Mother, May I? 2.03 - Give Them Hell

[00:00:06] Speaker A: Mother, mother, may I, may I take to the sky? Mother, may I leave you here lonely? Hello, listeners, and welcome back to the cold desolation of space. Goblets and gays have returned to the world of alien using free league Press's incredible alien rpg with the second season of mother, may I? My name is Ferris. I use she her pronouns, and I am honored to be back as your game. Mother. This is episode three. Give them hell. So now let's reacquaint ourselves with the stalwart crew of the hera while they last. [00:01:21] Speaker B: Hello, I am Vesti. I use they he pronouns. And I am playing Caroline Lowe, who uses she her pronouns. Who is our sassy mercenary? [00:01:32] Speaker A: Hello. [00:01:33] Speaker C: I am Navarre. I use he him pronouns. And I am playing Tank Metchi, who also uses he him pronouns. He is the pilot. [00:01:42] Speaker D: And I am Mimi, also known as Michelle Jones. I use she her pronouns. And tonight I am playing Daniel Strauss, company man at your service. [00:01:56] Speaker A: If you're hearing this, well, I finally kicked it, and no thanks to Wayland. I always said I'd never take a job from them, but here we are. I let my bank account be my conscience, so if you could do me a little favor and give them hell. Here's the coordinates to my location. Have fun. The umbilical connects with a soft hiss linking the hera to this darkened secret station. The door on the other side waits impassively for your arrival. It takes a little effort to force open the doors and then force them closed again. But once inside the station's airlock, you are relieved to discover that though the lights are out, the power is not wholly off, light support is still on. Of course, there is a question of why one and not the other. Many questions come to mind as the systems pump the correct quantities of oxygen into the airlock. What is the biggest question on your mind right now? Each of you? [00:03:09] Speaker D: Why would Waylon Yutani just leave a space station derelict like mean? I know this is a salvage crew, but it seems like this place is working. [00:03:25] Speaker B: Why did I say yes to this job? [00:03:28] Speaker C: I had it. And then my brain just shut off completely. Tank is wondering, how did this ship get information about the Amekanos and Captain Lee? [00:03:49] Speaker A: The airlock opens, and you step forward into a very dark station that on the surface, from what your suit's lights can illuminate, looks to be pristine. What do you do? [00:04:13] Speaker D: So what's the sop here? [00:04:19] Speaker B: What? [00:04:22] Speaker D: The standard operating procedure. You're the salvage crew, so I'm following your lead on this one. [00:04:30] Speaker C: So we're going to just investigate everything. I think we ought to check, head to the engineering room, make sure there's power coming to the ship, enough to get the lights back on, and then we can head up to the cockpit to see what are the information we can gather from the computers if we can get those back on along the way. If you see any noticeable salvage, anything that would be worth picking up, either grab it if it's small enough, tag it if it's too large. And once we get to the. Probably not the cockpit because it's a satellite. But once we get to the bridge. Bridge? Yeah, sure, once we get to the bridge, then from there, we'll see what comes up that we can basically gather from the inventory. My main concern being finding out why we've got this message, why the ship can be, why the ship's showing up the way it is on sensors. [00:05:43] Speaker D: All right. Understood. I wonder if I can pull up a schematic. I'm going to take out my data pad and see if I can find any way to sync up with the ship systems. Find a map for the stations. [00:06:00] Speaker A: Need to find a physical port in order to get that information. [00:06:07] Speaker D: I'll keep an eye out for that while we walk. [00:06:10] Speaker A: The airlock has let you out into a cargo hold area. You can't see very far at the moment, but enough to be like, okay, this seems to be Ikargo Bay. The closest thing to you is a ladder that leads to another location and then there are some large bay doors that are directly to the left of you. And the rest of it, you're not entirely sure, but you can hunt around in this little central area if you'd like. [00:06:52] Speaker D: Dan's going to look around for somewhere he can plug in a data pad, see if he can get a read on the ship. [00:07:02] Speaker A: Yeah. You start hunting around this level of the station, noting a few other offices, some other doors you see, like, places where some doors have been sealed shut. Actually, give me an observation roll. Let's get this started. And while we're at it, I feel like all of you need to add a stress die that you're on the ship. Yeah, it's just very dark in here. I see a one. [00:07:38] Speaker D: I mean, I see a six one success. [00:07:42] Speaker A: That's what I meant by one. Yeah. You spot a terminal on the opposite side on the airlock. Leads straight in, and then there is a central column where there is the ladder and an elevator that go in different directions. And then on the opposite side of that central column, you spot a physical terminal posted up on the wall as you go to attach your data pad to it and try to download some information off of it, you do notice that there are some odd dark specks that kind of shimmer in the light of your helmet with a little red tint to them. [00:08:31] Speaker B: I should be clear. Caroline is with Dan. Caroline refuses to let Dan have their sight. [00:08:38] Speaker A: Sure. [00:08:41] Speaker D: You said it's like shimmery red? [00:08:44] Speaker A: Yeah. It has a blood look to it, but like, fresh, fresh blood still wet. [00:08:59] Speaker D: Dan's first thought would not be blood. Dan's first thought would be like, actually, wait, are the lights on it? The lights are off, right. [00:09:11] Speaker A: It is just your helmet lights right now. [00:09:13] Speaker D: So with no light, Dan's first thought would probably be like. And so he's looking at it going, wow, they do not keep a clean house. Have you seen the place? [00:09:34] Speaker B: What? Is there like some bugs on there? [00:09:37] Speaker D: No, look, there's like oil or paint or something all over this thing. [00:09:41] Speaker A: Could be nail polish. [00:09:44] Speaker B: Caroline's going to look, it is dark, but her first instinct, but definitely needs to be like, that's not thick enough to be oil. And like, I think she's like. [00:10:04] Speaker A: I. [00:10:04] Speaker B: Don'T think that's thick enough to be oil. [00:10:07] Speaker C: Is there anywhere here that I could access that could turn on the lights. [00:10:15] Speaker A: In this area? Yes, I would say there's probably a junction box on that central column. You could probably redirect power to the lights or the elevator or maybe some of the doors. [00:10:30] Speaker C: Would that take away power from the life support? [00:10:35] Speaker A: No, but it might bother the air filtration system a little bit. [00:10:39] Speaker C: Well, we still have our suits on. [00:10:41] Speaker A: You are still in your suits? [00:10:42] Speaker C: Yeah. Okay. [00:10:43] Speaker A: The air life support is on, so you could ditch your suits. They are cumbersome. They are going to slow you down. [00:10:49] Speaker C: Yeah, I think if everybody's got their suits on, I'm just going to try and see if I can get light back on in a station in general. [00:11:02] Speaker A: Purely because you're a pilot and not like a calm person, I will make you roll for this. So give me tech. [00:11:09] Speaker C: Sure. Yeah, I think I go and try to mess with it and it's just like none of this. I don't think I can get that on from down here. [00:11:22] Speaker A: There's an OD message on the screen. When you try to redirect the power, it's like giving you a corrupted file message, which is weird on a junction box, but there's not technically files on the junction box. There's a UI so you can read it, but that's not technically a file. [00:11:45] Speaker C: What does the error message say it. [00:11:47] Speaker A: Just says corrupted file? That's literally what it says. Txt. [00:11:53] Speaker C: Yeah, I'll just go and talk to Martin and, yeah, I think we're going to have to find a different station saying the file is corrupted here. Not a different station, a different area of the satellite. [00:12:08] Speaker A: Yeah. Martin's like, okay, yeah. If this is airlock and this looks like cargo stuff, then we would want to probably. This looked about middle of the station when we got in. So I would guess move up. Moving up is usually where cockpits and stuff like that is. So my guess is we go up. I don't know. I've never been here, but up. [00:12:39] Speaker C: Yeah. Would my assumption be that if I can't access the lights, then I can't turn on the elevator either? [00:12:47] Speaker A: Probably, yeah. [00:12:48] Speaker C: Okay. [00:12:51] Speaker A: A ladder or stairs? [00:12:54] Speaker C: Probably a ladder. Okay. Yeah, I think then we'll start moving towards the