Mission 9: I'm out of it for a while and everybody gets delusions of grandeur.

[Sierra]

<El-Cideon> Altamont's just the same as it was last time, for better or worse. Lagoon Company meets up with Ruby Laurents at a dimly-lit bar in the lower levels of the station, where the old spacers go. The scar across her cheek has got only a little better, but she seems to be in a better mood as she secures a secluded corner table for you all.
<Targo> "If it isn't Ruby. Might be pleased to know the one who gave you that sucker is in a 4x4," greets Targo, as he takes a seat.
<El-Cideon> "Yeah, the goons seemed like they vanished from the neighborhood after you came around, was wondering if that was your handiwork. Good job, my only regret is you didn't put her down for good. Anyway, we're here about work, right?"
<Forrest> "I wanted to airlock her, but so it goes," Forrest shrugs amiably.
<Targo> "I like to mix business with pleasure, so it's the same to me," replies Targo, taking a drink.
<El-Cideon> "Shame," she says, taking a beer for herself and glancing around to make sure no one's listening in before continuing, "I told you guys before what I do, right? Wander the outer ring, pick up after the independant miners and the pirates who drift out there? Not glamorous, but even out here people leave behind all sorts of useful equipment."
<Targo> "Never knew this place was that populous."
<El-Cideon> She shrugs. "You just have to know what to look for. See, the ring pretty much lives off of folks here on Altamont and other stations around Mahler. Thing is, Mahler orbits around the sun faster than the outer ring does. That's basic mechanics, farther out you go from the center of gravity, slower the planets and what have you move. So every decade or so, the Outer Ring dwellers move to new settlements to keep up with Mahler."
<Forrest> "And leave behind some goodies?" Forrest concludes.
<El-Cideon> She nods. "Yep, that's the idea. People have been living out here thirty, maybe forty years? About the time it takes Mahler to get full around the sun once, so the ring settlements are close to coming full circle too. I was in a bad mood a few days ago, thought I'd jet someplace I wasn't likely to find anyone and decided to skip ahead of the settlement line, see if there was anything from the good old days waiting for them when they move."
<Targo> "And you found something that other people want, so you need us to stop them getting it before you or taking it from you?"
<El-Cideon> "Well, they'd want it if they knew it was there. I found the Esquilax." (OOC: Roll Knowledge: Galactic Lore, Targo?)
<Targo> OOC: TAKING 10
<Targo> OOC: 21
<Targo> Targo gives a low whistle. "Must've gone pretty far out. They put a bit of effort hunting for that thing. Did it look in good shape?"
* Forrest is confused but keeps up an air of practiced indifference. Surely all will be revealed.
<El-Cideon> "It's derelict. Powered down, got a couple meteorite holes, but it looks salvageable from the outside. Thing is, someone *did* find it, a long time ago by the look of it. A little scoutship, also dead in the water, still docked with the Esquilax. Makes me wonder why they never left. I'd need help powering up the Esquilax and piloting it in-system anyway so, here we are."
<Targo> OOC: Would the power core have run out naturally by this time?
<El-Cideon> OOC: Not necessarily. Colony ships are made to last and be of components the settlers can repurpose on landing. Ninety years might be pushing it, but it's not impossible.
<Targo> "So... something on this colony ship- which, let us remind ourselves, required a fairly large crew to mobilize and had a large team of security staff- vanished everything on board, as well as the last visitor to show up on it..."
<Targo> "...and you're thinking a small entry team is appropriate?"
<El-Cideon> Ruby grins. "You sound paranoid, Mr. Silver. Afraid aliens hopped on board? We don't need a full crew for this sucker, just enough to push it towards Wellington and Victory Station and protect it 'til it gets there. The original backers of the mission may be all dead by now, but their corps likely aren't, and they'll be glad to get this baby back. If only because, like any other modern colony ship, there would've been a gate bomb on board."
<Forrest> "Could've been a plague," Forrest points out as he considers this information.
<Targo> "Aliens? No, I'm worried about what they brought with 'em," replies Targo. "Colony ships were a favourite place to stick strange odds and ends, in no small part because of the isolation they afforded."
<El-Cideon> "Obviously, we'd go in space suits. I wouldn't count on there being atmosphere."
* Wilhelmina looks upset over the lack of prospects to set things on fire properly.
<Targo> "Well. What are we waiting for?"
<El-Cideon> "Probably how to split any rewards coming out of this job?" Ruby suggests. "I'd assume the standard fifty-fifty. You don't where she is, I can't run her without you. Sounds fair."
<Targo> "Only if you get us leeway on stripping the ship of gear. Colony ship would've a lot of interesting things that'd be useful to us."
<El-Cideon> "Whatever you can carry. As for the gate bomb...well, that's a pretty significant piece of hardware." (OOC: Knowledge: Bureaucracy, Targo.)
<Targo> roll 1d20+11
* Hatbot --> "Targo rolls 1d20+11  and gets 14."12 [1d20=3]
<Targo> "What's UES policy on treating gate bombs, these days?"
<El-Cideon> "I think it's safe to say Coleille will be very happy to get it back. UES keeps a pretty tight rein on those things."
<Targo> "Thought as much. What's your ship's ID?"
<El-Cideon> "Dragonfly. She's docked not far away. If you guys are ready to go, you can follow me out there?" She offers her hand to Targo.
* Targo gives it a rough shake. "We'll take our own," he clarifies. "We'll go in tandem. If something should go horribly wrong, at least the crew we leave on board can bring the sad news of our horrible death back to civilization."
<El-Cideon> "Sure thing," she says with a grin.
<El-Cideon> ~
<El-Cideon> The Esquilax looks pretty good for something that's been sitting in an asteroid field for nearly a century. Circling around the huge metal oblong, there are only two major breaches: what must be the shattered window of an observation lounge about midway at the ship's front end; and a violent gash in the side of the ship not far behind this. (more)
<El-Cideon> Curiously, the latter looks more like the hull was blown outwards. This hole is just big enough for two people to go in side by side if desired. There's a column of airlocks on either ship of the ship, allowing access to four of the ship's decks. A much smaller ship is docked at the topmost airlock on one side.
