Azura Initiative - The legend of the Black Mesa Beast
05 Apr 2022Tyy'sun Eson
Gordon Freeman IV — 03/31/2022
-INCOMING TRANSMISSION-
Black Mesa Research- Ecological Monitoring Site 01
Location: Athaip WU-N c23-327 8
South Pole
Temperature: 318K (113F,45C)
Wind speed: 62 m/s (138MPH,223Km/h)
-decrypting
-decryption complete
-Message reads: Emergency! This is Black Mesa Research- Ecological monitoring site 01, our team is currently in the engineering deck of the rig. There is something in the water that has taken out all external sensors and 2 of 3 wave generators have failed. The atmosphere is so thick here that little light gets through. The light that does is just enough to see by. We sent multiple UAV drones up to help map the atmosphere's layers. Once we got above clouds signal cut. We always thought that it was a connection issue until one of our drones fell back down. It landed directly on the roof mangled. What looked like teeth and claw marks were all over it. We had it in a sterile container for later study when we saw through the window the light get blocked out for a second. Expecting a supply ship we staged the loaders on the landing decks. What came down was a Type 7 on fire heavily damaged. The pilot ejected just before it crashed into our power plant causing fires and destroying 2 of our 3 generators. We retrieved the pilot and brought him inside. After the adrenaline wore off he told us that a large "bird" the size of a beluga liner attacked him as he was coming out of glide. It made quick work of his hull and broke a hydraulic line and was intelegent.
Please send help. Make sure that you have a shield this time.
Download mp3 Audio of this Transmission here.
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Tyy'sun Eson
Before the emergency transmission has even completed spouting off in a robotic ticker tape like fashion, Eson is moving and thinking. Unstrapping himself from his pilot’s chair he grabs a datapad as he swivels out to make his way aft aboard the Cautator de Adevar to an operations lounge where he calls together his team. First to Daiana Tyson, “Contact control-tower and inform them pamantesc-colony has the requisite power generators and I will deliver them on short notice, but that we are short on medical supplies and equipment and they should lead any rescue efforts now.” Then to the rest of the crew, “Lets get underway for Pamantesc immediately. Zahara, contact South Ridge and have two generators prepped from storage. They wont like it because Demuynk is still away on maneuvers in Operation Boomerang and will not return to it’s post for a week or more, but it will show some good will to our new neighbors to get that facility back up and running.”
Only once he finally returns to his pilot’s seat and begins to spool up the thrusters and make calculations for a jump does Eson take a breath and pause to think out loud for a moment with a scrunched up expression on his face, “..dragons?” He plots in his course and blasts off from the dark tarmac of new-london station. One thing is for certain: he will be pouring over the planetary scan data from his prior visit with great interest while on route. After delivery he planned to conduct an investigation into the accident at the very least..
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[PC] Hal Naren
Control Tower specialist sips coffee from a Hutton mug and pushes comms button
Tango Echo Sierra, your emergency request has been noted, standby for solution, we are contacting all available crews and ships
comms system shimes and specialist slowly exhales
- Why on my watch? Hal, we got a problem.
Sleeping man in corner grunts and turns to the wall
Main specialist Freya pushes intercom button linked to a PA system and takes volume to maximum
- HEAD ENGINEER NAREN REPORT TO CONTROL ROOM
Man wakes up and jumps out of the small corner couch in Control Room
- What who where whyyy….
- We. Got. A. Problem.
Hal grunts again. He slowly approaches Freya, while rubbing his eyes.
- Freya, what in the name of vacuum has happened…
- Black Mesa is in emergency, look at this message.
- Fuck me. Nice timeframe. Emergency while Demuynck is gone. Okay what do we have, both medical and limpets are in stock on other carriers. What ships are available?
Freya opens journal and examines it.
- Everyone is busy. We have 3 tugboats and one t7 available though…
- Voidpiercer, Appa-3 and Gemini… Okay stuff them with medical equipment, I want every inch of those ships stocked with meds. Contact that t7 and order them to get limpets from Paragon
- On it
Hal pushes comms button
- what is her id… oh right, Tango Echo Sierra, Control is gathering supplies as we speak. Expect three tugboats and a T7 ETA 25 minutes. If you are in need of anything else, please contact us
message ends
Hal looks at his old wrist watch and sighs
- I’m going to make myself a cup of coffee. You want another one?This is gonna be a long day.
