>>30349650
>Last time on GAMMA 4, SPACE NINJA WIZARD INDIANA JONES!
>Gamma-kun… I love you!
>But Zerg-sama, it is forbidden! I am a ghost, and you are a horrible monster intent on devouring worlds!

>Last time on Freelance Ghost Quest:
You go through the crowd mentally, picking up a few sentences of each person. Finally, you come across a small group of people talking about interesting things. They’re standing in the shadow of the two-story building you dubbed “village hall”.
“I heard that mad archaeologist is going out on an expedition again in a few days. Didn’t he learn his lesson last time? My cousin Mike died because of him!”
“Calm down. He claimed to have made a great discovery. If so, it might make life easier here. If anything, his expeditions are the only exiting thing happening around here aside from Mr Weissdammer himself going on hunting trips if he so happen to feel like it.”
“You know, I was thinking’ of applyin’ for the heavy liftin’. Pays better than bein’ a stinkin’ farmhand. I’ll gladly take those Nightrape beasts on if it means I don’t have to see another radish in my life.”
“They’re called Stalkers Billy. Docter Fringers told you so herself, before you got booted out of there.”
“It wosn’t stealin’! I was borrowin’ it so I could help me sister-“
You think you’ve heard enough, doublecheck in their memories, and return to your own body. There seems to be something going on with an archaeologist. He shouldn’t be too hard to spot, the way those people were talking about him. Another interesting thing is this Mr Weissdammer. He doesn’t seem to be around all the time, but you think you could find out more about him now you know what to look for. And finally, they seem to have a lab out here somewhere which could prove interesting. You wonder what exactly they research around here.

>>30349659
>I'm a bit early but in 30-40 minutes I'll have to go on a short dinner break for about 20 minutes or so.


>1. Look for the Archaeologist. You’ve got a fairly clear view where his home should be, and going with him on that expedition might lead to interesting things.
>2. Check out the Doctor. She might be the best source of information on what’s going on here, and her research could prove interesting.
>3. Stay here for a moment, try to find out more about this Mr Weissdammer. The way they spoke about him it sounded like he was in charge here.

>>30349678
And I forgot, of course there's
>4. Write in.

>>30349699
Right, gotta go eat, had hoped to put out at least one update, but I'll check again when I get back.

>>30349678
lets go with hunting trip guy we can archaeologist later

>>30350018
Back!
>Writing.

>>30350018
yea that way we at least have experience defending ageist what the archaeologist would want protection from

It might prove useful to learn more about this “Mr Weissdammer” first though. You remain seated, mind still open to the thoughts around you. Knowing what to look for, it doesn’t take long to single out some more open minds with info about the man.
It seems Weissdammer set up the entire expedition, ten years ago. The colonists have varying opinions on why exactly, but everyone you mindscan seems to agree that he only takes interest in the settlement when he wants to go hunting, which is roughly every on-planet month. He just sends a short message to some of his men here, and they start preparing an expedition into the wilds, taking pack animals with supplies for a week and men to corner the wild and various other menial tasks. All in all the hunting trips aren’t that different from the archaeological trips, other than that they pay better, and that they don’t provoke wildlife attacks on their homes.
It seems the people here don’t actively like him, but gladly take up his offer of employment whenever he’s in town.
You don’t think you can filter out much more interesting things from the crowd here. It’s starting to disperse even, and as you open your eyes you see twilight is about to settle in. You didn’t realise you had been sitting on this roof for that long.

>1. Look for the Archaeologist. You’ve got a fairly clear view where his home should be, and going with him on that expedition might lead to interesting things.
>2. Check out the Doctor. She might be the best source of information on what’s going on here, and her research could prove interesting.
>3. Write in.

>>30350285
1

The Archaeologist seems to be what it’s all about in the settlement. His earlier expedition provoked the wildlife to attack the settlers, and he was looking into ruins deeper in the jungle. You remember a report back when you were in the confederacy about them finding a ruin that seemed to be of Protoss origin, from which they managed to salvage a lot of technology. It wouldn’t be too farfetched that these ruins are similar.
Staying cloaked, you jump back down into the street and make your way through the colony. Most people have already gone home or are going home, and you hear several locks clicking as you pass some doors. It seems that despite their fortifications at the wall the people still don’t really feel secure.
You make your way to a house right next to the wall, the door still wide open and light shining through the doorway. Looking in, you see middle aged man, somewhere in his late forties, early fifties, looking through a microscope at what seems to be just ordinary rock to you.

