Colonization on Ice(IC)
<h1 id="title">Elliquiy Role Playing Forums</h1>
		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Extreme =&gt; Extreme Small Groups =&gt; Topic started by: Dracoat on 27-03-2011, 10:36:34</h2>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>27-03-2011, 10:36:34</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				The year is 2137. Earth is no longer the home it once was. Destroyed by pollution and forever scarred by nuclear war. What is remembered as the Burn. The colonies on the moon and Mars have long been established with shipyards out at Jupiter floating in the orbit. Humanity was far from destroyed. A large initiative was put into searching the stars for another "Earth" to call home and start anew. Thus Project rebirth was begun. Massive resources were poured into the tech needed for this endeavor. Cryogen and propulsion technology skyrocketed to unseen levels and a ship was built. Other technology levels a noticeably advanced from modern day standards. Although tech like nanites is VERY expensive. Current engine tech allows the ship to travel to the edge of the system in about 2 years, but the secret is a shield like tech that displaces anything in front of the ship to the rear, effectively eliminating all friction..<br><br><strong>Now along one arm of the milky way <em>The Exodious</em> is on a mission. A mission that has never before been attempted. Out of system colonization. Powered by methane harvested from Uranus, hydrogen from Saturn, and outfitted with state of the art cryogenics, the ship was to travel for almost 20 years. 19 years have passed and the skeleton crew were beginning Operation Ice Man to thaw the colonists while in orbit around one of the destination planet's moon. Trouble has a way of striking at such critical times. While the crew was occupied, automated defenses awoke on the destination planet and struck the huge colony ship. This is where the story starts. Alarms blazing and lights flashing, all mixed in with the screams of the crew and the newly awakened. Be they injured or in shock, the difference isn't your first priority. You're naked and aboard a ship that wasn't made for combat. "Minimal ship functions remaini... ... ...Controlled crash initi... ... prepare for imp... iles may be... tive." Thats all the info you get as the speakers die into silence. Survival is first in your mind as it seems is also in the mind of a few others who have found clothing and suits. Life is going to be hell for a while, better get comfortable with the heat. The ship is about 2 minutes from impact into the surface. General chaos is abundant and structural integrity of the ship is questionable. Power is failing throughout the ship as power is routed to keep life support and the emergency power to the cryo tanks. As you sit waking in your tank, people run by naked and screaming. Just as you realize whats going on, the artificial gravity fluctuates and colonists begin floating out of their tanks. They fall as the gravity activates again and some cry out in pain as they land on the tanks wrong. You take a mental note to be careful.</strong><br><br><em> The cryo tanks (http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090428141825/halo/images/thumb/f/ff/Cryo02.jpg/580px-Cryo02.jpg) are more or less vertical and arranged in a row like configuration (http://images.wikia.com/stargate/images/0/0e/Stasis_(1).png) with one across and about two feet apart. Limited to about 20 per hallway equals about 10 along each wall with a central computer at the end. This is what you will awaken into unless you are already awoken. A large atrium (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/The_Atrium.jpg) is set up to receive the awoken immediately. About three of these are placed along the ship, with multiple hallways on each of the 6 levels. From there it's all a guess about which area seems the safest to survive impact. Escape pods are not present as the necessity for them was low. If any pods were to be launched, they couldn't go far, and no other long range ships had been built yet. An attack wasn't foreseen either as the planet seemed desolate.</em><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Links:<br>Interested in Joining? (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=101390.0)<br>OOC and Char Sheet Thread (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=101605.0)
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Eliza</strong> on <strong>27-03-2011, 18:54:17</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				She didn't what it was that woke her. Either it was the screams outside or the sloshing of the goop in her pod, Ellen woke and saw a horrific sight. She knew something like this would happen - it was bound to happen, but for a moment Ellen regretted making that assumption. The liquid in her pod, which only came up to her neckline, stirred as if the pod itself was drifting in a hairpin turn. The woman inside knew that the cryo pod had thawed liquid, which meant the ship and its 3,000 sleeping passengers were here. So this is what 20 years feels like, Ellen thought. The stirring of the liquid, although meant that the ship was moving erratically. An voice came up on the intercom, but it was too full of static noises that Ellen could only make out part of what it said. The sound of the alarms and flashing red strobelights told her further that the ship was in trouble, but what kind she did not know. Not wanting to waste any time, Ellen, regaining most of her strength and consciousness, pulled her right arm up. Prior to being frozen in the goop, she placed her hand over the ejector handle, so in case of an emergency, when she came to she would be able to exit out of the pod and to safety. She pulled on the handle, which caused the pod to suck the goop towards her feet. All of sudden, some of the droplets of liquid floating up near her face. Was the gravity failing as well? This wasn't good.<br><br>The pod, after immediately suctioning out the liquid, opened the doors so that Ellen could see outside. Pure chaos. Some pods were open, others still closed with their occupants inside. There was no time to wait. Ellen ripped the breathing apparatus over her mouth and nose and proceeded to stick her head out. She saw a man running from her left, but as soon as his next step hit the floor, the gravity in the room shut off and his own momentum sent him flying within an inch of Ellen's face and into a bulkhead. The gravity activated again, and his body, limp and with no signs of life, fell to the floor. Screams and sobs accompanied the chaos. Ellen had to be careful.<br><br>Daric Storms of the cryogenic team had told her when she was stepping into her pod that after the trip was over, the atrium was where you would get clothes to cover up. Ellen had to be there. She was reminded of her conversation with him a week before launch. She wondered where he was in all this. But first things first, she had to get to the atrium. Was it where the light was coming from. Cylindrical holes, about a meter in diameter, were in the ceiling of the room. Ellen looked up and saw that a couple people were already making their way up to the atrium. It was like a ladder to heaven due to the light from above. She had no choice. She would either be here or up there when the ship crashed into the planet.<br><br>Ellen pushed herself out of the pod and grabbed onto the ladder. She made note of the fluctuating gravity as she quickly climbed up. The shaft wasn't that high and after about five meters or so, Ellen made it to the top of the ladder. She followed the group in front of her to several rooms nearby, where people came out with clothes on. Was it safe to stop for clothes? Maybe she could just be a minimalist. Carefully, she made her way to the lockers and only got a sports bra and sport shorts for ladies and slip-ons for her feet. A imminent crash would have shatter glass and debris on the floor, so Ellen made note that she might be walking on messy floors.<br><br>Where would she go to be safe from the crash? She had to be in a secure place. Escape pod, maybe? Where were those? The ship would have about less than a minute before the ship came in hard contact with ground or an ocean, sending all those who were not tied down, flying like that one guy in the stasis room. Ellen had to find a place. Upstairs was the only best bet, but she did not know what was there. She had to try. Up the ladder she went, and found what would be a common meeting rooming with tables seemingly flush with the floors. It wasn't perfect, but it did have a glimmer of hope when the ship crash landed on the planet. A few others were huddled under a nearby table, room for one more. Not thinking of anyone else but herself, she lunged for the spot and hung onto the leg of the table for dear life.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Starchaser</strong> on <strong>28-03-2011, 09:05:45</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Twenty years of oblivion, floating without awareness in a small vat of liquid. Now suddenly Richard was thrust into wakefulness as chaos reigned. He instincively reached up and pulled the emergency opening handle and nothing happened.<br><br>At first there were a few seconds of panic as Richard had the distinct feeling that he was going to die here and now. Funnily enough such a thought brought Sarah's face into his consciousness and that in itself brought to him a new resolve. If his life was in danger then so might Sarah's.<br><br>Wondering how many of the other pods would fail to open he immediately concentrated. The wireless modem in the chip embedded into his brain initiated a connection to the chamber's central computer and he immediately ran an decryption algorythm. It took mere seconds to gain access to the relatively low security of the cryo-pod system and initiate the opening sequence but to Richard it seemed like hours.<br><br>The pop opened spilling the undrained nutient bath into the air. Richard had been about to just step out but as the liquid rushed out he held onto the pod for dear life as he was swept with it. Instead of pouring onto the floor it floated into the air! The gravity had failed. Well at least life support was still working, for now.<br><br>Coughing and spluttering he began to use the pods as a way of keeping himself steady. He moved from pod to pod, lookinging inside each one for the beautiful robotics expert and calling out "Sarah? Sarah, can you hear me?" at regular intervals.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>28-03-2011, 17:15:44</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				*Daric's mind raced as did his heart. The ship was in danger. The whole mission was in jeopardy, but more so, there were pods failing as somewhere the circuits fried, lost power, or simply would not open and the occupants drowned as they thrashed in a panic. Power loss was survivable, but the other two were fatal. He had been awake for a week now. They had awoken him early to clean the smiley faces off the tanks.*<br><br>*He laughed, as forced as it sounded, and flinched as someone tripped over him. He didn't stop his work, he would save the woman in this tank, as she was one of three on this hall who had experienced power loss. She was still inside, strangely calm as she watched him. This hall had been lucky and emergency thaw had kicked on before the power fluctuated, draining the tanks. Now they just wouldn't open. He gave her a thumbs up as the lid slid open. He vaguely remembered her at the party with a red dress. He waved as he immediately turned to the other two and rushed over. He had donned a pair of boxers so he wouldn't surprise anyone too much by being the naked savior. That image too invoked a laugh. He checked the first tank to find the occupant had died somehow. Sad, but the other had found a way to force the hatch open. Well, that wouldn't be too uncommon, he thought.*<br><br>Realizing that this hall was good, he stepped to the central computer and logged the death into the databanks. He hurried back out the other end and started up the ladder when the gravity fluctuated. He grinned and launched himself straight up the ladder, nearly reaching the top when the gravity reasserted.* "<em>Ah, shit!</em>" *His momentum up caused him to hover for a second more and he reached out and grabbed the ladder. He sighed and climbed the last couple of steps. Entering into the Atrium he had snagged the boxers from, this time he made sure to snag a couple pair of shoes and a duffle with supplies. He sighed and walked slowly through the chaos to a locker. He spilled out the contents of clothing and stepped inside, bracing his neck and head with the duffle. Might as well choose something that allowed no room to be flung around...*
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Joslyn</strong> on <strong>28-03-2011, 20:20:51</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Sarah awoke to the obvious chaos outside her pod, and was immediately gripped by fear. She was cold, naked, and standing up to her neck in fluid from the cryogenic process. The tech heard the announcement. <em>Controlled crash?!</em><br><br>In a state of near panic, she began fumbling for the emergency release lever to the pod. Her frantic movements and a temporary gravity failure caused the fluid to splash in her face. Sputtering and blind, she still managed to pull the lever. The power to the pod then failed, but the door was pushed open by the weight of the fluid. Without power to hold it the door flung opened too quickly, which brought her off her feet and caused her to fall out. She landed on the deck, too overwhelmed by adrenalin to even notice that she had skinned her knees. <br><br><em>What do I do?</em> The normal procedure would have been to go to the atrium, but Sarah was too frightened to do so—what if she fell off her level and plummeted to her death during the crash? It was difficult just to get herself moving, but Sarah rose shakily to her feet. Almost all the pods around her had already opened, and the remaining ones looked to have not even thawed yet—clearly, the cryogenic systems were malfunctioning in unpredictable ways. There was no one else in this hallway at the moment, but she could hear panicking shouting and movement elsewhere.<br><br>She walked over to the nearest computer, holding on to whatever objects she could in case the gravity failed again. The young tech called up the ship’s status, and found that the estimated time to the crash was less than two minutes. Not really enough time to go anywhere, especially if it turned out the estimate was overgenerous. She made her away back to the ladder at the end of the corridor and grabbed on to it tightly, pushing her legs and arms through so that she would be less likely to lose her grip. She then screwed her eyes shut and began sobbing. Sarah had never been in a life or death situation before, and she was too overwhelmed to deal with it any further than she had. <br><br>Then she heard Richard somewhere in the distance, shouting her name. She immediately feared that he might get himself killed looking for her. “Richard!” she shouted as loudly as she could. “Go find someway to secure yourself for the crash!” She did not think she could live with herself if he broke his neck trying to get to her. Well, truthfully she did not think she was going to live much longer regardless. She continued holding tightly to the ladder and tried to console herself. <em>There wasn’t any way I could have known. I made the most of the time I had, at least professionally I did.</em> But none of it was any comfort, and she continued crying.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Starchaser</strong> on <strong>28-03-2011, 21:56:19</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				He had been searching methodically. Pod after pod. He tried to hold back the fear and the urge to vomit. Many of the pods had broken with disatrous results. He'd lost count of the number of bodies he'd seen. Then he heard Sarah's voice crying out to him.<br><br>"Sarah? <b>Sarah!</b>"<br><br>He heard her telling him to get out. Richard wasn't about to do that. He could her her crying and headed in the direction of the sound. Eventually he reached the ladder, a few feet below her. He climbed up to her, wrapping his arms around her and speaking softly. <br><br>"Its o.k. We'll get out of this."<br><br>He scanned the room, bringing up a map of the ship in his head and trying to match it to their current position. He saw the location of the atrium just as the data node went down. The disconnection caused him a moment of dump shock and he nearly let go of the ladder.<br><br>After a few moments of re-orientation he grabbed Sarah's hand.<br><br>"O.K. The atrium isn't far away. We do this together, O.K? On the count of three."
