Let's Play: UFO Aftershock!

[Karza]

On the upside, Vanas is so stupid that she might as well actually be retarded. If we're lucky, every recruit we get from the surface will have apparently no intelligence and we superior space people can lord it over them.

A textbook case of "among the blind, the man with one eye is king" .

[Nephtys]

File: Personal Log, Nephtys
*Begin Recording*

Squad McLargeHuge has departed for another intervention mission after a quick briefing. Vanas has joined the team, armed with close combat weapons. The objective was an industrial building near what is called a 'Nuklear Power Plant' or something.

We're relieving a group of people called 'Cyborgs' who have this critical structure under mutant attack. While some of our earthside contacts express a grave distrust of these people, we need more resources and people than ever.

Making landfall, our people waste no time in locating the local Cyborg Leader, a man calling himself Jerome X.

The Biologicals have probably told you all sorts of lies about us. Freaks, they call us. Abominations and monsters. But their vaunted purity does them no good. They live in constant fear of the true monsters the aliens created.
I have little personal knowledge of the aliens. I was only a child when they came. But there is a belief among my kind that the alien beings attacked Earth because they wanted to knock out their competition while they could.
The aliens created their Biomass to make the planet uninhabitable, and they created transgenants to kill the humans. Then they left. Job well done! So they thought. We shall prove them wrong

...I think I like this fellow already. Particularly that giant arm of his. Surely, his people can't be as worthless as half of the human survivors we've met! Their resistance to harsh chemicals and environmental hazards would likely be quite useful for many types of industrial labor, where safety standards fit for normal humans would only slow down progress. Nonetheless, Squad McLargeHuge agreed to help and approached the nearby building, said to be crawling with these mutant 'Transgenants'.


Having watched several training recordings found aboard Laputa, the team flickered incoherent hand gestures at each other and stacked up on the door, ready to breach and clear this building.


Storming in, Peptuck and Samuel moved to cover the large open floor of the building, while Ford Prefect, Wautd and Vanas advanced into narrow hallways and small offices, sweeping each room methodically.


Peptuck and Samuel run into... something. It's like a filthy, spiked balloon, floating in zero-gravity. What the hell is that?

...whatever it is, it shoots lightning! Samuel takes a charged bolt in the shoulder.

...but it falls surprisingly quickly to the Reticulan lasers.


On the second floor, the three-man team secures a room full of priceless artifacts called 'Celerons'.


After clearing the top floor, Ford Prefect returns down to the first floor, apparently baffled. He drags Vanas with him, just overcome with questions.

"What the hell is this?" he asks, pointing to the dirty white bowl.
Vanas snerks. "It's a toilet. What, you never seen one?"
Ford Prefect frowns. "No. It doesn't have the three seashells. How do you--- clean up without the three seashells!?" he asks in shock.
Vanas slaps her head, muttering something in that incomprehensable dialect and walking out.
Ford frowns and wanders away dejectedly, as Wautd radios in. "McLargeHuge One to McLargeHuge Two. Building secure. We didn't see any monsters, thank bog." he breathed, as the party walked back out to their waiting drop-pod.

*Crackle* "Peptuck hear, copy. We'll meet you back at the pod."
Vanas chuckled. "I think we can done call this one mission accompli..."


"...Shit."

Vanas had run right into a Morelman, staring directly at her with it's vacant eyes, rotting flesh and open maw. It was damned close. It had a pistol, and was already moving to lift it... without thinking, she rushed forward. "Yaaaaaah!"


Vanas jabbed and poked with her knife, swinging at the sluggish mutant.

Vanas cut and stabbed, yet nothing seemed to actually harm the creature. It's oozing body apparently had little use for what was left of it's human organs. Jabbing into the creature's wrist, it dropped the handgun uselessly to the floor. She had the upper hand. "I'm-a-gonna cut you, boy..." she hissed.


Samuel ran for Vanas to help, but she was moving around too quickly and risked getting hit, should he try to fire on the Morelman. He turned swiftly with a new target however, a Brainman slithering in from around a factory pump.


Vanas, still fighting with the Morelman and chopping it up piece-by-piece rapidly suddenly finds herself surrounded! But still, she had this mutant freak taken care of, with just a few more jabs of her blade...


