"Load up, kids," the Lieutenant said, passing out ammunition. "We've got special ammo for this mission. Something the eggheads cooked up - cadmium rounds. The same stuff they use in control rods for nuclear fission. Why, you might ask, are we being issued cadmium rounds?"
"Because we're going after something radioactive?" Sarah-Jane hazarded a guess.
"Close enough! We're hunting a 'Cannonade' today - superheated plasma with a bad attitude. The good news is these suckers aren't particularly smart and can't take a lot of punishment compared to some of the other monsters in FORCE's menagerie. The bad news is they can dish out a lot of heat, and at fairly long range. This ammo should cool the monster's fire. Spread out, stick to cover, and I'll take you all out for ice cream after this is over."
***
Playing games of Majestic 13 always makes me want to play the next game of Majestic 13, which I think is the mark of a good campaign system. We ended on a fairly grim note last time, and hopefully this mission will give the Last Liners a much-needed morale boost.
Due to a bureaucratic mixup, the Last Liners arrived via the northwest corner of the table instead of being able to deploy as they pleased. The Cannonade deployed opposite them on the large hill to the northeast, and the secondary mission, "Gear Collection," saw two weapons caches deployed - one right in front of the Liners, and one next to the monster.
The Cannonade activated first, spotting the Lieutenant and firing a blast of energy at him, only to miss! The scorching ray went wide, and the crew rolled out, with the Lieutenant leaping over the pickup truck and tagging the first gear cache. He opened fire on the monster, followed by Hank doing the same.
The cadmium rounds hissed and crackled as they froze the creature's plasma. Becky took off running, eager to take up a position where she could seize the second cache once the monster moved away from it, while Maria darted into a copse of trees - and disturbed a wasps' nest, getting stung for her trouble. She ignored the pain of the stings and fired at the creature as well.
The Cannonade floated down between Maria and Becky, hitting both of them with an energy wave - not dealing a lot of damage, but the actinic burst blinded Maria.
Seeing her chance, Sarah-Jane squeezed off a round from her new sniper rifle, sending the cadmium bullet deep into what passed for the creature's torso. She winced as the creature roared and the blast of retaliatory fire off it swept over both Maria and Becky again.
The creature darted for cover behind the old stone bridge, and the Lieutenant took the opportunity the spring forward and apply first aid to Maria. "Be careful!" he growled.
"Or else what?" Maria blinked the blindness away and grinned. "I'll get cloned again?" She turned and ran across the woods, firing off another shot into the monster. Meanwhile, Becky made a mad dash for the gear cache, seizing it and completing the team's secondary objective.
The Cannonade slithered forward, eyes blazing. Hank was in range, and it belched white-hot energy at him... and rolled a critical hit! Once damage was totaled, Hank was out of action.
Maria, Sarah-Jane and the Lieutenant continued to fire on the monster, moving from cover point to cover point. Becky, her hands shaking too much to line up a shot, clicked the safety on the rifle Sarah-Jane had given her. The Cannonade saw her, almost seemed to sneer as it sprayed fire at her. It washed over her, burning hair and clothing, her skin blistering. It didn't matter; she stayed standing.
 |
| That shot took her from full health down to just 2 HP! |
She was stronger than it was. The whole secret war had seemed so overwhelming, too much for her. She was scared shitless. But right now, in this moment, she was still alive.
She knew what to do. The message was already keyed into the burner phone. Her thumb hovered over the "send" button, then pressed it.
The drone screamed across the sky.
"Everybody get back!" The Lieutenant shouted. "This thing'll explode! Keep going, keep going, run, run RUN RUNRUNRUNRUN-"
A spray of cadmium-tipped missiles erupted from the nose of the drone. The Cannonade screeched, it's alien voice something only heard in the hearts of stars.
And then the whole world went white.
***
The heat faded, and the Lieutenant pushed himself off the ground, shedding ash that had been trees before the blast. Everyone was caked in gray, coughing and spitting as they rose to their knees, then their feet. The creek had boiled away. Trees reduced to oversized burnt match heads. A few charred timbers remained of the cabin. The only trace remaining of the monster was its shadow burned into the ground. The Lieutenant pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. Slowly, he lit the cigarette.
Sarah-Jane coughed and tried to rub ash off her face with ash-covered hands. "30 seconds earlier and you could have skipped the lighter," she said weakly.
"30 seconds ago I didn't need the cigarette," he replied gruffly. "Hey Becks, what was that place you were talking about last week, with the chocolate shell pinata filled with ice cream? You earned it."
***
That was a great game, and the kind of win (and morale boost) the Last Liners sorely needed. Playing smart did a lot to keep most of my team safe, along with taking opportunities for first aid wherever I could. The sniper rifle is not a huge boost in firepower compared to the regular rifle but being able to ignore cover is nice, and the damage does increase if the user doesn't move before shooting. I did play Maria more aggressively and Becky more cautiously based on the post-game results of last game, and I'm really pleased that the dice rolls and the decisions I made throughout the game led to a moment where Becky got to be a big damn hero without needing to make ability score checks and incur the penalty to her rolls that she'd garnered last game.
Speaking of post-game processes, let's dive into this round.
Hank survived being toasted, but is now traumatized - he gains the -2 to all ability score rolls right as Becky is losing her penalty.
The Last Liners have successfully requisitioned another kit of body armor, which will be going to Maria. Efforts to gain a Sighting HUD failed, but they did call in a few favors and gained access to Emergency Medical Facilities for their home base - which may be simply them getting to call on some of Sarah-Jane's veterinary associates for stitching and horse-tranquilizers with no questions asked.
We did get some XP this game, and everyone got to raise an ability score. The Lieutenant began clawing back the Dexterity he lost, while Hank, Maria and Sarah-Jane boosted their Acuity scores. Becky added 1 point to her Combat score.
All in all, a great game and a great end to my long weekend.
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