Mission ControlWell, you can deduce that even the ones that are still alive are injured. It's effecting the entire body as well, not just one part or piece. It also appear to be continuing to a degree, or at least it is proving hard for their bodies to fight off.
"It appears this thing is affecting the entire body, and that it seems to be continuing. Medics, keep an eye out for any signs of further deterioration or effects on your squadmates' health."
There's three shuttles down on the planet right now, right? Or only 2?
Could Steve send another shuttle or two down, in case we need them?
If there are three shuttles: Tell sods to put dead player chars on 1 shuttle, and dead sods and such on another. Have the dead sod shuttle start going for the Sword. Have the dead player char shuttle also do this, but leave a few minutes after the first shuttle, so that in case of complications it can still maneuver away.
If there are two shuttles: Put all the dead sods and player chars on 1 shuttle and start going for the Sword.
@Lars and Miyamoto: "You guys hear Flint's idea to evacuate the wounded? I think we should do that. As long as we can get another shuttle sent down here so we're not left without an escape route."
"I am looking into that, you guys stay focused on doing your job. The faster we find it, the fewer dead we'll have to ship around."
We'll assume the three ships.
You send the sod corpse ship up and it climbs without problems for a good several hundred feet. However, around 1500 or so feet, something happens. You go back through the various video feeds after the event and you're pretty sure it was a projectile of sorts; not a rocket, but not a laser either. Probably magnetically accelerated round of some kind. It punches straight through the cockpit and controlling computer. The shuttle enters an automated hover mode, floating in place.
Team ShallowFlint Westwood - Shallow
@Miyamoto::I think it would be best if we sent the injured back to the Sword so that they don't keep melting if another pulse hits them. I also suggest sending the dead sods first, in case there's some kind of field around the planet that does anything strange to them when they go through it. You can send another shuttle in the meantime:
@Team: :Doesn't look like there's anything interesting here. I say we just make a quick sweep and continue up or down. Probably down.
Do we keep quiet or announce our presence and hope we find someone lucky enough to be immune to this thing? Or at least attract some interesting alien monster? I'm for the loud option, but I also have a giant suit of armour so I might be a bit biased.:
What about any security or administration levels? Any place that could have camera feeds or logs of what was going on? Or maybe a flight control room or mission control room that could have info about recent expeditions? Does Steve know anything about those?
Hospitals, medical centres, things like that? Any of those around?
Unless ordered otherwise, do a quick search and scan (cameyes+hydra heads) of the floor and then return to the elevator. While moving, after I get some distance from my teammates (I'm assuming we're searching different areas to finish faster), start periodically announcing my presence and see if I can attract the attention of anything in here: "This is a rescue team responding to your colony's distress signal. We are friends. We are here to help. We can provide medical assistance and help you evacuate. If anyone is listening, please respond."
Are there more dead/melted people here? And the same strange particles in the atmosphere as outside?
Is there any food stores or restaurants? Or plants? Have stuff there been turned into soup too?
What about newspaper stands, announcement boards or TVs in cafeterias, anything that would hold info about potentially important events?
Anything else of interest?
EDIT: If another sound wave approaches, try dispelling it with the power of music by singing Lost in the Supermarket by the Clash (or some other mall-themed song) in as cool manner as possible.
Level 5, and steve knows of no expeditions or similar things that went on.
Level 12 for medical
There are people here, or whats left of them. The puddles here are aren't contained by spacesuits and instead spread out over relatively large areas; bones and clothing lie at the center of the puddles, most curled up in a ball or flat and spread eagle. There's no sign of survivors and in the more populated areas, the entire floor is thick with human sludge. There's a larger amount of lipids in the air than outside.
Only some foods appear to have been effected; green plants, meat, fungus, etc. Breads, Candy, syrups, liquids, and the like seem totally unaffected.
You check around for clues to whats going on; newspaper stands with big headlines reading "ALIEN MURDERSLIME DISCOVERED IN LOWER MINING AREA" or something of the sort. But no luck; whatever hit this people, they didn't see it coming and they had no time to fear it.
Dubley Steptimus - Shallow Team Leader
"Perform a quick sweep of the level then we're heading...wait, Flint, are you reading my mind or something?
Perform a quick sweep then we're heading down. Spread out to cover more ground, take whatever you want, but be quick! Don't cause too much noise or chaos, I'm looking at you Elias."
Quickly explore the mall level with my team. Search for clues or survivors or useful loot.
