Voyage 2: Sketchy Notes vers. (pt. 4)

Scene 11

Chaos Roll... 8

He: So, how radioactive is this planet again.

Br: "As long as you take your panacaea pills you should be fine for an hour or two." Braki taps on his wrist comm. "Well... an hour, probably... Assuming I understand human tissue correctly."

He: "Great. Hey, Molly, how about I stay with the ship in case you need an emergency dustoff?"

Br: "I would worry more about the spores and toxic chemicals in the air. Make sure your breather is tight."

Gael carefully triple checks her mask.

Mo: "You know what? Fine. I'm not going to drag anyone out who doesn't want to take a risk. I want to know. what they are hiding, but that's my grudge. Just make damn sure you are ready to bring my ship when I call for it."

He: "Damn, Molly, when you put it that way..."

Br: "I will not cast aside the test, or the glory it brings."

Gael pauses as eyes fall on her.

Ga: "What? ...fine. Fine. Just don't go expecting me to charge over some damn rise for blood or glory. I am in this to make some profit."

Slowly, the party creeps through soft black fungus, kicking up clouds of yellowish spores as theyapproach the pyramid and the small facility sprawling around it.

Crouching, Molly approaches until she is a few meters behind the still-smoking wreck of the drone and scans the facility.

An empty gantry for a rocket hums with activity as a fac and constructor robots are already assembling a new blockade from parts stowed in one of three domes. The others are draped in sticky grey-freen mycellium and gobs of black fungoid matter.

Ga: "So where did the turret pop up?"

He: "I don't remember exactly... near the middle of the three domes. Close to that comm tower."

Br: "Can we hack it, like before?"

Ga: "No... this is going to be a more standard sentry gun. No point in using 600 year old AI to run a gun to shoot people when you can get one on the cheap at any Mercenary's Guild shop for a few hundred credits. Or less, if you have megacorproate money."

Br: "What are our options?"

Ga: "Our best option? Sabotage it from up close. A pinpoint ion blast charge in the right spot will cook it completely. Depending on the brand, you can just rip out the battery, bor that matter."

Mo: "What would you need to do it?"

Ga: "A distraction."

Br: "I can do that."

Gael looks at Molly tentatively.

Mo: "You're the one who decided to come along after all. And you've already taken your hazard pay."

With a sigh, Gael slinks low, pressing a few buttons on her comms, causing the colored panels on her jumpsuit to go black.

Braki lets out a shriek and fires off his shield: the tiny buckler emits a shimmering field of energy around it. He lets out a surprisingly lound number of booming croaks.

Plasma Sentry Gun: HD: 5; AC 15; Atk: plasma barrage (attack +4, damage 3d8)

Rolling Initiative

The sentry gun rises out of the fungus and unleashes a spray of plasma. (attack 7) The bolt stikes the field of energy and dissipates, braki hardly breaks stride. (Braki dodges, raising his AC to 20)

It will take 6 rounds for Gael to sneak up on the sentry gun, which has a Perception and Ranged attack of +4 each. Braki will continue to dodge while Gael sneaks up. I will make 6 attacks.

Braki hisses chirps and dances as bolts rain around him. It is only after a minute and a half of his deadly dance does a bolt get under his shield and strike him (13 damage)

Round 8

Gael attempts to sneak up: rolling stealth against a DC 14.

Gael emerges from between two of the domes and rushes at the turret. it sounds an alarm and wheels on her, but not quickly enough to strike her before her ion pistol emits a crackling beam, which goes dangerously wide.

Braki fires hs wrist blaster in hopes of distracting the turret. (attack 15 vs AC 15... narrow hit, only 4 damage out of 13 hp.)

The turret fires on Gael (attack 13) she throws herself into a roll to one side.

Molly calls a general attack.

Round 9

(initiative is simultaneous)

Gael rolls to a crouch and fires! Her blast dissipates against the black armor of the turret.

Braki fires another bolt that scores the armor (attack 20, damage 4. Turret has 5hp)

The turret fires plasma at Gael and catches her center mass, melting through much of her armor Hp 0/6, 4/11 CON... no additional effect) she slams into a dome then crashes face-first into the mycellium.

Molly charges as close as she can and fires with the plasma rifle

Henry's ion pistol's battery shorts.

Round 10

(initiative is simultaneous)

Braki fires, but finds the battery in his wrist blaster has discharged.

