SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/06/16(Wed)03:40 No. 1003419 ID: f18774
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After a grueling battle with an Arcanos security machine, A10 and Toal emerge victorious from the lab. Before the pair lies a split in the road. Five doors in front of them decorate the ground level of the atrium. The room itself is in disrepair, scars of battle visible on the walls, along with the stains of time.

SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/06/16(Wed)03:41 No. 1003420 ID: f18774
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Toal and I step out of the lab and into an aged atrium.

"I think getting out won't be as easy as we thought." Toal's ears flick and her tails wiggle around in the air.
"I can't tell which way leads out." Toal seems a bit concerned. "I think we need to get closer to an exit." Seems like Toal was trying to use her other senses to determine which door would lead to fresh air.
"I think we'll need to activate more power around the facility to get around. In this state, I doubt that much of the infrastructure will let us get around."
"Won't that activate security measures?"
"In high security areas, Arcanos opts to make the low power state the locked one. If we don't turn on power, we'll have to find ways around every security blockade."
"That's assuming there's a route to take around them."
"And that we're given the time. I don't think we're alone in here, and we may need to choose the faster option if something starts hunting us."

This room has five doors on the ground level. There's an upper level, but I don't see any ladder or stairs to get to it. I can see seven doors on the upper level, so one of these other doors should have a way to get to the second level. If Toal or I find something to help us up to that level, we could use that to skip exploring the other areas.

I think you guys know what to do now. None of these doors show any signs of being locked, so pick one for us to look though, or give us another idea.

Well, if you had lots of explosives, you could just bust your way through every door without power.
Probably best you get a map first, though.
Though the damage, that seems bad. It's curious, too. The area you were at was spotless. Plus, the bot blocked your safe area. Are we sure it was there to halt your escape? What if the bot was actually there to keep you safe from whatever did all... this?
Plus, the wear of time... might it be that the timers were correct?

Should try and find out what each door or the room behind the door contains, is there not a terminal or some information that helps explain each door or giving some clues about it?

>>1003420
Let's take the leftmost door. It's as good as any.

>>1003420
Eh, pick the one to your left. We have no indications of which door to take anyway.

>>1003420
Well, if we have no idea where to go first, let's go with the classic "keep making left turns 'til you're back where you started".

SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/06/18(Fri)14:27 No. 1003628 ID: f18774
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Toal and I look around the atrium. I notice that I missed two of the doors in this room, so there are seven doors to check. Eight total. Each door has a hologram sign that appears as we near it. Going clockwise, starting from the room we left, they're labeled 'Lab 4S' (the door we just used), 'Lab 4P' (first door to the left), 'Lab 4M', 'Archive 4A', 'Staff Access 4R', 'Holding 4L', 'Lab 4G', and 'Lab 4V'.

>Look at the first door on the left.

Lab 4P opens without trouble. The hall extends 10 meters forward and makes a 90 degree turn to the left. It's a fair bit more humid than the atrium and Lab 4S.

"Hey..." Tosl calls out, hesitating a moment. "A10...? Did you see this?" I turn from Lsb 4P to look at Toal. "Look at this." She points to the ground in front of Lab 4M. The floor is scraped up.
"These look like marks left by Argos." Toal nods.
"Looks like it was called from Lab 4M." She looks up at the door. "Do you think more are inside?"
I consider the possibility. "Not in Lab 4M. If only one is here, then there weren't anymore nearby to send."
"There aren't anymore security measures?"
"There are, but no more Argos on this floor of the atrium." Toal's ears lower as she looks to the upper level.
"I hope we can handle the next ones too." I can tell Toal is worried about the next fight.
"We will." Because we have to.

>If we had explosives, we could break down the security gates.

Arcanos reinforcing for security levels like this makes conventional explosives useless on them. The only way to cut though the doors is with a plasma bore or some kind of tool for cutting though armour.

Should I continue to Lab 4P, or should I investigate Lab 4M? Or possibly something else?

>>1003628
Investigate Lab 4P

>>1003628
4P. Left turn rule!

