Falcon 3: The Rack of Baal: Also by Mark Smith and Jamie Thomson in Sphere Books
Falcon 3: The Rack of Baal: Also by Mark Smith and Jamie Thomson in Sphere Books
People live for fun, not to work. Most tasks are performed by
robots, so life is quite easy. Only 10% of the population still
works, and then only for fun or out of a sense of social duty.
Food is plentiful, the main source being a fungus grown in huge
vats under artificial light. Luxury foods, such as meat, are a
rarity. Communications have improved so as to transform
society: holophones connect all homes across the Space
Federation so it is possible to be in direct contact with many alien
species light years across space. Travel on Earth is done by
hovrail, jetcopter or stratocruiser, so that the longest journey
need take no more than an hour.
The average Earther lives for two hundred and fifty years and
This book is sold subject to the condition that the ageing process only begins during the last fifty years of life.
it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, Life-prolonging drugs, called Anagathics, are freely available,
re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without and transplant surgery is now a simple operation. Unfort-
the publisher's prior consent in any form of unately, because people live longer, there are many problems.
binding or cover other than that in which it is There is overcrowding and very little to do which has resulted in
published and without a similar condition a rapid increase in violent crime. With so many people needing
including this condition being imposed on the new hearts, lungs and other organs there is a shortage of spare
subsequent purchaser
parts for use in transplant surgery, so the Enforcement
Set in Andover Executive has passed a Termination Code. All violent crimes are
punishable by painless death. The Enforcement Executive has
Printed and bound in Great Britain by had sensors set up to catch criminals, especially Bodybrokers
Collins, Glasgow who deal illegally in organs for surgery. If Energy Weapons are
used by criminals, for instance, a police jetcopter will be there in
seconds.
Earth, using Hyperdrive, faster-than-light travel, has establish-
ed itself as head of the Space Federation, which includes all the
Earth colonies and alien planets. The Navy patrols the colonies:
Lastlanding, Proxima Centauri, Ascension and so on, as well as
the alien worlds: Kelados, Sundew, Dyskra, Clyss, Rigel Prime,
the Hive and others. Contact with alien life forms is
commonplace and the colony ships of the twenty-fourth
century are still approaching the centre of the galaxy.
The six hydraulic legs which support the machine are extended
when it materialises in a new Timehole, to provide stability on
uneven ground. The Main Access is operated by invisible
Tractor Beams (energy beams that can be used to grip and lift)
that will draw the Time Traveller up into the cabin, to rest on
the Access Disc. This disc is matter but is changed to air as you
move through it by the Molecular Convertor (see Item 4). The
pressurised cabin is lined with instruments and gadgets. The
crash couch is moulded to fit your shape and can be moved up to
the command console or up into the Flyer (see Item 6).
The air inside the machine is kept pure by the life support unit
and can be flushed out and replaced within ten seconds. The
Main Access will work only when its Memory Scanner
recognises your own brain patterns. Specially sensitive cameras
and power floodlights are mounted on top of the Machine. The
Variac Drive, which forces the Machine into null-space, is
housed beneath the deck and is controlled through your
computer (CAIN, see Item 7).
2
You hurl yourself flat on the floor, as a volley of small javelins fly
from the wall to your left, whistling overhead to clatter against
the far wall. Heaving a sigh of relief, you get to your feet. Will
you:
3
A river of white-hot plasma envelops the fly being. There is a
burbling shriek before the creature shrivels up like burning son was Moctezuma II, who was Emperor when the Spaniards,
paper and drops with a wet slap to the floor of the warehouse. along with smallpox, all but wiped out this civilisation and its
Realising the rest of the followers of Baal may be here soon you people. The Aztecs practised a brutal religion, requiring mass
disappear into the hologram of the crate and are drawn up into human sacrifice, and, after, the consumption of the victim's
Falcon's Wing. Turn to 23. flesh. Indeed, wars called 'Flowery Wars' were often fought
between nations for no reason other than to garner prisoners
4 for sacrifice. Ahuitzotl was responsible for the sacrifice of
The first 'priest' drops senseless. The other two hesitate at this, 20,000 defeated victims in one day, in this very year.' You ask
but charge on. You Thinkstrike another, who also collapses. CAIN to run off a suitable set of clothes for you in the Molecular
The last hurls his dagger before turning tail and running in Converter. Soon you are dressed in the clothing of what CAIN
panic, not sure whether his comrades are unconscious or dead. tells you is one of the two elite military orders in the Aztec
You are caught on the hop and the dagger gashes your thigh. Empire, the Eagle Knights. The other is the Jaguar Knights. You
Lose 3 Endurance points. If you are still alive, you continue on. Turn are wearing a fantastic headress of white eagle feathers, a
to 416. quilted patterned jacket, and a brightly coloured skirt adorned
with feathers, with copper anklets and bracelets. Your weapon
5 is a wooden club inlaid with sharp flints of obsidian. You tuck
You set co-ordinates for Earth in 3033 AD and you are soon your blaster under the jacket. If this is the first or second
surrounded by the grey nothingness of null-space. You may lie timehole you have visited on this mission, turn to 13. If you have
in your Autodoc and regain up to 12 points of lost Endurance points visited more than two timeholes, turn to 38.
during the journey. You rematerialise in the Eiger Vault and
whilst a TIME maintenance team replenishes Falcon Wing's 7
supply of polybdenum, you instruct CAIN to link up with the You materialise on the world of Dustbowl again. Examining the
Eiger Service computer to check for any news. CAIN reports camera you see that you have not arrived within the domed city
that nothing new has occurred during your visit to Gettysburg. of Refuge this time, but at the port, on the edge of the Sea of
You will have to continue your search unaided. Which timehole Dust. This should mean that the priests of Baal will probably be
will you travel to: unable to detect your presence. Crates and miscellaneous
equipment are stacked nearby and to the left you can see a
Rigel Prime, in 1642 AD, if you have not been cluster of buildings. It is day time, and the white sun is directly
there already? Turn to 46 overhead; the sky is maroon tinged with blue, and the air is filled
South America, Earth, 1409 AD, the time of with clouds of fine dust. Ahead of you stretches an endless red
the Aztecs, if you have not been there expanse, the Sea of Dust. Behind you and to either side, great
already? Turn to 22 rocky cliffs climb high above you, stretching out of sight.
The colony Planet, Dustbowl, in the year Perched somewhere at their top lies the city of Refuge. CAIN
2764 AD, if you have not been there already? Turn to 10 runs off the disguise of a Dustbowl whaler in the Molecular
Convertor again, along with a filter mask and you step out,
6 detector in hand. You look around, but no one is near. Setting
CAIN chimes: 'I have disguised your Time Machine as an adobe the tripod up, you begin to explore its psychic emanations. You
house; fortunately no organic life forms were nearby to witness sense that it is registering the presence of a piece of the Rack!
its sudden appearance. We have arrived in Tenochtitlan, the Your excitement fades though as you realise that it is lying out
great capital city of the Aztec Empire, Falcon. Its population has at sea, deep in the depths of the crater, buried under tons and
been estimated in hundreds of thousands which makes it one of tons of dust. It will prove difficult to get hold of. You decide to
the largest cities in the world at this time. The current 'Uei consult CAIN, and re-enter Falcon's Wing. Turn to 27.
Tlatoan, or Emperor, is Ahuitzotl, a cruel and vicious tyrant. His
8
'Come on,' you shout and you both set off in pursuit of Yelov.
He pulls away from you however, his bionic legs giving him an
added advantage. Soldiers stare at you as you run past, thinking
you are couriers with urgent messages. Soon you are past
Benner's Hill, coming to orderly lines of Confederate men, tired
but still alert. Lynx tells you this is Early's division, the
Confederate troops nearest to Culp's Hill. You veer away from
them, not wishing to draw any enquiries as to where you are
going. You see Yelov crossing a small river or brook and
disappearing into the woods around Culp's Hill, noticing that he
is now in a blue uniform. You move forward towards the wood.
Suddenly a line of blue jacketed infantrymen step into the open
at the edge of the wood. There is a shouted command and a
billowing cloud of smoke appears in front of them, they have
unleashed a volley of musket fire at you. Desperately you throw
yourself to the ground. Make an Evasion Roll.
9
You instruct CAIN to link up with the Eiger Service computer to
check for any news. CAIN chimes: 'Incoming holo-message
Falcon.'
21 23
You move round behind the cave and climb up the ridge. Soon You explain what has happened to CAIN and it replies:
you are standing above the cave when suddenly your battlesuit 'Obviously Baal has visited Dustbowl at some point in time since
takes a bolt of laser fire. Subtract one from your armour points, but you his escape and won over a group of the superstitious Refugers to
are unhurt. You look up to the opposite ridge as you drop to the his cause. However it seems no part of the Rack has been left
ice. Achov, or rather the creature, is on top of the ridge, a laser here, Falcon, so I would strongly advise you to continue the
rifle in his hands. It set a trap for you and you fell for it. The face search elsewhere.' Where will you continue your search:
inside the powersuit is not Achov's, it is something else,
something you are glad not to be able to make out. You are Rigel Prime, in 1642 AD, if you have not been
taken by surprise and it opens fire again, a lance of ruby light there already? Turn to 46
spanning the gap between the ridges in nano-second. Make an South America, Earth, 1409 AD, the time of the
Evasion Roll. Aztecs, if you have not been there already? Turn to 22
North America, Earth, 1863 AD, the time of
If you score 6-12, turn to 47 the American Civil War, if you have not
If you score 2-5, turn to 31 been there already? Turn to 34
Return to the Eiger Vault, perhaps there will
22 be more information from the Monitoring
You set co-ordinates for South America, Earth, in 1487 AD and Section? Turn to 56
soon Falcon's Wing is sailing on the Winds of Time towards its
destination. You may lie in your Autodoc during this journey 24
and regain up to 12 points of lost Endurance. The cameras show that The bolt passes too close to your back as you duck, and it burns
you have materialised in bright sunshine. You hold your breath through your suit and into your flesh, before striking the wall
in astonishment as the cameras revolve. You are in a great city with a crash. Lose 6 Endurance points. If you are still alive, you
in the middle of a lake. The shores of the lake are studded with scream in pain, which draws malicious laughter from Baal. Turn
townships, each with a core of brightly painted stone houses, to 35.
surrounded by smaller white adobe houses. Each township has a
tiered, brilliantly painted pyramid rising from it. The city itself is 25
perfectly square, with three causeways leading to the mainland. You seize control of his mind and force him to turn and attack
It seems to have been constructed with great precision. Much of the man behind him. This catches him completely by surprise
the city is criss-crossed with canals, upon which are moored and the man under your control drives his knife into the other's
many canoes. The houses are mostly of adobe, with some of abdomen, who sinks to the ground, retching. The third man
stops, astonished. You hurry on, forcing the man under your
control to attack the third ambusher until you are well away.
Turn to 416.
26
Have you spoken to Agent Bloodhound on this mission? If you
have, turn to 37. If you have not, turn to 58.
27
You tell CAIN where the section of the Rack lies, and ask it how
it could be reached. 'The Sea of Dust is very deep, Falcon, even in
our own time its depths haven't been fully plumbed. However,
Falcon's Wing could withstand the pressure and you would need
a modified battlesuit to move about on the seabed. For that you
will have to return to the Eiger Vault and ask Section Chief
Jobanque to issue you with one,' You set co-ordinates for the
Eiger Vault, 3034 AD and instruct CAIN to engage the Variac
Drive. Turn to 39.
28
You hurl yourself flat on the floor as a volley of small javelins fly
from the wall to your right and whistle overhead to clatter
against the far wall. Heaving a sigh of relief, you get to your feet.
Will you:
29
As you walk onward, in the soft glow of the phosphorescent
fungus, the unmistakable sound of battle echoes down the
tunnel. Cautiously edging along the side of the corridor you
come to a T-junction. Poking your head out you look to the left.
A group of yellow and black furred Burrowers are waiting
placidly, a mass of mud and rock at their feet. Turning your head
to the right, you are greeted by the cause of the sound. The
tunnel is filled with two lines of what must be Warriors, some
yellow and black, the others with dull red fur, engaged in a
vicious death struggle. The Warriors are frightening to look at.
They have two arms ending in what can only be described as 32
serrated sword blades, presumably of bone or hardened You can feel the rush of beaten air from the wings of the fly-
cartilage. Viciously sharp horns protrude from their domed beast as its mandibles clash together inches from you. It pulls up
heads, their elbows and knees. Their feet resemble the claws of a to avoid what it thinks are crates, but what is in fact the
bird, except that they are of sharp cartilage, all talons. Their hologram disguise. You roll onward and disappear into them and
heads are much the same as the Burrowers, except for the are drawn up into Falcon's Wing. The creature seems to guess
massive fangs. What is most frightening is their speed and what has happened for a second or two later, it crashes into
ferocity and the feral savagery with which they are ripping each Falcon's Wing, causing it to shudder ominously. However,
other into shreds. Incredibly swift and powerful, they are CAIN assures you that Falcon's Wing is easily able to withstand
creatures bred for one thing only - killing. Behind each rank of the batterings of a mere twelve-foot fly. Muttering darkly about
Warriors there are two or three Nobles, giving orders. They are personality programmed computers, you settle into your crash-
human in shape, except for their heads. These are much the couch. Turn to 23.
same as the Burrowers, except for a membrane covering a
circular cavity above the mouth. They communicate by 33
vibrating this membrane to produce sound. Turn to 44. He seems unaffected and they are almost upon you. You have
no time to do anything "but Thinkstrike. Turn to 376.
30
A musket ball thuds into your shoulder, the impact stops you 34
dead in your tracks and you are thrown into the long grass. Lose You set the co-ordinates for North America, Earth 1863 AD,
74 Endurance points. If you are still alive Lynx, unhurt, comes to and instruct CAIN to engage the Variac Drive. Moments later
your side, crawling through the long grass. Quickly she applies a your mind is searching through null-space for the psychic
field dressing and a local anaesthetic. The Autodoc will deal pattern that marks the North American timehole. You may
with the rest, Falcon,' she says. Looking up over the edge of the lie in your Autodoc and restore up to 12 points of lost Endurance
long grass, you see the blue-coats stepping back into the woods. during the journey. You rematerialise on a wooded hill, with
The Union have finally occupied Culp's Hill. Suddenly, a section good all-round visibility, but your vision is partially obscured
of the woods on the left side of Culp's Hill winks out. Yelov has by clouds of gunsmoke. To the south is a small town wreathed
escaped in his Time Machine. Lynx drops her head in in smoke. Dense forest lies to the east, another wooded hill
disappointment. 'I'll have to find him again. Thanks anyway, rising from it. To the west, you can see a column of men,
Falcon, let's head back to our Machines.' Slowly, you crawl armed with primitive muskets and dressed virtually in rags,
through the grass until you are behind the Confederate lines. mostly a butternut brown in colour. A few, mainly officers,
'Well good luck, Falcon, I hope to see you soon. Bet you I get are wearing grey uniforms. They are marching towards you
Yelov before you get Baal!' Smiling, you climb Benner's Hill and across a road. The air is filled with the sound of volleys of
soon you are approaching the clump of trees disguising Falcon's musket-fire, the boom of cannon and the sound of many men
Wing. Turn to 333. at war. Suddenly a column of men dressed in blue uniforms,
stream past your hill, near the town, in what can only be
31 described as an orderly rout. It appears you have arrived in
You try to avoid the attack, but it hits you squarely on the the middle of a battle. You ask CAIN for information. This is
shoulder sending up a shower of sparks. Subtract 3 from your the field of Gettysburg, a decisive battle in the American Civil
Battlesuit armour points, but it has protected you from any damage War fought on the eastern edge of North America, Falcon. It
this time. Will you: was fought over three days, and we have arrived in the late
afternoon of the first day. The Civil War was between the
Launch a rocket at the thing in Achov's Union and the Confederacy, over reasons too detailed to go
powersuit? Turn to 11 into here, unless you'd like me to?'
Fire your Particle Disruptor? Turn to 292
'No, no, CAIN, that's all right,' you interrupt hastily. surrounded by the grey nothingness of null-space. You may lie
in your Autodoc and regain up to 12 points of lost Endurance during the
'Well, the Confederacy, the men in grey, had the better of the journey. You rematerialise in the Eiger Vault and whilst a TIME
first day, but ultimately they were defeated, despite their maintenance team are replenishing Falcon's Wing's supply of
brilliant commander. General Robert E. Lee. You have polybdenum, you instruct CAIN to link up with the Eiger
materialised on Benner's Hill. The hill to the south is Culp's Hill Service computer to check for any news. CAIN reports that
and beyond that Cemetery Ridge. The town is, of course, nothing new has occurred during your visit to Gettysburg. You
Gettysburg. It would be best to disguise you as a Confederate will have to continue your search. Which timehole will you
soldier for the moment. However, the jacket will be reversible, travel to:
so that the outside is grey, the inside blue, if you should need to
change sides in a hurry.' Donning the disguise the Molecular Rigel Prime in 1642 AD, if you have not been
Converter has given you (your helmet is now a peaked grey there already? Turn to 46
cap), you take the detector tripod and leave Falcon's Wing. Turn South America, Earth, 1409 AD, the time of
to 314. the Aztecs, if you have not been there
already? Turn to 22
35 The colony planet, Dustbowl, in the year 2764
As you get to your feet, you can see that the Darkhome Noble AD, where Bloodhound discovered the
rebels have made a decision, and a stream of Warriors are timeline disturbance (even if you have
charging towards Baal. He towers above them, three times their been to the Dustbowl once already)? Turn to 287
height, destroying them in droves with blasts of yellow energy
and great blows of his boulder-like fists. But the Warriors have 38
no fear of death and they attack heedlessly. They seem to be If you already have a segment of the Rack, you must decide
unable to hurt him seriously, but you have time to act whilst he whether or not to take it with you. Taking the detector tripod,
is distracted. You come to the steel door, but there does not you leave Falcon's Wing, and set it up behind a white adobe
seem to be any way of opening it. Will you; house that is adorned with many bright flowers. As the white
gem begins to glow brightly you explore its psionic emanations
Try to blow the door open with your blaster? Turn to 49 with your mind. You find it is registering the presence of a
Try to burn a hole through the rock next to the segment of the Rack. It is lying in one of the buildings near the
door with your blaster? Turn to 57 Great Pyramid. Putting the tripod back in Falcon's Wing, you
Put some magnesite (if you have arty) at the head towards the pyramid. As you near it, the babble of many
base of the door and blast it? Maybe the voices grows louder. Rounding a large stone building you are
intense heat generated for a few seconds will presented with an awesome sight. You are at the top of a flight
burn a hole through the door? Turn to 88 of one of the many stone steps leading down to an enormous
Try your microbeam key (if you have one)? Turn to 96 plaza, surrounding the Great Pyramid. The plaza is filled with
thousands upon thousands, a teeming crowd of Aztecs. Most
36 are dressed simply in feathered shirts or robes, others are
As you gather yourself to leap, the energy bolt explodes at your dressed richly in brightly patterned robes and head-dresses. The
feet, blasting you into the air and hurling you into a nearby stairs that rise up the centre of the bricked pyramid are filled
building with bone-crunching impact, and you sink into with hundreds of prisoners, almost naked, many covered in
unconsciousness. You never wake up. You have failed. white down, stuck to their bodies by their own blood. They are
formed into a long column marching into the plaza itself. Aztec
37 Eagle Knights, and Jaguar Knights, dressed in the skins of the
You set co-ordinates for Earth in 3033 AD and you are soon jaguar from head to foot, are hemming them in. At the top of
the pyramid are many black robed priests as well as what must final thing - Dustbowl in 2764 had a high level of legislation.
be the Emperor Ahuitzotl, wearing the most incredible finery, They were particularly strict on citizens carrying fire arms,
with his retinue. The sight of what they are doing fills you with especially energy weapons, so be careful with your blaster.
revulsion. Methodically the priests are laying the prisoners on a That's all. Good luck, Falcon!' Moments later, the battlesuit is
blood-encrusted stone slab, slashing open their chests with delivered to you, along with a selection of equipment, steel
obsidian knives, ripping out their hearts and smearing them lances, rotary drums, a mini-lab and the battlesuit. Maintenance
over the carved idols of their gods. From what your Translator technicians are working frantically on the hull of Falcon's Wing.
can pick up, it is a sacrifice to the Sun God, Huitzilopochtli, the Painting it in green and gold and adding bits of impressive, but
Lord of War. Then your Psychic Awareness picks up a strange useless, equipment to its hulk. An hour or so later, everything is
psychic disturbance you have never experienced before, ready and you fade into null-space, bound for Dustbowl once
something akin to the psychic patterns of null-space. Turn to more. Turn to 48.
125.
40
39 You emerge from Providence Airlock and walk into the city of
Soon you are back in your bay at the Eiger Vault. You put a call Refuge. Catching a hovbus you head back to the warehouse. A
through to Jobanque on the holophone, Priority One. He quarter of an hour later, you step off the hovbus near the
answers immediately: 'Falcon, what news?' You tell him what warehouse. As your foot hits the ground, four black-robed
has happened and what the situation is on Dustbowl. 'Right, I'll figures, waiting at the entrance to the warehouse, charge at you
authorise the battlesuit,' he says, 'and I'll talk to you soon.' With without hesitation and in silence, drawing long, wickedly curved
that he breaks contact. You wait while your polybdenum supply daggers. You barely have time to act. Instinctively, you hurl
is replenished. Soon Jobanque holophones through. 'Okay, yourself, rolling, at their feet, hoping to trip them and run on, to
Falcon, Skirrow and I have come up with something. Falcon's the safety of Falcon's Wing. Make an Evasion Roll.
