Heavy Metal Thunder Read online

  Slippery D’s Hip Urban Snacks (Food, bulk 1) (The bag has a picture of a man who looks very cool and in control, and an equally cool-looking young lady hangs on his arm. Their posture implies that they will soon perform the reproductive act with one another and, if you eat their snack, they may let you watch.)

  You can leave the room and continue down the hall to the docking bay by turning to section 254.

  530

  You gain 2 XP for killing the panic-driven man. You may take the dead man’s empty STELLAR Guard Standard-Issue Rifle (Rifle, bulk 3).

  The other guard fires once more. There is a high-pitched whine followed by a crashing sound, marking the end of the small deconstructors. He turns to you, then his eyes open in surprise.

  If you wish to hold a gun on him, turn to section 6.

  If you wish to say “I mean you no harm,” then turn to section 383.

  531

  One day, Simeon steps out of the small restroom. “Ah, now sir, Mister Wiggles,” he says, and you note that he has an air of authority about him. “I just fixed the shitter.”

  “No kidding?” you say. “I didn’t know it was broken.”

  “Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You know that little sound it made when you flushed? Kind of like, ti-ting, ti-ting-ting, ti-ti-ti...”

  “Nah, didn’t notice, sorry. But thanks for fixing it.”

  Simeon draws himself up, leans his head back knowingly, and says, “See, the problem was that the tube release chain was catching on the shaft repulsion-”

  “Stop right there. Listen, I don’t care about the particulars. Just keep up the good work, okay?”

  “Alright...” he mutters, a little put off.

  You walk away. But before you leave him, you turn back, then say, “Oh, and if you waste my time again - I’ll kill you.”

  Turn to section 262.

  532

  If you have any SD damage, and have no Sticky Fix to repair your suit, then the void bleeds you for that much Blood.

  You fly nearer the man who tried to kill you. The battle disappears far behind. You tune your radio for his ears alone and say, “John. John Christian.” There is only static on his end of the line. Along with his jetpack, his radio must have been damaged as well.

  As you draw nearer, John Christian sees you. He waves his hands to you, and tries in vain to orient himself such that you are on the same plane. Then his helm must identify who you are, for he suddenly becomes still.

  “That’s right, buddy,” you say. “It’s your old friend Mister Wiggles.” The other fighters are far away. You know that whatever happens here will never be known by anyone except you and Mister Christian.

  He appears unarmed. If you want to kill the man who tried to kill you, turn to section 436.

  If you want to look at him face to face before you do anything, turn to section 63.

  533

  “Listen, babe,” you say. “I can’t do this.”

  Drawing away from you, her mask of beauty falters for a moment and she truly seems a feral animal when she says, “What? Why?”

  “I, uh, I walk a lonely path in life. It’s this journey, see, it keeps me pretty busy. Plus, I don’t want you getting hurt.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Her breasts heave up and down as she takes in violent breaths, and her lips curl cruelly. “What’s the problem?”

  “Just chill, alright? Maybe some other time. I’m just not looking for a long-term commitment right now. In the Legion, they teach us not to associate with anything that we can’t shoot to death or leave in ten seconds flat. At least, I think they do, I got this memory thing, see...”

  “Are you serious? Are you some kind of psychopath?”

  The question throws you off balance, and while you think of a response Zelda stomps away. You’re not sure why, but for some reason you say over your shoulder, “You’ll be back, honey. You’ll be back.”

  Minutes later you hear Zelda and Buford giggling in some far corner of the ship. Then Cletus’s inane giggling joins in. What in the world could those three possibly have in common? you wonder, confused and disgusted by the whole thing.

  Turn to section 571.

