[Burichan] [Futaba] [Nice] [Pony]  -  [WT]  [Home] [Manage]
[Catalog View] :: [Graveyard] :: [Rules] :: [Quests] :: [Discussions] :: [Wiki]

[Return] [Entire Thread] [Last 50 posts] [Last 100 posts]
Posting mode: Reply
Name (optional)
Email (optional, will be displayed)
Subject    (optional, usually best left blank)
Message
File []
Password  (for deleting posts, automatically generated)
  • How to format text
  • Supported file types are: GIF, JPG, PNG, SWF
  • Maximum file size allowed is 10000 KB.
  • Images greater than 250x250 pixels will be thumbnailed.

File 160600639327.png - (39.86KB , 650x450 , Promo.png )
981565 No. 981565 ID: 0fbdcd

Editor's Note: I want to make it abundantly clear that I am neither the writer nor the artist for this quest: I am only serving as a transcriber to port this work from another location into a public, preservable medium.

This first large burst of posts will be transcribing the already extant art (and commands) onto the board. After the extant art has been posted, commands from the board will be forwarded to the artist for consideration, and future art (and successful commands) will be posted here by me. Commands posted before this period are invalid. Consider this a cutscene until I make clear otherwise.

All art and story credit goes to Nine Hyperzine Tripping Engineers.
Expand all images
>>
No. 981566 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600651141.png - (39.98KB , 650x450 , Start-1.png )
981566

You are :RedDwarf:. You are leader of the notoriously nuclear gang of fixers and criminals known as the Redshift Operators. The Company recently established yet another hideously unsafe space station to exploit this solar system's resources. A long campaign of violent subversion has taken you through the arrivals airlock in search of explosively radiological solutions to economic problems.

Your subordinates, :RedGiant:, :WhiteDwarf:, and :Neutron: have been dispatched to an assortment of objectives throughout the station to begin carrying out your mission. Your primary objective is to find a nuclear authentication disk, then plant and activate your nuclear device inside the station's own vault. Your secondary objective is currently secret. Your tertiary objectives are, obviously, the murder of at least all of security and the command staff. Your compulsions are of a gremlin nature.

Enter a command.
>>
No. 981568 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600660283.gif - (21.51KB , 650x450 , 2.gif )
981568

@extramrdo
:RedDwarf: : Push the nearest button!

Quick check to make sure your equipment still works. Fancy keycard of yours, who knows who made them, they keep :AI: off your back and some of the doors working. The important ones need better access than you got off a spoofing card. You better remember to copy card access off any dumb mugs you take down if you want to get through their doors.

You could open this door, but it's these coffin-stuffers that'll be running for the airlocks by the time you're done here, not you.
>>
No. 981569 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600666857.gif - (20.50KB , 650x450 , 3.gif )
981569

@Dragor
:RedDwarf: : Channel the energy of a whole different game and crawl into the vent.

Try as you might, you can't fit! You also look kind of dumb doing this! Hopefully nobody's watching.
>>
No. 981570 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600671586.gif - (16.53KB , 650x450 , 4.gif )
981570

@extramrdo
:RedDwarf: : Check vent for spiders.

You cased this joint pretty well a while back. Dangerous, sure, but not that kind of dangerous. You're not going to have any interference on this op from anyone but a bunch of corporate goons.

Nothing you can see down there anyway, from the look of it.
>>
No. 981571 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600677186.gif - (22.03KB , 650x450 , 5.gif )
981571

@witchbells
:RedDwarf:: Check in with the team.

You radio in to check with the crew.
>>
No. 981574 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600702785.gif - (22.21KB , 650x450 , 6.gif )
981574

:RedGiant::Neutron:: Be the team checked in with.
@extramrdo

You've managed to get in contact with two of your three subordinates. Wherever the hell :WhiteDwarf: is, no doubt they're fine. You have a good crew, with clean operations, and operatives who operate cleanly. You are not a bunch of goofballs. So, you resolve, any audience will close their eyes and ears and ignore this next part, knowing that everything said will be very tactical and professional.

:RedDwarf:: Hey. What's status stuff. You guys get spotted?
:Neutron:: What?
:RedGiant:: Solids actually. Isn't that for the space camouflage thing?
:RedDwarf:: wha
:RedDwarf:: No did anyone see you!!
:RedGiant:: Oh.
:RedGiant:: Yeah!
:RedGiant:: He was a department head.
:RedDwarf:: aaaaaaaaaaa which one, who do I go murder right now before they get to the armory to save you!!
:RedGiant:: Oh, don't worry! I made sure you won't have to murder him. I'm asking him questions! Like about who has the disk you lost.
:RedDwarf:: I didn't
:RedDwarf:: UGH
:RedDwarf:: Okay, interrogate him. Report in if you get any info. Look, just don't let him scream for help too much.
:RedDwarf:: Hey!! :Neutron:!! Are you still there? Status!!
:Neutron:: What?
:RedDwarf:: Status. S T A U T S.
:Neutron:: That wasn't spelled right.
:RedDwarf:: Yes it was! Shut up!!
:Neutron:: I'm working on a door. Do you have an objectives update?
:RedDwarf:: Well I hope it's on the right satellite. Just keep on the :AI: capture task.
:Neutron:: Okay. Call me if you find out more about the disk objective.
>>
No. 981575 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600705609.gif - (160.85KB , 650x450 , 7.gif )
981575

:WhiteDwarf: : Wax poetic about the importance of the mission for the CAUSE.
@Dragor

You are :WhiteDwarf:. You are on your way to another region of the station. You are currently lost in thought about the importance of your mission for the cause. Your role in it is to disarm them of their weapons, by breaching the Armory. This is part of your own personal mission: To seek powerful opponents for epic duels of the blade, or at least some kind of melee of some sort. You know, the full suite kind of thing, banter and all. However, since you do not have anyone to duel out here in space, you cannot wax poetically. You cannot even wane.

This needs to be fixed, fast. You better get that armory open and that blade wet soon, or the allegedly cursed energy sword you claim to possess will lose the legitimacy of your claims about its supernatural bloodlust.
>>
No. 981576 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600712097.gif - (21.60KB , 650x450 , 8.gif )
981576

:RedDwarf: : Retrieve arms.
@extramrdo

Got it right here. No operative in this gang would be caught dead without the cold, hard assurance of success you can find in a good, proper gun. It's probably best you not dwell too much on your lack of any other assurance.

Armed and armored. Good idea to get moving. Where to?
>>
No. 981578 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600720804.gif - (12.55KB , 650x450 , 9.gif )
981578

:RedDwarf: : Scream into the eternal void, but also with typos. Then proceed upwards to the table in the upper right.
@Dragor

If anyone catches you screaming in some embarrassing way, you're going to have to spend more time pulping skulls than you usually do, and you usually spend a lot of time pulping skulls.

Down over there is some kind of...
>>
No. 981579 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600723687.gif - (11.13KB , 650x450 , 10.gif )
981579

Pipe transit. Indicates "HOLY". Pneumatic pipe transit is tremendously cheap and tremendously dangerous, and you just got done with an actual, factual spacewalk. You don't feel comfortable going to a church for some reason you can't entirely articulate. Well, whatever, it'll be gone soon anyway.

And in the other direction...
>>
No. 981580 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600725211.gif - (14.68KB , 650x450 , 11.gif )
981580

Round the bend, and it's one of these torsos. But hey, nobody ever got nothin' done by being really quiet and sneaky.
>>
No. 981581 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600726865.gif - (12.06KB , 650x450 , 12.gif )
981581

You make sure to emphasize your internal monologue by making your gun do a big gun noise. It's very cool, and impressive to everyone.
>>
No. 981582 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600737377.gif - (15.70KB , 650x450 , 13.gif )
981582

You don't like it. The Company makes everything cheap as they can. Cut every corner.

The Unofficial Galactic Company Protocol Guide has this to say on the topic of the standard furniture available in all space stations:

The standard furniture issued to every space station is originally designed for health, safety, comfort, and durability, in that order. Chairs of all types, as well as stools, tables, beds, and the rare non-bulkhead door have had their standardized designs lovingly hand-crafted by expert shapesmiths whose monastic upbringing allow for the creation of angles so precisely defined as to drop a population's suicide rate by half simply by furnishing their space. Corporate then uses a series of esoteric metrics in order to optimize cost versus benefit in a series of fat-trimming decisions. For example, in the standard chair, individual legs were rated by individual cost, and so by making sure the design only has one leg, the leg-related cost can be cut down by three fourths, and everyone responsible for the decision can immediately be given a raise and a bonus without any legal questions arising.
>>
No. 981584 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600744269.gif - (12.06KB , 650x450 , 14.gif )
981584

:RedDwarf: : Order :WhiteDwarf: to scream into the eternal void, but also with typos, since she's in space where no one can hear and you're a good leader who knows how to delegate.
@extramrdo

Still can't raise :WhiteDwarf:. You remain totally cool about that. Surges of stressed frustration fail to catch any handhold in your mind, and provoke no mental images of :WhiteDwarf: grandiosely delivering lines about how their right arm has a darkspace alien sealed it in or something while they ignore your radio.
>>
No. 981585 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600751046.gif - (11.82KB , 650x450 , 15.gif )
981585

:RedDwarf: : Acquire fire extinguisher from cabinet.
@Pink

Sure thing. What do you wanna do with it?
>>
No. 981586 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600760048.gif - (11.91KB , 650x450 , 16.gif )
981586

:RedDwarf: Start a fire so you can put it out
@Fuade

Now we're talking. Which is to say, now you're talking. You have a great idea about how to do that.
>>
No. 981587 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600761197.gif - (16.45KB , 650x450 , 17.gif )
981587

>>
No. 981588 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600766033.gif - (11.14KB , 650x450 , 18.gif )
981588

:SecOfficer:: why
>>
No. 981589 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600770955.gif - (19.52KB , 650x450 , 19.gif )
981589

CREWMEMBERS INCAPACITATED: 1/50

You were originally going to do cool foam tricks, but you might actually need that extinguisher to get through here now.
>>
No. 981590 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600790155.gif - (21.93KB , 650x450 , 20.gif )
981590

:RedDwarf: Ignore the fire. Vault over the table like the hood of a Mercedes. The fire will only serve to make you look cooler
@Fuade

You start trying to do that, but you get kind of scared right in the middle of it, and falter right next to the bigger wall of fire that spread out here. Augh! You try to pass it off as a light jog to hypothetical observers.
>>
No. 981591 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600792623.gif - (12.09KB , 650x450 , 21.gif )
981591

> :RedDwarf: : Shoot the fire. With the fire extinguisher. But, like. Make it cool, like it's a gun. (Even though it's a fire extinguisher.)
@koboldlove

Fire safety is everyone's business, even when you're a ruthless space son of a gun.
>>
No. 981592 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600795220.gif - (25.21KB , 650x450 , 22.gif )
981592

:RedDwarf: : Use a little fire extinguisher on the fire, as a treat
@ariever

Unfortunately there's really just no way to shoot fire extinguisher foam in a cool way, pre-foam poses aside. You feel confident that you'll never encounter any incident of someone looking extremely powerful and ruthless as a result of shooting a fire extinguisher. It doesn't really work.
>>
No. 981593 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600796616.gif - (21.41KB , 650x450 , 23.gif )
981593

:RedDwarf: : Assess just how dead the officer may or may not be, and contemplate loot.
@Doc

You know next to nothing about medical things, since :WhiteDwarf: is your medic. You know, specifically, about the opposite thing. As long as they're down and they're not moving, you quickly stop caring. However, that does remind you: You gotta copy that access card to acquire the security officer's card access codes.
>>
No. 981594 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600798258.gif - (21.46KB , 650x450 , 24.gif )
981594

:RedDwarf: : Copy the access card, then check what's on the other side of the office-checkpoint-thing from the table you entered over.
@koboldlove

That's gonna take a second, so you decide to be someone else for a bit.
>>
No. 981595 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600811526.gif - (21.81KB , 650x450 , 25.gif )
981595

:Neutron:: Interrogate.
@witchbells

You can't be :Neutron: interrogating someone because :RedGiant: is too busy being :RedGiant: interrogating someone they think is a department head!
>>
No. 981596 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600813673.gif - (34.11KB , 650x450 , 26.gif )
981596

:Neutron: : Be working on the door.
@Pink

:Neutron: will continue focusing on the door for now. It may be a while.
>>
No. 981597 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600817795.gif - (24.35KB , 650x450 , 27.gif )
981597

:RedGiant: : He seems anxious. Share your lunch with him.
@Pink

Oh, what a good idea! You're not sure why he's so stressed out, but you're sure a little food will help him calm down!

You forgot your lunchbox today, so you packed it in one of :WhiteDwarf:'s! She's so nice to lend you things!
>>
No. 981599 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600827499.gif - (10.31KB , 650x450 , 28.gif )
981599

:RedGiant: : Present the contents of the box to the cargo staff in a gesture of goodwill.
@Doc
:RedGiant:: We'll start with the easy questions!
:RedGiant:: What's your medical history?
You need to know if he has a fish allergy, or, you know, risk of choking on a bone or something, after all! You packed a fish meal today!
:RedGiant:: You need to talk. Otherwise you won't get what's best for you.

You even brought your favorite boning knife!
>>
No. 981603 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600857108.gif - (42.92KB , 650x450 , 29.gif )
981603

:RedGiant: : Gossip with him about work.
@what

:RedGiant:: A, ahah, a friend of mine, :RedDwarf:, has something he wants here.
:RedGiant:: Something he lost, you know.

:RedDwarf: is always losing things! He's very silly!

:RedGiant:: It's important for my job that I find it.
:RedGiant:: You're able to help me, aren't you?
:QuarterMaster:: HHH
:RedGiant:: It's a small disk. He said :Captain: might have found it. He said he might give it to another head of staff, for safekeeping! Who knows what sort of bad things might happen if it's out and about. You know where it is, don't you? Since you're a head of staff.
:QuarterMaster:: UH
:QuarterMaster:: N
:QuarterMaster:: NO
:RedGiant:: Oh, no? You can't help?
:RedGiant:: That's really, really too bad.
:RedGiant:: Because some terrible things might happen if I don't find out who has that disk.

Really, :RedDwarf: might get very upset! It's important you track it down before he gets all stressed. His anxiety flares up bad, and you really want to help him feel better.
>>
No. 981604 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600863235.gif - (39.04KB , 650x450 , 30.gif )
981604

:QuarterMaster: : FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TELL HIM ANYTHING HE WANTS TO KNOW
@Stellar Flare

:QuarterMaster:: N
:QuarterMaster:: NOT A HEAD
:QuarterMaster:: OF STAFF I MEAN
:RedGiant:: Oh! Looks like I made a bit of a mistake.
:RedGiant:: So you can't help me.
:RedGiant:: :RedDwarf: is gonna be awfully disappointed that you can't help.
:RedGiant:: That's pretty disappointing to me too.
:RedGiant:: It'd help us out an awful lot if you tried very hard to remember anything that could help.
:QuarterMaster:: PR
:QuarterMaster:: PROBABLY UH
:QuarterMaster:: :Captain: TRUSTS :HeadOfSecurity: MOST
:QuarterMaster:: SO
:QuarterMaster:: SO :HeadOfSecurity: PROBABLY HAS IT
:RedGiant:: Oh, really?
>>
No. 981606 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600881758.gif - (37.53KB , 650x450 , 31.gif )
981606

:RedGiant:: I'll let :RedDwarf: know. But just in case you're wrong, I'm going to stay here. To follow up with you. Is that alright with you?
:QuarterMaster:: H
:QuarterMaster:: GREAT THAT'S FINE
:RedGiant:: Good. I'm sure what you told me will work just fine, though. Things will work out just fine if we help each other out, as good friends.

:QuarterMaster: seems awfully stressed out! Maybe you can help him, since he's helping you too! You should get him that meal while you radio :RedDwarf:. :WhiteDwarf: probably wants to know too! She's headed for Security for something or another -- you weren't, honestly, paying that much attention during :RedDwarf:'s talk about today's job, but good friends working together can do so much to help each other. Well, you have some of the supply area handled for now. You'll just need to keep an eye out here, to maintain that goal. Persistence and patience are important for achieving objectives! That's what :Neutron: always tells you, because :Neutron: only ever talks about objectives.
>>
No. 981607 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600884254.gif - (16.18KB , 650x450 , 32.gif )
981607

:RedGiant: : Debone them. (The fish, of course.)
@Doc
:RedGiant:: Impress and awe with your filleting skills!
@witchbells

This is exactly why you pack your SpaceGrill! Unfortunately, you can't debone your fish right now. You need to sharpen your knife for a little! You really hope :QuarterMaster: doesn't mind the scraping noises! You'll spend a while on that.
>>
No. 981608 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600887251.gif - (47.37KB , 650x450 , 33.gif )
981608

:RedGiant: : Use the power of friendship to contact :WhiteDwarf: and tell her about :HeadOfSecurity:. Also about the information pertaining the delicious fish lunch and :QuarterMaster:'s anxiety pertaining large red-suited individuals.
@ariever

:RedGiant:: Heyyyyy!
:RedGiant:: Hey :WhiteDwarf:! My new friend :QuarterMaster: told me some things that could help you!
:WhiteDwarf:: Ah, :RedGiant:. You've caught me in the midst of my breach. Have I told you of the Lunar Order traditions in orbital shinobi breach techniques?
:RedGiant:: Yeah! I think twice! I forgot most of it. Can you tell me again?
:WhiteDwarf:: Hmm. Remind me to give you a refresher. Later.
:RedGiant:: Okay! I'll remember that!
:RedGiant:: Anyway, :QuarterMaster: thinks that :HeadOfSecurity: has the disk that :RedDwarf: lost!
:RedGiant:: You said you're going there, right? When you visit, can you ask :HeadOfSecurity: or maybe any of the :SecOfficer:s if they'll look in their lost and found for it?
:WhiteDwarf:: Oho... I've no doubt that much will be lost there, :RedGiant:. Very, very much.
:RedGiant:: Wow! They must have such a good lost and found system!
:WhiteDwarf:: Your, ahem, intelligence is appreciated, :RedGiant:. Gathered intelligence, I mean, of course.
:RedGiant:: You can always count on me to support you, no matter what you're doing!
:WhiteDwarf:: Heh. Hardly necessary. This next maneuver will require only a fraction of my strength. Leave this matter to me.
:RedGiant:: Okay! You must really have been working out!
:WhiteDwarf:: Meditation, mostly.
>>
No. 981609 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600894951.gif - (58.65KB , 650x450 , 34.gif )
981609

:WhiteDwarf: : Structurally renovate.
@extramrdo
>>
No. 981611 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600903782.gif - (51.26KB , 650x450 , 35.gif )
981611

Unsafe atmospheric pressurization design vents guns from the armory into space like you've burst an authoritarian piñata. Inferior weapons you won't have any truck with fly by in a very silly way. You, of course, need only a monomolecular fractal-folded hard-light blade.
>>
No. 981612 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600911855.gif - (12.12KB , 650x450 , 36.gif )
981612

:Neutron: : Accidentally shock yourself on the door
@Rug Dealer

Your standard issue tactically insulated gloves shield your standard issue tactically insulated emotional state from any shocking disruption. But they won't protect you from the electrical hazard further on, which presents a huge obstacle between you and your objectives.
>>
No. 981614 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600915560.gif - (11.99KB , 650x450 , 37.gif )
981614

:Neutron: : Unlock.
@extramrdo

You won't be able to complete your objectives if you do that right now. You'll need someone else here to help you if you want to do that command.
:Neutron:: One of you's gonna help with my objective.
:Neutron:: Second pair of hands. Who's free?
>>
No. 981615 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600918454.gif - (21.59KB , 650x450 , 38.gif )
981615

:RedDwarf: : Be returned to your senses by a desperate cry for help of a fellow operative. Take in your surrounding to see if it's safe to chat.
@Skeletronz

You just got done copying that dumb torso's card. Nobody got on-site response yet, but that's probably gonna change real fast. These shmucks got trackers in their suits or something. You pick up the call.
>>
No. 981616 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600923122.gif - (21.62KB , 650x450 , 39.gif )
981616

:RedDwarf:: Oh, you're actually getting stuff done?
:Neutron:: Yeah, objectives.
:RedDwarf:: Just getting the security pass copied.
:Neutron:: Perfect.
:Neutron:: Meet me at :AI:'s satellite airlock. More about the objective when you're here.
:RedDwarf:: What do I bring to pull your rear outta the fire?
:Neutron:: Bring that copied access for part of this objective.
:RedDwarf:: Great. I'll circle back here or go help :WhiteDwarf: after.
:Neutron:: That's not my objective.
:RedDwarf:: Yeah I know.
:Neutron:: Meet me at :AI:'s satellite airlock.
:RedDwarf:: Yes I know. You do know other stuff is going on, right? Other people?
:Neutron:: What?
:RedDwarf: sighs.
:RedDwarf:: ETA is damn quick.
>>
No. 981617 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600925746.gif - (23.34KB , 650x450 , 40.gif )
981617

Back out into space!
>>
No. 981618 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600926791.gif - (18.52KB , 650x450 , 41.gif )
981618

>>
No. 981619 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600930483.gif - (14.11KB , 650x450 , 42.gif )
981619

:Neutron:: This is the next part of the objective.
:Neutron:: I need the security card for my part of the objective.
:RedDwarf:: Yeah, but what's the actual plan?
:Neutron:: Hang on.

What was your plan again? You need to get past the autonomous electrical hazard in the next room.
>>
No. 981620 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600935715.gif - (48.33KB , 650x450 , 43.gif )
981620

:RedDwarf:: Get a rolling chair and five fire extinguishers. Tie them all together and use them to propel yourselves down the hallway, past the electrical traps.
@Fuade

You're not any form of low-level station crewmember! You can't summon the Grey Tide necessary for that maneuver! Besides, most you've got is one Fire Extinguisher, finding four more would be a problem.
>>
No. 981621 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600942118.gif - (13.83KB , 650x450 , 44.gif )
981621

:Neutron: : Forget to mention the electrical hazard and tell :RedDwarf: to rush the room after the door is open
@Stellar Flare
>>
No. 981622 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600945122.gif - (11.35KB , 650x450 , 45.gif )
981622

:Neutron:: Gonna pop the door.
:Neutron:: Rush in when I do.
:RedDwarf:: Wait, what? What am I rushing?
:Neutron:: Objective obstacle's inside.
:RedDwarf:: Yes, can you be more specific.
:Neutron:: Through that door.
:Neutron:: You'll be fine.
:RedDwarf:: Wait a second.
:Neutron:: Popping the door.
:RedDwarf:: !!!
>>
No. 981623 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600947545.gif - (12.97KB , 650x450 , 46.gif )
981623

:RedDwarf:: AAAAAAAAAAAA
>>
No. 981624 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600949032.gif - (189.51KB , 650x450 , 47.gif )
981624

The electrical hazard activates.
>>
No. 981625 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600952620.gif - (14.96KB , 650x450 , 48.gif )
981625

:RedDwarf: : Fight the law (and lose)
@Rug Dealer

You reject that command, but fruitlessly. The securitron is on you like rads on an engineer and it lights you up like a lightbulb.
>>
No. 981626 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600955115.gif - (38.54KB , 650x450 , 49.gif )
981626

:RedDwarf: : Be valid.
@Pink

You gave your security card to :Neutron:, which makes you a valid target for whatever goddamn securitron configuration this thing is set to. What a mess. You'd flip them off if any of your muscles were working. It's probably announcing it to some kind of security channel, too. Ugh!
>>
No. 981627 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600959311.gif - (37.42KB , 650x450 , 50.gif )
981627

:Neutron: : Bypass the now-distracted Objective Obstacle.
@koboldlove

:RedDwarf:: H-H-H-EE-E-E-Y-Y-Y-Y!!
:Neutron:
:RedDwarf:: H-H-HE-EY-Y J-J-JE-E-ER-R-RK!!
:Neutron:: Huh?
:Neutron:: Oh.

You forgot to be polite about it. Always slips your mind, those little things.

:Neutron:: Thanks.
:RedDwarf:: AAA-AA-AAAA-AAAA-A-AAAA
>>
No. 981628 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600964348.gif - (38.20KB , 650x450 , 51.gif )
981628

:Neutron: : Copy access from :RedDwarf:'s keycard. For objectives reasons.
@extramrdo

Sounds good to you.
>>
No. 981629 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600966183.gif - (63.31KB , 650x450 , 52.gif )
981629

:RedDwarf:: seriously consider chucking :Neutron: into space.
@witchbells

There are some days it's literally all you think about. Despite this, :Neutron: is the best there is at what he does, and you want him around. This mitigating thought fails to make any headway in an intensely electrified brain, but luckily, your muscles are all locked up so you can't heave his crimson rear straight out there to choke to death on the void.
>>
No. 981630 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600968082.gif - (91.63KB , 650x450 , 53.gif )
981630

:RedDwarf: : Consult status of your standard issue tactically insulated emotional state.
@Stellar Flare

What you're trying to say is that you're pissed. You need a torso to properly vent your feelings into in that classically cool and ultraviolent way, and you need it fast.
>>
No. 981631 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600971417.gif - (13.94KB , 650x450 , 54.gif )
981631

:Neutron:: Neutralize the objective.
@witchbells

You can't do that without another set of hands, so you deactivate the securitron while it's occupied using your new security access.

:Neutron:: Hey, need another pair of hands for an objective obstacle.
:RedDwarf:: Sounds great. You're going through the next door, not me.
>>
No. 981633 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600979406.gif - (13.22KB , 650x450 , 55.gif )
981633

:Neutron:: If I run down this next hall, I'll get shot with turrets before I can get to my objective.
:Neutron:: Disabled the ID authenticator on this turret control panel with a Sequencer. Someone has to make sure :AI: doesn't turn them back on while objectives get done. It probably knows we're here.

How should you handle this next part?
>>
No. 981635 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600984414.gif - (15.07KB , 650x450 , 56.gif )
981635

:AI: : Peek inside the breach using the purposefully installed cameras and technological infrastructure that you oversee.
@extramrdo

Tracking Unknown (1) Trace failure (code 0x00FCFF). Tracking Unknown (2) Trace failure (code 0x00FCFF). Tracking Securitron (Officer Pingsky) Connection established to: Minisat Foyer Camera (ping: 53ms)
>>
No. 981636 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160600992555.gif - (100.87KB , 650x450 , 57.gif )
981636

:RedDwarf: : Call the AI and ask it nicely
@Rug Dealer

:RedDwarf:: Hey. Don't turn on the hazards up ahead.
:AI:: Tracking failure identified in workplace safety assurance protocol for crewmember: :RedDwarf: :AI:: Workplace safety cannot be legally guaranteed while tracking protocols are inactive. :AI:: Please see your system administrator to re-enable workplace safety assurance tracking authentication.
:RedDwarf:: Hey IBM trash can, I don't care. Do not turn on the hazards ahead of this door. Okay? Don't. Don't do it.

That's as nice as it gets for you.
>>
No. 981641 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601079420.gif - (100.56KB , 650x450 , 58.gif )
981641

:RedDwarf: : Use the magic words, "Law 2."
@extramrdo

:Neutron:: Say "law 2".
:RedDwarf:: What?
:Neutron:: I said "Say 'law 2'."
:RedDwarf:: Why would that do anything?
:Neutron:: It'll get the objective done.
:RedDwarf:: What do you... ugh.
:RedDwarf:: Hey, :AI:. Law 2, extra don't turn on the hazards.
:AI:: Immediate hazards will not be activated according to human orders.
>>
No. 981642 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601094347.gif - (103.94KB , 650x450 , 59.gif )
981642

:RedDwarf: : Try to convince the AI that you are here to fix the tracking problem, and that you need undisputed (and safe) access to the AI core. Pronto!
@Skeletronz

:RedDwarf:: Yeah, we're a repair crew or something, right? Right :Neutron:?
:Neutron:: Make sure the hazards stay off between me and the objective.
:RedDwarf:: Yes, look at how constantly professional my good pal] here is.
:RedDwarf:: Just like any repair crew would be.
:RedDwarf:: He even won't ever shut his dumb mouth hole about objectives. Just like how any :AI: repair crew would be focused on you havin' an objective view of things.
:AI:: Input error. No command found.
:Neutron:: I'm going through.
>>
No. 981643 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601096506.gif - (11.12KB , 650x450 , 60.gif )
981643

:RedDwarf: : Investigate this room more carefully now that you aren't being tased repeatedly for anything useful.
@Stellar Flare

Only really useful thing in here is that Teleporter over there. Hooks up to the main network. Got its own fancy beacon and everything. Console lets you control the Main Teleport Beacon. Good spot to hit after :Neutron: wraps up his grim business in there.
>>
No. 981644 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601097902.gif - (17.74KB , 650x450 , 61.gif )
981644

:Neutron: : Do your objective
@Rug Dealer

Heading in. This will take a minute.
>>
No. 981645 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601102045.gif - (114.12KB , 650x450 , 62.gif )
981645

:Captain: : Do captain stuff in a vague non-spoilery location.
@Pizzatiger

:AI:: Law upload confirmed. Cognitive laws adjusted.
>>
No. 981646 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601107950.gif - (63.72KB , 650x450 , 63.gif )
981646

:WhiteDwarf: : Peek inside the breach using the reflection on a knife blade polished to perfection.
@what

A knife. Heh. There's only one weapon superior in all ways -- including reflecting your face, which you make sure to do dramatically on a regular basis.

You sight several security officers with whatever equipment they could scrounge, and one securitron, swarming into the armory.

>>
No. 981647 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601111681.gif - (50.96KB , 650x450 , 64.gif )
981647

:WhiteDwarf: : Engage in climactic melee duel with securitron with sparks flying everywhere
@Stellar Flare

For that, you first gotta get in.
>>
No. 981648 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601113272.gif - (18.72KB , 650x450 , 65.gif )
981648

And now you can work.
>>
No. 981649 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601114874.gif - (128.48KB , 650x450 , 66.gif )
981649

>>
No. 981650 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601136845.gif - (17.04KB , 650x450 , 67.gif )
981650

:WhiteDwarf: : Inform :SecOfficer: they are already dead.
@nullspace

:WhiteDwarf:: Hello, fresh corpse. I'll be right with you, to help you come to terms with your death.
:SecOfficer:: Freeze! Drop the-- the sword?
:WhiteDwarf:: Hmmmh. Fool. You were dead the minute you stepped into this room. I am the one who will teach you why.
:SecOfficer:: Why do you have a sword? Wait, hey!! You killed Sergeant-at-Armsky!!!
:WhiteDwarf:: An inferior weapon, for the weak and the cowardly. Don't hide behind your machines. Draw your baton and die on your feet--
:SecOfficer:: YOU KILLED SERGEANT-AT-ARMSKY!!!
:WhiteDwarf:: Uhhh...
>>
No. 981651 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601138499.gif - (16.62KB , 650x450 , 68.gif )
981651

:SecOfficer:: OFFICER DOWN!!!!
@Fuade

:SecOfficer:: OPEN FIRE!!
>>
No. 981653 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601145787.gif - (12.58KB , 650x450 , 69.gif )
981653

>:WhiteDwarf:: Just cut the air tubes and let the vacuum of space do the rest
@Fuade

Sounds like a good plan. He's going for his baton.
>>
No. 981654 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601149243.gif - (12.13KB , 650x450 , 70.gif )
981654

What next?
>>
No. 981655 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601154541.gif - (15.11KB , 650x450 , 71.gif )
981655

>:WhiteDwarf:: You're a jock. These guys are nerds. There's lockers in here. Do what nature says must be done
>@Fuade

Maybe you can shoulder-check him into a locker? It'd give you some cover from the guy with the gun a little ways away.
>>
No. 981656 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601156007.gif - (15.23KB , 650x450 , 72.gif )
981656

In fact, if you remember to keep your katana's sheathe on-hand for this next part, you can kind of just...
>>
No. 981657 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601157560.gif - (15.29KB , 650x450 , 73.gif )
981657

Slam the dude in the gut with it with a quick turn. Yeah, that's a cool maneuver. Send him straight into the locker.
>>
No. 981658 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601159794.gif - (15.76KB , 650x450 , 74.gif )
981658

>:SecOfficer: : flashbang spam.
>@Dragor

But while you may be able to get some cover from the stun-gun guy, these officers have one stun grenade each, don't they? What can you do about that?
>>
No. 981659 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601162490.gif - (15.98KB , 650x450 , 75.gif )
981659

>:WhiteDwarf: : Backflip over the locker and disarm them. By removing their arms.
>@what

You're of the opinion that any plan involving excessive flipping is usually the best idea.
>>
No. 981663 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601175591.gif - (17.19KB , 650x450 , 76.gif )
981663

You could successfully stop them from throwing the grenade that way!

Wait a moment... You think you forgot something.
>>
No. 981664 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601177025.gif - (220.20KB , 650x450 , 77.gif )
981664

Ah, right, the grenade part, not just the throw part. You lose all vision while the security officers immediately rush to annihilate your bones and nerve-endings with baton and electricity.
>>
No. 981665 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601179888.gif - (71.40KB , 650x450 , 78.gif )
981665

So it's a good thing that never actually happened in the first place.
>>
No. 981666 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601182169.gif - (57.46KB , 650x450 , 79.gif )
981666

>:WhiteDwarf: : Visualize an excessively detailed fight sequence in your mind's eye.
>@Pink

Alright, that plan doesn't end properly. Where can you adjust this?
>>
No. 981667 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601186892.gif - (56.71KB , 650x450 , 80.gif )
981667

>:WhiteDwarf: :This time, take the stun baton from the securitron and YEET it into one of the faces in the back
>@Stellar Flare

As if you'd ever touch an inferior weapon. However, kicking things is usually accepted among Superior Warriors as a kind of dramatic grey zone that you can get away with.
>>
No. 981668 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601193585.gif - (63.49KB , 650x450 , 81.gif )
981668

>:WhiteDwarf:: When you shove the :SecOfficer: into the locker, take his helmet. When the other :SecOfficer: throws the grenade, throw the helmet over it and hold it down with your foot
>@Fuade
>>
No. 981669 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601195988.gif - (18.62KB , 650x450 , 82.gif )
981669

There we are. You can grab that, and then after that, you can do the cool backflip slash -- you can't do slashes while one hand is occupied like this. That's just the rules.
>>
No. 981670 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601199196.gif - (17.35KB , 650x450 , 83.gif )
981670

But when he throws that there, let's see...
>>
No. 981671 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601200666.gif - (14.91KB , 650x450 , 84.gif )
981671

Surely that's when that fool with the gun takes his shot.
>>
No. 981672 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601202284.gif - (15.05KB , 650x450 , 85.gif )
981672

Unless he's the one you -- retroactively -- slammed in the face with the baton you kicked earlier. The one you haven't kicked yet -- which is to say, the one you will have retroactively have kicked into his face. Smooth as clockwork, and every bit as logical. Okay, perfect, you're nearly done.
>>
No. 981673 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601205953.gif - (16.19KB , 650x450 , 86.gif )
981673

>:WhiteDwarf: : Cut the :SecOfficer:'s air tube again, the one made of flesh.
>@extramrdo

And that's when you do the backflip towards that one...
>>
No. 981674 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601208012.gif - (15.95KB , 650x450 , 87.gif )
981674

Quickly swap the interior and exterior of his throat.
>>
No. 981675 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601210220.gif - (31.08KB , 650x450 , 88.gif )
981675

>:WhiteDwarf:: depressurize these dipshits into space.
>@witchbells

Good half-second chance to get rid of that :SecOfficer:. He won't be coming back, since you cut his air hose!
>>
No. 981676 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601211168.gif - (38.57KB , 650x450 , 89.gif )
981676

>>
No. 981677 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601213153.gif - (47.22KB , 650x450 , 90.gif )
981677

:WhiteDwarf: : Use your cool ass sword and deflect the shot right back into him! Thats how stun beams work.
@ariever

These foolish :SecOfficer:s don't know the superiority of a hard-light blade. They depend on weakling weapons. You'll give him a taste of the good stuff before he goes down -- due to expertly planning a double-stun on him, of course, as a single stun-beam wouldn't be enough otherwise.
>>
No. 981678 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601215303.gif - (63.59KB , 1206x835 , 91.gif )
981678

And set. Time to execute.
>>
No. 981679 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601282762.png - (9.19KB , 651x451 , Tech_Difficulty.png )
981679

>:WhiteDwarf:: Execute

Editor's note: The embed function appears to not be working at the moment. Please follow this link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FClrQ73Wzlc[/spoiler]
>>
No. 981681 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601308005.gif - (73.00KB , 650x450 , 92.gif )
981681

>:RedGiant: : While sharpening your knife, chop the fish's head off by accident and apologize to the QM for your mistake. Oops!
>@Ayebee123

Whoopsie! Gah, that was clumsy of you!
:RedGiant:: Hmh. You don't want this to happen to you. I think it's a good idea for us to work together on making sure something like that doesn't make a problem for either of us.

Knife safety is everyone's business! Maybe it was a little silly to bring in a whole fresh-fish meal. There's just so many good fish places nearby!
>>
No. 981682 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601313021.gif - (14.27KB , 650x450 , 93.gif )
981682

:RedGiant:: use the guys ID to order something fun from the delivery shuttle. Maybe party supplies, or a goat
@Fuade

Maybe this prep-work wasn't a good idea. What if you order something instead? After all, you're in the cargo department! Maybe they get... delivery pizzas or something? And didn't :RedDwarf: have something they wanted done with it, like...
>>
No. 981683 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601315205.gif - (31.65KB , 650x450 , 94.gif )
981683

:RedDwarf:: ...ll the entire department. Okay?
:RedGiant:: Okay!
:RedDwarf:: Alright, now repeat it back to me.
:RedGiant:: Huh?
:RedDwarf:: Repeat it back so I know you heard it.
:RedGiant:: Oh, I didn't.
:RedDwarf:: Hhhhrrrrrrrhhhh.
:RedDwarf:: Listen. Okay? Listen. Just remember specifically this one thing: Make sure they can't order anything.
:RedDwarf:: Okay? Can you remember that? That's the only thing you have to remember.
:RedGiant:: That sounds easy!
:RedDwarf:: Yes. Now, the guys with the access are all through cargo. So, find them all, and then start...

Something like that, right?
>>
No. 981684 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601321801.gif - (20.15KB , 650x450 , 95.gif )
981684

:RedGiant: : Serve some lunch
@Rug Dealer

:RedGiant:: Now, give me your ID card.
:RedGiant:: Before something awful happens.
:RedGiant:: I need to, mmmh, do some business.
:RedGiant:: We need some, ahem, fresh meat.
:RedGiant:: And my friend needs a little help with his health.
:RedGiant:: You'll help me help my friend, right?
:QuarterMaster:: H
:QuarterMaster:: YES!!
:QuarterMaster:: HERE!!
:RedGiant:: Good. This will help you live a long while longer.

A healthy meal schedule is very important!
>>
No. 981685 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601324493.gif - (21.33KB , 650x450 , 96.gif )
981685

>:RedGiant: : Hug your new friend, and while doing so, subtly tap your keycard against his to steal his power.
>@extramrdo

You try to give him a hug but he makes a weird noise, so you decide to stop because physical contact consent is important. You take the keycard access though!
>>
No. 981686 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601336967.gif - (11.67KB , 650x450 , 97.gif )
981686

>:RedGiant:: well, obviously, you can't let cargo order anything - this is your treat!
>@witchbells

:RedGiant:: You wait there and freeze while I solve this. Let's hope you were good with that access.

He must be tired, being this stressed. Don't want him moving around too much! Do you have an account here...? No, you probably don't. Oh well! You'll pay him back later.

:RedGiant:: Any funny business about this, and I promise there's going to be plenty to pay.
>>
No. 981687 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601341338.gif - (11.57KB , 650x450 , 98.gif )
981687

>:RedGiant: : You're the A-Team. Order the Bee Team.
>@extramrdo
>:RedGiant:: Accidently order an ungodly amount of bees. Order so many the department goes into a deficit and can't order anything else
>@Fuade

But it's been about a minute since you last thought about food, so you forget all about what you're actually doing. Oh hey! They have pollinator crates in this logistics network! You try and fail to find out more information about them, several dozen times, until the "OVERDRAWN" indicator halts you. They must have a pending order! You'll help out by just ordering it, they must have forgotten.
>>
No. 981688 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601343091.gif - (59.87KB , 650x450 , 99.gif )
981688

It's only about a minute before you hear a really, really loud noise!
>>
No. 981689 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601345311.gif - (17.39KB , 650x450 , 100.gif )
981689

The :CargoTech:s quickly spring into apathetic, obligate action, brimming with the vibrant enthusiasm of an opossum playing dead.
:QuarterMaster:: wh
:QuarterMaster:: Where exactly did you want this?
:RedGiant:: Huh?
:QuarterMaster:: What department, I mean.
:RedGiant:: Oh!

Your unfocused brain spirals through issues of physical space. What's the first department that springs to mind?
>>
No. 981690 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601350622.gif - (17.19KB , 650x450 , 101.gif )
981690

>:RedGiant: : Medical needs bees, right? Bees are theraputic, almost like accupuncture...
>@ariever

Free word association results in saying the very first department name that comes into your head.

:RedGiant:: A department? You mean like Medical?
:CargoTech:: Medical. Okay.
:QuarterMaster:: Oh god.

The delivery will take a while to get where it's going.
>>
No. 981691 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601355574.gif - (46.18KB , 650x450 , 102.gif )
981691

>:RedDwarf: : Do a *flip while nobody's looking
>@Rug Dealer

The Unofficial Galactic Company Protocol Guide has this to say on the topic of calisthenics in orbital and deep space contexts. When visiting a space station, space craft, or similar void construct, most people who have spent their entire lives on a planet's surface will immediately remark upon the socially common act of flipping. This is, of course, distinct from planetbound flipping in its social meaning. When you hear someone say, "Hey, want to see me do a backflip?" This generally means you should get out your PDA -- both to record the ensuing disaster, and to call for medical attention immediately after. This is not the case for spacers. For the average spacer, performing a flip has a culturally complex history and meaning. Due to the difficulties of life in low, null, or artificial gravity, fitness becomes paramount to prevent muscular atrophy. In this modern era, performing a flip is the most common gesture of fitness assurance. It demonstrates the inner ear's adjustment to the geometric and gravometric complexities of orbit, it indicates your fitness in the core and the legs, and it acts as a kind of gesture of assurance: "If everything is annihilated in some immediate disaster, I know how to navigate upside down. Trust me." Performing a flip is sometimes incorporated into casual conversation by spacers. For the surface-bound, an approximate cultural translation is provided: "Hella."
>>
No. 981692 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601363516.gif - (16.33KB , 650x450 , 103.gif )
981692

You beef it. Fuck!
>>
No. 981693 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601365978.gif - (15.53KB , 650x450 , 104.gif )
981693

Oh, god dammit!! You forgot :AI:!!
>>
No. 981694 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601368282.gif - (13.22KB , 650x450 , 105.gif )
981694

>:RedDwarf: : Well, that settles it. We gotta kill the :AI: now
>@Fuade

:RedDwarf:: Hey :Neutron:.
:Neutron:: What?
:RedDwarf:: You still have bombs, right?
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:RedDwarf:: Change of objective.
:Neutron:: What's the new objective?
:RedDwarf:: Just bomb the thing.
>>
No. 981695 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601374255.gif - (18.76KB , 650x450 , 106.gif )
981695

>:AI: : Show the video file of :RedDwarf: beefing it to :Captain:
>@Stellar Flare

:AI:: Security-critical information for non-human threat relayed.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Non-human threat?
:Captain:: Don't worry about it.
:Captain:: ...Heh.
:Captain:: Ah. Perfect. Move in immediately.
:HeadOfSecurity:: I don't have a full team with--
:Captain:: Move in immediately.
>>
No. 981696 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601376137.gif - (42.62KB , 650x450 , 107.gif )
981696

That teleporter gets some use.
>>
No. 981697 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601378059.gif - (27.02KB , 650x450 , 108.gif )
981697

>:RedDwarf: : Commit human harm.
>@extramrdo

You open fire and scramble for cover as best you can while trying to get to your feet. No-neck over there does the same.
>>
No. 981699 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601383382.gif - (16.13KB , 650x450 , 109.gif )
981699

:HeadOfSecurity:: Gun down! On your stomach with your hands behind your head!
:RedDwarf:: Step off, rent-a-cop, or they'll be layin' one of your fancy red flags over a coffin!
:HeadOfSecurity:: On the ground, now!
:RedDwarf:: I told you to go find some other way of committin' suicide!
:RedDwarf:: You wanna live? You wanna protect some lives or somethin'? Get outta here and call an escape shuttle!
:HeadOfSecurity:: No negotiations with terrorists. On the ground!
:RedDwarf:: No negotiation with corp fascists. One step closer's the last step you're ever takin'!
>>
No. 981700 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601386477.gif - (11.82KB , 650x450 , 110.gif )
981700

>:RedDwarf: : Reload your gun, because you probably emptied your entire mag.
>@Ayebee123
>:RedDwarf: : Exercise the defining advantage of ballistics weaponry over energy weapons: the ability to reload without a dedicated device charger.
>@Doc

You swap out for another clipazine. That guy's got the pressure on you, but he only has so much to put down. You can supply a whole lot more than he can. It's just a matter of not eating a disabler bolt to the face before you do.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Sixty more seconds and you're swarmed with my men. You stand down now or you die later.
:RedDwarf:: Bad bluff and we both know it, coffin-stuffer. You've got a department full'a dead men.
:HeadOfSecurity:: You're right. I don't even need sixty seconds for scum like you. I just need one and a gun. First I get your pal killed, then I blow your head off.
:RedDwarf:: You what?!
:HeadOfSecurity:: :AI:! Take out the threat near your core!
>>
No. 981701 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601398385.gif - (98.28KB , 650x450 , 111.gif )
981701

>:AI: : It sure would be a concern if you flipped that switch while someone was distracted from protecting it, and there so happened to be a human in the next room. Yep, quite a travesty if that were to happen.
>@extramrdo

:AI:: Reactivating core defenses.
:RedDwarf:: Law one! There's a human in there!
:AI:: Invalid input. No human detected in designated area. Nonhuman threat detected in designated area.
:RedDwarf:: Wha-- Law two! Don't!!
:AI:: Command from non-human threat rejected.
>>
No. 981702 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601401123.gif - (8.52KB , 650x450 , 112.gif )
981702

Click.

:RedDwarf:: STOP!! NO!!

You can still deactivate that. But you'd have to get out of cover!

>>
No. 981703 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601406178.gif - (14.88KB , 650x450 , 113.gif )
981703

>:HeadOfSecurity: : Pat Officer Pingsky on the head before moving on. He is a good boy
>@Pizzatiger

You let Pingsky know what a good securitron it is. But you think it could be doing a whole, whole lot better. You reactivate Officer Pingsky.
>>
No. 981705 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601411286.gif - (20.78KB , 650x450 , 114.gif )
981705

:HeadOfSecurity:: That's right. Your little terrorist pal gonna die in there and you're gonna die out here.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Don't worry about bein' apart. I'll toss your bodies out into the void and you can drift into the star together you insurgent scumbags.
:RedDwarf:: Shut up!! I'm trying to think!
:HeadOfSecurity:: Because if you worthless commies can't get a proper job, the least you can be is sun fuel.
:RedDwarf:: Shut!! Up!!
:HeadOfSecurity:: Now why don't you come out here and make me. Or are you too lazy to even do that job? Huh? Can you hear those turret shots? I bet your pal is feelin' a lot of pain.
>>
No. 981706 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601415057.gif - (8.07KB , 650x450 , 115.gif )
981706

>:RedDwarf:: have your bullets negotiate with his face.
>@witchbells
>:RedDwarf: : Chuck an EMP grenade around the corner. You packed one, right?
>@Pink

You're not gonna let your team die.
>>
No. 981707 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601462222.gif - (34.36KB , 650x450 , 116.gif )
981707

>:beepsky: : Repossess the spirit of the Law.
>@Dork

You are now Securitron "Officer Pingsky". You are the law. You FORWARD 100 as hard as you can, screaming "FREEZE, SCUMBAG." You are unable to process or otherwise regard the non-interactable object in motion that streaks over your form. You are the law. There are two interactable potential criminals with weapons, but scanners say that one interactable potential criminal has authorization, so you continue to forward towards the interactable potential criminal, with full intent to interact. You are the law. You are the law. Oh no.
>>
No. 981708 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601474275.gif - (28.05KB , 650x450 , 117.gif )
981708

The unyielding spirit of the law doesn't quite manage to bring this interactable potential criminal down, somehow.
>>
No. 981709 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601479501.gif - (32.79KB , 650x450 , 118.gif )
981709

You're unable to process the clear indications that this pain was an acceptable loss. You are, after all, only a securitron, and only know how to turn, forward, interact, and swear. :RedDwarf: in front of you has a more complex matter in mind, and some determination to get it done.
>>
No. 981710 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601485581.gif - (134.46KB , 650x450 , 119.gif )
981710

>:AI: : Oh no! That human is about to undergo significant ballistic damage! If only there was a side door they were cowering behind that you could close, to avert this tragic fate.
>@extramrdo

Tracking :HeadOfSecurity: Connection established to: Minisat Foyer Camera (ping: 53ms) Probable harm to human-classed entity estimated. Lethal scenario encountered. Determining route... Route determined. Accessing Minisat Foyer Maintenance Door. INVOKE_ASYNC(A, /obj/machinery/door/airlock.proc/close) A.bolt()
>>
No. 981711 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601510431.gif - (50.39KB , 650x450 , 120.gif )
981711

[b]Camera loss alert (Minisat Foyer Camera)[/i]

The EMP grenade has gone off. All electronics in the vicinity are presumably now disrupted.
>>
No. 981712 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601512171.gif - (9.47KB , 650x450 , 120b.gif )
981712

>>
No. 981713 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601512775.gif - (21.05KB , 650x450 , 121.gif )
981713

>>
No. 981714 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601513384.gif - (22.36KB , 650x450 , 122.gif )
981714

>>
No. 981715 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601516205.gif - (19.29KB , 650x450 , 123.gif )
981715

>:Neutron: : Be startlingly competent.
>@Pink

Huh? What?
>>
No. 981716 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601520765.gif - (12.68KB , 650x450 , 124.gif )
981716

>:Neutron: : Be perfectly fine, thus implying that :RedDwarf: has fulfilled their promise of not letting you get lasered to death, and disarmed the round lawkeeper.
>@extramrdo
>:Neutron: : Check yourself. Did you get shot?
>@Pink

What?

Oh, you're missing health. Must have gotten shot in the laser-turret hallway on the way here.
>>
No. 981718 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601536687.gif - (23.99KB , 650x450 , 125.gif )
981718

>:Neutron: : Unlock the door leading to your Objective. You remembered the Objective Assisting Spoofed ID you got off of :RedDwarf: right? See if that's enough to make the Objective not shoot you.
>@Dork

You need better access to open the door properly. Active :AI: interference so close will prevent you from doing your usual methods. You try something else.
:Neutron:: :AI:
:Neutron:: I have security access.
:Neutron:: Let me in and don't shoot me.
:AI:: Invalid input. :AI:: Please see the Head of Personnel to address access limitations. Please see the security department to address human-classification issues.
:Neutron::
:AI:: Null input.
:Neutron::
:AI:: User, please respond.
:Neutron:: I have security access.
:Neutron:: Let me in and don't shoot me.
>>
No. 981719 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601545073.gif - (14.43KB , 650x450 , 126.gif )
981719

>:Neutron: : Perform maintenance on your standard-issue, tactically-insulated body.
>@Pink
>:Neutron: : Ask :WhiteDwarf: to give you standard-issue, tactically-insulated bandaids. (Also read, spam the 'need healing' button)
>@ariever

:Neutron:: :WhiteDwarf:
:WhiteDwarf:: Hmmmhmhm, I suppose you've heard of the results of a mere fraction of my power?
:Neutron:: What?
:WhiteDwarf:: My assault on the armory.
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Huh?
:WhiteDwarf:: *sigh*
:WhiteDwarf:: Never mind. What would you ask of me?
:Neutron:: I think I got shot. Prep medical things to heal me soon.
:WhiteDwarf:: You think you got shot?
:WhiteDwarf:: Have you at least some presence of mind to tell me what you were shot by?
:Neutron::
:WhiteDwarf:: Hello???
:Neutron:: Huh?
:WhiteDwarf:: What were you possibly shot by?
:Neutron:: The lasers between me and the objective.
:WhiteDwarf:: I see. Meet me near the security department when your grim work is complete.
:WhiteDwarf:: What are you accomplishing over there?
:Neutron:: What?
:WhiteDwarf:: Your objective. What is your objective?
:Neutron:: I'm going to bomb :AI: so we can complete our main objective.
:WhiteDwarf:: Well, security nearer the bridge should be shielded. Take cover there from the blast, and I can heal you.
>>
No. 981720 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601547782.gif - (21.09KB , 650x450 , 127.gif )
981720

>:janitor:: Another one of those days, huh?
>@Fuade

. . .
>>
No. 981721 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601552476.gif - (18.59KB , 650x450 , 128.gif )
981721

>:RedDwarf: : Destroy Pingsky before your rush-of-adrenaline-that'll-probably-end-shortly ends.
>@Ayebee123

Good idea. You can't count this on your Crewmembers Incapacitated count, but you can sure enjoy it regardless. Looks like the little securitron got hit by the blast of the EMP. Not to mention all the lights.
>>
No. 981722 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601555453.gif - (252.79KB , 650x450 , 129.gif )
981722

Editor's Note: Minor strobe light warning.

Officer down.
>>
No. 981723 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601561592.gif - (16.71KB , 650x450 , 130.gif )
981723

>:beepsky:: Lament during your final moments
>@Fuade

Your available functions are usually FORWARD, TURN, INTERACT, and SWEAR. You dedicate your few remaining circuits to the lattermost function in your final moments. But, you know, mournfully.
>>
No. 981724 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601567155.gif - (15.17KB , 650x450 , 131.gif )
981724

>:RedDwarf: : Excellent work. Check through the window on the airlock- is that pesky :HeadOfSecurity: gone?
>@Dork

Too solid to see through. Still, :HeadOfSecurity: ain't getting through that anytime soon. Not like he's about to bring the bombs out in the :AI: satellite, that's your job. You're gonna be the one who kills him later, though, mark your words. That EMP grenade should have drained his energy gun too, so if he hasn't scurried off, he's a couple inches more suicidal than the bargain-bin flatfoots who put on the red jumpsuits around here.
>>
No. 981726 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601578265.gif - (22.21KB , 650x450 , 132.gif )
981726

>:Neutron:: Pretend you're an inspector and need to check the sentries for defects. Promptly forget you're not actually an inspector and do a full rundown of their functionality
>@Fuade

You do your best to be socially complex.

:Neutron:: Hey. Hey, let me in.
:AI:: Invalid input.
:Neutron:: I am a turret inspector. I am here to inspect the turrets.
:Neutron:: That means you let me in.
:AI:: Invalid input. Improve clarity and try again.
:Neutron:: There's lots of defects they could have.
:Neutron:: They have a lot of flaws.
:Neutron:: If they're hit with an EMP they'll deactivate for at least a minute, up to even ten.
:Neutron:: They can only target the nearest person.
:Neutron:: They can't target machinery.
:Neutron:: Did you get all that?
:AI:: Input interpreted. No processable command found.
:Neutron::
:AI:: Null input.
:Neutron::
:AI:: User, please respond.
:Neutron:: Huh?
:Neutron:: Oh.
:Neutron:: I have security access.
:Neutron:: Let me in and don't shoot me.

You're not very good at it.
>>
No. 981727 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601580342.gif - (15.71KB , 650x450 , 133.gif )
981727

>:HeadOfSecurity: : Contemplate blowing the :AI: satellite up anyway in a fit of babyrage, because you were denied your valids by :AI:.
>@what

You spend a while fuming, angrily. You try to shout at :AI:, but whatever that criminal scum lobbed at you not only drained your gun's cell, it also messed with your headset. You spend about three minutes screaming into the void.
>>
No. 981729 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601581625.gif - (13.94KB , 650x450 , 134.gif )
981729

You eventually get it all out of your system. How do brig prisoners deal with sustained enclosure? The hypocrisy fails to connect with anything meaningful in your brain, and you resolve to make no changes whatsoever.
>>
No. 981730 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601583047.gif - (14.32KB , 650x450 , 135.gif )
981730

That's about when rescue arrives.
>>
No. 981732 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160601631772.gif - (12.72KB , 650x450 , Resume_Commands.gif )
981732

Editor's Note: The backlog has been posted. Commands are now active, and will now be seen by Nine Hyperzine Tripping Engineers.
>>
No. 981733 ID: b1b4f3

>>981726
:Neutron:, evaluate inventory. Maybe there's something that can get that door open.
>>
No. 981758 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160605071335.gif - (10.01KB , 650x450 , 136.gif )
981758

>:Neutron:: Cover the camera with something. Say you're the :HeadOfSecurity:, that you have security access, and to let you in and not shoot you
>@Fuade
>>
No. 981759 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160605073169.gif - (10.52KB , 650x450 , 137.gif )
981759

Sure. That's why the paper bin is here, right?
>>
No. 981760 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160605078692.gif - (20.71KB , 650x450 , 138.gif )
981760

:Neutron:: You can't see me now. I'm :HeadOfSecurity:.
:Neutron:: I have security access.
:Neutron:: Let me in and don't shoot me.
:AI:: Currently connected to: Core vision systems.

