"We should be safe here for the night. The building has one entrance, only two stairwells, and limited fire escapes. Unless they can fly, we'll be in pretty good shape."
"This place is a dump."
"At least the door was unlocked."
"Where's Nick going?"
"Bathroom."
"He's been kinda...I dunno, spaced out or something."
"Maybe the stress is getting to him a bit. He'll be fine. We've got about 1800 miles to cov-"
"Did you here that?"
"Sounded like a window."
"Dammit, he's gonna jump."
"Nick!"
Showing posts with label werewolves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label werewolves. Show all posts
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Session 7 - Triften's Alternity game - Jessie is found
No update will be provided for session 6's "boss" battle in which Nick Tardos, ambulance driver extraordinaire, executed an expert handbrake turn, and Alvin Yee, assassin for hire, performed an amazing one-handed breakfall whilst shooting a werewolf in the head. Kellie may have also fired a shot or two. :)
The door opens and they crowd in, the soldiers, the gun nut, the EMT, the cop, and the killer. I think I manage to croak some sort of greeting despite subsisting on minimal fluid intake for the past two weeks. I think Withers left some supplies before they bailed. What jackasses. Protocol says personnel has to clear out, but I'm not considered personnel. Just another thing in the labs.
Mark (Mike? Matt? I can't keep them straight) asks me how long I've been here. "This room?" I reply. "About four weeks." They start peppering me with questions... all of them. The echoes build up and I can't focus on one set, so I just start talking:
You've heard about multiple worlds? For every chance event, there's a parallel universe for each outcome. If you go to Vegas, there's one universe where you won every bet and you're sniffing cocaine off of a prostitute in a penthouse suite, there's another where you lost every bet, lost your car, lost your house and everything. In most of the universes, you probably didn't lose much, maybe gained a little. Most of the universes are very similar.
It seems like so many stupid cliches are actually true... the more things change, the more they stay the same. At least from what I've seen. I wake up somewhere and it turns out that some other jerk went stomping all over Europe about 50 years ago instead of Hitler. Things look a little different, a phone has a strange handle, but it's still a phone. Sometimes, things are very different and I wake up somewhere in the state of Osage of the United Tribes of America.
I was (or at least one of me) labeled borderline psychotic at age 10. I'd hear voices from people who weren't there (but they could have been) and if it weren't for knowing things I shouldn't have, I might have had a tougher time. By time I turned 13, I'd had my first complete shift. At first, I felt as if I'd been dropped into someone else's body, then I found I could remember what had happened to them/me. I had two sets of memories that I could recall. I remembered my grandfather at my 8th birthday and I could also remember being at his funeral when I was 6. Keep up with where I was wasn't hard since I could remember everything that that me had done, but it got hard to keep the two sets straight. After the third and the fourth shift, I really started to get confused. I think this happened to most of the alternate mes since I would find myself in increasingly confined quarters, sometimes a halfway house, sometimes just locked in my room, once in a while in a research facility.
Eventually, I stopped being able to remember things where I was after I shifted. I'd find myself in the middle of an interview and despite the questions and reminders, I had nothing but the memories I had brought with me.
I did notice that I'd see the same people... well, not the same people, they'd have different jobs, or slightly different names, but I'm pretty sure it was them. When the first one recognized me, that gave me a ray of hope. It was an orderly, or he was when he recognized me. Then he remembered being a physician, and a psychiatrist, and a con man. Kind of all at once. I didn't get to talk to him after that. He got transfered off my case.. in one universe, he had committed suicide.
When things got really messed up, either the worms, the werewolves, robots, nuclear winter, whatever, then I started to run into a lot more people who had shifted. Some of them just had weird "dreams" about werewolves while on the run from the worm people. So the idea I had is that the people who shift are the ones who survive more of these disasters. It's almost like maybe we're always connected to our other selves, and that's why we get deja vu and have weird dreams and hunches... but you can't hear those other selves very well when everyone else is around. So some disaster happens, everywhere, because things are often kind of the same, like I said, the people who survive more can hear their other selves better and are more likely to shift over completely.
But maybe there's some limit to how much you can remember so your brain just fills up... or maybe you just think you're you, so you can't just remember some other life. Sometimes I can get little bits of memories from other mes, it just... it's hard, like you just need to let go. Otherwise, I just shift in somewhere and I imagine that the version of me that was there gets shifted out to some new place, continuing some sort of strange cycle.
I keep shifting to new places, or places that look old, but are just different enough so I can never be sure. I've been through so much, and I've even died what seems like dozens of times, but I'm still me, I think. And I think I'll keep being me until I finish something, I don't know what it is, but I like to imagine that there's some reason I'm still me.
