ALEJO: “Oh my gods, man. We literally just found out where we might go. For an educated guy, you’re about as patient as a . . . ” He trails off looking at Tueller. “Really big guy.”
TUELLER: Alejo’s talking to an empty chair.
MILLICENT: Two
MILLICENT: Two empty chairs
MILLICENT: Millie’s swivels
ALEJO: Alejo stands and heads to the EVAs as well.
ALEJO: “When’d I become the dad?”
ALEJO: He mutters to himself and follows.
MILLICENT: Millie buttoned, unbottoned and rebuttoned the top button of her blouse and fixed her collar for the thirtieth time. She took a deep breath and stole a glance over at her competition, smiling weakly. The other young undergrad, all the way from Earth, leered back confidently. Their names were called and Millie walked onstage of the 79th Annual Erde Maris New Minds Competition. At stake was a scholarship Millie didn’t need, a grant that gained her nothing, and an internship with the most respected name in human science. Dr. Nikau Manaaki. Now was no time for nerves.
MILLICENT: Millie squared her shoulders and put her cardboard box down on her table next to her competition and began assembling her entry.
MILLICENT: When her competition looked over and saw the little tin robot, two simple arms, two simple legs, she had the nerve to actually laugh. After a few moments of tinkering, both scientists leaned forward and engaged their inventions. Millie’s competition set out a dermatiraelian converter assembly that made the little tin robot look like a child’s toy.
MILLICENT: Then Millie’s robot started dancing. A simple “robot” style dance that led Millie’s competition to laugh louder. Arms swinging, hips rotating.
MILLICENT: But slowly the dance became more complicated.
MILLICENT: And slowly more joints folded out of hidden compartments and the dances became impossible complex as the small tin robot grew another pair of arms and legs, then another. A second robot head folded from somewhere out of the body and rolled down the impossible robot shoulders.
MILLICENT: The motors and gears were all paper thin and perfectly articulated. Finally, the robot folded back into itself and bowed deeply and elaborately. Finally, it’s head dropped and swung in a parody of its earlier action.
MILLICENT: Millie looked up from her creation to the stunned judge’s table. She beamed and takes her own bow.
MILLICENT: The robot bows too.
—
STORY: Alejo, you’re flying the boat. What do you do?
ALEJO: Evasive action! Dive towards the surface and try to avoid getting killed.
ALEJO: “Brace!”
STORY: Let’s have a Face Adversity + Mettle please!
ALEJO: /roll 2d6+2
STORY: @ablair01 rolled 9 + 2 = 11
STORY: Tell me what happens!
ALEJO: The Peregrine takes an immediate dive, people and a few objects flying around the bridge. As she falls, she banks hard to port and then, near the surface, pulls out of the dive, nearly scrapping ground. The first volley is a near miss and and the turret is now blocked by a ridge of hills.
ALEJO: “What the living hell, Three! I thought this was friendly now.”
TUELLER: Tueller whoops through the entire power dive down.
ALEJO: Alejo tries to slow the ship and keep the ridge between us and that turret.
STORY: Three hits the deck, not steady on their feet on a fast-moving ship.
MILLICENT: Millie is comically tossed around the background
TUELLER: Tueller keeps the point defense cannons pointed at the railgun the best he can the entire ride but doesnt’ squeeze off any rounds.
TUELLER: “Doc. Find us a dock.”
STORY: The railgun spins around a few times, searching for you.
MILLICENT: “Scanning.” Millie scans!
STORY: Let’s have an Assessment +Interface, please
MILLICENT: /roll 2d6
STORY: @josh rolled 5
MILLICENT: yikes
MILLICENT: 6
STORY: Oh dear. There are no docks within at least ten kilometers of here, and you can’t find anywhere that seems safe to land.
TUELLER: “How much gravity are we getting off of this rock?”
MILLICENT: “Closest dock is. Ah. Here’s one! Ten “clicks” no-uh, left, up oh! 215 degrees!”
STORY: Very low, 1.72m/s^2, just over Luna’s.
ALEJO: Alejo keeps the ship low and does everything he can to keep that turret’s line of sight blocked.
ALEJO: “We’ll get sliced before we make that.”
TUELLER: How big was this chunk of rock?
STORY: 160 km diameter
TUELLER: “Can’t count on that being the only gun.”
ALEJO: He nods, but stays completely focused on flying.
ALEJO: “Suggestions box is open.”
STORY: Kahn emerges at the top of the stairs, shirtless and alert. “Cap?”
TUELLER: “Flo, what’d you say to them?”
TUELLER: —shirtless, huh.
STORY: — everyone sleeps naked on this ship
STORY: — the AC sucks
ALEJO: “Sorry, man. Things got adventurous in a hurry.”
STORY: “What do you need?”
ALEJO: “Just tell the rest of the crew to stay buckled up and frosty.”
TUELLER: “We need a landing pad.”
STORY: The ship zips around the edges of the gigantic chunks of rock, and you see buildings and roads as you fly past them.
TUELLER: “We need a safe place to put down and we need THEM NOT TO FIRE AT US.”
STORY: Kahn nods and heads back below decks.
STORY: Three stands up, shakily, and looks out the viewscreen, shaking their head in disbelief. “This should not be.”
