ALEJO: “Doc, how’s the deck going?”
MILLICENT: “We just got out of the research rooms. On our way to the prize.”
ALEJO: Alejo waves to Jenny. “Let’s see if we can catch up to the idiot. I’ll take point. You got our backs.”
ALEJO: To Millie: “I think Tux is headed your way. Try not to shoot him. Punching his dumb ass is okay though.”
MILLICENT: To Tueller, “Let’s keep our eyes peeled for Tux. He might have slipped away to try and get the deck.”
STORY: The four of you haul ass towards the Earth exhibit, a long hallway with various small rooms on each side focusing on major Earth scientists and historical figures. You come in from opposite ends, seeing each other as you all run for the door you all know holds Minaaki’s room, close to the middle of the long hallway.
STORY: A figure emerges from the room, looking exhausted but smiling, and holding a small tablet-sized black case. Tux looks up, noticing the four of you running for him, and grins at Millie. “Got it.”
MILLICENT: Millie is dreaming of being on a space station, on her knees in the garden planting some promising new seeds she’s been working on.
MILLICENT: An asteroid belt can be seen through the glass of the dome behind her and a soft piano concerto plays from some speakers.
MILLICENT: Millie sits up, stretches, closing her eyes and reaches out for the water bottle she knows is near. She takes a long drink and finishes her stretch.
TUELLER: Tueller dreamt about a long, interminable dinner party that lasted for days, held in the ruins of an ancient civilization–what Tueller’s boring host kept describing as an alien bathing complex, with fragments of statues everywhere, where the bartenders took forever to serve you, and Tueller kept floating from impenatrable and restrained conversation to conversation, always coming in in the middle and leaving before he could figure out what they’re talking about, sipping and politely nodding, and wandering off.
ALEJO: Alejo dreams of a long series of tunnels. Crypts. Dim and winding, each passage slightly different in size and shape, and each with a unique smell. It’s something like the virtual reality game they played at BlackHat, but it’s more insidious and less adventurous. He dreams of toiling through passage after passage, searching for something or someone. But he cannot quite remember who or what.
—
STORY: Millie, you wake up as someone shakes your shoulder gently.
STORY: “Hey.” It sounds familiar, but you’re at the end of an extremely long tunnel. “Mill. Drink this.”
STORY: Someone helps you sit up and hands you a glass. You blink, bleary-eyed. Tux is squatting in front of you, looking at your eyes. “No dilation. That’s good, right?”
MILLICENT: “Mmmmm”
STORY: “Drink.”
MILLICENT: “Mmmm?”
STORY: Another voice from below, a woman. “That’s what the book says.”
MILLICENT: “Mmmmm” affirmative this time, Millie drinks.
STORY: “Does her head hurt?”
STORY: “Does your head hurt?” Tux asks gently.
MILLICENT: “Her head does hurt, yes, thank you for asking.”
STORY: It’s water, Millie. Cool and soothing on your raw throat.
STORY: “I think she’s all right,” Tux calls down.
STORY: “Can you sit up?” He helps you scooch over so your back is to a bulkhead.
MILLICENT: Millie tries not to gulp and scooches. She blinks a few times.
MILLICENT: Am I having any memory problems?
STORY: Nope, you remember right up until you fell asleep, you just feel hung over and bleary.
MILLICENT: “She gassed us. Oh honey, you gassed us.”
STORY: “She’s off.”
STORY: “I had to gut our onboard systems, but she’s off.”
MILLICENT: “Did you isolate her? Is she okay?”
STORY: “She’ll be okay, Mill, I made sure it didn’t short her out.”
MILLICENT: Millie sighs.
MILLICENT: Reaches, takes a few tries, but finds Tux’s hand and squeezes. “Thank you.”
STORY: Tux nods.
STORY: Someone steps over you gingerly.
STORY: The door to the bridge slides open and someone enters.
STORY: Alejo, you feel a hand on your shoulder. “Cap, wake up.”
STORY: Tueller, someone shakes you gently. “Tueller.”
ALEJO: Alejo squints open one eye, trying to wake and find his bearings.
TUELLER: Tueller wakes up violently.
TUELLER: Fists clenched, barely restrained from lashing out.
TUELLER: Tueller comes too quickly and manages not to hurt anyone.
STORY: Kahn is handing each of you water and a couple aspirin.
