Log:The Shadowport: Now Ore Never

I like big rocks and I cannot lie.

OOC Date: April 16, 2019
Location: Roche, Asteroid Belts
Participants: The Shadowport: Zhu Yan, Aliraet, Kaelyn, and Saturi

The short story: Knowledge:drilling is used for the first time in its proper environment, and not as a dirty joke.

The long story: The Roche Asteroid Belts were confusingly named but rich in resources, if you could get past dealing with Verpines, ever-changing nav charts, and a sun that could be way too close if you didn't time your routes right. The BWC-HF-001, slow, sluggish, and liable to snap itself in half on a hyperjump, was floating near Shantipole Station, a hollowed out rock that served as home base, and the merry denizens of the Shadowport had loaded themselves into varying vessels to get out into the stony goodness that was the belts.
Why, might you ask? Well, Kaelyn had a project, Yan and Tylin had money, and there were plans to make the most amazing space superiority fighter one had ever seen. In an effort to cut production costs (and because Yan had a new hire specially suited for this) they were out scanning for Zersium, a mineral ore used in the creation of durasteel. Couldn't exactly take a hop out to Nag Ubdur for it since the Empire had torn that planet to shreds, so they did the next best thing and asked some shipbuilders. Considering how much durasteel the Verpines used, there had to be some out here.
"So those Verps sold me, for a ridiculous amount mind you, the location of one rock with some Zersium veins," explained Yan over the comms. He was in the Redline, having marked a larger asteroid on sensors and was weaving the ship through the gauntlet. "We're going to go out there, get started on digging it out, and scan surrounding roids for more of the stuff. Sound good? Of course it sounds good, it's a great plan!" He was just a wonderful bundle of ego, wasn't he? The Zersium roid was looming in his front view, now. "Rock's coming up now. Spiral, wanna set up and get diggers out there?"
Rock on.


Aliraet is curled up in the copilot chair behind Zhu, idly watching as they approach. She sighs. "Well. It's a rock. What do we do now, blow it up and take the pieces, or do we have to do this all frellin' orderly and stuff?" the pirate says absently, frowning as she idly taps her fingers on the top of her helmet, resting next to her.


Kae is well, she's piloting the Spiral, following behind Zhu in his red-line. The much larger freighter being well, pretty dephly piloted. << Heeeeey.... Soo umm how we doing this? Do I get to play with some detonite?>> She asks curiously, grinning a bit, she rolls the freighter aside of a flying asteroid, muttering << Doop dee doop dee woops, missed the rock!>>
There's a pause and Kae makes the freighter waggle a bit... << Soo yeah, do I gets to play with high explosives?>> She asks curiously...


Always bring your own explosives. "I would prefer you not play with any explosives." Saturi remarks over her internal comlink after popping on her helmet. "If you want to -work- with them though, I have brought plenty." The woman looks down to a pile of vacuum rated devices piled into a bag with other mining equipment. She sighs before tapping a console near the airlock door. "Ready to go." The Pantoran continues after checking herself.


"Not sure how I feel about that, Kae. Last time you got into trouble you /hugged/ the thing trying to kill you. You'll probably blow up yourself, the Spiral, the rock, and most importantly, me!" Yan sounded indignant, but so much that he was annoyed. More, amused. "But if our Rockhopper wants you out there, sure, go nuts, but be careful." He sighed, then lifted the earpiece up so he could clearly hear the woman in the copilot's seat behind him. "Sometimes I worry. Anyway. Honestly I wish we could blow it up," he said with resignation associated with being told he couldn't kill anyone today in his voice, "it's been ages since I've detonated anything. But I think we gotta do it all professionally otherwise, well, rock falls everyone dies. I'd rather blow something up in our new fighter than get blown up before we make it."
The asteroid was a big, rutted thing, jagged from impacts and pockmarked by smaller asteroids or probably Verpines but actually let's go with the simple solution. Zersium mining wasn't surface level, nor was it deep core. It was a mineral flecked between rock layers that ran in veins, formed from millenia of pressure, and required at least a bit of digging, fracking, or at least some controlled detonation to dislodge. The Redline turned about, facing its exit ramp to the rock in case Ali wanted to bail out and start bombing things (small things), and settled in close to the Spiral Hunter so Yan could see the whole show out the front viewport, if he turned his head. "Redline's in place. Once the show's started, I'll see if we can find some more rocks."