And with that I lose consciousness. Hopefully they (I?) will still be around when I wake up...
The door opens and they crowd in, the soldiers, the gun nut, the EMT, the cop, and the killer. I think I manage to croak some sort of greeting despite subsisting on minimal fluid intake for the past two weeks. I think Withers left some supplies before they bailed. What jackasses. Protocol says personnel has to clear out, but I'm not considered personnel. Just another thing in the labs.
Mark (Mike? Matt? I can't keep them straight) asks me how long I've been here. "This room?" I reply. "About four weeks." They start peppering me with questions... all of them. The echoes build up and I can't focus on one set, so I just start talking:
You've heard about multiple worlds? For every chance event, there's a parallel universe for each outcome. If you go to Vegas, there's one universe where you won every bet and you're sniffing cocaine off of a prostitute in a penthouse suite, there's another where you lost every bet, lost your car, lost your house and everything. In most of the universes, you probably didn't lose much, maybe gained a little. Most of the universes are very similar.
It seems like so many stupid cliches are actually true... the more things change, the more they stay the same. At least from what I've seen. I wake up somewhere and it turns out that some other jerk went stomping all over Europe about 50 years ago instead of Hitler. Things look a little different, a phone has a strange handle, but it's still a phone. Sometimes, things are very different and I wake up somewhere in the state of Osage of the United Tribes of America.
I was (or at least one of me) labeled borderline psychotic at age 10. I'd hear voices from people who weren't there (but they could have been) and if it weren't for knowing things I shouldn't have, I might have had a tougher time. By time I turned 13, I'd had my first complete shift. At first, I felt as if I'd been dropped into someone else's body, then I found I could remember what had happened to them/me. I had two sets of memories that I could recall. I remembered my grandfather at my 8th birthday and I could also remember being at his funeral when I was 6. Keep up with where I was wasn't hard since I could remember everything that that me had done, but it got hard to keep the two sets straight. After the third and the fourth shift, I really started to get confused. I think this happened to most of the alternate mes since I would find myself in increasingly confined quarters, sometimes a halfway house, sometimes just locked in my room, once in a while in a research facility.
Eventually, I stopped being able to remember things where I was after I shifted. I'd find myself in the middle of an interview and despite the questions and reminders, I had nothing but the memories I had brought with me.
I did notice that I'd see the same people... well, not the same people, they'd have different jobs, or slightly different names, but I'm pretty sure it was them. When the first one recognized me, that gave me a ray of hope. It was an orderly, or he was when he recognized me. Then he remembered being a physician, and a psychiatrist, and a con man. Kind of all at once. I didn't get to talk to him after that. He got transfered off my case.. in one universe, he had committed suicide.
When things got really messed up, either the worms, the werewolves, robots, nuclear winter, whatever, then I started to run into a lot more people who had shifted. Some of them just had weird "dreams" about werewolves while on the run from the worm people. So the idea I had is that the people who shift are the ones who survive more of these disasters. It's almost like maybe we're always connected to our other selves, and that's why we get deja vu and have weird dreams and hunches... but you can't hear those other selves very well when everyone else is around. So some disaster happens, everywhere, because things are often kind of the same, like I said, the people who survive more can hear their other selves better and are more likely to shift over completely.
But maybe there's some limit to how much you can remember so your brain just fills up... or maybe you just think you're you, so you can't just remember some other life. Sometimes I can get little bits of memories from other mes, it just... it's hard, like you just need to let go. Otherwise, I just shift in somewhere and I imagine that the version of me that was there gets shifted out to some new place, continuing some sort of strange cycle.
I keep shifting to new places, or places that look old, but are just different enough so I can never be sure. I've been through so much, and I've even died what seems like dozens of times, but I'm still me, I think. And I think I'll keep being me until I finish something, I don't know what it is, but I like to imagine that there's some reason I'm still me.
And with that I lose consciousness. Hopefully they (I?) will still be around when I wake up...
Friday, March 28, 2008
Session 5 - Triften's Alternity game - Super Recap
Your vision blurs and colors swim. Sounds echo and some are garbled. A cacophony of voices asks "What's going on?" The responses all overlap, some different, some later than others. "Are you okay?" "Look out!" "Werewolf at your six!" "You should take seat." "Are you alright?" "More of those damn worm things." "Dude, sit down. You gonna hurl?" "Oh, jeez. Go get Jesse! Hurry!" Your vision flickers white as sharp pains jab into your skull. Suddenly, everything clears up and the voices fade out.
