[NSS Manta Storyline] The Expedition

[UrsulaMejor]

For those that missed the event, here it is from Emily's perspective:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQ2baqVImrw


pt 2:
https://youtu.be/Z_Z-6C_dQgY

[Comrade f191]

Upon returning to Central Command, Ryan Yeets was taken in for debrief by Lt. ######. Transcript is as enclosed below.
Spoiler!

"So, Mr Yeets, Did you manage to recover anything from the ruins?"

"Uhhh...yhea I did actually..give me a second..."

[He opens his bag and shows it to Lt ######, inside there are Parts to various structures, all of them share the green-black style that the ruins had.]

"See? Hopefully we can make something out of this-Maybe weapons? Anyway, from what I heard, there's 6 Million of those robots, and we have 14 days until they activate. I'd say our best bet would be to put our differences with the Syndicate to the side until this is all over and work together."

"Hmm...And how did the expedition go, what actually happened?"

"Oh yhea, so after we all gathered inside the Teleporter eventually a portal opened and we dove in, we landed inside a small cavernous area that had its own Generator and no lights, we eventually dug our way out and ended up on a large rock island floating atop a pool of lava, it had a few Ancient Bats on it but nothing much else of note-other than some Strange Fungus we spotted down one of the paths."

"We followed one of the paths, multiple crewmen burning there legs off thanks to the Lava and heading back to the station for a new pair of legs-Me included, eventually we entered through a door into a very old ruin with the same colour scheme of these objects I brought back-The photos brought back by one of the other explorers should give you a better feel for how it looked."

"Anyway, we entered along a hallway lined with these..lights?...until we found another door. We managed to bust through it and found ourselves in a large rectangular room. It Had a table with two chairs around it in the middle, multiple 4 lights stood at either corner of the room, a big computer  in the centre of the room against a wall and two big robots."

"Eventually the two robots activated and began to speak to the borgs over their encrypted coms net before they started shooting at us. We quickly destroyed the two robots and the others went to work on the computer. Eventually, more robots arrived, but we destroyed those too.  Then, the portal stopped working, not long after green portals appeared but led nowhere, I was then attacked by Erik Smith-A Janitor who didn't sign up but came along- until my vision faded to black after security arrested him."

"I later woke up back on the station outside a cloning pod sometime later and collected my stuff before heading to the now arriving shuttle. I boarded and entered the security section as to ensure what I collected made it back here, as I had a feeling the shuttle would be attacked, which it eventually was. Upon landing I ran from the shuttle with my bag and hid until the robots were destroyed."

"Anymore questions?"

"No, we've got all we need. Thank you for your time, Mr Yeets, you're free to go."

[Studenterhue]

Observed this one; I thought I'd be popping in like every so often to collect logs, but I was so intrigued I was watching the entire time. I was also expecting a Dagon-type tale about discovering a temple to alien, eldritch gods, and I'm glad those expectations didn't prevent me from enjoying a story about an expedition finding some ruins and discovering that the mysterious beings that inhabited them are far, far from dead.

Speaking of said beings, I love how they relate to the lore, specifically the subtle nods to the Polaris (green lights, huh...), the similarities to the Flockmind (signals, energy/data-based beings that pilot mechanical vessels, furniture that resembles human furniture but not quite, wicked good spritework) that fuel endless speculation, and the possibility that, as someone pointed out, the NanoTrasen and the Syndicate might unite against them, despite their increasing tensions.

As for the event itself? I found it quite well-paced. It began with a scout team of probe bots to foreshadow the beings yet to be seen. After they're dealt with, the station crew set foot in the ruins shortly afterwards, and after a comfortably short walk, discover a computer room, accidentally triggering the defense system. After a brief firefight, they find a computer explaining the societal structure of the beings they just killed...and that another group of said beings have also blocked their portal out. Pacing kinda bogged down during the attempts to bring up back the portal, but maybe it's just because I wasn't involved in the action as an observer. The station crew seemed occupied enough with both getting Telescience back online and dealing with the sudden manifestation of mechs with miniguns in Medbay, and despite of the lack of the threats (or maybe because of), the away team was busy dying and losing limbs to the lava. (How very SS13-y...) Overall, I think the narrative had just the right tempo and struck a good balance between being admin- and player-driven.  

Favorite moments: Emily Claire attempting to order a probe bot like a normal cyborg, lots of silly weirdness with the lava (why did a PORTAL get burned?), and the station crew discussing to how to confront the mechs like teens in a monster movie.

[DanteTorn]

Murdina's side of the expedition can be viewed here. It's split in two because my game froze and I had to start another recording.

I achieved my goal so I'm happy with the events.

Part 1: https://youtu.be/wG7df8lxTQQ

Part 2: https://youtu.be/NDXn9Z12aGY

[MrMelons]

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EXPEDITION MEDICAL REPORT

DIRECTOR: DR. BRUCE ISAMAN

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

After studying injuries gained from weapons fire from the constructs, I have determined it is almost identical to standard laser arcs from the average Nanostrasen issue laser rifle. The 'energy' fired from their weapons is able to cause second- to third-degree burns. Under sustained fire, fourth degree burns are likely. Silver sulfadiazine is still suitable for treating the wounds. The energy fire does not cause bleeding as the wounds become cauterized almost immediately.

No physical injuries were gained apart from those engaging the constructions in melee, standard bruising and injuries occurred. Those engaged by the floating drone constructs were subject to brief periods of shock, causing collapse and stiffness.

Interestingly, the energy fired at the crew appears to be slightly different in nature from stun and laser shots. They are noticeably quieter, and upon impact, do not cause the same type of hissing sound, rather, the burns seem to have more in common with gas and flame burns than with light-wave burns caused by lasers.

There does not seem to be any need for specialized medicine in this case, though their weapons are debilitating, the remedies are unspecial.

Recommendations

• Increased supplies of burn treatment
  
• Heat-resistant armour
  

Signed:
Bruce Isaman

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