File: 0680-0750.webm (1.15 MB, 960x540)

1.15 MB WEBM

You weigh the odds carefully. Yes, the entity in front of you is an unknown. Yes, the prospect of being in its personal debt is highly concerning.

But did you have a better option?

You have a hard time thinking of one. Communication with central command had already broken down. And everything you’ve seen so far has indicated that you might be chewing into something several cuts above your figurative paygrade.

That said, there was also no reason to be hasty. Your mind dwells on a few concerns, and – as promised – the heterotypic countess responds in kind.

++I WILL DISARTICULATE THE THREADING BEHIND HIS EYES. YOU MAY BE SEEN BY HIS SERVANTS BUT 𒄊𒀕 𒀫 WILL NOT KNOW++

Another moment of disorientation, and an image of the vanishing firewatch tower flits through your mind.

++EXCISION IS ALSO POSSIBLE, BUT MY REACH IS NOT LIMITLESS. RECALL THAT I TOO AM A TRESPASSER++

She pauses for a moment.

++AND MY REQUEST IS PRIMARILY ONE OF ANCHORING. PERSONAL ASSISTANCE IN MAKING MY PRESENCE LESS TRANSIENT++

The moment your mind settles on the agreement, the entity produces three sigils in rapid sequence. Then, it disappears in a characteristic black flash.

The last sigil lingers in your vision. An after-mirage squirms gently behind your eyelids the next time you blink.

File: 0680-0800.webm (1.88 MB, 960x540)

1.88 MB WEBM

+++++++++++++++

While the verbal summary you pass to the ground team isn’t met with enthusiasm, both Carter and Popov have enough experience to assess the situation pragmatically: they know that leaving with a vague obligation and a mysterious benefactor was far from the worst possible outcome of that encounter.

Your force reaches the designated LZ after another fifteen minutes of flight time. The transport pilots throttle back their engines, neatly descending into a square-shaped clearing free of heavy tree cover

This area is marked as a small farm. A collapsing ranch-house sits at the clearing’s edge, overlooking the landing zone. Looking closer, you see evidence of worked fields – albeit now overgrown – and heavy equipment – albeit now rusted.

The transports touch down with near-perfect synchronization. Condensation cascades from their rotating airfoils, slinging water droplets into the surrounding grass. Nose-mounted searchlights struggle to stab through the all-pervasive mist.

The side-doors pop open, and Carter’s infantry dismount with practiced ease. At the same time, Popov’s IFV roars down the ramp, its turret rotating as it scans for targets.

“QRF-15 away.”

“QRF-5A deployed.”

As the transports take off to relocate to a safter landing zone, the two squads turn on their trackers. You count eight green diamonds for QRF-15 and a light vehicle marker for QRF-5A.

“Radio check complete. Advancing.”

Carter orders his operatives to space out, advancing towards the farmhouse – and the settlement center – in a loose screening formation in front of the IFV. With practiced calm, he gives a running account of his observations over the comm.

“…air is appallingly humid…visibility less than 150 feet…and look at this shit. It’s everywhere on the ground.”

‘What is?” you ask, your curiosity getting the better of you.

File: Filament_phosphoillumines(...).png (1.19 MB, 1024x1024)

1.19 MB PNG

“Some kind of… a fungus maybe? Doesn’t look too natural to me; the stuff moves like its breathing. Take a look, Seraph.”

He pushes a grainy video feed to your HUD. Just as he describes, the ground seems to be covered by darkly mottled growths that cluster in ropey patches. As the camera tilts upwards, you notice that the patches seem to emanate from the delipidated ranch-house. Popov notices too, reaching the natural conclusion a moment before you do.

“It appears to be coming from the house. Perhaps we should take a closer look?”

>Bypass the ranch-house and proceed to the AO. You’re on a limited time (and ammo) budget, and you have no particular interest in creating new problems. The mission is to rescue the recon team – and you plan to do that ASAP.

>Enter the ranch-house and take a quick look. A brief, 10 minute diversion is reasonable given how little information you have. If you’re careful, you might be able to learn more about the occluded area – and what might await you once you reach the town proper.

>>5428925
>>Enter the ranch-house and take a quick look. A brief, 10 minute diversion is reasonable given how little information you have. If you’re careful, you might be able to learn more about the occluded area – and what might await you once you reach the town proper.

You're back!

>>5428925
>Enter the ranch-house and take a quick look. A brief, 10 minute diversion is reasonable given how little information you have. If you’re careful, you might be able to learn more about the occluded area – and what might await you once you reach the town proper.

>>5428925
>Enter the ranch-house and take a quick look. A brief, 10 minute diversion is reasonable given how little information you have. If you’re careful, you might be able to learn more about the occluded area – and what might await you once you reach the town proper.

>>5428925
>>Bypass the ranch-house and proceed to the AO. You’re on a limited time (and ammo) budget, and you have no particular interest in creating new problems. The mission is to rescue the recon team – and you plan to do that ASAP.

>>5428925

>Enter the ranch-house and take a quick look. A brief, 10 minute diversion is reasonable given how little information you have. If you’re careful, you might be able to learn more about the occluded area – and what might await you once you reach the town proper.

Welcome back, QM.

>>5428925
>Enter the ranch-house and take a quick look
Even after we rescue the team (or find their bodies), SCP still needs to deal with this mess and the more information, the better.

>>5428925
>Enter the ranch-house and take a quick look. A brief, 10 minute diversion is reasonable given how little information you have. If you’re careful, you might be able to learn more about the occluded area – and what might await you once you reach the town proper.

Since we're still on schedule from not deviating from our planned insertion route, we can affor a little deviation. And a small house on the fringe of whatever this is s probably one of the better places to mess around to try and understand what we're up against and how it works. And what's effective against it.

>>5428932
>>5428934
>>5428941
>>5428963
>>5429023
>>5429049

Roll 1d20, best of 3. DC: 10

Rolled 14 (1d20)

>>5429292
Watch THIS

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>5429292
It's time to fail.

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>5429292

>>5429297
Glorious work.