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Joslyn</strong> on <strong>28-03-2011, 23:04:45</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Sarah was horrified when she realized Richard had come to her anyway. She flinched away from his touch and kept her eyes shut. “Are you crazy?! There’s probably not even a minute before this thing crashes! Just go where you want, I’ll survive here or I won’t.” She did not have any reason to believe the atrium was safer than where she was now, and it was irrelevant since she was completely unwilling to let go of the ladder. As far as Sarah was concerned, her die had already been cast.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Starchaser</strong> on <strong>29-03-2011, 09:27:31</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				The gravity was back, which made getting anywhere but up or down the ladder nearly impossible. The atrium was above them. To the left was an open cryopod.<br><br>"Okay. Have it your way.", Richard said. "I doubt we'd be safer in the atrium anyway. If you <b>insist</b> on staying on this ladder then I'm staying with you, but I have an idea. There's a cryo pod to our left that's not malfunctioned. I think I can get us both inside and seal it in under two minutes. I can override the cryosleep process and just have the chamber refil. It won't be much protection but the fluid in there may act as a cushion against the impact. What do you say?"
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Joslyn</strong> on <strong>29-03-2011, 12:29:51</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				“The computer said there was less than two minutes left when I first got out of the pod, and that was well over a minute ago.” Sarah did not budge or open her eyes. Even if there were time for the plan, she suspected she might drown with so much fluid being jostled around. “I’m really sorry if I get you killed,” she added sadly.<br><br>It was entirely possible he might have found something safer had he not wasted so much time looking for and then arguing with her. Or maybe everyone would die in the crash anyway. <em>At least I get to spend my last moments terrified and plagued by guilt,</em> a detached part of her mind noted. She just wanted it to be over with, one way or another.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Akhanu</strong> on <strong>29-03-2011, 12:40:57</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				~ <strong>Ennio Pellegrini - Partaking in the Panic</strong> ~<br><br>Enio was getting bored of the routine check-ups after cryowake. For the last two days they had only made him go through reflex reassurance and several times he had been going through and through blood draws for several sorts of analysis. He agreed with all that though, but he found it very annoying that they had to be repetitive. The cryowake team seemed like they had nothing better to do but bug him instead over and over again.<br><br>So here they had arrived! The first thing he had done when he was on his feet and fully clotherd was check the main monitor and find out how the place looked like. It was still a small dot far away, but in a week they would be getting closer and closer and more and more data would be available. For him this was the Holy Grail! Truly a planet where alien lifeforms would be found! Which he was impatient to get his hands on and sample and analyse. But they wouldn't let him near any imstrument unless he was fully recovered. And that would not happen for the other next two days.<br><br>Enio wanted to sleep but he had to be in medic bay in 30 minutes.&nbsp; He yawned and stretched and dug his head in the pillow... and the entire place shaked violently. Crackling and screeching noises came from everywhere and the lights were out for a few seconds before the emergency lights activated. Niose and static came out of the intercom speakers and Enio looked around in disbelief! Did he hit the pillow *that* hard?!&nbsp; "Minimal ship functions remaini... ... ...Controlled crash initi... ... prepare for imp... iles may be... tive."<br><br>He sprang onto his feet and another shake sent him tumbling against the small desk, after which he was weightless and floating. "What the fuck!!!"&nbsp; He tried to get hold of something, anything, but just then he was falling down and crashed on the floor on his shoulder in a brutal way. "Auuhh!! Oh shit, oh shit!! Auhh!!"<br>&nbsp;He managed to get up and made fast towards the door, this time following the wall and always holding onto something fixed. Luckily the door opened and he looked along the corridor. Other people where there strugling just as he was. "Aaaaa, this looks so bad. Really bad!" He turned back and grabbed his comunication collar, strapping it fast across his neck. He was still in his pajamas but he didn't care. It didn't seem at all a moment for dressing attractive and he left his room and made his way to the end of the corridor where other people where also rushing at. He tapped onto the comunication collar: "Here speaks Dr.Enio Pellegrini, orange clearance to flight deck comunication, first decryo group. What the hell is going on! Please respond, Dr.Enio Pellegrini, over."<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Starchaser</strong> on <strong>29-03-2011, 18:28:50</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Richard <b>knew</b> that they could have reached the pod in time, but Sarah wasn't budging.&nbsp; He sighed. "Well. for what it's worth if there is anyone I'd like to spend my last moments with it's with you."<br><br>He locked his own arms and legs around Sarah <b>and</b> the ladder.<br><br>"We're still alive, though", he added with a smile, "and where there's life. There's hope. But just in case we don't make it..."<br><br>He closed his mouth over hers, his tongue flicking over her teeth before caressing hers in a passionate kiss.<br><br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Joslyn</strong> on <strong>29-03-2011, 20:42:16</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Sarah started to feel reassured by his presence, and her fear subsided slightly. Really, this was not the worst plan she could have gone with—she had entangled herself pretty well into the ladder, and it would probably take considerable force to dislodge her.<br><br>She was very surprised by the kiss, and suddenly newly conscious of the fact that she was completely naked. But there was nothing for that. She returned the kiss just as passionately, then finally opened her eyes and looked to him. “You’ve been so nice to me in the short time we’ve known each other. Thanks for helping me through this.”
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Starchaser</strong> on <strong>30-03-2011, 09:09:56</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Richard merely smiled and held on to both the ladder and Sarah. If they were lucky the ladder would hold and they would be able to hang on. They may suffer minor injuries. If they were unlucky the ladder would break and then....<br><br>Only a few seconds to impact. Despite his comment regarding the "Garden of Eden" at the party twenty years ago, Richard was not overly fond of religion. His mother had been a practising witch, his father an athiest. Despite the lack of a true conviction he found himself praying to the Goddess to help them get through this alive.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>30-03-2011, 10:34:42</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<strong>The ship groaned as the stresses on the hull escalated in the friction of the atmosphere. The ship was never intended for atmospheric re-entry and as the occupants inside no doubt felt, the ship rocked and jerked as the gravity pulled it down to the surface. Propulsion was being used to keep the Exodious at an approach that would cause minimal damage and all power was reverted to cryo and life support. The ship dropped lower and lower over an ocean, on it's way, very fast, to a landmass the size of modern day Australia.<br><br>&nbsp;The loudspeakers blared with a very short, but terrifying message. <em>"5 seconds till impac..."</em> Dropping into the water, the velocity of the ship slowed minimally, but upon impact into the beach, the whole ship threatened to rip itself apart. Bulkheads crumpled, shattered, or twisted around one another. Anyone to the front of the ship would have died almost instantly. A bit of luck placed the colonists to the rear of the ship. The ship continued on despite this and gouged a huge canal through the land. Mountains loomed into the distance and the ship was headed right for them, although this would stop the ship, the damage would be even more catastrophic. Slowing down, the ship slammed into the mountain at about 600MPH, although this is a relatively low speed, the sheer mass of the ship caused most of the front to crumple, taking the communications and most of the command consoles out.<br><br>&nbsp;The colonists in the rear were a bit more fortunate. Although the ones who did not hang on very well were thrown about like ragdolls and splattering sometimes against un-yielding metal. One cryo tank occupant merely exploded as the pressure control shorted. Another unlucky colonist was flung down one of the ladder wells and screamed to the last two people he would see. The colonists situated under tables fared better but all the sharp angles caused more than one laceration. A very unfortunate technician in a locker slammed into the door, knocking him unconscious and spilling him onto the floor and face to face with a fresh corpse that had been crushed by a bulkhead. All in all a very non eventful crash. The computer had estimated higher losses, but now it too was silenced as the main data node had been destroyed partially.<br><br>&nbsp;On the outside of the ship, oblivious to the chaos inside, an alien ruin loomed. Quiet and ominous, the vibrations from the crash caused some power to return to some of the systems. Nothing really happened. It was a very old ruin anyway, perhaps anything inside had all but turned to dust. Maybe. </strong><br><br>Let me know what you think.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Eliza</strong> on <strong>30-03-2011, 11:27:17</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Ellen, along with a few other colonist situated under tables in what would be a common room or mess hall, stayed where they were, expecting the ship to crash any moment now. What they weren't expecting was the magnitude of physics in the cavities of the ship. They didn't know the status of the damage, but they had a front row seat to gruesome deaths of those not holding onto anything secure. Ellen could only watch in horror as bulkheads buckled around the table, the light bulbs removing themselves from their sockets in the ceiling and shattering upon impacting the tabletops. The chaos of the damage drowned out the screams, most of which were for the helpless colonist who were flung towards the front of the ship, immediately perishing from the impact trauma. The ones under the table were not safe either, and though they were protected from falling debris, they suffered multiple wounds from the sharp edges underneath the tables. Ellen suffered scratches on her left arm as it met the side of the table and fell on shatter glass on the floor. Blood was drawn, but it wasn't enough to be life-threatening. She also suffered a head injury as for a moment her skull lifted involuntarily and hit the underside of the table. Blood ran down her head in a thin stream of red liquid. When the blood dripped from her brow, she immediately wiped it, but a steady stream leaked down until the crash came to an end.<br><br>As the ship slid to a stop, and the chaos gradually dying down, the colonist under the tables were glad to have survived, though they paid the prices with a few lacerations and minor head injury. Ellen, who had a ocular implant for her left eye, was surprised that her head injury didn't suffer so much but a static moment. She was fortunate that her healed bullet wounds on her right arm and left thigh didn't reopen. Her skin, though was riddled with small scratches that broke skin but did open a blood vessel or two. The bodies that were flung around weren't so lucky. As the colonists appeared from under the tables the only terrifying sound that echoes through the halls were the screams, possibly from the lucky ones seeing their colleagues and total stranger sprawled onto the floor, limp and lifeless. A good twenty people were alive in the common room, but more than equal the amount of survivors were those who did not make it.<br><br>Sorrow filled the ship. Immediately people were mourning over the dead. Ellen on the other hand had no one to care for, no one to cry over. Out of the twenty in the room, she was the one to cry the most. Was these tears of gratitude to her god that gave her mercy in the crash? Or did she truly care for the dead, those who meant little to her. And then the thought came. She thought about Daric, the jokester from the patio, twenty years ago. Where was he? Her tears dried as she worried over his life. Where could he be? Think, L, think! she said to herself. What was Daric? He was a cryo tech. He had to be where the cryo pods were.<br><br>She found the ladder that led down to the floor where the entrances to the other ladder shaft were located. Fortunately, this was one area that hadn't buckled in the crash. The light at the bottom of the ladder was a hopeful sign, but as she got down, whatever hope she had escaped her. More and more bodies, most of them naked, lay on the floor. Ellen had to hold her stomach in as she saw the corpse strewn about. There was more death than life, but she had to know if there were still people living. Maybe there would be a few people who found refuge in the ladder shafts. "Hello! Is there anyone alive?!" she called to the entrances of the ladder shafts. Ellen was the first voice that was heard throughout the whole atrium, and her voice seemed to awaken the rescuers amongst those alive. More and more voices, of both rescuers or those that needed a voice to call to, called out deafening the silence of the death in the room.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Starchaser</strong> on <strong>30-03-2011, 18:59:06</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				How the hell Richard had managed to hold on to the ladder was a mystery even to him. The fact that the ladder itself hadn't buckled was also a miracle. He had heard some poor guy's screams as he hurtled past, narrowly missing him and Sarah on his way toward oblivion. Eventually everything had fallen silent. The first thing he became aware of was the beat of Sarah's heart and her rapid breathing against him.<br><br>"Well, if this is what paradise looks like then they could really do with an interior designer", he commented. His attempt at humour was more an attempt to mask the fact that he was shit scared.<br><br>"Then again, you're here so it must be heaven after all."<br><br>At that point the second thing that Richard became aware of was the incredible weakness of his arms and legs as he had one his utmost to keep <b>both</b> of them on the ladder. He slipped, almost falling, but had enough strength left to keep a grip on the ladder. Just.<br><br>"Better start climbing before my arms and legs give out", he suggested.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Joslyn</strong> on <strong>30-03-2011, 19:04:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Sarah held on for dear life during the crash, though she found the deceleration at the end to be the most painful part—she had been facing in the direction of the crash, and was pressed so hard against the ladder that she was left with painful bruises on her arms and legs. Her neck hurt slightly as well, but as the ship ground to a halt she realized in amazement that she had suffered no serious injuries. Of course, there was no knowing how many colonists had died, and how much danger the compromised structural integrity of <em>the Exodious</em> might pose. The future could not be more uncertain.