GOAL:

Investigate a distress call from a distant Biome and its potential link to strange events around Salus: 

A shadowy figure which has killed several guards and pursued members of Salus, an albino rat with communicative abilities, the disappearance of Tomoko Fujiwara and Cillian O’Sullivan, several strange broadcasts which have been  aired on Salus comms and the return of Wolfgang Schecter, a scout who disappeared 10 years ago but hasn’t aged a day. It all seems to lead back to this Biome.

 

SUMMARY

> THE ASHLANDS

A perilous journey awaited the Salus expedition team as they traversed the Ashlands which surrounded the Biome. As the name implied, ash rained gently down from the sky… Which was no comfort when their vehicles were sabotaged, tires slashed. Once the group was defenseless, misfigured creatures made themselves vaguely known before the group was fully ambushed by Lafayette. They managed to make their escape and continued onward.

 

INJURIES:

Morris - Loss of his remaining leg

Darien - Fractured hand

 

> ENTER B-777

When the team finally arrived and managed to get into the facility, they were greeted by its AI, GENESIS, and asked to leave their weapons at the entrance so as not to endanger staff and patients. After this, the team split into two groups; One headed to the Living space and holding area, the other to the Research facility and Medical centre.

 

 

 

> Living Space/Holding Area

 

As the group was split into two, a handful would go to explore the living area of the Biome, a space that felt more like a giant resort and hotel stuck in the 1970’s futurism craze. It wouldn’t take long for even this group to be split as well when exploring the area. What they would find is a lounge, an open room and the expansive long hallways which felt much more like a maze as the patterned carpets and warm lights turned several around on their path.

Io and Callisto would go forth to explore the Open room, only to be ambushed by a horrific biomechanical experiment and successfully defeat it, however, they would be locked inside the space and promptly knocked out by laughing gas that flooded the room. Darien, Max, Beatrice and Graeme would explore the next hallway, finding a malformed and barely alive patient before being accosted and tranquilized by a strange, insectoid-like man. Krusty, Maeve and Rhys would explore the Lounge and would be met with a bartending android - only to be given the same tranquilized fate once the mysterious man had made his way down to their location. 

 

INJURIES/AFFLICTIONS:

Rhys - A parasitic connection with a bizarre ‘worm like’ mechanism that slide right into his systems. He would be almost instantly connected to the Collective Network as it made its way inside and promptly turned him off. 

 

> Research facility/Medical centre

The group took their time examining this place, finding different items which added small clues to the nature of the facility. High quality coffee, ID badges, tissue samples in a lab, medical waste tucked away safely… But it became clear the research being done here was of no ordinary medical standard, as the tissue samples were rife with growth, energy and movement to the point of lunging for people, and the medical waste consisting of mounds of flesh sought contact with Mink who stuck his hands into it, hoping to find clues. However, before the group could find much more, they were rendered unconscious by various means; Inzhu and Wolfgang drank coffee which had been drugged, Akil was knocked out by an unknown assailant, Morris, Hamlet and Sil got to briefly meet the director, Hivert Chastain, as he locked them in the lab and filled it with sleeping gas, while Mink (who had passed out) and Adrian soon after received medical help from Hivert, unaware of that he had put their teammates out of commission.

 

INJURIES/AFFLICTIONS:

Mink - Briefly caught a glimpse of the Collective Network, and a premature understanding of Eden’s nature. Head trauma which was treated with stitches.

Akil - A pounding headache and a large bump.

Hamlet - A friend! The tissue sample lunged itself into his hand and refused to let go.

 

> THE BASEMENT

The whole team woke up inside of a large room with several patient beds, everyone having been treated for any injuries… And some who were missing bodyparts since before were given new ones. No, not prosthetics. Transplants, growing and healing at a disturbingly rapid pace and fully connected to their nervous system. There was plenty of panic and distress, but after a while they managed to examine the room a bit further, finding a database on a PC which held information about some of the facility’s “patients”... Several being familiar names. Here they also began finding more of the disfigured experiments of Eden; people merged together into a slop of flesh, barely aware of their surroundings.

 

During the entire mission, Wolfgang had seemed uneasy, and down here he began to weaken.

 

When they moved on, they eventually reached a master computer containing the main data for GENESIS. After some arguing, she was promptly removed from the computer to be taken back to Salus. They also found a slightly mutated cat, which has now been adopted.