"Rest. Here, have some water."
As you relax, you realize you remember everything.
Below are summaries of events for each timeline. Not every character will have a recollection of every timeline and, initially, not every character recalled events after switchovers. Sections in italics were not actually played.
Worms
May 15, 2010: Thousands of people take to the streets... Not to protest, but because some type of parasitic worm has taken control of their bodies. They attack those who aren't hosts, usually just mobbing their victims and swinging fists to knock them unconscious so they can be taken. Those who aren't busy attacking will spend time shuffle in circles or swinging their arms for no apparent reason.
Nick and Steve have their first encounter while transporting a patient in their ambulance. Al meets them in the dark of restaurant. Sam is nearly pulled from his car by the Wormed but manages to extract himself from their clumsy grasp and rescue, Nick, Steve, and Sam. Steve doesn't make it.
Worms 2
Nick and Steve have their first encounter while transporting a patient in their ambulance. Al meets them in the dark of restaurant. Sam is nearly pulled from his car by the Wormed but manages to extract himself from their clumsy grasp and rescue Nick, Steve, and Sam. Steve doesn't make it. Mark is picked up by the crew (along with a batch of plastique). Kellie flags down Sam as they head out of town.
During a stop for provisions along the thruway (New Baltimore Travel Plaza), a mob of Wormed set upon the travelers and, in the ensuing chaos, Sam falls on a piece of rebar that usually holds a parking stop. The rebar leaves a sucking chest wound. They all head for the nearest hospital in hopes that the supplies/skills to help Sam will be available.
The crew arrives at a hospital in Ravena, NY. They meet Pete, Malcolm, Sylvia, and a (red-shirted) doctor. Nick and the doctor start patching up Sam while the rest of the crew battles a number of Wormed and encounters a large tank of water practically filled with worms. Pete sets it alight with flammable liquids while the rest of the combat-oriented characters waste the surprisingly nimble Wormed guarding the tank. Alvin attempts to extract a worm, causing serious damage to the host body.
Werewolves
May 7th, 2010: Thousands of people disappear as what appear to be werewolves begin rampaging. Cities burn as the crazed beasts tear through store fronts, killing and maiming everyone they encounter.
Sam, Kellie, and Jesse meet up in NYC. They begin to make their way out of the city in Sam's Firebird. Alvin goes to make his hit in the restaurant, only to find it being ransacked by angry lycanthropes. He unleashes suppressing fire while managing a tactical retreat into the roadway.
Alvin tries to flag down a car, only to see an ambulance with a werewolf on the hood crash into a nearby burning building. The next car approaching is Sam's Firebird. Alvin waves and the car slows as it passes, allowing Alvin to hop in. The four head north and, while crossing the GW bridge, encounter two more werewolves who demonstrate their frightening running pace. Katie is able to put one down at range and the other werewolf gets his leg caught between bridge segments while running at about 70 miles an hour.
They continue north on the NY Thruway and stop for provisions at the New Baltimore travel plaza. Kellie and Alvin take down a werewolf in the parking lot then head in to collect provisions (picking their way through the bodies) while Sam and Jesse go to get gas. Sam and Jesse discover that the pumps have been shutoff. Keys are retrieved from the dead attendant (apparent claw overdose) and Sam and Jessie try to figure out how to turn the fuel back on. Their work is interrupted when a werewolf drops down from the garage roof knocking Sam down like a rag doll. Jesse screams at the werewolf, causing it to pause long enough for Sam to draw his SMG. The wolf pins Sam against the garage with his claws, puncturing one of his lungs. Sam responds in kind by puncturing the wolf's lungs, heart, face, and skull.
Kellie and Alvin rush back to join up. Neither of them have any skill in first aid, but Jesse shows uncanny skill in stabilizing Sam. Kellie and Alvin find a compact car (aiming for good gas mileage to reduce stops) and Alvin, using the "look for the suction cup mark" requisitions a GPS from another vehicle. Using the GPS, they head for the nearest hospital, which is in Ravena, in the hope of finding the skills or supplies to help Sam.
They arrive at the hospital and Jesse and Kellie head in to investigate. A doctor comes out of hiding when he realizes that neither Jesse nor Kellie are werewolves. He is glad to see friendly faces (or at least faces without fur and fangs.) Suddenly, all four of the travelers feel their heads begin to swim. Jesse reacts suddenly, yelling at Kellie to remember him and to come get him in Indiana and something about "silver meadows". With one more scream of "Remember me!", he stabs her with the scalpel.
