(part one is here!)
(part two is here!)
(part three is here!)
(part four is here!)
(part five is here!)
(part six is here!)
Claire: Well, I guess it sounds like I'm opening the door, then. First the outer door of this ship we're on, then the outer door of the station on the other side.
Sasha: She doesn't have to get in my line of fire through the gap while she's doing that, does she?
GMSG: No. To the extent that you have a field of fire through the three- or four-inch gap, Panda is out of the way. But if you hit the door or the bulkhead next to it instead of firing through the gap, everybody is fair game for a ricochet.
Sasha: Hey, perils of fighting on a spaceship, amiright?
Hettie: Hopefully we won't be fighting right away ...
Ariel: Or maybe at all!
Akane: Do we think our plan is so good?
Elle: Personally? No.
GMSG: Maybe, maybe not, but at least for this first part, everything goes smoothly. Panda gets the doors open, the cables and fuel lines out of the way, and then closes everything back up tight.
Hettie: With all of us on the station side, right?
Ariel: I'm taking that laser cutter to use as a gun until something gets right up on us.
Claire: Be careful with that thing! We don't want to open up the station's hull with a stray shot.
Ariel: It can do that?
GMSG: It can, but the odds are low.
Sasha: Never tell us the odds.
Ariel: He didn't! But I kind of want to know how low and maybe forget about using this laser cutter if it's like, a not really all that low kind of low.
Claire: Just be careful, okay? Now, does Ariel have to shoot at anything while Panda is getting the station's airlock door welded shut?
GMSG: The sizzling growl of your hand-welder fills the air around the lock, making it hard to tell if there are other noises coming from the wide, dark space inside the docking hub. But every once in a while, you swear you hear that same skittering sound the spiders made. It's so far off, though, and so sporadic, you're not sure. Unless Stickshift wants to just fire blindly at one of the sounds she hears, there don't seem to be any other targets.
Ariel: I'm not doing that.
GMSG: Within a few minutes, the doors are sealed.
Claire: Okay, gals, nothing's getting on our salvage ship anytime soon. At least, not through here.
GMSG: So you find yourselves in this large, dark, echoing space. Your helmet lights barely reach the side walls of this docking bay, maybe ten meters off to the right and left. The ceiling's about five meters high. Not too far from the cargo airlock you see a smaller personnel lock, as expected. Straight ahead, there's only darkness, broken by massive support beams here and there.
Ariel: Can somebody remind me how big a meter is? I'm having trouble figuring out the sizes of things. Or maybe just say it in feet, Mr. Warden?
Akane: Ehmm ... my great excuses, Ariel, but ... it's science fiction and also I'm from Japan. If we trade meters for feet, there's only a different person in confusion.
Elle: I agree that sticking with the metric system feels more futuristic.
Sasha: Aers, you can always pretend he's saying "yards." A meter's just a yard that didn't put the brakes on fast enough.
Ariel: Okay, but you'll have to help me out again if we get to grams and kilograms. Although in this game, probably anything that starts off with "kill" fits better anyhow.
GMSG: How does the group want to proceed, then? The exit from this docking bay is somewhere in the darkness ahead.
Claire: I'm sure we all want to stick together. Panda needs to be near the front so she can watch out for the power nodes we're trying to find. But not right in front.
Sasha: Narcy's on point with her submachine gun. Then our gearhead, then the Doc behind her.
Ariel: Maybe I should be in back in case something tries to sneak up behind us?
Akane: Wise!
Hettie: So: Narcy, Panda, Yamaguchi, me, and Stickshift.
Sasha: Yep. Let's move out!
GMSG: The bay is much longer than it is wide. It's obviously meant to have capacity enough to load and unload ships much larger than the one you're trying to salvage. As you move through the darkness, your footsteps echo hollowly about the empty chamber, and the shadows gradually swallow up the airlocks behind you.
Sasha: Stay alert, people! Warden, I'm not taking any chances with those support beams. If we get near one, I give it some space and then jump forward to see what's behind it.
GMSG: Remember, you're not at full gravity, so jumping is a little trickier than you're used to.
Sasha: I'm assuming I got some practice with different gravities during my military training, but let me know if I need to make a roll.
