Heavy Metal Thunder Read online

  Someone behind you brings up a series of video feeds on the nearby monitors. You glance at them and see the dying station behind you. It is blasted nearly all around, run through with holes, and covered in clouds of debris. One monitor shows the black hull of the Invader ship floating by serenely, ominously, the few remaining lights of the station casting a halo around it. And on nearly every monitor you see ship after ship blasted, scattered into pieces by laser fire.

  Somehow, through equal parts skill and luck and not dropping off to sleep, the old man brings the Narrenschiff far from the station and into the black folds of the cold of space. Only two or three other ships managed to make it through the gauntlet, though you doubt they have any place to run to. “Set a course here,” you say, comparing your own navigational data with the ship’s various mapping systems.

  The old man jerks awake suddenly, says, “I’m awake. Who are you people?!”

  You set a course that will draw you parallel with the course of your Black Lance Legion ship. You will be able to make much better time in this ship designed for long-distance travel, but you realize, also, that the Invaders ship will most likely fly on a similar course.

  Turn to section 34.

  141

  You silently glide forward. The back of the guard’s head looms before you. You are still and silent, the sound of your thundering heart muffled under layers of ill intent. Just when you are upon him, he turns and his eyes widen in terror.

  Add together your Strength and Dexterity stats and your Zero-G Combat stat. If you are using any hand-to-hand weapon, add 1 to this number.

  If the total is 6 or more, turn to section 218.

  If the total is 5 or less, turn to section 137.

  142

  You study the simple face of the homely woman for days on end. You memorize every detail of the recorded image as it loops, over and over. You declare the woman Queen of Survival. Nothing else seems to matter. “Stay with me, my queen!” you mutter, drifting into insanity. “I live for you! And when you deem fit, I die for you, my queenly matron!”

  Then one day the battery on the holophoto winks out. The Queen of Survival dies and, blind with rage and anguish, you cast the cruel woman and her empty promises into the void (be sure to erase Her from your inventory). You consider ending your own life. Then, after a lot of soul searching, with tears dribbling off your face you declare, “It’s better to have loved a lie and lost, than to have never wasted my time in the first place.”

  You drift on through the boredom and insanity of the void.

  If you have a Framed Photo of a group of laborers, turn to section 303.

  If you do not have this distracting item, turn to section 92.

  143

  Later that night, while the others sleep, you think about the Invader ship stalking in the darkness. You wonder what sort of monsters are inside of it, or if they are all that different from you. You decide it would be best to just get some sleep.

  If Zelda the Lady is with you, turn to section 470.

  If she is not, turn to section 571.

  144

  “Old man,” you say, voice thick with condescension, “go talk about your old records and bands nobody’s heard of somewhere else. We don’t need your kind here.”

  “You young punk! I was piloting ships before you were even born.”

  “And you’re going to die before I do, too, so congratulations.”

  With that, the old man hobbles away.

  Turn to section 371.

  145

  “If it’s a labyrinth then let’s start walking. Might as well go left,” you say. “That alright with you, Marcus?”

  “Boy,” says Marcus, turning toward you, “I’ll labyrinth your ass so hard...”

  “Quit actin’ like bitches,” says Uther. “Come on.”

  Everyone floats down the dark hallway, sheathing their hand-to-hand weapons and unslinging their guns. Eventually you come to a locked door. Marcus blasts the heavy bolts and you help Uther force the door open while air bursts through rapidly. With quick-bursts from your jetpacks you make it inside. You force your way through another doorway, where there is light, gravity, and air. Everyone flips their visors up part-way; while you can breathe a little easier, you can still see whatever information your helm computer feeds you.

  “Music off,” says Commander Uther. “Ears open. Walk softly.”

  The hallway is old, rusted in parts, covered in dust and strange graffiti. You cannot help but associate it with a dungeon. You see Marcus’s face as he glances at you quickly. His skin is very dark, almost black, and his eyes are narrow and slitted, snake-like.

  You stalk down the hall in single file, Uther in front on point with Sybel coming second reading his scanning machine. Marcus brings up the rear with his large automatic rifle.

  “Wonder where everyone is?” whispers Marcus.

  “Probably drew inward during the hull breach,” says Sybel. “Clustering around key points they want to defend.” As you pass various intersections Sybel points one way or the other, drawing you closer to one of the two heat-generating sources.

  “Can that thing pick up an Invader’s heat signature?” you whisper.

  “No,” says Sybel. “Not hot enough. This thing just picks up the kind of heat given off by the nuclear reactor in the engine room, and the shield generator itself.”

  You stalk the long, dimly lit, macabre hallways. An intercom turns on and some alien voice gives vent to guttural commands. Ahead, a narrow hallway leads off to the right. But further ahead, the hall you are in ends in a branch that goes off to the right and the left.

  Sybel stops and whispers, “We’re close to something, there’s a big heat signature to the left.”

  “They’re going to have guards at that intersection,” whispers Uther, so faintly that you can barely hear him. “Not much cover in this hallway, either. I want someone to sneak up that little hall on the right and see if you can maneuver around and hit whatever they’ve got up there from the side, while the rest of us hit ’em head-on.”

