Prison Pit

Cell-A001: Survivors

Pit Crawler Park, Odegra, 18:03 local time 110/1106

... A dull roar made everyone look up. A wedge-shaped dart had broken the clouds and was flying over them on its way to the 'spaceport'. A hoarse noise that failed to be a cheer greeted it; this was the supply shuttle Moe, bringing the monthly supplies of food, x-mail, entertainment data and bogrolls. Sure was low this time… Some of the convicts knew enough about spaceflight or gravitics to shout a warning, and some of the fifteen hit the deck in time, Benkin among them. Oddly, old Burkins was too; his ears and instincts sharper than his ruined eyes.

With a rib-shaking roar, Moe plunged out of the sky at a considerable number of metres per second and crashed squarely into the far side of the Prison Pit, on top of the acommodation. The explosion that followed blotted out sight and hearing for the watching cons. An instant later, flying shrapnel scythed across the crawler park. Screams sounded briefly as most of those still standing were torn to shreds, and the metallic tearing of shrapnel striking the sides of the crawler reached the survivors as well.

Then it was over, and the few surviors staggered to their feet.

In front of them, the Prison Pit was awash with flame. It looked like the whole facility had been torn open; the atmosphere of Odegra must have killed most of the inhabitants.

Behind, most of the prisoners in their work crew were dead, killed by flying debris. The crawler was punctured in several places but was still upright. Warden Varneesh was sprawled on the ground, his head missing. Warden Gorkan was stumbling dazedly towards the crawler, while Warden Rivers, the driver, had climbed out of the cab and was kneeling on the ground shaking his head while blood poured out of his ears.

It dawned on several of the prisoners that no-one was guarding them any more...

Laser Carbine (Details)

Across all the surviving prisoners' minds flashed the same thought - Get 'em! However, only three of the survivors retained enough of a grip to sieze the moment. Alice broke into a run, streaking past Gorkan and heading for Rivers as he reached the ground and began to look around. Gripper took two quick steps and flung his arms around Gorkan from the back. Manxolio, seeing two of the tough guys tackling the surviving wardens, looked as ever for the edge and glanced off to the side where he saw Varneesh lying rather messily in an extremely large pool of blood. Dropping to a knee next to him, he pulled the warden's weapon free. It was a laser carbine, connected to a power pack strapped to the man's back, and Manxolio shoved his arms through the straps before performing a quick shufti through Varneesh's pockets.

Rivers

As Alice reached Rivers, the warden looked up and his eyes widened above his mask as he realized what was happening. He still wasn't completely with it, though, because instead of reaching for the carbine slung at his waist, he tried to evade her attack - without success. Alice left the ground in a flying kick, her feet connecting solidly with Rivers' shoulder and knocking him sideways. She spun in the air to land neatly on her feet as Rivers staggered, then with a herculean effort regained his balance. The strike seemed to have cleared Rivers' head, because he grabbed for the light laser weapon at his hip, swept it up and fired.

Gorkan

Gripper's first attempt to seize Gorkan wasn't especially co-ordinated, and the big guard managed to turn around in his grip. Before he could achieve anything, though, the wrestler had grabbed him again and had begun to squeeze. An agonized noise escaped from behind Gorkan's mask and he struggled frantically, but Gripper hadn't been company champion in his old mob for nothing and his powerful arms continued to contract.

Alice swivelled to present the smallest possible target, and the laser bolt simply clipped one breast - not that it didn't hurt, despite her skinweave! Furious, she launched a short punch that neatly detached his filtermask from his face, sending it spinning across the crawler park. Rivers, his deceptively honest face twisted in panic, instantly lost interest in Alice and went scrabbling after it. Seizing the opportunity, she delivered a heavy kick to his groin. It didn'thim do him much actual harm, but the main effect was far more serious - he took an involuntary gasping breath.

Gripper maintained his hold as Gorkan's struggles began to weaken. Knowing just where to grip an opponent to render him helpless, he had little difficulty overcoming the warden's dwindling resistance.

Crawler (before being hit by shrapnel!)

Manxolio, having secured Varneesh's possessions, scrambled across the park to the battered vehicle and swung himself inside. The interior was a mess; bits of paper and insulation still swirled in the air, which was of course the thin poisonus soup of Odegra instead of the nice comfortable sweaty-sock life support it should have been.

