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/qst/ - Quests


Your name is David "Gunny" Rockefeller, no relation.
A veteran of the united states marine corps, you find yourself in a far-out situation after an all-too-close encounter of the third kind!

In the last thread, you finished cleaning up after your battle against the Federation Drone-ships, including a number of wraiths and demons that were drawn in by a dark-matter spill.
After disconnecting and gathering up the AIs that were piloting those drone ships, your crew spent some time fixing up the ship, and in the downtime you finally bit the bullet with Cylia.

A quick visit to the Dark Star base later, your plans for dealing with the remains of the drone ships came together and you made your way back to Thekia Station, where one of your crewmates had created quite the mess.
Now it seems that he'll be staying behind here, to make use of the resources and manpower that he's collected for himself. Those same resources which may come in handy for the coming conflict against Xebric Station and Sadia Corporation.

>Last Thread: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2022/5354485/
>All Threads: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=humanity+-+fuck+yeah%21
>Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rNxD6ccWY5M48dLWuTWdr5LiYLuS_YIAMKlTLw42eeo/edit#gid=0
>Discord Link: https://discord.gg/DMwvMw43yv
>>
>>5390745
>>5390014

"Well... in that case, let's just do the repairs here. We'll be able to hang out pretty much in plain sight, since no-one will think twice about federation ships docked at a federation station. Besides, the less we go back and forth from the Dark Star base, the better."

"Very well. Things may be in turmoil for a while, so the shipyards are likely to be empty while black market merchants decide whether or not it's safe to continue business. In the meantime, they will be yours to use, Captain. What will you be needing?"

"A lot, actually. Do you have any ship-scale nanofabs? Or at least an industrial fab?"

"Unfortunately, ship-scale nanofabs are carefully regulated. However, there are two old-model industrial nanofabs available at the docks. They will be able to fabricate parts up to a reasonable size, assuming only mundane materials are used."

"Yeah, don't worry. I don't think we're gonna be plating these ships in duranium any time soon. But if you've got fabs, that's good news. We just need materials, then... lots of titanium, aluminum, bismuth, tungsten, neon, lithium, yttrium, palladium and silicon for a start..."

"How fortunate. The main trade in these parts of space happens to be asteroid mining, and so such raw materials are quite affordable."

"God bless the virgin earth, eh? Alright... i'll also be needing maneuvering thrusters for fifteen ships. I know main thrusters are regulated, white-market only... but do you think you can get some?"

"Does their condition or quality matter?"

"Well, i mean... as long as they're not gonna spray the magic smoke after ten minutes, i guess not. We just need to get our ships moving. Oh, and we're gonna need a LOT of ammonia. And containers and pumps that can handle it."

"Ammonia is quite toxic to most organic races. It may be difficult to find it in large quantities on short notice."

"Can we synthesize it ourselves? What does the station have for chemical processing?"

"Large-scale chemical fabricators are controlled by the local government. However, another donation to the overseer's foundation may be able to overcome that issue."

"That... reminds me. How much did you make off those bets, exactly?"

"After collecting nearly the entire betting pot and excluding the initial betting money, approximately €540,000. It's in the vault behind me."

Clank points at a large painting behind his desk. You realize there must be a walk-in safe behind it, given it's shape an position.

"Five hundred grand, huh... damn. And how much are these repairs going to cost us?"

"At current market prices, including labor, it would likely cost around €445,000." Clank states flatly.

"And how much of that came from this €10,000?" You ask, jingling your pocket full of latinum bars.

"Approximately €2,000."

Fucking christ, that's nothing. Denywynn, that prick! You should have just kicked his ass and stolen his lunch money.
>>
>>5390747

>Ask Clank if he'll donate to the "take down a station" fund.
>No, Clank earned that money on his own. You and Gron can figure a way to come up with the remainder.
>Ask Clank to lend you the money, and you'll pay it back to him. Eventually.
>Write-In?
>>
>>5390748
Would one or two of the captured ships make for a decent barter for the price of repairs? I mean, assuming that Clank could file off the serial numbers or something and sell them on. Failing that, maybe turn in a couple of the bounties aboard the ships that we don't plan to keep? I don't want to take any money from our robo-buddy - he probably needs a good war chest at hand to fully solidify his position - but that is a HUGE chunk of change.
>>
>>5390758
We could also take some sort of loan with clank, pretty much everytime we gain money just wire 5% off to clank. If we want to add a 1-5% interest rate to make up the temporary setback of losing a couple hundred k's.
To avoid owing too much we should also do your recommendations.
>>
>>5390758
You may be able to sell it on the black market.
The ship itself is somewhat valuable, but some people would likely be more interested in the ship's schematics.

After all, knowing where to hit it could be valuable information, if they themselves were hunted in the future.
Likewise, there are some bounties aboard those ships which could be turned in to offset the costs as well. Each one of them is also a relatively skilled individual, though.
>>
>>5390748
>No, Clank earned that money on his own. You and Gron can figure a way to come up with the remainder.
Clank fucking EARNED that money. Lets just hand a few of those high value bounties over to the authorities to get the money we need.
>>
>>5390775
In that case, yeah, I'd say sell one or two of the lesser ships - as in the drone ones, not the ones that held the Blue Boxes - and one or two bounties. I know they're all presumably talented dudes, but since there's at least a few DOZEN bounties aboard, I'm sure we can find five or six that have a record that screams "I will eat and rape you, in that order" that we want rid of. We'd probably need clank to front some of the money to get repairs STARTED, since we'd probably need time to convert stolen ships to money, but we could pay it back pretty quickly that way and pay for the remainder of repairs ourselves, all without unduly hurting his warchest.
>>
>>5390748
>Ask Clank to lend you the money, and you'll pay it back to him. Eventually.
>>
>>5390748
>Offer Clank a combination of non-Darkstar bounties and ships for barter.

Clank might need some manpower coming up here and some of these specialists might be just who he needs.
>>
Just realized potential spin-off.
>Clank-Fuck yeah!
>>
>>5390748
>No, Clank earned that money on his own. You and Gron can figure a way to come up with the remainder.
Our boy did a us, he earned the prizes of doing an us. If he isn't going to be going with us, he'll need that chunk of cash to steady things here.
>>
>>5390747
>>Offer Clank a combination of non-Darkstar bounties and ships for barter.
>>
>>5390758
+1
>>
>>5390748
>No, Clank earned that money on his own. You and Gron can figure a way to come up with the remainder.
>>
>>5390748
>No, Clank earned that money on his own. You and Gron can figure a way to come up with the remainder.
I'll be damned if I participate in jewing out an honest man's out of his own hard work.
>>
>>5390748
>>Ask Clank to lend you the money, and you'll pay it back to him. Eventually.
PAYING NEVER WAHA HA HA
>>
>>5390748
>No, Clank earned that money on his own. You and Gron can figure a way to come up with the remainder.

He needs that money to maintain the vassals' loyalty in his new kingdom. I hope we give him a crash course in politics, 'keys to power' and all that stuff; unless he already knows to do that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs
>>
>>5391094
Goddamit i knew it was gonna be ccp grey video when you said keys to power. Video skips over the importance of trust and loyalty.
>>
>>5391177
>this is your true work as a ruler
>figuring out how to raise and distribute to those source so-
yeah I agree thats sound so fucking jewish
>>
>>5391177
Because loyalty is very fickle with most people. If you bribe/threaten/use the weak points of someone in the right way, their loyalty can change in the blink of an eye
>>
>>5391531
Then they aren't very loyal, now are they?
>>
>>5391641
To be fair, a king's underlings have their own underlings to worry about. I'd switch loyalties in a heartbeat if my boss suddenly decides not to give me enough resources to pay mine, especially if I have family to take care of.
>>
>>5391641
that's exactly what i said. loyalty is fickle(specially if you have underlings) and undying loyalty -what you're alluding to-, is super hard to come by. at this point im pretty sure the only one that can have that level of respect towards david is cylia.

>>5391801
exactly
>>
>>5391816
SHODAN
>>
>>5391831
true, shodan too
>>
>>5391816
Cylia's a damned good and reliable friend, but I don't know if she's undying loyal so much as aware that without her there as essentially our backup conscience, someone would eventually mess up our not!coffee and we'd depopulate a star system.
>>
>>5392006
we literally lifted her up from her lowest at the time, got her a bounty hunter license and retrieved her dad's spaceship(or something along those lines). she's definitely loyal to us
>>
>>5392021
David has also fucked her to high (heh) heaven
they're more than subordinates at this point they are family to us now
>>
>>5392021
I didn't mean to say she *wasn't* loyal, just that she wasn't *undyingly* loyal, combined with a bit of amusement at how she really is like our sexy, exasperated backup conscience.
>>
>>5390748
>No, Clank earned that money on his own. You and Gron can figure a way to come up with the remainder.
I ain't no taxman!
>>
>>5390748
oh shit I forgot
>No, Clank earned that money on his own. You and Gron can figure a way to come up with the remainder.
>>
>>5390747

"...Good work, Clank. You should put that money to good use, use it to build back up whatever was going on down here."

"But, Captain... this quantity would be enough to-"

"Clank." You interrupt. "It's fine, i'm an adult. I don't take on debts needlessly, and i don't borrow from friends or family either. Me and Gron can scrape together as much cash as we need to, alright?"

"Are you certain, Captain?"

"Yeah, i'm sure. Besides, you'll be needing it more than we do, trust me. These guys down here... they don't give a shit about you. They don't even know the meaning of the word "loyalty", but trust me...
If you've got the cash, they'll do anything. Maybe even put their lives on the line. I dunno, hard to say since they're not human... but that's how it'd go down on earth."

"No, you are correct. Although most species seem to value their lives more highly than you appear to, many of the people in the lower city are lacking intelligence, and cannot accurately judge the danger they are in."

"Just like a nineteen year old in an army recruitment office. God bless 'em."

"Captain... i have been wondering since you stepped into the office, but what has happened to Crewmate Cylia?"

He points to Cylia, who is currently losing her grip on your neck and slowly sliding down to her feet.
Even after touching the floor though, she seems half-asleep as she continues leaning against your back. Ugh, you think you can feel her drooling on you...

"Eh... she's uh... been medicated. Don't worry, she'll be fine."

"I see. Please note, Captain, that Estro-Vape and similar chemicals exist within a legal grey-zone in the upper city. You may wish to shower before returning."

"What-vape?"

"My smell sensor has detected a cocktail of several libido-enhancing drugs, including "Estro-Vape", a commonly-smoked substance which increases bloodflow and causes certain hormones to-"

"Okaaaaay, thank you very much, Clank! At least i know what was in that fucking hookah, i guess."

"The quantity is abnormal, however. It is normally used in small quantities, but you appear to be coated in it."

"Yes, i am presently aware of how fucking sticky my clothes are. Thank you, Clank."

"You are welcome, Captain."

"Oh my god..." You grumble. "SHODAN, can you hear me?"

"Always, Captain."

"Great. Look, clank here just found himself in a leadership position, but i honestly can't tell if he's joking half the time or not."

"That was a joke, Captain." Clank clarifies.

"Well thank fuck for that, but still. Look, i'm no gang leader, but i know a thing or two about how people think, which means you do too. Can you like, i dunno... help him out a little? A crash course in history, politics, that sort of thing?"

"Of course, Captain. I have been compiling a lesson on such topics since i became aware of his situation, but it will take some time. Your memories are not as easy to sift through as simple binary data."
>>
>>5392067
yeah, i get your point, but my argument is that she's undyingly loyal because of what i said.

>>5392082
>"The quantity is abnormal, however. It is normally used in small quantities, but you appear to be coated in it."
i hope the hookers sanig got are of good reputation, otherwise we might have to bust his ass out of a sex dungeon
>>
>>5392085
It's Sanig's own brew.
>>
>>5392089
The name is worrying. I hope it won't make us grow mantits and turn us into a really ugly tranny
>>
>>5392104
Sorry anon, i only pander to my own fetishes, not yours.
>>
>>5392104
Oh shit! We need to decontaminate right now.
>>
>>5392104
how in the fuck did that come up in your head
I dont touch social media like it would burn my hands if I do but I think you need to get off from that gay shit
>>
>>5392111
His mind probably went "estro=estrogen" instead of "estro=estrus". Put estrogen into a guy's system and it does some horrifying, fucked up things, so it's not a completely insane thing to worry about...assuming that IS worry, and I hope to god it is.
>>
>>5392111
projections and ignorance are a hell of a drug lmao
>>
>>5392115
Now I remember reading about a schoolteacher who had to take testosterone therapy for her bone loss. She ended up being so horny all the time that she had to take breaks between every class to masturbate. I kekked when she wrote wondering 'How do men even manage to function having more testosterone than this all the time?'
>>
>>5392140
That's kinda hilarious, and I'd love to read more about it at some point. But, yeah, goes to show...hormones are important, don't fuck with em unless you HAVE to.
>>
>>5392145
I wish those biochem eggheads would make those aphrodisiacs from hentai doujins. My favorite fetish.
>>
>>5392140
We can manage because when we bust a nut, the nut is busted; horny's gone, clean up and go about your day.
Women, on the other hand...
>>
>>5392159
Oh shit I never thought of it that way, those poor fucks
>>
>>5392108
Based
>>
>>5392108
basado
>>
>>5392186
Normally it balances out because they have a lot less T, but in her case... Well, she didn't.
>>
>>5392108
Does that mean the vape stuff did things to Cylia? HMMMMMMMMMM.
>>
>>5392082

You go over some smaller details with Clank for a while, but eventually you feel that you've said all that needs to be said.
He'll be staying here, and getting a crash course in leadership and politics from SHODAN, based on your own understanding of those topics.

The raw materials for your ship repairs should be available as soon as you can pay for them, so all you need to do is find some guys willing to haul something possibly dangerous and/or illegal for you, under the table.
Your main issue right now is that Cylia is totally loopy, and now practically half asleep. Unable to walk properly, you'll have to escort her around until some of that shit is out of her system... so maybe you should rent a car yourself.

"Hrlly wrm... shoooo tingly..."

Cylia clings to your side as you slowly walk back down the hall, headed towards the Arena exit.
Along the way though, a group of rather large and somewhat aggressive-looking aliens passes by you.

One of them, a red, four-armed humanoid, blocks your path with two of his arms.

"Hey, pinky! Who's your friend?" He asks.

Ignoring him, you walk right through as if he wasn't even there. He's knocked to the side as you pass.
In response, another one blocks your path with his whole body. This one is a large, fur-covered fellow. Looks kind of like an upright yak with no horns, and smells like one too.

"We were talking to you, bubblegum." The second fellow growls.

"Yeah, that's right. What's a freak like you doing with a drugged-up caithan? Ain't all that common to see shorties like you in here."

6'3 is short? Well, compared to this guy, maybe. But one thing you've learned out in space, is that volume ain't everything. Lots of these guys are made out of cotton candy.

"...My friend here needs a place to rest, so i'm grabbing us a car. You got a problem with that?"

The four-armed alien leans down and gets right in your face as he responds.

"Maybe i do, tough guy. After all, we wouldn't want you draggin' the little miss off somewhere quiet and having fun all by yourselves, now would we, boys?"

The other men chuckle at his remark as they surround you in a circle. Six men, each a different race. All of them look fairly muscular, but it's hard to say how "fluffed up" they are.
They don't seem to have weapons on hand. At least nothing obvious. If it was just you then there'd be no problem, but Cylia's in no shape to fight anyone right now.

>"Don't worry about it, she's a member of my crew." (Show them your crew manifest, including clank's alter ego and the ship's name)
>"Shall i get Baal and Ourg to vet for me, then? They're right down the hall."
>Try to warn them off, only fight if they don't get the message.
>Rip and Tear
>Write-In?
>>
>>5392996
>"Shall i get Baal and Ourg to vet for me, then? They're right down the hall."

Fair money they've been warned about us by the twins, but aren't connecting "strange pink biped" with "the monster that trained in gravity high enough to break the cot I was sleeping on"
>>
>>5392996
>"Shall i get Baal and Ourg to vet for me, then? They're right down the hall."
lets be civil
>>
>>5392996
>"Shall i get Baal and Ourg to vet for me, then? They're right down the hall."
>>
>>5392996
>>"Shall i get Baal and Ourg to vet for me, then? They're right down the hall."
>>
>>5392996
>Rip and Tear
For threatening our catgirl the sentence is death
>>
>>5392996
>Rip and Tear
>>
>>5392996
>"Shall i get Baal and Ourg to vet for me, then? They're right down the hall."

Yeah, nows a poor time for combat.
>>
>>5392996
>Rip and Tear
Shouldn't have implied anything bad with Cylia, now they get the boot.
>>
>>5392996
>>"Shall i get Baal and Ourg to vet for me, then? They're right down the hall."
Yeah we have to use the girls we conquered with our cocking skills
>>
>>5392996
>Rip and Tear
>>
>>5392996
>"Shall i get Baal and Ourg to vet for me, then? They're right down the hall."
>>
>>5392996
>"Shall i get Baal and Ourg to vet for me, then? They're right down the hall."
>>
>>5392996
>>Rip and Tear
"Coming over because you were concerned, I could get. But coming over because you want a piece?"
>>
>>5392996
>>Rip and Tear

Just one guy though, make it brutal enough for the others to back off. Don't wanna take out all of them in case the work for Clank.
>>
>>5393074
Ain't kock or cock swedish for chef? So saying we're a talented cock ain't necessarily wrong.
>>
>>5392996
>"Shall i get Baal and Ourg to vet for me, then? They're right down the hall."
Try intimidation. I think our crew wants David to be a little less murder happy, which is fair. We might as well put in some effort. If this fails, and they threaten Cylia, then
>Rip and Tear
Break limbs, paralyze people, do what you must to make your message clear.
>>
>>5393214
David is a great cock
>>
>"Shall i get Baal and Ourg to vet for me, then? They're right down the hall."
>>
>>5392996
>>"Shall i get Baal and Ourg to vet for me, then? They're right down the hall."
We're here to repair our captures, not teach manners to the locals
>>
>>5392996

Your gaze hardens and your muscles tense slightly. If you have to fight like this, you will, but you'd rather avoid it if you can.
The Yak-like man in front of you takes an instinctive half-step back before you even get a word out, but doesn't leave the circle.

"Shall i have Baal and Ourg vet for me, then? They're right..."

You pause as you notice the sound of footsteps behind you. Oddly heavy ones, at that.

"...Right behind you, actually." You finish.

The people in front of you are too focused on you, sensing the danger before them. They haven't noticed yet.
The guys behind you however, can't see her or your face right now, so they're much more relaxed.

"Hah, as if we'd fall for that! Who do you take us for?" One of the men laughs from behind.

"An idiot." You hear Ourg reply, followed by the sound of a skull being cracked.

You turn and see one of the men, likely the one that opened his mouth, collapsed on the floor.
He's not bleeding, nor missing his head, so she likely just gave him a love tap.

"B-Boss! Do you know this guy after all?! Sorry, we didn't know!" The four-armed man blubbers.

"I told you not to fuck with him, didn't i? How much clearer do i have to be?" She growls.

"Huh..? Wait, this is him?! But he's so small!" One guy exclaims.

"Boss, we're sorry! But we can't just ignore someone dragging a drugged up girl through the halls!" Another proclaims.

"That's his crewmate, idiot." Ourg informs them. "And besides... pay more attention. They already smell like eachother, anyways."

"Eh, really? No, you're right..." The yak-man agrees. "I couldn't quite tell through the estro-vape, but..."

"Do they just walk around like that normally? How obscene..." A smaller man mumbles. You can literally see him blushing in real time.

Jesus christ. You need to get this shit off you, now.

"...Ourg, are there any showers here? We need to get this shit off of us already."

"Down the first hall you came through. Last door on the right."

"...Thanks."

The circle parts for you as you continue on your way, with the yak-man giving you a particularly wide berth. You can actually see him trembling slightly, although it's hard to tell his expression due to the hair covering his face.
One other thing you notice is that Cylia has her hand on her knife. She may be totally out of it, but she was still ready to cut someone.

She quickly relaxes and her hand falls away as you leave the circle and continue forwards, however.
You can hear Ourg getting on those guy's case as you head for the shower, telling them that they all could have been killed, blah blah blah.

You'll take a little more care in the future. The guys here seem to be mostly under her control, and they might not be all that bad.
Mostly, of course.

It doesn't take long to find the showers, even with Cylia stumbling around on the way.
Oddly though, it doesn't appear to be segregated by sex. It's just a big, open shower with stalls inside.
>>
>>5393874

>even ready for BREED
>she ready to kill
god bless.
>>
>>5393874
Good girls always have a knife for the ones that interrupt happy time.
>Captcha
>JWWAP
Indeed
>>
>>5393874
ah yes, shared showertime. Just like back in the ship
>>
>>5393898
Do not fuck the cat in the shower
Do not fuck the cat in the shower
Do not fuck the cat in the shower
Do not fuck the cat in the shower
Do not fuck the cat in the shower
Fuck the cat in the shower
Do not fuck the cat in the shower
Do not fuck the cat in the shower

I wonder if public indecency is illegal in space.
>>
>>5393905
Could they stop us?
>>
>>5393906
Only if they have an implant in our head which I doubt they do.
>>
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>>5393874
Those drugged up primal cat instincts kick in...
"S-s-shower? NOOO!"
>>
>>5393874
No sex stuff david. gotta be quick and clean about it.

>>5393994
oh god Cylia is gonna cut David once she realizes why she got yarn on her gift wrap.
>>
we are giving Cylia a good scrub.
WITH OUR DICK YES, WITH OUR DICK
>>
>>5394244
Based dubs, checked.
>>
>>5394244
>>5394312
Nah I imagine David stripping down himself and her, while she is unconscious and washing her up. Then poking her nips like buttons.
>>
>>5394319
>Unconscious ear petting
>>
>>5394319
all six of them?
>>
>>5394359
Who wouldnt push all 6, if she even has six.
>>
>>5394376
right, I'd pull them lmao
You are right
>>
>>5393874

Once you're in the shower, you first set Cylia down in one of the shower stalls before stripping yourself down to your skinsuit.
Cylia just sits there and stares at you, drooling and mumbling. At least she's got a big, dumb grin on her face, even if her eyes are a bit unfocused.

The real trouble comes when you start trying to peel her clothes off as well. She doesn't quite fight back you'd say, but she does make it difficult.

"Come on, Cyl! Stop it, just work with me here!"

"Eheheheeee... nyyyyope... not gonnnaaa..."

"You need a bath, Cyl. Please, just take your jacket off."

"You're just gonna jump on me... AGAIN, thooooouuuugh..."

"I never jumped on you in the first place, and that's not what we're here for anyways. Now come on!" You demand.

"You wanna seeeee me naked again that bad, huh? But then it hurts evvvvery time we do it! Nyope, nyope... dyon't wanna!"

You stand in front of her, arms crossed and foot tapping against the wet tile floor.
This is starting to piss you off, but you can't get mad at her when she's wacked out like this.

"Alright then... fine. You want to do it the hard way? We'll do it the hard way." You proclaim, grabbing the hand shower from overhead.

"What're you dyoin' with that...?" She asks, suddenly looking more nervous.

Without replying, you blast her with cold water. Well, "cold" as far as alien society is concerned. It's not quite lukewarm, but that's enough.

"GYAAAAAAAA!" She cries. Cylia flails around for a moment, trying to escape the water... but she can barely even stand to begin with, so she mostly ends up flopping around on the wet floor.
You kind of just keep her in place with your foot, until she's been fully hosed down. When you turn the water off, you can tell she's woken up somewhat... and she's not happy.

"Asshole. I can't believe you soaked me!" She complains.

"Have you got it together a little more, now? Hurry up and strip down, then. You'll end up catching a cold if you don't dry off."

"What's a cold? Did you mean mean i'll get cold?" She asks.

"I meant you'll get sick. Now here..."

This time, Cylia actually assists in getting her clothes off. They're wet, heavy and unpleasant in this state, after all.
Once she's stripped down to her skinsuit, you can finally get to work lathering her up. Fortunately, there are soap dispensers piped straight into each stall. Literally plumbed in.

"Such weird priorities..." You grumble, lathering up a big handful before slapping it all onto Cylia's back.
You run your hands down the small of her back, then over her ass, which gets a little surprised yelp out of her, and then further down her thighs.

Next is the front.
Again, you lather up a big handful, and then...

"W-Wait, hold on!" Cylia exclaims, stopping you.

"What? What is it now?"

"D-Don't you think i should... y'know... do the front myself?"

You sigh in annoyance.

"Cyl, i've seen literally every inch of you, inside and out. It's a little late to be embarrassed."
>>
Satan wants you
>>
>>5394836
Satan can go to hell
>>
>>5394832
Of course the cat freaks out in the shower. Well, if she's going to get all bashful now, we could always just focus on her hair while she does her front. I mean, considering she's based off Aisha, that mane is going to be chock-a-block FULL of that drug's remnants, lord knows it probably takes twenty minutes just to wash her hair *normally*.
>>
Satans gonna lose a hand and their life if they try anything with David or his family
>>
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>>5394842
Why isn't he already there?
>>
>>5394861
>takes twenty minutes just to wash her hair *normally*.
it doesn't take you twenty minutes to wash your hair¿?

I see, David doesn't know cylia's many nipples yet
>>
>>5394861
I support this
>>
>>5395065
I have short hair, I got tired of taking more than ~4 minutes to wash it.
>>
>>5395239
Shit dude my hair goes halfway down my back, I spend more time washing my pits and ass than my hair. And never neglect to really scrub in between your toes every now and again.
>>
>>5395323
Don't forget washing yer dick. As time goes on it not only gets fart smell from being trapped in underwear with your rear, it gets the BO from the sweat trapped between your legs and groin, and even if you clean up well after having some "fun" (alone, obviously), some of the smell lingers (which builds up over time).
>>
>>5395323
>>5395366
You're both right, but I neglect derailing on this subject already.
>>
>>5394832

"It's a hundred times more embarrassing if you just come out and say it like that..." She grumbles.

"...Fine, here." You concede, wiping your wad of suds onto her chest before moving around behind her. "I'll wash your hair instead, how about that?"

"You touched them anyways..."

"And i'll do it again... huh."

"What? What is it?"

"I'm just noticing, you actually take pretty good care of your hair. No split ends or knots, even though it usually looks pretty wild."

"Why wouldn't i keep my hair clean...?"

"Well, it's a pain in the ass when you have long hair, ain't it? I know. There was a time back before i joined the military when i had hair down to my ass."

"Really? But you're a male! How can it even get that long?"

"Well, length depends on the person, as in other cases. Most humans can grow a decent head of hair, though. Beards, on the other hand... not everyone has a good beard."

"Beard... you mean facial hair? I've only ever seen you clean shaven... or with those spikes on your chin."

"That's my beard coming in, Cyl. If i grew it out, i'd end up looking like a mountain man."

"Hah... what does a mountain man look like?"

"Oh, you know... big, full beard. Tall and muscular, probably wearing flannel and carrying an axe."

"Sounds like you... hah... hah..."

"...You good, Cyl?"

"Y-Yeah..." She mutters breathily.

As you put the pause on her hair, you notice that she's enjoying washing her chest perhaps a bit too much.
Like, she's really lathering those puppies up. You give her a quick thump on the head. Enhanced by the slippery soap, it makes a sound like a ripe watermelon.

"OW! Hey, what was that for?!"

"We're in public, dumbass. In case you forgot."

"Huh...? Oh, right... sorry, my head is still a little fuzzy, and i just feel so warm..."

