Heavy Metal Thunder Page 18

  Turn to section 479.

  241

  The syringe hovers near and you push desperately against one another.

  If your Intelligence is 2 or more, you can try to debate with the doctor - or at least distract him - by turning to section 173.

  If your Strength is 3 or more, you can teach him something that wasn’t in his textbooks by turning to section 183.

  Otherwise, you can struggle with him by turning to section 195.

  242

  You aim your gun at the so-called revolutionaries. “In this modern, fast-paced world of scum-bags and dirt-bags, we tend to forget who the real enemy is,” you say darkly. “It’s the slime-buckets like these guys.”

  “Aw, na-a-a-aw,” moans the scared revolutionary.

  “He’s right!” shouts the lawman. “Listen to the man. Now lay down your weapons and turn yourselves in.”

  “Yes! Listen to him!” you shout.

  “No - listen to him!” shouts the lawman.

  The tension in the room thickens, heightens, becomes unbearable. The scared revolutionary aims at you, gun shaking, tears streaming down his face.

  “But this can only end in blood,” says the smiling revolutionary. “Kill!”

  The scared revolutionary screams.

  If you wish to shout, “Wa-a-ait!” turn to section 502.

  If you have at least one bullet, you can shoot at the revolutionaries by turning to section 172.

  If you want to dive behind the partial cover of a nearby table, turn to section 489.

  243

  The gun jerks in your hands and a moment later a stream of oxygen and red ice pours from the body of the sniper, who twitches once, then floats limp and calm.

  You gain 2 XP for killing the Invader. Be sure to erase the amount of ammunition you used from your inventory.

  You rise into a crouch, then feel eyes on your back. The other Invader is staring at you, black face unreadable, horns gleaming in the light of distant stars. His jet arcs to life and he flies toward you at incredible speed.

  If you want to fire at him with a gun, turn to section 39.

  If you want to draw a hand-to-hand weapon and face him (or even take him on unarmed), turn to section 413.

  244

  “Get lost,” you say. “We’re trying to fly a spaceship here, not “navigate” it, or whatever you call that shit.”

  The man throws you a contemptuous smile, then gives you the finger as he limps away.

  “I swear,” you mutter. “Some people.”

  Turn to section 405.

  245

  “Guns!” you shout. “Reika, let’s go in here and gear up.”

  She looks at the door for a moment, then says, “It’s been busted open.”

  “Right. Saves us the trouble.”

  “Well there might be someone in there...”

  “So? I’ll deal with that. Same way I dealt with your boyfriend, same way I’ve dealt with every other asshole I’ve met so far.”

  “But... but what if...”

  “Listen, I need guns, weapons, if we’re gonna make it through this thing alive. Right?”

  “I just wanna get out of here before we lose the chance to,” she says, sullen. “If you go in, I’m staying out here.”

  If you want to go ahead and enter the armory, turn to section 377.

  If you want to give in and continue on to the ship docking bay, turn to section 539.

  246

  Try as you might, you can’t seem to get any leverage to use against the doctor, who pushes against you with demonic intensity. With great dread you see the thick syringe pierce through your suit, then prick your skin, then grate against one of your ribs. He manages to push the plunger a fraction of a centimeter and you feel Hell opening up in your body. You howl in pain and jerk wildly and the syringe breaks off.

  You convulse out of control, unable to breathe, and the doctor is jerked sideways and crashes into a table. The room starts to spin and you grab the sides of your head as you fall from the table. The doctor rummages through the vials that have been knocked to the floor, cursing wildly. You see him priming a fresh syringe, hands shaking, as he knocks more bottles around. You crawl across the floor, desperate to live, desperate to kill.

  You rise onto your knees, the floor swings upward and smacks you in the head. You rise again, the room shakes out of control, and you lunge forward and grasp the doctor’s neck from behind. You fall over again, dragging him down with you but you hold tight to his neck. He kicks and flails about as you crush the life from him.

  He lies still and you lie with him, waiting for the terrible sickness to let up: You have lost 2 Blood from the poison. Moreover, you temporarily lose 1 Dexterity and 1 Strength point. However, you gain 1 XP for killing the mad doctor.

  Turn to section 269.

  247

  You leave the Narrenschiff, your life line, far behind as you streak towards Scylla at full speed. You see the flash of a gunshot and note its position. You have no doubt that the sniper is firing at the ship, running it through with holes, possibly destroying its computer systems, fuel tanks, supplies, and all hope of ever returning to your Black Lance Legion ship. You do not care; only the death of the sniper matters. You wonder if the sniper has a spotter, if there is a two-man team. No matter: None can stop you.

  The asteroid grows in your vision and you brake hard, then settle down in an area hidden in shade. The cold, hard surface of brittle stone has no gravity that you can feel.

  If you are trained in Stealth, turn to section 165.

  If you do not have this skill, turn to section 136.

  248

  You shine your helmet light around the room, you see the floating bodies, the cake, the frozen gobs of round blood. You can take the 9mm Automatic (Handgun, bulk 2), if you like. There are 5 Handgun bullets (bulk 1) in the clip, and you may take these as well. Be sure to record these weapons in your item inventory, along with the individual and total bulk of items.