"I would also like to add my vote to Kaelyn not playing with explosives." Aliraet says over the com, her hand coming to rest on top of her helmet. "If I get a vote here." She frowns. "So...how do we get the zersium out? Not like we've got a smelter to separate things...we just taking as much ore as we can?" She looks unsure. "I mean...okay, I'm not against careful demolitions designed to break it to where we can get at it, but that's Saturi's thing."


Kae waggles her arms << Heeeeey, I'm actually, kinda sorta competent with explosives!>> She calls out and then umms << OOH Ooh, I have heavy concs on this birdy, if'n you think we need something with a really really big punch?>> She asks curiously. << Oh and plenty a big magazine and extras, I can pull a few extras out of the magazine...>> She adds.
There's more limbwaggling and Kae lands the freighter near the Redline << You can cycle the airlock and use the lift to set you down Saturi.. I'll see about joining when I can.>> She adds and grins cheerfully.


Saturi performs a second check on her equipment before initiating the airlock cycle. The rapid depressurization causes a loud hiss...then silence. The woman takes a moment to adjust to only being able to hear her bodily rhythms - breathing, heartbeat, bloodflow. She activates the lift and begins to descend with her equipment to the surface. "I do not believe that any ship weapons would be too helpful. No." The Pantoran says, showing a visible dislike for what her voice sounds like in a fishbowl. "This will take a bit. Everyone might want to get comfortable." Her golden eyes look out onto the scarred rock and she bends down to make an attempt at pikcing up her bag of equipment. Too heavy. "I know it might be a pain, but could you kill the gravity?"


Zhu Yan had opened his mouth to answer Ali when he abruptly scrambled to put the earpiece back on! <<"Are you nuts?">> Okay now he was aghast and outraged, and in his mind, for good reason! <<"No! Hitting an asteroid with a concussion missile will cause it to come apart like a bunker buster! We'd all die!">> He ranted, with the sound of experience in his tone. Mid-fist-raised pose, he sighed, and collapsed in his chair as though his spine had gone walkabout. He removed the earpiece, ran his hand through his hair to push it out of his face, and put the earpiece back on. <<"Seconded, Ali. Yo Sat,">> he said, talking to the pro now with his tradition of shortening names present and accounted for, <<"don't let her do anything that involves explosions unless you're certain. Kae, kill the gravity like she asks. And set up some tethers if you need. Rescue is easy but it'd save me the fuel.">> Selfish bastard.
The asteroid, big though it is, was too small to have much gravity of its own. Maybe a tiny bit of stick but barely 0.001 Coruscant if that. Definitely still an airless rock though. The surface was rugged and angled, making walking tricky, but there was definitely a fissure that could well lead to some of the glorious minerals a short hop (ha) away. <<"Hokay Sat, it's all you.">>


"Moments like these are why I keep pondering ripping out my blaster cannons for a tractor beam." Aliraet murmurs with a sigh. "Comes in real handy when you wanna move something massive safely. Or cargo containers in space." She leans forward, peering out the cockpit. "...so are we the safety blanket in this operation right now?" she asks of Zhu.


Kae blinks << Wooow yer all sooooo seeerious!>> She calls out and blinks <<YOu haz gravity control on yer section there at the access pad, Saturi! Just hook yer self up to the tether, and ya can turn it oooffff...>> She says... Kae peers out a viewport and glances around again.. << HOw many are EVA Anyhoo?>> She asks now, the girl is getting her EVA body sock in place, then she puts on her armor plates, making sure she's all sealed off.. << I can stay in the spiral, or me and my droids can wander out and start heelllpiiiing!>> Soon enough she tugs her helmet on, and gets her EVA pack locked down on the magnetic locks, before she looks around curiously...


With the press of a button alongside the elevator and the hook of a tether, the Pantoran is ready to go. <"The extraction technique that we will be using does not warrant for a lot of explosives."> Saturi assures as she experiences a feeling of weightlessness. "Much better." The woman says to herself after activating her EVA thrusters and hoisting the equipment bag up with one hand. <"Today, we will be drilling a bore hole well into the rock. Once the hole is done, we will begin to hollow out a fairly decent sized cavity with explosive charges. After the cavity debris is removed, we will hook up pressurized tanks to the bore hole and flood the space with air.">

She takes begins her space walk with a step off the elevator. <"One of my partners on another project likens it to fracking in space. I personally believe my method has more finesse.">


"Looks like. Someone's gotta keep Sat safe from Kae." Everyone got a short name from Zhu Yan today, as he winced when he explained and simultaneously listened to the insanity going on over the comms. The declaration of 'not many booms' took some of the tension out of Yan's shoulders, though he did rub his temple from the stress. "If you wanna go out and help, feel free. I do not feel comfortable scanning while she," and he gestured at the Spiral Hunter where presumably Kaelyn was hiding, "is out there with bombs." Because BOOM. He adjusted his earpiece and said, <<"Hey, you frack what you wanna frack but if this is a gentle touch I'm sure the rock would be amenable!">> Couldn't let a coarse joke go, could you?


