Collins Does Solo RPG 'The Wretched'

Music (Drifting – Chris Bassett)

Day 4, salvage ship The Wretched, Flight Engineer Collins Reporting.

This morning I was checking on the med kits around the ship when got distracted in the engine room with trying to figure out how to make the spinny make motion happen machine work properly. After all I’m the flight engineer, it’s my job to monitor these things and problem solve their issues. Fixing it can’t be that hard, I’m a technically minded chap. Well, the problem is I used this equipment as a user, I’m not the mechanic or a dedicated technician. I’m reminded of ancient aviation cockpit crews and how they operated back on Earth. Generally, they watched dials, used joysticks and simply held it together until they got the aeroplane back to a port whereby they would complete a detailed report for the grounded mechanics which could boil down to ‘flappy bit not flapping’ then simply wander off to the nearest bar to pick up some locals or other air crew to get battered with and bang senseless till the aeroplane was fixed. God those sound like they were the days. Now the most interesting thing a port has is different colour on the walls, same food, same boring people and usually no booze.

Anyway, I was in the engine room messing around for 4 hours before I realised I had put my hand in a damp patch that was probably some of the left overs of Powell. I vomited, started shaking as the memory flooded back to me, smelt the air and recoiled at the now pungent aroma that had smacked my nostrils for 6, then vomited again. Baffled by the problem and not wanting to stay in there any longer I left in a hurry… I forgot to pick up the list I made about the med kit in there like the idiotic child I am.

On my way up the corridor I could see signs of the creature that had stalked poor Powell in there. Scratch marks and gouges in the walls and floor. It’s seems to leave a trail like a lizard would in sand. Clearly it has feet with claws, I can see those scrape marks. But there is also a drag mark in between, I assume that’s some form of tail. Remember I did see it as it went out the airlock but it was over so quickly that I don’t have the details and when I dream about it the creature changes ever so slightly. It’s still shit your pant scary each time but it does shift. I don’t like to think about it, especially as I know it’s still close albeit on the outside of the ship. Half of me hopes that when I get the engines fired up I find out its been sleeping in the vent and it gets incinerated simply by me starting up the engines… that’ll teach the fucker a lesson.

I found the remains of my dearly departed Captain today. He had his pistol on him. I checked the magazine in it. It doesn’t appear that he was able to get many shots off as it’s mostly full. It’s a fancy one too, I noticed there is a little indicator on the rear and when I point it in different directions it changes colour from green to red. I’m not sure why yet but I don’t think its linked to the magazine or the number of shots left. When I point it at down the corridor to the other end of the ship where the mess hall is it’s green but when I point it at the hull bulkhead its red. I shall have to ponder this. I took the holster for it too and gave it a clean up before wearing it, it was a bit too, soiled for me to be happy wearing it. Still it means I’ve now got my security problem solved. That makes me feel a bit safer.

I’m going to start moving items to the bridge this afternoon, I still think the best place for me to monitor everything is there. First up, food. Whilst I’m at the mess hall I might as well eat something, after all I did empty my stomach like an anorexic schoolgirl before the summer ball.