Campaign Turn 23 – Marduk Station – Squidheads, Precursors, Miranda, and…. What?
He ran comms for the mercs. And now he's one of the crew, carrying Selene's Shell Gun.
Jaxx focussed on piloting the shuttle. Selene and Miak would be leaving after this, and once they got to Truti Sanvita, Kazi and Vonthos would be gone, too.
Jaxx knew he had to stop dwelling on his crew. He needed to be sharp for the fight. He was flying the mercs' shuttle - an Alterra Model 75 shuttle. Cheap crap, but hopefully would let them arrive without setting off any alarms.
Jaxx circled the area that Ansila pointed out. They saw a large cavern, which definitely seemed like the spot. Jaxx set the shuttle down, and as soon as it landed, the crew was out the door, entering the cave.
This was the oddest cave Jaxx had ever seen. Most of it was wide open, but on the ground were 'walls' that looked like natural cavern - it was as if this was once a cavern, but someone opened up everything above two point five meters.
There were also the jutting black crystals - not quite basalt or obsidian, but close - and in the distance of the cave, the crew could see large golden structures. There was one large monolith, some of what looked like electrical equipment, and at the very far end, curved pointy things. The large monolith was closest, and the crew could see two cylindrical force fiends - one holding Miranda and what looked like a Precursor, and one holding the tallest, strangest, most wrong-looking alien Jaxx had ever seen.
But, there would be time to gawk later. From the far end of the cave, the crew heard shouting - something human, and definitely something that sounded more like the squid-heads.
Sandy, the sand runner that Vonthos adopted on the Ghost Ship, took off running. The rest of them advanced more slowly, keeping to cover.
As the crew advanced, they quickly gained eyes on the opponents. Squid heads, things that looked like squid-head/human hybrids, and one very large, serpent-tailed behemoth squid head. That was the alien that was shouting directions, so it must be the boss.
Vonthos moved up, and shot at one of the squid heads. Two shots from the plasma rifle. One missed, one hit - but the hit was solid and the squidhead dropped.
Ansila moved up and fired a grenade. Selene had told him to aim higher, let it arc. He didn't aim high enough. The shell impacted the torso of one of the hybrid types, splattering it over the walls and his companions. Might not have been the best shot, but it was certainly effective.
Selene moved up, and let her Fury Gun sing. Her shot struck the behemoth squidhead, and it it went down. Even from this distance, the crew could see that it wasn't going to get back up.
"Whahoo! Slammed it!" Selene shouted, pumping a fist in the air. Miak kicked in his jetpack and flew over one of the cavern walls, firing his rattle gun as he landed, taking out two of their opponents. As he landed, he shouted "Who's next for salvation?", then glanced back at Jaxx with a guilty look.
Jaxx knew Miak picked that up from his new unit, the Bastard Saints. What a group. Started by a group of religious brothers and sisters who were cast out of their order as heretics for taking up arms to fight against an invasion of K'Erin. They joined the battlefield with criminal gangers and a few soldiers who had survived the battle, and they held out until Unity reinforcements arrived. Saved many people against impossible odds. That experience turned them militant, and they formed a new religious order focused on protecting the weak and vulnerable through superior firepower, all in the name of their god. After all, if their god didn't want them to fight, they wouldn't have been so successful. Or so they say.It didn't seem like a good fit for either Selene, a military brat who was always chasing fame, or Miak, who grew up comfortably in a mega-class city. But, people change. Jaxx sure had.
Jaxx shook his head. He found that he had advanced further into the cavern while he was woolgathering, all on autopilot. The kind of autopilot that gets one killed.
They were fortunate to have gotten the drop on the squiddos, but now the squiddos were advancing. Well, the ones still living, that is.
One shot at Sandy, dropping it hard. Even at this stage, the crew could see that the poor sand runner was gone. Vonthos wailed, but then a round from one of their rifles glanced off of Vonthos, stunning him. Fortunately, his filter mask stayed in place, or he would have gone down, too.
Vonthos fired back, a single shot from his plasma rifle, and stunned one of the squiddo herd. Selene's Fury Rifle continued its song, dropping another. Miak hit the jumpjet again, taking out another squiddo. His landing was a bit rough, and he couldn't quite get to cover in time to avoid a shot. Fortunately, he was just shooken up. More shots from the squiddos, as they were moving around to flank. The crew of the Renegade Pigeon had split up to meet the two groups. Splitting the party is never wise, but they couldn't let half the baddies get behind them.
