Heavy Metal Thunder Read online

  “I’m just saying, is all!” says the man, his head shaking wildly as he sidesteps away from you. “I can’t even talk to you people! You sound just like one of them!”

  Once the drunk leaves, the anger fades. You think about talking to the fanatics, but they seem incredibly busy with their drinking. You decide to hurry to the supply depot to check out your gear, since there’s no telling when you’ll need it.

  Turn to section 410.

  546

  You fire. The girl’s head snaps backward, spattering the laborer’s neck and shoulder with blood. His eyes widen, staring down at the ruins of her head.

  Shocked, you cannot decide what to do. Then the laborer looks at you, says, “Looks like you get to join us.” With that he raises his gun and fires. You try to move but the bullet slams into your side, drilling into your ribs and lodging there. You lose 7 Blood, but you may subtract your Dexterity score from this amount. Furthermore, your suit has been punctured. If you have any Sticky Fix, you must use one dose now to fix your suit; if you do not have any of this item, make a note that your suit has been damaged. Be sure to erase any ammunition that you used.

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

  If you survive, then you fall to your knees and glare at the laborer. Holding the dead girl close, he looks straight ahead, then says, “We didn’t want no part in your world, anyway.” He puts the gun to his own head.

  “Stop!” you shout. “Don’t do it! You’re wasting bullets!” But it’s too late - the man fires, blowing his brains out like a rainbow that comes in only one color. His body falls in a twitching heap beside the woman he loved. You may take his Bloody Chrome-Plated 9mm (Handgun, bulk 2) and 3 Handgun bullets (bulk 1) if you wish.

  Turn to section 166.

  547

  Your computer helm whirs to life on its own. Unsure what is happening, you intuitively navigate through its menus and find that its rudimentary scanning functions have picked up something floating very close to your own path. You know that even in the most densely-packed sections of the Asteroid Belt, the chances of randomly finding anything in the depths of space are minuscule. Fully aware of the strangeness of this find, you change course, slightly, to intercept the object.

  As you draw near, your helm scanner reports that the object is biological in nature. You check, re-check, triple-check the report. It seems that you are indeed approaching some large, living thing in the cold of space.

  “So this is what insanity feels like,” you mutter. “Sweet.”

  You draw closer to the thing, a round grey ball that your scanners estimate is about one mile in circumference. You fly closer until you can make out things like hairs shifting in a breeze; it is difficult to really feel out the size of the thing, but you guess that each “hair” is most likely as thick as a man’s arm. Since, of course, there is no breeze, the tentacles must be moving of their own accord. You can also see blue highlights along the surface of the ball, things like streams of ice. There is no question in your mind whether or not you should investigate the thing living in the vacuum: You have been alone without stimulation for so long that you are utterly compelled to draw nearer. You leave the net and supplies floating in space, then decide how best to approach.

  If you are trained in Xenology, turn to section 52.

  If you do not have such training, but your Intelligence is 3 or more, turn to section 314.

  Otherwise, turn to section 176.

  548

  You zig when you should have zagged. You run by the welding coil, shielding your face with your hands. It whips around and smacks you in the back of your fool-head, sending you flying: Lose 1 Blood. You consider yourself lucky that the fiery end of the thing didn’t touch you.

  You jog down the hall. You see a closed door to your right. Behind you, the mist is far away but is advancing rapidly.

  If you want to duck into the other room, either to hide or just to take a peek, turn to section 90.

  If you want to keep moving ahead, turn to section 430.

  549

  As he tends to your wounds, the doctor sees the strange device hanging from your utility belt. “Eyes off my paper weight,” you say.

  “That’s not a paper weight,” the doctor says, nodding to it.

  “Well, I was gonna use it for one.”

  “Then you would be wasting its full capabilities,” says the doctor. “I know... knew the man who worked on that thing. An eccentric young scientist obsessed with war.”

  “Sounds ill,” you say.

  “He was mentally ill, I think. He had a great mind... but in the end, only devoted his energy to the creation of machines of destruction. That thing, you see, is a powerful implosion bomb. Just yank that crank there, twist that knob, and... BOOM! Except in reverse.”

  You may keep the High-Power Implosion Grenade (bulk 3) if you like.

  Turn to section 328.

  550

  The gun bucks in your hand and sparks fly up from one of the robots. It shrieks, then crashes in the darkness. The other deconstructor emerges into the light, segmented tentacles whirling, insect-like face glaring without mercy, pincers grinding against one another. You brace yourself, ready to send it the way of its brother.

  Be sure to erase the number of bullets that you spent in the battle.

  If you have a Mace, you can bash this thing by turning to section 132.

  If you have a Blade, invite it to a razor party by turning to section 544.

  If you have a Spear, run it through by turning to section 354.

  If you have none of these weapons, face it with your bare hands at section 88.

  551

  “You’re right,” says the scared revolutionary, sighing loudly as he lowers his gun. “If I’m gonna die anyway, then I wanna-”

  “Damn you!” screams the other. He turns slightly, his gun wavers then the lawman fires over and over, drilling both men. They slam into each other, hacking on blood, as thick rivulets of blood spring out of them both. They crash to the ground in one another’s arms.