  534

  You catch the deconstructor in a glancing blow. A tentacle from the other slams into your ribs, pushes you into a wall. Now the first whips you about the shins, causing you to shriek and hop about in terror. Old childhood rage bubbles in your blood, and your vision dims as you swing your weapon about, knocking tentacles away. You trip over one of the beasts, crash into the other, then flail about in a merciless tantrum. When you run out of air, you realize that you have beaten the two deconstructors into pieces. “Shows them, for p-picking on me...” you say, snuffling tears loudly.

  You lose 3 Blood in the fight. If your Blood has dropped to zero or less, then you pass out, dead, another victim of the ghost station.

  If you have survived, turn to section 298.

  535

  You float down the hall toward the lounge, peering quickly down side halls as you go. The hall continues straight, and so you turn off your helm light as you advance. Suddenly you see a flicker of light along a side hall. You cling to the ceiling and slide to a stop. You peer around a corner. A cone of light swings around the hall, then you see the manager floating by. He is carrying a long rifle and peers from side to side. You quietly pull back around the corner and wait for him to pass. Once you are sure he has gone by, you continue on.

  You gain 1 XP for using your Skill. Turn to section 516.

  536

  “Uh, I don’t think that’s gonna work for me,” you say.

  “What?” she says, as if she has never heard such a refusal before.

  “See, I’m kind of a loner type. Dark and brooding. I know a lot of guys probably act aloof and tough as an image designed to intrigue people like you. Well, for me it’s legit.”

  She slinks toward you, somehow managing to push her boobs and ass out even farther than before. “Don’t you want to... you know...”

  “Want to what? Be alone with my thoughts while I look at the stars? Yeah, don’t mind if I do.”

  Zelda turns about quickly and stomps away. Minutes later you hear Zelda and Buford giggling in some far corner of the ship. Then Cletus’s inane giggling joins in. What in the world could those three possibly have in common? you wonder, confused and disgusted by the whole thing.

  You gain 1 XP for disentangling yourself from a hot and sticky situation. Turn to section 571.

  537

  As the laborers finish up the loading, you turn to the ship. Stenciled on its side is the name Narrenschiff.

  Narrenschiff? you think, remembering some ancient language. Ship of Fools?

  The nature of the black omen is not lost on you. “Doors’ll be opening soon,” you say to the guards. “Get ready to rock.”

  An old geezer waddles up to the ship. His fat belly presses up against his cheap-looking clothes, and his beard is stained yellow either from a lifetime of smoking or vomiting. “See here!” he says. “I haven’t gotten a seat on a ship yet.”

  “And maybe you never will, old man,” you say.

  “Well you’ll need a pilot, won’t you?”

  “Will I?”

  “If you don’t,” barks the old man, “someone else will.”

  If you want to let the old man on board, turn to section 205.

  If you want to banish his ass to an early retirement, turn to section 144.

  538

  You stand your ground as the monsters emerge into the light. Segmented tentacles whirl about, insect-like faces glare without mercy, steel pincers grind against one another. You leap forward, right knee bent, and bring your boot crashing down onto one of the monsters.

  You must now compute an abstract number that will determine the outcome of the battle. This number is your Ground Combat (or 1 G Combat) added to your Strength stat.

  If this number is 3 or less, turn to section 386.

  If this number is 4 or more
, turn to section 443.

  539

  You and Reika race down the hallway. The lights flicker ominously. The entire station shudders and you nearly lose your balance.

  “REMAIN CALM,” says the voice on the intercom. “THERE HAS BEEN A SLIGHT POWER SURGE IN DOCKING BAYS FOUR THROUGH NINE. EMERGENCY PERSONNEL HAVE CLOSED OFF THE AREAS. RUMORS THAT THESE DOCKING BAYS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED ARE COMPLETELY UNFOUN... OH GOD!”

  Death-static fills the audio speakers, then disorienting popping sounds. A new voice, shrill and manic, shouts, “Tools of the Stellar Slave Corporation, hear this! The People’s Underground Revolutionary Forces have commandeered this communications center! Your liberation is at hand! I repeat, your liberation is at hand!”

