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Rhyos
Jan 2, 2006
It's probably my fault.
An Ancient Eye About to Blink

From jubilation to chaos, things happening fast to an ageless species can be quite unnerving. After Slam single-handedly turning a desperate gamble into a vast success, the flash of light and the disappearing satellite turned relief into a rush of panic and insecurity. As Shadowcaster's sensors scramble to analyze what had happened, they find that not only is there not a trace of the satellite, but the very space itself is no longer present, ambient particles swishing to fill the void. Starfire cuts a hard pitch to reverse course, going in for a closer look.

A series of lights thrumming from the auxiliary buildings to the central core begin to move faster, pulses of data and electricity seeming to restore power to-

Rhyos fucked around with this message at 00:29 on Dec 4, 2018

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Tricky
Jun 12, 2007

after a great meal i like to lie on the ground and feel like garbage


Zzzt.

Tricky fucked around with this message at 00:39 on Dec 4, 2018

Waador
Sep 11, 2001

Smashin' down the light.
Pillbug
Shadowcaster
Another burst of light from the facility on the asteroid, and Starfire is gone. Not blasted to scrap, or vaporized, just ... vanished, in the blink of an eye. A cascade of threat scenarios and potential responses begin their dance in his mind's eye. The first priority had to be Starfire ... was the bot still alive? Giving the asteroid a wide berth made sense, but they would need to do something to diagnose what had just happened. Understanding what was going on would be a necessary first step in mounting anything resembling a rescue mission.

He knew all too well that a chaotic situation could cause people to react, rather than think things through. He takes a moment to steady himself, and begins to ground the mounting disaster in first principles. He didn't know what had just happened, which was ... fine, he supposed. He could begin by isolating and confirming what hadn't just happened. There were two possibilities, being that the satellite -- and Starfire -- either went somewhere ... or they hadn't. His method demanded that he try to confirm both possibilities.

First, if they had been transported elsewhere ... well, there was a reasonably good chance they would have been transported to the same general area. While a defensive cannon that caused foreign objects to teleport to random places in space would be hilarious, it was hardly practical. If they hadn't been destroyed, but were simply somewhere else, odds were they were still operational, at least for now. Which meant ... the broadcast. Flashdrive had already isolated the frequency that the random string of numbers was being broadcast over. If that frequency could be detected, it would be like a homing beacon to Starfire. Assuming he stayed in one place, anyway. In any event, it was a reasonable enough place to start. With practiced effort, Shadowcaster tunes his signal intelligence array to the specific frequency of the satellite, attempting to detect even the faintest hint of its endless string of integers.

Meanwhile, in a feat of parallel processing, he also considers the other possibility ... that they hadn't gone anywhere. The chance was ... remote ... to say the least, but a shrink ray of some kind could be a plausible defensive weapon. Non-lethal, to be sure, and a great way to scare off any gathering armadas. Thankfully, that satellite was paying dividends on the visual front as well, given that it had been in a stationary orbit to observe the asteroid base. Focusing in on the area where it previously held itself, Shadowcaster magnifies his optical sensors to the uppermost limit of their resolution. He mutters to himself, in the cold void of space, 'Enhance. ENHANCE.'

>> Intelligence 18 >> Searching for signs of radio broadcast (signal array) or evidence of shrink rays (optical array) (:siren: Glitch Die -- 6 :siren:).

While his post-processing suite filters out any noise in the audio and parses the visual feed through a number of wavelengths, he sends a very deliberate ping to Flashdrive, 'Shadowcaster to Flashdrive, what do you make of this? The satellite just vanished in that first pulse of energy, it would seem. Starfire appears to have disappeared with the second burst, so there must be some sort of proximity alert aspect to this situation. Have the sensors on the ship picked up anything useful?'
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Status: Alt-Mode / Null-field Cloak / Jump Drive / Fuel Scoops
Resources: Energon (27)
Mission Log / Stellar Cartography
Mission Parameters: Stealth Protocols / Preliminary Manual Mining / Primary Automated Mining / Belt Exploration / Engine Malfunction
Solstice: Port Primary / Port Maneuvering / Starboard Primary (53%) / Starboard Maneuvering (60%) / Life Support / Communications (superficial stress fractures) / Weapons (30%) / Subsystems (47%) / Fuel (10% -- LOCKDOWN)
__________________________________________________________________________________________

AnAnonymousIdiot
Sep 14, 2013

Flashdrive - Energon: 16


Not from primitives!

Flashdrive’s processors were back into overdrive. What did the ‘satellite’ find? What did Starfire do? What caused it to teleport???

Worst case scenario was that the satellite’s manufacturers might be in this sector soon. They wouldn’t have left surveillance here unless there was something important. Flashdrive regretted not splicing into the satellite while it was still there. They had time!

Now they had to leave. Either to the planet below - and interfere with what life that lingered - or to the asteroid base. Leaving the sector was out of the question; the most it would buy time since there’s going to be emissions from the Solstice.

Shadowcaster posted:

'Shadowcaster to Flashdrive, what do you make of this? The satellite just vanished in that first pulse of energy, it would seem. Starfire appears to have disappeared with the second burst, so there must be some sort of proximity alert aspect to this situation. Have the sensors on the ship picked up anything useful?'

Taking the data in, an idea came to Flashdrive. The bot tried to ping Starfire.

pre:
AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive)Today at 8:40 PM
Welp time to check Starfire's reception...
/r 1d20+9 #ping Starfire
DicebotBOTToday at 8:46 PM
@AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive):  1d20+9 ping Starfire = (17)+9 = 26
AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive)Today at 8:46 PM
/r 1d6 #glitch
DicebotBOTToday at 8:46 PM
@AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive):  1d6 glitch = (6) = 6
pre:
Message to Starfire, please respond. 

What’s your status? What’s your location? Are you under duress?
Time will tell if it reached Starfire.

Meanwhile, there was still the matter of the asteroid, and the likelihood if someone or something may be alerted to their presence. Flashdrive checked the waves again for any change. Also the asteroid as well. Maybe there’s a correspondence between the two...

pre:
DicebotBOTToday at 9:01 PM
@AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive):  1d20+3 listening to frequencies = (3)+3 = 6
AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive)Today at 9:01 PM
welp...
/r 1d6 #glitch
DicebotBOTToday at 9:01 PM
@AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive):  1d6 glitch = (6) = 6
AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive)Today at 9:02 PM
At least it ain't a total loss.
pre:
AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive)Today at 9:02 PM
One final roll. Examining Asteroid for any readings in the Asteroid.
/r 1d20+3
DicebotBOTToday at 9:04 PM
@AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive):  1d20+3  = (10)+3 = 13
AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive)Today at 9:05 PM
Giving 2 Energon for a 15.
/r 1d6 #glitch
DicebotBOTToday at 9:05 PM
@AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive):  1d6 glitch = (4) = 4
A ping to Shadowcaster followed while awaiting results.

pre:
Risking communication with Starfire to check if he can receive us...
Checking comm frequencies and asteroid for any correlation...

Results are pending...

Rhyos
Jan 2, 2006
It's probably my fault.
Glitch die doing some work today!

Staring Into the Void

Optics scan, sensors scan, voices shout into the emptiness, and sometimes, somehow, something is heard back.

Try as Shadowcaster might, there is no trace of a shrink ray, nor any sort of communications. Whatever this facility is, it is not only quiet, but lacks the capacity to "speak" as it were, and that decision was clearly intentional. This facility was intended to remain hidden, and if discovered, esoteric enough to render its purpose undefinable. Still, sometimes the most futile of efforts can yield the greatest results. Sometimes, as nonsensical as it may seem, a prayer is sometimes, inexplicably, answered. Flashdrive tries every type of communication available - x-band, y-band, quantum entanglement, everything short of a tin can with string, yet somehow, from a raw binary data stream focused in the direction of the facility, a carrier tone connects. The signal is heavily distorted, and the return comes back both in the future and in the past - somehow, Flashdrive simply knew that at this point in their future, they would receive a ping about this.

There is no scientific explanation as to why Flashdrive was able to communicate with Starfire. As Shadowcaster analyzes and postulates on the communication link, absolutely none of it makes sense. There is nothing for the communications to go through, yet the link has been established. Either some link remaining on the quantum level still exists between that device and the other side, or it is quite simply the grace of Primus, or the very will of the universe itself, that this link is to exist.

The only explanation that could make sense is that they were at a space bridge. While the concept had been theorized, the possibility of one in action, never mind miniaturized to this relative scale, was next to impossible. The amounts of energy were orders of magnitude above what "current" generation technology could produce, yet here one was, active, hidden, and waiting. How long could it have possibly been?

The response takes a few moments, but comes through. Faint, but extant all the same.

Starfire posted:

This is Starfire, reporting. I seem to have been transported to a strange plane of existence, a refuge of the Primes. There was a warning message, telling all to give up on the Creation Lathe, but I intend to investigate. I see no method of exit, yet, but I will attempt an escape when I've exhausted all avenues of investigation.

Rhyos fucked around with this message at 23:16 on Dec 5, 2018

Waador
Sep 11, 2001

Smashin' down the light.
Pillbug
Shadowcaster

Plot posted:

As Shadowcaster analyzes and postulates on the communication link, absolutely none of it makes sense.
Although his species did not possess lungs, per se, it would not be entirely incorrect to say that Shadowcaster waited with bated breath as Flashdrive's message went ... somewhere? He spent a moment confronting a feeling he had not felt in a very, very long time: confusion. His species, in general, were accustomed to being the more advanced civilization when they happened to encounter other cultures throughout the universe. Moreover, among his people, he was considered a particularly astute mind -- which is to say, there were few things he did not, or at least could not, come to understand. And yet ... here he was, faced with a classic first contact situation, except with the role uncomfortably reversed: a sufficiently advanced technology had been found, and it was, at least at first glance, indistinguishable from magic.

Starfire posted:

... transported to a strange plane of existence ... refuge of the Primes ... warning message ... give up on the Creation Lathe ... no method of exit.
Although not technically able to exhale, particularly in the vacuum of space, positive confirmation that his comrade was still alive fundamentally altered the situation for Shadowcaster. There had been a growing burden of guilt and uncertainty within him, driven by having potentially lost a crew member so soon after assuming command, which was now dissipating. Indeed, even his earlier discomfort faded away, as the content of Starfire's message suggested this was not a matter of technology advanced beyond his understanding. After all, where the Primes and their creations were concerned, it wouldn't surprise him at all to learn that this asteroid complex operated somewhere within the borders between or convergence of magic and science.

