Sigma Madelline
If your goal is to just get the logs and get out, you'll need to make your way to the computer core so your Security Officer can enter the override commands. Your plans for the station indicate that you'll find it well away from the reactor, about a quarter rotation on the ring you're on, to the left.
This occurs without issue, as the Survey Outpost Sigma Madelline is entirely deserted. Reviewing the sec feeds, the problem becomes immediately apparent. The station was boarded, and you see the footage of obvious androids boarding the station. Only seven of them, but they quickly subdued the outpost crew and took them hostage. They had weapons and attacked the armory before the alarms were raised, then shut down the computer core.
The crew are gathered into the central corridor, lined up on their knees, arms fastened behind them with adhesive tape. Some kind of questioning, defiantly answered, then one by one, or two by two, tossed from the airlock. Finally one, a chubby woman you identify as Patrice Bouge, a maintenance officer, agrees and is dragged to the bridge.
From the bridge cam, Patrice feigns a distress call and sends it by tight beam to the cargo ship, asking for evacuation.
The pirates seize the cargo vessel, and load their remaining crew onto that ship, before departing.
The androids are far more advanced that is commercially viable, and you piece together from the scans on the station that from the architecture and layout that this is a military hardware, likely from about 30 years ago. However, what's more odd is that the androids have reconfigured themselves, replacing some of the critical systems with parts that almost look juryrigged -- the purpose is unknown, but you suspect that there are two major changes. The first, is that the android has an extremely long range modem, and can receive a signal from AUs away. The second is that additional parallel processing has been added, likely increasing the bot's processing power by an order of magnitude at the expense of other military functionality.
Quote:
When things go wrong, the suits upstairs want to know why. How did it happen? Why did it happen? Who was responsible? How can we stop this from happening again? Basically, they’ll want to get it fixed so that it doesn’t affect productivity, then point the finger at someone so that the company doesn’t have to accept liability.
Given the military nature of the threat, you know you need to get his information back home as quick as you can. A more concerted, better armed team will be needed to proceed any further.
Having transferred most of the data to the other ship, you lay in a course and head for home. It is a harrowing experience. At any second, the hair on your necks is standing in alarm. Will the stealth ship the android pirates have been using blast you from the sky? Worse, will they cripple your vessel and begin their horrific experiments upon you? If you go into cryo, will you ever wake up or die unknowing? There are no alternatives, so you flee Sigma Madelline, and pray to whatever primitive gods you know that you will make it home.
Here endeth the adventure. Thank you for joining me on this journey into Those Dark Places. I hope that it was memorable and that you got a good sense of the nature of the game and the very simple system.