>Psi points 4/4
>Cloak active

>How do you approach him?
>1. Uncloak, walk in, close the door behind you and start talking to him (specify what to say)
>2. Stay cloaked, walk in, close the door behind you and start talking to him (specify what to say)
>3. Stay cloaked and slip in, best observe him for a little while and perhaps do a quick mind-probe.
>4. Write in.

Note: you are still in your full ghost suit.

>>30350555
Hmm, this is going a lot slower than yesterday. Well, I always heard second threads are the hardest. At least I've got some Shadow Quest to catch up on to keep myself busy.

>>30350555
1

>>30350555
lets go with 1

>>30350748
>>30350763
Ok, how do you want to approach him? "Hi, I'm an ex-confederate ghost, wassup?", or more mysteeeerious?

Or just, generally how do you want to approach the man?

>>30350827
mysteeeerious alwasy go mystery Archaeologists love mystery, mystery and books

>>30350902
Ok, writing.

>>30350902
Don't forget stone knifes and weird geometry

>>30350902

Radiating mystery might prompt him to try and unravel it. And we'd rather postpone that at least until such time when they are disinclined to turn us in to whatever excuse for successor government there might be interesting in rounding rogue ghosts up.

You glance around to check if anyone can see you, and drop your cloak as you walk into the building. He doesn’t even notice you coming in, despite being only two metres away from him. The interior of the building is spartan. There’s a few tables, three chairs, and some cupboards in a corner along with some cooking things. In the back there’s a door that presumably leads to a bedroom, but from what you saw of the outside of the house, it wouldn’t be able to contain much more than just a bed.
There is one thing plentiful in the house though, and that is rocks. Rocks of all sizes and colours are littering the floor and tables. Some have inscriptions in them of some kind, but most don’t. Some of the scripture you recognise as Protoss writing from the reports you’ve read on them.
Even after taking some time to take everything in, the archaeologist is still busy with his microscope and the little piece of rock, so you slam the door shut behind you.
“Aaaagh! What… Who are you? When did you get here?” He actually jumped up and scrambled away from you. You’re not sure whether to find it funny or pathetic.
“It doesn’t matter who I am. But from what I’ve heard in town, you matter a lot. Expedition, wildlife attacks, everyone living in fear. Ring any bells?”
You give him a while to respond, but you get the feeling he’s a bit to startled to speak to you right now. The ghost suit probably doesn’t help.

>1. Wait a bit longer, he might actually snap out of it himself.
>2. Pull him upright and into a chair.
>3. Slap him.
>4. Try to find some water to pour over him. You don’t immediately see any taps though…
>5. Write in.

>>30351138

We certainly need to work on our social skills. Guess years of getting lobotomized and de-lobotomized at Academy do this to people.

Wait for him to gather his faculties.

Maybe tell him to gather his faculties, we just want a job.

>>30351185
Generally, your missions included assassination, sabotage and providing psionic support to an army on battlegrounds. Diplomacy and social missions do not seem to have been part of your portfolio.

>>30351138
>>1. Wait a bit longer, he might actually snap out of it himself.

>>30351224

Well, never too late to learn something new, is there?

And I suspect our present skillset will serve us well in those jungles.

At any rate, we need a name. I suggest Adahn.

>>30351185
>>30351293
Writing.

>>30351308
Might do a name vote at the next post. Gamma 4 will have to think of how he'll called by this guy anyway, seems logical to do it here.

You pull up a chair, swipe off a small rock, and sit down next to him. He seems pretty shaken, but at least he’s trying to form a coherent sentence now.
“I… There was… It’s al…”
You sigh. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to do anything to you. I heard you were planning another expedition and I just thought you could use someone with my skill set.”
He seems visually relieved. “You mean… you’re not here to kill me? But isn’t that what you people do?”
“You people?”
“I’m not sure what they call you, but I’ve seen one of you before. Shot a politician back on Falusha I and disappeared.”
Interesting. It seems he’s seen a ghost before. You’re not sure whether this is an advantage or not though. On one hand, he probably has a rough idea what you’re capable of, but on the other hand, he’ll most likely think of you as a crazy psychic assassin. Which is something you had hoped you could leave in the past.