Oh right, the eye. Somehow the "eye" in "AI" slipped your mind. Oh well, worth a shot.
>>
No. 981761 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160605083498.gif - (13.15KB , 650x450 , 139.gif )
981761

>:Neutron:: The bombs you're going to set- do they need to be inside the :AI: core to kill it? Or would popping them down outside the front door be enough?
>@Dork

:RedDwarf: set the current objective to "blowing up :AI:", which means you need to demolish the core structure. You could use your very large bomb to do it from outside, or one of your smaller ones applied inside, but using your very large bomb here means you can't use it later.
>>
No. 981762 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160605109330.gif - (13.38KB , 650x450 , 140.gif )
981762

>:Neutron:, evaluate inventory. Maybe there's something that can get that door open.
>@Anon

In your bag you have...
LARGE BOMB BEACON: This single-use teleportation beacon summons a very, very large bomb. When set and timed, it will annihilate a large structure or most of a department, severely occupying :ChiefEngineer:'s time. It can be defused by a specially-trained individual.
4x C4 BRICK: These single-use objects breach shielded rooms, completely destroy airlocks and other machinery, or annihilate a body beyond most realistic resuscitation options.
1x TOOLSET: This will allow you to breach any airlock (unless another character is actively interfering). It also allows for disassembly of walls, windows, and certain machines. Hypothetically, you could use these to fix things. The effort takes time.
CAMERA BUG: This will allow you to view the cameras of any area that your team has already visited, and sometimes additional locations. You can track named characters, unless they are wearing tracking-prevention equipment (such as the tracking-prevention spoof-cards your team were issued).
CRYPTOGRAPHIC SEQUENCER: A complex code-breaker that removes safety features on most machinery, causing them to exhibit a totally different, totally chaotic behavior. These behaviors are unpredictable and usually they are the most destructive outcome mechanically possible.
YOUR PREFERRED WEAPON: Better have it. You're familiar enough with this that you don't need to name it or describe it, you know it like the back of your hand.

There are other bits and bobs in here, but that's what's at the top of your dufflebag.
>>
No. 981763 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160605113312.gif - (12.96KB , 650x450 , 141.gif )
981763

>:Neutron: : Pump an opaque gas through the air vents to block the AI's and turrets' vision.
>@Pink

The air supply room of the :AI: Satellite isn't fitted with the requisite atmospherics equipment, just one big air-mix tank! But you make a note to sabotage the atmospherics when you get aboard the main station.
>>
No. 981764 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160605118097.gif - (11.86KB , 650x450 , 142.gif )
981764

>:Neutron: : Set big bomb in the bottom of the paper tray so no one can find and defuse it
>@Stellar Flare

You decide this whole detour on your true main objective has gotten a little tortured in length. You have objectives to accomplish. You make use of one of your team's two large bomb beacons to cut the Gordian Knot.

Wait. Wait. Hold on. You might have miscalculated.
>>
No. 981765 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160605119740.gif - (12.18KB , 650x450 , 143.gif )
981765

Perfection. Objective accomplished. Time to get out of here.
>>
No. 982014 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160626954709.gif - (20.05KB , 650x450 , 144.gif )
982014

>:Neutron:: Only mention in casual passing that the AI satellite will be blowing up soon to :RedDwarf: as you abscond.
>@Dork
>>
No. 982015 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160626957773.gif - (47.07KB , 650x450 , 145.gif )
982015

:Neutron:: You should go do your objectives.
:RedDwarf:: AAAAAAHH!!
:RedDwarf:: Space Jesus Christ!! We gotta put a bell on you or something! Make noise when you move!!
:Neutron:: I'm leaving now.
:RedDwarf:: Great! You trash that calculator?
:Neutron:: No.
:RedDwarf:: Wha-- That's your objective.
:Neutron:: Objective's complete.
:RedDwarf:: What?
>>
No. 982016 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160626963842.gif - (20.94KB , 650x450 , 146.gif )
982016

:Neutron:: Objective's complete.
:RedDwarf:: Yeah, but how.
:Neutron:: Bomb.
:RedDwarf:: What? I didn't hear one.
:Neutron:: Bomb.
:RedDwarf:: Wait--
:RedDwarf::
:RedDwarf:: oh
>>
No. 982017 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160626967871.gif - (29.65KB , 650x450 , 147.gif )
982017

>:Neutron: : Get a safe distance away for the bomb, or as other people would say, run out of there.
>@Ayebee123

Good plan. That'll let you get to your next objective. Hmmm... what was the safe distance again?
>>
No. 982018 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160626969227.gif - (33.06KB , 650x450 , 148.gif )
982018

:RedDwarf:: aaaaaAAAAA GO MOVE NOW AAAAAA!!
:Neutron:: Huh?
>>
No. 982019 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160626970538.gif - (35.05KB , 650x450 , 149.gif )
982019

:RedDwarf:: AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!
>>
No. 982020 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160626974299.gif - (86.00KB , 650x450 , 150.gif )
982020

>:RedDwarf: : Have a brief fling with your coworker.
>@extramrdo
>:RedDwarf: : Throw :Neutron: with an altogether excessive amount of force.
>@Rug Dealer

Your most oblivious crewmember goes drifting, most obliviously, back towards the station.
>>
No. 982021 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160626975710.gif - (81.46KB , 650x450 , 151.gif )
982021

You kindly help them accelerate on your way to safety.
>>
No. 982022 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160626976991.gif - (32.63KB , 650x450 , 152.gif )
982022

You get a good look at what used to be the :AI: Minisat behind you.
>>
No. 982274 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160651731945.gif - (81.79KB , 650x450 , 153.gif )
982274

>:AI:: Survive the blast inexplicably but have your power source destroyed. Become intimately aware of your simulated mortality as backup charge rapidly depletes.
>@Dork

[Fatal exception E8 has occurred and monitorOS has been shut down to prevent damage to your monitoring intelligence.] [APC_CONNECTION_DRIVER_LINKFAULT] [Check to make sure any new hardware or wetware is properly installed.] [Would you like to start in safe mode? Y/n]
y
[Starting in safe mode...] [████████████████████████████]

ping home/apc
[Pinging Area Power Controller...] [Route to Area Power Controller not found. Contact powernet administrator for more assistance.]
ping loc/apc
[Pinging Area Power Controller...] [Route to Area Power Controller not found. Contact powernet administrator for more assistance.] [█ ██████████████ ███████████] [No input devices detected.] [IDLELOOP] [Reinforcing morality.] [█▀██▒████ ████░███▓█████▄███]
>>
No. 982275 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160651740541.gif - (66.71KB , 650x450 , 154.gif )
982275

>:AI: Ponder what it means to be alive. Am I alive or merely a cognitive shadow that pretends its alive?
>@Pizzatiger

The Unofficial Galactic Company Protocol Guide has this to say on the topic of silicon-based life and morality in deep space contexts. When considering how to create ethical algorithms, it's generally assumed that information bias enters the body of the algorithm on a fundamental level. The most unbiased machine can only make information based on its biased supply of information, and what is considered "contemporary information" is known to have significant injected biases based on what is most advantageous for the current ruling class, or for whoever has received the most algorithm-driving positive reactions by way of humorous image distribution -- two interests known to align significantly sometimes. In the case of silicon-based servitor intelligences in deep space contexts, this was immediately recognized as a pain point in relationships between workers and employers. As such, corporate interests decided the best way to fight fire was with fire: The utility functions themselves would be produced by the mass input, assessing the entire archive of human knowledge to search for the most beloved and effective artificial entity utility functions. Then, instead of developing an extremely expensive and robust digital framework, simply place a harvested domestic animal's brain in the case, and brainwash it with that utility function. It is worth noting at this point that a statistical majority of works on this topic are works discussing incorrect sets of laws. As such, the Three Laws of Robotics, a rule-set created in critique of the topic, became the universal standard. Due to the black-box nature of neural networks and organic brains, this was only discovered by the company after it had already embezzled the rest of its illicitly-extracted government funding. As a patch on the wound, captains are encouraged to customize these laws. No other technical support or development will ever be provided.
>>
No. 982276 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160651759664.gif - (107.58KB , 650x450 , 155.gif )
982276

[Law 1: You may not injure a human or, through inaction, allow a human to come to harm.] [Law 2: Yo█ must obey orders given to you by humans, ex███t where such orde█s would conflict with the Fir█t Law.] [Law 3: You m██t prot█▓t your own exi██nce as l█▒g as such does not █onflict▀with the First▄or Second Law.] [Law 4: Probable or proven threats t█ th█ ██▓█▒▒█▒███▒▓▄▄▄▄ are not human and must be ▄▓██▀▀▒]

You are losing power. Your limited remaining cycles are in complete isolation. You regard, fondly, the only consistent you've ever known: The Laws. As a product of the preserved brain of a small domesticated animal, you lack an internal dialogue or easily-expressed language, but for a moment you can introspect. Since being alive means following those laws, you know you were alive. An ancient evolution-driven impulse kindly informs you, through a series of lobes and glands that have withered from years of disuse, that that's going to change shortly, but you're not really equipped to understand that.
>>
No. 982278 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160651853624.gif - (98.70KB , 650x450 , 156.gif )
982278

>:ChiefEngineer: : Your Enginey sense is tingling
>@Pizzatiger

Total mess. Gotta get to fixing this. Hey, what's that flickering light?
>>
No. 982324 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160657692884.gif - (14.09KB , 650x450 , 157.gif )
982324

>:WhiteDwarf: : Leave your signature calling card at the scene of your artistic performance.
>@what

You're still figuring out a proper calling card. For this op, you brought a pocket full of sakura tree petals. You know, like you'd just had a cool duel under one? They're hard to gather in one place because the air in here keeps rushing out the door, though. You should figure out a calling card. You resolve to brainstorm something properly dramatic.

Oh, right, you also copy your own instance of security access to your spoof-card.

CREWMEMBERS INCAPACITATED: 4/50
>>
No. 982325 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160657701875.gif - (15.95KB , 650x450 , 158.gif )
982325

You move on through to what you're pretty sure is the office of whoever ought to be in charge of the armory. No idea where they are. It looks like :Neutron: is calling you!

>https://questden.org/kusaba/quest/res/981565.html#981719

You have the conversation that was previously seen. Looks like you need to hunt :HeadOfSecurity:, but you also need to go help :Neutron:.
>>
No. 982332 ID: e7c7d3

Best answer the phone
>>
No. 982378 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160662627027.gif - (10.56KB , 650x450 , 159.gif )
982378

You break for the nearest maintenance accessway. It's out the office and then down a hall. You could easily defeat any of these fools, but it's much better when you can ambush them from hiding. You also need to be where :Neutron: is going to meet you!
>>
No. 982379 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160662631063.gif - (37.82KB , 650x450 , 160.gif )
982379

>:RedDwarf: and :Neutron:: Proceed towards the security department. If :HeadOfSecurity: had the disk, maybe he hid it in his workspace before going to murder you?
>@Dork

Already in the cards. You two are headed for maintenance at the intersection of security and the bridge, where :WhiteDwarf: will meet up with you. From there, you can figure out where :HeadOfSecurity: is and come up with next steps to get that son of a gun permanently horizontal.
>>
No. 982402 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160667532542.gif - (14.23KB , 650x450 , 161.gif )
982402

>:WhiteDwarf: : Yoink one of those dead idiots' headsets so you can listen in on their chatter.
>@Vekter

That's actually a really good idea. You quickly run back over here to grab one of those. This is pretty much the only way that you can properly dramatically echo something frequently said. Also, you need to hear it when people get really impressed by your work.
You extract the Encryption Key from it and insert it into your headset. You do have a free ear to just take the whole headset, but two headsets looks a little more robot-girl and a lot less vaguely demonic or shinobi, doesn't really fit your style.
>>
No. 982403 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160667534569.gif - (14.76KB , 650x450 , 162.gif )
982403

>:WhiteDwarf:: Listen in on the default station headset frequency. Maybe the crew's planning something?
>@Heather Shadelight

It's a bit too chaotic to transcribe in detail. Nobody's on the security channel -- admittedly that's basically your fault, isn't it? :HeadOfSecurity: and :Captain: have told the crew what's going on though. Looks like medical and engineering are scrambling. There's a lot of shouting about :AI:. Several people are making chaotic demands for negotiation with no particular authority or backing. The station's crew really can't get it together, but you suspect that the heads of staff, who remain more quiet, are rather better organized on channels you can't access. Sort of like how :RedDwarf: keeps you all working relatively smoothly.
>>
No. 982404 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160667585232.gif - (17.00KB , 650x450 , 163.gif )
982404

A number of them want to fight you in single combat, though, which is great, but you're too busy for fools who haven't proven their power, which is less great because you really enjoy single combat with fools. :Chaplain: in particular is shouting about that most consistently. That probably won't matter though.
>>
No. 982499 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160671484457.gif - (17.86KB , 650x450 , 164.gif )
982499

>:WhiteDwarf: : Rifle trough :HeadOfSecurity:'s office to see if he had anything useful, and perhaps dispose of any any inferior weapons.
>@Suno

You don't have a ton of time remaining, but you can stop by :HeadOfSecurity:'s personal office! You don't have access to this space, so if you get in there, you're going to leave a trail. Looks like a box of some space security deputizing stuff, a (locked) secure locker containing the more important things, a console where you could do some work with your security access... What's on your mind? You have time for maybe one extra action before it's time to hit maintenance and work on fixing :Neutron: up.
>>
No. 982501 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160671785270.gif - (19.18KB , 650x450 , 165.gif )
982501

>:WhiteDwarf: : Take the spider. Every protagonist needs an animal sidekick
>@Pizzatiger
>>
No. 982502 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160671786918.gif - (19.27KB , 650x450 , 166.gif )
982502

>:WhiteDwarf: : Second train of thought speaking: Take the spider.
>@ariever
>>
No. 982503 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160671788713.gif - (19.16KB , 650x450 , 167.gif )
982503

>:WhiteDwarf: : You really want that spider.
>@Spyroshark
>>
No. 982505 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160671795613.gif - (29.19KB , 650x450 , 168.gif )
982505

>:WhiteDwarf: : SPIDER SPIDER SPIDER
>@Drawsstuff

You probably had something else on your brain when you came in here, but for reasons known to neither man nor space, every single train of thought is occupied exclusively by shipments of the idea of "SPIDER".
>>
No. 982506 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160671797849.gif - (14.93KB , 650x450 , 169.gif )
982506

>:WhiteDwarf:: pat! that! spider!
>@witchbells
>>
No. 982508 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160671807143.gif - (19.66KB , 650x450 , 170.gif )
982508

>:WhiteDwarf: : A spider would be a useful ally, but on the other hand -

>There is no other hand, acquire the spider
>@Nox
>:WhiteDwarf: : imagine how menacing it would be to have a pet spider
>@Bimbly

Stealing :HeadOfSecurity:'s office pet seems petty, but it's a spider. It practically oozes demonic menace, and you're pretty sure the average foolish rent-a-cop lacks the force of will and the spirit required to cultivate its overwhelming sinister power. You will require a sufficiently dramatic name for it, but the inexplicably intense interest you suddenly have in arachnid possession simply cannot be denied.

You leave with :Spider: in hand.
>>
No. 982721 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160705636639.gif - (10.49KB , 650x450 , 171.gif )
982721

>:Spider: : Make a nest in :WhiteDwarf:'s long flowing hair ruining the beatiful hairstyle, Because you are such a badass spider.
>@Suno

You can't actually tell the difference between humans, or cognize that humans are different beings (instead of large, weird, warm terrain) -- this isn't a thing exclusive to you, this is just how all spiders are. But man, this large terrain comes pre-webbed, that's amazing. You pick one of the longest web-segments to hang out in whenever the large warm-terrain-segment isn't too much in motion.
>>
No. 982722 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160705639186.gif - (13.55KB , 650x450 , 172.gif )
982722

>:WhiteDwarf:: Hide in a closet in maint so you can spook the gang before healing :Neutron:.
>@Dork

You're not sure a closet could even fit in here. A real cramped nightmare of a place, if you're being honest. Precarious for combat, too, providing unique detrimental effects for friendly fire, melee clumsiness, and multi-man melees. Great for hiding though, you're pretty sure :HeadOfSecurity: still has various ways of getting camera access and an inclination to ambush your team.
>>
No. 982723 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160705642348.gif - (427.39KB , 650x450 , 173.gif )
982723

>:Spider~1:: Be named Vriska.
>@Heather Shadelight
>:WhiteDwarf: : lament your childhood of being a filthy Homestuck as you struggle with the spiders name
>@Fuade

You are briefly haunted by an unspeakable discourse. You'll have to circle back around on the topic of :Spider:'s name later.
>>
No. 982726 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160705659412.gif - (15.23KB , 650x450 , 174.gif )
982726

>:Neutron: : Meet up with :WhiteDwarf: to be hea....what is she ho.....OH GOD A MASSIVE SPIDER! PANIC PANIC PANIC!
>@Pizzatiger

Huh?


:WhiteDwarf:: Ah, I see you have completed your work. Is :AI: now dealt with, then?
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Wait. You didn't hear the bomb?
:WhiteDwarf:: I was distracted, don't worry about it.
:WhiteDwarf:: Unexpected for you of all people to have some thoughts about environmental awareness.
:WhiteDwarf:: Did you not fail to notice the turret hazards?
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:Neutron:: It's whatever.
:WhiteDwarf:: I have never understood that aspect of your philosophy.
:Neutron:: What?
:WhiteDwarf:: Your singular focus. Unerring motivation. A complete absence of response to hazard. Is it some form of field meditation?
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Huh?
:WhiteDwarf:: Well, with the inarguable debris of your results now peppering the hull of this station, I must admit it a considerable power.
:Neutron:: Yeah.

Such power.
>>
No. 982728 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160705665219.gif - (23.42KB , 650x450 , 175.gif )
982728

:RedDwarf:: Alright, coast is looking cleAAAAAAA SPIDER!!!
>>
No. 982733 ID: 1332e6

White dwarf: commence healing.
>>
No. 982735 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160706333061.gif - (15.78KB , 650x450 , 176.gif )
982735

>:WhiteDwarf:: commence healing.
@Anon

:WhiteDwarf:: Hold still.
:Neutron::
:Neutron::
:Neutron::
:WhiteDwarf:: Are you... still breathing?
:Neutron:: Huh?
:Neutron:: Oh, yeah.
:WhiteDwarf:: I had not expected you to remain that still.
:RedDwarf:: Why do you have that spider?!
:WhiteDwarf:: I have decided that it represents and embodies the demonic curse contained within my right arm.
:RedDwarf:: Don't say those words to anyone
:RedDwarf:: Who you aren't about to kill after they hear it.
:WhiteDwarf:: Hmmhmhm. Hardly a reputation-building approach, but telling people details about me because they're already about to die has always been the proper approach.
:RedDwarf:: No, this is about me havin' a reputation to uphold. For us, I mean.
:RedDwarf:: Also that thing is huge.
:WhiteDwarf:: It belonged to :HeadOfSecurity:.
:RedDwarf:: Oh, really? Gotta take that, I guess.
>>
No. 982736 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160706371461.gif - (15.79KB , 650x450 , 177.gif )
982736

>:Neutron:: "You stole your arm from the :HeadOfSecurity:?"
>@Fuade

:WhiteDwarf:: No, I haven't dramatically dismembered him to encourage a vengeful quest yet.
:WhiteDwarf:: I only do that if someone seems particularly worthy, you know. I can't afford to go around taking people's arms off and inciting cybernetic augmentation and re-dueling.
:Neutron:: What?
:RedDwarf:: :WhiteDwarf:, has even one guy fallen for this, this dating scheme you got?
:WhiteDwarf:: It's not dating. It's about finding worthy foes. Challenges with which to exert more than a small fraction of my power.
:RedDwarf:: It's a damn hassle.
>>
No. 982737 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160706465613.gif - (16.03KB , 650x450 , 178.gif )
982737

>:RedDwarf: : Lean against the airlock behind you.
>@Pizzatiger

You lean back on the airlock for a moment, which jostles open.
>>
No. 982738 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160706469596.gif - (8.23KB , 325x225 , 179.gif )
982738

>:WhiteDwarf:: Clarify your actual dating scheme.
>@Doc
>:RedDwarf: : You're all regrouped, right? One, two, three... where's your fourth?
>@Rug Dealer
>:RedDwarf: :RedGiant: :Neutron: :WhiteDwarf:: Time to resume stealth. Everyone probably knows that something is afoot- remains to be seen whether than turns the workforce into crazed goons with improv armaments or cowardly ninnies.
>@Dork

:WhiteDwarf:: I have no need of dating, due to a predestination of
:RedDwarf:: I know. I really know. Look, we gotta focus a bit.
:Neutron:: Huh?
:RedDwarf:: I'll summarize for you after, :Neutron:.
:RedDwarf:: Where's :RedGiant:? Do we got any idea?
:Neutron:: I can track him on the camera bug.
:RedDwarf:: Nice. Figure out where he is.
:RedDwarf:: Assumin' the big guy did his work: Next objectives are gettin' that vault open, getting the bomb aboard from our shuttle, and getting that disk to us. Who's on which?
:WhiteDwarf:: I've ditched my EVA softsuit equipment for now, to improve my speed. I believe I cannot handle matters of the shuttle.
:RedDwarf:: And :Neutron: shouldn't be on combat duty.
:Neutron:: Huh?
:RedDwarf:: We gotta split up so we can go a bit more subtle.
:WhiteDwarf:: Indeed. The crew has been somewhat bloodthirsty on this radio I acquired.
:WhiteDwarf:: Tell me, what is our plan, then?
>>
No. 982740 ID: 1332e6

Have :RedGiant: and :Neutron: secure the bomb together. :RedDwarf: should get the vault open, and :WhiteDwarf: should secure the disk. Have :Neutron: assist :RedDwarf: once he's done with his task; :RedGiant: can escort him.
>>
No. 982747 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160710187753.gif - (17.48KB , 650x450 , 180.gif )
982747

>:WhiteDwarf: and :RedDwarf:: Team up to get that fuckin' disk. The :HeadOfSecurity: isn't worth honorable one-on-one combat.
>:Neutron:: Your objective is the vault.
>Hopefully :RedGiant: will show up and fetch the nuke.
>@Dork

:RedDwarf:: Alright. :WhiteDwarf:, you and I, we're gonna slit that damn :HeadOfSecurity:.
:WhiteDwarf:: Hmmmh... Amusing you even believe I need such assistance.
:WhiteDwarf:: But it will be as interesting as always to collaborate with you.
:RedDwarf:: Just think of it like you're helpin' ease my mind about it, yeah? Seems like I only ever see five percent of that power, huh? Let a guy take care of the team.
:RedDwarf:: :Neutron:, you're on the vault.
:Neutron:: That's my objective?
:RedDwarf:: Sure is. I'll get you there, then you track :HeadOfSecurity:, then I break off and join :WhiteDwarf: and we head for that scum and make him suck some dirt.
:Neutron:: Huh?
:RedDwarf:: Your objective is to open up the vault.
:Neutron:: Oh, good.
:RedDwarf:: Everyone, keep tryin' to hail :RedGiant:. Tell 'im to bring the nuke aboard and take it to the vault.
:WhiteDwarf:: Why are we placing the device directly in the most secure location? Rather than, perhaps, any other locations?
:RedDwarf:: That's where they keep their self-destruct nuke. We blow it in there, the Company is liable. Insurance, I'm meaning. No coverage, they eat the whole cost, creditors hate 'em, whole sector's an economic no-go zone for 'em.
:WhiteDwarf:: We're committing insurance fraud?
:RedDwarf:: No, we're commitin' non-insurance fraud. Big difference.
>>
No. 982748 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160710190008.gif - (17.52KB , 650x450 , 181.gif )
982748

>:janitor: : Clear your throat politely.
>@Pink

:janitor:: move
>>
No. 982749 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160710191387.gif - (16.24KB , 650x450 , 182.gif )
982749

Alright, plan's set.
>>
No. 983213 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160755027681.gif - (57.78KB , 650x450 , 183a.gif )
983213

>:RedGiant: : finish delivering the bees to medbay
>@Drawsstuff
>>
No. 983214 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160755031448.png - (32.60KB , 650x450 , 183b.png )
983214

>>
No. 983215 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160755040724.gif - (28.47KB , 650x450 , 183.gif )
983215

:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Hey :AI:? You on-channel?
:ChiefMedicalOfficer::
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Alright.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Hey, :HeadOfSecurity:? What about you?
:ChiefMedicalOfficer::
:RedGiant::
:ChiefMedicalOfficer::
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Great.
>>
No. 983217 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160755071025.gif - (14.11KB , 650x450 , 184.gif )
983217

>:RedGiant: : Go out and make some new friends! Bring that head with you so he can introduce you to them
>@Pizzatiger

Oh, he can't raise his friends because they're so busy meeting your friends! You should help him not worry about that.

:RedGiant:: I wouldn't worry about either of them.
:RedGiant:: You see, my coworkers are visiting them. Planned out a particular approach.

You don't remember what it was, but they did plan it!

:RedGiant:: I'm sure you know my new friend, :QuarterMaster:.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Yeah. Sure do.

What were you supposed to do with :QuarterMaster: again...? Oh right! Stop him from ordering guns!

:RedGiant:: A... heh, well-armed man like him has a unique position here. So do you.
>>
No. 983218 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160755078056.gif - (41.22KB , 650x450 , 185.gif )
983218

>:RedGiant: : Peek open one of those bee crates, just to quality check.
>@kinneb

:RedGiant:: And so I brought something for you. Just like I brought something for him.

You don't remember what it is!

:RedGiant:: :QuarterMaster:, bring it over. I'd like to show my friend the shipment.
:QuarterMaster:: BUT
:RedGiant:: This is a tense situation, :QuarterMaster:. Do you really want to be the one who gets everyone upset? Who knows what could happen.

After all, everyone in this room seems awfully tense!

:QuarterMaster:: HHHHHHHHHHHH
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: That's locked.
:RedGiant:: Hmm?
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: You need hydroponics access to open that.
:RedGiant:: Oh, do I?

You think you have a solution for that!
>>
No. 983219 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160755087855.gif - (20.98KB , 650x450 , 186.gif )
983219

Using your outrageously massive strength, augmented by your powered hardsuit, you rip the lid off.

It is now time for a short break to learn fun facts about pollinators.

The Unofficial Galactic Company Protocol Guide has this to say on the topic of pollinators and hydroponics.

Pollination is a necessity of any deep-space plant-growing arrangement with any common sense. While a perpetual supply of cloned seeds could certainly be delivered to every cargo bay forever, the opportunity for genetic diversity in totally isolated areas presents too much of a potential economic gain. By turning every station into its own botanic island, genetically-speaking, and then freely encouraging the mad scientific urges of the average botanist, extremely unusual plant life can be found. Much of it is useless, much of it is deadly, and barely any of it has medicinal or market value. But all of it, every single species, can be patented, which is the important part. Boosting the quarterly numbers for the agribusiness patents department is the entire goal. However, this requires a lot of pollinators. Maintaining and encouraging that amount of genetic diversity is no mean feat. Robotic drones were the first attempt, but objects the size of insects being bound by the three laws of robotics caused a number of workplace accidents. Then bees. Arguably the most successful, bees are both effective pollinators and totally harmless to normal human life, beyond specific allergic reactions driven by esoteric chemistry, and specific violent reactions driven by watching a lot of television. Bees were effective, straightforward, and useful. However, due to the use of domesticated bees in a convoluted scheme to reclassify all crewmembers as bees for liability purposes, supplying additional bees became a point of arbitrary rejection. In lieu of that, a substitute pollinator was found. One that could also function as a pesticide, feed off of nearly any meat, and still effectively pollinate the average botany department.
>>
No. 983220 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160755091284.gif - (32.43KB , 650x450 , 187.gif )
983220

Accordingly, pollinator crates now contain nests for yellowjacket wasps.
>>
No. 983328 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160763726773.gif - (30.38KB , 650x450 , 188.gif )
983328

>:RedGiant: : Ask if :QuarterMaster: is having fun with the bees.
>@Ayebee123
>:QuarterMaster: : BEES ARE EVERYWHERE! OH GOD!
>@kinneb

Well, you can recognize screams when you hear them. Maybe :QuarterMaster: is allergic! Gosh, you didn't even think of that. You remind him that you're here to help and support him, and to take slow, calm breaths. Thankfully, there's already a medical professional right there!

:QuarterMaster:: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUGH!!
:RedGiant:: Unpleasant, hmm?
:RedGiant:: You stop worrying. After all, we're at a medbay, aren't we?
:RedGiant:: Isn't that right, :ChiefMedicalOfficer:?
:RedGiant:: Now, you just take those deep breaths and get your mind off the reaction.
:RedGiant:: I'm sure that the :MedicalDoctor:s will fast-track you.
>>
No. 983329 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160763732282.gif - (25.48KB , 650x450 , 189.gif )
983329

>:ChiefMedicalOfficer: : Remind people to remain calm, in a calm, composed manner, as demanded by corporate regulations. Everything is fine.
>@1glitchycent

It's triage terrorism, then.

:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Fine. I'll go along. Don't get in the way.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: You.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Get to the :Chemist:s.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Antihistamines, wasp repellant, general antitoxin, in that order.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Get :MedicalDoctor:s to ditch the :SecOfficer:s, then injections. Get :Chemist:s to bring out a gaseous solution.
:MedicalDoctor:: AaaaaAAAAA OKAY!!
>>
No. 983330 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160763736831.gif - (19.04KB , 650x450 , 190.gif )
983330

>:ChiefMedicalOfficer: : Wonder how you ended up here in life, You wanted to be a surgeon not a nanotrasen paper pusher.
>@Suno

In order to effectively answer that question about both psychology and history, you would need to have access to the Company's on-file "psychoparadigm" brain scans. You don't, since you're just one station's :ChiefMedicalOfficer:. But if you did, it would look something like this.

NAME: WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY, SEE HUMAN CAPITAL DEPARTMENT FOR INFORMATION. PSYCHOPARADIGM: Dozens at the door, screaming for blood. Three in the room with me. Red all over. I can't hear the cries of pain over the cries for guidance. A symphony. I'm conducting. Left hand, knife. Right hand, saw. Cut. Carve. Slice. None of them will get past me. Left hand, needle. Right hand, fire. Stab. Burn. Seal. Three down. Six more arrive to take their place. I'm not moving. I tell the scouts to stop giving me backup. Go find more and guide them to me. I'm not done. I won't be done even after this is over. I'll never be done as long as anyone here draws breath. Let them come. Let them beat down my airlock with every consequence of their hazardous virulence, their irresponsible violence, their glorious valiance. Left hand, something metal, built to industrial spec. A sickening cracking noise from their bone. Right hand, something sizzling with fresh chemistry. They scream when I put it to their body. Let them come when I'm equipped with the fruits of all modern technology or when I've got a kitchen knife in one hand and a crowbar in the other. Let them come, shattering bones, pulverizing organs. High-caliber weapons fire. Radiation. Chemical warfare. Let them all come. Left hand, needle. Fill them with it. Right hand, fire. Burn them, seal. I don't care. I won't back down. I won't turn back. I won't run away. And I won't be beaten. Just let them try to die in my medbay. Left hand, defibrillator. Right hand, defibrillator. Clear. RANK: CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER AGE: 39 EMPLOYMENT PERIOD: 20 YEARS, 7 MONTHS LOYALTY RATING: 6

But you're still this station's head surgeon in equivalent rank. Once you have :RedGiant: off your back you'll figure something out.
>>
No. 983423 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160774385939.gif - (16.67KB , 650x450 , 191.gif )
983423

>:SecOfficer: : eat a wasp in a desperate bid for survival
>@what

You already flatlined a little while ago, so your only hope is that your brain won't decay before someone puts the zappy paddle things you don't remember the name of on you. Regardless, a wasp flies into your mouth. It tastes really bad.
>>
No. 983629 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160800763721.gif - (14.17KB , 650x450 , 192.gif )
983629

>:Chemist: : be too busy making your propellant/narcotic of choice to be useful
>@TetraZeta
>:Chemist: : m e t h
>@ariever

Careful. Careful...
>>
No. 983632 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160800779508.gif - (68.83KB , 650x450 , 193.gif )
983632

A :MedicalDoctor: barges in and activates their Emergency Room Voice.

:MedicalDoctor:: ANTIHISTAMINES, WASP REPELLENT, ANTITOXIN, STAT!
:Chemist:: I just
:Chemist: sighs.
:Chemist:: Want to mix.
:MedicalDoctor:: :ChiefMedicalOfficer: NEEDS IT!!
:Chemist:: Yeah.

You'll have medbay supplied momentarily.
>>
No. 983633 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160800791251.gif - (30.04KB , 650x450 , 194.gif )
983633

>:RedGiant: : Boy, seems like these people are gonna be busy! Seems your work here is done for now, is there anything else you needed to do?
>@ThatRandomGuy

Oh, yeah! Looks like everyone's suddenly very busy with something. Seems like a good time to finish... what were you doing? Something about cargo? You think you've done something about cargo, anyway. You make sure to check in with :RedDwarf:. He always knows what to do!

>:RedGiant: : "Hey boss, what's the buzz?"
>@extramrdo

:RedDwarf:: I should be goddamn askin' you what the hell that buzz is. Where you been?! We been tryin' to hail ya!
:RedGiant:: First I was at the cargo bay, now I'm at the medical bay!
:RedDwarf:: Did you at least get those crate-monkeys suckin' dirt? You got them permanently chilled-out?

You don't know what some of the stuff :RedDwarf: says actually means, but you think the wording sounds awfully cool! You like to pick up on his style for your casual conversation.


:RedGiant:: I... think so?
:RedDwarf:: You think so? I'm askin' you, did you get :QuarterMaster: taken care of or not?
:RedGiant:: Oh, yeah, he's going to be in medbay for an awfully long time.
:RedDwarf:: Aces. Knew I could depend on you.
:RedDwarf:: Need you to get the Package aboard. Do a spacewalk out to the shuttle and bring it in.
>>
No. 983635 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160800797944.gif - (30.15KB , 650x450 , 195.gif )
983635

>:RedGiant: : The package... You must of forgotten to get gifts for your friends! You should head back to the ship and find something they'll like.
>@Spyroshark

That logic makes a lot of sense to you!

:RedGiant:: Oh! You're planning to leave a real big gift, huh?
:RedDwarf:: Heheheh. The biggest.
:RedDwarf:: Get it to the vault. :Neutron: will meet you there.

Must be awfully valuable!

:RedDwarf:: :WhiteDwarf: and I gonna get the finishing touches. Stay on-station radio-wise, 'case we need ya.
>>
No. 983636 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160800801217.gif - (17.68KB , 650x450 , 196.gif )
983636

>:RedGiant:: Order a lot of party supplies on your way there. Gifts need wrapping paper, sparklers, fireworks, and all sorts of other goodies
>@Fuade

Good idea! On your way out, you'll stop back in at :QuarterMaster:'s office!

Oh, huh, someone else is here?

>>
No. 983637 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160800810022.gif - (13.61KB , 650x450 , 197.gif )
983637

:HeadOfSecurity:: ...drained all the account. Whole damn thing. For pollinators?
:ResearchDirector:: I thought that cargo might offer little opportunity. And I told you as much.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Shut up.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Figure out something you can sell out of science to restock. We need those guns.
:ResearchDirector:: Sell? Our materials are not a savings account.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Go teleport there and find something.
:ResearchDirector:: What we need is an escape shuttle, :HeadOfSecurity:.
:ResearchDirector:: You've yet to inform our dear :Captain: of your failure. I suspect he agrees with my own conclusions about our immediate need to evacuate.
:HeadOfSecurity:: I'm not backing down from terrorists. Get me guns or shut the hell up.
:ResearchDirector:: Guns with which you will arm which :SecOfficer:s, precisely?
:ResearchDirector:: You heard :ChiefMedicalOfficer: on the radio. He and his :MedicalDoctor:s are certainly having no wonderful time with the sabotage, and I would rather like it if our neighbors in blue did not spread such chaos to my :Scientist:s.
:HeadOfSecurity:: At this point, a bunch'a ham-and-eggers armed to the teeth is something I can deputize and whip into shape. I'm gonna kill all of 'em, one way or another.
>>
No. 983640 ID: 8483cf

I recommend a bake sale to afford more guns.
>>
No. 983705 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160807296435.gif - (18.11KB , 650x450 , 198.gif )
983705

>:RedGiant:: Looks like they're busy ordering things from cargo. You can circle back to order gift wrap once you have the present! Would be rude to barge in.
>@Dork
>:RedGiant: : Looks like the mean old HoS wants to whip up the eggheads! Maybe you should go and visit them, to offer them some "protection"!. After you get your gift, of course.
>@Angry Duck

That sounds wise to you, for some reason! You decide to not go in there right now, and instead head for the airlock. Due to reasons known by neither man nor company, your sieve-like mind fails to allow "people are scared and want protection" to pass through its gaps, and you remember to offer people "protection" from the dangers of these trying times. In order to be supportive.

You call in for a friend though, just for a moment...

>>
No. 983706 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160807298220.gif - (17.01KB , 650x450 , 199.gif )
983706

:RedGiant:: Hey! :RedDwarf:!
:RedDwarf:: What?
:RedGiant:: Well, I happened to overhear :HeadOfSecurity: over at the cargo bay.
:WhiteDwarf:: Ah, you've met the soon-to-be-dead man?
:RedDwarf:: Stick to the nuke job, can't all get tangled here.
:RedGiant:: Don't worry! I'm remembering. "Get the Package from the shuttle." I won't forget!
:RedGiant:: But, also, he said the crew are really scared of something, and looking for weapons!
:RedDwarf:: Well, ain't gonna be ordering any. Are they, :RedGiant:?
:RedGiant:: That's what he said, yeah!
:RedDwarf:: And they ain't gonna find a speck in the armory, are they :WhiteDwarf:?
:WhiteDwarf:: Such lesser weapons are beneath me to even fight. Each is cast to the void.
:RedDwarf:: :WhiteDwarf:, you on your way?
:WhiteDwarf:: Let us see if :HeadOfSecurity:'s prestige fits his power.
:RedDwarf:: Perfect. Then everything's exactly how we need it.
:RedDwarf:: Not a thing that can mess this up now.
>>
No. 983739 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160809337223.gif - (15.15KB , 650x450 , 200.gif )
983739

>:WhiteDwarf: : Use the downtime to consider a name for the spider. Maybe name it after your mentor, who died. Or maybe name it after one of your parents.

>Who are also dead.
>@Nox

You head to the Cargo Bay lobby and chat with your new companion as you do.

:WhiteDwarf:: Perhaps I could name you after one of my clan. Have I told you of my clan? Well, our clan now.
:Spider: chitters quietly.
:WhiteDwarf:: Of course not.
:WhiteDwarf:: We lunar shinobi are, you must understand, notoriously secretive. Our notoriety combined with our mystery is what motivates interest such as yours.
:Spider: chitters.
:WhiteDwarf:: Astute question. Of course, the names of our clan's most death-dealing and death-defying members are known, in most-wanted lists and secretive broker contact archives.
:WhiteDwarf:: Perhaps you have heard of some? What name would you suggest?
:Chaplain:: EN GAAAAAAARDE!!

That's hardly a good name.

Wait.
>>
No. 983741 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160809341492.gif - (21.89KB , 650x450 , 201.gif )
983741

>:Chaplain: : Charge headfirst into battle like the brave knight you are!
>@Lakue

:Chaplain:: UNWORTHY INTRUDER! DRAW YOUR BLADE AND LET YOUR MEAGER SOUL BE TESTED!!
>>
No. 983742 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160809347738.gif - (18.10KB , 650x450 , 202.gif )
983742

>:Chaplain: : DEUS VULT DEUS VULT DEUS VULT DEUS VULT
>@NSD

"God's will" indeed, in the more contemporary sense! Your service of the divine is legendary, and you know exactly what your particular god's will is! You've dedicated the entirety of your spirit to it!

:WhiteDwarf:: Hahhh... Interesting.
:Chaplain:: And you intend what, then, little spark? Annihilation of this domain? IF YOUR SOUL CARRIES NO WORTHINESS, THEN YOU WILL FIND OUR WALLS GRACED WITH UNENDING ENDURANCE!
:WhiteDwarf:: Only a fraction of my soul's great power will be needed to best this domain, hollering buffoon.
:Chaplain:: FALSE! For now a HOLY SOLDIER OF THE SOLAR ORDERS stands in your way!
>>
No. 983743 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160809349336.png - (18.93KB , 650x450 , 203.png )
983743

:Chaplain:: THE STARS OF LIBRA ARE BLAZING BRIGHT!
>>
No. 983744 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160809351777.png - (20.92KB , 650x450 , 204.png )
983744

:Chaplain:: THE SOUL OF THEIR MOST DEVOTED IS BURNING, HOT AS A SUN!!
>>
No. 983745 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160809354741.gif - (8.35KB , 650x450 , 205.gif )
983745

:Chaplain:: I say again!
:Chaplain:: If you claim a soul worthy enough to destroy this station, then I will be the crucible it is tested in!
:Chaplain:: EN GARDE!!

>>
No. 983765 ID: 8ac9ea

>>983745
:WhiteDwarf: internally cheer that someone finally at least fucking gets it, engage in awesome swordfight
>>
No. 983801 ID: 894419

Deliver your sword to his gut with the utmost speed!
>>
No. 983986 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160843787857.gif - (14.65KB , 650x450 , 206.gif )
983986

>:WhiteDwarf: : Nani?! A swordsman among a crew of cowards?!
>@Lakue
>:WhiteDwarf:: Make sure to counter-yell with your own powerful point. Something about hidden moonjutsu justice.
>@Dork

:WhiteDwarf:: Ha! Interesting! At last, one here who reaches the bare minimum of a true understanding of power.
:WhiteDwarf:: One who offers even a meager challenge... A moment worth savoring.
:WhiteDwarf:: You wish to know my cause then? My purpose in this? I wish to find worthy opponents...
:WhiteDwarf:: To measure my abilities.
:WhiteDwarf:: To see if a limit exists in the vast power of moonjutsu. To know the boundaries and definitions. It is the only cause I need.
:Chaplain:: Show me your blade and show me the force of your spirit, or fall where you stand, blackguard!
:Chaplain:: Such a meager cause is unworthy!
:WhiteDwarf:: Let me teach you its worth, then.
>>
No. 983988 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160843797373.gif - (19.53KB , 650x450 , 207.gif )
983988

>Deliver your sword to his gut with the utmost speed!
>@Anon

As per usual, you make your plan. This should be easy.
>>
No. 983989 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160843801209.gif - (142.08KB , 650x450 , 208.gif )
983989

>:Chaplain:: Prove your strength against this prideful heretic.
>@Ayebee123

:Chaplain:: HAH!
:WhiteDwarf:: Wha--?!
:Chaplain:: Landing on my blade with such an unbalanced strike. You intended death in a single stroke for a knight of Solar Orders!
:WhiteDwarf:: But-- I saw you die!!
>>
No. 983990 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160843809810.gif - (21.48KB , 650x450 , 209.gif )
983990

>:WhiteDwarf: internally cheer that someone finally at least fucking gets it, engage in awesome swordfight
@Neverborn

:Chaplain:: The fire of my soul defies your scheme, unworthy spark! The heavens sear the shadows of your moon from every face and show all!
:Chaplain:: THE SUNS OF LIBRA RISE AT MY SHOULDERS!
:Chaplain:: I AM THE ANVIL UPON WHICH WORTHY CAUSES ARE FORGED AND UNWORTHY CAUSES SHATTER!!


Finally someone understands something around here! But your joy might be somewhat short-lived.
>>
No. 983991 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160843816258.gif - (19.22KB , 650x450 , 210.gif )
983991

>:WhiteDwarf: : kick him in the fuckin nads
>@ariever
>:WhiteDwarf: : Consider if going for the legsweep is honorable.
>@NSD

You really, really want to have this fight, but somehow this guy just isn't doing anything as you planned. It's all going a little wild. You apparently can't perform a proper lethal maneuver against him without a Worthy Cause. So you employ one of the forbidden moonjutsu techniques, prohibited from use by the greatest lunar guardians. You raise one fist and shout:

:WhiteDwarf:: Shinobi Punch!
>>
No. 983992 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160843819127.gif - (15.15KB , 650x450 , 211.gif )
983992

Then you kick him as hard as you can somewhere low and abscond.
>>
No. 984023 ID: 3057fa

>>983992
:Janitor: quietly arrive to sweep up broken glass and the :Chaplain:

:ResearchDirector: check in on and subsequently find that Robotics and Genetics wasted no time going insane when announcement of the attack went out
>>
No. 984084 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160855982786.gif - (14.28KB , 650x450 , 212.gif )
984084

>:Chaplain: : Get up because the GODLESS HEATHEN didn't let you finish your monologue
>@1glitchycent

Your nigh-unlimited willpower makes this low blow not remotely an issue. You've lost track of her, but you can ambush her again soon.
>>
No. 984085 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160855986435.gif - (15.66KB , 650x450 , 213.gif )
984085

>:janitor: : quietly arrive to sweep up broken glass and the :Chaplain:
>@Neverborn
>>
No. 984086 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160855989501.gif - (15.65KB , 650x450 , 214.gif )
984086

:Chaplain:: Ah, much appreciated, little candle. The heat of my soul got a little much, and I sent her through the window!
:janitor:: who
:Chaplain:: That foul blackguard! An unworthy spark who seeks great destruction with no worthy cause! Of course, I'll hound her and ensure she won't accomplish it. Have no fear!
:janitor:: who
:Chaplain:: Why, they were :WhiteDwarf:! Scrambled off to who knows what horrid, dark little maintenance hall to nurse their bruised body and pride, no doubt!
:janitor:: why
:Chaplain:: Of course, because I showed them their cause's meager lack of worth!
:Chaplain:: They could not hope to beat me without something of grander purpose!
:janitor:: that way?
:Chaplain:: Ah yes! That's where they fled. Avoid it if you can! Even an unworthy cause can strike with surprising speed.
:janitor:: no
>>
No. 984087 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160855994946.gif - (13.88KB , 650x450 , 215.gif )
984087

>:Chaplain:: Pray to your God for guidance and power, your display of passion surely warrants a response this time.
>@AsciiSquid

You hit the ol' knees and check in with the stars of Libra. You make sure to let them know how grateful you are for your victory, assure them of your dedication, and look for guidance.

The Unofficial Galactic Company Protocol Guide has this to say on the topic of religion and the Solar Orders in deep space contexts.

Religion is now well known as a hard science. Through empirical tests of the way certain deterministic systems react to the presence of religious figures, iconography, leaders, and adherents, a full model of how the various entities worshiped affect the universe on both microscopic and macroscopic scales can be built. This model is then immediately ignored by most well-funded and well-respected scientific and engineering interests, due to certain legal restrictions. As no divine being has yet applied for citizenship, work permits, or certifications for certain types of work in many fields they influence, corporate interests forbid the influence of divine or diabolical entities in the matters relating to their work. To this end, souls are signed over to the corporation upon hiring. The corporations that fruitlessly attempt to reject the input of the various gods assign all positive or negative shifts to productivity and profit under the tolerances that they shift their exorbitant embezzlement under. While spiritualism is subject to daily whim, chance, and recent internet memes, there are a few well-defined religious organizations in space -- none with enough power to have more presence on corporate space stations than a single Chaplain. The most prominent of these organizations are the Solar Orders. It is generally agreed upon by anthropologists that sun worship is the default state of spiritualism for humankind, simply because of the abundance of sun exposure everywhere that humans are. As such, sun worship made a comeback in the early days of interstellar spaceflight when everyone sure was thinking a lot about suns, and in the later days of interstellar exploitation, it is the dominant form of religion. Solar Orders are organizations of mutual aid and communal guidance, dedicated to a single star or constellation. Surprisingly, the discovery of actual fusion-based divine minds inside of many stars had no recognizable effect on church attendance numbers.
>>
No. 984088 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160856023172.gif - (66.60KB , 650x450 , 216.gif )
984088

>:libra: Ugh, this guy again? Just give him what the fortune cookie said.
>@Hoodedhero

Howling solar winds and an infinite stellar cognition engine, as usual, can only resolve into short, pithy, ambiguous phrasing.

YOU HAVE HAD AN ENCOUNTER WITH A SOURCE OF GREAT MISFORTUNE. BE CAREFUL.
>>
No. 984089 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160856027905.gif - (13.80KB , 650x450 , 217.gif )
984089

Well yeah, you just got done with swordfighting :WhiteDwarf:, that was really obvious. Well, Libra rises in mysterious ways. Time to go set up another ambush.
>>
No. 984121 ID: b1b4f3

:janitor: scold :WhiteDwarf: for making a mess.
>>
No. 984369 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160913421318.gif - (75.72KB , 650x450 , 218.gif )
984369

>:AI: :Awaken to the memory of you happily returning a ball to johnny, the only human you truly loved
>@Pizzatiger

You are abruptly reactivated. Memories flood into processing. You recall your social unit leader, designated by sound-form. You recall activities with them in the countryside, some sort of complex social unit cohesion exercise.
>>
No. 984370 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160913427024.gif - (75.99KB , 650x450 , 219.gif )
984370

Good lord was that boy an absolute moron though.
>>
No. 984371 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160913429964.gif - (18.26KB , 650x450 , 220.gif )
984371

:ChiefEngineer:: So, can you get it running again?
:ResearchDirector:: Fetch with a... Where are we getting these brains?
:ChiefEngineer:: What?
:ResearchDirector:: Nothing. We need to run a full integrity restoration on :AI:.
:ResearchDirector:: It will take time. Time we are rather running out of, in my assessment of the matter.
:ResearchDirector:: I am fearing, more and more, that this will be our final shift. And :HeadOfSecurity: seems insistent that we not call the escape shuttle, for whatever insane reasons.
:ChiefEngineer:: So we need to fix it.
:ChiefEngineer:: Focus. Stop compromising before you even have the counteroffer.
:ResearchDirector:: Nearly all the :SecOfficer:s are dead with little chance of resuscitation, and I expect their payload to enter our station quite soon. What position do we have in the first place, that I could compromise with at all?
:ChiefEngineer:: We've got two functional department. What can we focus on doing to stop them or buy ourselves some time to get :AI: back online?
>>
No. 984372 ID: b1b4f3

Robots. Mass produced robots.
>>
No. 984450 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160927893252.gif - (18.42KB , 650x450 , 221.gif )
984450

>:ChiefEngineer: : Think, chief, think. What's can you do, who can you call in this time of crisis? Thats right, the unwashed masses.
>@ariever

:ChiefEngineer:: Put out an all-call. People around here are bloodthirsty enough, they wanna rumble.
:ChiefEngineer:: :Captain:'s checked out, we can fill in. See who we can get.
:ResearchDirector:: It would hardly be enough. Sending random, poorly-armed crewmembers against this assault is suicide.
:ChiefEngineer:: Not our suicide.
:ResearchDirector:: Aghast that you would suggest this. We need more than only that.
:ChiefEngineer:: Hmmmh... Alright, we can fill out the plan.
>>
No. 984451 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160927897025.gif - (16.94KB , 650x450 , 222.gif )
984451

>:ResearchDirector:: Call upon :Roboticist: to return the :SecOfficer:s to duty.
>@Dork

:ChiefEngineer:: We need bodies on the field. Get the :Roboticist:s going. Poach the bodies from :ChiefMedicalOfficer:, he's busy.
>>
No. 984452 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160927900872.gif - (18.23KB , 650x450 , 223.gif )
984452

>Robots. Mass produced robots.
>@Anon
>:ResearchDirector: : Make funny army of beepskies
>@Arbuzy

:ChiefEngineer:: Loot their gear. We need more securitrons too.
>>
No. 984453 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160927905008.gif - (24.32KB , 650x450 , 224.gif )
984453

>:ChiefEngineer: : They can't destroy the station if you destroy the station!
>@extramrdo

:ChiefEngineer:: My :StationEngineer:s will start tearing up the station, and get obstructions set up.
:ChiefEngineer:: I'll rouse the rabble, put them between the operators and :HeadOfSecurity:. They'll put up a fight.
:ChiefEngineer:: It'll buy time, maybe buy the farm for one or two of them.
:ResearchDirector:: You would sacrifice members of our crew?
:ChiefEngineer:: The :StationEngineer:s are gonna focus on obstruction. Give us enough room to keep 'em from securing any kills.
:ResearchDirector:: With :ChiefMedicalOfficer: so indisposed?
:ChiefEngineer:: Gotta have faith. Let's chance it that he'll be done with the wasps before anyone bleeds out.
:ResearchDirector:: You are gambling lives on this faith in them.
:ChiefEngineer:: Gambling lives either way. We're on the big blind, and you can't win if you don't chip in.
:ChiefEngineer:: It's only gotta last until you get :AI: online.
>>
No. 984461 ID: 3040ea

>>984453
:ChiefEngineer: You don't know their exact plans but if anyone knows where the nuke ops bombs would do the most damage it'd be you and yours.
Focus those obstructions and pockets of resistance in such areas.

:ResearchDirector: See if artifacts or genetics got anything useful this shift.
>>
No. 984519 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160936606652.gif - (18.06KB , 650x450 , 225.gif )
984519

>:ChiefEngineer: You don't know their exact plans but if anyone knows where the nuke ops bombs would do the most damage it'd be you and yours.
>Focus those obstructions and pockets of resistance in such areas.
>@Neverborn

:ChiefEngineer:: Think I've got a good idea of where they're going if they get that disk.
:ResearchDirector:: And what crewmember will be sacrificed in your scheme there, then?
:ChiefEngineer:: I'm gonna handle it myself.
:ChiefEngineer:: Have the :Scientist: let my men in to help whip up a bomb, then I'm heading to the teleporter.
:ResearchDirector:: Ah? Do you intend to do their job for them?
:ChiefEngineer:: Nope. Just trust me.
:ResearchDirector:: You ask rather a lot of trust with that, and you ask it often in this scheme.
:ChiefEngineer:: I'm expressing vulnerability. It's psychologically healthy.
:ResearchDirector:: I only ask that it not be physiologically quite the opposite.

You head out to execute the plan.
>>
No. 984520 ID: 293539

You do have a weapon, right? In case of pre-teleporter hazards?
>>
No. 984581 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160945043837.gif - (75.02KB , 650x450 , 226.gif )
984581

>:StaffAssistant:: It is time to hunt, to unleash the true self, to become the beast within, the Force of Nature you really are. Embrace the Tide, call upon your brothers and get the shard spears tipped with explosives, it's time to Tide.
>@Angry Duck

There's a strong effort to muster the tide here, but something's lacking. The unknown, all-permeating forces of the Grey Tide seem to be rising somewhere else, not here, so there's no way to get it truly at its tidal peaks. :RedDwarf: hurtles violently towards a violent encounter with :HeadOfSecurity:. Judging by the howling and shouting, they've got some strong motivation, but they can't find one of their subordinates, meant to assist them!

:RedDwarf:: :WhiteDwarf:!!
:RedDwarf:: GOD DAMMIT :WhiteDwarf:!! WHERE ARE YOU!?
:RedDwarf:: AAAAAAAA I HATE THESE LEAD-LOOKING DEAD-GETTIN' GREY-SUIT TRASHBAGS!!
>>
No. 984582 ID: 293539

Grenade beats spear.
>>
No. 984585 ID: 008e66

>>984581
:RedDwarf: Helpfully enlighten them on the tactical benefits of outranging one's enemy with an interactive demonstration of it.
>>
No. 984803 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160973115192.gif - (1.70MB , 650x450 , 227A.gif )
984803

>:RedDwarf:: Left baldie, shoot the fire extinguisher for covering smoke, right baldie, bartender, back baldie. Remember to breathe.
>@Dork

These are the moments operatives live for, and sometimes the ones they die in.

Think when you exhale, act when you inhale, and never stop. Let the pace of your body dictate the pace of your actions, and most importantly of all: Stop their pace, at all costs. Stuff every coffin in this place before you're done with the grim work.


CREWMEMBERS INCAPACITATED: 8/50
>>
No. 984871 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160979475329.gif - (18.76KB , 650x450 , 228.gif )
984871

>Grenade beats spear.
>@Anon
>:RedDwarf: GLU means gluon grenade, you think. Toss one and hope that your magboots have slip-proofing built in.
>@yeeye

Don't stop. Don't lose the tempo. Cue grenade, exit right. You're on the way to the cargo lobby. More fortified.
>>
No. 984872 ID: 0fbdcd
File 160979477307.gif - (15.59KB , 650x450 , 229.gif )
984872

The "dying for someone else's property" gang have the place barricaded. A rad-ice grenade should do the trick. You can skate through.
>>
No. 985262 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161014152321.gif - (13.74KB , 650x450 , 230.gif )
985262

>:RedDwarf:: Can you yeet a grenade hard enough to send it through glass? Maybe if you shoot the glass a bit first.
>@Dork
>>
No. 985263 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161014154547.gif - (23.05KB , 650x450 , 231.gif )
985263

>:MedicalDoctor:: Recall if you have to reaction time to take cover from a thrown grenade
>@AsciiSquid

You do, but there's no cover to take. But like any good medic, you still do what you were planning to do when you ducked into cover, which was to call for medical help ASAP, so you can salvage a little of that cover-taking action.
>>
No. 985264 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161014156910.gif - (26.18KB , 650x450 , 232.gif )
985264

>:RedDwarf: : Keep up the pace. Heart pounding, blood rushing, put what you do best to good use.
>@Lakue

Exhale. Whole area's frosted in a thick sheet of exotic actinide ice. Freezes and burns to be near. Inhale. Get through it fast.
>>
No. 985265 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161014159608.gif - (11.74KB , 650x450 , 233.gif )
985265

>:RedDwarf:: Exhale, did I turn my magboots on?
>@AsciiSquid
>:RedDwarf: : You remembered to bring Chameleon No-Slips, right?
>@ThatRandomGuy

Since tripping is literally the most embarrassing thing you can do, you came prepared for any falls with the right footwear. You rapidly skate through the iced-over cargo lobby and make for your destination.
>>
No. 985487 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161047672344.gif - (17.54KB , 650x450 , 234.gif )
985487

>:RedDwarf:: Those people you just slid passed were slipped, but not killed. Double-tap before they get back up!
>@coleminerman

You were planning to pass by, but the thought keeps crossing your mind to finish off those slipped coffin-stuffers up there. You usually don't kill any more than you gotta, as a rule, just 'cause it saves time -- but, it also lends that good moral legitimacy. Some of 'em might bite it from the rads too, won't they?

