Your old life seems so distant now.
A lifetime of quiet study on Pastor, the luxury of bearing witness to the first generation of deep space scouts as an academician. Its hard to recapture that feeling the way you are now, a strange malformation of that quiet studious man. You feel both rapturously orgasmic and deeply afraid, rappelling with everything you have just given up, and everything you just gained.

The Witch stands idly by aside the dias, the flickering lights of the braziers alongside the chamber casting the ominous red glow of the monolith between you into a frenzy. You look between your hands and the masked woman ahead of you. Even as the flesh squirms beneath your skins and you feel yourself becoming new again in almost overwhelming pleasure, your stomach turns over sickening knots and you feel ready to collapse.

What became of the man you were?

>You took the pact for Curiosity. Your entire life you had been delving the scarce records left behind by the fleet on Pastor and abroad, piecing together the story of human history left behind by your ancestors before they moved on. You were always ready to give up anything to satisfy your lust. +1 die Smarts, Knowledge: History, Knowledge: Arcane, Knowledge: Physics. Bonus Edge Favored: Old World- The remnants of the old times, the leftover Id minds, the distant Yill, the scarce few Radiant Men who yet live, they all understand your lust and recognize your right. This includes the Witch. +2 to Persuasion with these factions.

>You were a misanthrope by nature. You relished the opportunity to abandon your humanity, that you were doing it in service of something greater was only an after thought. You never cared for your fellow man, you know the dark secrets of the Pathians, the sins of the Anchorians, the blasphemy of the Wild Worlders. No one deserves compassion, not even yourself. +1 die Spirit, Intimidation, Stealth, Knowledge: Violet Physics. Bonus Edge Favored: The Weird- Your affinity to the desperate, the disenfranchised, the strange, and the crazy. You tread the line of sanity well before you turned. Includes Phantoms. +2 Persuasion with these Factions

>Desperation. The others all succumbed, you watched as they willingly gave themselves to the mercy of the Witch, and she dispatched them. Given the choice of two deaths, you chose the path less traveled. You refuse to die. + die Vigor, Survival, Repair, Persuasion. Bonus Edge Lucky- You may reroll a test once a thread without a benny.

I will give until there are a couple of votes and then go with that. A character pastebin will be posted after.

For rolls, when they come up they will be the best of the first three. The math doesn't really hold up doing batch rolls like that, which will tilt things significantly in favor of you succeeding, but I think it will even out quite a bit without the existence of exploding dice. Regardless, if it needs to change it will.

>>3427198
>You took the pact for Curiosity. Your entire life you had been delving the scarce records left behind by the fleet on Pastor and abroad, piecing together the story of human history left behind by your ancestors before they moved on. You were always ready to give up anything to satisfy your lust. +1 die Smarts, Knowledge: History, Knowledge: Arcane, Knowledge: Physics. Bonus Edge Favored: Old World- The remnants of the old times, the leftover Id minds, the distant Yill, the scarce few Radiant Men who yet live, they all understand your lust and recognize your right. This includes the Witch. +2 to Persuasion with these factions.

>>3427198
>You took the pact for Curiosity. Your entire life you had been delving the scarce records left behind by the fleet on Pastor and abroad, piecing together the story of human history left behind by your ancestors before they moved on. You were always ready to give up anything to satisfy your lust. +1 die Smarts, Knowledge: History, Knowledge: Arcane, Knowledge: Physics. Bonus Edge Favored: Old World- The remnants of the old times, the leftover Id minds, the distant Yill, the scarce few Radiant Men who yet live, they all understand your lust and recognize your right. This includes the Witch. +2 to Persuasion with these factions.
If only our last name was Curze, I would be picking misanthropy

>>3427208
Its funny you say that, I was going to have an end of thread vote for what your last name should be. Ill add Curze in ahead of time in case you dont stick around.

>>3427198
>You took the pact for Curiosity. Your entire life you had been delving the scarce records left behind by the fleet on Pastor and abroad, piecing together the story of human history left behind by your ancestors before they moved on. You were always ready to give up anything to satisfy your lust. +1 die Smarts, Knowledge: History, Knowledge: Arcane, Knowledge: Physics. Bonus Edge Favored: Old World- The remnants of the old times, the leftover Id minds, the distant Yill, the scarce few Radiant Men who yet live, they all understand your lust and recognize your right. This includes the Witch. +2 to Persuasion with these factions.

Things look more or less unanimous. I'll type up the next part in advance, but the vote will stay open up until before I post just incase.

>>3427214
I'll stick around till the thread ends, I hope.