TUELLER: “Sorry sorry sorry. It’s a reflex.”
STORY: Kahn nods to you, Tueller. “We’re okay. Tux got a mask on before we all dropped out and spent the night unplugging Noma.”
MILLICENT: Millie fights her way to her feet and feels her pulse through her wrist. Can I tell what it was that she hit us with?
STORY: Tux won’t let you stand, Millie, he puts a hand on your arm. “Take it slow. Give your brain time to get oxygenated again.”
MILLICENT: Millie nods, thinking. “How long were we out?”
STORY: “Five hours. We’re here.”
MILLICENT: “We’re where?”
STORY: “Memory Alpha. Can you remember where we were headed?”
TUELLER: “Smelled like cyanide.”
TUELLER: “Thought that was it.”
TUELLER: “Not a good way to go out.”
TUELLER: “None of them are, of course.”
STORY: Kahn nods. “Tux thinks she mixed some shit together in the enviro systems, not sure what it was. We’re all alive, at least.”
STORY: “Alive and feeling like shit. Take that.” He points to the aspirin.
ALEJO: “Five hours? Feels more like five years. Jesus. Does anyone else feel like their head was run over and then blendered into mush?”
STORY: Kahn points at your aspirin too, Alejo.
MILLICENT: “That sounds very much like my experience, yes.”
TUELLER: Tueller takes the aspirin and sits with a disgusted look on his face.
ALEJO: Alejo takes it and slams whatever water there is.
STORY: Tux stands, poking his head into the bridge. “Everyone okay?”
ALEJO: “No. Definitely no.”
ALEJO: “But alive.”
TUELLER: Tueller shrugs.
TUELLER: “You’ve exorcised our Ghost?”
ALEJO: Alejo spins around at this, anxious about the answer for many reasons.
STORY: “For the moment.”
STORY: “She’s idle in an external drive I have unplugged from everything but a power source.”
MILLICENT: “You did really well, Tux.”
STORY: “I don’t know why she started acting like Clippy, but I think you need to find the rest of her before you turn her back on.”
MILLICENT: “Thank you for saving my friend.”
MILLICENT: Millie nods.
STORY: He nods. “I don’t know if that’s what I did, but sure.”
ALEJO: Alejo watches him respond to Millie and smiles briefly before turning back to the console to look at the coordinates and check out where, exactly, they are.
TUELLER: Tueller just sits awkwardly.
STORY: You’re docked at Memory Alpha, the gigantic museum-library-space station.
STORY: Jenny comes up the stairs. “So, problem. The autopilot docked us, which would be fine, except we’ve been here half an hour and I think the staff is starting to wonder when we’re going to get off the boat.”
MILLICENT: “Oh right, the sandwiches.”
ALEJO: “I could eat,” Alejo stands, a bit too quickly. He falters for a moment, then turns to move gingerly towards the exit.
MILLICENT: “That’s. That was the code word for the extremely illicit cargo.”
STORY: Kahn scoops an arm under yours to hold you up, Alejo.
ALEJO: “I know.” He frowns. “I’m just day dreaming of food.”
STORY: “Take it slow, Cap.”
ALEJO: Alejo gives him a grateful smile. “Thanks.”
MILLICENT: “We should probably tell the docking crew we had some computer issues and needed to do a hard reset on comms. That should explain our silence since we docked.”
MILLICENT: Millie gingerly pulls herself up with some help from Tux. She leans against a bulkhead.
TUELLER: Tueller takes a deep breath, and then stands up. He looks around a little bit, nods, and says, “I’m alright. Ready for to take what needs to be took.”
ALEJO: Alejo nods at her and then Tueller. “Good. Very good. This heist is going to go great!”
TUELLER: “Doc, we lost our chance to talk ahead of time. This a physical heist or a digital one?”
MILLICENT: “I thought it was a delivery of illicit cargo?”
TUELLER: “Shake your head out. We’ve got legacy theft here too.”
STORY: Tux looks into your eyes again, checking the pupils. “You sure you’re okay?”
MILLICENT: “Right.” Millie rubs her temple. “The schematics for the jump relay.”
MILLICENT: “I am perfectly alright, I just.”
MILLICENT: “I don’t have enhancements or athlete level conditioning. I’ll be fine.”
