Sun 13 Jun 2021, 15:11
Hi again,
We'll do another session this coming Tuesday so I thought I'd share where the story is going. I am lazy, however, so instead of collating a nice overview, I'll just post my own private (and hopefully
comprehendible) scenario write-up.
As always, feedback and suggestions are highly appreciated!
Colonist mini-campaign (aka. NECESSARY EVILS) - Scenario 2: Tartarus
Scenario 2 – Tartarus
In this scenario, the Officer and Kid travels to and explores the Xeno-haunted mines of Tartarus.
Scene 1 – Road to Hell
Driving though the snowstorm is hard on operator and craft, both. Three Piloting checks are required to reach Hades Valley and the Tartarus Mines, with failures resulting in the following:
1st fail = Hit an ice “rock”. Daihotai Tractor looses function in one of it’s eight wheels (-1 Piloting)
2nd fail = Wrong turn. Halfway up a valley the driver realizes this is the wrong way. Wastes time (Stress)
3rd fail = The vehicle is running on fumes now, coming to a stop almost a km from Tartarus. The PCs must make the rest of the journey on foot, in space suits, in the snowstorm.
BUT, we are going to cheat here for maximum effect! It is unlikely that our PCs will succeed in all three Piloting checks, and no matter their result, we’ll fudge things so that their tractor stops outside the mine (if only by a few meters), forcing the PCs to abandon the craft to the cold where it will be destroyed in a matter of hours.
Warning Broadcast: At some point during the journey, shortly after entering the Hades Valley, the Daihotai Tractor picks up an automated broadcast signal from Tartarus:
“Attention all travelers. The decommissioned Tartarus Mine is experiencing an uncontrolled outbreak of a highly aggressive and extremely contagious strain of some pox-like disease, or possibly anthrax. DO NOT APPROACH! Quarantine procedures are in place and both corporate and government authorities have all been alerted. No help is required at this time. DO NOT APPROACH!”
Interestingly (to the PCs), this quarantine was not logged with the Orpheus Mine’s MU/TH/ER AI, nor was any warning given. Either, MU/TH/ER failed to flag the very serious issue, OR the Seegson mine bypassed the Wayland-Yuthani “mother” installation and called the crisis inn to Seegson Representatives only, OR the warning is bogus. (This message is, of course, the Seraphim mercenaries’ attempt to dissuade any investigation or meddling in their holy work of extermination.)
Visuals: Approaching the Tartarus Mine, everything looks in order. Actually, there is no indication the installation has been shut down (i.e. it supposedly closed the doors 18 months ago). Floodlights bathe the empty landing pad in front of the fortress-like mine entrance, and several guiding lights leading up to the facility blinks merrily red. The surrounding area is dotted by snow-covered slag heaps, each marked by its own rugged warning light.
If approaching in the Daihotai, the Tartarus gate opens automatically to let them in. Otherwise, the PCs must locate a snowed-down service door off to the side, and manually open it in freezing (still -60 Celsius) weather.
Scene 2 – Trespassing
The facility is hot and humid, with breathable atmosphere. Water drips from the ceiling and droplets roll down the walls, forming puddles on the floor. It smells, too, a mixture of rust, powdered stone, grease, sweat, and animal musk, making the air heavy to breath.
The facility was constructed over the original rough-cut, 12 meter in diameter and some 180 meters deep, drilling shaft.
Level 0 (Loading Garage & Ore Storage): A large hallway with huge ore storage booths running along one wall, and vehicle garage slots along the other. In the Garage area just inside the gate, a single Daihotai Tractor (the one that was missing from Orpheus Lyre Station) sits slotted into one of the six recharging station. Batteries are fully charged (and should be able to take the PCs to the Golden Plains colony for rescue), but several vital components (ignition motor, battery cables, and the steering wheel) have been removed from the motor to prevent the vehicle from leaving. A note attached to the steering wheel socket, reads: “Don’t you dare leave this hellhole without me! – Lt. Thorn.” An accompanying locator beacon indicates its paired tracker is 233 meters away.