Robots
March 12th, 2010: Electronics inexplicably fail, communications networks go down. PEREGRINE UAV bombers strike New York City. Chaos and anarchy follow.
Nick, Alvin, Jesse, and Kellie meet in NYC, holed up in the subway tunnels. After a few months of fending off HATCHET robots (tank treads + manipulator arm with 7.62mm rifle) and engineering HERF guns, they hear that survivors are rebuilding in Kitchener, Ontario and decide to head north.
Meanwhile, Mark has holed himself up in a hospital in Ravena, NY. Using his skill with juryrigging and explosives, he sets up a defensive perimeter in one wing of the hospital.
Upon stopping for provisions, Jesse sustains injuries from gunfire. Nick stabilizes him and they rush Jesse to the nearest hospital.
Kellie heads in to the hospital to check for robots. She gets confused momentarily and has to reconvene with Alvin and Nick. Alvin returns to the hospital with Kellie and, after causing a racket, encounter Mark. Once they feel the area is safe, they bring Jesse in and Nick begins to attempt surgery on Jesse... in an ER without power... and no trained help. Jesse doesn't make it.
Mark joins the remaining three as they head off-highway to the northwest, towards Buffalo and, eventually, Kitchener, Ontario. The going is slow and food, water, and fuel are sparse. Driving an old muscle car doesn't help mileage either. At the first stop they make, they acquire a manual fuel pump to extract gasoline from the underground tanks of service stations.
Before they can move on, a helicopter UAV (VMAC) is spotted over the trees. They retreat into the service station as the copter approaches, surveying the area. As it hovers over the station, examining their car, Kellie levels her HERF gun at the UAV. Its circuits fried, the copter lists into a nearby tree, destroying its rotor and sending it into the ground. The sudden change in potential and kinetic energies, as well as rotational momentum, turns the helicopter into a twisted wreckage. Mark pulls a few parts from it that might be useful later.
At their next stop, they pull up to a classic train car diner to find it picked clean. With empty stomachs, they set up shifts for keeping guard. During his shift, Alvin meets up with a friendly local named Jeff. Jeff is with a group of survivors who recommends that they pass on through and gives some tips for living through the night. The next morning, Alvin relates what he learned from Jeff and the four resume their journey.
As the needle approaches empty yet again, their search for fuel brings them to a bombed service station. The burnt husk of a Crown Vic plates lies overturned near the pumps, its government plates framed by soot. While Nick, Alvin, and Mark survey the area outside and get to work refueling, Kellie heads inside in search of food.
She nearly passes over a body to collect snack cakes and batteries for the HERF gun. The body is of a male, about 40-years old, who has suffered injuries from massive concussive force and flying glass. Kellie finds a satchel of notebooks and brings it back to the car.
They get back on the road with Alvin at the wheel as Nick, Mark, and Kellie begin reading through the notebooks, journals, and other books.
Robots 2
March 12th, 2010: Electronics inexplicably fail, communications networks go down. PEREGRINE UAV bombers strike New York City. Chaos and anarchy follow.
Nick, Alvin, Sam, and Kellie meet in NYC, holed up in the subway tunnels. After a few months of fending off HATCHET robots (tank treads + manipulator arm with 7.62mm rifle) and engineering HERF guns, they hear that survivors are rebuilding in Kitchener, Ontario and decide to head north.
Meanwhile, Mark has holed himself up in a hospital in Ravena, NY. Using his skill with juryrigging and explosives, he sets up a defensive perimeter in one wing of the hospital.
Upon stopping for provisions, Sam sustains injuries from gunfire. Nick stabilizes him and they rush Sam to the nearest hospital.
Kellie and Nick head into the hospital to check for robots and encounter Mark. Once they feel the area is safe, they bring Sam in and Nick begins surgery on Sam... in an ER without power... and no trained help. Nick manages to stitch Sam up.
Mark joins them as they head off-highway to the northwest, towards Buffalo and, eventually, Kitchener, Ontario. The going is slow and food, water, and fuel are sparse. Driving an old muscle car doesn't help mileage either. At the first stop they make, they acquire a manual fuel pump and manage to fend off a VMAC helicopter.
After meeting up with a group of survivors, they find a burnt-out service station, a car wreck, and a corpse with a collection of notebooks.
Sylvia awakens amongst building wreckage with little recollection of the past few months and walks into the street to get a better view of the surrounding.
Alvin finds the road suddenly occupied by a woman and, despite the dry conditions, sends the car into a skid, then into a furniture store, while avoiding a collision with her.