ladder. I'll just turn back and with whatever flashlight or headlight, just say over to Daniel and Caroline, we're going to head up to the bridge. Are you going to stay down? [00:13:17] Speaker D: Just. I should be able to get this comatics here in just two think. [00:13:23] Speaker C: I think Tank's going to look at Martin, be like, well, we know we got to go up. All right, we'll meet you there. [00:13:31] Speaker A: Yeah. I think Martin does take the opportunity to ditch the suit and disconnect the light source and put it on externally. [00:13:41] Speaker C: Just because you thought you're going to have a backup character. [00:13:45] Speaker A: I'm taking them out now just because since the life support is on and the ladders are very narrow, it would be slow going and very bulky to get up that ladder. [00:13:56] Speaker D: Okay. [00:13:56] Speaker C: Yeah, if it's going to be bulky and Tank will do the same, but yeah. [00:14:02] Speaker A: So, Dan, you have downloaded the schematics easily enough. I'm not even going to make you roll for it. Fun fact, the station looks like a little ladybug. [00:14:16] Speaker D: Oh, that's cute. [00:14:17] Speaker A: It is kind of cute. [00:14:19] Speaker D: Which way would like the engine room? [00:14:22] Speaker A: Uh, let's see here. Engines are going to be. Yeah, looks like they're gonna be down. [00:14:30] Speaker D: So, yeah, I'll tell Caroline. [00:14:33] Speaker A: Well, if we want life support. Life support. Well, life support would also be down. It would just be further down. [00:14:39] Speaker D: Yeah, I want to check, like, getting the lights back on. So I'll tell Caroline. If we want to get the lights on, that's going to be down the ladder. [00:14:50] Speaker B: But the other people went up the ladder. Do you want to go with right now? I guess we do need light, but we don't know what's going on. [00:15:03] Speaker D: That's true, but it'll be harder to tell what's going on in the dark. [00:15:12] Speaker B: Caroline, I assume we have comms to each. [00:15:16] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. [00:15:19] Speaker B: Overcoms to tank. Caroline's like, we got the schematics. We're going to go down to try to get the lights on. It's down the ladder. We'll ping you if there's any issues. [00:15:35] Speaker C: That'll work. [00:15:37] Speaker D: Tank told me there were two things that we needed to, so I did. I'm going to leave my spacesuit with the other ones, and I think I start going towards the ladder. Then I pause, and I'm like, can I climb? [00:16:00] Speaker B: Yeah. She's probably currently taking off the whole thing. She's going to strap the light, the flashlight to her assault rifle, which she's had out the whole time. I'm just like, yeah, give me a second. Let me just make sure coast is clear. Do the whole look down with the flashlight, look like there, and then climb down the ladder, and only, like, once she's down the ladder and confirms that there's nothing here, she'll call for Daniel to come down. [00:16:37] Speaker D: Daniel finds the entire process, like, a little bit silly, but know it's her job. She's good at her job. I'm gonna let her do it. So I wait until she says it's okay for me to climb down the ladder. [00:16:54] Speaker A: You both descend down into engineering platform, but it's technically written as engineering g platform. The g get whooped down to the other line, which is really funny to me, which has things like fusion reactors and fuel tanks and blood, and the lights are just flickering. There's, like, one flickering light in the corner, and there's a really loud thud as soon as you all enter. And that's it. [00:17:32] Speaker D: Echo. [00:17:36] Speaker B: Stay close. [00:17:40] Speaker D: Yeah, it's a lot messier down here than it was up there. [00:17:51] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:17:54] Speaker B: You know, I don't quite like this place, but I guess the sooner we get the lights on, the sooner we could actually see. I don't know if that's going to be better, to be honest, but at least we'll know. [00:18:12] Speaker D: Yeah. Let's find another terminal. [00:18:15] Speaker A: There's another junction box right there off of that ladder column. You can access that if you like. [00:18:28] Speaker D: Yeah. I'll check this to see if it'll let me turn the lights on. [00:18:36] Speaker A: So you have the option of turning on the lights? Yes, same options. Lights, elevator, indoor. Thank you for having more of a brain. [00:18:47] Speaker D: I'll start with lights. I'll try to get lights on. [00:18:51] Speaker A: You know, what? I'll make you roll as well, simply because it's not necessarily as straightforward as it looks. I see a stress die with a one. [00:19:08] Speaker D: Now I got to roll stress. [00:19:10] Speaker A: You do have to roll stress. So you keep it together. You get to keep your nerves in check. What about this moment stresses you out so much because you also get that corrupted file message, which is very strange to see on a junction box because it's just switching around mechanical functions to make sure you don't overload, like the power center. That's all it is. [00:19:42] Speaker D: Yeah, it's a weird message, but also, Caroline's comment earlier about it not being oil is definitely, like, in the back of my mind, I want it to be oil desperately. I need it to be oil, and I need the lights to turn on so that I can confirm that it's oil. [00:20:06] Speaker A: Yeah, especially considering the rather large puddle that was very close to the junction box. [00:20:15] Speaker D: But I did roll successes. So are the lights on? [00:20:18] Speaker A: Tragically? No. The one counteracts every success. You roll a one on a stress die, you fail the roll, and you have to make the stress roll fun for me. Tragic for the rest of. [00:20:33] Speaker D: Okay, so, all right, junction box is corrupted. That's got to be a UI issue, but the station AI should be able to fix it. Does the data I downloaded, does the station have an AI? [00:20:57] Speaker A: You actually see interesting information in schematic, which is that there is the standard operating mother system, which does give you a clue as to who owns this station. Mother is the traditional AI system for Nitani. Some of their competitors would use Apollo. Wayla. Nitani is not the only one who uses mother. They're just the ones who exclusively use it because that's where they get their money from. But this station, according to the schematics, has two AI systems, but one of them is localized in the research area. There's two different laboratory areas, and it seems that the other AI system, which is called l zero, version three r, is localized in the research area, but the rest of the station runs on mother. [00:21:58] Speaker D: Well, I'm not here for research, so I think Dan just calls out, mother, are you online? [00:22:10] Speaker A: And you hear this weird, staticy attempt at a response, but it doesn't actually come out in a word you can understand. [00:22:20] Speaker D: Okay, mother, sounds like you're having some audio issues. Can you beep. [00:22:28] Speaker A: Beep beep, beep, beep, beep, beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep. Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. [00:22:33] Speaker D: Okay, thank you. Can you do one beep for yes, two beeps for no? All right. We're going to call that a no. All right. Maybe we can check the mother room. Where is that? [00:23:00] Speaker A: Mother room is traditionally at the top. [00:23:06] Speaker C: Right? [00:23:06] Speaker A: Yeah. It's going to be located near the bridge. I would say. There's a mini market. That's fun. [00:23:16] Speaker D: So I'll tell Tank overcomes so having trouble getting things going down here. And it seems like mother might be on the fritz. I don't know if it's just an intercom issue or an issue with the AI itself. But you're heading that way, so would you mind taking a peek? [00:23:38] Speaker C: Sure thing. I guess there's nothing to be done down there. Just go ahead and head on up. [00:23:46] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:23:48] Speaker D: Take a little peek around just in case I miss anything. But then I'll come catch up with you. [00:23:56] Speaker C: Sounds good. [00:23:59] Speaker A: Yeah. We'll jump to Tank and Martin. You ascend up to the top deck. Which contains the useful information. You see all sorts of information up here. It's sort of like a lobby kind of area. You see some offices. You see some other areas. And the ladder continues up. Probably higher towards where a bridge might be and the mother room might be. You do see there's this massive window. That gives you this incredible view of the planet. Glimmering very brightly before you. And marring the beautiful white and blue streaked surface. You see a dark spot of some sort of city or installation or something like that. [00:25:06] Speaker B: Okay. [00:25:07] Speaker A: Then there is a slight screech of metal. [00:25:11] Speaker C: And that's quiet on the floor that we're on. [00:25:16] Speaker A: Yeah, one of the rooms. [00:25:18] Speaker C: In one of the rooms, I think I was going first ahead