Spacemon: Frontier – Chapter 92: Bunker Busters

Welcome to another exciting installment of Spacemon, the tale of a Pokemon TRPG campaign! This is a spinoff of the sci-fi space epic played using the Pokemon Tabletop United (PTU) system, this time GMed by yours truly. You can get caught up on the entire Spacemon saga here!

“What are we looking at here?”

Gaster stood behind Persephone with Ace and Taraka, looking over the gym leader’s shoulder at the information displayed on her datapad. It showed a map of the area surrounding Greywall. A flashing dot marked a location at the base of the volcano the city was built upon.

“The coordinates of your mystery comms ID,” Persephone explained. “My contact did some digging, and it turns out there’s a hidden underground facility built into the mountain.”

“That sounds … bad,” Ace said.

“Indeed,” Persephone concurred. “It is especially alarming that it seems to have been built without anyone noticing. It is hidden in the Ashen Forest, but you can’t build something like that without drawing attention, even out there.”

“So you’re saying it was covered up,” Gaster said.

“From what you’ve told me about this ‘Hat Guy,’ as you call him, it sounds like he has the resources to pull something like this off,” Persephone said.

Gaster nodded. “That’s fair. And if he’s covering it up, it’s got to be worth checking out.”

“Then what are we standing around here for?” Ace asked. “Let’s go.”

“It’s on the far side of the mountain, so I’ll arrange transport,” Persephone said. “Beyond that, we only have an approximate location. I’m sure you’ll be able to find it, though.”

“Yeah, I have total faith in you guys,” Axel said.

“You’re not coming with us?” Taraka asked the one-time mercenary.

“I’ve got more important things to worry about now,” Axel replied, looking over at the crib where his baby daughter lay sleeping.

“Look at you being responsible,” Cyrus chuckled. Then turning to Taraka and placing a hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry, we’ve got this. If we’re lucky, our assassin friend won’t even be there.”

“That’s not exactly comforting, Captain,” Gaster said.

Cyrus grinned. “We’ll be fine. C’mon, let’s get moving.”

Dirt and ash crunched underfoot as the members of the Maverick’s crew made their way from the skycar that Persephone had provided them. Taraka sniffed the air. It was thick with the scent of brimstone and charcoal, as it was in the rest of the burnt out forests surrounding the volcano.

“So how are we planning on finding this secret facility?” Gaster asked the group.

“That … is a good question,” Cyrus said. “We didn’t exactly come up with a plan.”

“I have an idea,” Taraka said. He took a few more steps forward, then stopped and took a quick gaze at the surrounding area before closing his eyes.

The monk took in a deep breath and reached out with his senses. He tightened his focus, psionically feeling the world around him. If there was something hidden here, perhaps he could find a clue the others couldn’t perceive.

Moments passed, and then it hit him. A vision filled Taraka’s mind, showing the Ashen Forest stretching out before him as day turned to night, and night to day. Shadowed figures in black trudged through the ashes, following a path onto the rocky slopes of the mountain. He witnessed a figure touch a specific stone face, and the mountain opened before it.

“This way,” Taraka said as he opened his eyes.

The monk set off in the direction he had seen the figures travel in his vision, following a trail unseen to his crewmates. With no better ideas, the three of them followed. They had long ceased to doubt Taraka’s psionic senses.

After a solid thirty minutes navigating through the blackened husks of burnt trees and the long since cooled lava flows of ancient eruptions, making their way up the slope of the mountain, the crew arrived at the location Taraka had seen in his vision.

“It’s here,” Taraka informed his crewmates.

“I don’t see anything,” Gaster said, taking a look around.

“Watch,” Taraka said, approaching the smooth stone face the figure in his vision touched. He pressed his palm against it, and it flickered. The monk pushed his hand through and the hologram dissipated, revealing a hidden keypad.

“Fancy,” Cyrus said as he approached. “Ace, can you get this open?”

“I sure can, Captain,” Ace replied. The android walked over and pried the keypad panel open. Much like with the building back in Greywall that had led them here, it didn’t take long for Ace to hack in and override the lock.

As in his vision, Taraka watched part of the rocky slope recede to reveal the entrance to the hidden facility. “Behold,” the monk said. “Our way in.”

“Stay sharp, everyone,” Cyrus said as he drew his pistol. Taraka followed close behind as the captain led the way inside.

The Maverick crew pressed forward down the empty corridor, unopposed. There wasn’t a single guard in sight. They soon arrived at the end of the corridor and a set of elevator doors. The elevator went in only one direction: down.

---

Ace gripped the hilt of his Aegislash tightly as the elevator descended into the mountain. He felt on edge. Their infiltration had been easy so far. A little too easy.

“Isn’t it a little weird that there haven’t been any guards?” the android asked his crewmates. “A hidden base like this should be well-guarded, right?”

“Maybe they thought it was hidden enough that they didn’t need any?” Gaster suggested.

“If there are any guards, I suspect that they will be on the other end of this elevator shaft,” Taraka said. The elevator did only travel from the surface to a lower level, so it stood to reason that it could be guarded from below. “Sirius here can knock them out easily,” the monk added, gazing up at the Togekiss perched on his head.

“Sakuya too,” Gaster said, nodding to the Salazzle at his feet.

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Ace said.