TUELLER: “You got a galaxy sized brain, doc. It can take awhile to reroute something that big.”
ALEJO: “Yup. Yup. So, do we need the actual drive or can you dup it if you get close enough?” He looks at Tueller. “That’s the question, right.”
MILLICENT: “It depends on whether the blueprints are fully on the museum’s display drive or if they’re only showing a mockup and storing the originals on planet.”
MILLICENT: “I think I was looking into that before all of this.”
STORY: Tux nods. “We need the deck. It’s in the display, under various layers of security, but we need the physical thing. With Noma, maybe we could access it remotely, but we can’t wake her up.”
TUELLER: “Smash and grab, then.”
STORY: “Well yeah, smash and grab and run and don’t get shot on your way out.”
MILLICENT: “If I can get to a museum deck I should be able to help us out, with regards to the computerized security.”
TUELLER: “Robot security with interesting guns, by the way.”
MILLICENT: “Maybe fake a distraction on the other side.”
TUELLER: “You’re good with robot security with interesting guns, if I do say so myself.” Tueller doesn’t look at Loll at that.
STORY: “Quite talented,” pipes in Thasht.
MILLICENT: Millie looks abashed.
TUELLER: “I’m good at smashing and grabbing and running.”
TUELLER: “Together, we do crime!”
ALEJO: “I think my contact can get us in. Maybe.” He adds the “maybe” as a very quick afterthought. “Probably.”
STORY: Alejo, you were meant to meet your contact just after closing, at the gift shop, to get snuck in. It’s three hours from closing, and you’ve got to come up with something to do that explains your presence on the station until then.
TUELLER: “Well, we’re here. And I’m a businessman, from a fledgling society, so we’re all here on a research trip to research universal business models so I can skip some of the mistakes start-up companies make when going out into the whole wide universe.”
MILLICENT: Millie nods. “That’s good.”
TUELLER: “That’s our cover, but also, if we find anything, this could really grow our business. Morkfish can only take me so far.”
TUELLER: “This could really make us some money.”
ALEJO: “Nice. Love it.”
TUELLER: “In addition to the whole AIs can jump across space and time thing that we’re here for.”
TUELLER: “Head researcher, what do you need from us?”
TUELLER: Tueller looks to Millie. He’s dressed in his nice suit, ready to mingle.
MILLICENT: “I need to know where there’s a deck I can access and I need time to crack it.”
MILLICENT: “I’ll wander the museum taking it all in until I hear from you. I’ll probably need someone to watch my back while I break into the system.”
TUELLER: “Well let’s go meet the reception committee. I’ll get you what you need. And look suitably embarassed by how green we are. Smile, people, we’re humans. (Sorry Loll). We’re the new kids on the block and we suck at it.”
MILLICENT: Millie nods.
STORY: Okay. What are everyone’s orders?
TUELLER: Tueller’s the money and the face here.
MILLICENT: Millie’s looking for a deck.
ALEJO: “Okay. Let’s keep the crime party small. Loll –” He grimaces “Sorry. Habit. Thasht, you and Kahn be ready for a rescue signal. If we get into trouble, you’re our blazing guns out. But let’s try really hard not to kill anyone. Fig and Tux have the ship. Be ready to get us outta here in a real big hurry. Jenny, you stick with Millie. Tueller, you have the lead out there. I’ll get us in. But seriously all. Let’s not kill people if we can help it.”
STORY: Tux shakes his head. “I’m coming. You need me to get the deck disarmed.”
TUELLER: “I’m going in a slightly bulletproof suit, not a tank or war armor.”
ALEJO: Alejo frowns. “Alright. Then you, Jenny, and Millie.”
STORY: All right, so the crime party – Tux and Alejo, with a side unit of Millie, Jenny, and Tux – head onto the station. Thasht and Kahn find a spot in a cafe and keep their brain-radios on, Figgan keeps the ship prepped and shows Erwin the ropes of flying a spaceship. Fiona finds the warm spot in Tueller’s room, near the vent, and takes a nap.
STORY: Oh! Tueller, the crime shipment is actually going to be picked up by the criminals, so you just need to let Figgan know the code word for when they arrive and she can handle it.
TUELLER: Tueller says to Figgan, “Okay, the code word is “Adrestia’.” Watch your back with them and keep them to the box.”
STORY: Figgan nods. “Got it, boss.”
