PHD #348: EVENT - Past is Prologue
Past is Prologue
Summary: The Cerberus crew returns to the ancient ship.
Date: 09 Feb 2042 AE
Related Logs: Questing
Players:
Bannik Cidra Cora Gabrieli Karthasi Leyla Mathers Marko McCoy Piper Ryder Shortbus Sofia Trask Hydra 
The far corners of space and the ancient ship
Given in set(s).
Post-Holocaust Day: #348

Intro: Through the Front Door

When Flasher and Sweet Pea returned from their reconnaissance mission to the edge of Colonial Space, word of their surprising discovery spread with great interest, and many questions, throughout the Fleet. An ancient ship. Possibly from the time of the Exodus. Or possibly a Cylon trap, the more cynical note. Nevertheless, most definitely an item worth further investigation. Detailed analysis of the data gathered by Leyla and Marko has even finally concluded that this 'Ark,' as it's come to be called, is small enough that it might be retrievable. For storage in the Starboard Hangar Bay. If, indeed, it's not just a Cylon time-bomb of course. The night is young, and that question remains to be answered.

A pair of Raptors have just jumped away from the Fleet, and to that isolated pocket on the edge of Colonial space. Leyla piloting one with Marko in her backseat. The other helmed by MAJ Cidra Hahn, with Trask at her ECO console. And the passenger seats are filled to the brim with technical personnel to do the poking at this thing, Marines to be on hand in case it explodes, medics to put them back together in case that unfortuante event occurs, and even Cerberus' clergy. Holy relic that this thing might be. The gang's all here, and flying in their respective Raptors through empty space at present. They aren't yet in visual range of the ship's known location yet, though they will be shortly. This area of space is dead quiet, devoid of Cylon contacts or any signs of humanity. Even in the days when the worlds still properly existed, this was the edge of Nowhere. Gods knows how long this ancient ship sat out here, lost and forgotten, until it was stumbled across such a short time ago.

Ryder sits back in one of the Raptors, pretty excited. It had been a bit of a stretch for him to go, though his experience both in medicine and combat meant that he could fulfil two roles as much, though both would only be necessary if something went wrong. It was more the religious part of him that was excited… a potential ship from Kobol itself? More than worth the risk to take a closer look.

Raptors packed full of people are never the most pleasant; raptors packed full of people in bulky EVA suits even less so. Cora has yet to don her helmet, but fiddles with the various settings and seals on her suit, checking things over before turning to glance over Marko's shoulder at the ECO panel he works at. Not in a fashion that gets in his way, just curious about the readings, it seems, as they near the vessel's location.

"Jump complete." Marko reports from his position at Bertha's ECO station. "And…bingo, there she is." he smiles. "DRADIS contact bearing one one fiver carom seven two one, range four thousand. No other contacts on my board. Going to LAMPS for a positive ID."

Being both a mechanical engineer and Gemenese, Gabrieli was among those that (perhaps foolishly) volunteered for this exploration party. And being both a mechanical engineer and Gemenese, he was readily selected. The ship's former ChEng has been very quiet on the way over, having spent the night before talking in some unintelligeable old dialect to the various emblems in the chapel — and perhaps now simply out of things to say. For now.

Despite all rumors, there's not a damn thing Mathers can do if the thing explodes. Like the others, he'll just go up in fiery bits of Marine flesh. He's sitting in the back of one of the Raptors, strapped in tight to one of the jumpseats and looking none-too-pleased about being in an EVA suit. Again. Good thing they pushed for all that training, so he doesn't quite look like as uncomfortable as an ape in SCUBA gear.

As often happens when they are on missions together, Bannik has sat himself next to Sofia, his fellow Wrench. "Do you think we should stick together in there?" he asking her. "Or, you know, maybe split up? Give two groups our experience? I guess the officers will tell us. But — if it's up to us — what do you think we should do?" Maybe it's just nervous chatter.

Sofia's ECO gear is likely ill fitting. They don't exactly custom fit them. It's like part of her just *exploded* in the suit and the rest of her is somewhat slender. She is quiet, a bit wide-eyed. This is friggin' huge. She takes a deep breath and - there's Bannik! "I'm … not sure, I'm really bad at herding *people*," She smiles. She considers. "I dunno. There's so much to cover…" She's quiet. A look to the others. Maybe this is some weird, midrat induced dream? Could it be? "Probably depends on who all we brought."

"Bringing her in for rendezvous. Adjusting course to compensate for spatial drift." Which is about what the ancient ship's 'orbit' amounts to, as it drifts in its elliptical orbit, "Full active suite. Keep it running after we land." Leyla doesn't glance back to the people gathered in the back, but her voice comes through loud and clear, "All crew, secure and lock your gear. If you have any problems, let Flasher and I know, and we will get you squared away. We will be dumping atmo before we touch down, so be ready for that. Five minute warning."

The world falling to pieces has revealed in the drifting waste of its dissolution some rare gems of knowledge which would have set the world of theology ablaze, had it not been more literally set ablaze near on a year ago, now. But now the community of Academics is severely curtailed; Greje has written several world-shattering articles in the last few months only to find no world around to shatter. And now they're on a trip to see a ship which may or may not be from Kobol itself. Unwilling to let herself pool into a puddle of jelly like she had on Tauron, Greje sits impossibly upright, her bearing discernible even through the gear she's donning. She's here to observe, analyze, and give her opinion.

Cidra's Raptor rather 'follows' Leyla's on this particular jaunt. This is familiar country for the Lieutenant moreso than her. Despite her Gemenese heritage, she's not ventured into this slice of space. "Bootstrap, prepare electronic scans, if you please," she orders from her own pilot's seat. "If there are surprises lurking on this ship, I would try to find them before they find us. We should be moving into visual range…Ah…" And, so they are.

Those watching out the viewports can see it come into view. Not too slowly once that speck of metal appears in the distance. Raptors may not flit as fast as Vipers, but they're still speedy ships. And this ship is nothing like anyone has seen before. Either in their years of learning the ins and outs of piloting Colonial craft, or in their months of tangling with the Cylons, it resembles nothing either humanity or the enemy fly. If its hull is comparable to anything, it'd be a whale. Fat 'main' body, with a rounded 'head' where the bridge should be and a 'tail' curving upward that may serve as a hangar. If one assumes its layout is anything like you're used to inside. It's construction is so different from what you're accustomed to that it appears almost alien.

"Copy that, Sweet Pea, we're not quite in range just yet, but I've got the system warmed up. Going to try a visual scan." Marko adds, flipping on the PIRCs gear and starting to zoom in on the distant target. The picture he gets doesn't amount to much, not at this range, but there's just enough ambient starlight out here that the general outlines of the ship become visible. "Well, there she is." he adds, turning in his seat for anyone in the rear compartment to take a look if they're so inclined.

Ryder cranes his head forward to get a glimpse through the Raptor windows as starts evaluating. "Interesting setup. We actually built like this? Or were we the actual builders of the Exodus ships? Maybe this is how the Lords build." Making note of the warning, Ryder starts getting his suit spaceworthy. "I can't WAIT to see the inside of this thing."

Cora eyes the image over Marko's shoulder again, nodding, "Any sign of tampering or changes since you were here last?" she asks the ECO as she checks her helmet, preparing to don it as they arrive.

Gabrieli had been watching someone's boots in front of him most of the way — until the announcement of the ship looming. Even then it's a few seconds before his green eyes lift and look out the port, his neck craning slightly to be able to see. "Into the belly of Ceto…" he mutters, before reaching over to secure the box of toys he'd thought to bring along.

