Horror

Nothings Ever Simple,

Part 2
[Clicking on the maps will take you to a bigger image]
The Next Day

Here you can choose to insert a few other BPNs or give the players a rest to recuperate their ammo and fix their armour
If the players do not have an agent, they are contacted by one (if they do, then s/he has some good news)
The players have been offered sponsorship (Your choice. If you want them to have relevant sponsorship to their SCL or maybe GASH or some other Melee weapon company may want them to try out a new prototype product)
Again you can choose to insert a few BPNs or continue straight to the next stage

Bolar lay in bed next to the young, slim Wraith waitress from The Pit. The air was blue with the cigarette smoke and the remnants of a Flip he had been smoking earlier. He smiled as he felt the girl turn over, slipping her hand across his muscular chest, ruffling the short, velvet hairs. Life was good.
The broadcast of Cassandra's footage went down a storm. The squad couldn't believe the complex editing that had gone into it. They looked like Contract Killers, taking down a Dragon with swords.
At The Pit, there were dozens of people to buy them a drink, not to mention the women throwing themselves at their feet helping them forget their lost squad member. They received a phone call from Ben, their agent, informing them of a sponsorship offer from NASH Weapons. Not only were they contributing to their cause financially each month, but were providing new prototypes for their latest models. They needed a field test. If all went well, they'd be supplied with the first off the line.
Bolar glanced across at this armour, propped up on the chair with the logo 'NASH' in blazing letters across the chest. Resting on the floor was the new model vibro-saber, coupled to a powerfist and foldaway storage, which sheathed the blade backward up the forearm, ready to flick into the hand when activated.
Life was great.
The jarring bleet of the cell-phone brought him back to the present. Bolar reached out and answered it. It was Bob. He had an offer they couldn't refuse. Literally.
"You've what?" demanded Bolar as he sat bolt upright in bed with his eyes wide.
"I've accepted a BPN for you guys," came Bob's ever-enthusiastic voice, "It was too good to pass up."
"Drake's gonna love this. He told you to run any jobs by him first!"
"It's okay, Bolar, there'll be nothing to it."
"Go on...what's the job?" sighed the Wraith.
"It's a sliver. Accompanying a reporter to the cavern to find out more about the overgrown rodent you killed."
Bolar realised the grave they had dug themselves by playing along with Cassandra's misconception.
"Shit!" he groaned, "this reporter wouldn't happen to be Miss Cassandra Blake?"
"That's the one. She's a beauty. I sure wish I could come with you guys."
"Sure, thanks for the offer. We'll pick you up in an hour."
"What?...er, no, you know I can't leave my office. Anyway, the money's good. Very good, and NASH are eager for the good coverage it promises..."
"Sure, Ben," interrupted Bolar, "I'll pass on the good news to Drake."
Bolar cut off anything else their agent had to say and rose out of bed.
The waitress stirred and looked up at him with a smile.
"Going somewhere?" she purred.
"Yeah," sighed Bolar, "duty calls."
"Catch you later."
"Yeah. Count on it."

The agent contacts the players with some exceedingly good news. S/he has accepted a BPN for them (since it is too good to pass up)
Colour: Silver
Pay: 500c each + incentive from Cassandra

Brief:
Cassandra wants to do a follow-up story investigating the cavern where the Creature was found [she has had a tipoff that there may be something interesting down there]
SLA are also interested and insist that the players accompany her since they are the closest they have to specialists if there are any more of the Creatures [explained later]
Cassandra is also willing to provide compact camera's which have no encumbrance and fit to their helmets. They are allowed to keep the camera's afterward as long as they go through her to broadcast any footage on future BPNs

Again, it us up to you. [If this is taking place within days of Part 1, then there will be very little encounters due to the recent sweeps to clear out the swarm of rodents]

The Cavern

This time, there had been no feelings of anxiety. This time, there was no interference with their scanners. This time there was no Dedwith. Their lights reached deep into the gloom, illuminating far more than their last visit. They had explored the crumbling structures and expanse of fungus, finding two exits to the cavern caved in and the remains of the DarkNight soldiers sent to their death against the savage, merciless creature. The fungus had devoured the bodies, leaving the equipment discarded on the surface.
The squad scavenged anything of value, which amassed to several clips of 10mm HEAP rounds, a few DarkNight rifles and not much else. By the time they reached a large factory complex, they had seen the results of the high explosive rounds that had missed their target.
Now all they had to do was find out what DarkNight had been up to.