...until it disgorges a large spray of bile from it's stomach-sphincter, splashing across Vanas's body. The corrosive substance burns harshly, with the surprise and shock knocking her off her feet in great pain. With a Flatster nearby, hungry for flesh, she's in trouble.


A burst of laser fire drives off the Morelman from finishing off Vanas however, and Ford Prefect managing finally to run his slow posterior over and drill the Flatster with burning laser energy.

Emerging from his concealed location, Jerome X steps in, helping the party drag Vanas's unconscious form out of the pool of bile, leaving Wautd to stabilize her with his medical kit.


Mission Accomplished.

We do appreciate your help with that Nuclear plant, friend. We will find you some interesting things there for sure. And, because you helped us, we shall share what we find.
If you require land for your structures, feel free to build them close to our village. I believe that we can form a cooperative bond, your people and mine. Some of my people might even consent to join your forces. Their skills and abilities should be very valuable to you.

Given that Mr. X has a pneumatic arm bigger than my torso, I think it was wise for Wautd to graciously accept on the spot. We get land, resources, and some of their helpful cyborg labor. We cannot leave yet however.

With barely a pause, he frowns. "We have another problem." he slowly says. "There is a weapons cache one of our scouting patrols discovered some time ago in North Italy. It is a few days travel from here by groundcar, but that capsule of yours could get you there quickly. We'll provide help, as long as we split the cache 50/50. I'll provide you one of our finest young warriors. It's under Transgenant attack, and they've got that floating creature you destroyed in the plant. Our team calls them Muckstars, and we'd be quite pleased if you could bring us a live specimen to study too."

I considered, looking across at the others in the control room. Heads nodded, and I leaned over the radio console. "Squad McLargeHuge, you're instructed to take him up on the offer. Let them take care of Vanas, and leave Samuel to watch over her. Have McLargeHuge team One take the Capsule to this 'Italy' place he's talking about. And give the extra seat. Let him take point and all of the bullets when you get there."

Ford turned and smiled to the newcomer, a burly Cyborg that emerged from a patch of forest behind Jerome X.

Darkevilme looked around, completely unaware of his new role as squad bullet shield. "Welcome to Squad McLargeHuge." Samuel grinned toothily, offering a hand.

Due to damage to his right hand resulting from a handshake-related accident, Samuel will not be participating in the mission.

*End Recording*

(Once things pick up past the introduction stages, I'll skip a few routine missions. R&D and Q Division are both still working on establishing groundside test facilities and weapons research.)

[Peptuck]

Being useless is my specialty!

[Ford Prefect]

Oh man, I am totally awesome. Big damn hero and all.

[Darkevilme]

Do i have a weapon? If not i'll arm wrestle whoever to get my hands on the second pistol. Also it's been ages since i played the game though but don't cyborgs start off with armour from the get go? just checking. Also, what am i good at? or can you not find that out yet?

[Narkis]

Sign me up for the action too. I'm eager to kill some mutant commie bastards and/or die for the motherlandship

Given the nature of life in space versus the nature of Earth in Aftershock (based on what I have seen here), it is likely that the space people probably fit as being Communists.

In that case, the mutant capitalist dogs will tremble before the might of our glorious tanning lasers.

[Vanas]

Mr Knifey failed... Need a bigger stick.

An' if I catch th' space guys laughin', they will start thinkin' 'How did that boot get there? I did not eat that boot.'

[Nephtys]

Today's Chapter: In which wautd somehow averts disaster.

File: Mission Report
*Begin Recording*

The Mission: Flying from Paris to an arms warehouse in northern Italy, Squad McLargeHuge must capture a particular strain of Muckstar for examination before eradicating all transgenants in the area. Darkevilme is to act as laison between our forces and the local Cyborg communities.


Landing was bumpy, even without a full orbital drop. The Pod was not designed to fly for long distances, and it's anti-gravity generators were taxed.


The team deployed with a six-man spread, opening formation ever since the discovery of a grenade in the hands of a Morelman following the last mission. Ford Prefect snickers knowingly to Peptuck, shielding himself behind the armored man's bulky form. Still, despite his large size, Darkevilme is the fastest member of the squad.


