[Taocow PBEM] Book 3 - Chapter II

Aaron Clausen mightymartianca at gmail.com
Fri Jan 29 21:44:46 GMT 2010


> > [Carlos]
> > "So they have Star Wars where you're from then." Carlos says, trying to
> > adjust his equipment to ease the pain.
> > [/Carlos]

> [Raven]
> "Why would anyone battle among the stars?" Raven asked quietly. She
> raised an eyebrow and then shook her head. "That's just silly..."
> [/Raven]

[Carlos]
Carlos gives Raven an odd look.
[/Carlos]

[...]

> > [Carlos]
> > Carlos moves towards the door, not waiting to see whether anyone
> > follows him.  As he approaches it he slows down, and then carefully
> > looks around the corner.
> >
> > "I can't see a damned thing." he says over the radio.  "It's filled with
> > that same stupid fog they had on the sub's engine room.  There's
> > definitely something big in there, though.  Just a minute."
> >
> > He carefully moves into the chamber beyond and out of sight.  A minute
> > later he appears and moves back to the company.  "There's the brain in
> > there the size of a bloody Titan!  Like the ones we saw before, but BIG!"
> > [/Carlos]

> > [GM]
> > Suddenly those with Sixth Sense get that familiar creepy feeling.  The
> > flickering airlock light because flashing red instead of yellow, and the
> > sound of water flushing can be heard.  At the same time, in the chamber
> > beyond, more activity can be heard, a horrible metallic scraping, coming
> > closer...
> > [/GM]

> [Raven]
> Raven has been about to inform the others of what she found/detected,
> but then there was action already.
>
> "That would be the supernatural evil I just detected," Raven said, now
> as an understatement. "There is definitely magic at work here - and its
> not us!"
> [/Raven]

> [Alex]
> Alex states, "I think we should take cover?"
>
> "The grates may give us surprise," as she looks for how hard it would be
> to get under them.
> [/Alex]

> [Lyle]
> Looking around and keeping calm, Lyle assess quickly this is a bad spot.
>
> "They know we are here, push into the chamber before they seal the
> door. We will have room to fight and move and find cover there.
> Staying in this passage will only get us killed"
> He slings his rifle and grabs 2 of the plasma grenades he brought with him.
> [/Lyle]

> [Raven]
> "I vote for the chamber"
>
> Chances are that whatever it is already knows we are there and could
> very well see us no matter where we end up hiding. Might as well face
> whatever it is.
> [/Raven]

> [Koba]
> Getting caught up in a small corider will likely end badly. Once his
> crackling shield is up, Koba will take a deep breath then charge ahead
> with Lyle into the chamber.
> [/Koba]

> [Alex]
> If everybody is charging, Alex will charge with them. There is no
> point in hiding just to protect herself.
> [/Alex]

> [Ted]
> Ted votes to hide under the floor plates.
> [/Ted]

> [Owen]
> Without knowing what is coming, Owen votes for a wait and see approach
> (the grates).
> [/Owen]

[Carlos]
"Let's take cover." Carlos says.  "Our last run in with giant brains didn't
end so well."

With that he leans down and pulls up one of the grates.  It's fairly rusty,
and gives a metallic moan but pops up.

"Come on!" he says, glancing up at the airlock, "we don't have much time."
[/Carlos]

[GM]
Though some of the party are ready to fight, the group's decision is to hide.
The passage underneath the floor grates is cramped, and there is about
eight inches of water in the bottom.  There are far more nooks and crannies
to hide here; under pipes, in access ports, and as Carlos finds out when he
moves a bit ahead to scout the area, holes in the floor.  He suddenly
disappears under the water, to appear a few seconds later, clawing on to
a pipe to pull himself out.
[/GM]

[Carlos]
He spits out water.  "Big damned hole there.  If it gets bad, some of us
could probably go in there."
[/Carlos]

OOC: If it becomes important, I'll let everyone choose where they want
to hide.  Picture this as a sort of access tunnel, with a ceiling made up
of the steel floor grates.  There are all manner of pipes and conduit,
access hatches about three feet high and two feet wide every ten feet
or so, even simple indents in the wall that smaller people could hide
in.  There is even a tool locker on one wall, about six feet long,
two feet high and three feet deep.

[GM]
Within moments of everyone finding a hiding place, an buzzing alarm
sounds, and the door of the airlock slides open.  No one can see
who or what it is yet, but by the sounds of it walking, it must be a
biped of some weight, and wearing some sort of hard footware.

Simultaneously other footsteps can be heard coming from the chamber,
walking at a very brisk pace, but with a more squishy sound, save one
that sounds booted.  The creatures the footsteps belong to come into
sight.  They are more of the fishmen.  All are in some sort of body
armor made of what looks like steel fish scales.  With them, however, is
one creature who is most definitely not a fishman.  (OOC: I've attached
an image and will post it to the website archive for this turn as well).

The figure is nearly seven feet tall, in black armor and cape, with a helmet
that looks like a mashup of Darth Vader and gargoyles, with curved horns
on top.

"You risk much in coming here now." the tall figure says in a deep voice.

"I could not delay." the unseen figure from the airlock says in a perfect
English accent.  "They managed to overcome the effect."

"What of it?" the robed figure says.  "The side effects will take a day
or two to overcome, and we can have the vessel in our hands by then."

"You do not understand." the unseen figure replies.  "They have new
allies they picked up in the Yagrax's den.  I warned you that the
stars had aligned in their favor.  These allies will be arriving here
shortly, if they haven't already."

"Kolobaras!" the robed figure says, like it was a curse.  He turns to
the fishmen.  "I want guards posted at the airlock, get every free hand
you have and search the place.  Check the flooded domes, too.  And
you, get back to that damned sub before they find you out.  Take this
with you."

The robed figure hands a plastic bag with a strange fleshy object,
about the size of a human head, and shaped like an egg.  It is
covered in blood vessels and pulses.  An insect-like arm reaches
out and grabs it.

"I know what to do." the owner of the insect-like arm says, and
then can be heard walking back into the airlock.

Once the door closes, the robed figure turns back to the fishmen.
"Tell your master of this setback.  I must communicate with my
own master."

The fishmen head back towards the chamber, but the robed figures
walks in the other direction, which leads to the sealed hatch at the
other end of the passage.  Two fishmen remain by the airlock.
[/GM]

OOC: Of the five characters with Lore - Demons, three (Lyle, Alex
and Koba) recognize the robed figure.  They know that this is a
Sunaj Assassin, a minion of the Splugorth Splynn of Atlantis.  So
whaddya all gonna do now?  I'm assuming you tell the others.

--
Aaron Clausen
mightymartianca at gmail.com
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