TUELLER: “I won’t let it go to my head. Just for the job.” Tueller says to Alejo.
STORY: Millie, tell me about the layout and decor of this place.
MILLICENT: It’s an open promenade, with lounging areas for beings to rest and discuss in. The museum’s exhibits are all in semi-private alcoves with holo-guides out front.
MILLICENT: It’s a tasteful light blue, somewhere just short of teal, with under-set lighting giving the whole place a “twilight in the DC Metro” feel
STORY: Tueller, tell me about the content of this section of the station, what sort of thing this area covers, what format the information is in – books, stacks, media?
TUELLER: The content of this section of the station is that it’s a very straightforward museum concerning the civilizations of the Milky Way galaxy. Each room focuses on a civilization in the galaxy. It is set up to be comprehensible to all civilizations, and prizes actual unique artifacts from these civilzations.
TUELLER: The actual information content is surprisingly rudimentary and it vastly oversimplifies civilizations–like it’s aimed at schoolchildren, but the artifacts are priceless and unique. Basically the Smithsonian Museum for the universe.
STORY: Alejo, tell me about the people around here, how busy or sparse it is, what security is visible, what areas are nearby that may have more or less concentration of guests.
ALEJO: It’s a relatively quiet day, but there are still dozens of people in most alcoves. There are several groups of younger students making their way through the museum as well, though they are starting to get closer to the exists as the afternoon wears on. The security is everywhere but subtle. We mark at least half a dozen plain clothed guards pretending to be visitors, in addition to the regular guards stationed between alcoves. There are cameras in each alcove and we spot, behind an opening or closing “private” door here or there, robotic armed guards.
ALEJO: At the moment, the largest collection of visitors is in a holo video room just off the alcove with our target, playing a repeating story about the technology of the jump gates.
ALEJO: The movie runs for about 20 minutes with a five minute break between showings. It collects about 70-100 people each showing.
STORY: A holo-guide appears as you enter. “Welcome, guests. Can I help you find an exhibit?”
TUELLER: What is a hologuide? An AI? A guide who isn’t here?
TUELLER: I thought it was just a terminal.
STORY: A virtual intelligence, not a real one – just a hologram that’s programmed to look like a tour guide and tell you where things are. They don’t move, just pop up at consoles here and there and offer assistance.
STORY: https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/masseffect/images/b/b0/Avina_ME1_charshot.png/revision/latest?cb=20150224195343
TUELLER: “Hello my good sir/ma’am/neutral honorific! I’m hoping you can help us. We’re looking for your help with the research wing of this illustrious institution. I am, as you can see, a mere human looking to learn from the experiences of galactic civilization to build my business.”
STORY: The VI nods. “Thank you. Research areas are not open to the general public, and require approval for access. Please take a seat, and I will have a docent come speak with you.”
STORY: The VI blinks out and you see some chairs nearby to which she was likely referring.
TUELLER: Tueller sits down and waits.
TUELLER: Tueller does his best to look confident and moneyed, which isn’t hard for him.
STORY: It’s a couple minutes of waiting, but eventually a docent does show up. Millie, what do they look like?
MILLICENT: They’re wearing a nearly teal jumpsuit and carrying a pad. They are a mora and they look about as far from Sweet as you could get.
TUELLER: Tueller briefly looks sad, but gets a hold of himself and stands up with a smile.
STORY: Mora are a naturally tall and intimidating people, largely due to their nearly inscrutable facial expressions.
STORY: “Greetings. I am Lero. Can I help you?”
TUELLER: Tueller holds his hands palms up and out in a welcoming-to-Mora fashion he learned from Sweet, and says, “I dearly hope you can! I am here on a fact-finding mission so I don’t make the same mistakes that beginners always do–we are here to learn from universal history to become better traders and better serve and profit from the universal community.”
TUELLER: “While I am a bit of an academic–I wrote papers in college on the effect that faster than light communication would have for short sellers–my team here would love to do more in depth research work in the museum.”
STORY: Expecting the mora to nod in understanding would be folly, so you’re not that surprised when Lero instead does absolutely nothing. “A wise goal. May I see your identification, please.” He holds out a small fingerprint console.
TUELLER: Tueller provides it, and with his free hand, also presents his business card. “Both my digits and my card, good sir.”