<br><br>Still, all that was of less concern to her than her companion. At least his comments did not sound pained. “Are you sure you're okay?” she asked fearfully. It was almost embarrassing that her emotions had twisted her priorities so out of proportion—one life felt more important to her than thousands. "You can step out into the corridor over there if you need to rest. It's just a couple meters down." If he declines, she starts climbing up with him instead.<br><br>She then heard someone yelling at the top of ladder to the atrium, asking if anyone was alive. “There are two of us down here, we’ll head up there soon!” she called back.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Starchaser</strong> on <strong>30-03-2011, 19:22:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Richard smiled. "I'll be o.k."<br><br>Then the voice called down and Sarah Answered.<br><br>Seeing that Sarah wasn't moving, Richard started to climb up toward the voice. It was a slow and laborious climb and he kept looking back to make sure that Sarah was following him.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Joslyn</strong> on <strong>30-03-2011, 19:39:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				As Sarah followed Richard up the ladder, she spoke. “I’m trying to wrap my mind about what our priorities should be.” Admittedly, it was hard to think straight in the aftermath of this tragedy. “There’s medical attention for the wounded of course, but I’m not trained for that. We need to assess the damage, see how the fusion reactors and computer are fairing. Structural integrity could pose a danger, and I don’t even know what caused the ship to crash. Not to mention I need to see what can be salvaged of the drones and factories—I hope there’s something left. I wouldn’t want to end up living in a stone age society.<br><br>"I suppose the very first thing I need are clothes," she added sheepishly.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>31-03-2011, 02:46:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				*Daric lay face-down, unmoving and unconscious. Voices crying out and echoing through the corridor are what he awoke to minutes later. He awoke groaning with pain. His first thought was to open his eyes and look around, but the face that greeted him caused him to attempt to scramble back. He immediately regretted the choice as the pain that exploded behind his eyes and in his ribs nearly caused him to black out. He heaved a couple of breaths despite the pain as he closed his eyes to calm himself. Getting up would not be an option so he opted for rolling over, which in itself caused him to break into a sweat.* "<em>Great, just great.</em>" *His voice sounded pained even to him. Even now all he could do was smile. Hiding in the locker wasn't so bad. He could have ended up like the poor chap next to him. He concentrated on his breathing to ease his pains and decided to lay still for a bit.*<br><br>*After a few more moments, he felt only slightly better. Cries of anguish and pain echoed through the ship. He felt like joining them, but he had to think. Where had he run too? Oh yeah, on of the storage rooms that branched off from the Atrium. He sighed and grimaced. Nothing medical in here, that was all in the Atrium, which meant that the nanite injectors for broken bones and such were locked down two rooms away. An old crypto lock too, so nothing but the accepted key could be used. He had such a key due to his job, nanites were very useful when cryo systems were involved. No telling which of the other techs had survived. He knew one of the nanite doctors even now was dead, because he saw him in the tank from earlier, so that meant it was even more vital that he get to that room and open it up to help the survivors. A cable overhead sparked with electricity, bringing him back to the situation at hand.*<br><br>*A voice cried out in the distance and he tried to yell, but only a labored yelp sound came out as the deep breath he pulled in expanded his ribs, which of course lanced pain all through his body.* "<em>Fuck this, I'm just going to lay here and wait till this shit feels better. Never know, maybe some fairy will come along and heal me of all my woes.</em>" *He laughed and his eyes teared in pain. Felt good to laugh though. Wasn't it the best medicine or something? Well nanites were, in his opinion, but who cared right now.*
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>AngelicBlade</strong> on <strong>31-03-2011, 06:18:05</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Eric slowly awoke in his cryochamber. When he fully gained his sences he noticed the goop he was in was slowly drowning him. He quickly pulled the emergency lever but nothing happened. He started to panic and beat at the door hoping someone, or something, would open the door. He looked outside the window and beat on it until it broke cutting his hand in many places. But he was just glad some of the fluid was draining out. He reached his arm out and pulled the lever on the door and it popped open and he fell to his knees vomiting alot of the goop he had swallowed. He looked around and saw the bodies of some unlucky people. The sight was enough to make his stomach turn. He slowly stood and looked down noticing he was naked he headed for the atrium to get cloths or something to cover himself with.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>KaraKres</strong> on <strong>31-03-2011, 06:35:19</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Luisa's eyes snapped open as the restorative drugs were pumped into her by the system.&nbsp; Her body quickly began to shiver as the warm cryo fluids quickly drained away.&nbsp; She blinked several times as the light outside her pod flashed on and off several times before being reduced to a dull red light...<em>Emergency lighting?...why?</em> She felt the ship lurch and realisation dawned on her that something had gone wrong...terribly wrong.&nbsp; <em>Don't panic girl.&nbsp; This ship was built with a thousand redundant systems in all areas to compensate for every conceivable problem and fault....the engineers will be onto it...all will be fine...stay calm.</em> Luisa kept repeating the mantra of <em>stay calm</em> even as panic began to well up in the pit of her stomach.<br><br>Flexing her fingers, Luisa tentatively reached for the emergency release handle.&nbsp; When her fingers were wrapped firmly around it, she pulled quickly and cleanly...<br><br><em>FUCK!</em> Her mind screamed when the handle didn't move.&nbsp; Then a face appeared in front of her pod....through the fogginess of her forced awakening, Luisa vaguely recognised the male face...<em>If he's out, then all is not lost...it means that some things are working...or have been working...stay calm</em>&nbsp; Luisa continued to watch him work on the control panel to her pod.&nbsp; He worked quickly and efficiently and within less than a minute the pod emitted a soft sigh as the environmental seals were broken.<br><br>The chaos of the ship's intertior was almost overwhelming...Luisa's ears were assaulted with the cacophony of human screams, blaring klaxons and the tortured sreeching of tearing metal.&nbsp; Luisa momentarily felt herself begin to float and then to fall hard back into pod.&nbsp; <br><br>"...Controlled cras..." <em>What the fuck is going on?</em> her mind demanded.&nbsp; It was clear that the ship had suffered some form of ship-wide massive system failure and that an impact of some sort was imminent.&nbsp; Unsure if the gravity would continue to fluctuate, Luisa gripped the sides of her pod cover and pulled with all her strength grateful that they had been designed with a redundant air-pressure hydralic system.&nbsp; Hearing the safety lugs click into place, Luisa pulled the emergency straps over her shoulders and around her hips, locking the 5-pin safety harness into place.&nbsp; <em>Now just wait to see if you are consumed in some firey doom or whether you're actually going to survive the freefall of a million tonne plus spaceship from orbit...</em><br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Eliza</strong> on <strong>31-03-2011, 08:14:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Ellen had just got to the middle of the grid of ladder shaft entrances when she heard a voice reply to her call. It sounded like a female, a young female at that. She turned to the origin of the voice out from a shaft came a man and a girl in her teens, both of them naked. They probably couldn't find clothes in time and resorted to staying the ladder shaft and braced for the impact of their lives. They suffered minor bruises, but nothing as bad as what Ellen had.<br><br>As the two climbed up, the girl spoke, talking about priorities. Ellen added, "I don't know about how damaged the ship is, but I think I know someone who might have access to something like that." She didn't know much of the mumbo-jumbo about ship. Heck, she didn't know much about anything outside her own field. "Which reminds me. Have you seen a guy who's bald and he has facial hair like over here," she pointed to the area above her lip, "and has some stubble over here," she pointed to her chin.<br><br>"I might know where you might find some clothes," she finally added. She didn't mind the blood trail on the side of her face and from the feel of it, she knew it had already clotted, though, she did need gauze and probably a bandage or two to keep it from opening again. Even the scratches on her left arm started to sting in the air of the atrium. If she could get wrapped up and cleaned, she would be able to be fit enough to go look for Daric, wherever he might be.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Starchaser</strong> on <strong>31-03-2011, 11:44:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I can help with the computer side of things", replied Richard. He was astounded how Sarah could even think about technical details such as this when so much chaos still reigned. He attempted another connection using his internal modem. This timime to the central computer to see if he could assess the damage.<br><br>When the woman called down, Richard called back. "No. I've not seen him. I've seen plenty of bodies but he wasn't one of them." He shuddered at the memory of the dead faces he'd seen in his search of the cryo pods for Sarah Earlier.<br><br>Finally he reached the top of the ladder, exhausted. He lay back and let himself breathe.<br><br>"Can you help Sarah up?" he asked the woman waiting for them. "Her limbs must surely be as weak as mine are by now."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Eliza</strong> on <strong>31-03-2011, 12:14:26</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The man, who was above the girl on the ladder told that he could assist with the computers and wondered if he had any implants like she did. Surely, the only way a man, naked and with no tools, could perform a job like that would have gotten some implants to aid him in assessing a bunch of information. <br><br>"No worries," Ellen said as she heard of no news of Daric from the man. "He's bound to be around here somewhere. We just have to find the smiley faces." It was the only thing that she remembered him by. Daric had been the jokester, even though some of his jokes were misunderstood, or in Ellen's opinion, half-assed. She giggled to herself as she remembered the fact. <br><br>The man appeared at the top of the steps, full of fatigue in his body, not having the strength to simply just idly. "That crash surely did some work on our bodies," Ellen said, showing her wounds on her left arm and the one on her head, hidden by her dark brown hair. 'You just rest here, I'll get her." She immediately looked down the ladder shaft that the man came out of and saw the girl, hands securing fastened to the rungs of the ladder. "Hey, need some help?" she asked, squatting and offering her good arm to the girl.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>KaraKres</strong> on <strong>31-03-2011, 12:43:05</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				For the hundreth time, Luisa silently thanked the designers of the cryo pods for the sound insulation provided.&nbsp; What wasn't hidden from her was the manner in which the <em>Exodius</em> was literally being torn apart as it entered an atmosphere, something its designers had never anticipated.&nbsp; Luisa could feel the tortuous vibrations as the hull and bulkheads fought against pressures, gravity and tremendous heat.<br><br>Luisa closed her eyes and quietly murmured, "What will be will be."&nbsp; Knowing that her father would have frowned upon such a fatalistic view, Luisa smiled and then wimpered a little at the thought of her parents being told that she had died in a fiery inferno many light years from Mars...<em>would they ever find out? Who would know what had happed to the Exodius?</em><br><br>She sensed as much as felt the initial impact of the spaceship into the surface of the alien world, and impact that implied a slowing of time as the ship literally compacted in on itself...then the vibrations intensified and Lusia watched dumbfounded as several rivets holding her safety harness together stretched and then popped.&nbsp; The canvas straps dug painfully into her naked flesh, the negative g-forces forcing her body down as if trying to fold her in half.<br><br>And then with one final, drawn-out groan the great <em>Exodius</em>, intended saviour of mankind ground to a halt.&nbsp; The interior continued to be rattled with minor explosions and electrical fires, klaxons still blared and emergency lighting still flashed red.&nbsp; Luisa felt the tension drain away and collapsed against the cold, hard metal of the cryo pod.&nbsp; She was surprised to find her heart beating like a trip-hammer, her body covered in sweat and taking great gasping breaths as if she had just run a marathon.<br><br>After a long minute of waiting ensuring that ship truly had come to a halt, Luisa freed herself gently from the safety harness, wincing as she flexed her shoulder and arm muscles that had been so abused by the g-forces of the atmospheric entry and negative g-forces.&nbsp; She held her breath when she pushed the released button for the cryo pod's safety lugs and nearly shouted in relief when they released.&nbsp; Pushing the door open with weary arms, Luisa stepped quickly out of the pod and took in the scene of utter devestation, her mind struggled with the images of twisted and mangled bodies, the red emergency lighting making everything seem even more ghoulish than it already was.<br><br>She paused amongst the wreckage, remembering her training, the multitude of briefings they had been subjected to prior to launch.&nbsp; Upon defrost as she continued to think of it, they were to make there way to an atrium for each cryopod hall.&nbsp; There would be a locker for each colonist which would contain everything they would immediately need post arrival.&nbsp; Luisa quickly spotted the ladders that led to the atrium above.<br><br>Moments later she was scrabbling through piles of crates and bags which had spilled from the lockers.&nbsp; Trying to find something that would fit.&nbsp; There was only one other person in the atrium, Eric, a member of her team who had obviously gotten here before her as he was dressed already, <br><br>"Eric, what the fuck has happened?" Luisa shouted, trying to make sure she could be heard over the klaxons that still blared throughout the ruined ship.&nbsp; Luisa gave up trying to find a bra and quickly pulled on a jumpsuit over her panties.&nbsp; She thought she heard a male voice cry out in pain and looked around trying to ascertain where it was coming from.&nbsp; "Eric, did you hear that?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Joslyn</strong> on <strong>31-03-2011, 17:10:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Though her arms were heavy from the strain, Sarah managed to climb up into the atrium after Richard. “Thanks, I’m okay,” she said to the woman who offered help.