  “Idiots!” says Reika. “Here’s your perfect world, numbskulls!”

  So, you think, I wonder if she believes that people should be shot for minor infractions of the law... she might be the ruthless girl for me!

  “Listen,” you say, “when we get to the docking bay, just stay behind me, okay? Things might get a little crazy.”

  “Get crazy?” she says. “Fine, okay. I’m ready for crazy.”

  You come to a hallway filled with running people. They are a mix of frightened laborers, lawmen, mercenaries, merchants, and corporate heads. You see the wide open doors of the docking bay just ahead, and the scene before you makes all the chaos beforehand pale in comparison.

  Turn to section 53.

  540

  You fight your way upwards with renewed intensity. One of the two lead dogs gets ahead of the other and howls at you maniacally. You cannot seem to get ahead of them. You hear them coming closer and closer, then you feel a terrible pain as teeth sink into your right leg: Lose 1 Blood. You squeal and roll over onto your back. The dog shakes your leg in its mouth. You bring up your heavy left boot and bring it crashing into his face once, twice... eight times. The light goes out of the dead dog’s eyes before he ever yields an inch. The other dog prepares to leap. You kick the lead dog into its path; it swerves to the edge to avoid it, then kicks wildly with its hind legs as it hangs off the edge of the beam. You roll down a few feet and slap the thing with your gloved hand. It falls over the brink.

  Now the rest of the pack is gaining on you. Gripping your leg, you continue on towards the top of the ruined beam.

  Turn to section 510.

  541

  You enter a well-lit carpeted corridor colored in soft tones. You make your way toward the center of the station, sweating under the weight of the jetpack. Something screeches nearby; you whirl about; a hidden speaker overhead plays gentle muzak. The lights brown-out around you. You continue on.

  You come to a hall where you hear clanking, thuds, a mechanical, arrhythmic lurch. Your body tenses, remembering something primal. Several hallways around you blacken entirely.

  You feel a malevolent presence around you. Your hands are clenched into fists. Something bad is going to happen... but you are not without a violence all your own.

  You suddenly remember your combat training.

  Turn to section 372.

  542

  You take up position beside the others and plant your grapple beside the northern entrance to the backup generator. You ready yourself, facing down the hall. The rumbling grows. You notice sweat trickling down the guard’s face as he fingers his rifle. The laborer swallows, over and over, gulping his fear. Soon the entire hallway shakes around you, the rumbling grows deafening, overwhelming - then the wall at the far end of the hall buckles, tears apart like dry paper, and two giant machines, heads full of rotating drills and saws, grind their way toward you. They tear up the sides of the hall, bowing them outwards, the lights flicker around you and air rushes out of the hall with such force that the three of you are lifted off your feet. You are spinning, utterly disoriented, not sure if “down” is somewhere at your side or if it is at your feet and the deconstructors are rising to eat you whole.

  You and the guard slam into one another and, by some stroke of luck, stop your spin. The guard aims his rifle and blasts at the head of one monster. The other is below you, rising. Suddenly the laborer is ripped free of his mooring, not having secured his line well. He flies downward, crashes into a drill-headed machine, and simply disappears as the hall is splattered with red. You will have to move quickly.

  If you have a High-Power Implosion Grenade, you can use it by turning to section 193.

  Otherwise, you will have to fire with a gun by turning to section 255.

  If you have no gun, you can lower yourself nearer one of the machines and attack it with a hand-held weapon by turning to section 35.

  If you don’t even have a hand-held weapon, you will have to flee by turning to section 366.

  543

  You rise over the box, blood singing in your ears drowning out all else. A horned head hovers into view. You fire - and the guard falls back as one of his horns shatters and blood spurts from a new opening in his head.

  The other two open fire as you drop down again. Part of the steel box that provides your cover blasts apart and slams into your helm, ringing your skull painfully, then another part catches you in the chest. You lose 4 Blood, though you may subtract your Defense rating from this amount. Be sure to erase the amount of ammunition that you used.