Keep an eye on all the sensors.
Set up miniscreen thing in my helmet that rotates through the feeds from everyone else's cams.
My faceplate being covered in blood isn't causing any problems, is it? Cause if it is then I guess I'll have to lick it clean. Ewwww.
Program all our suits to play very loud dubstep designed to counteract the soundwave. Probably won't help much especially if the soundwave isn't real sound, but it's worth a try.
No loot, at least nothing beyond standard consumer products. I suppose if you wanted to loot a nice flat screen, you could do that.
You activate the suit's internal face wash and it sprays jets of water over the faceplate and collects the runoff. You're not the first person to upchunk in the suit; we've got contingencies.
Vanessa is Xan, Xan is Vanessa, PW. Disguises everywhere.
Shallow team
Follow Dubley around and keep inspecting him for any further damage. See how it progresses, and try to stop it if at all possible.
Also if anyone else comes down with a sudden case of deaditis, attempt fixings as well.
The damage, as far as your medical sensors can track, isn't so much progressive as just a "left over" of the initial strike. The bleeding after the knife stab. Unfortunately it's not easy for normal flesh to withstand this; those that survived the hit appear to have sections of "Foamed" or "aerated" flesh. And having that done to major internal organs makes living hard.
Elias Shrike - Team Shallow
[/u]
I'm looking at you Elias."
The hell're you looking at me for?
Search mall for anything of interest, avoiding areas others are searching. If he finds a survivor, get them to the medics if necessary, then make them become an SEP. If anything tangible attacks him, ignore orders and kinamp punch it until it stops existing.
Judas Smythe: Team Shallow
Help search the mall with the team, checking hiding places like maintenance closets for survivors.
Despite a thorough search of every nook and cranny that the team can imagine or find, they find no survivors. Just a lot of human sludge. Tellingly, the sludge was found in ordinary places and positions. There weren't any "bodies" found in hiding places or in some sort of panicked position. Everyone was shopping one moment, spreading out along the ground the next.
Team DeepBrother Lars- Team Deep
"Okay, brothers. Let us split up and search; I will check that shipping container. May Algis shield us all from danger."
Quick prayer to Algis for protection. Check that big solo totally-not-suspicious container surrounded by corpses.
DEEP TEAM: Taddok Find
"Okay, brothers. Let us split up and search; I will check that shipping container. May Algis shield us all from danger."
You got it.
Look around for anything that looks unusual or out of place (Intuition roll go!) If nothing catches my eye check on something...to the right of the elevator door?
((Edited my action to be a bit less ambiguous.))
Lyra Autoaction - Team Deep
Check nearby bodies. If any new injuries show up, attempt to diagnose them instead.
Team Deep - Tek
@Flint "To answer your question, the pulse does affect manipulator brains. One of Tek's is dead and the other is bleeding."
This must be the last shipment before the colony went dark, the one Steve told us about. The answers are surely here. And so is great danger.
Stay away from that central container. Pop a coagulant. Hopefully don't stroke as a result. Is the MCP-II helping with the damage at all? Also treat the bleeding manipulator brain.
Then, think about the right way to treat the creeping death affecting us. Coagulants? Could some old-fashioned exploratory surgery shed some light on this?
So. Lars walks over to the Container. It's quite a large thing, at least as tall as he is and twice as wide, maybe 4-5 times that in length. It's still closed, so he moves towards the front hatch, with the intent of opening it. One moment he's reaching for the locking handle, the next he's hurtling backwards in a spray of sparks as his suit bounces and scrapes along the ceiling and floor. He misses the elevator shaft and bowls into a stack of shipping containers. Several layers of his chest plate are left in shattered pieces in a trail behind him.
There's a large hole in the shipping container, and something slips out of it with unnatural smoothness, like an insect emerging from a chrysalis, and unfolds into its full height. It's thin, humanoid in shape, skeletal black carapace and metallic bones, abnormally tall. A cloak covers most of it, but you can see glimpses inside. Its head resembles a human skull with wet leather draped tightly over it. In one bony, taloned hand it holds a large, studded club. It twirls the club slowly and the air boils with tiny shockwaves, filling the room with a sound like rolling thunder. It seems to scan the room with its eye sockets, a strange almost organic oscillating clicking coming from somewhere inside its chest. Another arm emerges from the cloak, fingers flexing, the sound of tightening metallic wire. It stops scanning and starts to walk.
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Topic: Mission 22: Hero Killer (Read 33962 times)