<El-Cideon> OOC: Knowledge: Technology, Targo?
<Targo> OOC: 21
<Targo> "Looks like it was a civilian ship, not a government scout," notes Targo, checking his display. "Anyway. Deliah, you're gonna take control of the scoutbot remotely. Everyone else, suit up."
* Forrest gets into his space-suit and slings his assault rifle on his back. "Kkkhh... chhhhh," he breathes heavily.
* Wilhelmina shakes her head, grabbing Roberta and suiting up without theatrics.
<Targo> Tapping a few buttons on his commlink, Targo opens a channel across both his ship and Ruby's. "We're gonna check out the first-comers first. See how long ago they got here, maybe if they left something behind. After that, we'll head in. Deliah will scout ahead for us, and we'll go for the bridge and get a status report on the ship. Check out the log and security recordings, too."
<El-Cideon> "Robocontroller set," Delilah says happily, apparently approving of this job. Ruby calls in from the Dragonfly: "Remember, boys and girls, weapons on the *outside* of your suits, just in case." The scoutship is docked at the uppermost of the airlocks; though the scoutship itself is sufficiently small to have only the one entrance, you can presumably dock with the Esquilax right on the other side and walk over.
<El-Cideon> The Exverminator joins the team at the Falcon's airlock, buzzing around Wil's head like a hungry mosquito.
<Targo> "Take us to the second airlock."
<El-Cideon> Reina maneuvers the Falcon to the other side of the Esquilax and docks. Cycling through the airlock, you can't see anything inside past the little light that comes out through the Falcon's window. Power must be totally down inside.
<El-Cideon> "Reading no atmosphere inside," Reina calls in from the bridge. "Probably no gravity, either."
* Forrest flicks on his headlights which create a disturbing strobe effect as they penetrate the gloom, while loud sucking/clamp noises are heard as he magnetises his boots to the floor before walking through the cycled airlock and onto the colony ship.
<Targo> Targo follows suit, the gun in his gloved hands feeling awkwardly light and flimsy.
<El-Cideon> OOC: Everyone takes -5 to attack and skill rolls while in zero-g. I also have to make a fort check for space sickness:
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20 Wil
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20 Wil and gets 4."12 [1d20=4]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20 Targo
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20 Targo and gets 7."12 [1d20=7]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20 Forrest
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20 Forrest and gets 18."12 [1d20=18]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Everyone dodges that, at least. Go you.
<El-Cideon> Immediately upon entering the ship, you can see a wide hallway to your left and a slightly narrower one to your right. The latter seems to follow a row of small rooms. Apartments for settlers, maybe? Directly across from you is, presumably, the opposite airlock, but the Esquilax is wide enough that you can't spot it yet.
<Forrest> "Check those corners," Forrest suggests as his beams of fluorescent light stab into the darkness while he mechanically trudges down the hallway to find the opposite airlock.
<El-Cideon> It doesn't take long to find it--the ship is maybe fifty meters in width? There are two space-suited corpses floating listlessly by the opposite airlock. Their suits are puncture many times over and the bulkhead is clearly sprayed with blood.
<El-Cideon> "You guys finding anything?" Ruby radioes in. "Both the docks on your floor are taken up. You need help, I can dock one deck down and try to find a way up?"
<Targo> "Yeah, we found the other scouts. They're pretty fucked up," notes Targo, dryly. "I think you'd better wait for us to meet up with you."
<El-Cideon> "Roger."
* Forrest unslings his rifle and gives one of the corpses a nudge. "Found our scavengers. Either they died right away or they were running back to their ship," Forrest reports. "Don't think we're alone - lemme fire up the motion scanner." With that he takes the sensor pack off his back and activates it.
<Forrest> roll 1d20+19 perception
* Hatbot --> "Forrest rolls 1d20+19 perception and gets 21."12 [1d20=2]
<Forrest> roll 1d20+19 perception reroll
* Hatbot --> "Forrest rolls 1d20+19 perception reroll and gets 31."12 [1d20=12]
<Forrest> "Three power sources here, look to be in standby mode. No movement or lifesigns," Forrest reports. "Think maybe their droids went berserk and took over the ship?"
<Wilhelmina> "Or something with decent stealth," Wilhelmina agrees. "Let's check out the power sources?"
<El-Cideon> "Whoooo, guys?" Delilah calls. "This little guy sees better in the dark than you people do, and I'm seeing a lot of bodies down the hall..."
<Forrest> "Stab wounds?" Forrest asks the hacker. "Two of the power sources are near each other at the front end of this deck, one alone to the rear," he then adds for Wil's benefit.
<Wilhelmina> "The front end it is, then," Wilhelmina suggests. "Two birds, one stone, all that. Might be best to switch to auto, too."
<Targo> "Does that thing's range cover the whole ship?" queries Targo, starting to head towards the power sources.
<El-Cideon> "I'm drifting down the wider hall, here, and I'm seeing all kinds of stuff. Most of 'em, looks like they died of small slashing or stabbing implements."
<Forrest> "I'm only detecting stuff on this deck," Forrest shakes his head. "Guess the intra-deck plating is too thick to penetrate." Packing up the sensor pack be starts heading to the bow of the ship, making an effort to be stealthy. "I'll take point,"
<Forrest> roll 1d20+5 stealth
* Hatbot --> "Forrest rolls 1d20+5 stealth and gets 8."12 [1d20=3]
<Forrest> roll 1d20+5 stealth reroll
* Hatbot --> "Forrest rolls 1d20+5 stealth reroll and gets 24."12 [1d20=19]
<El-Cideon> The way leading to the fore of the ship is actually a pair of hallways, one to the port side and one on the starboard side. Another row of small apartments goes along between them--they really packed people in, apparently. All the doors seems closed, but you find more bodies as you walk along. None of these are suited up, unlike the guests at the airlock.
* Forrest tries not to step on any corpses.
