Free Heavy Metal Thunder by Kyle B. Stiff Page B

not have this skill, or do not choose to
use it, but Arturo the Navigator Poet is with you, turn to section 12 .
    Otherwise, turn to section 203 .
     

81
    Sybel nods to the Commander, then takes off in a crouch down the narrow hall. The rest of you creep into the hall
behind him, then lay low as he disappears around a
bend.
    Tension builds as you wait. Marcus strokes his
massive automatic rifle while Commander Uther peers nervously down the narrow
hall. Then, Sybel’s voice comes over the radio, a
very faint and cold whisper, “I’m there. There’s four
of them, two on each side of the hall. Good call, Commander.”
    “Okay,” whispers Uther. “Blast them. We’ll join in.”
    “ Yessir .”
    A moment later, gunfire blasts in your ears, then
harsh alien barking and more gunfire. Marcus darts into the hallway, screaming
and firing, and you rush out to join him.
    You must now compute a number that will determine
the outcome of your gun battle. This number is your Dexterity . If you
are trained in Weapon Proficiency: Ranged , and it is with the weapon you
are using, add 3 to this number. If you are using a Shotgun , add 1. For
every 3 Handgun bullets you fire, add 1. For every 2 Rifle bullets you fire, add 1. For every Shotgun shell you fire, add 1.
    If your number is 11 or less, turn to section 108 .
    If your number is 12 or more, turn to section 169 .
     

82
    “FOUR MINUTES UNTIL DOORS OPEN,” announces the
voice. “WE ARE SKIPPING DEPRESSURIZATION. REPEAT, WE WILL NOT DEPRESSURIZE THE
DOCK.”
    Normally no ship would have its doors open and allow
its crew to mill about so close to takeoff. But the begging, fighting mob
ignores the voice completely.
    A tall, pale man with blond hair limps toward you.
He regards you with cold grey eyes. “Any room?” he says, his voice deep and calm.
    “Depends,” you say. “What can you do to earn your
room?”
    “Navigation,” he says. “Poetry.”
    “A man of few words,” you say. “But how can a man of
few words be a good poet?”
    The man glances to the side, already scanning the
other ships.
    If you wish to let the man aboard, turn to section 56 .
    If you wish to tell him to navigate his way onto
someone else’s ship, turn to section 244 .
     

83
    You wedge the point of the knife in, then drive the thing in up to the hilt. You rock your body
back and forth like a madman. Unless you have a Strength of at least 2, you lose 1 Blood from the exertion. Suddenly the seal on
the door pops open and air rushes in. You are thrown to the back of the room.
Luckily some safety feature of the door turns on and it grinds open awkwardly.
    You reenter the hallway, which is still brightly
lit. Its gravity pulls you down. You throw off your helm and breathe.
    You wonder why the door suddenly stopped working. Is
the station slowly losing power on its own? Or is there someone - or something
- shutting down its systems?
    Because you have survived this experience, you have
gained a greater understanding of the world. As you fight your way through this
situation you will earn Experience Points , which are abstract
representations of your actual experience. When you gain enough Experience
Points (or XP ), you will gain additional character Levels and receive
additional Stat Points, Skills, and Blood.
    You start out this game of survival at Level 1. For surviving the situation just now, you gain 1 XP. Be sure to record
this. When you have at least 15 XP and make it out of the ghost
station alive, then you will gain one character level and the rewards that
come with it.
    When you are ready to continue down the hallway,
turn to section 178 .
     

84
    The dogs pause for a moment. You look into their
eyes. Just then you realize that these are not normal dogs - they have either
been drugged or received some kind of intense training. Either way, you are not
strong enough to stop them. However, you gain 1 XP for facing them down.
    You break eye contact and dive under the pillar. You
hear the mass