Aliraet idly watches the sensors...just in case any rocks drift their way. Since it's an actual asteroid field that's established, there's a lot of space between them generally. But could be claim jumpers. Or pirates. Or other things she can shoot."I can handle scanning...I'm going to hope Kaelyn would not make a mistake..." she admits.


Kae is joining Saturi out in the 'field' as it were. She's lowering out of the second lock, and soon enough attached to a tether line as she's starting to make her way toward the other << Here to heeeelp!>> She says, while smiling cheerfully. << I can help ya tamp explosives and set up a controlled blast and cut through with the rock without like blowing it completely up!!>> She miiiight actually know just a little about explosives afterall...


Saturi draws out her belt holstered datapad as she walks, reviewing the geological data of the asteroid. A quick glance is given to all sorts of surface features from the large visible fissure to the small cracks hidden beneath the surface. The woman halts her EVA assisted stroll a few hundred feet from the Spiral Hunter. She shakes her head back and forth at Zhu's joke, choosing not to dignify it with a response. <"We'll be ready to set explosives as soon as the drilling is done.">
The Pantoran assists the equipment bag to the surface of the asteroid before kicking off the rock and setting herself parallel to the ground. Back mounted thrusters maintain her position as she slowly begins to float away from the jagged floor. Her electronic device is placed in the bag, then a hand goes out to draw the drilling equipment from the large container and after a moment, the drill is set in place and the extraction process begins without much visual bombast. <"So. Let us talk about mynocks.">
<"In line with popular opinion, I am not a fan. If we see any, I plan on killing them."> The woman cuts the power to her thrusters and drifts freely as she waits. A second passes as she floats away from the surface. With a quick thruster engagement and a poorly performed backflip, it is visually apparent that she is making the most of the dull wait.


<<"Mynocks, of all things?">> Yan asked, standing from his chair so that he could see the rock below him further. <<"Nice flip, bee-tee-dubya.">> Really, Yan? His eyes moved across the flat grey expanse of the asteroid, viewing the Spiral Hunter, digging operations, Kaelyn in her suit, and the rocks above. He tapped a couple of things on his left terminal, the one with the cracked screen, and set up a repeating scan going for nearby ore deposits. <<"Hey Sat, what do you reckon the chances are of us finding something extra in these ore veins? I ask for money reasons.">> Merc.
Drilling was pretty slow going, but at least it was uneventful. Some would say /boring/ and some would laugh at the joke. At least there were no gas pockets hiding in the rock. That would have been bad, of course. And, being an airless rock there weren't any mynocks to be seen. Not yet, anyway.


<<No one likes mynocks, except in ryloth sauce and deep fried Ord Mantell style.>> Aliraet comments. <<I'm keeping an eye out for anything odd though, so unless you startle a cave of them on /that/ rock, it should be okay.>> She pauses. <<Hmm...want me to look for anything extra like that around us? Just in case we've got some room left over.>>


Kae is looking aroound curiously while the drilling is going on, she peers down curiously << We there yet?>> She asks curiously, but then looks around for mynocks... << Minocks are ok deep fried>> She suggests.... She's also setting up controlled blast demolition charges while the drilling is going on. She's at least a bit proficient in getting the detonite set up.


<"It depends what you mean by extra."> Saturi responds as she levels herself out. The woman scoots back over to her equipment bag and draws the datapad from it, beginning to plan out where she wants to place explosives based on the geological data. <"I have a task to be done."> She informs Kaelyn before elaborating. <"As soon as this is done, I have vacuum rated charges that need to be placed. The job requires a tight squeeze.">

<"Not there. It will be in the hole."> She says to Kaelyn, disapproving of the early explosive setup.

