All Alone In The Night

The reminder call comes from Venidelosia in the dark hours of the morning. What comes is no compulsion via music, no sudden waking up in a place you were not in previously, no lure in the form of seeing some ghostly form that you remember from home. Instead she had politely sent an alert out two days before regarding the pending departure time with a reminder to all He Rows to have their gear stowed and to be aboard. So it is with little fanfare that the final shuttles lift off of the surface–maybe she deliberately set the departure for when most planetside Agrii would be sleeping–and carry on to the ships.

It is a peaceful journey to start with, two days of transit out alongside the Agrii homeship, though at high speed given Venidelosia’s desire to be back to the rest of her crew quickly. Once far enough out to reach what she refers to as the proper ‘transit point’, she wishes the He Rows well and the glowing, churning portal into another part of space flickers open. Her last message is a reminder: they have thirty-one days before she returns to this point to activate the transit point to allow their return from the system of her former deployment. They will also need to account for the half day of travel to and from the planet of her distant records, and she wishes them well.

Then, at last, the time comes that a slight variation on Venidelosia’s voice echoes from the intercoms of the Peanut Party and the Glitter Food.

Hello, He Rows. This announcement is to inform you that we are approaching the coordinates provided by Venidelosia. I have requested that the pilots provide access to any who might so desire it to join them on the bridges to view our approach. The doors will be temporarily unlocked to all who desire. You have approximately one hour until visual contact will be reached.

Oh, and you may refer to me as Veda. Installation of the dual core system allowing me to function off of a portion of the computer systems of the Peanut Party and the Glitter Food has gone well. If you require any assistance during our deployment together, please just speak my name and I will endeavor to assist you. Note, all direct interactions I share with my crews will be uploaded to my sister system upon return. Thank you, and I hope you have enjoyed your transit.

So it looks like you’ve got a ship to talk to even here, and one you can talk to on either ship and still be recognized. Hopefully that’s good in the long term, but only time will tell.

Those who elect to join the pilots on the bridge at the appointed time will indeed be able to view their approach to the target coordinates. A planet begins to loom ever larger through the main viewport screen, one with a murky, gray-green surface occasionally visible through dense cloud cover. Dense, swirling cloud cover. Storms. Of course there would be bad weather. What other luck would be expected for the He Rows?

What may be of more interest to the He Rows is the other sight in the viewport. Circling slowly into view is what can only be a space station, though not like the base they have previously been to. This one is smaller, more barebones, but more consistent in its design. This was no haphazard thing built up and out by usage over the years, but something purpose designed.

The general shape of it is more rectangular, with four large structures evocative of the shape of hourglasses at the corners. Each of these is connected only to its immediate neighbor by what appear to be long corridors. Corridors that even with a cursory glance from the viewport show signs of damage and openings into space. Some stretches of them have metal structure jutting out of them not unlike the sort of metal shipping containers used in freight hauling back on the home worlds of He Rows, storing who knows what within their metal skins. In the middle of the great rectangle there are broken and misaligned solar panels, great banks of them, and yet more signs of damage.

Most notable of all occurs along two opposite sides of the great structure: a series of massive hexagonal frames spread out at regular intervals. Frames large enough that one might be able to fly the Agrii’s own ship into them with space to spare. One rests empty save for a few supports. Anchored in the middle of the other seems to be the bulk of an incomplete ship, though from here it would be hard to tell whether it was in the process of being built or dismantled before it was abandoned.

And abandoned is the only appropriate word to describe the station. There are no lights. There are holes where any atmosphere might have gotten out. There are larger hunks of what might be debris around that only seem to have not fallen into a decaying orbit because they are still slightly attached to the main frame of the station. Whenever Venidelosia was last here, it was long enough ago for this place to no longer be active.

Thankfully any silence the sight might inspire is soon cleared up by Veda’s voice kicking in on the bridge.