TUELLER: “Tueller Unlimited is a fledgling business from a fledgling system, but I hope that with your help we will be up and coming.”
ALEJO: Alejo cannot help but smile at the name.
STORY: The console chirps when you offer it your thumb, and the mora looks down at it for a moment. “Happy to have you, Mr. Ya’Makasi. You can bring an assistant with you into the stacks, but the rest of your group will have to wait here.”
STORY: “They are welcome to peruse the exhibits while they wait.”
ALEJO: “I think I’ll go check out the gift shop,” Alejo says, “boss.” He nods at Millie. “If that’s alright?”
TUELLER: “Who wants it more?” Tueller looks to Tux and Millie.
MILLICENT: Millie nods. “Yes, I am. Hungry for the opportunity.”
TUELLER: “Good, Doc.”
MILLICENT: “Thank you. Sir.”
TUELLER: “And, please, call me Tueller” to the Mora.
STORY: Tux looks momentarily distressed to get split up from you, Millie, but he nods.
TUELLER: As Tueller goes off, “Maybe see if you can find the deck.”
STORY: The mora leads Tueller and Millie off, leaving Jenny, Alejo, and Tux to hang back and decide what to do next.
STORY: Alejo, what do you do?
ALEJO: Alejo makes sure that they are out of earshot of anyone. “Stick close,” he says quietly to Jenny, “have a look around and keep your eyes open for any sudden change in activity, yeah? Tux, you wanna come with me or stay around here? Up to you.”
STORY: Tux glances back towards the door Tueller and Millie were led through. “I’ll come. Where are we… going?”
ALEJO: He smiles. “To get our flirt on!”
ALEJO: Alejo starts making his way, with Tux, to the gift shop.
STORY: The gift shop’s a bit of a haul, on the other side of the exhibits, so you pick one at random and walk down a hallway dedicated to the long history of the Odh Interstellar Service Corps. It’d be interesting if you weren’t working.
STORY: Tueller, Millie, the mora swipes his keycard and leads you through a couple doors and hallways, back behind all the exhibits and down a set of stairs, to the stacks. “Business is in A-19, you can start there. You’re permitted paper notes, no photographs and no removing anything. Please empty your pockets here.” He gestures to a metal box on a nearby table.
STORY: “Anything delicate is in a separate area, you’ll find a reference card filed with a description. You can come let me know if you need to see any of those.”
TUELLER: Tueller empties his pockets, which consist of a bunch of business cards, and a stack of cash, and a nice pen.
TUELLER: “As I said, my senior thesis was on faster than light communication and trade, so I’m especially interested in the effect of the jump gates on trade. I am hoping to do some more work on that as well.”
MILLICENT: Millie empties hers as well.
STORY: “History of business, A-18.” He swipes you in past a metal gate and holds the door for you.
TUELLER: “Thank you. Doc? Anything else?”
TUELLER: Tueller is, at least visibly to Millie, coming to the edges of his usefulness on this.
MILLICENT: “Nope, I’m set.”
STORY: The mora closes the door behind you, points to a red button on your side. “Ring this bell when you’re done. We close in two hours and thirty five minutes; please be ready to leave fifteen minutes before close.”
STORY: Lero departs, leaving you in the dark, cool, utterly silent stacks. There are rows and rows of them, thirty feet tall, all coldly lit, holding boxes, books, consoles, everything you can imagine.
STORY: A-18 appears to be one row in and a couple dozen down – you’re currently at A-35.
TUELLER: “Well, see if you can do anything with this, Doc.”
MILLICENT: Millie sets off.
STORY: Everyone spends a little time getting where they’re going.
STORY: Alejo, you finally make it through the long exhibit and come out on the other side, the gift shop within sight and an exit to the main promenade beyond. You scan the people inside for Luna, your green doe-eyed contact, and lay eyes on her just as something pricks at the back of your awareness. It says, emergency. Something is wrong.
STORY: You don’t have time to take your eyes off her to scan the crowd before Luna’s brain explodes out the back of her head. Screams begin, first one, then more, as black-clad gunmen flood the gift shop. Dozens of visitors flee in every direction, and the area is immediately out of control.
STORY: Jenny throws a heavy arm onto your back, forcing you to duck, and drags you and Tux both backwards into the exhibit you just left.
STORY: “What the fuck was that?”
