ON THE EDGE; TROUBLE WITH TETHYS, PT #3
SEARCHING TETHYS (ADDENDA)
It is clearly evident to the boarding party that the violence and death that swept through the TETHYS was fast, completely unexpected, and continued over a period of time while the vessel was in FTL jump space. Berserker rage seems to have been normal as long as anyone was left
alive in the ship.
The faceplate of every vac-suit has been smashed out with a crash-axe, the suits commo units smashed, the vac-suits themselves hacked/slashed and every emergency rescue ball (also known as glad bags) carried by TETHYS appears to have been hacked and sliced apart as well. All vac-suit rebreather and air supply units have been hacked apart. All EVA manuever packs for the vac-suits has destroyed, every emergency breather mask has been removed from its wall clip, then hacked apart, and the small attached air supply vented.
It appears that a mad man was determined to prevent anyone from leaving the TETHYS when she returned to the normal space time continium . . .
THE AND THE TROUBLE WITH TETHYS IS . . .
PLAGUE SHIP TETHYS !
1. At her last port of call, TETHYS took inboard as passengers, a number of contract expired boffins and support workers that had ben engaged in exploring one of the FORE-RUNNER sites on the frontier world called AMBER. Multiple FORE-RUNNER sites have been discovered on AMBER within couple of standard years ago and these sites are currently being explored by various expeditions.
2. Some of these personnel had been exposed to a long dormant FORE-RUNNER bio-weapon at one of the sites while searching out archeotech, and have unwittingly brought the plague inboard the TETHYS.
3. The last uninfected person inboard the ship- a cook from the contract expired expeditionary support staff- deliberately and systematically went about destroying any chance of any plague carriers leaving the plague ship before he (or she), too , fell victim to the plague, becoming just one more mindless berserker.
4. The cook, possibly confused by early stages of the plague himself (herself), instead of clearly writing a warning beside on the exterior airlock and cargolock doors, marked the outside hull near all airlocks with the grease smears and circles of paint in an effort to warn anyone approaching that the TETHYS was a plague ship - got the idea from watching historical thrillers about pre-starflight ocean shipping on TERRA (yellow flag= plague inboard!. Flourescent green circles to draw attention to the grease smears).
5. For whatever reason, the cook completely overlooked the injured and restrained people in the lowberths!. They are ALL INFECTED WITH STAGE FOUR PLAGUE!. The restrained man is the original amok, who was subdued by passengers and crew, then placed in lowberth. Both of the injured people in the lowberths were his first seriously injured victims (one is the TETHYS medical officer)! . The restrained man will become amok within minutes after being revived from lowberth, and suffers none of the usual post lowberth physical side effects!. roll 1D6 to determine how many hours after coming out of low berth before injured become full blown amoks. Removing the lowbeth occupants for transfer to ENFORCER ONE or the station will result in the immediate spread of STAGE ONE VAMPIRE PLAGUE!.
6. THE MAD MEN (OR WOMAN) IN THE TETHYS. There is one active amok plague carrier still alive and hiding in the TETHYS. The nutcase has multiple open minor wounds on his/ her body, which adds to the chances of infeting others who are not killed outright!. This man (or woman)
will hide from the boarding party, waiting for his/her chance to launch an overwhelming surprise attack on an isolated member of the boarding party, or on any number of boarders present, if discovered by them in his/her hideyhole!. The amok will not use any type of gun, but will lay on with any type of improvised club ( D6 score=1), crash-axe (D6=2-3), edged weapon (D6=4-5), or fists, teeth, boots, clawed fingers (D6=6).
7. All infected AMOK has a boosted REP, REP-5, and does not test for anything, ignoring all wound resuls other than DEAD!.
8. The very air inside the TETHYS is loaded with STAGE ONE VAMPIRE PLAGUE!.A smashed helmet visor, or torn vac-suit, opening or removing the gauntlets, the helmet and/or vac suit will guarantee infection! .
9. THE VAMPIRE PLAGUE DATA. While exploring for archeotech at one of the lesser sites, the some members of team were accidentally exposed to a long dormant FORE-RUNNER bio-weapon.
A. STAGE ONE. In the early stages, the bio-weapon spreads contagion through contact with skin and breathing organs of living beings. It has a significant delay between exposure and initial infection (60 days). It is capable of spreading between different species WITHOUT revealling itself!.
B. STAGE TWO. After 60 days, early symtoms of anyone infected with the vampire plague are blurry vision, mild to severe headaches, nausea, vomiting, dirreah, and lack of appetite. These symtoms vanish within 36 hours of appearing , leaving the victim weak but apparently well on the road to a full recovery.