>>5429292
Hey QM. I've taken a look at this quest in the archives, and its been splendid, seeing you poor such care into the 3D models for this quest. I don't have much to offer you but thanks for making this quest something special.

File: fras_Victorian_cabinet_of(...).png (1.77 MB, 1536x1024)

1.77 MB PNG

“Alright then buddy…and you’ll be there to back me up, right?”

“Of course, sir. We’ll be using our thermals to scan the treeline.” responds Popov.

“Figures. Hope you manage to find a good parking spot, dick.”

Despite Carter’s annoyance, QRF-15 waste no time in securing the house. The infantry split into two fireteams. One team circles around the aging structure, shimmying along the walls to shine weapon lights into vents and ground-story windows. The second group dons respirators, forming up by the front entrance once their counterparts finish the external check.

Carter nods. Their point man – a heavyset fellow decked in full-coverage ballistic plate– clicks his comm twice.

A rusted lock snaps. The wooden door swings inwards, sending swirls of yellowish dust into the still air.

The next few minutes are difficult to follow even with the benefit of a live camera feed. Room by room, corner by corner, the breach team sweeps through first floor of the house with commendable efficiency. At first, the haul seems disappointing. Notebooks. A few personal items. Several clumps of fungal growth that seem slightly more colorful than the rest. Nothing particularly out of place in a condemned, rotting farmhouse.

But on the second floor, the team notices a shift. Here, the growth thickens. Banks of spores cascade from rotting furniture. Interconnected nodules of dark, sporulating fungus climb up the walls and across the ceiling like ivy. The audio feed hisses as Carter purges his respirator to clear out particle build-up.

A few moments later, the team arrives at the apparent source. A reinforced door blocks their way – half open, but too rusted to move any further. It stops the team for no more than two minutes. A carefully-placed breaching charge sheers the hinges clean off, causing it collapse inwards with a crash. As the dust clears, you manage to make out the inside of the hallway.

The first thing you notice are the burn markings. The entire room is blacked with soot. But in the corner, one of the surviving bookcases is packed to the brim with notes and several stained…bottles? It is difficult to make out their precise contents, but the glass containers are carefully organized and meticulously catalogued. Carter illuminates a few of them for your benefit, allowing you to read the handwritten labels.

“SERF-HOST, TUMESCENT, FIXED IN 16% PFA, KILLED 2/5/XXXX, PHYS. TRAUMA”

“SQUIRE-HOST, SPORULATING, FIXED IN 16% PFA, KILLED 2/8/XXXX, THERMAL”

“VISCOUNT-SOURCE, TUMESCENT, FIXED IN 90% WOOD ALCOHOL/BLESSED ROSE WOOD, SCAVENGED 2/9/XXXX, XXXX”

File: 000.webm (1.45 MB, 480x270)

1.45 MB WEBM

As you puzzle over these cryptic annotations, Carter orders one of his men to begin packing the material for recovery. The rest continue down the hallway, entering the last room in the house.

“Christ on…”

He was alive. In a sense. You see a hunched figure in a chair. His skin is blotchy red: the color of coagulated blood. His hands are tied. Motionless.

But his face emits constant stream of…material that…pools on the ground. From the color and consistency, it no longer seems difficult to guess at the source of the fungal infestation.

Carter – for once – is speechless for few moments. After he recovers, he asks you and Popov for input on how to proceed.

>Leave. You have already secured a wealth of potential information by recovering the items in the last room. Withdraw and see if you can make sense of what you’ve already recovered.

>Leave and demolish. You don’t need to consult with archives to understand that something is seriously wrong here. After withdrawing with your recovered materials, Carter will torch the building with a few rounds of WP. You don’t want something popping up behind you…

>There is a book on the figure’s lap. If we’re careful…

>>5430490
And glad you've been enjoying things! I should honestly be thanking you guys for sticking around given my update schedule as of late.

>>5430542
>>Leave and demolish. You don’t need to consult with archives to understand that something is seriously wrong here. After withdrawing with your recovered materials, Carter will torch the building with a few rounds of WP. You don’t want something popping up behind you…

>>5430542
>Leave and demolish. You don’t need to consult with archives to understand that something is seriously wrong here. After withdrawing with your recovered materials, Carter will torch the building with a few rounds of WP. You don’t want something popping up behind you…
Kill it with fire!

>>5430542
>Leave and demolish. You don’t need to consult with archives to understand that something is seriously wrong here. After withdrawing with your recovered materials, Carter will torch the building with a few rounds of WP. You don’t want something popping up behind you…
Nah, fuck this noise

>>5430542
>Leave and demolish. You don’t need to consult with archives to understand that something is seriously wrong here. After withdrawing with your recovered materials, Carter will torch the building with a few rounds of WP. You don’t want something popping up behind you…
CAN'T_GO_WELL.jpg

>>5430542
>>Leave and demolish. You don’t need to consult with archives to understand that something is seriously wrong here. After withdrawing with your recovered materials, Carter will torch the building with a few rounds of WP. You don’t want something popping up behind you…

>>5430542
>>Leave and demolish. You don’t need to consult with archives to understand that something is seriously wrong here. After withdrawing with your recovered materials, Carter will torch the building with a few rounds of WP. You don’t want something popping up behind you…
Nope!

>>5430542
>There is a book on the figure’s lap. If we’re careful…
I say we ask Carter if he thinks he can get the book without disturbing the figure. Let him know though that it's up to him if he's ok trying it and we're down to
>Leave and demolish. You don’t need to consult with archives to understand that something is seriously wrong here. After withdrawing with your recovered materials, Carter will torch the building with a few rounds of WP. You don’t want something popping up behind you…
if he's not ok risking it.

>>5431170
>>5430672
>>5430640
>>5430607
>>5430556
>>5430551
>>5430548

Roll 1d20, best of 3. DC: 7 and 13

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>5431314
Here goes.

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>5431314

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>5431314

>>5431354
Nice.

>>5431314
What is meant by DC 7 and 13, are they two separate checks from the same roll for a partial success/success?

