door.

Ronin Perception Check (DC 1, 2): (5,6,1,1) Two successes. As Ronin warily scans the area he doesn't immediately spot anything untoward. However looking up the side of the building he spots a security camera aimed at the two heroes. Glancing back down, he also notices that the terminal has a window on it displaying what the camera sees; the lot and themselves from a high angle. Suddenly, the terminal flashes as a new window opens. Even from where he is Ronin can read the message: -New Message!- Open? Yes No

MM: Done. As Decker examines the device, he can see it isn't any kind of clock he's familiar with. Decker Engineering Check (DC 1): (3,3,2) No successes. In fact, Decker isn't sure exactly what it is. There's a keyboard, a thermometer, a couple of pressure gauges, and some kind of terminal. Curse his rusty engineering skills!

Hardly an issue, it was posted around eleven from my perspective.

Having prepared themselves accordingly, the two heroes chosen for this mission make their way though Ebria's bustling streets. Pausing occasionally to ask directions of passers-by, they soon make their way to the central elevator station and begin the long ride down to the station's lower level. Down here things are less spit-and-polish than the above sections, with exposed girders in the ceiling and bare foamcrete and steel walls aplenty. Not to say there aren't nice places down here, where affluent travelers enter Ebria via the big passenger spaceports. But those areas swiftly give way to the dirty, crowded, and poorly maintained corridors of the station's poorest districts. The building they have been directed to is none of these things. It is, however, very utilitarian. After standing around what appears to be an external vehicle bay for a moment, doubt begins to set in. Surely this is the right place? There was a sign and everything! - Heroes - Decker DaCabe (Endgame)24 year old male HumanCharacter Points: 0/19Vitality: 7/7Velocity: 2Strength: 4Skill: 3Smarts: 1Proficiencies: Melee Weapons 1, Short Range Weapons 2, Medicine 1, Perception 1, Athletics 1Credits: 52Equipment: Double Barrel Voltaic Shotgun (Calibrated Energy Short Range Weapon), Sandblasted Cuirass (Standard Kinetic Armor),Inventory: Unloaded Pistol (Calibrated Kinetic Melee Weapon), Plasma Potion 2x Ronin (Yzalirk)[REDACTED] Male [REDACTED]Character Points: 0/19Vitality: 7/7Velocity: 3Strength: 1Skill: 4Smarts: 3Spirit: 0/0Proficiencies: Athletics 1, Artillery 1, Deception 1, Melee Weapons 2, Perception 1, Stealth 1, Survival 1Known Spells: NoneCredits: 322Equipment: Cloaking Generator, Hard Light Katana (Calibrated Energy Melee Weapon)Inventory: Gator Tooth (Can be converted into either a Kinetic or Elemental Standard Melee Weapon by a craftsman), Ion Laser (Calibrated Energy Artillery Weapon) MM Note: Endgame, Yzalirk, welcome to mission 9! This is my first foray, so don't expect too much, but I hope you'll have a good time nonetheless. Please tell me if I've made any mistakes, and note that you have a 24 hour grace period for last-minute purchases. Other than that, let's roll!

I didn't view it as a criticism! You were pretty clearly interested in the idea. To tell the truth, I would've taken more players, but having just witnessed a mission get stalled for months in the recruiting stage, and having already heard back for months to let others go first, I'd like to get this thing rolling!

Well I only needed two and no-one else seemed interested. It's funny you should mention Khorne, as their character would've been perfect for this mission. Oh well.

Chosen Heroes for Mission 9: He's Dead Jim Ronin (Yzalirk) Decker DaCabe (Endgame) Please report to Level Three Maintenance Center, ask for Chief Milver. Thank you. OoC: Mission will be up on Tuesday, Dec. 14th. Thank you for volunteering.

Considering Kintobor just selected you for their Mission, I can't very well take you on mine.