• NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.

The Long Sleep

"They're from the future." John says. "Either we took a lot longer to get here, or someone invented a way to go a lot faster whilst we were sleeping. Maybe a better way to put it is that we're from their past. Their ancient history, if they're so surprised to see us."
 

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" Be ready for a surprise when we get our first visuals, " warns Andrew as looks to see if they're being jammed, or if Hope is just prioritizing. " Even if they're human, like us, that doesn't mean they're exactly like any humans we've ever seen. They may have undergone some minor adaptations, and they may have genealogies that would be extremely uncommon during our era on Earth, so try not to think about the old rules about judging where a person's family is from. "
 

Ashley says nothing; just leans back in her seat as shock after shock pile on.

They speak our language.

They're human.

WE'RE the aliens.

The first thing she felt was the last thing she would expect. Petulant anger. It wasn't FAIR. This planet was supposed to be THEIRS.

"How could this happen?" she asks no one in particular. Then, more relevantly, "What's going to happen to us?"

Only then did the communication register on her brain. They were supposed to dock. That would be her.

Ashley looks over at the Admiral and asks, in a steadier voice, "They're transmitting docking instructions. Orders?"
 

" Probably the same thing we would have done with Eric the Red or Christopher Columbus, had they docked in Halifax back in the 21st century, " says Andrew thoughtfully. " Probably a medical quarantine, followed by a thorough examination, with a combination of mystified awe and thorough disgust at our ignorance and relatively barbaric ways. "
 

"Great," says Victor, running a hand through his hair. "Getting poked and prodded by doctors...just what I was looking forward to."
 

Rhun said:
"Great," says Victor, running a hand through his hair. "Getting poked and prodded by doctors...just what I was looking forward to."

Ze walks back into the bridge: " Captain, only minor adjustments were necessary on the engines, I'm glad to report that..." He stops in midsentense when he sees the space-station. He looks around, somewhat confused "What in the world is going on?"
 
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"They want us to bring the Hope inside that thing," Ashley says darkly. She then glances at the Admiral and Captain and prods, "Orders, sir?"
 

[sblock=For Steve Gorak/Ze]Okay, Ze was actually bringing back some bad/serious news. Break it to the others as you will. The engines suffered a critical failure during the acceleration stage and never reached its full speed. That's why there's so much fuel left![/sblock]

Ackland exhales audibly, then sits up straight in the chair and returns to his 'Admiral mode'. "Bayne, bring Mr. Costa up-to-date," he says offhandedly to Victor as he examines some holographic map floating in front of him. "And Logan, bring her in... slowly." He doesn't seem to like this situation at all.

John's terminal blinks red for a moment, notifying him that his calculations are complete.

Date of Departure: November 16, 2028
Estimated Date of Arrival: February, 2135
Estimated Current Date: April 28, 2404

It's gotta be broken.
 

Ashley nods. "Yes sir."

She took a breath, and started carefully applying thrust. Orbital insertion would have been easy enough, though it was kind of funny there was enough spare fuel to come to a stop AND insert, now that she thought about it. Coming to rest with regard to the station should have used nearly as much fuel as acceleration did in the first place. The Hope would have used gravity braking on the way in, of course... Still.

"Hey Andrew, something's nutty in the fuel calculations. Would you doublecheck me? Just have Hope run the fuel consumption numbers and call them out, okay?"

She then, "Oh, and I need you to watch the station like a hawk with the main sensors. The Hope's not made to dock like this. The only sensors that buzz to my station is the collision alarm, and it's not exact enough. Let me know if it shows us hitting a wall, and tell me the speed and bearing of the collision so I can adjust."

Hope shook slightly and groaned as even the tiny accelerations of attitude jets sent stresses down the superstructure. Ash got her lined up with the opening, and used the manuevering thrusters to jockey the enormous ship forward towards it. With aching slowness, the opening got bigger...and bigger...

(Pilot roll at +7...if I roll less than 13, I'll AP it)
 

"Admiral." John says, voice hoarse.

"We were a little tardy getting here."

"We're about 269 years late"


"It's 28th of april 2404 today."


He chuckles. "Does this mean I've got about 5335 days of paid leave still open?"
 

Into the Woods

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