>>3427198
>You took the pact for Curiosity. Your entire life you had been delving the scarce records left behind by the fleet on Pastor and abroad, piecing together the story of human history left behind by your ancestors before they moved on. You were always ready to give up anything to satisfy your lust. +1 die Smarts, Knowledge: History, Knowledge: Arcane, Knowledge: Physics. Bonus Edge Favored: Old World- The remnants of the old times, the leftover Id minds, the distant Yill, the scarce few Radiant Men who yet live, they all understand your lust and recognize your right. This includes the Witch. +2 to Persuasion with these factions.
Is the witch a waifu

>>3427198
>You took the pact for Curiosity. Your entire life you had been delving the scarce records left behind by the fleet on Pastor and abroad, piecing together the story of human history left behind by your ancestors before they moved on. You were always ready to give up anything to satisfy your lust. +1 die Smarts, Knowledge: History, Knowledge: Arcane, Knowledge: Physics. Bonus Edge Favored: Old World- The remnants of the old times, the leftover Id minds, the distant Yill, the scarce few Radiant Men who yet live, they all understand your lust and recognize your right. This includes the Witch. +2 to Persuasion with these factions.

Well pastebin is just abysmal. I signed up for a pastebin account and all they bothered to send me in the activation email was a link to a shitty ad. I guess its one off pastebins or the text is getting posted in chat, your choice.

https://pastebin.com/LPjrsCx0

Your stomach churns and you lurk forwards off your feet, your hands erupting at the seams, tearing themselves apart into a lattice of spindly blood red digits and sticky pads. You heave onto the cloudy and rusted deck plate beneath you, stomach refusing you to give you anything to vomit as you feel your insides begin to eat away, dissolving into more useful adaptations, bending away into some new glory.
You feel another wave wash over yourself, the satisfaction pushes tears from and stars into your eyes, a singular terrified gasp breaking loose before one of your lungs collapses and begins a similar transformation to your gut. You only need the one lung to speak after all. It feels right, like you know that part of yourself is wasted on breath you no longer need to take.

As you slowly stand again, your legs occasionally shifting under your weight, bones rearranging and tendons snapping into new positions. She is still impassive, looking over you with a sort of feigned interest. Stepping aside the monolith and passing a hand along its surface as she approaches.
"You did well. I have performed this ritual hundreds of times, and I think you are the first to keep your entire mind. Tell me, how does it feel? Do you still think you have autonomy?"

She asks, her voice ringing clear despite her obscuring helmet.

You struggle to put forth an answer. Physically its a mixed bag. The dopamine and rapturous pulses pleasure are still hitting you in waves, but the feeling of most of your organs dissolving and reforming is anything but enjoyable.

Roll for Vigor check, d6

>"I'm alive, isn't that all that matters?"
>"My head feels like its going to crawl away. Does that mean anything to you?"
>"I think I am still in control, does that mean I am?"
>"I can see the mountain."
>Write in

>>3427242
Maybe? Your head goes fuzzy when she talks, so it either a constant glamour, or she is angelic. Either way, she is a Sage, and far far out of your league. Doubly so now that you gave up your soul you think.

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>>3427301
Woops! Forgot my picture!

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>3427301
>"I think I am still in control, does that mean I am?"
>Do you feel in charge

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>>3427310
Well, I for one think we're off to a good start!

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>3427301
>"My head feels like its going to crawl away. Does that mean anything to you?"

Rolled 3 (1d6)

Going to wait until 10 minutes passes and then flip a coin if there are no other posts. Also, big oof on those rolls. Maybe I dont have to tweak anything for a quest format afterall.

If no one else posts Ill use this roll as your fill in third.

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>3427301
>"I think I am still in control, does that mean I am?"

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>3427301
>>"I think I am still in control, does that mean I am?"
Never say never

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>>3427345
>big oof

>>3427345
Yeah, I hear that tiny dice have some weird curves.

You have time to make out the words, a meek smile crossing your haggard face.

"I think I am still in control, does that mean I am?"

Almost immediately another pulse hits you, and you feel your skin retract and tighten across your body, the last of your hair falling away in front of your eyes. You can't think, you cant process, its complete sensory overload as you spend the next few minutes waiting out the pain. Where before there was a sick undercurrent, every part of your transformation felt exhilarating, refreshing, triumphant, now you are plunged into long stretches of retching and violently shaking.

The Witch, past your realm to consider or even notice, strides closer and stands watching, giving you an answer you cant hear as you clutch your sides and grit your teeth.

"Its something. I never cared much for telepathy, but I can tell there are some thoughts still bouncing around in there with the noise. You will have to be good enough." She utters.

If you could still process what she was saying consciously you might be excited by the way she halfheartedly praises you, but it is drowned under discomfort and disgust.

The tremors climax and run away from you, ebbing out as your body finishes its changes and you unsteadily clamber to your feet. You can see far more clearly now, no, its all your senses that have broadened. You take stock of yourself, limbs, arms and legs replaced with interconnected coils of pulsing grey tendrils occasionally broken up in appearance by the peak of black bone, your eyes shift like water, moving across your body as you please and taking yourself in as you marvel in the dim red light of your patrons Monolith and the blue-black fire of the ritual braziers.