<br><br>Up to this point she had not seen any bodies, having kept her eyes closed during much of the disaster. But in the atrium, there was no mistaking obvious victims of the crash. “Oh God,” she blurted out in horror, covering her mouth with one hand. Sarah was not religious in the slightest, but there was no other phrase for such a moment.<br><br>Visibly shaken, she continued. “I’m umm... I’m going to get some clothes first.” It was the only task she felt she had the wherewithal to handle at the moment. And while nothing could be further from her mind at the moment than sex, being naked in public still felt embarrassing and distracting.<br><br>She at least remembered which storage room held her locker. She went into the nearby room and found the space empty, save a single still form—the corpse of a member of the robotics team she had worked with frequently. Jeffery Williams, Robotics Technician Second Class. A whole rush of memories overwhelmed her—the first time they had met in a class, how jealous he had been of her superior abilities, a heated argument they had once had over a series of mechanical failures in the lumber drones. He had been initially resentful to be assigned as her assistant a year ago, but gradually he had fallen in line and become very helpful. She also remembered the time he had actually broken down and cried over failing the First Class certification test, and how incredibly awkward it had been—he had poured his heart out to her, and she had had no idea how to comfort him. She had also suspected that he might have had a crush on her, but he had never said anything to make his intentions clear and she had not been interested in him.<br><br>Now all that was left was an inanimate object—his intellect, his personality, his hopes and dreams for the future were all lost to the universe. Sarah did not believe in any sort of afterlife—she was sure that the only thing remaining was the body, with a neck twisted to an impossible angle and look of confusion left on its face.<br><br>Sarah barely made it to a nearby sink before throwing up what was left of a ration pack she had eaten twenty years ago into it. She then started sobbing again. <em>No, there isn’t time for this, there are people out there who might be hurt and need help.</em> But at the moment, she could not will herself to move.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Eliza</strong> on <strong>31-03-2011, 21:39:05</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Ellen stepped back from the top of the ladder to give space for the girl to climb up. She did indeed looked young, but how young, Ellen did not know. She could see how the sight of dozens of colonist lying on the floor of the Atrium, whether in their own pool of blood or not, affected the girl, and could not help but say the same thing in her own language. "Dios mio," she said. At first, she could not see how many people lay dead on the Atrium floor, but it was too much. Even the morgue in the CSI lab back on Mars couldn't store this much people. She then saw the girl head over to where the lockers were, hearing her mention something about clothes. Though she was modest enough to cover her private areas, Ellen thought that with the number of dead colonists, someone's property and clothes may go unclaimed. She didn't like taking stuff from others, especially dead people, but if it was a need to survive and a chance to cover herself up, there was no choosing any other option.<br><br>She followed the girl, still not knowing her name. Upon arriving in the room, she found the place empty, save one person. From what she could tell, the girl knew this guy. She was as visibly shaken upon seeing him as when she saw the mass of perished lives on the Atrium floor. The girl then ran to a nearby sink, spewing her guts out. Ellen tried to hold her own stomach in as she saw the girl vomit into the sink. Being someone who was around dead people often, it didn't really bother her, but it sure bothered the young woman, who just began sobbing, her tears falling into the sink. Ellen felt for her and finding some clothes on the floor, she picked them up and walked over to the girl. Not knowing how to comfort her, not even knowing her background or simply her name, Ellen reached a hand and placed it on the girl's back, moving it into a circle. It was the least she could do.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>01-04-2011, 02:34:42</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				*Daric opened his eyes slowly.* "<em>Oh, crap... I can't be falling asleep. Don't know if I have a concussion or not. Maybe if I sing something to myself?</em> *He pulled himself over to a locker and leaned up against it. The effort caused him to break into a sweat again, the long cut on the right side of his head spilled a trickle of fresh blood. He sat quietly and then grinned broadly, remembering an old and rare recording of a little song recovered from a computer on Earth. He began singing this softly to himself, pausing occasionally to catch his breath. {Click here and listen to the first song. (http://tinyurl.com/67kbsqq)} He looked to his right at the body he had awoken to and forced a smile.* "<em>This one's for you, handsome. Good luck on your journeys.</em>" *He wondered how goofy he might sound, but it would be better than listening to the cries and screams he heard fading from the ship. His ribs ached and his voice strained on some parts, but it was working. He was amused he had remembered this particular jingle and as he started, tried to keep from laughing."<br><br><strong>Situational Awareness: The survivors of the crash immediately set out in search of food and water as most had been sustained on a transfusion of liquid nutrients while in cryo. Even that was very little, as metabolisms had been slowed in cryo and consumption was miniscule. Those that had been awake long enough to get food went in search of safety. The ship was still burning in some places and electricity sparked in others. Others wanted to escape the scene of carnage and the klaxons and retreated through the exit of the ship to the outside, nude and otherwise. Out of the nearly 5000 onboard, about 20% wer now confirmed deceased and another 45% were unaccounted for. Half of the survivors were still frozen until further notice and those that were awake were confused on how to proceed. Some took charge and organized searches throughout the worst parts of the ship. The atrium was pretty much abandoned besides a few.</strong>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Joslyn</strong> on <strong>01-04-2011, 02:53:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Sarah was surprised to find the woman trying to comfort her. “I’ll... I’ll be fine in a minute. There may be others out there who are hurt. If you could find some medical personnel, or at least a first aid kit...” She looked up at her. “You should tend to yourself as well, those cuts look painful.”<em> I need to pull myself together, I can’t be liability to anyone.</em><br><br>The young tech tried to reign in her sobbing. Finally, she washed her face and rinsed out her mouth. Then she took several deep breaths and steadied herself. <em>You can do this, just one step at a time.</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Starchaser</strong> on <strong>01-04-2011, 03:33:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Richard had taken some time to recover from the ache in his limbs. Whilst he was doing this he had tried to gain acces to the main computer and get some damage reports. Now that he had rested he became aware of two things. Firstly, he was naked. Secondly, the fear combined with the close proximity of Sarah's naked form had given him an erection. Suddenly feeling very self conscious he headed for the storage room and gathered up his clothing. As he dressed he heard somebody throwing up nearby. He followed the sound and found Sarah wiping away tears.<br><br>"Are you O.K.?", he asked. Then his eyes fell to the dead technician. He stepped over to the man and closed his eyes. Then he grabbed some clothes from a nearby locker and placed them over the body. He was shaking now. Too many bodies for one day. He turned to the two women. "We should give them all a proper burial when everyone is accounted for"<br><br><b>OOC: Can Richard gain acces to the main computer and what can he determine about the crash, the status of the ship and possible locations of survivours?</b>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Joslyn</strong> on <strong>01-04-2011, 05:04:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Sarah drank some water, and soon trusted herself enough to speak without crying. “His name was Jeff,” Sarah said quietly. “I met him my very first day aboard <em>the Exodious</em> for training. For the past year he’s been...he was my assistant.” Being careful not to look at the body again, Sarah looked over the lockers until she found the number of the one she had used twenty years ago—or rather, little more than twenty minutes ago in her frame of reference. Inside, her belongings were relatively undisturbed. She quickly put on the cotton bra and panties, followed by her tech’s jumpsuit. It was beige, with a dark belt, boots, and a large number of pockets. One patch on her clothes signified her speciality as a robotics tech, and the other simply said "S. Nakano." She then put on her personal comm and tool kit—the kit had a large number of tools used to analyze and repair equipment all over the ship.<br><br>As she dressed she continued speaking, her movements slowed only slightly by her shivering. “Burial just sounds so old-fashioned,” any lightness in her tone was undercut by a slight shakiness. “But then I guess cremation doesn’t seem fitting for the first deaths on a new world.” She paused a moment, looking downward in shame. “Richard... I’m so sorry I froze up on that ladder. I could have easily gotten you killed. I promise I’ll do better if there’s more danger.” 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Starchaser</strong> on <strong>01-04-2011, 05:13:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Richard reached out and touched Sarah's face in a reassuring gesture. "You don't need to be sorry. Your desire to remain on that ladder could well have saved our lives. That pod I was going to get us to looked pretty smashed up after the crash. I'm just glad we made it through alive. So many others didn't."<br><br>He looked at the woman who had called to them while they were on the ladder. "I'm Richard Hawthorne, an A.I. and computer specialist. I've been using a wireless implant to try and gain access to the ships computer. It's taking some time and I'm not even sure if any of the access nodes are responding. Do you know the layout of the vessel? I think we should get to some comms and put out a rallying message so survivours can all collect in one safe location".<br><br>He smiled at Sarah. "Then all the Adam and Eve's can explore their new Eden together".<br><br>He returned to addressing the other woman. "Who was the man you were talking about earlier. A friend?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Eliza</strong> on <strong>01-04-2011, 07:09:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Ellen withdrew after delivering what comfort she could give to the girl. She found a sink a couple fixture down and turned on the water. Slowly, she put her bloodied arm under the running water, pulling her arm back a few times due to the stinging sensation. After the stains on her skin were washed away, Ellen found that her wounds were mostly superficial. She then bent her head down and cupping the water her hand, cleaned the blood stains on the side of the face and in her hair.<br><br>When the guy arrived in the room, Ellen stood up and then glanced at the man and then the dead technician on the floor, now covered by spare clothes from the lockers. "I agree, I can assume the majority causes of death would be blunt force trauma. When we assess the damage and the surviving, we can have a proper ceremony," she explained. She thought of Daric and hoped that his fate was like the dead technician in the room. Then, the girl added to the conversation, telling the guy and Ellen that the technician was someone close to her. She walked over and offered some more comfort. It was like a eulogy for the unfortunate person.<br><br>As the girl went to put on some clothes, Ellen disappeared in another row of lockers and looked for some appropriate clothes. After finding what looked like a tanktop, she looked for a jumpsuit. After finding a dark one that fit her, she found that the name belonged to someone she didn't know. Not wanting to be labeled as someone she wasn't, she did not put the top half on ... resorting to tie the sleeve around her waist. When she appeared from the lockers, the guy had approached the girl. Ellen stood aside, not wanting to interrupt them, but the man looked to her and introduced himself.<br><br>Reaching out her hand to shake his hand, Ellen introduced herself, "I'm Ellen Mendoza. I'm supposed to be a forensics scientist on this expedition, filling in for Dr. Emilio Allende. I don't really know much about the ship other than the cryo pods, sorry." She looked at her wounds on her left arm again and then replied to the man's next question. "He's supposed to be a cryogenic tech. His name is Daric. I don't know if you know him, but I think he might help you figuring out this ship."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>AngelicBlade</strong> on <strong>02-04-2011, 01:47:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Eric finally reached the atrium after walking for a good five minates. Once in the atrium he looked for the lookers rooms. After a while he found them and three people standing in them talking. Eric, not wanting to be bothered by so many people at once quitely walked into the room and walked over to a sink a good distance away from the group of people. He turned on the water slightly surpized the water was running her started to wash off the blood he was half way covered in.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Eliza</strong> on <strong>02-04-2011, 03:57:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Looking at the cuts on her arm, Ellen was glad that they weren't bleeding like crazy. Though they could open up again without the aid of gauze or other first aid materials. She looked about the room, looking for a box that held these types of equipment. She then heard a shuffle on the other side of the room, maybe even a glimpse of movement entering. Leaving the pair to talk to each other, she turned and looked down the rows of lockers. At the other side of the room, a tall figure stood in front of a sink, seemingly washing himself off. In the corner of her eye, she saw a locker with her name on it. Keeping the person in her view, she opened the locker and removed the contents. She hadn't been in here personally, putting her belongings in the locker. She actually was late on the day and was in a rush to get into cryo. She gave all of her property to a cryo tech, who said was putting it into a locker reserved for her. So this was it?<br><br>She pulled out her jumpsuit, colored in the same color as the one she was wearing now. She undressed herself of her current jumpsuit, tossing it on a bench nearby, and donned her own. She still kept the sleeves tied around her waist, thinking with just the fabric running over her cuts, she may start to bleed again. Also in the locker was her holopad, which looked pretty much intact, save for a tiny crack in the viewscreen. She placed the holopad in one of the pockets provided and approached the figure at the end of the row of lockers she was at. He was still there washing himself, which told Ellen that he was either a clean freak or was filthy with blood or dirt. Not wanting to startle the tall man, his stature actually dwarfing Ellen's height, she greeted him. "Hello?" she asked.