Bannik gets up to his feet when the approach is announced. He grabs his tool kit and takes something out of it, holding it up to the others in the Raptors there. "Hey, everyone! Can I get your attention for a moment? We have a lot of these plastic bags issued to you guys. If you find anything you want to bring back to Cerberus, make sure to put it in one of these bags and seal it on up. It's so we can keep track of everything that comes back on the Deck, okay?" Oh, neurotic Tyr is neurotic.

"Comin' up clear back here, Toast," is the SL's prognosis. "Dead as dead is dead. No signatures of any kind."

"Aphrodite's sweet titties!" comes the high-pitched chirp of Bootstrap's relief ECO, aka LTJG Daisy "Skeeter" McCoy.

Sofia is wriggly, much like the others. She will look out the viewport as she can. Her eyes are wide. She looks to Bannik and smiles. "You've been hanging out in 3M too much," she teases lightly as to the keeping track. But her agreement is solemn and she nods. She'll pick up her own kit and likely a few plastic bags and/or tubes if she can. Weirdo. She squirms and adjusts her suit. One should be mindful not to stand near Sofia, lest something go flying and someone lose an eye.

"Eh, can't tell from this range, sir." Marko replies, frowning thoughtfully. "Sweet Pea, before we land, think we oughta do a couple of orbits to just see if anyone's come snooping since we were here last?" he calls over the intercom.

Karthasi twists as far as the restraints holding her in place will allow. Just because she's told herself very sternly not to go to pieces doesn't mean she's not— well. Curious? Intrigued? These words don't feel quite attuned to the internal thrum of her psukhe, on a wavelength with the stuff of legends, but they pretty well describe the frank look she gives to whichever bit of transparent material she can angle an eyebeam out of.

"Hey," replies Bannik, shooting a look at Sofia. "I led a team that disassembled a Heavy Raider. Can you even begin to imagine what this sort of project will be like?" He tosses his head — helmeted as it is — out to the ark ship. "We've got to get it started right."

The raptor's ship to ship activates, Leyla's voice soft and professional down along the line. "Toast, it's going to be a tight fit to get us both in there and on the ground." Not because of the size of the ship, which is more than large enough to fit the raptors, but because the hangar 'door' hasn't been forced open all that far, " I'll take the Port side if you want to settle in on the starboard. Flasher and I will be doing a few orbits to let our passengers get a visual on the ship."

"Okay, getting a good visual on my screen now." Marko calls, peering intently at his screen as he looks over his half of the ship. "Not seeing anything that we didn't see before, Sweet Pea. No new damage, no signs of cutting or anything like that. Unless someone wants to take a finger print kit outside, I'd say we've seen what we can see out here." he chuckles softly.

"It looks like a whale…" Ryder says to himself. "Keep an eye out for anything that could be linked to Aquaria. It'd be an interesting connection, if it existed."

"She watches over dangerous waters, Dominic. But she is very beautiful," Cidra says. It's an answer of a sort of Gabrieli's mutter. Her hands are sure on the controls, movements quick and precise, but her eyes are wide behind the helmet of her visor. She's already in full gear, of course. Drinking it in. She takes a deep breath, as if forcing herself to focus properly. Over the radio she replies to Leyla, «Copy, Sweet Pea. You lead us in and set down. I shall land after. Doing one pass around to check for anything out of ordinary. Everyone, secure your helmets. There is no air in there and you shall want to keep breathing.»

And they have time to do that, as the Raptors complete an orbit around the ship, scanning and doing visual checks and all of that. Nothing out of the usual is noted. And so they head into the ship, into 'open' door of what sort of resembles a hangar in the 'tail' of the whale. That's been opened recently, forced from the outside, though how long it's been that way is unclear. It's dark in there, but with the Raptor's floodlights they can navigate safely enough. And in they go.

It's hard not to be a bit happy for the especially devout. Sofia would smile at Cidra if she knew. She looks to Bannik and smiles. "Well, I'm a bit jealous! That sounds super cool," She nods. "But I can't even," No. Sofia admits. She shakes her head and goes quiet.

"Let's pray we haven't arrived for the birth of the Gorgones," Gabrieli mutters back to Cidra. It lacks the dryness that would've pegged that for a joke. As the Raptor's lights begin to flood the interior, his lips thin and he leans a shoulder back against the wall, trying to see more out of the side window.

"Always good to have a set of fresh eyes. Fresh eyes, fresh perspective." Leyla completes the visual scan, before she pilots in, allowing Cidra's raptor to slide in ahead of hers, taking the time to brief the backup team waiting in the wings. "Piper, Flasher and I will do the first rotation down on the ship. I figure we can switch out when we need to change out our oxygen." Leyla does look back, at the raptor duo she requested especially, after clearing it with Cidra and Pony, "You straight, Shortbus?" A nod from the relief pilot, "Gotcha, Sweet Pea. Thanks for the invite." After all, it's not often the Providers crew gets to go on the fun jaunts. "I'm straight," is Shortbus's Virgon-accented reply. "Just don't get lost in there." With the rotation squared away, Leyla brings the raptor finally down, dumping the ship's atmosphere before she makes her way into the hangar. From there, landing, and the cycling open of the hatch. "Everyone out."

"S'all yours, Skeet, my sweet," Bootstrap tells the high-pitched blonde who beams and claps her hands like an excited kid. Unfastened, he rises, lets the meatshie— er, marines take point. As he disembarks, he quips to Cidra, "We'll try to find you somethin' pretty. Won't we, Dom?" Out of the Raptor and into the whale, he double-checks his firearm.

"Well, there you go." Bannik nods to Sofia. "So. I mean — I can't even imagine how many teams of people we're going to need even just to diagram and map and catalogue everything. It's going to be —" His eyes are very big behind his glasses and behind his facemask of his helmet. "Well. I'm just not going to try to think about it right now."

As Leyla brings them in to land, Marko sets the LAMPS gear to do routine sweeps at thirty second intervals and scrupulously double-checks his suit seals. Hard vacuum doesn't play games, you're doing it right, or you're dead. "Lord of Kobol, please don't let this turn out to be some kind of a trap." he sighs to himself as he checks his sidearm.

Medkit, check. Battle Rifle, safety on and slung. Curiosity? BURSTING. Yeah, Ryder is ready, and he disembarks with interest as the hatch opens.

Cora checks seals and sidearm as well, and then the pockets on the outside of her suit, removing what looks like a small portable video-camera. She checks something on it and then tucks it back into her pocket once again before stepping toward the door, ready to go.

"Don't even think about it, Trask." Gabrieli stands up as the call comes to disembark, checking toolkit and firearm both. The kit's pulled over his shoulder, large and rather cumbersome as it is, the back of it marked in pen with some odd symbol that's likely gibberish to anyone who didn't grow up in rural Gemenon. He starts out after the others, aware of how dry his mouth is.

Let the men with the big guns go first. There are some perks to being a Marine, like being getting blown up before everyone else. There's a click as Mathers releases himself from the harness, and as they settle into the Whale's hangar bay, his ready to be dumped into the fray. If there is going to be fraying. Maybe just general mayhem.

Karthasi goes through the process of disentangling herself from the seat of the raptor with a brisk but thorough series of motions— step one, step two, step three— no tripping over herself and likely rolling what she's doing over in her head to keep her mind from venturing out into the unknown without her and exploding outward to fill the vacuum. She stands in file with the rest, finally, prepared to disembark.