Molly fires, and narrowly skims the armor (attack 14)

Gael rolls and fires her ion pistol and misses, her bolt flying wide as she attempts to get to her feet. The turret turns and fires, blasting a smoking hole through her.

Braki fires witha drawn blaster pistol as he closes to little effect.

Round 11

(initiative is simultaneous again!)

Braki fires and misses as he charges.

From incredible long range, molly lands a plasma rifle hit and blows the head off the sentry.

Henry charges his pistol, then swears and runs after Braki as they close with the limp form of Gael.

[mental note... talk about the bad math and re-rolls]

End of Combat

Molly

hp 7/7
7/11 CON

Henry

hp 11/11
11 CON

Gael

hp 0/6
0 CON

Braki

hp 12/25
17 CON

Thuvia

hp 142/200

Br: "She didn't make it. May she be embraced in the Chrysalis."

Mo: "I was overconfident. Damnation." She watches as C'Alhoon waddles up behind them. "I hope to hell whatever you brought us here fo was worth it. I will say a few words, and bury her. You lot can hang back, or you can search these domes if you want."

Chaos Factor 🔺️5

Scene 12

Chaos Roll... 1. Altered Scene: Move Toward a Thread: Deceive Benefits

As Molly finished her prayers over Gael's grave she became aware of dim flickering lights within one of the domes. Approaching it she found C'Alhoon working feverishly on a computer interface. The room is full of Q-Comm equipmment, sensors, and computer servers.

I decided that this woulf be an opportunity to have Braki discover something very helpful, and possibly tohide their trail by hacking the QRC's systems. He got a natural 20. Suddenly, deceive benefits became very easy to interpret.

Mo: "I am done burying Gael. We can move on when you are ready."

Ca: Inclines his head towards her. "I have managed to hack into Qath's database. I have a list of their claim sites, and the current positions of their ships."

Mo: "How has this terminal not self destructed or worse?"

Ca: "I believe it was supposed to. But something has malfunctioned. "

Mo: "Can we use that to cover our tracks and steal some data?"

Ca: "I have copied what I can. It appears your space pirate enemy has informed Qath of your whereabouts. Qath has put out a bounty on you. And me. At least they are willing to pay much more for us alive."

Mo: "That's good news, I guess."

Ca: "Shall I have them pay him for our deaths and see how long that confuses the system?"

Mo: "Sure. Why not. Send him a message as well that the tip paid off, we're dead, and he is getting a bonus."

Ca: "We had best erase the record of our intrusion from this site. Perhaps I will say that some pirates wandered by, and when the interceptors attacked they dropped atomics on the site."

Mo: "Nuke it from orbit! Its the only way to be sure!"

Ca: "Sure of what."

Mo: "Pay no mind. Just get it done so we can see what fresh hell this site has to offer us."

C'Alhoon taps a few more commands and waits for a moment before disengaging a small device from the computers and tucking it into his satchel. He looks for a moment at a small object near the door that is crusted with black mycellium.

Ca: "It would appear the local fungus eat thermite."

Mo: "Lovely. Might have to really nuke the place from orbit. If only we had a nuke."

Braki looks up from contemplating Gael's grave.

Br: "But we do, captain."

Mo: "Do what?"

Br: "Have a Nuke. I built an antimatter bomb from some of the parts when Henry and Gael stripped the Shrike."

Mo: "You what?!"

Br: "It is a very small antimatter bomb. I was most disappointed when I wasn't able to use it on the interceptors. It should be able to destroy this site, though."

Mo: Covers her face in her palm, realizing that Braki may be the most terrifying of the crew. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph... Okay. I will let you drop the antimatter bomb on this site from orbit. Just promise me you will not build another one."

Br: "... No atimtter bombs. Understood."

Henry is waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

He: "C'mon Molly. I need to see what Gael died to discover."

Leaving behind the grave, they carried on up ancient stone stairs too tall for them towards a great spindle of cyan stone with a hole in the middle. States of vague figures kneel along the path with too many arms and great wide heads.

At the top they find a shimmering metal altar that emits a beam of light. Suspended in the light is a strange object...

Time to figure out what the alien artifact does by consulting the Compendium of Science Fiction Lists. i rolled a 66 Weather controller.

Oracle:

Does this artifact ahve a drawback? 11 Extreme Yes and a random event: NPC Action Decrease a Representative

Codex:

The Drawback (taken to the extreme): Clone

Which one? 1. C'Alhoon, 2: Molly, 3: Henry, 4: Braki, 5: Gael, 6: All... Henry

Which NPC? The Qath Research Combine.