of Martin. And so I think hearing that screech, tank is going to step off the ladder and kind of low or his voice and just say, I think there's something else on this floor. Somebody else on this floor. [00:25:49] Speaker A: Cool. That's not cool. [00:25:54] Speaker C: Yeah, stay sharp. And I think. [00:25:58] Speaker A: Is it a problem? I didn't bring a weapon. I don't have an inventory. [00:26:06] Speaker C: Damn it, Martin. No, that's fine. But I'll stay in front. You open any doors I need you to open. And I would like to pull out both of my guns. Yeah. And so very tomb Raider style. I'm just going to double handgun and walk. And try to slowly, stealthily go where I heard the sound. [00:26:33] Speaker A: You find there is an office on this level. That if you go into it. That's where the sound is originating from. But it's quiet now. It's just about where you heard the sound come from. The door is open. [00:26:50] Speaker C: The door is open. Is there windows into the office? [00:26:55] Speaker A: No. Okay. [00:26:56] Speaker C: So the door is only opening a. [00:26:58] Speaker A: Little bit of light. [00:27:00] Speaker C: Okay. Basically, go to the side of the door, and I'm going to have, like, shine a light in there. And I'm just going to look and just be ready if something screeches at me. [00:27:16] Speaker A: Martin shines a light in there, and you don't see anything except for the gleam of a computer screen not facing the door. It's facing away, but you can see it kind of like, illuminating part of a chair in the back wall. And you see that the overhead vent is like, the covering has come loose and is on the floor, but that's about it. [00:27:41] Speaker C: Okay, so did it sound like a crash of event falling to the floor, or did it sound like. [00:27:47] Speaker A: No, it almost sounded like a metal chair being dragged across a metal floor. Like that little, like, yeah, I can't make it, but you know what I mean? [00:27:58] Speaker C: Yeah. Hmm. [00:28:04] Speaker A: But the office looks empty as far as you can tell. [00:28:07] Speaker C: Yeah, I don't like that. And the computer screen is on. [00:28:14] Speaker A: You said Martin kind of looks at you and looks at the computer and then says, I mean, we're here for information. Computers hold information. That's what they're good at. [00:28:29] Speaker C: Yeah, this is true. All right. Yeah. Let's go see what we can see if we can log into it, and we'll walk that way. [00:28:41] Speaker A: Okay. You going first? [00:28:44] Speaker C: I will go in first. [00:28:45] Speaker A: Okay. As you round the desk, something grabs your leg. [00:28:52] Speaker C: I'm going to kick. I think that's what any normal person would do, is just kick whatever it is trying to grab his leg. [00:29:00] Speaker A: Yeah, you kick, you hear a grunt, you look down, you see a woman in a suit sitting on the floor, impaled into the desk with a bent piece of rhubarb. And she kind of grunts when you kick her and then smiles politely at you and lets go of your leg. Were it not for the rebar, you probably would never guess that she was mortally wounded, especially with the utter lack of blood. And she says, apologies for scare. I thought you were something else, or I'd have said something first. Could I travel you for some assistance? [00:29:42] Speaker C: So I'm assuming in this world, I immediately recognize that this person is synthetic. [00:29:49] Speaker A: No, synthetics have white blood. [00:29:53] Speaker C: This person is. [00:29:54] Speaker A: No, their body has been pierced. It should have some sort of substance coming out. [00:29:59] Speaker C: And there's nothing. [00:30:00] Speaker A: Nothing. Unless she's really good at staunching wounds and had a change of clothes while she was impaled to a desk. [00:30:08] Speaker C: It's funny for you to say you weren't sure what we were. No offense, but what exactly are you? [00:30:18] Speaker A: I get that a lot. Name is Dinah Sharkovsky. [00:30:26] Speaker C: Dinah, nice to meet you. I'm Tank. You still didn't answer my question, though. What are you? And he hasn't moved to help and he hasn't put his guns away. [00:30:39] Speaker A: Martin, meanwhile, is just wigging out as quietly as possible. You know what? I would even say add a stress dye to this situation because it's warranted, given the lack of normality. And she just kind of smiles at you in that bared teeth kind of way that isn't a smile at all but a threat and says nothing. That is a concern to you. I promise. Trust me, there are far worse things running around here right now than disgraced executives. [00:31:28] Speaker B: Hmm. [00:31:31] Speaker C: This is surprise. Are you in pain? [00:31:37] Speaker A: Oodles, obviously. [00:31:43] Speaker C: I think when she says that he's going to turn to Martin and say, we came in here to use the computer. I think you should go access that now. [00:32:05] Speaker A: Just use it. Just use the computer like it's normal, this job. Yeah, I'm going to use the computer. And he does a little dosy dough past the woman and squeezes behind the chair. Could have gone the other way around the desk, but did not. [00:32:24] Speaker C: Yeah, I think, yeah. And Tank's going to scoot back away from reaching distance, but still keep an eye on her. Yeah, she's not in pain. She's just stuck. [00:32:34] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:32:34] Speaker C: She just seems to think, I'm going to let you be stuck until I know what the fuck's going on. [00:32:39] Speaker A: Sure. And Martin gets to computer and kind of goes, lady, you don't have like, a password or something, do you? And she replies, I might, but obviously that's not going to be a free. You're welcome to guess as much as you want, but it does lock you out after three incorrect guesses. [00:33:09] Speaker C: Her being stuck, the rebar, does it seem like it's a matter of strength in that there's like something that's holding her down that she can't push up? Or is a matter of just like this is such an awkward position to have something impaled through you, there's no way to get out of it without. [00:33:25] Speaker A: A mix of, you know how in movies people will jam a broom through two door handles and suddenly can't open the door. It's one of those situations. It's been stabbed through her and then twisted through the desk leg. So that she can't pull it out because it's stuck on other things. She just doesn't have the right angle to pull it out herself. If she had an outside position, way easier. But just like being on the wrong side of the door, it's a lot trickier. [00:34:03] Speaker C: I think tank's going to get on the comms and say to Caroline, hey, we're on the concourse deck, and we've encountered something a little bit strange. I could use your help. And honestly, we could probably use Daniel's help with this computer as well. But just be prepared for a surprise you literally cannot expect. [00:34:34] Speaker B: Well, I hate surprises, but I also hate being here. So we'll be right there. [00:34:40] Speaker A: Daniel, you're needed. [00:34:42] Speaker C: Yeah, and I think, still like a distance away, tank's going to kind of just squat down onto his heels, kind of guns, like hanging over his knees, and just say, dinah, I hope you don't take this personally, but this is not a situation even I've run across ever in my life. And so I'm going to wait till we have some support and see what we can do before I let you out, because clearly you've been here for a while, and it doesn't seem to be a problem outside of an inconvenience. [00:35:25] Speaker A: Darling, you aren't even beginning to imagine how beyond your expertise this is. And unfortunately for you, time is rather short. [00:35:38] Speaker C: I guess we'll just have to see. [00:35:41] Speaker A: Don't say I didn't warn you. [00:35:43] Speaker C: I mean, let's say I did let you out. How would that help this situation? How would that help our time? [00:35:51] Speaker A: Well, I think I would surprise you. [00:35:54] Speaker C: You've surprised me enough, Dinah. [00:35:58] Speaker A: I am not the biggest threat on this station, but I am enough to worry it. [00:36:08] Speaker C: You mentioned that. My worry is, whose side are you on? [00:36:14] Speaker A: I'm on the side of getting the hell off this place. [00:36:18] Speaker C: That is a good side to be on. But I think I'm going to wait. [00:36:21] Speaker A: Still, I would keep a closer eye on literally anything that isn't me because I can't do much to you. The asset, however, can do so many, many things. The asset you would not understand if I tried to tell you, just trust that it is dangerous. It took one to decimate a station that was well versed in dealing with exactly that type of thing. And now that it's been out and about with some bodies, it is unlikely to still be alone. [00:37:05] Speaker C: That doesn't mean anything to think other than scary words. As much as Dinah's weird, I don't think he necessarily thinks that she's lying in this moment. So he is going to stand up and I think, move to a position just outside the door where he still can easily turn inside the door, but also has a view of what's