Cidra likewise settles her Raptor down on the 'floor' of the old ship. Releasing a long breath. Into the comm she says, «Captain Nikephoros, Captain Mathers, Toast. I shall be remaining with the ship.» Indeed, those in with her would note an odd reluctance right now. It's not fear, really. But, when one has believed all their life with little tangible proof, actually *encountering* some proof can throw one. «I shall be checking in via wireless periodically. And be prepared to evac quickly if it comes to us. Do keep me posted on what you find.» She waits until everyone has their helmet firmly on before raising the doors. And in, they are.

Immediately upon entering, the floodlights bathing the place in an eerie glow of pale white, they find themselves in a room that does not really resemble a traditional hangar, despite there being plenty of space to land. The ceiling is domed and rounded over head. The curve of the 'whale's' 'tail.' It looks less like a place made for transit, or even a sort of common area. A large entry foyer, or common area. The 'floor' is bare, though there are shadows of openings in the walls themselves, depending on where you turn those lights. Only the 'hangar', or foyer, is open. While there is an arched doorway (or odd, arched hatchway) at the opposite end of the room, which your lights would fall on directly if you kept them straight ahead, it's sealed and is a size made for people, not ships, to walk through.

The walls, as Sweet Pea and Flasher would well remember, are covered in thirteen paintings. Each positioned over thirteen small alcoves with benches where one could sit. Twelve of those might be familiar to those learned in Colonial scripture, or just the lore of their own colony. A thirteenth, however, would not be a thing any of them have encountered before in any recognizable way.

1 A triangle with two curved 'horns' curling out of the top of it, drawn to resemble a crude ram's head

2 A lion's head with a full mane.

3 A bow, with an arrow on the string.

4 A goat, drawn with its head lowered as if about to charge

5 A bull facing the goat and likewise drawn horns-down and charging, with a lightning bolt drawn over his head

6 The outline of a female figure in flowing robes, seated with very straight posture

7 A figure, again female, pouring water from a pail

8 Two silouettes of 'faces' drawn as if back to back, with the noses pointing outward, facing away from each other

9 A pair of weighing scales, in balance

10 The outline of two fish, swimming toward each other, tails curved as if they're weaving around one another

11 A crab, pincers upraised

12 A scorpion, its poison tail curved

13 A spiral of colors, or mandala more rightly. (OOC: Refer to picture herein)

Mandala.jpg

"Don't worry, Captain," comes Leyla's slightly humoured reply, as she switches out her seat with her equally diminutive, but darker-haired fellow pilot, "As far as Flasher can tell, there's nothing out there waiting to bite off any of your important bits." Leyla settles in to disembark just a few bodies behind the Marine XO in question, passing a look and a touch of a gloves hand with Shortbus, as he moves to replace Flasher. "The mothership awaits, ladies and gentlemen."

Marko finally makes his way out of the Raptor, peering around him with the same expression of bewilderment mixed with wonder as he had when they first found it. To keep from getting trampled by the other explorers, he hangs back a bit, especially curious to see Greje and Cidra's reaction when their Raptor arrives.

"Too late," Trask banters back to the ex-ChEng. "Whatever it is I'm not supposed to be thinkin', odds are that I already have." Once he's readjusted his knapsack, it's time to break out his PDA-like device. "So, based on the recon images of the exterior, the most that really could be extrapolated about the lay is that the bridge is thaddaway." Indicated with his free hand and slight headtilt.

Ryder whistles as he walks around, looking at the paintings with barely surpressed glee. "Ah, its like the Cave Temple we saw on Tauron…" he mutters to himself. "I've known Priests who would KILL to have this in their temples. Simply amazing."

Sofia looks amused and yet incredibly eager herself. She has her kit in line and smiles at Bannik. "A lot. We'll get there." She promises. One step at a time, right? Sofia sticks near Bannik and the middle of the pack, scootching dangerously near the front to see. Oooh, art. "Hey… did anyone bring a camera?" She looks through her own kit, just in case. Did she? Hmmm.

"It's a good thing. I was getting rather attached to them." Mathers rumbles back to Leyla before he responds over the comms. « "Copy that, Toast. We'll make sure to wipe our feet off before we get back on your boat. Leave a candle burning." » After a quick initial sweep, he's satisfied to let the others come forward as they may, getting a good look at the murals himself, the headlamp on his helmet swivelling over the symbols. "Anybody else's asshole just pucker up tighter than a duck's in water?" Because seeing is far more unsettling than reading a report.

Sweep. Sweep. Bannik makes himself one of the last ones out of the Raptor, the head-lamp on the top of his EVA helmet illuminating just where his eyes are going. Where are they going? EVERYWHERE. "We getting pictures of all of this? We need each and every one of these murals photographed. And then maybe even the benches. I mean, what if the benches are signs into how their culture was?" A pause. "Is?"

"Figures," Gabrieli mutters back to Trask, but it's a distracted commentary. The engineer's eyes are pinned to the walls as they begin to move past the murals, his flashlight pulled off his belt and clicked on to further illuminate one small part of the spidery writing. Slowly the beam moves, the man's expression tightening just a little bit as he studies it. «Hahn.» Through the wireless, which everyone else can hear of course. «Can you see any of this? Not ours, but it looks…related.» 'Related'. That's the best way a non-linguist can describe the odd writing.

Cora does not spend quite as much time looking awed and peering at the cave paintings as others, perhaps having spent more time with the photos or just naturally less susceptible to things like awesomeness. She directs her flashlight over the alcoves, particularly the 13th, and then tips it up at the ceiling, scanning the less-well-documented bits of the 'hangar'. «Techs, see what you can do about that door,» she directs over comms, waving her flashlight toward the passage out.

Well then. Sofia has a camera! She'll do her best with it, but tragically she's no journalist. "Um. Which button was this -" Flash goes off. "Oops, sorry." That's one for the candid camera: Marines edition. Regardless, eventually she starts to get the hang of it once she's pulled it out of her kit proper. "Ah…" She will listen quietly afterwards then. Her brows quirk.

Marko gives up on waiting and takes a small digital camera from one of the vest pockets on his flight suit and starts to slowly move around the series of alcoves, documenting them as carefully as he can. "Techs, be careful with those doors." he advises warily. "We have exactly no way of knowing whether there's pressure in the sealed areas of the ship or not."

Clear sailing so far, as this goes. The 'hangar' is empty, no one to greet them but those strange paintings on the walls. If this is a trap, it's not yet been sprung. The place is completely silent, save for the sound of their talk and footfalls. Their voices muted in that way wireless channels tend to, all communication behind the helmets of their suits as it is. There's perhaps an eerie quality to it.

With her feet now firmly on the ground, Leyla eschews studying the painting, having already catalogued and documented them within an inch of their life, as it were, when she was here before. Instead, she does what pilot protocol dictates, and begins a visual inspection of her raptor, for the benefit of Piper, who's now settled into the pilot's seat. And then, unless Cidra objects, she does the same for the second raptor, so that Cidra need not step out of the ship until she chooses, if and when she does. «Both raptors are visually sound. No signs of damage from the flight or the jump over.»

"It's really hard to figure out how to line up a shot behind a facemask like this." Bannik, too, is having trouble working up the shots with heavy gloves on his hands and a thick helmet on his head. But when the call for 'techs' goes out, we haves to Sofia, moving up to the front door. « It ought to be like an airlock. Assuming whoever was here breathed air before all of this. » That ought to be a good assumption, right?