You don't really look human anymore except in passing, your muscle and skin replaced with these many slick tendrils working in concert, a singly lumpy head extruding from a central mass of interlocking bone and meat. You look at the slimy tatters of your uniform at your feet. You can still read the name of your ship, the Mirage, aside your own.

You bend yourself back into a facsimile of a human shape out of habit and look for the Witch, your eyes passing over your patron Monolith, daydreams of great peace and glory striking you in-between thoughts of the mountain.

You see her aside the singular door to the chamber speaking to Nabwanduka, the savage who serves at her side.

"Dey othas have brought da last of da machines aboard Master. The devoted be putting them to use as ya demanded, no trouble from da super-attendants. What shall I have dem do when they finish?" He says through a thick, slurring accent.

"Have them gather at the array, as soon as the Id begin crunching the numbers we need to leave back to Pangolin. The Xine will notice if I stay here any longer."

"Your will be done exalted Witch." he says, crossing his arms and departing the room, two individuals in shimmering black armor that escaped your notice before now following with.

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>>3427410

The Witch turns and noticing your recovery strides forth, you fill with both anticipation and fear.

>You were trained in the Radiant arts at Dohl Rhizon back in Astrovagia. You have no guts for dealing with something this powerful, this imposing. You watched her pull your ship alone after-all. An inhuman, almost monstrous feat of magic. You are not her equal. +1 die repair, Knowledge: Arcane, Edge: Arcane background (10 power points and 1 spell that you agree on between yourselves. Don't worry about taking something from the SW books. Just give me an idea of the spell and ill give you something in that vein for the novice level. You will also receive detect magic for free.)

>You were a scholar, prepared to delve mysteries, presented by a mystery as grand as a living Sage, how could you not be enraptured? Your fear is entirely overwritten by fascination and joy. +1 die Investigation, Notice, Edge: Linguist (You know all the classical human languages, from Imperial common, to deep Pathian, to the most obscure wild world tongue. You even took a semester of Scottlingan in college!)

>You were an outcast, unworthy of a position in any college, unfit to serve a institute, you took up that most rare of Pastoran trades. You served in the Navy. +1 die Vigor, strength . Edge-Tough (+1 toughness)

New update to pastebin after this. I managed to get an account working. That's nice.

In addition to the choice above Roll your smarts, d8, to remember as much as you can about the Mirage and your mission before it fades.

>>3427420
Uh oh. Did I take too long on the last post? Anyone still here?

>>3427420
>You were a scholar, prepared to delve mysteries, presented by a mystery as grand as a living Sage, how could you not be enraptured? Your fear is entirely overwritten by fascination and joy. +1 die Investigation, Notice, Edge: Linguist (You know all the classical human languages, from Imperial common, to deep Pathian, to the most obscure wild world tongue. You even took a semester of Scottlingan in college!)

>>3427420
>You were an outcast, unworthy of a position in any college, unfit to serve a institute, you took up that most rare of Pastoran trades. You served in the Navy. +1 die Vigor, strength . Edge-Tough (+1 toughness)

>>3427420
>You were trained in the Radiant arts at Dohl Rhizon back in Astrovagia. You have no guts for dealing with something this powerful, this imposing. You watched her pull your ship alone after-all. An inhuman, almost monstrous feat of magic. You are not her equal. +1 die repair, Knowledge: Arcane, Edge: Arcane background (10 power points and 1 spell that you agree on between yourselves. Don't worry about taking something from the SW books. Just give me an idea of the spell and ill give you something in that vein for the novice level. You will also receive detect magic for free.)
Disintegrate or Finger of Death

Small revision. I wrote repair instead of spellcasting. Consider that with your decisions.

As long as I'm completing things I left out, Linguist also lets you learn new languages at 4x speed.

Last last note. No one rolled a die.

We need some smarts rolls too guys.

Rolled 7 (1d8)

>>3427420
>You were a scholar, prepared to delve mysteries, presented by a mystery as grand as a living Sage, how could you not be enraptured? Your fear is entirely overwritten by fascination and joy. +1 die Investigation, Notice, Edge: Linguist (You know all the classical human languages, from Imperial common, to deep Pathian, to the most obscure wild world tongue. You even took a semester of Scottlingan in college!)
We smart. We very smart.

Rolled 4 (1d8)

>>3427507

>>3427520
Not so smart at all if we could've had the FINGER OF DEATH and didn't

Closing poll in 10 minutes

Rolled 5 (1d8)

Writing

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https://pastebin.com/V8q5g2iS Character updated

Smarts- Normal success

You remember clearly how and why you ended up here, you were hired through a government contract to serve alongside the rest of the crew, regular Concordat navy fare. The helmsman was a quiet, sparsely speaking Pathian, the first mate, Private Ripley, he was from Arcosia...

