Seclusion: An Alien Solo RPG Campaign. Act 2, Part 1: You Know, I Don’t Know Which Species Is Worse.

Welcome back, readers! The last session was a bit of a spacewalk on into the lifeboat and finding a gruesome scene over there. Now as we enter Act 2, things will start heating up for Eugene and the crew of the Bison. What will happen next?

If this is your first trip into Seclusion, be sure to check out character creation and the first two parts here. 

Now let's play.

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With ACT 2, things are starting to get more stressful for the characters. At the start of each scene, I’ll now roll two stress dice and if either of them turns up a panic (a 1 or the face hugger symbol), something odd happens. If I roll two panics, something really crazy happens.

Scene 1: Roll: 2 Stress dice - Blanks.

Part of a First Officer’s role is to check things. Check work, check repairs, check on people, and check that quarantine protocols are being enforced. Eugene hates checking things, but the Captain expects it of him so he will do it. After a good night’s sleep, he wakes up and heads to the quarantine section to check on Jessica 7 and ensure the protocols are being kept.

The stroll down to the quarantine cell takes a while. It's a winding trek through the ship's cargo and engine areas. The Captain feels keeping the bodies as far away from the crew quarters is a good idea, and Eugene agrees. Still, that ghost lifeform scan worries him. Something killed those two crew members in their cryopods and forced a third out of an airlock into a certain death.

Anything that could do that to those three could do the same to this crew. Eugene shudders, rethinking the scene he saw in the lifeboat. If those crew were awake when they were murdered, it must have been a horrific way to go.

Eugene rounds the final corner and comes to a door hastily painted “Quarantine Area”. A simple doorbell-type device has been rigged up and Eugene pushes it.

Jessica 7 hurriedly comes to the other side of the door and looks through the viewing port at Eugene. The synthetic is wearing a simple hazmat suit, nothing bulky. Obviously, it doesn’t need to worry about infection, but it would be concerned about bringing anything into the main ship area.

“First Officer Eugene, how can I assist you?” the synthetic says in its neutral voice.

“Oh, nothing much Jessica. Just checking that all quarantine regulations are being enforced. Conrad told the Captain every measure was being implemented, so I’m just here to confirm it all.”

“Would you like to speak with Company Agent Conrad? He is inside the quarantine area assisting me with some procedures.”

Eugene can feel his heart skip a beat. “Why the hell is Conrad in there? This section of the ship is under the highest biosecurity level! Those are his regulations and rules, not ours. Get him out here right now Jessica.”

Jessica hurries away as Eugene is left to stand on the safe side of the quarantine door. After a few minutes, Eugene sees Conrad’s face appear in the viewport. Conrad is wearing a full MK. 50 Compression Suit. That’s rated for spacewalks, not just for quarantine activities.

“Conrad, you better have a damn good excuse for why you are breaking your own quarantine regulations!”

Conrad is cool and collected, “Eugene, there was no need for you to come down here. Everything is under control, as my report to the Captain explained. And as the company representative, I have full rights to override any regulation if company assets are at risk.”

“Assets? Conrad, this is about safety. Get out here right now. We are going to speak to the Captain.”

Conrad. Never trust a company Agent.

Roll Command (2) - Empathy (5) - Stress (3) - 2 Success, Panic! - Panic always overrides success

Panic Roll - Current Stress is 3 + 2 (on a D6) = 5. Keeping it Together. You manage to keep your nerves in check. Barely.

Conrad looks at Eugene through the viewport and says “No, I won’t be coming with you. Now I have work to do. Goodbye.”

Feeling the anger well up inside of him, Eugene punches the door, to no effect but bruised knuckles. “Damnit, Conrad! You get your shifty ass back here right now or you’ll hear about it!” But Conrad has already left the door and doesn’t return.

Scene 2: Roll: 2 Stress dice - Blanks.

Storming into the Captain’s private quarters, Eugene is already yelling before he sees the Captain.

OK, what is the Captain doing and how is he? I roll on the solo rules table for Effect - Personal and Get Burst Viscous. Oh dear…

The Captain is laying on the floor, with his face down. Eugene immediately runs to the Captain and flips him over.

Is he breathing? Let’s check the oracle. I’ll roll a D6 stress dice and see what it says. A 2, that is a simple no.

Eugene can’t see any breathing from the Captain. He dashes to the first aid case on the wall and pulls out a defibrillator and calls out “Muther! Call an emergency. The Captain isn’t breathing. I need help right now!”

Getting everything set, Eugene starts to perform first-aid on the Captain.

