2020-09-05: Sealab2020 2A A Long Walk Off a Short Pier
| A Long Walk Off a Short Pier 2A | |
|---|---|
| Voidship Integrity is in a bad way: upside down at bottom of the sea, heavily damaged, and flooded. Fortunately, help from the nearby Technocracy Construct Deepwater is on its way. The crew split up, some staying on ship and some going to Deepwater. This is the inside the ship log. | |
| IC Date | August 30th, 2020 |
| Players | Albright, Eden Huxley (ST), Winters, Vivian Starr (as NPC_Angela), Zelazny |
| Location | Aboard the VEC Integrity, near the Mariana Trench |
| Prp/Tp | Sealab2020 |
| Spheres | Weaver |
It's completely disorienting to be on the Integrity; stuck upside down and on the bottom of the ocean floor. Numerous spaces are flooded with ankle to knee high ocean water, luckily with most the valuable electronics currently on the 'ceiling' of the ship they are relatively safe from harm - however that doesn't mean their isn't equipment loss. Life support systems are getting fried; not a gigantic deal but they do regulate oxygen for the ship. That will have to be fixed or those on board will suffocate on their own CO2. They can prolong the ships oxygen by conserving it, the best way to do so is by having most the crew disembark for Project: Deepwater.
However, not everyone can go. Midge is not in a stable enough condition to be transported from the Kraken attack, still unconscious she sleeps in the bridge and out of the way from flooded spaces. Eden appears tired but calm, talking privately to Zelazny - someone has to watch Midge and stay with the ship in case anything goes wrong. It's not an easy decision, knowing they're on a bit of a timer and Zelazny could potentially be going down with the ship if the air supply runs out. They were on a ticking clock.
Numerous members of the crew have successes and failures pushing back the water and venting it from the ship. Perhaps it's stress, or the pressure building up around Winters but he over tightens a pipe only to have it rupture and add more liquid to the spaces. The crew has delayed for as long as possible, but the rovers from Deepwater have arrived.
Dr Albright looks around the ship for the emergency anti flooding lever, or maybe the teleportation device can just teleport the water out of the ship. However she can't seem to find them, because they don't exist or the ship is just too much of a mess at the moment.
Comms: <"Whoa, Frank... look at this one. Judith did a number on it. They look proper fucked, mate....- Shhs, shhs, Settle down. Hello, hello? This is Frank Goss with Project: Deepwater, we got our aquatic rovers right outside your vessel. How many people do you have onboard? Over.">
Isaac, aka Zelazny the XO, confers with Eden; it is agreed he will remain on the ship. Look after Midge and make sure the system are not fully fried. It was not really a debate, either. He refused to leave the ship. His baby. His love! Also, he really wanted that water out of the ship. He looks up as the comms come to life. He then takes the initiative on that, "Deepwater, VS Integrity. Names Issac Zelazny. Engineer and XO. We're six on board. One injured but stable. Currently stopped the leaks, but have to work to remove the water."
Now that they aren't immediately going to die (either from implosion or being torn apart by a giant cephalopod), Angela is a bit more calm. Sure, the ship is still majorly flooded and the life support system is non-functional, but those are tractable problems that can be solved a lot more easily now that the specter of death isn't staring them all in the face. Ratcheting sounds are heard as the young Void Engineer works a wrench on a damaged valve -- one dubious advantage to being upside down that the pipe that is normally overhead is easily reachable, even if a few centimeters under water.
There's a mechanical clunk and then a gurgling as the value becomes unstuck and begins to drain some of the water from the area. Angela lets out a breath and rubs the back of her hand against her forehead, brushing some wet brown hair from her eyes. Pulling the ratchet wrench from the valve, Angela presses on a wired comms console, "Okay, tertiary pump valve XA-113 is free, guys. The metal was a bit bent from the damage we took, but a little elbow grease was all that was needed to get it loose. It'll need complete replacing once we put in to drydock, but it'll work for now."
Oh hey! Angela perks up on hearing the transmission, her face blossoming into a happy smile, "Oh, yes! They're here! Thank the Maker!"