Freya smiles at him and gives her mug
- If only you make it old-Earth style
- Of course, m’lady
Hal turnes around and as door closes, he hears Freya actively contacting “tugs”
- Voidpirercer, Appa-3, Gemini, T7 Dalima do you read….
door closes with typical whoosh
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Jaxon Shenanigan
Jaxon Shenanigan sits in his ready room aboard the Col. Wilma Deering listening to the comms chatter going back and fourth. He checks his schedule for any Tritium transfers in the next few hours and grunts at how empty the schedule is for the next couple of days...
His finger presses down on the intercom to his bridge crew... "No.2, contact @Fleet Master and offer Wilma and all her resources to the Mesa East effort... I'm going to take the Phantom over there and see what I can see..... It's got a few weapons, I'll be fine I'm sure...."
Grabbing his flight suit, he orders the shipyard to prepare his Krait Phantom. It has been a while since he did anything but haul Tritium, and he heads to the hangar deck with a feint grin...
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Gordon Freeman IV
Supply vessel Incoming, readying loaders. Says the ATC on Black Mesa- Ecological Monitoring Site 01' facility wide comms. A minute or 2 later a Type 7 punches through the heavy cloud cover lights on. After some repositioninv the polot says "the wind is too strong to land, im going to have to hover close drop my load and then fly away" the forklifts get out of the way. He drops a few crates and boxes of supplies they land hard on the landing deck and he flies away
Once out of range the cargo crew brings all of the supplies into the loading dock. Included in the shipment are
-2x generators
-medical supplies
-lab equipment
-weapons and ammunition
-batteries
-a month's worth of food supply
-water purifiers
-repair tools
-welding equipment
-new conmunications array parts
-a box they could not open that says [Classified]
They put all their people to work just as a storm starts to roll in. A bad one.
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Tyy'sun Eson — 04/02/2022
Eson notices the signal of @Jaxon's Krait and smiles to himself as he finally brings the Anaconda down on the tarmac of black-mesa-east. The rescue and resupply efforts were already complete and response time from the Initiative seemed adequate for the situation if a little caught off gaurd. Not knowing the rescue crews personally Eson leaves them finish their jobs (off camera) and steps out to oversee his own unloading operations for the replacement power generators.
"Glad to have the company.." says Tyy'sun over his helmet comms to Jaxon, establishing a wing link. "Sensors indicate another storm brewing over the Monitoring site we might need to be careful.. looks like rescue already saved who they can. I'll contact BME command and start inventory and the investigation.. I'd like a closer look at the Monitoring site damage, but you will have to decide if its worth the risk of taking the high g plunge into a storm."
Once unloaded the director heads out of his ship and along the tarry landing area toward the aft section lifts. Stepping out of the lift he pushes past a few dredgy looking fellows smoking something smelly in the aft corridor and tries to ignore the thumping music coming from the bar before alighting on the command deck and requesting permission from a tired eyed guard. The atmosphere around BME reminded him of some of the syndicate criminal rings he delivered to back on Olgrea when he was first starting out as a pilot. He smiles to himself, while glancing over his shoulder.. the frontier certainly attracts many different sorts. He wonders idly how much onionhead goes for out here in the core as he steps onto the command deck.
After a brief conversation with Captain Giovanni Harper, Eson takes particular note of the Classified box containing what he assumes are the destroyed drone parts and then begins his investigation in earnest there on the command deck with Harper's crew..
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Jaxon Shenanigan
Jaxon circles his Krait above black-mesa-east as he watches Director Eson land his ship on the deck, scanning his sensors all the time for any anomalies. As the huge Anaconda shuts down he takes one final circuit of the carrier, before requesting landing permission himself.
Touching the Krait down on the pad, he sees the the last of the supply drop being squared away by the station crew, and he prepares to disembark the ship as it lowers down into the shelter of the hangar.
A feeling of unease washes over him as he contemplates a trip through the storm to the monitoring site with the Director... The Krait - his exploration / taxi vessel is ill equipped for such missions and he makes a promise to himself that he will invest in a emergency / rescue ship as soon as possible - Anything can happen out near the core, and during the long, isolated journeys too and from the bubble anything can arise. He makes a mental note to contact new-london and get his name down for one of the few new Pythons their shipyard is selling.