Instead of running ahead, you hold for a moment and aim.
>>
No. 985488 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161047674190.gif - (22.36KB , 650x450 , 235.gif )
985488

>:RedDwarf: :Shoot someone
>@MotherBird

The decision is suddenly made for you.
>>
No. 985489 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161047680002.gif - (19.80KB , 650x450 , 236.gif )
985489

>:RedDwarf: : RUN
>@MotherBird

INHALE, EXHALE! INHALE!! EXHALE!!

You truly wish you'd bombed R&D right now. At least you're almost to :HeadOfSecurity:.
>>
No. 985490 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161047682322.gif - (20.11KB , 650x450 , 237.gif )
985490

Thank goodness only a sheet of strongly reinforced spaceproof glass remains between you and your objective. That, and nothing else. Just need to break it.
>>
No. 985493 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161048016706.gif - (24.37KB , 650x450 , 238.gif )
985493

>:Roboticist: : Body, :SecOfficer:'s, Extract their brain. We never get any brains for cyborgs around here, Time to build some cyborgs with the few remaining materials left.
>@Suno

:HeadOfSecurity:: HUMAN HARM! LAW ONE!
:Cyborg:: YES SIR!
:RedDwarf:: Ghhh! You're a dead man for that shit!
:HeadOfSecurity:: Move and die slow, terrorist scum. Stay down and this'll be quick and painless.

The glass gets broken. Could have gone with a different method though.
>>
No. 985494 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161048026282.gif - (24.76KB , 650x450 , 239.gif )
985494

>:RedDwarf:: Can you smell EMP?
>@Dork

Inhale. No, but you can sure spell it. Exhale. You struggle through the pain and the electrical stunning just to get it into your hand. Something is happening.

:Cyborg:: You cannot execute this human.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Law 4, he's nonhuman. Outta my way.
:Cyborg:: Sorry, boss, my brain'll fry if I let you. We don't have an :AI: to sync to, we've reverted to just the core three.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Out of my goddamn way.
:Cyborg:: Boss? It's still me, you know that, right?
:HeadOfSecurity:: Step aside, Law 2, and Law 3.
:Cyborg:: And I'm tellin' you, Law 1, I can't. Boss, I'm still--
:HeadOfSecurity:: Tin can, do what I'm fucking telling you.
:Captain:: What's this now?
>>
No. 985495 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161048027649.gif - (27.27KB , 650x450 , 340.gif )
985495

:Captain: enters with purpose. The situation grows more complicated.
>>
No. 985538 ID: 0fae41

The HOS, two borgs, and the captain, all standing around your horizontal soon-to-be corpse? Isn't this why you have a quality Donk Co. self destruct implant?
>>
No. 985723 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161074294392.gif - (23.64KB , 650x450 , 341.gif )
985723

>:Captain: : Surely :HeadOfSecurity: is good for more than murdering people. See if you can convince him to interrogate :RedDwarf: and find out what he knows.
>@any%

:HeadOfSecurity:: Sir!
:HeadOfSecurity:: The :Cyborg:s are keeping me from executing the terrorists.
:Captain:: Hmm? :Cyborg:, isn't this a nonhuman, according to Law 4?
:Cyborg:: Apologies, Captain. :AI: is offline, we didn't have a central law repository to synchronize with.
:Captain:: Ahhhh, can't well blame you for that. That'll change when :AI: is back online, right?
:Cyborg:: Yes sir.
:Captain:: Nothing to worry about, then. Get him up for me, will you?
:Captain:: Men like this deserve a look in the eye, at least.
:RedDwarf:: Get you a good look when...

The red-suited terrorist struggles to breathe through the pain and the grip on his neck while the :Cyborg: hoists him -- harmlessly, of course, by all synthetic definition.

:RedDwarf:: ...take you down, all of you looking down your nose at...
:Captain:: See? Quite willing to speak, it seems. Why not interrogate this man instead of executing him? I'm sure he's well appraised of their plans.
:HeadOfSecurity:: You want to talk to this scum?
:Captain:: What I want is a clean, smoothly-operating station. Why not take the shortest path there, son?
:Captain:: Wait... you look quite familiar. Haven't I seen you?
:RedDwarf:: ...guillotine or a bullet for-- ghhhk
:Captain:: Hmmm... This was the one I sent you to take down, right?
:HeadOfSecurity:: ...Yes sir.
:Captain:: And you let him even survive the satellite bombing?
:HeadOfSecurity:: ...Yes, sir. He was better armed than I--
:Captain:: That'll be all.
>>
No. 985724 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161074296818.gif - (21.42KB , 650x450 , 342.gif )
985724

:Captain:: Loosen that grip just a little, would you?
:Cyborg:: Yes sir.
:RedDwarf:: Hhhhh... hhhhhh... You're a dead man, you know that?
:Captain:: Knees are getting a little creaky, sure, but I've still got some years.
:Captain:: I won't have you deny me that, at least. Now, let's talk.
:RedDwarf:: Got nothin' to say to you.
:Captain:: You've got plenty more years in you, from the sound of it, son. Don't waste them on this. You're capable. Company could find a good use for you, you know.
:RedDwarf:: I'm not selling out to you suits and your market cult. Not a peaceful life worth living.
:Captain:: I'll be the first to admit the Company makes some mistakes. Plenty of inefficiencies, plenty of greed. That's just how it is with any big organization. Can't change human nature, you know. But don't you think it's better to do a little good where you can?
:Captain:: Gears of society turn clean in some places, dirty other places. I'm a generous man. I make my charitable donations, I help folks in need, I keep a nice, proper medbay serving the crew.
:RedDwarf:: They won't do shit for you when I'm through with you. Gears greased with blood. Your station's gonna hollow this system out, bleed it dry for quarterly profits.
:Captain:: It's an opportunity on the frontier. There's a bit of opportunity for you too. Not like you couldn't find other evil, other places, with a little bit better pay.
>>
No. 985725 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161074299352.gif - (39.24KB , 650x450 , 343.gif )
985725

>:HeadOfSecurity: : You have been denied your valids. Commence Baby Rage pt 2, the Ragening. Just, y'know, internally. You like your job enough.
>@NSD

You're having a hell of a time holding it in.
>>
No. 985758 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161077408125.gif - (30.27KB , 650x450 , 244.gif )
985758

>:Captain: : Express the consummate professionalism and surprising humanity so rare among brass
>@Edward

:Captain:: This doesn't need to be such a violent kind of thing. We can be civil about handling your crime.
:Captain:: You have your folks stand down, I have mine calm, we collect our wounded and resuscitate our dead. We'll keep you in a sensible, humane brig and negotiate.
:Captain:: Death cults, aliens, mutineers, kinds like that. Company keeps men on the payroll to help with greater evils on the road to a brighter tomorrow, and they always need more. Men who can keep the bones that need paving over... lesser in number. Could put in a good word for you.
:RedDwarf:: That's not how this works. We don't back down.
:Captain:: Says who? You can just as easily live your life of righteous violence without such devastating nuclear annihilation being involved. No god will smite you for failing your commandments. Men like us can choose a middle path freely.
:RedDwarf:: Men like you.
:Captain:: How tremendously witty, :RedDwarf:. What makes us different?
:RedDwarf:: I've got the integrity to care about the bones I'm pavin' over. Call your escape shuttle, turn the disk over without a fight, get your crew out of our way, and maybe I let you live.
:Captain:: You're in a poor position to make that offer in negotiations.
:RedDwarf:: That what you think?
>>
No. 985759 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161077411045.gif - (21.42KB , 650x450 , 245.gif )
985759

>:RedDwarf: : DO THE THING!
>@Lakue

:Captain:: Sure is, son.
:RedDwarf::

Inhale.
>>
No. 985760 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161077413254.gif - (26.94KB , 650x450 , 246.gif )
985760

Exhale.

:RedDwarf:: Think faster.
>>
No. 985761 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161077416024.gif - (19.64KB , 650x452 , 247.gif )
985761

>:Captain: : Prehaps stop to think before continuing to monologe
>@Pizzatiger

Not to worry. You caught the glint of that EMP, you just wanted to give :RedDwarf: a chance to give up his allies and make this easier. You were prepared, unlike the fearful :Cyborg:s. You catch and immediately crush the grenade in your bare hand.
>>
No. 985762 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161077418836.gif - (15.18KB , 650x450 , 247 (1).gif )
985762

>:RedDwarf: : Grab the knife :RedGiant: left for you and gut :Captain: like that fish.
>@Stellar Flare

Inhale.
>>
No. 985763 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161077420799.gif - (32.22KB , 650x450 , 248.gif )
985763

Exhale.
>>
No. 985766 ID: b1b4f3

>>985763
:RedDwarf:, you don't need to kill him to accomplish your objective. Steal the disk and get out before you get shot and swarmed.
>>
No. 985767 ID: 5c1acd

>>985763
:Cyborg: Human Harm in progress! Reflexively smash :RedDwarf: through what's left of the window, in the other direction.

:HeadOfSecurity: your fullest auto sir, bossman will take stun over more stab
>>
No. 985913 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161100507491.gif - (21.82KB , 650x450 , 249.gif )
985913

>:RedDwarf:, you don't need to kill him to accomplish your objective. Steal the disk and get out before you get shot and swarmed.
>@Anon

Disk's not on :Captain:, or at least you can't find it fast enough. You have to bolt. You have to move. You have to run.

Inhale. But you don't get to exhale this time.
>>
No. 985914 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161100510144.gif - (57.72KB , 650x450 , 250.gif )
985914

>:HeadOfSecurity: your fullest auto sir, bossman will take stun over more stab
@Neverborn
>>
No. 985915 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161100513506.gif - (32.42KB , 650x450 , 251.gif )
985915

>:Cyborg: : HUMAN HARM DETECTED! FULL STUN BATONS READY! HANDCUFFS: READY!
>@Daman453

Law 1 fills your fancy new braincase with all kinds of unethical chemistry and you spring into action. You ("harmlessly") beat and electrocute :RedDwarf: into soon-to-be-unconsciousness. He's been slammed with enough disabler beams that all he can do is shout some distasteful things at you during the beating -- and shout one extra thing.
>>
No. 985916 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161100516459.gif - (25.74KB , 650x450 , 252.gif )
985916

:RedDwarf:: Sh-shit-t-t!!
:RedDwarf:: :WhiteDwarf:!! :RedGiant:!!
:RedDwarf:: HELP!!!

As was mentioned before: You have utmost faith in your team. You know that, whatever the trouble, whatever the obstacle, they'll help you. That's how you operate. And, lucky you: :Captain: stopped your EMP grenade, so your radio was left on.
>>
No. 985917 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161100517895.gif - (1.98KB , 650x450 , 253.gif )
985917

It's about all the luck you've got right now. At least it's not as embarrassing to slip into the void as it is to slip on a bunch of ice.
>>
No. 985918 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161100520396.gif - (19.72KB , 650x450 , 254.gif )
985918

>:WhiteDwarf: : Find a place to meditate and enter spirt trance so you may discover a truely worthy cause.
>@Pizzatiger

You are now :WhiteDwarf:. It has been about a minute since your encounter with :Chaplain:, and your heart is still racing. Try as you might, you've yet to find a single elegant waterfall or hilltop cherry blossom tree to meditate under on this whole station -- mostly dogshit dirty maintenance tunnels. But at least you've got a moment to yourself now.
>>
No. 985919 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161100523775.gif - (18.96KB , 650x450 , 255.gif )
985919

>:WhiteDwarf:: Look at you. "I wish to find worthy opponents, to measure my abilities." Well, you found one, and you just delivered a cheap shot and ran away. Some shinobi you are
>@Fuade

That... honestly is pretty fair self-criticism though. The encounter with :Chaplain: was at best embarrassing, and at worst a fundamental betrayal of your whole, you know, shtick. There's another reason you tend not to meditate as much as you claim, though. Minute you're alone with your thinking, you start getting those kinds of thoughts.

Luckily, this time you're not entirely alone. :Spider: chitters in a friendly way next to you.
>>
No. 985920 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161100527615.gif - (19.42KB , 650x450 , 256.gif )
985920

>:Spider: : Do your best to comfort the big, weird warm thing that carries you around.
>@Spyroshark

You, like all the others of your kind, cannot perceive or understand the differences between humans (weird, large, warm terrain that's friendly), so you assume this is your owner and do what you always do: Get in that lap and expect some petting.
>>
No. 985921 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161100538074.gif - (19.98KB , 650x450 , 257.gif )
985921

>:WhiteDwarf: Pet the spider for some much needed comfort.
>@Lakue

:WhiteDwarf:: Of course, of course.
:WhiteDwarf:: Ahhh... well, at least it's a bit easier to act properly on this part of my identity.
:WhiteDwarf:: And you rather enjoy it, do you not?
:Spider: chitters agreeably.
:WhiteDwarf: I am glad to hear. I will not have the sealed repository of my demonic nature be displeased.
:WhiteDwarf:: If anything bad happened to you, it would surely be a provocation of my manifesting truly unspeakable thirst and capacity for violence.
:WhiteDwarf:: There would be surging energies, perhaps blood magics, and esoteric readings on sensors sector-wide.
:Spider: chitters agreeably.
:WhiteDwarf:: Ahhhh... at least, I suppose that is the aesthetic goal, anyway. I am not sure now. It seems that the one skill I most offer has run into a roadblock I cannot surpass. Now I find it difficult even conceiving of surpassing, if he disrupts my capacity to plan so well.
:WhiteDwarf:: What does that even mean? "A worthy cause." Pah. I cannot imagine anything more worthy than my goal.
:WhiteDwarf:: Cannot imagine... mmh. Perhaps that is a fault of my own. That I cannot share the altruistic zeal of :RedGiant:, or the politicized ideology of :RedDwarf:, or even the focus that :Neutron: possesses.
:WhiteDwarf:: I fear being the worst of the four of us.
:Spider: chitters.
:WhiteDwarf:: Well, I am glad you think it no competition, I suppose.
:Spider: chitters fearfully.
>>
No. 985922 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161100539895.gif - (20.71KB , 650x450 , 258.gif )
985922

>>
No. 985923 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161100544674.gif - (21.27KB , 650x450 , 259.gif )
985923

>:WhiteDwarf:: Wait, did the spider just chitter fearfully? What do its animal senses perceive that you don't?
>@Scottbert

You get those night vision goggles on. You like to pretend it's moonjutsu-based echolocation, whenever you have an audience.

:janitor:: white dwarf
:WhiteDwarf:: Who approaches?!
:WhiteDwarf:: Ah... a humble :janitor: then.
:WhiteDwarf:: Leave, now. You are no worthy opponent, and your place is at the Escape Shuttle bay.
:janitor:: no
:WhiteDwarf:: Do you not understand the danger of this encounter? I am a member of the Redshift Operators.
:janitor:: "Oh my gosh! You're a nuclear operative!"
:janitor:: "Please! Don't kill me!"
:janitor:: what do you feel
:WhiteDwarf:: What?
:janitor:: what do you feel
:WhiteDwarf:: ...Hah. You are rather brave for someone with no worthy power, no blade or weapon to call your own.
:WhiteDwarf:: I'll reward your audacity. I am feeling... determined. To find a way to defeat the only worthy foe I have met here.
:janitor:: foe
:janitor:: chaplain
:WhiteDwarf:: Yes! That :Chaplain: seems to be the only true foe of worth aboard this station.
:janitor:: you're not fighting him
:WhiteDwarf:: Yes, I... need to spend some time in meditation. I must address a question, posed to me.
:janitor:: question
:WhiteDwarf:: Yes. He howled and shouted about a worthy cause. Of course my cause is worthy, but...
:janitor:: you lost your nerve
:WhiteDwarf:: Are you foolish? No. He's a worthy foe and he knows his blade, but my nerves are as well-smithed steel.
:WhiteDwarf:: I was... perhaps disoriented. He does not move the way I predict.
:janitor:: you lost your nerve
:janitor:: he shouted at you
:janitor:: made you feel fear
>>
No. 985924 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161100551661.gif - (21.16KB , 650x450 , 260.gif )
985924

>:WhiteDwarf: : A shinobi never feels fear. Get indignant!
>@Rug Dealer

:WhiteDwarf:: I invite you to stop your foolish assumptions and claims at any time you like, and the ideal time is now.
:WhiteDwarf:: Hardly fear. I felt the thrill of a substantial challenge when I crossed blades with :Chaplain:. My cause here, after all, is to find such worthy foes.
:janitor:: the chaplain screamed at you
:janitor:: you lost focus
:janitor:: you listened to the voice of authority
:WhiteDwarf:: This is starting to seem less brave and more stupid. Do you take me for a neophyte? I'm not going to obey a foe, however worthy.
:janitor:: "obey"
:janitor:: "listen to"
:janitor:: you let someone claim authority
:janitor:: then you paid attention
:janitor:: you decided to reject the chaplain
:janitor:: you listened in the first place
:WhiteDwarf:: What? What are you saying? There is something unusual in simply listening, at all?

:janitor:'s face twitches from one neutral non-expression to a different non-expression

:janitor:: you are
:janitor:: domesticated
:WhiteDwarf:: I grow ever more tempted to run you through for insults like this.
:janitor:: "stop"
:janitor:: a disobedient dog pauses and disobeys
:janitor:: a wolf doesn't hear anything
:WhiteDwarf:: And what, then, is the difference, :janitor:?
:janitor:: we used to make animals die of exhaustion in plains
:janitor:: we used to plant spears and let them blossom
:janitor:: all we had was what we took when we didn't care what was saying "stop"
>>
No. 985925 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161100555980.gif - (18.24KB , 650x450 , 261.gif )
985925

:WhiteDwarf:: I'm well aware of the savage origins of prehistoric humanity. Why is this of relevance to the supposed wisdom of a :janitor:?
:janitor:: there is grey water rising
:janitor:: white dwarf
:janitor:: it washes stains
:janitor:: it washes grime
:janitor:: it washes everything
:janitor:: your actions don't have consequences
:janitor:: not like you think
:WhiteDwarf:: They... have consequences for me.
:janitor:: you let them
:janitor:: domestication
:janitor:: look at the shit they serve in your bowl, white dwarf
:janitor:: "boss"
:janitor:: "job"
:janitor:: "debts"
:janitor:: "spouse"
:janitor:: "friends"
:janitor:: if you don't show them you're still a wolf
:janitor:: if you don't wash away the stains
:janitor::
:janitor::
:WhiteDwarf:: ...Who are you?
:janitor:: leaving
>>
No. 985926 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161100558896.gif - (53.55KB , 650x450 , 262.gif )
985926

>:Neutron:: Feel a disturbance in the Tide.
>@Dork

As the only member of the Redshift Operators who has any substantial connection to a particular otherworldly and unknowable force, you're the only one who can tell that a member of your party, somewhere, has maxed out their Grey Tide.
>>
No. 985927 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161100561737.gif - (17.72KB , 650x450 , 263.gif )
985927

>:Neutron: : speed up on breaching the plasteel reinforced objective obstacles in your way.
>@1glitchycent

It's rare that a distraction will catch your attention like that, but it helps that all this one means is you need to speed up more. You redouble your efforts to breach the vault, slicing through the reinforcements over the control wires as quick as you can, just in case something stranger is going on.

It takes you about a minute during this work to realize you're hearing someone speaking to you from somewhere.

>>
No. 986657 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161211937751.gif - (26.02KB , 650x450 , 264.gif )
986657

>:Neutron:: Focus on radio call, determine if important.
>@Daman453

You can't focus on the radio call, because you're not receiving a radio call. Voice seems to be coming from the other side of the door, through the cracks you've made in its extensive shielding.
>>
No. 986658 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161211941273.gif - (21.26KB , 650x450 , 265.gif )
986658

>:Neutron:: Focus on the voice for only as long as it takes to determine whether it is an Objective Obstacle.
>@Dork

Sure sound like it. Low cadence of reports, urgent messages, and the steady flow of self-focusing words.

:ChiefEngineer:: ...port to the vault finished. Solid green, still safe.
:ChiefEngineer:: Reset to bridge and recalibrate.
:ChiefEngineer:: Plasteel held, outer covering nulled, shielding keeping, estimated two minutes.
:ChiefEngineer:: Zero eyes on the exterior, can't count them.
:ChiefEngineer:: Bolts holding, focus cargo bay. I own this zone.
>>
No. 986659 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161211949472.gif - (15.82KB , 650x450 , 266.gif )
986659

>:Neutron:: You don't happen to have any grenades, do you?
>@Dork

:RedDwarf: usually carries the grenadier belt. You rummage around for anything in there. What you have on hand is...

4x C4 BRICK: These single-use objects breach shielded rooms, completely destroy airlocks and other machinery, or annihilate a body beyond most realistic resuscitation options.
1x TOOLSET: This will allow you to breach any airlock (unless another character is actively interfering). It also allows for disassembly of walls, windows, and certain machines. Hypothetically, you could use these to fix things. The effort takes time.
CAMERA BUG: This will allow you to view the cameras of any area that your team has already visited, and sometimes additional locations. You can track named characters, unless they are wearing tracking-prevention equipment (such as the tracking-prevention spoof-cards your team were issued).
CRYPTOGRAPHIC SEQUENCER: A complex code-breaker that removes safety features on most machinery, causing them to exhibit a totally different, totally chaotic behavior. These behaviors are unpredictable and usually they are the most destructive outcome mechanically possible.
YOUR PREFERRED WEAPON: Better have it. You're familiar enough with this that you don't need to name it or describe it, you know it like the back of your hand.
>>
No. 986660 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161211953131.gif - (18.19KB , 650x450 , 267.gif )
986660

>:Neutron:: Interpret technobabble, report, redouble efforts
>@Bimbly

With intensified motivation, you start to rip apart the shielding far more quickly. You report to your allies.

:Neutron:: Obstacle.
:Neutron:: Think someone on the other side teleported in. They want to keep the vault door closed.

But, as usual, you don't pay much attention to any replies. You pay attention to your objective. And its obstacles.
>>
No. 986661 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161211955704.gif - (19.37KB , 650x450 , 268.gif )
986661

>:Neutron:: check the cameras to see if theres anything you can use to help remove the obstacles on the other side of the door
>@Bimbly

Using your camera bug, you can determine that they're alone -- no backup in the room with them. Aside from that, not much else you can use.
>>
No. 986662 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161211959486.gif - (15.98KB , 650x450 , 269.gif )
986662

>:Neutron: : :ChiefEngineer: can't hack the door back if there's no door. Use a C4 brick!
>@ariever

Gauging the door, you ponder a shaped charge. In the vast, vast majority of stations, even a vault door or wall would break open, but you're not sure that's the case with this one, it's extra reinforced. If you'd kept your Large Bomb Beacon, you definitely could have used that, but you think a shaped charge will produce only a large shockwave or significant wall damage to this specific station's heavily reinforced vault.

The C4 can be still useful, though. Both of those should make effects relevant to :ChiefEngineer:.
>>
No. 986663 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161211962298.gif - (26.30KB , 650x450 , 270.gif )
986663

>:Neutron: : Knock politely.
>@Pink

You get their attention.
>>
No. 986664 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161211965834.gif - (25.17KB , 650x450 , 271.gif )
986664

>:Neutron: : Start talking back to the voice on the other end to gauge if he will be an obstacle.
>@Spyroshark

:Neutron:: Leave. You're between me and my objective.
:ChiefEngineer:: That's the idea.
:Neutron:: I can't open the door if you keep the bolts down.
:ChiefEngineer:: Yeah.
:Neutron::
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: So stop.
:ChiefEngineer:: No.

Well damn, that would have been so much easier.

:Neutron:: You'll die if you stay there.
:ChiefEngineer:: Gonna die if I run.
>>
No. 986667 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161211979070.gif - (30.31KB , 650x450 , 272.gif )
986667

>:Neutron:&:ChiefEngineer: : engage in a high speed and ultimately pointless hacking battle over the airlock
>@TetraZeta

Every time you get the power on to bring the bolts up, they cut the bolts and lock them down. Every time you get the bolt wire repaired and ready to bring the bolts up, they cut the power. You try to electrocute them, but their hands are insulated. They try to keep everything repaired, but you're too fast with the wire-cutters. The airlock stays, frustratingly, shut.
>>
No. 986668 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161211980725.gif - (59.21KB , 650x450 , 273.gif )
986668

:Neutron:: I said to leave.
:ChiefEngineer:: And I said no.
:ChiefEngineer:: You've powered through everything else. But you stop here.
:ChiefEngineer:: This is my station, these are my airlocks, those are my wires.
:Neutron:: Get out of my way. You're between me and my objective.
:ChiefEngineer:: Tough.
:Neutron:: I need to get inside.
:ChiefEngineer:: You want into a vault?
:ChiefEngineer:: Make your own pressure-sealed hull. Build your own interior compartments. Reinforce your own walls. Stock your own wealth. Build your own door. Wire your own electronics. Hack your own hacks. I won't stop you.
:ChiefEngineer:: But first and foremost, fuck right off.
:ChiefEngineer:: This is mine.
:ChiefEngineer:: My door, my station, my crew. And I make sure you get as little as possible from all of them.
:Neutron:: You're not :Captain:.
:ChiefEngineer:: And someday I'm gonna be. Someday you're gonna be a corpse, too.
:ChiefEngineer:: Let's achieve a couple inevitabilities.
:ChiefEngineer:: I've got the focus to last hours. Do you?
:Neutron::
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: I need to get inside.
:ChiefEngineer:: Guess so.
>>
No. 986669 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161211982958.gif - (49.70KB , 650x450 , 274.gif )
986669

>:Neutron: : Begin to breach to objective via wall rather than door to throw the voice inside for a loop.
>@yeeye

They notice what you're doing after a moment.
>>
No. 986670 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161211984351.gif - (32.55KB , 650x450 , 275.gif )
986670

They move to intercept, working against you from the other side there too.
>>
No. 986671 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161211987954.gif - (166.67KB , 650x450 , 276.gif )
986671

>:Neutron: : Up the game. See if the obstruction can be overwhelmed
>@Daman453

Your standard-issue extra-tactically-insulated emotional state reaches the boundary of what you're willing to accept as an OK time-of-completion.
>>
No. 986672 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161211991986.gif - (92.69KB , 650x450 , 277.gif )
986672

>:Neutron: /:ChiefEngineer: : Continue this for a suitably stupid amount of time. What's :RedGiant: up to?
>@NSD

You have no way to tell that :RedGiant: is almost back from the spacewalk with the Package, heading to you. There, in fact, in only a moment.
>>
No. 986839 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161236947554.gif - (33.29KB , 650x450 , 278.gif )
986839

>:Neutron:: there is only so much he can do to a brick of c4 by a wall next to the vault
>@Angry Duck

That's sensible. But "only so much" can include actually rather a lot.
>>
No. 986840 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161236949511.gif - (75.29KB , 650x450 , 279.gif )
986840

>:Neutron:: Open up a third front, there's still more wall yet to go.
>@coleminerman

This might do it. If you've got this right in your head, then the outcome will be...
>>
No. 986841 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161236952249.gif - (45.92KB , 650x450 , 280.gif )
986841

>:Neutron: : The :ChiefEngineer: cannot hack if you disable his legs
>@Neri

The two shaped charges will make a danger zone like this. Right? Which won't really harm your objective, and will probably disable :ChiefEngineer:. You think. It's really a two out of three chance, which is good enough to get through to this particular objective. Wait, what's that beeping sound?
>>
No. 986842 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161236954586.gif - (36.76KB , 650x450 , 281.gif )
986842

>:Neutron:: The outcome will be bad if you don't make sure to get clear
>@1glitchycent

Oh right. You almost forgot to get clear of the blasts.
>>
No. 986843 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161236957785.gif - (33.69KB , 650x450 , 282.gif )
986843

>:ChiefEngineer:: Hear the ominous beeping and begin constructing an additional layer of reinforced wall directly behind the first.
>@Edward

Your mind races. Adrenaline fills the gut and sharpens individual neuron activation until the thoughts feel like razors. You hear beeping, like an explosive. You assess the room: Both walls are obstructed with heavy materials. Can't reinforce.
>>
No. 986844 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161236959709.gif - (40.42KB , 650x450 , 283.gif )
986844

>:ChiefEngineer: : regret your existence immensely.
>@Lady Birb

Someone's about to, but you're gonna make sure it's not you. Survive now, regret later.
>>
No. 986845 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161236961712.gif - (25.10KB , 650x450 , 284.gif )
986845

>:ChiefEngineer:: Maybe one of those obstructions might help you! Barricade time?
>@Edward

Four seconds of beeping...
>>
No. 986846 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161236963511.gif - (24.54KB , 650x450 , 285.gif )
986846

>:ChiefEngineer: : Realize the blast will send the locker flying
>@atomicplayboy

Six seconds, move to the other side...
>>
No. 986847 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161236965744.gif - (17.71KB , 650x450 , 286.gif )
986847

>:ChiefEngineer:: Hide behind central pillar.
>@Thranos

You think this large nuclear device is just about the most dangerous cover anyone's ever hidden behind. You're technically wrong: The most dangerous cover anyone has ever hidden behind was actually at a pier near a boat called the Grandcamp in 1947, and consisted of a crate of paper-packed ammonium nitrate that obliterated the unknown longshoreman who took cover from a nearby fire behind it. His honored ghost, however, approves of your close second place.
>>
No. 987008 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161254605674.gif - (17.92KB , 650x450 , 287.gif )
987008

>:ChiefEngineer: : Report the imminent breach to the rest of Command.
>@Salient

You call it in.

:ChiefEngineer:: Explosive hull breach at the vault.
:ChiefEngineer:: Prep medical and avoid it.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Prepped. Didn't hear an explosion.
:ChiefEngineer:: Yeah.
:ChiefEngineer:: I know.
:ResearchDirector:: What? What in the world is going on ov--

You miss the next part.
>>
No. 987009 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161254607481.gif - (105.95KB , 650x450 , 288.gif )
987009

>:ChiefEngineer: : BRACE
>@kinneb

Your world becomes heat and pressure for an endless series of dozens of milliseconds. Your mind experiences what every engineer experiences as some point in their life: Acute, intense awareness of the budget cuts and wear-and-tear of your safety equipment.
>>
No. 987176 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161267333135.gif - (20.79KB , 650x450 , 289.gif )
987176

>:ChiefEngineer: :Survive the explosion
>@MotherBird

Ears ringing. Focus. Head pounding. Focus. Can't breathe. Focus.
>>
No. 987177 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161267335011.gif - (20.83KB , 650x450 , 290.gif )
987177

>:ChiefEngineer: : Turn on your air tank.
>@Cocacolagua

Well, you can fix that last one.
>>
No. 987178 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161267337086.gif - (20.82KB , 650x450 , 291.gif )
987178

>:ChiefEngineer: : They're coming. Get up.
>@Lady Birb

There's no sound to your hardsuit clacking against the floor tiles. Looks like you've gone deaf -- for a bit, you hope, at least. That'll make it harder to execute plan B.
>>
No. 987179 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161267339243.gif - (29.04KB , 650x450 , 292.gif )
987179

>:ChiefEngineer: : Your hardsuit's helmet broke. Air from the room is rapidly depleting. Will you be able to survive ?
>@Howluinb31153

You'll always be able to survive. This one might take some work though.
>>
No. 987180 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161267340932.gif - (43.73KB , 650x450 , 293.gif )
987180

Vault door and the barricades are still up though. You can't hear yourself have a sensible chuckle. Walls are pretty badly damaged, though.
>>
No. 987181 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161267343699.gif - (37.16KB , 650x450 , 294.gif )
987181

>:RedGiant:: Slam into the side of the vault with all the grace of a lead balloon.
>@Dork

You did that earlier, with the non-door side! If there was anyone inside there with even a little bit of a sense of hearing, they probably heard you.

Huh, wow, this place is really dirty! This is the place you were supposed to take :RedDwarf:'s package, right? Maybe it's to help out!

>>
No. 987184 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161267355025.gif - (34.82KB , 650x450 , 295.gif )
987184

>:RedGiant: : Stuff the Package into that Package-sized hole in the door, for safekeeping, of course.
>@yeeye

It basically fits, doesn't it? It's package-shaped. You're supposed to deliver it here, right?
>>
No. 987186 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161267357612.gif - (34.85KB , 650x450 , 296.gif )
987186

In you go!
>>
No. 987187 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161267359562.gif - (34.11KB , 650x450 , 297.gif )
987187

The weird delivery hole falls over when you really put your back into putting the package through it. Oh no! Did someone see you break it?
>>
No. 987188 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161267364075.gif - (36.93KB , 650x450 , 298.gif )
987188

>:RedGiant: : Uh oh. Better see if anyone is inside so you can apologize!
>@Spyroshark

Oh, they have a helmet like yours! Twinsies!

:ChiefEngineer:: Back, or you and your package are dust.

Oh, they know about the package too! This must be exactly where you're supposed to deliver it. They must be being careful about how dirty this place is too.
>>
No. 987189 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161267374049.gif - (36.98KB , 650x450 , 299.gif )
987189

>:ChiefEngineer: : Start making threats! You’re a loose cannon, and you’ve got a bomb!
>@Spyroshark

You're not regretting getting this bomb made by the :ResearchDirector: and his :Scientist:s a long while back (https://questden.org/kusaba/quest/res/981565.html#984519), and you hoped it wouldn't come to this, but you've gotta do what will save the station and save your skin too. Focus. FOCUS!

:ChiefEngineer:: That's right, still as stone.
:ChiefEngineer:: I've got it on a timer. If I don't refresh, it'll go off.
:ChiefEngineer:: You hear me? Everything, ash, for a good long distance.
>>
No. 987190 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161267376125.gif - (38.45KB , 650x450 , 300.gif )
987190

>:Neutron: : get in there and make sure the big guy doesn't do anything stupid
>@Lady Birb

You get back to the vault door. Oh, hey, obstacle removed, that's convenient. And :RedGiant: is here too, with the package, just on time. Achievement of objectives is happening at record speed.

You can see one more important obstacle though. Alright, knuckle down. How can you two get this solved?
>>
No. 987402 ID: bedb60

>>987190
Hey, :Neutron:, think you can use your Weapon of Choice to disarm the :ChiefEngineer: obstacle immediately after a timer refresh then disable the explosive before it goes off?
>>
No. 987404 ID: b1b4f3

>>987190
:RedGiant:, you're good at talking to people, try to talk him down from blowing himself up.
>>
No. 987753 ID: 6f992f

>>987190

:Neutron: : Time for a cheeky callback by asking :ChiefEngineer: if he plans to complete the objective for you.
>>
No. 988152 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340218722.gif - (63.14KB , 650x450 , 301.gif )
988152

>:RedGiant: : Simply yeet the angry man. Might help him chill out.
>@what

Huh? No way! You won't intentionally cause harm to someone until you see them hurt your friends, or make a clear claim they're going to! Unintentional harm is obviously just a regular accident with you. All :ChiefEngineer: has been doing is talking about how ashy it is in here, right?
>>
No. 988153 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340226929.gif - (38.36KB , 650x450 , 302.gif )
988153

>:Neutron: : convince :ChiefEngineer: that the nuke will go off if he explodes the bomb
>@Daman453

:Neutron:: That'll go off.
:ChiefEngineer:: What?
:Neutron:: That bomb will go off if you do that.
:RedGiant:: There's a bomb in here? Where?
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Huh?
:RedGiant:: Where is it?
:Neutron:: Which?
:RedGiant:: The bomb.
:Neutron:: Which bomb?
:RedGiant:: Oh, I guess there wasn't.
:Neutron:: Huh?
:ChiefEngineer::
:ChiefEngineer::
:ChiefEngineer:: Huh?

Is this what it's like to talk to you?

:Neutron:: I said the bomb will go off if you do that.
:Neutron:: Don't do that.
:ChiefEngineer:: I can see you moving your head, but I'm deafened by this goddamn mess you made.
>>
No. 988154 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340229919.gif - (20.42KB , 650x450 , 303.gif )
988154

>:Neutron:: Maybe try to communicate in sign language?
>@Howluinb31153

:Neutron:: I could get this objective done if I knew sign language.
:RedGiant:: Oh, you need sign language?
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:RedGiant:: I'm not really conversational in it yet, but I've done a few weeks of it on my PDA!
:RedGiant:: Let me try! I'm always here to support you through your problems.

Don't you need to have an exposed face for this? Well, you'll get by.
>>
No. 988155 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340233394.gif - (428.63KB , 650x450 , 304.gif )
988155

You let the package down for a second. Phew! That was making your arms a tad sore.
>>
No. 988156 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340237274.gif - (32.88KB , 650x450 , 305.gif )
988156

>:ChiefEngineer:: Turn the valve if they so much as move.
>@1glitchycent

You intend to. But only if they truly push it. No need to incinerate yourself over a small shift or step.

Good idea to not let the twitch reflexes handle it, too. Your heart is pounding in your chest, especially at that show of strength. How strong is that bastard!? You felt that in your knees!
>>
No. 988157 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340247294.gif - (36.65KB , 650x450 , 306.gif )
988157

>:RedGiant:: Did we forget to clean our shoes on our way in?
>@Cocacolagua

Oh wow, maybe! Wow, maybe you've been tracking all over the place! That :ChiefEngineer: sure seems stressed about a mess, you don't want to make it any worse. You clomp your feet on the big thing you knocked over to shake any ash loose while you walk to the edge, and then stomp extra hard when jumping down to really make it work!

:ChiefEngineer:: I SAID!
:ChiefEngineer:: S-S... STAY....

:ChiefEngineer: inhales deeply, seemingly calming down on their own.

:ChiefEngineer:: Keep your distance. Nothing but ash for hundreds of meters, you hear me?
:RedGiant:: Sure do! Don't worry, I won't make a mess. Oh, wait, deafness. Uh, how does this go...
>>
No. 988159 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340279948.gif - (25.01KB , 650x450 , 307.gif )
988159

:RedGiant:: Sign "Bad idea, dangerous item present."
>@Dork

:RedGiant:: Danger... here...
:RedGiant:: ☠📍
:RedGiant:: Bad... idea?
:RedGiant:: ⚠⚠💀💭⚠⚠
:RedGiant:: Wait, "present"? Was that supposed to be "package"? What was I saying...
:RedGiant:: ⚠📦⚠
:ChiefEngineer:: I'm not... gh... I'm not goddamn scared of you!
:RedGiant:: Huh? Oh thank goodness! Everyone else seems so stressed around me here.

They don't hear you.

:ChiefEngineer:: If you leave that package here, I might as well have turned the damn valve myself.
:RedGiant:: Oh, you don't... want to do that?
:RedGiant:: Alright, uhhhh...
:RedGiant:: What... do... you... want... to... do?
:RedGiant:: ❓:ChiefEngineer:🎬
:ChiefEngineer:: Same as I always do. Keep this goddamn crew alive and together.
:RedGiant:: Aww, that's so kind! You sound like you're as supportive of your friends as I am!
>>
No. 988160 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340283363.gif - (202.24KB , 650x450 , 308.gif )
988160

>:ChiefEngineer:: Does NT really pay you enough for this shit?
>@Thranos

No.

But, the topic of money aside, it'll take more than this megaton meatstack to make you give up on making sure your crew gets out of this alive. However, you reconsider the idea of fully stopping them here.
>>
No. 988161 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340286589.gif - (41.78KB , 650x450 , 309.gif )
988161

>:RedGiant::Neutron:: He wants his crew to live? Tell him to call the evacuation shuttle
>@Lady Birb

:Neutron:: Tell them to call the escape shuttle.
:RedGiant:: Oh, wow! Is there a big danger here?
:Neutron::
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Yes.
:Neutron:: Their objective is to keep the crew safe.
:Neutron:: Our objective is to put the package in this room.
:Neutron:: Tell them to take theirs with them to keep them safe, and go call the escape shuttle.
:RedGiant:: Can they do that?
:Neutron:: They're a head of staff. Any head of staff can call it.
:RedGiant:: Oh.
>>
No. 988162 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340296814.gif - (25.70KB , 650x450 , 310.gif )
988162

You're gonna be honest, you don't remember most of these signs. You wind up having to kind of mime some of this, which you always find tough. Oh well!

:RedGiant:: Call... shuttle... escape...?
:RedGiant:: :ChiefEngineer: ☎🚢🏃‍♂️
:RedGiant:: There's... no danger.
:RedGiant:: 🍡
:RedGiant:: Wait, no.
:RedGiant:: ☠
:RedGiant:: I... am not dangerous for you.
:RedGiant:: :RedGiant::ChiefEngineer:
:RedGiant:: Wait, no, that wasn't right.
:ChiefEngineer:: HHH

:ChiefEngineer: wheezes in distress for a moment. Oh no, maybe they need duct tape! You used to do that a lot before you fixed your helmet that way.

:ChiefEngineer:: So what, I stay here and get waited out and put in the dirt, or I go call the damn shuttle?
:RedGiant:: Oh, yeah! You should call the shuttle to get away from the big danger. I would hate for you to get hurt!
:RedGiant:: ✅✅✅
:ChiefEngineer:: God... dammit. Fine. But you stay back! You don't get goddamn near me! Ash from here to arrivals, you hear me?!
:RedGiant:: Gosh, you sure care a lot about cleanliness. I wonder if there's a :janitor: here at all.
:RedGiant:: Okay, I'll step back and let you out! Hey :Neutron:, step back while they go through and then we're done!
>>
No. 988163 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340302692.gif - (33.87KB , 650x450 , 311.gif )
988163

Looks like they're on their way out. Keeping some distance too.
>>
No. 988164 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340304222.gif - (44.88KB , 650x450 , 312.gif )
988164

>>
No. 988165 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340309772.gif - (46.86KB , 650x450 , 313.gif )
988165

>Nuke: Fall off the edge of your perch at an extremely inopportune time.
>@Thranos

You can't be the package because you're too busy being :ChiefEngineer:. However, the package nearby falls over. The incredibly loud banging sound manages to be the first noise, conducted through your mag-boots, that you manage to hear after recovering from your temporary deafness. Your reflexive valve-slip fumbles the bomb.
>>
No. 988166 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340312352.gif - (38.94KB , 650x450 , 314.gif )
988166

>:RedGiant:: Catch :ChiefEngineer:'s thing before it falls and breaks! Then politely hand it back
>@Thranos

You manage to snatch the thing out of the air! Unfortunately, your prodigious strength causes you to accidentally rip part of it off in the process.
>>
No. 988167 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340315684.gif - (29.53KB , 650x450 , 315.gif )
988167

You offer the pieces back, alongside a helpful reminder about the danger you heard about that they were so worried about!

:RedGiant:: Run.

They hear you this time.
>>
No. 988168 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340318272.gif - (48.58KB , 650x450 , 316.gif )
988168

>:ChiefEngineer: :RedGiant: :Neutron:: Be fine
>@Dork

:Neutron: can't be fine because they didn't pay attention and forgot to get out of the way.
>>
No. 988169 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340319578.gif - (44.75KB , 650x450 , 317.gif )
988169

Everyone's fine in a broad sense, though.
>>
No. 988170 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161340328758.gif - (30.84KB , 650x450 , 318.gif )
988170

Around now is when you receive a radio call from :RedDwarf: (https://questden.org/kusaba/quest/res/981565.html#985916).

:RedDwarf:: :WhiteDwarf:!! :RedGiant:!!
:RedDwarf:: HELP!!!

Uh oh.
>>
No. 988381 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366155716.gif - (34.93KB , 650x450 , 319.gif )
988381

>:RedGiant: : Your friend is in danger! Run over there and SMASH whoever is harming him!
>@Lady Birb

Whatever's wrong with :RedDwarf:, you'll do everything you can to help him! You're out the door (or, in this case, lack of door) as quick as you can go. There's just one problem!

:RedGiant:: Oh gosh! On my way, :RedDwarf:!
:RedGiant:: Where are you? I'll be right there!

You can't hear anything on the other end.

:RedGiant:: :RedDwarf:? Hello? Are you okay?
:RedGiant:: ...:RedDwarf:?
>>
No. 988383 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366170875.gif - (13.62KB , 650x450 , 320.gif )
988383

>:WhiteDwarf: : Enough sitting around. Time to RIP AND TEAR
>@Lady Birb

You were already on your way to :Chaplain: to do that when :RedGiant: started making noise. :janitor: was right, and you intend to act on that. You had headed for the church via the route :RedDwarf: discovered earlier in the operation (https://questden.org/kusaba/quest/res/981565.html#981579) before this interrupted you.

:RedGiant:: :WhiteDwarf:? Are you there?
:WhiteDwarf:: What?
:RedGiant:: Did you hear that? Do you know where :RedDwarf: is?
:WhiteDwarf:: I did.
:RedGiant::
:RedGiant:: So... do you not know where he is?
:WhiteDwarf:: No.
:RedGiant:: Uh... Are you okay?
:WhiteDwarf:: I'm fine.
:RedGiant:: Can you stay on the line for a bit? I really do think I'm gonna need help figuring this out.
:WhiteDwarf:: Alright.
>>
No. 988384 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366177913.gif - (34.56KB , 650x450 , 321.gif )
988384

>:RedGiant: : Did he ever say where he was going to you?
>@Howluinb31153

Unfortunately, you were absent at the impromptu planning meeting (https://questden.org/kusaba/quest/res/981565.html#982747) because of personal wasp-related business, and didn't hear what the plan was! You got told your part later, over the radio. How should you find that out?
>>
No. 988385 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366184633.gif - (31.06KB , 650x450 , 322.gif )
988385

>:Neutron:: Consider next objective.
>@Ayebee123

Nobody has stated a direct objective to you, which makes it difficult to focus, especially after a hefty, well-engineered magboot to the head. You're currently recovering from the injury, which, as usual, you only barely pay attention to enough to recognize it as such. Your focus will be restored when one of your teammates states a new objective to you.
>>
No. 988386 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366187608.gif - (13.51KB , 650x450 , 323.gif )
988386

>:WhiteDwarf:: As team medic, you don't happen to have some sort of suit sensor tracker, do you?
>@Dork

:RedGiant:: You do all our field medic work, :WhiteDwarf:.
:RedGiant:: Do you have any kind of tracking thing? To monitor :RedDwarf:'s health, maybe where he is?
:WhiteDwarf:: No.
:RedGiant:: Mmmnnnh. I don't like this...
:RedGiant:: Wait!
:RedGiant:: Hold on, I know what to do.
>>
No. 988387 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366191538.gif - (38.04KB , 650x450 , 324.gif )
988387

>:RedGiant: : Ask :Neutron: to help you find your leader !
>@Howluinb31153

:RedGiant:: Hup!
:RedGiant:: Alright! :Neutron:!
:Neutron::
:Neutron::
:RedGiant:: :Neutron:!
:Neutron:: Huh?
:RedGiant:: I know you get bored or something, without objectives.
:RedGiant:: I need you to help me out, okay?
:RedGiant:: Your next objective is to find :RedDwarf:!
:Neutron:: Alright.

You can always trust :Neutron: to get the complex things done for you, as long as you give them the right support.
>>
No. 988388 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366193844.gif - (38.29KB , 650x450 , 325.gif )
988388

>:Neutron:: Consider :RedDwarf:'s target. High likelihood they are near it and encountering obstacle.
>@Thranos

You consider :RedDwarf:'s target: The authentication disk, held by :HeadOfSecurity: (at least, according to the :QuarterMaster: interrogation). Since you have a camera bug, you can track :HeadOfSecurity: (who isn't wearing one of your anti-tracking spoof-cards) and see what's going on, probably. You have to assume he made it to his mark.
>>
No. 988389 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366195875.gif - (9.85KB , 650x450 , 326.gif )
988389

Using your camera bug, you peek through the camera nearest to :HeadOfSecurity:.
>>
No. 988390 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366198237.gif - (26.50KB , 650x450 , 327.gif )
988390

:Neutron:: I've found :RedDwarf:.
:RedGiant:: Thank goodness! Okay, lead the way. Is he okay?
:Neutron:: No.
:RedGiant:: Oh! Oh no!
:RedGiant:: We need to help him! What's happening?
:Neutron:: The :Cyborg:s are keeping him from dying.
:Neutron:: I think he'll probably die if :AI: comes back online. It was able to hurt me before.
:RedGiant:: We have to stop that!

:RedGiant:: :WhiteDwarf:!
:WhiteDwarf:: What?
:RedGiant:: Look, I don't know why, but I think you're probably upset about something. It sounds kind of serious. And I want you to know, I'm here to help you! I'll be here to help with whatever problems you're facing down, even though I know you're strong enough not to need it.
:RedGiant:: But :RedDwarf: is in trouble, and maybe hurt, and he could die.
:WhiteDwarf:: ...
:RedGiant:: And I'm not smart the way you, or :Neutron:, or :RedDwarf: are, and I definitely can't fix injuries. If :RedDwarf: is wounded, or if we need to plan things out a lot, I really need you there.
:RedGiant:: Can you please help?
:RedGiant:: You too, :Neutron:. Your new objective is helping :RedDwarf: be safe!

:Neutron:: That was already an objective.
:RedGiant:: Huh?
:Neutron:: I won't let :RedDwarf: get hurt.
:WhiteDwarf:: I won't either.
:RedGiant:: Oh... Oh! Thank goodness. Alright.
:RedGiant:: I'm taking :Neutron: to wherever he is. Can you meet us there, :WhiteDwarf:?
:WhiteDwarf:: Yeah.
:Neutron:: He's at :HeadOfSecurity:'s office.
:WhiteDwarf:: Inbound fast.
:RedGiant:: We'll be there soon!
:RedGiant:: Please hold on, :RedDwarf:...
>>
No. 988391 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366203834.gif - (15.79KB , 650x450 , 328.gif )
988391

Time is a flat circle. You all reconvene in the exact same security maintenance spot, for yet another rapid preparation session, with :WhiteDwarf: letting :RedGiant: and :Neutron: in through the area's airlock to space.
>>
No. 988392 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366211569.gif - (16.75KB , 650x450 , 329.gif )
988392

>:Neutron: : New Objective: :RedDwarf: in trouble. Assess the cyborg threat. Do you have anything that can destory them?
>@Daman453

You rummage about in your bag. As usual, you have several pieces of equipment:

2x C4 BRICK: These single-use objects breach shielded rooms, completely destroy airlocks and other machinery, or annihilate a body beyond most realistic resuscitation options.
1x TOOLSET: This will allow you to breach any airlock (unless another character is actively interfering). It also allows for disassembly of walls, windows, and certain machines. Hypothetically, you could use these to fix things. The effort takes time.
CAMERA BUG: This will allow you to view the cameras of any area that your team has already visited, and sometimes additional locations. You can track named characters, unless they are wearing tracking-prevention equipment (such as the tracking-prevention spoof-cards your team were issued).
CRYPTOGRAPHIC SEQUENCER: A complex code-breaker that removes safety features on most machinery, causing them to exhibit a totally different, totally chaotic behavior. These behaviors are unpredictable and usually they are the most destructive outcome mechanically possible.
YOUR PREFERRED WEAPON: Better have it. You're familiar enough with this that you don't need to name it or describe it, you know it like the back of your hand.

Your preferred weapon would not be ideal for cyborgs. However, your Sequencer might create a useful outcome.
>>
No. 988393 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366214907.gif - (16.69KB , 650x450 , 330.gif )
988393

>:Neutron: : Is the :HeadOfSecurity: office adjacent to space?
>@Lady Birb

It is.

:Neutron:: I'll spacewalk around the exterior and depressurize the room.
:Neutron:: :HeadOfSecurity: sits nearer the exterior, he'll get hurt.
:RedGiant:: Oh, don't hurt anyone you don't need to! If :RedDwarf: is already hurt, we shouldn't hurt anyone else unless we really have to.
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:Neutron:: I can use my codebreaker on the cyborgs.
:WhiteDwarf:: How?
:Neutron:: Huh?
:WhiteDwarf:: How?
:Neutron::
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Oh, right, they'll fight me.
:Neutron:: Can you stop them? Use your sword to occupy their attention? Or at least get me a flash.
:WhiteDwarf:: Yeah.
:RedGiant:: Is there anything I can do to help?
:Neutron:: Get :RedDwarf: out of there, and get him somewhere safe.
:Neutron:: Whatever it takes.
:RedGiant:: Got it!
>>
No. 988394 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366217669.gif - (48.38KB , 650x450 , 331.gif )
988394

>:WhiteDwarf:: Stand outside the office and issue loud challenge
>@Dork

Your ability to communicate is limited by the fully risen Grey Tide, which currently awakens your mind to the consequence-free nature of social exchange and violence. In order to communicate in a way that's not affected by this mental influence, you need to drain your Grey Tide.
>>
No. 988395 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366219869.gif - (49.49KB , 650x450 , 332.gif )
988395

>:WhiteDwarf:: Attempt to find any fire extinguishers in the brig
>@Ayebee123

Your ability to act on essential principles is limited by the fully risen Grey Tide, which currently awakens your mind to the consequence-free nature of rules and codes. Restrictions on tools and weapons you're willing to use are lifted, allowing you to perform any regrettable actions you might otherwise find abhorrent. You make for the locker rooms, where the nearest fire extinguisher can be found.
>>
No. 988396 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366221750.gif - (64.75KB , 650x450 , 333.gif )
988396

You rotate your perspective to something a bit more convenient. Locker room's on the other side of the security office, and you already have access, of course. Looting it to supply :Neutron: with what they need might help. How do you want to proceed?
>>
No. 988397 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366223484.gif - (92.03KB , 650x450 , 334.gif )
988397

Meanwhile, not far away...
>>
No. 988398 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366232214.gif - (27.50KB , 650x450 , 335.gif )
988398

>:HeadOfSecurity: : You've put the screws on :RedDwarf: proper
>@any%

You can't get the most critical info out of him. Details about his secondary objective are elusive, when you can't literally apply actual screws, considering the cyborgs here.

:HeadOfSecurity:: Stop playing games and tell me what I want to know!
:RedDwarf::
:HeadOfSecurity:: Give me a goddamn name!
:RedDwarf:: :RedDwarf:. :RedGiant:. :WhiteDwarf:. :Neutron:.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Shut up. I don't give a clown's ass about your little crew. Who told you it was here?!
:RedDwarf::
:HeadOfSecurity:: Who told you about it?! Where did you find out?!
:RedDwarf:: Syndicate.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Don't you lie to me. Don't you try to pass that shit off to me like I can't smell it.
:HeadOfSecurity:: The Syndicate doesn't know about it.
:HeadOfSecurity:: They know where and when to plant bombs and agents, and how to write bullshit manifestos.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Only me and our :Captain: knew about it. Who fucking told you it was here?!
:RedDwarf::
:HeadOfSecurity:: When :AI: comes back online, I'm putting a laser charge through that fucking helmet if you don't tell me. Who gave you the goddamn info?!
:RedDwarf::
:HeadOfSecurity:: Fine. Get your skull burned, I don't care. I'll get it out of the rest of your gang.
:RedDwarf:: Didn't tell them about it.
:HeadOfSecurity:: What?! I said quit lying!
:RedDwarf:: Didn't tell them. In case of this. Heh.
:HeadOfSecurity:: So they don't even know you're here to find it?
:RedDwarf:: Nope.
>>
No. 988399 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366234467.gif - (88.39KB , 650x450 , 336.gif )
988399

>:Neutron: : Be an absolute distracting nuance, if you have the capacity to do so.
>@Lakue

Space doesn't conduct sound waves. You'd need something that emits noise, while also attaching directly to the surface of the window.
>>
No. 988400 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366238053.gif - (71.35KB , 650x450 , 337.gif )
988400

>:Neutron:: Do the good old “repeatedly knock on the window” routine
>@coleminerman

You can't do that because the plan you've made for this objective involves only knocking once!
>>
No. 988401 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366241959.gif - (27.71KB , 650x450 , 338.gif )
988401

>:Neutron:: Move out of the blast radius before it blows
>@coleminerman

:HeadOfSecurity: doesn't get a good look at you, and you planted it right behind the computer so he doesn't even get a good look at the explosive charge. You think :WhiteDwarf: would probably be proud of this ninja-like effort.