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+17
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+17 and gets 34."12 [1d20=17]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+17
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+17 and gets 24."12 [1d20=7]
<El-Cideon> Midway along the hallway, you see what looks like a lift in the outer wall of the ship, and a passageway that presumably leads to the parallel corridor.
<Targo> "Our mysterious items are at the other end?"
<El-Cideon> "This place is creepy as fuck," Delilah announces for everyone's benefit. "I'm putting the rat-catcher in stealth mode."
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+22
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+22 and gets 27."12 [1d20=5]
<Forrest> A vibrating from the sensor pack alerts Forrest who suddenly stops and raises his rifle. "They just powered up, think they know we're here. Everyone better lock and load."
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+17
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+17 and gets 23."12 [1d20=6]
* Wilhelmina is more than ready.
<El-Cideon> OOC: Note that the corridor is four squares wide, so you shouldn't have any trouble moving around each other or holding a line together.
<El-Cideon> There's a persistent humming from the end of the hall, before two black spheres zoom towards you into the circle of light! They seem to have been fitted with welding tools. OOC: Init.
<Forrest> roll 1d20+5
* Hatbot --> "Forrest rolls 1d20+5 and gets 19."12 [1d20=14]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+17 Maintenance Mech 1
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+17 Maintenance Mech 2
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+17 Maintenance Mech 1 and gets 27."12 [1d20=10]
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+17 Maintenance Mech 2 and gets 21."12 [1d20=4]
<Wilhelmina> roll 1d20+7
* Hatbot --> "Wilhelmina rolls 1d20+7 and gets 19."12 [1d20=12]
<Targo> roll 1d20+1
* Hatbot --> "Targo rolls 1d20+1 and gets 21."12 [1d20=20]
* El-Cideon changes topic to 'Mech 1 > Mech 2 > Targo > Forrest = Wil'
<El-Cideon> The first robot zips forward, trying to slash Forrest with a laser welder!
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+6
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+6 and gets 19."12 [1d20=13]
<El-Cideon> But Forrest proves too nimble! It's partner darts at Wil with the same murderous intent!
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+6
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+6 and gets 23."12 [1d20=17]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Another miss, thanks to Martial Arts~ Go Targo.
* El-Cideon changes topic to 'Mech 1 > Mech 2 = Targo > Forrest = Wil'
<Targo> Targo attemps to shoot the second mech down in a bold effort to protect his companion!
<Targo> roll 1d20+5
* Hatbot --> "Targo rolls 1d20+5 and gets 14."12 [1d20=9]
<Targo> roll 3d8+4 if it hits
* Hatbot --> "Targo rolls 3d8+4 if it hits and gets 15."12 [3d8=7, 1, 3]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Miss~ They're small targets.
* Forrest steps away from the mech assailing him and fires a quick shot to hopefully bring it down!
<Forrest> roll 1d20+2
* Hatbot --> "Forrest rolls 1d20+2 and gets 17."12 [1d20=15]
<Forrest> OOC: +1, point blank
<El-Cideon> OOC: Wil's turn.
* Wilhelmina floats just enough away to cover her attacker with a burst of autofire, not particularly caring about the interior design of the ship or any other concerns.
<Wilhelmina> roll 1d20+1
* Hatbot --> "Wilhelmina rolls 1d20+1 and gets 18."12 [1d20=17]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Half damage.
<Wilhelmina> roll 3d8+4
* Hatbot --> "Wilhelmina rolls 3d8+4 and gets 24."12 [3d8=4, 8, 8]
* El-Cideon changes topic to 'Mech 1 > Mech 2 (C-1) > Targo > Forrest = Wil'
<El-Cideon> The little robot is hit by a pair of bolts that send it spinning wildly in place, clearly badly damaged by the attack!
<El-Cideon> The first robot pursues Forrest, zooming at him with a fusion cutter at the ready!
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+6
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+6 and gets 24."12 [1d20=18]
<El-Cideon> roll 2d6+4 damage
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 2d6+4 damage and gets 6."12 [2d6=1, 1]
<El-Cideon> Forrest's suit is slashed open at the knee, venting atmosphere! Meanwhile, the damaged robot sparks and shudders as it homes in on Wil.
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+5
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+5 and gets 25."12 [1d20=20]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d8+4 to be doubled EPIC CRIT
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d8+4 to be doubled EPIC CRIT and gets 12."12 [1d8=8]
* El-Cideon changes topic to 'Mech 1 > Mech 2 (C-1) > Targo > Forrest = Wil (C-1)'
<El-Cideon> OOC: Go, Targo.
<El-Cideon> Delilah calls in over the radio as the robot pierces Wil in the chest, puncturing her spacesuit! "Hey guys, the rat-catcher found a little robot down here...I don't think it's spotted me. Looks like a mean little bugger, got a welder or something."
<Targo> Targo fires another shot at the damaged robot, hoping to put it down!
<Targo> roll 1d20+5
* Hatbot --> "Targo rolls 1d20+5 and gets 17."12 [1d20=12]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Nope, missed it by 1. >.<
<Forrest> "Urgh... yeah, we found it's friends," Forrest grimaces, buckling on his wounded knee. "I'm leakin' pretty bad, here."
<El-Cideon> OOC note: I'll deal with vacuum effects at the end of the round.
<Forrest> Raising his rifle adjacent to the robot assailing him, Forrest squeezes the trigger with a heartfelt, "I'll see you in robot-hell!"
<Forrest> roll 1d20+4 aiming, he gets an AoO
* Hatbot --> "Forrest rolls 1d20+4 aiming, he gets an AoO and gets 10."12 [1d20=6]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Miss, you guys really hate zero-g.
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+6 AoO, yes
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+6 AoO, yes and gets 11."12 [1d20=5]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Failure. Your turn, Wil.
<Wilhelmina> "Creepy metal freaks," Wilhelmina spits, unleashing a torrent of plasma on her target. It's inconceivable to die before one's enemy, no matter how weak or innocuous it may seem.
