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The sun barely shone through the smoke which rose from the earth. Where once sat the centre of a large tropical island with a few small reinforced buildings built into the ground, there are now no signs of visible life. All plant life has been killed, the place looks like a warzone... and there is a crater which is at least a few miles wide and several miles deep. Buried underneath scorched metal and chunks of rubble now rest the remnants of a vast, underground facility... One can even see the remaining underground structures, which are now exposed to the outside world... And in the centre of the crater, sits a large, newly installed structure clearly built to contain something, protected by soldiers...

The thousands of people who worked here are either dead or buried somewhere underneath all of this rubble... they may think their worst day has already past, but things are only going to get worse from here. Far, far worse.

------------------------------------------------------

Alpha Copernicus is a mostly oceanic planet with various volcanic islands. One of these small, remote islands hosts the Valulori Research Centre for Monster Girl Subjects (often referred to as simply the Valulori Monster Girl Centre or VMGC). This facility is one of a few known, yet still secretive, research centres for genetic modification run by the government. It has focused on creating monster girls for usage around the galaxy.

Monster girl creation is quite a new sector, one which isn't well known to the public. The main goal of the sector has been to craft efficient and highly intelligent creatures who use a mixture of organic- and nanotech-based to do various tasks. These tasks range from simple menial labour, to more dangerous and high risk tasks in hazardous environments. There have even been confirmed cases of subjects being created for military purposes...

Of course, given how new this sector of genetic modification is, the ethics surrounding monster girl creation has not been addressed very well. What is known about Valulori is that treatment of monster girls in the facility was... acceptable at best and an abuse of basic human rights at worst. Despite that, the government kept sending money and material to the facility to ensure work continued.

Because of the unknowns of the sector, the secrecy and the lack of ethics, it was unsurprising that a disaster like this would eventually occur... Details are sparse, especially given the planet's status as a closed-off research planet. But reports have slipped through the cracks, indicating that a huge blast occurred after a skirmish with a rogue subject. Few have seemed to survive, and the rogue subject has allegedly been terminated. However, due to a classified ability she was designed to have, any and all staff and subjects who are still left in the ruins are now deemed security threats to the government. Death Squads have thus been called in to cleanse the place before rebuilding can be done.
>>
The question now is... what role do you play in this disaster?

------------------------------------------------------

Your options are between the following three groups:

Scientist
a researcher at Valulori, you've dedicated your life to helping out in the creation of Monster girls. Whether you did so with love and care for your creation, or a desire for success (or just sheer apathy), none of it matters now as you have to likely fend for yourself... And not just from some of the abused creatures who were created in what remains of this place.

Choosing this path gives you access to several important features to traversing the ruins of this facility. A map (maybe a bit outdated due to the blast wiping out a large part of the facility), a keycard to access certain locations and an innate knowledge of the place. This comes at the cost of no special abilities or tricks. Not to mention, some subjects being quite eager to get their hands/claws/other things on you...

Finally, we can discuss if you've had any experience creating subjects. This can already mean you may have some old friends and foes... and more importantly, if you're more of a target to subjects and the death squads.

Subject
a monster girl created by a scientist. You've spend the past few years being trained, cared for and growing through specific needs... or being abused! Subjects were generally treated... pretty poorly in the facility. Some were treated like actual people, but most were unfortunately seen more as tools designed for a single purpose. Whether you are in the same boat or not, is up to you to decide.

Choosing this path will allow you to focus on specific skills and talents which may fit for your subject. Claws, wings, stealth, even some more 'out there' abilities can be found in subjects. You are also not limited to just eating regular food, potentially feeding on raw materials or even things like warmth! You can also pick various sizes, ranging from small, insect-sized subjects to massive creatures. Of course, this comes with its own benefits and consequences... after all, a big monster girl is a big target...

Soldier
A soldier from a death squad. You know just one thing... there's shit going on in the remnants of this place, and you and other men need to cleanse this place. Subjects, scientists, staff members, all are valid targets who need to be gotten rid of. Why you may ask? Don't question it, unless if you wanna get sent elsewhere.

Choosing this path will give you a whole lot of tools and fellow soldiers to work with to get around the place. Due to the number of death squads which have been hired, there are various things you can focus on. You can be a scout, a specialist who takes out major threats, a trapper, even a pyromaniac if you enjoy the screams of these foul inhuman creatures. Of course, depending on the death squad you pick, you may be working with... less than sane individuals, so make sure you choose wisely where you operate.
>>
This quest will be mostly story focused, though in a rather freeform manner. What your goal is in this place is mostly up to you and based on the character which you decide to create. Do you want to explore the place and figure out it's mysteries? Or do you just want to shoot shit and cleanse this place of monsters? It's all up to you guys. Regardless, I will always give options for what you can do, but you can also send in your own choices for what you wish to do.

It should also be noted that this isn't just my first quest, but also my first ever post on 4chan! I've never been a QM before, but a friend who has been a QM recommended I give this a try based on this setting which we have used for RP. So, given my inexperience, I hope it won't be too boring, slow or tedious or anything like that. This also means that help and recommendations are also really appreciated. I wanna make sure this is an experience people can enjoy.
>>
>Subject

Good luck QM, just don't flake.
>>
>>5810409
>Subject
mamono it is
>>5810410
>I've never been a QM before, but a friend who has been a QM recommended I give this a try based on this setting which we have used for RP.
so you have xp playing d&d and/or others ttrpg ? I'm curious for what's gonna happen
>>
>>5810425
I don't have too much experience with D&D, but have plenty of experience with homebrew text-based RPs. I've already done this setting with the aforementioned QM friend which went pretty well. As for what will happen, it really depends on what group people want to play as. I imagine people may wanna investigate the whole disaster or just meet some of the survivors in this giant mess.
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>>5810409
>Soldier
>>
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>>5810422
I know where OP is, I’ll make sure he doesn’t.
>>5810409
Solider. <3 you clogman.
>>
>>5810409
>Soldier
Monstergirl hunting death squad sounds cool
>>
>>5810409
>Subject
I wish to be the girl.
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>>5810439
And that should be soldier. Fucking phoneposting.
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Soldier
>>
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>>5810409
soldier
>>
>>5810409

>Soldier

All foul halfbreeds must be purged
>>
>>5810409
>subject
>>
Quite stoked to see there's already quite a few replies. I'll call the vote some time tomorrow evening... so, I'll make a wild guess and say 18 hours from now. I'm not exactly specific when it comes to schedules, so it may be a bit later than that. Regardless, I'll also answer any questions people may have in the meantime.
>>
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>Soldier

WOLFGIRL PUSSY WOLFGIRL PUSSY WOLFGIRL PUSSY WOLFGIRL PUSSY WOLFGIRL PUSSY WOLFGIRL PUSSY
>>
>>5810504
You would be shooting the wolfgirl though. If anything the harem MC option is scientist.
>>
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>>5810409
Soldier
>>
>>5810513
Trust me, that is not a guaranteed outcome.
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>>5810515
If it ain't human, it dies.
>>
>>5810519
What if it's not even alive at all, like a robot? Do we shoot that half as much or twice as much? How about aliens?
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>>5810404
>Soldier
>>
>>5810515
Given the vast majority of waifufags will likely ditch if they don't get their monster girl, I highly doubt the guys going full on purge and doom meme posting will be amicable to not murder everything and everyone they come across. In fact I'd not be surprised if they like the idea of killing what they consider waifu's. At best you'll be a necrophiliac.

>>5810522
It says the facility is of genetic modification and the subjects themselves are made of organic and nanotech. So, I presume that they are humans that were turned into monster girls or were created by the facility itself. I guess there might be a cyborg girl somewhere there though.
>>
>>5810534
>You would be shooting the wolfgirl though.
>that is not a guaranteed outcome.

So essentially, you’ve just reiterated exactly what I said. Congratulations.
>>
>>5810534
Never discount the possibility of aliens, man. And everyone knows nanomachines wind up being a big mistake in half of all media. Gray goo girls must be destroyed. As well as the 3d printer they've hijacked to make plastic robo bodies. Ah we should have brought a briefcase nuke. Alas.

>>5810538
So basically he just restated what you spoke. Nice.
>>
>>5810540
Not to mention I know the OP, as in I’ve known him for a few years know. I know what the guy likes, what he tolerates and what he absolutely won’t do.
>>
>>5810542
Will he let me put an egg in his microwave for three minutes?
>>
>>5810543
Perhaps
>>
>>5810538
...Yep you'll 100% be the only guy not saying to shoot the wolfgirl before her brains are splattered.
>>
>>5810522
>Ayys
They cannot be suffered to live

>Robotgrill
Perhaps...
>>
>>5810550
I love democracy.
>>
>>5810550
Problem, AGPnigger?
>>
>>5810409
>Subject
>>
>>5810409
Subject
>>
>>5810409
>Soldier
>>
>>5810409
>Subject
>>
>>5810409
>Subject
>>
>Scientist
>>
>>5810409
>Soldier
>>
>>5810409
>Scientist
>>
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>>5810409
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>>5810409
>>5811255
Soldier
>>
Alright, results of the vote are as follows:
Subject: 8
Scientist: 2
Soldier: 12

Sorry to all those who voted for Subject and Scientists. The choice has been made. I hope you can still enjoy participating with the quest...

Either way, Soldier it shall be!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was not every day you were sent on a mission like this... Most of the time you were called to deal with some kind of local threat, Some bureaucrat or oligarch telling you about a small scale rebellion which was treated like 'just some random local security threat'. You'd kill some people, you and your men got paid, and you would be hired elsewhere for similar work by equally shady folks. Now though, you were called in along with several other Death Squads for a huge cleansing operation with 'unknown, high-risk threats' as your opponent. And not only were it not the standard contractors who called you over this time. No, this time it was obvious that the actual galaxy-wide government had contacted you and your men. Bit odd given that some parts of the government 'wanted' to squash death squad activities... but hey, it seemed someone was needed to do the government's dirty work.

The only thing you were told as you were let into that unmarked, secretive spacecraft was that whatever happened during this mission would NEVER be allowed to be discussed once you were done with the mission.

After swiftly accepting, you and your men entered the spacecraft and hyper-jumped to the mysterious planet you had heard so many rumours about. It looked... rather peaceful and quaint, like a resort planet reserved for high ranking officials. Yet, you already could tell something huge was going on. There were numerous capital ships in orbit, dozens of check-ups as you reached the quarantine line around the planet. It seemed everything which came to or left the planet was checked up most thoroughly. Most importantly, once you headed down to the planet, you saw where you were heading... a black speck in the middle of a large deep blue ocean. A black spot which looked almost like a volcano from orbit. Though as your ship went down to the surface of the planet, you quickly realised that it wasn't a volcano. Not even close.

Several death squads had been hired for this job. Guess the government needed as many types of clandestine, private military forces to deal with this unknown threat. Which brings us to the first key question:

which death squad were you a part of?[i/]
>>
Diamond dogs:
With a focus on terror and control, diamond dogs are one of the more... aggressive death squads which have been hired. They tend to use flamethrowers, power-rifles and sonic weaponry to inflict pain and incite fear. Their strategy generally follows a swift rush-down style of attack to overwhelm weak-willed enemies and ensure quick defeats. Though they generally do not have the tools necessary for long attrition fights against targets with high morale.
Total squad size: About 350 men.

Heathen:
Heathen is a more calm and patient death squad, with a huge focus being on stealth and traps. They utilise flashbangs, stun guns and other tools to hurt the senses or immobilize targets with the goal of locking their movement to specific areas so they can be easily dealt with. They will work excellently in already documented areas of the facility which they will know the ins and outs of, however unknown zones may be a bit riskier in turn.
Total squad size: 350 men

Blackstar:
The main scouting force, Blackstar's combat doctrine emphasises surviving their opponents while weakening them. They therefore usually have higher resilience through power armour and tools necessary for tracking their targets. This also allows them to operate far into the innards of the ruined facility. However, this comes at the cost of firepower, with their members mostly being limited to using lightweight weaponry meant to deal with small, manageable threats. Therefore, facing larger, high resilience forces can be troublesome for them.
Total squad size: 500 men

Heroes:
Given their focus on swift and merciless assassinations with highly lethal yet precise weaponry, it's unsurprising that 'Heroes' is perhaps one of the more brutal death squads which have been brought in. They are mainly chosen for missions where there is a single high threat level target. Because of that, they have highly expensive and specialized equipment available to them. However, given their focus on specific targets, they can't really afford to use their expensive weaponry on low level threats. Fortunately, the squad is more than happy to use terror tactics (and war crimes, but who cares about crimes against these creatures) against low level targets to either reduce their morale so other death squads can have an easier job dealing with these targets in the future, or to simply trap them and let cheaper forces take down the targets
Total squad size: About 200 men.

Lodger:
The all-rounder death squad. They aren't truly specialized in anything, so they can be employed for a variety of tasks. Guarding specific sectors, acting as support for other groups, setting up logistics, menial labour, they can be employed for practically anything. They got the widest range of equipment, though none of it will ever be on par with the material from the other groups.
Total squad size: 1400 men
>>
>>5811436
>Blackstar
>>
>>5811436
>Lodger:
Men win battles but logistics wins wars.
>>
So, time to vote for the preferred death squad. Whichever death squad you're a part of, you're going to be leading 5-10 men from it in an even smaller group. You're going to be commanding this group. Just try and not to waste your men and equipment.

Also, remember that you'll obviously have a bit more liberty to how you command your men to do things. If you can think of a specific strategy for a specific threat and have the tools necessary to pull it off, you may use it. These groups are just for what kind of strategy you will specialize in and what you'll have the tools for.

Voting can begin now. Vote will be open for around 24 hours, but I may extend it by a few more hours if I feel like there are still people trickling into the vote after the 24 hours have passed.
>>
>>5811436
>Heathen
Let's become the trap master
>>
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>>5811436
>Lodger
Logistics is the bridge which every army marches across, and poor logistics cannot bear the weight of a full army.
>>
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Those squad names look familiar. Watch a squad member be nicknamed the Thin White Duke or something. Annoying subject wasn't chosen but whatever, lets kill monster girls I guess.

>Blackstar
>>
>>5811436
>Lodger
if we have to scour the facility we're gonna be here a while, and so being able to fight a war of attrition is crucial. plus if they have a wide range of equipment they can still do terror tactics while being able to do other stuff.
>>
By the way, someone mentioned I should probably elaborate that all of the mentioned death squads will be in the facility. This is just a vote for which group you'll be a part of. So, even if you opt not to go with Blackstar, they will still be there and scouting various locations. Lodger will also be present, along with their logistics. (though voting for them does mean you'll get easier access to said logistics). Hope people didn't already vote based on the idea that it'll just be the one voted for death squad down there.

>>5811453
Definitely tempted to have that be the nickname for one of them now. Also, should note that there is in fact an arachne who will be nicknamed 'The Drider from Mars'.
>>
>>5811436

>Lodger

Seems more fun to play as the “run of the mill” type first
>>
>>5811430
damn it, mercfags really turned the tide, hmm ? welp, at least I can still try to get myself captured and perhaps made into a monster
>>5811436
>Blackstar
>>
>>5811436
>Heroes

Lets kill and die motherfuckers
>>
>>5811693
They didn't really turn the tide so much as were the tide outright given how many voted to be soldier, surprisingly. We almost had a come back though, and could maybe have tied it if the two scientist anons went subject instead. But, here we are.
>>
>>5811693
What the fuck are you, An Alp in the making, soldier? I'll put you to the firing wall first, motherfucker
>>
>>5811693
>I can still try to get myself captured and perhaps made into a monster

That’s not a thing in the setting. This isn’t MGEwank.
>>
>>5811693
>>5811700
While I doubt it'll happen given the blatantly obvious and the players that voted soldier in the first place, we don't know how subjects are made. So, it maybe is possible.
>>
>>5811704
I can send a screenshot from DMs with OP if you’d like proof.
>>
>>5811705
Well, if the QM is fine with them being posted, go for it.
>>
>>5811693
The mercenary way of life is the superior one. Tied to a band of brothers, self serving as they are, is superior to some forced notion such as a homeland or genetic identity. But I don't think you'd understand that.
>>
>>5811697
I didn't expect to win but voted scientist anyway on principle. We'll just have to do our best as a soldier and not be a cringy edgelord about it.
>>
>>5811436
>Heathen
Curious is the trapmaker's art
>>
>>5811706
>>5811704
I'll elect to keep this a secret for now. Fortunately, as a soldier, I'm sure some higher-ups are more than willing to tell you a bit about the subject creating process (in case for some godforsaken reason everyone really wants to go through that)
>>
>>5811710
Knowing you'd lose yet voting anyway is something I can respect. Still, we might have a chance at not being a murder hobo given how few people are voting for the murder hobo squads, which is a pleasant surprise.
>>
>>5811710
>I didn't expect to win but voted scientist anyway on principle.
Pretty based.
>>
>>5811713
Having secrets to discover will probably make it more fun, so I'd vote for not tell us too much
>>
>>5811436
>DIAMOND DOGS
INTO THE BREACH LADS
>>
>>5811436
>Lodger
Time to be a Logi Main
>>
>>5811705
>I can send a screenshot from DMs with OP if you’d like proof.
where were you talking with OP in the first place ?
>>
>>5811773
MySpace
>>
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>>5811775
>>
>>5811775
This is obvious BS.
>>
>>5811436
>Lodger
>>
>>5811436
>Lodger
>>
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>>5811436
>Lodger
>>
Vote has been called! Results are the following:
Diamond dogs: 1
Heathen: 2
Blackstar: 3
Heroes:1
Lodger: 8

-----------------------------------

Despite the fact that Lodger was in fact a fully fledged death squad, it had been a somewhat pleasant death squad to be a part of. Being a platoon commander wasn't always easy of course. It was even to be expected given the secrecy and the highly controversial missions you all participated in. But leading in Lodger was likely far easier than having a leading role in Heroes or Diamond Dogs. Really, joining this group had been a smart choice.

While a sense of comradery wasn't... exactly something you'd expect to find in your average Death Squad, you could tell that Lodger was at least a group where you could put some trust in your men. You knew the small squadron of soldiers you led would not just disobey orders or seek out glory for themselves. They would support you and fight by your side, even if they barely knew anything about you...

Who are you exactly? Who is the man who your platoon trusts to lead them?

-----------------------------------

Name: Write in suggestions if you feel like it. If there are no choices, I can write a fitting name as well or just stick to 'Anon' or whatever people prefer.
Weaponry: Various options are available. Simple rifles and pistols are an obvious choice, but you can also go with more exotic weaponry. Plasma rifles, sonic weaponry, grenade launchers. Or just suggest something which you think would help you out with killing subjects.
Armour type: Light or medium armour. Light armour gives less defence but allows for fast movement. Medium armour provides middling manoeuvrability and middling defence.
>>
Specialty: Your specialty is a trait you have gained from your time spent as a death squad soldier. This is a field of expertise in which you will perform more effectively than other fields. You can only select 1 specialty.
>Precise aim: You don't need a sniper rifle to hit a precise shot from a long distance away.
>Electrician: None of the electronics may work in this place, but you can fix anything down here and use advanced tools most wouldn't even begin to comprehend.
>Hand to hand combatant: Even without a gun or knife, you've still always got two extremely reliable weapons by your side.
>Expert Commander: You can easily lead even the most stubborn of soldiers, ensuring they do not flee action.
>Advanced trapper: Setting up and identifying traps is easy enough for you. Why didn't you sign up to Heathen?
>Demoman: Why capture or simply kill subjects when you can just blow them all up?
>Master of your environment: Every location has opportunity for camouflage, especially in this collapsed hellhole.
>Write in...

Abilities: Obviously, not all of your skills came from being part of a death squad. You were born with some things just... natural to you. You can select 2 of these abilities.
>Pain resilience: for some reason, things don't hurt you easily. You can still die, obviously, but being impaled isn't going to hurt that much more than stubbing your toe...
>Strongman: Your genes are just that good. Anything requiring heavy physical work on your part is an easy task.
>An eye for details: You've got the eyes of an eagle. You can see tiny little details in everything, ranging from your environment, to texts to even the way people behave.
>Hunger is Weakness: Eating and drinking isn't not nearly as important to you. You don't need to pause for food or drinks and can go quite a long time without either.
>Quick on your feet: Dodging things is easy. Just... move out of the way of the incoming projectile or giant murderous monster girl!
>Audio expert: No matter how well a person is sneaking around, you will hear their breath, their footsteps, even their heartbeat.
>Write in...

Other details: Write in some fun details about our main character here. Traumatic backstories, quirks in appearance, random titbits which determine your character, anything can be suggested if you think it'd add to the character ideas you have.
>>
I imagine that the number of choices which have to be made here may be a bit much, especially since people will likely have different wishes for what they want to see. I'm more than happy to answer any questions or elaborate on potential uncertainties. I also hope to see some custom write-ins for some of the character details. Though it's perfectly fine to just stick to some of the regular options I've provided. Other than that, since people will probably wanna discuss their ideas and choices a bit, I'll let the votes run for 48 hours, rather than just 24 hours. If there still are some uncertainties by then, I can either give some suggestions or offer tie-breaker votes for the ideas. (If everything has been figured out in 24 hours already, I'll just move onto the next step as well.)

Once everything has been figured out, I'll just quickly summarize the character choices you've all made (both to see if I got everything correct and so it can be easily looked at) and then start the quest for real.
>>
Name: Lydia Stroud
Weaponry: Gauss Rifle. Gauss Pistol. 2 Frag Grenades.
Armour Type: Light
Specialty: Electrician
Abilities: Quick, Eye for Detail

Joined to get away from their god awful war torn homeworld and put the skills that were gained from that hell hole to use. Perhaps saved directly or indirectly by mercs and hence became one, or had their family killed and was eventually adopted by mercs. Maybe both.
>>
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>>5812557
Name: Mikhail

Weaponry: AV-109 Pulse Action Rifle, MV-20 Machine Pistol

Armour type: Medium Armor

Specialty: Expert Commander

Abilities: An eye for details, Quick on your feet

Other details: Don't have anything in particular thought up, but this is a quest after all. Group effort.
>>
>>5812565
>>Hand to hand combatant: Even without a gun or knife, you've still always got two extremely reliable weapons by your side.
>Pain resilience: for some reason, things don't hurt you easily. You can still die, obviously, but being impaled isn't going to hurt that much more than stubbing your toe...
>Strongman: Your genes are just that good. Anything requiring heavy physical work on your part is an easy task.
Played college ball, y'know?

>weaponry: battle rifle, higher caliber - lower capacity than a standard rifle but with all the same gizmos and attachment options available for whatever job you get stuck with; and a machine pistol to fill the exact opposite niche
>medium armor

As for a name, fuck if I know. Names are hard. Alan Vontesch. Because A. Vonte can sound like "Avante" and that amuses me.
>>
>>5812589
+1
>Other details: "Played college ball, y'know."
>>
>>5812557
>Name: Anon McAnonymous, callsign "Clover-1"

>Weaponry: Semiautomatic mag-fed shotgun with underslung grenade launcher, suppressed high-capacity 10mm auto submachinegun sidearm
We're hunting people after all, no need to worry about body armor as opposed to hit probability and stopping power.

>Armor type: Light
I would rather not get hit.

>Expert Threat Analysis: Years of patrolling logistical routes and securing high-value targets have given Anon a heightened ability to detect ambush points, ascertain the lethality of combatants, and generally feel out danger.
Detecting danger is the first step to surviving it.

>Ability 1: An Eye For Details
>Ability 2: Write-in: Light Step- Anon is naturally quiet when moving even with full kit.

>Details: Anon is an avid big game hunter and security specialist with a background in counter-terrorism.
I'm basically thinking Muldoon if he were also a private-security defense contractor.
>>
>>5812607
>We're hunting people after all
They aren't people, anon, they're monstergirls. Better not to think of the thing you're going to be committing a systematic genocide on as people. Saves you a little PTSD. And makes it a little easier to pull the trigger. Very time-tested strategy. Unless you're a sociopath of course. Then it never mattered in the first place.
>>
>>5812557
Thaddeus Maclode
Hunting rifle, revolver, and shillelagh
Medium armor+kilt
Expert commander
Strongman

Other details
Has ten cats, knits as a hobby and is part of a bookclub whose membership is comprised mostly of old women. Unmarried, lactose intolerant
>>
>>5812608
We are killing the scientists and staff here too, you know. So, what's the advice for them?
>>
>>5812636
Same thing, actually. Eggheads aren't human either, with their big brains and "smarter than thou" attitudes. The staff? Shit they're alright, janitors are cool. They're all dead already though, any that claim to be average staff are probably infiltrators or liars. Don't fall for it.

Use ideological fanaticism to dehumanize everything you need to eradicate. Simple as.
>>
>>5812557
Weaponry: Light machinegun primary, .44 auto mag pistol secondary
Armor type: Medium
Specialty: Demoman
Abilities: Strongman
other details: really likes cats. brews moonshine in his spare time. hates jazz music. and his favorite color is yellow.
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>>5812672
Pst, you can pick another ability choice. You get 2.
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>>5812618
Pain resilience for the 2nd ability for maclode
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>>5812589

Supporting
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>>5812589
+1
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>>5812684
in that case I'll also pick eye for details
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>>5812557
>Name: Mike Hawk Cumming Halt
>Weaponry: KS-23, Desert Eagle
>Armour type: Light
>>5812565
>Expert Commander: You can easily lead even the most stubborn of soldiers, ensuring they do not flee action.

>Pain resilience: for some reason, things don't hurt you easily. You can still die, obviously, but being impaled isn't going to hurt that much more than stubbing your toe...
>An eye for details: You've got the eyes of an eagle. You can see tiny little details in everything, ranging from your environment, to texts to even the way people behave.
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>>5812758
>russian meme shotgun and a mediocre israeli dumbbell
Mans didn't even specify which model of deagle he wanted. Tryina run around with antiques and he doesn't even pick the good ones, shiieeeeet.
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>>5812763
Truly, a travesty.
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>>5812589
+1
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>>5812636
We might?
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>>5812638
"I killed twelve dumb ass scientists and not one of 'em fought back. This sucks."
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>>5812775
>"One of them picked up a scalpel and I got a little excited then he slit his own throat, the selfish prick."
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>>5812589
>supporting
But changing the specialty to
>Precise aim: You don't need a sniper rifle to hit a precise shot from a long distance away.
Also it's too funny to pass up.
+1 "Played college ball, y'know."
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>>5812557
Name: France Cobbler
Weaponry: Bullpup marksman rifle and a single shot one handed grenade launcher
Armor:Light
Specialty: Precise Aim
Abilities:Eye for details
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>>5812858
I gotta ask, do y'all want just one ability or did you not completely read the prompt? No I'm not trying to shit on you, it's a genuine question.
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>>5812864
I didn't fully read the prompt
>>5812565
Would like to write in excellent multitasking if I may as a second ability.
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>>5812868
>I didn't fully read the prompt
That's what I was worried about. Cause you read the first prompt and it says one then you immediately go into the second assuming it's the same as the first. Psychology is weird innit? Wouldn't want people to miss out on their options.
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>>5812557
>Weaponry: Light machinegun primary, .44 auto mag pistol secondary
>Light armor
>>5812565
>Electrician
>Quick on your feet
>Audio expert:
>>
So, it has been about 15-ish hours since the last update, and I'm quite surprised just how many characters have been created. It's unfortunate that I designed this quest to specifically focus on just one character, since I do like most of the character suggestions which were posted here (If I had more experience with group quests, I would've let you all play your own character... but I feel that would be a bit too overwhelming for me to try out right away, given that this is the first quest I'll ever run).

Still, I do have an idea for the other characters which were suggested...

Firstly though, I think the best choice now would be to focus just on Mikhail (>>5812589) given that lots of you seem to support him. I think just brainstorming him a bit further and making suggestions to flesh him out would make him the most enjoyable first character to play together. I already love the idea that he just "played college ball, y'know". Random little titbits like those are always great. Either way, feel free to continue brainstorming him or making edits to him together. There still are between 10 and 32 hours until I'll ask if we can lock the character and then start the story for real.

>>5812584
>>5812593
>>5812607
>>5812618
>>5812672
>>5812758
>>5812858
>>5812914
As for these characters, I had a bit of an idea on how to still have them be in the story. What I was thinking is that they become part of the 10 soldiers you'll be leading. That way, they'll also be in the game at the very least and can fill specific roles for the team. Also, if Mikhail ends up dying, you guys can vote to maybe take over one of these characters and have them continue Mikhail's job leading the group. Obviously, I'll maybe take a few creative liberties with their backstories (especially if they don't have any backstories), unless if the anons who created them disagree with those liberties. Speaking of which, if you're one of the anons who created these characters and don't want me to play as the character you designed, please let me know. I don't wanna be a dickhead and use a character you might feel close to without you agreeing to that.

Anyway, if there are any further questions or feedback, just lmk.
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>>5813078
Having the characters that weren't picked as members of the squad works. Though, I'm not sure how balanced that would be.
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>>5813419
If these are our boys, imagine how dangerous the subjects will be
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>>5813431
Yeah, scary to think about
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>>5813419
Could easily make it so their traits are toned down or turned off until they get in the spotlight. Or like the other anons have pointed out, the difficulty could be on hard.
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>>5813078
np OP. I couldn't think of a good backstory so you can craft it at will.
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>>5813513
Too much backstory is cringe. We're here for the now, not the then! Forsooth! But we should still make up little stuff. College ball for instance suggests not only a background in sports (which may be shared with other members of the squad, having ready made social links with one or two other characters) it also denotes an education and the interactions that come with it. Maybe Mikhael as he is the current crowd favorite has a degree in something, maybe even something relatively pointless. Or maybe his "college" was a military one to begin with. He could have went to poor people future westpoint. You can tie that into traits as well.

I for one propose he has a degree in anthropology specifically in regards to basket and other crafts-weaving. And as such, he can make small little baskets and containers out of junk materials like fiber, cables, cordage and general flexible detritus. Everyone likes a cute little basket they can put their schizo pills in, after all.
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>>5813078
The one handed grenade launcher (probably some kind of grenade pistol is what I'm thinking) gives me odd leader vibes so if France Cobbler were to be stitched into the story then I think it might work best as a rival or something, maybe an officer in one of the different death squad groups we didn't choose. But feel free to use him as one of our lackies too
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>>5813643
>I for one propose he has a degree in anthropology specifically in regards to basket and other crafts-weaving. And as such, he can make small little baskets and containers out of junk materials like fiber, cables, cordage and general flexible detritus. Everyone likes a cute little basket they can put their schizo pills in, after all.
an education in anthropology would imply he specifically knows about historical basket weaving methods. I think him having an idea of what we are dealing with if monster girls are based off mythological creatures and particularly obscure ones would be more relevant but I'm not opposed to quirky fun either.
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>>5813713
>I think him having an idea of what we are dealing with if monster girls are based off mythological creatures and particularly obscure ones would be more relevant
Sure, but as a kill-boy they're going to give us little hints of what the monstergirls are about to begin with so we can more effectively remove them. That being said, intel is never perfect, and plans always crumble. We can expect curveballs and gaps in knowledge. A background specifically targeting mythology which in the far future where we're at probably does mean stuff like comic books and memes and silly internet stories for us today would certainly alleviate some of that.

I'm only picking basket weaving because here on my Liberian tapestry dying forum memery. Also cause it'd be nice to make little baskets or trinkets or something that we could leave around as calling cards or just give to people just because. Just to have some character without thinking about gaming, you know? Going full fluff instead of tying it to crunch. Just to have one thing entirely separate.
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>>5813725
For other small traits that still seem reasonable
>Mikhail sometimes jokes that he got his job because he can pump out a clear, useful AAR in 5 minutes or less. Small details come easy to him when writing. It doesn’t mean much when he’s still fighting with the rest of the grunts most of the time but it’s one less stress in his job.
>Mikhail is an amateur botanist, a leftover from a small window garden his family kept so they could have fresh vegetables occasionally. On long campaigns he’ll set up a small plot with a few local flowers or vegetables to make his area feel more homey.
>Mikhail’s family didn’t have enough money for books, but they did get some encyclopedias to try and round out his education with all the gaps in schooling he had. He still remembers a lot of useless trivia from those days. All the useful stuff he’s already had hammered into him from his job so it’s mostly good for winning trivia nights when people think he’s too drunk to remember things.
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>>5813763
That's all neat stuff. Right on man.
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>>5813764
I’m good for small things. Fuck making an actual coherent character, if I could do that I’d probably be be insane enough to be a QM at least once.
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>>5813078
Go for it. In my mind Lydia was something of a wrench wench who intuitively knows when somethings wrong with electronics or other gadgets and gained some of her skills before becoming a merc and was able to expand upon them after. So, use that and what else I wrote as an outline, or do your own thing.

>>5813643
There's a fine line of too much backstory and too little. I think there should be a bit known at the start and maybe as things go on, certain things can reveal more about the backstory for other characters as we get more invested in them.

I find the idea of Mikhael having spent time in sports and having a degree in basket weaving hilarious and want that to stay.
>>
So, based on the discussions for the past 2 days, I think we've settled on the following:

Character Summary:
Name: Mikhail
[b/Weaponry: AV-109 Pulse Action Rifle, MV-20 Machine Pistol
Armour type: Medium Armor

Specialty: Expert Commander
Abilities: An eye for details, Quick on your feet
[b/Other details:
- He played college ball, y'know
- He has a degree in basket weaving, with a focus on styles from the ancient Terran nation called 'Mongolia'.
- He's an amateur botanist, a leftover from a small window garden his family kept so they could have fresh vegetables occasionally. On long campaigns he’ll set up a small plot with a few local flowers or vegetables to make his area feel more homey (Some of his men even join him in this).
- His family didn’t have enough money for books, but they did get some encyclopaedias to try and round out his education with all the gaps in schooling he had. He still remembers a lot of useless trivia from those days. All the useful stuff he’s already had hammered into him from his job so it’s mostly good for winning trivia nights when people think he’s too drunk to remember things.

Does everyone agree with the character summary?
>Yes, let's go kill some fucking monster girl abominations and their worthless creators.
>No, you fucked something up, you retard: (please write in what/why)
>>
>>5814502

>Yes, let's go kill some fucking monster girl abominations and their worthless creators.

Let’s fucking go, lads
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>>5814502
>YES
JUST START
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>>5814502
>Yes, let's go kill some fucking monster girl abominations and their worthless creators.
Nearly four fucking days for character creation. I think this is ENOUGH.
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>>5814502
>Yes, let's go kill some fucking monster girl abominations and their worthless creators.
>>
>>5814508
>>5814514
I hope I haven't kept you guys waiting too long. I've definitely given you guys a lot of time to work on the MC, maybe even too much. Regardless, I will definitely try my best to speed things up from here and give you a 'fast' intro, so to speak. You'll obviously still get the chance to interact with NPCs and shit, but... I'll make sure you'll also get the option to just get into the ruins right away to look for targets to hunt down.

If I'm doing things too slowly in the future again, please let me know as well so I can pick up the pace.
>>
>>5814533
Char creation is always painful if you’re making it as open as this. Easy to put behind in the past now that it’s done though!
>>
The spacecraft you were on would enter the atmosphere without issue, heading for the black spot which you had seen from orbit. You quickly noticed the sky turning dimmer as you got closer to the facility, the sun being blocked out a little bit from all the smoke. Your craft stopped descending, as you were now able to look below you and see the grey ocean below you. It seemed devoid of life. Eventually, the spacecraft started slowing down as you finally saw land in the distance. Finally, the craft landed and the doors opened, allowing you to smell the distinct scent of concrete, ash and metal. You found that you were not the only one who was brought onto the planet right away. Dozens of unmarked spacecraft similar to yours were dropping off soldiers and equipment. You even recognised some other Section commanders like yourself being dropped off along with their men.

"All combatants, please make your way to checkpoint A to G for a security check and a short briefing! If you're here to drop off supplies, please make your way to checkpoint H to L."

In the distance, you could see that there were hundreds of tents and makeshift barracks already set up. This didn't seem like the usual, covert operation where you had to stay somewhat out of plain sight... It also seemed far more organised.

And all of this, for what sat behind the main base of operation. A giant crater, seemingly stretching across the horizon. It still seemed to release clouds of dust and some smoke from unextinguished fires, blotting out the sun and making it look more like it was dusk. Your men all looked around, some mumbling about how busy it was and how this job looked like nothing you had done before. Hell, some were staring in bewilderment and awe at what was going on.

Probably for the best to just lead your men to the main checkpoint and listen to the security briefing. Unless if there was something which caught your attention... Still, hopefully the check-up and briefing wouldn't take too long. You were here to kill shit after all, not listen to boring and arrogant bureaucrats.

Choose one or more:
>Discuss with/talk to your men (Write in what you'll discuss or tell them...)
>Look around the area (Write in if there's anything specific you're looking for...)
>Something else (Write in...)
>Head to the checkpoint.
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>>5814502
>Yes, let's go kill some fucking monster girl abominations and their worthless creators.

This is not war! This is PEST CONTROL!
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>>5814605
>Look around the area (Write in if there's anything specific you're looking for...)
The ceiling for "bodyguards".
>>
>Look around the area for anything of particular importance and get a feel for the area. This will be our base for a while, better get used to it.
>Head to the Checkpoint
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>>5814605
>>Look around the area (Write in if there's anything specific you're looking for...)
Specifically the lay of the land. The surroundings. General topography. The sort of stuff that helps to know about if anyone ever wants to sneak up or around. You never quite know when a threat might come from without or within. Or just some crazy ballsy independent fringe reporter trying to find a scoop, always show up like roaches. Best get to know where they can hide if they ever managed to touch down somehow.

After that
>Head to the checkpoint.
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>>5814605
>Discuss/talk with your men
Obviously we are covering up something big, so we can expect shit may hit the fan very hard at some point and all our people and any other companies we have cordial relationships with ought to be prepared for it. Maybe some of our heavier equipment should be held in reserve or deployed defensively, and we should have a clear path to retreat at all times. If it's big enough then the government may try to purge all of us after we do the dirty work too so maybe keep that in mind with what we tell our employers.
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>>5814620
+1
>>
>Looking around for "bodyguards".
In terms of bodyguards, you found that there actually were a surprisingly decent number of them. They were mostly just situated around the area you were at right now, and a few in the main camp sections. They all seemed to be near actual government staff though, or near a few barracks. There was a clear animosity between the bodyguards and the death squads there, as the bodyguards all glared at the passing soldiers.

>Look around the area for anything of importance and general topography.
As for the area itself, there was a lot to take note of. For one, you were only a few hundred feet away from the beach. The spacecrafts were all docked near a large, metallic jetty, which seems to have been constructed extremely recently. There were two regular sea-faring ships there as well, one being some kind of research ship and the other being a small patrol boat. Then there was the island itself. Given that most of the islands on the planet were volcanic, it wasn't too surprising that there was a mild rise in elevation as you went further inlands, likely from the island once having been an active volcano. Though, the elevation increase was an extremely minor one which didn't seem to have much effect on the built-in positions for the death squads. Aside from that though, the place appeared quite barren. There were a few tiny patches of green, but those were mostly near the edge of the island, with the island becoming more barren the further you went inlands and towards the crater. The only really important details were that there were some huge boulders strewn around, and that there were patches of land which seemed to be blocked off entirely. From the signs, you could see that it was due to instability from collapsing underground structures in said areas...
>>
>Discuss with your men about what to do when 'shit hits the fan' with the government
After getting a good look at the place, you made sure to also tell your men that there maybe should be some preparations in case of the worst situation with the government folks. Your men seemed a bit unsure what to say, given that all of you had only just gotten to this place.. but they did seem to trust your instincts enough to take your concerns seriously. Eventually, one even responded to you."I can understand getting the rest of Lodger involved with these plans... Hell, we should absolutely prepare for the worst situation... But what about the other squads? Diamond Dogs, and Heroes would absolutely backstab us if it means getting paid extra." This turned into a minor debate about who was trustworthy and if Lodger would even be okay with your plans. Though eventually, one of your men spoke up in a confident tone, bringing up a sentiment which the other soldiers seemed to have. "We first gotta get an idea of what we're facing and what the chances are of shit actually hitting the fan. I know going along with the government now may just be sealing our fate... But given how desperate and secretive the government was to get us and the other death squads here, I got a feeling that they aren't going to just throw us under the bus..." Of course, you could tell that there was still an uneasiness going around... but given that you weren't dead yet and the fact that bases were set up for the death squads, it did seem that maybe for once, the government DID want to co-operate with the death squads...
>>
>Head to the checkpoint
Regardless, you'd soon head to the checkpoint. The check-up was... surprisingly fast. Unlike with most security checks ran by the government, you weren't questioned at all regarding the 'legality' of your weapon or your 'trustworthiness'. It really seemed that the folks in power wanted you there, even if you didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things or fully trusted them.

After your men then also passed the checkpoint, you were directed to a few large tents nearby. There, you'd quickly be met by a government official of some kind. It was a guy in a rather formal uniform, who had a small insignia of the government on his chest and a stern, emotionless look on his face. "So, you must be..." He checked a tablet for a second, before continuing. "Mikhail, commander for a tiny platoon for Lodger, correct? I also take it these are your men." He clearly wasn't the type for formalities, as he quickly focused his attention on you and continued. "Let's get to the point. You already know why you've been hired and what your job is going to be here. I'm just here to tell you about what you guys can't do. Oh, and to give you one of these." He soon after held up a tablet similar to the one he read your name on.

"This will be your main source of intel and communication between your group and the other death squads. It has some basic features such as maps, communication lines between you and the rest of the death squads, lists of recent combat engagements and even lists of known targets. We highly advice you keep this device on you at all times and ensure its safekeeping." Looking at the tablet, it seemed to be... kind of a basic ass thing. It was likely something which was quickly cobbled together by the government for this specific mission.

"Given the current circumstances surrounding this... incident, the government has tried to make sure no sensitive information regarding the incident can leave the planet or fall in the wrong hands. In other words, don't lose it. In fact, losing the device is considered a breach of the contract you've signed before you came here. Furthermore, tampering with the device in any way will also be seen as a breaching of the contract. Are there any further questions?"

>Accept and move on
>Ask him a question (Write in...)
>Something else (Write in...)
>>
>Use the tablet given to read up on any and all targets registered in it.

He won't like us sticking our nose into the details more than necessary. The fact this all needs to be so hush hush makes me think there's more merit to the potential in us getting backstabbed at some point. This allows us to get as much knowledge on what we will face without appearing as prying for information we shouldn't have.
>>
>>5814876
>>Ask him a question (Write in...)
>"Aside from this doohickey, are you planning on providing any materiel or direct assistance with engagement, or should we expect comms and GPS to be the extent of your support?"
Fishing for him to say whether or not they're bringing in a ton of guns or personnel or something. Because if they answer one way and behave the other in the future, it's a pretty good indicator on what they're preparing to do. And of course, whether or not they have enough men and gear on planet to actually do anything to us before we leave.

After that let's ask him
>"Any special requests? Specific facility personnel they would like recovered or "recovered"? Combat data? Capture requests? Always looking out for some bonus pay."
Mask intent with greed. The true mercenary way. Also because maybe they really do have some secondary objectives they'd like us to complete. I'm sure the company would appreciate the extra dosh.
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>>5814876
>Something else (Write in...)
Before we go on, I think we ought to discuss the bonus situation.
>>
>>5814893
Such as?
>>5814889
+1
>>
>"Aside from this doohickey, are you planning on providing any materiel or direct assistance with engagement, or should we expect comms and GPS to be the extent of your support?"
You were quick to ask him about assistance which the government was willing to provide, the guy not looking too surprised with your question. "Well, for one we are willing to give accommodations to you and your men. Due to the sheer number of men who have been brought in, we made sure to get some tents going. Sleeping bags have also been provided. Furthermore, we will also ensure you have enough food and water. Alcohol will not be provided however and possession of it could result in you and your men being penalized. Fortunately for you, I don't think you'll have much time to go drinking." The guy actually showed a smirk for a second. Though you also saw one of your men smirking a bit... given that he had managed to make some pretty good booze out of some pretty simple meals before, chances were that alcohol was definitely still on the table. "Lastly, medical aide will be given as well, but due to the... risks of losing advanced medical equipment here, we've opted to go with more simplistic medications and tools. Of course, if your death squad has medical supplies of their own, they may be useable as well." Fortunately for you, Lodger had decent amounts of medical aide which could help out. But given how tight security was, and the fact that there clearly were tons of check-ups being done on anything that came in, it seemed that highly advanced medical equipment was going to become a sparse good...

>Discussing the bonus situation.
>"Any special requests? Specific facility personnel they would like recovered or "recovered"? Combat data? Capture requests? Always looking out for some bonus pay."
After you asked him about specific requests or targets, the guy... actually seemed to give a more pleased look. He scoffed softly, before pointing to the tablet he gave you. "This oughta tell you about special targets who need to be recovered. It even provides a whole section with high priority targets. Oh, and it also provides all kinds of updates for tasks which can net you extra pay. Since you and your men seem to be in it for the money though... well, there are quite some scientists down there who still need to be dealt with, so I suppose you can start with those if you want a decent bonus without too much risk. If you care more for cash than your life though, you can always start focusing on high priority subjects, the ones with threat level 10. If you do though, I recommend you at least prepare a proper will first, because... you probably aren't going to make it out alive with most of them." Your men didn't seem too bothered by what the guy had to say. After all, it probably was just a bit of scaremongering to keep you and the other soldiers in check...
>>
>Use the tablet given to read up on any and all targets registered in it.
Regardless, you right away checked the tablet. Your men also stood behind you, peaking over your shoulder to try and catch a glimpse. "Yo, Mikhail, let us see." "Yeah, we can't see." It was a rather barebones tablet, only showing the time and providing access to a few key files. The main files of interest were 'staff' and 'subjects', with you first checking the latter. There seemed to be at least 30 subjects noted down. All of them were given a codename and threat level, with a few even having pictures available for their appearance. Tapping on them seemed to show further details on a short profile, noting down details such as their size, their special traits, where they were last spotted and previous engagements. From the get-go, you noticed that there were 2 subjects who seemed to be at the maximum threat level, the 'threat level 10' which the government official had just mentioned... though weirdly, one of those two subjects seemed to have a slightly... glitchy profile, as clicking on them seemed to... not work and also show some strange static. Either the software was broken (which wouldn't be all that surprising, given the general competency of the government), or there was something else going on. At least the other subjects with lower threat levels seemed to all be perfectly visible as well.

>Ask further questions to the government worker.
>Check specific subjects or scientists on the tablet.
>Check the tablet for other details
>Talk about/discuss things with your men.
>Something else...
(All write-in)
>>
>>5815056
>Check specific subjects or scientists on the tablet.
Check the oldest listing, the highest listing, and the one whose posting/payment will expire first, if there is such a posting.
>>
>>5815054
I like this fed. He's a professional. It's also nice to know we're pretty much at their mercy. So we need to play our A-game so hopefully never need it.

>>5815056
Memetohazard girl? Or someone interfering to try and spare their favorite project? Or just plain government budget cuts in action. Something to worry about later.

>>5815059
This a good one. We should also take note of things that might draw the interest of the more specialist companies here. We can assume they'll try to play to their strengths and target things to hit first before anyone else to secure the most pay. Assassins hunting for scientists smart enough to run or hide. Thrill junkies hunting territorial and aggressive monsters. Stuff that we know would probably waste our time to try and get to unless we rushed really hard.
>>
>Ask a further question to the government worker. "Why's this one in particular not working?"

>Check all the scientists that are on the list, and the threat level 10 subject that actually has a working profile.

Might be worth it to try and get the thing working through throwing it at one of our electricians. Otherwise, I have a bad feeling about the one who's profile is glitchy.
>>
>>5815056
>Request a full printout of the contract with special emphasis on restrictions. If we aren't forbidden from getting away from the other death squad companies then let's get to a more comfortable distance from the facility and start digging in before we start infiltrating and blasting.
>>
>>5815056
>>5815059
>supporting
>>
>Ask a further question to the government worker. "Why's this one in particular not working?"

After pointing to the threat level 10 subject which was glitching on the list, the worker groaned. "Oh, that... that's subject LW-20. Honestly, I think we should at this point just put up a sign with information about her, rather than having her info be noted down on the tablet... mostly because the bastard keeps somehow finding her way into the system and corrupting her files." He groaned as your men looked quite surprised by this revelation. A subject who could hack into these things? Either the security on the tablets were god fucking awful, or there was actual reason as to why she was threat level 10. "She has been the biggest thorn in our side so far. She loves messing with our systems and making just the tiniest of edits to cause trouble. She mostly just focuses on obfuscating knowledge about her own whereabouts, but that is the smallest issue she has caused us so far... She at one point got an entire group from Blackstar killed by giving them wrong information about their location and unknowingly directing them straight into the claws of 38-VG." That code-name, 38-VG, it was the other threat level 10 subject... her info wasn't corrupted, allowing you to check some details about her.

>Check all the scientists that are on the list, and the threat level 10 subject that actually has a working profile.

Tapping on the file for 38-VG, you'd find the following details:

Codename: 38-VG.
Name: 'Vinella'.
Threat level: 10
Creator: Currently unknown
Feeding method: Organic material
Size: At least 18 feet tall

General description: Subject is exceptionally large and has a regular human form. Has a pale face, neck and chest, rest of body is varying shades of black. Has long black hair in a ponytail. Back has three thin yet long antennae of some kind, their purpose unknown. Hands are extremely bulky and end with powerful, bone-like claws.

Known abilities and mutations include: Acid spray capable of corroding through metal, and her claws being nearly impervious to damage and having an incredibly high crushing force. Eyewitness accounts state she can easily crush high quality power armour with relative ease. Resilience is also noted as extremely high, with her exterior capable of resisting anti-material rifles.

Strength: Extremely high
Durability: Extremely high
Regeneration: Unknown
Perception: assumed high
Agility: Low, capable of bursts of speed.
Intelligence: Assumed high

Personality and behaviour: Subject is EXTREMELY hostile and has an affinity for crushing any organism it comes across. Subject has an affinity for leaving 'calling cards' in the forms of crushed corpses.
>>
"What sick fuck designed this 'Vinella' fuck?! And how fucking huge is she?!" One of your men soon said out loud, making the government official speak up calmly. "Oh Vinella is... quite huge, to say the least. And yes, there are truly some mentally ill scientists down there. That's why we've tasked you to kill them after all." Perhaps going for 38-VG right away wasn't the best of plans... After all, she was... quite intimidating and dangerous from the sound of things.

>Check specific subjects or scientists on the tablet. Specifically, oldest and highest listing, as well as ones which are going to expire.
But hey, there were still plenty of other subjects and scientists! None of their profiles were 'expiring' so to speak, so no matter who you found or killed, you'd get paid for it! Thus, you opted to look at the scientists, finding that... there were 10 'high ranking scientists', most of which had an 'unknown' status to them... all aside from two:

Tengri Sina, the former head of the facility. His profile showed that he had been found dead some time ago just outside the facility's main building...
Anderson Thorell, a scientist who seemingly had been captured and was apparently being kept alive for some reason... Probably for information about the place.

Most of the other scientist on the most wanted list had little info about them. Their last known locations were unknown, the subjects and places they worked at weren't exactly known either. What was known was that a substantial bonus would be provided to whichever death squad found them. In terms of the most valuable, a scientist known as 'Elbrus' and one called 'Mona' were the two who provided the most lucrative bonus. Though this bonus would only be given if they were brought in alive, a request the other high ranking scientists weren't blessed with...

In terms of the other subjects and lower ranking staff and scientists, most had few details about them. There were already quite a large number of scientists who had been killed, as well as other staff members. There were also already a couple of dead subjects, but most seemed to still be alive and kicking unlike the humans. In terms of pricing, they all were wanted dead and would offer decent pay. Subjects generally were worth more, but that was to be expected really.
>>
>Request a full printout of the contract with special emphasis on restrictions. If we aren't forbidden from getting away from the other death squad companies then let's get to a more comfortable distance from the facility and start digging in before we start infiltrating and blasting.
With you having all the info you'd need about your targets, you decided to request a full printout of the contract which focused on restrictions. This made the government worker scoff. "Restrictions? That's the first time I heard one of you death squads ask about that... most of these sick fucks tend to try and go around the contracts if it means getting some cash." He'd look around a bit, before giving a nod. "I'll try and get a copy of the contract in with restrictions in mind. Just know that it may take some time. I'm more than willing to answer some of your questions surrounding restrictions now."

It was then that one of your men asked a question. "Can we set up our camp anywhere, or are we restricted to the same space as the other death squads?" It was nice that your men had a good feeling about what you found important on missions. Being away from the other death squads and making a base of operation somewhere more secluded would be nice... Though unfortunately, the government worker brought up one key restriction which you'd have to live with. "There are two designated positions you and the other men can stay at: The basecamp here, and the basecamp which has been set up in the crater. The only exception may be if you're part of the security forces who walk around the crater, or if you're in the facility itself and exploring it. Though, the latter does require you inform us through the tablet." It seemed like the government didn't want you just setting up shop anywhere, unless if it was inside of the ruined facility. In other words, you were somewhat stuck at this distance.

>Ask about subject LW-20
>Ask further about the tablet
>Ask about the base camp in the crater
>Ask about something else
>Do something else
>Move on to the base camp
(All are write-in)
>>
>>5815657
>Ask about subject LW-20
"When it's stated that the carapace is able to resist Anti-Mat Rifles, does that also take into account chemical penetrators or recoilless rifles?"
>>
>>5815657
Spectacular. The tablet can't be trusted, the subjects are inside their database. All of the intel that we don't gather ourselves might be useless.
>ask "Why didn't you just glass this joint instead of calling us in? What's the end goal of this operation?"
>ask for physical maps
>get our comms guy to try to make a local copy of some of the maps on the tablet on a non-networked device, send him with two others to talk to other merc organizations to get a list of used radio frequencies.
>take stock of our own radio equipment and start thinking about getting better radios, I don't want to be dependent on the tablet.
>start heading to the crater to camp, take a look at the tablet on the way
>>
>>5815697
Supporting.
>>
>Ask further about subject 38-VG, mostly asking about the usage of chemical penetrators or recoilless rifles.
Hearing about 38-VG's high physical resilience, you decided to ask about some more... powerful weaponry which could likely deal with her armour. "Those have indeed been taken into account by a small group of soldiers from Heroes. Unfortunately, their effectiveness was unable to be determined. To put it simply, the last attempt to use an actual recoilless rifle was in an area less stable than initially believed. In turn, that small group was crushed by a section of the facility..." You heard one of your explosion experts in your group of men mumbling in annoyance. "Oh for fuck's sake..." Hearing this, the government worker gained a bit of a smirk, speaking in a more smarmy tone. "If you wanna try explosives on 38-VG again, I wish you luck. You're essentially putting yourself at risk of being crushed by two different threats, rather than just one."

>Ask "Why didn't you just glass this joint instead of calling us in? What's the end goal of this operation?"
At this point, you had another question enter your mind. All of these threats which needed to be dealt with in a completely destroyed and ruined place... why didn't they just glass it or bomb it from orbit? What was the main goal of this entire operation?! You outright asked the government worker, who paused before speaking in a calm tone. "The main reason is that a lot of material can still be retrieved. Physical material, research material, even coding for subject nanites. More importantly, we need to deal with all the scientists and subjects as quickly as possible." You could tell that this was only a half truth. The way he just tried pushing through this with a dead-serious yet swift tone... he clearly was leaving some details behind. Not exactly encouraging for trust, really.

>Ask for physical maps of the place.
The fact that the government-created tablets were also not entirely tightly secured was not helping with these trust issues either! Thus, you'd ask the guy for a map, which made him once again to his more relaxed and amused self. "I take it you don't really wanna trust the tablet, now that you see what kinda crap we've been dealing with? I perfectly understand, and I'll note it down. Though, I should mention that the physical maps we have of the former facility are heavily outdated, obviously. Not to mention, the fact that the tablet's map is being constantly updated thanks in large part to scouting groups. Honestly, even with the issue of LW-20 constantly infiltrating our systems, the tablet will still give you a more accurate map of the place than whatever old schematics we can bring you." You could tell that he was speaking honestly here... but given what had been said about LW-20, having a physical map would still be pretty useful now.
>>
>get our comms guy to try to make a local copy of some of the maps on the tablet on a non-networked device, send him with two others to talk to other merc organizations to get a list of used radio frequencies.
>take stock of our own radio equipment and start thinking about getting better radios, reducing dependency on the tablet.
And hey, given the government worker's honesty, you felt that maybe some copies could be made for non-networked devices. Lodger had tons of electronics, and your electricians could maybe even create a non-networked one which would hopefully be safe from LW-20. Thus, you decided to tell your main comms soldier and the electricians to the other merc organisations. "Yes sir!" The three of them would say, after you made your suggestions. They would thus prepare to head to the main forces for Lodger, given that they'd likely have the supplies there already. Hell, knowing Lodger, you'd probably get some radios which were more secure and could communicate with folks from Blackstar and Heathen, rather than having to rely on potentially ineffective or compromised radio equipment from the government..

>start heading to the crater to camp, take a look at the tablet on the way
The government worker gave a nod before directing you to the area where you and the other men for Lodger had their tents set up. He wished you and your men good luck, as you left the check-up area. Your main camp wasn't too far from the main entrance to the crater, you thus heading in that direction. You walked past the dozens of tents and barracks, most of the men from the varying death squads seeming to be... rather relaxed and even amused. Some were preparing supplies, others were discussing plans of action, some were even drinking together. It seemed that the ban on alcohol was already being ignored by most of the groups there. That, or the government's ban had been symbolic.

Regardless, you'd walk for quite some time, seeing the tents and barracks which had been set up for you a decent distance away. Given how far away it was, you decided to just check the tablet.

>Check the tablet for... (write in)
>Discuss with your men...
>Something else...
>>
>Check the tablet for any sort of communication app. Likewise, check for important scientists and what subjects they created and aren't confirmed killed.

I'd not be surprised if at least one has a powerful combat subject that is protecting them like an attack dog. I think it would be a good idea to see who might have just that.

>Get everyone's gear in order and otherwise prepare your men for the first expedition.
>>
>>5816091
>>5816113
+1
>>
>>5815657
>Gather a balanced squad to begin our first incursion into the facility.
We don't know what to expect other than many fucked up, superhuman creatures so we need to gather intel and be prepared for the most scenarios with as few people as possible
>>
>>5816091
>>5816113
>>5816123
+1 to these and
>See what you can dig up on Heathen in particular. You know they’ll have trapped the explored routes so your team will want to be cautious to avoid “friendly fire”.
I assume they’ll have basic precautions in place to keep other teams from triggering most traps. Traps that kill soldiers don’t get them money.

We’ll likely want to start with an explored area first to get the lay of the land, ending shortly after we reach unknown territory, and prepare a new expedition once we have an idea of what we’ll be getting into in the unknown areas.
>>
>>5812775
Hopefully we don't get HECU treatment and get offed if shit gets bad since we already ARE the black ops
>>
>Check the tablet for any sort of communication app. Likewise, check for important scientists and what subjects they created and aren't confirmed killed.
While walking to your tents, you checked the tablet for a communication app. It seemed that there were indeed 2 types of communication app. One was a generalized announcement app which gave updates on sectors, where targets had been spotted as well as government notifications. The second app seemed more tailored for death squad communication. It gave you options to communicate with specific tablets for other death squads, with there being a whole list of death squads you could communicate with. You also saw that your tablet was already connected to a main chat with the other Lodger groups, mostly just for updates surrounding the death squad. It was certainly nice that Lodger had already adapted to the government tablet and the communication app, but it was clear from the main chat that other communication lines were already being set up.

Aside from that, you also checked the list of scientists and subjects to see if there were any which were closely linked. It seemed that there were two high ranking scientists who were known to have close bonds with their subjects. A guy called Cerro who seemed to have worked specifically on one kind of subject, a lizard gal with the codename of 52-HM. They had been spotted together and managed to flee somewhat... and a scientist called Illimani who made a highly agile, unknown subject with the codename of 26-BS. Apparently, these two had managed to avoid conflict quite a bit, and had proven themselves particularly difficult to catch...

>See what you can dig up on Heathen in particular. You know they’ll have trapped the explored routes so your team will want to be cautious to avoid “friendly fire”.
Knowing a bit more about the targets you might face, you also decided to check up on Heathens to see what places they had trapped. Fortunately, the tablet map actually proved to be pretty good with this, as it showed which routes had already been trapped by which forces. Heathen had set up many traps in some of the flank routes and tight corridors, likely to dissuade subjects from taking those paths and instead forcing them into more predictable spots. Furthermore, it also showed the kinds of traps which were placed in those areas. The best part was that the traps were also connected to the system, meaning that if one was set off, people would be notified by it.
>>
>Get everyone's gear in order and otherwise prepare your men for the first expedition.
>Gather a balanced squad to begin our first incursion into the facility.
Once you reached the main tenting section you were assigned to, you decided the best time to get started would be now. You currently had 7 of your men with you. There were thankfully some supplies nearby and you could get in contact with Lodger and the government for further assistance. You had your tablet still, which you may want to give to one of your men so they could be the one dedicated to giving directions and updates.

(A bit OOC, but I've decided to create a shared doc with the men in your group based on my friend's suggestion. It gives a few details about them, their gear as well as their current task and if they have any injuries. I'll try and keep it updated and also post it whenever it's needed and at the start of each thread. Let me know if you can access it or if there are any issues with it:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_NoldE7zglICEuon-YZNhxjXcqvjszveOsz4u8jz-is/edit?usp=sharing)

>Make revisions for the first expedition (Reduce men, tell them to hold some gear back, request further gear)
>Begin the first expedition with 7 men (Alan, Anon, Thaddeus, Evander, Mike, Zaria and Lars)
>Wait for the 3 (Lydia, Artyom and Derek) to return
>Something else
>>
oh, one other thing: I'm also considering getting a shared doc with all the subjects and scientists in them, mostly just for convenience sake. It'd obviously not have all of their details, but it'd tell you the same details as the tablet in the quest. If you guys would like this, I'll try and quickly make it so it can be used as soon as possible. If you don't really care that much or rather not have me make it, also just tell me.
>>
>>5816574
>Wait for the 3 (Lydia, Artyom and Derek) to return

>>5816575
I'd like the doc.
>>
>Wait for the 3 (Lydia, Artyom and Derek) to return

I too, like the doc.
>>
>>5816574
Not sure who, but I think to balance things out more someone should switch primary weapon to a rocket launcher or flamethrower, especially if rocket ammunition is more than just one type. Everyone should probably have some grenades and we should have at least a few incendiaries and smoke grenades among them.
>>
>>5816954
We already have an explosives expert with HE. Unless we plan on going after the extremely dangerous subjects first I doubt we will need an actual RPG. There's also the fact we are going into a structurally unsound place that likely won't take explosives too well in many area's that we don't have mapped out yet. A flamethrower meanwhile could be useful, however I think more rounds down range would be better than something a number of the creatures we are hunting will likely be immune to.
>>
>>5817012
The obvious way to deal with something apparently immune to conventional weapons is to use unconventional ones. Gas, electric, thermal. Bake her with a microwave generator. Explore all avenues of attack. There is no Geneva convention in black ops. Or space. Just keep in mind there are no rules. Other than don't die and don't get caught.

I'm sure most of these things are immune or resistant to several forms of assault. So may as well throw the damn book at all of them.
>>
>Wait for the 3 (Lydia, Artyom and Derek) to return
Given that 3 of your men were still yet to return with the necessary equipment, you and your men got settled at the tents. Evander already started looking through the encampment, finding that some rations had already been provided at the nearby barracks. Though he was quick to point something out. "They've got cans of corn, boys. You know what that means." He chuckled to himself, knowing that he could soon prepare some good ol' fashioned moonshine. He looked further at some of the other rations, bringing along some packets of food and other items which could easily be taken along on missions.

The other men also looked around the area, some checking the barracks and tents for supplies. The tents had sleeping bags and some medical equipment, while the barracks had most of the fuel, food and other material which you would need to survive. There was also some basic ammunition and a few weapons, albeit rather crappy low quality ones... Seemed like the government wasn't too eager to give you the best of supplies, so thank goodness that you had your own.

>Balance things out. Get a flamethrower!
>A flamethrower could be useful
>The solution to fighting something immune to conventional weapons... is to use unconventional weapons!
Given the wait though, you got the idea of maybe getting a flamethrower for the first mission. You even brought it up with your men, many who thought it was a fair choice. But when it came to actually making the decision as to who would wield it, most seemed a bit put off by the offer. "Derek probably wouldn't mind it... Guess we could wait for him to come back in case he's up for it." Anon remarked a bit hesitantly, knowing that waiting for them to return and then discussing the idea would... just waste time. Fortunately, two men came forward to take the offer. "Aye, just give it to me. Might be a bit more than my usual gun, but I'd not mind it one bit." Evander would say calmly to the offer. "I also wouldn't mind it, Mikhail. Call me the new Derek, cuz I'm gonna burn the world with dragon's breath!" Alan responded in turn, also being more than happy to volunteer for the job. Thus, you were left with a choice for who to give the flamethrower. Of course, they still had to... pick it up from Lodger, but that probably wouldn't take too long.