coming from the concourse. [00:37:35] Speaker A: Has started going through her desk, looking for clues to the password. And as he's rifling through it since you've stepped outside, she tells him, I would spend a little less time rummaging through my desk and perhaps keep an eye. Ceiling wood, they like to travel. And Marsha's just kind of like, what? But yeah. Let's jump to Dan and Caroline. You make your way up a level and there is a loud thump above you, right as you reach back into the cargo Bay area, where the airlock is coming from above you, where you presume your coworkers are. And then there is a bit of a flash as the lights just suddenly come on. [00:38:36] Speaker D: Oh. [00:38:40] Speaker B: Now, I don't think we could chalk that thump up to echoes, but we could see now. [00:38:50] Speaker D: Yeah, the junction box must have just been delayed and switching on. [00:38:57] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:39:02] Speaker B: I don't say this often, but this place gives me the fucking creeps. [00:39:09] Speaker D: I think you say that on most assignments. [00:39:14] Speaker B: Well, Daniel, you have a particular skill of finding the creepiest places. [00:39:21] Speaker A: Something to note. With the lights on in the cargo bay, it was very easy to overlook it in the dark, especially since you all mostly only walked around on the one side. But one of the other bay doors are partially shut around a torso. [00:39:43] Speaker B: A torso? Like a human torso? [00:39:46] Speaker A: Yes, a human torso. [00:39:48] Speaker B: And I think that's when Caroline just says that and then turns around just like that. Daniel, have you seen that? [00:39:58] Speaker A: They're holding the doors from completely shutting with their torso. And you can see into the bay behind them. Now that there's light, it kind of cuts straight through that little opening and illuminates the utter lack of legs. Perfectly illuminated. Little spotlight on the lack of legs. [00:40:20] Speaker D: We should leave. We should leave. That's bad. And we should leave. [00:40:28] Speaker B: Just straight up over. Cobs. [00:40:30] Speaker A: Hey, Tank, I don't know what surprise. [00:40:33] Speaker B: You have up there, but we found. [00:40:35] Speaker A: Half a person down here. Over. [00:40:39] Speaker C: Are they bleeding? Is there blood? Buckets of it. [00:40:43] Speaker A: Strange question, but buckets. [00:40:45] Speaker C: I hate to say this to you, but that's still less surprising than what I've got up here. That is still a problem. To be sure. That's a problem. We should figure out what it is. I've met somebody from the ship that mentioned a quote unquote asset that apparently is dangerous. So if you don't see said asset down there? I think now it's time to move your ass. [00:41:15] Speaker D: We're going to leave. This is not a salvage. [00:41:20] Speaker A: There's dead people. [00:41:21] Speaker D: This is a military operation now. [00:41:23] Speaker C: At this point, I cannot allow you to open the ship and let whatever this is onto the era. [00:41:32] Speaker A: Fuck. [00:41:34] Speaker B: Where are you? [00:41:35] Speaker C: One more level up. [00:41:38] Speaker B: They're going to turn off the comms really quick, and then Caroline's going to look right at Daniel and be like, Daniel? Unfortunately, we need to go deeper, because whatever they just said, they have a point. If there's something dangerous like that, they can't get it on our only ship. [00:41:55] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:41:56] Speaker D: Yeah, that makes sense. [00:41:59] Speaker B: That would put others in danger. Right? And as your position, you need to make sure you're looking out for the best for everyone. Right? [00:42:08] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:42:10] Speaker C: Okay. Yeah, I hate this too. [00:42:13] Speaker B: But also, I want to make sure our ship's okay. [00:42:19] Speaker D: They're dead. [00:42:21] Speaker B: Yeah, they're dead as fuck. Come on, we have to go up the ladder. By the way, that was blood, not oil. Figured it out. [00:42:32] Speaker A: You make your way up the ladder, you come out into the room, you see Tank right away posted up, guns out. Outside of what probably is an office, it's much darker up here. It's alarmingly dark up here. Actually, it's just Tank's little headlight beaming around. [00:42:51] Speaker C: Tank's going to motion you over, and as, like, you're walking towards the door, it's going to stop. You still has, like, the gun, but just put the side of the gun against your chest and say, there's a person there on the floor, has a piece of rebar through her body. There's no blood. Supposedly they're an executive. I've never heard of any type of synthetic that didn't bleed. At least the milky white substance that a synthetic would bleed. So, pretty alarming. If we decide to get them out, we need help with that. I also think, Daniel, you said you would be useful. Might give that computer a try. I think she said that we have three tries before it locks us out. So let's see what the first two gets. You. [00:43:42] Speaker D: You said she's an executive? She's an employee. [00:43:46] Speaker A: Yes, darling, that's what he said. And honestly, you don't need three tries. If you would simply come to another arrangement, that's much easier for everyone and will surely benefit you in the long. [00:43:59] Speaker C: Run, I'm going to nudge both of you further away from the door. Clearly you can see why letting this type of person out of whatever situation they're in is not a great idea. You said you saw somebody ripped in half downstairs. She's just been sitting here impaled by a piece of rebar for who knows how long, and that thing hasn't come for her. [00:44:26] Speaker D: He's an employee. Then we have the same agenda. Okay. If she works for the company, then right now our interests align, at least a little bit. [00:44:40] Speaker C: Daniel, you and I both work for the same company. We do not have the same agenda. Our interests do not align in this moment. I think right now we need to be concerned about every danger, not just the scary danger that rips people in half and we haven't seen yet. [00:44:59] Speaker D: That's the danger that I care about the most right now. [00:45:02] Speaker C: Understandably. But I think you need to look at the bigger picture. The bigger picture being whatever the fuck that is can probably hurt us just as bad. And we don't know what it wants. We just know what it says. [00:45:18] Speaker A: I need an observation roll from tank. Was that a one? Success. Okay, your headlamp is shining out into the main concourse area, mostly illuminating the little central column with the ladder and the elevator, but a little bit off to one side. It's just wide enough. It gets very weak out there, but it's wide enough. And you do see something just flicker past. [00:45:52] Speaker C: When that happens, tank steps to the side of Caroline and has both guns up and is trying to trace where it went. [00:46:03] Speaker A: You don't see it. It didn't come out on the other side of the column. [00:46:07] Speaker C: Daniel, get in the room and close the door. [00:46:10] Speaker D: Daniel goes into the room, immediately shuts the door. [00:46:16] Speaker A: You hear from the other side of the desk, not Martin, who's standing. You don't see the person who speaks, just say, oh, have you made enough noise now to finally come home to roost? I assure you, you're not any safer in here. At least not while I'm pinned to a desk. [00:46:40] Speaker D: Daniel rounds the desk, sees this woman with a piece of rebar. I'm going, like, straight through her chest and just goes, holy shit. Holy shit. [00:46:54] Speaker A: Just calm down. It's quite all right. It's so normal. Your friend's not freaking out, so kindly do the okay. [00:47:08] Speaker D: You need help, clearly. So I'm gonna try to do. [00:47:18] Speaker A: Martin, like, looks at you, almost looks at her, and then averts his eyes and then says, are you sure? Because tank thought that was a really bad idea. [00:47:33] Speaker D: There's something here that's ripping people in half, and it's out there, so I'm going to take my chances. [00:47:41] Speaker A: What if it was her, and then somebody staked her into a desk because she was ripping people in half. [00:47:52] Speaker D: I just sort of gesture to the bent rebar and I'm like, something else had to be strong enough to do that and I don't want to run into it. [00:48:02] Speaker A: A really buff woman could do it. [00:48:07] Speaker D: Yeah. I'm just going to try to yank the rebar out. [00:48:10] Speaker A: Give me a stamina roll here. [00:48:12] Speaker D: So I rolled two ones on the stress dice. [00:48:18] Speaker A: Yes, you did. Incredible. So I do need you to give me a panic roll. You don't have to make more than one, but you sure do have to take one. No, it's fine. It's great. You're keeping it together. You managed to keep your nerves in check. That's awesome. Good for you. I'm so excited. [00:48:37] Speaker D: But I am failing at removing this piece of metal. [00:48:42] Speaker A: So yeah, it remains stuck. Dinah, for