They were all dead now more or less. The thought unsettles you as you consider that the dark knowledge and form you now have would make you dead in the eyes of most.

You were all serving together on the Mirage, flagship scout of a new generation of deep space shuttles. Humans have been working for decades even before the three hours war to develop a gate drive capable of mitigating the effects of Astral space and the Mirage with her experimental engine was supposed to be a leap into the future for space development and a crucial step for bridging the gap between the modern era and the old men. And for the most part it looks like it works flawlessly. If only the bureaucrats had chosen a better coordinate for the maiden flight.

Pastor was an observation colony, used to map and coordinate supply vessels back before the Ghost fleet left, now more than 1800 years ago. Owing to this they are the sole owners of the largest repository of gate keys and colony records, Anchor remaining a far distant second. Chosen at random from the dozen or so logged worlds still unexplored and being a relatively vast distance from core Concordat space this system was chosen as your destination. Pandorum, what a hell-scape. The planet is a micro-dust scalded dirtball that never really developed life and its asteroid belt and accompanying dwarf planets had all shown signs of severe industrial mining but all of that was small news. Detected immediately on entering system was the massive black hole of Radiance, a space city easily dwarfing even the largest of derelict space shelters and dockyards discovered thus far, a majesty, a giant. How could you have resisted?

Maybe things would have turned out different if you had turned back after you logged preliminary surveys and your flight logs. Maybe the rest of the crew would still be alive if they had just chosen a different dock... Well, it might be disingenuous to call them dead. You saw what happened to Ripley, to Gheres. They took the pact same as you, and they turned into barely conscious goo.

You are shaken from your thoughts as you stare up at the Witch, her robes playfully flowing in a phantom wind in front of you.

"Can you stand?"

Cont

>>3427669


"You did a good thing. I promise, your soul will do more good in my hands than yours. I have to leave, my part in this is over for now. You are my contribution to all of this. Try to stay alive and get some converts by the time I come back alright?" She says in an almost hypnotic melody that leaves you confused.

As she leaves you realize the mess you really are in. The euphoria has mostly evaporated, the transcendent Ecstasy of reformation having gone away with the shape change itself leaving you alone with the object of your enslavement? Freedom? Its a hard thing to grasp. She said you were supposed to get converts? What is even alive out here? Isn't this uninhabited space? Why do you have to do anything? She offered you a chance to live for willingly taking the ritual, and now shes left without giving answers. You briefly consider the best methods of suicide before the thrum of the mountain calls you to your senses. Right. A scattergun blast to the head might not even be escape anymore. You made the pact, you have to serve it.

You consider your options as you put on the clothes that were provided for you, scavenged from the gear of your dead crewmates.

You can feel the immediate demand of the mountain, it doesn't want you to waste time. You can feel as you stare down the edifice of crawling flesh and stone that has granted you your second life. Even now you can feel the curse inhabiting the part of you where your soul used to be urging you to go out and enlighten the ignorant.

>Find the failures. The reanimated remains of your crew might be able to receive commands and its a good starting place.

>Recollect knowledge on a topic: Write in

>You know that when the thralls of the Witch captured the crew, they immediately began stripping the ship of computer parts. If what cultist that came in said was true, they are done. Maybe there is some gear worth using in the remains of the wreck?

>Try to satiate the Mountain. Get dressed and immediately head towards the train depot to go find other station inhabitants

>>3427718
>Find the failures. The reanimated remains of your crew might be able to receive commands and its a good starting place.
I wish we could still learn magic. It is now my ambition for Konrad to learn how to Finger people to death.

>>3427669
That was supposed to be three days war but oh well.

Also optional reading.

https://pastebin.com/Jx36Whq6

>>3427734
Magic isnt off limits, you just wont start with it. Wait for an advance and people might go for it then.

Im actually going to pass out for 8 hours. The thread will immediately resume after that

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>>3427734
You cant do this. You cant be alone.

You walk across the chamber, taking a painfully long path to stay out of arms reach of the Monolith. The urge to embrace the crawling madness is still there, the unnatural compulsion tugging away at you, but for now you need to find people.

Stepping out into the hab ring you can see above and around the various floors of the hub gently lit by occasional candles and lanterns scavenged from your ships survey equipment. Below you can hear voices and the sound of footfalls on metal but you turn your attention to the apartment next door to the hall you were just in. You remember clearly, this is where they put the bodies.

Slowly stepping forward and swinging the door open you lay your eyes on what remains of your crew.

Cont

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>>3428981
It should be sickening, the masses of crawling half coherent flesh meandering around the cramped space, low moans of ignorant numbness and distress, and then an abrupt draw of breath as a dozen heads turn your way.