>Pick Alan
>Pick Evander

After sending Alan/Evander away, Lydia, Artyom and Derek returned... and they had come with quite a few things. "Mikhail, we got a physical map of each floor from before the disaster happened from some government officials. They've thankfully made some edits and got us some notes showing known changes to the layout and which places haven't been explored yet." Lydia would say, showing the large stash of maps. There seemed to be quite a large number of floors to go through, so sticking to one would probably be convenient... especially given how they probably weren't exactly accurate.
>>
Derek then showed a bag with some military radios. "Lodger also gave us some extra radios and a list of frequencies which have been hijacked before by that bloody subject. Apparently, she mostly sticks to the frequencies used by Diamond Dogs and Heroes, as well as the main government ones and some from Blackstar. Though, from the sound of things, she doesn't go out of her way to cause trouble. Apparently, she only really acts up if people try and use radio to go after her..." Even if she 'doesn't cause too much trouble', it was clear that having your own equipment was probably a whole lot better than the potentially compromised government ones...

Finally, Artyom spoke up, showing a slightly more worn-down and smaller tablet. "We also got ourselves a device from Lodger. They've copied the map over and it's available offline, so it's probably safe. Only issue is that it won't update, buuut we can always try and get updates whenever we're up here out of reach from that one subject."

It seemed like you had gotten everything, aside from the contract... But hey, that was the work of bureaucrats, and you all knew how efficient those guys are when it comes to doing things fast.

And after Derek/Alan then returned with a nice, compact flamethrower, it seemed it was time to get going.

---------------------------------------------------

You and your 10 men would walk to the edge of the crater, where there was a large landing platform for troop carrying craft to bring you down into the crater. Though before getting on one of these aircraft, you finally were able to get a good glimpse into the ruins of this place. It was... quite the sight, to say the least. It was utterly massive, the crater stretching miles across and being quite deep. You could see chunks of the facility which had been built into the ground, many of its rooms and hallways now out in the open on the sides of the crater. There were huge piles of rubble all over the place, several large landing platforms for vehicles, barracks, fortifications, walkways for soldiers, and even a few bays for large military and industrial mechs and exoskeletons. You also noticed that the norther-western section looked to be partially flooded, forming a small lake.

The most curious detail was a large metal cube of some kind which was in the centre of the crater. It was heavily guarded, with some extremely high-tech defence systems which clearly didn't come from any of the death squads...
>>
While you went onto the troop carrier, you had some time to kill.
>Check the maps (Specify which one(s)...)
>Discuss something with your men. (write in...)
>Check your surroundings further.
>Quietly wait for the carrier to land.
>Patrol the area once you land.
>Something else...

(Bit more OOC crap, but I'll try and get the scientist and monster girl doc done over the weekend. I'll post it whenever it's ready. Other than that, I'll also try and get an extra update out on both saturday and sunday. Hopefully, that'll be enough to get you guys into the facility for real... and maybe some combat as well.)
>>
>>5817056
>Pick Alan
>>
>Pick Alan

I'd rather the explosives expert not be subject to something that makes them more of a target and more likely to explode. Alan is more suited to the job and, honestly, more expendable being a general close range grunt.

>Examine that giant metal cube

Seems sufficiently suspicious and important.

>Check some of the frequencies that subject messes with using a spare radio.

We have extra radio's thanks to being part of Lodger, we may as well try and see what kind of interference is being caused. We even can have Derek take a look at the thing and perhaps figure out a bit on how they are messing with signals. Could also be useful to sneakily get some extra intel on what the other squads are doing.

>Check the maps. Specifically of any armories or places where guards would be.

I'd rather the lesser staff remain as non-threats.
>>
>>5817059
>Discuss something with your men. (write in...)
Derek
What are the chances you can find a way to figure out where the glitches in the tablet files are coming from?

>Check the maps (Specify which one(s)...)
>Check your surroundings further.
>Patrol the area once you land.
All for the lake to the northwest.
>>
>>5817059
Check what sort of weapons the troop carrier has when it arrives and ask the squad about if any of our own vehicles were available. Something with a decent autocannon or high powered laser to support operations would be nice at some point.
>>
>Pick Alan
Alan would quickly head to the main encampment, getting himself a simple yet effective flamethrower. It was obviously not an extremely powerful thing, being a bit more primitive than most weaponry... but hey, a flamethrower was a flamethrower. And after Lydia, Artyom and Derek returned, it was time to head to the crater for the first mission.

>Check what sort of weapons the troop carrier has
Inside the troop carrier, you found that... it was all heavily automated, the carrier being programmed to just take you in and out of the crater. In terms of defensive systems, it did have a few flares, but modifications had been made to the carrier to ensure it had limited weapons systems and was most efficient at just moving people around. But hey, these modifications which reduced space for weapon systems also gave it more space for vantage points, allowing you to look into the crater.

>Examine that giant metal cube
Once you were on the troop carrier, you got a view of the whole crater as you and your men were brought down. The cube quickly caught your attention. From a far distance, it seemed... quite massive, being easily over 150 feet in height, length and width. It looked quite well protected, looking like it was made from some rather advanced material. There was only one small entrance to the square, and it was heavily guarded not by death squads, but by some actual military forces... elite forces at that. Another noteworthy detail was that there were several large pipelines connected to the cube. Whatever they were transporting was up in the air...
>>
>Check the maps (Specify which one(s)...)
>Check the maps. Specifically of any armories or places where guards would be.
Checking the map, you saw that the cube... wasn't some installation which had always been there. There was nothing like a bunker or containment area in the location the cube now seemingly sat at. In other words, it was something which had only been constructed recentl...

Perhaps you could ask about it later to the other death squads, or even the government officials. For now, you just checked the varying maps for further details.

The old maps showed that the facility's area was divided into 4 quadrants: Northwest, Northeast, Southwest and Southeast. The crater seemed to be placed mostly North-western quadrant, meaning the floors in the other quadrants were far more in tact. Speaking of floors, the facility had at least 20 different main floors, each main floor being large enough for them to be subdivided into several smaller floors. The bad news was then that it was more like there were 80 to a 100 different floors to explore...

The good news was that... well, for one, a large chunk of these floors had been turned into a crater. In fact, you saw that the upper 14 main floors had all been destroyed, at least for this quadrant of the facility. And for two, it seemed the hallways connecting the various parts were just... huge and did not have these subdivisions. In other words, only actual containment and research sections would have many floors worth exploring... as well as some of the side-routes.

Speaking of these rooms, you checked to see if there were any armouries or places where facility guards would be. It seemed each main floor had four small armoury for the guards, each stationed in a different quadrant. Given that there were 20 main floors, that meant there were 80 different areas which could have guards in them. Of course, given the massive crater which had likely destroyed some of these armouries, it was probably safer to say that there was a lower number of them.
>>
>Check some of the frequencies that subject messes with using a spare radio.
>Discuss something with your men.
After checking the map, you also decided to maybe do a bit of sleuthing in regards to LW-20. And you knew there was one guy who could hopefully help with this. You turned to Derek, before asking "Derek, What are the chances you can find a way to figure out where the glitches in the tablet files are coming from?"

Derek wasn't too surprised by the question, responding quite casually. "Well, it's... gonna be tough. I can definitely run some tests with radios and frequencies which have been compromised by that subject, but... given how these creatures may function, it will be hard to determine how she's doing it. I'll try and work on it whenever we got the chance though." Lydia quickly joined into the conversation as well, grabbing one of the radios. "We can maybe run some tests whenever we're down there as well. Maybe we can set one of the radios to the compromised frequencies. For all we know, it's some sort of hardware corruption, rather than radio tampering. Though I can understand if you'd rather we not try and actively fight against that subject." Derek nodded quite confidently to that latter statement. "I think we've gotta find ways to protect ourselves from her attacks first, before we try and find ways to track her down. Then again, it comes down what Mikhail and the other men want..."

>Ask the squad about vehicles
As the carrier got closer and closer to the landing spot inside the crater, you started thinking that vehicle support might be effective. And after bringing it up, there was a bit of a silence. Zaria was the first to respond. "We could bring it up to Lodger. They might provide us with some armoured personnel carriers or utility vehicles... Though I highly doubt the government would let let us bring in some equipment like that. At least, not without first forcing us to do a ton of shitty paperwork." While Zaria was clearly pessimistic, Anon was far more positive, responding more confidently. "I am sure that they'd allow it. I mean, they got mech suits over here, so they probably will allow some of our personnel carriers. Besides, I can't imagine them securing this place without the use of some vehicles." Given that Anon was quite good with these things, he probably was right that vehicles were allowed. Though Zaria's concerns that the government might just block you from using your equipment was... equally valid, at least to a certain degree.
>>
>Patrol the area once you land.
>Check your surroundings further.
Finally, the carrier landed inside of the crater, the doors opening and letting you inside. Instantly, you were hit with a particular smell. It was one of war, dirt, concrete, chemicals and blood. You stepped out of the carrier, getting a decent view of your surroundings.

You now saw that there were actually a few hills of rubble, with this landing spot being on one of said hills. There were makeshift metal pathways going in-between them and letting you get around the place. The terrain itself was not even at all, likely because it mostly consisted of chunks of concrete, dirt and all other forms of rubble.

You saw many groups of men walking along these pathways, some entering the quickly crafted barracks and tents, others clearly patrolling around, and many heading in particular directions. There were some walls and fortifications, though most seemed to be surrounding the basecamp which you had landed in. Speaking of which, in centre of the basecamp loomed the large, highly guarded cube. Not a single man seemed to head in its direction though...

>Head northwest to the flooded area
>Head for a different area (write in which area...)
>Head for the cube
>Check the map for further details (write in...)
>Check the area further (write in...)
>Discuss with your men (write in...)
>Something else
>>
>>5817439
>Check the map for further details (write in...)
The area around the flooded area
>Head northwest to the flooded area
>Something else
Check the tablet against the map of the flooded area to see which, if any, targets may be around there.
>Discuss with your men (write in...)
Who's up for some spelunking?
>>
>>>5817507
Support, I suppose.
>>
>Check the map for further details about the area around the flooded section
>Check the tablet against the map of the flooded area to see which, if any, targets may be around there.
Given how large the lake seemed to be, it was clear that the flooded section would be... quite a substantial part of the north-western quadrant. You'd check the varying maps to see what the deal with it was. "What are you checking up on?" Lydia eventually asked, checking through the maps. Mike, Derek and Thaddeus also helped, with Derek checking the tablet and speaking up about the subjects which were there. "Reports say that there are 2 highly aquatic subjects which are hiding in the flooded sections, as well as reports of 2 regular subjects. Also states that most of the flooding is mostly limited to the floors we're on and the adjacent floors." He'd already get to work checking the subjects in question, while Lydia checked the map and soon pointed at something. "Here's the reason it flooded, I imagine. The 6th floor contained several aquatic containment areas which were directly connected to the ocean. There was also a desalination plant there which was used to provide the entire facility with water."

Well, at least you knew the general reasoning as to why there was a flood now. But, the extent and how easy it would be to traverse that area was to be seen still... "Oh, also, Mikhail, to the east of the aquatic sector here, there was a kind of... indoor greenhouse which hosted a few subjects, as well as exotic plant species for research purposes. There were also a few offices nearby aaand a power plant." It was nice that the old map had so much info about each floor. But the question was how accurate it was now... At least you had the tablet which would give a more realistic view of it. And speaking of which Derek pointed to the unconnected tablet. "I checked the four subjects which were spotted there. There's a threat level 9 subject, codename AH-600, and a threat level 1 subject, codename DS-14, in the waters there. Furthermore, subjects PF-4 and 933-GHD were spotted just one floor up, but managed to escape. They're a threat level 3 and 2 respectively." You knew the place you were going to and the subjects which had been spotted there now... It was time to get the party started.
>>
>Head northwest to the flooded area
It was quite a lengthy walk to the flooded area, walking through the large basecamp and around the inconspicuous cube took... well, it took 20 minutes. You finally reached the fortifications which protected the base, the soldiers there thankfully letting you pass. Thus, you'd walk through a section of the crater which had been left... far more untouched. The place looked like an absolute waste yard. There was mostly just rubble stretching out all around you, with a single makeshift path being carved through it. You had to watch your step a lot, as jagged rocks stuck out all over the place. You'd pass a few hills of rubble, sometimes noticing actual structures standing in the piles of rubble. Most were completely destroyed though.

>Discuss with your men: Who's up for some spelunking?
While making your way across this wasteland, you asked your men about going inside of the ruins to check around, using the term spelunking. "What, you mean like cave diving?" Alan said a bit curiously, while Mike spoke in a more amused tone. "Clearly Mikhail just means going inside of the ruins and exploring it." Lars also responded, doing in a bit of a smug tone. "Could also mean like... looking for riches, right? I'd certainly not mind taking some crap from around the place and taking it along. I mean, abandoned science place? There's bound to be some good loot around there." Whatever you had asked your men, it seemed they weren't too opposed to the idea of exploring the ruins from within. Maybe also with a few limitations, lest they rob the place clean...

Soon though, you would see something past the hills... You were approaching the edge of the crater, the side of it getting closer and closer. And shortly after, you'd also see... the large lake, easily capable of fitting several battleships. The lake appeared quite shallow for the most part. More importantly though, you saw several tunnels into the wall which the lake sat against, some having collapsed and others remaining accessible with ease. There were even some tunnels connected to the lake which looked to be flooded.

>Check the lake
>Discuss with your men (Write in...)
>Check the hallways (Flooded or dry ones)
>Check your surroundings
>Check how your maps line up with reality
>Ask Derek for details about the subjects
>Discuss targets and goals of the mission
>Head into one of the hallways (Flooded or dry)
>Something else...
>>
>Check the hallways, specifically the dry ones.

Best to stick to dry land for now.

>Check how your maps line up with reality

I don't think I need to explain why this is a good idea.

>Ask Derek for details about the subjects

Best to know the things that will likely try to murder us, or maybe just run. Given the low threat levels I presume that all but AH-600 are going to just try to avoid us, but I still want to know about them so we know what we are dealing with.

>Head into one of the dry hallways

After checking it to make sure it's safe, which is already in this list.
>>
>Check how your maps line up with reality
Seeing now that you were actually close to some in tact structures, you decided to check up on how the maps you had gotten lined up with reality, starting with the physical maps. The good thing was that there were the many hallways, which would definitely show up on the maps. And... you quickly found out that there was something a bit... awkward. The hallways were supposed to be up a decent bit, showing that... a large chunk of this section had sagged downwards into the ground. More importantly, it seemed that there would have to be an extra hallway nearby. So, either it was hidden underneath the water level or under a bunch of rubble, or the hallway had completely collapsed. Checking the more up-to-date maps on the offline and online tablet, you saw that those maps indeed lined up a bit more with reality, and also told you that the one missing hallway had actually partially collapsed. Apparently, there was a small opening to the collapsed hallway a bit further inside of the place.

>Ask Derek for details about the subjects
Now that you knew the flaws of the physical maps and how some features may have changed, you decided to ask Derek about the one thing that... hopefully hadn't changed location: The subjects. After bringing it up, he'd go to the subject sections and spoke up.

"DS-14 is a relatively large aquatic, mermaid like subject who was spotted in a flooded hallway. Apparently, she instantly fled the moment she was spotted, though had taken a few shots. Data states she is over 7 feet tall, appears quite rotten and weak." The fact this subject was rotten seemed to confuse a lot of your men. A living zombie mermaid didn't exactly sound like a threat level 1 subject, after all.
>>
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"Then there's... 933-GHD. Oh, they actually have a name noted down here... Agami Harpesaurus. Quite an odd name. Oh, there's actually a bunch of pictures of her as well!" He showed you the subject, showing a green lizard gal of some kind. She seemed to be... pretty human, aside from her claws, tail, parts of her head and what not. There were pictures of her with scientists and even in a labcoat! "Apparently, she's... a pretty basic lizard subject who can change colour a bit. She used to be the... representative of the facility. So like, she'd be used in introductory videos to new scientists, and even as part of the main announcement system. Here, check this." He played a small video, showing the lizard subject facing the camera. [Hello, and welcome to the Valulori Monster Girl Centre or VMGC for short! My name is Agami Harpesaurus, codename 933-GHD.] She was about to say more, before Derek paused the video. "Apparently, there have been cases of still functioning displays turning on and playing videos of her, so... there's that."

"As for PF-4, the threat level 3 subject, she is some sort of mix between a plant and fairy. She is reported to be highly mobile and tough to pin down. She's also reported to have... plants attached to her? And these plants seems to spread and grow in area's she's been in for a while, forming snares and annoying traps. Though aside from that, she is mostly harmless and... uhhh, a note here says 'Please don't kill her. I want to catch her alive so I can... strangle her with her own plants. Thank you in advance, Artemis, Blackstar's 17th scouting group.'." There were a couple of giggles based on that. Seemed like this subject had a bit of a history screwing with soldiers. Zaria even responded in turn, doing so with a huge smirk. "Check if we can contact this Artemis in Blackstar. Maybe he's willing to pay us if we capture this subject."

"Subject AH-600 is another... relatively large aquatic subject, measured at about 10 feet at minimum. She is described as pale, skeletal and frail. She has various sharp parts to her, with a focus on a large, barbed tail. Her agility and appearance make her deceptively hard to take down and... uhhh, she apparently has an affinity for coming up from dark waters and dragging prey under. IN fact, it states here that she has... killed at least 7 men like this." While the zombie mermaid had unnerved your men, this clearly seemed to make your men far less pleased with your choice in where to go to next. Being crushed out in the open by a psychopathic giant subject was one thing, but being dragged under and drowned in a dark, flooded hallway seemed... far more terrifying.
>>
>Check the hallways, specifically the dry ones.
>Head into one of the dry hallways
Given the terror, you decided to check the hallways which were dry. Looking into it, you were met with... well, mostly just darkness. Each hallway was easily large enough to have 7 men walk side by side through it, while it was tall enough to let huge subjects like 38-VG easily walk through without any issue. As for what was down it, well... mostly just rubble, bits and pieces from the ceiling, a few small transport vehicles in the distance... the most noteworthy part was that you could hear soft dripping noises coming from out of the hall, as well as cool, humid air. Looking back, you saw most of your men following closely, all holding their weaponry with both hands aside from Derek who kept the tablet in one hand. "So, we going down there?" Lydia said in a calm yet cautious tone. You could tell most of the men were ready to go down there, but... the silence and lack of banter was clear. Your men were solemn and stoic, but they weren't exactly relaxed or excited for the mission either.

>Discuss with your men... (write in)
>Give a little motivational speech (Write in the speech, if you feel like it)
>Silently head onwards into the tunnel
>Take another path
>Retreat
>Something else...

(OOC: Now that I've prepared all the sheets and compiled the necessary details, I've finally written the second Doc which names all the scientists and subjects. Obviously, it won't give insane amounts of information, especially for the subject, but I imagine that it will still be helpful to have a list of the subjects. You guys can also just ask for details about subjects at random points in the story, which is when I'll give some more lengthy details. I also hope to update it as the story goes on with extra details such as 'last known locations', 'known weaknesses', 'last combat engagements' and crap like that.)

(Anyway, here it is: Scientists and Subjects: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15Z64W31Eszz9CNi-ZWe-t38yqg6riZ9oUvinfd2-F9A/edit?usp=sharing)

(Oh, one final detail, I'll try and post the next update 10 hours from the time I make this update, then another update 5 hours after and another 5 more hours after if possible. I plan to have 3 updates per day during the weekend and 2 updates per weekday, unless if I get 0 responses.)
>>
>>5818323
>>Discuss with your men... (write in)
Lets leave the watery ones for the other death squads. Agree?

>Silently head onwards into the tunnel
>>
>>5818359
Supporting.

Also, I hope we get art of every monster girl we come across.
>>
>>5818323
Tell Derek to put the tablet away and everyone to be on alert and tread carefully from here, a dangerous subject could be just ahead.
>>
>Discuss with your men...
Seeing the fact that your men were left... a tiny bit on edge, you decided to make a suggestion: You were going to leave the aquatic subjects for the other death squads to deal with. Your men didn't seem to mind the offer too much, but Artyom did seem a bit unsure. "Well, what if we encounter one of those water monster girls? Do we just... leave them be?" Lars scoffed in turn. "If we see them outside the waters, I'm sure Mikhail will agree we can fill those bastards with lead. We're just not gonna actively hunt for those things and stay away from the waters." Artyom still looked sceptical, soon looking back at the main base at the centre of the crater. "As long as we don't actively relegate our job to the other death squads, I suppose that can work." Artyom wasn't exactly fond of the other death squads, so it was fair that he had some concerns. "There are plenty of subjects and scientists to hunt outside of the waters. I don't think we'll have to worry too much about the competition right now." Anon finally remarked, after which the men waited for their next command. You only had one, and you didn't even have to say it. Thus, you turned around and faced the tunnel...

>Silently head onwards into the tunnel
>Tell Derek to put the tablet away and everyone to be on alert and tread carefully from here, a dangerous subject could be just ahead.
At long last, you would head into the ruined facility. You'd set foot into the tunnel, your men following close-by. Though after taking a few steps forward, you'd tell Derek to put away the tablet, given that it was essentially a beacon for subjects to find you guys. "Roger." He'd respond, putting the thing away before grabbing onto his shotgun. You told everyone to be on high alert and to tread carefully, your men silently following your command as they stuck close-by you. There weren't too many places for a subject to hide in the hallway, but that didn't mean that you could just enter without a care in the world...

The tunnel became darker and darker as you headed further inwards, as the light of the outside world dissipated. Thankfully, your helmets had night vision, giving you a bit of visibility in this place. The hallway was pretty barren for the most part. The floor was covered with glass from the overhead lights as well as pieces of concrete from the ceiling, the mixture of rubble creating these soft snapping sounds whenever you took a step...
>>
Looking ahead into the tunnel, you saw that it headed straight for quite a long distance. Though there were also a few side rooms which you could see and even a crossroad not too far away from your current location. The first of the side-rooms you soon came nearby was... well, the sliding metal door for said room was just slightly open, allowing you to enter one person at a time. Though maybe pushing it open was also an option.

>Check the (tablet) maps for details on the room
>Turn on radio comms for info (specify with who and with which device: the government radios or Lodger's radios. Also specify if you wanna ask a question over comms or if you're just listening in for updates about the area)
>Peak into the room
>Enter the room
>Ignore the room and move onwards
>Discuss with your men (Write in...)
>Something else...

(OOC question, it has now been a week since we started and I kinda wanna hear how people are feeling about this quest so far. Any suggestions or critiques? Any questions you may have? Just curious so I can improve things here and there.)
>>
>>5818771
We are still only getting started, I think the quest has plenty of potential going from here. I think the pace is generally good since it means it doesn't get too far ahead between when I check in. If things go too smoothly in mopping up the government's mess then it might be boring, but I hope we will have some growth as the quest goes on, maybe both in character and or tools for tackling the facility.
>Push the door open
The idea of going into an unknown room with just enough room for one at a time sounds like the perfect way to get killed by something we could otherwise deal with.
>>
>>5818771
>Push the door open
>>
>>5818771
>peak into the room
you can't be too sure with these things
>>
>>5818771
>peak into the room
You are doing well QM, no complaints here.
>>
>Peak into the room

Best know what we are walking into before going in.

>If the coast is clear, push the door open.

And QM, you are doing alright. The only critique I had was to give names to the soldiers we were with and tell who's talking but you shifted over and started doing that already.
>>
>Peak into the room
Given that you didn't know what the room would hold, you'd make sure to peak inside a bit. Your soldiers remained close-by, a few even holding up their weapons in case something suddenly jumped you. Though fortunately, you didn't see anything of concern... at least, not yet. Peaking through the small gap, you'd see a few storage closets, a table and chair, some dirty plates on said table, a sink... It seemed to be some sort of living accommodation for staff or soldiers. Of course, you couldn't see everything in the room through the small gap, and the room still extended a bit further to each side. So there very well could still be threats lurking about inside of the room. Given that the door was only barely able to let through one person now though, you decided to take the time to actually open the door fully to make it easy enough to enter (and escape) the room...

>Push the door open
Given that it was a sliding metal door, pushing it open would maybe not be too easy. Still, you suggested the job and would see Alan step forward. "Aight, lemme handle this, chief." However, it seemed to be just a bit too heavy a job for just one man. Fortunately, Thaddeus also stepped forward. "Okay, let's try this together, Alan." It was good to see your men working together, even if it was on something as trivial as pushing open a large metal door. They soon pushed together, the door making a bit of noise as metal seemed to grind against metal. Fortunately, the door seemed to budge more and more, as the two men created enough space to easily let a person through. Alan and Thaddeus were not above celebrating their strength together, giving each other a smack on the back of support.

Finally, you could enter the room with a bit more ease, as well as see more of what was inside. You saw that a few of the lockers had already been broken open, cans of food having been taken out from it and opened up by... someone or something. Clearly, somebody had been in this place before... and that somebody could very well still be hiding in there.

>Just enter the room. It's clearly safe...
>Send one of your men in first, just to check...
>Move on, the room doesn't seem of interest...
>Discuss with your men first. Just in case...
>Something else...
>>
>Send Alan first, just to check

Hey, if something goes horribly wrong, we'll still likely kill a subject with him, right? Worthy sacrifice.
>>
>>5819029
>Just enter the room. It's clearly safe...
>>
>>5819029
>Send Anon in first, rifles covering him as best as possible. Alan watch down the hall incase something comes rushing this way since a flamethrower is a liability for covering one person in a small room.
>>
>>5819029
>Send one of your men in first, just to check...
Send Alan in, flamethrowers job is to die first.
>>
>Send Alan first, just to check.
>Get someone to watch down the hall in case subjects try rushing you
Knowing that something could be hiding in the room, you decided to send in someone who was strong, resilient and fearless. After a bit of thinking, you decided Alan would work best. Maybe a flamethrower would be a bit too much in just a single room, but... hey, it could be considered a strong form of 'fumigation'. "Aight chief..." Alan responded after you told him to check the room. He'd keep both hands on his flamethrower, carefully entering the room. After looking around a bit, he'd give a thumbs up. "Area is clear." There was a lot of relief, as you could now safely enter the room. You still had your gun at the ready though, not wanting to be caught off-guard.

As you entered the room, you could finally see what it was. It looked to be some sort of guard post or security office of some kind. The left side of the room had a bunch more lockers, some of which were closed. The open ones seemed to have all sorts of things. Some reserve ammo, spare guardsman outfits, a few radios, a broken stun baton, and even some food items. Though most of the stuff looked dusty, old and of sub-par quality. Not to mention, the food looking... bland and moulding quite badly. On the right side of the room, there was a desk with a computer, more containers, a trash can and a lot of pieces of paper. There was also a single large storage container, in which there seemed to be paper files about the place. The most haunting thing was a calendar which hadn't flipped over to the next month yet, with a date being circled with a red marker... and on that date, it said 'Off-duty family vacation!'. Hopefully, whoever noted that down had left the facility before the shitshow had started...

Regardless, the room wasn't too small, but it certainly wasn't large either. You could maybe fit all your men in it, but... it would be quite cramped to say the least. Perhaps a few of your men should wait outside and be on guard. Besides, you only needed a few men to really check around the room or act as cover in case there was a surprise waiting for you here...

>Discuss with your men. Maybe assign them to check parts of the room or who can come in and who should stay outside.
>Check the paper files. Maybe they'd have some interesting information.
>Check the closed lockers. In case somebody stuffed something bad in there.
>Check the small kitchen area. Someone had clearly used it recently.
>Check your map for info about this room. Maybe it'd tell you more about this specific room?
>Just move on. The room is clearly not that interesting.
>Something else...
>>
>Take one of the radio's from the lockers to examine the frequency.

Maybe we can get in contact with the guards of this place and bring some of them into a trap?

>Check the paper files

Information is key. Can give us more intel on some of the subjects maybe. Or at least a staff roster for who we need to look out for due to likely having some firepower. The subjects are a threat, any sort of armed guard is one as well.

>Check the small kitchen area.

Maybe we can find some sort of clue? It's listed so, something is probably tied to it.

>Check the closed Lockers.

Mainly to see if they are locked or not. If they aren't, there might be someone trying to be clever and hiding inside.
>>
>>5819289
Losing the flamethrower first would be a big mistake I feel. Rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
>>5819480
>Leave Anon here to watch our backs and hold the position for falling back if necessary, then continue down the hall.
>>
We are hunting for the staff and subjects of this place. It is best if we actually investigate what we can before leaving. We aren't exactly on a timer last I checked.
>>
>>5819480
>>Leave Anon here to watch our backs and hold the position for falling back if necessary, then continue down the hall.
>Check the paper files. Maybe they'd have some interesting information.
>Check the closed lockers. In case somebody stuffed something bad in there.
>Check the small kitchen area. Someone had clearly used it recently.
>Check your map for info about this room. Maybe it'd tell you more about this specific room?
Do it all
>>
>Leave Anon here to watch our backs and hold the position for falling back if necessary, then continue down the hall.
Given that you needed someone to act as cover outside the room, you decided to tell Anon to stay outside and watch for any threats. He could even hold the position once you're done checking the room, something you suggested soon after. "Very well then, Mikhail. Let me know if you find anything of interest." He'd grab his shotgun and started looking around, preparing himself for an ambush from deeper in the tunnel. Thus, it gave you and the other men a chance to check the room. Though given how tight it was, Zaria and Lars decided to also stay back with Anon. Though, they'd still come along once you were done checking the room. Speaking of which, there were a lot of things to look at...

>Check your map for info about this room. Maybe it'd tell you more about this specific room?
But first, you felt that maybe checking the maps for this room could prove useful. You started checking them, Lydia soon after helping with the old maps. "Ah, here's the room." She pointed to the room you were now in, showing that it served as a small break room for staff, mostly guardsmen. "There are rooms like these all over the place. Some are a bit larger and act like checkpoints... ah, like this one, down our current path and to the right." Well, at least you now knew that these kinds of room existed and were worth checking out. But other than that, the maps didn't provide much info. "If you want, I can get the offline tablet Derek got us. Maybe it'll give some extra details." Lydia continued calmly, showing some hope that the more recently made maps would shine some further light on this place. Then again, they'd probably not say much else...

>Yes, check the offline tablet
>No, it probably won't give us any other information.

>Take one of the radio's from the lockers to examine the frequency.
After having checked the map and deciding on if Lydia should also compare it to the offline tablet's maps, the next point of interest was that there was equipment which had been used by the guard forces of the facility. While their weaponry and clothing weren't of much interest, their old radios certainly were. After grabbing one, you'd check the frequency to which it was set, asking Derek about if it was a frequency which had been used. "I don't remember seeing that in the list of frequencies, no. We can definitely fiddle with it and see if there are any guards still using it, but... I imagine that the frequency has either been abandoned, or most of the guards know it isn't safe to use... Unless if the guards aren't the brightest around." He said that last comment with a bit of amusement, before taking a radio as well and checking it out. Given how they weren't exactly in the best of states, the radios may need a bit of fixing before they could actually be used for traps...
>>
>Check the paper files
With the radios perhaps having a use for you after all, you decided the next thing to check out were the paper files which were strewn about. Unfortunately, these proved to be a lot less useful, as you and Thaddeus went through the papers. "Well, Mikhail, I don't think these papers are of any interest to us. The only really interesting thing I found so far was about... policy change regarding allowed food-items near certain subjects and... uhhh, interactions with subjects being prohibited. Aside from that, nothing but shift changes or incident reports." Well, it was at least something, but it was a far cry from the bombshell reports you had hoped for. Still, maybe the incident reports could have some interesting information about particular targets?

>Check the small kitchen area.
The kitchen proved to at least have some more interesting details of note. While it mostly looked to have been unused and left dirty for quite some time, you did notice a few tin cans and packages of food which had been opened but left unfinished. A can of corn, some bread, a little container of fruits which was just starting to grow mouldy. There was also a bottle with some sort of fruit juice lying on the ground, having been dropped there for some reason and spilling some of its content... The recency showed that someone had indeed been here not too long ago. However, they had clearly left in a hurry. After all, who would leave a bunch of perfectly fine food? Not to mention, leaving the bottle on the ground...

>Check the closed Lockers.
While the files and kitchen had given some... vague details so far, what you encountered in one of the lockers was far more interesting. After you told your men you planned to check the lockers, Mike stepped forward with a supporting tone. "I'll cover you, Mikhail. In case something decides to jump out of there when we open it." Artyom also approached, holding up his light machine gun. "Make sure to carefully open them. Just in case they are actually trapped." Artyom stuck close to you and Mike. Being the trapper of your group, Artyom clearly was the best to watch for these kinds of things. Either way, you'd carefully open each locker, finding most thankfully empty and harmless. However, the last locker... well, you opened it up and saw some very odd things. There were these tiny particles of various colours. They were silver-ish, green and black. They seemed to be mostly on the bottom of the locker, as well as the lower sides of it. More worrisome, was that there were these stains on the interior walls of the locker, being focused on 4 particular spots. "The hell are those weird... flakes?" Mike said, while Artyom raised a hand. "They look almost like... scales." Whatever had been in that locker, it... was clearly not normal.
>>
>Keep exploring other parts of the room. Perhaps you missed a detail?
>Investigate the locker with the strange particles further. Clearly, something strange had been in there.
>Discuss with your men. Maybe they got some ideas or suggestions?
>Move on. The room clearly isn't of interest.
>Something else...
>>
>>5820661
>>Investigate the locker with the strange particles further. Clearly, something strange had been in there.
probably some snake thing shedding.
>>
>>5820661
>>5820689
Supporting. I'm concerned about the scales. But it means we might find something soon for better or worse.
>>
>>5820661
>Move on. The room clearly isn't of interest.
>>
>>5820661
>Investigate the locker further and send a sample back if possible. We may learn more about who was here and maybe their weaknesses.
>>
>Investigate the locker with the strange particles further. Clearly, something strange had been in there.
>Investigate the locker further and send a sample back if possible. We may learn more about who was here and maybe their weaknesses.
After Artyom pointed out they were scales, there was a bit of curiosity among your men about what it was. "Scales? Like, snake scales? Or maybe even a dragon?" Evander said in soft amazement, while Thaddeus responded with a soft scoff. "Knowing this place, could be any kind of scales." Artyom shook his head. "I don't know." He'd carefully crouch down, before moving a gloved finger against some of the particles. "Are you sure that's safe?" Lydia asked with mild concern. Evander also responded, with his concerns being elsewhere. "I'd be more concerned about those stains. They don't look normal whatsoever." Despite the concerns, Artyom didn't seem bothered whatsoever. He'd raise his finger, showing the strangely coloured particles. "It's very light and soft..." He'd soon squish it between his fingers, rubbing it between them and turning it into a very fine powder. "These aren't reptile scales. At least, they don't feel like it. They may be large enough, but... these scales are soft, light and... they're easily crushed. A reptile with scales like these would not survive for very long." There was a moment of silence, as your men looked at each other with mild uncertainty. "Well, maybe it's like... an old moult from a reptilian subject? Those are quite weak as well, right?" Lydia asked quietly, Artyom shaking his head. "I'm no expert on reptiles, but... this is something else."

You could honestly discuss about these things for... quite some time. Large, soft and fragile scales were definitely the sign of some sorta subject. But whatever subject it came from, that was still a bit of a mystery. Fortunately, you had the tools to figure it out, as you suggested to get a sample. Evander stepped forward. "Alright lads, allow me." He'd grab something from one of his many pockets: a tiny test tube with a stopper. "Good thing I always keep extra things on me. Can never be sure what sorta chemicals ya find on the battlefield!" Evander, being the resident chemist nerd of your group, always had time to take some samples. Mostly just so he could test their explosivity. But it seemed it also had another function here. Even then, given that his pockets contained other potentially hazardous chemicals, it wasn't exactly... reassuring. "Are you sure it's a... good idea to keep strange, unknow subject chemicals that close to you? Not to mention, that close to other potentially dangerous chemicals?" Thaddeus remarked, Artyom speaking softly. "Unless if those particles can get through clothing, I doubt it'll be of any danger."
>>
After getting a sample of the stuff, Evander put it away. "So, guess that's all then." Lydia said calmly, the men looking at you and awaiting your next order. You had gotten a sample of what seemed like a subject, a radio with which you could maybe find some guardsman, as well as a bit more knowledge about this place and some of the rooms you could find.

>Send one of your man away to bring the chemical back to the main base. (Choose which squad member)
>Check the other chemicals in the locker. Maybe also take a sample from it?
>Just move on. We've explored the room to it's entirity.
>Something else...
>>
>>5821206
>Send someone back with the sample
If we send Evander back we still will have one MG with us, so let's send him back and have him keep in touch.
>Move on
We can't dilly dally too much or the other teams will kill everything before we earn our pay.
>>
>>5821651
Supporting
>>
>Send someone back with the sample
With Evander having a little tube with the scales, you decided that maybe he should bring it back to the main base. "Aye, that sounds like a plan." Evander would respond, while Thaddeus seemed a bit more hesitant. "You sure that's a good idea?" Evander didn't seem too bothered. "Well, we haven't gone that far into this place. Besides, I can always contact ya lads by radio, hm? I'll keep in touch and send ya lads updates if anything comes up." With that, you decided it was time to move on. After all, you could scan this room for hours, but it wouldn't give you much more information. Besides, you couldn't sit around and let the other death squads kill things and get paid.

>Move on
You left the room, Zaria, Lars and Anon immediately shifting their attention from guarding you guys to asking about the room. "So, what did you find?" Anon said, Evander leaving the room and patting his pocket. "We've got ourselves some subject material. I'll head back and hand it over in case it's of any use." Anon, Zaria and Lars seemed to understand, as Evander gave a short salute and wave before heading the other direction. After he left, you head further into the dark hallway, checking for any sort of signs of activity. Given the food in that place, perhaps there were more signs of someone or something having been here. "So, what else did you guys find?" Lars eventually asked in a rather casual tone, Thaddeus responding right away. "Just some paperwork, and some leftover foodstuffs." "Like... fresh food?" Lars asked curiously, Thaddeus shrugging. "Looked somewhat fresh... Dunno how long the food was left there, but most of it seemed edible still." The others were quickly caught up on what was found, the things you found in the locker, as well as what the plan now was.

Though it wouldn't take long for you to arrive at the crossroad in the hallway. "Shit, which direction do we take?" Mike asked quietly. Looking down each hallway, you could see and notice a few details. The right hallway led to the flooded section, and you could hear dripping noises coming from further inside of it. Not to mention, you could see some small puddles in the distance. The forward hallway seemed a lot emptier and seemed to stretch quite a long distance. The only detail which caught your eye was a few doors to the sides of the hallway, as well as a large glass panel built into the wall further ahead. Perhaps some sort of check-point for staff or something else? The left hall also seemed decently interesting, being far more covered with rubble than the other routes. Though the left hall also seemed to have... some kind of abandoned fortifications or checkpoint in the distance...
>>
However, there was one other detail which was of interest, one which was quite hard to miss. In fact, after Mike asked about the directions, Zaria quickly pointed it out. "What's this thing?" She aimed her gun at centre of the crossroad, where some sort of strange, large column with black, broken screens on each side stood. It was rather imposing, yet it was also quite heavily damaged. One of the screens had fallen off of the column, exposing some of bare metal wall behind it. The other screens were in various broken states, some having glass shards chipped out of it, while the one in the best condition had a bunch of fractures.

>Head forward, it looks the easiest to traverse.
>Head right, it doesn't seem that flooded.
>Head left, the fortifications look interesting.
>Check the weird column of screens. Maybe they serve some kind of purpose?
>Discuss with your men...
>Something else...
>>
>Check the weird column of screens. Maybe they serve some kind of purpose?

Seems oddly suspicious.

>Head left, the fortifications look interesting.

May as well continue to investigate the guard posts and other security area's.
>>
>>5822213
>Head right, it doesn't seem that flooded.
>>
>>5822213
>Check the weird column of screens. Maybe they serve some kind of purpose?
>>Head left, the fortifications look interesting.
>>
>>5822479
Supporting
>>
>Check the weird column of screens. Maybe they serve some kind of purpose?
The strange column in the centre of the crossroads looked... rather suspicious. They obviously would have some kind of function, but it certainly seemed out of place. After Zaria stated her confusion at what it was, you decided to approach it. You'd slowly approach it, in case it was some sort of trap. As you got closer and closer, you'd suddenly get mildly blinded by light coming from the screen. Your men held their rifles up, aiming at the screen. "Shit, it's a trap!" Mike said, before the screen flickered a few more times. "No, wait!" Thaddeus said, after which the screen flickered a few more times. You heard some... static, as well as some rather off-sounding audio. After stepping back, the screens showed the facility's logo and a small start-up screen. And finally, you heard a voice. [Att...tion a... staff! An e...gency has be... declared.] You saw Agami appear on the screen again, with a calm and reassuring smile on her face. Her calm demeanour and the clean look of the background and the suit she was wearing heavily contrasted with... well, the broken screen and audio, as well as the state of this place.

[This i... ... a drill! Due to ... ... the fac...ty is n... on lockdown. Plea... cease all rese... activiti... a... ... ... the near... shelt... right ...way. Do not in... ... subjects ... ...ment area. Guards will ... ... situation und... control as soo... ... possible. For now... ... ... the nearest she... ... your own safety! We will ke... ... informed of the situ...tion.] Agami gave a quiet smile, after which the message repeated itself, albeit with the audio soon breaking entirely, showing her smiling and talking calmly without any words coming out.

"What even triggered that?!" Anon soon asked in bewilderment, Derek looking at the screen from top to bottom before responding calmly. "It's an announcement system which activates based on proximity. Since it gave an emergency message, I imagine it can work on reserve batteries." Well, it did make sense... but, it did also create a lot more questions which you could only theorise about for now.
>>
>Head left, the fortifications look interesting.
Since there... wasn't much else you could get from the column and the screens, you decided to just head onwards. After looking at the three options you had, you decided to head left. Given the abandoned fortifications, it might have been used by the facility guards for... well, whatever incident happened that forced them to prepare. You signalled your men to follow, as you headed further inwards. The floor became more and more covered with rubble the further you went on. Though there still was a small path, implying that some men had travelled to this place before. "Are those fortifications in the distance made by our men?" Mike asked carefully as you would start approaching the fortifications. "Don't think so. None of our men use materials like these. This seems far more... Nor do I think the other death squads would've built this. Besides, the map didn't point to this place existing, but does mention other fortified spots." Lydia responded, after which Artyom spoke. "Well, if that's the case, we gotta keep our eyes peeled. If it ain't the work of our men, or the other death squads, it must've been the work of the guardsmen..." With this knowledge in mind, you'd all vigilantly approach the place. It looked to be a rather... crude defensive position, consisting mostly of sandbags, large panelling which clearly came from the ceiling and walls of this place, and even large bits of rubble. Most of the fortifications had already been... destroyed though, with many panelling and sandbags clearly having been destroyed...

>Enter the fortified position. It has clearly already been destroyed.
>Send in one of your men to check for traps. Artyom probably would do well.
>Discuss with your men. Maybe they wanna have a say in this.
>Head back. It's clearly not safe to be here.
>Something else...

(Sorry for the slight delay today. Was... quite distracted throughout the day. At least today's update is a rather spicy one...)
>>
>>5822708
>>Send in one of your men to check for traps. Artyom probably would do well.
>>
>>5822837
Supporting
>>
>>5822708
>Enter the fortified position. It has clearly already been destroyed.
>>
>Send in one of your men to check for traps. Artyom probably would do well.
Given the fact that the place could be trapped, you decided to send in the one man with the most expertise. After telling Artyom to go into the fortifications, he'd give a calm nod. "Roger." He simply said, before carefully making his way past the first fortifications. He kept his machine gun close and made sure to check every nook and cranny. "God, I hope this place hasn't been trapped." Lydia eventually said, Alan responding casually. "Well, if it has been, Artyom will probably see it right away." Looking at Artyom from a short distance, you soon saw him pause as he reached a large pile of bean bags against the walls of the hallway. He seemed to carefully approach the bean bags, aiming his gun at whatever he had spotted. There was a pause, before he stepped back and spoke up loud enough for you and the others to hear. "Dead body... I think." There was a bit of confusion among your men. Given how hesitant Artyom sounded, and the fact he said 'I think', it almost made it seem like he had found something else that resembled a body... He'd start looking around further, checking for more traps before speaking up again. "Two more... bodies here." This only further piqued the curiosity and concern of your men. Though fortunately, Artyom soon lowered his rifle and signalled you and the others over.

"Alright, location is safe." Artyom said, as you and the men approached. They walked past the sandbags and panelling, some checking it out but most heading for the spot where the bodies were. You and Anon were the first to reach the body, quickly discovering why Artyom had been so hesitant. What you found was nothing short of disturbing, as you saw what looked to be... the tangled and destroyed mess of a guardsman. It took you a second to realise that what you were looking was the torso, as it looked to have been snapped in half at the midriff region. Where the hands would've been, there were just clumps of blood and bone, while the arms had been twisted and crushed at various sections. The legs were in a similar state, with the feet being mostly obliterated and the legs being snapped at various spots. As for the head? Well, the upper part of it was still one piece, but everything below that had been... completely crushed and destroyed. It was a twisted and mangled mass of red and white. The only way you could recognise the body as a guardsman was... well, the fact that some of the bloodstained torso still had a uniform on, showing a few badges and insignia of the facility.
>>
Once your men got a look at it though, they would be... quite disturbed. "Good fucking god." You heard Anon mumble under his breath, Lydia gasping and even sounding a bit disgusted. "Oh god..." Zaria was also not too pleased by the sight. "Whatever the fuck caused this, I hope it's far away from us..." Even the usually optimistic and relaxed Alan was a bit worried. "Fucking hell man..." He said as he passed the corpse. And worse? There were two more of these absolutely ruined corpses. And check up on them, they were in equally worse conditions. "Well sir... what should we do?" Mike asked cautiously, not knowing how you'd react to working in... this environment. You may be a death squad, but this was unnecessarily brutal...

>Inspect the corpses. They may tell us something useful or have some useful items on them.
>Document this site. Both so the corpses can be identified and other squads can take note of this spot.
>Inspect the site for signs of battle. Maybe it'd reveal some info about what had happened.
>Check for material. Perhaps the guards left some useful tools nearby?
>Fucking run. This place is not worth exploring any further.
>Just head onwards. Whatever was here clearly left.
>Something else...

(Apologies for just one update today. I wasn't exactly sure if I should make an update for just one response. I do have to ask, do you guys prefer it if I make a response even with just one perosn giving their choice? Or should I wait for multiple people to make their choice instead? Also, any sort of suggestions for update schedules or anything like that?)
>>
Fun.

>Check the high threat level subjects, specifically any that are particularly violent and brutal.

For the best to know the absolute nightmare that might just be around the corner that wasn't reported by our intelligence. I don't want to be a victim of that classic oxymoron.

>Inspect the site for signs of battle. Maybe it'd reveal some info about what had happened.

In combination with our threat level search, this should tell us what the fuck we are dealing with.

>Document this site. Both so the corpses can be identified and other squads can take note of this spot.

In the event the worst happens, we should let everyone know of the murderous monster in the area.

>Fucking run. This place is not worth exploring any further.

Let's just go back to that intersection and go forward instead now. I don't trust the QM will pull their punches just because this is our first patrol.


Understandable. Was wondering what was taking so long for the post. For your question though, I kind of want more posts because even if we aren't the character I hoped I want quite a bit of this and for a first time QM you aren't half bad. But do what feels right for you.
>>
>>5823943
I do like sticking to the 2 updates per weekday minimum and 3 updates per weekend day minimum, especially given the relatively size and details of the updates. Then again, the speed I write with will probably increase as time goes on, meaning I can update faster.

Regardless, if more people want faster and more frequent updates per day, I can try and make that work. I just worry that I'll make updates so fast that people feeling like they don't have much of a say in what Mikhail does and which direction we go.
>>
>Check the high threat level subjects, specifically any that are particularly violent and brutal.
>Inspect the site for signs of battle. Maybe it'd reveal some info about what had happened.
Given the sheer carnage which the corpses and this little guardpost had gone through, you decided to maybe check what threat could be possible. So, you turned to Derek and told him to check the high threat level subjects. "On it." He'd say, getting his offline tablet and checking it out. Meanwhile, you looked around the place for any sort of signs of what had happened. The corpses themselves weren't exactly fresh, as you could see that they had been killed... quite some time ago. Maybe a few days even. The bullet holes were also cold, showing that the firefight hadn't happened extremely recently. You soon also found the weapons which the men had used to fight whatever they fought. Machine guns, though they were crumpled and utterly destroyed, rendering them completely useless. You also soon noticed some panelling and sandbags which had clearly been slashed open by something huge and powerful. After all, metal wasn't exactly easy to cut through.

After a bit though, Derek spoke up. "Mikhail, sir, I've checked the highest threat level subjects, and I believe this to be the work of either subject FE-09, or subject 38-VG. Though, the former was seen quite recently in the Southern section, and the latter in the Western section." 38-VG... given what had been said about her, it was by far the most concerning news. After all, it was the highest threat level subject out there. FE-09 was not one you had heard of before, so perhasp Derek could explain a bit about it... probably while you get the hell out of here.
>>
>Document this site. Both so the corpses can be identified and other squads can take note of this spot.
>Fucking run. This place is not worth exploring any further.
Obviously, you still wanted other death squads to know of this place and the dangerous subject which may be around here. So, you told Derek to document it. "Roger." he'd respond, as he would get to work figuring out how to document this location. Your men soon finished looking around the place, Thaddeus approaching and speaking calmly yet with a hint of reluctance. "Sir, what do we do now?" Considering the fact one of two extremely lethal subjects was potentially nearby, and the fact that this tunnel headed west, you decided to just... cut your losses and head back. After telling your men such, they seemed relieved and quite content. "Very well, sir." Thaddeus said, you heading back and deciding to take the other hallway which headed north, rather than going back or taking the hallway to the flooded section.

As you approached the block of broken screens again, Derek spoke up eagerly. "Alright, I've noted the location down along with details. Given that this is the offline system though, it'll probably be uploaded when we get back." Well, it seemed you had at least gained something from going down the left hallway. But now, it was time to head forward, essentially going deeper into the facility. There was no base ahead of you, but you could see some small side-rooms in the distance. More importantly, that large glass wall in the distance... It would take a few minutes to get there, your men sticking close-by and knowing something could very well be hiding in those rooms or behind that glass wall...

>Check the display with the large glass wall. It probably is something important.
>Check some of the side-rooms. Those tend to be visited often.
>Just head onwards. Those rooms are just like the previous one and not of interest.
>Ask Derek about FE-09. He never really explained what makes her so threatening.
>Discuss with your men. Perhaps they have something to say?
>Something else...
>>
>>5824432
>>Check some of the side-rooms. Those tend to be visited often.
>shoot the glass wall from a distance
>>
>Check some of the side-rooms. Those tend to be visited often.

May as well, looking for clues as to anyone, staff or subject, who's still alive so we can kill them is sort of our job.

>Ask Derek about FE-09. He never really explained what makes her so threatening.

If she's responsible best to know what she's capable of. Hopefully it is her and not the threat level 10 subject.
>>
>>5824432
>Check the display with the large glass wall. It probably is something important.

>DON'T shoot the glass wall
>>
>Ask Derek about FE-09. He never really explained what makes her so threatening.
While walking down the other hallway towards the glass display, you decided to ask Derek about subject FE-09. Given she may have caused the mess from the other hallway and her high threat level, it seemed good to know a bit more about it. "Roger. I'll get the details right away." And after checking his tablet, he'd explain what FE-09 was.

"Subject FE-09, name: unknown.
Threat level: 9.
Creator: A scientist called... 'Roraima' who apparently has always focused on combat subjects. Anyway, feeding method: Organic material, presumably flesh.
Size: estimated to be about 8 feet.

General description: A mysterious yet highly powerful subject. An exact physical description has yet to be given, due to conflicting reports about her appearance. These include pitch black skin and hair, a large tail which ends with a scorpion stinger, large claws akin to a bear, goat horns, wolf ears, spines on her back, and... batlike wings?"

"Sounds like a random mish-mash of animal features to me." Zaria softly remarked, after which Mike actually posed a pretty good question. "Is this maybe some sort of chimera subject?" Given the wild description, it wasn't all that unlikely...

Derek cleared his throat, clearly wanting to continue his explanation which he did right away. "Known abilities and mutations include: Can shoot large venomous barbs from body, as well as inject a highly corrosive substance with her fangs and tail.

Her stats are as follows:
Strength: Assumed high
Durability: High
Regeneration: Unknown
Perception: Unknown
Agility: High
Intelligence: Unknown, though presumed low

In terms of her Personality and behaviour, it states: multiple reports have shown that the subject is... very prone to aggression when attacked or threatened... and... When attacked, subject instantly tries to kill whatever is trying to harm her. It also says here that the Subject does not stop attacking its targets until it has gotten the kill in, even if it means taking heavy fire."

"Soooo, if we see a completely dark, huge chimera subject of some kind... we don't shoot it so it doesn't attack us? What if it attacks us regardless of what we do?! Also, how could a creature that aggressive and mindless stay alive for any length of time?!" Anon asked in mild bewilderment, Lydia responding right away. "Maybe she has high regenerative capabilities? It said her regeneration was unknown, so maybe it's pretty high as well?" Thaddeus spoke up soon after. "Well, whatever it is, I think we can deal with it. Seems to me like a less dangerous version of that 38-VG subject." Maybe Thaddeus was right. Buuuut, if you had to make a choice between encountering 38-VG and FE-09... well, it would basically be a choice of how fast you wanted to die...
>>
>Check some of the side-rooms. Those tend to be visited often.
Thankfully, you'd soon get the chance to distract yourself with something else other than what subject would probably kill you down here, as you approached the few doors which lead to side-rooms. It seemed there were 3 side-rooms ahead of you: 2 on the left side of the hall, 1 on the right side. One of these side-rooms was very close to the glass wall, and the completely metal door leading to it was shut. The other side-room to your left was closer, and had the door left wide open, allowing you instant entry without having to push it open. As for the one side-room to the right, its door was also wide open, allowing easy entrance.

Great, one closed door, two tight-ass rooms which could be trapped as well... This ought to go swimmingly." Zaria mumbled, as you carefully peaked into the first room to the left, checking inside of it. There seemed to be more storage containers, though also a small laboratory of some kind, though you weren't entirely sure from the limited look inside of it. As for the door to the right, it was thankfully a lot smaller, appearing to be some sort of janitor's closet. It had all sorts of cleaning chemicals, brooms and other cleaning supplies in there. Though, you still couldn't get a full view of the room, so a look inside may be worth it.

>Check the display with the large glass wall. It probably is something important.
Of course, the side-rooms weren't the only thing of interest to you. The large glass wall was nearby, and you could already look into it somewhat. The glass seemed to have quite a few cracks into it and was quite dirty, being covered with mud, dust, grime and what looked to be large piles of decayed leaves. It also didn't have a visible entrance, which... was a bit of an issue. The room was actually surprisingly large, containing a few patches of... well, dried out grass, a small dirty pond, several rocky outcroppings, large piles of planty mush and compost, and even a little section with some actual trees. Though, the trees had lost most of their leaves and some of the branches had been snapped up. What was most curious about the place was that... a lot of it was covered with these dark green vines, some of which had these rather pleasant purple blossoms on them which were still blooming! Though some of these blossoms were also withering quite a bit.

It was safe to say that this was an actual subject containment chamber. Though to which subject it belonged, you weren't all too sure.
>>
>Look for an entrance into the subject chamber. Certainly there must be a way in?
>Break through the glass and enter the chamber like that. It's effective and probably even safer than entering normally!
>Enter one of the side-rooms first. Without hesitation obviously. What are the odds anything was in there? (choose which room: the small laboratory, or the broom closet)
>Enter one of the side-rooms first... but maybe with an actual plan. Could never be too safe, after all. (choose which room: the small laboratory, or the broom closet)
>Force open the second door to the left. It was clearly the most interesting of all!
>Discuss with your men...
>Something else...
>>
>Look for an entrance into the subject chamber. Certainly there must be a way in?

It's a chamber for a subject. I get the feeling that breaking the glass open won't really work.

Other than this, I kind of want to investigate the side rooms but with an actual plan. So

>Enter one of the side-rooms first... but maybe with an actual plan. Could never be too safe, after all.

Whichever room the others want is fine. Probably send one guy first, Alan or Artyom first again should work. Leaning towards the former.
>>
>>5824882
>Look for an entrance into the subject chamber. Certainly there must be a way in?
>Force open the second door to the left. It was clearly the most interesting of all!
>>
>>5824896
+1
>>
>>5824896
This, with my choice being check the labs. They may have documents detailing more on the subjects for all we know, or just useful materials.
>>
>Look for an entrance into the subject chamber. Certainly there must be a way in?
Having figured out that it was a subject containment chamber, it quickly became the most interesting room of them all. After all, it didn't look like the glass had been fully opened anywhere, and the room seemed like a spot where a subject could easily hide. Especially a plant-based subject. Thus, you started scanning the room for an entrance, some of your men getting close behind you. "What are you looking for, sir?" Thaddeus calmly asked, you explaining that there had to be a way in. "Hmmm, so an entrance... gotcha." He started looking around as well. Though you quickly discovered how one could enter the subject containment chamber. On the left side of the room, there was a small door which... well, it was probably attached to the one room with the closed door. In other words, if you wanted to enter the containment chamber, you had to open the second door.

>Enter one of the side-rooms first... But with a plan: send in Alan to check the lab first.
However, given that there were still two other rooms to explore, you decided it was for the best to first check up on them. The janitor's closet or whatever it might be was... well, it wasn't as interesting as the small laboratory. After all, the lab may have documents detailing more on the subjects for all you know, or just useful materials in general. Still, you also couldn't just enter without a care. So, you looked to Alan, suggesting him to go in first to check if it was safe. "Guess I'm the, uhhh, the scout of this group, or however ya wanna call it, eh chief? Hope I ain't the guy who dies first though..." Of course, Alan simply chuckled afterwards, speaking quite casually. "Hahaha... Ahhh, I don't mind though. I like being the first to get to a fight. And hey, if anything jumps me..." He raised his flamethrower a bit, you knowing quiet well that he was smiling behind his helmet and mask. "I'll purge it to hell and back." Thus, Alan headed into the laboratory...
>>
He'd move quite carefully, looking all over the place and walking out of view for a few seconds. Though he quickly came back, heading the other direction. There was a moment of silence, which put you on edge ever so slightly. Though after a bit, you heard Alan's footsteps again, as he returned to the door. "All clear, chief." He'd lower his flamethrower, as you headed forward to check the room. Anon once again held the door, acting as a guard in case anyone or anything approached. Thus, you got a chance to explore the abandoned laboratory. It looked to be a bit larger than the previous room you had explored, but that was mostly just due to it being filled with far larger equipment. You saw some large, mostly destroyed and abandoned computers on the right side of the room. There were several small desks which had burners, petri dishes, microscopes and a few other research items. Though many of the items had been broken or fallen off the desks. To the left of the room were two large fume cupboards, as well as a large closet with a glass door, showing a bunch of jars. Some contained small, preserved wet specimen, some containing plant matter. You even saw a few jars containing seeds of various types. Some of these jars had also been broken or fallen over. Lastly, there were a few smaller cupboards, some being open and showing reserve petri dishes, microscopes and other tools. Though, you also saw two which caught your attention. One had a bunch of small containers which had... well, you didn't know what they contained. And the other was a bit smaller than the other cupboards, and had all kinds of paperwork inside of it...

"Mikhail, sir." You soon heard Mike say with a bit of a hesitant tone as he approached you. "Ummm, I was thinking... should a few of us maybe check the other room? Not to question your leadership, sir, but... I do think having all of us in this room could pose a risk if anything was hiding in that room..." It wasn't the worst suggestion. Having 8 people in the laboratory may be a bit too much... but then again, spreading your men thin wasn't the smartest choice...

Choose one of these:
>Approve Mike's suggestion and send him with one or two men to check up the janitor's closet. His concerns were reasonable after all.
>Deny Mike's suggestion and keep him here along with the other men. It was a janitor's closet. The most dangerous thing in there would be some detergent.

Other actions:
>Check the computers. They look destroyed but... hey, maybe they still work?
>Check the jars. They got all kinds of stuff in there, perhaps something worth noting down?
>Check the cupboard with the small containers. Whatever is inside of them, it must be important.
>Check the cupboard with the paperwork. If anything is interesting in this place, it would be what papers the scientists had written.
>Leave the room. It has no subjects, scientists or guardsmen in there so of what interest is it to us?
>Discuss with your men...
>Something else...
>>
(Just a small OOC announcement: I'll be posting from a different PC starting now and throughout the weekend. Sooo, I imagine I'll have a different ID. Just letting you all know. Oh, and a reminder that I'll try and get extra updates in on Saturday and Sunday.)
>>
>>5825581
>>Approve Mike's suggestion and send him with one or two men to check up the janitor's closet. His concerns were reasonable after all.
>Check the cupboard with the paperwork. If anything is interesting in this place, it would be what papers the scientists had written.
>>
>Approve Mike's suggestion and send him with one or two men to check up the janitor's closet. His concerns were reasonable after all.

May as well. We should check everything anyway.

>Check the computers. They look destroyed but... hey, maybe they still work?

Maybe something works? Can have our tech experts check to see if anything survived. Even if the computers are incapable of turning on from damage, if the hard drive is still intact we can get intel from that.

>Check the cupboard with the small containers. Whatever is inside of them, it must be important.
>Check the cupboard with the paperwork. If anything is interesting in this place, it would be what papers the scientists had written.

Might be able to find a few important documents. Maybe a spare key card or something as well.
>>
>Approve Mike's suggestion and send him with one or two men to check up the janitor's closet. His concerns were reasonable after all.
After Mike made his suggestion, you thought about it for a moment. Given that you'd need to comb through most of this place anyway, you felt that it was a fair suggestion. Thus, you told him to check the other room. He gave a quick nod. "Very well, Mikhail. We'll let you know if we find anything interesting!" He'd start heading out, but not without taking Zaria along, as well as Lars. This left you with Lydia, Alan, Thaddeus, Artyom and Derek, with Anon keeping watch at the door.

>Check the computers. They look destroyed but... hey, maybe they still work?
The next thing you'd check up on would be the computers. There were two of them, and... both didn't look to be in the best of shapes. You tried turning them on, finding that... well firstly, both screens still worked but... only barely. They were extremely dim and glitchy, showing a few random lines of colour and nothing of use. As for turning on the main device, it didn't want to start up at all. You even found one of the main display cases starting to smoke a bit when you tried turning it on. "Umm, Mikhail, I-I think they're busted..." Lydia said softly, pointing out... well, the obvious. Regardless, just because the computers were pretty much fucked, that didn't mean that it was entirely destroyed. For one, there were still the hard-drives which could be retrieved. You even brought it up, with Derek responding confidently. "Gimme a few tools and I can try and get them, Mikhail." Lydia, being the other engineer, would also help out, as both of them took the main desktops and started trying to find ways to open them up without destroying their contents.

>Check the cupboard with the small containers. Whatever is inside of them, it must be important.
While Lydia and Derek went to work with the computers, you decided to check the other important items which were there. Alan, Thaddeus and Artyom were quick to help, checking out the various containers. Each had a small label, showing what they were. Though Alan seemed to ignore this a bit. "Seems like... just water to me, guys." Alan mumbled as he opened up a few of the containers, most of which indeed contained clear fluids. Though... given what the labels said, the contents weren't actually just water, obviously. Some were a bit thicker, others had small particles and strands in them. Others actually had coloured liquids.
>>
"Nah, Alan. These are stocks of organic material. Probably the stuff subjects are made out of." Thaddeus soon responded to Alan, Artyom joining the conversation softly. "Wonder where the nanites are then. They did say these subjects have that inside of them..." Though upon hearing that, Alan soon spoke more eagerly. "And they said they wanted that stuff back for research crap!" Unfortunately, you'd check a few more vials, but... didn't find anything labelled with nanites. It mostly just were base amino acids and other simple compounds which could be turned into more complex chemicals. "So much for that..." Artyom responded afterwards. Though, there was still one thing which could be interesting to you...

>Check the cupboard with the paperwork. If anything is interesting in this place, it would be what papers the scientists had written.
The chemicals may have not been of any use to you... but the paperwork surely had to have something interesting. You'd open the small cupboard, grabbing some of the small maps containing papers which were there. Fortunately, there wasn't much so you didn't exactly need to check through a lot of things. Thus, you'd soon start skimming through the papers, first finding a few boring papers about when new chemicals would arrive, statistics about the nearby containment chamber, as well as some simple correspondence with higher ups. However, to your delight, you'd soon find something... very useful.

A paper file about subject PF-4's performance setting up traps, her behaviour and further abilities. It noted her ability to create 'creeping sensors', meaning she could create thin vines which would send signals to her from a distance if they were touched, stepped on or even slashed. It also revealed she could fly and grow even larger vines for grabbing people who stumbled over them. More importantly, it revealed that the nearby chamber was actually hers, and that she was pretty much all bark, no bite, and that she was more likely to flee than attack.
>>
Not only would this information help with finding this first target and learning what to anticipate when near her, but it could also help other squads if you were to publish this information with those running the shared data on the tablets...

Then again, keeping this information to yourself and your men would mean you had an advantage over other squads when it came to hunting this subject. After all, other squads may not be aware of PF-4's capabilities. It'd mean you would have an easier time killing PF-4 and keeping the bounty to yourself and your men...

Choose one of these:
>Share the information about PF-4. Better to help the other death squads out.
>Keep the information to yourself. You knew about all of PF-4's abilities first, you deserved to kill her and take the cash.
>Decide on this later. There are more important things to do now, after all...