Roll Medical Aid (0) - Wits (4) - Stress (3) - No Success

Putting the panels on the Captain's chest, Eugene readies the machine and performs the shock. No result. He does it again. The Captain’s body jumps. But no improvement.

Eugene keeps shocking the Captain until the battery runs out. Eventually, Juno the medic shows up and takes over from Eugene. After a few more minutes Juno turns to Eugene and the rest of the crew who have come and says “I’m sorry. The Captain is dead. I’m not sure what happened, but likely something happened a couple of hours ago when we all went down for some rest. Eugene, I’m sorry.”

Breathing hard, Eugene is filled with emotions and the realization that he is now the acting captain of the Bison. It’s all getting to be too much. +1 Stress

Scene 3: Roll: 2 Stress dice - Blanks.

Back in the mess, the crew of the Bison, minus Conrad and Jessica 7, sit around the dinner table. Eugene addresses the gathered crew. “So I’m the acting Captain now. I don’t relish this you know. I never wanted to take over from the Captain, not like this. This whole mission is fucked, and we still have a day before we get to the colony. I wanted to bring you here to talk about something else serious, Conrad and those bodies we brought on board. They pose a risk to us and the crew. Juno, can you tell us what happened to the Captain?”

Juno looks down at his feet. “I don’t know. The medical scans we performed don’t show us what the cause of death is. There were traces of unknown contamination in his blood, but I don’t have the equipment for determining what it was.”

“Can you see if we are also infected? Do you have any idea what the symptoms are?”

“Sorry Captain, I mean Eugene. The contamination was found deep inside the Captain’s body. Unless you want to get poked with a needle as long as my arm, I can’t say. I’d look out for anything out of the ordinary. If you are tired, or feeling unwell, let me know ASAP.”

Casper jumps up, “This is all fucked Eugene. Let’s go get Conrad out and dump those bodies into space. In fact, fuck Conrad, let’s dumb him also. Obviously, that shifty asshole is up to no good.”

“Calm down Casper. Yes, I’m going to speak with Conrad now. We have an obvious quarantine issue and this needs to be addressed now.”

Scene 4 - Roll: 2 Stress dice - Blanks.

Back at the quarantine section Eugene and Casper approach the controlled area. They are wearing their compression suits, with the intention of breaching the quarantine section.

“Muther, this is acting Captain Eugene. I need you to override this door control and let us into the quarantine section. Under Captain’s orders. “

Muther responds in her monotone calm voice, “I’m sorry First Officer Eugene. Conrad has initiated company override procedures and has assumed the responsibility of Acting Captain. “

Casper yells, “Fuck that guy. Let’s pop this door and get his ass out!”

Eugene nods and starts working on the control panel to the door.

Roll Com Tech (1) - Wits (4) - Stress (4) - One Success, Panic

Panic Rolls - Current Stress is 4 + 2 (on a D6) = 6. Keeping it Together. You manage to keep your nerves in check. Barely.

Eugene punches in codes but he keeps getting rejections. After a few attempts the console locks out and Eugene yells and punches it. “God damn it, Conrad, let us in before I break this fucking door down!”

Appearing in his compression suit through the viewing port in the door, Conrad speaks over the suit’s radio, “Eugene, Casper, I’ve heard about the Captain and you have my deepest regrets. He was a good Captain, even if he struggled to see the bigger picture. As Muther has told you, I have taken over control of the Bison and I am the acting Captain. I don’t expect you to understand but in those bodies we’ve found something. They contain life we haven’t seen before!”

“He’s lost his goddamn mind,” Casper says to me.

“I can hear you, Casper. And I haven’t lost my mind. I very much have it. This life, it can raise the dead! Or so Jessica 7 and I think. We sadly needed a living receptacle for our experiment and Jessica 7 ran crew profiles and the Captain was the best fit.”

“What the fuck did you do Conrad. You better tell me you didn’t infect the Captain on purpose!” Eugene yells at the door.

“In the name of science, yes I did. Has he started to reanimate yet? I guess you would have said so if he had. Hmmm, Jessica and I may need to add this to our data set. I do apologize, Eugene and Casper, I have work do to.” Conrad leaves the viewing port.

Eugene turns to Casper and says, “Get Kay, and a cutting torch or something. We are cutting this fucking door down. I’m going to see if Juno has found anything else unusual with the Captain. Reanimation, what the fuck is he talking about?”

Casper pulls a pill bottle out and pops one in his mouth. He smiles, “I don’t know, but when I get my hands on Conrad, I’m throwing him out of the first airlock I find.” --- Well, things are getting intense for the crew of the Bison. Tune in next week to find out what happens next...

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