05 Hive Minded

Set the Scene

Patli having just abandoned the squad without looking back needs to trek back to the quarry alone. through the fungal infected lands directly, or taking the longer harder route through mountains to the West or marshes to the East. 

Complication: 3 Wouldn't it suck if...

Altered Scene: 2 Normal

without the ground support crew they have no idea the state of the quarry outpost and how it is fairing with the fungal overgrowth.

Stealth 3 - Patli does their best to slip through the fungal lands as best they can but few of their well trained survival or nature skills apply to this perverse landscape.

Failure Move

4 Advance a Threat

Patli is being followed by a group of fungal insectoids flying behind them always just visible in distance. they never attack they just keep on following doggedly, never letting Patli stop for a moment to rest.

Constitution 14 - adrenaline keeps Patli going long enough to reach the mountains where the fungal growth has yet to encroach up the cliffs

Hex Event

2 None

Stealth 13 - Patli, exhausted, makes a few desperate attempts to break line of sight and disappear. eventually collapsing when she feels it's safe. She falls asleep quickly that night, unable to move to and having just gone nearly a week without food or rest. They die peacefully in their sleep before morning without ever being recaptured by the fungal colony.

Set the Scene

Meanwhile, back in the hive the week prior, Ekaterina and Adanna are left alone in the alien hive still trying desperately to escape. 

Complication: 6 Things actually go as planned

Altered Scene: 3 Normal

Dungeon Crawler

Location: 2 Transitional area

Encounter: 1 None

Objects: 4 A useful tool, key, or device

Exits: 1 Dead end

Adjacent to the regal chamber with the ship frame is a frightening sight. A pixel printer covered in thick fungus slowly converting the fungal growth into corrupted red pixels.

Damage 11 - Adanna pulls a heavy draw with her bow and the printer sparks and releases a plume of red spores as it whirs to a stop. The entire structure shudders and they hear movement from behind them. Whatever happens next they both feel like damn heroes right now.

A large bipedal warrior grub rushes into the room. it stands nearly 12ft tall, has no discernable face, and a circular maw of razor sharp hooks around an elastic central proboscis. The overseer was deadly and efficient but built for war, this mammoth creature on the other hand looks like it has only purpose: death.

Combat - Adanna is ready and has enough room so that the hulking creature enters the threshold at the same time as Adanna's concussion grenade goes off and knocks the thing out cold. using Kuro's heavy rifle at point blank into what Ekaterina assumes is it's head the creature explodes in a gentle spray of spores and goop all over the room.

Dungeon Crawler

Location: 6 Location for a specialized purpose

Encounter: 5 An obstacle blocks the way

Objects: 4 A useful tool, key, or device

Exits: 3 1 additional exit

The other adjacent room contains a black charred wall and large circular pipe like growth pointing at it. A smaller beetle exits the room as they enter and the pipe roars to life, venting a column of red flames. this appears to be some kind of propulsion lab, which is terrifying in its own right, but there is some comfort that the engine being tested is far too large for the small craft, they have not fully converted the technology yet, though it leaves in place a nasty trap.

Not having any way to interface with or destroy the large tube growth burping fire they wait for it to run out of fuel. Fully aware that the other side of the room will have an ambush waiting for them given so much time to prepare.

Dungeon Crawler

Location: 2 Transitional area

Encounter: 4 Hostile enemies

Objects: 5 Something valuable

Exits: 5 2 additional exits

A catwalk of sorts on the other side, a large spindle of growth seemingly empty connecting to a massive central hive. the exterior view here shows they were in a side hub and there are countless others surrounding this central structure. Out of sight from below rush a half dozen smaller worker drones trying not to fight but simply to push and let gravity do the work for them.

Forming a twisted game of leap bug the workers rush Adanna and shove her closer to the edge then crawl over one another and shove her again and again, until there is no where left to stand and she goes toppling off the edge. Ekaterina is more gently herded. not being allowed to enter the catwalk structure not being pursued. Left alone in the cleared out mini hive the attempt to synthesize more restoration boosters to cure themselves but they are never left alone long enough to get it finished. workers swarming in every hour or so to harry them and interrupt the work. they are being kept prisoner very carefully. She is even brought food. over the next few days her health and sanity give out with no sleep and her fungal infection finally wins out.