[ Kinship ] Unlucky Lizardman

Slacmere, High Lord of the Blood Talon Clan, and Chief Research Scientist of the Vlakod Federation, carefully reviewed his research files.  He opened the last file and a error message appeared on the Holoscreen. 

**File Corrupted**

Double checking the back-up file, Slacmere discovered that it was also corrupted.  Hissing in anger, Slacmere raked his claws across the console.  Hours of work gone.  A corrupted file was supposed to be impossible.

The last research file was the scans of the strange life form they had collected from the lone planet in Sector 78-1-999.  It had proven extremely resilient to all forms of damage.  Shortly after collection, the specimen had escaped his constraints, and it took a full security team to recapture it.

After all the testing had been completed, the specimen was disposed of via the Transmission Beam.  Set to complete disruption over a wide area, the creature was now nothing more than molecules floating in space.  Slacmere then remembered there was a copy of the Transbeam scan of the creature, that at the very least will provide some data for research.  Slacmere left his research suite and headed down the corridor to the Transbeam Suite.

Empty of personnel, Slacmere moved to the main console, and activated it.  He scanned the files, until he found the correct one, and activated it.  To his surprise it was corrupted as well.  Slacmere would have to request a review of the computer techs.  Something was wrong.

Looking at the corrupted file, Slacmere noticed that the specimen hadn't been disrupted.  The only data not corrupted was the file name, and destination.  He entered the coordinates of the destination into the Transbeam's computer.  It was a planet.

Suddenly, a warning siren went off., and Slacmere was knocked out of his seat.

"The ship is under attack by unknown forces... prepare for a battle..."  Slacmere noticed the desperation in the Captain's voice.  The lights then dimmed, and there was an explosion near the Transbeam Suite.

Slacmere quickly made his decision.  Grabbing some gear out of a locker, he activated the Transbeam.  He would escape to the same planet that the specimen had ended up on.

***

The Sheriff looked at what remained of what could be only described as a lizardman in some sort of high tech outfit.  The odd thing was that it fell out of the sky, and landed in the same spot as Mr. Wrinkles.

Dr. Velasko leaned over the remains of the lizardman.  "You think this is going to happen every week?  Creatures falling out of the sky?"

The Sheriff shrugged.  "Good grief, I hope not...  say I wonder if Mr. Wrinkles knows about this guy?"

"Well if he does, we still can't talk to him.  Anyway, I'll get it back to my lab.  We certainly don't want a zombie lizardman wandering around.  Look at it's claws!"

Dr. Velasko stood up, and scanned the crowd that had gathered.  "I'll recruit a couple of guys to help.  You think it's weapon still works?  It looks really complicated..."

"Dunno... I'll be by later to pick up the gear."  Turning to the crowd, the Sheriff addressed the crowd.  "Show's over people, move along, and for the time being be wary of walking in the street.  Especially at this spot.  It keeps raining aliens."

[ Kinship ] Mr. Wrinkles

It was a normal day, or at least what passes for normal in Kinship, when Mr. Wrinkles fell from the sky, and landed on Main Street.  Almost everyone who saw what had happened had thought that the creature was dead.  He was oozing some kind of substance, and although several people tried to move it, the creature was too slippery.  In fact, one touch was more than enough for most people.  Even gloves didn't help get a grip on the strange creature.

Whatever it was, it was small,  had a vague human shape, was gray and very wrinkled. Hence the name, Mr. Wrinkles.  As far as anyone could tell, Mr. Wrinkles was also naked.  There was what appeared to be some sort of white purse or pouch that hangs by a strap around his neck, but no visible way to open it was seen.

Mr. Wrinkles had no eyes, no ears, and something vaguely resembling a mouth that ran vertically up half it's misshapen head.  Instead of arms, Mr. Wrinkles had tentacles.  Not like an octopus, or squid, there are no suckers.  The legs were sort of like an elephant's, and not as wrinkled as the rest of the body.  A very odd creature indeed.

A few hours after it "landed" it sat up, and appeared to be looking around, even though it had no eyes.  Standing up, it began walking around aimlessly, and a few townsfolk tried to talk to it.  Apparently it can't talk, or didn't understand anyone.  All attempts at communication have so far failed.

