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>>512434
Much like the oranges, you tell Errai that Bananas have to be peeled before eaten. It's soft, sweet and not as watery as the orange. You show off some of your Earth trivia by telling her that bananas are propagated differently and that the banana peel is a staple in slapstick comedy.

>"Interesting, Earth culture really is as varied as the archives would say."

Once you've finished your fruit-only meal, you wait for the others to follow suit. It's not that long, the other tables are close if they're not already done. With some more tinkering, you put on your helmet again. Afterwards you ask Aramid and Betelgeuse to gather the others.

What's the plan?

(2/3)

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FFS I never thought I'd make that mistake again

>>512628
>>512654
>Retrieve Nicotine and the others
>Keep going anyways

You tell Aramid and Betelgeuse that you and Errai will go out to fetch Nicotine and the others.

You assume that the four of them will be at the dormitory room from earlier, and sure enough, you see the eccentric aspirant from earlier waiting outside.

>"Hello there, Hayley and Nicotine is finishing up on Sue's interrogation. Don't worry though, they won't take too long so why don't we take a few minutes to get to know each other? You sound like a swell lady from what I've heard, I wouldn't mind talking to you. Say, how about you ask me anything? I know a lot about stuff."

>>515178
>Let's morph into a heavy enforcer riot control role.
Your REPAIR MODULE is still recharging, maybe a little more waiting should suffice.

Linking discord for passerbys who missed the OP >https://discord.gg/jpqvKh6

>>516980
Tell him you're not interested, plan an assault path with the others while Hayley and Nicotine finish interrogating.

>>516980
"Sooo... what do you like to do?" For some reason you feel extremely uncomfortable around this individual.

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>>517009
The eccentric aspirant looks disappointed at your answer.

>"O-Oh, okay. Some other time then?"

>>517011
You only brought Errai with you so you tell her that you change your mind and ask her what she likes to do. She smiles excitedly in response, it's is sorta making you uncomfortable.

>"Well, I like making stuff for the internet, usually silly comics and maybe a smidget of animation. You know-"

>"WE'RE DONE!!"

>"Oh...well, that was quick."

The door slams open, Nicotine and Hayley strolls out with the latter wearing a new set of clothes.

>"Remind me to shop more, my wardrobe is the size of a shoebox."

>"I know a store, the glad rags you can buy are the bee's knees. Hey Wis! Let's go and pummel this Petroleum guy, whaddya say?"

You never thought you could feel relief at someone interrupting a conversation before. There's a first time for everything.

--

You return to the cafeteria with the others in tow, you see Betelgeuse, Aramid, Rigel and Karina sitting by the table.

>"Welcome back."

>>517168
Discuss the next plan of attack, starting with all available resources and possible routes to take.

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>>517180

Aramid presents the information they've consolidated so far.

>"According to what Halon heard, Petroleum's hideout is located at the top floor's center. Karina said that his 'office' is more like some kind of indoor household, a mansion inside a building. One thing's for very certain, there's a large open area surrounding the perimiter. As you can imagine, sneak attacks are almost impossible. It's likely that the enemy has already entrenched themselves with the various stalls, tables and benches."

>>517483
What resources do we have?

>>517483
Correction: They would be impossible...IF you were visible.
We happen to be extraordinarily mobile, and can teleport through water. So here's what we're going to do.

Saccharine, with her small size, is going to equip the stealth watch and infiltrate past defenses as quietly as she can while everyone else runs distraction by entering into trench vs trench warfare with management defenders.
Saccharine, once inside and in the clear, will pour water from one of our sample vials onto the ground. Then whirlpool will grab Aramid and waterport inside.
That way we have three heavyhitters inside that they dont know about. From there, we can flank and eliminate the opposition, and move everyone else in.

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>>517485
A lot of things, but few of which are lethal. Most of your gear is loan from Aramid's supplies like taser rifles and ballistic vests. Some of your notable items include Nicotine's Tommygun, Errai's collapsible laser-blade, Karina's rocket launcher, Havelyn's stone spear and twin crossbows.

>>517510
>"Sounds like a plan, Betelgeuse, what do you think?"

>"Feasible, but a lot of our success is staked on one member. Also, it's unknown if the device is compatible with different fabrics."

Errai provides a counterargument to her mother's statement.

>"Vector is implied to have substantial experience with his gadgetry, if that really was the case then he would not have given it to those who are not compatible with his firmware."

>"I see, well done."

--

>Continue being Whirlpool
>Switch perspective (Specify)

>>517743
Be Hayley and confer with yourself about your feelings for Nicotine.

>>517743
Well, we could ask the group if they think anyone else might be better at moving unheard, since unseen wont be an issue. We selected saccharine based on her size and weight.

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>>517748
You ask if anyone around here's good at remaining silent. After a moment of nervous whispering and introspection, several volunteers step up.

>"Hey, I can do this, you can trust me on this."

Aside from the eccentric aspirant, there's also Rigel and Mace—one of Aramid's subordinates.

>>517747
You are now Hayley Glendale for the duration of this update. Your earlier confessions for Nicotine was originally a creative means of payback for essentially raping you in the restroom. Recently, you've started to develop genuine feelings for her and she discreetly returns the favor, judging from how Sue's "interrogation" turned out.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>517835
Roll your dice to determine who we pick, its the fairest way, and im sure they each have their merits and flaws for the task at hand. Seriously, going through it in my head i cant judge any of them to be more or less capable than the others.
1-2 rigel
3-4 gertrude
5-6 mace

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>>517839
You are now Mace, a trained policewoman from the Law Enforcement District. Normally you're dressed in friendlier clothes, content to teach self-defense classes, find lost kids and patrol the premises. Today is a different day however, as your current task is to infiltrate Petroleum's compound while the others provide covering fire.

