The group goes into the next room and closes the door.  You can vaguely hear them having a discussion with Nuna.  The old man seems to also be talking quickly in an agitated manner for a few moments.

As your curiosity and suspicion piques, you hear the woman yell, "DO IT NOW!"

Nuna and the old man apparently protest for a moment.  Then you hear the sound of breaking glass, followed by a gunshot of some kind, and fluid begins leaking under the floor toward you.  The cylinder has obviously been broken.

Hammer grabs his pistol and goes to the side of the door, looking to see if anyone else is following.  Military style, he is standing there ready to open the door and run inside, if he is not alone.  "TIme to do this," he says, looking around to you for back up. "Something's not right with these people.  My sensors are tingling."

"I knew something wasn't right," Zeb says as he draws his weapon and goes to the other side of the portal.

So currently in the group we have:

Desi
Hammer
Kri'lik
S'krllk
Zeb

Bartja and Orvo are around but not currently with the group.

Did I miss anyone?

Are Bartja & Orvo's still active PC's or NPC's Heath?

They were PCs, and I just kept them on the sidelines when their players went inactive.  Orvo's player had to take a break but said he wanted to come back when he could; Bartja, as you recall, sort of comes in and out -- does a very good job when he's here, but then takes leaves of absence for awhile.

In reply to GM Heath (msg # 45):

OK, just wasn't sure if you were looking for someone to pick them up to play.  Bartja has been a great asset to our team and I would've like to have have more Orvo as well.

Desiraye turns on her albedo screen  and draws out her K-Pulse pistol and hugs the door from where the sphere is being kept and where the commotion is coming from.  "Screens up!  Me and ammer will go in first.  Zeb and the rest of you follow us in.  We don't know what we have yet so, expect the worse."

Kri'lik having suspected something was off and had tried to follow the new comers into the next room rapidly for a middle aged Vrusk activates his Inertia Screen then draws both his K-Pulse Pistol and his Frontiersman Heavy Blaster. The last of which is set for stun.

He does however graciously let the more combat oriented persons of the group enter through the doorway first.

He opting to shoot with only one weapon but after the bullets start flying. If he see Albeido Screens up he will use the K-Pulse, otherwise he with fire off the stun blasts.

As you surround the door, you hear someone break out over the room's intercom system, saying, "Dr. Nuna, are you there?  This is Christine from reception.  I just got off my break and there are some people here saying they are here to see you from the UPF.  Something about a sphere? I don't know what that is, but they don't have lab passes.  Should I let them up or do you want to come down?  Dr. Nuna?  Dr. Matsuhara?  They're waiting and they don't look real patient."

The professor quickly looks around the room for the comm system to hopefully send a reply.

Hammer sees what's going on.  "Imposters!" he says to everyone in the room before opening the door and lowering his weapon.

"Christine, as of now we are on complete lock down. There are impostors in the facility and the have the sphere," Zeb says into his communicator, after which he follows Hammer into the room with weapon ready.

You walk into the room to see the old man dead, leaning over a worktable, with a shot through his head.  Strange devices are also attached to his head with wires running out and to the destroyed cylinder. Smoke is rising from the end of Teliko's laser pistol.  Her goggled eyes moved toward where you stand.



The reptile-like humanoid stands nearby, weapon ready.  His name had been identified by Zeb as Syzzyx.

The human bodyguard also stands nearby.  His name had been identified as Sandhal.

The robot is also facing the door.

The cylinder holding the sphere has been broken, and the robot is taking the sphere to a computer workbench near Teliko, who has a computerized device in her free hand.



The slightly quicksilver liquid in which the Sphere had been suspended covers the floors in gallons and gallons.  More of it sprays from two nozzles.  The slippery liquid covers the floor near the door you entered, and is quickly spreading to the rest of the room.

Dr. Nuna and Dr. Matsuhara have retreated to a corner of the room to your left, mouths open in horrified aghast.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:18, Thu 19 Dec 2013.

In reply to GM Heath (msg # 52):

OOC: That's a great pic Heath!

BIC:  Turning her screen on (if she didn't already), Desiraye says to the others as Zeb calls for help.  "I want to try and avoid going in with that liquid all over the floor.  We have friendlies in the room so watch your fire.  Me and Hammer will initiate the contact.  Once we have to reload, Zeb, S'Krllk, you guys step up and continue to fire.  Doc, you're our safety.  Check the door and make sure security gets in here in a hurry."