STORY: The screams continue, now joined with bursts of gunfire and sounds of confusion.
ALEJO: “Always something,” Alejo makes sure that Tux keeps his head down.
STORY: What do you do?
ALEJO: “And I really liked her.” He gestures for Jenny to take up a strategic position as he tries to assess how many bad guys there are.
ALEJO: He also looks for the nearest thing to a weapon at hand.
ALEJO: Do our comms work in here?
STORY: You haven’t tried!
STORY: Jenny shoves Tux behind a half-wall, and he’s happy to cower there as the two of you try to find something to fight back with.
ALEJO: Alejo tries his comm. “Doc, you hear me? We got trouble. Armed shooters in the gift shop. This has gone terribly sideways.”
STORY: Millie, you get that message overlapping with a very, very similar one from Kahn. Armed shooters in the main promenade as well.
MILLICENT: “Tueller. Promise you won’t be upset.”
TUELLER: “What’s up, Doc?”
MILLICENT: “The B team is being assaulted by armed shooters in the gift shop.”
TUELLER: “Well that makes me a little upset.”
MILLICENT: “Which means, I think, we’re locked in here until they resolve it. Or we can break out.”
MILLICENT: “I know, but I’m sure there will be plenty of armed assailants for you to injure later.”
MILLICENT: “Perhaps you can try to find a way out of here that isn’t inherently an act of vandalism and I’ll keep looking for what we’re after.”
TUELLER: “Do they need me?”
MILLICENT: “Not sure yet.”
MILLICENT: to Alejo, “How are you doing? With the violence?”
TUELLER: Tueller stands uselessly, shaking his hands in that powering-up-his-kinetic-gloves way you’ve grown used to.
STORY: Alejo, you’ve found an improvised weapon, what is it?
ALEJO: It’s a replica of an Odh obelisk — basically a triangular shaped rock.
ALEJO: With a very sharp pointy end.
STORY: Jenny has pried a leg off a chair from the cafe that got knocked over towards her. It’s got a sharp plastic edge on the top
STORY: Tux is, as directed, cowering.
ALEJO: Alejo looks at Jenny. “That part about not killing people. . . Feel free to kill these people. Just so we’re clear.” He smiles as he prepares to sneak behind one of the nearest shooters. To Millie: “We’re about to find out.”
ALEJO: “Doc, if you and T see a window, get that drive and get the hell outta here without dying.”
TUELLER: “I can probably break us out here. If this is the distraction we need to smash and grab.”
TUELLER: “I used my real name and biometrics with the museum, though, so if we make a mess…”
MILLICENT: “Don’t you want to try and grab the information you came here for?”
TUELLER: “We’re here for the deck. I hoped getting back here would get you an uplink, but that doesn’t seem like it’s going to be a thing.”
MILLICENT: “Well, I guess we can always come back later.”
TUELLER: “Depends how the rest of our day goes.”
MILLICENT: “Break the wall or whatever you’re going to do, I guess.”
ALEJO: How far are we from the exhibit, Jenny, Tux, and Alejo, that is?
ALEJO: I’m just assuming Tueller and Millie are closer?
STORY: B team would have to run back through the Odh exhibit and then find the Earth one, so probably a couple minutes. You’d need cover not to get shot, too.
ALEJO: –We are NOT conceding we are B team.
STORY: A team is physically closer, but there are a few doors between them and freedom
TUELLER: State of those doors?
STORY: One is a locked metal cage with a doorbell, the others are regular sliding space station doors, certainly locked from the outside but you have no reason to suspect they’d be locked on your side.
TUELLER: “Let’s go, Doc. We can research trade routes later.”
MILLICENT: “I’m going to take you up on that!”
TUELLER: “Let them know we’re moving towards the package.”
TUELLER: “A Team out.”
STORY: Everyone! The lights go out momentarily, and are replaced by dim red lights, so everyone has at least a little trouble seeing. An announcement comes over the whole station’s intercom.
STORY: “Attention. The station is experiencing a security event. Advanced security protocols going in to effect. Civilians, please get to safety, then sit on the ground with your hands on your head, or one of your heads, until the security protocol is lifted. Do not stand or run. Do not attempt to interfere with the automated security personnel. Thank you.”
STORY: The message repeats.
STORY: Alejo, what do you do?
STORY: Jenny’s looking to you for orders. The gunmen are moving towards your hiding spot – she looks at you ready to fall back.