GMSG: No, the group proceeds through the docking bay with Narcy up front checking each support column you pass. Almost meter by meter, the tension thickens. Each time Narcy jumps ahead, her suit light causes the shadows to swing and lurch, and the thump of her boots hitting the floor cascades through the empty bay around you. You know the room can't be all that big, but when you finally see the far wall, it comes as a long overdue relief.
Claire: There we go. What does Panda see along that wall? Anything that looks like a power node?
Elle: Psh. Like it would be that easy.
GMSG: There's one very large door -- like a cargo elevator -- then a couple other, smaller doors. There's also some equipment: a forklift, a couple of heavy-duty power-lifter suits, a stack of cargo pallets, some crates.
Sasha: So, plenty of stuff for sneaky spiders to hide behind.
GMSG: Yep.
Claire: I don't even know if those things would set it off, but I'll have a peek at my bioscanner, just in case.
GMSG: Nothing within range.
Claire: The doors are all closed I assume? We're either going to have to pry open an elevator shaft and climb it or find some stairs.
GMSG: skitterskitter
Sasha: What was that?
GMSG: Movement, from up ahead. Everyone make a Fear Save.
Sasha: 22! Critical success!
Claire: 68. D'oh.
Akane: Yamaguchi fails as well.
Hettie: Rev. Mackie too.
Ariel: What's wrong with us?! I roll a 46.
GMSG: One of the robot spiders scurries up from behind the stack of pallets. Everyone but Narcy is too startled to act this turn, but the critical success lets you take an extra action, Sash. In a normal turn, you'd get two, so that means three in this case. What do you do?
Akane: Do the rules give a list of options for acting?
Sasha: Doesn't matter. My first action is, I blast it. If it stays up, I keep blasting.
GMSG: The list is on page 9, Akane. Sash, roll Combat + Firearms.
Sasha: I need a 69 or less, and I roll 44! Bam!
GMSG: Normally, it has to make an armor save to avoid the hit. Since that's a critical success, I'll say it has disadvantage ... 97 and 53, definitely fails. You hit it dead center with your burst. Bullets rattle off its metal carapace and sparks fly. You notice the zombie head appears untouched by the attack.
Elle: Hologram.
Ariel: Hush! You're not there.
Sasha: 4d10 for damage, right? That's 25 points. I shoot again! 27! 16 more points of damage.
GMSG: It fails its armor save again. You see some legs snap off and a hole open up in its thorax.
Sasha: One more time! 25 to hit ... 23 damage if it fails.
GMSG: It does not. The zombie eyes lock onto Narcy Danger and it leaps! Roll Speed + Athletics to dodge it.
Sasha: 28! Missed me, sucker!
GMSG: New turn. Everyone make a Speed check. Success means you go before the critter, failure means after.
Sasha: 61. Bzzt.
Hettie: 81.
Ariel: Come on, dice ... 36 ... exactly what I needed!
Akane: Yamaguchi lags at 92.
Claire: 26 for Panda.
GMSG: Panda first, then Stickshift McDiggitt.
Claire: If it landed within reach, I'm gonna hand-welder it.
GMSG: Roll Combat + Close Quarters Combat.
Claire: I don't have that, so ... 63 misses.
GMSG: Ariel?
Ariel: Laser cutter ! BRRZOW! Ugh. 74.
GMSG: Spider's turn. It leaps for Sasha again.
Sasha: What the hell?
Elle: Is there some reason a zombie robot spider wouldn't carry a grudge for you shooting it?
Sasha: I try dodging again ... urk, 85.
GMSG: It latches onto your helmet and begins to drill. The grinding, high-pitched whine is deafening. You're next Sash.
Sasha: I'm blasting it again. 19!
Hettie: Does she have to roll at disadvantage like poor Spanky when one got on him?
GMSG: It's a lot easier to bring a submachine gun to bear than a laser cutter, and Narcy has Close Quarters Combat. I think a straight roll is fair.
Sasha: 23 points of damage, then!
GMSG: It blows its armor save and shudders from the hail of close-range bullets, but it's still drilling. Hettie, it's the reverend's turn.
Hettie: Dear Lord, guide your humble servant's hand ... 34 with my vibechete is a miss.
GMSG: Yamaguchi?
Akane: My Combat is poor, only 29. I roll ... 92.
GMSG: New round. Speed checks again.
Sasha: Somebody better kill this thing before it gets to my brain! My check is a fail at 39.
Ariel: 07 for Stickshift!