Okay...

Slowly the object sinks to the altar: it is a pusling ball of light tangled ins a bunch of oddly shaped floating rods with molecular structures etched on them.

He: "You know, this thing looks a lot like an instrument I saw an Ak'htari play once." Henry reaches out.

Mo: "Eejit! Don't touch it!"

Molly's shout is too late: Henry holds the object for a moment and throws his head back in what appears to be a scream. A torrent of inhuman noises pour out of his throat that eventually resolve into a strange, deep thrumming voice.

AF: "Multiple errors detected. Adjusting radiation and light filtration to compensate for stellar phase. Reconstituting atmosphere."

Several nearby mountains burst open in sudden, violet eruptions releasing clouds of gas and a whine in the air. After a moment, the sky changes colour to blue.

AF: "Activating hydrospheric pump."

A powerful wet wind nearly blows the crew off of their feet as dark and heavy stormclouds rip across the heavens.

AF: "Local life requires adaptation. Initiating viral seed."

After a moment some of the rain that begins to fall is thick, visccous, and yellowish.

Mo: "I have a very bad feeling about this..."

AF: "Error. Control vessel failing. Attempting rectification."

Henry suddenly collapses, vomiting blood (I think 2d10 is a sufficient amount of damage: 12! He has suffered 1 CON).

A bright light sweeps from the device over Henry. A Moment later there are two of him laying unconscious on the platform.

Molly looks at her companions. C'Alhoon and Braki. For a moment she freezes, then hopes.

Mo: "I have no idea what to do with this, but we need to haul ass back to the ship. I can carry one of these skinny bastards. Can you use that shield of yours as a stretcher and the two of you drag the other?"

Braki does not answer, he merely sets down his shield, turns it on, and with surprising strength, rolls Henry on to it.

Br: "Normally we carry the dead only on a shield, but I can cleanse it later."

He gets behind the shield and starts pushing it to the edge of the stairs. C'Alhoon lifts up another end and they begin their rush down the steps.

As they are nearly to the bottom, a shape bursts through the clouds, the last lone interceptor diving from above. it unleashes a storm of plasma missiles with extremely wide bottle on the base below. Vaporizing the colony.

I am not going to launch a missile at the PCs. They are on the ruin, not in the base. But I am going to force a Save for each PC or suffer 2d6 damage from falling debris. Henrys will get the save at -4, as will Molly. If Braki is hit, I will require another save not to lose the shield and send one of the Henrys rolling down into the firestorm. If molly saves, she will drop her Henry and he will sustain an additional 2d6 damage.

Molly: natural 1: she is hit for 6 damage and drops henry for 7 damage.

Molly's Henry: Takes an addiitional 8 damage. that Henry is killed, crushed by flaming debris.

Braki: 15... he evades the damage.

Braki's Henry: 15 for 9 damage: that Henry is in a coma and a severe torso injury for -4 DEX and melee attacks until he can be healed.

C'Alhoon: 11... is hit for 11 damage: He is comatose at 1 CON, and his left arm-pseudopod is severed. his suit is leaking atmosphere and life-sustaining fluid. his suit begins to pulse with alarm.

Molly drags herself, battered and bruised, and looks at the bloody wreckage of her Henry with a curse. She checks on the other Henry for signs of life (Medicine is at +5, I think it is impossible for her to mistake living for dead, but she knows how dire it is.) Then she cheks on C'Alhoon. She's seen breached encounter suits before. And she knows the sludge leaking out of the arm of the suit is a lost limb, which means C'Alhoon is likely leaking fluids. I will give her a DC 12 Medicine and DC 15 repair (with a bonus for her tool) to save him. Medicine.., even with her +4 boost she rolls a 12.) She cannot stop the leaking, though she tries for a moment, covering her hands in deep blue sludge.

Br: "Captain, the Interceptor is returning. We have to get out of here."

Molly curses, throws C'Alhoon's coprse ant piles it on next to the dying Henry and runs. As they skirt the ruins of the camp they can hear the Interceptor again and run as fast as they can, as it emerges, then dives in a kamikaze into the smoking crater. the shockwave causes them to stagger, but they make it to the ship.

Once aboard, Molly desperately tries to stabilize Henry, as moving him was really risky. Medicine 23... with her medkit she returns 2 hp and mends the torso injury.

She takes control of the Thuvia, and lifts off of Taxu II. by the time they are in a stable orbit, the planet is blue, and ancient sea-beds are beginning to fill up again.