>>1003628
4P first. We can try 4M next.

>>1003628
You have each other, that's a hell of a lot in a place like this. Forge ahead to 4P. Together.

If it came from lab 4M, it's probably because they didn't feel the need to secure it.

At the same time, that means it's likely safer than a completely unknown option.

Certainly we have no specific direction right now, we don't know anything about any of these labs so we'd be tossing a coin, so I say go check it out. What we really need right now is data, information on what this facility is beyond just "weapons research".

SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/06/21(Mon)04:19 No. 1003797 ID: 5f1f8d
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Four of you say to go to Lab 4P first, but one of you makes a good argument for checking out Lab 4M. I'll check out Lab 4P first, but if we get stuck, we'll check out Lab 4M next.

"Let's check out 4P first." Toal looks up to me. "They didn't feel the need to secure this area, so it may be safe enough for us to leave for later."
"It could also mean that 4M has extra security so it can afford to deploy Argos." That's also a good argument.
"If that's the case, we should try to find better weapons first. Either way, I think it's better to check Lab 4P first."

Toal nods. I walk to Lab 4P with her following close behind. The humid air blasts us again as the door opens. We walk down the corridor and eventually find the entry checkpoint.

"Looks like the P stands for plant." Toal points at the hologram display on the door. It reads 'Botany Lab'.
"We're probably going to find a lot of vegetation in this area." The question is how much will we find, and will it still be contained?

I'm a bit surprised that this lab has a checkpoint. Should we check it out, or press on deeper into the lab?

While there's unlikely to be anything hostile in the checkpoint, it wouldn't make sense to pass it without checking.

>>1003797

If it's a Botany Lab then it could potentially be using plants as a weapon perhaps, I wouldn't recommend pressing any further unless we know what the purpose of this lab would serve, Should you venture, proceed with upmost caution.

>>1003797
Hey, a Miklik wasn't one of the specimens, right?
Look through the checkpoint before progressing.

SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/06/23(Wed)06:06 No. 1003968 ID: 5f1f8d
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Toal and I decide to look though the checkpoint first. There's little here, save for the hum of the ventilation system.

"I found a file on this terminal." Toal waves me over. "Looks like a short report."

We both read over the file.

>Unnamed Report on Security Terminal in Lab 4P
Subject 12 from Lab 4S has breached containment. Ensure all subjects in Lab 4P are secure and arm all security staff for maximum force. Orders are to neutralize any and all threats using any means necessary. This incudes breached subjects from any lab.

"Do you think Subject 12 is why they abandoned this place?" Toal looks to me for an answer.
"I think it was one of them. Arcanos has vast resources and firepower at it's disposal, so a single issue like this shouldn't result in the whole lab being abandoned." The alternative is that Subject 12 is just that powerful, which is a prospect that I don't really want to consider.
"So you think there were several issues that resulted in them abandoning the labs?"
"It has to be. Arcanos would never leave stuff in a condemned sector if they had the chance to clear it out."

I notice a list of armaments on the terminal. What sticks out to me are weapons classed as 'herbicidal', so maybe they were experimenting with weaponized plants, or at least weapons effective on plant lifeforms.

It looks like it's time to move on. Should we keep pressing forward, or should we look for anything else here?

>>1003968

Time to press on

>>1003968
You guys should go pick up some of those herbicidal weapons. You might run into some weaponized plants or plant based life forms.

>>1003968
Check if there are any of those weapons nearby, you could need them.

>>1003968
If you can, get your hands on some herbicidal weapons. You might encounter what they were made to be used against up ahead.

There are subjects here? I guess there are subjects in every lab, then. I wonder if there are any others still in stasis.

Odd that none of the terminals have a map... does the checkpoint have access to camera feeds?

Go on, but be alert. Have Toal sensing for movement.

SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/06/25(Fri)10:34 No. 1004142 ID: f18774
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Toal and I continue looking around for a bit.

>Check for any of those herbicidal weapons.

I'm about to make this suggestion to Toal when I remember something. I return tot he terminal and navigate though the system to check something.