Wing will be painted in company colours and made to look like a
scientific research diving bell. You can pretend to be a scientist If you score 5-12, turn to 123
from Earth, sponsored by a fictitious Earth company, say the If you score 2-4, turn to 112
Eiger Coporation, sent to Dustbowl to research the breeding
habits of the Dustwhale. We'll give you forged credentials and 41
money, of course - in this case Dustbowl placs. The battlesuit You move towards the officer and he puts you in the front line,
has been modified for high pressure. You won't be able to see giving you a musket and staring at you suspiciously. Then a man
anything down there, but you'll have your microbeam radar, in a smart grey uniform with yellow piping rides up,
and we've fitted a high resolution graphic delineator. This will accompanied by several aides. He seems to be giving orders to
analyse the radar reading and render it as a visual graphic on the officer. One of the men says: That's Jubal Early, our
your battlesuit face plate. It'll be just like seeing normally - divisional commander, I betcha we're going in to the attack.'
almost. Anything you see won't actually be there, the graphic
delineator will just show you what something the radar has Then a bugle sounds and the officer shouts, 'Over the wall, men,
picked up looks like. You'll have to use the radar to determine and at 'em!' A loud cheer goes up, accompanied by a strange
the position of anything. We'll give you some high-tensile wire whooping and soon you are charging over the wall and into the
to lower Falcon's Wing and the like, to make your scientific open. 200 yards ahead is a small river, Union troops are pulling
expedition look convincing. You'll have to go back to Dustbowl back across it. In front of them are a line of logs, carts and the
and hire a whaling ship and get it to take you out to where the like, behind which a row of Union troops are waiting. The small
Rack section lies - this kind of expedition was reasonably river disappears in the heavy wood that blankets Culp's Hill. It is
common in those times. I know this is breaking the First Law of quite exhilarating as you sprint onwards, the men all around
TIME, but under the circumstances, we have no choice. One you cheering wildly. Then there is a loud crackling sound all
along the Union line, as they unleash a volley of musket fire. at a rapid pace, sealing off the corridor, whilst the Warriors
Men to the left and right of you drop like sacks of coal, but you battle on, mindlessly, until the last falls.
are pushed on from behind. A little later they open fire again.
Make a Chance Roll. The red-furred Nobles confer amongst themselves. It seems
they are going back to fetch Burrowers of their own to force the
If you score 4-6, turn to 116 corridor. Then one of them says, 'We will send the Warriors to
If you score 1-3, turn to 126 secure the outer cavern. May the Baal-Mother triumph.' Your
eyes widen in surprise - could Baal be here? Then five Warriors
42 begin to move towards you whilst the rest move back down the
You jump backwards, but a volley of small javelins fly from the corridor. The outer cavern must be the one where Falcon's Wing
wall to your right along the whole length of the slab. One of lies. There is no way of avoiding these five Warriors, you will
them slaps into your arm. Lose 5 Endurance points. Plucking the dart have to fight them. They turn the corner, jogging in unison. Will
from your arm, you press on. Will you: you:
Step on to the slab directly in front of you, still Thinkstrike them in quick succession? Turn to 64
close to the right wall? Turn to 383 Use your Power of Will on two of them? Turn to 85
Step on to the slab directly to your left, still on Use your blaster? Turn to 74
the front row? Turn to 340
Step diagonally to the left, onto the centremost 45
slab of the nine? Turn to 373 You are not quite fast enough. You can feel the rush of beaten
air from the wings of the fly beast and then a sharp pain as its
43 mandibles clash together, taking a chunk out of your shoulder.
That night, you are woken in the low bunk of your cabin by a Lose 6 Endurance points. If you are still alive, the fly pulls up to avoid
slight sound. Opening your eyes you look up to see a figure, eyes what it thinks are crates, but are in fact the hologram disguise.
wild and staring, a long dagger held in both hands over his head, You roll onward and disappear into them and are drawn up into
poised to strike at you. This death is for Baal,' he whispers. It Falcon's Wing. The creature seems to guess what has happened
seems the priesthood of Baal have followers everywhere, will for, a second or two later, it crashes into Falcon's Wing, causing
they never give up? Will you: it to shudder ominously. However, CAIN assures you that
Falcon's Wing is easily able to withstand the batterings of a mere
Use your Power of Will on the assassin? Turn to 62 twelve-foot fly. Muttering darkly about personality pro-
Reach for your "blaster under the pillow? Turn to 53 grammed computers, you settle into your crash-couch. Turn to
Roll off the bed into his thighs, knocking him to 23.
the floor? Turn to 73
46
44 You set the co-ordinates for Rigel Prime, 1642 AD and instruct
As you watch, the red-furred Nobles begin to fire at the yellow CAIN to use the Variac Drive. Moments later your mind is
Warriors with small laser pistols, cutting them down in great searching through null-space for the psychic pattern that marks
numbers. This amazes you, as this technology should not be the timehole and soon you are guiding the navigational
available at this time. One of the yellow-furred Nobles trills at computers to Rigel Prime. You rematerialise safely and your
the other and your Translator renders it as: The rebels are cameras reveal a strange wooded glade. The sky is a deep yellow
breaking through, we must fall back and use the Burrowers, our colour. The ground is covered in a close knit layer of spongy
farms must be protected.' The Nobles run past you to the pack turquoise grass. There are trees, odd mounds, some two or
of the Burrowers, trilling orders. The Burrowers begin to work three feet high, with thick trunks, sprouting heavy branches
laden with fat blue leaves. You are in a depression in the ground.
The rim of the glade is covered with trees, so that you cannot see
beyond it. You ask CAIN for an historical update. It chimes:
'Lord Silvermane of TIME is of course a Rigellian. But Rigel
Prime in 1642 AD was a much less civilised place. Technology is
low. Politically, the planet is divided into groups of family clans,
corresponding to the nations of ancient Earth. The hierarchy of
society is almost completely based on a warrior code of physical
prowess. Those victorious in combat, male or female, will be the
rulers. It is a very violent society. However, sensibly, mass wars
are never fought. The concept of the honourable duel is very
important to the 17th century Rigellian. Differences between
clans are settled in the arena, usually an expanse of land
containing many types of terrain in which specially selected
teams duel to the death. The atmosphere of Rigel Prime is
sufficiently Earth-like for you to breathe, however its gravity is
twice that of Earth. I doubt you will be able to withstand the
discomfort for long, Falcon. I have disguised Falcon's Wing as a
clump of indigenous vegetation.'
'Well, Falcon, due to the enormous size of the Rigellians you will
have to masquerade as a child. As you know, Rigellians are blue
in colour, but you could pass yourself as an apprentice
apothecary or Rigellian medic. They were known to wear masks
and to be fully clothed.' Soon you are dressed in bright scarlet
and green with a full face helmet upon your head, concealing
your features. A long dagger is strapped to your right thigh and
a broad, slashing blade hangs at your belt. It seems even
Rigellian medics expect to fight. Taking up the tripod detector,
you leave Falcon's Wing. Turn to 67.
47
The laser beam vaporises the gassy atmosphere of Chill above
your head, missing you. Will you:
48
48
You spend the time journeying through null-space by taking a
much needed rest. When you arrive, you instruct CAIN to you have recognised him. Some hours later Falcon's Wing is
create a hologram - this time Falcon's Wing is simply a diving stowed in the hold and the ship sets sail, scudding across the
bell amidst the rest of the harbourside equipment. You leave dust. The second day out, you are gazing out across the heaving
your Time Machine in search of a ship for hire dressed in Earth red sea when you look behind you to see a ring of twenty or
clothes of the period - tight high-waisted trousers and loose more sailors hemming you in, their faces staring mercilessly.
sleeveless jacket, with many pockets and a communications/ The captain steps forward and says: 'You chose the wrong ship,
recording helmet, in the fictitious green and gold colours of the Offworlder. We are all of the old religion, our Lord is he who
'Eiger Corporation', a Dustbowl filter mask at your mouth and you would wish to imprison, Baal, Lord of the Flies. He sent
nose. You head for the cluster of buildings to your left. As you word to us of your coming and now we will exact retribution.'
approach, you can see a harbour registry office and a Recreation He signals to his men and soon you are overpowered. There is
Centre. Moored at the quayside is a whaling ship, all silvered nothing you can do against so many. You are tied up to a block of
steel from bow to stern. Dustwhalers never paint their ships as wood and your heart is cut out and offered up to Baal as a
the paint is eaten away by the abrasive dust. The ship is long and sacrifice. You have failed.
sleek with three masts, its super resistant sails furled, looking
like a 19th Century Earth schooner. A name is etched into its 52
side, 'The Winged Demon', and it flies a black flag, fluttering in If the timehole on Rigel Prime was the first you have visited on
the dust-laden wind. Will you: this mission, turn to 263. If you have been to any other
timeholes, turn to 295.
Board the ship to talk to its captain? Turn to 60
Enter the Recreation Centre in search of 53
information there? Turn to 69 Your hand snakes under the pillow in a desperate attempt to get
49 the blaster before the knife is buried in your body. As you reach
You bathe the door in superheated plasma, but when you for it, you notice two more men behind the first. Make an
examine it afterwards it is not even scratched or warm. Evasion Roll.
Glancing behind, you see Baal is still involved with the Cavers.
Return to 35 and choose again. If you score 6-12, turn to 95
If you score 2-5, turn to 84
50
Falcon's Wing is hurled through the air but winks out inches 54
from the ground. Safe in the grey nothingness of null-space, You tell CAIN you must go outside the Dome and it replies that
you heave a sigh of relief, calming your shattered nerves. Soon there are large air-locks leading to lifts that go down the cliff-
you are floating on the Winds of Time headed for the Eiger face, over a mile, to the whaling port below on the Sea of Dust.
Vault. You ask CAIN what has happened in the timelines, Tourists and ordinary citizens often go to view the Sea of Dust.
knowing that the first law of TIME has been broken on 'However, you will need a pass and some local money, Falcon, I
Tenochtitlan to an unprecedented degree. It replies that the will run these up for you in the Convertor. You will need to hire
society was almost completely wiped out by the Spaniards in a a filter mask, essential for respiration in the dust-laden
few more decades, thus cancelling any serious time damage. atmosphere of Dustbowl.' As the Convertor goes to work the
You may lie in your Autodoc and regain up to 12 points of lost cameras reveal a figure in the entry bay of the warehouse. He is
Endurance on this journey. Have you been given any information dressed in long black robes over brown leggings, and is looking
about the Planet Cave? If you have, turn to 86. If you have not, furtively about, as if searching for something. He holds some
turn to 76. kind of instrument in his hand which he examines carefully.
Then he begins to move directly towards Falcon's Wing. CAIN
51 chimes: 'My instruments tell me that Falcon's Wing is the
The disciple of Baalmakes no move, obviously he doesn't know subject of a Time Monitor. Somebody has learnt that you are
here. That kind of technology was not available at this time, 57
Falcon.' As you watch, the man stops before Falcon's Wing and You step away from the door and then begin to pour a sustained
looks up, as if he was looking straight at you, and he turns to run stream of plasma into the rock. The cavern wall crashes and
out of the warehouse. Will you: splinters under the assault, some of the rock actually melting
under the heat. Soon you have burnt a hole through it and you
Head for the lifts and outside the Dome? Turn to 68 can see into a small chamber beyond. But there is a triumphant
Follow the man in black robes? Turn to 80 howl behind you and, turning your head, you can see that Baal
has completely destroyed the Warriors. He turns his attentions
55 to you. Immediately you hurl yourself through the opening as a
Ignoring the officer, you dash away from his men over the stone great river of burning energy rushes from Baal's outstretched
wall. There is a shout of anger but nobody pursues you. You run hands, his face contorted with effort. Make an Evasion Roll.
out into an open field to be greeted by an unexpected sight. 200
yards ahead is a small river, Union troops are pulling back across If you score 6-12, turn to 104
it. In front of them are a line of logs, carts and the like, behind If you score 2-5, turn to 113
which a row of Union troops are waiting. The small river
disappears in the heavy wood that blankets Culp's Hill. Seeing
you, some of the blue-coated soldiers open fire, and puffs of 58
white smoke appear in front of them. As fast as you can, you try You set co-ordinates for Earth in 3033 AD and you are soon
to throw yourself to the ground. Make an Evasion Roll. surrounded by the grey nothingness of null-space. You may lie
in your Autodoc and regain up to 12 points of lost Endurance during the
If you score 6-12, turn to 77 journey. You rematerialise in the Eiger Vault and whilst a TIME
If you score 2-5, turn to 66 maintenance team is replenishing Falcon's Wing's supply of
polybdenum, you instruct CAIN to link up with the Eiger Service
56 computer to check for any news. CAIN chimes: 'Incoming holo-
You set co-ordinates for Earth in 3033 AD and you are soon message Falcon.'
surrounded by the grey nothingness of null-space. You may lie
in your Autodoc and regain up to 12 points of lost Endurance during the Agent Bloodhound's face seems to come alive inside Falcon's
journey. You rematerialise in the Eiger Vault and whilst a TIME Wing. He nods a greeting at you. 'On line, Falcon. How's the
maintenance team is replenishing Falcon's Wing's supply of mission going? A tough one this, eh? Anyway, I have an
polybdenum, you instruct CAIN to link up with the Eiger important mesage for you. We've picked up some strange
Service computer to check for any news. CAIN reports that disturbances in the timelines of the timehole on Dustbowl. I've
nothing new has occurred during your visit to Dustbowl. You just returned from a routine check there. Something appeared
will have to continue your search. Which timehole will you and then left the Dustbowl timehole within a space of about one
travel to: hour. It caused a disturbance in the Winds of Time that is
completely unlike anything previously recorded and was of
Rigel Prime, in 1642 AD if you have not been great power. Monitoring is sure it was not a Variac Drive
there already? Turn to 46 emission. It could be Baal. That's all for now, Falcon. Good luck, I
South America, Earth, 1409 AD, the time of hope to see you soon in the Rec Centre.'
the Aztecs, if you have not been there
already? Turn to 22 'Thanks Blood,' you reply. You must continue your search.
North America, Earth, 1863 AD, the time of Where will you go to next:
the American Civil War, if you have not been
there already? Turn to 34
The colony planet, Dustbowl, in the year 2764
AD (even if you have been there once
already)? Turn to 287
South America, Earth, 1409 AD, the time of
the Aztecs, if you have not been there
already? Turn to 22
Rigel Prime in 1642 AD Civil War, if you have
not been there already? Turn to 34
59 [Score a G]
You move around to the other ridge and climb up it. As you
reach the top, you can see Achov lying in the very place you
were intending to be. The whole thing was a trap! It was hoping
you'd go to the cave where it could pick you off from here.
Somehow it senses you and rolls over, a laser rifle in its hand.
The face inside the powersuit is not Achov's any more, it is
something else, something you are glad not to be able to make
out properly. You have the initiative. Will you:
60
You walk up the gang plank and onto the main deck of the
'Winged Demon'. A sailor is polishing a huge gun on a swivel
mount. It is a rocket powered harpoon gun. His filter mask is
painted to resemble an insect's head, and he stares at you dully.
You ask for the captain. He stands motionless for a moment and
then points down some stairs to a cabin door at the stern of the
ship. You go down the steps and knock on the door. 'Enter,'says
a gruff voice, and you open the door. It leads into a small cabin
lined with charts of the Sea of Dust, with a bunk and a desk.
Behind it sits a bearded man in black robes, wearing a yellow
headband, presumably denoting his rank, and still wearing a
black filter mask. Next to him stands a grizzled old sailor in
traditional heavy whaling clothes, also bearded, a long whaler's
knife at his side. 'Yes?' says the man behind the desk, eyeing you
up and down quizzically. You introduce yourself as Professor
Falcon, a scientist sent here by the Eiger Corporation on Earth.
You ask if you can hire him and his ship and tell him of your
planned expedition. He nods, interested, but when you tell him
the co-ordinates you wish to go to he starts and stares at you.
Then he says abruptly, 'What do you want to go there for?' his terror, some screaming that the gods are doing battle in the
voice muffled by his mask. You tell him about your research into streets of Tenochtitlan. Desperately, you run on. Turn to 372.
whales and that the area is a prime whale breeding ground. He
looks at you and then says, 'Ah, I see,' and nods. 'It'll cost you ten 66
thousand placs, all in. I'm Captain Nathan. Welcome aboard.' A musket ball thuds into your chest near the right shoulder. The
There is a knock on the door and a sailor enters. Have you been impact, like a physical blow, throws you backwards to the
to Dustbowl once before on this mission? If you have, turn to ground. Lose 14 Endurance points. If you are still alive, will you:
70. If you have not, turn to 79.
Lie where you are in the long grass and await
61 developments? Turn to 89
You throw yourself into the air and somersault through the Reverse your jacket so that the blue is on the
doorway, as the slab of masonry shatters into a thousand shards outside, move away from your present point
close behind you. Turn to 299. and then run towards the Union lines? Turn to 103
62 67
You try and impose your will on your assailant. Make a Power of As you leave the artificial gravity of Falcon's Wing you are
Will Roll. instantly struck by the heavy weight of twice the gravity you
are used to. It is as if your limbs were made of lead and your
If you score 6-12, turn to 115 breathing is heavy and laboured as you stagger into the cover of
If you score 2-5, turn to 127 some nearby trees, half way up the side of the glade. As if in slow
motion you set up the detector tripod. The dull whitish gem
63 begins to radiate a translucent light and you use your Psychic
CAIN chimes, its voice disturbingly calm: The Variac Drive is Awareness to explore the psionic emanations of the detector.
dysfunctional, Falcon, it has taken too much damage.' Then Within moments you realise that there are no traces of the Rack
Falcon's Wing crashes to the ground with awful force. You hang here on Rigel. As you are packing the detector up, a sound alerts
upside down by the straps of your couch, stunned. You can do you. Turning, you see a large humanoid figure, seven or eight
nothing as Baal tears your Time Machine, and then yourself feet tall, entering the glade. The figure is a Rigellian, obviously
apart. You have failed. dressed for war. He looks much like Lord Silvermane save that
his long, shoulder-length hair is jet black. He has blue skin,
64 covered in strange designs painted on in yellow and white. His
You hurl a blast of mental energy at one of them, but it has no body is heavily muscled, the legs and arms are like tree trunks,
effect it seems they have almost no minds at all. Seeing you, the the torso a barrel. In one three-fingered hand he holds an
first acts with blinding speed, lashing out a taloned foot to rip enormous club, a long spiked bar ending in a cluster of
open your thigh, before you can react. Lose 5 Endurance points. If sharpened blades. His other arm is armoured from shoulder to
you are still alive, as the plasnet of your suit seals, you leap hand with spiked steel, ending in a vicious dagger-like blade
backwards out of range. Will you: coming from the top of the wrist. From a wide belt hang several
wickedly pointed throwing weapons. The eyes, all white, glare
Use your blaster? Turn to 74 balefully around the glade. You sink slowly into the cover of the
Use your Power of Will to control two of them? Turn to 85 trees, hoping not to be spotted. Unfortunately, the Rigellian is
now between you and Falcon's Wing. Then there is a sound to
65 your left and another enormous figure, less stocky than the
The plasma hurtles towards him but Baal, anticipating it, twists other, but with a hint of tigerish grace, enters the glade. His hair
aside in the air and dives towards you. The people nearby flee in is bluey-green, in one hand he holds what would be to a human a
halberd, which serves as a one bladed axe to the Rigellian. In his
other hand is one long blade, a hand grip in its middle. His
abdomen is covered in linked plates of mail with a spike at the
front. Turn to 78.
68
Quickly, you leave the warehouse, detector tripod in hand,
Blaster hidden in the folds of your clothes. You are on a paved
street, lined with dark and brooding buildings, all industrial in
some way. It is night on Dustbowl. Looking through the
transparent Dome of Refuge you see the night sky, scattered
with unfamiliar constellations and strange stars. The street
seems deserted except for some large automated hovcars that
stop at certain points, marked with posts fortunately labelled in
Fedspeak. You examine the nearest post. It says 'Refuge
Transport Hovbus'. A few moments later a large hovcar hums
to a stop beside you and its doors slide open. The computer
driver grates, in slightly archaic Fedspeak: 'What is your
destination?' You reply that you would like to be taken to see the
whaling port and it says 'Providence Airlock, Sir. That will be
130 credits. Please insert your card.'Hoping that CAIN has done
its work properly, you pass your credit card through the data
processor and sit in the hovbus. The only other passengers are
three drunken whalers and a.few other Dustbowlers, dressed in
robes of varying dark shades. Soon you are at the Providence
Airlock where you hire a filter mask to cover your nose and
mouth before stepping into the airlock that leads to the lift, after
paying a small toll. Turn to 90.
69
You walk to the door of the Recreation building and it slides
open. Stepping in you find yourself in a small airlock,
presumably to minimise the amount of dust getting into the
main building. You enter a large room with a bar at one end. The
air is free of dust and you remove your filter mask. There are a
few people, sailors mostly, eating and drinking in groups at
various tables. They look up as you enter and you can hear one
or two muttering 'Offworlders'. You walk to the bar intent on
asking the barman's advice on finding a whaling ship, when
your attention is drawn to a small man, obviously drunk, telling
a story to a group of attentive listeners. 'Yup, I served on the
Winged Demon on its last voyage and ...'
'What did you want to take up with the likes of them for?' 70
interrupts one of the men at his table. Your eyes widen in surprise, but you try not to give anything
away. You recognise the sailor as one of the fanatical disciples of
'I needed a few placs, right. Be quiet and listen up. They needed a Baal who tried to kill you once before. He nods at Captain
few extra whalers for this trip, so me and a few others signed up Nathan and then stares at you, expressionlessly. The Captain
We sailed out for a day or two but, get this, although several says, Take these two men with you and show them the location
whales were sighted, we didn't do no whaling at all! Then one of your equipment and well get it loaded aboard. The payment
night, I was woke by a noise on deck. I went up and guess what I will be five thousand placs now and five thousand when we get
saw... ? Well, most of the regular crew was dressed in black back to port. Is that agreeable to you?' Will you:
robes and they were chanting some weird song. And then, strike
me dead if I'm lying, a huge figure, more'n twenty foot tall, Say yes and lead the two sailors to Falcon's
bursts up outta the sea. In the ship's lights 1 could see he was as Wing - you may be able to lose them or you
red as dust and his eyes were yellow and unnatural looking.' may wish to carry on with the expedition
Some of the men scoff at this, but the small man goes on: 'It's regardless? Turn to 81
true, honest. He flies, yes flies, up above the ship and there was Turn down the Captain's offer, saying you
this awful smile on his face, dust etch my bones, I'll never forget must first see if you can get a cheaper price
that smile as long as I live, pure evil it was. Well, at this I get off elsewhere? Turn to 92
that deck as quick as I can and into my bunk. And that's not the
end of it. The next day I could swear there were less of them 71
onboard as when we started out. Anyway, we did do some You catch the creature in the chest, smearing the powersuit and
whaling on the way back, but I can tell you, I'm never working its contents across the ridge, where it freezes instantly,
on the Winged Demon no more!' completely inert. All that is left is a broad red stain, frozen solid.