On arrival at the Command deck, Jaxon sees that Director Eson has wasted no time - He's already made himself at home at the Captain's desk, surrounding himself with documents, inventory lists and a large mug of what could be described as coffee. The Ready Room doors swooshing shut behind him, he gets a firm handshake from Captain Giovanni and the offer of a coffee... Taking a glance back at Eson's mug he replies "No... I'm good without, but thanks..."
Pulling a chair up to the desk he manages to break the director's concentration for a brief moment "So, Director.... You'll have this wrapped up in a few minutes surely.... What have you found?".....
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Gordon Freeman IV
once Eson leaves the bridge, Giovanni opens the garbage chute and inserts the probe parts. the airlock says "captain owner auth required". he inserts an illegal USB device overriding the system. the airlock system sparks and opens. Giovanni does not know that the computer logs an override. an override which has just notified Gordon. giovanni then goes back to his post and runs standard diagnostics to address a airlock malfunction on deck 5.
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Tyy'sun Eson — Today at 3:33 AM
Tyy'sun takes a sip of what could be described as coffee before rising from his seat to howdynod at @Jaxon Shenanigan / Crimson Bear with a serious expression. Though he is glad to see the man and the worst of the crisis was over the situation was still tense and the director along with it. Through all the studying of charts and datasets, the director does not have the wherewithal to notice Captain Harper slotting anything into the garbage chute.
"There is silicate all over the type 7 hull casings recovered from the crash site, and I had a brief conversation with the pilot who was either too injured, or too inebriated to speak clearly but he stuck to his story - a huge bird, size of a beluga, ate his ship." he answers before quickly bringing Jaxon's attention to the captain's desk where the several datapads and charts are arrayed. Eson calls up his personal surface probe data of c23-327 8 and hands a datapad to Jaxon, "..those 18 atmospheres would crush an animal lightweight enough to fly and those temperatures aren't too comfortable either. But, along with the silicate there was blood and bio remnants on the crashed Type 7 and evidence of teeth marks on a severed hydraulic line.."
He takes the datapad back and flips the display to a different dataset, "however look at the specs of the Type 7. No DSS. No shields. Stock thrusters. Like your Krait and my Anaconda, this ship is not rated for this kind of atmospheric dive and shouldn't be anywhere near that facility. My DSS scans show silicate vapor geysers near the poles. That means hot stacks of gas and water suddenly, and violently spraying into the air and I'm not talking about ol faithful. These are monster spouts of steam and gas traveling miles from underneath the water to miles into the atmo that would do the kind of damage reported to the ship and disrupt UAV drone transmissions as well."
Eson returns to his seat and settles into it, once again taking a drink from his large cup before getting to the punchline, "Captain Harper, I want a copy of that pilot's medical scans from after the crash sent over to Paragon's Retreat. There is water based life in this ocean where it is much cooler and less turbulent, your facility confirmed that. I think the blood on the hull is from something large caught up in a geyser blast and the fish hit the ship like a projectile. It's not an intelligent alien dragon, the pilot is jacked up on onionhead flying an unrated ship in high G's and got spanked by a geyser. The dragon is just a story to cover his ass. Test results pending, I think this is all I can do for now. Pamantesc is donating 2 power generator cores to replace your wave generators, but if you do not upgrade your ships and maybe clean up your flight crew, I'm afraid this is going to happen again."
After some brief discussion Eson excuses himself, noting his office would be in touch. He shakes hands with both men and departs for his ship.
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Jaxon Shenanigan
black-mesa-east, this Col. Wilma Deering - All excess Tritium has now been transferred from your station, thank you Commander.
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Gordon Freeman IV
My pleasure.
Gordon Freeman IV
Once the storm passes the service crews get to installing the emergency generators until the primary ones can be replaced. These 2 100 Mw generators courtesy of pamantesc-colony will be able to power the base for a couple at least 3 weeks. While once they are lifted into place by the site's crane they are bolted down and hooked to the main power relay. With a flip of a switch they both turn on and safety checks start. A moment later the emergency lighting shuts off and all main lights and systems go online. They change their status from Offline to Online- docking permitted.
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From the Azura Space RP General channel:
Word spreads around Azura Space of an accident at black-mesa-east's outpost research facility on a dark turbulent water world. Rumors and bar talk are that a massive intelligent dragon-like alien known as the Black Mesa Beast has emerged from the clouds to harass operations and eat crew whole. Despite an official report from the Tribunal office detailing inadequate equipment for high g atmospheric landings at the Research facility the rumors of this beast persist and seem to have captured the imagination of colonists all over the Azura bubble.