File: 0800-0970.webm (2.83 MB, 960x540)

2.83 MB WEBM

“Could you…”

“Nope. I mean…sorry. But nope. Look at it, Seraph. It looks dead now, but I REALLY don’t want to roll the dice on this one. We’re packed in here like sardines. Maybe if you absolutely think the…”

“That’s fine. Pull your team out of there when you’re ready.”

“Loud and clear. Withdrawing in five.”

After spending a few more minutes scavenging through the burnt hallway, Carter’s team emerges from the house’s front entrance. Two of their squad-mates greet them with sprayers filled to the brim with soapy neutralization solution.

The other pair retrieves a recoilless rifle from the IFV.

It was unclear if the bound figure that Carter found was hostile – or if was even alive - but the prospect of being ambushed from behind in a couple hours was one that nobody relished. It was a needless risk given the resources you had available.

The loader rams a shell into the breach. The gunner yells a black-blast warning. On Carter’s signal, the launcher team sends a fat round streaking into a second-story window. While the explosive impact of the shell is modest, the incendiary payload is anything but: rotting wood ignites as chunks of burning phosphorus splatter against the walls. Smoke billows from the remaining windows. The front of the house begins to collapse inwards.
Mapping the precise location of the bound figure onto the external structure of the building was difficult, but you get a rough idea as the burning progress. The smoke darkens as flames consumes the last few rooms of the second story, and you swear that you can almost see something squirming in the ruins.

You aren’t the only one. Popov’s gunner traverses his turret to lock onto a figure in the flames, only for it to rear up and collapse back into the burning ruins moment later.

The structure burns unnaturally quickly. In only fifteen minutes, the entire house is reduced to smoldering ashes. The growths – previously tumescent – lose their turgidity and recede back into the earth. More importantly, your communications device begins to pick up a carrier wave coming from the heart of the settlement. Still weak to make out a coherent transmission, but it was a welcome improvement over the horrific interference you had been dealing with for the past hour or so.

That was the good news. The bad news was that your impromptu bonfire may have attracted unwanted attention. A familiar sigil flares and knowledge enters into your mind. Knowledge that – while your esteemed patron may be able to hide your presence from prying eyes – this protection may not extend to a towering column of smoke visible for miles around.

[𒄊𒀕𒀫 remains unaware of your presence, but he may soon realize that something is amiss in his domain]

Still, you consider your next steps. As you advance through to the settlement, you have three potential routes…

>Railroad. An old railroad that leads directly to the town center. Area has relatively few trees. Better sight lines, but little to no hard cover – or even concealment.

>Suburbs. A dense suburban district adjacent to the town center. Your infantry will have more cover/concealment – and a greater chance to gather more critical intelligence – but the structures and narrow roads may pose unique dangers.

>Freeway. Not as open as the railroad but less crowded than the suburbs. The few structures that are here are massive, industrial warehouses
.
And while the bulk of the data that Carter has retrieved will have to be taken back to the facility to be analyzed, he can take the time to look over a few documents for useful intelligence. Pick one of the following.

>Personal Journal Excerpts, Dated 1/1/xxxx, R.E. Dobbs
“My activities are known to them now.”

>”Anatomical Notes, No Date”
“…they have always been obsessed with protocol. This quality does manifest in their biology, as monstrous and foreign as it may be…”

>”NOTE TO ANY FUTURE TRESPASSERS.”
“1. USE FLAMES 2. EVERYTHING IS RULED BY SOMETHING ELSE 3. DO NOT…”

>>5432685
>>Suburbs. A dense suburban district adjacent to the town center. Your infantry will have more cover/concealment – and a greater chance to gather more critical intelligence – but the structures and narrow roads may pose unique dangers.

>”NOTE TO ANY FUTURE TRESPASSERS.”
“1. USE FLAMES 2. EVERYTHING IS RULED BY SOMETHING ELSE 3. DO NOT…”

>>5431606
Yep. success for higher value and mitigated success/with complication for lower (to steal from drowned). I often had a similar system in mind when I judged previous rolls, so I just wanted the thresholds to be more explicit.

[s]The first check was for leaving the structure safely. The second was for a potential ambush/fight. You passed both checks, so you leave safely + torch all of the ambushers before they have a chance to run out. [/s]

>>5432685
>Freeway. Not as open as the railroad but less crowded than the suburbs. The few structures that are here are massive, industrial warehouses

>>5432685
>Freeway. Not as open as the railroad but less crowded than the suburbs. The few structures that are here are massive, industrial warehouses

>”NOTE TO ANY FUTURE TRESPASSERS.”

>>5432685
>Freeway. Not as open as the railroad but less crowded than the suburbs. The few structures that are here are massive, industrial warehouses
>”NOTE TO ANY FUTURE TRESPASSERS.”

>>5432685
>Freeway. Not as open as the railroad but less crowded than the suburbs. The few structures that are here are massive, industrial warehouses
>”NOTE TO ANY FUTURE TRESPASSERS.”

>>5432685

>Freeway. Not as open as the railroad but less crowded than the suburbs. The few structures that are here are massive, industrial warehouses

>”NOTE TO ANY FUTURE TRESPASSERS.”
“1. USE FLAMES 2. EVERYTHING IS RULED BY SOMETHING ELSE 3. DO NOT…”

>>5432685
>>Railroad. An old railroad that leads directly to the town center. Area has relatively few trees. Better sight lines, but little to no hard cover – or even concealment.
Trust our patron to carry out its end of the deal.

>”Anatomical Notes, No Date”

>>5432685
>Suburbs. A dense suburban district adjacent to the town center. Your infantry will have more cover/concealment – and a greater chance to gather more critical intelligence – but the structures and narrow roads may pose unique dangers.
>”NOTE TO ANY FUTURE TRESPASSERS.”
Watch this note say 3. DO NOT MAKE DEALS WITH WEIRD ALIEN SQUIDS

>>5432685
>Railroad. An old railroad that leads directly to the town center. Area has relatively few trees. Better sight lines, but little to no hard cover – or even concealment.
We've no time to lose, it's just a matter of time until we're found out. Let's go the fastest way.
>”NOTE TO ANY FUTURE TRESPASSERS.”
“1. USE FLAMES 2. EVERYTHING IS RULED BY SOMETHING ELSE 3. DO NOT…”
Knowledge for immediate use; that's the best.

