Well the shuttle pad is repaired. While we continue to build jammers, and check security footage, a shuttle arrives. Six Vesk, four Azlanti, two Raxilites, and the pilot. And a box. No doppelgangers (we casually checked people). Widget was supposed to be with Sresaka, but suddenly appeared by my side near the box, and told me I-9 was in it. Assembly required.
Crew Personal Logs
Diaries of the crew on this mission.
Our courteous and efficient staff is on call 24 hours a day…
Though 38-hour days are too difficult to adapt to, we were exhausted enough yo get a few hours’ sleep. Then back to saving Vakpod’s city. The Vesk want to send more “diplomats” down. Azlanti ships keep appearing around the space station. The shuttle landing pad is fixed, but no one is coming or going until we are safe from doppelgangers.
So, we have twelve junctions around waste processing and fifty around this city. At this time, we are adding EMP to nine and three will provide radiation instead. While I hope the doppelgangers only use this means of travel now that shuttles are no longer an option, who knows?
Security did kill one more using the new devices, so maybe we can get this diplomatic mission done before the Vesk and Azlanti blow each other up.
Master Blaster
Widget is multitasking. I know he’s still going through security footage, but he also keeps zipping into the security station with open containers of leftover food from the nearly-explosive banquet. I thinking he’s giving it to security officers as some sort of convoluted payment for access to footage we are helping them with. Even so, I will warn my shipmates to step with care when they walk through our quarters– assuming we ever rest.
Speaking of our crew, I think Sresaka and Ash figured out the nanites are of ancient Azlanti design. Emphasis on Ancient–L746 technology is a closer match than what we’ve seen used by current Azlanti. Not that we see much of that.
Oh, Widget has informed us that four hours prior to the banquet mishap, a small creature was lurking in the robot recharging bays, which had been half full at the time. The creature, who had on the uniform of an AbadarCorp Ysoki submersible operator called Ratchet Strap, had definitely interacted with M54. Widget found the footage after noticing a burst of static on the feed. He also searched (and found) Ratchet Strap six hours prior at his quarters, but the Ysoki had already left for another trip on the submersible, which was still out. We needed to see how he was in two places.
Lexx and I met security officers at the Ysoki’s quarters, and upon opening the door, I had to yell at everyone to take cover. There was, of course, an explosion two seconds later. Fuel cells. So, at least the Ysoki on the submersible is the real Ratchet Strap, and the footage we’d looked at was of a doppelganger.
And we need a signal jammer at every floor drain. This newest doppelganger had already oozed through one. Maybe we should just try to kill the particular nanites that allow the doppelgangers to function.
Word from Vakpod Station (upper), is that I-9 had burned his own power core. Security up there had carefully gone through and found a virus that had instructed him to steal a shuttle and take it to the Jasper Cluster. It sounds to me like I-9’s backup memory is still intact. I didn’t tell them about that, as the head of security on the Station could infect himself looking for it, so best that I fix I-9. Or Ash– no one else knows how much free will we actually gave our little robot.
Bounty hunters… we don’t need their scum.
So, we split up the crew again. Ash and Sresaka are still at the lab, looking for nanite serial numbers. Lexx, Widget, and I went to another diplomatic party, Brenneri included, that should have been safe. Robots were even serving: M72 and M54. I was admiring the retro design on M54, but when I got closer, I could tell something was very wrong. With apologies to all robots at the affair, I flipped open a hatch on M54: bomb. Or really, extra circuitry and wired to backfeed. I had to defuse that with just a few tools, as I was in my glamorous, formal overalls. I am happy to say that the room cleared quickly and in a very organized way.
Oh, and we had Widget go through twelve hours of video amd logs: the tampering to M54 occurred at the same time as the known doppelganger’s activity.
I miss our ship and bots! For some reason, our bots seem to be getting smarter, with big personalities, so it was strange talking to the M-series they have here.
Shout, Shout, Let it all out
So, our ship and, we assume, Brock. is somewhere in Driftspace. I9 is in jail on Vakpod Station, for attempting to steal a shuttle. Presumably. And I may have yelled at Vakpod Station Head of Security (Ark7). And also the Head of the Station (Derrik Mason) itself. Not in person, of course, since we can’t leave the planet surface.
I assume that the doppelganger up on the space station was able to get back on our ship, or never really left. Since we have not been able to leave the planet, we relied on Vakpod Station to keep our ship safe. We kept their city safe, after all. So I yelled at a lot of people. The Vesk up on the station attempted to disable our ship but couldn’t get there before it hit driftspace. This was appreciated. I told the head of the Station to go rescue I9 and maybe give him some coloring books. I was told he shut himself down after he was apprehended. I yelled about that too. I may never be intimidating, or a diplomat, but I can be loud.
Speaking of diplomats, Atta just woke up.