Repairing and juryrigging the tractor with parts scavenged from the previous tractor is possible, but will take some time (especially since neither PC are particularly competent with Heavy Machinery). Meanwhile, aliens will come stalking to spy on them and convincing the PCs they need to find a place to hide (see Level 1 below) to survive this.
Elevator: A metal cage, 4x3 meter platform, starting at Level 0 and going all the way down to the bottom (Level -11) along a sturdy, open-air (good view) steel beam construction. There are small walkways with hand-rails running around the outside of the elevator on each level, as well as caged-in ladders in the case of an emergency. (Further down, starting at Level -3, the ladders have been sabotaged with cutting tools and dropped to the bottom). A tele-landline runs along the construction, with receiver telephones on each level for easy communication (radio communication is spotty at best).
The elevator cart can hold a single large container of ore, or 20 people comfortably. Currently, the cart is filled with all manner of looted stuff, taken (by Seraphim) from areas further down the mining shaft, making the elevator a make-shift storage area for consumables and gear. These include: several 100-liter barrels of drinking water; 21 cases of beer cans & 4 cases of bourbon; 40 cardboard boxes of dry food rations (around 500 meals); welding tools and equipment (masks, soldering stuff, spare power packs); stacks of smaller steel beams, panels, and pipes; a nailgun; 2 first aid kits; and lots of clothes, boots, blankets, and hard-hats.
In addition, a chest-high steel-plates barricade has been welded into the floor, just inside the door, allowing occupants some shelter and cover. The “Level -11” button on the elevator control panel has been removed (and the wiring cut), and a big “X” scratched over the destination text.
Level 1 (Company Suite): A simple black-iron staircase leads up to a massive bunker-like door with a sign reading: “Seegson Representative Quarters”. Two empty cutters lay discarded on the landing, and the door shows signs of failed attempts to cut it open. This is nothing short of a high-end panic-room/emergency bunker, stylishly furnished to accommodate high-level corporate types (could support the Kid & Officer for months!). There is no way for the PCs to get through this door, although they might persuade the A.P.O.L.L.O.N. AI to let them in (see below).
Kolasi, a friendly AI: The Tartarus AI is a bit simple but knows that something is very wrong at the installation. Being a loyal and hard-working AI, Kolasi is trying his best to remedy the situation. Should the PCs hook up one of the few functioning computer terminals in the mine – the Seraphim weren’t too thorough in destroying computers, so there’re one still working on each of levels 0, -2, and -3) – Kolasi will do his best to befriend them. The PCs runs into several security blooks and Seegson clarence requirements while using the local computers, but Kolasi will contact them via PM to try and work around it by offering the PCs various positions and jobs at the installation (which is currently seriously understaffed). There will be lots of NDAs to electronically sign and terms & conditions to agree to, but before long, the Officer PC has become the Tartarus Mine’s top ranking (and only) staff member. This gives the PCs access to the Company Suit panic-room, except that the keys must be retrieved from Science Chief, Dr. Ralf Kuhn, whose colonial transponder is currently located somewhere on Level -11…
Scene 3 – Descending Madness
The drill-shaft is dark, with only a few orange lights running along the elevator structure. On each level, the shaft widens out to a circular landing that encircles the central shaft. Various halls and rooms and corridors (depending on function) spirals out from the landing and into the mountain.
Level -1 (Offices): A small office level, containing 3 disused offices and a small conference room. The latter, decorated with oversized space station model in the middle of the room (LV-44-40 research station destroyed in 2137), was evidently used by the Seraphim mercenaries as a bunking area and HQ. 4 sleeping mats are scattered across the room, and a coffeemaker has been moved here (from one of the offices). In addition, someone has scribbled (in permanent marker), a verse on the wall (Isaiah 6:3 = Seraphim angels singing God’s praise): “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole Earth is full of HIS glory!”
The offices have all been looted, and the computers smashed. Papers have been gathered up (and thrown to the fire-heap on Level -4).
