Strange Signs

JP with Omni, Jaxx, redsword_7, Kudzu, and CS

As Roku stepped back, she noticed something around the edges of the doorway. Scratches in the metal... as if something was trying to claw its way in. She ran her glove along the scratch mark.

"Vera, Ogai. I'll come with you to work on this system seeing as I've been volun-told to do it anyway", said Jensen.

Vera acknowledged him, "Ok...nearest entrance is through the air vents, but the filters will almost definitely need to be cleaned or replaced. Maintenance hatch on B deck is probably a better option...agreed?"

"Air vents seem like a bad idea anyways. Maintenance hatch on B deck is a better option. Vera, umm why don't you lead the way...", replied Jensen.

Ogai nodded, keeping beside Jensen as Vera led the way. He glances around the ship as they made to move.

"Wait.", said Roberts. You guys take the flamer with you. Myself and the others will check out the Cryochambers area, then head to the bridge to see what we can get online from there."

"Roku, status over there?", he turned to look at her staring at the doorway. "Did you find something Roku?"

"I'm not sure... looks like there was a struggle here. That officer may have been fighting someone.", Roku said.

Roberts walked over to take a look and shed some light on it. Roberts saw more on the other side of the door. Some of the damage near the wall did look like ammunition discharge.

"Heads up, everyone. It looks like they had a firefight here. Be very careful.", he said.
The lights flickered again. The visibility was even worse now that the fog had started to get thicker. The sound of the heating and air system was humming loudly now. -1 to Observation rolls

Jensen looked around nervously. "Looks like this is getting worse. I don't know if we have much time to discuss this. Let's head back to the junction hatch and head to B Deck from there."

"I found something here. It looks like animal claw damage by the door to cryo. I have bits of claw and some residue here.", said Roberts. "Roku, what do you make of it?", he asked.

“What do you mean?” Roku knelt down and grabbed a bit of something, examining it. “It does look like a bit of keratin... but... they weren’t hauling animals on this ship. Unless... they brought something onboard." She inspected the floor further. “Yellowish-white resin... decay seems to have molded over leaving fungal nodes. What the…?”

Roberts tried to open the door to the hallway leading to Cryosleep chambers. The door was locked and the normal push button didn’t open it. "I suspect the crew was trying to lock themselves in." He paused thinking. "I don't like this. Ogai, Vera... freeze in place. Everyone rally there Now!" He ordered calmly. "Roku, what is it? What did you find?" he asked. "Asahi and Vera, where are you guys?."

Vera responded. "Just outside of the junction we came in."

“I shouldn’t have to say this, but... nobody remove their helmets.”, Roku said, ignoring the question. “We have to save these people, Roberts.”

"I was afraid you would say that Roku." said Roberts, sounding frustrated. "Let's move out. We need the scrubbers online.", he said.

Kenny swallowed his coffee and replied, "I get that you want to save them all, Roku, but till the Cronus is secure from any dangers including contamination, self destruction, rogue androids, AIs and lab grown monsters, I want them sleeping. If they are sick and you wake them without proper procedures you won't have the time nor resources to help anyone including us."

She pounded the door button in frustration. “I know.”, Roku said solemnly. Then she followed Roberts to find the others.

Kenny looked at vid screen schematics of the Cronus and noticed that the only way to the air scrubbers shaft is through the ventilation ducts in the last hallway or down on B Deck through maintenance shafts in the floor. Since they didn’t have data tablets to look at Capt. Kenny sent the schematics to their HUD overlay.

Kenny said, "I am sending the Cronus schematics to your HUDs. Sorry for the delay folks, we would have been more prepared if the company man was not in a rush to seek fortune and fame. Of course it would have been nice if the company provided us with proper resources as well. I hope this helps."

Jensen rolled his eyes so dramatically it could be seen even through his helmet. "Captain, this is not the time for cheap shots at me or the company.

