The Deeper You Dig... [Day 0]

[Efren Lanville]

Efren checked quickly to see if he could tell how the helmet had been broken, trying to look more than touch since the body was so frail.

[Ambrose Pantazis]

Ambrose took notice of the scene. There were a myriad of scenarios that could explain the corpse in front of them. Something as simple as a drunken miner stumbling around and cracking their helmet. The last death throes as the vacuum claimed them would be similar to a skirmish.

Careful not to touch any jagged edges with his suit, Ambrose pulled out his multitool and gently shifted around the remains, looking for any signs of combat like defensive wounds on the arms, broken bones (aside from the collapsed ribcage), or other breaches in the suit.

Although the corpse was mummified, he would inspect the face beneath the shattered visor and cut away the suit where needed, looking for the dark stains of lividity on the skin in places the blood wouldn't have naturally pooled. Possible signs of bruising perimortem.

[Kiran Alsahar]

They would eventually spot the entrance, a narrow crack in the shell of the dome, slammed tightly shut. Whatever opening mechanism was there, it was either obscured underneath a layer of dust or purposefully hidden from direct access.

"This one may be trapped." The Mentat remarked dispassionately.

Kiran carefully brushed away dust, careful not to trigger anything... untoward. Still, they grew up in the forest and ocean. They were exposed to technology, but this wasn't anything they were close to familiar with. They gave their best effort, but stepped back, looking toward him. "Unfortunately, if there are, I don't know what exactly to look for to find them. This is different than anything I'm familiar with."

Checking for traps like the party rogue I am

Net Successes: -3; Net Advantages: 4

[Kannon]

The visor had been broken by some sharp object. Maybe a rock?

Ambrose would learn that something had likely mauled the man, mostly judging by ferric pigment colouring the transparent, paper-like skin tissue in some places more than in others. Visor-breaking had just finished the job.

However, this was where basic autopsy ended. The suit wasn't apparently designed to withstand long radiation; not only did the water evaporate completely, but also volatiles had been breaking off the organic compounds because of UV photodegeneration. So if Ambrose wanted to assess when this man had died he had to introduce some radiology into his medical forensics. Usually only the Suk would be trained to do that...

[This is a Daunting Medicine check, w/ 1 Challenge. It can be lowered to Hard if preceded by a successful Education, Ecology or Piloting - Space w/ Intelligence. Consider the Statements carefully.]

[Kannon]

Kiran carefully brushed away dust, careful not to trigger anything... untoward. Still, they grew up in the forest and ocean. They were exposed to technology, but this wasn't anything they were close to familiar with. They gave their best effort, but stepped back, looking toward him. "Unfortunately, if there are, I don't know what exactly to look for to find them. This is different than anything I'm familiar with."

Checking for traps like the party rogue I am

Net Successes: -3; Net Advantages: 4

"Something that would release a swarm of sharp projectiles. Unless heavy armour comes into play, shrapnel is the easiest way to kill personnel in vacuum." Hawat commented on the issue without making a move.

[Player Pool: 10 Advantages. Capped. Use some!]

[Ambrose Pantazis]

The state of the body was outside the scope of Ambrose's training. He had a fair amount of field experience that he could lean on to supplement his learned knowledge, but he was no match for a Suk. A rough accounting of events would have to suffice.

He had studied filmbook on Lankiveil and the Iridium Moon on their way here and knew a little of their flora and fauna, although it was still alarming to think of a creature in the vacuum waiting to pounce.

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Pregame, TDYT, Ecology Forensics: 2eP+2eA+3eD 2 successes


Pregame, TDYT, Medicine Forensics: 2eP+2eA+1eC+2eD 0 successes, 1 advantage


Using Natural Doctor to reroll. It's a once per session specialization, not sure where Pregame fits into that. If not it's own session, disregard.

Pregame, TDYT, Medicine Forensics (Natural Doctor reroll if session is per day and pregame is its own): 2eP+2eA+1eC+2eD 1 failure, 1 threat, 2 Triumph

[Kannon]

Proverbial 'common sense' would indicate that the body was ancient, given how thick had been the layer of dust over it and how degraded by radiation it was. Even as 'common sense' was not science, that impression had been setting the tone for Ambrose's assessments as he was neither a mentat nor a Suk to extrapolate from the exotic background variables well enough.