You have Vector's personal cloaking device and you see individuals wearing hazmat suits near the target perimeter. Your allies are ready engage the firefight.

Roll 2d6, counting the best total of three tries

Rolled 1, 2 = 3 (2d6)

>>517890
Roll wih the plan. Signal the covering fire to start, engage device, and take the safest route in that you can which is as far from others as possible,

Rolled 3, 2 = 5 (2d6)

>>517890

May the third roll salvage this situation

Rolled 5, 2 = 7 (2d6)

>>517890
BLESSS THIS ROLL!

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>>517961
Thank you trick, I can work with this.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>517890

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>>517892
>>517961
Your allies begin peppering the defenders with various small arms fire. Although the taser darts often have difficulty breaching their hazmat suits, their attention is still diverted. The unseen mix of more potent ammunition also helps, picking off those who have gotten complacent.

With the skirmish initiated, you activate the cloaking device. It seems to exude a very personal stealth field that visually censors you from your surroundings. You begin moving towards the flanking point, confident that the others are doing more than just holding their ground.

You almost forgot about Karina's rocket launcher, someone must've gotten very trigger-happy and begin blasting away at the defenders. While it is a wonderful reinforcement, you almost got nicked by one of the explosions. To be fair, you are invisible so the gunner might not really know how close you are to the blast zone.

Unfortunately your cloaking wears off as you close in on the location. Maybe it caught interference or ran out of batteries, maybe a nearby explosion tampered with it.

>>518012
Sorry anon, the three dice rolls have been set.

Last post for the night, see ya'll tomorrow.

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>518093
Those two guys get sniped by random gunfire while an explosion clears the way to the compound.

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>518093
MLG Pro 360 noscope these suckers

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>518102
Rolling for this

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>>518102
>>519398
One of the two sentries get downed by stray bullets and a nearby explosion knocks the other own off her feet, blowing a fairly-large hole in the outer wall. With a bit of work you can enter through the breach. The remaining sentry tries to fire her weapon at you but you swiftly disarm her with your SUPERIOR POLICE TRAINING.

>>518188
You hear two more more combatants approaching your location. You spin around, almost tripping, to face your adversaries. On impulse you pull the trigger...

...and unleash a deafening thunder from your weapon. Those two chumps just got part of their bodies turned into chunky salsa. A bit horrifying but nothing you can't stomach.

Huh, so now they now they're being outflanked and you have some kind of sci-fi railgun in your hands. Cool.

>Switch perspective (specify person and next action)
>Continue being Mace (write in next action)

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>519541
Stay as Mace, and gun more degenerates down with our sweet new weapon.

>>519550
Oh god someone else roll.

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>519550
Gun them down.

>>519557
Fuck

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>>519559

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>519541
>>519550
Rolling for this

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>519541
Fuck it, hurl the sample vial of water over to a a good spot and hold position by gattin fools down.

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>>519550
>>519557
>>519568 Thank thee
With your attempts at stealth compromised, you throw all subtlety out of the window and begin holding your ground. The railgun requires a brief pause between shots but you can manage it. It's just like a semi-automatic rifle, except deadlier. The defenders' attention is now split between you and your allies as some of their numbers try to engage you.

>>519582
Recalling the mission, you throw the water vial right through the wall. From the sounds of gunfire, it's hard to tell if the vial broke or not, but you're sure that one sound isn't a figment of your imagination. You hold position near the corner, using a couple of corpses as cover from anyone trying to outflank you.

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>519663
Flanking backup: portal in and wombo combo these fucks while mace covers you

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>519684
Channeling the dice gods

>>519688
Wrong dice god.

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>519663
Whirlpool: take a grenade with you through the portal and blow a hole through the barricade.

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>519684

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>>519684
>>519688
>>519697
You are now Whirlpool, who has been waitiing behind the scenes. Aramid gives the go signal and stands over the large puddle of water on the floor. Errai hugs you and wishes you success.

>"Good luck, Whirlpool. Please be careful."

You will, you promise her.

Going back to Aramid, she tells you to be ready as she brandishes a riot disp.

>"If you have any compunctions against killing people, now would be a good time to let them go."

The two of you sink into the puddle using Spatial Distortion, and emerge at wherever Mace broke the vial. This place seems to be an empty room, and the district head tells you that she'll be out to support Mace.

>"I'll reinforce Mace's position, meanwhile you try to continue infiltrating the perimeter."

As Aramid leaves the scene, you turn around and see the eccentric aspirant standing right behind you. How the hell did she get past Aramid's vigilance? You didn't notice her trying to hitch a ride either. What the hell is her deal?

>"Sorry I, uh, Nicotine said that you took my gun. Well, I'm not gonna cry about that, obviously, but mind if I get it back? Thanks."

Fine, you return the pilfered firearm back to its owner. Wait, if that gun is hers then that means she's...

>"Yeah, I'm Gertude Stampian because I forgot my real name years ago. But that's not important though, I just wanted my gun back, thanks."

(1/2)

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Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>520065
>>519696
You tell her to move out of the room, pulling out a grenade to wordlessly explain the reason.

>"Alright then, I don't think grenades can destroy walls though."

Gertude scampers away while you pull the pin on the explosive. After a moment's pause you hurl at the wall. The ensuing explosion did blow a small hole but the wall is thick, having only part of its thickness affected.

rolling for irresponsibility

(2/2)

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>520066
Shoot the rocket launcher at the wall

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>520066
Drill the rest of the way through.