"Hey, Toal?" She looks up at me. "Can I borrow your auto pistol for a moment?"
"Sure, but why?" She walks over to me and hands me the pistol.
"I'll show you." I use my nanomachines to establish a link between the terminal and the pistol. Once I do that, I start uploading data to the pistol. "Arcanos weapons use the P.E.S. cells to produce ammo. This means that changing the program that guides the synthesis process can change the ammo it produces." The data transfer is initiated.
"So you're changing the ammo it creates?"
"You can switch between different types at will. The only difference is that some ammo takes more time to build." The console emits a jingle indicating that the upload is done. "Here, one anti plant gun."
Toal takes the gun from me and examines it. "The downsides?"
"Herbicidal ammo adds 5 seconds to the cell's recharge time. It's a coating, so it doesn't take long."
"How do I change it back?"
"I can handle that. My nanomachine subcortex stores the data for the ammo types." I tap a finger against my temple. "I don't think you can change it without nanomachines, so I'll handle it for you until we find a way for you do change it on your own."

Toal nods and returns the pistol to its holster with a twirl.

>It's strange that there's no map on the console.

There was a map, but the file here is corrupted. I think there should be one on another terminal though.

I guess it's time to press on. Toal will take point. Should we be keeping our eyes open for these 'Miklik'?

>>1004142

You not worried if the plants has some form of Aerosol based spores that could be lethal?

>>1004142
Heads on a swivel, you two

>>1004142
Keep close watch on your surroundings, but keep your guns down and don't shoot first. No idea if they're hostile or not, as the terminal only mentioned subject 12 causing trouble. We don't actually care about containment breaches!

A map should still be your priority. If you've got zero way to get a map here, you may as well go elsewhere.

SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/06/27(Sun)09:13 No. 1004343 ID: f18774
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Toal and I proceed into the hall and delve deeper into the Botany wing of the sector. The halls look the same as the ones in Lab 4S.

>You aren't worried about any toxic spores or gasses?

The equipment list on the console didn't include any respirators or air filters, so I don't think it was a concern.

>Where can you get a map?

If we can't find one here, there should be a map of the sector in one of the administrative rooms. I think the Archive or the Staff Access doors might be a good spot to look for that kind of map.

Toal and I explore the halls for a bit. Looks like most of the doors are open.

Which door should we try first?

Perform a rolling sweep. Clear rooms of hostiles, starting from the hallway you just left. Then the rooms on the left of where you're at now, then the right side. Toal should stick with you and you two clear one room each.

>>1004343
Try the corridor with 8 doors. Looks like residential quarters or cells, should be a good place to look for survivors.

>>1004343
Go to right

>>1004343
short 8-door corridor looks promising, check there first.

SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/06/29(Tue)12:17 No. 1004499 ID: f18774
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The air in this room seems less stale than the others. Toal and I don't sense any air flow, so maybe the plants in this sector are the cause.

>Explore the East corridor.

Toal and I move to the East hallway. Every door is labeled 'Specimen Storage' and numbered 1 though 8. We take some time to investigate the doors and we notice that doors 4 and 8 (the doors at the far East end of the hall) seem to have some kind of vines spreading from the doorway. These doors also look pretty damaged compared to the others.

Toal steps out of door 1. "Looks like this is seed storage."
"Did you recognize any of them?" Slim chance she does, but it's worth asking.
"Nothing special, but I don't think these are supposed to be normal plants." She cocks her head toward the door. "There are large stasis pods for storing seeds and monitoring vitals."
The two doors at the East side are much more sinister now.

"Then should we open those doors down the hall, or leave them alone?"

>>1004499

Unleash the seeds

>>1004499
Leave it be unless you have (more) means to defend against plants. Like a bladed weapon to clear shrubbery. And incendiary weapons

>>1004499
Let's investigate the unsuspicious rooms first, and then decide whether to check the overgrown ones.

Incendiary weaponry would be nice, but we don't have access to that unless we want to get the synthesizers producing stuff like napalm, which I doubt will end well.