But then a small miracle happened. He spotted a white item, brittle but largely intact, in the man's lower stomach, which he recognised as a piece of medication. Or, upon closer look, actually a pill, judging by the size and shape, very likely to contain a standard Harkonnen slow-release performance drug for slave labour and rank and file. He had to wrap his mind around this for a moment but since the casing had not been digested the man must have swallowed it shortly before his death. And since radiation hadn't structurally degraded the polymers of the capsule yet, the pill couldn't have been inside for long. Unless that was some non-standard titanium-whatever slow-release capsule. But then, for a guy with so cheap a vacsuit?

This seemed crazy, but more plausibly then not the man's death was... recent? Months rather than years.

[Advantage Pool: 10]
[Threat Pool: 1]

[Kannon]

In Bern's optics, going forward may require cutteray which they had left at the frigate.

[To ensure the door can be safely opened requires a Skulduggery check at Hard, one Challenge. Hawat's remark counts as Valuable Facts. Please remember you can have Boost dice from Advantage pool.]

[Ambrose Pantazis]

Looking over to Efren, Ambrose bounced some of his findings off the young sergeant, "This body is fairly recent, only a few months. Even though there's not supposed to be any active mining operations here." He holds up the small pill, "Typical Harkonnen motivation. Drugs to make their slaves work themselves literally to death, although that's not what did this one in. I don't think anyway.

We should give Hawat an update, this might change a few things."

[Kannon]

"I am on the channel, Lieutenant." Hawat chimed in. "There are several ways to explain recent Harkonnen activity here. I assess we may say which one is more likely past these doors. One of you get the cutteray from the airlock compartment and rejoin us, unless there's something else of interest around the body."

[Efren Lanville]

“Yes, sir.” Efren replied and began heading back to collect the cutteray as instructed.

[Kiran Alsahar]

They worked, resisting the urge to grumble under their breath at themselves.

Unfuckening my roll. Skullduggery. Spending the same advantage.

Net Successes: 6; Net Advantages: -2

[Kannon]

Kiran did find the control panel for the door, identified the kill switch for the projectile trap and disarmed the thing. Alas, the door got jammed in the process [2 Threat] and it indeed took some serious cutteray work to get through. But get through they did.

The level 0 of the dome was cluttered with construction materials, like rod scaffolding, and tools, mostly for welding, as the glowglobe light would tell them. A wide hydraulic lift led into the depths of lower levels, or rather it was the assumption it did, because the platform was not on level 0.

[Player Pool: 6]
[GM Pool: 1]

Thufir took a moment to take in the interior indicative of sunk investments, and check their oxygen levels.

"Do you know what the Harkonnen would be using iridium for?"

[Ambrose Pantazis]

"Nothing too unexpected. He suffered multiple blunt force traumas shortly before his death. A broken visor was the likely immediate cause of death, although it was something of a mercy as he probably wouldn't have survived the beating he received.

It is odd just how desiccated he is. I haven't seen many bodies exposed to vacuum and radiation, but I would've guessed he'd been dead far longer if it weren't for the condition of this little pill."

He'd caught up to the others and peered into the dome, "Speaking of radiation, isn't some forms of iridium radioactive?" Ambrose suddenly felt uneasy having that mysterious little pill stowed away in a pocket. Maybe not a titanium alloy laced slow-release pill, but instead an iridium alloy laced slow-release pill?

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(OOC)
Do we have any kind of equipment to measure for radiation

[Kannon]

"Naturally occurring iridium isotopes are not radioactive and the most stable radioactive one, produced for medical purposes, has half-life of 74 days. As you can see, our radiation readouts are within expected range. We're far from the sun."

Hawat dropped a small suspensor probe into the shaft.

"It's the regular industrial applications that entice the Harkonnen to seek iridium. Which applications in particular, however, should be at the centre of our analysis."

[Efren Lanville]

Efren, not being considerably knowledgeable about the various metallic elements and their usages, stood by attentively listening to the conversation while continuing to scan for any sign of surprise.

[Bernard Martikova]

Bern, also not being knowledgeable of the science behind metals, listened in to the conversation as he looked around for any gear that could be useful in the room while the scanner did its work.

[Ambrose Pantazis]

Well, something had irradiated that corpse outside.

"Iridium is highly resistant to heat. Does it have something to do with the Harkonnen's governorship over Arrakis? I've heard it's a rather inhospitable planet with areas completely devoid of human life due to the extreme heat."

[Kannon]

"Yes, and more. Resistant to corrosion and in alloys also to radiation degradation and penetration by scanning. In other words, material to build durable, environmentally impregnable black vaults from. Why would the Harkonnen need those."

[Efren Lanville]

“To hide their spice reserves from the Imperium?” Efren posited.