While none of the several seemingly unsolvable questions had been answered, he could now at least begin to understand the context of the equation. More importantly, with the safety of his crew confirmed ... at least, for the moment ... he is able to once again clearly focus on the calculus of the situation. Through the lens of his mind's eye, the previously obscured and seemingly chaotic begins to arrange itself into an apparent jigsaw.

Reflexively encrypting even his own thoughts as he began to arrange those puzzle pieces, he regretted that he could not provide guidance to Starfire without a risk of upsetting the delicate balance of the game board. One obvious option would be to enter ... Primespace? ... himself, and perhaps it would come to that eventually. Haste in taking such an action would work against them, though, he suspected. This was not a two-dimensional, or even a three-dimensional puzzle. Time was a variable as well, quite plainly. The situation was complex, and admittedly also potentially dangerous, but he couldn't help but also find some humor in it. Yes, clearly someone among the Primes had constructed and hidden an asteroid base in the middle of nowhere, and configured it to detect and transport nearby Cybertronian life signs to a pocket universe, in order to tell them to give up on their quest. That made perfect sense. There was definitely nothing else going on here, not at all.

After some consideration, he risks a brief response to Starfire through Flashdrive's binary data stream, and offers, 'Message received and acknowledged, Starfire -- I am glad to hear your voice. We'll find a way to get you out of there, but if you're going to take a look around first, we will continue to repair the ship in parallel. That said, I have one ... minor ... piece of advice for you, concerning your current situation. The Primes were not known to give warnings lightly. Hear and consider their words. Carefully.'

Shifting his attention back to the other members of his crew, he offers, 'We should focus our efforts on gathering the raw material from that ... former ... asteroid. Once we have repaired the ship, it might take a while to retrieve Starfire, which means we will need to linger in the system for a bit. I trust none of you would turn down an opportunity to meet the locals on that planet, and perhaps give their roads a bit of a test drive?' Nebulous as the current situation was, he suspected that giving the rest of his crew a clear task to focus on, and an appealing reward to strive towards, would help in the long run.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Status: Alt-Mode / Null-field Cloak / Jump Drive / Fuel Scoops
Resources: Energon (27)
Mission Log / Stellar Cartography
Mission Parameters: Resource Collection / Ship Repair / Planet Exploration / Rescue Starfire
Solstice: Port Primary / Port Maneuvering / Starboard Primary (53%) / Starboard Maneuvering (60%) / Life Support / Communications (superficial stress fractures) / Weapons (30%) / Subsystems (47%) / Fuel (10% -- LOCKDOWN)
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Inkspot
Dec 3, 2013

I believe I have
an appointment.
Mr. Goongala?
Sidewinder
Energon: 17

"So our options are a spacehole to nowhere or a planet of telepathic dinosaurs?" Sidewinder asks, not intending it to sound quite so biased, but what are you going to do. "I mean... We need Starfire, but... it wouldn't hurt to look? If we can, you know, survive the landing."

Waador
Sep 11, 2001

Smashin' down the light.
Pillbug
Shadowcaster

Sidewinder posted:

"So our options are a spacehole to nowhere or a planet of telepathic dinosaurs?"
More than a little amused by Sidewinder's comparison, Shadowcaster responds, 'Technically, they're only theoretically telepathic. We might actually have a great deal in common with them at the moment -- after all, it's quite possible they haven't invested in radio broadcast technology due to a severe energy shortage. Their planet's unusually thick atmosphere likely precludes the reliable use of solar power, and I would find it ... rather unusual ... if they were keen to use fossil fuels as a primary power source for their civilization. That leaves them rather reliant on uranium, wind turbines, geothermal energy, biomass, and hydropower -- all quite reliable, but harder to implement on a global scale without using the literal bones of one's ancestors as an intermediary fuel source.' He pauses, considering the statement, and adds, 'I suppose I can actually look into the matter, rather than just speculating, though.'

>> Intelligence 11 >> Scanning the planet to determine the state of their energy infrastructure (:siren: Glitch Die -- 1 :siren:).

Sidewinder posted:

"I mean... We need Starfire, but... it wouldn't hurt to look? If we can, you know, survive the landing."
Responding to Sidewinder's other statement as well, Shadowcaster offers, 'We'll need to repair the ship first, but once that's taken care of, landing on the planet shouldn't be too much of a problem.'
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Status: Alt-Mode / Null-field Cloak / Jump Drive / Fuel Scoops
Resources: Energon (27)
Mission Log / Stellar Cartography
Mission Parameters: Resource Collection / Ship Repair / Planet Exploration / Rescue Starfire
Solstice: Port Primary / Port Maneuvering / Starboard Primary (53%) / Starboard Maneuvering (60%) / Life Support / Communications (superficial stress fractures) / Weapons (30%) / Subsystems (47%) / Fuel (10% -- LOCKDOWN)
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Rhyos
Jan 2, 2006
It's probably my fault.
Reply Hazy

Turning his sensors once more to the planet, EM scans show surprisingly little. Heat scans are nearly useless, as the entire planet is rather warm, but try as they might they - oh. That was something new.

Seemingly unwilling to be left alone, the pulsing of energy to the asteroid-bound platform ceases, the streams of power far more solid. Exterior lights blaze, projecting into the void in a perfect series of guidelines. As soon as they're noticed, a beam of light projects from the central structure, a visual inspection from juuust the right angle showing a vast plane of steel. A keyhole to the other side of nowhere.

AnAnonymousIdiot
Sep 14, 2013

Flashdrive - Energon: 13


Flashdrive’s processors flared as Starfire’s message played and replayed in the bot’s head. Things started to click. The message from Alpha Trion; the leads to a unique Space Bridge; the Creation Lathe; the satellite that teleported Starfire. That satellite was it. That was the way in!

The bot had to cool down for a few cycles. The worst-case scenario was non-existent.

But Starfire was halfway across the Universe with the transport that took him there.

… Nothing for it then…

The Solstice still needed most of its structure repaired; there were materials to collect, and there was that third structure to look into. And there wasn’t much Flashdrive can do jacked into the mainframe. Going into half-sleep seemed like the sensible thing to do unless there was something that Flashdrive could handle.

Then came the energy spike. Something had happened. Time to ping Starfire again.

pre:
Have you activated something on your end. Back in the sector, we are seeing what appears to be a dimensional gateway.
If it turned out Starfire, or whomever the bot may have encountered back at the space bridge, had managed to get it to work, then they’d be very close to fulfilling one of their objectives.

Waador
Sep 11, 2001

Smashin' down the light.
Pillbug
Shadowcaster

Plot posted:

... EM scans show surprisingly little ... heat scans are nearly useless ...
He had to admit, a seemingly natural resistance to scanning was an interesting planetary property. A surface landing seemed to be the only surefire way to reliably learn anything about the resident civilization, for better or worse.

Plot posted:

... exterior lights blaze ... a beam of light projects ... a vast plane of steel ... a keyhole to the other side of nowhere.
In fairness, nobody ever accused the Primes of being consistent. Why place a message in a bottle warning people away, only to have the facility set up to behave in a manner virtually demanding further investigation?

This development only served to reinforce his initial theory: this facility wasn't meant to discourage exploration, and turn away any Cybertronian life it encountered. It was meant to scan, assess, and test any visitors it encountered. It wasn't a roadblock. It was a filter. Though the question remained ... were they selecting for something, or trying to exclude certain groups? Perhaps both, knowing the minds involved. Odds were, only a particular set of behaviors and personality characteristics enacted by a specific type of bot would pass their test. He wondered if Starfire was up to the challenge. Intervening would be ... unpleasant, he suspected, though Primespace did literally beckon, it seemed. With an internal sigh, he begins to extrapolate the seemingly necessary sequence of events, planning his next move.

All things considered, ship repairs remained an important task. The others seemed to be distracted by the dimensional vortex that was undergoing the slow but steady process of ripping a tear in the nearby space-time continuum ... which, upon reflection, he supposed was fair. Deciding to break the spell of inertia that had come over them, he offers with a ping to the ship, 'I am going to begin the process of aggregating iron ore into one spot for convenient collection and processing. I should be able to configure the weapons array to emit a ... relatively safe ... beam with the properties of a strong magnetic field. With our primary target being iron, it should serve as a crude but functional tractor beam. One or two of you will need to man the weapons systems, however, in order to actually shoot the rocks while I calibrate and monitor the systems. Spinout, Sidewinder? You're up.'

>> Skill 13 >> Calibrating the weapons array to emit magnetic pulses, to act as a crude iron ore tractor beam.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Status: Alt-Mode / Null-field Cloak / Jump Drive / Fuel Scoops
Resources: Energon (27)
Mission Log / Stellar Cartography
Mission Parameters: Resource Collection / Ship Repair / Planet Exploration / Rescue Starfire
Solstice: Port Primary / Port Maneuvering / Starboard Primary (53%) / Starboard Maneuvering (60%) / Life Support / Communications (superficial stress fractures) / Weapons (30%) / Subsystems (47%) / Fuel (10% -- LOCKDOWN)
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Inkspot
Dec 3, 2013

I believe I have
an appointment.
Mr. Goongala?
Sidewinder
Energon: 17

Things were looking up. Still a bummer to be millennia late to the party and stranded on the other side of the unknown universe to boot, but those sweet sensor input readings of gravel and rubber were closer than ever. First, business.

Swinging into the rig and buckling the maglock, an outwardly futile but hard-programmed servo memory, Sidewinder flips the switches and punches the buttons. It reminds him of an old holofiction where two automatons flee their superiors and inadvertently reignite an ages old religious war. A true cautionary tale.

Sidewinder pulls the triggers.

Firing Lasers For Fun And Profit: 1d20+2 = 11 1d6 = 5

Rhyos
Jan 2, 2006
It's probably my fault.
Seek Not Your Fortune in the Mines

Try as they might, the weapons array seems to be more oriented to coherent energy beams rather than electromagnetism. It will work fine as a means of melting the metal and with enough exposure, cooking off some of the slag, but it seems like the pieces will need to be moved some other way. Sidewinder's shot from the pintle-mounted point defense laser doesn't accomplish much, having missed the target entirely. Either they, the laser, or both were a bit rusty after such a stretch of inactivity. Still, Slam may have had the right idea, especially if there were a 2-person team.

Meanwhile, Flashdrive hears back from Starfire, still loud and clear.

Starfire posted:

I think I'm starting to get the hang of this, but it takes a lot out of me to keep something like this open. Give me some time to figure things out a bit more, and I'll contact you when I'm ready.

With that, the space bridge goes into a minimal power mode. A connection exists, but is just enough to get radio waves through.

