Chapter 2: The City

[Supercape]

A few hours later...

The winds had whipped up a jolly number, not enough to disturb the robust ATV, but enough to make travelling in the T-Prop a disagreeable, albeit plausible option. It was a jolly number that felt cold and haunted, bristling against the metal shell of the vehicle.

The ground was stretches of rock and ice, sometimes cracked, spewing rubble and shards. Again, nothing the ATV could not handle, although vigilance was required.

Hattie, Seth, and Sam, armed (wisely) with plasma pistols and every bit of survey equipment they though they might need, proceeded to their target, the epicentre of the earthquake.

So far, so good. But no signs of life, and just static on the communications. Perhaps it was the persistent EM storm, perhaps it was that there was nothing out there. At least nothing left alive. At least nothing left human alive.

The scanner could detect the epicentre, a few hundred metres away. An array of rubble and rock and shards of ice, as far as could be determined. The hazy atmosphere and the low horizon of Titan (thanks to its small size) made visual confirmation a dismal prospect, at least until they were nearer...

[Mr. Handy]

Samantha Golightly periodically checks her multiscanner for any signs of life in the area, particularly around the epicenter, as they get closer. There's something about the rocks in the region that seem familiar to her, but she can't quite place them. Attached to her belt, in addition to her plasma pistol, is an injector loaded with sedatives in case any surviving crew members are also mad. Doctor Bloom had measured out appropriate dosages and preloaded the injector before they left.

OOC,Scanning roll (56% skill) searching for life signs: [dice]0[/dice] Geology roll (41% skill) examining the rocks: [dice]1[/dice]

[aine]

"Ye gods!" Seth looks out at the desolation. "We might as well give up now; there's not a daisy's chance in hell of finding anyone in this!"

[DrPeterson]

There is -Bob- we're the only carbon-based life forms big enough to register on our remote sensing equipment on this rock. We should be able to pick up traces of our MIA's if the EM-storms don't interfere too heavily with our equipment. Any luck, Sam?


Hattie looks over Sam's shoulder at her display.

Geology 30%,[dice]0[/dice]

[Mr. Handy]

"Plus, they're chipped," says Sam. "As long as they haven't removed their chips, they'll be easy to find once we get close enough. I think I'm picking up something..." She focuses on the scanner's display.

[Supercape]

Amid the rubble ahead, Sam got a lock - a fuzzy lock - on a chip. The signal spluttered a little in the storm, but it was there, unquestionably. The chip of Commander Miriam Wu.

The ATV trudged, carefully, through the broken landscape, ripped apart by the earthquake. The rubble was extensive, a couple of hundred metres in diameter, and a true mess at its epicentre, which could hardly be seen - a spire of rock and ice, hazy in the titan air.

But at the edge, the crew found the chip, and the signal. A motionless body in an exosuit.

And no life signs.

[Mr. Handy]

"That's Commander Wu," says Sam, lowering her head. "We'd better go have a look at the body and see if we can figure out how she died and why she came here, as well as any indication of what happened to Gina Croft. If anyone can make sense of these rocks, it's her."

[DrPeterson]

Hattie picked up one of the scanners and slung it over her shoulder. She checked if her pistol was still good and went to the airlock.

"Let's go."

She secured her suit and breathing gear and prepared to exit the vehicle, her determination hiding her shock at seeing the lifeless body.

[aine]

Seth fiddles with his equipment long enough to be trailing behind the others: he's in no hurry to examine the body or feel the storm.

[Supercape]

The ATV pulled up a mere few yards from the body. The trio bounced out of the vehicle, feet crunching on rock and ice. In Titan air, thick and hazy, sound travelled very well, and yet all that could be heard was the wind.

The body was mangled, and not well. It seemed corroded, broken, as if it has dissolved. The exosuit's power had, of course, long given out, but the suit was also eroded, barely covering half of the body. And the other half, where the body was...

It was hard to tell. Frozen flesh, but burnt, scarred, bone and organs lying exposed. The face was half eaten away, one side of the head dissolved to fragments of bone and brain.

It was Commander Wu, no doubt, but by best guess, only half of her. The other has was a mess of gloop.

