Laz is running all out toward the field.  Snow is not far behind him.  Fault and Jade follow cautiously, protecting Elle and the others.  Lot is putting the mutant corpse on his back.

And the party moves closer to the field...

The Hyperion glides nearby and begins its descent, its rotors swiveling to compensate.

And that's when you notice it.  Just small at first, and then rising.  A tremor in the ground.  It begins to tremble more violently.  And then the ground beneath the Hyperion becomes riddled with cracks.  You are astonished for a moment.

And then you realize what it is.

Laz has made it to the field.  The break in the earth makes him fall.  Snow is just outside the field, and the others are perhaps 50 meters away.  Oddly, the Sentinels seem to have pulled back, maintaining a safe distance.

And that's when its head surfaces.  The worm's mouth is initially closed, and then it opens as it crests toward the Hyperion.  You can only imagine Silicon's response as you see the ship jerk away and then watch a shimmer as a shockwave escapes the worm's mouth.


The Hyperion lurches.  Its lights cut out.  It begins to descend as it retreats.  The worm does not follow.  Instead, it arches around and snaps down at Laz...catching him in its mouth and snapping him up.  Laz disappears into the worm's maw as it turns to the others.

It is now at the field, its head turning left to right, blindly looking.  The Hyperion has retreated 300 meters to the edge of the tunnel entrance where it is safe from the Sentinels and the worm.  Ten Sentinels block your way to the tunnel, but they are not approaching the worm.

A rope is being lowered from the Hyperion, but its engines are flaring and it is lurching back and forth.  Obviously, the worm's shockwave has hurt its controls, and it is barely maintaining altitude.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:42, Fri 03 Dec 2004.

Lot's voice catches in his throat as the worm rebounds from its attack on the Hyperion and turns on Laz.  So much was happening at once, so many dangers set before them and rescue.  The worm was over the top and completely unexpected.  Lot can only look on as Laz is swallowed by the beast, completely speachless.

Not the sort to panic externally only Lot's eyes betray him as they jump rapidly from one danger to the next.  Time slowed to a crawl as his mind attacked the situation at hand with adrenaline fueled speed.  With the beginnings of a plan building within his head he takes a moment to gather some details.

"Everyone stay still.  I dont think it can see us.  The sentinels seem wary, we have a few moments to think about this."
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:30, Sun 05 Dec 2004.

Lot turns his head from side to side as he decides between options.  "I see it two ways.  We can get to the Hyperion while staying on the rocks but we will have to deal with the sentinels. I cant imagine that beast can tunnel very well through the dense stones. That, or we run back to the tracks and try to outrun the worm.  We can run ahead of the worm's wake as the sentinels clear out of its path."

Lot studies the rocks further as if he favors that plan the most, then turns back to the others.  His eyes flicker from one team member to the next as he asks, "How many EMP rifles do we still have?"

 Fault stares blindly at the empty air where Laz had been a second before. He finally snaps out of it as Lot begins talking. "I-I've still got my EMP," he says, holding up the rifle.

"Got mine," Jade says.  "I think the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.  Let's go through the rubble straight to the Hyperion and get out of here."