Exhausted, you pick yourself up and use your jets to fly back to
There is silence around the table for a moment but one of the Falcon's Wing. Turn to 100.
men says, 'You've been drinking too much as usual,' and they
break into uproarious laughter. Turning away, you ask the 72
barman about whaling ships for hire. You drop to the floor but a single barbed two-foot javelin
explodes from the wall, six inches from the floor and embeds
'Well, most any whaler is up for hire,' he replies, 'but you gotta itself into your thigh. Lose 7 Endurance points. If you are still alive,
be careful. I mean, I wouldn't hire out the Winged Demon, even you slowly draw it out, gasping in pain. Will you:
if it was for nothing. Tell you what though, the Dustskate
should be here in a day or two and Captain Cresap Ord's a good Step onto the slab directly ahead of you, in the
man. That's your best bet if you're not in a hurry.' Thanking last row? Turn to 393
him, you leave the Recreation Centre. Will you: Step onto the slab diagonally to your right, the
middle slab on the last row? Turn to 404
Go back to Falcon's Wing and wait for the Step directly to your right, to the centremost of
Dustskate to arrive if you think you can the nine slabs? Turn to 373
afford the time? Turn to 283
Board the Winged Demon and try to arrange 73
an expedition as soon as possible? Turn to 60 Make an Evasion Roll.
Thinkstrike the man at the door? Turn to 179 Use your Power of Will? Turn to 62
Use your Power of Will on him? Turn to 189 Roll off the bed, and try to knock him to the
Say 'Sorry, wrong address/ and go back to floor? Turn to 73
Falcon's Wing? Turn to 168
85
81 You concentrate hard, but it is surprisingly easy to take control
You agree to the Captain's terms and leave with the two sailors. of their tiny minds, they are bred for a lifetime of obedience. You
You lead them along the quayside for a little way. They are quiet force them to attack their fellows and a vicious battle ensues. In
and taciturn, it seems they are not interested in conversation. a few bloody seconds four of them are dead. The survivor's leg
Will you: has been virtually filleted, but it limps towards you. Grimly you
blast it back out of the tunnel with a bolt from your blaster and
Allow Falcon's Wing to be loaded onto the press on. Turn to 99.
Winged Demon as planned? Turn to 51
Thinkstrike the two sailors? Turn to 105 86
Use your blaster on the one you know for sure Soon you are safe in your bay at the Eiger Vault, You call in a
to be a disciple of Baal? Turn to 114 maintenance team to make the necessary repairs to Falcon's
Wing whilst you reflect on what could have happened had you
82 been wearing your battlesuit in the fight against Baal. You have
A hushed silence falls, as Baal hangs there. Then, with a smile of two parts of the Rack now, you must search for the third. Your
pure evil, Baal gestures at the priests, the passage of his hand only clue is the timeline disturbances and the death of
leaving a fading trail of crackling yellow energy. They leap up Kingfisher on the timehole on Cave. After the Maintenance
and frantically continue the sacrifice, offering the hearts up to Techs have completed their work, you set co-ordinates for
what they believe to be their god. With a thrill of horror, you Cave, in the year 432 AD. Turn to 205.
realise Baal is feeding off the life forces of the victims, using
some kind of psychic vampirism. Even as you watch, he seems to 87
grow stronger, raw energy flickering about him in ever- The battle continues for a few minutes more. The stocky
increasing intensity. He throws back his head and laughs, a Rigellian parries an axe cut with his armoured hand and then
terrible booming sound that echoes around the plaza. If you are whips his spiked hand across the other's chest, gashing him.
carrying a piece of the Rack, turn to 93. If you are not, turn to Encouraged, he redoubles his attack but the other twists aside
111. and, his arm a blur, seems to pass the twin-bladed sword across
the stocky. Rigellian's thigh, opening up a deep wound. He Falcon? Anyway, I must try to find him again. Thanks and good
follows up with a mighty axe blow, and the stocky Rigellian is luck with the Baal mission.' Turn to 333.
hurled backwards. Suddenly he disappears into a tree. To your
horror you realise he has fallen into the hologram disguising 90
Falcon's Wing! The taller Rigellian stands stock still in utter The lift functions as an Environment Dome, but is completely
amazement. You must act quickly. Your Time Machine could be transparent. You can see out over the Sea of Dust. The sun,
damaged and you must also minimise any effects on Rigellian bright and very white, is rising over the edge of the cliffs, many
history its sighting may have. Will you: miles distant, illuminating the Sea of Dust with silver light.
Visibility is not good, the air is filled with fine dust which glitters
Thinkstrike the last Rigellian? Turn to 120 redly in the sun, but you can still make out the vast expanse of
Attack the Rigellian from behind, perhaps you heaving dust, a deep rusty red, almost like a lake of blood,
can knock him out without being seen? Turn to 140 punctuated with small specks of gleaming silver - whaling ships.
Creep around the edge of the glade and enter The lift, actually as large as the warehouse you arrived in,
Falcon's Wing from the rear? Turn to 129 hurtles down at an incredible pace and soon you are on the
wharf of the port, breathing through your mask. Several
88 massive whaling ships, of steel from bow to stern, and powered
Cross the magnesite off your Agent Profile. You pack it around with sails, are berthed. Some are unloading massive crates of
the door, stand well back and fire a blast of plasma that ignites whalemeat and oil, others are taking in supplies before going out
the bluish rock. There is a bright flare of blue light that fills the again. Darting behind a large crate you set up the tripod and
cavern with the light of day for a few seconds. After the reaction begin searching for any signs of the Rack. You find nothing,
is over you examine the door, but to your dismay it is left and, after cursing your wasted journey, head back to the lift.
without a scratch, and is not even warm. You will have to try Turn to 40.
something else. Return to 35 and choose again.
91
89 A laser beam cuts into the ice inches just behind you, raising a
A few seconds pass and then there is a ragged cheering, cloud of vaporised steam that freezes again instantly. Will you:
accompanied by a strange whooping from behind you. Popping
your head up over the long grass you can see a horde of Fire your Particle Disruptor again? Turn to 381
Confederate Infantry in a full blooded charge at the Union lines. Launch a rocket? Turn to 11
They will pass over you in a few moments. You lie still,
pretending to be dead. You can hear the repeated volleys of 92
musketfire from the Union lines and the shrieks of the wounded At this. Captain Nathan stares at you thoughtfully for a
and dying as the Confederates press home their attack. After moment. Suddenly he leaps up and points at you, shouting,
they have gone, you risk a look. A brief hand-to-hand struggle 'Quickly men, kill him in the name of Baal, he is the Time
ensues and then the blue coats fall back, the Confederates too Traveller, Baal has delivered him to us!' You act instantly,
exhausted to pursue for now. Suddenly, a movement catches driving your fist into the throat of the nearest sailor. He sinks to
your eye and a section of wood just disappears. Your holo- his knees, gurgling in agony, temporarily disabled. The other
detector no longer registers another Time Machine. It looks like vaults the desk, his dagger gleaming wickedly. Meanwhile
Yelov has escaped. You make your way to Benner's Hill where Captain Nathan picks up a microphone and alerts his crew to
you are pleased to see Lynx waiting for you. 'I stopped his your presence, it seems the whole ship belongs to the priests of
attempt on Ewell, but I couldn't prevent him reaching his Time Baal! Will you:
Machine,' she says despondently. 'I was hoping you'd be there.' Run for the stairs? Turn to 194
You tell Lynx what happened. 'Lucky to be alive, as usual, eh, Thinkstrike the oncoming sailor? Turn to 206
93
The white triangle is heating up. Examining it, you can see it
pulsing with white light. Somehow, it knows Baal is here or else
it is registering the presence of another segment of the Rack
nearby. Turn to 111.
94
An hour passes as you labour on, and the storm lessens a little.
Then you come to the top of a gnarled ice ridge, looking down
into a valley, where a large grey dome rests. Black smoke
seeping out from an exhaust vent is whipped away in the wind.
This must be the mining station, and using the tripod again, you
are able to tell that the item you seek lies far below it. Then you
notice a figure in an industrial powersuit coming around the
back of the Dome, making towards the circular air-lock door at
its base. The figure sees you and stops in its tracks. The body is
in a posture of surprise. Your battlesuit picks up a radio signal
from the figure. 'I mean, wow, man, like really ultra! Who are
you? I mean, I thought this filthy ice-cube was uninhabited,'and
he breaks into laughter. You send a message back, saying you
are a Scout whose Explorer Class starship's drive failed.
'Am I glad to see you!' you say. 'I thought I'd never find the
mining station.'
'What a story, man. Hey, that's really ultra! You'd better come
down, I'll take you to the manager. Ultra warm in the Dome.'
You'll have to enter the Dome anyway so you go down and join
the man. Minutes later, you are through the Dome's air-lock.
The man is stripping off his powersuit, so you do the same,
stepping out in your environment suit and hanging your
battlesuit next to a row of the powersuits. They are virtually the
same as yours save without weaponry, armour, microbeam
radar, jetpack and the like. He is a tall, thin man, unshaven and
unwashed, characterised by quick nervous movements of his
hands. As he leads you down a functional grey corridor, all steel,
lined with pipes and illuminated by strip-lights, he says, 'I am Sil
McReady, the Engineer, pleased to meet you.' You introduce
yourself as Lieutenant Falcon of the Scouts. 'Here's the Rec
Room, not what you'd call really ultra but it's better'n stinking
ice!' and he opens a door in the right hand wall. Turn to 359.
95 to hurl it at you. You will have to distract Baal in some way. Will
In a flash you have your blaster in your hand. Squeezing the you:
trigger you bathe your assailant in a stream of hot plasma. His
dagger stops inches from your side and he is blown back against Use your Power of Will on Baal? Turn to 132
the wall with a loud crash, sinking to the floor, a charred mess. Fire your blaster at Baal? Turn to 141
The other two, screaming loudly, hurl themselves at you. You Try to Thinkstrike Baal? Turn to 152
blast one, burning his leg and are struggling with the other
when Cresap Ord bursts in with several men. Your attackers 97
are pulled off. After questioning you, the captain orders them You jump into the air as a two-foot barbed javelin explodes from
locked in the brig. He asks why you think they attacked you, but the wall, six inches from the floor. It hurtles away under your
you pretend ignorance. He examines you suspiciously for a few feet and thuds into the far wall, thrumming loudly for a
seconds and then says, 'Anyway, carrying an energy weapon is moment. You land on the slab safely. Wiping the sweat from
illegal. Normally, I'm supposed to arrest you now and return to your brow you continue on. Will you:
port, but I need the placs you'll pay me. However, I'll have to take
the weapon and hand you over to the authorities when we Step onto the slab directly ahead of you, in the
return. It shouldn't be too bad, you are an Offworlder and you last row? Turn to 393
were acting in self-defence.' He holds out his hand and you give Step onto the slab diagonally to your right, the
him your blaster, realising it would be more trouble than it's middle slab on the last row? Turn to 404
worth to refuse it. You have several more in Falcon's Wing Step directly to your right, to the centremost
anyway. You may note you have a new blaster the next time you of the nine slabs? Turn to 373
are in Falcon's Wing. The captain thanks you and leaves, telling
you to lock the door. The rest of the night passes uneventfully.
Turn to 106. 98
Grunting, you force yourself up the side of the glade as it echoes
96 to the ring of steel on steel and the guttural cries of the
You point the pencil-like microbeam key at the door and press combatants. Soon, you are at the edge of the glade. You can see
the button. To your pleasure the door slides silently open, and that it is part of a large open area, mostly grass, dotted with
you step through. Lying on the floor is a translucent white areas of hilly ground, marsh and forest, all mostly squat and in
triangle, with three small squares buried at each corner, the shades of blue in sharp contrast with the yellow sky. You can
Rack section. Grabbing it you turn back to the door. Stepping just make out some kind of fence or barrier enclosing a few
out into the cavern you see to your consternation that Baal, square miles of terrain. It appears you were unlucky enough to
howling triumphantly, has defeated all of the Caver Warriors materialise in one of the arenas set aside for ritual combat CAIN
and is now turning his attention to you. He points at you and a spoke of. Soon you have worked yourself around to the back of
flare of energy builds up at his fingertips. You are just about to Falcon's Wing. Breathing heavily after the effort of walking in
steal yourself to try and avoid the imminent fireball, when the this gravity, you enter the hologram. Falcon's Wing stands
segment of the Rack you have just picked up glows hotly in your undiscovered. You can hear the combat continuing as you
hands. Baal snarls angrily as he tries to send lethal energy approach your Time Machine. Suddenly, there is a meaty crash,
winging its way towards you across the cavern. He tries again a scream of pain cut short, and the stocky Rigellian careers
and again, but it seems the piece you have just picked up is backwards into Falcon's Wing, which shudders with the impact.
preventing him from using his natural energy. He is still deadly, The Rigellian slumps to the ground, a yellowish fluid seeping
however. Now you will have to try to get to the corridor on the from a great wound in its chest. There is dead silence outside the
other side of the cavern. As you run out across the rocky floor, hologram. The other Rigellian must have been shocked at the
he scoops up the grisly remains of a Warrior and readies himself sight of his enemy seeming to disappear. There is a loud shout
and the other Rigellian leaps in, eyes staring in uncertainty, legs by a particularly unpleasant alien life form. Only Braxton Bragg,
braced for attack as he comes to a halt, obviously expecting a the manager, survived. There is a story about a scout,
trap. He stares at Falcon's Wing for a moment but then sees you, Lieutenant Falcon, who later the scout service denied all
what he believes to be an apprentice medic. Your Universal knowledge of. Apparently he saved Bragg's life at the end, but
Translator renders his guttural speech as close as possible into was killed himself, although they never found his body.' You
words you can understand as he bellows at you: Treachery! explain the recent events to CAIN, and it remarks, 'Baal must
Dishonour upon the Clan Arocks! So "Strong-in-arm-and- have visited this place many millenia ago, and planted the Rack
body" had an apothecary hidden nearby to help him in battle! I section and the egg to guard it.' As you listen to CAIN, your
would not have thought it of him. But now your life is forfeit, as attention is drawn to a bright white light behind you. Turning
is the claim of the Clan Arocks in this matter.' Slowly he raises your head, you gasp in astonishment. The four triangles have
the axe, almost as large as you. Will you: linked together to form a four-pointed star and it is pulsing
rapidly with light that is travelling round and round it.
Try to disable the Rigellian using your skill at Suddenly, Falcon's Wing begins to dematerialise as your Variac
hand-to-hand combat? Turn to 150 Drive begins to function.
Try to use your blaster on him? Turn to 161
Try to use your Power of Will even though he 'CAIN?' you query.
is an alien? Turn to 172
'I am not activating it, Falcon.' Somehow the Rack of Baal is
99 causing your Machine to travel in time. Your mind is soon tuned
You continue down the shadowed corridor. After a few minutes to the psychic emanations of the Rack and you are able to
it opens out into a large chamber, and to a grisly brutal sight. determine that you are headed for the timehole in the Dirkheim
Large shattered eggs lie everywhere, seeping the glutinous Void. But there is nothing in the Void, you think to yourself.
remains of many Cavers, heartlessly killed before hatching. It After a while Falcon's Wing materialises in open space. Your
looks as if an entire batch has been destroyed. It is indeed a bitter mind reels as you look around, for there is nothing except
internal struggle you think to yourself as you hurry on to a blackness. Then the cameras reveal a large asteroid hanging in
tunnel on the other side of the chamber. This leads to another the black nothingness of the Void. A steel door, surrounded by
cavern, obviously a Caver's 'farm'. Several red-furred Workers, dull glowing lights like the door in the cavern on Cave, is set into
ignoring you completely, tend large stone vats filled with the side of the asteroid. 'I would say that the Rack has led us to
decaying organic matter. These Workers are two-armed with Baal's base. Falcon. You have to take it in there.'Nodding grimly
large hands. Your stomach turns as you notice the semi-decayed you don your battlesuit and, taking the Rack in an assistor arm,
remains of many types of Cavers in the vats. A vast expanse of leave Falcon's Wing and jet towards the doorway. If you have a
mushroom-like fungus stretches into the darkness. Workers microbeam pencil key, turn to 410. If not, turn to 296.
carrying some of the rotting sludge in stone jars are spreading it
over the fungus. The Cavers recycle their dead by feeding them 101
to the fungus, presumably their staple diet. Thankful that you Make an Evasion Roll as you try to dash past your attackers.
are wearing your environment suit and cannot smell anything,
you continue along the tunnel that leads out of the cavern. Turn If you score 6-12, turn to 251
to 107. If you score 2-5, turn to 261
100
Soon you are sitting in the warmth and safety of Falcon's Wing, 102
glad to be alive after your hair-raising experience. CAIN says: 'I Suddenly there is a sickening, tearing sound and Tsu Tsang's
have new information in my databanks, Falcon. It seems the chest rips apart loudly, blood and slime spraying everywhere.
mining station on Chill was the subject of some horrible attack Several tentacles writhe and twist forward, hissing and
bubbling horribly. Her body jerks convulsively, the jaws crack
open and her tongue, impossibly long, slithers out obscenely,
splitting like ripe fruit into two pulpy appendages that form into
stings like a scorpion's tail in front of your very eyes. Organic
juices spurt and flow in rivulets. Utterly horrified you stand
transfixed with shock at what you are seeing, as slime ridden
tentacles reach out for you. Make a Power of Will Roll as you
try to retain control of your senses.
If you score 6-12, turn to 414
If you score 2-5, turn to 402
103
You edge your way to the left, changing your jacket, and then
rise to your feet. Just then you hear a loud cheering and a
strange whooping and a horde of Confederate soldiers appear
behind you, in a full-blooded charge at the Union lines.
Desperately you run forward. Some of the blue coats are
shouting: 'Come on, you can make it!' Then an officer shouts,
'Down man!', instructing you to drop. There is a crackling sound
along the Union line which is instantly wreathed in smoke, as
they unleash a volley of musket fire. The front line of the
Confederates stops as if it had run into a brick wall, but the
others push on. You are trapped between the volleys of the
Union soldiers and the charging infantry, and are forced to
crawl forwards. However, the line of Confederates pass over
you, and you are bayonetted to death, almost as an after-
thought.
104
You roll into the chamber beyond as the spot where you were
standing is bathed with lethal energy. As you come to your feet
you can see a translucent white triangle on the floor, three small
squares embedded in each corner, a section of the Rack. Quickly
you grab it. Turn to 24.
105
Make a Thinkstrike Roll as you try to disable the first sailor.
124
You must try to get out of the cavern. You sprint out of the
chamber running as fast as you can for the tunnel opposite. Baal
grabs the body of a dead Warrior as if it were a rag doll and
prepares to hurl it at you. Desperately, you try to spoil his aim.
Will you:
125
The air begins to shimmer above the altar, at the top of the
pyramid. A huge twenty-foot figure materialises, hanging in
' space. It is a powerfully muscled man, a deep red in colour, with
slitted, reptillian eyes and taloned fingers. A nimbus of yellow
energy plays about its form. You recognise Baal. The crowd
seems to gasp in astonishment as one, and many fall to their
knees, trembling in fear. The priests and the Emperor fall
abjectly to the floor and a whisper of 'Huitzilopochtli! It's
Huitzilopochtli, the Lord of War,' ripples around the plaza. Turn
to 82.
126
More men fall to either side of you, but you are unhurt. The
Union lines are drawing close now. Will you:
127
You fail to control him, but he is distracted by your mental
attack, giving you time to leap up and drive your knee into his
groin. He staggers back, gasping in agony as the other two close
in on you. You shout for help. Make an Attack Roll. Try to disable the Rigellian using your skill at
hand-to-hand combat? Turn to 150
If you score 6-12, turn to 136 Try to use your blaster on him? Turn to 161
If you score 2-5, turn to 145 Try to use your Power of Will even though he
is an alien? Turn to 172
128
You disappear unseen, down the tunnel leading away from the 130
scene of bloody carnage. After a while, the tunnel forks. The You are not quick enough and the reptilian jaws close about
right hand tunnel is dark and gloomy, as featureless as the rest your neck, virtually taking off your head. You are dead before
of Darkhome. However, you can see a faint glimmer of white you can experience the horror of being digested alive by the
creature.
light down the left tunnel. Which tunnel will you go down:
152
You unleash a bolt of mental energy at Baal, but he hardly even
pauses as he hurls the corpse of the Warrior at you with
punishing force, brushing aside your mental assault almost as
an afterthought. Caught off guard the body slams into you,
sending you crashing to the ground. Luckily none of its sharp
protuberances have cut you, but the impact has cracked one of
your ribs. Lose 4 Endurance points. If you are still alive, you rise to
your feet. If you have the severed hand-blade of a Caver
Warrior in your possession, turn to 163, if not read on. Baal
grabs another body as if it were a rag doll. You dash for the exit
as he hurls it at you. Make an Evasion Roll.
153
The burly sailor comes on, completely unaffected. He slams into
you with his shoulder, bruising you badly. Lose 2 Endurance points.
If you are still alive, you can see he is slow and you dart out from
under his groping hands and dash for the gangplank, but one of
the crew is turning the harpoon gun on you and fires it.
Instinctively you duck. Make an Evasion Roll.
154
A bolt of plasma flies from your pistol but McReady drops to the
floor at the last moment. Achov fires again, the bullet slamming
into your stomach, and Bragg drills a hole in your temple with
his laser. You stand unmoving for a second, and then crumple to
the floor, dead.
155 armour score is at 0 or less, turn to 180. Otherwise, will you:
You fall flat on the floor, but a sharpened wooden stake bursts
up out of the slab. Luckily for you it misses your abdomen and Throw the Rack at Baal? Turn to 188
only slashes your thigh badly, not even impaling it. Lose 7 Try to fight off the fly creatures? Turn to 139
Endurance points. If you are still alive, you stagger to the altar.
Turn to 134. 160
You draw and fire in one swift motion. Make an Attack Roll.
156
You throw yourself off the side of the bed, slamming into your If you score 6-12, turn to 3
assailants thigh. He throws his arm back, letting go of the knife If you score 2-5, turn to 14
and crashes to the floor with a cry where he lies winded. You are
up on your feet, shouting for help as the others close in on you. 161
Make an Attack Roll. You draw your blaster and point it at the Rigellian. He stares in
puzzlement and then guesses it may be a weapon. Make an
If you score 6-12, turn to 136 Attack Roll.
If you score 2-5, turn to 145
If you score 8-12, turn to 216
157 If you score 2-7, turn to 227
Make a Power of Will Roll as you try to control the nearest
Noble. 162
A bolt of plasma slams into McReady's leg, smashing him
If you score 6-12, turn to 211 against the door. He howls, an unearthly inhuman sound, and
If you score 2-5, turn to 226 Achov and Bragg lower the weapons that were pointed at you
and turn to look at McReady. His eyes roll up into his head.