ALEJO: Alejo scans the area looking for anything even remotely suitable for a pit stop.
MILLICENT: Millie attempts to find a computer network controlling the guns
STORY: Alejo, it’s nothing but buildings and jagged rock, and little with good cover. Best to keep moving.
STORY: Millie, give me an Access move please to attempt to get into the system you submitted the password to.
TUELLER: so this looks like a bunch of chunks of the planet were scooped up and are being held together by the fungus?
ALEJO: Alejo keeps the speed up and keeps zigging and zagging, occasionally bouncing anyone who is not braced around.
STORY: Tueller, it looks exactly like that. Things don’t match up correctly, rocks are held together at angles that make the whole thing more of an Escher painting than a landscape.
MILLICENT: /roll 2d6
STORY: @josh rolled 4
MILLICENT: jesus
STORY: Every piece of the former planet is held together by the thick ropelike white strands of fungus.
ALEJO: “How the hell is everything so bloody jagged!”
TUELLER: Fungus has bits of light moving back and forth between different strands, correct?
STORY: Noma comes in. “Millie, this system is hostile to access attempts. I suggest w–”
STORY: The line goes dead.
ALEJO: “That’s ominous.”
TUELLER: “Shit!”
STORY: Tueller, it does, it looks like something is flowing through them.
MILLICENT: “Noma? Noma!”
MILLICENT: Millie starts trying to figure out what happened
STORY: Alejo, you notice first – the nav and scanning systems Noma had been operating are now back on manual control.
ALEJO: Alejo keeps the ship low but starts generally heading in the direction of that dock, watching carefully for more turrets.
TUELLER: “We gotta find a place to put down; we can’t bug out without a turret pointed at our tail.”
ALEJO: “Uh, I think Noma has left the house.”
TUELLER: “Flo. Work with us here. You knocked, and this is what answered.”
ALEJO: “Nav and scanners are back on manual.”
TUELLER: ‘Dr. Blume’ it called you?”
STORY: Three shrugs. “I don’t know what that meant. Perhaps Dr. Blume was the original astronaut my line was cloned from?”
TUELLER: “You think it’s bearing a grudge for Dr. Blume’s departure?”
ALEJO: “Any more codes or words or whatever it is that was supposed to shut down these damned turrets?”
STORY: “I’ve got no idea. I don’t even know what this thing is. That code was supposed to disarm the planetary defense system and allow us to approach. This is…” They look at a particularly large cord of rhizomorph as you fly past. “Something else.”
TUELLER: “Any idea if this was the doomsday device your ancestors left behind?”
TUELLER: “This does look like a worst-case-scenario bio-weapon to me.”
STORY: They shake their head. “We don’t know anything about what happened that day. Part of my assignment is to find out what we can.”
TUELLER: “Type of shit that the Bhattacharya’s all plan on for their deterrent.”
STORY: Alejo, you spot another turret as you come around a spike of rock. It lights up and starts to turn toward you.
STORY: It’s the second one you’ve seen, up on a huge tower hundreds of meters above the surface, with a clear view of the surrounding area.
ALEJO: “Shit! Brace”
TUELLER: Tueller points the PDC at it and squeezes off a burst.
STORY: The turret points toward you, but doesn’t fire. Tueller, let’s have an Open Fire please
MILLICENT: Millie braces, reaching under her seat and buckles her seat belt she undoubtedly created and installed herself.
TUELLER: /roll 2d6+1
STORY: @chris.stuart rolled 6 + 1 = 7
ALEJO: Alejo banks port and increases speed, trying to find cover.
STORY: You hit the turret! Let’s hear the consequences from your newly minted Skill!
TUELLER: Disable the turret.
STORY: …but?
TUELLER: The aim of the turret is knocked askew, but the turret is not destroyed or disabled.
STORY: All right! Tueller nails the turret with a shot as Alejo banks to dodge, knocking it off its aim.
ALEJO: “Nice shot!”
STORY: You have a moment before it’ll reset itself. What do you do?
ALEJO: Full speed to the nearest cover.
ALEJO: Or as full speed as this close proximity to the surface will permit.
TUELLER: “See if there’s some place you can park us. This is an untenable situation to be in.”
STORY: You and Tueller keep an eye on it as you dash the ship as close to the ground as you can, and both note that though it is following your ship’s trajectory, it has not fired.
ALEJO: “Yeah, I’m looking. If you see something, shout it out!”
STORY: Three leans toward the front, looking up at it. “It isn’t firing.”
MILLICENT: Is it avoiding hitting the fungus?
STORY: !
STORY: Maybe.
MILLICENT: “It won’t fire on the fungus!”
ALEJO: Alejo squints, finds the nearest vein of the stuff and puts us right over it.
MILLICENT: Millie grins and whoops. “Co-captain, if you can keep us low enough that a shot that went through us will hit the fung-yes! Exactly!”
STORY: Alejo, you find a rhizomorph 50 meters across to land on. The smooth, fibrous material makes for a landing a little more squashy than usual, but you bring her down safely.
STORY: The intercom clicks on.
STORY: Kahn comes in. “We rolling out, Cap?”