<Wilhelmina> roll 1d20
* Hatbot --> "Wilhelmina rolls 1d20 and gets 6."12 [1d20=6]
<Wilhelmina> roll 3d8+4
* Hatbot --> "Wilhelmina rolls 3d8+4 and gets 24."12 [3d8=7, 8, 5]
* El-Cideon changes topic to 'Mech 1 > Targo > Forrest = Wil (C-1)'
<El-Cideon> This barrage blasts the homicidal robot into a cloud of debris!
<El-Cideon> Forrest and Wil can feel the chill of deep space seep in through their ruptured suits!
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+20 fort check Forrest
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+20 fort check Forrest and gets 26."12 [1d20=6]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+20 fort check Wil
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+20 fort check Wil and gets 23."12 [1d20=3]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Ow, both take -2 conditions and 1d6 damage.
<El-Cideon> roll 1d6 Forrest
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d6 Forrest and gets 6."12 [1d6=6]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d6 Wil
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d6 Wil and gets 5."12 [1d6=5]
* El-Cideon changes topic to 'Mech 1 > Targo > Forrest = Wil (C-3)'
* El-Cideon changes topic to 'Mech 1 > Targo > Forrest (C-2) = Wil (C-3)'
<El-Cideon> The undamaged robot makes another attack on Forrest with almost maniacal persistency!
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+6
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+6 and gets 22."12 [1d20=16]
<El-Cideon> roll 2d6+4
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 2d6+4  and gets 12."12 [2d6=4, 4]
<El-Cideon> Another slash is added to Forrest's suit, right next to the first! OOC: Targo
<Targo> "Forrest, Wil, get back! Your suits can't take much more," insists Targo, firing another shot towards the crazy robot!
<Targo> roll 1d20+5
* Hatbot --> "Targo rolls 1d20+5 and gets 19."12 [1d20=14]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Hit.
<Targo> roll 3d8+4 what is this a hit? Forrest does +7 damage to it on his next hit
* Hatbot --> "Targo rolls 3d8+4 what is this a hit? Forrest does +7 damage to it on his next hit and gets 16."12 [3d8=7, 2, 3]
<El-Cideon> This single shot pulverizes the machine instantly, sending its remains tumbling to the ground in a heap.
<Forrest> "Hell... can hardly feel my leg," Forrest groans woozily, clamping a gloved hand over his knee as he starts stumbling back to the airlock, his pace agonisingly slow thanks to the wounds and the difficulty of walking in magnetic boots.
<Wilhelmina> "Let's get back for now," Wilhelmina says as she starts on the return trip. It's not a withdrawal if their enemies are destroyed, after all.
<El-Cideon> At a full run, Wil and Forrest can just make it to the airlock before succumbing to the depredations of hard vacuum!
<Forrest> Sadly Forrest is not moving at a full run, for the points just mentioned.
<Targo> "Disable your magnetics! I'll prod you along when you pass out," notes Targo, ready to do just that.
<El-Cideon> OOC: Technically, -2 conditions doesn't impact your movement.
<El-Cideon> OOC: But if you want to take another hit of vacuum to simulate being slowed down by a wound, sure!
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+20 if you insist
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+20 if you insist and gets 34."12 [1d20=14]
<El-Cideon> 1d6 damage
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d6 damage and gets 6."12 [1d6=6]
* El-Cideon changes topic to 'Mech 1 > Targo > Forrest (C-4) = Wil (C-3)'
* Forrest makes pained incoherent noises as he disengages his magnetics and floats eerily through the (lack of) air towards their ship!
<El-Cideon> Everyone makes it back to the airlock, albeit barely in some cases. It might be small and cramped with everyone inside, but at least you can breath and recover there!
<Forrest> "Oh God... don't let them take my leg, man!" Forrest wails as he latches onto Targo.
<Forrest> "I need it to walk!"
<El-Cideon> "What the hell happened, you guys?" Reina calls from the bridge. "You need help? I'm coming down."
<Wilhelmina> "Shoot him. Shoot him now," Wilhelmina grunts.
<Targo> "I need you to open the airlock and let us in," replies Targo. "There were welding mechs that went haywire on us. It was pretty ugly."
<El-Cideon> Meanwhile, from Delilah: "So, I backed away from the robot, on account of the ones you found being psychotic. There was a medical bay at the end of the hall. Looked like someone torched it, though. The door itself is scorched."
<El-Cideon> "Sure thing," Reina says, wasting no time in doing so.
<Targo> "Someone blasted it open?"
<El-Cideon> "No, door's still closed, just blackened around the edges. Like there was a fire on the inside."
* Wilhelmina perks up at the news.
<El-Cideon> The airlock door cycles open. Reina's there. "HAL-9000 go after you guys, or what?"
<Targo> "Yes, that is roughly what happened," replies Targo, opening his helmet and stepping through. "Help me get these two to the medbay. I'll take care of them- can you prep another two suits?"
<El-Cideon> "Uh, sure, we don't have many to spare, though. These are simple tears, we might be able to patch 'em up."
<Wilhelmina> "Don't underestimate the damage from liquid fire," Wilhelmina groans, taking off her own helmet.
<El-Cideon> Reina shrugs. "Okay. We've only got four or five spares leftover from the old crew, so...don't make a habit of getting cut up?"
<Forrest> "Just so long as I don't lose my leg," Forrest pants, having used his iron will to recover some poise.
<Targo> "Your leg's just burned a little, man," responds Targo, rolling his eyes. "I'll patch it up with liquid bandaid. And some aggression stimulants."
<Wilhelmina> "I wish we'd gotten that robotic dog," Wilhelmina laments.
* El-Cideon changes topic to 'Targo > Forrest  = Wil '
<El-Cideon> "You guys feel like giving me an update?" Ruby calls over from her ship.
<El-Cideon> Meanwhile, Delilah: "So, I'm floating down the hallway where you guys just got owned by a couple service robots. Apparently this is B deck, passenger quarters...there are a bunch of elevators around, and some sort of lounge at the front end of the ship."