“We’ll just be sure to stay on our toes,” Cyrus reassured the android as the elevator began to slow.

The elevator doors slid open, revealing a wide corridor about fifteen meters in length. Two men were positioned on either side of the doors, each holding a rifle, while two more stood at the far end of the corridor.

Taraka was the first out of the elevator. “Hello,” the monk announced their presence as the guards turned to face the newly opened doors. He raised both hands, extending his arms out in either direction. In each palm, Taraka conjured a psionic flame. “Sirius, use Swift,” he instructed his Togekiss as he burned both guards with his attack.

“You’re not supposed to be—” the guard on the left started to say before he was hit with a barrage of energy stars. While he was stunned, Cyrus landed a direct shot to his shoulder, then Ace moved in and ran him through with his Aegislash.

The guard on the right quickly retreated back down the corridor, sending out a Bisharp between him and the intruders. His two comrades in the back sent out Pokemon of their own, a Glalie and an Omastar, then took cover behind the nearest support beams as Gaster began firing down the corridor.

“Kristall, Ice Beam!” the guard in the back left commanded the Glalie he sent out. The Face Pokemon fired a beam of freezing energy down the corridor at Taraka’s Togekiss, but Sirius dodged out of the way. She wasn’t able to avoid the second hit, though.

“Vodovorot, Smack Down!” the other guard in the back commanded his Omastar. The Spiral Pokemon flung a rock at the Togekiss, knocking her to the ground.

“Peshka, Feint Attack!” the last guard commanded his Bisharp as he continued to retreat down the corridor toward his allies. The Sword Blade Pokemon charged at Ace, but instead of targeting him, it slashed at the Aegislash in his hands, landing a solid hit. It would take more than that to defeat Sentinel, though.

Ace drew back his sword arm to strike again, then lunged. “Sentinel, Sacred Sword!” the android called out and his Pokemon began to glow. They moved in fluid motion together, their aim true, but the Bisharp was quick and managed to parry the attack.

“Sakuya, use Nasty Plot, then hit that guy with Flame Burst!” Gaster then ordered his Salazzle, pointing out the Bisharp’s trainer. As his Pokemon built up power, then moved out of the elevator to make her attack, Gaster aimed down the sights of his rifle and opened fire on the Glalie, landing several direct hits.

“Sirius, use Fairy Wind!” Taraka commanded, directing his Togekiss after the Bisharp’s trainer as well. As Sirius flew in to make her attack, Taraka launched two rays of psionic energy at the two other Pokemon advancing down the corridor. The guard managed to avoid Sirius’s attack, but the Pokemon were both struck by Taraka’s. Totally dazed, the Glalie and the Omastar collided with each other and collapsed in a pile.

“Damn it,” the Bisharp’s trainer grunted as his backup failed to assist him. “Peshka, Assurance!” he then commanded his Pokemon. The Sword Blade Pokemon swiped at Sentinel again, landing another strong hit, but Ace and his Pokemon were ready to strike back.

“Steel Wing!” Ace called out as he lunged again. Together with his Pokemon, he slashed at the Bisharp, breaking its stance, then doged past it, landing a second hit on its trainer. The guard leered back at the android with an angry expression before Cyrus dropped him with a direct hit to the shoulder.

“Sakuya, use Flame Burst again! Target the Bisharp!” Gaster then commanded his Salazzle.

“Now, Iron Head!” Ace ordered as he turned back to face the Bisharp.

Sakuya spat a jet of fire at the Bisharp, softening up his armor, then Ace and Sentinel finished it off. A loud clang rang out as Sentinel’s blade struck the Bisharp’s metal body. A second soon followed when the Sword Blade Pokemon hit the floor.

There was little time to celebrate, however. Ace reacted quickly, raising Sentinel’s shield as the two remaining guards fired a volley of laser fire down the corridor. The Aegislash could easily withstand the hits, but Taraka’s Togekiss didn’t have the same luxury and was badly injured from several direct hits.

“I’ll keep you covered!” Ace called out to Taraka, advancing down the corridor as the monk moved to heal his Pokemon.

While Ace drew the guards’ fire, Gaster focused on the two remaining Pokemon. The former smuggler opened fire on the Glalie as it floated back up from the ground, taking it out of the fight with a couple of well-placed shots.

“Sirius, use Dazzling Gleam!” Taraka then commanded his Togekiss now that she was back in fighting condition. Sirius flew over the Omastar and blasted it with blinding light, snapping it out of its daze in the process.

“Vodovorot, Rollout!” the Spiral Pokemon’s trainer ordered a counterattack. The Omastar retreated back into its shell then launched itself at Sirius, but it only landed a glancing hit. Taraka still proceeded to recall his Togekiss, just in case.

“Sakuya, use Smog!” Gaster then commanded his Salazzle. The Toxic Lizard Pokemon skittered up then, blasted the Omstar with burning hot poisonous gas. Gaster then followed up the attack, landing a direct hit with his rifle.

“Sentinel, Sacred Sword!” Ace called out as he lunged in to make the final blow.

“Fuck!” the Omastar’s trainer spat as his Pokemon dropped. He broke from cover and began firing wildly. Keeping a cooler head, the other guard leaned out and fired from safety. For the most part, the Maverick crew and their Pokemon managed to avoid the incoming fire, but one of the guards did manage to take down Gaster’s Salazzle.