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Forgot the full image

>>520233
Meanwhile, Decrux fires another rocket but ends up having a misfire! Decrux is out of the fight, but at least he's not dead unlike Karina's rocket launcher. Rigel laments this event.

>"There goes our force multiplier. Are we gonna charge them now or something?"

>>520247
Drilling through the wall wasn't much of a struggle, but now you've ended up in a corner intersection between two hallways.

>Left
>Forward

Last update for the night, thank you for your patronage. No need to roll dice for this one, unless you want to invoke a random event. Will return in 12 hours

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>520278
Aramid: Make some cover for yourself and mace. Plenty of material around to work with.
Nicotine: You haven't exactly tried it before, but maybe you could use your pheromones to buff your allies? If you can trigger the release of additional adrenaline, or simulate the effects of particular drugs that have been known to make one ignore pain and react quicker, then it might help out a whole lot. The enemy made a mistake by covering up in hazmat suits.
Whirlpool: Forward

>>520278
>Forward

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>520282
Go with this

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>520978

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>>520282
>>520930
>>520978
>>521014

Aramid rips out a segment of the nearby wall plating while Mace drags a few of the enemy casualties. The resulting improvised barricade looks stupidly-morbid, but at least it works. Just in time too, with the loss of the rocket launcher the other hazmats have turned their aggro to the duo. One of them seems to be armed with a railgun like the one Mace is holding.

--

Nicotine, running low on her tommygun's ammo, attempts to make use of her pheromones as a form of combat drug. Her allies, bar Havelyn, are...very perked up alright. Hopefully none of them will realizes the root of their newfound "feelings". Still, as long as they focus on the fight better.

--

You keep moving forward until you reach a doorway, which you hide behind to peek at the next, larger room. Apparently, no one spotted you because they're too busy dealing with an eccentric aspirant. Dammit Gertude, why are you picking fights with housemaids?

Pardon the late update, my eyes are tired and I need to rest. This also means that next update will have significant delays

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>521546
Whirlpool: Combine bio-scan, your natural quick reflexes, your reticled hud (from the scope), and your gunfas to eliminate the remaining threats to gertrude as swiftly as possible.

Aramid and mace: Bulldozer strategy. You know exactly how to deal with this kind of foe. Make sure to keep each other covered while doing it.

Aspirin: Have some of your medics get on the scene, the casualties are probably going to be climbing up there. No preferential treatment of course - their job is to heal, not take sides.

Saccharine and hayley: Those suckers stopped focusing on you, run in and bash some skulls like you were born to!

I dearly hope for good rolls on this.

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>521546
Pull Gertrude off to the side and tell her to calm down with the needless attacking of people. Although what is being done today may reflect poorly on us from a moral standpoint, seeing as we are hurting and even killing people, you shouldn't do it mindlessly just because it's an option. We are doing this for the good of everyone here and the others in this place. If she needs to take a step back, take her through the puddle portal to take a breather. If she's alright, give her a vial of water for safety reasons and press on.
Rolling for something more relevant for rolls

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>521579
Wew

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>521579

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>>521572
>"Enough is enough. Mace, get behind me."

Aramid takes the bulldozer strategy to new levels as she literally plows through an entire side of the resistance force. Anyone smart enough to move out of the way is picked off by Mace's stolen personal railgun. Normally the sound of helpless screaming and crunching limbs would be a serious concern and yet...not so much right now.

Now that the dinky hazmats are fully distracted by Aramid the raging locomotive, Hayley and Saccharin rush in bearing arms. They deliver a brutal beatdown as a surprise attack, effectively dismantling another chunk of the defenders' forces. The small district head looks like she's getting the hang of this all-out brawling stuff real quickly.

--

Meanwhile, Aspirin is shocked to see a battered Halon carrying a downed Vector. After assigning medical personnel to bring him to the emergency room, the two of them talk it out with Mu Cephei watching them.

>"Damn, another one? Halon, where's Caffeine?"

>"She's taking a break after finding Stoddard."

>"Blast it, we need her help before the heat of battle gets to their heads. Mu Cephei, can you fight?"

>"Of course I can, usually for self-defense though."

>"Well you're gonna be defending a lot of selves. Meanwhile I'm gonna call in a favor. I wasn't expecting things to get -this- bad."

>>521579
>>521581
>>521583
You move out of cover, nonlethal gun-tonfas at the ready, and deliver an EPIC BLITZ that takes the two other housemaids by shock. The third one is still on the floor, reeling from bruises. You kick away the running chainsaw to be sure you won't get blindsided.

You drag Gertude over to your side and ask what the hell is wrong with her. Although it's likely that Petroleum hired combat maids (for whatever purpose) yet attacking impulsively is in bad taste. She looks downtrodden momentarily.

>"I...I-I'm sorry about that, I swear it's not because I want to get famous! However I had this aggressive feeling that I can achieve said goal by fighting it out. Don't worry, maybe it's just the adrenaline making the justifications."

You sigh and ask her if she's alright and good to go.

>"Of course, I can still into fighting -real- good. You see, the human body is capable of amazing things if you push it to the limit—which I can obviously do at will. How about this? I'll personally 1v1 the next adversary to show up."

It's spelled Gertude with no "r", for anagram reasons. Also, you have the option of making an encounter, if you feel like it.

I'll be out for the night.

Take your time and take it easy lest we score another batch of Overshots.

