This one has a big mouth on a small head. Sounds like a politician. Ask him what a bureaucrat is doing all the way out here.
And try not to get mad, he technically answered the question and it's not his fault the fuzzballs don't know how to raise their kids with respect.

Then what structure do you use, if not ranks?

>>610066
as in let him boast about their supperiority, while giving you needed info of course.

>>610046
I can tell this man is a bureaucrat, the self-righteous attitude and powdery wig gave it away you gotta admit.

"So, by 'we' do you mean just you personally, or your wife and son back there as well?"

More generally, play dumb, make silly guesses, err on the side of belittling the orgchart, but without any outright dismissive insults. Pride won't let him leave your 'foolish solar misconceptions' uncorrected. That's the stick. As for the carrot, whenever he blurts out actual coherent intel, give a sincere, respectful apology for your ignorance.

Also consider offering literal carrots, or other comforts and necessities, as available. There's probably a stash of Astranian ration-packs around here somewhere.

>>610046
Do you have something to write on? You can intimidate people just by having them think you're extracting useful information no matter what they say.

Your goal is to make him mad, and keep him off-balance. If he's mad he's not going to think about what he's saying, and if he's off-balance he'll have to keep changing tactics to keep up.
"Politician. Yes, we were hoping to capture someone important, like the captain, but you were the only ones too coward to fall in battle or kill yourselves to prevent capture.
What was your mission here?"

His answer is probably going to be something insulting and/or useless, at which point you can follow it up by saying he was obviously appointed by nepotism, and was not important enough to know of the first-strike mission flown by Ace Pilot Oken to drop a superweapon on your capital.

At that point he'll probably be feeling smug and say something stupid. At that point you tell him his plot failed because of a plant you have among his tech-leech allies.
At this point he'll probably go rabid, so calmly state that almost half of the commanders you have captured so far are infested, and spies and double-agents estimate upwards of 80% of his high command are infested as well. State that even somebody unimportant like him should know that much, and start questioning him about which planets are hiding his tech-leech allies.

Yes, we are going to bluff and bullshit him into a frenzy.

After pressing these questions for awhile you can go back to more mundane questions.

Okay. Here's some information from that handbook that your buddy thought was campfire-fuel.

Rule #1: DO NOT GIVE THE HOSTAGE CONTROL OF THE INTERROGATION. What this means is that if you give the hostage time to think or talk, he'll come up with a good lie, build up a web of context that will mislead you, or figure out what your interrogation plan is. Give him less than thirty seconds to answer each question. If you think he's rambling while he comes up with a plan in his head, yell at him to get to the point. If he doesn't stop rambling, headbutt him until he stops stalling for time to think.

Rule #2: Timing is key. Figure out when to ask questions, and in what order. Know the difference between a good story and stalling, and when to demand a fast-forward button. Know when a headbutt is better than yelling. And know when, based on the tells and testimony of your hostage, when to declare that they're a liar.

Rule #3: Use hard evidence. Once you have evidence of their lying, shoot it point blank. This should derail any plans of theirs that involve a story that is debunked by the evidence.

Start with what you know, ask the empath for clues and evidence, and get this done ASAP. Every second is a second that the enemy could pull whatever plan they have!

Will Enrad 2014/12/09(Tue)16:40 No. 610325 ID: 9dd1ee
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>ask the empath for clues and evidence
The empath isn't here, she's getting checked out by one of the medics

Enrad:"oh, i guess you are a farmer then, dressed up to look important. do you use a power pitchfork?"

The Astranian looks shocked for a moment, but then returns to his aggressive scowls

Rham1: "All professions within the alliance are important, am I to take it Solars have no respect for providers of planted goods? typical Solar attitude 'the strong take from the weak and the weak suffer'"

I'm not going to rise to his bait
>Do you have something to write on? You can intimidate people just by having them think you're extracting useful information no matter what they say.
instead I pull out a pad and pen, and begin taking notes
The Astranian glares at me in silence.

Enrad: "What structure do you use if not Ranks, Seems like you must have some way of deciding what gets done"

Rham1: "I am through speaking with you Solar."

keep badgering them. make them too angry to worry if what they are saying is important

Listen if you clam up and refuse to talk I have to go out there and tell them that.

And judging by the guy in here earlier I am probably the nicest person you will find here. All I am asking for is basic information.

