Apollo 2015/05/08(Fri)18:38 No. 639130 ID: defceb
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“Gooooood morning sunshine!”

Shut up alarm clock.

“There are three people still sleeping in this block. Please prepare yourself in a quiet and orderly fashion so as not to disturb your bunk-mates.”

Yeah, yeah, hear it every day.

“Standardized time is now 9:00PM. Hallways will be set to dim-lighting in one hour for regular crew. If you feel that you become too tired to continue working, please see a leader for booster shots and a light snack.”

Hear that every day too.

“We are now 458 years, 3 months, and 12 days away from our destination. Congratulations, we are now officially half-way there!”

I’ll give it five more minutes.

“I notice you are still in bed. Are you experiencing a medical emergency? I will contact nearest nurse or doctor.”

Wait no stop I’m fine.


“[Wait no stop I’m fine], command not recognized. Please state name and occupation to cancel call.”

I’ll get up, I’ll get up.

“[I’ll get up, I’ll get up], command not recognized.Please state name and occupation to cancel call.”

Who even thought of this system?

“[Who even thought of this system?], command not recognized. Please state name and occupation to cancel call.”

> Felicity Smith
> Occupation: Night watch Security

>Please state name and occupation to cancel call.
Name: No one. Occupation: Sleeping.

Name: Lucette Lemaire. Occupation: Auctioneer.

What? You totally still have auctions on a generation colony ship.

>>639136
It's either this or maintenance, based on the time and the fact that you have a "team leader", and maintenance sucks.

>>639138
Yes.

Francine 'Frank' Copper: Lunch Lady extraordinaire.

>>639138
Oh sweet mother of yes.

Apollo 2015/05/08(Fri)22:07 No. 639168 ID: defceb
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I’m nobody and it’s my job to sleep forever.

“That is incorrect. I will contact the medical staff immediately.”

WAIT! I’m Lucette Lemaire and I’m the night watch security _{and you can go fuck yourself, alarm clock}

“Call canceled.”

I’m awake, in the vaguest sense of the word. Lights on, please.

Ow.

Too bright, lights down please.

Much better.

“You have three new messages. Do you require coffee?”

Damnit. Can I even afford coffee today?

I dunno. If you can get by without it, probably better to do so.

>>639168
Well, it sure looks like you need it today.

So are you over 500 years old or were you born on this ship?

>>639168
"Check funds"
So tell me, where have you come from and where you going to?

Apollo 2015/05/09(Sat)17:13 No. 639255 ID: defceb
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I was born on this ship, raised on this ship, and unless I get vented out the side I’m probably going to die on this ship. Heading from some dead planet behind us, to some ideal world ahead of us. Maybe. I slept through history class.

Check funds.

“You have $3.50 in your account.”

Right. Pass on the coffee for tonight. Messages?

“From: Lisa Sharp
Sub: I heard the news
I just heard about John. I know you two were close. I’m so sorry for your loss. Call me if you need anything.

From: Avex Marketing
Sub:Unsatisfied with your love life?
Call now for a FREE TRIAL, larger pe-”

Delete that.

“From: Chief Morgana
PRIVATE COMMUNICATION - DELETE IMMEDIATELY AFTER READING
Sub: Unidentified persons
We’ve been receiving reports of someone showing up in the local park around midnight. I’ve had the boys doing sweeps and we’ve concluded that it can’t be anyone from this bloc. See me ASAP, I don’t want someone skipping districts and causing trouble for us. Tell no civilians.
PRIVATE COMMUNICATION - DELETE IMMEDIATELY AFTER READING”

Delete that too. Guess my work is cut out for me tonight. Time to get up and face the day. Night. It all looks the same in artificial lighting.

“G’morning Luc.” Markus speaks up. He lives in the bed above me. Decent guy, most of the time. Parties a little too hard, seems unsatisfied with himself the rest of the time.

“G’night Mark.”

“Have you thought about my offer?”

“The answer is still no.”

“C’mon, we could get a nicer spot to live, little pay bump, and in a few months you wouldn’t have to work anymore. I hear maternity pay is really good now too-”

”Goodnight, Markus.”

