.

Phase 01 - The Docking Bay . + Mission Control Watts looked out into the inky blackness of space with a sense of dread. The storm was about to be upon them. "Hold onto your butts." He said, as Tesimal grabbed his behind again. "Good luck. May the spirits out there be kind." Said Morwena solemnly. "No spirits! Just basic science is all." Percy offered. The ship jolted a little as it continued on its approach. The crew members began to grab onto anything that wasn't bolted down. Aldo grabbed onto RAMSES much to the dismay of the android. Taking one last gulp of his drink, Dain closed his eyes. It would be a bad one. There was another jolt. Lindberg approached the control panel with his usual solemn look. "There is no way to override the controls? What if the storm damages some of the equipment and we need to alter course." Watts was frantically tapping at buttons with a look of determination. "Well I was really rather hoping you'd give us that pleasure Mike. Though apparently you don't have override authority either and since I can't get through to Mission Control." He tried the comms again but this time it was just static. In the deck below the crew braced themselves awkwardly as the walls of the ship began to rumble in an unpleasant way. Misty was hopping around gleefully, apparently ignorant to the oncoming chaos. Garthon approached the viewport and stared open mouthed. "What in Jupiter's name?" The crew gathered around to investigate and stood in stunned silence at the view outside. Swirling tendrils of lightning were dancing through the inky blackness. Each had a distinct purple hue as it fizzled into existence before dissipating into the void just as quickly. The fizzles were silent, as there was no medium for them to travel through, but the effect was nonetheless spellbinding. "Looks like we're going in." Grumbled Watts. The lightning got ever closer as the crew began to scatter nervously. "Can't you fly away from that thing?!" Asked Cassie hysterically. "I'm trying! Believe me!" Watts responded as he mashed more buttons. And then it hit. With an almighty slam, the ship was rocked from its trajectory. It was hard to see anything in the ensuing chaos but a tendril of lightning had caught the ship on the underside and thrown it completely off-course. Watts was flung across the floor, leaving Percy to jump in and try to take control of the wayward craft. "EMERGENCY OVERRIDE ACTIVATED!" Just like that they had control back, but it was too little too late. The ship was spinning, which with the gravity module was causing the inhabitants to flip around in all manner of directions. Aldo was shrieking out into the night as purple lightning began to appear inside the ship, dancing down the walls. His screaming was loud, but it was no match for what followed. A ghastly inhuman shriek punctuated the filtered air of the ship. The shrieking was horrendous, but Watts recognised it instantly. It was the same shrieking that had been heard in the wayward transmission from the Dalia. It was deafening. Various members of the crew proceeded to cover their ears as best they could whilst also trying to avoid flying this way and that. The walls were now awash in purple electricity. "Abeg! Do not go pop!" Screamed Tesimal. Rin crawled up to Percy and tried to get a good look. "MAKE IT ALL STOP!" She demanded. Percy was feverishly trying to control the ship but the purple lightning storm had sent it off course. But something else was coming into view amidst the flashes. It was a ship's hull. "That's it! That's the Dalia!" Explained Matthieu excitedly. There was no time to consider the option of flying off-course, it would be hard enough just to dock without incident. "HOLD ON FOR REAL THIS TIME GUYS!" Shouted Percy above the racket. The screaming subsided and was replaced by ship-wide warning bleeps as the vessel helplessly careened towards the now hulking mass of the Dalia. A bolt of purple lightning seemed to take out the on-board lights, which were instantly replaced by the deathly red glow of emergency power. Outside the viewport, it was all the crew could do but watch in helpless dread as the docking bay of the Dalia came into view at entirely the wrong angle. There was an incredible clank inside the ship as it was once more jolted upright, but this jolt was caused by metal hitting metal. The ship had collided with the docking bay off-angle and was now clattering hopelessly along the docking bay floor. Percy gave the thrusters all she had, which caused the ship to finally, with another resounding thud, stop dead. Mission Control The state of the fallen craft was poor. Overhead, electronics sent sparks careening around the metal walls. Percy picked herself up from the flight deck. "D-did everybody make it?" She asked nervously. "Clearly we need to do a headcount." Lindberg offered. "Preferably orchestrated by somebody else." Said Izza dryly. RAMSES was stood observing the various monitors around the ship. "It appears there's a malfunction of sorts on the lower storage deck." He said with apprehension. The crew bounded down the stairwell to the lower storage area, only to find a literal inferno. "THE SHIP IS ON FIRE!" Screamed Cassie, arms waving. "WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST!" She grabbed a protesting Rin and