Assault on Outpost 13

Overview

Outpost 13, a KK research facility, has gone dark. Two data shuttles have been sent and neither returned. The client wants a recon in force: get in, extract personnel, recover the logs, get out. The target is Outpost 13's personnel and its C&C logs. KK supplies a Roc dropship for extraction; the pilot waits sixty minutes at the LZ and then leaves, with or without the crew. The complication: whatever silenced Outpost 13 is still there, and the crew's presence has woken it up.

The Briefing

"Welcome, gentlemen. I'm looking for a crew willing to do recon in force. One of our research facilities has gone dark. Two shuttles have been sent to the surface to exchange data. Neither has returned. We need a team to infiltrate the facility, figure out what's going on, extract any personnel, and any logs explaining what went wrong." The KK representative hands over a Letter of Marque, a credchip (50K bits), and the coordinates. That's everything: Outpost 13 is a small remote research site, off-catalogue, and the corporate office is not closely involved in its day-to-day work. KK will provide a Roc dropship and pilot. The pilot will wait at the LZ for sixty minutes after the crew goes in; if they're not back by then, the bird leaves and the mission is failed. Standard. Standing offers: 100K on recovered C&C logs, 25K per extracted personnel.

What does Outpost 13 do?

Behavioural research. Long-term observation of Golem cognition under controlled conditions. Standard work, slow, not commercially sensitive on its own.

What's the staff?

Twenty-two. Ten security, six researchers, four technicians, two administrative.

What happened?

We honestly do not know. Couriers sent to the facility just stopped coming back.

Where's the schematic?

We don't have one to give you. It's a small outpost in the middle of nowhere, never had detailed plans on file at this end. You'll work it out when you're inside.

The Objective

KK has contracted for two things: extracted personnel and recovered C&C logs. There are no survivors. Everyone in Outpost 13 is parasitised and will engage the crew on sight. KK does not know this; the 25K per-extracted-personnel offer stands and will pay out for anyone brought back alive, and there will be none. C&C is reachable by following the open doors. The console requires Operator interaction to dump the logs, approximately three minutes of uninterrupted work.

The Threat

The facility is occupied by a single intelligence operating through many bodies: parasitised KK staff, including the human security detail, and the Golem subjects of the facility's research, which she has commandeered. The parasite is the Critter, a small scorpion-form mechanoid. Each parasitised body has one attached, body grafted onto the back and interfacing with the spinal cord, tail driven up and over the head, boring into the forehead to access the frontal lobes; the host underneath is otherwise unharmed and in normal physical condition. Critters also exist independently, dropping from vents and scuttling under grates. Enemy roster: Critter, Husk, Drone, Executioner, Shepherd, Horseman, Boss.

The Facility

KK facilities carry a standing self-destruct provision: three codes held in three departments, all three required at the C&C console. Once armed, the facility destroys itself on a fixed delay. KK did not contract for this.

Aftermath Hooks

A crew that destroyed Outpost 13 has done KK a favour KK cannot acknowledge; they will be paid more than the contract specified, through channels that leave no trace, and they will be called again. A crew that brought logs and personnel back has done the contracted job and will be paid exactly what was agreed. The logs may include things KK does not want a mercenary crew knowing, and a crew that reads them before handing them over may now hold leverage on KK. Other KK facilities continue to operate. Whatever's inside is still there, unless the crew destroyed it. And maybe even then.