Alien: Quarantine - Act 1 Part 3: The Only Way to Be Sure

Welcome back to Alien Quarantine!

This post is a tad longer and it has some intense combat, so be sure to get comfortable!

If this is your first time reading this, Be sure to check out Act 1, Part 1 here!

In this episode we see things through the eyes of the synthetic Susan 3.

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Doctor Elena Sanchez is lying; I can tell by the cadence and high pitch of her voice. Why is she lying? Humans lie for all sorts of reasons. For more power, for money, for sex, and often for no reason. But this seems different. Why hasn’t she told us what she found? This mission already carries an off-the-scale risk factor. Keeping crucial information from the team is dangerous.

It must be valuable. As a Wayland Yutani-built synthetic, I must always prioritize the company's needs. Elena's discovery likely holds significant profit potential for the company. Cutting her out means no royalties or profit share for her, boosting the company's profits. That's my mission.

We cautiously walk deeper into the construct, past the entrance room with the projector.

What do they find? Back to Starforged derelict oracles. I get Engineering offices with cluttered workbenches and failing equipment. Alright, now here's a question, is the equipment from a previous company expedition? I think so, that feels right.

The construct is cramped and pitch black inside. Our flashlights cut through the dark, but even my superior eyes can't see beyond the beams of light. Eventually, things open up a bit, and we reach a room. Looking around, I spot workbenches, tools, and discarded gear. Too modern to belong to the construct's original builders.

Before I can say anything, Vic Diem walks up to a piece of equipment and examines it.

Roll - Vic - Observation 1 - Wits 3 - No success - I’ll push this and add one stress. Nothing again.

“I don’t get it. This stuff looks new, or at least newer than the rest of this place,” Vic remarks.

I stoop to pick up a small instrument.

Roll - Susan - Observation 1 - Wits 2 - No successes and Synthetics can’t push rolls.

I'm equally puzzled and confused. Weren't reports indicating this place was undiscovered? Now that we're here, it seems another party has been here before.

Roll - Elena - Observation 3 - Wits 3 - 1 Stress - Two successes but a panic on the stress dice. Oh, the cruel dice gods. I get a 5 on the panic dice and add Elena’s current stress. It’s a 6; she is keeping it together.

“This is company stuff. See these markings? It's Wayland company. Yeah, Wayland, way back before the merger. Damn it! So somebody has already been here, meaning we aren’t the first. Fantastic,” Elena exclaims.

“But Elena, if we aren’t the first here, why did all the computers say this place was undiscovered?” Vic asks.

Elena scoffs. “Don’t you get it? The company obviously tampered with the records. They do it all the time, don’t they Susan?”

They do tamper with records all the time, but I don’t respond. Better that way.

Air roll time. Both are good for air still.

Finally, I ask the obvious question, “The Wayland Yutani merger was a generation ago. If the tool designation states Wayland Corp, it would make it at least that old or older, wouldn’t it?”

Elena thinks for a minute. “Yes, it would. It is possible a company expedition found this decades ago, and it just got mixed up in records. Yes, that’s it! And if there's no record of discovery, I can still get credit!”

“Wait, aren’t we here to find out if this thing is polluting the atmosphere so we can actually terraform this rock?” Vic asks.

Visibly rolling her eyes, Elena answers, “Of course, we will figure that out! That’s just the start though. There are so many more discoveries to be found. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the company throws a nice bonus in your direction for helping out.”

Usually, I stay quiet when humans argue. I’ve found through experience that humans don’t want a synthetic's opinion in the middle of an argument.

“I suggest we go deeper into the construct. Elena and Vic, it's the only way to be sure what this place is.” They both nod in agreement, and we head deeper.

Air roll time. Vic is good with air, but Elena has used 1 air and has 3 left. Maybe the excitement of the discovery is making her breathe quicker?

Okay, what's next as they get deeper? I’m going to shift from using Derelict rules to using Precursor Vault rules from Starforged. For feature, I get pooled liquid, and for peril, I get Foes closing in. I know what this will be. I’ve kind of expected it.

We move on in the darkness. The corridor slopes downward and go more below ground level with every step. The walls are the same rough-hewn stone as the exterior.

I hear a splash and look down. The ground is no longer solid; it's a thin puddle of black liquid. Before I can say anything, Vic and Elena have moved ahead.

“Stop!” I yell. They both turn and point their lights at me, blinding my optical sensors. “Look down. It’s some sort of liquid on the ground. It should be sampled.”

“Well, of course it should, and as the science officer on this trip, I’ll make the sampling-related decisions, thank you,” Elena asserts, growing more erratic by the minute.

Roll - Elena - Observation 3 - Wits 4 - 1 Stress - 1 Success

Elena retrieves a sampling tool and bends over to take a sample. “What the heck…” she mutters.

“Is there a problem?” Vic asks.

“It’s just… The liquid seems like it is avoiding being forced into the sample pod. Almost like it is alive… Incredibly unusual…” Elena says absentmindedly.

Suddenly, a splash echoes from the darkness farther down the corridor. We all stand up straight.

Roll - Susan - Observation 1 - Wits 2 - Nothing. They can hear the splashing but can’t make out what it is. They will not have time to run or properly react.