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>AngelicBlade</strong> on <strong>02-04-2011, 05:51:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Eric looked over at the woman and grabbed a rag then stepped into the light showing the blood that still somewhat covered him. He held the rag over himself trying to be somewhat decent. "Hello. . ." He looked down into her eyes then held out his noncut hand. "I'm Eric Veriner, Who are you?" Eric's voice had a hint of annoyince in it, but it was slight and nearly unnoticable. He looked around the room and picked up a pair of short laying on the ground and put them on quickly.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>02-04-2011, 11:36:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<strong>The ship has sustained serious damage from the crash. The bridge is ruined, but some systems have survived. The main data center for the ship has been destroyed, so the small data nodes throughout the ship are all separate links with no way to connect to one another.(i.e. Someone in cryo can't inquire about the engine status.) The power relays have been mostly fried, but intact, so power to most systems throughout the ship has been cut. Cryostorage #1 is completely destroyed. 1000 colonists gone in the blink of an eye. Cryostorage #2 and #3 were located in the rear of the ship across from each other. 2000 colonists each. They are largely intact with minimal structure damage. The engines in the rear of the ship have been deactivated due to fire and are now sealed in the fire suppressant foam. Only serious cutting tools can clear out that area. Emergency power sources are functioning within each area to keep emergency lights and life support running. The main power plant is in the engine room so power can't be restored until that area is cleared. Mechanical storage has sustained moderate damage. Equipment and bots thrown about but mostly intact. Medical storage is locked and since power is out has reverted to a keyed locking system. Picking the lock is not possible as it reads a magnetic chip on the key that turns along with a sensor in the lock itself that will not work if anything else is inserted. Ration storage is also locked, but with a simple lock and key backup. Personal locker areas are open, with individual lockers being locked with a simple DNA lock. Hazards throughout the ship include: Broken glass, electrical cords exposed, and small fires that have not been contained. </strong><br><br>If I missed anything specific let me know. I'll add it up here.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Akhanu</strong> on <strong>02-04-2011, 14:13:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<strong>~ Enio Pellegrini: Caught in the crash, caught in the luck.</strong> ~<br><br>* * * <br>Enio repeated his call over the communication line but the response was a steady stream of static and he gave up, murmuring an obsenity at technology for not being there when most needed. <br>As he reached the end of the corridor he felt quite surprised, actually happy, when he realised that the people coming out from their living quarters just rushed through the preasure sealing chamber that connected the living chamber corridor to the next section that would eventually lead to the bridge. Noone paied attention at the yellow blinking light over the door where three vacuum walk suits were always kept, part of every preasure sealing chamber! <em>Oh, precious. These people have never laied foot on a space vessel before or these three would have been the first things sought after in here!</em> <br>&nbsp;Frantically he took his sleeping pajamas off and he slipped inside the suit fast, using all his skill from countless times of having done that for surface walks on every possible moon of Sol system! The suit was truly state of the art equipment! The pannel on his left arm indicated atmospheric auto balance, body heat and moisture regulation, and a myriad of other good things of which he had only seen the designs and pictures of!<br><br>&nbsp;He got out of the chamber and started to run. The forearm instruments indicated gravitation increase outside of the "bubble" which the ship generated! It only meant that some huge body was closing in... the planet was closing in! They were falling, the massive ship was falling! It was a dreadful discovery, the city sized ship was built in space and should remain in space. Planetfall would likely equal destruction, for the ship itself and for everyone else onboard!<br>&nbsp;He ran like hell towards the upper part of the aft. The ship was falling nose-down and he was in trouble if he didn't move away. "Run run! This way, there is no time, this way, to the aft!" He shouted to a group of people that he saw while he didn't stop running to the best he could.<br><em>""5 seconds till impac..."</em> Speakers sound seemed like thunder in his ears and he felt his adrenaline effect imediately. Everything would now fall, tumble, roll and dislocate. While still running he turned towards the side wall of the corridor, activated the suit's magnetic holds and started to climb up as fast as he could. Two seconds later the entire place shook violently as the ship obviously hit the surface and instantly most everything was flying about, everything was crashing and smashing and he felt his body being pulled by inertia while his limbs remained adhered on the wall. He looked far down inside his helmet where the eye command reader was and he blinked the sequence of lowering the helmet visor, which came down instantly and sealed itself.<br><br>He witnesed the havoc of the following minutes. All the five people that happened to be around were smashed and thrown away like rags from the objects and the furniture. Emergency lights went off as well and only the sound of objects colliding and metal screeching and distant explosions could be heared. Horrified Enio realised that the distant explosions were actually getting closer, the destruction was coming closer! He wanted to do something but he knew there was nothing he could do, the deafening noise was now coming from everywhere and the place was all darkness! Death was only a few moments away! From the end of the corridor came a booming sound and the corridor itself moved. The walls shook and some feeble rays of light came from somewhere, enough to make him realise in terror that the corridor was being deformed like a piece of paper, ripping apart and allowing in other feeble rays of light!<br><br>And just then the chaos ended, the movement stopped, the noise paused! His eyes were wide of terror and fear, he looked around in disbelief at the destruction everywhere around him. At the next moment his jaw dropped from wonder and surprise. While the dust cleared away, he looked through a small opening against the wall he was attached to and he could see outside! Several layers of metal from the ship's hull had been torn like paper and revealed a most unbelievable view: An alien ruin loomed. Quiet and ominous, it was clearly visible in the distance!<br><br>Terrified and speechless, Enio could as well be dreaming, but he wasn't.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Joslyn</strong> on <strong>02-04-2011, 14:52:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Sarah was newly disturbed at the sight of the new arrival—a tall man who was covered in a lot of blood. Surely most of it was not his own, or he would be dead. The tech hated to think of what had happened to him, but clearly at least one person had died violently near him during the crash.<br><br>She tried to put all that out of her mind, and looked to Richard. “I have a comm, but I suppose any talk of organizing at this point is begging the question of who is supposed to be in charge in an emergency like this? And whether that person is alive. I have to admit, I have no idea. <br><br>“I do know there are some temporary, pre-fab living structures aboard the ship. Hopefully everyone’s immediate need for food, water, and shelter can be met by what we have at hand. I suppose it’s best for people to stick to their specialties—there must be some medical personnel still alive who can tend to the wounded, or at the very least people who can handle first aid. As for the two of us, I’m still hoping we can help prevent further damage or system failures on the ship. Hopefully there is still enough equipment functioning here for us to build a self-sustaining, modern colony as was originally intended.”
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>KaraKres</strong> on <strong>04-04-2011, 04:42:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Luisa looked at Eric somewhat dumbfounded.&nbsp; She opened her mouth a couple of times to speak and found that words failed her.&nbsp; <em>Had he suffered cyro-amnesia? Had he been banged around that he was still confused? Why didn't he recognise her? They spent considerable time together training and drilling...</em> Luisa shook her head, as if trying to clear a fog that shrouded her ability to think clearly.<br><br>"Eric, I'm Luisa...Luisa Ravenstein.&nbsp; We're on the same team, remember?" Luisa paused as he pulled on some shorts, her eyes involuntarily drifting to his crotch...<em>Hmmm, nice cock...Luisa! Stop it! God knows how many are dead and you're thinking about cock?!?</em> Luisa mentally scolded herself.&nbsp; Looking Eric in the eye, she spoke in as a calm voice as she could muster, "Listen Eric, I think someone is hurt and they are trapped down there..." Luisa pointed to where she thought she'd heard the cry for help and now seemed like someone was singing...badly.<br><br>She spotted a large torsion wrench lying on the floor, obviously having spilled from one of the storage lockers.&nbsp; She saw a crowbar lying nearby and indicated that Eric should pick it up.&nbsp; "Come on! If there is a chance of saving someone from this mess, we should do everything we can."<br><br>Without looking back to see if Eric was following her, Luisa started moving through the corridor towards the male voice that was singing...a situation that struck her as ludicrous.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>AngelicBlade</strong> on <strong>04-04-2011, 06:00:24</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				&nbsp;Eric quickly lowered his hand and picked up the crowbar and ran after Luisa. Eric did remember a Luisa, just not much. <span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="bbc_size">'Why can't I remember everything after boarding the ship? This doesn't make sense, what the hell is going on?'</span>. Eric started to hear the singing ang laughed slightly. "Luisa, we should hurry, this person is probbly delirious if he's sing at a time like this."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>04-04-2011, 07:51:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				*Daric stopped his singing, as it was painfully obvious he would not win any awards for being talented. He didn't really feel any better though, so standing up and walking away would have to wait also, as he still hurt pretty bad. He hardly thought he would be able to walk for a bit. He thought he could hear quick footfalls in the distance.* "<em>More singing my scare them off, perhaps I'll try some tap dancing?</em>" *He laughed at the thought and grunted in pain. He spotted a sizable piece of metal nearby, no indication of where it had originated. Picking it up, he started tapping against the locker he leaned on, surely someone would hear it and come investigate. The damn singing was no use.* "<em>I might just have to drag my own ass outta here after all...</em>" *He mocked wiping a tear from his eye and sighed. Seems a fairy might not visit him today after all.*
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Starchaser</strong> on <strong>04-04-2011, 08:50:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Richard nodded at Eliza's comment regarded Daric. "If he's cryo then we should find him. I've just accessed the local node for this section. Cryo 2 and 3 are largely intact. I don't know how many people are still in there but at full capacity there were 2000 people. We could use a cryo tech to revive them."<br><br>At that point Eric entered, closely followed by Luisa. As Eliza left to approach the pair Sarah spoke.<br><br>"We should find the pre-fabs and sny equipment you think you need. Comms seems to be down throughout the ship but could you maybe modify your comms system to send out some kind of homing beacon? We could find any equipment you need, plus prefabs and then set up somewhere outside and use the modified comms as a rallying point. I for one will be glad to get off this..."<br><br>He suddenly fell silent. "Do you hear that?"<br><br>There was a faint tapping noise coming from one of the corridoors. The two new arrivals must have heard it as well as the man lifted the injured woman and carried her off in the direction of the sound.<br><br>"Wait, we should all stick together!", Richard called out.<br><br>He addressed the other two women. "Perhaps we should go after them", he suggested.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Joslyn</strong> on <strong>04-04-2011, 14:51:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				“That sounds like a good plan,” Sarah told Richard. She tried to pretend the situation was just a problem solving issue, no different than her normal work. It helped keep the danger of emotional breakdown at bay. “But let’s not forget that <em>the Exodious</em> itself has fusion generators and a lot of useful equipment and materials. We may get off this ship soon, but we’ll probably have to climb back in countless times.”<br><br>When the two newest arrivals departed, Sarah shouted after them. “Hey, don’t go too fast and watch your step—there could be exposed wiring and structural instability!” She sighed. “Let’s stay with them for now, I’d like to at least know everyone’s area of expertise.” She follows them with Richard, glad to be out of the room with the corpse. <em>Well, the room with the recognizable corpse.</em> she thought grimly. “We’ll need a lot of people to help remove and bury these bodies before they become a health hazard,” she said to Richard and Ellen.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Eliza</strong> on <strong>04-04-2011, 20:00:24</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Ellen was just about to search her working holopad for a profile on Eric in the crew roster when an woman, probably in her twenties entered. She froze as the woman appeared, she being rather oblivious to Ellen's presence. Picking up a wrench, the woman, indirectly introducing herself as a Luisa Ravenstein in a calm voice, talked to Eric, looking him in the eye. Without any pause or hesitation, the man took the crowbar lying on the floor and followed after the woman.<br><br>After seeing the pair leave rather quickly without any argument, Ellen went back to the other pair. As she neared them, she used the holopad's camera to take a picture of the girl and guy. Pressing the buttons to search for profiles, Ellen put away the holopad and met up with the pair. But when she met up with them, the man, the holopad bringing up the profile of a Richard Hawthorne, told them to quiet down to hear what sounded like a tapping sound, metal on metal. The other pair seemingly exited the room and went straight in the direction of the sound, possibly to investigate. "Perhaps we should go after them," Richard said.<br><br>The girl, the holopad bringing up a profile of a Sarah Nakano, agreed and seemingly dried away her tear and replaced them with a determined expression. "Hey, don’t go too fast and watch your step—there could be exposed wiring and structural instability!" Sarah called after Eric and Luisa. "Let’s stay with them for now, I’d like to at least know everyone’s area of expertise. We’ll need a lot of people to help remove and bury these bodies before they become a health hazard."