  If you are trained in Stealth, and want to volunteer for the sneaky flank operation, turn to section 337.

  If you do not have this skill, or you do not want to volunteer, turn to section 81.

  146

  You focus the brunt of your will into your eyes, boring them into the laborer’s skull. The laborer stares back, and beads of sweat run down his face.

  “Well now,” says the laborer, stalling for time.

  “Shut up.” You glare at him as hard as you can down the barrel of your gun. “Let the girl go. Now.”

  If your Will is 4 or more, turn to section 240.

  If your Will is 3 or less, turn to section 440.

  147

  You take aim at the Invader’s head as you float through the darkness. Then - he turns toward you, rifle leveled at your chest.

  You must now compute a number that will determine the outcome of your gun battle. This number is your Dexterity added to your Zero G Combat stat. If you are trained in Stealth, add 5 to this number. If you are trained in Weapon Proficiency: Ranged, and it is with the weapon you are using, add 3 to this number. If you are using a Shotgun, add 1 to this number. For every 3 Handgun bullets you fire, add 1. For every 2 Rifle bullets you fire, add 1. For every Shotgun shell you fire, add 1.

  The long rifle fires in a flash of light. You lose 18 Blood, but you may subtract the number you calculated from this amount. If you lose at least 1 Blood then you also lose 1 SD.

  (If you have died, then you may Regenerate by turning to section 312, or, if you want to go further back, section 179.)

  If you survive, then the Invader’s body jerks backward as his neckpiece and shoulder harness shatter violently, then oxygen and red ice spews from the demolished suit. You tumble into the brittle wall, then rest in a bed of ash beside your fallen enemy.

  You gain 2 XP for killing the Invader sniper. Be sure to erase the amount of ammunition that you used.

&n
bsp; Turn to section 362.

  148

  You stalk down the hallway. Your jetpack is an incredible hindrance now, and you consider casting it aside. But the thought is squashed immediately, as if some ingrained programming has enslaved you to the device. When you stop to rest, you can almost hear the grinding of the malicious deconstructors.

  You come to a doorway at the end of the hall. You brace yourself, then open it. What you see looks like the doom of the world.

  Turn to section 442.

  149

  “I’ve got this crazy feeling, Padre,” you say, aiming your gun at the priest, “that you’re the cause of this mess!”

  Everyone stops and looks at you. Jaws drop open.

  After a long pause, the priest shouts, “Then you’re crazy! And I’m sick... and tired... of dealing with crazy people!!!”

  The priest charges toward you, his bowie knife thrust outward, hungry to drink the blood from your throat.

  If you have at least one bullet, you can shoot the priest by turning to section 275.

  If you do not have any bullets, or do not want to use them, you can beat the priest down old school by turning to section 412.

  150

  You take aim at the coiling grey monstrosity - then fire. Without a sound a chunk of the thick flesh flies apart. Dark blood sprays from the ruined limb, then shimmers as it turns to ice. The tentacle’s grip weakens and you twist free.

  You jet away from the ruined tentacle and its shorter brothers. You gasp for breath and try to stifle the panic-chemicals clogging up your bloodstream.

  You gain 1 XP for surviving your encounter with the arm of the beast. Be sure to erase the amount of ammunition that you used.

  The need to kill whatever this thing is grows in your gut. Once you chill your nerves, you take a look at the nearest landmarks that you could investigate.

  There is a grey mound that you could check out by turning to section 300.

  Some of the blue channels sparkle nearby. You could follow one of them by turning to section 373.

  151

  You haul yourself onto the beam. “Screw you, pups!” you shout back at them. The beam is tilted in such a way that you can walk its length as long as you crouch low and grip it with your hands. Your worthless jetpack weighs you down. After a while you risk a look behind you. The two lead dogs are almost right behind you - and even more wild dogs are scrambling up the beam not far behind.

  If you have a Dexterity score of at least 3, turn to section 361.

  If your Dexterity score is 2 or less, turn to section 540.

  152

  Many hours ago. You see the stations of the STELLAR mining company lit all around, and many brightly-colored ships hover about, moving between far away asteroids and docking bays. You move the video feed forward. Dark shapes approach the stations. You zoom in on the image and can just barely make out three dark ships, long and lean, their hulls bent in weirdly organic shapes. There are flashes, explosions all along the stations. You slow down the video as much as you can, and see the red lines of powerful lasers tearing into the STELLAR hulls. The devastation is awesome, fast, efficient. One station fights back by firing a line of massive guns along its side. An Invader ship ceases its firing, and you see the reflection of some sort of electronic shield shimmering around it, protecting it from the bullets. Missiles jet from the ship; you slow down the video, see them cut through the invading ship’s own shield, then slam into the line of STELLAR guns, obliterating them utterly.

  A mass of things fly from another Invader ship. These things spread in all directions and latch onto the surface of many stations. You reason that they must be the deconstructor machines.

