Thurman Biological Sciences Building
CC State Campus, Coast City
Apr 17
23:22
Dr. Linderman's lab...
Granite's eyes do their best to adapt to the very dark room. Were he not already familiar with the layout, it might be difficult to move around. He slips in quietly while the Green Fungus continues his tirade of smashing lab equipment, using the noise to cover his approach.
(Move Silent roll 7+3=10 vs. Listen roll 8; success)
The Green Fungus never sees Granite coming. From a crouch behind a lab bench, Granite launches upward and takes the fungal man right under the jaw with his stony fist. The Green Fungus goes airborne, crashing through a collection of chemical filled beakers on a shelf and impacting the far brick wall. Granite can hear him collapse to the floor, but it is too dark to accurately determine his condition. It doesn't sound like he's moving.
(Surprise Attack roll 15+7-5=17, hit; Dmg save + Prot vs DC38...failed...status: unknown but at least stunned...plus knockback)
*****
Twelfth floor lab...
Lawrence moves around the man until he stands between him and the woman. He swings again with the stool, connecting between the shoulder blades and knocking him to his hands and knees.
(Attack roll 13+7+2=22, hit; Dmg save vs DC18, injured for 1 stun hit and stunned.)
Fate solidifies and unleashes a bolt of lightning at the man almost simultaneously with Lawrence's attack. The blast just misses the man, harmlessly striking a lab bench instead.
(Attack roll 7+8-4=11, miss)
The girl starts to move out of the corner and away from the man at Lawrence and Fate's beckoning. When Lawrence hits the man with the stool again, she lets out a shriek and starts sobbing. "Don't hurt him! He's not himself! That, that thing..."
She is almost too incoherent to speak clearly, but she waves her hand at the thick fungal tendrils that have extended into the lab through the broken window. Several spore pods the size of grapefruit dangle off it, one of which looks rather deflated.
Moving any further from the melee would bring the woman closer to the broken window. She seems to become paralyzed in fear of both, cowering halfway between the two threats.
*****
Adjacent rooftop...
Jorgi gets his new rig up and running in almost no time. He briefly checks back in with the encrypted files that he had left to the devices of the cooperative supercomputer in Belgium. He is pleased to find that it has apparently cracked the first of eight files and is humming away on the second. Jorgi transfers the data to another computer where he can remotely view the contents.
He's disappointed to learn that the contents are only one step easier to read than they were when encrypted. It appears to be a collection of data files...possibly genetics related if Jorgi had to guess. Dr. Linderman might have a better idea of how to read it, but he's unable to see the data without a proper monitor.
Jorgi returns to reviewing the hard drives hidden files. The first directory appears to be much more promising. They appear to be a personal journal of Paul Link's. Jorgi opens the most recent (dated Apr 14, 2004).
The preliminary genetics workup is too bizarre to comprehend at this time. I'll need a lot more time to study the results, but clearly it is no longer the same organism.
My own appearance has changed too much for me to safely continue coming here to the lab to work. Linderman must be getting suspicious and I can't let him get in the way. I'll have to see if I can get some better equipment set up in the station.
There are other files in this same hidden directory, not quite one dated for each day prior to the one he just read.