The crew piles out of the car to check out the situation. Sylvia is brought up to speed on the robot situation. Incredulous, Sylvia turns on her cell phone. It starts up and is unable to find a signal. With some yelling from Kellie and gun-pointing from Sam, Sylvia is convinced to turn off the phone. They pile into the car and begin to depart the scene of the transmission.
Time seems to slow as the PEREGRINE jet passes 30 meters overhead in a blur. The sonic boom rattles windows and teeth and is soon followed by an explosive shockwave, sending the car up on its nose. The vehicle slides on its passenger-side front bumper for an indeterminate distance before falling onto its right hand side and completing a roll. Alvin stomps on the accelerator then realizes that the windshield is almost opaque from cracks. While attempting to kick the windshield out and drive, Alvin sends the car into the ditch, sustaining mild joint injuries. Nick springs into action, removing the broken windshield and displacing Alvin at the wheel.
They switch vehicles as soon as possible, taking a Chevy Suburban from a car dealer, and press on to Kitchener. About 100 km from the city, they are flagged down by an odd fellow hiding in the trees. He directs them to leave their vehicle and walk to town to prevent the robots from spotting the town. He provides them with a few iodine tablets so that they can make the 5 day hike to Kitchener.
Just outside Kitchener, they are directed to a drain pipe by yet another guide and into Kitchener II. In Kitchener, they meet their leader, Karl, and their head of security, Alan. Karl seems friendly enough and Alan takes a keen interest in the newcomers.
It turns out Alan was in the Army and worked as a liaison with DARPA. He knows about SILVER MEADOWS a.k.a. Round Mountain Research Facility, Nevada, and some of the projects there. He tells them about C.A.I.N.N., an AI that came online right before the bombing started. Alan wants to get into SILVER MEADOWS and shut down C.A.I.N.N.
Remember, if your character was not introduced to a timeline, they won't remember it.
"Rest. Here, have some water."
As you relax, you realize you remember everything.
Below are summaries of events for each timeline. Not every character will have a recollection of every timeline and, initially, not every character recalled events after switchovers. Sections in italics were not actually played.
Worms
May 15, 2010: Thousands of people take to the streets... Not to protest, but because some type of parasitic worm has taken control of their bodies. They attack those who aren't hosts, usually just mobbing their victims and swinging fists to knock them unconscious so they can be taken. Those who aren't busy attacking will spend time shuffle in circles or swinging their arms for no apparent reason.
Nick and Steve have their first encounter while transporting a patient in their ambulance. Al meets them in the dark of restaurant. Sam is nearly pulled from his car by the Wormed but manages to extract himself from their clumsy grasp and rescue, Nick, Steve, and Sam. Steve doesn't make it.
Worms 2
Nick and Steve have their first encounter while transporting a patient in their ambulance. Al meets them in the dark of restaurant. Sam is nearly pulled from his car by the Wormed but manages to extract himself from their clumsy grasp and rescue Nick, Steve, and Sam. Steve doesn't make it. Mark is picked up by the crew (along with a batch of plastique). Kellie flags down Sam as they head out of town.
During a stop for provisions along the thruway (New Baltimore Travel Plaza), a mob of Wormed set upon the travelers and, in the ensuing chaos, Sam falls on a piece of rebar that usually holds a parking stop. The rebar leaves a sucking chest wound. They all head for the nearest hospital in hopes that the supplies/skills to help Sam will be available.
The crew arrives at a hospital in Ravena, NY. They meet Pete, Malcolm, Sylvia, and a (red-shirted) doctor. Nick and the doctor start patching up Sam while the rest of the crew battles a number of Wormed and encounters a large tank of water practically filled with worms. Pete sets it alight with flammable liquids while the rest of the combat-oriented characters waste the surprisingly nimble Wormed guarding the tank. Alvin attempts to extract a worm, causing serious damage to the host body.
Werewolves
May 7th, 2010: Thousands of people disappear as what appear to be werewolves begin rampaging. Cities burn as the crazed beasts tear through store fronts, killing and maiming everyone they encounter.
Sam, Kellie, and Jesse meet up in NYC. They begin to make their way out of the city in Sam's Firebird. Alvin goes to make his hit in the restaurant, only to find it being ransacked by angry lycanthropes. He unleashes suppressing fire while managing a tactical retreat into the roadway.
Alvin tries to flag down a car, only to see an ambulance with a werewolf on the hood crash into a nearby burning building. The next car approaching is Sam's Firebird. Alvin waves and the car slows as it passes, allowing Alvin to hop in. The four head north and, while crossing the GW bridge, encounter two more werewolves who demonstrate their frightening running pace. Katie is able to put one down at range and the other werewolf gets his leg caught between bridge segments while running at about 70 miles an hour.
