“Absolutely,” agrees Catalina. “I can’t believe any of us would have put the others at risk.”
James says the same. “The real question is how we deal with the issue of what happened while we were all in cryogenesis,” he says.
“Simple,” says Pauline in a derogatory tone, her attitude clearly not changed by the fact she’s one step away from being imprisoned. “We tell the truth. All four of us woke up within a couple of minutes of each other, discovered Bartu and Mel were missing, and the ship was in chaos. How could it have been any of our faults? If anyone on board had anything to do with it, it would have been one of them.”
You’re not sure you can go so far as to blame either Mel or Bartu, but it’s a narrative that makes sense out of the situation at least.
You continue talking for a while, considering the other options and, as the conversation moves on, sharing your experiences of New Gaia so far. When Travis re-enters the room, you are feeling much more secure about the team, and ready to face whatever the trial brings. Turn to 177.
6
You float forwards and find yourself in a small living area. A bed is set into the left-hand wall, and a desk and cupboards are in the right-hand wall. You don’t think it’s been used for a very long time, although it was certainly inhabited at one point; the cupboards look well-worn and the bed looks far from new. There is also a door in the wall directly in front of you. The sound of the alarm is making you feel particularly claustrophobic in this enclosed space.
Would you like to go through the door in front of you (turn to 259) or would you like to search through the room first (turn to 111)?
7
You leave the buildings and take some time to walk through the garden space onsite. There is a particular spot you have enjoyed spending quiet time in under a weeping willow, where you are hidden from the world outside and can relax in the delicate sound of the branches rustling. You head there now and sit on the dry floor, reflecting on everything that has led you to this point.
As you think about everything that you have achieved and your family back home, you are overwhelmed by a feeling of gratitude, and make yourself a resolution that you will attempt to find your birth father when you return from your mission. After about twenty minutes you feel that you are ready to return to mission preparation. You are glad that you slowed down after the busy last few weeks to appreciate the unique opportunity you’ve been offered. Gain 1 MIND point.
Without warning, a moment of anxiety hits you as you’re reminded of the dream. You wonder what might have triggered it, when you realise that James’ voice has crept into the edge of your hearing. Standing up, you try to place him and move in the direction of his voice without stepping out from under the tree. Eventually, you get to a point where you can make out what he’s saying, although you can’t see him. It sounds like he’s on the phone, and you listen in.
“-her to worry…Yes, I understand…Yes, I…Now, I’ve done what I have to and you know it will work…No, I don’t have to, but I’d like to...Are you- Hello? Hello?”
You hear his footsteps crunching into the distance and you wonder what that might have all been about. You emerge and realise that time is passing faster than you thought – you ought to get to the ship! Turn to 201.
8
The shuttle bay is enormous – much bigger than any area in the ship you’ve been in so far – and it is filled primarily by two huge shuttles facing towards the wall to your right. Directly beneath the hatch you’ve just entered by are three doors, closely packed together, and opposite them on the other side of the hangar is another door, with a sign above it saying “To the bridge”.
The left-hand wall is home to a larger door with two signs above it, saying “Kitchen” and “Garden”, and above these are three large status screens, all displaying the same message:
Navigation system alarm: input required.
Before you can begin to think about what you’d like to do your ears, already ringing with the constant alarm, fill with a hideous wail that seems to fill the highest frequencies, making you clamp your hands over your ears. Your eyes are not prepared for what happens next.
From behind the shuttle nearest to you, five creatures the size of large dogs and resembling purple jellyfish emerge, each with two lidless, round, black eyes and two large mouths filled with spiny teeth. Their six legs kick around awkwardly as they float threateningly towards you and make clacking sounds as they collide with the shuttles and the floor. You have no option than to prepare to do battle.
Pauline growls aggressively, you hear the sound of her energy glove powering up and she launches herself at the largest of the group. James and Catalina follow her lead, moving to attack the nearest creatures to them. You cannot simply hang back so do the same.
First purple creature
BODY 5
SPIRIT 7
If you beat the first creature, you look up and see that the others are still battling and that the final one should be an easier job. You float in its direction and attack.
Second purple creature
BODY 4
SPIRIT 8
If you win, you power down your glove and can now choose what you would like to do. If you would like to search the room, turn to 239. If you would like to get into a shuttle, perhaps to see if you have an option to leave the ship and get a view of whatever’s causing the alarm from the outside, turn to 132. Or if you would like to leave this room, turn to 216.
9
The room behind the door looks at first glance like a library, and you have a moment of remembering that every ship is equipped with a library for astronauts’ downtime while on missions. Every wall and the rows of shelves filling it have books strapped in safely, and a corner of the room looks like an ancient smoking parlour with wingback chairs and a low table.