ran towards the airlock. "You can't leave! The docking bay is an external ship area! There's no pressure lock into space!" Lindberg shouted. Cassie paused, finger hovering over the "open" button. "He's right." Said Watts rubbing his head. "These ships have that as standard. If we leave without space-suits, we'll all die. There should be around fifty on-board. Plenty enough for..." "Shit!" He said as realisation dawned. "Shit, shit shit!" Watts took off and headed into the blazing storage area. The equipment was all burning up in the fire, space-suits included. "Everybody get down here and help me grab whatever isn't burning! Space-suits first!" There was a flurry of action as the crew did their part to haul the space-suits out before the entire room was burnt up. Sam was busying himself with the controls to try and be helpful. "Where's the on-board sprinkler control?!" He asked desperately. Watts looked up as the space-suits were laid out bare. It seemed like they'd recovered a single crate on top of them but that was all. "It's electronic." He said wearily. "The electronics are shot! There's nothing we can do. We have to abandon ship immediately!" Mission Control Somebody cracked open the two recovered crates. One contained the Kayla issued air filtration collars they'd need to breathe on-board along with fusion cells to power them. Not nearly enough cells, but they had enough collars for everybody. Each person grabbed their own. The other crate contained two keys, two locked compartments and a pre-recorded message player from Mission Control. On the side a message was scrawled saying "for use in emergencies". Lindberg looked down at the suits as he absent-mindedly took his collar. His skin had turned even paler than usual. "Everybody grab a suit now!" Shouted Watts amidst the chaos. "We can't." Said Lindberg wearily. "This is no time for lists man! We need to hurry or the ship is gonna go up in flames!" Shouted Dain, having lost it with this guy and his lists long ago. "We didn't recover enough." Said Lindberg weakly. "W-What?!" Shrieked Cassie. "We didn't recover enough suits. There were fifty suits on board. We recovered 32 suits. There are 32 suits." Izza pushed her way over to the table. "Let me double-count!" Her skin couldn't get any paler, but her expression did change. "32....would be the correct count." There was an awkward silence in the room. This meant one thing and one thing only. They all knew it but nobody wanted to be first to say. Finally Edom volunteered. "So which 32 of us get to go exploring, and which 9 get to go boom?" Mission Control Somebody activated the emergency message from Mission Control. This was as good an emergency as ever. "If you are using this pre-record, it means that something has gone horribly wrong on board. Contained in these compartments are two standard issue laser pistols with one charge each. You will also find a full medical kit to tend to any injuries. The laser pistols are to be a measure of last resort. In the case of emergency, command must be issued. We believe the best way to handle this is via democratic decision." The group had fell into a deathly silence as the reality of the situation hit home. "Select two capable crew members. These two should be given the keys to the compartments containing the pistols and the medical kits. In emergency situations, firearms are best handled via those who are elected most competent." It seemed to make sense. "Okay, we don't have a lot of time. Here's what will happen." Said Lindberg with as much authority as he could muster. "We will have a vote. It's the fairest way. Everybody will cast a vote for two things..." The crew knew what was coming but they didn't really want to face it. "Firstly, we need to vote on the two elected capable crew members who will lead us in this time of...crisis. They will be given the keys to a gun and a medi-kit each. Secondly..." "We need to vote on who gets to burn!" Offered Misty helpfully. "T-That would....that would seem the fairest way." "Seems like a ridiculous notion to me list man!" Shouted Dain. "These are lives we're talking about here!" "There's no choice...it's either this...or we all die on board." The crew fell silent one more time before they prepared themselves for the task ahead. This wouldn't be pleasant. Inside your Journal Action Thread, each player must submit a numbered list of all players including themselves. The list will be ordered in terms of suitability for command. Place the players you most want to pick as leader at the top, and the players who you most want to vote to sacrifice at the bottom. The players will be given a score from 41-1 via each player based on the submitted lists. At the end of the Phase, the two with the highest score will be leader, the nine with the lowest will be sacrificed. Phase 1 will end in approximately 48 hours. There are no exit actions to be performed this Phase. Roles will be handed out momentarily but players will be unable to use them this Phase Players: Aippaq Aldo Anna Arissa Cassie Clifford Cronkite Da Shuang Dain Diamente Azul Edom Elias Eliza Elliot Felicity Francis Frederic Freyja Garthon Izza Jeong Keisha Kip Lindberg Matilda Matthieu Melvin Misty Morwena O'Hara Paige Percy Portia RAMSES Rin Sam Stubbs Takeshi Tesimal Veleriya Watts

