>>23152153
Your inventory:
Stims
Combat knife (on you) - salvaged from crazy dude
Vehicle-and-misc toolkit
Engineering/demolition supplies
Team-size medkit
Stims (more from crazy dude) and first aid
Binoculars
Radio

Team A:
You - assault rifle, SMG, pistol, shivs, milspec helmet with imager
Skeety Rakrood - driver, scout/sniper
Adnan Soong - gunner, shotgun

Team B:
Rhubert Philips - driver - hunting rifle
Alexander Rex - SMG, break-action hunting rifle, , milspec helmet with imager
Morris - rifle, pistol


-Each team has a rover with a vehicle-mounted machinegun
-Your toolkit and materials in the rovers can be used for a variety of purposes, improvised explosives and poison gas need not be mentioned.

>>23152153

Ahhhh! What the hell is that!

>>23152186

Ok guys, I am tempted to regroup here but our gunshots could lead to SUE's coming here.

I vote we press on.

>>23152280
Is that a "yes, barge into the inside of the store by any means"?

I wonder how long this quest is supposed to run.

>>23152399
I'm voting that we find a way inside. Have Team B on overwatch to cover our back and keep an eye out for anything that might come snooping after our gunshots, while Team A looks for a way inside.

>>I wonder how long this quest is supposed to run.

I want to wrap this up within ten threads if possible.

>>So I'm confused, where the hell does this take place and how does it relate to meta-quest?

It takes place shortly after the original TG Meta Quest, so they're trying to rebuild Meta-Earth with the whittled resources and manpower they have, but the work is becoming more difficult than expected. Peacekeeping and establishing order is proving to be a massive pain in the ass.

>>23152280
>our gunshots could lead to SUE's coming here.
There have been errant gunshots all day. Getting a workable map is important enough that we should take the time and effort to get one.

>>23152153
>>23152399
Let's first try and find a way in that doesn't draw too much attention to us.

>>23152280
>>23152449

You, Skeety and Soong finangle around with all the possible openings to the store. After a while, you three manage to pull apart a barricade of junk car parts scrawled with knowledge/logic-based challenges.

The three of you barge into the darkness of the store, where you're greeted by a slew of items strewn on the ground, mostly treats and supplies.

Soong reaches for his belt and flicks on a flashlight. "Man, I'd take these with us, but we're in a hurry to reach that library, right?"

You, and Skeety do likewise. "Damn, boss, where are we gonna find a map in a place like this?" he asks. You answer with "We have to find one anyway, probably push away all this stuff, it's probably buried in here"

You search the walls and the back rooms for a map. Meanwhile, Soong discretely reaches down for one of the wrapped foods on the floor, unable to resist the opportunity to snack on something. He gives his unwrapped treat a sniff, and finding the smell to be acceptable, he shoves the bar into his mouth and rips away a chunk.

In the back room, your eyes scan around, but find nothing, to avail. The place seems mostly stripped down, supplies drained, with the odd cleaning tool lying around.

"Yo boss, I think I got something!" Skeety shouts from somewhere in the main room. The three of you poke your flashlights at a long table where Skeety is rummaging through. On the wall behind him, seems to have had papers torn from it.

Skeety lifts a box out from a tucked spot inside the table, and settles it down on the tabletop. The three of you dig in with both hands, taking out anything uninteresting, anything not useful to your search.

In your hands, is large sheet of paper, corners torn. At the wall, you gaze and compare, these torn corners matching up with what used to be stuck there.

In your hands, is a transit system map. An examination of the symbols and lines indicate things such as major routes.

You call for Morris...

>>23152764
Wow, what a find! If we can just match this up to what we already know, we could get around the city without anybody the wiser!

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>>23152859
You lay down Morris' hand-drawn map next to the transit system map. There's several places that roughly match up, but certain distances and details between places are a little different. However, you four manage to piece together the differences in a few minutes. Not only do you find out how far the major subway stations are and where they lie, but you now know exactly how far the train yard on Morris' map is.

The problem is that most of the stations marked on the transit map lie in that huge zone Morris marked down in the dangerous sue nation region.