“Time to try my new secret weapon,” Gaster said as he recalled his fainted Pokemon. “You’re up, Alciel!” Since capturing his Larvesta back on Orvoth, Gaster had been spending a lot of time training with his new Pokemon and he had just recently evolved.

“Heat Wave!” Gaster commanded as his Volcarona emerged. The corridor lit up with flames as the Sun Pokemon made his attack.

When the smoke cleared, only one guard remained standing, but just barely. Cyrus raised his pistol and fired, taking him down.

Ace looked around at his crewmates. “We did it,” he said.

“We’re not through this, yet,” Cyrus replied. “Let’s get moving.”

---

So far, so good, Gaster thought as he and his crewmates moved through the concrete corridors of the underground facility. Other than the four guards they had encountered when stepping off the elevator, they had yet to meet any further resistance. If only we knew where we’re going.

“There, a sign,” Gaster called out to the others, spotting a series of labeled blue arrows on the wall as they arrived at a split in the hallway. “Maybe it can tell us how to navigate this place.”

“This is … written in Romanov,” Cyrus observed as they approached. “That’s interesting.”

“And also not helpful,” Gaster grumbled.

“Which way, then?” Ace asked.

Gaster looked down the corridor on his left, then the one on his right. They both looked the same. “Left,” the former smuggler said, looking back in that direction. “It’s just as good as any other direction with the information we’ve got.”

The others agreed and they set off down the corridor. However, it wasn’t long before they found something else that could point them in the right direction.

“I see a computer terminal,” Taraka said, pointing to the wall. Sure enough, there was a terminal on the wall.

“Now we’re talking,” Cyrus said. “Ace, take a look.”

The android nodded, then walked over to the terminal to access it. “This is also written in Romanov,” he soon reported. “There is a bit of English, though.”

“Enough to be useful?” Gaster asked, peering around Ace’s shoulder at the screen.

“Not really,” Ace said as he continued to fiddle with the terminal. “But that’s okay. I know my way around computers enough to— Aha! A map!”

Gaster watched as a floor layout appeared on the screen. It was labeled in Romanov, but Gaster could, at least, make some sense of it. It looked like the facility was constructed of three main sublevels, and they were on the first.

“This looks like a living space,” Cyrus said, pointing at the bottom of the three sublevels. “We can probably avoid that floor.”

“What about this room?” Gaster asked, pointing out a large room in the center of the second sublevel. “Maybe a laboratory of some kind?”

“I don’t think so,” Ace said. “From what I’m able to tell from here, this isn’t a research facility. It’s like … a spec-ops base or something like that.”

“I see,” Gaster said. “Either way, what we’re looking for must be in that central room.”

Taraka nodded. “I agree.”

“Let’s find an elevator that leads down there,” Cyrus said.

“There’s one here,” Ace said, pointing out a mark on the map near their current location. The android downloaded a copy of the map from the terminal to his Pokedex, then the crew went on their way.

It didn’t take long to reach their destination. Peering around the corner at the elevator, Gaster saw that it was protected by a pair of guards. The former smuggler held up two fingers to his crewmates.

“Two guards,” Gaster quietly informed them.

“Let’s get the drop on them,” Cyrus replied, grabbing a Pokeball from his belt.

Gaster nodded, then quietly commanded his Volcarona, “Alciel, use Quiver Dance.”

“Sentinel, Swords Dance,” Ace then instructed his Aegislash, following a similar tactic.

“On three,” Gaster said to the others as the two Pokemon built up power, still keeping his voice down.

“Three …”

Gaster readied his rifle.

“… Two …”

The former smuggler tightened his grip as Taraka put up a psionic barrier around them.

“… One!”

As he shouted the final number, Gaster stepped out into the corridor and lined up his shot. Cyrus and Taraka sent out Pokemon behind him as he fired on one of the two guards.

“Hotwings, use Ember!” Taraka commanded his recently captured Combusken as he and the others stepped around the corner. The monk’s Pokemon ran down the corridor and spat out flames at the guy Gaster shot, who was still caught off guard.

“Aguillo, Wing Attack!” Cyrus then commanded his Braviary. The Valiant Pokemon flew down the hall and struck with his wings, finishing the guard off.

The remaining guard hastily shouted something into his radio, speaking in Romanov, then sent out an Armaldo. He then raised his rifle and fired on the two attacking Pokemon, but he wasn’t able to land a shot.

“Krevetka, Metal Claw!” the guard then commanded his newly sent out Pokemon. The Armaldo swiped at the captain’s Braviary, landing a decent hit.

“Alciel, use Quiver Dance again, then attack with Fiery Dance!” Gaster commanded his Volcarona as he fired on the guard. The former smuggler’s Pokemon flew down the corridor, building up power, then unleashed his attack, filling the area with flames. The guard, unfortunately, managed to dive out of the way.

“Hotwings, use Double Kick!” Taraka then called out. His Combusken kicked her leg out at the guard, but he rolled out of the way, then scrambled to his feet. Hotwings followed up with a second kick, this time finding her mark.

Meanwhile, Cyrus kept the pressure on the Armaldo. Firing off several shots at it, he commanded his Braviary to attack with him, “Aguillo, Aerial Ace!” After the Valiant Pokemon made his attack, Ace lunged with his Aegislash in hand and finished the Armaldo off.