<br><br>"You're probably right," Ellen said as she put away her holopad and followed Richard and Sarah out of the locker room. "Afterwards, we can split up and start helping those who are wounded and need some food and water."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Akhanu</strong> on <strong>06-04-2011, 12:47:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				~ <strong>Enio Pellegrini: Just after the crash. </strong>~<br><br>* * *<br>Enio felt reluctant to move at all for a full 20 minutes. Only then he could feel his body shake and tremble from the easing of adrenaline rush of earlier. He remained hanging against the highest part of corridor wall, unwilling to give up the place which obviously had saved his life. His breath became heavy and only after ten minutes or so stabilised again. He was alive indeed, but around him only destruction reigned.<br><br>A substantial part of his mixture of terror and wonder was the building, or the ruin, outside. He just couldn't get his eyes away from it and the opening on the wall and the alignment of the torn layers of the ship's hull allowed a partial view, most of it, but yet not the entire thing. It was alien, of this there was no doubt. No human designed shapes like that. No humans had been on this place before. This planet then... it was not theirs to claim for they now were the intruders, they were the aliens in this world. What would humans do if suddenly a non human spaceship came down crashing on Victoria Crater on Mars? Would they themselves welcome the aliens waving flowers at them or guns at them? Probably the later.<br><br>But the place was quiet. No visible activity of it, or around it and Enio was able to find consolation of this fact. But there was no point any more into remaining hanging spiderlike on the wall. He slowly moved his limbs, being careful to make as little sound as possible and finally crawled down on the battered floor. He checked himself and the readouts of the left arm instruments. And it was now the time for the next question: Was he the only one alive from the crash? It was possible but he thought and wished for it to be unlikely. The rear of the Exodius had to be in a better shape than where he was. He openened all possible comunication channels in every frequency and with a meek voice spoke: "H.. hello. Is anyone hearing this? Can anyone pick this transmission? Hello... hello... somebody... anybody, respond now!"<br><br>Like before, trying to make as little sound as possible, he cleared his way little by little to the door towards the rear of the ship. If 'they' were out there, he didn't want to be found, just not yet.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Akhanu</strong> on <strong>09-04-2011, 15:09:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				~ <strong>Enio Pellegrini: "I must find a way out of here before 'they' find me."</strong> ~<br><br>The speakers inside the helmet of the vacum-walk suit replied only with the sound of static. But there had to be other people who had survived he crash! It would be impossible that of all of them he was the only one alive. Impossible and horrible. "Hello... if anyone is hearing, respond now. Hello.. come on... try the intercom... If the mic is broke, get the two cables that connect it and touch them together for one instant then get them appart again for a few seconds... then touch them together for another instant and get them appart again... Hello, hello..."<br><br>He finally had reached the end of the corridor where he was and in front of the door that was there. It was locked, as he had thought it to be and pressing the button to open it did nothing, he would have been surprised if power would still run through the hydraulics. <em>What now, what now.</em> "Think think think..." He spoke to himself. He needed some encouraging and there was noone but his own self to do that. <br><br>He thought again of the 'thing' outside and couldn't keep his curiosity to look for a spot on the wall where he could see it again. But where he was the line of sight to outside was blocked towards, he could see small patches of the outside, but not the ruin itself. How far were 'they', could 'they' see him or hear him? Were 'they' watching him like a lab mouse in a maze while he was trying to find a way and get to the next corridor, the more towards the rear part of the crashed ship?&nbsp; He remained silent and still and amplified the outside microphones of the walk suit and sound speakers inside of his helmet to the maximum. After playing a few moments with the instrument panel on his left forearm, he tuned them to infrasound and ultrasound frequencies, projecting them into hearable sounds. A cacophony of noise poured through and he focused his mind trying to make any sense of the myriad of sounds. There was wind outside and blowing through the holes of the crashed ship, there were objects moving or dislocating by it, there were sounds of the flora being washed from the wind. But nothing so far resembled animal-like sounds. Nothing so regular or out of place, nothing so repetitive. <em>At least I don't risk being eaten or beaten or shot upon, or something.</em> <br><br>He went up against the jamed door of the airlock between the corridor. He touched it with the visor of his helmet and with any hard part of his vacuum-walk suit, and listened, keeping as silent as possible. The next corridor was empty, no sounds or human voices could be picked up from the mics. He would listen for anything that the metallic walls could convey and after a few moments he moved to another spot against the end wall and listened again. But it didn't seem to him that he was having much of good results. He changed spots a couple of more times and listened before he would give it up and jump to his next idea.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>09-04-2011, 15:35:58</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<strong>Situational Awareness: As the survivors of the crash struggled to re-orient themselves and escape the carnage, some took note of the ruins in the distance. Most asked "What is it?" or "Who built it?". More analytical minds wondered why that if a large population center existed, had no one come to investigate. Why there were no roads leading from it. Those inside the ship, oblivious to the outside, well in most case, tried to find ways to prepare for survival. All through out parts of the ship, specialists did what they did best. Some to forget what was around them, others because they knew something had to be done. Even now, survivors of the crew in the bridge and front of the ship struggled to squeeze in between wreckage and salvage anything. Doctors raced round, consolidating and IDing bodies. Engineers worked in their respective areas. It was organized chaos. Everyone racing around, but with no particular aim. Cryostorage #2 is where the majority of the colonists had been awakened from. Cryostorage #3 is where you and the group are located, besides Enio, who is currently making his own way out. #3 Was just beginning the thaw procedure, when the crash happened. Most that had been awakened were now corpses. Others fled the scene having no connections to hook up with as most in #3 were singles. Those that remain are all that are there. Suddenly something crackles faintly and a voice booms from a central source. Emergency wavelength broadcast through bull horns. Good for limited use, as it works via batteries in each device. "<em>This is the captain speaking. Survivors are to locate themselves in Cryobays #2 and #3. Some survivors have set up outside the Starboard airlock. Proceed with caution. Me and some bridge personnel are stranded. I'll need time before I can regroup with survivors. Out.</em>" The system crackled and silence reigned. #2 is the main base now. #3 is desolate except for the patter of running feet and a strange metallic tapping. The base outside is struggling to establish a shelter. The days ahead loom as ominous as the ruins in the distance. Only time will tell...</strong>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>11-04-2011, 18:28:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Luisa<br><br>She charged ahead towards the sound, taking care to dodge an electrical cable on the floor that was popping with electrical current. The singing had stopped a second ago and had been replaced with a metallic tapping.<br><br>She reached the doorway of a smaller locker room slightly before Eric, smiling at the small win. Whether he knew it or not. The door was stuck open and didn't seem to have power to it. She stood in the doorway and called out. "Hello, who's in here? Say something so I know which direction you are." She waited for the others to catch up also. There was no rush, so she leaned on the inside of the doorway.<br><br><span class="bbc_u">OK, I'm trying to keep it in the spirit of her char, don't think I did too bad meself.</span>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Starchaser</strong> on <strong>11-04-2011, 18:35:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Following Sarah's suggestion he offered her his hand and then started running after the two newcomers. He came to a stop just behind the man as the woman paused to speak to the source of the tapping. He remained silent, waiting for a reply from whoever was making the sound. Once that occurred he would tell the pair ahead of them that they should all stick together.<br><br>Then the captain's words came over the Tannoy. He whispered to Sarah, <i>"Well, looks like the captains still alive, and it also looks like we all have to stay here for the moment."</i>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Joslyn</strong> on <strong>11-04-2011, 22:02:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Sarah refused to run, given all the potential hazards aboard the wrecked vessel, but she walked quickly. She had missed the tapping sound at first, but once she noticed it she also sought out the source. It definitely sounded like some deliberate noise being made by a person. Letting go of Richard’s hand, Sarah searched for one of the emergency med kits kept in the atrium. When she found one, she took it with her. She had no medical training, but thankfully modern technology had come up with a few devices that were fairly idiot-proof. She then hurried to catch up with Richard once more—she definitely did not want to get separated from him, as his presence was the only reassuring thing in this disaster. “Watch that electrical cable there,” she told him. “We’d better start shutting down power to any compromised or nonessential systems.”<br><br>The tech also noticed that her personal comm seemed to be receiving messages over every channel it could pick up—however, none were addressed to her personally and she did not want to take the time to begin sorting though such a mess just yet.<br><br>The announcement over the emergency system was slightly reassuring. “We should check in with the captain after we take care of the obvious hazards here,” Sarah replied to Richard. “Given our specialties they might have use for us.”<br><br>Sarah finally caught up Luisa. “Hey... Luisa was it? I don’t think I mentioned my name earlier, I’m Sarah. Could you take this med kit and see who’s in there? I want to head over to the maintenance computer and try to shut off the power to the all the dangerously exposed wires in here.” She holds up the kit to the other woman.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Starchaser</strong> on <strong>12-04-2011, 19:02:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Richard waited whilst Sarah broke the silence, offering the other woman a medi kit. When she mentioned the maintenance computer he said "Do you want a hand with that? If there's any data corruption in the shut down protocols I might be able to override them".
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>13-04-2011, 23:40:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				*Daric stopped his tapping and looked up. Someone came? That was a relief.* "<em>Back here around the corner. Oh, and mind the floor, someone seems to have spilled themselves about.</em>" *Even he couldn't laugh at that one, but he was smiling at the thought someone might have come to help him get to the med storage. That was enough to brighten any man with broken ribs' day.* "<em>I'm pretty banged up, so I need some help moving. Anything you got to ease pain would be awesome right about now, but if not, then just help me to the med storage. I'm sure something might be in there.</em>" *He couldn't see who it was, but the voice sounded feminine enough. Maybe he was really hearing fairies in his head. Either way, it was good to know something cared enough to respond.*
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Eliza</strong> on <strong>15-04-2011, 03:27:22</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Ellen followed the pair following the other pair that she had just recently identified with her holopad. She paid more attention to the thing, trying to get a picture of who these people were. She looked up just in time when Sarah warned Richard of an electrical cable. It was like a black snake, shrouded in shadow with only the head a sparking mass of exposed metal letting Ellen know its random arc of travel as it flailed about on the floor. She stopped as the cable dashed forward and reeled back towards the wall. "Whoa, that was close," she said, putting her holopad into its holoster. She then lunged forward, as if jumping over an invisible hurdle, successfully passing over the cable. When she met with the rest of the group, she could hear what they were hearing: a tapping sound. The same sound that the group had heard a while ago.<br><br>Sarah had offered a med kit she had found before grouping with the other pair of individuals. Ellen saw the med kit and remember that she had taken a First Aid class back at the Academy twenty or so years ago. She was still licensed then. She came up beside Sarah and placed a gentle hand on the girl's hand that held the med kit. "I'll do that actually, I know First Aid," she said, grabbing the kit and venturing inside.<br><br>The room was half-lit with flickering lights. It was hard to see the floor in places the lights did not shine on. Fortunately, there were only a few lockers overturned and ripped from their bases. She called out into the room, "Hello! Is there anyone in here! My name is Ellen Mendoza, and I have help with me. Can you let me know where you are?" She hoped the person who needed help who tap or sing horribly again, just to give the rescuers a sign of life amongst the chaos and mayhem.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Joslyn</strong> on <strong>16-04-2011, 03:48:17</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Sarah was happy to surrender the med kit to Ellen—if whoever was inside that room had some sort of gruesome injury, the tech preferred not to see it. “Thank you.”<br><br>“That’s a good idea,” she then replied to Richard when he spoke. “All the first class techs have some basic training with the ship’s systems, and between the two of us we should be able to handle the job.” This kind of work felt like almost a relief—anything to further bury the part of her that wanted to curl up on the floor and cry. Sarah led Richard over to the maintenance computer and activated it. She called up the power grid and began identifying the compromised areas that needed to be shut down. If she encounters any glitches or malfunctions in the shutdown protocols, she turns things over to her companion so that he can attempt to override.<br><br>As Sarah worked she spoke to Richard. “Now that we’ve finally got a moment to think, I can’t help but wonder what happened to the ship—I would have never believed such a catastrophic failure could have occurred before we even attempted atmospheric reentry.” She paused suddenly, worried. “You don’t think it might have been deliberate sabotage, do you? On the other hand, if it was something like that, there probably wouldn’t be any survivors at all.”
