Heavy Metal Thunder by Kyle B. Stiff

of dogs come alive again behind you. You scramble through the
rubble. The dogs leap from the beam behind you and land in the room, biting one
another and pushing to get under the support beam.
    You rise to your knees on the far side of the pillar.
You feel ahead in the darkness and find a control panel. You pull a small
emergency latch and an unseen door opens, flooding the chamber with light. You
enter and shut the door behind you. The barking of the dogs disappears
suddenly.
    You have survived your encounter with the dogs: Gain 2 XP.
    Turn to section 187 .
     

85
    The gun silently kicks in your hands, and you note
in dismay that the fighter remains unscathed. Thinking to sneak closer, you
freeze as the fighter turns toward you. Whether he saw your muzzle flash or his
ally alerted him, you do not know. By the light of the Invader’s jetpack you
see his black padded suit, his unreadable shadowed face, his great horns curving outwards. The monster streaks toward you at incredible
speed and you must draw a hand-to-hand weapon and face him head-on.
    Be sure to erase the amount of ammunition that you
used.
    Turn to section 159 .
     

86
    Now you cannot ignore your hunger for air. You push
back towards the door and enter the small antechamber. Strangely enough, this
room is now as dark as the former. You push the button to seal off the room and
open the next door. Nothing happens. You notice that the panel is also unlit.
You are trapped.
    If there were a panic button on the panel, now would
be the time to push it.
    If you have the Wrench , you can slam it into
the control panel by turning to section 265 .
    If you have the Knife , you can try to wedge
it between the door and wall and pry it open by turning to section 83 .
    If you wish to cry out for help, turn to section 523 .
    If you did not pick up either of these items, you
can go back to the other room by turning to section 493 .
     

87
    The chamber itself is circular and filled with a
bluish, celestial light. The light flows from a glowing orb too bright to look
at directly, and sits within a framework of steel. Several computers on the
ground hum loudly at many pulsating frequencies, like a choir of hard plastic
cherubim. You have no idea how the technology works. But you know that it is
the Invader ship’s shield generator, and it must be destroyed.
    Three doors enter into this chamber, including the
one you came through, all of which are open. You lay Marcus on the ground while
Commander Uther removes some sort of explosive device from his pack. It is a
complicated setup, and he works at it intently. Meanwhile Sybel attaches his
electronic lockpick into the door by which you
entered, pushes some buttons, and the door closes and locks with a heavy clunk.
He rushes to another door and hooks up his device, preparing to lock it as
well. When he glances into the hallway, he shrieks loudly, then works his machine
double-time. “We got company!” he hollers at you.
    If you are trained in Demolitions , turn to
section 524 .
    If you do not have this skill, turn to section 153 .
     

88
    You leap forward and swing your gloved fist at the
deconstructor’s malicious face.
    You must now compute an abstract number that will
determine the outcome of the battle. This number is your Ground Combat (or 1
G Combat) added to your Strength stat.
    If this number is 3 or less, turn to section 67 .
    If this number is 4 or more, turn to section 162 .
     

89
    You hear bullets ricochet about the halls as someone
fires on a deconstructor. You yank the implosion grenade from your belt, gripping
it fiercely against the tug of the void. You find a latch, then pull it
outwards. The device hums in your hands. You glare at the passing bulk of the
long behemoth, then release the grenade. It flies
downward, slams into a deconstructor - then there is a flash of light, you feel
yourself jerked forward painfully on your line. You see the deconstructor, side
gaping and spitting sparks, as it slides backward