Decent guy, most of the time.

Aw, no silly job. At least the french name got in.

>I just heard about John. I know you two were close.
What happened?

>we could get a nicer spot to live, little pay bump, and in a few months you wouldn’t have to work anymore. I hear maternity pay is really good now too
Geeze, they incentivize breeding? Kind of creepy, but makes a certain amount of sense if they have to maintain a population of a certain size.

Interesting in that the problem when sticking humans in a closed system is usually to prevent overpopulation and burning up all the space and resources.

>what do
Get dressed and stuff. Maybe shower- that might serve to wake you up in place of coffee. Then go see your boss about the deleted stuff.

Apollo 2015/05/09(Sat)19:45 No. 639272 ID: defceb
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John. It was a faulty airlock. I was in the hospital for a week. He wasn’t so lucky. Could have happened to anyone.

There wasn’t a body for the funeral. Chief said it was a real risk for maintenance. That it’s part of their job. Commended me for being able to get back alive. It could have happened to anyone.

The spacesuit meant he probably lived for a while. He was supposed to be tethered to the room. Could’ve happened to anyone.

A shower sounds good.

Natalie is already showering when I arrive. Always showers before bed, believes it enhances her beauty sleep.

“Hey Luc! So I was thinking about the whole aliens idea, and in hindsight it is kinda silly.”

She’s a conspiracy theorist. Last week she believed that the place was run by aliens and we were actually in a secret bunker. Before that, she thought it was run by a race of immortal cyborgs. Now she’s rambling about genetics and how the government has probably unlocked the secret to staying young and healthy forever. How it’s the only way they could ensure we stay on due course.

Then she gets sidetracked about wanting cat ears.

It’s still too damn bright out here for me.

Apollo 2015/05/09(Sat)19:46 No. 639273 ID: defceb
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I arrive at the station around 10:00pm. It’s a cramped place, like everything else in the ship. Space is a premium, and this is ‘the best we can do’. There’s a billboard sized ad in the hallway outside.

The inside of the station is row after row of desks jammed together. Mine is over in a corner, with the rest of the night shift. I’m the first to arrive.

I find the chief with a few other officers in one of the meetings room. Shutters down, lights low, real private talk. He turns to me when I enter.

“Oh good, you’re here. I assume you got my message then.”

I just nod quietly and grab a seat. My head feels heavy, and my neck is sore.

“We were just discussing the matter. According to some of your pals every night for the past few days there’s been some unknown person in the park around midnight. As you know, the place is supposed to be closed and locked down by 11. We’ve yet to see anyone on the security cameras, and as far as we can tell nobody who lives in the bloc is in the area at those times. I’m starting to suspect that it’s someone skipping districts again. Any thoughts?”

Depends, is he doing anything or from what we know is he just more or less sight seeing? Could just be some guy who likes the park but hates crowds so he sneaks off at night to have the park all to himself. That or he's a thrill seeking looking for some after hours fun. Take it we're going to be setting up a stakeout or something regardless?

"Most obvious solution is usually the correct one, sir. Let's set up a trap or something."

>Any thoughts?
Unless they've done something to make this a priority, I don't see it being worth diverting manpower to stake the park out all night.

If there really is someone there, they might know the positions of our security cams and how to avoid them. If you wanted to catch them, we could plant a covert cam or two where we don't currently have coverage.

Could be a hacker. The simplest solution is that we aren't seeing anything, and right now the only credible observers on that park are all digital.

We all know how screwed up things can get if you only send a few guards over there with minimal gear. Why not just block the park with people? Set up an event at the park or get some nuts in the military to test new tech on the fields or something?

Apollo 2015/05/09(Sat)21:47 No. 639313 ID: defceb
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“I think the most obvious solution would be the correct one, sir. We could stake out the park. Or set up a trap or something of that ilk.”

“Sounds fair. We know they’ve been spotted only around midnight so we have a decent window to keep watch for.”

“Have they been doing anything? Are you sure this is worth diverting manpower over? They might just be a sightseer.”