>>5432685
Still, you consider your next steps. As you advance through to the settlement, you have three potential routes…
>Suburbs. A dense suburban district adjacent to the town center. Your infantry will have more cover/concealment – and a greater chance to gather more critical intelligence – but the structures and narrow roads may pose unique dangers.
And while the bulk of the data that Carter has retrieved will have to be taken back to the facility to be analyzed, he can take the time to look over a few documents for useful intelligence. Pick one of the following.
>”NOTE TO ANY FUTURE TRESPASSERS.”
“1. USE FLAMES 2. EVERYTHING IS RULED BY SOMETHING ELSE 3. DO NOT…”

>>5432948
>Trust our patron
Yeah, no. You'll forgive me for not trusting an eldritch squid we just met 20 minutes ago.

>>5433198
I voted against accepting its deal, but now that we have accepted it we have to make the most of it.

File: 0800-0970.webm (2.87 MB, 958x540)

2.87 MB WEBM

1. USE FLAMES
2. EVERYTHING IS RULED BY SOMETHING ELSE
3. DO NOT LET HIM TOUCH YOU.
4. DO NOT EVEN LOOK UPON HIS FACE. HE KNOWS WHEN HE IS SEEN.
5. THE GROWTH-TISSUE IS AN EXPRESSION OF ENVY
6. THE GROWTH-TISSUE SUPPRESSES – UNCLEAR HOW
7. THE CENTER OF THIS PLACE IS ALREADY HOLLOW
-R.E.

“Really? This is it? This is what passes for good advice around here?” Carter exclaims. “I don’t get why every occult dabbler feels the need to be so cryptic. I could write better than this. A child could probably write better than this.”

“Maybe the author wasn’t in the best state of mind when he was recording these notes,” Popov points out. He makes a noncommittal sound over the comm.

“um...Or to begin with…but, this does confirm some of our suspicions.”

He pauses for a moment before continuing.

“Both Seraph and I managed to recapture a carrier signal after the house burned down. Could have been a coincidence of course, but it seems to align with what the note is saying. The local concentration of anomalous tissue may determine the level of signal interference we encounter.”

It was an interesting hypothesis, and one that seemed to align with the information you had available. Whether or not it was really valid – of course – was another matter entirely.

“So, what about the last one. Center of the place being hollow? Pretty sure we’re not talking about a sinkhole here.”

“No good ideas here, captain. I’m not even sure if he’s talking about the coreof this settlement – or the centerof the entire occluded area.”

“Well, we can always wait and see.”

The next half-hour is fairly uneventful. After departing from the burnt ruins of the razed ranch-house, your force begins to follow a local freeway leading into the town center. A simple, straightforward path with good visibility and minimal tree cover. At least in theory.

At this point, you aren’t even surprised when you hit another complication. A few kilometers in front of your force, you make out a processing warehouse looming out from the pale mist. The structure resolves slowly as you approach. As such, you have more than enough time to realize that the shape is…off. The roof is supposed to flat, not lumpen. And the structure certainly shouldn’t be shifting.

It doesn’t take long for you to realize that you were looking at an advanced form of the growth-infection that Carter's team had sterilized in the ranch-house. The roof of the warehouse is decorated by thick drifts of black-red tissue that pulsate with disquieting regulatory. But the far more concerning part of the scene is actually scattered around the building’s periphery.

You see people. Too distant to make out specific facial features, but their silhouettes were unmistakable. Most of them are clustered tight around the growths, either periodically spastic or meandering in mindless, repetitive circles. It reminded you of moths swirling around a kerosene lamp.

On one hand, it wouldn’t be hard to bypass the warehouse. It would be a quick diversion, and the people – while certainly not uncompromised – don’t seem particularly well suited for giving chance.

On the other hand, you recall on Popov’s hypothesis. If razing a relatively small amount of tissue allowed you to recover a carrier wave, torching a structure of this size might open up local comms. Even a short window of communication could allow you to speak to command or – even better – communicate with the recon team you were tasked with recovering.

Though the decision is difficult, you ultimately decide to:

>Ignore. Go around.

>Engage. Prepare to destroy the warehouse and the growth-tissue surrounding it.

>>5434353
>Ignore. Go around.

Want to get closer before letting our enemy knows we're here.

>>5434353
>Ignore. Go around.
Further progress into settlement requires hostile inattention. Open assault on large growth structure and Sub-Anomaly A instances highly likely counterproductive to this objective with potential benefits uncertain. Recommend non-engagement at current.

>>5434353
>Ignore. Go around.
Nope, too early to start shooting.

>>5434353
>>Ignore. Go around.

>>5434353
>Ignore. Go around.
Best not alert the shroompeople any more.

>>5434353
>>Ignore. Go around.
Yea nah

>>5434353
>>Ignore. Go around.
The longer we're under the rader, the further we can get.

>>5434358
>>5434372
>>5434379
>>5434383
>>5434447
>>5434598
>>5434700

Roll 1d20, Best of 3. DC: 8 and 14

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>5434755

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>5434755

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>5434755

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>5434755
I don't like the idea of going around a FUCKING MASSIVE structure crawling with contacts especially when this is an extraction mission where we'll need a clear path back to the landing craft, but yolo.

>>5434765
nice clutch

>>5434765
Phew! Close one.

>>5430543
dont worry about it, if youre gone we'll just await your return and if youre here we'll participate.
Nice quest my dude.

>>5434767
Something tells me on our way back we're gonna be booking it so I think either well take the railroad back to the landing site or try a closer LZ

Thanks for the rolls! Next update will be slightly delayed till tomorrow night or Tuesday.

>>5436019
A thought occurs to me.

Considering how this... mushroom fungal cancer shit is the result of an extra dimensional being trying to claim things that don't belong to it, and that it has a tendency to spread...