Capt. Kenny sipped his coffee and then replied, "Sorry Jensen, I didn't have time to schedule a proper appointment to voice my cheap shots properly to you and the company, since our mission was delayed, our ship was damaged in the process, we had to fix it under dangerous conditions with limited supplies, we were forced to wake up early to recover a spooky derelict with barely enough resources. To make it worse it looks like something dangerous is on that ship so I think it would be in your best interest to help this mission safely conclude with your vast wisdom of company processes like your pass codes. Otherwise you are just using up valuable oxygen that we may need later on."

"Hmm, well umm" Jensen's voice clearly sounded aggravated, "I agree with your assessment, although not your tone. Let's find these scrubbers. But let it be known, I will be putting this all in my performance review."

Kenny replied, "Duly Noted."

Roku was sick of the bickering. She turned off her comm for a moment to get some quiet. Sure, she knew all about the sick shit the company was into, but not everyone was an exec looking at a graph. Some of them were good people. What did Jensen ever do that made the captain think he would screw them over?

Jensen looked at the rest of the team, the anger draining from his eyes. "Look I'm stressed the fuck out here, I mean this guy with long arms right here blew his face off, probably, maybe? It's hard to make decisions and think straight, you know? Something's clawing through walls? Sorry for the outburst. I'm happy to lead us out of here. Sounds like the Maintenance hatch on B Deck is what we decided. If we are ready, now's as good a time as any"

The Captain told MUTHUR to scan for synthetics onboard the Cronus.

...One Android presence detected. Crew member Kirby, Vera. Location: A Deck A1 junction. No other 'active' Android presence interior or exterior of the Cronus...

They caught up to the others and Roberts took overwatch position as Vera opened the hatch to junction B1. "If you were an android where would you hide?", he asked. He raised his shotgun. "Does anyone know if we can talk sense into the other android?", he wondered aloud.

Kenny replied, "Good question Roberts. Vera here is under prime condition and well maintained so she is functioning well within acceptable parameters. However Ava the android on the Cronus has been neglected and possibly tampered with in the last seven decades. The odds of her logic circuits working properly are bad under these conditions. I advise extreme caution if you run into her since she can fling you like a rag doll if it comes to violence. However, if it can be resolved peacefully we can learn more on what happened to the Cronus. MU/TH/UR, I need you to support Roberts, Roku, Ashai and Vera when they ask for help. Notify us if you find a second android. Asashi, Jensen and Vera see if you can work with MU/TH/UR on bypassing the Cronus's security so she can gain control of the ship. Try using a port that is a low security section like the bathroom controls. MU/TH/UR advise them if you find a better route."

"Tampered with? That's madness.", said Jensen.

Kenny sipped his coffee then swallowed before he sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "’Madness’, you say. Well… be that as it may, mankind has a history of madness you know. Such as torture devices, S&M relationships, suicidal cults, slavery, dynamite, nitro glycerin, World War 1, biological warfare, World War 2, genocide, atomic bombs, nuclear bombs, space travel, the cold war, terrorism, deep space travel, super soldiers and then there is our situation. I could go more in depth, but these are the simple things we all learned in history class. So either you slept during your classes or still believe we live in a world without sin. Just because you don't want to believe it can happen doesn't mean it's not true or possible."

"Always jumping to the negative conclusion. Over here I think we are all hoping this android can provide some information or possibly even help us. Or at the very least not kill us all.", Jensen rebuked.

Kenny replied, "Well, as the Captain it's my job to plan for the worst and hope for the best. To be honest I do hope this is all one big coincidence and everything works out, but there are too many clues pointing in the other direction. So if you have any secret passwords that can help this mission we would be happy to get the Cronus under control ASAP."

Jensen looked irritated again.

"Oh, I have my keycard, funny enough it was issued right before the trip with little explanation. Typical company work. Knowing these ships a bit, most hardly ever get updated. So, yes, captain, I might have secret passwords."

Roku turned her comms back on as she climbed down the ladder to B1 junction behind Ogai.