“Last time we had someone hopping districts they ended up smeared along the tram line. Harmless or not, I’m not willing to let someone wander around blindly. But you’re right, most of the night crew are busy with patrol. I’ll have Marston cover your route, and your sole job tonight is to find this mystery person.”

That’s not what I meant.

“Good luck out there officer.”

That’s not what I meant at all. This is probably inane. Though private messages and shuttered rooms aren't used for inane meetings. He gestures for me to return to my desk.

Looks like the rest of the night crew STILL haven’t shown up. I've got two hours before this mystery will supposedly pop up, so I should start thinking of a plan.

look into where exactly this guy has been seen and find somewhere out of the way there and make yourself comfortable until he shows himself, then just go out and give him a slap on the rest unless he does something stupid.

Can you get ahold of some little cameras to stick around? That would make a one-woman stakeout a lot more likely to work. If you're by yourself, you might miss him or her.

Also, yeah, read the reports of the previous sightings.

Apollo 2015/05/09(Sat)22:42 No. 639331 ID: defceb
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Requesting recent reports, keywords: Park, Unidentified Person, Trespassing

All the reports read similarly. Unidentified person seen standing near the shore. Three cases where the officer was nearby and saw them run off. Otherwise they just vanished whenever the officer lost sight of them. Looks like they rarely show up in the same spot.

I pull up a map of the park and note the three paths. There are only two entrances for civilians. Back wall is fenced off and hidden behind forestation. Supposed to make the place feel ‘wide open’. I always just felt like a zoo animal in there.

I could get a few cameras to help. I’ll have to swing by provisions on the way out and request them. I can probably get two, maybe three if the provisioner likes me today. Tonight. I’ll need to figure out a good spot to put them, though. Won’t do me much good if they’re looking at nothing all night.

well have one camera at each entrance/exit so we can know when the guy enters, third should be on whatever path in the middle you're not hiding on. That way if the guy doesn't take our path we could at least try and cut him off.

>>639332
We don't know he's using the entrances, though. He might be going over the fence, or through a gap, somewhere.

The bridge and the path behind the gazebo are kind of choke points. If they go through, they kind of have to cross one or the other. Unless they just go right to the beach and double back.

Wait. Obvious question. Where are the existing security cameras? Obviously we want to put ours in the blind spots, not what's already covered.

If we're feeling paranoid, we could carry one ourselves, to make sure they show up on camera. Or, for like, evidence. I guess that's a thing.

>>639331
Hmm. All three cases they headed, not for the exits, but for the back wall. Could they be living on the other side of the fence, or have a passage back there to some other part of the ship? What's on the other side of that wall?

Wear a helmet-cam. That way, you can review your patrol later.

As for the other cameras, hide them in places that are hard to reach and hard to find.

Apollo 2015/05/11(Mon)00:01 No. 639601 ID: defceb
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The cameras are by each entrance and one watching the gazebo. The back wall is fenced off, only maintenance crew is supposed to be there. A thick foliage is supposed to cover the back wall as well, to hide the fence. Supposed to keep up the illusion of open space. As long as nobody notices the walls they’ll be happy with it. Only maintenance shafts are back there anyway. Lots of delicate machinery and tight hallways. If someone is running around back there unsupervised it could get ugly fast.

Park weather tonight is scheduled to be cold, with a light rain around 1AM. Jacket weather. Again.

“Hey! Long time no see.”

Lisa Sharp, in charge of provisions at this hour. Unprofessional attire, similar attitude. Supposedly came out of the back districts. Lives in a separate apartment row these days so I only ever see her here.

“Did you get my message? I’m here if you ever want to talk-”

“No.”

She frowns. Nosy habits, probably a result of how much time she spends cooped up alone back here.

“I’m doing a stakeout tonight and I need some cameras. What do you have?”

“I’ve got two sec cams still lying around. I could link ‘em to a wrist monitor if you need to walk around. Also got this thing you could clip to your chest? All the actual helmet cams are still out, sorry.”

That’ll have to do. I take them and go before she starts asking more questions.