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>16-04-2011, 06:05:12</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Luisa<br><br>Luisa looked around for a moment. She couldn't really see anything, but an idea came into her mind. "Hey you guys can handle things here right. I think I heard a guy's voice toward the rear of the room. Seems pretty dim though. That cable in the hallway may have been a main power line. I'm going to regroup with the other group of colonists and let them know we are alive over here." Without awaiting a reply she bounded off. Her footsteps could be heard echoing throughout the ship and eventually they quieted.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>AngelicBlade</strong> on <strong>16-04-2011, 22:32:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Eric looked around for a moment examaining the room. Then watched Luisa run off. He sighed and slowly walked towards the back of the room, after the voice. "Hello? Anyone back here?" He saw the man on the ground and the dead man. He quickly ran over to the man and kneeled. "Are you alright?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>17-04-2011, 05:17:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				*Daric saw the man come around the corner. Weird, that must be some girly dude. The man kneeled and spoke. "<em>Yeah, yeah I'm good. I think I heard someone yell something about Ellen? Is she with you. That would just be quite the coincidence. Say, you don't have something with a big red plus sign on it do you?</em>" *He looked down at the body next to him.* "<em>I don't think my buddy here is gonna make it through without some painkillers.</em>" *He shrugged and looked back to the man.* "<em>Name's Daric by the way. Would shake your hand, but I'm a bit bloody and don't feel like moving too much</em>" *He grimaced.*
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Eliza</strong> on <strong>17-04-2011, 08:08:48</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Ellen followed Eric further into the room, him going one way and herself another. She managed to make her way through the wrecked lockers and their contents that were strewn about the floor, mixing themselves with other debris. She turned toward Eric's voice and made her way towards the voice's general direction. His sudden movement and question to someone laying on the floor momentarily froze Ellen on the spot, but she regained her focus and jogged after him.<br><br>She stopped about a meter from the two bodies laying on the ground after hearing the familiar voice. It was Daric, the jokester from the patio twenty years back. After all these years, he remembered her. Finally, someone other than family and co-workers knew her on this ship ... someone alive especially. "Coincidence my ass, <em>estupido</em>," Ellen said. For a moment her voice sounded serious, but as she knelt before Daric and seeing his cocky expression on his face, she bore a smile on her face that glimmered as the lights above them momentarily illuminated the area for a minute or two. She placed the med kit near Daric and told Eric, "Hey, can you check that guy's vitals? Just see if he has a pulse." She turned back to Daric and ask, "Looks like you need my help, don't you?" She placed a hand on Daric's forehead, to see if a temperature fluctuation existed. "Now, where are you hurt?" <br><br>She tried to hide the dried wounds on her arm in whatever shadow she could muster from the lights. Her head wound, although, was exposed for Daric to see. After a few seconds of silence from Daric, she asked again, "Well? That crash didn't tear your vocal cords, right? I thought I heard singing somewhere. That wouldn't be you right?" She especially asked questions that would give Daric optimism, which twenty years ago, some rubbed off of him and onto Ellen. Her purpose of asking was to keep him awake as well. She did not want Daric dying on her all of sudden.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>17-04-2011, 09:23:05</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				*Daric laughed then coughed, then grimaced in pain before continuing.* "<em>My soothing serenade has melted your heart into putty has it? Don't worry about my neighbor, he was dead before I even came to know him.</em>" *He frowned and waved his hand.* "<em>But enough of the dead. As to where it hurts, there is one area in particular I would have you examine closely. But I'm not sure now is the time. I'll have to scratch my back later after I can reach it.</em>" *He smiled at the reaction to his joke and continued.* "<em>So, where it really hurts.... hmmmm, what doesn't hurt is really the question. Enough of me though, our second date can't be all about me. How did you fare during the smooth stop? I see we shared a common headbanging.</em>" *His smile was plastered on his face the whole time, although he was more trying not to move much during the whole exchange. How very appropriate that the fairy be Ellen. She even had some medical goodies too.*
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Eliza</strong> on <strong>17-04-2011, 11:15:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"You wish," Ellen said in response to Daric's serenade comment. "At least you're alive and kicking. Your jokes haven't died either." From what she could see Daric didn't suffered any wounds that broke the skin and bled profusely. Probably a few scratches and a possible concussion was what she could analyze with her eyes alone. Whether he would be able to walk was a different story.<br><br>She listened to Daric rant about himself and then shared interest in commonalities, most notably her head injury, to which commented, "Oh this ... this is nothing. I'll live and heal. This guy, not so much." She glanced at the dead guy once more and said to Eric, "Hey, you can cover him if you'd like. I'd like to hold my stomach for another hour or so." Hunger in fact had never struck her as important until now. They had been in cryo for twenty years with no food or drink in their bellies. Their stomachs could be dry and rotten without consumption of whatever food was left. "Come on D, let's see if we can get you standing ... but take it slow though. We don't want to rush things."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Starchaser</strong> on <strong>19-04-2011, 07:28:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=101930.msg4511547#msg4511547">Quote from: Joslyn on 16-04-2011, 03:48:17</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">As Sarah worked she spoke to Richard. “Now that we’ve finally got a moment to think, I can’t help but wonder what happened to the ship—I would have never believed such a catastrophic failure could have occurred before we even attempted atmospheric reentry.” She paused suddenly, worried. “You don’t think it might have been deliberate sabotage, do you? On the other hand, if it was something like that, there probably wouldn’t be any survivors at all.”<br></blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>Richard considered Sarah's words. "I hope not. Especially since the sabatouer might still be alive. You're right, though. There are a lot of failsafes on this ship and so far no evidence as to why it crashed.". He continued to watch as Sarah worked. Her enthusiasm was something. She was like a child in a sweet shop and Richard admired that. If she were to look out of the corner of her eye Sarah would see him watching her with a mixture of awe, admiration and affection. Despite the tense situation Richard's mind still wandered back to that night twenty years ago before they'd entered cryo-sleep. <br><br>He stared in the direction of the back of the room, He could hear Ellen and Eric talking to another man, but couldn't see him from their current position.<br><br>"Looks like Ellen has found our drummer boy friend", Richard commented.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>19-04-2011, 09:30:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				*Daric waved her concern down.* "<em>Well, standing might be a problem, I think I have a least one broken rib and a couple fractured ones. I'll need to lean on you for support, and don't worry, I won't get to frisky.</em>" *He laughed as he leaned forward to stand. Tears formed in his eyes from the renewed pain.* "<em>I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I promise I'll wait till our third date.</em>" *He laughed and put his hand on the wall to steady himself. Standing was the easy part, walking not so much.* "<em>But I'll tell you what. You get me over to the med storage and I'll fix up that little cut on your head. As well as myself.</em>"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Eliza</strong> on <strong>19-04-2011, 09:51:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				More with the jokes, but Ellen could take it. She fired a salvo of reason, saying, "You keep laughing and those ribs will break. Then you won't be laughing." It was a harsh remark, but she knew Daric would understand. Ellen stood back as Daric propped himself up onto his feet, steadying himself with an arm outstretched towards the wall, a hand planted on the metal. "This is not a date, Daric. Watch me throw you down some steps, you cripple."<br><br>She walked over to him and placed his arm around her shoulder. She herself wrapped an arm around his back for leverage. "How about you stop the little jokes about us and then we have a deal?" Ellen knew it was only in her dreams that the jokes would stop ultimately, but she had to try to get Daric from laughing before he laughed himself a torn lung. She let Daric lean on her before leading him through the wrecked lockers and to the entrance of the room. "So, where's med storage, you big oaf?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>19-04-2011, 13:33:06</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				*He put a hand on his chest and smiled.* "<em>My poor heart has been broken broken, but whats this? A deal about our third date? I'm in!</em>" *He grinned and pointed to the left.* "<em>It's a couple of rooms that way. It's so very hard to miss, with the big red cross and whatnot.</em>" *He wiped the sweat from his brow. Looking around now he was outside the locker room, he realized just how bad the crash had been. Electricity arcing and twisted bulkheads were no doubt pretty prevalent throughout the ship. Then he noticed how quiet it was.* "<em>So I guess it's true then that everyone went to the other Cryostorage atrium?</em>"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Eliza</strong> on <strong>19-04-2011, 20:01:58</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I don't know about the other atrium, Daric," Ellen said. "I only went with a group who were looking for a tapping noise and some horrible singing. Fortunately, we found you." She walked with Daric towards the direction he said was the med storage. She saw Sarah Nakano and Richard Hawthorne working on some of the still active computer terminals on the what looked like a veranda overlooking the bottom floor of the atrium. When they got to a large double door with a huge red cross on it, Ellen assumed it would open upon walking in front of its sensor, to no success.<br><br>"Looks like it's locked. I don't suppose anyone has a key on them?" Ellen asked, looking to Daric and then to the two manning the computers.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Joslyn</strong> on <strong>19-04-2011, 22:19:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=101930.msg4526358#msg4526358">Quote from: shadowChaser on 19-04-2011, 07:28:03</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Looks like Ellen has found our drummer boy friend", Richard commented.</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>“Drummer boyfriend?” Sarah asked, confused. She was pretty much entirely focused on manipulating the local power grid through the maintenance computer. Then she looked over to see Ellen and the injured man emerge. “Oh, drummer boy. Like that thing.” She paused a moment. “Okay, as of now there’s no more electrical dangers in this atrium and the adjoining rooms, though I can’t speak for the rest of the ship.”<br><br>When Ellen had her trouble with the door, Sarah responded. “Just give me a minute, I might be able to open that,” she called out. However, she was soon stymied. “Looks like the door sensor and mechanism are working, but the computer locked them down for the crash and then didn’t release them.” She looked to Richard. “Could you override? I’m sure you could do it much faster than I could.”<br><br>Sarah moved away from the computer and looked to the personal comm strapped to her wrist. “Looks like someone broadcast some sort of distress call. Let’s see...” She played the message.<br><br><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote from: Akhanu</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"H.. hello. Is anyone hearing this? Can anyone pick this transmission? Hello... hello... somebody... anybody, respond now!"</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>She set the comm to respond. “Hi, this Sarah Nakano, robotics tech. I’m in atrium for cyrostorage number 3. I picked up a message from you. Are you in any immediate danger?”
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Starchaser</strong> on <strong>21-04-2011, 08:41:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Richard chuckled at Sarah's distracted remark. He admired her enthusiasm. When she asked him to take over he briefly squeezed her hand and ran his hands over the keyboard. The computer's modem was down which meant no cyberspace access. He had to do this the hard way.<br><br>When Richard listened to the distress signal he recognised the voice. "That's Enio. Remember the party the night before we went into cryosleep? He was the drunk guy who kept making inappropriate toasts. He's an Astrobiologist which I'd say will make him very useful when we finally get onto the planet."<br><br>He finished typing. "O.k. Done. Try the door now, Ellen."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Eliza</strong> on <strong>21-04-2011, 09:52:21</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Ellen looked over at Richard as he began inputting an extensive sequence of button presses into the keyboard of the computer terminal. He's quick, but it's taking very long ... this hunk of muscle and bone is starting to ache my shoulder, she thought to herself. When Richard popped his head up from the terminal, that gave Ellen the signal to reach for the large button on either side of the door's outer threshold. Upon pressing it, a green light illuminated around the button, which also sent a stream of light towards the top of the door frame. The door swiftly separated, revealing a dark space.<br><br>Ellen led Daric inside and once she got in the vicinity of the sensors, the lights began to turn on. Due to the limited electricity flowing through the ship, the amount dwindling as they tried to find a way off it and survive, half of the light never turned on. About a quarter of the lights flickers on in unsteady interval, though never blinking out entirely. The lights that did stay on were mostly near the door, which was fortunate for Ellen and the light gave her enough sense to lead Daric further inside and prop him on a medical table, which illuminated as Daric's ass planted on the table's surface. A little bit of Billie Jean action going on. Ellen looked around the room and saw rows of secure cage cabinets. Whatever that wasn't secure was laid out on the floor, but none of the debris was dangerous, like glass containers and syringes. Now free of the big body leaning on her shoulder, she asked Daric, "Okay, big guy. What do you need?"<br><br>Before Daric could answer Ellen's question, a man suddenly ran in, stopping to catch his breath in the door's threshold. "That's nice ... someone finally got it open," the man said and then looked at Daric, seeing him in a pain he was familiar with. "Look like that guy needs some painkillers. Here," he finally said, tossing a set of two keys connected to a lanyard. "You'll find the painkillers in that cabinet over there." The man pointed to a caged medicine cabinet right next to the table Daric was sitting on. Without replying, Ellen immediately inserted one of the keys into the keyhole of the cabinet, successfully opening it, revealing about a dozen bottles of painkillers and about a dozen more of aspirin. She grabbed one and opened it as fast as she could, pouring about eight capsules into her hand. Ellen then gave the capsule to Daric. "Tell me if you need any more."<br><br>She turned around to catch her breath, but she also caught the man in the act of gracefully grabbing a medical duffel bag and stuffing it with a dozen bottles of painkillers, bandages, gauze, band-aids, and a few syringes. She asked, "Hey, who are you?" The man stopped what he was doing and took a deep breath.<br><br>After another pause, he replied, introducing himself. "I'm sorry about that. I'm Dr. Kevin Ericsson (http://www.starswelove.com/celebrities/c/chadmichaelmurray/pictures/chad_michael_murray046b.jpg). I'm the surviving Medical Lab Director of Cryostorage #3," he said. "And who might you two be?"<br><br>"Oh, This is Daric, he's a cryo tech and I'm Ellen Mendoza. I took the place of Dr. Emilio Allende on this expedition," Ellen said.<br><br>"<em>The</em> Dr. Allende? That's why the med lab is in chaos!" Ericsson exclaimed and then paused. "I just gotten word from Cryostorage #2 and the Medical Lab Director there was killed by a bulkhead. I guess that makes me the only Med Lab Director onboard. But, wait, you're here as a former criminologist, but you were supposed to be stationed at the Med Lab ... that must mean you know First Aid." Ellen nodded towards the question. "Cuz I'm a little shorthanded in the infirmary and I just ran down to the medical storage, seeing that it was the only one that opened. You think you can help me carry some supplies and help me with the wounded ... oww, that's some nasty cuts," he said, witnessing the scratches on Ellen's arm.<br><br>"I'm okay. It's only superficial," Ellen simply said.<br><br>"Alright, but I wanna bandage that arm and that head wound after we get to the first infirmary station. Just get one of those bags and start stuffing it with supplies." Without protest, Ellen stopped tending to Daric and helped Ericsson with the medical supplies, opening cabinets as needed to get the necessary amount in the bags. Once two bags were full, Ellen took two as well as Ericsson and without saying anything to Daric, she followed the Med Lab Director out the room and towards the infirmary station on the same floor.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>21-04-2011, 12:21:52</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				*Daric watched the flurry of action all around him, feeling lightheaded and faintly dizzy. He sat on the table trying to get his bearings when something landed in his hand. Not even asking what it was, he stuck it in his mouth and chewed. The taste was horrible, but without water, this was easier.* "<em>Nasty, but I feel like superman already!</em>" *He flexed as she flurried out and was kinda glad she didn't see the resultant pained hunch over he did.* "<em>Well maybe not yet.</em>" *Hobbling from the table over to a group of cabinets labeled "Cryo Access Only", he popped one open and pulled a small datapad and injector out. Hobbling back to the table and replanting his ass on it, he looked over to the two in the doorway.* "<em>Well they left the good stuff behind, but that's just between us.</em>" *He winked slyly and held the datapad up.* "<em>Well miss Sarah, was it? If your handy hacker would give it a whirl I need to override these nanos' programming from the default to something more toward search and fix bone fractures. Usually the cryo consoles would handle that, but those just don't seem to be working and I can't remember all the pretty buttons to push on this lil thing.</em>" *He smiled innocently and pointed to the datapad.*