A Flatster is spotted in some grass, clearly in wait for prey. which Darkevilme greets the mutant with a hail of 9mm bullets... which only bounce off it's toughened hide, seeming not to harm it noticibly at all! Lasers would have to be used against Flatsters in the future.


With more Flatsters closing in from hidden positions, the particular Muckstar is spotted, oddly floating in one of the Warehouse's windows.


It greets Squad McLargeHuge by firing a bolt of lightning into Wautd's neck. Undisturbed by the attack, he yells out a powerful cry, charging directly to the side to flank the Muckstar.

Note: Upon inspection at this advanced date, it's probably more appropriate to word that passage differently. Namely, Wautd was more likely shrieking in a highly inappropriate manner at the pain. He charged to the right both to avoid further Muckstar fire, and to avoid a pair of Flatsters he spotted that Ford Prefect and Peptuck were engaging.

"Hah! Puny biological." Darkevilme laughs, rushing forward ahead of the squad with his bionic speed. "Step aside and let the Augmented handle this." he grins, bounding to the window, pistol levelled...


The Muckstar is a faster draw than Darkevilme, and all that metal he's wearing is incidentally highly conductive. Note: That was pretty bad luck. It ends up, the lightning discharge went down the barrel, into his bionic hand. Blew the whole thing out for a few seconds.


Darkevilme falls back, twitching as a hungry Flatster begins to chew on his foot.


Ford and Peptuck fire frantically for the Flatster, hoping to kill it before hitting Darkevilme too many times. Even Peptuck seemed to be genuinely trying to hit the Flatster in this incident. Her accidental friendly fire rate in this incident was well under 30%. Good for her.


A Morelman tried to flank the team from beyond the warehouse doors. Nobody was in position to intercept him.


Except wautd, who charged with such ferocity, he crashed into the creature as it rounded the corner, dangerously close to the badly injured Darkevilme.

Actually, it looks like wautd is as surprised as the mutant is in that picture.


Wautd gave out another terrifying cry, one that still is remembered by our post-mission analysis staff. He fired repeatedly with his laser, on full-auto to protect the injured Cyborg. Although the Morelman fell, cut down by laser fire, Wautd could not let new threats harm our ally. A Brainman and other members of the mutant horde emerged from the Warehouse, with only Wautd in a position to defend against them.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Peptuck and Ford Prefect could only stand by, stunned by Wautd's ferocious battlecry.

Incidentally, we would find out after the mission that ferocious battlecries seem to be accompanied by a loss of bladder control.


Wautd continues to fire even as his battery drains down into a Brainman, a flanking Muckstar and other hideous mutants. Laying with only one working arm, Darkevilme fires weakly with his pistol.


Suddenly, another Morelman emerges from around the corner! With his disregard for personal safety, wautd stands his ground, watching the mutant with an withering gaze, as if appraising his opponent.

It's at this point where Wautd's laser rifle was completely spent of all it's energy.


Realizing the danger, Darkevilme rises to his feet to fight the alien, to buy his battle-brother time to reload!


Shit.


Darkevilme topples over onto the Morelman, crushing it. The Muckstar lays nearby, incapacitated but alive. Wautd's hands still shake with no doubt unearthly rage at his fallen comrade. "He... he's dead!" Wautd cries out. His emotions get the better of him, as he drops his rifle and runs back to the drop-pod, lamenting his fallen comrade with a loud yell.

Peptuck and Ford Prefect watch him go, shaking their heads. Peptuck secures the Muckstar, while Ford can only watch as Local Cyborg forces arrive, moved beyond words by wautd's heroism.

"I'm.. sorry guys." Ford says, looking down to Darkevilme's body. "We... did all that we could."

One Cyborg, their local leader shook his head and giant metal jaw. "No, friend." he says. "Your soldier fought hard for our brother. We have never seen such strength in battle! We will commemorate the actions of the one you call 'wautd' in song and monument for years to come." he says, watching as armed Cyborgs move in to secure the weapons cache. Then he looks down.