“Nothing in here,” says James. “I’d forgotten about this place though. Once the alarm’s sorted, let’s come back and tell some jokes or something. It will be nice to relax after this noise and stress is gone.”
You feel you should really keep on moving, but if you feel the need to you will probably be able to quickly study one book before James puts on too much pressure to move on (turn to 112) or you can turn to leave immediately if you prefer (turn to 192)?
10
You face a quandary. The team has conflicting priorities; Bartu is right here and caring for him is critically important to the whole team, but the alarm is not showing any signs of stopping and you still have no idea how serious it could be. It’s also clear to all of you that Bartu is close to death.
You look down at Bartu, who is waving his hand to indicate that you should leave him alone and keep going to the bridge.
“Captain,” says James, “you should all go on ahead. I’ll stay with Bartu to keep him safe.”
You face a difficult choice. Do you tell James that Bartu is about to die anyway and that the whole team should move on to the bridge (turn to 287), do you keep the whole team with Bartu to show your support, despite the fact that it will slow you down from finding the alarm solution (turn to 137) or do you agree with James and take the team forward, leaving him with Bartu (turn to 297)?
11
The door slides open smoothly, revealing a small changing room. Holes in the wall in front of you and set into a central beam share the same purpose of hooks when in zero gravity conditions, and a T-shirt is stuffed into one, lazily hanging in mid-air. The right-hand wall is lined with lockers with a bench in the corner and there is also a bench to your left, next to a door, which you imagine is positioned against the same wall as the double doors you just saw in the corridor.
Do you walk straight through this next door (turn to 97) or search through this room first (turn to 234)?
12
You begin to run, and you hear the buzzing sound of an energy weapon being fired at you by one of the police officers, which hits you in the back of the leg and knocks you to the floor. Lose 4 SPIRIT points. You spin aroun
d and get to your feet.
“Surrender!” she shouts, preparing herself to fight. If you choose to surrender, turn to 214. If not, you must fight her.
Police officer
BODY 5
SPIRIT 4
If you win, turn to 279.
13
You are walking around the centre of New Gaia, doing your best to not get distracted by the seemingly infinite number of people criss-crossing the street hundreds of feet above your head. Where would you like to visit? You can go to:
The market (turn to 225)
Your nearest bar (turn to 256)
The extra-terrestrial research facility (turn to 213)
The headquarters of the Martian Navy (turn to 167)
The immigration centre (turn to 56)
The New Gaian Centre for Martian Politics (turn to 122)
14
“Are you kidding?” says James, with a disgusted look on his face. “This is literally the only good thing that’s happened since we woke up, and you’re walking us away from it?” He closes his eyes for a moment in frustration, gritting his teeth, and looks back at you. “Do you know, maybe Pauline’s got a point about your decision making.” He pushes himself backwards and spins round to the door.
Lose 2 HEART points and leave the room by turning to 259.
15
The square spins round and changes to the colour orange. Your heart begins to beat hard in your chest. Which number do you press now? If you press 1-5, turn to 280. If you press 6-9, turn to 102.
16
You enter the bridge and the sight of the room you were sitting in for the launch yesterday causes a flood of memories to fill your consciousness. You remember the route you took to the cryogenic chamber and feel a sense of frustration that you weren’t able to recall it when you woke up. You can’t focus on it for any time though, as the door behind you rapidly slides shut, blocking out the rest of the team. Your instinct would be to spin around and see if you could open it again, but you are captivated by the sight immediately in front of you.
Floating in the middle of the bridge is an enormous yellow and black arachnid. Four of its legs end in stumps, while each of the other four end in what look like razor blades; a foot of sorts with a serrated edge and a terror-inducing spike. It is as if someone has taken a Swiss army knife, made it the size of a large horse and turned it into an organism.
The sight is terrifying to the point of almost paralysing you, so as it comes towards you, make a MIND check at difficulty 15. If you fail, lose 3 SPIRIT points before you fight. You must engage the creature in battle.
Super-evolved spider
BODY 7
SPIRIT 7
If you win this battle, turn to 144. If you lose, turn to 268.
17
Mel looks surprised at your request and says nothing, but Catalina offers something up.
“My big brother didn’t say much helpful, but he’s always told me that caution is the best attack. It’s done him well, and maybe there’s something in it for us.”
Feeling unsure as to whether that has been helpful or not you stand up. Do you go to the storage unit if you haven’t already (turn to 33) or board the Altimer (turn to 201)?
18
“Hmm,” says the General. “I like your attitude, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. The truth is that Pauline ought to know better. You’re the captain, and she should learn some manners and respect those in authority. I’ll talk to her and let her know what will happen if she disagrees with you like that again. Dismissed, captain.”
Increase your HEART by 1 point and turn to 276.
