'pk' <Lena first contact>: continue writing, revision

pk--lena_first_contact.html

@@ -2,8 +2,65 @@
 <h1>&lt;Lena first contact&gt;</h1>
 
 <p>
-  <span class="comment">Missing: them cobbling their equipment together,
-  sending the remote activation sequence</span>
+  Michelle and James drag the comms unit off the truck bed and carry it
+  inside. Jack grabs a large box filled with all sorts of cables and spare
+  parts and follows them. Annie follows not long after, carrying a stack of
+  thick binders of documentation. They walk up the stairs and set their
+  things down somewhere off to the side. Then, they go for round
+  two, fetching a generator, some tools, <span class="comment">two other
+  things</span> from the truck.
+  <!--
+    Things they will need later:
+    - oscilloscope
+    - telephone
+    - something to interface with the comms unit
+    - radio + antenna
+    - bench psu
+    - oil for gearboxes
+  -->
+</p>
+<p>
+  <span class="comment">They have tried cranking the dish around by hand
+  at some point before this. The tilt mechanism is completely seized up,
+  the pan mechanism spins freely and doesn&apos;t work.</span><br />
+  Jack begins to disassemble the gearbox for panning the dish around.
+  Michelle looks up at the tilt mechanism and gets an idea.<br />
+  <span class="quote speech">James, help me up there.</span><br />
+  With his help, she jumps up to the dish and clings to its underside.
+  From there, she climbs up to the center.<br />
+  She calls down to James: <span class="quote speech">Can you pass me
+  a screwdriver? Need a large flathead.</span><br />
+  He gets one from the toolbox.<br />
+  <span class="quote speech">Catch!</span><br />
+  <span class="quote speech">Thanks.</span><br />
+  Sitting on a thick cable hanging from the dish, she begins to remove
+  the cover of the gearbox in front of her.<br />
+  Jack looks at her and says: <span class="quote speech">Be careful with
+  your fingers up there.</span>
+</p>
+<p>
+  After a while, she gets the cover loose and it falls towards her.
+  She struggles to keep her balance for a moment as the cover lands wedged
+  between her legs and the central <span class="comment">post? beam?</span>
+  holding the dish. With some effort, she manages to wrangle it to th other
+  side of the cable.<br />
+  <span class="quote speech">James, Annie, can you catch this? Careful,
+  it&apos;s heavy.</span><br />
+  They do and Michelle turns her attention back to the gearbox in front of
+  her. It is completely dried out and the large gears appear to be stuck
+  together with some dark brown gunk.<br />
+  <span class="quote speech">I think this one just needs to be cleaned and
+  lubricated.</span><br />
+  Jack says: <span class="quote speech">Wish I could say the same for down
+  here...</span><br />
+  She looks at the gearbox Jack had been taking apart.
+  One of the gears inside has been partially stripped of its teeth and
+  another one is broken. Jack has already removed one of the gears and
+  is using a screwdriver as a pry bar for the next one.
+  <!-- something something "I'm not putting my fingers in there" -->
+</p>
+<p>
+  <span class="comment">missing section</span>
 </p>
 <p>
   The oscilloscope shows a thick wobbly line. Michelle slightly adjusts
@@ -16,29 +73,34 @@
   Michelle picks up the receiver and listens.<br />
   <span class="quote non-speech">Beeeeep. Beeeeep. Beeeeep. Beeeeep.</span>
   <br />
+  It takes a while for someone to pick up.<br />
   A female voice greets her: <span class="quote speech">Hello?</span><br />
-  She gestures for Jack to flip the switch back and says:
+  Michelle gestures for Jack to flip the switch back and speaks into the
+  phone:
   <span class="quote speech">This is ground support facility 53. Do you
   hear me?</span><br />
   <span class="quote speech">Yes, I can hear you. So good to hear
   someone&apos;s voice.</span><br />
-  Jack who had heard it says quietly: <span class="quote speech">And I
-  thought we were the ones facing unexpected difficuties...</span><br />
+  Jack hears it and says quietly: <span class="quote speech">And I thought
+  we were the ones facing unexpected difficuties...</span><br />
   Michelle notices the carrier strength gradually dropping and says:
   <span class="quote speech">Listen, we don&apos;t have much time.
   We&apos;re on makeshift equipment. Please turn on the radio in front of
-  you and tune to <span class="comment">some frequency or
-  channel</span>.</span><br />
-  The person on the other end says: <span class="quote speech">Understood.
-  Please stay on the line.</span><br />
-  <span class="quote speech">As long as possible. If not, we&apos;ll be
-  back in 24 hours.</span><br />
-  Michelle hears her quietly mumbling to herself:
+  you and tune to
+  <span class="comment">some frequency or channel</span>.</span><br />
+  <span class="quote speech">Understood. Please stay on the line.</span>
+  <br />
+  Michelle says: <span class="quote speech">I give it about ...</span>
+  <br />
+  She looks at the oscilloscope.<br />
+  <span class="quote speech">... three minutes until the connection
+  drops out.</span><br />
+  The voice on the other end quietly mumbles to herself:
   <span class="quote speech">How&apos;s this thing work...</span><br />
-  She turns the receiver away from her mouth and says:
+  Michelle turns the receiver away from her mouth.<br />
   <span class="quote speech">Jack, I need the manual.</span><br />
   He opens it at one of the bookmarks and hands it over. The page depicts
-  what the control panel on the other end should look like.<br />
+  the control panel on the other end.<br />
   Speaking into the phone again, Michelle says:
   <span class="quote speech">There should be a button labeled
   EGCR-1. Push that in and flip the switch next to it up to
@@ -75,6 +137,25 @@
   facility 53. Do you copy?</span><br />
   A few repeats later, the female voice answers:
   <span class="quote speech">There we go... Loud and clear.</span><br />
+  <!--
+  Lena: Who are you?
+  Jack: Name's Jack. You were just on the phone with my colleague Michelle.
+        We're Neotek Dynamics staff.
+  Lena: That sounds about as believable as the fact you're talking to me
+        in the first place. I thought I'd never hear another human voice.
+        Name's Lena.
+  Jack: You are alone? What happened?
+  Lena: Everyone's dead. Succumbed to a disease that I myself wil die to
+        soon. The only other person up here is my sister who managed
+        to get herself into a coma.
+  Jack: <response?>
+  <missing>
+
+  Jack: <inquires about state of Emily>
+  Lena: She drank what was a failed attempt at creating a cure.
+  Jack: Is there any chance she's gonna wake up again?
+  Lena: I don't know. Before her, only Tony took it and he died from it.
+  -->
   <span class="comment">Missing: they introduce themselves, Lena says
   something along the lines of &quot;everyone is dead&quot;</span>
 </p>