"Do not worry about Darkevilme. We will rebuild him. Stronger. Faster."

Ford Prefect nodded, standing up. His words were diplomatic and eloquent. "Um. Shucks then, how about we also dump that Muckstar carcass with him and call it a day?"

I remember the celebration as we welcomed Wautd home that day. Everyone in the recovery bay was drinking a substance brought from the surface called 'Moonshine' and congratulating the still trembling Wautd.

About two months later, the Cyborg Council built a statue and diorama for Wautd and placed it dead center in our Rome base on an obsidian pedestal. It shows him, gritting his teeth, wielding both a laser rifle and a sword, defending a collection of Children from some kind of transgenant I've never seen before called a 'Dragon'. In retrospect, I sure as hell wished we declassified this mission's video record just to prevent that.

Result: Mission Accomplished. Arms cache secured, with firearm components delivered to R&D division for immediate analysis. 2 workable SPAS-12 Shotguns, and 4 pre-Nightfall military helmets found.

*End Recording*

[Darkevilme]

Aww i died that quickly?
When i get back on my feet one of you cowardly spacemen is taking point in future instead of me, it's not that i'm scared it's that i'm conductive that's the problem it seems. Might be a while until the superior Cyborg legions give me a new coat of paint and a jumpstart though.

[Ford Prefect]

I'm afraid that the wants and needs of mud people, cybernetic or not, are secondary to the foppery and whim of we space people.

[SirNitram]

Shotgun test 23 will commence as soon as we dislodge Assistant Haven from the ceiling. His reluctance at continuing in his half of these weapon tests indicates an insufficient amount of mind-altering substances in his daily routine.

[Samuel]

Serves the bastard right "handshake related injury"

[Peptuck]

Friendly fire: the best kind of incoming fire.

[The Yosemite Bear]

Shotgun test 23 will commence as soon as we dislodge Assistant Haven from the ceiling. His reluctance at continuing in his half of these weapon tests indicates an insufficient amount of mind-altering substances in his daily routine.

Already got the brewery up and running in the rail yard, we do need more vegitable matter, and wood....

[White Haven]

Ah, but perhaps my ability to leap telekinetically and adhere to the ceiling suggest an alternate line of work.

[Darkevilme]

Just cause you soft meatsacks stole yourself a floating island you think you're all high and mighty...can't even shake someones hand without hurting your weak little fingers.

Anyway seen as Flatsters set an alarming precedent for creatures being resistant to being shot with bullets may i suggest construction commence on an energy weapons lab? Methinks we should get lasers with more tanning power than a scottish beach in february.

[PeZook]

Why rebuild Darkevilme? He proved WEAK like a PUNY FLESHLING.

You should chose a superior model - the P model! P for PeZook!

[Nephtys]

Today's Chapter: Enough with the allies already!
File: Personal Log, Nephtys
*Begin Recording*

Well. Where should I begin with this mess?


First, we had received yet another distress call, this time from a group calling themselves 'Augmented Ones'. We didn't really care who they were, just that they needed help and were willing to pay for it with stores of reticulan artifacts. Our forces had been heavily reinforced by both groundside recruits and soldiers completing training and medical recovery aboard Laputa.


Karza was one of our new recruits planetside, having been picked for her well-rounded physical talents and at Samuel's insistance at having someone he could beat at armwrestling.
Erik Von Nein was another planetside recruit, with superior coordination and ability with two-handed weapons. He seemed resigned to a horrible death for some reason and often made morbid statements during his screening. Everyone thought it highly amusing, contributing to his acceptance.
Vendetta was a technician aboard Laputa who recently volunteered for earthside combat operations, after her recovery from injuries suffered during the destruction of our old Laputa. She has surprising strength in that small body, but frequently is seen tripping over her own feet in the hallways. She has repeatedly insisted that she was merely 'taking cover' due to having 'cat-like battle senses' in these instances.
Finally, Darkevilme is continuing his recovery. Kept alive by his cybernetic life support systems, he has been repaired and is now recooperating in our superior Laputa medical facilities. His leg has been recently amputated, with a 'superior' model attached. While quite agile thanks to these enhancements, he has been caught abusing Laputan electrical outlets lately, owing to a terrible willpower rating.

