Heavy Metal Thunder Read online

  One hallway to your right seems fairly innocuous. You can take it by turning to section 499.

  The cleaning machine went down a hallway to your left. Reasoning that it will be far ahead of you and probably in another hallway by now, you can take this path by turning to section 315.

  111

  You swing out over the side. Smoke rolls about in front of you, casting deep shadows throughout the hellish red chamber. Two horned heads rise into view. You fire at one, who jerks and slides along the ground, dead, but the other gets off a shot before you can move. Your helm is blasted sideways and pain rings throughout your skull as you crash into the ground. As you reach up to adjust your helm you feel a great dent that presses against your battered head. You struggle to rise once more, though your vision shakes sickeningly.

  You lose 4 Blood, though you may subtract your Will stat from this amount. Be sure to erase the amount of ammunition that you used.

  If you die, then it turns out there are two large dents in your helm - one where the bullet went in, and another where it came out again. No amount of Will can overcome that. You may Regenerate by turning back to section 161.

  If you survive, then you hear the last guard blast away at your cover as you crawl back onto your knees. You glance over at Marcus. A pile of alien dead are scattered about the narrow doorway, the stairwell, and beneath the stairs themselves. The walls run thick with blood as Marcus reloads once more. Behind you, you see Commander Uther throw the last of his alien guns away. Sybel hands him one of his handguns and a clip of ammunition. When Sybel swings out of the doorway to fire at the oncoming stream of reinforcements, he takes single, controlled shots.

  Your head rings and the constant battering of gunfire is maddening. You can feel your sanity drifting away, drowning in a tide of brutality. There is not much time left, and everyone is running low on ammunition. You must hold together and kill the last guard quickly.

  You must now compute a number that will determine the accuracy of your third shot. This number is your Dexterity added to your Will. 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 2 to this number.

  If you are out of ammunition, or have so little that you do not think you can make an accurate shot, turn to section 73.

  If the number is 8 or less, turn to section 185.

  If the number is between 9 and 14, turn to section 208.

  If the number is 15 or more, turn to section 484.

  112

  Uther throws a small steel container into the hallway, which emits some sort of thick black gas. “Go!” he says, running into the hall and firing. Marcus tosses several grenades, then covers you and Sybel with a full clip from his massive rifle. Uther turns and runs, screams, “Jetpacks!” and, to your amazement, takes off flying down the narrow hallway. Sybel blasts off as well, joining him.

  Your stomach churns, for you have never flown your jetpack, designed for zero-G flight in wide-open space, in such narrow quarters. A hail of alien gunfire erupts directly behind you, then Marcus blasts past you, skidding against the wall in a shower of sparks and cursing loudly.

  If you want to use your jetpack to blast out of the area, turn to section 449.

  If you want to run as fast as you can, turn to section 453.

  113

  You wake up fully rested, but your body aches from all of your many wounds. You take some time to clean and patch yourself up as best you can, which is difficult because the idea of taking off your space suit fills you with revulsion, even terror. Did the Black Lance Legion program me, you wonder, to never remove my suit unless I was on my own ship? Why does the idea fill me with such fear?

  You heal 3 Blood. However, if you are trained in First Aid, then you heal an additional 3 Blood. Furthermore, if any of your stats have been temporarily lowered, then they are now restored.

  Turn to section 317.

  114

  You fire your gun and note, with deep satisfaction, that one of the monster’s teeth shatters. “Bet that hurt!” you scream as hundreds of other teeth clamp down on your neck and torso, grinding through your suit, your skin, your bones, your organs. Each layer hurts in its own special way.

  Be sure to erase the amount of ammunition that you used. Then erase your character from existence. You have died in the belly of a beast that serves the Invader.

  THE END.

  Regeneration: You may return to section 179 and try again, if you wish.

  115

  The door refuses to open. If you have a Lounge Key Card, you can use it to open the door. Otherwise, you must fire either 1 Rifle bullet or 2 Handgun bullets into the control panel to open it.

  If you manage to open the door by one of these methods, turn to section 500.

  If you have none of these items, or do not have enough bullets, or would rather just try doing things the hard way, turn to section 409.

  116

  As you fly toward the Invader, something slams into your back. Two more Invaders fly by on either side of you; horrified, you realize that they are carrying some sort of metallic net and have ensnared you. The bushwhackers loop about you, entangling your limbs and weapons, while the first Invader flies toward you more quickly than before, most likely licking his chops in anticipation of an easy kill.

  You must now compute a number that determines how well you can fight while ensnared. This number is your Dexterity stat added to your Zero G Combat stat. If you have the Jetpack Skill, add 5 to this number. If you are trained in Weapon Proficiency: Hand-to-Hand, and it is with the weapon you are using, add 1 to this number. If you are fighting with a Blade, add 2. If you are fighting with a Spear, subtract 2. If, for whatever reason, you are fighting unarmed, subtract 5.