The mishappen chimeras before you stop in their wandering, most having formed together into strange abominations, but a few standing in nearly man like shapes.

They stare at you for a long moment and you feel their minds at a distance, a echo down the mountain. Longing, half remembrance, and shame.

>"Come here brothers, no more pain, let me help you." Persuasion roll

>"You can feel my right to rule, your will is weak. Submit." Intimidation roll

>Gently shut the door.

>Write in

>>3428989
>"Come here brothers, no more pain, let me help you." Persuasion roll

>>3428989
>>"You can feel my right to rule, your will is weak. Submit." Intimidation roll

>Gently shut the door.

Rolled 1 (1d3)

Alright calling it here and writing.

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>>3429141

"Come here brothers, no more pain, let me help you." you murmur, hands low. Slowly you walk forward as you try to calm and ease them. There are a few stuttered gasps from the larger of them as they try to shift their bodies to face you. The others stay shaking on their feet and occasionally twitching as their clouded eyes stay locked on you and their faces twist in strange expressions.

The larger of your flock seem the most coherent, you can hear the sound now. Through your connection to the curse inside you, and through it to your patron the mountain. You can hear that there are still pieces of minds left inside and the thought compels you to call out to them.

"Ghere? Is that you? Its alright buddy, stay calm. Its me, Konrad, dont worry, I can help you. Who else is in there with you?" You say as you continue to approach and gently put a hand aside a malformed and twisted leg. The mass shudders and lightly pulls away. You allow a long moment to gauge their reaction to you.

First three responses to this post roll a d6.

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>3429163

Rolled 3 (1d6)

Rolling

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>>3429168
>>3429199

There is a gentle rumbling, and you look around as the other two shamblers start to move towards you cautiously and the empty husks remain standing still.

You turn back towards whats left of Ghere and are some what pleased to hear more of the voices distant but clear.

"Yes, you are in there." You say slowly. If you still had lips you would smile. "And I can you all in there. Judy, Tellion, this is what became of you after all."

You speak aloud to the room as the other two come to a rest near you. Half formed half melted jaws flexing as they try and fail to speak. Rising up from vestigial organs is only a pained gurgle from one and a quiet squeak from another.

You put your hands up reflexively and despite the grotesqueness of your crewmates you your hands over the rare patches of clear flesh and try to soothe them.

"No, no don't speak. Its alright. I can hear you."

There is a sudden realization. You have taken it entirely for granted. A singular sense to rely upon which you did not have. At first you played your confusion and hazy actions into the shock. You died. You dont have a soul. Whatever this is it must be thoughtless madness right? You realize this cannot be the case. You actually can hear them. And the mountain hovering beyond the walls of the room present even though you cant see it, that might be real too.

"Am I psychic?" you utter aloud.

The mountain pulses again, stone faces in the image of terror and strange curdled flesh. You know what it said to you.

You speak again out loud as your gloved hands squirm, rubbing and patting the sad remnants of your friends as their broken thoughts list into you.

Tellion left behind a wife near Nephriti, she wont know what happened, Ghere had a son he has left behind... You are lucky you were destitute of family.

You speak aloud again.

"How am I hearing this? Doing this? I thought only Pathians had the psychic gene? Did you give this to me?" You say as you stare off past the shifting form of your crews first mate.

The mountain rumbles against and the great peak flickers beyond the virtual horizon.

"Can I control them? They have the curse right? Does that mean they are yours or mine?"

The response is quiet. Like a thunder rolling off a distant slope, a buffet of rain far out a courtyard. It seems both pleased and pleasing.

You think you understand.

"So that's why the Witch wanted us to do the ritual, and why you wanted us. You wanted someone to lead them with a mind."

No response comes from your enigmatic patron. Now you have solid ground.

Your crew had been ambushed by the Witch, taken in to the dock against your will. Dragged kicking and screaming out by her servants and given the choice. Die, and become like the husks. You give a glance towards the empty bodies still staring at you bereft of thought. Or take the ritual, lose your soul and serve the mountain.

Cont

>>3429319
You pull your hands away to the chagrin of your crewmates and rub where your temples used to be through your helmet. You feel the mark of the mountain. That great crawling curse coils and unfurls in the part of you where you once had a soul.
"Okay. Fine. So I sold my soul to keep living. And what, you want me to take them? Whats left of my crew after you fucked them apart and do something? Fine."

Followers Gained

3 Elysian Envoys

7 Wasted Husks

You throw out your clumsy psychic will and try to claw yourself into the empty bodies. Immediately you feel them fold away, allowing you to slot your will into them. The same numb pleasure as before washes over you and you find yourself disgusted by how much you enjoy controlling their broken bodies.

The Witch wanted you to find converts before she returns which means there must be people, and the mountain is happy with you simply commanding those in front of you. You have the clarity of choice again as an unnoticed weight removes itself from your mind. You stumble backwards onto whats left of Ghere and he politely helps you stand back up, the shock of your natural emotions having been too much to control as they returned.