They continue north on the NY Thruway and stop for provisions at the New Baltimore travel plaza. Kellie and Alvin take down a werewolf in the parking lot then head in to collect provisions (picking their way through the bodies) while Sam and Jesse go to get gas. Sam and Jesse discover that the pumps have been shutoff. Keys are retrieved from the dead attendant (apparent claw overdose) and Sam and Jessie try to figure out how to turn the fuel back on. Their work is interrupted when a werewolf drops down from the garage roof knocking Sam down like a rag doll. Jesse screams at the werewolf, causing it to pause long enough for Sam to draw his SMG. The wolf pins Sam against the garage with his claws, puncturing one of his lungs. Sam responds in kind by puncturing the wolf's lungs, heart, face, and skull.
Kellie and Alvin rush back to join up. Neither of them have any skill in first aid, but Jesse shows uncanny skill in stabilizing Sam. Kellie and Alvin find a compact car (aiming for good gas mileage to reduce stops) and Alvin, using the "look for the suction cup mark" requisitions a GPS from another vehicle. Using the GPS, they head for the nearest hospital, which is in Ravena, in the hope of finding the skills or supplies to help Sam.
They arrive at the hospital and Jesse and Kellie head in to investigate. A doctor comes out of hiding when he realizes that neither Jesse nor Kellie are werewolves. He is glad to see friendly faces (or at least faces without fur and fangs.) Suddenly, all four of the travelers feel their heads begin to swim. Jesse reacts suddenly, yelling at Kellie to remember him and to come get him in Indiana and something about "silver meadows". With one more scream of "Remember me!", he stabs her with the scalpel.
Robots
March 12th, 2010: Electronics inexplicably fail, communications networks go down. PEREGRINE UAV bombers strike New York City. Chaos and anarchy follow.
Nick, Alvin, Jesse, and Kellie meet in NYC, holed up in the subway tunnels. After a few months of fending off HATCHET robots (tank treads + manipulator arm with 7.62mm rifle) and engineering HERF guns, they hear that survivors are rebuilding in Kitchener, Ontario and decide to head north.
Meanwhile, Mark has holed himself up in a hospital in Ravena, NY. Using his skill with juryrigging and explosives, he sets up a defensive perimeter in one wing of the hospital.
Upon stopping for provisions, Jesse sustains injuries from gunfire. Nick stabilizes him and they rush Jesse to the nearest hospital.
Kellie heads in to the hospital to check for robots. She gets confused momentarily and has to reconvene with Alvin and Nick. Alvin returns to the hospital with Kellie and, after causing a racket, encounter Mark. Once they feel the area is safe, they bring Jesse in and Nick begins to attempt surgery on Jesse... in an ER without power... and no trained help. Jesse doesn't make it.
Mark joins the remaining three as they head off-highway to the northwest, towards Buffalo and, eventually, Kitchener, Ontario. The going is slow and food, water, and fuel are sparse. Driving an old muscle car doesn't help mileage either. At the first stop they make, they acquire a manual fuel pump to extract gasoline from the underground tanks of service stations.
Before they can move on, a helicopter UAV (VMAC) is spotted over the trees. They retreat into the service station as the copter approaches, surveying the area. As it hovers over the station, examining their car, Kellie levels her HERF gun at the UAV. Its circuits fried, the copter lists into a nearby tree, destroying its rotor and sending it into the ground. The sudden change in potential and kinetic energies, as well as rotational momentum, turns the helicopter into a twisted wreckage. Mark pulls a few parts from it that might be useful later.
At their next stop, they pull up to a classic train car diner to find it picked clean. With empty stomachs, they set up shifts for keeping guard. During his shift, Alvin meets up with a friendly local named Jeff. Jeff is with a group of survivors who recommends that they pass on through and gives some tips for living through the night. The next morning, Alvin relates what he learned from Jeff and the four resume their journey.
As the needle approaches empty yet again, their search for fuel brings them to a bombed service station. The burnt husk of a Crown Vic plates lies overturned near the pumps, its government plates framed by soot. While Nick, Alvin, and Mark survey the area outside and get to work refueling, Kellie heads inside in search of food.
She nearly passes over a body to collect snack cakes and batteries for the HERF gun. The body is of a male, about 40-years old, who has suffered injuries from massive concussive force and flying glass. Kellie finds a satchel of notebooks and brings it back to the car.
