Challenger Campaign

050901           Volume VI, Episode 8: Cydonia

Our Heroes:

Synopsis:
Although the blank piece of foil that Miss Sklodowska had investigated has been stolen, the Party has one piece (liberated by Meri) that has a partial cartouche showing an ibis and a 6-limbed baboon, as well as a drawing of their sponsor’s piece that showed a 9-rayed sun.

The Party made the two day journey to Petrie’s base camp at Hwara, near a small British fort. Penrington was arrested by the military. Miss Sklodowska garnered information from Miss Bradbury and Petrie. That night both the Party’s camp and Petrie’s camp were attacked by Bedouin, and Petrie’s notes on a Thutmose frieze turned up missing. Examination of the actual frieze indicated that the 18th dynasty Pharaoh Thutmose took an object of significance to Gaza, possibly a pyramidium.

Trying to rescue Mr. Eiffel and the golden falcon from monks building a pyramidium atop the French tower during opening ceremonies, the Party was hit by a round of lightning bolts, dying en masse. The Party awakened on Barsoom where Penrington accepted an armband (a symbol of slavery) from the green Martian, Tars Tarkus.

Slaves of the green Martians, the Party joined in a battle against red Martians and save 4 of the latter by taking them prisoner. Kal Kailin of Helium told them of white Martians from a place on the third planet called Kemet (Egypt). After meeting the green Jeddak of Jeddaks, the group effected its escape, taking their keeper, Sola, with them. They were pursued.

Pursuit was thwarted by Zodangans, red Martians hostile to Helium. Meritaten was claimed by the prince of Zodanga; Mme. Sasson was claimed by a French-speaking follower of Kali. The rest of the Party escaped with Kal. In Helium the Party investigated the rumours of evil white Martians, resulting in the goddess Issus apparently generating a smoke which killed her High Priest. Another priest entered the room and, seeing Marya standing over the body, called out, “Murderer!”

Kal aided the Party to escape from the prisons of Helium and the group flew to Ptath where they were immediately arrested as Helium spies. Once again the group managed to escape from the prison and recover their ship which turned out to be booby-trapped. The damaged ship made it to a wizard’s black mountain.

The Party ascended, fighting the skeletal guardians. The wizard was revealed to be Ramsey’s father-in-law, the 10th pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. Akhenaten. Akhenaten’s evaluation of Steele was that he will survive on Barsoom for, at most, 2 weeks at normal resting level.

As they continued discussions with the Pharaoh, his skeletal servants continued in the background, remaking the mountain, bringing piles of mosses or goods to the party, a steady clacking sound in the background. Akhenaten told that Narmer (first pharaoh) came to Barsoom and went back, conquered Egypt, and set up a form of communication utilizable only by the Pharaohs. Akenatan believed that Khufu was Narmer returned to Egypt again. In evidence, Cheops had built a tomb but never occupied it. Khufu was known as Cheops, builder of the Great Pyramid.
Steele: “Is Narmer here still? Could he still be alive?”
Akhenaten reminded the group that he himself had broken the pyramidium so that his evil daughter Meketaten could not utilize the transport or the power that might be represented. Narmer could be alive, but if he had returned to Kemet one more time he would not have been able to return to Barsoom. Akhenaten showed a holograph of the Martian end point of the transport system, in a jungle, near the equator. He showed that the complex of the tomb of Issus’ husband included a pyramid, a face looking into the heavens, a castle layout, and a covered causeway between castle and pyramid that was similar to the model Ramsey had seen in Spain. In the model, the sphinx had been in the place of the face.
Akhenaten: “This is Cydonia. The face is the Sun god.”
Kal: “It will take 3-4 days to get there.”

On Death and Loyalty
Apparently, of all Barsoomians who reach the age of 1000, only the wizards don’t make the pilgrimage up the Issus River. Sherman asked about other wizards.
Akhenaten: “They keep themselves to themselves.”
Sherman: “Do your skeletons have memories of their lives?”
Akhenaten: “They know they have been saved from death. The Martians are very grateful to be saved from death. They are very loyal people.” Everyone glanced at Kal – who has loyally followed the Party through many dangers and much pain.

On Old Ones
Sherman: “Can you help us find your daughter?”
Akhenaten: “There are no Old Ones here. If you can get contact with Flame, she will have all her powers. They have no fire here; all is done with radiology.”
Steele and Penrington tried to get Marya to deduce a way to produce flame on Mars and so create an Old One/ restore Meritaten’s powers, but the young radiologist – who disdained the worship of Old Ones of any kind – agreed with the ancient Egyptian that certain forms of combustion seemed impossible to achieve under Barsoomian conditions -- although she used words like “partial pressure of oxygen” and “nonsustainable reaction rates”.

