Pulse of the Imperium

The Atreides frigate had neutralised scant automated defences with a small electromagnetic pulse and was now landed in the shade of a crater inclination shielding them from any direct detection from Lankiveil.

Now it was the time to secure the site. Hawat was suited up before everyone else. The ruins of the abandoned (?) mining site eerily beckoned. Through the double window of the airlock one could notice several outbuildings, remnants of abandoned equipment, and the dust-layered bulge of the once-perimeter, among other signs of the base's decay. Only one landing pad had seen some recent use.

Their target was none of those, however, but the dome-like former command centre of the station the must be shielding the slow pulveriser and its reactor. Perhaps more. Hawat was keen to make sure.

Efren was not far behind Thufir in his preparations. Efren had been somewhat on edge internally for most of the trip... the regular tension and stress of an important mission there under the surface of a positive outward attitude. That tension was slightly heightened by the fact that this was Efren's first trip off of his homeworld and the importance of this mission to the highest level of leadership among House Atreides.

It had been a quick turnaround from their last mission to the heighliner and now to the space around Lankiveil. On the trip here he'd put aside many of the thoughts that undoubtedly would take time to work through... and focused only on the thoughts of this mission and his part in it.

So... with his gear prepared immaculately and a youthful body and mind ready to get moving again, he made himself ready for Thufir's orders and the task of securing this base of operations.

"Your first time in open vaccum, Sargeant." Hawat said through short-range comm embedded in the vacsuit's helmet. "Do you remember the tactical basics?"

“Yes, sir! It is.” He replied.

“I’ve gone over the trainings again on the trip here, sir. Are there any points we should be particularly aware of given our environment?”

"Microgravity. Don't start a motion you don't know how to stop. Mind the recoil, prefer the knife. In most cases breaching the vacsuit is enough to kill. If your own suit is breached, seal it before everything else. Just a few things to keep in mind. I assess the probability of finding hostiles here as very low, but not zero." Hawat said hoarsely, checking the sheathing of his own knife. "And my favourite: never find yourself with your back toward the door, anything that can be a door."

Efren nodded and replied crisply, “Understood, sir.”

He made sure to check his own weaponry and the safety on his pistol.

Kiran felt the weight of their mission perhaps 5lthe least of those present, for better or worse. None of the people they cared about most were here, and there was no point in worrying about them, though that was more of a reminder to themselves than anything. Efren was, though, and it was nice to have a familiar face.They needed to focus on their part, a combination of research and diplomacy, while backing up on other roles.

They listened to the advice and double checked that the suit's sealing kit was in good order. Spatial awareness was the order of the day.

"I've never been in an environment like this. It's a little eerie," they noted.

"It shall get eerier. The sound does not propagate in vacuum."

For Kiran, however, it might have felt like the sense of sensory isolation happening when diving into deep water, so perhaps, contrary to Hawat's intuitions, not that foreign a feeling. The experience would often turn the mind inward, sharpening it toward discerning itself.

"Mm... Like floating deeper underwater," they mused as they finished their preparations. "At least we can see and feel. If the water temperature is too close to body temperature, it's nothing but you and your own mind."

It had been some time since he had his low gravity training. The basics were still rattling around in his hand. 'Every action has a equal and opposite reaction.' And while there was a lot of science and math involved, all that equated to was 'don't move faster than you can counteract. So, as the captain said, his scattergun was out for this period in time. That is, unless Bern wanted to quickly and painfully be introduced to whatever was behind him. 'Keep pressure in the suit stable'. something about triple point of the liquids in your body. Again, another simple way to say it is. "Don't let your body be exposed to the vacuum too long or every drop of water in your body will boil.'

Long explanations summed up quite nicely.

"It's somewhat of a trip at first, but you get the hang of it over time; just be patient with your movement."

Efren looked over to Kiran with a reassuring smile, "I'll take this over tip-toeing through that Electric Ray breeding cave... You've been through worse."

Ambrose listened to the others while he donned his own vacsuit. Hearing Efren mention the manta birds, his train of thought trailed off and a chuckle escaped him. He looked up to the others and answered the question before it was asked, "Just thinking about little Bravo here with us in his own little vacsuit. Hope he's happy back in the jungle."

Buckling the last fastener on his suit he spoke again, "Take a moment and check each other's equipment and fittings. A little extra time here could save a lot of trouble later."

Efren went through and checked all the fastenings and seals on his compatriots as best as he could after he had finished his preparations.

He spent an extra moment double-checking Kiran's gear... a bit of subconscious guilt probably still playing around in the deeper recesses of his mind. He'd failed to keep them safe once... and was not planning on doing that again.

"Monitor your oxygen readouts now."

Once Hawat had assessed the level of situational awareness and gear readiness among the team as sufficient in appearance, he locked the airlock and started venting it, but held his hand next to 'abort' switch in case anyone reported a drop. Both gear and humans were fallible, and each next margin of error increased the overall probability that something is going to get wrong.

[You can roll Mechanics or Survival at Easy to check how well your character is vacuum-ready. As in the previous game, you can store Triumphs and Advantages, I can store Threats and Despairs. Consult your Statements for any kind of application.]

After using the buddy system to check suits, Ambrose followed Hawat's order and kept an eye on his readouts while the airlock depressurized. Inside the mask, an eyebrow raised as the needle began to quiver and move in the wrong direction.

"Hold." he called out loudly and firmly while raising a closed fist in case his voice somehow went unheard.

-----
Pregame, TDYT, Mechanics suit check Easy, Statement upgrade: 3eP+1eA+1eD 0 successes, 6 advantage

[Instead of the original roll, the next person can roll Survival or Mechanics at Average with an upgrade to both secure themselves and quickly seal the oxygen drain on Ambrose's suit. This can be preceded by Perception at Average: success offers a Boost Die to the next roll, and Advantages can be normally stored or used. Consult your Statements again from the perspective of de-prioritising oneself for the sake of Ambrose, especially since Hawat has advised to look after your own suit first.]

[Player Pool: 6 Advantages]

Fortunately, the fist caught Kiran's eye as they were checking their own suit (and glancing toward Hawat - he gave the impression of always having multiple irons in the fire, and it seemed better to know).

They stepped over, checking over his suit until they spotted a loose strap, tightening it and giving him a thumbs up before double checking their own suit.

For noticing Ambrose's suit

Net Successes: 3; Net Advantages: 0
For fixing Ambrose's suit

Net Successes: 2; Net Advantages: 3

For fixing Ambrose's suit

Net Successes: 0; Net Advantages: -2

(Forgot that it was upgraded, so there's the challenge die; result is 2 Advantages instead of 3)

Hawat seemed not too alerted by the contingency, his finger still hovering near the abort switch. He had had more than enough time to push it already. Instead, he had given them the time to react. Had it been a test?

Indeed, all it took was to pull one strap by the back of the belt for the seal to click. It was something to have been checked and handled before suiting up, else it was too easily missed afterwards. A lesson against excessive haste.

[Player Pool: 7 Advantages; Efren and Bernard up for the basic roll.]

The combination of Efren's earlier preparations and the lesson being taught and received through lived experience combined to ensure that Efren was ready to go with a sealed suit...

----

D0 Suit Check Survival, 2 Bonuses from Pool: 2eP+2eB+1eD 3 successes, 4 advantage


Used 4 Advantages for Boosts... and gave 4 back.

There were many things Bernard had gotten over his life: a strong family bond with his family, a good career in the military, a bottle of wine, aged 10 years, ready to open when this was over.

This situation, however, was not something he had.

~~
How do I shot web? (Mechanics) (Pulling 2 advantages for boost): 2eA+1eB+1eD 1 failure