Heavy Metal Thunder (46 page)

Be sure to erase the amount of ammunition that you
used,
then
turn to section
126
.

You and the priest fall on each other in a wheezing
storm of flailing limbs. The old man jerks about, stabbing awkwardly, while you
beat at his old head with the butt of your gun, trying not to fall under the
weight of your jetpack.

You must now compute a number that will determine
the outcome of the combat. This number is your
1 G Combat
score added to
your
Strength
stat. You do not have time to draw a hand-to-hand weapon,
but if you are trained in
Weapon Proficiency: Mace
, you may add 2 to your
score as you use the butt of the gun.

During the fight you lose
7 Blood
, but you
may subtract the number you computed from this amount. If you die, then the old
man finally finds peace in learning what it feels like to stab a man to death
and slip around in his blood. If you want to
Regenerate
, you can turn to
section
312
to try again, or, if you want to go
further back, turn to section
179
.

If you survive, then you manage to beat the old
priest in the head so hard that he falls to your feet in a clanging heap of
broken limbs.

You gain
0 XP
for beating an old man to
death.
Damn
, you think to yourself,
I thought it would feel better
than that
. Guilt creeps into your system.
He was probably a bad person,
you decide.
Was probably mean to a lot of people in his life.
Probably
.

You may take the dead priest’s
Bowie Knife
(Blade, bulk 1)
if you wish.

“Damn, dude,” says the laborer. “That was pretty
heartless, don’t you think?”

The girl looks at you in fear. The laborer forces
the gun to her temple once more, and she grits her teeth in fury.

If you want to stare down the laborer, point your
gun at his head (whether you have any bullets or not), and demand that he let
the girl go, turn to section
495
.

If you actually do have at least one bullet and,
emboldened by your murder, want to take a shot at the laborer, turn to section
517
.

If you want to back out toward the door and leave this
crazy scene, turn to section
254
.

You blast your jets to life and rise in a cloud of
sparkling ash toward your hated foe. Superheated blood pounds in your flesh as
you arc toward him. You see him turn toward you slowly, face cast in shadow,
great horns protruding on either side. He raises his thick
gladius
toward you, then his own jets burn to life.

You race toward one another in a joust to the death.
Just before you collide, you both raise your weapons, then -

You must compute a number that will determine the
outcome of your attack. This number is your
Strength
stat added to your
Zero
G Combat
stat. If you are trained in the
Jetpack
Skill
, add 1
to this number. If you are trained in
Weapon Proficiency: Hand-to-Hand
, and
it is with the weapon you are using, add 3 to this number. If you are using a
Spear
,
add 2 to this number. If you are using a
Mace
, add 1. If you have no
hand-to-hand weapon, you can use the butt of a gun: If you are using a
Rifle
or
Shotgun
, subtract 1, or if you are using a
Handgun
, subtract
2. If you have
no weapons at all
, subtract 5.

You swing, make contact, the impact jars you and you
fly wildly. You look in horror and see that your weapon has been sheared in
half by the charged sword of the enemy -
erase the weapon
from your
inventory. Furthermore, you lose
13 Blood
in the battle, though you may
subtract the number you calculated from this amount. (You may also subtract
your
Defense
rating, if you are wearing any armor.) However, if you have
lost more than 3 Blood then you also lose
1 SD.

(If you have died, then you may
Regenerate
by
turning to section
312
, or, if you want to go
further back, section
179
.
)

You turnabout just in time to see
your enemy crash full-speed into the asteroid.
In a cloud of dust you see him struggling in vain to cover his neckpiece, which
you have bashed open. He stumbles in a cloud of spewing oxygen,
then
falls still. You gain
2 XP
for killing your
enemy.

Turn to section
362
.

The shrieking man swings his rifle and you duck low
to avoid it. He staggers forward, off balance, and you leap at him, driving
your knee into his gut. He leans over and you slam a fist into his face, then again,
and he crashes to the floor. You jump on his chest and wrap both hands about
his neck. His fingers probe against your face,
then
he
wraps his hands about your throat. Breathing becomes impossible and your head
feels like it will explode. You crush one another desperately. Eventually his
hands relax, fall to the side, and you squeeze the life from him without mercy
until his eyes go dim and he relaxes under you, dead.

You lose
1 Blood
in the battle. If your Blood
has dropped to zero, then you realize you can no longer breathe at all, for
your windpipe has been crushed. You see black spots,
then
suffocate, another senseless victim of the ghost station.

If you have survived, turn to section
530
.

“Well come on, then,” you say. “I got a weeping boil
on my posterior I’m gonna need you to look at, later.”

The lawman nods, says, “I’m Philip. Thanks, bro.
That is, if I may refer to you as my bro.”

“Blood bros,” you say, clapping your hand to his
shoulder.
“For life.”

Make a note that
Philip the Medic
has joined
you.

Turn to section
537
.

The others immediately fall on the bodies and search
them for useful gear.
Must be standard operating procedure
,
you think.
We are guerillas, after all
. You find the following
useful gear, most of which is stuff that Marcus either overlooked or that he
didn’t snatch away from you before you could get it.