There might be a flash going off in Mathers' face, but he doesn't notice. He's just standing there for a long moment, transfixed by the thirteenth symbol as if trying to decipher it. "She's been here…" The words just sort of fall out of his mouth, sounding tinny in the bubble of a helmet. There's a grunt from the man, a gutteral sound, before he focuses his attention on the snipes busting through the door.

Bootstrap really isn't interested in the art exhibit part of this tour. He's far more interested in examining the ship's structural design. His flashlight makes clean sweeps, trying to glean what he can about the lighting systems. If he can deduce that much, dissecting other electrical configurations might be a bit easier.

Gabrieli makes a final note in his head about the writing, the form of which he recognizes but the way it's put together…gibberish. A slight frown, his flashlight passing over that thirteenth symbol, and he glances back at Mathers on the way to the door to give a technical hand. "Who's been here, Captain?"

"Tell me about it," Sofia pouts wwith Bannik. She will follow along then behind him and nods. She stops taking her pictures for now, and will pass the camera on to someone if they like.

Karthasi has seen the murals, already, and she'll take a moment before taking a closer look at them to stand toward the center of the bunch, seeing how the thirsteen alcoves are oriented in relationship to one another, which face which, if there are any interesting oppositions, or if oppositions could even be properly constructed at this odd number of stops. The geometry of the room seems to be of interest to her, even going so far as to take out a floor-aligned laser level she'd packed and moving into an awkwardly bundled crouch to start taking measurements.

Marko makes his way over to where the techs are working with the door to see if he can be of any assistance. «Bet you guys thought we were full of it when you first heard about this.» he chuckles to them. «Not that I blame you, I hadn't seen this myself, _I_ wouldn't have believed me."

Mathers twists to look at Gabrieli blankly for a moment, as if his train of thought has been completely lost. "I don't know. Rumors say our ancestors, though I don't see any trace that anyone's occupied this ship. Not in a very long time, at least." His voice is projected thanks to the external speakers on his suit, not having to broadcast that over the Comms.

Leyla is not a wrench, despite the fact that she's been qualified on the deck, and she's a little late to the party, but she does approach the group now gathering at the hatch, «If there's the need, the raptor is fully equipped. We've a small generator in stowage. It won't last terribly long, even by our standards, and certainly, who knows by these, but if you need it, we can bring it up.»

Gabrieli mutters something under his breath in his more natural dialect. «Could try to force it», the engineer comments drily. «We'd risk damage, but it would circumvent having to rig our power with a system we don't understand.»

"Frakdamn, none of this makes any frakkin' sense," Trask mutters, brow furrowed in a mingling of fascination and vexation. Even so, he keeps searching for anything that looks looks even remotely familiar. « Electrical, huh? Can't figure out the frakkin' lights, might as well take a look at the door. » In truth, that is spoken more to himself. Whatever the case may be, he advances to join the others.

Ryder sits back, allowing the worker bees to work when he glances at the 'hangar' door. "«Just an idea, but if there is a seal beyond these doors, is it possible they won't allow entry while this room is vented to space?"»

Electrical? Sofia defers to the older, wiser sorts here. She will bustle amongst the working bees and nods. « It's um, yeah." She nods at Gabrieli and goes quiet. She offers quietly, « We could try drilling where it splits and the middle… it just looks like it'd take awhile no matter what, » She offers quietly.

Leyla steps back, as she sees her SL move up to join the fray. This is far more his demense than hers. Thanks the Lords of Kobol she doesn't believe in. She's quite happy to move back, making her way towards Ryder, «It's possible. But, this ship has been without power for many a year, as far as we can see. And the hangar doors were forced open while it was derelict. If there is a system, my guess, would be that it's been dormant and remained so when initial entry was made.» So it probably is not in effect now.

Cidra remains in the Raptor, for her part. Though it's a beat before she responds to Marko. She's far too occupied with staring at everything she can see through her viewport. «Just fine, Flasher. Do proceed in as you can. We have enough oxygen for several hours, but our supply is not infinite.»

The TACCO's call is absolutely fine for Gabrieli, who's ready to go. "«Alright. Let's do it, then.» He looks over at Bannik and Sofia and gives a nod, for the drills. Drilling, it's what the military does best.

Karthasi finishes taking a rather extensive series of measurements, with photos taken for evidence along various lines of trajectory across the room. Forgetting for a moment that she's not able to actually tuck a knuckle up at the side of her mouth, she just taps on the faceshield of the helmet, instead. A pensive spaceman. "Contradictions."

Leyla's voice follows not long after Cidra's, «Toast. When you are ready to disembark, I will be standing in as your relief.» It's not really meant to sound like an order, and given her tone of voice, it certainly isn't one. Far be it from normal for Leyla to tell the CAG anything. And so, it is what it is. An offer to serve as Toast's relief, when the Gemenese woman decides to go exploring the ship…possibly of her ancestors.

Once the drills have forced a hole in the center of the thing, it can be easily leveraged open with crowbars, leverage and muscle. It's not complex work and it opens 'easily' enough. Beyond it is a corridor. Not precisely exciting stuff, or much different from those in the Cerberuszcvx,, apart from those slightly rounded walls and ceilings. If they shine their lights down it, they can see it branches off. The 'right' headed off toward the head of the ship, where the 'bridge' likely is. Best guess, at least. The left forks, if one glances down it, to a stairwell that heads into the 'belly' of the ship. It's not a particularly huge vessel, but searching the whole of it will take some time if they just go room by room as a group.

Cora watches as the door is forced at her command (isn't power fun?) and then steps up to look into the space beyond as neither Cylons nor bombs nor aliens nor a rush of depressurization appear. « We should split up, » she directs, « Trask, Scaurus, Wolfe, Bannik, to the right likely leads to the bridge, according to our best guesses. Head that way with Captain Mathers and see what what you can recover. Karthasi, Gabrieli, Ryder, Aydin, with me to the left. Any strenuous, reasoned objections? No? Then head out. TAC1 is the channel, let's keep each other apprised of what we're finding."

Down into the belly of the beast. "Bondye…tanpri gide nou." Gabrieli murmurs the Gemenese words too softly to trip the comms, hiking the large toolpack up onto his shoulder again. His green eyes flicker around the faces of the group going to the bridge, then his own, with a nod to Cora.

Ryder nods, then falls into step with those going left. Through the visor of the EVA suit, his eyes sparkle in anticipation.

"The photographs hardly do the script justice, Major Hahn," Greje speaks up, creeping up into the middle of the conversation, words flattering but spoken in earnest. "I've never seen this one before, but I hope we'll have the time to properly decipher it." She tucks her scope away again and prepares to move with her appointed group.

TACCOs! Sofia's a bit surprised they pulled her towards the front, but she smiles back at Bannik and nods. « Righto, » She agrees quietly. She keeps her camera then, unless someone wished to borrow it. Thankfully there won't be any more marine butt or face shots from fumbling with the camera. « Aye aye sir, » She murmurs, remembering her manners and follows along with Bannik and Mathers.

It's not like Leyla to argue with Cidra. Like ever. But before she turns to follow Cora's orders, her voice comes across the comms a final time. «You belong out here, Toast. Not me.» But orders are orders. First from her CAG, and now from the TACCO. A final look, at the Gemenese woman seated in her raptor, before Leyla moves to form up with group two.


Alpha: To the Bridge

The route down the rightmost corridor is fairly straightforward. And, again, devoid of any obstacles or traps. The Marine engaged in spotting and clearing for demo work is having a rather boring time of it, for the ship seems clean so far. There's another 'door' opening up ahead though this one, unlike the last, sits entirely open. As if waiting for you. Beyond is darkness, of course, though if your flashlights were shone in they'd reflect off metal. Terminals, consoles, control seating. If that's not the 'bridge,' it's something very much like it beyond that arched, open doorframe.

