The Widening Gyre Campaign/Session 5

On the way to the ambush, The Kidney continues to question the hostile captive, learning his name is Galo. He asks Galo why the latter chooses to believe in the exile process. Galo shares Malo's opinion on the original sin of doubt as well as the possibility of future redemption.
Taking samples from Galo shows that while he wasn't born in paradise like Malo, he still has that same uncanny appearance. More detailed analysis shows his genetic makeup to contain some strange hereditary redundancies, and it doesn't appear to be human in nature. Quill runs the genetic sequence through his soul computer to look for any building blocks from other common humanoid races.
Odd genetic discoveries aside, it's time for us to find and ambush these "untarnished" Kirvans. Malo shares further details on their location. He and Galo regale us with stories about these Kirvans attacking landing parties with so-called ethereal swords, capable of slicing through anything. The soul computer (ever the skeptic) dismisses this idea but posits the weapons could be old relics from the Knights of Adarnum era, blessed and refined enough over the years to turn to pure flame, an unparalleled tool to roast one's enemies. It also believes these Kirvans are likely to wear power armor, but not carry shields due to the Gyre's effect on etheric weaponry.
Unfortunately, now that they've given us the information we need, the captives are no longer useful. Since Galo was much less cooperative, we decided to get rid of him first. Gundahar wants to do something with Galo's body, but The Kidney must perform an autopsy. It finds that Galo's organ structure is unnatural, as if it were constructed off a simulated understanding of human biology. This could also help explain why they're bad at reproducing. Zylch notices Galo's body was modular and slow to die out, which he finds unnerving.
During this time, we fail to notice Sylvia's "students" acting oddly. Quill points out some storm clouds, and Sylvia can see them in more detail: they're massive etheric storms, probably formed by an explosion. Quill also notices we're being watched and spots a series of manufactured corridors. For once, his computer has nothing to add. We decided to use the corridors to get around faster. Quill considers leaving capuchins behind for surveillance but opts for simple cameras instead.
It was a good idea to drop cameras, because we now know we're being followed. Quill rigs up the power supply from The Kidney's armor to explode, collapsing the entrance to the corridor and trapping a lone Kirvan inside with us. This Kirvan doesn't have the uncanny appearance that Malo or Galo had, so we're ready to move in and capture him.
Quill rushes to grapple the Kirvan, failing. The Kirvan retaliates with point-blank fire, knocking him out, blowing off his dominant arm, and using him as a shield. Gundahar gets out and starts charging at the Kirvan. The Kidney tries to shoot into the growing crowd, accidentally hitting Quill, blowing off his other hand, and ultimately killing him. (Dustin will be taking over this Kirvan for now.)
The capuchins are horrified that The Kidney killed Quill, but they manage to understand it wasn't intentional, focusing on the Kirvan, who's still holding up Quill's body. The Kirvan sees Gundahar still charging and The Kidney ready to fire again, deciding to put his gun down and surrender… until Zylch steps out of the front crawler and uses the capuchins' line of sight to cleanly snipe and decapitate him. (Oops.) The Kidney is mad and asks why Zylch did that. Zylch says he didn't know about the surrender, an obvious and lazy lie.
Gundahar empathizes with the Kirvan's brain, still intact. He feels the hatred and betrayal the brain exudes, then crushes the skull to silence this latest round of rancid vibes. The Kidney is still furious, confiscating the Kirvan's weapon and threatening to sedate Zylch for his actions. Zylch says he "did it for the capuchins," and Gundahar tries to see how they feel about this, not getting a definitive answer.
The Kidney does an autopsy, discovering this Kirvan is relatively normal and likely participated in the Leandran War. He also has interesting biomantic healing factors. Gundahar insists on doing something with Quill's body. The Kidney does its own vibe check, finding Gundahar's rancid.
In the aftermath of this argument, Gundahar notices a shadow through a hole in the corridor wall. The Kidney aims its confiscated pistol and threatens the shadow in Shantine. After some whispers, a gun is thrown out of the hole. Someone steps out, ready to surrender, but another figure appears on the top of the rubble from the earlier explosion and fires at us, critically injuring (but not killing) Gundahar. Sylvia, unarmed, dives into the nearest crawler.
Zylch recruits Tim's help to shoot after this new threat. His first shot doesn't kill outright, so he's compelled to chase the enemy up the wall despite being blind. The Kidney does quick surgery on Gundahar, and combined with the disgusting blood siphoning, Gundahar will survive. The Kidney also discovers Gundahar's weird plant-like biology while he's unconscious, noting the iron-rich sap fueling him and taking samples for later. Is this a manufactured system, or is it some sort of Eldritch abomination?
Zylch is still chasing the Kirvan over the wall. On the way up, he exchanges snap fire with a second enemy, killing them and chasing after the first one. He's able to catch the runner along with a third enemy at a distance. Despite Tim being distracted and Zylch being shot, he manages to kill both Kirvans before they can run. He also can make out the sound of some sort of vehicle idling outside.
Once the firefight ends, Zylch and Tim climb carefully back down the rubble wall. The Kidney takes the surrendering Kirvan hostage and confiscates every weapon it can find to bolster his own arsenal. It makes sure to take Quill's tablet so we may have a chance of keeping the capuchins under control. Some of the guns appear bio-encrypted and need hacking to use properly. It also finds some holy symbols and a considerable number of cybernetic implants on the bodies. These people seem well equipped for Shantine Legionnaires. Perhaps our new captive can tell us more…
Category:Session Summaries