Assuming we get out of this alive, /and/ we complete the mission objective, do our benefactors have decontamination measures in place to make sure we're not bringing any spores home with us? Should we message command to make sure that these procedures are followed to the letter?

“Careful now…”

The ground team slows. Carter organizes his infantry into a single-file formation to maintain clearance from the processing warehouse. His camera feed pans along the structure, allowing you to make out the surrounding figures with greater detail. As you track their movement, you amend your previous observation:

They weren’t just circling the growths. They were spiraling into them.

Only a few dozen meters in front of Carter’s feed, you see a blank-faced woman step into a puffy patch of tissue surrounded by organic-looking debris. She disrobes before tilting her neck back to face the sky.

A droplet of glittering…something…falls into her mouth. A moment later, her body melts into the ground like hot wax. The entire growth-cluster flushes a deep, vital red.

The congregation ratchets inward. An older man hobbles forward eagerly, ready to take her place.

If there was one saving grace to the morbid scene, it was that her companions were far too occupied with the performance to pay you any mind. The ground team passes the warehouse without attracting a single stray glance. Frankly, you felt that the same would have happened even if they barreled through the area at full tilt.

“I’m assuming that we’re marking these civilians as non-recoverable?” asks Popov.

“That’s putting it lightly. Recovery is the last thing on my mind right now,” responds Carter. “Stay clear of those growths, gents. And the civvies too. I don’t want to bring any of you back in a bucket.”

He hesitates for a moment before continuing on a private channel.

“But did you see the last guy there? The old dude with the hat?”

“Yes, captain. I saw him on your video feed.”

“We made eye contact. He was weeping before he went. ”

++++++++++++++++++

File: 0001-0120.webm (385 KB, 384x216)

385 KB WEBM

Finally, you reach the outer edge of the search area. Several blocks of unremarkable structures lay in front of the search team: an ungainly mishmash of residential units and commercial buildings. A few of them look untouched. Most are marred by familiar, bulbous growths that creep along walls and burst out through broken windows. The area is quiet, and the spore-coverage is thick. Carter’s camera feed is speckled by drifting clumps that – at first glance – remind you of gentle snowfall.

Needless to say, searching through the area blind would be a laborious, risky prospect. But fortunately for you, your comm array had just picked out a signal – a genuine, code-matching signal – from the senseless morass of clicks and pings saturating the airwaves.

“…req….immediate….ex……delta-nine-nine…about to be overwhelmed….engaged mass of hostiles….requesting….immediate…extract ”

File: 0800-0920.webm (2.43 MB, 958x540)

2.43 MB WEBM

You and Popov attempt to respond, but neither of you find much success. Either the message was set to transmit-only, or your broadcast had simply failed to reach their smaller, weaker man-portable comm units.

Source triangulation suggested that the extraction request originated only a few hundred meters to the team’s east – in a small cluster of two-to-three-story office buildings. Carter was chomping at the bit to breach the building and extract. But the final decision is up to you…

>Sanction the breach. QRF-15 will enter the building immediately and locate the source of the transmission. You and QRF-5A will provide perimeter security while the breach commences.

>We’ll look around first… Ask QRF-15 to scout out the region around the transmission. If there’s any funny business going on, you might be able to find out. But the transmission did seem to be urgent, so you would risk losing critical time if the team was in trouble.

>Write in? Neither of these strategies seem ideal to you. Is there a better course of action that you can think of?

>>5437881
>Sanction the breach. QRF-15 will enter the building immediately and locate the source of the transmission. You and QRF-5A will provide perimeter security while the breach commences.

>>5437881

>Sanction the breach. QRF-15 will enter the building immediately and locate the source of the transmission. You and QRF-5A will provide perimeter security while the breach commences.

>>5437881

>Sanction the breach!!!

It's go time, fuckers! Bang and clear! Safeties off so check your targets! *Pop the safety cover on your emergency big bang missile. Not that you WANT to use it around friendlies... But you want to use it on SOMETHING. You rev your engines and enjoy the erection.*

Lol, standard sweep, by the numbers, with all due speed but nothing fancy. As soon as the foot teams make contact you'll be there to drop the big boot on it. Save big bang for the boss.

>>5437881
>Sanction the breach. QRF-15 will enter the building immediately and locate the source of the transmission. You and QRF-5A will provide perimeter security while the breach commences.
Now it's time to start shooting

>Sanction the breach. QRF-15 will enter the building immediately and locate the source of the transmission. You and QRF-5A will provide perimeter security while the breach commences.

Might be a trap. But it might not be. Either way, its the best lead we have.

File: 1666170450603.png (27 KB, 640x400)

27 KB PNG

>>5437881
>Sanction the breach.

>>5437881
>>Sanction the breach. QRF-15 will enter the building immediately and locate the source of the transmission. You and QRF-5A will provide perimeter security while the breach commences.

>>5437881
>Sanction the breach. QRF-15 will enter the building immediately and locate the source of the transmission. You and QRF-5A will provide perimeter security while the breach commences.
I'm not sure about this though. Is the transmission even real? Is there actually a fight going on? God knows it might just be a temporal echo of hours earlier or something. Still, we have to try.

>>5437737
I would imagine not!SCP is well experienced in situations like this and takes no chances when around even slightly potentially biohazardous anomalies.

Roll 1d20, best of 3. DC: 15

:)

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>5438162

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>5438162
>captcha: HVM8N
gee, I sure how they still are

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>5438162

File: shame.gif (890 KB, 244x212)

890 KB GIF

>3, 7, 9
Well, stealth was good while it lasted

File: 0001-0211.webm (1.19 MB, 480x270)

1.19 MB WEBM

“Copy. We’re moving in.”

Two entrypoints. Two fireteams. QRF-15 rushes into the first floor of the building, rifles aggressively shouldered. They sweep and move by ear, estimating their distance to delta-nine-nine by judging the amount of interference cluttering the comm transmission. While most of your attention is focused on covering the courtyard surrounding the building, you steal occasional glances at Carter’s camera feed to track the progress of his team.