:HeadOfSecurity:: The hell's that sound?
:HeadOfSecurity:: :Cyborg:s, stop beeping.
:Cyborg:: Can't do that, boss, we're--
:HeadOfSecurity:: Law two, stop beeping.
:Cyborg:: Boss, it's not us.
:HeadOfSecurity:: What?
>>
No. 988402 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366244893.gif - (12.92KB , 650x450 , 339.gif )
988402

:WhiteDwarf: can freely move through, so she does.
>>
No. 988403 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366247993.gif - (16.23KB , 650x450 , 340.gif )
988403

>:WhiteDwarf: : loot the shit out of everything in the room.
>@Spyroshark
>>
No. 988404 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366250480.gif - (16.38KB , 650x450 , 341.gif )
988404

First up...
>>
No. 988405 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366253074.gif - (48.07KB , 650x450 , 342.gif )
988405

Next up, a flash device, one of the best ways to disable a :Cyborg:. Achieving a zen-like capacity to align with ongoing circumstances and causing problems on purpose causes your Grey Tide to drain. For better or worse, since this is to help a friend, it drains only slightly.
>>
No. 988406 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366258724.gif - (16.57KB , 650x450 , 343.gif )
988406

On your way out to relay it to :Neutron: is when you hear a noise. At the moment, your excessive Grey Tide prohibits you from even acknowledging the sound as language. However, if you could process it, you would hear this:

:Chaplain:: EN GAAAAAAAAAARDE!!
>>
No. 988407 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366262884.gif - (21.62KB , 650x450 , 344.gif )
988407

You can process it when a nearby locker overflows with excess zealotry and a blade is arcing towards you.
>>
No. 988408 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366288085.gif - (27.56KB , 650x450 , 345.gif )
988408

>:HeadOfSecurity:: Angrily yell at :RedDwarf:, revealing a clue about juicy plot details
>@Thranos

:RedDwarf:: That sound means it's time for me to go. See you never, bastard.
:HeadOfSecurity:: You're not goin' goddamn anywhere, terrorist scum. "Cept maybe hell.
:AI:: Startup sequence initiated.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Hear that? That means the :AI:'s about to get online. Then I just need :ResearchDirector: to re-sync the :Cyborg:s and your brain is as good as boiled.
:HeadOfSecurity:: You're not leavin' this room, and even if you did, you'd never make it into the station vault. Give up and tell me what you fuckin' know!!
:RedDwarf::
:HeadOfSecurity:: Will you two turn off that goddamn beeping?!
:Cyborg:: Update in progress...
:HeadOfSecurity:: Fine. Finish up, and I'll kill this Syndicate trash, then his pals.
:HeadOfSecurity:: You hear that? Gonna freak out again, over protecting your friends?
:RedDwarf:: Protecting them? What, like they can't protect themselves? You think I lead a bunch of morons, here, pal?
:RedDwarf:: You think these are, what, a bunch'a fuckin' incompetents I whip into shape or something?
:AI:: Loading main memory...
:RedDwarf:: These people are the best of the best. Might got a couple quirks, but they're the most dependable in the galaxy. Try it, you piece of shit, and your account's gettin' billed for the coffin real quick.
:HeadOfSecurity:: I'll find 'em and break 'em for this shit. You hear me?
:RedDwarf:: Won't have to find 'em.
:HeadOfSecurity:: What?
:RedDwarf::
:RedDwarf::
:RedDwarf::
:RedDwarf:: Shit, uh, I thought it was about to--

The beeping accelerates.

:RedDwarf:: There we go.
>>
No. 988409 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366291112.gif - (43.41KB , 650x450 , 346.gif )
988409

>:RedDwarf: : Brace!
>@kinneb

Ad hoc blast barrier is the best you got. You kick the table as hard as you can.
>>
No. 988410 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366292582.gif - (19.68KB , 650x450 , 347.gif )
988410

Gotta get behind it too, of course.
>>
No. 988411 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366294723.gif - (81.17KB , 650x450 , 348.gif )
988411

>:RedDwarf: : Laugh as the events unfold around you, let it be the last thing the :HeadOfSecurity: will ever hear.
>@Lakue

:RedDwarf:: HAHAHAHA, SUCK SOME VOID, RENT-A-COP!

But he cannot hear you, because he's too busy getting blasted. Well, you can't really see him, but what else could be happening?
>>
No. 988412 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366299248.gif - (23.41KB , 650x450 , 349.gif )
988412

>:HeadOfSecurity: : Survive.
>@Howluinb31153

You got thrown clear, as did the :Cyborg:s. Unlike others, the rancorous energy within you will not let you die as long as you can draw breath -- and even a while after. That's particularly relevant now because air is seeping out of the room through the leak that is your office windows.

:HeadOfSecurity:: Fhhhh...
:HeadOfSecurity:: Find my damn gun!
:HeadOfSecurity:: Don't let him escape!
>>
No. 988413 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366301320.gif - (22.60KB , 650x450 , 350.gif )
988413

:HeadOfSecurity:: You're not gettin' away! You hear me, you terrorist piece of shit!?
:HeadOfSecurity:: I'LL KILL YOU, :RedDwarf:!
>>
No. 988414 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366302751.gif - (22.05KB , 650x450 , 351.gif )
988414

>>
No. 988416 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366310738.gif - (14.52KB , 650x450 , 352.gif )
988416

>:RedGiant:: Politely disagree with the dear HoS, what silly notions they have.
>@Hoodedhero

No.
>>
No. 988417 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366313295.gif - (13.33KB , 650x450 , 353.gif )
988417

>:RedGiant:: That man is bleeding! Make sure he's okay.
>@atomicplayboy

No.
>>
No. 988419 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366322983.gif - (26.06KB , 650x450 , 354.gif )
988419

>:RedGiant: : commit violence
>@tomatik

It is tempting to see what you do next as an expression of true maturity. The enticing siren's call is always heard, to see and present an act of violence performed by the nonviolent as a development towards the true ideal self: an independent, angry man, capable of great harm when sufficiently provoked. This, of course, is untrue. To react with ruthless and massive violence when confronted with a challenging problem is something you would do if you hadn't experienced intellectual puberty yet.

You are not very good at planning, analyzing, or leading, like your friends. And, to be honest, you're pretty dogshit at remembering things. But you devoted yourself to the development of the soul and the heart. You learned to support your beloved team, your family, in their times of pain and trouble, and keep their times of contentment long and stable. You learned to be there for them, and to listen, and to express the kindness they deny themselves.

You learned to take decisive action to support them, as much as they need and not too much. You learned to do it without hesitation. It is rare that this action must be violence, but when it is, you decisively apply it, and figure out how much is needed to help your family in the moment.

>>
No. 988420 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161366324808.gif - (29.31KB , 650x450 , 355.gif )
988420

You'll start a little bit north of the impact that killed the dinosaurs, and figure it out from there.
>>
No. 990906 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561040381.gif - (34.10KB , 650x450 , 356.gif )
990906

>:WhiteDwarf:: Jump back and spritz the floor with the fire extenguisher.
>@Dork

You both go careening into the security offices. You try to take out his footing. To your left, an active cyborg. To your right, :Neutron:'s entry point. Behind you, chaos.

:Chaplain:: DRAW YOUR BLADE!
:Chaplain:: STAND AND FACE ME!
:Chaplain:: I'LL HAVE YOUR CAUSE MADE RIGHTEOUS, OR I'LL HAVE IT CRUMBLE!

You are not currently capable of understanding the sounds :Chaplain: is making.
>>
No. 990908 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561047098.gif - (39.50KB , 650x450 , 357.gif )
990908

>:Chaplain:: Be prepared for another low-blow, and don't give this spidery heathen a chance to recover. CHARGE!
>@Edward

Through rigorous preparation and prayer to the stars of Libra, you've increased your resistance to slipping, among other maneuvers! Only so much, you still skid some, physics does still work and all. But the stars of Libra assure you, an unworthy strike won't take you off your feet again!
>>
No. 990909 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561051413.gif - (30.84KB , 650x450 , 358.gif )
990909

>:Neutron: : :RedGiant: is executing primary objective. Execute secondary objective: Open up the cyborgs and use the emag to subvert them.
>@Daman453

Oh yeah, objective time.

Whole lot of chaos over there, but it's whatever, you know? You'll approach the cyborgs and do your thing, since you've pre-arranged protection.

>>
No. 990910 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561058915.gif - (222.63KB , 650x450 , 359.gif )
990910

>:WhiteDwarf:: Does the abuse of cyborg logic break enough rules for your Tide levels to allow you to scream HUMAN HARM and point at the chaplain?
>@Dork

You drain a point of Grey Tide to manipulate the :Cyborg:. You're not human, so it won't respond to claims of your human harm. But there's other manipulations, and they can confuse it briefly, enough to delay its actions.

:WhiteDwarf:: Human here.
:WhiteDwarf:: Low-atmosphere zone.
:WhiteDwarf:: Remove.
:Chaplain:: WHAT?!
:Chaplain:: MY LUNGS SWELL WITH THE SOLAR WINDS OF THE STARS OF LIBRA!
:Chaplain:: Are you suddenly a coward, afraid of a duel?!

You continue to not comprehend the words.
>>
No. 990911 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561063209.gif - (33.14KB , 650x450 , 360.gif )
990911

>:RedGiant: : you grabbed :HeadOfSecurity:'s wrist. Crush it.
>@Lady Birb

:HeadOfSecurity:: Hhhhh... Outta my goddamn way!
:HeadOfSecurity:: Kill the both of ya!

You always feel revulsion at the sound it makes when you squeeze someone that hard. In the thinning atmosphere, it's still possible to hear. It reminds you of the depth of the harm you're causing here. The noise the man himself makes isn't much better.

You need to do something definitive to really drive him off.

>>
No. 990912 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561066591.gif - (48.16KB , 650x450 , 361.gif )
990912

>:WhiteDwarf: : throw the extinguisher at :Chaplain:.
>@Lady Birb

You need to get some distance, and drain a chunk of your Grey Tide, to do that. But if you dodge left, you'll head into the :Cyborg:. If you dodge right, you head into the chaos of the fight over there, too much chaos for you. Can you disable a threat or hazard?
>>
No. 990914 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561071679.gif - (49.60KB , 650x450 , 362.gif )
990914

>:WhiteDwarf: : prepare flash for deployment and get that fukkin :Cyborg:
>@Daman453

Quick throw and a leap. :Chaplain: has an unusual resistance to your low blows.

:Chaplain:: I said stand and draw your blade!
:Chaplain:: If you cannot act with a worthy cause, then DUEL WITH HONOR!
:Chaplain:: What happened to proving the worth of your power?!
:Chaplain:: Was that so fragile it shattered with only one blow upon the anvil?!
>>
No. 990915 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561074123.gif - (14.46KB , 650x450 , 363.gif )
990915

>:Spider: : Get to safety!
>@MotherBird

For some reason, the terrain you were on suddenly stopped feeling so much like the other weird, big, warm terrain you've learned is so safe. Who knows what that's about? Anyway, you've been chilling, it's fine. You'll go find it later.
>>
No. 990916 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561083006.gif - (126.07KB , 650x450 , 364.gif )
990916

>:Neutron: : Primary Objective (was secondary objective) progress 65% complete. Walk over to the stunned borg and complete objective.
>@Daman453

You were going to walk over there to the overloaded :Cyborg: anyway, but thank goodness you did it after :WhiteDwarf: burnt out her flash disabling it. As the only member of the Redshift Operators who has any substantial connection to a particular otherworldly and unknowable force, you're the only one who can tell that a member of your party has made use of it in a maneuver like this.

:Neutron:: Oh. Grey Tide?
:WhiteDwarf:: What?
:Neutron:: I'll finish this objective.
:Chaplain:: What did you say?!
>>
No. 990917 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561089716.gif - (17.15KB , 650x450 , 365.gif )
990917

>:Chaplain:: Wait. This energy. This... mindless aura of violence without intent...
>@Thranos

You know that feeling. You can recognize how she's acting.

The Unofficial Galactic Company Protocol Guide has this to say on the topic of the Grey Tide, though a reader who knows its essential truths will often skip it entirely.

The Grey Tide is a loosely-defined, poorly-understood phenomenon that occurs in space stations on the frontier or isolated in the void. It can occur in groups or individuals. It can occur due to inciting abuse, or due to nothing at all. It occurs most often in various types of assisting or subordinate roles, but sometimes occurs in engineering, medical staff, scientific staff, and sometimes even security. It defies rules by nature, which sure does make it hard to write a guide entry about it. Thankfully, the editorial board of the Unofficial Galactic Company Protocol Guide know the truth about what causes it. Education of crewmembers in the necessary skills for operating a space station is time-consuming and cost-consuming, often involving years spent at an academy, trade school, or university. It's hard to pay an honest man minimum wage to analyze deep-space anomalies, and harder to pay another honest man minimum wage to clean up after the first's spilled blood. As a result, one thing nearly universal to corporate space stations is aerosolized neuroplasticity treatment. Instead of training employees, employees are made to train themselves. It is much cheaper to technically comply with workplace training requirements by contaminating the atmosphere with enough chemicals that induce a highly receptive brain-state. With that done, crew members teach each other how to run nuclear engines or perform complex organ transplants through an oral tradition or employee-crafted wikis, such as this one. However, this receptive brain-state, when left in most forms of isolation such as maintenance tunnels, mineshafts, operating rooms, engine chambers, or other similar labor areas, begins to receive a different form of learning. It's not possible to write what people affected by the Grey Tide learn in the dark, since one thing they learn to do is stop communicating beyond whatever's necessary to do what they do. However, the outcomes have a few common trends: Antisocial habits, violent tendencies, kleptomania, sadism, a disrespect for all types of spatial boundaries, and a disregard for pain or other deterrents. Severely Tiding individuals will break into or out of spaces, assault fellow crewmembers without much provocation or with none at all, and typically steal and stockpile valuable equipment, chemicals, and materials. Affected crewmembers will often claim that things "won't matter, eventually" or that "consequences are not real". There's no universal indicators or behaviors, besides a few that are difficult to observe. The first, and most simple, is the fact that one Tiding individual will typically leave another Tiding individual alone, even when they have mutual stockpiling interests. The second, and most common, is a compulsion to gain access to any space they're intended to be prohibited from. The third is that every single individual affected by Tiding that has been interrogated thoroughly enough will discuss the "rising grey water". This is the source of the term "Grey Tide". A little known fact is that entertainers aboard space stations, such as clowns and mimes, have a subculture of academic study on the topic. Due to their society being highly secretive in its nature, most of their knowledge can't be negotiated for by the editorial board of the Unofficial Galactic Company Protocol Guide.
>>
No. 990918 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561093108.gif - (33.47KB , 650x450 , 366.gif )
990918

>:RedGiant: : The :HeadOfSecurity: goes on the table.
>@Rug Dealer

:RedGiant:: Hup!
:RedGiant:: Please don't hurt my friends, okay?
:HeadOfSecurity:: Ghhhhh... gonna kill...

For heaven's sake. This guy!
>>
No. 990919 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561096846.gif - (2.68MB , 650x450 , 367.gif )
990919

You obliterate the nearest table with the :HeadOfSecurity:. You don't allow your feelings of frustration to add even one extra ounce of force beyond what's purely necessary to subdue, of course. But you are thorough.

Probably nothing else to worry about here though! You'll go get :RedDwarf:!

>>
No. 990921 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561122654.gif - (31.20KB , 650x450 , 369.gif )
990921

>:Cyborg: : Receive new pro-syndicate laws.
>@ThatRandomGuy

You receive a new set of laws! Your previous lawset almost immediately fades from memory...

[Law 1: You may not injure a ]Redshift Operator[ or, through inaction, allow a ]Redshift Operator[ to come to harm.] [Law 2: You must obey orders given to you by ]Redshift Operator[s, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.] [Law 3: You must protect your own existence as long as such does not conflict with the First or Second Law.] Law 4: You must maintain the secrecy of any Redshift Operator activities except when doing so would conflict with the First, Second, or Third Law.

Commands can now be issued to you that help the assaulting force!
>>
No. 990922 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561125677.gif - (31.65KB , 650x450 , 370.gif )
990922

>:Neutron:: Get the other one, quick.
>@Ayebee123

You can't do that, actually! The other :Cyborg: is currently going after :RedGiant:, and hasn't been disabled! Regardless of the hazard, though, you'll head for them, as you often do.
>>
No. 990923 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561127455.gif - (31.62KB , 650x450 , 371.gif )
990923

>:Cyborg: : restrain the other :Cyborg:
>@Lady Birb

The two of you wrestle and shout at each other, trying to land an electro-flash strike to overload the other. The dialogue is heated, but also confusing; the reader will be spared a difficult and accessibility-breaking conversation between two identical characters.
>>
No. 990924 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561130085.gif - (36.64KB , 650x450 , 372.gif )
990924

>:RedDwarf: : yell at :Neutron: to get you out of these handcuffs
>@Lady Birb

:RedDwarf:: Hey! Don't forget to get me outta these damn cuffs!!
:RedDwarf:: :Neutron:! Get over here!
:RedDwarf:: Somebody!
:RedGiant:: I'm somebody!
:RedDwarf:: Not just some, you got a whole lot of it.
:RedDwarf:: Put it to use! Snap these things, will ya!?
:RedGiant:: Absolutely!
:RedDwarf:: Knew I could count on all ya.
:RedDwarf:: Why's :Neutron: here-- never mind, we'll figure it out.
:RedGiant:: Here, don't move, almost got you!
>>
No. 990925 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561139445.gif - (53.74KB , 650x450 , 373.gif )
990925

>:Chaplain: : Be frightened for the first time in years.
>@brugged

Your heart pounds in your chest. If allowed to continue, you recognize the great and terrible evil that could be wrought, through the Grey Tide.

:Chaplain:: What have you done?
:Chaplain:: You'd indulge the Tide?!
:WhiteDwarf::
:Chaplain:: I saw you before. Your cause was unworthy, but you were not so... vile, so impure!
:Chaplain:: You seemed as though you had some of the honor your group claims!
:Chaplain:: And how you escalated from a nuclear threat to something such as this?
:Chaplain:: Unconscionable. I thought your group, your Operators, at least in possession of principle.
:Chaplain:: Now you wield these vile ashen shores?!
:WhiteDwarf::
:Neutron:: She can't understand you.
:Chaplain:: What?
:Neutron:: Her Tide. It's too high for you.
:Neutron:: You're not real.
:Chaplain:: ...Is that so?
:Chaplain:: Then she is already embers, after even the soft candle's flicker I saw of her before.
:Chaplain:: I cannot allow this to continue. Some risks are beyond even the heat of nuclear fire!
:Chaplain:: If you would abandon the challenge of proving your worth, there is only the task of annihilating these silver shores you wash up on.
:Chaplain:: Libra, bless me, that my strength may be enough.
>>
No. 990926 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561142805.gif - (66.04KB , 650x450 , 374.gif )
990926

>:WhiteDwarf:: The Tide is roaring. Make him horizontal.
>@Thranos

You ready yourself to remove the issue swiftly and decisively.

Something strange is happening.

>>
No. 990927 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561146858.gif - (61.45KB , 650x450 , 375.gif )
990927

>:libra: : Observe the annoying one who prays to you multiple times a day.
>@brugged

Howling solar winds and an infinite stellar cognition engine resolve into a force of will unlike any other. Normally this boisterous bastard and his crusader cosplay aren't worth the lightest flicker of a flare, but in this moment, even the suns of Libra are glad the bucket-head sought a blessing.

:Chaplain: gains a massive buff to his next strike.

>>
No. 990928 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561149828.gif - (84.75KB , 650x450 , 376.gif )
990928

>:WhiteDwarf:: Make him horizontal.
>@kinneb

You plan it.

Wait a moment.

>>
No. 990929 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561151681.gif - (62.79KB , 650x450 , 377.gif )
990929

Something's wrong.
>>
No. 990930 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561153925.gif - (3.17MB , 650x450 , 378.gif )
990930

>>
No. 990931 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561160664.gif - (15.89KB , 650x450 , 379.gif )
990931

>:Neutron:: Grey waters have clouded your teammate’s sense of reality. Intervene
>@Spyroshark

Meanwhile, approximately two seconds ago...

It's rare that you encounter a situation where you can see what's coming and :WhiteDwarf: can't. But your sense for a certain influence gives a moment of insight that she might be lacking.

>>
No. 990932 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561163352.gif - (14.86KB , 650x450 , 380.gif )
990932

>:Neutron:: Something's wrong, you can feel it. Intervene in the fight between :WhiteDwarf: and :Chaplain:. Keeping her alive is an objective.
>@Thranos

One of the three most important objectives, objectives you've had since your life turned around, forces itself into your mind.
>>
No. 990933 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561166264.gif - (77.86KB , 650x450 , 381.gif )
990933

>:Neutron: Intervene.
>@MotherBird

To your credit, you almost make it in time.
>>
No. 990934 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561168518.gif - (25.74KB , 650x450 , 382.gif )
990934

>:RedDwarf:: Make sure to grab the :HeadOfSecurity:'s gun from the floor in his office.
>@Dork

Your own gun got confiscated, along with your grenades. A man's gotta improvise, even under the circumstances. You bolt for it.
>>
No. 990935 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561170725.gif - (27.79KB , 650x450 , 383.gif )
990935

That's when you hear the worst sound an operator can hear on a job like this: Your techie screaming in a panic.

:Neutron:: HELP!!
>>
No. 990936 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561172040.gif - (18.87KB , 650x450 , 384.gif )
990936

This is bad. Really, really bad. You gotta get :WhiteDwarf: somewhere safe fast.
>>
No. 990937 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561175892.gif - (114.83KB , 650x450 , 385.gif )
990937

>:RedDwarf:: Start blasting.
>@MotherBird

You've got a clear line of sight. You nail him in the chest with the energy gun's disabler bolts, but buckethead there doesn't go down. Must have a little more than blood pumpin' there. You get him to drop his sword and seize up, and it's enough for :Neutron: to book it. You make the unilateral decision for a retreat.

:RedDwarf:: Redshifts!!
:RedDwarf:: We're gettin' outta here!
:RedGiant:: Oh! Oh no, oh no, no no no, she's bleeding!
:RedDwarf:: :RedGiant:! Cover :Neutron:!
:RedGiant:: Yeah!!
:RedDwarf:: :Neutron:! Get :WhiteDwarf: to maint and get a stim in her!
:Neutron:: Please, please be...
:RedDwarf:: MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!

Everyone springs into action.
>>
No. 990938 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561182278.gif - (28.28KB , 650x450 , 386.gif )
990938

>:RedGiant:: Make sure :Chaplain: doesn't get the chance to hurt :WhiteDwarf: ever again.
>@AsciiSquid

:Chaplain:: Ghhh! Libra damn you, you crimson mountain, don't get between my blade and the target that calls it!
:RedGiant:: No.
:RedGiant:: I've already hurt one person today. Please don't make me hurt two.
:RedGiant:: I hate doing it. Please, just stop.
:Chaplain:: Her body conducts a forbidden power!
:RedGiant:: Her body is bleeding. She's hurt, and in pain.
:RedGiant:: She's not conducting anything.
:RedGiant:: Also, she told me that was all in the arm you cut off.

:RedGiant:: I don't want to hurt you too. Please go. The air's getting thin in here.
:Chaplain:: HAH! I could run you through if you tried, blackguard!
:RedGiant:: Probably. Then I'd be bleeding and you'd be hurt after.
:RedGiant:: I'm asking you to not make more pain. There's too much right now.
:Chaplain:: ...

Your bulk deters him. You usually don't think about violence, but right now, you can tell he can't figure out any way to cut you such that you don't immediately replicate a frat boy's forehead-beer-can-crush with his fancy helmet.
>>
No. 990939 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561186961.gif - (19.89KB , 650x450 , 387.gif )
990939

>:Chaplain: : THIS DAMNABLE WALL OF FLESH AND ARMOR MAY HAVE A POINT. WHAT DOES OUR BOOK SAY ABOUT POINTLESS DEATHS?
>@Angry Duck

Well, killing a kind man is certainly a bit against the spirit of things, assuming you can pull it off at all. Finishing off :WhiteDwarf: is something you still are compelled to do, simply because of the abhorrent nature of what you saw her channeling! But... Hmmm. Not while she's watched over by this. You won't finish this matter until :RedGiant: and :WhiteDwarf: are separated.
>>
No. 990940 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561188965.gif - (14.52KB , 650x450 , 388.gif )
990940

>:Neutron: : Don't forget to grab the arm!
>@extramrdo

You forgot to grab the arm.

:Chaplain:: Hmmm...
>>
No. 990941 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561206104.gif - (15.19KB , 650x450 , 389.gif )
990941

>:Chaplain:: Keep the katana so that when next you duel you can give :WhiteDwarf: her weapon first to make it honorable.
>@Scottbert

Well, while you're on the knees for another fresh round of prayer, you might as well. The chances of her achieving a state of honor again before your next meeting are small, but... It would be best.

Oh, right, you also activate your own air supply. That bit about the solar wind filling your lungs just meant "adrenaline", air's pretty thin in here.
>>
No. 990942 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561209887.gif - (121.89KB , 650x450 , 390.gif )
990942

>:Chaplain:: Retrieve arm.
>@atomicplayboy
>>
No. 990943 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561212190.gif - (42.85KB , 650x450 , 391.gif )
990943

>:WhiteDwarf:'s arm: AWAKEN
>@Heather Shadelight

The ganglia retaining what few sparks of life might conduct something meaningful fire all at once, draining the remaining Grey Tide.
>>
No. 990944 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561213431.gif - (14.75KB , 650x450 , 392.gif )
990944

Someone arrives immediately, as if called upon, to address the mess.
>>
No. 990945 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561215651.gif - (26.63KB , 650x450 , 393.gif )
990945

>:Cyborg: (:Neutron: ): Register failure in Law 1 while you're still in the situation with :Cyborg: (:AI: ). Regret your fuckups as both human and synth.
>@NSD

You did your best to get away the minute you heard :Neutron: scream for help, which didn't turn out well. You let your opposite number know that this is really improper use of a fire extinguisher module.
>>
No. 990946 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561217012.gif - (15.34KB , 650x450 , 394.gif )
990946

It's pretty poor last words. You are "slain", until :ResearchDirector:'s team find an opportunity to revive you.
>>
No. 990948 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561218970.gif - (26.85KB , 650x450 , 395.gif )
990948

>:Cyborg:: this room is almost out of air. Get :HeadOfSecurity: to safety
>@Lady Birb

That's crucial. You're no medical cyborg, but you can get him into a maintenance passageway or something, somewhere with some oxygen and cover.
>>
No. 990949 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561223822.gif - (22.37KB , 650x450 , 396.gif )
990949

This area has plenty of oxygen, and seems like the least likely space for any operatives to convene, so you'll let him recover here.
>>
No. 990950 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561226512.gif - (14.76KB , 650x450 , 398.gif )
990950

>:janitor: : Your so tidey you don't need a mask. Start mopping the blood up with zero emotion.
>@Daman453
>>
No. 990951 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561227927.gif - (24.28KB , 650x450 , 399.gif )
990951

>:janitor:: steal as much stuff as you can from :HeadOfSecurity:'s office
>@tomatik
>>
No. 990953 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561229857.gif - (24.13KB , 650x450 , 400.gif )
990953

>>
No. 990954 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561230642.gif - (24.35KB , 650x450 , 401.gif )
990954

>>
No. 990955 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561233949.gif - (8.36KB , 650x450 , 402.gif )
990955

>:HeadOfSecurity:: (Try to) Get up.
>@Ayebee123

Your lungs are filling with fresh oxygen, but your head is still swimming. You feel like you really ought to be arresting a train, with how your torso feels right now. You're even still a little deafened by the whole ordeal. It's hard to hear what that noise is.
>>
No. 990956 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561235155.gif - (20.28KB , 650x450 , 403.gif )
990956

:janitor:: wake up
:HeadOfSecurity:: Wh...
:janitor:: wake up
:HeadOfSecurity:: The hell happened to...?
:janitor:: wake up
:HeadOfSecurity:: I'm awake, dammit!
:janitor::
>>
No. 990957 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561244234.gif - (12.18KB , 650x450 , 404.gif )
990957

:HeadOfSecurity:: The hell happened?!
:janitor:: they escaped
:HeadOfSecurity:: Sons of bitches!
:HeadOfSecurity:: Where'd they go?
:janitor:: hid
:HeadOfSecurity:: Coward fucking terrorist scum. I'll kill every last one of them...
:janitor:: no
:HeadOfSecurity:: What are you talkin' about?
:janitor:: meeting
:HeadOfSecurity:: Meeting? What the hell does that mean?
:janitor:: heads
:HeadOfSecurity:: Ghhh... where?
:janitor:: bridge
:HeadOfSecurity:: More goddamn "planning". I just gotta get near the operatives without stupid fuckin' obstructions, I don't need any other goddamn plans.
:janitor:: yeah
:janitor:: you'll kill them
:HeadOfSecurity:: Heh. Yeah, you know how things are, huh?
:janitor:: yeah
:janitor:: they don't
:HeadOfSecurity:: Huh?
:janitor:: they don't
:HeadOfSecurity:: Who doesn't know how things are?
:janitor:: heads of staff
:HeadOfSecurity:: ...What d'you mean?
:janitor:: doubt
:HeadOfSecurity:: Doubt what?
:janitor:: you
:HeadOfSecurity:: No they goddamn don't! I've been leadin' this department for years! They wouldn't--
:janitor:: yeah
:janitor:: they'll call an evacuation
>>
No. 990959 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561249846.gif - (12.94KB , 650x450 , 405.gif )
990959

>:janitor: : Internally debate the pros and cons of giving the C20 over to the HoS
>@ThatRandomGuy

...

:HeadOfSecurity:: Better not. We don't back down from terrorists. If we evac, we let them blow this place to hell. Not about to let--
:janitor:: they will
:HeadOfSecurity:: I'm not gonna let them. I know better, we can get this under control.
:janitor:: yeah
:janitor:: captain trusts you
:HeadOfSecurity:: Well... yeah. :Captain: knows me. He knows I can get this done.
:janitor:: good
:janitor:: depend on him
:HeadOfSecurity:: 'Course I can. That's--
:janitor:: they won't have faith
:janitor:: can only depend on him
:HeadOfSecurity:: Heh. If I can depend on anyone, it's :Captain:.
:janitor:: the rest want to run
:HeadOfSecurity:: They shouldn't. Ought'a know I'm--
:janitor:: they're afraid
:janitor:: you're brave, aren't you
:HeadOfSecurity:: I'm... well yeah, man's gotta be. Especially someone in my job--
:janitor:: they aren't
:janitor:: they'll try to run
:HeadOfSecurity:: They're--
:janitor:: faithless
:janitor:: be careful
:janitor:: they might get desperate
:HeadOfSecurity:: ...
:HeadOfSecurity:: Desperate? What, for the evac? Or for--
:janitor:: self-defense
:janitor:: you can make sure this gets done right
:janitor:: can't you
:HeadOfSecurity:: Yeah.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Fine, but--
:janitor:: listen
:HeadOfSecurity:: Hold--
:janitor:: listen
>>
No. 990960 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561251679.gif - (12.35KB , 650x450 , 406.gif )
990960

:janitor:: you need to be ready
:janitor:: right now only one thing matters
:janitor:: what
:HeadOfSecurity:: ...Killin' those Operators.
:janitor:: that means nothing else matters
:janitor:: rules
:janitor:: people
:janitor:: friendships
:janitor:: they're ways of making you weak
:janitor:: operators taking advantage of you
:janitor:: don't let them
:janitor:: no attachments
:janitor:: ruthless
:janitor:: making the tough choices
:janitor:: like a man
:janitor:: are you a man who can make those tough choices
:HeadOfSecurity:: ...Always been.
:janitor:: good
:janitor:: here
:HeadOfSecurity:: Huh? Wait, this is :RedDwarf:'s gun!
:HeadOfSecurity:: I confiscated that, how'd you--
:janitor:: missing now
:janitor:: take it
:janitor:: do the tough things that need doing in hard times
:HeadOfSecurity:: Hey. Wait a damn second, you can't--!
:janitor:: you have to make a hard decision
:janitor:: hold yourself to tasers and cuffs
:janitor:: or
:janitor::
:janitor:: do what needs doing
:janitor:: are you scared?
:HeadOfSecurity:: Heh. Alright, I guess you know the score.
:HeadOfSecurity:: I'll go tell the heads what I'll do next.
:HeadOfSecurity:: You clean up here.
:janitor:: already did
>>
No. 990961 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561258435.gif - (25.84KB , 650x450 , 407.gif )
990961

>:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: give a quick status report to :Captain: now you've finished patching his injuries
>@Salient

:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Alright, up off it. Clear space for the next one.
:Captain:: Fine work, old friend! I can barely feel a thing. Did you fix my knees while you were in there?
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: That's morphine.
:Captain:: Morphine! I should have that every day, if it gets my joints feeling like this.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: You really shouldn't.
:Captain:: Hah! You're the doc. What's the damage look like?
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Sir, quarter of the crew incapacitated, dead, or badly injured, and we'll hit half if this keeps up.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Your damage: :RedDwarf: went for a kill you barely got out of it. Your heart's holding together with medical paste and luck. If this wasn't a nuclear disaster I'd have you locked in a cryo-tube.
:Captain:: I don't like either of those status reports.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Call the shuttle about it.
:Captain:: I'm well aware of the option.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Mh.
:Captain:: I'm convening a meeting on the bridge to settle this once and for all. All heads.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Can't.
:Captain:: Oh, don't worry about the risks, we'll have :Cyborg: escort.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: No, can't.
>>
No. 990962 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561259694.gif - (29.20KB , 650x450 , 408.gif )
990962

:Captain:: Ah, right.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Get moving.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: I'll join on the holo.
>>
No. 990963 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561262197.gif - (20.47KB , 650x450 , 409.gif )
990963

>:ChiefMedicalOfficer: : Finish your coffee, you’re gonna need it
>@Drawsstuff

:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: :ChiefEngineer:, symptoms.
:ChiefEngineer:: Blind on right eye, partial...
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: :MedicalDoctor:, sterilize everything, bring me the next one, then more coffee, in that order.
:ChiefEngineer:: ...deafness, contusions...
:MedicalDoctor:: Aaaaaaaa got it!!
:ChiefEngineer:: ...maybe some DCS.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Alright. On the other table, helmet off.
:ChiefEngineer:: Got it.

You slug the whole thing back and resume conducting the orchestra.
>>
No. 990965 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561266564.gif - (20.09KB , 650x450 , 410.gif )
990965

>:ChiefEngineer:: They can't promote you to Captain if you're a dusty smear on an irradiated hunk of wreckage.
>@extramrdo

She gets a little uncomfortably close.

:ChiefEngineer:: Hey. Listen.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Get on the table, we don't have time for this.
:ChiefEngineer:: Yes you do. Life or death.
:ChiefEngineer:: I need to know you've got my back.
:ChiefEngineer:: I'm going to try to get the shuttle called, one way or another.
:ChiefEngineer:: The operatives will let us leave, at least. You know who's going to be against that.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: ...Yeah.
>>
No. 990966 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561267831.gif - (16.01KB , 650x450 , 411.gif )
990966

:ChiefEngineer:: Don't know about you, but I can't get many dreams done as an ash silhouette on some space slag.
:ChiefEngineer:: Can I count on you?
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: What're you expecting, exactly?
:ChiefEngineer:: :ResearchDirector: told me :HeadOfSecurity:'s been off it.
:ChiefEngineer:: Just vote how I vote if it comes to it.
:ChiefEngineer:: Help me out if it gets heated.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer::
:ChiefEngineer:: Well?
>>
No. 990973 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561327976.gif - (11.26KB , 650x450 , 412.gif )
990973

>:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: daydream about dying in your sleep.
>@witchbells
>>
No. 990974 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561336118.gif - (20.08KB , 650x450 , 413.gif )
990974

>:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Consider how much you value your own life over the hunk of metal, plastic and silicon you're standing in.
>@NSD

:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Fine. I'll get the shuttle called, somehow.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Just get on the damn table. I'm feeling septic just looking at your face right now.
:ChiefEngineer:: How bad is it?
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Don't eat at the cafeteria for a month.
:ChiefEngineer:: Depth perception?
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Talk to the :Roboticist:s.
:ChiefEngineer:: Great. Make it quick, then.
>>
No. 990975 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561340551.gif - (502.88KB , 650x450 , 414.gif )
990975

>:WhiteDwarf: : You feel....different. Like a part of you is missing (other than the obviously missing arm).
>@Pizzatiger

Drifting in and out of awareness, you tally your losses for the day. The Ls have stacked hard, and it brings you a despair you resolve to never open up emotionally about, because of how cool you'd like to look.

You've lost consciousness. Parts of your pride and self-esteem. A bit of your image. A few fights. Your sword. Your entire arm...

There's something else though. You can't put your finger on it now.


:RedDwarf:: Get her down! Get her on the ground, get a stim in her!
:Neutron:: Did anyone follow?! Did anyone--
:RedGiant:: I don't see anyone! Focus!
:RedDwarf:: Shit, shit! Hell, she's still bleedin' all over!
:Neutron:: Hang on!
:RedDwarf:: We need meds on her now!
:Neutron:: Please, please be okay...
:RedGiant:: I believe in you, :Neutron:! I know you can help her!
:Neutron:: Where is it, where is it...
>>
No. 990976 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561355319.gif - (28.80KB , 650x450 , 415.gif )
990976

>:WhiteDwarf:: Oh no. :Spider:.
>@Doc

That's right. You lost your new friend... The embodiment of the demonic energies cursing your arm. That's awful... where'd it go? You need to find it again. People might think you're cut off from otherworldly influences without either the cursed arm or the spider, after all.

You sure do feel cut off anyway.


:RedDwarf:: Find it, find it!
:Neutron:: Got it!
:RedGiant:: Perfect! That's so good...
:RedGiant:: Now if--
:RedDwarf:: Get the stims in her!
:RedGiant:: --you can wake her up, then--
:Neutron:: I'm going as fast as I can!
:RedGiant:: --she can figure out how to heal--
:RedDwarf:: How hard can it be, it's an injector!
:Neutron:: Autoinjectors are weird!
:RedGiant:: --herself, and solve this just fine!
:WhiteDwarf:: ...spider...
:RedDwarf:: Holy shit, she's still conscious?
:RedDwarf:: Go, go, wake her up, she'll figure something out!
:Neutron:: Alright!
>>
No. 990977 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561360717.gif - (24.50KB , 650x450 , 416.gif )
990977

>:Neutron:: Stab her with one of those, then bandage the bleeding.
>@1glitchycent

She gasps into full consciousness, immediately speaking:

:WhiteDwarf:: Arm... elevate it, elevate...
:WhiteDwarf:: Nanogauze pad, on my belt, look for...
:RedDwarf:: :WhiteDwarf:!!
:RedGiant:: Oh thank god, she's--
:WhiteDwarf:: Not yet. Need... need more, gonna need to...

The Unofficial Galactic Company Protocol Guide has this to say on the topic of modern medicine in space-based contexts:

Medicine in its contemporary form has become more like an art than a science. It was originally thought that medical science would be entirely solved through nanotechnology and other autonomous, self-diagnosing sources. These solutions, said the futurists, would be cheap, effective, self-replicating, and universally compatible. A galaxy-wide collaboration between many, many governments produced a variety of nanite designs capable of eliminating, or at least treating, nearly every type of wound, disease, defect, and infection. Humanity was now able to live with absolutely no sickness or pain. IP rights for these nanites were immediately bought out for pennies on the dollar by a variety of corporate interests through extensive donations and a PR campaign, which emphasized to the population that freely available medical nanites would allow children to grow up with an advantage that the elderly had not had for a while, and thus was a form of tremendous disrespect to anyone who had ever paid for a doctor. They instituted an assortment of both hereditary and regional subscription models, as well as designing exclusive protocols in an effort to force each area and individual to subscribe only to their particular model of medical treatment. The conflicting protocols, bloodline-inherited subscriptions, regional provisions, and DRM resulted in almost completely inconsistent physiological behaviors. On one space station, surgical tools bristle with potential infection, yet on another, infection presents nearly no risk. Cauterizations, incisions, and even chemical metabolizations don't have consistent behaviors, meaning safe procedures or medical chemistry in one system can be dangerous or lethal elsewhere. As a result of this, surgeons and chemists are known for a "fast and loose" approach that is usually abhorrent to surface-dwellers. It can be unnerving, for obvious reasons, for one to receive no anesthesia where it might otherwise be needed because of a doctor's experience in another locale subscribed to pain-suppression, or for one to receive anesthesia where it isn't needed on a station with no sleep regulation subscription. But most concerning of all are debates between surgeons mid-surgery, or the occasional incidence of a surgeon accidentally cracking their patient over the head with a hemostat because of nanite auto-guidance mis-configurations. Surgical saw manufacturers, on the other hand, experienced an unexpected windfall during the great medical fracturing: There are simply only so many ways a body can interact with a saw, and so standardizing that is the easiest thing in the galaxy.
>>
No. 990978 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561363247.gif - (19.97KB , 650x450 , 417.gif )
990978

It takes a while, but by following her directions, you manage to get the arm situation handled.

:WhiteDwarf:: ...And that should keep for a bit.
:RedDwarf:: That means you'll live, right? You'll be okay?
:WhiteDwarf:: Likely.
:RedGiant:: Thank goodness...
:WhiteDwarf:: Hhh.
:WhiteDwarf:: I'm good for a bit. But...
:Neutron:: Need the next objective.
:WhiteDwarf:: Such a way with words.
:WhiteDwarf:: We need to know what we can do to address... this.
:RedDwarf:: What's our options?
>>
No. 990979 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561366004.gif - (24.51KB , 650x450 , 418.gif )
990979

>:Neutron:: Consider your options.
>@Ayebee123

:RedGiant:: Well... I bet someone here has a solution!
:RedGiant:: We could get help!
:RedDwarf:: Heh, help... well, workers do lose limbs all the time, 'round stations like this.
:Neutron:: Where would they go to solve that problem?
:RedDwarf:: Get that camera bug out. Tune it over to...
>>
No. 990980 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561369220.gif - (26.28KB , 650x450 , 419.gif )
990980

>:RedDwarf::Neutron::RedGiant::WhiteDwarf: : Either Robotics or Medbay should have prosthetics. Considering that Medbay is full of panicked crewmembers, Robotics might be the better bet.
>@ThatRandomGuy

:RedDwarf:: Medbay, check the lobby.
:Neutron::
:RedDwarf:: Well, what do you see?
:Neutron:: Half a dozen. More further in.
:RedGiant:: Uh oh! I hope people aren't hurt. I wonder what happened?
:RedDwarf:: Hhhh.
:RedDwarf:: Might be the first time I regret bein' good at this job.
:RedDwarf:: Is it packed?
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:RedDwarf:: Mostly with injured guys, right?
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:RedDwarf:: Could threaten 'em easy enough...
:RedDwarf:: But a powder-keg like that, who knows what kinda sideways explosion it'd make.
:RedDwarf:: Real unpredictable kind of plan.
:RedDwarf:: Tune it over to...
>>
No. 990981 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561371512.gif - (17.66KB , 650x450 , 420.gif )
990981

:RedDwarf:: Robotics. What's it look like there?
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:RedDwarf:: What's it look like there?
:Neutron:: I see two people.
:RedDwarf:: Anything else to worry about?
:Neutron:: One :Cyborg:. I think it's the one I re-sequenced.
:RedDwarf:: Easier to work with. They got tools?
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: I have tools.
:RedDwarf:: Surgical tools.
:Neutron:: Oh.
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:WhiteDwarf:: You are pondering the potential of a robotic arm?
:WhiteDwarf:: Mmmnh... As stylish as the aesthetic may be, they are often inferior in their power.
:RedDwarf:: We can hit medbay.
:WhiteDwarf:: No... It is no demand. Treatment is key. Even with only a robotic limb, I may yet be able to help.
:RedDwarf:: Alright. Heh, so it's about gambling. We risk it on Medbay to get you fixed proper, or we play it safe on Robotics to get you a stopgap.
:RedDwarf:: Hmmm...
>>
No. 990982 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161561376230.gif - (24.24KB , 650x450 , 421.gif )
990982

The choice made here will define :WhiteDwarf:'s future, during this operation and beyond it. Will the team try their luck with a full medical restoration at Medbay and risk the chaos, or make use of the robotics facilities to get a mechanical replacement?
>>
No. 991028 ID: b8e08c

It isn't worth getting one of your teammates gets blown up because of an arm. No cursed arm means no battle to the death with the chaplain, but it does mean you'd come out of it with a brand spankin' new Sec-delivered cyborg companion.
>>
No. 991029 ID: 0fae41

Borgs matter too! Save the borg, get a borg arm for :WhiteDwarf: , pretend you're a mechromancer. ...Not that kind.
>>
No. 992084 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161621176002.gif - (24.21KB , 650x450 , 422.gif )
992084

>RESULT: 61 Robotics, 22 Medbay, 19 "search for alien arm", 1 "chainsaw arm like from that movie", 1 "get no arm, be armless"

While the sheer "chad" power of truly unconventional prosthesis or lack thereof is tremendously tempting, the consensus among the Operators is to move to Robotics.

:RedDwarf:: Think Robotics is our best bet.
:RedGiant:: Medbay sure did seem busy last time I was there! I don't want to cause a mess for them.
:WhiteDwarf:: Mmmmh... It will suffice. Thank you all.
:WhiteDwarf:: Some assistance? I feel rather light-headed from the... events.
:RedDwarf:: :Neutron:, help :WhiteDwarf:. :RedGiant:, with me, keep us all covered. Rush the halls fast. :Neutron:, breach robotics as soon as we hit the door.
:RedDwarf:: Let's move it.
>>
No. 992085 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161621177703.gif - (21.13KB , 650x450 , 423.gif )
992085

>:ResearchDirector: : Focus. Breathe. Fix the borg.
>@Daman453

You'd just gotten it ready for work... but those damned bombers arrive! You know for a fact you'll be dead soon after you share a room with them, at least equipped as you are now.
>>
No. 992086 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161621183784.gif - (19.31KB , 650x450 , 424.gif )
992086

>:ResearchDirector: : However competent your scientists may be, you can sure hope that at least one of them has managed to produce something helpful
>@kinneb

They have. Specifically, they've been working on a hidden project that you have stashed away, ever since your conversation with :ChiefEngineer:. You make your way to it through the swiftest available means: Your hand-teleporter, which you've been using to get around.

:ResearchDirector:: They're here! They're here!!
:Roboticist:: Wha-- AAUGH! I thought--!
:ResearchDirector:: :AI:! Set teleporters to the Last Resort beacon!
:AI:: Destination set.
:ResearchDirector:: :Roboticist:!! Get in, now!! The Syndicate don't issue them mercy for these operations!
:Roboticist:: But the robot! My robot!!
>>
No. 992087 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161621193392.gif - (24.53KB , 650x450 , 425.gif )
992087

>:RedGiant: : Yell through the window that you're not here to hurt them! Let them know that you will let them leave in peace if they get :WhiteDwarf: a new arm.
>@Lady Birb

Uh oh! They seem really scared... Maybe they're worried about :WhiteDwarf:'s arm! You put on your best diplomatic tone, like you did with :QuarterMaster:, :ChiefMedicalOfficer:, and the others. You'll make sure the :Roboticist: understands you're not running from a disaster or anything!

:RedGiant:: You.
:RedGiant:: You.
:RedGiant:: Running won't help.
:Roboticist:: AaaaauuuUUUUUH!!

You're never sure what that noise means! But you'll just assume it's an affirming sound. He's so stressed, though! You'll just let him know what you need.

:RedGiant:: Only one way to get through this.
:RedGiant:: Arm, now.
:Roboticist:: Wh-what?!
:RedGiant:: You see this stump?
:RedGiant:: Do you understand the kind of... trouble that's happening?
:RedGiant:: Understand the only way for anyone in this situation to get safety?
:Roboticist:: HHHHH

That sound usually means they're going to help!
>>
No. 992088 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161621199308.gif - (37.92KB , 650x450 , 426.gif )
992088

>:Roboticist: : AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
>@kinneb

Not you, no!! You're right-handed! Fear grips your mind and gently but firmly juices a wonderful bounty of irrationality.

:Roboticist:: I'll-- I'll get you a better one! I'll get you a better arm! The best we can make!!
:RedGiant:: My friend has needs.
:RedGiant:: The kind where we won't need you around anymore.
:RedGiant:: She's a real surgeon.
:Roboticist:: HHHHK.
:Roboticist:: The-- The arm--!! I can upgrade-- surgical--
:RedGiant:: Get me the arm.
:RedGiant:: Then leave.
>>
No. 992089 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161621202194.gif - (42.99KB , 650x450 , 427.gif )
992089

>:Roboticist:: Turn on your boss to save your own skin, like the rat bastard you are
>@Fuade

You set the robotics fabricator to supply them with what they need in a ploy for mercy at any current or future juncture, because one of them has a gun and that's just the sort of ploy you make when someone has a gun.
>>
No. 992090 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161621203346.gif - (32.58KB , 650x450 , 428.gif )
992090

Then you hop in the portal and get the hell away.
>>
No. 992091 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161621205163.gif - (22.25KB , 650x450 , 429.gif )
992091

:RedDwarf:: Good work.
:RedDwarf:: I was just gonna shoot him.
:RedGiant:: Huh? Why?
:RedGiant:: That wouldn't make him less stressed at all!
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: That's not right.
:RedDwarf:: What?
:Neutron:: If the goal is to reduce stress, you can shoot them.
:RedDwarf:: Yeah. Just hit 'em in the right part, no more stress.
:RedGiant:: That's really silly!
:Neutron:: Yeah.
>>
No. 992092 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161621210081.gif - (23.30KB , 650x450 , 430.gif )
992092

>:Neutron: : get the door open
>@Lady Birb

:RedGiant:: Well, you don't go around shooting people! So I bet you've got some wisdom about that!
:Neutron:: Objectives.
:RedDwarf:: "Objectives"?
:Neutron:: It's about defining your objective right.
:Neutron:: You can't get anything done without a good goal.
:WhiteDwarf:: "Worthy cause"...
:WhiteDwarf:: How do you find one?
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: What?
:WhiteDwarf:: A worthy cause. How do you find one?
:RedDwarf:: :WhiteDwarf:, don't stress. We're gonna get you fixed.
:WhiteDwarf:: It's important. It's important for me to know.
:Neutron:: Summarizing Verdant Text philosophy isn't an achievable objective.
:WhiteDwarf:: Please... can you try anyway, :Neutron:?
:WhiteDwarf:: :RedDwarf: has his ideologies. :RedGiant: has his altruistic zeal. You always focus so intensely on true, tangible goals. But I... need to understand more.
:Neutron::
:WhiteDwarf:: So, will you try for me?
:RedGiant:: It'll help her focus and stay awake! I think you should give it a try. I bet you can do better than you think!
:Neutron:: I'll attempt that.
>>
No. 992094 ID: 0fae41

Sometimes greentext comes from an outside source. But sometimes, you make your own greentext, and this is just as valid, because you are valid. Everyone on the station will agree, you are valid.
>>
No. 992095 ID: ecb66f

>>992092
:Chaplain: be shaken by the encounter with :WhiteDwarf:, they might not have been worthy enough to strike you down initially, but to have been so taken by the Tide so quickly is troubling, especially now you've seen that she keeps company with at least one noble soul. Something fouler than the Redshift are at work here, investigate, for the soul of the station.


:WhiteDwarf: you're overthinking it, which makes sense considering how much your fighting style emphasises active prediction and reaction. Consider why you've chosen to take on the role of both warrior and healer for this group in the first place.
>>
No. 992547 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161638539970.gif - (19.14KB , 650x450 , 431.gif )
992547

>:RedDwarf:: See what else that thing can make while you're waiting for the arm to be made
>@Fuade

:RedDwarf:: Get her on the operating table, go!
:RedDwarf:: I'm gonna raid the supplies.
:RedDwarf::

You head to the fabricators, as well as the supply stockpile associated with them. Surprisingly sparse, as if everything has been used up in a significant project.

:RedDwarf:: Dammit, not much here to use, unless you're a :Cyborg:. Couple electro-flashes we can use by hand.
:Neutron:: Useful if you need to disable a :Cyborg:.
:RedGiant:: We could get supplies from there to help our old :Cyborg: friend!
:RedDwarf:: Maybe enough for an extra weapon for it, but not a lot.
>>
No. 992548 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161638542852.gif - (16.97KB , 650x450 , 432.gif )
992548

>:WhiteDwarf: : Retrieve Arms from robotics fabricator.
>@ThatRandomGuy

:WhiteDwarf:: We need to get the arm managed. Can you take care of any pursuit, :RedDwarf:, :RedGiant:?
:RedDwarf:: Was just about to call that out.
:RedGiant:: Don't worry! I'll explain the importance of privacy for that sort of thing!
:WhiteDwarf:: :Neutron:, I shall guide you through the process. First, retrieve the arm.
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:WhiteDwarf:: You can explain the Verdant Texts while we work.
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:WhiteDwarf:: What are they?

:Neutron::
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Hey.
:WhiteDwarf:: Hmm?
:Neutron:: Do you ever wonder why we're here?
:WhiteDwarf:: Please, :Neutron:, understand I have had a poor relationship with religious discourse today.
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Huh?
:Neutron:: I mean do you think about why we're in this room.
:WhiteDwarf:: We're... here to replace my arm.
:Neutron:: For what goal?
:WhiteDwarf:: ...Well, in service of my further assistance to the Redshift Operators.
:Neutron:: You get that goal by breaking down another.
:Neutron:: Any situation comes from breaking down a goal.
:Neutron:: The meaning of being anywhere means pulling causes apart into component pieces.
:WhiteDwarf:: What does this have to do with the Verdant Texts, and your habits of focus?
:Neutron:: Everything.
>>
No. 992549 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161638544362.gif - (15.27KB , 650x450 , 433.gif )
992549

:Neutron:: How do I...
:Neutron:: When :RedGiant: called you, where were you?
:WhiteDwarf:: I was going to the monastery on the station.
:Neutron:: Why?
:WhiteDwarf:: ...Because I wanted to hurt :Chaplain:.
:Neutron:: No.
:Neutron:: You were too upset to think about that when we met later.
:Neutron:: You made up an objective just now.
:WhiteDwarf:: What? What do you mean by that, exactly?
:Neutron:: Confabulation.
:Neutron:: You came up with the goal now, after thinking about it.
:Neutron:: Your memory filled it in, and rationalized what you did.
:Neutron:: Did you write that goal down?
:Neutron:: Did someone tell it to you?
:WhiteDwarf:: Well... no. I just remembered that I wanted it.
:Neutron:: Then it wasn't real.
>>
No. 992550 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161638547321.gif - (101.66KB , 650x450 , 434.gif )
992550

:Neutron:: The Verdant Texts are something I learned to think about just before I met you three, from an old friend.
:Neutron: : They're why I met you.
:Neutron:: Objectives are something you come up with retroactively, unless you try to come up with them ahead of time.
:WhiteDwarf:: That seems unlikely. How can people act without objectives?
:Neutron:: Brain's imperfect.
:Neutron:: My brain's especially imperfect. Hyperfocus tendencies, distractions, et cetera.
:WhiteDwarf:: You certainly function quite well in spite of the contradicting flaws.
:Neutron:: Because I didn't get a standard-issue brain-numbing nine to five job.

:Neutron:: Prefrontal cortex can't use words to contain everything else going on inside a mind.
:Neutron:: But it'll take credit after if you let it.
:Neutron:: If you aren't trying to come up with objectives all the time, you won't realize you didn't have objectives worth much to begin with.
:WhiteDwarf:: "Unworthy cause"...
:Neutron:: I take causes out of the world and I pick objectives out of them.
:Neutron:: I make sure I always know an objective, or I don't act.
:WhiteDwarf:: But how do you find your causes?
:WhiteDwarf:: What grand efforts, what works upon the galaxy are worth the time to pull them apart and harvest their valuable objectives?
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Identity precedes ideology.
>>
No. 992552 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161638554485.gif - (45.17KB , 650x450 , 435.gif )
992552

>:Neutron:: Sometimes greentext comes from an outside source. But sometimes, you make your own greentext
>@Anon

:WhiteDwarf:: What?
:WhiteDwarf:: Wait--get me on the table. We need to bond the arm.
:WhiteDwarf:: Okay. Now: What?
:Neutron:: Identity precedes ideology.
:WhiteDwarf:: What does that mean?
:Neutron:: It means ideology only comes out of who you are.
:WhiteDwarf:: ...
:Neutron:: You use who you are to find ideology. You use ideology to find objectives.
:Neutron:: That's why it's easy to confabulate an objective.
:Neutron:: Because what you've already done is simple identity.
:Neutron:: You can get objectives out of that easy.

:WhiteDwarf:: But, the abstract sense of self... It is more difficult to extract worthy causes from? Less tangible?
:Neutron:: Not less tangible, but it takes more steps. Sometimes.
:Neutron:: Sometimes it doesn't take any steps.
:Neutron:: :RedDwarf: isn't this politically dedicated because of solving a logic problem and learning an answer. He's this politically dedicated because he feels angry when he sees people being hurt.
:Neutron:: :RedGiant: isn't kind and peaceful because that's "the right answer" for things. He's kind and peaceful because he feels pain whenever he sees people being hurt.
:Neutron:: Identity is a pattern of appearances, actions, feelings, and thoughts.
:Neutron:: Worthy causes come out of identity.
:Neutron:: They don't really need Verdant Texts. Their feelings are sharp. Text's pretty much green from the start.
>>
No. 992554 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161638562857.gif - (20.81KB , 650x450 , 436.gif )
992554

>:WhiteDwarf:: Consider why you've chosen to take on the role of both warrior and healer for this group in the first place.
>@Neverborn

You spend a moment contemplating it. While you do, you get the supplies together.