Level -2 (Living Quarters): Arriving on this level, the first thing the PCs see is a corpse in red combat armor with a white cross on the chest, and wing designs on the shoulders and back, sitting on the floor leaning against a wall. The man had evidently removed his helmet and shot himself through the mouth with his service pistol; his pulserifle hangs on the strap across his chest, with the ammo counter displaying “00” in glowing red.
He also has a vicious wound on his chest, just below the armor. Investigation reveals that something burst out of the mercenary’s chest and chewed its way up and out.
Apart from the dead Seraphim, there are five living quarter modules built into the walls here, two of which has seen actual use and three remaining sealed off and unpacked (everything covered in plastic). Each habitat was built to house 20 staffers, but the Tartarus Mine never counted more than 28, leaving most of the habitats unused. Still, the seals and “no-entry” tapes and such have all been broken (i.e. the Seraphim investigating).
Of the 40 available bunks, only 28 shows signs of having been put to its intended use. Only four of these had seen recent use (decked out with sheets and such), belonging to the scientists that stayed behind when Tartarus was officially closed down. The bookshelves, diplomas, posters etc. reveal these four to be bio-engineers and medical researchers. Their quarters have all been ransacked, however.
Among the things laying scattered and trampled on the floor are: A sketchbook full of dark, fantastical, sexually charged depictions of demonic horrors [i.e. Giger art]; an annotated and underlined copy of Robert Morse’s book Space Beast (one annotation towards the end reads: “what is cost of Fiorina 161 Correctional facility?”). Attached to the inside of the office’s urinal is a picture of Wayland’s face (Seegson scientists’ private joke).
One sleeping alcove is covered in weeks-old gore and blood and mold. The bed belonged to Dr. Monica Göranson, a this is where she – after being impregnated – “gave birth” to the chestburster that grew up to become the Stalker alien currently haunting Orpheus’ Lyre. Things escalated fast after she died, an the corpse was left there to rot for weeks (while her colleagues hunted the creature and were quickly captured by the Stalker once it molted into an adult being). Recently, once the alien hive had grown with the additional Seraphim hosts, Dr. Göranson’s body was recovered by the aliens and moved down into the hive to be used as an additional source of food and hive construction material.
Level -3 (Staging Area): This area is where workers met up before going on a shift. There are no rooms here, only several racks of equipment, some workmen lockers, extra hard-hats, and one corner has been outfitted as a first age station with a “dentist”-like patient chair (and all its equipment now located on the lift). There’s little of interest here, except that observant PCs will notice that the ladders running along the outside of the elevator frame have been cut down on this level (and every subsequent level below this one, all of them thrown down to the bottom).
Level -4 (Ore Processing): This level constitutes the Tartarus Mine’s ore processing factory, with accompanying workshops and laboratories. As with the rest of the mine, the processing plant has seen very little actual use (a few months only).
The metallurgical laboratory, however, appears to have been in active use up until quite recently, before someone (Seraphim) set fire to it. In the middle of the room is a large, burned out rubbish heap – containing various papers, emptied filing cabinets, broken furniture, smashed-up computers, various instruments, books of all types, lab coats, etc. – all out if doused in bourbon and flammable chemicals, and put to light.
Successful Observe checks (actually rummaging through grants +2) uncovers one or more of the following finds:
--Signs of extensive pulse rifle discharging inside the room, aimed wild at every surface [a facehugger escaped its burning egg but was shot dead]
--Several scattered burnt or melted holes in one corner [where the facehugger was shot]
--A balled up and charred skate-like creature, with long “fingers” and a thick, muscular tale, riddled with bullet holes and burned [the facehugger]
--Three strange leathery sacks or deflated balls or containers [Xeno eggs]
Levels -5 to -10 (Mines of Hell): These levels constitute the actual mine, each a mining node containing 2 to 5 manually excavated tunnels pursuing veins of ore. Each level is equipped with one or two small 4-wheel dumpers to move debris into slag heaps etc.