This is decidedly not what was anticipated from our past records. Intriguing. Well, we are here and must investigate. Pilots, please set up a stable orbit. Engineers, Communication specialists, I ask your assistance in coordinating the scanners aboard both of the ships for scanning of the planetary surface. While the station seems an obvious target, there may be things to be learned on the surface as well.

Where No One Can Hear You Scream

While scanning of the planet starts there is undeniably one place that calls out to be explored. Okay, not literally, but it doesn’t seem unreasonable that the coordinates were bringing you to this space station, right? Look at it, it practically begs for an exploration, right? While Veda seems nervous to accept He Rows going out to explore such a damaged place, she also seems to recognize pretty quickly that there will be no holding back those who are interested in investigation. Instead she begs them to please hold for just a few hours. Given there has clearly been at least one instance of explosive decompression, she must insist upon safety gear.

Those few hours are well spent as well. All energy for the replicators on both ships is pulled so that she can work on creating custom space suits for each He Row who wishes to investigate the abandoned space station. The things are wonderfully made: temperature controlled, comfortable helmets with good microphones and speakers, nice reading outputs to keep them apprised of other things going on and in touch with her, and even mounted lights and optional magnetic holds for any gear (or weapons) they might wish to bring. Thankfully she will even take input from anyone who has experience to help customize the suits better.

The embroidered name on the breast and one shoulder as well as the name of the ship they are assigned to is clearly just an extra touch that shows she cares. Because she does, in fact, seem to care.

Once supplies are loaded into the one shuttle per ship she cuts from the others just to go investigate and He Rows are ready to go, they will be able to head out to the space station. Given the delicacy needed to get around debris and to find and access a safe docking situation, Veda even offers to take over for any pilot if they wish finer controls for the process. Unfortunately the two ports she finds for access to the station that are still functional happen to be on opposite hourglass shaped corners. Oh well, two teams are better than one, right? Good thing they are in radio contact with no issues.

Once boarding the space station it will be very clear that if there ever was artificial gravity present, it’s definitely out for now. So are all but the dimmest red of emergency lights. And depressurization definitely happened station wide. It’s going to make getting around a bit difficult, but that’s not likely to stop He Rows with a will. This does seem like the best way to find information after all. Which leaves He Rows with a few tasks.

Information is likely to be on computers. And with the low power levels those might not be quick to respond. It will be up to them to find a way to find computers to jumpstart so they can get at their memory banks to figure out the purpose of this place. Should be an easy job with how quiet it is, right?

Except sometimes while you’re floating through corridors or spinning through rooms there is, just maybe, a little flicker of distant light. Not much, more like an LED or small indicator light winking on or off. Perhaps it’s just that a piece of debris that seemed pretty stable in its position has started moving suddenly. Or a crate is suddenly closer.

Or maybe you’re just not alone up here.

Whether it comes when power is restored or just from poking in the wrong places, it soon becomes clear that there is hostile intent here. It comes in the form of sleek, moving figures that glint with metallic edges in some cases, or bulky, blocky forms, or even little twisting cameras or… oh damn, that’s a turret.

Turns out the security systems on the station might still be somewhat active. Worse still, they seem very happy to cut power from different parts of the station once activated to quickly charge up any nearby bot to go on the offense. Some are clearly custom made for security and combat. Others just seem like cargo movers, surveillance drones, or in a notable case, a pivoting information board. What is clear is that so long as security is working against you it won’t be as easy as exploring, finding the right computer to tap for information, and running. No, the whole space station, damaged as it is, seems to be working against you. Doors shutting unexpectedly, detritus thrown at you at unlikely speeds for zero-g, and even the occasional ballistic or energy weapon attack. And hope nothing gets too close, because some of these things might just pack a punch, or have something that works just as well as a melee range weapon.