They get back on the road with Alvin at the wheel as Nick, Mark, and Kellie begin reading through the notebooks, journals, and other books.
Robots 2
March 12th, 2010: Electronics inexplicably fail, communications networks go down. PEREGRINE UAV bombers strike New York City. Chaos and anarchy follow.
Nick, Alvin, Sam, and Kellie meet in NYC, holed up in the subway tunnels. After a few months of fending off HATCHET robots (tank treads + manipulator arm with 7.62mm rifle) and engineering HERF guns, they hear that survivors are rebuilding in Kitchener, Ontario and decide to head north.
Meanwhile, Mark has holed himself up in a hospital in Ravena, NY. Using his skill with juryrigging and explosives, he sets up a defensive perimeter in one wing of the hospital.
Upon stopping for provisions, Sam sustains injuries from gunfire. Nick stabilizes him and they rush Sam to the nearest hospital.
Kellie and Nick head into the hospital to check for robots and encounter Mark. Once they feel the area is safe, they bring Sam in and Nick begins surgery on Sam... in an ER without power... and no trained help. Nick manages to stitch Sam up.
Mark joins them as they head off-highway to the northwest, towards Buffalo and, eventually, Kitchener, Ontario. The going is slow and food, water, and fuel are sparse. Driving an old muscle car doesn't help mileage either. At the first stop they make, they acquire a manual fuel pump and manage to fend off a VMAC helicopter.
After meeting up with a group of survivors, they find a burnt-out service station, a car wreck, and a corpse with a collection of notebooks.
Sylvia awakens amongst building wreckage with little recollection of the past few months and walks into the street to get a better view of the surrounding.
Alvin finds the road suddenly occupied by a woman and, despite the dry conditions, sends the car into a skid, then into a furniture store, while avoiding a collision with her.
The crew piles out of the car to check out the situation. Sylvia is brought up to speed on the robot situation. Incredulous, Sylvia turns on her cell phone. It starts up and is unable to find a signal. With some yelling from Kellie and gun-pointing from Sam, Sylvia is convinced to turn off the phone. They pile into the car and begin to depart the scene of the transmission.
Time seems to slow as the PEREGRINE jet passes 30 meters overhead in a blur. The sonic boom rattles windows and teeth and is soon followed by an explosive shockwave, sending the car up on its nose. The vehicle slides on its passenger-side front bumper for an indeterminate distance before falling onto its right hand side and completing a roll. Alvin stomps on the accelerator then realizes that the windshield is almost opaque from cracks. While attempting to kick the windshield out and drive, Alvin sends the car into the ditch, sustaining mild joint injuries. Nick springs into action, removing the broken windshield and displacing Alvin at the wheel.
They switch vehicles as soon as possible, taking a Chevy Suburban from a car dealer, and press on to Kitchener. About 100 km from the city, they are flagged down by an odd fellow hiding in the trees. He directs them to leave their vehicle and walk to town to prevent the robots from spotting the town. He provides them with a few iodine tablets so that they can make the 5 day hike to Kitchener.
Just outside Kitchener, they are directed to a drain pipe by yet another guide and into Kitchener II. In Kitchener, they meet their leader, Karl, and their head of security, Alan. Karl seems friendly enough and Alan takes a keen interest in the newcomers.
It turns out Alan was in the Army and worked as a liaison with DARPA. He knows about SILVER MEADOWS a.k.a. Round Mountain Research Facility, Nevada, and some of the projects there. He tells them about C.A.I.N.N., an AI that came online right before the bombing started. Alan wants to get into SILVER MEADOWS and shut down C.A.I.N.N.
Remember, if your character was not introduced to a timeline, they won't remember it.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Session 2 - Trif's Alternity - Kellie
My chosen hobby has a lot of room for crazy, nut job, kool-aid drinkers who think the government is out to get them and the only way to deal is to embrace the second amendment like some favorite lover, but damn am I glad for them today.
Having my apartment overrun with werewolves, who may also have been snake people and maybe, at another point, robots, sure makes a girl love her guns.
Riding down the highway, listening to NPR soft jazz and end of the world rhythms also tends to put someone into a bit of a mood. It gave me a lot of time to think about the three werewolf-snakemen and then two more werewolves and god this whole thing has got my brain turned inside out.
Jessie isn't really helping. But I still can't tell if he's crazy, I'm crazy or we're both just crazy together. But temporarily safe, doing seventy-five miles per hour on our way to Canada on the lark of a probably-crazy kid makes me think maybe I've drunk that crazy-kool-aid too.