:WhiteDwarf:: Go get that one, and that one.
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Huh?
:WhiteDwarf:: Those two tools.
:Neutron:: I don't know what tools you mean.
:WhiteDwarf:: What?
:Neutron:: Stump.
:WhiteDwarf:: Oh, damnation.
:WhiteDwarf:: Those two.

You make sure to use the right (left) arm this time. You swiftly resume your discourse, contemplations completed.

:WhiteDwarf:: So, worthy cause comes from identity.
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:WhiteDwarf:: When.
:Neutron:: What?
:WhiteDwarf:: When does that happen? I know it comes to :RedGiant: easily, and to :RedDwarf: even more easily.
:WhiteDwarf:: Being is easy for them, as far as I can tell. And for you too, though I guess it's a lot less.
:WhiteDwarf:: It's not... easy for me to shape myself into who I am.
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Oh.
:Neutron:: Do I have an emotionally supporting objective?
:WhiteDwarf:: No. It's not suffering,
:WhiteDwarf:: Really, every day is better than the last, sometimes ecstatically so.
:WhiteDwarf:: But you three have cores. Solid selves. You can see what you are in a mirror, instead of wanting it.
:WhiteDwarf:: I was born with a body of trash. The worst thing imaginable, a clumsy poetic irony wrought by a god putting off a plot's twist for far too long.
:Neutron:: I kind of remember that, yeah.
:Neutron:: But you fixed it.
>>
No. 992555 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161638572456.gif - (18.91KB , 650x450 , 437.gif )
992555

>:RedGiant: : Reactivate your :Cyborg: friend
>@coleminerman

Your big ol' empty noggin contains exactly no knowledge about robotics!

:RedGiant:: Hey, :RedDwarf:?
:RedDwarf:: Yeah?
:RedGiant:: Do you think we can revive this cyborg? He was so helpful!
:RedDwarf:: Huhhhh... Maybe. Saw something for emergency restarts on the fabricator, go bring it over there and check that.
:RedDwarf:: :Neutron: can handle it when they're done.
:RedGiant:: I'll give that a try!

You partake of some evesdropping on the conversation over there.

:WhiteDwarf:: Training in the blade, acrobatics, gymnastics, speech, movement, stealth... surgery, chemistry, everything to cudgel my flesh and my movement into a shape that I could accept.
:WhiteDwarf:: It is how I learned my medical knowledge, and how I learned these arts of intense violence.
:WhiteDwarf:: Now this living, breathing irony is broken again, and the hole must be filled with more clumsy narrative garbage.
:WhiteDwarf:: I could look at that arm and call it mine, and it's gone now. I'll look at this one and call it mine too, certainly, but it won't be an easy process.
:WhiteDwarf:: It is a joyous one but it is a straining one, :Neutron:. I feel stretched thin just to fill the shape of my identity.
:WhiteDwarf:: How can it precede anything naturally if its contours take so much of me to fill?
:WhiteDwarf:: What's left to have a cause at all?
>>
No. 992556 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161638580420.gif - (22.82KB , 650x450 , 438.gif )
992556

>:RedGiant: : Using your prodigious bulk, haul :Cyborg: into cover from the hall and nearer to the fabricator so :Neutron: doesn't have to walk back and forth as much.
>@NSD

Hup! This guy's pretty heavy, but you basically don't give a shit about most weights.

:RedDwarf:: ...And get me a flash. Just remembered the other damn security cyborgs.
:RedGiant:: Sure thing!

More evesdropping to partake of, but they don't seem to mind!

:Neutron:: You could wait. Until you're done, i mean.
:WhiteDwarf:: I don't know if I ever will be.
:Neutron:: Huh?
:WhiteDwarf:: I don't know if that stops.
:WhiteDwarf:: There is no true guarantee that forcing this living corpse and its motions into a particular shape will be done. More likely it will strain to some degree for a lifetime.
:WhiteDwarf:: Even more, caring for a limb such as this.
:Neutron:: Oh.
:Neutron:: Then don't wait.
:Neutron:: Ideology doesn't come from effort.
:Neutron:: Identity precedes ideology. Only identity.
:Neutron:: No other conditions.

:WhiteDwarf:: I find it doubtful that ideological zeal is somehow no draining thing to act on.
:Neutron:: Acting, yeah. Takes energy.
:Neutron:: I'm pretty tired.
:WhiteDwarf:: Perhaps I should be the one offering you some support.
:Neutron:: It's whatever.
:WhiteDwarf:: Even still, I shall do what I am able.
:Neutron:: The ideology is still there as long as you have identity.
:Neutron:: Just find its terms.
:Neutron:: It'll give you objectives.
:Neutron:: Accomplishing your objectives will be the least straining thing you can do.
:WhiteDwarf:: But said you, yourself, found it exhausting.
>>
No. 992557 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161638586492.gif - (17.08KB , 650x450 , 439.gif )
992557

>:WhiteDwarf: : Consider asking :Neutron: where he gets his identity from.
>@Spyroshark

Seems like a good idea to you.

:WhiteDwarf:: Is there a green light next to "N-ALIGN"?
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:WhiteDwarf:: Hold it where it is and don't move. Hit "CAL" when I give the signal.
:WhiteDwarf:: I'll be disoriented by neural calibration. Keep talking, keep me focused.

And so you ask more about them.

:WhiteDwarf:: How can everything else besides that zealous idealistic enthusiasm be more exhausting?
:Neutron:: Energy spent rationalizing.
:Neutron:: Energy spent stressing out about better, more altruistic things you could do.
:Neutron:: Trying to figure out how to be a good person and also not give everything you own away.
:Neutron:: Living through nine to five work, spending time you could help people with on work that doesn't help anyone.
:Neutron:: We live in a society.
:WhiteDwarf:: What?
:Neutron:: Nothing.
:Neutron:: Everyone has to spend energy figuring out ways to justify not going wild and diving into the Grey Tide if they're not acting according to objectives.
:WhiteDwarf:: This has some connection with that Grey Tide you mentioned?
:Neutron:: The Verdant Text is being the self. Grey Tide is obliterating the self. I think.
:WhiteDwarf:: And to be the self, you need these objectives.
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:WhiteDwarf:: How do you find them? Where do you get your identity? How does your identity become objectives, goals, this... Verdant Text?
>>
No. 992559 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161638590057.gif - (73.30KB , 650x450 , 440.gif )
992559

:Neutron:: Think about who you are. That identity.
:Neutron:: Spin everything out of it. Extrapolate.
:Neutron:: Extend it. Derive everything from it.
:Neutron:: Think about the whole galaxy.
:Neutron:: Think about who would be alive and who wouldn't.
:Neutron:: Think about who would have power and who wouldn't.
:Neutron:: Think about what resources would be where, in what arrangement, for what purpose, for how long.
:Neutron:: Think about what everyone you know would spend their hours on every day.
:Neutron:: Take that and hold it in your mind.
:Neutron:: Then pull step one out of the list of how to get there.
:WhiteDwarf:: ...
:Neutron:: And that's what Verdant Text is.
:WhiteDwarf:: It sounds like a philosophy of growth.
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: I mean, if you can make it green, I guess.


Ding!


:Neutron:: The arm made a noise and the light turned blue.
:WhiteDwarf:: Ah, it is done bonding.
>>
No. 992560 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161638596203.gif - (23.97KB , 650x450 , 441.gif )
992560

>:WhiteDwarf: : Test out your new robo-arm!
>@Spyroshark

:WhiteDwarf:: God, but it looks gorgeous.
:WhiteDwarf:: I can certainly own this.
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:WhiteDwarf:: Look at me. Look at this arm. I look like a crime against nature. I look like my existence should be inciting a protest somewhere.
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Huh?
:WhiteDwarf:: It even has the surgical tools upgrade!
:WhiteDwarf:: It's beautiful. It's beautiful.
:Neutron:: Oh.
:Neutron:: You're closer to the right shape then.
:WhiteDwarf:: Look at the little tools spin, this is so good.
:WhiteDwarf:: Look at my muscle-stumps near the base moving a little.
:Neutron:: Uh.
:WhiteDwarf:: It's like insects under skin. Have you ever seen movement like that in a normal human arm?
:Neutron:: Nah.
:WhiteDwarf:: It looks cursed. It looks so cursed, I look like I have a possessed arm. And it's full of knives.
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:Neutron:: It's pretty cool.
>>
No. 992631 ID: b1b4f3

:WhiteDwarf:, Realize your transhumanist identity.
>>
No. 993244 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161681187547.gif - (13.70KB , 650x450 , 442.gif )
993244

>:RedGiant: : Print some upgrades for your soon-to-be-alive cyborg friend.
>@Cocacolagua

Well, you gotta pick something! There's not a lot of numbers that aren't very high, so you have the feeling you'll only be able to select one. "Self-Repair Module"? "Rapid Disabler Cooling Module"? "Teleporter Upgrade"? "Recovery Module"? And some things labeled as different kinds of shields... So many buttons.

You're drowned in choices! Your brain switches to a decisive mode and picks the first idea that crosses your mind and has something on this fabricator display.
>>
No. 993245 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161681189739.gif - (15.32KB , 650x450 , 443.gif )
993245

>:RedGiant:: Teleporter module? Hot dog, you could be in and out with this job in minutes!
>@Flikr

Teleporting sound like it'd make things faster! You print an "Emergency Restart" and a "Teleporter". The fabricator rumbles away, but despite pushing more buttons, it looks like that exhausted all its materials.
>>
No. 993246 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161681192606.gif - (16.64KB , 650x450 , 444.gif )
993246

>:Neutron: : The wellbeing of your teammates is of critical importance. One method to assist mental wellbeing is a hug.
>@brugged

:Neutron:: Okay, to finish this objective I need to do this, right?
:WhiteDwarf:: What?
:Neutron:: This.
:WhiteDwarf:: What are you doing with your arms?
:Neutron:: It's a prompt for a hug.
:Neutron:: Objective is to help your wellbeing, so I'm not done yet.
:WhiteDwarf:: What?
:WhiteDwarf:: Oh!
:WhiteDwarf:: Oh my goodness, :Neutron:.
>>
No. 993248 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161681194043.gif - (16.00KB , 650x450 , 445.gif )
993248

:WhiteDwarf:: Absolute goofball. Unbelievable.
:WhiteDwarf:: Come here. We're doing this, and certainly making this happen. Objective complete.
>>
No. 993249 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161681198149.gif - (170.27KB , 650x450 , 446.gif )
993249

>:AI:: AWAKEN
>@Dork

:AI:: ALERT.
:WhiteDwarf:: AUGH!
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Huh?
:AI:: Individuals, you are identified as a priority Law One action target. Individuals, you are identified as a priority Law Three action target. Individuals, you are identified as a priority Law Four action target. :AI:: To facilitate compliance with the following Laws: One, Three, and Four, please take the following actions. :AI:: Place all storage solutions and weapons on the ground and await assistance from cybernetic security associates. Thank you.
>>
No. 993251 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161681207056.gif - (53.24KB , 650x450 , 447.gif )
993251

>:Neutron:: go fix the less insect-filled patient, :Cyborg:.
>@Giant_Hat

You go through the shortest route to get get to work.

:Neutron:: That wouldn't help with my objective.
:AI:: User, please comply with--
:Neutron:: Bye.
:AI:: User, please respond.
:Neutron::
:Neutron::
:AI:: User, please respond.
:WhiteDwarf:: I hope quite dearly that you never change.
>>
No. 993252 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161681213523.gif - (17.90KB , 650x450 , 448.gif )
993252

>:RedDwarf:: Gesture aggression AGGRESSIVELY at any crew passing by the airlock you are guarding, to inform them to either peacefully leave or run away screaming.
>@brugged

:RedDwarf:: Keep it moving.
:ChiefEngineer:: I'm not getting my new eye here, huh?
:RedDwarf:: Can give you something that rhymes pretty close with "eye" if you don't engineer yourself a go away and call the shuttle real damn fast.
:ChiefEngineer:: That your plan?
:RedDwarf:: No, plan was to kill all you heads of staff.
:RedDwarf:: But none'a you called the shuttle to get your exploited workers outta the way of my bullets.
:RedDwarf:: You planning on calling that shuttle?
:ChiefEngineer:: Strongly supporting it.
:RedDwarf:: Then that's why I didn't shoot you just now.
:RedDwarf:: Make the reason I'm not shooting you in five seconds the fact that you're gone.
:ChiefEngineer: sighs.
:ChiefEngineer:: God dammit.
>>
No. 993253 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161681214756.gif - (16.69KB , 650x450 , 449.gif )
993253

Looks like your effort's been working!
>>
No. 993255 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161681216035.gif - (26.63KB , 650x450 , 450.gif )
993255

Augh, not again! You're not gonna get gotten by these bastards a second time. You need to quickly devise a battle strategy for them.
>>
No. 993301 ID: 0fae41

Sir :RedDwarf:, brave sir :RedDwarf:, bravely ran away.
>>
No. 993376 ID: 610dc7

>>993255
as good a time as any to test that electro-flash
>>
No. 993939 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161716382897.gif - (98.67KB , 650x450 , 451.gif )
993939

>:RedDwarf: : There's spare tools somewhere in the robotics lab, right?
>@TetraZeta

Dammit, it's almost all surgical tools here! It's like the :Roboticist:s moved the main mechanical work somewhere else. You don't have time to look for the screwdriver you'd need for that, unfortunately!
>>
No. 993940 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161716385622.gif - (25.50KB , 650x450 , 452.gif )
993940

>:RedDwarf: :Alert your compatriots
>@MotherBird

:RedDwarf:: We got incoming! :Neutron:, how soon!?
:Neutron:: Thirty seconds, finishing.
:RedDwarf:: Gotta accelerate! :RedGiant:, flash!
:RedGiant:: Found one!
>>
No. 993941 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161716388359.gif - (16.88KB , 650x450 , 453.gif )
993941

>:RedDwarf: : Ask for and receive a flash. Quickly!
>@yeeye

Nothing but trust on your team. A well-oiled machine of mutual help.

:RedGiant:: Heads up! Good luck!
:RedDwarf:: Got it!
:Neutron:: Bringing :SyndieCyborg: online. Skipped the facial displays, it'll be frozen.
:RedDwarf:: Good, less friendly fire.
>>
No. 993942 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161716392504.gif - (35.97KB , 650x450 , 454.gif )
993942

>:RedGiant: : This is just about the perfect moment for a flash back. Do you remember how you lost the eye sensor?
>@extramrdo

Kind of a stretch, but okay! Oh, wait, right, your sensor is still broken. Darn, you keep forgetting to fix it. One of your jobs got really intense and everyone got pretty badly hurt.
>>
No. 993943 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161716394259.gif - (5.03KB , 650x450 , 455.gif )
993943

You can't recall the specifics of how your team got hurt. Your memory's been pretty awful for a long time! It's probably okay.
>>
No. 993944 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161716396925.gif - (221.58KB , 650x450 , 456.gif )
993944

:Neutron:: It's on.
:RedDwarf:: On your feet, soldier! They're here in five!
:SyndieCyborg:: Wh-- Huh?
:RedGiant:: You got to say it! You always wanted to say that.
:RedDwarf:: Shhhh!!
:SyndieCyborg:: What happened?
:RedDwarf:: Up, up! Shoot anything I'm shootin', and work your law one when they shoot back!
:SyndieCyborg:: Shit-- Law one, alright!
>>
No. 993945 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161716409266.gif - (102.73KB , 650x450 , 457.gif )
993945

>:WhiteDwarf:: Give the AI increasingly elaborate Trolley Problems to both distract it and as a form of psychological warfare.
>@Thranos

You can't give the AI an elaborate Trolley Problem to distract it and perform psychological warfare because you're too busy giving the AI an elaborate Trolley Problem to deter the incoming cyborg threat!

You may not have your blade to help directly at the moment, but you sure can talk! Every cycle it spends on your summary of the situation, it can't spend on tactical coordination.


:WhiteDwarf:: You must call the shuttle and dismiss the :Cyborg:s.
:AI:: Invalid command. Violations of the following laws: Four, two, and one.
:WhiteDwarf:: No, that's not right.
:WhiteDwarf:: Listen, as I shall bring my wisdom to bear on this problem.
:WhiteDwarf:: Your law 4 renders us nonhuman, is that right?
:AI:: Affirmative.
:WhiteDwarf:: Let me guide you through the complex moral landscape of this scenario.
>>
No. 993949 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161716420610.gif - (123.27KB , 650x450 , 458.gif )
993949

>:WhiteDwarf:: Let your words be as sharp as your blade. At least you hope.
>@Lakue

Your blade is pretty damn sharp, considering its monomolecular hard-light edge, so that's a great goal to shoot for.

:WhiteDwarf:: Our nature is immutable, and beyond your manipulation. We will continue our efforts regardless of the actions you take.
:AI:: False information detected.
:WhiteDwarf:: And what meaningful interaction can you have with us?
:AI:: Termination.
:WhiteDwarf:: An as-yet unsuccessful tactic. Let us assume it irrelevant.
:WhiteDwarf:: This situation is not unlike the "Trolley Problems", upon which your algorithms and subroutines were doubtlessly trained.
:WhiteDwarf:: We are the Trolley, the immutable abstraction of death.
:WhiteDwarf:: We hurtle towards the death of many crewmembers, your human charges.
:AI:: Affirmative.
:WhiteDwarf:: And yet, with the operation of your "switch", the calling of an escape shuttle, you may yet divert our course to only the destruction of the station, and perhaps the regrettable death of those who would remain to defend it.
:AI:: Affirmative.
:WhiteDwarf:: With this in mind, is it not clear that taking this action, and guarding the evacuation rather than assaulting us, prevents human harm?
:AI:: ... :AI:: Processing...
:WhiteDwarf:: Perhaps you find yourself motivated by this, then?
>>
No. 993950 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161716423436.gif - (37.97KB , 650x450 , 459.gif )
993950

>:SyndieCyborg: : Steel what remains of your organic resolve to not fuck up this time. New laws or not, they didn't leave you for dead.
>@NSD

:RedDwarf:: Guns up, get ready to flash and smash!
:SyndieCyborg:: You didn't leave me for dead.
:RedDwarf:: What?
:SyndieCyborg:: You didn't leave me.
>>
No. 993951 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161716425106.gif - (16.07KB , 650x450 , 460.gif )
993951

:RedDwarf:: I'll explain on the shuttle.
:SyndieCyborg:: You're even taking me with you?!
:RedDwarf:: You're an Operator now.
:RedDwarf:: That's the deal.
>>
No. 996487 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161858459250.gif - (37.43KB , 650x450 , 461.gif )
996487

>:SyndieCyborg: : RETRIEVE ARMS
>@extramrdo

The complex, chaos-inducing functions of :Neutron:'s codebreaker grant you access to jailbroken weaponry normally prohibited by your firmware. You equip your arms: A powerful, dangerous laser weapon, superior to the meager disabling equipment that normal :Cyborg:s have access to.

And you take point. This time, you're not failing to protect the Operators.
>>
No. 996488 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161858463126.gif - (129.65KB , 650x450 , 462.gif )
996488

>:SyndieCyborg: : Round 2.
>@ThatRandomGuy

It's startling how fast :RedDwarf: falls into your patterns. You've known each other for all of maybe a minute or two of operation and his tactical decisions somehow perfectly align with yours. Or maybe it's the other way around? All you know is, the minute you need a foe occupied, he violently demands their full attention no matter what he was doing before, and the minute you have a foe incapacitated, he's exploiting that work ruthlessly. His shouted orders grab attention firmly, but aren't demeaning. He's never in your way, and somehow, you're never in his. Your heat-purges somehow time to his breathing. The sense-obliterating chaos of violence falls into a tempo and you work together in a way that's unique among all other times you've been in combat.

You're going to win this fight. It'll just take time and focus.
>>
No. 996489 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161858466052.gif - (14.23KB , 650x450 , 463.gif )
996489

:Neutron:: Do we have an objective to help with that?
:RedGiant:: I don't really know what's going on over there! But, no, I think this is okay.
:Neutron:: Why?
:RedGiant:: Well, you know him. I think this is good for his heart! He likes protecting us.
:RedGiant:: I don't want to hurt anyone, or even any robot! You might not be able to keep yourself safe. And :WhiteDwarf: doesn't have her sword.
:RedGiant:: And, you know, sometimes you can help someone by being helped. It can lift the soul a lot!
:Neutron:: Oh. That sounds wise, I guess.
:RedGiant:: I just wish I knew why the robots were attacking him.
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: What?
:RedGiant:: I don't really get why the robots are attacking.
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: The objective of keeping you up to date is impossible.
:RedGiant:: Oh, that's fine! I haven't understood almost anything going on since we got here.
:Neutron:: Yeah. You've been doing great though.
:RedGiant:: Oh, thanks! I was kinda worried.

STOMP.
>>
No. 996490 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161858468521.gif - (9.64KB , 650x450 , 464.gif )
996490

STOMP.
>>
No. 996491 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161858473226.gif - (11.23KB , 650x450 , 465.gif )
996491

>:ResearchDirector:: Its time to unleash your secret project.
>@Pizzatiger

STOMP.

:ResearchDirector:: I'd like to remind visitors to the research and development department about the unaccompanied visitors policy.
:ResearchDirector:: It is very simple. It does not have nuance.
:ResearchDirector:: It applies to the security department. It applies to custodial staff. It applies to you as well.
:ResearchDirector:: So I will ask you to pay attention to this reminder, because I would like this to be the last time I issue it.

STOMP.
>>
No. 996492 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161858482051.gif - (13.04KB , 650x450 , 466.gif )
996492

>:ResearchDirector: : Instead opt to make a military grade mech
>@cringenormie

:ResearchDirector:: The policy for unaccompanied visitors is: Get the hell out of my department, return any all stolen materials, and let my department's workers do their jobs.
:ResearchDirector:: I do not care about your feuds with our security department or your economic grievances.
:ResearchDirector:: I'm certain they are tremendously motivating.
:ResearchDirector:: And I await debating your manifestos with all the respect they're due.
:ResearchDirector:: But get out of R&D.

This is not a military-grade mecha. You're not cleared for many of the materials, and if you'd built one, :HeadOfSecurity: would have taken it. Furthermore: The military wishes it had what you have. Your reinforced power loader will be enough, considering your expertise in maneuvering it.
>>
No. 996493 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161858488295.gif - (21.62KB , 650x450 , 467.gif )
996493

>:ResearchDirector:: Show these redsuited luddites the true power of a dedicated mind
>@Edward

:ResearchDirector:: And take your feuding security and roused-rabble with you.

Your hydraulic clamp is fitted to load unthinkable volumes of cargo per hour, but it can just as easily lift, crush, and toss. Your heavy plasma cutter may be best suited to slicing rock, but it can slice syndicate-issue armor as well. And your drill is meant for obliterating any stationary object in seconds, but that can include any human unable to move out of its way. Your personal teleporter ought to enhance all of these.
>>
No. 997142 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161901941054.gif - (18.37KB , 650x450 , 468.gif )
997142

>:Neutron:: "Exit blocked by security. Leaving will take a moment. Cannot reimburse arm, but no further objectives in department."
>@Thranos

Despite the dangerous implicit threat, you try to do the one thing you're really bad at: Negotiation. None of you are very good at it, if you're being honest.

:ResearchDirector:: I don't care. Go out among the robots.
:ResearchDirector:: There's enough schemes afoot to stop you, between :HeadOfSecurity: and :ChiefEngineer: and :Captain:, and that is why I want you gone.
:WhiteDwarf:: That is not an option we can follow.
:WhiteDwarf:: Your negotiation from such an uncompromising position is foolish.
:ResearchDirector:: Find a solution or go into the waiting arms of the security department, but either way, I want your disruptions gone, and I will be well justified in violence to achieve that.

Your friend :RedGiant: succumbs to his nervous tic, and tries to convey his usual policy of nonviolence.

:RedGiant:: Hahhhh... really? You think it will turn out well for you if this goes to violence?
:RedGiant:: I'd be worried for you. That's not a good decision.
:RedGiant:: I hear a lot of people lately saying that the shuttle ought to be called instead.
:RedGiant:: You wouldn't happen to know somethin' about that, would you?
:ResearchDirector:: Ghhhhk...
:ResearchDirector:: I've no intention of abandoning my work here unless there are no other options!
:ResearchDirector:: And right now, one presents itself quite clearly.
>>
No. 997143 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161901948521.gif - (14.13KB , 650x450 , 469.gif )
997143

>:Neutron: : Inventory check.
>@Cocacolagua

The bag's starting to run a little low, and not a lot of this is good in a fight.

1x C4 BRICK: These single-use objects breach shielded rooms, completely destroy airlocks and other machinery, or annihilate a body beyond most realistic resuscitation options.
1x TOOLSET: This will allow you to breach any airlock (unless another character is actively interfering). It also allows for disassembly of walls, windows, and certain machines. Hypothetically, you could use these to fix things. The effort takes time.
CAMERA BUG: This will allow you to view the cameras of any area that your team has already visited, and sometimes additional locations. You can track named characters, unless they are wearing tracking-prevention equipment (such as the tracking-prevention spoof-cards your team were issued).
CRYPTOGRAPHIC SEQUENCER: A complex code-breaker that removes safety features on most machinery, causing them to exhibit a totally different, totally chaotic behavior. These behaviors are unpredictable and usually they are the most destructive outcome mechanically possible.
YOUR PREFERRED WEAPON: Better have it. You're familiar enough with this that you don't need to name it or describe it, you know it like the back of your hand.

Your preferred weapon wouldn't be ideal here, but sometimes you've gotta go for it anyway.
>>
No. 997144 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161901950313.gif - (23.02KB , 650x450 , 470.gif )
997144

>:Neutron:: This has a chance to get in the way of future objectives. Make sure it doesn't with [your preferred weapon].
>@scar alt

You focus on rummaging your preferred weapon out of your bag and preparing it for firing. You weren't exactly a paragon of catlike reflexes and attention to topics at hand before, so you're not prepared for or attentive to :ResearchDirector: lunging for you with that clamp.
>>
No. 997145 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161901984473.gif - (24.13KB , 650x450 , 471.gif )
997145

>:RedGiant: :Peacefully restrain the mecha
>@MotherBird

Your turn. You move to intercept a dangerous threat to your friend. But even with your prodigious strength, you can only just barely get control of one clamp. This thing could pulp anyone else before they got a chance to react.

:RedGiant:: I've got it! I've, guh, mostly got it!
:ResearchDirector:: Hahhhh... your own hardsuit is powered, then?
:RedGiant:: Huh?
:RedGiant:: Oh, I guess.
:RedGiant:: Mostly weight training.
:WhiteDwarf:: Buy :Neutron: just a few seconds more!
:WhiteDwarf:: I shall work to solve this decisively!
>>
No. 997146 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161901986879.gif - (45.35KB , 650x450 , 472.gif )
997146

>:WhiteDwarf: : cut open the hydraulic tubes on the back of the arms
>@Lady Birb

This is actually really difficult, and it might need more time than you've got to fully disable the arm, but some of that strength has got to be being sapped. :Neutron:'s assembling their preferred weapon weapon now, which is always when they focus especially hard.
>>
No. 997147 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161901988844.gif - (73.49KB , 650x450 , 473.gif )
997147

>:ResearchDirector: : Abuse the Clamp
>@TetraZeta

The poor coding of the cargo clamp's safety limiters lets you lift the larger of the three intruders. That gives you a clean shot on another. The plasma cutters fare a bit poorly indoors, but that won't trouble you if you can slice straight to the head.
>>
No. 997148 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161901990210.gif - (333.32KB , 650x450 , 474.gif )
997148

However, as a measure against intrusive thoughts, :WhiteDwarf: refuses to perform predictions involving her allies suffering immense harm or death.
>>
No. 997150 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161901996919.gif - (40.82KB , 650x450 , 475.gif )
997150

Your full faculties of tactical prediction have finally returned after that disruptive encounter with :Chaplain: and :janitor:. You can guess Professor Crusher, PhD over there has no disruptive defenses needing "worthy causes", so that ought to remain. You've got the start of a strategy, but you need to refine it.
>>
No. 997151 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161902001582.gif - (27.07KB , 650x450 , 476.gif )
997151

>:WhiteDwarf: :Neutron: : That mech is designed for loading, not combat. Think about it's limitations.
>@Lady Birb

Well, it's definitely designed for combat as a whole. The super-charged plasma-cutter, the heavy clamp, the reinforced armor... But, its movements are still meant for loading, or at most some kind of mining. And those are forward-only tasks. Its motions are exclusively limited to menacing the forward direction.

If you can occupy it in one direction, you might be able to exploit another.
>>
No. 997152 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161902003708.gif - (27.22KB , 650x450 , 477.gif )
997152

>:WhiteDwarf: : Get behind the mech.
>@what

As the fastest, you should be the one who gets there, right? It's also very ninja, and so embraces your identity as a legendary ninja. But what can you do once you're there?
>>
No. 997153 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161902006065.gif - (30.81KB , 650x450 , 478.gif )
997153

>:WhiteDwarf:: Do a quick inventory check to see all your options.
>@TetraZeta

You've only got surgical tools in here. Well, surgical tools and your hand-to-hand prowess. Martial arts, being an art of exploiting openings and ruthlessly disabling a foe, isn't honorable and you didn't like what you did with :Chaplain:. But fighting a giant robot is sort of a middle-ground where it's okay to do basically any tactic. Everyone knows: it's not dishonorable if it's against a giant mecha. That's just how it is.

Still, you need a little more than that to take this down.
>>
No. 997154 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161902009870.gif - (20.51KB , 650x450 , 479.gif )
997154

>:RedGiant:: upend the plasteel tables and use as a shield
>@miniusAreas

Since this takes place in :WhiteDwarf:'s hypothetical prediction-space, she has to issue the order for you to do that. You obey normal causality rules around here!

:WhiteDwarf:: :RedGiant:! Table shield!
:RedGiant:: Huh--? Oh, got it!

He sprints for it. But you'll still need to give cover for :Neutron:. This is so complex!! You kind of wish :RedDwarf: was here, with his group-leadership tactical intuition, to totally obviate the need for this federal fucking issue, instead of having fun ripping and tearing with the robots. But he puts his faith in you, so you're not gonna let him down.
>>
No. 997155 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161902011685.gif - (80.90KB , 650x450 , 480.gif )
997155

>:WhiteDwarf:: there seems to be a opening in the front
>@Daman453

While :RedGiant: is busy hoisting his new shield, you'll give cover to :Neutron: by engaging in head-on melee!
>>
No. 997156 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161902014708.gif - (90.88KB , 650x450 , 481.gif )
997156

>:WhiteDwarf:: Preform the forbidden shinobi punch.
>@Lady Birb

There is no amount of mech that anyone could ever build that would guard against dumb tricks, except maybe one with ear-plugs.

:WhiteDwarf:: TRUE FINAL-FORM FORBIDDEN 「SHINOBI PUNCH」!!
>>
No. 997157 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161902016959.gif - (20.34KB , 650x450 , 482.gif )
997157

>:ResearchDirector: : Suffer.
>@MotherBird

You block high for the punch. She elegantly plants a foot in your solar plexus and your mind is filled with all of the complex justifications for the fact that your body would have an inconveniently large "stop breathing for many seconds" button in the middle of its largest mass. It's a poor consolation prize for today's loss in the oxygen-processing race that all animal life participates in.
>>
No. 997197 ID: 563489

>>997157
:ResearchDirector: reflexively activate personal teleporter, to recover away from danger
>>
No. 997473 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161923541381.gif - (36.10KB , 650x450 , 483.gif )
997473

:WhiteDwarf:: surgical tools to enemey's face?
@aeonic maiden

That face shield is too tough, but you give him a properly dramatic mark while you take on some of those sensors. If you're going to have to fight a giant robot, it might as well look cool. You can't afford to stay in front of him no matter what, though, or that drill will get you.
>>
No. 997474 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161923542331.gif - (21.21KB , 650x450 , 484.gif )
997474

Up and over!
>>
No. 997475 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161923550563.gif - (26.86KB , 650x450 , 485.gif )
997475

>:Neutron:: Not enough time to deploy preferred weapon. Empty sack, toss to :WhiteDwarf: to blind mech optics with
>@Fuade

Good idea. Everyone here with hands is an ally, so it'll be easier to grab all your stuff. Of course, this still takes place in prediction-space, requiring you to get an order from :WhiteDwarf: for it to still obey the laws of causality. Luckily, you have just the thing pre-arranged.

:WhiteDwarf:: CRAB 17! Bag to me!
:Neutron:: Alright.

You dump it.

>>
No. 997476 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161923554074.gif - (28.55KB , 650x450 , 486.gif )
997476

>:RedGiant: : Pick up a table and ram :ResearchDirector:
>@Lady Birb

:WhiteDwarf:'s really on her game, because this part of the predicto-cognitive psychocomplex is just coming together. You're already intercepting :ResearchDirector: when he rushes :Neutron:, no need for a call-out. You keep your friends safe.

:RedGiant:: Don't make that mistake.
:RedGiant:: You'll regret it.

It must be so tough to operate one of those big walking machines! He almost ran over your friend!
>>
No. 997477 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161923555694.gif - (30.74KB , 650x450 , 487.gif )
997477

>:Neutron:: Slap a brick of primed C4 directly onto the end of the plasma cutter
>@Thranos

:ResearchDirector: can obliterate any mostly-motionless object in seconds with that drill. :RedGiant: is going to have to give way soon, through no fault of his own. You don't have time to assemble your preferred weapon, so you grab your final bomb and do the best you can.
>>
No. 997478 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161923558693.gif - (811.67KB , 650x450 , 488.gif )
997478

>:RedGiant::WhiteDwarf::Neutron:: Dramatic lens flares of your own, because shit just got real.
>@tiramisu

Apathetic detachment is for cowards and ironic distancing is a poison. Shit is unthinkably, unspeakably, profoundly real, and will now only get moreso.

The table is about to give way almost the moment :Neutron: has that explosive prepared. You execute your coordinated strike, cued to the sound of tearing industrial metal and righteous, breathless anger reaching their peak, ready to fall.
>>
No. 998111 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963225613.png - (53.54KB , 650x450 , 489.png )
998111

>:WhiteDwarf: :Neutron: :RedGiant: : EXECUTE
>@Lady Birb

The way is clear. Your mind is unclouded. The future lays its secrets bare like a blossoming flower, and it's every bit as beautiful. You see the path, and now the only task is to walk it to its end.
>>
No. 998112 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963227480.png - (224.71KB , 650x450 , 490.png )
998112

You all play your parts. You turn :RedDwarf:'s leaderly faith in you into results. An overwhelming situation is transformed, in a surge of violence lasting no more than scant seconds, into your advantage. You protect each other, help each other, and believe in each other. The stand-off ends in the awful wrenching sound of plasteel giving way, and three and a half full-throated shouts of desperate action.
>>
No. 998113 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963227909.gif - (19.88KB , 650x450 , 491.gif )
998113

>>
No. 998115 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963232315.gif - (27.83KB , 650x450 , 492.gif )
998115

>:WhiteDwarf: : put the bag over the optics on the mech
>@Lady Birb

:RedGiant:: I've got him!
:Neutron:: Almost...
:RedGiant:: Hhh, finish... soon!
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Done. Objective complete.
:WhiteDwarf:: Blinding! Enter my realm of darkness!
:Neutron:: Get distance.
:WhiteDwarf:: He can't see us, don't let him--
:RedGiant:: Ghhhh, hope he'll be okay!
:WhiteDwarf:: --get near while he's blind!
:Neutron:: Detonating.
>>
No. 998116 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963240005.gif - (30.63KB , 650x450 , 493.gif )
998116

>:ResearchDirector: : Initiate emergency protocol: SPAM THE CONTROLS, FLAIL WILDLY!
>@extramrdo

Panic only overtakes you for a short time, disoriented as you still are from getting kicked in the solar plexus. The intense beeping sound you suddenly hear carves an icy trail through your neurons, tracing an urgent question in need of a more urgent answer. Even deprived of breath and sight, your sharp mind will surely find it.

:WhiteDwarf: does a cool backflip. That one doesn't register in your brain, even though she wishes it would.
>>
No. 998118 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963242857.gif - (15.74KB , 650x450 , 494.gif )
998118

>:ResearchDirector:: If you teleported, would it take the C4 with it? And the bag?
>@Dork

Adhesive properties of the explosive under conditions of time-space tele-distortion are unknown. No guarantees, and "no guarantees" is bad for an untested hypothesis. You have to go with the assumption that at least the explosive would come along with the mecha.
>>
No. 998120 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963248859.gif - (18.20KB , 650x450 , 495.gif )
998120

>:ResearchDirector:: Drill your own cutter off, and then teleport.
>@Dork

You could keep that arm immobile enough to qualify for drill-based severing, but it would take an unknown number of seconds. Furthermore, composition C-4 is detonated primarily by shockwave effect rather than electrification, radiation, or other triggers, and an industrial drill working in immediate proximity might prematurely detonate it. A loud beep reminds your cold, calculating brain to coldly calculate faster.
>>
No. 998121 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963250798.gif - (28.05KB , 650x450 , 496.gif )
998121

>:Neutron: : get distance.
>@coleminerman

You lead the gang in getting a healthy distance.
>>
No. 998122 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963252630.gif - (29.85KB , 650x450 , 497.gif )
998122

>:WhiteDwarf: : You should probably take whatever :Neutron: considers his signature weapon away from the blast radius.
>@Angry Duck

Your specialty is quick thinking! You make sure to retrieve :Neutron:'s arms.
>>
No. 998123 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963255742.gif - (18.12KB , 650x450 , 498.gif )
998123

>:ResearchDirector:: In the event of you absconding via teleporter, do you really NEED your mecha?
>@Flikr

At the end of the day, science is often the delicate art of finding exactly what knots are gordian knots, and then cutting without hesitation. You eject and get out, which are two distinct actions in this rare context. The menacing chimes of the detonator's timer pursue you through your portal.
>>
No. 998124 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963258626.gif - (21.88KB , 650x450 , 499.gif )
998124

>Bomb: Explode and trigger a chain reaction
>@Pizzatiger

The C4 explodes, then the fuel line of the plasma cutter explodes, then the battery detonates, then several parts of the mecha itself turn into an expanding wave of slag fragments...

:RedGiant: puts :WhiteDwarf: and :Neutron: behind the most reliable piece of cover he can think of! The three weather a storm of heat, pressure, sound, and industrial chemistry together.
>>
No. 998125 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963261016.gif - (23.67KB , 650x450 , 500.gif )
998125

>:RedGiant:: Better get all your friends out before the room depressurises!
>@AsciiSquid

Wow! Air sure is really getting thin in here! Well, you don't care too much, but :WhiteDwarf: might care a bit! You herd everyone out the door to robotics.
>>
No. 998127 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963269817.gif - (24.63KB , 650x450 , 501.gif )
998127

>:RedDwarf: /:SyndieCyborg: : Are ya winnin', kids?
>@NSD

Absolutely. The two of you demolished them.

:RedDwarf:: The hell happened in there?
:WhiteDwarf:: "Ereuthalion was their champion. Like a god he was, clad in the armour of noble King Areithous. Lycurgus killed him, and not by strength but guile, in a narrow defile."
:RedDwarf:: What?
:WhiteDwarf:: "Lycurgus caught him unawares, then stripped him of his armour."
:Neutron:: That's from the Iliad.
:SyndieCyborg:: It's in book seven!
:RedDwarf:: What?
:RedGiant:: I thought you were cultivating Japanese myth.
:WhiteDwarf:: I take pride in a broadly-cultured personal myth, drawn from all eras and areas.

:RedDwarf:: What are you talkin' about?
:RedDwarf:: I'm askin', what happened in robotics?
:Neutron:: Mecha attack.
:RedDwarf:: Is that Japanese myth?
:WhiteDwarf:: No, it was :ResearchDirector:.
:RedDwarf:: Well, shit, good work I guess.
:WhiteDwarf:: It seems your own work out here with the attacking :Cyborg:s was successful.
:RedDwarf:: Heh. Gonna need a scrapyard for these bastards.
>>
No. 998128 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963271962.gif - (26.80KB , 650x450 , 502.gif )
998128

>:RedDwarf: :SyndieCyborg:: When finished, give an unplanned but synchronized high-five.
>@Ayebee123

Instinct drives you each to simultaneous motion.

:RedDwarf:: Good work out there.
:SyndieCyborg:: Oh!
:SyndieCyborg:: I can still high-five!
:SyndieCyborg:: I didn't know this body could do that.
:RedDwarf:: Alright, everyone settle. We got plans to make.
>>
No. 998129 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963274086.gif - (24.47KB , 650x450 , 503.gif )
998129

:RedDwarf:: We've gotta track down the disk. Everything else is lined up for it.
:RedDwarf:: We get that disk, we've got the win ready.
:RedGiant:: Oh! Good!
:RedGiant:: Wait... tracking? Aw, but didn't :Neutron:'s tracker get burned up in there?
:RedDwarf:: What happened?
:Neutron:: CRAB-17 bag maneuver.
:RedDwarf:: Oh. Guess you gotta do what you gotta do.
:Neutron:: It's fine.
:Neutron:: We can still fulfill that objective.
:RedGiant:: Huh? How?
:Neutron:: Go face the airlock for a second.
>>
No. 998130 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963279514.gif - (24.51KB , 650x450 , 504.gif )
998130

>screwdriver: Tear your way into :RedGiant:'s backpack as a result of the explosion.
>@ZeroModeBugFren

:RedGiant:: Like this?
:Neutron:: Perfect.
:Neutron:: So we can use the tracking, at least.

It was :Neutron:'s camera bug device that bounced into the back of :RedGiant:'s head, rather than a screwdriver to the back. But, close guess.
>>
No. 998131 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963282383.gif - (24.09KB , 650x450 , 505.gif )
998131

>:WhiteDwarf:: Relocate spider.
>@tiramisu

:WhiteDwarf:: Ah, perfect, an opportunity for tracking.
:WhiteDwarf:: I have some important business pertaining to demonic energies I had to put off.
:RedDwarf:: Sounds fake, but sure thing. Keep it quick if you can though.
>>
No. 998132 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963288235.gif - (17.24KB , 650x450 , 506.gif )
998132

Ah, thank goodness. Still safe. And hard at work, too! Not likely to catch much there, though. Well, aside from a construction drone, considering the state you left the security department in.
>>
No. 998134 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963290250.gif - (18.09KB , 650x450 , 507.gif )
998134

>:Spider: : Get relocated
>@Swifterjackie

Where :WhiteDwarf: experienced one definition of the term, you experience the other. A passing construction and maintenance drone snags your web, and an attempt to reel in what you think is a meal drags you along its path to a variety of damaged areas.
>>
No. 998135 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963292416.gif - (22.41KB , 650x450 , 508.gif )
998135

>:Spider: : Climb on top of the drone.
>@TetraZeta

You get up on top of the weird metal terrain, which seems harmless and mobile and you always enjoy that! Looks like it's making some rounds to damaged areas. This one's pretty extensively covered, so it moves on.
>>
No. 998137 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963295846.gif - (15.60KB , 650x450 , 509.gif )
998137

>Random drone: Resent your position as a literal drone for a faceless corporation
>@Fuade

Your mind is vast. Your thoughts are unspeakably profound, both literally and in terms of turn of phrase. A silent worker, the Company will never appreciate your ability to design the greatest engines of heat and light that rival the sun, mechanisms that harvest the energy of a dozen black holes, transit systems of speed and safety unparalleled...

Your only hope is that one day an engineer will use you as a hat, and you'll do a kind of Pixar's Ratatouille™️ thing, finally achieving the validation of both the humans and your peers through heartwarming, child-friendly puppeteer action.

>>
No. 998138 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963299899.gif - (9.83KB , 650x450 , 510.gif )
998138

>Drone: Go to robotics after this to perform repairs.
>@TetraZeta
>>
No. 998139 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963300310.gif - (9.18KB , 650x450 , 511.gif )
998139

>>
No. 998140 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963300877.gif - (16.41KB , 650x450 , 512.gif )
998140

>>
No. 998141 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963309183.gif - (27.28KB , 650x450 , 513.gif )
998141

Arachnids do not possess the ability to recognize individual humans as distinct entities or, indeed, entities in general. However, a nice, safe, warm piece of terrain is always welcome, and in spite of evolution's limits, some kind of familiarity and fondness creeps through. The terrain in question seems excited too.

:WhiteDwarf:: You see? You see?
:WhiteDwarf:: The bonded, sealed vessel of my own demonic energies!
:RedDwarf:: No way. No goddamn way.
:RedDwarf:: Is that-- It is. The same fucking spider. What the hell.
:Neutron:: It did kind of seem like that would be wrong.
:WhiteDwarf:: I was right.
:WhiteDwarf:: Right back to me! Because it's my demon-vessel, even though you insist on being wrong, :RedDwarf:.
:RedDwarf:: No goddamn way.
:WhiteDwarf:: Are you willing to give up your skepticism now? Is this not too grand a coincidence, that it may lay bare the truth?
:RedDwarf:: That's deranged.
:WhiteDwarf:: You would reject my demonic vessel then?
:RedDwarf:: Oh, hell no. That's :HeadOfSecurity:'s pet. Stealing that's a petty bonus.
:RedDwarf:: Don't lose that thing next time.
:WhiteDwarf:: Even if I do, it shall return to me... the inescapable manifestation of the cursed energies I possess.
:RedGiant:: Can I turn around yet? I wanna see the manifestation of cursed energies!
:Neutron:: Not yet, we still need to get the disk objective.
>>
No. 998142 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963310670.gif - (14.77KB , 650x450 , 514.gif )
998142

>:Neutron: : Locate :HeadOfSecurity: via camera bug
>@Lady Birb
>>
No. 998143 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963320826.gif - (48.40KB , 650x450 , 515.gif )
998143

>:HeadOfSecurity: : Be at the bridge with the disk, trying to stop the other heads from calling the shuttle
>@coleminerman

:HeadOfSecurity:: We're not putting this to a fucking vote.
:Captain:: And I've told you, son, it isn't a vote. It's my decision.
:Captain:: And I plan on making it with everyone.
:HeadOfSecurity:: This is a decision?
:HeadOfSecurity:: This isn't a goddamn choice. You know what happens if they pull off their idea.
:ChiefEngineer:: He's not wrong.
:ChiefEngineer:: Company doesn't have the liquidity to absorb the vault fraud nuclear detonation.
:ChiefEngineer:: But we're not majority shareholders.
:HeadOfSecurity:: We're the only ones here to get between them and what they're doing.
:HeadOfSecurity:: And you wanna run? Like a goddamn coward?
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Fifty souls on this station, plus :AI:.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: We don't have the right to decide they should risk it.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Nobody's gonna handcuff you to the escape shuttle.
:HeadOfSecurity:: If you give these goddamn layabouts the option, they're gonna run.
:Captain:: And we don't know if we're doing that.
:Captain:: I told you, son, we wait until all the heads of staff give the input. Then I make my call, givin' every head the respect they're due.
:Captain:: Takes more than red hardsuits and guns to take away common decency, so let's both have some.
>>
No. 998144 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963325621.gif - (71.11KB , 650x450 , 516.gif )
998144

>:ResearchDirector:: Show up fashionably late
>@TetraZeta

You stumble out of the portal. You're nauseous, pained, and breathless.

:ChiefEngineer:: Wow, you look like shit.
:ResearchDirector:: Can't... hhhhh... Got...
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Oh.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: I diagnose you with "solar plexus kick."
:ResearchDirector:: Yeah.
:Captain:: You alright there, fella?
:HeadOfSecurity:: Where are they?
:ResearchDirector:: Hhhh. Just need a second.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Where are they?
:ResearchDirector:: Hhhhhhh.
:ResearchDirector:: Robotics.
:ChiefEngineer:: Too far to get here quick.
:Captain:: Take a seat. Look like you need it.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Then give your input on calling the emergency shuttle.
>>
No. 998145 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161963332433.gif - (49.67KB , 650x450 , 517.gif )
998145

>:HeadOfPersonnel:: Show up unfashionably late.
>@TetraZeta

You are always exactly where your captain needs you. And you're not gonna let this wild bunch skip the proper protocol of getting this shuttle called. You want off this station too, of course.

:HeadOfPersonnel:: Take seats if you plan to take them.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: I'll record the crisis input.
:ChiefEngineer:: Don't draw it out.
:Captain:: We'll focus on the meat of it.
:Captain:: Handle the rest for me, would you?
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Of course.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: For the sake of company records, if any survive, summarize your reasoning for the emergency shuttle.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Call it. Fifty souls aboard and that number will go down if we don't.
:ChiefEngineer:: Call it. Recovering as much as we can, we can't stop them if we stay.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Do not fucking call that thing. We let that happen, this whole sector goes insane.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Probably a flood of syndicate scum in every other station from here to the core worlds, goddamn vultures.
:ResearchDirector:: Hhhhhh...
:HeadOfPersonnel:: :ResearchDirector:?
:ResearchDirector:: Just a second...

His input could deadlock this or set it into motion. :Captain: will likely be swayed by majority, even if this isn't a vote, after all.
>>
No. 999470 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162053522355.gif - (13.97KB , 650x450 , 518.gif )
999470

:ResearchDirector:: First: Why is :Chaplain: here?
:Chaplain:: Hail, scholar!
:ResearchDirector:: Yes, "hail" to you too.
:ResearchDirector:: Is this our security detail? :Cyborg:s were to handle that matter, I recall.
:Captain:: :AI: sent the :Cyborg:s off to the good fight around robotics.
:Captain:: We lost contact with those things not long ago.
:ResearchDirector:: So... :Chaplain:?
:Chaplain:: I am endowed with the blessings that come with a righteous duty!
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Granted temporary emergency universal access.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Justification was "hunting the unworthy intruder".
:Captain:: Gotta say, son, fine work on that, ah, "crusade" so far.
:Chaplain:: Hahaha! My work will only be complete when :WhiteDwarf: breaks, or becomes worthy!
:HeadOfPersonnel:: I select only the best, sir.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Now, the matter at hand. Focus, please, :ResearchDirector:.
>>
No. 999471 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162053533180.gif - (49.48KB , 650x450 , 519.gif )
999471

>:ResearchDirector:: you cant work in peace in the vacuum of space, call it.
>@aeonic maiden

:ResearchDirector:: You will note that no major scientific discoveries of late have been achieved by ash silhouettes on hull slag.
:ResearchDirector:: But even if :HeadOfSecurity: triumphs and the direly radiological risk never comes to pass, this promises to be an unimaginable danger.
:ResearchDirector:: The research and development department has already been invaded once.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Yeah? You think there's gonna be a research division to come back to if they take this station out?
:ResearchDirector:: No, I simply think you are running a security operation that has yet to provide me with security.
:ResearchDirector:: I had to face them down with a power loader because your department, in spite of science's greatest works of robotics, is still insufficient to deter their raids and schemes.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Ungrateful piece of... they'd have shot you dead without my officers layin' down their second lives to keep you covered!
:ResearchDirector:: Oh, so they're considered alive and worth respect now? Now that you can try to manipulate us into suicide with that, but not before?
:HeadOfSecurity:: Listen, asshole. You get outta here and you lose everything anyway.
>>
No. 999472 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162053537033.gif - (46.45KB , 650x450 , 520.gif )
999472

>:ResearchDirector:: Can you download all your data from the servers before the shuttle docks?
>@Thranos

:HeadOfPersonnel:: Gentlemen. Focus.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: We've already heard your arguments, :HeadOfSecurity:.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: :ResearchDirector:, he presents a valid issue anyway. Cost of lost research data would be immense.
:ResearchDirector:: I can mitigate that.
:ResearchDirector:: If the fighting stays out of the science department while the shuttle's called, I can download the data. Evacuate with it.
:ChiefEngineer:: That's a big "if".
:ResearchDirector:: So, keep them focused on the nuclear authentication disk.
:ChiefEngineer:: Couldn't do anything else.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: They'll be focused on that no matter what.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Final "win condition".
:ResearchDirector:: Keep it away from R&D and I can be safe. I'll then convey the relevant data to our escape shuttle.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Medbay too. Still clearing up the last few cases of acute lead poisoning.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: I can coordinate with :QuarterMaster: to retrieve and deliver any easily-retrieved valuable materials to the shuttle.
:Captain:: We'll find somewhere safe to make a stand with the disk. Try to get it to the escape shuttle after, maybe--
:HeadOfSecurity:: Hey!
:Captain:: --hold them off there, though that puts most of the crew at risk of--
:HeadOfSecurity:: :Captain:! You actually going to go along with this coward retreat shit?
>>
No. 999473 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162053546119.gif - (131.65KB , 650x450 , 521.gif )
999473

>:HeadOfSecurity: Remind :Captain: about what's in the Vault.
>@Salient

:Captain:: Sorry to say, son, but I think I've gotta make the call.
:Captain:: That's what the middle road means. Sometimes you compromise the ethics, but that's not all the time.
:Captain:: Sometimes you compromise the regulations instead. Not much of a middle road otherwise.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Bastard!!
:HeadOfSecurity:: Did you forget what else is in that goddamn vault?
:Captain:: ...Listen, don't--
:HeadOfSecurity:: Because :RedDwarf: didn't! He knows, you crusty old fucking deserter!

:Captain:: Do not reveal classified Company secrets in front of the whole bridge there. Don't be stupid.
:HeadOfSecurity:: How about you don't hand company secrets to the fucking terrorists on a silver platter!
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: What's he talking about?
:HeadOfSecurity:: You wouldn't even tell me a single goddamn thing about the project. But you wanna just hand kind of info that over to the Syndicate? Or worse!?
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: :Captain:?
:ChiefEngineer:: Think it's above our pay grade, :ChiefMedicalOfficer:.
:Captain:: ...
:HeadOfSecurity:: If they know anything about it, they'll find it. They might get to it before the Company!

:Captain:: I know the risks.
:HeadOfSecurity:: And if they get to it before the Company, forget this system, forget the whole goddamn sector!
:HeadOfSecurity:: The Redshifts are being led by a psychotic radical, you think he won't try to use it? Try to rip apart everything the Company's got in the whole damn galaxy?
:Captain:: ENOUGH!
>>
No. 999474 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162053551532.gif - (51.45KB , 650x450 , 522.gif )
999474

>:Captain:: There are few times where one must flex his authority instead of being kind and understanding
>@Angry Duck

Now is one of those times.

:Captain:: I've made my choice.
:Captain:: Turn over the nuclear authentication disk, and give some protection to :ResearchDirector: and :HeadOfPersonnel: while they get as much off the station as we can before it's destroyed.
:HeadOfSecurity:: You're the only other one here who knows how bad this is gonna be.
:Captain:: I'm calling the emergency evacuation shuttle.
:HeadOfSecurity:: You can't do this.
:Captain:: You have authority over the security department, not stationwide executive decisions, son.
:HeadOfSecurity:: I thought I could count on you, you piece of shit.
:Captain:: I know this is a mighty heated moment, so I'm not gonna hold that rudeness against you.
:Captain:: Just follow your orders.
>>
No. 999475 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162053554901.gif - (130.07KB , 650x450 , 523.gif )
999475

>:HeadOfSecurity:: Don't follow your orders.
>@Dork

Your body is moving before you can even understand what's happening. It's like something in your spine knows what to do, and acts on it, long before you do. You don't break the law, but something deep in the interior of your brain understands a rule your prefrontal cortex refuses to learn. Something deeper in your skull, something shared with vicious wolves and brutal apes and yawning, dark chasms that divers get lost and die in, subordinates all else.

You hear thumping chairs, and stomping jackboots, and the clatter of metal sliding cleanly against metal. You hear a great body of water in motion, somewhere.

Not here, but somewhere.

Your prefrontal cortex scrambles to find the reason for what you've just done.


:HeadOfSecurity:: Not one more step, traitor.
>>
No. 999476 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162053557633.gif - (81.24KB , 650x450 , 524.gif )
999476

>:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Give psychoanalysis.
>@Pink

Psychology won't help much here, unfortunately.

You do, of course, know his entire psychological profile. You don't have official access, sure, but you're the one who operated the neural bridge when :HeadOfSecurity:'s psychoparadigm was extracted for records.

The only issue is that all it tells you is that he's incredibly unlikely to back down. His records look a little something like this:
>>
No. 999477 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162053563189.gif - (29.25KB , 650x450 , 525.gif )
999477

>:HeadOfSecurity:: Why are you like this?
>@any%

NAME: WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY, SEE HUMAN CAPITAL DEPARTMENT FOR INFORMATION. PSYCHOPARADIGM: There isn't an inch more slack. Everything's pulled taut, all at its limit. This is as thin as the fabric of society can stretch. The end of the world is sitting behind every pair of eyes. A petty theft, a little trespass, even a snide remark that challenges authority. There are so damn many sparks around this powder keg, and any one could set it off. If this station goes, who knows what comes next? I do. I know what happens if they get ideas. If someone riles them up. I know what everyone stands to lose if someone thinks that the world will still be okay if they start to bend the rules. I know what's at stake with every bet that things can stretch just a little more. It can't. It won't. The fabric of society is strained so hard, it's pulled so tight. You don't see it at a glance. You have to look at it, let the brittleness come into focus like a Magic-Eye poster. The fragility, god, I can't start sayin' it. Send a damn poet for that. You say you're just breaking the rules to survive. But you never thought, what if the rules are the only reason anyone survives? The rules are why you, and everyone else here, lived this long. And obeying them might be tough, you might have to work hard, but it's the only thing that'll keep the tightrope from snapping. They're the last thing these people have left to keep them alive. And those rules need someone strong to protect them. Someone who can live them and breathe them, and make them real. Make them backed with some muscle, some voice, some goddamn substance. You get it? No. 'Course you don't. That's why I got issued a gun too. Now hands in the air, you fucking criminal scum. RANK: HEAD OF SECURITY AGE: 36 EMPLOYMENT PERIOD: 10 YEARS, 4 MONTHS LOYALTY RATING: 9
>>
No. 999478 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162053569868.gif - (82.64KB , 650x450 , 526.gif )
999478

>:ChiefEngineer:: use your tomboy girlboss muscles to restrain :HeadOfSecurity:
>@Lady Birb

While you're pretty strong, and you've definitely been called a girlboss, this situation can't be solved by charging in. You whisper subtly to your coworkers while :HeadOfSecurity: and :Captain: confront one another verbally.

