The Pink Red – Segment 0

Image Source: Red Dusk by Nele-Diel

What is this about?: I was hoping to start writing my solo RPG experiences right from the get-go. And this is how it starts. These stories are powered by the Mythic GME and Genesys RPG, to back up a Sci-Fi adventure of Team Echo in the wild jungles of planet Sarbus Prime, a long time distant planet somewhere in a fictional universe.

Piece Zero

Distant Future. Team Echo #7 has been assigned to Pillar SP-7, after an intern team in the Engineering centers of Tagecko Corps reported some inconsistens in the intraplanetary sonar sensors: “Needs local investigation”, they said on the report summary. Apparently something got scrambled and they couldn’t remotely address it. The South Emisphere of Sabus Prime, is an endless jungle. People say some parts of planet Earth looked alike in history entries. It is from the colony that people encapsulate a sense of society.

These were some of the thoughts of Mara Derson (MD), as she was flying in the back seat, in complete silence for about 6 hours, on the Airjet FAR-8. Looking through a small window. The field of view was wide open though, as if some sort of tunnel vision ended up in a cat-eye vision. Some new window technology, she assumed. “Somehow they want us to stay on the colony, yet they make the beautiful world look more beautiful”.

“What?” – Timo Belderan (TB) asked. “Eh, sorry. Was just thinking out loud”. Timo thought for a moment trying to decode what Mara tried to say “Alright. Was genuinely asking. Thought you said something.” At least it triggered a conversation. Or was it coincidence?. Timo Belderan is the 2nd Field Engineer of the team, specializes on electronics and computer system configuration.

Sari Butley (SB) was piloting, she plugged her helmet to the jet, like professional pilot freelancers of Tagecko Corps instruct. Was looking constantly for a spot to land. It was hard, Cerberi-11 was shining brighter than his distant companion Beren-281 at this time of the day, and the heat sensors were a bit hard to interpret because of the atmospheric temperature.

SB: Not a single thing on the skies… At least that we can see. Tim, may I ask a question? Something’s been bothering me and need to shake it off.
TB: Sure, what is it? By the way, I am fine with being called Timo, not Tim.
SB: Back in the colony, there are rumous about how you messed up bad in the board event. Addressed the wrong people in the wrong place. You know how things are with “siding” with the wrong people in the colony. Wanted to know if I am making a bad decision by working with you.
TB: No. At least not in the way I see it. That place is a shit hole of people willing to kill each other for a small promotion chance increase. And I was doing my job way too good for the standards. Now I’ve got to clean up that mess and work double so to get the the social status promotion… My daughter needs access to education.
SB: Don’t play it nice with me Timo, the fuck were you thinking when Magister Bernard…
Jared Clemens interrupted abruptly: Drop it Sari Butley, nor the place or the time for this conversation.
SB: Absolutely, chief.
MD: Are we being followed? – Mara Derson asked, somewhat feeling a bit paranoid now.
JC: No.

Piece One

After another brief silence, pilot Sari Butley finally finds a landing spot. The waterfall by the side was so huge and beautiful that it was too hard to look anywhere else after discovering it.

SB: Boss, I think I found a spot to land. Sharing the coordinates, look west.
“Boss” – She referred to Chief Field Engineer Jared Clemens, lead of the operation, the one with the most experience outside the colony and the right access permissisons to get things done.
JC: Looks good. Team. Prepare for landing. ETA 20 minutes.
TB: Chief, Pillar SP-7 is about 4.1 Kilometers away from here, and about 1 Kilometer away from the Pillar’s Magnetic Dome, this is very tight with the minimum regulatory distance.
JC: Noted. Sari, try to land as much East as possible.
SB: Sure Chief. And remember everyone, don’t try to test the atmospheric conditions withour your life support systems checked. Mara can probably explain it better, all you need to know is the repeated story I am obliged to repeat: Unless you want to see your skin rip off from your bones and lungs going boom – FOR MAN SAKE DO check your Life Support systems twice and keep the FREAKING SUIT ON.

Timo looked down at his own arms. Flexible, quite good movement capabilities. On the back, Intra-venosus computer connected system with Lung support and pressure control, plus the usual ingest of blood filters. Batteries show 100%. All in order. Timo checks everone else’s life support system on the synchronized real-time network.