This time there is no interference with the equipment
Allow the players to explore. After they reach (7), they will begin to notice the devastation wrought on the buildings by the soldiers.
Dead bodies and lots of tracks are evident in the fungus [feel free to allow the players to loot the corpses of whatever weapons you feel the soldiers may have been armed with - anything you don't want them to have at the end of the adventure will be taken off them in the debriefing]
The fungus has eaten away most of the flesh from the soldiers bodies.

The Factory

They moved from one large, dark, unlit room to the next as they explored, finding towering machinery built for some unknown purpose and now long forgotten. A rickety lift led down to a basement level where more rooms, long disused, were to be found. Now at the end of a corridor lined one side with old quarters, Bolar examined the wall while some of the others searched the rooms.
"This doesn't feel right," he said as Mawhald stood next to him.
The Xeno leaned forward, searching with his many, multifaceted eyes. He rose a hand, pushing aside some old cabling, to reveal a small panel. "Ellis," he said after opening it and finding an electronic lock, "I believe this is your department."
It took him slightly longer than he had expected, but finally he bypassed the lock and a hidden door opened. Beyond the doorway, another corridor disappeared to the left. It was a stark contrast to the one they were in, being clean and lit by emergency lights.
They stepped through, anticipating resistance. Cassandra excitedly filmed their progress. A few meters down the corridor a discarded gun lay next to an ID badge and a watch. They moved closer to investigate; the door whispering closed once the last squad member passed through. Drake looked back at the doorway to find that it had merged seamlessly with the wall. To make matters worse, there was no lock or mechanism to open it. With a sigh, he turned to the techie.
"Ellis, where are the controls to re-open the door?"
Ellis looked back and shrugged.
"Probably opens from the control room."
They continued to explore the new part of the complex as they pieced together what must have happened. Personal effects and weapons were found, along with a thick substance they assumed was the creature's congealing saliva. The creature had gained entry somehow, after which it killed and eat the personnel, leaving behind what it could not digest. In the rooms, there were signs of everyday activities having been interrupted no doubt by the alarm. Bullet holes peppered the occasional wall, but most of the weapons had full clips.
"They didn't even get a chance to fire at the thing."
commented Ellis as he examined one of the weapons before pocketing it. In the Technicians Repair Bay, they found a NavMap with the floorplans to the complex, with which they made their way to the Control Room, checking each room along the way. Once there, Ellis sat behind the main control screen and started typing. Everyone else stood expectantly, feeling that they were in way over their heads.
"Shit!" said the techie as data scrolled up on the screen,
"The door control circuits have been disconnected. Someone's gonna have to go down to the Generator Room and reconnect it."
"Okay," said Drake as he turned to the others, "Mawhald and Bolar, you two go down to the Generator Room. Ellis, you check out the computer system and see what you can find out about this place. Ms. Blake, you come with me."
The others carried out their orders, though Cassandra seemed reluctant to venture from the terminals.
"Hold up, I got something," said Ellis as they were about to leave the room, "It's a preliminary security report on the structural integrity of the complex..." he read on and summarised,
"It seems that the structure was crumbling and the engineers had to reinforce it by sections..."
"Meaning?" interrupted Bolar.
"Meaning, no explosive or AP rounds. Standard only. Makes sense, that's why the guns we found inside all had standard rounds. Better change over ammo or salvage some of the weapons we found."
"Okay, you heard him. Change ammo if they're compatible, change guns if they're not."