Rhyos fucked around with this message at 16:58 on Dec 15, 2018

Waador
Sep 11, 2001

Smashin' down the light.
Pillbug
Shadowcaster

Plot posted:

... the pieces will need to be moved some other way ... Slam may have had the right idea ...
Unable to find a way to safely magnetize the array of point defense lasers, Shadowcaster offers to the team, 'It would seem that calibrating the weapons systems to emit a magnetic beam is not feasible at this time. Perhaps the relevant components are damaged, or malfunctioning? In any event, manual retrieval of iron ore appears to be necessary. Slam, it would seem you will need to strap yourself back in to that chain of belts, and 'fish' for the larger chunks of ore, bringing them to the cargo bay. Spinout and Sidewinder, the task of operating our vast selection of energy weapons in order to melt the ore will fall to you. Meanwhile, I am going to begin constructing ... something ... to assist with fabrication of the parts and tools we will need.'

>> Skill 19 >> Scavenging spare parts in the ship to assemble a smelting and fabricating facility, in order to process the ore once it is gathered.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Status: Alt-Mode / Null-field Cloak / Jump Drive / Fuel Scoops
Resources: Energon (27)
Mission Log / Stellar Cartography
Mission Parameters: Resource Collection / Ship Repair / Planet Exploration / Rescue Starfire
Solstice: Port Primary / Port Maneuvering / Starboard Primary (53%) / Starboard Maneuvering (60%) / Life Support / Communications (superficial stress fractures) / Weapons (30%) / Subsystems (47%) / Fuel (10% -- LOCKDOWN)
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Rhyos
Jan 2, 2006
It's probably my fault.
Final Prep and Cross-Check

Zipping us along!

It takes some time, plenty of frustration, and quite a bit of wheel spinning (Friction welding? Gotta go fast!), but eventually, the hull gets patched, the temporary GLOO making for a nice bonding agent. An ear is kept to the space bridge nearby, but all is quiet. According to Shadowcaster's calculations, the patch should survive re-entry, but will prove ablative - it'll only work one way without an actual machining and fabrication facility, never mind the one engine. The biggest barrier to survivability will be pounding out a heat shield, and that's if the pilot is competent enough to handle re-entry. It's a tough task, but given what they've accomplished already, far from insurmountable.

Waador
Sep 11, 2001

Smashin' down the light.
Pillbug
Shadowcaster

Plot posted:

... Solstice needs heat shield ... re-entry plan ...

Plot posted:

... the Solstice drifts its way behind a nearby asteroid comprised of mainly water ice ...

Plot posted:

... Solstice needs heat shield ... re-entry plan ...
Among the people of Cybertron, over-engineering a solution to a problem was quite common. When you had a deck of cards filled almost to the point of overflowing with highly advanced technology and a thorough understanding of the underlying science, it could be rather difficult to find the 'simple' solutions hidden in the deck. Among his peers, though, Shadowcaster had always been capable of approaching problems from unexpected angles. He sends a message to Flashdrive, 'Flashdrive ... have you ever seen a butterfly? Are you familiar with the concept of a cocoon?' He relays an image to the ship.



He explains a bit further, 'What I'm saying is, do we really need a makeshift heat shield? We've got a perfectly good tomb of ice right here. Couldn't we use the mining lasers to burrow into its core, latch the ship to the interior of the asteroid with a few spiked cables and beams, and simply ... use the ship's engines to launch it at the planet? A few million kilograms of ice should serve as a rather effective heat shield, I would think, and the ice content of the asteroid will melt away in the atmosphere by the time we hit the ground. I imagine the sight might scare the locals a bit, but in all honesty perhaps a bit less than a spaceship descending from the heavens with no warning whatsoever. Concealing our descent to the planet, while perhaps a secondary benefit, wouldn't be the worst thing. We could still install a heat shield to act as a backup plan in case of catastrophe, I suppose. What do you think?'
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Status: Alt-Mode / Null-field Cloak / Jump Drive / Fuel Scoops
Resources: Energon (27)
Mission Log / Stellar Cartography
Mission Parameters: Resource Collection / Ship Repair / Planet Exploration / Rescue Starfire
Solstice: Port Primary / Port Maneuvering / Starboard Primary (53%) / Starboard Maneuvering (60%) / Life Support / Communications (superficial stress fractures) / Weapons (30%) / Subsystems (47%) / Fuel (10% -- LOCKDOWN)
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Waador fucked around with this message at 18:45 on Dec 20, 2018

AnAnonymousIdiot
Sep 14, 2013

Flashdrive - Energon: 13

A cycle passed since the message. Then another. And Another.

Three more cycles passed and Flashdrive’s spark dimmed. Something was wrong. Did their reception go dark?

Another ping to Starfire.

pre:
Starfire, can you receive us? Has anything changed from your position?
Time will tell if that gets through.

For now, there wasn’t anything that Flashdrive could do until full repairs were complete. With a rift still staring down the Solstice the bot wondered if the next order was to rescue Starfire. If it turned out there was power wherever Starfire was, they’d have a base of operations. In the meantime, a response came in.

Starfire posted:

I think I'm starting to get the hang of this, but it takes a lot out of me to keep something like this open. Give me some time to figure things out a bit more, and I'll contact you when I'm ready.

That confirmed it. Starfire had something to do with the rift. It would be a matter of time before Starfire can make use of the rifts wherever the bot was. Then a ping from Shadowcaster came.

”Shadowcaster” posted:

Flashdrive ... have you ever seen a butterfly? Are you familiar with the concept of a cocoon? ... What I'm saying is, do we really need a makeshift heat shield? We've got a perfectly good tomb of ice right here. Couldn't we use the mining lasers to burrow into its core, latch the ship to the interior of the asteroid with a few spiked cables and beams, and simply ... use the ship's engines to launch it at the planet?... What do you think?

It… could work. Problem would be making sure the asteroid wouldn’t crack too severely. The cavity had to be wide and deep enough for the Solstice and jets to fit in. And of course making sure the asteroid didn't crack before entry.

pre:
Can be done.
pre:
AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive)Today at 2:33 PM
welp that removes the dilemma.
One moment, going to make a roll.
/r 1d20+9 #convert asteroid into ice ship
DicebotBOTToday at 2:34 PM
@AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive):  1d20+9 convert asteroid into ice ship = (12)+9 = 21
AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive)Today at 2:34 PM
/r 1d6 #glitch
DicebotBOTToday at 2:34 PM
@AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive):  1d6 glitch = (1) = 1
AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive)Today at 2:34 PM
Welp
It would take time and some manipulation of the lasers. As long as the asteroid doesn’t break, they’d have their ‘shield.’

But what’s next after the crew touches down?

AnAnonymousIdiot fucked around with this message at 23:04 on Dec 29, 2018

Waador
Sep 11, 2001

Smashin' down the light.
Pillbug
Shadowcaster

Flashdrive posted:

Can be done.
It was, admittedly, an unconventional solution. Burrowing into the asteroid was simple enough in theory, but a significant degree of precision would be required both to bore the tunnel with the mining lasers, and to fly the ship into the cavity when it was created. An error while drilling the tunnel would waste ice and reduce the effectiveness of the heat shield, and an error made while burrowing the ship deeper could crack the asteroid in half ... or further damage the ship. These were surmountable problems, though, and he was confident that Flashdrive could handle the challenge.

That meant Shadowcaster was free to focus on other pressing matters, and there was, without doubt, at least one issue to be resolved. Navigating a ship through an asteroid field? Easy. Navigating a damaged ship with only one engine through an asteroid field? Less easy. Piloting an asteroid with a damaged ship, from the inside where sensors would be less effective, and course correction would be harder due to the increased mass? Well, it wasn't impossible, but ... sufficed to say, care needed to be taken. Taking up position outside the asteroid, an image of the surrounding area is projected to the crew through the monitors on the ship.



After some consideration, he explains the next steps to the crew, 'All hands, this is Shadowcaster. Flashdrive is in the process of embedding the ship into the asteroid: we will use its icy exterior as an ablative heat shield during planetary reentry. While this will work, it will impede the ship's sensors -- which is to say, in order for you to successfully navigate the asteroid field, as well as planetary reentry, someone will need to remain outside of the ship and the asteroid in order to guide your course. I am, for better or worse, the natural candidate for this role. Your orders are to make it safely to the planet's surface, determine if peaceful contact can be made with the locals, and if so find a way to properly repair the ship. I will remain within the asteroid belt after you land, which should allow me to remain in contact with yourselves as well as Starfire, in order to coordinate our broader policy within the system.'

>> Intelligence 22 >> Astrometrics analysis, in order to chart a safe course for the ship through the asteroid belt. (:siren: Glitch Die -- 1 :siren:).

He continues, 'As you know, the Solstice remains damaged, and our starboard engines are at approximately half capacity. Without port engines, we don't have enough thrust in order to precisely maneuver the ship itself, let alone an asteroid. As a result, escaping the asteroid belt is not going to be a straight shot. In order to pass through unscathed, you will need to run ...' The image of the ship's exterior is then replaced with another, less familiar image.



He concludes, '... the nautilus maneuver.'
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Status: Alt-Mode / Null-field Cloak / Jump Drive / Fuel Scoops
Resources: Energon (27)
Mission Log / Stellar Cartography
Mission Parameters: Resource Collection / Ship Repair / Planet Exploration / Rescue Starfire (on hold)
Solstice: Port Primary / Port Maneuvering / Starboard Primary (53%) / Starboard Maneuvering (60%) / Life Support / Communications (superficial stress fractures) / Weapons (30%) / Subsystems (47%) / Fuel (10% -- LOCKDOWN)
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Rhyos
Jan 2, 2006
It's probably my fault.
Billion Mile Slingshots

It takes significant time and effort, but with the growing proficiency of Slam's tetherball maneuvers, wiggling the Solstice into position in a crack in the iceteroid proves successful, if not a little bumpy. With everyone strapped in, the main engines fire up once again, albeit more like a maneuvering thruster given the tremendous new mass attached to it. The good thing about gravity slingshots is that only minor thrusts are needed to correct course. With Shadowcaster keeping a close eye (and giving the occasional light nudge), and gravity doing most of the heavy lifting, the ship eventually floats free of the field, thrusting slowly into interplanetary space. Solar winds provide a bit of resistance, given the big, flat surface, but with pressure, persistence, and patience, the gap is eventually bridged. Entry to the planet itself, however, is another task entirely.

The mass and lack of control makes an appropriate entry difficult. It begins with a light shimmy, but soon becomes a rumble. From the interior, straps strain, iron creaks, the occasional tool goes flying and clatters against the ceiling. Partway through, however, there is a loud CLUNK, a brief silence, and then a gyro-wrenching tilt as atmospheric plasma lights up the cockpit glass. Through the purple-yellow energy splayed across the front of the ship, the vague shape of ocean and land pass by. And by. And by as lateral g-forces lurch everyone to one side.

