Stay Frosty III - Welcome to the Jungle

Best Selling RPGs - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com
OOC: I'm just going to assume Griff opens the door.


Shank's scan of the area shows nothing. Neither around the Nissen hut nor in the tree line.

The door pops open and in he and Linn head as it then closes.

Inside they see the Nissen hut as they heard from their team mates over the comms.



"You feel safer in here man?" Linn asks looking around. She adjusts the straps on the tank containing the heads of DoppleLing and her friend. "I guess I do"
Shank replies "Marginally safer I think, but my comrades need help downstairs and Griff has control of the turrets now so the overwatch is redundant. With a modicum of luck the walker isn't going anywhere or shooting anything without my permission."

He thinks for a bit, then continues "The huts are the safest for the moment. Anything coming in here has to get past us downstairs or past Griff and the security turrets."

Then he calls downstairs "Coming down!" and walks down the stairs to join the rest of the party.
 
Shank arrives downstairs and sees Potter with Dr. Brukner near the retinal scanner. Brukner just turns and grimaces at him.
 
Lings waits nervously with her rifle, anticipating the next hellscape to open up before them.
 
Shank arrives downstairs and sees Potter with Dr. Brukner near the retinal scanner. Brukner just turns and grimaces at him.
Shank returns the greeting with a cheery "Howdy, Brains!"

Then he covers the door with his rifle.
 
Shank returns the greeting with a cheery "Howdy, Brains!"

Then he covers the door with his rifle.
Brukner approaches Linn when he notices the tank on her back.

"What's in there?"

She just looks at him and doesn't respond for a bit. "Oh nothing..." she says trailing off and moving a bit toward Shank.

"And what are you here for?" he then directs toward Shank angrily.
 
Brukner approaches Linn when he notices the tank on her back.

"What's in there?"

She just looks at him and doesn't respond for a bit. "Oh nothing..." she says trailing off and moving a bit toward Shank.

"And what are you here for?" he then directs toward Shank angrily.
Shank replies "I'm with these folks.", gesturing towards Sharpe et. al. "We're here to clean up the mess."
 
Shank replies "I'm with these folks.", gesturing towards Sharpe et. al. "We're here to clean up the mess."
"Alright, well mess is up here" he says gruffly to Shank.
However as he does he puts his hand on Potter's shoulder: "You should hang back, it's a bit dangerous"

He then heads toward the Matriarch chamber door.

OOC: Chance to stop him if you wish
 
"Alright, well mess is up here" he says gruffly to Shank.
However as he does he puts his hand on Potter's shoulder: "You should hang back, it's a bit dangerous"

He then heads toward the Matriarch chamber door.

OOC: Chance to stop him if you wish
Shank politely-but-firmly puts arm out in front of him and says "Stay back until we've secured it. We don't have a clear view on what's going on in there yet - things might get a bit rough."
 
Shank politely-but-firmly puts arm out in front of him and says "Stay back until we've secured it. We don't have a clear view on what's going on in there yet - things might get a bit rough."
Brukner aggressively glances to Shank's arm blocking him, but doesn't advance and instead steps back without looking Shank in the eye.

"Fine, I'll head to the others in the control room and go wait with them"

He heads off leaving Potter, Shank and Linn in the hall.

OOC: Just to be clear he isn't heading off very far, Sharpe et al would be visible from where Potter and Shank are standing.
 
Griff, Ling and Sharpe see a power spike readout appear on one of the consoles. Coming from the Matriarch test chamber. It sharply peaks once, then starts oscillating up and down rapidly like a seismic monitor.
 
Griff, Ling and Sharpe see a power spike readout appear on one of the consoles. Coming from the Matriarch test chamber. It sharply peaks once, then starts oscillating up and down rapidly like a seismic monitor.
'Well, that's probably not good," Ling mutters, as she tries to decipher the readings to get a better sense of what they mean.
 
'Well, that's probably not good," Ling mutters, as she tries to decipher the readings to get a better sense of what they mean.
Ling doesn't know enough about systems like this to be sure of the exact meaning, but the power being consumed is similar to the amount a ship's drive core takes.
 
Ling doesn't know enough about systems like this to be sure of the exact meaning, but the power being consumed is similar to the amount a ship's drive core takes.
"Oh goody," says Sharpe, "lets crack the door and add some high velocity rounds to that happy little mystery. What could possibly go wrong?"
 
"Oh goody," says Sharpe, "lets crack the door and add some high velocity rounds to that happy little mystery. What could possibly go wrong?"

Potter follows Brukner at a distance.
OOC: Taking these as letting Brukner head to open the main chamber's doors. Also just letting Smith Smith know.

