Heavy Metal Thunder (18 page)

Bagged Cake (Food, bulk 1)
(It seems one worker planned to eat his cake later. You wonder why he didn’t go
ahead and eat it before he blew his brains out.)

Workers’ Keys (bulk 1)

Marbilly
Black Cigarettes (bulk 1)

Locket and
Holophoto
(bulk 1)
(The locket appears to be made of platinum and
silver. The
holophoto
is of a woman who is not
unattractive. She smiles for a while,
then
winks just
before the image loops from the beginning.)

Your body cries out for oxygen.

If you have a
Dexterity
score of 2 or more,
turn to section
360
.

If not, turn to section
274
.

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 2
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
.)

If you survive, then you turn about 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
struggles in a cloud of spewing oxygen,
then
falls
still. You gain
2 XP
for killing your enemy.

As you prepare to settle down onto the rock, a cloud
of dust tears up before you. You swing sideways and see the sniper take cover
behind a high stone wall.

If you want to fly upwards and quickly swing around
into his position, turn to section
276
.

If you want to creep towards his position low to the
ground, turn to section
21
.

You jam your weapon forward, slamming it into the
guard’s sternum. He chokes violently as you spiral away from one another. You both
kick off from other walls and collide again. This time the guard attacks so
wildly that it is hard to keep up, but you at least have the advantage of reach
with your weapon.

You must now compute a number to see if you are
being beaten to death, or just close to it. Add your
Zero G Combat
to
your
Strength
. If you are trained in
Weapon Proficiency: Spear
,
add 3 to the number.

During your pounding you lose
5 Blood
, but
you can subtract the number calculated above from this amount. If your Blood
has dropped to zero or less, then the guard has pounded your body into a gooey
mess sloshing around inside your suit. If you have survived his onslaught, then
continue on.

With several thrusts you manage to beat the guard’s
face and throat to a pulp; with each thrust you are both pushed backward and
must kick off again, and in this way you are able to keep some distance from
him. So relentlessly do you slam the guard’s face that, eventually, he does not
kick off from the wall again, but rather, rests against it. When you kick off
and slam him in the throat once more, you make sure his rest is permanent.

You gain
2 XP
for killing the guard. Turn to
section
562
.

Part of your training comes back to you, a lesson
from Faustulus. It seems that ranged weapons are not the best choice for
jetpack infantrymen fighting in space, for it is very difficult to aim and
shoot dark-suited warriors flying at high speeds. The best way to kill enemy
infantry is to match their speed, slam into them, and kill them up close with a
hand-to-hand weapon. If you are inside an enemy ship where gravity slows you
down,
then
ranged weapons can effectively be brought
into play.
But not until then.

Looks like this is hand-to-hand work
,
you think.

You see the lights of jet pack flares in the
distance, like fireflies swarming in the darkness to overrun your ship. On
either side of you, even above and below, you see your comrades flying as well.
“Don’t let them reach the ship!” Uther screams.

Warriors collide and clash, horned monsters
interlocking with human defenders, weapons hacking and flashing. You see sprays
of ruined oxygen tubes, the gush of freezing blood. The battle moves almost too
fast for you to see; it is nearly impossible to know where to go at what time,
so fast do the fighters move. You curse the chaos of battle, your weapon
burning in your hand.

The music dims once more and Uther
cries, “There’s a line of infantry with flank-men on either side making
straight for the ship!
Spearmen, form on my side and
charge them, everyone else hit those flanks!”

“Uther, this is the Commander of the Nagasaki Rams.
We’ll form up with you!”

Your helm computer identifies your own teammates
flying near the Rams. In the distance, you see the long line of Invader infantry
with two teams on either side. You prepare to move.

If you are armed with a
Spear
,
and are trained in
Weapon Proficiency: Spear
, and want to join the
head-on charge, turn to section
462
.

If you do not have this weapon and training, or you
do but you still want to attack one of the flanking teams, turn to section
497
.

You dive forward and slam your fist into the
deconstructor’s face. It whirls about wildly and a tentacle slaps you in the
side of your head, knocking you over. The monster shudders and shrieks, and you
realize as it lumbers about that you have knocked out its visual apparatus.
Shaking your bruised hand, you crouch,
then
dive on
the thing, slamming your foot into its back over and over. The deconstructor
crashes into the floor and you kick it full in the face, tearing into it, and
its innards spark as it dies under your blows.