From space, Shadowcaster can see precisely what happened. As the atmosphere creates drag, friction heats up the surrounding air along with the molecules around and on the ship. Water that had been frozen for time immemorial vaporizes instantly, the shield beginning to boil away before an anchor point in the ice causes a chunk to fly off. Plasma yields nothing but static during re-entry. The uneven shield combined with the lack of appreciable thrust power sets the Solstice into a spin, streaks of ice lighting up the sky before -



- the ice boils away completely, everyone bracing for impact as that stretch of equatorial desert starts to come up awfully fast.



With a sickening crunch, the Solstice's front end buries itself in the deep sand, a sheet of glass coating the exterior thanks to the heat of re-entry. The engine and fuel compartments are shorn off entirely from the force of the impact, killing power to the ship entirely. They had arrived, albeit in a few more pieces than they had left in. The big question was how they were going to get back out there. The more pressing one is to find out where they were in the vast desert they found themselves in. The skies are a light green, with thick clouds overhead, and a humid heat blows over the dunes. Welcome to Aidah.

Took a long time to get here, but we're planetside! Since the first arc's complete, I'm granting everyone 20 Energon for sticking with it this far. Hopefully the system is proving workable, and being on a planet helps to give everyone more to do! Starfire is still beyond the space bridge, though Shadowcaster's perch above the planet still allows contact. The remainder of the crew are smack in the middle of the equatorial desert of Aidah. The satellite monitoring/launch area is at the far north of the megacontinent, but civilization should be findable through the various jungles and rainforests to either side of the equator. The world is your Aquatic Capacitor!

Waador
Sep 11, 2001

Smashin' down the light.
Pillbug
Shadowcaster

Plot posted:

From space, Shadowcaster can see precisely what happened.
Keikaku, it was not.

That said ... he supposed he couldn't complain. All things considered, the 'heat shield' had performed admirably, and even before reentry the ship had been held together by glue and no small amount of good luck. A few complications during the landing process were to be expected ... like crashing violently into the surface, and shearing off a few pieces of the ship along the way. On the bright side, he was reasonably certain that most observers would dismiss the landing as a falling star. Given that all of the ice had boiled away relatively close to the planet's surface, there had only been a small window of time where the ship might have been visible to casual onlookers. Unless they had been extremely unlucky, his crew would at least have one card in their hand: rather than being uninvited aliens landing on the planet unannounced, they could snoop around a bit first, if they were so inclined. They could be ... robots in disguise.

It was hard to tell exactly what the consequences of the crash landing were from his current position, but he had to assume at least a few of the core systems were knocked out of commission. The communications array had a number of stress fractures in it before the crash, so he suspected it was a rather likely candidate to be damaged after slamming into a planet. Even if it had somehow managed to survive the impact, he doubted the crew would be able to take it with them in any meaningful fashion, which meant ... well, he was capable of transmitting over a broad range of frequencies, so getting messages to the crew wouldn't be that hard. Without a communications array or a power source on their end capable of sending a message that pierces the atmosphere, though, that communication channel might be decidedly one-sided for a while. He was reasonably confident in Flashdrive's ability to solve that problem, though he imagined the bot might need a bit of time.

Plot (the past) posted:

... an ultraviolet and electromagnetic scan ... complete lack of radio broadcasting ... clearly an industrialized civilization ... an early launch site yields the only clear example of a radio receiver.
Enveloped in the calming silence of deep space, Shadowcaster takes a few minutes to consider his options. A number of lines of thought all lead back to the same place: the launch site.

Had his crew been detected entering the atmosphere, or had they been mistaken for a falling star? The launch site might be able to tell him, given that the facility was pretty likely to be observing the asteroid belt where their satellite had been, and were also sure to be tapped in to a broader array of telescopes and observatories across the planet, assuming a basic level of cooperation across settlements. More critically, there was the question of simply knowing more about the locals. What was their general disposition? What did they value, and what did they fear? If he could learn more about how they were reacting to the recent disappearance of their satellite, he might be able to start building a cultural and psychological profile of the species, or at least that of whichever nation or group had built the launch site to begin with. Finally, there was the personal element to it ... making contact with the species as a whole, at least at the moment, seemed generally unwise. A single person, though, who fit the right psychological profile? It might take a bit of time, but it was possible.

Thankfully, someone had been kind enough to build a radio receiver at the launch site. It had obviously been intended to listen to the broadcast of numbers from the satellite, but that meant it was pointed in his general direction given his current residence in the asteroid belt. He wondered, what were the odds, really, that the locals had been particularly careful about network security at their launch site? Odds were, that radio receiver was connected to some kind of computer. With enough time, he was confident he would be able to find a way into the digital infrastructure of the facility, assuming any existed. Whether they kept digital records, had security cameras throughout the facility, or had other means of video and audio communication were questions to be answered. He rather suspected, if he could dig into their personnel files, he'd be able to find a few suitable candidates for first contact within the facility ... or perhaps a former employee, anyway. Time would tell.

>> Skill 10 >> Trying to patch into the network at the launch site, using the radio receiver as the way in. (:siren: Glitch Die -- 1 :siren:).
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Status: Alt-Mode / Null-field Cloak / Jump Drive / Fuel Scoops
Resources: Energon (47)
Mission Log / Stellar Cartography
Mission Parameters: Resource Collection / Ship Repair / Planet Exploration / Rescue Starfire (on hold)
Solstice: Port Primary / Port Maneuvering / Starboard Primary (53% - sheared off) / Starboard Maneuvering (60% - sheared off) / Life Support / Communications (superficial stress fractures - no power) / Weapons (30% - no power) / Subsystems (47% - no power) / Fuel (10% -- LOCKDOWN - sheared off)
Asteroid Belt: Geodic Ruby Crystals
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Waador fucked around with this message at 08:39 on Jan 5, 2019

Ryuujin
Sep 26, 2007
Dragon God
Slam

For the most part Slam doesn't know what to do to get to the planet. He goes along with what the others suggest, and of course does his best to harvest as much material from the asteroids and whatever he can to help with plan ice shell. The actual entry was rather harsh, but not as harsh as the entry would have been if Slam had gone in without the ship. Once things settle down he slowly makes his way out and starts to look around. When the others make their way out he looks to them.

"Slam no know what we do?" He looks around again, "Slam jump, Slam see?"

If he gets any agreements with that plan he will step away from the ship, looking for a nice hard area to leap from, perhaps on some hardened glass from the impact. He then bunches up and leaps into the air.

As he reaches the apex of his leap he raises his right arm, letting go of the flail head, the chain begins to move, whipping about. Soon the chain and spiked ball begins to spin about his body, quickly rising higher and higher until it reaches the full extension above him acting much like a helicopter blade. Keeping him aloft. Then part of his armored back rises a bit, revealing a series of small jets. They begin to fire, along with a pair on the bottom of his feet, to stabilize his flight and allow movement beyond simply rising and falling.

Strength, jumping to get a view 20 (with a 5 on the glitch die)

Spent 15 Energon to gain Flight capability with the spiked flail ball and chain connected to his right hand, and some stabilizer jets for finer control.

Ryuujin fucked around with this message at 23:14 on Jan 9, 2019

Rhyos
Jan 2, 2006
It's probably my fault.

The 10 Mile View

For biological beings, the senses are a source of constant data input, deadened solely through sleep or damage. For machines, there are so many more senses, a bit easier to turn off and ignore so as to prevent the cross-contamination of data. At such a close range, it's far easier to see the group and the crash of the Solstice. It takes a bit of drift in order to get a view of the launch installation further north, and it's quite easy to spot the now-silent satellite dish. Locking onto it is a trivial matter, and the data stream is met with silence.

Until suddenly, it isn't.

OBSERVER SILENT
OUTSIDE ENTITY DETECTED
SYSTEMS ACTIVATED
TCOG ENGAGED

WE SEE YOU


The Mile High Club

With Starfire in extradimensional space, the lack of rapid recon makes getting the crew's bearings rather difficult. Fortunately, they have Slam. With a lot of mass and an entire planet to use as leverage, the ankylosaurus leaps into the air, tail-club whirling at a high enough rate of speed to provide lift! It takes some getting used to, but with the advantage of height, Slam is able to tell that they're toward the northern edge of the desert. At least, that's what it looks like from up there. Their eye in the sky may be able to tell them a little more. At the very least, they're very close to the end of the sandy portion of the desert, with hardened, dry flats just around the next dune, which should make it easier to make tracks.

And there's our first just-in-time ability purchase! Enjoy a 5 Energon refund, Slam!

Waador
Sep 11, 2001

Smashin' down the light.
Pillbug
Shadowcaster

Plot posted:

... the data stream is met with silence. Until suddenly, it isn't.
He had, admittedly, anticipated something like this might happen. A brief moment is taken to review the facts, and confirm his assessment.

Shadowcaster (the past) posted:

Reflexively encrypting even his own thoughts as he began to arrange those puzzle pieces, he regretted that he could not provide guidance to Starfire without a risk of upsetting the delicate balance of the game board. One obvious option would be to enter ... Primespace? ... himself, and perhaps it would come to that eventually. Haste in taking such an action would work against them, though, he suspected. This was not a two-dimensional, or even a three-dimensional puzzle. Time was a variable as well, quite plainly. The situation was complex, and admittedly also potentially dangerous, but he couldn't help but also find some humor in it. Yes, clearly someone among the Primes had constructed and hidden an asteroid base in the middle of nowhere, and configured it to detect and transport nearby Cybertronian life signs to a pocket universe, in order to tell them to give up on their quest. That made perfect sense. There was definitely nothing else going on here, not at all.
The asteroid base was well concealed from visual observation and conventional sensors, but its space bridge had been ... primed ... to react to Cybertronian life forms, if and when they arrived. Hard to miss, and harder to interpret, it had been his first clue to the real nature of the game that had been afoot since they entered the system.

Shadowcaster (the past) posted:

This development only served to reinforce his initial theory: this facility wasn't meant to discourage exploration, and turn away any Cybertronian life it encountered. It was meant to scan, assess, and test any visitors it encountered. It wasn't a roadblock. It was a filter. Though the question remained ... were they selecting for something, or trying to exclude certain groups? Perhaps both, knowing the minds involved. Odds were, only a particular set of behaviors and personality characteristics enacted by a specific type of bot would pass their test. He wondered if Starfire was up to the challenge. Intervening would be ... unpleasant, he suspected, though Primespace did literally beckon, it seemed. With an internal sigh, he begins to extrapolate the seemingly necessary sequence of events, planning his next move.
With the asteroid base serving as a lure, and the space bridge acting as the line, Starfire had quite literally been reeled to an intended destination. The question that had lingered in his mind since Starfire's abduction was a simple one: had the base been waiting for them, or were they simply welcome to plead their case? The Primes were formidable, to be sure, but as a general rule they weren't omniscient ... even if through the grace of Primus they might have known someone would eventually come, they would have had no way of knowing who might come beforehand. The universe was, after all, a dangerously unpredictable place.