Weirdly, the entrance of each individual tunnel has been either packed shut with refuse material from nearby slag heaps or barricaded over (one per level) with welded-together steel beams, pipes, and panels; the gaps are large enough to see (and shoot) through, but too narrow for an adult to traverse. The dumper vehicles are parked with the load skip up against the barricades for additional cover and barricade support. Anyone spying through the gaps in the barricade with a sufficient light source, notice a simple grenade booby trap with a tripwire strung across the corridor perhaps 5-6 meters in.
(Should the PCs somehow manage to explore the mining tunnels, they will find them branching out and meeting up in a confusing network of connected branches that even connect different levels with one another).
On Level -6, however, the mining tunnel barricade has evidently been breached form inside, with steel beams forcefully bent and, in some places, melted. Down the corridor, the booby trap has obviously been triggered, with extensive wall damage and a single long, black underarm ending in a 6-fingered hand lying on the floor, surrounded by melted holes in the rock. [This was where the Stalker alien lost its arm before hunting and eventually dispatching the Seraphim mercenaries].
Level -10 is where the Seraphim Security goons made a stand. In addition to barricades and rubble-plugged mining tunnels, this level contains a ring of hastily fortified gun post barricade by the elevator. The floor here is littered with small-arms cartridges and spent pulserifle magazines, as well as some blood, a bent pulserifle, a pair of (human) fingers, and a bloody helmet. [The Stalker alien had left the bottom lair, bypassed the mines up till level -6, and descended to ambush the Seraphim from above. The drunk and panicking mercenaries hardly hit the charging beast with at all, as it raced across the walls and made several feint-attacks, and before long it got them, incapacitating them one after the other with its poisonous tail, before carrying the down into the mine to meet the scientists-turned-eggs].
Level -11 (Lilith’s Lair): The dark, hot, and humid bottom of the Tartarus shaft; this is where a young queen is building her hive. The bottom level opens out into a vaulted gallery with the shaft at the apex, and stretches almost 100 meters across and 30 meters under the ceiling.
Several mining tunnels run off seemingly at random from the bottom level, although these lightless openings are difficult to make out in the dark. (These tunnels connect to the above mining levels, all the way up to Level -5).
To one side sits a large lead dome, painted a fading yellow with black radiation symbols. This is the mine’s industrial nuclear reactor, quite small and self-monitoring, but strong enough to power the mine a few times over. The lead dome is not solid, instead containing several water-filled chambers for additional radiation protection. The door, pointing in towards the mountain wall (away from the center of the room) is a huge lead-coated monstrosity with several mechanical seals holding it in place (although it is not actually locked). From here, thick cables run throughout the mine, supplying power.
To another side – covering several mining tunnel openings – sprawl a large patch of dark, organic substance from the floor and high up on the curving walls. Almost a fifth of the vaulted gallery is covered with the stuff! This is where, deep within the (equally organically decorated) tunnelways, a juvenile queen awaits new organisms to conquer and appropriate. In here is where both Dr. Kuhn’s colony transponder (and hopefully Level 1 panic room keys) AND Lt. Thorn’s tracker beacon (and hopefully the vehicle parts needed to get the tractor back up and running) are found.
Scene 4 – The Maiden Lilith
The Tartarus Mine Xenomorph XX121 queen is a young, juvenile female on the cusp of reaching her reproductive stage (the Seraphim called her “Lilith”). Her hive consists of only two warriors, plus the stalker who escaped Tartarus to haunt Orpheus’ Lyre (although that specimen is unlikely to find its way bay anytime soon and has in fact begun the process of crafting a new hive at Orpheus’ Lyre). The Tartarus hive is strapped for resources, with every biological source already harvested. Therefore, the queen has put her warriors into hibernation and now she sits alone in the dark, waiting for more hosts to arrive and for her body to mature into motherhood.
The Bowls of Hell (Entering the hive): The PCs’ options are limited. They must either search through Tartarus for the Company Representative bunker-suite keys, OR for the missing parts to the Seraphim Daihotai tractor, OR they must find some other way to survive indefinitely at Tartarus Mine (and I can’t envision what that would be). As it happens, both MacGuffins are currently located in the queen’s soon-to-be egg chamber where the corpses of Lt. Thorn & Dr. Khun are lying half-eaten and decomposing within the ever-expanding alien construction. Good luck to the PCs!