>>1004499
Considering we know next to nothing about what's inside other than that it's plant life of some kind, leave it be for now. Maybe if we can check a camera feed or... something.

SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/07/01(Thu)14:59 No. 1004669 ID: 7c892c
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>Check the unsuspicious rooms first.

Toal and I decide to look though the intact rooms first. The six intact ones all look the same. A large stasis capsule at the back with a monitoring device just below it. One wall has a bunch of smaller stasis capsules in each room. These seem to be for seed preservation and splicing.

I do notice something in the corner of the rooms; something that looks like a camera. It could be a camera feed, so there should be an observation room somewhere nearby.

Do we open the overgrown rooms, look for a security terminal, or just leave them alone for now and go elsewhere?

>>1004669
Forewarned is forearmed. Find the monitoring station before we open the overgrown rooms.
I'd guess it's one of those two doors near the checkpoint, probably the one on the east side like the checkpoint was.

>>1004669
Better eyes and ears. Hunt down that camera terminal.

>>1004669
Hunt down the camera-monitoring computer.

>>1004669
Look for the security terminal.

SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/07/08(Thu)11:26 No. 1005136 ID: c45047
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The feeling of malaise hangs over the overgrown doors.

>Go look for that security room.

That sounds like a good idea. It's probably one of the two doors that we passed before we got to that square room. I tell this to Toal and we agree to backtrack to check the two rooms.

>Check the door South of the checkpoint.

We head into the hall and check the room South of the checkpoint. The door opens, and we look inside.

"This is not the security room." Toal seems unamused.

The room has three beds against the North wall with dividers placed between them. A curtain hangs from the ceiling at the foot of the bed, and the rail on the ceiling suggests that these are used for privacy while the occupants sleep. Each bed has a small table next to it and a standing lamp for light. Each table has a drawer and a door, likely for storage.
At the East end of the room the remaining space has a loveseat sofa against the East wall. Against the divider is a short cabinet with a monitor on it. The North side of the space has a short fridge and another cabinet. A basket is filled with various sealed items, likely snack items, and placed on top of the fridge. A kettle sits on the cabinet.

"This looks like another break room." Toal rolls her eyes.
"I noticed that." She's definitely annoyed.
"We could look around here and see if there's anything important, but the other room we passed is probably the security room."
Should I insist on checking this room, or go back and check the other door?

Sorry for the surprise break. I had some health problems come up, but I'm going to try and get back to consistent updates now.

Check the room out

I hope you are feeling better. But yes, let's check out the other rooms.

>>1005136
No thanks on the break room, we can come back later for snacks. Go to the other one.

Rolling clears, Toal. If we didn't, something could come up behind us.

SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/07/10(Sat)06:22 No. 1005262 ID: c45047
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Toal is unusually impatient. Or maybe this is normal?

>Do a sweep of the current room at least.

That's what I was thinking.

"I don't know why you're in a hurry, but we need to be cautious." Toal shows her disapproval with an melodramatic sigh and eye roll. "A quick sweep of the room. It won't take long."
Toal mumbles something and starts checking the room. I follow and start from the East side.

Our search turns up a few things, but nothing that sticks out to me as critical.
>Staff break room in Lab 4P
-Snacks
-Electric kettle
-Bottled drinks of various types
-Powder for mixing drinks
-Scraps of papers with writing on them in the bedside tables
-A board game under the monitor
-Various novels under the monitor
-A first aid kit
-Various connection cables

"Can we go now?" Toal appears to be uncomfortable; she's looking around more than usual, and her ears are twitching much more too.
"The next spot is that room we passed." Toal doesn't wait, she's already leaving for it. I follow with her.

We breach the next room, and it's a lot larger than I thought it would be. Rows of desks and terminals with books stacked up on the sides. Various notes and papers are scattered on the desks, and on the North side of the room are some clear tubes connected to some kind of pipes.

"I think this is the observation room."

What should we search first? Or should we go back to the last room and check something more thoroughly?