Everything on this ship may as well have it out for Winters, he has decided. Plumbing is something that he thought he could handle. Except water pressure differentials across the ship were already wonky and POP* goes a pop in one of the lower compartments that takes too long to plug up. And now they know that this system was compromised somewhere along the hull with water seeping in or an on/off valve stuck on. Without a redirect, Zelazny isn't going to have internal fire suppression systems. "So we're going play bumper cars on the bottom of the ocean? A fun morning this'll be." He'll move to an airlock to be ready to transfer over to the rovers.
Dr Albright isn't one for eblow grease and the controls to autopump all the water out don't seem to be working, so she decides to go see if she can help in other ways. "I guess we can't just leave the ship can we?"
Comms: <"Well one of our aquatic rovers got stuck in the mud and slipped a tread. We had to leave it behind with a small group. So it's only the two rovers at the moment. Mr. Zelazny, permission to come aboard. The rest of my team can handle getting your crew to Deepwater.">, his voice a bit raspy and slick while Frank spoke over the transmission.
Like a little girl whose Daddy just came home from work, Angela hurries along the damp corridors of the stricken vessel to the airlock where the rescue vessel is scheduled to dock, smiling happily the entire time. The mousy brown haired Engineer flashes a bright, cheery grin to Winters as she sees him. "Hey, don't worry! We lived! And now we're rescued." She seems utterly convinced that now that Deepwater has found them that their troubles are over. She hums to herself, bouncing up and down on her feet as she peers up at the airlock door.
Zelazny hits the comms once more, "Well, we won't all be going. Two of us are remaining. Our injured crewmember is not to be moved, and I am staying behind to affect repairs. You are, however, welcomed aboard." He then cuts comms, looking to the systems, "Damn the Void for all this water." he mutters, "Have to be a faster way to get it all out at once." he starts tapping on the systems, trying to find better ways to get rid of it all.
Dr Albright gets out her medical bag and syringes and a couple of vials with milky white liquid inside. "I need to get a blood sample to activate the nanobots. The bots will help protect you from the environmental effects of the deep sea, and allow you to hold your breath for extreme durations."
"Oh. I see. So we're just gonna walk on over to the Rovers." Winters absolutely has the face of a man accepting his fate in strange circumstances. "This is a bad test to point out a deep fear of dark water isn't it?" The man is already pulling up a sleeve though if Doctor Albright wants to yank blood out of him.
Angela's eyes drift over to Albright as the good doctor announces the need for a blood sample. She eyes the syringes balefully, but eventually just sighs, rolling up her sleeve and presenting her arm for blood sampling and whatever else is needed to get her ready for moving along the deep sea. "Never was that good with needles, myself," she says with a sheepish smile to Winters, "So don't worry. You're not the only one with a mild phobia of this situation."
Dr Albright sticks each of the two people who will be leaving the ship and draws some blood, injecting them into a seperate vial of liquid then shaking them to mix them up. Then she refills the syringes and injects the mixture back into them. "There you should be protected now. It seems like a good reaction but if you experience any unusual symptoms please let me know. It isn't too bad outside, though a bit dark and cold."
It takes awhile for Frank to go through the process of the airlock; it filling with ocean water and stabilizing the pressure. Then slowly draining and equalizing to the ships interior. The man is a beast of a giant, somewhere between 7 or 8 feet tall, he has to hunch constantly to make his way through the ship. His eyes are dark and bloated, genetically altered to survive the deep pressures and aquatic conditions of the ocean. His skin is slightly green with webbed fingers and splotches on his skin. Removing the rebreather from his mouth, even though he had genetic gills, the fish man offers a polite smile as much as he can with his near flat lamprey like mouth. A giant machete rests strapped to his right thigh and he speaks in a near Australian accent, "Hey, you blokes alright? Seems like Judith gave your ship a bit of rough loving.", chuckling as if his appearance might be normal. To him, it was. A smirk of needle like teeth, "Now, we might have an idea to flip your vessel right side up again. But we don't have the time tonight or the equipment.", sniffing the air with his flat slit like nose. "Judith loves lights, anything shiny. I'm guessing your ship's antenna drew her in. The glow from the top of it brought it straight to you. It's uh... still glowing now. You got duct tape or a way to cover it up. Otherwise I'd advise shutting off comms when you can. Most my guys have to drive in the dark, no lights. Thankfully we've been modified to see down here.", he explains while removing his black goggles and pushing them up to the top of his head.