Ansila fired the shell gun again, this time properly. The blast dropped one squiddo. Jaxx fired his Blast Rifle, killing one of their specialists - who were carrying cling-fire pistols. Close range, but nothing any of them wanted to get hit with. Unfortunately, his hotshot pack caused the weapon to malfunction. Again. "Selene - Remember that duplicator device we scored a while back?" "Yeah Jaxx?" "When we're done, I'm going to duplicate your Fury Gun." "You sure? It's a manly gun, and you're old." "I could still take you in an unfair fight!" Selene laughed. Jaxx was going to miss that.
Ginny dropped one of the cling-fire wielding squiddos. "Carbia to Jaxx. I'm going to miss them, too, boss, but You gotta land. They're still shooting at us!"
Miak dropped two more. Ansila stunned the squiddo captain with another grenade. Selene dropped another one.
Jaxx took a solid hit. Would have taken him out, but he half-fumbled the blast rifle as he was shouldering it to draw his beam pistol, and luckily, had moved his head just enough for the round to zip by.
That's it. 110% focus.
Ginny took a hit. It wasn't a bad hit, but it knocked her filter mask off, and she dropped, choking and sputtering.
"Damn you all!", Jaxx cried as he moved up and killed the squiddo with his beam pistol, while Vonthos dropped another one.Jaxx then fired at the captain. Perfect shot. But the Captain's armor deflected it. Selene also shot at the captain, but while she hit, it wasn't enough. But Ansila's grenade, which landed next to the captain, did the trick, killing the captain and one other squiddo.
Jaxx took another grazing hit. Miak's rattle gun barrage dropped two more.
Vonthos, not having an enemy to shoot at, noticed something on the ground and picked up a hand cannon. He was somewhat bothered because the grip didn't fit his uplifted rhino hands.
Jaxx, filled with anger over Ginny going down again, dropped another enemy, leaving only one.
Selene smiled as she fired her Fury Rifle at him.
Jaxx rushed to Ginny, and activated their nano-doc, which got her back up on her feet. He could hear Miranda shouting at him to get her out, but Ginny was more important. Vonthos walked over to where Sandy lay. The poor sand runner was indeed gone.
The crew walked over to the prisoners. Jaxx was able to figure out the control system and disengaged the force field around Miranda and the Precursor.
Since they were closer, they could see that the Precursor was one of their so-called Warlocks. Psionic warriors. Brutal in a fight.
"Thank the heavens, Jaxx - I was sure they were going to kill us", Miranda said. Jaxx looked at her, then at the Precursor, and then at the strange Alien still imprisoned.
"We didn't come here to free you. We came trying to find out what these squid-heads were doing." He looked at her squarely. "I'm not a fan of working for Unity Agents, especially when they're not honest with me."Miranda didn't look surprised. "I expected you to figure it out, Captain Pearsall." Her earlier casualness was gone. She continued, "But you know that we can't always reveal ourselves. But please show some gratitude. I was the one who messaged the Precursors when we got hints that Marduk Station was going to be attacked."
Jaxx looked at the Precursor. "Please accept my thanks for saving everyone on the station, my crew included."
The Precursor replied. "You will let the Tivoyan out of the force field now, Jaxx CaptainPearsall." "That thing?" Jaxx replied. "THING?" The force of that word - no, not a word - a psionic shout - shook Jaxx. He knew it did not come from the Precursor, but from the other alien. The Tivoyan?
"You will free the Tivoyan now", the Precursor repeated. Jaxx could see that the rest of his crew was also affected by the psionic shout - Ginny more than the rest. He grudgingly released the alien. He could tell that his crew was on alert, and while their weapons were still slung, he knew that, if needed, the alien - the Tivoyan - and the Precursor would both be dead. "The controls are right here, you didn't need me to do that."
"I did. I can not operate the equipment of the Lith."
"Ok", Jaxx said. "Are you going to introduce us to your girlfriend?"
This time, the psionic shout dropped Jaxx to his knees.
"We are not amused" echoed in his head.
"Jaxx CaptainPearsall, you are like so many of your kind. Ignorant and savage. Perhaps we should have let the Tivoyan fleet exterminate all on what you call Marduk Station."
The crew looked at the Precursor with shock on their faces. "They were going to wipe us out? And you had us release it?"
The psionic utterance echoed through the crew's minds. This time, less forceful, although still incredibly uncomfortable, like the words should not be able to be understood, but their brains were twisted until they were. "The Lith can not open the heart of the station. The Lith can not spread their seed among the cattle. The Tivoy still do not understand why we were stopped."
The precursor responded, "As primitive as humans are, we did not want to see millions of lifeforms exterminated again."
"Again?"
"Jaxx CaptainPearsall, you know that the station was populate and 'abandoned' countless times. Many species much more advanced than humans dwelled there. And when the Tivoy felt that the heart was threatened, they moved to stop the threat. Sadly, there was no one willing to stop them when it was our turn. And more than anything, that is why we acted as we did."
