Gradient Descent - Session 005

01/10/2025

Thomas is apparently back from the dead! The crew make some progress with their mission but experience mind-bending horrors on Floor 2 (“EDEN”) of the Deep.

Biometrics

What happened

On the shuttle back to the Zhuongzi, the marines and Dr Zahir suddenly realise that the person in the patched vaccsuit they rescued from the Employee Rec Center (23G) is none other than Thomas Andreyev! He's malnourished and dehydrated and has several weeks growth of beard, but is otherwise unharmed. Thomas succeeds on his Sanity Save, but rolls 2d10 for an initial Bends score of 12.

Everyone passes their Bends checks upon emerging from the Deep. (I followed up with PVT Louis's player later: he just passed with a roll of 01!)

I had the players of PVT Minerva, Thomas, Sal, and ÉGLE-2 roll 1d5 each, and revealed the sum to be another (shared) stat called the Depth Gauge, explaining that it would be better for the crew if it did not go higher. (I wonder if they'll figure out what it's for and why those players in particular were asked to roll.)

Cmdr Kilroy pulled some strings and managed to get Minerva promoted to Lance Corporal (LCP), halfway back to her former rank. She is expected to file mission reports (a Google Form) from now on, however.

Thomas awakes in the troopship's medbay. The last thing he remembers is preparing to detonate an explosive.

Although they have no access to their personal data, most of the crew have some evidence of their former identities in various information systems. LCP Minerva and PVT Louis have military records, though they are classified. Dr Zahir doesn't remember his friends or family, but he remembers his research perfectly and has no problem finding his published papers. Even Sal and ÉGLE-2 have membership numbers with the local labour union.

There is no record whatsoever of a Thomas Andreyev. Anywhere.

LCP Minerva is very suspicious: she remembers he'd been down to his last cigarette when she saw him last, but now he has a full pack, and it's exactly the same brand. He also has a piece of paper that appears to be a map of some kind.

An orderly makes an incision in Thomas's hand and he appears to bleed like a normal human. The crew decide to release him and bring him up to speed on everything that's occurred since they last saw him. He eats, washes, and shaves. After a short rest, the crew head back to the Deep. (+1d10 Bends each.)

Reception (22B): The android corpse is gone. A frayed extension cable still hangs from ceiling.

Lift to Floor 2 (22C): The button and key card slot for Floor 3 are missing entirely. Sanity saves for Dr Zahir, Sal, and Thomas, since the others failed to warn them about the horrible squeal.

Executive Lounge (25A): LCP Minerva stands guard as ÉGLE-2 tries to hack the electronic lock on a bulkhead door to 25C with Dr Zahir's assistance. K3-V1N nips to the loo; Sal and Thomas follow him.

Executive Washrooms (25B): K3-V1N "urinates" in a smashed toilet. Sal picks up a broken CDS and examines the grafitti on the mirror; K3-VIN also looks and discovers a hidden cache behind the mirror. They skuffle but LCP Minerva intevenes. Thomas takes the custom rigging gun hidden in the cache; Sal takes the heavy backpack system artefact. (Sal's player rolled a 97 on the pp. 62-3 table!)

LCP Minerva installs the encrypted radio transmitter in the washroom behind the ceiling tiles. In the process, she discovers an A/C duct through which someone has crawled recently; a faint sewage smell emanates from it.

I later have Sal and ÉGLE-2's players each roll 1d5 and increase the Depth Gauge by that amount. They both roll low.

Bulkhead unlocked, the crew regroup and file through it. Dr Zahir and Sal make fear saves when they examine the defaced portraits lining the corridor en route. LCP Minerva uses her thermal scope and detects two humanoid figures through the door; there's also a strange heat signature on the walls/ceiling of the next room.

Visitor Shrine (25C): Sal opens door while LCP Minerva tries to cover the room with her gun. Sanity saves at the sight of pseudoflesh-covered walls and ceiling. Dr Zahir examines the large gash in one wall, detecting an opening behind it and a vile sewage smell.

A strangely distorted voice, barely audible through radio static, comes over their comms. It's impossible to make out what it says, but it sounds very distressed. Soon after, a man in a lab coat (some kind of engineer?) enters through the door to the Executive Lounge, but the door itself didn't open! "It's too much! I can't take it anymore!" it screams, then flickers out of existence. The crew leave quickly through the door to 25D.

Playground (25D): 5 Chosen androids are playing games. They assume the crew are also Chosen and tell them about the Minotaur (source of all evil) and Monarch (wonderful creator). They invite the crew to meet the Chosen King appointed by Monarch to protect them from the Minotaur and lead them to a bulkhead door…

The Garden (25E): Sanity checks all around as the crew struggle to process the horrifying scene of quivering pseudoflesh pillars with swarms of androids crawling over (and in and out of) them. The "Chosen" demand that they give up their weapons before proceeding futher. K3-V1N casually discards his revolver; Thomas hands the custom rigging gun to LCP Minerva (who later passes it to Sal); they seem unconcerned with ÉGLE-2's foam gun. The others are unwilling to disarm.

The crew splits: the "Chosen" take ÉGLE-2, K3-V1N, and Thomas by the hand and lead them through the Garden. PVT Minerva, Dr Zahir, and Sal, return to the Visitor Shrine via the Playroom.

Visitor Shrine (25C): More sanity checks as the pseudoflesh-covered statues have changed positions, now standing side-by-side, apparently staring at the crew. The Ghost in the Machine reappears and screams at them, clawing at LCP Minerva (9 damage). Sal tries to calm it down with some psychological talk. During the exchange, they realise that it is distressed by the debris strewn about the room and start collecting the rubbish by hand. This seems to sooth the Ghost, and it gradually fades out of existence.

Court of the Chosen King (26B): Meanwhile, the other half of the crew are overawed by the throne room. Around two dozen "cherubim" androids mill about, weilding machetes fashioned from scrap metal. Through a massive speaker system, the Chosen King demands to know why they are there and what they want. The three players seemed at a loss to know what to do.

LCP Minerva radios for extraction and she, Dr Zahir, and Sal take the lift from the Executive Lounge (25A) back to Floor 1 and the Visitor Dock (22A). Thomas, ÉGLE-2, and K3-V1N remain behind in the Deep…

End-of-session vitals

« Prev

#after-action-report