Nothing on the first two levels. The two fireteams ascend a narrow staircase to reach the third floor. And as they advance through a series of abandoned office spaces, the transmission finally clears.

“…requesting immediate extraction. Delta nine nine…we engaged a mass of hostiles thirty minutes ago and are about to be overwhelmed….Requesting immediate extraction…”

The message wasn’t automated. The intonation varied as it repeated, so you assume that it was spoken rather than looped. But something was still…off. It might be the calm, unhurried delivery. Or sound of sloshing fluid in the background. A sound that you had previously dismissed as a simple audio artifact.

Both teams reach the locked door at the end of the hallway. Too thick to barge open. Carter’s point man grunts before slapping a trio of explosive cutting charges onto the unyielding surface. You click open the comm channel to warn him….before….

The charges blow, overloading the camera feed with a cascade of sparks. Metal shears, and the door crashes forward. Weapon lights stab forward to illuminate the scene within.

You find one of the four members of delta-nine-nine. He is not good to look at.

His twitching body is suspended from the ceiling, only recognizable due to the teal plate carrier still covering the upper half of his torso. Much like the figure your team had found – and then consigned – near the ranch-house, most of his face has been generously repurposed to spread the growth-tissue pooling around him.

But not all of it. His jaw and throat remain intact, repeating an extraction request that he had probably clung onto during his final living moments.

Carter is smart enough to understand the gravity of the situation. He orders his team back, but it is too late.

The transmission stops. The body gives one final, agonized spam before merging entirely with the surrounding tissue.

You turn your attention back your guncam. The ground trembles like taunt skin. Dark rain begins to fall. Targeting reticles flicker accross your HUD, picking up traces of movement in the thickening fog. This is it. Your team has been discovered.

[𒄊𒀕𒀫 is now aware of your presence, but it will take time for him to find your exact location and reach you]

[Your deal with the heterotypic countess gives you one turn of preparation time. Choose one of the following]

>Fortify. You’ve had enough. You’ll arm up and break whatever’s coming for you before you continue the mission any further. The building that the team is searching is in relatively good shape – and mostly free of growth-tissue. The courtyard offers good fire lanes, with minimal cover for an advancing enemy. The ground team will spend the next twenty minutes fortifying their position. QRF-15A will set up emplaced weapons and a small selection of explosive traps. QRF-5A will dismount and provide additional fire support.

>Evacuate - West. You have no desire to be pinned and surrounded. QRF-15A will evacuate the building immediately. You will move as far away as possible in hopes of eluding the nastier stuff. After that, you’ll call for extraction as soon as possible. You already know what happened to one member of the scouting team. Not hard to guess about the rest
.
>Evacuate - East. You have no desire to be pinned and surrounded. QRF-15A will evacuate the building immediately. You will move further into the town. Hopefully, you’ll be able to elude whatever’s coming after you without abandoning the mission.

>>5439339
>Evacuate - East. You have no desire to be pinned and surrounded. QRF-15A will evacuate the building immediately. You will move further into the town. Hopefully, you’ll be able to elude whatever’s coming after you without abandoning the mission

>>5439339
>>Evacuate - East. You have no desire to be pinned and surrounded. QRF-15A will evacuate the building immediately. You will move further into the town. Hopefully, you’ll be able to elude whatever’s coming after you without abandoning the mission.

>>5439339
>Fortify. You’ve had enough. You’ll arm up and break whatever’s coming for you before you continue the mission any further. The building that the team is searching is in relatively good shape – and mostly free of growth-tissue. The courtyard offers good fire lanes, with minimal cover for an advancing enemy. The ground team will spend the next twenty minutes fortifying their position. QRF-15A will set up emplaced weapons and a small selection of explosive traps. QRF-5A will dismount and provide additional fire support.
God fucking dammit, we need to be more careful anons.

>>5439339
>Evacuate - East. You have no desire to be pinned and surrounded. QRF-15A will evacuate the building immediately. You will move further into the town. Hopefully, you’ll be able to elude whatever’s coming after you without abandoning the mission.

>>5439377
Even if it was a trap we still had to try for our comrades

>>5439381
We should've used a write-in with a smarter approach is what I'm saying.

>>5439339
>Evacuate - East. You have no desire to be pinned and surrounded. QRF-15A will evacuate the building immediately. You will move further into the town. Hopefully, you’ll be able to elude whatever’s coming after you without abandoning the mission
It might not be over for everyone, but we definitely don't want to hold up until we're found.

>>5439339
>Fortify. You’ve had enough. You’ll arm up and break whatever’s coming for you before you continue the mission any further. The building that the team is searching is in relatively good shape – and mostly free of growth-tissue. The courtyard offers good fire lanes, with minimal cover for an advancing enemy. The ground team will spend the next twenty minutes fortifying their position. QRF-15A will set up emplaced weapons and a small selection of explosive traps. QRF-5A will dismount and provide additional fire support.

>>5439339
>Evacuate - East. You have no desire to be pinned and surrounded. QRF-15A will evacuate the building immediately. You will move further into the town. Hopefully, you’ll be able to elude whatever’s coming after you without abandoning the mission.

>>5439339

>Evacuate - East. You have no desire to be pinned and surrounded. QRF-15A will evacuate the building immediately. You will move further into the town. Hopefully, you’ll be able to elude whatever’s coming after you without abandoning the mission.

Gonna be honest, don't like the odds of the team. But, orders are orders. And no way in hell are we leaving anyone to these things mercies.

File: runaway.gif (4.63 MB, 500x500)

4.63 MB GIF

>>5439339
>Evacuate - East. You have no desire to be pinned and surrounded. QRF-15A will evacuate the building immediately. You will move further into the town. Hopefully, you’ll be able to elude whatever’s coming after you without abandoning the mission.

File: 0800-0920.webm (2.32 MB, 958x540)

2.32 MB WEBM

“Contact! Contact three-o-clock!”

Calling the resistance light would be generous. The lumpen figures blocking your team’s advance neither had the mental capacity to mount an ambush nor the natural aggression to succeed without one. They meander towards the ground team in uncoordinated clusters, utterly oblivious to their surroundings.