The team was dispatched immediately, wielding the two shotguns so recently recovered. Peptuck would wield one, while the other was issued to Karza. We had four combat helmets issued as well, with Erik von Nein moaning about how inevitable that he was going to die of a head injury on his first mission.

Upon Landing, Squad McLargeHuge nearly shot the thing that greeted them.

Welcome, visitor from the sky. I am the designated speaker for the Augmented Ones.
What happened here fifty years ago? We do not know for sure. Whatever the cause, the Biomass appeared and then suddenly died in order to bestow upon us our powers of the mind. Before the death of the Biomass, there were no Augmented Ones on all of Earth. This terrible cataclysm served a higher cause- to create a better species of Human.

I'm not even going to comment about the Speaker's fashion sense. Unfortunately, this Earth tradition of giving unasked for backstory seems to be continuing. In any case, Ford Prefect grunted something incomprehensible and slapped the Speaker's hand in greeting, just as he picked up from Vanas. She seemed confused, but apparently mentally determined that Ford was agreeing to risk the Squad's life to secure their agricultural facilities, currently besieged by Transgenants.


Greenhouses! We need new food supplies, and this could solve much of our problems. I immediately instructed the squad to carry out the Speaker's mission.


Looking quite dandy in their new helmets, the Squad moves out. Erik von Nein meanwhile, laments his impending death as he brings up the rear.


The transgenants were soon located. We still had no idea of what they truly were, only that they seemed generally disorganized and hostile towards our forces. With our science staff already quite occupied developing weapons, it would be some time before we could detail anyone to performing autopsies or interrogations.


Proving her worth on one flank, Karza rushes a Muckstar and drops it in a single shotgun blast.


More Transgenants approached, drawn by some sense to where humans were perhaps.


Peptuck rushes forward, throwing herself against the Greenhouse for cover as she pumps shell after shell into the mutant pack...


But one Morelman closes on the flanking Karza, blasting her with a belch of acid followed by a shotgun shell to the stomach. Lightning from a second Muckstar struck her in the chest as well, before finally she fell as the Morelman fired once more. Her impressive combat helmet proved worthless against a hail of buckshot.


"NOOOOOO!" cried out Erik von Nein. With despair in his heart, he drew out his fragmentation grenade, aiming towards the teeming mass of mutants to avenge his fallen comrade. "If I'm going down, I'm taking you all with me!"


Thrown down and grievously injured by exploding shrapnel, Peptuck rushes in and finishes each with a quick blast of her Shotgun. A dead silence fills the air. The Greenhouses were secure.


Everyone returned to kneel by the body of their fallen rookie, killed in her first mission. Heads were hung low, as a each member mourned quietly for their fallen comrade. With the team sullen and silent, it was up to Ford Prefect to find the right words for this occasion to honor Karza, who died in the line of duty.

"Holy cow. She's dead!"


Mission Accomplished.

*End Recording*

[Darkevilme]

I live. MWahaha, and you meatsacks with your cowardly efforts to shoot me in the back thought you could keep me down! I'm more agile now, and will avoid your puny shots. Now sweet current sing to me of the coming victory for the iron men. *blisses on a powersocket*

[Peptuck]

Only one casualty?

Bah. I am clearly not trying hard enough.

[Erik von Nein]

Hahaha. Nice, I'm the most pessimistic soldier in the group. Or is that realistic? I can't tell.

[The Yosemite Bear]

HAnds Ein more booze

[Karza]

Excellent. I've now gotten killed three times in two games .

[Nephtys]

Now where are we going to go with this? With our resources dwindling, the squad'll be continuing routine pacification of nearby areas.

But we have the option of subjugating our 'allies' more thoroughly through force, and taking their resources. Particularly, our 'Basic Earth Tech' resources are getting low.

Additionally, we've finished research of basic human weapons. We're now able to build 9mm Berettas, .45 M1911s and .50AE Desert Eagles. It'll be some time before we can get production lines running though.

[Erik von Nein]

Seeing as I have an obvious Earth bias I say more pacification! While it'll almost certainly result in my death, those dirty mutant ... things must be destroyed.