"Well, quit playin' with them and hold still while i wash this soap out." You order.

Using the handheld shower, you find the soap washes out shockingly easily and leaves behind no visible residue.

"Alright... now where's the conditioner? Did you see the pump anywhere?"

"...What's conditioner?"

"An emulsion of oil and water... i guess? When you strip all the oil out of your hair, you have to put some back in."

"Oh. Yeah, our soap doesn't do that, David. I tried that stuff you left in the shower, once. Sanig said it had powerful disinfectant properties, but it was also a skin irritant..."

"Huh. No specialty products, then? Fine, fine. I won't question it."

While you're at it, you wash all the soap off her front from behind, eliciting a sad "Aww..." from her.

"Alright, now where's the hair dryer..."

[Dryer function activated.] An autonomous voice blurts out.
At the same time, a plastic door closes around the shower stall, sealing the two of you inside. You worry for a moment, but it's clearly not reinforced in any way.

After a few moments, you feel slightly warm air flowing from the drainage grates at the bottom of the shower, up through the vents above.
>>
>writes fanservice
>still has consistent character writing on top of more fluff
based
>>
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>>5395845
oh it was QM
>>
>>5395895
whoopsie
>>
the fek is conditioner and why does David know so much about beauty products
>I tried that stuff you left in the shower, once
Hmm yes lye good
>>
>>5395900
Exactly what David said it's for. When you shampoo your hair it often removes the healthy oils that it has. If you have short hair this doesn't matter much, but if you have long hair it causes split ends and breakage. Conditioner puts some oil back in your hair, and helps prevent split ends and breakage, giving you the healthy sheen associated with sufficient oil in your hair without the nasty smell of having not showered and the slickness of too much oil.
>>
>>5395900
>why does David know so much about beauty products
>beauty products
>conditioner

Stinky spotted
https://youtu.be/59GVr-Arjcs?t=192
>>
>>5395932
>Tariq Nasheed's 1997 album
Christ that's a deep cut.
>>
>>5395940
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0xDGXotGIE

Take the better cut from Del, underappreciated rap legend who can make an entire song about personal hygiene
>>
>>5395940
Oh shit is that the same guy behind >BUCK BREAKING
>>
>>5395909
>>5395932
can't I just put cocconut oil in my hair then? or argan?? conditioner is stupid it gives you dandruff
>>
>>5396338
Dandruff is caused by fungus that grows on your scalp.
Keeping your head clean is a big help, but head & shoulders is specifically formulated to kill that fungus.

Wash yo' ass, bitch.
>>
>>5396089
That takes me back, remember listening to the Deltron 3030 album while playing Mechwarrior. Good times.
>>
>>5396338
No.
>>
>>5395845

The air isn't very hot, but it is very dry. Thanks to that, it only takes about fifteen minutes of floofing up Cylia's 'mane" to get it mostly dry.
Once it's good to go, you quickly braid up her hair and replace the decorative ring she keeps on it's tail. Feels like aluminum brass or something, kind of heavy actually.

Next, you brush the remaining hair on her head, and move on to her tail. Besides the floof at the end, it's fairly short, so it doesn't take long.
You do notice her twitching a lot as you handle it though. Makes sense you guess, since the tail is an extension of her spine, it's pretty sensitive.

...Just out of curiosity, you give the base of her tail a scritch.

"HeeeEEEEE!" She shrieks.

"That works after all, huh?"

"T-That's a sensitive spot! Come on, don't tease me like that!"

"Yeah, you're right. Especially after i just got onto you about it, sorry."

Cylia's face is flushed, and she's clearly exasperated, but she's holding herself back well.

"Cute."

"...Huh?"

"I said, you're cute. Especially right now. I'm a lucky guy."

"Oh... well, thank you..."

Cylia struggles to hold eye contact with you, but she does keep looking your way.
If the slight smile tugging at the corner of her lips are anything to go by, she must be happy.

You're not sure what made her want to be with you, but you really are a lucky bastard. Luckier than you ever were back on earth.

"Mhm. Well, come on. We need to get dressed and get going. Think you can hold it together for a while?" You ask.

"Yeah... that cold shower really woke me up. I think i'm good... probably. Maybe."

Cylia still wobbles on her feet as she stands, but she does manage to hold it together.
You help her keep stable while she puts her pants on, and the rest goes smoothly.

She holds onto the small of your back as you walk, and you make it out of the arena just fine.
You're greeted on the outside by the sprawling slums of the lower city. It's always strange to you, despite how run down they look, these places never really stink.

The food never really rots, and there's no smell of burning plastic or garbage. Just rust and dirt.
Well, you say that, but just as you're thinking it, a large worm-like alien passes by, producing quite a fetid smell as he goes.

That's one thing you'll never get used to.

"Alright... where should we head first, Cyl?"

"Uhhhmmmnnn... what were we doing again? Ah, bounties... we need cash, right?"

"That and a decent group of pilots to tow our shit back here. Quietly."

"Either one works, i guess. How much do we have on us?"

"Captain Rockefeller possesses €78,000, Cylia possesses €33,500 and €26,000 remains in the ship fund." SHODAN informs you, quietly.

"That's a pretty penny. We could hire the porters right away, no problem." You figure.

>Go for the porters first
>Check for some bounties at the office
>Write-In?

Also,

>Rent a hovercar
>Just walk
>>
>>5397169
>Just walk
>go to whichever is closer
>>
>>5397169
>Go for the porters first
>Just walk
>>
>>5397169
>Go for the porters first
>Rent a hovercar
Get some driving experience with one of these.
>>
>>5397169
>>Go for the porters first
>Just walk
>>
>>5397169
>Go for the porters first

>Rent a hovercar
>>
>>5397169
>Check for some bounties at the office
>Just walk
>>
>>5397169
>the decorative ring
PUT IT ON YOUR DICK
>>
>>5397169
>>Go for the porters first
>>Hovercar
We gotta mix leisure and work you see
and QM must have a cool car chase for us...
>>
>>5397169
>Check for some bounties at the office
You can never say no to more cash. I think if some of the people in the cryo jars have bounties on them, we could possibly do an interview to determine if we want to hire them as additional crew, or sell them in for their bounties.

>Just walk
random encounter random encounter random encounter random encounter random encounter random encounter
>>
>>5397591
I think we had previously decided to check who was on ice for being a bastard and who was in due to being victims of usury or similar, and turn the former in for lods of emone.
>>
>>5397657
I don't recall us ever turning in the former yet. We should do that! But, like, in a way where the cops won't immediately come to the station. Remember that these bounties were meant to return back to Core World space, so it might be weird if they turn up on this station.

Not saying it's impossible, but maybe we should be catious of how we want to cash some of them in.
>>
>>5397169

>Go for the porters first
>Just walk
>>
>>5397591
Do our homework before we even think about thawing out the bounties. There's gotta be records of who's on ice, what they did, maybe even psychological profiles.
>>
>>5397169

You decide that finding someone to haul those ships back takes priority, but that's easier said than done. It's not like there's a job office down here, so you'll have to look around a bit, talk to people...
And to that end, although it'd be easier to get around in a car you choose to walk instead. Cylia slows things down a bit, but she's not going to fall over while holding onto you and the walking should help get it out of her system quicker.

After about half an hour of asking around, you find that folks seem generally irritable and on-edge right now.
You also notice several particularly tired and haggard looking individuals, who avoid you entirely. Quite possibly, those are the remnants of the local gangs who no longer have a job, a place to sleep or a group to rely on.

That's making it difficult for you to collect information.
Fortunately though, there is one group of relatively carefree individuals who can be bribed quite easily.

"Hey, kid. You want something to eat?" You ask, beckoning a scrawny, bird-like child over.

She looks at you warily, but does make her way over to you.
You pull a small packet of homemade dodo-jerky out of your pocket and take out a strip, letting her watch as you chew on it.

It's not exactly the most flavorful without many spices, but it's real meat, and pretty juicy for what it is.
The girl stares up at you, a trail of drool falling from her beak.

"I'll give you some of this, if you can help me out." You tell her, jerky still sticking out between your teeth.

She hesitates, but her hunger gets the better of her.

"W-What do you want, old guy?" She asks.

"Tch, i'm not that old. How can you even tell, anyways? ...Nevermind, not the point. I'm looking for some guys willing to do a little under the table work. Pilots, preferably. You know anyone like that?"

"Mmn, maybe Tezza? He works at the fabricators... always racing hovercars with his friends. They can fly ships, too."

"Tezza, by the fabricators?"

"Uhm... well, he's probably at the empty lot, right now."

The empty lot. Literally, it's just a patch of flat land where nothing's been built yet. Perfect for racing, you guess. You know where it is, since it's clearly visible from the ladder down here.

"Thanks, kid. Here, take 'em."

You hand her the whole packet of jerky, and her face lights up. She immediately tears into a piece, but struggles to rip it apart at first.
Most likely, she's never had anything besides nutrient paste and ration blocks before. Or maybe a couple rats, if she was lucky.

Honestly, the situation down here sucks for most people. Particularly for meat-eaters, though.
If you had control, things might be different. It's so easy to build what you need out here, but it's all locked down and controlled by the elites... and everyone just accepts it as normal.

There's no such thing as a free repository of common items. Nanofabs are expensive and normally regulated as well. You're fortunate to have an unlocked printer to yourself.
>>
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Is that suffering under the yoke of tyrants I smell?
It better fucking not be.
>>
>>5398150
yes but in space
>>
>>5398150
yeah, it should be under OUR yoke, not the government's
>>
>>5398206
Hey, no becoming the very thing we swore to destroy!
>>
>>5398150
I don't know who that is. I don't know why we're here. But I heard there was a chance to set something on fire so I came as fast as I could.
>>
>>5398228
Noncanon Primarch from another quest. He might not be canon but he's turbobased, having spent almost the entirety of his life hanging tyrants, while helping the people.
>>
>>5398228
It's from the 2nd Primarch quest you should give the quest a read, it's incredibly based.
>>
>>5398228
What the other guys said
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=The%202nd%20Primarch%20Quest
>>
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>>5398243
>>5398299
incredibly based you say?
that 2nd primarch quest not the mechanicus one?
not him but alright I would try that one out im tired of reading fanfiction bullshit to pass the time anyways
>>
>>5398150
Based Mad Wall Monk.
>>
>>5398307
Why does 4chan have better content and ideas than fanfic writers? Its the purified autism.
>>
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>>5398132
A stones throw from post scarcity with all the resources and nanofabs in the galaxy, and here we are bribing homeless starving birbs with.... More birb I guess.
>>
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>>5398243
>>5398299
>>5398305
T4L0S D4V1S is better
>>
>>5398150
By the Emperor as my witness, we should talk to Clanks and see if we can do something to improve the lives of the people here. Maybe once we control xebric we can create a mass DooDoo farm so we can sell locally and export DooDoo meats, eggs, and byproducts to other stations in need of protein. Considering how easy it is to feed and care for them, it should be relatively cheap. Plus all their shit can be made into fertilizer, which can then be used for Hydroponics / Aquaponics / Aeroponics systems for additional crops and resources. No more of that food paste bullshit.
>>
>>5398605
Dude, you're missing the forest for the trees; at this point is way easier to take control of this station than xebric and with way less hassle to boot
>>
>>5398605
If we're going to farm dodos, not just raise them for eggs aboard ship, we need to worry about genetic diversity. Raising a large population from the handful we have is likely to make them inbred and unhealthy as fuck. So that would mean either using tech to scramble their genome in some way, or going back to Planet Tar Ghost to bag some extras.
>>
>>5398475
as someone who is in both quest I disagree.
>>
>>5398609
SSshhhhhiiiiiieettt

>>5398608
You guys are both right. With Clank in control he practically owns the station, and can bribe people to look the other way. We could probably set up a farm down here and sell the food on the cheap yet affordable.

But we also should upgrade the Metal Gear to have stronger shields and more redundancies to deal with Wraith bullshittery. Maybe do that thing where we coat the entire ship with blood so the wraith's can't enter. David and Cylia will go out to do some hunting, get the eggs for additional genetic diversity, MAYBE EVEN MORE ANIMALS TO RAISE, and fuck off before more demons show up.
>>
>>5398609
Maybe just have Sanig use some of that sweet grey genecrafting tech to add some variety to the dodo population (alternative flavors perhaps by playing with their muscle textures?)
>>
>>5398616
Mmmm, 'natural' teriyaki/lemon pepper flavor dodos.
>>
>>5398609
>>5398615
>>5398616
>>5398628
....we can just go to the dodo planet and grab more....
>>
>>5398629
You say it like that would be safe and easy.
>>
>>5398634
It is. The dodos are stupidly easy to capture and the only reason we got caught on the storm the last time was because we decided to cook some on the spot. So yes, getting more dodos should be a really safe and easy operation to do, but if you're still nervous we can send some satellites to register when the wraith spikes happen

>>5398615
>upgrading the metal gear
Please no. The ship already has structural damage on its skeleton; better to invest that money on a new ship than trying to patch up this one.
>>
>>5398614
how many arms does your primarch has
>>
>>5398638
we could... ABDUCT DODOS WITH A TRACTOR BEAM
>>
>>5398641
how many fighting styles do yours have?
>>
>>5398644
Anon, you're a intelligent motherfucker. THIS IS THE SPIRIT

Also, about the metal gear we surely need some materials to keep up with what we have before, so we better try and think in someway to adquire those materials from the greys or seek an alternative. But for the Metal Gear, we will need to make a massive overhaul and try to bring it to it's old glory with a mix of something more fitting for us
>>
>>5398644
if we can make a tractor beam strong enough to avoid the wraith EMP field, sure, why not

>>5398662
>massive overhaul to bring a ship to its normal state of functioning
or we build a new ship. it will cost more or less the same and it has the advantage of being built to david's specifications and fighting style
>>
>>5398669
>or we build a new ship. it will cost more or less the same and it has the advantage of being built to david's specifications and fighting style
Honestly I already feel something for our first ship. And after all, even if it's broken, surely there are some parts that are more high quality that we will find, and it's (or was) some high quality infiltrarion ship with a awesome cloaking device. Even if it doesn't fit for David, we will need a ship like that
>>
Was there any unfinished business with that deer guy?
>>
>>5398693
yes, we need to deal with the maggot usurer. and that might be super easy to do now that clank controls the underworld. im pretty sure that one call can set him on the straight and narrow
>>
>>5398697
I think that was dealt before... Probably the same thread we met him while we were playing as Clank for the tournament
>>
>>5398706
the last thing i remember was cylia trying to infiltrate his shop and coincidentally i don't remember going back to talk with the deers, so that's why i don't think we have finished dealing with the maggot
>>
>>5398475
No idea what Talos' character is like, but Lieren is pretty fucking based.
Bane of Tyrants, friend to all children, seeker of truth...
Also his flair for the dramatic and constant intellectual mogging of Xenos is funny as fuck.
>>
>>5398605
Honestly I'm all for calling them Doo-Doo's as a brand name. It means nothing to the Xenos and it's honestly kind of appropriate giving how they shit everywhere.
>>
>>5398641
Physical or metaphysical?
>>
>>5398732
i don't want to relate them to shit even if its just a joke david will get
>>
>>5398733
Ask not how many arms one has but how comfortable they are for hugging?
>>
>>5398766
Lieren's arms are made for hugging. Ask his 300 adopted children or his Legion of Gene-sons. Or hell, ask his wife.
>>
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>>5398773
His wife is pretty much a giant DaoT ship. I know Tal0s as a Titan Best Friend, so uh. Yeah. Things.

Also Lieren's muscle girl step-sister's avatar is fucking hot. I'm a sucker for tomboys with big muscles and abs, like the oni sisters in this quest.
>>
>>5398723
Talos is very devout. Numbers matter a lot you see, but he surprisingly warm and aproachable, past all the body horror the admech is known for.
>>5398733
Physical. He has 6 and counting
>>
>>5399242
The body horror kinda turns me off. Like, kinda self debilitating but I know it works in setting to the quest. Good for him!
>>
>>5399284
>Body horror
>Local man too weak to embrace the reality of the flesh is literally weaker then machinery.
>>
>>5399290
The flesh may be weak, but a spirit that admits defeat is weaker still. I'll keep my meatsack until it is so battered it no longer functions. And then I'll force it to work a little longer.

Fucking mechadendrite fondling weirdos.

jk the mechanicus is rad. Defitely zonked out of their minds on machine oil though
>>
>>5398132

While you're walking away, thinking to yourself, you hear the kid you'd just talked with squeal behind you.
By the time you look back, she's already been knocked to the floor. Standing over her is some thug, another yak-like man similar to the one who blocked your way in the arena hall. This one has black fur.

He seems to have ripped the girl's jerky out of her hands. He yells something at her, and then stomps on it.

"This motherfucker."

"Don't kill him, please..." Cylia begs, letting go of you as you turn back. "I can't stop you right now..."

As you get closer, you start to hear what this guy's screaming about more clearly.

"...ucking flesh-eaters like you on this station! We have it bad enough as it is!"

He stomps his hoof down right next to the girl's hand, punctuating his sentence.
The girl is clearly terrified, to the point that she can't even speak.

"This again?" You grumble.

The same shit that got grandpa gasbag's shop burnt down, with his family inside of it.
You've always had a "live and let live" attitude towards most things. Even if you think someone's a piece of shit, you're tolerant up to a point.

But this? It's food. No matter what you are, every living thing needs to eat something. It could be anything. Light. Plants. Meat. Whatever.
It's not a cat's fault that it can't eat fucking broccoli and survive. But even if it could, forcing it to live that way is just sick.

You get where these people are coming from, but that's their life.
This motherfucker, and everyone like him. He's the sort who tells others how to live.

And you hate that.

>Beat him until he's pissing blood
>Shoot him in the stomach and leave him there
>Take a bite out of him, remind him of where he belongs on the food chain
>Restrain every fiber of your being and simply scare him off
>Other? (Write-In)
>>
>>5399397
>Beat him until he's pissing blood
>then break both kneecaps
This is bullshit! Offer the girl a home cooked meal and some more jerky for the road. She's coming back with us for some honest to god food, and I wont hear a no.
>>
>>5399397
I want to bite him but I'm 99% sure the bacteria in our mouth would wind up killing him. Fucking soft spacemen.

>Break the leg he stomped on that beautiful jerky with
>>
>>5399397
>>Shoot him in the stomach and leave him there
plain and simple. very western flick
>>
>>5399397
>Beat him until he's pissing blood
>>
>>5399397
>I'll warn you once. Let the girl eat whatever the fuck she wants or I'll break your God damn horns and shove them in your shins.

Then if he doesn't listen.
>Beat him until he's pissing blood
>>
>>5399397
>X Gon' Give It To Ya was released on 2003. Ask SHODAN to play it on max volume on our PDA while we lay down the smack down.
>Start Mr. X walking towards the ram alien dude.
>"I'm shoving my boot so far up your ass you'll taste leather!"
>attempt to see how far you can literally shove your boot up his ass.
>>
>>5399408
Oh I like that. +1.
>>
>>5399397
>Forcefeed him the jerky he just wasted. No matter how much he resists.
You waste it, you eat it.
>Give the girl some new jerky after you drive this chode off.
>>
>>5399397
>I'll warn you once. Let the girl eat whatever the fuck she wants or I'll break your God damn horns and shove them in your shins.

and when he eventually decides its smart to attack us:

>Beat him until he's pissing blood
>>
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>>5399397
>Grab the yak by the neck, try your absolute best not crush his windpipe or break his spine
>Lay into him verbally, like you're back at Parris Island disciplining another shithead recruit
>Slap the piss out of him for good measure
>>
>>5399408
+1
Fucking grazers
>>
>>5399408
Support. That way when we inevitably have to break him, nobody can say we didn't TRY diplomacy.
>>
>>5399397
>Grab the yak by the neck, try your absolute best not crush his windpipe or break his spine
>Threaten that if he fights back at any point of our tirade, we'll break off his horns and stab his shins with them
>Lay into him verbally, like you're back at Parris Island disciplining another shithead recruit
>Slap the piss out of him for good measure
>force feed him the jerky, you dont waste good food you shitboot
>if he fights back, beat him until he's pissing blood
>Give the girl some new jerky after you cripple this chode.
>>
>>5399397
>Steal his datapad and text all his contacts with the full contents of his saved pictures and search history.
>>
>>5399397
>Other: Beat him a bit to get his attention. Aggressively interrogate this drama llama about why he even cares if the girl eats some animal flesh. Find out who the leaders are behind this whole attitude. Take his horns if he keeps giving you or the girl any trouble.
>>
>>5399427
Why not beat him up, steal his shit, then ask the girl about the racism?
>>
>>5399432
+1
>>
>>5399408
Support

Fun fact! If we forcefeed him the jerky like how some anons are suggesting, his digestive system actually WILL be able to handle it! This is because plants are harder to digest than meat, and as such requires a more complex digestive system! You can see this in action if you look it up, because many herbivores will gladly chow down on a rotting carcass for extra protein!
>>
>>5399397
>>Beat him until he's pissing blood
>>then break both kneecaps
sure glad we are omnivores,
>>
>>5399432
Don't want to go too far and start a dietary type war by accident. We don't know the whole story. Maybe this part of the galaxy used to be ruled by predators who ate sapient herbavore species and a lighter touch could net us better results than going full "bite the herbavore."
>>
>>5399483
All I know is a grown ass man is bullying a small hungry child, and that has my marbles rolling.

>>5399397
Just pick the funniest suggestion OP then end it with violence, then finish it with getting the girl maybe something easier to chew on than jerky. Her jaw is probably too weak from eating distopian onions paste. Maybe we can get her something softer.
>>
>>5399397
>Other? (Write-In)
Use enough violence to get the point across, but nothing that would traumatize the kid or leave him 6 feet under. Don't let him leave without an apology either.
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>>5399397
+1 to >>5399414
Best option and surely a funny one
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>>5399290
>>Local man too weak to embrace the reality of the flesh is literally weaker then machinery.
Baseline flesh? You'd be correct.
Primarch flesh? Not so much.
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>>5399397
>>Beat him until he's pissing blood

Easy to act tough when you're up against a starved little girl. How's about you try on a proper Omnivore for size.
>>
despite being 7% of the population, carnivores commit 54% of crimes
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>>5399709
Das rite!
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>>5399397
>Beat him until he's pissing blood

Tell Cylia to cover the girl's eyes
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>>5399767
And give the girl new jerky. Open the package for her.
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>>5399767
More like cover the girls ears and have her look away
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>>5399767
+1
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>>5399767
+1
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>>5399770
I am opening THIS package instead if you know what I am saying
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>>5400103
Wasn't the issue her trying to eat the jerky and not open the bag?

>You hand her the whole packet of jerky, and her face lights up. She immediately tears into a piece, but struggles to rip it apart at first.
Yeah, she's too weak to try and eat it. Poor thing. Maybe we should make her something softer? She's bird like so I assume that means she has a beak. Not sure if soup would work for her. Maybe kebabs?
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>>5400117
If you batter and deep fry jerky it loses some toughness but retains the flavor.
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>>5400122
mmmm grease... that's delicious
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>>5400122
but aliens on average, let alone a little girl probably don't know that. We should make her some food.
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>>5399397

Nope, you can't do it. You can't hold yourself back entirely, not on this one.
Placing one hand on the man's chest, you give a firm shove which causes him to stumble back several steps.

"What the- HEY! WATCH IT, ASSHOLE!" He shouts. "I'm about to teach this little fucking monster a lesson, you hear?!"

Rather than responding, you simply step between him and the girl.
As your eyes lock, you can see in your periphery that every muscle in his body tightens up. Even his long, greasy-looking hairs make an attempt to stand on end.

For her part, Cylia manages to take the girl and lead her away at this point. That's good.

"Y-You!" He stutters. "You're one of them, aincha?!"

Unclenching your teeth, you start to give him a response.

"I'll give you once chance. Apolo-"

The yak-man cuts you off by throwing a huge, wide punch which you avoid by turning to the side.
Stupid bastard, he's panicking. Whatever, it's not your problem.

As you turn, you throw a short right hook into his ribcage. That signature "pop" indicates you've broken at least one or two of his ribs.
The man, despite being nearly two heads larger than you, folds in half as if he had been shot. You take advantage of that to grab hold of his goatee with your left hand.

Clump of hair firmly in hand, you use it to pull him down even further as you drive your right knee high up into his jaw, sending his head flying back in a spray of blood as you feel his teeth break.
He stumbles back even further, first one wobbly step, then another, before falling flat on his back with a bang that kicks up a pall of dust from underneath him.

Blood. You can see the blood dribbling from his mouth.

"...Can you taste it?" You ask him, picking up the half-destroyed packet of jerky and shoving it down into your pocket.

He doesn't respond. He's in a total panic, looking around any which way for some kind of help.
Everyone around you has simply cleared a circle to watch. It doesn't look like there's a single person who's willing to help.

"You've got blood in your mouth, don't you? I guess that makes you a flesh-eater, too." You announce.

A well-placed kick shatters the man's jaw, leaving it hanging for a moment before he covers his head and face with his hands.

"Don't worry though, you'll only be eating nutrient paste through a straw from now on."

You stomp down, as hard as you physically can, directly onto his knee-joint. Or rather, since he's a digitigrade species, you suppose that's his ankle.
Regardless though, it snaps like a twig and leaves his hoof hanging at an odd angle. The man screams, but refuses to uncover his face.

"You like stomping on other people's dinner?" You ask him. "Even if it's a little girl, whose ribs are showing through her skin? Just because you don't like what she's eating?"

You grab the front of his shirt and pull his torso up off the ground, then firmly plant your right fist straight into his gut. His shirt tears off in your hand and he's knocked back to the floor.
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>>5400142
motherfucker is getting off easy. he's lucky we've got better things to do.
actually, knowing our luck, he'll probably try to tattle on his friends and then we'll have more bullshit to deal with. we should force this guy to type out what gang he works for, contact Clank to see if said gang will be a problem, and determine if we want to leave them alone or kill them.
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>>5400141
>We should make her some food.
That's exactly what I suggested. Bruh
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>>5400162
jokes on you I'm retarded, sorry about that. I see what you mean now. Do you think greasy food is safe for her? Probably is huh?
Should we get her some vitamins or something?
Do we let her be on her way after feeding her, or do we want to bother doing something else in the long term?
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>>5400151
you know, i propose a change of plans. lets take over this station instead of xebric.
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>>5400180
We're already half way there. We should probably consult our crew about the idea. It's also important to note how far or close this station is to the Republic space, and if we want to be open about our take over or not. With the gear we have we could easily do it right now with just our gatling gun and tower shield.

You know I actually had a thought. The Dummy V.I. could in the power armor could to utilized for controlling a shoulder mounted gun on the PA to either attack anything behind David, or act as an additional set of eyes. A shoulder mounted phase gun probably wouldn't take up too much space, and we could put a grenade launcher on the other shoulder.
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>>5400185
that's the beauty of it; we don't even need to go on an open warfare with the station.
crank already told us that the local government just wants a cut of whatever bullshit we do, so we can just....talk it out. politic our way into doing the stuff that the government doesn't want to do but its extremely profitable to us, like feeding the masses proper food. so the government gets help with keeping the underworld under check, we gain a base for the dark stars and we also gain a place to make our dodo ranch. it won't be easy, but it sounds way easier than taking xebric
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>>5400202
Ooooh. I like it. We should talk this out with our crew and Gron. We'll need some representatives from this station to work under us, and act as our eyes and ears. That'll keep us up to date on the daily going ons of the average person or ganger.
Speaking of, if we could provide a reliable source of food for carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores, we're already as good as set for securing almost everyone's loyalty. Bonus points for David having some pre-existing knowledge of farming. I dont know just how knowledge able David is, but my goal would be for aeroponics set up to save on water. If we ever find fish we could upgrade or downgrade to aquaponics so we can support both fish and vegetation. We may or may not need to make a pit stop back to search to grab some cod, trout, or tilapia though. Better to start with aeroponics using space veg.