Morris' personal notes and map ( from previous thread)
>>From his messed-up notes, it seems you are somewhere northwest in the city. There's a landmark on his map that corresponds to a small grocery a mile south, with a rail line that goes across around 200 meters from that place. There's this X marked, where he tells you to not touch it. It seems that the rails lead into the opening of a tunnel, but it's blocked and boobytrapped. On the other side of a tunnel is a yard full of other rails, where trains are put away. There is a small circle near this area indicating a door, but it's inside a building near the yard. There is a small bridge, going west-east crossing the rails above, marked. Next is a huge rough area marked "LOW BUILDINGS" that goes on for a while. This area sits between the train yard and a small collection of larger buildings and a park. There is a small marked spot near the park that leads to the subway. To be exact, it lies among the taller buildings.

>>Near to the bottom-middle of the map is an area marked by huge dashed lines saying, "SUE NATION DO NOT CROSS".

>>23152966
Well, fuck. Morris, do you think the SUEs or their thralls would be watching the tunnels?

>>23152966
I say we go very carefully towards the tunnels, and look for any signs of the enemy.

>>23153081
Morris rubs his unkempt beard. "I don't usually venture into the tunnels. It's lawless in there. For a long time, there was a hidden settlement there, but they're tucked between the tunnels of the subway line. In other words, those small tunnels and passages don't appear on this map. "

"How do you suppose we reach the library?" you ask.

"Boss, this other map is a city map above ground. There's a lot of places written down here, like a couple of libraries..." Skeety interjects.

"Looks like we'll have to plan a route. Use the routes from my maps, use this city map, and probably try to come out at one of the stations" Morris suggests. "We could risk going underground, but above ground, it's probably not safe either."

"The university library, right...." you mumble.

You four scour the map and find the university somewhere near the opposite side of the city, but connected to the sue nation territory by proximity to a couple subway stations.....

>>23153308
Fuckmotherers. Either way we'll have to get close to those rainbowbloods' turf. Still...I kind of doubt that they'll be watching the tunnels as much. I mean, that'd be logical, after all. And you say that there are some unmarked shortcuts down there, right?

>>23153478
>>"And you say that there are some unmarked shortcuts down there, right?"

"Some are shortcuts between stations, and others go to other places, like the trainyard I marked down. There's a spot on that map that leads to several narrow tunnels. One exit comes out of a park, others come out between buildings."

>>23153615
Can you see see where those exits are on the map?

>>23153652
"The city map or transit map? No and no."

Rex chimes in. "I think we've got trouble soon boss. I hear rumbling, like big footsteps and weird roaring noises."

You take a peek outside. You can't exactly hear it, but the echoes of such noises come in irregularly, to what your ears can pick up....

>>23153751
Grab the maps, and lets get out of here before whatever it is gets here.

>>23153751
>>23153833
Yeah, let's scram. We'll make for the nearest tunnel entrance that connects to one by the library.

Rolled 74

>>23153833
>>23153871

The six of you make a run for it. It seems that, between you, Rex and Morris, you three have decided to keep running, or at least until you see anything that remotely might be an entrance to one of those small tunnels..

On the way, you spy an upright sign that names a library, but next to it, is a ruined building.

You occasionally see something buzzing in the sky, but it's way too far to make out....

>>Note that finding a service tunnel at this rate is a huge crapshoot.

>>23153986
>>74

Not bad.

You six find a pair of steel doors and pull them open. Turning on your lights, you follow the twisting passages , marked with signs that don't mean much. Eventually, you come to a set of stairs to which your two teams climb up. It leads into a set of corridors, rooms emptied, tables unused. Papers, papers everywhere, many things written on them. You wonder where you are....

>>23154274
What do the papers say?

>>23154291
Many are nonsense chatter, but from the gist of things, you're in city maintenance. Apparently one of the tunnels here goes straight into the sewers, and another goes into "inventory and storage".

>>23154404
Storage? Interesting. Do our maps show anything in the direction the papers indicate?

>>23154404
Meanwhile, Soong fumbles around with some of the other scraps and picks up a bunch of old papers with pictures printed, something about an ongoing war and daily life. He passes it to you.

"Stuff about the old world. Paper's pretty old, a lot's unreadable. What do you make of it? Keep it?"

>>23154452
Lore is lore, let's take it with.

>>23154432
Your maps show nothing, but there's a hand-drawn map in one of the rooms that shows how to get to storage.

>>23154452
Sure, may as well. At the very least, it's tinder in case we need a fire.

>>23154470
It doesn't connect to anywhere else, does it?

>>23154470
Do we have a length of string, and a washer or a bolt?

Find string or twine, tie a washer to one end to weigh it down, and tie the other end to the end of our assault rifle. The string hanging down will catch on any trip wires, and by having the assault rifle in front of us, we'll be able to detect such traps more easily.