Previously reinforced, he was now certain that his initial theory was correct. Wherever that space bridge led, at least one of its core functions was to test those it encountered. After all, if the Primes had left something to be found by future generations, they would want to ensure it did not fall into the wrong hands. More likely than not, the destination would test the strength of will of those it encountered ... but it would also test their strength of character. He wondered, had the planet been the test of character all along? After all, if one were to pass the first test of the Primes, they would likely find themselves wielding immense power ... and a nearby populated planet would make for a tempting target indeed for a newly minted despot.

In all fairness, this was decidedly not the particular hand of judgment he had been anticipating. For his own part, Shadowcaster had assumed that any attempt to leave the space bridge would result in time-space dilation, causing those who entered to appear hundreds, or even thousands of years after their initial moment of entry. More than enough time for the nearby sentient species to advance their industrial capabilities to the point of fielding interstellar ships and weaponry of significant capability, particularly if they had the right incentive. He had worried, perhaps mistakenly, that negative interaction with the planet before approaching the space bridge had been the tripwire intended to defend against bots of weak character or ill repute.

This latest development, though, still fit the general pattern. If Starfire was taking the first test of the Primes, that of ... mettle, he supposed? ... it would seem he had been called upon to take the second test: one of character, unless he missed his guess.


Plot posted:

WE SEE YOU
With the facts reviewed, Shadowcaster is able to confirm his assessment. The conclusion? This was happening a fair deal sooner than expected, but the sequence of events he had been expecting remained fundamentally unchanged.

When Starfire had made contact from Primespace, he had admittedly been hesitant to share his analysis. Part of that was for fear of the communications being monitored, but it had also been out of respect for the Primes, and their process. It was sort of hard to explain, but as a scientist, he understood that the results of an experiment could be tainted if the subject knew the purpose of the test. The Primes had taken great care to engineer this scenario, and he hadn't wanted to disrespect their efforts by simply trying to reverse engineer the system, and give it the answer it wanted. Their civilization was at stake, it was true, but was a victory obtained through subterfuge and deception really a victory? Or, he supposed, more accurately, if his people needed heroes ... what kind of heroes did they deserve? What legacy would he want his people to have, if his crew were truly the last of their kind, with the others obliterated during the war? That principle had guided his hand earlier in this process, and, for what it was worth, he made a conscious decision to stay that course now.

Admittedly, it was not his instinctual response. Millennia of field experience and a mind quite used to calculating odds and working angles had every circuit screaming at him to engage his cloak, disappear, and reengage at a later time when he had a better hand to play. In this particular case, though, it wasn't about the odds ... or rather, it was precisely about the odds. Strength of character was not about picking fights you could win, it was about doing the right thing, even when the consequences might be dire indeed.


With his next few moves made clearer in his mind's eye, Shadowcaster responds to the broadcast: 'OUTSIDE ENTITY acknowledging your hail, identifying as SHADOWCASTER. No hostile intentions were meant. Requesting ... parley.'

>> Rank 14 + 6 Energon = 20 >> Parley?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Status: Alt-Mode / Null-field Cloak / Jump Drive / Fuel Scoops
Resources: Energon (41)
Mission Log / Stellar Cartography
Mission Parameters: Resource Collection / Ship Repair / Planet Exploration / Rescue Starfire (on hold)
Solstice: Port Primary / Port Maneuvering / Starboard Primary (53% - sheared off) / Starboard Maneuvering (60% - sheared off) / Life Support / Communications (superficial stress fractures - no power) / Weapons (30% - no power) / Subsystems (47% - no power) / Fuel (10% -- LOCKDOWN - sheared off)
Asteroid Belt: Geodic Ruby Crystals
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Inkspot
Dec 3, 2013

I believe I have
an appointment.
Mr. Goongala?
Sidewinder
Energon: 36

From his perch in the turret seat, the atmospheric plunge goes about as well for Sidewinder as it can. After the dust settles, he struggles to escape the maglock, watching Slam tentatively exit the ship before the belt finally clicks. The straps retract and Sidewinder bolts for the open hatch.

The sun! The dirt! The gravity! It's all just so...

"Thank the Primes!!!"

Waador posted:

They could be ... robots in disguise.

Then the gravity of the overall situation returns to him and Sidewinder tries to tamp down his palpable excitement. Nonchalance. That's the ticket. "I mean-- good work, everyone. Well done." He starts scanning the horizon when Slam hurtles himself into the air, propelled by flail and boosters.



Less desert to the north? North it is! But first...

"Flashdrive! You gotta come see this!"

Without waiting for a response, Sidewinder rushes into the main control bay of the Solstice, already half-transformed, wrenches Flashdrive from their port, plugs Flashdrive into a port of his own, and rushes back outside as fast as his two fully-transformed wheels can take them.

"We're gonna go check out the dinosaurs! Be back soon! Okay! Bye!"

I Love the Smell of Recon in the Morning: 1d20+9(+6) = 20 1d6 = 6

Rhyos
Jan 2, 2006
It's probably my fault.
Blaze a Trail

A little sand and dust under the wheels may not have provided the best grip, but for once, the wheels were finally getting some traction! Flashdrive in tow, making for a nice transponder, helps to utilize Shadowcaster as a triangulatory beacon, giving the crew orientation and direction. Nice as it was, it was nothing compared to being in the open again.

Stretching that stiff throttle cable, easing up on the braking system, and letting that engine breathe, Sidewinder sets out like a bat out of hell toward the first signs of civilization they can find. Sand and dirt soon lead to hard-packed soil. A dust-caked curb provides for a choice jump onto a steel highway, the reverberation of road rumble through the chassis getting the energon really pumping. It isn't too much longer before ancient buildings of steel and rock loom on the horizon, the sound of sirens and booming voices decreeing "By order of the Seers, all Enlightened are to remain indoors for their own safety until further notice. Any Unenlightened are to be guided to shelter."


It takes some time for signs to begin to appear on that unused highway, but when they do, they're both telling and curious. Not quite Cybertronian, but hard to discern further due to the rust and age.

IX__
LEBR BIHN - 33 >
AHDMISTHN - 45 >>
MAHNEN CWMPLRX - 100 ^


A Red Eye in Space

Shadowcaster, meanwhile, receives data from Flashdrive in a secondary data stream. Other things are taking a little bit of priority.

RESPONSE REGISTERED
WHOM DO YOU SERVE?


Outside of Time, with All the Time in the World

In the midst of the Creation Lathe, as Starfire attempts to get a grasp on a truly cosmic marvel of construction, something begins to materialize. An island of planet in a sea of steel, a massive, hulking form looking upward to the sky and a small dot on the horizon. Despite its distance, the text underneath the projection shows in perfect clarity.
TRANSMISSION ENGAGED
STANDARD PROTOCOL

AnAnonymousIdiot
Sep 14, 2013

Flashdrive - Energon: 33

Activity again!

The impact had shut down Flashdrive, but the spark was back. There was a gap in the memory, but the writing was on the wall. The crew had crashed into the planet with little in the way of escape. Not unless Starfire finds a way to use the bridge to pick them up. That… might take a while.

But there were other things that demanded the bot’s attention. The announcement sounded like the people were aware of the crew, and here they were charging into one of their city centers. Guess the people were aware they lost their satellite. By now they seem to be bracing themselves for something worse?

Regardless it seemed like the people weren’t aware of where they were coming from. Admin was out. The library might be useful to get some bearings on the planet… But...

A ping was sent to Sidewinder.

pre:
To the Maintenance Center?
Another ping was sent to Shadowcaster

pre:
Flashdrive reporting in.The nearby city appears 
to be in a state of emergency. Sirens are going off with 
warnings to all personnel to stay indoors. Suspecting 
that they saw the Solstice. They might be en route, 
but not confirmed.
And one final ping to Starfire.

pre:
Flashdrive reporting in. The ship and crew are now on the alien planet's surface.

AnAnonymousIdiot fucked around with this message at 02:15 on Jan 15, 2019

Waador
Sep 11, 2001

Smashin' down the light.
Pillbug
Shadowcaster

Flashdrive posted:

Another ping was sent to Shadowcaster.

Plot posted:

Shadowcaster, meanwhile, receives data from Flashdrive in a secondary data stream. Other things are taking a little bit of priority.
Shadowcaster rather suspected that any point-to-point communications he initiated at this precise moment in time might be monitored. Not wanting to accidentally give away the presence of his crew on the ground, let alone their position, he tactfully ignores Flashdrive's ping. He suspected the bot would get the hint: something was up. At least he could still assist the crew with navigation of the planet, he supposed, through an array of passive signals.

Plot posted:

RESPONSE REGISTERED. WHOM DO YOU SERVE?
The question gives Shadowcaster pause, albeit only for a moment. That same phrase is what had led him to his position on the Solstice to begin with -- he was a skilled scientist and engineer, to be sure, but there were dozens of other qualified candidates if all they had needed was someone to keep the ship running. No, the very nature of their mission is what had brought him into the gravity well of the operation. They didn't just need a scientist, or an engineer ... they needed someone who could think in a particular way, and see the world through the very specific lens required to find the path they were seeking. He had always been expected to serve as the crew's compass, when required ... he wondered, was now the time?

The number of variables in play were ... not trivial. He decided to take a moment to consider what he knew. The solar system lacked any obvious Quintesson presence ... excluding one potentially catastrophic exception, anyway. However, the Aidhan had been uplifted by the Quintessons. If they had escaped the yoke of tyranny, it would make sense that they would hide themselves on a planet such as this one, obscured by a thick atmosphere and keeping a low profile by avoiding the use of radio communications or other technology that was likely to be detected by interstellar travelers. Presumably, the 'test of character' engineered by the Primes had been in place long before the Aidhan occupation. That explained the facility, he supposed. Had the Aidhan stumbled upon something not meant for them? That would be followed by careful study, and perhaps careless tampering.

