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The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
X-COM (updated M-W-F)
- Thread starter Lazybones
- Start date
Lazybones
Adventurer
Thanks, Canaan. Recently I've turned my attention to novels, both polishing up some of my older work and developing a few new ideas. My current goal is to have at least two of my novels self-published using Smashwords by the end of the year. This will probably be my last EnWorld story for a while.I really enjoy your SHs, LB. Any thoughts on your next one? If you are taking requests, Pathfinder's Golorian seems like a cool world and with the APs, I bet you would have fun doing a SH from there
* * * * *
Session 23 (September 29, 2008)
Chapter 97
Catalina fought a surge of terror as the alien monstrosity slammed down Hadrian and loomed over her, a memory of what the things had done to her before warring against her control. A voice in the back of her mind screamed at her to drop her weapon and run, but she somehow overcame it, lifting her weapon and firing it into the alien’s torso.
The alien turned, and as she looked up into its face she could see that the chryssalid was in bad shape. Its eyes were covered by a nasty film, and a black froth ran from its jaws and trailed down its chest, glistening in a half-frozen mass. Its movements was as powerful as she remembered, but clumsy, and she was able to leap back as it lunged at her, those deadly claws, and the implantation tentacle between them, seeking her flesh.
She was struck hard, a glancing blow, and felt a stabbing pain follow as her shoulder impacted the floor. She skidded and rolled with it, coming back up onto her feet as the chryssalid stumbled after her. It swung again, missing her by a good two feet, its claws tearing apart a slender stone pillar, spattering her with shards. She ran back, getting clear before she could recover.
Unfortunately, it fixed on the next closest adversary, which happened to be Mary.
“Leave me alone!” the Indian doctor yelled, as the chryssalid lurched toward her. The two collided hard, an impact that the human caught the worst of, falling over onto her back, bits of stone crunching under her armor. The chryssalid reared up, lifting its claws like long daggers, knocking aside Jane, who’d lifted her rifle but who was flung aside before she could pull the trigger. The thing let out a monstrous, agonized hiss, and lunged, the claws coming down toward the center of Mary’s torso.
Vasily slammed into the thing from the side, and this time it was the alien that gave way, as the Russian, augmented by several hundred pounds of human and alien technology, drove the two of them into a formation of mushroom-shaped green and purple rocks. The little forest was crushed under their impact, and the chryssalid roared again as it reared up, lashing blindly at its attacker. It caught him across his faceplate with an armored elbow, and Vasily was knocked onto his backside, groaning as the back of his helmet slammed hard against the cold stone. The alien stumbled as it fought to get back to its feet, crushing the remains of the stone formation under its flailing limbs. Plasma bolts blasted into it as the Alphas unleashed their full firepower into its body. Jane dragged Mary clear and then pulsed several shots from her plasma rifle across the alien’s back. Vasily took advantage of the barrage to roll over and crawl clear, toward the heavy plasma cannon he’d dropped earlier.
The alien roared as more shots tore into it. James emptied his plasma rifle, then bent to help Vasily to his feet. He hefted the plasma cannon and turned in time to see the alien emerge from the glowing wreath of plasma that had churned its torso into a gory mess. One arm dangled from a few twining sinews from its shoulder socket, and part of its face had been blasted away, including one eye and part of its jaws. It could barely walk, but some instinct drove it forward, its remaining claw stabbing out toward Vasily. The Russian held his ground until it was nearly on top of him, then he fired the cannon. The plasma bolt struck the alien in the chest, reversing its momentum and flinging it backward, until it struck the wall of the cavern. With a final gurgling hiss it collapsed, its remaining limbs twitching once more before it fell still.
Richard Rawen
First Post
I'd say any naivete will be wiped clear... assuming she lives!
Huzzah Publication! ... even if we do lose out on your SH's for awhile, I for one look forward to having your book(s) upon my shelf!
Last edited:
Lazybones
Adventurer
Well, virtual shelf, anyway; I'm only publishing them as eBooks for now.
* * *
Session 23 (September 29, 2008)
Chapter 98
“You sure you okay, there, chief?” James asked.
“Fine,” Vasily said.
“Cause that spitter thing made hell of your armor.”
Vasily didn’t need to look down to see the gaping holes in his breastplate and helmet; he’d already seen them, openings large enough to stick a finger through, or in one case, an entire fist. Thankfully the damage hadn’t crippled the armor, because without the mechanisms that drove power to the arms and legs, he’d have no choice but to ditch the whole suit. But if an alien got lucky with a plasma weapon it could really ruin his day.
“Fine,” he repeated. He heard a sound that had him spinning around, back toward the communications console that Catalina had been trying to crack. “Gunshot!” he yelled, charging forward into the small room they’d discovered in the depths of the alien base.
The first thing he saw was that much of the room was on fire; Catalina was staggering back, coughing as smoke wreathed her head and shoulders. Vasily tried to grab her, but the British agent suddenly stopped and reversed herself. “Dammit, my phone!” she exclaimed, darting back into the flames, grabbing something from the console. Even then Vasily had to physically grab her and drag her clear, leaving the flames flaring and sputtering in the wreckage of the control room.
“How’d that happen, Cat?” James asked her, as she shook her head at the blackened remains of her xPhone.
“I jacked in, and found a signal coming in, looked like it was coming from space. I was trying to hack the security, see if I could pinpoint the source, when the console went up.”
“Clever aliens,” Vasily said. He activated his communicator. “Jane, Hadrian, you clear rest of base?”
