An Unexpected Expected Betrayal

Chad is back in town, but couldn't make it for this session. However, since Chad will only be able to play next week before another trip, Jess has decided we'll have a lead up mission before the final final mission next week.

Shroud is missing. He's probably just doing space base things.

A knock comes at the door, and after a bit, Jack McCoy goes to answer it.

It's Reesy. She's been beat up a bit, since some rought characters started causing problems for her. She wants to stay with us for a few days.

Well, it's the least we can do. We kind of removed the person who would have prevented people are running around beating young girls up, even if he had it coming.

Mr. Hogarth appears, and asks if the young miss needs anything. Jack tells him she'll be staying for a few days, and is that spare room still available?

Mr. Hogarth says he'll handle it, and the phone rings.

It's Nikolai.

Jack takes the phone from Hogarth, and acts immediately hostile towards Nikolai, suggesting Nikolai is beating people up. Nikolai is a bit taken aback, but he says he has a lead on the Praetor. One of the Praetor's generals will be picking up a shipment off planet, and Lady Liara will let us borrow her ship so we can deal with it.

Jack agrees to take care of it, but asks what is being delivered. Oh, it's a dozen battlesuits with regeneration and ability amplification. It's on MOA-192b also known as Rigel 7.

It's a high gravity planet, and it'll take almost a day to travel the several thousand light years to get to it. Nikolai says we need to act quickly, but we have about three hours before the ship is ready.

Michael Schroeder snatches the phone from Jack, as he has his own questions. Who is this general? Are there any others? Nikolai has very little information about him, as the Praetor seems to be a fan of sleeper agents.

Jack takes a look at the newspaper. McCloud is the current acting mayor until elections. This town hasn't been friendly to its previous mayors. Another article also mentions a string of missing children.

I ask Lux (who has the space lizard sitting on her shoulder) if she knows anything about this general, explaining what Nikolai wants us to do. She thinks Mr. Yolanovich is on the level in this, but suggests taking a beacon tied to Captain X's signal in case of emergency. I also ask her where Shroud is, but she simply says he is on a time sensitive mission. She also mentions its a planet inhabited with lizard people.

Lady Liara's ship would apparently be described as "star class". To us, it just looks like a matte plastic skyscraper its side.

The navigation computer has already been preprogrammed with the correct coordinates, and we are soon on our way.

Michael finds something that looks like a very large gyroscope. He figures out how to activate it, and does so, shoving several retractable needles from it into his arms. Multicolored fluid flows into his arms.

We're a bit alarmed, but Michael seems fine. We think. We're not sure. He gains the ability to interface with his drones without using his suit. He eyes shine with a silver light.

Michael suggests we might benefit from using the device as well. He tells us it is a genetic modifying device, and permanent in nature. Jack and I decline. We're not really sure he is human anymore.

Jack really wants to find a room with a beach.

He isn't having much luck, but he does find a crystal in the wall that seems to vibrate with sound. He manages to contact Michael, who gives him directions to the holo room.

Jack reaches the Holo Room, but has no idea how to activate it so he does the only thing he knows how, which is to unleash a massive electricity attack into the room.

The room goes dark and then lights up, and an image starts playing. Apparently he has gotten access to a memory bank.

In the image, Nikolai walks in, and talks to his sister, asking her if Liara has been taken care of? Yes, she has. It's time to take care of Lux's crew.

Already done.

The lights go off, and a suddenly a countdown timer starts. Counting down to auto-detonation.

Jack and I hurry back to Michael, who has already hit the emergency beacon. Michael hacks into the computer and determines the auto-detonation was supposed to go off, but it wasn't supposed to go off yet. It seems likely Nikolai is receiving some sort of signal from the ship, but Michael isn't sure what exactly.

In any case, Michael and Jack are in mortal peril, and I have no desire to be stranded in space, so we make our way to an escape pod with all the things we brought along. But before we go, Michael programs to computer's surveillance to indicate we did not eject with the escape pods.

We eject, and we launch out into space. The ship explodes, but we're clear of it.

We slowly drift off, and Michael can sense signals from the ship, as well as an EMP going off.

An hour later, a ship arrives to investigate the debris. Jack has been amusing himself with his alien toy he picked up so many months ago.