<Targo> "We triggered those psychotic welding robots. They cut up Wil and Forrest's suits pretty bad, so I'm taking care of that before we go back."
<El-Cideon> "Uh. You sure you don't need another gun around?" Ruby responds.
<Forrest> "More the merrier!" Forrest calls.
<Wilhelmina> "We'll be fine," Wilhelmina says in irritation. "Though using our scout ahead of us and not elsewhere? Good idea, let's be doing it now."
<El-Cideon> "I'm getting some mixed signals here. Mr. Silver?"
<Wilhelmina> "If you call for backup over floating metal junk I will shoot you," Wilhelmina tells Targo over a private channel.
<Targo> "Only if you can get up without going by any more of these bots. They're fast and dangerous."
<El-Cideon> "Hrm. Y'know, Dragonfly's pretty damned small. Let her into your ship's cargo bay and I can just walk through with the rest of you."
<Targo> "Should've done that to start," mutters Targo, before heading over to take care of that.
<El-Cideon> Dragonfly's a tiny, one-person skiff that just fits through the Falcon's cargo bay door. Ruby exits already in a space suit, carrying a carbine and a pack with various supplies. "Hear this old girl's infested with bots," she says.
<Targo> "Just a few. Let's go."
<El-Cideon> Back onto the ship! It's much as you left it. You don't find the third mech waiting for you or anything frightening like that. Just the usual floating corpses, you know?
* Forrest fires up the scanner!
<Forrest> roll 1d20+19 (or is it +14?) perception
* Hatbot --> "Forrest rolls 1d20+19 (or is it +14?) perception and gets 27."12 [1d20=8]
<Forrest> roll 1d20+19 (or is it +14?) perception reroll
* Hatbot --> "Forrest rolls 1d20+19 (or is it +14?) perception reroll and gets 37."12 [1d20=18]
<Wilhelmina> "Found anything interesting ahead thus far?" Wilhelmina asks Delilah.
<El-Cideon> Ruby seems much more at ease in zero-g than anyone on Lagoon Company. She floats here and there at will, using magnetic boots to stabilize herself when necessary. "God, this place is a floating graveyard."
<Forrest> "Third robot's still inactive. Want to go after it first or check where the first two were idling?" Forrest asks, seeming much more calm now that he's doped up on various drugs.
<Wilhelmina> "The latter."
<El-Cideon> Delilah: "Bunch of elevators here. Couple at the fore end, near the observation lounge--haven't been in there, doors are closed--couple midship, and the last two back near the medical bay."
<Wilhelmina> "Observation lounge? Sounds like a nice place."
<Targo> "I wanted to check out the medical bay and see what went on in there, so let's head in that direction first."
<Forrest> "Lets split up so we can do them all the same time?" Forrest suggests.
<Wilhelmina> "Whatever. Who wants to go take a look at the lounge?"
<Forrest> "Uh... you're not meant to agree when I give bad advice," Forrest points out worriedly. "We split up, we die."
<Wilhelmina> "That was on purpose? Right, you go and check the dormant robot in the darkness."
<Forrest> "Geez, just tryin' to relieve the tension," Forrest grumbles.
<El-Cideon> The hallway leading to the medical bay is wider than the twinned corridors at the other end of the ship. On either side of you are doors, labeled BF01 through BF08. At the end of the hall, as per Delilah, is the medical bay, and right next to it are two lifts. The third robot's apparently lurking in the alcove at the left lift.
<Wilhelmina> "Two ion grenades or one?" Wilhelmina asks. "To take out that robot, I mean."
<Forrest> "S'only a maintbot, doubt it's well shielded. One should do," Forrest shrugs, raising his gun just in case.
* Wilhelmina holds her own ready, giving Targo the honor of trashing the bot.
<Targo> Targo fiddles with one of the ion grenades he brought with him, setting the timer before sending it floating through the air towards the robot.
<El-Cideon> Ruby also waits with her gun at the ready, just in case. In any event, this robot doesn't seem to have noticed the presence of intruders.
<Targo> roll 1d20+4 since I suppose I must attackroll it?
* Hatbot --> "Targo rolls 1d20+4 since I suppose I must attackroll it? and gets 21."12 [1d20=17]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Full hit.
<Targo> roll 4d6+3 ion damage! what does that do?
* Hatbot --> "Targo rolls 4d6+3 ion damage! what does that do? and gets 15."12 [4d6=3, 4, 2, 3]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Ion damage disables robots who are brought to zero HP by it.
<El-Cideon> An explosion lights up the hall for a moment! You can see the robot tumble out into the hall, totally disabled but still intact.
<El-Cideon> It's exactly like the others you've encountered: maintenance robot with a fusion cutter and laser welder.
<Targo> "Clear. Let's proceed," instructs Targo, floating past the now-inoperable robot towards the medical bay.
<Forrest> "Funny, the others spotted us way off while we were trying to be stealthy, but this one let us get right on top of it," Forrest remarks, slightly perturbed.
<El-Cideon> All around the frame of the door, the bulkhead is scorched black. A fire certainly raged inside at some point. Though there's no power to the doors, they could surely be pried open with a group effort.
<Targo> "Let's pull it open together."
* Forrest helps!
<El-Cideon> It takes a moment of everyone heaving and puffing, but the doors slide open eventually. Inside is mostly what you'd expect to see in a colony ship's medical bay--workstations for analysis, beds for treating patients and letting them rest, cabinets for storage space--except it's burnt and twisted almost beyond recognition.
<El-Cideon> There are still bodies, or what's left of them, strapped down on some of the beds.
<Forrest> "Maybe they had space-madness and someone reprogrammed the droids?" Forrest wonders.
<Targo> "If they were space-mad, you really think they'd retain their ability to work like that?" queries Targo, trying to identify the cause of the fire.
<Wilhelmina> "Space zombies, then?"
<El-Cideon> It's hard to tell what caused given the extremity of the damage. However, all the bodies in this room are on the beds. Presumably whoever could walk out did so.