You lose
2 Blood
in the fight. If your Blood
has dropped to zero or below, then a vessel pops in the side of your head even
as you raise your fists in victory. You stand dead, a victim of the ghost
station.

If you have survived, turn to section
298
.

Unfortunately, while you are several days from
reaching the station, the stockpile of food in your net runs out. Unless you
have some food in your personal inventory, you must settle in for the endurance
of pain.

Over the next few days, you must eat
3 Foods.
For each Food that you cannot eat, you must lose
1 Blood.
However, if
your
Will
is 1 or more, you may skip eating 1 required Food.

Regeneration
:
If you die, you may return to section
179
to try
again.

If you survive the ordeal, turn to section
469
.

“Too risky,” says the priest. “If we get close,
he’ll kill the girl. She’s no good if she’s dead. I went on a date before I
became a priest, so I know these things.”

“But we have to do something!” you say. “He’ll kill the
girl if we just sit here.”

The priest thinks it over. “Alright,” he says,
kissing the blade of his knife lightly.
“If we move fast
enough, there’s only a one in three chance that any of us will get shot.”

“I can hear what you’re saying!” the laborer screams.

“Shut up!” you shout. Turning back to the priest,
you say, “But if we drag ass, it’ll increase the chances that more people will
get shot.
So no slack-
assing
,
okay?”

“Fine,” says the priest, preparing to run.

“Just do something!” shouts the girl, struggling
even harder. “You bunch of pussies!”

“Ready...” you whisper, then, “GO!”

Unfortunately as you dash forward the priest stops
as soon as he starts. He is either caught in the grips of cowardice, or never
intended to help you in the first place. However, it’s too late to turn back
now - you continue running toward the laborer and his beloved hostage.

Turn to section
419
.

If you have any SD damage, and have no
Sticky
Fix
to repair your suit, then
the void bleeds you for that much
Blood.
For instance, if you have lost 1 SD, then you must now lose 1 Blood;
if you have lost 2 SD, then you must now lose 2 Blood; if you have lost 3 SD,
then your tattered suit comes apart and your body is immediately frozen and you
die in the cold of space.

You
crawl
hand over hand
across the brittle, icy landscape. It is impossible to tell whether you are
climbing upwards effortlessly or sliding downwards. You spend nearly an hour
crawling through dark ice and ash, drawing nearer and nearer the sniper’s
position.

Finally, you reach a cliff overlooking the position
you noted earlier. You watch. Finally, you see a flickering light and movement.
Your prey is unwary, careless. You note a stirring shape that is vaguely
humanoid, with a space suit as dark as your own. It sits hunched over a long
rifle; your helm computer tries to identify it,
then
marks its caliber as unknown. Then, strangest of all, you clearly see two long,
slender, curving horns on either side of the Invader’s head. Whether they are a
part of the suit or the enemy itself, you do not know.

Then you catch the flare of a jetpack. You see
another Invader off to the side, hopping to and fro. You get the impression
that the second Invader is looking for you. The fighter seems thicker than the
sniper, and carries a hand-to-hand weapon. Your helm identifies his weapon as
an electronic field-generating weapon, a short, wide blade like a gladiator
would use, called a
gladius
.

You gain
1 XP
for the use of your skill.

If you have a gun and want to fire at the sniper,
turn to section
171
.

If you have a gun and want to fire at the fighter,
turn to section
582
.

If you want to sneak up and attack the sniper up
close, turn to section
227
.

If you want to quickly attack the fighter up close,
turn to section
159
.

The priest immediately hops over the dead bodies and
dives into the medical supplies. You look at the body of the blood-spattered
girl, full of regret, then turn to inspect the gear you can take with you.

(2) First Aid Kits
(each Kit has
3
bulk
, each kit heals
3 Blood
)

Clopadropin
(bulk 1)
(Each dose of this prescription painkiller heals
1
Blood
when taken. There is enough for
2 doses
.)

Flexadrone
(bulk 1)
(Whenever you temporarily lose Strength points due
to injury, this drug will heal 1 Strength point. There is enough for
1 dose
.)

Slippery D’s Hip Urban Snacks (Food,
bulk 1)
(The bag has a picture of a man who looks very cool
and in control, and an equally cool-looking young lady hangs on his arm. Their
posture implies that they will soon perform the reproductive act with one
another and, if you eat their snack, they may let you watch.)