>>521918
Accept her answer, but you emphasize that we need to work together if we want to get out of this alive. We can't go around starting fights to prove anything; this is a life-or-death situation that needs to be taken seriously. Promise that you will sacrifice a day in your lifetime dedicated to spending time with Gertude, so she has a better incentive for fighting than because she wants to. Also give her a water vial for safety reasons.

Rolled 2 (1d6)

Rolling for no good reason

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>523733

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>523733
Lemme add to that

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>>521969
You begrudgingly accept Gertude's offer and explain the intricacies of the situation along with a promise of spending a day with her and Errai once this is all over. You also hand her a vial of water and the beret she dropped when she was fighting those housemaids.

>"Okay? I don't know what I'm going to do with this vial of water, but thanks anyway."

>>523733
You ask her if she knows how to get to petroleum here.

>"I'm afraid not, ma'am. This is my first time here. Still, I think we'll find him soon enough. Say, what're we gonna do with these maids anyway?"

>>523748
>>524029
You walk over to the one lying on the floor and kindly ask her about Petroleum's whereabouts.

>"W-We're not supposed to tell anyone."

The other maid, still paralyzed by the taser, gives up the location quickly.

>"Can it, they're not gonna stop. He's at the very center but we don't know where the doors are. Also, I overheard one of the hazmats saying something in the air, I don't know what."

>Keep going inwards
>Write-in

>>524561
Find one of those hazmats and take his gas mask so Gertude can proceed on with you.

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>524584
T h i s
h
i
s

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>>524584
>>524589
The only hazmats you've seen so far are the ones outside. You bring Gertude with you on your backtracking as you'd rather not leave her with vulnerable maids. If they try to do something, you can stop them easily anyway.

Woah, the others really made a mess of things. Is that corpse missing its lower body? You quietly walk over to it and messily remove the hazmat suit. It looks to be cut off from the waist down but the module on its back should be enough.

>"Eww, this is why I'm a computer person and not a medical person."

You instruct the eccentric aspirant to wear it anyway and ask her if it's operational.

>"Yeah I think it works I think there's a faint breeze of clean circulating through the pipes. Although it does feel a bit big and all. Hey, do you think we should get another friend to go with us? Not saying I'm a coward and all, I'm still willing to go through what I said earlier."

>Get someone to come along
>Nah, you're a big girl for me
>Find a better hazmat suit
>Write-in

The image should've been bigger but Paint.net crashed at the most inopportune time

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>524873
>Nah, you're a big girl to me ;)
Let's also see if the suit can be used as a disguise by having Gertude fake an injury in a group of people, then she surprise attacks while you go in and mop up the rest.

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Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>524888
Gertude picks up on your flirting and smiles faintly—you think she's smiling. It's hard to tell beneath that suit. You propose your idea of a two-way strike.

>"Wait, how am I supposed to do that? Can't you, like, carry me or something"

You tell her that it would ruin the plan, instead you suggest that she would put up a stumbling act.

>"Fine, but if this fails, it's on your hands. I'm not very good at pretending"

--

The two of you sneak around the next hallway past the room with the three housemaids. Neither of you know where to go so you just aimlessly wander in a singular direction. Turning a corner, you spot a trio of idle hazmats before darting into a corner. You give Gertude a wordless signal before letting her do her thing. You sincerely hope that they don't get alarmed at the sight of her mismatching pants.

A couple of minutes pass and Gertude walks back to you with absolutely nothing of note. What?

>"Good news and bad news. The good news is that the plan worked, they didn't notice anything wrong about my appearance. The bad news is that they left shortly after I talked to them because they had to 'reinforce' or something, and I was told to stay here to stay safe. Before that though, I asked them about this gas under the excuse that I wasn't briefed. They say it's some kind of aggresion-inducing stuff."

Rolling for offscreen elements.

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>525464
Oh jeeze.
Maybe we can set up a trap here for the group when they rush in.
I'm thinking of a puddle and some electricity.

I'm gonna call it quits for the night.

Sorry about that command, don't worry I'll address it tomorrow. I just need to think this through.

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>525464
The fact that there are hazmats while they talk of a dangerous gas probably means they plan to release it into the air where the battlefield is. We should retreat for now and try and get everyone to evacuate the area now until you can figure out how to neutralize the gas or wait for the gas to dissipate should it get released.

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>526037

>>526037
It's probably just nicotine at work

>>526136
Obviously this

>>525942
I get it now Guardian

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Lazy update, but I gotta make this quick

>>525602
You tell Gertude to follow you back through your entrance, saying that you have a plan. A decoy gunshot and a few minutes later, the three hazmats from earlier show up holding cattle prods for some bizarre reason.

>"So our mysterious gunman must've caused this breach."

The three of them move through the hole in the wall before stepping on a wide puddle. They are suddenly jolted by a couple of taser darts electrifying the liquid, causing them to drop their cattle prods and paralyze them further. You and Gertude slink out from the background.

>"Wow, that actually worked? I thought the hazmat suits would insulate against electricity. Say, I'm gonna watch over things while you check out the others and see what this gas thing is all about."

>>526037
>>526046
She mentioned earlier that it's "aggression-inducing". You take a peek outside and, well, it might be already in effect judging from the carnage. At least Errai is nowhere in this maelstrom, you don't want her to be affected.

You don't know what they're trying to pull off but all it's done is make it worse for them, or everyone involved.

>Continue being Whirlpool
>Switch perspective to Nicotine/Errai
>Switch perspective to Aspirin

>Write-in

>>527554
>>Continue being Whirlpool

>>527554
>Continue being Whirlpool

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>>527558
>>527559
You are still Whirlpool.

