THE GRATTAN
CAMPAIGN
PART 3- TARTARUS RAID
This page continues the chronological log of our Second Votoms Campaign.
7212.09.30 - A.T. LIGHTER
"ABEL"
Mick Wansboro, A.T. pilot and asteroid miner, has been captured by
the Gilgamesh ship "Abel" and is being held prisoner under suspicion
of military espionage. Major Perdas Grane has arranged for the
installation of a new technology, a special "collar" system that can
shock or even kill Mick Wansboro. If he attempts to escape,
fails to follow the commands of a superior officer, or allows (or
causes) a superior officer to be injured or killed, the collar will
inflict retribution. With his loyalty thus assured, Mick is
assigned to a special team of A.T. Pilots. Mick
Wansboro is ordered in particular to protect Sgt. Randol, son of
General Kolf Randol. The team's mission: recover stolen
Gilgamesh Gold from unknown forces occupying the Undercity of
Tartarus, on planet Grattan below.
(L to R): Major Perdas Grane (ship's officer), Mick Wansboro (Flamer
equipped Marshydog), Maxim Hiflen (Standing Turtle), Burt Buton
(Marshydog), Sgt. Randol (Marshydog), and Lt. Odiah (operations
officer).
7212.10.01 - TARTARUS UNDERCITY,
PLANET GRATTAN
Following Lt. Odiah's orders, Sgt. Randol leads the team as
their shuttle sets down outside Tartarus, a massive decaying city
built in layers on top of itself. The lower levels are a
flooded maze of canals and sewers.
As the team progresses deeper into the tunnels, Burt Buton finds the
unsanitary conditions particularly disturbing. Suddenly,
a grubby underworld ganger runs screaming out of a side tunnel,
pursued by swarms of giant ratlike creatures!
The team opens fire on the swarms of vile creatures. Mick
drives the bulk of them off with cleansing fire, and Burt beats off
an aggressive swarm of them before they can chew their way into his
cockpit. The thankless ganger runs off in a panic.
The team proceed ever deeper into the murky depths of the
city. Burt tries to stay out of the grimy water as the rest of
the team sloshes forward in their water resistant ATs. But
around the next corner, an ambush awaits...
Two "Brutishdog" A.T.s belonging to the "Stray Dog" gang ambush the
unwelcome intruders! One equipped with a Long Gun takes aim at
the Sergeant... Mick realizes if the Sergeant is killed, his
collar will likely kill him too- and he dives at the Sergeant,
knocking him out of the line of fire just in time! The
other Stray Dog A.T. fires its gatling cannon at Burt, knocking his
Marshydog into the water and damaging it. Foul water pours in
through the holes... Maxim submerges, surfacing his Standing
Turtle up close in an attempt to grab the deadly Brutishdog, but it
escapes, the two Stray Dog units disappearing into the darkness as
quickly as they had appeared.
The squad proceeds without further incident though. The Vault
containing the stolen gold should be directly overhead...
Maxim blows out the ceiling with a burst of rocket fire, and the
massive safe crashes down through the hole, narrowly missing the
other squad members. The safe bursts open on impact, sending a
shower of gold into the sewer and all about the place. The
team begin scooping the gold into their AT cockpits, plus any empty
containers they can find in the surrounding undercity debris.
But apparently the vault was guarded- two Zwerg light ATs drop down
through the hole in the ceiling, claiming the gold is the property
of Corbo Zanz, a weapons maker who has grown rich by supplying the
Gilgamesh army throughout the endless war. Could Lieutenant
Odiah been wrong about the gold? Too late to question
orders, the team returns fire, blowing up one of the Zwergs and
fleeing from the other with their cockpits full of gold...
But as the team flees the scene, they are set upon once again by the
Stray Dogs! Joined by a Boxing Dog AT, the stray dogs demand
the team give up their gold, but the Gilgamesh soldiers answer with
firepower. Even Sgt. Randol, who had been less than useful up
until now, lands some hits on the ambushing ATs, who are driven off
after sustaining heavy damage.
The team follows the sewer to where it exits Tartarus
Undercity. But when they surface, they find a cruel surprise
waiting for them- a squad of Military Police ATs that hold
them at gunpoint! Leading them is none other than Lt.
Odiah, who identifies the team as "renegade soldiers who acted on
their own, possibly working with the infamous Stray Dog
gang". This betrayal suggests that the gold did
indeed belong to Corbo Zanz... The team is taken into
custody, but the gold is never seen again.
On to Part 4!
Back to Necromundicon