Akane: 16 for dog dentist Yamaguchi.
Claire: Panda fails with a 59.
Hettie: 79 for the Rev.
GMSG: Stickshift, you're up. But your laser cutter takes a round to recharge before firing.
Ariel: What?! And after I rolled that great 07? Can I club it with the cutter butt?
GMSG: Sure. Combat + Close Quarters Combat.
Ariel: Hey, that's better than shooting it! 25, and I needed anything under 64.
GMSG: Sorry, but it makes its Armor Save.
Ariel: Foozers!
Akane: I'm next, yes? 84 with my stun baton.
GMSG: The spider drills away at Narcy's helmet. Make an Armor Save, Sash. A vacc suit gives you +7.
Sasha: That would be 01.
Elle: Nice.
GMSG: Narcy's turn, Sash.
Sasha: Submachine gun! 15! 26 points of damage if it doesn't save!
GMSG: It doesn't. That hit's enough to take it out.
Sasha: Woohoo!
GMSG: And as a Marine, you get 1 xp for killing an enemy.
Sasha: Score!
GMSG: But ... by my count, that was 5 shots, which empties your clip.
Sasha: How many clips do I have?
GMSG: How many does your sheet say you have?
Sasha: Uh ... it doesn't say I have any.
GMSG: Sounds like you're out, then.
Sasha: No prob. I've still got 6 of these frag grenades.
Hettie: I don't think those would be very effective at getting a zombie spiderbot off someone's helmet.
Sasha: Oh, they'd be REAL effective.
Claire: Speaking of spiderbots, Panda will examine the wreckage of this one.
GMSG: It's been torn all the hell up by bullets, but you immediately notice that there's no zombie head on that central spike. Instead, it looks like the top of the spike is some kind of projecting apparatus.
Elle: Told you.
Claire: Okay, well, I'll double-check that it's for sure good and dead and then leave it.
Sasha: While she's checking, I'm looking around for any more hidey spiders.
GMSG: Neither of you finds anything to worry about, but Narcy comes across a door with a sign that says, "Access Shaft." There's a ladder inside leading up, toward the central axis of the station.
Ariel: I'm not sure I'll be able to shoot my laser cutter climbing a ladder.
Akane: Next experience boost, look if there is Ladder skill.
Sasha: So are you saying there aren't any stairs?
GMSG: There's the access shaft, the cargo elevator, what looks like a normal-sized elevator, and a door that's just labeled 012. The access shaft one is the only door with a handle. The others all require power or they'll have to be pried open somehow.
Ariel: Laser cutter?
Claire: It has a limited number of shots, so maybe let's conserve them.
Sasha: Here's the deal, then. I'll climb up to the next level. Everybody leave the ladder clear. If something pops out at me, I'll just pull my feet off the rungs and slide back down. Shouldn't be too dangerous if the gravity is really low. If it's clear I'll signal everybody else up.
Elle: Pol likes that plan better than delaying things for you to cut or pry through a door that might not lead anywhere anyway.
Hettie: Doesn't Pol have some more programming tasks he should be working on?
Elle: Androids are very good at multitasking.
Hettie: Mm-hm.
Sasha: I'm going to start climbing.
Claire: Wait ... are you taking something to fight with just in case? I don't think frag grenades are very good ladder-combat weapons.
Sasha: You got anything to spare?
Claire: I've got a hand-welder and a crowbar. The hand-welder is better against armor, but the crowbar gets a bonus if you have Mechanical Repair.
Sasha: Gimme the hand-welder and I'll get going. Warden, what's the scoop on this ladder? How high up does it go?
GMSG: Farther than your suit light reaches. Assuming it's for maintenance or emergency access, you'd guess it's likely to go all the way to the axis.
Hettie: Say, before we go climbing sky-high ladders, do we want to think about taking off these cumbersome spacesuits? At this point, I believe it's safe to assume the station wasn't depopulated by a plague.
Sasha: I mean, if you want any spiderbot that jumps you to be drilling straight into your head ...
Hettie: Well, Rev. Mackie noticed that diving out of the way seemed to work for you at least once, and she's got a much better Speed than Strength. I think I might want the mobility more than the protection, especially since if I blow my armor save the vacc suit won't be space-worthy, right?