Other actions
>Check the laboratory further. Maybe you missed a detail. (write in what you wanna look at further...)
>Head onwards to the next room with the closed door... as soon as Lydia and Derek are finished with getting those hard-drives.
>Check up on Mike, Zaria and Lars. Maybe they also found something useful?
>Discuss with your men...
>Something else...
>>
Really tough call but good we are actually getting somewhere. It's a low threat subject, and likely harmless for the most part given what was written in her file. And, she even was stated to be in this area. So, we might actually get something and a nice check by the end of this.

>Keep the information to yourself. You knew about all of PF-4's abilities first, you deserved to kill her and take the cash.

After a decent amount of deliberation I think it's best we wait to release the intel. Bonus points if we capture her alive. Provided that Blackstar is willing to pay extra.

>Head onwards to the next room with the closed door... as soon as Lydia and Derek are finished with getting those hard-drives.
>Check up on Mike, Zaria and Lars. Maybe they also found something useful?

Both seem like solid plans before leaving. Though there is one other thing I feel is important.

>Keep on the look out for any of those vines.

Destroying them from the sounds of things will only tell her we are here. So, just trying to step past them and keep a constant look out for them would be ideal. On a related note

>Check PF-4's file on the tablet

I like the little detailed description we got from FE-09, and it might be nice to learn a bit more about her if we have anything.
>>
>>5826307
>>Keep the information to yourself. You knew about all of PF-4's abilities first, you deserved to kill her and take the cash.
>Check up on Mike, Zaria and Lars. Maybe they also found something useful?
>>
>>5826307
>Keep the information to yourself. You knew about all of PF-4's abilities first, you deserved to kill her and take the cash.

>Check up on Mike, Zaria and Lars. Maybe they also found something useful?
>>
>Keep the information to yourself. You knew about all of PF-4's abilities first, you deserved to kill her and take the cash.
Having read PF-4's files, you decided to keep it to y0ou and your men. After all, killing subjects was the main way to get cash, so you weren't going to give rival death squads the chance to use the info you found yourself to steal a kill from you. And after telling your men that this info would stay between all of you, Artyom spoke up right away. "Sounds like a great plan. Can't let those other bastards take our kills. Besides, the other death squads probably also had intel they've hogged for themselves as well. It's only fair we also have our own intel." The others nodded along, some being a tiny bit more reluctant. Still, they understood your motives and didn't want to give the other death squads your advantage either...

>Check up on Mike, Zaria and Lars. Maybe they also found something useful?
>Head onwards to the next room with the closed door... as soon as Lydia and Derek are finished with getting those hard-drives.
Thus, with the paper file in hand, you were ready to move on to the next room. But first, you needed to get Mike, Zaria and Lars and ask them if they found anything interesting. Furthermore, Lydia and Derek were still trying to get the hard-drives. "We got one, sir. It doesn't look too badly damaged, fortunately." Derek said, as he and Lydia were busy with getting the second. "Hopefully, the second will also be relatively undamaged..." While they got to work with the second hard-drive, you decided to do something else...

>Check PF-4's file on the tablet
Given the papers you had gotten on PF-4, you were curious about how much they matched up with the files on her on the tablet. You'd ask Derek for the tablet, him just putting it on the desk and speaking quietly. "Here you go." He clearly was a bit too focused on getting the hard-drive for him to read it all out again. Thus, you made your way to the subject list, seeing her in the Threat level 3 category...

Codename: PF-4
Name: Unknown
Threat level: 3
Creator: Unknown
Feeding Method: Unknown, assumed to be sunlight.
Size: Around five and a half feet.

General description: Subject features include green skin, purple eyes, orange-pink wings, and several vine-like structures wrapped around legs and arms.

Known abilities and main Ability: Subject is capable of highly agile flight. Furthermore, subject is assumed to have plant related powers due to growths of plants in her presence. Subject uses these plants as traps. However, these traps have never been lethal.

Strength: Unknown, assumed low
Durability: Low
Regeneration: Unknown.
Perception: Unknown, assumed high
Agility: Very High
Intelligence: Unknown, assumed high

Personality and behaviour: Subject is highly confident and loves to mock those she traps. However, subject appears intelligent enough to avoid danger and is extremely difficult to pin down.
>>
You also saw the note from that one blackstar soldier who absolutely wanted this subject killed. Maybe capturing PF-4 would be a better solution so you could give it to that soldier... then again, it wasn't likely a soldier would be able to pay more for the subject than the government... Regardless, the files you had did seem to miss some of the details the papers now provided...

After a bit of fiddling from Lydia and Derek though, they finally managed to open up the system, carefully taking out the hard-drive. "Second one is secured." Not only would you have paper files for PF-4 containing a few extra details others may not know, but now you'd maybe even have some actual data from the facility computers themselves. Hopefully, they actually had useful information on them... For all you knew, these hard-drives contained nothing of value. Either way, Lydia and Derek could hopefully inspect them further when you returned to base...

With everything you wanted from the laboratory now in your possession, you would leave the laboratory with your men close behind. Anon turned to you the moment you exited, right away asking: "Anything interesting you guys found?" Thaddeus spoke quite confidently. "Mikhail got some paper files for a subject. Mentions some of her abilities and personality traits." Anon gave a few slow nods. "We also got some hard-drives from a computer. We don't know what they contain, but it'll hopefully be good." Lydia also said, Anon nodding again and finally responding. "Sounds good, sounds good. So, we gonna check out that weird chamber over here now? Oooor..." You pointed to the other room with an open door, Anon letting out an "Ah, right." before you all headed over. But just as you approached, Zaria, Lars and Mike exited it. "Anything interesting in there?" Derek asked calmly, to which Mike shook his head. "Nothing. Checked everything. Just a bunch of brooms, cleaning stuff and some other useless crap." Zaria and Lars nodded along, with Zaria even adding her own observations to the conversation. "No signs of anyone having been in there for quite some time... at least, no obvious signs anyway. Unless if a few fallen over bottles counts as sign of activity to you guys." Yeah, it was safe to say that the janitor's closet was... not that useful to you. Fortunately, you had something else which you could check out: the final room to the left, the one right besides the containment chamber.""
>>
You'd head to the door, it being completely closed. You couldn't look inside of the room at all, not even through a small glass window or anything. "So, we blowing this up?" Artyom said eagerly, Anon responding a bit bewildered. "Blow up a single fucking door? Come on, we pushed another one open before this. Besides, Evander isn't here to blow it up for us." Thaddeus scoffed in turn. "Well, it took two men and it was... partially open. I don't know if we can open this door as easily." Alan stepped forward, approaching the door. "Lemme try, guys." Of course, this was... not the best idea, Lydia stopping him. "Alan, wait! It may be trapped!" Alan paused, before responding a bit nonchalantly. "Ah, right..." Given that there was no other obvious way in, aside from a key card (which you'd first need to find... and even then, it might just not work at all), your men looked to you, given that you'd have the final say in this.

>Force the door open. No matter how much manpower it'd require.
>Use some kind of explosives. Anon did have that underslung grenade launcher.
>Search for a key card somewhere ahead. Surely, you could find at least one somewhere?
>This room is of no interest to us. Let's just move on.
>This room is of no interest to us. Besides, the containment chamber can still be blown open as well.
>Discuss with your men...
>Something else...
>>
(Hope this last update is of quality. Technical difficulties and IRL stuff meant these updates took a bit longer, and that there might be a couple of errors here and there. Also, apparently only the 'true OP' can use formatting, so sadly PF-4's info is lacking formatting. Not ideal, but it's not the worst.)

(Aside from that though, next update will come in 5-6 hours from now, even if there is just one response.)
>>
>Search for a key card somewhere ahead. Surely, you could find at least one somewhere?

Failing that

>Force the door open. No matter how much manpower it'd require.

We don't have our explosives expert with us and I don't want to bring the ceiling down on our head.
>>
>>5826798
>Use some kind of explosives. Anon did have that underslung grenade launcher.
We can clear the room first or whatever. What could possibly go wrong?
>>
>>5827085
>>5827208
Sorry for the slow update. I hereby also request a tiebreaker between these options. Though keep in mind, voting the 1st option means you'd leave the area for some time to look for a key card further ahead in the facility.
>>
>>5827213
I can back searching to expedite things.
>>
>Search for a key card somewhere ahead. Surely, you could find at least one somewhere?
Given that the door was completely stuck, you decided that the safest choice for now would be to get a key card. After all, a door that shut couldn't just be opened up with brute force... As for explosives? Those were just not worth it without Evander there to help set it up. Thus, you told your men you'd head forward to try and find a key-card. "Ya sure, chief? Thaddeus and I can probably open it. Or well, we can at least try." Lydia shook her head, speaking before you could. "It's not safe. If there's anyone in there, they'd have ample opportunity to attack us. Maybe the door is trapped, harming you guys if you tried to open it." Artyom spoke up eagerly. "What about blowing it up? That could still work... and it'd probaly blow any trap to bits." You told him that it wasn't wise to try and breach a door without your explosives expert, to which Anon raising his hand and joining the conversation. "Not to mention, the risk of us accidentally destroying valuables on the other side of the door... or worse, destroying the roof above us."

Afterwards though, you'd elaborate that... You'd push the door open if you couldn't find a key card. Though you'd first search for one further ahead. Your men accepted this suggestion right away, Artyom nodding and responding softly. "Alright. Mikhail, lead the way then." Thus, you headed onward, passing by the large containment chamber. You made sure to keep some distance from it though, just in case anything was in there and would try to attack you. Though as to be expected, nothing happened after you walked past it. Thus, you headed onwards.
>>
For a few minutes, you'd walk through the abandoned, dark hallway. There wasn't much of note. The place was still covered with bits and pieces of rubble which you had to walk over. You did notice a little trolley cart in the distance, containing some small tubs containing what looked to be all kinds of organic matter. Probably food for subjects, or something used for research purposes. However, afterwards, you'd notice two more rooms in the distance, both of which had their doors open. Best of all, one of them had... a far larger doorway, meaning it likely led to something far more important. Derek soon spoke up as well, having checked the offline map. "We're very close to a large office and research space ahead of us. More importantly, the large room to the right is some kind of staff room, according to the map." Well, just what you needed! If the staff room didn't have a key-card to use, well... then the offices most certainly would have one! "What about the room to the left?" Zaria asked cautiously, Derek responding right away. "Says here it's a storage room... that's it. It doesn't elaborate further, I'm afraid." Well, a storage room might be interesting... but really, the staff room was what was interesting here. Thus, you headed onwards, until finally you were a few steps away from either...

>Head into the staff room right away. Come on, a key card HAD to be in there! Besides, this place was so close to the crater, it had to be safe.
>Head into the storage room right away. The map didn't say what it stored, so it had to be good. Besides, most small side-rooms had been pretty safe so far.
>Head into the staff room, but with a plan. A space like that had to be risky to enter.
>Head into the storage room, but with a plan. Whatever it stored, it could be useful to subjects and scientists alike... therefore, entering it could pose a risk...
>Head forward. The large office space was definitely where the good shit was at.
>Discuss with your men...
>Something else...

(A bit of a shorter update. Hope you won't mind it too much. I'd also like to mention that... a third update today may be a bit unlikely, unless if a lot of people respond now right away. LAO, I may also need to cut it short with updates a little tomrrow, due to me spending a lot of time with family. I'll try and get 3 updates out still, but I won't promise anything sadly.)
>>
>>5827357
>Head into the staff room right away. Come on, a key card HAD to be in there! Besides, this place was so close to the crater, it had to be safe.
>>
>>5827358
Supporting, though with the addition that we carefully enter with one person initially to check for traps.
>>
>>5827357
>Head into the staff room, but with a plan. A space like that had to be risky to enter.
Once again Alan will be the sacrificial initial clearer
Not the whole room, just enough to see that nothing's lying in wait to wipe the squad
>>
>Head into the staff room right away. Come on, a key card HAD to be in there! Besides, this place was so close to the crater, it had to be safe.
After Derek explained what the two rooms were and what was ahead of you, you decided the best path would be to go to the staff room. It would likely have some of those key cards to use. Not to mention, how dangerous could a room like that be?! Thus, you told your men, with Alan speaking smugly. "Guess you want me to go in first again?" There were a few chuckles, after which you decided... well, so far he had been doing quite well, and you needed to enter carefully in case of traps. Alan didn't seem to mind, while Artyom spoke softly. "I'll... join along. Just to help out with any traps we may find." It wasn't exactly the worst idea. Alan wasn't exactly the best for finding traps, and Artyom could probably help out, especially with the added knowledge of the plant subjects' traps.

Thus, it was decided. Alan and Artyom both headed forward, both easily entering the staff room which... well, you could already look inside and see it was quite a large space. Larger than the containment chamber for sure. As for details which you could already see from the outside... well, there was a lot despite the darkness, to say the least. You saw plenty of large tables with rather comfortable chairs... though most of these chairs were damaged, destroyed, turned over, or completely covered in grime and dirt. There seemed to be some sort of small cafeteria area with plates and a few trays which contained... something. You couldn't really see. You also saw that the far back had a small kitchen area of some kind. But that was all you could see for now. It seemed that the staff room was quite loaded though, likely because it needed to serve all the folk in that office space and any staff who worked in and around this section of the facility...
>>
Artyom and Alan carefully entered the room, both able to enter without needing to squeeze through a tight door or anything. They stuck together, checking the area quite a bit. And after a few minutes, they'd return to the entrance. "Coast looks clear. Just be careful not to wander in strange points or any choke points." Artyom said as he returned, after which you and your men entered. Right away, you could get a good look at the place. It seemed the staff room was... well, quite large. It must've had enough chairs for at least 80 men, but the space itself was large enough to support way more personnel. The section to the right of the room had various lockers, some of which had keys in them, others which were clearly locked and shut. They probably were just temporary lockers for staff to keep their personal items secure in while they were at work. The cafeteria extended for a decent part of the far back section of the room, with it having an entire kitchen space which was the size of the previous laboratory room you had checked. Furthermore, there looked to be a door in the kitchen space which... lead to presumably another storage section. There were coffee dispensers, soda machines and even vending machines in one corner of the room as well. "Anyone want a snack?" Zaria said jokingly as she approached them. You could see from a distance though that... they had all been destroyed, with their contents strewn across the floor. One curious detail was that one corner had several far larger tables with extra equipment and laptops... though it seemed that they had already been utterly destroyed and smashed by... someone or something. The final detail which was of note was that... you noticed that there were some laptops left open and some plates with food still around. Clearly, the people who had been here had left in a hurry, probably due to the order to head for shelter...

As you walked around the room, watching your step so you didn't accidentally stumble over a chair or other bits of rubble, you'd look for any place where a scientist may have left their key card. You needed one after all. Then again, there were other details which could be interesting...

>Check the miniature research area. It's where the scientists probably would've sat and potentially have left.
>Check the lockers. Maybe you could open some and find some interesting items?
>Check the places were food had been left out in the open. It was clear the people who had been there left in a rush... perhaps leaving some belongings behind.
>Check the kitchen area. The staff there would also need key cards of some kind, right?
>Check the storage room. You didn't know what it had, but surely it'd be interesting.
>Move on. It's clear this staff room isn't that exciting...
>Discuss with your men...
>Something else...
>>
>>5827444
>Check the miniature research area. It's where the scientists probably would've sat and potentially have left.
>>
>>5827444
>Check the lockers. Maybe you could open some and find some interesting items?
Mmmmm petty theft
>>
>>5827444
>>Check the lockers. Maybe you could open some and find some interesting items?
>>
>Check the lockers. Maybe you could open some and find some interesting items?
The first place which entered your mind were the lockers. Scientists who had been on break here probably left their items, including their key cards, there while they took a break. And if they didn't... well, they at least had some other interesting items in there. Thus, you'd head for the lockers, Mike joining you as he would scan each one. The open ones didn't have too many valuables in them. Mostly just small and simple items. Jewelry, jackets, beauty items and a couple of books on items unrelated to subjects. You and Mike soon tried opening up the locked ones, finding that a few forceful smacks and some simple tricks easily let you into the barely protected lockers. They probably never had to deal with much robbery, meaning security was kind of lax. Unfortunately, the locked lockers were... mostly just the same as the open ones. Just a bit more than before. The only few items which did strike you were that you saw a few wallets. Though they didn't have much, if any, cash in there. Though you did inspect one and see a picture of a healthy looking guy with what appeared to be a young daughter. It was a mildly harrowing reminder that some of these staff members had... family outside of this building, lives on the other islands of the planet.

Unfortunately, they were all just targets now.

Regardless, after checking a few lockers, Mike turned to you and sighed. "I don't think we're going to find any key cards here. Mostly just useless crap." He'd say such after dropping a little beauty kit to the ground, glass shattering into the ground after which he sighed and looked to the others. "You guys find anything?" The other men said mostly variants of 'no', unfortunately. "Nah mate." "Nope." "Nothing yet." "Unfortunately, no." "Yeah, haven't found a thing yet." Right now, Thaddeus and Alan were busy exploring near the cafeteria, Artyom, Zaria and Lars were near the small research section, Anon, Derek and Lydia were just checking the tables for anything of interest. Given that the research area was the second best option in your mind, you started heading there. Mike kept checking the lockers though, knowing that there still were quite a few lockers to check up on just in case.
>>
>Check the miniature research area. It's where the scientists probably would've sat and potentially have left items.
You headed for the small research section, checking the equipment which was there. It mostly were simple chemistry kits and a few microscopes, though most had been destroyed by something. The chemistry kits which were still intact didn't have too much of interest going on. They had basic organic chemicals similar to the ones in the small research room from before. There were two more interesting things though... The laptops and a few lab coats! The latter were especially of interest as finding a key card in there just... had to be possible. You'd soon check some of the labcoats, Lars and Zaria joining you soon after. Artyom checked the chemicals and the laptops. Though, he was quick to point out something rather unfortunate. "These laptops... I don't think they work anymore." Checking one nearby you, you found that most had already died from a lack of battery. Many had also been broken and smashed, likely because the info on there could be of value...

It seemed this place had... disappointed so far. The labcoats had mostly just been dusty, dirty and... lacking in key cards. No substantial data or information which you could utilise. The most useful thing you had found so far was a picture of a scientists family. However, that didn't mean you weren't going to find what you were looking for. After all, there still were more lab coats to check, the kitchen area and... the storage room behind it. And if all else failed, you could just move on to the office space or other rooms.

>Double-check the area. Maybe you missed something hidden from view?
>Check the kitchen space. It may not be used by the scientists, but other staff used it.
>Check the storage room. It was clearly not that interesting of a space, but you never knew what it may hold.
>Just move on. This space had proven worthless and it was better to just head somewhere else.
>Discuss with your men. Maybe they mistakenly missed some important details or clues?
>Something else...

(Another update from a different device, this time my phone. I'll probably not get another update out until way later today. At least 7 hours, I imagine. Maybe even longer. Regardless, hope this update hasn't been too boring or something)
>>
>>5827934
>Storage room

If we can’t find anything interesting in there then let’s move on
>>
>Check the kitchen space. It may not be used by the scientists, but other staff used it.
>Check the storage room. It was clearly not that interesting of a space, but you never knew what it may hold.

May as well search the remaining rooms.
>>
>Check the kitchen space. It may not be used by the scientists, but other staff used it.
After having checked a decent portion of the staff room, you decided to just finish what you started and explore the final spaces. Thus, you headed to the kitchen area. You walked past the little counter with all the trays, finding that they were... pretty rancid, most of them having spoilt foods in them or all sorts of rubble and glass shards from the glass which previously covered them. Apparently, some staff member must've served people here. Still, you didn't see anything of interest, and headed towards the kitchen proper. There, you'd see a couple of interesting things. There were plenty of cupboards, several fridges and freezers, a sink, cooking tools and a few cooking stations. There even was a deep fryer which... looked pretty disgusting as well. Still, you started searching through everything, fortunately being joined by Thaddeus and Alan.

"Man, this place is gross." Alan said after looking at some of the trays containing spoilt food. "Well, nobody has been here in quite some time, I imagine." Thaddeus responded, as he soon opened the freezer. "Ewww." He said in soft disgust, as you'd soon look inside and find all kinds of packets which... well, should've probably been cooled, but had now thawed and was starting to quickly mould. "Fucking hell..." A thin layer of black-ish water was leaking from the fridge, Thaddeus quickly closing the door. "Imagine being a fucking subject, needing to eat and survive down here with... this crap." Thaddeus remarked in disgust, after which Lydia spoke up from a distance. "Hey, they can survive on lots of things! They won't necessarily need food we can eat!" Though, this was met with Derek raising his tablet. "Most subjects I've checked survive on regular 'organic' matter, so... yeah, they'd probably find this place a feast." Thaddeus scoffed soon after. "If everything wasn't bloody rotten."

After a bit more searching through the cupboards, you'd not find... anything else of interest. Well... you did find one thing. A small sticky note on the wall which read '01-MS likes pork on her sandwiches. Thanks, Anderson. P.S. Put more crème cheese on sandwiches for me'. Thaddeus also took notice. "Anderson, eh? He's one of the scientists on the hitlist who has actually been captured..." Alan seemed surprised. "A scientist? Who hasn't been killed? Why's that? I thought everyone down here was supposed to be killed." Thaddeus shrugged, responding quite casually. "I dunno... Maybe he was related to whatever the hell caused this incident in the first place? Maybe he just sold out his pals like a coward? Either way, I ain't questioning it." Well, at least the note told you one thing. This 01-MS subject was... likely quite close to Anderson...
>>
>Check the storage room. It was clearly not that interesting of a space, but you never knew what it may hold.
Still, given that the kitchen had very little of interest, aside from that little titbit, you'd decide to move onto the one final place: the storage room at the kitchen. You'd approach the door, Thaddeus getting right beside you. "Aye, I was wondering when you'd head here... Almost thought you just didn't care for it, haha." He'd soon hold up his hunting rifle. "Anyway, I'll back you up here, Mikhail." Alan also approached, grabbing his flamethrower and pointing it at the door. "I'll stay back this time around... Juuuust in case something tries to escape." Thaddeus... wasn't entirely sure about having a flamethrower as back-up, soon speaking up hesitantly. "Umm, just... use your machine pistol for now, Alan. You don't wanna end up accidentally setting fire to the one exit we have... or worse, setting the room ablaze with us still in it." Alan thought about it for a bit, before nodding and grabbing his pistol. "Aight." There was a bit of relief from Thaddeus, who soon signalled you to enter...

The door to the storage room was just a plain old door. No fancy mechanisms, no sliding parts, no scanners or anything. You just pushed it open and... found yourself in a dark, dank room. Looking around, you saw various wire-racks containing boxes of non-perishable foods, cleaning supplies and a few Tupperware containers with other basic materials. Some of the boxes and containers of food had been opened up, indicating somebody had been here before. Immediately, you were on edge, as the room was divided into a few small lanes, with the wire-racks blocking off a large chunk of the room. Thaddeus quickly got behind you, covering your back. He didn't say anything, just keeping his hunting rifle at the ready in case of the worst. Though as you walked further and further ahead, you'd soon see something ahead of you. What looked to be... two shoes stuck out from behind a rack a few feet away. You'd carefully approach, not knowing if it was a trap or a survivor. Though as you approached, you'd finally get a good look of what it was...
>>
Lying on the floor, slumped over a bunch of bags of what was presumably flour, lied a corpse... But not just any corpse. It looked to be an actual scientist. But the state he was in was... well, intense. The person was wearing lab-safe jeans, a lab coat, and a simple vest underneath it all... But, there were holes and slashes all throughout his clothing, exposing his skin... More importantly, some parts of the clothing which had been reduced to tatters had... seemingly fused to the skin, the body showing blisters and burn marks on some of the spots of exposed skin. The person's face had huge burn wounds, some parts of the hair missing and even exposing some of his skull. What was most disturbing was the way the head slumped to the side, with something leaking from the person's open mouth. And looking at his hand, you found that the stuff leaking from his mouth had been several cans of preserved food. In other words...

This guy had been injured THIS BADLY... and then had survived long enough with the wounds to find this place and get food, before presumably succumbing to his injuries...

"Well damn... Even though we're here to kill these guys... I do feel bad for this guy. I mean... fuck, man... guy must've been in bloody agony." Thaddeus eventually said, showing a bit of his more humane side. Unfortunately, both of you knew that... any next survivor you'd have to find, even if they were in a similar state, had to be killed as well... The best you could do is give them a swift and painless end...

Regardless, since this guy was dead already, the question now was... who was he? How long ago did he actually die? And more importantly... did he have a key card to use? Or perhaps something else? You'd check the corpse right away, feeling the cold body and checking his pockets. You felt a small plastic item in one of his labcoat's pockets... though pulling on it showed a bit of resistance. And checking closer, you found... "What are you doing, Mikhail? Are you- oh fucking hell, is that a... is that a key card?!" The reason the key card didn't want to let go of the guy's body was because a part had melted into his body, presumably from the fire which had given him all the burn marks...

>Grab the key card by force. It's plastic stuck to a fucking corpse, it'll be fine.
>Carefully cut the key card out there. Slow and steady means a... hopefully more functional key card. Oh, and respect for the death and whatever.
>Bring some of your men here to help out with safely acquiring the key card. Or, bring the corpse to your men instead if you feel particularly morbid.
>Discuss with Thaddeus. Maybe he can help out a bit?
>Leave the corpse be. The poor bastard has suffered enough, clearly.
>Check the corpse for other items. Perhaps an ID card or something else of use which HASN'T melted to his skin.
>Something else...
>>
(Sadly no third update today. Was busy with family stuff for a large chunk of today. I will try and make up for it sometime this week if there's a lot of responses going on.)

(By the way, another little weekly check-in. Any sort of feedback or suggestions you guys may have? Just asking to be sure, especially since things are going to get more intense sooner rather than later.)
>>
>Carefully cut the key card out there. Slow and steady means a... hopefully more functional key card. Oh, and respect for the death and whatever.
>Bring some of your men here to help out with safely acquiring the key card. Or, bring the corpse to your men instead if you feel particularly morbid.
>Check the corpse for other items. Perhaps an ID card or something else of use which HASN'T melted to his skin.

Maybe we can bring them back as proof of a kill. Curios who this is though, but an ID card would tell us that. Failing finding an ID card however...

>Search the tablet for pictures of all the scientists listed.

We can potentially figure out who this is without an ID or getting a DNA sample despite his disfigurement by checking his hair and eye color followed by checking his measurements.
>>
>>5828562
>Grab the key card by force. It's plastic stuck to a fucking corpse, it'll be fine.
>>
>>5828562
>Carefully cut the key card out there. Slow and steady means a... hopefully more functional key card.
>Check the corpse for other items. Perhaps an ID card or something else of use which HASN'T melted to his skin.
>If none, take some photos and fingerprints for later ID. There'll be some ink and paper round here for getting prints.
If it has a magstrip, it'll likely have been cooked since heat destroys magnetic items. An RFID or NFC chip might also be damaged.
>>
>>5828562
>Grab the key card by force. It's plastic stuck to a fucking corpse, it'll be fine.
If the heat degraded it enough to break from this, it will have degraded it beyond functionality already.

>Check the corpse for other items. Perhaps an ID card or something else of use which HASN'T melted to his skin.

And yeah if we can steal credit for killing this guy do it.
>>
>>5828562
>Carefully cut the key card out there. Slow and steady means a... hopefully more functional key card.
>Check the corpse for other items. Perhaps an ID card or something else of use which HASN'T melted to his skin.
>If none, take some photos and fingerprints for later ID. There'll be some ink and paper round here for getting prints.
>>
>Carefully cut the key card out there. Slow and steady means a... hopefully more functional key card.
After thinking it through, you decided that the simplest option was just... cutting the key card out of the corpse. Looking around, you thankfully found that there were some sharp pieces of rock as well as glass shards, which could hopefully be used. "You gonna try and cut the key card out of there?! I mean... we can probably find a knife in the kitchen area for this." Thaddeus remarked as you just went to work retrieving the key card.

Fortunately, the key card wasn't... entirely melted to the skin. Only a small corner of it seemed to really be stuck. You would carefully cut around the corner, soon cutting through flesh as well... and after a short minute of work, the key card got free. The corner had been melted and... had some dried, shrivelled up and blackened skin stuck to it, but... well, it'd probably still work regardless. "Well, we got what we came here for. Now what?" Thaddeus asked you, as you decided to look over the scientist a bit further... After all, the guy probably hadn't been claimed as a kill yet by other groups. So, if you knew who it was, you could report it as your own kill and hopefully get paid for it.

>Check the corpse for other items. Perhaps an ID card or something else of use which HASN'T melted to his skin.
And the simplest way to ensure
Thus, you decided to look for an ID card. You'd check each and every pocket, hoping to find another card, this one hopefully not being stuck to his skin. "What are you doing, Mikhail?" Thaddeus asked calmly, you explaining your idea. Thaddeus nodded, before looking around a bit further, wanting to see if maybe he had left anything around the place which was of importance.

Meanwhile, you would find some warped keys in his laboratory coat, one of which was probably intended for one of the nearby lockers, a few safety goggles in another which had some cracks in it, a regular set of glasses, which were even more broken... but aside from that, you didn't find an ID card. A bit odd, but maybe he lost it at some point while trying to get here. Regardless, it was unfortunate but... well, you couldn't always be lucky. Besides, there were other ways to figure out who this guy was.
>>
>If none, take some photos and fingerprints for later ID. There'll be some ink and paper round here for getting prints.
>Search the tablet for pictures of all the scientists listed.
You would leave the storage room to get Derek over so he could take some pictures with the tablet, perhaps even using it to look up the scientist in the staff databases. After leaving the room, you called him, as he quickly approached along with the others who seemed curious. "What is it, Mikhail?" Derek asked calmly, you explaining what you had found. Your group seemed quite intrigued at the mention of a corpse, them clearly wanting to see it out of morbid curiosity. Of course, you also explained how the corpse had a key card, which seemed to please your men quite a bit.

When you then brought up the fact that he clearly hadn't been registered as dead yet, meaning you could claim the kill and get paid, your group seemed to agree that it was a pretty solid idea to claim the kill as your own. Though, you pointed out the need for photos and fingerprints to help identify the guy, the latter of which would require some ink and paper. Lars already walking back a bit. "I found some stationary stuff near one of the laptops. I think it might work." He'd soon look around the laptops to try and find the stuff you needed, as Derek already headed towards the storage room to go and take pictures. But not before you told him to see if the guy looked like one of the most wanted scientists. "I'll look into it, Mikhail." Derek responded, before entering the kitchen and leaving you with the others.

Shortly after, Lars found the stationary, quickly making his way back. "Here you go, boss. Will this do?" The paper was a bit dirty, but that was to be expected really. You maybe needed a bit of water to wash the scientists' hands so the finger prints would be easier to get. But getting that wouldn't be too difficult. Thus, you'd get everything you needed and headed back to the storage room.

Once you entered, you saw Derek already busy taking pictures, Thaddeus walking up to you. "Checked the area bit further. It seems to be pretty much empty, aside from the corpse..." It was already somewhat obvious, but it was nice of Thaddeus to double-check the area for anything off. With the entire place pretty much explored now, you would approach the corpse to get some finger prints. "So, I've taken some pictures, and am right now checking to see if he meets the descriptions of any of the main scientists... Based on the descriptions and pictures which have been given of each scientists though, I... don't think it really matches up with any of them. Maybe it's this... Illimani guy, but the hair and facial structure look way different to me. Then again, given how... messed up the guy is, it could make it harder to really identify him."
>>
Meanwhile, some of your other men also entered the storage room, most looking around quite intrigued. Soon, Lars, Mike and Zaria approached. "Damn, what do you think happened to him?" Lars said as he approached, Derek responding rather calmly. "Guy must've gotten caught in a fire or something and somehow survived. Then again, could have been anything knowing this place..." As you then went about taking finger prints, Mike spoke up softly. "Say, if the guy didn't die to us... should we maybe... shoot him to make it look like we did it?" Mike said softly, which was a suggestion your men found a bit odd. "Now now, hear me out on this... Maybe, the government workers will check how the guy died and see that it wasn't our doing. Sooooo, maybe... shooting the guy a few times will make it look like it was our doing?" It... might be a decent idea after you took the finger prints. But then again, it might just be wasting ammo. Besides, staff was wanted dead or alive. They probably would still pay you... then again, it is the government you were speaking of.

Choose one of these:
>Follow Mike's advice. Pop a few bullets in him just to make sure it's considered 'your kill'
>Ignore Mike's advice. It's a waste of good ammo. Besides, scientists were wanted dead or alive, so this'll pay you regardless.

Other actions:
>You've got a key card. Time to head back to the previous room and pray this thing still fucking works!
>You're close to the huge office section now. Might as well just explore it first.
>Check the nearby storage space. It's small and might contain something of interest.
>Have Derek mark the location as checked as well as confirm a killed scientist on the tablet which is online.
>Discuss with your men...
>Something else..
>>
>>5829066
>Ignore Mike's advice. It's a waste of good ammo. Besides, scientists were wanted dead or alive, so this'll pay you regardless.

He burned to death and we have a flamethrower. If we didn't have that flamethrower then sure.

>Check the nearby storage space. It's small and might contain something of interest.
>Have Derek mark the location as checked as well as confirm a killed scientist on the tablet which is online.
>>
>>5829066
>>Follow Mike's advice. Pop a few bullets in him just to make sure it's considered 'your kill'
>Check the nearby storage space. It's small and might contain something of interest.
>>
>>5829064
>>Ignore Mike's advice. It's a waste of good ammo. Besides, scientists were wanted dead or alive, so this'll pay you regardless.
Gunshots are loud. Besides, we'll just say we torched him with our fire spewer.

>Check the nearby storage space. It's small and might contain something of interest.
>Have Derek mark the location as checked as well as confirm a killed scientist on the tablet which is online.
>>
>Ignore Mike's advice. It's a waste of good ammo. Besides, scientists were wanted dead or alive, so this'll pay you regardless.
After Mike suggested you shoot the scientist, you thought about it for a moment. However, you finally decided to ignore the suggestion. For one, the corpse had been visibly burnt, so you could just say Alan took the bastard down. "Aye, if ya want I can even burn him a bit further to make it more convincing!" Yeah, nah that... that wasn't necessary though. More importantly, you also felt that the sound of shooting the corpse a couple of times would alert nearby scientists, soldiers and subjects which may be hiding around the place. They would be alerted and could run away.

"I suppose those are some fair concerns." Mike didn't put up a fight or anything, which was good as it meant things ran as smoothly as ever. You had found one corpse which would hopefully pay you well. Now to hope that everything you found was already killed for you so you could claim it as your own kills!

>Have Derek mark the location as checked as well as confirm a killed scientist on the tablet which is online.
>Check the nearby storage space. It's small and might contain something of interest.
With that settled, you'd finish getting the finger print samples. You also told Derek to upload the location and pictures so that staff could see it and... retrieve the body or something. "On it." Derek said, getting the online tablet, to which Zaria spoke up sceptically. "What about that subject that hijacks electronics crap? Couldn't that alert her to our presence?" Derek scoffed in turn. "I'm sure she wouldn't come after us in this place. The last thing she'd want is to attract even more attention... and if she hijacks this place, we can just send someone back to base to let everyone know she's around this area." There still was a bit of doubt from Zaria, given that... this subject had acted from far greater ranges. Still, Derek was done with the tablet rather quickly, meaning you could move on. You made sure to get Derek to take a picture of the fingerprint, and to also get a small plastic container where you could safely keep the ink print. Now to hope that one of those would work as proof of you having been here.

Thus, you left the storage room, the others following you closely. Those who had waited outside, namely Anon and Artyom, also joined you right away. Though they'd quickly ask Derek to see the pictures of the corpse, which he showed in amusement. "When you're done taking in this... sight you should be used to by now, I suggest focusing on the mission again. We're still in a place with subjects to hunt, after all." Artyom scoffed as he looked at the picture. "So far, this place hasn't been much of a threat, I'd say. No traps, no combat... I'd say it's pretty relaxed here." Granted, he was skimming over the... huge amount of destruction and the guardsman corpses from before now, but... well, this place had been peaceful so far... right?
>>
After leaving the staff room, you looked to your left, seeing the glass containment chamber in the distance and the door besides it which you could now hopefully open up. But, ahead of you there was still that small storage space. After eyeing it for a moment, you decided to head towards it. "Mikhail? Aren't we going back?" Lydia asked quietly, as you explained that you might as well just explore the storage space, now that you were right next to it.

The door for this storage room was another sliding one, though this one had been left wide open which was... well, a blessing. Looking inside, you saw that the room... wasn't as small as you had expected, but it was still rather tiny. You could at least get all your men in there, if you wanted to... but that probably wasn't the safest option. As for what the room held... well, it was filled with a thin layer of unknown fluid for one, probably just dirty water from some leak. There were many large cupboards forming two small pathways which you could walk. These cupboards seemed to contain a bunch of scientific equipment. Most of it was just test tube racks which were empty or broken. There was also heavier equipment. Stuff like centrifuges, microscopes, measuring devices and even a single large spectrometer. Some of these cupboards also contained random jugs of chemicals, per the usual. There was another trolley cart which had been tipped over, which was placed in such a way that it... would act as a pretty decent makeshift barrier...

Furthermore, as you got closer and looked from a slightly different angle, you saw something... very odd. You saw a feint hint of very pale light coming from the far side of the room. You didn't know where it was coming from, but... it could come from some kind of device. Or maybe even the light of the room...

>Enter the room. A source of light in this dark place was absolutely worth exploring... unless if it was just some sort of 'emergency exit' sign.
>Send in one or two of your men for safety. Artyom and Alan have done a good job so far.
>Eh, just move on and go back to the other room. What are the odds this room will be of interest to you guys?
>Discuss with your men. Maybe they don't wanna explore another boring storage room...
>Something else...
>>
(I highly recommend you all respond fast... I plan on making up for yesterday's lack of an extra update tonight, perhaps even with an extra update if things go fast enough...)

(Let's just say I rolled some dice and... the outcomes of your next actions will be very interesting.)
>>
>Enter the room. A source of light in this dark place was absolutely worth exploring... unless if it was just some sort of 'emergency exit' sign.

Provided we are bringing along our squad of course...
>>
>>5829267
>>Enter the room. A source of light in this dark place was absolutely worth exploring... unless if it was just some sort of 'emergency exit' sign.
>>
>>5829267
>Enter the room. A source of light in this dark place was absolutely worth exploring... unless if it was just some sort of 'emergency exit' sign.
give me the lämp brother
>>
>>5829267
>Enter the room. A source of light in this dark place was absolutely worth exploring... unless if it was just some sort of 'emergency exit' sign.
Maybe it's a battery powered emergency exit sign
>>
>Enter the room. A source of light in this dark place was absolutely worth exploring... unless if it was just some sort of 'emergency exit' sign.
You'd look around for any traps right at the door, not seeing anything... particularly obvious. But, you still were careful as you entered the storage room. Your men walked closely behind you, Lydia being the first to follow and instantly noticing the light as well. "What on earth is that?" She whispered, Thaddeus behind her shushing her for just a moment. Anon also followed you closely, looking at the tipped over trolley cart which blocked the way. He was clearly suspicious of such a thing in that particular spot. Then again, it could've literally just been a coincidence it was right there...

Regardless, you'd quickly yet carefully walk down the makeshift hallway, cupboards on both side of you. Some of them almost reached the ceiling, making it impossible to look at what was inside the storage room on the other side of the cupboards. Though, you weren't too focused on that, walking past a few more cupboards until finally getting a glimpse of where the light came from. It came from a lamp which was placed on a small desk. It pointed down towards the floor, shining onto the dusty and rubble covered floor. As you looked at it, you could tell that it wasn't just an ordinary lamp. It had a flexible, bendable arm, allowing you to control where it pointed at. The light itself and the area it lit up also were a lot warmer than the surrounding area. And more importantly, you didn't see a wire coming from it, as the base seemed to have batteries installed into them. You could even see the batteries in their battery holder, as you found that the little cover for the it hadn't been placed on it for some reason...

As you inspected the lamp, Thaddeus finally spoke up, albeit softly. "Okay, someone must've been here recently, for sure. Keep your eyes peeled, everyone." Thaddeus already started wandering ahead to the other side of the cupboards you couldn't see, inspecting it and looking for further clues. Anon sat beside you along with Lydia, the latter speaking quietly. "Why would someone set up a heat lamp here?" Anon scoffed in turn. "It's obvious, isn't it? It's an easy source of warmth... I imagine whoever placed it here is... not far away." Lydia simply stared at him, beforesoftly going. "No duh... You heard what Thaddeus said. I just wonder why they'd not turn it off then." After a bit though, you'd look further around the room, by now most of your men having entered the space. All aside from Alan and Zaria. It was a bit cramped now, especially since you'd have to push up against the cupboard to let anyone walk past you. Maybe having gone in all at once was... a minor error on your part. Especially now that... there was this very obvious sign of human or subject activity here...
>>
As you continued looking around the room, carefully checking every nook and cranny, Mike suddenly put his hand on your shoulder, before trying to speak with a soft voice. "Mikhail!" He stopped you, before forcing you to turn around so you'd look at him. He'd put a finger to where his lips were behind his mask, before pointing up. It was then that you'd notice... these slightly sparkly particles of dust falling around you, landing on your shoulders and helmet. They were mostly silvery, but you also noticed some were closer to black, grey and... a few green ones. Looking up, you didn't notice anything there which could've released the particles... However, you did see that these particles were falling all over you, Thaddeus, Mike, Lydia and Anon... more importantly, you could now also see that there was a bit of space above the cupboards where... something could potentially hide just barely out of view...

Given that you and Mike both were looking up, Thaddeus, who was a few feet away from you, soon also started looking up. Lydia also looked up, before signalling to the others behind her to look up, as everyone seemed to notice the oddity...

There was this deafening moment of silence where you were all taking in what was going. Though given what was going on, you could see everyone getting their guns ready and freezing in place. You heard some soft creaking noises from the cupboards, followed by sudden, loud and fast scratching noises coming from above the cupboards. Before you could respond, you heard Lars yelling. "SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK?!" Before hearing Artyom yell: "SUBJECT! ON THE CEILING!" Right after, you heard the rapid and loud clattering of Artyom using his machine gun, as well as the loud thuds of concrete cracking with each bullet that struck it. "DIE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Artyom yelled, followed by the sound of more loud scratches on top of the cupboards. Artyom stopped shooting, you hearing the crackling of bits and pieces of concrete falling from the ceiling. The cupboards were shaking, as it was now clear that the subject was hiding on top of them.

"LARS!" You heard Derek yell, after which Lars spoke up as well... or well, he yelled to be more exact. "FUCKING SUBJECT SPRAYED SOME SHIT ON ME! FUCK, I FEEL IT BURNING! HNGH!" Well, at long last you had found a subject... and this one could shoot an unknown fluid of some kind which burnt. How comforting. "She's still fucking up there! I couldn't land a shot on her!" Artyom also said from the other side of the cupboards...
>>
Your current situation was as follows:
In front of you was Thaddeus, who couldn't easily head back to the door due to the trolley cart blocking the path. Behind you were Lydia, Mike and Anon. They all had their guns aimed up, waiting for your orders.

On the other side of the large cupboards on top of which the subject was hiding were Derek, Lars and Artyom. Lars had been struck with a potentially powerful corrosive liquid. Artyom had already fired at the subject plenty of times, but presumably not gotten a hit in. Derek was presumably checking up on Lars, but you couldn't tell for sure...

Alan and Zaria were presumably stationed outside of the room, them almost certainly having heard the sound of gunfire at the very least. If they still were in position now though, you didn't know for sure.
What was the plan, Mikhail?

>Write in plans. Most supported plan is the one we'll go with.

Suggestions:
>Just shoot the fucking thing. You couldn't see it, but how could it avoid being shot by five or six men?!
>Hold off and reposition. If Derek and Lars weren't actively aiming at the thing, it could potentially escape. Especially if it already dodged Artyom's gunfire.
>Try and 'bargain' with it. These subjects were intelligent and wanted to live... so, why not grant it that wish?
>Find a way so you can easily reach up there and get an easy shot on the subject.

(The first combat scene has started. Let me know if there are any details you guys wanna know, either about your surroundings in the room, the subject's hiding spot, or something else. Regardless, I hope you guys can give some elaborate suggestions as to what you'll do.)
>>
>>5829422
...did we end up bringing any grenades in the end?
>>
>>5829422
>>Hold off and reposition. If Derek and Lars weren't actively aiming at the thing, it could potentially escape. Especially if it already dodged Artyom's gunfire.
Pull out and have Alan set the room on fire. Even if this thing doesn't burn to death every cabinet and little nook and cranny will be reduced to ash or weakened to the point it can't hide around them. Then it'll be exposed and we can blast the fucking thing. And get Lars outta there and have someone help scrape that shit off of him if they can and render aid.

Fan out a bit just in case there are ways it can get out we don't see, though. Like diving through a wall or something.
>>
>>5829438
Lydia has 2 frag grenades on hand and Anon has an underslung grenade launcher under his shotgun.

Suppose now is the perfect time to repost the shared doc with the sheets for each soldier.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_NoldE7zglICEuon-YZNhxjXcqvjszveOsz4u8jz-is/edit
>>
I mean we brought a flamethrower. Might as well use it exactly for what it was made to do. Get things out of emplacements and cover. The smoke alone forces people to get out or asphyxiate to death, to say nothing of the temperature.
>>
>>5829422
>Try and 'bargain' with it. These subjects were intelligent and wanted to live... so, why not grant it that wish?
I wanna know what went on here that got this place condemned so bad
>>
>>5829463
>>5829439

Support a mix of both the addition of having Zaria hold the door along with the other forces that pull out and prevent the subject from escaping while Alan comes in with the flamethrower so we can execute after we get the Intel, or if they continue to resist and fight us.
>>
>>5829422
>Hold off and reposition. If Derek and Lars weren't actively aiming at the thing, it could potentially escape. Especially if it already dodged Artyom's gunfire.
Back it up, then fire a grenade right into its crevice.
>>
Hmmm, I do like the few suggestions which have been given so far, but... I also haven't really seen a single idea for what action to take really being agreed on, aside from maybe the idea to have Alan purge the subject with the flamethrower...

I think what I'll do is give you guys a lot more time to really discuss things before the next update, both to maybe see a bit more agreement and because it's late for me rn and I do kinda hope to get some sleep in soon-ish. Unless if the majority of you guys settle on one of the given suggestions really fast now, in which case I can get an update out earlier.

Would you guys be okay with that longer extension until the next update?
>>
You usually have only two updates per day so it's fine QM. And I'm fine with shifting things to full purge to speed things along if required.
>>
>>5829577
I did try and get an extra update in today because I missed an update on the weekend. Though, given how exciting things are getting now, I am more than willing to try my hand on getting out extra updates. I mostly just wanna make sure that I let people have enough of a say in the matter before I make updates, really.
>>
>Hold off and reposition. If Derek and Lars weren't actively aiming at the thing, it could potentially escape. Especially if it already dodged Artyom's gunfire.
Given your current situation, the first thing you did was yell at Zaria to hold the door while everyone retreated out of the room. Your men didn't question you, as Lydia, Mika and Anon quickly headed back the way they came. Thaddeus followed you, while keeping his hunting rifle up. "Somebody help me carry Lars!" Derek soon said loudly, after which you heard Lars speak again, albeit still in quite some pain. "I-I'll be fine, I think... hngh, it fucking stings though! Fucker!"

It was then that you heard more scurrying above the cupboards, Thaddeus yelling. "IT'S MOVING!" After which, you heard Derek yell. "FUCK, I'VE BEEN HIT!" The subject seemed to be focused on the people who were closest to the door, likely because it knew that it was the only escape from which it could get out of this fight. Regardless, the other soldiers were quick to try and retreat while making sure to look up at the cupboard. After all, nobody wanted to get struck by the chemicals as well.

Despite two of your soldiers having been hit with corrosives, and the fact everyone was looking up to potentially take a shot at the subject, you actually managed to retreat somewhat safely. It happened swiftly, and without much of a hassle. Derek and Lars ran out of the room while Zaria covered them, aiming her carbine up at the thing. Artyom also left, after which you followed Anon, Mike and Lydia out of the room. Lastly came Thaddeus, who stayed close to the door. It looked like everyone had escaped without much issue. Checking up on Derek and Lars, you found that Derek had a bit of his back exposed and had some mild chemical burns, while Lars had been struck on the shoulder. You didn't exactly have much in terms of medical aide on you now, but you could probably find some in some of the nearby rooms you had checked out...
>>
>Try and 'bargain' with it. These subjects were intelligent and wanted to live... so, why not grant it that wish?
Regardless, you soon turned to Alan. Knowing that the subject was likely still in the storage room, you told him that he could use his flamethrower. "I was hoping you'd say that, chief." He'd aim his flamethrower at the room, you telling everyone to fan out which everyone quickly did. Though before Alan lit the room ablaze, you'd yell to the subject, that she'd get one chance to leave without a fight and that you'd burn the entire room to the ground if she didn't co-operate. "Why not just burn the fucking room right away?!" Artyom soon hissed, after which you softly explained that you could maybe get some intel out of her before actually getting the kill. However, just as Alan was about to light the room ablaze, you heard some things breaking and falling over in the room, followed by some soft footsteps in the thin layer of water inside the room.

You saw a black, spindly and skeletal hand appear from the side of the door, waving slowly as if signalling something. However, if you thought it was the subject surrendering, you would be dead wrong, as it was followed by the hand spraying some of the clear fluid. Obviously, you were no longer in a cramped room, so the fluid didn't reach any of your men, though it did make some of them step back. Right after, the black, red and silvery creature practically leapt out of the room and tried to fly away along the wall with its four huge wings. Though, given that it had been surrounded and the fact you had fanned out, its escape attempt didn't last long. Despite its incredible agility, erratic movement and the fact it even managed to get airborne for a moment, it soon was struck out of the air by Mike, the creature letting out a gasp as it soon fell to the ground with a loud thud. "Subject down!" Thaddeus said, everyone keeping their gun locked on the subject in case it was still alive...
>>
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Shortly after, the subject let out a pained wail, the creature somehow getting up and holding one of her arms... as it turned out, she actually had four arms, rather than just two. You could see the creature bleeding from her right shoulder, as well as noticing one of its right wings being quite destroyed. Flying away was pretty much impossible now for it. The subject slowly managed to get on its feet, before speaking loudly. "M-MERCY! SHOW MERCY! I BEG OF YOU!" It finally turned around slowly, your men aiming their guns at the subject for when you gave the signal. It raised her uninjured right arm and one of her left arms up in the air, you knowing very well that it now sprayed its chemicals from those very hands.

>Give (one of) your men the go to execute the subject. (Feel free to choose one or more soldiers to who the honour goes)
>Tell your men to hold your fire. Let the subject speak or maybe give reasons as to why it should be allowed to live.
>Tell the subject to get down on the ground. She can be executed later if she proves uncooperative as a captive.
>Reassure the subject. It's clearly panicking and maybe, juuuust maybe you could convince it to cooperate.
>Something else...
>>
>>5829892
>Tell your men to hold your fire. Let the subject speak or maybe give reasons as to why it should be allowed to live.
Knowing what went down in here could be the difference between walking away alive or getting 'silenced' by our employers.
>>
>Tell your men to hold your fire. Let the subject speak or maybe give reasons as to why it should be allowed to live.
>Demand the subject tells us everything it knows about what happened.

Maybe we can take them back after and get a bigger profit for getting one alive? If some scientists are wanted alive, some subjects might be as well. Plus, even if that's not the case, they might be able to interrogate her better than we can before killing her.
>>
>>5829892
>>Give (one of) your men the go to execute the subject. (Feel free to choose one or more soldiers to who the honour goes)
Mike got it, so Mike gets it. Sorry bugoid, but this is what we're getting paid for.
>>
>>5829892
>>Tell the subject to get down on the ground. She can be executed later if she proves uncooperative as a captive.
>Tell your men to hold your fire. Let the subject speak or maybe give reasons as to why it should be allowed to live.
>Demand the subject tells us everything it knows about what happened.
Lets Bag it and bring it in.
>>
>Tell your men to hold your fire. Let the subject speak or maybe give reasons as to why it should be allowed to live.
>Tell the subject to get down on the ground. She can be executed later if she proves uncooperative as a captive.
Given the fact that the subject could most definitely not escape anymore, both due to the injury to her wing and the number of men who now aimed at her, you thought about what to do next for a short moment. Though given
everything, you decided to tell your men to hold their fire. They fortunately didn't disobey, nor did they question your command at all. Right after, you told the subject to get down to the ground. She nodded swiftly and breathed heavily, before moving down onto her knees. "O-Okay, I'm cooperating, see? I'm not a threat, y-you don't need to... k-kill me... I concede defeat here. I thought I could escape, but-"

Thaddeus spoke up loudly, cutting off the subject. "I suggest you remain silent, until spoken to, you bug piece of shit. You injured two of our men, and our job is to kill you the moment we spot you..." The subject froze up in quiet terror, keeping her mouth shut as she let out a deep, shaky breath through her nose. Thaddeus looked to you, speaking softly. "Sorry, Mikhail. I just... had to put her in line." Given that you wanted to talk with the subject on your own terms, it was actually not that bad of Thaddeus to silence the subject. Besides, he was right on one thing... this bastard injured Lars and Derek.
>>
>Demand the subject tells us everything it knows about what happened.
You kept your gun pointed at the strange... moth, bug subject, thinking about what to say before deciding to ask it a simple question. What does she know about whatever happened to this place. The subject looked confused. "What... what happened to this place? I... you guys weren't... told?" The subject seemed genuinely surprised, Lydia responding rather calmly. "We were just told there was a major incident, and that all subjects, scientists and staff members had to be killed." Lydia still kept her Gauss rifle aimed at the subject, knowing its quiet tone could be a façade to help lull you into a false sense of security. However, the subject only seemed more surprised and shocked, speaking up in mild bewilderment. "W-Why though?! I-It was... H-Hang on, let me... let me take a step back for a moment... you weren't told about the singular, rogue subject who started this whole mess?!"

Your men seemed... surprised. This was indeed the first time a rogue subject had been mentioned. Though right away, there was some scepticism, with Anon speaking in a confused and sceptical tone. "You mean that sick fuck 38... Venus or... something?!" The subject shook her head. "No, not Vinella..." There was a bit of silence, the subject looking at all of you before looking down. "Look, I-I don't know what exactly you were told about this place to... motivate you to kill everyone, but... m-most of us are innocent. Most of us just want to please our creators a-and... make the world a better place. W-We don't want to cause any trouble." Artyom scoffed. "Right, that's why you attacked us with acid... and why there are corpses of guardsmen not too far away from here. Whatever you're telling, it's probably a bunch of bullshit."

The subject started raising her voice a bit, clearly being frustrated. "It's true! I-I can tell you everything I know of what happened! How this single subject caused all of this!" Anon responded in a more amused tone. "Oh really now? Tell us who this subject is. Go ahead." The subject's confident and certain expression turned more disappointed and hesitant. "I... I don't know..." She looked down for but a second, before speaking up with her more certain voice again. "But I know for sure she's responsible. I... I promise you on my life, I'm telling the truth here."
>>
>Yeah, she's bullshitting you. Let's just restrain her, gag her and take her along.
>Not only is she bullshitting you, but she's an active threat. Better to just kill her now.
>Let's hear her out a bit more. Maybe she can explain things a bit more thoroughly?
>Given the secrecy of the government AND the government's hatred for death squads, maybe lowering your weapons and giving her a chance to talk would be for the best.
>Ask your men what they think. You may be their commander, but maybe they want to have a say or vote in this.
>Ask the subject who she is. Maybe Derek can check the tablet to see some details about her and if she is reliable?
>Something else...

(I know this is only like... the first subject you guys have encountered, but I am definitely interested in hearing how you feel about her so far. Not to mention, this short battle between your men and her. Actually, kinda curious how you guys felt about the battle and everything leading up to it.)
>>
>Let's hear her out a bit more. Maybe she can explain things a bit more thoroughly?

Lowering our weapons will just end poorly. However given the secrecy of everything I can believe she doesn't actually know that subject's designation if she is telling the truth. On the other hand, she seems to know the personal name of 38-VG which is a threat level 10 subject. Threat level doesn't necessarily mean how secret a subject is but it is a knock against her.

>Ask the subject what she knows about this so called rouge subject.

Honestly, if she knows nothing other than the fact it's super dangerous I probably will believe her more than if she knows some things about her. Though, this is partially dependent on her intelligence, as an idiot I doubt will be able to come up with bullshit.

>Ask the subject who she is. Maybe Derek can check the tablet to see some details about her and if she is reliable?

This will be able to help us in being able to tell if she is lying or not through telling her intelligence and personality, maybe.

She was surprisingly easy. Being stuck in a room with only one exit/entrance probably didn't help combined with what I assume is a low threat rating. But otherwise I guess for the lower threat subjects the problem is catching them more than actually killing them.
>>
>>5830255
+1
>>
>>5830213
>Ask your men what they think. You may be their commander, but maybe they want to have a say or vote in this.
it was good enough for me when i read through.
>>
>>5830213
>Given the secrecy of the government AND the government's hatred for death squads, maybe lowering your weapons and giving her a chance to talk would be for the best.

Yeah I trust her way more than I trust the government, but just in case:

>Ask the subject who she is. Maybe Derek can check the tablet to see some details about her and if she is reliable?

>Feelings
She put up a good fight for what was presumably a low threat rating. She's also more human than I was expecting. I thought the subjects would be grown from tubes but perhaps they're made by modifying humans?
>>
It is called the monster girl facility so I presumed they would, at least appearance wise, look fairly human. I guess you mean in terms of personality or nature. I did suggest a while ago that I presumed they were maybe humans turned monster girls. I wouldn't be surprised if that was still the case. That does beg a question, if they are humans turned monster girls, would that mean that the smaller subjects like this one were shrunk down in the process, or were they originally children or teenagers before being turned? Or is this just a whole space/planet thing messing with people's heights?
>>
>Ask the subject who she is. Maybe Derek can check the tablet to see some details about her and if she is reliable?
Before you could trust the subject to give you more (mis)information, you decided it'd be useful to have a bit of a profile on her going. After all, maybe she has done these sorts of things before with death squads, tricking them so they let her be. After you asked her to give , the subject was quick to respond. "Chrysidus Carabid is the name my creator gave me. B-But, people tend to call me C-Chrys, hehe..." She chuckled a little awkwardly, before clearing her throat. "My codename is IB-79. I-I don't know how valuable that is to you guys, b-but... yeah." You then suggested to Derek that he check the tablet for information. "Yep, there is an IB-79 in there. Let me read it through real quick... Ahem...

Codename: IB-79, Name: Unknown, Threat level: 4" Chrysidus quickly spoke up. "Threat level 4? What does that mean? I-Is that bad?" Derek shrugged. "Given what you did to me, I'd say... it should probably be a bit higher. Ugh, it still fucking hurts, man... Ugh, regardless, Creator: Anderson Thorell." Chrys looked visibly disappointed, though it wasn't certain if it was due to her creator being mentioned or Derek's remark... "Feeding Method: Unknown." Chrys responded soon after. "It's... it's light... needs to be strong though though..." Well, at least she was trying to create trust by pointing out her feeding method. It also explained the heat lamp in the storage room. Derek quickly continued, not wanting to give Chrys much of a chance to talk. "Size: Assumed to be 3 and a half feet." Derek said, to which Chrys scoffed. "I'm four feet tall, actually!"

Derek paused and stared at Chrys for a second, before continuing with quiet disdain. "General description: Subject's body is insectoid, coloured mostly black, with a few white patterns on the legs, torso and arms. Face is pale, with green eyes. Subject has red accents around the torso area. Subject has four large insectoid wings which go from black to green, and large black antennae." Looking over Chrys, it seemed the description was... pretty accurate. It was missing the long hair, red horns, spikes around her body and her skirt. But... well, it was still pretty close, meaning someone had had a good look at her... that, or her creator had given a rather lengthy description of her to the death squads. Anderson was the only captured scientist so far after all...
>>
Regardless, Derek continued, covering some of Chrys' other features... "Known abilities and main Ability: Subject is capable of releasing particles which, when inhaled, cause incredible drowsiness and lack of focus. Subject is also capable of releasing chemicals which can burn through clothing and can cause chemical burns in small amounts." Derek paused his reading and glared at Chrys, who by now was quite uneasy with Derek's cold rage. "I-I'm sorry..." Chrys said softly, Derek groaning. "Don't say sorry. Just tell me if these are all your abilities, or if you have some other tricks. And maybe tell me if these chemicals are more harmless than these descriptions imply!" Chrys looked genuinely saddened, before shaking her head meekly. "No, it's... that's it. No other tricks... I could fly, but... well, not as easily now..." Derek quickly went back to reading from the tablet, calming down a bit now that it was clear he had just gotten a pretty painful chemical burn and... nothing lethal. You could tell Lars was also relieved, though also seemed even more ready to kill Chrys as soon as he got the chance.

"Your stats according to this thing are:
Strength: Unknown, assumed medium
Durability: Unknown, assumed low
Regeneration: Unknown
Perception: Unknown, assumed high
Agility: High
Intelligence: Unknown, assumed high."

After Derek finished, Chrys spoke up softly. "Y-Yeah, t-those sound... m-mildly exaggerated. I'm pretty weak, not durable at all and... I-In fact, I... I am shocked I survived being shot! My perception and intelligence are... w-well, I was told they are just average after some tests... T-Think my speed is... accurate though." Derek cleared his throat again, Chrys looking down and mumbling: "Right, sorry..." after which Derek continued. "Personality and behaviour: Subject tends to flee any combat encounter, either through her high agility, or by making people less aware of her presence through her particles. When cornered, she tends to use her acid spray. Personality is unknown, but she seems to not be arrogant or prideful." Chrys nodded along, not really saying anything else as she felt that the tablet had given an accurate enough description.
>>
>Let's hear her out a bit more. Maybe she can explain things a bit more thoroughly?
>Ask the subject what she knows about this so called rouge subject.
With it now clear she was at least speaking... some semblance of truth, and the fact she was willing to give away her weaknesses, you decided to ask her about the rogue subject she mentioned before. Chrys took a deep breathe before speaking softly. "Okay, so... t-the day of the incident. I was just... in my containment chamber, kind of bored and... d-doing what I usually do. When suddenly... an alarm went off about an escaped subject. Now, these alarms go off all the time, since there's plenty of subjects who love breaking free from their containment and causing chaos. But... things were different this time around. There was a lot more panic, o-oh yeah, and far more guards leaving their positions to try and... take down this loose subject. Apparently it... really managed to evade capture, as the rogue subject warning turned into a whole... facility lockdown. From what some scientist told me as she passed my chamber, this subject who... nobody knew existed, broke through various spaces for some reason, killing subjects and scientists alike!" Well, this story seemed... very interesting. Though she didn't exactly have a lot of proof for her claims. Furthermore, how did it explain the huge crater?!

"Okay, so... a mysterious subject seemingly nobody knew of escaped... and this led to the entire place being turned into a fucking crater?! Yeah, I call bullshit." Zaria said confidently, Lars soon speaking up as well. "This seems like an awful lengthy story, just to get away with burning my fucking skin with acid, you bug piece of shit." Chrys turned more scared and visibly anxious. "I-It's true though! I-I mean... I don't know how the blast happened! I just recall... this rumbling a-and then... well, a huge explosion, but... I-I mean... m-maybe this subject caused it somehow?! I-I don't know! I just know that... e-everyone left me! My caretaker left me and... so did most other people near me! Most headed for shelter, I imagine... a-and I... was just stuck in my stupid containment chamber!" She soon started letting out some tears, actually seeming quite pained and shocked. "I... I know I can't prove much of what I'm telling you guys, b-but... I promise you it's all true... I promise..." She lowered her head a bit, her voice becoming a bit higher pitched due to her clearly being emotional."I-I also... am sorry... f-for attacking you guys... I really am... H-Had I known you were... r-reasonable and... w-wouldn't just instantly kill me, I-I wouldn't have hurt you. I promise..."
>>
>Ask your men what they think. You may be their commander, but maybe they want to have a say or vote in this.
Given that Chrys had now given a lengthy story which... couldn't really be proven in any way, you decided to ask your men what they thought. There was a moment of silence, followed by Lydia speaking up in a more reassuring tone. "I... I don't know... To be fair, I understand why she defended herself against us in the first place. I mean, she didn't know who we were and who we belonged to... for all she knew, we were from Diamond Dogs and Heroes, and we all know what those sick fucks are like..." Lydia paused for a moment, lowering her gun and sighing. "Honestly, if... I were in your position, Chrys... I too would've defended myself."

This actually made Artyom lower his gun, as he sighed. "Fuck, man... I also don't know anymore..." Your men were actually quite surprised that Artyom of all folk seemed to be one of the first to lower his gun. But then again, it probably was Lydia's remark about other death squads that did the job.

Zaria spoke up soon after. "What is up with you guys?! You do realize that if you got the time to speak with most of the people you've killed in your career you'd say the same thing, right?"

Anon nodded along, the latter even speaking up. "Her story could all be a lie, for all we fucking know... Besides, just because she has to deal with the assholes over at Diamond Dogs, doesn't mean she isn't another target."

Mike responded a bit more reluctantly. "I'm more inclined to believe her than the fucking government, to be quite frank. Really, knowing the government and the shit they try, I would honestly bet on this is all a huge cover-up and that this 'mysterious subject' is real."

