Rbz10: Surprise
General Summary
Now short on supplies, the crew pile back into the fire engine and set off after the trail of destruction, hoping to find fresh signs of the Parasect.
They wouldn't have to wait long.
Before everyone even had a chance to settle into their seats, the fire engine rolled over a crunchy patch of shell-like coral. The weight of the engine crushes through the shell and it sets off a landslide of debris. Broken coral and station parts slam into the fire engine from the side, spinning the vehicle wildly. Reinhard, having taken his customary position in the copula, is thrown clear from his perch. The others, crowded into the cabin are toss against each other as the vehicle rolls onto its side. A cacophany of rumbles echo through the immense chamber as the clever trap draws the predator to the stricken survivors.
Reinhard is the first to come to his senses. At first, he thought he was caught up in an earthquake. But quickly, he remember he was in space, and that the tremors were not subsiding. He looks up to see something emerging in the distance. An enomorous bulk with terrifyingly large claws. An eerie red glow lights the creature from a distance. It takes him a moment to realize what it was -- a steady stream of molten metal has started seeping out from the wall, torn open by the landslide. He turns and yells a warning toward his comrades, still inside the upturned vehicle, and then runs up toward high ground.
Quinn is the first to emerge from the chaotic interior of the vehicle. His healer instincts were to protect the helpless and vulnerable, and so he dashes out clutching the hallowed egg shell, stumbling up to a nearby coral hill to find a space spot to stow the precious cargo.
Echo emerged next, glowcat held protectively in his arms. Knowing that things were about to get ugly, he finds a safe spot for the glowcat. "I'll come back for you, if I live through this!"
While this was happening, Saskia grabs a stash of emergency flares from the engine's external storage and starts hurling them at the approaching Parasect. The first bounces off the Parasect's thick shell, illuminating the jagged, chitinous armor and mangled fungal growths. The next few set of a trail, distracting the beast briefly. But as she tries to approach, the Parasect turns on her, smacking her down to the ground and then trampling over her as it barrels toward the fire engine.
Bennesh was still stuck within the cabin, having just gotten untangled from the heavy-set Jihun. Only now was he becoming aware of their predicament. But lit by the flares and lava, he could now make out the terrifying but bizarre outline of the beast. Towering spires of fungus grew out of its left "shoulder", where the claw arm meets the shell. It must host freshly spawned nerve clusters that drive the beast's aggression! Excited, he smashes the windshield of the cabin with the butt of his rifle and takes a shot at the creature... only for his gun to click ineffectively. He mutters a curse and yells out through the shattered screen, "Aim for the growths of fungus. That's its weak spot!"
Reinhard hears this from atop a ridge. For a moment, he looks about for a suitable weapon in the absence of his trusted sword. Then, he realizes he already has the right weapon for this task. He brandishes Quinn's holy shovel and, pausing for a breath to judge his distance, runs into a dramatic leap, slashing the shovel into the fungal tower and taking a chunk from its side before jumping off the reeling Parasect's shell and landing on another pile of debris.
Having secured a safe spots for their artifact and animal, Quinn and Echo turn back to the fight. Quinn climbs the rest of his way up the mound of coral growths to find an precursor control panel. He fiddles with the too-high-up switches and manages to divert some of the lava toward the Parasect, singeing its leg and cutting it off from charging the stricken engine. At the same time, Echo grabs a nearby shard of discarded debris and, after taking a moment to gauge his aim with his cybernetic eye, hurls the makeshift spear into the Parasect's growth. The creatures roars in pain and anger, turning away from Saskia and roars at the crew clustered around the fire engine.
By now, the glowing lava spewing from the wall began to form pools of deadly hot glowing metal. One of the walls creaks and crumbles down to reveal the cracked vats of ancient forge machinery now bathing the entire area in its blood red radiance. The islands of coral begin to break loose and start to flow with the lava flow down toward the far end of the chamber.
The Parasect, however, seemed utterly undeterred. It hunched its giant frame, making ready for a leap across the lava flow. Reinhard, however, was not to let his quarry escape so easily. Just as the crab monster is about to jump, Reinhard pounces onto its shell, riding its back as it crashes down near the fire engine. As luck would have it, Quinn had just moved to stage a daring rescue of Saskia with the ladder, and had extended himself partway across the gulf. The Parasect's landing smashes the ladder and sends him crashing down onto his own spit of coral land amongst the lava flows.
Thinking quickly, Bennesh and Jihun grab the tow cable from the front of the truck. As Reinhard struggles atop the Parasect, they form a lasoo and toss it around one of its legs. The Parasect jerks back, tightening the cable and the two narrowly avoid being crushed as the truck surged forward. With the Parasect distracted, Reinhard raises the holy shovel and slams it down into the cracked and beaten shell for a killing blow...
... but it was not to be. The Parasect roars with rage, shaking Reinhard from its frame, the blade of the shovel still wedged in its carapace. Then its tattered and broken shell begins to peel away, molting before the crews' astounded eyes. Within moments, the monstrous creature sheds its damaged armor and skitters away. Even the shackle of the fire engine proves little use as the cable melts away when pulled through the lava.
Wounded and demoralized, the crew nonetheless manage to extricate themselves from the lava flows. Bennesh "supervises" Jihun as they laid a sheet of metal for Saskia. Echo and Quinn return to find, at least, their respective charges still safe and sound. Reinhard, the weaponmaster, finds himself yet again down another weapon. "Your shovel broke," he says plainly to Quinn as they gather around half-burnt wreckage of their ride.
Wounded and demoralized, the crew nonetheless manage to extricate themselves from the lava flows. Bennesh "supervises" Jihun as they laid a sheet of metal for Saskia. Echo and Quinn return to find, at least, their respective charges still safe and sound. Reinhard, the weaponmaster, finds himself yet again down another weapon. "Your shovel broke," he says plainly to Quinn as they gather around half-burnt wreckage of their ride.
Report Date
09 Oct 2021
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