>1. Come clear with him, tell him you vanished from the system and are your own man now, looking after himself.
>2. Claim you’re sent by the confederacy to inspect the ruins yourself, and that a position as his bodyguard would be the perfect cover.
>3. Stay as vague as possible, just offer him your employment.
>4. Write in.

Also, name vote!
We’ve only had the suggestion of Adahn so far. Another option is to stick with Gamma 4, but I’d like to gather some more name suggestions so we can vote on it.

>>30351494

>"I'm... retired."

>>30351494
Artemis

>>30351494
>>30351535
this

>>30351535
Writing.

>>30351494
>3 plus mind probe
>I’d like to gather some more name suggestions
Jack or Wilhelm

>>30351494

"Well, if you are not interested in my services, There are other individuals I could contact... As I doubt there are many people as skilled as I am on this world"

>>30351494

Gamma should suffice as a contract name. The rest of our unit probably died on Tarsonis... We can save an actual name for if we found our own organisation/crew

“I’m… retired. Yeah, let’s keep it at that. And now I’m here, looking for a job. You say you’ve seen a Ghost before.” You figure he might just as well know the name. “That means you roughly know what I’m capable of, and how useful I could be when it comes to defending you and your expedition. And I didn’t really see anyone else sharing my expertise around here.”
He seems to have regained most of his composure, and pulls himself back up. “Yesss…”
Suddenly, he looks like a different person. The absent minded archaeologist seems no more as you can see the gears turning in his head, and you can’t resist taking a peak. What you encounter in his head is the mind of a businessman, crunching numbers on payments and profits. Who to hire and what to buy.
“Yes, I think we can do business. I’m currently organising an expedition back to the smaller temple we went to two weeks ago. The main temple complex is something for in the slightly farther future. I can offer you 400 credits for the first expedition, and a guaranteed contract for the expedition after that if you’re interested.”
He opens up a drawer in a table and pulls out a piece of paper on which he furiously starts scribbling and then offers to you.
“I… might have to know your name though. You know, to make it official. I do prefer to keep the bookkeeping tidy.”

>1. Accept his offer
>2. Try to haggle up your payment. Do note that you haven’t got much experience with money so you’re not really that confident about it.
>3. Refuse.

Name vote!
>A. Adahn
>B. Artemis
>C. Jack
>D. Wilhelm
>E. Gamma 4 or a variant thereof.

>>30351676
>Jack
>Wilhelm
>I see what you did there anon

>>30351866
Oh, and
>4. Write in
Of course.

>>30351866

I'm the guy who came up with Adahn, but it *is* rather cheesy I suppose. I'll abstain from the vote. They all sound good.

>>30351866
>2. Try to haggle up your payment. Do note that you haven’t got much experience with money so you’re not really that confident about it.

>B. Artemis

Also, Supervisor, could you space out the paragraphs?

>>30351866

>2. Try to haggle up your payment. Do note that you haven’t got much experience with money so you’re not really that confident about it.
try to get 500 credits

I kinda like the name Artimus insted

>>30351866

also, unless the professor *radiates* intent of scamming us (which would be rather unwise), just accept his terms.

>>30351915
Hmm, noted. It looks better in my TextEdit.

>>30351940
From what you caught in his brain, he's not. He calculated his expenses and his budget, but you're not really at home in all that so you're not sure if it'd work.

>>30351907
>>30351915
>>30351929
>>30351940
Seems like we're going with haggling, but we've only got two name votes and they're variations of each other.

>Artemis
Or
>Artimus

>Writing, I'll insert the name when it's settled.

>>30352099
>Artemis

Oh fuck another ghost quest? Most excellent, I got addicted to quest threads because of the last ghost quest that was on /tg/

>>30352171
I was there too when it ran, it was awesome. I only realised the similarities after I started writing on this one though. Adjudant popped in and said hi last thread.

---------

You feel like 400 is a bit low. You might try your hand at haggling. You’ve seen it happen, how hard could it be?

“Make it 500.”

“500? Preposterous? I only pay most of the men 60! I’d have to lower their wages just to inflate your wallet a bit more.”

“Do you see anyone else with my skills around? Don’t bother, I checked. I’m the only one that can guarantee the safety of you and your expedition.”

He doesn’t look very happy with you fighting back. You see more numbers being crunched in his head, and after a short while he grunts “450. Any more and the whole thing wouldn’t even be profitable.”