 

Moving forward, they found Tomoko Fujiwara, encased and suspended in a wall of flesh. She had been drastically altered, but was quickly freed and brought with the team.

 

INJURIES/AFFLICTIONS:

Individuals who received new bodyparts: Adrian, Morris, Io

 

> THE GARDEN

The epicentre of Eden. An expanding, pulsating mound of flesh whose veins run deeper than anyone can guess, hosting corpses to be swallowed and reconstructions of people who can’t find solid form, convulsing and shifting. Several people got to meet with long passed loved ones, some more coherent than others but all equally horrifying, while the individual who had sent out the distress call hung suspended above them. Ana, an android who functioned as a sort of stabilizer for the Garden pleaded with the team to help her, to get her out of here. Shortly after, Director Chastain who told Wolfgang it was time to end the ruse and come home. Horrified and enraged words from the group eventually drove the Director to show his manic reasonings for why his research was justified, and shortly after they attacked - fatally wounding him before he willingly sank between the fleshy floor of the Garden which swallowed him whole.

 

Gradually, Wolfgang’s condition had worsened, and in the arms of Morris he began to change. A black dribble from his mouth soon turning to a rot spread across his entire body, almost melting it while he apologized time and time again… Until Morris saw the form of the strange figure which had killed Salusians. It was Wolfgang all along, controlled by the will of the collective network to infiltrate Salus.

 

The team was forced to fight him, though it was soon revealed that the missing Cillian O’Sullivan had become part of this Garden and joined in on pushing them back. But when Wolfgang was defeated and it was collectively decided that he be left at Eden, a grief rippled through all inhabitants of the Garden including Cillian. He was decapitated, and the team escaped with Ana, but not before learning that Hivert was still alive… And now part of the abominable place. In the fray of it all, Callisto went missing.

OUTCOMES:
 

> STATUS: COMPLETE | PENDING DATA

> DESTINATION REACHED AT HOMEBASE

> TEAM ROLL CALL: 17 at mission start >>> 15 at mission end

> MISSING: 1

> CASUALTIES: 1 [ tentative report ]

> RETRIEVED: 3

 

> Eden, an assumed biome has been visited and infiltrated. Discoveries include mass human, animal and mechanical experimentation. Further data on the settlement is pending. Has surplus of supplies, but deemed too dangerous to travel out to until there is a better scope of the situation at hand.

 

> Wolfgang Schecter has been declared KIA or AWOL. Dangerous subject, reported to be cause of tier 4 event. Has not been retrieved, assumed dead.

 

> Callisto Vallencia reported MIA. Unable to retrieve at the current time. Went missing at the tail end of escaping the supposed biome.

 

> Supply returnal in small surplus, the team has returned with:

• -60 advanced med kits, including new scalpels, needles, syringes, disinfectants, quick acting medications pertaining to poisoning, pain management and viral reduction, wrappings such as bandages, gauze and stitching wire/staples have also been included - as well as gloves and bags/tubing for ivs

• 20 litres of cooled blood, all labeled -o

• Several short supply medications for chronic and managed conditions

• Several sheets of synthetic and bio-grown skin and organ grafts, stored.

• Several boxes of fresh and dried rations, cooled and stored in martian made storage containers

• Several tool kits, electrical and metal supply - many of which are martian branded and advanced, no rust, all new and stored neatly in containers

• A boombox of unknown origin with several cassettes of music and possible audio recordings....

 

> Morris Dupree, Io Scoria, Adrian Csonka all have been operated on and had organic and biomechanical attachments placed upon them unconsented.

 

> Team has retrieved an android of unknown origin, bio-organic and alive, though in poor condition. Status of restoration pending. Currently unresponsive.

 

> Team has retrieved an advanced AI chip, status and data mining pending.

 

> Team has retrieved a patient of the Eden biome, named “Aggie” - currently residing within a fairly non humanoid form, akin to a stuffed animal. Sentient, recognizing Rhys as caretaker. Pending medical evaluation.

 

> Team has retrieved Tomoko Fujiwara, who is to undergo intensive medical evaluation. Status pending.

 

> Team has retrieved two animals, a duo headed scaleless lizard and a four eyed black kitten. Veterinary evaluation needed.

 

> Medical evaluation of team in progress

• UPDATE : All afflictions have seemingly dissipated or lessened several weeks after the return of the team. However, some seem to still feel the presence of the biome looming over...