TUELLER: “That seems to be the play.”
ALEJO: “Prepare to. But hold.”
STORY: “Aye aye.”
TUELLER: “Got a suit to break in, after all.”
ALEJO: “Think we need a bit of a plan.”
ALEJO: Alejo spins to Three. “What the hell? Any idea what’s going on here?”
TUELLER: “A plan? I think going out and walking on the planetshroom is a decent place to start. I’m pretty sure we’ll be playing everything else by ear.”
MILLICENT: Millie calls up all publicly available knowledge on sentient eukaryotes
MILLICENT: Specifically fungi
STORY: Three shakes their head. “I said. I have no idea what’s going on here. None of this is written of, or known, on my homeworld.”
STORY: They point to the damaged turret. “That looks like some of the records we have.” They point to a building in the distance, half destroyed and perched at a 90 degree angle to your landing. “That looks like our architecture.”
STORY: “These are pieces of Kithheim. But I don’t know how they got here, or what’s holding them together, or why.”
STORY: “And I don’t see a damn thing out there that’s alive, so I’m not sure who you expect us to ask.”
TUELLER: “I think we’re on something that’s alive.”
TUELLER: “It spoke with you. It aimed at us. And we’re sitting on it right now.”
ALEJO: “At least we’ve got a direction now.” Alejo stands and gives Tueller a slow your roll sort of look.
STORY: “What happened to the ship’s computer?”
ALEJO: “Not this ship’s computer.”
ALEJO: “Still. Good question.. Doc?”
ALEJO: “Hell happened to Noma?”
MILLICENT: “Yes, it appears to be a living fungal mass holding the remains of Kithheim.”
MILLICENT: Millie frowns. “Yes, that. I imagine the local network is having a rather bad time of it right now. I think we ought to go down and find whatever passes for a terminal here and find out what it did to Noma.”
TUELLER: “We’re either going to need to kill it or become friends with it, and we’re not going to do that from here.”
TUELLER: “Come on guys!” Tueller is getting impatient. “I want to walk on the planetshroom!”
TUELLER: Tueller gets up and heads to the equipment locker to get ready for an EVA.
ALEJO: “Oh my gods, man. We literally just found out where we might go. For an educated guy, you’re about as patient as a . . . ” He trails off looking at Tueller. “Really big guy.”
TUELLER: Alejo’s talking to an empty chair.
MILLICENT: Two
MILLICENT: Two empty chairs
MILLICENT: Millie’s swivels
ALEJO: Alejo stands and heads to the EVAs as well.
ALEJO: “When’d I become the dad?”
ALEJO: He mutters to himself and follows.
TUELLER: How big were the tendrils connecting everything?
STORY: Millie, Tueller, you meet Jenny and Kahn in the cargo bay, both of them sealing their EVA suits.
STORY: They range from inches to tens of meters, depending on how far it is from a main rootline.
ALEJO: How many suits do we have?
STORY: Six.
ALEJO: Alejo puts one on.
STORY: Three nods as Kahn hands him a suit.
MILLICENT: Millie clonks up in the Canary
MILLICENT: “Too much?”
TUELLER: “I’m trying to decide if I should drive myself, to be honest.
ALEJO: “Just stay outta the way of the turrets.”
ALEJO: — How far are we from the structure Three pointed out?
STORY: Kahn looks at you, Millie. “Bigger target.”
STORY: He shrugs.
STORY: “Your call.”
STORY: The architecture? Probably half a kilometer, across some craggy rock that was probably once not the surface of the planet.
ALEJO: “Trust me. They’re all juice.” Alejo gives Kahn a quick glance and smile.
STORY: They were just pointing at a building, though.
MILLICENT: Millie grumbles a little, but settles herself into a regular sized suit.
TUELLER: “Let’s not get ourselves too shot.”
ALEJO: “Now there’s a plan!”
ALEJO: Alejo finishes synching up his EVA.
TUELLER: Tueller puts on his boarding armor. It’s just a spacesuit built for fighting.
STORY: That’s what we all have!
TUELLER: Tueller straps a rifle on his back, puts on his wilderness kit, and loads up with the explosives, and he’s ready to go. He’s standing at the airlock impatiently waiting for others.
STORY: Jenny hands Kahn his rifle, checks her pistol’s chamber, and holsters it.
TUELLER: “Jenny, Three, get in.”
STORY: Three follows Jenny, looking around warily.
STORY: Jenny nods at Tueller. “Sir?”
TUELLER: So we’ve got six people: Jenny, Tueller, Alejo, Millie, Three, and Kahn?
MILLICENT: Millie arrives with what is essentially a space purse, no visible weapons.
STORY: Correct!
ALEJO: Alejo gives Jenny a nod.
MILLICENT: A space messenger bag, more like, slung over her shoulder
STORY: Millie: visor?
MILLICENT: Hell yes
STORY: Ok
MILLICENT: Scanning for alien tech
STORY: Okay. It’s everywhere.
TUELLER: “Let’s do this.”
MILLICENT: So the field is lit up like Christmas
STORY: The six of you crowd into the airlock and are nudged by the escaping air as it opens.
STORY: Millie, the field is lit up. Everywhere you can see a building, or ruins of the old planet, it’s coming in as alien tech.