her part, does not say anything about that and then just says, thank you, I appreciate the effort. [00:48:55] Speaker D: I just look at Martin like, can you help? [00:49:00] Speaker A: I'm a nerd. You think I can't? Why? Okay, I didn't do it because tank said not to. But do you think I'm gonna have any better result here? [00:49:13] Speaker D: Two of us will have leverage. [00:49:16] Speaker A: What if we could move the desk? No, that's terrible. We could lift the desk. [00:49:27] Speaker D: Tools? Do you have tools? Do you have a cutting torch? [00:49:30] Speaker A: No. But it's important to note that in this moment there is a rather quiet brick coming from the ceiling above me. Not directly. There's the desk. You're on one side of the desk. Then there's the desk. And then there's the other side of the desk by the door. And above that spot, there is the vent which the COVID you walked right past it earlier had been removed for some reason or. And there's a dripping coming from there. It's audible because it's landing on that metal grate. And we're going to jump outside the door. [00:50:21] Speaker B: I will say Caroline has followed suit. As soon as tank raised their weapons following something, they're going to look around. The flashlights attached to their camera. They're looking flashlight at the camera. Flashlights attached to their gun. So they're going to be pointing it that way. [00:50:40] Speaker A: This feels like a great time for an observation role. [00:50:44] Speaker B: I got success on my stress dice. [00:50:47] Speaker A: So you're looking for whatever it was that ran by. [00:50:52] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:50:53] Speaker A: You don't see anything in the dark of this area, but across the way there is another office. And you do see the computer light turn on like somebody jogged a mouse. [00:51:15] Speaker B: What was it? [00:51:16] Speaker C: Did you see? It was a large shape rushing past. [00:51:22] Speaker B: Ripping human body large. [00:51:25] Speaker C: I mean, at this point, yeah, I'm going to assume anything large is going to be able to do this. The way I see it, we have a couple of options. We can try to get over there, shut the door, hopefully lock it in. That obviously comes with its own risk as the door swings into the room, and we'd have to reach into it to close it. What I don't want to do is get stuck in this other room, but I think if we go back in there, we need to figure out what we're going to do with Dinah. And I'm still not convinced Dinah's on our side because she called the thing an asset, and that seems problematic. [00:52:10] Speaker B: I mean, everything considering whalen Yutani is problematic. [00:52:16] Speaker C: You know, that doesn't make it better, but, yes, I do know. [00:52:22] Speaker B: Well, here's the thing. Obviously they could get stuck in something. Why don't we just get them to help us? And if they turn on us, just because you could survive being impaled doesn't mean they're obviously not strong enough to get out of it. [00:52:42] Speaker C: Right, but she fights us, and there's no pain. How do you stop somebody like that? How do you stop somebody like that who wants to get off the station, wants, most likely their asset to come with in some kind of containment. Has a hidden base out in the middle of nowhere. [00:53:04] Speaker B: Those are all super good questions. I don't have answers to any of them. I tried really hard to survive. You know how many people left? Killed too many. And I'm not going to die on no name base. Also, do any of them? I didn't give Daniel a weapon. [00:53:28] Speaker C: Yeah, I didn't give one to Martin either. [00:53:32] Speaker B: Well, we check on them first, we'll deal with that, because I'm not going over there right now. We know where it went. If it heads towards us, we know where it's coming from. [00:53:49] Speaker C: You head in first. I'll watch your back. [00:53:52] Speaker B: Caroline will again do a quick sweep, turn around and start to open the door. [00:53:57] Speaker A: While you are having that lovely conversation, weighing your options, figuring out who to trust, a large, dark shape somersaults out of the vent into the office space. Martin immediately drops into a crouch behind the desk, more out of instinct than any actual knowledge. What do you do, Daniel? [00:54:28] Speaker D: I am curled into a ball, Dinah. [00:54:32] Speaker A: For her part, says. [00:54:35] Speaker D: I'm, like, basically curled up next to Dinah. Somewhere in the very back of my mind, I remember being in summer camp and learning that if you're attacked by a bear, you just curl up and cover your head with your hands so it doesn't break your neck. And that's all I got. [00:54:58] Speaker A: I need you to make me a mobility check. Before you do, you can add another stress. I did say I was going to be really mean about stress this time around. And I am correct. Mobility deck to try to hide so tragically. You rolled four successes, except I need you to make a panic. [00:55:24] Speaker D: I panic. I'm not doing it. Good. Dan's struggling. [00:55:29] Speaker A: So you rolled for the nervous twitch, your stress level and the stress level of all friendly pcs and short range of you, which will be Martin and Dinah, all increase by one. So you are, I guess, shivering in a ball. Does that sound accurate? [00:55:52] Speaker D: Probably more like rocking. [00:55:54] Speaker A: Martin is pressed back against the desk and sees you wiggling and is trying to put a hand on your arm to hold you still. And you hear a very soft clack of something hard tapping against the floor. And then there's like this slow hissing noise and then sudden as whatever it is that has joined you in the room, jumps up on the desk. It does a slow circle on top of the desk. You watch the computer get crashing to the ground and then hops back down on the other side. I guess this is as good a town as any to roll. Initiative xenomorph gets to go first and is going to simply attack. They're going to attack. Well, the one making all the noise is unfortunately, Daniel, I'm sorry. Only because you're moving, everybody else is sitting still. Presuming you didn't turn off your headlamp. That's making quite a lot of motion. Playing with its prey, it drops down, kicking the chair out of the way to drop down directly in front of you and just puts 1ft on your chest and pushes you to the ground. You're already on the ground, but now you're flattened. You don't take any damage, but you do get another stress level and must make an immediate panic roll. [00:57:42] Speaker D: Cool, fun, cool. My total is a twelve. So I scream my lungs out for one round, losing my next slow action. Oh, my stress level is decreased by one. But every friendly character who hears my scream must make an immediate panic roll. So all of you, please make those panic rolls. [00:58:10] Speaker A: You both keep it. [00:58:14] Speaker B: I mean, initial instincts. Caroline was already opened the door and she's going to see something stepping on Dan and it's not like a buff woman, so she's just going to open fire. [00:58:28] Speaker A: Perfect. Shooting is a slow action, so go ahead and do that. [00:58:34] Speaker B: Three successes. [00:58:36] Speaker A: Lucky you. Yeah. So you shoot so you get to. [00:58:41] Speaker B: Stunt, do an additional point of damage and push them back. [00:58:45] Speaker A: Okay. Boom. Yeah. You let it go. The gunfire shoots at it. The thing lifts its head and has this long, elongated head, which is beautifully illuminated in your headlamp as you see this head with all these rows of teeth that gleam in the light like metal, and it hisses at you as you hit it with bullet, bullet, bullet, bullet. And finally takes a step back and bumps against the wall. And that's going to be Hank's turn. [00:59:23] Speaker C: Gonna be. So turn. I'm just thinking about, like, turning my back on another potential danger. It's going to turn around and. [00:59:36] Speaker A: I. [00:59:36] Speaker C: Mean, he's pretty smart. I think I'm going to do the thing, like, from action movies where he's got one arm out towards the lobby and then one. And the other arm in is going to be in shooting at the alien inside. [00:59:55] Speaker A: Yeah. So you can use your slow action to shoot your gun and your fast action to assume an overwatch position, which is what I think you're describing here. [01:00:04] Speaker C: Yeah. Okay, cool. That's a fail. [01:00:10] Speaker A: Okay. One of the side effects of if you fail while shooting a gun is that you empty your clip. [01:00:16] Speaker C: That makes sense. [01:00:17] Speaker A: Yeah. So you have used up one clip of ammunition, but you empty your clip and you have to reload, which will be a slow action on your next turn. But you do empty your clip, so the damage would be one traditionally. Right. Unfortunately, you don't get past their armor, though. [01:00:38] Speaker C: Okay, I got you. [01:00:39] Speaker A: Because they roll. Two successes on armor. [01:00:43] Speaker C: That's fun. [01:00:44] Speaker A: Yeah. You empty the full clip out in a moment. That's like, there's definitely a shift