<El-Cideon> Ruby walks over to one of the corpses and takes a good look at it. "I don't see any stab wounds or anything...I dunno if these people got sick or if someone burned them all."
<Wilhelmina> "I'll go take a look at the robot," Wilhelmina announces, intending to interface Pochi with the one nearby.
<Wilhelmina> roll 1d20+10
* Hatbot --> "Wilhelmina rolls 1d20+10 and gets 22."12 [1d20=12]
* Wilhelmina checks the timestamp on said override, and whether there are any clues as to who did that.
<Targo> "How would we get to the bridge from here? Deliah, any ideas?"
* Wilhelmina alters the programming to forbid attacks on any humans, and that any offensive move must be authorized by her, either through Pochi or directly.
<El-Cideon> Delilah: "Try the lifts? Power might be down, but we could pry open a door and float up."
<Wilhelmina> "Got anything on Martin Denner?" Wilhelmina asks Delilah. "Chief Technological Officer or somesuch."
<Targo> "Should've brought a crowbar," grunts Targo, heading over to the lifts in the middle of the corridor.
<El-Cideon> Delilah: "Got me. Could tell you more once we manage to raid the ship's database."
<El-Cideon> OOC: Left or right side of the ship, Targo?
<El-Cideon> (OOC: It does sorta matter, but either way): The door is easy enough to open with another group effort. You see blackness on the inside, up and down. But nothing attacks you, at least.
<Wilhelmina> OOC: Let's go left
<El-Cideon> OOC: Okay!
<El-Cideon> "I guess it's me first this time?" Delilah says, the Exverminator hovering into the shaft. "Up or down, boss?"
<Targo> "Which way's the bridge? I'm guessing up."
<El-Cideon> "Sure thing." A moment later: "Yep, there's only one more floor up here. Door's shut. Dammit, powered doors everywhere...why did we abandon the traditional doorknob?"
<Wilhelmina> "Because if the ship loses power and is exposed to vacuum, no one cares."
<El-Cideon> "Right, right. Anyway, shaft's wide enough for all you goons to float up here and pry it open if you want."
<Wilhelmina> "Exciting. I'll go first."
<El-Cideon> The elevator shaft is dark, but not so wide that you can't see all four walls around you as you ascend. It's about the size of a normal domestic lift meant for servicing a busy community. The Exverminator's floating around up at the top of the shaft, above a door labeled "A: Command Deck."
<El-Cideon> Ruby follows along after Wil. "We going through?"
<Wilhelmina> "Sure," Wilhelmina responds, gun in one hand and ion grenade in another. "I'll cover you as you guys force the door open."
<El-Cideon> It's simple work, and done in a moment. The corridor beyond is dark, but you produce just enough light to see the edge of a doorway along the wall to your left. No floating bodies are yet in evidence.
<Wilhelmina> "Anything on the scanner?"
* Forrest checks!
<Forrest> roll 1d20+19
* Hatbot --> "Forrest rolls 1d20+19 and gets 24."12 [1d20=5]
<Forrest> roll 1d20+19 reroll
* Hatbot --> "Forrest rolls 1d20+19 reroll and gets 33."12 [1d20=14]
<Forrest> "Two idle power sources, think they're bigger than the maintbots," Forrest announces, slinging the pack and readying his rifle. "One dead ahead down this corridor, the other in the middle of the deck."
<Wilhelmina> "Is it within grenade-throwing range?"
* Forrest uses his night-vision scope to try and aim at the bot down this corridor.
<Targo> "We have a grenade launcher."
<Wilhelmina> "Does it work here?"
<Targo> "Of course it does. It's certified for use in space."
<Targo> "Aren't your weapons?"
<El-Cideon> OOC: I don't see why a grenade launcher wouldn't work here. Future Tech grenade launchers must be at least that uber.
<Wilhelmina> "Not Frederica," Wilhelmina says sadly.
<Forrest> "Looks like it's scanning down the path at a right angle from us," Forrest announces, giving the distance for anyone wanting to calibrate their grenade launcher. "Get ready and then we'll all shoot at it?"
<El-Cideon> OOC: If everyone's attacking at once, roll init for a surprise round? Just in case it lives.
<Targo> Targo loads an ion grenade into the launcher. The usual 'kerchak' sound goes unheard. "Say when."
<Targo> roll 1d20+1 init, I guess?
* Hatbot --> "Targo rolls 1d20+1 init, I guess? and gets 20."12 [1d20=19]
<Wilhelmina> "When."
<Forrest> roll 1d20+5
* Hatbot --> "Forrest rolls 1d20+5 and gets 9."12 [1d20=4]
<Wilhelmina> roll 1d20+7
* Hatbot --> "Wilhelmina rolls 1d20+7 and gets 22."12 [1d20=15]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+11 Ruby laughs at zero-g
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+11 Ruby laughs at zero-g and gets 25."12 [1d20=14]
* El-Cideon changes topic to 'Ruby > Wil > Targo > Forrest'
<El-Cideon> Ruby carefully sights down her carbine and fires a single shot!
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+9
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+9 and gets 14."12 [1d20=5]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Bah, even flat-footed, that misses by one. Fail, Ruby. You're up, Wil.
<Wilhelmina> roll 1d20+1
* Hatbot --> "Wilhelmina rolls 1d20+1 and gets 9."12 [1d20=8]
<Wilhelmina> roll 4d8+4
* Hatbot --> "Wilhelmina rolls 4d8+4 and gets 21."12 [4d8=8, 4, 2, 3]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Autofire? That's a total miss, if so. Bugger has Evasion.
<El-Cideon> OOC: So, Targo!
<Targo> Targo fires the grenade down the corridor, intending for it to do the hard work for him!
<Targo> roll 1d20+5
* Hatbot --> "Targo rolls 1d20+5 and gets 10."12 [1d20=5]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Miss. This is epic. Go, Forrest.
* Forrest aims and shoots, hoping his night-vision scope will give him better luck than his comrades are having.
<Forrest> roll 1d20+4
* Hatbot --> "Forrest rolls 1d20+4 and gets 8."12 [1d20=4]
<El-Cideon> A salvo from the full party turns out to be for naught, and the fraught machine turns around to face the party unharmed!
