RSC-2W-0571, Vertangos System
In close proximity to The Hulk
Sinn'Are'Sen sucks air through his teeth at the view on the main display, “stars, that's one heck of a mess. The armor 'scales' are pitted and outright cracked in places. I can't imagine the forces needed to do that. And look there. Is that a fungal infection...?”
Aubrey nods in agreement, “It looks like a case of Onychomycosis but that affects human nails not armor plating.”
Dara Tonn chirps a superfluous alert, “more evidence that the outer armor of the hulk was grown by some unknown means, probably under the influence of the Veil. In terms of an armor schema it's not quite as good as a solid piece, but the overlapping scales would allow for sectional replacement instead of a full re-sheathing of the internal hull. I calculate that the 'cracked' scales survived heavy kinetic impact and shattered but have yet to be repaired.”
Sinn shrugs, “I don't think there is any chance of us catching any sort of infection from something that lives inside of Veil-warped metal but the Veil Division isn't paying me to take that kind of chance. Dara Tonn, upgrade the required pre and post boarding medical scans to full suite scans. Additionally, you are to maintain a one kilometer distance from the hulk at all times. The last thing I want is to bring some Veil-spawned infestation home with us.”
Aubrey frowned, “That will complicate boarding somewhat. It will especially complicate returning to base.”
Sinn shakes his head. “we'll use the landing shuttle. It have emergency EVA suits aboard that we can use if we have to. They are just 'gumbie' rescue suits, but they'll work if we need them. Dara Tonn, start a hull map if you haven't already. We'll need a boarding location as well as any points of interest you can find. I don't suppose you know enough about the 'Revaer class' to point out what we'll need Aubrey?”
“No luck there Sinn. I just used to patch up their crews not the ships. I've downloaded and studied enough to spot anything we might want once I see it though.”
“Not a problem Aubrey. While Dara Tonn works on the scans we've got a chance to fill out the monthly requisition paperwork. We should have our monthly Credit allowance available by now. It'll be two weeks before anything gets here but if there is anything you want before we go in I think we can stall long enough for it to arrive.”
“Better body armor might be nice. The standard mesh vest works well enough but I'd rather not end up a quadrupedal amputee, or lose my head, when a bit of proper armor would save me.”
“No argument there Aubrey. I'm still using that ratty old RSC hazardous environment vest.”
“Considering the date, if you two can wait about a week then you should have an additional month of Credits available. That might make a difference in you purchasing options. Probably not enough to afford full Mesh or Carapace protective equipment, but certainly enough for full hazardous environment suits.”
Sinn scratches at the stubble on his chin, “can we spin out the scanning period for three weeks?”
“Given the condition of the hulk? Easily. Monitoring of possible 'hull infections' would justify an extra week easily enough.”
Sinn nods, “let's do it then. We'll probably need to leave excess weapons and equipment behind to reduce our carried mass but it shouldn't be an issue if we can extract items as we find them instead of having to drag the whole lot along.”
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Three weeks and four days later...
Vertangos System
RSC-2W-0571's landing craft, The Hulk
Sinn reaches up to scratch his nose but his gloved hand bounces off of his respirator mask.
“Damn. My nose already itches and we haven't even landed yet.”
Aubrey laughs and taps a gloved hand on her helmet. “At least you had short hair before we started. I knew it was going to be a pain in low gravity but not that I'd have to cut it off to fit under the helmet.”
“Better that then having to swat it out of your eyes every few moments. Follow my lead until you get used to the gravity. We'll go slow, but I don't like that fluctuating power substation near out landing spot.”
“I think we can fix it, or at least try to. That should help with the lights and so on nearby anyways.”
“Life support too. We've got technically breathable air, sure, but even a few extra percentage points on the safety margin would go a long way.”
“Landing in ninety seconds. Brace for impact and magnetic attachment. Please keep all seat belts buckled and all limbs inside the hull until the all clear is given.”
Sinn rolls his eyes, “thanks for the reminder Dara Tonn, but we aren't children.”
“You still act like it sometimes. Sixty seconds.”
“You know full well I could pilot this shuttle in person instead of you flying by remote right?”
“But then I couldn't risk distracting you from the danger of the situation during the most critical phase. Thirty seconds.”
“Distract me? Nah, I'd save my freaking out until after landing safely.”
“Touchdown. All Clear.”
Aubrey unbuckled form here acceleration couch and cracked her neck, “That was mean Dara Tonn. We've been sitting on the deck for a good minute or two.”
“And you you went along with the joke.”
“I figure the two of you are going to get a few laughs as I trip over my own two feet in this gravity so I might as well get mine in up front. Lead the way to that power station Sinn.”
“One moment, I'm going to test the psionic waters here first. The last thing I need is to overdraw unexpectedly."
Sinn lets out a long breath and tries to open is 'third eye'. He promptly slams it back shut, almost blinded by psionic overload, then cracks it back open again with excruciating slowness. The influx of psionic data is still astoundingly high but not impossibly so with acclimatization.
“Ow. Even drawing as little power as I can I'm still borderline overdrawing. If I have to use any psychic incantations I'll let you both know because there is a decent chance of collateral phenomena. Remind me to include that in the report again when we get back aboard Dara Tonn. If they have to send someone in after us I don't want them to liquefy their brains by accident.”
“That can happen?”
“What happens to a cable or resistor when you put to much power through it? It get hotter and hotter until it burns up. Same thing with a human brain and too much psychic power, plus the complications of Veil energies interacting with reality.”
Sinn unbuckles himself and gets to his feet. He grabs his stored equipment and hops out of the side hatch into the lower gravity of the hulk. Lading easily he takes a few steps from the hatch to clear the way for Aubrey.
“At least its not null gravity. Deck plating is a reddish brown mesh over pipes and ducts with more reddish brown plats below. Looks like wrought iron? What the hell?”
Aubrey drifts to the deckplates next to the shuttle and crouches down.
“Iron wrapped around a core of some sort. From the shrapnel I used to pull out of patients the Empire uses a ceramic-infused plastic. Fantastically tough stuff but it was prone to chipping if hit along fracture lines. I'm not sure why iron was selected for the coating though. Easier to repair I guess?”
“Makes sense to me. Wrought iron you can just heat it up and hammer back into place if you have to. Ok, I've got the scans on the tablet here. The substation is about sixty meters aft of us in the hulk... which is right down that passageway. Ready to move?”
“Don't laugh if I bounce my head off the overhead please.”
“No problem. Try putting about half as much 'oomph' into your step as normal and see how that goes, then adjust accordingly. We're not going to be 'bouncing' along in this gravity, but it will still be awkward for a bit.”
“Lead on then.”