>1. Press your luck, go for 500. You can tell it’d be fairly hard to convince him though.
>2. Accept his offer.
>3. Write in.

>>30352233
>2

>>30352233
>>2. Accept his offer.

>>30352233
>2. Accept his offer.
we need to settle on a name

>>30352314
Yes, name votes are up there, still kinda ongoing >>30352099

>>30352233

>Accept

>Artemis
Another cute ghost girl doing cute ghost things?

>>30352332
>Artemis
yeah ill switch to this

>>30352426
No, he's a guy.

sorry for the delay guys, internet borked on me for a moment. Writing now.

File: 1392843786492.jpg-(42 KB, 380x471, artemis entreri.jpg)

42 KB JPG

>>30352426

It's not just a name of a goddess.

Although I'd hope MC is not quite as much a dick as this one
<---

“You have yourself a deal, mister…”

“Haverdam. Edward Haverdam. And how may I call you?”

You’d been thinking about that for a while now. You could just go with Gamma 4, or Gamma, but it might be too alienating to most people.

“Artemis.” You say.

“Excellent, Mr Artemis, would you just sign here then?” He changes some scribbles on the earlier drawn up contract, changing the 400 to 450, and presents it back to you. You hesitate for a moment. Writing it down here seems to give some sense of finality. That there’s no more going back. Artemis huh?

You hand the paper back to him. He checks your signature, opens a different drawer and places the document within.

“Now Mr Artemis, it’s been a pleasure doing business with you. If you could meet me here at dawn in three days? Fully geared up and ready of course.”

He seems to read your hesitation, despite your mask. “…But you don’t really have any place to stay yet, do you? Well, I suppose I could let you sleep here for the night, but I really need the place to myself for the next few days.”

>1. Accept his offer, stay the night here.
>2. Ask a bit more about the facilities in town. Could you rent a place or a room?
>3. Refuse, you can handle yourself for now.
>4. Write in.

>>30352805
>>2. Ask a bit more about the facilities in town.
also, go meet the scientist

>>30352805
>“You have yourself a deal, mister…”
That should be professor of course.

>>30352835
Night has set in already, it seems the planet's nightfall is fairly sudden. It's highly probable that she's already asleep. It's still an option of course.

>>30352860
nothing better than a spook in the night

>>30352835
Writing.

>>30352805
>>2. Ask a bit more about the facilities in town. Could you rent a place or a room?
lets try to find a inn or something and look for a gun shop to buy a actual rifle we can use.

>>30352872

I don't think that will leave the good first impression. But, I guess...

“Are there any facilities in town? An inn, a hotel, perhaps someone renting out a room?”

Professor Haverdam rubs his stubbled chin for a moment. “Not really. We don’t exactly get many tourists around here you know,” he jokes. “And rooms for rent… Perhaps, but I don’t think you’ll get anyone to open up for you at this hour. Most Stalker attacks were around this time. I think one of my chairs or a piece of my floor is the best option you have right now. Wouldn’t want to sleep outside with those things roaming around. I think I still have a blanket around here…”

It seems the professor went back to being slightly scatterbrained. Oh well.
Suddenly you have to suppress a yawn. Checking your Tactical Adjutant you see that you’ve been awake fore 16 hours straight now. That right, it was afternoon on Tarsonis already, and you’ve spent the better half of a day probing people’s minds here.

>1. Go out, look for the scientist. You’ll see about sleep later.
>2. Crash with the professor. You’ll take that blanket and his floor.
>3. Try to look for people willing to rent you a room. The professor warned you against this, and your ghost suit probably won’t help you to make friends.
>4. Sleep outside. There might be dangerous predators out there, but surely their wall and handful of people in CMC’s can hold them out. Right?

>>30353115
>>1. Go out, look for the scientist. You’ll see about sleep later.

>>30353115
>1

>>30353141
>>30353182
>Writing.

“No thanks professor. There’s one last thing I’d like to do first. Maybe I’ll come back after that, I’ll see.”

“Very well. I won’t be awake for much longer myself though, so you might end up in front of a locked door.”