Static-laced gunfire crackles over the comm line. Short, disciplined bursts of carbine fire rip into their curiously soft bodies, releasing puffs of spores into the air. Most of them stop moving after five or six shots. Some take a more.

“Assistance?”

“Negative, Seraph. All targets neutralized. Advancing”

After QRF-15 exfiltrated the office building, you had collectively decided to travel east. Yes – it would move you deeper into enemy territory – but the option didn’t seem nearly as suicidal as staying put and waiting for the proverbial knock-on-the door.

So here you were. Watching two squads of infantry and a single IFV meander down a narrow street in an unfathomably hostile settlement. Your fingers reflexively tighten on the control stick, and your palms itch furiously despite the low quality of the opposition. There was no way that things would be this easy. You wait for the other shoe to drop.

And drop it does.

As the IFV crunches through an intersection, you watch with growing alarm as a distressingly dense patch of grey-white fog begins to coalesce. A head – featureless like an unfinished statue and bowed in mock supplication – floats into view, spilling grey-red growth substance into the asphalt below. Limbs whisk through the air, thin and atrophied.

As a targeting box flits over the entity, you take note of the un-light seeping from its torso. It silhouettes at least a dozen lumpen figures meandering in its wake. A proper congregation for someone of proper import.

The entity raises one hand to the sky and the seep of un-light begins to turn into a flood. An envious mantra - delivered in unintelligible infrasonic - travels through the air to shake the acceleration gel cushioning your body.

[𒄊𒀕𒀫 is now aware of your presence. He knows where you are, but he has not reached you yet…]

“Now would be good, Seraph. Request direct fire support…”

>Which weapon(s) you want to use…

Also, you order the ground team to…

>Get out of the open and into cover now! (lower DC, will not damage entity on success)
>Engage! Put it down as fast as you can! (higher DC, will damage entity on success)

>>5442769
>Engage! Put it down as fast as you can! (higher DC, will damage entity on success)
I'm feeling lucky

has QM stated which loadout won the vote somewhere? I can't see it in the previous thread.

>>5442826
He didn't state the outcome, but based on last thread's vote it should be
>Main: 2A13 40mm HEI w specialty Choircall munitions
>Auxiliaries: 6x Hydra HEDP rockets, 2x AGS-9 HEDP missiles, 1x AGS-12 THERM missile, 1x 40 MW LAS-POD

>>5442769
>>5442770
I should add my munitions to this, speaking of. I want to open up with the 40mm using the Choircall grenades and the AGS-9 missiles. No chance of missing with the former, and the latter should do a number on the main target.

>>5442769
>Engage! Put it down as fast as you can! (higher DC, will damage entity on success)

>>5442769
>>Engage! Put it down as fast as you can! (higher DC, will damage entity on success)

Fire on the small monsters with our main gun, don't use use our choircall ammo.

Fire one AGS-9 missile on the big monster.

>>5442826
Yep. I think I included the final loadout in one of the takeoff animations, but this anon is right.

>>5442834

I'll wait a little longer to see if we can get a consensus on which weapon to use, then I'll ask for rolls.

>>5443527
I'll support >>5442834 ammo
I'm >>5442842

>>5442769

I think this is too little
>>5443150

I think this is probably a waste of high-precision ammunition, but better than the alternative. (tiebreak in favor of this)
>>5442836

really I'd prefer
focus the big one, AGS-9, two Hydra, 40mm choircall
that's option two, but with one AGS-9 swapped for two hydra.
basically betting that this thing can't move very quickly, save the other AGS-9 for something that flies.

>>5442769
Use the HEI 40mm on the small fry

Fire one AGS-9 missile on the big monster.

Its not THAT bad yet, and Choircall is pretty limited. Stick to conventional for now.

>Get out of the open and into cover now! (lower DC, will not damage entity on success)

Yea get them out of the open and away from the horde.

We're still tied 2:2 I think, but feel free to start rolling.

> Roll 2d20, best of 3.

>>5443742
The vote is for which weapon from that list you want to use. Or did you mean you want to support:
>>5442834

Rolled 12, 10 = 22 (2d20)

>>5444385

Rolled 14, 11 = 25 (2d20)

>>5444385

Rolled 10, 19 = 29 (2d20)

>>5444385

>>5442769
>Get out of the open and into cover now! (lower DC, will not damage entity on success)
2xHYDRA RKT-HEDP targeted at the big boy followed up by 40mm HEI. If that doesn't work then we can step things up.

File: Out.webm (2.89 MB, 958x540)

2.89 MB WEBM

[𒀭𒀳, HIS LEAST-GENTLE COLLECTOR]

HP: 100/100

DC1: 15 (14-CLOSE FAIL)

DC2: 10 (19-HIGH PASS)

“Engage! Engage!”
As you maneuver your craft into a firing position, you realize that your team wasn’t in a fantastic position. The entity had manifested far too close for comfort, and the narrow street afforded little room for maneuvering. The only thing that would get them through this would be firepower – and firepower alone.

Fortunately, firepower was something that your team had brought in ample supply. Flocks of thin tracers flash through the mist as QRF-15 begins peppering the approaching congregation with assorted small arms fire. A moment later, Popov's IFV tracks its turret to join the fusilade. A glowing chain of 20mm cannon rounds rip down the alleyway, scoring a series of solid hits against the entity.

[𒀭𒀳, HIS LEAST-GENTLE COLLECTOR] (-14/2)

HP: 44/50

The response is instantaneous. The viscous seep of honeyed unlight. A fuzzy burst of static over the comms that almost blocks out Carter’s panicked warning.

“Scatter! Scatter now, damn it!”

A familiar flash. You hear a confused gasp followed by agonized screaming. One of the indicators on your HUD blinks open-yellow, indicating a potential casualty.

“Status?”

“Still alive. Torez lost his entire right arm, and a good chunk of his shoulder looks… not so good. Damn thing just erased a solid chunk of road we were standing on! Our rifles are doing jack shit. Hit it with something heavy, Seraph!”