The scenario seemed likely. The Aidhan had found ... something ... that they at least thought could be used as a means of defense if their former masters ever found their new homeworld. For his own part, Shadowcaster had spooked them ... accidentally transporting their satellite to another dimension hadn't been a great first impression, he assumed, but following that up by entering into orbit around the planet and probing their one radio communications port certainly painted a narrative. Hardly surprising that tensions were high, in that case. The asteroid probably didn't help. Afraid for their lives, and having one button to push ... they had, of course, pushed it. Several questions remained, but for those he had no answers. What damage might they have caused through study and tampering? There was no way to know. What effects might eons of entropy have had? Again, no way to know. Was today Shadowcaster's lucky day? Only one way to find out, unfortunately.

He takes another moment, very carefully weighing his options. His response would almost certainly have him gambling with his own life, and if he placed the wrong bet, his crew might find themselves stranded on the surface for quite some time. Still ... if he was right, it was worth the risk. If he was wrong ... well, Starfire remained in Primespace. They would have that up their sleeve, if nothing else.

>> Rank 14 + 10 Energon = 24 >> Authentication.

He responds, attempting to verify his identity through the use of an encryption algorithm long since forgotten by history. One taught to him during his days as an apprentice, long enough ago that even he can barely remember the era. 'I am a student of Alchemist Prime, servant to the path he taught me to walk long ago. Authentication code lambda, enigma, sierra, twin. What is your purpose?'
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Status: Alt-Mode / Null-field Cloak / Jump Drive / Fuel Scoops
Resources: Energon (31)
Mission Log / Stellar Cartography
Mission Parameters: Resource Collection / Ship Repair / Planet Exploration / Rescue Starfire (on hold)
Solstice: Port Primary / Port Maneuvering / Starboard Primary (53% - sheared off) / Starboard Maneuvering (60% - sheared off) / Life Support / Communications (superficial stress fractures - no power) / Weapons (30% - no power) / Subsystems (47% - no power) / Fuel (10% -- LOCKDOWN - sheared off)
Asteroid Belt: Geodic Ruby Crystals
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Waador fucked around with this message at 05:29 on Jan 15, 2019

Tricky
Jun 12, 2007

after a great meal i like to lie on the ground and feel like garbage


Starfire | Energon: 41

Time seems to have no hold over Primespace. Starfire's internal chronometer suggests that his contemplation of the complexities of the Lathe's mysteries has been but a partial cycle, while comparing timestamps on Flashdrive's communications puts it at quite a bit more than that. Truly, this place was an enigma well worth solving. Rerouting processors from analysis to draft a quick response to Flashdrive, he sends back:

pre:
Acknowledged. Experiencing chronal distortion. Will initiate further contact 
when the purpose and operation of this site become clear.
The appearance of further matter in the once featureless plain seems as likely a route for further investigation as any. Roaring into the air, Starfire cuts towards the distant planetoid. As he travels, he partitions his consciousness and tries smaller exercises of will. Imagining specific geometric constructs. Vehicles. Things that his consciousness cannot begin to put to word. If there is a limit to his access and control, he intends to find it. And if there is not... perhaps there is another avenue. Perhaps they could return to Cybertron itself, perhaps even return to a time before the war grew so desperate.

Could one change the course of time? If possible, it would be done through a tool such as this.

quote:

DicebotBOTToday at 11:25 AM
@Starfire (Tricky): 1d20+3 (Courageously) grasping fate, I suppose! = (15)+3 = 18

Spending 2 energon to make that an even 20.

Tricky fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Jan 17, 2019

Rhyos
Jan 2, 2006
It's probably my fault.
Contact


Square, cube, sphere, dodecahedron, boat, car, building, spaceship, the Solstice, Iacon, the personal stasis chamber, Doc Ratchet's office - as the mind wanders and roams, to the right of Starfire different shapes, structures, memories materialize. It takes some effort as things grow more complex, and the specifics wind up abstracted, but creating items is like flexing... something. Servos and hydraulics don't feel strain from repeated motion, but this process of thought projection both grows stronger and more exhausting as it's used. Still, things slowly start to make a sort of sense. In the difficulty of such abstract concepts, exploration seems to be the key.

On thoughts of Cybertron, however, an odd response pings at the back of his consciousness, and coincidentally in the lower-right 16th of his optics. [BRIDGE INACTIVE]

Approaching the projection from earlier, an audio link is established in conjunction with the video.

A massive being, clearly robotic in nature, is staring at a tiny point in orbit. Within moments of Starfire's approach, an indicator appears under the speck. [OBJECT: SHADOWCASTER - PRIME: ALCHEMIST - VERIFYING]
And in the lower-left of Starfire's optics, another prompt: [A SATELLITE APPROACHES - COMMAND?]

Eye to the Sky

Upon transmission of the name of Alchemist Prime, the hulking machine responds:
[ALCHEMIST PRIME - CONFIRMED]
[ACCESSING...]
[-CLICK- By Primus, this thing agai-CLICK-]
[CARRIER SIGNAL INTERRUPTED]
[AWAITING OVERRIDE]


Are We Sure?

Zipping along at top speed, the curious link between Flashdrive and Sidewinder leads to a second-guessing of some interpretations. Remembering the sound of some of the regional dialects from home, there was a memory of the Tarnish pronunciation of Star - a lingering accent making it sound similar to "Staah". Could the sign be more of a transliteration from speech?

Waador
Sep 11, 2001

Smashin' down the light.
Pillbug
Shadowcaster
Meanwhile, in orbit...


The situation was ... curious ... to say the least. He suspected he could encrypt his signal well enough to withstand the scrutiny he was facing, but any direct transmission to the ground might endanger the crew. A wide-band communication could get a message to them, but it would be all too noticeable, and might invite new problems. That left one option -- Starfire. The link to Primespace remained open, and while he was confident the planet could triangulate a signal that pierced their atmosphere, he doubted they would notice anything sent away from the planet. Even if they did, what could they really do to Starfire, shielded as he was behind the veil of another dimension? He takes a moment to prepare the transmission, intending to hide a carrier wave in the heat emissions from his thrusters. An infrared signal was often a poor option, but with direct line of sight to the singularity, and the vacuum of space to act as insulation for the transmission, it was a viable plan.



His message is simple, if not particularly upbeat. 'Starfire, the situation on the planet is ... complex ... and still evolving. I might have accidentally activated an ancient guardian, presumably placed here by the Primes to watch over the bridge. Normally this would be fine, but rather unexpectedly, someone on the surface appears to have tampered with its systems, taking on some measure of control through a manual override. Separately, do you remember the plan we had for the Solstice? You can replace all instances of the word 'land' in the mission parameters with 'strand' or 'crash', and that would likely bring you up to speed on how their day is going.' He inquires, 'Now might be a good time to ask, would you mind sharing with me the warning message that played when you entered Primespace? The unabridged version might contain some context necessary to disarm this situation before it escalates further.'

Starfire takes a moment to respond, his attention being torn in a multitude of directions, but a flood of data -- a video file -- is returned via that same method. Shadowcaster sees an immense, grandiose robot -- a Prime, clearly -- and the final message it left behind.

"If you are still standing, heed this warning. If not, then may your component atoms serve as proof of this warning. I am Megatronus. I was one amongst a pantheon of beings created by the machine God Primus to fulfill a critical function in this universe." The booming voice pauses for a moment, and while the face is stoic, there is clearly a moment of thought. "This place was once one of great creation. Machines, weapons, love, hate... it is now a testament to the inherent nihilism the universe contains. This is not a place of honor. The information and possibilities found within are not to be pursued. While this place holds endless potential, not even the wisest amongst us could handle it responsibly. With it, we repelled an existential threat to the universe, but the cost was far too great. Do not replicate our mistakes. My actions here have set me on a path of rage, regret, and sparkshed. This last message before the last light of Primus leaves me serves as a last testament, but so, too, a warning. Preserve the sacrifices made here. Keep silent its knowledge. This... place, is one of incredible wills, and time has proven that none are of sufficient will to handle this Creation Lathe responsibly. Not anymore, anyway."

A moment later, a supplementary message is returned. The language is terse and clipped, more a sign that Starfire is dedicating all of his processing to something else than petty annoyance, "I have deemed it necessary to ignore this warning, despite the sincerity of the source. Perhaps the consequences will not be as dire if we limit access to that which will see us successful on our mission. Requesting all known data on other Prime artifacts. Access to Cybertron impossible, access to artifacts potentially viable."

That helped to put things into perspective, if nothing else. Shadowcaster was at a loss for words, though not due to shock ... moreso because he knew, perhaps subconsciously, that this was a situation where words needed to be chosen carefully. He eventually offers, 'Starfire, you must choose your own path inside that place -- its nature would allow nothing less. If you believe that warning should be ignored, I think you should follow your instincts, and walk the path you know is true. However, it must be said -- that place was not meant for you or I, in the purest sense. Attunement might be possible, but you will need to advance carefully. Learn your limits, and stay within them.' He pauses, wondering how to explain it adequately, without seeming patronizing. 'One designs a tool with their own flaws in mind. You are not a Prime, and things that would barely scuff their paint will, indeed, scatter you to your component atoms. I do not believe that place means you any harm, but do not expect it to give you any warnings, either. The greatest danger you will face in your trial is, indeed, yourself. Perhaps that is what they intended all along.' He also offers, 'For the moment, I have one request: excluding yourself, we should ensure that nothing from Primespace enters our universe. Attune to the location if you can, and experiment as you will, but the threshold should be given a wide berth. When you believe you have reached the limits of your potential attunement, let me know, as there is a protocol we might wish to consider.'

Although Starfire had chosen to disregard the warning, Shadowcaster wondered, had the pioneer into Primespace managed to hear the message? Able to listen to the recording in an unadulterated form, Shadowcaster reflects upon Megatronus' (apparent) last words. The warning was clear, and in earnest to be sure ... but so too was the path forward ... if they just chose to see it.

Not wanting to provoke hostile action by antagonizing the planet further, Shadowcaster waits for the launch site to reinitiate contact. He had been surprised by the planet Aidha once so far, and he expected he would be surprised at least once more before this was all over. A question began to coalesce and pull at the edges of his mind, but he didn't dare give it power by acknowledging it. That said, it stood to reason that whoever had executed the manual override was, perhaps obviously, still inside the facility. Which meant three things could be learned for the price of one ... first, the location of the manual override, which was likely also the location of the command center or bridge within the base ... second, the number of individuals still inside the facility ... and third, their nature. Perhaps a lucky fourth would be a way to communicate with them more directly ... or a way to communicate with their base without their knowledge, he supposed.