[TAC1] Cora says, "Alpha, this is Bravo lead, we've made it down to the second level and what looks to be a communal space. Galley crossed with observation deck, basically. No sign of anyone but us present, hostile or otherwise."

Marko proceeds slowly, careful to get as much of this on digital video as he can for later analysis. «Anyone spot anything the recognize?» he asks curiously, playing his light this way and that as they proceeds towards the doorframe.

Mathers is careful where he treads, like he's walking on someone's grave. His feet are particular where he steps, and every shadow gets banished away with his headlamp as if chasing away the ghosts that could be lingering here. "Clear." He tells the team of the hallway before proceeding on into the bridge.

[TAC1] Mathers says, "Alpha copies, Bravo. Sweep of hallway clear, we're just broaching the Bridge now."

Sofia nods at Bannik, but she's fairly quiet, peering and taking it all in. « I wonder where they went? » She considers, quietly. She turns her light this way and that. Maybe a picture or two here or there (Not of a Marine or her fingertip, thankfully. She's getting this camera business down).

It's familiar, in a way. This has the look of the equivalent of CIC. Or Engineering. Or perhaps some strange hybrid thereof. The room actually opens onto a catwalk of sorts. Round again. Whoever built this ship liked curves for more than straight lines. There are more of those alcoves built into the walls, though this time they do not hold merely benches. They're terminals. Nothing like what you've dealt with before. There are no signs of keyboards or other easy input devices, or even a simple way to turn them on. Just flat screens, now dark, built into metallic, square frames beneath them that theoretically powered them and hold the guts of the machines. No sign of crew here, or even the remains thereof. The place is empty.

While these terminals - and there are several dozen of them - ring the large room, it's open in the center. There's another level of…something below it. That circular opening is just the transit point. It looks like it was made to be transversed up and down via an elevator. Now stopped forever on the 'floor' below you. There are hand-holds down, however.

Mathers sweep comes up with nothing hostile yet again, and thus the others are allowed to enter the room as they well. He's following that ring right past the dark alcoves, knowing perhaps that they're virtually useless without the power to service them. His attention is on that sunken hole, because that's where a threat could be hiding. "Poke around. Take pictures. Look around for any sort of markers." Though no doubt it won't be as easy as 'Commander sits here.' or 'This is the giant red self-destruct button.'

[TAC1] Mathers says, "Bravo team, this is Alpha. Bridge seems likewise clear. Team is keeping their eyes peeled, photographically recording intel."

And that's putting it mildly. It takes Marko less than thirty seconds to realize just how far out of his depth he is with all of this stuff. «Whatever it was they did in here, it's beyond my ken.» he sighs frustratedly, moving to document the alcoves and pausing now and then to prod and poke at the inert consoles. «How many of these alcoves does everyone count?» he inquires, chewing on his lip thoughtfully.

Bannik moves about the top ring of control panels, taking pictures of each one he comes across, following up each photograph with a run of his hands over the oddly smooth surface. « I don't see any input system on these. I mean, no buttons. No levers. No switches. I'm going to pop the top on one of them and see if I can get a look underneath. » He places his camera back in his kit and takes out a screw driver, fumbling with it a bit due to the bulky gloves he wears.

Maybe a little of everything? Or their ideas of departments are a bit different? Sofia seems to approve of curves over straight lines. It almost feels kind of soothing, despite the uneasiness. Hmm. She furrows her brows and peers. Pictures of the terminals up close for sure. And that elevator. And … She meanders, settling into her job of snapping away happily. She quirks a brow at Bannik, but stays behind him. « Okay, let me know if you need help, » She offers. If nothing else, they'll *both* be in any blast radius.

[TAC1] Ryder says, " All teams, this is Ryder. We've got bodies in the dormitories, all laid down and tucked in for a good nights sleep. Personal belongings as well. I'm collecting some specimens for genetic research."

"Touch screens?" Mathers offers to his team, before addressing the issue over the comms.

[TAC1] Mathers says, "Ryder, this is Alpha leader. How many bodies. Report."

[TAC1] Cora says, "Alpha, Bravo. We'll get you a rough tally, so far it looks like each bed has a body. Over."

[TAC1] "Sweet Pea" Leyla says, "I'm attempting a head count, given the approximate seating in what looks to have been their galley. Skeletal remains are consistent with large scale occupation."

"The screens. If they don't have any buttons, maybe the screen is the button. Like those new fangled PDA's where you use a stylus." Mathers rumbles back to Marko. "And the other team found bodies in the dormitory."

[TAC1] Mathers says, "Bravo, Alpha. The real question is, are they fifteen-hundred year old bodies?"

Bannik gingerly takes off the cover on the console and shines his light down into the innards of it, looking at it with a certain sort of fascination. « Well, » says Bannik finally. « It's wiring, all right. Looks like it's a computer system — a local network that must have connected all of these consoles. Best as I can tell, the Captain is right. Touch screen systems. If I could power it up, I might be able to figure it out. But I wouldn't want to do that until I had a more stable environment. I wouldn't want to wreck the system; it's ancient. »

[TAC1] Cora says, "Alpha, Bravo left their handy portable carbon-dating kit at home, so confirmation will have to wait on further testing. They don't look fresh, though."

"Huh…" Sofia watches Bannik and his work. She'll take a few pictures and nod at Bannik. The news of bodies perhaps, makes her freeze. Old ones? She looks puzzled. "I wonder what killed them?" IF they're dead. But one assumes this is not a zombie boat. "Maybe we can bring it back? At some point?" She offers. She's clearly volunteering to help lug stuff, alas.

"I'm headed down now. Try to keep everything intact as possible, in case we're going to tow this heap." Unlike last time, where Mathers ordered the 'mainframe' literally ripped from her ship. "Extra light this way." He orders to someone, anyone, for the aide of their flashlight before he goes to see about those handholds.

[TAC1] "Sweet Pea" Leyla says, "Toast, it would take more trips than I can safely tally, to bring all of these effects back to the Cerberus. And I do not think we could do this ship justice piecemeal."

[TAC1] Ryder says, "Toast, Ryder. I concur with Sweetpea. This ship was built for longterm occupation. If we could salvage this ship whole, it could be invaluable to the fleet."

[TAC1] "Toast" Cidra says, "Team, Toast. There do not appear to be signs of tampering, then? I do know Colonel Pewter wanted to see if we can salvage this. When you are finished, we can jump back to the ship and return with Cerberus and some Raptors to tow it into the Starboard Hangar. I would…I deem it worthy of keeping, certainly."

[TAC1] Gabrieli says, "Team, Gabrieli. I would be cautious about towing it into the hangar itself. We don't know what a sudden change in gravity might do to things in here, given their age."

It's not a long climb down, but it may be an uneasy one. In the dark and trying to navigate those hand-holds in an environmental suit. But, again, there are no traps and provided one doesn't just slip and fall they can reach the bottom without incident. There are fewer consoles here, though there are one or two. The bottom 'level' is dominated by a huge piece of machinery in a pit in the floor. It looks, vaguely, like a sublight engine. Though, again, very very different from the sublight drives housed on Cerberus. No FTL in site.

[TAC1] Cora says, "Toast, Cora. No signs of tampering so far, or even entry by others before us. And there is quite a lot here. Towing it into the hangar would allow a much more thorough examination, though Captain Gabrieli makes a good point. Do you have any ideas how we might stabilize it, Captain?"