  You are getting hungry for air.

  If you would like to make a quick search of the dead workers’ pockets, turn to section 158.

  There are some unopened birthday presents floating under a nailed-down table. You can rip through these by turning to section 14.

  If you want to get out of this room now, turn to section 360.

  249

  The world spins in your field of vision. As the tentacle swings you about wildly, you fire. Either you miss or your fire has no effect. The grip tightens about your leg, crushing it, and you lose 2 Blood. (Be sure to erase the amount of ammunition that you used.)

  Suddenly you come to a rest - then, dozens of small tentacles wrap around you. The long tentacle has dragged you down to a nest of smaller tentacles. They slither about you, crushing you, rolling you around. You can barely breathe, much less scream. The things are very powerful and you know that they could crush the life from you. Instead, it seems that they are moving you somewhere.

  If you want to roll up into a ball to minimize the damage the tentacles can do to you, turn to section 96.

  If you have at least one bullet and you want to shoot at the tentacles with the gun you just used (which is the only weapon you can currently get to), turn to section 501.

  250

  You slowly remove their helms. Though disfigured by the effects of the vacuum, you can still make out the features. The faces have enough human traits to disturb you, but are alien enough to disgust you as well. Their faces are longer than a human’s, with long noses that end thickly. Their eyes are slitted, slightly upturned at the far ends. Bovine comes to mind. The mouths are decidedly human, save for slightly elongated eye-teeth that can only be called fangs. The sniper has finer features than the other; his coloration is a pale red, his hair and beard darker red. The fighter is squatter, thicker, and his skin is bluish, though it is difficult to tell if this was his original color or is due to the effects of the vacuum. His hair and beard are jet black.

  The longer you
look at the strange faces, the more human they look. But one thing about them is truly alien - both have long, curved horns that jut out from their skulls. Their helms are designed to accommodate the horns: Two interlocking pieces that lock together, one in front and one in back. The horns are the color of bone. As you feel them, you decide that they truly are horns of bone – they are natural extensions of the skull.

  You cannot make out any features on their eyes, for they have been completely ruptured by the vacuum.

  Their bodies are humanoid, though their legs seem slightly long. You rip off their boots and note that they have only two large toes tipped with thick, yellow-brown nails. Their heels seem highly arched.

  “Satyrs,” you mutter under your breath. “The demons we are fighting... are satyrs.”

  As you search their bodies, you find that the fighter wears a set of armor under his space suit. You may take his Hard Vest (Bulk 2, Defense 2) if you wish.

  (If this is the first set of armor you have found, then armor works like so: When you lose Blood, you will be told if you may subtract your Defense rating from the amount of your Blood loss. If the text makes no mention of subtracting your Defense rating from Blood loss (for instance, if you lose Blood due to starvation, or due to a blow to a part of your body not covered by armor), then, of course, you may not subtract your Defense rating from the Blood loss.)

  You pry the field-generating short sword from the fighter’s hand. The weapon hums in your hand. Electromagnetic field-generating weapons are the special advanced-technology weapons used by infantrymen to hack through the invisible shields of large vessels. Charged weapons are much better than inert weapons. You may take the Charged Gladius (Blade, bulk 2) if you wish.

  You may also take the Alien Sniper Rifle (bulk 3) if you wish, though it does not seem to use your own caliber of ammunition. You have the feeling that you can trade it for something else when you reach your home ship.

  A search of the sniper’s hideout reveals a stockpile of oxygen tanks, frozen food, tanks of water, a shelter much like a collapsible Wilderness Void Tent, and even some liquid hydrogen fuel. You gather the stuff up behind you, but you are determined not to make another shipless journey unless you must; you set off in search of the ruins of the Narrenschiff, praying that she can be salvaged.

  Turn to section 351.

  251

  You only manage to get in one healthy swing before a tentacle quickly wraps around the weapon and tears it from your grasp. As the things drag you and toss you about, you see one particularly thick tentacle shatter the weapon in its grasp. Another tentacle slams you in the chest, spraining ribs and driving the air from you.

  You lose 3 Blood. Erase the weapon from your inventory. If you die, you may Regenerate by turning back to section 179. If you survive, read on.

  The tentacles suddenly release your upper body and lift you up by your legs. A silent mound lies before you. It quivers, uncoils, and rises. You jerk back in alarm. The thing is a thick stalk about ten feet long, its base attached to the ground, and its end is topped by a large head, featureless save for a gaping mouth lined with fangs made of the same hard stuff as its body. The thing snaps its heavy jaw open and shut. Several tentacles at its base rise and sway in anticipation.

  The hungry head of the beast opens its fanged mouth to accept you as sacrifice.

  If you have a gun and at least one bullet, and want to blast the head, turn to section 454.

  If you have another hand-to-hand weapon and want to go toe-to-toe with the head of the beast, turn to section 155.

  If you have a High-Power Implosion Grenade, you can use it by turning to section 584.