Alan soon also gave his opinion on the matter, speaking a bit more amusedly. "Maybe she's speaking the truth, maybe she ain't. I suggest we kill her so we don't have to think about it and can collect our cash then."

Lars then gave his two cents, doing so quite angrily given how he was one of the two victims of Chrys' chemicals. "I don't care how scared she was or whatever bullshit she's telling us. Just kill her so we can move back to base."

Thaddeus responded afterwards, doing so more sternly. "Guys, I know it's our job, but... I don't know if we should go through with killing her. At least, not yet anyway. Maybe she is lying, but... she is also putting trust in us by telling us all about herself and her weaknesses." Of course, those who wanted to kill Chrys didn't easily switch opinion, continuing to aim their guns at Chrys. Thaddeus sighed, before looking at you. "Personally, I trust you to have the best judgement on this... whatever you choose, I'll probably agree with it."
>>
Derek, usually quite calm and collected, thus spoke up in a more stern and agitated tone. "What about me?! The guy who was struck with acid on his back?!" Thaddeus actually looked down a little, before speaking softly. "Apologies, Derek. Your say is also valued." Derek did calm down right away, but still responded with a distrusting tone in his voice. "I... I'll admit that I'm biased. I'd rather see you killed since it's our job to kill you, and I don't want to ever think about you again, but... who knows, maybe you are telling us the truth." He'd pause, before looking at you as well. "I'll just trust Mikhail on this one..." The others also waited to hear what you had to say. Given that everyone had been rather passionate about voicing their opinion, there was but one simple choice...

>Let her live. You know practically nothign about this place, and this is one of the few people who may have trustworthy insights into what happened... Especially compared to the bloody government, who would cover up a disaster of their own making in a heartbeat.
>Kill her. It's our job to kill subjects and we can't let our first subject convince us to spare it, especially after she first injured us with harsh chemicals. Not to mention, convincing us with what amounts to hearsay and a potentially made-up sob story.
>>
(I only now am able to take in just how massive of an update this is. I really like what has been written, but I do hope it's not too overwhelming. I also do think that what is decided upon will heavily influence the story in the future...)

(Anyway, next update will come tomorrow. I'll eagerly await to see what you guys decide upon by then.)
>>
This is an extremely important decision. And I feel really bad for Chrys. However, there's nothing saying we can't kill her later.

>Let her live. You know practically nothing about this place, and this is one of the few people who may have trustworthy insights into what happened... Especially compared to the bloody government, who would cover up a disaster of their own making in a heartbeat.

She may be lying about how this whole disaster started, telling only a half truth or is simply presuming what happened in some area's. However, from what is written I think she is telling the truth with everything else. For all we know the reason the massive hole is in this place is because an anti mater bomb was dropped on that unknown subject if it actually existed. We can always just bring her back to HQ with her and get paid there, and if they kill her they kill her. We could also check what Anderson Thorell's personality is as well. If he's affectionate towards his subjects, he might pay more than the government to keep her alive. So long as he isn't just locked up by the government and awaiting execution once his usefulness runs out. In the meantime she can probably tell us a lot about this place and it's function as well.
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>>5830682
>Let her live. You know practically nothign about this place, and this is one of the few people who may have trustworthy insights into what happened... Especially compared to the bloody government, who would cover up a disaster of their own making in a heartbeat.

If she's lying we can kill her anytime, doesn't seem like she has any immediately lethal moves, and her wing got busted so she can't easily escape. If she's not lying, she has much better intel on the inside of this facility than we do.

Maybe we can fake report her as dead and get paid too, if the government has any plans on paying us.

>>5830686
Pretty big one but I've seen bigger.
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>>5830682
>>Let her live. You know practically nothign about this place, and this is one of the few people who may have trustworthy insights into what happened... Especially compared to the bloody government, who would cover up a disaster of their own making in a heartbeat.
Maybe we should remove her remaining hands so she cant throw acid.
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>>5830682
>>Kill her. It's our job to kill subjects and we can't let our first subject convince us to spare it, especially after she first injured us with harsh chemicals. Not to mention, convincing us with what amounts to hearsay and a potentially made-up sob story.
>>
>Let her live. You know practically nothing about this place, and this is one of the few people who may have trustworthy insights into what happened... Especially compared to the bloody government, who would cover up a disaster of their own making in a heartbeat.

There was a moment of silence after Derek pointed out how he'd trust your judgement. Everyone waited for you to either give the command to execute her, or for the command to let her survive. Finally, after some thought, you'd tell your men that you'd keep her alive for now. Mostly because she seemed honest in a lot of regards. Chrys trembled as you explained yourself, starting to smile a bit through the tears before speaking in a more relieved and thankful voice. "T-Thank you... thank you so much! I promise I-I'll return the favour! I'll help out in any way! I promise I'll be of use to y-you guys!"

She would move a bit closer, which made Anon aim her gun at her again. Chrys took a step back again, going quiet as Anon spoke up. "Stay. back." He'd demand, Lydia, Thaddeus, Artyom and Mike looking at him a bit hesitantly. After all, you had only just given the command to let her live. Though soon after, Anon turned to you. "I'll accept keeping her alive because you trust her, Mikhail... but, that doesn't mean I trust her getting close to us. Especially with those toxic hands of hers." Hearing the remark, Chrys instantly moved her four hands behind her back to try and look less threatening. Obviously, it didn't exactly convince most of your men, but... it would at least show she was cooperating as much as she could.

"Yeah, what if she tries anything funny, Mikhail? She may be acting all nice and dandy now, but... for all we know, she'll be running the moment most of us got our back turned to her." Lars said in a frustrated tone, you explaining that her battered wing made it close to impossible for her to really easily escape. Furthermore, two or more men could always keep their eyes on her if it was really necessary. "That's great and all, but what if she uses her chemicals from up close?! Or worse, she finds a way to make those particles of hers work on us?!" Lars was clearly not on board with keeping her alive... his paranoia did have a few points though. She still was 'armed', so to speak and could pose a threat. Thus, you brought up that you could always remove her hands. Though this suggestion made Chrys shake again. "P-Please no, I-I... I mean, I-I can still u-use my a-acid e-even wi-without my h-hands!" She clearly didn't want her hands taken away, leaving your men thinking about another option for dealing with Chrys...
>>
It was then that Derek spoke up in a more calm yet disdainful voice. "What about hiding her, Mikhail? How are we going to keep her around? We can't just bring her back to the main camp, she'll probably get killed there... and we'll also likely be reprimanded for working with a subject." Chrys responded right away, doing so a bit anxiously. "I-I can... stay here o-or somewhere nearby where you g-guys are!" This made Lars scoff. "Riiiight, leave you alone here. That sounds like a great fucking plan. The moment we leave, you'll probably just... flee to some other sector where we can't reach you." Chrys shook her head. "N-No, I... I promise... I-I won't abandon or flee from y-you guys... You... you already have l-let me live, I-I refuse to... break that t-trust now..."

Soon after, Lydia spoke up. "Maybe... we can get some sort of tracker or way to keep in contact with you?" Chrys nodded to the suggestion, Derek responding right away. "Knowing that there's a subject who's able to hijack electronics and comms devices, I feel like that is just setting us up to be blackmailed for working with a subject." Lydia shook her head, remaining somewhat stubborn. "I think it's still worth trying. Besides, I think the electronics subject might just see us as less of a threat if she finds out we are willing to work with subjects." Of course, your men really thought this was some wishful thinking, some shaking her heads in disapproval and a few even groaning at the suggestion.

It was then that Zaria stepped forward with a... decent suggestion. "I just wonder what use Chrys can be to us and our mission. I mean, the only thing she can tell us now is maybe some stuff about subjects and this place. But even then, that may be tinted with more lies." Mike responded right away. "Well, lies or not, it's not like she's less trustworthy than the fucking government. Hell, I still think she could be a greater source of information about... well, everything regarding this place, than the people who hired us."

Alan then joined the conversation, doing so in a more amused and casual tone. "Well, why don't we ask her some things then?" Chrys nodded eagerly. "Y-Yeah, I'll be more than happy to tell you guys all about this place, how subjects are made, t-their treatment, a-all sorts of things! I-It'll be like a uhhhhh, a trust building exercise!" Alan scoffed. "I was thinking more of it as... an easy way to get all the necessary information out of you we can get, so it'll be one less excuse to keep you alive, buuut if you wanna call it that, sure." Chrys looked down, as Alan's 'subtlety' clearly did not make her eager to... well, answer a bunch of questions. Then again, if she had a lot of information on her, then there'd be no reason to kill her anytime soon, right?
>>
Either way, it was time you actually made some tough choices about these matters... After all, at this rate, you'd keep on discussing the pros and cons of working with a subject for so long, that another death squad would probably come along and kill Chrys for you.

>Let's incapacitate her now. Even if she claims to be able to use her chemicals without her hands, removing one of her ways of fighting back was probably for the best. (Write in how you'd incapacitate her)
>Let's get a tracker of some kind. LW-20 be damned, you needed a way to ensure Chrys didn't try escaping from you guys. Besides, Lydia and Derek could tinker something up for sure. (Write in what you think would work best for a tracking device.)
>Let's go with a trust-building exercise, more commonly referred to as interrogation, with Chrys. What could she tell us about this place which could be of interest to us? Oh, and to test if she's trustworthy or something... (Write in what you want to know more about.)
>She has proven herself trustworthy enough. Just let her be, give her some space and treat her with some respect. If you treat her kindly, she will treat you kindly as well.
>It's not worth the hassle of any of this. Let's just do what we came here to do and not question the things that happened to this place. We're getting paid to kill shit and that's all we have to know.
>Let's try something else... Maybe you have some genius plan on how to deal with our newfound companion/captive/target?

(Hope I'm not late with this update. I'll try and get the next one in faster than this one!)
>>
>>5831101
>Tracking bracelet
>Questions - everything she knows about the other subjects, scientists, facility defenses, and any other mercenaries she might have seen
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>>5831137
Supporting
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>>5831101
>>Let's go with a trust-building exercise, more commonly referred to as interrogation, with Chrys. What could she tell us about this place which could be of interest to us? Oh, and to test if she's trustworthy or something... (Write in what you want to know more about.)
Locations of security fallback points, storage rooms, shelters, other subjects and their containment procedures.
>>
>>5831137
+1
>>
>>Let's get a tracker of some kind. LW-20 be damned, you needed a way to ensure Chrys didn't try escaping from you guys. Besides, Lydia and Derek could tinker something up for sure.
Given everything that had been suggested and discussed, the first thing on your mind was to get a reliable way to track Chrys. Thus, you turned to Lydia and Derek, given that they had the most knowledge on electronics. You suggested a tracking bracelet, which made Lydia think a bit out loud. "Hmmm, given that I don't think the government officials will just... hand us some tracking bands, I can definitely make one if I got some necessary materials. It could take a bit of time, maybe a few hours, buuut we got plenty of time down here still, right?" Chrys, being a bit more eager to help out, spoke up right away. "Oh, you guys can maybe use an NARI band!" Of course, this was met with a bit of confusion.

"The fuck is a NARI band?" Artyom said, his bewildered tone being somewhat representative of how your men felt about it. "They... they didn't tell you? I-I mean, guess it makes sense... it's something only really found on subjects, umm... A NARI band, or Nanite Activity Rating Inhibitor band, is this... metal band which is stuck to subjects after they are created. They essentially allow scientists to control our Nanites from a distance and ensure we don't rapidly grow." Lydia seemed quite curious, taking a few steps towards Chrys. "Do you have one of these bands?" Chrys nodded, moving her head up a bit and showing a metallic band between the red bits of her neck. It had a small glass circle on it, presumably some sort of light. "These things can be found on any subject, and basically stops us from growing or gaining new mutations, at least not without these remotes which can connect to them."

The mention of a remote which would allow growth in subjects was met with a bit of concern from Anon. "So wait, if a subject were to... find their remote, does that mean they could control their own growth?" Chrys nodded, before speaking rather anxiously. "W-Well, yeah, but... scientists are pretty careful with them and store them quite safely! At least, I think they do?" Lydia spoke more worriedly then. "And... what happens if a remote were to be destroyed? Would that free subjects to just grow uncontrolled?" Chrys shook her head. "No, I also don't think so... It'd mean the remote needs to be remade, which... from what I recall, isn't particularly easy... let alone given the current state of this place." There was a collective sigh of relieve from your men, as the threat of an ever-growing, out of control subject now seemed quite unlikely. Though, maybe finding these remotes could also be useful so they could be destroyed...

Then again, why didn't the government tell you about these remotes?
>>
With Lydia no longer as worried, she spoke calmly. "I'm glad you told us about this, Chrys. Regardless, I could try and modify an NARI band if we find one, if it's not too complex... Maybe the storage room we were planned to return to actually has one? I mean, it's close to a containment chamber, so... it wouldn't surprise me if it had one." Derek spoke up soon after, by now being a lot calmer than a short moment ago. "We can also ask for some materials from Lodger which we can use to make it. Just gotta be discreet about it, though."

It seemed like some solid ideas, though executing them might take some time. It had already been a few hours now, since you went down into the crater, and you did eventually want to return back to the surface. Especially given that two of your men needed some medical assistance for their wounds. Unless if some of your men were willing to stay down here to watch over Chrys while the rest of you got materials and medicine. Though leaving a few men in here to watch a subject could potentially cause trouble, given the other subjects which inhabited this place...

>Let's go with a trust-building exercise, more commonly referred to as interrogation, with Chrys. What could she tell us about this place which could be of interest to us? Oh, and to test if she's trustworthy or something...
Speaking of which, Chrys had already provided some interesting information about subjects and their creation process with the mention of NARI bands. There definitely had to be some other information she'd know. Thus, you asked her about the subjects which she knew were in this place. It was a bit of a sudden question, but Chrys didn't seem too opposed to answering it. "Well, I know two subjects decently well, and a tiny amount about a third." You asked if she could tell more about them, as well as their location. She looked a bit more anxious, speaking softly. "I... don't know where they are... Umm, you... you aren't going to use this information to kill them?"

Zaria responded right away. "Well, we did get down here to kill subjects now, didn't we? Maybe if they prove useful in some form, we'll spare them like we spared you..." Lars also joined the chat, doing so with a more aggressive voice. "I'd worry more about keeping yourself useful by telling us about them and where you might think they are. Unless if you want to risk us changing our mind about keeping you alive." It was obviously not a threat you'd follow up on, but it was a reminder to Chrys that she couldn't just... disobey you and your men at this point, lest you change your mind and... well, go through with killing her.
>>
Thus, Chrys sighed and spoke softly. "I-I don't know their locations... B-But, I do know..." She paused, sniffling before continuing. "I-I know... Arika. Ummm, her codename i-is... BC-887." With Chrys mentioning the subject codename, Derek quickly grabbed the tablet to doublecheck everything Chrys mentioned. "S-She's this... huge blue centipede subject who's... v-very sweet a-and loves d-digging... Ummm, s-she can be a b-bit... airheaded sometimes, b-but... y-you know, s-she means no real h-harm... I-I actually saw her like a b-big sister in a way..." Derek soon nodded, meaning that Chrys was indeed telling at least a bit of the truth about BC-887.

"As for the s-second subject... h-her name is Haina, codename 01-MS...S-She's my creator's f-favourite subject... s-she's a spider subject who he... really loves and cares for, a-and she can... c-crawl walls a-a-and... c-create things m-made of her own w-web..." Derek nodded again, showing that Chrys was telling the truth yet again. "Ummm, th-the last subject... I-I just k-know she... u-used some of Haina's g-genetics... umm, I-I just know her c-codename a-as... 8-EM... Oh, a-and she's... p-pretty mean, from what, ummm, H-Haina told me..." Chrys seemed on the cusp of crying, likely because she was essentially selling out her family, so to speak...

Thaddeus, sensing Chrys' emotions, decided to ask for some other information which could be helpful. "Hey, why don't you tell us about... containment procedures? Were there any way you and your friends were stored?" Chrys wiped away some of her tears, nodding calmly and responding rather quietly. "Y-Yeah, but it... d-depended on the scientist, r-really. My friends and I had... nice living spaces a-and were contained behind glass walls into our own containment. We usually were kept inside, unless if they wanted to run tests on us. Umm, from what I heard, other scientists just gave... basic containment chambers with little of interest in it. Oh, and uhhh, dangerous subjects were generally kept deeper into the place and were more well guarded..." It wasn't much info, but it did tell you a bit more about the place and the way it worked. Then again, Chrys probably wasn't the most informed on these more logistical things for the facility.
>>
You then asked about the scientists, wanting to know more about them and their locations. "Oh, well... I just know a few... but, I also don't know where they are... s-sorry..." By now, it was understandable that she didn't exactly know where other subjects and scientists were. From the sound of things, she wasn't exactly let out of her containment chamber often... "There's Anderson, who created me. He's very sweet and kind, but... w-well, I'll admit he was more focused on... Haina." There was this hint of disappointment in her voice, her sighing before continuing. "I also had some other scientists take care of me, but... I don't remember their names to be exact. They never gave them whenever I asked... Likely because they didn't want to risk ending up permanently stuck taking care of me."

This made Thaddeus speak up in mild confusion. "Stuck taking care of you? What do you mean?" Chrys looked a bit to the side. "Well... there were plenty of scientists in the facility, but most just had jobs testing us and looking after us. Very few got to... you know, actually make their own subjects. Sooo, some scientists who wanted to improve their chances of actually getting to make their own subjects, basically tried to tell their superiors that they didn't act as caretakers of subjects they were assigned to, so... they did things like not giving their names. That way, subjects couldn't tell their actual creators about which scientists they really wanted to keep around as caretakers..." Well, that wasn't the most pleasing thing to know. And it also went to show that these egghead fucks cared more about getting the chance to make a subject, likely a lucrative thing to do, than taking care of already existing subjects...

You still had some other questions for her which she may know more about. For one, you asked about other mercenaries she had encountered. "Well, a rather memorable counter was one with these guys with little armour and pretty aggressive looking outfits. They seemed pretty kill-happy and didn't seem nearly as careful and tactical as you guys." Artyom scoffed. "Let me guess... did they have flamethrowers and other strange weaponry which clearly aren't really effective and more cruel than anything?" Chrys seemed surprised by Artyom's remark, before nodding slightly. "They did have flamethrowers, yeah..." Artyom let out an amused sigh. "Ahhh, Diamond Dogs, of course... and, what did you do to the fuckers? Did you just hide?" Chrys, sensing Artyom's mild excitement, also grew more eager as she started smiling a bit. "I actually used my particles, after which most of the men fell asleep and I could easily escape!"
>>
Artyom laughed softly, actually seeming pretty pleased with Chrys' work. "Should've used some acid on the fucks while you were at it!" This remark clearly didn't please Derek and Lars. Chrys seemed to giggle along though. "I mean, I was tempted to... but, I try to limit my acid to emergencies only. I had to use it on a different group with way bulkier armour than you guys, who... didn't get too bothered by it. But I managed to escape them safely as well..." Lars groaned softly. "If only I joined Blackstar... That armour would've been really useful..."

With Chrys more pleased, you decided to ask for some more sensitive questions, mostly locations of storage rooms, shelters and security. Though to these questions, Chrys seemed... pretty much clueless. "Well, I passed a bunch of storage rooms, but... I don't know about those other things." You then asked about facility defences, Chrys once again shaking her head with a sheepish look. "No clue... Ummm, I-I just know there's guards a-and... a few other things... Oh, some subjects might have been used for defences, but... I don't know for sure. I can imagine that being the case though..." Well, that was a little disappointing. Still, it could be worse. She had provided a lot of information. Though afterwards, Derek spoke up softly. "Mikhail, I don't want to question your leadership, but... can we maybe go back to base now? I do need some healing... and hey, you can ask her about a bunch more things while we walk back!" Lars nodded along. "Yeah, I could use some aide still..." Given that you had found one subject, maybe making your way back now could be alright... Besides, you got the key card to check that room near the containment chamber now!

>Head forward! We're on a lucky streak! Derek and Lars can just toughen it out while we head deeper! Or hope you find some abandoned medical aide around the place.
>Head forward! Though... maybe with Lars and Derek going back to base with one of your men to get some medical aide... Travelling further with a smaller party wouldn't be that big of an issue.
>Head back. Though, obviously stop at the blocked off room first. After exploring that, you could decide where to head off to next.
>Head back. But, all the way back to the main base. You could maybe keep Chrys safe somewhere in the first few siderooms (so long as she doesn't try to escape). The final sideroom can be checked later.
>Wherever you're heading, Chrys still could tell you more information about this place. So, time to keep questioning her! (Write in what you want to know more about.)
>Something else...

(Ahhh, the full Chrys lore dump. Or well, partially anyway. I imagine a lot more questions will be asked about all of this now, which I'll also have to write. Lastly, god I don't hope that dumping all this lore at once is becoming a bit much. I can imagine the tiny details getting a bit boring, but... y'know, it's somewhat useful info.)
>>
>>5831815
>Head back. Though, obviously stop at the blocked off room first. After exploring that, you could decide where to head off to next.
New ground is risky but we'd like to find a NARI band or rig together a tracker before going all the way back to base, this seems like a good compromise.

Speaking of, can Chrys explain more about what would happen if we removed her NARI band? She'd grow bigger, mutate, or both? So her body is inherently unstable? Would she need to eat to fuel these changes? Is there any limit to them?
>>
>>5831828
>Support

Also ask how subject creation works, what this Nanite Activity Rating does, the limitations of what mutations can do and how powerful a subject can theoretically get and more about her creator. Throw her a bone and mention how Anderson is still alive.
>>
>Head back. Though, obviously stop at the blocked off room first. After exploring that, you could decide where to head off to next.
Given that you had gotten the key card, and two of your men needed some aide, you decided to just head back. Besides, it had been quite an eventful first day so far. A dead scientist, a captured subject, a key card, a bunch of corpses, a few chemical samples, some papers on a subject and hard drives with all sorts of data. Despite that, there still were a lot of mysteries to this place, especially examplified by what Chrys had to tell you. Regardless, you'd tell your men it was time to head back, Derek sighing in relieve. "Ah, thank god..." Your men didn't seem to mind that you were heading back.

Though some of them did seem to mind the fact that... Chrys was joining you without restraints. She'd slowly approach you guys and spoke softly. "Umm, lead the way, I guess..." Derek and Lars kept their distance, while Zaria and Artyom got behind Chrys, making sure she didn't try and run off. Alan also stayed in the back a bit, keeping his flamethrower at the ready in case Chrys tried anything funny. Regardless, you'd lead once more, walking down the hallway with Lydia close-by and Chrys not too far way from you either...

>Wherever you're heading, Chrys still could tell you more information about this place. So, time to keep questioning her!
Now that you were walking back though, you decided to ask a couple more questions to Chrys, mostly regarding the new information she brought you. So first things first, you asked about the NARI band she had. You wondered what would happen if it was removed, if it would make grow rapidly or mutate or something else. "Ummm, well... removing the NARI band just means light I absorb now also goes to creating new nanites, rather than just feeding me. Uhhh, the best way of explaining it is that... I can still absorb light now to energize and heal my body, but it wouldn't increase my Nanite Activity Rating."

Given how her answer was getting more and more vague by the second, Lydia spoke up calmly. "Can you maybe start from the beginning? What do nanites do? What role do they play with subjects? What is this Nanite Activity Rating?" Chrys was taken back by the questions, before speaking softly. "From the beginning?" Lydia responded more reassuringly. "I imagine just knowing the baseline would clear things up quite well. Then, when we know the basis of everything, we can ask more in-depth questions about items we are more interested in." Chrys nodded quietly, before taking a deep breath. "Okay, Soooo... the beginning... how we're made... Gosh, I hope I can explain this well enough..."
>>
"So, subjects are made with a bunch of material from mostly humans, but also animals... Uhhh, they are made in these vats with a particular kind of fluid containing all kinds of organic materials. Nanites are then added which have been coded to create subjects using the organic components in the fluid." Derek, seeming more intrigued now than upset, joined the conversation with quite some curiosity. "So, subjects are basically synthetic humans, but with the genes of other animals inside of them? And nanites make it possible for these animal features to manifest safely?" Chrys looked a bit unsure, before nodding slowly. "Ummm, I think so?"

Lydia and Derek seemed quite fascinated, Zaria also joining in with a somewhat sceptical tone. "So then what? You've been created, but... how are you kept alive? And... does this mean subjects could be made out of humans as well?" It was a rather complex set of questions, Thaddeus clearing his throat. "Zaria, don't bombard her with questions. Just let her talk." Zaria looked away in annoyance, while Chrys tried to continue. "Umm, well, once we've been created... uhhh, well, we're kept alive through the nanites in our system which were in the vat fluid. They basically make sure we don't mutate at random... or worse. Uhhh, oh, the NARI band which we're given! They basically connect to the nanites in our system and ensure that nanites only repair damage to our body, rather than making them replicate which would make us grow..."

"So what is this Nanite Activity Rating then? Is it like... a measure for how many Nanites you have in your body?" Lydia then asked, which... Chrys seemed to blank out at. "I... I don't know, maybe? I just know that... a higher Activity Rating usually meant a bigger and more powerful subject, so... maybe?" This actually got Artyom curious, as he also asked a question. "So, what are the limits to nanites? Could you say... grow fuck-all huge? Could you give yourself more arms oooor make it that you can just blow things up with your mind?" Chrys was a bit bewildered by the latter suggestion, but to all of your collective shock, her response was... "I... I think those things would be possible?" Everyone was dumbfounded by the uncertainty in her answer. There had to be a limit to the nanites, right?! "No way. That's bullshit." Mike muttered, followed by Derek showing his disbelief. "B-But what about... square-cube law?! That would hold subjects back in terms of size, right?! What about tumour formation?! O-Or literally the limits of communication between cells?!"
>>
Chrys looked quite sheepishly at Derek, remaining quiet for a bit as she thought of what to say. Eventually though, she mumbled something. "I-I don't know those things... uhhhh... oh, do you guys know Titania? I-I mean, she probably was one of the first to die due to her size... From what I was told, she was huuuuuge!" Derek was quick to grab his tablet, before responding demandingly. "What's her codename?!" Chrys was a little intimidated by Derek's demands, stuttering and looking all around. "Uhhh, I... I think... 1... 8... something... GG?" Derek would skim over the tablet, before groaning. "Very funny. No such subject exists." Chrys shook her head in denial. "No! I-I... she does exist! Everyone knows her! She is likely the most well known subject by all staff members!"

Most of your men did not seem to believe her whatsoever. Then again, Vinella was like... 18 feet tall, which was pretty massive for a humanoid creature. Then again, that probably was the apex of how massive subjects could get. Anything larger than that would probably be too dangerous too handle, too unstable and probably not even practical. Despite that, Chrys did seem somewhat certain. Perhaps something to keep in mind in case you encountered another scientist. But if nobody knew about this 'Titania', then it would be safe to say that it had been an obvious lie from Chrys...

Regardless, you still had something on your mind, especially now that you thought of still living scientists. Thus, as you were about to approach the containment chamber and the sideroom you wanted to explore, you asked Chrys about her creator, Anderson. She pouted a bit. "Why, what do you wanna know about him?" Obviously, her poutiness and unwillingness to respond made Anon clear his throat, making his presence (and his shotgun) known. Chrys immediately toned it down, responding meekly. "Ummm, w-what do you wanna know?"

You then reassured her, telling her that Anderson was alive. This actually shocked her. "He... he is?! Oh, that's... Gosh, I thought you people would just kill anyone! Then again, you have all been... far more reasonable..." She let out a sigh. "I mean... what is there to say about him? He was kind and caring, but... he didn't exactly spend a lot of time with me. He was more focused on Haina... he created her first and... he loved her more than anything..." She let out another deep sigh, looking down a bit. "Did he neglect you?" Lydia asked quietly, to which Chrys looked away a bit. "... A little bit. But, he did care for me and made sure I was happy and content in my chamber. He wasn't careless or harsh... Still, I wonder how differently I would've felt if I was his first subject, rather than Haina..."
>>
It was a bit of a disheartening note to end on. But, you couldn't really dwell on it much, especially as you now approached the one room you still wanted to explore.

>Send Derek and Lars back to base. They need medical help. Maybe also send an extra man with them, just as effective support in case something ambushes them. (If you choose to send one or two men along with him, write who...)
>Use the key card, pray it works and check the room quickly. It was locked, so chances were nobody was in there.
>Discuss a plan with your men about entering the room. Just because it was locked, doesn't mean it was safe to just enter, especially since you had no clue what was inside the room.
>Something else...
>>
>>5832292
>Use the key card, pray it works and check the room quickly. It was locked, so chances were nobody was in there.

Ok so Chrys isn't too well acquainted with the science behind this place. Not sure why we think her story about Titania is so suspicious though, if she died due to her size during experimentation she obviously wouldn't be on the hitlist provided by the government because she's already dead.

>Tell Chrys that Anderson was captured by another squad, and likely the only reason he's alive is that the government specifically requested his capture and wouldn't pay for his corpse. Tell her only like 2 other scientists received the honor of a live capture request, and ask if she knows why Anderson would have gotten one.
>>
>>5832366
Supporting.
>>
>>5832292
>Use the key card, pray it works and check the room quickly. It was locked, so chances were nobody was in there.
>>
>Tell Chrys that Anderson was captured by another squad, and likely the only reason he's alive is that the government specifically requested his capture and wouldn't pay for his corpse. Tell her only like 2 other scientists received the honor of a live capture request, and ask if she knows why Anderson would have gotten one.
After Chrys mentioned the neglect Anderson put her through, you decided to tell her the news that he had been captured by another death squad. There was a bit of hopefulness from Chrys, before you simply told her that the government wanted him alive rather than dead. "From... the sound of things, it doesn't sound like that honour goes to many people..." She said sombrely, you confirming that two other scientists had gotten that honour. "Only two? I mean... there are hundreds of scientists around here... are all of them wanted dead or alive?" Chrys was quite worried for the answer, only to be hit with another subtle remark from Alan. "Most are wanted dead, actually..."

Chrys gave a mild thousand yard stare, Artyom responding quite casually. "To be fair, given what you said about your caretaker scientists and their egos... I don't think much of value will be lost. Unless if they aren't really as indicative of the average scientist." Chrys didn't respond to that remark, just looking rather uneasy. Though it did make you ask her why Anderson would've been kept alive. Chrys thought about it for a moment, before shaking her head. "I... I wouldn't know. He doesn't seem like a bad guy to me... a-and his works were mostly peaceful, so... I really don't know." Lydia tried reassuring Chrys a bit. "Maybe he was seen as one of the only scientists worth keeping alive due to his compassion?" Yeah, that was quite the lie from Lydia, but it was one designed to reassure Chrys... and admittedly, it did seemt to make Chrys a bit more relaxed. Regardless, you soon arrived at the locked room...

>Use the key card, pray it works and check the room quickly. It was locked, so chances were nobody was in there.
While Lars and Derek were still injured, you felt that they could wait a bit longer to go back to base. They weren't majorly injured by Chrys' acid, and they were still able to walk... You decided to be quick about this though. Right away, you used the keycard on the scanner to the right of the door. It had a light on it, though it didn't seem to work... However, you did hear creaking and a bit of buzzing, as the door budged and slid open just barely. Though, it did soon get stuck. Given that you wanted to work speedily, you told Alan and Thaddeus to come over to open the door together. "I do first wanna check if the room is safe." Thaddeus said, walking up to the door and looking through the gap between the door.
>>
While he checked it, Chrys would speak up softly. "Why are you... wearing a dress, if I may ask?" She was clearly referring to Thaddeus' kilt, Thaddeus responding sternly. "It's a kilt, Chrys." Mike scoffed and spoke a bit more smugly. "Apparently, it's some sort of ancient Earthen garment for men... Bit silly if you ask me." Though this remark made Thaddeus speak more proudly. "That's rich coming from the guy called Mike Hawk." This made some of the men chuckle a bit, Mike speaking in a rather irritated tone. "Ugh, how many times do I have to say this?! My name is of ancient Earthen royal origin! It was very common in the 21st century!" Anon responded with a remark which elicited further snickering. "Sure thing, your majesty. Just don't get too khawky about it." Mike groaned, still not being over the occasional teasing regarding his name... Then again, he did deserve it...

Regardless, Thaddeus went quiet and peaked through into the room for a minute, before speaking calmly. "Looks abandoned... and has quite a lot of stuff in it as well. Tons of computers, machinery and other things." Seeing as she was more familiar with this place than all of you, Chrys immediately thought out loud about what those machines may be. "Could be a room for working on subjects and checking on the conditions of whoever used to stay here... That, or perhaps even a room designed for creating tools for subject? Like... well, NARI bands or remotes!" Thaddeus and Alan already got to the door to try and pull it open. "Only one way to find out..." Thaddeus said, before both man started trying to open the door with all their might. It seemed this door was a bit heavier though, budging far less easily. However, they soon managed to open it enough that one person could slip into the room. They kept going though, Alan even getting between the gap and pushing with his entire body. This seemed to work well enough, as the door finally opened enough to let your men in with relative ease, albeit one at a time. "There we go..." Alan said softly, while taking a few deep breaths. Thus, you decided to just quickly head in, with Mike and Artyom following right behind you...

Entering the room, you found that it was very similar to the previous research room, albeit roomier, with far larger computers with multiple display screens, far more advanced looking machinery and a few more cupboards and storage containers. Most importantly of all though was that there were these large sliding doors leading straight into the containment chamber. Two of them to be exact. And between these two doors was a little empty space, likely designed so that subjects couldn't just try and sneak out of the chambers if one of the doors opened up. However, the first large door was open, with the second being closed ever so slightly, you able to look through a small gap into the chamber...
>>
Soon, most of your men were inside the room. All aside from Derek, Lars and Anon, who was on lookout outside. Your men looked intrigued at the machinery in the room, Lydia especially being intrigued. "I've never seen machines like this." Of course, Chrys was also in the room now, and she was quick to speak rather eagerly. "Maybe one of these machines could create NARI bands? I mean, I wouldn't know, but... we can check, right?" Thaddeus looked towards the main set of doors, squinting her eyes. "I'm more interested in checking the containment chamber. I got a hunch about there being something in there..." It was a bit of a jungle in there. A wilting, dying jungle, but certainly a jungle...

>Check the huge computer system. The number of screens and everything else makes it feel a lot more intricate and important.
>Check the machines with Lydia and Chrys. Maybe break them open to look inside and see what they contain...
>Check the containment chamber. Thaddeus' curiosity/concern is quite understandable. Even if it wasn't warranted, the room may contain something of interest still...
>Check the storage and cupboards in this room. They probably contained some interesting material.
>Check some other part of the room. Just to be safe...
>Assign your men to do some of these things. Delegation is efficiency, after all! (write in who you want to do what...)
>Discuss with your men...
>Something else...

(I will switch to another PC tomorrow again, so that means switching ID again. Furthermore, I may be a bit busier throughout the weekend due to family obligations, so I'm not sure if I will get the three updates in on each day. I will obviously try still! And if it doesn't work out, I promise to make up for it next week with some extra updates.)
>>
>>5832757
>Check some other part of the room. Just to be safe...
everyone
>>Check the machines with Lydia and Chrys. Maybe break them open to look inside and see what they contain...
Derek
>Check the storage and cupboards in this room. They probably contained some interesting material.
Artyom,
>Check the huge computer system. The number of screens and everything else makes it feel a lot more intricate and important.
Derek (hen finsihed), Lars

>Check the containment chamber. Thaddeus' curiosity/concern is quite understandable. Even if it wasn't warranted, the room may contain something of interest still...
This one dead last and with everyone in case something attacks us in there.
>>
>>5832757
Can you post the docs once again? its was hard to find.
>>
>>5832765
Squad doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_NoldE7zglICEuon-YZNhxjXcqvjszveOsz4u8jz-is/edit

Scientist and subject doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15Z64W31Eszz9CNi-ZWe-t38yqg6riZ9oUvinfd2-F9A/edit?usp=sharing
>>
>>5832757
Backing >>5832763
We should probably not push the big computer too hard, don't want to lock ourselves out. Might be much more useful if we can capture a scientist and use their credentials.
>>
>Check some other part of the room. Just to be safe...
Given just how much there was to seemingly uncover in this room, you told everyone to check for anything out of the ordinary. Your men all nodded, even Chrys joining in. So far, you didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Though, there were some clear signs of nearby activity... mostly in the form of leaf litter and muddy footsteps. Then again, those could've been from the subject after she left her chamber... Still, it did put you a little bit on edge...

>Check the machines with Lydia and Chrys. Maybe break them open to look inside and see what they contain...
Of course, there were some more important things to check as well. The machines which fascinated Lydia and intrigued Chrys seemed like a perfect thing for Derek to check out. Given that he was good with highly advanced tech, you told him to check it out as well. "Alright..." He said softly, not exactly being all that thrilled to be given another job given his injuries. Then again, they were so minor, he should just man up and do his job. Besides, he got Lydia and Chrys to help him out. And as he went to work with Lydia, he started carefully disassembling parts of the machine, looking around for tools to do so...

>Check the storage and cupboards in this room. They probably contained some interesting material.
Fortunately, those tools would be found quite soon. You told Artyom to go check out the cupboards, mostly because they could be trapped and he was pretty good with spotting them. Though obviously, the storage and cupboards were... not trapped at all. He safely opened them and found... well, quite a lot! "More research crap..." Artyom mumbled as he opened cupboard after cupboard. There was equipment such as more microscopes, more compact machines, but also chemicals. Lots and lots of chemicals.

"Mikhail, think I found something interesting." Artyom soon remarked, him grabbing a vial containing a clear fluid with small, silvery particles in them. "Nanites." Artyom remarked, which interested some of your other soldiers. "Maybe it'll be worth taking it along? We can get paid for stuff like that, I imagine." Zaria said softly, Mike nodding along. Still, Artyom carefully put them to the side and kept looking around. Not that much later, he'd find a toolbox which would likely be used by scientists for working on the machinery. When Artyom brought that up, Derek quickly asked if it could be brought to him so that he could use it, Alan grabbing it with ease and bringing it to the three at the huge machine...
>>
It was then that Mike pointed something out to you which was... well, it put everyone very much on edge. "Uhhh, Mikhail?" He was in the corner of the room, having explored some of the cupboards there as well. He'd signal you to come over, as he had found... a burnt pile of leaf litter, sticks and some smudges of... something. More importantly, on the floor beside it was a small metal lid of some kind. The lid was dirty on the underside, containing what looked to be bits of leftover food. "I tried picking it up and... well, touch it." Mike said quietly, you touching the lid and... feeling mild warmth through your glove. It had been used recently. VERY recently. Your other men quickly realised what was going on, with some instantly getting their guns at the ready. Given that this space had been locked for quite some time, that meant that either there was another entrance to here... or, the person who stayed here was still very close-by...

>Check the huge computer system. The number of screens and everything else makes it feel a lot more intricate and important.
Given that somebody had recently been here, you told your men to be on the lookout for anything else questionable. More importantly, you asked Lars to check the computers. If someone had been here recently, they had probably used it. He'd give a nod, before trying to turn them all on. Though, he quickly found that they were... pretty much unusable. For one, they refused to turn on. Since he wasn't exactly an expert in this field, he'd do what any person would do with faulty technology... he tried looking for the plug to unplug the machine and then plug it back in.

Of course, given that these computers seemed to be built into the wall and were a lot more complex than regular computers, he didn't exactly find a plug to work with. "Ugh, this thing just doesn't work..." Lars groaned, after which you asked Derek if he could maybe help out. "Mikhail, I'm... still somewhat busy with this machine here... It's... quite complex, to say the least." He said as he was unscrewing a large section of it. You thus told him to take his time. Soon after, Artyom had checked every cupboard and storage container, the most interesting thing he found being nanites and some more paper files about subject transfers, previous experiments as well as some logistics. But from the looks of things, they didn't tell you much that you didn't already know... or anything you could really use.
>>
Thus, you waited a while, Artyom already checking the containment chamber doors for traps or anything which would indicate it being trapped. Thaddeus mostly watched the doors as well, scanning through the little gap in the second set of sliding doors into the chamber. Alan sat besides Lydia and Derek, watching them continue to disassemble the huge machine. Mike was looking around the recently used lid thing for other clues as to who or what had stayed in here. Lars was still at the computer, trying to make it work but clearly having given up for the most part in getting it to work. Zaria was mostly just looking around the room to see if there were any additional escape routes, while Anon remained at the main door, continuing to act as lookout for anything in the main halls.

After some time though, Derek spoke up softly. "Alright, this machine looks to be some sort of... nanite production plant." Upon hearing this, Artyom gave his own little suggestion. "Should we destroy it, maybe? I mean... if subjects neat Nanites to grow and shit... destroying this machine would probably be for the best." Chrys shook her head at that though, speaking up quite calmly. "Raw nanites like these probably won't do anything. It'd be like, uhhh, as if you ate... uhhh, ah, as if you ate raw iron or something! You know, cause human blood has iron in it and... yeah." It wasn't exactly the best analogy, but it did make some sense. The nanites had to be programmed first to work on a subject. Still, scientists could maybe use the machine as well, in which they could use it to create some potentially problematic items. After all, they used these machines to make the very subjects you were now hunting...

Choose between one of these:
>Leave the nanite producing machine. It was a waste of time to destroy it. Besides, maybe the government wanted to retrieve these machines.
>Destroy the machine. It could be used by scientists to create all sorts of crap you didn't want to deal with.

Regardless, Lydia and Derek moved onto the next machine, also breaking it open as you waited for them to finish. "Uh, sir, should we... maybe head into the containment chamber?" Mike then asked to you, at which point you explained that you wanted to wait for everyone to be ready to enter. After all, you didn't want to be lacking men in case there was an ambush. "Mikhail's concerns are fair." Thaddeus responded in term, stepping towards you. "I've been looking into the chamber for a while now. Too many blind spots and places people could hide. And given what ya found not too long ago... I think having everyone ready in case a subject is hiding in that chamber, would be a good idea." Mike nodded calmly, sighing as he watched Lydia and Derek continue their work on the machine.
>>
Eventually though, they broke into the main part of the machine, carefully breaking it apart and... Lydia gasped softly. "Chrys..." Immediately, Chrys looked at them, as Lydia grabbed something from the machine. "Is this one of those NARI bands?" Lydia had gotten a silvery band very similar to the one around Chrys' neck. However, it was... oddly flexible, almost drooping down as if it was made out of tinfoil. Chrys quickly nodded. "That's it, yeah!" Derek seemed surprised, grabbing the band and looking at it. "But... how could this be kept on a subject without them easily breaking it?!" Lydia grabbed the band back, as Chrys spoke up quite calmly. "Well... from what I've been told, they contain some nanite like things, which uhhhh, well, they harden when arround a part of a subject. It's kinda hard to explain but..." Lydia nodded more understandingly. "The machines in the band sync up with the nanites in the subject?" Chrys paused, before nodding quietly. "That... that seems like a good way to describe it, I think."

Well, you had found what you wanted to find. Though given how the band required to 'sync up' with the subject who wore it to actually harden, it probably was a bit of a challenge for Lydia to modify it. Thaddeus even brought up said concern. "So, do ya think you can use it to make a tracker, Lydia? It seems... pretty tough." Lydia nodded calmly. "I can probably make it work with Derek's help. It won't take too long though, I imagine." Derek nodded along, putting a hand on Lydia's shoulder. "Just let me get some medical aide first, and I'll gladly help you out, Lydia." Thus, it seemed everyone was ready. You had checked the room out most thoroughly, leaving just one chamber...

>Check the containment chamber. Thaddeus' curiosity/concern is quite understandable. Even if it wasn't warranted, the room may contain something of interest still...
With everyone ready and the knowledge of somebody or something being close, you'd tell your men it was time to check out the containment chamber. "Aight, guess you want me to open the door again, eh?" Alan said smugly, Thaddeus speaking in a more cautious tone. "I think we have to be more vigilant about this. We gotta plan things out and not just walk in blindly. After all, ya saw how close to danger we got with Chrys." Chrys was listening in, mumbling in a rather regretful voice. "Sorry..." Thaddeus responded rather dismissively. "Eh, don't say sorry, Chrys. Regardless, I think we need a solid plan. Alan and I need to open the door quickly, then you guys need to be ready for any ambush or traps which go off. Hell, maybe Alan and I will get shot at..." Zaria soon budded in with a rather amused tone. "And this... absolute vigilance is necessary because of... a pile of burnt twigs and leaves, and a dirty makeshift cooking pan?" Thaddeus seeemed rather insulted by Zaria's remarks. "Well, what do you wanna do?! Just waltz in there without a care in the world and get bloody shot at, mauled or worse?!"
>>
Perhaps it was for the best you... set out a plan.

Choose one of these:
>Let's delegate again! Tell your men who needs to do what and how. It may be a bit slower and more tedious, but being careful and thinking things through matters most now.
>Throw caution to the wind. Let's just go in there guns blazing and kill whatever is in there!
>Alan, get ze flammenwerfer. Whatever is in this chamber is going to be burnt to a crisp! Or maybe Lydia's frag grenades or Anon's underslung grenade launcher can do the job as well...
>Let's do a mix of things. Maybe use a flamethrower to scare whoever is in there out in the open, then shoot whatever comes out and finally head inside to check if anyone is still alive in there.
>Let's just retreat. We got the NARI band and even some nanites. Let's get out of here.
>Something else...

(Switching to different ID starting now.)
>>
>>5833276
>Leave the machine
>”yo Zaria if you’re so confident feel free to scout the room yourself” (joke)
>yell into the room that we’ve got a flamethrower and are gonna light it the fuck up so anyone inside better surrender now.
>then do the mix of things
>>
>>5833355
Supporting. If she rushes ahead before we give the order and gets herself killed through her carelessness it's her fault.
>>
>>5833355
Lmao +1
>>
>Leave the machine
You told Artyom that destroying the machine wasn't really necessary. Chrys' remarks already proved that the machine couldn't be used for helping subjects. Besides, the scientists probably couldn't make anything of interest with just a bunch of nanites. At least, that was quite doubtful. Thus, the men went further to work checking the place and machinery. Until finally, everything aside from the final room had been checked. Thaddeus clearly wanted to enter the room carefully, rather than just going in without fear.

Zaria was obviously more sceptical, you jokingly telling her to maybe enter the room if she was so confident. It made the rest of your men go quiet, though you could tell they were smirking behind their helmets. After a moment, Zaria sighed. "Nevermind. Let's hear what you have to suggest, Mikhail." From her tone, you could tell she at least took the joke well enough, even if she still felt that you were overpreparing for what was to come. Thaddeus did seem to appreciate your joke a lot though, nodding along and speaking smugly. "Aye, let's discuss the plan together."

>yell into the room that we’ve got a flamethrower and are gonna light it the fuck up so anyone inside better surrender now.
>Then do the mix of things
Your plan was a simple one, you telling Alan that he'd finally get to use the flamethrower you had gotten him. "At long last... I've been waiting for this, hehe." He'd say, already holding up his weaponry quite eagerly. You then remarked that he wouldn't get to use it instantly. He'd only use it if nobody showed themselves in the containment chamber. If they surrendered, that'd hopefully mean a quick kill on them. Or maybe an interrogation followed by a swift mercy kill. And if they fought back? Well, it'd be easy enough to just... flame them all down, shoot them down or even grenade them. Unless if these guardsmen had deathsquad weaponry, which from the looks of it they hadn't, this was going to be a turkeyshoot.

Everyone agreed to the plan, though you could tell a few of your men were a bit eager to just... kill whoever stepped forward. Then again, that'd require them to step forward. Thus, Alan and Thaddeus went to the second door, Artyom looking around it as they carefully opened it. Meanwhile, Zaria, Anon and Lydia kept their guns aimed at the slowly opening doors leading to the chamber. Just in case anything jumped out. Nothing seemed to happen though, as the door was soon opened up enough where people could walk into it with relative ease. You spoke up loudly, telling whoever was in the room they could either hide and burn to death, or come out to make it easier. There was a moment of silence, Zaria speaking up softly. "Nobody's in there..." Thaddeus hushed her though, as the silence lasted for some time... until finally, there was a soft rustling noise.
>>
Everyone got their guns ready, as you'd see someone step out from behind a mass of tree branches and leaves. Though the moment you saw them, you realised this was never going to be a serious fight.

The person who walked over was a male guardsman, having the same outfit as the corpses you saw. But... he was badly bruised, covered in grime and had a huge part of his face covered with bandage. His helmet was partially melted and looked to be covered in black. His left arm was completely gone, and his right arm was bloodied, burnt and looked extremely damaged. He raised the one arm, not saying anything as he limped forward slowly. "Fucking hell..." Derek responded, while Alan spoke softly. "What do we do, sir?" Before you could answer though, there was some more soft rustling a bit further away, after which another, yet larger male guardsman appeared. This one had blood all over his face and staining his clothes, his hands also being coated with a thick layer of dried blood. His one leg looked to not be working, meaning he limped forward even worse than the other guardsman.

Finally, a third guardsman stepped forward from behind a mass of twigs and dirt, them being in the worst state. They had bandages over most of their upper head, blocking out one of their eyes and even parts of their cheeks. They had no hair whatsoever, it being scorched off for the most part and revealing a thick layer of burnt skin on most of their scalp. Their one eye had this thousand yard stare, as they walked forward with trembling legs...

The one who was closest stumbled closer and closer, at which point Thaddeus spoke. "Stay. Back." The man stood still, before looking down and speaking with a rather... raspy yet pleasant voice. "Well... go ahead... do it." He didn't sound saddened or even depressed. He didn't show any reluctance, or fear, or even hatred. He sounded apathetic about what was about to happen... Of course, the other two were a bit more emotive, the limping man soon trying to crouch down, looking away and keeping his arm raised. As for the third guardsman, they sniffled and trembled, them not saying anything as they looked specifically at you. They looked you right in the eyes, and for a moment, you saw a hint of pleading and hope in their eyes. Almost like they believed that you had it in you to... spare them. Of course, your men didn't really think of sparing them. "Should we take the shot?" Thaddeus said, Zaria speaking more coldly. "Come on, Mikhail, we've got a job to do." The three guardsmen didn't respond, the first one just closing his eyes and taking a deep breath...
>>
>Like Zaria said... you had a job to do... time to follow it. Waste no time getting closer for an accurate shot. Just shoot them from here and get it over with.
>They were in pain, and they gave in without a fight. Mercy-kill them from up close.
>They were in pain, they didn't fight back, they didn't deserve to die. They should be spared.
>They clearly had been through a lot. Perhaps they could be spared... so long as they had useful information.
>These people, terrified and broken, were your targets? No, you weren't going to kill them. In fact, they deserve some help... just like poor Chrys.
>Something else... (write in.)
>>
>They clearly had been through a lot. Perhaps they could be spared... so long as they had useful information.

I mean, information is information. And much like Chrys we can just kill them later if we have or need to.
>>
>>5833928
>>Like Zaria said... you had a job to do... time to follow it. Waste no time getting closer for an accurate shot. Just shoot them from here and get it over with.
>>
>>5833928
>They clearly had been through a lot. Perhaps they could be spared... so long as they had useful information.

They aren't scientists or subjects, would we even get paid for killing them? That said, if they want to be mercy killed do it.
>>
Man im noticing two things about this game here.
1) Something is up REAL BAD in this place. Like yeah the government is lying to us, but so far literally ALL survivors we have met have either been friendly or at the least not outright hostile to us.
2) Im kinda starting to think we really AREN'T all that cut out for the bloodthirsty killer merc role we have taken on here.
Either way:
>>5833928
>They clearly had been through a lot. Perhaps they could be spared... so long as they had useful information.
>>
>>5834044
I think if these guys weren't half dead already they probably would have put up a fight rather than be accepting of their fate. Also keep in mind that the only subject we have met so far, Chrys, is only threat level 4. I assume any above 5 are far more problematic ability and personality wise.
>>
>>5833928
>Like Zaria said... you had a job to do... time to follow it. Waste no time getting closer for an accurate shot. Just shoot them from here and get it over with.

Look guys we are a DEATH SQUAD unless we want to risk getting payed jack diddly and making a enemy of both the government and probably the other death squads by proxy we cant just keep sparing every single fuckin person we encounter who isn't willing to literally fight to the death. We are already in for one inevitable headache when the government finds out we are keeping a monster girl alive lets not further complicate things and just end their suffering before the government inevitably does it for us.
>>
>>5834044
I mean I just look at this like Half Life frankly shites gone fucky wucky and the government sends in the military (or in this case death squads) to solve the mess while leaving no survivors. Of course this means we are the antagonist force for pretty much everyone still living in the facility but ultimately isn't that what we signed up for?
>>
>>5834150
My worry is that when we finish our job as intended the government will decide to include us in that no survivors, so it’s in our best interest to not do our job as intended.
>>
Some observations from both the past few posts and the sheets provided that has me thinking. Some of these thoughts and observations are far more important than others.

1. The one subject we encountered was probably as friendly as we'd expect from someone who knows what we are here to do while cornered can be without immediately surrendering.

2. She is threat level 4. There are 2 others of the same threat level and 6 others that are below her threat level while 21 subjects are more dangerous In fact Threat Level 8 is the most populated threat level.

3. This means that 17 Subjects have a threat level greater than 5, while there are only 13 that are threat level 5 or lower.

4. If what Chrys says is true, there are probably subjects that also exist that we do not know about either because military intelligence is an oxymoron, because the government is hiding shit as usual, because those subjects are dead, or some mix of all three. We have no clue what their threat level is if something like Titania is still alive. But I can only assume she would be a 10 if she hasn't already kicked the calendar

5. Continuing on the belief that Chrys has been honest, if a subject was able to find a way to negate their NARI band they could probably become a kaiju or maybe even worse. If so, this partially explains why all subjects are being purged, along with the fact most are above threat level 5. Given how some can feed on things as abundant as warmth, or even light it wouldn't be hard for them to go out of control without precaution and oversight.

6. Zaria, Lars, and Derek are the characters made by the QM. Two of them, Derek and Zaria, seem to have traits that are special and not listed in the original example set. These are Comms Manager, Reverse Engineering expert and Indefatigable. The first two being part of Derek. Comms is obvious, given a description is included, while Reverse Engineering I assume means he has a less effective or more mechanic oriented version of electrician. The last of these three traits I assume means Zaria can stay awake for longer and/or do exhausting actions for far longer, or go on more patrols before needing a rest if we need to manage our soldiers exhaustion.

7. The unnamed Demoman suggestion was named Evander Tavish, while the light machine gunner was named Artyom Ozhidaniye. I have a hunch both are references.
>>
>>5834181
As much as i hate to say it, it is WAAAAAAAY too early to be thinking like that. You start doing the whole "Hmmmm this aint what i signed up for,
." questioning stuff after you kill a whole bunch of people and have to think about. So far everything has pointed to the government wanting a cleanup crew that doesnt ask questions and lets them go home at the end of the day. WE are acting like we should not have accepted this contract in the first place.
>>
As fun as it is to meme about and shadowrun, most governments won't kill off a reliable asset. If they get the job done and show "discretion" then there is no reason to lose that asset. But as they say, answer the door with a gun in hand. Be ready.
>>
>They clearly had been through a lot. Perhaps they could be spared... so long as they had useful information.
After a lot of deliberation in your mind, you decided to speak a bit more calmly to the three battered and bruised guardsmen. You told them that you'd spare them, as long as they were willing to answer some questions. Some of your men looked at you, likely in surprise or disgust at the fact you let three more live. Though, most of your men understood that this was for getitng more info about the place, just like with Chrys. Speaking of, Chrys was horrified by the state of the soldiers, but also seemed relieved that you were willing to give the three a chance. Regardless, the three guardsmen actually seemed surprised and shocked, with the one at the front grumbling a bit in quiet bewilderment. "And... here I was thinking... there were just lunatics walking around this place... rather than actual people..."

Though the guardsman quickly turned a bit more stern and aggressive. "Who sent you here anyway?! and why?!" Anon stepped forward, speaking back in a cold tone. "We're the one asking you questions here, dickhead. Now show some fucking respect before Mikhail here reconsiders his previous command and we execute you." The one at front didn't seem to budge much, just letting out a deep and guttural scoff. Meanwhile, the one at the back started letting out more and more tears, falling to their knees and finally speaking. "W-Whatever happened or c-caused all of this... w-why are you h-hunting us?! W-We didn't do a thing! W-We just did our jobs! W-We don't know w-what happened!" She had a female voice, one which was utterly terrified and confused. The second guy spoke a bit more calmly, albeit still rather on edge. "What do you want to ask us anyway? W-We have... no clue what has happened or what is going on... p-probably less so than you guys even."

"Well, ya ought to know something about this place." Thaddeus soon remarked, Derek also joining in. "You must've seen something or... been in some sort of fight to cause... well, this." The one at the front growled a bit. "Oh, these injuries? These fucking. Painful. Agonizing injuries?! Aimed at not even killing us, but just making us suffer?! Well, that was the doing of your compatriots... Sick fucks..." Artyom was quick to join in on the conversation, doing so confidently yet calmly. "We're not sadists. We don't waste time torturing targets. You probably dealt with Diamond Dogs or Heroes or something... and those cunts aren't our compatriots." Lydia then also spoke up, doing so more reassuringly. "Look, we've given you a chance to talk. We've spared you. Now, we hope you return the favour by... answering some questions, alright? Maybe we'll even let you get out of here if you... help us out a little." The three guardsmen looked... a bit more reassured, but this was quickly broken when Zaria spoke up in mild bewilderment.
>>
"Mikhail, I get wanting to get information from them but they aren't exactly eager to co-operate." The female raised her trembling hand. "I-I am..." She then mumbled, Zaria glancing over her before continuing. "Ignoring that, just look at them! If anything letting them live would be more tortuous than just killing them quickly and doing our job." The guardsman at the front didn't seem bothered by the remark at all. If anything, he seemed to not react at all. Though the female guard definitely looked terrified and shook her head. The second guard looked down, likely knowing that... Zaria had a lot of truth to her remarks. Even then, Zaria still had more to say. "They obviously won't have access to painkillers, prosthetics or anything of the sort given they're wanted dead by the government. Besides, they'll likely die soon anyway. If not from their wounds or an infection, then due to a lack of food or water in this place."

She paused, clearly being annoyed by the fact you wanted to keep them alive. Though Lydia quickly rebuked her remarks. "We've already kept Chrys alive... and she has provided us with quite some useful information. Besides, maybe they're fine living with their current conditions? And if they aren't, then... we can kill them after getting info out of them." Obviously, it was a rather unrealistic suggestion, and even the main guardsman nodded and smirked tiredly. "Guess you're the optimist of this group, huh?" There was a moment of silence, after which Zaria continued with a shake of her head. "Ugh, I'm not just suggesting this out of wanting to get paid. We've already taken a risk angering the government by taking a fucking subject in in the form of Chrys. If we keep letting people just 'live', as well as offering 'second chances' to them for information, I feel like we're just increasing that risk further and further. Besides, you heard what the gal said, they have no clue what the fuck is going on here either."

By now, Derek had enough of Zaria's remarks, quickly responding to Zaria in a rather stern tone. "We haven't even ASKED them anything yet, Zaria! Let Mikhail ask his questions first, maybe then we can consider what we should do with them and what they want!" The guy at the front spoke up softly yet sceptically. "I just wanna know why you guys are down here killing people. Just tell me that, and I'll answer everything you guys want... and maybe afterwards, I'll let you get your blood money..." The second guardsman spoke up more worriedly. "I-I'd rather... y-you help us out i-if that's... o-okay with you guys. Y-You seem reasonable, I-I think... I-I mean you said you... t-took in a subject?" The female guardsman once again shook her head and let out tears. "I-I'll do anything! J-Just spare me! I-I just... I wanna get out of here..."
>>
It was then that Zaria budded in again, this time with... a question, rather than some suggestion. "Fine. You three, is there a subject called Titania or did Chrys make her up?" You heard Mike go "What?" in confusion as to why she brought that question up, after which Chrys spoke anxiously. "Wuh-w-why are you asking them?" Zaria, clearly still sceptical of Chrys and her intentions, wanted to kill two birds with one stone. If they knew of Titania, then that was another subject you knew that wasn't on the hit-list, not to mention proving to her that Chrys was more honest than she led to believe. And if they didn't know of Titania, then she had confirmation that either the men were useless or that Chrys was lying... Of course, it was a rather ham-fisted approach to it. "You have to at least know that much. After all, she said everyone knows about her." Zaria reaffirmed, after which the first guy shook his head...

For a moment, you saw Chrys freeze up, before the man finally spoke. "You guys... don't know about Titania?" He scoffed softly, as you saw Chrys let out a sigh of relieve. "Titania is the largest subject ever made. Or... maybe was. I don't know what happened to her either. But... yeah, she did exist." Zaria went quiet, glancing at Chrys. Thaddeus soon spoke up more calmly. "Now, Zaria, does that prove everything? Can ya shut up now and let Mikhail do his bloody job?!" Zaria gave a quiet nod, as Thaddeus looked to you.

>Another interrogation! This time, with the three poor guards. What should we ask them? (Write in questions...)
Some example questions, feel free to also ask these things.
>Ask about Titania and anything related to her.
>Ask about something security related.
>Ask about their encounter with the death squad.
>Ask them how they even got here.
>Something else (write in what you want to tell the guardsman or if there's any other action you wish to do.)

(I have to say that I love seeing these discussions you guys have had. I sometimes worry that I just... throw a bunch of boring lore at you guys when all you wanna do is hunt for subjects and kill them. But it's nice seeing that the world-building is keeping you guys intrigued.)
>>
>>5834387
>ask for everything they know about the security here
>ask about their encounter
>>ask how they even got here
>tell them you were hired by the government to kill everyone and everything down here with the exception of three scientists and that’s all they told you, do they have any ideas or even suspicions about why this facility would be condemned so thoroughly?
>>
>>5834549
+1
>>
>>5834549
>Supporting
>>
>ask for everything they know about the security here
After Zaria's distrust of Chrys was proven wrong and the usefulness of the soldiers became evident, you right away started asking some important questions. You asked about security in this place, how things were set up and what his role was. The grizzled soldier in charge smirked a bit tiredly. "Well, we were all assigned to specific sectors and specific subjects. Some of us were entrusted by scientists to... make sure their subjects didn't cause a ruckus. We didn't have much mobility, and we didn't exactly move from place to place often. Our gear wasn't good either, but it was usually enough to keep subjects in line."

Afterwards, the other, bloodied guardsman also had something to say. "We, uhhh, some of us had schedules focused on keeping watch at night, while others were more active during the day. Subjects usually had eyes watching them 24/7." The female guard, realising she needed to be useful to avoid a bullet through her head, also joined in. "Oh, uhhh, t-there's security cameras! L-Like, t-there's a main c-control room n-near the centre of the facility!" Of course, Derek and his knowledge of the map had already scanned for this... and he revealed something which made the female quite anxious. "Yeah, those rooms have been destroyed. So, security cameras are practically useless... Unless if LW-20 can still use them." The female guardsman started fidgeting, seeming unsure what to say as she just responded "O-Oh..."

>ask about their encounter with another death squad
So far, they had given some decent, albeit likely obvious information. Perhaps you could ask for finer details later regarding security. For now, you wanted to ask about their encounter with the other death squad. The main guardsman scoffed again. "And why is that, if I may ask?" Artyom responded under his breath before anyone else could. "So we know which of their tents to put an explosive in, of fucking course." After that rather bold claim which showed Artyom's continued disdain towards other death squads, Mike gave a more sincere answer. "Well, just to know what their way of doing things is down here. We don't usually work with some of these squads, and usually it isn't on friendly terms either..." The main guard raised an eyebrow, before letting out a quite groan. "Alright... you guys want to know, huh? Fine..."
>>
"Basically, my men and I were... just getting around the place, unsure what the fuck was going on and if any rescue was coming. We were a small group of about... 5 men, and we had decided that we should try to make our way to the main exit to the facility. Lo and behold, we make a turn and notice people in the distance... At the time, we just thought 'oh, finally, some other people to maybe help us out'. Guess you could call us naïve, but... well, we approached them. I mean, you're in this destroyed hellhole, of course you're expecting someone to come in there and save you, you know?" By now, you saw the other two guardsman looking down, shutting their eyes and clearly trying to remain calm...

"So, we approached them, only for one of our men to then start screaming in pain. Then, these sick fucks started laughing and taunting us, asking us if we were the folks who were supposed to keep the place in check. Obviously, I just wanted to know what was going on and wanted them to stop whatever they were doing. They didn't do the latter, but they did tell us the former... Oh, they told us everything." By now, the female guardsman went to the floor, sobbing mildly while the bloodied guardsman faced away. The main guardsman continued his story. "How... squads like you were out there to... kill anything that was alive for cold, hard cash. No questioning what had happened. No critical thinking skills. They were brutal without even questioning why they had to go after us. And the ironic part? Those fuckers call themselves Diamond Dogs and claimed they were the greatest terror force the galaxy has ever seen... When really, they're just the government's lap dogs." He was clearly quite upset, shaking his head and letting out a deep sigh. "And afterwards... well, we ran for our lives. We got shot at, set ablaze, had our arms torn from our bodies with power weaponry... And they kept taunting us throughout it... Eventually, I think they grew bored of us and let us go... leaving us like we currently are."

