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Traveller T20: Tales of the Bray Keaven [Updated 12-20-05]
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<blockquote data-quote="Shadowdancer" data-source="post: 2644803" data-attributes="member: 515"><p><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong><p style="text-align: center">Chapter XXV</p><p></strong></span></p><p><strong>Date: 223-993</strong></p><p><strong>Location: Aboard the <em>Bray Keaven</em>, in jump space between Aleif and Liar's Oath</strong></p><p></p><p>Martha falls asleep quickly. After a few dreams she can’t quite remember, Martha is dreaming of a smooth jump and her drives are humming along perfectly. Everything seems so vivid that it seems real. She inspects the power plant and drives, and everything appears to be tuned perfectly.</p><p></p><p>As she sighs happily and looks around port engineering one more time before heading to the lounge for a snack, the iris valve leading to the port cargo lock opens. Through the iris valve come three large wolves, their fangs dripping blood. One wolf, with reddish orange–brown fur, jumps up on her seat at the main console and starts sniffing the controls. The other two wolves, jet black ones, start sniffing around the drives.</p><p></p><p>Martha freezes, hoping that they don’t notice her, and for a time, they don’t. Then, one of the two black wolves spots her and howls. Martha tries to run, but the two wolves knock her flat on her back. One of the black wolves stands on her chest and snarls at her, and Martha finds it rather hard to breathe because of the compres-sion. The other wolf closes its jaws on her neck, but only enough to make it even harder for Martha to breathe. She struggles to no avail and . . .</p><p></p><p>Martha wakes up, heart racing and gasping for breath. Her mind feels fogged by sleep, and she can’t seem to quite catch her breath even after a number of breaths. The clock reads 02:13.</p><p></p><p>The young engineer tries to calm down, using some of the breathing techniques Saro taught her. The breathing techniques don’t seem to be helping — Martha can’t quite catch her breath. It’s as if the air is thinner than it really should be.</p><p></p><p>With a sigh, Martha gets up to run a quick diagnostic, to make sure the cargo hold is still secure, and there’s been no changes worth reporting. When she tries to bring up the system from sleep, the words “Access Denied. User not authorized to access system” appear on the screen.</p><p></p><p>“What?!?!” Martha almost squeals out loud, then in a panic, she dashes to her closet to find her vacc suit. Along the way, she uncovers the protected emergency/red alert button and presses it. Immediately, a klaxon starts sounding throughout the ship. Martha slides into her vacc suit painfully fast. The suit air feels thicker, but she still can’t quite get her breath, probably because she is hyperventilating.</p><p></p><p>Adjusting her CO2:O2 ratios, Martha performs the TL12 version of an asthmatics’ “breathing into a paper bag” trick, trying to force her biology to take over where her meditations cannot. Martha’s breathing calms down, and she adjusts the ratios back to normal settings.</p><p></p><p>Martha then staggers towards the door, in the hopes of getting to the Doc, as well as check on the status of the others.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>The rest of the crew is awakened by the emergency klaxon and flashing red lights. The air seems thin, as if a few kilometers above standard sea level pressure, and their thoughts seem a bit fogged. As awareness of the situation starts to penetrate, the air ventilation systems seem to cut on full bore, and the air seems to get thinner by the moment.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Vasilii puts his magnum revolver within easy reach in case anything comes a-teleporting. He then hits the ship’s comm and says in the calmest voice he can manage: “This is Vasilii. I’m awake and suiting up in my cabin. I don’t know the cause of the emergency.”</p><p></p><p>Then he dons his vacc suit and checks that it’s working properly. Next he grabs the rescue ball in his cabin in case he needs it for somebody else, pockets his portacomp, and hefts his revolver/speed loaders.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Slowly grasping the situation, Saro dives for his vacc suit and dons it as quickly as he is able in his current state. When he has his suit on, he races toward the sickbay to assist Vargas into his own suit.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Vargas rather painfully gets into his vacc suit and then shoves Rusti into the rescue ball in the cabin/sickbay. “I knew things were too quiet for this ship,” he thinks. “I wonder what has happened now?”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Thanks to his Navy training, Kevon gets up with little more fanfare than a “Son of a . . . ” as he moves over to his vacc suit and dons it. Pausing a moment to fill his lungs with good air, the lieutenant commander hits his suit comm. “Everyone, check in, please.”</p><p></p><p>Vargas keys his suit comm and asks Kevon where he wants him to go.</p><p></p><p>“If the Doc clears you, I need you on the bridge,” the captain orders, strapping on his laser pistol. “Mr. Kugiikishshi, I need you to back up Mr. Vargas and myself on the bridge.”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>Aidan gets into his vacc suit as quickly as possible. He then heads for the computer to check readings on the ship and see if any of his new security programs were tripped.