158 Suddenly a small, suppurating hole appears in his neck, opening
A bolt of superheated plasma streaks towards the top of the and closing spasmodically. His skull splits open with a loud wet
pyramid, but your aim is off and it hits a priest, hurling him over crack and something large and bulky shudders forth, forming
the altar in a ball of flame. The crowd back away from you in into a heavy head, horned and armoured, two small pig-like eyes
terror, but Baal has spotted you. You feel his mind probing at each side> the whole thing spilling rivulets of reddish mucus.
yours. Then an incredibly powerful will invades your mind, Horrified, Achov and Caleb hesitate. McReady's shoulders split
psychic power you never imagined possible and against which apart and a bony carapace forms over them. Then a thin jet of
you have no hope of resisting. You can do nothing as he forces dirty white liquid hisses from the hole in the neck and streams
you to mount the pyramid. Your heart is cut out and you are towards you, Bragg and Achov. Almost as one you duck. Caleb
consumed by Baal. raises the flamethrower, but McReady's side bursts open and a
length of ridged, slime-ridden bone shoots out with devastating
159 speed and buries itself in Caleb's chest. He howls in agony as, in
The beam of your Particle Disruptor takes the raging Baal in the front of your eyes, the bone begins to fuse with Caleb,
chest. He howls, a scream of terrific agony, and jumps back put retracting slowly, drawing him to the thing. Achov, Bragg and
of the line of fire, pained but essentially unhurt. It is incredible you open fire in horror, but the creature turns and, putting its
that he can withstand a Particle Disruptor, you think to head down, smashes through the door and is away, taking
yourself. Just then, several fly creatures slam into you, hurling Caleb's body with it. Achov and Bragg, thunder-struck, turn to
you against the steel ceiling with frightening force. Subtract 4 from you and apologise for doubting you. Bragg is ashen-faced at the
your battlesuit armour points as it takes a severe battering. If your loss of Caleb. Turn to 166.
163 Falcon's battlesuit will be a great asset.' You all leave together,
Before Baal can throw the body at you, a horde of yellow and headed for the air-lock strong room. Unfortunately you
blacked striped Warriors boil into the cavern, between you and discover all of the powersuits, including your battlesuit, have
Baal. The loyalists have broken through! The Nobles order had their Central Processing Units ripped out. Achov rifles
them to attack Baal immediately, his size and bearing draw their through the emergency spares box, 'Damn, the spares are gone
attention away from you and you pass unnoticed. You wait until too!' The suits are useless without their computers to guide
the exit tunnel is cleared of the loyalist army and dart down it. them. You won't be able to leave the Dome until you find the
Baal is surrounded by hundreds of Warriors, for the Cavers suits' computer cartridges.
have no way of actually hurting Baal, you should be in Falcon's
Wing by the time he is free to follow. Turn to 237. Bragg says: 'We'll just have to do without them. We'll flush it
out: Achov, you take the right corridor. Lieutenant, you take the
164 centre corridor, but don't descend into the mine itself, that
You are a little too slow; he cuts your arm with his dagger as you would be too dangerous if it's there. I'll take the left tunnel. Well
roll. Lose 4 Endurance points. If you are still alive, you throw yourself each take a short range radio on the same frequency. At the first
off the side of the bed, slamming into your assailant's thigh. He sign of trouble, pull back to the junction and radio for help.'
throws his arms back, letting go of the knife and crashes to the Bragg hands out the radios.
floor with a cry, where he lies winded. You are up on your feet,
shouting for help as the others close in on you. Make an Attack Achov gives you a flamethrower. 'This was Caleb's, he looked
Roll. after it well. He was a good man, use it to avenge him.'
If you score 6-12, turn to 136 Bragg says, 'If we don't find it, it'll be in the mine itself. Then
If you score 2-5, turn to 145 we'll go down and flush it out.' As you all head down the
corridor you nip into your cabin. Quickly you take out the tripod
165 and search for the Rack. You discover that it has been taken back
You catch the arm holding the knife, deliver a quick sharp blow to the Cavern at the end of the mineshaft. You will have to go
to the bridge of your assailant's nose, and whilst he stiffens in down there after all despite Bragg's warning not to. Turn to
agony, throw him into the other dustwhaler. They both collapse 412.
into a heap and you sprint away, losing them amongst the
mounds of crates and equipment piled in the wharf. You return
to Falcon's Wing where you decide to wait, until the Winged 167
Demon has left on another whaling expedition, so you can find Achov's tracks lead up to a nearby ridge. Looking up you can see
another ship. You instruct CAIN to disguise Falcon's Wing as a the trail leads to the mouth of an ice-cave. Opposite the cave is
pile of whaling equipment to avoid the prying eyes of anyone in another ridge of ice, about fifty yards from it. Will you:
search of the scientist's diving bell. You may lie in your Autodoc
if you wish, and gain up to 6 points of lost Endurance. Turn to 342. Go round to the back of the ridge and take up a
position directly above the cave mouth? Turn to 21
166 Walk around to the other ridge and take up a
Bragg speaks, 'Right, it's it or us. We've got to hunt it down and position looking into the cave? Turn to 59
kill it; if we just wait it'll come for us in our sleep or individually.
There's only three of us now.' 168
The panel slams shut abruptly and you begin to retrace your
'I agree,' says Achov. 'Let's do it.' steps. You decide that whoever has been tracking you doesn't
have a part of the Rack, that this is your primary mission and
'Okay,' says Bragg. 'Let's go and get the powersuits, Lieutenant that you had better continue the search elsewhere. You reach
the warehouse where Falcon's Wing rests. Suddenly four black 171
robed figures, waiting at the entrance to the warehouse, charge You are not fast enough and one of the razor sharp horns on the
at you without hesitation and in silence, drawing long, wickedly body of the Warrior punctures your suit and gouges a wound
curved daggers. You have little time to act. Instinctively, you into your arm. Lose 5 Endurance points. If you are still alive, you
hurl yourself, rolling, at their feet, hoping to trip them and run manage to remain on your feet. Just then a troop of red-furred
on to the safety of Falcon's Wing. Make an Evasion Roll. Warriors charge into the room and straight at Baal, led by two of
the rebel Nobles, still trying to defeat the intruder Baal. They
If you score 5-12, turn to 123 use their laser pistols on him as the Warriors launch themselves
If you score 2-4, turn to 112 into the attack. You make it to the exit and sprint down it. Baal's
bellows of rage fill the cavern. You know it will only be a matter
169 of minutes before Baal has dealt with the Cavers and is hot on
A bolt of superheated plasma burns off the head of your first your trail. Turn to 204.
target. Before the other two have noticed, you have cut another
down. The remaining Noble turns and fires at you, but you 172 [Score a B]
dodge aside and a thin lance of blue light takes a chunk of rock You concentrate hard, trying to bend the huge warrior to your
out of the wall. Firing on the move, you catch the last Noble full will. Luckily, his thought patterns are not unlike a human's, and
in the chest, hurling it backwards in a ball of flaming fur. The you catch him completely unawares; to him you are a young
rebels will soon be overwhelmed, especially as their Warrior Rigellian medic, posing little threat. He falls under your
reserve will be unable to act without orders from the Nobles. domination. You force him to run away from the glade for as
You head towards the tunnel when your foot nudges something long as you can hold him under your power. He is some miles
on the floor. It is a Warrior's severed hand, more like a short away when you release him. Soon you are in the crash-couch of
sword than anything else. Picking it up, you put it in one of your Falcon's Wing. Your body feels as light as air now that you are in
suit pouches. Turn to 128. the artificial gravity of Falcon's Wing. After you have told CAIN
what happened, it chimes: 'You must have landed in a Rigellian
170 ritual combat arena. My data banks tell me you have changed
A bolt of superheated plasma streaks towards Baal, hitting him Rigellian history slightly, Falcon. The defeated Warrior was of
squarely in the chest. Coruscating streams of plasma crackle and the Arocks clan. They have now been disgraced since you were
spit across his body and he staggers back in the air, howling like taken to be an Arocks assassin with a new "dishonourable"
thunder. The crowd back off away from you, and you can hear a weapon. This will have to be logged in TIME records of course.'
muttering of 'Quetzacoatl'. From what you know of Aztec Resisting the temptation to turn CAIN off, you prepare for
mythology, they think you are a god, Quetzacoatl, the enemy of another time jump. Where will you search for the Rack now:
Huitzilopochtli. This is too much for them and they begin to flee
from the plaza in droves, except for the black-robed priests and Earth in the time of the Aztecs, if you have not
some of the knights, although they make no attempts to prevent done so already? Turn to 22
the massed prisoners from running. Then, to your horror, you Earth in the time of the American Civil War, if
see that Baal has survived the blast of plasma and is now you have not done so already? Turn to 34
enraged, snarling in fury. He points at you and, to your shocked The colony planet, Dustbowl, in the year 2764
amazement, a ball of yellow crackling energy erupts from his AD if you have not done so already? Turn to 10
arm and speeds toward you, leaving a glowing vapour trail in the The Eiger Vault, in case the Monitoring Section
sky. Desperately, you try to leap aside, amazed at such a display has any information for you? Turn to 205
of inherent power. Make an Evasion Roll.
173
If you score 7-12, turn to 182 You have missed again, but this time the creature's return shot
If you score 2-6, turn to 199
is deadly accurate. A laser beam lances into your battlesuit
environment control unit, destroying it. Your suit can no longer
maintain any heat and you freeze to death in seconds, helpless
against the deadly cold of the planet Chill.
174
When you are close you switch on the computer graphic
delineator. This interprets your microbeam radar and renders it
visually. It is almost as good as the real thing. The rack segment
is a large translucent white triangle, with a hole in its middle.
Three tiny objects are embedded in its corners. The whole thing
is about the size of your head. Reaching down you feel about,
using the touch sensors on the fingertips of your battlesuit. At
last you have it. You transfer it to the iron grip of your
mechanical assistor arm, and begin to walk back to Falcon's
Wing. Suddenly your radar picks up a large blip on the edge of
your face plate display. It is moving directly towards you at great
speed. You realise it will reach you before you can get to Falcon's
Wing. Suddenly, the computer graphic delineator cuts in and a
hideous sight fills your face plate and you step back
involuntarily, horrified. Some creature, utterly alien, is almost
upon you. It has a long head, completely smooth, the skull
lengthened to hang over the back. It has no eyes, the mouth like
that of an Earth shark. The head lies on a long and sinuous body,
like a huge snake, but with tentacles. It is enormous and will
reach you in a few seconds, what will you do? Will you:
175
You are rolling to your feet when Achov's bullet slams into your
shoulder, spinning you round and Bragg's laser beam burns a
hole neatly through your back. The last words you ever hear
are, 'Damn it, he was human after all.'
176
You try to catch the arm holding the knife, but you just miss.
You twist aside, but the knife slides across your ribs. Lose 8
Endurance points. If you are still alive, you catch your opponent's
hand as he tries to pull it back and deliver a quick sharp blow to
the bridge of your assailant's nose, and whilst he stiffens in 180
agony, throw him into the other dustwhaler. They both collapse Your battlesuit begins to short-circuit, giving off a shower of
into a heap and" you sprint away, losing them amongst the sparks. The jets cut out and the mechanical joints lock, trapping
mounds of crates and equipment piled in the wharf. You return you inside. You plummet to the floor of the Vault, but the
to Falcon's Wing where you decide to wait until the Winged battlesuit cushions you from the fall. However, you can do
Demon has left on another whaling expedition, so you find nothing as Baal walks over to you and tears your head off with
another ship. You instruct CAIN to disguise Falcon's Wing as a his bare hands, laughing maniacally as he does so.
pile of whaling equipment to avoid the prying eyes of anyone in
search of the scientist's diving bell. You may lie in your Autodoc 181
if you wish, and gain- up to 6 points of lost Endurance. Turn to 342. You swerve away and the spiked body sails past you. Baal howls
angrily, scooping up another corpse. Just then a troop of red-
177 furred Warriors charge into the room and straight at Baal, led by
A bolt of superheated plasma burns off the head of your first two of the rebel Nobles, still trying to defeat the intruder, Baal.
target, but you miss the second. Then the two remaining Nobles They use their laser pistols on him as the Warriors launch
open fire at you with their laser pistols and you are forced to themselves into the attack. You make it to the exit and sprint
throw yourself aside. They trill a command and five of their down it. Baal's bellows of rage fill the cavern. You know it will
Warrior reserves peel away from their formation and charge at only be a matter of minutes before Baal has dealt with the
you with frightening speed. Will you: Cavers and is hot on your trail. Turn to 204.
Try to cut them down with your blaster? .... Turn to 186 182
Make a run for it down the left hand tunnel? .Turn to 198 Leaping into the air you roll out of the path of the fireball which
explodes in a blaze of heat and flame. You come to your feet near
178 the entrance of the building where the other segment of the
Somehow Baal has detected your presence near the Rack Rack lie, the two Jaguar Knights staring at you in fear and
segment. There is a snarl of ferocious rage as he continues his amazement. Will you:
onslaught on the roof. You dash back towards the portal, as
Dash into the building? Turn to 210
bricks and mortar cascade into the room. Before you have
Fire at Baal? Turn to 222
reached the doorway, Baal crashes through the roof into the
room and comes to his feet on the floor. His weight sets off a
trap and a volley of javelins fly at him, but they shatter against
183 [Score an E]
You activate one of your homing rockets. It surges up out of
his skin as if they were made of sand. He hardly notices them.
your back-rack launcher but its retros do not function at all well
Do you have a piece of the Rack with small triangles at each
in this dust and your radar tells you it has lodged a few feet away
corner with you, as well as the one you have just picked up? If
from you, creeping slowly upward. Turn to 197.
you have, turn to 305. If you have not, turn to 320. /
179 184
You roll to your feet, Achov's bullet hums past and ricochets
You hurl a blast of mental energy at the mind behind the coal
with a shrill whine. Bragg's laser beam slices past your ear,
black eyes. Make a Thinkstrike Roll.
heating it uncomfortably. You have your blaster aimed at
McReady and you squeeze the trigger, just as he begins to move.
If you score 6-12, turn to 202
Make an Attack Roll.
If you score 2-5, turn to 213
If you score 6-12, turn to 162
If you score 2-5, turn to 154
185 air towards Baal. It leaves a shimmering trail of light behind it as
The Rigellian warrior falls to the ground with a heavy thud. it arcs down, whining shrilly. Baal's eyes widen in horror and he
Slowly you work your way back to Falcon's Wing, struggling screams once more, 'Noooo, not again, please!' Suddenly the
against the gravity. As you sit in your crash-couch your body Rack splits into four and each section arrows away to fasten at
feels as light as air, now that you are under the artificial gravity Baal's wrists and ankles. He is powerless as the Rack
of your Time Machine. CAIN tells you that you must be in a spreadeagles him, lifting him, cartwheeling around, into the air.
Rigellian ritual combat arena. Luckily, you have not changed The fly creatures halt in mid-air, hovering, unsure without the
Rigellian history significantly. The victor's blackout will be put driving will of their master behind them. Each triangle begins to
down to fatigue. Where will you go now in search of the Rack: shimmer and crackle with white light. Then streaks of white
lightning flash from triangle to triangle, enmeshing Baal in
Earth in the time of the Aztecs, if you have not bands of bright energy. Soon he disappears from view,
done so already? Turn to 22 completely enclosed in a prison of pure elemental energy.
Earth in the time of the American Civil War, if Suddenly the whole thing disappears. The fly creatures flutter
you have not done so already? Turn to 34 downward, purposeless. At last you have succeeded, you turn
The colony planet, Dustbowl, in the year 2764 and jet back to Falcon's Wing. You tell CAIN to set co-ordinates
AD if you have not done so already? Turn to 10 for the Eiger Vault in a tired voice, your mission complete. Turn
The Eiger Vault, in case the Monitoring Section to 420.
has any information for you? Turn to 52
189 [Score a V]
186 You concentrate your mind in an attempt to control the mind
You play your blaster over them and two of them fall but still behind the coal black eyes. Make a Power of Will Roll.
they come on. You manage to get another hit, then the last two If you score 6-12, turn to 224
are upon you. Moving with a speed no human could ever hope to If you score 2-5, turn to 233
match, they cut you, literally, to ribbons.
187
190
You squeeze the trigger and a stream of plasma shoots towards
Later on that evening, you step out to reconnoitre the quayside. Baal, but suddenly your blaster cuts out. To your horror you
It is dark now and the port is dimly lit. You are walking along the realise it has been depleted when you used it to burn a hole
wharf when suddenly you are bathed in a mass of bright lights through the rock. You will have to do without it until you are in
and a voice booms at you through a megaphone, 'Okay Falcon's Wing when you can fit another energy pack to your
Offworlder, lay your energy weapon in front of your feet and lie blaster. The plasma splashes off Baal's chest but he barely
down. This is the police!' Narrowing your eyes against the glare, notices it, he hardly even pauses as he hurls the corpse of the
you can see a number of figures in red robes covering you with Warrior at you with punishing force. Caught off guard the body
Las-rifles. You realise you have no choice, and you have to slams into you, sending you crashing to the ground. Luckily
surrender. You are booked for murder and for possessing an none of its sharp protuberances have cut you, but the impact has
energy weapon. There is nothing you can do to escape your fate cracked one of your ribs. Lose 4 Endurance points. If you are still
as you are never given an opportunity to use your mental alive, you rise to your feet. If you have the severed hand-blade of
powers. Justice on Dustbowl is harsh, you are sentenced to be a Caver Warrior in your possession, turn to 163, if not read on.
executed in the Las-chair and the sentence is duly carried out. Baal grabs another body as if it were a rag doll. You dash for the
You have failed. exit as he hurls it at you. Make an Evasion Roll.
188 If you score 6-12, turn to 181
You take the star-shaped Rack and send it spinning through the If you score 2-5, turn to 171
191
There is a howl of ferocious rage and bricks and mortar tumble
into the room. You dash back to the portal but turn to stare at
the sight that greets you. A huge twenty-foot figure has
smashed its way through the roof. It is a powerfully muscled
man, deep red in colour with slitted reptilian eyes and taloned
fingers. A nimbus of yellow energy plays about its form. His
weight sets off a trap and a volley of javelins fly from the wall,
but they shatter against his skin as if they were made of sand.
He hardly notices them. You recognise Baal. You guess he
comes here to feed off the life forces of the sacrificial victims of
the Aztecs, perhaps even masquerading as one of their gods. He
glares at you balefully, his lips drawn back in a snarl of anger.
You cannot help but tremble in fright, faced as you are with the
primordial evil you can see in his eyes. He raises his arms,
sweeping them across the ceiling, destroying more of the roof,
yellow energy crackling and spitting all about him. Do you have
a piece of the Rack with small triangles at each corner with you,
as well as the one you have just picked up? If you have, turn to
305. If you have not, turn to 320.
192
Mentally exhausted after your recent endeavours, your
strength of will collapses under Baal's awesome attack and you
can do nothing as you are held there, while Darkhome Warriors
cut you to shreds.
193
You pull the trigger and the Particle Disruptor discharges into
the belly of the creature. The computer graphics show the
hideous beast dissolving into the dust. Heaving a sigh of relief
you head back to Falcon's Wing as fast as you can, before your
battlesuit gives way under the pressure of tons of dust. Quickly
you fire your Particle Disruptor, severing the hausers
connected to Falcon's Wing and then get inside it. As far as
Captain Cresap Ord is concerned, when he draws up the
severed hauser, you will have been killed in an unfortunate
accident. Turn to 260.
194
You hurl yourself up the stairs but you can see out of the corner
of your eye that the sailor is about to throw his dagger at you.
Make an Evasion Roll, as you try to dodge the blade. Flee down the left tunnel? Turn to 269
Flee down the right tunnel? Turn to 278
If you score 6-12, turn to 217
If you score 2-5, turn to 229 199
You are a split second too slow. The yellow fireball explodes
195 against your thigh, engulfing you in flame. You fall to the
You throw yourself aside and draw your blaster. Bragg opens ground, charred to a cinder.
fire and there is a loud report as Achov fires his projectile
weapon. Make an Evasion Roll. 200
You step out into the Control Room. Suddenly, something
If you score 6-12, turn to 184 sweeps across your legs, knocking you to the ground. Looking
If you score 2-5, turn to 175 around, you see a set of several long human-like arms, charred
and burnt, heaving a bloated body out from under the lift. It had
196 been clinging to the bottom of the lift. A crocodile head, jaws
The Rigellian shakes his head, unsure as to what has happened snapping, rears up above you, dripping slimy juices. You try to
to him. It serves only to increase his puzzled uncertainty. Will roll aside as the head whips down at you. Make an Evasion Roll.
you:
If you score 5-12, turn to 118
Attack him from behind? Turn to 140 If you score 2-4, turn to 130
Creep round the edge of the glade and into
Falcon's Wing from the back? Turn to 129 201
You set co-ordinates for the Eiger Vault and soon you are
197 moving through null-space. You may rest in your Autodoc
Out of the darkness something huge slams into you. You can during the journey and regain up to 12 points of lost Endurance. Soon
feel its jaws clamp around your right arm and the battlesuit you are in your bay at the Eiger Vault and you ask CAIN to link
instruments go haywire. It is actually biting through the suit! up with the Eiger service computer to check for any new
Subtract 2 from your armour points. In a few moments your arm will information that may be available. CAIN chimes: There is a
be bitten off, armour and all. Fighting down your panic, you report from the Monitoring section, Falcon. A new timehole has
realise your Particle Disruptor must be halfway down its throat. appeared on the planet Cave, in 432 AD. As routine, an agent
However, the impact may have damaged it. Will you: was sent to establish a monitoring device. They sent the new
agent, Kingfisher, thinking it would make a good training run.