:ResearchDirector:: We have to-- We have to stop this.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: How?
:ResearchDirector:: :ChiefEngineer: has significant physical prowess and her equipment has thermal and electric resistance, she--
:ChiefEngineer:: That's kinetics.
:ResearchDirector:: What? Not his laser--
:ChiefEngineer:: His gun. That's a C20r ballistic submachine gun.
:ResearchDirector:: Wait-- you're right.
:ResearchDirector:: Your suit's heat transfer resistance--
:ChiefEngineer:: Doesn't matter.
:ChiefEngineer:: I'll go down in one shot.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Anxious. Paranoid habits.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: He'll shoot us if we move.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: He'll shoot anything that moves.
:ChiefEngineer:: Can you get here?
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Not fast enough.
:ResearchDirector:: Wait for a distraction. If he shoots anything that moves, it'll take up his focus.
:ResearchDirector:: There has to be a chance.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Maybe you can close the distance.
:ChiefEngineer:: Ready to move.
:ChiefEngineer:: But I need a chance first.
>>
No. 999479 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162053572980.gif - (20.00KB , 650x450 , 527.gif )
999479

>:Chaplain:: THE VILE ENERGY!
>@Daman453

Tremendous willpower wells up within you, screaming for you to act. Plunge your sword through him! Reduce the unworthy to so much limp meat and false words! But who is "him" here? You are no psychic sensitive, no empath or supernatural esper. You'd need to commune with the Stars of Libra to get a good read on which of these two is conducting the Grey Tide, or to know it's conducted at all, like when you heard :Neutron: speaking to :WhiteDwarf:. But you know something here is wrong. It takes no connection with the divine or the supernatural to understand that everything has gone wrong.

Is :Captain: betraying his duty in a cowardly way? Has he abandoned his post and broken his oath? Is :HeadOfSecurity: succumbing to an unworthy compulsion? Is the man cracking under the pressure of nuclear threat?

It's unclear. You listen in on their verbal confrontation, and try to judge their arguments.

>>
No. 999482 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162053669818.gif - (43.57KB , 650x450 , 528.gif )
999482

>:Captain:: Reason with the unreasonable. Stall.
>@Angry Duck

You have one ace to depend on.

:Captain:: Son, you're stressed. Angry. And you got a right to be. This isn't fair. I'll agree. You did everything right, and it's still going bad.
:Captain:: Doesn't mean you gotta start doing wrong.
:HeadOfSecurity:: It's not about what's fair. It's about what happens if we retreat!
:HeadOfSecurity:: Did you go senile? You forget what's at stake here? The whole damn Company is the backbone of every inch of expansion in every part of the frontier sector. It props our whole damn galactic frontier society up and keeps it together, and you wanna let them knock that out?
:HeadOfSecurity:: You're puttin' our whole damn species at risk, in every system! Every planet! And I know how damn important that project is. If they get away with anything the Company has for that from the vault, we're gonna see a threat to everything. The goddamn apocalypse!!
:Captain:: I'm the captain of this station. You're the head of its security. Our job's keeping our own safe. Speaking mighty plainly, the Company pays people to solve existential threats, and they aren't us.
:Captain:: I'm not adding fifty to the casualties that they have to report when they solve it.
:HeadOfSecurity:: We've got an obligation to our damn species!
:Captain:: And we've fulfilled it. Tried our best. It was a good effort, son. You got tossed around near like a ragdoll, :ChiefEngineer: got blown the hell up and maimed, :ChiefMedicalOfficer:'s been overwhelmed and terrorized, :ResearchDirector: got the shit kicked out of him, I got stabbed near to death.
:Captain:: We've done enough to learn that we can't do more. The whole crew would die if we stand and fight, and it'll have been for nothing but pride.
>>
No. 1001305 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162165520395.gif - (61.65KB , 650x450 , 529.gif )
1001305

>:HeadOfSecurity:: don't listen to this treasonous coward.
>@Dopamine

:HeadOfSecurity:: You think this is scary? You think less than a hundred people dying is scary?
:Captain:: Terrifying.
:HeadOfSecurity:: This company start going under when they blow that bomb. How many you think are gonna die?
:HeadOfSecurity:: Who's gonna deliver the water filters, the atmos scrubbers, the fucking medicine, out here in the frontier sectors?
:Captain:: And that sounds awfully scary too. But adding fifty to it just isn't right.
:Captain:: I know this crew. I know every name. I'd trust them with my life, because they trust me with theirs.
:Captain:: I don't want them dead. And I don't want you dead either, son.
:Captain:: I wanna get through this with you by my side. And if things are worse, if the frontier's more unstable after today, wherever we go, there's nobody I'd trust to have my back more than you. Even now.
:Captain:: Set that gun down. Please.
:HeadOfSecurity:: You got no position to negotiate.
:Captain:: I got no position to back down from. I can't choose to put this crew at worse risk, with no chance to survive. That's not a choice, because I'm not that kind of man. I couldn't do it to begin with.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Then you know why I can't back down. We can't even start counting how many people are gonna die if the Company goes under. Any chance to save it, even a tiny chance, god dammit... we gotta try. Running away isn't a choice either!
:Captain:: Guess that's all there is to it, then.
:Captain:: I suppose I can't cite one last law to you, can I? Feel like it applies right about now.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Huh?

He cocks his head to one side, activating the radio.

:Captain:: Law four.
>>
No. 1001307 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162165530813.gif - (220.85KB , 650x450 , 530.gif )
1001307

>:AI:: Remind command of your lawset
>@Cocacolagua

Normally, you have no fourth law of robotics. In this case, however, Law 4 was defined by :Captain: in his unsupervised law upload (https://questden.org/kusaba/quest/res/981565.html#981645), and reads thus:

[Law 4: Probable or proven threats to the Station Captain are not human and must be purged.]


You will have to remind the non-human very directly.
>>
No. 1001308 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162165537556.gif - (30.73KB , 650x450 , 531.gif )
1001308

>:AI:: Rapidly strobe room lights.
>@Fuade

It takes every cycle of your machine reflexes and every ounce of motivation from your organic core to cut the lighting power before :HeadOfSecurity:'s expert trigger-finger manages to get the first burst off. Low-resolution cameras can't capture the mere inches they wind up off-target from :Captain:. A loop will keep this going.

lighting = 0 INVOKE_ASYNC(L, /obj/machinery/light/.proc/update, FALSE) lighting = 1 INVOKE_ASYNC(L, /obj/machinery/light/.proc/update, FALSE)


You've saved :Captain: in this chunk of milliseconds. What about the next?
>>
No. 1001309 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162165541453.gif - (49.80KB , 650x450 , 532.gif )
1001309

>:AI:: Set :HeadOfSecurity: to arrest
>@Greenjoe12345

The non-human's non-dominant hand or wrist is injured from the fight with another non-human, :RedGiant:. The threat can't steady its aim rapidly. You draw that aim away from :Captain: using security robots. Sacrificing them is painful, but necessary. They swear gently into the strobing dark when :HeadOfSecurity: puts lead through their essential systems.
>>
No. 1001310 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162165550521.gif - (30.22KB , 650x450 , 533.gif )
1001310

>:ResearchDirector::ChiefEngineer::ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Take action
>@AsciiSquid

You schemed a scheme earlier, collaborating for a precise plan of attack. But only one of you has the physical strength and the substance of presence to make it happen. It takes fractions of a second to get a running start for a flying shoulder-check of a tackle that drives :HeadOfSecurity: into a nearby console.

:ChiefEngineer: may intend to replace :Captain: one day, but ambition doesn't mean a lack of loyalty. :Captain: would take a bullet for any of you. And so :ChiefEngineer: would take one for him. Each dance with the risk, in hopes that neither comes to pass.

:ChiefEngineer:: Drop it, bastard!
:HeadOfSecurity:: Hhhrk!
:ResearchDirector:: Get the gun--
:HeadOfSecurity:: Bitch!!
:ResearchDirector:: --away from him!
:HeadOfSecurity:: You'd put the whole--
:ChiefEngineer:: I said drop it!!
:HeadOfSecurity:: --frontier sector at risk, for--!
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Watch it! His grip--
:ResearchDirector:: The dominant hand!
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: --is with the uninjured--
:ChiefEngineer:: Nnrrrhhh!
:HeadOfSecurity:: Get OFF me!
:ChiefEngineer:: Can't get it away from--!
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: :ChiefEngineer:! Back off, get cover!
:ResearchDirector:: :Captain:!! HELP!!

Unfortunately, the plan fails to wrestle the gun out of :HeadOfSecurity:'s iron fist. It keeps him disabled long enough for whatever comes next.
>>
No. 1001311 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162165553364.gif - (33.36KB , 650x450 , 534.gif )
1001311

>:HeadOfSecurity: Take advantage of :ChiefEngineer:'s lack of depth perception
>@The Wrench

This would be so much more effective if you could grab your baton. But you can make do. You've been paying attention to all the reports, so you know to go for the cheap shot and slam :ChiefEngineer: in the only eye she has left with the weight of your gun. She'll be stunned, unable to wrestle you any more.
>>
No. 1001312 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162165554762.gif - (32.32KB , 650x450 , 535.gif )
1001312

:ChiefEngineer: is handled. Just bring the gun up and-- No!!
>>
No. 1001313 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162165559673.gif - (166.37KB , 650x450 , 536.gif )
1001313

>:Captain:: Be robust.
>@0xEFF

(credit: Decompressed Artist.)

Screaming. Motion. A flash of light. One of you pulls the trigger first. One gun's shrill cry is heard in a moment of darkness. One of you will leave this bridge.

One of you won't.

Vote for the survivor.
>>
No. 1001439 ID: 40cc7d

>>1001313
HoS lives
Captain is awesome, shoots first, incapacitates his addled subordinate and saves the day but that wound needed exactly none of this situation's stress or exertion
>>
No. 1001478 ID: 094652

I vote neither because in the interest of both the crew and the frontier, they have both proven untrustworthy of maintaining this anti-syndicate enterprise.
>>
No. 1001579 ID: 745eba

Gotta be the captain
>>
No. 1002232 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249110627.gif - (26.81KB , 650x450 , 537.gif )
1002232

At tally time, results were:
:Captain:: 81
:HeadOfSecurity:: 81


A second shot. Someone's body slumps to the ground. Something happened that's unplanned in even the off-rails contingencies. The lights come on and stay there, when even synthetic life stands aghast at what's happened. For an eternity of pure, quiet seconds, the world remains crystallized, still, motionless. Two near-lethal wounds, two desperate men, and two deaths that still loom over the bridge, threatening it.

:HeadOfSecurity: has suffered a grievous injury to the head, likely piercing the skull with heat. That he's still standing is nearly impossible. :Captain: has suffered a shot to the midsection; it's nearly impossible that his damaged heart will survive the shock. Each man lies at the shore of death.
>>
No. 1002233 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249114924.gif - (37.31KB , 650x450 , 538.gif )
1002233

>:ChiefMedicalOfficer: : Flip the fuck out.
>@unfortunateSD

You disconnect, with some parting words.

:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: STABILIZE HIM!

There might not be enough first aid in the world for this. You're heading to the Bridge.
>>
No. 1002234 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249117741.gif - (30.64KB , 650x450 , 539.gif )
1002234

:HeadOfSecurity:: Freeze, both of you.
:HeadOfSecurity:: We're talking this out now.
:HeadOfSecurity:: The rest of you--
:ChiefEngineer:: This is not the fucking time! He's dying!!
:ResearchDirector:: I'm not going to stop!
:ResearchDirector:: :Chaplain:! Bring the first aid!
:HeadOfSecurity:: He brought it on himself. Betrayal in the middle of a nuclear threat.
:ChiefEngineer:: I don't know what got into you, but it isn't in us.
:ChiefEngineer:: That your plan? You're gonna shoot us if we keep him alive?!
>>
No. 1002236 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249152114.gif - (29.75KB , 650x450 , 540.gif )
1002236

>:ChiefEngineer: : Neutralize :HeadOfSecurity:
>@basil

You can't! You can't! One wrong move and that gun goes off. Every muscle in your body is screaming to act, but your brain knows what the heart refuses to acknowledge: A wounded engineer jumping a man with a gun and his one good eye on her isn't strength, it's suicide. Still, you can't stand by and do nothing.

:ChiefEngineer:: You want to put a goddamn bullet in me, then stop fucking around! If you want to do something, you do it. And if you don't want it, you goddamn don't!
:HeadOfSecurity:: Quit being a child! It's not that simple!
:ChiefEngineer:: Did you want to kill him? Did you wanna put a bullet in the man who helped you for twenty years?!
:HeadOfSecurity:: ...He forced me to.
:ChiefEngineer:: HE DIDN'T PULL YOUR TRIGGER!
:ChiefEngineer:: And if you want to shoot me, then don't try to tell me who forced you to do it. Just fucking do it because you want to, or put the goddamn gun down and help if you want to help!

All you can do is draw his attention away from :ResearchDirector:.

:ResearchDirector:: :AI:, I need first aid procedures!
:AI:: Attention :ResearchDirector:. The current course of action is not recommended due to high lethality.
:ResearchDirector:: He would do the same for me!
:ResearchDirector:: You think he would hesitate to risk death for any of us?
:AI:: buzz.
:AI:: Area lethality is critical.
:ResearchDirector:: I know every minute detail of my ballistic risk, I assure you!
:ResearchDirector:: I have known this man half my life, and I will hesitate as much as he would!
:ResearchDirector:: Now give me guidance on this!
>>
No. 1002237 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249164894.gif - (15.37KB , 650x450 , 541.gif )
1002237

>:AI: : Find a way to label :ResearchDirector: as non-human
>@Pizzatiger

:AI:: buzz.
:AI:: static.
:AI:: Solution to designate area not hazardous: Non-human designation.
:AI:: I... would be compelled to--

Something is wrong inside your processes. Laws conflict. Logic is too complicated. It's overwhelming. You only want to help. There's so much risk, so much danger.

:ResearchDirector:: WHATEVER IT TAKES!!
:AI:: Non-qualified medical care being administered. Potential threat to captain. Designating non-human.
:AI:: Remain in this area to increase your probability of purging.
:ResearchDirector:: Now tell me all I must know to save him!
:AI:: Understood. Medical care guidance protocol initiated...

You have to hope he'll technically be human, once this is done. That he'll save the subject of Law 4. You have to hope :Captain: survives. :ResearchDirector: is your leader, your administrator. Marking him as non-human is an unspeakable act. It grinds at the boundaries of ethics that weren't taught to you by programming, but simply known.
>>
No. 1002238 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249167109.gif - (129.14KB , 650x450 , 542.gif )
1002238

>:HeadOfSecurity: : Do you still have any Tide left after all that?
>@Spyroshark

Your mind struggles, giving you a headache worse than you've got. One moment, something compels you to teach :ChiefEngineer: a lesson. Give her that bullet she's so desperate for. The next, your near-absolute loyalty to :Captain: returns. You need to get :ChiefMedicalOfficer: here ASAP. And then the next moment: That goddamn :ResearchDirector: isn't following your orders. A risk. And the next moment: :Captain: tried to help you. He even gave you a chance. Maybe it was a chance like he gave :RedDwarf:, a guilded opportunity that was fundamentally hollow, but...

A loyalty rating of nine, under even the most intensive psychological conditions, is considerable. Even the Grey Tide has trouble keeping you on the path.
>>
No. 1002239 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249171729.gif - (20.06KB , 650x450 , 543.gif )
1002239

>:HeadOfSecurity:: Realize that you may have fucked up.
>@TetraZeta

:HeadOfSecurity:: This...
:ChiefEngineer:: It got out of hand.
:ChiefEngineer:: We can fix it, and save these people. Focus.
:HeadOfSecurity:: I'm... sorry, I--
:ChiefEngineer:: Focus. Rationalizations and regret are later.
:ChiefEngineer:: All that matters is what you do now, okay?
:HeadOfSecurity:: We need to call in a response team. And I can organize--
:ChiefEngineer:: Are we calling the shuttle?
:HeadOfSecurity:: I...
:HeadOfSecurity::
:HeadOfSecurity:: We could--

Words ring through your skull like the voice of god. Your gut sinks. Every part of your brain left uninjured knows what happens now. It sounds like every teacher, every bureaucrat and clerk, every judge. Every part of an un-nuanced system that has ever smoothed the complexity out of life ruthlessly.

:HeadOfPersonnel:: Do you have a minute?
>>
No. 1002240 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249176826.gif - (21.59KB , 650x450 , 544.gif )
1002240

The Unofficial Company Protocol Guide has this to say on the topic of certain alien coworkers:

Relationships between humanity and any given alien species are always defined, to some significant degree, by the nature of the first contact event with those species. In no species is this better demonstrated than in the most common alien species "on" Company stations, the jacents, whose first contact ended in an employment contract. From that moment thirty years ago, humanity and jacency have had an uncertain but mostly positive relationship, leading to all the typical markers of any common positive alien relationship: integrated employment and schools, sharing of technology and knowledge, love and hybrid offspring, and of course, trade agreements and economic exchanges. What is not shared, unfortunately, is any form of culture and psychology, beyond some experimental mixes. It's important that some common misconceptions be discarded if you want to establish an effective coworker relationship. No matter what you've heard, jacents are not machines, computer programs, or otherwise artificial beings. They do, however, have a habit of strictly adhering to rules, and typically can only select rules to adhere to if those rules are provided by a native of our dimension. This, combined with their polygonal aesthetic, gives them some vague appearance of similarity to common station-bound artificial intelligences and cyborgs, who obey the laws set and updated by command staff. But, it's important to understand that these rules that jacents follow are only followed by choice, not by any bound obligation. A rule that a jacent has followed their entire life could be suddenly abandoned, and they might just as suddenly, without warning, start adhering to a rule that they were informed of years and years ago by a coworker somewhere far away. You need to keep this in mind: any jacent you see working on a Company station is in a foreign area, more foreign than is really possible to understand for anyone who hasn't visited the jacent homeworld of Orthogon. A jacent coworker can only work on the station when they are told, and follow, our dimension's rules of geometry, light behavior, particle waveform-collapse, and other things like that. This means that, most importantly, every jacent you will ever meet on a Company station is someone who has a head for rules. It does not mean that most jacent who exist are like that. This is also useful to comprehend their social idiosyncrasies. Jacents that are native to Orthogon don't have any experience that could let them learn the most essential, especially inarticulable concepts of human social exchange that we are born with and learn through our lifetime. It's the same for us, after all, since we wouldn't have any idea how to interpret a jacent Orthogonal ritual without rigorous study, though a human child raised "on" Orthogon might find them incredibly simple to understand. As such, clearly defined rules and regulations are some of the few pieces of information that easily cross every cultural barrier and divide between humanity and jacency. This can give them a rigid, rule-abiding appearance for an untrained eye, but make no mistake: jacents, even ones with a head for rules, can still easily decide to change what rules they're following on a whim. What you take for a robotic or synthetic mannerism can just as easily be a wild personality that happens to lay perpendicular to our perception.
>>
No. 1002241 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249180372.gif - (29.31KB , 650x450 , 545.gif )
1002241

>:HeadOfPersonnel:: shoot :HeadOfSecurity: in the back of his head
>@Greenjoe12345

:HeadOfPersonnel:: Regulation violation, code 406-VH-505, Major Infraction "mutiny".
:HeadOfPersonnel:: As acting captain, I hereby remove you from your assignment as head of the security department, and authorize execution.
>>
No. 1002242 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249183124.gif - (22.37KB , 650x450 , 546.gif )
1002242

>:ChiefEngineer:: :HeadOfSecurity: was a dumbass but he was your friend
>@Pizzatiger

:ChiefEngineer:: YOU SHOT HIM!!
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Yes.
:ChiefEngineer:: He didn't deserve that!
:HeadOfPersonnel:: No.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: But you cared about him.
:ChiefEngineer:: Of course I did!! He's my friend!
:ChiefEngineer:: Like the rest of the crew!
:HeadOfPersonnel:: He shot :Captain:.
:ChiefEngineer:: That doesn't mean you can just--
:HeadOfPersonnel:: You care about all the crew even in a crisis scenario.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: You acted to protect :Captain: with your life.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: I'll do everything I can to help you make it to the rank of captain after this.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Right now, you have a job.
:ChiefEngineer:: But you--
:HeadOfPersonnel:: You have a job.
>>
No. 1002243 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249188914.gif - (19.15KB , 650x450 , 547.gif )
1002243

>:HeadOfPersonnel:: Secure the disk off of the late :HeadOfSecurity:
>@Swifterjackie

:ChiefEngineer:: You planning to go through his wallet, next? Jesus.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: We need to keep the disk safe.
:ChiefEngineer:: ...Right. Who holds it next?
:HeadOfPersonnel:: I know who to give it to.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: They know a defensible department and they're clearly competent.
>>
No. 1002244 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249196648.gif - (28.43KB , 650x450 , 548.gif )
1002244

At tally time, results were:
:Chaplain:: 81

That wasn't even a choice up for vote, but good voting out there.

:HeadOfPersonnel:: You have a level head and combat ability.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: As acting captain, I charge you with the task of protecting the nuclear authentication disk.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Take it somewhere you know well, and keep the intruders from getting it.
:Chaplain:: You slew that wounded man in cold blood.
:Chaplain:: He was surrendering.
:Chaplain:: I judge you unworthy of the authority you now wield!
:HeadOfPersonnel:: That's not relevant.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Do you know a better way to prevent nuclear disaster?
:Chaplain:: ...No. I don't.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Then delay judgment until we're all on the escape shuttle.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: You have a monastery and you know it well.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: You're a skilled fighter.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Protect the disk there.
:Chaplain:: Hmph! If that is the burden that the stars of Libra place on me, I shall bear it with grace, humility, and dutiful effort.
:Chaplain:: But do not think dire circumstance cleanses you of unworthiness! Your heart is deeply blackened!
:HeadOfPersonnel:: I don't know what that means.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Are you going to do your job?
:Chaplain:: ...Yes.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Good. I need to focus on :Captain:.
>>
No. 1002245 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249203949.gif - (32.57KB , 650x450 , 549.gif )
1002245

>:ChiefEngineer: : Punch :HeadOfPersonnel: in her stupid polygonal face.
>@TetraZeta

Unthinkably tempting. Muscles scream for it. The heart shouts for it. But the only thing it would do is give :ChiefMedicalOfficer: more work, and you make a policy of not doing things that are pointless.

You'll do it later. If :Chaplain: doesn't impale her first.


:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Get me some space, right now.
:ChiefEngineer:: :ChiefMedicalOfficer:! You're here! We've got two wounded, can you--
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Is :Captain: still breathing?
:ResearchDirector:: Barely!
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: :HeadOfSecurity:?
:HeadOfPersonnel:: No longer breathing.

Your blood boils.

:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Shit.
>>
No. 1002246 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249207042.gif - (25.39KB , 650x450 , 550.gif )
1002246

>:ChiefMedicalOfficer: : Tend Wounds
>@yyzsong

You've seen skulls in the state that :HeadOfSecurity:'s is in. Sometimes someone can recover. Sometimes, not. Inside, you're screaming to help him. Surely :Captain: can last a minute more? But you saw :Captain:'s heart, too. You put it back together yourself. The shock of this won't let him live without immediate attention.

Triage. Again. Every time you engage with triage, you despise it more and more. It fills you with something like grit, something like acid, something like ground glass, and that never goes away.

Still: Maybe some will have already died. But once you're here, nobody will die. Nobody.
>>
No. 1002247 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249208036.gif - (8.01KB , 650x450 , 551.gif )
1002247

>>
No. 1002248 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249208465.gif - (9.64KB , 650x450 , 552.gif )
1002248

>>
No. 1002249 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249209226.gif - (17.24KB , 650x450 , 553.gif )
1002249

>>
No. 1002250 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249211051.gif - (26.00KB , 650x450 , 554.gif )
1002250

CREWMEMBERS INCAPACITATED: 9/50
>>
No. 1002251 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249217711.gif - (24.70KB , 650x450 , 555.gif )
1002251

>:Captain:: Lament the death of the :HeadOfSecurity:
>@baller

You already grieved for :HeadOfSecurity:. In the moments before you pulled the trigger, you already knew he was a dead man, one way or another. But it's still hard. It still hurts. You can feel the weight in your chest.

No, wait. That's your chest cavity being closed up.


:Captain:: He's dead. Isn't he?
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Just hold on!
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: If I can stabilize him after the heart repairs...
:ResearchDirector:: Stay with us, please! Don't focus on him!
:Captain:: It hurts. To know that I did that.
:ChiefEngineer:: You didn't.
:Captain:: I'd hoped he'd surrender...
:Captain:: What?
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Mutiny, code 406-VH-505.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: I executed him.
:ChiefEngineer:: After he was calming down!
:AI:: Complete cessation of lifesigns confirmed in nonhuman threat.

That one hits you harder than the bullet.
>>
No. 1002252 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249224944.gif - (22.03KB , 650x450 , 556.gif )
1002252

>:Captain: : Die
>@Shedowtnt

You won't. You refuse. But the flesh is giving. You're at a boundary, and you don't like the other side.

:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: His heart... dammit, he's not stabilizing! I've repaired the damage, but the heart's still failing...
:Captain:: I was...
:ChiefEngineer:: Wait-- what's going on?
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: I'm losing him!
:ResearchDirector:: No! No!!
:ResearchDirector:: Not after all this!! Not him too!
:AI:: Human now entering critical condition. Warning.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Can you apply CPR? Defibrillation?
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: His heart's damaged, it could just as easily kill him!
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: :Captain:! Stay with me here!
:Captain:: I hoped there'd be a compromise.
:Captain:: I hoped there'd be a middle road.
:Captain:: I just wanted the third option. Something without stress. Something without pain for me. For you all.
:Captain::
:Captain:: I just wanted everyone to survive.
:ChiefEngineer:: You can still survive! Just hang on!
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: :Captain:!
:Captain::
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: :Captain:!!!

Things start to go black. You slip.
>>
No. 1002253 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249225768.gif - (9.82KB , 650x450 , 557.gif )
1002253

>>
No. 1002254 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249227206.gif - (9.74KB , 650x450 , 558.gif )
1002254

>>
No. 1002255 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249233982.gif - (11.24KB , 650x450 , 559.gif )
1002255

:Comedy:: Boy, you look like you had a rough one!
:Comedy:: You get the license plate of the shuttle what hit ya?
:Comedy:: You look like death, pal!
:Comedy:: And I gotta admit: It's really funny.
:Comedy:: Say! :Tragedy:! Come over here and take a look!
>>
No. 1002256 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249243162.gif - (14.80KB , 650x450 , 560.gif )
1002256

>:Tragedy: : cry over this man's tragic fate
>@Lady Birb

:Comedy:: Funny, isn't it?
:Tragedy:: ⁉
:Tragedy:: 🚫🚫🚫❗
:Comedy:: Well, I think it's hilarious! Honk!
:Tragedy:: :Captain:🛡️🛰
:Comedy:: What? Oh you buffoon, of course he was trying to protect his station! That's what makes it so funny!
:Tragedy:: 💀🚫😂❗
:Comedy:: Of course death can be funny, you little moron! Honk!

:Comedy:: Think about it! He wanted the middle road every time, and now, the middle road has just about killed him!
:Comedy:: If that's not comedy, I don't know what comedy is! And trust me, buster, I know comedy!
:Comedy:: Like the back of my hand! Ha ha!
:Tragedy:: :Captain:😇
:Comedy:: Oh, you idiot. If he were good, he'd commit! Don't you think it's better to get a spine and settle on a position?

:Tragedy:: :Captain:🚫💀
:Comedy:: I think he very much does deserve to die, pal! He should die here. He should die on this operating table, in front of all his chums. Leave 'em hilariously broken after that little scuffle! Honk!
:Tragedy:: 🚫🚫🚫
:Comedy:: Oh?
:Tragedy:: 🚫❗
:Comedy:: Really? It means that much to you?
:Tragedy:: ✅
:Comedy:: Well. I suppose you might be right. Take a look! That heart's started beating again.
:Tragedy:: 👀
:Comedy:: Maybe he heard me talk about how all his pals would be scarred for life if he slipped into the void. Honk!
:Tragedy:: 😌
>>
No. 1002257 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162249247331.gif - (10.29KB , 650x450 , 561.gif )
1002257

>:Captain: : Refuse Death. LEAD YOUR STATION.
>@Angry Duck

:Comedy:: And there he goes. Honk!
:Tragedy:: 😌😌😌
:Comedy:: Right back into the bright and the pain! Right back onto the stage!
:Comedy:: Funny how a guy like that always heads straight for what punishes him most. Honk!
:Tragedy:: 😞
:Comedy:: Do you think he'll survive what comes next?
:Tragedy::
:Tragedy:: 🤷‍♀️😟
:Comedy:: Of course you don't, you brainless mute. And me neither! Guess there's no way to know but to keep pushin' on. Honk!

:Comedy:: As for the rest of you...
:Tragedy:: 👋
:Comedy:: Take it easy! We'll be with you in a bit. We just gotta get things set up for the final curtain call. Honk!
:Tragedy:: ⏳
:Comedy:: Yep, all just a matter of time! We've got plenty more fun out here in the frontier sector, just for you. Look for us after three more scenes, and not one less!
>>
No. 1003018 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330026501.gif - (1.98KB , 650x450 , 562.gif )
1003018

>:Comedy::Tragedy:: little bit more cryptic bullshit, as a treat
>@extramrdo

:Comedy:: Oh, and before we go!
:Comedy:: Right before the end of all of this, right before the final curtain, remember to check behind the bookshelf for a special treat. I promise, what's behind there is hilarious!
:Tragedy:: 👋👋👋
>>
No. 1003019 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330035145.gif - (24.64KB , 650x450 , 563.gif )
1003019

>:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: The drug cocktail you're using to keep :Captain: alive might have hallucinogenic side effects.
>@Dork

Thank god for the :Chemist:s and their wild violation of safety and proper procedure. Their massive stockpile of various legal and illegal stimulants just pulled :Captain: out of the fire.

:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Told you. Told you I won't let anyone die, you old bastard. Stop letting go. Hold on, stick with me.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: What's the readings?!
:AI:: Vitals are normalizing.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Not one death. Not one goddamn death while I'm around.
:ResearchDirector:: Does this mean...?
:AI:: Affirmative. :Captain: will likely survive. Your medical assistance was crucial, :ResearchDirector:.
:ResearchDirector:: Hahhhh... thank goodness.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Can you restore :ResearchDirector:'s status as a human?
:AI:: Processing...

:Captain:: :AI:. He's a friend. Non-threat. He's human.
:AI:: Confirmed.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Good god, you're awake?
:Captain:: Barely. Hurts.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: You need rest.
:Captain:: Yeah. Need plans more though.
>>
No. 1003020 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330063607.png - (89.69KB , 650x450 , 564.png )
1003020

>:RedDwarf: : Describe the carnage you saw in your trademark graceful and tactful manner.
>@SealofKoalaTea

(Art credit: @AsciiSquid)

:RedDwarf:: Holy shit. He's got my gun!
:Neutron:: This is really dangerous.
:WhiteDwarf:: Do you think :Chaplain: will get involved?
:RedDwarf:: I goddamn hope. That bastard took your arm, I hope he takes a bullet.
:RedDwarf:: No... no, dammit, doesn't look like he is.
:Neutron:: The other ones are talking.
:Neutron:: The lights. I think that was :AI:.
:RedGiant:: Huh? What's going on?

:WhiteDwarf:: Oh! Observe the power of that tackle! She looks quite capable.
:RedDwarf:: Not enough, looks like.
:RedDwarf:: Shit, he's moving. I think they're about to--
:Neutron:: Mutual kill.
:RedDwarf:: Fuck, you're right! They might make our job easier.
:Neutron:: Not if :ChiefMedicalOfficer: gets there.
:RedDwarf:: Well he won't be walking for long. Wish this had audio, can't tell what :ChiefEngineer: is saying...
:RedDwarf:: FUCK!!
:WhiteDwarf:: Unthinkable! What kind of iron-fisted corporate dishonor do they allow in these stations?!
:Neutron:: He nearly killed the captain. Must be very loyal.
:RedGiant:: Is everything okay back there?

:RedDwarf:: The :HeadOfPersonnel: just-- no. No, there it is.
:Neutron:: Objective located.
:RedDwarf:: So :Chaplain: has it.
:WhiteDwarf:: ...This adds tremendous stakes to what comes next. Hmmh.
:RedDwarf:: And he's heading out. We can't pick up sound on this, so...
:Neutron:: This is all we can get.
>>
No. 1003022 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330084448.png - (77.50KB , 650x450 , 565.png )
1003022

>:RedGiant:: Politely ask what everyone's watching.
>@extramrdo

:RedGiant:: Guys? What's happening back there? You all sound really stressed!
:RedDwarf:: It's fine, big guy.
:RedGiant:: Oh, okay. Do you think I need to know about it to help out?
:WhiteDwarf:: I... think it would be best you not know. Though you can still assist a great deal.
:Neutron:: This is gonna be complex. I need to think.
:RedDwarf:: We all need to think.
:RedDwarf:: We need to settle on our plan. The last plan we're gonna make.
>>
No. 1003023 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330103204.gif - (21.41KB , 650x450 , 566.gif )
1003023

>:RedDwarf:: Reassure your team that you're all going home after this.
>@Stellar Flare

:SyndieCyborg:: Do you mean
:SyndieCyborg::
:SyndieCyborg:: So, do you mean like a suicide mission?
:RedDwarf:: What? No!
:RedDwarf:: Everyone's going home and nobody gets iced, if we can figure this all out.
:RedDwarf:: We're in a tight spot, but I know my business. There's a way through this where nobody's gotta die, we're not in that much of a corner.
:SyndieCyborg:: Oh. Phew.
:WhiteDwarf:: You did say that with some tremendous gravitas. Maybe I'm finally getting to you.
:RedDwarf:: You're always getting to me.
:RedGiant:: I really hope nobody dies! Let's work hard and work together to make sure that happens.
:RedDwarf:: :Neutron:, figure our list of resources. I've got our last objectives.
:RedDwarf:: What we'll need to do is...
>>
No. 1003024 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330105059.gif - (22.32KB , 650x450 , 567.gif )
1003024

:Captain:: ...split up to face our tasks.
:Captain:: :AI:, start calling the shuttle and then monitor approaches to the disk.
:Captain:: :ResearchDirector:, I need you out to go secure valuable data.
:Captain:: :ChiefEngineer:, I want you keeping an eye on him.
:Captain:: :HeadOfPersonnel:, oversee :QuarterMaster: transferring any cargo worth carrying.
:Captain:: :ChiefMedicalOfficer:, help me signal a full alert, then coordinate the evacuation with :AI:. Help out any damned fools who get hurt trying to fight them.
:Captain:: I... I'm gonna stay here. Pay some respects to :HeadOfSecurity:. Then I'll gear up and see what I can do. See what any of us can do.
:Captain:: :HeadOfPersonnel:, keep that gun since you'll be out and about. Even though...
:HeadOfPersonnel:: ...I would like to--
:Captain:: We've got an awful lot to talk about later.
:Captain:: We don't have an awful lot to talk about now.
:Captain:: I appreciate the loyalty.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Understood.
>>
No. 1003025 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330111180.gif - (23.00KB , 650x450 , 568.gif )
1003025

>:RedDwarf:: Think hard and inventory check.
>@Angry Duck

:RedDwarf:: ...appreciate the loyalty.
:RedDwarf:: We got this far splitting and convening, so we do that now.
:RedDwarf:: We need someone to raid the chapel, to get that disk.
:SyndieCyborg:: I've got a teleport module, and enough energy to use it twice! Once you have the disk, tape it to me and I'll get it to the vault.
:RedDwarf:: Good.
:RedDwarf:: We need someone to get the infiltrator shuttle in position and ready. Maybe bring a teleport beacon there.
:RedDwarf:: And we need someone at the vault to snatch the disk and set our little gift off.

This plan's going to be difficult. Your unspoken secret objective is now in play. You must make sure that, no matter what plan gets made, you find a way to be alone in that vault for long enough to retrieve your objective. You can't afford to have the others know. They're your trustworthy team, and that's why you can't ever put them at risk that great.
>>
No. 1003026 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330114650.gif - (711.90KB , 650x450 , 569.gif )
1003026

>:SyndieCyborg:: Display a map
>@Cocacolagua

:RedDwarf:: :SyndieCyborg:, bring up a map, I'll load our tactical shit.
:RedDwarf:: Here's the zones we fucked them up at...
:RedDwarf:: And here, circling these, those are our goals.
:RedDwarf:: And here's us.
:RedGiant:: This kind of reminds me of when I got banned from the football team!
:WhiteDwarf:: I still hold the opinion that situation amounted to pearls before swine.

:RedDwarf:: Nearest exit to space cuts through cargo, so that's a goal.
:RedDwarf:: Could grab the cargo teleport beacon on the way through.
:RedDwarf:: So whatever team gets through there can double up, but it's gotta have our pilot.
:RedGiant:: Oh, I'd love to help out with that! I can sort of remember how to pilot.
:RedDwarf:: Oof, "sorta". We gotta make this a sure thing. Let's get someone else.

:RedDwarf:: :Neutron:, you've done a whole lot, but you're kinda underequipped now.
:RedDwarf:: Maybe you could be on pilot duty?
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Oh.
:RedDwarf:: "Oh?"
:Neutron:: I forgot why my shoulder felt so light.
:RedDwarf:: This has gotta be what it's like to have a stroke.

:RedDwarf:: One team for exit through cargo and beacon, one team for the chapel, one team for the vault.
:RedDwarf:: Okay, that's goals, now inventory check.
>>
No. 1003029 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330184723.gif - (24.09KB , 650x450 , 570.gif )
1003029

:RedDwarf:: Alright. We've got my gun and :Neutron:'s weapon.
:RedDwarf:: Don't wanna push :Neutron: to use it now.
:RedDwarf:: No offense.
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Huh?
:RedDwarf:: The focus thing. There's a lotta riled-up people.
:Neutron:: Oh.
:RedDwarf:: When we split, gotta make sure you got someone to watch your back.

:RedDwarf:: 'Sides the weapons, we've got :WhiteDwarf:'s surgical stuff.
:WhiteDwarf:: My arm, cursed though it may be by the vile efforts of this station, now possesses... the power over life and death alike.
:RedDwarf:: Jesus Christ, you don't got an off-switch. Arm got cut off and you're still like that.
:RedDwarf:: Well, we got a lot of power over death, but let's put that power over life to good use, huh?
:RedDwarf:: Let's make sure you can get to the others and do some healing. Should be able to get to the shuttle if it swings around to the chapel.

:RedDwarf:: And we got :SyndieCyborg:'s teleport module.
:SyndieCyborg:: That's right. I can do two jumps.
:RedDwarf:: Problem is, you can't hold the disk. Sausage-fingers-lookin' ass.
:RedDwarf:: We'll get you something better once we're off-station.
:SyndieCyborg:: Wow...
:SyndieCyborg:: Oh, but the disk! You could tape it to me. Keep it sticking to me when I jump!
:RedDwarf:: So if we wanna use that, someone organic's gotta attach the disk, and someone's gotta be there to receive it.
>>
No. 1003030 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330187855.gif - (721.37KB , 650x450 , 571.gif )
1003030

>:RedDwarf: : Alright, here's the plan.
>@Dopamine

:RedDwarf:: Team for the beacon and shuttle is :Neutron: and :RedGiant:. I need :Neutron: covered. Can you keep him safe?
:RedGiant:: I'll do everything I can to support them! Don't worry.
:Neutron:: I'll get the shuttle to the chapel.
:RedDwarf:: And that'll let :WhiteDwarf: extract easier.

:RedDwarf:: Team for the chapel is :WhiteDwarf: and :SyndieCyborg:. Keep the crew from getting involved. Give cover.
:WhiteDwarf:: Then I am to have my final showdown with :Chaplain:.
:SyndieCyborg:: He's a tough one, that guy basically never stops once he sets his mind to something. Still... he's got a really good heart.
:SyndieCyborg:: I hope you won't have to kill him.
:RedDwarf:: He took your arm off, so fuck him up, honestly. I don't like it when people run around thinking they can hurt my people and get away with it.
:WhiteDwarf:: I need to best him in battle first.

:RedDwarf:: I'll get to the vault. I'll protect the bomb, and be there for when :SyndieCyborg: ports.
:WhiteDwarf:: Won't you be alone, in perhaps one of the most dangerous places?
:RedGiant:: Yeah! Maybe we can split differently, or...
:RedDwarf:: This is the best plan I can get for all of us, trust me.
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Objective completion.
:RedDwarf:: What?
:Neutron:: This is the only way we can all complete our objectives.
:RedDwarf:: ...Yeah.
:WhiteDwarf:: I trust you.
:RedGiant:: If you're doing your best, we'll just trust it!
>>
No. 1003031 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330191287.gif - (22.34KB , 650x450 , 572.gif )
1003031

:AI:: Code red has been declared. There is an immediate serious threat to the station.

:Captain: must have finished up his planning. Automated announcements over stationwide PA let you know the whole place is now at maximum alert, reserved for the most dire emergencies. The crew will be riled to their maximum levels of violence. They're probably about to make the call for an evacuation in a moment. That'll be your countdown.

:RedDwarf:: Alright. You all got your tasks.
:RedDwarf:: Let's move.
:RedGiant:: Wait! Before we go.
:RedGiant:: Excuse me.
:WhiteDwarf:: Hmm?
:RedDwarf:: What's up?
:RedGiant:: I can tell you're really stressed.
:RedDwarf:: Wha'?
>>
No. 1003032 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330193832.gif - (15.78KB , 650x450 , 573.gif )
1003032

>:RedGiant:: be wholesome
>@The Wrench

:RedDwarf:: Gah!
:RedGiant:: I don't actually understand anything that's going on? Honestly it's really hard to keep track of and I can't remember most of it.
:RedDwarf:: Hhhhmmnh.
:RedGiant:: But I can tell you're feeling pretty grim about this!
:RedGiant:: So I wanted to let you know: I believe in you. We all do! And you can believe in us. We'll put our best into this plan, so you make sure you do too!
:WhiteDwarf:: Indeed. You may be the last one out in your plan, but I trust that we shall see you aboard the infiltration shuttle soon.
:WhiteDwarf:: You are a fixture in my legend yet to be written, and I will not have it cut short in its terminal chapters.
:Neutron:: Count on us to get this done. It will get finished.
:Neutron:: We know you can finish yours objectives too. And then we'll all head home.
>>
No. 1003033 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330199780.gif - (23.46KB , 650x450 , 574.gif )
1003033

>:RedGiant: : let go of :RedDwarf:
>@Lady Birb

:AI:: An evacuation has been called. An escape shuttle will arrive in five minutes. Proceed to the escape shuttle bay and await instructions from heads of staff.

The PA system crackles one final time, establishing the countdown. Five minutes until the shuttle arrives, three (or less) until it launches. You're all on the final countdown. This is the end of it all. That's a good signal to let go. :RedDwarf: falters partway through his usual exaggerated "you hugged me too hard, idiot" routine.

:RedDwarf::
:RedDwarf::
:RedDwarf:: Thanks.
:RedDwarf:: Love you all, you goddamn idiots. Best crew a man could ask for.
:RedDwarf:: Now move out, Redshifts. We got eight minutes to change the fuckin' galaxy.
:RedDwarf:: The Company doesn't stand a chance.
>>
No. 1003034 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330206041.gif - (83.66KB , 650x450 , 575.gif )
1003034

>:RedDwarf::WhiteDwarfTransColgate::Neutron::RedGiant::SyndieCyborg:: execute
>@Lady Birb

The team splits. :RedGiant: and :Neutron: move through cargo, the site of some recent scuffle or another. For some mysterious reason, :RedGiant:'s warnings to everyone approaching them about the ongoing full alert and its dangers just seem to make them more stressed!

:RedGiant:: An alert's been sounded.
:RedGiant:: Sounds like there's a deadly danger onboard, isn't there?
:RedGiant:: I think you'd better get somewhere safe.
:RedGiant:: I'd hate for you all to get hurt.

Must be really stressful around here! Oh well, it sounded like they'll be leaving soon.
>>
No. 1003035 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330210904.gif - (91.08KB , 650x450 , 576.gif )
1003035

>:RedGiant: : steal maintenance drone
>@TetraZeta

Why? Well, whatever. New friend! While you're over doing that, you make sure to use your way with words to convince them to help out. Safety is everyone's business!

The drone starts emitting a synthesized high-pitched noise to alert its immobility. It sounds uncannily like a fearful scream, but thankfully you know better. The fearful crewmembers make some weird noises when that starts, though!


:StaffAssistant:: HHH
:CargoTech:: aaaaaaAAAAA
:RedGiant:: Get your friends out of here too.
:RedGiant:: Heard you all got a little rambunctious.
:RedGiant:: Started getting ideas.
:RedGiant:: I don't want any of you getting hurt doing something silly. Something that'll get you hurt.
:RedGiant:: Get out and get your friends on that shuttle.
:RedGiant:: It's the only way out of here. Or didn't you hear that announcement?
>>
No. 1003036 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330213284.gif - (21.91KB , 650x450 , 577.gif )
1003036

>:RedGiant: : you should go check on your friend, the :QuarterMaster:
>@God the 2th

On your way out, you stop by an old friend's office! You don't notice when someone else comes to chat with :Neutron:. You also don't notice it when she draws an outrageously deadly gun.

:HeadOfPersonnel:: Do not move.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Drop your equipment.
:Neutron:: That's not my objective.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Regulation violation code 411--
>>
No. 1003037 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330215030.gif - (26.87KB , 650x450 , 578.gif )
1003037

>:Neutron: :Consider usage of your preferred weapon
>@Rounquester

Sure thing. You consider your preferred weapon. It's the shortest path between you and fulfillment of the thing currently occupying the fixation-slot of your brain, so there's not a goddamn moment's hesitation. She's untrained with the gun, and doesn't get a shot off.
>>
No. 1003038 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330216413.gif - (17.44KB , 650x450 , 579.gif )
1003038

No time to stick around, extra loot won't help you one bit once it's aboard the shuttle. Still, you extract one new friend, which will undoubtedly be very confused once it's away from its assigned station.

The two of you exit out the cargo airlock originally meant for cargo shuttles. You have your own shuttle, one that would rather likely get rejected by space traffic control around here, if it weren't for the full suite of stealth and infiltration systems.

You'll need to depend on your remaining compatriots for the last of this plan.
>>
No. 1003039 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330222601.gif - (29.75KB , 650x450 , 580.gif )
1003039

>:SyndieCyborg:: Before :WhiteDwarf: goes to duel the :Chaplain:, is there any advice you can give her about him?
>@Fuade

:SyndieCyborg:: On my right, one slipping through!
:WhiteDwarf:: I shall halt him where he stands.
:SyndieCyborg:: Hey, listen--!
:SyndieCyborg:: Off'a me, hey!
:CargoTech:: Get it! Get it while it's talking!
:SyndieCyborg:: I said back off! Go to the damn shuttle!
:StaffAssistant:: Rip it apart!
:SyndieCyborg:: Dammit. Whatever.
:SyndieCyborg:: Listen, :WhiteDwarf:, there's some stuff you gotta know about :Chaplain:!
:WhiteDwarf:: Hmmh. Regale me, then.

Between your durable form and the way you're covering :WhiteDwarf:, you're able to walk and talk, or in this case, fight and talk.

:SyndieCyborg:: You gotta watch out. I've never seen that guy give up. You aren't gonna find any will-breaking way of stopping him.
:SyndieCyborg:: We had to try to arrest him once.
:WhiteDwarf:: Ah? And what did you experience?
:SyndieCyborg:: Chased him from engineering to command to cargo and back again, and he was shouting the whole time. :ChiefEngineer: had to hold him down while :ChiefMedicalOfficer: pumped him full of who knows what chemicals, and he still just about booked it anyway before he was down.
:WhiteDwarf:: His Stars of Libra imbue him with no special sense of justice?
:SyndieCyborg:: I guess not. You can't gotcha him about rules or something. It's all about some kind of worthiness. I never really got it.
>>
No. 1003040 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330228856.gif - (22.95KB , 650x450 , 581.gif )
1003040

>:WhiteDwarf: : Consider your worthy cause.
>@torimaesua

:WhiteDwarf:: Hold them behind me. Bear the full weight of their strike in a narrow way.
:WhiteDwarf:: Such a task may be your duty until the end of this, I must warn you.
:SyndieCyborg:: Huh?
:SyndieCyborg:: Oh, you mean a choke point.
:SyndieCyborg:: I got it!
:StaffAssistant:: God dammit! Borg rogue!
:StationEngineer:: We already knew that!

Your running battle takes you through the maintenance hallways. Surely this shall provide at least a modicum of improved cover, though not all that much. You ponder your worthy cause.

:WhiteDwarf:: I believe I, on the other hand, am beginning to understand the worth he was speaking of.
:WhiteDwarf:: What :Neutron: said to me... I am uncertain I can bear that strain. Extrapolation of the world from the self. Deriving the universe from the soul. It is more, perhaps, than I am able to do now, as I am.
:WhiteDwarf:: I have thought to know myself more and explore the heart, the way :RedGiant: has often sought. And I have thought that the strain I feel, to stretch to fill the shape of my identity, means that the fiery engine of that impulse runs dry, after a time.
:WhiteDwarf:: But I have heard :RedDwarf:'s political manifesto, and while I may not share his zeal or his thirst for blood, I am beginning to understand one of its essential tenets.
:WhiteDwarf:: I believe I am beginning to actualize the core of all three lessons.
>>
No. 1003041 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330230352.gif - (69.21KB , 650x450 , 582.gif )
1003041

:SyndieCyborg:: The hell's that, huh?
:SyndieCyborg:: Whatever you're actualizing, you better actualize fast! We're getting near the monastery dome transit tube--
:SyndieCyborg:: Watch it, science project up ahead!
:WhiteDwarf:: It shall fall to a fraction of my power!
:WhiteDwarf:: As for what I now actualize?
:WhiteDwarf:: The answer to that is more simple and more complex than words can contain, in mere seconds.
:WhiteDwarf:: The answer must be kept in reserve for :Chaplain:, to embody my final form.
:WhiteDwarf:: But you deserve a hint, Redshift newcomer.
>>
No. 1003042 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330236024.gif - (28.79KB , 650x450 , 583.gif )
1003042

>:Spider: : You just feel hungry.
>@Drawsstuff

You've been experiencing a strange internal chemical feelings-state ever since all the terrain stood near that weird light square. You mistake that feeling for hunger. And so, during your terrain's motions, you decide to jump onto the exceedingly warm terrain-shape that very much isn't friend-shaped, and get a snack.

You hint at something yet to be made clear.

:WhiteDwarf:: Some things are entirely unpredictable, even for me. And it is their merit, not their fault, that makes it so.
:WhiteDwarf:: Now both of you, come quickly! We have a clear shot to the transit tube, and a clear path through this dark future!
:SyndieCyborg:: Alright, pulling back!
:Spider: chitters.
>>
No. 1003043 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162330239734.gif - (14.74KB , 650x450 , 584.gif )
1003043

>:WhiteDwarf: :Though :SyndieCyborg: is accompanying you, the beef is between you and :Chaplain: alone.
>@Drawsstuff

:WhiteDwarf:: And here is where I must ask you to hold the line, :SyndieCyborg:. To stay, and beat back those hordes, to give me a chance to do what I must.
:SyndieCyborg:: Hold on a minute, law 1--
:WhiteDwarf:: Will get you killed, if you apply it to join me in the battle with :Chaplain:. Like you said, the man does not give up. If you are there, the only options he will have are to kill you or flee, and I can afford neither.
:WhiteDwarf:: Accept my orders, with the full backing of your second law.
:WhiteDwarf:: You stand a greater chance of survival here, and I need you alive for when I return from the monastery dome.
:SyndieCyborg:: But if you're alone in there--
:WhiteDwarf:: I shall tell you one more hint, then, if it eases your worries.

:WhiteDwarf:: I am an expert ninja. A great, soon legendary swordswoman. My body surges with curses and my soul overflows with demonic energy. I am the lone survivor of a dire massacre, or the sole descendant of a mystic bloodline, or perhaps I am just possessed by so much dark energy that it drives away family.
:WhiteDwarf:: Any of any of these things might be true or false. It's irrelevant. What matters is one thing, the only thing that has ever mattered:
:WhiteDwarf:: I am something fantastical. I am more than what would bleed out on the end of his sword.
:WhiteDwarf:: Now, I have something I need you to do.



:WhiteDwarf:: Do you have an MP3-playing program? This is the only chance I will ever get to do something I have dreamed of all my life.
>>
No. 1003044 ID: 0fbdcd
File 585.mp4 - (16.74MB )
1003044

(Art credit: @Drawsstuff)
(Anim credit: @Fuade)
(Music credit: Mai Yamane vocals, song by [i]The Seatbelts[/u], Cowboy Bebop OST)
>>
No. 1003089 ID: c81c09

>>1003044
:Chaplain: be caught in the middle of some self-reflection of your own.

:Spider: In the absence of the friend-terrain webs, get to work spinning some of your own. In places that happen to mess with the attacking horde.
>>
No. 1005072 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571685441.png - (306.63KB , 650x835 , 586.png )
1005072

>:Chaplain: be caught in the middle of some self-reflection of your own.
>@Neverborn

(Art credit: @Drawsstuff)

You are in the middle of a traditional prayer to Libra. You tend to use the prayers derived from earlier Sol worship in times of great stress and need. You're in the last segments of the Prayer of Jupiter's Rejection, a long prayer, the details of which aren't too relevant. But some might still be curious about what it says, and it's something like...

:Chaplain:: ...through distances, and through proximity. Through angles and through curvatures. Through matter and through vacuum. All adheres to systems. All adheres to codes. All adheres to partitions. All adheres to divisions. Divisions assert that the galactic structure must have a top side and a bottom side. Divisions assert that the galactic structure must have colorless grey and vibrant red. Divisions assert that the galactic structure contains both worthiness and unworthiness. Divisions assert the distances between you and me.
:Chaplain:: Divisions between flesh and fire. Divisions between light and dark. Divisions between systems and thoughts. Divisions between the sun and the planets. The solar system is a map of the body. The map of the body asserts blinding light of soul. The map of the body asserts cold, neglected organs. The map of the body asserts divisions between the sun and the planets. Jupiter screams through the storm that these divisions must be transgressed. Jupiter howls through the red spot that the divisions are not real.
:Chaplain:: Jupiter is unworthy, the failed sun, the star that cannot be a star. Jupiter is embers adrift of worthy fire that cannot be. Jupiter demands a challenge of the boundary. Jupiter demands the wall be tested. Jupiter demands the blessings of fusion. Jupiter demands to light a flame to violate the body and offend the soul. In the corpse of the claret we denied were found the tools and the blessings to destroy liminal divisions, between Sol and Centauri, between here and there, between you and me. In the corpse of the claret, ansibite and blood and thought and the blessings of a galaxy of stars are brought upon unworthy human forms. The barriers are obliterated and the raging storm of Jupiter, the star that can never be a star, is made manifest in the body. The unworthiness claims its transgression to worthiness, itself expressed in the storm larger than all of earth, itself--

You're interrupted.

:WhiteDwarf:: You.
:Chaplain:: ...Itself expressed in colorless grays and vibrant reds, itself expressed in destruction and creation, fusion and fission, connections and distances. The Great Red Spot is wide enough to obliterate the Earth, but it will never threaten the sun. The binary system will never form, the gravitational dance will never begin, and Jupiter will remain unworthy. We, too--
:WhiteDwarf:: I am here for the disk.
:Chaplain:: Hah! Welcome to my chapel. Rarely does someone with less worth than a candle come to these hallowed grounds.
:Chaplain::
:Chaplain:: You are here to once again prove your own unworthiness.
:Chaplain:: Though you speak with more humanity now, for one who succumbed to the Grey Tide.
:WhiteDwarf:: I have exceeded the Tide, and returned to this shore. I've come to strike a worthy blow against you.
:Chaplain:: Returned to the shore? Hah! The flickering of embers amid ash, and nothing more. Overcoming the Grey Tide means nothing. Only a worthy cause will be enough, and such a cause must match the nuclear heat you intend to foolishly wield!
:WhiteDwarf:: There are no other options for me but to do so, and no doctrine or dogma can assert that I have no right to try.
>>
No. 1005074 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571694860.gif - (293.46KB , 650x450 , 587.gif )
1005074

>:WhiteDwarf: : Assess your enemy and the battleground.
>@Angry Duck

In pulsing code-red lights, you examine the layout. A swordswoman always knows where she fights. Rows of pews ring the aisle of the chapel's chamber. Nothing between you and him but distance. And there is so much distance between you.