Protect yourselves and get the data, He Rows, or perhaps just retreat to the ships and call this all off. After all, is the information and whatever else you might find here really that important? Guess that’s a matter for you to decide. At least you have the option of talking to Veda and your friends back on the ships for advice and possibly reinforcements, unlike some people…

To Seek Out Strange New Worlds

Much to Veda’s obvious displeasure, it takes almost three days of scanning before any progress is made on the planetary surface. Turns out that while the ships were equipped with many forms of appropriate sensors, a lot of them were more focused toward scans in the visible light spectrum. Which of course did not work as well as might be desired with reading through the dense storms that seemed to cover the planet more often than not. But with time and the help of the He Rows an answer will come back.

It isn’t the most inspiring answer either. To the best of her analysis and that of the He Rows (thanks to some modifications to her radar arrays), the surface isn’t what one would generously call habitable. Yes, analysis seems to suggest an atmosphere that should be breathable to the crew, though thin in a way that would make any landing party feel more strained than normal. And yes, there are clear indications of water being present in a form that should in theory be drinkable provided further analysis proved it wasn’t tainted by something. But beyond that it’s hard to tell much.

Except that there is absolutely an artificial structure down there. How does she know? Well, that’s thanks to the work of the Communications people deciding, on a lark, to try and see if they could hail anyone on the planet. Sure they didn’t get back any actual communications, but the ping did apparently hit a beacon that seemed to trigger some foggy memory deep in Veda/Venidelosia’s databases.

“That response code indicates a planetary research base. Partially subsurface complex. It is possible that this warrants investigation much as the station does. With the atmosphere being breathable, if thin, it would take little for me to replicate simpler breathing assistance apparatuses for any who might wish to investigate. Due to low resource needs for such designs it would take only two hours to complete. I can unlock one shuttle per ship for free flight should exploration be desired, and assist in charting a course down should it be necessary.”

And so the option is laid out there to the He Rows not already busy investigating the space station. There is another area to look into, and those who feel more like they want stable ground under their feet and aren’t fans of trying to operate in a vacuum might be more comfortable there. There might even be less danger down there than the space station is already proving to present.

At least, that’s what it seems like until they are on an approach course. Loaded up with any He Rows who desire the trip and any supplies they choose to bring for their investigation, the shuttles make down for a landing spot near the discovered base. Not that the trip down is fated to go their way.

Moments after entering the storm things start to go wrong. Turbulence enough to shake even the strongest wills begin. Alarms blare. Some consoles throw off sparks and go dark as the shuttle is hit by some strong force. There is enough time to brace for a rough landing, and it will be rough. Rough and horribly overshot. By the time the shuttle comes to a stop the whole interior is more shaken than an improperly made vodka martini. Emergency lights have flickered on, injuries can be examined and dealt with, and the fallout can start to be measured.

There is good news and there is bad news. The bad news is that something with the storm blew out communications relays to the ships. Now there is no way to reach out to your fellows or even Veda for help. The good news is that other systems have survived, including some portions of the navigational data. It means you can still make it to the base.

Wait, no, there’s more bad news. The ship overshot the targeted landing space by quite a bit. In fact, a two day walk. Remember how Veda told you the air was thin down here? That’s going to be an issue. Oh, and did you remember to bring food and water? You can’t be sure that what you find here is safe to consume. What about medical supplies? Are you ready and willing for the long hike? Because even a cursory examination of the shuttle will reveal that there will need to be repairs to get you back off the planet’s surface. And if there were two shuttles heading down… bad news, they aren’t together now and so one might not be able to be cannibalized to repair the other.

How about some good news then. The good news is that your communication devices still seem to work in a shorter range sense. Anyone within a mile can still pick you up. Awesome! And it seems like a lot of the supplies you may have elected to bring down are still usable. Great! Oh! And those breathing units that Veda whipped up? Definitely still intact and good for… Well, a week of air if you’re not being too strenuous. That’s… maybe not enough. So you might be better off saving that for bad situations.