Apollo 2015/05/11(Mon)00:03 No. 639602 ID: defceb
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The entrances to the park are guarded by large metal doors, the kind that squeak and squeal while they open. In my mind I hear them make a terrible wrenching sound and buckle in the corner. I see the door blown off, taking chunks of the wall with it. I feel the instant rush of air that knocks me off my feet. The sharp pain from my arm being dislocated. My heart skips a beat when I step through the threshold.

I've got one camera peeking over the bridge and the other on the path behind the gazebo. It’s 10:30pm, most people have left by now. I yawn a deep, heavy kind of yawn and rub the sand out of my eyes. It’s going to be a long night.

>>639602
bored already huh?

you got radio contact with HQ? You know so if your perp doesn't come through the doors but walks past a camera you can get a heads up.

>>639602
take a look at the fence. i betcha that's where they come and go through. a hole or through the maintenance shafts. probably the maintenance shafts, you'd be surprised how clever people can be when desperate. or bored.

how's your night vision? you're gonna need to see properly to intercept them before they manage to run off. i suggest hiding in a tree or on top of the gazebo. in either case, see them in advance, get into a good interception position and slowly sneak on them.

Can you set your wrist monitor to vibrate or something if the cams detect motion? I think you want an alert in case you fall asleep on the stakeout.

Do a quick search of the perimeter, see if there's an unauthorized access point. Then find someplace out of sight to chill.

Apollo 2015/05/11(Mon)14:31 No. 639745 ID: defceb
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I stroll along the perimeter of the fence. There doesn’t appear to be any holes, and the maintenance shafts are all on the other side. I could hide myself in the bushes pretty easily and keep an eye out.

I radio back to HQ. “This is Lemaire in the park, requesting eyes on cams tonight around midnight.”

“Officer, I’m going to need your ID number.”

“And I’d like a queen sized bed.”

“Very funny Luc. What’s going on?”

“Unidentified person is sneaking into the park at night, Chief put me on stakeout duty. Probably just a slap on the wrist and go home. I’d like to have some extra eyes for when they show up.”

“I can do that. You going to be busy later?”

“I hope not. What’s going on?”

“There’s a diner over near the transit that’s staying open past midnight now. I’ve got a lunch break at 2am and I’m hoping to get some people together to go.”

“I can’t afford that tonight.”

“I still owe you from last month. Interested?”

>“I still owe you from last month. Interested?”
>Free food.
>chance to try and distract yourself from-
Yeah. That sounds good, thanks.

>“I still owe you from last month. Interested?”
(sigh) why not. If the guy doesn't show and nothing else exciting happens I'll hop down for a bite to eat.

Yeah, sure. It'll be a heck of a lot nicer then eating lunch at your desk yet again, and you can get 'em to pick up the tab for a coffee too.

Hey, it looks like there's something on the ground next to bush near the fence. Looks like a... Ribbon? Strip of cloth? Take a closer look.

What's up the ladder back there? A maintenance access in the ceiling?

The gap between the fence and the wall is straight and free of visual obstructions down its length, right? If so then the best place to put one of your cameras would be at one end of the gap facing towards the other end. That'd give it total visual coverage of the gap and the maintenance entrances. Can you climb the fence at the end to put a cam up high or slip it through the fence to stick it to the wall there?

So no holes in the fence... You think whoever it was could have climbed over the fence? Or climbed a tree, hopped on fence then to one of the maintenance ladders on the other side? Oh, did you check if the fence is loose? If it is then maybe they slipped under it.

Tell her that you'll try to go there at 1:30 AM. Request that if you don't call her at 1:35 AM, she should send a few guards as backup. If the target doesn't show then they probably know they're being watched anyway.

One hour and thirty minutes past midnight should be enough to confirm whether or not the target cares about being seen.

Apollo 2015/05/12(Tue)02:00 No. 639841 ID: defceb
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“Sounds better than eating at my desk again. Let’s try to meet around 1:30am though. If you don’t hear from me by 1:35 call in backup.”

“Are you sure?”

“Better safe than sorry.”

“Roger that.”