Thinkstrike the creature? Turn to 316 Unfortunately, he never came back. The young novice was
Launch a rocket at it? Turn to 327 killed. Also, the present Queen, or Mother, of Cave has asked
Try and fire your Particle Disruptor? Turn to 338 the TIME executive for help. It seems there have been some
disturbances in their past.' Where will you go to:
198
You run on down the tunnel, the five Warriors close behind. The planet Cave in the year 432 AD? Turn to 205
Breathing hard as you stretch yourself to the limits to keep Earth in the time of the Aztecs? Turn to 22
yourself ahead of your hunters, you come to a fork in the
tunnel. You can see a small circle of light down the left tunnel, 202
the right tunnel is dark and gloomy, as featureless as the rest of There is a grunt of pain, followed by a muffled thud as the eyes
the complex. Will you: disappear from view. You got him. Rather than making a lot of
noise by forcing the door, you set your blaster at its lowest 205
intensity and burn the lock and handle away. You push the door A little later Falcon's Wing is journeying through null-space
open. Suddenly, the quiet alley is filled with the harsh, deafening towards the planet Cave, thousands of years in the past. During
cry of an electronic alarm. A moment later and you can hear the the journey you may rest in your Autodoc and regain up to 12
sound of many running footsteps. You have no choice but to points of lost Endurance. Rematerialising, you look at the camera
flee. You dash down the alleyway as ten or more black robed screens. You are in a large underground cavern of dull grey rock.
figures burst out of the doorway. One of them points at you and In places, the rock is lined with seams of some blue mineral. It is
says: 'It is the Time Traveller! Kill him, in the name of Baal!' lit by a dim green glow, emanating from patches of a
Smothering your shocked surprise, you sprint away. Turn to phosphorescent mossy fungus, growing around the cavern. At
245. one end you can see a tunnel leading away, at the other you can
see twenty or so humanoid figures, apparently excavating the
203 rock. They are short and stocky, with two stumpy legs and four
Calling on your reserves of determination and energy, you heavily muscled arms. Two of the arms end in massive claws
throw off Baal's mental attack and contact is broken. He howls that they use to tear at the rock. The other two arms end in four
in rage and you have a moment in which to act. Will you: fingered hands, used to carry the rock away. They have huge
eyes, and large ears like that of a bat's. A single nostril lies above
Fire your blaster at him, maintaining a five a small, lipless mouth. Yellow fur with black stripes covers them
second burst and then run out, towards from head to foot. They are tearing into the rock with incredible
Falcon's Wing? Turn to 231 speed and single-mindedness, but seem to you to be un-
Make a run for it immediately? Turn to 243 intelligent. You ask CAIN for information. 'Cave in 3033 AD is
Thinkstrike Baal? Turn to 257 outside of the Federation, but it is a highly advanced society.
Cave is rich in seams of blue magnestite, a natural mineral that
204 acts like magnesium, burning very brightly. It is used by the
You race on through the tunnels of Darkhome, retracing your Federation in Starship drives. However, at this time, Cave is at a
steps. It is completely deserted, save for the bodies of many stage of development akin to Earth's neolithic age. The planet's
Warriors, mostly red-furred, and the oblivious workers still barren surface is too hot to bear life and its atmosphere provides
toiling away. You are just leaving the area where you saw the no protection from the sun's rays. However, beneath the
brutal battle between the loyalists and the rebels when you can surface it is a maze of tunnels. Each tunnel complex is ruled by a
hear a rushing of wind and the voice of Baal echoing through the Mother. The Mother lays eggs in a batch, that hatch into
tunnels behind you: 'I am coming for you, you little animal, and I specialised individual organisms, broadly divided into Workers,
shall tear you limb from limb and devour your soul!' Desperately Warriors and Nobles. Those you can see now are Burrowers,
you push yourself on, until you burst into the Cavern housing their only function is to build new tunnels. The Nobles are
Falcon's Wing. The Burrowers are still digging. You are almost intelligent humanoids, the rest are only intelligent enough to
in your Time Machine when Baal flies into the cave, his bulk follow orders. There is a strict caste system, like an insect hive,
filling the tunnel completely, indeed if he could not have flown and each batch of eggs usually differ in fur colouring and tend to
headfirst, he would not have been able to traverse the corridors form into what would be called in Earth terms, tribes or clans.
of Darkhome at all. He holds a long steel girder in one hand However, each batch owes complete loyalty to the Mother.
which he hurls at you like a spear, at the instant he spots you. Different tunnel complexes often make war on each other. The
You try to dodge the attack, wishing fervently you had some Cavers use sound and smell as their primary senses. Although
means with which to combat the super-powerful being. Make their eyes are extremely sensitive to light, there simply isn't
an Evasion Roll. enough of it to make full use of this sense. We have arrived in
the Darkhome tunnel complex, where the Cave of 3033 AD has
If you score 6-12, turn to 259 reported timeline changes. My databanks tell me we have
If you score 2-5, turn to 273
arrived in the middle of a civil war, the only one ever recorded in
Cave history. The atmosphere has oxygen in it, Falcon, but with
high levels of nitrogen. I'm afraid you will have to use your
environment suit, in any case, Cavers do not wear clothing, so
the Molecular Convertor cannot help you. Try not to get
spotted by any Nobles, Falcon, the response to any non-
Darkhome intruder is to attack and destroy at this period in
Caver history.' Turn to 18.
206
Make a Thinkstrike Roll as you hurl a bolt of mental energy at
the sailor.
207
You whip out your blaster and fire, catching Bragg in the leg. He
appears to be human! Before you can do anything else, Bragg
has drilled a neat hole in your chest with his laser pistol. You hit
the floor. The last words you ever hear are: 'Damn it, he was
human after all.'
208
You try to aim your Particle Disruptor, using your radar, as the
graphic is not too reliable in determining the position of
something. It will be difficult. Make an Attack Roll.
209
You throw off your terrified inertia, leaping back as a tentacle
snakes out towards you. Then the creature sprouts four
massive trunk-like legs, raising it off the ground. It folds in on
itself, metamorphosing into a single huge mouth on legs, two
lobster-like eyestalks rising above it. Do you have any
magnesite with you ? If you do, turn to 255. If you do not, turn to
267.
210
You race for the entrance and through the curtained portal, the
two Jaguar Knights backing away from you. You can hear Baal
shouting orders in Aztec to the priests, that your Translator with the harsh, deafening cry of an electronic alarm. A moment
renders as: 'Kill the heretic!' You find yourself in a maze of later and you can hear the sound of many running footsteps.
corridors leading through rooms piled with grain, gold, You have no choice but to flee. You dash down the alleyway as
ornaments and pottery. You are running down a corridor, ten or more black robed figures burst out of the doorway. One
towards a richly decorated portal when five or six priests appear of them points at you and says: 'It is the Time Traveller! Kill him,
around a corner behind you, wielding obsidian daggers. in the name of Baal!' Smothering your shocked surprise, you
Turning, you can see they are without hope and resigned to sprint away. Turn to 245.
death. They think you are a god, but are determined to obey
what they believe is their patron deity, Baal. Will you: 214
You whip out your blaster and fire, catching Caleb in the arm,
Try to bring them down with a series of but he appears to be human. Before you can do anything else,
Thinkstrikes? Turn to 254 Bragg has drilled a neat hole in your chest with his laser pistol.
Cut them down with your blaster? Turn to 238 You hit the floor. The last words you ever hear are: 'Damn it, he
was human after all.'
211
You invade the mind of one of the Nobles and wrest control of it.
You force it to turn its laser on another Noble, burning a neat 215
hole through its chest, but the other sees this and, trilling in The white-hot lightning takes Baal full in the chest and he
surprise, opens fire and kills the one you are controlling. You staggers back as you keep up a steady stream of plasma, whilst
experience the horror of a death by proxy as the mind under you charge for the exit. Baal howls in pain, but then your blaster
your control slips into oblivion. Recovering, it is an easy matter stops firing, its safety mechanism cutting in as it heats up
to pick off the last confused Noble with your blaster. The rebels dangerously. If you have the severed hand-blade of a Caver
will soon be overwhelmed, especially as their Warrior reserves Warrior, turn to 163, if not read on. Baal, essentially unhurt,
will be unable to act without orders from the Nobles. You head hurls the body of the Warrior at you with punishing force. Make
towards the tunnel when your foot nudges something on the an Evasion Roll.
floor. It is a Warrior's severed hand, more like a short sword
than anything else. Picking it up, you put it in one of your suit If you score 6-12, turn to 181
pouches. Turn to 128. If you score 2-5, turn to 171
212 216
You are halfway to Falcon's Wing when suddenly everything The Rigellian tries to twist aside but a white-hot stream of
goes black. The creature has managed to breach the dome and plasma takes him in the shoulder and he is bowled to the ground.
Bragg has been killed. Braxton Bragg was your grandfather's He lies there inert, but still breathing. Soon you are in the crash-
friend and it was he who was responsible for your grandfather couch of Falcon's Wing. Your body feels as light as air now that
meeting your grandmother. They will never meet now, and you are in the artificial gravity of Falcon's Wing. After you have
your father will never be born. It is as if you had never existed. told CAIN what happened, it chimes: 'You must have landed in a
Rigellian ritual combat arena. My data banks tell me you have
213 changed Rigellian history slightly, Falcon. The defeated warrior
There is a grunt of pain and the eyes disappear from view for a was of the Arocks clan. They have now been disgraced since you
moment. Then they are back, wide with fear and astonishment, were taken to be an Arocks assassin with a new 'dishonourable'
and you can hear a muffled curse and: 'Evil sorcery!' It seems weapon. This will have to be logged in TIME records of course.'
superstition is rife in Refuge in 2764 AD. Then he is gone. You Resisting the temptation to turn CAIN off, you prepare for
are about to force the door when suddenly the quiet alley is filled another time jump. Where will you search for the Rack now:
Earth in the time of the Aztecs, if you have not
done so already? Turn to 22
Earth in the time of the American Civil War, if
you have not done so already? Turn to 34
The colony planet, Dustbowl, in the year 2764
AD, if you have not done so already? Turn to 10
The Eiger Vault, in case the Monitoring Section
has any information for you? Turn to 52
217
You twist aside and the knife whistles past your shoulder,
clattering into the steel wall of the cabin. You sprint away up the
stairs and out onto the deck. Without stopping you dash for the
gangplank, but one of the crew is turning the harpoon gun on
you and fires it. Instinctively, you duck. Make an Evasion Roll.
218
You are not fast enough and a bolt of ruby light lances into your
thigh. Lose 6 Endurance points. If you are still alive, Bragg covers you
with his pistol, saying, 'Hold it right there!' Quickly you say that
you heard a strange noise in Achov's room not long ago and
thought he was the creature. 'I was watching a horror holo-vid,
you idiot,' Achov quips.
'What were you doing in the lab anyway?' Caleb says loudly. 'I
think we should lock him up until the relief ship gets here,
Braxton.'
'Yes, maybe we should,' says Bragg and Caleb moves towards
you. Will you:
224
His mind falls under your control. You order him to open the
Try to get another shot in with your blaster? Turn to 232 door and you step inside. In his hand he holds a thin pen black
Make a run for the door? Turn to 265 pencil device. You recognise it as a microbeam key, used to open
doors with locks sensitive to a particular microbeam frequency.
219 [Score an E] You take it from him. Note it on your Agent Profile. You are in a
Too late, you realise the creature has no mind to control. You small alcove, with a dimly lit corridor leading away from it. You
draw back, your mind in horror, as you touch upon its primitive can hear the sounds of rhythmic chanting coming from down
thoughts, an all-consuming desire to kill and feed, frightening in the corridor. Forcing the door guard to lead you down the
its intensity. Turn to 197. corridor you decide to investigate the chanting. Then, pausing
in the shadows at the end of the corridor, you are greeted by a
220 strange sight. Forty to fifty people, all in black robes, are
Desperately, you try to ward off the power of Baal's Will but he kneeling before some kind of altar upon which is manacled a
is too strong for you, even though he is weakened by the Rack. young man. Beside him stands a tall hawk-faced figure, also in
You cannot fight any longer and Baal wrests control of your black robes. His hands are raised in supplication skyward, the
mind from you. Laughing manically, he forces you to walk up to sleeves of his robe falling to reveal a tattoo on his forearm in the
him. He tears you limb from limb and feeds off your life force shape of an insect much like the fly of Earth. He holds an
with some kind of Psychic Vampirism. You have failed. obsidian dagger in his hand; it seems some strange religious
ceremony is taking place. Then the robed man at the altar,
221 presumably the high priest, screams, 'Come to us, O Servant of
You are unable to break out of your terror-stricken apathy. A Baal,' and with one savage motion plunges the obsidian dagger
tentacle snakes out, lashing around your ankle and tightening, into the man on the altar and carves out his heart. Then, much
eating into your flesh. Lose 3 Endurance points. If you are still alive, . to your surprise, something begins to materialise in the air
the agony shocks you into action. Do you have the severed above the altar. Soon it has resolved itself into what can only be
hand-blade of a Caver Warrior? If you have, turn to 368. If you described as a twelve-foot fly, its huge compound eyes glittering
have not, turn to 239. malevolently, its black limbs glistening with mucus and lined
with cilia. Its mouthparts are working violently, oozing a vile
222 greyish saliva. Everything goes quiet as the fly nestles onto the
You spin and aim your blaster but before you can fire, Baal altar and begins to feed on the sacrificial victim. It extends a long
launches a psychic attack. An incredibly powerful will invades proboscis, inserts it into the body of the victim and, with a
your mind, psychic power you never imagined possible and disgusting slurping sound, begins to suck up the organic juices.
against which you have no hope of resisting. You can do nothing It seems Baal has been here at some point, converting a group of
as he forces you to mount the pyramid, where your life force is the superstitious dustbowlers to his cause. Turn to 258.
consumed by Baal.
225
223 You whip out your blaster and fire, catching Achov in the arm.
You have missed, firing as you are on the run. The stream of He appears to be human! Before you can do anything else, Bragg
plasma crackles past your target's thigh. If you have a severed has drilled a neat hole in your chest with his laser pistol. You hit
hand-blade of a Caver Warrior, turn to 163, if not read on. Baal the floor. The last words you ever hear are: 'Damn it, he was
smiles evilly and hurls the body at you with punishing force. human after all.' '
Make an Evasion Roll.
226
If you score 6-12, turn to 181 You try to wrest control of the Noble's mind but it shows
If you score 2-5, turn to 171 surprising strength and manages to fight off your attack. As it
turns, suspicious, will you:
227
As you open fire, the Rigellian hurls himself at your feet. A bolt
of plasma streams across the glade into a tree on the other side
of the clearing, reducing it to charcoal. The Rigellian crashes
into you, almost breaking your legs and you are sent through
the air to land in a tangled heap. You force yourself to your feet
just in time to see the Rigellian's axe flying toward your head.
Make an Evasion Roll.
228
What will you try? Witt you:
229
You try to twist out of its path, but the long dagger sinks into
your shoulder, throwing you off the stairs. You land on the
floor, back to the wall. Lose 8 Endurance points. The sailor launches
himself at you, teeth bared in a savage snarl. The captain has
drawn his dagger and is close behind him. Make an Attack Roll.
230
You drop to the floor and the lancing ruby light from Bragg's
pistol flickers out over your head. Then Bragg covers you with
his pistol, saying, 'Hold it right there!' Quickly you say that you
232
Who will you fire at?
heard a strange noise in Achov's room not long ago and thought
he was the creature. 'I was watching a horror holo-vid, you
Achov? Turn to 225
idiot/ Achov quips. Caleb? Turn to 214
Bragg? Turn to 207
Then McReady points at you slowly and says: The Lieutenant's McReady? Turn to 195
the creature. I examined his battlesuit, it's not a scout issue suit,
nor did we find any trace of a starship or any drive emission. We 233
would have picked it up on the sensors, normally.' You find yourself unable to control the mind of the door guard,
mainly due to his unusual fear of mental contact. His eyes widen
Bragg says: 'Yes Sil, there was no trace of his starship. He could with fear and astonishment and you hear a muffled curse and
be the creature.' Caleb backs away from you, readying his 'Evil Sorcery'. Suddenly the quiet alley is filled with the harsh,
flamethrower. Achov draws a short snub pistol, an old bullet- deafening cry of an electronic alarm. A moment later and you
throwing weapon. can hear the sound of many running footsteps. You have no
choice but to flee. You dash down the alleyway as ten or more
Sil goes on, 'You turn up from nowhere and all this starts to black robed figures burst out of the doorway. One of them
happen.' His voice is flat and even. points at you and says: 'It is the Time Traveller! Kill him, in the
name of Baal!' Smothering your shocked surprise, you sprint
'What were you doing in the lab anyway?' Caleb says loudly. 'I away. Turn to 245.
think we should lock him up until the relief ship gets here,
Braxton.' 234
You fade back into the shadows of the caverns. The Noble
'Yes, maybe we should,' says Bragg and Caleb moves towards moves closer and sniffs the air. Suddenly, it trills shrilly and
you. Will you: shouts an order. Five Warriors peel off from the reserve
formation and charge towards your position with frightening
Try to get another shot in with your blaster? Turn to 232 speed. Will you:
Make a run for the door? Turn to 265
Stay where you are and try to gun them down
231 with your blaster? Turn to 186
You trigger a blast of superheated plasma and at this range, Make a run for the tunnel? Turn to 101
against such a large target, you cannot miss. He is bathed in a
stream of white-hot plasma, splashing all over him and 235
spluttering away to shatter the walls of the room. He roars in Your Particle Disruptor is able to function in this sea, and it
pain, and staggers back under the concentrated burst of fire, but vaporises the dust in its path. You must have hit it as your
you can tell, incredibly, that it is but temporary pain to him and battlesuit sonic sensors are filled with a high pitched screaming
that he is taking no serious damage. Your blaster energy reading sound and the large blip on your radar begins to veer away. As
is at 50% after the prolonged burst. Realising that you cannot fast as you can you get back to Falcon's Wing. Quickly you fire
stand against him (yet), you run as fast as you can for the plaza. your Particle Disruptor, severing the hausers connected to
There is a pause and then you can hear Baal smashing his way Falcon's Wing and then get inside it. As far as Captain Cresap
through the building in hot pursuit. Turn to 299. Ord is concerned, when he draws up the severed hauser, it will
appear that you have died in an unfortunate accident. Turn to
260.
236 240
Desperately, you throw yourself aside, muscles twitching with You spin aside and grab the sailor. Using his own momentum,
effort. The axe whistles past your shoulder. The Rigellian, you hurl him into the corner of the cabin. He slams into the wall
wielding the twin-bladed sword as if it were a part of his body, is with bone-shattering force, and slides to the floor motionless.
about to slash at you. Will you: However, the captain is upon you, and he slashes your arm. Lose
4 Endurance points. You grunt in agony but the pain galvanises
Use your blaster again? Turn to 256 you. You drive your fist into his solar plexus, driving the wind
Use your Power of Will to try and control the out of him. He doubles up, retching and you sprint up the stairs
Rigellian? Turn to 172 and out onto the deck, almost into the arms of a huge hairy
sailor, lumbering towards the cabin. Wrestling with him is out
237 of the question. Will you:
You race on through the tunnels of Darkhome, retracing your
steps. It is completely deserted, save for the bodies of many Use your Power of Will on him? Turn to 264
Warriors mostly red-furred, and the oblivious workers still Cut to the left and dive overboard into the dust
toiling away. Soon you are in Falcon's Wing. Turn to 248. near the quayside? Turn to 275
238 241
You play your blaster across the width of the corridor, cutting As you sit in your crash-couch, your Psychic Awareness begins
down the priests as one. Turning, you sprint on to the portal at to register some kind of psionic phenomena within Falcon's
the end of the corridor. Looking in you can see a stone altar at Wing. Turning around you can see that the three pieces of the
the far end of a large room. Upon it lies a translucent white Rack are glowing brightly, radiating a white light that you
triangle, giving off a faint white light, a part of the Rack. The cannot look directly into. They begin to pulse faster and faster,
floor in front of the altar is carved into a chequered grid of nine emanating waves of psychic energy. Examining these, you are
large stone slabs. Suddenly, there is a crunching sound above overjoyed to discover that they are transmitting the location of
you. Looking up you can see the ceiling is being ripped open, and the fourth piece of the Rack. You are forced to break contact
you can hear a snarling howl of ferocious fage - Baal is smashing hurriedly, however. Being mentally linked to the incomplete
his way in. You dash out onto the floor, knowing you must try Rack is very uncomfortable, its psychic power is rooted in some
to get the triangle before Baal breaks in. Make a Chance Roll. kind of machinery imbued with an unnatural half-life. The
whole feel of the thing is horribly alien. You pause as a wave of
If you score 1, 2, 3 or 4, turn to 266 nausea passes over you. Then, excitedly, you set co-ordinates
If you score 5 or 6, turn to 282 for the timehole on planet Chill, in 2985 AD, where the fourth
part of the Rack lies. You may lie in your Autodoc during the trip
239 and regain up to 12 points of lost Endurance. Turn to 353.
You draw your blaster and burn the tentacles in two, but the
section around your ankle continues to tighten, melting 242
together. You stagger back, as unendurable agony rips through McReady says, 'No, no, it could be some kind of mind attack.'
your body. It begins to absorb your foot, fusing with it and
becoming a pulpy mass at the bottom of your leg. Suddenly two Caleb says, 'No one else was hurt, Sil. Anyway, I haven't heard
more tentacles burst out of it and wrap themselves around your you say "ultra" for the last ten minutes.'
thigh. Then they tear themselves away from the mass of your
foot, forming jointed spider-like legs, ending in two barbed 'Yeah, you're right,' says Achov. Together they step back from
stings. The stings whip up and bury themselves into your chest, McReady, pointing their weapons. 'Let him do the mind probe,
mercifully killing you instantly. Sil,' says Achov. Turn to 401.
243
Realising you cannot stand against him (yet), you dash away,
running as fast as you can for the Plaza outside. Baal gives a deep
throated rumbling growl, rising to a crescendo of roaring
thunder, raising the hackles on the back of your neck as you flee,
almost in abject terror. He smashes through the portal of the
room behind you, and begins to crash through the building
towards you. You are sprinting for the curtained entrance when
he crashes through a nearby wall and, picking up a large chunk
of rock, hurls it at you as if it were a pebble. Make an Evasion
Roll
244
You walk on up the corridor, further into the Dome, McReady
commentating as you go. You pass several doors on the left and
right, the crew's cabins. Then he shows you into a brightly lit
room with many precision instruments and worktops. A
primitive Autodoc lies in one corner. Tsu Tsang is working in
there and she nods as you come in. 'This is the lab,' says
McReady. 'A really ultra place. Old Tsu is testing a titanium
sample no doubt. Bet you're sick of the stuff, eh, Tsu?' Tsu
Tsang smiles weakly and works on. Leaving the lab, you are led
on down the corridor. It opens out on the right into a large
floorspace crammed with industrial machinery, and the corridor
continues on beyond it. Then it branches off into three. 'Down
there is where we store the titanium. Pretty non-ultra sight,'
says McReady, pointing to the left-hand corridor. 'Down to the
right are the generators, life support and that. Pretty ultra-less
as well. But straight ahead is the Mine Control, ultra man!' and
he leads you down it. It opens into a large room, lined with
complex instrument banks, computers and so on, making your
console in Falcon's Wing look like a toy. In one corner you can
see a large personal lift, presumably leading down into the mine
itself. Two men are seated at the console boards, running the
automated mining operation. 'Our Minetechs,' says McReady.