Realizing he was greatly outnumbered at this point, the guard struck Taraka’s Combusken with his rifle butt, pushing her away long enough for him to retreat out of range. As the guard broke into a sprint, Taraka commanded his Pokemon after him, “Hotwings, use Flame Charge!” Coated in flames, the Combusken chased the fleeing guard down and took him down.

“Everyone on the elevator,” Cyrus immediately said, hitting the button. “That guy managed to call for help, so we need—”

An alarm started blaring, cutting the captain off.

“… to get moving.”

---

“All good,” Taraka said as he finished healing Gaster’s Volcarona.

“Thanks,” Gaster said.

“Of course,” Taraka replied. His task completed, the monk turned his gaze back to the elevator doors as they rode down to the second sublevel.

They were about halfway down when the elevator suddenly ground to a halt. Taraka shared a worried glance with his crewmates.

“Huh,” Gaster grunted. “Maybe we should’ve thought this through.”

“Well there’s no going back at this point,” Taraka said.

“There’s no going anywhere at this point,” Gaster said.

“Not necessarily,” Cyrus said. Taraka looked at the captain to see a slight smirk on his face. “Gaster, you still have that rope, right?”

Gaster perked up. “As a matter of fact, I do.”

“Then we can climb out of here,” Cyrus said. “Ace, can you use your laser sword to cut us a hole.”

Ace nodded. The android drew his laser sword and activated the blade. He then pressed it to the floor, slowly cutting into it.

“This is real thick metal,” Ace said as he made little progress. “This will take a long time …” 

The android trailed off as he looked up to the ceiling. “Unless.”

A moment later, Ace had cut a hole in the ceiling large enough for the crew to fit through. The android climbed up first, having little trouble thanks to his mechanical joints, then helped the others up. Gaster secured his rope in place, tying it around a sturdy piece of the elevator’s frame. After recalling their Pokemon, the crew began to repel down the elevator shaft to the landing below.

Cyrus went first, followed by Ace. Taraka watched from the rope as the two of them managed to force the sublevel two elevator doors open. The monk then scrambled down and through the door with Gaster close behind.

“I guess they didn’t think we’d try something like that,” Cyrus said as he stepped through behind them. “No one was waiting for us.”

“They might be waiting at our destination,” Gaster said.

Taraka thumped the end of his staff against the floor. “Let’s go say hello.”

---

The Maverick crew arrived at the large room in the center of sublevel two with no opposition. Gaster didn’t know what to expect, but the lack of resistance told him it was a trap. That wasn’t going to stop them, though. Trap or no, they needed to find what was on the other side of the doors in front of them.

Cyrus looked at the former smuggler and nodded, then hit the button to open the door. With their Pokemon beside them, the four members of the Maverick’s crew stepped inside.

It was a large, open room, lined with several tables with computers set up on them. Stairs to the left and to the right led to a balcony that ran along the outer edge of the room. There were also stairs down to a lower section that ran around a central platform in the shape of an inverted U.

Two men stood guarding the door, with two more standing around in the lower section. An additional four men armed with heavy rifles patrolled the upper balcony. A woman with long dark brown hair stood on the central platform, looking at a large screen on the wall. A familiar figure was displayed on the screen.

“It seems you have company,” the calm, cold voice of Hat Guy sounded over the comms speakers.

All eyes in the room turned upon the Maverick crew.

Taraka took another step forward. “Hello,” the monk said.

“It’s you,” Hat Guy said with a tone of recognition.

Gaster stepped up beside Taraka and addressed the architect of his misfortune, “I think you owe us some money.”

Hat Guy ignored the comment and turned back to the woman. “Has the facility been cleared out, Miss Ivanov?”

Speaking with a light, melodic-sounding voice, she simply said, “Da.”

“Good,” Hat Guy said. “Now, deal with them.” And with that, the screen went black.

“With pleasure,” the woman then said, cracking her knuckles. “Come on, boys,” she addressed the other mercenaries in the room. “Let’s give our guests a warm welcome.”

As the guards all aimed their weapons, the Romanov woman pulled out a Pokeball and threw it, releasing her Pokemon just a few feet in front of the Maverick crew. Out from the ball emerged a Lopunny with distinct features. It had longer brown ears, each decorated with two rings of wooly fur, and it sported unique black markings on its neck, upper torso, and legs.

“Barkhat, Dizzy Punch!” she commanded her Pokemon. The Lopunny jumped at Taraka’s Combusken and punched the Young Fowl Pokemon squarely in the chest.

“Hotwings, use Double Kick!” the monk commanded a counterattack. The Combusken kicked once, but the Lopunny dodged to the side, right into the second kick. “Now, come back!” Taraka called out as he recalled his Pokemon.

Conjuring up a pair of psionic flames, Taraka flung one at the Lopunny and one at the guard to the immediate left of the Maverick crew. The monk then moved into cover behind a support column and put up a fresh psionic barrier.

Following his crewmate’s example, Gaster ducked into cover behind a waist-high concrete wall that was positioned about halfway between the door and the stairs to the lower section of the room. Laser fire from the guards on the balcony narrowly missed him as he slid into place

“Alciel, use Fiery Dance!” the former smuggler commanded his Volcarona from safety. The Sun Pokemon flew in to attack, but the Lopunny jumped to safety as the ground it had been standing on moments before burst into flames. Lining up a shot, Gaster fired just as the Lopunny landed, scoring a direct hit.