There appears to be a wristband by the fence. Has the icon for the Supernova nightclub. That’s at least an hours walk away, what is it doing here? Could be important, so I bag it as potential evidence.

The fence has to be at least 12 feet tall with spikes over the top. Not something easily scaled or possibly jumped. I give the fence a tap and find it’s gone loose. Person must be crawling under it to get here. Another walk down the fence finds it loose at the other doors too. The ladder leads up to a catwalk. Painted to blend in with the wall, which is also painted to look like the sky. ‘A delicate illusion’ they say,’to make people think the room is really an open space’. Like there’s any open space around here.

I yawn again and check my watch. 11pm. Closing time. Everyone else should be out of here by now.

>>639841
Hmm.
Take note when you hide I guess.
Anyway, hide in the bushes and keep an eye out. Its 2 hours waiting at the most and then free food at a diner.

Set an alarm on your wristwatch in case you fall asleep. You don't want backup to show up and find you snoring in the grass. That wouldn't go over well.

Then pick a comfortable hiding spot and wait.

>>639874
The alarm: Preferably something silent (buzz, electroshock, etc.)

Apollo 2015/05/13(Wed)00:03 No. 640105 ID: defceb
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I set a vibrate alarm on my watch for a minute before midnight. Guess all I have to do now is wait. Hardly even half an hour passes before a tired spell washes over me.

Apollo 2015/05/13(Wed)00:03 No. 640106 ID: defceb
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I’m jolted awake by the alarm. First the one I set, then from one of the motion detectors on the cameras. Near the fence I spot footprints. Fresh, deep, the kind from a sudden impact. I check the camera feed.

All the reports only ever mentioned seeing one person. I have a bad feeling about this.

Call for backup NOW!

Request a SWAT team equipped with heavy armor. Some scientists as well.

>>640106
That... is not a person-shaped silhoutte.

Get backup. And if possible, someone to verify what you're seeing through the cameras.

....but don't assume it's hostile.

Your camera guy double checking this crap is seeing this right? Try shaking yourself awake and see if the big guy is still there.

>>640106
what the fuck? i'd call dibs on an alien theory but Natalie got there first.

do you have a non-lethal weapon? a tazer or something?

move to intercept them, between them and the fence. i'd guess only one would go to the fence. the other, what, would go in the water? go up? who knows. tell your radio friends about this, and about the fence - that should be looked into as well as the maintenance shafts. did they come through the door? it's camera'd so probably not. we should have put a camera on the shafts. oh well.

That's... like twice the height of a person.

Call the sighting into dispatch, and then follow the footsteps. Try to get eyes on them.

>>640106
Yeeaaah. Confirm with Dispatch that they're seeing what you are. I mean, two people already means you want backup- one person and one whatthehellisthat is a bit much for one person to handle.

Apollo 2015/05/13(Wed)13:01 No. 640189 ID: defceb
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“Dispatch, this is Lemaire in the park again. Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“Tall, dark, and spiky?”

“That’s what I was afraid of. I’m going to need backup in the park asap. Preferably SWAT type.”

I grip my taser and start running to the bridge as fast as I can. I need a plan.

>>640187
Don't run for the bridge!
Cut them off from the woods, wait for the SWAT team round the back of the gazebo and taze them if they get close you are NOT equipped for this.

>>640190
Sounds good.

Any idea how long it'll take for the backup to arrive?

>>640189
Get close enough that you can see them, but stay out of sight yourself- don't pursue unless it becomes apparent they're leaving, and even then try to make sure you don't spook them- we're delaying until backup arrives.

>>640189
Spy on them. See if you can get within earshot to find out what the FUCK is going on.

Apollo 2015/05/13(Wed)21:12 No. 640280 ID: defceb
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Right. No running to the bridge. I come to stop by the edge of the woods. If they run this way, I should see them coming.

A few minutes pass before the doors to the park start to open. The dull creaking sounds echo through the otherwise quiet area. Dammit guys, you’re supposed to SNEAK in. The person starts running in my direction.

Apollo 2015/05/13(Wed)21:12 No. 640281 ID: defceb
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...but where is the tall one?