Education and Re-supply
Group decided to allow one day for:

• Marya to study the Martian rays. (To get a Familarity in Martian Radiology.) Sherman reminded Marya to restock radium to reload the group’s 2 rifles. (6 charges)
• Steele and Toby would rest.
• Meri would work with Sola to get an understanding of Martian moss, and stock up on mosses and moss sap.
• The others would work on repairing the ship and choosing maximal weapons from Akhenaten’s supply.
• Akhenaten offered the body armor he once created for his bodyguards in the days he still traveled Barsoom. “An interesting application of the 3rd ray and a little of the 7th to make surfaces much harder. “It’s a harmonic progression,” Marya mentioned when he described the amount of each ray that was required. The armor is silk in Egyptian style [covers 9-13, 4-point protection, weighs like AC2, i.e., almost nothing].

Marya found Akhenaten had – as all Barsoomians in her experience -- little data on the 10th ray, but she was able to systemize the information, continuing to study for another day or so. She failed to go completely without sleep, and managed to acquire a full understanding. [Full INT roll.]

Early the 3rd day.
The group flew towards Cydonia, crossing dry basins and jagged mountains. The abandoned seas seemed covered with moss. At about 100 miles distance, Our Heroes saw the single north-south canal leading to the green basin of Cydonia. Kal and Sherman both utilized the telescopes provided by Akhenaten. Cydonia’s pyramid had something bright and glinty on top. Meri spotted something like a small airship moving. She reconsidered, “It’s a BIG airship. Just on top of the trees.” Ramsey expressed concern about Mr. Steele’s ability to be a tank for the group – or to engage in any but sedentary activities for the balance of his time on Barsoom. Marya offered to continue to monitor Mr. Steele with her new instrumentation, to check his energy expenditure.

At evening, Kal landed the ship next to the jungle and the Party concealed it. The air was warm and steamy, unlike the rest of Mars. The area was filled with large trees with long flowered vines. The canopy was so thick that the party couldn’t possibly be spotted from above. Tiny versions of the white apes infested the jungle, monkey-like.
“Flowers!!!!” Meri immediately experimented and emerged an ebony-black, gorgeous 6.5-ft tall woman, wearing an outfit made of jingling gold; very impressive. Meri preened.
Sherman: <sharply> “Get back behind that tree!”
Kal: “I’ve never seen anything like her!”
Resigned to the fairy’s preference for being tall, Sherman gave her a hand-and-a-half sword.

Sherman and Ramsey, chopping through the jungle, saw before them two great striped 8-legged cats who had been patiently waiting, crouched to spring. One leapt and hit Sherman [in 6, for two 6-pt attacks] ; he swung back [in 7 for 12]. Ramsey took a critical injury from the other [in 12, for 6 and 5] ; Ramsey [taking 3 body] fell unconscious. [Penrington, using skills he must have gained in the army, was never in front doing the work of hacking through the jungle when the ambushes occurred.] [In fact, did anyone see Penrington chop down bushes at all?]

Steele stepped forward and swung at Ramsey’s cat, [16, 48] slicing off a paw.
Meri -- saying, “Bad kitty!” -- stepped up and swung her sword at Sherman’s cat, hitting [in 13] . It yowled.
Sherman took a half step back and swung, missing.
Ramsey unstunned.

Steele tried to sweep. He hit both cats and killed them.

Meri realized that patching up one of the “lesser races” was trivial; she knew how to use the mosses even better than when she’d last studied with Sola. Nonetheless, she lowered herself to helping the injured.
Marya, with Sherman’s permission, tried to regenerate his damage using raw Martian radium. Doing so, she realized that there’s no chance of blowing herself up, but a perceptual amount of the radium was used. Radiology was easier on Barsoom, but consumed some of the ever more limited resources.

Proceeding thru mucky territory, Sherman and Ramsey saw a large figure ahead: multiple legs, 40-feet long, with a long sinuous neck. Two of the creatures were grazing in the jungle. Ramsey whispered, “Dragons.” The party detoured around.

Further alont, the two leads hacked open a small concavity in a bush to reveal an 8-foot version of the previous creatures. It looked at them, “Gleep?” Sherman pushed back and avoided the nest, worrying about “mom and dad”. The creature peered after the group questioningly.