So whats it going to be? A nice chat with me or more time with angry mask guy?

Tell him that he would be a great mime.

>>610325
"You say we're strong take from the weak? That's hilarious, coming from a society that does little but prey on anything weaker than themselves.
Do you know why people call you animals? Yea, you're cute and fluffy, but really because you're violent beasts pretending to run the house while your owners are away.
You call us uncivilized, but even at our worst we're still more civilized than you are at your best.
Do you know what's waiting for you when this is over? A quick death, imprisonment in accommodations as best as conditions permit, or repatriation.
Tell me, do you still throw prisoners into the kind of bloodsport we abolished millennia ago as barbarism?"

> "I am through speaking with you Solar."
Well I'm not, so tough. Now all you've said is that you are innumerable and defy ranked structure. Unless you prove that doesn't mean you're expendable and uncooperative within the next five minutes, my superiors will have you killed and I will move on to someone else. So, who are you, and why shouldn't we have you shot?

>>610325
HE is done speaking, YOU are not.

Will Enrad 2014/12/11(Thu)22:23 No. 610854 ID: 9dd1ee
File 141836538862.png - (174.00KB , 861x531 , Command77.png )

Enrad:"Well I'm not, so tough. Now all you've said is that you are innumerable and defy ranked structure. Unless you prove that doesn't mean you're expendable and uncooperative within the next five minutes, my superiors will have you killed and I will move on to someone else. So, who are you, and why shouldn't we have you shot?"

The Astranian simply starts to grin

Enrad: "You find something funny?"

Rham1: "I am through speaking with you Solar."

He knows something . . .

>>610854
...he wants to be killed? Is that what he's grinning at?

I suppose there might be intel he's protecting that way. Or some kind of deadman switch might not be impossible.

"well then, i'll set you for surgery." write a note "get a big chunk of your skull cut away so the empath can do their brain powers properly"

Recommend "special" treatment for him.

Will Enrad 2014/12/11(Thu)23:57 No. 610872 ID: 9dd1ee
File 141837106462.png - (230.95KB , 861x531 , Command78.png )

Enrad: "I'm sure some cranial surgery will change your mind . . . or at the very least remove some of the more stubborn parts of it."

he scowls at me in disgust but doesn't seem particularly intimidated.

What should I do now?
Interrogate another prisoner?
go find the Empath to help pry some information?
report my findings to command?
something else?

and what should I do with this prisoner in the mean time?
keep him isolated or stick him back with the others?

>>610325
>>610854
Oh @#$%

BOMB!

"I am through speaking with you Solar" means in about thirty seconds, he will no longer be your hostage! Something is going to happen and it might result in your imminent and gruesome death!

Yell as loud as you can that everyone needs to be on high alert, weapons hot!

Get away from him and point two pistols at his head, and threaten to brainwash his family into becoming Solar-lovers (actually, you should just adopt his kids and treat them nicely) if you don't find out what he knows!

clock him an put him in a separate cell.

When someone grins like that it means they think they know something you do not. And considering you have captured them inside there own machine they could have some nasty surprises for you.

That combined with the fact that your empath suddenly fell apart could mean that something is going on unnoticed right now. They might be little shrimps but there tech is annoyingly advanced and there are other players like the tech leeches involved.

Will Enrad 2014/12/12(Fri)14:49 No. 610984 ID: 9dd1ee
File 141842458603.png - (344.30KB , 861x531 , Command79.png )

>Yell as loud as you can that everyone needs to be on high alert, weapons hot!
Enrad: "Alert! Alert! the base has been compromised!"

Rham1: "It's to late Solar nothing will save-

>clock him an put him in a separate cell.
I hit him hard, fuel by anger I didn't even realize was there
Enrad: "Enough of your games!"

The Astranian with the caved in skull doesn't respond

>>610984
Huh.
Well, get him to a medic to see if he's dead-dead or just mostly dead.
Also: You did a very bad thing. Why are they even letting you interrogate the prisoners in the first place? You're a private! You have no training in information extraction!

I think you sliced up half his face.

Damnit, not cool man. Well, just go with it. Threaten to keep mutilating him if he doesn't tell you what is going to happen to the base.

>>610984
Well, he's dead. Grab your radio (you have a radio, right?) and radio it in. Maybe look for an explosive or down in the engine room, munitions, or storage.