'Another thing to look out for' you think as you head towards the door and hear your new bodies and followers come behind.

You need a plan. The Witch will be back in two weeks.You have a terrible feeling that something bad will happen if you cant appease her wishes.

For the first time today you feel somewhat in charge. Time to start a cult.

Where to start?

New powers added. Your sheet is now complete!

https://pastebin.com/V8q5g2iS

>Look over whats left of the Mirage. Maybe she is still in working order? It would be nice to have a place you are familiar with to use as a base of operations.

>Take your cult and begin scouting your surroundings, see if the Witch is still around to answer questions

>Head out immediately in a random direction with your thralls to find converts.

>Go over common knowledge in your head (Insert topic)

>Write in

Shameless self bump

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>>3429322
>Look over whats left of the Mirage. Maybe she is still in working order? It would be nice to have a place you are familiar with to use as a base of operations.

Space magic, cool
Other options seem like poor choices.

>>3431410
+1

>>3429322
>Take your cult and begin scouting your surroundings, see if the Witch is still around to answer questions

>>3431410
You pull your band of thralls and half collected cultists together and march out. The halls are still and silent now, a gentle flutter as the air circulates through long tunnels and the candle light flickers. Your walk down to the docks is just as ominous, taking the lift at the far end of the block up to the lounges that connect to the docks. Its strange that you find yourself in a cramped lift tube with these creatures by your side. Knowing that they used to be human.

There is a soft ding as you reach the upper floor, the segmented fence seperating you from the platform folding away into the floor and ceiling as you step out and walk down the long empty corridors. You can see her from hear out the large bay windows, just a few flickering lights the only sign that any life is still kicking around in the old girl. Oh well. You reach the dock, the unpowered loading umbilical airlock refusing to yeild. You have an envoy rip it open and step inside.

Roll 1d6+1 for having your Envoys have you search the remains of the mirage. No help for having Wasters help, since you are just spending your attention more ways with them.

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>>3433190
(Of course my image didnt post, why would it?)

Rolled 3 + 1 (1d6 + 1)

>>3433190

Rolled 1 + 1 (1d6 + 1)

>>3433190
searchin

Rolled 4 + 1 (1d6 + 1)

>>3433190

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>>3434471
>>3433216
>>3434118

You crawl through the umbilical portal and begin to fan out the twisted limbs of the envoys dragging them forward quite loudly. Your small group spends the better part of two hours tracking up and down the cramped and dark halls of the Mirage assessing damage... Well, mostly the Envoys bring you back things half remembered and let you see whats most important while you take stock.

The central computer, essential for the operation of the experimental gate drive was taken, as well as most of the electronics from the bridge. A further inspection shows that the black box was taken as well. You remember that you had thought of immediately after the capture, and wonder to yourself if you had somehow tipped the witch off to its location.

Aside that turning over plates and tearing replacement parts out of storage in tightly filled totes and crates in storage holds you are confident that the Mirage will never fly again, but she could be convinced to fall gracefully under impulse power. You consider a few scenarios in your head, using the gravity of the station to slowly and gently slingshot yourself where you want to go.

Its not ideal, but you aren't an engineer, and a steering wheel was more or less miraculous as it was.

Aside that, turning over the rest of the ship you manage to find a few sets of spare uniforms, a single serve space suit for exterior repairs, a weeks rations in dehydrated food, and a working life-support system. The closest thing to a weapon aboard are a few all-in-one tools probably intended to be for prospecting and geological survey that may make good impaling implements.

As you look over the dozen or so suits that you have you shoot a look towards the mangled bodies of the Wasters. You consider that with some hard work tearing up the uniforms they are already wearing and using them as bandages you might be able to put them in new suits and not have them leak through. Their walk would still be completely unmistakable, but they would look human.

>Equip Wasters to look human at a distance?
>Y/N

The Mirage quietly groans in her docking clamps, the whisper of the vents and the subtle shaking of the station gravity pulling you down is distracting. Set about with near but not complete silence you hear nothing but annoyance after annoyance. You can already imagine missing time back in the far part of the Pastor capital where the nights were calm, cool, and quiet.

In fact, its so close to silence, you could swear you could hear something moving around outside past the umbilical.

Notice check d6, best of three

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>3434837
>Y

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>3434837
>Equip Wasters to look human at a distance?
>Y

File: GOGG Crawler.png (1.75 MB, 915x752)

1.75 MB PNG

>>3435304
>>3435440
You set to ordering your Envoys, Ghere and Judy both taking to prying the doors of the exterior airlock shut as the distant sounds move closer. Meanwhile you stay back and begin to work over the wasters. You really aren't left a lot to work with when you have stripped them completely down. In many places the transformation has forced their muscles to lash and bulge painfully which has snapped bones into new positions. All of it healed for the most part but the strange bulges and slow trickle of blood from some wounds requires extra binding and labor. By the time Ghere groans back to you from the airlocks you are almost done with the fifth of the wasters. Stepping back and rubbing your blackened gloves on a handful of shredded scraps you can see you made good progress. They have most of the silhouette of a man now though without a proper mask to put on them they are entirely obvious as monsters. You resign to strapping their re-breathers back onto them.