You depart, leaving the professor to toy with his rocks again. For a moment you think of activating your cloak, but the planet doesn’t seem to have a moon, and the starlight is weak enough that even your enhanced senses have trouble seeing in the dark. Your nightvision setting has no such trouble though, and you soon find yourself another edge of the town, where the wall stops where it reaches the side of a moderately large biodome. Most likely their crops and livestock is being held there, and it seems to be guarded by someone with a CMC, and several without. There’s some spotlights, but they're being handled so amateurishly that you don’t even need your cloak to evade those.
The house you’re looking for is a bit away from the dome and the wall itself, bit still fairly close. Now how do you proceed?

>1. Knock on the door, you can see from there.
>2. Try to force down the door with physical strength or if that’s not enough use Kinetic Wave.
>3. Try to find a different access point. From what you’ve seen from most of these houses though, the windows can be shut off completely and the small ventilation rosters wouldn’t even allow a child to squeeze through.
>4. Write in.

>>30353477
>>3. Try to find a different access point. From what you’ve seen from most of these houses though, the windows can be shut off completely and the small ventilation rosters wouldn’t even allow a child to squeeze through.

>>30353477

Knock. No point in starting our stay here with a forceful break-in

>>30353541
seconded.

>>30353541
>>30353668
Writing.

You figure it’s best not to start what should be a friendly visit with breaking down a door or window or such, and decide to just knock. You might not really have much experience with people but you know that much. You approach the entrance, instinctively looking around to see if anyone can spot you, and rase your hand to knock on the door.

“Hello? Who’s there?”

Huh, that’s odd, usually they wait with answering until after you knock.

“Bart, if that’s you, go to hell, I’m through with you. Stop bothering me.”

>1. Identify yourself as Artemis, highly skilled… “entrepreneur” and new arrival to the town. You thought she could help you with some things.
>2. Identify yourself as Artemis, say nothing more.
>3. Write in.

>>30353773
>>3. Write in.
"It's not Bart."

>>30353773
'sounds like you have a problem, I deal with problems'
so 1

>>30353791
>>30353844
Writing.

“It’s not Bart.”

“Oh. Erm…”

You take advantage of her hesitation.

“It sounds like you have a problem ma’am. I might help you with that. I’m new in town, and my the business is dealing with problems.”

“Huh. Ok, wait a second.”

You hear all kinds of locks and bars being taken off the door. A sudden flare of thought drifts into your head. You weren’t even trying to read her mind.

“Huh, his voice sounds muffled, what the hell is up with that. And I haven’t heard of any new arrivals.”

She opens the door, and peers at you for a while. It’s clear she can’t really make you out very well, seeing how she’s looking at you from a brightly lit room.

“Can I come in?”

“Sure. Sure, mister…”

“Artemis.”

She steps aside as you pass her, and you can sense her curiosity and a slight tinge of fear as she sees your suit. The fear slightly intensifies once she closes the door and looks at your mask. There’s something strange about this woman.
Her house is quite the contrast to that of the professor. It is about as homely as it could be, seeing how it’s not much more than a white brick. There’s carpets, a table with 4 chairs, a sofa with a TV and a little kitchen corner. The door to what is presumably her kitchen is closed.

She’s standing a few metres away from you, a bit nervous, and she’s doing her very best to look at anything but your face. it’s quite clear your mask is making her uncomfortable.

>1. Take off your mask, apologise for it, but it helps you do your job.
>2. Keep on the mask, explain that it helps you do your job.
>3. Keep on the mask, continue the conversation (specify what).
>4. Write in.

>>30354204
>1
Unless there's a good reason to keep it on, in which case 2.
Also, gently probe her mind. We've already met one person familiar with Ghosts, maybe she's another.

Rolled 55

>>30354204
>>2. Keep on the mask, explain that it helps you do your job.

>>30354257
There is not so much reason specifically to keep it on, but you're used to wearing it most of the time. Some ghosts are uncomfortable with not wearing it, but I'll leave it up to the players to decide whether that's the case for the MC.

>>30354257
dude, the less people we don't know who can't id us the better.
>2, but also make it clear we're not here on confedracy business. no need to scare her and make her start some rumours we don't need.

>>30354257
>>30354263
>>30354334
So... keep it on or not?

>>30354334
Her reaction seems odd, so you probe her mind to check out some things. It's strange, her mind seems more... present than that of most people, but it's just easier for you to get in. Doing a quick scan, you don't seem to find anything there indicating she'd know about ghosts. You can't locate the exact cause of the fear but it seems to have something to do with not being able to see your actual face.

>>30354464

Keep it.

We've already established ourselves as a resident ghost, might as well stick to it.