So it turns out the hazmats have the bright idea of using a berserker gas only to suffer for their troubles. They might have something in mind if they're so willing to let this play out.

>Get your allies to withdraw somehow
>Go back inside and find a way to deal with the gas
>Meet up with the others who are still hanging back
>Write-in

Gonna take a break for a while

>>527577
>>Go back inside and find a way to deal with the gas

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>527577
>Get your allies to withdraw somehow
Have the Maintenance crew build a gas scrubber

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>527577
Withdraw while also finding a way to deal with the gas.

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>>527591
>>527671
>>527734
You and Gertude aren't properly equipped to stop whatever mechanism's pumping out the gas nor do you have the time to try. You're intimidated by the ferocious display of combat by the melee fighters and feel queazy to try.

Fortunately for you, everything changes in the blink of an eye. You find yourself and Gertude, thankfully, suddenly in a different place. The others as well, some of which is being treated for severe fatigue and minor wounds.

>"Seriously, guys? I go out for a few hours and -this- is what happens!?"

It's good to have her back, even though her help might be overkill.

Overshots: not always bad

>>527913
Ask Caffine how everyone is doing and if there are some serious injuries.

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>>528002
>"They're just very pooped out from fighting too hard. It's unlike of Aramid to kill people like that. Saccharin's gonna be fine, like usual, while Hayley and that other girl needs some TLC."

You tell Caffeine about the gas and how it causes people to act more aggressively like Gertude.

>"Yikes, they're getting very desperate about protecting Petroleum. I don't even know why they bother doing so if it's gonna get them killed. Got any ideas I can pass onto Aspirin?"

>>528088
Well, Havelyn doesn't seem very different. Maybe he's naturally immune? Might be worth looking into the dude's biology to find a quick fix, or at least a way to tone down the effects of the rage gas. I would personally lend aspirin the time watch so he could find out what's up with that quickly, rather than taking significantly longer in real-time. Hell, no offense to caffeine, but a guy like Aspirin could probably get a lot more use out of time dilation than she can. He's always got a lot of patients to deal with, and a lot of medical conditions are time-sensitive. Plus he could always use it to speed up recovery if he's crafty and careful about it.

As for other ideas, it might be good to have some medics in gasmasks on standby to help both groups out there, like what happens in a lot of wars. Neutral medics ready to help out on the field.

For other things, we'll need stoddard to take a look at the cloaking watch, since it messed up or ran out of juice randomly. Someone should text Propane and ask for something that can get someone to the top of a building quickly, quietly, or both quickly and quietly. I'm thinking that if we're crafty, we might be able to cloak it and go for a roof insertion, bound to have less casualties and interactions with guards if we go that route.

No dice because it's just throwing ideas at a character, no combat to deal with

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>>528297 smart man
You ask Havelyn how he's not affected, he simply answers that he's...undead?

>"It's a complicated thing where I'm from, but it's different from your usual associations."

Right, hailing from a world of possible magic. You suggest to Caffeine that she lend Aspirin her time watch.

>"I could do that but I'm the one with the agelessness treatment here—who's old enough for anything, no offense to Saccharin. if anyone else tries to do what I do then they'll miss a dozen birthdays by next month."

The two of you walk over to Aspirin, who is having a polite chat with Aramid.

>"At ease, officer. Don't worry about me, I'm a doctor. Hmm, Whirlpool?"

You know the drill. Just wordlessly express your concerns and he can pick up your intentions. Communication is a lot more streamlined when the other guy's an empath.

>"I understand, that would seem like a good idea but they better not be caught in the crossfire. Yes, I think I have enough gas masks for a lot of people but it'll be a while before they get here. Maybe if my field medics cooperate with Stoddard's technicians to use the best shortcuts available. If there's one good thing to ever come out of this, it would be that my staff will get actual field experience in serious emergencies—and even then, my mileage might vary."

Next up is Stoddard. You first stop over by Mace to retrieve Vector's cloaking device before asking him if he can repair it and contact Propane.

>"I'm no genius but I know enough about circuitry. I'll see what I can do, maybe there's enough reception here to contact Props. In the meantime, it's getting somewhat late, don't you think? You've been through a rough trashing earlier, maybe a good night's rest is in order."

>Sleep for the night
>Make it brief
>Stay awake

>Additional Write-in

Last post for the night

>>528453
If we rest now, then Petroleum will almost certainly have his defenses up considerably higher by the time we're ready to move back in.
So...we should probably sleep, but only until everyone's done repairing things, transport has arrived, and anything else that needs done is complete.

Just how old IS caffeine, from her perspective, anyways? She does seem to use that watch a lot. Maybe she's older than gertude.

>>528453
Have someone set up a spy camera/drone/robot to monitor Petroleum's area while >>528465 happens

>>528453
Find out why that shopkeeper guy is around from other people before asking him yourself.

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>>528465
You agree with Stoddard's sentiment and tells the others to take five while supplies are replenished and help is on the way. Afterwards you ask Caffeine about her current age.

>"Good question but I don't really know anymore. I stopped counting last year, sorry."

That's fine, it's hard to maintain your grasp on age when you're never gonna turn gray.

>>529581
You break off and approach the vendor with an incredibly-weak immune system. You ask him why he's here and why he's not scared to death of literally everyone around him.

>"I was supposed to be minding my own business and enjoying a dinner date with my new girlfriend. Then Aspirin showed up asking for serious help. I wanted to refuse but convinced me by giving me a free boost in immunity on the spot. In return I was to bring as many useful things as I can and help out."

