The Dunwich Conspiracy Session 10
General Summary
Separated by the vastness of the Great Dust Bowl, Tommy must find a way back to his compatriots using any means necessary. Meanwhile, Sir POSH finds himself at the mercy of Liam Penner's and his incessant questioning about their recent experience with the Cult of the Glow. The Ratt on the other hand desperately searches for a way to relieve his throbbing skull. Sleeping and taking Buffout don't seem to be working and after that, Ratt is going to need some guidance.
Improvising some tools adapted from his field kit, Tommy overcomes the odds and hijacks the navigational controls to the Vertibot. Currently on a course for the The Vault Crawler, first he has unfinished business with Rattlesnake Jim to take care of. Doing quite a bit of damage to several other components, he overshoots his target by about thirty miles and crashes violently into the sand below. After regaining consciousness he finds himself still in the wreck with most of his gear intact. Although safe for the time being, oil and coolant drip from a mangled engine and it is only a matter of time before he must move or risk being spotted. What bothers him more is the last transmission he received before he hit, new intel on his two traveling companions and updated orders on how to proceed with them..
Living up in the mechanical guts of the Vault Crawler, Ratt has only ever heard rumors and stories about the nasty creatures living on the surface. So when his headache does not seem to cease and he digs a cool hole in the sand to bury his throbbing temples for a moment, he fully expects his rags to protect him from the eager Skinwigs that quickly bore into his flesh. With three new segmented tails now dangling from his face, he runs away to find Doc Milton to remove the horrible creatures, leaving his companion with the strange traveler from the far north.
POSH grieves for his lost friend despite being aware of the 'replacement' currently en route. It doesn't help that the self-stylized 'Indigo Shaman' is asking for intimate details on their encounter with the rare mutated fungi. Trying simply to get through the conversation as quickly and politely as possible, he can't help but notice a strange feeling that is reducing his effectiveness substantially. Still connected to each other, they are now experiencing the same mental strain from Ratt's overuse of the telekinetic energies, a sensation of pain that the mysterious Eyebot has never quite understood until now.
With an inner conflict raging inside of him, Tommy is faced with several difficult decisions. Losing his radio in the crash he must instead rely on an improvised transponder he put together using salvaged parts from the Vertibot. Unable to create anything of much complexity due to his lack of tools and poor visibility, a simple S.O.S. message is all he can conjure. As he sits tight and waits for a response he begins to see lights in the distance. Without any form of optics all Tommy can really see if that they are both on the ground and in the air, perhaps both with the intention of scavenging this recent wreck.
Under the care of a fellow mutant that often passes for pure-blooded human himself with a simple disguise, Ratt is relieved when the last wriggling insect is removed from his forehead. Not wanting to waste the opportunity to regain some calories, he quickly separates the head and adds it to the others he is keeping to add to the food extruder later. While being examined he also has a few basic questions about life. As with so many other wastelanders without a proper education, Milton ends up having to clear up the many misconceptions the Ratt has picked up in his travels across the Dust Bowl.
POSH meanwhile is convinced to help the traveling 'philosopher' get his own dose of the Glow for 'scientific' purposes. Unrefined it seems it can only be ingested after passing through the filter of another animal’s intestine, so he reasons that there may yet still be enough psychoactive chemicals in Ratt's urine for one more dose. Though aware that this practice is quite unhygienic, POSH relents when the foreigner compares the act to a robot switching oil with another automaton. Ultimately up to the Ratt, the two wait patiently outside the medical tent in hopes of securing the last of the potent compound they will have access to unless they get RJ to synthesize a product from the data they collected.
Left to his own devices for an extended period of time while he waits for his friends to stumble on his signal, Tommy begins to explore the immediate area a bit further while he waits. As he peers out into the darkness he is surprised to see a tiny green light glinting nearby. When he approaches it he discovers the helmet he lost in the crash, quickly donning it to take advantage of the night vision capabilities and built in radio. Looking out across the vast planes of sand rising up amidst the dunes and ruins he can now be sure that both automobiles and vertibirds are in the area. Cycling between a myriad of conversations, he stumbles on a protected pre-war military channel. Hearing somewhat familiar military jargon, Tommy at first believes these entities to be friendly, however it quickly becomes clear that this hostile force is looking for his crash site, and they don't mean to evacuate him.
The Ratt needs the explanation explained to him several times before he eventually does satisfy the Indigo Shaman's request. Almost instantly regretting this decision, the man begins screaming uncontrollably and flees into the industrial zone of the settlement with Doc Milton trying to keep up to make sure he doesn't get hurt. Before they can do so much as react, POSH begins to pick up Tommy's signal and the two quickly switch their priorities to picking him up. The only problem is that the Roc will need extensive repairs before it can safely take flight again, and that is without even mentioning the cost to refuel. Left with one option, they begin to prepare their dune buggy to make the extraction.