Piece Two

Mara Derson, botanist, geologist, the science expert woman of the team, is responsible for taking care of any biotechnological integration needs on the mission, as well as planetary support in biological and geological matters. She was also sponsored to this mission through agreements of computing some side-task research on the way. Knowledge is gold in the colony, and the colonial, planetary, orbital and interstellar corporations are always on the hunt of a small edge in the few quasi-habitable worlds like this one.

On the distance, Mara observes a beautiful exotically shaped rock, nor conic nor rounded. Taking a curious look, she notices after magnifying her optic-system, that some scavengers graffitti painted on it, ruining that brief moment. Such a new, beautiful planet and we are already screwing it up. Did god made us this way?  Wasn’t earth enough a teaching? 

As the landing finishes, Sari Butley starts taking care of maintenance of the ship and organizing the supplies for the team for the mission, as well as planning on her mind about setting up the camp for the night, using self included Airjet “Camp Module”. 

SB: Chief! Do we have to setup a stealth camp? Any troubles with scavengers or headhunters around here?
JC: As we discussed in the briefing, I wouldn’t expect any issues at all with scavengers on this area. But I do am concerned with Night-Spectra virus. Scavengers are afraid of it and this area is filled with them. And that is why we have Mara with us. Mara, care to re-brief?
MD: Heh, “Night-Spectra” indeed funny horror-movie name. Do they teach it that way in the academy?
JC: Mara, please keep it focused. It is a serious request.
MD: Yes Chief. First off, they live off within Oxygen droplets in the air. They remain dormit most of the day, nothing to worry about during that time, it is the infrarred light that starts intaking the athmosphere at the sunset of the second sun, that excites them to an energy state where they can achieve autonomous movement capabilities. The prismatic deviation effect of the light that radiates…
JC: If you don’t mind, let me organize the topic as we’re all supposed to know this already. Sari, pay attention please: Are they dangerous to our health? 
MD: No, only electronic devices, including our Fly-back home ship are in danger. It’s radiation leftover corrodes metals and over oxydes them in matter of minutes. Even worse, they can damage our life support systems, and out here we would suffer a worse death by the planet itself.
JC: Got it. Can we avoid them or prevent from their damage by turning off our electronical devices?
MD: Yes, but we can’t turn off our life-support systems, although we can put them in low energy mode. However if we have to, we have to keep our levels of agitation and stress under strict control. Better to avoid it altogether by returning EARLY to the ship, chief. But in case we are stretching out with the time, then just avoid electronics.
TB: How does the thing survive on its own in pure nature? How did it evolve until now?
MD: That is a wonderful question, and no straight answer. Most popular theories between scholars, have to do with the Pillars in this planet, and some sort of symbiotic co-existence between Night-Spectra and them… Maybe a topic for the road.
JC: Indeed. Sari, you’ll be staying here. Protect the ship and prepare the Camp Module, follow the guidelines for life-support operations and stay alert on our comms link. Timo, make sure all of your devices are properly synched with the colonial network and that your tools are in optimal state, again. Mara, you stay damn closed to my position, don’t wander off without any double check with the team.

Piece Three

Echo Team #7 started organizing the trip, as soon as they got off the ship. Mission time was critical. Motivation was moderate. Most of them were paid anyways. Although Mara was incredibly curious about her surroundings, and Timo focused like a machine. He knows he has to put things right back in place if he wants to get out his social status restriction, for the sake of her daughter more than his.

JC: We have some pathfinding to do. Timo, can you bridge us to satellite scanner for regional overwatch? We need an overlook of the forecast and terrain configuration from our stand point, in today’s conditions.
TB: On it.

Timo takes out his PAD and starts interfacing with the standby mode ship to build a network bridge to targeted scanners. He goes through permission request procedures with orbital subsidiaries, private companies and local colony controls. Once granted, he opens up a terminal and start’s mapping endpoints…

TB: Chief, got some bad news. Apparently, some magnetic field deviations on this position are causing stress on the stability. I can’t fix a real-time bridge with the satellites. May have something to do with the Pillars issues itself. Somehow this problem is not bidirectional: Data Flowing in is more unstable than the one coming out. But at least I could set up some sort of delayed network relay. Also I set up a dedicated priority channel for SOS signals of low content. But we can’t make reading from satellites or regional scans per se.
JC: That will have to do, let’s lock in some target location from here and start walking, we have to be back here before the second sun sets. Move up! We’ll stay in touch, Sari.

To be continued…

JeansenVaars