The building is rundown and decayed. Other than towering four stories high, it looks no different from the other structures
There is a Main Door at the lower side of the building or the Back Door at the upper side.
There are no working lights, and there is no way of powering them since they have long ago become unusable. Only the lift has a meager power supply.
This lift shaft is very deep, taking aprox. 2 min to traverse slowly.

Basement 1

Up to the Hidden Door, the condition of the building is the same as the floor above: any machinery or equipment is decayed an unusable
The Hidden Door: (Hide 5) should be relatively easy for one of the players to find). It has an Electric Lock (difficulty 5).
Beyond the door red emergency lights illuminate the corridor. They are lined with pipes and wiring that would normally be hidden behind a panel. The width of each corridor is approximately 3m, with an extra 0.2m of space either side where the pipes and electronics stick out. The only exception to this is around the Hidden Door and in the rooms themselves.
Once through the hidden door, it closes behind them and locks. At this point it is evident that there is no lock panel here and it must be opened from the Control Room.
The rooms on this level are and new in working order.
There are signs of activities you would expect, and the disorder left during an emergency
Bullet holes pepper the walls from standard 10mm rounds where the personnel fired at the Creature as it worked its way through the complex.
Throughout the complex there are no bodies, though there are ID Cards, handguns and personal effects.
The weapons found next to the personal effects are mostly pistols or SMGs, though there are a few rifles. Those that have bullets, generally have full clips
On the floor next to these items is the congealing remains of the Creatures saliva - though it is becoming sticky as it dries out
In the Technician Repair Bay and in the Offices, there are a few NavMaps showing the floor plans of the complex
The players need to find the Control Room

Basement 2

The Control Room
The door lock circuits are down and need reactivating from the Generator Room in Basement Level 3
At the same time as locating this information, the following report flashes on the screen:
Security Report:
"Structural integrity is low in this complex. Our engineers have been working around the clock to reinforce the corridors and rooms.
Recommendations: Do not use explosive or armour piercing rounds within the complex under any circumstances. To do so could collapse the whole structure."

The rest of the computers are working, but are all off-line. It will take a while to bring them back on-line (Cassandra has Computer Use/Subterfuge if the players do not)
Gradually, over a period of time, the systems will come back on line in the following order:

Information on the Alien

Information on the Project

CCTV

Door Locks
[Note: These will become available at set points along the time line]

While Drake and Cassandra explored the Research Laboratories and Med-Bay, Bolar and Mawhald took another lift down to the lower basement level. Here, as on the ground floor, there was no lighting. Ahead of them stretched a long corridor, barely illuminated by the wan light from the lift. The two operatives turned on their spot-lamps, revealing a corridor leading off to the left a short distance away. The main corridor continued as far as could be seen. Consulting the NavMap, they made their way to the Generator Room.
Meanwhile, Drake and Cassandra found a long room containing seven Stormer vats. Just to the right of the door, there was a large, gaping hole that opened into the lift shaft to the lower level. As they made their way along the rows of vats, checking each one in turn, they found them all occupied except for the last one. It was obvious that the subjects remaining were failed attempts at whatever experiments they were undertaking. After examining the last vat, where its inhabitant had burst free, Cassandra sat at the corresponding console and eagerly started trying to access any information available.
"They've wiped all the technical data, but there are some files still retrievable."
Drake looked over her shoulder as she accessed a file. The words were mainly garbled, but there was a picture of the creature they had encountered and below it were the words ‘Dragon X23'.
"The data's encrypted, but I think I can work it out."
Drake nodded and opened a channel on the comm-link.
"Looks like that that creature we fought wasn't a mutated rodent after all, it was a genetic experiment that escaped."
"At least we don't have to worry about there being any more of them." sighed Ellis.
"Oh, there's more of them alright, but they ain't in any physical state to escape."
"Yeah, well, I've finished instructing Bolar. The connections made, but I still have to override the security protocols."
"How long?"
"Can't say exactly. Already got a virus working on it."
"Okay, let me know as soon as you've got something."