Isaac might not have expected .. that. But then, why would he not expect that? He does not stare, only momentarily blinks before he smiles, "Welcome onboard!" he calls out, "Don't mind the water.." he says, trying to make a joke, "..we're trying to get it vented." he pauses, "The antenna? Turn off comms? Oh, I don't like the sound of that." he sighs, "But I suppose .. I have to. As long as its no trouble to turn it on for brief moments, if need be."
She can't help it; when Albright inserts the needle into her arm, Angela screws up her eyes and clenches her jaw. Needles are scary! Still, the procedure is mostly painless and after its over, the brown haired Engineer cracks open an eye before fully opening both and letting out a breath. She smiles apologetically to Albright, "Thanks, doc. Sorry I'm such a weenie."
And then the airlock cycles and the giant Australian fishman steps into the room, Angela's eyes going wide. "Woah," she whispers under her breath, eyeing the needle-teeth with a bit of trepidation. Still, the guy seems all right and, after getting over the initial shock, Angela offers up a bright smile to the man. But then her face falls into an expression of mild confusion, brows knitting together. "Judith...?" she asks before her eyes widen again as understanding dawns, "Woah, you mean that giant squid?! You guys gave it a -name-?"
She gnaws worriedly on her lower lip, brows furrowing again, "It likes bright lights, huh? Uhm... yeah, we should have duct tape around somewhere... it's just, being tossed around like lettuce in a salad shooter then flipped upside down has kinda made finding things a bit of a challenge." A beat. "Plus, I think the cargo bay is still completely flooded." Angela looks to the others helplessly. Maybe one of them happens to have some duct tape? She nods in agreement with Isaac. "Considering how badly damaged the Integrity is, I'd rather not cut communications if at all possible. Keeping status updates is important."
Winters get rather big-eyed at the arrival of 'Frank'. The giant. With the eyes and he is nodding slowly. Right. "Judith the Great Big Kraken? We'll relay it up and let the bridge know." Duct tape though, for underwater repairs? Might be better just to turn it off for awhile. "I don't know that we'd have /enough/ duct tape. If their comms systems work, we can just keep up with regular reports from the Integrity. Theirs always being on means we'd know if the ship got into trouble again and be able to send help."
Dr Albright looks at the fish man, luckily the nanobots shot don't have the old side effects that make you look fishy anymore. Though she doesn't bring that up at the moment, "Hello. So you have more equipment to help us out then?" She looks to the others, "We might be able to use lights as a decoy then, if we run into it again."
Frank reaches into his pocket and begins shaking a can of Skoal dipping tobacco, rattling it and then stuffing a few pouches into his mouth. "Yeah, the Kraken. There used to be two of them. We believe they were mates. Buddy the male hasn't been seen in a few years, but Judith the female lives deep in the Mariana's trench. We've had discussions on exterminating her, but the group consensus is the squid is rare. So we try and conserve her environment and live at peace with it. Plus she keeps the were-sharks away. Those are the true threats out here.", slipping his canister back and walking to the bridge. "Energy weapons huh? You can fire these off into the ocean and the bright light will attract Judith. Sometimes we use underwater flares to distract her to work elsewhere.", nodding to Dr. Albright. "Either way, most of us have gotten used to working without light unless absolutely needed.", Frank offered and looked to Midge then back at the crew. "Well, let me use comms. Get Jakob informed I have four heading out. I'll help your XO deflood the spaces. You can likely toggle comms on and off, I just wouldn't keep them running with that light the antenna emits. Cover it up ASAP.", grunting and heading towards the watered areas to begin looking at damage and how to repair it.
Zelazny looks around the assembled, giving a quick nod to the various suggestions and such, "A decoy is not a bad idea, actually." he says, "I .. might actually be able to rig something up to fire from the missile bays, once I get them working properly, to fire away some sort of illluminated missile. Like a light, for this .. ah .. Judith .. to follow. If it becomes necessary, that is. Ah, and removing the explosives, of course. If we're not killing the thing." he nods once, "Be happy for the help." he nods to Frank, "Rest of you, be careful out there."