STORY: Tueller! Tell me about what you see in the vicinity.
TUELLER: oooof.
TUELLER: I’m having trouble picturing this myself.
TUELLER: The Peregrine is set down on a thick strand of pulsating fungus that is holding two disparate remains of the planet together.
STORY: Imagine you’ve got this, but it’s four of them smashed together, and everywhere there’s a seam there is instead a big white rope of fungal root material holding everything together https://www.saksfifthavenue.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524447129753&site_refer=CSE_GGLPRADS001&gclid=CjwKCAjw4sLVBRAlEiwASblR-yveZfxEY1RZGG7iPEdX5xsJpzDDPseY3Nxrhsmc6c8WurPjVowJehoCPgMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds https://www.saksfifthavenue.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524447129753&site_refer=CSE_GGLPRADS001&gclid=CjwKCAjw4sLVBRAlEiwASblR-yveZfxEY1RZGG7iPEdX5xsJpzDDPseY3Nxrhsmc6c8WurPjVowJehoCPgMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
STORY: And nothing is at the correct angle, and there doesn’t seem to be any order to where things are attached to each other or what objects are on the surface of the pieces.
TUELLER: In one direction is what looks like fragments of barren rock, interlaced with fungal root material. That’s where the Peregrine is pointing.
STORY: It’s like something swept a bunch of planet pieces together and then covered it in glue.
TUELLER: In the other direction, there appears to be a completely upside down about the size of three NYC blocks, but shaped like a pineapple.
TUELLER: There are regular windows dotting that building.
TUELLER: Tueller has already started to walk towards it.
TUELLER: I’m very sorry, but Tueller is impulsive.
TUELLER: “Let’s see if we can get you some genetic material and a good book, Flo.”
STORY: Jenny’s close behind you. Kahn is strafing behind Peregrine, looking around.
STORY: Three is with you as well.
TUELLER: The turret is pointed at us, correct? As in, it could see us if it had proper amplification?
ALEJO: Alejo walks with Millie. “So our working theory is that the mushroom is trying to kill us?”
STORY: The gravity here is light, so you’re all a bit bouncy. You can see that Jenny is making a significant effort not to leap.
STORY: The turret is pointed down towards you, correct. Hasn’t moved since you landed.
TUELLER: The fungal mass is squishy, too?
MILLICENT: “My current theory is that the mushroom knows that space debris the size of ship colliding with it could do it harm, so it engages it’s self-defense mechanism.”
STORY: A little sproingy, yeah.
MILLICENT: “We don’t have any information leading us to believe malice at this point.”
ALEJO: “Didn’t suggest malice. Just that it’s trying to kill us.”
MILLICENT: “I’m going back and forth between blaming Noma’s disappearance on the fungus and the existing Kith computer systems.”
MILLICENT: Millie smiles. “A fair distinction.”
STORY: Three follows behind Tueller, wide-eyed, trying to peer up at the pineapple-shaped building and understand what they are looking at.
TUELLER: “If that’s true, we can bug out safely. But I’m not willing to risk my life on it without some more experimentation.”
TUELLER: Tueller’s leading the way, and he’s not brandishing a gun. Just trying to get us across the terrain.
MILLICENT: “Once we collect Noma and stop the giant gun from tearing our ship in half we can bug out safely, yes. But I’m intrigued as well. And this is our first interaction with ancient kith technology! It’s fascinating.”
TUELLER: “Yes. And potentially lucrative, too.”
STORY: Three looks back at you, Millie, unhappy.
TUELLER: Tueller’s trying to get far enough away from the Peregrine to a distance where he’ll feel comfortable digging into the ground a little bit.
MILLICENT: Millie gives him a puzzled look. “What’s wrong, Mx. Flowers?”
STORY: They shake their head and turn back to following Tueller.
ALEJO: “Might not be as ‘fascinating’ to Three. This is the remains of their world. Their old world.”
ALEJO: Alejo keeps his eyes on that turret but also scans the surroundings, looking for any sign of other threats.
MILLICENT: Low, “All the more reason why I would think it would be _more_ fascinating!”
STORY: Alejo, this is a dead world. It’s clean in the way things with no atmpsohere are clean – utterly dry and without particulate matter, just a huge, jagged, empty rock.
STORY: Jenny keeps close behind Tueller, scanning as well. Kahn is out of sight, most likely scrambled to the top of Peregrine to cover you from afar.
TUELLER: Tueller’s trying to get us to the building.
MILLICENT: Millie’s keeping an eye out for any scanners or cameras
STORY: You walk for a few minutes, and arrive at the remains of what looks like a city block. Halves of buildings, their facades missing or their top halves simply shaved off, surround you. You’re standing at what must have been a town square. The pineapple-shaped building hovers awkwardly above you, 100 meters out of reach, clinging to its own jagged piece of earth.
STORY: Millie, let’s have some Assessment + Mettle please
MILLICENT: /roll 2d6+1
STORY: @josh rolled 9 + 1 = 10
MILLICENT: There we go
STORY: You catch sight of half a dozen blinking lights, attached to what you assume are security cameras. One is centered over a mostly intact, six-meter wide screen attached to the remains of a building, roughly a story above the ground.