OOC: The pic comes from an Alternity adventure in Dungeon Magazine #68.  The plans for the space station you were on came from the same adventure.  At first, I was going to interweave that entire adventure into this one, but the plotlines are too different, so I'm just stealing some characters, pictures and maps. :)


The goggled woman sees you entering and rushes to the table where the robot is setting the Sphere down.  She sits and tells her bodyguards, "Make sure there is no trouble."

The alien bodyguard, the human bodyguard, and the robot stand and face you, forming a wall between you and Teliko.  They all have weapons but have not drawn them on you yet.

The human Sandhal says to you, "Stand back and do not interfere.  We have killed a traitor here."  He nods to the old man who is somewhat connected by the tubes to the cylinder where the Sphere had been.

"What the Frak is going on here?  You kill one of your own you just walked in with and there's another delegation coming up here with security now!  Now he's a traitor?

Doc Nuna and Matsuhara!  Are you two OK?"

Desiraye has her weapon out but, it isn't pointed at anyone of the 'delegation' yet.

She looks back and says, "Tell security and whoever else needs to be up here to double-time it ASAP!  We've got a serious situation going on and maybe going bad very quickly."

S'Krllk says, to no one in particular, "I'm surprised at your patience. The universe hasn't tried to violently incapacitate us for at least fifteen kliks. Why don't we all just start shooting and end the suspense?"

Desiraye smirks at S'Krllk's comment about her patience and says back, "My gut is telling me to start shooting but my brain is telling me no, something isn't right here.  New guy!  You got anything?  Anyone else?"

"I'm all for the old Ranger motto- 'Stun 'em all, sort it out later'," Zeb says dryly.

Teliko is engaged in her operation with the sphere and her device, her goggled eyes scanning as her fingers work.

She says to her human bodyguard, "Sandahl, if they don't drop their weapons, just shoot them."

Both Sandahl and the strange alien turn on protective screens of some sort, their guns still raised at you.  Sandahl waves his gun in a gesture that indicates you to lower your weapons.

Hammer says, "We drop nothing.  We have lab security on our side.  You drop your weapons!"  At any sign of attack, he will immediately fire on the human.

Upon hearing the woman tell her person to fire on us if we didn't comply, was reason enough for her to raise her weapon up and bring the sights of her K-Pulse pistol on the man, Sandahl.  Using as much of the walls for cover, she opens fire.  "They don't drop us, WE drop them!  Watch the civvies and hope security gets here quick."

Firing [3] shots from her K-Pulse pistol at the human bodyguard, Sandahl.
Beam Weapons; 90%

S'Krllk starts to move to the side while he reaches for his weapon in an attempt to broaden the target area. Once he locates his weapon  he'll begin firing at Teliko's device in an attempt to disrupt her operations with the sphere.
"Don't let her call any more of those shadows!"

A firefight breaks out.

ROUND 1
The human Sandahl fires at Zeb, who is clad in security uniforms and by all appearances seems to be the greatest threat.  The pistol is a laser pistol, and Zeb is hit once for 10 STA damage.

Hammer fires at the human, hitting him once with his laser, which appears to be absorbed by the albedo screen.

Desi fires as well, making all three of her shots directly on Sandahl with the pulse pistol.  One of the shots hits him in the head, killing him instantly.

S'krllk fires at Teliko and the device, but his shots go wide.

The alien also fires in your general direction, and the robot has turned toward you as a slot in its chest opens.

The alien has fired a tangler grenade.  You all jump to avoid its effect...

(Everyone made reaction speed checks except for Hammer.)  You jump out of the way, diving to avoid being caught in the tangler.  Hammer gets stuck in the sticky stuff and is unable to move or attack.

The robot rushes forward toward Zeb and Desi, and you see a smoke billowing out of its chest toward you.  Both of them try to avoid the smoke, but Desi collapses.  (The smoke is equivalent to a doze grenade.)  Zeb dives out of the way, but the swinging arm of the robot hits him square in the back.  (11 STA damage.)

Both Desi and Hammer are now incapacitated.  Telika is still working on the device.

S'Krllk fumbles at activating his albedo screen and tries to fire at the robot at the same time. Of course, the screen isn't going to stop the smoke and the needler isn't likely to damage the robot, but he's not considering those things at this point.

OOC: rolled 28 to hit the robot, rolled 8 damage plus sleep (anesthetic needles)
Yes, S'Krllk is an incompetent combatant