Session 41 (22 March 2024)

Location: An irradiated post-apocalyptic world called Tolost Tertius, formerly called Naina (Halcyon 2223)

Date: 312–5600

Travellers: Nogudnyk (steward), Griff Kodiak (gunner), and Jacobe Kyman (pilot)

You're in a nuclear fallout shelter deep below the surface, with just enough life support left in your hostile environment suits to make it back to the research station and safety. But curiosity gets the better of you, so you nervously await the wailing creature that approaches from the dark tunnel carved into the earth, breaching the concrete walls of the bunker. Nogudnyk senses strong emotions but dim intelligence. Griff and Jacobe level their weapons at the hole. On a hunch, Nogudnyk scoops up a faded photographic portrait of a smiling family from the wreckage of the living room.

Shehbaz Raule, supermutant

A lurid green glow slowly fills the passage and the wailing crescendoes. Your geiger counters are going crazy. A hulking human shape lumbers into view, but it is anything but human in fact. Twisted and misshapen, with thick rubbery flesh bulging with oddly shaped muscles and strange protrusions, the creature reaches out toward you with its long, thick arms. Its radioactive glow forces your visors to dim slightly. It seems poised to attack, but before it can lunge, Nogudnyk steps forward to present the photograph while emitting feelings of fellowship and sympathy. "Remember the past and who you were," they emote. "You have a chance to join the world again. You didn't choose this."

The cruel, insane gaze of mutant Raule — for indeed it is he —  lands on the photograph. His eyes glisten and his chest heaves with emotion. A chaotic blast of radiation and sonic energy bursts forth from him, destroying your vacc suits' external mics and bringing you dangerously close to the limit of the suits' protection. If an attack, it may have been involuntary, for then the creature sinks to its knees before you, blubbering uncontrollably. Nogudnyk senses unfathomable grief, shame, and self-loathing.

But there's no time for therapy. Simply being close to this creature is dangerous for you. You have to go. Leaving Raule to his agony, you hasten back to the stairs leading to the surface. As you go, you debate whether or not to detonate the explosives you planted near the reactor. Should Raule live or die? Nogudnyk realizes that it's not your choice to make. They grab the detonator and run back to the commander's suite, only to find that Raule has retreated into the tunnels. You follow and only ten metres in, find yourself at the edge of a precipice overlooking a vast bottomless chasm. Opposite you, some 30m distant, is another vertical wall of rock perforated here and there with tunnels and caves. Nogudnyk sends out another telempathic message: "If it is oblivion you seek, I have the means in my hand."

The response is almost immediate: a desperate and powerful longing. One of the tunnels opposite and below you begins to glow as Raule returns, wailing. He appears at its mouth and, with a mighty standing leap well beyond the capacity of any normal human, covers the 30m gap, clutching at the rough rock where he lands and beginning to climb upwards. You realize that Raule's wish for self-immolation is probably stronger than any concern for your well being. Dropping the detonator, you race back to the stairwell and sprint upwards as fast as you can. The three of you pour out into the daylight just as the nuclear fireball reaches the top of the stairs and shoots into the sky. Raule has chosen oblivion.

You hustle back to the research station, radioing ahead to tell the scientists to expect you. They're panicking: two of the large quadruped chasers are trying to get into the facility. Griff shoots one at long range and the other flees, allowing you to approach just as the shuttle returns. You all clamber on board, glad to leave this place behind.

Back on Monados, after undergoing decontamination, you present your finds to Truax. She's delighted by your success in retrieving the ancient Terran artifact that proves her family's illustrious heritage. You present Raule's diary as well, which earns you another KCr250. 

The next few days are spent in mundane activities: fueling the Dejah Thoris, loading cargo, embarking passengers. The encounter with Shehbaz Raule has affected each of you in different ways: Nogudnyk, especially, is not a little "messed up." You are not sad to leave Monados behind.

Next stop: Eeren (Halcyon 2022).

Image credits: Mutant Raule screengrabbed from YouTube video collage of AI art.