'Hey guys, meet our newcomer.' They look around, eyes
widening in surprise. One of them is a Siriun like Yelov, tall and
lithe, with long brown hair and golden cat-like eyes. He carries
himself as if he were thoroughly bored with mining. McReady
introduces him as Kepy Achov. The other is built like a tank, whole galaxy. But you have prevented that, Falcon, he will
about seven foot tall, bull-necked and bearded. His name is never win any more support on Cave now. In any case, I would
Caleb. McReady tells you he is from Proxima Centauri, a high compute that Baal is seriously worried about the possibility that
gravity planet, which accounts for his size. They ask how you the Rack may be re-assembled.' If you have three pieces of the
got here and you chat to them for a while, making your story Rack, turn to 241. If not, you have only one clue left, the
sound convincing. Half an hour later, you are back in your cabin, timehole on Dustbowl where Monitoring reported the timeline
pondering on how you can get hold of the last piece of the Rack disturbance. Turn to 287.
without causing any disturbances in the timelines when you
hear a commotion outside. Turn to 365. 249
Your Particle Disruptor is able to function in the sea. It vaporises
245 the dust in its path. However, you must have missed it for, to
You burst into the light of the main street, the followers of Baal your horror, it is almost upon you. Turn to 197.
close behind you. People step out of your way, indeed some
store keepers actually close their shops up at the sight of the 250
black-robed figures. You sprint onward, but your pursuers are Bragg speaks, 'Right, it's it or us. We've got to hunt it down and
close behind. Will you: kill it, if we just wait it'll come for us in our sleep or individually.'
Ask a passerby for help - there must be some
kind of police force on Dustbowl? Turn to 363 'I'm all for getting it now!' Caleb says aggressively.
Spin, drop to one knee and use your blaster on
your pursuers? Turn to 301 'I agree,' says Bragg. 'Let's go and get the powersuits, Lieutenant
Turn and use a series of Thinkstrikes on Falcon's battlesuit will be a great asset.' You all leave together,
them? Turn to 313 headed for the air-lock strong room. Unfortunately, you
Try to outrun them? Turn to 324 discover all of the powersuits, including your battlesuit, have
had their central processing units ripped out. Achov rifles
246 through the emergency spares box, 'Damn, the spares are gone
You dash for the tunnel as the Noble turns. Spotting you, it trills too!' The suits are useless without their computers to guide
a command and five of the Warrior reserves peel away from the them. You won't be able to leave the Dome until you find, the
formation and lope after you with frightening speed. Turn to suits' computer cartridges.
198.
Bragg says: 'We'll just have to do without them. We'll flush it
247 out: Achov you take the right corridor. Lieutenant, you take the
The heavy gravity is too strong for you and the axe slams into centre corridor, but don't descend into the mine itself, that
your shoulder, virtually severing your arm. A gout of blood would be too dangerous if it's there. I'll take the left tunnel. We'll
spurts into the air and you pass out with shock. You never wake each take a short range radio on the same frequency. At the first
up. You have failed. sign of trouble, pull back to the junction and radio for help.
Caleb can stay at the junction ready to move to anyone's aid.'
248 Bragg hands out the radios and you are given a flamethrower to
You tell CAIN what happened on Cave. It reports that there use. 'If we don't find it, then it's in the mine itself. We'll all go
have been substantial changes in the history of Cave, caused by down then and flush it out.' As you all head down the corridor
Baal. 'In my opinion,' it goes on, 'Baal intended to rule over you nip into your cabin. Quickly you take out the tripod and
Darkhome and, using advanced technology, extend his control search for the Rack. You discover that it has been taken back to
over the whole planet. From there he could breed a race of the Cavern at the end of the mineshaft. You will have to go
genetically engineered star-warriors and make war on the down there after all despite Bragg's warning. Turn to 412.
251 and the magnesite catches, crackling with bright blue light.
You manage to dart past the first few oncoming Warriors and There is a horrible screaming and the thing explodes into a sheet
hurtle on towards the tunnel on your left. There is a trilled of flame. You watch as it burns, thrashing madly and giving off a
command and the Warriors continue after you with murderous sickly charred stench. You stagger to the lift, momentarily
intent. Turn to 198. exhausted, heaving a sigh of relief. Turn to 388.
252 256
You try to throw the sailor aside, but he pins you to the wall. You are unable to move as quickly as you would normally under
Trapped, you can do nothing as Captain Nathan, howling this gravity. Before you can fire the Rigellian hurls a viciously
triumphantly, plunges his dagger into your throat. barbed sphere from his belt. You are unable to throw yourself
aside and it slams into your shoulder with superhuman force,
253 knocking you to the ground. Desperately, you struggle to your
'Any creature intelligent enough and with those replication
feet but he is upon you. In a flash he has struck your head from
powers could have arranged that,' says Achov, eyeing you
your shoulders. You have failed.
closely.
Sil goes on, 'You turn up from nowhere and all this starts to 257
happen.' His voice is flat and even. 'What were you doing in the You hurl a blast of mental energy but, weakened though his
lab anyway?' mental powers may be, it does not effect him and he laughs, a
deep shuddering sound that fills you with horror. He steps
Caleb says loudly, 'I think we should lock him up until the relief forward, saying, 'You pathetic mortal, I will swat you like the
ship gets here, Braxton.' insect you are,' his voice filling your head, deep and melodious.
You realise that you cannot stand against him, yet. Seeing his
'Yes, maybe we should,' says Bragg and Caleb moves towards intention, you try to dodge the great scything sweep of his
you. Will you: hammer-like fist. Make an Evasion Roll.
Draw your blaster and open fire? Turn to 232 If you score 7-12, turn to 336
Make a run for the door? Turn to 265 If you score 2-6, turn to 349
254 258
You hurl several blasts of mental energy, dropping three of After the hideous monstrosity has slaked its hunger it turns to
them, but the others come on. Suddenly, there is a crash of the congregation and, incredibly, speaks/the sound disturbingly
splintered stone and Baal comes smashing through the portal unnatural, human words not meant for an alien throat: 'The
behind you, shattering rock and brick with great sweeping words of Baal are these. Go forth and slay the Time Traveller,
blows. As the priests slam into you, Baal stretches both arms out for he would destroy you!' This fly being must be an ally of
towards you and twin balls of energy leap from his hands, Baal's, in fact your knowledge of ancient Earth history tells you
enveloping you and the priests in an inferno of flame. Death is that thousands of years ago a demon known as Baal, Lord of the
almost instantaneous. Flies, was worshipped on Earth. Presumably the altar is some
kind of Variac Drive and inter-temporal communication device.
255 Then the fly being appears to stiffen. Its head swivels towards
Thinking quickly, you take the magnesite and hurl it into the you and your Psychic Awareness tells you that you are being
gaping maw. Then you use the flamethrower. There is a roar probed mentally. Will you:
Draw your blaster and try to kill the fly being in your Autodoc and regain up to 12 points of lost Endurance during the
and destroy the altar before making a run journey. You rematerialise in the Eiger Vault and whilst a TIME
for it? Turn to 270 maintenance team is replenishing Falcon's Wing's supply of
Make a dash for Falcon's Wing immediately? Turn to 280 polybdenum, you instruct CAIN to link up with the Eiger
service computer to check for any news. CAIN reports that
259 nothing new has occurred during your visit to Rigel Prime. You
You twist away from the hurtling bludgeon and ascend into will have to continue your search. Which timehole will you
Falcon's Wing, screaming at CAIN to engage the Variac Drive as travel to:
you do so. Moments later you are safe in null-space. You never
believed you would ever welcome the grey nothingness that fills The colony planet, Dustbowl, in the year 2764
the camera screens as you do now. You have learnt much about AD? Turn to 10
the art of avoiding damage in your near fatal brushes with Baal. South America, Earth, 1409 AD, the time of
Add 1 to your Evasion Modifier. Turn to 248. the Aztecs? Turn to 22
North America, Earth, 1863 AD, the time of
the American Civil War? Turn to 34
260
In the safety of Falcon's Wing, you clamber out of the battlesuit.
Note that you have the piece of the Rack with the triangles in its
264
As the burly sailor approaches you attempt to seize control of
corners. If you now have three pieces of the Rack, turn to 241. If
his mind. Make a Power of Will Roll.
not, where will you go now:
If you score 5-12, turn to 329
The Eiger Vault, to see if there is any new
If you score 2-4, turn to 153
information for you? Turn to 201
Earth at the time of the Aztecs, if you have not
been there already? Turn to 22
265
You leap for the door, but a lance of ruby light from Bragg's
pistol burns into your chest and a pellet of lead from Achov's
261 gun thuds into your stomach. You hit the floor, hard. The last
As you leap up and break into a sprint one of the Warriors leaps words you ever hear are: 'Damn, it looks like he was human
forward and manages to catch your shoulder with its razor after all!'
sharp hand-blade. Lose 4 Endurance points. If you are still alive, your
plasnet suit begins to knit together as you hurtle on towards the 266
tunnel. There is a trilled command and the Warriors continue As you run for the altar, you can feel one of the slabs shifting
after you with murderous intent. Turn to 198. under foot. There is a click and a volley of small javelins fly out of
small niches in the wall. One of them slams into your left arm.
262 Lose 8 Endurance points. If you are still alive, you ignore the pain and
Make a Chance Roll. race on. Turn to 293.
278
You plummet down the glowing tunnel, illuminated by the
green phosphorescence of the moss. The Warriors are gaining
on you as you burst out into another Darkhome farm. You are
following a path cutting through the middle of two lines of vats
fungus fields stretching away to either side. Some twenty
metres ahead is the yawning black hole of the exit. Thick blue
seams of some mineral line the walls above it. Some of the blue
mineral has fallen in a small pile of crumbled rock near the
entrance. Gasping for breath, the Warriors almost upon you,
you realise you won't make it. You'll have to turn and fight. Will
you:
279
You turn your suit volume up to maximum and send out a
barrage of radio noise, hoping to 'jam' the creature's sonar. To
your relief it works and you can see the blip on your radar going
round in circles until it veers off in another direction. Still
maintaining your radio barrage, you get back to Falcon's Wing.
Quickly you fire your Particle Disruptor, severing the hausers
connected to Falcon's Wing and then get inside it. As far as
Captain Cresap Ord is concerned, when he draws up the
severed hauser, it will seem that you died in an unfortunate
accident. Turn to 260.
280 285
As you run back to the doorway you can hear a burbling shriek You have almost reached Falcon's Wing when some black-robed
as the fly being realises who you are. You hurl yourself through priests charge at you from a nearby alleyway, a fanatical gleam
the door into the silence of the night outside. You are forced to in their eyes, screaming, 'Death to the enemies of Huitzil-
release the guard under your control, but he does manage to opochtli!' However, they stop in disbelief when you disappear
block the corridor for a brief moment. Suddenly, the quiet alley into the hologram; it looks to them as if you have passed
is filled with the harsh, deafening cry of an electronic alarm. A through the wall of a house. Hurriedly, you set course for the
moment later and you can hear the sound of many running Eiger Vault. Then the cameras reveal Baal, recovered, hurtling
footsteps; You have no choice but to flee. You dash down the directly at you and your screens are filled with yellow flame as
alleyway as ten or more black robed figures burst out of the he unleashes a fireball engulfing Falcon's Wing. You scream at
doorway. One of them points at you and says: 'It is the Time CAIN to engage the Variac Drive and, moments later, you
Traveller! Kill him, in the name of Baal!' You sprint away. Turn disappear from the city of Tenochtitlan. Safe in the grey
to 245. nothingness of null-space, you heave a sigh of relief, calming
your shattered nerves. Soon you are floating on the Winds of
281 Time headed for the Eiger Vault. You ask CAIN what has
As you fly, your environment control unit begins to fluctuate happened in the timelines, knowing that the first law of TIME
wildly and you are subjected to brief moments of biting cold. has been broken on Tenochtitlan to an unprecedented degree. It
You are badly frostbitten. Lose 2 Endurance points. If you are still replies that the society was almost completely wiped out by the
alive, you make it back to the warmth of Falcon's Wing. Turn to Spaniards in a few more decades, thus cancelling any serious
100. time change. You may lie in your Autodoc and regain up to 12 points
of lost Endurance on this journey. Have you been given any
282 information about the Planet Cave? If you have, turn to 86. If
As you run for the altar, you can feel one of the slabs shifting you have not turn to 76.
underfoot. There is a click and a volley of small javelins fly out of
small niches in the wall. You throw yourself to the floor and 286
somersault to your feet, and they whistle past you. Turn to 293. The sailor grunts and falls senseless to the floor. Captain
Nathan stands astonished at this, unmoving. You take the
283 chance to sprint up the stairs and out onto the deck, almost into
You return to Falcon's Wing where you spend your time
the arms of a huge hairy sailor, lumbering towards the cabin.
checking your battlesuit while waiting. Have you ever been in Wrestling with him is out of the question. Will you:
the Dustbowl's only city, Refuge? If you have, turn to 342, if
you have not, turn to 407. Use your Power of Will on him? Turn to 264
Cut to the left and dive overboard into the dust
284 near the quayside? Turn to 275
The fireball erupts in the doorway, filling it with yellow flame,
but you roll safely away. You have a moment to react as Baal
screams in frustration, seeing you still alive. Will you: 287
You set co-ordinates for Dustbowl, 2764 AD, and soon you are
Fire, your blaster at him, maintaining a five questing through null-space with your thoughts. You may lie in
second burst and then run out, towards the Autodoc during the journey and regain up to 12 points of lost
Falcon's Wing? Turn to 231 Endurance. It is not long before Falcon's Wing has materialised.
Make a run for it immediately? Turn to 243 Have you visited Dustbowl before? If you have, turn to 7. If you
Thinkstrike Baal? Turn to 257 have not turn to 16.
288 [Score an E]
You switch on your jetboosters but nothing happens. You
realise that they cannot ignite properly in all this dust. Turn to
197.
289
You try to twist aside but the stream of liquid splatters against
your leg briefly. It smokes and bubbles, burning through your
suit and eating into your calf. Lose 3 Endurance points. If you are still
alive, Braxton Bragg fires his laser pistol but the creature,
lowering its head, smashes through the door and is away.
Hurriedly you begin washing the acidic liquid off your leg, as
Bragg and Achov stand momentarily stunned at what has
happened. Bragg looks at you and says: 'Good work, Lieutenant.
What made you think it was him?'
Bragg nods. 'Poor McReady, it must have got to him in the radio
room. If only I hadn't sent him there alone,' he says, ashen-
faced. Turn to 250.
290
As you continue on, the twisting corridors carry an echo of
trilling Noble voices and a much deeper resonant booming trill.
Eventually, you come to the end of the tunnel without
encountering anything. Hanging back in the shadows of the
corridor you are able to survey the scene unseen. It is a large
cavern, obviously the centre of the rebel territory. Over a
hundred Warriors are standing in a tight block in the centre of
the chamber. Burrowers and other Worker types are busying
themselves with various tasks, digging, feeding the Warriors
and so on. Several Nobles are conferring with the strangest
sight of all in the far corner of the cavern. It is a huge pale
bulbous mass of blubbery flesh. A small head rests atop the
mass. This must be what a Caver Queen looks like. One of the
Nobles is speaking: The offensive is going well, Baal-Mother.
These devices you have given us,' pointing to a laser pistol, 'will
assure our victory. But we are worried, you have not yet laid a
Batch, is there something wrong, Mother? We are in need of
replacements.'
The huge mass speaks, with the deep resonant sound you heard
earlier: 'All in good time, Batch 16-A4-13. All in good time. Just small triangles at each corner with you, as well as the one you
ensure my place as rightful Mother of Darkhome.' Your have just picked up? If you have, turn to 305. If you have not,
attention wanders from this conversation when you notice a turn to 320.
stack of advanced machinery next to the bloated mass,
something that should not be here at this time. You also notice, 294 [Score an S]
almost directly opposite you, a huge door, about eighteen feet in You send a mental probe at Braxton Bragg. His thought
height. It is of a shiny metal, and surrounded by domed lights patterns are human, he is not the creature. He stares at you, his
glowing dully. It is jarringly out of place in a culture that has not eyes narrowing. Then comprehension dawns on his face and he
yet discovered the wheel. As you look at the door you begin to nods imperceptibly at you, he realises you are a psionic and
pick up some kind of psionic static from it. After a few minutes' wants you to continue. Who will you test now:
concentration, you are able to tell that the piece of the Rack you Achov? Turn to 321
are looking for lies behind the door! Do you have a piece of the McReady? Turn to 312
Rack with small circles at each of its three corners with you? If Caleb? Turn to 304
you do, turn to 391. If you do not, turn to 385.
295
291 Have you spoken to Agent Bloodhound on this mission? If you
You reach out with your mind and try to dominate the will of have, turn to 307. If you have not, turn to 274.
the Cosmic being known as Baal. But all you do is provoke Baal
to contemptuous laughter as he sweeps aside your mental 296
attack with ease. His ego is too powerful. However, your You have no other way of getting in other than destroying the
attention is drawn to the oncoming Warriors. All you can do is door. You lift your Particle Disruptor and open fire. The door
try to gain some time by using your blaster on them, as they are virtually disappears, a sheen of atomized metals puff outward as
almost upon you. Make an Attack Roll. the air inside rushes out. You jet in, just as an emergency
bulkhead shuts behind you, sealing the air in. Your battlesuit
If you score 6-12, turn to 315 analyses the air, it will bear human life, but not for long as it
If you score 2-5, turn to 323 contains toxic substances. You find yourself in a well lit corridor
of polished steel. Thirty foot square curving away round a
292 corner. You jet around the corner to be greeted by a strange
Make an Attack Roll as you fire your Particle Disruptor. sight. What can only be described as a twelve foot fly is hurtling
towards you up the corridor. You recognise it as it is almost
If you score 6-12, turn to 71 identical to the one that attacked you on Dustbowl. It is heading
If you score 2-5, turn to 83 straight for you and it speaks, a horrible bubbling sound, human
words not meant for an alien throat: 'You must die, Intruder!'
293 Will you:
You snatch up the glowing triangle, which has a small dark circle
embedded in each of its corners. Note it on your Agent Profile Thinkstrike it? Turn to 398
and the fact that it has small circles embedded in it. You dash Launch a rocket at it? Turn to 276
back towards the portal, as bricks and mortar cascade into the
room. Before you have reached the doorway, Baal crashes 297
through the roof into the room and comes to his feet on the The sailor grunts in pain but comes on, unaffected and leaps at
floor. His weight sets off a trap and a volley of javelins fly at him, you. Make an Attack Roll.
but they shatter against his skin as if they were made of sand. If you score 7-12, turn to 240
He hardly notices them. Do you have a piece of the Rack with If you score 2-6, turn to 252
298
You can hardly miss such a large target. You pour a sustained
blast of superheated plasma into the pale creature and it roars in
pain. Then the blubbery mass of the Mother begins to dissolve
before your very eyes, seemingly metamorphosing. Seconds
later, Baal stands in the Mother's place, bellowing in anger. With
a flash of insight, you realise he has been posing as a Cave .
Mother using his hallucinatory mind-powers, but your
concentrated blast of plasma, whilst it has not harmed him
seriously, has prevented him from maintaining the illusion. At
this, the Nobles order the Warriors to halt and begin trilling
agitatedly amongst themselves. They know they have been
tricked into rebelling against their rightful Mother and they see
Baal as an intruder now. Taking this opportunity, you sprint for
the door. However, Baal, furious, screams, 'You have meddled
in my plans too often, mortal. Your puny little organisation can
never hope to defeat me, Baal, the Lord of Flies!' and the sound
echoes around the chamber so that you can almost feel the floor
reverberating. Then he points at you, and a yellow bolt of
energy forks from his finger, crackling through the air toward
you. You must try to dodge the attack. Make an Evasion Roll.
299
You burst out into the plaza, it is completely deserted. It appears
the crowds have fled in the face of what has happened. All that
remain are a few black-robed priests of Huitzilopochtli, whom
they believe Baal to be. You sprint across the plaza. Glancing
behind, you can see Baal e r u p t i n g from the building, leaving it a
mass of broken masonry. He soars into the air and speeds after
you. You are shocked to see that he has some means of natural
flight without wings, at his disposal, perhaps some form of
telekenisis, or mind over matter. He is gaining on you. Will you:
300
You manage to take control of two of their minds with relative
ease and you force them to attack their fellows. Instantly
carnage ensues. Your two Warriors are cut to shreds, but not effect, and the creature keeps coming. Either it was completely
before they have claimed the life of one other warrior. The last unhurt, or, more likely, the weight of the dust contained the
two rush at you. You must try to avoid their first attack so you explosion. Perhaps it did not even go off. It is almost upon you
can get a shot in with your blaster again. Make an Evasion Roll now, turn to 197.
as they slash at you with their natural arsenal of weaponry.
304
If you score 6-12, turn to 326 You reach out to Caleb's mind. You find his thought patterns
If you score 2-5, turn to 332 are human, he is not the creature. He grunts and says, staring at
you. 'What the hell are you doing to my mind? What are you?'
301 The rest turn to you, staring. Turn to 272.
Knowing you will change the past, you spin, drop to one knee
and bring your blaster up at your pursuers in one fluid motion. 305
You can see their eyes widen in fear at this but you squeeze the You can feel that parts of the Rack are growing hot. Examining
trigger. Make an Attack Roll. them, you can see they are pulsing with white light, reacting to
the presence of Baal. Then you can feel an incredibly powerful
If you score 7-12, turn to 378 malevolent will, the mind of Baal, invading your mind. You
If you score 2-6, turn to 389 cannot stand against such force you realise. Baal smiles evilly.
But then the Rack segments begin to pulse faster and the power
302 of Baal's will lessens. His smile fades and he struggles to seize
You step out into the Control Room. Caleb is waiting for you your mind. His attack continues to fade, until you see him
there and he smiles a greeting. Then his eyes widen in surprise. struggling to use his mind powers, his face contorted with rage.