I killed four creatures today. One was definitely a werewolf, took his jaw clean off with a very nice shot, if i do say so myself, which I do, from a moving vehicle. The other three, well I can't even be sure now, I remember snakes and I remember werewolves and I *don't* remember snake-werewolves so it probably wasn't something in between.
I'd never shot something before today, well something that was alive before I shot it. Punching a few holes through a little piece of paper at 200m is one thing, taking some crazy werewolf's face off is something really different, I can't even begin to sort it out.
I'm just lucky I brought a gun to a werewolf fight.
And now my arm hurts, not from snakes or werewolves but from Jessie who's screaming for me to remember him. The kid's probably given me a scar to prove it, and I keep thinking, are mom and dad alright is James alright down in DC and did Bob from the gun range make it out of the city.
And goddamn I'm hungry. I could really go for some beef chow mein.
Having my apartment overrun with werewolves, who may also have been snake people and maybe, at another point, robots, sure makes a girl love her guns.
Riding down the highway, listening to NPR soft jazz and end of the world rhythms also tends to put someone into a bit of a mood. It gave me a lot of time to think about the three werewolf-snakemen and then two more werewolves and god this whole thing has got my brain turned inside out.
Jessie isn't really helping. But I still can't tell if he's crazy, I'm crazy or we're both just crazy together. But temporarily safe, doing seventy-five miles per hour on our way to Canada on the lark of a probably-crazy kid makes me think maybe I've drunk that crazy-kool-aid too.
I killed four creatures today. One was definitely a werewolf, took his jaw clean off with a very nice shot, if i do say so myself, which I do, from a moving vehicle. The other three, well I can't even be sure now, I remember snakes and I remember werewolves and I *don't* remember snake-werewolves so it probably wasn't something in between.
I'd never shot something before today, well something that was alive before I shot it. Punching a few holes through a little piece of paper at 200m is one thing, taking some crazy werewolf's face off is something really different, I can't even begin to sort it out.
I'm just lucky I brought a gun to a werewolf fight.
And now my arm hurts, not from snakes or werewolves but from Jessie who's screaming for me to remember him. The kid's probably given me a scar to prove it, and I keep thinking, are mom and dad alright is James alright down in DC and did Bob from the gun range make it out of the city.
And goddamn I'm hungry. I could really go for some beef chow mein.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Session 2 - Triften's Alternity game
I don't know how many times I've written this down. Everything seems to blur together. Also, the dates are all wrong, so I'll just say "Day 1".
Day 1:
I'm in New York City. Not the lab. I guess Rithers isn't a total dick here and he helped me escape. I'm also not drugged. I think I'd been out for close to a month, everything is so much clearer, even the headaches. Clear icepicks instead of blurry bricks.
Here, it's these werewolf things. I think I like them over the robots.
I got out of the city with some Army guy and this gun-nut woman. They could be dating, I don't know. It's hard to have normal conversations when shit like this happens. Anyway, we picked up some Chinese guy who's heavily armed and says he's a grad student. Yeah, right. Lamest cover story I've ever heard.
The most important part is that they remember the worms. Almost everyone I've met doesn't remember. That's why they think I'm crazy. That's one reason I got locked away. I guess screaming about robots or mutants doesn't go well with fitting in. Well, they remembered... eventually, and that's what matters.
I remembered, too. I remembered Kitchener so we're heading north. I hope there's people there this time. I hope they make it... and I hope they remember me.
P.S. You assholes can add this to my file and up my meds. I don't give a shit, I'll be out of here soon enough, if I don't starve first.
Day 1:
I'm in New York City. Not the lab. I guess Rithers isn't a total dick here and he helped me escape. I'm also not drugged. I think I'd been out for close to a month, everything is so much clearer, even the headaches. Clear icepicks instead of blurry bricks.
Here, it's these werewolf things. I think I like them over the robots.
I got out of the city with some Army guy and this gun-nut woman. They could be dating, I don't know. It's hard to have normal conversations when shit like this happens. Anyway, we picked up some Chinese guy who's heavily armed and says he's a grad student. Yeah, right. Lamest cover story I've ever heard.
The most important part is that they remember the worms. Almost everyone I've met doesn't remember. That's why they think I'm crazy. That's one reason I got locked away. I guess screaming about robots or mutants doesn't go well with fitting in. Well, they remembered... eventually, and that's what matters.
I remembered, too. I remembered Kitchener so we're heading north. I hope there's people there this time. I hope they make it... and I hope they remember me.
P.S. You assholes can add this to my file and up my meds. I don't give a shit, I'll be out of here soon enough, if I don't starve first.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)