>ask how they even got here.
Given that they had explained how they now got their injuries and defeated spirit, you wanted to ask what brought them to this exact location. The bloodied guardsman spoke up this time, sounding a bit more determined, just like the main guardsman. "We simply headed to the centre... only to find the crater not too far away from here. I imagine that's probably where you guys came from..." He paused, taking another deep breath and shivering a bit, presumably from the pain he was in. "We then... well, retreated. And using a key card, we decided to enter this place and... lock it in the hopes the death squads would just avoid us. We only ever leave for food and supplies, but... we had very few of both..."
>>
Given how little they fought back, they probably had already accepted that they'd run out of supplies and die in this place... Regardless, the fact they managed to survive with everything in limited supply and with such painful injuries was... well, it was certainly admirable. Though once again, it was leaving out some key details which... you could probably ask for if you were interested.

>tell them of three scientists which were meant to be kept and that’s all they told you. Do they have any ideas or even suspicions about why this facility would be condemned so thoroughly?
Given the fact they seemed a lot more relaxed, you decided to tell them that there were just three scientists who were meant to be kept alive. "Probably whoever created the fucking thing that caused all of this, I imagine... or maybe Tengri or someone close to him, since he's the leader of this place." The bloodied guardsman said, after which the main guardsman spoke up rather dismissively. "The government clearly lost their fucking marbles, if they have condemned everyone down here to a slow and agonizing death... That, or there's something else going on they don't wanna inform people of. Probably because it'd make them look bad and the bureaucrats in power don't want people to figure out they're all fucking incompetent." Yeah, there was something you... couldn't exactly disagree with. In fact, Anon softly said the word "Based." after the guy finished, to which Lydia gave him a bit of a shoulder bump, either to tell him to shut up or to stop using ancient Earthen slang in a rather serious discussion like this...

Finally, you asked the men if they had ideas as to why this facility was condemned. This was actually a question which they had to think about, the female guardsman speaking first. "I think... because most subjects have been treated terribly... and, well, I know many are more than eager to exploit their newly-gained freedom to cause chaos... Maybe they just want a clean slate?" She mumbled before sniffling a bit. The bloodied guardsman spoke up soon after. "Given that... some fucking subject managed to break out and cause this huge of a mess... I also feel like the government just wants a clean slate... purge all of the old and rebuilt with them in direct control." Finally, the main guardsman spoke, though he sounded far more certain and quiet. "I feel like there's far more going on than any of us know. Trouble in the highest echelons of power. They'll never give the full truth about anything... and anyone who might have the slightest clue as to what is going on... is a threat to them... in other words, someone who needs to be snuffed out without the chance to let the rest of the world know..."
>>
Your men all seemed a bit confused by the head guardsman and his rather conspiratorial mind. Alan even pointed something out which could also very well be the truth. "Have you considered that maybe Diamond Dogs didn't miss a shot on your head and that you have brain damage?" This remark didn't seem to bother the guardsman, who even seemed amused by it. "Maybe I am... just fucked in the head from trauma, injury and... everything else I've been through. But, well, what else could be the reason for this shitshow?"

>Ask away some more questions (write in...)
>They have provided enough information to us for now. Let's offer them a way out of their misery, or leave them be if they want to continue living...
>They have provided enough information to us for now. Let's now do our job and put them out of their misery.
>They have provided enough information to us for now. Let's do them a favour of some kind (write in what favour... example could be: getting them medicine or other supplies.)
>Something else...
>>
(God, I hope my mild exhaustion isn't affecting the posts too much. I personally feel like this update was a bit lacklustre, so hopefully tomorrow I can get back into the full swing of things and deliver something which I feel is really good. Not to mention, more updates in one day.)
>>
>>5835004
I'd of preferred we shot them when we first found them but since we didn't assuming no one else has anymore good questions.

>They have provided enough information to us for now. Let's offer them a way out of their misery, or leave them be if they want to continue living...

Also on a random thought frankly the fourth option seems pretty cruel when you think about it. We can't exactly extract and anything we offer will frankly just give them false hope while also prolonging their suffering.
>>
>>5835004
>They have provided enough information to us for now. Let's offer them a way out of their misery, or leave them be if they want to continue living...
Diamond Dogs suck, Artyom had the right idea
>>
>They have provided enough information to us for now. Let's offer them a way out of their misery, or leave them be if they want to continue living...

This is an easy choice.
>>
>>5835004
>>They have provided enough information to us for now. Let's now do our job and put them out of their misery.
>>
>They have provided enough information to us for now. Let's offer them a way out of their misery, or leave them be if they want to continue living...
With them having answered all your questions, and the main guard pointing out how he didn't even know if he was sane anymore from everything that had happened, you decided to throw the three a bone. You told them that's all you wanted to know, at which point Thaddeus spoke up calmly. "You sure, Mikhail? Shouldn't we maybe ask about subjects and other things of use?" You shook your head in turn, feeling confident you had gotten everything you wanted out of them. Besides, the poor trio... deserved a chance to be freed from this hell. Bringing them supplies would just prolong the inevitable, as well as creating false hope. Besides, the three of them... did seem hesitant about even staying alive down here.

Thus, you finally gave them the offer. You and your men could leave them here on their own, you not revealing their location to other death squads and letting them live in hiding... or you could give them a swift, hopefully painless kill to end their misery. The three remained silent, looking at each other with hesitance and confusion. Though soon, the bloodied soldier stepped forward. "Just... just promise it'll be quick."

This made the female guardsman tear up and approach her partner. "Lawrence, please no! W-We can still escape somehow! T-There has to be a way out!" Lawrence looked down, letting out a soft sigh. "Mathilde, I... I can't. We've been here for... I don't even know how long. I'm hungry, I'm in constant pain, I... I don't have any more motivation to keep going." All the while, Mathilde let out more tears, trembling in fear and sniffling as her voice cracked a bit. "B-But... t-these soldiers... t-they... they maybe c-can help us? W-We finally maybe have a w-way out... W-We can't give up now, we can't..."

Unfortunately for her, Lawrence didn't budge, sighing and responding quietly. "Even if they get us out of here somehow, what comes after that? We'll probably need to go into hiding, unable to live a peaceful, comfortable life... The government now wants us dead for some reason. I doubt they'll show us mercy in the future if we get out of here... Besides, I'm... I'm tired of it all... I just... want it all to be over now."

Mathilde thus relented, before mumbling to herself. "I don't want to diiiieeee..." It seemed Mathilde was quite scared of... well, dying. She probably needed some time to think things through. Regardless, it was probably for the best you just took Lawrence out of here before finding a place where he could be cleanly killed, away from Mathilde and the head guardsman. Speaking of which, the main guardsman had been rather quiet throughout all of this. He did look a bit disappointed at the exchange between his two co-workers, but he also seemed accepting of the fact Lawrence wanted out.
>>
Still, he soon spoke up as well. "You know... I'm tempted to stay alive just to spite the fuckers who tried killing me. Not to mention, trying to fuck with them if they ever come around here..." Artyom spoke up curiously at what the head guard had to say. "Take it you wanna use traps or other weapons to get back at them?" The head guard actually smirked and nodded. "It's... very tempting. But at the same time, this place is huge. How large is the chance I'll ever see those bastards again and get a chance to get my revenge? Not to mention, the work, time and material needed to... get my revenge." He'd go quiet, glancing at Lawrence and Mathilde. He finally sighed, giving a calm nod. "Like I said when you first got here... Just go ahead and do it."

Zaria then also responded, doing so rather casually given what you were discussing. "If it makes you any happier, having us kill you means the guys at Diamond Dogs don't get paid for the job... well at least, not for your deaths." It was a rather morbid comment, and you saw that Thaddeus looked at Zaria in quiet disgust. However, the head guardsman simply scoffed and continued smirking. "I know you in particular are just in it for the cash, but... hey, if money goes to soldiers with actual humanity, then I see that as a plus in my book." Thus, it was Mathilde's time to decide. She was still sniffling and shivering, but it had gotten even worse now that both of her partners had accepted their execution. There was a moment where everyone looked at her, her looking down and tightly holding herself. "I-I don't... I don't want to die, o-or be aloooone..." She whimpered to herself, looking around and soon stumbling over to Lawrence.

"Y-You can't do this... p-please, t-there's hope for us... w-we can keep going..." However, Lawrence didn't budge sighing and responding calmly. "Mathilde, I know you're scared of death, but... I'm not going to keep doing this. I am done hiding in this place and suffering... I want it to be over." The head guard also nodded, responding even more quietly. "There's nothing left for us here... Better to just bite the bullet and... accept our fate..." Mathilde looked down before looking at you and your men. "W-Will you promise me... i-it won't hurt?" There was a bit of hesitance from your men, until Thaddeus spoke up softly. "You won't feel a thing of it. It'll be so quick, you won't notice anything of it..." There was this hint of sadness in Thaddeus' voice, as it was clear he felt sad for the poor girl.

Regardless, it seemed that Mathilde had been convinced. Maybe it was the fact she would be all alone, or maybe the fact she'd have nothing to look forward to. Perhaps it was just the fact that... she was likely to slowly die from her injuries regardless of what she chose. Whatever it was, she still looked utterly terrified...
>>
Thus, your men looked at you, waiting to hear what you'd do and who you'd want to do the job...

>Choose who will kill which guardsman. Probably best to go for painless, clean and swift methods...
>Tell the guards something before they die... if you feel like giving them some parting words. (write in...)
>Choose what you'll do with the bodies, if anything...
>Something else...
>>
>>5835941
>>Choose who will kill which guardsman. Probably best to go for painless, clean and swift methods...
Volunteers
>Choose what you'll do with the bodies, if anything...
Burn them
>>
>>5835941
Backing >>5836143
just make sure we ID them so we can claim kill credit and keep the appearance f doing our jobs
>>
>>5836143
>>5836183

Supporting.
>>
>Choose who will kill which guardsman. Probably best to go for painless, clean and swift methods...
With the three guardsmen either reluctantly or fully accepting their coming deaths, your men waited for you to give some commands. You didn't take long to think about it, looking at your men before telling them they could volunteer. There was a moment of silence, each of your men thinking about... if they really had good weapons for a quick and clean kill. The first to step forward was Mike, who showed his Desert Eagle right away. "I think I can do it quick, painlessly and clean with this." He'd look at the other men, after which Thaddeus also stepped forward. "A revolver should do the job quick, I imagine."

Lastly came Zaria with her machine pistol. "Let's do this fast and get out of here." Thaddeus would get behind Mathilde, who was still shivering and visibly terrified, even mumbling to herself. "I-It'll be quick... it'll be quick..." Meanwhile, Zaria got behind Lawrence, and Mike behind the main guardsman. "So, uhhh, I take it you three will shoot them at the same time? Or at least, close-enough together?" Lydia asked, Thaddeus nodding. "I imagine that's the plan." He'd look to Zaria and Mike, the former seeming to get a tiny bit impatient. Regardless, you'd all take a few steps back, as Thaddeus raised his voice slightly. "On the count of three..."

The head guard simply smirked at you and the others, keeping his head down as you could tell there was still some fire in his eyes...

"One."

Lawrence simply kept his eyes closed, albeit while visibly breathing heavily. He kept his head slightly raised, not at all seeming bothered by what was about to happen.

"Two."

Mathilde was still visibly trembling and shivering, her eyes racing all over the place, momentarily locking with yours before they shifted to your other men. She still had tears in her eyes, looking the least ready of all three of them...

"Three!"

You heard a simultaneous soft pop, a far deeper thud and a loud bang. Shortly after, the three guardsman went entirely limp, falling to the ground with a soft thud on the dirt-covered containment chamber floor. A swift, clean kill on all three of them. Whatever life they had shown seconds ago snuffed out within a moment's notice. Looking behind you and your men, you saw Chrys looking quite terrified by the sight, wrapping all four arms around herself and looking down with a thousand-yard stare.

It was your job, so it was a sight you were used to. But Chrys... she clearly was not used to seeing executions from up close. Let alone executions of rather innocent people. Perhaps in a better timeline, these three men would've had the chance to survive...

Either way, Thaddeus, Mike and Zaria pulled their guns away, after which Derek brought up the most pressing question. "Now what?"
>>
>Choose what you'll do with the bodies, if anything...
Derek was the perfect person to ask this question, as you told him to take pictures of the bodies for identifications, as well as checking them for ID's. Mike and Zaria were quick to help in the latter, checking the bodies for any ID cards. They did soon find their identifications, them just being simple plastic cards. "Guess we can use these to confirm the kills..." Zaria said casually, Thaddeus speaking a bit more quietly. "I think the pictures will do the job quite fine as well."

After all the pictures had been taken, you told Alan he could burn the bodies. "I was hoping you'd say that." He'd say, at which point Artyom spoke up in amusement. "I was expecting you to volunteer as executioner with that thing, not gonna lie..." Alan shook his head. "It would've been funny, but... I didn't want to scare the gal..." It was a good call for him not to use the flamethrower. It would've probably only further terrified the poor guardsmen. Regardless, he'd signal Thaddeus, Mike and Zaria to get behind him.

"Should we maybe burn them in a less confined space and from a greater distance? Maybe inside the hallways?" Derek soon brought up, presenting a rather valid concern. The containment chamber contained all kinds of dead, wilted plants, and they'd probably cause quite the fire. Still, it was probably still a better idea than dragging the bodies into the hallway and burning them there. Besides, the room could be closed off with the sliding doors, likely reducing the chance of the fire spreading substantially. Still, the corpses were quite close to you and your men. But fortunately, Alan had a rather simple solution to that...

He'd lower his flamethrower, before using one hand to drag the first body further back into the chamber. "You could've just asked for us to help out, Alan..." Lydia remarked softly, Thaddeus sighing and grabbing a second body. He'd lift it up and brought it further into the chamber. Afterwards, he'd come back to grab the third corpse. And by the time all three guardsman had been dropped a safe distance away, Thaddeus returned already. Alan followed soon after, eagerly grabbing his flamethrower.

"Safe now, Derek?" Alan asked slightly smugly, Derek nodding calmly. "I imagine such..." You thus gave Alan confirmation he could get to work. You heard a soft hissing noise from his flamethrower, followed by a loud roar as the room lit up with a stream of concentrated fire. Plants, grass and trees around the bodies caught fire, releasing billowing clouds of smoke into the room. You saw the corpses in the scorching fire, watching their features slowly fade as their skin and outfits charred. Your men watched quietly, Thaddeus saluting the three men for but a moment. Soon, Alan lowered his flamethrower, having already coated a lot more than just the corpses with scorching flames.
>>
"Alright, let's get out of here." Mike finally said, Lars responding right away. "Yeah, that acid wound still fucking burns, dude..." There still were a few loose ends though. Or well, one really... Chrys needed to be kept somewhere secure so she wouldn't run off once you all returned to the main camp.

>Leave Chrys unattended somewhere. She's trustworthy enough. Besides, nobody is likely to come to this place anytime soon.
>Assign Chrys to one of the two nearby rooms. That, or the first storage room you came across when you entered this place.
>If we do leàve her in one of those rooms, use brute force to close the sliding doors to ensure she can't truly escape.
>There's still another loose end. I think we should... (write in what else you still wish to do before heading back to the main base and finish the first expedition.)

(So, some potentially bad news is that I may have caught a pretty bad cold. I'll still try and get updates in, especially if the cold turns out to be pretty mild. However, I'll let you know if shit gets worse and I need to decrease the update rate.)
>>
(Also, once again, apologies to the lack of extra updates over the weekend. I'll try and make up for it in the near future!)
>>
>>5836560
>Assign Chrys to one of the two nearby rooms. That, or the first storage room you came across when you entered this place.

Can we leave Artyom and Lydia with her? Both to make sure she doesn't run and to head off any other squads that want to investigate.
>>
>>5836589
Supporting, unless our end of patrol means we'll be out of action for a significant portion of time.
>>
>>5836606
You can get back to patrolling right away after you get back to the main base camp, if you so want to. Though I'll also give some options for you back at the main base. Stuff like, giving you and your men some rest, food or medical aide, perhaps even request material from the main Lodger headquarters, or get some of your men to do some small tasks (e.g. Lydia creating a tracker for Chrys).

Regardless, you can get back to patrolling whenever you really want and it'll probably come down to what things you wanna do at the main base.
>>
>>5836617
>Lydia creating a tracker for Chrys
this was the part I was worried about - can it only be done at camp? It was mentioned that Derek would help - could he grab the supplies needed to make it while at camp and then do it with Lydia elsewhere?
>>
>>5836624
I think it would be fine for Derek to grab the supplies from the camp, yeah. Issue is that the limited number of supplies he can bring on his own means he either has to constantly run back and forth between their hiding spot and the main camp for supplies. Not to mention, that it's a bit of a risk leaving some of your soldiers down there. It mostly depends on how good of a job Lydia does creating a tracker though.

I suppose It's up to you guys to decide what the best plan of action is for you and your men.
>>
>>5836633
I didn't think he'd need multiple trips for a tracker - since he knows what to grab, and we're only leaving Lydia and Artyom behind and everyone else is returning to camp with Derek, perhaps the rest of the squad could help carry supplies?

Also yes, definitely some risk in splitting up, though we've barely seen any other people yet after actively exploring, so I'm hoping two stationary members will be safe.
>>
Unfortunately, I think I'll take a break from writing updates for today at least. My cold has gotten way worse and I need to rest in bed as much as possible. Maybe if I feel better in the evening, I'll get an update in. For now though, I'll put this on hold.

I hope you guys don't mind the lack of updates too much. Like I said before, I'll try and make up for it in the near future.
>>
>>5837080
No problem, updates have actually been quite frequent compared to most of the quests I'm following. Hope you recover quick QM.
>>
>Assign Chrys to one of the two nearby rooms. That, or the first storage room you came across when you entered this place.
With your work finished, it was time to head back. But before that, you'd look to Chrys. She needed a place to stay where she'd be secure. Now, you could just leave her on her own in one of the nearby rooms and force the door shut, but she could potentially break free. Or worse, another death squad could show up and deal with her while you were away. Thus, after you entered the hallway, you'd turn to Artyom and Lydia. You asked them if they were prepared to stay with Chrys to ensure she didn't go anywhere. "Sure, I wouldn't mind." Artyom responded calmly. Though Lydia looked a bit more hesitant.

"What about the tracker? You wanted me to work on that back at the base, right?" It was a fair concern from Lydia, though you had an idea as to how to solve this. Derek or some of your other men could bring supplies from the main camp to her. And Derek could even pick up and bring specific tools over to her to work with. "I... I think that can work. Derek, you wouldn't mind helping me then, right?" Lydia asked calmly, Derek nodding quite eagerly. "I am more than willing to help! Just... do give me some time to get some stuff to help deal with my wound." Lydia nodded, before approaching Derek. "I think I'll note a little list of things I'll need. Can I note it down on the tablet?" Derek nodded in turn, as he handed it over, Lydia right away typing on it.

"Um, Mikhail, are ya sure it's a good idea to leave two of our men down here? What if other death squads find em... or worse, another subject?" Thaddeus soon asked you, to which you responded that it was indeed a risk, but that this place was vast enough that they wouldn't encounter any further threats. "I just hope nobody gets suspicious about what we're doing..." Mike then said softly, it clearly being a risk to do what you were doing. But it was a worthwhile risk. Chrys could safely be given a tracker, meaning you had a reliable subject to help you out down here. So long as she didn't end up getting killed by another death-squad...

Regardless, Lydia was soon done adding her notes. "That's all, I think. Probably will need a lot more items, but I think you can just get whatever I'm missing once we've gotten some work in." Lydia responded, at which point she'd look to Chrys. "Well, where do you want to stay?" Chrys seemed a bit unsure what to say, also still seeming mildly shell-shocked from the executions. Artyom soon responded as well. "Let's just head to the first storage room we entered way back. It's closer to the main base and in a far less conspicuous location." He'd glance over at the burning containment chamber, which certainly was bright enough to attract attention from anyone who got near it. With that in mind, you'd all start heading back. You'd walk for some time, passing the screens near the small intersection.
>>
Though as you walked around them and near the hall which led to the flooded section, Anon paused for a moment, looking down the hallway. The way he stood still and looked made some of the others pause as well. "What are you lookin' at, Anon?" Alan asked curiously, Anon remaining quiet before shaking his head. "Thought I saw something... but, I think it's just my mind playing tricks on me." Lydia and Lars also took a good look, having similarly good eyesight as Anon. Though they failed to spot anything either. "I don't see anything of note..." Lydia responded, Lars nodding along. "Let's just keep going. I really am desperate for this fucking burning to end..." Perhaps it was just this dark place playing tricks on their eyes...

You kept walking for some time, soon passing the first storage room you encountered. Chrys quietly entered, Lydia and Artyom following suit. "Okay, is there any sort of time-stamp for when you'll be back? I imagine Derek will return quite soon with the materials, but what about you guys? As much fun as it is to be a guard for Lydia and Chrys, I don't want to basically be forced to stay awake and wait for you guys to come back..." Artyom asked as Chrys got seated in the room with that same blank stare from before...

Lydia meanwhile went to work looking at the NARI band, already inspecting it from various angles, before speaking calmly. "Oh, can I get one of our tablets as well? Just so I can see if there's a way to link it to the tracker band once it's done?" Derek looked to you and also decided to give a bit of a suggestion. "Maybe we should plan out what we'll do back at base? You know what Lars and I first want to do when we get back... But I don't know what you or the others want to do."

Well, you certainly had your work cut out for you. A planning for what you'd do at the base, giving Lydia one of your tablets, setting a time limit for when you'd get back... You'd probably be able to get back here quickly if you planned things out well, but... it depended on a lot of things. Lydia's speed at making a working tracker, Evander getting the test samples, discussing your kills with the government workers. Besides, you maybe needed to get some extra supplies you were lacking in your first track here.
>>
>Hand one of the two tablets (Lodger's offline one OR the government's online one) to Lydia.
>Create a to-do list for when you and your men got back to base. Maybe with a time-limit to ensure Artyom doesn't get worn-down. (Write in all the things you plan on doing back at the base, as well as a time-limit for doing those things.)
>Create a to-do list for when you and your men get back to base. Don't set a time-limit though, as it'd just constrain you and your men. (Write in just all the things you plan on doing back at the base.)
>Throw caution to the wind and tell Artyom that you'll be back when you get the chance to get back.
>A better plan altoghether would be to... (write in your suggested plan.)
>Discuss with your men...
>Something else...

(Still feeling somewhat sick, but I am feeling good enough to write actual updates. Anyway, suppose this post will give you a lot of freedom to decide on what to do next. Just remember that you've got a lot of things you can decide to do. It's... pretty free-form.)
>>
>>5838218
>Hand one of the two tablets (Lodger's offline one OR the government's online one) to Lydia.
Offline

>Create a to-do list for when you and your men get back to base. Don't set a time-limit though, as it'd just constrain you and your men. (Write in just all the things you plan on doing back at the base.)

-Medical treatment for Derek and Lars
-Check in with Gov, report Chrys and 3 guards as killed
-Get tracker materials
-Resupply

Can't imagine it taking more than a few hours, especially if we delegate tasks among the squad while Derek and Lars are getting treated.
>>
>>5838398
+1 to all of those except we should just report the 3 guards as killed not Chrys. I don't think we have any actual proof that we killed Chrys and the moment that we let the government know we encountered them and "killed" them it pretty much starts a timer for 'how long until the government finds out we are lying to them and fucks us in the ass' unless the situation changes drastically its not a question of if the government will find out she is alive but when.
>>
>>5838434
Supporting this. Reporting Chrys as killed would probably not end well once she's eventually spotted by someone else. It's one thing to leave them alive. It's another to actively protect them like that.
>>
>Hand the offline tablet to Lydia.
After Lydia asked for a tablet, you looked to Derek and told him to hand over the offline one. It was probably the safest one for her to work with. It could hopefully connect to whatever tracker Lydia designed, while also remaining hidden from LW-20 and the tablets from other death squads. It would probably be a bit of a bitch to program with, but Lydia was pretty good. Not to mention, getting Derek's help after he returned with the materials. Either way, Lydia seemed quite pleased. "Great. I'll try and get to work with something. I don't know how long it'll take, but... well, hopefully it won't take too long." Of course, that still left you with a few other things to solve. Especially since Artyom wanted to know what the plan was before he got left to simple guard duties for Lydia and Chrys.

>Create a to-do list for when you and your men get back to base. Don't set a time-limit though, as it'd just constrain you and your men.
You thought things over rather quickly. There were four things which you'd really need more than anything. Firstly and most obviously, medical treatment for Derek and Lars. Then, you could check in to the government and report the 3 guards as killed. You'd need to get materials for the tracker and just resupply in general.

Though as you brought up all these things, Mike was quick to add something to that. "Don't forget the burnt scientist we spotted." That was a fair statement. Derek also pointed something out. "We did get those 2 hard drives as well." Thaddeus joined in, speaking more confidently. "Don't forget those papers about PF-4! Hehe!" Well, there... still were a few loose ends... but that was beside the point. Those things just had to be delivered to the government officials, along with the reports on the 3 guards and the dead scientist. However, after everything was decided, Zaria had one more question on her mind. "What about Chrys? Should we report her as killed?"

This was a suggestion you actually did not agree with, explaining that she could be spotted by someone else, which would in turn mean the government would punish you for 'not doing your job right'. "Hmmm, well... I guess that's fair. Could mean we're missing out on some money though." Zaria remarked, clearly still being in it for the cash. For now though, it was better to stay cautious and not report anything about Chrys.
>>
Either way, with everything decided, you'd wish Lydia, Artyom and Chrys good luck, before leaving them in the storage room. You'd thus lead your men back to the entrance, at long last seeing a bit more light as you reached the crater. It seemed to be early in the afternoon, you having been inside the facility for... well, the entire morning. And after a 20 minute walk, you'd reach the main base at the centre of the crater. "So, should we return back to the base at the top of the crater?"

Anon asked as you walked past some of the fortifications, Lars grumbling a bit. "I'd rather just find a medical bay here, if possible... Surely, they'd have one." And sure enough, not too far away from the entrance to the basecamp, there'd be a platform with a few tents stationed on them which looked to be medical tents. "Oh thank god..." Derek said as he noticed them, before looking to you. "Wait, the material for the tracker... We need to get those as well."

Perhaps it was time to use those delegation skills again. Derek and Lars could get medical assistance nearby, but that left you with a couple of tasks still:
- heading to the government officials to note all the kills...
- Get someone to get the tracker materials Derek would bring to Lydia.
- Find Evander and see what the samples he brought to the base told him.
- Gather some supplies for another trek into the ruins.
- Maybe deliver some of the hard drives to government officials... then again, keeping them a secret like the files on PF-4 was an option...

With Derek and Lars unavailable, that left you with Alan, Anon, Thaddeus, Mike and Zaria. Fortunately, you hadn't set an exact time limit, as you'd imagine this wouldn't take that long...

>Delegation time! Assign the six of you to the specific tasks. You can also opt to just... not do some of the tasks if you feel like they can be done later or just ignored entirely.
>You also have a choice between doing these tasks at the main base camp in the crater, or the one above the crater. The former has basic government supplies, while the latter actually has material from Lodger and the other death squads. Though getting to the the latter also takes a bit more time.
>Add another task. In case you think there's something else which needed to be done. Just remember that there's only 6 of you...
>Something else...

(Suppose an update where you just delegate the previously decided-on tasks was bound to be a bit shorter than the usual update. Still, I imagine it'll still give you guys plenty of opportunities in regards to who will do what.)
>>
>>5838624
>heading to the government officials to note all the kills...
Mikhail

>Get someone to get the tracker materials Derek would bring to Lydia.
Mike+Thaddeus

>Find Evander and see what the samples he brought to the base told him.
Alan

>Gather some supplies for another trek into the ruins.
Zaria+Anon

hold off on the hard drives for now
>>
>>5838749
+1
>>
>Get someone to get the tracker materials Derek would bring to Lydia.
With Derek having pointed out that there was someone who needed to get the materials Lydia wanted, you thinking about all the tasks you had set out before. And after a bit of thinking, you'd look to the five men which were still with you. Firstly, you spoke to Mike and Thaddeus, telling them to get the materials which Lydia needed. "Got it, Mikhail." Thaddeus responded, Mike nodding along. Derek was quick to hand his tablet over to them, Mike and Thaddeus looking at the list and waiting for you to give them any further commands. You didn't have any though, as you soon after turned to Alan.

>Find Evander and see what the samples he brought to the base told him.
Your next suggestion was for Alan to find Evander. He probably had handed the sample over for testing... somewhere around this place, so he probably wouldn't be far away. "Sure thing, chief." Alan responded, looking around the place a bit sheepishly before just... walking off. He didn't even wait to hear any further commands, just having finding Evander on his mind once again. "There he goes..." Anon mumbled, Alan confidently looking around the place and asking some of the nearby soldiers where he had to go. At least he was quick to get to work, even if it was kind of amusing seeing him just... walking off without a clue on where to go...

>Gather some supplies for another trek into the ruins.
Next, you turned to Zaria and Anon, telling them they'd need to get more supplies. "Alright, sure." Anon said calmly, Zaria scratching her head a bit. "So, anything we should get specifically?" After which, Derek responded rather quickly. "I'd say some medical supplies could help... maybe food, for if we get hungry on our next excursion." It was a decent suggestion, Anon afterwards turning to Zaria and speaking more casually. "We'll figure out what we need while we make our way to a place with supplies." Zaria nodded slightly, being a bit unsure but trusting Anon's instincts for what would be necessary. Maybe you could give some other notes for what they should bring along, but Anon probably had it figured out somewhat...

>Heading to the government officials to note all the kills...
Finally, you'd tell your men that you would tell the government officials about the kills. They all nodded to that suggestion, though Derek still had one final remark. "What about the hard drives? What do we do with them?" You told Derek that you'd hold onto them, just like the papers for PF-4. "Fair enough..." Derek said, after which Thaddeus made another decent suggestion. "I suggest that we meet up here again after you got what you needed to get. When we got everything, we can either go back to Lydia and Artyom, or just plan something else out."
>>
The others nodded to the agreement. So, it was safe to say that this would be the meeting point for when you were done. Then again, given your task probably would take a bit less time than the other ones, maybe you could also explore the main base a bit while waiting for everyone to get back...

Either way, Derek and Lars soon headed to the medical bay, Lars being a bit impatient and practically already leaving while Thaddeus brought up the suggestion of having a meeting point. Zaria and Anon also left soon after, Mike and Thaddeus also giving a swift salute before heading off. Alan was already long gone and hadn't exactly heard the suggestion Thaddeus brought up. But it probably wouldn't be that hard for you to find Alan, or for him to find you.

Thus, you were on your own and started looking for some sort of office for government officials. You wandered around the place, looking around you for anything of note. You did see some interesting things, such as a large weapons depot which had mostly just standard military weaponry, but also a few larger vehicles. Most were for cleaning up the place, but a few had some signs of combat capability... this included a large set of medium sized mech suits and exo-skeletons. There even was a repair bay for some of these things. Furthermore, you spotted some research facilities and intelligence facilities. Probably where Evander headed to with the sample you had found...

Regardless, you'd soon find a more well protected and solid structure. Something that looked to be made out of actual solid material, rather than just tents and larger fortifications. And, there were quite a lot of people entering it, and not just death squads. Following the men, you found a rather... empty and barebones office space. It was quite a drab yet clean place, and was also busy with plenty of the formally dressed government workers like the one you had met when you first landed. Some were running around with paperwork and tablets, others were talking with soldiers. The place you were interested in were dozens of desks next to each other, where dozens of the grey-suited government folk sat behind... There were several queues in front of these men, you joining them as it seemed they were the ones who you had to tell about your work.

The queue moved... somewhat fast. You did hear a lot of things while you were waiting though. Death squads proudly proclaiming they got kills on scientists, sightings of subjects, questions regarding payment and many other things. A few even got in heated debates, complaining about subpar weaponry or materials, or how they were denied certain supplies. One of the death squads even threatened one of the government workers, before leaving... Yeah, no wonder some folk in the government didn't trust the death squads, if this was the sort of hostility they were showing. Then again, relying on the government was... well, it wasn't exactly reliable...
>>
After a decently lengthy time of waiting, you'd finally get your turn. The government official asked for your name, which death squad you belonged to, what role you had in the squad, and what you wished to discuss. He already got some pen and paper, as well as a tablet to note things down...

>Tell the official about the kills. (Write in how you wish to describe it and if there are any details you want to leave out. Or any sort of proof you are willing to present.)
>Ask something to the official. (Write in what you wish to ask about.)
>File a complaint or request of some kind. (Write in what you wish to complain about/request from the government.)
>Something else...

(Suppose if you guys want to, you can even write some text for what Mikhail directly says to the official. Though, it's obviously not required.)
>>
>>5839187
>Tell the official about the kills. (Write in how you wish to describe it and if there are any details you want to leave out. Or any sort of proof you are willing to present.)
Just that we killed them and have photo evidence

>File a complaint or request of some kind. (Write in what you wish to complain about/request from the government.)
Why there's so little info on most of the subjects. You saw they captured that one scientist, haven't they been able to get anything out of him?
>>
>>5839389
Support. However I have noticed something that I want to ask.

>Ask something to the official. "Why is there a scientist with no subjects on the important staff kill capture list?"
>>
>Tell the official about the kills.
Just that we killed them and have photo evidence
With you giving your name, death squad, your status as a small squadron leader, you decided the first matter of business was telling him about the kills you had gotten. You told them of the three guardsmen you killed, the guy noting it down. You spoke of the scientist you burnt, which seemed to make him pause and look far more curiously at you. Though when you told him that it was just some random staff member, and not a high-ranking scientist, his interest waned and he just quietly noted it down. "Okay, what location did you find them? Have you brought them back to base? And do you have any proof of the kills?" He soon asked, getting ready to note down what you had to say.

Thus, you gave an explanation that it was near the flooded section, that you left the bodies there and that you had taken pictures of each. Of course, given that those pictures had been made with the tablets, you couldn't exactly present them yet. Fortunately, the government worker did seem to trust you decently, giving you the option to provide the images at a later time. More importantly, he'd check the tablet and seemed to fill a few forms which seemed to indicate that you might get a bonus for the killed guards. It was unknown how large the bonus could be, but if you got more and more kills, it would hopefully be worth all the effort you went through...

>File a complaint or request of some kind.
Speaking of effort, you had a rather simple complaint towards the government official. You wanted to know why information on so many subjects wasn't available, especially since there was one head scientist who had been captured so far. Surely, that one head scientist could provide some information? The government official remained calm though, before clearing his throat and speaking confidently.

"Information regarding subjects is mostly acquired through surviving paperwork, as well as smaller databases which have been retrieved from the ruins. Since these databases and papers are somewhat lacking in details due to their destroyed states and... well, their limits to specific subjects, it means that we do not know all the subjects which are present, or some of the information regarding them. In fact, our subject list may very well be incomplete, with new subjects being added every so often. More importantly, most information regarding subjects comes from death squad encounters, where the subjects tend to show their abilities and the reasons as to why they are a threat."

It did seem... somewhat reasonable. Then again, it was a bit silly that the research facility hadn't backed up data about ALL subjects somewhere away from the main building. Then again, given all the secrecy, maybe that was intentional as well.
>>
Regardless, the fact so much was unknown about subjects despite a head scientist being captured, still left you rather puzzled. And after asking about the captured scientist and getting information of the subjects out of him, the staff worker turned a bit more tight-lipped and stern. "Perhaps you should focus on your job of killing subjects, guardsman and scientists, while we focus on getting information from Anderson. He has already proven a valuable asset for our intel, far more valuable than what most death squads have provided us." It seemed he didn't want to explain much regarding Anderson. Maybe there was some sort of deal going on with him, providing him security for information. Regardless, it was still mildly bewildering...

>Ask something to the official. "Why is there a scientist with no subjects on the important staff kill capture list?"
While the official did seem stern about the scientists, you felt it was probably just limited to Anderson and the fact he was captured. Thus, you asked about a different scientist, one who hadn't even made subjects yet was still on the staff kill capture list. This was something the official was a bit less strict about, responding calmly. "I believe you are talking about Sarah Lapiņa, correct?" He put his hands together, putting the tablet to the side and seemingly giving a... rather honest response.

"Regarding her status as one of our most wanted scientists, it stems from her apparent experience with biological and biomechanical sciences. In fact, she was hired rather rapidly due to her masterful comprehension of nanotechnology integration with human tissue. More importantly, she is seen as a threat due to her having previously done unethical and highly dangerous experiments, allegedly with... human test subjects." So, she was some sort of mad scientist and she did tests with humans. Yeah, from the sound of things, that did seem like somewhat of a threat. Especially if she allied with a subject and figured out a way to deal with the NARI bands and their limits. Or worse, somehow incorporating nanites into her main body...

"Sarah is however less wanted than folk like Roraima and Elbrus, due to the fact that Sarah has so far not made a single known subject according to our reports. In fact, from what we have read, she did not exactly socialise well with her fellow scientists, nor did she work well with subjects. Meanwhile, we know Roraima and Elbrus interacted with plenty of subjects and scientists, despite their... creative liberties when it came to the ethical aspects of subject creation." Well, it seemed they knew a lot about the scientists, yet very little about the subjects. A bit odd, but Anderson probably knew the other head scientists quite well, compared to the potentially tens, if not hundreds of subjects which were down there...
>>
>Ask some more questions to the official. (Write in further questions you may have.)
>Demand some clear answers about Anderson and how the government is handling his capture. (Write in any specifics you demand to be told more about.)
>File a complaint or request of some kind. (Write in what you wish to complain about/request from the government. again.)
>Just leave. You've done your job and can head back to the meeting point.
>Something else...
>>
>Especially if she allied with a subject and figured out a way to deal with the NARI bands and their limits. Or worse, somehow incorporating nanites into her main body.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVoNlm_WC6w

That or a red herring.

>Just leave. You've done your job and can head back to the meeting point.

I don't think pushing our luck is a wise move here. They don't want us asking that many questions and already made it clear what they were and were not willing to tell us. And I don't think we have any other important ones at this moment in time. Besides, making ourselves seem like skeptics or disloyal will make things a lot harder if/when they find out about Chrys.
>>
>>5839618
>Ask why they don't want any other scientists alive, or hell, why they want even the rank and file security guards wiped out.

Then we can leave.
>>
>Ask why they don't want any other scientists alive, or hell, why they want even the rank and file security guards wiped out.
Given that they knew so much about the scientists who worked here, you had another question enter your mind. You'd thus ask the official why they didn't want other scientists alive, or why everyone had to be killed. Once again, the official squinted his eyes, before speaking sternly yet again.

"How peculiar for a death squad to ask why they're supposed to kill people. I thought that was your job. You sure as hell didn't question your actions in previous campaigns." Maybe he was bitter about certain... past interactions between the government and death squads, or maybe he just didn't want to divulge a bunch of government secrets. Either way, he didn't seem ready to answer the question. At least, not in a fully honest manner. "Staff are wanted dead due to the threats they pose to us and the heinous crimes they have committed leading to this disaster. That is all. There's nothing more to it." Yeah, that was utter bullshit. But, it was unlikely he'd budge and tell you anything else. In fact, he took it a step further.

"I suggest you just focus on your job at hand, lest it cost you the bonuses from the kills you get, understood?" He'd grab the tablet, and typed some things out. You couldn't see what it was, as he made sure to lift the tablet up so you couldn't get a good look at the screen. Maybe he was writing something of actual importance, but the way he seemed so secretive about typing, you had a feeling it was something negative about you. Was it a notice towards other officials to keep their eyes on you? Maybe some sort of warning note on your files? Or perhaps just a note reducing the payment from the kills you got? Either way, it seemed that the government official was getting somewhat tired of answering your questions...

>Just leave. You've done your job and can head back to the meeting point.
With everything settled and you not wanting to get even further on the bad side of this official, you decided it was just for the best to leave. The official seemed to at least ease his tone as you left, giving a slight nod before asking the next soldier over. At least you had learnt some things about the scientists, and a bit more about the secrecy of this place... not to mention, the tone you'd receive for asking a couple of questions out of line. Thus, you headed out of the administrative building, listening in to a few of the conversations and hearing a few mildly interesting things... Mentions of subjects causing chaos, complaints about how the tablet led soldiers to traps and how LW-20 was the main culprit of such issues. Maybe the other death squads should've also opted for an offline tablet...
>>
Regardless, once you left the building, you found yourself heading back to the meeting point again. It didn't take long to make your way there, but you'd unfortunately not find anyone there just yet. Alan was still searching for Evander probably, Thaddeus and Mike were likely still getting materials, and Zaria and Anon were probably taking their time getting the supplies. Maybe while you waited, you could do some things in the meantime... Maybe there were soldiers nearby with whom you could chat. There were quite a few people walking around, including some soldiers from Lodger who you recognised... Or perhaps it was better to look for some of your men and help them out with their tasks. Really, there were a lot of options here...

>Head to the medical bay to check up on Lars and Derek. It was less than a minute away anyway.
>Look for Alan to see how he's doing... He probably could use a bit of help finding Evander.
>Look for Mike and Thaddeus. Maybe they needed an extra hand carrying some of the equipment?
>Look for Zaria and Anon. Maybe you could help them with picking out supplies which you'd need.
>Explore some of the places at this base (write in what you wanna look for/visit)
>Try and hit up a conversation with any of the soldiers who are passing by. Lodger had lots of chill people, but maybe the other squads also had something to say. (Pick out which squad you wanna look out for to chat with, and maybe also what you wanna ask them or discuss with them.)
>Simply wait at the checkpoint. Better to wait then head elsewhere...
>Something else...

(Another relatively short update. But, I think this one will have a lot of freedom with what to do. So yeah, feel free to really go ham with what you wanna do or look for or ask to people.)
>>
>>5840190
>converse with other mercs
Guys from Heathen, Blackstar, or even other Lodger members about what they’ve found so far here and their experiences
>>
>>5840297
Supporting, and I'll take my "I told you so" as well.
>>
>>5840297
+1 Also great now they have a reason to actually be suspicious of us.
>>
>Try and hit up a conversation with any of the soldiers who are passing by. Lodger had lots of chill people, but maybe the other squads also had something to say.

Having to wait at the meeting point, you decided to look for some soldiers to maybe have a chat with. There were plenty of soldiers around, so... surely some were willing to chat with you! You saw some of Diamond Dog's men passing by, with their rather eerily clad and rather tattered outfits distinguishing them right away. Though you decided they weren't the best to chat with. They weren't exactly the most sensible people around. The few soldiers from Heroes you saw also weren't exactly your type. They had far more clean and formal uniforms, as well as eagerly putting badges and other honours on their clothes. Not to mention, their insignia which they were proud to display. They weren't just psychopaths like Diamond Dogs, they were selfish sociopaths who only cared about their own appearances and hogging all the glory.

Fortunately, even though there were two shit death squads around, Heathen and Blackstar's soldiers were far more reasonable. And once you saw a small group from Heathen appear, you decided to greet them. Their commander seemed a bit amused, looking to his men before greeting you back. "Oh, hey..." He'd look over you as he approached, before smiling a bit. "You're uhhh... from Lodger, huh? Nice to see some fucks you can actually put trust in around here." He'd reach out for a handshake, seeming pretty reasonable for the time being. "Name's Leonard. My men here and I just came back from the South-western quadrant. We were trying to trap and take down a tricky subject, but... no luck so far." One of Leonard's men soon also spoke up. "Uhh, Leonard, shouldn't we... move on? I thought we had to-" Leonard cut his soldier off, speaking casually. "Ah, we're in no rush. Besides, it's for the best we make some actual allies here, especially with who we're working for and our other colleagues."

Thus, the Heathen soldier went quiet, Leonard looking at you. "Say, what are ya even doing here all on your own? Is something going on or...?" You then told Leonard how you were waiting for your men to come back, and that you wanted to ask some of the nearby soldiers for their experiences. You also explained a bit about who you were and what your men were up to. Once all was said and done and you had given a minor introduction, Leon nodded along. "Ah, alright, alright... if you wanna have a more relaxed chat about those things, I'd be more than happy to help." Leonard soon after turned to his men. "Say, why don't you guys go get some of those supplies we needed? We'll meet up back at the edge of this base where we came from, alright?" Leonard's men all agreed, before walking in line towards... well, wherever they were heading towards.
>>
Thus, this left you with Leonard, who so far seemed like the first person outside of your squad who actually seemed quite reasonable. "Hope you don't mind me sending my men away as well. We can have a little chat, commander to commander." He'd soon get a little cigarette, offering to share it with you as he moved a bit off the main path and leaned against a small barricade.

"Anyway, you wanted to know about what we've found so far and, uhhh, how things have been going, right? I mean, I certainly wouldn't mind telling you, buuut, there isn't much to tell really... We've mostly just been going through choky areas, checking for traps set up by subjects, and trying to make it hard for subjects to leave certain areas with our own traps. We're currently after this, uhhhh, 9-SB subject. Some sorta hound gal who's really fucking fast and slippery. Other than that though, well... not much has been going on. We've killed a couple of guardsmen and a few lower ranking scientists, but... well, if we didn't kill em, chances were their injuries and disease would've killed em... not to mention, some of the batshit insane subjects running around here." He'd take a puff of his cigarette, before continuing his chat.

"Ahhhh, this place is fucking wild. Maybe you can't really relate, but before this my men and I were on this planet, right? We were helping some rich governer with some guerrilla forces who were destabilizing his fuckin' province or whatever... y'know, the usual stuff. And to say that this is vastly different from that mission is, well... I honestly never thought I'd go from doing that, to working for the government in a place like this, hunting down mutant girls or something. Then again, it has only been a few days since my men and I landed here, so... maybe the shock will die down as we stay here longer." He'd look around a bit, before speaking a bit more casually. "How long have you been here, actually? Probably not as long either, I imagine." You obviously told him how you had only just landed, making him seem quite surprised. "Damn, and you're already delegating certain tasks to your men, huh? Guess you really are a Lodger soldier!" He'd laugh softly, before responding more quietly. "Anyway, yeah, not much going on so far... This place is a fucking wreck though, that's for sure, haha... What about you though? You got some interesting things you've encountered? Or have you not even gone into the bowels of this place yet?" You told him about how you had just gotten back from a mission. "Ah, and how did it go? Any things you've found? Honestly, if you wanna co-operate and share intel with us, I'll make sure to return the favour. If there's anything you'd want from us in exchange, feel free to make an offer."
>>
>Tell him about your first mission and what you discovered... with a few caveats, of course (write in what you wanna tell him about and if there's anything you'll hold from him)
>Ask him about his opinion on working for the government.
>Ask him about 9-SB and the facility staff he and his men have encountered.
>Ask him about the secrets of this place, and what he thinks could've led to this disaster.
>Ask him about the other squads and his opinion on them.
>Ask something else (Write in...)
>Offer him some of the intel you had gotten. (Write in what more secretive intel you wish to tell... as well as maybe something you'd want from Leonard)
>End the conversation and look for another soldier to chat with. Someone from Blackstar or Heathen.
>Something else... (Write in)
>>
>>5840721
>>Ask him about 9-SB and the facility staff he and his men have encountered.
>>
>>5840721
>>Tell him about your first mission and what you discovered... with a few caveats, of course
Same situation as them with the guards we executed, where they were on death's door already.

>Ask him about his opinion on working for the government.
>Ask him about the secrets of this place, and what he thinks could've led to this disaster.
>>
>>5840723
>>5840754

Supporting.
>>
So I've been lurking but I wanted to say,

would providing some (shallow) information on the NARI bands be a good way to report a relationship?

If we want to build a decent connection, we should give and take. Explaining the NARI band and how its what makes mutant girls into mutants (without explaing how to make a collar or that you could make a collar for a given monster girl) would be information that would be a decent exchange for both sides and may warrant us getting information of similar value in the future.

Just my two cents.
>>
>>5840819
I’d be open to it, but we’d want a good excuse for how we know about it other than “we spared a subject and she told us”
>>
>Tell him about your first mission and what you discovered... with a few caveats, of course
Leonard had so far proven to be... quite trustworthy and friendly. So, you didn't hesitate to tell him a bit about your first mission down into the bowels of the facility. You didn't specify this information as any part of a deal, just telling him about how you went to the North-western section near the flooded parts. The most notable thing you told him was about the guards you encountered, who you executed. "Damn, did they put up a fight?" He'd ask, you explaining to him that they were also pretty quick to surrender and accept their execution. "Yeah, most folk down here haven't put up much of a fight, from what I've seen and heard. But hey, it's an easy way to get bonuses from the government, so I'm not complaining..."

He'd take another smoke, before letting out a soft sigh. "I honestly think it's the subjects which we're really here to deal with. That, and the eggheads responsible for creating them... Guards and other staff members are just... collateral for which we get paid." You also mentioned the scientist who had been burnt, and that he was just some random nobody. Though you also mentioned the guardsmen corpses you had found near the fortifications, pointing out how bloodied and mauled they had been. "Yeah, that sounds like something a mutant gal has caused... and like I said, it's them we're really after." He soon chuckled a little. "I hope you didn't shit your pants when you first saw that. Some folks over at Blackstar were not ready to encounter some of the crap which can be found down here, haha."

>Ask him about 9-SB and the facility staff he and his men have encountered.
With him speaking about the subjects which were around here, as well as a bit about the 'eggheads', you asked Leonard about his experience with 9-SB and the staff. "Well, if you got a tablet, you can read up on her and... pretty much see about everything we know of her." You pointed out that you didn't have your tablet, to which Leonard shrugged. "Fair enough... suppose I can tell you a bit about her. She's this really fast hound girl who makes pretty much no noise... for the most part anyway. We've encountered her only once so far, and she created this screen of sand before dashing away, making all sorts of smug remarks before disappearing. Looking back at it, it was kinda funny... but also pretty annoying, since she managed to avoid some of our basic traps, and even escaping some of our more potent traps. So yeah, we're planning to use some faster and more lethal traps next to deal with her." Seemed like this 9-SB was bound to become the arch enemy of Heathen, if she could somehow run past their traps without issue.
>>
"The best part? She's only a threat level 4 subject according to the tablet! God forbid we encounter something higher up. I actually heard that... some men from Diamond Dogs were ambushed by this high threat level subject wielding a fucking grenade launcher of all things. And she got away with it too!" He'd laugh a bit, though it was hard to tell if it was just due to bewilderment at what he was saying, or because he found it amusing to hear Diamond Dog having to deal with a terror of their own. You soon after asked about the staff he encountered, to which he rubbed the back of his head. "Ehhh, not much to say, really. Like I said, the guardsmen all just... wanted to die. As for scientists, we encountered a couple who just fled in fear. We shot them, of course, at which point one got kind of pissed off... Hopefully, they weren't indicative of the people working here..."

>Ask him about his opinion on working for the government.
On the topic of the people working here, you'd ask for his opinion on the government. He'd sigh and shake his head. "I mean... what is there to say? They're incompetent per the usual, yet also overly complex and bureaucratic... The only reason I agreed to this was because of the lucrative payment we're getting. I highly doubt we'll get in the good graces of the government after all is said and done." He'd look away and scoff a bit. "Wouldn't surprise me if they hired death squads specifically so they can then maybe take control over those who are willing to co-operate... while simultaneously culling any squads who are deemed unable to be managed or a threat to the folk in power." It seemed that negative sentiment towards the government was rather common as well, and that people were already sceptical of the government's intentions. But hey, payment and a chance to get in the good graces were apparently attractive enough for the squads to take this chance...

>Ask him about the secrets of this place, and what he thinks could've led to this disaster.
Of course, there was also the secrecy regarding the government which you were curious about. So, you asked him what he thought about all the secrecy, and what could've caused the disaster. "What could've caused the disaster... pfffff, I have... no clue. My men have theorized it was some sort of explosion from within caused by either a subject, something related to a subject, oooor some sort of huge explosive device built within the facility... I've heard some theorize it was the power generators, but I highly doubt that since the power generators were tidal energy based and most of the smaller power systems on the island were really small-scale..." Well, seems he was also in the dark about what had caused this.
>>
But in terms of secrecy, he had a lot more to say. He'd look around a bit, before speaking a bit more quietly to you. "As for the secrets... well, I already mentioned what I think of the government. As for all the secrecy regarding the mission... well, it adds up to that... but I also feel like there's something way bigger going on. Especially with that giant fucking cube not too far from here. The government doesn't let anyone near it and they're extremely hostile towards anyone who asks questions about it..." He'd pause, finishing his cigarette before shrugging. "But hey, I'm not here to ask questions. I'm here mostly to get paid... If someone is open to uncovering what's going on down here though... well, I'd fully support them, that's for sure."

Well, Leonard had so far provided at least some useful information. But nothing too exciting regarding the secrecy of this place. At least he had similar suspicions about the government's intentions as you, so that was quite pleasant. "I hope you aren't like... trusting towards the government and such. I know some folk are more than eager to try and work with them, and aren't too eager about the more conspiratorial crap... but yeah, I'm just saying how I think things are now..."

>Give him info about the NARI bands... Maybe also with an excuse as to how you figured it out. (Write what you wanna tell plus the explanation as to how you figured it out.)
>Ask him further about one of the topics he already discussed with you (write in which topic and what you wanna ask further)
>Ask something else (Write in...)
>End the conversation and look for another soldier to chat with. Someone from Blackstar or Heathen.
>Something else... (Write in)
>>
>>5841055
I don't think we do, but we have to, a number of excuses exist.
"we got lucky and found some paper documents/currupted files" or even be more vague "we were able to find the info while digging around for subject info in our trip inside".
That's if he asks. Given he's a commander, he may have more tact and understand sometimes its better to just trade info (quid pro quo) instead of asking "wait but how did you get your intel".
Given we don't want to leave a trail, we may want to avoid anything that the government could ask about. Currupted files need to have been unable to download or paper documents got wet/burnt/buried under rubble on the way back etc.

Example:"we found paper documents and we were reading them when we heard the ground shake, thought it might be a subject so we got out of the room and into position, but it was just the integrity of teh structure failing and the room got turned into rubble." - again, that is if he asks how. Which imo is a sign of how we should be aware on how he will react to information we give him.
>>
>>5841307
>>5841446
I'd be down to do this, but what to ask for in return? Maybe an alliance/assistance if it turns out one of us is on the cull list?
>>
>>5841476
no commitements as of now, only thing here is information, and if he lacks that, simply a "favor". We both understand quid pro quo, and we both would know what it means to repay.
Also asking for an alliance on the first meeting is a bit pushy.
I'd say for now, we built a part of the foundations for a bridge on our side and now we wait to see if he does the same.
>>
We can always say we got the intel from one of the guards. We did interrogate them before their execution.
>>
So, what are you guys going to decide on? Just tell Leonard a bit about the NARI bands or some of the paper files regarding PF-4?

Just asking since I do hope to get an update in soon-ish.
>>
>>5841831
I think sharing about the NARI bands has a consensus.
>>
>>5841854
I believe we are in agreement on that.
>>
>>5841831
Yes, a bit of the information.
How much?
>Explaining the NARI band and how its what makes mutant girls into mutants (without explaing how to make a collar or that you could make a collar for a given monster girl
around that much.
If he asks how we know (hopefully not)
>Example:"we found paper documents and we were reading them when we heard the ground shake, thought it might be a subject so we got out of the room and into position, but it was just the integrity of teh structure failing and the room got turned into rubble." - again, that is if he asks how. Which imo is a sign of how we should be aware on how he will react to information we give him.
>>
>Give him info about the NARI bands... Maybe also with an excuse as to how you figured it out. (Write what you wanna tell plus the explanation as to how you figured it out.)
Given how reasonable Leonard had been so far, and willing to share his stories, you decided to be a bit fair to him. Thus, you told him that you were willing to tell him something which you had only learnt about the subjects not too long ago. He listened intently, as you told him about the NARI bands and how they played an integral role with subject size and abilities. You told them everything, or well most, of what Chrys told you about them. They were stuck on every subject. They made it so scientists could control growth and mutations with remotes. He nodded quietly as you explained it, before looking around a bit and speaking softly. "So, subjects have these... nanites in them... they already told us about nanotechnology and such... but these bands sorta keep these nanite things in check... and also allow for the subjects to be changed via these remote things..."

He'd think about what you had said, before speaking as he pondered a bit. "Well... I am admittedly not surprised by the government being extremely secretive about a lot of these things, but... why did they not tell us about that? Wouldn't they want us knowing of how these subjects work? Then again, maybe they don't want people looking for stuff related to the nanites..." He'd think a bit more, before just shrugging a little. "I suppose it's another point to add to the tally of 'things which may prove something way bigger is going on'. Regardless, thank you for sharing this with me. I don't know where you found this out, but... I appreciate that you're willing to divulge it with me. I'll make sure to repay you for it. I promise." Not only did he seem quite pleased with your willingness to share information, he also didn't question how you got it. That saved you from making an excuse about how you figured it out.

Shortly after, Leonard gave another friendly smile, before looking around a bit. "Wish I had anything to share with you... but we've sadly not discovered any bombshell information, like you guys seem to have found. Tell you what though, I got an idea. You can contact my men and I with the government tablets, so we can stay in touch and exchange intel and what not. I know... there's that one fucking subject who can spy on us there, sooo... I'm fine with you preferring to just keep meeting in person for these sorts of things. If you wanna plan such meetings, of course."
>>
Well, either Leonard was one of the more reasonable and friendly squad leaders, or you had a knack for building alliances! Perhaps you should've become a diplomat instead, rather than a death squad soldier? Regardless, hopefully the rest of your men wouldn't mind this alliance, if you were to accept the offer. Then again why wouldn't you agree to this? This wasn't a sketchy alliance with Diamond Dogs or a """mutual and equal""" alliance with Heroes. This was an alliance with Heathens, a group who actually respected your work and were more than willing to co-operate. Hopefully, Artyom would trust these guys, given his innate hatred for other death squads though... Then again, Heathen were trappers, so Artyom could probably find some kinship between himself and their men...

>Accept contacting his group through the online tablet. You may not be able to do so now, but when Mike and Thaddeus return with it, you could add Leonard.
>Decline the offer for now. It was too early to start formal alliances like that, especially since you just got here... Maybe also decline with an actual excuse just in case...
>Ask him further about one of the topics he already discussed with you (write in which topic and what you wanna ask further.)
>Ask something else (Write in...)
>End the conversation and wait for your men to return.
>Something else... (Write in)

(Slightly shorter post... but honestly, I don't think there's much else to add to this conversation. Besides, you guys did quite well on befriending Leonard. In other words, I think you guys got something good out of this. Anyway, you guys can still ask some question, or you can just opt to move on and do something else. Either way, I hope this so far is going well and that things don't feel rushed or kinda contrived.)
>>
>>5841972

>Accept contacting his group through the online tablet. You may not be able to do so now, but when Mike and Thaddeus return with it, you could add Leonard.
>Something else... (Write in)
meetings will primarily be in person, if something is urgent, or if a notification is needed for us to meet abruptly, we can use the tablet to notify each other or if absolutely needed, communicate through it. tablet is not considered safe due to subject (but also due to possible government oversight).
This isn't neccesarily an alliance as of yet, simply a beneficial exchange between two men in the same shithole.

Outside of this, we have nothing else to say to each other, and thus no reason to continue wasting each other's time.
>>
>>5841994
Supporting.
>>
>>5841972
>Accept contacting his group through the online tablet. You may not be able to do so now, but when Mike and Thaddeus return with it, you could add Leonard.

backing >>5841994
subjects aren't the only spies we have to worry about
>>
>>5841994
+1
>>
>Accept contacting his group through the online tablet. You may not be able to do so now, but when Mike and Thaddeus return with it, you could add Leonard.
With Leonard's proposition for an alliance, you thought about it for a bit. You certainly weren't opposed to becoming allies, or well... having beneficial exchanges between two men. Thus, you agreed to this. Though, you did let him know your distrust of the government tablet and that you'd prefer meetings in person. "Understandable. That one electronics subject is... definitely a reason not to trust the tablets, even if the tablets can be quite useful." Afterwards, you'd suggest just using the tablet for notifying one another and requesting meetings, something Leonard nodded to.

"Yeah, that can work." So far, Leonard seemed very flexible with how you wanted things. He probably wanted to make-up for the lack of information he had, compared to your NARI bombshell. Regardless, he'd ask you for your full name so he could look you up on the tablet, after which he also gave his full name. "Leonard Pollux. Hope this will work out to both of our benefits." Hopefully, Leonard and his group would prove to be trustworthy and effective partners. And if not... well, you could always opt to just ignore contacting him and his men. Then again, he seemed... pretty reasonable and trustworthy for now. Hopefully, that was a sign of things to come...

>End the conversation and wait for your men to return.
With you having nothing else to say to him, and feeling that he didn't have much else to tell you, you told him that you didn't wish to waste his time and that he could go back to his men. "Ah, of course. Thank you, Mikhail." He'd say, before giving a more casual salute, rather than a simple wave or some other formal gesture. "I hope to hear from you and your men soon. Good luck with further missions." Afterwards, he'd leave you to wait on your own. You didn't think it'd take long for your men to return, but... well, as time passed, it did feel like they were taking a lot longer to do their tasks than you did.

You even at one point were approached by a government worker, who calmly asked what you were doing here on your own, if you were waiting for anyone or if something else was going on. You quietly told him that you were waiting for your men, something he did seem to understand. He soon after left you to your own devices, as you were once again alone, waiting. You watched more soldiers passing by, including some men from Lodger and even a couple of Blackstar scouts. There were also some of the formally clad soldiers of Heroes passing by, discussing their hunts and the subjects they were trying to kill. It did seem interesting what they were talking about, but... it was hard to follow as well...
>>
Perhaps going out and searching for your men to see what was taking them so long was a good option now. Thaddeus and Mike could potentially be struggling to find the materials, given how they might be somewhat complex. Zaria and Anon maybe were struggling with what supplies they felt were necessary. And Alan was maybe not the best at looking around for people. You could also check up on Lars and Derek nearby, seeing as them taking a long time to recover might be an indication of their injuries being a bit more severe. That, or there is a long waiting time for soldiers to be helped at the medical bay...

>Just keep waiting. Your men would arrive sooner rather than later and you had to be here for that.
>Head to the medical bay to check up on Lars and Derek. If they weren't recovering as fast as you hoped, better to find that out now than be shocked by it later.
>Eavesdrop on some of the soldiers who are walking by. Maybe you could listen in on something of use.
>Check up on any of your other men. Zaria and Anon, Mike and Thaddeus, Alan, they were taking far too long with this (write up who you want to check up on first)
>Go after the official who asked you what you were doing here. Maybe he could be a good source of info?
>Something else...

(Gonna try and get another update in about 5-6 hours from now. Maybe a bit later, buuut we'll see. Regardless, I'll try and get 3 updates in today if people respond fast, per the usual.)
>>
>>5842672
>Check up on any of your other men. Zaria and Anon, Mike and Thaddeus, Alan, they were taking far too long with this (write up who you want to check up on first)
Thaddeus and mike
Then zaria and anon
Then alan
>>
>>5842672
Backing >>5842706
tempted to eavesdrop but we said we’d be in and out of camp promptly
>>
>Check up on any of your other men. Zaria and Anon, Mike and Thaddeus, Alan, they were taking far too long with this (write up who you want to check up on first)
Given the time it took for your men to get back here, you decided to just go find them yourself and see what was taking them so long. First things first, you'd look for Thaddeus and Mike. They had the materials you needed for Lydia to make the tracker, so they definitely needed to be there for when you finally headed back. Thus, you left the meeting spot and started searching for them. You'd follow some of the makeshift paths and tried looking for any sort of depot warehouse for raw materials. You passed plenty of barracks for the soldiers to stay in, more fortifications, as well as several depots. Though these were more for ammo and weaponry, rather than the materials which Thaddeus and Mike might be looking for.

After twenty minutes of walking around though, you'd finally find something which was of interest. It was a large depot for replacement parts, tools and other raw materials which the death squads could use. You'd enter the structure, which was clearly built very quickly. It had thin, bolted metal walls and the ceiling had clearly not been finished yet. Regardless, it had plenty of huge shelves with all kinds of random crap thrown on there. Most of it hadn't been sorted, aside from the huge raw material items which couldn't exactly be thrown on a pile. You'd walk through some of the aisles which these shelves created, looking around to see if Mike and Thaddeus were nearby. Until finally, you'd spot them in a section which had all kinds of toolboxes. As you approached, Thaddeus was quick to look up at you in surprise.

"Ah, Mikhail, what... what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to give info to the government? Or... has there been a change of plans?" Mike also looked a bit surprised, yet kept quiet as you told them that you had done your task and that you had waited for quite some time for any of the men to return. Mike rubbed the back of his head, responding softly. "Yeah, we're still looking for two things... We need a few specialist tools which Lydia requested. Some sort of handheld micro-welder and a specific type of scre-." "Found it!" Thaddeus interrupted Mike's talking, grabbing a screw driver which he'd look at a bit, before putting in Mike's backpack. "So, that just leaves the handheld welder." Mike responded, at which point Thaddeus responded confidently. "I think I saw one not too far back from here. Lemme go get it."
>>
While he then quickly left, you were alone with Mike for a moment. "Sorry if we're not doing things as fast, sir. I just hope we aren't keeping everyone waiting." You told Mike that... they weren't the only ones who had kept you waiting, reassuring him a bit. "Alright, well... guess we can look for them as well, after Thaddeus got the welder." He'd look around a bit, being about to say something before Thaddeus came over again with a small device. "There we go. Think this is it." He'd quickly put it in his backpack as well after showing it. "Hopefully, this is everything. If not... well, we can always do a second run to this place, right?" Mike scoffed and looked over at you. "Yeeeaaah, I hope Derek is alright now... I think he'd be far better with finding these items than we were..." Well, at least two of your men had finished their task. "Guess we can get going now, eh? Where we heading to next?" You explained that you first wanted to find Zaria and Anon again, to which Thaddeus and Mike gave a single understanding nod. "Well, lead the way." Mike even responded, as it seemed they could just... leave this place with the necessary equipment.