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+11 init
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+11 init and gets 31."12 [1d20=20]
* El-Cideon changes topic to 'Drone > Ruby > Wil > Targo > Forrest'
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+11 ???
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+11 ??? and gets 13."12 [1d20=2]
* El-Cideon changes topic to 'Drone > Ruby > Wil > Targo > ??? > Forrest'
<El-Cideon> The robot whirs around to face its assailants, aiming some manner of small firearm at Targo!
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+9
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+9 and gets 25."12 [1d20=16]
<El-Cideon> roll 3d4+3
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 3d4+3 and gets 10."12 [3d4=4, 2, 1]
<El-Cideon> A glancing shot pierces Targo's shoulder, opening his space suit to the vacuum! Ruby acts fast, forcing a packet of liquid cable dispenser into his hands before sidling out into the corridor and opening fire. "Eat plasma, clicker!"
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+8
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+8 and gets 9."12 [1d20=1]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Critfail. Bot hate is strong. Go, Wil.
<Wilhelmina> If autofire mode won't do the trick, Wilhelmina will just have to kill it the normal way!
<Wilhelmina> roll 1d20+6
* Hatbot --> "Wilhelmina rolls 1d20+6 and gets 24."12 [1d20=18]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Hit.
<Wilhelmina> roll 3d8+4
* Hatbot --> "Wilhelmina rolls 3d8+4 and gets 21."12 [3d8=3, 7, 7]
<Wilhelmina> "What she said."
<El-Cideon> With a silent explosion, the robot blossoms into a cloud of debris! There's still the other somewhere on the floor, though, and the first one's destruction may have alerted it... OOC: Targo.
* El-Cideon changes topic to 'Ruby > Wil > Targo > ??? > Forrest'
<Targo> Targo squeezes the packet of dispenser over the gap. "Yes! Let's shoot straight more often, like that," he implores. (+1 attack/skills and stuff)
<Wilhelmina> "Right," Wilhelmina says dryly. "Delilah, send our friend ahead, I'll follow."
<El-Cideon> The compound quickly hardens when exposed to the cold of space, sealing the rent in Targo's suit. It might look ghetto, but it'll work for now. Meanwhile, another drone zips along the corridor's ceiling, tires gripping the bulkhead, this one apparently undetected before! It immediately opens fire on Ruby.
* El-Cideon changes topic to 'Ruby > Wil > Targo > Drone 2 > Forrest'
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+9
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+9 and gets 23."12 [1d20=14]
<El-Cideon> roll 3d4+3
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 3d4+3 and gets 7."12 [3d4=1, 2, 1]
<El-Cideon> "Shit," Ruby grunts over the comlink as a light impact punctures her suit's arm. OOC: Forrest.
* Forrest quickly takes aim and returns fire at the new arrival, emboldened by Targo's heartening leadership!
<Forrest> roll 1d20+5
* Hatbot --> "Forrest rolls 1d20+5 and gets 13."12 [1d20=8]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Miss.
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+20 Fort check Ruby
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+20 Fort check Ruby and gets 33."12 [1d20=13]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d6 damage
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d6 damage and gets 4."12 [1d6=4]
* El-Cideon changes topic to 'Ruby (C-2) > Wil > Targo > Drone 2 > Forrest'
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+11 ??? init
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+11 ??? init and gets 26."12 [1d20=15]
* El-Cideon changes topic to '??? > Ruby (C-2) > Wil > Targo > Drone 2 > Forrest'
<El-Cideon> "Silver, it'd be great if you could patch me up here," Ruby grunts as she takes a careful shot at this second foe.
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+8 aiming+INSPIRED
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+8 aiming+INSPIRED and gets 22."12 [1d20=14]
<El-Cideon> roll 4d8+4
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 4d8+4 and gets 34."12 [4d8=8, 8, 6, 8]
<El-Cideon> This shot strikes home, turning the robot into a cloud of debris floating in midair.
* El-Cideon changes topic to '??? > Ruby (C-2) > Wil > Targo > Forrest'
<El-Cideon> OOC: Wil's turn. There's still a target in the vicinity somewhere.
<Forrest> "Got another one incoming," Forrest warns.
<Wilhelmina> "General area? Direction? Forrest, Delilah?"
<El-Cideon> Delilah: "Uh, sec...there's a branching corridor on our right, here, goes right down the middle of the deck. Bugger's coming from that way."
* Wilhelmina waits for it to emerge into their corridor, intent on firing upon it as soon as there is a line of sight.
<El-Cideon> OOC: Holding your action until next round, basically? Because that's when it would get here.
<Targo> Targo, meanwhile, squirts more of his liquid metal onto Ruby's suit. "The robots can all be controlled remotely, right?" he asks Wil, frowning.
<Wilhelmina> "Looked like they all got programmed by that crazy tech guy."
<El-Cideon> OOC: Okay, if Targo/Forrest aren't acting, I'll have the mech roll in for Wil?
* Forrest aims his rifle down the corridor, intending to blast the ever-loving shit out of the first thing to poke its cybernetic head around the corner.
<El-Cideon> OOC: Haha, okay.
<Targo> OOC: I used my action so yeah
<El-Cideon> The third target rolls around the corner on treads. This one's notably larger than the other two, though still smaller than a human being. It's a rolling cart with a rifle mounted on it, basically. This one was probably actually a real security bot at some point. Now? It's a target. OOC: Go, Wil.
<Wilhelmina> roll 1d20+6
* Hatbot --> "Wilhelmina rolls 1d20+6 and gets 16."12 [1d20=10]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Hit.
<Wilhelmina> roll 4d8+4
* Hatbot --> "Wilhelmina rolls 4d8+4 and gets 28."12 [4d8=3, 8, 7, 6]
<El-Cideon> The single blast detonates the robot and sprays its mechanical guts through the corridor! (OOC: Free act now).
* Wilhelmina proceeds towards the bridge.