Shit. Mind your new arm in the future.

Radio it in that the captive says... said, something is going down, of the 'nothing will save us' variety.

Pesky Empath... Check the stranner but don't be surprised if it's dead now. At any rate, he might just be that singleminded to just be like 'NOPE! Not gonna say anymore!' that plus stranner fraility...Yeah. Not that hard to just play the denial game for them.
Quick check- Empaths can tell what's on a stranner's mind right? Probably saw this guy wasn't going to tell us anymore than he had.

Well you could throw the broken body back in with the others and give them a story about how he cracked and then tried to attack you after. Then gloat about how there little plan will be foiled shortly. Then see how the rest react.

But the fact that he said its to late means that something is up and if you do not find out what it is soon you are probably fucked. I have a feeling the walker might be booby trapped or they missed one of the engineers when they captured this thing. Could be something else but that seems the most probable.

>>610984
oh shit oh shit oh shit not good you just assaulted a fucking prisoner that's not going to get you a promotion anytime soon.

If he's still alive, we might be able to salvage this. Somehow.

I guess we need to work quick now. Throw the dead one in with the other two, apologising that you forgot how easily they die and that you'll make sure not to let them die so quickly next time and see which of the two are more afraid. Grab the other one by the muzzle to silence them then lean into and ask the freightened one for the rest of the details.

>>611014
Also be just as polite as before, like this is a regular day for you. So they think this is your specialty, which should be believable since you were the guy that was specifically called in for them.

>>611014
Torture doesn't work, and in most cases it's outright counterproductive. Zealots, for example, are just emboldened by the thought of suffering or dying for their cause.
The best strategy is usually to make them think you know everything already, so they don't see the point in resisting. Alternatively, you can get them to trust you and build a friendship so they doubt they're doing the right thing.

Good luck with getting anything out of any of them now.

Will Enrad 2014/12/13(Sat)21:12 No. 611434 ID: 9dd1ee
File 141853393579.png - (345.39KB , 861x531 , Command80.png )

Aw shit! I didn't mean to do that!
I just felt so angry . . .

>Pesky Empath
the Empath isn't even around, and if she was manipulating me somehow why?

>If he's still alive, we might be able to salvage this.
He looks pretty dead

Seargant Rickens and Pisco show up

Pisco: "Damn, guess he was pretty uncooperative."

Rickens glances at the corpse but he doesn't seem much interested.

Rickens: "I heard you call out, is there an emergency?"

"near as i can tell there may be an explosive device or some strange raytech item on board. he seemed confident that we will not survive the day."

Tell them that you managed to find out that the little guy was taunting you about how something was about to happen and we were far to late to stop it. Then you smacked him and forgot how weak they are.

Something's going down, of the 'its too late nothing will save you' variety. It's probably why the empath is fizzling out.

>>611434
the prisoner was unusually smug, mentioned something about it being "too late", but whatever he meant, it can't be good.

>>611014
I vote for this. Tell them that it was an accident, and that to better ensure their safety, you will now aim at their genitals.

One of them will likely freak out. Start yelling, point your fist at his/her face (but be in control this time!) and demand to know "where is it", because you fully intend to break every bone in their bodies and slice up what remains if the base is compromised.

If they keep struggling, punch their groins. There is one more thing that could drive them insane, but it's derogatory and even they don't deserve it.

You've already killed their friend. Show more self-control, but go with the ruthlessness and save your fellow soldiers!

>>611434
"Something's up. He said we wouldn't survive the day, and he was smug about it."

DO NOT throw the body in with the others! Do not let them see it! Do not let them know anything about their companion! You can always decide intimidate them with it later, but you CAN'T decide to UNintimidate them!

Instead, tell them that it's standard operating procedure to isolate interrogation subjects in order to prevent them from coordinating.

LW 2014/12/17(Wed)10:42 No. 612742 ID: 9dd1ee
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Enrad: "the prisoner was unusually smug, mentioned something about it being "too late", but whatever he meant, it can't be good."

Pisco: "Maybe a bomb?"

Rickens: "Hmm I don't think so, even Astranians would have had a time bomb go off by now, if there was one."

Enrad: "so what do we do?"

Rickens: "I'll bring this to Colonel Gibly, you find out what you can from the other two prisoners"

Enrad: "What if they don't know anything?"