He got his answer when Hadrian appeared in the doorway. “Found a few more aliens in some of the back rooms,” he said. “They were pretty messed up, didn’t put up much of a fight. What happened here?”
“Alien security. We need to—”
He was interrupted as the floor started to shake. The rumblings grew more intense, the walls joining in, until the entire base was trembling around them. It lasted for a good thirty seconds, until the shaking abruptly stopped.
Mary appeared in the doorway. “Oh! What’s going on?”
The Alphas shared a knowing look. “Time to say hi to the battleship, eh?” James said.
They made their way back to the surface, checking their gear and weapons one final time. “Anyone have any plasma ammo to share?” James asked. “I’m almost out.”
“Not me, I’m down to nothing,” Catalina said. She’d already taken out her laser, and was charging it up, double checking the power lead to make sure that it hadn’t gotten loose in all the knocking around she’d undergone.
“Eighteen shots left,” Jane said.
“Thirty-three,” Hadrian said.
They passed the remains of the HWP, surrounded by the mangled remains of the sectoids. “Sandesh is going to be pissed,” Catalina remarked.
The air grew noticeable warmer as they approached the tunnel entrance; water was flowing freely down the ice walls, forming puddles that they splashed through on their way up. “I think it outside,” Vasily said.
“So here goes nothing?” Catalina said.
“Yah,” Vasily returned. “We all ready?” He glanced back at the others, who were still talking about their ammunition supply. Shaking his head, the Russian led them out of the tunnel and back out into the rough Antarctic weather.
His first thought was that they had been underground longer than he’d thought, and night had fallen. But then, as he stared up into the shadowy half-light, he realized that what he was seeing was the bulk of the alien warship.
The ship was… huge did not begin to describe it. It loomed over them like a crouching giant, supported by massive pylons that spread out from its center like splayed legs. He could see one of those landing struts about fifty meters ahead; it was as thick around as two railcars laid side-by-side, the ice around it forming a crushed berm from the weight of the ship. A dense mist had risen, which he realized had to have come from the energy released by the ship on its landing, which had vaporized a layer of the ice under it. The ground was treacherous, the footing growing more unsteady as the moisture recondensed and formed a new layer of ice, but his heavy footfalls crunched it under his boots, and he was able to make his way forward.
“Wow,” someone said behind him.
As he drew closer, he could make out the outline of the ramp that led up into the ship. A dim glow was visible from within, but no aliens had presented themselves as of yet. “Here go,” he said. He activated his communicator, trying to raise the Lightning, but all of the channels save for the local link to the other Alphas were dead. He hoped that it was just normal interference from the ship, and that the aliens weren’t waiting for them, setting a trap.
Well, it wouldn’t be the first trap that Alpha had sprung.
“On your tail, Vas,” Catalina said behind him. The others were having a bit of difficulty managing on the ice, but they followed, strung out in a line that lengthened behind Vasily.
“Losing initiative,” Catalina said, looking back as they approached the ramp.
“Come on, we need go,” Vasily urged, his boots clanking on the alien material as he transitioned from the ice to the ramp. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure the others were catching up, then started up the ramp, into the ship.
The ramp deposited them into a broad chamber that was very much reminiscent of the architecture of the other alien vessels they had explored, only much bigger. The entry consisted of a large central space bordered by tall arching pillars that melded into the floor, walls, and ceiling. Between those pillars were nodes that contained the familiar recessed alcoves that the aliens used for biological storage; these appeared to be empty at the moment, although they could not see the full extent of them from the entrance.
There were several exits evident, open passages and several of the narrow iris-doors around the perimeter of the place. One of those doors flared open as they entered, and a hulking alien stepped into the chamber.
It was a new alien, one that they knew from the accounts of Beta Team. It stood taller than even Vasily by a full foot, with a bulky frame that seemed almost to bulge with muscle. It was clad in a bright green bodysuit that covered it from head to toe, with only the purple oblong of its face visible. That face was vaguely human in form, but the solid red orbs of its eyes were anything but. It carried a heavy plasma cannon that it lifted and fired, the incandescent bolt narrowly missing Vasily as he moved forward.
“Cover!” Jane yelled, darting toward the nearest pillar. “Run for cover!”
The remaining Alphas were coming up the ramp, firing as they ran. Plasma bolts splashed into the doorway around the muton, and one clipped its armored shoulder, flashing brightly as it exploded. But as it cleared, they could see that while the bolt had left an ugly black smear, it didn’t look like it had done much more.
Mary appeared at the top of the ramp, looking a bit disoriented. The alien shot again, and once again it narrowly missed Vasily, who was running full-out across the room toward once of the niches, giving the muton a difficult target. The bolt streaked past the Russian and hit Mary a glancing blow to the shoulder that flung her around, knocking her roughly to her knees.
“Cover, Mary!” Jane yelled, firing and hitting the alien squarely in the center of its chest. She got its attention; the alien shifted and shot at her, the plasma bolt exploding into the pillar a split second after Jane ducked her head back behind its cover. The impact blasted a hole in the structure of the pillar, showering Jane with shards and fire, nearly knocking her off her feet as well.
Catalina ran after Vasily, keeping her head low, although the muton was not looking her way. She had nearly reached one of the alcoves when a doorway recessed in its depths split apart, and another muton stepped through, ducking to fit through the low opening.