Cognizant of the fact that the facility might still contain biological life, his most useful tools were, unfortunately, also quite harmful. With x-rays and gamma radiation off the table, at least for the moment, he sighs internally. Thermal imaging was passive enough, he supposed, and so too was an electromagnetic sensor sweep. It had been quite some time since he'd performed covert planetary surveillance, but he did have one trick up his sleeve -- although it was a difficult task, he could measure the molecular vibration of the facility. Using thermal imaging to establish a baseline of 'empty rooms', such as they were, if anyone was still inside the facility, and they were speaking verbally, he might be able to reverse engineer their words by comparing the vibration of the populated room to the baseline of a nearby empty one ... thus allowing him to eavesdrop on their conversations through passive sensors. Certainly it would be a good deal harder than hacking into their security and communications systems as he'd originally intended, but it was also effectively impossible to detect. There would remain the challenge of decoding their language, he supposed, though it seemed that might not actually be an issue, if that last transmission was any indication.

>> Intelligence 19 + 1 Energon = 20 >> Scanning the launch facility to delve into its secrets (:siren: Glitch Die -- 6 :siren:).
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Status: Alt-Mode / Null-field Cloak / Jump Drive / Fuel Scoops
Resources: Energon (30)
Mission Log / Stellar Cartography
Mission Parameters: Resource Collection / Ship Repair / Planet Exploration / Rescue Starfire (on hold)
Solstice: Port Primary / Port Maneuvering / Starboard Primary (53% - sheared off) / Starboard Maneuvering (60% - sheared off) / Life Support / Communications (superficial stress fractures - no power) / Weapons (30% - no power) / Subsystems (47% - no power) / Fuel (10% -- LOCKDOWN - sheared off)
Asteroid Belt: Geodic Ruby Crystals
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Waador fucked around with this message at 06:47 on Jan 20, 2019

Rhyos
Jan 2, 2006
It's probably my fault.
Collect Call from Outer Space


Entangled quantum particles have a very interesting... signature. Funny enough, it's almost interpreted as a taste as opposed to something visual. Similar to the scent of ozone, one of those things where you just *know* when you experience it, the attempt to probe the colossal machine yields some interesting insight. The partially-destroyed building next to where the thing stands holds quite a few life signs of varying sizes, some of the saurians leaving the building in a hurried, but surprisingly orderly manner. Inside of the machine it's a bit harder to visualize - it's like trying to spot a bolt-vendor in a spaceport. Lots of metal everywhere, and only annoyed motions to go off of. In terms of the more complex machinery necessary to operate a spaceport and transmission center appears to be contained within - whatever the saurians were doing with it was most certainly disrupted by the snapping of cables rendered via the facility's transformation. Still, that quantum bit is certainly a sign of something. With an extended series of sensor pings, data comes back in 2 streams.

From the wrecked building:
"Aye ahndrsthnd. Thet huich ouee eav auatad ahhs kuum cho paas. Ouee khan ounlie eide dheis fuur sao moush launghr - tael dhe ohaishes a prehair or dhe Dhaak Rekhurn. Woo ephun ush."

From the colossus:
A thrumming of that quanta leads to a strange intercepted transmission. "Damnit, if I could turn this thing off, I - Scrap it all, I told Solus it would be a bad idea, but noooo, nobody listens to... Ok, ok, not that person anymore. Just ignore it - it'll go away."

On the Other Side of Nowhere

As communications and scans continue, Starfire receives further input from the projection.
[POTENTIAL COMPROMISE IN QUANTUM COMMUNICATIONS LINK - IGNORE, ABORT, PULSE?]

Waador
Sep 11, 2001

Smashin' down the light.
Pillbug
Shadowcaster

The planet Aidha was indeed full of surprises. He felt a little bad about constantly interrupting Starfire's journey, but this was a bit of a development. Using the same thermal carrier wave, he forwards the two signals he has just intercepted through the singularity and to his comrade. The recordings are followed by a question, "Starfire ... what do you make of this? I had thought the Aidhan had perhaps found an ancient sentinel beneath the surface, and tampered with it during the excavation process. Yet, inside of it, I am able to isolate a Cybertronian voice, who seems to be maintaining the facility. That massive guardian ... was it forged in the lathe? Are you able to match its technical specifications to anything within? If Solus Prime placed that facility on the planet's surface, she would have kept some kind of developer's log.'

After compressing and transmitting the message, Shadowcaster takes a moment to reassess the board. There seemed to be an endless topsoil of mystery to this sector ... and yet, he couldn't help but think his latest treasure hunt was the first that yielded results that felt familiar, somehow. He knew all too well that eavesdropping on conversations through the measurement of molecular vibration was very much an art, and not a science ... which was to say, the margin for error and room for extrapolation was not trivial. Still ... was he simply chasing at shadows? If he had managed to reverse engineer that voice from within the colossus with minimal variance from its source tone ... did he ... recognize that voice?

A few moments are taken to isolate the voice print, stripping out background noise as best as he is able. Markers for tone, patterns of speech, and slang are applied. Once the template is ready, he begins to compare it against the data sources he has available -- a combination of Cybertronian historical records, broadcast media, and his own personal memories.

>> Intelligence 26 >> Voice print analysis, comparing to all available memories and records (:siren: Glitch Die -- 6 :siren:).
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Status: Alt-Mode / Null-field Cloak / Jump Drive / Fuel Scoops
Resources: Energon (30)
Mission Log / Stellar Cartography
Mission Parameters: Resource Collection / Ship Repair / Planet Exploration / Rescue Starfire (on hold)
Solstice: Port Primary / Port Maneuvering / Starboard Primary (53% - sheared off) / Starboard Maneuvering (60% - sheared off) / Life Support / Communications (superficial stress fractures - no power) / Weapons (30% - no power) / Subsystems (47% - no power) / Fuel (10% -- LOCKDOWN - sheared off)
Asteroid Belt: Geodic Ruby Crystals
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Rhyos
Jan 2, 2006
It's probably my fault.
Enunciate!

A cleanup of the heavily-accented language leads to a bit more clarity. Given the different anatomy, speech can have a heavy accent. Spend enough generations with that accent, and it makes its way into the written language - it spells like it speaks. Cross-checking the sign fed from Flashdrive's sensors on the road with the speech patterns identified from the audio probing, things clean up quite well.

The sign translates to the following:

LABOR PEN - 33 >
ADMINISTRATION - 45 >>
MINING COMPLEX - 100 ^


As for the speech:

"I understand. That which we have awaited has come to pass. We can only hide this for so much longer - tell the offices to prepare for the Dark Return. Woe upon us."

Waador
Sep 11, 2001

Smashin' down the light.
Pillbug
Shadowcaster

Plot posted:

Enunciate!
On the bright side, he had managed to compile a reasonably accurate translation matrix. On the other hand ... labor pen ... so that was obviously great. He takes a moment to consider his options -- and the risks. There were two obvious priorities: first and foremost, the safety of his crew; second, establishing a formal line of communication with the locals.

Given the attention placed on him at the moment, any direct communication carried with it the risk of giving away his crew's presence, as well as their position. It remained unclear if the Aidhan had detected the ship within the core of the asteroid, but it seemed just as likely they'd only detected him ... after all, their attention would have been drawn skyward when their own surveillance satellite disappeared. The ice meteor was, of course, hardly subtle ... still, he didn't want to accidentally reveal his cards on the ground. As for the ... 'base' ... based on the discussions he had been able to extract, tensions were clearly running high among the locals. A dialogue was necessary in order to avoid any misunderstandings, if there was to be any hope of preventing the situation from escalating.

The path forward seemed clear -- he needed to get a message to his crew, but he couldn't communicate with them directly. The only way to do that was with an open channel. Thankfully, the base had terminated the carrier signal's direct link, and so they had inadvertently provided him with the opening he required. After all, when a direct channel is closed, it is entirely reasonable for a visiting party to attempt to hail across a few new frequencies. That meant he only needed one more thing ... plausible deniability. What message might he send that could be interpreted, at least on the surface, to be intended only for the base? He had the answer, thankfully. He wanted his team to have a copy of the translation matrix, but it would also benefit him if the locals were able to understand his words. Attaching the translation matrix to a message on an open channel would ensure his crew received the data, under the guise of providing a message directly to the base through the only means available to him.

pre:
'B͐ͧ͑̐̒͛͊҉åͫ҉̱̦̗s̶͊ͧ̿̄e̲̗̞͈͎͋ ̸͇͇̝͇͔U̩̱̭̱n͔̰̱̳̉ͨ̊̅̈d̛̜̟̙̜͑̈̏e͍̳ͦr̲̭̰͍͉̥̽́̊͜ ̴̺̲̜̝͎͕͂ͪ͑̐̿̇R̠̈́̅͂̐͢ę̹͓̣p̝͔̰͎̬ͤ̒͂̌̍t͔̠͂ͨ͟i͓̥̘̥̼͂ͭͮ̿ͪ͝l̙͉̖̭͔ͦ̂i̮̠̓̅̕ȃ̸͉͇͉̓͋̇͊ͥn̙̫ ̧̠̰̦̃Y̳̖̝̺̬̗̙̾ͭͤ̿̈́ò͙̩͍̘̩̰ͧ̀k̘͇̍e̒͌ͦ͝ ̲̮̀͗̉̕>̆͋ͪͦ̓̾̐҉͉̜̺͍̩̜ͅ>̴̻̩͐̊͊̆̆ ̞̂ͬ̉͂̇S̺̩̪̦̟̖ͦa͔̋̊̄̽̉ͦt̛͕̤̥̻̺̽ͤ̑̃̋͒̓ę̮̱̺̭̜̩̓̑l̦̥͙̔ͧ̅̀̿̏̚l̹͙̞̣̤̣̥i̳̰͓̠͙͓̿̊͌́t̠̰͔̣̬̤͞ë̡̤̙͇́͒ͫ́ͪͪ ̸͕̜͍H͇͔͙̦ͣ̎͗̃ͧ̚a͉̩̥͕͖̥̝ͤ̈́ͧ̑̎͗́i͕̿͞ḻ̛͇̙̗̳̓̈̀̍̚s̴̲̳͔͍ ̤̼̤͟I̟̫̱͙̦̠͟ṅ̩ͅ ̋͆ͦͩͫ̕P͉̤̳͓̰͒̂́ȩ̮͇̣̜̄ͪ̆̊ͅa̴̟̱̮̺ͫͩ́̌ͥ̌̇c̗͉͎̺͖̣̓̐̑̔̀͐̐͡eͣ̌̉͟.̺͒̉̆ͩͦ̂̌'
As a result of packaging it directly with the translation matrix, the first transmission is admittedly going to be difficult to parse for the locals. He had figured out their spoken language, after all, but some extrapolations were necessary for the written word. He transmits the message again in his native Cybertronian -- with two languages in play, sending a compiled translator, the message in local text, and the message in alien text seemed the best way to guide them to the conclusion that a line of communication could be established.

pre:
Base Under Reptilian Yoke >> Satellite Hails In Peace.
... it was also the most effective way to hide a message in a bottle for his team. He would have to hope Flashdrive wasn't slacking off, he supposed. With his play made, Shadowcaster awaits a response from the planet. While he waits, he turns his eye towards the labor pen, following the road indicated by the street sign.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Status: Alt-Mode / Null-field Cloak / Jump Drive / Fuel Scoops
Resources: Energon (30)
Mission Log / Stellar Cartography
Mission Parameters: Resource Collection / Ship Repair / Planet Exploration / Rescue Starfire (on hold)
Solstice: Port Primary / Port Maneuvering / Starboard Primary (53% - sheared off) / Starboard Maneuvering (60% - sheared off) / Life Support / Communications (superficial stress fractures - no power) / Weapons (30% - no power) / Subsystems (47% - no power) / Fuel (10% -- LOCKDOWN - sheared off)
Asteroid Belt: Geodic Ruby Crystals
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Waador fucked around with this message at 22:48 on Jan 24, 2019

Tricky
Jun 12, 2007

after a great meal i like to lie on the ground and feel like garbage


Starfire | Energon: 41

Reacting to the flurry of command requests, Starfire quickly responds to each in turn, while also continuing his own research.

