Another Bug Hunt: Holy Moly!¶

We're all employed by "The Company". They're trying to terraform the planet of Samsa 6, but discovered an alien species known as the Carcinids (Carcs). The ground team is not responding to communications. We're going in to investigate.

Episodes in module: Another Bug Hunt

Episode 1 - 2025-07-16 - Holy Moly!
Episode 2 - 2025-07-28 - Fire in the Hole
Episode 3 - 2025-07-30 - Between a Carc and a Soft Place
Episode 4 - 2025-08-10 - A Tangled Web He Weaves

we're all employed by "The Company"
- huge conglomerate of corporations
we have our own reasons to be here
we get paid but its meager
will not be retiring any time soon
paid extra for emergency and hazard
- can make life more comfortable
have to pay for air
we've been in cryo sleep for a long time
- who knows how long
trying to terraform a planet
sent a crew to investigate bio signals
discovered a species of arthoropods
6 months ago communications stopped
3 weeks ago we entered the system and found the base unresponsive

Carnoc emerges from sleep pod — Carnoc, Dex, and Zeke emerge from sleep pods

Dex emerges from sleep pod — Carnoc, Dex, and Zeke emerge from sleep pods

we come out of cryo sleep and see a guy named Moss
- he carries the aroma of coffee and stale cigarrettes

Portrait of Moss — Moss, not the face you want to see coming out of cryo sleep

we vomit from the combination of smells and coming out of cryo sleep
Moss gives us stimpacks
- suggests injecting into our thighs, but necks if we're cool
- everyone seems to feel better
We get paid 2 months salary and 1 month of hazard pay
Our equipment
- 1 hazard suit
- 1 SMG with 3 magazines
- 1 first aid kit
- 1 stim pack (1 dose per 24 hours)
Rendezvous with Kaplan at Greta base
Try to re-establish communications
We must evacuate Dr. Edem and synthetic science officer Hinton
- Dr. Edem is a xenobiologist
- Hinton is here to assist with the study of the alien species
Other personnel include:
- 2 squads of marines
  - each has roughly 7 members with a captain and an overall sergeant
- 4 scientists including Hinton
- support staff, mechanics and engineers
Found alien species Carcinids (Carcs)
- Carcs are a little bigger than humans and crab-like
- we ask about their technology
  - Moss says they're a primitive civilization
Moss will remotely pilot the ship down
The ship looks like it hasn't been inspected in decades
Murderbot runs diagnostics on the ship
- There isn't any maintenance data in the logs

An alarm starts going off and Moss smacks the panel to turn it off
- Moss: "Don't worry, it's just my daily self care alarm."
Murderbot walks the ship and evaluates it
- it's a low cost model but it's operating within normal parameters
we load up in the transport
it has space for a personnel carrier but there isn't one
there's also crew space close to the cockpit
it's not comfortable but there is seating for 8 + 2 pilots
we should strap in for atmospheric turbulence

Crew stepped in — Zeke, Ink, Carnoc, Dex, and Murderbot strapped in

ship glides down to the planet
gets rocky when we hit the atmosphere
transport starts shaking heavily
alarms start going off
Murderbot unstraps to check out the alarms
- turbulence bounces him off the ceiling

Murderbot straps into captain's seat
- jacks into the computer
Moss is not a great pilot
- Murderbot offers to take over
- Moss "I just lost control of the ship. What the fuck is going on?"
Moss doesn't want to talk to the synth.
- Murderbot says we'll all be unconscious because of his terrible piloting
Murderbot lands us safely.
The doors open and we're hit with humid air
- feels like a jungle
- we're used to a controlled environment
It's nice to be on a planet
We're near a path to Greta Base
- we expect lighting but don't see any
- about 1km away from the base
Carnoc and Murderbot take point heading towards the base
- the rest of us follow
It's raining and it smells like a faint hint of sulphur