  During the battle you lose 11 Blood, though you may subtract the number you calculated from this amount. You may also subtract your Defense rating from this amount. However, if you lose 3 or more Blood, then you also lose 1 SD.

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

  While the first Invader rains blows down on you, numbing your body, you manage to swing about so wildly that the two net holders fly into one another such that one’s jetpack sears the other’s helmet into slag around his screaming skull. You crash into the first Invader and tear into him upside down, crushing his knees in time to the bone-crushing music until his suit flies apart. You look about, hollering defiantly, but the third Invader has bailed on his comrades.

  You gain 3 XP for killing two Invaders. You may take the enemy’s Charged Mace (Mace, bulk 2) if you want.

  As you try to get your bearings, you realize that you have drifted far from the main battle. A cloud of shattered armor and frozen corpses surround the melee between the two large ships. Just before you can rejoin the battle, you notice that someone else has drifted as well. The infantryman’s jetpack sputters, then dies. He is far away and your helm cannot properly identify him. You fly closer, thinking that if he is a human then he needs help, and if he is an enemy then he will make an easy kill.

  When you come within range of the wounded unit, the heavy metal music in your ears seems to grow dim, and your heart thunders ominously, for your helm identifies the casualty as John Christian.

  Turn to section 532.

  117

  You hear bullets ricochet in the hallway as someone fires on the deconstructor furthest from you. You aim your weapon downward at the flank of the beast. Wind whips all around you, rushing into the void.

  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 bulle
ts 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 9 or more, turn to section 411.

  If the result is 8 or less, turn to section 359.

  118

  You level the gun at the lead dogs. “Sit!” you shout. “Good boy!” You pull the trigger. One dog takes a shot in the face, spins around yelping, and slides off into darkness. The other dog scrambles sideways. You fire again, sending up bits of concrete, then fire again and catch the dog in the side. It stubbornly clings to the beam, then slides into a group of dogs below. They bite and thrash wildly and two more fall from the beam.

  You have gained a good lead on them, but more are crawling after you. Subtract 3 Handgun bullets from your inventory. You haul yourself onto the beam and begin your ascent.

  Turn to section 510.

  119

  You lunge at the man with your weapon. He shrieks wildly, knocking it to the side with a wild swing from his rifle. He barrels into you and you both slam into a wall. He bashes your nose with a punch. You stagger to the side, blood spewing onto your mouth. He rushes at you. You raise your weapon to wield him off and he runs into its end, huffing painfully. You smack him in the face with your weapon, then in the knees, and as he falls you are already on top of him, bashing in his torso with the weapon, shattering bones and turning organs to mush.

  You lose 2 Blood in the fight. If your Blood has dropped to zero or less, then you feel your face and realize he has pushed your nose up into your brain, and you die with him.

  If you have survived, turn to section 530.

  120

  You push open the door and shine your light on the scene of a killing. Blood and bank notes hover around the bodies of three men. All three are dressed in green coveralls. One man’s head, absent of face, has been bashed in by a heavy iron wrench that twirls on an axis all its own. One man’s throat is laid open, his eyes wide with accusation, his face still contorted with rage. The third man holds a bag from which bills trickle out like a slow fountain, and a heavy industrial blade sits sheathed in his chest.

  Something tells you that this money is now so much wasted paper, its symbolic power having been drained by... something. The ushering out of an old order. You can’t quite remember. These men worked all their years for a fraction of the wasted wealth here. Something came to this place and broke down the order and routine of their lives. Something so terrible that these men, friends and coworkers all, threw away their humanity and died as wild beasts.

  You notice a mirror on the wall, broken and bloodied in the fight. You regard the person you see inside it.

  Turn to section 98.

  121

  You flip the bodies around and turn out their pockets. You find the following items that may be of some use. You may take or leave what you like, just be sure to adjust your inventory accordingly.

  Spool of String (bulk 1)

  Worker’s Wallet (bulk 1) (Contains an ID card, a torn ticket stub for a concert, some debt cards, and a list of people that this person was angry with.)

  Your body cries out for oxygen.

  If you have a Dexterity score of 2 or more, turn to section 86.

  If not, turn to section 64.

  122

  “Oh?” she says. “How can you be sure?”

  “I feel driven to make it back home, if that ship is my home. I feel an overpowering need to warn them about the Invader ship on their tail.”

  “Yeah, but that’s all emotional. I’m sure every crazy person who’s living in a delusional fantasy-world feels like they’re doing what’s right.”

  “Well...”

  “Maybe you were brainwashed by someone. Heck, maybe there is a Black Lance Legion, and they brainwashed you into thinking it’s necessary to risk your life to crawl through space just to save their ass.”

  “You’re not the first person to think I’ve been brainwashed.”