Good for him, you hope it's enough to last the night without getting sick. You inquire about his girlfriend for curiosity's sake.

>"She's over there, she works as a receptionist so we tend to be apart most of the time. She's nice, caring and physically capable unlike me."

>>529496
You ask the vendor if among those useful trinkets include a means of remote surveillance.

>"I think I do have a couple of remote-controlled toys in my inventory. I can send one out, if you like."

Please do so, you tell him.

--

Thanks to your Life Extender's shot, you're not totally required to sleep but you could still use a breather every now and then. The others? Not so much, they might've been stressed. You consider who else is able to work through the night.

- Caffeine almost never follows the standard circadian rhythm, if she needs to sleep she could just do it in the span of a minute.

- Aspirin may have worked on medical emergencies that go through the night, but he doesn't seem suited for a straight-up fight

- Karina might know a thing or two about staying awake in the middle of a firefight, but without her rocket launcher we need

- The receptionist looks optimistically-static, maybe she's experienced in night shifts...not that anyone worth their salt bother to visit her at night.

Be advised that the rate of updates will slow to a crawl as I deal with IRL stuff. Due to /qst/'s slow speed an update a day is more preferable than plunging into a hiatus. Also, new discord link https://discord.gg/MKDJtRf

>>530182
Karina seems like the best option for a night shift, with her military training and all, plus she will be able to put up a better fight then anyone else at the moment, no offence to them. Equip her with someone's shock rifle and grab some coffee for her as she's probably tired as well. In case she dozes off, try to keep her brain active by talking how she is related to Aramid's father, how she got hired by Petroleum, why she loves the daughter of an old acquaintance.

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>>530261
You decide to take Karina with you for her military prowess and give her a shock rifle from Sirius along with some reloads. She asks you about your next move.

>"Alright, trooper, anything you wanna do while we're waiting for reinforcements? Or do you want to charge now while the enemy's licking their wounds?"

>Attack of opportunity
>Defend from retaliation
>Fraternize to pass the time

>>530771
>Attack of opportunity
Preventing them from getting cozy is important, and our folks here can handle themselves.
Just make sure the others know to defend.

>>530771
>Attack of opportunity
Continue to harass Petroleum's forces throughout the night

>>530771
>Attack of opportunity

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>>530907
>>530922
>>531250
You tell Karina that you're going to strike while the others are reeling from the blow.

>"Preemptive strike, I gotcha. Do you think just the two of us is enough? We don't know how many of them are left."

Good catch. You also recruit Havelyn with you while Gertude volunteers herself.

>"I'm no stranger to staying up late, plus I didn't get to show you what I'm capable of."

Fine then, the more the merrier. As the four of you move back out towards the indoor stronghold, you need a plan of action.

>Assault the outside defenders
>Reconnaissance inside
>Split up and do both
>Write-in

>>532353
Assault the scrubs outside

>>532353
RPG strats: Assault up front with Havelyn tanking while you weave through the enemy dealing some heavy blows and Karina and Gertude lay covering fire.

>>532353
>Reconnaissance inside

Rolled 4, 3 = 7 (2d6)

rolling for circumstances

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>>532389
>>532697
You tell Havelyn to draw enemy aggro while Gertude and Karina suppress the enemy with covering fire. As for you, you're going to be the main damage dealer.

The aspirant's Contender seems intimidatingly-stylish and possibly quite powerful, but holding only a single bullet really hampers its performance. Meanwhile Havelyn is performing remarkably well with his large spear. It's unusual how he can just twirl it around like a martial artist. Then again, things work differently where he comes from. You swear you saw him kneel for a moment before standing back up.

You swerve through the entrenched hazmats, knocking them around with your harpoon. You find yourself hesitating to deal any lethal blow. Although putting them out of the fight with a well-placed would is just as good, if not better, as neutral medics are due to arrive eventually. The wrist-mounted flamethrower also helps suppress and discourage would-be flankers.

>>533765
"Right on time medics come running in and blocked the fight as the lethal blow was being made. They try save the hazmats, while we went on our way down the rabbit hole."

>>533765
I wonder if they might be convinced to surrender...

Rolled 1 (1d6)

rolling for something

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>534791
Nope, nope

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Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>534797
Last one, I swear

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>534811
Nigga
Use my roll

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>533765
Then mini boss shows up

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>535064
I'll help you with that

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>>534836 THANKYOU_woodcarving.mp3
>>534709
The cavalry arrives in the form of a battalion of emergency personnel flooding the area. Dozens of field medics wearing gas masks, firemen carrying various tools and equipment, and what could be Aramid's personal cadre of riot police followed by more police officers. You also see Halon with a clean uniform and some kind of hydraulic rescue tool. The smart-looking hazmats would have to be exceptionally stupid to try and open fire on them, considering that they're going to be outnumbered AND they're gonna get helped.

One of the medics is startled from the carnage of earlier battles.

>"Holy shit, did you guys do all this?"

No, you answer, but you did somehow contribute. Most of the damage was done by Aramid, Mace, Hayley and maybe Saccharin. The rest of you were just trying to suppress the situation, with violence admittedly.

In a fit of foresight, Gertude asks him for extra gas masks. He obliges, handing one to her and Karina.

>"Sweet, time to delve."

>>534714
It's gonna take a lot more if that's possible. The fact that they kept fighting despite Aramid tearing through them like a raging bull is indicative of their willingness to die. They have a lot of loyalty for hired lab technicians.

>>535064
>>535100
>"You're getting real sloppy there, Elly.

Two people show up, clashing against each other. One seems to be a housemaid, different from the three you saw earlier. You're not familiar with this other but he seems to be athletic to an extent.