Selene whistled. Vonthos whispered "my god". Ginny just stood there with her mouth open.
"So what is in the heart of this station that the Tivoy don't want opened?"
The Precursor glanced at the towering alien, and quickly said "Do not ask that. Our people asked that once."
Jaxx glanced between the Precursor and the Tivoyan. "What happened?"
"They told us."
After a pause that seemed to last a millenium, the Tivoy's psionic speech twisted through the crews' heads. "The heart is still at risk. We must purge the station."
Miranda turned to the Tivoyan. "What if Unity protects it? Heavy guard, technological, physical, and biological security?"
"And what would happen when the Lith corrupt your guards? Or if they are successful with biomorphing your cattle?"
"Biomorph?" Jaxx said.
Miranda turned to Jaxx. "The Razor Wings I had you stop - they were being genetically engineered to spread a biological mutigen. Anything they bit would be altered, its basic biochemistry changed."
"Changed into a squidhead, like those hybrid-like ones we dropped?"
"No, Jaxx. The people of Marduk Station would be turned into The Swarm. The Lith created the Swarm, and they are responsible for the outbreaks on Carbia, Hesione, and elsewhere."
The crew was jolted with shock. The Swarm? Millions of them on Marduk Station?
"Fuck"
Jaxx wasn't sure if that came from Selene or all of them at the same time.
"Cattle are weak and can not be trusted. Even the.... precursors.... fell to the Lith. The station must be purged." Jaxx could tell that the word 'precursor' that the Tivoyan psionically transmitted was intended to refer to the name the Precursors called themselves. But, for whatever reason, it did not translate.
Jaxx had an idea. "What about the Soulless? Get them to set up guard. They can't be biomorphed. And if any are influenced by the Lith, all of them will know about it, and can react."
Silence. Jaxx could see that Miranda was pondering the politics and logistics of having the Soulless guard the station.
There was a long silence from both the Precursor and the Tivoyan. Jaxx noticed that the Precursor had found its Glare sword and pistol. He wasn't sure he liked that.
The psionic words wriggled through the crew's heads, as if worms were crawling through. "The Tivoy accept the suggestion. For now. We will watch. If the heart is threatened again, we will purge the station."
The precursor spoke. "As we told Marduk Station before, we will not defend it again."
Jaxx turned to look at the Tivoyan. It actually hurt his eyes to look at it. Tall, with odd wings that didn't look like they could fly, a head at the very top with five eyes on short tentacles, and longer tentacles at the bottom, which it used for locomotion. It looked like it evolved in the sea, and should still be there.
Miranda spoke to the Tivoyan. "We thank you for giving us this opportunity to protect our people....." She continued to talk for a bit, and even Jaxx could tell that the Tivoyan was no longer paying attention. It started to move towards the back of the cavern. The crew, followed by Miranda and the Precursor, followed behind.
It arrived at a golden artifact that looked like two arches bordering a circle of empty air. As it moved between them, the crew felt a sharp stab of pain in their heads, and Ginny gasped and almost passed out. Even the precursor looked staggered. And the Tivoyan was gone.
The Precursor turned to leave, nodding to Miranda before turning to Jaxx. "Jaxx CaptainPearsall, you have done the improbable. I am impressed by a human. I wish you well, and I hope your idea works. Farewell."
Jaxx bid him farewell using a Precursor phrase for 'goodbye' that he had learned. The precursor burst out laughing as he continued on his way, echoes of laughter trailing behind him.
Jaxx' cheeks turned red. "What did I say?"
Miranda looked amused. "Do you really want me to say it out loud, or would you prefer to save face in front of your crew?"
His crew started to chant "Tell us... tell us...", but Miranda changed the subject. "That was a brilliant idea, Captain Pearsall. For a mercenary, you have a good head for negotiation."
"Makes sense. Jaxx has gone political." Selene said.
Miranda replied, "Damn it. Mercenaries are easier to control. Are you planning on running for office, then?"
Jaxx was taken aback. His plan always was to be stingy, hit his financial goals, then retire to a quiet life. But maybe...... Once he was sure his crew was taken care of."
"We're heading out to Truti Sanvita, Need a lift off-planet?"
"Thank you, but no." Miranda replied. "I have a ship at the starport. I could use a lift there, though."
"Just so you are aware, we don't have a Unity Agent discount."
The crew left the cave, and boarded the 'borrowed' shuttle. Their pockets were lined with loot gathered from the cave.