  If you die, then you may Regenerate by turning back to section 161.

  If you survive, then your com-link clicks to life. A calm, aristocratic voice says, “Commander Uther, do you read me? This is Captain Numitor.” You can hear him loud and clear over the Penelope’s powerful communications link.

  “SIR, YES SIR!” cries Uther.

  “The good news,” says Numitor, in a conversational tone, “is that our infantry have beaten back the attackers. Unfortunately I’ve had to recall most of them to our own ship. You see, some nine enemy units have broken into our own ship. We had quite a battle on the deck and killed three of them, but they managed to find our shield generator. Another has died against the soldiers there, but the last five are putting up quite a fight. My second is throwing around the word ‘retreat’. How are things over there, Commander?”

  “Few minutes, sir!” says Uther. “Few minutes, that’s all we need.”

  Damn! you think. I hope that hot supply depot chick didn’t get her face seared off or her intestines blown out by some monster. I never even caught her name...

  You prepare to fire at the second guard.

  You must now compute a number that will determine the accuracy of your second shot. This number is your Dexterity. 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 Rifle, add 2. If you are using a Shotgun, add 1. 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. Furthermore, if you have Sixth Sense, add 1 to this number.

  If the number is 7 or less, turn to section 488.

  If the number is between 8 and 13, turn to section 111.

  If the number is 14 or more, turn to section 422.

  If you are completely out of bullets, turn to section 471.

  544

  You draw your blade and rush towards the deconstructor.

  You must now compute a number that will determine the outcome of the battle. This number is your Ground Combat (or 1 G Combat) added to your Strength stat. If you have the Weapon Proficiency: Hand-to-Hand skill with a Blade, add 2 to this number.

  If this number is 4 or less, turn to section 128.

  If this number is 5 or more, turn to section 435.

  545

  You walk the cold grey halls until you come to the lounge. This room is much warmer than any you have been in so far, and its walls are covered in varnished wood. You see many photos and paintings of scenes of Earth. There is a bar on one side. The air is thick with smoke. You see clean-cut bomber pilots, roughneck infantrymen, ship personnel of all shapes, sizes, ages, and a few painted geishas with Legion medals on t
heir low-cut black sweaters.

  You notice a group of three infantry at a table near the bar. The table sways wildly because two of them are arm-wrestling while they chug; the third counts in German. When one man sputters, drops his beer, and loses the arm-wrestling match, the third man points to him and shouts, “Fifty! Gimme fifty now, boy!” Cursing, the loser drops to the floor and blasts through dozens of rapid push-ups. Nobody seems in a rush to calm the men down.

  A drunk stumbles into you. As he apologizes, you grab his arm, then say, “What’s up with those psychos over there?”

  “Them?” says the drunk, laughing good-naturedly. “They’re some o’ them... uh, they’re human fanatics, is what they are. Good guys, though, I got no problems.”

  You look at him questioningly.

  “Me? I was workin’ for Stellar, see, got picked up. This place’s a little different though, cause I can’t leave. Funny, huh? Well, it isn’t. Listen, I’m thinkin’ of tryin’ to escape-”

  “I don’t care,” you say. “What’s a human fanatic?”

  “Guess it’s some kind of religion. Or a philosophy. Mostly, though, it’s kind of a cult. Wipes out the mind, you know. No room for independent thought. Me, I tend to live and let live. If someone’s got a problem with me, we talk it out. These guys? Hell. Shit, man. You better believe me. Most of them spend more time in lock-down than anywhere else. All I’m saying is, has anyone even tried talking to these so-called Invaders? Maybe it’s just some misunderstanding -”

  You are instantly enraged. “They invaded our solar system, destroyed our colonies, and took our homeworld from us,” you say, straining against the impulse to murder the man. “No human city has been left standing. What is there to misunderstand about that?”