Varneesh's talisman card opened the vehicle's locker, revealing an assortment of useful-looking bit and pieces, though no weapons. He snagged a couple of pairs of wristbinders and stuck his head through into the cockpit. This was even more of a mess, covered in broken glass where the co-driver's screen had smashed - the driver's was miraculously intact - and with bits of splintered rock and metal driven into the co-driver's seat. An inspiration drew Manxolio to feel underneath the seat and sure enough, his fingers found the hard shape of a non-regulation holdout weapon. He pulled it out; a 9mm automatic pistol with a full clip. Chuckling, he stuck it in his prison overall pocket - unlike the laser weapon, he knew how to use one of these!

Alice stalked after Rivers as he struggled to keep moving in search of his mask. His face was darkening and his movements becoming more spastic, though, as he succumbed to the Blueface Dance. Ruthlessly, Alice delivered a savage kick to his head. Stunned, Rivers dropped, and lost all control of his attempts to hold his breath. He began to flop and twist, the kind-faced sadist who'd delivered so many cons to the horrible death meted out by Odegra's atmosphere now facing its' rough justice himself. Alice turned away and left him to it.

Gorkan was weaker but still struggling when Manxolio reached them. Slipping adroitly behind the warden, the former preacher snapped the binders on his wrists, and Gripper let go. With his arms pinned, Gorkan was unable to prevent them disarming him and rifling his possessions. Gripper pushed him to his knees and Gorkan, catching a glimpse of Varneesh and Rivers, realized that he was the lucky one and stopped resisting.

Around them, the other surviving cons were stumbling to their feet, staring at the three. Whatever their status among the prisoners had been had all been rewritten in a flash; these were cons who'd taken down wardens. Only cons who'd escaped drew more respect... and maybe that was going to be possible as well.

All told there were ten survivors including Gorkan. Apart from Alice, Manxolio and Gripper, these were (see right)

Leaving Gorkan cuffed in the crawler park, the rest of the cons took stock of the situation. For the moment they were free, but while they remained on Odegra it was only a temporary escape - the only people on the planet were cons and wardens and everyone knew who was who. To keep their freedom, they had to get off-world and lose themselves among the stars.

So what did they know about their environs?

Koutala and its moons

There was no starport on Odegra itself. That was on one of the other worlds in the system, Shendgor, which like Odegra was a moon of the gas giant Koutala. Maximillian Industries operated three shuttles - Larry, Moe and Curly - which took turns on the run between the starport on Shendgor and the spaceport on Odegra. Usually, one was stationed at each 'port as a spare while the third did the run.

Prisoners condemned to exile on Odegra were put in suspended animation in modular low berths before being shipped across the stars from where they'd been tried to the Koutala system in some kind of starship. They were transferred - still frozen - to one of the shuttles on Shendgor and the shuttle brought them to the spaceport on Odegra's surface - little more than a fenced-off landing pad. There they were revived and transferred to a crawler like the one here and driven to the prison pit to be worked to death for the rocks they dug - whatever they were.

In order to escape, they were going to need to get to the spaceport, steal the shuttle, get to Shendgor, and attempt to steal a jump-capable starship. Once they jumped, there was no knowing exactly where they'd gone, and no alarm could be sent ahead of them, for Jump was the only means of communication between star systems. Of course, the cons didn't know where they were in the Imperium either, so where they went after that would have to be decided later. If they got far enough to need to decide, they'd be doing well.

To reach the spaceport they were going to need transport and air. The air tanks they'd been given for the walk from here to the prison held half an hour's air each, which wouldn't get them far - but there were plenty of those lying around attached to those who wouldn't need them again. Manxolio and Gripper both had enough experience of space suits to bleed air from tank to tank, and set to work while the discussion continued. Transport was a knottier problem. The crawler, apart from being pierced in a dozen places and no longer airtight, was still functional, but after a glance at the instruments Taxi reported gloomily that it had around an hour's fuel - fifty miles on the road or thirty off. This wasn't going to get them to the spaceport. The trip from there on their arrival had taken between 24 and 36 hours depending on conditions.

Odegra as known to Cons - click it for larger image!

Prisoner knowledge of the planet's geography was minimal, restricted to what they'd seen on the way here and what rumour held was nearby. The wardens were known to have a seperate depot off to the south somewhere, where crawlers were fueled and maintained and the main warden barracks were; and a science base was known to be off to the north, a place where occasional shipments of the ore they mined went for some research or other. Manxolio grinned at this point, and pulled a grimy piece of paper out of his sock; a map he'd acquired somehow. Sketched on it were good approximations of the location of the depot and science base.