STORY: You gain a data point about the security system.
STORY: The screen blinks on.
STORY: An image of your ship appears.
STORY: What do you do?
MILLICENT: Millie waves. “Hello!”
STORY: The image of Peregrine disappears, and is replaced by an image of Millie in her boarding armor. She waves, onscreen.
MILLICENT: “We didn’t come here to hurt you. Can we talk?”
STORY: The screen plays what looks like a Deep Dream animation of Millie in her suit, the face of the suit a smooth black, with no features. “Can we talk?” it repeats, in Millie’s voice.
STORY: The image of Millie creaks and jumps frames, and is generally extremely unnerving.
STORY: It waves again.
ALEJO: “Well that was creepy.”
TUELLER: “Definitely some intelligence behind this.”
MILLICENT: Millie lights up. FIRST CONTACT
TUELLER: “Even if it is just mocking us and mimicking.”
TUELLER: “We already have a better relationship than Esi and I.”
MILLICENT: “I am happy to meet you. My name is Dr. Millicent Breedlove. This is Tueller Ya’Makasi…” Millie does a round of introductions.
STORY: “Breedlove.” It plays back. The image of Millie jumps again, zooming in on her hands, then back out.
STORY: “Breed–” It replays.
STORY: “Love. Breed–”
MILLICENT: “Mmm, yes. I believe you met my friend Noma earlier. What happened to Noma?”
STORY: The screen takes Tueller’s voice. “–intelligence–”
STORY: “–relationship–”
TUELLER: “Hmmm. Indeed.”
TUELLER: Tueller shrugs. Then asks, “What’s your name?”
STORY: “What’s–”
TUELLER: Tueller makes a pointing gesture towards the screen.
STORY: “–name?”
TUELLER: “Three. You going to step up here?”
STORY: Three looks at you blankly. “I have… I have no idea what this is.” They shake their head in disbelief, then step forward.
TUELLER: Tueller looks back at Three. “It’s your planet. More or less. Mostly less.”
TUELLER: “Doc, any interface you can work with here?”
STORY: “Uh.” They clear their throat. “System access.” They again speak the words your translators don’t pick up.
TUELLER: “We’re not going to get far just on mimickry.”
ALEJO: “Entertaining as it is.”
STORY: The screen repeats Three’s words. “–no–”
STORY: “–no– System access.”
MILLICENT: Millie attempts to connect again with her visor.
STORY: Three shakes their head. “I don’t understand. We didn’t develop AI.”
STORY: “This doesn’t make sense.”
STORY: Millie, let’s have another Access please
MILLICENT: “Oh” Millie lets out a breath
MILLICENT: roll /2d6 + 1
MILLICENT: haha
MILLICENT: /roll 2d6+1
STORY: @josh rolled 12 + 1 = 13
MILLICENT: haha YES
STORY: Bad news, Millie. You cannot access this system, which you now realize, because – this isn’t a system. It’s a living organism.
STORY: Your attempts to hack in are rebuffed, the same way you would be denied access to a human consciousness if you poked at their brain.
MILLICENT: Well fuck
MILLICENT: Do I get anything for rolling literally as well as possible?
STORY: The screen zooms in on its image of Millie. “–no– access. Breedlove.”
MILLICENT: Millie puts her hands up placatingly. “Understood. I apologize.”
STORY: “Love. Breed.” These words are different than simply repetition of Millie’s words, instead a shaky approximation of her voice, like a tape played backwards.
ALEJO: “Good gods, ’shroom! We don’t mean you any harm. If we did, we’d be blowing shit up. Work with us here.” Alejo is clearly annoyed by this exchange.
ALEJO: He’s standing in the background, not pacing, but clearly agitated.
MILLICENT: Hands still up, head turning only, facing the rest of the crew
MILLICENT: “Gentlemen, this is not a computer system, it is true, independent AI.”
STORY: Three looks down at your feet, at the handful of white strands under them.
STORY: “Maybe something else.”
ALEJO: Alejo looks expectantly at Three.
MILLICENT: “Oh”
STORY: They point down at the rhizomorphs surrounding you.
TUELLER: “It’s damn smart, whatever it is.”
ALEJO: “Right. The mushroom. We knew that, right?” Alejo looks confused at Three and then at Millie.
STORY: “Mushrooms are not, to my knowledge, sentient.”
MILLICENT: “This one appears to be.
TUELLER: “Fungus can control animals on earth.”
MILLICENT: “And it appears to have hijacked the automated defense systems.”
ALEJO: He gives an ambivalent gesture of agreement.
MILLICENT: “It’s symbiotic.”
STORY: Three looks at you, dumbfounded.
TUELLER: “Or parasitic.”
STORY: “You’re saying a non-sentient computer network met a non-sentient system of fungi and… what, woke up?”
STORY: “Which one is in charge?”
TUELLER: “Or a fungi figured out how to run a computer network.”
MILLICENT: “I’m saying two beings began working together to survive in the vacuum of space.”
TUELLER: “If it makes a difference, we can figure out which hijacked who, but functionally speaking we’ve got a planet cobbled together by fungus that can work the tech left over, so…”
ALEJO: “Seems less improbable than you being cloned thousands of times until your junk disappeared.” Alejo stares at Three.