Research Lab 1 & 2
Experiments on DNA and the creation of Stormer variants [any player who is a stormer variant may recognise similar equipment from their initial days after birth]
The technical/scientific data on the computers has been erased
It is possible to retrieve information (layman's notes, progress reports etc) using Computer Subterfuge (no roll is required, the data will become available at preset times along the timeline)
Med-Bay

Equipment and supplies you would expect to find in a Med-Bay - up to and including recreational drugs, which were rationed to the staff. The Isolation Lab has not been used
Stormer Vat Room
The wall to the right of the door (as you enter) has been breached, leading into the lift shaft
This room is where the various experiments have been grown. The subjects are in various states of deformity [they are still alive and being tested by the diagnostic computers.
Looking through the glass panel, you can see the subject staring back, powerless, grotesque and in despair.
For each Vat, there is a computer linked directly to it. The data has been wiped, but the machines continue to keep them alive and monitored.
The Vat at the far end has been ruptured from inside
The Lift
The door has been ripped open, as has the roof to the lift and the door on Basement Level 3. This is where the Creature broke through during its escape
Basement 3
As soon as the connection to the Control Room had been made, the generators surged into life, one making an alarming, deep whir before returning to normal. Mawhald had been exploring the large room, finding a breach in a large pipe that led off into the ceiling. He pulled out his NavMap, overlaid the levels and discovered that they lead up to the ground level where the creature must have escaped into the cavern.
"Okay, lets get back." said Bolar as he picked up his rifle.
They got as far as the main corridor to the lift, when the Wraith got curious as to what lay in the large storage rooms. Deciding to investigate, they got three quarters of the way to the door when their motion scanner blipped.
"Anyone else down here on the lower basement?"
"That's a negative, Bolar," replied Drake, "Just you two."
"Got some movement down here, gonna check it out."
"Sure."
The signal had been brief, originating from the corridor lined with over a dozen small storage rooms. It was quite possible that there was someone hiding there. There wasn't. There was, however, something out of place, and it was Mawhald who spotted it. One of the small storage drums appeared to have been peeled open and its contents removed. Closer inspection revealed something completely different.
"Boss, we got a situation here."
"What is it?"
"That file you found on the Dragon..."
"Yeah?"
"Did it mention anything about its ability to lay eggs?"