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Joslyn</strong> on <strong>21-04-2011, 16:32:21</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Sarah blushed when Richard squeezed her hand. With all the death and destruction around her, she was grateful for how he was helping her to feel some small bit of normalcy.<br><br><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"That's Enio. Remember the party the night before we went into cryosleep? He was the drunk guy who kept making inappropriate toasts. He's an Astrobiologist which I'd say will make him very useful when we finally get onto the planet."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>The tech stopped the comm from transmitting for a moment, though it was still set to receive an answer. “Oh, right. I hope he’s okay.” She then smiled at Richard slightly before briefly looking down at her feet. “That was such a good night. Though I have to question the choice of ‘horrific spaceship disaster’ for our second date.” She gave a slight laugh, though it was something of a sad sound. “Sorry, just a bit of gallows humor I guess.”<br><br>When she heard the badly injured man asking for help with the nanites, she responded. “Richard—Dr. Hawthorne, I mean—is very good with nanotech. He should be able to help you.” If Richard goes into the room, she follows him.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Starchaser</strong> on <strong>21-04-2011, 18:43:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Richard's spirits lifted at Sarah's words. "I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did. So this is a second date, is it? Hmmm. Just how far do you take things on second dates?" He joked.<br><br>When Daric interuppted he smiled at the man. "Let me take a look at that." It took him a few minutes to insert some viral code into the main program that would rewrite some of the publically accessible subroutines. He then wrote a daemon process to access these subroutines sending rouge commands to the nanites. <br><br>"It's a bit of a hack job and I'm afraid the code's not terribly efficient, but the little buggers should get to work on those fractures for you, now." 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>22-04-2011, 12:29:12</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				*Daric overlooked the coding making sure nothing looked like it might fry the "nites in armor". He laughed inwardly at the name and pulled a small cable from the pad, connecting it to the injector. He set the datapad to transfer the code and sat back for a moment. As he lay there he looked up at the ceiling. He spoke to no one in particular, but it was a meaningful informative talk.* "<em>So you guys know what happened right? Some beam clipped the ship and disrupted the electronics on board. What I can gather from before the comms went silent. Well they said a bright light had emanated from the surface and had arced in the gravity well of the planet. Came from one of the moons. Shit, if that had hit us head on I wonder what might have happened.</em>" *A beep alerted him the nanites were done reprogramming. He disconnected the cable and pulled the injector back. He felt around on his ribs and located the broken one. Setting the injector right below it he pushed the button and the nanites slowly injected. 10 seconds and the gray goop in the tube disappeared into his body. They would search and repair pretty much any fracture and then perform an anti infection sweep. He lay back to let the nanites do their work.* "<em>But as it seems we are not getting swarmed, either one, the other guys think we are dead, or that was an automated defense. In any case, no need to panic. Wel when little green men screaming for your brains come in, then we panic, but now I nap. Better not to move so I get fixed quicker.</em>" *He winked as he closed his eyes. The cut on his head would wait. His ribs were worse than the pork ribs he had at his last family get together. Jeez.*
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Eliza</strong> on <strong>22-04-2011, 21:38:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The infirmary was far from chaotic, for Dr. Ericsson had taken care of everything, Ellen assumed. No one in the infirmary were heavily wounded, some had gashes on their bodies, similar to her lacerations on her arm; most either were in physical or emotional pain. "Dr. Mendoza, why don't you find those who need painkillers and administer to them. I'll take care of those who have bruises and wounds," Dr. Ericsson said, purposefully calling Ellen a doctor. Hearing the news that the Med Lab Director had perished in the crash landing, Ellen knew that the medical staff were shorthanded. The survivors needed the most they could get. Not wasting anytime, she started administering help to those nearest her.<br><br>To those who needed aspirin or some kind of painkiller, she said, "Hello, my name is Dr. Mendoza, I'm here to help. Do you need some painkillers? How many do you think you need? To every person, she also gave a small bottle of purified water to ease the swallowing of the pills.<br><br>To those that needed bandaging or more gauze to stop bleeding, she said, "Hello, my name is Dr. Mendoza, do you need help? Dr. Ericsson will come by shortly with some bandages." If someone found that had a broken bone, she said, "Okay, when Dr. Ericsson comes by, tell him that you need a splint.<br><br>After all was administered to on the floor, Dr. Ericsson approached Ellen. "Dr. Mendoza, guess it's only you that needs help. Here, let me clean you up," he said, guiding her to an empty bed. She sat on the mattress and held out her arm. Immediately he took it and poured the remaining water in the water bottles onto it. Using the sheet on another mattress as a makeshift towel, he wrapped the arm momentarily to let the water and remaining blood soak in. "Does it sting?"<br><br>"A little bit," she said, noting the gentleness of the doctor's hands as he began applying gauze and then bandaging the arm up.<br><br>"Now the head wound," he said. "Do you want to tie your hair back?" Ellen didn't respond, only dug into her pockets for treasure. When she found none, Dr. Ericsson dug into his pocket and retrieved a black hair tie. "I found it on one of the beds. Seemed whoever had it didn't want to keep it." Kevin gave the hair tie to Ellen who immediately tied her hair back in an almost neat ponytail. Dr. Ericsson proceeded to clean the wound, apply clean gauze and wrap it in bandages, wrapping it around her head at least twice so the gauze wouldn't fall off. "There. I don't suppose your friends know where the food stores are found. Almost all of these people are hungry and they need energy to get off these beds, and eventually off this ship."<br><br>Ellen replied, "They're all specialists in one thing or another. It would good if they did know where the food is stored. Come" She got up, zipping up a duffel bag full of leftover materials. "Maybe we should stock up on supplies at the med storage before we go looking for the food stores.<br><br>"Excellent idea. After you then," Dr. Ericsson said. Ellen nodded at the gesture and smiled and retraced her steps back to the med storage. She hoped everyone was still there and further hoped someone knew where the food she being kept.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Joslyn</strong> on <strong>25-04-2011, 04:45:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Richard's spirits lifted at Sarah's words. "I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did. So this is a second date, is it? Hmmm. Just how far do you take things on second dates?" He joked.</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>Sarah laughed slightly at his comment. It felt surreal to be laughing at all in a situation like this, but if it helped them through this she felt it was just as well. As for the comments from the injured man, the young tech did not know what to make of them—was this accurate, or was he in shock from his injuries? The idea that there might be intelligent life on this planet was extraordinary, though also frightening. Regardless, any alien threat was beyond her ability to do anything about.<br><br>After Richard was done with programming the nanites, she spoke to him again. “I’m going to leave a message with the captain, see if there’s anything particular he might need us for.”<br><br>She stepped slightly away from the others and recorded the message. “This is robotics tech first class Sarah Nakano, I’m at the med lab off cryostorage three. I’m here with Dr. Hawthorne, a couple medical personnel, and a number of wounded. Captain, I’d like to attempt to activate some of the drones that are set up to deploy our prefabricated shelters—we’ll all need protection from the elements until more permanent accommodations can be constructed. Of course, if there’s any more urgent business you need a tech for, let me know.” After recording this, she transmits it to the captain.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>AngelicBlade</strong> on <strong>25-04-2011, 06:07:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				After watching the two for a bit Eric walk over to a hole in the wall that leads out side and stares. In the distance he sees some ruins. "Hey guys I'm gonna go check out those ruins." Eric finds his locker and prys it open. He takes his jacket,pants and boots then puts them on. He picked up his crow bar and made his way down the ship.<br><br>&nbsp;Once down he looked around at some of the others that wandered outside. He's releaved the air is good to breath and starts to walk towards the ruins. 'I hope there is something useful in there. . . like a better weapon or something. . .'
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Starchaser</strong> on <strong>27-04-2011, 07:40:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				After Sarah finished her message, Richard addressed all four of them.<br><br>"Well now what? Sarah, do you think we can reach those pre-fabs you talked about? Perhaps we should move down the ship section by section, try and get the systems online and..."<br><br>He suddenly stopped.<br><br>"Hey, wait a minute. Daric, did you just suggest we were attacked? By something on the planet? Oh great. So now were tresspassers on alien territory and they not the kind to roll out the welcome mat. What if they come for the wreckage? Perhaps we should evacuate the ship before the little green men come swarming over us as you put it."<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>28-04-2011, 00:55:56</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				*He nodded with his eyes closed.* "<em>That was the last report that came in over the network, before it went down. All the report had said was that a light emanating from the surface f the second moon had hit the ship. Nothing more. Not the planet, so that might be significant, might not. Dunno if word got sent back to home or not.</em>" *He sighed as he rolled over. Out in the Atrium, what sounded like an arc welder had fired up. Great, now I got some crazy racket going on while I'm trying to nap.*<br><br><br>Captain Fenris<br><br>*Well it almost couldn't be any worse. His whole crew had died in the initial moments of impact. Seems the floor grating wasn't designed sturdy enough and had come loose. The end result was that it had slid back and sliced nearly everyone in half. Only reason he had survived was that his seat was higher than the rest. Too much time watching old space sci-fi movies is probably what made the engineers do it. Nearly four hours had passed since then and he now had all the bodies bagged and up against a wall. They would be honored later. He reached over for the emergency broad cast and thumbed the switch to transmit. "<em>This is the captain...</em>" *Now that he had let everyone know that leadership still survived, he needed to actually get to them. Walking over to the emergency cabinet, he opened it up and gazed around inside. He grabbed a survival pack and also the portable arc welder. It wouldn't cut down a bulkhead, but it could make a door where one didn't exist.*<br><br>Equipped as he was, he looked at a map. The entrance to the maintenance shafts was right down the hall from him. He could slip into there and if he was lucky, the shafts would still be intact. From what the map said, the shafts would take him all the way down to the Cryostorage atriums. He went back to the consoles and cut power to anything still running in the bridge. Except for the S.O.S.. Very unlikely help would arrive in his time, but it would give heart to anyone expecting rescue. He resumed his escape and dissapeared down the hall and around the corner. He slipped into the shaft entrance and began his little journey.*
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Eliza</strong> on <strong>28-04-2011, 02:28:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Ellen, followed by Dr. Ericsson arrived right when the sound of an arc welder echoed throughout the spaces of the ship. It was loud, since the whole atrium was full of empty space in the center with decks with veranda on the sides. The transparent panels in the roof had small crack here and there, but not enough for the whole roof to come down. There were clouds covering what seemed like a bluish sky above the ship. But they weren't there to enjoy the view. There were still people that needed aid to any injuries they may have suffered and a lot more people starting to feel the effects of post-thaw hunger. Ellen could feel it too.<br><br>The two medical personnel arrived at the medical storage room to resupply. Using a flashlight that was taken from a unlockable cabinent near the door, Ellen navigated her way to the cabinet in the shadow of the unlit lights. She gathered more bottles of water and stuffed them in the bag. She also packed various kinds of medicine into her bag as well as some bandages and gauze. Ellen then walked back and over to Daric. "Hey, big guy. How about some sleeping pills?" Ellen asked. She hoped there wasn't going to be any more jokes, but that was only wishful thinking. "But before I give you any, can you tell me where to food stores are located? Me and Dr. Ericsson were going to go look for them."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>28-04-2011, 04:31:42</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				*He opened his eyes again and rolled over to look at Ellen. He sighed dramatically.* "<em>So you've now moved to drugging me huh? All you have to do is tell me you want to have your way with me.</em>" *He rolled back over with a big smile plastered on his face before continuing.* "<em>The food storage is about two rooms down from this one. With clothing in between, hint hint, and the survival storage beyond that.</em>" *When he said the "hint hint" part, he pointed to his current attire, being boxers. Bloody boxers at that. How's a man supposed to feel comfortable in front of two ladies, while in boxers? People these days. He managed not to laugh at his own humor. But barely.*<br><br>Captain Fenris<br><br>*This shaft was hellishly long and crawling on hands and knees through these bastards was not fun. What made it even better was the fact that the arc welder was being so cumbersome and fuck's sake knew when a collapsed portion may have him turning around. Must've been an hour before he encountered just that. Although it was a small blockage.* "<em>Well time to bring out the door maker.</em>" *He angled the welder just right and turned it up to full power. This being the only time he would need it probably. Flipping down his shades he pulled the trigger. Sparks flew and the temperature jumped. This was gonna be a bit of hell.*
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Joslyn</strong> on <strong>28-04-2011, 14:55:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				“I really don’t think we should abandon the ship,” Sarah said to Richard. “We badly need its resources. And if alien hordes were really coming for us, there’s nothing that could save us—if we hide in the wilderness, they’d just hunt us down one by one. We’re better off operating on the assumption that there’s no immediate alien threat, because if such a threat does exist we’d be powerless against it. We didn’t exactly bring a lot of military resources on this trip.<br><br>“I’d definitely like to get to the pre-fab structure drones as soon as possible, but we should probably grab some ration packs and water first—this could be a lot of work depending on the extent of the damage.” She checked her personal comm, hoping the captain would respond to her message.<br><br>At the sound of the arc welder, Sarah exited the med lab and returned to the atrium proper. She called out loudly. “Who there’s with that welder? Can you hear me? Do you need help?” 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Colonization on Ice(IC)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dracoat</strong> on <strong>29-04-2011, 01:23:20</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Captain Fenris<br><br>*The Arc Welder roared through the tough metal wall. It was a deafening sound and the temperature had jumped to a solid 36 Celsius, or 98 Degrees, in the small space. He was about halfway into the cutting and he was already sweating bullets.* "<em>This is gonna take forever...</em>"
			</dd>
		</dl>
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