Discovering a bend in the axle of their own vehicle, POSH decides to 'borrow' one of RJ's vehicles and quickly transfers some gear for the journey along with two Protectrons. When they enter their junkyard vertibird however they discover a drawing done above Ratt's bunk that he must have completed in his sleep. Scratched deep into the steel with a screwdriver, it appears to be schematics for something labeled 'Psychic Nullifier' in a penmanship strangely unlike the Ratt's normal scribblings. The key to alleviating the headaches, they decide to let Tommy wait a little longer as they construct a crude device for Ratt to strap across his forehead. Once they have fully prepared the remaining Protectrons are left to guard the aircraft while they make their rescue attempt.
Waiting for what seems like an eternity, Tommy can do little else but watch the conflict unfolding before him. By listening in on the radio chatter he is able to determine several things. Something happened at the Super Duper Mart to scatter the slavers, as they are now driving erratically in all directions as the mysterious vertibirds hunt them down. Although it is not possible to identify the pilots, their voices seem to be broadcasting from a voice modulator before coming through the speaker, meaning they are likely equipped with power armor as well as their air support. He also realizes that they are aware of his wreck in the area and seem to be hunting for clues as to its location. Mentioning the possibility of it belonging to the Brotherhood of Steel, he can at least rule out that the visitors are from the Thunderbirds.
Finally arriving in the midst of the chaos, POSH and the Ratt quickly shut off their headlights and slow their pace to avoid initial detection. As they come in range Tommy desperately reaches out over the radio to try and be of aid despite his anxious condition. Calling out attack directions and kill zones, he is able to direct them towards him, albeit slowly. Far from the well-kept highways commonly used by the larger factions, ruins and sinkholes make up the bulk of this terrain. Thankfully POSH's sensors keep them out of harm's way, however when the group finally comes face-to-face things become immediately awkward. Far from the forgetful scavenger with the heart of gold, a hardened soldier now stands before Ratt and Sir POSH. Decked out in pre-war military hardware and carrying an automatic .45 caliber submachine gun, Tommy can't seem to decide if the two before him are friend or foe for a moment. When he is finally talked inside the car he says something else that raises alarm bells in his compatriots, referring to them as 'the robot and the mutant' rather than their names.
As they drive away, POSH's own anxiety gets the better of him and he turns on the headlights to speed things up. While this makes getting away easier it is not without consequence, as anyone with a bird's eye view can now see exactly where they are headed. Trying to sort out their comrade's condition, it is clear that Tommy is a bit confused. This distraction is enough for everyone to forget to let the settlement know they are coming, leading to another near catastrophe as an artillery shell connects with their front-right tire. Luckily just a graze, it still demolishes the rubber and leaves the group skidding to a quick stop in the soft sand beneath them. Quickly using the radio before Richardson has time to reload, they are given permission to enter but have to walk back to the gate. By the time they arrive the morning twilight has begun to shed a warm orange glow across the horizon.
Tired, hungry, and fed up with the current leadership of this settlement, each member of the group begins to argue their ideas on how to proceed further. While returning to the Crawler and washing their hands of this entire situation makes for a sound plan, no one can stand to simply walk away. Split between sucking it up and working with RJ so that they can synthesize a safer compound out of the Glow and killing him to take over his Sarsaparilla Plant, Tommy surprisingly is the one to offer a fair compromise. He proposes to work with the monster until they have what they need as the smarter option. They can take their time to find better leadership to install in RJ's place and work with the population to make the transfer less jarring. Agreed finally on how to proceed, they all retire to their vertibird. When the hatches lowers however, they are confronted with a terrible scene.
The self-stylized Indigo Shaman sits with his back to the group, in a mix of maniacal laughter and gut-wrenching weeping the man claws at something in front of him. POSH's Geiger counter spikes and it is clear that some kind of mutation has taken root in the man's hands. Both Protectrons lay shattered and broken, their internal components torn out from what looks like fist sized holes in their body. Liam's hands are a gruesome sight, whittled down to the bone but somehow already healed over with denser white flesh. He dips these talons in his own blood, suffering from a multitude of smoldering wounds across his chest from his apparent charge on the robotic guardians. Painting with it in the cracks of his mural, a chilling rendition of the natural order of life has forever been etched and stained into the surface.
It starts with plants being consumed by insects, then the insects by mammals and birds. This continues for some time until all things seem to arrive at humans. What is most unnerving is that the list goes on much longer, with creatures of horrible visage and magnitude seemingly preying on the sentient species much like they also prey on simpler life forms. They range in scale and appearance, but one thing seems to consume all. Situated at the base of the piece grows the fungus. As they try to cope with what it is they are witnessing the artist turns to them, a horror-stricken look cemented in place over his features. As he runs into the wastes no one stops him. Perhaps too shocked to react, it is probably naive to assume that is the last they will see of Liam Penner..
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