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>After putting on his vacc suit, Ian ponders matters for a moment, then grabs his gauss pistol and a spare clip before heading out of his cabin.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>The redhead in the naughty-schoolgirl outfit is feeding grapes to Swann. She is sitting beneath a large tree on the edge of an alpine meadow, his head resting in her lap. “Can I hold your gun again? It’s so big and heavy.”</p><p></p><p>Swann smiles, his eyes closed, listening to the gentle gurgling of a nearby stream, enjoying the cool breeze blowing across his face, the sweet taste of the grapes.</p><p></p><p>Contented, he takes a deep breath of the cool alpine air. But the thin mountain air fails to fill his lungs. Gasping, he opens his eyes. The redhead is gone, replaced by Maggs, captain of the <em>Musty Dusty</em>. Swann looks into her pudgy face with alarm. Maggs looks back and says, “I’ll have to keep an eye out for the <em>Bray Keaven </em> around the cluster!” But her voice is loud and shrill, and her eyes flash red. “I’ll have to keep an eye out for the <em>Bray Keaven</em> around the cluster!”</p><p></p><p>Swann awakens to the sound of the emergency klaxon and the flashing of red lights. He grabs the body pistol beneath his pillow as he looks around his cabin. He points the weapon around the room, looking for an intruder. His thoughts are sluggish, and his breathing labored.</p><p></p><p>Realizing what is happening, Swann lurches out of his bunk and pulls on his vacc suit. Once oxygen starts flowing and his mind clears, Swann straps on his autopistol and snub pistol. He heads out of his cabin as he keys his comm unit. “Martha, this is Swann. I’m gonna check the life support unit.”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>As Martha hears people coming online via the suit comms, she requests they sound off, so she knows who still needs help and who doesn’t. “Swann, that’s a great idea! Big problem, though — I’ve been locked out of the computer system! Damn wolves! You may want to try, but it could be a problem for you, too.”</p><p></p><p>Once everyone is safely in their suits, Martha announces over the comm that everyone is safe. “I’m going to check out engineering and see if that’s the only surprise we’ve got. How’s the life support coming, Swann? I’m on my way.”</p><p></p><p>Martha heads towards port engineering. As she hurries along, she idly hums St. Elvis hymns to herself, finding a strange solace in the fact that this time there’s an incident in jump space, and she’s not alone.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-----</p><p></p><p>On his way out his cabin door, a thought occurs to Swann. He comms the others. “Kevon, Ian, Doc — can someone check on our new cargo? That unit might have failed, and those organs thawing out might be causing part of the problem.”</p><p></p><p>“I’m grasping at subatomic particles here, but it’s a place to start,” he thinks. “But how could that affect the computer system? And what was that Martha said about ‘damn wolves?’ ”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Shadowdancer, post: 2644803, member: 515"] [SIZE=4][B][CENTER]Chapter XXV[/CENTER][/B][/SIZE] [B]Date: 223-993 Location: Aboard the [I]Bray Keaven[/I], in jump space between Aleif and Liar's Oath[/B] Martha falls asleep quickly. After a few dreams she can’t quite remember, Martha is dreaming of a smooth jump and her drives are humming along perfectly. Everything seems so vivid that it seems real. She inspects the power plant and drives, and everything appears to be tuned perfectly. As she sighs happily and looks around port engineering one more time before heading to the lounge for a snack, the iris valve leading to the port cargo lock opens. Through the iris valve come three large wolves, their fangs dripping blood. One wolf, with reddish orange–brown fur, jumps up on her seat at the main console and starts sniffing the controls. The other two wolves, jet black ones, start sniffing around the drives. Martha freezes, hoping that they don’t notice her, and for a time, they don’t. Then, one of the two black wolves spots her and howls. Martha tries to run, but the two wolves knock her flat on her back. One of the black wolves stands on her chest and snarls at her, and Martha finds it rather hard to breathe because of the compres-sion. The other wolf closes its jaws on her neck, but only enough to make it even harder for Martha to breathe. She struggles to no avail and . . . Martha wakes up, heart racing and gasping for breath. Her mind feels fogged by sleep, and she can’t seem to quite catch her breath even after a number of breaths. The clock reads 02:13. The young engineer tries to calm down, using some of the breathing techniques Saro taught her. The breathing techniques don’t seem to be helping — Martha can’t quite catch her breath. It’s as if the air is thinner than it really should be. With a sigh, Martha gets up to run a quick diagnostic, to make sure the cargo hold is still secure, and there’s been no changes worth reporting. When she tries to bring up the system from sleep, the words “Access Denied. User not authorized to access system” appear on the screen. “What?!?!” Martha almost squeals out loud, then in a panic, she dashes to her closet to find her vacc suit. Along the way, she uncovers the protected emergency/red alert button and presses it. Immediately, a klaxon starts sounding throughout the ship. Martha slides into her vacc suit painfully fast. The suit air feels thicker, but she still can’t quite get her breath, probably because she is hyperventilating. Adjusting her CO2:O2 ratios, Martha performs the TL12 version of an asthmatics’ “breathing into a paper bag” trick, trying to force her biology to take over where her meditations cannot. Martha’s breathing calms down, and she adjusts the ratios back to normal settings. Martha then staggers towards the door, in the hopes of getting to the Doc, as well as check on the status of the others. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] The rest of the crew is awakened by the emergency klaxon and flashing red lights. The air seems thin, as if a few kilometers above standard sea level pressure, and their thoughts seem a bit fogged. As awareness of the situation starts to penetrate, the air ventilation systems seem to cut on full bore, and the air seems to get thinner by the moment. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Vasilii puts his magnum revolver within easy reach in case anything comes a-teleporting. He then hits the ship’s comm and says in the calmest voice he can manage: “This is Vasilii. I’m awake and suiting up in my cabin. I don’t know the cause of the emergency.” Then he dons his vacc suit and checks that it’s working properly. Next he grabs the rescue ball in his cabin in case he needs it for somebody else, pockets his portacomp, and hefts his revolver/speed loaders. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Slowly grasping the situation, Saro dives for his vacc suit and dons it as quickly as he is able in his current state. When he has his suit on, he races toward the sickbay to assist Vargas into his own suit. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Vargas rather painfully gets into his vacc suit and then shoves Rusti into the rescue ball in the cabin/sickbay. “I knew things were too quiet for this ship,” he thinks. “I wonder what has happened now?” [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Thanks to his Navy training, Kevon gets up with little more fanfare than a “Son of a . . . ” as he moves over to his vacc suit and dons it. Pausing a moment to fill his lungs with good air, the lieutenant commander hits his suit comm. “Everyone, check in, please.” Vargas keys his suit comm and asks Kevon where he wants him to go. “If the Doc clears you, I need you on the bridge,” the captain orders, strapping on his laser pistol. “Mr. Kugiikishshi, I need you to back up Mr. Vargas and myself on the bridge.” [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] Aidan gets into his vacc suit as quickly as possible. He then heads for the computer to check readings on the ship and see if any of his new security programs were tripped. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] After putting on his vacc suit, Ian ponders matters for a moment, then grabs his gauss pistol and a spare clip before heading out of his cabin. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] The redhead in the naughty-schoolgirl outfit is feeding grapes to Swann. She is sitting beneath a large tree on the edge of an alpine meadow, his head resting in her lap. “Can I hold your gun again? It’s so big and heavy.” Swann smiles, his eyes closed, listening to the gentle gurgling of a nearby stream, enjoying the cool breeze blowing across his face, the sweet taste of the grapes. Contented, he takes a deep breath of the cool alpine air. But the thin mountain air fails to fill his lungs. Gasping, he opens his eyes. The redhead is gone, replaced by Maggs, captain of the [I]Musty Dusty[/I]. Swann looks into her pudgy face with alarm. Maggs looks back and says, “I’ll have to keep an eye out for the [I]Bray Keaven [/I] around the cluster!” But her voice is loud and shrill, and her eyes flash red. “I’ll have to keep an eye out for the [I]Bray Keaven[/I] around the cluster!” Swann awakens to the sound of the emergency klaxon and the flashing of red lights. He grabs the body pistol beneath his pillow as he looks around his cabin. He points the weapon around the room, looking for an intruder. His thoughts are sluggish, and his breathing labored. Realizing what is happening, Swann lurches out of his bunk and pulls on his vacc suit. Once oxygen starts flowing and his mind clears, Swann straps on his autopistol and snub pistol. He heads out of his cabin as he keys his comm unit. “Martha, this is Swann. I’m gonna check the life support unit.” [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] As Martha hears people coming online via the suit comms, she requests they sound off, so she knows who still needs help and who doesn’t. “Swann, that’s a great idea! Big problem, though — I’ve been locked out of the computer system! Damn wolves! You may want to try, but it could be a problem for you, too.” Once everyone is safely in their suits, Martha announces over the comm that everyone is safe. “I’m going to check out engineering and see if that’s the only surprise we’ve got. How’s the life support coming, Swann? I’m on my way.” Martha heads towards port engineering. As she hurries along, she idly hums St. Elvis hymns to herself, finding a strange solace in the fact that this time there’s an incident in jump space, and she’s not alone. [CENTER]-----[/CENTER] On his way out his cabin door, a thought occurs to Swann. He comms the others. “Kevon, Ian, Doc — can someone check on our new cargo? That unit might have failed, and those organs thawing out might be causing part of the problem.” “I’m grasping at subatomic particles here, but it’s a place to start,” he thinks. “But how could that affect the computer system? And what was that Martha said about ‘damn wolves?’ ” [/QUOTE]
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Traveller T20: Tales of the Bray Keaven [Updated 12-20-05]
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