DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Fun & Games ETD: Escape the Dream Episode II: Last Stand of the USS Rubicon

You go right. After a bit more moving forward, you hit another T junction.

Left

You turn left and proceed down the tunnel, eventually arriving at Conduit 7B. It is intact and cold, so perhaps whatever error message appeared is no longer relevant. You see a ventilation panel nearby and exit the crawl space.

You find yourself in an elevator lobby on Deck 4. The elevator door is open, but the car is dark, its control panel dead. Behind a broken wall plate, a nest of four identical black wires hangs exposed. A portable circuit tester lies on the floor. A standard Starship Safety Poster on the wall shows a color-coded diagram:

Deck 5
Relay Configuration: Red (+), Black (-), Yellow (Data), Blue (Ground).

The ports on a nearby circuit card show +, -, D, and G.

Pick up the circuit tester. Use it on the first black wire, hoping to establish if it is negative or positive. If no result, try the next. The plan is to identify - and +, then trial & error the last two.

You realize the circuit tester doesn't display positive or negative. But it does display a color for each of the four wires in order:

As you touch the probe to each wire, the tester beeps and displays a color: Wire A: Red, Wire B: Black, Wire C: Yellow, Wire D: Blue.

Insert A into +, B into -, C into D and D into G. Hopefully the order doesn't matter.

Fortunately, there were no conflicting instructions from Ensign Vilks or any other anonymous crewmember, and the diagram seems conveniently, and simply, accurate.

As you make the final connection, the elevator car lights up with a hum. The panel beeps. Deck 5 - Security Sector is now selectable.

Thanks Weez. Enter and Select Deck 5

You select Deck 5, which brings you to a corridor connected to the Security Office.

The Security Office is in disarray. In the center, a Keycard Fabricator hums, its screen flashing:

AWAITING LEVEL-3 PRODUCTION INPUT.

REQUIREMENTS:
1. BLANK
2. CONDUCTIVE INK
3. ALPHANUMERIC COMMAND CODE

A sealed, armored box labeled 'OFFICIAL INK - DNA KEYED' blinks with a red lock light. A child's crayon drawing of a dog named 'ROVER' is pinned to a board, with a crew ID number (1021) scribbled in the corner. A Security Directive on a monitor states: 'All command codes must incorporate authorized personnel's numeric identifier.' There is a broken bio-scanner on the desk, with its prismatic lens having fallen next to it.

Look around for any blank cards to utilise. Noting the number 1021 as the likely candidate for the numeric component with maybe ROVER as the alpha part. Need to get into the armoured box for the ink. Maybe the bio-scanner contains a DNA record? Have a look at it. Can the lens be fixed?

You search the room. In a drawer marked "Spares" you locate a blank white keycard!

You investigate the official ink box. Unfortunately, it seems to require a biometric scanner, and any authorized individuals who could use it have likely evacuated by this time. You realize you may need some other source for the ink.

The lens doesn't look like it can be fixed, but you do recognize it as having been made from a synthetic crystalline compound that can be ground into a powder.

So if I can utilise the lens, I maybe need sometthing liquid as well as something to grind it with. Look around again.

Your intuition serves you well.

As you clear the clutter near the lens, you discover a heavy steel pestle being used as a paperweight on top of a stack of incident reports. It looks perfect for grinding.

You also noticed a handwritten note taped to the back of the keycard fabricator so it's not visible unless you're behind the desk.

If the DNA-lock triggers again, grind a synthetic lens into the suspension fluid. It creates a high-conductivity slurry. Note: This makeshift ink lacks the biometric signature. It will bypass standard doors (Level 1 & 2), but high-security Level 3 locks will likely reject it without a secondary override.

With this newfound information, you look through drowers and cabinets and find a small, glass dropper bottle labeled Conductive Suspension Fluid.