Both these were places where a crawler, or fuel for one, could be obtained. The military-trained among the cons were wary of the depot, which was likely to be populated by armed wardens in large numbers, and so the decision was taken to head there to try and get better transport.

Alice was all for setting off immediately, but old Burkins spoke up. "What about the prison?" he said quietly. "There may be all sorts of useful equipment we can salvage from there." Gripper looked doubtful, though as usual he treated the General with deference. "I don't think so, sir," he said. "They'll be sending people up here from the 'port or the depot to find out what happened to the shuttle, and we don't want to be caught in the 'pit when they get here."

"Will they?" asked Alice. "Can we pick up their comms and find out?" It didn't take long to get the commo - such as it was - on the crawler set up, and soon they were listening to the exchanges back and forth between the locations. A strident voice from the depot was calling each of the others, and had already raised the spaceport.

DM Note: A splendid description of a great idea mated with a superb roll from Gord... a definitive moment.

"They'll be out here in no time," said Gripper. Manxolio looked up. "Unless we can respond as the Pit," he said, "and convince them the shuttle's down and OK?" he finished, in an almost perfect imitation of Warden Rivers' cultured tones. Alice blinked at him. "They don't sound too organized," she agreed. "Hurker? Can you set the call up?" The sleazy rapist bent over the panel, adjusting a couple of horribly antiquated sliders, and handed the mike to Manxolio, who took a deep breath and thumbed the button.

"Depot, this is the Pit, come in," he said in a flawless replica of Rivers' voice, confidence ringing in ever nuance, "We have visual and comm contact with shuttle Moe, repeat contact is positive." Even his posture and body language was evocative of the man now a cooling body outside the crawler. "Initial report is unplanned landing due to power failure, with minor damage including long-range comms. We have dispatched a crawler with spares and expect to have them airborne again in 12 hours, over." He clicked the mike off and put it down, then drew a deep sigh. "I'm back." he said with deep satisfaction, then turned from the panel.

Eight people were staring at him in mute wonder. This was their first experience of the abilities that had held audiences of thousands in the palm of his hand. "What?" he said innocently.

pit crawler park, 18:30 local time 110/1106

They had bought some time, and laid their plans to explore the pit. Gripper had partially dismantled the Life Support in the crawler and made a list of the parts and tools he'd need to repair it. Manxolio had pooled the air-tanks and each survivor now had a full tank - 24 hours' worth; probably enough to reach the starport but not certainly. Food was a problem; the cons had been fed that morning and had been coming home for their second meal; the wardens had a day's e-rations each.

The crawler's locker contained some tools, a crowbar, some spare track sections, but no supplies and no tools suitable for fixing the LS.

It was decided that Alice, Gripper and Manxolio would scout the pit for any possible salvage or further survivors, while the others stayed with the crawler and the prisoner. Hurker would monitor comms in case the other bases changed their minds and sent people to investigate. Burkins took Gorkan's helmet with its' short-range radio, and Gripper took Rivers' - Varneesh's had been destroyed along with his head.

Gripper and Manx had also appropriated the two dead wardens' uniforms as well as Varneesh's security pass. They quizzed Gorkan about the areas of the prison complex that had been 'off limits', especially the armoury. Gorkan told them that his talisman card could get them into most places, but that a Blue level card was required to get into the armoury; his was only Green. Thus prepared, the three headed down the short path to the lip and down the spiral slope into the Pit.

prison complex, 18:45 local time 110/1106

As they wound down the path towards the bottom of the Pit, the extent of the devastation became more apparent. The prison complex itself was built into the wall opposite the crawler park, and either by ill fortune or intent the shuttle had struck almost exactly in the middle of it. The central area - the entrance, security zone, power and life support, and the centre of the top cell block level - was simply gone, replaced by a sloped mound of smouldering rubble, twisted and blackened metal, and carbonized bodies. The floors of the three levels to either side gaped into this space like sagging pieces of concrete layer-cake, cables and pipes dangling and rooms tilted crazily. No lights or other signs of life were visible, which was no surprise; the whole complex must have been exposed to Odegra's lethal atmosphere in an instant.