>>30354464
Keep it. Assure her that we are still human underneath.

>>30354539
>>30354520
Ok, writing.

>>30354539


>>30354520
thirded, also can we probe her mind for more info? we are super psionic aren't we

>>30354561

I'd rather not risk turning people's brains into paste unless we had some actual reason to pry.

“It’s the mask, isn’t it?”

“What? Oh, yeah… I just feel more comfortable looking people in the eyes.”

“Don’t worry, I’m still human under all this. I just prefer to keep it on, helps me with my job.”

It’s clear she’s still not really at ease, but it seems she seems to have accepted that it’s not going to change.

“So yeah, your job. What exactly is it that you do? Because I don’t think I can really help you.”

“You mentioned someone named Bart?”

“What? Oh no, he’s just… An ex. Boyfriend. You know. Things like that happen, it’s not an issue.”

You wouldn’t really know, but nod nonetheless. You do seem to recall one mission where a boyfriend of a high-profile diplomat’s wife WAS an issue, and you had to… deal with it. Things might be different out here though.

“But I haven’t heard of any new arrivals lately. Last batch was a month ago when Weissdammer last came to hunt, and as far as I know he still hasn’t said anything when his next trip is gonna be. Where ARE you from mister Artemis.” She might try to delve into your past a bit more than the professor, as her initial fear seems to make way for a mixture of curiosity and disbelief of your story. You find that you don't even have to make an effort to read her surface thoughts, they just ooze right out of her.

>1. Tell her the truth. You’re an ex-confederate who went freelance.
>2. Half truth. You’re a retired soldier looking for work.
>3. Evade the question, ask her something (specify what).
>4. Write in.

>>30354720

Let's stick with the retirement. It's a half-truth nice enough that mr Artemis might even believe it's a complete truth. He officially doesn't exist after all.

>>30354720
>2. Half truth. You’re a retired soldier looking for work.
Emphasise 'retired', though. Make sure understands not to question it.

>>30354747
>>30354771
Writing.

>>30354720
>2

Lets hedge our bets never know if all those power hungry pirates might come after us or some chuckle duck gets it into his head to "Acquire" a extra ghost for his own feifdom.

>>30354873
Btw, tell her about having your own ship? She'll be highly suspicious of you if you don't say anything about how you got to the planet.

>Y/N

>>30354898

Is that in the thoughts we've read? If so, might want to admit we have it, but revealing we have a commandeered wraith is not something to be taken lightly.

>>30354898
>Y
Mention is was a going away present or something along those lines, like a pension for services rendered.

File: 1392851317095.jpg-(703 KB, 1920x1200, 00026104.jpg)

703 KB JPG

>>30354993

"Retirement benefit" - state of the art military spacecraft

Well deserved imo.

>>30354993
i like it.

“I’m retired soldier. Emphasis on retired. I look for people in need of help, and I help them. For a fee of course, I have to live too.”

“And I have my own one-man ship. Retirement benefits.” You add, after another suspicious glance comes your way.

“I’m not sure why you’d come to me then, I don’t have any problems that need taken care of. Unless a soldier can tell me how the fauna here could possibly exist, but I doubt any army would teach you any Xenobiology.”

“What do you mean, how they exist?”

You feel her getting more comfortable as she starts talking about her field of study. She pulls up a chair and unconsciously waves a hand towards another, inviting you to sit down too.

“Well, for starters, half of the wildlife here shouldn’t be able to exist. Evolution doesn’t work that way. These things are too specific, and most of them don’t bother each other at all. I’m talking about the big creatures of course. The Stalkers, the Camels, the Mastodonts, all those. The stalkers are actually herbivores, you see, but they’re built like predators. They’ve got claws, teeth, even bone armour, and their behaviour makes no sense for herbivores, even for particularly aggressive ones. Which they aren’t. Weren’t. Not until that expedition at least.”

She goes much deeper into details, and she was right, the most the Confederacy taught you about xeno wildlife was where to shoot to most likely score a kill. What she’s spouting now could just as well be pure nonsense and you wouldn’t be able to tell. At least she seems comfortable now. You notice she even looks at your mask now, even if it’s only for short periods of time.

