Mothership Mission Log - Planet Samsa VI Recovery Operation - Session 3
This is the third and final play report for Another Bug Hunt. From here the surviving crew commandeered the J2C-I Executive Transport Metamorphosis and set course to the station Prospero’s Dream to start the career, and campaign as freelancers…
Roster:
Duke Kilmeister - Marine (Jason)- KIATucker Razorback - Teamster (Matt)- KIA- Vegas Hemmings - Marine (Jack)
Smithfield - Merc Contractor- MIA
Events:
- Partial Recording of crew’s discussion with other survivors about a way ahead: —--BREAK—-- After being pressed by Tucker, Dr. Edem reveals the extent of the recovered research. They admit that what they and Dr. Ziegler had been focused on was extracting and analyzing the carcinid DNA. The data stick contains the full DNA sequence that Ziegler completed before his transformation, and they think it can be used for extensive future research. This is at least part of what the company wants, and what they are holding their family as collateral to get. They also admit that Hinton had been conducting related research on the carcinids reproduction method almost entirely on his own. How that works, and any hope of finding a way to reverse the infection will be tied up in his logic core. While they explain this to you the lights in the hangar begin to flicker and dim… As you consider your options, and a man in a dirty white lab coat (Nametag Kawaguchi), accompanied by limping marine (Pfc Tanaka) approaches from the area where HM3 Brookman’s group had been preparing for the mission to the Tower. “Brookman hasn’t come back! You need to go after him and get the comms tower online again, there isn’t time for this - and there should be a small backup generator in the tower!” “I can walk you through the start-up procedures to reboot the comms before you go.” He glares at Edem “Now that you have your precious notes for the bastards that stranded us here, I don’t think we should all die for the last puzzle piece. The company can come get Hinton themselves if it’s so important.” You see Sgt Valdez, Pfc Pedro, and Cpl Novikov putting on hazard suits and readying their pulse rifles. Sgt Valdez looks over at you. "You all can do what you like. I don't know if I can stabilize the reactor, but I'm going after my people, with or without your help." The lights flicker a final time and go out, plunging the hangar into almost complete darkness. —--BREAK—--
- The crew decides to go with Sgt Valdez into the reactor. As they rappel down into the chimney three carc cocoons burst open and juvenile carcs attack. The crew is able to kill all three, but Sgt Valdez is killed.
- Smithfield does not go with them and his whereabouts are later undetermined.
- Entering the reactor they discover two marines, LCpl Franco, and PFC Weaver huddled atop the reactor in the flooded room. There are carcs in the water! They are able to tell the crew what happened, that Hinton attacked them, destroyed the reactor controls and fled through a membranous opening in the wall of the chamber.
- PFC Weaver has the symptoms of being infected with a carc larva, and Duke tries to kill him, but Franco intervenes.
- After a tense standoff the crew convinces Franco, and Weaver, that he can’t come back. Weaver determines to stay behind and cover their escape as long as he can. Franco takes command of Valdez’s team and leaves to return to the hangar.
- Tucker, Vegas, and Duke fight off two full grown cards in the water around the reactor - discovering a membrane covering a entrance and opening below the surface. They pursue the second wounded carc through and kill it, finding themselves at the start of a long organic lined tunnel. Hinton’s beacon shows that he is in the direction the tunnel leads.
- The crew follows the tunnel for several hours emerging into a strange space. The tunnel opens into a wide 200m long chamber with strange droplets raining down, bisected by a small river of black fluid. The chamber is lined by smaller alcoves. The crew finds human body parts grafted into the walls - reaching out to them. These however are not missing colonists…
- At the end of the large chamber the crew discovers a cylindrical passage leading up, like the interior of tower. Metallic replicas of carc limbs line the passage, apparently able to pass items or beings up and down.
- The crew also finds a beachball sized nodule that when pressed opens a portal to an enormous space.
- The unbelievably massive chamber has three long staircases leading to the feet of three gigantic dormant beings. At the foot of the central being, Hinton works furiously.
- The room is filled with hundreds of carcs, who respond to the crew's presence by lining the central staircase. One beckons the crew to follow it to the top of the staircase.
- At the top Hinton, unconcerned with the presence of the crew, explains that he is working to meld carc and human to free humanity from itself. He is assisted by the obviously infected Dr. Jenson, who drifts in and out of human and carc consciousness.
- The crew, realizing that recovering the logic core is likely impossible covertly plant an explosive and depart as quickly as possible.
- Once through the portal again the bomb detonates - awakening the huge carc noble whose scream reverberates through the huge structure.
- The sound rips through the crew, and Duke’s skin erupts in tiny paper cuts. Knowing there is no cure now that Hinton has been destroyed, he stays behind and detonates a grenade in the passage to buy time for Tucker and Vegas to escape back down the long tunnel.
- The crew travels back several hours to the reactor without incident and return to the hangar to discover the storm has passed. The local carcs seem to have been disorganized when Hinton was destroyed and the remaining colonists have survived. The drop ship is circling searching for the crew.
- The crew and remaining survivors board the dropship and return to the Metamorphosis.
- The pilots explain that Maas has been behaving oddly after hearing bizarre shrieking sounds over the radio while trying to contact the crew. The carc inside him is already fully developed and bursts out shortly after the crew returns. A furious battle erupts in the tight zero-g environment of the ship. Tucker is hit in the head by a powerful carc claw and killed instantly. The crew and survivors are able to kill the Maas-thing with only minor damage to the ship.
- As this is happening a warning klaxon blares, a ship is rising from the surface - a ship many times the size and power of the Meta. Anders takes control and maneuvers the ship out of the path of the alien vessel, the crew and bloody remnants of the fight are pinned to the decking as gravity returns. The ship ignores the evading Meta and departs on a trajectory to the edge of the galaxy.
- The survivors are safe, for now, the nearest secure port is the outlaw mega-station PROSPERO’S DREAM. In the meantime they will need to decide what to do with the information that Dr. Edem is carrying. Can they still be paid? Should they contact the Company (University of Idalia Minor /Publico). They are in control of the ship - The Dream may have the capability to change its transponder and with it the crew's fortunes…