Her golden eyes shift over to the displays on the laser drill. <"Heating is stable."> The Pantoran punches in data onto her device before laying it on the asteroid's surface. <"Take the pad. It has a map of where I will need it all placed."> A brief pause in speech as she maneuvers. <"Ok. Extra. If you mean useful minerals, absolutely. Valuable runoff? Absolutely not.">

<<"Runoff? Ew. I'm talking the first bit,">> Yan answered, an expression of distaste on his face as he misinterpreted what runoff involved. He glanced at his cracked screen and saw no good yields from other asteroids just yet, but that might be because he was muffling his own scans by being parked. He should have thought that through. <<"Hokay so you're trusting her with bombs, alright,">> Yan was skeptical, <<"so Kae, don't blow us up. Last thing we need is for the roid to come apart whilst we're still on it.">> He took his headset off and ran his mechanical hand through his hair, surprising himself when it came back slightly sweaty. Okay maybe he was a bit nervy. "Good thinking, Ali," he said, then scrambled to get his headset back on. <<"Ali, see if we can get some scans of anything below us. Last thing we want is a mynock explosion. Or worse.">>


<<Minerals will do. Valuable ones. Or metals, if they're worthwhile.>> Aliraet clarifies as she continues to scan, adjusting to focus below the ship. "Let's see....I mean, if we do get swarmed by giant space worms, I'm going to hope we see them coming...and Kae can totally blow one up if it shows up." she says distractedly as she works.


Kae squints a bit and tilts her head < I'm prepping shaped charges folks, these are controlled fracturing blasts, not giant booms...> She says simply < Allsoooooo, I has variable yield charges I kinda stole a while back, thigs gives me the chance to use them.> Yup, the goof is setting up military grade explosives, doesn't everyone feel great?!?!
Kae then sets the yield on one of hers, she maaaaay have over turned it... < Soo yeah! I got these really nice shaped charge containers, with dial a yield charges.... Full on military grade detonite!>


Saturi turns off the laser drill and pulls back the equipment, revealing a meter wide hole that extends below the surface. The woman watches as the edges of the hole go from a bright red glow to an instantly cooled obsidian. Space freezing, cool. <"You are going to want a light."> She says over the comlink to Kaelyn. The Pantoran wanders over to the Sephi woman, looking over the other charges. At first, she considers demanding that the other woman use the charges she brought along specifically for the job, but decides against it, figuring Kaelyn knows best. <"Fancy."> The Pantoran remarks casually, seeming to trust that everything is configured properly. <"Take the datapad on your way down. Follow those placement guidelines to the letter, and if I have done everything correctly, we will not have to bore another hole."


Shaped charges. Military grade explosives. Not mining charges. There was a sputtering noise over the comm (and in the cockpit, for Ali's benefit) from Zhu Yan before... <<"Okay y'know what, fine, the expert says it's okay so go ahead, blow it up.">> He was standing slouched over, resigned to his fate. Then, he turned around to Ali and with crazy-eyes, asked, "Wanna go wrangle a hyperactive Sephi? Bonus in it for you." Money greased wheels, after all. He turned back to the viewport and held on to part of the frame of the transparisteel viewport, very nervous.


<OOoh, and reason I picked these is we can precisely dial the charges!!> She calls out, tryin gto defend her fancy stuff... << OOH I'll climb in suuuuure, my stuff isn't as bulky...>> She adds and climbs into said hole. She then begins carefully placing the charges based on the datapad... << Doop dee doop dee doooop..>> She says, singing a bit as she works happily.
There's a pause... Kae's not doing much, then << OOooh, that aint good... Okie Fixed!>> She says cheerfully... Soon enough she's singing again, while setting these things up... There's another pause... << More fixing!>> she says and well yeah, she's got her charges set right now, and begins now to run attach detonators and det-lines, etc.. << Yeaaah, I set some of these a bit high, got em fixed though, it'll be a liiiitle bit longer...>> She says and before long she's tying lines together, and then climbing out of the hole, before connecting these to a receiver remote... << Soo my plan, before we set these off, we all get behind shields and stoofs... we can set things off inside the freighter... Work for you guys?>>


<<Wait...> Aliraet leans in, frowning as she zooms in on an area of her scan. She says absently to Zhu. "Why I'm sure it would be fun to wrangle her, Kisa would hit me when she found out." She pauses, then says over the coms. <<There's sonmething, an anomaly. About eight meters down and left along the demolition line. A cavity. I can't pick up anything from it, can't give you more than that. Hollow perhaps?>>