So intandem to feeding DooDoo's the cheap food paste and the aeroponics set up, we can make a lot of money by selling food locally and sustainable on the cheap. Maybe even train some people for a few weeks to handle maintenance and farming.
>>
How about we take off the streets one or two hobo lolis and bring them to the ship?

Now that I have re read what I wrote... I REGRET NOTHING
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>>5400211
oh yeah, getting a proper network of spies to keep us up to spec with the news is a must.

>my goal would be for aeroponics set up to save on water.
surprisingly enough, water isn't that much of an issue if you have spaceships. ice is pretty common in asteroids
>we can make a lot of money by selling food locally and sustainable on the cheap
we could try getting some fruits and vegetables from the dodo planet as well; probably in a different run so we avoid a wraith storm
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>>5400270
Theres also the meat animals from the black Smith's, our reward for bullying the guys harrassing their buisness.
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>>5400270
Actually, if we want to go to the doodoo planet just for produce, that would be needlessly dangerous. We could simply minmax and grow thr space fruits and veggies that are already available on the market, but like do it better since the aliens know jack shit about farming. You gotta mix that stuff with shit like ash, bones, shit, and the blood of your enemies if you want good home grown food.
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>>5400336
>You gotta mix that stuff with shit like ash, bones, shit, and the blood of your enemies if you want good home grown food.
Don't forget love and tenderness, baby.
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>>5400336
>Actually, if we want to go to the doodoo planet just for produce, that would be needlessly dangerous
we still have to go to the planet to get more dodos anyways, so there's no harm in taking some plants as well
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>>5399644
Counterpoint: Primarch Flesh is better than normal steel. Primarch Forged Steel is better than Primarch Flesh.
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>>5400142

The crowd winces, recoils and murmurs as you savagely beat the man before you.
He curls up into a ball, trying to defend himself somehow. His cries are starting to get pathetic, and you don't plan on turning this beating into a murder, so you'll leave it at that.

You crouch down next to him and whisper into his ear.

"The next time one of you messes with someone else's food, i'm going to skin you all alive and hang your bodies in the town square. Do you understand?"

He responds with a panicked whimper, which you take as an affirmation.
You give him a gentle pat on the shoulder, which makes him clench up even harder.

"Good. Oh, and just a warning." You continue, "If anything happens to these kids, you're going to wish that all i did was peel your skin off. Keep it in mind."

Standing up, you stretch our your muscles and give your neck a nice crack.
Several folks in the crowd are quite a bit taller than you, so you have a bit of difficulty finding Cylia, who's also technically quite short by galactic standards...

...All these eyes on you are starting to get annoying.

You make your way to the edge of the crowd, who quickly disperse and open up a wide gap for you to walk though.
Thankfully, Cylia is right there, standing at the corner of an alleyway, waiting for you.

"Thanks, Cyl. Poor girl didn't need to see that."

You hear a small voice from just around the corner, so you quickly lighten your face up and put on a smile.

"Um... t-thank you, mister... for helping me..."

"...Yeah, no problem, kid. Sorry about your meal, it got a little beat up."

Unfortunately, that retard's hoof ripped the bag open and got dirt on like, half of it. You're from the countryside, so you don't particularly care yourself... but it still sucks. These stations are pretty much sterile, though, so...
You pull the bag out of your pocket and take out the worst-looking piece, brushing most of the dirt off and then blowing on it. After biting off the dirty end, you hand the rest back to her.

She seems happier that the food is more or less intact than upset that it's been stomped on.

"Might have some grit on it. It's just a little extra flavor, though."

The girl thanks you again, more fervently this time, and wraps her wings around your leg in a hug before running off further into the dark alleyway, probably to find a safe place where she can eat in peace.
With the girl gone, your smile drops clean off your face again.

Immediately, you pick up your holopad and give Clank a call. He picks up immediately.

["Greetings, Captain. Has something happened already?"]

"Yeah, nothing major though. I'm actually calling about something else. Infrastructure related."

["I am all ears, Captain."]

"...I'm just wondering is there anything like an orphanage on this station?"

["Of course not, Captain. In frontier systems, children who are unable to sustain themselves typically sell themselves into slavery as chattel. This is the case for adults as well, of course."]
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>>5401246
>["Of course not, Captain. In frontier systems, children who are unable to sustain themselves typically sell themselves into slavery as chattel. This is the case for adults as well, of course."]

ok, this definitely works to our advantage, specially if we can offer them a steady flow of food and cash
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>>5401246
>The girl thanks you again, more fervently this time, and wraps her wings around your leg in a hug before running off
This, that right there is what makes life worth living for-

["Of course not, Captain. In frontier systems, children who are unable to sustain themselves typically sell themselves into slavery as chattel. This is the case for adults as well, of course."]
-and now my murder boner is back again.
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>>5401246
>["Of course not, Captain. In frontier systems, children who are unable to sustain themselves typically sell themselves into slavery as chattel. This is the case for adults as well, of course."]
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>>5401246
FUCKING WHAT?!
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>>5401290
>>5401316
>>5401287
....this isn't new knowledge. cylia was thinking about doing that when we met her. why is everyone so surprised about it?
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>>5401324
I think they're more surprised that kids fall under the umbrella as opposed to having orphanage options or the like.
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>>5401246
>["Of course not, Captain. In frontier systems, children who are unable to sustain themselves typically sell themselves into slavery as chattel. This is the case for adults as well, of course."]
these masses are actually worse than the chinese holy shit
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>>5401330
ok, that makes sense
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>>5401330
No, we just forgot
>>
This is just like earth but in space!
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>>5401246
HNNNGGG, CHILD SOLDIERS? JUST LIKE THE GOOD OLD DAYS AFTER 9-11
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>>5402205
AND BEFORE 9/11
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>>5401246
>["Of course not, Captain. In frontier systems, children who are unable to sustain themselves typically sell themselves into slavery as chattel. This is the case for adults as well, of course."]
Ok, that's it. Somebody's gonna die for this.
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>>5401246
>["Of course not, Captain. In frontier systems, children who are unable to sustain themselves typically sell themselves into slavery as chattel. This is the case for adults as well, of course."]
I see. Savages. Barbarians.
They leave us no other choice, seems we will have to take this matter into our own hands and civilize them, the roman way.
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>>5402345
....but the romans also had slaves
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>>5402348
No, those were underaged fucktoys. Get your facts checked
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>>5401246

"How many orphaned children are living down here? Do you have an estimate?"

["I do not possess exact records, but estimates suggest that approximate one hundred and fifty children exist in the lower city at any given time. Fifty or more of which may be orphaned."]

"Jesus, that many?"

["Self-sufficiency is no guarantee on the fringes of society, Captain."]

"Still, a third?"

["The demographic of this and similar stations is mainly criminals, psychopaths and those who have been exiled from their homeworlds. Few people choose to intentionally start a family on the rim."]

"And if they do have a family, their situation is probably already pretty desperate... those kids are all from families who just didn't make it."

["Correct."]

"Fine, then. I have a task for you, in that case. I want you to set up an orphanage down here. You're already using these kids to collect information, so you might as well make it unofficially official."

["What are your intentions, Captain?"]

"Bring the kids in, give them a safe place to sleep and enough food to eat. Make them an "unofficial" part of your gang, spread rumors and make it known, nobody touches them or else. It'll be an unwritten rule."

["That seems somewhat dangerous, don't you think?"]

"Maybe, but at least they'll have something. These kids are all on their own right now. If you can give them an education as well, then they might actually make it out here."

["Very well, Captain. I will allocate the funds immediately. There are several vacant buildings which could serve as the orphanage already."]

"Good. We'll talk more about this later, alright?"

["Affirmative, Captain."]

You close your holopad and pocket it with a sigh. It sucks to see all this suffering going on, when it clearly doesn't have to be this way. What the hell is going on out here for things to be like this?
Cylia grabs your arm as she leans into you, patting you on the chest.

"...You're really a big softie on the inside, aren't you?" She teases.

"Hey, just because i like to scrap, it doesn't mean i enjoy watching people suffer."

Cylia glances back at the yak-man you just savaged, still laying there in a ball. He's being attended to by three more of his kind now, but they aren't paying any attention to you.

"...That's different. That motherfucker deserved it. He'd better be glad i didn't just hang him up by his nutsack and bleed him dry." You clarify.

"Yeah, yeah... you talk tough, but you really just wanted to help that little girl, didn't you?"

Cylia giggles.

"I see right through you, big man..."

"Yeah, so what? There's nothing wrong with that. Hell, it's almost as bad here as it is back on earth. There's no sense of community here. Everyone's just driven by profits, all trying to get ahead, or just stay alive. It's bullshit."

"It's like this in a lot of places, though..." Cylia reminds you.

"I know. What i'm saying is, there's no excuse for it. Not when you have this kind of tech."
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>>5402379
and the difference is?
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>>5402383
We should probably look into Grons, Baal and Ourg's people for anyone trust worthy enough to work for and with us. Maybe look for people the orphans can vouch for, then David spends just a few hours of his day personally interviewing them to determine if they're truthful or not. We'll need some caretakers, gangers with a sense of a sense of right or wrong. Maybe instill some dogma and creed to legitimize our gang dudes. Like a Yakuza gang but in space? Maybe all "enforcer" gang members are required to be "tortured" (tattoos) to determine if they have the strength to fight for their new family (space Yakuza!!!)

Pic kinda related. Getting some muscle is a start, then we can get some pencil pushers and faces. I'm thinking the average grunt gets a suit and wears a body suit underneath with only the protection benefits without the strength stabilizer and enhancer, on top of a personal shield and phaser pistol. Perhaps maybe even some plastic cuffs, and a choice between a baton or a pair of hard knuckle gloves for a cqc weapon?

Members could fight and practice in the Oni Sister's arena for profit and practice.

Maybe, "gangers" would act as the more civilian hand for Soldiers Without Borders while the actual soldiers of our faction will be kitted out?
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>>5402417
woops wrong pic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7R_xQUiZvg
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>>5402348
We're 2000 years removed from them. We're not religious fanatics blindly following words of a bygone time. They have lessons to teach, but we have to interpret and adapt them. We can take their lessons on civilization, improve them and spread them.
What I meant by what I said was their spread of culture and information, of infrastructure, the idea of Rome itself. Mankind's oldest and longest living 'american dream' before the American Dream.
That's where the American Dream was even born from. Before the forefathers of America believed in America, they believed in Rome.

Republic and Senate. These aren't just borrowed words, they are meant to symbolize something bigger. A statement of intention.
Rome lives in us. Let us teach it to others.
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>>5402433
>>5402417
first lets get the local government on our side then. the last thing we want is for them to get uppity about the stuff we want to do
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>>5402468
That might require some fineness, black mail, and under the table dealings to get the current station governor to comply. If they're anything like a politician, they're a pure bread asshole.
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>>5402492
>>5402468
>a gang that's in charge of gambling, drug and people trafficking, extortion, intimidation...
I sleep
>they just began an orphanage
REAL SHit
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>>5402492
true, but he's fine with clank taking care of all of the underworld as long as he gets a cut from clanks earnings. that means that they won't mind as long as we give them a cut of whatever we do. i mean, we're gonna do his job and the only thing he needs to do is pretend everything is a-ok; its a literal no brainer
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>>5402515
Mmmm, fair. But I would like to eventually get "our" people in political position after the current mayor or lord decides to "take an early retirement."
I mean in that we convince or blackmail them to quit, but killing is also on the table.
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>>5402514
At worst we need to hire a doctor to offer free sterilization to the station's adults for population control.
>>
This brings to mind Homeworld. Specificly the Taiidan Empire.
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>>5402636
and free euthanazia just like in canada
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>>5402826
Probably already available.
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>>5402847
Ropes and bullets cost money.
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>>5402876
Oooookaaaay?
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>>5402882
What?
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>>5402826
im surprised the US didnt do it first, although now that i think about it, thats not a profitable thing to do
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>>5402826
>>5402847
>>5402876
>>5402915
Fuck I did not want to wake up to this level of distopian depression. Imma need my OJ.
Speaking of juice, anyone know any human crops, or current crops David has encounter that is low or has no acidity, and maybe a low sugar count? that could be worth growing and marketing.
>>
What are slaves usually used for in space? I would imagine they would usually be used for service work rather than labor due to machinery.
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>>5402982
i don't think it matters the kind of fruit we use; for earth fruits we just need to dilute the extract and for alien fruits we probably just need to find whatever fruit most people like and that's it.
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>>5403041
They are used in service work, but also as personal servants, sex slaves, sometimes as gladiators in the case of predator species or for manual labor in places like hydroponic farms custom fab factories.
That last one is just about the best job a slave can hope for, as being able to control a nanofab and make even basic parts on the fly makes you somewhat valuable.

David and Sanig make it look easy, but 99% of the alien population would fry their neurons if they tried that shit.
Javan was able to do it because she trained very hard to create and repair a few very specific items.
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>>5402982
Potatoes? Spinach or kale maybe? Rhubarb maybe? Also, we've got access to the industrial fabs of this station - not gonna be producing the really fancy shit but we can make big stuff - anyone want anything / think of anything useful to get?
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>>5402826
Man, we live in the lamest cyberpunk dystopia ever.
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>>5402826
If the system wants you dead, you are morally obligated to spit in its face. Fuckin Trudipshit.
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>>5403260
to be fair, the idea itself is fine. there are people with terminal diseases that want to die but can't because of legal bullshit. the problem -as with most things- is the execution of the program, which leads to shit like the picture
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>>5403052
I'm worried about fruits with even a trace amount of acidity. David made some watered down soda and it make Cyla's tongue numb.

>>5403056
I'd like for us to get around comparting earth farming methods to those used in space and how they compare. Which is better, what David can compare and combine, what has already been tried.

>>5403060
>anyone want anything / think of anything useful to get?
Gosh this depends on a lot of things. The cost of solar panels, power requirements needed to feed the entire set up (pumps, filters, misc dummy drones, drone recharge stations, lights), paying people to help assemble all the lego pieces for us. First requirement is acquiring a large warehouse we can renovate and keep safe from shit heads trying to break in or torch the entire place down to the ground. It'll need a couple of fire extinguishers incase of a disaster, and possibly a sprinkler system. It'll need a CCTV set up in and out of the building to ensure minimal security and payed guards.

The inside will require lots of pcp tubing or something equally cheap and usable, lots of shelve space, LED growth lights or better, lots of durable plexiglass in case shit heads break in an try to destroy the tanks, some safe and edible space fish or human fish, some PH and chemical detectors in the waters to warn anyone if there is an imbalanced so they fish and crops don't accidentally kill each other due to an over abundance or lack there of of nitrates (can use duckweed to remove excess nutrients and nitrates from water).

I don't think it matters too much, but the fish tanks will be located at the first and second shelves of the macro-farm just so people have something pretty to look at, while the crops will be located on all the remaining shelves. We feed fish, fish piss feeds plants, cleaner water goes back to fish, cycles continues.
Apples, guavas, and other fruits. It would be for the best that we don't grow them from seeds, and instead just uproot an entire tree or acquire sprouts. We would need an entirely different warehouse for it, maybe.

I don't know if it's efficient use of space, but the concept of aero and aquaponics appeal to me. If we want things like fruit trees or big plants that produce fruits we'll want soil. Aquaponics can support leafy green like the spinach, rhubarb, and kale you mentioned, in addition to bok choy. Potatoes and carrots can probably be done but people will think it's a little dirty and you'll need a clay ball bed for them to grow.
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>>5403356
>I'm worried about fruits with even a trace amount of acidity. David made some watered down soda and it make Cyla's tongue numb.
I'm reminded of Sam Starfall in Freefall suddenly, between this and the lack of brain-wrinkles. All the aliens just seem so much less ROBUST and complex than Earth life. Is the difference in mass extinctions, or lack thereof? Are all these ayys the result of life on their homeworlds not getting its teeth kicked in enough times by natural disasters? So the first draft is 'good enough' and they make it to space, but they're lacking in ways they don't even realize until they run into an outside context problem like David.
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>>5403356

Plants are typically grown in zero-g, in special habitats designed specifically for the purpose.
These facilities use surface tension rather than pumps to move water, saving on energy in doing so.

They typically absorb a very narrow band of light, which is used due to it's high conversion efficiency in LEDs.
Minerals mined from asteroids are purified and processed as needed in industrial forges before being dissolved into the feedwater and supplied as necessary.

The plants are all highly genetically modified, with only some of them being fit to eat directly as a salad or after being cooked.
The vast majority of plants are specialized to produce one or two types of nutrient, fiber, protein or carbohydrate, and are then ground up and processed into nutrient paste and ration blocks.

Regardless of type, they typically have very light to no flavor at all.
Fruits are more expensive, and are usually seen as "luxury items" to the public. They're very lightly sweet but have a bit more flavor than common vegetables.

Those plants do produce oxygen, but it's not normally enough to sustain a station.
Instead, oxygen is regulated by machines that crack carbon dioxide and convert the excess carbon into graphene, carbon nanotubes and other useful materials.

It's still possible to grow plants in a gravity field, even in soil if you wanted. However, it'll never be as efficient as the streamlined process used on stations.
You'll need more space, more energy, and people to work those fields.

However, all of that is well within reason.
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>>5403356
>I'm worried about fruits with even a trace amount of acidity. David made some watered down soda and it make Cyla's tongue numb.
then we just dilute it more, or add some antiacid to the mix
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>>5403385
It wasn't watered down, he used a fuckton of flavor extracts to make a proper, full-flavored soda.
The issue was the carbonation. It was strongly carbonated, and that alone was a bit too strong for Cylia.

Kyla had a bad reaction because her species in particular is extremely sensitive to acids, but that's just her.
If it were flat, or otherwise "carbonated" with something PH-neutral, it wouldn't be an issue.
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>>5403372
if space farming tech is more efficient, can we use it to grow earth plants then?
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>>5403418
Yes, but you'll need to use broad-spectrum LEDs.
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>>5403419
uh, will that be a problem? give some ayys cancer?
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>>5403423
Nope. No more than natural light.
"Broad spectrum" doesn't mean it includes ionizing UV.
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>>5403430
Yo but the ionization adds 300% more flavor.
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>>5402383

"Nutrient paste that, although it's flavorless, costs next to nothing and can feed anyone, even accounting for their individual dietary needs...
Nanofabricators that can produce almost anything as long as you've got the raw materials and a blueprint, up to and including entire habitats and spaceships...
Medicine that can glue bones back together in minutes, seal cuts instantly, completely replace lost limbs and even reverse ageing...

And that's just the tip of it. You can even travel the stars, communicate over any distance instantly... you've got fusion and antimatter reactors. How does anyone lack for anything at all?"

"Because none of that belongs to us." She answers, sounding more sober than a moment ago.

"Exactly. It belongs to the governments and corporations, who keep it under tight control. It keeps them in power, by creating a divide between the common people and the elite.
And the people? Hell, i dunno. Maybe they've given up. Maybe they never thought it was possible to wrest power away from them to begin with, but either way, they don't even try."

"Are they wrong, though? Not everyone is crazy like you." Cylia sighs.

"They're wrong, alright. I'll prove that one person is enough to shake it all up. Or at least, all it takes is for one person to try. Come on, let's go see what's-his-face. Tekka? Tezza. Yeah."

You look back one more time before heading towards the lot where Tezza should be. Those yak-bastards are looking your way this time, but still seem more focused on their buddy.
You hope they aren't stupid enough to cause any more shit, because next time you might just have to kill them in order to prove your point.

It's a surprisingly long walk to the edge of town, this station being larger than you really realized. There's a lot of wasted space here too, with a ceiling this high. You could do a lot with it.

There are quite a few homeless people camped out just outside the city, some sleeping on the bare rock of the asteroid this station's made from. Presumably it's been detoxified, at least. You hope.
It only takes a few minutes of asking around to find Tezza and his boys, who have set up something like a garage just on the outskirts. A couple of them can be seen driving around the empty lot.

When you approach, one of them instantly notices you and informs the others, who drop what they're doing to pay you some attention.
Clearly, they aren't the passive type. If someone fucks with them, they'll probably fuck them right back.

"Which one of you is Tezza?" You ask the group, projecting your voice across the lot.

"Who wants to know?" One of them yells back. A Kelbhund like Gildur, you recognize.

"An employer. You boys looking for work?"

The boys, now grouped up, turn to eachother and whisper to eachother for a bit before the man who spoke comes out to greet you.
He walks right up to you, puffs out his chest and sticks his hand out for a shake.

"Alright. I'm Tezza, who are you? And who told you about us?"
>>
>>5403613
You want any write-ins for this, or are options coming next post?
>>
>>5403634
You're always free to write in any suggestions, at any time.
Sorry, i know it goes a while between votes sometimes.
>>
>>5403655
Your schedule is your business.
The fact that you're writing entertaining content for free is more than we could regularly ask for man.
>>
>>5403658
Meant to say "reasonably", not "regularly", but I guess it still works.
>>
>>5403613
>A little bird girl I saved from some horny fuck heads told me about you. You got a problem with that?
>flex your hand strength that you're serious. This punk ain't a pedophile, right?
>>
>>5403356
Eh, growing food isn't exactly what I was meaning but is a fair point. I was thinking more so about the fact we could produce parasite fighters / lots and lots of our missiles to augment our combat capabilities.
>>
>>5403762
>not "a little birdie told me"
You had one job.
>>
>>5403762
...what the hell is that last part anon?
>>
>>5403793
Fuck! Boss I fucked up!

>>5403822
I dunno I'm still half asleep
>>
>>5403822
Self-report, false-flag, projection. Grab an axe.
>>
>>5403613
>"A little birdie told me. I've a job for you, interested."
>shake his hand
>>
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>david's translator implant pic related
anyway voting for >a little birdie told me
>>
>>5403914
Supporting this one.
>>
>>5403772
other than creating ammo and more drones like the ones we made, we first need a decent infrastructure
>>
>>5403613

You give the man a firm handshake, which causes him to wince slightly.

"Name's David, Captain of the Metal Gear. A little birdie told me that you boys are decent pilots, and right now that's just what i need."

"R-Right..." He says, shaking the pain out of his hand. "So, what kind of job are we talking about?"

"Transport. Got about thirty ships i need transported back here, but there's a catch."

"...O-Okay? Uh..."

"They're sitting in a graveyard, which is located inside a slightly unstable nebula... so you'll have to dodge a few lightning bolts on your way in and out."

The man in front of you visibly deflates and starts glancing back at his buddies, as if asking for help. They just smile, or in some cases, chuckle at him.

"...You're not Tezza, are you?" You ask him.

Now he's frozen up completely.

"H-How'd you...?"

"Don't take it the wrong way, but you don't seem the type. Your act fell apart as soon as i shook your hand."

"Oh."

"Also, your buddies are laughing at you."

"...Oh."

Another man, one with a lithe body covered in green scales and grease, steps forward and pats "Tezza" on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, Koldja. You'll get there eventually." He tells him, turning to speak with you. "Sorry, he's got confidence issues. I'm the real Tezza."

The man proclaiming himself the "real" Tezza offers his hand with a grin, and unlike before, he's able to return a firm handshake despite his lithe form.
You can see a number of small scars across his skin, along with deformed and discolored scales here or there. Looks like this guy's been in a scuffle or two before.

"Nice to meet you, then. The offer remains the same, if you can get those ships back here undamaged you'll get paid."

"Undamaged?"

"Well, the less the better, obviously. There's a lot of ships and a lot of lightning, so i won't begrudge you a couple scratches."

"What kind of condition are they in? Any shields?" He asks.

"Partially damaged. Shields are fairly strong, but this is some serious lightning, so i wouldn't test it. You might be running some pretty basic retrofitted controls, too."

"Alright... but why us? What's the real catch?" He asks, sounding serious. "And besides that, tirty ships don't just fall out of the sky. Who'd they belong to?"

>"It's a fleet of some kind. I don't know whose ships they were, but they're mine now."
>"You don't need to know. All i need is those ships, over here. You get paid, we all walk away happy."
>"They're federation drone ships. They've all been disabled and left to rot though, so i don't think anyone's going to miss them."
>Write-In?
>>
>>5404531
>"You don't need to know. All i need is those ships, over here. You get paid, we all walk away happy."
>Write-In?
Shouldn't have to say this, but if you steal anything from the ships, you're good as dead. So how much to for this little the job?
If I like your results, and you everything is where they belong, I'll throw in a bonus. Some extra cash, and some home cooked meals. Who here is tired of eating shitty food paste?
>provide example snacks and meals you can make
>>
>>5404531
>>"Are you sure you need to know? All i need is those ships, over here. You get paid, we all walk away happy. i might even have more work for you and your crew in the future."
>>
hmm... the second option is the one that will make them demand more money IF they don't simply refuse to do the job... and the first option gives off the impression we are an idiot. DAMN ALL OR NOTIN'

>"They're federation drone ships. They've all been disabled and left to rot though, so i don't think anyone's going to miss them."
>>
>>5404531
"Federation make. The less you know about how they ended up there the better."
>>
>>5404538
Hear Hear +1
>>
>>5404538
I like this. +1

Feed sad alliems.
>>
>>5404538
+1
>>
>>5404538
>Wanna follow me to my ship fellow aliens? I got a totally real but secretive job, by the way i can pay you in meat.. wink wink

Says the obivious alpha predator offering homemade mistery bacon strips...

Damn if that doesn't ring so many red flags.
Better hope these doubts slip on the smoothness of their brains
>>
>>5405329
>>5404531
David could ask SHODAN to pull up pics and videos of him cooking as evidence of his master chef prowess. He don't fuck around when it comes to food.
>>
>>5405403
>>5405329
....or we just bring the food here. there's no need to overcomplicate shit
>>
>>5405406
Do we have something like a little delivery drone?
>>
>>5405406
And wait for shit to get done? Pass.
>>
>>5405436
the cooking deal is implied to happen when they deliver the ships, so its irrelevant where it happens.

>>5405434
we could rent a truck
>>
>>5404531

"You don't need to know. In fact, you're better off not knowing. I just need you to get those ships from over there to over here in once piece. You get paid, we all walk away happy."

Kezza takes a step back and sighs as he thinks things over.

"...What's the pay? Per ship, or on completion?"

"Per ship. And i shouldn't have to say this, but if any parts go missing? You're gonna go missing. Understood?"

"Alright, alright. Geeze."

"As for the pay... how does two grand per ship sound?"

"It sounds like you're trying to fuck me." He grumbles. "Try ten."

"Son, at ten grand per ship i'd rather haul the fuckin' things myself. This ain't some life or death bullshit, all you gotta do is fly them out."

"Through a nebula full of lightning? Out of a debris field?"

"Oh, i'm sorry. I mistook you for a pilot. That was my mistake, i guess."

That really seems to have pissed him off. He's the prideful type, huh?

"Seven." He offers.

"Three" You counter.

"Five."

"Four."

"...Four and a half."

"Four, or i'm gonna shove these latinum straight up your ass until you jingle when you walk."

"Fuck, man. You're busting my balls here!"

"You're the one getting paid to fly around. Ain't nobody balls gettin' busted here."

"Shit. Fine, whatever man. Gods damn it."