[TAC1] Gabrieli says, "Team, Gabrieli. The only think I can think would be to keep it on a towline outside the Cerberus herself, and continue exploration in zero-G until we can confirm that nothing will be damaged. I'm concerned too about potential explosives coming into the Cerberus' internal atmosphere makeup…we need more time to look into this."

By the grace of the Gods, Mathers makes it to the bottom, his head swivelling to cast light around the little area. "Huh." He says quietly.

[TAC1] Mathers says, "Teams, Mathers. Looks like I found the hamster that drives this wheel. Give me an engineer down in the hole for confirmation, I think I just found the engine."

[TAC1] "Toast" Cidra says, "Gabrieli, Toast. I doubt the Colonel would authorize lingering too long in this patch of space, but we could give a half day, perhaps, over to a more thorough examination. And perhaps remove the more delicate items by hand before we consider introducing gravity into it."

A second light cuts into the darkness down below. «Ask and ye shall receive.» That said, Trask begins his descent. Not the avid climber that Mathers is, it takes a little longer.

[TAC1] Cora says, "Mathers, do the techs with you have any idea whether it's functional? And any sign of FTL or equivalent technology?"

[TAC1] Gabrieli says, "Toast, Gabrieli. Understood and agreed. More concerned about any combustion in that engine that might be triggered by an atmospheric change. If I can get a few more engineers in here and crawl over that engine right well, we can rule that out. Mathers, let me know if I need to head over there."

[TAC1] Mathers says, "They're coming down now to have a poke, Nikephoros. Will report our findings. Got a rough head count now besides 'a lot' on your bodies?"

[TAC1] "Bootstrap" Trask says, "Team, Bootstrap. Confirming what appears to be one sublight engine. No FTL in sight."

Mathers stands just behind Trask's shoulder, vested interest in what the ECO is finding by his investigations. "Figure this thing runs on Tylium? Don't happen to see a gas gauge for this old bucket of rust, do you?" Can you jumpstart an ancient ship? Where do you attach the jumper cables?

[TAC1] "Bootstrap" Trask says, "Team, Bootstrap, /again/. Closer inspection reveals that it's not a sublight. It's too big. From what I'm seein', though, it's akin. No signs of external damage. Gonna take a peek inside. I'll see what, if any, fuel residue can be swabbed. As it stands, I'm not even sure this thing runs on Tylium. Over."

[TAC1] "Sweet Pea" Leyla says, "It is possible to seal the hangar decks off from the rest of the ship. That is standard procedure when the flight pods are in use. To depressurize them and create a zero-G atmosphere for flight operations. If the starboard hangar could be kept at flight status, the ship could be towed in and study of the ship by engineering would be easier and safer than using raptors to ferry the crew back and forth."

[TAC1] "Bootstrap" Trask says, "See, that's why you're my heir apparent, Aydin. An' feel free to swing by, G. You know I'll share the sandbox with you." The ECO bats his lashes. Those who know him well enough could probably just sense it. "Aaaaaaand ohhhh-kay. It is /not/ a tylium engine. We'll need to run tests to figure out just what this baby runs on. Noticing a lot of strain. Fraying parts, wiring that looks like it's been replaced more times than one of Zeus' girlfriends…"

"See what you can do." Comes the instruction from Mathers before he leaves Trask alone with the sublightesque engine and goes to explore further around the bridge, looking into the nooks and crannies.

[TAC1] Gabrieli says, "Trask, Gabrieli. Thank you, sweetheart. Get three samples now and package them for analysis. We'll come back and get grubbier hands on it when it's in place."

Sofia is quietly poking and prodding about. She peers, staying near the terminal Bannik was at. Alas, she almost gets stuck now and then but - hey! "It's pretty neat." She offers quietly to Marko. "I guess I should go look at that engine but …" She seems redundant with the older Engineer there. A shrug and a faint smile beneath her helmet.

[TAC1] "Bootstrap" Trask quips back, "I love it when you talk dirty, Dom. I'll even snap some photos."

[TAC1] Ryder says, "Ryder to Alpha. Any bodies up your way?"

[TAC1] Mathers says, "Ryder, this is Alpha. That is a negative."

[TAC1] "Toast" Cidra says, "Team, Toast. Gather whatever else you need to gather and return to the Raptors. I would get word of this back to Command as soon as possible. And the battlestar back to examine it more properly, and gods willing stabilize it enough that we can make a proper study of it aboard."

[TAC1] Mathers says, "Copy that, Major. Alpha team is finishing up and clearing out in five."


Bravo: Belly of the Beast

(Meanwhile, back with Team Bravo…)

Into the belly of the beast indeed. Though, again, you encounter no traps. Nothing but silence and darkness, and that *feeling* of emptiness. There's really not much do that left corridor save for those stairs, which lead down, down, down into the second 'deck' of this creature. It's not a large vessel, again, and seems to have but two levels. Nothing impedes your progress, save whatever caution you use upon those stairs, and there is no door at the bottom of them. Just a rounded archway, which opens up into another gallery.

Like the hangar above, this has the look of a communal room. Except even moreso. If that was a foyer, this is a true living room. There are more benches here, again built into the walls, and into sunken inclines in the floors. All around, though there is no artwork here. It has the look of a cafeteria, almost, or a dormitory common room. One could easily imagine hundreds - for indeed there are seats for hundreds here - gathering for meals at the tables, or ceremonies, or just coming together to talk. Yet all those spaces are empty now. While there are those curved 'openings' in the walls, there are no more closed doors here. Somehow, for some reason, everything was left open. The openings lead to what seem like dozens of small 'rooms.' The individual dorms, perhaps, or kitchens or other common areas. As this was most definitely the 'living' deck.

At the very end of it is a huge viewport 'window'. Not unlike the one on the Cerberus' observation deck. A window-seat-like bench built of the same almost soft metal the rest of this ship was crafted out of it surrounding it. Looking out at the starfield.

Cora leads Bravo team down the stairs, flashlight striping the walls as she goes, keeping an eye out for any markings or anything unusual. Anything that isn't just plain old walls. Through the archway and into the living space, and her steps slow. The camera is held up again and she turns slowly, filming the space as she moves into it. The alcoves are examined first, double-checking for artwork, and then she suggests, "Let's spread out and cover these other rooms," she gestures at the open doorways, heading for the nearest one herself.

[TAC1] Cora says, "Alpha, this is Bravo lead, we've made it down to the second level and what looks to be a communal space. Galley crossed with observation deck, basically. No sign of anyone but us present, hostile or otherwise."

Gabrieli looks back over his shoulder towards the Raptor before he and his group disappear down the stairwell, the dull sound inside his helmet blocking out the clanks of his magnetic boots on metal. The sight through the archway gives him pause, the unexpected mixing so intricately with the utterly normal. Kind of. The Gemenese man is silent as the others start to move in, his green eyes unreadable as he takes in the whole place. Someone lived here. Perhaps spoke that archaic language here. Perhaps prayed here. «Heading left» his subdued voice comes over the headset comms as he moves for one of the open doorways on that side.

[TAC1] Mathers says, "Alpha copies, Bravo. Sweep of hallway clear, we're just broaching the Bridge now."

The nearest one to Cora opens directly into what must have been a 'kitchen' area. Again, while it does look like the door there functioned at one point, it was left ajar for some unknown reason. There are what can only be huge ovens built into the walls, and long metal tables where could easily have been prepared, along with cabinets and a heavier - actually sealed - door. Refrigeration, perhaps. But, as you venture further in, what might catch your eyes are the cages.