So now you’ve got options. Wait and hope someone rescues you is definitely one. Except you can’t be certain when or if rescue will come. One can’t even count on powers being of great help. Sure, they’re still there, still in reach, but they feel… Well, they feel like you’d have to push through even harder to make use of them. Like someone who could call down nuclear fire might be able to light a candle but probably not be throwing multiple fireballs sort of weakened. It’s not quite like an energy storm, but it’s not unlike it either. That’s probably not good, especially if you choose to go out to try and find the base. Because repairs might well need whatever you can find there.

Not that heading out will be easy. Once out of the shuttle and looking around it’s clear this world is a mess. There is a lot of bare stone around, a muddy gray sort of color with the occasional veins of red. Scattered over it in clumps are mosses, lichens, and the rare small fungus. They come in all sorts of shades of green, gray, slate blue, and the rare red. At least, they look like those Earth equivalent plants. Who knows what they might actually be. Or if they could hurt you. But if one looks enough they’ll find there isn’t much else. There are no larger plants. No bugs. No animals. At least not that are easily found. Just scattered patches of small plantlike things that somehow hold on below the storm gray sky.

At the moment it isn’t raining. Who knows when that will change. The clouds rumble angrily. Lightning flashes between them. There’s always the potential for a sudden, violent downpour. So staying in one place might be a bad idea. But if there are issues with vision from a downpour… It might be a good idea to try and come up with some way to keep on path and to stay together, but that really is up to the He Rows themselves.

Two days of hard walking, with only what supplies you brought with you and feel comfortable carrying. That can’t be too bad, right? Perhaps someone even says that out loud when the first sign that it’s worse than could be expected happens. Because that’s when the attack comes.

Turns out there are two very dangerous threats on the planet that come with the storms. The first is the one there is more warning for. Thunderheads rumble and lightning strikes the nearby ground. Once, twice. And in its wake are what looks to be some form of ghost. If, that is, ghosts were made of lightning, wind, and chunks of tossed up stone. These creatures, as they do seem similar in form no matter how many times they attack, are without question violent. They will send bolts of electricity at any one they notice, or hurl the rocks that make up their forms. They can be defeated or dissipated, especially if their winds are disrupted or the electricity grounded. But they are dangerous in the highest degree. And over time it might become obvious they are drawn to uses of electronics. Maybe that explains just why your shuttles went down in the first place.

Then there’s the more insidious battle. Because over time a He Row may find themselves hallucinating. Not the pleasant kind of hallucination either. The sort where one sees those nearest to them as some enemy or monster from their past. The sort that makes them run off screaming or to turn and fight. They can’t help themselves, there is just something getting to them. Something that, with time, is clearly related to the air. Hopefully you brought those breathing units, and are okay with using them carefully. Because who knows how long anyone can go without lashing out at their fellows, even knowing it’s something that may happen. Hopefully all those who crashed down on the surface can make it to safety.

Ultimately the base will be found, and there of course is the greatest disappointment. It’s been mostly emptied out. There are no people there, no food supplies, barely even much pure water. But the air is safer, the elemental creatures can’t get in, and there is some hope. Deep inside one computer can be found, still barely running. A computer much like what existed under the surface of Temba, that controlled the storms. This one might not do quite the same, but perhaps turning it off will make it easier to reach out for help. As for getting back to your shuttle with tools and gear to repair it…

Well, the good news is the base does have a few useful goodies in it. That six wheeled cargo hauler even seems to have a still functional battery and a nav system to get you back to the shuttle with anything you need. It can do it quickly too if you push it. Maybe you can find a way to time disrupting the computer system so you can get the shuttles repaired and ready to take off when it temporarily kicks out. After all, no one would want to stay here on the surface.

Ship's Haunted
What?
Ship's Haunted

Back ship-side things start to get strange on the second night in orbit. Like many strange things it starts small. A small but important item laid down with certainty in one place in a bedroom or workshop being somewhere else in the same room. Well that’s easily waved away, because maybe it’s just a spot of bad memory. Or maybe it’s that the bed was absolutely made in the morning and the blanket was missing at night. From there it gets weirder. A weapon left in one place found in the cargo bay or under a chair in the kitchens. Or perhaps it’s all of someone’s clothes ending up on top of a freight container in the cargo bay. Things that might just as easily be pranks… if other people could get into personal rooms that was.