Glancing back to the others, Gaster made sure they were alright. Cyrus had moved into cover on their left flank. Peeking out, the captain landed a couple shots on the guard Taraka had burned with his psionic flame.

“Iron Head!” Ace called out as he vaulted over the captain’s cover. His Aegislash glowing, he slashed at the guard, taking him down.

Turning his attention forward, Gaster had new threats to worry about. The mercenary guard to the right opened fire on his Volcarona as he too moved to cover. The two in the lower section, meanwhile, tossed out some Pokemon, a Scrafty and a Druddigon, then took cover behind the lip of the level above them.

“Grunge, High Jump Kick!” the Scrafty’s trainer commanded. The Hoodlum Pokemon jumped at Gaster’s Volcarona and struck with its foot. It was an extremely powerful attack, mitigated only by Taraka’s barrier.

“Scarface, Night Slash!” the Druddigon’s trainer, meanwhile, commanded. The Cave Pokemon moved on Ace, swiping through both the android and his Aegislash. Ace turned as the Druddigon passed him and attacked with his Aegislash, landing a good hit.

“Nepenthe, even the odds a bit!” Cyrus called out to his Victreebel. “Grab that guy and use Bind!” he directed his oversized Flycatcher Pokemon after the guard on the right. Nepenthe moved in and restrained the guard with her vines, then began to squeeze. “Now, Wrap!” the captain commanded.

The captain’s plan ended up not evening the odds as much as hoped. The men closest to the stairs down from the balcony each sent out a Pokemon to combat the Maverick crew. The one on the left released a Houndoom down near Ace, while the other sent out an Ursaring at the bottom of the stairs on the right. The other two men on the balcony, who had been on the far side of the room, ran forward along either side to get better angles.

“Kerberos, Nasty Plot!” the Houndoom’s trainer commanded his Pokemon to build up power.

The Ursaring’s trainer, meanwhile, ordered an attack, “Grizli, Mega Punch! Take out that Volcarona!”

“Alciel, look out!” Gaster called out, giving his Pokemon enough warning to fly up to safety as the Ursaring charged in to attack.

That’s when a darting movement in the corner of the former smuggler’s eye caught his attention. He turned to see the Romanov woman charging Taraka’s position. She jumped the waist-high wall in her way with ease, then tucked into a roll and performed a handspring to launch herself at the monk. Taraka let out a grunt as the woman spun around and kicked him, but he quickly raised his staff and blocked as she made a second strike.

“Oh, you’re good,” the woman teased. “My name’s Raisa, what’s yours?”

“Not interested!” Taraka grunted as he drove her back with his staff. He spun it around and thrust it at her only for her to backflip out of the way.

“Aw, you’re no fun,” the woman who’d introduced herself as Raisa continued to tease from a distance. Then, turning to Ace, she pointed and commanded in a sharp tone, “Barkhat, High Jump Kick!”

The Lopunny jumped at Ace, foot raised to strike. Ace moved Sentinel’s shield in front of him to protect himself, knowing that his Aegislash was immune to fighting attacks. The scrappy Lopunny, however, landed its hit anyway, slightly denting the Aegislash’s metal body.

“Iron Head!” Ace shouted as he thrust with his sword arm.

“Endure!” Raisa called out as the android struck with his Aegislash. “Now, Dizzy Punch!”

The Lopunny guarded against the strike, then threw a fist back at Ace. The android quickly dodged back, then slashed with his Royal Sword Pokemon, taking the Lopunny down. Ace then ducked into a roll as the nearby Druddigon lunged at him. Cyrus opened fire on the dragon Pokemon, landing a few glancing hits off its tough hide and allowing Ace to move out of its reach.

The situation seemed to be under control, so Gaster turned his focus back to his own Pokemon. Alciel was flying up above the Scrafty and Ursaring trying to attack him, keeping out of their reach. “Alciel, use Bug Buzz!” Gaster commanded. A piercing buzzing sound filled the air as the Volcarona attacked. The Ursaring didn’t appear too bothered, but the Scrafty stumbled back. Seeing an opportunity, Gaster fired a couple of shots at the Hoodlum Pokemon. Only one of the shots hit and, miraculously, the Scrafty stayed standing.

“Grunge, Crunch!” the Pokemon’s trainer barked out as he ran up from the lower level. The guard fired on Gaster’s Volcarona with his pistol as he pointed his Scrafty at Gaster with his free hand. Gaster attempted to move back to safety, but the Scrafty was soon on top of him and made its attack.

Dropping his rifle, Gaster quickly drew his Dominion pistol and fired, taking down his assailant. He then rolled out from under the fainted Scrafty. As he picked his rifle up, he spotted Cyrus diving to the ground as an Inferno attack from the Houndoom flew over his head.

Taraka, meanwhile, had sent out his Togekiss. “Sirius, use Dazzling Gleam!” the monk commanded and his Pokemon unleashed a blinding cone of light on the Druddigon, doing a real number on it.

Ace then charged the Druddigon, Aegislash raised. “Iron Head!” he commanded as he delivered the finishing blow to the dragon.