<Forrest> Likewise!
<El-Cideon> The Exverminator floats down the hallway the guard mech came from. "Hey Wil, you looked at one of these, right? Are they set to kill anything, or is our little mechanical friend here safe?"
<Targo> As does Targo.
<Wilhelmina> "Just the humans."
<El-Cideon> The doors to the bridge, not far from the lift shaft you came from, are easily pried open. It's a semicircular room with an expansive view of the vastness of space. Presumably the dead people in the seats here appreciated this as they died: all the command positions are filled with uniformed men and women, all of them long since deceased.
* Forrest looks to see if the cause of death is obvious.
<El-Cideon> "'kay," Delilah responds. "Gonna see what's at the other end, then."
<Wilhelmina> "I'll check if this crap still works through a century of inaction," Wilhelmina says.
<El-Cideon> All but one of these people were clearly shot in the back of the head. The only exception is the body sitting in what is clearly the captain's chair, in the center. This body shows no clear cause of death; it's mummified form actually still clutches a pistol.
* Forrest frowns and counts the corpses. "They all got shot in the back of the head? Unless they'd been knocked out first I dunno how that could've worked..."
<El-Cideon> Curiously, the figure in this chair has a nametag which declares him to be Albert Jolson, First Mate.
<Targo> "Will any of the systems be online at all? Any emergency power? Tell me how to get this thing moving."
<El-Cideon> The bridge computers are nonresponsive, but could possibly be activated individually with an influx of power.
<Wilhelmina> "Emergency power is the ticket, though we'll need the engine room for that. Or we use some of ours."
<El-Cideon> "This corridor's mostly empty," Delilah calls in. "We got crew quarters, CQ01 through 08, a couple breakrooms, more elevators...captain's quarters at the end, though that actually looks locked."
<Targo> "Any more killbots?"
<El-Cideon> "I'm not seeing any. Think that's all for this floor."
<Wilhelmina> "Mutiny?" Wilhelmina suggests, trying to see if she can use a portable power generator to make the captain's terminal work, at least.
<Forrest> "Can you jerry-rig this to power a console?" Forrest asks, offering Wil the power recharger he uses to keep his plasma rifle well fed.
<El-Cideon> Power can be fed into an individual station with a moment's work. It's not going to get the ship moving on its own, but it'll be enough juice to consult a workstation and see what the ship's status is, or check its databanks.
<Wilhelmina> "I think Pochi's power supply might be enough, but sure, let me try."
<Wilhelmina> The ship's status and its databanks are, indeed, Wilhelmina's goals.
<El-Cideon> Wilhelmina is able to access the captain's station through her computer, feeding it just enough power to make it usable. She'll have to settle for standing up, since First Mate Jolson still occupies the chair, but hey, can't win 'em all. The computer proves hostile to Wil's requests for access and notifies her that it is calling security.
<Wilhelmina> roll 1d20+10 let's be friends
* Hatbot --> "Wilhelmina rolls 1d20+10 let's be friends and gets 22."12 [1d20=12]
<El-Cideon> OOC: -10 mod since it's Hostile. That makes it a failure.
<Wilhelmina> "Hmph. It's not friendly, and working in space is annoying. It will take a while."
<El-Cideon> "What ho!" Delilah calls over the radio. "Computer troubles? Need help?"
<Wilhelmina> OOC: Taking 20, that's 20 with the cumulative 15 penalty
<El-Cideon> OOC: Can't take 20 to improve access, is the thing. >.>
<Wilhelmina> OOC: I'm rolling a lot to simulate the effect
<El-Cideon> OOC: <.<
<Wilhelmina> roll 20#1d20
* Hatbot --> "Wilhelmina rolls 20#1d20 and gets 218."12 [20#1d20 = 8, 19, 20, 6, 13, 18, 3, 12, 5, 15, 17, 18, 6, 2, 7, 13, 11, 19, 5, 1]
<El-Cideon> OOC: Fair enough, it's not like it can stop you.
<El-Cideon> Through great effort, Wil manages to convince the computer that she is its best friend and a trusted user 4EVER.
<Wilhelmina> "Help, not needed just yet," she says at last, running her previous queries.
* Wilhelmina brings up the personnel files on the first officer and the chief technical officer, before replaying the last videolog for all to see.
<Wilhelmina> "Someone physically cut off access to medical and environmental control bays," she notes in the meanwhile.
<El-Cideon> First Mate Albert Jolson: Proves to be a caucasian male, aged forty-one, brought onboard with the rest of the crew at Coleille. A sterling service record in the private shipping sector before applying for the Wellington colonization mission. No family on-board. (more)
<El-Cideon> Chief Technical Officer Martin Danner: European descent, born on Artoria, highly regarded engineer with a list of education and training that takes up nearly a full screen. Aged fifty-four at the time of departure, no disciplinary problems noted in the record. (more)
<El-Cideon> The ship's logs are brimming with entries to peruse, but the last one made from this particular station was recorded by Jolson himself. He looks...frantic, but controlled by sheer force of will. Lank hair, sweatdrops across his forehead as he speaks: (more)
<El-Cideon> "Danner's cut environmental support to our deck. It's only a matter of time 'til we freeze or run out of air, but we're not going to give him the satisfaction...I sent Lauglin down to talk with Feher and his cronies down on deck F. Hasn't come back, they probably just shot him. So this is the end of the Esquilax's mission--" (more)
<El-Cideon> "--I'm not giving that fucking socialist the satisfaction of making the ship his own. The security drones are waiting for him if him and his techies unplug the lifts and try coming up here. As for the rest of us, my loyal crew...they've elected to go out in the way of the samurai..." (more)
<El-Cideon> He walks away from the recorder for a moment. You can hear several shots in the background before he returns. He looks remarkably calm--almost frighteningly so--he leans forward and turns off the recorder.
<El-Cideon> And that's it.
<Wilhelmina> "Idiots."
<Targo> "Idiots."
<Forrest> "Fiendishly clev- I mean, idiots," Forrest agrees.
<El-Cideon> ---