As they make their way into the dark, the Officer & Kid will have to navigate a bewildering labyrinth of “ant-hill” tunnels, passing the odd decomposed scientist or Seraphim skeleton sticking out of the walls. Before long, they will pass a warrior sleeping in an alcove and they won’t see him (probably) until they’ve passed the creature; for dramatic effect, the warrior might shift slightly or hiss in his sleep to draw the PCs attention.
At one point, they will discover a smashed helicopter drone scattered across the tunnel floor, bearing the Seraphim Security logo. The drone’s memory card is still functioning, and computer savvy PCs might access the file to see the drone flying about Tartarus spying while Seraphim mercenaries make a running commentary (their radio signal was very spotty, however, so it’s mostly static). Arriving at a mining tunnel crossroads, the drone films a thin alien creature, not unlike the demon of Orpheus’ Lyre but with a much larger head and additional limbs, hanging suspended from the ceiling and trailing a dangling, undeveloped ovipositor. A Seraphim goon can be heard whispering “Lilith” over the image, and then another shouting “get it out of there! Call the Cherub back!” This is followed by a blurry image as the drone gets smashed to the ground; freezing the image reveals a black, 6-fingered hand striking the dronge from behind.
Eventually, the PCs arrive at Lilith’s Lair. Their “treasures” lies scattered throughout the crossroad section, most of it still attacked to the rotting corpses infused into the alien walls. The queen senses potential sources of food and threat in her chamber; she is both curious and cautious, and after watching the intruders for a few moments, she awakes her hibernating warriors with a loud hiss (and possible telepathy or pheromonic communication or whatever).
A mad dash to escape the lair with at least some “treasure” follows, and it is quite possible that one or more PC will die here or get captured. This is all right and something I’ve prepared for.
Aftermath: Whether the Officer and Kid escaped or not doesn’t really matter for the overall story, and the next chapter in the multi-strand campaign will see the return of the Colonial Marines pair from the very first scenario. Having defeated the rogue Working Joe at the DS-7 space communication facility, they are sent by their commander to Orpheus’ Lyre to investigate their Working Joe opponent’s origins there. What they find is a Mining Station haunted by a one-armed stalker alien, and a cooperative local MU/TH/ER AI who tries her best to direct the marines onwards to the Tartarus Mine. (Basically, MU/TH/ER has recognized an opportunity to preserve and breed xenos for the company to pick up later, and will try her best to guide the marine PCs into harm’s way).
A crucial element here is the Kid PC’s signature item, a high-end digital video camera given to her by her overworked and too-busy-to-socialize-their-child parents as a means of keeping the kid occupied. The Kid PC has been filming everything along the way, and (possibly unknown to her) the files have been continuously uploaded to her parent’s computer domains at the Orpheus’ Lyre Mining Station. Of course, MU/TH/ER has full access to said files and will make sure the marines see them. What’s more, MU/TH/ER will inform the marines that the Kid & Officer left Orpheus’ Lyre for Tartarus a few weeks ago, and that the Tartarus Mine is still operating at over 80% power output, but someone has been sending an SOS-signal through the powerline connecting Tartarus & Orpheus’ Lyre (this might in fact be a lie depending on whether the Kid & Officer survived, or it might be the A.P.O.L.L.O.N. AI at Tartarus trying to reach out). The marines better hurry on in their M577 APC towards Tartarus Mine as soon as they can (i.e. have dealt with the local stalker problem) and save the poor child and officer! (There’s also a tracker thingy inside the camera for the parent’s to keep track of their child, which the marines can now use) Or, more likely, from MU/TH/ER’s perspective, get infected by xenos and grow the Tartarus hive… But all this is for a later scenario.
EXPOSITION – SO WHAT ACTUALLY WENT DOWN HERE?