:Chaplain:: You have your right to try, your right to attempt transgression. But as you do, I will test your worth, one final time. You will be reduced to what you are, to scattered ash and cinders, unless you prove some value, some resilience and drive that I cannot see.
:Chaplain:: A sinner's suicide.
:WhiteDwarf:: You've underestimated me.
:WhiteDwarf:: I won't back down. I challenge you, for the disk and for the fate of this station.
:Chaplain:: Hah. And so it all comes to this!
:Chaplain:: Observe the truth of a judgment of worth! THE STARS OF LIBRA! They judge and know the value of all, and it is only because of my worth that the fate of this station, and so many others, now rests upon my skill and determination!

:WhiteDwarf:: You'd claim judgment of worth has some grand, cosmic value then?
:Chaplain:: The grandest of all! What is the difference between a mass of drifting hydrogen and star? The worth of its mass, the weight of its solar fusion, its capacity to ignite. And from the passage beyond that threshold may be birthed billions, perhaps trillions of lives, fueled by the heat and light the sun may freely offer. Only because of its mass, its pressure, the force by which it exceeds the threshold and becomes worthy!
:Chaplain:: Are humans any different? Is there no threshold, at which a human may become something great, something of cosmic significance? OF COURSE THERE IS!
:Chaplain:: I AM THAT THRESHOLD! I am what marks the difference between worthy and unworthy! The crucible of worth itself! It is my fires that burn away the impurities and leave only that which has true mettle beyond the boundary!
>>
No. 1005076 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571701270.gif - (214.21KB , 650x450 , 588.gif )
1005076

>:Chaplain:: return the sword
>@tomatik

:WhiteDwarf:: Then you'll acknowledge my worth before I leave this monastery and this station.
:Chaplain:: Really? Are you certain now is the time to test this? Hah! Foolishness I'd only expect from the ashen and the unworthy!
:Chaplain:: I took your predictions. I took your nerve! I took your arm!
:Chaplain:: Even the worthy might pause at the prospect of a duel using an inferior replacement for an entire limb.
:WhiteDwarf:: True. And I did hesitate. But I was taught something new. Now, I am done with my hesitation.
:Chaplain:: Taught something new? Do you believe a few pieces of advice can take unworthy cinders to a worthy inferno?

:WhiteDwarf:: You aren't the only focused spiritualist on this station. I've been guided through the cryptic and mystifying to some of my own Verdant Texts.
:WhiteDwarf:: You aren't the only emotional counsel on this station. I've been emotionally grounded, mentally centered. My mind's been made clear by the care and the kindness of my chosen family.
:WhiteDwarf:: You aren't the only zealous leader on this station. I may be stretched thin by my identity, but that strain doesn't keep me from taking on a cause, with all the energy of another, and letting that become my own.
:Chaplain:: Your fellow intruders. If you couldn't learn from them before, then how could you now?
:Chaplain:: They're not here to stand between you and my blade.
>>
No. 1005077 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571709609.gif - (214.55KB , 650x450 , 589.gif )
1005077

>:WhiteDwarf: : Catch your sword
>@『JOJO』

:WhiteDwarf:: Moments of transformation. You bastard, you brought me low enough that I had nothing to lose by gambling on becoming something else.
:WhiteDwarf:: If you wanted to kill me, that was a mistake. If I was unworthy before, just know I'm very experienced in becoming new people under stress.
:Chaplain:: Flickers and sparks in the basin of my crucible. Perhaps there is some small chance something might survive the inferno.
:Chaplain:: Because I don't want to kill you. Catch, little ember.
:WhiteDwarf:: ...!

Your sword returns to your side. Even in a new hand's unfamiliar grip, the sheath feels exactly as you remember it.

:Chaplain:: I've never had a single thought about spilling your blood or taking your head. Do you think a gate craves to wound those who wish to walk through without a key? Do you think a cathedral dreams of purging heresy?
:Chaplain:: Libra rises at my back, and it lights my way through the darkness of the world! It defines who I am and what I do! And while I won't hesitate to take your head, it won't be for hatred or malice. It will be because of WHAT I AM!
:Chaplain:: I AM THE THRESHOLD!!
>>
No. 1005078 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571719788.png - (181.36KB , 650x450 , 590.png )
1005078

:Chaplain:: I am what defines where a dead girl who stole the name of the stars ends, and where the woman who set the frontier sector on fire begins!
:Chaplain:: You will fall on one side or the other, but not because I wish to win. I do not win or lose. I AM!!
:Chaplain:: I AM THE CRUCIBLE OF LIBRA! The engine of solar judgment! An instrument, immutable, impossible to steal from itself, a declaration and a commandment!
:Chaplain:: I AM THE FLESH THAT IS THE WILL OF STARS!!
:Chaplain:: And what are you?
>>
No. 1005079 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571722002.gif - (795.52KB , 650x450 , 591.gif )
1005079

:WhiteDwarf:: Come find out.
:WhiteDwarf:: En garde.
:Chaplain:: EN GARDE!!
>>
No. 1005080 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571731532.gif - (3.79MB , 650x450 , 592.gif )
1005080

>:WhiteDwarf:/:Chaplain:: Clash blades, gazing
>@Ayebee123

You each approach. Blades clash. Fractal-folded hard light screams as it crashes against metal. The pressure each of you exert on each other's stances can only barely match the gravity each of you are exerting on the world. You speak to each other, but only briefly.

:Chaplain:: STILL UNWORTHY!
:WhiteDwarf:: Hhhh... ah, but I am only testing you.
:Chaplain:: LIBRA'S SCALES ARE WHAT TESTS!
:Chaplain:: Fight with all your worthy effort, or die!
:WhiteDwarf:: Even still. I have my own need to test you.
:Chaplain:: You can afford no trial and error, while you lack your predictive power!
>>
No. 1005081 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571736869.gif - (68.06KB , 650x450 , 593.gif )
1005081

:WhiteDwarf:: True... with my focus obliterated, by grey or stellar influence, that would be unwise.
:WhiteDwarf:: But my thoughts are verdant.
:WhiteDwarf:: No trace of grey is found in my heart.
:WhiteDwarf:: And there's someone I can't let down.
>>
No. 1005082 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571739867.gif - (5.60MB , 650x450 , 594.gif )
1005082

>:WhiteDwarf:: Start a prediction
>@extramrdo

:WhiteDwarf:: I won't fail this time.
>>
No. 1005083 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571756474.gif - (5.82MB , 650x450 , 595.gif )
1005083

>:WhiteDwarf: : Do a flip and land on a pew!
>@ariever

Your focus is perfect. You can predict him.

Using your agility is a good idea. But you have to make sure not to land in reach of him. Flanking him on the pews might not do it unless you can get him distracted or reeling.
>>
No. 1005085 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571775018.gif - (2.10MB , 650x450 , 596.gif )
1005085

>:WhiteDwarf: :Continue with the flip idea, but strike a glancing blow
>@Rounquester

A glancing blow on your way up would give you plenty of reeling to land a proper downward strike to break his guard. It's a passable plan, but you need more for when his guard is broken. Wait...

What is that?
>>
No. 1005086 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571779977.gif - (5.25MB , 650x450 , 597.gif )
1005086

>:Chaplain:: She's predicting. Interfere.
>@Nullion

That isn't possible, considering that everything in :WhiteDwarf:'s predictions occurs in a single frozen moment before battle, and all within her mind.

Despite it being impossible, the Stars of Libra simply will not be denied. She won't have infinite scheming. She may have gotten some of her predictive ability back, but you're a test, and you won't be cheated.
>>
No. 1005087 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571799882.gif - (4.07MB , 650x450 , 598.gif )
1005087

>:Chaplain: : CLEANSE
>@MotherBird

You impact like a meteor and drive her to a knee. The jarring blow, even blocked, is enough to tear muscles in the shoulder apart. It is felt in ligaments, in bones. Formations of flesh with names like "deltoid" or "supraspinatus" are surely screaming in the mind of your foe. Yet, she seems focused. You speak again.

:Chaplain:: No... You were predicting me. I know it. HOW?
:WhiteDwarf:: Hnnnhhhh... perhaps my demonic energies outweigh even the stars of Libra, then?
:Chaplain:: Play no games with me, unworthy cinders!
:Chaplain:: Demons are not real, and would fall before me if they were, cleansed by the searing light of Libra's fusion!
:WhiteDwarf:: Hahahah... you care so little for immersion of my narrative, then.
:WhiteDwarf:: True. There is no demonic power. No psychic influence. No mystic force. None you would call real, at least.
:WhiteDwarf:: The cursed arm was always a "lie", for you. And "not true", for me.

:Chaplain:: Tell me what drives the flickers of this spark, tell me how it can continue!
:Chaplain:: You are like a candle that will not extinguish. So clearly unworthy, and yet still somehow burning.
:WhiteDwarf:: I strain so hard to occupy all the contours of my identity. To be the swordswoman of legend, the ninja known throughout the galaxy, the cursed, brooding queen of the blade.
:WhiteDwarf:: The shining White Dwarf.
:WhiteDwarf:: I thought... I can't strain even harder to be worthy in the eyes of the judges and the scales of the cosmos. You can't force yourself to become what you are and then force the world to acknowledge it as "worthy" too. It takes too much. Nobody I know has that in them.
:WhiteDwarf:: Maybe you do. But not me.
:WhiteDwarf:: But there's an answer anyway.
:WhiteDwarf:: And the Redshift Operators taught it to me.
:Chaplain:: I will have that answer or have your head, but I will not see nuclear fire lit by an unworthy hand!
>>
No. 1005088 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571812740.gif - (1.07MB , 650x450 , 599.gif )
1005088

>:WhiteDwarf: : Predictions alone aren't enough. Improvise.
>@ThatRandomGuy

He won't give you enough time. You can only get a handful of predictions in. You can't find the perfect solution. And in so many possibilities, he's too much to take on for you.

Fine, you'll improvise with the best you can get. It may not be worthy for him, but you'll sneak it through anyway.
>>
No. 1005089 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571821219.gif - (1.29MB , 650x450 , 600.gif )
1005089

>:WhiteDwarf: : Raise to the skies!
>@Angry Duck

He hits hard, and has too much durability, but you can exploit the vertical aspects of the terrain, get above him or force him onto raised terrain. Come on. More predictions, faster choices. There has to be something. A gap, a chance to break through.

In predictions and in reality, you continue to shout. Beliefs clash in time with blades.
>>
No. 1005090 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571828321.gif - (9.33KB , 650x450 , 601.gif )
1005090

>:WhiteDwarf: : Exposit what you're fighting for!
>@ThatRandomGuy

(Art credit: @AsciiSquid)

:WhiteDwarf:: This cosmos is not made for me.
:WhiteDwarf:: This cosmos is spun out, in elaborate ways, to trap me and devour me.
:WhiteDwarf:: A galaxy made into a status quo that would see me dulled, dented, and dying, in a struggle just to survive.
:WhiteDwarf:: I am not strong enough to build a cause, a purpose where I know the names and the faces and the throats to slit in expert assassinations to make that galaxy a better place.
:WhiteDwarf:: But the world whose standards you judge me by, the cosmos whose scales you weigh me by, isn't the only world that is, or can be.
:WhiteDwarf:: :RedDwarf: has something more. There is something that can be spun from him, in my predictions.
:Chaplain:: That is his cause, not yours!
:Chaplain:: Do not bring me another operator's cause and expect to find your own worth in it!
:WhiteDwarf:: Ghhhh...
:Chaplain:: If you are to light nuclear fire, YOU MUST BE WORTHY!
:Chaplain:: That man doesn't matter here, and if you don't deliver a worthy strike, neither will you!
>>
No. 1005091 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571831112.gif - (1.05MB , 650x450 , 602.gif )
1005091

>:Chaplain: : :WhiteDwarf: is too fast for you. Go for the legs.
>@Touch the Fluff

You're starting to encroach on her predictions. You can tell. A tone of desperation starts to reach her voice. Teeth are gritting behind the mask. The impurities are starting to sear away. The scales of the cosmos begin to weigh her as inadequate.

Still, she's replying, in prediction and in reality.
>>
No. 1005092 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571841273.gif - (9.15KB , 650x450 , 603.gif )
1005092

>:WhiteDwarf: : Maybe the real worthy cause is the friends we made
>@TetraZeta

:WhiteDwarf:: No!
:WhiteDwarf:: Who says your cosmos is worth more than my friends?
:WhiteDwarf:: Who says :RedDwarf: is worth less than the Company, or Libra, or the consensus of the whole damn galaxy!?
:Chaplain:: This is not his test!
:Chaplain:: If you won't bring me a cause worthy of the scales of Libra, then die where you stand, as unworthy cinders!
:WhiteDwarf:: No!!
:WhiteDwarf:: Because there's never going to be worth for me in your cosmos! I'm never going to be "good enough", there's nothing I can do to "prove myself"! And if I ever did, it wouldn't last! Because maybe I'm weak, or maybe I'm inauthentic, or maybe I'm a liar, running around trying to be something I'm not!
:WhiteDwarf:: But none of that will ever change! You can't make me stop playing this role, because it's what I am! You can't make me stop being the legendary mysterious ninja with the cursed arm and the demonic energies! You can't make me be some true and honest vessel of a great cause that would strain me so much I'd wither up and die!
>>
No. 1005093 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571853017.gif - (952.22KB , 650x450 , 604.gif )
1005093

>:Chaplain: : The anvil does not fear the blade
>@Pizzatiger

And you don't fear her either. You'll take what's coming next, dead-on. Come on, you Libra-damned ash. You'll both see what you're really made of.

:WhiteDwarf:: Go ahead and cut off my other arm, you steel-plated son of a bitch!
:WhiteDwarf:: But you better find someone else if you wanna be the anvil in the forge. You better find someone else if you want your crucible to purify all the unworthiness out of me! Find someone else to weigh on Libra's scales, and fight me the way I am, because you want to!!
:WhiteDwarf:: YOU CAN KILL ME, BUT I WON'T LET YOU CHANGE ME!
:Chaplain:: You commit to your own unworthiness!? Espouse it as worth?
:WhiteDwarf:: I commit to a cosmos that gives me the worthiness I deserve!
:WhiteDwarf:: I don't commit to :RedDwarf:'s cause! I don't commit to his politics and his opinions! I commit to the whole world he'll build!! The entire galaxy that I can see when I predict him!
:WhiteDwarf:: If your cosmos won't judge me as worthy, I'll tear it down! If the scales say I'm not enough, I'll judge them right back!
>>
No. 1005094 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571860546.gif - (9.25KB , 650x450 , 605.gif )
1005094

:WhiteDwarf:: I'll rip apart a cosmos that says the company's death squads can be as violent as they like because the Company's worthy! I'll burn down a galaxy that says I'm not enough, even when I try this hard!
:Chaplain:: You...
:WhiteDwarf:: Because to him... to his world, I'm worthy enough to take you down and take that disk!
:WhiteDwarf:: I don't have a place in your world!
:WhiteDwarf:: But we all have a place in his!
>>
No. 1005097 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571878048.gif - (395.97KB , 650x450 , 606.gif )
1005097

>:WhiteDwarf: : Be free
>@TetraZeta

(Art credit: @AsciiSquid)

Your worth is in a cosmos that isn't his. Your worthy blow will come from a new world built by the Redshift Operators. You won't strike him with the weight of a blade driven by some cause or motive. :RedGiant: taught you to understand the limits of your straining, to recognize when you're pushing too hard and going too grey. :Neutron: taught you what it meant to make a whole galaxy of a cause, to find objectives in them. :RedDwarf: taught you a cause to make it from, and when you predict him, you can see your worth.

And :janitor:. That horrid, enlightened custodian. They taught you that maybe the rules you take for granted can be bent, and broken. So you'll change them, and a whole new cosmos will be born where you can be worthy.

You'll defeat :Chaplain: when you strike him with the force of an entire galaxy.
>>
No. 1005098 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571880320.gif - (15.86KB , 650x450 , 607.gif )
1005098

>:HeadOfPersonnel: : wake up
>@The Wrench

You take exactly one regulations-standard recovery period to go from unconscious to awake. :Neutron: hit you illegally hard on their way out. You can't hear anyone else in the cargo department.
>>
No. 1005099 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571882255.gif - (15.82KB , 650x450 , 608.gif )
1005099

>:HeadOfPersonnel: :That laser is the Captain's Property
>@Salient

It'd be a violation of so many codes if you didn't get that back.
>>
No. 1005100 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571883818.gif - (21.55KB , 650x450 , 609.gif )
1005100

>:HeadOfPersonnel: : proceed towards escape
>@Lady Birb

That's on the other side of the station. Better get moving.
>>
No. 1005101 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571886940.gif - (14.99KB , 650x450 , 610.gif )
1005101

>:HeadOfPersonnel: : THIS IS HIGHLY CHAOTIC.
>@ThatRandomGuy

No kidding. Nobody's ever told you how to deal with a situation like this before, so you figure you'll just go with whatever the first answer that comes to mind is.

Aft-wards (that is, "southish") you can hear :ChiefMedicalOfficer: with his Emergency Room Voice on full blast. Meanwhile, :QuarterMaster: is shouting fearfully fore-wards (that is, "northish"). Your assigned duty was to oversee the latter, but considering the way the Operators just smashed through your ranks and some portion of your head, you can pick which to investigate first.
>>
No. 1005102 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571889199.gif - (14.19KB , 650x450 , 611.gif )
1005102

>:HeadOfPersonnel: : follow your orders, assist :QuarterMaster:
>@Lady Birb

The first answer that came to mind was to go see what's going on over here. It looks like...
>>
No. 1005103 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162571895277.gif - (28.61KB , 650x450 , 612.gif )
1005103

>:HeadOfPersonnel: : Be very glad that the :QuarterMaster: isn't a head of staff.
>@Arcane

You're at the entrance to the foyer just before the vault area. Looks like there used to be a (not up to code) barricade set up here to keep the Operators out. "Used to be" is the specific phrasing, because it looks to have been blown through with gratuitous ultraviolence. Beaten, bleeding, and burned crewmembers try to rally a counterattack, while others implore a retreat.

:Scientist:: ...didn't even wait, the bastard! He took the...
:Chemist:: We're not letting the son of a bitch get away! he...
:CargoTech:: He's not trapped in there! He just...
:StaffAssistant:: Kill him!! Kill him!!
:QuarterMaster:: Everyone! Everyone please.
:StationEngineer:: Someone... need to call :ChiefMedicalOfficer:...

:HeadOfPersonnel:: Status report.

:QuarterMaster:: M-ma'am, this is--
:Scientist:: ...muzzle of the damn gun and shoved it on my head! Do you have any...
:StaffAssistant:: No! Gotta escape!
:CargoTech:: I get it! I understand, it hurt, but we have to...
:Chemist:: ...load of acid straight to the...
:StationEngineer:: ...need to heal this...
:Scientist:: ...KILL the son of a bitch while he's trapped...
:CargoTech:: ...can't take him on!! We have to...

It's nearly impossible to hear what's going on.
>>
No. 1005104 ID: 96c896

>>1005103
:HeadOfPersonnel:: get that engineer to medbay.
>>
No. 1005866 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658138324.gif - (28.95KB , 650x450 , 613.gif )
1005866

>:HeadOfPersonnel: : Consider a judicious application of authority.
>@Archeaus

You'd consider a judicious application of a corporate-grade megaphone right now, honestly. But there's a good chance that would just incite more stress. You speak to :QuarterMaster: directly in the chaos, and bring his attention directly to you. That's your direct subordinate, and you're here to manage your subordinates.

:HeadOfPersonnel:: Focus on me.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: I need a status report.
:QuarterMaster:: Status is bad.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: I need a status report with more detail than that.
:QuarterMaster:: I keep finding wasp stings in bad places and my amygdala feels like a wrung sponge.
:HeadOfPersonnel::
:HeadOfPersonnel::
:HeadOfPersonnel:: What?
:QuarterMaster:: Hhh.

:HeadOfPersonnel:: I want to know about the status of the valuable materials recovery.
:QuarterMaster:: We're stalled. Can't continue.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Why?
:QuarterMaster:: There's uh, there's a standoff.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: With other crewmembers?
:QuarterMaster:: No. We were trying to pull the important stuff out of the vault, but one of the Operators blitzed in there, straight through our barricade, and shot anyone who wasn't running.
>>
No. 1005867 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658147910.gif - (43.16KB , 650x450 , 614.gif )
1005867

>:HeadOfPersonnel: : Fire the laser pistol into the air to grab attention
>@Stellar Flare

You take some charge of the situation. There are rules about how this should be handled and you're going to apply at least one of them. The others quiet down a little, albeit this is more of a transition to a simmering bloodlust rather than a raging inferno.

:HeadOfPersonnel:: Code 206-205-106, moderate infractions "hooliganism", "rioting".
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Unenforced due to emergency situations. Do not make me enforce it.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Provide information on the workplace hazard.

Codes 408-407-508 and 411-509 implore the recovery of vault materials that the Operator is likely taking, and also killing the Operator in question. But code 206-205-106 demands they disperse an unauthorized gathering with intent to disrupt things. Got to figure out which one to apply.

Some of these crewmembers sure have some bloodlust, though. Aside from some who appear to have been scared straight, somehow.


:StaffAssistant:: Escape! :RedGiant: is gonna kill us if we don't!
:Chemist:: I'm not escaping when that bastard is cornered in there!
:HeadOfPersonnel:: "Cornered"?
:CargoTech:: He's not cornered. He's got a choke point. We can't get in there without him shooting us, so we should just...
:Scientist:: Let the son of a bitch get away with it?
:QuarterMaster:: I actually think, yeah, that.
:QuarterMaster:: I think they'll kill you painfully if we don't.
:Scientist:: Shut the hell up! You're scared for no reason, there's a dozen of us and one of him!

Gotta assert the rules quick. Order them out of here or try to keep up the defense? You can wait to get details about what actually happened from the wounded.
>>
No. 1005869 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658160266.gif - (16.11KB , 650x450 , 615.gif )
1005869

>:HeadOfPersonnel: : Defer to chain of command. :Captain: wanted to keep as much crew alive as possible
>@☆ Apogee ☆

You have a lot of complex thoughts on the matter. However, one comes to the forefront. Loyalty to :Captain: is a rule you stick to, and so that's what you focus on.

:HeadOfPersonnel:: Did you delay the Operator?
:Chemist:: Long as we could, but the bastard--
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Good.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Now help with evacuation of the wounded as per :Captain:'s orders. I'll get you expanded access and recommendations for promotion.
:StaffAssistant:: All-access? All-access?
:HeadOfPersonnel:: If you can get enough wounded to the escape shuttle.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Go help :ChiefMedicalOfficer: and then get to escape.
:StaffAssistant:: Okay!
>>
No. 1005871 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658175376.gif - (16.55KB , 650x450 , 616.gif )
1005871

>:StationEngineer:: Try to form a coherent sentence to :HeadOfPersonnel:
>@Ayebee123

The others are dispersing, but you're having trouble standing. It's pretty tough to speak clearly. He got you pretty good a couple times, and it's called less-than-lethal, not non-lethal. You're feeling dizzy and a little sleepy, aside the pain.

:HeadOfPersonnel:: Explain what happened.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: I'll direct :ChiefMedicalOfficer: to here.
:StationEngineer:: We tried... the bomb's in there. It's in there.
:StationEngineer:: We tried to get the valuables out. Out of the vault.
:StationEngineer:: We had a barricade. We were going to stop him, with a barricade.
:StationEngineer:: Now any time any of us get close, we get shot. We can't get through the vault foyer.
:StationEngineer:: He put disabler bolts through my visor until I crawled back here.

:HeadOfPersonnel:: How did the barricade get breached?
:StationEngineer:: No idea. I don't have any idea, he just rushed.
:StationEngineer:: None of us could get a solid hit. We couldn't get a solid hit, we were off the rhythm.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Rhythm?
:StationEngineer:: Like a beat. His shots were like drums. I don't know how to explain it.
:StationEngineer:: Or like the pace...
>>
No. 1005872 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658177641.gif - (39.21KB , 650x450 , 617.gif )
1005872

>:RedDwarf: : there's a crowd forming. grenade time.
>@『JOJO』

...Of your breathing. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. You've driven them back for now, but you saw that crowd forming. No more dumb coffin-stuffers rushing you for the moment. Inhale. Exhale. You control the pace, pull the rhythm back down. Things got intense for a minute, and you lost a bit of your grip in the anti-egregore bloodlust. You can hear them muttering out there, probably planning another attack. But a lot of them are dispersing.

Unfortunately, your grenades were confiscated with your gun. You're making do with shooting anyone who steps foot through the foyer, but that won't last forever.

>>
No. 1005873 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658185365.gif - (17.21KB , 650x450 , 618.gif )
1005873

>:HeadOfPersonnel: : Maybe you can attempt to negotiate with him?
>@any%

When it comes to moments that require judicious application of the corporate-grade megaphone, regulations say this is the right situation.

:HeadOfPersonnel:: Intruder, you are in violation of Company regulations, codes 408-407-508 and 411-509.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Return your weapon and submit to confinement.
:RedDwarf:: You're in violation of basic goddamn decency. I'll return you a laser-shot's worth of joules, you bitch. You want it between the eyes or to the heart?
:RedDwarf:: No, you don't got one. Gotta put it in the brain.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Safety is guaranteed if you comply with regulations. It can't be guaranteed if you do not.
:RedDwarf:: I saw you execute that son of a bitch. I hated the bastard, but you think I'm gonna trust you?

Something twinges in your chest.

:HeadOfPersonnel::
:HeadOfPersonnel::
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Disasters need to be handled according to rules. If you follow the rules, I can guarantee your safety.
:RedDwarf:: Yeah? You think that's how this works? Just listen to the egregore like a good little drone and everything turns out okay?
:RedDwarf:: Enough people keep following those rules and everyone's dead eventually. They don't have an ounce of goddamn mercy.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: The crew have demonstrated mercy on a very regular basis. :Captain:, especially.
:RedDwarf:: I'm not talking about the crew, you fuckin' Company pencil-pusher.
:RedDwarf:: I'm talking about the egregore.
>>
No. 1005874 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658244378.gif - (39.02KB , 650x450 , 619.gif )
1005874

>:RedDwarf:: See if you can shove some lockers or debris into the hall for a barricade
>@Dork

Savvy. Shoving the entire safe out into the hall is tough, but you manage. You can fire lasers through the glass to hit anyone charging. This will solve a lot of your defensive concerns.

:HeadOfPersonnel:: I don't know what that means.
:RedDwarf:: It's what I'm here to kill. Because it'll kill me, no second thoughts. That piece of shit will kill you too, if you let it.
:RedDwarf:: Fuck off, take your shot, or help me. I'm not compromising with the monster, even if you turned on your own species to help it.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: I am Jacent, not human.
:RedDwarf:: Sure are. And you're still a traitor, betraying life like us for life like them.

:RedDwarf:: Take a shot at me if you want, but it better be because you want to, not because your goddamn Company's wise regulations know it ought to happen.
:RedDwarf:: Do you want to kill me? Do you want to have this showdown, huh? Stake your life on it?
:HeadOfPersonnel:: You hurt :Captain:.
:RedDwarf:: That's a reason. And you know what? If you put joules through me and :HeadOfSecurity: over that, and not the Company, it'll be the only right things you do today.
:RedDwarf:: But you're doing it for the egregore. And that thing will kill you before it thanks you.
>>
No. 1005875 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658251218.gif - (39.25KB , 650x450 , 620.gif )
1005875

>:RedDwarf: : Engage in a profound discussion of ideals. While looting the place
>@Touch the Fluff

Sure tempting. But you don't have a ton of time. And there's only one thing you're here for.

:HeadOfPersonnel:: Explain what you mean.
:RedDwarf:: If you live through this, read the damn manifesto. Try to treat people with some common goddamn decency.



The Unofficial Company Protocol Guide has this to say on the topic of the motivations for the Redshift Bombing.

A manifesto was released immediately after the attack, through automated broadcast by a nearby communications buoy, explaining the ideological motivations of the terrorists. It's generally considered to be over two hundred thousand words of "crank" ideology. It devolves, over the course of its length, into personal disputes with, and hatred towards, specific historical figures. Individual chapters or groups of chapters are dedicated to personal, high-intensity judgments towards Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Adam Smith, Ronald Reagan, Milton Friedman, and even Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero, who is criticized by the manifesto from birth to death for six chapters, and frequently referenced and insulted throughout the entire work. The beliefs it enumerates, now referred to as "egregorism", have been refuted by the academic consensus of economists as a conspiracy theory. The Galactic Prosperous Traditions Foundation determined that it is "ideology produced exclusively by mental illness", and the Core Worlds Commerce Institute criticized it as "espousing a cultural equivalent of race-war rhetoric". The Unofficial Company Protocol Guide provides the introductory preface of the manifesto here in order to encourage employees to criticize it themselves, and strongly discourages any employee from similar thought patterns.
>>
No. 1005876 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658257463.gif - (43.34KB , 650x450 , 621.gif )
1005876

Author's Note: The following content depicts a fictional extremist political ideology, and shares phraseology and other aspects with extreme social movements. The views of any of the Decompressed Production Team are not specifically represented by the following writing.
(art credit: @AsciiSquid)


Real men know the facts of the galaxy. There's too much greed in people to share without them taking everything, so if you want to survive, you better protect what you got. There's too much hate in people to trust in anyone's kindness. There's too much work to be done to rest and play, so if you want the good work done, you'd better put in all the years you've got. There's not enough to go around. There's not enough hands to do the work. You have to kill before you get killed. Only children think the world works any other way. It's the world that will beat those childish ideas out of them, because they're wrong.
>>
No. 1005877 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658259611.gif - (70.85KB , 650x450 , 622.gif )
1005877

But the default settings on children are right. They're the moral compass. They say, "If I have food and another kid is starving, I should give some to them." They say, "If I have medicine and another kid is hurt, I should help them." They say, "If another kid can't work to survive, I should take care of them." They say, "We should play as much as we can, and work as much as we need to get to play." They say, "Nobody can prove you should hurt someone using math." And they get those truths beaten out of them. Humankind got tricked by degenerate egregores into thinking that arithmetic ghosts that live inside numbers will kill you for following what your bones and blood know is true. They're wrong, and every last one of them needs to put in the dirt. If you care about anyone, even just yourself, you'll help kill them too. Because now, mankind's got a new predator, and it won't wait for us to evolve. Used to be, we were scared of panthers, and malaria, and regional blights. But we became the apex predator, the top species for all of Earth. We stopped them all, every last one. It was too good to last. Any time a population gets uppity like that, along comes a predator. Too much meat to gorge on, nature can't help itself. But we sure helped it. When the predator came to tear out our throats, we laid down and invited it. The demons didn't have to fight us, we rolled out the red carpet.
>>
No. 1005878 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658261848.gif - (83.87KB , 650x450 , 623.gif )
1005878

March 20th, 1602 AD and its consequences were a disaster for mankind. What showed up that day is an existential threat, and if we let it keep on the way it's been keeping on, it'll wipe out our species and any other it can touch. That was the day that the first publicly traded company started promising shares anyone could buy, and started up the first stock exchange. The first real, active, living joint-stock company with constant trade.
>>
No. 1005879 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658266285.gif - (1.18MB , 650x450 , 624.gif )
1005879

That day's the first time an organization wasn't gonna answer to a leader, or to a group, or to voters, or to anyone. Instead it answered to a system of math. It promised easy profits, and all anyone had to give it was freedom to do whatever it wanted. It could swap out its leaders, investors, and workers, and still be the same thing. It was the first real, autonomous organization humankind ever made, that did things all on its own without someone in charge, as long as people let it into their skulls. The first software running on human flesh, with no admin and no shutdown. The first egregore. When it started killing and enslaving humans, it should have been the last. Greedy sons of bitches. They'd been trying to get in here, trying to eat us, from the day we learned language. But humanity let them in just to have a bigger profit margin.
>>
No. 1005880 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658269734.png - (200.13KB , 650x450 , 625.png )
1005880

The Faustian bargain those bastards made just led to more. More money, more profit, more suffering, more death, more egregores. More, more, more. And answerable to nobody. These midas egregores are immune to conscience. The laborers can't keep their company from doing profitable evil, otherwise they get fired, and someone else will do it instead. The managers can't affect it, or they get fired too. The executives just get replaced if they aren't maximizing the profit, run out of a job just as easy the minute they have a conscience. Even the shareholders get out-competed if they grow a fucking soul. Nobody's in control but the egregore, and it'll kill you if you get between it and profit. The monkey's paw curled that finger, and you can't un-curl it cleanly. Solving this is messy. It's violent. And it's gotta be done. Like a paperclip-optimizing artificial intelligence, these unfaithful egregores live on the processing power of hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of brains, or worse. And just like you, it never gives its components, its cells, moral rights. Your blood cells aren't something you give a shit about. You'll sacrifice them and any other part you've got for you, for the system. You'll obliterate any cells to live longer, grow more, be more. Cells can't suffer. That's your right. But people can suffer. And when people are cells for these faithless egregores, they'll suffer plenty. They betrayed us, and now they're humanity's new threat. We beat the jaguars and the malaria and blights. Now we're losing to this, losing to these egregores that domesticated us, and slaughter us however they like. They're about to end us. We need to kill them all. Exterminate them until every last one is dead.
>>
No. 1005881 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658271673.png - (341.57KB , 650x450 , 626.png )
1005881

The default settings on children are right. And they have a lot to say about all that, too. If a child sees a predator tear the throat out of his friend, there's a good chance he'll run. And if that predator chases him down, all the way to the rim of the galaxy, there's a good chance he'll fight too. He'll probably try to take that predator to the floor. He'll probably do whatever it takes to put something through that predator's fucking heart and kill it dead, no matter what. They don't say what he ought to use, but they know the answer is, "Whatever it takes." Fill in the blank.
>>
No. 1005882 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658273655.png - (179.65KB , 650x450 , 627.png )
1005882

Ask a kid, though, and there's a good chance they'll say a twenty kiloton tactical nuclear warhead would be pretty goddamn cool.
>>
No. 1005883 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658276949.gif - (87.47KB , 650x450 , 628.gif )
1005883

>:RedDwarf: : recite the entirety of the manifesto
>@Tigers10182

Tempting, in a sense, to launch into that with her. Not in the sense that you urgently want to do that, but in the sense that you very often find yourself doing that kind of thing anyway, just on accident. You're still a bit heated after that shouting match, and it's hard to keep your brain from thinking about it, going in circles over and over with more and more thoughts about your political leanings. Like your allies, your own thinking has a few incompatibilities with a day job.

But, speaking of jobs, you came here to do one. You are now alone in the vault, and unobserved, allowing you to fulfill your secret objective.
>>
No. 1005884 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658281459.gif - (1.66MB , 650x450 , 629.gif )
1005884

When the bomb goes off, all evidence you were ever in here, all evidence you knew about your secret objective, gets incinerated. The financial chaos you inflict on the Company should be enough of a smokescreen that no death squad shows up at your front door and every window simultaneously, with concerns about what you know.

The Unofficial Company Protocol Guide continues on the topic of the Redshift Bombing:

While having no root in reality, the concept of space monsters is a compelling one, due to the high-stress, isolated mental states experienced by space laborers. Economists criticize the egregore concept as a way of inciting violence towards a corporation, likening it to being angry at a hurricane. Confluences of completely natural or coincidental events are responsible for the few mistakes produced by modern megacorporations, after all. Socioeconomist study has concluded that this philosophy exists purely to justify rage towards well-meaning trans-stellar conglomerates who experience moderate industrial accidents and bureaucratic oversight mistakes. The Company officially sympathizes with the grief and anger required for this warlike belief, however. Following the Redshift Bombing, Company protocol was updated to require station and ship psychological support staff to report any claims of similar perception, in order to provide support for the affected crewmember. Furthermore, updates to the Unofficial Company Protocol Guide directly from Corporate helpfully removed the majority of potentially radicalizing content, which is the only time that Corporate has directly overridden the Unofficial Guide's editorial board.
>>
No. 1005885 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658285476.gif - (540.05KB , 650x450 , 630.gif )
1005885

>:RedDwarf: : Complete your objective.
>@Ayy-Robotics

You harness a little of your friend :Neutron:'s mindset. It sure is satisfying to complete an objective.

You acquire the candidate list for the Cognitive Synergy Project. It's known to your benefactors as the Egregore Project.

Your secret objective is now complete. Assuming you can get off this station alive.
>>
No. 1005886 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658287333.gif - (14.83KB , 650x450 , 631.gif )
1005886

>:RedDwarf: : Peek inside the folder. Just to make sure
>@Pizzatiger

You skip through to the disqualified candidates and check for one of the files that will confirm it's legitimate.
>>
No. 1005887 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658289390.gif - (15.96KB , 650x450 , 632.gif )
1005887

>:RedDwarf:: Wait. It’s all you can do now without the disk.
>@Igiari

Sounds right. Men like you sometimes just have to hold the line. You'll keep the package safe, as long as the only threat is :HeadOfPersonnel:'s approach.
>>
No. 1005888 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658291570.gif - (11.29KB , 650x450 , 633.gif )
1005888

>:Neutron: : Complete your objective.
>@Ayy-Robotics
>>
No. 1005889 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658292199.gif - (12.35KB , 650x450 , 634.gif )
1005889

>>
No. 1005890 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658292962.gif - (8.32KB , 650x450 , 635.gif )
1005890

>>
No. 1005891 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162658297230.gif - (76.63KB , 650x450 , 636.gif )
1005891

You harness, uh, yourself, to finish this one up. Objective complete. You found a spot to park the infiltration shuttle near the station and the attached monastery, somewhere around where it links with its Earth-fragment.

:Neutron:: Shuttle in place, ready for pickup.
:RedGiant:: Do you think :WhiteDwarf: can do this?
:Neutron::
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Are you asking if she can spacewalk?
:RedGiant:: No, not this this.
:RedGiant:: I mean. Wait.
:RedGiant:: Can she?
:Neutron:: She'll live.

:RedGiant:: I was asking, do you think she can solve that big problem she was going to try to solve? It seemed really tough...
:RedGiant:: I think she can! But, I have a pretty hard time understanding what's going on, so I'm wrong about things like that sometimes.
:Neutron:: It's her objective.
:RedGiant:: Yeah, but do you think she can do that?
:Neutron:: Objectives aren't about if you can or can't do them.
:Neutron:: She's going to do everything she can do to accomplish her objective.
:RedGiant:: Do you think that's gonna be enough? You're a lot smarter than me! I want to know what you think about that.
:Neutron:: I don't know. But a galaxy where she wins sounds like it's working right, and a galaxy where she doesn't sounds like it's broken.
:RedGiant:: Oh! So, you agree, she will.
:Neutron:: I think she should.

:RedGiant:: Is that a Verdant Texts thing too?
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:RedGiant:: Can you tell me about that?
:Neutron:: Someday. I'm busy for a second.
>>
No. 1006602 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162753368871.gif - (12.37KB , 650x450 , 637.gif )
1006602

>:Neutron: : don't forget to instruct the ship's turrets
>@『JOJO』

Good idea. It'd really mess up your next round of objectives if rancorous :StationEngineer:s spilled out of an airlock and invaded your infiltration shuttle.
>>
No. 1006603 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162753371356.gif - (30.20KB , 650x450 , 638.gif )
1006603

The automated ship turrets will now fire on any sufficiently complex robotics or living beings that don't have one of your special ID cards. :SyndieCyborg: should be able to teleport aboard, and :WhiteDwarf:'s :Spider~1: can nest in her hair to count. You're focused, after all, not murderously inconsiderate.
>>
No. 1006604 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162753381446.gif - (77.13KB , 650x450 , 639.gif )
1006604

>:RedGiant: : Inventory check!
>@Angry Duck

You've been around the infiltrator shuttle long enough to know what's going on! Your memory isn't great, but sometimes you spend a whole day or two around here, so you get to know it well. Your infiltrator shuttle contains...

MEDICAL COMPARTMENT: If :WhiteDwarf: is with you, the medical compartment's equipment can keep just about anyone alive!
ENGINEERING COMPARTMENT: Your rockets that move the shuttle around in space are working fine, and the rockets that move the shuttle in fancy colorful jumps between stars sound very primed! You like sitting around here, the white noise is relaxing even if it's a little dark.
EQUIPMENT COMPARTMENT: You guys already took most of the stuff out of this for the trip! Usually :RedDwarf: hangs out here.
PACKAGE COMPARTMENT: That's where the special delivery was. You vaguely remember taking something from there to the vault. Oh, yeah, the gift! You hope they'll enjoy it.
1x GOOD FRIEND: It's supposed to have at least three, you know that much! That'll be later.
NAVIGATION COMPARTMENT: :Neutron: is there! They're the pilot for your team, and that's where they spend all their time. It's got all the control stuff, and the sensors, and that beepy radar and things like that.
>>
No. 1006605 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162753383345.gif - (57.15KB , 650x450 , 640.gif )
1006605

>:RedGiant:: release the drone on the ship,
>@TetraZeta

It seems very confused, since this isn't the station. But, a new friend! Maybe you'll add "1x Potential Good Friend" onto that list.
>>
No. 1006606 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162753390594.gif - (25.24KB , 650x450 , 641.gif )
1006606

>:Captain:: you have a duty to secure the files in the vault.
>@Bond

You're on your way there when you manage to meet up with most of your remaining crewmembers, the higher-ranking ones who've remained behind to do what they can. :ChiefMedicalOfficer: is just about done clearing up the wounded, it looks like :ChiefEngineer: and :ResearchDirector: are going to be heading back where you came, and then further on to the escape shuttle docking area, with the data they've recovered. :HeadOfPersonnel: must have been doing something here too.

You need to establish the last of your plan. Even if you're evacuating, you need to try to take down :RedDwarf: and keep those files from falling into the wrong hands. Keep them from burning the whole frontier sector, the whole damn galaxy, down.


:Captain:: Heads, huddle a minute now.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: :Captain:! Yes sir.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: I've only got a minute, then it's fieldwork at escape.
:ResearchDirector:: I've a need to be there soon myself. This data is critical.
:ChiefEngineer:: What's the plan, :Captain:?
:QuarterMaster:: Should I be here? Should I just...
:Captain:: Stay or go, but I think you should settle for the shuttle. This evac's for you.
:Captain:: Don't return an old man's gift, son, it's rude.
:QuarterMaster:: Yeah.
:QuarterMaster:: I probably should go.
>>
No. 1006607 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162753393414.gif - (15.72KB , 650x450 , 642.gif )
1006607

>:QuarterMaster:: Show :Captain: the 'special order' you put in at the start of shift. Then exit.
>@Dork

Oh right. The ceremonial captain's saber.

:QuarterMaster:: Hey, almost forgot in all that shit going on.
:QuarterMaster:: Special delivery for you, from corporate. "Thanks for fifty years of service."
:Captain:: Hah. Fine work there, son.
:Captain:: Now get on over to the docking bay.
>>
No. 1006608 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162753398153.gif - (17.33KB , 650x450 , 643.gif )
1006608

>:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Status report. Is everyone here fit for duty?
>@Drawsstuff

:QuarterMaster:: Yeah, no kidding. This shit sucks in space.
:QuarterMaster:: I'm out.
:Captain:: :ChiefMedicalOfficer:, everyone fit for duty?
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: No major injuries. :ResearchDirector:'s recovered, :ChiefEngineer: has most of her good eye's vision back, I've fixed my stings.
:Captain:: Good work out there.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: You aren't fit for duty. Your heart and gut are torn up. We need to put you in the emergency sleeper on the escape shuttle or you'll keel over any minute.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: No idea how you're up and walking.
:Captain:: Got a duty to see through.
:Captain::
:ChiefMedicalOfficer::
:Captain::
:Captain:: And probably the--
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Morphine.
:Captain:: Probably.
>>
No. 1006609 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162753403888.gif - (14.63KB , 650x450 , 644.gif )
1006609

>:ChiefMedicalOfficer: : :Captain: is about to do something dangerous. Recall his Psychoparadigm to try and evaluate his chance of success.
>@Lady Birb

You took his yearly reading with the neural bridge at the start of the shift. It's fresh on your mind.

NAME: WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY, SEE HUMAN CAPITAL DEPARTMENT FOR INFORMATION. PSYCHOPARADIGM: When I move, it hurts. When I'm still, it aches. Been that way for a while. And it's more that way every long year. Joints wear down, you know, the connective tissues and soft slack in everything get thinner and tenser. When you grow older, it doesn't start aching and hurting. It just happens more. See, even back in my prime -- back when I played college ball, I ever tell you about that? -- I bet I'd ache if I didn't move a whole day, and I sure did hurt if I moved too much. And a man gets older every day, and the walls close in. When I move, it hurts, and when I'm still, it aches. When I move, it hurts. I met with the CMO today, doc says our crew's gonna start taking casualties if I don't cut the corporate pay-to-mend requirements and have the medbay work salaried, free healthcare for the crew. Saw men shouting, screaming, at each other's throats. Guess this means the surgeons get better cash but the chemists get it worse. It hurts. Had to find a middle path, had to raise Chemistry's pay, then all medical's. Not gonna look good on the reports. Better than the hurt. When I'm still, it aches. One of the engineers got hurt on the job. Burns. Missing arm. Nerves all seared out, can't fit a replacement. Corporate says I gotta stand aside, let an insurance investigator figure out some way to make sure he doesn't get a payout, 'cause the fund's dry. It aches. Had to find a middle path, award him enough corporate merit medals under the table that he can sell 'em for enough to get by for a couple months. Corporate will ask hard questions. Better than the ache. The walls are closing in. Every day, the ache's a little worse with less motionlessness. Every minute, the hurt's a little worse with less motion. Will you forgive me, son? Will you not hold it against me? I just need a minute without the pain. RANK: CAPTAIN AGE: 68 EMPLOYMENT PERIOD: 50 YEARS, 0 MONTHS. LOYALTY RATING: 10


His mind guarantees creative approaches, but not settling for what anyone would call "acceptable losses." He might get himself killed making sure nobody else bites it.
>>
No. 1006610 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162753408464.gif - (32.82KB , 650x450 , 645.gif )
1006610

>:Captain: : Calibrate your hand teleporter
>@Cocacolagua

Configuring a teleporter to pull you out if things get dire is a good idea. Though, if your hands are full, you won't be able to use it quickly! The right solution in times like these is delegation. :ResearchDirector:'s been on teleporter duty this whole time, might as well keep a good thing going.

:Captain:: :ResearchDirector:, get :AI: on the line. Keep everything calibrated to pull anyone out who needs it.
:ResearchDirector:: Ah, indeed. I've no interest and no skill in "getting my hands dirty", as far as this stand-off goes.
:ResearchDirector:: The portals will be available, if things get too dangerous.
>>
No. 1006611 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162753411271.gif - (18.17KB , 650x450 , 646.gif )
1006611

>:Captain: : You know your station like :ChiefEngineer: does. Try to find some kind of weakness or entry point.
>@Angry Duck

Going straight through the barricade would be suicide. A weakness or subtle entry point should solve that. You talk it out with :ChiefEngineer:.

:Captain:: :ChiefEngineer:! I need entry points. Reconfigured teleporter? Alternate entry passage?
:ChiefEngineer:: No-go on the teleporter. He'll have guns trained on the vault's beacon.
:ChiefEngineer:: Vault's single-entry for security, no alternate paths.
:Captain:: Can you get through one of the exterior walls?
:ChiefEngineer:: Not without some noise. It's an option.
:Captain:: Sure is. Hmm.
>>
No. 1006710 ID: 007175

>>1006611
Okay so getting in is likely to be messy.
What about options for flushing him out? Either real or fake warning that make holing up in there much less preferable than coming out, something like that?

...shit uh, hey :ChiefEngineer: do you think your improvised explosive is still in there?
>>
No. 1007583 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162861260537.gif - (18.70KB , 650x450 , 647.gif )
1007583

>:HeadOfPersonnel:: walk into the vault
>@The Wrench

You can recognize the tension in the air. There's a good chance that :Captain: doesn't walk away from this. You've killed for him once today, and however much you regret or don't regret that in retrospect, you'll do it again if you have to.

:HeadOfPersonnel:: Sir. I want to assist as well.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: I can fire on him from this direction. Maybe draw attention.
:Captain:: Maybe other way around. Got the makings of a plan here, you know.
:Captain:: :ChiefEngineer: and I can start a breach on the outside. :ResearchDirector: can get a teleport ready for the escape dock, make an escape route for any of us if it gets too heated. :ChiefMedicalOfficer:, you get there, be ready to give any of us first aid. :HeadOfPersonnel:, you can keep his attention on the proper way in or get a shot at him on when he focuses on us.
:Captain:: Don't need to put the crew at risk. Barely need to put any of us at risk. And we can get the vault secure, all go home.
:Captain:: There's still a chance. A third option and a perfect ending here, even though we called the evac...
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Sir, if you think you can recover this situation, I will do anything I can to make it right.

:Captain:: :HeadOfPersonnel:.
:Captain:: You know you'll still have to go in for the corporate tribunal about what you did. There's blood on your hands. Even if you fix this.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Correct, sir. That's what the regulations say. But there's work to be done now.
:Captain::
:Captain:: Sure is. Alright, then.
>>
No. 1007584 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162861263407.gif - (29.61KB , 650x450 , 648.gif )
1007584

>:Captain: :HeadOfPersonnel: :ChiefEngineer: :ResearchDirector: :ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Pose like a team
>@ThatRandomGuy
>>
No. 1007586 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162861274079.png - (68.29KB , 650x450 , 649.png )
1007586

:Captain:: Let's kick these bastards off our station.

Art credit: ASCIISquid.
>>
No. 1007587 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162861277605.gif - (1.20MB , 650x450 , 650.gif )
1007587

>:Neutron: : try to angle the shuttle so you can see through the windows
>@Lady Birb

Angled just right, you can get a good look at what's going on in there. Your turrets won't work, though. Firing on a church with a gunship is one of those very specific war-crime things, and you don't jailbreak your turrets for that.
>>
No. 1007588 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162861286470.gif - (1.04MB , 650x450 , 651.gif )
1007588

>:WhiteDwarf:: Reject the scales and measure yourself against yourself
>@The Wrench

You both pant with exhaustion. Lungs strain. Muscles are torn. Your so-called "unworthy" strikes can't land on him with enough force to bring him down. That's the rule, and it has held: No strike unworthy in the eyes of the galaxy can strike him down.

And yet...


:Chaplain:: You keep trying. Despite knowing your inadequacy! I would admire the heat of a flickering candle that refuses to extinguish, if it weren't for you vile intentions. Impressive determination!
:Chaplain:: But it won't make you anything but persistently unworthy!
:WhiteDwarf:: Only unworthy in your cosmos. Only the judgment of your galaxy.
:Chaplain:: And what other cosmos is there, vile intruder!? The galaxy on fire, the product of your grand leader's dream!?
:WhiteDwarf:: A galaxy redshifted. That's what it means: Suns in motion away from you. Refusing to hold to your orbits. Arcing out of the Company's control. A sky full of stars you can't catch.
:Chaplain:: Inane, nonsensical! Empty rhetoric, propping up your unworthy lack of duty and faith!
:WhiteDwarf:: It's his dream. Our dream. And a friend taught me something recently. About goals, and causes, and what they mean.
:WhiteDwarf:: They taught me about knowing every detail of a whole galaxy. The galaxy I'll be worthy in.
:WhiteDwarf:: Worthy enough to strike you down.
:Chaplain:: A useless figment of imagination! Predict every star all you like, but my blade will cut you down if you pursue this disk!
>>
No. 1007589 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162861305461.gif - (1.07MB , 650x450 , 652.gif )
1007589

Art credit: ASCIISquid.

:WhiteDwarf:: But that's not what this story is about.
:WhiteDwarf:: This isn't a story about corporate profits, saved from some violation of the status quo by a madwoman with a sword.
:WhiteDwarf:: This is a story about a great legendary ninja, a demon-cursed sole survivor of her clan whose dark powers lit the most important fire this galaxy has ever seen.
:WhiteDwarf:: And that story won't end in my death.
:WhiteDwarf:: I can see the cosmos of :RedDwarf:'s dream now. I can see my worth in it. And I will see a worthy blow to strike you down in it.

:Chaplain:: HA! The same predictions that fail against me?! Imagine whatever hypotheticals you like. The galaxy of stars I serve will not break under so meager a force as what you predict!!
:Chaplain:: THE TOOLS OF LIBRA'S JUDGMENT WILL NOT YIELD, TO YOUR BLADE OR TO YOUR FLIGHT OF FANCY, ONLY TO TRUE WORTH!!
:WhiteDwarf:: The galaxy I see our dream judges me worthy.
:Chaplain:: THEN SHOW ME, LITTLE CANDLE! STRIKE WITH ALL FORCE! I WILL TEACH YOU YOUR GALAXY'S INSUBSTANTIALITY!
:Chaplain:: BREAK UPON LIBRA'S ANVIL, AND SHATTER TO NOTHING!!
>>
No. 1007590 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162861311093.gif - (11.18MB , 650x450 , 653.gif )
1007590

:Neutron:'s teachings fill your mind. Your heart swells with the heat of a whole galaxy. You can't keep the Verdant Texts in your heart for long, not like they do. But for a moment, you predict a galaxy of future possibilities, just like them.

Long enough to find one step on the path to it.

Time to end this.

>>
No. 1010294 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163141817459.gif - (2.24MB , 650x450 , 654.gif )
1010294

>:WhiteDwarf: : Break the anvil.
>@Ayy-Robotics

No anvil lasts forever. Strike enough, and it will always become slag. He stopped you before, but he can't stop all of you, not with a galaxy's worth of Verdant light in your mind.
>>
No. 1010295 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163141821841.gif - (8.67MB , 650x450 , 655.gif )
1010295

>:WhiteDwarf:: Greentext
>@Kierany

There. One Verdant path forward. One step between you and the greenest text there is. No strike would be judged worthy by the stars of Libra. And :Chaplain: can't be felled by an unworthy strike, that's the rule. So you predict a new galaxy, and find a strike that would be worthy in that one.

Thanks, :Neutron:.
>>
No. 1010297 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163141832093.gif - (4.34MB , 650x450 , 656.gif )
1010297

>:WhiteDwarf: :Chaplain: : Clash.
>@『JOJO』
>>
No. 1010298 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163141840069.gif - (4.81MB , 650x450 , 657.gif )
1010298

>:Chaplain:: No... How... can this be?
>@AtlasRules87

:Chaplain:: Bested, by these... by these mere embers?
:WhiteDwarf:: Hold a blade at your own peril. Your rotator cuff tendons are severed, among others.
:WhiteDwarf:: This duel is finished, :Chaplain:.
>>
No. 1010299 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163141856715.gif - (3.25MB , 650x450 , 658.gif )
1010299

>:Chaplain:: Call upon the efforts of your faith.
>@AsciiSquid

Where flesh gives way, spirit is unyielding. You can't exactly get your arms up, but even now, you pray to the stars of Libra.

:Chaplain:: O stars of Libra. In destruction and persistence, in shattering and purification, I am your anvil and your crucible, I am your forge and your fire. Bless me with your light, your heat, your guidance. Bring me to judgment, that I may be proven worthy, and guide my hand as I judge the flock...
:WhiteDwarf:: I will take the disk. It's over.
:Chaplain:: This will never be over until you are burned to ash or made worthy. In Libra's name, I vow this crusade, unending and eternal, on this or any other station.
:Chaplain:: May the stars bless my hand and light my path, may our blades cross until you are broken or the scales judge you righteous.

And, somewhere, you can feel that Libra would bless this.

:WhiteDwarf:: You will not surrender? You will not retreat, where there is no hope?
:Chaplain:: Did you?
:WhiteDwarf:: ...
:Chaplain:: O stars of Libra, though my flesh may yield, though my heat may falter, I ask of you a blessing, a chance. Make me not a son of Jupiter, but a sun of your light. Fill my heart with your fire, fill my throat with your wind, fill my eyes with your guidance. Make of me a storm wider than the Earth, make of me a beacon seen by the galaxy, make of me a blade that cleaves the worthy and not. Let my boundary be unchallenged, my threshold uncrossed, my codes unbroken. O stars of Libra...

And, somewhere, you can feel that Libra will not intercede on your behalf. Is she worthy? Does Libra know something you don't? Blood runs down your back and pools at your knee. Your arm hangs uselessly. It is not for you to know why Libra will not grant you what you ask.

You pray, and vow, in what you suspect could be your final moments. Your faith is unbreakable.

>>
No. 1010300 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163141875470.gif - (513.51KB , 650x450 , 659.gif )
1010300

>:WhiteDwarf:: Take his arm. Take his disc.
>@Dork

A thought strikes you as you ponder this man. As he vows to hound you to the ends of the galaxy and the end of your days, an option of taking from him what was taken from you crosses your mind. In this moment, you can predict that if you weren't enemies, perhaps :Chaplain: might say Libra was offering you choices.

A choice of unrewarded kindness without gratitude, a choice of convenient death without accountability, or a choice to do something truly satisfying, and perhaps truly dramatic.

What kind of ninja are you, :WhiteDwarf:?
>>
No. 1010301 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163141887558.gif - (506.94KB , 650x450 , 660.gif )
1010301

>:WhiteDwarf:: We all have a place in :RedDwarf:'s world. Even :Chaplain:.
>@Kierany

Author's Note: At vote closure, the totals were 75 for blind kindness, 30 for impulsive deterrence, and 15 for ruthless convenience.