MILLICENT: To Alejo, “We’re taking advantage of the security event to do the job. Let us know if you need back up.”
ALEJO: “Go. Get it done,” he whispers back to Millie. Alejo waves Jenny to fall back as he looks around to see if there are any automated security guards on their way. He stays low but also moves back away from the approaching gunmen.
STORY: Jenny hauls Tux with her and finds another spot to duck and cover, thirty feet back. You don’t see any of the guards, but there are around a dozen gunmen visible to you, starting to fan out in pairs between the exhibits that connect to this gift shop.
STORY: Tueler, Millie, what are you doing?
MILLICENT: “We’ve got a green light.”
TUELLER: Tueller’s going to the metal door and smashing it to get out.
STORY: Let’s have a FA + Physique!
TUELLER: /roll 2d6+2
STORY: chris.stuart rolled 3 + 2 = 5
STORY: You punch hard, and hit the load bearing part of the structure, breaking a metacarpal or two. Roll to Brace for Impact on a Major injury!
TUELLER: No armor for this, I guess?
STORY: Nah, you did it to yourself
STORY: you did
STORY: and that’s why it really hurts
TUELLER: brace for impact is just 2d6 right?
TUELLER: /roll 2d6
STORY: chris.stuart rolled 8
STORY: Major injury it is! One hand is pretty much useless, unless you want to automatically hurt yourself more. The other one is fine.
TUELLER: “Didn’t work, Doc.”
TUELLER: “Oh man did that not work.”
STORY: Millie, what do you do?
MILLICENT: First I bandage up his hand as best I can
MILLICENT: Then I remember back when we were let in here. There must have been a door control on the outside. I’m hoping there’s some wiring behind one of these panels I can jury rig.
STORY: Okay! What medical supplies do you have?
MILLICENT: None! Just some torn shirt strips
MILLICENT: Millie tears a strip off of Tueller’s shirt and wraps him up absentmindedly while looking at the walls.
STORY: Okay, you have to take a minute to get his glove off, and then find something to splint his hand with to wrap it. It’s a few dedicated minutes of bandaging if you want it to work at all, cool?
TUELLER: Tueller waves the Doc off.
TUELLER: “It’s fine. We’ll deal with it later.”
TUELLER: “Not my first broken hand, won’t be my last unless those sentries get us.”
MILLICENT: Millie shrugs and tries to imagine how the door panel is wired and what panel she might have to take off to get to it.
MILLICENT: Can I pop off a panel and rewire the door?
STORY: Sure! What do you have to pop the panel off with?
MILLICENT: Millie takes off a shoe and uses the peep toe edge to wedge under the panel and pop it off
STORY: FA + Expertise to see if you can cross those wires just right
MILLICENT: /roll 2d6 + 2
STORY: josh rolled 4 + 2 = 6
STORY: You two idiots sit in the room silently for a bit until you can think of a better way to get out.
STORY: Alejo! You don’t see any automated guards in this area yet, but a pair of gunmen is approaching your hiding spot, moving through this exhibit towards the central promenade. What do you do?
ALEJO: Alejo shakes his head and frowns. “Guess we help ourselves,” he says and gestures for Jenny to back him up. He moves to the edge of an isle and gets ready to surprise attack the passing gunmen.
ALEJO: How far away are the other gunmen?
ALEJO: Just for a sense of how dangerous an attack will be.
STORY: They’ve all made their way down different exhibit hallways, so it’s just the two of them here in sight right now.
ALEJO: Alejo prepares for the assault.
STORY: Launch Assault please!
ALEJO: /roll 2d6+1
STORY: ablair01 rolled 11 + 1 = 12
STORY: Tell me what happens to these two unfortunate souls!
ALEJO: Alejo springs out from behind the isle, clipping the far gunman’s leg and dropping him to the ground. At the same time, he hits the nearest gunman in the kneecap with the makeshift weapon he has, shattering it. As that guard falls, he gets his hands around his neck and snaps it. Jenny leaps on the far guman as Alejo rips free the rifle from his and starts searching the body for any com devices and anything else handy.
STORY: Jenny just jumps out, wrenches the gun inelegantly from the gunman, cracks him across the jaw, and puts two in his chest when he falls.
ALEJO: Alejo nods respectfully. “Nice.”