>"None of this would've happened had it not been for you! And my name is Elisabeth! Get it right!"

You're not sure what to do, but the situation does confirm your earlier hunch: almost everyone under Petroleum's employ is prone to in-fighting one way or another. The medical personnel are backing away with still-alive hazmats in tow.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>536437
You try to talk the two arrivals, but they completely ignore you and argue some more until you are forced to get between them and talk it out.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>536437
Jeeze, I feel bad for the big guy.
Accuse her of being a tsundere, you big lug.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>536437
Provoke a fight

Update's coming along slowly, don't worry I'm not giving up yet.

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>>536475
>>536479
You yell out to the two combatants but they pay you no heed.

>"Ooh, feisty aren't ya? Hey guys! I think she likes me!"

He leans to his side and narrowly avoids getting stabbed to the back of his head.

>"I hate you so much right now, and that's not because of the gas."

The awkwardness of the confrontation is making it difficult to further intervene. Autonomous robot drones show up while the maid brandishes a suppressed pistol. Well, now you know whom Nicotine's pistol belongs to and that person knows close-combat basics...you think.

You try to move in between them but the ensuing clash looks mighty dangerous.

>>536852
Gertude, either failing to grasp the fragility of the situation or opting for a radical alternative, blatantly encourages them to escalate further. Her efforts are rewarded with the maid turning on her.

>"You want some too!? Here!"

The eccentric aspirant narrowly dodges a gunshot aimed at her foot. The distraction allows the man to kick her between the legs before running back indoors.

>"Catch me if you can, Gertie!"

>"<foreign language swearing>"

The rage gas might make it difficult for the maid to stand down and work against a common enemy.

Okay I swear the next update will be RAPIDFIRE'd

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>539024
You do your best to make the maid stay still while Karina shoots at her.

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>539024
Whirlpool and gertude rush after when the latter recovers from the kick, and havelyn and karina block the enemy's escape route.
And then, EVERYBODY WAS KUNG FU FIGHTING
THOSE KICKS WERE FAST AS LIGHTNING
IT WAS A LITTLE BIT FRIGHTENING
BUT THEY FOUGHT WITH EXPERT TIMING

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>>539028
You close into the maid's personal space, keeping her busy and forcing her to use her knife. Next up will be maneuvering the fight to give Karina a clear shot, she's smart enough to figure out what you're going to do next.

You fight defensively, feigning false starts and continue dodging her frenzied slashes. After a bit of stalling you yell out to the veteran.

>"Wait, what?"

On cue, Karina fires her shock rifle at the maid, paralyzing her long enough for bystanders to restrain her. Whoever she is, she definitely wasn't thinking clearly under the gas' influence.

>>539036
You walk over to Gertude, asking if she's okay enough.

>"Yeah...I think I am. Although that -was- a dick move, even though I don't have a dick anymore. But I digress, Grant's gonna pay for this."

His name is Grant?

>"Grant Yindelt, I think I found my nemesis for the time being. Let's go."

The aspirant shakily stands up and, after a few breaths, runs with you indoors through the entrance the man used. Meanwhile Karina and Havelyn try to anticipate the other exit points. Although the circumstances makes you think, the only feasible direction he can go to is further inwards.

You turn a corner and see several drones, weapons primed.

>"Ah great, more of his toys. Next up there'll be a room filled with turrets or some other crap."

>Fall back
>Write-in (be creative!)

>>539148
Fall back, get in touch with halon.
Ask him if we can trigger the sprinkler system in the building somehow. Don't do it quite yet, we just need to know if its possible, and to get halon whatever access he needs to do it.

If a sprinkler system is unavailable, then ask instead about pumping water into the building such as via hose.

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>>539161
Rather than any daring attempt at plowing through the drones, you tell Gertude to fall back. You say that you have an idea.

>"Yes and it's incredibly easy to do so. You know how in the movies the sprinklers activate if something catches fire? It's like that, but more advanced. If something catches fire, the sprinklers activate in the same room as the source but nowhere else. Alternatively, you can hack the mainframe to manually activate it but I don't think even Stoddard knows how to do that. Plus, it's likely that Petroleum runs on a completely different firmware or whatever they call it."

You ask him about pumping water into the building as an alternative.

>"That could be done, but we're gonna need a lot of water for that, it's literally the size of a small house or something. Plus it's possible he may drains in case his private swimming pool floods or something."

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>539188
Seems like your best bet is to toss a flaming object in there to trigger the sprinkler system. Preferably a wet log so it can make lots of smoke to provide cover and increase the chance of the sprinkler system turning on.

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>>539267
Gertude looks at you with startled confusion.

>"A wet log? I haven't seen a natural tree in this place! You could get away with some potted shrubbery though, preferably a dry one. You can't ignite something that's wet!"

Two minutes later, a couple of Halon's firemen are hauling a burning shrub to the location. Unfortunately the plant burns out prematurely. So much for that, you're gonna have to resort to some actual arson in this case.

Last post for the night

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>539289
You dinguses, bring the shrub, THEN light it on fire and toss it in!

Although...if there IS a private swimming pool in there...maybe we can try to come up there?
Lets just take an itsy bitsy quick look with teleporting. In and out, if there is one.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>539807

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>539807

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>539807

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>>539807
>>539837
You try to sense if there's any body of water nearby, one that is larger than the toilet bowl or something, and there is! It's at the very center of the complex but something's amiss. There's a source of liquid but you're somehow prevented from using it, maybe it's a safety feature to avoid spawning through an aquarium. Well, whatever it is, being located there does arouse some suspicions.