Thus, you led the way again, Thaddeus and Mike following suit with the equipment and materials on their backs. Though as you left, Thaddeus spoke softly. "So, Mikhail, how did conversation with the government go? Did you report our kills?" Mike also joined in, asking an even more important question. "Did we get additional pay?"

>Tell Mike and Thaddeus about everything. The fact some of your questions were flat out denied, the fact official did answer some rather interesting questions, maybe even the possibility of the government feeling suspicious towards you.
>Tell Mike and Thaddeus about... some of the details. Maybe not about some of the questions, since it caused the government to feel suspicious towards you... not to mention, maybe reducing your final pay.
>Tell Mike and Thaddeus that you'll tell them later. Probably better to discuss it when everyone is there.
>Mention to Mike and Thaddeus how you made an alliance with another squad leader from Heathen.
>Tell Mike and Thaddeus to go back to the meeting point. They can stay there while you retrieve the others.
>Something else...

(Update came out a bit faster than I thought... maybe I'll try and catch up a bit from the previous weekend, so I'll get an extra update in today.)
>>
>Tell Mike and Thaddeus about everything. The fact some of your questions were flat out denied, the fact official did answer some rather interesting questions, maybe even the possibility of the government feeling suspicious towards you.
>Mention to Mike and Thaddeus how you made an alliance with another squad leader from Heathen.

They are our soldiers. Best keep them in the know, as we are gunning for the exact opposite of running on a need to know basis.
>>
>>5842896
>Tell them everything and mention potential alliance
>>
>Tell Mike and Thaddeus about everything. The fact some of your questions were flat out denied, the fact official did answer some rather interesting questions, maybe even the possibility of the government feeling suspicious towards you.
Given Thaddeus' and Mike's curiosity, you decided to tell it to them straight. The kills had been noted as yours, you maybe were getting some extra pay for it, but some of your own questions had been left unanswered. Not to mention, their rather vicious remarks about not giving you some information regarding Anderson and the reason only a small number of scientists were wanted alive. "Of course the government wouldn't want to explain these things! They probably have some sorta deal going on with Anderson, or the scientists who they want to be kept alive." Mike said in contempt, Thaddeus speaking a bit more calmly. "Well now, we shouldn't rush to conclusions. We can't know for sure why they want to keep them alive. All we can do is hope to encounter them and maybe get some information out of them ourselves."

You led the three men away from the storage area, heading towards an area which would hopefully have some basic supplies. After all, that was where Zaria and Anon probably were. Meanwhile, Mike continued his discussion with Thaddeus scoffing softly. "Finding the wanted scientists? Well, what are the odds that we find them? We've so far encountered very little down there, you know... and the longer we're working with these fuckers, the more at risk I feel we are of being double-crossed by the government." Thaddeus sighed. "Well, we have only been here for less than a day. And so far, I say we've found quite a lot... I think we'll figure out what's going on sooner rather than later. And if not, I think others will... I doubt the government will be able to keep the secrets of this place to themselves for very long..."

>Mention to Mike and Thaddeus how you made an alliance with another squad leader from Heathen.
Speaking of the government and who to trust, you also told your men of how you met Leonard and discussed some things. "Oh, so you befriended another death squad? Or well, someone like you from another death squad." Mike asked, you reaffirming the obvious and explaining how there was some kind of alliance. You further pointed out that you had shared some information with him, Thaddeus speaking calmly. "And did he ask how we learnt about the..." He'd look around, before whispering. "The NARI bands?" You explained that Leonard hadn't asked about it, which seemed to please the two quite a bit. "Well, that's at least reassuring." Thaddeus remarked, after which you told him you could add Leonard to contacts via the online tablet. He'd thus grab the tablet, responding "On it." as he started trying to figure out how to work with it. You told him Leonard's full name, Thaddeus soon confirming that he got a direct chat with him and the other group now.
>>
Afterwards, Mike spoke up a bit more cautiously, bringing up a reasonable comment. "Do you think Artyom will be okay with us working with another deathsquad?" Thaddeus shrugged a little, you reassuring them that it wasn't exactly a strong alliance just yet. It had only just started and you could pull away from it at any time now without much issue. More importantly, Artyom would probably not mind working with Heathen that much, especially given that Artyom and Heathen both enjoyed the art of traps... Thaddeus and Mike had little else to say, soon just following you as you kept looking for Zaria and Anon.

Fortunately, you'd soon find them a little bit ahead of you, coming your way down the path. "Oh, hey." Zaria said as she noticed you. Anon also seemed a little surprised, as you told them you were looking for them and that you had been waiting. "Hey, we were struggling with figuring out what the hell to get, alright? We got medical stuff, food, bits of extra ammo, extra batteries and chargers for some of our equipment, and a bunch of other crap." Zaria remarked, Anon showing his backpack with goodies before joining the conversation as well. "Looks like you guys also got what you had to get, huh? Regardless, what are you three doing here? Weren't we supposed to meet at the meeting point?" You thus explained how you waited for quite some time and had decided to go find the others on your own, leading to this slightly weird and unplanned meeting.

You also explained the situation with the government as well as Leonard to them, Anon and Zaria bringing up practically the same points as Thaddeus and Derek. And after explaining everything further, you told them it was time to find Alan and hopefully also Evander. For some time, you'd keep searching, checking some of the nearest research facilities where they may be at. Though, you didn't find them at all. It was only after another half hour of searching that you encountered them... right at the meeting point. "Oh, hey guys. I found Evander! Also, where have you guys been?" Alan said casually as you and the others approached. Well, at least someone had gone to the meeting point after they did their job... Regardless, you told Alan that you had searched for him along with the others for the past half an hour, and that a large chunk of the afternoon had essentially been wasted in finding everything. "Oh, uhhh, alright." Alan said, Evander seeming more confused. "Aye, sooo what's goin' on?"

Things hadn't gone perfect unfortunately, but... well, you still had plenty of time to get down to the ruins now... so long as Derek and Lars were also fine. Speaking of which, the medical bay was close enough. You could probably check up on the two of them there and maybe bring them along if they were doing fine. That, or you could just send some of your men away already. Thaddeus and Mike did have the necessary supplies for Lydia, after all...
>>
>Tell your men to wait there while you check up on Derek and Lars. It probably was more efficient just to check on them alone, rather than taking everyone along into one medical bay.
>Take some or all of your men to the medical bay to check up on Derek and Lars. That way, you could plan things out together, even if Derek and Lars were out of the picture. (If you only choose some, write in who.)
>Now that he's back with the group, ask Evander about the sample he had brought to this place and what had been said about it. (Feel free to write in specific questions.)
>Send some of your men forward already while you and a few others checked up on Derek and Lars. (Write in who stays and who goes.)
>Discuss with your men...
>Something else...

(If there are a couple of responses in the coming 2 hours, I may get an extra update in tonight. I'm not 100% sure though, so yeah. Either way, hope the updates are going well so far. I imagine we'll get back into the action soon enough.)
>>
>>5843338

>Tell your men to wait there while you check up on Derek and Lars. It probably was more efficient just to check on them alone, rather than taking everyone along into one medical bay.

Reminder that this isn't neccesarily an alliance as of yet, simply an exchange. Neither side has any reason to consider the other an ally at this point, especially when we still have yet to be exchanged anything for our info.
>>
>>5843351
Supporting.
>>
>>5843338
>Take some or all of your men to the medical bay to check up on Derek and Lars. That way, you could plan things out together, even if Derek and Lars were out of the picture. (If you only choose some, write in who.)
Why not just take the crew
>>
>Tell your men to wait there while you check up on Derek and Lars. It probably was more efficient just to check on them alone, rather than taking everyone along into one medical bay.
With everyone there, you decided to check up on Derek and Lars on your own. Meanwhile, the others could maybe catch Alan, and especially Evander, up to everything that has happened. Thus, you told them to wait while you got Derek and Lars. You'd quickly make your way down the path, getting on the platform which had all the medical tents. You'd enter the main tent, looking around and seeing quite a few soldiers who were mildly injured resting on some quickly assembled beds. It seemed this place mostly held soldiers who were mildly injured. And, walking ahead a bit, you'd see Lars and Derek seated at some of the hospital beds. As you approached, Derek smiled and gave a swift salute. "Mikhail." He'd simply say, Lars giving a more informal response. "Ah, Mikhail, sup. What brings you here?"

You asked them if they were doing fine, both of them nodding. "Yeah, we're doing fine, I think." Derek said, looking to Lars who nodded along. "Some government medical staff cleaned the wounds and washed them. They still hurt a bit, but... well, it's patched up now. Only issue now is that they're insistent we get some different outfits, which... yeah, no, we aren't doing." Lars said with a more amused look on his face, Derek softly laughing along before shaking his head. "I'll just get a new outfit from the main base when we get there. That, or just use some tape or something..." Well, they seemed rearing to go, but they didn't exactly have much protection for the patched up burns. Then again, how likely was it that you'd spot a threat and that said threat would specifically use their wounds as weak points? Regardless, they'd get up and grab their helmets and equipment, putting them on again and signalling you to lead the way.

"Hope they won't mind getting back here with their crappy government military outfits and discovering that we're nowhere to be found." Lars mumbled, at which point Derek stopped following you. He would then turn around, looking for a staff member to let them know that the three of you were leaving. Lars sighed a little, but didn't tell Derek to stop. In the end, it cost another extra minute, but... well, Derek clearly didn't want to cause a fuss. Besides, maybe it was a good idea not to force the government to waste time on getting things which your men wouldn't even use. Regardless, you'd finally have all your men again. Well, all aside from Artyom and Lydia. But you were going straight for her now, so all was well! You'd quickly tell your men the plan, stating that you were heading back to the ruins to meet up with Lydia and Artyom. Your men quickly agreed, following you back towards the north-western parts of the ruins.
>>
Though on your way there, Evander was quick to get towards you. "By the way, lad, I gave those samples we got to a couple a scientists... they say it looks to be some sorta anesthetic or sedative... And a powerful one at that!" Well, given the colouration of the particles, which were silvery, black and green, and the effect these particles seemed to have... it kind of sounded like Chrys' thing? She did release particles which could cause sleepiness, so maybe they were the same thing? Maybe a worthwhile thing to ask her when you got back to her.

On the topic of that, you probably had to tell Evander all about Chrys, unless if the others told him about her already. Then again, you were still in the main base, so openly talking about working with a subject was probably quite the foolish idea. Fortunately, as you soon left the main base again and were just with your men, Evander spoke up again. "By the way, Mikhail, the others told me a bit about what happened while I was away. Ya lads killed some scientists, encountered a couple a corpses and what not... but, they also mentioned there was somethin' else goin' on which only ya could tell me about. So, uhhh, what's all that about?" It seemed your men had not brought up that rather vital detail to him yet, giving you the opportunity to tell him about Chrys. The question now was... how were you going to give your explosives expert the news that you were working together with a subject?

>Write in what specifically you want to tell Evander about Chrys and how you want to bring it to him.

Further, optional choices:
>Plan ahead and decide where to go to next. Obviously, Lydia, Artyom and Chrys came first... but what would come after?
>Just quietly head to the ruins without planning things. Not everything needed to be meticulously planned out, after all.
>Have some casual conversation with your men. Maybe ask some of them about their tasks and what not. (Write in who you wanna chat with and about what.)
>Something else...

(4 updates in a day. And I'll end today with a chance to get some creative writing in regarding what Mikhail will tell Evander, if you feel like writing a little bit of text as well. Either way, I will maybe try and get 4 posts in tomorrow as well, but I dunno if that will be possible. I guess we'll see.)

(Regardless, hope you guys have enjoyed the extra posts and what not today.)
>>
Well this is obvious.

"There's a reason why. Just be patient and I'll explain in a few minutes."

>Have some casual conversation with your men, specifically while heading out to Lydia, Artyom and Chrys.

Once away from the forward operating base, explain the situation like this.

"Now we are away from federal ears, we got a live one. From what we have gathered they have been truthful with what they have told us. On top of that, they aren't much of a threat. So, since they know more about this place than anyone else, we are keeping them around for the time being. And I mean it when I say they know more than anyone else we've encountered so far. Damn government can't even keep their records straight when they aren't hiding shit from us. The list of subjects they gave us on those tablets? It's apparently incomplete. And, there's even a gigantic important subject called Titania that just about everyone knows who's not on the list. Might have something to do with that box the government is so protective of. Reason for our short little stop back at the FOB was to pick up some supplies so Lydia and Artyom could make a tracker so we don't have to keep someone out in the facility constantly guarding them and will know where to find them if they try running off or we get separated."

This should answer most of his questions before he even asks.
>>
>>5843532
>>5843544 seems good but aren't we already out of the forward base? I think we can just go ahead and tell him, unless we wanna check if we're being followed.

>Have some casual conversation with your men. Maybe ask some of them about their tasks and what not. (Write in who you wanna chat with and about what.)

Did Evander get to keep any of that sedative or was it all confiscated? He was also in camp for a while, did he see/hear anything interesting?
>>
>>5843532
forgot to say but all the extra updates were great
>>
>Have some casual conversation with your men, specifically while heading out to Lydia, Artyom and Chrys.
You told Evander to be patient and that you'd tell him soon. He looked intrigued, yet kept quiet as you kept on moving forward. Only once you were away from the forward base, you'd tell Evander everything. Though, not before making sure nobody outside of your men were following you. Thus, you told Evander about that you had captured a subject, him stopping dead in his tracks and speaking softly. "Y-Ya did?!" He'd say in quiet exasperation, as you elaborated that they had been quite honest to you and that they weren't a threat. Evander kept quiet, as you explained why she was being kept alive. Furthermore, you explained that the subject list was incomplete, with Titania being excluded from the list.

"Aye, makes sense..." Evander responded, still seeming a bit shocked by the revelation of you having caught a subject. Finally, you'd tell him why you all went back to the forward base, with the main plan being a tracker. "So that's where those two were. Aight lad, this all makes... perfect sense... What's the subject like? Ya said she's trustworthy, but I wanna know more!" Thaddeus once more budded into the conversation, explaining the one thing which you hadn't really gotten the chance to explain. "So far, she seems... somewhat friendly. A bit scared, and she also injured Derek and Lars with an acid attack." Evander seemed shocked again, looking to the two struck soldiers who didn't seem to react badly to the mention of their injuries. They were probably quite fine with what had happened. "So, she can shoot acid? That sounds quite dangerous... Ya sure she won't cause trouble to Arty and Lydia?" Lars was quick to respond, doing so confidently. "If she tries anything, I think Artyom won't be hesitant to pull the trigger on her, in all honesty..."

Though Zaria seemingly disagreed with this sentiment, calmly stating: "I actually worry that he'll spare her out of sympathy, or some other stupid reason..." Derek spoke up as well, bringing up a fair point. "This is assuming Chrys even tries anything. And given what we did for her and the fact we spared her already, I got a feeling she will try and co-operate with us, rather than trying anything funny." Thaddeus nodded along, sharing the sentiment that Chrys was to be trusted. "Well, hopefully ya guys made the right choice in keeping her... I'm honestly rather curious about her and... kinda wanna meet her!" Evander said eagerly, as the others seemed amused by Evander's inquisitiveness.
>>
>Have some casual conversation with your men. Maybe ask some of them about their tasks and what not. (Write in who you wanna chat with and about what.)
Speaking of which, you'd ask Evander about the sedative and any other interesting things he heard. "Well, the sedative was sadly taken away. They need fresh samples to try and make some sorta cure for its effects... Still, they are gonna make the findings public, so we'll know all about it soon enough." Well, that was both good and bad. Good, because it'd mean the particles could no longer be as bad of a threat. And given that you were likely with the subject who created said particles, it could be helpful to have some knowledge on it and even antidotes for its effects. However, the bad news now was that you maybe shared useful information with literally all the death squads. If you were to ever use Chrys' sedatives in combat, they'd probably no longer be as useful... then again, it would still be effective against subjects and people who didn't have the fortune of getting the antidote for it...

Regardless, you'd also ask Evander about anything interesting he heard or saw at the camp. Evander thought about it for a bit, before responding calmly. "Well, at the laboratory, they were workin' on all sortsa chemicals and samples and waht not. Apparently, one thing they found was some sorta... reptilian scales containing these colour changin' things..." Lars responded in surprise, seemingly knowing what those particles were. "Chromatophores? Like... cells for changing skin colour?" Evander nodded a little, not nearly being as well-versed on this type of biology. "Yeah, apparently they got it from a subject who fled real fast... other than that, it mostly was just lookin' at other crap they found while rummaging this place. The folks over there really appreciate it when ya bring subject based stuff though... apparently, they said we'll get paid extra for discovering new things... or getting larger samples of some of the chemicals."

Upon hearing the mention of being paid extra, Mike spoke up eagerly. "So wait, does that mean we could... maybe get some of Chrys' acid and those particles she releases... and hand them in for extra cash? That'd be really lucrative!" It was definitely a suggestion worth looking into. Though, Derek was a bit more sceptical as he responded softly. "Maybe we should... be restrained with it. If we keep bringing Chrys' acid and what not back continuously, they'll probably suspect that something is going on..." It was a fair point, one which you likely had the final say on. After all, extra pay might be nice, but if you kept coming with the same samples, the people at the laboratory would absolutely figure out that something was going on...
>>
Either way, you'd keep on walking for a bit longer, soon reaching the flooded section again, seeing the hallway a minute's walk away from you.

>Decline the suggestion to take more samples from Chrys. It just wasn't worth the suspicion you'd cause.
>Accept the suggestion, but maybe in a way where it wasn't obvious you were literally farming Chrys' samples.
>Put the idea on hold for now. You had only just gotten here, so these money making schemes should have to wait until later...
>Enter the hallway and make your way to Lydia, Artyom and Chrys right away. No need to waste any time outside here.
>Check the flooded waters again. Maybe something changed while you were gone, or there had been signs of activity.
>Set up a plan or discuss some things with your men...
>Something else...
>>
>>5843991
>Put the idea on hold for now. You had only just gotten here, so these money making schemes should have to wait until later...
>Check the flooded waters again. Maybe something changed while you were gone, or there had been signs of activity.
>>
>>5844056
Supporting.
>>
>>5843991
>On hold for now
>Recheck waters
>>
>Put the idea on hold for now. You had only just gotten here, so these money making schemes should have to wait until later...
While Mike was more than eager to abuse the fact you had Chrys as a 'captive' to get a bunch of her acid and particles, you agreed with Derek that it wasn't the right time for it yet. You thus told him that the idea would be on hold for now, something he didn't seem to mind. "Alright, makes sense. We only got here... probably shouldn't come back with a bunch of material... then again, we could just get a small vial and say it came from the one spot we originally recovered it... that might fool them." Mike was still scheming a bit to himself, though Thaddeus was quick to shut him down. "Mike, Mikhail doesn't want it yet. So, get the bloody thought outta your head!" Mike grumbled a little, but didn't do or say anything else. He knew better than to try and convince you right now.

Thus, you'd reach the large pool of water again, walking past it before... deciding to check it out. You deviated from the main path, your men seeming surprised for a moment before following. "Uh, Mikhail, what are we doing?" Zaria asked sceptically, Anon speaking up more calmly. "Think he spotted something." Shortly after, you'd reach the edge of the water, a little beach of fine rubble and actual sand and dirt having formed. The water wasn't still though, it seemingly having tiny ripples and waves. Probably from the larger body of water it was connected to, the wind and activity in the water. You'd look around it, checking to see if anything changed... It didn't seem that way, but you still kept your eyes open. Until eventually, Evander pointed in the distance. "What's that in the water?" Drifting a decent distance away looked to be something... black, brown-ish red and pale-ish white. It was elongated, and drifted closer and closer to the water.

"Should I go in there and get it?" Lars asked, the others instantly shooting down the suggestion. "Dude, this could very well be a trap." Zaria responded, Derek speaking up right away as well. "You're still injured as well. Best not to risk an infection from this gross water." Thaddeus walked a bit further down the beach, being followed by Mike, Evander and Anon. The thing seemed to get closer and closer to the shore, Thaddeus soon grabbing a large pipe of some kind from a nearby structure, and using it to try and pull the thing in. It was still a short distance away, but as it got closer, you could see that it was something... pretty bad. The black was some sort of wet layer of fabric which was all around the object, while the red splotches weren't part of the fabric. If anything, they were holes. Holes in the fabric.
>>
"Is... is that a leg?" Anon said in soft disgust, at which point Thaddeus managed to get to it with the long pipe he had gotten. He'd manage to prod it towards land, eventually being able to pick it up. And, just like Anon said, it was indeed a leg. A gored up, mauled leg. It had large holes in it, decayed flesh and rather messy wounds near the part where it connected to the thighs. There weren't any indications of it being a death squad outfit, or some sort of guardsman uniform. It was just a plain black colour. The foot had also been chopped off, though far more cleanly than where it connected with the thighs.

"Okay, that's gross." Lars said softly, Derek mumbling quietly. "Told you those waters are diseased..." "And dangerous." Thaddeus added to it, as your group quietly looked at it for a bit. "Who do you guys think it belongs to?" Mike asked, Alan speaking softly and stating the obvious. "I think it belonged to a person." Though the others had some more serious options. "Doesn't look like it had armour on it or anything like that... Maybe just some scientist?" Evander suggested, at which point Lars also spoke up. "Maybe we can bring it back to base and see if they can identify it?" Though, this suggestion wasn't exactly one your men were too eager with. "Let's... not carry a rotten, mysterious leg around. We have no clue what happened to it, or if it's even safe to carry around. Maybe this is a trap?" Thaddeus said a bit sternly, Derek scoffing. "Not everything has to have been a trap. It very well could've just come to this place on its own..."

Derek's suggestion was met with a bit of scepticism from the others, who did find this leg... quite suspicious. And as the others mumbled how it was definitely a trap, Derek sighed. "Look, I'm just saying it because... for all we know, this makes us paranoid for no reason, alright? I mean... they did say there was a murderous water subject in here, right? Maybe this is just what's left over of her catch?" Zaria scoffed in turn. "That, or it's her way of tricking us near the waters where she can easily reach us..." Derek groaned, shaking his head and putting a hand to his head. "We've been at the edge of the water for a solid minute now and nothing has happened! The waters are... just as they are before, there's just this... this bloody leg in it now! I think we shouldn't be panicking because of a sign like this. Did we panic when we saw that scorched scientist's body as well?! No!" It seemed that Derek had a point...

Still, a random body part floating around right there right now was... well, it was definitely not on the same level as a dead scientist in a storage room full of food. Despite that, the others were still quite visibly concerned... Regardless, you still had a mission to do, and getting this distracted was maybe not for the best. Probably should just do something with it and then head onwards...
>>
>Leave the leg somewhere near the waterfront. If it remained there, you could maybe take it along when you returned. And if it disappeared, maybe then you could be concerned.
>Put the leg far away from the waterfront. It could maybe be found by passing death squads, but you could easily hide it and then safely take it along when you returned.
>Just leave the leg there. It was really not worth touching it or trying anything with it, given what could've happened to it.
>Throw the leg back into the water. Fuck it. It was not worth fucking around with it any more than you already did.
>Take the leg along right away. Somebody would have to stomach carrying it around, but... well, at least you could take it along knowing that it would be safely brought back to the main base.
>Something else...
>>
>Put the leg far away from the waterfront. It could maybe be found by passing death squads, but you could easily hide it and then safely take it along when you returned.

If it belonged to someone important we can potentially get some money for finding out what happened to them.
>>
>>5844370
>Put the leg far away from the waterfront. It could maybe be found by passing death squads, but you could easily hide it and then safely take it along when you returned.
>>
>>5844370
>Leave the leg somewhere near the waterfront. If it remained there, you could maybe take it along when you returned. And if it disappeared, maybe then you could be concerned.
>>
>Put the leg far away from the waterfront. It could maybe be found by passing death squads, but you could easily hide it and then safely take it along when you returned.
After a bit of consideration, you decided that the leg was... well, it was probably not going to be dangerous to pick up. After all, how likely was it that a subject would use body parts as traps? Besides, keeping it around could be worth it. If it was some important scientist's leg, then it would definitely be worth handing over to the authorities for them to scan it. Perhaps it'd even give another bonus? Still, you wanted to be sure that nothing in the water could surface to try and eat the leg... or worse, another squad spot it out in the open and take it along. Thus, you'd grab the leg, finding it quite cold and a bit... bloated. "Ugh, that's disgusting..." Mike said, Evander speaking smugly. "Hey, be glad Mikhail ain't commandin' ya to carry it around, hehe." The others also chuckled a little at Mike's expense.

Derek meanwhile asked. "So, what are we gonna do with it, sir?" You thus explained that you'd hope to hide it somewhere away from the waterfront, so that you could pick it up later and bring it in. "Sounds like a plan, Mikhail." Thaddeus supported, as you told everyone to head back to the main path. You'd inspect the leg a bit further as you led the way, Derek also checking it out. "I wonder what these holes are. They don't look like bullet holes to me... then again, I'm not a mortician..." He eventually said, further not having much else to say. There weren't any bite marks or chomps out of it either, implying that it had just been ripped from the torso, while the foot had been more... cleanly cut off. Odd, but maybe there was a reason for that.

A few minutes later, you'd reach the dark entrance to the long hallway again, you opting to hide the leg between a bunch of rubble, Alan helping with finding some heavy rocks and bits of rubble to help make it less likely to be spotted. And afterwards, you'd enter the dark tunnel again. And first things first, you'd head for the small storage chamber where Lydia, Artyom and Chrys stayed. Once you approached the chamber, you'd carefully call out to them, at which point Artyom carefully peaked out of the room with his gun in hand. Though the moment he saw you, he'd lower his gun. "Oh, it's you... you guys sure took your sweet time." He'd remark, Thaddeus speaking a bit sheepishly. "Well, getting the materials wasn't exactly easy." Anon spoke up in amusement. "Also, you could hear it's us... why did you point your gun at us?" Artyom responded rather calmly, yet with a hind of coldness. "Just wanted to make sure, that's all... Anyway, you coming in or...?" Derek, Thaddeus and Mike quickly entered, the former to help Lydia out and the latter two with the materials.
>>
Evander also followed, speaking quietly. "I wanna see this subject, if that's alright with ya..." Artyom scoffed. "No need to tell that to me... I mean, if you wanna ask permission for that, ask Mikhail." Evander was just being formal, knowing that meeting a subject was... well, it definitely was something. Of course, you didn't hesitate to let him go in, Evander thus following the other three. Meanwhile, Zaria, Anon, Mike, Lars and Alan opted to stay outside, not wanting to make the room too cramped and also knowing that... they didn't really add much to the next situation. Besides, some folk needed to stay guard in case something approached...

You entered the room with the others, finding Lydia working at the small desk from before, Chrys watching from nearby. Lydia was quick to greet you, doing so quite cheerfully. "Hey Mikhail. How did everything go?" While you greeted Lydia, Thaddeus and Mike brought the backpacks to the dusty desk Lydia was at, opening it up and showing everything. All the while, you saw Evander staring at Chrys, making the bug girl a little uneasy... "Aye, we've gotten everything ya asked for. How is it?" Thaddeus said after dropping everything down for Lydia to see. She quickly looked at all the supplies, checking over everything before nodding. "This seems good." Afterwards, she turned to Derek, signalling him to come over. "I've worked on a little program, using a little bit of coding from the built-in GPS system... I think I can link it up with the NARI band, buuut it will definitely take time to make it work." Derek already got beside Lydia, checking out the app she was showing. "Well, I suppose we should get to work then, huh?"

While they talked, Evander approached Chrys, the bug girl looking a little uneasy. Evander tilted his head, looking at Chrys from various angles, before speaking. "So, yer the first subject we've found, eh?" Chrys was trembling a little, given this was an unknown soldier. Yet even then, she nodded and finally spoke up again. "Y-Yes, u-ummm... I-I promise to h-help you guys out though... i-if possible..." Evander soon started chuckling a little, confusing Chrys a bit. It didn't seem to be an arrogant or mocking chuckle, more just a calm yet amused one. "Ah, relax, gal... Mikhail put his trust in ya, so I'll put my trust in ya as well..." Chrys nodded quickly, still being a little uneasy around the soldier she hadn't yet met.
>>
"So, what's the plan now, chief?" Thaddeus then asked, at which point Lydia also spoke up. "It's going to take some time to create a tracking device... I don't know how long, but... maybe a few hours or so?" Derek nodded along, clearly being in the mindset to work with Lydia now. "If we're fast, we can do it even faster, I imagine... but, well, it's hard to say how easy it'll be..." Given what they said, Mike brought up a rather important question. "Uhhh, well... I don't wanna sit here and wait for you guys to finish that. I'd rather explore the place further..." While you had hoped that they could make the tracker fast, it... was unreasonable to force Derek and Lydia to do it in a way that was impossible to achieve.

"Maybe we should let Derek and Lydia work on the tracker here while we head forwards. We've already separated before, so I doubt it'd be an issue." Thaddeus then suggested, to which Evander spoke up a bit hesitantly. "And leave both of the folk who know how to work with those damn tablets back here? Are ya sure we can't try anything else?" To this, Lydia gave her own suggestion. "Well, Derek and I could come along and work on it while following you... but, that is probably going to make it way more difficult for us to focus..." Derek shook his head to that, giving his own suggestion right after Lydia's. "We can just stay here with someone to guard us... I don't think working on it while walking is gonna be easy at all." Artyom was quick to jump in on that, speaking up in a soft yet mildly demanding voice. "If someone is gonna have to guard them, then please don't let it be me. I've been bored for the past few hours whilst you were away..."

>Tell Derek and Lydia that you and the others will wait for them to finish the tracker, maybe even helping in whatever way you could.
>Tell Derek and Lydia that they will join you further into the facility. Efficiency be damned, you couldn't afford to leave more men behind again.
>Tell Derek and Lydia that they can stay here with somebody to guard them, also assigning one or two folks who will then guard them.
>Ask your men what they prefer most. Not everyone had their say in the matter, clearly.
>Suggest a different plan...
>Something else...
>>
>Tell Derek and Lydia that you and the others will wait for them to finish the tracker, maybe even helping in whatever way you could.

Rule one of any dangerous situation. Never split up.
>>
>>5844620
>>Tell Derek and Lydia that they can stay here with somebody to guard them, also assigning one or two folks who will then guard them.
Question,
Do both Derek and Lydia need to be working on it?

Other then that, we can just continue exploring/gathering intel while they work, and then regroup for deeper exploration after they are done.
As for who we assign to them as gaurds, ask if anyone wants to volunteer for guard duty,if no one does, not artynom. I guess either Mike or Evander
>>
>>5844620
>Tell Derek and Lydia that they can stay here with somebody to guard them, also assigning one or two folks who will then guard them.
>Mike and Thaddeus
We've already split up multiple times, and it's not like the other squads/subjects/government are just going to stand still and wait for us.
>>
>>5844633
No, they don't specifically need to work on it together. They can be kept separate as well, but they definitely work well together on making things like these. If you do wanna separate them though, that's fine too.
>>
>>5844620
>>5844633
>>5844635
Amending Vote to

>Something else...
Then leave whichever person is probably the most important in getting this done (im guessing zaria), leave whoever volunteers or Mike/Evander
The rest of us go to explore. We want at least one person who can pull up stuff on tablet in case of emergencies or just information needed in general.
>>
>>5844625
>>5844634
>>5844638
Hmm, there doesn't seem to be one winning suggestion as of yet, aside from there being some agreement for keeping somebody with Lydia (and maybe Derek) who can continue acting as a guard.

I think I'll get some sleep in while you guys can discuss which option is the best one to take. And if nothing is decided by tomorrow when I get to writing an update, I'll just go with a mixture of things, or maybe just the 'safest' option.
>>
>>5844666
I can back >>5844638
I think Lydia is the most suited to building the tracker, right? Leave Thaddeus as a guard, or Mike, but definitely not Evander since he was waiting around in camp for a while already.
>>
>>5844703
Yeah sounds about right,
My bad mistook lydia for zaria in that accidently.
>>
>Something else
>Suggest a different plan...
While your men all gave their own suggestions on what could work, you decided to go with an entirely different option. While Derek and Lydia could work together quite well, you needed someone to help with giving directions and information about the place via a tablet. And really, the only two people who were so far fit for said job were Derek and Lydia. You thus told them that Lydia would stay here with Chrys and someone else, while Derek joined you and the others. Right away, Artyom spoke up, doing so a bit worriedly. "Please, for the love of god, don't force me to be a guard again. No offense, Lydia... but as much as I enjoy Chrys' and your company, I... I need something else to do." Lydia simply scoffed in an amused tone, not minding it one bit.

Fortunately for Artyom, you'd state anyone could volunteer for the task at hand. There was a moment of silence, nobody really being all that eager to stay and act as guard. "Oh come on guys... Literally no-one?" Artyom responded in annoyance, soon after heading to the door to speak to the men outside. "Any of you wanna take over guard duties?" There was a silence, after which he sighed and stepped back into the room. Fortuntely though, one of your men stepped into the room shortly after. "Well, if nobody wants to do it, I'll do it." Mike responded, being quite a decent pick for the job all things considered. Lydia responded with a thankful nod. "Thanks, Mike." Of course, Mike was quick to be a... bit too self-flattering. "Not only am I the most motivated here to assist, but I can assure you I'll do an even better job than Artyom!" Lydia let out a sheepish yet mildly bemused laugh, while Artyom spoke a bit more passive-aggressively. "I am sure you will indeed do a far greater job at watching this door than I ever did."

Shortly after, Derek brought something up which was... quite fair. "Sir, I don't want to question your choices, but... Lydia and I could get a tracker done way faster together, than with just her alone. After all, many hands make light work. Besides, can't I just give the tablet to someone else?" You once again stated that you needed someone who knew how to use the tablet, and that Derek simply was the best for said task. Besides, Lydia on her own would also likely do a perfect job with crafting the tracker. Derek sighed, before nodding acceptingly. "Alright, very well then... But... I do want to teach someone else to use the tablet. It's not that difficult, and I feel like it'd be better for all of us if more than 2 people knew how to use it. It's quite the vital tool, after all." His concerns were fair, and could probably be addressed sooner rather than later. Someone like Thaddeus, Evander or Anon could most definitely learn how to use the device...
>>
Thus, you had once again settled on a plan. Lydia and Mike would stay here, the former working on the tracker and the latter acting as guard. Meanwhile, the rest of you would head forwards, Derek using the online tablet for any kinds of information you'd need while travelling. Honestly, you could very well tell someone to get besides Derek and watch him operate the tablet. That way, whoever was besides him could hopefully get some ideas in how to operate the tablet...

Either way, you'd leave Lydia, Mike and Chrys, wishing Lydia good luck with the tracker before leaving the room again. Thus, you'd lead the way once more, walking further and further into the dark hallway, watching the light of the entrance once more fade into the distance behind you. And soon enough, you had to use your night vision helmets to get around the place. You'd quickly reach the cross in the road again, at which point Thaddeus brought something up. "Say, will we go the same direction as before? Or are we maybe going another direction this time?" The others seemed a bit confused. After all, the office space you were heading to was pretty much the best place to check out. After a moment of silence, Thaddeus elaborated. "We've explored a lot ahead of us... but, there's the left side and flooded section as well."

To this, Lars spoke up in soft disapproval. "I don't think heading to the flooded section is a good idea, if the leg we just found was any indication." Thaddeus shook his head, already stepping a bit towards that direction. "I think that leg is a sign that we should check out this direction... I mean, what if we find something even bigger? Something even more lucrative?" Evander also joined into the conversation, doing so quietly. "I've not seen any place past here, so... I am fine with anything, really." Anon also responded, doing a bit more cautiously yet calmly. "I remember seeing something down this hall as well... I know it might've just been my imagination, but... I dunno." Artyom was the last person to bud into the conversation, doing so more disapprovingly. "We should stick with the path we know. Besides, traversing the flooded parts will probably be way tougher."

>Thaddeus had a point. Maybe it was worth taking a few steps into the flooded section to see what it was about. If it ended up being that bad, you could always retreat.
>You had a plan: going ahead to the office space. It wasn't going to change. Not yet, anyway.
>Discuss further with your men. Maybe some wanna have a say in this matter or decide based on a vote.
>They were forgetting the left path which led to the destroyed fortifications and death guardsman. Was it worth going there? Probably not, but if they wanted to switch course, maybe it could be another option.
>Something else...
>>
>>5845163
>You had a plan: going ahead to the office space. It wasn't going to change. Not yet, anyway.
Left path is for after we regroup, for now we aren't going too deep. That said, while doing this, we should have Derek teach someone more about the tablet, I guess Thaddeus would do. The more people who know how to use it the less of a handicap this will be in the future.
>>
>>5845163
>You had a plan: going ahead to the office space. It wasn't going to change. Not yet, anyway.
Use the safer path for time - have Evander shadow Derek and learn the tablet
>>
>>5845368
>>5845324
Supporting.
>>
>You had a plan: going ahead to the office space. It wasn't going to change. Not yet, anyway.
While Thaddeus and some of the others were more than happy to go down the path towards the flooded section, you decided to stick with the plan you had. You told them that maybe you could take the relatively safe path to the left once you had regrouped. "Wasn't that hallway littered with guardsman corpses?" Zaria then pointed out, at which point Alan made a pretty astute observation. "This entire place is filled with corpses..." Zaria couldn't really say anything against that, as she'd let out a sigh. "Fair enough..." Thus, you'd lead the way once more, heading forward past the broken screens. Meanwhile, you told Thaddeus to maybe ask Derek to teach him about how to use the tablet. You also suggested Evander could be the next one to learn how to use it. Thus, Evander got behind Derek and Thaddeus, trying to listen in to everything which they discussed.

All the while, you led the entire group with Alan, Artyom and Anon right behind you and by your side. You'd go further down the hallway, passing the side-rooms you had passed previously. The room where you found Chrys, the storage room, the large staff area... and of course, the containment chamber. It was actually still on fire, though the broken glass wall mostly just showed smoke and bits of smouldering remains. You could feel the heat radiating from it, with Evander speaking a bit worriedly. "Is... is that your guys doin'?" Alan responded proudly to that. "It's MY doing, actually!" He'd say, lifting up his flamethrower a bit. You didn't pay much attention to the burning chamber, knowing that the fire wouldn't spread much further. Still, it was maybe going to be an issue later. Not just because it'd garner interest from death squads and soldiers alike, but also because the fire could maybe cause some structural damage. Not much probably, but it was still something to consider.

Regardless, you'd move on for the time being, heading forwards and seeing the entrance to the office space ahead. It looked to be quite a large doorway, leading to something far more exciting than your average storage or research room. You'd quickly walk towards it, Derek soon speaking up. "That's the large office space. The tablet says it spans 5 sub-floors and... well, it apparently has been explored a couple of times already..." You'd thus move on, eventually reaching the large doorway which led to... quite the intricate room. It was a reception of some kind. The room was quite large and tall, with a circular shape. Looking up, you saw that the space had dome-like ceiling which was... cracking and quite damaged. There was a large circular reception in the centre of the room, with multiple large screens above them. Some of these screens had fallen from the ceiling onto the reception area.
>>
There were quite some chairs, tables and other furniture pieces strewn around for people to sit at. Though many of these chairs and tables had been turned over or damaged. There even were dozens of fancy potted plants, though whatever lovely looking plant species they may have had at one point had already been destroyed or had died... There was a set of stairs in a helix pattern around the circular reception, leading to several walkways on the sides of the room. Most importantly though, was that there were three directions you and your men could take: left, ahead, and right. The forward path was quite a huge one, being a single tall hallway which went on for quite a distance. The right and left hallways were a bit smaller in comparison, essentially following the 5 sub-floor division from the Tablet. In turn, there were also more of these hallways if you were to make the choice of going up the sets of stairs...

"Bloody hell... this is a bit larger than the usual hallway." Anon remarked, looking around the place already. The others also looked around, some walking to the reception and seeing if there was anything of interest. Derek meanwhile went a bit ahead with Thaddeus, checking the huge corridor which was ahead of you. After looking at it for a bit, Derek signalled to you. "Mikhail, there's a ton of huge chambers here." Thaddeus nodded, before adding some further information. "Aye, way bigger than the containment chamber... Though we can see some have already been broken into." Meanwhile, Lars carefully set foot on the metal stairs, seemingly testing if they would hold his weight. After putting his weight on it and hearing a bit of creaking, he spoke up. "Don't know how safe it would be to head up here... I think it can hold, but... the ceiling these are attached to looks a little concerning, if I say so myself." Artyom checked the leftwards path, before also speaking up. "Looks to be more office spaces to the left here... Don't see anything of interest so far, though..." Zaria checked the right path, speaking up as well but seeming a bit more optimistic than Artyom. "Think the right could be interesting. I see more storage space, some laboratory equipment, and even a few other weird things..."

Given how much there was to check and... how some of these places might not have anything of interesting, you probably had to decide on what to inspect first... or perhaps something your men should specifically focus on finding...
>>
>Check the left or right hallway. They had offices, which meant they had paperwork or... perhaps some dead scientists... (specify either the right or left pathway.)
>Check the forward path. It was the largest and led to some pretty massive chambers. Surely, they had to be interesting?
>Check the reception room a bit more thoroughly. Maybe you missed something of interest?
>Divide your men in pairs or other smaller groups and explore different places. It'd make the job way faster and meant you could move on faster in case you didn't find anything useful... (Write in how large the groups will be and who will go with who.)
>Just try and head onwards. You had to head deeper and... this place didn't seem too interesting.
>Ask Derek for any information the tablet might give. Maybe it'd explain what this place was and if it connected to anything of interest?
>Discuss with your men...
>Something else...

(I hope the description of the space is good enough for you guys and is easy enough to understand. If it's a bit vague, then you can maybe ask some questions. Though I don't think I'll be able to answer them right away, since I'll be heading to sleep first. Maybe I'll elaborate on any uncertainties in the next update.)
>>
>>5845788
>>Divide your men in pairs or other smaller groups and explore different places. It'd make the job way faster and meant you could move on faster in case you didn't find anything useful... (Write in how large the groups will be and who will go with who.)
The officies in the left and right path respectively.
left will be Zaria, Lars, and Anon for the office space.
right will be us, Derek-Thaddeus-Evander pack, and Artynom.
going straight to containment area should wait until after we've collated information from offices and labs and referenced them with the tablet.
If I missed anyone, have em come with us to the right since 3 for checking paper work should be plenty.

Also was that character doc ever provided? I might've missed it.
>>
>>5845788
I can back >>5845822
>>
>Divide your men in pairs or other smaller groups and explore different places. It'd make the job way faster and meant you could move on faster in case you didn't find anything useful...
Given the various paths and what had been said about them, you'd quietly contemplate about waht to do. Though after a short moment of thinking, you had gotten a plan. You told Zaria, Lars and Anon to head left to the office space. They could rummage through any and all paperwork and see if they find anything of interest. Meanwhile, you and the others could head right to check space with the equipment. "Do you really think three people are enough to check all of the space to the left?" Anon asked sceptically, at which point Lars shrugged a bit. "We can just skim over everything, unless if we find anything of interest." Zaria seemed a bit sceptical as well though. "I can't imagine it being easy though... especially in comparison to six men covering the right path." To this, Derek responded rather quickly. "Well, if we find nothing of value, we can always join you guys and explore that side." Zaria swayed her head back and forth a little, thinking about what to say before just nodding. "Fair enough..." Thus, you'd lead Derek, Thaddeus, Evander, Artyom and Alan to the right. All the while, Zaria led Lars and Anon to the offices.

Right from the get-go, you'd notice... quite a lot of points of interest. While the right side of the path had nothing of note, just being a metal wall with some built in lights which had been destroyed, the left side had... well, a lot to inspect. The first room to the left was a large room with a glass wall, and tons of highly advanced looking equipment and machinery. Some were like the machinery from before, albeit larger and connected to far more computers and machinery. The most intriguing thing that caught your eye was... something quite different though. It looked to be some sort of large research table with all sorts of machinery attached to it. Some had small knives and drills, while others had needles attached to all sorts of tubing.

"Well, this place is looking quite macabre..." Thaddeus remarked, Artyom also speaking up. "I bet this is where they ran tests or did operations on subjects." The next room was a bit larger, and had mostly large desks with all kinds of vials and chemistry equipment on them. What was most noteworthy about this room was that... well, it didn't look like it had been cleaned up. Of course, none of the places looked cleaned up here, given just how much damage had been done here... but this place was different. It didn't look like things had been put aside or thrown to the ground or destroyed. It looked like it had been totally left abandoned, with experiments still on the tables and left to be finished. Like people were working here one day and then just... disappeared into thin air. There had been some places where things had fallen over and had been dirtied, but most of it was strangely untouched...
>>
The room spanned quite a distance, and there were also plenty of computers around there for people to work at. Most of them actually seemed untouched and, had there been power to this area, would've probably still been able to be turned on again. Once you passed the room though, you'd get to the penultimate room for this hallway and... it definitely had the most intriguing thing of all of them. There were lots of pipes and tubes running around the room, all centred onto one thing which was in the middle of it: a large box, mostly made of metal but with large glass panelling and a rather heavy looking lid. The glass had been... destroyed from some sides, and some of the wiring and tubes which led to the device had been destroyed. More importantly, you saw that the metal box had a large display attached to it, as well as several more computers and other machinery attached to it, mostly items which looked to be for transporting chemicals and leading to all sorts of reactions.

The final detail of note in the room was... actually related to the room which came after it. The final room had no real noteworthy equipment, but it did have a bunch of computers, desks and... a view into the room with the strange glass and metal box. Perhaps some sort of observation chamber for whatever was going on in that strange chamber? After the observation chamber though, came a singular door which lead to a stairwell which just headed up... "Should we take these stairs up and check out the rest of this place, sir?" Derek said, Evander responding softly. "I'm more curious about that room with the chemicals and such... Curious what the lads in here were workin' on." Thaddeus shook his head a bit, before giving his own take. "I wanna check out that weird glass box... It clearly was used for something important. After all, why would they have an additional room attached to it for safely looking into it?"

>Check the first room with the fancy equipment and machinery. The research table probably indicated that experiments had been done there... which should have documents for such experiments then as well.
>Check the huge chemical laboratory. Evander's interest was quite fair, given that it looked untouched and probably had some interesting work being done in it.
>Check the weird chamber with the metal box. It was definitely the most perplexing room out of all of them and probably could explain something about this place...
>Take the stairwell up to the next floor and inspect that first. Maybe once you've explored everything, you could focus on some specific rooms.
>Discuss further with your men. What do Alan, Artyom and Derek want?
>Ask Derek if he could check some things with the tablet (Write in specifically what you want him to check...)
>Something else...
>>
(Since >>5845822 asked for the docs again, here they are:
Squad doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_NoldE7zglICEuon-YZNhxjXcqvjszveOsz4u8jz-is/edit?usp=sharing
Subject + Scientist doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15Z64W31Eszz9CNi-ZWe-t38yqg6riZ9oUvinfd2-F9A/edit?usp=sharing
If there are any further questions about the docs, just lmk.)
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>>5846456
>Check the first room with the fancy equipment and machinery. The research table probably indicated that experiments had been done there... which should have documents for such experiments then as well.
>>
>>5846456
>>Check the first room with the fancy equipment and machinery. The research table probably indicated that experiments had been done there... which should have documents for such experiments then as well.

That one room with the metal box? we save that for last, I don't want to risk a subject being inside and us getting screwed over for it.
>>
>>5846456
>>Check the first room with the fancy equipment and machinery. The research table probably indicated that experiments had been done there... which should have documents for such experiments then as well.
>>
>>5846788
>>5846595
>>5846473
Supporting. We all are in agreement.
>>
>Check the first room with the fancy equipment and machinery. The research table probably indicated that experiments had been done there... which should have documents for such experiments then as well.
While your men all wanted to check out the various rooms, you decided to be a bit more orderly about what you'd do next. Thus, you'd start with the first room. You walked back while telling your men that it was probably the safest option to start with, though you also thought of maybe checking the room with metal and glass last... just in case anything wild happened in said room. Still, you'd make your way to the first research chamber. The door leading to it was... actually a glass one which could just be pushed open. Apparently, security wasn't as important here as it was in the previous few chambers. Then again, the glass wall did seem to be quite thick and decently reinforced.

Regardless, you'd enter the room, everyone right away splitting up and looking around the various things. Derek checked some of the computers, seeing if there were any interesting parts to it or connections. Evander checked any and all of the chemicals which were strewn about, even carefully grabbing some of the test tubes which were filled with unknown substances. He'd even take off his helmet for a moment, getting a smell of the chemicals. "Smells like medical crap..." He'd remark, before putting his helmet back on. Thaddeus was quick to speak up in turn. "You shouldn't be taking your helmet off. You can't be sure about... whatever is in those test tubes." Evander nodded in turn. He knew best of all that keeping your helmet on was... probably for the best here, given that he saw first hand what kind of aerosols subjects could create...

Artyom was carefully looking for any sort of paper files or documents around the place. He'd thus find some more cupboards and drawers which had all kinds of items in them. Alan was mostly focused on the main operating table though, checking out some of the tools before speaking up. "So... what could this place have focused on? Some sorta... testing crap?" Artyom responded in turn, doing so a little dismissively. "Well duh... I just wonder what they tested specifically..."

Something which did catch your eye was that... the operating table wasn't exactly large. It seemed barely large enough to have a child lying on top of it. Could some smaller subjects maybe be placed on it? Maybe, but... most subjects had been described as quite large. Even Chrys, who was about 4 and a half feet tall, would struggle lying down on this. It also didn't help that... it didn't exactly look like it was designed for human comfort. After looking around a little further, Derek spoke up with a more confident tone. "I believe this to be some sort of... subject check up place. Or maybe some sort of medical testing facility." Evander nodded along, before pointing to Derek's tablet. "Aye, can't ya use that thing of yers to check out what this place is?"
>>
Derek sighed and lowered his head a bit. "Well, I can see what this entire space is and... any sort of updates regarding it. But, any further details are sparse. It doesn't state what each room specifically has or what its purpose was. It just labels this entire space 'office space' with some details about its location." Evander let out a soft yet annoyed "Hmmm...", clearly wanting to know a bit more. Still, Derek's remarks were pretty fitting, based on what Evander had said as well. Chemicals which smelled like medicine, a check up table... the only weird thing was that it just... didn't seem built for humans, or even subjects. Then again, you still didn't know how small subjects could get... if they could get kaiju sized, then what was the lower limit?

Soon after, Artyom spoke up a little after finding some paper files. "Most of the paper files here are... just sheets which need to be filled in. It's talking about extracting organic and genetic material..." Alan spoke up a bit more amusedly, putting his hand on some of the drills and saws at the operating table. "Well, these tools have to be used for something like that, huh?" He had a point there... but then again, it did also raise some questions. Mostly just about... why they were harvesting material with such... crude and destructive tools. Surely, blood samples taken with a needle would work just fine? Regardless, it seemed that most of the room didn't have much else of interest. Derek kept on checking the computers, trying to turn each one on and finding them unable to start up. The other advanced machinery looked to be mostly for similar purposes as the ones you had seen before: nanite manufacturing, creating subject material, the usual machinery for people who wanted to play god. The only really unique machine was one which connected to the nanite manufacturing machine and looked to be designed for... running tests of some kind, especially since it had a large glass pod of some kind with all kinds of scanners and sensors...

"These computers are all dead." Derek finally said, Artyom sighing and speaking up softly. "Yeah, these papers are also... quite useless. Most of them are just documents for tests and what is going on, but nothing really enticing..." Evander had also long checked all the chemicals which had been stored around the room, speaking up calmly. "Aye, the chemicals just look like... plain ol' organic chemicals. Like something ya find in any laboratory focused on organic chemistry..." Maybe there was more to the chemicals, but it'd be quite risky for him to start testing or smelling them at random... Finally, Thaddeus turned to you, looking to the main door. "So, shall we get going then, lad?"
>>
It seemed everyone had agreed that this first room hadn't been all that interesting. Then again, a medical bay was bound to be kinda boring... now a room focused on chemical experiments and the chamber with the strange metal box, those were bound to be more interesting... at least, hopefully.

>Check the room further. Surely, you were missing a detail. Maybe Evander could check some of the chemicals a bit more thoroughly? Or Derek could look at the hard drives on the computer?
>Maybe inspect the operating table further. Maybe you missed a clue with that?
>Double check the documents and papers with Artyom. Surely, they weren't all useless?
>Just move on. This room was not of interest... next let's check... (Write in what to check next or which room specifically.)
>Discuss with your men...
>Something else...
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>>5847114
>Check the room further. Surely, you were missing a detail. Maybe Evander could check some of the chemicals a bit more thoroughly? Or Derek could look at the hard drives on the computer?
Hard-drives might have some information we can extrapolate from. Also, if we can identify any of the chemicals, see if we can cross-reference what we've found with the Tablet, and see if anything appears or seemsto match what we are seeing. If not ig next thing is to check the other room.
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>>5847169
Supporting. Explained what I would say perfectly.
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>>5847114
>Double check the documents and papers with Artyom. Surely, they weren't all useless?
>>
>Double check the documents and papers with Artyom. Surely, they weren't all useless?
>Check the room further. Surely, you were missing a detail. Maybe Evander could check some of the chemicals a bit more thoroughly? Or Derek could look at the hard drives on the computer?
While Artyom felt that the papers were utterly useless, you felt that there had to be more to it. So, you told him that you'd help to doublecheck everything, just in case he missed something. Artyom didn't seem to mind, grabbing some of the papers and handing them over to you. "Maybe I missed something, but... I really don't know, Mikhail." He'd respond, after which Thaddeus also joined in. "Give me some of those papers." Shortly after, Evander also tried joining in, but you felt that he had a different task he could try doing. He could try and identify the chemicals, and maybe cross-reference them with whatever chemicals the tablet had noted down as important or special. "I guess I can try, lad... but, most of the chemicals ain't anything special, I can assure ya of that... and those which might be special might be risky to handle."

Afterwards, Derek gave Evander some decent advice. "Try and see if there are some racks or labelled containers nearby which contain similar chemicals. Maybe that way, you can identify them easily." Evander nodded, before pointing to the tablet. "Aye, can ya hand me the tablet then? Just in case I find anythin'." Derek did as told, after which you suggested to him that he could grab the hard-drives so they could be checked later. "Alright, might take a while though..." He'd respond, before getting to work with them. In the meantime, you, Thaddeus and Artyom kept checking the papers. The only really noteworthy discovery was that one of the papers actually stated what they had harvested: they had taken material from a siphonophore. The noted purpose of it though was... hard to say. At least it gave a date, with the paper stating it had been done a couple of years ago...

After inspecting things thoroughly for another few minutes, Artyom sighed. "Well, these papers are still... mostly completely useless. Unless if you guys found anything of interest." Thaddeus shook his head. "Nah, nothing interesting..." Afterwards, Thaddeus looked to Evander. "Aye, have ya found anything else?" Evander sighed a little. "Nah, sadly... mostly just medical stuff... nothin' which the tablet mentions as being important. Tablet seems more interested in chemicals created by subjects, or for the creation of subjects... not this sorta stuff... Though, there does seem to be some sorta weird medical subject... but, nothin' about her seems like it's related to these chemicals, soooo..." Well, at least that was something worth looking into? A medical subject could be quite interesting to hunt down. And if they were anything like Chrys, maybe they could actually help you out... that was, if you even wanted to give her the choice to survive which... might not be on the table.
>>
Regardless, Derek had asked Alan for some help with removing the hard-drives, having gotten all of them out already... though it weren't too many, from the looks of it. "We've gotten 3 of the hard-drives out, Mikhail. I suppose we can take them along or leave them here and pick them up later..." Thus, it seemd you had squeezed out all the information you could get out of the room. Thus, you decided to head to the next room, the large laboratory section. While the previous room had been mostly odd and a little useful, this next room probably was going to be... well, more interesting for the chemicals they had. It seemed you had quite a number of desks and machines to check out, though the latter were mostly just the same machines used for reactions as you had seen in other rooms before. There were cupboards which contained microscopes, tube racks, and many other items fit for performing chemical experiments...

Evander was quick to check out one of the nearest chemical racks, before turning to you. "Oi, Mikhail, these things seem to be labelled... This one contains some nucleic acids." Evander picked up another test tube, reading the label on it before speaking a bit more cautiously. "Oh crap, be careful lads... there are some undiluted acids bein' used here..." There was a moment of silence, before Derek spoke softly. "Don't worry. I've gotten familiar with acids in this place..." There were a few amused scoffs from your men, Derek also laughing softly before saying "Come on now, that was funny..."

Regardless, it was time to get to work exploring this room. The chemicals and cupboards looked to be the most interesting things here...

>Assign your men to check certain parts of the room. Delegation has so far proven efficient and effective.
>Just check out all of the chemicals and nothing else. Chances were there had to be some sort of unique chemicals they were working on...
>Just check the cupboards and nothing else. Maybe some of them had more papers in them for you to read through, or something else of value?
>Just move on. This room was clearly just used for basic chemistry and nothing else of interest.
>Something else...

(By the way, it has now been just over a month since I started this qst, and I kinda wanna take the time to ask you guys some things. For one, are you guys enjoying it so far? I feel I'm definitely taking things slowly at times, but I also don't wanna just throw away any and all of the mystery behind the setting, or give you guys no chance to explore on your own. Still, I'd like to hear how you guys feel. Furthermore, I also kinda wanna know what you think of the setting, character interactions, the characters themselves and... well, any other things you found noteworthy. Some feedback or critiques for where I can improve would also be nice, so I can improve the experience further.)
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>>5847910
>Assign your men to check certain parts of the room. Delegation has so far proven efficient and effective.

Enjoying the quest so far, but it is pretty slow paced. I at least feel like we've gotten a lot of exploration opportunities, one of which we're taking right now. On the other hand we've had very few encounters with other parties while exploring - 1 subject, 1 group of guards, no scientists unless you count a corpse, no other death squads outside of camp. The last is particularly weird considering there's supposedly 2800 mercenaries down here according to >>5811436 - even counting members sticking at camp and casualties, if this place is big enough to host that many people clearing it out with no collisions for hours, exploration with a single squad feels hopeless since we'll never be able to cover a significant portion. Especially right now when searches turn up routine documentation, generic chemicals, hard drives that we'll probably get a bit of money for but nothing groundbreaking. The lack of action is probably a good thing considering our one encounter with a low threat, low aggression subject left two of our men injured and still recovering, but the premise of the quest was raiding/surviving/escaping a facility where unleashed monstrous bio-experiments were being exterminated by an army of death squads, so the exploration focus is a little jarring. Kind of like if a game advertised itself as a Resident Evil clone, but you start playing and it's actually an Amnesia clone.

>Setting
Interesting, very high potential. Some stuff doesn't quite make sense, like why a galaxy spanning government would need to hire an outside force of less than 3000 men to deal with a highly classified and sensitive situation involving valuable data recovery, but the reasons for that might be revealed later when we're done with the purge and they start purging us, calling it now. Perhaps a subject that can infect/possess other beings.

>Character interactions
It's kinda weird how we refer to ourselves as a death squad rather than just a squad or as mercenaries, and it's really weird how the government does too. It's not the most positive term. I'd get its use from the crazier squads like Heroes or DD, but we're more grounded. Also our squaddies have been calling us lad lately, and maybe this is a regional thing but never in my life have I heard someone call their boss lad.

>The characters themselves
Chrys is the only one who feels that fleshed out, which isn't that surprising since she's the only character who has gotten multiple posts of interaction and isn't anon-generated.

>feedback/critiques/tldr
pls faster pace and either more encounters or more rewarding exploration
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>>5847910
>Assign your men to check certain parts of the room. Delegation has so far proven efficient and effective.

>>5848062
To be fair, as far as people are concerned, we are playing very cautious. I think all the gaurds have a designated area they are sweeping through. With them probably going deeper then we are. Scientists probably knew the safests place to go to and are way deeper. Guards we've found. Had we chosen to go into the water we would've probably encountered scary water subject wihich we elected to avoid twice now.

In regards to the government planning to purge us, we'd kinda need them to to warrant going down any path that involves sparing subjects. If the government plays this straight and for whatever reason we don't follow through with purging the subjects, it'd be us vs the gov and other death squads which is a death sentence. If we find proof they are gonna off us we instantly have common ground to work with every other death squad here.

In terms of feedback I will agree with the fact that we have 500 men, I feel like goin with the named character small squad approach doesn't work well with lodger. Given we have like 500 men you'd think itd be more command and control of our operations as we have our guys move throughout the facility. I get the personal exploration aspect of it, which can still be done, but we are a mercenary group of 500 with only like 10 of us down here.

the other things I don't mind too much since I kinda get how they came about.
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>>5848098
Lodger actually has 1400 men, as many as all other death squads combined. That said, I don't think we're the boss of the entire organization, just captain of a small platoon as laid out in >>5814876


Yeah if the government really isn't up to anything shady we might have to kill Chrys which would suck :(

She's tiny, maybe we can smuggle her out in a duffle bag or something. They're doing checks, but nothing's foolproof and there's surely a limit to how invasive they can be. Might be a good idea to look at the full contract lodger signed with the gov if possible.
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>>5848062
>>5848098
>>5848150
I really do appreciate all the feedback you two have given so far (and I'm hoping for more from you and other players as well). And yeah, a lot of the points you have brought up are very fair critiques. Things have gone quite slow, and there are definitely a couple of questions which are left to be answered. Some because they are part of the mystery to this place, and some because... yeah, I too can be a bit retarded, or not explain things well enough.

I think there is one thing I can safely explain without spoiling much of the story though. That being the point about how your men refer to the group as a death squad, when it seems you're all far more reasonable. I got 3 canon explanations for it, and one of my own remarks as well.

For one, you guys are not representative of the entirety of Lodger. There are very much people in Lodger who are cruel, uncaring assholes fitting of the monicker of death squad.
On top of that, I imagine your men refer to their group as a death squads due to past missions where you worked together with other actual death squads. And given that those missions were often in contrast to what the government wanted, you kinda just got the label of death squad automatically.
The last point is... actually kind of funny and builds off of the previous two points: I imagine that your men see themselves as a death squad due to government propaganda. Since you guys aren't on the government payroll, you're automatically portrayed as 'the bad death squad guys' by the government, when you're pretty similar to other military groups working for the government.

As for the fourth and... well, less story-based reason: I think it comes down to the fact that I genuinely did not anticipate you guys acting so reasonably as a death squad. I honestly expected you guys to absolutely murder any subject you'd encounter, but... well, that didn't happen. Still, I imagine some of the future encounters will definitely make you more inclined to kill.
Other than that though, the others point so far are pretty fair. The characterization of the side characters are definitely a bit weak. That mostly comes because of the fact that I kinda made it so that you have already commanded them for some time, when I probably should've made it that they are just some Lodger men you didn't know to begin with, with this being your first time commanding them. That way, there could have been more of a natural development going on, and you getting to know the characters. So yeah, that's my mistake and I'll try and correct it with maybe some more optional, personal character interactions. Maybe outside of when you are busy exploring the place.

Speaking of which, I definitely gave the quest a bit of a slow start which heavily emphasizes the exploration. I think that mostly came because I want to be able to give clues to what's going on, but... yeah, I do think I need to speed things up a bit. Fortunately, I do have a solution in mind.
>>
I was thinking that, starting now, I'll switch up how things are written when you encounter storage rooms or places which you've already explored before. Instead of now just letting you explore each room individually over the span of several updates, I think I'll now opt for a 'quick scan and loot' sort of approach, where you guys can opt to check a room, and I'll just state what sort of valuables it contained which you can take along. Only if there's something special in the room, such as a subject, soldier or scientists or something else unique to it, will I have you guys actually get the option to more thoroughly interact with the room. This way, instead of a single room with 'just more hard drives and chemicals' won't cost like... 4 updates to get through, and you can just quickly move on to actually exciting parts.

As for the points regarding encounters and Lodger's size, yeah I definitely need to think those things through a bit.

I think that regarding encounters, I can definitely increase the frequency of enemies, now that you're getting more familiar with the place. Obviously, I also don't want to make it that each bit of the facility has dozens of soldiers in hiding, or threat level 10 subjects in each corner, but I'll try and strike a better balance with it. I do fear that I'll run out of subjects a bit too fast, but maybe I can figure out some things to keep them a consistent threat.

In terms of Lodger's size, I think >>5848150 explains part of the reasoning perfectly. I do agree that maybe my group size calculations were a bit too generous and nonsensical. I think that came down to how dangerous some of the subjects are and the sheer size of this place, which meant a lot of men are needed. Still, I should've definitely explained things better here as well. Also, I don't expect you to explore every bit of the facility, since that would just be... too much. But I do also hope that more can be seen and explored as we speed things up.

Last bit of rambling. I do have to say that: yeah, the government hiring you is kinda part of the main mystery to this setting. And working with or against them is definitely something that will affect the plot later on as well. I do really enjoy the fact you guys are thinking about, discussing and questioning the government though. My biggest fear was that nobody would really care and that it'd just end up boring people who only wanted to kill monster girls. Hell, that is my biggest fear with running the quest so far: that it just ends up boring.

Anyway, I probably forgot to respond to some of the critiques or comments you guys have given so far (or failed to make any sense due to my slightly hotchpotch paragraphs). So if there's anything you wanna ask more about or want to suggest, please do! I really want this to be a fun experience for you guys, and I don't want to just keep doing things the same way if that isn't fun for you guys.
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>>5847910
>>5848062
For the questions on how this is being run, I feel this anon makes good points, but I do have a different view on some things.