Saturi doesn't like the sound of anomalies. That's how you destroy yield. <"Lovely."> The woman says with a livid sarcasm. She was just about to board the vessel and let Kaelyn blow the charges. The Pantoran performs a quick trip back to the drill sight with the equipment bag in tow. <"The last thing you want to do is blow a hole into something you cannot see. I am going to drill a second bore hole."> The woman draws back out the laser and places it a few meters to the left. With a few button presses, the mining equipment is activated and a second bore hole begins to form. <"This process just became a bit messier than expected."> Her voice sounds disappointed. <"We may have to come back with different equipment.">


There was silence from the cockpit of the Redline as Yan mulled over the information in front of him. He watched the figures work out there on the cold dead rock and frowned as he thought it over. Then he tapped his earpiece once again. <<"Hokay. Come on back in. We'll head back to the Space Whale with the scans, assess the information, maybe get a team in to survey this cavity.">> His fingers, holding on to the viewport frame, rapped against it with little tinking noises seeing as they were mechanical. "Ali, power up the ship if you please," he requested, turning, and with a tinge of disappointment in his voice. <<"Kae, disconnect the bombs and bring them back in. When we get back, I'll need you to put together a scout drone or something so we can examine this rock. Good work, people, we did well today, this isn't over.>>


Aliraet reaches over, flipping several switches as she brings the ship's systems back online carefully, one at a time. "Powering up engines and readying shields for the trip out." she says casually, then sits back and sighs. <<No boom today. Boom tomorrow?>> The devaronian woman hmms. "At least there were no mynocks, right?"


Kae blinks and flails.... << Heeey no powering up those ships when I'm pulling live detonators out of an explosive!>> She calls out, before well, Kae disconnects the receiver, before she makes her way into the hole and begins carefully removing detonators... Soon enough she has them all disconnected and has all the charges reset back to inert status, before she starts taking them out of the hole... << Blaaargh, no booms!>>


<"Maybe not tomorrow either."> Saturi answers seemingly aware that it may upset everyone. <"It is a possibility, but we may run into a problem where we cannot cap off one of these shafts. Thus, we will not be able to pressurize the chamber and get the rock to break up properly."> The woman deactivates the laser as it finishes drilling through to the natural cavity. There is not a rush of air from the cave system, signaling that there may be an opening to the vacuum somewhere else. <"I will take a look over the scans, but this is looking more like a conventional cutting operation."> Not that there can't be explosions with general excavation, but they'll likely be on a much smaller and less ceremonious scale. <"Give me a moment. I can pack everything up quickly."> The Pantoran assures, hoping Kaelyn won't ditch her.


"Alright, let's wait until Kae gets them all out before we get it all up and running," Yan answered Ali, collapsing back into his chair. This had been almost nailbiting. Not that one hand had nails. <<"Booms at a later date, maybe, if we can survey this pipe. If we can't fill it with air... yeah, Sat's right. Once we pack up let's head home.>>


<<Hey, you're the expert Saturi. We do it how you want it.>> Aliraet says over the coms. <<I'm just here to murder things that might try to bother you while you're doing the work. And to provide color commentary to deal with boredom. Also pestering Kisa if she was here.>> the pirate captain notes cheerfully.


Kae is wandering back to the Spiral now, carrying the now removed explosives << Yuuuuus.... have we thought about possibly dropping a couple modified containers with shield generators and stuff in em?>> She asks curiously << We could set up a drilling station in a couple cargo containers while inside said containers, and well remote drill through that...>> She suggests... << I think I could modify it in a few days...>>


Saturi reluctantly places the equipment into the dedicated bag before proceeding back to the ship. Once on the elevator with Kaelyn, the woman draws the two up and into the Spiral Hunter. She presses a few switches in the airlock and pressurizes the chamber. With a disconnect of her helmet the woman speaks, "I am ready to head back." Her golden eyes look down to her gear, wondering how much of a pain it is going to be to carry it back to her ship once the gravity is back online.


And so the Redline and Spiral Hunter departed the rock, a good survey made but no minerals gleaned. Plans would be drawn to return, further surveying would be done, and eventually the denizens of the Shadowport (Zhu's Crew as it were, which it wasn't, he's an egotist) would have their bounty of ore, ready to smelt into durasteel once they obtain the production capability. The BWC-HF-001 would remain in Roche for now, until the job was done.