Suddenly, something sweeps across your legs, knocking you to He bellows, 'So, you have half of the Rack! But now I will end
the ground. Looking around, you see a set of several long your petty existence, mortal.' His voice reverberates around the
human like arms, charred and burnt, heaving a bloated body out room, almost deafening you. You realise that the two parts of
from under the lift. It had been clinging to the bottom of the lift. the Rack, acting together, are preventing him from using his
A crocodile head, jaws snapping, rears up above you, dripping psychic power! He screams in rage, then he points at you and a
slimy juices. Caleb rushes in and sprays it with flame, giving you crackling ball of yellow energy explodes from his hand and
time to scramble away. But then another spear of sharpened burns towards you. Thunderstruck by such natural power, you
bone lashes out from the creature, even as it burns. Caleb is too hurl yourself out of the door in an attempt to avoid the fireball.
slow to avoid it and it buries itself in his head, killing him Make an Evasion Roll.
instantly. The bony spear detaches itself from the flaming mass
and begins to disappear into Caleb's body, transforming it. If you score 6-12, turn to 271
Quickly you use your flamethrower. You burn it thoroughly, If you score 2-5, turn to 284
making sure there is nothing left but charcoal. Then you use
your blaster to reduce the lift to molten metal, sealing anything 306
that may be left of the creature in the mine. Saddened by the Make a Power of Will Roll.
death of Caleb, who saved your life, you leave the Control
Room. Turn to 147. If you score 7-12, turn to 331
If you score 2-6, turn to 339
303 [Score an E]
As fast as you can you lay a rocket at your feet and back off. 307
When the large blip on your radar display is over the tiny blip of You set co-ordinates for Earth in 3033 AD and you are soon
your rocket, you send out the detonation signal. There is no surrounded by the grey nothingness of null-space. You may lie
in your Autodoc and regain up to 12 points of lost Endurance during the get a shot in with your blaster again. Make an Evasion Roll as
journey. You rematerialise in the Eiger Vault and whilst a TIME they slash at you with their natural arsenal of weaponry.
maintenance team is replenishing Falcon's Wing's supply of
polybdenum, you instruct CAIN to link up with the Eiger If you score 6-12, turn to 326
service computer to check for any news. CAIN reports that If you score 2-5, turn to 332
nothing new has occurred during your visit to Rigel Prime. You
will have to continue your search. Which timehole will you 311
travel to: The two Jaguar Knights stagger back and fall to the ground
under the effect of your Thinkstrikes. Their minds were
The colony planet, Dustbowl, where elsewhere, on the spectacle on the pyramid. No one notices their
Bloodhound discovered the timehole fate and you dash through the curtained doorway into a
disturbance, in 2764 AD, even if you have bewildering mass of corridors and large storerooms containing
been to Dustbowl once already? Turn to 287 stocks of maize, sculpted gold and so on. Eventually you come to
South America, Earth, 1409 AD, the time of a wide corridor, lined with friezes, depicting scenes of Aztec
the Aztecs, if you have not been there mythology. At its end is a richly decorated portal leading into a
already? Turn to 22 large room. When you are nearer, you can see a large altar at the
North America, Earth, 1863 AD, the time of end of the room. Upon it lies a translucent white triangle, small
the American Civil War, if you have not been circles embedded in each corner, giving off a bright white
there already? Turn to 34 radiance. It is a segment of the Rack. In between you and the
altar, the floor is a checkerboard of nine, six-foot-square stone
308 slabs, laid out in a square. Directly ahead of you lies the first
You swim powerfully, but you can hold your breath no longer. three.Will you:
You realise you were swimming down, before panic takes you.
In a few seconds your lungs are filled. You have drowned in a sea Step out onto the left hand slab? Turn to 330
of dust. The middle slab? Turn to 340
The right hand slab? Turn to 352
309
You twist aside and the stinking spray of liquid splashes into the 312
wall behind you, where it streams and bubbles, eating into the You reach out for McReady's mind, but you cannot find
wall. You turn and fire again, but the creature, putting its head anything you would normally consider a mind. His thought
down, smashes through the door and is away. Caleb and Achov patterns are alien and strange, driven by simple principles,
stand, stunned. Bragg looks at you and says: 'Good work, survival, multiplying, growing, eating. With horror you draw
Lieutenant. What made you think it Was him?' back as you realise the creature knows you have probed it. 'It's
McReady!' you shout. Turn to 401.
'He didn't say 'ultra' once in ten minutes,' you reply.
313
Bragg nods. 'Poor McReady, it must have got him in the radio You turn and set a mental fix on the leading pursuer. You
room. I should never have sent him there alone.' Turn to 250. unleash a blast of mental energy and your target goes down like
a sack of potatoes. Concentrating hard you repeat the process
310 several times. Your pursuers come to a halt, almost as one.
You stop, panting heavily, and spin, drawing your blaster, the Some lie unconscious, others are holding their heads. Passerbys
superheated plasma claiming three of them before the last two stare in horror and then hurry on. You can hear your pursuers
are upon you. You must try to avoid their first attack so you can muttering amongst themselves about 'sorcery' and 'magic'.
They are a superstitious group and they seem disinclined to
chase you after your display of power. Indeed some of them,
unsure as to whether their prone comrades are still alive, are
beginning to scuttle away. Seizing your chance, you run
onwards and they are soon lost to sight. Moments later you are
back in the warehouse containing Falcon's Wing, running to the
crates marked 'Eiger Corporation'. Have you seen a man with a
tattoo on his forearm here on Dustbowl? If you have, turn to
350. If you have not, turn to 399.
314
You step out onto the wooded surface of Benner's Hill. The
trees are obscuring your vision now, but you can hear the sound
of men taking up a position south-west of you. Nearby are the
crumpled bodies of several men in blue uniforms, Unionists.
Quickly you set up the Rack detector and the gem begins to
glow. Sifting through its psychic emanations you can find no
trace of the Rack or any parts of it. Disappointed, you are
packing it up when your Psychic Awareness registers the
presence of someone with advanced mental powers on the
north face of Benner's Hill. Will you:
315
You play your blaster in a sweeping arc across the front of the
charging column. The first rank are cut down like ripe corn.
Those behind crash into the tangled mass of bodies and are
thrown into confusion. You have a few seconds' respite. Will
you:
316
You hurl a blast of mental energy but it has no effect, it either
doesn't have enough of a mind to be affected or is immune to
Psychic Attack. Its jaw rips through your battlesuit, and takes
your arm off, your suit collapses under the pressure of the dust
and you are crushed to death before you can suffer the horror of You cannot stand against such force, you realise, and Baal smiles
being eaten alive. evilly. But then the Rack segment begins to pulse faster and the
power of Baal's will lessens. His smile fades and he struggles to
317 seize your mind. You realise that the rack segment is dampening
Hoping the mineral is magnesite, you unleash a blast of super- Baal's psychic power. You fight back, his will is strong but so is
hot plasma onto the pile of rocks. The reaction is instantaneous. yours. Make a Power of Will Roll.
The rock explodes, crumbling in the heat and producing an
unbearable incandescent flare of bright blue light. Your face If you score 6-12, turn to 203
plate flash damper protects your eyes, but the Warriors are If you score 2-5, turn to 220
blinded instantly. It is an easy task to finish them with your
blaster. They try to find you using their sense of smell, but you 321
are able to make your escape. You may take some magnesite You reach out to Achov's mind. You find his thought patterns
with you, if you wish. You leave the farm and press on down the are similar to a human's, obviously he is what he looks to be, a
tunnel ahead. Turn to 290. Siriun, and not the creature. Achov starts and stares at you:
'What are you... ? By the gods, you're a psionic!' he exclaims,
318 and the rest turn to you in amazement. Turn to 272.
You swim powerfully for what you hope is the surface. Then
your head breaks through the dust, into the air. Clinging to a 322
nearby iron stanchion that supports the quayside you clear the You throw yourself into the air, but the slab of masonry
dust from your face. Hiding behind the iron pillars, you make ricochets off your side, sending you hurtling through the
your way down the side of the quay, struggling through the doorway. Lose 9 Endurance points. If you are still alive, you struggle
dust, your filter mask working overtime. When you are out of to your feet, Baal close behind, and stagger on. Turn to 299.
sight of the Winged Demon, you climb up one of the stanchions
to the harbourside and make your way to Falcon's Wing where 323
you decide to wait until the Winged Demon has left on another You open up with the blaster and it claims the lives of several
whaling expedition, so you can find another ship. You instruct Warriors but the rest rush on heedlessly. You are overwhelmed
CAIN to disguise Falcon's Wing as a pile of whaling equipment and literally cut into pieces.
to avoid the prying eyes of anyone in search of the scientist's
diving bell. You may lie in you Autodoc if you wish, and gain up to 324
6 points of lost Endurance. Turn to 342. Desperately, you push yourself on, legs pumping like pistons.
Soon your vigorous training pays off and you leave your
319 pursuers behind. A few moments later and they are lost to sight
Your Thinkstrike has no effect at all It has 'nothing you can as you turn into the dark foreboding street where the
recognise as a mind. Desperately, you lift your flamethrower warehouse containing Falcon's Wing lies. As you approach the
and pull the trigger. The flying creature is wreathed in fire, entrance four black-robed figures burst from the shadows and
inches from your face. You leap back but your hands are burnt charge at you in silence, drawing long wickedly curved daggers
as the creature explodes into flames. Lose 2 Endurance points. If you as several more step out of buildings behind you, trapping you in
are still alive, you rush to the lift door. Turn to 388. the street. Obviously they knew a short cut. Acting instinct-
ively, you hurl yourself, rolling, at the feet of your four
320 assailants, hoping to trip them and run on into the safety of
You can feel that the section of the Rack is growing hot in your Falcon's Wing. Make an Evasion Roll.
hand and, examining it, you see it is pulsing with white light,
reacting to the presence of Baal. Then you can feel an incredibly If you score 6-12, turn to 360
powerful malevolent will, the mind of Baal, invading your mind. If you score 2-5, turn to 112
325
Slowly you creep down to the north side of the hill. As you
descend, blaster in hand, you can see someone crouching behind
a tree, their back to you. Whoever it is has a strong psychic
presence and is hiding from someone or something further
down at the base of the hill. The crouched figure appears to be a
young Confederate soldier, dressed in homespun butternut,
with grey trousers. It seems the Confederates were not able to
clothe their soldiers properly. Suddenly the figure stiffens and
then whirls, a blaster in its hand, pointing at you! Will you:
326
You twist and roll, trying to stay out of reach of their vicious
attack, but one of them slashes your forearm as you dive
through the air. Lose 4 Endurance points. If you are still alive, you
roll to your feet as your suit repairs itself and open fire as the last
two Warriors charge at you again. Make an Attack Roll.
327
You activate a rocket but its drive system cannot make any
headway in this dust. It simply lodges a foot above your head,
moving slowly. The creature's jaw rips through your battlesuit,
and takes your arm off, your suit collapses under the pressure of
the dust and you are crushed to death before you can suffer the
horror of being eaten alive.
328 [Score a V]
You draw your blaster and fire in one smooth motion. A bolt of
plasma slams into McReady's leg, smashing him against the
door. He howls, an unearthly, inhuman sound, and his eyes roll
up into his head. Suddenly a small suppurating hole appears in
his neck, opening and closing spasmodically. His skull splits open
with a loud wet crack and something large and bulky shudders
forth, forming into a heavy head, horned and armoured, two
small pig-like eyes at each side, the whole thing spilling rivulets
of reddish mucus. Horrified, Achov, Bragg and Caleb hesitate.
McReady's shoulders split apart and a bony carapace forms over
them. Then a thin jet of dirty white liquid hisses from the hole in Flies!' and the sound echoes around the chamber so that you can
the neck and streams toward you. Desperately you try to avoid almost feel the floor reverberating. Then he points at you, and a
it. Make an Evasion Roll. yellow bolt of energy forks from his finger, crackling through
the air towards you. You must try to dodge the attack. Make an
If you score 6-12, turn to 309 Evasion Roll.
If you score 2-5, turn to 289
If you score 6-12, turn to 418
329 If you score 2-5, turn to 24
He is dim-witted and slow. You impose your will upon him and
force him to run and dive overboard. Quickly you dash for the 332
gangplank, but one of the crew is turning the harpoon gun on Before you can move, one of them has slashed open your
you and fires it. Instinctively you duck. Make an Evasion Roll. shoulder, whilst the other, ducking low, drives its horned elbow
into your side, puncturing your suit and your stomach. They
If you score 5-12, turn to 354 follow this up with a blurring flurry of razor sharp attacks,
If you score 2-4, turn to 364 slicing you up as if you were butter. You die alone, lost in the
darkness of an alien world.
330
Suspecting some kind of trap, you carefully edge your way onto 333
the slab nearest the left hand wall. Suddenly, you feel the slab Moments later you are back in Falcon's Wing. Where will you go
shift under your feet and there is a sharp click in the wall on in search of the Rack?
your left. You have a split second in which to act. Will you:
Rigel Prime, 1642 AD, if you have not been
Drop to the floor? Turn to 2 there already? Turn to 46
Leap backwards? Turn to 12 Earth in the time of the Aztecs, if you have not
been there already? Turn to 22
331 The colony planet, Dustbowl, in the year 2764
You manage to control the Nobles. Instantly you force them to AD if you have not been there already? Turn to 10
order the Warriors to stop their charge. Then they turn and fire Return to the Eiger Vault, in case the
their laser-pistols at the Baal-Mother, who is shouting in rage. It Monitoring Section has any information for
writhes in pain as you force the Nobles to keep up their lancing you? Turn to 377
fire. Then the blubbery mass of the Mother begins to dissolve
before your very eyes, seemingly metamorphosing. Seconds 334
later, Baal stands in the Mother's place, bellowing in anger. With As you sprint away, one of your pursuers dives at your legs
a flash of insight, you realise he has been posing as a Cave tripping you. Before you can act you are buried under a pile of
Mother using his hallucinatory mind-powers, but the needle- bodies. Within seconds you are slashed to ribbons by their
like pulses of the Noble's lasers, whilst not harming him daggers and left in the street, a red mass of dead meat.
seriously, have shaken him, preventing him from maintaining
the illusion. Taking this opportunity, you release the Nobles and 335
sprint for the door. The Nobles stare at Baal and begin trilling Whose mind will you probe?
agitatedly amongst themselves. They know they have been
tricked into rebelling against their rightful Mother and they see Achov's ? Turn to 321
Baal as an intruder now. However, Baal, furious, screams, 'You McReady's? Turn to 312
have meddled in my plans too often, mortal. Your puny little Caleb V? Turn to 304
organisation can never hope to defeat me, Baal, the Lord of Braxton Bragg's? Turn to 294
336 entrance if you wish. Close up you can identify it as magnesite.
You dodge aside, but his fist still catches your shoulder a Turn to 290.
glancing blow. Lose 2 Endurance points. If you are still alive, he snarls
furiously at your escape. Will you: 342
A day later you leave Falcon's Wing in the hope of finding an
Fire your blaster and then make a run for it? Turn to 231 alternative to the Winged Demon. Carefully examining the
Flee instantly? Turn to 243 quayside, you are pleased to see that the Winged Demon has left
and that another ship is moored at the harbour. You are still
337 someway from it when your Psychic Awareness picks up the
A stream of fire erupts from your flamethrower, engulfing the presence of somebody nearby. You are prepared when three
flying beast. It bursts into flames and drops to the floor. You sailors run out at you from behind a large crate, long daggers in
dash to the lift door. Turn to 388. their hands. One of them hisses: 'This time Baal will have your
soul.' Amazed at the persistent fanaticism of the disciples of
338 Baal, you prepare to defend yourself. Will you:
Make a Chance Roll.
Thinkstrike the nearest assailant? Turn to 376
If you score 1 or 6, turn to 347 Use your blaster? Turn to 387
If you score 2, 3, 4 or 5, turn to 193 Try and control one of your assailants? Turn to 395
339 343
You fail to control them, two at once is too much for you after Who will you fire the blaster at?
your recent mental battle with Baal. However, your attention is
drawn to the oncoming Warriors. All you can do is try to gain Achov? Turn to 348
some time by using your blaster on them, as they are almost Caleb? Turn to 375
upon you. Make an Attack Roll. McReady? Turn to 328
Bragg? Turn to 390
If you score 6-12, turn to 315
If you score 2-5, turn to 323 344
Your hand a blur of movement, you unleash a river of white-hot
340 plasma at the figure before it can fire. The figure is hurled back
You walk out onto the middle stone slab, sense alert for any against the tree with a crash and then flops to the ground,
trap. Nothing happens. Will you step out onto: lifeless, the torso a smoking black mass. You walk over to the
body and roll it over with your foot. A chill of horror seizes you.
The slab directly ahead of you, the centremost It is Agent Lynx, one of your comrades and you have killed her.
slab of the nine? Turn to 373 Transfixed with guilt and remorse you fail to hear anything
The slab to your left? Turn to 330 until you feel the cold barrel of a blaster at the back of your neck.
The slab to your right? Turn to 352 Thank you for doing the work for me, Falcon. Now my revenge
The slab at a diagonal right forward? Turn to 383 will indeed be complete. Goodbye.' You have time to recognise
The slab at a diagonal left forward? Turn to 361 the voice of the arch traitor, Agidy Yelov, before he squeezes the
trigger, ending your life. You have failed.
341
Your aim is true, reducing the last two Warriors to mounds of 345
smoking flesh. You may pick up some of the rocks by the You dive aside and the horned bony spear hammers past you,
retracting into the main body as fast as it was launched at you.
You roll to your feet and run for the lift as fast as you can,
leaving the flaming creature behind you. Turn to 392.
346
You exert your will, but to no avail, you cannot even scratch
Baal's mental defences and the sound of his contemptuous
laughter echoing round the cavern is the last thing you will ever
hear. The Warriors, clambering over the bodies of their
comrades, are upon you, literally ripping you to shreds.
347
You pull the trigger, but there is no effect. It has been damaged
by the creature's jaws. Horrified, you can do nothing as the
creature bites through your battlesuit and takes your arm off,
your suit collapses under the pressure of the dust and you are
crushed to death before you can suffer the horror of being eaten
alive.
348
You draw and fire in one swift moment, but Achov is a Siriun
and fast. He throws himself backwards and the bolt of plasma
passes close to his arm, setting his boilersuit alight. He howls in
pain but rolls over, putting out the flames. He doesn't seem to be
the creature after all. Bragg reacts quickly. Firing his laser pistol
at you, reflexively. Make an Evasion Roll.
349
You try to dodge aside but Baal's hammer-like backhander
slams into you, hurling you backwards through the air and out
of the door. You land in a heap, badly bruised, ribs cracked. Lose 6
Endurance points. If you are still alive, he snarls furiously at you.
Will you:
Fire your blaster and then make a run for it? Turn to 231
Flee instantly? Turn to 243
350
You are some twenty metres from Falcon's Wing when a loud
humming fills the air, as if of a thousand bees in flight. Turning
your head you see the fly beast, the servant of Baal, whirring Exploration Scouts. If you should run across the miners, you can
into the warehouse: 'You must die, Time Traveller, Baal has pretend to a be a shipwrecked scout, crash-landed on Chill.
spoken,' it bubbles revoltingly, and darts downwards, intent on Remember, Time Travel won't be discovered for another thirty
devouring you. Will you: years.'
Thinkstrike it? Turn to 135 Thank you CAIN,' you reply. When you are ready you step out
Use your Power of Will? Turn to 140 into the freezing atmosphere of Chill. Looking around, you can
Go for your blaster? Turn to 160 see a rugged landscape of twisted ice ridges and valleys. Setting
the Rack detector, you soon discover the location of the last
351 piece of the Rack. With the other three pieces of the Rack in your
You squeeze the trigger but the first Warrior ducks under the battlesuit utility containers, you set off towards it. The
bolt of superheated plasma and launches itself headfirst buffeting cross winds caused by the storm are too strong for
through the air at you. The horn on its head enters your body you to use your jets, but you take great leaping strides, your
just below the ribs. As it stands up over you, it drives its spiked battlesuit servos whining. Hailstones as large as your fist are
knee into your head, just under the chin, killing you instantly. battering against your armour and your instrument readout
tells you that the suit is working overtime to ward off the deadly
cold. Turn to 94.
352
Suspecting some kind of trap, you edge your way carefully onto 354
the right hand slab. Suddenly, you feel the slab shift under your There is a loud woosh and a six foot barbed harpoon whirs over
feet and there is a sharp click in the wall on your right. You have your head and crashes into the wall of the poopdeck, just above
a split second in which to act. Will you: the captain's door. In an instant you are up and running down
the gangplank, soon to be lost amongst the crates and
Drop to the floor? Turn to 28 equipment piled up everywhere on the harbourside. You return
Leap backwards? Turn to 42 to Falcon's Wing where you decide to wait until the Winged
Demon has left on another whaling expedition, so you can find
353 another ship. You instruct CAIN to disguise Falcon's Wing as a
When you rematerialise, all the camera reveals is a dirty white pile of whaling equipment to avoid the prying eyes of anyone in
expanse, tinged with pink, visibility is almost zero. You have search of the scientist's diving bell. You may lie in your Autodoc
arrived in a storm and sheets of hail are driving against your if you wish, and gain up to 6 points of lost Endurance. Turn to 342.
Time Machine, clattering against the hardened hull. You ask
CAIN for information on Chill in 2985. 'Well, Falcon, the planet 355
Chill is a ball of rock rich in minerals covered in a crust of ice. It is You follow Brax and Caleb to the Rec Room, wondering where
one of the coldest planets man has yet discovered. It is devoid of the Rack piece is. You will have to wait until you can determine
life and the atmosphere is ammonia based. However, at this its location, it looks like it could be dangerous around here for a
time, only forty years ago from our time, there is a small mining while anyway. In the Rec Room, Braxton says, 'We'll have to
station, mostly automated, run by a crew of five men. They are devise some means of testing that we're all human.' The door
working a rich bed of titanium, used in many starship hulls. opens and Achov comes in, wheeling a trolley carrying five gas-
Incidentally Falcon, the Manager, Braxton Bragg, was a good tanks with tube-like extensions, the flamethrowers. One of
friend of your grandfather's, your grandmother was Bragg's them is painted red and blue.
sister, so be careful. You will have to wear the battlesuit, your
environment suit will not be enough to keep out the cold, Caleb rises to his feet and takes it. 'My thrower,' he says. A few
Falcon. I will run up some stencils in the Molecular Convertor, minutes later, McReady enters the room, standing near the
you can paint on the insignia of the Federation Planetary door.
'Well?' Braxton asks impatiently. shoots over the creature where its head should have been. The
tentacles round your thigh, reel you in, you are clasped to its
'It has been smashed, the deep space radio, everything gone. The torso and you arm is bitten off by the gaping maw. More
creature got to it already,' he says, his voice deadpan and tentacles writhe around your chest, and they eat into you,
toneless as he stands, completely still, gazing placidly at Bragg. fusing with your body. You can do nothing as you are
There is silence in the room. Braxton is deep in thought, Caleb inexorably digested by its touch alone.
polishes his flamethrower, Achov stares at the floor, his fingers
drumming rhythmically on the table, and McReady stands 358
unmoving at the door, his face a blank. Will you: 'What in the galaxy was that thing?' says McReady. Caleb points
to an insignia still visible on the clothing sticking to the burning
Use your Psychic Awareness to probe their mass. In an incredulous tone, he says, 'It was Tsu Tsang,' you
minds to find out if one of them is the alien? Turn to 335 say breathlessly, explaining what had happened to her.