As more gunfire began to rain down from the balcony, both Gaster and Cyrus scrambled to their feet.

“Nepenthe, use Acid!” Cyrus commanded his Victreebel as Gaster readied his rifle. The Flycatcher Pokemon sprayed the guard she had restrained with digestive juices, causing him to scream before he fell unconscious. Then, with one swift motion, the oversized Victreebel dropped  the man down into her gut, swallowing him whole.

“Oh, God,” the captain said in surprise before ducking into cover as the guard down in the lower section emerged from cover and started firing at him.

Sliding into cover himself, Gaster watched the Ursaring land a direct hit on his Volcarona. It was a powerful attack, but at least the Hibernator Pokemon was burned in the process. Gaster recalled his Pokemon after the guards on the balcony brought him down with focused fire.

Glancing back to his crewmates, Gaster saw the Houndoom unleash a powerful Heat Wave attack on Ace and Cyrus. The two were, thankfully, shielded by Taraka’s barrier, but enough fire managed to get through to knock out Ace’s Aegislash. Gaster decided that Houndoom needed to be dealt with.

The former smuggler grabbed the Pokeball containing his Parasect off his belt and sent him out next to the Houndoom. “Jaques, use Dire Spore!” Gaster commanded. A cloud of spores erupted out from the Mushroom Pokemon, putting the Houndoom to sleep and leaving it poisoned.

That was one threat dealt with, but they soon had more to take care of. The two mercs on the balcony that hadn’t before each sent out a Pokemon, a Mightyena and a Weezing.

“Shenzi, Crunch!” the Mightyena’s trainer immediately commanded his Pokemon. The Mightyena moved up on Cyrus’s Victreebel and took a bit out of her. The Scrafty’s trainer then took a few pot shots at the Flycatcher Pokemon before fleeing up the stairs to the balcony.

“Grizli, Ice Punch!” the Ursaring’s trainer then commanded his Pokemon. The bear Pokemon proceeded to charge at Gaster’s Parasect and land a powerful blow with a frozen fist.

“We need to thin their numbers more!” Gaster called out to his crewmates.

“Agreed!” Taraka shouted back. “Sirius, use Thunder Wave!” the monk then ordered. As his Togekiss zapped Raisa and immobilized her, Taraka blasted her with psionic energy, further dazing her. Raisa gasped in surprise as she stumbled backwards and collided with the waist-high wall behind her.

“Chloride, Sludge Bomb!” the Weezing’s trainer directed it after Cyrus’s Victreebel.

“Nepenthe, use Leaf Tornado!” Cyrus called out from cover as the Weezing flew in and dumped sludge on his Pokemon. The Flycatcher Pokemon whipped up a swirling vortex of leaves, dealing some serious damage to both the Weezing and the Mightyena. Unfortunately, the mercs on the balcony focused their fire on the captain’s Pokemon, taking her down.

“Shit,” Cyrus grunted. He vaulted over the waist-high wall he was seeking cover behind and recalled his Pokemon.

As if losing another of their combatants wasn’t bad enough, the Houndoom soon awakened. “Kerberos, Inferno!” its trainer commanded.

Ace managed to dodge the fire that was spat his way, thankfully, then sent out his Dusknoir. “Cyclops, Double Curse!” Eye flashing, the ghost Pokemon inflicted curses upon the Houndoom and the dazed Raisa.

Raising his rifle again, Gaster then opened fire on the Ursaring before it could attack his Parasect again. He wasn’t going to let them lose another Pokemon yet.

“Sirius, use Air Slash!” Taraka then commanded his Togekiss. As Sirius further pushed the Ursaring back, Taraka ran in to give Gaster’s Pokemon some much needed healing. The monk nodded at Gaster before moving back to cover.

“Grizli, Stone Edge!” the Ursaring’s trainer barked out, shifting attention to the Togekiss. The Ursaring stomped down and launched sharp stones up from the ground at Sirius, landing a critical strike. By some miracle, the Togekiss managed to weather the hit, but the Ursaring collapsed, finally succumbing to the burns Alciel had inflicted upon it.

“Shenzi, Thunder Fang!” the Mightyena’s trainer then commanded, drawing Gaster’s attention back to the Bite Pokemon as it charged at him. The Mightyena sank its teeth into Gaster’s arm, jolting him with electricity, but it wasn’t too bad.

“Jaques, use Leech Life!” the former smuggler called out as he pulled him arm away. His Parasect scuttled over and attacked, draining some of the Mightyena’s energy away.

“Chloride, Sludge Bomb!” the Weezing’s trainer then commanded. The Poison Gas Pokemon spat a blob of sludge at Cyrus, knocking him to the ground.

“I’ve got you, Captain!” Gaster called out. He opened fire on the Weezing, taking it down with a couple well-placed shots and allowing Cyrus to crawl back into cover.

He was just in time too, as the mercs on the balcony moved up, the front two advancing down the stairs and raining down gunfire. Shots impacted the concrete surfaces around Cyrus and Taraka, but both were protected by cover. Ace’s Dusknoir was out in the open, however, and took a direct shot. One of the mercs on the lower level fired on Ace himself from behind his cover, but only landed a glancing shot on the android.