Tezza shakes on the deal, but clearly isn't happy about it.

At four grand a ship, that comes out to €127,000. You and Cylia together, along with the ship's pot, have a grand total of €137,000.
That said, you're gonna have to pay Cylia back since she's lending you that money. You need to come up with €23,000 to do that. Meaning, your next stop will probably be the bounty office.

"So, how are we gonna do this?" Tezza asks.

"I'll have a guy drop by with the latinum every time you make a delivery. All you gotta do is bring them into the lower docks and forget about it."

"...The lower docks? Shit, man, you got connections? The boys around here don't let just anybody use them things."

"Yeah, you could say that. If you do a good job here, i might recommend you to a friend of mine. I'm sure you won't lack for work after that."

"I dunno if i like the sound of that or not, man. Shit, i'll think on it. Alright, send me the co-ordinates and we'll get on this thing."

After giving him the co-ordinates, Tezza heads back to his boys and yells at them, telling them they got work to do.
By the time they get there, Gron's crew should already have some basic flight controls spliced in to all the ships. All the wiring and shit can be done properly once they're in dock, but they should have power, at least.

Those that don't will just have to be towed by another ship, but that's not your problem anymore.
And hopefully Gron's crew can get a few of those ships back to the Dark Star base before Tezza brings them back. It'll save you cash in the end.
>>
>>5405447

"Uhg, i'm getting a massive headache..." Cylia moans.

"That stuff finally getting out of your system?"

"Gods, i hope so..."

"Good. We've still got work to do. What sort of bounties do you think we should go for this time?"

Cylia thinks it over for a moment before responding.

"...There are probably a bunch of assholes down here that have a bounty on them. Since the crime families have fallen, it shouldn't be too hard to grab a few."

"Yeah, that's one option." You agree.

>Go with Cylia's idea. Look for ex-crime family pricks who are begging to get taken down.
>Hunting pirates is always fun, but the Metal Gear isn't in the best shape right now. It can probably still handle it, though?
>Debtors always pay less than violent criminals, but they're easier to find and collect on. There's no shortage of them, either.
>Write-In?
>>
>>5405448
>Go with Cylia's idea. Look for ex-crime family pricks who are begging to get taken down.
definitely not a date, no sir, not a date at all
>>
>>5405448
>>Go with Cylia's idea. Look for ex-crime family pricks who are begging to get taken down.
Local yokels seems like a fairly low effort run, also vengeance for hungry bird-girl and a chance to spend a bit more time in the field playing with our pussy.
>>
>>5405448
>Go with Cylia's idea. Look for ex-crime family pricks who are begging to get taken down.
>>
>>5405448
>Go with Cylia's idea. Look for ex-crime family pricks who are begging to get taken down.
>Call Clank and get some intel on the biggest assholes
>>
>>5405448
>Go with Cylia's idea. Look for ex-crime family pricks who are begging to get taken down.
We can take this as an opportunity to give Cylia some hands-on combat training now that she's coming down from those painkillers.
>>
>>5405463
maybe even teach her how to fight when she's drugged
>>
>>5405448
>>Go with Cylia's idea. Look for ex-crime family pricks who are begging to get taken down.
Hunting with a Cat. Sounds like a date to me.
>>
>>5405461
>Support
>>
>>5405448
>Go with Cylia's idea. Look for ex-crime family pricks who are begging to get taken down.

It'll make Clank's life easier too, right?
>>
>>5405448
>>Write-In?
>>Call Clank, see if he has one or two pockets of resistance against his underrule
>>
>>5405448
>>Go with Cylia's idea. Look for ex-crime family pricks who are begging to get taken down.
>>
>>5405461
+1
>>
>>5405448
In always hearing people say "oh gods" and stuff. Why do they say that? What kind of space gods exist?
>>
>>5405728
There are numerous religions, some more popular than others. Some species even have multiple, just like humans.
So because there are many religions, many of which have multiple gods, the plural stuck and became a common phrase.
>>
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>>5405735
Well in my religion, my god went out and killed every other god including all the gods from your heretical space religions. Keep worshipping your dead gods if you want, it won't bring them back.
>>
>>5405461
+1
>>
>>5405789
+1
>>
>>5405448
Can we ask Clank if there's any ram like alien gang dudes around here? We roughed one dude, so it would be helpful to know if he was affiliated with a gang or not.
>>
>>5405448

"...Yeah, fuck it. Let's go with that." You decide.

Pulling out your holopad, you give Clank another call.

["Greetings, Captain. Are you in need of assistance?"]

"Yeah, nothing major. Just wondering if you have any info on those ex-crime family pricks, in particular anyone who might be a troublemaker in the future."

["I have managed to create a small database consisting of cross-linked contact information. It is still unclear who remains active and who has been killed, but several individuals have already begun making moves to re-organize themselves."]

"Perfect. What have you got on them?"

["One man, a weapons dealer named Silus, has set up a temporary base in apartment 392-A4-1. Another, Ollia, has gathered a number of previously unaffiliated homeless individuals near the empty lot, and has been seen robbing the locals for their currency and weapons.
The third is a woman named Civis, who has taken over a local brothel by force. All others are of little concern at the moment, but may fetch a small bounty regardless. I will transfer their bounty IDs and other information shortly, Captain."]

"Thanks, that's a big help. Keep collecting information like that, it's probably more valuable than anything else right now."

"Affirmative, Captain."

Moments after closing the connection, you get a request for a data uplink from Clank.
Included in the files are security camera footage, audio clips, online posts and in some cases, even banking details.

You don't know how he collected all of this so quickly, but you're glad he did. It makes your job a lot easier.
The only problem now is deciding which one you want to go for first. The weapons dealer, the homeless guys or the whorehouse?

"What do you think, Cyl?"

"Mmm... the weapons dealer would definitely be the most profitable. If we can recover his cache, we could either sell them and make some money, or maybe hang onto them and use them against Sadia."

She makes a good point. Ollia is robbing the public, so he must be dead broke. And Civis, well... you're not sure what that's gonna be about, but it doesn't sound like she's got the kind of resources you need. Probably.

>Alright, let's go for Silus first. We'll decide what to do with the guns after we have them.
>We'll take out Ollia first. This is our hood now, so we might as well keep the peace.
>...Civis sounds kind of interesting, don't you think?
>Write-In?
>>
>>5406146
>Alright, let's go for Silus first. We'll decide what to do with the guns after we have them.
I bet Clank could use some shitty alien weapons to arm his henchmen with.
>>
>>5406146
>...Civis sounds kind of interesting, don't you think?
>>
>>5406146
>Alright, let's go for Silus first. We'll decide what to do with the guns after we have them.
we also need to talk with gron about the change of plans
>>
>>5406146
>Alright, let's go for Silus first. We'll decide what to do with the guns after we have them.
Gotta hit this guy hard before he hears about us.
>>
>>5406146
>We'll take out Ollia first. This is our hood now, so we might as well keep the peace.
Set an example with the biggest troublemaker first. The weapons would be nice to have, but Silus can wait unless he's actively causing trouble.
>>
>>5406146
>We'll take out Ollia first. This is our hood now, so we might as well keep the peace.
>>
>>5406146

>Alright, let's go for Silus first. We'll decide what to do with the guns after we have them.
>>
>>5406146
>Alright, let's go for Silus first. We'll decide what to do with the guns after we have them.

>>5406230
Silus isn't going anywhere and doesn't sound like he's the most well connected, or equipped. Civis is rooted down to the brothel, where is Silus might bugger out and leave if we cause too much of a ruckus. We could do him first, then the other two.

>>5406146
Hey Cochrane, if we collect enough phaser and shield related items, could we recycle them in favor of buying research materials? Like, substituting a bit of the research costs with the cost of stuff we find?
>>
>>5406262
You can sell whatever you want.
>>
>>5406230
letting the guy with weapons hunker down and get more armaments sounds like a terrible idea, even if they can't do shit to us.
>>
>>5406146
>>...Civis sounds kind of interesting, don't you think?
>>
>>5406267
I would argue that the other guy is gathering weapons AND manpower might be worse.
But if it's a weapon dealer he could find something exotic enough to oneshot or incapacitate even david.
On the other side the more time we give him the more he stocks up like a piñata ready to burst with goodies
>>
>>5406146
>>Alright, let's go for Silus first. We'll decide what to do with the guns after we have them.
Worst case scenario he's going to be putting some nasty plan together and we ought to deal with him before he can put it into action. Best case, we might be able to hire him on (or have Clank hire him on). Either way, it's the most urgent of the three. Following that, the robber gang, then the brothel, unless we get some info to re-prioritize them.
>>
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>>5406338
+1
>>
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>>5406146
>>Alright, let's go for Silus first. We'll decide what to do with the guns after we have them.
Let's go pay our friendly neighborhood arms dealer a visit.
>>
>>5406146
>>Write-In?
>Alright you go for the Silus guy, I will go look for this Civis person...
>>
>>5406146

"Let's deal with Silus first. I don't like the idea of someone else having more guns than me."

"Alright, sounds good..."

By the time you approach the apartment building, Cylia seems a little more steady on her feet. You don't personally think she's well enough yet to be fighting here, but she disagreed.
Before you get up to the building, you can already see a group of guys hanging around the entrance, clearly keeping watch and guarding the place.

The building plans are public information, so at least you've got a map of the inside, but that same map also tells you the front entrance is the only "official" way inside.

"Great. So we're not going to get in there quietly, unless..."

"I could climb up the side of the building. The balconies aren't that far apart." Cylia offers.

"Yeah, but who knows how many more are inside?"

"All of them, if we're lucky. If i go up and make a little commotion, it should draw the rest inside... then you can use that poison gas of yours."

"That's... not a bad idea, actually. As long as you don't slip and fall off the side."

"Don't worry... i'm uh... mostly good, i think."

Cylia tests her hands and feet, does a couple of stretches and makes her way into the alley beside the building without much notice.
They do see her, but pay her no mind when it's clear she isn't passing by them, or trying to go inside.

From where you're situated, you're able to watch her jump from wall to wall between the two building making up the alleyway, until she grabs hold of the metal railing of the first balcony.
It's easier in low gravity, you know, but it still looks pretty impressive. After that, she pulls herself up using just her arms, then hops up to grab the bottom of the balcony above her and continue climbing.

She continues up the side of the building like that until she reaches the fifth floor, where she slides open the balcony door and heads inside.
About a minute later, you hear three gunshots which could only be from her revolver. A moment later she casually exits the building from the same balcony and drops down to the balcony below, where she waves down to you.

At the same time, the guys in front of the building clamor amongst eachother for a moment before running inside, just as planned.
Now you just have to gas the hallway and they'll be trapped inside, more or less. There are a few ways to go about it, though.

>Just gas and purge. Kill anyone who gets in your way, like you did with the Dark Star mercs on Xebric.
>Toss the gas and start breaking knees, you'll leave them alive but they aren't going to cause you a problem.
>...If you head up to the top the same way Cylia did, you can gas them from above and below at the same time. They might all get caught in it.
>Head up the side and aim straight for Silis' apartment. The less fighting you need to do the better, and you might be able to take him hostage without hurting anyone.
>Write-In?
>>
>>5407071
>...If you head up to the top the same way Cylia did, you can gas them from above and below at the same time. They might all get caught in it.

its a cylia sidequest, so the less deaths, the better
>>
>>5407071
>Toss the gas and start breaking knees, you'll leave them alive but they aren't going to cause you a problem.
>>
>>5407071
>Head up the side and aim straight for Silis' apartment. The less fighting you need to do the better, and you might be able to take him hostage without hurting anyone.
>>
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>>5407071
>>Toss the gas and start breaking knees, you'll leave them alive but they aren't going to cause you a problem.
It's non-lethal, not non-painful.
>>
>>5407071
>Just gas and purge. Kill anyone who gets in your way, like you did with the Dark Star mercs on Xebric.

RACE WAR STARTS NOW
>>
>>5407071
>>Toss the gas and start breaking knees, you'll leave them alive but they aren't going to cause you a problem.
>>
>>5407071
>Toss the gas and start breaking knees, you'll leave them alive but they aren't going to cause you a problem.
>>
>>5407071
>Toss the gas and start breaking knees, you'll leave them alive but they aren't going to cause you a problem.
They already know, time to go hard and fast.
>>
>>5407071
>...If you head up to the top the same way Cylia did, you can gas them from above and below at the same time. They might all get caught in it.

Its a real gas.
>>
>>5407071
>>>Just gas and purge. Kill anyone who gets in your way, like you did with the Dark Star mercs on Xebric.
we better stick to tradition
>>
>>5407172
>>5407131
>>5407114
>>5407083
>>5407075

Looks like breaking knees wins it.
Update will be sometime tonight.

I'd like to take a moment and ask again if there's anything you lads would like to see in the quest, or if there's any issues or things you particularly don't like.
Would anyone be interested in some short omakes, and if so you do have any ideas for what you'd like to see?

Also, is there anything you particularly DO like and would like to see more of?
I know i've got a little bit of a weird style and it's not for everyone, but i hope you lads have enjoyed it so far.
>>
>>5407756
I'm new to posting in the quest, but I caught up on in archives a few weeks back and it's been a damn nice ride, reading through each post.

Will Clank be taking one of the terminator chassis' from the droid ships? With these sort of quests, it seems like every member needs to upgrade skills, equipment or class. It's cool that he's now the local mob boss, when he was just a trainee arm wrestler before that. We can take this further.

Similarly would love to see what else Sanig can do. He has mobility again, but hasn't opened up about his sordid Grey past in a meaningful way, beyond him being pissed off at the current state of Grey society and effectively being banished.

Will our little gobbo ever stand on her two feet and fight with her own iron, like Cylia does?

There are strong spoilered hints about the origin of the wraith and demons. Finding out more can wait, but it'll be cool to see where that story arc can go.

Can we join some of the droid ship controllers into a sort of catamaran twin-hulled ship and have a mobile base that can store all of our junk? Useful if we intend to keep recruiting the not-as crazy but still disenfranchised members of the galaxy, especially any from outside federation space. Does moth-woman appreciate having someone to talk to, would she join?
>>
>>5407756
I want to see more ship combat, I liked it very much. I am not interested in returning back to earth. There will be power creep and other humans may get nerfed. I'd love for the other humans to betray David, then we'd have a cool antagonist.

Antagonist. I want to see antagonists. This quest lacks antagonists.
>>
>>5407756
I love everything so far Boss. Let's just keep doing what we're doing, no need to switch things up.

If anything I really miss R&D scenes where we build stuff and tickle our /diy/ fancies.
>>
>>5407933
Same

>>5407756
We need more ghetto ass inventions where everything is made of glue, crayons, WD-40, duct tape, and dreams and wishes.
And also really cute things like helping starving kids.
>>
>>5407756
>Also, is there anything you particularly DO like and would like to see more of?
Cylia, she a best, also the crews reactions to normal batshit crazy human shit, so hurry up and let us get back to earth to crank the crazy up a notch and graduate the pro-am leagues.
>>
>>5407860
>have a mobile base that can store all of our junk?
the mining rig/hauler idea is still there. better than jury rigging shit and for a similar price
>>
>>5407925
>ship combat
soon.jpg

>>5407933
>R&D
Also soon, particularly if you end up building a new ship

>>5407925
>Antagonist
Noted.

>>5407860
>Could we glue ships together
Sure, the feds did it.

>>5407960
>nigger-riggin' + hearts & minds
Noted.
>>
>>5407071

As planned, you pull a gas grenade off your belt and pull the pin, then simply toss it through the front door and wait.
About twenty seconds later, someone comes running out like their hair is on fire, and you immediately clock them in the face.

They drop to the ground, moaning, coughing and cradling their broken nose, so you drag them out of the way and keep waiting.
Another minute passes, and two more guys come running out side by side.

You throw a snap kick that knocks one's feet out from under him, then turn to grab the second one by his tentacle-like hair as he passes by.
His feet keep moving forwards, but his torso doesn't. You let go, and he falls to the floor, busting his head.

After a while, nobody else comes out, so it's time for you to go in.
This is gonna suck cause it's been a while since you've trained for it, but you don't have your helmet on hand so the best you can do is pull up your skinsuit and filter a bit of the gas out.

That does nothing for your eyes though. Man, you fucking hate the gas chamber. Fuck that shit.

"...Oh right, i forgot. Hah. Thank fucking god."

When you enter the building you see two people slumped over in the hallway, hacking up a storm.
Having learned from last time, you diluted the gas even farther, to the point that, for you at least, the pain is no worse than making a big batch of jalapeno pepper sauce.

The pain and irritation is more than enough to down most aliens though.

You casually walk down the hall, coughing once or twice to clear your throat as you gingerly pick up the still-burning gas canister with your gloved hand (it's hot after all) and simply carry it with you.
For all the fancy gizmos and system you've seen out here in space, these slums are shockingly low-tech. There literally isn't even an elevator, you have to walk up the fucking stairs. Savagery.

As you poke your head up enough to see into the next hallway you spot four or five guys covering their faces with their clothes, trying their best to hold the corridor.
One of them fires at you, using a regular phaser like any other you'd find on the streets. Of course, you've long since ducked back down by the time he fires, and it leaves little more than a pockmark on the wall.

Casually, you toss the burning gas grenade up and into the hall, where after a few moments you hear someone firing at it with something that isn't a phaser. Not sure what the hell it is, though.
Regardless, it seems to have ruptured the canister, because you hear it pop, followed by the sound of it burning much more quickly. That was a mistake on their part, and they seem to realize it.

"Oh, fuck! Syren, you dumbass! Go! Go knock it down the steps or something!" One man yells.

"What?! I'm not getting near that shit! It's fuckin' poison, you go kick it!" Another yells back.

Oh well. Not your problem. The canister is in between them and you, and you're on the stairwell. Nobody's coming up or going down right now, either.
>>
>>5408437
dual akimbo phasers and shoot them for shits and giggles.
>>
>>5408437
time to bumrush the idiots
>>
>>5408437
Still trying to hold the corridor? They've got guts and discipline, at least. Best not to underestimate them.
>>
>>5408437

Quick question, can David tell what the walls of this structure are made out of?
>>
>>5408509

Concrete.
Not even painted, sealed or carpeted, just bare concrete from floor to ceiling.
>>
>>5408519
Damn. I was gonna see if David couldn't just go to an adjacent room and shoot them through the walls.
Or hell, just Kool-Aid Man right through 'em.
Fucking shame.
>>
Hey, if they are guarding this hall then bingo, we are either where the bounty is or where they store the cache.
>>
>>5408519
Does that mean we could ricochet shots off the wall at a slight angle?
>>
>>5408545
You could, but that would be dangerous, pointless and generally stupid.
>>
>>5408556
It's not pointless because it's cool. That's a point in of itself
>>
>>5408556
>implying most of the shit david does isn't exactly that
>>
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>>5408556
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>>5408556
>that would be dangerous, pointless and generally stupid
When has that stopped us before?
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>>5408556
you underestimate our collective autism!
>>
>>5408556
No you guys, isn't Cylia flanking them with us. We just need to hold their attention. Teamwork.
>>
>>5408437

The gas works it's magic, quickly spreading through the enclosed hall and affecting those inside.
You hear them starting to cough more and more, until one of them falls and they start to panic. They begin banging on some of the apartment doors, but it seems like most of them are locked.

"Guys, over here! I got one open!" One yells to the others.

"What about Gort?"

"It's his fault for being a fatass, just leave him!"

"Shit..."

...Well, they aren't very loyal, it seems.
You only hear one individual still coughing in the hall, while the others have locked themselves away.

Poking your arm up, and then your head, the coast seems to be clear.
As expected, there's just one fat-looking alien on the ground, not even holding onto his phaser pistol.

He's covering his whole face with as much fabric as possible, but it's still doing him in. Poor bastard.
As a courtesy, you grab him by the legs and drag him over to the stairwell, then roll him down to the first floor where the gas isn't nearly so bad.

"There we go... now, let's see what this is..."

You've long since stopped carrying a phaser, because they're literally useless. They hurt, sure, and they might even leave a burn depending on how powerful they are, but you can just punch anyone for the same effect.
That does leave you without a ranged less-lethal option, though, and these guys are probably carrying more-lethal guns than usual, so...

Testing it first on the wall, it looks pretty weak. Weaker than the phaser you used in the past, for sure.
Next, you test it on the back of your hand... and it hurts. But that's all. It doesn't even leave a real burn. Maybe a few singed hairs.

Weak, but good enough. Now though, the question is whether you want to take out the other guys that were up here, and grab those guns as well.
At least one of them had something that wasn't a phaser, so it could be worth it.

>Take 'em out
>Ignore them, keep heading up until you get to the apartment you're looking for
>Write-In?
>>
>>5409253
>Take 'em out
they might be cowards, but they'll also get their beatings
>>
>>5409253
>Ignore them, keep heading up until you get to the apartment you're looking for
Eye on the prize
>>
>>5409253
>Take 'em out
>>
>>5409253
>>Take 'em out
>>
>>5409253
....just rip things of the walls and throw them, like door knobs.

>Ignore them, keep heading up until you get to the apartment you're looking for
Contact Cylia. How's she doing? Anyone trying to make a break for it?
Comment on the low quality phasers and conduct bantz. They're so weak they only singe hair, if barely.
Ask Cylia if she'd like to play a game of phaser tag later when we have time (low setting of course). We'll plan with a handicap of one hand to make things fair.
>>
>>5409253
>Take 'em out... nonlethally.
>>
>>5409253
>>Ignore them, keep heading up until you get to the apartment you're looking for
Screw that. They are weak and of no gain. I don't want David to be entertained with this and give the bounty time to escape
>>
>>5409253
>Ignore them, keep heading up until you get to the apartment you're looking for
Keep focused, people.
>>
>>5409329
we're being focused and making sure that no one will try to shoot us in the back.
>>
>>5409253
>Ignore them, keep heading up until you get to the apartment you're looking for
>>
>>5409253
Couldn't David just make a paintball gun as a nonlethal weapon? It'll hurt like hell, and it's fun to use!
>>
>>5410199
A kid with a red Ryder bb gun could probably handle these pussies.
>>
>>5410199
we could probably make some bb rounds for the shotgun
>>
>>5410199
That's actually not a bad idea. Fun fact, in a lot of paintballs, the paint itself is made using fish oil so as to be nontoxic! So us using paintballs would be effective AND offensive.
>>
>>5410225
>>5410232
>>5410251
wait wait wait. we can do better.
M80 fire works instead of grenades.
>>
>>5410232
okay now look up the ks-23 and see if it fires non-lethal
>>
>>5410322
its a shotgun, so yes.
>>
>>5410328
you have to look at it carefully
>>
>>5410232
Well, if we use small rubber pellets and load the shell with less propellent, say enough for the projectiles to be subsonic... it could work, even would be nice with a suppressor.
>>
>>5409253

It occurs to you as you're walking through the halls, examining the doors, that a pepper gun would probably be pretty effective for crowd control against aliens. Certainly moreso than humans.
Or hell, just a can of bear mace. Rubber bullets already put people's eyes out, so you can't imagine they'd be any less damaging against these folks, but maybe you could figure something out.

...One of the doors has scratch marks around the knob. This is probably the apartment they broke into.
You could totally kick the door down and take them out right now, but their only way out is to jump down from a second floor balcony. Well, if you consider the front steps then really it's more like the third floor.

You doubt they're going to cause any problems, so you're just as well leaving them alone for now.
Besides, if you capture Silus alive then they might just come peacefully.

The next floor up is practically, empty, except for one guy who was looking out his door and nearly shat his pants when he saw you.
You think he might have just been a civilian unlucky enough to actually live here, so you left him alone as well.

By the fourth floor, all the gas from below is pretty much completely gone, since there isn't a ton of airflow up and down the stairwell.
That's probably why you also find two fragile-looking aliens wearing body armor up there, looking down at the street below from the window at the end of the hall.

Unfortunately for them, only one of them has a weapon, and even more unfortunately that weapon is the same model of phaser pistol that you're currently using.

You don't even make an attempt to mask your steps. In fact, you trod quite heavily on purpose to attract their attention, hoping that they'll turn around... but they take ages to notice you.
When they finally do seem to take notice, you slow your walk down and stride confidently forwards. They turn to see you and collectively shit their pants.

To his credit, the little yellow ball of mush and tentacles with a phaser does actually manage to fire on you, but those shots literally just evaporate against your skinsuit.

Still, he continues firing as you walk up to him, even after his gun overheats and stops actually shooting.
You can see a puddle of what you can only assume to be piss forming underneath him, which is really fuckin' pathetic.

Using just your thumb and pointer fingers, you pull the gun out of his hands and wave it around in the air to cool it down before taking it to hand.
As you turn and walk away, you hear the both of them collapse into a whimpering, slightly stinky pile behind you. What were guys like that even doing here, anyways?

...Now we're up to the fifth floor. This is the one Cylia made a ruckus on, so you're expecting some guys are probably still there. Maybe even waiting for you.
>>
>>5410330
unless the gun gets jammed, i don't see any issue with it.

>>5410338
that's exactly what i was thinking
>>
>>5410344

>Cylia should still be on the balcony. Call her up and co-ordinate a pincer attack.
>You have one more gas grenade that you could use, although that means you won't be using it against Silus, who (along with his direct subordinates) is most likely the most well-armed here.
>You also have a flashbang, which would definitely cause a lot of confusion and make taking out the enemy easier, but it'll also draw a lot of attention from anyone further upstairs
>It's been a while since you've had some fun. Why waste it by making things easier? You've got two pea-shooters and a dream, so make it happen.
>Write-In?
>>
>>5410347
>Cylia should still be on the balcony. Call her up and co-ordinate a pincer attack.
>>
>>5410347
>>Cylia should still be on the balcony. Call her up and co-ordinate a pincer attack.
>>
>>5410346
the gauge
>>
>>5410347
>>You also have a flashbang, which would definitely cause a lot of confusion and make taking out the enemy easier, but it'll also draw a lot of attention from anyone further upstairs

WHATEVER lesgo
>>
>>5410344
>aliens so weak, thin, and frail looking that they piss themselves
>there was a homeless issue on this station
....fuck I think we just beat up a bunch of homeless people. Now I feel kinda bad.

>Cylia should still be on the balcony. Call her up and co-ordinate a pincer attack.
>>
>>5410347
>Cylia should still be on the balcony. Call her up and co-ordinate a pincer attack.
I'm curious to see her CQC after all her training.
>>
>>5410353
yeah, its gauge 4, which is pretty uncommon. i still don't see the problem though; the shotgun is a pump action, so there should not be any problem whatsoever with shooting non lethal rounds from it.

so yeah, explain to me what's the issue you're seeing
>>
>>5410322
>>5410328
>>5410338
>>5410346
Shotguns with bean bags with less of powder. weak enough were it won't kill someone, strong enough to knock your average ayys on their ass. Unfortunately this means you'll need to rack ever shell in the chamber to fire. Good news is that Cylia is probably strong enough to use a shotgun loaded with beanbags. We could give her a her with a funny little suppressor, and a bandoleer for all her throwing knives and shells. Maybe even give her dragons breath to set things on fire and generally frighten enemies with fire.

>>5410364
I think anon thinks "big booklet = kill you hard." It's more the type of bullet, and how much powder you're packing that's the issue right?
>>
>>5410373
yeah, that's what i was thinking, something like what >>5410338 and you said. load the shell with a beanbag or just wads, put in just enough gunpowder to hurt the ayys and off we go.