  If you want to try to wiggle free from the tentacles and fly away from the monster, turn to section 467.

  252

  The guard slams his thick pipe into your arms and shoulder before you can get close to him. Huffing and panting, you stare one another down as you spin about the hall, grappling for supremacy. You try to maintain your hold, block his pipe, and get your knife to his throat, all at once.

  You must now compute a number to see if you are being beaten to death, or just close to it. Add your Zero G Combat to your Strength. If you are trained in Weapon Proficiency: Blade, add 3 to the number.

  During your pounding you lose 9 Blood - but you can subtract the number calculated above from this amount. If your Blood has dropped to zero or less, then the guard has pounded your body into a gooey mess sloshing around inside your suit. If you have survived his onslaught, then continue on.

  You finally give up all defensive actions and, as the guard gives you a solid pounding on your helm, you jam the knife into his gut. He jerks and yelps and you swing back, then pull the two of you together as you mash the knife into his eyeball. The guard twitches violently as you slide it in to the hilt, slicing into his brain. You rest, waiting for your skull to stop ringing, the dead man peacefully intertwined with you.

  You gain 2 XP for killing the guard. Turn to section 562.

  253

  Your body arcs backward, you howl like a mad wolf as an unendurable bolt of pain shoots through you: Lose 2 Blood. Unable to control the monster inside, you leap towards the old laborer. He fumbles out of the way, then falls over. Just as you are about to tear his body open with your bare hands, the others fall on you, push you down, and hold you as you flail madly.

  Minutes pass as the kill-surge weakens until finally you collapse, exhausted. You realize that the men have been talking; only now can you understand their words.

  “Black Lance Legion, he called it,” says the manager. “Looks like they made some kind of psychotic freak out of this young man!”

  “Did they teach him to lash out at harmless old men?” says the doctor.

  “Looks like he’s chill now,” says the guard. “Good thing we didn’t have to waste him.”

  They let go of you, backing away uneasily. You pull yourself up tiredly.

  “You sorry?” says the guard.

  “Not really,” you say, glaring at the laborer.

  Turn to section 19.

  254

  You continue down the hall toward the far side of the station. Screams of terror echo in the distance. You come to an electronic map on the wall; bullet-holes riddle the area, and several bloody bodies lie at your feet. As you study the map a terrific explosion rocks the station. You ignore the distraction, intent on your own survival. According to the map, docking bays are blinking out and going black all around the station. Fortunately you find one of several docking bays relatively far from the destruction. You pick one, then make your way down a corridor leading toward it.

  During your walk through the halls of madness, you see a door marked

  STELLAR CORP LAW ENFORCEMENT ARMORY

  AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY!

  The lock has been smashed open, and you can hear activity inside.

  If you want to enter the armory, turn to section 377.

  If you want to bypass the area and hurry on to the docking bay, turn to section 10.

  255

  The deconstructors tear up the hallway, rising to engulf you both. The guard shoots downward at one machine, cursing wildly as his bullets ricochet off the spinning drills. You aim your own weapon and fire downward at the other behemoth.

  You must now compute an abstract number that signifies the accuracy of your gunfire. If you are skilled in Weapon Proficiency: Ranged, and it is with the type of gun you are using, add 3 to your total. For every 2 Rifle bullets that you choose to fire, add 1 to your total. For every 4 Handgun bullets you choose to fire, add 1 to your total. Add your Dexterity to the total. You may only fire one type of gun at the deconstructor, for the violence of the vacuum and the jerking of your grappling rope prevent you from switching out weapons.

  If the result is 10 or more, turn to section 277.

  If the result is 9 or less, turn to section 197.

  256

  Misshapen steel coils jut out from the ruined wall. You grab onto them,
hug the wall, then swing your right leg around. The jetpack hangs from your back like a granite devil, pulling you down. You pull yourself outward, then crane your head to take a peek at the far side. You are in luck, for there is a long section of broken hallway on the other side.

  Unfortunately, one of the steel coils that you are holding comes loose from the ruined wall. Dust scatters and clouds your vision. You hang onto the wall desperately.

  If you have a Dexterity score of 3 or more, turn to section 233.

  If your Dexterity is 2 or less, turn to section 323.

  257

  “Hey doc,” you say, producing the syringe. “What is this stuff?”

  The doctor glances at it, then shakes his head disapprovingly. “That’s a drug called KillJoy. The laborers and guards here inject that crap into dogs during their loutish dog-fighting matches. I’ve even heard of men using it on themselves before a fight. It turns rational men into savages...”

  “Cool!” you say.

  Note that the KillJoy Syringe (bulk 1), when used, will add 2 to any hand-to-hand variable for the duration of 1 fight. There is only enough for 1 dose. It cannot be used in conjunction with guns.

  If you have a Mystery Device, turn to section 549.

  If you do not have this item, turn to section 328.

  258

  “Well I got news for you, bud,” you say, drawing your piece dramatically and aiming it at the lawman. “I’m the LAW in this station. You? You’re a scum-bag, dirt-bag!”

  “Now that’s not true!” shouts the lawman, pointing his gun at you.