C. STAGE THREE. Within 24 hours of apparent full recovery, the infected person will progessively argumentative, and anti-social, with their eyes experiencing increased light sensitivety . The victim is also developing an insatiable craving for food and drink containing iron. The victim enters the most dangerous and contagious state of the plague within six hours of the onset of these symtoms!.
D. STAGE FOUR. Without any warning, an infected person will go completely berserk, running amok in a homicidal rage, displaying superhuman speed, strength and endurance. If uninterrupted, the berserker will then drink the blood and rip the flesh from victim until the blood craving is temperaily assuaged. If anyone attempts to prevent this, another amok spree is immediately triggered!. Anyone injured by (ie, any break in the skin) the berserker but not killed, or who gets the berskerker's blood in their eyes, mouth, or an open wound, becomes infected with the vampire plague with 2 hours or less (2D6 to determine numbr of hours).
E. AT THIS TIME THERE IS NO KNOWN CURE FOR THE VAMPIRE PLAGUE, AND NO KNOWN VACCINE!.
F. THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THE SPREAD OF THE PLAGUE IS BY CRASHING TETHYS INTO THE NEARBY SUN, OR BY NUCLEAR EXPLOSION!.
THE TROUBLE WITH TETHYS II
This is an alternate answer to what has happened in the TETHYS. There are no living humans inboard the TETHYS all were killed by xeno-animals that now are hiding and roaming throughout the vessel, preying on each other.
1. At her last port of call, among the cargo loaded into the TETHYS was a shipment of xeno-animals intended for a large xeno-zoo back on TERRA. Of course TETHYS was not going all the wayback to the Solar System, the crago would be trans-shipped several times before arrival.
The animals were carefully stowed, but were accidently released from their cages shortly after the TETHYS entered jump-space . . .
2. Inspite of the slaughter of one crew member by one or more of the beasts, the zoo rep travelling with them had insisted on trying to re-capture the animals instead of killing them. This had disasterous results, with both animals and crew/passengers being killed in the attempts!.
3. ULTERIOR MOTIVE ALERT!. Four of the animals are an actually ultra dangerous species NOT CLEARED for shipment, with forged documents, and intended not for the xeno-zoo, but a MEGACORP bio-weapons station in the Solar System. These are the large beachball sized and shaped critters -called rollers)- with concealed eyes, other sensory organs, a pair of retractable arms ending in paws with razor claws, and a gaping fang filled maw. These things also have a rudimentary pack intelligence, incredible breeding and maturity rate, limited on by available food supply (think tribbles meets critters with acid for blood!).
A. ADULT ROLLER (REP-4) x 4 (these are the original rollers).
B. JUVENILE ROLLER (REP-3) x 1D6+4.
C. BABY ROLLER (REP-2 but there are lots of them!) x 6D6.
(I used glass marbles, glued to bases and covered with greenstuff i had worked into a fur like texture for rollers).
4. The other 10 animals are all carnivores too, and this is your opportunity as GM to shine and use some of the horror, sci-fi, fantasy, or real life critter toys that you know doubt have laying about collecting dust. I used assorted WHFB ork cave squigs, Tzeench flying manta things, as well as Cthulhu critters of the big and nasty looking variety for these.
A. FLYING MANTAS (REP-4) X 2 (think of them as flying manta-shaped TIGERS).
B. WALKING TENTACLE BEASTS (REP-5) X 2 ( think of them as carnivorous CAPE
BUFFALO-, ie, mart and dangerous).
C. CAVE MAWS (REP-4) X 2 ( think of these as as walking blood frenzied sharks).
D. GIANT SCORPION CRITTERS X 2 ( think of these as giant scorpions).
E. GIANT SNAKES X 2 ( not only big and carnivorus, but with chameleon like ability to blend
into the background).
TROUBLE WITH TETHYS III
Plain old fashion xeno-morph style bug hunt. Illegaly transorted xeno-morphs destined for a megacorp facility are accidentlally released by TETHYS computer malfunction as the ship goes into FTL jump space.
Aliens slaughter crew and passengers, and are dormant when the ENFORCER ONE and salvage/rescue party arrive.
Last human survivor disables all EVA equipment in the mistaken belief tha xeno-morphs might be able to use it to board another vessel responding to distress beacon from TETHYS.
There are 2D6 living xeno-morphs lurking in the TETHYS when ENFORCER ONE arrives
END PART THREE, ON THE EDGE; TROUBLE WITH TETHYS.
04 March 2009, 06:18:26 PM