>>1005262
First, make sure the room is clear of hostiles. Then get camera feeds open, see what's in those overgrown rooms. Get a look into the areas you haven't been yet as well. If you don't understand what you're looking at, check the notes.

First, quick sweep around the room to make sure there's nothing hostile lurking about. Then let's split up the search and investigating here. One of you should check the security camera feeds to see what's in the plant rooms, and check for any notes. The other should check and look into what all these tubes, tanks, and vials have, or what they're for. I don't think it matters much on who does what, so pick what you two have more interest in doing.

>>1005262
Something isn’t right here. Toal is on edge more than normal. She might be detecting something with her tails that you can’t see with your eyes. Ask her what’s wrong?

>>1005262
>>1005332
I'm seconding this. At the very least, we need to know why Toal's upset and see if it's something we can help with. Stressful situation aside, both of you need to be on top of your game if you wanna be sure to get out of this place in one piece.

Toal is on edge, which is good because you don't want to be caught off guard. Just reassure her that we're only clearing rooms so there's this little surprises as possible. We're not treasure hunting here

SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/07/12(Mon)09:57 No. 1005408 ID: c45047
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Toal seems to be on edge still.

>So ask her what's bothering her.

"Hey, are you sensing something here?" Toal still looks really uncomfortable.
"No." She's gritting her teeth though.
"Something is bothering you."
"I'll be fine."

I can tell that Toal doesn't want to talk about it. She assures me that it's not because of any imminent danger, and just some kind of personal issue. At this point, I don't think I can press her for it unless I get some idea of what's making her uncomfortable.

>Make sure the room is clear of hostiles.

I signal to Toal to do a sweep of the room. We don't find anything at first glance, and nothing appears to be hiding either.

We find some items scattered about.

>Found in Observation room in Lab 4P
-Papers scattered on desks
-Various books on plant lifeforms and similar creatures
-Containers of various plant hormones and nutrients
-Office supplies
-Incendary grenades (5 in the large desks at the back)
-ID card belonging to one of the researchers

The desks have terminals built into them. All of them seem to be connected to visual feeds; the small ones to the rooms in the East corridor, and the large ones to rooms in the West corridor.

What should we look into first?

Grab the grenades and the ID, then look at the monitors for the west corridor chambers.

>>1005408
Nab those grenades. Pin the ID badge to someone's coat. If there's nothing of value on those screens, keep moving. The sooner we can clear this section of lab, the sooner we can relax Toal.

>>1005408
Mmh. Let her know that you're willing to listen if she changes her mind and let her be. Let's take a glance at those camera feeds, too. If nothing serious pops up, we could... try to get an idea about what they were doing here by going quickly through the books and papers?

>>1005408
Grab grenades and ID, look at cameras for unknown areas and especially the overgrown rooms.

SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/07/14(Wed)11:24 No. 1005554 ID: c45047
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The room is silent, save for the hum of the electronics and vents.

>Grab those grenades!

The grenades are dispersed throughout the desks. I'm not sure if this is an indication of poor organization, panic or coincidence. Toal takes 3 and I add 2 to my bag. I also slip the ID card into my chest pocket.

"Hey, Toal." She startles, turning to me quickly. "Do you want to stay here instead of searching the area with me?"
"Why?"
"Something is bothering you. If it was dangerous, you would have told me, but I think something here is reminding you of something you don't like."
She sighs, letting herself fall into one of the office chairs. "I should come with you. We don't know what's going on here, and I can't help you or talk to you from here."
"Think about it." I'd rather she stay back if this place is going to get to her that bad, but I can't force her to stay. If I had a good argument for convincing her that I'd be safe, or some way of communicating with her from a distance, we could probably split up for a bit.

>Check those cameras.

Each of the four small desks has a feed into two of the rooms on the East, and the large desks each have visual on three of the rooms on the West. The feeds are dark in the Western rooms. A message on the screen says to activate the local power room.
The overgrown rooms seem to be completely full of the plant bioforms. I can't tell if the screen is being obscured of if the growth is that thick.