“Gah!” Catalina exclaimed. She tried to dodge and fire all at once. It was almost impossible to miss at that range, but all her laser did was draw a slightly discolored streak across its torso. The muton merely stepped forward, sweeping one of its huge arms across her path. Its fist smacked into her chest and launched her like a catapult stone into the nearest wall. She hit with a sickening crunch, and crumpled in a limp heap, unmoving.
Vasily heard Catalina’s cry, and turned to see the alien standing not ten feet away, and the British agent falling to the ground. “Oh hell,” he said, as the alien turned toward him, and pointed the business end of a plasma rifle directly at him.
* * *
Session 23 (September 29, 2008)
Chapter 98
“You sure you okay, there, chief?” James asked.
“Fine,” Vasily said.
“Cause that spitter thing made hell of your armor.”
Vasily didn’t need to look down to see the gaping holes in his breastplate and helmet; he’d already seen them, openings large enough to stick a finger through, or in one case, an entire fist. Thankfully the damage hadn’t crippled the armor, because without the mechanisms that drove power to the arms and legs, he’d have no choice but to ditch the whole suit. But if an alien got lucky with a plasma weapon it could really ruin his day.
“Fine,” he repeated. He heard a sound that had him spinning around, back toward the communications console that Catalina had been trying to crack. “Gunshot!” he yelled, charging forward into the small room they’d discovered in the depths of the alien base.
The first thing he saw was that much of the room was on fire; Catalina was staggering back, coughing as smoke wreathed her head and shoulders. Vasily tried to grab her, but the British agent suddenly stopped and reversed herself. “Dammit, my phone!” she exclaimed, darting back into the flames, grabbing something from the console. Even then Vasily had to physically grab her and drag her clear, leaving the flames flaring and sputtering in the wreckage of the control room.
“How’d that happen, Cat?” James asked her, as she shook her head at the blackened remains of her xPhone.
“I jacked in, and found a signal coming in, looked like it was coming from space. I was trying to hack the security, see if I could pinpoint the source, when the console went up.”
“Clever aliens,” Vasily said. He activated his communicator. “Jane, Hadrian, you clear rest of base?”
He got his answer when Hadrian appeared in the doorway. “Found a few more aliens in some of the back rooms,” he said. “They were pretty messed up, didn’t put up much of a fight. What happened here?”
“Alien security. We need to—”
He was interrupted as the floor started to shake. The rumblings grew more intense, the walls joining in, until the entire base was trembling around them. It lasted for a good thirty seconds, until the shaking abruptly stopped.
Mary appeared in the doorway. “Oh! What’s going on?”
The Alphas shared a knowing look. “Time to say hi to the battleship, eh?” James said.
They made their way back to the surface, checking their gear and weapons one final time. “Anyone have any plasma ammo to share?” James asked. “I’m almost out.”
“Not me, I’m down to nothing,” Catalina said. She’d already taken out her laser, and was charging it up, double checking the power lead to make sure that it hadn’t gotten loose in all the knocking around she’d undergone.
“Eighteen shots left,” Jane said.
“Thirty-three,” Hadrian said.
They passed the remains of the HWP, surrounded by the mangled remains of the sectoids. “Sandesh is going to be pissed,” Catalina remarked.
The air grew noticeable warmer as they approached the tunnel entrance; water was flowing freely down the ice walls, forming puddles that they splashed through on their way up. “I think it outside,” Vasily said.
“So here goes nothing?” Catalina said.
“Yah,” Vasily returned. “We all ready?” He glanced back at the others, who were still talking about their ammunition supply. Shaking his head, the Russian led them out of the tunnel and back out into the rough Antarctic weather.
His first thought was that they had been underground longer than he’d thought, and night had fallen. But then, as he stared up into the shadowy half-light, he realized that what he was seeing was the bulk of the alien warship.
The ship was… huge did not begin to describe it. It loomed over them like a crouching giant, supported by massive pylons that spread out from its center like splayed legs. He could see one of those landing struts about fifty meters ahead; it was as thick around as two railcars laid side-by-side, the ice around it forming a crushed berm from the weight of the ship. A dense mist had risen, which he realized had to have come from the energy released by the ship on its landing, which had vaporized a layer of the ice under it. The ground was treacherous, the footing growing more unsteady as the moisture recondensed and formed a new layer of ice, but his heavy footfalls crunched it under his boots, and he was able to make his way forward.
“Wow,” someone said behind him.
As he drew closer, he could make out the outline of the ramp that led up into the ship. A dim glow was visible from within, but no aliens had presented themselves as of yet. “Here go,” he said. He activated his communicator, trying to raise the Lightning, but all of the channels save for the local link to the other Alphas were dead. He hoped that it was just normal interference from the ship, and that the aliens weren’t waiting for them, setting a trap.
Well, it wouldn’t be the first trap that Alpha had sprung.
“On your tail, Vas,” Catalina said behind him. The others were having a bit of difficulty managing on the ice, but they followed, strung out in a line that lengthened behind Vasily.
“Losing initiative,” Catalina said, looking back as they approached the ramp.
“Come on, we need go,” Vasily urged, his boots clanking on the alien material as he transitioned from the ice to the ramp. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure the others were catching up, then started up the ramp, into the ship.
The ramp deposited them into a broad chamber that was very much reminiscent of the architecture of the other alien vessels they had explored, only much bigger. The entry consisted of a large central space bordered by tall arching pillars that melded into the floor, walls, and ceiling. Between those pillars were nodes that contained the familiar recessed alcoves that the aliens used for biological storage; these appeared to be empty at the moment, although they could not see the full extent of them from the entrance.