>...but where is the tall one?
Behind / next to you.

Throw yourself to your left. Now. Unless you want a spike in the head.

Walk up to the kid, carefully. Do not appear hostile.

Put yer hands up.

They definitely have the advantage, here. So let's just have a chat.

Apollo 2015/05/14(Thu)15:55 No. 640407 ID: defceb
File 143164411221.png - (137.89KB , 600x600 , 18.png )

Behind me? I’m pretty sure I’d have heard something going through this underbrush to sneak up behind-

I come to in the medical wing. I can hear the doctor in the other room, talking about something to do with sports. My neck stings and my back is sore. The clock says it's now 1am.

Oh. Well...you're not dead, apparently.

>>640408
Or we're imagining the afterlife as a medbay.

...It's pretty chilly in here. The doctors aren't talking about Cubs and World Series, are they?

Hand on your neck. How bad is it?

Try calling out. Uh, Doc? How'd I end up here?

If there's no doctor or nurse, try looking around, or calling in with your wristwatch for an update.

>>640407
Ask the doctor what happened.

Apollo 2015/05/14(Thu)23:21 No. 640514 ID: defceb
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“Doctor?” I shout out. It echoes around the metal halls.

“Oh, you’re up now? Uhm… police officer lady, right?”

“Yeah, where are you?”

“I’m over here!” Their voices echoes out from behind the doors. I can’t make heads or tails of where they are around here. “I’m in Office C, next to the- you know what nevermind, I’m kind of tied up at the moment. What do you need?”

No time for bedside manner.

“What happened to me?”

“You got hit by a hallucinogenic. Your pals said they found you wandering around the park singing opera.”

I rub my neck. There’s a small bandage where it stings.

“If your head feels all clear then you should be good to go. Might want to take it easy tonight though.”

>>640514
Okay... Check in, make sure you did in fact see tall dark & spiky before you got injected.

Assuming he is real, there's some good news: he doesn't want to kill you. Probably just wants to be left alone. Unfortunately we can't do that, not yet anyway.

We want a description of our 'pals' that checked us in, because our backup isn't supposed to even show up until 0135 unless we were rescued by backup we don't remember arriving in time.

>>640535
we called in for backup.

well i was right. should have secured the maintenance shafts with cameras. set up traps for tomorrow night, though they'll probably change spots.

No long term side effects on what they hit me with, right? I'm not gonna flash back or be addicted or anything?

First thing to do is called in. Make sure people know you're awake, see what they have to say.

>>640514
>Hallucinogenic
You had a camera on you.
Check the cameras.

Apollo 2015/05/17(Sun)17:35 No. 641114 ID: defceb
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“You’re sure I’m all good to go? I won’t have any flashbacks or addiction problems?”

“That depends, do you take large amounts of LSD regularly?”

“…no?”

“Then you should be fine. You may still feel kind of loopy but that’s just the high wearing off. The drug will be completely out of your system in about 2 more hours, so just don’t operate any heavy machinery or guns for a bit.”

I leave the medical wing. All the lights have been dimmed for the night and most of the stores are closed. At daytime this place is packed shoulder to shoulder, with people shouting over each other to get anywhere. During peak hours they have to keep the ventilation pumping at full power or else the CO2 buildup will make people drop left and right. With all the noise I never found the will to go here during the day. Supposedly the local governor is going to reorganize the area to make a neater market district. Or so they claimed when they were elected a few years ago.

“Dispatch, this is Lemaire.”

“Up already? I think Chief wants to see you.”

“I thought he’d be asleep by now.”

“Justice never sleeps, Luc.”

“Haha, very funny. You were watching the cameras, right?”

“Did I ever. Your tall friend skipped out of view pretty quickly but I saw the other person run straight for the maintenance paths. I also got a few minutes of you trying to figure out how a chair works if you want to watch that later, it’s pretty funny.”

Well, I hope someone went over the scene after I was out of it.

We must be getting close to out 1:30 lunch, right?

Tell dispatch you'll be done to see the chief as soon as you can. Doc wanted to make sure you ate something first.