Rickens: "Any Astranian arrogant enough to brag to his enemies will brag to his allies"

* * *
I choose to leave the body behind, Martyrs tend to strengthen Astranian resolve.

I tell Berkly her third prisoner won't be returning and enter the room

* * *
I address the two Astranians

Enrad: "Your friend gave me some very interesting information, who would like to tell me more?"

They stare at me with faces of hopelessness.

"Alright. Here's how I'm going to play this game. Each time you lie to me, the empath in the other room will know. Each time the empath detects the lie, I'll know. Each time I detect a lie, I cook and eat another piece of your dead friend in front of your faces.

And I will discuss how good he tastes in exorbitant detail. Now tell me how stop whatever you're planning, or I will enjoy a full three course meal."

Do NOT enjoy this. You are trying to intimidate these poor Astranians for the good of your people. You're protecting your fellow squadmates from whatever the Astranians are going to do. Break their minds so you can prevent your own from being broken. But do not forget - you can be nice. If they give in, help them. Please do not kill them after they have given you what you need. If you lose yourself to the addiction of cruelty and violence, suddenly everything you're fighting for becomes a little less clear.

you got a coin? say you are going to flip it. what it lands on will decide who you take. but if they offer the information now you will forget about it.

other thing to try is slowly lower your metal claw towards one of their eyeballs. an the information will stop you.

Why the long faces? Are you worried nobody will celebrate your death? The other guy, he didn't tell me his name, says clan Rham is numberless, but I've only seen three of you. Now why are you all here?

Menace them with your robot arm if they start talking shit, but keep in mind intimidation hasn't worked up to this point.

>>612763
That's a bit much isn't it?

These two will probably respond better to carrots than sticks. Find out when they last ate, what they like to eat, what they'll need for a long term period as prisoners of war. Mention to them that that you've worked with Astranians before for mutual survival and thus are probably the most sympathetic human they'll meet for quite some time.

Get their names, give yours.

Once they've opened up to you a little, mention that the other prisoner said some things that you found concerning. See how they take that.

Scare them a bit more by examining them like you would do with cattle. Move their heads around, check their teeth and such. Cut parts of their clothes to further examine them. Note that the first one that spills the beans will be spared further invasion of their privacy while the other will satiate your personal curiousity.

>>612773
>>612763
Don't mention that their friend is dead. As said before, martyrs embolden them and strengthen their resolve.

Requisition some Astranian ration packs and turn these two against each other. Ask a question, and whoever is first to give the correct answer gets a bite of food or a sip of water. Start with simple stuff you can verify independently, like "how many fingers am I holding up," to teach them the pattern.

>>612742
Hopelessness can work.
Take the woman next, and for the love of whatever you believe in keep it civil and polite! Don't get mad, don't resort to threats, and don't act unprofessional in any way.

Grab a stranner ration pack and take her to a private room with a table and chairs. Give her the ration pack using your metal hand (You DID clean that off, right?), then give her a chance to examine it.
"Stranner made. I spent a few days with Ace Pilot Oken and her crew in an old bunker fighting for our lives against tech leech spawn. I lost limbs, so they patched me up. They're good people, but I find most people tend to be decent once you get past the propaganda.
So here we are, two people who find ourselves on the opposite sides of a conflict that's caused nothing but suffering.
Which brings me to my first question: Are you a good person?"

Will Enrad 2014/12/18(Thu)13:41 No. 612956 ID: 9dd1ee
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>Give her the ration pack
>These two will probably respond better to carrots than sticks. Find out when they last ate, what they like to eat,
>Requisition some Astranian ration packs and turn these two against each other.and whoever is first to give the correct answer gets a bite of food or a sip of water.
They aren't dogs, they won't roll over for a treat

>If you lose yourself to the addiction of cruelty and violence, suddenly everything you're fighting for becomes a little less clear.
I'm Solar, we fight to survive and we'll do what ever it takes.
and right now we're all in danger and we don't have time to make friends

I turn and continue talking to the Astranians
Enrad: "Maybe I wasn't clear, you ARE going to explain the threat your friend was talking about, all you two get to decide is how painful this will be for everyone."

Chapter 4 end

>>612956
Yea, you don't have time to make friends, but how much time do you have for failure?