There were several exits evident, open passages and several of the narrow iris-doors around the perimeter of the place. One of those doors flared open as they entered, and a hulking alien stepped into the chamber.
It was a new alien, one that they knew from the accounts of Beta Team. It stood taller than even Vasily by a full foot, with a bulky frame that seemed almost to bulge with muscle. It was clad in a bright green bodysuit that covered it from head to toe, with only the purple oblong of its face visible. That face was vaguely human in form, but the solid red orbs of its eyes were anything but. It carried a heavy plasma cannon that it lifted and fired, the incandescent bolt narrowly missing Vasily as he moved forward.
“Cover!” Jane yelled, darting toward the nearest pillar. “Run for cover!”
The remaining Alphas were coming up the ramp, firing as they ran. Plasma bolts splashed into the doorway around the muton, and one clipped its armored shoulder, flashing brightly as it exploded. But as it cleared, they could see that while the bolt had left an ugly black smear, it didn’t look like it had done much more.
Mary appeared at the top of the ramp, looking a bit disoriented. The alien shot again, and once again it narrowly missed Vasily, who was running full-out across the room toward once of the niches, giving the muton a difficult target. The bolt streaked past the Russian and hit Mary a glancing blow to the shoulder that flung her around, knocking her roughly to her knees.
“Cover, Mary!” Jane yelled, firing and hitting the alien squarely in the center of its chest. She got its attention; the alien shifted and shot at her, the plasma bolt exploding into the pillar a split second after Jane ducked her head back behind its cover. The impact blasted a hole in the structure of the pillar, showering Jane with shards and fire, nearly knocking her off her feet as well.
Catalina ran after Vasily, keeping her head low, although the muton was not looking her way. She had nearly reached one of the alcoves when a doorway recessed in its depths split apart, and another muton stepped through, ducking to fit through the low opening.
“Gah!” Catalina exclaimed. She tried to dodge and fire all at once. It was almost impossible to miss at that range, but all her laser did was draw a slightly discolored streak across its torso. The muton merely stepped forward, sweeping one of its huge arms across her path. Its fist smacked into her chest and launched her like a catapult stone into the nearest wall. She hit with a sickening crunch, and crumpled in a limp heap, unmoving.
Vasily heard Catalina’s cry, and turned to see the alien standing not ten feet away, and the British agent falling to the ground. “Oh hell,” he said, as the alien turned toward him, and pointed the business end of a plasma rifle directly at him.
Lazybones
Adventurer
Session 23 (September 29, 2008)
Chapter 99
A grenade exploded at the muton’s feet, enveloping it in a cloying cloud of nasty green gas. Vasily hurled himself aside just as a bright bolt blasted from within the gas. The plasma clipped his arm, but most of the discharge trailed past him. Grimacing against the pain that shot up the wounded limb, he staggered against a pillar and lifted his cannon.
He was just in time, as the dark outline of the muton materialized from within the gas right in front of him. Both shot at the same time. Vasily was flung back against the pillar as the plasma bolt slammed into his armored chest. He felt hot needles of fire and screamed as plasma sizzled through the holes in the armor and seared his skin.
His own shot blasted into the alien’s gun, which exploded in a fiery burst of plasma and metal shards. The alien was briefly obscured within a violent white haze, but then it emerged with arms outstretched, charging toward Vasily before he could recover enough to fire again.
The Russian’s companions had their own problems, and could not immediately come to his aid. Jane had fallen back into deeper cover, the pillar she’d hidden behind penetrated in several places where the first muton’s plasma cannon had perforated it. Hadrian threw a second gas grenade at it, but the missile bounced and tumbled between its legs before exploding, catching it only on the edge of the toxic gas cloud. In any case it had as little effect as the first had, and the alien forced him to take cover with a shot that narrowly missed taking his head off his shoulders.
James had been the last one up the ramp, and he pulled Mary to cover before unlimbering his rifle. But before he could shoot, he saw Catalina get manhandled by the alien, and he charged across the room to help her. The alien that had taken her down was distracted with Vasily, but the other one turned toward the motion and fired. The plasma bolt exploded at his feet along the top of the ramp, hitting him with a blast of warmth as the superheated gas enveloped his legs. He wasn’t seriously hurt, but the concussive force of the explosion took his feet out from under him, and he fell awkwardly onto the icy surface of the ramp. Unable to stop gravity from taking hold, he slid down the icy ramp, finally landing face-first in a drift of slushy snow at its base.
Vasily had his plasma gun knocked from his grasp before he could bring it to bear, and then he and the alien were engaged in a violent close-quarters fight. He didn’t have a chance to go for his stun rod, and narrowly avoided the alien’s grab at his throat, falling back against the awkward angle of the pillar. He snarled and formed a knife-edge with his armored hand, chopping at the alien’s elbow. The blow would have crippled a human’s arm, even without the augmented strength granted by his armor, but the alien’s expression didn’t change as it smashed Vasily with a backhanded strike that cracked his faceplate and drove him into the nearby alcove. It didn’t give him a chance to recover, reaching in after him.
“Vasily’s in trouble!” Jane yelled, firing another shot at the muton with the plasma cannon, then ducking back as the return shot carved another gaping hole in the wall giving her and Hadrian cover. The muton’s green suit was pocked now with black smears and divots where it had taken several direct hits, but if it was seriously wounded, it didn’t show it.