Frank uses the comms, <"Hey Jakob, I got four from the ship headed your ways. I'm staying on board to help the ship. If we can't get the life support running, send another Rover with an oxygen tank. Supply is limited. Over.">
"Yeah, there is that," Angela replies to Winters, frowning, "I don't remember off hand the measurements for the comms antenna, but even if we could get some duct tape supplies, it might not be enough." Albright's suggestion causes Angela's eyes to widen and she grins broadly at the other woman. "That's a brilliant idea, doc! Sorta like with Dune and the thumpers. Except watery instead of desert-y. And visual instead of sound. And a giant squid instead of a giant worm. But basically the same."
Her attention is grabbed again by Frank and her eyes widen once more -- she seems to be doing that a lot lately -- "/Were/sharks?" she asks incredulously before shaking her head and muttering to herself, "Crap on a cracker, I should've stayed in R&E where it was safer." She still manages a wan smile to Isaac and nods, "Will do, chief. Keep the old girl in one piece okay?"
"Rokea." Winters very politely helps with properly naming said Weresharks. Proper names are important. "You don't have a perimeter set up with lights to keep Judith moving when you are transporting or need to do something?" An honest question as the man starts to rub-rub-rub where his arm got injected with a frown.
Dr Albright looks over at Angela, "Well you heard him, they are too scared to come here because of Judith, so it should be fairly safe. So we should avoid killing it, she is probably an endangered spieces as well, so that is another reason."
Frank scoffs, "Oh, we've tried setting up lights and relays - we even had plans for a whole electric grid down here. One it's expensive and costly to setup. Two, the damn Rokea as you called 'em. They're always tearing shit down and poking holes in weaknesses for things we setup. You can't win.", sighing. "Be careful out there. Gods speed."
Angela glances at Winters as he Properly Names the weresharks. She nods slowly, seemingly committing the name to memory. The brown haired Engineer then looks back at Albright and smiles slightly, shrugging, "Well, this is their turf. I'm not going to try and upend Deepwater policy for sake of a grudge." She frowns faintly, tapping her chin in thought, "But the... er... 'Judith'... had a mate, right? Does anyone knows what happened to him? I mean... if he just left, that's fine, but I don't want to think about if there's something out there that could kill those things without us even knowing." Angela offers a sympathetic smile to Frank, "Thanks. And, uhm... thanks for your help. You really saved us."
"Hmm. Perimiter." Isaac wonders, "Decoys. I think I got a few ideas.." he says, "If she is attracted to light, and setting a perimeter does not work, then perhaps.. an anti-perimeter?" he talks mostly to himself as the others prepare to get off the ship. He moves to the consoles, or rather.. he works to hook up his Pad to the consoles so he don't have to climb up to the 'roof/floor', preparing to try to flood more water. Somehow!
Frank shrugs, "Everyone has a different theory on Buddy, Judith's mate. Some claim to have seen him in the water deep in the trench. Others claim Judith ate him. We even got reports Buddy might of slipped to the other side and is a giant ghost kraken these days. No body knows for certain. Somethings in life are just a mystery.", winking to Angela with a vertical blink.
Dr Albright fixes her glasses as she considers that, "Well it could be that he died from natural causes. For example it is common for some species to die after reproduction. Though maybe with the giant species they live longer because the male stays behind to protect the babies? At least those would be the most positive outcomes as far as continuing the species."
"Either way. We're burning oxygen over here and we should get moving to give our XO enough time to make the ship liveable, eh?" Winters looks ahead to the nearest foreseeable future and that means getting moving. "Should we get into the rover and get moving then, at least?"
"Ghost Kraken," Angela says with a giggle, "Sounds like something out of a pirate story." She flinches a little at the vertical blink from Frank and offers up a nervous, twitchy smile, "Uh, y-yeah. Some things are a mystery." Still not -quite- used to the Australian's form it would seem.
Angela looks thoughtful at Albright's conjecture, but before she can say anything more Winters refocuses things. She squares her shoulders and nods resolutely, "Right. Let's get going."
Dr Albright nods and heads through the airlock.
Winters heads into the airlock as well, with a tightening jaw and tension in his spine. Sure...nanobots. But you've gotta trust them to work and there is always the sneaking suspicion that they just won't work on him and he'll end up drowning or some such.
Angela steps through the airlock, following along with the others.