STORY: She blows a hair out of her face and looks at you, ready, then, “Shit.”
STORY: She’s looking back to your hiding spot. Tux is gone.
STORY: Tueller! Millie!
STORY: What do you do?
TUELLER: Tueller reaches out to ring the bell, and then stops just short of it.
TUELLER: “Well, let me try this first.” Tueller grabs onto the control panel with his good hand and tries to crumple it off.
STORY: FA + Physique! Good luck!
TUELLER: /roll 2d6+2
STORY: chris.stuart rolled 8 + 2 = 10
STORY: There’s a small spark, and your hand is momentarily numb, but fine in the long run, as the magnetic door locks disengage and you’re free.
STORY: Where to?
TUELLER: Tueller cased this joint, so he’s going as directly as he can to the Earth exhibit to get the deck.
STORY: Excellent! You begin a sprint, through a few doors and up some stairs.
STORY: Alejo, Tux is gone, you’ve got a gun, and so does Jenny. What are you doing?
ALEJO: Looking for the most likely direction that Tux went or was taken.
ALEJO: “Doc, how’s the deck going?”
STORY: Alejo, Tux is almost certainly going for the deck.
MILLICENT: “We just got out of the research rooms. On our way to the prize.”
ALEJO: Alejo waves to Jenny. “Let’s see if we can catch up to the idiot. I’ll take point. You got our backs.”
ALEJO: To Millie: “I think Tux is headed your way. Try not to shoot him. Punching his dumb ass is okay though.”
MILLICENT: To Tueller, “Let’s keep our eyes peeled for Tux. He might have slipped away to try and get the deck.”
STORY: The four of you haul ass towards the Earth exhibit, a long hallway with various small rooms on each side focusing on major Earth scientists and historical figures. You come in from opposite ends, seeing each other as you all run for the door you all know holds Minaaki’s room, close to the middle of the long hallway.
STORY: A figure emerges from the room, looking exhausted but smiling, and holding a small tablet-sized black case. Tux looks up, noticing the four of you running for him, and grins at Millie. “Got it.”
STORY: There’s a muted sound like a chair leg breaking from the end of the hallway behind Alejo and Jenny, and a red spot appears in the center of Tux’s shirt, spraying you with the spatter, Millie. Tux looks down at the spots on your shirt and gestures towards them as he falls to his knees and drops the deck.
STORY: Alejo, you whip back and see a robotic security guard at the end of the hallway, spinning up and moving towards the five of you.
ALEJO: Alejo kills the fuck out of it.
MILLICENT: Millie dives for Tux.
ALEJO: “Get to cover!”
TUELLER: Tueller pushes Millie out of the way with his broken hand, and goes in to Tux himself.
TUELLER: Actually, Tueller tries that and fails because of his broken hand.
TUELLER: He winds up just putting himself between everyone and the gun.
STORY: You empty a clip into it until it’s a sparking, steaming pile of metal. The spot on Tux’s shirt spreads and coats him in red.
STORY: He coughs, once, blood trickling out and down his chin. “Mil–”
ALEJO: “Fuck!” Alejo runs to check on Tux. He crouches low but keeps an eye out for more guards.
STORY: Kahn, armed with one of the gunmen’s rifles, comes running around the corner with Thasht and covers one exit, Jenny the other.
STORY: Millie, you’re certain as soon as you get to him this is it. There’s a hole in his heart. You’ve got a few moments.
MILLICENT: “Hey, hi.” Millie holds his head up.
TUELLER: Tueller slips the deck into his jacket pocket and then hangs back, awkwardly.
MILLICENT: Snaps her fingers in front of his face. “You’ve got time for a message to your son, Tux. What should we tell him? What can we do for him?”
STORY: He smiles at you, teeth pink, eyes having trouble focusing.
STORY: “Teach him… to be good. M… Mill… find out.”
STORY: “Find out why.”
ALEJO: Alejo sinks beside Tux, just watching now. He doesn’t interrupt this exchange.
STORY: He sighs, and his eyes look off to the bulkhead behind you, losing their spark.
MILLICENT: Millie nods. Brushes his hair back from his forehead, closes his eyes. Kisses him gently on the head.
ALEJO: Alejo closes his eyes for a long moment, then stands. “We need to move.” He’s all business, but several tears stream down his face.