GMSG: Yeah, if something gets through your suit to damage you, it won't keep the air in too well after that. And in combat, you have to make a strength check to move your full distance wearing a vacc suit; otherwise you only move half.
Ariel: Wow, these things are clunky!
Sasha: Well, my Strength is bitchin' and the only light I've got is my suit light, so I'm keeping mine on.
GMSG: How about everybody else?
Akane: Yamaguchi is terrible of Strength. Her fighting is also poor. I think she is more scared of a spider catching her in the suit.
Ariel: Stickshift just follows Narcy's lead. But I do have a flashlight if Yamaguchi wants to borrow it!
Akane: "Thank you!"
Claire: I'm with the doc. And I have some IR goggles, so if all the lights go out, I'm okay.
Hettie: Should we leave our suits here by the door, or nearer the airlock?
Sasha: You're welcome to walk all the way back to the airlock if you wanna. I'll stay here and guard the door.
Akane: Yamaguchi says, "Look, here are crates. So convenient to put suits in, right? This will hide them from spiders."
Claire: A-plus idea, Doc.
Sasha: Super. I'll see what's up the first floor or two of this ladder while you guys ditch your only protection from death by spider-drill. Stickshift, be ready to blast with your laser cutter if I holler and drop back down. That means spiderbots on the way.
Ariel: Aye-aye, Sergeant Danger! (I don't know if you were really a sergeant. I just thought a military-like answer was better than just, "Okey doke.")
GMSG: All right. While the civvies get down to their skivvies, you make your way up the access ladder, Sash. The shaft is large enough for a vacc suit, but not much more than that, so it feels almost claustrophobic as pull yourself up rung-by-rung. You can tilt your head back in your helmet to see above yourself, but it's hard to angle the suit's light upward. The dark, metal throat of the tube vanishes quickly into the shadows overhead.
Sasha: I've got the hand-welder on a belt loop or something where I can get at it fast if I need to.
GMSG: There's no real noise to speak of other than the thump ... thump ... thump of your boots on the ladder rungs and the dwindling voices of your companions talking as they get out of their vacc suits. About fifteen meters up, you reach a point where you can make out another door in the shaft wall above you, maybe five meters farther. It opens back in the same direction as the door you entered the shaft from -- so it leads to the docking hub, not toward the main body of the station.
Sasha: Still climbing.
GMSG: A few more rungs, and you can see that the door is slightly ajar. There's a gap of a few centimeters with only darkness beyond.
Sasha: I'ma radio down to Stickshift and ask her to ask Fatale if I should check it out or just keep going up toward the station axis.
Ariel: Okay, I'll --
Sasha: Then I'm gonna get impatient and just nudge the door open a little farther. Can I see anything?
GMSG: It looks like a service tunnel ... a way for the station crew to access the machinery or wiring or fuel lines between levels for maintenance.
Ariel: I guess I can't see her doing that, so I still ask Claire's character what she thinks.
GMSG: Sasha, as your light reaches farther down the tunnel, you spot something lying across the floor maybe six or seven meters away.
Sasha: I grab my hand-welder and get my thumb on the power button, or whatever you do to get it ready. What's this thing on the floor look like?
GMSG: You think it looks like a body in a vacc suit.
Sasha: Peachy.
Claire: I tell Stickshift to tell Narcy I think we should just head all the way up to the central axis. That's where all the passageways to the rest of the station would be, right?
GMSG: Correct.
Ariel: So then I'll say, "Sergeant Danger, that's a negative on checking out side doors. The engineer says let's go all the way up."
Sasha: I'll step off the ladder into the service tunnel.
Elle: Since Pol still has this video feed on his monitor aboard The Inner Peace, he gives a weary synthetic sigh and a shake of his head, but doesn't say anything.
GMSG: The walls are lined with all kinds of piping and conduits, full of shadowy spaces where one of those spiders might hide. Are you going to approach the body?
Sasha: Sure.
GMSG: It's sprawled on its back, head pointed away from you. You notice there's a handgun lying on the deck near one of its gloved hands. The angle and the glare from your flashlight make it impossible to see what's behind the helmet's faceplate from where you are.
Sasha: You had me at "You notice there's a handgun ..." so Narcy's definitely gonna go up to search and/or loot the body.
GMSG: When you get there and stand looking down on the suit from above ....
(cliffhanger! bum-bum-baaah! next time ... the body! click here!)
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