“It’s got to reload some time,” Hadrian returned, sliding a fresh energy cell into his rifle—his last—and triggering the charge mechanism. “I’ll draw its fire… go for the face!” As soon as the indicator blinked ready, he darted out from cover, firing a blast that exploded against the alien’s hip. As before, it seemed rooted to the ground, the solid impact not even forcing it to shift its stance. The alien fired, and Hadrian dove forward, the plasma bolt flashing over him so close that he could feel the heat of it as it streaked by. The Marine came up into a crouch, and saw the alien lower its gun, opening the breech the way he’d seen Vasily do with his own copy of the alien heavy weapon.
A white flare erupted from the center of the alien’s face as it slid a fresh Elerium cell into the gun. That did discomfit the alien some, and it actually took a step back as it waved a hand through the plasma cloud, dissipating it. Hadrian couldn’t see how it could have actually survived that hit, but it started to close its weapon again.
But even as the alien finished reloading, the Marine glanced left, and saw a more immediate problem.
Vasily managed somehow to get his legs set under him, and as the muton reached for him he roared and pushed off, driving into the alien with the force of his own weight, the armor, and the strength of its actuators driving him forward. The combined impact should have knocked the alien off its feet, but it merely shifted a step back and clamped onto him with its beefy arms, taking hold of him like a wrestler. Vasily found himself lifted off his feet, all but helpless in the alien’s monstrous grasp. He tried to dislodge himself with a strike at the alien’s face, but the blow was feeble, and he wasn’t able to manage another as it crushed him against its body, its left arm coming down over his shoulder, its right coming up under his arm on the other side, the two meeting in the center of his back. He could hear the servos in his armor cracking as the embrace applied pressure to the joint of his right arm, and he could feel a numbness start to spread through his torso as the stress intensified. He managed to turn his head to look directly into the alien’s face, still expressionless as it was slowly killing him.
Chapter 99
A grenade exploded at the muton’s feet, enveloping it in a cloying cloud of nasty green gas. Vasily hurled himself aside just as a bright bolt blasted from within the gas. The plasma clipped his arm, but most of the discharge trailed past him. Grimacing against the pain that shot up the wounded limb, he staggered against a pillar and lifted his cannon.
He was just in time, as the dark outline of the muton materialized from within the gas right in front of him. Both shot at the same time. Vasily was flung back against the pillar as the plasma bolt slammed into his armored chest. He felt hot needles of fire and screamed as plasma sizzled through the holes in the armor and seared his skin.
His own shot blasted into the alien’s gun, which exploded in a fiery burst of plasma and metal shards. The alien was briefly obscured within a violent white haze, but then it emerged with arms outstretched, charging toward Vasily before he could recover enough to fire again.
The Russian’s companions had their own problems, and could not immediately come to his aid. Jane had fallen back into deeper cover, the pillar she’d hidden behind penetrated in several places where the first muton’s plasma cannon had perforated it. Hadrian threw a second gas grenade at it, but the missile bounced and tumbled between its legs before exploding, catching it only on the edge of the toxic gas cloud. In any case it had as little effect as the first had, and the alien forced him to take cover with a shot that narrowly missed taking his head off his shoulders.
James had been the last one up the ramp, and he pulled Mary to cover before unlimbering his rifle. But before he could shoot, he saw Catalina get manhandled by the alien, and he charged across the room to help her. The alien that had taken her down was distracted with Vasily, but the other one turned toward the motion and fired. The plasma bolt exploded at his feet along the top of the ramp, hitting him with a blast of warmth as the superheated gas enveloped his legs. He wasn’t seriously hurt, but the concussive force of the explosion took his feet out from under him, and he fell awkwardly onto the icy surface of the ramp. Unable to stop gravity from taking hold, he slid down the icy ramp, finally landing face-first in a drift of slushy snow at its base.
Vasily had his plasma gun knocked from his grasp before he could bring it to bear, and then he and the alien were engaged in a violent close-quarters fight. He didn’t have a chance to go for his stun rod, and narrowly avoided the alien’s grab at his throat, falling back against the awkward angle of the pillar. He snarled and formed a knife-edge with his armored hand, chopping at the alien’s elbow. The blow would have crippled a human’s arm, even without the augmented strength granted by his armor, but the alien’s expression didn’t change as it smashed Vasily with a backhanded strike that cracked his faceplate and drove him into the nearby alcove. It didn’t give him a chance to recover, reaching in after him.
“Vasily’s in trouble!” Jane yelled, firing another shot at the muton with the plasma cannon, then ducking back as the return shot carved another gaping hole in the wall giving her and Hadrian cover. The muton’s green suit was pocked now with black smears and divots where it had taken several direct hits, but if it was seriously wounded, it didn’t show it.
“It’s got to reload some time,” Hadrian returned, sliding a fresh energy cell into his rifle—his last—and triggering the charge mechanism. “I’ll draw its fire… go for the face!” As soon as the indicator blinked ready, he darted out from cover, firing a blast that exploded against the alien’s hip. As before, it seemed rooted to the ground, the solid impact not even forcing it to shift its stance. The alien fired, and Hadrian dove forward, the plasma bolt flashing over him so close that he could feel the heat of it as it streaked by. The Marine came up into a crouch, and saw the alien lower its gun, opening the breech the way he’d seen Vasily do with his own copy of the alien heavy weapon.