>1. Interrupt her (specify with what)
>2. Interrupt her asking for a place to stay, perhaps a meal. You can pay if need be.
>3. Let her keep talking. It won’t do you much good, and you’re starting to feel really exhausted. You might fall asleep, and that’s not really a good first impression.
>4. Write in

>>30355123
>2. Interrupt her asking for a place to stay, perhaps a meal. You can pay if need be.
oh god it's a xelnaga world
everything is fucked forever

>>30355123

"Guess you don't have the sort of problems I usually deal with.

And while your findings about local wildlife are no doubt fascinating, I think I have enough food for thought right now."

And we do. Suppose we'll find out more at the expedition. Should we mention that as well? Maybe we could bring back something for her to study... But for now, maybe ask if she knows of a place to crash for the night.

Might end up sleeping in the wraith though, I'm afraid.

>>30355123
>4
Ask if the critters here had just suddenly got up and in arms as soon as they had started to set up camp out of nowhere or if they had found anything of note worthy before the attacks started.

Cause and effect could help determine how this all happened really. If nothing turns up from that mention your pretty knackered from the flight here and ask if you can have a place to stay as well as a meal.

Charismatic Archologist Space Wizard maybe? Well as far as a nuerogicaly and socially stunted Space Wizard can be that is

>>30355234
>Sleeping in the wraith
Oh shit thats a good point, we landed outside the walls, 10 credits say that when we get back the whole thing is torn to shreds by the 'fauna' here.

>>30355307

Why would fauna attack an inert piece of machinery? Did we leave smelly food inside?

>>30355322
Why wouldnt it? After all the critters around here started to attack the colony for no reason after all

>>30355234
>>30355234
Oh, this reminds me, if you plan on fighting/catching a live specimen, I made a mistake in the Psionic's abilities.

>Mind Shock (Spend Psi point, moderate damage to single target, loses its current action and is stunned for two turns. Sustained: another psi point may be used as a free action to refresh the stun duration. Note that this is unsafe to use against non-Terran targets)
The final note should be that it's unsafe to use against more complex minds than Terrans. regular animals and wildlife should work too.
I'll update the pastebin at the end.

>>30355322
There was no food inside. You might have something trying to nest in the cockpit, but other than that it should be fine.

As for sleeping in the wraith, it would take you at least half an hour from where you are to get back there, and it's already a few hours into the night.

>>30355369
Lets go ahead and stay the night here in the colony then. We can get our ship and bring it into the colony in the morning.

“I must admit, that’s quite out of my expertise. I am joining Mr Haverdam’s expedition in three days though. Perhaps I can acquire some samples for you?”

She hesitates for a moment, but she bites. “That would be useful. A live specimen would be best though, and I’m not sure you could handle that. Have you actually seen a stalker up close?” You shake your head, and she continues. “They’re terrifying. They’re three meters long felines, with bone armour protecting their neck and backs, and claws that can literally rip through concrete. The worst thing is, despite all that, they’re as silent as could be.”

You pick up several images from her mind, drifting away from it like oil leaking from a canister in a pool of water. what you see confirms her story. They are terrifying, even if the memories are most likely enhanced by her fearful demeanour at the time.

“I see. Still, it’s getting late. I should probably find -“

“I got some leftovers you could have.” She cuts you off. “And I guess…” She seems a bit hesitant about the follow up “I guess you could sleep on my couch.”

“I’ll lock my bedroom door” you pick up from her thoughts.

You’ve been thinking in that direction for a while now, but you figure she’s probably a low-powered psionic. Rating one or less perhaps, and completely untrained. It seems to be the only explanation why she’s so easy to read for you, and how she unconsciously predicts things. You should work to keep your guard up a bit more though, it seems like she picked up your own thoughts as if you had spoken them.

>1. Take her up on her offer.
>2. Politely refuse, go outside and go back to the professor.
>3. Politely refuse, go outside and sleep on a roof.
>4. Politely refuse, make your way back to the wraith and sleep there. It will take you quite some time to get there though, and it’ll be a very uncomfortable to sleep in.
>5. Write in.

>>30355523
>1. Take her up on her offer.
Also work a bit on suppressing our abilities. We've been using them a lot today, they're probably over-active. Or something.

>>30355523

>Take her up on the offer

No homo.

Just have some first good hours of sleep as a free* man

>*terms and conditionings apply

>>30355523
>1
Show some thanks to our hostess after all she coulda just shoved us out to the closest equivalent of a inn this place which might just be a motor pool judign by the fact its such a small colony

>>30355577
>conditionings
note to self: do not drink carbonated beverages while reading quest threads
IT BUUUURNS

>>30355577
>*terms and conditionings apply
I swear, I'm going to go through all of Shadow Quest again and save all his DoomPaul images for occasions like this.