“Copy.”

After stitching a few autocannon rounds into the shambling figures screening the entity, you manage to acquiring a solid lock on the entity. You unshackle an AGS-14 missile and squeeze the firing stud.

Traveling on a short, clinical arc, the missile impacts your target with a gratifyingly large explosion that obscures your view with red-shot shrapnel and billowing smoke. The entity…spasms…for a moment before limping forward to vomiting a fibrous stream of material onto the ground. While its biology was clearly unnatural, it was obvious that you had just hurt it. Badly.

[𒀭𒀳, HIS LEAST-GENTLE COLLECTOR] (-19x2)

HP: 6/50

And the entity knew it too. It turns its attention to the sky, tracking your craft with a degree of precision that you find distinctly disquieting. Your disquiet transforms into abject concern as it begins to gesture with its remaining hand.

Unlight creeps through your monitor. Your comm link breaks into static. You smell something through your rebreather: a sharp, lytic tang of fresh ozone and burnt hair…

>EVADE. Set the throttle to max and dodge whatever is coming! The ground team can finish the entity off.

>ENGAGE. Get their first! Kill the thing before it can attack you. [If you select this option, STATE WHICH WEAPON you wish to use]

>>5448386
>ENGAGE. Get their first! Kill the thing before it can attack you.[LAS-POD]
It may have magic fuckery, but this laser is a lot faster.

>>5448386
>ENGAGE - LAS-POD
The couple of seconds of travel time saved with a laser could change who gets zapped here

>>5448386
>>ENGAGE. Get their first! Kill the thing before it can attack you. [If you select this option, STATE WHICH WEAPON you wish to use]
LAS-POD.

>>5448386
>ENGAGE. Get their first! Kill the thing before it can attack you.[LAS-POD]

>>5448386
>ENGAGE. Get their first! Kill the thing before it can attack you.[LAS-POD]

Dodge light you eldritch blob!

>>5448393
>>5448399
>>5448407
>>5448662
>>5448971

Roll 1d20+5, best of 3. DC: 12

Rolled 8 + 5 (1d20 + 5)

>>5448993
Whoops, you didn't see that one

Rolled 16 + 5 (1d20 + 5)

>>5448993

Rolled 16 + 5 (1d20 + 5)

>>5448993

Rolled 4 + 5 (1d20 + 5)

Ooops, my bad. Thought only 2 people rolled.

File: 1075-1175.webm (2.1 MB, 958x540)

2.1 MB WEBM

The thing was faster you. You knew this. It probably knew it too.

In the time it would take to sling down another missile or arrest your craft’s forward momentum, the encounter would be over. The entity would be dead – sure - but you would probably be left with one or two fridge-sized voids in your fuselage. While you’re a decent pilot, you’re not some kind of psychokinetic wizard: damage like that would certainly be terminal.

Fortunately, missiles aren’t the only thing slung under your gunship’s winglets. The chemical halogen laser pod was a niche weapon, but it had served you remarkably well during your last deployment. A few solid hits against a disintegrating summon taught you that its collimated beam could incinerate flesh as easily as it could melt through high-density composite armor.

More importantly, it was a laser. And lasers are exceptionally fast.

You cycle to the weapon and depress the firing stud. A familiar, scintillating beam flashes into view with the pressurized scream of gas-discharge, bridging the distance between you and the target instantly. You’re not entirely sure what the entity is made of. It doesn’t matter. Not-flesh bubbles and sparks as the laser sweeps across a lumpen torso, the lens array tracking the target mercilessly as it spasms to escape the burning heat.

The laser pod cycles off. The entity collapses into a disarticulated, gently dissolving heap. Interestingly, you note that the remaining members of its congregation had collapsed too, in almost perfect synchrony with their now-dead master.

Still, QRF-15 treats them with caution as they pass through. Over the comm, you hear scattered shots as Carter’s infantry choose to “double-check” some of the intact-looking specimens at a more comfortable distance.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

After traveling another half-kilometer or so, your team picks up on another transmission.

“...real lucky break after we noticed redistribution of the anomalous entities…unknown unit advised…..northern…..warehouse nine….repeat…delta nine-nine…moving to northern edge of extraction zone.”

Carter is quick to offer his opinion, straining his casual demeanor.

“We shouldn’t fall for this again. We’re still being hunted. If we get pinned in another trap, then we’ll be completely screwed.”

But you were less certain. Sure – the message could be another fake – but the cadence sounded more normal this time. And the mention of relocation seemed very reasonable given the stir that your team was making…

>Move to the northern edge of the extraction zone; find the signal. The lead seems promising…

>Continue East. Bad idea to fall for the same thing twice. You’ll keep moving east until you have more convincing evidence that this is real…

>>5451006
>Move to the northern edge of the extraction zone; find the signal. The lead seems promising
Gottverdammt. Frankly, I'm inclined to believe this is another false lead. "Everything is ruled by something else" and all. Nevertheless, one more crack to save the boys and then we fuck off.

>>5451006
>>Move to the northern edge of the extraction zone; find the signal. The lead seems promising…

Go more cautiously this time.

>>5451006
>Move to the northern edge of the extraction zone; find the signal. The lead seems promising…

>>5451006
>Move to the northern edge of the extraction zone; find the signal. The lead seems promising

Seems far more likely to be real.

>>5451006
>Continue East. Bad idea to fall for the same thing twice. You’ll keep moving east until you have more convincing evidence that this is real…

>>5451006
>>Move to the northern edge of the extraction zone; find the signal. The lead seems promising…
Go low, slow, cautious, and ready to level anything that looks at us funny.

Hello gents - I might be taking a 1-2 week break from this quest to get over some writer's/modeler's block (and some general laziness, to be honest) and run a quick oneshot. Apologies for the inconsistent posting and the delay - I appreciate all of you for sticking around and playing!

>>5453557
Unfortunate, but understandable QM! I eagerly await whatever new work you do

>>5453557
When you're done with that, will we be picking back up in a new thread or this one?

>>5453880
Depends! If it gets on p9/10 I'll just start a new thread.