From there it only gets weirder. Anyone awake on the fourth night on might feel a sudden chill down their back, or a brush of warm, damp air not unlike breath ghosting over their neck. No matter how fast they turn, no one is there. Weirder still, no one that is by chance out and about with the person feeling the sensation will see or hear anything either.

By the sixth night on the ship things only get stranger. Though perhaps it’s just fatigue or hallucination when a He Row swears they see a glowing mote of pale violet light somewhere distant to them. They only seem to happen when at most two He Rows are around, and always just out of reach. The lights turn corners, or bob out amid the trees, or hover over the water before slipping through the glass into the Deep End, and then vanishing completely. They come and go like Will o'the Wisps, though seemingly with less malicious intent.

And on day ten it gets weirder still. Because while everything that has already happened is still going on, there is what is undeniably a manifestation. Sometimes it arises from the mote of light. Sometimes it just appears out of nowhere. A ghostly form of pale violet light, absolutely see through. It reaches out toward the nearest He Row, mimes something, maybe tries to speak. But no words issue forth. No sound can be heard. Oh, and it’s floating a few inches to a few feet above the floor.

What does it look like? Well, that’s not consistent, just like it doesn’t always show up to the same people, in the same places, or at the same time (beyond it always being during the darker, ‘low power’ hours of the night). Sometimes it may look familiar, like a He Row now gone, or perhaps like a friend from home. Sometimes it appears completely strange and new, an alien form unlike any seen before, or perhaps like something encountered on the previous space station the He Rows visited. Once or twice it may even seem like a creature out of folklore. But it is always silent. And sometimes bad things happen around it.

Sometimes the air seems thin around the ghostly form, making it hard to breathe. At other times the temperature seems completely off, either too hot or too cold. In other places items around it may flicker out of sight before appearing somewhere else. There might even be an instance or two of large objects getting thrown about. What’s undeniable is something is going on, and it needs to be figured out.

After all, who wants to live on haunted ships? That can’t be good for your health. So gather your wits and figure out just what to do. Or perhaps you can just hide away during the night time hours and hope that the ghostly form doesn’t come for you.

FAQ

What are the event dates?
Venidelosia will expect everyone boarded on May 10th. He Rows will reach the planet by the afternoon of May 12th. The ships will depart the planet on June 8th and He Rows will return to Agra-10 on June 10th. Please note, June will be an off month for player plots, old tags, and only a very minor story update on how the Agrii are doing. Feel free to go crazy with this event to your hearts’ content.

Can we opt out of this event?
While all characters must be on the ships, they don’t have to leave them to visit the space station or the planet. Nor do they have to be awake when the spooky ghostly things are going on back on the ships. So feel free to hiatus, do your own thing, or dip your toes into whatever you like.

But we’re limited to one thing?
Nope! While the ships going down to the surface will only happen once, that isn’t until a few days in at the earliest. That means He Rows could explore the space station some and come back, or touch on the start of the haunting before going down to the surface. And it’s likely that those He Rows who reach the planet surface will make it back up to the ships before the end of the event window so they can join the end of the haunting or later on the space station exploration (and looting). The only thing that is certain is that after the shuttles that went to the surface return, Veda will forbid additional trips down due to the danger presented.

So if I head to the space station or the planet surface, am I limited to only interacting with my own crewmates?
Nope. Since you’re going to be on the ships for transit for a bit, it’s entirely possible to be hanging out on the other ship when its shuttle heads out. So you could end up with either station boarding crew (or coming over later), or on either planet crew (if multiple want to go). There will also still be shuttles left on each ship for going back and forth between them, so you can even experience haunting on either (or both) sides. Enjoy mixing it up!