Apollo 2015/05/19(Tue)23:42 No. 641613 ID: defceb
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“Tell Chief I’ll go to see him as soon as I can. It’s almost 1:30 though so let’s grab that lunch.”

“You sure? I don’t think the chief will be happy to hear it.”

“Doctor’s orders.”

The walk to the diner is uneventful. Miranda from dispatch arrives shortly after me, walking in with a hurried pace. “Thank you so much for coming!” She says. “I’ve been wanting to try this place all week but I never wanted to go alone, you know? Do you know? I don’t know- uhm- SO. How've you been Luc?”

She’s practically a whole different person compared to her radio personality. Fidgety hands, always looking around the room, her anxiety is spiked tonight.

“I- uh- noticed you weren't around the office for a while. Are you okay? I heard about- you don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.”

Mirandas always been the nervous type in person, but she’s never been THIS bad before.

>>641613
That's cause she liiiiiikes you. And was worried about you.

So be friendly! And also put her worries to rest.

>>641615

I concur with the 'she liiiiiikes you' hypothesis.

Do you like her?

Give her a hug. Then tell her you're okay, though your pride is a little damaged.

Apollo 2015/05/20(Wed)02:23 No. 641633 ID: defceb
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Do I like her!? No- I mean- well, I don’t dislike her? I certainly wouldn't turn her away if she showed up at my apartment either. But I barely know her beyond work.

“I’m okay, even if my pride isn't. Doctor gave me a clean bill of health and everything.”

“I wasn't just talking about -um- tonight. I noticed you were gone for a while, longer than that necessary for recovery and since then you've seemed very, uhm verryy…” I can see the gears turning in her head. “...secluded? No, distant? Something like that. I’m sorry if this is too personal, I just meant to ask you to lunch. Order anything you want, it’s on me.”

She frantically looks over the menu, tapping it with her idle hand and looking around for the waiter. “So how about that case? Weird thing to see, huh?”

"It was like 12 feet tall and hit me with a dose of lsd that purportedly had me singing opera in the park and forgetting how to use chairs, I can safely mark this as one of the more surreal experiences in my life.
And now I'll probably have to go after the darn thing."
Order a bigass hamburger and enough soda to drown an infant. Be very specific about this.

Well, it's nice someone cares, even if you don't want to talk about that right now.

>the case
Yeah, very weird. Just my luck the guy who keeps showing up alone brings a giant creepy bodyguard the one night we check into it.

Unless that thing was there every time. Dunno how the previous reports missed it then, though.

>>641633
>Order anything you want, it’s on me
yep, this is a date.
also she's worried because you seem to have some serious PSTD.

>>641683
Oh wait, yes. The food. What do we want. Quick, skim the menu! Maybe you can get your caffeine fix after all.

Order a synthbacon burger, ask if she wants to hold hands.

Apollo 2015/05/24(Sun)23:36 No. 642936 ID: defceb
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“I’m fine, really. You look nervous. Would it help if we held hands?”

She blushes and hides behind the menu, muttering something about needing to order food. I take the time to ring up one synthbacon burger and enough coffee to drown myself in.

“That thing was 12 feet tall and dosed me with some sort of LSD, so yeah this case is pretty damn surreal. Just my luck that tall dark and handsome shows up when I get sent to take a look.”

“It all doesn’t make sense though. You can’t miss something that big, but it wasn’t in any of the reports. I don’t think it could sneak through those tiny maintenance shafts either.”

“So what, it just slipped through the walls?”

“I don’t think so… this isn’t like some natural world where they could sneak through old pathways. We built this place. Or rather… our great, great, great… you get the idea, grandparents built it. We still have the blueprints. If there was a place for it to go we would know about it.”

Technology marches on. If this place was man-made, how hard would it be to hack it? These guys might have invented a literal wall-hack.

"heh, maybe it's an alien the stowed away on the ship."

[feigning fear] "Oh no, that means that this is the part were something burst out of my chest and starts killing everyone on the ship. Oh the humanity, and since I'm fated to die to such a horrible end I guess that means you'll have to cover the bill."