Brukner heads toward the control panel in front of the Matriarch chamber. The corridor leading to the chamber has two right turns along it, leading to separate corridors, but Brukner walks straight past these until you stand before the chamber door.

681e3072d53536a07b60a66e77719770.jpg

"State of the art door" Brukner says gazing into the eye scanner "It can take serious punishment"

There's a short period as the scanner analyses his eyes before the heavy magnetic bolts spring back and the door opens outward.

It's not possible to see directly into the chamber as a large pink jelly like substance fills the doorway and, given how opaque it seems, a few meters of the room ahead of you.

"It's a sort of fluid they excrete. Highly nutricious to them. It's harmless to humans...well like their different biochemisty means it'll give you a bit of rash if you stay submerged in it too long, but that's about it"
 
Shank moves into position to cover the door.
 
Ling maneuvers into position beside and slightly behind Shank.
 
'What are you going to do?' I ask Brukner.
 
"We could always burn it," says Sharpe. "I like burning things."
 
Séadna Séadna - OOC: Is the gunge completely filling the room or is it something one could wade through. Is it flowing out through the door?
 
"We could always burn it," says Sharpe. "I like burning things."
Raúl says his flame thrower is ready for the task.

OOC: For some reason I can't bring myself to directly give Raúl dialogue until and if Dumarest returns, think of him as a silent source of flames and gravity grenades until then
 
Last edited:
Séadna Séadna - OOC: Is the gunge completely filling the room or is it something one could wade through. Is it flowing out through the door?
OOC: Something you could wade through. It slightly "bulges" out of the door, but doesn't spill of flow out since it's somewhat rigid given its jelly-like consistency.
 
OOC: Taking these as letting Brukner head to open the main chamber's doors. Also just letting Smith Smith know.

Brukner heads toward the control panel in front of the Matriarch chamber. The corridor leading to the chamber has two right turns along it, leading to separate corridors, but Brukner walks straight past these until you stand before the chamber door.

View attachment 28211

"State of the art door" Brukner says gazing into the eye scanner "It can take serious punishment"

There's a short period as the scanner analyses his eyes before the heavy magnetic bolts spring back and the door opens outward.

It's not possible to see directly into the chamber as a large pink jelly like substance fills the doorway and, given how opaque it seems, a few meters of the room ahead of you.

"It's a sort of fluid they excrete. Highly nutricious to them. It's harmless to humans...well like their different biochemisty means it'll give you a bit of rash if you stay submerged in it too long, but that's about it"
Shank gives Bruckner a thumbs up with a cheery "Who says there's no eye in team?"

Then he steps gingerly into the gunk and peers into the room over his rifle muttering something about there never being a power lifter when you need one.

OOC: What does Shank see?
 
Raúl says his flame thrower is ready for the task.

OOC: For some reason I can't bring myself to directly give Raúl dialogue until and if Dumarest returns, think of him as a silent source of flames and gravity grenades until then
I can also burn it with the power of my mind if we want some snappy dialogue with our fire and destruction.
 
Shank gives Bruckner a thumbs up with a cheery "Who says there's no eye in team?"

Then he steps gingerly into the gunk and peers into the room over his rifle muttering something about there never being a power lifter when you need one.

OOC: What does Shank see?
The gunk has no real odour or anything as Shank pushes through it, and it leaves very little residue when he pushes through to the other side. Rather sloughing off him back into the main mass of jelly once he clears it.

On the other side he finds a circular chamber at the center of which is a cylindrical glass container. The Necro-Hunter "Matriarch" is held within the cylinder. "It" seems to be three Necro-Hunters about two foot taller and with larger skulls than the ones met so far. The skulls extend back like a cone that ends with serrated crests. However the crests of each member of the trio are fused into the crests of the two others, so that all three are conjoined at the skull. They stand, eyes closed and their hands in almost a praying gesture.

Next to a monitoring console in front of the glass container a woman stands intently studying the read outs. On the wall on the opposite side of the glass container from Shank is a fighter-mecha pinning four Necro-Hunters to the chamber wall with its four arms. They struggle against it, but it has them embedded in the wall.

The woman has a pistol pointed at Shank, but doesn't look toward him.

"Marines? Look....help me. That's what you're here for right?" she says in a distracted tone.
 
Last edited:
'What are you going to do?' I ask Brukner.
"Whatever you want me to" he says. Potter gets an odd psychic sense from Brukner at this point, though he is unsure what. It feels fatalistic but elated.
 
Shank opens the comms with a sitrep back to the rest of the party "Found Ms. Torvik and four necros pinned by a mech."