Eden finishes suiting up in her giant exoskeleton, relatively quiet and just observing. "If you need to shut off comms. We will try every hour or half hour on the dot.", waving as she piloted her suit.
Eden, Albright, Winters, and Angela go through the airlock
Isaac nods once to this, "Every half hour, on the dot. Confirmed, Boss." he taps into his Pad, setting a timer. He then pulls up the Comm Subroutines, initiating a shutdown of the antenna array.
Once done with the comms, Isaac taps into the ventilation systems. With the ship being upside down, the water on the 'roof' where many of the vents are, he decides to use them to redirect the water. Turning systems blowing air into sucking in air instead, but instead now sucking in water. Redirecting it to other places. He informs Frank on his plan, letting the man work with him on the project.
Frank seems experienced with deflooding spaces, rerouting water to the vents to be pushed out externally. His efforts along with Isaac's remove nearly half the ships water. Cracking his back and spitting the tobacco into a empty cup, "Doing good. We almost got most the sea water out. I'm gonna take a small break.", he says after working in the cold water for a good chunk of time.
Isaac seems to have less issue with working in the water. That Ionic cloth of his? It really is a marvellous device of a long gone time. Even during his time, the cloths were hard to come by, "Ok, you do that." he replies to the man, glancing to the giant, to then look back to his Pad. He continues to use the vents, adjusting the strength of the machinery that causes the suction to pull the water out.
Even while taking a break, Frank hand scoops water or used a bucket from a flooded space to one actively being drained. He whistles, "Watch out for that...", pointing the bloody red squid tissue from the ballast tanks. "There's a reason we call them kraken and not giant squids. There's something wrong with 'em.", Frank implies while spitting into his cup.
Isaac glances to the man-creature, to then eye the piece of Kraken floating about. He make a face, "Ew. Organic residue .." he pats the wall of the ship, "Sorry, baby. I'll get you cleaned out soon enough." he says, to then go back to the issue with the water; although he makes sure to not let that piece get too close, "Always is something wrong." he mutters.
Frank spits in his cup and nods, "Yeah... just don't get infected.", looking to Isaac and cracking his neck. "I see the cargo bay is welded shut. You got anything valuable in there? Worth trading or selling? - Look we ain't gonna charge you for repairs and helping out down here. Just supplies can be difficult to get down here. Maybe we can scratch each other's backs. Got a manifest?", looking to profit perhaps off the situation.
Isaac glances to the giant man, "Valuables?" he wonders, "You've got the wrong ship for that." he furrows his brows a bit, "We're a research vessel. I welded the cargobay shut because it was flooding and I had to save the rest of the ship. Anything in there is ruined." he shakes his head, "Scrap, basically." he hms, "I think I got all the water out, finally. The rest will evaporate." he seals up the vents, "I think I can turn the comms on real quick, send out a message. Hold on to your hat." he then engages the Comms. He blurts out his message real quick, waits for a reply, to then shut it back down.
<S.O.N.G.S.> Zelazny says, "This is Zelazny on the Integrity. I have removed all the water. Starting work on the life support systems. Comms will turn off in two minutes. Zelazny out."
Frank grunts, "I'm not a pirate trying to loot you. Just curious if you had any food or MRE's back there. It's been years since I've had a decent steak.", sliding his hands into his pockets and checking out the life support system. "Not really my specialty."
Waiting for the reply, and once he gets it, he will turn the comms back off. Isaac then looks to the large fish-man, "Well, we're pretty much screwed where supplies are concerned. One we get repaired here, we will have to head back to dock to get new supplies. As I said, flooded." he pauses, "Think you can find a way to remove the water? If you do, whatever is in there that is not destroyed, you can have." he promises, "Meanwhile, I will get to work on the life support systems."
Spitting in his cup, "Can you open the cargo bay remotely?", Frank asks while walking about and thinking it open. "I don't know, might be a lost cause.", watching the last of the water drain. Eyes blinking vertically with a gruffness.
Isaac shakes his head, "Welded shut. Have to get the water out first, then we can open the door." he tells the man, "Sorry. But, look at it? If you can do anything. Some of the stuff would have been in containers. Its possible they might have survived." he says, opening up the subsystems for the life-support systems.