>>23154489
No indications so far.

The six of you take as many fragile pieces of written-on paper as you can carry, but most of the papers crumble to uselessness.

Coming from the stairs, you follow the tunnels again. Many pipes line the sides and top, to some purpose, maybe something to do with the city.

Storage and inventory awaits before your group. It's packed with sealed wooden boxes, and the occassional machine. Further in the back, is a metal gate. Further inspection reveals that there's a metal chain that used to hold it together, but it's now cut, and the two gates swing open without much effort.

Further inside leads to even more tunnels lined with pipes. A side door that Soong opens, out of curiosity, comes out to a much larger tunnel.

"Looks like you have a knack for messing with things, Soong" Morris jabs. "Lemme take a look here. So we got train tracks, a big tunnel... I think this looks like a subway tunnel. "

You follow Morris and Soong. There's an odd current of air flowing through the tunnels, and at one end in the distance, you can make out hints of sunlight. You swing your flashlight toward that direction and see another small door, probably to another service tunnel.

>>23154641
Let's check that door.
It might be labeled, and we might be able to get our bearings.

>>23154522
You think that there might be traps from here on end.

You tell Soong and Skeety the idea to tie some cord to the ends of their rifles, one end with slightly heavy object. It takes a few minutes for them to run back and scour for objects in the rooms further back, but they return and set up their gear.

"Smart plan there, boss" said Skeety as he taps the little cord to test traps with.

"I think.. I know where we might be by now..." Morris mutters. He starts walking in another direction, looking for other ways around. He's far ahead, hesitating to use that door, and hesitating another way to follow the tunnel in the opposite direction.

"If we can find out where we are, comparing to what the outside is like, I think we can get to the library faster" Morris says.

>>23154667
You catch up to Morris and the door is merely labelled with numbers. An examination with a flashlight indicates hints that it's been opened before. The door, pulled a little, seems to be a little heavy, some resistance. Turning the handle gently doesn't give anything suspicious though.

>>23154778
Morris is right, in that, if we take a quick look outside, we can figure out where we are.

Just one person should go, though; too much of a chance of being spotted if we moved as a group.

>>23154778
Okay, everybody stand back behind the door when we open it so any explosions don't rip us up.
>>23154855
That does sound like the best plan. Morris, you know this place, so I'm trusting you with this recon. If something spots you just hightail it back here and let us know so we can level our guns down that way.

>>23154855
You can vaguely make out something beyond the door, through the tiny gap. However, you can make out hints of wires running across, just behind the door.

Skeety looks around the other side of the tunnel. His flashlight yields a large opening in the distance. Immediate in his vicinity though, he finds another small door, similarly with wires just behind it.

>>23154909
"I don't really know this place. I didn't mark down the door numbers though, just landmarks from the surface and usual routes," Morris says.

You peer on daylight side of the tunnel. There's something, or several things blocking the end of the tunnel.

>>23155024
Flashlight on those objects.

>>23152558
Wouldn't the Retcon Device have fixed the damage the SUEs caused?

>>23155074
This could be happening before TF38 enacted it. Remember, at the end of TG Quest, there were stories of other sectors who had been fighting for years while others didn't even notice what had happened. It's quite possible that the end of this quest will coincide with the renewal of Meta Earth.

>>23155122
Good Point.

>>23155048
They seem to be huge pieces of junk... metal. There's also a few rows of small objects, neatly arranged in rows close to the barricade.

>>23155074
I'll leave it to you to reflect on the details of the retcon device and how you used it.

>>23154909
Soong and Skeety poke at the wires and door with their rifles while everyone stands a safe distance to the sides of the door.

The door springs back violently, and numerous cracks of gunfire rattle out the doorway and in the area behind the door.

When the dust settles, Soong and Skeety look to see the impacts of shotgun pellets everywhere.

>>23155230
Glad we took those precautions. Any more evidence of traps down there?

>>23155184
Arranged? I sense skullduggery afeet. Let's take a closer look at those things.

>>23155184
>There's also a few rows of small objects, neatly arranged in rows close to the barricade.
Claymore mines. Anyone on our teams have bomb disposal training?

>>23155230
Check to see if there's a shotgun, or if it was just shotgun shells in a trap.

Either way, we need to see where we are and get moving; triggering that trap will bring the people who set it coming.

>>23155267
Each object seems to be a bunch of stuff tied together around tubes of varying sizes. There are wires close to the ground.

You hear something muffled, something noisy beyond the other side...

