RayAnne, Thomas and the others head to the Watcher base
Sir Sorcha declines the invitation to go to the Watcher base.
"My place is here, with the army. The Horde will be here in about 40 days."
Lady shadow, Thomas, the body guard and two techs travel in the saucer to the watcher base, it takes 32 days to reach it.
The techs describe the base to the group.
The base is built inside of a extinct volcano. There are three known access points. The hanger, and two hatchs set into the top of the base. One near the comm facility and one near the kitchen area.
Top floor is shuttle launch bay. It has a side access. (You fly into the side of the mountain.)
2nd floor Centeral comm unit, enlisted (male) Living quarters, Main Kitchen, Main food locker, Main dining area. Security station Prime, communal Shower
3rd floor Back up comm, enlisted (female) Living Quarters, supply storage, Security station secondary, kitchenette, Pantry, storage rooms, Communal shower, medical facilities.
4th floor Research Lads, Library, Security pod, Science lab (non hazardous) Kitchenette, Pantry, storage rooms, (Co-ed) Enlisted living quarters. Gym. Reactor upper catwalks.
5th floor Science Labs (Hazardous), Security station pod, kitchenette, Reactor main/middle catwalks and primary control booth
6th floor Security Vaults, Brig, Officers quarters. Base commanders quarters (The lockout codes are there), Pantry, storage rooms, Kitchenette, sauna, communal bath. Reactor base floor & back up control booth.
Each floor has a working elevator for personel and an elevator for equipment. None of the elevators run the height of the complex, they each stop at each floor next to a security station or pod. also there are ladders running down each elevator tube and a second set on the other side each security station/pod from the elevators.
All doors (with the exception of the living quarters) have a polorizing feature, so base employees can look through to see if it is safe/secure to open the door. The polorizing feature consists of a 8 in by 8 in window with a button to the right. All doors are made of metal. The only bulkheads are the floors. In the event of a station lockdown, between floor movement is not possible.
Morning Day 33
Thomas suggests going to one of the crater access points near the destination. While the lockout codes are not near the the Central Comm office, it can be on the way out.
The group gets into the saucer and its a quick 30 min flight up the mountian and into the opening of the crater, then slowly down and onto the inner surface. The techs lead the group over to the the western edge of the surface where a 3 foot disk is inbedded into the rock.
Thomas says to Lady Shadow. "Watch this!" and his body turns to shadow, his voice oddly attenuated says. "cool huh.. House of shadows for the win!" The Techs take an involuntary step back as Thomas seeps into the area of the disk. A few seconds later Thomas steps back into normal form staring downward.
"Huh.. that's a tight fit. Not a crack anywhere."
One of the Techs nervously says. "En...Environmental seal."
One of the techs kneels down and holds the Tri-corder looking device over the portal and it beeps.
"Ah." He says with a smile. 'The base is not locked down! I can open the hatch from this side." He fiddles with his display for several hours and then... With a whoosh. the disk slides to the side, revealing a ladder going downward into darkness. An Orange light is blinking on the side of the tube about four feet down and they hear a faint alarm bell going off in the distance (from underground). Its a short buzz lasts for 1/2 a second then off and on again. A smell wafts upward. Like old, dead things. The tech kneeling over the portal reels backward. "Whoa!" he covers his nose. The other Tech starts digging into his toolbox. "I need a light."
Thomas leans over and holds his hand over the opening of the tube. A light springs from his hand and shines downward, illuminating the shaft. everyone can now see, Blood coats the lower portion of the shaft.
"eh.. thanks." murmurs the tech.
"That's the medical alarm. Someone is either in medical distress or dead inside the base."
One of the techs, his name is Jonny, looks at the group. "Any weapons?" One hands him a dagger.
He sighs... "Too much to have hoped for a mark 3 blaster." He puts it into his belt and reachs for the ladder to start climbing. Lady Shadow's bodyguard puts out his arm, stops Jonny and he steps into the tube. He goes first.
The blood, is discovered to be dried.
Reaching the 2nd floor, They find the hallway well light, but empty. At regular intervals they see the orange flashing light and hear the annoying loud buzz. Blood is splashed on the walls at random intervals. Debris litters the hallway also. Trays, boxes, electronic parts. One of the techs (Ertis) is bending over examining the floor debris, while Jonny is pointing to the west about to tell the group where the Comm office is. Ertis suddenly stumbles back. "What the...!!"
The group looks. "Its someones arm!" Blurts Ertis.
They see the remains of a limb, torn from the shoulder. Laying amids the debris.
"Oh my god!" exclaims Jonny. "What in the five hells happened here!"
As the group studies the splattered hall, they see several arms, legs and one head. All torn from their bodies and cast aside. They do not see any full torso's.
Ertis bolts for the ladder back to the surface. The bodyguard grabs him and hauls him back downward.
"No." he says calmly in accented english.
Ertis screams. "Don't you understand! Its that damn pet of Melanies! Its gone mad! or she's gone mad!" He scrambles for the ladder again.
Jonny steps infront of him. "We need to get the lockout codes before we can leave." Jonny reachs up to the access panel next to the ladder and presses a button. Up above, the cieling panel the group came down through, slides across. Shutting the surface access. "We should check to see if the comm facility is intact."
"We will die!!!" screams Ertis drawing back to swing his fist at Jonny.
The Bodyguard picks up Ertis by his throat and holds his finger across his own lips. "Shhh".
His face turning red from lack of oxygen. Ertis nods vigerously.
The bodyguard sets the now calm Ertis back on his feet. He readys his spear and looks to Lady shadow.
He nods. "Good time to pay for...owing." he says in very bad english.
Jonny leads the group down the hallway to the comm. The group passes many smashed in doors. More blood and more cast aside torn limbs. Until the Comm central office is reached.
Looking in past the bent open door. you can see the place is dark, wrecked. The over head lights smashed. Chairs torn to shreds, shattered consoles. Glass and metal, more limbs, heads. a small green light is flashing from the far wall. Ertis reaches down and picks up an arm. "look." he says softly.
They see a male right arm, a large golden ring adorns the middle finger. "Thats Carters."
Jonny inspects the consoles. "Well, its trashed but usable. We just need the codes from the commanders office."
Ertis finds and picks up a pistol from the debris. He checks it. "Empty." he mutters and starts to toss it down, but decides to put it in his belt instead. "I find four heads here.. but none are Commander Carters."
Near the far wall are booths, each booth has chairs, a keypad and view screen. Lady Shadow finds the intact body of a woman in one booth where the flashing green light is coming from. Blood, dried had flowed from her ears and nose. She is face down on the keypad.
"I found Melanie." Says Lady Shadow. Next to Melanies right hand is a flashing green button.
Everyone comes over to look.
"She was about to send a message when she died." Jonny points to the flashing green button.
Ertis looks close. "Massive hemorage. How come she is not torn apart like everyone else?"
The room is silent except for the annoying alarm.
Everyone looks at lady Shadow.
afternoon Day 33
(as a side note, in the last run of this game ten years ago. I could not remember the name of the character that was played by Melanie so I accidentally used the players real name and it stuck with the group.
Melanie had psionically taken control of an invisible predator type of alien. She rolled a critical success. It was her bodyguard against Commander Winston Carter).
The Bodyguard was beaten in a duel and has sworn that he will remain Lady Shadows slave/bodyguard until he can save her life
Carter is not the base commander btw, he just holds the rank of commander