It looks like an old ship, and has strange insignia. I sense the minds of some of the crew, and I scan their surface thoughts.

They're scavengers. They don't know if anyone is in our escape pod, but they decide to bring in it. Before long, the escape pod is in the cargo hold, and atmosphere fills the room around the pod.

Two alien creatures open the door, and are suprised to see Jack and Michael inside. They didn't think they were to pick up stagglers.

Jack tells him the pod is theirs, if they want it, but he'll be getting out first.

One of them calls the captain, and asks what they should do. The captain wants to know what they want first.

Jack and Michael introduce themselves. Jack tells them he does know who blow up the ship, but leaves it at that.

They're brought to a common room, where they can speak to the captain directly. The captain takes off his helmet, revealing he is a lizard person. He has that creepy little smile. He does speak perfect English though.

It soon becomes clear that he has dealt with Captain X. In fact, he has even heard of Lux, but her name makes him nervous. I sense that he has never met her, but she belongs to a league above him.

Jack tries to convince him to take him and Michael (and unknowingly me) back to Earth. The captain isn't too sure about that idea.

I possess him, and help him along with the idea. With ample reward of course.

It takes about twenty hours to get back to Earth.

Apparently someone attack the manor while we were gone. Some girl, but Lux broke their toys instead.

Mr. Hogarth retrieves payment for the captain, who is very confused having not remembered the last day.

The payment helps relieve his confusion.

We go to the private dining room.

A woman is gagged and tied to a chair. Jack ungags her, and she scowls at him.

Jack asks her name, which she reluctantly supplies. Felicia Wainright. It was just a job, for the Yolanoviches, she says. She works for a Captain Karsturs, a mercenary company.

She doesn't seem to know much else, so Jack regags her.

We decide what we should do. If we're lucky, Nikolai and Rosalind have no idea we are alive and back on Earth. So we should strike quickly and sneakily as possible.

We approach Lady Liara's estate. I sense some minds, but none of them are familiar to me.

Once inside, the alarm is tripped, and guards coming running. One of them calls for Neilatech.

I possess one the one calling for Neilatech and have him abort the order. Jack takes out all the rest with a lightning attack.

Nikolai and Rosalind aren't here. But we find an address. It is a penthouse apartment Seapoint Drive.

Jack wants to go through the roof, but not having Shroud around makes it difficult. So I watch the penthouse while Jack and Michael get a helicopter. If you can't do it with style, it's not worth doing, I guess.

They return, and as planned, Michael and Jack burst through the roof.

Nikolai is surprised we're alive, but he reacts quickly. His sister is surprised too, but she lacks the reflexes.

Despite his alertness, Nikolai is quickly stunned by one of Jack's attacks, and to our surprise, Liara clocks Michael in the jaw.

Actually, I guess that's not too surprising. Great.

I try possessing Liara, but I find myself thwarted by something very not Liara already inside.

After several intense moments of fighting, Jack is on the ground, his wounds too great. Michael and I intensify our attacks, and we take Nikolai and Rosalind down completely.

Liara speaks in a voice not her own. "I am tried of this game."

Michael retorts "Praetor, your arrogance knows no bounds."

The Preator promises to deal with each of our allies, but I try to possess Liara's body again, and this time I manage to fight through the Praetor's control.

Except, of course, Liara shares an important attribute with me. She's already dead. Having ejected the other host, I leave her body, and it crumples too the floor.

Right on cue, a portal opens and Shroud steps out, and speaks with his low voice. "It appears you have matters well in hand."

He reveals he has been out gathering intel, combing the agency's files.

They confirm what the research notes we had also recently found indicated. Dr. Quinn had implemented his program in prisons, with a larger scale program in South Haven. But on the night of implementation in South Haven, the Shattershot happened.

Dr. Elias Quinn is presumed deceased, and afterwards, Dr. Campbell uncovered some disturbing evidence. Dr. Quinn had twisted the experiments, to encourage certain mutant characteristics.

And now, the city seems to have taken a recent change for the worse. Humans are doing strange things, he says.

Suddenly, Jack gets a call from Natalia O'Connor. She has another feeling. She wants Jack to check something out at the Shine Theater.