They stopped off to pick up the Speckled Jim, and then flew to the starport. There, they celebrated their last night together as a crew. In the morning, Selene and Miak would be joining their new unit, and Jaxx, Kazi and the rest would be lifting off for Phitreol.
Editorial
If you are familiar with the works of H.P. Lovecraft, you will recognize the "Tivoyan" as an Elder Thing from the Mythos. But don't worry - there are no Eldrich Horrors, no Cthulhu, no Nyarlathotep, or any of that. The three most mundane alien races that Lovecraft wrote about - the Elder Things, the Cithians, and the Mi-Go have always interested me just as aliens.
According to Lovecraft, the Elder Things may have been responsible for the creation of life on Earth - In my mind, they terraformed the Earth, and many other planets (which is why planets like Hesione can grow human-edible food). That was not intentional - it suited them better, and we just evolved to live on their worlds. They generally are no longer in this section of space, so only their long-decayed artifacts remain.
The Cithians are still around, switching minds with people they consider interesting, forcing them to document everything about their time & place in the Cithian's vast libraries, while the Cithian explores the world in their 'host's body. They have vast storehouses of information, but aside from when they swap minds with an "interesting" person, they don't really involve themselves with us.
The Mi-Go are predators. They also look for "interesting" people, but for the Mi-Go, their appreciation for them involves removing their brains, and using their victim's brains as organic computers. They haven't been encountered yet, and may never be.
And of course, there are the squid-heads. "Lith" is short for Illithid, the mind flayers of D&D. I'm sure you're shocked at my creativity. And the "big boss" was a Reaper Bathalian Primarch miniature. I decided that not all are psionic, but they do tend to be masters of genetic manipulation. And since I used Games Workshops' Genestealer Hybrid bodies with custom squid heads for them, using Genestealer Hybrid heads on Stargrave mini bodies let me fill out their ranks - and also gave me the idea that the Lith created the Swarm, since I will be using Genestealer minis for the Swarm in my games.
And what is at the heart of Marduk Station? Well, as the Precursor said, "Don't Ask." Why? Because I have no idea.
Step 1
1. Flee Invasion - N/A
2. Decide whether to travel - no
3. Starship travel event -
4. New world arrival steps -
1. Check for Rivals - n/a
2. Dismiss Patrons -
3 - License paid - No License
4 - world characteristics - Opportunities: Add +1 when rolling for Patrons; Import Restrictions: Can not sell any items on this world.
Step 2
1. Upkeep and ship repairs. 1Cr due to Living Quarters upgrade
Pay for Medical Care: Used Med Patch on Selene. Spend 12 credits to get 3 back.
2. Assign and resolve crew tasks
Jaxx - Repair Combat Armor - repaired
Kazi - Repair Unity Battle Sight - repaired
Selene - x
Villem - x
Miak - Trade - Spare Parts
Vonthos - x
Ginerva - x
Ansila - Train
3. Determine Job Offers
Quest mission
4. Assign Equipment -
5. Resolve Rumors: -
6. Choose Battle -
6.5 Check Rivals -
Readying for Battle -
ELITE
DIFFICULTY SETTINGS: Respawn 5; Strength 4 – Add 2 basic enemies, 1 specialist, 1 Lieutenant
Quest mission: The enemy is becoming more determined. All future battles that are part of the Quest reduce the enemy Panic range by -1
World Settings -
1. Deployment Condition - Toxic Environment
1. Notable Sight - Loot
2. Objective - Fight off
4. Opponent Type - Cultists, with Elite Bruiser
4. Set up the battlefield -
---
Fight!
Seize The Initiative: yes
Won? yes
Held The Field? yes
First Blood - Vonthos
Notable Sight: Loot: Hand Cannon
Post-Battle
1. Rivals - No
2. Patron - n/a
3. Quest Progress - Quest Completed
4. Get Paid - 7 Cr
5. Battlefield Finds - Personal Trinket (another one!)
6. Check for Invasion - No
7. Gather Loot - Roll 4x;
Hand Flamer
Hand Laser
3 damaged dazzle grenades
3 damaged frakk grenades
Stealth Gear
8. Injuries
Ginerva: Nano-Doc
Sandy: Dead
9. Experience:
Jaxx 4
Selene 5
Vilem xx
Miak 4
Vonthos 5
Ginerva 2
Kazi xx
Ansila 4
10. Invest in Advanced Training: N/A
11. Purchase Items: N/A
12. Campaign Event: Shady character offers us a deal - traded item for Bit of Scrap (1Cr)
13. Character Event: Vonthos: The Local Food Is Sitting Well With You - +1XP
Selene & Miak take their leave, heading off with the Bastard Saints on their ship, the "Saint's Hammer"