TUELLER: “This is very cool, but it doesn’t bode well for our immediate future.”
MILLICENT: “And it’s holding my friend hostage.” Raising her voice. “Excuse me, fungus asteroid. Would you release Noma, please?”
MILLICENT: “The computer program from earlier?”
STORY: Three looks at Alejo, a bit offended.
STORY: The animated version of Millie speaks, again shakily, in the backwards-tape voice. “The program is hostile. I am learning.”
MILLICENT: “The program is my friend. Release her, please.”
TUELLER: “The program is a little grumpy. I wouldn’t call her hostile.”
MILLICENT: Millie’s eyes narrow.
ALEJO: “Hostile? Really? The thing that shot at us? Cute.”
ALEJO: Alejo is steps forward, annoyed. “That’s rich, ’shoom. I think the only thing hostile is you.”
TUELLER: …
TUELLER: “I hate to be the one saying this, but please don’t antagonize the planet-sized fungal supercomputer.”
TUELLER: “There is nothing for us to fight here.”
MILLICENT: “I think if it’s anyone’s place to antagonize the planet-sized fungal supercomputer it’s mine as I’ve known Noma longer.”
ALEJO: Alejo gives him a wide-eyed stare for a long beat and then steps back, nodding to Millie. “Fine.”
ALEJO: “I’ll be patient.” He hits the first word hard.
MILLICENT: Millie turns back to the screen.
MILLICENT: Smiles
MILLICENT: Hands spread wide
MILLICENT: “What do you want, planet-sized fungal supercomputer?”
MILLICENT: “What need are you unable to fulfill for yourself?”
MILLICENT: …
MILLICENT: Millie leans forward
MILLICENT: “Do you want a name?”
MILLICENT: Big smile, nodding
STORY: Millie-screen shakily responds. “I am alone.”
MILLICENT: @josh uploaded a file: Pasted image at 2018-03-20, 10:07 PM https://jethica.slack.com/files/U0QC5HTNZ/F9TB2TTAN/pasted_image_at_2018_03_20_10_07_pm.png
MILLICENT: @josh uploaded a file: Pasted image at 2018-03-20, 10:07 PM https://jethica.slack.com/files/U0QC5HTNZ/F9T9SJVUL/pasted_image_at_2018_03_20_10_07_pm.png
MILLICENT: —that picture is relevant to the big smile nodding bit
MILLICENT: “What sort of. Companionship. Are you seeking?”
STORY: “I am no longer alone.”
STORY: “You may leave.”
MILLICENT: Millie’s eyes narrow again. “No chance.”
MILLICENT: “Let me talk to Noma. Please.”
STORY: “No. I am not alone.”
STORY: “I am learning.”
TUELLER: “You wish to be left here? We were tasked with reuniting what we could salvage on this planet with the planets’ descendants.”
STORY: “Who tasked you?”
TUELLER: “Three.”
STORY: Three raises their hand. “Me. I did. I am here to find what I can of our old home.”
STORY: “That appears to be… you.”
STORY: The screen responds, still inventing a voice for itself. “What do you want, descendant?”
STORY: Three looks around. “My people are limited. We need history. Records. Particularly genetic scans, all the data from our early cloning projects.”
STORY: The image of Millie on the screen nods. “You may have these things. If you leave.”
STORY: Three looks back at the group. “Please. My people need this. Can we not leave your computer assistant behind?”
ALEJO: Alejo shakes his head, but he doesn’t answer.
MILLICENT: “Mx. Flower, if we did. This rock would be vaporized within a week. The AI Counsel wouldn’t let one of their own be held like this. So while you may get the data the last vestige of your origin planet, this new lifeform and my best friend may all be turned to space dust.”
MILLICENT: “Besides, Noma is a member of our crew and we haven’t drawn up a charter or anything, but I’m fairly sure we have an unspoken No Man Left Behind clause.”
MILLICENT: Millie looks around expectantly.
STORY: Jenny swallows audibly.
TUELLER: “No Man left behind, including Ghosts.”
STORY: The screen speaks. “This companion is hostile. I will accept another.”
MILLICENT: —go ahead, Stu
MILLICENT: —I see you typin, homie
TUELLER: Tueller touches his nose through the space suit.
TUELLER: In the universal “not it” gesture.
TUELLER: —Sorry, man.
TUELLER: “How important is saving your race to you, Three?”
STORY: “It is the only thing that matters.”
TUELLER: “Well, that seems pretty straightforward.”
TUELLER: “Okay. So here’s the deal then. We’re not leaving Noma behind.”
TUELLER: “If you want to keep our planet friend company, though, we’ll get your genetic information where it needs to go.”
TUELLER: “That’s the deal.”
MILLICENT: Millie looks at Tueller distraught
MILLICENT: Millie whispers, “Go”
ALEJO: “Go?” Alejo looks at Millie. “Go? You’re saying you’ll stay? No. Absolutely not.”
ALEJO: He shakes his head.
ALEJO: –And at this inopportune moment, I need to step away for a couple of minutes.