Spoiler:

And the horribly mangled corpse of your friend is a 1/1D6 SAN loss for Hattie and Sam. Its still ghastly for Seth, but as Miriam Wi was not known to him, a slightly more lenient 1/1D4 SAN loss

[Mr. Handy]

Sam feels nauseous when she sees the partially melted remains of her friend and leader, but thankfully she is barely able to keep it together and does not vomit in her exosuit. "What could have done this?" she wonders aloud.

OOC,Sanity roll (current level 65) for seeing [b]Commander Wu[/b]'s body: [dice]0[/dice]

[aine]

Seth looks briefly down at the mangled mess with resignation. "Well there you go. Who'd have thought it." And then scans around slowly as far as he can see past the jumbled rocks and jets of noxious gases emitting from vents in the torn ground. "I suppose the Doc could guess how she died - which might help us avoid the same fate. "

sanity,Seth rolled 40: lose 1 sanity point.

[Supercape]

Spoiler:

Feel free to examine the corpse as you wish - scanning, science, or medicine rolls - an Idea roll will suffice to determine it looks like an acid attack

[Mr. Handy]

"It looks like acid caused this," says Sam, running her multiscanner up and down the corpse - or what was left of it. "Maybe whatever alien creature she ran into secretes the stuff. Or it could have acid in its blood, like something out of a twentieth century science fiction movie." She scans their surroundings looking for Gina Croft's chip or any other life signs.

OOC,Idea roll (75% stat) about what killed [b]Commander Wu[/b]: [dice]0[/dice] Scanning roll (56% skill) examining the body and looking for [b]Gina Croft[/b] and other life signs: [dice]1[/dice] Medicine roll (201% base skill) examining [b]Commander Wu[/b]'s body: [dice]2[/dice] Chemistry roll (26% skill) analyzing the goo: [dice]3[/dice]

[Supercape]

There was no sign of life; at least, in the immediate vicinity. However, the multiscanner picked up several unusual chemical residues in the body. An acid, from what Sam could tell. Albeit the chemical was highly unusual and beyond her understanding.

By chance, the half of Commander Wu's body that had not been eaten away (although was blistered and frozen) was also the half that had her chip in, inserted into her forearm.

[Mr. Handy]

"We should at least retrieve the chip," says Sam. "There may be data on it that will be helpful. We can also collect samples of the acidic chemical for later analysis, as well as rock and soil samples. We could bring the body back, but I'm concerned about possible contamination. We are dealing with an unknown alien entity or entities, after all."

[DrPeterson]

Sanity 70%,[dice]0[/dice]

Sanity damage,[dice]1[/dice]

Idea 85%,[dice]2[/dice]

"Miriam? Miriam? Miriam..."

As Hattie sees the mangled corpse of her friend, her mind suddenly comes to the realisation that they are not the only thing on this rock, something else must be here, something very, very, aggressive. Aggressive and intrusive. What's that? It's crawling up her leg, a million pin pricks slowly climbing up over her belly.

Hattie screams maniacally as she starts to punch herself in the gut, slapping her thighs, and starts clawing at the sealing clamp around her neck. It takes a fraction of a second before the radio can compensate for her high pitch and her initial shriek is ear-piercing.

"It's inside! It's inside the suit!"

[Mr. Handy]

"But that's impossible!" says Sam. "It would be obvious if your suit had been breached." When she sees Hattie trying to remove her helmet, she grabs her arms. "Whoa, what are you doing, Hattie?! You can't do that out here! We need to get back into he ATV!"

[DrPeterson]

Hattie screams as Sam grabs her and tries to pull away.

Resistance STR 9 vs STR 14,[dice]0[/dice]

Surprisingly, she manages to squirm free of the stronger woman's grasp and she runs away in the direction of the epicentre, all the while clawing at her suit.

Luck 70%,[dice]1[/dice]

After a dozen or so metres, Hattie's suit jags on the uneven surface and she keels over, luckily not damaging her respirator.

"ARG!!! GET THEM OFF!!! GET THEM OFF!!! THEY'RE IN MY FACE!!!"


She keeps screaming as she trashes about and tries for the clamp on her breather again.

[Mr. Handy]

"Hattie, no!" calls Sam, chasing after her and trying to restrain her. "You'll kill yourself! Wait until we're inside the ATV!"