Fire your blaster if you think you know now 'Whatever it was in the egg must have been still alive somehow.'
than one is the creature? Turn to 343 They are stunned into silence for a moment.
356 Bragg says, 'It must be able to replicate the genetic pattern of
The blaster is pointing straight at you, but you recognise the whatever it absorbs, mimicking its victim precisely. It can
face of Agent Lynx. She says, 'Falcon! What are you doing here?' change its form at will, obviously, and it can act in separate units,
You move closer and tell her of your mission and then ask her judging by the severed leg. Presumably its cells can reproduce
what she is up to. 'Well, Falcon, as you know, Jobanque assigned themselves at an alarming rate.' He pauses for a moment. 'That
me to trace Yelov. I've found him. He's about forty yards down means it or other parts of it could still be alive, somewhere. In
the hill behind that clump of trees. I have him pinned down. fact it could even be one of us, it's had plenty of time to absorb
With your help, we can almost certainly get him. You could walk and duplicate somebody since we've been asleep.'
around behind him.' It still disturbs you to think of Yelov as
alive. As far as your memory is concerned, you saw him die by 'Oh wow, man,' whimpers McReady, his eyes darting from face
your hand, but you also know that never happened, due to a to face, Achov's brow furrows, his yellow eyes narrowing.
time paradox. Before you or Lynx can act, there is a sudden
barrage of explosions. The Union or the Confederates are Caleb grunts, 'Not Lieutenant Falcon anyway,' he says. 'It just
shelling Benner's Hill. You crouch low and then the tree you are tried to kill him.' The flames begin to peter out, leaving charred
sheltering behind is vaporised by a bolt of plasma and you are remains.
both forced to throw yourself to the ground. You can see Yelov
taking this opportunity to escape. He, too, is dressed in grey. 'At least we know it can be killed with fire,' says Bragg. 'Right,
Lynx looks disappointed. 'Blast it, Falcon, we had him! Falcon, everyone into the Rec Room, let's get out of this stinking hole,'
listen, I know your mission is important, but I could use your and he turns to McReady. 'Go to the radio room and contact the
help here. It'll probably only be for a couple of hours. How about communication satellite, tell 'em to get some troopers down
it?' Will you: here and a relief ship, fast! Achov, go to stores and get the
flamethrowers we use for clearing ice off the Dome. See you in
Say: 'I'm sorry Lynx, I can't,' wish her good the Rec Room in a few minutes.' Turn to 355.
luck and go in search of the Rack? Turn to 333
Stay and give Lynx a hand against Yelov? Turn to 367 359
The Rec Room is where the crew eat, rest and play. Several vid-
357 booths line one wall as does a large nutritional dispenser.
You have fired too high in your panic and the bolt of plasma Various personal effects and pieces of machinery lie hap-
hazardly about. A holo-viewer is on hold, the small projected
figures frozen in place - it looks like some kind of horror-holo
feature, possibly a holo-nasty. The machine is labelled 'Kepy
Achov's - keep off!'. Absently, you note that the holo-cassette is
called 'Night of the Star-Vampires'. Two people, one an oriental
of slim build, with the insignia of a medtech on her overalls, the
other a heavily built, neat looking man, with a carefully trimmed
beard and thick black hair are seated at a long table. They look up
in astonishment at the sight of you, they probably haven't seen
another human face for weeks. You tell them your story and the
bearded man says, 'I see. You're lucky to have survived. I'm
Braxton Bragg, the manager, you can call me Brax. This is Tsu
Tsang, our Medic and general boffin,' and he indicates the
oriental woman next to him. 'It looks like you'll be stuck here
until the Relief Ship arrives, I'm afraid. That will be about two
weeks from now. It'll cost too much to send a starship just for
you! Tsu Tsang will show you your cabin and then you can come
back here. We haven't spoken to anyone else for two months -
you'll be a welcome change,' and he smiles warmly at you.
Tsu Tsang walks over to you, and you notice she is limping. She
says tersely, 'Drill bit fell on my foot two weeks ago, broke it
badly.' She shows you into a tiny cabin with a single bunk, a few
doors on from the Rec Room. It is opposite a large room. 'Make
yourself at home,' she says wryly and leaves. A minute later,
there is a knock at the door and Sil McReady comes in.' Hi, Brax
asked me to show you around if you'd like? Its a pretty ultra
place, or it was at first! I'm getting ultra sick of it now.' You
decide to agree as you'll need to find out if the Rack is near,
despite having to listen to McReady's obsessive use of the word
'ultra'. Turn to 244.
360
Have you seen a" man with a tattoo on his forearm here on
Dustbowl ? If you have, 'turn to 369. If you have not, turn to 123.
361
Gingerly you edge out onto the slab. A thrill of horror runs up
your spine as the slab shifts beneath you. There is a whirring
click at the bottom of the wall, just to your left. You must act
now! Will you:
365 Thanks Falcon, I can certainly use it! Well, at the moment, Yelov
Looking out, you can see Caleb and Achov running into the Rec just seems to be trying to avoid being caught, but there is one
Room and you follow them in. There is an air of excitement, as thing he could do here today. The Union forces are pretty
Achov speaks rapidly. 'Brax, the Autodrill has uncovered a large demoralised at the moment. In about an hour General Lee will
cavern, deep in the rock. I've never seen anything like it. We order General Ewell, the commander of the Confederate forces
went down and had a look, we found these.' And he puts two on this flank, to launch an attack, if possible. Culp's Hill is
objects onto the table. One is a strange leathery egg, about the unoccupied at the moment, it will be held by Union troops later,
size of a football. The other sends a rush of adrenalin through but if Ewell was to take it now... Historically, Ewell decided not
to attack, but if he had, it is almost certain the rest of the Union you still live, you fire your blaster again as the ghastly apparition
army would have been routed, and the Confederacy would have writhes before you. Make an Attack Roll.
won Gettysburg. My guess is that Yelov will try to force Ewell
to order an attack using mind control. Imagine if the If you score 6-12, turn to 384
Confederacy had won the Civil War, Falcon? There would be If you score 2-5, turn to 357
two nations in America, history would be changed radically and
we might never exist! This would be revenge enough for Yelov.
Let's head for Ewell's HQ and await developments.' Will you: 371
You twist to the side but the laser beam drills into your
Go with Lynx? Turn to 386 battlesuit. Subtract 1 from your battlesuit armour points, but you are
Say, 'You stake out the HQ, I'll go in search of unhurt. To your horror you realise it has damaged your
his Time Machine. If I can disable that well environmental control unit. If that should fail, your suit will be
have him trapped here,' and leave in search unable to maintain any heat and you will freeze to death in
of Yelov's Time Machine? Turn to 397 seconds in this cold. Your rocket surges towards its target.
Desperately, the creature tries to dodge it, but the rocket homes
368 in and explodes, smearing the powersuit and its contents across
Moving fast, you take the sharpened bone and hack the the ridge, where it freezes instantly, completely inert. All that is
tentacles in two, cutting it away from your foot before it can left is a broad red stain, frozen solid. Exhausted, you pick
take hold and leap back out of range from the suppurating beast. yourself up and use your jets to fly back to Falcon's Wing. Turn
Then the creature sprouts four massive trunk-like legs, raising to 262.
it off the ground. It folds in on itself, metamorphosing into a
single huge mouth on legs, two lobster-like eyestalks rising 372
above it. Do you have any magnesite with you? If you do, turn The adobe hut disguising Falcon's Wing is only yards ahead of
to 255. If you do not, turn to 267. you when a black shadow falls over you. Looking up you can see
Baal swooping down, his arms outstretched towards you. A thin
369 stream of yellow energy streaks form his hands, and you hurl
You slam into the legs of three of them and they fly over you, yourself the last few feet at the hologram around Falcon's Wing.
crashing to the ground. In an instant you are up, but the fourth Make an Evasion Roll.
whips his dagger across, gashing your shoulder as he shouts,
'Die, in the name of Baal!' Lose 2 Endurance points. Controlling your If you score 6-12, turn to 17
shocked surprise at this, you unleash a Thinkstrike and he If you score 2-5, turn to 36
staggers back, holding his head. Barging past him you dart into
the warehouse, running for the crate marked 'Eiger Corpor- 373
ation'. Turn to 350. With great care, you cross the centre slab, ready for anything. It
seems safe, however. Will you step:
370
A tentacle whips out, slapping your hand to one side so that the To the slab directly to your left? Turn to 361
bolt of plasma discharges into the wall with a crash like a clap of Diagonally to your left, a slab on the last row? Turn to 393
thunder. You utter a shriek of revulsion as another tentacle Directly ahead to the middle slab on the last
snakes wetly around your thigh. Your leg begins to burn row? Turn to 404
agonisingly as you realise the slime that coats it is eating into Diagonally forward to your right, onto the
your flesh. Lose 3 Endurance points and subtract 1 from your Evasion right hand slab in the last row? Turn to 419
Modifier permanently as the wound will never heal properly. If Directly to your right? Turn to 383
374 'Eiger Corporation'. Have you seen a man with a tattoo on his
You head down the gloomy tunnels illuminated by the green forearm here on Dustbowl ? If you have, turn to 350. If you have
phosphorescence of the moss. Soon you come out into another not, turn to 399.
Darkhome farm. You are following a path cutting through the
middle of two lines of vats, fungus fields stretching away to 379
either side. Some twenty metres ahead is the yawning black hole Your breathing becomes rapid and you stare in horror and begin
of the exit. Thick blue seams of some mineral line the walls to scream wildly. A tentacle lashes through the air, slamming
above it. Some of the blue mineral has fallen in a small pile of into your torso with incredible force and hurling you backwards
crumbled rock near the entrance. Picking the rock up, you are onto the work bench, sending instruments and tools crashing
able to identify it as magnesite. You may keep some if you wish. everywhere. Lose 4 Endurance points. If you are still alive, the sharp
Note it on your Agent Profile. Leaving the farm area you pain shocks you back into reality. You must defend yourself as
continue on in search of the Rack section. Turn to 290. the creature continues to change, the head crunching in on itself
and forming a huge gaping maw where the shoulders and neck
375 should be, snapping convulsively. Make an Attack Roll.
You draw and fire in one smooth motion. The bolt of white
lightning blasts into Caleb's chest, hurling him back, where he If you score 6-12, turn to 384
lies inert and smoking, still human. Achov reacts instantly, If you score 2-5, turn to 370
Bragg close behind him. He pulls out a snub-nosed projectile
weapon, and Bragg fires his laser pistol. A bullet takes you right 380
between the eyes at the same time as the laser beam drills a neat Flame billows out from your thrower, but the creature hops
hole in your temple. You are killed instantly. grotesquely to one side. However, the flame still engulfs one
side of it. The thing sizzles, giving off an awful stench. Then a
376 long spear of glistening white-bone, tipped with a sharpened
Make a Thinkstrike Roll as you let fly a blast of mental energy. horn, bursts out of its mouth, extending toward you with the
speed of an arrow. You must try to dodge it. Make an Evasion
If you score 7-12, turn to 4 Roll.
If you score 2-6, turn to 15
If you score 6-12, turn to 345
377 If you score 2-5, turn to 366
If the timehole on Earth at Gettysburg was the first you have
visited on this mission, turn to 5. If you have been to any other 381
timeholes, turn to 26. Make an Attack Roll.
388
You dart into the lift and press the button for the Mining
Control Room. The lift begins to move. Suddenly it shudders
for a second but starts to rise upwards quickly again. Then your
radio crackles and Bragg's voice comes out of it: 'It's clear in the
storage area. How about you, Lieutenant Falcon?' You tell him
what's happened, leaving out any mention of the Rack. He
replies: 'You fool! You could've been killed!'
Before he can go on, Achov's voice cuts in over the radio. 'I've
found the suit computer control chips! They were in the main
generator room. I'm coming out now, I'll meet you at the
corridor junction.' A few minutes later the lift comes to a stop.
Do you have Caleb's flamethrower? If you do, turn to 200. If
you do not, turn to 302.
389
You have misjudged how close your pursuers were. You
unleash a blast of superheated plasma that virtually vaporises
two of them but another slams into you, wielding a wickedly
curved dagger. Acting instinctively, you fall backwards under-
neath him and use your foot to throw him over your head.
However, another slashes your arm as you roll to your feet. Lose.
6 Endurance points. If you are still alive, you despatch him with a
swift karate kick, driving him back into those behind him. This
gives you enough time to run on. They seem hesitant to follow
you now, and soon you have left them behind. A few moments
later and they are lost to sight as you turn into the dark,
foreboding street where the warehouse containing Falcon's
Wing lies. As you approach the entrance four black-robed
figures burst from the shadows and charge at you in silence,
drawing long wickedly curved daggers as several more step out
of buildings behind you, trapping you in the street. Obviously
they knew a short cut. Acting instinctively, you hurl yourself,
rolling, at the feet of your four assailants, hoping to trip them
and run on into the safety of Falcon's Wing. Make an Evasion
Roll.
400
You must try to get through the door. You are edging around
the edge of the cavern when your Psychic Awareness tells you
that someone with mental powers has detected your mind. The
Mother bellows loudly and the Nobles spin round, ordering
twenty Warriors to kill you. The Warriors start moving towards
you. Then a powerful mind attacks yours. You recognise the
mental power of Baal. Suddenly the pieces of the Rack you are
holding begin to grow hot and pulse brightly with white light
and Baal's mind is driven back. Then the blubbery mass of the
Mother begins to dissolve before your very eyes, seemingly
metamorphosing. Seconds later, Baal stands in the Mother's
place, bellowing in anger. With a flash of insight, you realise he
has been posing as a Cave Mother using his hallucinatory mind-
powers, but the two pieces of the Rack, acting together, prevent
Baal from using his mental ability. At this, the Nobles order the
Warriors to halt and begin trilling agitatedly amongst them-
selves. They know they have been tricked into rebelling against
their rightful Mother and they see Baal as an intruder now.
Taking this opportunity, you sprint for the door. However,
Baal, furious, screams: 'You have meddled in my plans too often,
mortal. Your puny little organisation can never hope to defeat
me, Baal, the Lord of Flies!' and the sound echoes around the
chamber so that you can almost feel the floor reverberating.
Then he points at you, and a yellow bolt of energy forks from his
finger, crackling through the air toward you. You must try to
dodge the attack. Make an Evasion Roll.
401
McReady's eyes roll up into his head. Suddenly a small
suppurating hole appears in his neck, opening and closing
spasmodically. His skull splits open with a loud wet crack and 405
something large and bulky shudders forth, forming into a heavy Desperately, you throw your most powerful blast of mental
head, horned and armoured, two small pig-like eyes at each side, energy at the creature, but it has no effect, you can sense it has
the whole thing spilling rivulets of reddish mucus. Horrified, no mind at least not what you would call a mind. You utter a
Achov and Caleb hesitate. McReady's shoulders split apart and a shriek of revulsion as a tentacle snakes wetly around your thigh.
bony carapace forms over them. Then a thin jet of dirty white Your leg begins to burn agonisingly as you realise the slime that
liquid hisses from the hole in the neck and streams towards you, coats it is eating into your flesh. Lose 3 Endurance points and subtract 1
Bragg and Achov. Almost as one you duck. Caleb raises the from your Evasion Modifier permanently as the wound will never heal
flamethrower, but McReady's side bursts open and a length of properly. If you still live, you whip out your blaster as fast as you
ridged, slime-ridden bone shoots out with devastating speed and can and fire at the thing as it writhes in front of you. Make an
buries itself in Caleb's chest. He howls in agony as, in front of Attack Roll.
your eyes, the bone begins to fuse with Caleb, retracting slowly,
drawing him to the thing. Achov, Braxton and you open fire in If you score 6-12, turn to 384
horror, but the creature turns and, putting its head down, If you score 2-5, turn to 357
smashes through the door and is away, taking Caleb's body with
it. Turn to 166. 406
You twist to the side and the laser beam lances past you, to be
402 lost in the uniformly grey expanse of the Chill sky. Your rocket
Your breathing becomes rapid and you stare in horror and begin surges towards its target. Desperately the creature tries to
to scream wildly. A tentacle lashes through the air, slamming dodge it, but the rocket homes in and explodes, smearing the
into your torso with incredible force and hurling you backwards powersuit and its contents across the ridge, where it freezes
onto the work bench, sending instruments and tools crashing instantly, completely inert. All that is left is a broad red stain,
everywhere. Lose 4 Endurance points. If you are still alive, the sharp frozen solid. Exhausted you pick yourself up and use your jets to
pain shocks you back into reality. You must defend yourself as fly back to Falcon's Wing. Turn to 100.
the creature continues to change, the head crunching in on itself
and forming a huge gaping maw where the shoulders and neck 407
should be, snapping convulsively. Will you: A day later you leave Falcon's Wing in the hope of finding an
alternative to the Winged Demon. Carefully examining the
Thinkstrike the hideous apparition? Turn to 405 quayside, you are pleased to see that the Winged Demon has left
Go for your blaster? Turn to 394 and that another ship is moored at the harbour. You are still
some way from it when your Psychic Awareness picks up the
403 presence of somebody nearby. You are prepared when three
Fire billows out, engulfing the thing and it scuttles backwards, sailors run out at you from behind a large crate, long daggers in
sizzling, and giving off an awful stench, making a horrible their hands. One of them hisses, 'May Baal, Lord of Flies, have
screaming noise. You run as fast as you can to the lift. Turn to your soul Time Traveller!' You contain your shocked surprise
392. and prepare to defend yourself. It seems Baal has managed to
establish some kind of priesthood on this planet, perhaps the
404 very religion that caused their exile from Ascension. As Baal can
As cautiously as you can, you steal out onto the slab. A surge of travel at will through time he will have had the opportunity to
adrenalin flows through you as the slab shifts and there is a loud do it. Will you:
click, below your feet. Will you:
Thinkstrike the nearest assailant? Turn to 376
Leap forward? Turn to 143 Use your blaster? Turn to 387
Drop to the floor? Turn to 155 Try and control one of your assailants? Turn to 395
408
You twist away from the savage metal blows of his arm and you
can feel the air move on your "face as his blow whips past you.
Lynx reacts with lightning speed. She was trained in unarmed
combat by Yelov, and grabs his arm, using his own impetus to
throw him into the air. He lands well and, rolling to his feet, is
running east towards Culp's Hill before you can act. Turn to 8.
409
You must try to get through the door. You are edging around
the edge of the cavern when you Psychic Awareness tells you
that someone with mental powers has detected your mind.
Then a powerful mind attacks yours. You recognise the mental
power of Baal. Somehow he is the Mother. The attack is
extremely powerful but the piece of the Rack you are holding
pulses, draining his attack of much of its strength. Once again
you are locked in a deadly battle of wills with the cosmic being
known as Baal, Make a Power of Will Roll.
410
You point the pencil key at the door and it slides open. You jet
into the asteroid. Your battlesuit analyses the air, it will bear
human life, but not for long as it contains toxic substances. You
find yourself in a well lit corridor of polished steel, thirty foot
square, curving away round a corner. The corridor stretches
ahead for what seems like an eternity. Then you can see a darker
patch at its end. You shoot out, to find yourself flying near the
ceiling of an enormous pillared vault. All around you at ceiling
level is a circle of dark niches, their contents indeterminable.
There is an echoing roar of rage and you look down. There,
seated on an enormous throne, cut from a single gigantic
diamond over thirty feet in size is the powerfully muscled form
of Baal. 'Curse you, mortal, will you plague me forever!' he
screams. Then he notices that you are holding the Rack. It is
throbbing with an incredibly bright light, so that it is painful to
look on. For the first time, you see fear on Baal's face. 'No!' he
screams. He tries to hurl a yellow fireball and he tries to exert his
mental power, but he cannot do either. Then he tries to fly up to
you, but he cannot even do that. His face contorts with effort as
he tries to travel in time but to no avail. The Rack is preventing
all his powers from working. Quickly he bellows, 'Kill him!' around Achov's door. He is still up. As you pass his room you
From either side of you giant flying creatures burst out of the hear a faint sound, as if of a muffled shriek from far away and a
small niches, filling the air with a deafening humming. You soft squelching sound. Suppressing your curiosity, you come to
recognise the fly-like creatures, similar to the one you fought on the lab and, opening the door, you glide in silently. You turn on a
Dustbowl. Will you: lamp and search the lab in the dim light. To your consternation
you cannot find the Rack segment anywhere, but you do find
Fire your Particle Disruptor at Baal? Turn to 159 the egg. It has split open and a thick reddish mucus has spread
Throw the Rack at Baal? Turn to 188 from it, dripping onto the floor of the lab with a slow, rhythmic
Try to fight off the fly-like creatures? Turn to 139 splatter. You stare at it, fascinated, for several long seconds.
Suddenly there is a sound behind you and you spin to face it. At
411 the doorway stands Tsu Tsang, looking at you sideways, head
Concentrating hard, you project the force of your will into the cocked oddly, the light green pinpricks in her eyes. Her posture
mind of the fly being. Its mind is a confusing swirl of alien is rather stiff and jerky and an eerie shiver goes up your spine.
thought patterns, so different that it almost unhinges your She seems unnatural in some way. She steps towards you. Make
mind. However, it seems the creature is under some other kind a Chance Roll.
of control, nothing like the mental domination you are familiar
with, rather some kind of binding that has been upon the fly If you score 1, 3, 4 or 6, turn to 102
being for centuries beyond reckoning, something which you are If you score 2 or 5, turn to 122
unable to affect. Then its mind invades yours, as its physical
body settles upon you. The combination of the sight of the 414
enormous insectoid head, a greenish proboscis, dripping saliva You shake yourself out of your shocked horror. You must
and digestive juices, reeking of decay, descending towards you defend yourself as the creature continues to change, the head
and the mental union with a creature whose mind is unutterably crunching in on itself and forming a huge gaping maw where
alien, sends you stark raving mad and you are unable to feel as it the shoulders and neck should be, snapping convulsively. Will
slowly sucks your body dry. you:
If you have played Falcon 2: Mechanon and would like to rate your
skill as an Agent of TIME, here are the points equivalent of the
letters you should have recorded.
Q = -1 J = -1 A = +1 M = +1 N = +1 G = +1
T = +l L = - 1 I = -1 Y = -1 F = +l H = +l
-4 or below
You are offered a job you can't refuse - tying Silvermane's
bootlaces.
0 to -3
Demoted to Cadet - 'Get back to the Academy, Falcon.'
1-2
Take a three-week refresher course at the Academy.
3-5
Congratulations, you deserve your place in the Special Agent
Section.
6-7
Well done, a highly competent performance - your hologram
has gone up in the Hall of Fame.
8-10
You're the best agent TIME has ever had - you're on-line for
promotion.
15+
As long as you're alive, Earth is safe.