ILLUMINARRPG: (-80 - 18:00, 19:00) Howard Carter and Jae Hammond

[Dieter Gregory]

Mission:  Death in the Shadows
Day: -80
Stardate: 2445.11.12

(Orbit around Sigma Draconis VI - SS Helios - Archeologist Howard 
Carter  - 1800)

The dig was going well. It has been over two weeks since the discovery 
of the hidden facility on the surface of Sigma Draconis.  It was clear 
that the technology was from an earlier phase before the ice age drove 
the Eymorgs underground.  They were slowly cataloguing it and getting it 
prepared for shipment for analysis.  Jae Hammond had been very useful in 
this case.  Of course, she did stand to benefit if they could understand 
the structure of the systems.  Initial estimates suggested they could 
improve computational speeds by as much as 20% relatively quickly.  What 
was more interesting was the energy sources that were being used.  
Small, portable. Would be very useful for transforming and emergencies.

Carter poured himself a glass of Port.  Sitting in his favorite chair, 
he put the glass to one side, and picked up the book he was reading. 
With all the electronics in the world, he liked to go back to the most 
basic, the written word, to read.  Lonn and Cush would let him know if 
there were any things to attend to, but he had been on the planet for a 
straight week and needed a night to relax, with real food.  A shower.

Fortunately the Helios was mostly automated, with only a limited crew, 
allowing him to have the illusion of privacy.

As he sipped the fortified wine, he smelled garlic and rosemary. Two of 
his favorite spices.  His one concession to personal comfort was his 
chef.  One can only eat rations and field prepared food so long.  A real 
cooked meal was necessary to lit up the senses, the spirits.  Tonight 
would be a braised lamb recipe from a 17th century cookbook.

Closing his eyes, he let the scents waft into his nose and tickle his 
imagination.  He was almost salivating for the first bite.  But soon 
enough, a bell rang, letting him know dinner was ready.

Standing, he walked the short distance to the private dining space he 
had.  The table was set for one, candles proving ambiance while the 
large view screen showed the planet rotating below them.

Hammond sat down and stared out to the planet.  While he was an 
archeologist, his specialty was finding new tech from old civilizations. 
The dig here was perfect, and the Eymorgs left them alone. Again, Jae 
and her enterprising negotiations seemed to be the key. He had a 
colleague message him about a possible dig across the quadrant, but the 
data he sent looked promising.

The Chef came in, placed a covered dish in front of Carter, and with a 
flurish, took the lid off.  "To tease your senses, todays amuse-bouche - 
a trio of eggs from the sea for your enjoyment."

Carter looked down and smiled, cavier was there, of course, as well the 
uni.  The third was new to him.  Taking that spoon first, he closed his 
eyes to enjoy the flavor.  Just warmed, a bit rich and oozy with a 
citrus finish.  Perfect to wake the senses.

As he reached for the second spoon, the ships alarm went off. "Warning.  
Incoming missile.  Warning.  Incoming missile. " it began.

Carter shook his head, and called out, "What is going on?"

A voice spoke, "Sir we are under attack from the planet.  We received a 
warning from an automated system.  I sent the code that you provided and 
suddenly we are under attack."

"Well, get us the hell out of here."

"I am trying sir, but there seems to be an issue with the controls. They 
are frozen."

Looking out the window, he slivers of fire running towards the ship.

The ship started to move, slowly.. too slowly.

The computer intoned,  "Impact in 10 .... 9 ...."

Carter jumped up and started running towards an escape pod.

It was, unfortunately, too late for the archeologist, or his palette. 
His ship had no defensive systems.  The missiles slammed into the ship, 
blowing it apart.

(Orbit around Sigma Draconis VI - SS Raptor - Jae Hammond  - 1900)

Jae looked as the SS Helios was destroyed.  It seemed a shame to waste 
the man's talents, but this was too big a prize to get out.  She had 
been compartmentalizing the operation and with the latest finds loaded 
into the hull, it was time for a speed run to deliver them to the good 
professor.

"What of the others?" her second in command asked.

"The planet will take care of them soon enough.  We have the notes, we 
can come back here if the good professor needs more."

"Very good Ma'am."

"Take us to Deneb V."

(Reply None)
(Posted by Tim)