  You gain 1 XP for being such a smooth operator.

  Suddenly the lawman looks at you. “What?” you say.

  “Uh... well...” he stammers.

  “What?! Haven’t you ever wasted a ton of dudes before? Believe me, it happens all the time.”

  “I, uh,” he says, trying to recover himself, gun shaking in his hands. “I gotta get outta here. Fight some crime, or something. Something.” He stares ahead and marches out of the room.

  “Right on!” you say. “Wha-a-atever, bro.” You search the bodies of the dead and find the following gear.

  Krieger-Colt Pump-Action Shotgun (Shotgun, bulk 3)

  3 Shotgun Shells (bulk 1)

  Cold Cock Auto (Handgun, bulk 2) (The serial number has been scratched off.)

  4 Handgun bullets (bulk 1)

  When you are ready to hit the all-you-can-eat buffet (and scoop up some XP), turn to section 260.

  552

  You nearly lose your mind messing with the blasted computer system. Nearly half an hour goes by and a solid headache sets in. In the time that passes you must eat 1 Food or lose 1 Blood from hunger. (If your Blood drops to zero then your head crashes into the keyboard and the last thing you hear is the computer beeping, shrill and annoying.) Eventually, near tears, you yell for the manager.

  “What d’you want!” he screams as he enters.

  “Wanna see... where ships are...” you say, then slam your fist into the keyboard in a vain attempt to hide your frustration.

  “Here,” he says condescendingly, bringing up a system of logs. “Call me if you need your diaper changed or something, sir,” he mutters as he stomps out of the room.

  The monitor displays a status log of all the stations and the ships they have in port. As for the stations, their status is either black, which means that they are completely without power, or they have a jumbl
e of flashing red-flag systems alerts: massive hull breaches, oxygen leaking out of control, water conduits emptied out. More alerts pop up all the time as the deconstructors continue their work.

  You check the logs for the ships and your heart sinks, for there are no ships listed as functional. Every last ship has been destroyed. Even this station lists its ship bay as nonexistent, a ruin. Furthermore, none of the long-range communication arrays have been left standing. Things look grim.

  Then you notice a recorded visual log. Your pulse races as you realize you can now see the event that led to your abandonment here on the ghost station.

  Turn to section 152.

  553

  You hold the gun sideways, like you’ve seen on television, and blast wildly, backing away as the screaming man rushes toward you. You whirl away as the man swings his rifle about, then nearly drop your gun and juggle it in the air. You don’t have any time to draw another weapon as the man is nearly upon you - you must fight him with your bare hands.

  Be sure to erase the amount of bullets you have used.

  Turn to section 49.

  554

  You fake left then break right. The coil whips around. You leap and roll. The crackling end of the thing sears the wall nearby: Gain 1 XP.

  You jog down the hall. You see a closed door to your right. Behind you, the mist is far away but is advancing rapidly.

  If you want to duck into the other room, either to hide or just to take a peek, turn to section 90.

  If you want to keep moving ahead, turn to section 430.

  555

  You pop open the dock door control panel and, bracing yourself, manually turn the crank to open it. As soon as the door cracks open, air rushes from the hallway and into the void. You turn the crank as fast as you can while holding onto the panel itself. As your supplies, so wonderfully organized, fly toward the door, you release your grip and are whipped out and into he void. You see heavy fuel canisters and steel water jugs slam into the opening, sealing it. You fly out at tremendous speed, then kick on your jetpack. You feel the reassuring surge at your back, the overwhelming sense of freedom, as you maneuver about the dock. You look around: It is a ghost yard of wasted hulls, bent steel, twisted girders, shredded space suits. Even dead men float about, icy conglomerations of purple and red.

  A giant supply cabinet floats by. If you have made a note that your space suit is damaged, then you lose 1 Blood to the terrible sucking cold of the vacuum. (If the text has not specifically said so, then you may assume that your Black Lance Legion suit has not been damaged during your battles.) In the floating cabinet you find a large jar of Sticky Fix, which is good for spraying on damaged suits to seal them up against the void. If your suit is damaged, you can spray on some of the stuff and erase the note that your suit is damaged. In either case, you may clip the Sticky Fix (Suit Repair, bulk 2) to your belt. There is enough for 3 doses, not counting the dose you may have just used.

  Also inside the supply cabinet, you find an item called a Wilderness Void Tent. This handy item is folded up now, but when opened, it forms into a giant hollow ball that you can easily fit into. Its woven steel-fiber frame can keep the vacuum out, so you will be able to eat your meals and drink water while inside. You do not have to worry about keeping it on your person, as you would the Sticky Fix; you toss the item near the dock door so that you can keep it with the rest of your supplies.