Down on this level, little has been done in the way of improvements. The lighting doesn't work and the corridor is grimy and dark.
The Storage Rooms
Full of rations, equipment and spare parts, lit by a separate light source, which has been fitted in the rooms which are used
The Large Storage Rooms
This is where the larger components have been stored. The doors are locked - on the same circuit as the Hidden Door.
Within these walls lie the majority of the eggs. If the players venture toward the doors, let them pick up movement from behind them on their scanners.
There are a few eggs scattered in the corridors outside the door and in the nearby vents. Any tampering with the panels nearby could cause the eggs to hatch - unless you want them to encounter a room full of eggs?
The Generator Room
The creature, during its escape has torn through the door. Inside are two large generators, which hum quietly, if a little erratic (having suffered some damage when the Creature broke through)
The Control Console needs re-activating and linking back to the Control Room [this will need someone who knows Computer Use to talk anyone through the procedure].
Once the connection is made to the Control Room, the generators surge into life. The players may notice an egg casing. If they decide to search for the Critter and manage to find and shoot at it, their motion scanners will show signs of movement nearby, coming from the Large Storage Rooms as dozens of eggs hatch.
Once all the computers are back online
Once the players have the computers on-line, the user will notice that there is retrievable data, but it will take time to dig it out.
Feed the information to the players at you own discretion, remembering to build up the tension as they realise that they are stuck in an underground complex with who knows how many eggs from the Dragon.
Upon reaching the Generator Room, the information becomes available on the Alien:
The Alien is indigenous to a hostile world with a high number of predators. The planet has a large landmass, predominantly humid jungle. Its natural habitat is in jungle regions where it uses the dense plantation to hide in waiting for its prey. Once found, it uses hit-&-run tactics to flay the toughened hide of its victims. To ensure the species survival in such an environment, it lays hundreds of eggs and reproduces asexually. It is a highly aggressive creature, which defends its wide spanning territory tenaciously.
Once they return from the Generator Room, the information on the Project is available:
Codename - Dragon X23
The Objective is to create a creature of mayhem, to be let lose in the enemy's home cities
Combining Stormer DNA and an Alien DNA
They chose the location under Mort for the Research Facility due to the inherent dangers should a subject escape
Using the Stormer's ability to regenerate, the Xeno's ability to camouflage the Vevaphon's ability to heal wounds instantly and the Alien's torso and mysterious ability to scramble electronic equipment and cause unease to those around it. (The latter ability was found to have an adverse effect on rodents, causing them to flee its vicinity)
Attempt after attempt failed, the various DNA refusing to combine
The head scientist took a risk by increasing the percentage of alien DNA
Shortly afterward, the Security Surveillance System is activated:
The cameras for all levels are activated. The most disturbing sight comes from the Large Storage Rooms where there is now a mass of Critters crawling all over the place.
At this point the players should realise the implications each of these critters growing to maturity and laying eggs of their own.
Cassandra will have been snooping on the computer system and will suggest that they overload the generators - easily done in their poor condition - which should destroy the complex and the critters too.
Given time to digest what they have learned, the Door Lock Controls are accessible:
PROBLEM: To unlock one door, you must unlock them all. (This is due to a malfuncion in the relays)
As soon as the doors open, the Critters will swarm up the levels, curcumnavigating any barricades via the maze of air vents
The Critters are agitated and no longer use stealth
The critters also sense the imminent danger within the complex and will do whatever they can to escape (of course, once confronted with prey - i.e. the players - they will attack out of instinct)
Once the Players are on the move, the critters will be close behind
They can be held off - each wave consists of approximately 3-10 critters - The motion scanners show signs of over 50 critters before the interference renders them useless. Again their lights will dim and flicker
While they flee the building, there are stray critters in their path who are easily dealt with
Once past the Hidden Door, there will be a cacophony of grinding metal and overworked machinery already seized up from years of disuse.
If the players chose to overload the generators, as they reach Ground Level, they will notice that they have shut themselves down.
The Critters are meters behind them now
Bursting Free
As the players emerge from the complex, they are faced with a small army of SLA Troops who have already opened fire on the critters who are emerging from the factory behind them (having bypassed the barricades via the ventilation shafts and the pipe connecting the Ground Level with Basement Level 3).
Once the firing starts, Cassandra is hit by a stray bullet [Anyone behind her can make a Detect Roll (difficulty 4) to see fragments of a finance chip fly out of her head]
The players are then ushered to safety by a heavily armour Operative to a place where they are debriefed.
The Critters
STR:3 DEX:10 DIA:3 CONC:2 COOL:15 PHYS: 8 KNOW:3 WALK:3m RUN:6m SPRINT:9m DAMAGE BONUS:+1
SKILS DETECT 3 TRACKING 4 SNEAK 10 HIDE 8 UNARMED COMBAT 6 CLIMB 9 RUN 4
HP: TOTAL 12 PV: 3 (due to the diverse shapes they take, the only place to hit them is in the torso) Size: diameter: 0.3m length:0.4m tentacles: length 0.9m diameter: 0.15
NATURAL WEAPONS PEN DMG AD NOTES Proboscis 0 2 0 used after the teeth have penetrated the armour Tentacles 8 1 4
The critters will sneak up on their intended victim and leap on them, attaching via the tentacles before gnawing with their teeth through the armour
Once penetrated, they extend the proboscis which then eats the flesh
Attack
phase 1: Grapple and bite (automatic grapple since it has many appendages and the victim is unaware of its attack)
phase 2: Bite (this is repeated until it has penetrated the armour)
phase 3: Proboscis (automatic hit while attached)
Abilities:
Scramble:
They are unable to activate this ability, instead it self-activates when their adrenaline starts flowing (i.e. once they have detected a victim)
Blend:
Due to the Mutation of the offspring, the vevaphon tissue is dominant at the initial stage of its life. Because of this, its reactions are much quicker.

