Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers, investigating Rho Facility, to aid the Hissers of Notex
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Sneaky Pete: A mutated weasel scout. Pete's telepathy and night vision take a backseat when he whips out his electrical powers.
Sonny Helianthus: a sentient sunflower artifact examiner with trusted Restorationist ties.
Slitheran Wurmtail (aka Squiggles): a mutated earthworm scout, in impromptu power armor, looking for trouble, and finding it often. Previously "gave birth" to a litter of sentient earthworm babies, but recently has been subject to genetic testing and developed super-human strength, a more human body, and a thick coat of shaggy white hair.
Lathar Bracken: A pure-strain human from River Bend. He's got the muscle, the face, and a mount for most encounters. Lathar's trusty beast of burden, No Name, travels wherever he does. Looking for trouble in all the right places. Recent jousting champion of Fair-Town and has been awarded... a peacock he has named Chambray.
RHA-9: A lab assistant piece of "Living Metal" that seems to have befriended the group... for now!
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With a now-furry Squiggles saved a second time within the day from the research of RHA-9, it was determined that the earthworm needed to stay with RHA-9 in the lab and simply rest. The rest of the group would travel back to level 4, and continue their search. With the rest a safe distance back near the lift doors, Lathar searched the large lobby again before investigating the wreckage of the living metal that nearly killed everyone.
Lathar reminded everyone that he was as dumb as his classic barbarian look inferred by disassembling the fuel cell from the wreckage and obtaining one fragmentation grenade. Wedged within the bottom of the cell was a white keycard.
With the elusive white keycard in hand, the explorers immediately travelled back down to level 3 and tried it against the windowless door in the medical wing. The doors swung in opposite directions, one swinging out, one swinging in. Ten beds, stripped of linens lined the outside wall, while dented steel cabinets lined the inside wall. A strange-looking device was position in the corner.
A whirring sound alerted everyone, as a bipedal living metal staggered towards them. Something appeared to be wrong with its hip.
It stopped three foot away from the explorers, "Are you in need of **bzzzbzz** care?" was spoken in a feminine voice.
Lathar immediately grabbed the white keycard from Sonny and displayed it to the living metal, "YES!"
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| RHA-1, with a sketchy voice modulator |
Lathar tried to change the subject, grabbing Pete, "What can you do for my friend? He's injured."
The living metal moved towards Pete, scanning him up and down. It grabbed the weasel by both arms, picked him and deposited him in the odd device in the corner. Pete disappeared inside while the device came to life. After two minutes, the device turned off and the doors opened on the side of it. Pete was intact, feeling a bit tingly, but completely unaffected otherwise.
Sonny tried to wave down the living metal, but it did not seem to recognize the mutant sunflower. He decided to investigate the strange device while the others searched the room. Unfortunately both Pete and Lathar were wary of the sunflower tinkering with ancient technology, and couldn't find anything useful. Once Sonny confirmed that he could not figure out how to turn it back on, or what it even did, the trio turned back to search the room a bit more thorough.
Sonny picked up an old dirty towel, revealing an intact metal cabinet leaning up against the wall, covered in wreckage. The door to the cabinet had a keycard pad. The white keycard opened the door. Inside were a variety of syringes on a shelf, and a cardboard box below.
The asked the living metal for what the syringes were, but the machine continued to emit screeching gibberish.
The group agreed to fetch RHA-9 for help, but first they wanted to open the box.
A quick movement with Lathar's sword opened the box. Inside were nine packages made from shiny plastic. Each 6"x9" package felt like there were multiple contents inside. The only writing that survived on each package was:
CRATI
MWW-LRP
They collected the syringes and box, and with Lathar pointing the blaster rifle at the living metal, they slowly backed out of the room.
Once the coast was cleared they moved over the laboratory and made inquires with RHA-9. The furry earthworm was sleeping on the table.
RHA-9 identified the eight syringes:
- 2 Accelera (the healing syringe they had been finding around the complex)
- 1 Stim-Dose "This will make you like the Squiggles"
- 2 Cur-in-Dose "To negate poisons and infections"
- 1 3-Hour Energy "This will give you mental clarity"
- 2 anesthesia
RHA grabbed an Accelera, "This the Squiggles needs" and a Cur-in-Dose "...and one of these for the fungal infection."
The party concurred, while Lathar injected himself with the other Cur-in-Dose and the Stim-Dose. The human felt stronger, but unsure by how much.
Leaving Squiggles and RHA, the party moved back to Level 4 and continued searching the rooms.
The first door had a small window, with a pulsing red light from the inside, as they stared in, something quickly moved in front of the window, shocking them all.
Wary of any more encounters, they avoided that room and the next door, coming upon a set of double steel doors. A metallic dome above the door emitted a slight hum. The letters "SE" and "Y" were still painted across the doors
The group went into a tizzy trying to figure out what keycard to use, and if they needed to cobble together the remnants of a uniform. Lathar simply walked up to the door and used the blue with gold keycard.
***WURRAP*** INTRUDER - INTRUDER ***WURRAP***
The lobby lights dimmed and small red flashing lights illuminated the area. Two concentrated red lights shot out of the metallic dome, one striking Lathar square in the chest.
Pete yelled "RUN!!!"
Lathar fumbled for the white keycard and tried that.
***WURRAP*** INTRUDER - INTRUDER ***WURRAP***
Two more lights came out of the dome and struck Lathar in the chest for more damage.
Sonny took a pot shot with his flintlock pistol, "This is Colonel Ratcliffe, identification code...."
"....It's not going to work," Pete screamed. "Just shoot it!"
Pete didn't give the sunflower time to react, pulling out his blaster pistol and firing two crack shots at the dome, exploding it. The lights and alarm ceased.
Reloading his pistol, Sonny nonchalantly said, "Maybe we should use the red card on the red level."
With the red card, the double doors slid open without issue.
This room was another familiar corner room, slightly smaller than the cafeteria. The room was filled with several desks, cabinets, and terminals. The far wall had four very familiar killer living metal that they experience in the lobby, lined up and plugged into some receptacle in the wall.
Pete stepped forward to investigate, but Sonny pulled him back by the shoulder, pointing down to the floor. Several nearly invisible red beams crisscrossed the first ten feet of the room.
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