The transport ship, as well as Lieutenant Lindberg's X4, are currently aflame. Not an opportune way to punctuate our approach of the Dalia. The light show that welcomed everyone once the Dalia came into view for the transport ship leads me to believe that though the crew currently occupies a literal burning ship, this is going to be a case of "out of the frying pan and into the fire." I can't decide which would be the worse fate - burning to death before the mission ever truly begins, or actually boarding the Dalia and getting the answers we are all desperately seeking. I've also got a third possible fate to look forward to. Losing control of the RAMSES and being left to drift and die in the inky blackness of space. I doubt the distress beacon I was blasting was even broadcasting five feet from my craft. Which makes the current situation all the more curious. With electronics failing and being tampered with left and right due to these phenomena, how do I retain control of the RAMSES? Maybe the unit's AI has taken a liking to me. That's what I will continue to tell myself.

Due to the fire, we find ourselves short nine suits, so we've the unfortunate and uncomfortable business of choosing nine of our own to leave behind to almost certainly perish inside of this flaming hull. Some choices have been made quite easily, others not so much. I've decided on a preliminary draft of whom I think would serve us best in the leading position, and who would serve us best as sacrificial lambs. I've included myself high on the list for the mostly selfish reason of bolstering my own standing to help keep me away from the bottom rungs of this decision. I can not die without finding out what happened to Ural. It's my own goddamn fault that he ever picked up where I was forced to leave off, anyway. The accident cost me my legs, that's more than enough. If it has cost me my little brother too... I might finally work up the courage to put a laser pistol in my sorry mouth and swallow a charge. For now, I need to focus on the rest of the crew. I need to make sure I am happy with the decision I make here, because we're playing God with the lives of nine of the following.

Aippaq	+
Role: Seer Origin: Europa Base Fate: Split from Group Dain Inventory: Hatchet, Fusion Cell x4, ??? + Hails from a small fishing village. + Claims an unmatched skillset including the ability to study and analyze his surroundings.

Aldo	+
Role: Empath Origin: ??? Fate: Deceased, killed by Group Izza using a turret defense system. + An infant that seems fond of RAMSES for some reason.

Anna	+
Origin: Ganymede Fate: Group Percy + A therapist that also seems fond of RAMSES for some reason.

Arissa	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Percy + A recently graduated space flight engineer. + Her first mission was to be aboard the Dalia, but missed it due to illness.

Cassie	+
Origin: Castillo Fate: Group Percy + Abandoned by her mother, her rich father has bought her way through life. + Is a super fan of the television program Glupo Zapad.

Clifford	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Izza + His wife and children were aboard the Dalia.

Cronkite, Lionel	+
Origin: Lunar Base Fate: Group Percy + A farmer who holds himself as being adept at navigation. + Highly suspicious of RAMSES units and Kayla Interplanetary in general.

Da Shuang	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Dain + A highly spiritual native who values his bloodline and battle.

Dain	+
Origin: Mars Fate: Group Dain Inventory: Laser Pistol, Medikit + Raised himself due to a lack of parental figures. + Ship-hopped most of his life taking on odd-jobs here and there.

Diamente Azul	+
Role:[/b[ Treasure Hunter Origin: Mars Fate: Group Dain + A performer of lucha libre who hails from a long line of luchas.