Can He Rows be injured/die in this event?
Yes. Very much so yes. There is serious danger on the planet and on the space station. Please consider that as you make your plans and make sure if you’re going to do it, your tag partner(s) are okay with going through that with you. As an additional note, any serious, long term injury should be reported to the Mods (NPCs will care), and deaths MUST be reported and discussed.

And now for some separation based on exploration area!

The Space Station

What is going on with the space station?
The purpose of this particular section is for exploration and investigation. It will be where the actual information for the event will be recovered. Not that the He Rows know that for certain. Danger can range from low (hey you didn’t get notice, congrats) to high (oh dear space laser fights in zero gravity). The core computer systems are located in each hourglass-like structure, and split among a few computers on crystals much like those discovered in the Temba Depths.

Can we get power back on?
Yep! This can either be with energy crystals, restoring the solar panels, or even some tech your He Row knows how to make. Boot things up, try and get records of all sorts, and see what happens. But be warned, any system on for more than five minutes will slowly start to draw increased security net awareness, and the more power going to a system or area, the more likely the security net will be to deploy combat units.

Are there non-combat units?
Yes, especially in the corridors connecting the larger structures. These with study will prove to be heavy cargo hauler bots. They were meant for loading and unloading the metal cargo containers. Good news, some of those containers are still filled with resources, tech, computer supplies, and lots of things for repairs and even ship improvements. You just have to get them back to your shuttles. Which requires cunning or getting the cargo bots on your side. Which means power… Which brings us right back to the risk with the security system.

Can we shut down the security system?
Of course! There are hubs for the security system in each large hour-glass structure. The ones in the structures where shuttles land are far weaker and sluggish, easy to access and shut off. The ones at the middle corners will be WAY trickier and more dangerous, with more active combat units to throw at you, not to mention any other drone or bot between where you are and where they are. This is a great time to test your hacking and space fighting skills! Or even just your sneaking prowess.

Can we access our powers/abilities here?
Within normal game restrictions, yes. But please note, there’s no atmosphere on the station at the moment. Unless you can find some way to remedy that fire won’t be a great weapon due to limited fuel. Which your creative minds (or those of your characters) might be able to find ways around. Also remember that unless you have some way of getting your character good footing, things that require swinging weapons around or leverage could be a problem. Maybe find some way to anchor yourself, or even turn back on gravity controls!

There are gravity controls?
Of course. We don’t need to tell you they’re closely guarded by security systems do we? Well, guess we just did. Oh, and the corridors between main structures will always have slightly reduced gravity for ease of transporting materials.

Can we restore the atmosphere?
Only in areas that you can reliably seal up. It’s offline because there are a lot of holes and not enough airtight areas. But we have faith in you, especially with all of these supplies.

What about those big hexagonal structures outside?
The one, as noted above, is empty. The other can be investigated and the ship resting there taken apart for supplies. If you get into the computer systems near it you will find schematics for a ship very similar to Venidelosia. In fact, it seems to be a sister vessel for research. Checking the systems near the other port could even yield the construction records for Venidelosia if one looks deep enough in them. So maybe it’s not a bad idea to grab extra parts while you’re here. The ships you’re already on can’t take everything, but they can take a lot.

What will we ultimately discover?
The information gleaned from the space station will confirm that a species that uses a recording language similar to Venidelosia’s programming used this station, and this planet, for a number of things. The station was for information processing, ‘subordinate ship construction’ (whatever that means), and construction of certain control systems. The planet was being studied for its strange natural phenomenon, not limited to a hostile energy based species, the strange effects of the storms, and a natural power dampening that seems to come with the energy related to those storms. It was to be tested for future weaponization. Records will also indicate another location that could have more information, but deciphering that will require the full Venidelosia back in Agrii space.

The Planet

What is going on with the planet surface?
This part of the event is meant more as a game of survival, with heightened stress because the enemies can come out of nowhere, including being among your own allies.