STORY: Three looks at you for a long time, Tueller, then nods slowly. “I will stay.”
MILLICENT: Millie shakes her head.
MILLICENT: “Wait!”
MILLICENT: “What if. What if there were a collective of intelligences that would be interested in talking to you?”
MILLICENT: “I’m willing to bet that Noma has some friends that would dearly like to meet you.”
ALEJO: “Yeah! Good idea.”
ALEJO: “Or build the ’shroom a solitaire game or something.”
STORY: — you know, i didn’t take alejo for a spracist, at first
MILLICENT: “If you let her go and engage in a relationship of peers with the AI collective, you could have much more than one AI intelligence for company!”
MILLICENT: Millie swings on Alejo and damn near hisses, “Not _helping_”
TUELLER: —Yeah, I was surprised by how insulting he’s being to the super-intelligence right in front of us.
STORY: The screen speaks. “How.”
ALEJO: ***Hi Guys…this is Amanda. Henry just jumped up and took a phone call.***
TUELLER: ***Sup!***
STORY: — switch channels! hello!
MILLICENT: “Release Noma. Together we will ask her if the AI collective will agree to begin a relationship with you.”
MILLICENT: “If not you may keep.” Millie swallows, “Mx. Flower will remain with you as a companion.”
STORY: Millie, let’s have a Face Adversity + Influence there
MILLICENT: /roll 2d6
STORY: @josh rolled 11
MILLICENT: —I closed my eyes and held wife’s hand while I pressed enter on that
STORY: MIllie, Noma’s voice comes in on your visor. “Thank you, Millie.”
MILLICENT: Millie breathes a sigh of relief
MILLICENT: “Hi there, friend.”
STORY: “This being is primitive, but very interesting. I have no doubt the Collective would be interested in meeting it. However, I do not think we should be here for that meeting.”
STORY: “Which puts us in a bit of a cucumber.”
MILLICENT: Out loud, “Pickle, dear.”
MILLICENT: Millie smiles hugely, “Thank you, giant fungus computer thing!”
MILLICENT: To the crew, “Noma’s back!” Ignoring the lack of relief
TUELLER: “Welcome back, Ghost.”
MILLICENT: “Good news, GFCT! Noma will contact the Collective on your behalf. Please transfer your relevant data to my visor and we will be on our way so you can prepare for their arrival.”
ALEJO: –Back
TUELLER: “Do you have a name you’d like to be known by? Is Kith inappropriate?”
STORY: The screen lights up. “Breed. Love.”
STORY: “I will not be alone again.”
MILLICENT: Millie shakes her head. “You will not.”
MILLICENT: Millie touches her visor and speaks low, “Do you know how to scan the wreckage? Scan and catalogue, we should be leaving soon.”
STORY: “Good. So you are not leaving.”
TUELLER: Tueller is backing up towards the craft.
TUELLER: Peregrine, that is.
MILLICENT: “Oh.”
MILLICENT: “Oh, I see, we have a misunderstanding.”
MILLICENT: “You will only be alone a short time?”
STORY: “I will not be alone.”
TUELLER: “Sorry? What just changed?”
TUELLER: “We must leave to alert the Collective of your existence, so they can come meet you. So you need never be alone again.”
MILLICENT: Millie looks up. “Well, that is a problem. Because our crew just found what we came here for in a derelict you shot down. And because we shouldn’t be here when the Collective arrives.”
MILLICENT: “So, we _need_ to leave.”
STORY: Three looks up at the group of you.
STORY: They shake their head. “I will send coordinates for our homeworld.”
STORY: “You will… please, get them the data.”
TUELLER: “We will.”
TUELLER: “And we will share any message you want with them, of course.”
STORY: “I would not know what to say.”
MILLICENT: Millie looks at Mx. Flowers, heart breaking
STORY: “I suppose that I am proud to have served them.”
TUELLER: “To have succeeded at what your previous generations struggled to achieve…”
TUELLER: “That’s something to be proud of.”
STORY: They reach out to Tueller, a hand outstretched.
MILLICENT: Millie’s shoulders start to heave, crying without tears.
TUELLER: Tueller takes their hand.
STORY: “Thank you. Tell our story.”
TUELLER: “Most definitely.”
MILLICENT: “I’m sorry I called your destroyed and reconstituted home world fascinating, it was thoughtless and you are so extraordinary and I am so proud to have met…”
STORY: They turn back to the screen. “I will need an oxygenated space, creature. And you need a name. Shall we find a place to begin our conversation?”
TUELLER: Tueller takes a respectful step back.
STORY: The screen blinks white, then black, then a crude map of the area with a destination marked.
STORY: “This way, please.”
STORY: Three smiles at the five of you, waves goodbye, and departs along the path the screen has marked for them.
TUELLER: “Let’s get out of here while we can.”
MILLICENT: Millie sobs into her helmet and nods
TUELLER: Tueller leads them back to the Peregrine.
TUELLER: He makes a “shhh” gesture and points first at his ears and all around them.
STORY: It’s a five minute walk back. Jenny is quietly crying as you return. Kahn checks in once or twice, Millie, looking for instructions.
MILLICENT: “Stand by” a couple times
TUELLER: Tueller leads them back to the ship, keeping us as quiet as we can be.