We have a few options now. Try to clear out the overgrown rooms so we can search them, look for and activate the power room, look for a way to convince Toal that it's okay to stay behind if she's not okay, or we can look though these terminals more. Which one sounds like the best idea?

>>1005554

Look at the terminals more

Wasn't there a walkie-talkie in the room we woke up in? If we could find another one, we could put them on the same channel and communicate from a distance.

>>1005554
Look for information on what these plants are. We won't know whether or not to open the overgrown rooms until we get that information. Also, if we run into one out in the open the information could save us a lot of pain.

>>1005554
I feel like power ought to be our first priority. At the very least, doing something in here might help to soothe Toal's nerves, instead of wandering around.

>>1005554
Finding power might be an idea. And your Tozol buddy could maybe use a hug. Reassurance and all that. Don't mess with the plants until you're more informed on potential hazards, finding neurotoxins like naturally-generated cholinesterase inhibitors the hard way isn't a mistake one tends to have the opportunity to make twice.

>>1005554
Let's look through the terminals more.

SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/07/16(Fri)12:38 No. 1005697 ID: c45047
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I take a moment to think on our situation.

>Wasn't there a radio in the room you woke up in?

I don't recall seeing one, you can show me what you mean though, right?

>You should go though the terminals a bit more.

The three other small terminals provide video feeds of the remaining rooms on the East side. The two at the back don't show anything. The cameras need power to display what's in the rooms.
It looks like they have options for delivering nutrients to the samples in the rooms too. Based on what the terminals say, it's the fluids in the back of this room.
That does give me an idea though. If I can learn what kinds of stuff will destroy the plants in the overgrown rooms, I could mix that into the solution and deliver that to the samples to destroy them.

The rooms at the end of the Western corridor could house the power room.

Toal seems a bit too on edge for a hug right now.

Should we keep looking though the terminals, or go and look for the power room?

>>1005697
Power room.

>>1005697
Objectives in mind, locate the power room

Let's go find the power room.
As for Toal, keep her feelings to be close by in consideration. Something's bothering her, but something possibly happening to you and not being able to help would certainly bother her more.

SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/07/18(Sun)10:39 No. 1005908 ID: c45047
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It looks like we need to get the power room activated if we want to see what's in those rooms so...

>Go and search for the power room.

The power room is likely one of the rooms in the West hall.

"I'll go look for the power room." As I turn to leave, I hear Toal come up behind me.
"I'm going with you."
"Are you sure?"
Toal nods. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Having Toal does make me feel more comfortable, but I really don't want to put her at risk. Still, I don't think she'll take no for an answer.

We leave the room and enter the Western corridor. The first six doors we pass look like their built for containment, so we decide to come back to these later. Further down the hall, there are two doors. Both of them are on the East side of the hall.

Should we check the Northern door, or the Southern door first?

>>1005908
Southern door.

>>1005908
Southern

>>1005908
Have Toal sense for anything. Go with her suggestion. If they're the same, southern.

>>1005908
Seems like we're going South to North!

SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/07/20(Tue)13:45 No. 1006048 ID: c45047
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The pair of us breach the Southern door.

"This looks like the right spot." Toal remarks.

The room is dim and filled with electrical equipment. It looks pretty much just like the one in lab 4S. This means that this room should have a breaker for activating the power.

Toal doesn't seem to want to enter the room, but I'm not sure if I should leave her here.

What should I do with Toal?

If she is not alerting us to anything... I think we gotta press the issue and ask her.

>>1006048
Ask her if the bad feeling she's getting is stronger here.

>>1006048
I agree with the sentiment of the other neurons here. Being at unease is, frankly, understandable given your circumstances, but she really needs to at least share her concerns with the one friend she has here so far.

...If she keeps it to herself, though, at least ask her if she can keep an eye on things outside while you go in and try to get the power back on.

"Talk to me." Continue forward by yourself. But keep it at pace where she can still reach you quickly.

>>1006048
"Toal. Please tell me what is bothering you. It is very clear something is occupying your mind."

SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/07/23(Fri)10:58 No. 1006211 ID: c45047
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The power room isn't too dark, and not too big. I could probably find the breaker pretty fast.