The players have now experienced the scattered elements of the story through several POV, and while they won’t necessarily ever really learn the truth about the GJ2092/Atlas mystery, it might nonetheless be helpful to clarify some stuff for the reader (and myself). So, here follows some campaign backstory.
Phase 1 – Tartarus Mine: Originally, the (Seegson Corp) Tartarus Mine was built to extract construction material ores (iron mostly) along with smaller quantities of rarer metals (silver, platinum, and aluminum). This, however, was a rouse from the start, but Seegson went through every motion and covered every cost to hide this fact. Built to house up to 120 workers and staff, Tartarus never exceeded the 28 surveyors that made up the initial personnel. Once the first shipment of ore had been shipped off and analyzed, the big-wigs back home decided that Tartarus was not currently worth its cost and gave the order to shut it down. The staff was sent off to other Seegson mining ventures, except for a small science staff that was left behind to oversee the closing down of Tartarus Mine… except they were really there to begin the next phase in the scheme.
Phase 2 – Tartarus Lab: Before long, a secret shipment of ovomorph eggs (harvested from the gods know where) arrived at Tartarus and the facility’s true purpose came into effect – bio-research into the Xenomorph XX121 species. For months, things progressed well, and then one day it didn’t… There is no record of exactly what happened, but somehow Dr. Monica Göranson, the team’s chief medial researcher, got accidentally impregnated by a facehugger escaping from an egg during study. Dr. Göranson died the next day, giving birth to a chestburster. This setback didn’t particularly deter the ambitious scientists who spent days hunting the escaped creatures, only to find it having transformed into a mighty stalker alien. The three scientists were all captured alive (sedated by the creature’s toxic tail) and metamorphosed into new ovomorphs.
Phase 3 – Angel-fall: As time passed, the stalker alien grew desperate to find live hosts for the ovomorph facehuggers, and then luck smiled on the demon as Seraphim descended upon Tartarus Mine. Four Seraphim mercenaries arrived, looted, and constructed fortifications throughout Tartarus, and all the while the stalker studied them… instinctively realizing that these were more dangerous humans then the last ones he’d encountered. Finally, the stalker captured a Seraphim and brought him to the egg chamber to be impregnated, but by that time the three scientist-eggs had all hatched, their facehugger occupants prowling for hosts. The captured Seraphim was therefore planted in the wall and set on the path to metamorphose into a new ovomorph egg. The disappearance of their comrade galvanized the remaining mercenaries and the stalker, upon returning from the deep, accidentally triggered a recently-placed booby-trap in one of the mining tunnels (on Level -6). The experience cost the stalker an arm and sent it into a red rage. In a wild frenzy it charged the Seraphim on Level -10, injuring them one after the other, before it was itself further injured by pulsrifle fire and forced to retreat. The bleeding Seraphim pursued the creature, which by now was in a fight-or-flight panic, and chased it out of Tartarus through the main gate and into the frozen wasteland of Atlas’ surface. The Seraphim returned to their fortification on Level -10 to regroup, dead set on destroying the evil lurking downstairs. They patched their wounds and sent a drone to investigate, but before they could enter the depths of hell to confront the demons, they were surprised by creeping facehuggers and conquered for the xeno hive – one was a royal facehugger [note here that I’ve ignored the implant royal facehugger’s supposed ability to additional embryos in multiple hosts. This royal facehugger produced a single queen with no companions].
Phase 4 – Hell: Here’s the situation when the Officer & Kid PCs arrive at Tartarus. The four Seegson scientists are long dead and lies rotting in the deep; one was first used to incubate the first chestburster (which grew into the now Orpheus’ Lyre-haunting stalker) while the other three were turned into eggs. Then came the Seraphim soldiers. They managed to drive the original stalker from Tartarus, but all fell prey to the hive soon enough; three become hosts for the scientist-ovomorphs’ facehuggers, while the fourth was transformed into a new egg (for the PCs to possibly discover).
"And the rain sets in,
it's the Angelman.
I'm deranged".
--David Bowie, I'm Deranged