Some of the townsfolk thought that it should be captured, but the Sheriff vetoed that idea.  Mr. Wrinkles wasn't causing any trouble, and was to be left alone.  Soon after awakening, Mr. Wrinkles walked out of town.  There's still a stain at the landing spot.

Mr. Wrinkles occasionally walks back into town, and it's behavior is at times very odd.  It will sit on a curb for hours on end, come rain or shine.  Extreme weather doesn't seem to bother Mr. Wrinkles.  Sometimes Mr. Wrinkles will pull something out of the pouch to look at.  People have seen him with a corncob pipe, a small metal disc, and a mess of what looks like tangled wires.

Mr. Wrinkles doesn't appear to be hostile.  It's appetite is strange, and can eat just about any plant or animal matter.  Mr. Wrinkles seems to enjoy corn, even the cob!  Which is a good thing, we have plenty of corn around here.  At times Mr. Wrinkles seems sad...

I would attempt to communicate with Mr. Wrinkles with my telepathy, but...

Excerpt from Number Five's Journal

Mr. Wrinkles ( GURPS 4E NPC )
[ 278 Points ] 
Age: Unknown 2' 100 lbs. SM -3

ST 15 [ 50 ], DX 11 [20], IQ 8 [ -40 ], HT 20 [ 100 ]
HP 20, Will 8, Per 8, FP 20

Basic Lift 45 lbs., Damage: Thrust 1d+1/Swing 2d+1
Basic Speed 7.75, Basic Move 7;
Dodge 10, Parry 11 ( club ), Block -;
DR 10.

Advantages & Perks  Cost: 207
360° Vision [ 25 ], Ambidexterity [ 5 ], Damage Resistance/ +10  [ 50 ],
Doesn't Breathe/Oxygen Absorption [ 15 ], Flexible Arms [10 ],
Hard to Kill/ 10 Levels [ 20 ], Hyperspectral Vision [ 25 ],
Injury Tolerance/ No Eyes [ 5 ],
Regeneration/ Slow 1 HP per 12 Hours  [10 ], 
Slippery/ 5 Levels [ 10 ], Stretching ( arms only )/ 5 Levels [ 24 ],
Temperature Tolerance/ 8 Levels [ 8 ], Universal Digestion [ 5 ] 

Disadvantages & Quirks Cost: 91

Appearance/Hideous [ -16 ], Cannot Speak/Mute [ -25 ]
Colorblindness [ -10 ], Increased Consumption/ 1 level [ -10 ],
Innumerate [ -5 ], No Sense of Humor [ -10 ],
No Sense of Smell or Taste [ -5 ], Unusual Biochemistry [ -5 ],
Broad Minded [ -1 ],  Sexless [ -1 ], Odd Behavior [ -1 ],
Eats Odd Things  [ -1 ], Wanders Aimlessly [ -1 ]

Skills Cost: 32

Brawling – 14  [ 8 ], Gesture – 10 [ 4 ],
Melee Weapon/ Axe/Mace – 15 [ 16 ],
Stealth -12 [ 4 ]

Possessions
White Pouch:  Corn cob pipe, metal disc 3" in diameter, tangled ball of wire, one square foot of burlap, and several small stones

Ognritle, Og for short, was a simple laborer on it's home world.  One day while working in the Vlaph Field ( Vlaph is a vegetable plant ), a strange vehicle flew down from the sky, and attacked.  Knocked unconcious, Og was abducted, and taken offworld.  What happened next is a mystery.  Og awoke on a strange world.

Life on this world is strange.  The creatures are huge, and some are very strange and hostile.  Some desire to eat him.  Some seem concerned about him.  No matter how hard Og tries, communicating with the creatures is very difficult, and mostly impossible.

It's not all bad here.  Og doesn't have to work. Og enjoys the food here, it's texture is wonderful, especially the elongated, bumpy vegetable.  Og sometimes fights the hostile creatures when the good creatures need help.  But mostly Og wants to go home.