Edom	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Percy

Elias Baines	+
Role: Navigator Origin: Castillo Fate: Group Dain + An author and television personality in addition to being a doctor. + Knowledgeable on the topic of the blocking of fear receptors during the civil war by the PhoboDeiman army.

Eliza || VZ173	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Percy + An android who seems to only parrot things she has heard others say.

Elliot	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Izza

Felicity Green	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Dain + Daughter of President August Shore + Has been off-duty since her station on Io. + Castillan exiles targeted her at Michigan Base near Yelora with a bomb. + Survived, but many were killed in the blast and it haunts her. + Under house arrest on Europa Base.

Francis	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Percy + Looking for his wife Starla, a navigator, aboard the Dalia. + Considers himself a failure of a husband for failing to give his wife the child she wanted. + Was supposed to be aboard the Dalia with his wife, but missed it because of an "illness".

Frederic	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Percy + Duane "The Boulder" Jensen's personal gainz trainer.

Freyja	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Dain + Grew up with no parental figures.

Garthon Alfray	+
Origin: Mars Fate: Group Dain + Has a personal score to settle with a militia. + Is outfitted with an interesting body suit.

Izza	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Percy + Became a cyborg due to medical reasons.

Jeong	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Izza, injured. + Speaks in Korean, specifically Hangul.

Keisha	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Dain + Her parents were murdered in what was a famous high profile case.

Kip DeBarge	+
Origin: Castillo Fate: Group Percy + Hails from a universally famous family, but prefers action over the life of a socialite.

Lieutenant Lindberg	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Izza + A strict, by-the-books fleet officer in command of the relief squad.

Matilda	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Dain + An elderly woman searching for her grandkids who are on the Dalia.

Matthieu Soderbergh	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Dain + Son of Raymond Soderbergh, deceased crew member of the Dalia who penned memoirs. + A scientist specializing in alloys and asteroid stability research. + Father of two, fiercely protective.

Melvin Schrauwen	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Percy + Rich party guy.

Misty	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Izza

Morwena Singh	+
Origin: Ganymede Fate: Group Dain + Her passion for religion drew her to Earth and the Church of Neo-Scientology. + Her markings represent the origin of life, birth, and creation as well as the search for truth and knowledge.

Captain O'Hara	+
Origin: Ceres Fate: Group Percy + Spent time training in the sectors of Ceres. + Traveler of the stars, connoisseur of rebellions, slayer of mighty beasts, and explorer of the century. + Claims to be highly skilled in the art of cartography.

Paige	+
Origin: Ganymede Fate: Group Izza + Hails from a politically connected family.

"Percy" Percival, Katherine	+
Origin: Ganymede Fate: Group Percy + A skilled technician infatuated with older androids, such as the RAMSES. + Doesn't know her mother, but her father is aboard the Dalia.

Portia	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Izza + Is not interested in the politics of being a leader, claims to have a strong work ethic.

RAMSES	+
Role: Recruit Origin: Ceres / Lunar Base Fate: Group Dain Inventory: Shotgun, Shotgun Shell + A RAMSES unit under control by a man named Caspian stranded near the Dalia.

Rin	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Percy + Her mother was an abusive drug addict that she resents. + Young girl who doesn't know her father, but thinks he is aboard the Dalia. + Knows everything there is to know about soft drinks.

Sam Baines	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Percy + A hard working engineer who enjoys tinkering with things.

L. Stubbs	+
Origin: Mars Fate: Group Dain + Received his military training on Ceres. + Was assigned to this mission due to his expertise.

Takeshi Haruki	+
Role: Recruit Origin: ??? Fate: Group Dain + Martial artist that holds himself up as a very loyal soldier.

Tesimal Adetokunbo	+
Role: Recruit / Twin Origin: Io Fate: Group Dain Inventory: Laser Pistol

Veleriya	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Izza + A high ranking officer int he Veneran military that endured the horrors of war in Jupiter sector. + Enjoys training as an athlete in the field of gymnastics in her spare time. + Now lives on Europa Base.

Watts	+
Origin: ??? Fate: Group Percy + Somehow survived the escape from the shuttle, leaving Izza behind instead.