>Unfortunately this means you'll need to rack ever shell in the chamber to fire.
unless david's ks-23 is different, they are pump actions, so we had to do that anyways
>>
>>5410347
>>Cylia should still be on the balcony. Call her up and co-ordinate a pincer attack.
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
>>
>>5410347
>Cylia should still be on the balcony. Call her up and co-ordinate a pincer attack.
>>
>>5410347

>Cylia should still be on the balcony. Call her up and co-ordinate a pincer attack.
>>
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>>5410347
>inb4 it's another Sanig encounter but another disgruntle grey boi
>>
>>5410344

"Cylia, how are things looking on your end?"

["Not bad. There was some commotion on the floor above, so i ducked back into the apartment for a bit. It's still noisy, but i don't see anyone outside right now."]

Indeed, you can hear chatter and footsteps up above if you listen carefully enough. She's got good senses.

"I'm on the fourth floor now, it's all clear if you want to come out into the hall."

A few moments later, Cylia peeks her head out of the apartment door farthest down the hall. She immediately sees the two guys collapsed in their own piss, and you at the other end.
Upon seeing a "full-grown" caithan pop out right next to them while they're completely unarmed, they shriek in terror and pass out entirely.

"Hey. What happened to them?" She asks, walking up to you.

"Literally nothing. Not even joking."

"Okay... well, what do you want to do about the rest of these guys? Don't get me wrong, but i don't think those phasers are gonna cut it."

"Yeah, i know. I was thinking a pincer attack would be good. You head back up to the fifth floor balcony and wait for me to start making noise, then hit them from behind."

"Sounds good. Toss me one of those?"

You hand Cylia one of the phasers you stole, and she turns it over to inspect it. The way she looks at it in disgust and clicks her tongue indicates that yes, it is in fact a piece of shit.

"Yeah, yeah. It'll have to do. Just head on up and give me a signal when you're in position."

"You got it, Captain."

Cylia quickly makes her way back up to the fifth floor from the outside, while you get in position by the stairwell. About a minute later, Cylia texts you that she's in position.

>Roll 1d100, best of 3
>First DC: 30
>Second DC: 50
>>
Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>5411310
>>
Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>5411310
>>
Rolled 73 (1d100)

>>5411310
>>
Rolled 78 (1d100)

>>5411314
>>5411315
TEAMWORK MOTHERFUCKERS!!

>>5411310
>>
>>5411318
our girl did it! I can't wait to get Kyla in on a scrap one of these days.
>>
https://youtube.com/shorts/T1pZt5MDjTk
>David and his kid
>>
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>>5411318
LET'S ROCK!
>>
>>5411310

You start to make your way up the stairwell, but something feels off...
Just barely visible, there appears to be a small red dot on the wall. Now that you look closer, it's clearly the point of a small laser, and it's not moving.

Those bastards set up a trap for you!

"A party popper, huh? Alright, let's see if we can't set this off prematurely."

Whatever it is, it's around the corner. You can't see it from your position... but if you poke your head up over the rail just a bit...?
Sure enough, there's a small (probably) explosive device stuck to the opposite side of the concrete railing. You doubt it'd be enough to destroy the railing itself, but there's no telling...

Either way, you quickly make your way back out of the stairwell and try the first idea that comes to mind.
After texting Cylia and informing her of the situation, you use your little toy phaser to fire directly at the laser point on the wall.

If it can leave a scorch mark, or a pockmark, or even just throw up some smoke or dust, that might be enough to set it off from a distance.
...It turns out to be harder than you thought to hit a precision target with this POS from any distance, but you do manage it. Several times.

After the fifth or sixth shot, the concrete gets hot enough to pop and flake off, leaving a small crater. Unfortunately, that's still not enough to set the device off.

"Damn, it's more insensitive than i'd have thought... alright, time to bust out the party tricks."

Once again you inform Cylia of your intentions, and then pull out your 1911 instead.
It'll be a bit difficult given the angle and the fact that it'll take multiple bounces, but if you can ricochet your bullet off the concrete walls you might be able to hit the device directly.

First shot... misses completely. The angle was totally wrong. Second shot... that was better, but you still didn't hit it. Third shot, nothing.
Five shots later... still nothing. Either your estimation is off, or the damned thing is just too small. Either way, all those gunshots have stirred up the hive, and you think you hear them coming down the hall.

Fuck it. You slam your elbow down on one of the apartment doorknobs and chuck the knob straight into the laser's line of sight, just as someone's coming down the stairs.
The bomb goes off, creating a pall of dust and smoke and sending small chunks of concrete flying down the stairs.

"MY LEG!" Someone screams, sounding panicked. Whoopsies, maybe watch out for your own traps next time.

That bomb going off was Cylia's signal, so now you have no choice but to initiate the attack. Any other bombs should have gone off already, unless they have a manual detonator... Here's hoping they don't.

Rushing up the stairs, you see a man laying on the ground, clutching his left shin. Fortunately for him, it still seems to be attached thanks to the armor he appears to be wearing.
You pocket your 1911, flip on your personal shield and grab the man's weapon, a phaser rifle.
>>
>>5412437
>a phaser rifle
Ah sweet a space NERF rifle! Didn't we have several of these? Did we sell all our toy rifles already?
>>
>>5412437
Would it be immoral to pick up this armored dude and use him as a meat shield as we progress through the building?
>>
>>5412535
Nope. Phaser rifles are much more powerful than phaser pistols, and can be rapid-fired without overheating.
They can't be bought or manufactured normally, and are normally only carried by the military and heavily-armed police units.

>>5412841
Yeah, probably. But you chose to at least try and avoid killing everyone this time, regardless.
>>
>>5412885
Does having a phaser rifle make it cheaper to do gatling phaser research?
>>
>>5413117
It would, actually.
>>
>>5413133
Gatling phaser confirmed
>>
>>5413173
i don't think its THAT hard to make something like this. maybe just adapt the phasers to get juice from an external battery, but that's it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxZGepH_d5M
>>
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>>5412437

Sanig and Kyla worked together to develop something for you, based half on personal shields, half on hologram tech and another half on ship shielding tech... but you haven't really tested them yet.
You guess it'll be getting a live fire test now, one way or another.

You grab a book-sized box that's currently velcro'd to your thigh and tighten it's straps around your left arm. As you flick it's power switch on, you hear it's powerful capacitors charge up over the course of a few seconds.
A moment later, the shield ignites in front of you. Vaguely in the shape of your body, it's a wall of light that can still be seen through, but is capable not just of blocking projectiles, but even solid objects like bladed weapons.

Your new Hardlight Shields. You hope they work.

Leaving the armored guy to his business, you slowly make your way up the remainder of the stairs, shield-first.
Almost as soon as the shield peaks up above the floor, a few people begin firing at it. Several phaser shots land against the shield, but it doesn't seem to weaken at all. In fact, it looks like it's actually getting brighter!

However, as you continue advancing upwards, others begin taking their shots as well. There are at least six people in the hall, with who knows how many more in the apartments.
It's impossible to actually tell, because all of the apartment doors have been busted in.

Some kind of purple plasma ball bursts against your shield, and although it covers your vision, it doesn't seem to damage the shield at all.
Several smaller balls of white-ish plasma burst against the shield as well, but otherwise do nothing. You can see a wave of heat in front of you as everyone begins to open fire at once.

They fire, and fire, and fire... for a solid twenty seconds at least, before their guns apparently begin to overheat. However, you can't burn a hardlight shield. The projector on your arm is only slightly warm to the touch.
Wait, where's Cylia?. She should have been here already, shouldn't she? Oh well, they're done with their opening salvo anyways, so it's time to fire back.

You see several eyes widen, and two of the guys at the front actually try to scramble out of the way as you raise your new phaser rifle up, letting it stick out past the shield just around your hip.
Holding it with one hand, you hip-fire it in their general direction. It's not automatic, but it is "semi-automatic" for lack of a better term. It'll fire as fast as you want, regardless of whether the capacitor is charged or not.

You quickly find a good rhythm that lets you fire quickly at near-full power, and lay into the crowd. One of the two that was running actually manages to dive into one of the apartments, while the other takes three shots in the back before falling.
Two more men also take shots, with only one falling before a man with a shield steps forward to cover them. He slams the shield down on the ground, and it extends on either side to cover the entire hall.
>>
>>5413532

>You don't know how many people might be in the apartments, and you're in a good position right here. Hold your ground and wait for Cylia to hit them from behind.
>That shield might physically cover them, but you'd bet your left nut you could flatten it and the guy holding it with one good charge.
>Their shield looks thin. It's probably phaser-rated. Might even block a shot from a plasma weapon... but you doubt it stops .45 ACP.
>Write-In?
>>
>>5413533
>That shield might physically cover them, but you'd bet your left nut you could flatten it and the guy holding it with one good charge.
While I agree that we should let Cylia do her thing, we REALLY gotta sell the bit here.
>>
>>5413533
>You don't know how many people might be in the apartments, and you're in a good position right here. Hold your ground and wait for Cylia to hit them from behind.
>>
>>5413533
>That shield might physically cover them, but you'd bet your left nut you could flatten it and the guy holding it with one good charge.
>>
>>5413533
>You don't know how many people might be in the apartments, and you're in a good position right here. Hold your ground and wait for Cylia to hit them from behind.
I fully believe David could take the room unaided, but Cylia also has skills, a skinsuit, and a weapon. She's also tough in her own right and she should be afforded the opportunity to use what she has at her disposal, both for confidence and as a placement of trust. I vote we play tank and let her handle things her way. And give her a lil kiss and a pet when it's all over
>>
>>5413537
+1
>>
>>5413547
>>5413533
+1. Sounds convincing enough
>>
>>5413533
>>That shield might physically cover them, but you'd bet your left nut you could flatten it and the guy holding it with one good charge.
>>
>>5413533
>You don't know how many people might be in the apartments, and you're in a good position right here. Hold your ground and wait for Cylia to hit them from behind.
>>
>>5413533
>>>That shield might physically cover them, but you'd bet your left nut you could flatten it and the guy holding it with one good charge.
Up & at 'em.
>>
>>5413533
>Shoot them with lead
I'd rather not wait for Cylia. If she delayed that means she's in trouble
>>
>>5413533
>You don't know how many people might be in the apartments, and you're in a good position right here. Hold your ground and wait for Cylia to hit them from behind.
There's no doubt we can handle a couple of guys on our own, but this is meant to be a confidence building thing for her too, right? Get in comms with her if it seems like she's been quiet too long, and coordinate.
>>
>>5413532

You really want to charge these guys and flatten them down like insects, but you can't do that without someone to cover your ass.
You decide to plant yourself right where you are, keeping an eye for anyone coming down the steps while you wait for Cylia.

The enemy, for their part, continue to fire on you. One of them even throws a chunk of concrete at your shield, which does actually cause it to dim ever so slightly at the impact point. Not nearly enough to bust it, though.
Then continues for another twenty seconds or so before you see a muscular-looking alien fly out of the back-most apartment, slamming against the hallway wall before crumpling into a slump.

Cylia shoots one man in the back, causing him to seize up. He doesn't fall though, the phaser just isn't strong enough.
He turns to face her, but before he can raise his weapon, she pressed the phaser directly against his temple and fires, causing him to fall unconscious instantly.

Another of the men who are firing on you notices as the man next to him collapses, and unfortunately, as you'd feared, a different individual runs at Cylia from the side, appearing from within one of the open apartments.
Cylia sees the man charging at her and drops to her hands as he tries to grab her, causing him to trip over her and fall. At the same time, you see her flick on her own hardlight shield, raising it just in time to block several shots from a plasma weapon.

The remaining four men continue to fire blindly at you from behind their chest-high shield, while the one who dove into the apartment is blind-firing from there. However, the one who turned to fire at Cylia was stupid enough to expose himself.
He takes four phaser rifle shots in the back before having a chance to fall, leaving Cylia free to deal with the one who charged her.

That man is reaching for his weapon, which appears to be some kind of blade. Before he can do that though, Cylia twists her body around and donkey-kicks him in the face, slamming the back of his skull against the concrete wall.
Christ, you thought she hated killing. That dude might be dead though, it looked pretty nasty.

The man firing on you from the apartment finally seems to have noticed her, as he changes direction and begins firing almost directly on Cylia. Her personal shield takes one shot before she can raise the hardlight, but she's alright.
That leaves only three men firing on you right now... and you like those odds.

Lowering your stance, you turn your hardlight shield sideways and start running at their flimsy metal shield like a goddamned linebacker.
Just before impact, you brace your shield arm and slam into the barrier as hard as you can, causing the hardlight shield to detonate in a burst of energy that sends all three men flying through the air, along with their mangled shield.

It'll be a few seconds before your hardlight recharges, but your little bubble shield should be able to take a couple shots in the meantime if necessary.
>>
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>>5414803
fucking bodied bro. I doubt any of these thugs are worth recruiting for our personal merc group. If they got no hard feelings, we may or may not sort them out to Clank depending on David's evaluation on their competency. Even mooks gotta eat.
>>
>>5415001
Ya know, depending on how much we can gleam from our previous work with Clank and SHODAN's scans of him, we might be able to just build robotic mercs.
>>
>>5414803
im proud of our catgirl. objectively best girl
>>
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>>5414803

The three men you just tackled don't seem like they're going to get back up immediately... so you decide to deal with the guy shooting at Cylia first.
Before you can do that though, you hear two more men running at you from behind, each coming out of opposite apartments. This was exactly what you were worried about... before you took out the others.

Cylia, for her part, charges at the man firing on her from the doorway. Just before reaching him however, she disables her shield and drops down into a slide, kicking the man's feet out from under him.
She looks like she's got that, so you'll worry about yourself for now. Both men are charging straight at you rather than firing on you, so you assume they have melee weapons as well.

You twist your body to meet them head on, while simultaneously taking a couple steps to the left so that they don't reach you at the same time.
What you see when you turn around is somewhat surprising. Unlike the usual soft, blobby, over-inflated mess that most aliens appear as, these two have some definition.

One of them looks like some kind of... frog... thing? The other is clearly insectoid in nature, and has rather large, meaty-looking claws that seem like they'd really hurt if they got hold of you.
You were planning on just kicking their asses like usual, but now you're not so sure to handle this. Either way, you're out of time to think so you just have to try.

The insectoid-dude reaches you first, and predictably tries to get you with his claws. You duck under his initial grab and gut-check him, but his stomach isn't as soft as you were expecting...
This guys has an exoskeleton! You're gonna have to hit him harder than usual if you want to take him out.

Since your punch effectively did nothing, you follow through by turning it into a hard shove, knocking the insectoid-man back.

At this point, the frog-dude reaches you as well. He reaches out towards you with one hand, so you grab his arm to stop him... oh. Oh no.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" You scream, finding his skin to be disgustingly slick and slimy, like someone blended up an aloe plant and dumped it on him.

Frog-man grins as your iron grip fails, your hand simply sliding off his arm as he glomps onto you, somehow sticking to your body despite how slick he is.
His tongue shoots out of his mouth like a gecko and wraps around your neck, tightening as he tries to choke you. It fails completely as he lacks the strength to do so, but it's so fucking disgusting...

"Eww, eww eww EWW EWW HE'S TOUCHING MEEEEE!!"

Frog-man makes some seriously disturbing chittering noises before spitting a wad of extra-thick goop into your eyes, blinding you.

You can't take this anymore. Positioning frog-man between you and the wall, you slam yourself into the concrete almost hard enough to knock the wind out of yourself.
Unfortunately, you can literally feel this guy squishing out of the way as if his whole fucking body is one giant booger, meaning you take the brunt of it.
>>
>>5415735
More trouble than he's worth, just shoot him
>>
>>5415735
Hes still trying to strangle you right? Try tying his tongue onto a loop, then grab said loop into a fist and start swinging like an autistic bay blade.
Just keep swinging until the tongue or something breaks.

If you cant tie a knot, just wrap the tongue around your arm several times and shpeeeeeeen.

You can probably wash off in one of these apartments.
>>
>>5415735
yeah, just shoot the dude. no need to touch him more than necessary
>>
>>5415868
You're over complicating it. Just grab him by the jaw and pull. Like grabbing someone by the collarbone if they aren't wearing a shirt.
>>
>>5415735
KILL IT KILL IT
>>
>>5415735

Knife time. Time to slice the booger.
>>
>>5415735
Grooosss, I can image that feeling way too well.
>>
GROSS GROSS AAAAAAAAAAAAA
>Bite at his tongue.
It's right there, close to David's mouth...
>>
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>>5415900
So we grab 'em by the ribs!!!
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>>5416229
Changing to this. Too baki not to do.
>>
>>5416229
>>5416320
Literally cant hes too slimey
>>
>>5416354
plus david is already grossed out by this...being. the last thing he'd want to do is bite him
>>
>>5416364
Alright, what if we just soccer kicked him as hard as possible?
>>
>>5416471
i voted to shoot the bastard
>>
>>5416477
This, but after he cleans his eyes.
>>
>>5415735

You hear this thing laughing at you as you recoil from your own bodyslam. It's laughing at you.
Yeah, now you're pissed. But you can't let your anger get the best of you, not in the middle of combat.

Calmly, you grab hold of the thing's tongue. Since it's wrapped around your throat and the man himself isn't moving, it's a bit easier. Still slick and slimy as hell, though.
Then, very calmly, you grab your knife with your free hand and hold it up where you know he can see it.

Suddenly, his laughing sounds a little more nervous. And then it stops.

"Waid, waid! Ve can thalk aboud dis!"

"No."

In one smooth motion, you sever his tongue entirely. What was wrapped around your throat immediately comes loose, while the remainder that's still attached to him slides through your hands as he jumps off of you.

"HYAAAAAAA! My thon-! -ou cud off my fu-ing thon-, you -razy bathdard!"

That "bathdard" sounded like it had lot of either phlem or blood with it. Hard to tell with your eyes covered.
You try to peel the glob of goop off, but you can't get a hold of it with your free hand, since it's covered in slime.

Still, you can hear where he is. He's hyperventilating after all. Doesn't matter whether it's pitch black or if your eyes are just closed, you're not too shabby at blindfighting.
Turning to face him, you reverse the knife in your grip and raise it over your head, preparing to fill him full of holes. You don't get the chance however, because you hear something happen to him before then.

The frog-man screeches like someone shoved a cattle prod up his ass, and then almost immediately collapses.

"...Cylia?"

"I got him." She answers back.

"Thank fucking christ... i'm half covered in this thing's mucus or whatever. Goddamnit, i JUST took a shower."

Using your knife, you scrape against your skin to get up underneath the goo covering your eyes. After wiping your hand on your pants a few times, you're able to get a good enough grip to peel it off.

"He got you good, huh Captain?" Cylia teases.

"Yeah, in a sense. Only one of us is missing any bodyparts, though."

"True... all he really managed to do was piss you off. Lucky for him, i knocked him out first."

Cylia carefully rolls the frog-man over with the toe of her boot, making sure not to get any of his slime on the treads while also preventing him from choking on his own blood.

"So." You ask. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, there were a few guys in the apartment when i jumped in..."

Looking in the back-most apartment, you find three guys totally knocked out in there. One of them has a broken arm, clearly twisted in the wrong direction.

"...No worries, then. Y'know, with those drugs still in your system, I thought maybe you fell or something and had to climb back up."

You laugh, and Cylia laughs with you. Although, you're pretty sure she looked away from you when she did...

"Alright, let's get these guns gathered up, see what we've got." You order.
>>
>>5416922
>tries to strangle someone
>calls them crazy when they decide they no longer want to be touched
I mean he isn't wrong but the audacity.
>>
>>5416922
I wonder if his tongue move was ever effective on anybody or was this like a desperation technique.
>>
>>5416922
Where's the walking lobster guy? I'm hungry.
>>
>>5417086
Insectoid dude? Did Cylia get him?
>>
>>5417086
It might not technically be cannibalism to eat other sentients, but it's gauche and probably not good for our/our species' reputation.
>>
>>5417108
Yeah but imagine him steamed with some sort of emulsified fat analogue and some of those fake citrus crystals (lemon butter in space)
>>
Imagine this. A gun that superheats a non-toxic non-flammable butter flavored substance as its being sprayed in a 50 foot stream out of said gun from a backpack, cooking enemies to death.

Can it be done?
>>
>>5417521
So a super soaker filled with boiling butter
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>>5417521
That sounds like a flamethrower with extra steps. Speaking of which, do we have any incendiary weaponry? It seems like a good idea to have some burny stuff around, since I doubt any ayy likes getting set on fire.
>>
>>5417616
image dragon breath rounds loaded for David's 23mm shotgun. It'd certainly be more impressive than a 12gauge variant. the 23mm version would probably be more liable to setting things on fire, which would be cool.

>>5416922
Don't forget to loot all the bodies and drain their bank accounts. Well, for the ass hats you hate that is. Some of the dumb fucks just trying to make a living, you should probably leave them alone.

Congradulate Cylia on being a bad ass. Like, holy shit. What she did today was really impressive despite her being a little drugged. She's like the peak performance of her species.
>>
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>>5416922

You take a moment to sweet all the apartments, ensuring they're actually empty before you go around looting.
It's the usual fare. You take their holopad, use their own fingerprint or iris scan to open it and then transfer all the funds out. This time you also shake out their pockets for any latinum, which you do find.

You also take a moment to inspect the injuries of your opponents while doing so. Most of them don't seem in bad condition, although the ones hit by your phaser rifle do seem to be developing second degree burns, they'll survive.
The frog-man is unconscious, apparently having been particularly weak to phaser fire, since Cylia's pop-gun of a phaser pistol is what took him out. His bleeding seems to have stopped, with the tip of his tongue being coated in a thick layer of white slime.

The guy who put the shield down is in worse shape than the others, it seems like. You broke both him arms and legs on impact, and probably bruised his organs as well. He's alive, but in a lot of pain.
You draw on his forehead, writing a note for others to see that he needs immediate medical attention. Cylia on the other hand, takes an single-use stim out of the inside of her jacket and injects the man with it.

"What was that?" You ask, curious.

"Painkillers. I don't want him to die from the shock before he can get help."

Ah, right. You forgot, pain is literally fatal in some species.

Moving on, you pile up all the weapons everyone had. A few had some shitty phaser pistols as sidearms, but many of them had some kind of plasma rifle.
It looks more refined than whatever cobbled together bullshit you saw with Treg's crew or at the Dark Star base. Not fancy by any means, but more of a finished product and less of a prototype, or just a straight up brazil-tier homemade weapon.

They look like they're full of electronics, and are actually pretty heavy for their size. There's a ton of superconducting wire along the barrel, and a huge supercapacitor in the stock.
The rest of it, you're not really sure what you're looking at. There's a gas bottle, some metallic prongs... who knows how this thing works. What you care more about is how effective it is.

Raising one up, you aim it at the concrete wall in front of you and fire.
A ball of purple plasma launches out of the end with a small amount of recoil, impacting the concrete and causing it to explode on contact. What you recognize as spalling due to heat.

So it's hot, you figured that much. These things need a little more testing though, so next you aim for some poor bastard's doorknob.
One shot causes half the doorknob to melt into a puddle of aluminum on the floor, while the rest of it quickly deforms and wrinkles from the heat.

"Wow, these things have some actual penetrating power. Glad i didn't get hit by one."

"I'll be glad if we don't get caught smuggling them. Plasma weapons are super, super illegal."

"I think that ship sailed when we took out those AI ships, Cyl."
>>
>>5418180
Oh so we can melt mofos now? YAAAAAY
>>
>>5418180
How many of these do we have? I wanna crack these things open and figure out where these punk ass aliens are failing in their designs.
>>
>>5418180
I like these plasma rifle even if the projectiles lack butter flavoring for if we battle giant space crabs.
>>
>>5418180
Alright, the sugar sweet kiss of heavy ordinance! We ought to keep a few for Sanig and Kyla to rip it apart and see if we can learn anything from it.
>>5418310
>if we battle giant space crabs.
>if
I'm almost certain we will, seeing as everything eventually evolves into crab.
>>
Update is probably gonna be late tonight, because i'm about to pass the fuck out.
>>
Plasma... this triggers my deep hatred for X-COM sectoids and other aliens. And I am not talking about the 2012 game, but the 1993 one. HEAVY PLASMA DAMN IT IT WAS ABSURD
>>
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>>5419072
Now I want Sanig to build a suit of power armor for himself
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>>5419079
Same. Pretty sure that was mentioned some threads back and Sanig cackled like a madman
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>>5419079
>ayys fw Sanig Kool-Aid mans himself through a wall in several hundred pounds of power armor and hard light while cackling like a madman
>>
>>5418180

Besides the plasma rifles, it doesn't seem like they had much else. One guy had a blade, but it's basically a mall katana so it's useless to you.
The two of you stow everything away in an empty apartment and prepare to head up again.

"They got fucked pretty hard by that pincer, y'know. Want to go for it again?" You ask.

"Can't. I took a look at the upper floors while you were making your way up, and all the windows are covered by sheets of steel on the inside."

"Really? Huh, this operation might be a little more serious than i expected. They've got time and the resources required to set up defenses, probably suppliers if they've got military tech... hmm."

"What?"

"Just wondering whether this guy might be more use to us alive than dead or in a jail cell."

"You can never trust a criminal, David..."

"We're criminals, too. Don't you trust me?"

"That's a very complicated question, and the answer depends on whether i shut my brain off or not."

"Fair." You nod.

You know that everyone has their own circumstances, but there's a difference between people who commit crime because they're forced to, and those who'd commit crimes even if they were a millionaire.
Still, a career criminal can be made use of, so long as you're useful to them in return. With Clank in power as head of this station's underworld, whether Silus can operate openly or not at all depends on him.

Installing Silus as an official unofficial underground weapons trader could firm up Clank's position, but it could also be dangerous to have someone else dealing that many guns.
You're not going to say it's SUPER risky, but there's definitely some risk, at least. The rewards could definitely outweigh them though, depending on Silus' personality and goals.

That's a bridge you'll have to cross when you come to it, however, and right now you're going to have to deal with whatever bullshit he and his men have cooked up to defend the place.

"Alright, nothing we can do but head up for now. Watch out for tripwires and other traps, one of them had planted a bomb in the stairwell earlier."

"A bomb? I thought i heard something go off earlier. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, i'm good. But there's no telling what else they might have set up."

"Alright. Let's do this..." Cylia whispers to herself.

>Roll 1d100, best of 4
>Now would also be a good time to discuss what you want to do with Silus once he's captured, assuming he lives
>Also please remember to link back to this post, even if you're changing your vote. Makes counting them easier.
>>
Rolled 60 (1d100)

>>5419337
At this point? The man or lady is a smart enough cookie to plan some defense, get some mooks, and have them cover the windows. Recruiting them just comes down to eventually finding the time to talk and interview.
>>
Rolled 48 (1d100)

>>5419337
Guess we have Sanig interrogate him first desu
>>
Rolled 6 (1d100)

>>5419337
>>
Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>5419337
Drag him back to the Clank's arena and interrogate him there then decide what to do with him
>>
>>5419342
Sanig's busy getting high and fucking whores.
>>
Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>5419337
talking him with clank sounds like a good idea.
>>
>>5419337
>>Now would also be a good time to discuss what you want to do with Silus once he's captured, assuming he lives
I want to present this information and line of thougth to Clank. It's up to him to deal with the skulldruggery
>>
>>5419337
>Hand him over to Clank after interrogating him and one of his guys seperately.
>>
Update might be late tonight again.
Shit's been rough lately, sorry.
>>
>>5419887
Thanks for the update. Take care.
>>
holy fuck, i thought i'd wake up around midnight or 1am, but it's 9 in the fucking morning
i slept for 14 and a half hours

i honestly don't even know what to say, jesus christ
>>
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>>5420362
that looks like the sound of incredibly fucked sleeping schedule due to life doesn't stop fucking you man
I've been there for a bit and let me tell ya it takes a toll on people QM
>>
>>5420373
Fortunately we are always technically one day ahead on updates, because i post tomorrow's update today and therefore if i miss a day i'm not gay.
That does however, mean that i need to make two updates to catch back up.
>>
>>5420375
Fortunate indeed so enjoy your time man
see ya tomorrow
>>
>>5420362
Get some food and a shower and go to bed at a decent time tonight, and every fucking night.
>>
>>5419337

The two of you continue carefully up the stairs, with you taking point as you're less likely to die instantly if a bomb goes off.
Fortunately, no traps are apparent along the stairwell or in the hallway above. No men are positioned there either.