Once we’re down on the surface, can we make it back up?
Very much yes. We are assuming He Rows will succeed in that end. Whether a group does it quickly or it takes most of the month will be up to you. Our recommendation is a week to a week and a half, so as to allow for interesting exploration, dangerous encounters, and still having a chance to enjoy other things. But if you want your team to go the wrong direction, repairs to be more complicated, or just to drag it out, we won’t stop you.

We can really beat the elementals?
Yes, because we have faith in you. While your powers are dampened, He Rows have proven creative time and time again. Maybe they’ll get a little hurt, but hey, they’ll still survive. Hopefully.

Is there anything of importance in the base?
The same computer that will allow for weakening the storms for escape (for it will be weakening and not full on shutting down), will have links to a system showing research records into how the effects of this storm could be amplified into a weapon and suppression system. Records indicate testing off planet would be best for understanding results. No records can explain the energy creatures unfortunately, beyond noting they are hostile and that the research was finally moved fully off planet to get away from their meddling.

Can we find food/water here?
Rain will happen, and the water will be… while not good for you, it will be hydrating. There are some heavy metals in it, you’ll want to see a doctor after. The lichen is edible and will be hydrating with less heavy metal concentration. The mushrooms it turns out are the hallucination origin. Ingesting them or inhaling their spores leads to violent hallucinations and outbursts. You’ll probably only make that mistake once.

Did we bring supplies down with us?
Only if your He Rows would have thought to have done so. So you could just as easily be heading down with only weapons and the breathing units. Veda wouldn’t suggest it, but even she didn’t anticipate this result.

Are there extra supplies to bring up and/or can we take the vehicle with us?
Alas, the vehicle is too large to fit on a shuttle. But if you’re creative and can give an argument in the comments below as to how you would bring it with you… Well, we won’t turn you down if you and your characters are that creative.

The Haunting

What’s going on with the haunting?
Ah yes, the spooky mystery. That really is the question, isn’t it? Welcome to our pure investigation option. It’s up to He Rows to figure out and get rid of the hauntings. If you’re not doing anything else (or you are and you’re coming back to the ship to sleep at night), maybe you want to get this dealt with.

Can we solve it at any point before the full apparition starts?
No. There will not be enough clues until that point. So enjoy the ride until then.

Can Veda help us figure out what is going on?
Strangely enough, no. The hauntings only seem to take place when she’s cycled down into a low power backup and ‘rest’ cycle at night. While she does have some subroutines running at that time and can be interacted with, it’s at a far lower level of function. So she’s not going to be of direct help.

What about the cameras?
The security station cameras are also baffled. The lights don’t appear on them. They can see the items suddenly move if they happen to be in the right places at the right time. They really just appear to be disappearing and reappearing when no one is looking at them.

Can we set up a trap for the ghostly form?
Oh yes, please do. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem easily held by any physical trap. You might need to get creative.

Okay, what’s up with the haunting. You can tell me.
Well, since we want this to be a mystery, here’s how it’s gonna work. There are two special threads below. One is for asking questions specifically about the haunting and giving us your venues of investigation to get clues and results from. The other is… A box that has a link to a comment hidden elsewhere in the game community. That linked comment has the answer. You can peek if you want to do that you can figure out ways to get to the answer. But you also don’t have to.

Do we have to resolve the haunting this month?
That’s the best part. No. If He Rows don’t solve it, it’s just going to linger and get worse over time. So do keep us in the investigative loop so we can let people know when it’s resolved.

Is there anything specific we need to know about how specific instances of the haunting happen?
Other than the information above? No. But if you want help building your encounter, let us know! Churby isn’t the spooky specialist of the mod team, but she’ll do her best to help make something just for you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ask them here!

So sorry we forgot this. It's up now.

Is there anything that would come up from his goggle scans? Particularly when studying something that's been recently mysteriously moved, or the area it's appeared in.

Please refresh our mind on what the goggles are currently capable of.