in your demeanor, I would say not quite panic, because you do keep it together. And there's almost something habitual, I guess, about how you release the clip. Not like you've been in the situation before, but maybe you've been in situations like it before. But anyway, we're going to move right on along to Xenomorph, who, luckily for Dan, is being shot at and maybe likes other problems better. So Xenomorph is going to just leap over the desk to Caroline and attack you. You don't have any armor on, do you? [01:01:28] Speaker B: No, I don't believe I do. [01:01:32] Speaker A: Deadly grab the beast launches through the air, leaps over the desk, grabbing its victim. It attacks with ten base damage, and if it hits, it immediately drags them into the neighboring zone. So that's four damage. How are you looking? [01:01:49] Speaker B: I have one health remaining. [01:01:52] Speaker A: As it leaps over the desk, it grabs you, it pulls you up into the vets. I think that makes the most sense. And then leaves you there and skitters off. But you do need to make an immediate panic roll. Please. [01:02:08] Speaker C: It skitters off into the vents, or. [01:02:11] Speaker A: So it drags Caroline up into the vents, pulls you down, like, quite a ways into the vents, and then suddenly. [01:02:17] Speaker B: Lets go and keeps going, keeping it together. [01:02:20] Speaker A: I don't know how, but good job. Yeah. Then it does something else that you don't know. And now it's Dan's turn. [01:02:33] Speaker D: I am just going to go into my bag and take out a dose of naproxen. Is that what it's called? No. Nap relieve. Yeah, I'm just going to pop nap relieve real quick. [01:02:48] Speaker C: Sure. [01:02:48] Speaker D: So that's going to clear all my. [01:02:50] Speaker A: Yes. Yes, it will. [01:02:52] Speaker D: Yeah. Dan just having a full panic attack, just goes into his bag, takes out uphill, and just swallows it. [01:03:02] Speaker A: Martin is. I think now that the thing has left the room is just going to run. It's just going to run. Runs around the desk, and then just starts running towards the ladder. That is his full action here. All has taken two fast actions to just bolt for the ladder. And then something else happens that none of you know, and we move to Caroline in the vents. [01:03:37] Speaker B: All right, so I am in the vents above the. Like, I'm not, like, right at the entrance. [01:03:46] Speaker A: Right. [01:03:46] Speaker B: You said I got dragged a little bit. [01:03:47] Speaker A: You got dragged a little ways, yeah. And you have been hearing lots of noise in the vent. [01:03:54] Speaker B: I hate it here. I have a personal med kit. I assume that'd be, like, a slow action. Yeah, I imagine it'd just be like, I don't know, like an adrenaline shot or like a met spike from whatever to just jam to the lake. How much would that take off or heal? [01:04:16] Speaker A: You have to roll a medicine check. [01:04:18] Speaker B: Well, I got two successes. [01:04:20] Speaker A: There's no sense for the skill. You just heal two. [01:04:23] Speaker C: Cool. [01:04:24] Speaker B: And I guess her other action is just pull out her revolver and have that, on the other hand. Not going to quite move yet because she doesn't know where the fuck's going on. [01:04:35] Speaker A: Crawling is also a slow action. Anyway. [01:04:37] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:04:38] Speaker A: You're not walking in here. [01:04:39] Speaker B: I'll have my weapons on, I guess to, like, an overwatch position, technically. [01:04:45] Speaker A: Tank, what are you doing? [01:04:47] Speaker C: I think there's an instinctual moment of pointing his empty gun up to that vent and then probably hears the sound of it, like, skittering through the ceiling is going to quickly just. Well, what I want to do is put the gun away and run over to Dinah. [01:05:05] Speaker A: Okay. [01:05:05] Speaker C: And then I want to ask Dinah a question and that will determine what I do next. [01:05:09] Speaker A: Okay? Yeah. [01:05:11] Speaker C: Do you know how to stop this thing? [01:05:13] Speaker A: More or less, yes. I know how to keep it contained, adhering. [01:05:17] Speaker C: Keep it contained. He's going to take the loaded gun and shoot her in the skull. [01:05:23] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah. Roll two, attack. That's going to be have a plus one because you're right there and she can't do anything. [01:05:34] Speaker C: How is that even possible? How is that even possible? I rolled so many dice and no successes, but two stresses somehow keeping it together. I'm going to lose my mind. My point blank shot didn't work. [01:05:50] Speaker A: You tell me, do you miss because she dodges it with incredible speed or do you miss because you lose your nerve at the last second? [01:06:03] Speaker C: I think she dodges it. I don't think he loses his nerve. I think he resolved at the doorway of, like, if I'm going to spend any time saving this person, they need to be somebody that I can trust. And the fact that she wants to contain this thing, just like I thought, tank's not taking a chance. Tank's not bringing this thing back. So his intention fully was, I don't want you to somehow get out later. And so I'm going to just put an end to this. [01:06:33] Speaker A: Yeah. You put your gun to shoot her in the skull and you blink and she is not shot in the skull. There is a bullet mark in the desk, though, and she gives you, like, a little head tilt and says, perhaps I misspoke. So difficult to kill. Containment's best you can hope for right now, or you can let me play with it and you all can run away and I will end up skewered for the next group that comes through. I suppose that's what I did for. [01:07:05] Speaker C: The medea that piques something in his head. And I think there's this moment of contemplation of that very terrifying thing she just said. Yeah. [01:07:17] Speaker A: And that's going to bring us to Dan. [01:07:20] Speaker D: So Dan does flinch and freak out when you fire the gun, like, a foot away from me. What is wrong with know? Okay, you don't trust Yutani, that's fine. That's fine. I respect that. But contained. Containing them is better than having them loose and hunting us. So I think we work with the weird robot lady. [01:07:50] Speaker C: I don't think that tank answers you. I think Tank stares at you and his face goes blank. And if you're getting any kind of emotion from it, it's menace. It's just menacing stare. [01:08:03] Speaker D: I'm going to try to yank out this bar again. [01:08:06] Speaker A: Give me another stamina here. [01:08:09] Speaker D: Yeah, with my two dice that I get to roll. [01:08:12] Speaker A: Hey, but you did it. [01:08:16] Speaker D: I just had to loosen it. [01:08:19] Speaker A: You just had to calm down for a little bit, that's all. [01:08:22] Speaker D: Yeah, I put my foot against the desk to brace myself, and I just tumble backwards as I yank this bar out. [01:08:30] Speaker A: Yeah, I would imagine you probably also elbow tank in the process. You don't move him, but you sure do. He's standing right there. But you do pull out the rebar. Dinah looks genuinely surprised. And then slowly, with, like, one eye on tank, stands and kind of, like, rolls her neck and pops her. Ah, well, then shall I clean up the mess again? [01:09:00] Speaker D: If Carolina's alive, if you can help her. [01:09:04] Speaker A: And she kind of, like, cocks her ear for a minute and then says, yes, I hear a heartbeat. [01:09:10] Speaker C: I hate Dinah so much. [01:09:12] Speaker A: You better head back to your ship as soon as you can before your little friend gets eaten on the way down. And then she just straightens out her suit coat and takes it off and folds it very neatly and rolls up her cuffs, climbs onto the desk and just jumps. Grabs the edge of the vent and pulls herself up like an Olympic gymnast and vanishes into the vent, which is going to bring us to Martin, who is just running on down, climbing down that ladder full speed ahead, making way too much noise. And then it's going to be, friends are going to do something. Yeah, I do think you hear a short scream from Martin's general direction. Moving on to Caroline. [01:10:11] Speaker B: I mean, I assume I would have seen the robo, the what's their face jump into the. [01:10:18] Speaker A: Yeah, she's like spider scuttling towards you. Like Spider man. Like Spider man through the events. [01:10:24] Speaker B: Well, I'm so glad you're out, but what the fuck? [01:10:27] Speaker A: She kind of looks at you and then raises her hands against the sides of the vent so she can just scoot over you and then kind of kicks you towards the exit and keeps going slow. [01:10:43] Speaker B: Action. Crawl to the vent to get back into the office and then tumble into the office. [01:10:49] Speaker A: Yeah, you managed to do that. It's not that far. You're able to make it all the way to it and fall down ungracefully. You don't get a graceful sorry. [01:10:59] Speaker B: And then, yeah, I think, like, fall down and roll on my back and just look at Daniel. It's like, oh, good, I'm not fired yet. [01:11:11] Speaker A: Hank, you're up. [01:11:12] Speaker C: I want to be able to basically escort Caroline and Daniel out of this space. So basically gather the two of them and then just walk when they walk and try to protect them. [01:11:27] Speaker A: Yes, you can totally do. [01:11:29] Speaker C: Can I burn my fast action to reload the gun? [01:11:33] Speaker A: Unfortunately, reloading is a slow action. [01:11:35] Speaker C: You know what? That's fine. So I think what I'll do is I'll just put that one away for the moment, and I'll just have the one gun out. [01:11:42] Speaker A: Okay. [01:11:43] Speaker C: And I just want to escort them out and then close the door. And if I can do anything else, I just want to just be, like, observing, because I know that there was another one that was in our lobby area, where I assumed that there was another one that was in our lobby area, but I want to close the door to slow it down so that at least has to go through the vents and not just walk out on us and then just make our way to the ladder. That's my things. [01:12:07] Speaker A: Sure. Yep. It's going to do something, but we're going to move on to Dan. Xenomorph has done something. You stopped hearing screaming, so that's probably normal. [01:12:22] Speaker D: All right. I have this piece of rebar that I'm basically holding, like, a baseball bat, and I am just in between tank and Carolina. Like, one of them's in front of me, one of them is behind me. [01:12:34] Speaker A: You descend down to the next level, and you don't see Martin, but the airlock door is closed. [01:12:47] Speaker D: Are there still four empty suits? [01:12:52] Speaker A: The suits probably were left within the airlock because that's where you leave those sort of things. You also don't see any sign of what made him scream. [01:13:02] Speaker C: Yeah. Are the lights still on down here? [01:13:05] Speaker A: They are. There is more blood than there was. [01:13:11] Speaker C: This is going to be awful. Okay, Daniel, you get the door. We'll cover you. Caroline, we cannot let this thing get through this airlock. [01:13:27] Speaker A: As you approach the airlock door, you suddenly see Martin's face fill, like, the little window, and he is knocking on the door and pointing behind you. That's going to bring us to Xenovor, who's gonna make an attack roll. So, who is closest to the stairs right now? The ladder. [01:13:56] Speaker C: Well, if we're going in the order that Mimi said, I think tank would have went down first and then Daniel and then I. So I assume not to throw Caroline under the bus, but I assume that Caroline's closest to the ladder, to the stairs, et cetera. Yeah, we were all moving in that direction to take positions at the door. [01:14:20] Speaker B: Yeah, they would have had Daniel go. [01:14:22] Speaker C: In front with you. [01:14:23] Speaker B: So, yeah, Caroline was right there. [01:14:25] Speaker A: Okay, so just as you see Martin pointing and pounding on the door, you feel something grab you from behind. The rest of you kind of turn and see as the xenomorph is looming over Caroline and those teeth part and a pharyngeal jaw extends. That's going to be two damage, and you are currently grabbed. And I need you to make an opposed close combat roll against. I have ten dice. [01:15:11] Speaker B: All right. I have a lot of stress, but close combat is something I'm good at. I got a single success on like 16 dice or some shit. [01:15:28] Speaker A: Fortunately for you, the xenomorph also only got one success, so they cancel each other out. However, you and everybody else needs to make a panic roll. [01:15:41] Speaker B: I guess all in all, it makes a little bit sense that I'm keeping it together that successfully. Six, right? [01:15:51] Speaker A: Yes. [01:15:52] Speaker B: Yeah, so wild, but makes sense. [01:15:56] Speaker A: Poor Danic. But first you have to flee to a safe place and refuse to leave it. You won't attack anyone and won't attempt anything dangerous. You are not allowed to make a retreat roll if you have an enemy at a gauged range. Don't worry, it's busy. Your stress level is decreased by one. But every friendly character who sees you run must make an immediate panic roll. [01:16:20] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm going to the motherfucking Daniel. [01:16:26] Speaker D: Martin ran first. In my defense, Martin did run first. [01:16:29] Speaker A: Martin started. Yeah. So roll me two more panics. And then I also need the rest of you to roll a panic again. Oh, hey, what are you dropping? So tank holding it together like a champ. Caroline, understandably you're being held by an alien who wants to eat you. What do you drop in your panic as you see Dan run back to the ship or at least run into the airlock. [01:17:04] Speaker B: At least I think out of my. I had two weapons out. My revolver and then the salt rifle. I think Caroline drops the salt rifle. His is a little bit heavier, so I was know a lot of things happening. Would have lost the grip. [01:17:21] Speaker A: Bump your stress level up by one. [01:17:25] Speaker B: Well, I'm grabbed by it. Carolina is going to put the revolver to the head and start shooting. [01:17:35] Speaker A: Okay, give me ranged combat. You know what? Make it close combat. Well, at least you get to empty the clip as you roll. Two little face hugger dice. [01:17:58] Speaker B: Three successes as well. [01:18:01] Speaker A: Tragically, you don't know if you made any impact. You are shooting behind you because it is standing behind you. You have no idea if it goes into this thing. You can't tell because you're panicking. So mark off one of your ammunition and then roll me panic rolling and drop your other gun. [01:18:32] Speaker B: I think it makes sense that. Yeah, I make a couple of shots, don't hear the thump of something falling behind me, and just like, well, fuck it, drop the revolver, sees Daniel running towards the thing, remembers that we can't let it get in. I still have another. [01:19:05] Speaker C: Knife on you. [01:19:06] Speaker B: I do have a knife, actually. [01:19:09] Speaker A: You can draw a weapon. That's a fast action. [01:19:12] Speaker B: I guess I'll turn around and draw my knife. Yeah. [01:19:16] Speaker A: Aren't you being held because you tied? I'm going to say it's a loose hold. [01:19:22] Speaker C: Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha. [01:19:25] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:19:31] Speaker A: Tank, you're up. [01:19:35] Speaker C: Tank is going to see that the airlock is open. The one thing he did not want was for this thing to get on the ship. I think seeing Martin inside the airlock tells him Martin survived getting to the airlock. So then hopefully there's not one already on the ship, so he is going to run into the airlock. Can I shoot back at it and still close the door while I'm running? [01:20:05] Speaker A: No. [01:20:06] Speaker C: Okay. I'm just going to run and close the door then. [01:20:08] Speaker A: Yeah. So you close the airlock. Can you run? [01:20:13] Speaker C: Yes. [01:20:14] Speaker A: But, yeah. So that's going to bring us to Xenomorph. You know what? The dice really want to do this. I was going to pick something else because we had just done it, but then I rolled it again. So you are grabbed again as you do all these shots. You turn around to face it with your Knife drawn. And the xenomorph jumps backwards off of that central column that holds the ladder and kicks off of it, grabs you and just drags you up the ladder, up back where you came from. And then it just drops you. You're prone. Obviously, you dropped all your handheld items, so your knife is also dropped. And I need an immediate panic roll. Do you have anything else to drop? [01:21:10] Speaker B: A different med kit? A carbonated beverage? [01:21:14] Speaker A: Yeah, drop your carbonated beverage. [01:21:17] Speaker B: The energy drink. Go girl with a u. And girl drops and starts to spray everywhere. [01:21:24] Speaker A: Yeah. You know what? Yes. Absolutely. That's exactly what happens. And the fizzy beverage goes off and starts rolling around. And it actually is unexpected and unknown enough that it does startle the xenomorph into investigating the soda instead of killing you. So that's cool. I guess you might be about to be left behind, so this might not even matter. But, hey, at least Martin made it. That's going to be Dan's turn. [01:21:57] Speaker D: We're in the airlock. [01:21:59] Speaker B: Yes, you're in the airlock. [01:22:02] Speaker D: I'm going to start putting on my space. [01:22:06] Speaker C: So real quick, though. Do we need to do that? If we're just going through decontamination and going in back into our ship right. [01:22:14] Speaker A: Now, the air pressure and the oxygen levels from the station's airlock to your airlock and through the umbilical should all be equal because you went all the way over and equalized the airlock on the other side. So right now they should all match. So you shouldn't need the space, technically. [01:22:31] Speaker C: Oh, then I did just go through. Yeah, you could just go straight through. [01:22:35] Speaker D: Yeah. I run straight back to