Charged Baton (Mace, bulk 2)

Stolen
Delian
League Sidearm (Handgun, bulk 2)
(This alien bastard
must have pried this off some fallen Earth soldier, or won it in a card game
from another alien bastard who did.)

6 Handgun bullets (bulk 1)

Alien Bulletproof Vest (Defense 1, bulk
3
)
(This armor is larger than usual to fit the alien’s bulky frame.)

Alien Hard Armor (Defense 2, bulk 4)

Moreover, Commander Uther hands you a
First Aid
Kit (bulk 2, heals 3 Blood, 2 doses)
and a used bottle of
Sticky Fix
(bulk 2, fixes 1 SD, 2 doses)
which you may take if you want.

Commander Uther hands Marcus his own combat shotgun,
then loads himself down with the strange guns of the alien dead. “
Shee-yit
,” growls Marcus, “I’d burn my gloves if I had to
touch those damned things.”

“I don’t like it either,” says Uther, “but better we
use their bullets than our own. Besides, I’m trained to use this garbage,
anyway.” While Sybel unsheathes a wicked-looking charged knife and hunkers over
one of the dead aliens, Uther adjusts his com-link,
then
says, “
Heimdall
! Where you boys at?
You dead or what?”

Moments later there is a crackle of static in your
ear,
then
you hear the second-in-command’s voice,
punctuated by gunfire. “Sir, we’re alive, but
skkkk
firefight, massive fire
skkkk
-” There is a pause,
then his voice comes back much clearer, saying, “Sir, I think we stumbled on
the deck or something. We missed those heat signatures but I think we got near
their command deck because we’re up against dozens of their ship personnel,
armed defenders -”

“Is anyone hurt?” barks Uther.

“
Grishnak’s
hit but still
fighting.”

“
Heimdall
, we’re outside
the shield generator, wherever you are just
get
out of
there.”

“We’re already retreating, sir!”

“Well get somewhere that you can blow a hole in this
ship. We’ll hit the shields,
then
join you.”

“
Yessir
!”
There is another blast of gunfire in your ear,
then
the
comlink
goes silent.

“Hell,” says Uther, fuming. “If anything, at least
they’ve gotten some of those monsters off our asses.”

The lights in the hall go dim,
then
flash red, like an alarm - except that it is tuned to a different frequency
than a human alarm. It stays red,
then
goes dark, for
longer intervals. The effect is unsettling, grim. Commander Uther turns to the
door at the far end of the hallway. You know that you are about to attack the
shield generator and that it will be well defended.

“Everyone,” says Sybel. You turn and see that he is
carrying a severed alien hand and forearm. It drips onto the floor as he walks
toward you.

“Shouldn’t we hurry to the shield generator?” you
say.

“This is important,” says Sybel. The others do not
argue; Uther
nods,
and they effect solemn looks on
their faces. Sybel eyes you with his strange cold eyes,
then
slaps the front of your suit with the bloody stump of the arm. He traces a
strange design, then stares at you intently and says, “No animal knows what
death is. An animal runs because it is programmed to feel fear. You have faced
death, have overcome your fear of it, and become something more than an animal.
Today you have proven your humanity. All humans need names, else they are
little more than dumb beasts. As the official dream interpreter of our crew, I
name you Cromulus.”

Marcus says quietly, “What does that name mean?”

“It means nothing,” says Sybel, “unless this human
does something great with his life. Then, the name will have meaning. I chose
that name because it sounds
cool
.”

“It does sound cool,” Uther says with utmost
seriousness, clapping a hand to your shoulder. You are filled with joy - and a
new determination to prove your worth to the cold and uncaring universe. You
have been blooded, marked as a defender of your species. No longer will you be
shamed by the name Mister Wiggles. Now you are
Cromulus
, a human
fanatic.

“Now,” says Uther, “let’s hurry and blow up that
shield generator and get back home.”

You all turn and stalk down the hall toward the
doorway. Staring ahead, Sybel says, “Remember, all of you: No matter what
happens in that room, you go in there a proud human being, and if you die, then
you will die a human being.”

“Amen,” says Marcus.

To enter, turn to section
477
.

You reach the top of the ladder,
then
balance yourself on a narrow strip of floor. The wide, tilted beam lies before
you. You look down the length of the beam and, not twenty feet below
you,
two vicious-looking black
Buskaner
dogs are picking their way toward you, growling all the while. Behind them,
more dogs are climbing the structure.

If you have a
Handgun
and at least
3
Handgun
bullets
,
you can fire at the two lead dogs by
turning to section
118
.

If you want to stay here long enough to confront the
two dogs, turn to section
190
.

If you want to climb onto the beam and begin your
ascent, turn to section
151
.

The doctor holds the syringe just over your arm. You
glance to the bottle from which he drew the solution. You can just barely make
out the label. You see the word
Mortenol
in
bold letters, and your heart shudders. This drug is used to end an animal’s
life if it has been too badly wounded to put back together without great cost
to the owner. Chemically, the stuff is practically the same as pre-Invasion
engine coolant. It definitely does not belong in your body.

For successful use of your skill, you gain
1 XP.

To stop the doctor, turn to section
22
.

If you’re tired of all this nonsense and want to let
him go through with it, turn to section
321
.