Energy readings. The mystic crystal installed in it also allows for energy readings of similar origins aside from cutting through magical illusions.

Then yes, there will definitely be readings. How clear they are will relate to how quickly after a movement he's scanning. The longer since, the fainter they are. By an hour they are faded.

There are no magical illusions happening so far as he can tell, but there is clearly a build up of energy in places items disappear from/arrive at that fades. It's rarely much larger than the item moved. There is no trail between the two points.

We'll be here all day for questions.

What is going on?

the truth is out there

~~Sorry, it's been A Month and is like to continue for the time being, so I'm just floating along.~~

Any fun things Cal can get with his psychometry while he's about the station?

~~oh trust me, i understand on both aspects of that~~

Oh yes, many things. A sense of self importance. The flicker of an inquisitive mind. Anger. Frustration. Fear. Annoyance at a rush. Desire to destroy that which one created. Spite. More frustration. Resignation.

And in one area in particular, a small area, maybe a single work station: the desire to deceive, conceal, rebuild. To prove superiority. To prove that one is right. To show them all.

I think Tony will jump at the chance to go to the space station, though he could be more reticent depending on who else would be on his crew--if someone like Donnie or Cal would be on his ship, he'd find somewhere else to be.

If he makes it, though, this is kind of his element, he'd be very helpful at the hacking and gathering information and honestly helping people figure out how to navigate in their low gravity situation. He'd probably do his best to make friends with the not-security robots, for all the help they could be in this venture.

He's much less hyped about dealing with The Hauntings. He can be a bit of a scaredy cat in the dark, but eventually he will just be really annoyed at what seems to be magic messing up his day. He's still going to do his best to rule out any rational explanations, so maybe we can do a little 'checking for weird electromagnetic activity' or whatever adventure!

(´•︵•`)

Tonyyyyy! Tommy doesn't like ghosts either. Help him solve a haunting? For the sake of his plants?

you must help me come up with funny ghosthunting techniques. Measuring temperatures. Nightvision cameras. Eventually they bring in a spooky old woman who claims she is a psychic (...cal???) and Tony is annoyed and huffy the whole time.

Oh they need some sort of radio to pick up white noise sounds with! Maybe some knock off ouiji board?

lmao they just draw it on a floor somewhere, its there forever

Haha yes! Oh, electromagnetic stuff too! And then some really stupid stuff. Incense. A crystal ball. Playing cards used as if they were tarot.

I'm not nailing any plans down since I tend to wing things anyway, but the most excited to be going on space 'ventures is Donnie, since it's pretty normal for the other two. That said, the kid will be hitting up the station and probably like to head down to the planet surface. He's sticking with Engineering unless absolutely necessary to swap, but he knows where his strengths lie and still believes in learning and doing things the natural way- HANDS ON LEARNING.

Cal might hang back on the ship but he might also pop in at the space station for a look. He's also engineering and knows his way around precariously dilapidated places. ...and who knows what kind of fun things might trigger his psychometry!! :D

Cayde will probably take the Donnie path and do a station run and maybe be on a different shuttle down for planet exploration. At least he doesn't need to worry about breathing, and running around, scouting out foreign territory is what Hunters do best. Also, have gun, will shoot things.

Radley most likely will want to stay on the ship (and thus he'll get stuck with the haunting, which will freak him out and he'll be determined to solve it). Sephiroth may also stay behind, at least at first, depending on how long this is after the boys are caught. Since one of his wings was hurt, he'll be concerned to get into situations where he might need to use them until it's healed. He'll probably go to the space station at some point to help.

Knuckles will likely go either on the space station or the surface. He'd probably rather try the surface, but that might depend on who else is trying that/how long they want to have the surface adventure last. He might be useful in the space station since he's been on quite a few space adventures back home.

[Event] All Alone In The Night

Questions?

Ask About The Haunting

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The secret of the haunting

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Tony plotting

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(´•︵•`)

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Cal / Cayde / Donnie

Radley, Knuckles, Sephiroth