Session 56: The Calm Before
General Summary
Over the week, the Liberators had set about their final preparations before deployment to the Southern Front. In the background, the science and logistics teams worked around the clock to squeeze the last upgrades out of limited time and materials. Jason and Benjamin, operating on a near-constant mentat binge, finalized several key projects, most notably a new anti-materiel sniper rifle for Sharos with a convertible .308 system for stealth operations. Additionally, Jason completed his Laser Revolver hed been planning for a while. Kenny's long-requested grappling hook was completed by the science team, integrating a spiked tether system with high-tension cable, capable of pulling enemies from 30 feet or grappling up to 100 feet, albeit with limited load capacity. Kenny also went and made friends with Todd, joining him in his secret security room and trying to get some tips on staying alert, but whether Kenny could learn at the foot of the master was yet to be seen. Cecile finalized poison-tipped ammunition for the intel squad, arming them for asymmetric combat. RM had vehemently said she was going south with the players no matter her state, so Doc concocted a slew of steroids, supplements, and stimulants to get her combat-ready despite her condition. After her condition was deemed definitively non-contagious, she was allowed out into the larger facility. Finally, Jason had decided to dedicate a chunk of his resources to synthetic organ replication, which he used to grow and then surgically reattach a biological replacement hand for Blair. With Doc's help, the procedure was a success, and the still feebleminded Blair awoke, shocked but delighted to have her old hand back. These projects marked the last wave of enhancements before the storm.
At the start of the session, Jimbob stood in the kitchen, tending a bubbling pot of arcane alcohol while Kenny looked on. They tested the brew on Grug, who promptly sliced clean through his cutting board and snapped a knife handle, confirming its efficacy. Jimbob asked Kenny if he had any idea where Harry had gone. Kenny said the only place he had seen Harry besides the tower a few days ago was just outside Dunwitch Borers, where he had fought his master. With that, Jimbob decided to use his downtime to investigate the borers, leaving the tower. Meanwhile, upstairs, Kutter had learned she was planning to deploy with the team to the Southern Front and had found RM and confronted her. He tried to pull rank, citing her terminal condition and accusing her of reckless endangerment. She responded that he was a hypocrite, worsening by the day. Kutter insisted he'd seen his whole family die in battle. RM looked him dead in the eye and told him The Liberators were her family, and she wouldn’t let them die without her.
Upstairs in the penthouse, the full team gathered and brought Sharos up to speed on the state of the war and their recent campaigns against the Crimson Hand. Midway through the recap, Barry burst into the room, visibly excited. He summoned the team to the landing pad to see a new delivery from Cyberdyne Technologies, courtesy of Colt Maverick Steele.
Outside, they passed Kutter, sparring with Major Hank Richards as the group approached two large Conex boxes. Inside, they found a comprehensive shipment of gear: Marine Assault Combat Armor in enough quantity to outfit the breachers and upgrade the infantry with improved chest plates; automatic shotguns; a new .308 assault rifle to replace the aging G3s; and Gauss rifles for the marksmen squads. Behind that, they discovered wooden crates marked for each member of the core team.
Jason received the Mojave Manhunter armor set: a heavy-duty combat suit, a long embroidered trench coat and matching hat, a gas mask with integrated thermal vision, and an advanced ballistic vest. Sharos opened his to find a rotary 20mm grenade pistol and a full assortment of specialty munitions: smoke, EMP, HEAT, and tear gas rounds. Cecile received the IntelScope, a sleek device with tenfold zoom, perfect clarity, and the ability to glean limited biometric intel when modulated correctly. Kenny found his original Furious Power Fist, thought lost in the sinking of the Red Tide flagship, now recovered and restored for integration with his cybernetic arm.
Kutter opened his crate to find a 12-foot-long carbon fiber-titanium nodachi. The blade was fitted with a pressurized flame ignition system that lined the interior, allowing seamless combustion with no exposed mechanisms. He lit up with glee, running off to test it immediately—only to have Kenny grapple-hook the weapon from his hands mid-run, striking a dramatic pose as Sharos helped him sheath it.
Gramps arrived shortly after and called the team into the command room. There, the players formally disclosed to the senior staff that Alexander Wolfe had been the mole. Gramps didn’t waste time responding. Instead, he and Barry delivered their strategic briefing. With Blair out and RM unfit for command, they had been filling the leadership gap—but now both men were being redeployed north. The Liberators would command their troops alone, moving forward. Gramps then provided field-level guidance on the upcoming Southern Front operations and gave the players their first full breakdown of how player-led missions would function in practice.
With business concluded, the team shifted focus to an unusual goal: contacting Alexandru D. Albescu. They organized a five-on-five dance-off in the atrium to summon him. Team One included Kutter, Cecile, Sharos, Jeremy, and RM (until she switched teams after Kutter dabbed at her), who was replaced by her sister Ellie. Team Two featured Jason, Kenny, Blair, RM, and Hank Richards. The initial dances were powerful but insufficient, with RM and Jeremy especially lacking.
Kenny, seeing the need for something extra, lit every demon blunt he had and funneled the smoke into the mess hall ventilation system. The atrium was filled with an infernal haze, amplifying their performance. Kenny ricocheted bullets between walls, catching them mid-air with deflective blows. Sharos fired flashbangs from his new launcher for flair. Kutter stomped holes in the floor with rhythm-fueled force while he threw his teammates into the air, juggling them while Ellie, sporting her favorite party dress, spun wildly, flaring out the skirt. The party spun into controlled chaos. This went on for hours, as the party stepped up their efforts, Kenny nearly shattered the window and fell out to his death, but recovered. But eventually their moves became so radical and their flair became so psionically unignorable that something happened...
The generator choked on the smoke intake and shut down, plunging the facility into darkness. Kenny, mid-swing with his grappling hook, smashed through a window. A swarm of bats poured in. Music began to play—Alexandru’s theme. From the chaos, the bats coalesced, and Alexandru appeared.
He paused, appalled at the atrium’s destruction. He commented on its sorry state then dissolved back into bats and restored the entire facility. Cosmetic damage vanished. Holes in the floor sealed. The generator rebooted. Then he reappeared and turned to the party, beginning to speak.
The party bombarded him with questions, and he answered to the best of his abilities. Alexandru told them he was not truly present, but a psychic projection. In reality, he was locked in an endless battle with the Terrasque, far to the west and south, likely deep in Red Tide territory. He confirmed that no known cure for RM’s condition existed, but modern science might find one. He warned that the only way to truly destroy the Terrasque was to close the Astral Rift, removing anomalies from the world. Kenny asked if that included him. He confirmed that doing so would erase many supernatural beings, including himself, his wife, Kenny, and others like them.Additionally, they commented on meeting his wife, telling him she was probably trying to kill him. But he dismissed it, saying their little games of political maneuvering are just how they passed the centuries together.
When asked if he could send a sample of the Terrasque’s venom via a courier they would send, Alexandru replied that he didn’t know his exact location. They asked for a better way to contact him, but he lamented their wasnt one. At that distance, this connection had only been possible due to the party’s synchronized psychic resonance during the dance. He said the Terrasque was conventionally unstoppable, and that if they didn't stop it, humanity might not survive.
He vanished soon after, reminding them one final time: When the time comes, you must close the rift.
The party was left alone on the dance floor with the entirety of The Liberators staring down at them in bewilderment at what had just happened.
