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Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Shadowdancer" data-source="post: 1334827" data-attributes="member: 515">Chapter XIIDate: 119-993Place: Alief System, Linkworlds Cluster, Ley Sector. 0900 hours. "5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . Returning to normal space now," chants Vargas as the Bray Keaven leaves jump space and emerges in the Alief system. As the sensors regain their bearings, they show the rest of the fleet scattered within 10 thousand klicks and that Alief itself is 102 planetary diameters away. "Pretty good, all things considered," Argent thinks to himself. Almost immediately, the comm system starts blaring a message on the alert channel: "Alief is under strict quarantine in addition to the normal Red Zone quarantine. All ships transiting through the Urlainn refueling depot may proceed normally. Any ships approaching Alief must stop for inspection. Any ship approaching within 80 planetary diameters without inspection will be intercepted and destroyed. Any ship departing Alief must hold for quarantine isolation and inspection for seven days. Any ship departing Alief beyond 10 planetary diameters without inspection and quarantine will be destroyed." Looking up from his scanners, Vargas comments, "Well, that explains our welcoming committee. There is one 1,000–ton Urassigaruu class escort destroyer, a Gazelle class close escort, two cutters, and six fighters inbound. These guys mean business." After a beat, the comm system squawks another message, this one from the Marquis’ ship, "Seri’s Dagger to Bray Keaven. Hold position and wait for inspection. We’re currently negotiating with the surviving picket commander as to how we can best help. Sit tight. Since you’re the last to arrive, you’re currently fourth for inspection by the second cutter. Estimated time of inspection is 1500. Will send more information as we get it. Seri’s Dagger out." Argent acknowledges the transmission and then keys the internal comm. "If you aren’t monitoring the comm system, we’ve arrived in Alief system OK, and it appears that the rest of the fleet is OK, too. We’re holding for inspection in about six hours. No word yet on what we’ll be doing. Martha and Swann? Since we have some time, do you think that we can get one of the spare weapons in that empty turret? I wouldn’t suggest trying to zero and calibrate the targeting systems, but we might have enough time to at least do the external installation." Argent continues, "Meanwhile, we do need to prepare for the inspection. I doubt that we’ll want to tick off the Marines, so we need to decide how to handle this little visit." -----Upon emergence into normal space, Martha begins following standard protocols, checking on the thrusters as well as running a post–emergence diagnostic on the jump drives. Her work is interrupted by the Captain’s announcement. "Sir, do you think it’d be a good idea to mount weapons before we’ve been inspected, when the inspectors might get nervous and take some serious offense to us pointing weapons at them here in a Red Zone and all that? I’d recommend at least letting them know our intentions and getting permission before doing so. I’m good with these engines, but I don’t think I can fix them once the ship’s destroyed by some trigger-happy interdiction zone inspector." Martha awaits his response, doing some quick calculations in her head. It should take about two hours of outside work to get the weapons physically installed, another two hours of internal and electrical work, followed by another two hours to zero the targeting calibrations. Swann enters the engine room just in time to hear Martha’s response to Argent. After she finishes he smiles at her and says, "Don’t worry, Martha. The interdiction ships know we’re part of the rescue mission, carrying valuable relief supplies. They aren’t going to start shooting at us, even if we do start messing around with our weapons. Grab some tools and give me a hand, and we’ll get this finished in no time." Swann walks over to the intercom and calls Argent. "Captain, this is Swann. I think getting the weapons installed on the port side is a great idea. Martha and I will get right on it. We’ll install the laser and get as much done as we can before the inspection team arrives. But it wouldn’t hurt to let them know what we’re up to. "Meanwhile, I suggest we dump the explosives and detonator out of the airlocks, then goose the thrusters a touch so we’ll drift away from them, and they won’t be so noticeable. And you might want to get in radio contact with whoever’s in charge of this relief armada and fill him in on the situation." -----Vasilii, upon learning of the emergence into real space heads to main cargo. "In order to have a quick inspection, all things must be listed and accounted for," he says to himself. Vasilii prepares documents for the cargo (with no mention of Star Flowers or explosives, though). -----Groaning, Ian gets up and heads to the cargo bay. "Better make sure it all looks ship–shape. It should be cursory given what we are here for but we don’t want to catch any needless flak that would slow down the rescue mission." At the bay he surveys the boxes, nods to Vasilii, and holds out his hand for the proffered cargo list, then turns to hit the intercom. "McConnell to Bridge. Don’t forget to call the bomb squad. I mean, installing weapons on the outside and putting booby traps in the airlock might just be construed as VERY unfriendly. For my two cents, go ahead and install the starship weapons. It’s not like we pose a threat to those combat monsters floating around out there, and we are underarmed if we are going to land and deliver stuff to a desperate, infected mob. Out." He smiles back at Vasilii. "Better armed to the teeth than no arms and no teeth! Where do you want to start?" -----Saro groans as his sleep is interrupted by the intercom announcement. Three days working in the airlock and nothing. "I guess it is good that there is no contagion onboard, but still . . . I wish I could have come up with something that I could study." Sighing, Doc swings his legs over the side of his bed and sits for a moment, willing himself awake. "Six hours, huh? I guess I better go make sure the sick bay is all ship–shape and make sure the list of medical supplies aboard is all ready to be checked out." Singing a peppy little pop tune by the Teks-Meks, Doc pops into the shower, gets dressed up in a clean coverall and sets out for the lounge for a quick bite before heading to the sick bay. -----Vargas puts the console he was at on standby and climbs out of the co–pilot’s seat. "Boss, I’m going back to engineering. We’ve used up our one good jump and if things are as bad as they say down there", he indicates the planet through the bridge canopy, "I want to make sure as many systems as possible stay lit when we need them."</blockquote>

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