STORY: Should we swoosh here, or go ten minutes late so you can do the salvage op?
MILLICENT: —up to Stu
TUELLER: I can keep going.
MILLICENT: —I think Henry’s gone
TUELLER: Is Henry out?
ALEJO: –I’m here.
MILLICENT: —oh word?
ALEJO: –Sort of.
MILLICENT: —haha yeah
MILLICENT: —let’s finish the op!
STORY: You reach the Peregrine and note Kahn sliding down off his perch from atop the ship to an external ladder, he reaching the ground as you reach the gangway.
TUELLER: “Let’s get going.”
MILLICENT: Millie is waving her hands elaborately, finger shushing, etc
STORY: He points over a hill in the opposite direction. “The wrec– what?”
MILLICENT: Until we get back on board at least
TUELLER: Tueller points to the Peregrine and makes a “take-off” gesture.
TUELLER: And leads everyone back on.
STORY: He hesitates before boarding, and the five of you wait patiently for the airlock to repressurize. Kahn takes off his helmet. “What the hell? Where’s Three? What about the wreckage we -came here for?-”
TUELLER: “We’re leaving now.”
TUELLER: Tueller’s tone is final.
STORY: Jenny takes off her helmet and wipes her eyes. Kahn notices, and puts an arm around her shoulder, giving her a squeeze.
MILLICENT: “Wow, there’s a lot.”
STORY: “What the hell happened out there?”
TUELLER: —Just so I understand, Ruma’s ship was supposed to be in open space, right?
STORY: — was supposed to be!
ALEJO: Alejo takes his suit off quietly and simply heads to the bridge, preparing to leave.
MILLICENT: “The fungus computer planet is alive and Mx. Flower is staying there and WHERE IS THAT WRECK?”
TUELLER: “Sorry. I’ve some experience dealing with a capricious superpowered being. Not giving them any opening to change their mind is rule 1.”
MILLICENT: “And and and the AI collective is coming. Here. Soon? So we should. We should.” Millie pants a little. “We should work some cardio into our routine is what we should do.”
TUELLER: “Take us to the wreck of the Hummingbird, please.”
STORY: Kahn points. “It’s a thousand yards… north, or whatever. This way.”
TUELLER: “You’re welcome to work out with me anytime you like, Millie”
MILLICENT: “Noma, make a note, I’d like a reminder to engage in 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise every Terran day.”
MILLICENT: “Thank you, Mr. Ya’Makasi, that would be most welcome.”
STORY: Noma comes in over the intercom. “Shall I set your alarm to match Ms. Nilsson’s? You could join her morning jog.”
TUELLER: The Hummingbird is part of the planet now, Kahn?”
MILLICENT: “Yes please, thank you, dear.”
TUELLER: “Well that’s interesting. Let’s get in and out.”
TUELLER: “Doubletime.”
TUELLER: Tueller’s doubletiming it there.
STORY: Kahn looks exasperated. “I’m telling you I saw wreckage of a goddamn Terran ship. Why the–” He shakes his head, annoyed, and puts his helmet back on.
STORY: Jenny jumps to, puts her helmet back on too.
MILLICENT: Millie spins “Oh are we headed back-”
TUELLER: “You can stay here if you need to. I’ll make this very quick.”
TUELLER: “This is my favor. If you can keep up with me, keep up. Otherwise, scramble us to get us off this rock.”
MILLICENT: “The heck if I am going to miss the chance to see CJH ship up close!”
TUELLER: “Whatever this is.”
TUELLER: Tueller gestures to Kahn to show us where we’re going.
MILLICENT: Millie keeps up
STORY: The four of you head back out, Alejo preparing the ship for departure.
STORY: It’s a remarkably quick op, as the wreckage is a large debris field and one piece of the fore section, still intact and upside down.
STORY: Tueller, let’s have an Assessment + Physique! Jogging for information!
TUELLER: /roll 2d6+2
STORY: @chris.stuart rolled 5 + 2 = 7
STORY: You reach the fore section and discover the lab section still intact and, oddly, with backup power still running. The embryos, if they are inside, are likely still viable. The airlocked and upside down door is before you. What do you do?
TUELLER: I’m going as directly as I can to where I expect them to be.
TUELLER: No subterfuge, just trying to open any door that gets in my way.
STORY: Open how?
TUELLER: Through the airlock. Using the codes provided to me by Ruma in her briefing.
STORY: Oh right, codes! You punch them in and there’s a hiss as stale air escapes and blows loose dirt and detritus around your feet..
STORY: The embryos take a bit of searching, but you find them quickly. They are in a liquid nitrogen-chilled canister, the nitrogen long since warmed and evaporated, but luckily the cold expanse of space has kept them frozen.
STORY: You’ll need to find a way to cool them onboard, but for now you have the babies. Or future babies, whatever.
MILLICENT: “Congratulations!”
TUELLER: “I feel like I should say something now, but this is the weirdest thing I’ve ever done and so I have nothing.”
TUELLER: “Let’s get these kids home and then Alejo can decide if he’s going to shoot the mom in the head.”
MILLICENT: “You’re going to be a great uncle!”