  Another ship flies into view, as dark as the others, from the opposite side of the field. It stops and the Invader ships react immediately, moving into some sort of defensive formation. You cannot make out the other ship, but it seems blocky, less organic... something about it seems familiar. It must be your ship, the one you came from. Points of light arc out from the human ship, and you can make out the tiny flares of jetpacks on a host of fighters. The jetpack infantryman fly toward an Invader ship, which releases its own fighters. The points of light fly all about one another like angry packs of hornets. Points collide with one another, there are flashes of light, then tiny explosions as infantrymen on both sides are killed. Your heart races - you must have been one of those warriors. You see many Invader infantrymen break from the battle and streak towards the human ship; sparks fly and you see the shield of the human ship shimmering under the Invaders’ assault. The warriors cut through, then streak toward the ship. There is thunder in your chest and cold sweat beads on your forehead, for if your ship was destroyed then you are truly lost in the void.

  Flashes of light as the human ship blasts the Invaders streaking down onto it. Only a few make it to the hull. You cannot see them as their jetpacks go black. More human infantrymen streak from the ship, then fall upon the Invaders on the hull. Flashes, sparks, puffs of explosions as the Invaders are overwhelmed.

  You look back at the jetpack battle between the ships. The Invader infantry, weakened by the loss of the ones who flew toward your ship, are routed and overwhelmed by the humans. Rather than release more fighters, the three Invader ships turn and fly from the battle, leaving their deconstructors behind.

  Cowards! you think. Three to one odds weren’t good enough for them?

  Now the human ship sends out smaller ships of its own, which spread out and dock with the blasted stations. They remain for a while - you fast forward through the video as they gather survivors from the ruined STELLAR colony. The humans ignore the deconstructors. Later, all units converge on the dark human ship, which turns about and flies from the area.

  You let the video roll as you sit back. You must have been wounded in that battle. Knocked unconscious, with your oxygen tank damaged, leaking slowly. Then, thought to be dead, you were abandoned with the rest of the scrap.

  Just before you turn the video off, there is a dark blur against the field of stars. You rewind the video and slow it down. You see a single Invader ship, probably one of the three from the battle. And it is flying on the same course as your own ship. But how could they possibly know where...

  Horrified, you realize that the Invader infantry that streaked toward your ship weren’t meant to destroy it - they must have planted some sort of tracking beacon. The Invaders did not retreat because they feared a single human ship - they ran because they wanted the human ship to leave, to return home... and to broadcast the location of the guerilla forces. Your blood catches like ice. Not only are you trapped on this station, doomed to die, but you are witness to the fact that your comrades, and possibly the majority of the human rebel forces, are going to be destroyed at the hands of the alien Invaders.

  A strange instinct tickles at the back of your mind. You check the log again for this station. Power failing, water draining. More hull breaches as the two large deconstructors go about their task. You check the log for the dock. It is completely destroyed. But there is a dock command station. It is still intact, and even has power. Not only that, but there are a few fuel lines and tanks still intact. Maybe...

  Just then, there is a knock at the door. You turn and see the doctor. “You want me to look at your wounds?” he says, quietly.

  “What for?” you say. “Aren’t you resigned to die, like the others?”

  “I try not to think about it. If I can just stay busy...”

  “Well, I’m fine.”

  As he turns to go, you say, “Wait! Do you have medical supplies here?”

  “Of course. I can show you to my office, if you like.”

  “Might be some useful gear,” you say, rising to follow him.

  Turn to section 433.

  153

  You lean over Marcus, weapon held ready. “Finest animal...” he mutters, “in all the universe... the most powerful... highest complexity of nature’s work...”

  “Hold on,” you say
. “Going to get you patched up, buddy.”

  Sybel’s door slides shut just as gunfire slams into it. “That’ll buy us some time,” he mutters. He runs to the other door, then says, “This hallway’s clear. Looks like we’ll be going this way.”

  “Done!” shouts Uther, then slides the bomb over to the computers directly beneath the shining generator.

  You haul Marcus up to his feet. The man groans loudly, then turns it into a defiant snarl.

  To leave the shield generator room, turn to section 38.

  154

  You whip the long pipe around and scatter the clustered mass of dogs. Several fly off the pillar, others slide backwards and are attacked by their comrades. One dog leaps from the pack and bites down on the pipe; you hear a terrible crunch as his own teeth shatter in his mouth. The mad beast does not let go. You push him from the beam. He scrambles backwards, then pulls your weapon from your hands as he falls from the support beam. Erase the Spear from your inventory.

  While the dogs regroup, you dive under the pillar and push through the rubble. You hear several dogs jump down into the room behind you. You rise to your knees on the far side of the pillar. You feel ahead in the darkness and find a control panel. You pull a small emergency latch and an unseen door opens, flooding the chamber with light. You enter and shut the door behind you. The barking of the dogs disappears suddenly.

  You have survived your encounter with the dogs: Gain 2 XP.

  Turn to section 187.

  155

  As you are pulled nearer the head of the beast, you feel a dozen small tentacles probe at your feet, your legs, your knees. The gaping mouth opens wide, filling your field of vision, and a dull black tongue rolls about slowly, a sleepy monster ready to crush you against a bed of jagged teeth. You raise your weapon and prepare to strike in the vital moment when you are nearest the beast - the moment just before the mouth will clamp down on your head and shatter your helm.