Player “Heroes”
Dr. Jackie Montana (Expert 3, xeoarcheologist)
Pete Stevens (Warrior 3, assassin)
Hana Sola (Expert 3, pilot)
NPC Hirelings and Henchmen
Helper - A stalwart security 'bot.
Salussa - Naga psychic-for-hire and healer.
Dr. Henry Chase - The aging xenoarcheologist who stayed outside at base-camp.
After camping out in the garden, the PCs found a cache of seeds--peppers, strawberries, apples, blood oranges, and brussels sprouts, all things no longer available in the Sector since the Scream. They continue their exploration, heading down to the second level of the base where they immediately run into mutant Koth hounds. They continue to explore, using their formidable tech skills to disable security systems and fighting many rogue monsters and mutated bio-weapons. Re-skinning oozes and slimes from Labyrinth Lord has worked really well. A batch of mutant space spiders almost take out the PCs, but they mange to just squeak out a victory.
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| Lots of dead bodies in this place. Serious. |
After some time, the heroes once again hear the sound of the mysterious, as-yet-unseen "Grudge" monsters. They're in a corridor this time, not a nice secure door. The party decides to buckle down, set up some cover, and finally see what these things are.
These things are strange, possibly human creatures with hard, black and gray, corpse-like skin. Their faces are skulls with blue lights in their eyes and softly glowing nanotech circuitry tracing across their sexless, naked bodies. They carry laser rifles of some unknown make and continue to fight long after their bodies should stop working. The PCs fight two of them, and brave, loyal Helper is destroyed. After finally defeating the monsters, the PCs poke through the bodies. The cold, gray-oozing flesh is laced with what looks vaguely similar to hyper-advanced revenant wiring, unlike anything they've ever seen. Also, one of their brains seems to be putting out some kind of communication signal.
What are these things? Were they created in the lab? It's a mystery for now.
The here's find the bodies of three explorers who came to these ruins 25 years ago. Each has a piece of a locator key for a space ship. The heroes are excited! If they can recover the ship after they leave the ruins, they'll finally have their own spaceship!
Eventually, our heroes locate the AI Nest and the technicians take a few hours to re-awaken Gabriel, the stations long-sleeping AI. Gabriel has a 3 Charisma and it shows. He was designed to make bioweapons and doesn't have a great value of human life. When a gibbering mouther attacks the group, he calmly quips "Huh, Dr.Nesmith finally got that thing working."
The PCs manage to talk Gabriel into helping them out. He agrees to let them have access to the station's vault and shuts down the two heavy security 'bots therein. The PCs agree to transfer his AI matrix into one of the 'bots (after Jackie remove's it's plasma thrower) so he can leave Las Diablas and perform biological experiments "in the field." Jackie reprograms the other guard-bot and replaces Helper with a new, bigger, meaner robot mascot.
Flushed with success, and carrying a load of credits, recovered weapons and armor, fancy pretech gear, and valuable biological samples, the PCs leave the ancient ruins and return to base camp.
Quite a profitable adventure! I'm curious as to what the crew does next.
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