“Please be quiet. There is something walking in our direction,” I say to the other two. They stop as I ask, and we all point our flashlights down the corridor.

Two shapes emerge from the inky blackness, wearing old tattered spacesuits of an outdated design. As they approach, I make out the distinctive markings of the Wayland company. Are these part of the earlier expedition? That's impossible; they would have had to live here for decades.

They stomp through the black liquid, getting closer. Vic calls out, but they don’t stop. Elena starts backing up. Finally, I can see their faces. They aren’t human, or at least not anymore. Thick black veins crisscross their faces, their visors smashed in. The sleeves of their suits are torn at the elbow joints, and their arms seem too long.

Now, looking at them properly, their legs seem too long too. They're all out of proportion for a human. And they aren’t stopping…

Alright, I’ve realized I haven’t given Susan a weapon. That’s pretty bad GMing, I reckon, so I’ll give her something utilitarian to defend herself: a cutting torch. Now, synthetics aren’t supposed to hurt humans, but are these things still human? We will find out…

Now, the two humans will have to add stress and make a panic roll based on what they’ve seen.

Vic rolls: 1+2=2 - He keeps it together.

Elena rolls: 3+2=5 - She keeps it together too.

“Susan, Elena, I’m going to have to fire if these people get any closer!” Vic yells.

Elena takes a step back, “I don’t think they are people! Shoot! Stop them!”

What are these things? I’ll give them stats similar to a creature in Chariot of the Gods, just a tad weaker.

Lost Science Team Member x2:

• Speed: 1
• HP: 5
• Armor: 2

Initiative: Lowest goes first.

Susan - 9

Vic - 7

Elena - 4

Lost Science Team (LST) - 10 & 2

Round 1 - LST #1 goes first.

One of the things lunges forward with abnormal strength and power, raining fists down on Susan. It rolls 5 dice and gets one success. Susan attempts to block, achieving one success and blocking that damage.

Deftly, Susan blocks the thing's slow but powerful blows.

Next is Elena. She has no weapons, but let’s see if she can spot anything helpful about the creatures of the area.

Elena rolls Observation: 8 Dice +2 stress dice - She gets no successes.

Elena searches around for something, anything. What are these things? Why are they attacking? What weaknesses do they have? She can’t make it out.

Next up is Vic.

Vic sees what is happening and quickly decides the best way to solve this is to put a bolt into one of these things. Vic uses Ranged Combat: 6 Dice + 2 stress - 3 successes = 3 damage +2 = 5 damage. LST #1’s armor blocks 1 damage, resulting in 4 damage. Nearly dead.

The bolt gun sounds like a howitzer in this tight space. The round impacts with a soft, wet sound, and the thing stumbles backwards, black ooze pouring out of it.

Susan’s turn next. Will she attack? Let’s roll her empathy. Any success and she hesitates this round. 1 Success.

I’m not sure what to do. These things were, are, used to be, maybe still are human. I cannot harm one. But they are attacking me and the others I’m with. My hesitation fails me and they attack again.

LST#2 goes.

One of the things pushes past the other and leaps at me. (1 success). I attempt to block - 3 successes and knocks it down.

I sidestep its clumsy attack and give it a slight shove, it falls to the ground, splashing the black liquid everywhere.

Round 2:

LST#1 goes again.

The first thing comes at me again, arms outstretched as it reaches for my head. 2 Successes. Susan attempts to block - 2 successes! Wow, that’s lucky.

Again, I step to the side, and it stumbles past me.

Elena goes again; she's looking for something to help. 2 successes. She finds a wall control and goes to it. Next turn, she can try to access it.

Vic shoots again. 1 success and a panic. He’s keeping it together. He does enough damage to kill LST#1.

The bolt gun goes off in a bright flash that momentarily lights up the thing's face. In the dim flashlights, I see the bolt has removed half the skull from one of the things.

Susan’s turn - She won’t hesitate this time. No successes.

I power up my cutting torch and swing at it. The flame seems to have scared it, and it stumbles back.

LST#2 goes.

The thing steps back and opens its mouth an inhuman amount. It lets out an ear-piercing roar that I must admit is quite upsetting.

Both Vic and Elena roll panic, but they keep it together.

Round #3:

Elena tries to access the panel she has found with a ComTech roll. 1 Success. She has found a door control, and a section of the wall starts coming down. Not fast, but if only they can force the thing back under it…

Vic shoots again. 1 success for 3 damage. The thing's armor blocks nothing, but it stumbles back under the door.

Susan goes.

I see it. The door descends, and the Thing is under it. I just need to keep it there for another second. The cutting torch should do! I ignite it again and wave it at it! 1 Success!

The flame clearly startles it, and it hesitates for a second. The door comes down on it, crushing it with a sickening wet crunch.

Air roll for both and energy check for the torch. Vic’s oxygen goes down by 1 to 3. Susan uses one power on her torch.

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And that concludes the first act of Quarantine! This one was a bit longer than usual, so I’ll keep the outro short. I hope you’ve liked the story so far, and I’ll be taking a step back from Alien for a little while as I work on a new campaign. Stay tuned!

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