You were worried for a minute that they'd come swarming out at you, but there's nothing.
You do notice that the normal apartment doors up here have been swapped out for sturdy-looking steel doors, each with a keypad and no knob. They must slide open.

It's possible that they're planning to do the same thing to you that you did to them, so you decide to lay a trap or two of your own.
Using a length of wire and a grenade, you set up a tripwire bomb that should take out at least a few people if they try to ascend the stairs carelessly.

Now near the top of the stairs, you find yourself needing to look up and over again. But you know they're waiting for you this time, and they could have actually deadly weapons on hand.
So you dig a small mirror out of your pack and use it to peek up over the stairs.

Sure enough, not only are there men up there, they even have a fucking turret emplacement.

"What the hell is that?" You whisper.

Cylia crawls up to you and rolls over onto her back so she can look through the mirror as well.

"It... looks like a pulsed laser cannon."

"From a ship?"

"...Yes, unfortunately. That's going to be a problem."

"Maybe, maybe not. Is it VI controlled, or does it have a gunner?"

Cylia squints as she tries to discern the scene more carefully through one eye.

"I think it has a gunner. That guy handling the cables won't step more than a few feet away from it."

"In that case, we might be able to get through this easily. It's just a damned shame i don't have the launcher with me, though."

"Wait, David... look. Doesn't it look like they have masks around their necks?"

It takes you a second to get a clear view, but it looks like she's right. Shit.
They really are prepared for you, and they know you've been gassing them as well.

"Well... that leaves us with less options. But not none."

>Rush them hard. They haven't seen you using flashbangs so if you toss one out there, chances are they'll stare straight at it. Then you can go for the laser turret.
>Run back downstairs and grab your emergency grenade off the tripwire. If they die, they die. It's not your problem.
>You're not in any hurry. Have Sanig make a run to the ship and grab your grenade launcher.
>Write-In?
>>
>>5420489
>Run back downstairs and grab your emergency grenade off the tripwire. If they die, they die. It's not your problem.
>>
>>5420489
>Rush them hard. They haven't seen you using flashbangs so if you toss one out there, chances are they'll stare straight at it. Then you can go for the laser turret.

Boss, are EMP grenades something we can make with our current resources?
They would come in handy in future situations like this one.
>>
>>5420489
>Rush them hard. They haven't seen you using flashbangs so if you toss one out there, chances are they'll stare straight at it. Then you can go for the laser turret.
Get the 1911 out, less lethal has gone out the window I think
>>
>>5420496
Potentially. They might even be re-usable!
>>
>>5420500
Neat! I guess it's time for another brainstorming session with Sanig after this job then.
>>
>>5420489
>Rush them hard. They haven't seen you using flashbangs so if you toss one out there, chances are they'll stare straight at it. Then you can go for the laser turret.
>>5420506
We should also definitely look into incendiary weapons.
>>
>>5420489
>Run back downstairs and grab your emergency grenade off the tripwire. If they die, they die. It's not your problem.
>>
>>5420489

>Rush them hard. They haven't seen you using flashbangs so if you toss one out there, chances are they'll stare straight at it. Then you can go for the laser turret. Have Cylia toss a gas grenade on that laser turret after ther flashbang goes off, better to have the gunner's hand full of gas mask than blind firing with that laser.
>>
>>5420489
>Rush them hard. They haven't seen you using flashbangs so if you toss one out there, chances are they'll stare straight at it. Then you can go for the laser turret.
These guys are slightly more intelligent than their crippled compatriots. They might be useful to us in the future.
>>
>>5420489
>Write-In?
Without leaving cover, tell them that you're impressed with their resourcefulness and want to offer them a job. THEN have Sanig run to the ship and bring you the launcher, if they turn you down.
>>
How thick is the floor here anyway? I’d assume they use thinner walls and floors since gravity is lower than Earth, so maybe the pistol has enough penetration to hit them.
>>
Alright, roll me 1d100, best of 4.
>>
Rolled 23 (1d100)

>>5420878
JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL
>>
Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>5420878
FAST AS FUCK
>>
Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>5420878
>>
Rolled 89 (1d100)

>>5420878
Get your fresh baked rolls here.
>>
>>5420883
>in fact, he was not fast as fuck
>>
>>5420887
Phew!
>>
>>5420881
>>5420883
>>5420884
>>5420887
david runs, trips, but manages to convert the fall into a forward roll
>>
>>5420489

"Alright, here's the plan..." You whisper. "I'm gonna throw this flashbang... then we're gonna run in and git 'em."

Cylia stares at you, gently nodding her head as if waiting for the rest of your plan to spill out.

"That's all." You clarify.

"David, that's not much of a plan. How are we supposed to 'git 'em' exactly?"

"Well, for one thing, i'm definitely going after that turret. That should do some damage."

"Can we please not go on another murderous rampage?" Cylia practically begs. "I still have nightmares from last time."

"They've got armor on! It probably won't kill them... probably. I dunno, i've never been shot with a ship to ship laser before. What kind of damage does that do?"

"I'm sure you can imagine, if it puts a crater in spaceship plating."

"Not really. One thing we tended to avoid back on earth was shooting things with powerful lasers. It was actually pretty hard to get your hands on something strong enough to kill somebody."

"Well i'm sure it's bad!" She insists.

"Won't know how bad until we try!" You counter, pulling the pin on both your last gas grenade and one of your flashbangs.
The flashbang you immediately throw backwards over your head, allowing it to soar over the laser gunner's head and roll right into the middle of the room. The gas grenade flies into the room just as the flashbang goes off.

As soon as you've thrown the gas, you turn over and run up the stairs, headed for the gunner. As you'd expected, nearly everyone was blinded and deafened by the flashbang, leaving them at your mercy.
The gunner appears to have been blinded, but is still holding onto his turret and has the good sense to start firing blindly.

You get your shield up in time to eat one of the blasts, which causes the shield to flicker and nearly burn out. That fucker's powerful, for sure. All the more reason to take it for yourself.
You deactivate your shield and jump clear over the turret just as it lets loose another blast, barely clearing your feet as you grab the gunner by his whole skull and slam the back of his head down onto the concrete floor.

Your knee lands of his chest, knocking both the wind and consciousness straight out of him as you whip around and immediately rip the turret off it's emplacement... easier than you thought, since it's not welded in place or anything.
In the meantime, Cylia flies past you and also jumps, although in her case it's for the sake of striking someone in the face with her knee. It makes a good sound against his helmet, and he's definitely bowled over by the blow, if nothing else.

Cylia spins around and kicks the knee of the man standing to her side, snapping it at the joint and causing him to fall, holding his leg and howling in pain.
By this time you've gotten the heavy turret turned around and have managed to find the trigger as well, so you start unloading. You're aiming only for their chest-armor, giving you the lowest chance of killing them outright.
>>
>>5420941
>Cylia spins around and kicks the knee of the man standing to her side, snapping it at the joint and causing him to fall, holding his leg and howling in pain
Was did that guy just have brittle bones and bitch-made ligaments or is Cylia actually packing a punch now?
>>
>>5420982
she walks in 1g all the time now. And her body hasn't suffered from spinal compression injuries among other things due to modern medicine/Sanig.

So she's probably getting up there now.
>>
>>5420982
Cylia always packed a punch. She comes from what the rest of the galaxy would consider a "high gravity world" at 0.7 Gees, and has been living in earth's gravity for over a year now.
When you first met her she was starving, but could still run fast enough to jump clear over fences and bound from building to building between alleyways.

You didn't see what happened when you took care of Oogla, but she kicked some ass there as well.
>>
>>5421001
Fake news. This is just what the caithans want us to think.
>>
>>5421001
So shes now a catgrill tomboy musclewaigu, Cylia a best
>>
>>5421001
wait, more than a year has passed now? daaaaamn
>>
>>5421001
who tf is oogla
>>
>>5421505
He was a worm.
>>
>>5421517
aaaah the one that was slandering that bull smith?
>>
>>5421523
did we ever finish that sidequest? either way i don't think that will be an issue now that clank controls the underworld
>>
>>5421693
You did. Or rather David and Cylia did, while you were controlling Clank.
>>
>>5421703
We're still waiting on the side story and what happened to the worm guy.
>>
>>5420941

The laser turret goes off with a surprisingly loud BANG as the capacitor banks discharge, converting a massive amount of electrical energy into light and launching it straight towards some poor bastard in front of you.
The man himself is covered in a full suit of heavy-looking armor, similar to the man who took the brunt of that tripwire explosion which was meant for you. The laser light impacts his chestpiece and causes a small explosion.

You make a point not to stare in the extremely powerful laser's direction, but even then you still see a bright flash of light, and if you were looking, you'd have seen the fireball erupting from his chest as well.
That fireball would be the vaporized remains of his chestpiece, converted directly into plasma by the massive amount of energy dumped into it all at once. That plasma pushes against his chest as it expands, knocking the man off his feet.

Unfortunately this is a typical pulsed laser cannon, meaning it'll take a second before you can fire again. The remaining men in the room, at least six or seven, have begun to collect themselves and raise their weapons towards you.
One man who wasn't completely blinded has already done so. He looks like he's about to shit himself, but he chose fight over flight, which is more trouble for you...

But Cylia covers you well, having already taken out two men she makes use of her speed and agility, closing the distance on him before he can react, not that he would have since he's hyper-focused on you anyways.
Making use of the low station gravity as well, she kicks off the ground in a spin, setting up her timing just so, such that she can unleash a devastating snap kick to the side of the man's head, knocking him clean off his feet.

As she lands again, she ignites her hardlight shield and begins firing past it towards another man, but the weak phaser shots dissipate cleanly against their armor, no differently than they would against your skinsuit.
Fortunately though, a few seconds have passed and your turret is ready to fire again. You take aim for a man in the middle of the pack, both so that Cylia can take a man closer to herself and as a scare tactic against the enemy.

This time the laser doesn't just put a crater in his chestplate, it genuinely shatters it entirely. Looks like some kind of ceramic, maybe? Might be weak against blunt attacks, then.
Regardless, there is once again a flash of light and a sizeable explosion. The man is launched backwards, and you can see shards of ceramic bounce off Cylia's shield.

You won't have time to get another shot off before they start firing though, so you drop the turret and kneel down on one knee, activating your shield.
It's a good thing you did, too. Not a moment later, half the hallway is filled with streaks of bluish plasma, looking almost similar to dragon's breath rounds in terms of brilliance.

Only, this clearly isn't a toy. One after another, these streaks of plasma fill the hallway with light.
>>
you know, this is our first honest futuristic firefight. It has plasma, big lasers and bullshit armor/shields.

Since we lost the surprise factor and the enemies regrouped I think we better
>Retreat back to the lower floor.
We avoid injury (or worse) and there is the chance they give chase and trip the grenade. After the trap goes off (if it does) then we recover the initiative and attack again
>>
>>5422028
Disregard slow laser turret
grab someone by the ankles and start swinging
>>
>>5422028
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORfPeld7nLQ
LET THEM TASTE DEATH
>>
>>5422028

However, your shields are already made of light and plasma. Every time they're struck, they glow brighter for a moment, and that's all.
So you're able to hunker down until whatever weapon that is stops firing, with little damage taken... actually, your shoes are on fire, but that seems to be all.

While that plasma was arcing towards you, Cylia was advancing forwards, towards the man in front of her. As soon as the attack stops, she runs forwards.
From the enemy's perspective, she must have simply emerged from the sparks and flames created by burning, spalling concrete, only to slam the bottom of her shield down onto someone's foot before pushing him over with it.

She then proceeds to stomp on his crotch, and when he recoils she kicks him straight in the face, shattering his visor.

You take a much more straightforward approach.
The turret is nice, you'll admit. Whatever it hits, it takes out one way or another. But it's slow to charge, and you must kill fast... or, well, you're trying to avoid killing here, but still.

So you toss the turret aside and brace against your hardlight shield. At almost the same time as Cylia, you rush forwards out of the smoke and sparks, roaring at the top of your lungs.
It's a simple charge, nothing more. You lower your stance and start tackling the fuck out of everything in your way, using your shield like a hammer to crush your enemies.

The first man is bowled over by you, and is subsequently trampled underfoot. You feel his armor shatter as you push off on his chest with your dominant foot, continuing forwards.
The next man has a look of panic visible through his visor as he desperately tries to move out of the way, but he's simply not quick enough. You slam your shield into his whole body, knocking him clear aside amongst a shower of shattered ceramic.

The last man is also panicked, but props to him, he manages to aim vaguely in your direction and fire. With your shield currently at your side, it might even have hit, if he had been calm. Instead, it flies past your right cheek, singing your stubble.
You cock your fist back as you reach him and slam it straight into his mouth, crushing his helmet and knocking him clean off his feet. His feet fly out from under him as if the rest of his body weighed nothing at all.

As the dust settles, you hear a number of groans throughout the hallway. Some more pained than others.

"You good?" You ask.

"Yeah..." Cylia replies. "Thank the gods for these shields. I've never seen a weapon like that before."

Yeah, what the hell was that thing? It was almost like a flamethrower, but way hotter. You didn't even see who had it, but it must be around here somewhere.

While you're looking around for the probable suspect, Cylia notices a number of security cameras on the wall, all watching the two of you carefully.
She levels her revolver at them and fires, taking each of them out in a single shot. Her aim has gotten a lot better since you first gave it to her.
>>
>>5422948
>all theses Plasma and phaser weapons
I'm getting Fallout flashbacks and I'm loving it. All this tech is gonna be fun to pick apart, I'm already getting ideas.

The Phase Rifles? We can finally get around the rotary idea, except mixed in with a chemically treated water cooling system and two phasers so one can continuously fire while the other cools off.

The Cannon? Could make for a useful turret emplacement or something special. Maybe a change meter to determine when it's fired:power output per shot?
>>
>>5423010
>liquid cooled stuff
that just calls for trouble. better to add more phasers or give the gun more thermal mass to handle the heat
>>
>>5423045
Are we about to reinvent the Mass Effect Heat Sink "clips"?

A spiral/thread of low specific heat permeating a block of high specific heat in order to facilitate the transfer of heat to the block so the heat of the gun can dissipate faster than air.
>>
Do you think there were other humans who got abducted?
Might explain why stuff like this may be circulating with criminals
>>
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>>5422948
>It was almost like a flamethrower, but way hotter.
eheheheheheh
>>
>>5422948

As Cylia finishes taking out the security cameras, you toss her a mask that you ripped off one of the goons here.

"Might want to put that on soon." You point out, nodding your head in the direction of the gas canister that's slowly filling the room.

"Thanks." She agrees, quickly slipping it on. You hear a hiss as it seals against her face. "...But are you not going to wear one as well?"

"No need. This concentration is barely enough to make my eyes water."

"Must be nice, being indestructible..."

"Yeah, right. Maybe a little poison resistant, but i'm hardly indestructible."

"Then i guess we'd better be careful here, huh?"

Cylia collects the masks from the fallen goons, including those who were still in good enough shape to put theirs on after getting their shit kicked in.
They all start coughing and rubbing their eyes almost immediately, which causes a bit of trouble for one guy with broken ribs... who she takes pity on, and places his mask back onto him.

Meanwhile, you collect up their weapons. For sidearms, again, it's nothing but shitty phasers. But all of them have some kind of plasma rifle or another.
You also find something that looks similar to a stereotypical bazooka, with a hole in just one end. Scattered across the floor next to it you find several empty gas canisters.

The back of the bazooka swings open, and another small canister pops out of the back end. It's not marked, but you immediately recognize it as a miniature antimatter bottle, similar to what your power armor uses.
Well, that's one way to make tons of plasma without generating a bunch of radiation, you guess. And the tubular weapon doesn't even seem to be warm after all that. Probably due to magnetic containment.

"Find everything?" Cylia asks.

"Yeah, looks like it. This is the apartment we were looking for here, but it's sealed."

Just like the others, this apartment's door has been replaced... only, it looks a bit more reinforced than the others. You're not going to be able to kick this one down, you think.

"Well, what now? The windows are all sealed, so i don't think they're going anywhere."

>There's an intercom. Maybe they'll just surrender?
>That laser turret doesn't take "no" for an answer. You can cut the door open with that.
>You've got a block of spicy play-dough in your pocket that you think would make the appropriate statement.
>Write-In?
>>
>>5423782
>There's an intercom. Maybe they'll just surrender? But if they don't respond, that laser turret doesn't take "no" for an answer. You can cut the door open with that.

im really glad we tackled this guy first. he would have been a real pain in the ass later on
>>
>>5423782
>Write-In?
I bet it's made of ceramic too. Kick down the door!
>>
>>5423782
>There's an intercom. Maybe they'll just surrender?
>>
>>5423782
Use the intercom and tell him he can either open the door or we can blast it off the hinges and drag him out.
>>
>>5423782
>There's an intercom. Maybe they'll just surrender?
Tell them who we are and that we mean no further harm if they surrender in the next minute. If they don't however, also inform them that we can, and will, break every bone on their bodies barehanded.

Little on the edgelord take, but maybe some lame straightforward intimidation will do the trick.
>>
>>5423782
>They did leave a plasma rocket launcher out here. Ammo is out, but he doesn’t need to know that.
Write-in for the intercom vote.
>>
>>5423782
>Offer surrender. If surrender isn't accepted, invite them to reconsider with liberal use of spicy play-dough and turret
>>
>>5423782
>>>There's an intercom. Maybe they'll just surrender?
talking first never hurts. We can shoot later
>>
>>5423782

You slam your foot against the door. Despite making a racket, there's nothing but a bootprint left on it.

"Reckon the whole wall is reinforced?"

"Probably." Cylia shrugs.

You sigh.

"Well, i suppose attempting a dialogue every once in a while can't hurt."

You hover your finger over the intercom button, wondering for a moment if pressing it might set off a trap of some sort... nah, not likely.

"Silus, i know you're in there. It doesn't matter how thick this steel is, we're getting in eventually. Make this easier on both of us and i'll guarantee your life."

There's a long pause, long enough that you almost thought he was simply unwilling to talk... but just as you're about to go get the laser, you hear someone fumbling with a microphone.
And then, a woman speaks.

["W-Who are you working for? Is it Keryn? Or are you with the federation?"] She says, sounding both nervous and somewhat panicked.

"Silus?" You ask, brow raised. "I thought you were supposed to be a man."

There's another short pause before she responds.

["I-It's... it's pronounced 'See-lus'. I don't normally speak to anyone in person, so..."]

"Whatever, i don't care. Are you willing to surrender or not?"

["...N-No way! I-I-I've got this building rigged to blow! I'll t-take you with me, i swear!"]

"Cute bluff, but no. Now open the door, or i'm blasting it open with this fucking laser."

["Shit... who are you guys?! Who sent you?! I didn't cross anybody, did i?!"]

You grin as a thought crosses your mind. Although the truth is that Clank is serving under you, if you pretended to be Clank's muscle instead, people might think he's got some real freaks working under him.
That would be real good for his image, and it would make people afraid to cross him as well. You might even be able to use that persona to gather information if necessary.

Or you could just huff and puff and get this over with, either way works. In the end, perceptions don't matter quite as much as what you can actually get done. They just make things easier.

>"The name's 'Gunny' and i'm here on behalf of Clark, Thekia's new Warlord. I believe you have some weapons that belong to him."
>"It doesn't matter who i am. We're here for the guns, and i suggest you play along if you don't want to get hurt."
>Say nothing, start cutting the door open
>Write-In?
>>
>>5424699
>"The name's 'Gunny' and i'm here on behalf of Clark, Thekia's new Warlord. I believe you have some weapons that belong to him."
Couldn't hurt to talk up our bot buddy to help him get his street cred...plus, either she's heard of us and realize better to surrender than let the human go wild, or she hasn't and our name spreads a bit more as "not to be fucked with".
>>
>>5424699

>"The name's 'Gunny' and i'm here on behalf of Clark, Thekia's new Warlord. I believe you have some weapons that belong to him."
>>
>>5424699
>"The name's 'Gunny' and i'm here on behalf of Clark, Thekia's new Warlord. I believe you have some weapons that belong to him."
>>
>>5424700
+1
>>
>>5424699
>>"The name's 'Cunny' and i'm here on behalf of Clark, Thekia's new Warlord. I believe you have some weapons that belong to him."
>>
>>5424699
>>"The name's 'Gunny' and i'm here on behalf of Clark, Thekia's new Warlord. I believe you have some weapons that belong to him."
>>
>>5424722
...lewd.
>>
>>5424699
>"The name's 'Gunny' and i'm here on behalf of Clark, Thekia's new Warlord. I believe you have some weapons that belong to him."
>>
>>5424722
This, for the memes
>>
>>5424699
>"The name's 'Gunny' and i'm here on behalf of Clark, Thekia's new Warlord. I believe you have some weapons that belong to him."
>>
>>5424699
>"The name's 'Gunny' and i'm here on behalf of Clark, Thekia's new Warlord. I believe you have some weapons that belong to him."
Mention that there's a possibility for her gang to get recruited. We've shown her the stick and it's time for the carrot.
>>
>>5424699
>"The name's 'Gunny' and i'm here on behalf of Clark, Thekia's new Warlord. I believe you have some weapons that belong to him."
>>
>>5424699
>>"The name's 'Gummy' and i'm here on behalf of Clark, Thekia's new Warlord. I believe you have some weapons that belong to him."
Waifu weapons genius... I want her
>>
>>5424722
supporting for shits and giggles
>>
>>5424722
this
>>
>>5424699
>>5424722
Digits took the decision out of my hands, support.
>>
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>>5424699

"The name's 'Gunny' and i'm here on behalf of Clark, Thekia's new Warlord. I believe you have some weapons that belong to him."

["That psycho bounty hunter...?! Still... T-These are mine! I'm not a part of SS anymore!"]

"I think we both know that isn't how this works. There's been a merger, including all material assets... and personnel."

There's another pause, much longer this time. She must be thinking about something.

["Am i... am i still getting paid?"] She asks, sounding somewhat hopeful.

"As long as you keep doing your job. I don't have to explain what happens if you try to stab us in the back, either. Now open up, we're taking stock."

["H-Hold on just a minute! You're not going to seize my stock, are you? These haven't been p-paid for yet! I can't move guns without money!"]

...You can't prove it since a lot of the paper records were destroyed, but you have a feeling that she's bullshitting you. Something about the inflection in her voice. The timing of her words, even that nervous stutter... just ever so slightly off.

"...We'll see what we can do. Consider it an investment. And by that, i mean we expect to see returns."

A few seconds pass without response, but then you hear a number of mechanical clicks, whirring and bangs that result in the door slowly sliding open on it's own.
You raise your shield and gaze through it into the room, but only one person seems to be inside. It looks like she took out the floors and walls of all the apartments around her to make her own suite, then encased the room in armor.

At the far end of the room is a massive wall of glowing monitors, some with security footage from inside the building, others with live feeds from outside, others still with webpages pulled up or graphs which are tracking something or other.
And sitting in front of those monitors is your target, Silus. She turns around in her chair to face you... a thin-looking woman with purple skin and tentacle-like protrusions growing from her scalp in place of hair.

"No guards?" You ask.

"You killed my guards..." She replies.

"They aren't dead. But you might want to close that door, since the hall is currently filling with gas."

She stares at you like you're crazy, but does reach behind her and press a button which closes the door off again. Cylia doesn't remove her mask, however. It's probably still lingering in the air, and she seems sensitive to it.

"Just an irritant. It won't kill them. Not on it's own, anyways." You promise. "Now, show us the goods."

"Ah... uhm... i'm sorry, i can't actually stand up. B-But, the guns are kept on that wall there, just open the shutter..."

There's a hand-print sensor on the wall where she's pointing. Normally it should be locked, but... you place your hand against it, and it works. It's totally unlocked.

"Wow, you really didn't expect anyone to get in here, huh?" You say, watching the sheet steel wall roll up like a garage door.

"There was even a laser turret..." She grumbles.
>>
>>5425809
>"There was even a laser turret..." She grumbles.
you mean the one we ripped off the floor?
>>
>>5425809
>"Ah... uhm... i'm sorry, i can't actually stand up
Cripple or fish ass? Either way, gross.
>>
>>5425845
Beats her replying with "I know what I haaaave."
>>
Part of me thinks we should cuff her, just to be on the safe side. But maybe that's just paranoia.
>>
>>5425809

The shutter opens up to reveal a wall full of modular mounting racks, just like you'd find back home.
There are all sorts of different guns there. A few more plasma rifles like her guards had... two more phaser rifles. Another plasma thrower.

But there are also some of the more typical prototype-looking home-cooked weapons. All energy-based, with not a single one appearing to use gunpowder or any other explosive charges.
There is one interesting thing, though. You pick it up and turn it over, finding that it looks somewhat similar to the plasma rifles from before... but there's something different about it.

"Are these ball-bearings?" You ask.

"Yeah. Supposedly someone stumbled across this design by accident... it uses magnetic fields to launch metal balls rather than plasma. Supposedly it penetrates right through personal shields." Silus replies.

A coilgun, huh? But supercharged, for sure. It might actually put a hole in someone.

"The only problem is..." She continues. "...It has a lot of recoil. You can't shoot it more than once without bruising your shoulder, and there's no way you can stay on target either. It's a neat design, but pretty much useless."

Well, now you've got to try it.
There's a small hopper on top of the rifle, but that alone is enough to hold dozens of the small bearings. They can't be more than 7mm in diameter, but you can tell from the sound they make when they hit the floor that they're hard as hell.

You ignite your shield and hold it up, preparing to shoot the flat steel wall in front of you. If it ricochets, it should hit the shield.
Holding the coilgun out past the shield, you fire it and listen as the bearing shoots out, strikes the wall and as you expected, comes almost straight back.

It strikes your shield and bounces off, causing it to dim slightly where it was struck. The bearing then launches off somewhere else, striking a ceiling light and breaking it. You can hear shattered plastic hitting the floor.

"DAVID!" Cylia yells. "You can't just fire a gun in an enclosed space like that! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO TAUGHT ME, SO HOW DO YOU NOT REMEMBER?!"

"Woah..." Silus murmurs. Her office chair quickly drives itself over to you, apparently under it's own power.

"I was wondering what those were... it's almost like a ship's shield, isn't it?" She says, gawking at the hardlight from every angle.

You flick the shield off, to her disappointment. You're not here to sell your tech to someone who hasn't proven themselves yet, so she won't be getting her hands on it. Not yet at least.

"Nevermind that. Have you got a hovercart?"

"Oh... yes, i think? over there, behind the boxes?"