Phases motionless Minus to Detect Roll

1 -1

3 -3

5 -5

10+ -10

Regeneration:
1hp per round. If the critter is wounded, it will flee and blend to regenerate, leaving behind its exo-skeleton and reducing itself to the minimum core (0.1m in diameter and 4hp). In this state, its regeneration is slowed to 1hp every 15min.

There was a stunned silence within the Control Room following Ellis' recital of the data retrieved from the Lab Computers. Seconds stretched into minutes as they digested what they had learned. The bank of multiple screens over the other side of the room interrupted their thoughts.
The Security Surveillance System had come online; displaying the complex's various rooms on each screen. All eyes were drawn to the cluster of monitors; the ones designated to the large storage rooms. Dozens of critters crawled over each other, covering every surface, climbing the walls with tentacled appendages, their bodies resembling the objects that they had mimicked last.
"Fuck!" exclaimed Mawhald, "We're screwed."
"Not really," said Ellis as he clacked away on the keyboard,
"those doors are locked and there's no way out...ah..."
"I don't like the sound of that," said Drake as he leaned closer to the terminal, "What's wrong?"
"Well, there's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that the Door Lock Controls are now accessible...the bad news is that due to damaged relays, if we open one door...we open them all."
They had been discussing various options of escape, but the only viable one was to open the doors and run to the exit. The only problem with that plan was it let loose a horde of critters on the lower levels of Downtown; each one capable of growing into Dragons - or variants thereof - and each one able to lay dozens of eggs.
Cassandra seated herself at the twin terminal and keyed in a few commands.
"We can overload the generators by linking them back to the ancient machinery. It should blow this place sky high, taking those little fuckers with it. The only drawback is that it won't leave us much of a window to escape."
Drake and Ellis volunteered to open the doors and trigger the generator overload while the other three went straight to the hidden door. When they were ready, Ellis started the sequence.
The doors unlocked and they ran.
As soon as they reached the corridor to the lift from the lower level, Ellis noticed the readout on the scanner showing over fifty blips below them. A shrill keening began, causing interference with their scanning and communication equipment. The lift rose at an agonisingly slow pace to the next level, the doors opening to a dimly lit corridor, the lighting being affected by the strained generators.
Turning left down the long corridor towards the Mess Hall, their path was blocked by three critters, their stealth forgotten in their agitated state. Drake opened fire, peppering them with bullets, scattering their fragile bodies into tiny, twitching fragments. They met more on the corridor leading to the hidden door, emerging from a ventilation shaft.
One managed to latch onto Ellis' shoulder, its teeth penetrating rapidly through his armour while its tentacled gripped tight. He screamed as he felt the teeth reach his flesh, though a different sensation took over as a sucker of some sort attached to his skin. Drake finished off the other two before turning his attention to the techie. He tore the thing free with a bit of effort, skewering it with his knife.
Echoing from the corridor behind them, they heard more critters reaching their level. They picked up the pace and headed straight for the next lift. The doors took an age to open. Ellis saw two more critters and sent a spray of bullets in their direction, diving into the now closing doors before checking to see if he had hit his targets. The lift shaft to the ground level was deep, taking a few minutes to traverse. Halfway up, they heard movement under their feet. A small hole appeared by Drake's left foot, slowly being gnawed larger. Putting the barrel of his gun to the hole, he nearly lost his weapon as a tentacle whipped out in an attempt to seize it. He squeezed the trigger, causing the critter to fall away, tumbling down the dark shaft. By now a score more holes appeared but mercifully, they reached the ground level.
The noise was deafening as the doors slid open, the long disused machinery groaning in protest. Faced with a dark corridor, they were forced to turn on their spotlights, only to find them emitting a faint glow. Ellis started firing at the critters pushing through the lift floor behind them, the gunfire vying for dominance of sound with the machinery. When the gunfire stopped in a series of clicks, the machines went dead. Caught off guard by the sudden silence, the two operatives were overwhelmed by the oncoming wave of critters.