Fortunately, Halon brought another potted shrub. The two firemen carry it back to the hallway where you encountered the drones. You use your WRIST-MOUNTED FLAMETHROWER to ignite the greenery and trigger the sprinkler systems. The nearby drons crackle and freeze, having short-circuited. Gertude whines about the revelation and the fact that she's sopping wet.

>"Wait, what? You had that flamethrower all this time? How could you have forgotten that?"

Uh...hormones?

>"Ugh, I hope that...oh...nope, I -did- bring my phone with me. Welp. The literal burning bush is extinguished, but at least we got something. Halon mentioned that the sprinklers aren't universal."

>>540438
>>540647
Well, snap, I already have the update at 84% at that time. Welp, I'll just pour some misfortune at Gertude again.

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>540691
Ask if there is a spare change of clothes for Gertude. If not, then she can just stay wet or strip herself. Regardless, proceed onwards, while checking that all the turrets were shut down.
Rolling for lack of spare clothing

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>540691
Looks like we made her wet with our hot display.
She's absolutely dripping.
At least all that cold water helped to PERK her up, if you know what i mean

I can't think of any more puns about this situation. Something something wet t-shirt contest?

After the pun fun, go steal some of the broken robots and sentry turrets with the aid of halon and his jaws of life. We can send someone to take them to stoddard for examination and repurposement if he can manage that.

Then, lets see what the next room has in store, subtly.

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>540754
>>540762

Rolled 5, 2 = 7 (2d6)

Rolling for background meanwhile circumstances

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>540754
>>540762
Rolling for lack of clothing; guessing higher means less, right?

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>>540754
>>540762
>>540770
>>540904
You drench Gertude with a torrent of slippery puns, some of which were so slick that the two firemen got swept away with how good the current was. The aspirant makes no attempt to reply, instead taking off her beret and opening her jacket's zipper.

>"Eeeaugh...at least the sprinklers stopped. I'm...not gonna take my jacket off just yet. Feelin' nervous about it."

Fair enough. You ask the two firemen to haul the drones away while the two of you try to sneak forward into the next room. Key word is "try" because you hear Grant's voice from the corner of the ceiling.

>"You do know I have weather-proof drones.. By the way, thanks for taking care of Elizabeth for me. Wanna have a chat? I'm up for a little webcam show."

This man's giving off a very douche-y vibe. You see a bunch of obvious paneling on the walls.

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>540997
Drill the walls, camera, and ceiling

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>540997
Throw him off guard.
Pull up gertude's shirt for a quick flashing of the camera.
He won't expect it, and we can't exactly do it ourselves in our outfit. Sorry gerty.

>>541006
First this, then hear what he has to say, then stab the camera to match his douchiness.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>541013
Also roll

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>540997
Seconding this >>541006
Then shoot camera with flamethrower before proceeding further

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>540997
>take care of Elisabeth
Time for maid-cameo; two guards and a stun-gun weren't enough to stop her cleaning purge

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>541093
Shit. Guess she is still unconscious.
>inb4 I roll a 6 this time

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>>541004
>"I know what you can do so don't think about trying. I've got turrets ready to perforate you, not saying where."

>>541006
Feeling a bit devious you place your hands on Gertude's shoulders.

>"Whirl, what're you d- HNGAAH!!"

In two swift movements, you pull down her jacket and pull up her wet shirt for a surprise present to Grant. She looks pretty scrawny without her jacket, such skinny arms.

Flustered and annoyed, the aspirant hastily pulls down her shirt, crosses her arms over her chest, and leans away from you. While the man behind the camera just makes some remarks.

>"Whew laddette, don't you know even small breasts need bras?"

>>541013
>"Heh, that was really wild of you, whoever you are. You too, Gertude. You're sorta awkwardly cute when you're flustered. Or is it because you're clinging to your old heterosexuality?"

The aspirant stays silent, either because she's upset or she's getting too sleepy to focus.

>"Lemme guess, you're here for Petroleum? He's at the very center of this dungeon, obviously, but should buzz off for now or I deploy actual battle drones against you. Unless you're willing to make it worth my while. Maybe bring a few more friends over, like that girl you hang out with. How about that? The maids were getting boring anyway."

>>541027
You burn the camera to show him you mean business. The aspirant has some concerns.

>"You know he can still activate whatever's in this room...if there is any."

You tell her if that's true, he would've done it by now. You hear Grant's voice again, there is probably other speakers in this room.

>"What? So I guess that's a no? Or is that a yes? It's hard to tell."

>>541093
>>541099 I'm assuming this is a "roll to stay asleep"
Meanwhile, Elisabeth is soundly resting by herself, on a table, in public, with a potted flower on top of her.


What a way to close the thread! Alright, I'm gonna have to take a break so the next thread won't come around for a few days. Thanks for livening up the Discord, though!

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>541679
Because reasons, the side effects of Nicotine's hormones kick in and incapacitate Karina for the time being, in a lewd fashion, having her taken back to recover. Meanwhile, apologize to Gertude, saying you "really wanted to" and that you will try to remain professional for the remainder of the mission. You then proceed on to the next room, with another mini boss awaiting you.

Rolled 1 (1d4)

>>541679
Nicotine: be teasing caffeine and aspirin to take the edge off the day's bloodshed.
You know exactly what kind of teasing this means.

Heck, maybe you could even give your SPINNER a go. How does that thing work again?

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>541679
Elisabeth awakes from her slumber and comes back for round two vs big guy; helps the duo get further in and joins the party

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Soon™