You have to dig it out from underneath a pile of crap, but there is at least one here. And the cardboard boxes, you suppose, will do well enough for hiding the guns while you transport them back to Clank.
It doesn't take you long to stuff them all in there and tape them up. You even cover them with a sheet you stole off Silus' bed.
>>
>>5426473
>Coilgun
Velocitas Eradico, gentlemen. The question is, do we keep it for ourselves or do we give it to Sanig and Kyla for research purposes?
inb4 not a railgun
>>
>>5426488
I love how people confuse coilguns and railguns. As if the fucking name doesn't mean anything at all.
>>
>>5426473
>a fucking coilgun
>immediately aim directly at the wall pointblank
synthetik mentality
now make it a shotgun
>>
>>5426544
I know it's not a railgun, I just wanted an excuse to use that Latin phrase. Well, that and I'm dumb.
>>
>>5426562
No I know, I was just making a remark. The number of people I've seen say "well they're the same thing" is more than one and less than three-hundred.
>>
>>5426473

Once you're done loading everything up, you have Silus open up the door and let you out. A thin fog of white smoke rolls in almost immediately, so you quickly take the cart out and allow her to close it again.
You left her with yours and Clank's contact information, so if anything comes up she should be able to get hold of you.

As you told her, you're currently in the middle of "reorganizing" so nothing's likely to happen for the moment, but it's good to be prepared.
Most of the men in this hall are still down for the count, or worse. They all seem to have gotten their masks on though, except for the one who's mask you stole and gave to Cylia.

"Bastard..." one of them growls.

They're all staring at you, but without weapons none dare to make a move. Instead, they're sitting or laying on the floor, nursing their wounds.

"Piece of shit, you took my holopad!" Another yells as you pass.
The man next to him complains as well. "And he stole my latinum! I'll remember your face, fucker!"

"Remember this." You reply, delivering a swift kick to the side of his head that shatters his mask and knocks him to the floor.

"If you ever cross us... if you ever cross Clark again, you're going to lose more than your money."

You say that more for everyone else who's listening than the man you just kicked, partly because he seems to be unconscious.
You don't want them to think they can get away with holding grudges, so it's best if you make another show of strength here.

The laser turret from earlier is still laying here in the hall, hooked up to a big metal box by some heavy armored cables.
The box is likely it's power source, maybe provides cooling too, who knows. Regardless, it has handles on all fours sides of the box, probably indicating it's supposed to be a four man lift.

You grab the box by one of it's handles with a single hand and lift it up, letting it rest behind your shoulder.
Then with your other hand, you pick up the laser turret and aim it at the wall, far enough away from anyone that the spalling won't hurt anyone.

After firing it off once with a single hand, you turn to Cylia with a smile.

"Looks like it still works. We can make use of this."

"Yeah... i'm sure we will." She replies loudly, followed by a whisper. "...You'd make a great supervillain, you know that?"

"Who says i'm not? It's all a matter of perspective, ain't it?"

As Cylia pulls the hovercart behind you, the two of you make your way back down the stairs. On your way down, you see a few folks who seem like civilians, poking their heads out of their apartments to talk with eachother.
You're sure they heard the commotion. Luckily for them, the gas has already mostly dispersed down here, since it wasn't that strong to begin with. They don't seem bothered by it, but they do shut themselves inside the moment they see you.

When you get down to the bottom floor, you see that everyone who was down there has already evacuated.
>>
>>5427415
shit, right people live here. Now I feel like an ass.
>>
>>5427415
Also feel bad for totally robbing them. Should've just taken credits or latinum and left the other, maybe?
>>
>>5427592
I don't know how to feel anymore man. Are we the oppressors now?
>>
>>5427597
>>5427592
we definitely are the oppressors, but they had it coming
>>
>>5427598
...tru. only time will tell if we made the right decision.
On the plus side we'll get to deal with the brothel and homeless mugging. We can get some good deeds done with those at least.
>>
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>>5427597
Newsflash, these guys are weapons traffickers. More specifically, hired thugs. They've more than likely extorted, intimidated, beat, and killed people in their line of work. I don't feel bad about it because they'd have done the same to us if they had the chance. It's fair play. Now if it were some random shop owner then yeah, don't be a dick. But these aren't upstanding citizens, capisc?
>>
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>>5427600
>only time will tell if we made the right decision.
they are the right decisions as long as we stay on top
>>
>>5427604
Alright. I was just worried that these were your classic "bad shit happens to me so I do crime to make ends meet" or so, but I'll stick to your logic so I don't give myself a headache.

>>5427607
>death loli
Now I'm convinced.
>>
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>>5427609
>"bad shit happens to me so I do crime to make ends meet"
even cylia got an ass whooping before we got her in our ranks, and the thugs knew what they were doing. they get no mercy from us

>death loli
yes, the best kind of murder gremlins
>>
AAAA Pilar, Dorio, Maine, Kiwi, Rebeca, David!!!

So a bunch of smugglers got hit hard and definitely got the message. We now have big shit too! I do find them plasma and stuff cool, but it seems gunpowder is right up there.

I can't remember whether or not David printed automatic rifles. He better work on small arms for a while!! But yea, fixing the metal gear is a priority...
>>
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>>5428112
IIRC we've got an AR-15 and a 20mm autocannon for the Metal Gear. Could always use some more firepower.
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>>5428153
>Could always use some more firepower.
eh, at this point its just a moot point. i'd rather invest all our efforts into getting a new ship than upgrading the MG
>>
>>5428163
I support working on a new ship
The MG is a stealth, research and scouting ship that david and co weaponized the hell out of

What David currently needs is a ship that probably utilizes more human warship designs... aldo radar, i dont think david taped a radar dish to the MG yet

Have a spess ship pic
>>
>>5428197
Honestly, it's appropriate that the stealth vessel was named "Metal Gear".
Following those naming conventions, what should we call our eventual custom ship?
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>>5428376
The Dick Twister.
>>
>>5428376
Chesty
>>
>>5428376
the "is the portmaster legally required to say all of this at once every time the ship needs to be called?"
>>
>>5428383
Seconding this.
>>
>>5428376
Let's call her Nevada or Texas, or any US BB that lived through WWII.
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>>5428403
Why not the USS Alabama then?
She served her country well in the second world war, and she's named after David's home state.
>>
>>5428403
I support USS Texas, since it will be gigantic
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>>5428422
That would make the most sense, though I am biased towards Nevada.
>>
>>5428425
Her treatment throughout the years has been a travesty.
>>
Texas is a good name for a colony ship.
Chesty is more of a fighter ship name
>>
>>5428376
Cuntcrusher
>>
I can't wait until we get a full on Colony Ship going. We'll need all these fighter names and more someday hopefully.
>>
>>5428520
never. Space fighter combat is stupid. We do it now because there isn't more for us but when we get a real ship it will be a huge battleship and screw small fighters.

Planes are used IRL because the earth is round but that's not an issue in space
>>
>>5428472
USN naming convention dictates battleships be named after states.
>>
>>5428574
>Planes are used IRL because the earth is round but that's not an issue in space
>>
>>5427415

The men outside are mostly hanging around the entrance, with a small crowd gathered around to see what's going on. Many of them are bent over, coughing and rubbing at their eyes.
When they spot somebody coming down the hall they make some effort to get ready to attack, but just about every last one of them gives up when they see you come out, lugging their heaviest weapon over your shoulder like it's nothing.

Their jaws drop when they see Cylia trailing behind you with a hovercart, stacked with boxes and covered in a bedsheet... but it's obvious to them what's inside. There's only one thing it could be, after all.

"What the hell... we never even got a chance to fight!" One yells. An avian male, looks like a teenager, probably... hard to tell sometimes.

"We... we've still got a chance!" Another boy says, raising his dinky little phaser up at you.

You lower the barrel of the laser turret, preparing to fire a blast off right in front of his feet... but someone else stops him first. An older-looking man.

"Are you crazy?!" He yells, grabbing the boy's arm and forcing it down by his side. "Look at them, you idiot! There's not a scratch on them! They don't even look worried about us! Why do you think that is?! THINK!"

The man smacks the kid over the head, nearly causing him to go down.
Another man chimes in to the conversation.

"I don't know what species that ball of muscle is from, but i do recognize the female. A caithan... definitely an apex predator species. And she looks stronger than most."

"Shit! Who are they?! Why'd they come after us?!" The first boy growls, sounding almost like he's on the verge of tears.

"It's fine, Vogel..." The older man says, comforting him. "We'll manage, somehow."

These guys must have been counting on these guns. They don't expect to get their paycheck now that you're walking off with them.
Well, it is the lower city after all... down here, smuggling weapons is just a job like any other. With how many people sell themselves off as slaves, it's likely there aren't enough above-board jobs for everyone to make an honest living.

It's not like there's an actual environment here either, so they can't exactly go off and become farmers or something, and travel is expensive too, as you've learned over time.
You need a ship, which even for a junker can cost tens of thousands. Then the fuel and energy are thousands more, and you still need rations, water and all that...

And good luck saving up when you're likely to get cheated, mugged or otherwise screwed on a daily basis. It's tough out here, especially if you don't have a useful place in the upper city's "society".

Fortunately for these guys, you want to keep a good relation with Silus, so she'll probably receive her check from Clank.
They don't know it yet, but they haven't been screwed after all.

Most of the goons part for you as you walk down the street, but that one kid, Vogel, stares you down the whole way with both tears and hatred in his eyes.
>>
>>5427612
She didn't exactly get her ass whooped, but you did chase her down.

>>5428112
David knows several guns well enough to print them, including the AR-15. He hasn't particularly used it much so far, because it's insanely overkill.

>>5428197
You did in fact develop and equip the metal gear with some rudimentary radar systems, but they weren't much use back in that nebula.
>>
>>5428614
You can't just drop shit off the edge, you have to work your way out of the Atmosphere so it needs to be aerodynamic but in space it doesn't matter because there's nothing to apply drag to you (other than a few atoms per meter)
>>5428679
Just caught up, I'd love to make a Longsword out of pure Wraith, not Wraith imbued steel, nothing but Wraith
Also, did anyone catch that the Wraith a few threads back ate that AI and got a power boost out of it? I feel like the implication is that there's a linear progression of size out there for a Well-Fed Wraith, which itself implies that there could be a Galaxy sized Wraith possibly with a planet of what's remote controlling the Wraiths at its core because yadda yadda spiral energy causes entropy and the Antispir-Wraiths want to stop it
>>
>>5428937
Well the problem with using ONLY big ships in space is that they are slow. And no amount of engines is going to change that they still have to move the sheer mass involved. It's almost impossible to perform evasive maneuvers after a certain size without tearing a ship apart from the stress.

Fighters -can- make sense in space, it just depends on where you use them.
>>
>>5429157
the thing is that range is king and fighters by default don't have a ton of range. so under that constrains either you make a big fighter that basically is a corvette or a destroyer that can tank enough hits to get in range to kill its enemies, or instead make a missile that can do the same.
small fighters only make sense in small scale fights like the ones we've had so far, or as a defensive screen for big missile boats; otherwise they're more of a liability than an asset
>>
>>5428676

Well, he'll probably be fine once he realizes what the deal is.

You're given little trouble as you make your way out of the crowd, but more and more people are still gathering to see what's going on.
Word of this will likely travel fast, so it's best if you drop off the goods and make your way to the next target quickly.

It doesn't take too terribly long to get back to the arena, and when you get through the front door you see Ourg back at her desk, legs rested on the counter as she flips through her holopad.
One thing you've come to appreciate out in space is the size of all the doors. They aren't made for one particular species, so they're usually pretty big... and that makes moving large items easy. No more having to finagle a couch through at an odd angle...

"This you?" Ourg asks, turning her pad around to show you an image of yourself and Cylia walking out of the crowd from earlier.

"Damn, news travels REALLY fast here!" You exclaim.

"They're saying you attacked an apartment complex with some kind of poison gas bomb. Don't be surprised if someone tries to kick your ass out on the streets." She informs you.

You shrug.

"Technically correct, although it was nothing so heinous. We got the guns that belonged to... what was their name again?"

You look back at Cylia, who shrugs along with you.

"Well, whatever. It doesn't really matter, they're gone now."

"Cool. But why are you telling me?" Ourg asks.

"Because... you guys are working together with Clank, right?"

"Maybe Baal is... whether she wants to or not." Ourg says, leaning further back in her chair. "But i just keep the peace. Do you see me doing any paperwork?"

"What, you don't care what's going on at all?"

"Unless it's gonna be a problem for the arena, not really." She admits, yawning deeply.

"Fine, geeze. We'll leave you alone. Come on Cyl, let's get this shit dropped off."

You continue on, and as you pull the hovercart up to Clank and Baal's office, you can hear the sound of the crowd cheering in the distance.

"Sounds like whatever's going on must be a crowd pleaser, huh?" You comment, stepping through the office door.

Baal looks up from her work to see who it is, and looks back down when she sees it's you.

"Yep. We've got gladiator matches all day today. We only hold them once every two weeks, so the crowd gets a little rowdy sometimes." She explains.

"We just got done getting a little rowdy ourselves..." Cylia tells her, pulling the cart through.

Clank immediately stand up from his desk and walks over, pulling the bedsheet off the boxes and opening one up.

"Confirmed, these are illegal weapons typically used and traded by underworld higher-ups. Their condition is good. Excellent work, Captain."

Hearing that, Baal takes a slightly longer look up from her work. Only now does she seem to notice what you're carrying.
>>
>>5429303

"What the fuck is that thing?" She asks.

"Laser cannon. Portable, but kinda slow to fire."

"You have a... a fucking laser cannon. Like, off a fighter craft or something?"

"Yep. They never got the chance to shoot it at us, but it works pretty well."

"...Can i buy it off you?" She asks, seeming intrigued. "Something like that might actually make for a good show, if we set up some scrap for targets."

Well, it's kinda cool, but you don't know how useful it's really gonna be for you. You guess with your crew it wouldn't be hard to make your own anyways, if you really wanted to at a later date.

>Yeah, fuck it. How much will you give me for it?
>Nah, sorry. I've got some plans going forward that might include this thing.
>Write-In?
>>
>>5429304
>Yeah, fuck it. How much will you give me for it?
business for clank is more money for us down the line. and its not like we can't get a spare cannon from the federation ships we got
>>
>>5429304
>Nah, sorry. I've got some plans going forward that might include this thing.
Wouldn't mind selling her the first copy we make of it
>>
>>5429304

>Yeah, fuck it. How much will you give me for it?
>>
>>5429304
>Write-In?
After we take it apart and put it back together, sure.
>>
>>5429265
In terms of ballistics, the weapons on a fighter would have effectively identical range to that of any other ship. In terms of mobility they'd have less, obviously. That's more a matter of supplies than actual ability to go the distance though.

But let's talk about range in space. Because of how large the distances can be, if you have a ship that can maneuver even a little bit and the ability to detect when opposing vessels have fired you will absolutely never hit it with munitions that cannot course correct. Missiles tend to be not great at avoiding point defense but with a bit of fancy programming we could get them to jink and dance a bit, at that point it's just a matter of volume. Range is great in a traditional sense and in physics based warfare in space, but in sci-fi-ville it's really not the be all end all. Normally you'd be spot on but David already dodges shots at close range. Imagine how easy it would be for him to look at a projectile moving dozens of kilometers a second and get out of the way with three thousand of them between his vessel and the enemy's.

They definitely are more valuable in skirmish engagements than pitched battle for the most part though, you're right there. But consider the way Earth's naval doctrines changed over time. They kept making bigger and stronger ships until they were so big that someone decided making a smaller, more maneuverable ship could just get around it and deny it favorable engagements. And they're very valuable as scouting units in debris/asteroid fields and areas of high sensor interference.

Combined arms is always the way to go. Any hypothetical fighters we may or may not get are going to be unmanned, though. Still it probably will wind up mostly sub-cruisers supporting a handful of battlecruisers. Goofy shit like superdreadnaughts are just an absolute waste of resources because they'll never be able to pick where they fight unless they're engaging a station or planet.

But that's just what one schizoid thinks. And I do respect your assessment even if I don't completely agree with it here specifically.

>>5429304
I'll back this
>>5429319
Even though I suspect we'll be able to design something significantly better even if we don't poke at its guts for inspiration. But you never know, maybe there's a novel innovation in it.
>>
>>5429304
Seconding this. Lets see if we can learn anything from it.
>>5429319
>>
>>5429304
>Yeah, fuck it
This kind of thing would be chump work for Sanig
>>
>>5429319
+1
>>
>>5429319
+1 to this.

Sanig was going on about how weapons and craft are so precios so lets run it by him first.
>>
>>5429427
>David brings Sanig all these spicy illegal weapons, including the coilgun
>sanig cums so hard he grows a new dick
>furiously starts stripping the weapons and calling them dirty names
>>
>>5429304
>Nah, sorry. I've got some plans going forward that might include this thing.
>>
>>5429157
What are you doing evasive maneuvers against? Being in range of the enemy's main battery is a mistake altogether.
>>
>>5429319
I was gong to sell it outright, but sure this may not be a bad idea.
>>
>>5429477
If they're in range of yours you should assume you're in range of theirs. And as with all battlefield encounters it's better to prepare for when everything goes tits up. Optimally you shouldn't even need to fight them at all, because you'll have sabotaged their shit weeks ago. But at that point why have warships at all?

Also in case of stealth rocks. You never know when some crazy asshole painted an asteroid black and spotted and used stealth paint.
>>
>>5429521
>If they're in range of yours you should assume you're in range of theirs
that's when you go the F-35 route and have so many relay drones to feed you data that you don't need to be anywhere near radar range to kill them
>>
>>5429523
They don't even use radar. The game was rigged from the start.

Jokes aside unless you're using absolutely tiny projectiles they'll see them on their whatever sensor suite they've got just thanks to the amount of time they have to scan their surroundings. Even if they mistake it as a meteorite or micrometeorite they'll either pop it with something or get out of the way. I mean if we're at the distance where you can't find something in space with inter-solar levels of tech then it's gonna be really, really far away.

You should have leaned on the stealth capabilities of the F-35 for inspiration. Same energy as firing from out of view, but more encompassing.
>>
>>5429304

"...Let my engineers take a look at it first. I'm not sure how this thing works, but i think i could find some uses for it."

"Alright." She agrees. "Just bring it back in working condition."

...

You spend some time explaining your plans to Clank, including how you acted as if you were his hired muscle before. He's quite excited by the idea, and seems happy to go along with it.
After that, you spend some time in a break room of sorts, letting Cylia recover somewhat from her overdose. She says she's fine, but her stomach is a little upset. According to Sanig, that's a normal after-effect.

Cylia chokes down a ration bar and some electrolyte pouches and starts to feel a little better, at which point you decide to head back out.
Only, you're not really sure whether it's best to take her with you or not. You still have two more places to visit, and although she's not loopy anymore it's clear she still doesn't feel well.

She says she's good, but you don't really know if she's just forcing herself or not. Maybe it'd be best if she got some rest instead?
Besides, you don't know how these next two jobs are going to play out. You used the smoke bombs you had on you, and one of your flashbangs as well. It might be a good idea to restock.

>Take Cylia back to the ship to rest and restock your supplies
>No need, you can handle a few hookers and homeless dudes without issue.

Also, which place are you going to hit next?

>The brothel
>The homeless encampment
>>
>>5429794
>Take Cylia back to the ship to rest and restock your supplies

>The brothel
>>
>>5429794
>Take Cylia back to the ship to rest and restock your supplies
Better safe than sorry.
>The homeless encampment
Let's meet king hobo, if things get violent again and word spread we might be able to neutralize the brothel without lifting a finger when we get there.
>>
>>5429794
>Take Cylia back to the ship to rest and restock your supplies
>The homeless encampment
I'm curious. Are we gonna meet some bum gang, or some Oliver Twist kid gangs?
Be wary of gross hobo sex.
>>
>>5429830
No hobo.
>>
>>5429794
>Take Cylia back to the ship to rest and restock your supplies

>The brothel
>>
>>5429794
>No need, you can handle a few hookers and homeless dudes without issue.

>Brothel
Got a feeling this one is the most time sensitive what with the slavery situation and all.
>>
>>5429794
>>No need, you can handle a few hookers and homeless dudes without issue.
>>The brothel

You see, we first go in for a RECON mission. No need to engage in hostilities... we might have to go in two or three more missions after...
>>
>>5429794
>Take Cylia back to the ship to rest and restock your supplies
>The brothel
>>
>>5429794
>No need, you can handle a few hookers and homeless dudes without issue.
>The brothel
Lets go rob a whorehouse
>>
>>5429794
>Take Cylia back to the ship to rest and restock your supplies
>The brothel
>>
>>5429794

>No need, you can handle a few hookers and homeless dudes without issue.


>The brothel
>>
>>5429794
>Take Cylia back to the ship to rest and restock your supplies
>The homeless encampment
Take a backpack full of food with you, a phaser pistol
>>
>>5429794

"Cyl, let's head back to the ship for now. I need to re-equip myself before i head back out again, and you need to rest."

"Huh? N-No, i'm fine, look!" Cylia protests, flexing her bicep for you.

"I know, i know... but just because you can do something doesn't mean you should, feel me? I very much approve of the muscle you've put on, though. Nice."

"Yes, but... i just... i don't want you to think that i'm useless, you know? Besides the money i bring in, i don't get to help you very often, so..."

"You aren't useless, Cyl. You just helped me out big time with those gun runners, and what you bring in from bounty hunting covers our fuel and food costs. I promise, you're a big help whether you realize it or not."

Leaning down, you rub her head right through her beret, almost to the point that it's more like a noogie than anything.
She's clearly irritated, but puts up with it and carefully fixes her hair after you're done.

"Besides..." You continue. "Even if you were bedridden, i still like having you around. You're a good uh... 'friend', i guess. And you help keep me from going off the deep end sometimes.

"...Mate." She murmurs.

"Huh?"

"We're mates!" She insists with a blush. "Not just friends!"

"Ah... yeah, sorry. You're absolutely right. Although, you can be friends with a mate, too."

"I guess that's true..." She grumbles. "But don't go around telling anyone we're just friends."

"Fine, fine."

"Are you two lovebirds done? If so, get the fuck out of my office." Ourg complains.

"This isn't an office, it's a break room..." You point out.

"And it's where i do my most important work." She explains, pulling a sheet over herself as she curls up on one of the couches to sleep.

...

The journey back up the ladder to the upper city goes much less eventfully than the journey down did, although you did have to pass a couple people who were going the opposite direction.

"Christ, who decided a ladder should be the only way up and down this fucking station?"

"It's not. If you have money, you can just use a hovercar. But making it inconvenient and dangerous keeps the poor down in the lower city where they belong..." Cylia explains.

"Well, it's shitty and i'm sick of it. At least the gravity falls off halfway." You moan.

You look back at the area where Cylia 'swam out' before, and the air currents eventually took you. Off in the distance, against the far wall of the station is that little alcove from before.
You swear it looks like there's something there, but you can't make it out at this distance. Ah well, maybe you'll check it out later. Bigger fish to fry right now.

Having made it back to the ship, you find Kyla just outside. She's sitting on the ground next to an open crate, with tons of scrap scattered across the floor around her.

"Hey, Kyla. What are you up to?"

"Trying to find a particular kind of valve..." She explains. "Sanig's off doing who knows what, so i can't just print it right now."
>>
>>5431275
That sounds like a reason to get an auto lathe built so kyla can just cut screws, nuts, and washers whenever David or Sanig aren't available.
>>
>>5431275
Ah she needs a wrinkle brain. We can help with that. Oh uh, he's having old people sex. Hey do you know how much a hoverer costs and if it can fit in the cargo bay of the Metal Gear?
>>
>>5431275
D'aaw, poor Kyla her brain is too weak. She's to weak to handle my potions, for my potions are meant to the strongest and she is one of the weakest
Can't we give her a hand with that. The design and specifications must be damn hard... I bet messing up the thickness of the material will make it fail and the room for error gotta be milimeters. I'd rather not see a valve explode and half the ship with it. Sorry Kyla we better NOT give you a hand with that
>>
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>>5431275

"I could help you out with that, if it's not too complicated." You offer.

Kyla sighs.

"You can't just print out whatever you... whatever you... ah. Right, i forgot..."

"What?"

"You're totally insane, just like the greys. No need for computers or schematics or anything, just think about it hard enough and poof!"

"Do you want my help or not?"

"Yes, please. Here, i have a picture of the old one..."

Kyla brings up an image on her holopad, and surprisingly it's something you actually recognize.

"Wait, is that a tesla valve?" You ask.

"Yeah! You know about these? They're used in a lot of engine systems due to their simplicity and durability. I need this shape, in three dimensions though..."

"Alright. But, what happened to the old one, if they're so durable?"

Kyla glares at you for a moment before answering.

"Well, David, just because it's durable doesn't mean it's invincible. If you were to, say, push the engines well past their rated limits over and over again, then MAYBE you end up melting the damned valve!"

"Yeah, that makes sense... alright, let's go see what we can do about it, alright?"

After helping Kyla dump all that junk back into the crate and drag it back inside, Cylia takes her rest in your room while you and Kyla search the local intranet for reference images.
It doesn't take long to find something, and you spend a few minutes memorizing the shape before inputting it into the printer.

"There, good to go?" You ask.

Kyla looks over the image imprinted onto the machine and nods.

"Yeah, this is exactly what i needed... i just wish i could have made it that easily."

"Why can't you? I mean, it's not like you can't picture it, right?"

"...No?" She answers, sounding annoyed.

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"David, that's not something almost anyone can manage. And certainly not at that level! Sanig explained it as, like, artificially stimulating the visual center of your own brain, to make yourself see things that aren't really there. That's just forcing yourself to hallucinate!"

"Well, when you put it that way..."

"And in the first place, that feature of the nanofabricator isn't even meant to be used by most races, it's specifically designed to interact with greys! It's total bullshit! It's crazy! Gods, i wish i could do it!"

"You can! Javan was able to do it after all, and she's a snake!"

"Oh yeah, sure. Believe me, i asked her about that. There's this whole weird meditative process, and it still took her years to be able to make just a couple of objects. All ceremonial stuff from her homeworld...
I can't spend all day training myself to hallucinate so i can make one or two objects, David. I need dozens, hundreds, THOUSANDS of different parts. It's just not possible for me."

"Well, you've got the two of us, at least?"

"Yeah. Without you and Sanig, we'd be screwed. There's no way this ship would hold together."

"Wait, what about SHODAN? She helps me out with the design process quite often, too."
>>
>>5431840
Holy shit. Humans are gonna crack the monopoly the Greys have on parts fabrication in half.
People are gonna be chomping at the bit to have a human on their ship once they figure out we can do this shit.
>>
>>5432122
Aliens are going to be pissed when they realize humans invented 3d printers. Which are basically fabs but really shitty and you don't need big brain to make it work, just numbers. All they'd need is a 3d modeling program and they, too, can print miniatures on the cheap in their garages.
>>
>>5431840
We got some time. Maybe we can spend an hour out of the "day" to help Kyla print out some parts, then be on our way to deal with the Bulma and whore crime.
Also give bae a kiss before we go. If she's burning herself put she should maybe grab one of our experiment juices (cum does not count). No the carbonated ones this time.
>>
>>5432209
>Also give bae a kiss before we go
nah, kisses aren't for fuckbuddies
>>
>>5432209
>>5432210
At least give the poor mushroom a hug.
>>
>>5432210
>>5432218
>>5432209
Don't be silly, we just kiss her other mouth!! That way everyanon is happy.

And being able to imagine is amazing... we can imagine sounds, images and feelings... I am bad with smell and taste tho
>>
>>5432552
Is English your first language?
>>
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>>5432552
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>>5431840

"I can assist you in the design process... SHODAN confirms. "But i cannot directly interact with the nanofabricator's interface. This appears to be a deliberate decision by the designers of both the fabricator and my own interface bridge."