Bolar, Cassandra and Mawhald burst out of the complex soon after the interference had begun. They found themselves in a well-lit cavern, though the ceiling was still just an expanse of darkness. Before them stood countless SLA Troops who were already picking off the few critters that emerged elsewhere from the structure. A stray bullet caught Cassandra through the temple, exploding through the back of her head in a mass of brain tissue, shards of skull and fragments of finance chip.
The Debrief
Players are forced to hand over any equipment and data taken from the complex. All their equipment is checked, including data slugs.
The players are put through a rigorous debriefing and interrogation, after which they are informed that this blasphemous project was, as they no doubt already figured out, by DarkNight
They are congratulated on an outstanding job (unless they blew up the complex, in which case they will be exceedingly displeased) and will be rewarded for their loyalty and devotion to SLA Industries
A mention of how unfortunate Cassandra's death will be made, but it is just a formality.
Since the players survived the ordeal and Cassandra was skillfully disposed of, they edit the footage so that the public only see what they want them to see.It is arranged into a tribute broadcast to the late Cassandra, showing DarkNight once more exposed and thwarted by SLA's loyal operatives.
The players are informed that their role was much apreciated and their confidentiality about what happened will bring healthy rewards (possibly a full SCL increase, sponsorship, equipment, favours - whatever you feel is apropriate...perhaps the players should just feel lucky that they didn't share Cassandra's unfortunate fate)
While being alieviated of the burden of their equipment, the two operatives were led to an APC parked near the recently excavated entrance to the cavern. An attractive, important looking woman stood partly facing away from them, giving orders in dulcet tones. She wore a long, black trenchcoat, with her straight, black hair cut into a bob that carressed her pale, delicate cheeks. Standing at both sides and a pace behind were two figures garbed in Deathsuits, black on black, their faces hidden behind disturbing, bony helmets. Before he walked away Bolar and Mawhald were instructed by the trooper to wait where they were until called for.
"How the fuck did the cavalry get here so fast?" aske Bolar once the trooper was out of sight.
"Cassandra," whispered the Xeno, "she had a finance chip in her head."
"What makes you say that?"
"Allong with half the contents of her head, I was hit in the face with tiny fragments of it when she was shot."
"Gentlemen," came the aluring voice of the woman who was obviously in charge, "It seem we have a great deal to thank you for."
She stood before them, her coat open, revealing her firm, lythe figure, hugged tightly by her Deathsuit. Her eyes were crimson and had the burnmarks of a Brain Waster. The two friends had no doubt that she and her two companions belonged to Cloak Division.
"On behalf of SLA Industries, I would like to congratulate you on thwarting another DarkNight threat. Your Team did an outstanding job. Outstanding. Cassandra's death was a tragic accident and she will be missed by us all I'm sure. We will make certain that the tribute broadcast we will compile, praises her and your squad highly.You will all become heroes.
"Unfortunatley there can be no witnesses..."
The two heroes were barely aware of the sudden shift as darkness swallowed them one last time.

Of course, you don't have to kill off your players, that is simply the ending of the story.
Tying up Lose ends
SLA were getting information from Cassandra via the finance chip. They sent the players and Cassandra to investigate, so that they could see though her eyes and through the specialised cameras fitted to their helmets [which the players will be alowed to keep, unknowing that they are patched directly to SLA]. Had the players died, then at least they were no longer part of the problem. If they found the complex, then SLA would be better informed for when they had to make their move.
The troops were mobalised nearby once the players gained access to the factory. It was these troops who overrode the overload proceedure on the generators. SLA want to salvage as much of the project as possible.
The project was infiltrated by multiple operatives who worked on it, leaking out data when possible and when it wasn't, they hid the data on slugs, which themselves were hidden at predecided locations. SLA are interested in the projects exploration of combined DNA. They orchestrated the recklessnes which resulted in DarkNight's ability to steal the equipment necessary and plant the operatives in their midst. This operation has taken years to bring into effect. It has been costly, but they believe it is worth it.
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