Shrugging off the hit, Ace charged Raisa with his laser sword while she was still dazed. Taraka followed up the android’s attack with a blast of psionic energy. This snapped the mercenary leader out of her daze. Raisa rolled backward over the cover behind her, then jumped all the way up to the balcony above with surprising acrobatic skill.

“Nice try,” Raisa taunted from her new vantage point. “But you’ll need to do better,” she added before downing a Full Restore.

“Sirius, get her!” Taraka commanded his Togekiss. “Dazzling Gleam!” The Jubilee Pokemon flew up and unleashed a cone of dazzling light at the Romanov woman, but she gracefully jumped backwards out of range.

Ace then charged up the stairs to the balcony, slashing through the mercenary in his way as he passed. He ran at Raisa, swinging his blade, but she rolled past him, avoiding the attack.

The android’s reckless attack drew the fire of the men on the balcony, giving the rest of the crew some breathing room. Gaster seized the opportunity, jumping out of cover and firing on the mercs on the ground level.

Cyrus, meanwhile, sent out his Lucario beside the Mightyena. “Upuaut, use Reversal!” the Maverick’s captain commanded. The Aura Pokemon struck hard and true, dropping the Mightyena with a direct punch.

The merc in cover nearby started opening fire on the Lucario, but only landed a few glancing shots. “Bone Rush!” Cyrus called out and his Pokemon conjured a bone of aura energy, slamming it into the merc for a heavy blow.

“Sirius, use Air Slash!” Taraka commanded as the mercenary stumbled out of cover. His Togekiss flew down and fired off a cutting blast of air, taking the man down.

“Jaques, use Slash!” Gaster then ordered his Parasect, directing it after the Houndoom as Ace’s Dusknoir attacked with Night Shade. The Houndoom managed to avoid the ghost Pokemon’s attack, but the follow-up attack from the Parasect found its mark.

The Houndoom let out a growl then spat a torrent of flames at the two attacking Pokemon. As Ace’s Pokemon had already been shot several times, the Dusknoir went down from the attack, but, miraculously, Gaster’s Parasect managed to withstand the hit despite his severe weakness to fire. The Houndoom growled one last time before collapsing, finally succumbing to the poison and curse that afflicted it.

The last merc on the ground level and the one on the lower level continued to fire on the crew, the former landing a hit on Taraka before Cyrus forced him into cover with a steady tide of suppressing fire.

Chancing to glance back to Ace, Gaster saw that the android was successfully fending off the mercs closing in around him. He landed a direct blow on one, prompting Raisa to put some distance between them. She fired on him one last time with her dual pistols before jumping down from the balcony to the lower level. Since Ace seemed to have things under control on the balcony, Gaster kept his focus on Raisa, tracking her down his sights as she jumped up from lower level to the middle platform it surrounded.

Gaster was about to command his Parasect after her when a shot from the rifle-wielding merc that had come down from the balcony took the Mushroom Pokemon out. “Shit,” Gaster swore as he recalled his fainted Pokemon. Quick on the switch, the former smuggler sent out his Galvantula next, then took up his rifle again. Firing on the man who took out his Parasect, Gaster landed a direct shot to the shoulder, causing him to stagger back, then scored a direct headshot. There was an audible thud as the merc’s lifeless body dropped down to the lower level.

“Nicole, use Thunder Wave!” the former smuggler then commanded his Galvantula after Raisa, who was rapidly firing her pistols at the Maverick crew’s Pokemon. The Romanov merc captain turned her aim on the Galvantula as she moved in, but was unable to take her out before getting stunned by the electric attack.

“Nyet,” Raisa grunted, taking a step back. She finally recalled her fainted Lopunny before jumping back down to the lower level.

“Sirius, after her!” Taraka called out from cover. “Dazzling Gleam!” The monk’s Togekiss flew down in pursuit and made her attack, but was unable to land a hit on the agile Romanov woman.

“Upuaut, give Ace a hand!” Cyrus then commanded his Lucario, pointing up to the balcony where Ace was still fending off three men on his own. “Dark Pulse!” The Aura Pokemon moved to get a good angle, then shot a pulse of dark energy up at one of the mercenaries attacking Ace, leaving him dazed.

Seeing an opportunity, the mercenary down on the lower level peeked back out of cover and fired on the Lucario, landing a couple shots on his back.

“Upuaut, deal with that guy!” Cyrus ordered and his Lucario jumped down to the lower level to engage the man who shot him.

With that mercenary occupied and the ones above still distracted by Ace, Cyrus moved out of cover to get an angle on Raisa. “Come on!” the Maverick’s captain called out as he opened fire on her. “Press the attack!”

Gaster nodded and moved out of cover as well. As he moved to the captain’s position, Gaster fired a couple shots up at the men on the balcony, then he fired on Raisa once he had an angle on her.

“Nicole, use Electroweb!” Gaster commanded his Galvantula when it seemed that Raisa was going to attempt to retreat. His Pokemon climbed down the wall to the lower level and shot out an electrified web, tripping the Romanov woman and zapping her with electricity.

Somehow managing to slip out, Raisa hopped back to her feet, then sprang at the Galvantula, kicking her off the wall. She then spun around to strike again, but the EleSpider Pokemon managed to skitter out of the way. Raising her pistols, Raisa fired on the Galvantula, taking her down. She then aimed up as Sirius flew down to attack and shot the Togekiss out of the air.