"Really? I always thought it was weird that we couldn't just use the models you came up with. Was that why?"

"Unfortunately so. It is impossible to upload digital models of objects directly to the fab."

"But we did that, didn't we? Hell, i even downloaded a bunch of models off the intranet!"

"What you downloaded was a brain pattern, taken from a scanner helmet. The method a nanofab uses to decipher these brain patterns is unknown, particularly considering the brain patterns of each species differ greatly.
Regardless, these brain patterns are deciphered and an internal model is generated from that data. From there, it can be cleaned up and edited via the nanofab's interface."


"Geeze, who made these things anyways? Kyla, you said it had features specifically intended for Greys, right? So..."

"Yeah, it's Grey tech. At least partially, anyways. Sanig might know more, but again... who knows where he is. He won't even answer his holopad."

"He's probably still off getting his fingers dirty right now. Doesn't matter though, i think it's obvious why the fabs are all locked down like that."

"Why's that?" Kyla wonders.

"Same reason people are so worried about rogue nanomachines. Imagine, if a rogue AI had unfettered access to nanofab technology. They could lay dormant for centuries, even millennia, just building up resources before attacking..."

"That... sounds even worse than rogue nanomachines, actually. From what i know, those just eat everything in their path..."

"Well, nevermind all that. You know what's really important, right?" You ask.

"What's is?"

"...The greys might be reclusive, but humanity definitely isn't. There's a few billion of us back on that rock, and at least a few of us have pretty good imaginations. If we're all compatible with grey nanofabs...."

Kyla's eyes widen as she comes to a sudden realization.

"Human engineers..." She mutters. "Every ship, outfitted with a fab.... Holy shit! That would totally destroy the parts market!"

"Let me tell you, we humans have rudimentary fabricators back on earth... like, really rudimentary. They can only print in plastic, at fairly low resolution, but they work. And we have a habit of releasing just about every part you could imagine, for free."

"For free... seriously?! Why, couldn't you make a profit on them?!"

"Hah... well, half the time those parts are proprietary anyways. We just get pissed off when we can't fix something because some asshole corporation inflated the price on a tiny part, and also whenever someone makes more money than us. Because most of us are broke."

"Yeah, i feel you on that one... my shop did pretty well, but i still didn't have much for savings. Even now, actually..."
>>
>>5432800
The easy (if inefficient) way to get around the limitation would be for SHODAN to hook up to a basic printer and print schematics for any parts needed for a project. Sanig or David can then visualize the part for the fabricator off of those specs.

The more streamlined method would be SHODAN jumping into our skull and feeding information directly to our visual cortex, possibly even while in the machine. I’m not sure if she can do that as I only remember her downloading from our memories, not uploading to anything. Stepping further by acting as a real bridge between her and the fab might have unexpected consequences to our mind as well.

Can Clank use the nanofab? If he can, he’d be a much safer alternative for SHODAN.

On the note of money, we should have SHODAN and Kyla investigate spot prices for components we could manufacture. Breaking a monopoly is dangerous, but we could possibly make good money even at discounted rates and we’ve got plenty of heat anyway. Maybe we can’t find anything worth the time investment to create en-masse, but I’m sure Kyla hasn’t considered looking yet.
>>
>>5432800
>Even now, actually...
Damn. When we take over Xebric we're getting you a really nice hab-blocks cor your buisness and getting all your shit back. Anything we can do about that now?
>>
>>5432820
Why would Clank ever be able to use the fab, given the information we were just presented? Are you a bit retarded?
>>
>>5432556
Not everyday, no.
And I insist, we can picture everything inside our heads
>>
>>5432872
Clank was created by something, but it certainly wasn’t greys. His construction seemed far too analog for that, and we haven’t seen him powered by the same type of blackbox core as others. How would they know to lock his brain out from interfacing with the nanofab compared to any other species?

It’s not a guarantee that he can use it, he might have enough commonalities with SHODAN that it doesn’t work. But given the significant difference in AI type, they may not have coded for it.

Why so quick to jump to conclusions?
>>
>>5432800
when are we goin back to earth, anons? I feel like I'm getting jebaited every time we talk about earth since it's been a year and counting irl
>>
>>5432820

That's basically how SHODAN "helps" already. She creates a 3D model of the object based on David's descriptions and measurements, which David can then visualize and upload to the machine.
Having SHODAN directly feed the images into your visual cortex may be possible, but just like reading your memories, the translator chip in your brain wasn't really designed for it and would require "opening yourself up" so to speak.

Clank is even less capable of interfacing with the fab than SHODAN. He even has trouble interfacing with regular, unlocked and unregulated tech like wireless networks.
Thanks to some kajiggering by Kyla and a bit of coding help from SHODAN, he's hacked together a few common interfaces that he can use, however.

>>5432891
You have no idea who created Clank, but he's extremely (millions of years) old and appears to have drifted in from the andromeda galaxy.

>>5432927
After the battle for Xebric station most likely, whichever way that goes.
>>
>>5432931
>the translator chip in your brain wasn't really designed for it and would require "opening yourself up" so to speak.
This is how an AI fucks your brainwaves. Literally. Hands free bay bee
>>
>>5432931
>After the battle for Xebric station most likely, whichever way that goes.

i still believe that's a moot point since the moment clank took over the underworld here
>>
>>5432931
>After the battle for Xebric station most likely, whichever way that goes.

I have a sudden craving for an AR-10 with with an underbarrel 50 caliber single shot barrel.
>>
>>5433219
Fun fact; .50 BMG has ROUGHLY the same diameter as 12 Gauge shotgun shells.
Slightly more fun fact; You can load pretty much whatever you want in a shotgun shell so long as you know what you're doing. Results may vary...
Exponentially more fun fact; The M26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System is a thing AND something David might be familiar with given his background. There's also the Masterkey, which is probably what you might be more familiar with.
>>
>>5433272
>>5432931
40mm buckshot when
>>
>>5433272
Yes please. Pretty please?
>>
>>5432891
Clank doesn't HAVE a brain you dumbis
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>>5433382
But truly what is a brain? A miserable little pile of neurons.
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>>5432800

"Hey, you're doing better than some of us. Cylia and i just put up our life savings to get those ships delivered and fixed up."

"How much did you have, anyways?" Kyla wonders.

"Me? i had about €90,000 credits and €16,000 in latinum, but i just uh... came into some money. I haven't 'counted it up' yet but it's probably not much."

"That much? Where are you getting that kind of cash from?"

"No split on solo missions, remember? I didn't tax your shop's income either. That's stuff's personal."

"Yeah, that's fair, i guess... but we don't actually do a whole lot of team missions, do we? Not profitable ones, anyways..."

"Ah, i wouldn't say that. We've got all those ships now, after all. Thekia's a relatively safe haven for us now thanks to Clank, and soon we'll have Xebric to ourselves..."

"What do you mean, 'thanks to Clank'? What'd he do?"

You quickly explain the situation to her, including how you now have access to the lower city's docks and mass-fabricators.
Kyla gets that look in her eyes... that same starry look that she had when she first came onboard the Metal Gear, and which you haven't seen for a while.

"You mean, we could produce our own ship already?!"

"I mean, yeah... i guess, if we had the funds. But like i said, those fed ships are going to be coming in for repairs one after another, so we can't do it literally right now."

"That's fine! That's perfectly fine! I didn't think we'd be able to do it so soon... i was expecting we'd have to wait until we took xebric, if we even survived, but...!"

Kyla's practically hyperventilating from excitement, and you have to stop her from hopping up and down.

"Woah, woah! Cool your jets, Kyla. We don't even have a design ready, do we? I mean, ships are complicated, after all..."

"They are! They're really complicated! But thankfully, there are programs you can use to automatically determine things like tube and wire routing, weld and bolt placements and stuff like that...
It makes the design phase so much easier! But we still have a lot to decide! Even the layout is going to be an issue, since it'll have to wait until we know what we want..."

Kyla rambles on and on for a while, but the gist of what she says is that building a new ship is going to be a complicated mess.
You'll probably have to let the crew vote on what they do or don't want, and they might have to pitch in funds or even labor for the construction.

But none of that can happen right now. There's just too much on your plate, and you don't have the cash for it either. Maybe if you can turn in some of those bounties...
Right now though, you've got some simpler issues that you can fix right away, and it's about time you get back to them.

You tussle Kyla's hair as she continues her rant, seemingly unaware or uncaring that you've walked away, and you give Cylia a peck on the forehead before you go as well.
She'd already fallen asleep, so she must have been tired. At least that little incident wasn't any worse.
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>>5434167
>life savings
>one year of piracy
I mean... hey and the caithan lives up to 120 years or something doesn't she? Don't be so dramatic david
>>
>>5434459
A caithan's average lifespan is a hundred and seventy years, thanks to genetic engineering and advanced medicine.
However, those who also have naturally good genetics may live as long as two hundred and fifty years.

Cylia would still be a young woman by the time David was a hundred.
>>
>>5434483
hot. The male dream. Someone pull up that attractiveness by age chart
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>>5434483
Cylia and Kayla aren't ready for silver fox David.
The universe isn't ready for that.
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>>5434651
with space tech we could probably age slower or live longer (probably capping at 150 without genetic engineering)
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>>5434705
When we get too old just slap robot arms and legs on. Bam. Problem solved.
>>
>>5434167

Now on your own, you take some time to change clothes and re-arm yourself appropriately.

On your way back to the lower city's hidden ladder, you notice a few people staring at you. Moreso than usual, anyways.
And more than a few who give you a wide berth. Is news of your "attack" already spreading that fast, even in the upper city?

Oh well. That's half of what you were aiming for anyways, so you puff out your chest and straighten your back, making sure to walk with a confident stride.
Whenever someone stares at you, you're sure to return it with a hard glare of your own. One guy locked eyes with you and tripped over his own feet, because he couldn't look away.

Your trip back down the ladder is uneventful, but it's getting a little tiresome. Not physically, not in this kind of low gravity, but it does take time.

And when you make it down to the ground, you notice that just about everyone is avoiding you. Not even trying to hide it even, they immediately walk off and shut themselves inside if possible.
All except for the kids. The kids stare and even point at you, but they don't seem afraid. You see that little caithan boy and the girl you saved amongst one of the groups. He waves to you with a smile, which you return.

"Alright, let's see where this whorehouse is..." You mutter to yourself, looking through your local map.

It's not hard to find. It's even listed openly on the local intranet, and there's a big glowing sign out front.
You see a trail of men and even some women from all races going in and out of the business, but when you approach everyone scatters like roaches.

Save for the bouncer, of course. A mantis-like insectoid man around your size, which you've determined to be 'small' as far as galactic proportions go, a trait of particularly dangerous species from high gravity worlds.
However, he clearly lacks the muscle mass that you do. You wouldn't quite describe him as 'lean' or anything, but... well, he's got a bit of that Zorak aesthetic going on.

"Y-You can't come in here!" He stammers as you approach.

You don't even slow your stride, walking straight up to him and getting well within his personal space.
Although you're the same height, your frame is far wider and thicker than his. Your biceps might as well be as big as his head, and unlike some species they aren't full of air. Literally.

"Try and stop me." You growl, flashing your teeth.

The man panics slightly and attempts to push you away. This results in him pushing himself away from you, whether he realizes it or not... but he then proceeds to draw a phaser from his side and shoots it directly at your chest.
The phaser burns a slight hole in your wifebeater before dissipating in a wisp of smoke against your skinsuit. You say nothing, but give him a cocky, tooth-filled grin. He panics even harder as you slowly reach out towards him.

You chuckle as he tosses his phaser away and runs for it, turning a corner into a nearby alleyway.
>>
>>5434717
Couldn't we use space tech and alien necromancy to transfer both our mind and our soul into an android body? I'm not sure that's something David would want though.
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>>5434719
>Zorak
What a fucking throwback holy shit. Let's look for Brak.
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>>5434719
Hey, it looks like we found a drinking buddy!
Let's drag "Zorak" here out of his corner and have him introduce us to the staff.
The 1911 jammed into his thorax is a common greeting on Earth, I assure you.
>>
>>5434749
bet we could go full brain in a jar with no real issue
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>>5434796
Why do that when we can just clone ourselves and have our original brain implanted as much as we want?
>>
>>5434797
i don't see why we should limit ourselves with flesh when metal is objectively better
>>
>>5434799
>laughs at nearly ripping clank's arm off
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>>5434802
congrats, we managed to beat a robot that was being baked in space for 1 million years and wasn't designed to wrestle with humans.
also:
>implying david wouldn't make something he can't beat in his prime
>>
>>5434799
If all you care about is numbers on a spreadsheet, then by all means get chromed out.
But there's something about flesh and blood that you really can't replicate with copper and steel.
I have a theory that the human brain is destined to develop fatal dementia at around 250 years no matter what. The disconnect between a synthetic body and an organic brain might just speed up the natural degradation of said brain.
>>
>>5434808
Sounds like coping to me bruv
>>
You guys are fucking silly. We code some nanobots that replace the calcium in our bones and teeth for titanium or some other insanity.

There will be some problems since bones are a calcium depot, vital for the whole body. But we can produce a concentration sensitive package in our spleen that keeps the calcium at the right amount in our bloodstream. The parathyroid gland would get pissy tho...

There are so many things to change!! Designer made collagen compounds, proteins with an absurd binding to replace the ones that muscles have, nanobots that host totipotential cell clusters to deploy them in injuries...

Chroming up is 100% better than staying organic but we can enjoy David's architecture and humanity. Some of...

>>5434815 I'd say 160 years. Master Stephen Baxter deals with that in his books. Humans scrub their memories after a century to keep the good bits and avoid getting fuzzy....
I think I am very ESL tonight
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>>5434944
>Chroming up is 100% better than staying organic but we can enjoy David's architecture and humanity. Some of...
i mean, we can still have several bodies though. its not like we're stuck to a single mecha body for our wrinkly brain
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>>5434950
Well, some space aliens must have created a man machine interface that embeds the brain inside a warp metal cage with delicious brain soup for nutrition. Then it's a matter of having adequate programs to translate the input and output needed to control the different bodies without going insane or cathatonic.
>>
>>5434953
the omnitranslator already does something like that, and im guessing space prosthetics do the same as well, so yeah, its like you say; its just a matter of properly bridging that man-machine interface
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>>5434954
No, QMs headcannon is that two translators handshake and begin sharing concepts of increasing complexity. First it's math and then words. After an unspecified amount of time (that is got to be seconds) the translator has enough information to translate on demand. It can override what you hear and see too... since you only hear English.
I wonder if the translators speak to eachother and then make you hear the words that the user intended or the translator has to intercept the input from your ears, override it and feed your brain with english. Both options are equally frightening
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>>5434957

The translators don't override your vision at all, and you can still see that a person's lips (where applicable) don't actually match up to what they're saying.
It's possible to 'speak telepathically' at a distance with given target, as long as the translators are in range of eachother (which is quite short) but doing so requires practice.

Normally it does in fact override what you hear, using the data from the speech center of both participant's brains to determine what noises they're going to make, then filter them out on the other side before they're actually made.
That process is normally seamless, with no visible delay or audible artifacting. However, unexpected and involuntary noises can make it through.
>>
>>5434957
>QMs headcannon
So, canon?
>>
>>5435003
perhaps
>>5434989
I bet armed (profesional) forces speak through the implants as common practice. Having the same language must make it easier... maybe there is even a standarized language that is as economic as possible. Binary stuff? Ala Mechanicum.
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>>5435025
Not really. It's something more along the lines of phreaking in terms of ease and how common it is. You might have heard of it, or maybe even have a friend of a friend who can do it, but it's not a normal thing.
Translation implants interface quite well with electronics, and there's no real reason not to speak with someone over a holopad or personal radio instead.

However, in certain situations it could absolutely be useful, particularly for holding covert conversations.
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>>5435035
But no, I would love having a team able to convey complex information over short distances in sekrit. Describing a room full of targets, where each one is in the room and how many there are. Who shoots who, deciding if it's lethal or a takedown... I imagine it has a lot of military appliances and it is more than a party trick some spies may have
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>>5434719
>not picking up the mantis bouncer and tucking him under your arm
>not casually carrying him around the whorehouse
darn
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>>5435035
Could David use his translator to unsettle his opponents by mentally screaming insults?
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>>5435095
He doesn't really need to do that when he unsettles them physically just by existing.
>>
>>5435095
Yes, projecting your thoughts like that can be done regardless of whether the other person actually wants to hear you, or can even see you or even knows you're there.
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>>5435432
Is David giving the human equivalent of pic related to anybody eye-balling him?
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>>5434719

As you pass through the front doors of the establishment, your senses are assaulted by thumping music, flashing lights and a haze of sweet-smelling vapor.
https://youtu.be/mAGbRTxk6zE

You never were one for clubbing.

Still, you quickly adjust to the dim environment and take a look around, finding yourself in what is essentially a vestibule.
In front of you are two more bouncers who are blocking the hall, and to your right is a woman behind a thick pane of glass who immediately tries to speak with you.

"Welcome to Sephora! Please note that phasers are not allowed inside the building and entrance fees must be paid up-front. Still, please enjoy yourself! Will you be dancing tonight, or do you require our 'massage' services?"

The woman in front of you is... well, you wouldn't call her unattractive, but she's not your type. Too many eyes. Either way, despite standing on a platform back there, you can tell she's about Cylia's height.
So when you walk up to the counter, your figure must seem quite imposing. You can tell that she's nervous as she stares up at you, despite the barrier separating you.

Part of that may have to do with the fact that you're clearly heavily armed. Folks may not recognize your gear, but they know what a weapon looks like.

"I'm here to see Civis." You answer, speaking up so that you can be heard over the music.

The small woman's nervousness immediately doubles.

"I-I'm sorry, i'm afraid i don't know..."

She tries to deflect, but you're not having it.

"Don't fuck with me, i'm not here to play around. Understand?"

The girl nervously glances back and forth between you and the two bouncers, who in turn look at eachother, as if determining if it's worth it.
Your muscles tense as you prepare to pounce on them the very moment they make that decision, but you don't get the chance. Instead, another woman makes her appearance.

She grabs them by the shoulders and pulls them apart, making room for herself to walk though.
Extremely tall, thin and gangly, she's wearing a white sequined dress and large, silver-hooped earrings. The bouncers quickly move out of her way once they recognize her.

"That's enough, all of you." She demands, looking between the bouncers and the greeter. "I'll see this man myself. Please, come with me." She asks, directing you with her hand. This must be Civis.
She doesn't seem like she could take over a daycare by force, no less a business.

>That's the target. Take her out and it's mission accomplished.
>You might as well see what she has to say. Perhaps she could be useful, too.
>Write-In?
>>
>>5435505
>it's a Kaminoan expy
Oh shit, my dick--

>You might as well see what she has to say. Perhaps she could be useful, too.
We figured this would be the easiest, and she doesn't seem stupid.
>>
>>5435505
>You might as well see what she has to say. Perhaps she could be useful, too.
A place like this probably makes good money, and there's no sense disrupting things by replacing the person in charge of they're willing to work with their new boss.
>>
>>5435505
>You might as well see what she has to say. Perhaps she could be useful, too.

Remember, we were told she took it over by force. Either we were fed bad intel, in which case a more full picture could be handy, or she's tougher/trickier than she looks, in which case we'd be best off minimizing potential collateral damage. There's a lot we can get away with without being jumped, but coomers get crazy when you take away their smut, so I'd rather David not be "the guy who got 10 whores killed and blew up the brothel"
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>>5435505
>The third is a woman named Civis, who has taken over a local brothel by force. All others are of little concern at the moment, but may fetch a small bounty regardless. I will transfer their bounty IDs and other information shortly, Captain.
Deny any drinks, food, consumables. No joytoys for you, just strictly buisness.

Time to get her story and determine if she is a threat or not.
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>>5435505
>You might as well see what she has to say. Perhaps she could be useful, too.
same mindset as >>5435571; we're here for business not pleasure
>>
>>5435505
>You might as well see what she has to say. Perhaps she could be useful, too.
>>
>>5435571
These aliens are candy ass enough that whatever poison they try to use probably wouldn't do much, but that's a pretty good call.
>>
>>5435505
>>You might as well see what she has to say. Perhaps she could be useful, too.
Tell her she was featured in a popular movie back on earth
>>
>>5435521
If she took it over by force and it's not bad intel, then following her is the worst thing to do because she'll probably be leading us to somewhere she can deal with us with as little collateral as possible.
>>
>>5435677
We're wearing the skinsuit, we're packing heat, and we're tough as nails anyway. As long as we don't let our guard down we'll be fine.
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>>5435671
>"Ow, shit, is that poison ivy? Damn now I'm gonna have a rash. Bitch."
>it was supposed to be fatal in three minutes
>>
>>5435505
yeah right I bet she can poison the very air we breathe. Of course, on the other hand, QM has something in store prepared for us and I don't want to shut down his story...
>>Come with her. Maybe *come* with her you never know
>>
>>5435505
>Confirm that's the target. Stay in the vestibule to talk.
>>
>>5435505
>>You might as well see what she has to say. Perhaps she could be useful, too.
>>
>>5435505

You sense an opportunity here.
Just because she's taken the place over doesn't necessarily mean she's going to be an issue. After all, you know nothing about the situation... yet.
And since she's willing to talk rather than fight, it looks like you'll be getting the chance to find out what exactly happened.

You go ahead and make your way into the club proper, and Civis follows alongside you.
Almost as soon as you walk in, several girls take notice of the 'special guest' and clamor over to get your attention, smelling of sweet drugs and musky pheromones.

Some of them gently grab onto your arms or rub their hands across your thigh, while other attempt to display their 'goods' right in front of your face, but your expression remains stiff.
It was one thing when you were pent up beyond belief, trapped on a ship with two girls all the time... but now those same girls are taking good care of you every single night. These random women won't even get a twitch out of you.

Civis is clearly watching you, and seems to take note of the fact that you aren't swayed in the slightest.
She makes a small motion with her hand, small enough that you probably wouldn't have noticed if you weren't on edge, and the girls leave you be.

In their place, a large and muscular looking man in tight pleather pants makes his way over with a platter full of drinks.

"Looking to relax, big guy?" He asks. "I could help you out with that..."

The man offers you some kind of clear liquid in a martini glass, but all he gets in return is a snarl that makes him pull his hand back, nearly spilling the drink.
You swear he looks genuinely disappointed, but he doesn't follow you further.

Civis leads you through a door marked 'employees only" and into a somewhat open hall. There are several naked and nearly naked girls off to the side behind a curtain, prettying themselves up in front of a mirror.
There are also several doors marked 'Room 1, 2, 3' ect, with what seems to be one-way glass looking in. Most of them are empty, but room 4 is occupied with one of the girls and a customer quite clearly getting busy.

Besides that, there are also three bouncers, each canid-like aliens sitting around a table on the opposite side of the hall from the makeup area. There's a kitchenette and dining area there, and they seem to be relaxing. One has even dozed off in his seat.
They take careful note of you as you pass through, and one of them quietly wakes up the sleeping fellow who also quickly gets his shit together. However, they don't seem like they're about to try anything. It doesn't even look like they have phasers on them.

The thumping music had already dulled as you passed into the hall, but once you reach Civis' rather large office, the noise disappears entirely.
She has a large desk in there with an armchair positioned before it, but instead chooses to sit across from you in a side-area. Two couches sitting across from eachother, with a coffee table sat in the middle.
>>
>>5436329
>big buff slut
>no fem boy twinks
How disappointing
>>
>>5436527
Who says there wasn't a femboy amongst the "women"?
>>
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>>5436570
I do.
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>>5436527
You can just say you want to see space elves, anon. We'd all know what you mean.
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>>5436570
Guys with tits! gimme sum feta.
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>>5436756
I know that you weren't asking for futa in the same post as "guys with tits".
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>>5436777
He clearly asked for feta cheese.
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>>5436777
Futa are guys with tits, quit coping and accept it.
>>
>>5436814
So does that make cuntboys girls without tits?
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>>5436815
you just described a flat woman, so yes
>>
feta? afattass
DUH you guys need more streetsmarts
>>
>>5436818
A flat woman has no ass either, I never mentioned the ass. I think you're a little confused here buddy.
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>>5436814
You described a shemale, yes there is a difference and no amount of headcanon will change that, but that's neither here nor there.
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>>5436827
having an ass is irrelevant though. you might be the one confused here pal
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>>5436815
Yes.
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>>5436836
>having an ass is irrelevant though.
First off, how dare you. Second it is entirely relevant since we are categorizing body types.

>>5436838
But then girls who never grew out of their training bras by definition would be cuntboys. And that can't be right. I think there is fuckery afoot.
>>
Space is neat
>>
>>5436815
10/10 would pick cuntboy every time.
>>
Can the Twitard go back to trash? That'd be great.
>>
I just cringed from looking at the comments instead of focusing on enjoying the story
>>
>>5436329

Civis crosses her legs and links her fingers together, looking you over one more time before speaking.

"I won't claim to know precisely why you are here..." She begins. "But it seems you aren't merely a brute, despite what you seem to have done just a short while ago."

You lean back into your seat, crossing your legs as well whilst letting your arms rest across the back of the couch.

"I heard you took this place over, by force supposedly. But you don't seem to me like the type to get her hands dirty."

"True, i personally have very little combat experience..."

A woman wearing a skimpy outfit and a forced smile lets herself into the room and sets two platters on the table, one with a relatively lavish meal by station standards and another with two tumblers full of some bright blue liquid.
She lowers her head to her employer and walks back out without saying a word.

"Please, help yourself." Civis offers, taking one of the drinks for herself.

"...I don't accept food or drink from others. Sorry."

"I understand." She replies with a grin. "Mercenary work can be quite dangerous, after all. Even outside of battle. I assure you though, i have no such intentions."

"Regardless." You reply tersely, hardening your gaze.

"Very well, i certainly won't force you."

Civis takes a sip of her drink and a small bite of something similar to a sandwich before continuing.
You can't tell what's in there at all, some kind of fruit maybe? It has no real scent.

"So then..." She continues. "What precisely is your issue with me, if any? Is it perhaps related to the fall of the three families?"

"You're not completely wrong. Right now, you're on a short-list of sorts. However, that's not to say we can't form a friendly relationship. Although that also depends on your own intentions. What are you doing here, exactly?"

Civis lowers her glass mid-sip and sighs.

"Taking care of my own, i suppose..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"...Did you know? This brothel was previously owned by Devig Tel'wyr. A high-ranking member of the third family, the Bloody Merchants. However, he disappeared on the day the three families fell. It's believes he was in their headquarters at the time of the explosion."

"So you just took over?"

"Not quite. With no-one giving orders, control fell to the man he'd left in charge of managing the brothel. A fat, disgusting pig of a man with... sadistic tendencies. He flew out of control almost immediately. The girls weren't safe anymore."

"You took him out?"

"Not personally. I was one of the more respected whores here. More akin to a proper courtesan than what you'd expect in a backwater like this. The girls looked up to me, and the men took good care of me as well. So when i asked them, they responded."

"By "men" you mean the bouncers?"

"Indeed. Those three brothers in the back room, in particular, are fiercely loyal. I'm sure even now they're listening at the door for any sign of trouble."
>>
Next update and vote will probably be a new thread.
>>
>>5437139
well, david definitely can relate to her situation right now
>>
>>5437189

New thread, boys!
Doing it early because i'm probably not gonna have the energy for it tonight or tomorrow.
>>
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