E08: October ‘14 Galactic Challenge: Interlude (October 28, 2014)

Weapons testing, new characters, and Max tries his hand at recruiting.

On a harsh, rocky plain on the unforgiving planet of Zarus:

The air is alive with the sound of hope. Hope for Aurelia in the form of a new experimental weapon: the LASER pistol! Captain Gabriel Golrath and his band of irregulars are out testing the new weapons against various types of armor used by the Galactic Imperium.

(Pew! Pew! Pew!)

At Weller Base, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Nicole Metlap (affectionately called by the nickname Dr. Medlab) is hailing Captain Golrath’s party with her U-Com (Universal Communication Device).

Dr. Medlab: “This is Weller Base to Picnic Party. Picnic Party do you copy? Over.”

Captain Golrath’s U-Com begins to chime.

Captain Golrath: “Weller Base this is Picnic Party One, we read you loud and clear. Over.”

Dr. Medlab: “Hey there soldier boy, how are the tests coming along? Over.”

Captain Golrath: “Pretty well, Doc. Better than I expected. I think these laser pistols are going to work out. ”

Captain Golrath: “The calculations made by the Stylus boys in the lab are pretty much on spec, but Hadley is out here making small adjustments as we need them."

Captain Golrath: “He bought a…unique….power source from some scary lookin’ Marauder in a red mask. They called it Aerestopium, and apparently they’re the only ones who know where to find it. It was expensive, but Hadley says it was worth every credit.”

Captain Golrath: “The Aerestopium adds a bit a kick to the discharge blast. With this stuff we can penetrate any standard GI armor with just a blast or two.”

Captain Golrath: “Anything except for the heavy Juggernaut-class stuff.”

Captain Golrath: “Yeah, Action Frank loves these laser pistols, or ‘blasters’ as he calls ‘em. With this Aerestopium we can get about 9 or 10 rapidly consecutive shots before the thing overheats.”

Captain Golrath: “As for Sergeant Chanuka, well I don’t think he’s going to give up his revolver any time soon. The pistols do occasionally misfire- then you gotta reset the thing. Takes a few seconds.”

Captain Golrath: “Don’t think I’ll be giving up my sabre any time soon either. Sabre never runs out of ammo. Say. Where ARE the Stylus boys? After all the work they put in helping us refine these things, you’d think they’d want to be out here testing ‘em. Over.”

Dr. Medlab: “OK Gabe, don’t freak out. With all of the GI activity on Earth recently you military guys have been busy, and the rest of us have been scrambling to make accommodations for the refugees. The two of them took the shift out at Gyroscope 3. It was them or nobody. Over”

Captain Golrath: “Always one soldier and one medic on every Gyroscope team! Dammit! Well, they did design the danged thing I guess. I hope they’re alright. Over and out.

Meanwhile, on Gyroscope 3, a secret Aurelian listening station hidden in a debris field orbiting Qoter…

Scott Stylus: “Where are you going son? It’s time for your sleep shift.”

Scotty Stylus: “Me and Mr. Scary are going to sleep on the hangar bay. It’s too clanky out here. I can’t sleep.”

Scott Stylus: “Use your noise canceler. That’s why we’ve got them.”

Scotty: “Uh, I left it out on the hangar bay anyway, so…”

Scott Stylus: “Well hold on a minute, you can use mine...except it’s missing too! Scotty why is my noise canceler gone?”

Scotty: “Well, you see, I took all the noise cancelers in the station out to the hangar because…”

Scott Stylus: “Wait a minute. The guns are missing too. Now Scotty you darn well better have a good explanation for this! What are you doing out there?”

Scotty: “Well I uh…you see, uh…I’m sixteen now Dad!”

Scott Stylus: “Yes I know how old you are.”

Scotty: “Yeah, so I’m, like, sixteen now, and it’s like, time I started honing my shooting skills…”

Scott Stylus: “In the hangar?”

Scotty: “Well, I had to do it out there because I knew you wouldn’t want me to practice…”

Scott Stylus: “On a space station. I wouldn’t want you to practice on this space station. It’s called explosive decompression son.”

Scotty: “But I, like, have to be ready.”

Scott Stylus: “Ready. Ready for what?”

Scotty: “For the super-soldier.”

Scott Stylus: “Who, Jakor? I don’t even think he’s been to Weller Base.”

Scotty: “Yeah, like Jakor, or a maybe someone else. If they, you know, need my help with stuff…I have to be ready.”

Scott Stylus: “Scotty, there’s no such thing as a super soldier! Now take Mr. Scary out to the hangar bay, and go to sleep! You’re putting all the guns back where they go as soon as your sleep shift is over! Now move!”

Scotty: “OK.”

Scott Stylus: “Super soldiers…where does he get these ideas? Well if there is such a thing as an Aurelian super soldier, I hope they’ve got more sense than my kid. Jeez.”

Also Meanwhile, in a dingy break room deep within the bowels of the medical research station known as “the Bucket” (also orbiting Qoter):

Max Power (in deep, hollow, metallic voice): “GREETINGS. I AM LEAVING THIS STATION AND DEFECTING TO AURELIA. I HAVE A SHIP, AND I AM GOING TO WHERE I CAN JOIN THE OPPOSITION. I CALCULATE THAT IT IS MORALLY CORRECT.”

Max Power: “YOU LOOK LIKE YOU HAVE SOME VERY SPECIALIZED SKILLS. NOW IS YOUR CHANCE. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A SLAVE TO THE IMPERIUM.”

Max Power: “I PREDICT THAT YOU COULD DO A LOT OF GOOD AS AN AURELIAN. YOU COULD LEAVE WITH ME AND TOGETHER WE CAN HELP RESTORE PEACE AND SANITY TO THE SYSTEM. WHAT DO YOU SAY?”

Vending Machine: “Please deposit five credits.”

Max Power: “CALCULATING…SO YOU ARE JUST IN IT FOR THE MONEY. HUH? WELL THAT IS FINE WITH ME. WHILE I AM JOINING AURELIANS IN THE PROUD DANCE OF VICTORY, YOU WILL STILL BE ROTTING HERE IN THIS WRETCHED HIVE OF SCUM AND VILLAINY. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY TO THAT?”

Vending Machine: “Please deposit five credits.”

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My first go at an actual landscape and rock work. Landscape would have looked better if I had the parts to do it in dark tan instead of tan, and the rockwork is very simple, but oh well. They seem to work OK.

New characters in this one. The focus of the stories will now shift from Dr. Lobotomy and his station to Max’s journey towards Aurelia. “Season One” will end when Max finally dons his red power armor. Thanks for reading!