A white flare erupted from the center of the alien’s face as it slid a fresh Elerium cell into the gun. That did discomfit the alien some, and it actually took a step back as it waved a hand through the plasma cloud, dissipating it. Hadrian couldn’t see how it could have actually survived that hit, but it started to close its weapon again.
But even as the alien finished reloading, the Marine glanced left, and saw a more immediate problem.
Vasily managed somehow to get his legs set under him, and as the muton reached for him he roared and pushed off, driving into the alien with the force of his own weight, the armor, and the strength of its actuators driving him forward. The combined impact should have knocked the alien off its feet, but it merely shifted a step back and clamped onto him with its beefy arms, taking hold of him like a wrestler. Vasily found himself lifted off his feet, all but helpless in the alien’s monstrous grasp. He tried to dislodge himself with a strike at the alien’s face, but the blow was feeble, and he wasn’t able to manage another as it crushed him against its body, its left arm coming down over his shoulder, its right coming up under his arm on the other side, the two meeting in the center of his back. He could hear the servos in his armor cracking as the embrace applied pressure to the joint of his right arm, and he could feel a numbness start to spread through his torso as the stress intensified. He managed to turn his head to look directly into the alien’s face, still expressionless as it was slowly killing him.
Innocent Bystander
First Post
I remember the Muton's being tough but wow. Were the alpahs struggling with low damage rolls?
I think LB is building it for effect but they were sods. About now Smart Alec started to play Vas in closer too, if I remember, as his strength for melee compensated for low ranged ability. He used to get torn up a lot but had a character build with a save against death in its abilities that he came to make use of a /lot/. I tended to have Catalina in close to take advantage of a Point Blank Shot boost and use him as cover. It's nice to see that change of tactic reflected in the story, even if it didn't always work out for Cat.
As for damage, it wasn't so much us having low damage as LB's dastardly habit of building the damage resistance of new monsters massively. Early opponents would drop in one shot to the weapons we had by that point, but LB always makes sure that doesn't happen with the newly encountered ones. One thing you do /not/ do in an LB campaign is relax as things are getting easier. Bless him.
As for damage, it wasn't so much us having low damage as LB's dastardly habit of building the damage resistance of new monsters massively. Early opponents would drop in one shot to the weapons we had by that point, but LB always makes sure that doesn't happen with the newly encountered ones. One thing you do /not/ do in an LB campaign is relax as things are getting easier. Bless him.
Smart Alec
First Post
This does sort-of reflect how tough things could be in X-Com. The damage system in the old game was strange; you shot at something, and if you hit, the target could suffer from between 0% to 200% of the weapon's damage, randomised. Then, damage resistance would come into play
This is why sometimes weak aliens and unarmoured agents would shrug off plasma, but sometimes a Muton or a fully armoured agent could be felled by a lucky shot. Every now and again, you just had bad days where the aliens just would not ever damn well die.
This is why sometimes weak aliens and unarmoured agents would shrug off plasma, but sometimes a Muton or a fully armoured agent could be felled by a lucky shot. Every now and again, you just had bad days where the aliens just would not ever damn well die.
Lazybones
Adventurer
Actually, while the mutons did have DR5 vs. regular piercing attacks (i.e., normal guns), they didn't have any special resistance to laser or plasma. What they did have was a lot of hit points.
* * * * *
Session 23 (September 29, 2008)
Chapter 100
“Go… to… hell!” Vasily managed, fighting for each breath as he spat defiance at the alien crushing him in a deadly bearhug.
He caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t see Hadrian charge up right behind the muton, and jam the barrel of his rifle into the small of its back. The Marine triggered the weapon, which punched a hole in the green suit, a bright flare of plasma surging out around the barrel. The alien jerked, and Hadrian fired again, slamming the gun deeper into the opening he’d bored.
The muton tossed Vasily aside like a discarded toy, and whirled on Hadrian, sweeping with one powerful arm. The Marine ducked under the blow and side-stepped, matching the alien’s rotation, and keeping the blackened opening in its back in clear view. The alien tried to match him but could not, and as Hadrian fired one last shot the monstrious thing fell, its insides bored out by the white-hot plasma.
It fell at almost the exact moment as the other muton. Half-blinded by Jane’s earlier shot to its face, it unleashed an almost random barrage of plasma bolts at anything moving. It missed Jane, who was still secure in her shielded position, even if the hull of the alien ship around her was starting to resemble a hunk of Swiss cheese. It nearly perforated James as the doctor came back up the ramp, and he nearly slid down it again as he dove for cover. But that gave Jane a chance for one more carefully aimed shot, and even as Hadrian felled his opponent she finished it with a second shot that vaporized one eye and send a stream of plasma into what served it for a brain. The alien settled to the floor with a thud, its heavy cannon clattering at its feet.
In the end, no one was killed, although it was a close thing. Catalina was unconscious but alive, and she responded to the injection of a medikit from James, although it was clear that it hurt her every time she moved. Vasily’s shoulder had been dislocated; he opened up his armor just long enough for Hadrian to help him pop it back into its socket, then he strapped himself back in. The range of motion of his right arm was limited, the joint damaged by the beating the muton had put on him, but he could still move and shoot.
“You know how to build them, Grace,” he said to himself. His visor was more or less kaput, though, and after a few useless attempts to reboot his VDU he finally yanked the whole thing off and tossed it into a corner.
“We need to keep moving,” he told the others. “Ship has more than two aliens on it.”