>Talk to Toal.

I turn to Toal. "What's going on? What's bothering you?"
She doesn't respond at first. "Nothing important."
I step into to the room and start looking around. "Could you keep watch while I look for the power breaker?"
I don't see her reaction, but she does respond. "Yeah, I can keep watch."
The room is filled with electrical equipment, like the one in lab 4S. "Something is bothering you. I need to know what's going on before it becomes a problem."
Looks like this room will power the repair drones in this area when I find the breaker. "It won't be a problem."
I sigh. "It's already a problem. You're on edge and that can be bad." Ah, here it is, the breaker!
"Everything here is trying to kill us. I think being on edge is normal." I flip the breaker and the lights flicker on, the soft hum of the generator filling the room.
"Just tell me so I can cover for you." The hatch opens and a repair drone starts working on maintenance.
"I don't like plant-based weapons." That's unusually specific.
"Stuff like the plants in that room, or larger, mobile, plant-forms?" I walk back out to Toal.
"All of them, and I don't want to talk about it." I guess that's because of bad memories.
I place a hand on Toal's shoulder. "I can take care of those, so don't worry." I don't know if that helps her relax, but it's really the best I can do.
"... Thanks." I don't know if she's actually happy or not, but I have to make sure that I can keep plant-based enemies away from her.

Now what should we do? There's the other room in the hall, the observation monitors have power, and we could look at the other rooms in the hall.

>>1006211

head to the observation room

>>1006211
Let’s see the monitors and stay alert.

>>1006211
Ask Toal if she would be more comfortable either with you keeping the herbicide pistol, and letting you focus on taking care of any plant baddies you come across, or if she'd rather hold onto it in case you get surprised, or something to that effect. Also? Thank her for being open about something that was clearly embarrassing for her to say.

>>1006211
Alright we did this to get the monitors working so let's check the monitors.

Check those monitors

>>1006211
Ops. We have our eyes now.

If we're not already carrying the herbicide/plant weapon stuff ourselves, let's make a switch to something Toal is more happy with.

Jesus, stop fawning over Toal. You're soldiers, you can handle a little stress. If you gotta take the lead because she's distracted, fine, but she's a big girl and doesn't need you constantly pointing out she's on edge.

SubCritical: Weapons that Live, Chapter 4: Those who Venture Triti 2021/07/28(Wed)08:53 No. 1006542 ID: c45047
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The hall is brighter now. I guess reserve power still uses the same lights, but at lower brightness.

>Return to the observation room.

Toal and I return to the obserrvation room. On our way, I notice that the doors in the hall are now a different colour. I think they're unlocked now.

When we get back to the observation room, I go and check the monitors that were darkened before. The cells in the West corridor seem to be used for larger orgtanisms. Cells 1, 2, 4 and 6 are empty, with nothing of note showing up on the monitor. Cell 3 apparently has some kind of Miklik in it, but nothing shows up on the monitor. Cell 5 is obstructed by foilage, so I can't see what's in it. The records say it's supposed to be empty.

>Stop fawning over Toal, you're soldiers.

Actually, right now we're both just survivors of whatever the hell this place is. I'd like to have a bit of a friendship with the only other living person I've found here.

Should we look at one of the cells, or something else?

Politely knock on the miklik's cell door. Announce there's a big unplanned family outing and invite them to come along.

This should reduce the chances of a miklik hiding in the camera's dead angle to pounce on whoever opens the door.

I don't think we're going to find much here. Let's just crack the miklik's door open and announce you're not hostile. Toal can guard the door while you enter. If they're awake, you can talk. If they're still in stasis, you can wake them up.

>>1006542
Ok, so, every interesting room has its camera blocked.
I guess all we can do now is find some information on what we're dealing with, and keep an eye on the corridor to see if anything comes out of the newly-unlocked rooms.

Well, that or try to investigate room 3, with friendly but guarded intentions. Tell them you're subjects from another area and want to talk to them.

Guess we're checking cells.