>>642936
...maybe it's always been there. Hiding.

What if... it's a robot or something. And can reconfigure itself. If it's not that tall all the time it would be able to sneak around easier.

...other obvious question. How do we know the blueprints are right? It might be easier to alter the records to make something secret than actually build a new secret passage.

>blush
That confirms that.

Hold her hand anyway. Surprise her.

Don't let her leave your sight until you've given her at least one hug. For caring about you, if nothing else.

"The ship's changed a bit over time, right? There's probably a few things on the blueprints that are a little out of date at this point. Speaking of dates... is this one?"

Apollo 2015/05/25(Mon)12:44 No. 643117 ID: defceb
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“Maybe it’s an alien that stowed away on the ship. Oh- oh no! That means this is the part where something bursts out of my chest and starts killing everyone! Oh the humanity, this is the end of me I can feel it coming already!”

Apollo 2015/05/25(Mon)12:44 No. 643118 ID: defceb
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“Bluuuuuhhhhhh!!!! I’m dead! I’m completely dead now. The End.”

Wait for laughs or some other reaction. Try to keep a strait face before peeking out of one eye.

>>642967
Still something reconfigurable could explain how it gets around. That, or doctored blueprints to hide how it's getting around.

Wiggle your arm around.

If they have some really useful way of making quick/temporary modifications to the ship they could maybe move through places that aren't big enough by changing them and changing them back quickly. What is the ship made of, and what are the self-construction/modification features of most of it anyway?

Launch the chest-burster-arm out at her and tickle her.

If this didn't get a reaction, that certainly will.

Index and pinky up, pivot hand as if looking side to side, then move your thumb like a jaw and say something about missing a left turn at Alpha Centauri (mushed together so it sounds like "Albuquerque") in your best Bugs Bunny voice. Then, the classic "what's up, doc?"

Apollo 2015/06/09(Tue)01:50 No. 647296 ID: defceb
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I launch a tickle-assault, triggering a series of yelping laughs from her. “Stop, stoooooppp!~” She says between gasps of air. The waitress delivers our food shortly after, sparing a slightly judgemental glance at our loud noise. “C’mon Luc, we should keep it down it’s late.” She’s blushing harder now, partly from the laugher and partly from- well, I suppose that would count at flirting.

“Allright, allright, I’m all business now.” I spare a moment to collect my thoughts, and enjoy a taste of the burger. Synthmeat, the kind grown in large vats in labs. Supposedly impossible to tell the difference between it and the real thing. Supposedly.

“The place has changed over time, hasn’t it? Maybe there’s a secret passageway or something left over. If the big guy can reconfigure themselves then maybe they can slip through small passageways too.”

“You think?” She speaks up between nibbles. “There shouldn’t be any automated repairs happening in this district, last I heard. I suppose you could go through the archives and see all the changes that have been made over time. I think all the engineer information could be requested too. Since we’re, y’know, cops and all.”

Between the food and the company the next hour goes just as soon as it came. We walk together back to the station, giving idle chatter all the way.

Time for real work. Chief Morgana might still be here, I could visit him now. Alternatively, I could also walk to the archive and check out those blueprints. There’s also the wristband I found in the park. Supernova nightclub, perhaps I can find some clues there.

Evidence-locker and document that band, in case things go to the level of screwed-up that they want something to run forensics on because our perp rises to suspected murderer. Check in with the chief in case they've passed our assignment on to other people or assigned us a partner for this now that there is evidence our perp doesn't hesitate to screw with security: We were steamrollered out of nowhere by a crazy giant and drugs, it would be prudent to upgrade the resources for the investigation now that it includes assaulting an investigating officer..

see your boss first, not a good idea to keep the man who can give you shit jobs as petty revenge waiting longer then needed.

>synthmeat
Like there's even room for a proper pasture in this tin can.

>what do
You had orders to report back to your boss- you already made one excuse and pushed it off. Don't push your luck. Check in with the chief.

Report to boss. Afterwards, this nightclub sounds like a good place for a late night "investigation."