“Christ, Vas, we’re beat all to hell,” James said, as he helped Mary apply a medikit to her own wounds. Jane and Hadrian kept watch, while Catalina looked down at the corpse of one of the mutons.
“We still have job,” the Russian returned.
“These are what got Beta, then?” Catalina asked, shuddering as she looked down at the monstrous thing. Even dead it looked imposing, almost completely intact except for the hole in its back. “My laser barely scratched it.”
“Big green gorilla,” Vasily said. “They fit description. But plasma do for them all the same. They can be killed.”
“Not easily,” James muttered, glancing back at the fallen creatures one last time as Vasily led them toward the exit that the first muton had been guarding. Hadrian scrounged the partially-depleted energy cell from its cannon, and fell in behind Vasily and Jane, moving deeper into the alien battleship.
* * *
“Well, I think they know we’re here, now,” Catalina said dryly, as she rubbed at a black streak that a plasma bolt had burned into the armor covering her hip. She grimaced as bits of metal flaked off, the aramid fabric underneath it in hardly better condition.
The others moved through the room, checking the bodies of the nearly dozen sectoids that were scattered about the place. Their VDUs had identified most of the aliens as technicians, although there was a soldier near the door, wisps of smoke still rising from the wreckage of its face, and a medic near the bank of machinery in the back. That one had almost caught Catalina by surprise, but Jane had killed it with a shot to the neck before it could incapacitate her with the small launcher it carried.
“How big is this ship?” Jane asked, as she looked over one of the control panels. They had already traversed three levels and at over a dozen rooms, most of them filled with heavy machinery that they did not recognize. The interior of the ship was like a maze, with corridors that bent back on themselves, isolated chambers that dead-ended in blank walls, and lifts that rose or descended in an almost random arrangement. Resistance had been heavy, although most of the aliens had been sectoids, with a few cyberdiscs sifted through for flavor. There had thankfully been no more mutons, and none of the aliens had been able to do more than slow down Alpha Team.
Hadrian glanced through a doorway on the far side of the room. “Another lift up through here,” he reported.
“We must be nearing top,” Vasily said.
“I can hear the little buggers,” Catalina said, turning her head back and forth. She suddenly spun around, staring wide-eyed at a blank wall. “Thought I saw… something…” she muttered.
Suddenly, Mary clutched at her head and wailed. The others whirled in surprise and alarm. The Indian doctor stumbled to the side of the room, shaking off the hand of support that James tried to offer her. “I want to go home!” she screamed. “I want to go home!”
“What the hell?” Vasily asked, as Jane and James tried to calm her. Mary recoiled from them, huddling in a corner of the room. “Please, I don’t belong here. Please!” James got past her as Jane grabbed onto her arms, the doctor applying a hypo to her throat. “Something’s doing this,” he said to the others.
“It’s here, I know it is,” Catalina muttered, moving along the wall. Hadrian spun suddenly, bringing up his rifle as he scanned the room with the lift. There was nothing there; the room was empty.
While James worked on Mary, and Hadrian and Catalina jumped at shadows, Jane drew back into the center of the room. She turned, slowly, an odd look on her face. Vasily was watching James and Mary, and didn’t notice what was wrong until it was too late. Jane suddenly spun around, yelled, and fired her rifle. Not at Vasily, but at Catalina, who turned at the noise, and took the full force of the plasma bolt to the chest, right below her neck. The bolt exploded in a geyser of hot flame, and Catalina fell to the ground, blood spurting from the blasted wreckage of her throat.
“Wha the—” Vasily said, unable to do anything more but watch as Catalina fell. “Dammit, no!” he yelled, lashing out, knocking the gun from Jane’s suddenly limp hands. James ran over to the fallen Brit, whose legs twitched as blood continued to pool from her throat, and spurted from her lips as a strangled hiss. By the time the doctor fell to his knees next to her, both the movement and the sound had ceased. He grabbed a medikit and stabbed it into her as close to the wound as he could, then attached a medical probes to her chest and skull, fixing the readout where he could see it.
“Catalina?” Mary sobbed from the corner. “Catalina?”
Hadrian had come back in, but Vasily pointed to Jane. “Watch her!” he ordered, coming forward until he was standing over James and Catalina. “Doctor?”
James looked at the monitor, his hands covered in blood. “She’s dead,” he said, without looking up.
* * * * *
Session 23 (September 29, 2008)
Chapter 100
“Go… to… hell!” Vasily managed, fighting for each breath as he spat defiance at the alien crushing him in a deadly bearhug.
He caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t see Hadrian charge up right behind the muton, and jam the barrel of his rifle into the small of its back. The Marine triggered the weapon, which punched a hole in the green suit, a bright flare of plasma surging out around the barrel. The alien jerked, and Hadrian fired again, slamming the gun deeper into the opening he’d bored.
The muton tossed Vasily aside like a discarded toy, and whirled on Hadrian, sweeping with one powerful arm. The Marine ducked under the blow and side-stepped, matching the alien’s rotation, and keeping the blackened opening in its back in clear view. The alien tried to match him but could not, and as Hadrian fired one last shot the monstrious thing fell, its insides bored out by the white-hot plasma.