>SEARCH: Display all known data on disposition of Prime artifacts.
>SATELLITE: Analyze threat patterns, suggest standard responses for further consideration.
>COMMUNICATION BREACH: Pulse, further analyze source and likely methods of breach.

Rhyos
Jan 2, 2006
It's probably my fault.
Is This Thing On?

Satellite:
As Starfire orders systems to investigate the satellite, a quick transmission burst reaches the system: 'B͐ͧ͑̐̒͛͊҉åͫ҉̱̦̗s̶͊ͧ̿̄e̲̗̞͈͎͋ ̸͇͇̝͇͔U̩̱̭̱n͔̰̱̳̉ͨ̊̅̈d̛̜̟̙̜͑̈̏e͍̳ͦr̲̭̰͍͉̥̽́̊͜ ̴̺̲̜̝͎͕͂ͪ͑̐̿̇R̠̈́̅͂̐͢ę̹͓̣p̝͔̰͎̬ͤ̒͂̌̍t͔̠͂ͨ͟i͓̥̘̥̼͂ͭͮ̿ͪ͝l̙͉̖̭͔ͦ̂i̮̠̓̅̕ȃ̸͉͇͉̓͋̇͊ͥn̙̫ ̧̠̰̦̃Y̳̖̝̺̬̗̙̾ͭͤ̿̈́ò͙̩͍̘̩̰ͧ̀k̘͇̍e̒͌ͦ͝ ̲̮̀͗̉̕>̆͋ͪͦ̓̾̐҉͉̜̺͍̩̜ͅ>̴̻̩͐̊͊̆̆ ̞̂ͬ̉͂̇S̺̩̪̦̟̖ͦa͔̋̊̄̽̉ͦt̛͕̤̥̻̺̽ͤ̑̃̋͒̓ę̮̱̺̭̜̩̓̑l̦̥͙̔ͧ̅̀̿̏̚l̹͙̞̣̤̣̥i̳̰͓̠͙͓̿̊͌́t̠̰͔̣̬̤͞ë̡̤̙͇́͒ͫ́ͪͪ ̸͕̜͍H͇͔͙̦ͣ̎͗̃ͧ̚a͉̩̥͕͖̥̝ͤ̈́ͧ̑̎͗́i͕̿͞ḻ̛͇̙̗̳̓̈̀̍̚s̴̲̳͔͍ ̤̼̤͟I̟̫̱͙̦̠͟ṅ̩ͅ ̋͆ͦͩͫ̕P͉̤̳͓̰͒̂́ȩ̮͇̣̜̄ͪ̆̊ͅa̴̟̱̮̺ͫͩ́̌ͥ̌̇c̗͉͎̺͖̣̓̐̑̔̀͐̐͡eͣ̌̉͟.̺͒̉̆ͩͦ̂̌'
A little garbled, but still intelligible, combining the earlier information given, things seem a bit more clear - the satellite mentioned is Shadowcaster!
Further investigation shows that the particle cannon attached to the Guardian should have a wide enough spread to vaporize the satellite in a few shots - one to clear the cloud cover, and one to get the job done. Several subsystems of the Guardian are compromised, but should it be wished, direct control can be assumed in lieu of the original controller, yielding further information.

PRIORITIES:
INVESTIGATE OBJECT - COMPLETE
DETERMINE THREAT LEVEL - COMPLETE
ASSESS TACTICAL OPTIONS - COMPLETE
ACQUIRE AUTHORIZATION - PENDING
IF HOSTILE: EXECUTE
ELSE: OBSERVE AND CATALOG

ANALYSIS: POSSIBLE CYBERTRONIAN ORIGIN - MINOR RELATION TO PRIME
QUANTUM CHANNEL COMPROMISED - INITIATING PULSE
COMMUNICATIONS CHANNEL CLEARED - AWAITING RECONNECTION CODES:


Communication Breach:
As the Pulse goes out over the quantum communications band, Shadowcaster feels what must be similar to a poke in the optic. Or olfactory sensor. Somewhere unpleasant, but ultimately harmless. A forced disconnect of the communications channel leads to an odd silence. It seems as if the transformed base was acting as the sole means of signal transmission and interception. With the base evacuated, it's likely none of the Aidhan have received the message, though the planetside crew should have received it without issue.

Search:
To Starfire's right, a prompt appears.
Classified data requested.
Input passcode:
Hint: Matrix Core Component


Planetside:
Motorcycles are fast, but nothing beats the torque of a muscle car! Quickly catching up to the combo of Flashdrive and Sidewinder, coming up fast in the rearview is Spinout and... is that Slam parasailing with his tail as a rotor? As the crew advances, a branch of the highway comes up fast. Thanks to Shadowcaster's translation, it shows the following:

LABOR PEN - 33 >
ADMINISTRATION - 45 >>
MINING COMPLEX - 100 ^

AnAnonymousIdiot
Sep 14, 2013

Flashdrive - Energon: 33


A ping followed after the silence. Were there second thoughts?

pre:
Admin building it is.
An update pinged to Flashdrive, and confirmed what they had believed. Thanks for that. It also looked like they took so long that the other bots caught up to them. And somehow the incumbent people haven’t realized where they were. This was strange.

A ping flew to Slam and Spinout.

pre:
Exploring Admin. Need to know city’s movements.

AnAnonymousIdiot fucked around with this message at 06:28 on Feb 7, 2019

Rhyos
Jan 2, 2006
It's probably my fault.
A Tremor in the Desert


With a direction made, the ground crew begin their jaunt to the administration complex. Steel eventually gives way to ancient concrete, making the ride bumpier, but providing a bit more grip. As the group ponders what could be at their destination and what the others are doing, Flashdrive receives an odd ping on his sensors. A series of light seismic disturbances that are right at the edge of sensor range. What's odd is that they stay in the same area of the sensors, regardless of how far along they are. The fact that they're underground makes it difficult to discern what they are, but a quick visual scan through the help of Sidewinder's sensors shows a repeating pattern of... metal triangles? At regular intervals.

Rhyos fucked around with this message at 21:53 on Feb 19, 2019

Waador
Sep 11, 2001

Smashin' down the light.
Pillbug
Shadowcaster
Idling in orbit around the planet, Shadowcaster considers his options. There seemed to be a bit of a disconnect between the 'base' and its saurian inhabitants in terms of ability to share information, but he couldn't really tell where the line was drawn. He was confident that the base would be likely to intercept any communications he fielded down to the planet, but did that mean the locals would be made aware? Without confirmation, it was too great a risk to act. Further complicating matters was the atmosphere itself -- he could provide some useful information to his team, if the communication risk could be overcome, but his overwatch capabilities were still limited. There remained, it seemed, only a few realistic options.

He opens a channel to Starfire, commenting, 'Starfire, I wanted to get your input on two possible courses of action.' He inquires, 'The first possible course is relatively simple. I am unable to reliably pierce the veil of the planet's atmosphere, and my support capabilities to the team are limited as a result. For better or worse, a flyer operating closer to the ground would be of more use to them. If you are able to open a doorway to our dimension again, would you be interested in executing a swap? I could take your place in investigating the mysteries of Primespace, if you are inclined to run point supporting the team on the surface.'

He adds, 'The second course should be pursued either way, I suppose, it's just a question of how. I am forwarding you the precise planetary coordinates of a base upon the surface of the planet. Scanning it has yielded relatively little. If you wished to switch places, it would warrant your investigation. If not, would you be able to open a bridge near me, leading to and from it? Access to the surface would make it easier to investigate, if nothing else, while the ability to conveniently return to orbit to support the team would be of value.'

Each option came with its own risks, but things seemed to be at an impasse, so changing the paradigm was the only card he had left to play.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Status: Alt-Mode / Null-field Cloak / Jump Drive / Fuel Scoops
Resources: Energon (30)
Mission Log / Stellar Cartography
Mission Parameters: Resource Collection / Ship Repair / Planet Exploration / Rescue Starfire (on hold)
Solstice: Port Primary / Port Maneuvering / Starboard Primary (53% - sheared off) / Starboard Maneuvering (60% - sheared off) / Life Support / Communications (superficial stress fractures - no power) / Weapons (30% - no power) / Subsystems (47% - no power) / Fuel (10% -- LOCKDOWN - sheared off)
Asteroid Belt: Geodic Ruby Crystals
__________________________________________________________________________________________

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AnAnonymousIdiot
Sep 14, 2013

Flashdrive - Energon: 33


pre:
AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive)Today at 1:12 AM
Alright... Time to make a skill roll.
No wait... that's a int roll..
/r 1d20+3 #determine findings
DicebotBOTToday at 1:15 AM
@AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive):  1d20+3 determine findings = (9)+3 = 12
AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive)Today at 1:15 AM
/r 1d6 #glitch
DicebotBOTToday at 1:15 AM
@AnonymousIdiot (Flashdrive):  1d6 glitch = (5) = 5
Perhaps an underground bunker?

But it wouldn’t be connected to the Admin center…

This piqued Flashdrive more than the Admin. Without context there was more unusual activity in that area. Could be something that could get the Space Bridge open.

Flashdrive sends a ping to the other bots, with coordinates.

pre:
Have picked up unusual readings in the area. Appear to be an underground 
facility at these coordinates. Not sure if they are connected to the incumbent 
people here. Might be independent. Could be worth prioritizing.

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