By mid-day, Our Heroes were half-way through the forest. Kal decided, since it was hopeless either way, he would continue with the party a bit further.
Near dark the Party reached the interior jungle edge and camp. Night skitterers were fended off my Marya’s glow balls.

Sherman: “Where are you going, dear?”
Meri: “I have got to keep up the pretense.”
Sherman: “Now lots of guards can see the two of us. Unless the princess disappeared when you took this form, there are two of you.”
Meri: “What’s the problem?”

Penrington attacked and stunned the black Martian guard. Sherman encouraged Meri to stay less in sight, as he had spotted another guard in the direction of the pyramid.

Kal gasped. The fallen ships were Helium. The patrolling ships to the north were Zondangan. Apparently Zondangans are allied with the black Martian and the Kali/white Martians (whom the black Martian guard had called the “good” white Martians), against Helium – and Our Heroes (who were called the “evil” white Martians). Penrington speculated that Meri looks like Issus. [Wouldn’t she be called Goddess then and not Princess?]

The group assessed its knowledge and resources.

• The military force between the Party and the stockade was sizeable. Our Heroes theorized that the stockade held the Helium airship crews.
• Marya pointed out her radiology skills of invisibility, force wall, force blast..
• Kal pointed out that if any of the fallen ships’ weapons are operational, they can be used to create a distraction
• Marya noted that Eiffel undoubtedly helped create the structure atop the pyramid, therefore he – and his daughter – might well be present.

Meri questioned a 2nd guard and convinced him that her orders have not been obeyed – when he indicated where the white Martian woman was being held as bait for a trap for the evil white Martians. She dismissed him with instruction to kill his adwar for not passing on orders. The group followed. The black Martian guard signaled a 3rd guard atop one of the buildings towards which he was heading,, then entered the “white Martian woman’s” prison-trap. Penrington ran forward and leapt to take out the 3rd guard, who was still watching distractedly the building the guard had entered.

[End of seg 12.] Penrington closed and tried to stun the guard [in the 11, for 10, 40]. A moment later there’s noise from the trap. Sherman and Steele followed onto the roof. Ramsey made a stirrup of his hands as “Princess” Meri tried to jump. She landed gracefully. Everyone else (except Kal – who hadn’t even reached the building) followed to the top of the building.

In the courtyard, Steele saw a brown-haired person. With a jump he landed behind the Earthman, between the man and Madame Claire, who was tied to a chair and gagged. Steele took injury (though no critical systems were damaged) in combat before the brown-haired man was downed. Penrington, also leaping into the courtyard, killed a black Martian who emerged from the guard room, falling unconscious from the return blow himself. Sherman leaped into the courtyard as well, and Ramsey landed nimbly on the building itself, just above the door to the courtyard.

Meri, in front of Marya at the front door to the building, was confronted by another black Martian who opened the door to summon aid. He spotted Marya behind Meri and, giving a warning against the white Martian, pressed around Meri, who tripped him in full view of the other Blacks in the room. There was some amazement in the Black’s faces as they puzzled out what had happened.

Steele entered the room through the courtyard door and occupied the black warriors within, taking serious damage himself [again, stun only, no body]. Ramsey joined the women and Kal finally caught up; both damaged the black Martian. Marya also knifed that black Martian in the chest.

Ramsey and Penrington moved into the room and took out Steele’s opponents. Kal finished off his opponent.

Sherman released Claire who warned of the larger ambush, saying her father was forced to complete the structure and that Meritaten’s evil twin sister (Meketaten) now was watching through the connection between Barsoom and Earth as the black Martian Princess tortured Meritaten to death. “You wife was very brave!” she told Ramsey. Meritaten’s abductor, Sab Than, had returned to his flag ship to sulk; Meritaten had held out against him to the end.

Marya realized that the hyperbolic chamber shape of the tripod vessels, if powered by radium as significant as it would take to power a Helium ship, would enable a Martian to survive on earth. The black Martian army was scheduled to invade Earth at noon, Mme Claire said.

Kal, who couldn’t keep up with the Earthlings if they scaled the pyramid, volunteered to reach the disabled Helium ships and create a distraction by firing guns. It would be impossible for him to survive, he knew, but it would give the Earthlings a chance at their goal. Sherman shook the red Martian’s hand, “In my book, you’re an honourary Anglishman.” Kal seemed to be pleased by the honor.

Sherman noted that perhaps there was an underground passage; there’d been such passages in all our prison experiences. He and Ramsey realized that at this site there was no sign of the causeway between the ruined Castle and the Temple at the foot of the Pyramid; therefore, that might be underground here in Cydonia.

XP: 0 points

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