  You click your teeth and turn your helm computer on. The heads-up display reads

  OXYGEN: FULL

  JETPACK FUEL: FULL

  HELM BATTERY: NEAR FULL

  That’s the stuff, baby, you think as you fly about the dock. Then, you find the last item that you will need: A giant fireproof net to keep your supplies in. You grab the thing as you fly by it, open it up, and hold it near the hallway door. You steady it as best you can in space, then gently fly to the door control panel. You manually crank the thing open all the way and your supplies come flying out, crashing into the net all helter skelter-like. You fly about and gather the loose items, tossing them in the net. You mind is on fire, white-hot, burning with the insane intent of the thing you are about to attempt, the journey you have worked so hard just to begin.

  As the full net pushes out of the ruined dock and into space, you look ahead. You see dozens of small deconstructor robots walking along the ceiling, pincers biting silently. They ignore you, filing past you and filling the open hall doorway. You turn about and leave them behind.

  Turn to section 259.

  556

  You float through the void, supplies dwindling, sanity questionable. “Some reason,” you gasp. “Some reason to exist.” You drift into sleep.

  Why am I even here?

  You dream. You are flying through a battlefield. Points of light flash all around: allies, enemies. Screaming in your ear, commands and death-screams on the radio. You have a sword in your hand, awkward, unwieldy, something flies by you and, terrified, the weapon flies from your hand. That can’t be me, you think. That coward can’t be me.

  Then you see another before you. A human, dark-suited like yourself. His jet flares, there is an impact, jarring - the infantryman is in your face, you cannot make out his features but he is screaming at you, he hates you, you panic. You put your hands around the neck-guard of his suit, you push and pull against him, desperate to be free of this madman. He raises a mace, draws back. You yank his neck-guard to no avail. The mace crashes into your helmet, tossing your brain on either side of your skull.

  You wake with a start, your right hand clutching reflexively. Clutching at...? You know in that instant that a human tried to kill you. A human from the ship you are trying to save.

  “Revenge,” you growl. “Reason enough to survive.”

  Your journey through the darkness continues. You feel out the calculus of your survival: You have traveled perhaps half the distance to the next space station, but have gone through more than three-quarters of your supplies. Things can only get worse.

  Then, something ludicrous happens. Either that, or you truly have gone insane.

  Turn to section 547.

  557

  “Escape?” says the laborer, rolling the idea about in his guts. “Could all of life’s problems... really just disappear... like that?”

  “The problems won’t disappear,” you say, “but as long as you’re alive, you have a chance to make your life better than before.”

  You can see that the man wants to believe you, but his urge toward death is also very strong.

  If your Charisma is 5 or more, turn to section 240.

  If your Charisma is 4 or less, turn to section 440.

  558

  You follow Sybel’s directions until he stops. Ahead, a narrow hallway leads off to the right. Further ahead the hall ends in a branch that goes off to the right and the left.

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

  “They’re going to have guards at that intersection,” Uther whispers 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 do not want to volunteer, turn to section 81.

  559

  “Thank you, sir!” says the man, panting heavily. “You’re too kind! My name’s Simeon.”

  “Whatever dude,” you say, scanning the horizon for possible dangers. “Just chill and don’t break anything, and if someone else breaks something, then fix it.”

  Make a note that Simeon the Mechanic is with you.

  Turn to section 77.

  560

  The manager raises the rifle and points it at you, his tear-streaked face purple with rage.
You panic for a split-second as you fumble for your jetpack controls. You see the window spiderweb, then feel an incredible impact as you are knocked back. There is searing pain in your arm, shoulder, torso, as your suit is torn open and hellish cold bites into you. You crash into the floor of the dock and slide backwards.

  The manager’s body flies forward, drawn out by the suck of the void. He careens through the heavy window and it shatters, shredding his body to a thousand glistening pieces that freeze in the shape of an unreal monster, a beast of icy red coils and shards of crystalline blood, a horrible thing that is an apt image of the monster this man kept inside his heart.

  You lose 3 Blood from the terrible trauma. If you survive, but did not take any Sticky Fix with you, then you lose a further 1 Blood as you fly back to the floating supply cabinet to use some of the Fix. If you already have this item on you, you must use one dose of it now to prevent further Blood loss from the cold of the airless void. As you repair your suit and regain some warmth in your limbs, you realize that the bullet did not hit you at all, but only tore through your suit. The manager was no marksman. Now, the only thing he will be managing is his own grave.

  You gain 2 XP for outliving the manager. You see dozens of deconstructors file into the open hall doorway. You turn about and leave them.

  Turn to section 259.

  561

  The blade flashes forward - then skids along the deconstructor’s face, dancing and scraping up its paint-job. The thing clamps down onto your wrist with its pincers. You shriek in terror, but the cry is cut short as the tentacle of the other bashes into the back of your head. You jerk your hand upward, pulling the thing in the air as you shout, “St-stop hurting me!” and slam one into the other. Despite the pain in your wrist, you lift the tenacious monster again, bring it crashing down into the other. They swing their tentacles about, desperate to clear one another’s proximity, until one is bashed into pieces by the other. You manage to free your wrist, then fall on top of the other, grinding your knife into its mouth, then up through its head.