It fell at almost the exact moment as the other muton. Half-blinded by Jane’s earlier shot to its face, it unleashed an almost random barrage of plasma bolts at anything moving. It missed Jane, who was still secure in her shielded position, even if the hull of the alien ship around her was starting to resemble a hunk of Swiss cheese. It nearly perforated James as the doctor came back up the ramp, and he nearly slid down it again as he dove for cover. But that gave Jane a chance for one more carefully aimed shot, and even as Hadrian felled his opponent she finished it with a second shot that vaporized one eye and send a stream of plasma into what served it for a brain. The alien settled to the floor with a thud, its heavy cannon clattering at its feet.
In the end, no one was killed, although it was a close thing. Catalina was unconscious but alive, and she responded to the injection of a medikit from James, although it was clear that it hurt her every time she moved. Vasily’s shoulder had been dislocated; he opened up his armor just long enough for Hadrian to help him pop it back into its socket, then he strapped himself back in. The range of motion of his right arm was limited, the joint damaged by the beating the muton had put on him, but he could still move and shoot.
“You know how to build them, Grace,” he said to himself. His visor was more or less kaput, though, and after a few useless attempts to reboot his VDU he finally yanked the whole thing off and tossed it into a corner.
“We need to keep moving,” he told the others. “Ship has more than two aliens on it.”
“Christ, Vas, we’re beat all to hell,” James said, as he helped Mary apply a medikit to her own wounds. Jane and Hadrian kept watch, while Catalina looked down at the corpse of one of the mutons.
“We still have job,” the Russian returned.
“These are what got Beta, then?” Catalina asked, shuddering as she looked down at the monstrous thing. Even dead it looked imposing, almost completely intact except for the hole in its back. “My laser barely scratched it.”
“Big green gorilla,” Vasily said. “They fit description. But plasma do for them all the same. They can be killed.”
“Not easily,” James muttered, glancing back at the fallen creatures one last time as Vasily led them toward the exit that the first muton had been guarding. Hadrian scrounged the partially-depleted energy cell from its cannon, and fell in behind Vasily and Jane, moving deeper into the alien battleship.
* * *
“Well, I think they know we’re here, now,” Catalina said dryly, as she rubbed at a black streak that a plasma bolt had burned into the armor covering her hip. She grimaced as bits of metal flaked off, the aramid fabric underneath it in hardly better condition.
The others moved through the room, checking the bodies of the nearly dozen sectoids that were scattered about the place. Their VDUs had identified most of the aliens as technicians, although there was a soldier near the door, wisps of smoke still rising from the wreckage of its face, and a medic near the bank of machinery in the back. That one had almost caught Catalina by surprise, but Jane had killed it with a shot to the neck before it could incapacitate her with the small launcher it carried.
“How big is this ship?” Jane asked, as she looked over one of the control panels. They had already traversed three levels and at over a dozen rooms, most of them filled with heavy machinery that they did not recognize. The interior of the ship was like a maze, with corridors that bent back on themselves, isolated chambers that dead-ended in blank walls, and lifts that rose or descended in an almost random arrangement. Resistance had been heavy, although most of the aliens had been sectoids, with a few cyberdiscs sifted through for flavor. There had thankfully been no more mutons, and none of the aliens had been able to do more than slow down Alpha Team.
Hadrian glanced through a doorway on the far side of the room. “Another lift up through here,” he reported.
“We must be nearing top,” Vasily said.
“I can hear the little buggers,” Catalina said, turning her head back and forth. She suddenly spun around, staring wide-eyed at a blank wall. “Thought I saw… something…” she muttered.
Suddenly, Mary clutched at her head and wailed. The others whirled in surprise and alarm. The Indian doctor stumbled to the side of the room, shaking off the hand of support that James tried to offer her. “I want to go home!” she screamed. “I want to go home!”
“What the hell?” Vasily asked, as Jane and James tried to calm her. Mary recoiled from them, huddling in a corner of the room. “Please, I don’t belong here. Please!” James got past her as Jane grabbed onto her arms, the doctor applying a hypo to her throat. “Something’s doing this,” he said to the others.
“It’s here, I know it is,” Catalina muttered, moving along the wall. Hadrian spun suddenly, bringing up his rifle as he scanned the room with the lift. There was nothing there; the room was empty.
While James worked on Mary, and Hadrian and Catalina jumped at shadows, Jane drew back into the center of the room. She turned, slowly, an odd look on her face. Vasily was watching James and Mary, and didn’t notice what was wrong until it was too late. Jane suddenly spun around, yelled, and fired her rifle. Not at Vasily, but at Catalina, who turned at the noise, and took the full force of the plasma bolt to the chest, right below her neck. The bolt exploded in a geyser of hot flame, and Catalina fell to the ground, blood spurting from the blasted wreckage of her throat.
“Wha the—” Vasily said, unable to do anything more but watch as Catalina fell. “Dammit, no!” he yelled, lashing out, knocking the gun from Jane’s suddenly limp hands. James ran over to the fallen Brit, whose legs twitched as blood continued to pool from her throat, and spurted from her lips as a strangled hiss. By the time the doctor fell to his knees next to her, both the movement and the sound had ceased. He grabbed a medikit and stabbed it into her as close to the wound as he could, then attached a medical probes to her chest and skull, fixing the readout where he could see it.
“Catalina?” Mary sobbed from the corner. “Catalina?”
Hadrian had come back in, but Vasily pointed to Jane. “Watch her!” he ordered, coming forward until he was standing over James and Catalina. “Doctor?”
James looked at the monitor, his hands covered in blood. “She’s dead,” he said, without looking up.
Innocent Bystander
First Post
After the wicked beating they took and walked away from, leave it to a bloody ethereal to really cause some damage.