Once they reached the pit bottom they walked around the edge of the Devilpiss lake and scrambled up the mound until they could get into the remains of the ground floor. Prison or not, this had been their home for the last four years, and the transformation was abrupt and unsettling. Walls were skewed, cell contents scattered, battery-powered emergency light flickered as dangling units swung; unidentified fluids dripped and pooled darkly. Everything was quiet.

The lower levels yielded little; block after block of cells, body after body. Alice, after much gruesome searching, finally found a warden's body with a sooty but intact Blue level access card. Gripper's cell was the only one that had been in an outer wing and survived, and he sidetracked long enough to pick up a few personal possessions.

The access route to the warden areas on the top level was originally via the lift that had run up the back of the centre of the complex. This was gone, so the cons had to negotiate a tricky climb up the rubble to reach the top level. Alice and Manxolio had little difficulty, but Gripper slipped three-quarters of the way up and only just managed to avoid a nasty fall onto the sharp-edged rubble below.

Once into the long, curving corridor they followed it along to the section of the complex where the wardens had lived. Being on the far end of the wing it had suffered far less physical damage than the mid-sections, but none of it had been internally sealed and there were no survivors. Odds and ends of personal possessions and a few credits were all they could obtain here, although Manxolio stumbled on the store for the e-rations the wardens had been carrying, 24 man-days of them.

At the back of the quarters block was the armoury, and this was one of their primary targets. It was solidly sealed with an electronic lock, and without power they couldn't begin to try opening it.

Governor Pinkus

Nurse "Biggs" Briggs

While waiting for inspiration, they wandered through into the Governor's plush office. None of the cons had ever been in here, and the luxurious appointments were a revalation. Also a revalation were the corpses of Governor Pinkus and Nurse Biggs, sprawled naked across the desk in a compromising position, a fascinating melange of pink and cyanotic blue flesh.

At the end of the desk was a heap of clothes, and Manxolio immediately searched them. Among the heap he found a leather shoulder holster, a security pass, a handcomp, and a set of keys. The keys opened the small safe in one corner, and inside were some interesting items; a gauss pistol with four clips of ammo, Cr25,000, the Governor's personal porn collection and a filing case with all the ID and personal papers confiscated from each con currently in the prison. The preacher riffled through and extracted the papers for each of the survivors before covering his tracks and putting the box back. The last item he picked out with a wry smile, and then tossed back. It was the master key to the prison. The previous day, any one of them would have sold their soul for it - and today it was worthless.

Miraculously, the governor's drinks cabinet was undamaged, and the cons gleefully loaded up with whiskey, gin and syrian panther sweat, before wandering back out to stare glumly at the impregnable armoury. Manxolio perked up suddenly; "Maybe the code is on this?" he said, flourishing Pinkus' handcomp. The others gathered around, but it became rapidly apparent that the comp was locked with a password that wasn't the usual '1234'. They called the crawler. "Can anyone help us crack into a handcomp?" they asked. "Yes, maybe," came Scarrow's cold, dry voice. "Connect it to the helmet comm and I'll see what I can do."

This proved tricky; despite a good working knowledge of electronics, Gripper's best attempts left him with a bundle of connectors and no idea what to do with them. Manxolio joined the effort, and between them they got it set up. "How's that?" asked Manxolio. "Give me ten minutes..." said Scarrow, his voice distracted. It was fifteen in the end, but finally he came on again. "Got it," he said, "it's biggstits." He paused. "When you come back," he said, "bring that with you. It's a very impressive and expensive piece of equipment." Manxolio merely grunted; he was already flicking through the goldmine of information stored in the device.

Advanced Combat Rifle

Every con and every warden's detailed files were here, synched from the main computer, as well a a map that detailed and confirmed their knowledge of the location of the warden depot and science base. There was also a note of the access code for the armoury door, which would be very useful if they could find a way of powering it up. Faces were blank for a moment until it occurred to Gripper that they were all carrying small portable power packs on their backs - connected to the laser carbines...

After a couple of spectacular false starts the pack was wired in and the door's display came on. Carefully, Gripper keyed in the code from the handcomp, and the armoury door swung open. Inside were a large number of empty racks, five laser carbines, one power pack, one Advanced Combat Rifle, 3 clips of solid slug ammo for the rifle, a case of fifty CS gas grenades and a case of fifty sleep gas grenades.

	Session Date: 14th April 2011 (104/-2507 Imperial)