Animal cages. Well away from the food preparation area, much deeper into the 'galley' of sorts, but there's definitely what they are. There's a 'coop' farther in the back that looks like it once held chickens. Little wire cages arrayed for them, built so eggs can easily be collected. And here is where you find signs of life. Or what was life. There are bird skeletons in those cages. And not just birds. Another 'area' looks like it held what were perhaps larger rodents. Rabbits or guinea pigs, something of that nature. This journey was for the long haul, wherever it was from, and they'd brought breeding stock. Albeit nothing so large as pigs or cows.

Leyla pulls out her video camera, finally, as she moves down along the corridor, trying to capture a bit of everything as she goes. It's a long, slow descent, before they finally touch ground on the deck of th second level. Once she makes it down, there's a pause, as she moves out, «I'll start at that observation are and work my way back. Meet you in the middle, Captain Gabrieli.» And with that, Leyla heads, also to the left, to begin the journey from the most distant room to the nearest.

Apart from the kitchen area, most of the rooms nearest them open up into dormitory-like cells. Very small. There are beds into into the walls for one, perhaps two people if they squeezed in tight together. Some rooms hold two or three beds. Communal living. There are still possessions inside, undisturbed for centuries. Preserved perfectly in the vacuum. Blankets, woven of some soft fabric, on the beds. Books, pictures of people not unlike the lot of you albeit in strange clothing, stuffed in places on the walls. Anything one would think they might find in a small apartment is here.

And there *is* something here. Tucked into those beds, tightly perhaps in case the gravity failed (as it has) are the outlines of human shapes. Or what were human shapes. Two or three to a bed, some of them. Some small enough to be children. All tucked away. As if they had just…up and gone to sleep. Skeletons.

[TAC1] Mathers says, "Bravo team, this is Alpha. Bridge seems likewise clear. Team is keeping their eyes peeled, photographically recording intel."

Video camera and flashlight in hand, Cora heads into the first room, filming as she takes it all in visually as well. "Looks like a kitchen," she describes over local comms, "Annnd…" she adds after a moment as she continues, "Cages for keeping animals. Looks like chickens, maybe rabbits? Not a huge number, but more than just pets. Breeding stock, maybe, or to supplement food supplies slightly. Sealed cabinet in here. Probably refridgeration. I'd like to get it opened if we have time, but not priority." She steps back out when she's recorded things, moving into the next room down the line.

[TAC1] Ryder says, " All teams, this is Ryder. We've got bodies in the dormitories, all laid down and tucked in for a good nights sleep. Personal belongings as well. I'm collecting some specimens for genetic research."

[TAC1] Mathers says, "Ryder, this is Alpha leader. How many bodies. Report."

Sometimes, it's good to be Taurian. Stoicism has its perks. One of which is the ability to find the rains of the dead without the need to release the cry of anguish at the sight of the lost. It's served Leyla well, through all of the colonies they've visited, and it does the same for her here, as she makes her way along the left side of the dormitory rooms, taking pictures of each room in her usual methodical style. All personal effects are visually cataloged, as are the remains settled in to their rest.

At the mention of bodies, Cora detours towards the room in question, camera at the ready. Since counting and examining the bodies is already being attended to, she looks through the personal items, eying the spines of books, searching out any photographs or notebooks (spiral-bound or computer-kind).

Gabrieli inches further into the room he's at, keeping his back against the wall. He fiddles with his pack until he can find his camera, bending his knees just enough to be able to get a picture — a picture of pictures, photographing whatever photographs happens to be in this particular room. As he looks up, he narrows his eyes at the books floating by, searching for any indication of what any might be. Illustrations, symbols.

[TAC1] Cora says, "Alpha, Bravo. We'll get you a rough tally, so far it looks like each bed has a body. Over."

There are also yet more paintings on the walls of the individual cells, though not all seems as specific as those in the upper 'hangar'. There are faces. Plants, trees, what look vaguely like running rivers. Animals. Some you recognize, some creatures with tucks and strange reptilian features you've never seen before. Faces, and drawn figures. Some of it has an almost 'homey' look. They made these places their own. Attempts to recreate places long gone, perhaps. All are quite different, some better rendered than others, but all have a look as if someone had a *lot* of time to work on them.

One might notice, in all the rooms, empty cups and bowls. Some floating, some wedged into a pocket where they could 'rest' largely undisturbed. But there's at last one for each of the former occupants of the rooms. Or current occupants, however one likes to think of it. They've been there for a long, long time. So carefully laid to rest.

[TAC1] "Sweet Pea" Leyla says, "I'm attempting a head count, given the approximate seating in what looks to have been their galley. Skeletal remains are consistent with large scale occupation."

[TAC1] Mathers says, "Bravo, Alpha. The real question is, are they fifteen-hundred year old bodies?"

[TAC1] Cora says, "Alpha, Bravo left their handy portable carbon-dating kit at home, so confirmation will have to wait on further testing. They don't look fresh, though."

Taking a knee at one bedside, Ryder bows his head a moment. «Lords of Kobol, hear my prayers. Continue to watch over the souls of those who died on this ship, and may my disturbing of their bodies not disturb their slumber.» He then goes to one of the smaller bodies, and starts placing the remains into one of the bags he was given. Very carefully, so as not to damage them.

There are, again, all and sundry different sorts of books. All in that same familiar-yet-unfamiliar script that was on the walls. Some of illustrations not unlike those in the sacred scrolls, of the Lords and Ladies of Colonial religion. Some are just pure text. There are no notebooks, no hauntingly familiar illustrations. Just what could very well be novels or academic journals or religious texts, of whatever people once occupied this ship.

[TAC1] "Sweet Pea" Leyla says, "Toast, it would take more trips than I can safely tally, to bring all of these effects back to the Cerberus. And I do not think we could do this ship justice piecemeal."

Leyla continues through the rooms. While there's obvious interest in the remains, she seems careful not to disturb anything more than would be strictly necessary for purposes of recordation. Pictures first, exploration later. And as old as these books and artifacts might be, hands, even ones as skilled as a pilots, might well turn these artifacts to dust, destroying any value they might offer up to the Colonials.

[TAC1] Ryder says, "Toast, Ryder. I concur with Sweet Pea. This ship was built for longterm occupation. If we could salvage this ship whole, it could be invaluable to the fleet."

The writing in one of the more religious books keeps Gabrieli's attention pinned for a minute, as he uses a small piece of wire to turn the page of a floating book. "Ap…lepriye yo…" He mumbles, his face communicating rather clearly that while he can sort-of sound out these strange words, they don't particularly make sense. He reaches carefully for the cover of one, testing whether the vacuum and years have indeed weakened it.

"The ship is not currently in any shape to become a functional part of the fleet, Captain Ryder," Cora replies to the doctor, "Especially as it does not appear to have an FTL drive. We will see what those in the bridge discover, but I doubt very much that this ship will be joining us unless we can fit it into the starboard hangar bay. What are your findings with regards to these bodies?"

[TAC1] "Toast" Cidra says, "Team, Toast. There do not appear to be signs of tampering, then? I do know Colonel Pewter wanted to see if we can salvage this. When you are finished, we can jump back to the ship and return with Cerberus and some Raptors to tow it into the Starboard Hangar. I would…I deem it worthy of keeping, certainly."

[TAC1] Gabrieli says, "Team, Gabrieli. I would be cautious about towing it into the hangar itself. We don't know what a sudden change in gravity might do to things in here, given their age."