Firstly, I think part of the reason why the game is a bit different from what it appears to be about at first glance is because I believe the QM made it with the idea of being a low level scientist who has no clue what's going on, or being a subject who naturally only really knows of their creator. This sort of slow burn exploration and careful gathering would make sense if you were a single person just trying to die rather than a kill team. I do agree that the exploration could be sped up a bit because of that, and should mostly slow down only when requested or when coming up on something important. It could also just because of how cautious we were at the start though. We should run into some other squads sooner or later too. That could be fun.

>Setting
Same as the other anon it's interesting. I presume part of the reason why they are getting us to deal with it is maybe they don't want losses of actual government soldiers that could be looked into and noticed by any journo's or potentially higher level bureaucrats. We don't know much about the government after all and how corrupt it is, and perhaps this disaster is part of a cover up not by the central government but the local one trying to save their sorry asses.

That last point you bring up is concerning though. We have no clue what the limits of what subjects can and can not do are. So there is a very real possibility that a subject out there is like that.

>Character Interactions
To be fair, we willingly picked up a job that was basically "Kill everything in this ruined lab. Every last living thing." so, in this case we are kind of a deathsquad. But I do agree we probably wouldn't flat out call ourselves that, even if the government and the people we are contracted to kill will likely call us that. As for the Lad thing, from what I can tell that's just Evander. He's used the term a few times before he got sent away with the samples. So, I think it's probably just a quirk of his. I also expect him to use the term scrumpy at some point.

>The Characters themselves.
I agree that most of the characters haven't really had a chance to be fleshed out. There's certainly moments where clear personality traits are shining through in their normal interactions, but there hasn't been anything to really show their character. If we can get a bit of focus on one or two like what Chrys got, that might help. Perhaps if something comes up that is part of one of their expertise they can have a few moments in the spotlight.

>>5848150
Isn't she 122 cm tall round about? I don't think that will fit in a duffle bag. We will probably need to kill her at some point, or find some way to fake her death.

With all of that said.

>Assign your men to check certain parts of the room. Delegation has so far proven efficient and effective.
>>
>>5848234
Right as I finish my paragraphs, somebody else comes in with more very valid points. That's what I get for fucking up and accidentally losing some of the text I was writing...

Regardless, I'll keep in mind the point of giving some of the characters a moment to really shine. Maybe I'll give you guys a chance to split up into smaller groups, meaning you get to work with one or two of the members who you can then interact with a bit, if you guys feel like it.
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>>5848234
>spoiler1
It's in the OP. The whole reason everyone down here needs to die, 3 scientists excepted, is because the monstergirl that exploded when killed and created that crater also infected everyone inside with SOMETHING, according to the gov. Something they won't tell us about, get mad when we even ask about it, and refuse to face themselves.

>To be fair, we willingly picked up a job that was basically "Kill everything in this ruined lab. Every last living thing."
That is fair, but we are one of the more reasonable squads, and according to >>5811430 our standard work is dealing with rebellions where people at least fight back. While the other squads and even some members of Lodger may be different, I don't think it's OOC to be unwilling to kill people who have surrendered. When taking the job we probably assumed the hostiles would in fact be hostile.
Now that I think about it we probably didn't accept the job at all in character. We're just a small platoon leader. Big boss(es) of Lodger would be the ones who said yay or nay.

>As for the Lad thing, from what I can tell that's just Evander.
It used to be, and I'm aware I'm sounding super pedantic about it now, but Thaddeus also did it once at the end of >>5847112 and that one really stood out. Maybe Evander is spreading bad habits to the team. Maybe if no one else cares OP should ignore me.
Same thing with the government saying death squads. It's not surprising when we're at odds, but while they've hired us and are actively providing support? It's not even about being polite to us, it's about not acknowledging that they're working with borderline criminals. Convenience too, quicker to just say squad than death squad.

>spoiler2
Maybe a heavy weapons case then? Or a spare tent from camp? Faking her death is definitely part of it, but we can't leave her in the facility, that's just a slower death.
Maybe we can mutate her smaller with more nanobot info.

>>5848233
>This way, instead of a single room with 'just more hard drives and chemicals' won't cost like... 4 updates to get through, and you can just quickly move on to actually exciting parts.
This is what I wanted but did a poor job of putting into words. Thank you.

>I do fear that I'll run out of subjects a bit too fast, but maybe I can figure out some things to keep them a consistent threat.
I always did think that the subject list was worryingly small for a job that took 3000 people, but it's understandable if you preplanned forms/personalities/backstories for each one. No limits on guards or scientists though! Plus there could always be unlisted subjects, spotty gov info, etc.

>>5848235
When posts get too big to easily edit in the quick reply box I copy them into google docs and finish them there. Almost completely lose proof.
Also some anons are paranoid about splitting up, so even if you offer that it might not get taken. Maybe if it's in a safe zone.
>>
>>5848325
>This is what I wanted but did a poor job of putting into words. Thank you.
Excellent! I suppose if the others agree with it, I can start doing that more often so we can speed things up substantially.

>Plus there could always be unlisted subjects, spotty gov info, etc.
||There are indeed some subjects who aren't listed yet. I think those encounters will be the most fun||

>When posts get too big to easily edit in the quick reply box I copy them into google docs and finish them there. Almost completely lose proof.
I've opted to make several discord chat rooms which contain all the necessary details, as well as a channel where I can safely write posts without fear of losing progress. Only reason I fucked up this time was because I thought my response wouldn't really be that long. How wrong I was.
>>
>>5848325
>Spoiler 1
I mean, it doesn't specifically state that they infected people, but it is implied. I did miss that however, and it is reasonable to assume it is some sort of infection or corruption of some kind.

>When taking the job we probably assume the hostiles would in fact be hostile.
This is fair, though what you have stated in your spoilered text is heavily implied given we even requested a printout of the contract.

>Thaddeus also did it once
Could just be an accident on the QM's part, or the fact that Thaddeus and Evander seem to be the local highlanders in our squad. I mean, Thaddeus even has a kilt. But yeah, fair.

>Spoiler 2
Well, we would need to find a remote or something to take the place of one. She did say that growth and mutations were done with them. I presume that means we'd be able to mess with her stats and give her new abilities. Technically she probably could survive being stuck here in the facility provided she was able to get light to feed off of, but that certainly is no life worth living. A heavy weapons case probably would work, but we run the risk of getting caught then, as while the government might not be heavily observing what comes into this place they will be when it comes to what comes out. State secrets and all that.

>>5848226
>>5848233

>For one, you guys are not representative of the entirety of Lodger
Even then we have a decent mix of people with various views on things, including a few greedy merc types.

>I do fear that I'll run out of subjects a bit too fast, but maybe I can figure out some things to keep them a consistent threat.
Given how many subjects are in the higher threat range and how regeneration is a stat subjects have, I think the worry would more so be running out of low level subjects rather than the dangerous ones. As if they get away the ones with higher regeneration will probably be back to full strength next we meet them. Besides, you already set up a decent explanation as to why new subjects might get added to the list when we spoke with that government official to report our kills.
>>
>>5848325
Or we just straight up kill her. If the government is playing it clean there is no reason to risk all of our lives by preserving the subject.
At the moment the relationship between us is that she helps us do our job here better and we don't kill her then and there. There is zero reason to risk our lives saving her though, at least untl the dynamic of the situation changes.

As for subject numbers, its already hard confirmed that not all of them are there
See: Titania,
its entirely possible that the majority of them aren't there, and that some are already dead from whatever decimated the rest of the facility.
>>
>>5848365
>we even requested a printout of the contract.
That's right, I forgot about that, and we just left the camp where we could have checked on it! Dang, I guess we'll need to wait until the next time we head back.
>>5848372
Titania doesn't seem like good confirmation to me, because the list is just of subjects who need to be killed. Titania is a subject who everyone we talked to confirms died already. No reason to put her on a list of living subjects when she's dead.
>>
>>5848392
947-DB was on the list of subjects, and they were already listed as dead by the time we got the subject list. That, combined with the suspicious giant metal box the government is extremely protective of makes me think she might not be dead. Besides, it was never actually confirmed to have died. The guards we spoke to don't know what happened to her, and Chrys just presumes she died. So, it's not as cut and dry as you might think.
>>
>>5848437
Maybe - we should ask Chrys when Titania died. I originally got the sense that it was during routine experimentation and happened a significant time before the raid.
>>5832290 is where it first came up and is what gave me that impression.

947-DB on the other hand was probably alive when the raid started and was marked deceased rather than just being removed to avoid confusion.

You're right that we don't have enough info to say for sure. If not for those assumed timetables, I would have guessed that Titania was the one responsible for the explosion and alleged contamination all personnel. More mysteries to solve.
>>
>Assign your men to check certain parts of the room. Delegation has so far proven efficient and effective.
Once in the chemistry lab, there were a few things to do and check out. Though you were quick to delegate it to your men. Given that Evander had already started looking at the chemicals, he would be assigned to that first and foremost. You also got Thaddeus to join him, since he and Evander seemed to work together quite well when it came to handling chemicals. Meanwhile, you joined Artyom and Derek as you rummaged through more files. As for Alan, he watched guard for you guys. Though this was mostly because he wasn't exactly interested in reading documents, and because it would be kind of unwise to let him handle potentially hazardous chemicals.

Regardless, you'd scan as many papers as possible, finding that most were just basic sheets and forms. Nothing notifying you of some special subject, experiments or anything of genuine interest. Evander and Thaddeus didn't find much of interest either, though they were impressed by just how many varying chemicals there were. Most were organic chemicals, but there were also many compounds which you'd not find often in organic chemistry. Stuff like sand particles, ferrofluids and even a few experiments involving highly volatile and potentially combustive. The latter of which Evander was far more familiar with, and he was rather stern in handling them carefully. "Only a fool would leave such chemicals out in the open... or someone who had to leave in a hurry." He'd even say as he inspected them.

Regardless, the search in this chamber had so far proven... well, somewhat lacking. But hey, it was to be expected. Not every room would have information to subjects. And hey, there still were some small containers with Nanites which you could take along and maybe bring along for a profit. Still, the most interesting thing you had found so far was an operating table, which hopefully wasn't indicative of what you'd find at most in this place...

Fortunately, the next and final chamber on this first floor was... well, you saved it for last for a reason. You'd enter it and quickly feel that this was a more important room. The glass looking into the room was far thicker than the previous rooms, and there even was a moving metal reinforced door on the inner side of the glass. Probably to both protect and hide whatever was happening inside of this room. But of course, even that was just whatever compared to the main attraction... the metal box at the centre of the room. It was... not particularly large, being about half your height in width, length and height. The displays on its side were... well the glass for the display was broken, but some of the buttons attached to it still had some visible symbols on them.
>>
"So, what do ya think this thing is?" Thaddeus mumbled to you, as Evander already went to some of the chemical vats nearby to check them out. Derek meanwhile also inspected the machine, though maybe having him look at the nearby computer systems afterwards to get their hard drives was also worth it. Artyom mostly looked at the tubing of the machine, responding to Thaddeus' question as well. "Maybe some sort of... mixing chamber?" It seemed a bit odd to dedicate this entire room to just one mixing chamber. Sure, this place probably needed a lot of synthetic chemicals for it to run, but... any and all materials needed in bulk probably were just made in huge chambers, rather than a relatively small reaction chamber in one specific, tiny room.

More importantly, why would these highly specialized looking machinery attach to such a small reaction chamber? Why even have a display for a simple, bulk reaction?

Clearly, this place created a lot more questions than answers. But fortunately, you could figure things out.

>Inspect the strange metal box specifically. The insides, the display, the lid, everything.
>Inspect the computers it connected to. Perhaps they had something of note to them. Maybe also with Derek's expertise.
>Inspect the machinery connected to the box. Maybe they could provide some answers to everything.
>Give your own input or theory as to what it is... and act upon that theory (Write in what you think it is and what you and your men should do next with that theory.)
>Discuss with your men. Perhaps give some commands or suggestions as to what they should do. Or ask them for their thoughts.
>Something else...
(Okay, from now on, I'm going to try and implement the system of 'quick scan and loot' for any ordinary room you enter. Obviously, depending on how much there is to loot, it may take more time to check through so there could be times where it's better to just... skip it instead. Also, I suppose I can also make it an option whenever there are prompts for a room. For example:

>Quick scan and loot the room(s) before heading forward.
>Check the room(s) slowly and thoroughly.
>Skip the room(s) altogether and head forward.

Of course, if there is anything of serious importance to the room, I'll probably skip the quick scan and loot option. You can then still skip the room altogether (maybe due to it feeling 'too dangerous to explore') or explore it with a more thorough plan ahead of time. This also means that... if a room is actually special, you guys can maybe think of some specific plans on how to approach the room.

Though if not giving you the option to do a quick scan in an 'important room' doesn't work too well, I can always undo that bit. If this doesn't work altogether, we can try some other methods to speed the quest up. I just hope this will work well in speeding things up substantially and decreasing the down time a bit, while also giving plenty of options for you guys to plan things out and make your own choices.)
>>
>>5848513
>>Inspect the computers it connected to. Perhaps they had something of note to them. Maybe also with Derek's expertise.

Its easier reading it off of a computer that has direct info then trying to look at it the box directly. The machinical elements can be kinda useful, but we won't know what some pipes/wires are unless we cut em up and if this thing still works we may still want it to work. Afterall we most likely will ask Chrys about this to see if she knows since we are turning up nothing.

Current theory is that this is a testing room/fabrication room where they used to create stuff. Could be subjects, could be materials (like the stuff for nanites) and then that small operating table might've just been to operate on the NARI bands on the neck (it doesn't need to be large if you just need the small NARI band going on the neck??) idk, no where near enough info yet. The hardware is probably able to help us confirm.
>>
>>5848539
Supporting. I agree with your theory. Should get Chrys to confirm if we come back here with her at a later time.
>>
>>5848513
>Inspect the computers it connected to. Perhaps they had something of note to them. Maybe also with Derek's expertise.
If the chamber wasn't so small I'd guess it would be where subjects were infused with nanites. It has to be some kind of risky or the walls wouldn't be so thick.

>quick scan and loot changes
wait not like that
We'd like to still check rooms thoroughly, the difference should be if nothing important is found inside & we don't get ambushed, then only a sentence or two is dedicated to the room rather than a whole post/update. That way multiple innocuous room searches can fit into a single post and we'll get way more story progression per update. If a room is obviously unique or dangerous then you can prompt us before entering, but if it's a generic office or lab or anything else you can just assume we're gonna search it cautiously the same way we've done all the other locations.
>>
>Inspect the computers it connected to. Perhaps they had something of note to them. Maybe also with Derek's expertise.
The first thing in the room you wanted to explore were the computers. After all, they probably told you far more about the box than... just looking at it from up close. Especially since, aside from the tubes and display, the box didn't exactly tell you much. Thus, you would get to the computers, praying that they'd at least still work somewhat... and to your surprise and the other's shock, turning on the computer actually showed the broken screen lighting up! "What?!" Derek said in soft disbelief, immediately rushing besides you and looking at it. "Unbelievable... h-how does it still work?" Derek then asked, at which point Thaddeus also approached and started looking at the wiring for the entire system. "Maybe it's connected to some emergency power source?"

This seemed to confuse pretty much all of your men, Artyom even responding in turn. "Why the fuck would this room have emergency power like this? Why not give every room emergency power like this one?" The screen was a bit... hard to read from, as there were several cracks in the screen. The light flickered somewhat and some weird lines blocked the view somewhat... But you did soon get a decent view of what it was saying on the screen. One of the main things you read was: "VAT START-UP". There were also... tens of error messages and warnings which instantly popped up. Warnings about the system running on emergency energy and needing to connect back to the main power system. There were warnings about the vat having all kinds of broken and faulty parts, a lack of vat fluid, that there had been no genetic templates inserted, and even a warning about there not being enough organic material and nanites to do anything.

Well, at least the computer told you enough about this place. This was likely the subject creation vat which Chrys had mentioned before! "Well, I'll be damned." Derek said in turn, grabbing the mouse and finding that... well, it worked somewhat poorly. In fact, he couldn't even look around on the computer, as the mouse buttons refused to work and the thing just spazzed all over the place. "Fucking hell, this thing is broken." Derek eventually murmured in irritation, at which point Thaddeus spoke up calmly. "Can you fix it?" Derek let out a deep sigh, shaking his head. "It's so mechanically broken, it'd be better to just get a new mouse altogether. Even then, this... tells us a lot about this place." Evander was still looking at the vat from up close, responding more curiously. "So, uhhh, what is this thing anyway?" Given that he hadn't heard Chrys' talk about the vat, Thaddeus was quick to get him updated on it. Though it did leave him with a lot of questions.
>>
"So, these things must then have all sortsa chemicals and nanites... Do we have to... do anything with these things, maybe?" This actually got Derek and Thaddeus thinking a bit, as Artyom looked more confused at the vat. "Maybe we should destroy it or something? In case a subject jumps in it and... does something with it? I... really don't know, to be honest." Derek nodded along a little, but not in agreement to the suggestion of destroying it. "This... yeah, I don't know... we could just leave it here, maybe?" To this, Thaddeus added "Or get back here once we know more about it from Chrys... or the government." The uncertainty your men were having about this vat was quite understandable. After all, your mission briefing hadn't stated anything about vats and their existence, let alone what you had to do with them. Though for once, this might not have been exactly a case of government secrecy.

After all, these things were likely impossible to operate. And more importantly, you were here just to kill survivors while also retrieving some small and simple items. You weren't expected to toy with these things or bring them back. How on earth would you even be able to retrieve something as complex, intricate and heavy as this? This also wasn't some sort of thing you and the other death squads could likely abuse or use in some way. At least, not without a lot of effort and secrecy on your part...Then again, there was the remote chance that survivors could potentially use these. If a subject got here and knew how to make it work, which they probably would know given that they were made by these things, they could potentially cause some trouble... Or worse, some megalomaniacal scientist somehow gets it working and starts creating more dangerous subjects for them to throw at you and the other death squads...

>Just leave the vat. It was barely operational and required so many repairs and materials that it was essentially useless.
>Destroy the vat further. It was pretty broken, but some ambitious scientist could absolutely fix it. Or worse, a subject.
>Leave the vat, but maybe so you can bring up the issue to your superiors and Chrys. They could maybe provide further information.
>Discuss with your men what they prefer the most.
>Something else...
>>
>>5848775
Yeah, you're right. Idk why I made that suggestion yesterday, when this is way easier.

I'll switch to this system you described starting from now. It's a lot simpler and means less turns spent deciding on which rooms to explore. If things go wrong or I'm not implementing it effectively, you or anyone in the thread can just remind me and I can speed things up properly.
>>
>>5849201
>Something else...
Remove something the computer needs to turn on but can be placed back when we need to. In this case if the computer is right there we could take out the ram sticks or the CPU. Something it needs to function, but won't break it. Test to see what happens when we put it back on (to make sure it works) and then take it with us and head back. The system definitely needs the computer to work so we now have the key to it functioning. Scientists can't use, we can. We mention this to no one government or death squad side bc they will wanna destroy it for money and scientists wont be able to use it because we have the components it needs.
>>
>>5849201
>>5849211
Supporting, but the specific part we should grab is once again the hard drive. Other parts can be grabbed from other computers but the hard drive will have the drivers needed to interface with the vat that generic computers won’t.
>>
>>5849509
if grabbing hard drive,
IT DOES NOT GET MIXED WITH THE REST.
that said we should still look at it's contents so that way if we come back we actually understand how it works kinda.
>>
>Something else...
Given the intricacies of the machine and how uncertain you were about the risk of it keeping it around, you decided there could be a way to solve some of the issues in question. You would take a part from the computer which could easily be put back but would hopefully make the computer itself truly impossible to use without said part there. After a moment of considering your options, you felt that the hard drive was once again the most useful item to take. While there were plenty of hard drives to go around in this place, this one would probably have the interface and programming necessary to work with the vat. In other words, it couldn't easily be replaced without another hard drive from a vat. Thus, you brought that suggestion up to the others and why you thought it was a good idea.

Derek immediately nodded to it, before responding confidently. "That sounds like a solid plan." After which he turned to Thaddeus and asked for some help. Thus, the two went to work getting the hard drive out as carefully as possible. They shut off the system and gently went to work extracting the hard drive. Afterwards though, Evander brought up a fitting question. "So, what are we gonna do when we got the hard drive? Are we just... gonna hand it over the government?" You thus explained that you would just keep it to yourself. You wouldn't show this to death squads, or the government or anyone else. The vat system would already be neutralized so scientists couldn't use it, while other death squads wouldn't grow interested in these new items to try and destroy them for cash. "Aye, fair enough, lad..." Evander thus responded, at which point Artyom spoke more cautiously. "I am curious why you don't want to bring it up to the governmnent, to be honest... I mean, if we just don't tell the other death squads about it, we could be the only ones out here hunting for these things for the government, and getting paid extra for it..."

>Tell Artyom why you intend to keep it a secret from the government. (Write in the reasoning you'll give him.)
>Dismiss Artyom's questions, perhaps with an explanation. (Write in your explanation and how you'll dismiss him)

Soon enough though, Derek and Thaddeus got the hard drive free from the machine. Derek quickly did a test to see if the computer had some other boot device built in, finding that there wasn't and that the computer was thus completely inoperable. However, you then also told him to maybe put the thing back in, just to see if it would still work. Derek complied, getting to work as Alan spoke up in amusement from outside the chamber. "You guys sure as hell are taking your time. You guys found some porn on that thing or something?" Derek softly groaned at the remark, shaking his head and going back to work.
>>
Meanwhile, Artyom checked out the box a bit further with Evander, both of them looking for anything out of the ordinary. Of course, they didn't find anything and Derek soon finished his job, having checked the driver and finding that it worked when plugged back in, and once again removing the driver. "Excellent. So, what do we do with this thing now? Just... put it in the bag with the other drivers?" Obviously, you told Derek that it should be given something to ensure that it didn't get mixed in with the other drivers. "Well, I don't have any separate space for it..." Derek responded, after which Artyom sighed. "Just give it to me. I can maybe make some space in my bag for it." Thus, Artyom would become the carrier for this item. At long last, you had finished the scan of this first section. There were still a lot of spaces to discover, given that there were several upstairs areas as well... not to mention the main path. Speaking of which, you could maybe check and see how Zaria, Lars and Anon were doing. Perhaps they had also found some noteworthy papers or items?

>Head upstairs. There was a stairwell leading upwards close-by, so might as well take it and finish more sections.
>Get Zaria, Lars and Anon from the left side and see what they found, if anything.
>Head back to the reception hall and head forward. It was by far the most interesting space to explore...
>Discuss with your men what they want to do first or if they have any suggestions.
>Something else...
>>
>>5849689
>Tell Artyom why you intend to keep it a secret from the government. (Write in the reasoning you'll give him.)
We should figure out if its useful for us first, if the government knows about it, they may want something form it to confirm its destruction. We don't know what it is, and it may be useful to use while we are here. the government doesn't know everything, and some information is very useful. Its a similar situation to Chrys and you saw how we discovered some useful info from that. Later on if it seems to serve no purpose ot us, we can designate it for proper destruction and notify the government for pay.

>Get Zaria, Lars and Anon from the left side and see what they found, if anything.
We can meet up with them first to see if the paper's they went through contain anything important relative to what we've seen. Maybe go upstairs or continue to the main room we avoided after.
>>
>>5849690
Backing >>5849871
>>
>>5849871
Supporting
>>
>Tell Artyom why you intend to keep it a secret from the government.
Artyom's questions as to why you didn't intend to bring up the hard drive to the government were quickly answered. You told him that you first wanted to figure out its usefulness to yourself. More importantly, the government could order its destruction if you brought it up, meaning you'd lose the potentially useful information on it. You even likened this discovery to Chrys, to which Artyom seemed a little less convinced. "I mean... one is a living subject and the other is another hard drive... Sure, one we don't know much about, but... I highly doubt it'll tell us much else. Maybe that's just me though." Afterwards, you told Artyom that if it ended up being useless like he felt it was, you could just destroy it for some actual payment. Artyom seemed to nod in turn, seeming satisfied with your explanation. Even then, he did seem sceptical about how useful this thing was. Maybe because you already had gotten some hard drives before and the parts to a subject creation vat didn't seem like something which would be rare to find.

Regardless, you'd soon after wrapped up exploring the rooms in the right hallway. The final room was just an observatory into the room with the vat chamber, and it didn't look too enticing as it was mostly empty. Probably was just meant for demonstrative purposes or something along those lines... Thus, you decided to make your next move...

>Get Zaria, Lars and Anon from the left side and see what they found, if anything.
You believed it was probably a smart choice to meet up with Zaria, Lars and Anon to see what they had found. After heading back to the reception area, they weren't there, meaning they probably were still busy exploring the place. Fortunately, after a few minutes, they returned with... well, only one seemingly interesting piece of paper on hand. "So, anything interesting you guys found?" Anon asked casually as the three of them returned from the left hallway, to which Thaddeus responded. "There was some sorta weird operating room and a room with chemical experiments. Nothing too exciting. We did however find a vat used for subject creation." This actually got Lars, Anon and Zaria curious, with Zaria responding inquisitively. "Really? And... did it still work?" You explained that it did somewhat, but that you took away the hard drive so that you could judge its usefulness later. To this, she nodded calmly, not saying anything else.
>>
Afterwards though, you'd ask them what they found, Lars sighing in response. "Not much, I'm afraid. Most papers were just boring crap about... daily operations and which materials were needed." However, Anon interrupted this with a more optimistic tone. "We did find some interesting things related to... well, that. Apparently, the scientists in this place did certain tests for subjects, their regenerative capabilities and other similar experiments. They also got animal materials here which they tested on and used for subject creation." Finally, Lars pulled up the paper, offering you to grab it. "We also found this. A paper on a subject called PL-6626. From what this paper states, she has the ability to... release some sort of electromagnetic radiation at a short distance? The paper describes it... almost like a microwave or something?" He'd show the paper, as Derek also read through it quite curiously...

"Other than that though... well, the place didn't have much. We can try and explore the upstairs areas, but we do feel like there won't be much else, to be quite honest." Lars responded, to which Zaria and Anon nodded, the latter saying "It's just office space with old papers about simple tests. Not much related to subjects... We can keep exploring it, but it's pretty fucking boring." Zaria soon also spoke more eagerly. "Can we see the subject creation vat, actually? Kind of curious what it looks like..." It was an odd question, but she probably just wanted to know how it looked in case you spotted another one in the near future. She, Lars and Anon could just check it out for a minute and then return so you could keep going anyway...

>Let Zaria, Lars and Anon (if they also want to) look at the vat. It may take a minute, but they might as well.
>Move forward as a complete group, specifically heading forward to check out the main hallway.
>Continuing exploring the side hallways first, maybe in separated groups again.
>Look up or let Derek look up subject PL-6626 on the tablet. Maybe there was some more info about her on there?
>Discuss with your men. Maybe they have some suggestions of their own?
>Something else...
>>
>>5850403
>Continuing exploring the side hallways first, maybe in separated groups again.
>Look up or let Derek look up subject PL-6626 on the tablet. Maybe there was some more info about her on there?

Have Derek check to see if she's on there but then we continue on. They can look at the creation vat on the way back, we need to get actual work for now.
>>
>>5850403
>Let Zaria and others see the vat while you and the rest clear the side hallways
>>
>>5850471
Supporting. May as well let them see what the things look like in case they find one later.
>>
>Let Zaria and others see the vat while you and the rest clear the side hallways
>Look up or let Derek look up subject PL-6626 on the tablet. Maybe there was some more info about her on there?
Given their curiosity for the vat, and the fact that they could use the knowledge of it, you decided to let them explore the vat. It would probably not take too long anyway, and it'd potentially save a bit of time in the future. Thus, they headed off, them also promising to get back sooner rather than later. In the meantime, you asked Derek to do a very specific task. You told him that you wanted info on PL-6626 from the tablet, which he swiftly worked on to get. "On it, Mikhail." He said, already checking out the tablet while the others got seated around the place, waiting for Zaria, Lars and Anon to return.

As you looked at Derek, waiting for a response, you saw him getting more and more confused. "It's... it's not there... her codename isn't in there." Derek was quick to show you the list again. And indeed, her codename wasn't in there. This got the attention from Thaddeus and Evander, who approached and tried getting a look at the tablet as well. "So, we found a new subject? Or well, rediscovered a subject?" Evander remarked, at which point Derek responded. "Could be that the thing still needs to update with information from her... then again, the chances of someone encountering this specific subject while we found a paper on her seems... unlikely." This revelation obviously created a lot more questions, with Artyom responding right away. "Take it we're keeping this one a secret from everyone as well?" By now, Artyom knew the name of the game. Hide anything which could benefit you if you kept it a secret. Though, Evander did seem unsure about that, speaking up calmly. "Wait, so aren't we gonna tell the others? What if this could help other death squads out and save em?"

Upon hearing the 'other death squads' part, Artyom looked at you before speaking rather casually. "I don't see a problem here, Evander." Evander groaned, before speaking more calmly. "Aye, what about the other men from Lodger? Don't ya lads think this could help em' out? Not to mention, the pay it could get us for bringin' it to light?" Thaddeus sighed and spoke up softly, seemingly understanding Evander's reasoning. "Well, we've already kept a lot of other things a secret for our own benefit... and I think this is one of the lesser secrets we can keep. Besides, I'm sure other death squads will get a chance to discover this subject as well..." Evander looked away a bit, before turning to you. "Mikhail, are ya gonna keep this a secret as well? I wouldn't mind, but... I dunno, think we could maybe spread this around, at least within Lodger."

>Keep it a complete secret from everyone, including other Lodgerites.
>Tell the rest of Lodger, but nobody else.
>Tell everyone. It'd probably get you brownie points with the government.
>>
>Continuing exploring the side hallways first, maybe in separated groups again.
Shortly after, Zaria, Anon and Lars returned, having finished their short look at the vat. They'd quickly let you know that you were ready to go, at which point you suggested that you'd split in groups again to clear the side hallways. "Can we go right this time? I'd rather not look through even more paperwork..." Zaria said right away, Anon and Lars nodding along a bit. By this point, they clearly had had enough of checking through paperwork. Ironic, given that they had discovered something pretty big while doing just that... speaking of which, you probably had to bring that up to them, given that they missed the news about the subject. Maybe while they were exploring some of the hallways with one of your other men, they could be informed. Regardless, there were still the upper floors which needed to be checked, and maybe then you could check out the main hallway with the huge chambers.

>Use the same groups as before, but with different directions this time.
>Use the same groups, and check the same side as before.
>Switch the groups around. (Write in who you want to pair up with who. You currently have: Thaddeus, Derek, Evander, Artyom, Alan, Zaria, Anon and Lars.)
>Discuss with your men...
>Something else...

(Apologies for the very late update! I had a rather busy day and I was majorly distracted with a lot of things. Hopefully, this update hasn't been rushed too much and is good! Also, a reminder that I'll get an extra update out tomorrow and the day after, per the usual!)
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>>5850902
>Tell the rest of Lodger, but nobody else.
It'll probably spread outside of lodger over time, but i'd like to hold our info. Lodger is our own guys, so they should have this info. The other merc's gotta be providing if they want info.

>Something else...
Either the main hallway now that we've regrouped or we go upstairs. (together tho)
I'm leaning to the main chamber, but I am open to a quick scan and loot of the upstairs floors.
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>>5850928
Supporting. Feel like I've not been putting much input of late but, not too much to say right now other than some musings about the new subject.
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>>5850902
>total secrecy
Fuck the other lodgerites they give us a bad rep

>same groups same side
Would change it up but too annoying to write all that up on a phone
>>
>Tell the rest of Lodger, but nobody else.
Despite the fact you've held a lot of information back from the other groups, you decided that Evander made a good point when it came to sharing the information with other Lodgerites. Your main reason was that they could be trusted with this information and that they would also be more inclined to share information with the rest of the group. There was obviously the issue of the information spreading further, and the fact that there were many Lodgerites who you didn't want to have this information... but, it was probably for the best in your mind. Thus, you told Evander that you agreed with his suggestion, to which Evander responded quite happily. "Aye, appreciate it, lad." Artyom sighed in turn, mumbling a bit to himself. "Might as well just share it with every other death squad at this point..."

He was clearly a bit annoyed that you were letting this information spread around, but Derek did suggest something right away which would probably reassure Artyom a bit more. "I think I'll put this information out there once we've finished our current hunt. Both in case we change our mind, and because I don't know the risks of... publishing news of an unknown subject, given that there's a subject who could very well to read our messages and what not." It was honestly a good call. Especially since this PL-6626 could maybe be related or allied with the subject. Hell, maybe she wasn't in the subject list because of LW-20's interference...

>Use the same groups, and check the same side as before.
>Something else...
Soon after, all your men returned to the main reception, meaning you could finally continue your exploration. However, Zaria, Lars and Anon didn't want to do the same tasks as before, leaving you with a choice on what to do next. After thinking things through for a bit, you decided to continue exploring the upstairs areas once again. Though this time, you'd just go as one whole group. Zaria, Lars and Anon seemed to find this quite acceptable, as it meant they no longer needed to be the ones going through a bunch of paperwork on their own. Thus, you went for a quick exploration of the upper floors, starting with the right side. Most of the rooms, aside from the one with the vat, were similar to the ones below it. So, you searched in the same places and found mostly the same items. A few more hard drives to carry and a couple of vials with nanites.

After about half an hour, you were done with the right side. Thus, your attention to the left side. The left side turned out to be... a lot of the same as well, as you found more offices with paperwork. Most of this paperwork was just the basic bureaucratic business. Schedules regarding tests, efficiency, what items were needed for testing... However, there was one office at the top floor which had... something interesting in it. Though, not because of paperwork...
>>
After you entered the place, you found that, like most of the offices, it was quite a mess. Cupboards and closets had fallen over, paper was strewn all over the floor, and the entire place seemed to have been abandoned rather fast. Your men looked around the place, Derek checking the computers which were there while the others mostly rummaged through the papers and cupboards. Some, like Lars and Alan, just scanned any and all corners to look for anything of note... and as he was exploring the place, Lars stopped in his track and raised his hand. "Shhh, everyone..." He got his gun and pointed to a corner of the room where there was a large locker of some kind. Your men seemed curious as to what Lars had discovered, also switching their attention from their task to whatever Lars was doing.

Though as Lars approached, there was a soft buzzing noise of some kind coming from inside locker, after which... you heard a bunch of things falling over in the room on the other side, which was one you had already thoroughly explored and found nothing of note in. Thaddeus immediately spoke up. "Shit, something's in the other room!" Already, you saw Zaria heading towards the exit, followed closely by Artyom, Evander and Anon. "Whatever it is, it isn't going to escape!" Zaria said confidently, as you wondered if it was wise to just run out of the room without a plan... Perhaps telling them to hold off and be a bit less... inclined to rush in was for the best. Especially given what happened last time you entered a room with a subject without planning things out as thoroughly. Not to mention, you had already cleared the room before... did you miss something while scanning it? Or was this something more unexplainable?

>Write in plans. Most supported plan is the one we'll go with.

Suggestions:
>Tell everyone to wait with entering the room the noise came from. If it was stuck in said room, you could easily pin it down and give it an ultimatum.
>Let everyone enter the room and just turn it into a turkey shoot. How could whoever or whatever was in this room possibly escape?
>>
Time to do our job, die, or add another monster girl to the 'protect' list.

Zaria and Alan go in first, followed closely by Artyom, Anon, and Evander. Zaria and Alan are try and take cover and get a visual on the target before it spots them, and then move to engage. If possible the five should surround and demand surrender. Refusal will be met with fire on all sides while the others including ourselves block it's avenues of escape. In the event this isn't possible, Zaria and Artyom is to ensure it isn't able to get away and give chase if necessary.

If target is not initially spotted, Evander and Artyom are to try and find the subject or staff through hearing or spotting it while Anon, Alan and Zaria move to ensure that the furthest exits to the room from where we entered are secure and blocked off or are at least covered by them.

If target immediately spots us, again demand compliance and surrender while moving rapidly to prevent escape. If the target tries running, continue this approach. If the target is a subject and tries fighting and seems to initially attempt such, keep light on your feet and keep distance. Perhaps using Alan's flamethrower to try and block off the target's movement. If target is security guard or other staff, armed, and tries fighting, take cover and just shoot them.

If there are multiple targets, and one is a subject while the others are human, again, demand surrender once in good position. Should they attempt to run, focus on the subject. The staff member will be dealt with far more easily. If they are all human, it will be easy if they try and run. If they are all or there are two subjects focus fire on one should they run or try and go down swinging. In the case one bolts while the other fights, send Zaria and Artyom to chase the runner while all others focus on the one fighting. If there are three or more subjects, unless only two are threats, this is well above our pay grade and we are not going to get ourselves killed.

This should cover most scenarios, and also means if they don't immediately run we can get more information and an easy paycheck. Maybe another monster girl to get a tracker on as well.
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>>5851276
OP, I'd like a discription about the hallway the corner room is on. if something were leaving the corner room, is there an exit on both sides, or would it need to get past us?
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>>5851276
I'll support >>5851643
but since it doesn't mention Lars or Derek, before we go into the other room instruct them to keep watch on the big locker with weapons drawn, it's suspicious.
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>>5851649
Alright, I suppose a little map could be helpful, so allow me to just share this...
a bit of work in paint, and... probably a little rough, but I hope it gets the idea across. In essence, the target could indeed escape two ways, though one leads to a stairwell while the other means having to either jump from a great height, or go down the double helix stairs which were mentioned being in the reception.
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>>5851700
>>5851643
Then I'd like this Anon's plan but with three changes.

1."if target tries running" fire upon it. It complies or we shoot to maim/kill.

2. Keep Alan by the exit instead, assuming there is only that one door to the room, if it tries to get to the door, Alan can use his flamethrower to torch flame it away from the door.

3. "if there are multiple targets..." if one of them is a scientist, and they have refused to surrender and attempted to run, shoot to MAIM. The information that can be gathered from a single living scientist is of the HIGHEST priority. Essentially go for the legs and then arms after. Don't kill bc we need to interrogate unless absolutely neccesary. As for gaurds/subjects. Guards can just be shoot. Subjects may be killed depending on the situation, if after the scientist is maimed for capture, their deaths/subjugation are fully prioritized. Possibility of using the scientist as hostage for pacification and execution of the subject may or may not follow depending on circumstance.
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>>5851714
This seems fair. I'm on board with these modifications to my plan.
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Before anyone could blindly rush in, you were quick to tell your men to wait and set up a plan. Given that the subject was stuck in the room without any possible way to escape, you gave everyone some specific instructions. Firstly, you told Lars and Derek to return to the corner room to keep their guns pointed at the big locker. After all, you found it suspicious how there was a buzzing noise from it, to which Lars nodded. "I already thought that was suspicious. We're on it." Derek and Lars thus got their guns and got ready to do their jobs. You then told Alan that he would act as guard in case the subject escaped, which seemed to surprise the others. Though you told them that any subject which could somehow dodge bullets could... probably not deal with fire blocking off the door. Alan nodded and spoke up a bit more casually. "Make sure to miss as much as possible, guys. I don't wanna miss a chance to use this thing..." Afterwards, you turned to Zaria and told her to go in first. "Alright. Hope I don't die first." She said, at which point you explained that she would take cover and look for visual of whatever was in the room. Once she spotted the subject, Artyom, Anon, Evander and Thaddeus could follow suit and demand an ultimatum. If somehow, someway the target survived this, Zaria and Artyom could follow suit, something to which the two nodded.

Finally, you went over some other details, starting with a lack of visual. Evander and Artyom would would be the ones to find the subject through sound, if Zaria didn't notice anything. If the target was a subject and somehow spotted you, you'd demand compliance while moving faster to prevent it escaping. And if it tried escaping, or tried to fight back, you'd just shoot it... albeit with the intention of maiming it. However, if the target wasn't a subject, but rather an armed guardsman or scientist you'd get to cover and shoot them from there. Though if there were multiple targets, you suggested to prioritize the subject over anything. "Alright, let's go." Thaddeus finally said, as it was time to enact the plan...

Zaria quickly entered with her Carbine close to her side, her immediately getting behind cover nad looking around just a bit. The others soon entered as well, also getting behind cover. Thus, Artyom, Anon and Evander entered as well, all trying to take cover as they checked around. They didn't see anything though, as the subject was either hiding somewhere behind cover or kept low to the ground. Whatever it was though, the subject couldn't be too large since it would've been spotted if it was the size of something like Vinella. Thus, Evander and Artyom tried to spot the subject, Artyom trying to carefully listen from cover.
>>
There was a moment of silence, as everyone waited behind a bit of cover for the target to show themselves or to be spotted. Soon though, that silence was broken as you heard Evander's gun firing several rounds and saw something large running low to the ground behind some of the desks. "IT'S ON THE MOVE, HEADING LEFT!" Evander yelled, at which point the others started shooting at it. You heard the sound of metal and plastic being destroyed, as your men tried to aim at whatever was on the ground... It didn't seem like a human, given how fast it was moving... though what you soon saw confirmed that it was anything but a human...

You saw a cyan and black girl of some kind running towards the wall, the others also taking aim and getting ready to pull the trigger. But before they could land their shots, the subject passed through the wall without a sound, phasing through it without a hint of it doing anything. "What in the bloody hell?!" Evander yelled, Zaria speaking in bewilderment as well. "Did it just go through the wall?!" Though soon after, you heard gunfire coming from the room where Lars and Derek were situated, followed by a female scream of some kind. "TARGET HAS BEEN HIT!" Lars soon yelled, at which point you heard the unknown female voice from whoever they hit. "FUCK YOOOOUUUU! YOU WORTHLESS... FUCKING BASTARDS! AAAHHHH... FUUUUCK!" Given that the subject you saw moved through the right wall, it probably was now in the other room to your left... unless if it was some sort of illusion from the subject and Derek and Lars had shot down the subject. Regardless, it seemed like a lot of things had happened. You had to act fast now and make a lot of choices now...

>Write in what to do next.

Suggestions:
>Tell your men to wait here, in case it was some illusion, rather than the subject escaping.
>Send some of your men, perhaps Alan, over to the other rooms in case the subject tried to escape through there.
>Send some of your men to check up on Derek and Lars to see what they had taken down. That, or yell to them to tell them what they shot down.

(Hope this update is good. I worry it may not make sense to you guys, so please ask any details which seem a bit murky/confusing.)
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It phased through a wall. That or it's an illusion. Given the thing is screaming in agony I think we got them. If it's an illusion I'm shocked it didn't try and make us shoot ourselves. Just to be safe we should make sure with the two who I believe will be able to best deal with them on their own.

>Station Alan and Anon to guard the room just in case while the rest move to check out if the thing is real. Once confirmation that the target is, well, actually the target, they can move to join the rest of the squad.
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>>5851862
This, Have Derek see if anything on the table matches it. If it is there, since its maimed, demand it cease and surrunder or it will be executed. It's last chance to do so.
There is a chance it may pahse down a level instead. If it does we hunt it down right away.
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>>5851816
backing >>5851862
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>>5851862
>>5851874
>>5851893
Okay, I'm retarded.

I noticed I made a pretty fucking major error in the text. Like, one that really undermined the prompts a little bit. To put it simply, I wrote "Given that the subject you saw moved through the right wall", when I intended to write that it went through the LEFT wall. It even says "it probably was now in the other room to your left" after my mistake.

oops.

Okay, since this is my retarded mistake, I'll give you guys the option to choose. Either I'll let it remain that it went to the right like I put in the update, which will heavily benefit you, but kinda requires me to improvise what I had in mind... or pretend like it says 'it went through the left wall' and let you guys reconsider your prompts.

I really am sorry for this dumb fucking mistake. I don't know how it slipped through and... yeah, I totally understand if you guys don't wanna disadvantage yourself here and just take the win. Besides, me telling this kinda spoils what has happened regardless... but hey, I still want to give you guys the choice despite my screw-up.

Anyway, apologies. Just let me know what you guys want and I'll roll with it.
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Just go with whatever works best, QM. We will alter our plan if it's changed to left, however.
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>>5851915
I did have the subject seemingly passing through the left wall as the main idea. Still, I'd rather leave it to you. I can work with both scenarios if I just think a bit, but I don't wanna fuck you guys over by retroactively forcing in a change, even if it was because of an error...
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>>5851914
Give us the fixed version and we can go from there.
>>
Aight, since it was just a small mistake, here's a short revise of the part I screwed up.

>>5851816 cont from here:

You saw a cyan and black girl of some kind running towards the left wall, the others also taking aim and getting ready to pull the trigger. But before they could land their shots, the subject passed through the wall without a sound, phasing through it without a hint of the wall showing any resistance. "What in the bloody hell?!" Evander yelled, Zaria speaking in bewilderment as well. "Did it just go through the wall?!" Though soon after, you heard gunfire coming from the right room where Lars and Derek were situated, followed by a female scream of some kind. "TARGET HAS BEEN HIT!" Lars soon yelled, at which point you heard the unknown female voice from whoever they hit. "FUCK YOOOOUUUU! YOU WORTHLESS... FUCKING BASTARDS! AAAHHHH... FUUUUCK!" Given that the subject you saw moved through the left wall, it probably was now in the other room to your left... unless if it was some sort of illusion from the subject and Derek and Lars had shot down the subject. Regardless, it seemed like a lot of things had happened. You had to act fast now and make a lot of choices now...

>Write in what to do next.

Suggestions:
>Tell your men to wait here, in case it was some illusion, rather than the subject escaping.
>Send some of your men, perhaps Alan, over to the other rooms in case the subject tried to escape through there.
>Send some of your men to check up on Derek and Lars to see what they had taken down. That, or yell to them to tell them what they shot down.
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>>5851961
>Station Alan and Anon to guard the room just in case while the rest move to check out if the thing is real. Once confirmation that the target is, well, actually the target, they can move to join the rest of the squad. Have Mike and Thaddeus go to the LEFTMOST room, this is in case it tries to phase again it can be intercepted either direction.
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>>5851970
Supporting, however throw Zaria and ourselves at the left room as well.
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>>5851961
>>5851970
>>5851993
Supporting but while Zaria goes left I think we should go right. Phasing is a lot tougher to pull off than illusions, she might have just been in the locker this whole time.
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>>5852018
As posted in my original plan, if it was an illusion, I see no reason why they wouldn't position it in a way to draw others away. Further, if they could see and tell where we were, they surely would know that two people were right outside their hiding spot in the locker, and try and lure them away before us. Besides, if they were in the locker, then from the sounds of things they already were taken care of. After all, we haven't heard more shooting or yells from our own men.
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>>5852027
yeah I agree
also just to make sure the message from before is heard
> also Have Derek see if anything on the table matches it. If it is there, since its maimed, demand it cease and give up or it will be executed. It's last chance to do so.
>>
>Station Alan and Anon to guard the room just in case while the rest move to check out if the thing is real. Once confirmation that the target is, well, actually the target, they can move to join the rest of the squad. Have Mike and Thaddeus go to the LEFTMOST room, this is in case it tries to phase again it can be intercepted either direction.
With the noise from the right room, and the fact the subject seemed to disappear while phasing into the left room, you quickly started telling your men what to do. Alan and Anon were told to guard this room, in case anything was still in there and had just been playing tricks on you. Meanwhile you and the others would check the room to the right where Derek and Lars had struck whoever had tried to escape. Mike, Thaddeus and Zaria would then head to the left rooms, just to be sure the subject hadn't somehow escaped through there. Then again, wall phasing seemed a lot less likely than illusions, so it was very likely this was just a trick.

Zaria, Thaddeus and Evander thus headed left, already standing guard and looking through the rooms while Alan and Anon waited for anything to try and leave any of the rooms to get to the hallway. You meanwhile headed for Derek and Lars, Artyom following suite as the two of you reached the corner room. There, you'd be met with... well, a surprising sight. Not too far away from the door, there was a female scientist with messy blonde hair, rather damaged attire and a lot of bandages, especially on one side of her face. She was breathing heavily, as you saw the bullet holes in her legs, forcing her to the ground. "Wait, what?" Artyom instantly said as he noticed that... it wasn't the subject who Derek and Lars had taken down. It was something better, actually, but... not the subject. Though Derek and Lars seemed quite pleased. "She wasn't in the closet, ironically. She was hiding underneath a bunch of rubble, actually." Derek said confidently.

The scientist looked up at you as she lied on the floor, before gritting her teeth and speaking with pure rage. "You... motherfuckers... you... why are you..." Was all she said, before you heard some yelling from back in the hallway. "SUBJECT'S RIGHT HERE!" You heard Evander yell, followed by the noise of his machinegun going off. Anon soon after also blasted his shotgun, as you heard Zaria yell as well. "Quit running!" Followed by Zaria's carbine going off. It seemed that you had gotten yourself a combo. A subject, and a scientist! Perhaps it was an important one, given she was working with a subject... Though before you could figure that out, you needed to pin down the subject. The scientist was already done, with Derek grabbing his pistol and pointing it at her. "Stay there." He said, the scientist not having much of a choice, but essentially being incapable of trying anything now.
>>
"SHE'S PHASING THROUGH THE BLOODY WALLS! I CAN'T HIT HER!" Evander soon yelled, as the subject struggled to escape with how you had locked this prt of the upper floor down. It was basically just stuck going back and forth, phasing between the three rooms to your left. Despite that though, it didn't seem like any of your men were able to land a shot on her. Apparently, she was a fast and slippery one. Not to mention, the rooms were messy enough that manouevring through it and catching something this slippery was... well, quite tough. Good thing that you managed to plan this out well that she didn't have any other choices. Alan and Anon held the three rooms from the hallway, while Evander, Thaddeus and Zaria ensured she couldn't stick in a room for very long. However, it was clear that they needed to pin the subject down for real, rather than keeping it stuck in just the three rooms forever... Especially since you didn't know the full capabilities of her wall phasing and what tricks she could pull...

>Write in what to do next.

Suggestions:
>Use the scientist as a hostage. Tell the subject that her scientist friend will die if she doesn't stop.
>Have Evander, Zaria and Thaddeus leave the rooms they were trying to catch the subject in. Alan could light them ablaze and lure her out.
>Tell the subject it is surrounded and that you would let it live...

(Shorter update... but you guys keep rolling too well lol. Also, let's hope this doesn't contain any dumb errors like the previous update.)
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>>5852063
>Use the scientist as a hostage. Tell the subject that her scientist friend will die if she doesn't stop.

And ask the scientist weaknesses while we're at it
You know, so we can subdue the subject without having to kill her
Hopefully motivating, especially if the subject refuses to stop
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>>5852077
Supporting, though we should have Zaria, Thaddeus and Evander continue to give chase in the meantime. Maybe get one of them to move ahead of the others to try and ambush the subject when they exit the one room just to get shot at as they phase through into the next. I'm surprised the subject hasn't tried phasing through the floor. Maybe they want to try and save the scientist with them?
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>>5852077
>Tell the subject it is surrounded and that you would let it live...

Also Have someone else in the same room as Derek watch the scientist, and have him see if this Subject matches any records.

>>5852077
>>5852094
Honestly in this situation we don't need to leverage the scientist. She can't face us, that's why she's constantly phasing through the walls, and everytime she phases we have men there. She has no way out, if she realizes her life is not at stake we can just this instead. That said, if she isn't friends with the scientist going this route does nothing for us.
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>>5852183
That said if this doesn't work then nvm just use scientist as a hostage (but don't actually shoot)
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>>5852183
Supporting this being done first. Then threatening if it fails.
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>Tell the subject it is surrounded and that you would let it live...
>Have someone else in the same room as Derek watch the scientist, and have him see if this Subject matches any records.
>Ask the scientist weaknesses of the subject while we're at it
You decided that the best move was to convince the subject that it stood no chances of survival. Thus, you'd leave the room, Artyom not being too sure what you were planning. Though before you completely left Derek and Lars with the scientist, you told Derek to look through his tablet for information about the subject, while someone else made sure that scientist didn't try anything. Fortunately, Lars immediately got beside him and pointed his gun at the scientist. "You heard him. Don't you try anything funny." Lars said calmly to the scientist, who soon muttered in further rage. "F-Fuck off." Lars didn't respond, as he just focused on the job at hand. Meanwhile Derek checked to see if there was a subject like this on the tablet. You also then decided to ask the scientists for what weaknesses the subject had, making her groan softly before speaking more angrily. "Her weakness is... Hngh... you guys... FUCKING KILLING YOURSELVES... SO GO AHEAD... AND DO THAT!" Yeah, this woman was... not really going to co-operate, it seemed. Thus, you just headed towards Alan and Anon instead, deciding you could easily convince the subject.

As you stood in the hallway, you yelled to the subject that she was surrounded and that there was no possible escape route for her. More importantly, you told her you'd spare her if she co-operated, but that she would continue to be hunted down by Zaria, Thaddeus and Evander if she continued to hide. Thus, your three men paused for a moment, with Thaddeus speaking up while in the room. "Ya heard Mikhail, girl. Just come out, don't try to resist, and we'll maybe let you live..."

There was a short silence, followed by more movement and a different, female voice coming from the left-most room. "LEAVE US ALONE, PLEASE!" And shortly after... you watched her phase into the hallway from the left-most room, finally getting you a full look at the subject. She was... well, surprisingly tall, yet somewhat childlike, making her look like a rather overgrown child. She had light blue skin, glistening white hair, a black tail of some kind, four arms and a rather cute outfit. She had these glistening, almost gem-like eyes which seemed to almost glow... Alan and Anon were quick to point their guns at the subject, yet didn't fire as they expected the subject to have come here to try and run... However, she soon tried running backwards towards the stairwell. At which point Anon shot at her feet with his shotgun to incapacitate her, as she dove to the left, panicking quite a bit. Alan started firing as well, the subject managing to crawl onto the ceiling with her four arms, as she tried making her way to the stairwell still...
>>
But, the benefit of Alan missing his fire was that now, the door to the stairwell was on fire. The subject seemed to realise this, as it instantly wall phased back into the left-most room. "Fuck, she's fast." Anon said in annoyance, while Alan spoke up more amusedly. "Let's torch that room next!" Of course, with Zaria being in the left-most room, she instantly fired onto the subject again, the subject ducking behind cover in the messy research room before speaking again. "STOP! PLEASE!" By now, it was becoming obvious that this subject just... wasn't going to stop trying to escape. So, you opted for... well, the harshest option.

>Use the scientist as a hostage. Tell the subject that her scientist friend will die if she doesn't stop.
You told the subject that, if she doesn't give in now, her scientist friend would be in trouble. This made the scientist yell from the corner room. "YOU SICK FUCKS! OREAS, DON'T LISTEN TO THEM!" The subject, presumably called Oreas, was still hidden in the left-most room, or perhaps she had phased into one of the other rooms already. Either way, she only had one true escape route, which was the hallway leading to the reception area... and you had that fiercely locked down. Unless if the subject could go through the floor somehow, she was pretty much forced to surrender now. You once again told her to raise her hands and show herself, to which the scientist yelled again. "OREAS, GET OUT OF HERE! YOU KNOW WHAT I TOLD YOU! DON'T LET THESE FUCKERS CONVINCE YO-" She was cut off, as Lars presumably silenced her with a gun to the head. And after reiterating your point one final time, you heard the subject speak from the left-most room. "OKAY! I-I SURRENDER! D-DON'T HURT LAURA, PLEASE!" She sounded... extremely distressed and saddened, Zaria soon speaking up as the subject, Oreas, revealed herself with her hands up. "Keep your hands where we can see them... and don't try anything funny!" Anon also went into the room, Artyom replacing his position in the hallway, just in case Oreas still tried anything. She didn't though, soon walked into the hallway with all four of her hands up. She was letting out a lot of tears, appearing terrified and extremely heart-broken...

Well, at least you had gotten both of them, even if it took a bit longer than you had hoped. Not to mention, some harsher techniques...

>Write in what to do next with both the subject and the scientist.

Suggestions:
>Incapacitate Oreas by shooting her in the legs. Just to really ensure she didn't try anything else.
>Ask Derek if he found Oreas on the tablet and, if so, what it said about her.
>Question both of them if possible...
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>>5852712
>Ask Derek if he found Oreas on the tablet and, if so, what it said about her.
>Question both of them if possible...

Well, let's not not risk the phaser jumper running away. See if Derek has anything but the goal now is to question them. Afterwards have him see if the scientist is on the list.

That said, we should question them, it should be in different rooms so that they have no ability to information control or hide something together from us.

ironically we might need to keep the subject alive to keep the scientist talking.
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>>5852712
Backing >>5852792
they seem pretty tight
Guess this scientist wasn’t one of those who abused their creations
>>
>>5852792
Supporting. I suggest we interrogate the scientist first. Provided they cooperate.
>>
>Ask Derek if he found Oreas on the tablet and, if so, what it said about her.
While the subject was being brought out of the room, you decided to head back to the corner room where Lars and Derek were watching over the scientist. The subject still followed, with Thaddeus, Alan, Evander and Zaria behind her and making sure she didn't try anything. Artyom and Anon walked beside her with their guns aimed at her in case she tried anything. Once you all got to the corner room though, the scientist looked even more upset than before, yet also quite disappointed. The subject also looked most disappointed, looking down and soon speaking softly. "Laura, I-I'm sorry..." The scientist, Laura, spoke more calmly. "It's okay, Oreas... hngh... it's... it's not your fault..."

Afterwards, you asked Derek if he found the subject, to which he shook his head. "Nope, looks like this is a new subject." This made your men seem quite eager, as it was likely this one would give quite the pay bonus if she was unknown. "Uhhh, the closest subject I could find is... ND-12, but her description and name are completely different, so... yeah, no, there's nothing on this subject." Afterwards, you suggested it was time to question them. The subject looked quite scared, keeping her head low and not doing anything to show resistance. The scientist however spoke up in pure fury. "You motherfuckers! You psychopathic... fucking criminals! Whatever you fuckers want out of us, you're not getting it!" Well, it seemed the scientist was not willing to co-operate very much, if at all... Though this aggression certainly amused Lars. "You're not in much of a position to talk you know." He said, at which point Thaddeus spoke up softly. "Listen, if you two co-operate, maybe we can make a deal where we-"

The scientist interrupted him soon after. "A deal?! A deal with you sick fucks?! I-I've seen what you people do! What you crooks are like! I know that, no matter what, this is going to end with a bullet through my fucking skull... so I am not telling you a DAMN THING!" Given how close the two seemed to be, you wondered if she was on the list of scientists. And after asking that, Derek checked it and shook his head. "Nope. Must be some sorta caretaker or lower level scientist then." The scientist didn't respond, not elaborating on her position or bringing up anything of value. It seemed she was quite willing to remain silent, even if it came with threats to her life...
>>
>Question both of them if possible...
Thus, you decided to switch gears. You were going to question them separated. Oreas would be kept in a different room with several people guarding her. Perhaps even with her being restrained in some form. You told them what the plan was, Zaria, Evander, Anon, Alan and Artyom being assigned to watch over the subject. They took her away to one of the other side-rooms, the subject panicking. "N-No! Laura, d-don't let them t-take me away! Please! I-I don't want you getting hurt!" Despite Oreas' panicking, Laura remained quiet and tight-lipped.

She was put on an office chair by Lars and Thaddeus, at which point she gave a more... snarky remark. "You know, you should get some bandages to block off my bullet wounds, lest you want me to bleed out and lose this special opportunity to try and question me... I'd certainly not mind bleeding out though, if it means I get to waste your time and not tell you a damn thing about whatever the fuck you wanna know." She smirked a little bit, at which point you heard Derek sigh softly. "Well, she... sure is eager to... make some suggestions?" At which point Thaddeus responded more sternly. "Well, she can keep making 'suggestions' and risk the consequences, or she can maybe make the smart decision and co-operate with us." Honestly, perhaps patching her up was a good idea...

>Write in what to do next and what to ask her.

Examples:
>Tell her that you are willing to help her survive, if she provides helpful information.
>Ask her what her position is and what she was even doing here.
>Tell her that, if she doesn't co-operate, Oreas and her will get shot.
>Patch her up and also get her and Oreas restrained further... just in case.
>>
>>5853163
Start with questions that aren't directly related to killing (i.e. info on scientists and subjects and where they are.)

Bandage her wounds and restrain the scientist further (no point in binding a person who can just phase through that shit), and then for questions

What started this entire shitshow?
There is a giant cube that is being protected by the government, any idea what it might be? is it from the government or facility?
How does one utilize the NARI bands to modify/control a subject?

Tell her that she represents not just her standing, but also the subject's. She's a source of the information and if she isn't worth anything then neither are. (we will be saying the exact same stuff to the subject when we switch to her later on)
>>
>>5853163
>Tell her that you are willing to help her survive, if she provides helpful information.

Any info she has on Titania, the giant explosion, and why the gov wants them all dead

NARI band use too for sure.
>>
>>5853187
>>5853193
Supporting both.
>>
>Bandage her wounds and restrain the scientist further (no point in binding a person who can just phase through that shit)
Given how she was bleeding out, you told Lars to patch her up, as he would get through some of the backpacks with material which you had brought along. He'd get some pressure bandages, which he would wrap around the bullet wounds in her leg, Thaddeus also helping out by patching up her other leg. Meanwhile, you got Derek to restrain her to the chair so she couldn't try to escape. The scientist still seemed quite pissed off and distrusting, soon speaking more dismissively. "A part of me wants to just... move my legs around to make this as difficult for you as possible. That, and increase the chance of me dying from blood-loss so you can't get anything out of me." This was met with Derek giving a rather calm response, speaking more reassuringly. "We had to incapacitate you, given that you were running from us. Besides, we obviously don't want you or your subject dead. You're more useful to us alive than dead." The scientist tilted her head and gave a more sceptical smirk. "And I can't wait for that usefulness to run out the moment you're done questioning me, at which point I become another pay check." Derek sighed, preparing his tablet for all the notes he'd hopefully get to take.

>Tell her that you are willing to help her survive, if she provides helpful information/Tell her that she represents not just her standing, but also the subject's. She's a source of the information and if she isn't worth anything then neither of them are.
Given her aggression though, you decided to once again reiterate that you were willing to help her survive if she provided information. "Hey, fuckwad, your buddy already told me that in a different way. Once again, what are the odds that you will blow my brains out after you got everything you want to know from me? Because I already got a feeling those odds are quite high... Not to mention, the likely chance that you will abuse whatever information I give you to... kill innocent survivors?" Given that she still believed you'd just kill her, you decided to go with a more aggressive point. You told her that if she couldn't provide anything, that she was endangering Oreas' life as well. "Is that blackmail? Because that sounds like blackmail." Thaddeus responded a bit more strongly, having patched up her leg. "Listen, we're giving ya a chance to survive here, alright?! And if ya don't tell us anything, you're risking yer subject's life as well... do ya really want that?!" The scientist leaned forward a bit, before spitting at Thaddeus. "Agh, you..." He seemed quite upset, as the scientist spat on his helmet... He stepped back, before wiping it away and seeming quite upset, yet he didn't say anything as he looked at you, waiting to see if you'd do anything...

You decided to just ask some questions. Maybe, just maybe, she'd be more than willing to answer some of the things you had to ask her.
>>
Thus, you decided to ask the main question: what caused this giant explosion and the subsequent shitshow to begin with? Laura scoffed and looked away. "Fucking... shouldn't you already know that? Or is the government being vague and secretive per the usual?!" This shock from her side actually seemed quite good, since it implied she might know about what had happened. Derek even responded to her bewilderment, doing so calmly. "Well... what did happen? You seem to be in the know..." Though this made Laura tilt her head again, before smirking. "Well you see, there was this subject who caused this whole incident..." Derek started noting things down, only to stop when Laura continued. "her codename was... U-R-A-Dickhead." This remark made Derek pause, as Lars shook his head and Thaddeus groaned in frustration, before speaking up. "A real comedian, ya are..." Afterwards, Laura shrugged a little. "Oh, I'm being very serious. She was working with subject, K-Y-S-" Before she could continue, Thaddeus groaned and cut her off. "Okay, ya can stop..." Laura giggled at herself, before shaking her head. "This is actually kind of fun. Fuck it, ask me some more questions." Lars then spoke up again, doing so more coldly. "Remember... if you fail to answer, your subject is getting punished as well..." This reminder made Laura squint her eyes in disgust, before speaking more coldly. "I know... FUCK. ALL. about what caused this. Some sort of rogue subject, is all I fucking know... no clue how they managed to blow this entire fucking place up though." Well, Laura was at least co-operating a little bit, even if she was being particularly caustic about it. Still, better than nothing... and hey, the 'rogue subject' thing did align with every other details which had been told so far...

You decided to ask her some more questions, starting with why the government wanted them all dead. "Pfffffffff, I... why the fuck would I know?! You guys don't even know why you're down here killing people?! What the fuck is wrong with you people, are you that desperate to be paid or are you just mentally retarded?!" She said in genuine shock and rage, before groaning and shaking her head. "No wonder you dickheads are so desperate for information. It seems you guys have no clue what the fuck you're even doing down here..." Given her genuine reaction, you decided to ask something she probably knew about... that being, Titania. "Why... why do you wanna know about her?" At this point, Derek revealed something which... maybe you didn't want to let a rather aggressive and distrusting scientist know. "Well, somebody mentioned her to us and... she's not in the subject hitlist."
>>
Despite it being kind of risky to bring up that 'somebody' mentioned her, Laura simply squinted before responding calmly. "She... is the largest subject... unless if she died, which... I imagine she did. She was fucking... what, 700 feet tall or something? She probably was the first to die when you lunatics came down to this planet... if the explosion didn't kill her to begin with..." Well, this was a shocking revelation. So Titania was still alive at the time of the disaster... which also brought up many questions as to... well, what happened to her.