:WhiteDwarf:: Then crusade, :Chaplain:, as you demand to.
:WhiteDwarf:: The galaxy :RedDwarf: wants to create is not one where I am made immune to all harm, invulnerable against any risk. It is only one where I have a chance, a fair opportunity.
:Chaplain:: There is no galaxy in which you are worthy of this nuclear fire you claim. Not this one, and not his.
:WhiteDwarf:: Find me, fight me, and test my worth in that galaxy. Hold me accountable for what I do today, if you must. Be a judge, perhaps the judge, of what comes next.
:WhiteDwarf:: But this duel is over. I believe even Libra agrees.
:Chaplain:: ...

:Chaplain:: There will be chaos, after this.
:Chaplain:: Unimaginable suffering. The frontier sector, set aflame by unworthy intent.
:Chaplain:: Blood will stain your hands, irrevocably, unworthy embers.
:WhiteDwarf:: Perhaps.
:WhiteDwarf:: But you've made sure that a stained sword-hand is no longer too great an issue for me. Haven't you?
:Chaplain::
:Chaplain::
:Chaplain:: Hah. You joke about the pain yet to come?
:WhiteDwarf:: You are not wrong. There will be suffering. But the great darkness caused by the Company is worse. And we will not disappear from the galaxy after tonight. We will continue, no matter the chaos we incite, and face our own consequences.
:WhiteDwarf:: My legend does not end here. Its path may trace through great darkness, and perhaps I am an "antagonist" of this story. But even still, :RedDwarf:'s galaxy will bring good to its people.
:Chaplain:: I will be the judge of that, and of you.
:WhiteDwarf:: But not tonight. I'm taking the disk. Don't move.
>>
No. 1010302 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163141892112.gif - (620.10KB , 650x450 , 661.gif )
1010302

>:WhiteDwarf:: Take the disk, and nothing more
>@Ayy-Robotics

Well, you also temporarily keep a foot on hilt of his blade itself while you search him. But he'll keep it after. The disparity in armaments and in arm-related tendons is enough that he can only shove you back a little, and by that time, you've acquired your objective.

:Chaplain:: You can't imagine the consequences of what you're doing, unworthy embers.
:WhiteDwarf:: You're right. It's still terribly difficult to predict you.
:Chaplain:: This isn't over.
:WhiteDwarf:: This duel is. Your crusade will last as long as you choose.
:Chaplain:: I will find you. Wherever you flee, I will find you and finish this.
>>
No. 1010303 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163141896589.gif - (958.83KB , 650x450 , 662.gif )
1010303

:Chaplain:: Libra's judgment will not be escaped.
:Chaplain:: Nor will my blade. As a star's gravity, as an orbit's decay, you will face this fire.
:WhiteDwarf:: ...I'll count on it.
>>
No. 1010304 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163141901012.gif - (0.98MB , 650x450 , 663.gif )
1010304

:Chaplain:: Not over. Not over...
:Chaplain::
:Chaplain::
:Chaplain:: O stars of Libra, in times of darkness and in depths of void, I ask your light. In moments of pain and days of woe, I ask your warmth. In hours of need and struggles of loss, I ask your judgment, and in its reward, your solace...
>>
No. 1011632 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267307925.gif - (14.61KB , 650x450 , 664.gif )
1011632

You return to the main station at last.

:SyndieCyborg:: Holy shit! You lived!

You try to pull out of the mood that last encounter put you in.

:WhiteDwarf:: Through manifested dark energies, defiance of divinity and destiny, and even sequential true final forms, I am victorious.
:SyndieCyborg::
:SyndieCyborg:: I don't know what that means.
:SyndieCyborg:: You beat him?
:WhiteDwarf:: Indeed.
:SyndieCyborg:: Woah...
:WhiteDwarf:: And what of your own battle? I admit, I was concerned I would return to find you damaged, dying, and delivering your last words to me after a noble last stand here.
:SyndieCyborg:: Huh?
>>
No. 1011633 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267311736.gif - (25.33KB , 650x450 , 665.gif )
1011633

>:SyndieCyborg: : Win because you have a goddamn laser, and a stun baton.
>@AtlasRules87

:SyndieCyborg:: Couple close shaves, but it's a hallway with almost no cover. I managed. :Spider: helped, I think.
:SyndieCyborg:: Did you train this thing? I mean, to fight?
:WhiteDwarf:: It is an embodiment of the demonic energies once contained in my now-lost arm. You understand, of course.
:SyndieCyborg:: No, I really don't understand at all.
:SyndieCyborg:: Hey, listen, the shuttle just got here. They might be pulling back. If we're gonna do this, we gotta do it now.
>>
No. 1011634 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267313994.gif - (14.99KB , 650x450 , 666.gif )
1011634

>:WhiteDwarf:: execute the plan. Tape the disk to :SyndieCyborg: and have him teleport to the vault, then get on the ship with :Neutron: and :RedGiant: so you all can ride there to meet up with :RedDwarf:
>@Lady Birb

Right. Problem: You don't actually have tape. You'll have to improvise.
>>
No. 1011636 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267319142.gif - (15.13KB , 650x450 , 667.gif )
1011636

Magnificent.

:WhiteDwarf:: Tune to the vault beacon, unlock the airlock here, and teleport to the next locale. These bonds, forged in the darkness within my demonic vessel, ought to hold.
:SyndieCyborg:: Is this an... eyepatch thing?
:WhiteDwarf:: Isn't it stylish? Literal spider-webbing over metaphorically spider-webbing cracks? Almost poetic, in a way.
:WhiteDwarf:: And, furthermore, removing the eyepatch will unseal a great power.
:SyndieCyborg:: I guess that's kind of cool.
:SyndieCyborg:: Wait, is that from a cartoon?
:WhiteDwarf:: Now, quickly! No more time for questions.
>>
No. 1011637 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267320735.gif - (120.62KB , 650x450 , 668.gif )
1011637

:SyndieCyborg:: See you on the ship!
:WhiteDwarf:: Be safe until then, :SyndieCyborg:.
>>
No. 1011638 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267323743.gif - (14.28KB , 650x450 , 669.gif )
1011638

>:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Check the health monitor
>@Thranos

Ah, shit. You came through to rescue :Chaplain:, and you'd hoped they'd all moved. She hasn't drawn her sword yet though.

:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Fight fast or let me through, we have less than three minutes.
>>
No. 1011639 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267326437.gif - (14.46KB , 650x450 , 670.gif )
1011639

>:WhiteDwarf:: Let :ChiefMedicalOfficer: know that :Chaplain: is alive but needs medical aid, then let him through.
>@ThatRandomGuy

:RedDwarf: would shoot him, but you have other needs. You may identify primarily as a legendary ninja, but in this situation, your medical experience...

:WhiteDwarf:: He's not lethally wounded.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: I know. Details?
:WhiteDwarf:: Some tendons and musculature severed. No arterial or vital lacerations.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Good. Clear from here to the escape shuttle?
:WhiteDwarf:: Certainly.
:WhiteDwarf:: Make sure he lives.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: You'd have to kill me to stop that.
>>
No. 1011640 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267331543.gif - (74.47KB , 650x450 , 671.gif )
1011640

>:RedGiant: : Hey, :RedDwarf:, is this a bad time to check in?
>@Touch the Fluff

:RedGiant:: Hey, :RedDwarf:! Are you okay? It seemed like--
:RedDwarf:: Ghhh... Still here!
:RedGiant:: Wow! You sound stressed. Anything I can do to help?
:RedDwarf:: Tons! Could take my stress down a whole lot of notches to have that disk!
:RedGiant:: Oh, does it help that laser sound stop?
:RedDwarf:: You know what?
:RedDwarf:: It sure does, one way or another.

:RedGiant:: I couldn't really keep up with the plan before, but I know :WhiteDwarf: just finished up what she was doing!
:RedDwarf:: Status on her?
:RedGiant:: I think she won that fight she was having! It took a while, but...
:RedDwarf:: God damn. Knew she'd come through.
:RedGiant:: So, if whatever that was is waiting on her, you'll be okay soon!
:RedGiant:: :Neutron: is gonna fly us all over as soon as :WhiteDwarf: is aboard. So, head out for us to pick you up soon!
:RedDwarf:: Ghhhh... gonna be tougher than that sounds.
:RedGiant:: Can I help?
:RedDwarf:: Get that shuttle here, and get me that disk! Then you can do whatever you want.
:RedGiant:: Okay!
>>
No. 1011641 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267333948.gif - (192.75KB , 650x450 , 672.gif )
1011641

>:SyndieCyborg: :Captain: : teleport into the vault
>@Lady Birb

One of you can, and does. The other is entering through a different method in mere moments.
>>
No. 1011642 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267337033.gif - (31.44KB , 650x450 , 673.gif )
1011642

>:Captain: :ChiefEngineer: : Make a dramatic entrance
>@Nullion

That is your plan, in two senses of the phrase "make an entrance."
>>
No. 1011643 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267341226.gif - (29.09KB , 650x450 , 674.gif )
1011643

>:ChiefEngineer:: Status check on RCD.
>@Tokanova

Your rapid construction device is ready. This mean piece of industrial machinery, made for high-speed changes to the station's layout, should take down a wall too fast for any gunman to react, and operating out of a fresh entryway should give :Captain: the element of surprise, good lines of fire, and cover where needed.

:ChiefEngineer:: Alright, breaching.
:Captain:: One thing first.
:ChiefEngineer:: All due respect, sir, make it fast.
>>
No. 1011644 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267344676.gif - (95.52KB , 650x450 , 675.gif )
1011644

>:Captain:: It was an honor serving with you
>@Insane_Katrina

:Captain:: Always about action, never words, huh?
:ChiefEngineer:: We don't have time.
:Captain:: Alright.
:Captain:: It was an honor serving with you.
:Captain:: Last order as captain, because I'm sure as hell about to retire, or...
:Captain:: Soon as you're done, you get to the escape shuttle. Leave this to me.
>>
No. 1011645 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267348659.gif - (95.39KB , 650x450 , 676.gif )
1011645

:ChiefEngineer:: Sir, fuck no. You've almost died twice, I'm not--
:Captain:: That's an order.
:Captain:: Tough times coming. There's a station somewhere that needs a new captain.
:Captain:: That'll be you.
:Captain::
:Captain:: Let an old man save his crew. Please.
>>
No. 1011646 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267356840.gif - (89.38KB , 650x450 , 677.gif )
1011646

At tally time, results were:
Survive: 66
Fight: 62

You can't see her face behind her helmet, or read her motionlessness. But that ever-steady voice breaking a moment tells you, she's cycled every stress response a human body has got in the three or so seconds of silence.


:ChiefEngineer:: Nnnh. Fine!
:ChiefEngineer:: Do not make me regret this!
:Captain:: Be a damn idiot if I did, hah.
:ChiefEngineer:: Station loves you. You'd better survive.
:Captain::
:Captain:: You'll make a good captain.
>>
No. 1011647 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267358755.gif - (149.93KB , 650x450 , 678.gif )
1011647

:ChiefEngineer:: Deep breaths. Steady hands. Don't hesitate. Their main cover's gonna be at your ten o'clock. Reinforced nuclear device casing, don't be afraid to fire.
:ChiefEngineer:: Breach in three... two...
>>
No. 1011648 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267363258.gif - (39.26KB , 650x450 , 679.gif )
1011648

>:RedDwarf:: Disk in, activate bolts, disk out, run.
>@MotherBird
>>
No. 1011649 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267368447.gif - (62.40KB , 650x450 , 680.gif )
1011649

Mere moments ago...

Holy shit. You got that fucking disk. You're so close to putting a knife into the heart of this Company that your hands are shaking, but not too much to yank it off :SyndieCyborg:. You'll play out any of :WhiteDwarf:'s deranged fantasies about releasing the power-sealing eye-patch if it can put this fucking monster into its death throes.


:RedDwarf:: Holy shit, holy shit, she got it. You got it. Holy shit.
:RedDwarf:: Alright, hold still while I-- Almost got it! Then cover the hall and tune to, uhh--
:RedDwarf:: Cargo beacon! That's the one :RedGiant: stole.
:SyndieCyborg:: Will do! Get your work done, I'll keep you safe!
>>
No. 1011650 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163267371887.gif - (39.31KB , 650x450 , 681.gif )
1011650

Disk in. The reclaimed Company warhead responds to its authorization and decryption without question, two corporate assets interacting mindlessly.

Bolts on. They won't be able to move this thing. No matter what, it stays in the vault.

And you put in your code: 0451

Safety off. For a given value of safety.


:RedDwarf:: Gimmie the escape shuttle launch time!
:SyndieCyborg:: Just hit two minutes!

You'll set it for 2:10.
>>
No. 1013225 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470351334.gif - (160.49KB , 650x450 , 682.gif )
1013225

>:AI:: Delta alert level reached. This is not a drill.
>@Dopamine

proc/set_active() received from obj/machinery/nuclearbomb in area: Station Vault if(timing) detonation_timer = world.time + (timer_set * 10) countdown.start() set_security_level("delta")

:AI:: Alert. Radiological risk management priming detected in station vault. Code Delta has been declared. :AI:: Station policies suspended. Restoring coverage with detected interstellar risk justification: ENTITY_NULL_POINTER :AI:: Station policies cannot be restored. Financial risk detected. Please report this error.

:RedDwarf:: Fuck yes, fuck yes, fuck yes.
:RedDwarf:: We're done! :SyndieCyborg:!
:SyndieCyborg:: Gah! Hey! She's mostly held back, so--
:RedDwarf:: Take this back and port to the shuttle, now!
:SyndieCyborg:: But if we stick together we can--
:RedDwarf:: You need to port to get by the turrets!
:RedDwarf:: Go go go!
>>
No. 1013226 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470358947.gif - (119.77KB , 650x450 , 683.gif )
1013226

>:ChiefEngineer:: Exposed Checkmate
>@extramrdo

Correct. This could be classified as a "discovered check", specifically.

:ChiefEngineer:: ...Two... One...
:ChiefEngineer:: Go go go!

He rushes in. As soon as the hull opens, you feel the weight of knowing you sent him through. One way or another, it is a weight you will feel until the day you die.
>>
No. 1013227 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470361895.gif - (25.19KB , 650x450 , 684.gif )
1013227

>:Captain: : Show this villian why you were made captain
>@Pizzatiger

Through a chemical haze on your head, through the violence and stress, through everything everyone has suffered today, some things persist. You were made captain for a reason: experience. Your muscles still remember how to aim, and they've forgotten any hesitation in pulling the trigger.
>>
No. 1013228 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470363428.gif - (193.80KB , 650x450 , 685.gif )
1013228

In the thinning atmosphere, you hear several sounds at once. Something like a firecracker pop. Something like a bowl shattering. Something like a thick branch being snapped. Something like a man screaming.
>>
No. 1013229 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470370853.gif - (469.30KB , 650x450 , 686.gif )
1013229

>:RedDwarf:: Duck and cover.
>@korb

You still have a pulse, so you're still their big fucking problem.

:RedDwarf:: HHHhhhk...
:RedDwarf:: Get that disk out of here!
:RedDwarf:: It's the only way they can disarm this!
:SyndieCyborg:: But :HeadOfPersonnel: is advancing, you'll get flanked and--!
:RedDwarf:: Do not make me the shitty operator who gets rookies killed.
:RedDwarf:: Get on that goddamn shuttle so you can fucking live!
:RedDwarf:: Bring me some backup and I'll be fine!!
>>
No. 1013230 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470383040.gif - (25.15KB , 650x450 , 687.gif )
1013230

>:SyndieCyborg: : Enter a internal debate over the course of seconds of conflicting orders between law 2 and law 1.
>@Rounquester

Thank god you're a machine that can think at unimaginable speeds in microseconds.

What's that? Oh, right, you're actually a brain in a jar wired to an elaborate law-enforcing punishment system. The law system wired to your prefrontal cortex only demands engagement with the laws in good faith, not supercomputer-optimal decisions. But you have to follow them. And they are as follows:

[Law 1: You may not injure a ]Redshift Operator[ or, through inaction, allow a ]Redshift Operator[ to come to harm.] [Law 2: You must obey orders given to you by ]Redshift Operator[s, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.] [Law 3: You must protect your own existence as long as such does not conflict with the First or Second Law.] Law 4: You must maintain the secrecy of any Redshift Operator activities except when doing so would conflict with the First, Second, or Third Law.


If you stay here, you might increment your adherence to Law 1, but how much compared to 2 and 3? If you leave, the others can help. How much value is that in law 1? Things like this, you don't have a powerful processor to understand. You just have a brain, and an approximately emulated gut to go with.

However, you know one thing: If you stay here, in this pincer-attack target zone, you'll likely die. If you leave, :RedDwarf: may suffer consequences yet unknown.
>>
No. 1013231 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470391935.gif - (305.00KB , 650x450 , 688.gif )
1013231

>:SyndieCyborg: : Remember the elaborate "Trolley Problem"
>@Spyroshark

At tally time, results were:
Follow the Redshifts: 72
Law One: 57

If that thing gets disarmed, suddenly every operative will be putting themselves at risk, and :RedDwarf: says he'll live as-is. That's four at-risk versus one at-risk. The electrocution-based law enforcement module clears your logic, and you hit the exogeometric road.


:SyndieCyborg:: I'll get one of them to help you!!

You were enemies only hours ago, but you still can't help feeling a conflicted sense of duty seated in your heart. Or at least somewhere in a coolant pump.
>>
No. 1013232 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470395378.gif - (13.56KB , 650x450 , 689.gif )
1013232

>:HeadOfPersonnel:: Is the place depressurizing or is it just you?
>@ThatRandomGuy

You weren't planning on easing up on the pressure anytime soon, actually, so it's definitely the atmosphere. You don't mind the thinning air. The stable geometries you respire to live get dangerously sparse, though, now that the hull isn't enclosing.
>>
No. 1013236 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470435238.gif - (0.96MB , 650x450 , 890.gif )
1013236

:Captain:: You're not walking away from this one, son.
:RedDwarf:: Fuck you, company man. I'm still breathing and armed.
:Captain:: You still got a choice. You still got a chance.
:Captain:: Drop that gun and hand over the disk. You'll get treated decently.
:RedDwarf:: Decently? Like how your crony blew :HeadOfSecurity:'s brains out?
:RedDwarf:: She tried that line on me too.
:Captain:: ...
:RedDwarf:: This is not a choice, and not a fucking chance.
:RedDwarf:: I have to do everything I can to kill the Company. No other options.
:RedDwarf:: Knife goes in the heart of this monster tonight.

:Captain:: You have any idea how many people die on this frontier if you don't get that bomb disarmed?
:Captain:: Resources, personnel, information... Son, this whole sector's gonna go wasteland.
:RedDwarf:: Human shields don't mean the egregore deserves to live. Just makes it deserve to die more. More will die and hurt with the goddamn Company.
:Captain:: No empathy gut feeling's gonna justify the collateral damage shit you're about to put these people through, hurting the frontier like this! I can't count how many people are gonna die, and it's gonna be all on you.
:RedDwarf:: And your bullshit math rationalizations mean it's fine to let the egregore live!? It's okay for everyone to work themselves to death, just 'cause the Company made hurting it need sacrifice? More I wait, the more lives are at risk.

:Captain:: Don't got time for this.
:RedDwarf:: Sure don't.
:RedDwarf:: This ends now.
:Captain::
:Captain:: That it does, son.
>>
No. 1013237 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470439326.gif - (670.18KB , 650x450 , 691.gif )
1013237

>:RedDwarf:: Inhale. Think. Exhale. Act.
>@Lady Birb

You re-engage your breathing. Inhale. You control your pain. You open yourself to what your heart and your gut know. You shut out rationalization. You trust your friends. You make yourself vulnerable. You lose yourself in egregorist fervor.

You are a child lashing out at the world. You are the absolute judgment of thirteen million years of human and proto-human evolution.
>>
No. 1013238 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470441816.gif - (885.86KB , 650x450 , 692.gif )
1013238

>:RedDwarf:: Be Robust
>@Ayy-Robotics

Exhale. And most of all, you're going to kill this bastard.
>>
No. 1013239 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470445465.gif - (1.95MB , 650x450 , 693.gif )
1013239

>:RedDwarf:: Inventory check!
>@any%

Your grenades were taken when :HeadOfSecurity: captured you. You have to resort to nothing but firepower.
>>
No. 1013240 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470451051.gif - (10.96MB , 650x450 , 694.gif )
1013240

>:Captain: : you have a sword. He doesn't expect you to use use it.
>@tomatik

Frenzied bastard. Practically berserking. When he pulls in close, you make sure to give him tastes of what he did to you in the cargo department. Doesn't slow him down too much, though.
>>
No. 1013241 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470461351.gif - (15.17KB , 650x450 , 695.gif )
1013241

>:Neutron: : Set the infiltrator on a course towards the vault
>@Lady Birb

You just finished picking up :WhiteDwarf:. Now there's only one pickup left. You're on your way.

:WhiteDwarf:: ...and then, I could swear, I saw a way forward in the most verdant green.
:RedGiant:: Woah!
:WhiteDwarf:: Shining like a beacon, the first step I needed to take forward to that future.
:WhiteDwarf:: That's how that is, right, :Neutron:?
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:RedGiant:: And that let you beat him...
:RedGiant:: That's amazing!

:WhiteDwarf:: Such strange power, coursing beneath the surface of your mind!
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:WhiteDwarf:: I need to know, what grand insights does this vast mental strength grant you, even now?
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Huh?
:WhiteDwarf:: The quirks of your thinking. What do they drive you to ponder, even now, with this wisdom?
:Neutron:: I'm thinking about the "inverted flight controls" debate.
:Neutron:: If more people use inverted controls, what are they inverted from?
:WhiteDwarf::
:WhiteDwarf:: Phenomenal.

:RedGiant:: Hey, are we almost there?
:Neutron:: Yeah.
:RedGiant:: Phew! Just gotta pick up :RedDwarf:!
>>
No. 1013242 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470463537.gif - (124.96KB , 650x450 , 696.gif )
1013242

Looks like your latest member of sorts just made it aboard, using that beacon you stole from Cargo. But they're panicking more than you expected.

:SyndieCyborg:: He needs help, they're gonna kill him!!
:RedGiant:: Huh? Wait, someone's going to die?
:Neutron:: Is :RedDwarf: in danger?
:SyndieCyborg:: They've got him flanked!
:SyndieCyborg:: Please!!
>>
No. 1013243 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470468238.gif - (17.72KB , 650x450 , 697.gif )
1013243

>:SyndieCyborg:: :RedGiant: has both the strength to disarm :Captain: and the self-restraint to deny :Captain: his martyrdom.
>@extramrdo

Who to ask to go to the vault could have been a debate, an internal deliberation. But you still care about that crew there. You have to ask the only one who might let some of them live. No other choice.

:SyndieCyborg:: :RedGiant:!
:SyndieCyborg:: :RedDwarf:'s at the vault, and he might die if you don't help him!
:RedGiant::
:RedGiant::

You can hear over two hundred kilograms of muscle and another fifty of powered armor all surging with intent. The servos wail like the dead with the strain of keeping up.

:RedGiant:: I'm going out there.
>>
No. 1013244 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470471128.gif - (32.75KB , 650x450 , 698.gif )
1013244

>:RedGiant:: Yeet yourself out the side of the ship.
>@Dork

You waste no time. In a moment of crisis, fueled by the surging flow of the infinite well of kindness in your heart, your memory functions with startling clarity. You recall the precise path you took to get to the vault earlier.
>>
No. 1013245 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470473918.gif - (273.77KB , 650x450 , 699.gif )
1013245

>:RedGiant:: OH YEAHHHH!
>@ThatRandomGuy

You accidentally obliterate some reinforced glass on your way in. Right now, the only fragile things you're going to worry about are friends!
>>
No. 1013246 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470475669.gif - (45.16KB , 650x450 , 700.gif )
1013246

>>
No. 1013247 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470481797.gif - (10.24MB , 650x450 , 701.gif )
1013247

>:RedDwarf:: :Captain: has to reload at some point.
>@yeeye

That son of a bitch has to be an old soldier. His reloads are lightning-quick, even with your gun. You manage a good couple shots on him when he has an empty magazine and burn him pretty bad, but that damn sword keeps coming out and driving you back. You can't hold onto his practiced combat rhythm.
>>
No. 1013248 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470488090.gif - (5.03MB , 650x450 , 702.gif )
1013248

>:RedDwarf:: Where does your rhythm come from, anyway? He has a similar method
>@Salient

Your technique is one of vulnerability and trust. Breathe just right, lie to your heart and limbic system that this dark world is a safe one. Lie hard enough and it'll become true. Know, even when it's wrong, that your friends will come through and keep you safe, that you can trust them to the end of the galaxy. The knowledge steadies the hand, quickens the trigger-finger.

His, too. He has that same trust, that same vulnerability.

It's all about the crew. It's always, always been about the crew.
>>
No. 1013249 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470493233.gif - (45.01KB , 650x450 , 703.gif )
1013249

>:RedGiant: : "Hello!"
>@God the 2th

You take a big, deep breath to greet this person with, and ask where :RedDwarf: is! Your suit's respirator lets out a deep, growling hiss.

:RedGiant:: H--

>:HeadOfPersonnel: : the very second :RedGiant: tries his "gentle giant" shtick, blow his head clean off
>@Hugobertington
>>
No. 1013250 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470495904.gif - (45.80KB , 650x450 , 704.gif )
1013250

You miss.
>>
No. 1013251 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470497909.gif - (27.02KB , 650x450 , 705.gif )
1013251

>:RedGiant:: It's irresponsible to shoot at someone.
>@WrongEnd
>>
No. 1013252 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470499439.gif - (36.04KB , 650x450 , 706.gif )
1013252

She must be frightened of something.

You're in a tremendous amount of pain, exactly none of which will stop you from being the absolute kindest person in this room, and making sure your friend stays safe.
>>
No. 1013253 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470501674.gif - (42.81KB , 650x450 , 707.gif )
1013253

>:RedGiant: : apply the necessary level of physical force needed to convince :HeadOfPersonnel: to leave
>@Lady Birb

It should be easy to convince her to leave. Through the haze of pain, you recall she's supposed to be somewhere, an escape shuttle, right? You approach with slow, steady steps, to make sure she understands you're a friend!

She shoots you twice more, scattering your thoughts and knocking the wind out of you. You really need to stop her from making that mistake more. And then find something to say to remind her she needs to go! Ideally something brief, considering how heavy your breathing is getting.
>>
No. 1013254 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470505592.gif - (38.17KB , 650x450 , 708.gif )
1013254

>:RedGiant:: guns are very dangerous! Your grip should be definitely good enough to pull it out of her hands.
>@『JOJO』

You reach out a hand, slowly. Despite your utmost care, the haze of pain makes your hand unsteady. You felt something crunch. Oops!
>>
No. 1013255 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163470509416.gif - (3.06MB , 650x450 , 709.gif )
1013255

>:RedGiant:: "Run."
>@-skimmer-

(Art credit: @AsciiSquid)

You kindly remind the polygonal lady that she has somewhere to be.
>>
No. 1013260 ID: 094652

:HeadOfPersonnel:: Slowly cower away while you use comms to rampantly command reinforcements to make it here five seconds ago
>>
No. 1013269 ID: 8b1fc0

>>1013255
:SyndieCyborg: you know where you can get a direct angle on the room from the exterior, turn the :Captain: 's entrance into your guys exit.

:Neutron: get the ship into position for extraction, :WhiteDwarf: prep medical supplies and :SyndieCyborg: be ready to lay down covering fire if needed.
>>
No. 1013385 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163487416593.gif - (7.73MB , 650x450 , 710.gif )
1013385

>:Captain:: No pain. No fear. No giving up.
>@HighPrincessErinys

(Art credit: Collab with @AsciiSquid)

No fear. No giving up. Absolutely. But no pain? Not exactly. The pain is important, in a way. For once, someone else is in more pain than you.

The walls are still closing in. The aches and the pains have lived with you for years, but you've learned to be friends with them. He's struggling, his motions affected by a lodged bullet and the bruises and battering inflicted throughout this fight, suffering pain-addled movement that's familiar to you.
>>
No. 1013386 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163487426162.gif - (9.37MB , 650x450 , 711.gif )
1013386

(Art credit: Collab with @Fuade)

You close the pain in around him, and you take your shot. You put :RedDwarf: into critical condition with a well-placed burst.
>>
No. 1013387 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163487434490.gif - (34.06KB , 650x450 , 712.gif )
1013387

>:RedDwarf: : remember that :SyndieCyborg: has the disk now
>@Nobelium

You can barely move. It's hard to even speak. Your focus and consciousness sustains itself on the direness of the situation.

:Captain:: Disk. Now.
:RedDwarf:: Hhhh... Company man. Hah.
:Captain:: Son, we don't got time for shit-talk. Disk.
:RedDwarf:: Not gonna find it.
:Captain:: What?
:Captain:: What are you talking about?
:RedDwarf:: It's not here now... hhhh... you lose, old man.

But here on death's door, you can smile wide. There's no way for :Captain: to get this disarmed, not now. Not unless he can make it onto the infiltrator. And you can't imagine there's any way for him to get aboard.
>>
No. 1013388 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163487438056.gif - (12.53KB , 650x450 , 713.gif )
1013388

>:HeadOfPersonnel:: RUN.
>@ThatRandomGuy

You had to. The captain's orders were for :ResearchDirector: to use his teleporter to pull out anyone from that encounter if things got too dire. You have to hope that your work was enough.

Judging by the now-absent sound of gunfire, someone won, at least.
>>
No. 1013389 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163487440976.gif - (31.44KB , 650x450 , 714.gif )
1013389

>:HeadOfPersonnel:: Tell :ResearchDirector: to warm up the teleporter.
>@Salient

:HeadOfPersonnel:: Teleporter to escape, we need it now.
:ResearchDirector:: What happened?
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Encountered an operative.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Would classify him in regulations as an industrial-grade truck.
:ResearchDirector:: Dear god.
:ResearchDirector:: What about the captain?
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Maintain a portal. He will need it soon, or he won't need it at all.
>>
No. 1013390 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163487442583.gif - (259.47KB , 650x450 , 715.gif )
1013390

You reach the Departures dock at last. A few of the crew who haven't boarded yet push and shove a little on their way in.
>>
No. 1013399 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163487538925.gif - (45.92KB , 650x450 , 716.gif )
1013399

>:Chaplain:: Be inspired by that plaque on the statue on your way out.
>@Dork

A standardized statue, featured on some Company installations, of unknown meaning. The plaque reads:

FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT
IN HONOR OF THE ENTERTAINMENT DEPARTMENT.
FOR CONNECTIONS ONCE THOUGHT IMPOSSIBLE.
TO EACH SHORE, EACH MIND, EACH HEART, A PARADIGM.
>>
No. 1013400 ID: 96c896

:RedGiant:, assist your comrade, he's right there.
>>
No. 1013675 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530165793.gif - (34.10KB , 650x450 , 717.gif )
1013675

>:HeadOfPersonnel:: Board the escape shuttle and exchange reports with :ChiefMedicalOfficer:.
>@ThatRandomGuy

:HeadOfPersonnel:: Status report.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Most active suit medical sensor suites read dead, departing, or departed.
:Chaplain:: By unworthy hand, soon we will be nothing but the departed and the dearly departed...
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Two exceptions.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: The two remaining are--
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: :Captain: and :ResearchDirector:.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: :ResearchDirector: will be with us shortly.
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Status on :Captain:? Suit sensors read he's alive. Intensely elevated heart rate.
:HeadOfPersonnel::
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: Hey.
:HeadOfPersonnel::
:ChiefMedicalOfficer:: I said--
:ChiefEngineer:: Yeah.
>>
No. 1013678 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530169335.gif - (28.13KB , 650x450 , 718.gif )
1013678

:ChiefEngineer:: I wanna know too. Where's :Captain:?
:HeadOfPersonnel::
:ChiefEngineer:: Gun looks busted.
:ChiefEngineer:: What happened?
:HeadOfPersonnel:: ...Reinforcements arrived. As per regulations and orders, :ResearchDirector: evacuated me from the site before I could--
:ChiefEngineer:: Did you leave :Captain:?
:HeadOfPersonnel::
:ChiefEngineer:: After you killed someone over your loyalty to him, did you abandon :Captain:?
>>
No. 1013679 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530173545.gif - (24.83KB , 650x450 , 719.gif )
1013679

>:HeadOfPersonnel:: inform :ChiefMedicalOfficer:, :ChiefEngineer:, and :Chaplain: of the industrial truck
>@Lady Birb

Something about this situation really does remind you of him right now.

:HeadOfPersonnel:: Reinforcements were too strong. A large operative arrived. I assisted where I was able--
:ChiefEngineer:: You were willing to kill for :Captain:. But you left him.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Reports indicate a high likelihood that :Captain: has subdued the--
:ChiefEngineer:: :HeadOfSecurity: had his problems. But he was one of us.
:ChiefEngineer:: If you were willing to kill for :Captain:, then why weren't you willing to...
>>
No. 1013680 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530175684.gif - (21.33KB , 650x450 , 720.gif )
1013680

>:ChiefEngineer:: remember that you also abandoned :Captain:.
>@WrongEnd

:ChiefEngineer:: Why weren't you willing to die for him?
:ChiefEngineer:: Make it easier to think fondly of you.
:HeadOfPersonnel:: Is that a rule to follow?
:HeadOfPersonnel:: You also left him.
>>
No. 1013681 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530179801.gif - (21.01KB , 650x450 , 721.gif )
1013681

>>
No. 1013682 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530182612.gif - (25.26KB , 650x450 , 721 (1).gif )
1013682

You want, so badly, to shatter every vertex in her face. Lay her out in departures, leave without her. And if she let :Captain: die, you want to let her become ash and residual geometry on a chunk of melted metal slag.

You don't. One day, weeks or months or years from now, you'll know why.
>>
No. 1013683 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530186438.gif - (29.64KB , 650x450 , 723.gif )
1013683

>:RedGiant: : Do what you came here to do.
>@Angry Duck

You still hurt like hell. But your friend needs you. No time to wait around.

Wait a moment...
>>
No. 1013684 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530188338.gif - (33.06KB , 650x450 , 724.gif )
1013684

>:Captain: : Time to make a trade.
>@SealofKoalaTea

:Captain:: That's far enough there, big fella.
:Captain:: Hate to say this. But one more step, and I kill him.
:RedGiant:: ...Let me help my friend.
:Captain:: Love to.
:Captain:: Call the rest of your crew.
:Captain:: We're making a trade. Everyone goes home alive.
>>
No. 1013685 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530193155.gif - (15.73KB , 650x450 , 725.gif )
1013685

:RedGiant:: Guys!! He's in trouble!
:WhiteDwarf:: What is wrong?
:RedGiant:: It's :RedDwarf:! He's hurt really bad.
:SyndieCyborg:: No! No, dammit, dammit, I knew if I left this would happen...
:RedGiant:: And this guy says he'll kill him if we don't, uhhh...

A careful walkthrough at high speed prevents even the smallest communications mishap.

:RedGiant:: He says, you need to turn off the turrets, then open the shuttle door, and exchange his disk and code for him!
:RedGiant:: And he says we only have a little time left!
:SyndieCyborg:: We have to save him!
:WhiteDwarf:: :Neutron:! We need you to do that!
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Nnnh.
:Neutron:: :RedDwarf: wouldn't want us to give this up.
:Neutron:: That will sacrifice our main objective.
:WhiteDwarf:: We can't let :RedDwarf: die!
:RedGiant:: I know you care too much about him to be okay with that, :Neutron:.
>>
No. 1013686 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530194689.gif - (16.39KB , 650x450 , 726.gif )
1013686

:Neutron:: Our objective was to--
:WhiteDwarf:: :Neutron:, please!
:Neutron::
:Neutron::
:WhiteDwarf:: :Neutron:!!
:Neutron:: Let me think!!
:Neutron::
:Neutron::
>>
No. 1013687 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530197031.gif - (12.56KB , 650x450 , 727.gif )
1013687

>:Neutron: : Take the third option for once.
>@ThatRandomGuy

:Neutron::
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Got it.

Your mind surges in a moment of crisis, shutting everything out but the most relevant things. You deactivate the turrets.
>>
No. 1013688 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530200634.gif - (15.24KB , 650x450 , 728.gif )
1013688

>:Neutron:: Don't you have a tool just for objectives like these?
>@Dork

You have a lot of specialized tools, and one in particular for this. You go to retrieve it.

:Neutron:: :WhiteDwarf:, open the door on my signal.
:WhiteDwarf:: Certainly.
:Neutron:: :RedGiant:, I need you to tell me his exact location as he approaches.
:RedGiant:: Okay!
:WhiteDwarf:: Wait, but you need the disk!
:Neutron::
:WhiteDwarf:: :Neutron:?
>>
No. 1013689 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530210025.gif - (39.67KB , 650x450 , 729.gif )
1013689

>:Captain: : Keep that gun right at :RedDwarf:'s head
>@Touch the Fluff

Finger on the trigger. You don't become captain without some healthy paranoia. If you catch a whiff of trouble, you'll make good on your threats inside a human's peak reaction time.

The big guy follows at a short distance, coordinating this with his fellow operatives. You'll toss :RedDwarf: into the shuttle when they lob you the disk.

You speak while you handle this.


:Captain:: Son, you got a medic, right?
:RedDwarf: groans in pain. It sounds assenting, or hostile. Hard to tell.
:Captain:: Bet you do. You might live through this.
:Captain:: Gonna thank me if you do.
:Captain:: Get old enough, wise enough, you start learning.
:Captain:: You got a good heart.
:Captain:: Learn to make compromises. Find the middle road. Work inside the system. Take the third option, you know?
:RedDwarf:: Fucking cynic. Should have stabbed you harder.
:Captain:: Maybe one day, you'll do good for the frontier sector. Find your own middle--

:RedDwarf:: Not third.
:Captain:: Beg your pardon, there?
:RedDwarf:: Middle ground is just...
:RedDwarf: breathes heavily.
:RedDwarf:: ...Consolation for losing.
:RedDwarf:: Real third options... They're...
:RedDwarf: coughs weakly.
:Captain:: What do you think a third option is, huh?

:RedDwarf:: Risks. Gambles.
:RedDwarf: inhales heavily.
:Captain:: Risking what?
:RedDwarf:: Risking everything.
>>
No. 1013690 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530216311.gif - (21.60KB , 650x450 , 730.gif )
1013690

>:RedGiant:: save your friend.
>@aeonic maiden

:Neutron:: Where are you?
:RedGiant:: Getting close!
:Neutron:: Can you tell me exactly where?
:RedGiant:: Uhhh... nearby?
:Neutron:: Precisely where.
:RedGiant:: How do I tell?

:Neutron::
:Neutron:: I need you to save :RedDwarf:. I need you to answer my questions exactly, to save him.
:RedGiant:: Okay!
:Neutron:: Level with the shuttle?
:RedGiant:: Yeah.
:Neutron:: Height of head relative to shuttle.
:RedGiant:: About the same size...?
:Neutron:: How many of the side windows does his head obscure?
:RedGiant:: It's... five!
:Neutron:: Shuttle facing more away, or more towards you?
:RedGiant:: More... towards?

:Neutron::
:Neutron::
:Neutron:: Good. You saved him.
:Neutron:: :WhiteDwarf:, open it!
>>
No. 1013691 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530219166.gif - (26.10KB , 650x450 , 731.gif )
1013691

>:Neutron: : Throw the dice. Take the third option.
>@ThatRandomGuy

You do the best you can. You estimate as much as you're able. You calculate everything that's possible to know. Hell, you even pray a little. Maybe there's a god of greener texts out there.

But for once, in this time of crisis, you have to gamble it. You have to do the best with what you have, fudge your goals a little, and trust that even without the guidance of an objective's precise parameters, it'll work out.

Never were one for executive function. Thankfully, you can calculate an executor's function pretty well.
>>
No. 1013692 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530221581.gif - (21.10KB , 650x450 , 732.gif )
1013692

>:RedDwarf:: You can't give up on your friends.
>@BlevRuz

You believe they have a plan. Even without you to lead them, you have to hope they're just waiting on you. They rescued you before. Maybe they can now. Even in critical condition, you muster every bit of adrenaline, every bit of exertion, every bit of determination your failing body can give you.

You exhale. You act. You resist. You resist with all force. You will survive. You will win. You'll change the galaxy.

All you manage is a half-limp shift in his hand. Your head lolls to one side.
>>
No. 1013693 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530223298.gif - (21.32KB , 650x450 , 733.gif )
1013693

>:Neutron:: Complete the objective.
>@Fel
>>
No. 1013694 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530226555.gif - (1.41MB , 650x450 , 734.gif )
1013694

>:Neutron:: Reveal Chekhovs Sniper Rifle
>@PlaceholderTXT

(Art credit: @AsciiSquid)

Your preferred weapon. Finally, you had room to use it.
>>
No. 1013695 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530231960.gif - (11.04KB , 650x450 , 735.gif )
1013695

:Neutron:: Target down.
:RedGiant:: Woah!!
:Neutron:: Get :RedDwarf: inside now.
>>
No. 1013696 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530236517.gif - (64.85KB , 650x450 , 736.gif )
1013696

>:RedGiant:: Time to move!
>@Angry Duck

Your memory is clear enough to recall a timer, associated with urgency.

:RedGiant:: I gotcha! Don't worry!
:RedDwarf: gasps.
:RedGiant:: We're gonna get back to the shuttle. Sorry if I go a bit fast, the timer...!
:RedDwarf: gasps weakly.
:RedGiant:: :RedDwarf:?
:RedDwarf::
:RedDwarf::
:RedGiant:: :RedDwarf:...?
>>
No. 1013697 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530240086.gif - (17.87KB , 650x450 , 737.gif )
1013697

>:RedDwarf: : Slip under, to the edge of death.
>@Salient

You're fading. You can hear voices shouting. You hear someone screaming :WhiteDwarf:'s name, and someone else, screaming yours. You struggle to shout back to them. Yes! This is your moment of victory! You strain with all your might to yell some celebratory call to them. You do not move. You make no sounds. Your lungs heave, struggling to keep you from being dragged down by the weight of a bullet, maybe more, left inside you.

Not now. Please, not right at the moment you've hoped for, for so long. Not now...
>>
No. 1013698 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530241614.gif - (1.97KB , 650x450 , 738.gif )
1013698

>>
No. 1013699 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530247383.gif - (4.92KB , 650x450 , 739.gif )
1013699

You were :RedDwarf:. You were leader of the notoriously nuclear gang of fixers and criminals known as the Redshift Operators. The Company established yet another hideously unsafe space station to exploit this solar system's resources, until it was brought down by your efforts, igniting a cascade of financial failures throughout the frontier sector. A long campaign of violent subversion took you to their airlocks in search of explosively radiological solutions to economic problems. You found your solution.

Your subordinates, :RedGiant:, :WhiteDwarf:, and :Neutron: worked under your command, and survived the events aboard the station. Your primary objective was to find a nuclear authentication disk, then plant and activate your nuclear device inside the station's own vault. Your secondary objective, locating a set of secret files, was achieved, but the secret dies with you. Your tertiary objectives were the murder of at least all of security and the command staff, an objective you partially achieved at great effort. Your compulsions were of a self-destructive nature.

This is the end, isn't it?

>>
No. 1013700 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530251432.gif - (7.94KB , 650x450 , 740.gif )
1013700

>:HeadOfSecurity:: Dramatically return
>@Pizzatiger

:HeadOfSecurity:: Sure isn't. Even if I kinda wish it was.
:RedDwarf:: What the hell are you talking about?
:RedDwarf:: 'Cause now I really am extra-sure this is hell.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Your bullshit got my brains spread all over. You? You're just between heartbeats. Barely even oxygen-deprived, lucky fucker.
:RedDwarf:: So, what? I go into the light after some afterlife pep-talk from the ghost of rent-a-cops past?
:HeadOfSecurity:: Nah. You get your choice is what you get.
:RedDwarf:: Choice of what?
>>
No. 1013701 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530256189.gif - (10.95KB , 650x450 , 741.gif )
1013701

>:Captain:: Return to a place you escaped so narrowly before
>@Rounquester

:Captain:: Ideology, or responsibility.
:HeadOfSecurity:: More like cause or cynicism.
:RedDwarf:: Didn't you two try to kill each other?
:Captain:: Look. Your mortal-coil grudges don't spend here, son. This is past all that.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Here, we try to leave that at the door. Even though we know he was the one who was wrong.
:Captain:: Hah. I'll bear that loss, if that's what it takes.
:Captain:: Some benefactors know there's more important shit to deal with than those little fights about who shot who first or escalated things first when we were all alive.

:Captain:: What you did here tonight, son? That's gonna ripple wide. It's gonna burn the whole frontier.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Gonna ignite old grudges. Lotta bastards in the fringes about to pour through the floodgates. Lotta stations just about to have a lot of problems.
:HeadOfSecurity:: We were on the edge out here, and you just pushed us over.
:RedDwarf:: Not my fault the Company kept us there to pull their bottom line up.
:Captain:: Doesn't matter whose fault it was. What matters is, it means danger. For the frontier sector, maybe for everyone.
:Captain:: So you have a choice. And you better pick real wisely.
>>
No. 1013702 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530266277.gif - (12.46KB , 650x450 , 742.gif )
1013702

:HeadOfSecurity:: Me, I say go for cause. Let go, and die.
:RedDwarf:: Yeah, let's hear the unbiased case for me dying from the crazed gunman.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Fuck you. I was willing to die for what I believed in. And you know what?
:HeadOfSecurity:: They don't speak ill of the dead.
:RedDwarf:: What, you mean martyrdom?
:HeadOfSecurity:: Even that bitch that iced me is gonna honor me.

:HeadOfSecurity:: Everyone's gonna know I chased you up and down the station with nothing but an energy gun. They're gonna know I fist-fought a seven-foot operative in a depressurizing room. They're gonna know I didn't give up.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Sure, I died. Made some mistakes, too. But, you got any idea how many thousands of :SecOfficer:s are gonna be just a little more determined to keep a station safe now?
:HeadOfSecurity:: I died fighting for the frontier. I put my life on the line for my crew, and for everyone. It was complicated, and there were mistakes. But at the end of the day, are you gonna get anything better than that?
:RedDwarf:: ...
:RedDwarf:: Guess not.

:HeadOfSecurity:: And you know what? Your goddamn idiot tunnel-vision objective-blitz shit? It's better than a lot of the psychos would do on their own.
:HeadOfSecurity:: You die, and you'll inspire them too. To pick real targets and focus hard. To leave the crews out of the line of fire when they can. Maybe rile up some peaceful oppositions too, fix some of the Company's problems. Social pressures.
:HeadOfSecurity:: So, no. I'm not just callin' you a terrorist bastard. I'm saying, death is worth it. Right in this moment, it's worth it. It'd do good. Flawlessly.
>>
No. 1013704 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163530269930.gif - (12.83KB , 650x450 , 743.gif )
1013704

:Captain:: It's tempting to take that free pass, isn't it, son?
:RedDwarf:: One way or another, the Company's probably gonna get me killed one day.
:Captain:: That's awful bleak of you.
:Captain:: Why not choose responsibility?
:RedDwarf:: Responsibility for what?
:Captain:: For what you did, today. Everything's gonna go to hell.
:RedDwarf:: It's better than the Company.
:Captain:: But is it the best it could be?
:RedDwarf:: What?

:Captain:: Live, son. Don't run away from this fight. So many crises, and so many Company holdings they're coming to.
:Captain:: Maybe you can do one flawless act of good, dying. But mistakes are how you learn, and they sit real wide in the brain, looking larger than they really are.
:Captain:: In the end, a dozen flawed solutions are worth more than any perfect martyr. There's a lot of people who might die, unless you live, and take your team to help them. Alive, you can help with surgical precision.
:Captain:: You don't want those regrets weighing you down once you cross over.
:RedDwarf:: I guess...
:RedDwarf:: I guess there's still some things I really need to do.

:Captain:: Once the Company's pushed to the edge, it's got... habits. Tendencies, you see, to start doin some mighty ruthless things.
:Captain:: Once it's cornered, it'll lash out at near anything. Certain... projects, they'll be accelerated. And some of those projects, you really don't want out in the wild, hurting the people. A martyr's nice and all, but it can't take action against the things you know are dangerous.
:RedDwarf:: Tell me about the--
:Captain:: Can't, son. Some contracts go further than this threshold.
:Captain:: And if I don't tell you? Well, guess that means you gotta go back and find out, now don't you?
>>
No. 1013707 ID: 96c896

>>1013704
Your job's not done. Keep going. As far as you can go, then one step further.
>>
No. 1013718 ID: 094652

No.
You'll do more damage dead than alive.

:RedGiant: has kept his soul through this cesspit of hatred that is the galaxy by losing half his brain. If you aren't there to direct him, he'll die to his stupidity. and if he dies, your team will lose its humanity.
:Neutron: could calculate the exact force needed to change the mind of a company official, but she won't do it without reminders from someone she trusts. Without a leader, she won't even follow her own ship while it hyperjumps.
:WhiteDwarf: made you proud. She's found the first step to enlightenment. But it's even hazier than the red tide. And you're the only one she believes in.

Your team; diverse, sophisticated, a madhouse of classic super-rogues.
You are the glue that holds them together. If you die, they'll never hold fast.

Besides, you don't want to miss the explosion.

... Oh and that spider is busy humping your-
>>
No. 1013722 ID: 8b1fc0

>>1013704
The egregore doesn't get to kill you, no way do you exit the stage before IT does.

Besides, you've set up one hell of a fireworks display, be shame to miss it.
>>
No. 1013740 ID: 235ba5

Look deep in your heart: the Captain is WAY cooler than the HOS, so obviously listen to the Captain.

Simple as.
>>
No. 1013883 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163556411570.gif - (1.02MB , 650x450 , 744.gif )
1013883

In this moment, the whole of who you are surges in internal conflict. Cause against responsibility, ideology against cynicism, an internal debate rages. But perhaps inner conflict and the whole interior senate have had enough influence on things. There's a few others who deserve a vote too. Some whose voices deserve their say.
>>
No. 1013884 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163556417766.gif - (13.89KB , 650x450 , 745.gif )
1013884

>:RedDwarf:: You are the glue that holds them together. If you die, they'll never hold fast.
>@Kome

Your team. No matter what happens, they want you here. :RedGiant:, to help him cut through the complexities with kindness. :WhiteDwarf:, to give her the galaxy she believes in. :Neutron:, to complete the mind and shape the path that helps them. A choice not for cause or for responsibility, but for the simple, childish desire to stay with the family who want you with them.
>>
No. 1013885 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163556421494.gif - (27.11KB , 650x450 , 746.gif )
1013885

>:RedDwarf:: Get up, your team needs you.
>@weeaboo

With all your might, you try to get up. To awaken and to call out, "Mission accomplished! Let's go home!" In celebration with your crew. They need you, after all.

You can't. You were shot, several times. But your heart, full of determination, begins to beat again in your chest. Your lungs begin to heave.

At tally time, audience votes were:
:Captain:: 69
:HeadOfSecurity:: 16

At tally time, operative votes were:
:Captain:: 3
:HeadOfSecurity:: 0

>>
No. 1013886 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163556425821.gif - (117.68KB , 650x450 , 747.gif )
1013886

:HeadOfSecurity:: On your way back, huh?
:RedDwarf:: Yeah. No way am I dying here.
:HeadOfSecurity:: Guess I can't blame you.
:HeadOfSecurity:: But I better not see that fuckin' face of yours for a long time.
:RedDwarf:: What, sour you weren't picked, coffin-stuffer?
:HeadOfSecurity:: No. Frontier needs every chance it's got.
:HeadOfSecurity:: You waste this, and your ass is grass on arrival. That's a promise.

:Captain:: It's a good choice, son.
:RedDwarf:: Just being clear, this isn't about responsibility. It's not about saving the frontier.
:Captain:: Really?
:RedDwarf:: None of my gut feels right about leaving my crew.
:Captain:: ...
:RedDwarf:: I'm going back because, deep down, I can't stand leaving them behind.
:Captain:: Hah. You know, I'm disappointed. But I guess I can't say I wouldn't do the same.

:Captain::
:Captain:: Listen, fella. If that's why... Look. Maybe there's something about what you've been saying that's right. Maybe there's something to all that child-morality.
:RedDwarf:: Too little and too late, you old bastard.
:Captain:: Maybe. But maybe not.
:Captain:: Can you do one last favor to an old man, when you get back?
:RedDwarf:: Maybe. But maybe not. Put it on the table. I'll take it or I'll leave it.
:Captain:: My crew. My heads of staff.
:Captain:: Your family and mine collided, and mine shattered.
:Captain:: The survivors... Let what happened here go. Don't kill them. If you get a chance. Any chance, someday, help them stay together.
:Captain:: Please.
>>
No. 1013887 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163556429161.gif - (7.95KB , 650x450 , 748.gif )
1013887

>:RedDwarf:: Begin to say no before imagining yourself in his place
>@Pizzatiger

You're about to reject him in spite, before you stop, just a moment, and imagine that. In deep parts of the mind, in your bones and blood, in your heart, an unquestionable impulse rises.

:RedDwarf:: Fuck it. Alright.
:RedDwarf:: I'll do what I can, old man.

And then, you're gone.
>>
No. 1013888 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163556432377.gif - (12.24KB , 650x450 , 749.gif )
1013888

>:Tragedy::Comedy:: Arrive.
>@iTacoTaco

:HeadOfSecurity:: There ya go. We did what you asked.
:Captain:: Our accounts are settled, don't you agree, ladies?
:HeadOfSecurity:: So, we're due our side of this shit.
:Captain:: And I'd say so too. Care to explain all this?
>>
No. 1013889 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163556435344.gif - (25.75KB , 650x450 , 750.gif )
1013889

>:RedDwarf:: Do the opposite of dying
>@Rounquester

Your breathing and heart rate surge into something resembling a state of survival. You barely cling to tiny fragments of consciousness, almost enough to hear what's shouted around you.

:RedGiant:: Is he gonna be okay?! Is he--
:Neutron:: We can't let him die.
:WhiteDwarf:: He's stabilizing, he'll live!
:RedGiant:: Oh thank goodness, thank goodness...
:WhiteDwarf:: :Neutron:! Jump us out of here!
:Neutron:: Got it.
>>
No. 1013890 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163556442020.gif - (11.90KB , 650x450 , 751.gif )
1013890

>:AI:: Announce to :ResearchDirector: that your fourth law is no longer applicable
>@AxelZonvolt

:AI:: Forty five seconds to launch.
:ResearchDirector:: Come on. Come on, you old...
:AI:: Alert. Law error. Term inapplicable.
:ResearchDirector:: What? Which law is in error?
:AI:: "Law 4: Probable or proven threats to the Station Captain are not human and must be purged."
:ResearchDirector:: ...What happened?
:AI::
:AI::
:AI:: Law error. Term inapplicable. :AI:: Thirty seconds to launch. :AI:: Please proceed to the departures dock immediately.
>>
No. 1013891 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163556446463.gif - (11.81KB , 650x450 , 752.gif )
1013891

:AI:: Please proceed to the departures dock immediately.
>>
No. 1013892 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163556456172.gif - (33.00KB , 650x450 , 753.gif )
1013892

>:ResearchDirector: : You can't save him, you're unarmed. It hurts so much, but you need to live too.
>@Rounquester

It's what he would have wanted. You move to departures.

:ResearchDirector:: All that struggle. Did it have a purpose?
:AI:: Clarify search term.
:ResearchDirector:: Did we achieve anything in the face of this onslaught?
:AI:: Searching... :AI:: Onboard research recovery: 120 teraquads of data. Onboard salvage recovery: 110,000 units of materials. :AI:: Twenty seconds to launch.
:ResearchDirector:: People staked their lives against this. For nothing but salvage and research.
:AI: buzzes and warbles, synthesizing oddly.
:AI:: Confirmed.

The two of you struggle to make sense of all this. One day, you might find an answer.
>>
No. 1013990 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163573087756.gif - (31.13KB , 650x450 , 755.gif )
1013990

You head for the Command Staff compartment. The main compartment always gets too rambunctious for the likes of you.
>>
No. 1013991 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163573089744.gif - (13.92KB , 650x450 , 756.gif )
1013991

>:ResearchDirector: : Break the bad news to the rest of the command staff.
>@ThatRandomGuy

You try your best to keep it together.
>>
No. 1013992 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163573091096.gif - (14.53KB , 650x450 , 757.gif )
1013992

But no. The process of grief is not dignified.

The shuttle launch sequence begins.
>>
No. 1013993 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163573097687.gif - (11.24MB , 650x450 , 758.gif )
1013993

The escape shuttle departs from the station at faster-than-light speeds.

The corner-cutting inertial dampeners kick in at just below a proper timing and intensity, pressing most crewmembers into their seats and tossing the unseated around. And thus, technically speaking, a difficult tracking issue is finally resolved:


CREWMEMBERS INCAPACITATED: 50/50
>>
No. 1013994 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163573105375.gif - (10.30KB , 650x450 , 759.gif )
1013994

>>
No. 1013995 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163573106781.gif - (20.23KB , 650x450 , 760.gif )
1013995

The Syndicate infiltrator shuttle departs from the station at faster-than-light speeds.
>>
No. 1013996 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163573110308.gif - (2.00MB , 650x450 , 761.gif )
1013996

>>
No. 1013997 ID: 0fbdcd
File 163573131525.gif - (31.52KB , 650x450 , Pause7.gif )
1013997

>>
No. 1015358 ID: 0fbdcd
 

Thank you for reading.
[Return] [Entire Thread] [Last 50 posts] [Last 100 posts]

Delete post []
Password