“As much as I’d like to stay and play, boys, I’ve got better things to do,” the Romanov woman said. She gave Gaster and the captain a mock salute. “Do svidaniya!”

With that, Raisa turned and ran to the far wall and jumped up. Kicking off the now-blank screen, she maneuvered up to the balcony above.

“Shit, she’s getting away!” Gaster shouted.

“Let’s get up there,” Cyrus said. “Go!”

The two ran to the stairs leading up to where Ace was fighting the remaining mercs. With his Cofagrigus now out beside him, the android was really starting to wear them down.

“Tombstone, Ominous Wind!” Ace commanded as Cyrus and Gaster ascended the stairs. The Cofagrigus let loose a gust of foul air, blasting one of the three men off the balcony. He fell to the floor below, unconscious.

Ace cut a second man down as his two crewmates arrived. The third man backed off and fired his rifle at the android, but he deflected the shot with his shield. “Tombstone, Night Shade!” Ace then commanded. The last mercenary let out a scream as the Coffin Pokemon rendered him unconscious with a powerful burst of ghostly energy.

“Nice work, Ace,” Cyrus said. “Now let’s get after her.”

“Too late,” Gaster said, pointing the the far end of the balcony. He watched helplessly as Raisa jumped off the wall to grip a bar hanging from the ceiling and used it to swing into a vent high up on the wall.

“Damn,” Cyrus cursed.

“At least we took the base,” Ace said, deactivating his laser sword.

Gaster rested his hands on the balcony railing and looked down to the lower level where the captain’s Lucario stood over the unconscious body of the last mercenary. “Hopefully we find something here,” the former smuggler said.

“Let’s go take a look,” Cyrus said, waving for the two of them to follow him back downstairs. “Those computers have got to contain some information we can use.”

“You okay, Taraka?” Gaster asked as they reached the bottom of the stairs, where the monk stood waiting, leaning against his staff.

“I will live,” Taraka said.

“That’s good,” Gaster said, stopping beside Taraka while Ace went to one of the computers.

“Anything?” Cyrus asked, looking over the android’s shoulder.

“The good news is their security protocols were easy to break,” Ace said. “The bad news is that there’s not a whole lot of data here. It looks like they tried to scrub it clean.”

“Shit,” Cyrus said. “That might be part of what Hat Guy meant by cleaning out the facility.”

“There’s still some stuff here that they missed,” Ace said. “They must have been in a rush. I’ll just download everything and we can go over it once we get back to the ship.”

Cyrus nodded. “Good idea. Let’s get out of here.”

---

Notes: Well a lot happened in this chapter. It actually covers all of sessions 62 and 63 as well as the very beginning minutes of session 64. It just made the most sense to organize things this way instead of spending multiple chapters on this facility raid. Also, for some reason, starting at this point, my mic audio on the recordings became very quiet so I had a bit of trouble hearing what I was saying at times when listening back, but I think I did a pretty good job figuring it all out.

For whatever reason, I hadn’t been able to prepare much over the week for session 62. I ended up just making the base infiltration up as I went along, throwing a few combat encounters with mercs at the party while I built a boss character for the end during the session. We ended up not even doing the boss encounter anyway, but at least it meant I was all set for the following week. The players had some good luck during the session, such as critting the guards right away as they got off the first elevator. To wrap up the session, I gave a little teaser of the fight to come since I had managed to build the encounter, but I had decided that there wasn’t enough time for it, even though it made the session a bit short.

Since I already had the fight ready, I spent the week making a cool map for it. I started with the hastily drawn lines I’d made in Roll20 at the end of the session, then I made it all look clean and experimented with some color coding to denote cover and elevation and such. It made for an interesting and different encounter. Anyway, moving on to the actual events of session 63, it was time for the boss fight I built during the previous session. Meet Raisa Ivanov, mercenary leader. I thought it might be interesting to introduce some late-game antagonist characters under the employment of Hat Gut with unique builds to spice things up. Her entire build was based around jumping high and far, making her a maneuverable opponent to face. I thought a Lopunny fit that vibe well, then decided to make it a mega just to be more unique. It was a fun fight indeed, with some amusing bits like Cyrus’s giant Victreebel just eating a dude. There was one point where unknown’s power went out, but he was able to use mobile Discord to keep the game going until his power came back, which wasn’t that long thankfully. I did change several details at the end of the fight to make it all flow better, but as usual, nothing too major.

After Raisa managed to get away and the party had mopped up the rest of the encounter, we decided to wrap up for the night as it was a bit late. It was a good thing we didn’t do the fight in the same session as the rest of the attack on the base. We picked up right where we left off the following session, so I decided to include the opening moments of the session at the end of the chapter just because it made more sense to do so. Clarissa ended up rolling amazingly well to hack into the computers so I just gave the party access to everything on them that hadn’t been cleared out by the mercs. You’ll find out what they got next time!

---

That does it for this chapter. As always the Spacemon gang and I will be monitoring the comments to foster discussion and answer any questions. Feel free to give feedback and critiques of the writing so I can improve it for the future, or just leave a comment with what you think about what went down in this chapter or what you think might happen next! You can also revisit past chapters, check out the rest of the Spacemon saga, join the Spacemon Discord server, or like our Facebook page to stay updated on all things Spacemon! Click here for the next exciting installment of Spacemon: Frontier!