With Laura now seeming to trust you a little bit more than earlier, you decided to ask about the NARI bands and how they modified and controlled subjects. This made her squint her eyes, before responding far more quielty. "Why... why do you want to know about those? W-Wait, hold on... you guys know nothing about Titania, but you do somehow know about NARI bands? What... what is the government telling you?! W-What info are they even spoon-feeding you about this place?!" Thaddeus spoke more calmly, giving a more reasonable excuse. "We were told a bit about NARI bands and how they inhibit subject growth and mutations. We wanna know what limits there are, to make sure some of the more brutal subjects don't find a way to grow larger..."

For a moment, you saw Laura's expression turning more horrified, before she spoke calmly and quickly. "So, after a subject is created, the vat... uh, you know what a vat is, right?" Your men nodded, after which Laura immediately continued. "The vat in which the subject was created also creates a remote which is connected to the Nanites in the created subject... The remotes are what let subjects mutate in a manner controlled by scientists. They connect to NARI bands and allow scientists to induce all sorts of modifications. They can add new parts, change subjects in huge ways, and just do... a number of things. Umm, I can be more specific if you want." It was strange how eager she seemed to answer about NARI bands... though, given how Thaddeus brought up the more threatening subjects who could grow absolutely huge, she probably was scared by them...
>>
Finally, you asked about the giant cube in the centre of the crater. This question made her go from calm and willing to talk to her usual, aggressive self. "How should I know?! Government, facility, fucking migth be both, knowing how much money the government spent into this place!" Derek spoke more calmly, giving a more specific question. "Does it look like anything which was here before? Some sort of bunker, perhaps? Was there maybe something at that location before the explosion?" Laura looked away, before shaking her head. "I... don't remember anything special being there... kinda hard to give an answer to, given how there isn't much to reference it's location within what used to be here. I can at least say I've never seen anything like it before in the facility..."

>Ask her more questions (write in what questions.)
>Head over to Oreas to question her as well. Leave Laura here so she couldn't cause trouble.
>Head over to Oreas, but take Laura along, just to give the subject and scientist some more trust.
>Execute Laura right now. While she has proven somewhat useful, she couldn't be trusted alive given her innate aggression. Besides, you got what you wanted out of her...
>Use some 'enhanced interrogation' techniques... (write in what torture technique you want to utilise for answers and what you intended to get out of her...)
>Something else...
>>
>Ask if any she knows of a subject with an ability that would make other subjects or scientists security threats. If she had to deal with any death squads before us. What subjects she knows. If she was Oreas' caretaker or not. And lastly about the other scientists. Tell her some are wanted alive. If she asks, tell her which ones.
>Use some 'enhanced interrogation' techniques. Specifically by just asking her who she is and trying to get to know her and showing interest. Be friendly but firm. This is how you actually get information.

Given the conversation I had with the other anon earlier and the fact it is in the intro post, I think it's fair to ask. So long as we kill her or she doesn't get captured by another squad/group we should be fine to tell her some things. Then again, if we are nice she might not rat us out if she does get captured. Good idea to look at removing that bullet if it didn't go all the way through as well.
>>
>>5853367
>Ask her more questions (write in what questions.)

More detail on NARI bands, specifically: If a subject already exists (meaning they are already outside of a vat) how to create a remote for the nari band for them.
Secondly, How can a NARI band/remote be used to restrain/control a subject.
Another question on this matter, What is needed to recreate a remote for a given subject. Is biological material needed? Are they on a database? Do we need the subject themselves in order to have a remote for them.

More general questions about the facility: Give a guess on how many subjects there were before shit went down and how many may remain after the explosion.
Give a list of the more dangerous subjects that may still be alive and may be a danger to innocents should they escape the facility (information she would part with more easily given the danger of these subjects). The primary point for this information is to see contrast between waht she knows and what we have on record. She may posses extra info on existing subjects, or new info on new subjects.

Give the names of the scientists wanted alive (even if they have been captured) ask why they might correlation or simularity they might have as to why the government wants them specifically alive.

Ask her again about the subject that started this, this time rather then who or what, where did they come out of/what part of the facility.

(last question to ask her before moving to Orenas) Ask her about Orenas, her phasing is an issue for containment, what are its limitations and is there a way to prevent her from phasing at all? A prisoner that can at any moment phase out of existence and escape is security risk, and while she was secured this time, it'd be annoying to do again.

If any other anons have additions to the questions to be asked + comments/concerns, I am open to discuss.
>>
>>5853381
Forceful measures may make her less cooperative, I think we should work on questions that we can easily get info for first, and then transition to using these methods later on for when we want to ask questions she would be very against answering.
>>
>>5853388
The enhanced interrogation techniques I listed are just traditional methods of actually extracting information. Befriending the target. Unless being civil is torture to her, which is a possibility given how she's acted.

>>5853385
Supporting these questions as well.
>>
>>5853367
can't think of anything to add to >>5853381 & >>5853385
>>
>>5853389
Fair enough, I suppose I misunderstood.
>>
>Use some 'enhanced interrogation' techniques. Specifically by just asking her who she is and trying to get to know her and showing interest. Be friendly but firm. This is how you actually get information.
Given how distrustful she was, you decided to try a different approach to get her to talk: You tried being a bit more friendly and amicable to her. Being stern and only questioning her would just make her distrust you further. Thus, you asked her... who she was. This surprised her, before hissing back at you. "Why, you wanna know my name so you can cross it of your shitty hitlist?!" You elaborated that you just wanted to be friendly, Laura looking away a bit with a squint in her eyes. Though after a moment of silence where you tried to remain calm and patient, she finally sighed. "Laura Porcher..." Given that she didn't seem to be one of the more wanted scientists, you asked her if she was Oreas' caretaker specifically.

She groaned a little, before answering again. "Yes... Yes I am. I was hoping to make my subject at some point... even was beginning to write some things, but... well, that dream has been destroyed harder than this fucking place." On the topic of subjects, you decided to ask her about the subjects she knew. This made her pause for a moment, before speaking softly. "Well... I knew a couple..." She'd look around for a moment, remaining quiet before scoffing. "What, you expect me to rat out the subjects I knew?! Aside from... 7-SM, who was an absolute creep, I am not going to tell you a thing about any of them." This 7-SM... the fact she was referred to as a 'creep' was already quite an interesting detail. Though when you told her to elaborate, she scoffed a bit. "You know, I think I'll take back what I said... I am not going to tell you about her." She gave a smug little smirk, as it was clear she enjoyed the moment of power over you and your men.

Fortunately, Derek was there to help out a bit. "7-SM is in the system. Her name and most of her traits are unknown, but what is known is that she is a threat level 8 and described as... highly dangerous." This made Laura smirk even more, soon speaking quite boisterously. "Oh, this is hilarious, I must say. I wonder how it must feel, having a taste of your own medicine, huh? Being hunted down by someone so psychopathic and cruel..." Your men were a bit irritated by how amused she seemed at... well, you having to deal with this shit. But, you kept going on, wanting to remain patient and friendly to ensure she'd give more details. You asked how many subjects there were, if she could make a guess. She pondered for a second, before giving a more straight answer. "At least a 100 before things went to shit... dunno how many there are now..."
>>
Given how short the list was though, there was reason to be sceptical about this claim. And since she sill remained rather distrusting and aggressive, she could very well be lying to screw you over. Still, you then asked her about the dangerous subjects and if she could name a few. "Why, so you can meet them and be killed by them? If that's the reason, I'll gladly tell you!" Of course, you had a different excuse, stating tht you didn't want them to escape teh facility and maybe wreak havoc onto the rest of the planet. This actually seemed to make her see reason again, as she thought a bit. "Well, I did mention... 7-SM." The fact your excuse so easily convinced her was... amusing to your men, who all looked at each other, you knowing they were smirking under their helmets. So much for 'not telling you about her'.

"All I can say is that... she probably can most easily leave this place, if she so wishes to. She can dissolve into water and... traverse it with ease. Not even the oceans would hold her back." This was met with some... surprise and mild shock from your men, with Lars speaking up in disbelief. "Dissolve in water... so... does that mean stuff like groundwater as well? Or through... pipes and what not? Hell, couldn't she have already escaped to the sea through the flooded parts of the facility?!" Derek responded by pointing to the tablet. "It doesn't say she can do that... and it states she has attacked and killed soldiers before... She has even attacked people... yesterday." Even Laura seemed confused by these reports. A subject who could easily escape, yet... didn't chose to. She shook her head in confusion. "Why is she doing that..." She mumbled, as you asked her about other subjects who could pose a danger to the rest of the planet. "There are some flying subjects, but... I don't know if they could escape, especially since I don't know about how secure this place is... Besides, most of the subjects I met who could fly weren't... that bad."

You decided to ask more about the scientists in this place, given that she likely knew a lot more about them. You even told Derek to pull up a list of the most wanted scientists, making her read through them after you asked her about why some were wanted alive. "Okay... seems like a solid list of the main folk in power... I can tell you why Elbrus and Roraima are most wanted. It's because the former is a creep and the latter a dick."
>>
You asked for elaboration on those two, at which point she sighed a bit. "Okay, so Elbrus is somewhat infamous among some of the staff. After he was hired, he decided to get a little... 'experimental' and 'intimate' with some of his creation, rubbing his absolutely disgusting traits off on them. I'd not be surprised if he's wanted alive so he could maybe... command his subjects to just stop, given how a couple of them are essentially slaves to him." This was met with quite some disgust from Derek. "Why on earth would... such a disgusting man be allowed to work here?!" Laura shook her head uncertainly, before sighing. "Well... he made a ton of subjects, so... that's why." Thaddeus then spoke up as well. "And what about this Roraima guy or gal or whatever?"

This made her speak up more calmly, clearly not being as... disgusted by him as Elbrus. "Oh, Roraima was one of the main creator of... combat subjects. He worked on 7-SM and... 38-VG, who might be the single most cruel subject out there. Maybe they want him alive so he can... also command his subjects to step down, but... I don't know..." Derek looked over the list of scientists one more time, before asking one final question regarding the scientists. "What about Mona? Anything she did of note?" Laura shrugged. "Not a clue. She was quite sweet... maybe a little bit of a pushover sometimes, especially when it came to people influencing her work... Maybe they saw she made some subjects who were influenced by the likes of that creep Elbrus or Roraima, and she's now suddenly associated with them..."

It was nice that she was being a lot calmer and more reasonable now, her also taking notice of how you guys were having a more friendly conservation. "You know... if it weren't for the fact you shot me in the legs, and the fact you guys look like you're here for war... I wouldn't be surprised to see you guys working here as guardsmen... actually, you guys aren't like... guardsmen who managed to kill some actual death squads, take their armour and... sneak around the place, right?" To this, Evander responded quite casually. "If we were, I imagine we'd have far less questions for ya." To this she nodded understandingly, at which point she spoke a bit more warmly as well. "I mean... I was expecting brutal torture and murderer... not to be asked about what subjects are particularly dangerous so you could... you know, ensure they don't kill innocent civilians." To this, Thaddeus spoke more proudly. "Aye, just cause we're death squads, doesn't mean we are cold-blooded killers..." This actually got you to ask her... well, about the other death squads and her encounters with them. "I had one direct and one indirect encounter. One was with a bunch of guys who used sonic weaponry and avoided just... fucking killing me. Thankfully, Oreas helped me out by distracting them and... using her abilities to stop them."
>>
"The second encounter was... well, with a trap from a death squad. It was a pretty nasty one and... well, it is the reason I'm patched up so much now." Given how willing she was to answer your questions and give some rather personal responses now, you were tempted to ask her about Oreas' abilities. However, you decided not to ask her just yet. For one, because you didn't want to lose her trust. More importantly, because you could use the opportunity to ask further about the NARI bands. Thus, you asked her about creating a remote for the NARI bands if the subject was already finished. This made Laura squint. "I... why do you want to know that specifically?" Fortunately, Derek once again came in clutch, giving a calm and collected answer. "There are many intelligent subjects running around, and we want to know what they would have to need to do to... recreate their remotes. Imagine if something like 7-SM or... 38-VG got their hands or claws on a remote to alter themselves further..."

Laura seemed to understand your concern, as she nodded and responded calmly. "Well, you'd need... a vat, the base coding of the subject and... recent genetic material of the subject." Derek was ready to take notes, responding softly. "Can you go into detail, please?" Laura didn't hesitate, taking a deep breath before calmly explaining the process. "Basically, the base template of the subject is... the coding used to form the subject inside of the vat. It's like... the blueprint of a subject. And if a subject is still in a vat, it's all you'd really need for a remote. Now, once a subject is out of the vat, you'll also need their genetic material. After all, they're alive now and may have had some minor mutations. Obviously, if more major mutations happened, you'd need... the most recent genetic material from said subject."

Derek noted everything down, before asking another good question. "What if you wanted to... to get a remote for Oreas... how easy would that be?" Laura scoffed and smirked a little. "If it was easy, I would've done it already. We'd need to find a working vat and... there are none anywhere near here. I'd also need to find her base template which... god knows where it is. Maybe I could access it via the computer systems, but those are all knocked out... so that would likely not work at all."

You still wanted to know more, asking if a remote or band could be used to restrain or control a subject. This left her a bit confused. "Restrain? I... I guess. You could give negative mutations or punish subjects with harmful modifications... Or just reduce their intelligence and critical thinking skills to make them particularly easy to manipulate. I remember Roraima doing that with one particularly aggressive subject of his..." Thaddeus was quick to ask the obvious question. "Which subject was that?"
>>
Unfortunately, Laura shook her head slightly and sighed. "I... I don't know. He was very cruel to most of his subjects and loved to do all kinds of sick shit to get them to do his bidding..." With her on the topic of such subjects, you wondered about the subject responsible for this disaster yet again. Thus, you asked her about the subject responsible for this entire disaster, asking her where she came from. "I... I really don't know. My guess is from... the deeper parts of this place? I... really don't fucking know..." Well, it seemed she was also completely confused as to what was going on or who caused this incident... unless if she was lying again. Though, she did seem quite genuine with her response...

With her having answered a lot of questions and seeming to be quite honest, you decided to finally ask about Oreas and her phasing ability. This made her go from a calm yet contemplating expression to a more annoyed and irritated look. "Why the fuck do you want to know?!" You explained that it'd be an issue for containing her, making Laura squint her eyes. "She hasn't harmed a thing... she isn't some psychopathic murder monster like some of the other subjects here... She's not going to be made into a fucking prisoner to you people." Well, it seemed that your trust-building had... once again given in. Despite her seeing that you weren't like the other lunatics running around the place, she still did not want Oreas to be a prisoner, let alone have you learn the limits to her abilities.

>Write in what to do next.

Suggestions:
>Question her further about something. Maybe she didn't explain something good enough, or you got curious about something she had brought up.
>Tell her what your intentions were with her and Oreas, and that it was useful for her to co-operate. (Write in what you plan on doing with her and why she should co-operate.)
>Head for Oreas and question her next.a

(Big update with lotsa information. Since it's brought up a couple of times in the update, here is the link to the doc with subjects and scientists: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15Z64W31Eszz9CNi-ZWe-t38yqg6riZ9oUvinfd2-F9A/edit?usp=sharing.

Anyway, hope it isn't a slog to read and that I got everything!)
>>
>>5853904
Just one thing missing from mine OP, I asked abuut ALL scientists wanted alive, including those captured.

Anderson Thorell, why would you be captured and not shot?
( -_•)︻デ━一
>>
>>5853907
Ah shit, lol... I knew I was missing something...

Regardless, since I... don't want to rewrite a bunch of stuff and then repost this entire update, what I'll do is have one of your men ask about it in the next update and have her answer it then. Does that sound good?
>>
>>5853897
>>5853910

baka OP, avoiding questions about your existance.
anyway
as for the new questions.

Anderson Thorell, why?

7-SM could leave but chooses not to. There is an unknown reason.
Could 7-SM bring an individual with it to leave? Say another human being? Carrying them through the water?
Roraima was her creator, his relationship with his combat subjects? You mentioned he would modify them to make them dumber to control?
My guess is that he is controlling the subject he made to stay here and keep fighting so he doesn't get killed by death squads. This is more a guess tho.

Elbrus, she say's he's pretty bad, why? What kind of fucked up shit did he do exactly? She said it rubbed off on his subjects, are they also dangerous? Would they likely cause decent loss of life if they escape the facility?
If that tracks then we can safely put al lof Elbrus's subjects on a kill list. Actual kill list, even for us.
>>
>>5853915
Supporting these questions. I believe I know the answer to the last one however, given his role is described as ‘Service’ subject expert in the scientist/subject sheet.
>>
>>5853904
>Does she know where any of the base templates are?
>For controlling subjects with a remote, would it be possible to mutate a safe amount of their blood into some kind of tranquilizer, knocking them out temporarily?

Supporting >>5853915 too, it's a long shot but if 7-SM can take passengers she can smuggle people out. Too bad she sounds like a psycho.
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>>5854028
Well, I think she can't.
The reason im asking is just to confirm its for the scientist's sake she stays or is compelled to for whatever reason.
If she was able to sneak people out, her and the scientist could have long since dipped.
Which would raise other questions if they BOTH could leave and choose not too.
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>>5854032
She might be staying for her own sake - she was described a bit in >>5853893
>Being hunted down by someone so psychopathic and cruel...

Her reason for staying could just be because there are people to prey upon here
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>>5854077
True, that's why I want to look more into the relationship the scientist had with his subjects to see the chance of which one is more likely.
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>>5853915
A few more questions to add
What is the range the remotes have to communicate with the NARI bands? Is it limited and close, or is it long range?
If its limited, what exactly is the method the remote uses to communicate with the NARI bands.
>>
>Question her further about something. Maybe she didn't explain something good enough, or you got curious about something she had brought up.
Given Laura's aggression to your questions regarding Oreas, you decided to just move on, telling her that you'd just ask her something else. She still seemed irritated, but didn't retort to it and simply let out a disgusted scoff. Thus, you'd ask her a bit further about some of the things she mentioned before. For starters, you asked about 7-SM, and her abilities. For one, if she could take other people with her as well as Roraima's relationship with her. You even repeated how some subjects he made were dumbed down so he could control them. "For one, not all his subjects are dumbed-down. In fact, 7-SM is... intelligent... highly intelligent, even. It's... kind of uncanny how intelligent she can be... She, uhhh, at one point solved an issue we had with a machine creating faulty nanites, with her making a suggestion which ended up fixing the entire issue... and... she hadn't seen the machine before."

This was a bit of a shock to hear, though it also made Derek ask the question which... you should've asked her earlier. "What even is 7-SM? She can go through water, and apparently understands complex machinery somewhat... just... just tell us what she is and what else you know of her!" Laura seemed to understand that there was no reason to hide it, as she nodded and responded calmly. "Acidic Slime girl... That is why she can easily dissolve into water and use it to move around the place. She couldn't take Roraima, or anyone else for that matter, along with her off of the island... unless if 'taking along' means... her dissolving someone and carrying their liquified remnants along." Well, that was... definitely terrifying. And it clearly set the precedent that this slime gal needed to be dealt with. If she somehow found a way to create a remote, or simply found it, it could cause a major shitshow...

This made you ask where the base templates were, since they would probably be quite important to point down for such intelligent subjects. "Most base templates were stored online. Physical copies were also saved in a highly protected storage room in the deeper parts of the facility... and... I am also aware some physical copies were saved in the head scientists' personal offices. I remember Mona kept some around her office, which was not too far away from here. If I recall, she had an office near the green section." You then asked if remotes could mutate subjects in ways to harm them or even restrain. "You most certainly can. Roraima had a knack for punishing subjects with the threat of harmful mutations which he'd then undo after he 'taught them a lesson'..." It was a rather sickening thing to hear, that some of the subjects literally were tortured through having their bodies altered to hurt them... At least you now knew one scientist who you had no reason to feel bad for when you finally gave him that bullet...
>>
This made you ask where the base templates were, since they would probably be quite important to point down for such intelligent subjects. "Most base templates were stored online. Physical copies were also saved in a highly protected storage room in the deeper parts of the facility... and... I am also aware some physical copies were saved in the head scientists' personal offices. I remember Mona kept some around her office, which was not too far away from here. If I recall, she had an office near the green section." You then asked if remotes could mutate subjects in ways to harm them or even restrain. "You most certainly can. Roraima had a knack for punishing subjects with the threat of harmful mutations which he'd then undo after he 'taught them a lesson'..." It was a rather sickening thing to hear, that some of the subjects literally were tortured through having their bodies altered to hurt them... At least you now knew one scientist who you had no reason to feel bad for when you finally gave him that bullet...

Speaking of which, you wanted to know a bit more about Elbrus, given that he was another lunatic who ran this place. You wanted to know what made him bad, and... what things he did which were then rubbed off onto the subjects he made. "Oh god... do... do I have to?" Laura said, to which Thaddeus nodded and responded calmly. "Yes, yes you do." Laura groaned, before speaking in utter disgust. "Okay, so... Elbrus was... really into subjects. Like... REALLY into subjects. Some folk in this place make their 'fascinations' and 'interest' a lot more obvious than others, but... Elbrus wore his desires proudly. He... he got intimate with his subjects."

Even though you couldn't see it, you could tell your men had their smiles wiped off of their faces with this. "What." Evander said softly, at which point Laura groaned again. "He's a monster girl fucker... literally... He spend a lot of time with his subjects, doing gross crap which... I DO NOT WANT TO MENTION..." She let out a deep, extremely pained sigh. "It's... these traits which rubbed off on most, if not all of his subjects..." There was a moment of silence, followed by Derek bringing up the most horrifying yet important question. "Do these... do these subjects, ummm... force themselves onto others?" Laura gave a dead, thousand yard stare and a smirk, before speaking softly. "Welcome to the Valulori Research Centre for Monster Girl Subjects. Many of us have have spent years here being utterly terrified by the touchy subjects and the very likely chance that they will pounce you out of nowhere..." She leaned forward a bit, before speaking more loudly. "Have fun going through this place with this newfound knowledge!"
>>
Well, you had gotten your answer. Elbrus' subjects were... potentially dangerous, but only because they have been conditioned to see rape as an everyday thing. No wonder Laura seemed to detest him... It only got worse though, as Laura laughed in bewilderment, before revealing an even worse bombshell. "Fuck it, I've already revealed more details about these man-made horrors beyond your comprehension than you ever wanted to know. Might as well just rip the bandage off, huh? Do you guys know 38-VG? Heard of her before or... seen what she's like?" Hearing that name, Derek spoke up in mild panic. "No, oh god, Vinella... don't tell me she's-" Laura smirked deviously. "She's alive still, isn't she? Well guess what..." You could tell that Derek, Thaddeus and Evander were a little on edge by... well, what they expected this bombshell to be...

And what Laura then said was definitely quite the bombshell. "She's a work by Elbrus... well, not exactly... The actual creator was our good old friend Roraima! Elbrus only gave him some GREAT POINTERS in how she should be designed!" She raised her voice even more. "Elbrus is the very reason for Vinella having... what could best be described as a CRUSH FETI-!" Before Laura could continue, Derek yelled. "STOP! NOW!" His momentary rage and disgust silenced Laura. There was an uncomfortable silence, before Derek spoke in utter disgust. "Thank you... for these details! Really useful!" He'd say, utterly appalled by what she had to reveal here... Thaddeus afterwards mumbled a little bit. "Why did you have to tell us these things..." Even he was not pleased to hear the news that... the most threatening subject was a murder machine designed by a sociopath and a pervert...

Given that your men were not at all pleased with this revelation, you decided to move the topic... elsewhere. Specifically, the NARI bands and their range. Laura had calmed down again from her little... tirade about Elbrus and the subjects he created, but you could tell from her smirk and tone that she was most pleased to have disgusted you and your men. "Well, I believe it to be quite short-ranged... and there can't be any thick walls around, since those will block the communication from the remote to the band. So, any remote you may find couldn't just... kill a subject from afar, I'm afraid." Well, this was both good and bad. One easy kill option for subjects had been crossed off the list... but it also meant subjects needed to actually find their remotes and use them from up-close to make them work.
>>
Finally, you asked about the other scientists on the list who were wanted alive. "What, didn't I already tell you?!" At which point Thaddeus spoke up in a soft, disappointed tone. "Ya only told us about Roraima and Elbrus... in ways I think some of us would rather forget, actually." Laura let out an amused scoff, before you pointed to the other scientists who were wanted alive... Laura raised an eyebrow, as you got Derek to show the scientist list again. "Ah, Mona as well, right?" You then pointed to... well, Anderson, who was noted down as 'captured', rather than 'deceased', meaning he was alive in custody. You wanted to know why he was being kept alive, which made Laura unsure. "I... I don't know. He could be a bit... ummm, affectionate with his subjects as well. Though not nearly as bad as Elbrus! I think he might be kept alive because he sort of was close to Tengri, who was the head of staff... As for Mona, ummm... well, I think it might be because of some subjects she made? Or rather, co-operated on? She helped create tons of subjects from varying scientists... even a few times with Elbrus and Roraima." Given what had been said about those two, Evander was quick to respond with a rather stern question. "Why would someone work with those two idiots?!" To this, Laura sighed a little. "She was... often pressured by the other scientists, especially those two pricks."

After looking at the list of names in front of her though, Laura squinted her eyes before looking up at Derek. "Is this the entire list of wanted staff?" Derek looked a bit confused, looking at the list again before speaking confusedly. "Um, yes? These are all the names in the system..." Laura looked hesitant, before saying something... quite huge.

"Someone's missing..."

Derek, Thaddeus and Evander were taken back, Derek even looking through the list and shaking his head. "What do you mean, someone's missing?" Laura responded calmly, yet still with that hint of confusion. "Someone's missing on the list." Derek kept scrolling, checking every section on the tablet. Laura looked at you and the others, before saying a name you hadn't heard before... "Andrei... he isn't on the list?" Derek remained confused, while Thaddeus stepped forward and spoke more demandingly. "You're talking about a head scientist who has designed subjects, right? Not some caretaker or someone who was just hired, an actual scientist on the same level as these guys..." Laura shook her head a bit, seeming more bewildered by the second. "Y-Yes! He's a scientist! He worked with the other scientists, from what I've heard anyway! He gave them advice a-and suggestions! He even made some subjects with Tengri!" Evander also started questioning Laura. "Did ya ever see him? What... what was he like?" Laura responded quickly and concisely, not hesitating with her answers at all. "W-Well, I never saw him myself! He wasn't really the social type, and... didn't often talk about his work... from what I've heard anyway..."
>>
>Write in what to do next.

Suggestions:
>Question Laura about this 'Andrei' (Write in what you want to know)
>Thank Laura for this information and move on to questioning Oreas. (Write in any sort of procedure you first want to follow, as well as questions you want to ask Oreas)
>Ask Laura about something else...

(Okay... hopefully this time, I covered all the questions! And given the little mistake I made, I decided to throw a bit more information your way... a lot of 'fun' information at that. I hope this will motivate you to go hunt down Elbrus...)
>>
>>5854353
>Question Laura about this 'Andrei' (Write in what you want to know)
Anything she knows or heard about him, especially any close ties to the gov that he might have had

Unless this turns up anything groundbreaking, let's do
>Thank Laura for this information and move on to questioning Oreas. (Write in any sort of procedure you first want to follow, as well as questions you want to ask Oreas)
as well

All the details on her abilities and any other subjects she knows/is familiar with

Actually one more question for Laura
>Given that several thousand death squad members are raiding this place and killing all personnel, and the gov has both the facility and planet cordoned off and on lockdown, is she aware of any way for her and other ethical scientists/nonviolent subjects to escape and survive?
>>
>>5854341
>>5854344

Theory proven.

>>5854453
Supporting. Also ask about the other threat level 10 subject, LW-20, if she knows about them.
>>
>>5854337
Wow acid slime girl is probably gonna need fire to really damage. We should see if a remote still works on her, if we are lucky we can just kill her with it.
remotes being short range is annoying as hell, makes phase girl a bitch to handle in the long term.

>>5854453
idk if she's gonna answer that last one to be honest. She'd probably rather bite the bullet.

Other then that I'm supporting and down to go to Oreas.
>>
>>5854468
>Wow acid slime girl is probably gonna need fire to really damage. We should see if a remote still works on her, if we are lucky we can just kill her with it.
Considering how this quest has gone so far anons would just try to waifu it like everything else.
>>
>>5855148
I would sooner side the government and push for all of us getting shot.
That said you aren't wrong about trying to waifu everyone. If we don't find information about the government being sus af we are gonna have to put down all the acquired waifus or die.
>>
>>5855148
Making her a waifu would be... an interesting plot point, for sure. I highly doubt it will happen though, and I will most certainly try my best to ensure none of the player will be motivated to try and make her a waifu let alone letting the players pull an Elbrus and trying to stick their dick in the acid slime girl.
>>
>>5855161
Im wondering where all the ppl that voted for "KILL SQUAD SOLDIER" have fucked off to. The way this quest is running we should have just picked subject and done to mystery of why everything thing went horribly wrong on that one day. We would have killled a shitload of Hellstar and other mercs by this point which anons would have done with great enthusiam, unlike what has gone on here TBPH.
>>
>>5855173
It's something I wonder from time to time as well. Maybe it's just not the type of story they imagined it would be. Maybe it was the pacing or something else that put them off.

Either way, I do enjoy how things have gone so far and the fact the more prominent anons are genuinely looking into they mystery and trying to wrap their heads around what has happened down here. Not to mention, the way they're going about things down here.

Also, I'm not sure if it would've worked better if you guys started as a subject instead... Maybe it would have, maybe not... I think we'll figure out if it was the right choice or not the longer I keep the quest going...
>>
>>5855188
I will be perfectly honest. The quest makes the kill squads seem like complete cunts. This place seemed like it was doing non-sus thing, aside from the perv scientist, until one day everything exploded and the suddenly the government wanted everything here killed. So we get to be the complete assholes that come in and kill ppl right after a major disaster happened.
>>
>>5855173
Its kinda why I stopped lurking, everyone kinda went elsewhere. I didn't join this thread in time for the vote but I would've gone scientist desu. This is basically Black Mesa, we might as well have gone Gordon Freeman.
That said I don't mind going execution protocol and actually following through with the mission the government hired us for.
Only thing that could allow for the middle ground of being death squad and not killing subjects by the end of this is not the government backstabbing us at the end of this, but us having proof that they actually would.

>>5855188
possibily the pacing, going from choosing our situation to adding in characters may have been a shift etc.

>>5855197
Only two of em seem like cunts, the rest are just doing their actual job. They come in here and kill.
Make no mistake that we are doing the same thing as the rest of them (at least as of now wit hour current objective). The only difference is that some squads enjoy what they do, others are simply getting their job done. Any mercy we've shown is just delaying an execution, not preventing it.
That said the biggest assholes in this situation is the government. We don't know why they did what they did tho, so its entirely possible the have a valid justification. We might find out. Who knows.
>>
>Question Laura about this 'Andrei' (Write in what you want to know).
With Laura bringing up this mysterious new scientist who wasn't noted down, you instantly asked Laura as to what she knew about him. You especially wanted to know if he had close ties to the government. "I... don't know! Like, I said, I never met him and... well, I just heard about him from Mona and the other scientists! He was generally well-respected, b-but... that's all!" Your men all looked at you and back at Laura, after which Derek spoke up. "I'll... not him down, I guess? It seems... very odd though. Especially how you seem to know the other scientists, but don't know about this one." Laura didn't seem too sure how to respond, especially as Thaddeus asked her: "Did he make any noteworthy subjects you do know of?" To this, Laura shook her head a little. "Well, I did say he worked with Tengri, specifically on Titania... Other than that though, uhhh... I... I don't know any." Well, at least it was something. Then again, Titania wasn't on the kill list, so... you couldn't exactly look at her details and try and see if Andrei was mentioned with her.

>Ask Laura about something else... the other threat level 10 subject, LW-20, if she knows about them
With the information about this Andrei quickly running dry, you decided to switch topic towards something else: LW-20, the other subject who was causing major trouble. You asked what she knew about them, making her think a bit. "That... that codename does ring familiar... I think she was one of Logan's creations... or was it Tengri who made her? A-Anyway, she's... an electrical subject, right?" Derek nodded along, already taking some notes on her as Laura spoke of her. "I remember her causing some issues with... systems, and she also knew a lot about security. Because of that, she was kept far away from any electronic devices, especially radios... After she was isolated, she didn't cause any major issues anymore..."

It was then that Laura realised why she was being questioned about this. "Let me guess... she's in your system as well?" Thaddeus and Derek both nodded, with Derek even responding. "From what we have been told, she tends to screw around with any squad who tries to hunt her down... as well as just her own information." Though to this, Thaddeus scoffed and responded a bit more indignantly. "That's putting it lightly. She's the reason we barely trust the tablets the government gave us." Derek nodded a little to it, Laura smirking before shrugging slightly. "I wish I could be of help, but... she isn't a subject I interacted with..."
>>
>Ask her if she is aware of any way for her and other ethical scientists/nonviolent subjects to escape and survive.
Finally, you'd ask about... well, something quite important: ways for ethical scientists/nonviolent subjects to escape. Given how you focused specifically on the good people who worked here, she actually seemed to consider how she'd respond to things, rather than just insulting you or questioning your motives. Unfortunately, after thinking for some time, she shook her head. "None that I am aware of. There were several entrances above ground, but... I imagine those aren't easily accessible now, if they even still are a thing to begin with..." However, she did bring something else up, which could be potentially useful. "I do know that there have been several subjects who were designed to dig... but naming them will be tough. I know one of Anderson's subjects who's name and codename I forgot was really happy to dig around the place, but... I doubt she would be able to dig her way out of this mess..."

>Thank Laura for this information and move on to questioning Oreas.
Now that Laura had answered all your questions, you thanked her and told your men you'd question Oreas next. Evander and Thaddeus gave a nod, while Derek stepped towards you. "I'll come along to take notes." It seemed like a fair suggestion. After all, taking notes was quite useful in this case. Of course, Laura did not seem all that happy with your remark, as she spoke up with a more venomous tone. "Don't you dare hurt Oreas in any fucking way. I've been generous with what I told you because you seemed reasonable enough... Don't make me regret that giving you some reason." While she sounded angry at first, you did see her calm down as she spoke, her tone becoming more like a plea for mercy. Then again, it all really depended on Oreas and how she'd behave...

You'd leave Thaddeus and Evander to guard Laura, while you headed to the next room where the rest of your men were looking over Oreas... and ironically enough, when you entered, you saw that Oreas was a lot calmer than before. "Ah, Mikhail, how did questioning Laura go?" Anon asked, you seeing Oreas shrinking a bit in fear, yet no longer crying or being truly distressed. Maybe she had spoken and been reassured by your men that she wasn't going to die? Or perhaps she just calmed down naturally... Regardless, she was quick to speak to you in a more cautious tone. "Is... Laura okay? Y-You didn't hurt her, right?"

>Tell Oreas that Laura is fine.
>Ask Oreas why she seems much calmer.
>Ask Oreas about her powers and if she could be properly restrained somehow.
>Ask your men if Oreas behaved reasonably or if she showed any signs of resistance.
>Ask Oreas something else (write in what)
>>
>>5855234
>>Tell Oreas that Laura is fine.
>>Ask Oreas why she seems much calmer.
and now
>Ask Oreas something else (write in what)
Starting from the top
Basically a lot of overlap with the questions we asked Laura, this time from the prospective of the subject to understand how they understand it.
>>5853187
All the questions here minus the cube.
How many subjects she thinks there are and anything she knows about the subject that started this.
Also ask her more about Titania as well as the other anon added.
>>5853381
The questions this anon asked as well
Ask her about her creator and information on them. She likely doesn't have info on too much else but we should ask for the sake of it
ask her about other subjects she knows or if she knows any/met any of the bad subjects.
same for scientists.

>Ask Oreas about her powers and if she could be properly restrained somehow.

all I got thus far
>>
>>5855234
oh I forgot, also fill in Anon on everything we learned, but privately before we begin questioning the subject.
>>
>>5855234
>Tell Oreas that Laura is fine.
>Ask Oreas why she seems much calmer.
>Ask Oreas about her powers and if she could be properly restrained somehow.
>Ask Oreas about any other subjects she knows

Definitely do >>5855285
>>
>>5855343
>>5855285
>>5855280

Supporting all of these. I doubt we'll get any new major pieces for the puzzle but already this has been more than lucrative for intel gathering.
>>
>Tell Oreas that Laura is fine.
>Ask Oreas why she seems much calmer.
After entering the room, you told Anon that the questioning went well and even told him rather fast in private what you had learnt from Laura. Anon gave a quick nod, before responding confidently. "I suppose we should tell this to the other men as well." Though afterwards, Oreas spoke anxiously about Laura and if she was okay. You told Oreas that she had been patched up and that she was fine, Oreas becoming a lot less tense right away. Given how calm she already was from the get-go, you asked her why she was much calmer, her looking at your men before quietly responding. "Ummm, your... your men... they have been... friendly to me... reassured me that, if I work with you, things will go fine." You were worried that maybe your men had revealed your collaboration with Chrys to her. But it didn't seem like they had made that foolish mistake, as Oreas didn't bring up anything with that. In fact, Artyom was quick to speak up. "We had a little chat about our lives, and... well, what brought us here." It seemed that your men had at least interacted somewhat with Oreas, helping her realise you... weren't like the psychopaths from the other death squads.

>Ask Oreas about her powers and if she could be properly restrained somehow.
Given how she already seemed relaxed and trusting, you decided to ask her about her powers. "My... my powers? Umm... why do you wish to know, if I may ask?" She asked calmly, you elaborating that it was for the sake of security, at which point she looked at your men before responding a bit hesitantly. "It's... well, y-you're talking about my... phasing ability, right?" Given how she brought up that specifically, she kind of inadvertently revealed she had more powers than just that. "Yeah. Though, what other powers do you have?" Derek responded in turn, Oreas letting out an anxious gulp before responding softly. "Uhhh, w-well... I-I can also glow! L-Like... uhhh..." Her body soon started glowing a radiant blue colour, which was quite blinding. Your night-vision equipment even turned itself off for a moment, before turning back on as she stopped her glowing. "Uhh, but you asked about... my other power... well, I need... uhhh, really thick walls to keep me in... or dense material... Those can... hamper my ability." Well, it was some restraint, but... it was going to be tough to get her extremely dense handcuffs to restrain her...

>Ask Oreas something else.
Given the information she was willing to provide so far, you decided to start the interrogation for real. You were going to ask her many questions which you had asked Laura, in the hopes that she'd reveal more details. And you started with a simple question: what subjects did she know? The question took Oreas back quite a bit, looking away before responding sombrely. "W-Well, there's... uhhhh..."
>>
She grew more and more anxious and even a bit shaky, wrapping her arms around herself and clearly being stressed. "Ummm, y-you... you aren't... g-going to kill them, a-are you?" She clearly feared the worst, at which point you decided toask her something else to maybe reassure her a bit... Rather, did she meet or know of any bad subjects? To this, she seemed a bit less anxious to respond.

"Well, I remember, uhhh, Ophidia being quite mean sometimes..." Derek quickly asked: "Ophidia, what's her codename, if you can remember that?" To which Oreas responded: "19-52-WD... She was, uhhh, a large... blue dragon girl who... was really cruel and mean and... unpleasant... other than that, I... I don't know... Oh, Viridian, uhhh, GC-66, was also kinda mean sometimes... but, she did act really nice sometimes as well, so... uhhh, I-I think that's all..." Well, she at least was revealing some things to you... but nothing much of value so far. Given that she wasn't all too happy to talk about mentioning those who it seemed she trusted, you were careful not to ask questions regarding those people out of the blue. Clearly, she still feared the worst whenever she answered these questions.

So you asked her if she knew anything about what caused this disaster, making her shake her head. "I don't know..." Zaria asked a more specific question, hopefully to get at least something out of her. "What happened on the day where everything went to shit?" Oreas looked around again, before speaking softly. "Uhhh, I just... remember being in my chamber, with... the alarms going off and scientists and guards running all around the place... Laura then came to my place and told me that something bad was going on... Then, after a few hours where she stayed by my side, everything went dark and things collapsed... that was it. There was a loud bang as well, but... uhhh, that's all I know..." Well, it seemed like she knew far less than Laura. It was to be expected. She was seemingly just stuck in a chamber, with Laura keeping watch of her all the time. You then asked a bit more of a sensitive question, asking her about encountering death squads, to which she nodded. "Yeah, we... we saw some, yeah... uhhh, it were these creepy guys with... scary looking weapons which really hurt Laura... we thankfully managed to escape thanks to, uhhh, Laura doing some smart things and... making them lose us." It was a bit of a vague answer, but maybe she just didn't remember it well enough since it was Laura having done the work... then again, what did Laura say again about her encounter with the death squads?
>>
You then asked her about the NARI bands and if they could modify or control a subject. You could tell all your men aside from Derek were a bit confused, given that Chrys had already explained those a bit before to you guys. Still, they didn't question it, and waited for Oreas to give an answer. She did so rather quickly, delivering a bit more of a disappointing answer. "Ummm, well... I just know it's through... a remote... but, I'm not too familiar with the NARI band myself... Uhhh, L-Laura would probably know... b-better about this..." The mention of Laura seemed to make Oreas a bit more anxious. Maybe because she just didn't want to force Laura to answer more questions. Fortunately, Laura had already given a solid answer to this question. Regardless, you'd then ask for something a bit different. That being, subjects who had abilities which could pose security threats. "Ummm, well..." She'd think for a moment, before giving... a rather quiet response. "No... I don't know any with such abilities." Either she was scared that she didn't know any example, or... well, she knew one and was too scared to tell. Regardless, it was getting harder and harder to ask her questions. And unfortunately, things would only get worse as you... got to the more personal questions.

You began by asking her about her creator and what information she had on them. This question seemed to ramp up her anxiety by a ton, as she looked around. "N-No, I... I can't... I-I don't know what you'll do to them! I-I..." She looked around again, before starting to let some tears, as she appeared genuinely distraught. "P-Please, I-I don't... I don't want y-you going after them... I d-don't want you to kill th-them..." She started sobbing, letting out some genuine tears. She was utterly terrified, and it was unlikely that she'd be able to answer any of the more personal questions. Questions about the other subjects or scientists she knew. Maybe you could ask her more about the bad scientists and subjects, but... asking her about those she liked and didn't want to see die was... not going to happen yet. Fortunately, just like how you convinced Laura to tell you a whole bunch of things, you could probably get Oreas to tell you things.

>Write in what to do next.

Suggestions:
>Mention how you want to spare 'good' scientists and subjects like her and her creator.
>Tell Oreas that... it's either Laura's and her own life, or the lives of those you need information of.
>Give her some time to breathe and reassure her that you mean no harm.
>>
(First of all, she hasn't answered everything you guys asked, obviously, given how emotional she got. More personal answers regarding those she liked were... well, she didn't answer those. But, I did make sure all the less potentially personal questions were included.)

(Also, note to self: make the next subject an abject prick who you'll want to kill even if they have vital information... Poor Chrys and Oreas are too sweet for this world and were some of the least confrontational picks I could've made for first interactions..)
>>
>>5855865
>>5855867
aight so

Do we know what her Subject # Designation is? if so we can use that to figure out who her creator is/search for her number on tablet. If not, ask her what her subject ID is and then
>Give her some time to breathe
if we give her time to breathe I want all of our guys to be able to speak with each other so we can discuss our info. Want to know about our own guy's stance.

Also as for her containment. We are screwed bc she can just phase, but I realize now we can use the remote to reduce the effect of her ability to phase. That blue light is very interesting and idk what it is. Could be purely an electrical power or could be something to do with radiation idk. (the file we read up on). We will need to ask her more about it later.
>>
>Mention how you want to spare 'good' scientists and subjects like her and her creator.
>Give her some time to breathe and reassure her that you mean no harm.

>>5855872
Asking about her subject designation is a good idea. Though, we have a few hoops we need to jump through to get a her remote. We either play needle in a haystack or find a working vat and the base template for Oreas from a working computer with it saved on or central server, both of which are still playing needle in a haystack. So long as Oreas stays with us getting a sample from her will be easy, but we'd need to do a lot of work fixing stuff in this place if we want to get anywhere with a remote. Honestly best bet is just get a tracker like with Chrys.

>>5855867
It's fine. I presume RNG had something to do with this, and if so not entirely your fault.
>>
>>5855865
>Mention how you want to spare 'good' scientists and subjects like her and her creator, and hopefully help them escape if possible.

Also one of them, most likely Oreas, is lying about the death squad encounter(s)

Oreas verison:
>You then asked a bit more of a sensitive question, asking her about encountering death squads, to which she nodded. "Yeah, we... we saw some, yeah... uhhh, it were these creepy guys with... scary looking weapons which really hurt Laura... we thankfully managed to escape thanks to, uhhh, Laura doing some smart things and... making them lose us."

Laura version:
> "I had one direct and one indirect encounter. One was with a bunch of guys who used sonic weaponry and avoided just... fucking killing me. Thankfully, Oreas helped me out by distracting them and... using her abilities to stop them."
>"The second encounter was... well, with a trap from a death squad. It was a pretty nasty one and... well, it is the reason I'm patched up so much now."

So once she's hopefully reassured and calm again try asking specifically what "smart things" Laura did to help them escape and how she managed to do them while being badly wounded. If she still insists on her version reveal Laura told us she used her abilities to help them escape.
>>
>>5855959
Yeah, when we return to her for a second round of questioning just to iron out the last few details we can mention that. That is if Derek doesn't find it on the tablet.
>>
>Mention how you want to spare 'good' scientists and subjects like her and her creator.
>Give her some time to breathe and reassure her that you mean no harm.
Given her panic and the fact she no longer answered your questions, you decided that the best thing to do would be to ease her worries and reassure her a bit. You told her that she didn't need to worry about you killing any of her friends, because those who who weren't evil or genuinely deranged would be spared. Oreas still seemed a bit scared, but did ask you: "R-Really? Y-You want to... l-leave them be?" You reassured her that you weren't there to just kill without reason, and that you weren't like the death squads she had met before. In fact, you even brought up how you felt innocent lives should be able to escape this hellhole, a stance which your men didn't seem to disagree to very much. This did seem to ease her fears somewhat, but she was still visibly terrified of what was going on. Thus, you told her that you'd pause with questioning her so that she could calm down a bit, Oreas nodding quickly and continuing to breath quite fast. "O-Okay." She said anxiously, as you turned to your men and told them you wanted to discuss some things with them.

>While she breathes, discuss with your men and let them give their own stances.
Artyom, Anon, Alan, Zaria and Lars were more than willing to have a discussion on what was going on. Given that they spent quite some time with Oreas, you wanted to know what their stances were, especially on the information which you had gotten out of Laura. Thus, you told them the things you learnt which... wouldn't really give Oreas a chance to lie further... especially since you noticed an inconsistency between Laura and Oreas' stories. Regardless, you told your men about Andrei, Elbrus and Roraima, why some of the scientists were wanted alive and why some weren't, 7-SM and her ability to simply leave this place and how many subjects there were in this place.

Your men seemed quite disgusted to hear about what Elbrus was like, and the mention of Andrei definitely got a lot of attention as well. "So, there's a scientist out there who isn't in the system?" Anon asked, to which Artyom responded: "Maybe the government had some sympathies with him, given how it sounds like he wasn't exactly the type to interact with the other men." It also seemed your men were quite curious about 7-SM, with Zaria and Lars being particularly intrigued. "Is she on the tablet? Maybe it has some notes on her there." To this, Derek repeated what he said before when questioning Laura. "She is noted down, but very few things are known aside the fact that she is described as highly dangerous, with a threat level 8." To this, Zaria scoffed and spoke up more confidently. "If she's some sort of slime girl subject who could very easily escape, maybe we should try and hunt her down? I mean, we got Alan who could probably deal quite easily with her with his flamethrower."
>>
Alan chuckled softly, holding up his flamethrower. "I'd not mind trying that out." Of course, going after a threat level 8 subject would be tough... especially one who could literally be anywhere in this place. For some time, your men discussed these matters. Eventually, it ended up with Zaria and Alan wanting to hunt down folk like Elbrus, Roraima, Andrei and 7-SM if possible, making them specific targets. Anon was also not against it, but also stated that there were more pressing matters, such as if you should share this information with the other death squads, or if you should question the government about these things. After all, how could the government be missing a scientist in the hitlist?

Lars and Artyom were also quite sceptical about the exclusion of Andrei from the list, and felt that maybe bringing it up to the government could be worth it. At best, the government would realise the mistake and reward you for bringing this up. They could also very well just deny his existence, which would be quite odd... though maybe a sign that Laura was lying. At worst though, the government could get aggressive when his name was mentioned. Though really, that would just prove that there was a conspiracy going on regarding his existence and his role in this place...

>Ask her what her subject ID is.
All while you were discussing these things, Oreas calmed down significantly, seemingly listening in to what you were saying and appearing quite curious all throughout. It was actually kind of sweet how she just sat there and eventually just waited patiently for you to continue. After you had discussed most of the necessary things with your men, you asked Oreas what her ID was. She thankfully didn't appear as hesitant anymore, responding quite calmly and willingly. "PL-6626." Well, this made Derek look up from his tablet. After all, you guys had discovered a paper on PL-6626 not that long ago! Hell, you opted to share this information around with the rest of Lodger. "Well, uhhh, guess... we should reconsider releasing the details from the paper about her, huh?" Oreas looked a bit concerned, realising that you had papers on her... This also brought up something quite important, since the paper mentioned something Oreas hadn't mentioned before: Her ability to release electromagnetic radiation. Given that you already noticed some conflicting information between Laura's death squad story and Oreas' story... this made you decide to go back to questioning her.
>>
>Ask her what smart things Laura did while being wounded.
You asked her about the story she gave regarding her and Laura's escape, specifically asking what smart things Laura did to help them escape. "Uhhh, w-well, she... ummm, s-she used this... w-weapon she found to... uhhh, d-destroy part of the ceiling a-and... t-this separated the squad from us!" Given her stuttering and how it didn't sound anything like what Laura said, and you finally came clean and told her that Laura told you something different. Specifically, that Oreas used her abilities to stop them. "Ummm, w-well... I-I used my... w-wall phasing to distract them, o-of course! I-I lit up a-and quickly d-dodged around them w-which got... Laura the chance to d-defeat them! I-It was a collaborative effort!" By now, it was clear to you and your men that Oreas was... not telling a whole truth. After all, Laura stated that Oreas distracted them and used her abilities to save her. Laura never mentioned using some weapon to stop the death squad...

>Write in what to do next.

Suggestions:
>Bring up the fact Laura never mentioned some sort of weapon.
>Tell Oreas to just admit the truth and make it easier for you. You already knew the paper mentioned her having some sort of electric powers.
>Point out that Oreas is risking Laura's life by not telling these full truths.

(Given that you guys weren't all too specific with what you'd tell your men specifically, I decided to take some creative liberties. If there are some points you still want to bring up to your men, please tell me so I can incorporate it into the next update.)
>>
>>5856480
>Bring up the fact Laura never mentioned some sort of weapon.
>Tell Oreas to just admit the truth and make it easier for you. You already knew the paper mentioned her having some sort of electric powers.

Yeah maybe don't share those files anymore
I'd prefer to wait until we have physical documentation on Andrei before bringing him up to the gov, or until we kill Roraima/some similar scientist so we can say they mentioned him.
>>
>>5856480
>>Bring up the fact Laura never mentioned some sort of weapon.
>>Tell Oreas to just admit the truth and make it easier for you. You already knew the paper mentioned her having some sort of electric powers.

If there are some points you still want to bring up to your men, please tell me so I can incorporate it into the next update.)
I want their thoughts on our current two captives, who have been useful thus far for information gathering.

As for mentioning Andrei, The government has already made it known they do NOT like people digging for information, if we make a show about how we are digging for information we put ourselves at risk. Its kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy if we just announce we keep gathering information isntead of shooting scientists and subjects.
If we can find a more discrete method of finding this out, that'd be best.
>>
>Bring up the fact Laura never mentioned some sort of weapon.
>Tell Oreas to just admit the truth and make it easier for you. You already knew the paper mentioned her having some sort of electric powers.
Oreas' story did not add up whatsoever... Laura never mentioned using a weapon to save herself, and clearly stated it was Oreas who saved her. You brought up that Laura never mentioned some sort of weapon, making Oreas shiver and let out another anxious gulp. "Well, she... uhhh... m-maybe she's... j-just praising me? O-Or doesn't want to, uhhh... ummm... she..." You saw Oreas looking around more and more anxiously, as it was obvious she was struggling to explain what had happened. So, finally, you told her to come clean. You had read the paper about some of her powers. You had heard Laura explain how she used said powers to defeat death squads. It was in her interest to just admit what was going.

Oreas looked down, remaining quiet as her eyes darted around the place. "I... I can't..." She mumbled, at which point Derek responded more calmly. "Why not?" Artyom also joined the conversation, doing so a bit more sternly. "Look, we've already promised you that we aren't going to hurt you, your friends or Laura. Just tell us what other powers you have." Oreas kept looking down, before shaking her head. "Laura told me to... keep it a secret. No matter what." Either she was throwing Laura under the bus, or she really was determined to keep it a secret. Lars sighed, before responding a bit more seriously. "Look, you can keep it a secret, but... we're building trust here, alright? We already told you about our lives and how we feel being down here... Mikhail already showed that he doesn't want to cause you any harm... Why can't you just trust us with this?" Oreas kept looking down a bit, before letting out a deep, distressed sigh. And after another minute of contemplation, she finally gave in.

"I-I can... g-give things... e-electrical charges." She said softly, your men looking at each other before Zaria asked the obvious question. "And... what does that mean?" Oreas hesitated, clearly not knowing (or not wanting) to elaborate on it further. But, she did soon speak up again. "Well, it's... ummm, Mona told me it's like... I can c-create electrical currents... ummm, energy from my b-body creates... c-charges which can then... travel around a-and stuff..." Given that it was still rather vague, Derek gave a more specific question which would hopefully explain it better. "Can you explain us how you used this power to defeat a death squad?" Oreas once again looked anxious, given that this was basically her revealing her secret weapon to you guys.
>>
"O-Okay, so... w-when fighting those... g-guys, I just... r-ran around a-and charged the... m-metal floor a-and... w-weapons and such... c-causing them to be... e-electrocuted and s-shocked..." Your men seemed quite surprised, with Artyom responding. "So, you can create electrical charges and... shock people with them?" Oreas nodded a little, before speaking reluctantly. "I-I don't... know how it works very well. Mona explained it to me before, b-but... it's not something I u-understand well..." After a moment of silence, Anon spoke up again, doing so more inquisitively. "So, how strong can it get? You mentioned taking down a small squadron of men... did that take a lot of effort for you?" Oreas didn't seem sure, thinking about it before softly giving her answer. "It took some time... uhhh, I mostly... charged the metal f-floor they were on, running around and... charging it more and more... until they... went down..."

It seemed that Oreas could generate quite the power, if this was the case. And given how she said 'went down', it made Zaria ask a rather concerned question. "Did... did you kill them?" To this, Oreas looked away before giving her quietest response so far yet. "I-I don't know..." At least you managed to figure out her powers now, also realising that... fucking hell, Oreas could've potentially caused quite some hurt to you if it weren't for the fact that you had quickly captured Laura. Hell, if you hadn't sent Lars and Derek to get the locker with Laura in it and had sent all your men to chase after Oreas, she could've very easily taken down all your men with some potent shocks.

>Ask your men for their thoughts on our current two captives, who have been useful thus far for information gathering.
Given what was explained, you decided to ask your men a rather specific question. You wanted to know what they thought of the two captives and the information they had provided, as they seemed a bit surprised by the sudden question. Though, they didn't seem to mind answering it, probably because they assumed you asked them since... well, you had just been told that one of said captives could incapacitate all of you with electrical charges... The first to respond was Derek, who did so calmly. "Well, they have provided us with plenty of information... and, hearing what they could've done to us now does... concern me a little bit. But, I think they have been useful to us and... we should certainly keep them alive." Afterwards, Lars gave his opinion on the matter, though it didn't seem to deviate much from Derek's. "Yeah, they've been useful to us, I'd say... Not sure about what we should do with them, but killing them doesn't seem right, you know."
>>
Afterwards came Anon, who seemed a bit more concerned. "The information they gave us was useful, and I think it's good we're discovering what is going on... but, I do worry what will happen if we keep being this... erm, reasonable, for the lack of a better term. After all, we were brought here with... a particular goal in mind, that being killing subjects... So far, we haven't done any of that." Oreas did seem a bit horrified by what Anon said, probably because she didn't want to become a bonus payment for you and your men.

Unfortunately, Alan wouldn't help with that, as he just casually stated. "It's cool we're learning about all this, but... I don't want to end up sparing anyone who we think is innocent, especially given that... well, as you can see, they can end up keeping secrets from us..." It was an ironically astute observation from Alan. After all, you were lucky to have had two people to interrogate this time, meaning you could deduce something Oreas had withheld from telling you... Zaria afterwards also gave her say, being a bit more in the middle. "It's nice to learn about subjects and the ways they work, especially since it means we know their weaknesses... but yeah, I do think we should be careful with who we choose to trust... this time, I think we should grant some leniency, but we gotta be more strict in the future." Lastly came Artyom, who thought a bit about what to say, before giving his opinion. "They have provided us with information and... they just tried defending themselves. They've already experienced shit from other death squads so... yeah, their distrust and secrecy was somewhat warranted. I think we should let them go and show them know that... we're not dickheads like the other death squads..." The only ones who hadn't given their opinion now were Thaddeus and Evander, who you could ask the question to later, given that they were preoccupied looking after Laura.

Regardless, it seemed your men had been pleased with the info you had gained. Though one person who wasn't happy about what had been said was... poor Oreas. She sniffled and was once again letting out some tears after everyone finished. "I-I'm sorry, Laura..." She eventually mumbled, as it was clear she regretted telling you about her power. Especially given how staunch she was about keeping it a secret for Laura's sake.

>Write in what to do next.

Suggestions:
>Keep in asking Oreas questions. (Write in what questions.)
>Give her some more leniency, perhaps letting her see Laura to show that she is fine.
>Give her a break to calm down, and discuss with your men on what to do next.
>>
>>5857179
>Write in what to do next.
Tell her we knew her power from the papers already, we just wanted to see how honest she would be.
then
>Give her a break to calm down, and discuss with your men on what to do next.
I wanna speak with Evander and Thaddeus and get their thoughts, after that we can let the two of em meet and I guess we spare them the same way we did Chrys since our guys don't feel trigger happy.
>>
>>5857179
>Give her some more leniency, perhaps letting her see Laura to show that she is fine.
>Give her a break to calm down, and discuss with your men on what to do next.

I don't think we'll get in trouble over not killing any subjects. Considering the number of subjects on the list and the number of mercs deployed, most squads our size just won't even get the chance to kill any. If we could hunt down a big name like Roraima we'd both get answers and the gov off our back for hopefully the whole mission, so perhaps ask Laura if she has any leads on where he could be?
>>
>>5857191
Supporting. However telling her this was a lie test will likely give her another panic attack given her performance. I do wonder how we will save them, if we even can without going overt and loud.

>>5857410
Supporting this too. However there is still plenty of staff here that we in theory should run into and be able to kill. Further, if we are caught it'll be our asses on the firing line with the staff that we were meant to execute.
>>
>Tell her we knew her power from the papers already, we just wanted to see how honest she would be.
>Give her a break to calm down, and discuss with your men on what to do next.
With Oreas being so... utterly devastated, you wanted to reassure her a bit to help her calm down again. So, to do so, you told her that you already knew of her powers before. She didn't respond, even after you explained that you just wanted to see how honest she was. Given her soft sobs and the fact she wasn't responding, you looked to your men and decided she needed a break. You told them that you wanted to hear how Evander and Thaddeus felt, given that their says on the matter were also quite important.

Your men seemed to agree, though Artyom brought up some of his concerns soon after: "Do you want us to still watch over Oreas, Mikhail? Or should we do something else with her?" Given her broken and defeated state, you opted to go for something a bit more reasonable. You decided she could meet up with Laura again. This actually did seem to make Oreas a lot more hopeful, as she looked up and spoke softly. "R-Really? Can I... can I see her?" It seemed only fair, given that neither of them were a threat to you and had so far proven quite useful... aside from withholding some information from you. Besides, she needed some cheering up.

>Give her some more leniency, perhaps letting her see Laura to show that she is fine.
Thus, you headed back to the room with Laura, Oreas quietly following while the rest of your men made sure she didn't try phasing through the wall or floor to escape. Obviously, she didn't do such, and you'd quickly return to Thaddeus and Evander. "Ah, Mikhail. You're back" Thaddeus said, as you entered and saw Laura quickly going from bored to death to more determined and serious. "Is Oreas okay? You didn't hurt her, did you?!" She was instantly focused on Oreas and her wellbeing. Derek was quick to respond, doing so more warmly and optimistically. "We didn't, in fact..." After Derek entered the room as well, Oreas followed, and was quick to speed up and rush Laura.

"Oreas!" Laura yelled right away, Oreas quickly lunging at her and hugging her. "Are you okay, Oreas? You aren't hurt, are you?" Oreas cried a bit as she held onto Laura, hesitating to respond before mumbling a bit. "I-I'm sorry, Laura... I-I couldn't... k-keep my powers... a secret..." Laura didn't appear mad. At least, not at Oreas. She did glare at you, before speaking more reassuringly towards Oreas. "It's fine, Oreas. You... you were likely stressed and... didn't know what to do. It's okay." Oreas kept on crying a little bit, while you headed over to Thaddeus and Evander. You told them what Oreas had told you, and that Oreas had some rather potent powers. Evander and Thaddeus didn't seem too surprised, but they were still quite impressed by what had been mentioned.
>>
And while the rest of your men aside from Anon and Alan filled the room, you'd ask Thaddeus and Evander what their thoughts were on the two captives you had. Thaddeus and Evander seemed a bit surprised by the question, though they didn't hesitate to give their opinions on the matter, starting with Evander. "Well, aside from Laura's aggression, I think both have been quite friendly and useful... ya know, telling us all about Elbrus, Roraima, Andrei and more... I just wonder what we're gonna do with 'em. I don't think letting 'em join us like..." He'd speak a bit more softly to make sure Laura and Oreas didn't hear what he was saying. "Ya know, Chrys... would be a good idea." Thaddeus nodded along, speaking a bit more optimistically.
"Maybe we can ensure some sort of deal of co-operation. That way, we can ensure their safety while they maybe can keep helping us as well... Either way, they deserve to be kept alive and away from the conflicts of this place..." Thaddeus looked at Oreas and Laura, watching them hugging each other as Laura reassured Oreas that things were going to be fine. So now the question was... what were you going to do with them?

>Write in what to do next.

Suggestions:
>Let them go without any sort of request
>Get one, likely Oreas, a tracker just like Chrys.
>Have them join you for your travels for some time.

(Since the thread is on page 10, I have been told to archive the thread. I imagine starting a new thread could be a good decision right about now, after you guys voted on what to do next. Though, I am also thinking of taking a little break for a day. Maybe continue the thread on Saturday or Sunday, if that's okay with you guys.

If there are any other things you guys want to discuss first though or suggest for the new thread, do let me know!)
>>
>>5857915
Yeah be sure to take a break op, pacing and avoiding burnout is important

We could take em or let them go (probably better to put a tracker)
We can't have em on us unless we DON'T plan to go back to the VAT.
I don't really mind either situation.
Tho we could give them the choice.
Either we let them go with/without tracker or they stay with us.
>>
>>5857915
>Show them to the vat room
I like to live dangerously

>Ask if they have any info on acceptable targets - unethical scientists/murderous subjects, with focus on the former though.

>Ask what they plan to do now that they know more about the situation: keep hiding out down here? Try to escape somehow? We're willing to help them out as long as doing so isn't too risky for us and our squad.

I'd recommend a break too same as >>5857970

You know how to archive?
>>
>>5858021
I am against showing anyone the VAT room or directly providing aid in a way that would overly incriminate us.

Thus my suggestion is
>Give them the choice of either staying with us or going back to the facility and risking their lives.
>>
>>5858021
Yep, a friend told me how to do it, and I have archived it a little while ago.
>>
>>5858033
Ok, I can live without showing them to the VAT, and I can back offering to take them along if they want

It'll be less exciting though :(
>>
>>5858067
no fellow anon, you must stand by your decision, and force op to choose one of two mutually exclusive possibilities or have someone eles vote to tie-break.
>>
>>5858093
oh ok

Ignore >>5858067
We MUST show them to the vat. This whim is a matter of life and death.
>>
>>5858021
>>5858100

Showing them the vat is retarded. This is stupid, dangerous, dangerously stupid, and stupidly dangerous...

Fuck it. Let's do it anyway. It technically speaking can't be traced back to us, now, can it? Just make sure there's no camera's.
>>
>>5858139
Based
If there were cameras I'd hope they'd have found more scientists and subjects by now.
>>
>>5858093
Lurkers please rise up.
>>
>>5860474
>>5860474
>>5860474
>>5860474
New thread is up!



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