Greta Base aerial view — Aerial view of Greta Base

One of the windows is lit
Carnoc goes to investigate
- it's generally disorganized and there are some lewd posters
- a few areas
  - 12 bunks
  - 5 bunks
  - tidy with a desk
  - 5 bunks and a marijuana plant
  - 1 bunk and weather charts
We continue to walk the exterior of the base
approach some garage doors
- we hear some loud banging inside, but not on the door
- keeps going but no distinct pattern
continue surveying around the exterior

Carnoc finds a body wearing military fatigues

Murderbot rolls the body over and inspect it
- he's split nearly in half
- tries to hold it together while he examines it
- several of the internal organs are missing
- there are small cuts like papercuts all over the skin
- he has dog tags with PFC Olsson
- there's a keycard in his pocket
- no idea how long he's been dead
we see human tracks from the body to the garage doors
Carnoc grabs one of the dog tags
we continue around to the front airlock
- deep tread tracks lead to the door

the airlock has room for 2 at a time
- it's locked
Carnoc and Murderbot use PFC Olsson's keycard to unlock the door
- go down a small hallway
everyone else enters
the floors are muddy
we see storage lockers in the hallway
- they're pretty beat up

opens up into a larger space, probably the mess hall (3)
- we see a banner "Happy Birthday Olsson"
- water leaking from the ceiling
- dirty dishes and cups everywhere
- bullet casings and bullet holes in the walls
- blood spatters
- claw marks
we inspect a table, flipped over to use as a barricade
- there's a headless corpse behind it
- also in fatigues
- hole in her neck
- dog tags with LT Corporal Xavier

Murderbot carrying headless body — Murderbot declares cause of LT Corporal Xavier's death

"loss of head"

small kitchenette with a bunch of cabinets
also lockers, but they don't contain anything useful
we hear the same banging sound from the garage again
we decide to go past the crew quarters because it looked safe
as we go to exit the room, LT Corporal Xavier's head rolls across the floor
we open up the crew habitat area
- banging sound is louder
written on the wall "Comms off"
areas for showers, toilets, and bunks
- it doesn't smell great in here
each bunk has a footlocker
barracks has a list of essential personnel
- matches what we expected from Moss
inspect the tidy room
- was Kaplan's room
- picture of him, his partner, and children
- planetary survey with resources and mineral deposits
- desk drawer is locked
- Ink opens the drawer, finds a revolver with 12 bullets, and takes it
- tracking device
more personal items
- gaming console
- the auctioneer by Joan Sampson
- anime body pillow
Dr. Edem's quarters
- charts showing a storm system approaching
sealed envelope with Olsson's name on it
- Carnoc opens it
- "Thanks for always listening. Hopefully they'll let me leave after this one." - Dr. Edem
we open the foot lockers
- 2 frag grenades
  - Carnoc takes them
- butterfly knife
  - Ink takes it
- jump humpers porno mag
- journal detailing relationship between HM3 Brookman and Ivonovik
we pass a door marked "Armory" with a chain link gate
- it had a blast door but it's been ripped off
- there's a pile of melted metal in the middle of the room
- doesn't seem like someone tried very hard to secure it
- we can probably just lift it
we continue to the garage
- door is closed
- still hear banging
- it's another airlock, the garage is "outside"
- Carnoc and Murderbot use Olsson's keycard
in the garage
- an APC on one side
- other side is a giant hole in the ground
- lots of tools
- barrels of fuel for APC
- generator which is not running
- banging is coming from behind the APC

Garage interior with a giant hole in the ground

Carnoc watches the banging
Murderbot investigates the hole
- it's about 6 feet deep
- some water at the base
- a person wearing fatigues is in there digging with their hands
  - there's a shovel next them but they aren't using it
  - they have a bandolier of grenades

Murderbot talks to them but they don't hear us
Zeke takes a look at the digger

Zeke throws a clump of dirt to get the digger's attention

the digger's body shakes
- something erupts from his chest and splits him in two