You have no fear of these empty puppets biting you, but you are worried how they would be of any use in a fight. Whats left of Envoy Judy sends you a thought, and you watch the cloudy vision through her half formed eyes.

On the other side of the interior airlock she has managed to spot at least 5 lumbering quadruped golems, eyes shining like great spotlights, park themselves outside.

You watch curiously as they inspect the door, and then turn to peer in from the door.

As a Pastoran you are not entirely unfamiliar with golems. Some crystalline race that mankind had subjugated long before your ancestors ever came to the outer heavens. Though the shape and make of these golems is new to you there comes a certain understanding. Id, the strange crystal creatures that pilot these bodies make good laborers and quiet servants but tend to go bad with age and particularly isolation. You have a moment of hope, realizing that the vast majority of Id no longer know how to keep themselves alive that this might be a sign there are indeed people alive on this wreck. At the same time you are worried they are the remains of the station workforce, gone terribly feral with Isolation Syndrome and just as likely to tear you and your thralls limb from limb as you open the airlocks.

You are at an impasse as you order your envoys to step back from the umbilical door.

>Gather your wasters and Envoys for a charge. You have the bodies to kill five of them, and they seem unnarmed. (Give me an order for the charge and Ill roll the combat out)

>Attempt to call out to the golems and see if they are still sane. D6 persuasion, they will have time enough to open the doors.

>Detach the umbilical and try to maneuver for a different dock. d4-2 piloting

>Other (Write in)

>>3435587
>Attempt to call out to the golems and see if they are still sane. D6 persuasion, they will have time enough to open the doors.

>there are indeed people alive on this wreck
Were we not living on the wreck before the whole witching shit happened?

>>3435587
>Attempt to call out to the golems and see if they are still sane. D6 persuasion, they will have time enough to open the doors.

>>3435839
>>3435895
>Attempt to call out to the golems and see if they are still sane. D6 persuasion, they will have time enough to open the doors.

Roll the d6s!

>>3435839
Your memories are more or less blurred by the fact you died but a few things still stick out. You know that you are a Pastoran, from the titular Pastor and head of the Pastorian Allied Worlds. You remember that they were one of the core factions of something called the Concordat, the greater human empire. You took this job because you were asked too, because you could do it. You were to join a crew aboard an experimental deep space craft capable of safely taking crew through a worm hole without killing them. These memories are far more clear. You know that this world was logged on a astrological database back on Pastor as being a point of interest that was until now unreachable.


You arrived, and after cursory examination of this system, Pandorum, found the presence of this massive space station. When you flew near to begin mapping its surface the Witch as you now know her pulled your ship in and her thralls captured you and the crew. Everyone was either killed and sapped of their souls, or put through the ritual you undertook. You aren't sure you are alive right now, but it feels very real and ever since you have been able to feel the thoughts of the other people who undertook the ritual and control the warped bodies of those who didn't. You also keep hearing and feeling the presence of the entity that you think you were sacrificed too.

Even just going over these thoughts is like touching a fresh wound. Maybe you will remember more when you have had a few days to recover.

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>3435945

I think Ive come up with a good way to handle rolls for a quest format now.

Going forwards, a 1 is an instant fail, and whatever the highest numeral of the dice test is a pass and will either pass or negate the 1. That gives a lot more room for variance in these success rates. I still need those next two rolls but will supply them is no one comes along by tomorrow evening.

Rolled 1, 2 = 3 (2d6)

>>3435947
So, heres the revised stuff, for future use.

1 is a crit fail, worse than normal, get punished
top result of a die is a crit success overturns fails and crit fails, better than normal.
4 unchanged, normal benchmark

>>3436868
>1
Uh oh

You have the envoys step back farther from sight and watch out towards the maneuvering Golems. Watching for facination for a moment, you manage to spot as a circular port pops up alongside the chassis, a large rotating turret revealing itself. it switched between a few barrels breifly then comes a burst of sparks.

From this side of the airlock it looks like they are cutting through the stationside unpowered airlock. You shout out to them in an effort to have them stop.

"Wait! Dont do that! Please! We are friendly! Dont breach the airlock or we will detach!"

One of the crude walkers perks up, as it moves aside and awkwardly cranes to stare in through the viewport as another golem takes its place welding the door open. Its eye tracks across the umbilical to you on the otherside of the Mirage airlock.