>>23155369
Fuck.
Fall back to the original door that we used to enter this tunnel. We'll lock it behind us and then find another way.

>>23155353
Skeety and Soong sweep the area. It seems that the trap was made out of shotgun shells. A couple paces from them down a short corridor and a turn, is a stairway. The two of them creep up, trying to poke for traps. It's all clear until the end of the stairs.

>>23155369
Correction. Something noisy behind the barricade.

>>23155424
>>23155415
Everyone go through that door, lock it behind us, and then take the stairs.
Something is coming and we are unlikely to be equipped to deal with it.

>>23155424
>>23155454
Agreed. But if we find ourselves in a worse situation, back track here as fast as your legs will carry you.

>>23155454
"I don't like the sound of that," you say out loud to your teams. "We're heading up the stairs. It's safe, right?"

Skeety gives a positive.

"Good, let's hurry. Morris, can you shut the door we came in from? And then everyone through this door, and we'll lock it."

Morris rushes to the other door in a hurry while the rest keep watch. Not too long, everyone finds themselves up the stairs. It leads up to yet, another series of rooms, and there's clearly daylight at the other end. From being in the dark, the glare hurts a little and washes everything in white, until your eyes re-adjust.

"Morris, you got those other maps of yours?" you ask. You follow the source of the daylight...

"I'm not liking this. Maybe we should've gone the other way," Rex protests, to which you reply with, "There's no telling if that loud noise, whatever it's from, might break through the tunnel and run us down if we went the other way."

>>23155618
Morris, head towards the daylight, find out where we are.
Rex and Philips, cover him.

Team A, point all guns down the staircase; we don't know if whatever got attracted by the shotgun trap will come up the stairs or not.

>>23155657
You direct Skeety and Soong to go watch the staircase with their guns.

As Morris checks out the daylight, he returns excited to tell you guys where you finally all are. As you, Rex and Rhubert follow him, you see train tracks. Several of them, placed side by side, with trains lined up one after the other, but lengths of trains vary, there's gaps between with large stretches of tracks.

"So where are we on the map? Can you point it?" Rhubert asks. "Simple! We're at the train yard... and you see the the other side? There's a door, which I marked..."

Morris presses on that spot nearby with his index finger..."here!"

"So we just have to cross to the other side?" Rhubert asks. "Yes! I think we're halfway to the library if we get in the door," says Morris.

"Anything down the stairs?" you ask the other two.

"Nope, it's quiet. That noise seems to have gone away."

You run back to Morris and closer to the view outside. As you approach, your boots make a crunching sound. It seems that, in some places in this room, the windows have been shot out, flakes of glass on the floor....

>>23155741
Get down! Possible enemy snipers!
Avoid the windows and use either a dentist's mirror or a hand mirror to check out the area.

>>23155782
All six of you crawl back to where there are no windows, and search for a mirror. There's a couple inside some tables.

>>Obtained three hand mirrors.

Gingerly, you all crawl back, and look around with the mirror. Nothing. Quiet.

You take a breather, and as you crawl back to the safe rooms, you notice that a fair amount of dust has been collecting on the broken glass....

>>23155902
Ask Morris how long ago he came through this area. Other humans might have trapped the area after he left.

Begin planning a way to cross the train yard to get to the marked door Morris talked about.

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>>23155959
"About five days ago, but I didn't pass through this room."

You look for a way down. One of the rooms has a door, a short corridor with stairs going down.

Meanwhile, outside, the noise becomes loud again. This noise, louder and louder, a sound of machinery, of metal, and sound of engines. It settles for a moment. Other people, armed, walking as a tight group, around the other side of the train yard. They're trying to find a way around.

You and Morris peek.

You see this.

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>>23156103
Braced against the bridge nearby, you see a single person riding a similar vehicle with legs.

>>23156103
>>23156166
Stay hidden.
Anyone in the teams recognize the machines? Do they have any kind of identifying symbols or logos? Are the people in a uniform of some kind, or patchwork suits?

>>23156103
>>23156166
Sweet jebus. We're not match for that kind of firepower. And I seriously hope that dog is just a dog.

>>23156193
They're dressed no better than you guys are. The machines are pretty much junk patchworks. From how they walk and by their design, they have some sort of basis in pictures from the "Old World".

You watch the scene. The rider of the two legged machine yawns and stretches out as far back as he can...

In the distance, you can see those flying things again, their shapes too hard to tell from this distance.

Alright guys, see you tomorrow night when we'll resolve this.