Tag: scout

#Lore 24 – Entry #118 – Sci-Fi Month II #27 – BDSM Cybersystems Model S/M-02 Scouting/Mapping Drones

From the Personal Journal of Chiasa Charity Chiasakaniki, Systems Analyst and Programmer, IT Division, assigned UEF-04, Maharani Morgiana.

I’ve always enjoyed playing with drones, and now that I’ve finally had the chance to mess around with these bleeding edge scouting drones they’ve loaded us up with on this mission, I’m like a kid again.  These things are just awesome!  Is the name of the manufacturer a bit on the shady side?  Absolutely, but there’s no signs of whipped asses or kinky shit here, just the unfortunate naming scheme these people settled on way back when they just did custom tech mods.  Or maybe it was fortunate?  Certainly gets a lot more diverse crowd on your product, that’s for sure.  I looked’em up before, seems like they do good work, and they hit it off big time back when Aphelion Station was barely a year old with their security bots, so I reckon they were brought in to handle some new drones for these exploration gigs too.

Anyway, these drones are preem!  Their bodies are light weight and durable carbon fiber, and they make use of micro-grav field generators so they can fly around without worrying about getting propellers stuck or broken.  They kinda look like little black flying saucers, about a foot in diameter, but once they’ve activated their adaptive camo, you won’t even notice.  You can take control of them directly through a comm app or dedicated controller, and they’re packed with multiple small sensor packs, high-def multi-spectrum cameras, and an all-round laser mapping setup that’ll create super-accurate 3D maps of whatever they’re scanning.  I almost couldn’t believe the amount of hardware they’re packing in these little things; total super-spy stuff right here!  Curiously, I did get the sense there was magic in these things, so I’m thinking that maybe they’ve taken normal equipment that is usually much larger and micro-sized it. 

Talk about one hell of a price tag!  When I asked exactly how much these things cost, all my boss would say was that I’d better not break one, or I’d be paying it off the rest of this trip. 

Luckily for me I didn’t have to be the one who broke one to get a look inside; once we arrived in the Vellion sector and picked up the scout teams, we found out a couple of the drones had been damaged, and I convinced one of the BDSMC techs to let me help out, being the super-talented IT tech and leet hacker I am and all.  So, that’s when I learned these things are using the same kind of advanced AI as the security bots, specialized for evasion and recon operations.  They’ve not really been field tested in extreme conditions, so bugs are bound to show up, and that’s what happened here.  Some of the local wildlife didn’t like these things getting close, even if they are silent and almost invisible, and were able toss some rocks or bash them with sticks.  Pretty lame way for these things to go down, but it’s a harsh world out there, I guess.  Can’t make them invulnerable and this light; those electronics are protected from the elements, but an angry monkey with a rock is just too much.

So, like, I kinda maybe managed to make a copy of the AI code…not that I really intended to, of course, it just kinda happened when I wasn’t paying too much attention to what I might’ve been doing while running a diagnostic with the tech.  I’ve been pouring through it, and like, holy shit, this is advanced stuff!  There’s all kinds of options in here that aren’t even in the official specs, just waiting to be turned on or off or applied to different type bots!  I am going to have so much fun playing around with this code!  I gotta get my hands on some parts now, build my own little buddy bot!

You know…thinking it over, I might actually hint at the BDSMC techs that I could improve the AI on these things, make their evasive routines more responsive, that kind of thing. Or at least help them with the debugging stuff.  I’m pretty good at running code, I’d say.  And it’d like, be a lot less suspicious if I wound up building my own little bot, right?  Seriously, sometimes my hands just do things without my mind even being there!  I blame my tail-brains, lol.  They’re always getting me in trouble, moving on their own without me realizing it.  Kerryns and ferians probably get it.

#Lore 24 – Entry #117 – Sci-Fi Month II #26 – Vellion III – Initial Scouting Report

Scouting Report from Brawnik “Devil Dog” Fangren, dispatched to Vellion III, Southern Continent, Mountain region, Draconic Ruins Site 001.  Decryption algorithm successful. 

Arrived just after dawn on Day 1, landed my scout during a rainstorm.  Sensors registered little in the way of pollutants in the rain or atmosphere, as expected of a primitive world.  Landing  site was amongst the outer ruins, elevation approximately 6500 feet, most vegetation at this level was grasses and vines, air was expectedly thin.  Immediate area, no hostiles, no wildlife.  Setup camp with my scout ship and secured camo netting, dispatched the mapping drones to cover the ruin site.  Specific data from scanners and drones attached.

Even at first glance, I recognized the distinct draconic nature of the ruins; they are practically identical to those found on Feria and other locations beyond the Barrier.  I’ll let the brains figure out the exact details, but these might not be quite as old as the ones we’ve found outside the Barrier; weathering doesn’t seem as bad, damage from vegetation growth doesn’t seem to be as extensive further down.  I’ve recognized a few symbols in the draconic tongue, matching others, so likely the language is the same.

Further down, in the deeper growth areas below the cloud line, humidity is much higher, and wildlife is abundant.  Typical jungle species, with variations of local differences.  Refer to the images attached regarding the snakes here; anyone exploring these ruins will have to be EXTREMELY cautious; think these are another Demon Sector special; they’re the size of a large constrictor but behave more like pissed off vipers, and their heads look more like what I’d call more ‘draconic’ than snake-like.  They’re spitters, too, and they can expel a lot of venom that can blind and begin to decay flesh almost immediately; they feed on the local ape species mostly from what I’ve observed, but had no fear of coming near me.  Their venom is comparable to other extremely lethal snake species according to the scanners, and they’re prevalent throughout the area of the ruins.  Maybe ancient guardians?  Had to kill a few of them; don’t recommend getting close.  Edible, though, once the venom sacs are dealt with.  Not bad.

Haven’t found signs that any locals have been here for a long time; there are old stairways and paths through the more damaged regions at the lower elevations, but these are long overgrown.  Nearest local settlement are kobolds, tribals, roughly ten miles out, to the east by the river.  Did find signs that someone has been here recently, though.  Upper levels, far side of my camp, one of the stone platforms shows signs of recent engine burn from takeoff and landing, probably a few months old.  Found footprints inside the ruins that hadn’t been washed away, just as old.  Looks like a couple light-steppers, kerryn or elves, one rattenvolk with a walking stick, and another with one of those spider-legged backpacks their techs use, and one equinarian, packing heavy gear.  Scents were all gone by the time I got there, and they cleaned up after themselves.  They set up camp inside the ruins for a while, explored internally, but I didn’t venture further in; not my area, leave that for the tomb raiders aboard the ship.  Trailblazer team?  Captain had his idea to search the system from somewhere, didn’t he?  Looked around for any notes and scanned for a beacon, but didn’t find anything of the sort, so no idea where they might’ve gone after that.  Doesn’t look like they descended below the clouds, at least on the outside; no signs of footsteps or spent cartridges down that way.

Weather is a bit temperamental here this time of year, frequent storms, heavy rain and lighting throughout my time here.  Doesn’t seem to be anything unnatural, just the geography.  Gets cold at night high up, stays uncomfortably humid further down.  Kept feeling eyes on me when it rained and I was below the clouds, though.  That kind of feeling that says intelligent, not predatory animal.  Didn’t seem hostile, just kept to themselves, whatever they were; never could find signs of them.  Ghosts or other spirits, maybe.  Worth taking caution; might get hostile if the teams start poking around for treasures.  Have some priests venture down there and have a look about.  Much more pleasant up top, good place to think up here, no distractions, nobody watching.