The next day...

The Surface of Steinhull, The Steinhull ruins

Sinn'Are'Sen stands at the hatch to the lift shaft and scratches the side of his head.

“Why do you want me to explore upwards again?”

“Because of that partial deck guide we uncovered yesterday.”

“Did we uncover something like that? I don't recall.”

“You were half asleep and wiped out at the time. I'm surprised you didn't flub the exploration log entry. The deck guide, what little we have deciphered of it, shows a station armory thee decks up from your current position. Given that you were looking for extra firepower...”

“Yeah, sounds like a good source. Pity I'll need to turn in any artifacts I recover.”

“If they don't get reported...”

“But then I won't ever be able to use it. Better to just report it all, claim that I will be utilizing one to augment my current equipment for the foreseeable future and then wait to see if they call the item in. If they never do...”

“The you would never be required to turn it in. An interesting maneuver.”

“That assumes there is anything worth collecting. I can carry about six and a half kilos of artifacts easily, just shy of twenty five if I push myself. If I do I'll want to return to base right away. Here goes a Wall Walk and hooping that I have an open hatch three decks up.”

Sinn utters the needed incantation, focuses his will, and makes the awkward transition to walking directly up a lift shaft.

“There are five other lift shafts available as well.”

“I'll probably force the hatch open instead of cranking open five more lift hatches. You saw how many of the ones were shut when I headed downwards: only two in about twenty decks. I don't like those odds.”

“And I don't like the thought of you prying open a lift hatch from an awkward angle with no floor underneath you.”

“I've got Float remember? It would be a long walk back up but I wouldn't die.

“Probably wouldn't die.”

“There is the deck and the hatch. Shut just as I expected.”

Sinn studies the hatch to ensure it opens in the expected direction. He walks around to the side that the hatch opens towards and swings his pickax overhead into the seam. With a lever established Sinn pulls on the pickax as if he was pulling a stone from the earth. It takes more effort then using the pickax as a lever but it doesn't risk standing on the moving hatch. It takes a few moments and a few tries but the hatch comes open.

“I have access to the deck in question. Where to next Dara Tonn?”

“ Left onto the ring passageway. Should be the third hatch on your right. Unknown if it's marked or not.”

“Got it. Keep a watch on the audio and video feeds in case I miss another psionic phenomena.”

“Can do Sinn.”

Sinn turned left and started counting the cog and eagle marked hatches. He stops at the third one and sets to work with his pickax. The hatch resists mightily but is inevitably wrenched open. Sill lets out a whistle of appreciation as he takes in the compartment and it's contents.

“Right, I'll need to log this from the get go. Republic is twitchy as hell about weapons, even if I am licensed and required to carry two of them. Ready Dara Tonn?”

“Ready.”

“Begin Exploration log entry.

“As you can see from the video feed, I have discovered an abandoned Empire armory within the Steinhull ruins. It's location is three decks up from my point of entry in the coremost ring passageway. I have only just forced opened the hatch. I have no idea as to what the empire called each of these weapons, so I will be using Republic terminology throughout. From my current position I can see pump action shotguns, some sort of carbine, and several locked cases whose contents are not visible from this angle. The shotguns I would expect, given that they can be loaded with several types of low velocity ammunition. The carbines are unexpected, but I suppose they could also be loaded with low velocity ammunition or have lowered power settings if they are energy weapons. Without any obvious flask ports for hydrogen I must presume they are laser based.”

Sinn steps into the compartment and pans the earpiece camera around to cover the space.

“This compartment looks to hold multiple gun racks. Each holds eight firearms plus a drawer with a lock on it. Presumably the drawer contains ammunition for the weapons on the rack. Doing a quick count I see four rows of four racks of shotguns and the same of carbines. The back half of the compartment is still outside of my vision, but that is already enough firepower for six platoons or so of security troops. Interestingly I do not see any of the autocannon present on the security automata encountered further down within the Steinhull ruins. Perhaps they were a heavy response force and these weapons are for regular naval security troopers?

Sinn steps forward into the compartment and makes for the cabinets. Along the way he pauses to pick up a pump shotgun and one of the carbines.

“I'm collecting a shotgun and a carbine for analysis later. Checking inside the magazine well reveals power contacts, so this is a laser carbine. I also note two selector levers on the side of the weapon. One is a three position switch just above and behind the trigger, likely for selecting safe, semi automatic, and either burst fire or fully automatic fire modes. The other is a slider with four position markings high on the side of the weapon. I would guess it is for selecting shot intensity, with the markings for minimum and maximum intensity with two steps in between.

Sinn knees down and straps the weapons to his backpack

“Now, let us see what is in these cabinets. Each appears to bear a small digital display and a mechanical lock. Name and / or serial number for an officer's equipment? Considering that each one appears to hold a sidearm and blade of some kind this seems reasonable. In the three cabinets that I can see from here the swords are all fairly standard sable blades. A bit short compared to the ones I trained with at RPC Stormavsirkel, but that might be an advantage for use in confined passageways. The sidearms all appear to be either a large-bore pistol or a laser pistol. Given the ammunition visible in each case the solid projectile pistols can take the same shotgun shells as the pump shotguns while the lase pistols fit a standardized power cell as well.

“There is a third section at the rear of the compartment with further gun racks. Each holds only a pair of larger weapons, presumably specialist issue weapons. Why the security force of the Steinhull station would need flamethrowers, grenade launchers, or some sort of anti tank directed energy weapon is beyond me. There is one further cabinet at the back of the compartment. Moving to investigate now.”

Sinn walks over to the last cabinet and leans down to look at the plaque and contents.

“This cabinet contains a single laser pistol, a holster, and four power packs. It also has a brass plaque on the front of it. I can't read the word etched there but I would hazard that it is a name, possibly of the weapon or of the commanding officer given the subdued etchings on the side of the pistol. It also appears to be of a different pattern then the other officer's sidearms in the compartment. The ”

Sinn sets his pickax down and pulls out his mercy knife. The monomolecular blade makes short work of the metal hasp of the lock. Opening the cabinet Sinn lifts out the contents and slides them into his backpack.

“I intent to test this pistol's functionality and, if it functions, use it for self defense for the foreseeable future. I'm down to just thirty seven rounds for my issues sidearm and I could use a backup piece just in case.”

Sinn hefts his backpack onto his shoulders and feels the weight. It's heavy but not unbearable.

“I recon that I could carry one more of the specialist weapons back for examination if I left all of the ammunition behind, or I could bring some of the ammunition and a second instance each of the pump shotgun and laser carbine. I will go with the latter option, leaving the heavier weapons here for later retrieval if requested.

“RSC-2W-0063, please attache relevant video and audio until I exit this compartment and return to your hull.

“End exploration log entry.”

“Clean copy.”