[TAC1] Cora says, "Toast, Cora. No signs of tampering so far, or even entry by others before us. And there is quite a lot here. Towing it into the hangar would allow a much more thorough examination, though Captain Gabrieli makes a good point. Do you have any ideas how we might stabilize it, Captain?"

"They weren't killed by Vacuum, is all I can say for sure now, or the bodies wouldn't be skeletons." Ryder turns to face Cora. "If it does lack FTL, then that is even more exciting. If this is an Ark ship, then its systems for maintaining enclosed life over the millennia required for travel over interstellar distances is… well. Amazing. For anymore info, we'll need autopsies, insofar as we can do them on skeletons."

[TAC1] Gabrieli says, "Team, Gabrieli. The only think I can think would be to keep it on a towline outside the Cerberus herself, and continue exploration in zero-G until we can confirm that nothing will be damaged. I'm concerned too about potential explosives coming into the Cerberus' internal atmosphere makeup…we need more time to look into this."

[TAC1] Mathers says, "Teams, Mathers. Looks like I found the hamster that drives this wheel. Give me an engineer down in the hole for confirmation, I think I just found the engine."

[TAC1] "Toast" Cidra says, "Gabrieli, Toast. I doubt the Colonel would authorize lingering too long in this patch of space, but we could give a half day, perhaps, over to a more thorough examination. And perhaps remove the more delicate items by hand before we consider introducing gravity into it."

[TAC1] Cora says, "Mathers, do the techs with you have any idea whether it's functional? And any sign of FTL or equivalent technology?"

[TAC1] Gabrieli says, "Toast, Gabrieli. Understood and agreed. More concerned about any combustion in that engine that might be triggered by an atmospheric change. If I can get a few more engineers in here and crawl over that engine right well, we can rule that out. Mathers, let me know if I need to head over there."

[TAC1] Mathers says, "They're coming down now to have a poke, Nikephoros. Will report our findings. Got a rough head count now besides 'a lot' on your bodies?"

[TAC1] "Bootstrap" Trask says, "Team, Bootstrap. Confirming what appears to be one sublight engine. No FTL in sight."

Room to room, silent on the comms, as the conversation has moved mostly outside of her experience level. Silent, plodding, methodical. Bodies upon bodies, remnants of lives lost after remnants of lives lost. But as the conversation continues, the pilot's soft voice returns.

[TAC1] "Bootstrap" Trask says, "Team, Bootstrap, /again/. Closer inspection reveals that it's not a sublight. It's too big. From what I'm seein', though, it's akin. No signs of external damage. Gonna take a peek inside. I'll see what, if any, fuel residue can be swabbed. As it stands, I'm not even sure this thing runs on Tylium. Over."

[TAC1] "Sweet Pea" Leyla says, "It is possible to seal the hangar decks off from the rest of the ship. That is standard procedure when the flight pods are in use. To depressurize them and create a zero-G atmosphere for flight operations. If the starboard hangar could be kept at flight status, the ship could be towed in and study of the ship by engineering would be easier and safer than using raptors to ferry the crew back and forth."

Ryder finishes bagging the small body, and he seals the bag. Standing up, he shakes his head. "Godsdamn. This could be a ritual death." He looks at Cora. "These folks were not killed by the vacuum, and they didn't die naturally… unless maybe their air just died out. Barring a major life support failure…"

At the mention of ritual death, Cora reaches for one of those cups that floats around the room, pulling it down and peering inside, swiping a gloved finger along the inner surface and peering at it.

[TAC1] "Bootstrap" Trask says, "See, that's why you're my heir apparent, Aydin. An' feel free to swing by, G. You know I'll share the sandbox with you." The ECO bats his lashes. Those who know him well enough could probably just sense it. "Aaaaaaand ohhhh-kay. It is /not/ a tylium engine. We'll need to run tests to figure out just what this baby runs on. Noticing a lot of strain. Fraying parts, wiring that looks like it's been replaced more times than one of Zeus' girlfriends…"

[TAC1] Gabrieli says, "Trask, Gabrieli. Thank you, sweetheart. Get three samples now and package them for analysis. We'll come back and get grubbier hands on it when it's in place."

Gabrieli exhales quietly, looking back at the cups and bodies as Cora reaches for one of the drinking vessels. "Doc, how long would it take for bodies to decay like this? I mean, an estimate."

Leyla is just coming out of one of the rooms, and she's close enough to catch the comment from the doctor, "There must have been many of these ships, if the fact that they could populate twelve worlds is any indication. It is not outside of the realm of possibility that not all of those ships made it. If they knew this ship wouldn't, perhaps they did choose to go gently into death." With that, she moves towards the next room. So much to see, so much to photograph.

Cora draws a bag out of a pocket and capture a few of those vessels, putting each in a bag and sealing it. "We'll need biochem analysis run on these as well," she explains, "So I'll give them to you, doctor, to keep with the bodies going to the lab as well."

[TAC1] "Bootstrap" Trask quips back, "I love it when you talk dirty, Dom. I'll even snap some photos."

"But they were so frakking close…" Ryder shakes his head. "Depends on the conditions of the atmosphere when they died, but probably around a year or so, at least, before the atmosphere was vented." He stands up. "To be on the edge of the space they would colonize and give up here… and so peacefully! You'd expect…" he pauses.

"If it was some kind of toxin, they'd likely have been prepared to have to use it," Gabrieli says as he shines a flashlight into another room. "To have enough on hand to kill this many people…perhaps they had had an idea already that they might not make it to where they were going. Or that they would be threatened enough to have to do something drastic."

[TAC1] Ryder says, "Ryder to Alpha. Any bodies up your way?"

[TAC1] Mathers says, "Ryder, this is Alpha. That is a negative."

[TAC1] "Toast" Cidra says, "Team, Toast. Gather whatever else you need to gather and return to the Raptors. I would get word of this back to Command as soon as possible. And the battlestar back to examine it more properly, and gods willing stabilize it enough that we can make a proper study of it aboard."

[TAC1] Mathers says, "Copy that, Major. Alpha team is finishing up and clearing out in five."

"We don't know that they were close, though. The orbit this ship is on, it only gets around this area once ever 600 or so years. They could have been anywhere along the arc of their orbit when the ship was lost to them. Or they to it. I would venture to guess that they knew the end was coming. Alpha Team has not reported any sides of the dead in their section. Which means no one was at the command and navigation or flight systems." Leyla's voice drifts back out of the room she's working.

"Ok, I'm ready to go. We'll have to see what we can find out." Ryder heads for the exit.

Leyla hears the call from her CAG, and finishes the room she was working on. As for what she needs to gather, she returns to a room perhaps five up from where she was. No camera this time, just one of the storage bags. And into it, a book, which seems to contain images of the gods which still feature into Colonial religion. This book, she carefully, carefully tucks away. Stealing? Maybe she is, but it's for a good cause. The Gods, if they exist, would understand a gift for one of their daughters. That done, she makes her way out, taking only, visibly, that is, her pictures with her.

Gabrieli isn't swift to move right away, even after their flashlight beams have been up and down and all over this room. Even knowing they're coming back, the former ChEng seems almost reluctant to leave. His lips might be moving as he surveys the place one last time, though whatever language that is isn't Standard and it isn't loud enough to trigger the headset comm. And he too, quietly, removes something in print from one of those rooms, after the near-silent benediction. For the priestess? Or for the only other Gemenese he really speaks to? Who knows.

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