19
You approach the Navy headquarters, an imposing series of buildings painted with images of spacesuit-clad heroes. The front wall contains around a dozen entrance doorways, each one operating as a self-contained, one-person airlock with the inside doors all open. You watch as visitors and Navy personnel arrive and leave, the doors opening and closing aggressively to keep out uninvited guests.
As you walk a little closer to the front wall, a pair of guards step forward.
“Howdy,” one of them says, “and how can we help you today?”
You explain that you’ve just arrived in the city on a GIG ship from earth, and they both seem interested. They are fascinated by the parts of the timeline you tell them and your stories of aliens and sabotage, and look at one another with a semi-concerned look on their faces.
“I think you should see Colonel Marlon,” one of them says, and before long you find yourself bustled into the complex and eventually into Marlon’s office.
“Well,” says the colonel, a lively man in his 50s with short grey hair and a permanent smile creeping around the corners of his lips, “your story sounds mighty impressive, and may I say congratulations for making it here today! It sounds like you’ve had quite the experience. I was once caught on a ship headed for a crash landing myself; my escape was a bit different from yours though, most of my team got out in an escape pod while the captain stayed on the ship and crashed into the ocean. She died,” he adds, a moment of wistfulness brushing across his eyes for a moment. “Aw, that was all years ago though. What can I do for you today?”
Would you like to ask him what he knows about the Altimer (turn to 101) or about the aliens you encountered onboard (turn to 291)?
20
The door opens without difficulty, revealing a staircase descending into more gloom. You push your hand against the ceiling and follow it down the flight of stairs before it makes a turn to your left and descends another flight.
The room at the bottom of the stairs is filled floor to ceiling with computer machinery in carefully sealed racks. You look at James and the two of you agree that it must be the ship’s computer. The only visible monitor is connected to the only open rack that you can find in the room. You wonder if you’ll be able find the alarm source here and even deal with it better than you could at the bridge? Of course you don’t have a username and password to get you in, so it will be difficult and potentially time-consuming to access it this way.
Moving deeper into the room, you spot a bracelet on the floor, which you recognise as a pressure conductor. Putting it on, you immediately feel strength run through your body; increase your BODY score by 1.
Now, do you try to crack the computer’s password (turn to 196) or leave the room and continue down the corridor instead (turn to 263)?
21
The handgun section contains more than you think you’ve ever seen in one place at one time. Tempted to analyse all of them, the sound of the alarm and James’ jumpy manner mean you know you only have time to grab the one, so you know you’ll need to pick wisely.
You pick up one of the famous “burning ray” pistols, a short range weapon that sends a bolt of concentrated energy at such a rate that it burns flesh instantly. Not the most pleasant to be shot by, but which weapon can claim otherwise? From now on, when in battle you can add 3 when in combat. Turn to 119.
22
You work your way through your checklist, trying to be diligent about every step, but ten minutes in and there’s a tap on your shoulder – it’s Bartu.
“Looks like you missed something,” he whispers with a little wink, and he taps a readout suggesting that one of the computing core temperature modulators is operating 2% out of tolerance. You’re sure that you checked that already, but your head is feeling a bit like cotton wool so you acknowledge to yourself it’s perfectly possible you did miss it.
It’s an easy fix, so you address it and triple-check before giving the all clear. Record the codeword Hydra and turn to 100.
23
If you have the codeword Virgo, turn to 80 immediately. If not, turn to 266.
24
Nothing happens.
You hit the launch button again, and again nothing happens. The escape pod must be low on power, or perhaps was decommissioned along with this part of the ship.
Sharing James’ disappointment, you worm your
way out of the escape pod, back into the noise of the alarm, and push yourself through the air and out of the secret living space. Turn to 259.
25
The square spins round and changes to the colour orange. Which number do you press now? If you press 1-5, turn to 102. If you press 6-9, turn to 211.
26
“You think you need more training?” says the General. “Deal.” A wicked grin skims over his face. He calls over to a member of staff walking past, who jogs over and salutes.
“Take this security officer over to the training studio and run some of the more…advanced scenarios,” he says, then turns back to you. “Be careful what you wish for. And well done.” He winks, and you follow your colleague.
The additional training is tough, but you feel your reflexes strengthening through it and are grateful for the experience once it’s over. Increase your BODY by 1 and turn to 276.
27
You smash the disgusting creature in its side and its body slowly floats away, its legs angled away from its body and its pair of mouths gaping open leaving a trail of what you have to assume must be saliva. The remains absolutely stink.
You finally manage to complete your search as the alarm continues to blast all around you, managing just about to avoid the creature’s blood as it slowly spreads and splatters against the walls in small bubbles. You find three adrenalin shots, which you can use to increase any score by 1 for the purpose of making any test roll.
The Altimer Page 2