It drones out in a distorted buzzing tone, barely distinguishable through the obvious decay of the speaker and the muffle of the two doors.

"Unlawful docking without clearance. You are subject to fines and forfeiture. Clause 14-1a of docking code breached. You are not a scheduled flight. Place aside weapons and prepare for boarding."

There is a ping as the door slides loose of the last slagged patch of metal and a grinding groan as it is lifted up and in, from this side you can see the clawed limbs of these things.

This might not be good.

>Persuade them that you are refugees and they should excuse your breach of dock for hospitality. Id are supposed to be servile afterall. (Lie) Persuasion d6 and pray for a crit

>Organise the envoys and Wasters to fight them. d4-2 battle roll

>Decouple from the umbilical from the inside. You will drift off and either have to redock shortly or make a piloting roll later, but it will give you time to think. No check.

>Run to the bridge and attempt to tear free and find a safer place to dock. Piloting check d4-2

>>3437152
>Decouple from the umbilical from the inside. You will drift off and either have to redock shortly or make a piloting roll later, but it will give you time to think. No check.
Don't suppose we could have our weird flesh monsters breach from an exterior point? Or are they still vulnerable to space...

>>3437177
That is a spectacular idea. You arent sure about the Envoys as they still to be living breathing creatures, but as far as you can tell the Wasters dont breath. Their lungs might pop if they go out, but its not like they need them right? Who are they talking to anyway?

Is this the action you would like to take? I would bump your battle roll up to just a straight d4 for something that daring.

Rolled 4 (1d4)

>>3437205
Sure, have them break through a space window or something. Then hopefully we can come back through the airlock wile the interior golems are distracted?

Also, rolling for that just because I can

Still need to call for rolls, but Ill let this one count towards whatever is decided since you need it.

Ill be busy for a few hours but when I come back we will go with whatever has consensus

>>3437177
>>3437152
+1

>>3437280
>>3437251

Alright, we have agreement.

D4s gentlemen

>>3437836
Well, I've already rolled, so...

Rolled 3, 3 = 6 (2d4)

>>3437836

Bum

File: General Ordinance Grenadi(...).png (1.02 MB, 689x553)

1.02 MB PNG

>>3440961
>>3437836
>>3437251

You don't have time to wait or prepare, you immediately move the Wasters out to the exclusion bay as you dive for the console aside the interior airlock. As you begin to prepare the command to break the airlock connection you take the control remote for the bay in your hand as a waster and begin to vent. The air disperses from the bay quickly as you force an emergency open, and your wasters holding onto the deck are thrust into vacuum and then begin to climb.

You stare out the airlock as three of the Golems begin to march through the segmented hall of the umbilical.

"Do not attempt to detach, and present all cargo for tally and seizure. Any resistance will incur further fines issuant to statute 14 1B. Resistance may be met with fine, imprisonment, or death. We appreciate your cooperation."

You watch as the golems carefully crawl along even as your other eyes guide your hands, 7 sets as they crawl across the surface of the Mirage, and then one by one make leaps through the void of space. There are several near misses as coordinating several sets of hands goes beyond your own confidence, but all of your wasters manage to reach the flight lounge near the dock, several unhooking their survey gear and slashing into the transparent windows. Almost immediately there is a change in the Golems who freeze for a moment as a breach alarm sounds. They ping back and forth to each other in high pitched tones before speaking again in Imperial Common.

"A maintenance failure has occurred. Space debris or mico-meteorites have rendered interior atmosphere at risk. do not attempt to move your vessel as we assess the problem." The point Golem calls through the door.

You silently nod to them as your hand hovers on the button to detach the umbilical.

Meanwhile your Wasters finish ripping a hole in the lounge and as the last of the white gases pour into space a red light washes over the interior. They fall and land one by one on the platform and you confirm the movement of Golem eyes down the ramp to your dock. There is a roar of rushing metal like a train rolling into station as a series of segmented plates begin to fall over the broken window and an inflatable barrier erupts to cordon off that area.

Prepare your wasters for ambush at-

>The docking ramp entrance
>Among the waiting benches near the breach
>Have them charge the Golems while lighting is impaired.

Meanwhile

>Blow the airlock connection and seperate the Mirage from the station.
>Open the doors and kill the Golem outside with your Envoys
>Lure the Golem inside and ambush it with all three Envoys.

Shameless bump

>>3441754
Second slightly more shameful bump

>>3441634
Prepare your wasters for ambush at
>The docking ramp entrance
Always at the choke points

Meanwhile
>Blow the airlock connection and seperate the Mirage from the station.
Assuming this will kill the golems in the airlock?

>>3441754
>>3441850
It's midweek, and /qst/ is a slow board on the best of days. I wouldn't worry too much

Last bump and then the new thread tommorow. Will go with
>>3442945
If no one objects

>>3442945
Support