Then to Ms. Torvik "I'd appreciate it if you point the gun somewhere else."
 
Sharpe is perturbed, too many assholes. He's going to stretch out his psychic sense to get a feeling for who he should shoot in the forehead.
 
Sharpe is perturbed, too many assholes. He's going to stretch out his psychic sense to get a feeling for who he should shoot in the forehead.
A confusing feeling greets Sharpe's mind upon reaching out into minds in the room. It feels hard to sort the thoughts with the alien presence but he quickly adjusts and gets a read on Torvik.

She's not actively hostile, but certainly focused on accomplishing her goal here. The surface thoughts are enough to tell that she wants to use the Matriarchs to make a FTL jump. An insane maneuver on a planet's surface with a normal FTL engine, it'd reduce the whole area to ash. However Torvik doesn't feel mad.

As for the Matriarch Alien he feels a dull pressure, their minds subtly pushing him back to prevent being scanned. Sharpe could push through he feels, but senses a lot of mental activity on the other side and very alien in form. He's not sure what will happen if he does push through.
 
Hmm. Muses Sharpe to himself, lets not push that button just yet. To the group..."Torvik wants to use the Matriarchs to make an insane FTL jump. I think she'd look better with a big fucking hole in her forehead. I'll let you guys decide which of those sounds like more fun."
 
Well, Sharpe will just wait here, guard the rear, and wait for some one to say "Oh just stab her in the Id already...". Perhaps some rifle polishing is in order. Nothing to do with not liking the gunk. Nossir.
 
Griff'll push through and try and assess how Torvik has rigged up this potential batshit insanity FTL thingymajiggy.
Torvik becomes a little more concerned at Griff's presence as he walks in past Shank.

"Okay the first was some grunt, but you're Class 1 military grade modified" she says looking up from the console, but still keeping her gun lowered.

"Now somebody like you might be exactly what I need to get this to work, but you'll also be able to shut it down with a thought once you're in the systems..." she purses her lips thinking "...but the way things are going I'm going to have to let you, because if I try to stop you I don't think things will end well. Alright..."

She presses a button on the console exposing a port Griff can jack into and the steps aside.

"Give it a fair assessment though alright?"

Nobby-W Nobby-W
She heads up to Shank.

"Been to the hotel yet?"
 
"Aye, a fair assessment's the least I owe ya." Griff says with a grave tone, eyeballing her prisoners.
 
Torvik becomes a little more concerned at Griff's presence as he walks in past Shank.

"Okay the first was some grunt, but you're Class 1 military grade modified" she says looking up from the console, but still keeping her gun lowered.

"Now somebody like you might be exactly what I need to get this to work, but you'll also be able to shut it down with a thought once you're in the systems..." she purses her lips thinking "...but the way things are going I'm going to have to let you, because if I try to stop you I don't think things will end well. Alright..."

She presses a button on the console exposing a port Griff can jack into and the steps aside.

"Give it a fair assessment though alright?"

Nobby-W Nobby-W
She heads up to Shank.

"Been to the hotel yet?"
Shank replies "Not yet. We were just making our way there when we came across you here."
 
"Aye, a fair assessment's the least I owe ya." Griff says with a grave tone, eyeballing her prisoners.
Griff jacks into the port and performs a quick analysis of the system.

In brief the matriarchs are being administered a drug that keeps them compliant and open to suggestion. The intention to jump to a specific planet or system is then "translated" into their native understanding of time and space and conveyed to them with psionic emitters. In tests the Matriarchs can perform jumps with far more accuracy than a human made FTL drive and there's also no explosive wake to the jump.

The team here had assembled a few theories as to how the Matriarchs could do this with such finesse and without any massive power requirements, but exploring how the Matriarchs were pulling this off was considered secondary to the main project goals.

Torvik is right that it would be a massive leap forward in drive technology. A person could be teleported from world to world without the need for massive ships. Provided the translation process is accurate and the Matriarchs are as subdued by the drug as they seem to be.
 
Shank replies "Not yet. We were just making our way there when we came across you here."
"I can't imagine things went well for anybody in there. The matriarchs drew a massive amount of power all of a sudden, shut off everything else..." she says trailing off and looking to Griff.
 
"'Ere, boss-woman - how dya ken that the wee xenos here are perfectly understandin' yer enunciation and dialect? Dya no fash yersen that they may well be waitin' for ya to give em enough power to pull the rug out from under yer feet, if ya ken what I'm sayin'?"
 
Banner: The best cosmic horror & Cthulhu Mythos @ DriveThruRPG.com
Back
Top