the hera. [01:22:39] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah. You bolt back to the other side. Martin on your tail, running right with there. Martin sees tank come in in the airlock and just like, perfect. That's everybody keeps running, and then is going to be the xenomorph again. [01:23:07] Speaker D: What's Dinah doing? [01:23:09] Speaker A: Which is convenient, because that's about the time when she drops out of defense. Caroline, you are lying on the ground. A fizzy soda that is just spiraling in a circle. And there is a xenomorph that just reaches out with 1ft and just crushes it. And then the head turns and snaps in your direction, and you see that tail just whip around. And then Dinah drops out of the vent and just runs straight at it. Pummels it. Yeah. And she has no issue just doing that and punches it hard enough that it actually glides backwards across the floor. And then she shoots a glance in your direction, Caroline, and says, for God's sake, hurry it up. [01:24:06] Speaker B: I'm fucking trying. [01:24:08] Speaker A: Xenomorph is going to attack Dinah. We won't get into the nitty gritty. It knocks her prone. And then we're back to Caroline. [01:24:22] Speaker B: I would like to slide back down the ladder, please. And is it possible for me to, like. No, I'm not going to worry about my weapons. I'm just going to try to limp. Run towards the airlock. I have one health left. [01:24:37] Speaker A: Yeah, I see. That's one action to slide down, one action to make it to the airlock. So it probably is, like, auto sealed right now until it could be. The outer door is shut, but it's your turn. Caroline is at the door, the inner door. [01:24:55] Speaker C: Do I see any immediate danger? [01:24:58] Speaker A: Shockingly, no. You just see Caroline looking wrecked. I don't know how you're not dead. [01:25:07] Speaker C: Me neither. [01:25:07] Speaker B: That really pulling through. Thank you. Go, girl. [01:25:15] Speaker C: If I don't see anything, I better not regret this. But I'm going to close the hera door. Open the other one. Can I open it and close it? After I get. [01:25:28] Speaker A: Yeah, I would allow that. Okay, excellent. [01:25:32] Speaker C: Yeah. So, Carolyn. Yeah. You just feel like the door starts to open and tank's massive hand grabs you by the shirt and just pulls you in and slams a button down. [01:25:45] Speaker A: Interesting things are happening elsewhere. Dan, you have made it to the other side. You're in the hera. As you are standing in the hera, you get a staticy noise over. All of you hear it over your headsets. You hear bugsley, very broken up, very staticy. You can't get the whole message. You just hear don't cut. Locked in, met. And then, Dan, on the Hera, you hear mother very calmly inform the crew. Manual drive engaged. Manual drive malfunction. Auto orbit disengaged. Altitude adjustment of 65 degrees, 70 degrees, 75 degrees. [01:26:31] Speaker D: What does that mean? What does that mean? [01:26:33] Speaker A: You feel your feet begin to shift, sliding towards one wall. As the ship begins to tilt, the umbilical cord starts to twist. Two people, including your bodyguard, are still on the other side of the umbilical. The ship seems to be falling out. [01:26:50] Speaker D: Of orbit from where I am. Can I run to the bridge? [01:26:57] Speaker A: Yes. [01:26:58] Speaker D: Okay. I am just going to book it for the bridge and like, okay, mother, tell me how to fix it. Tell me how to fix it. [01:27:09] Speaker A: I think Martin would actually try to wait for the other two to cross so that he's ready to shut the door as soon as you get in. Or if it doesn't look like you're going to make it, maybe shut the door early. And then we'll just loop over to Caroline and tank. I'll let you both move as one, since you are together in your initiative, side by side. Anyway, I do need a mobility check from both of you as you're trying to run through this twisting, turning thing. As the station is not literally stationary, because space, everything's moving all the time, but compared to the Hera, very stationary, which is starting to just drop towards the planet, all of the thrusters that were keeping it perfectly parallel with stations at all times seem to have stopped doing that. Tank, you have a lot of successes. So, Caroline, roll your panic roll real fast, and then we will resolve. Tank. [01:28:17] Speaker B: Breeze frozen by fear or stress for one round. [01:28:24] Speaker A: Oh, my golly. I mean, you know, what if the floor started moving? That would be my instinct too. That's fair. [01:28:33] Speaker B: Well, also, like, I beat the fuck up. I'm limping already. [01:28:37] Speaker A: Tank, you have a variety of stunts you can do, one of which is give one to another pc in the same situation. Have you? I will allow you to make a second role, if you want to drag Caroline with you, and I will let you use your stunt here, your second stunt, to apply to the next role. Or you can leave her and make it no problem. Or you can leave it up to fate. [01:29:06] Speaker B: I think, just to give you context, Caroline is too engrossed to realize what you're doing right now. So do that as you will. [01:29:15] Speaker C: I had an idea before I even rolled, so I think what's going to happen, and I think this helps it make more story sense, too, is that right now, tank, the pilot feels the ship going in ways it's not supposed to go, and so he's just going to be like, caroline, you stay here, and no matter what, do not let that thing on our ship. And Tink's going to just book it for the cockpit to control this plane. Control this ship, I should say. [01:29:53] Speaker A: Yeah. You run, you make it in, Carlene, I will give you one last roll here to survive. It's going to be mobility or stamina at a minus one, though, because of the freeze. [01:30:16] Speaker B: Sorry, but no, that's so bad. [01:30:18] Speaker A: You get it. [01:30:20] Speaker B: I think I'm going to attempt stamina, just because that will even out for me. [01:30:26] Speaker A: Okay, that's another panic roll. In the interest of it possibly being a flea, I will let you roll your panic before I narrate what happens next. [01:30:37] Speaker B: Seek cover. Where's the danger? Is the danger. [01:30:43] Speaker A: You are in the danger. You're in the middle of the danger danger zone. There's danger all around you. There's no safe place right now. One ship is falling, one ship is occupied by fiends, and you're in the middle, which is space. You're a hair away from space. Which one is safe for you? Staying put. Going either way. [01:31:06] Speaker B: Robo lady like seven people. I don't think she's had time to process the calms either. I think she's closer to where she came from. She's not going to be able to make it to the Hera. She knows that. [01:31:28] Speaker C: You're in the hera, aren't you? [01:31:30] Speaker B: No, I'm in an airline in between. I'm literally in between. [01:31:33] Speaker A: There's, like, a little tunnel between the station and the hera, which is starting to pull apart. It will shortly be the vacuum of space. You've got to pick one or the other. [01:31:44] Speaker B: I'm going back to the station. [01:31:46] Speaker A: You go back to the station, you hit the button, the door shuts just as the hera. The umbilical cord rips from between the Hera and the station. In the cockpit. Dan, you run in. You call for mother to help you. You see that the controls have been severely damaged, as if something cut through them with a saw. You can make me an observation roll at minus two as you try to wrestle back some control of the ship as the planet's gravity drags it into its atmosphere. [01:32:30] Speaker D: You said observation. [01:32:32] Speaker A: Observation minus two. Beautiful. You see in the reflection of the windshield as you watch the station just pull away from you, this dark, monstrous figure lunging for you with outstretched claws, just as the nose of the ship tips completely upright. Alarms gforce. The ship spiraling around you. Alarms. Claws raking across your shoulder, slamming into a body, into the windshield, into the control panel. Alarms, intense pressure against your chest. Too much pressure to breathe. Impact. Thank you for joining us here in the heat death of the universe, which is not the only thing slowly dying. I have been your game, mother. We have been goblets and gays. You can find us at goblets and gays all across the Internet, including Twitch, Navarre, and Michelle. Where can we find you? [01:33:46] Speaker D: I am Mimi, also known as Michelle Jones. You can find me on most places of the Internet, at Alessic kills, that is aleshakills. Google me. [01:34:02] Speaker C: And I am Navar. You can find me on the Internet at Navarre. S. P. That's Navaarsnp. The SNP stands for Seeker nerd podcast, where you should also be listening because there's more scary stuff coming. [01:34:17] Speaker A: Keep an eye on the vents. You never know what's lurking in them. Say goodbye, hara crew. [01:34:23] Speaker C: Goodbye. [01:34:24] Speaker D: Goodbye. [01:34:25] Speaker B: Bye forever. [01:34:27] Speaker A: May I, may I, may I, may I, may I go home?