  “Oh yeah? Who else thought that?”

  “Just some dudes I had to kill in the last Stellar station. They got in my way, though, so it’s not really murder.”

  She laughs loudly, says, “You are a crazy person! Mister Wiggles, that’s exactly the way a crazy person thinks.”

  “Hell,” you say, “so maybe I am. But as long as there’s some kind of hope... I mean, isn’t it a given that the ends justify the means, so long as your intentions are just? Isn’t that the bedrock of rational conduct?”

  “You think they had the right to brainwash you?”

  “I’m not saying they did or didn’t. But listen, the way I see it, as long as I’m sane enough to be right about where my ship is going to be, and we’re not just flying towards nothing, then everything will work out okay.”

  “Let’s hope you’re right,” she says, smiling genuinely. The smile looks strange on her face, unpracticed, and while it looks slightly like an uneven smudge, it also looks real.

  You gain 1 XP for having a conversation with someone who isn’t a complete phony.

  If you are skilled in Navigation, turn to section 230.

  If you do not have this skill, or choose not to use it, but Arturo the Navigator Poet is with you, turn to section 12.

  Otherwise, turn to section 203.

  123

  You run at the thing full-tilt. You time your steps at the last moment. The door opens right in front of your face. You kick off, hard, sending your feet flying over and behind your head. The door slams shut just as you hit the ground on your back on the far side of the door: Gain 1 XP.

  You run to the end of the hall and turn a corner. A door lies there. You enter it and leave behind the mist of destruction: Gain 1 XP.

  Turn to section 223.

  124

  There comes a day, a horrible day, when your water runs out. You make only minor corrections to your flight course, for only a little fuel sits at the bottom of your jetpack fuel tank. You know you cannot last much longer. A death’s head grin settles on the flesh stretched across your skull.

  You wake from a long sleep to some strange beeping. You check your helm computer and hear yourself scream: The Stellar Corporation space station is nearby.

  You have survived this horrible ordeal where many others would have given up: You gain 1 XP. Savor it while you can.

  You make tiny adjustments to your course, laughing with manic glee. Just as your jetpack begins to sputter on empty you see the lights of the station ahead. It is the most beautiful thing in all existence, an uneven sphere of hardened steel, a shield against the void, with sharp lights all along its surface and the lights of ships hovering around like fireflies. If you were not such a badass, you would cry.

  If you have temporarily lost any Will points, you may now restore them.

  As you near the station, your helm computer beeps ominously. You look into the distance. Several stars wink out, then reappear, as something dark moves past. Your helm computer squawks, then identifies the dark shape in a series of red highlights and overlays: It is an Invader ship, a long, organically curving monstrosity thousands of feet in length. Guns line its hull and its great energy output can only indicate that it is shielded electronically. It is painted black, the same color as space. Ice stabs into your blood and hatred, terrible hatred, flares inside your skull and burns behind your eyes.

  Furthermore, your helm computer reports that this is the very same Invader ship that is following the tracking beacon attached to the ship of your comrades. It has gone slightly off course in order to casually waste the Stellar Corporation space station. The people there have no weapons to fight the Invader. They will surely die, as will your hope of finding a ship to reach your allies in the Black Lance Legion.

  You blast your jets, burning off the last of your fuel to reach the station before it is annihilated.

  Turn to section 312.

  125

&nb
sp; “Just how good are you at controlling that robot?” you say.

  “What do you mean?” says the gruff voice of the manager.

  “What I mean is, you’re not a laborer, you’re a boss... probably spend more time telling people what to do with the robots, rather than actually controlling the robots themselves. Do you think you’ll be able to kill me that quickly when I run by? Cause I’ll tell you this: I’m running straight to the central comp station once I get by this thing. Are you gonna try to tell me that’s not where you’re controlling the robot from?”

  “Well, I’m not!”

  “Doesn’t matter,” you say, casually. “I’m gonna run in anyway and blast whoever is in the comp station. So I guess it’s a good thing that you won’t be in there to get your head blown open.”

  There is silence on the other end. The robot stands idle.

  “Give me control of the robot,” you say. “I’ll tell it to gather supplies, nothing more. And we can settle our differences later.”

  You wait, ready to run. Suddenly the robot backs away and seems to relax, then says, “THIS LABOR ROBOT UNIT SET TO COMPLY TO NEW USER’S VERBAL COMMANDS. STANDING BY.”

  You let out a great sigh, glad that you were able to outwit the manager. “Alright, robot,” you say. “Pick up all those food stuffs there and set them down outside the docks, near the dock command station. And gather all the water supplies out of that side room and set them down in the same area. Got it?”

  “YES, SIR,” says the robot. It rolls forward and you move out of its way as it bends to organize and lift several of the food boxes. Next the fuel lines. You jog down the hall while the robot continues its work.