>>30355597
Actually in this situation, it kind of applies. You do have ghost conditioning inhibiting your psychic abilities.

>>30355620
I, uh, already knew that. That's why it was so funny.

>>30355620
>>30355653
Eugh, it's getting late for me, I should probably go to bed.

Planning on doing that after the next update anyway.

“Thanks, that would be wonderful.”

“No need to pay, I erm. Got my research funding. I get by.” She suddenly seems a lot more flustered. From reading her thoughts it seems to have to do something with having a man sleep in her house. You guess inviting strangers to sleep over would be cause for some nervousness, but it’s not entirely that feeling you get from her. Curious.

Before you can continue your train of thought, she puts a lukewarm meal in front of you. She apologises that it’s not entirely well done, but you disengage your rebreather and pull up your mask over your mouth so you can eat. It’s better than any food you’ve had before. Most you ever got was horrible soldier food at the academy, and on missions you had to make do with the tasteless liquid rations.

When you finish, you notice she’s staring at you, but when she sees you noticed, she quickly stands up. “I, uhm, I’m going to bed now. Was planning on doing that when you knocked actually. Light switch is there, bye.”

Before you can really interrupt, she runs into the back room and closes the door, locking it behind her. You feel a lot of nervousness coming from her, and shards of sentences float towards you.

“It’s just because it’s only been a week since bart. It’s normal. Oh god I actually forgot to say my name! Shall I go back? No, that’s too awkward…”

Not sure what to make of that, you wipe your mouth on a towel she provided, take off your boots and lie down on the sofa. It’s not as comfortable as a bed would be, but you’ve had to sleep in ventilation shafts before. This’ll do nicely. A small force of will and the light switch turns itself off, and all of a sudden you notice what an exhausting day this was. The first day of your freedom. You quickly drift away, and it takes only a few minutes before you’re fast asleep.

>>30355909

-You hear a strangely familiar voice. It sounds much like your own, but… different…-

WHERE ARE YOU? COME OUT COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE? I KNOW YOU’RE STILL ALIVE SECUNDUS. I’M COMING FOR YOU.

-----

>See you next time on Space Ninja Wizard Indiana Jones quest!
>Tomorrow, starting around 7pm CET.

Any critique or questions are welcome, I'm sticking around for a bit before I go to sleep.

>>30355909

Is there a way to block out the chatter? We're not going to get any sleep otherwise. It would be nice to limit telepathy to passive sensing of inbound aggression. An, uh... spider sense

File: 1392854784482.gif-(132 KB, 246x239, 1336560086846.gif)

132 KB GIF

>>30355943

...well fuck.

Go to sleep praying for guidance.

>>30355943
get a twitter

>>30355965
You generally don't have that much. It's just the case that her innate psychic talent makes her project her thoughts a bit without her realising. The best way to get rid of them is to train her a bit so she can shield off her thoughts.

And spider sense was on the CQC expert 'assassin' specialisation. Your psychic powers help you in general combat, but they don't go as far as actual spidey sense.

And archived! Be sure to upvote if you enjoyed it!
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Freelance%20Ghost%20Quest

>>30355943
>dat small burst of psycom
oooh delicoius I am calling it now its our twin or our former partner that we had left behind.

>Lady being flustered
kek, you do know that while we know of couples and such that our ability in which to interact with the fairer sex is going to end horribly right?

Oooh this is going to be lovely.

Some tips tho, better formatting would help, doesnt have to have a space for everysentance but it makes it easier for the reader if there is some breaks to let us know a new paragraph is starting aside from that its pretty gud

>>30356048

Huh. Guess we could give the science lady a few pointers in wizardry on our free time. After the safari maybe.

>>30356084
>dat small burst of psycom
Close, but no cigar. Then again, would I tell you if you were correct?

>kek, you do know that while we know of couples and such that our ability in which to interact with the fairer sex is going to end horribly right?
Yeah, Gamma 4/Artemis knows of couples. It doesn't go much further than that. I'm looking forward to the hijinks already. If I can do them justice. Dialogue is my worst point in writing, really.

>Some tips tho
Yeah, I'm trying to experiment with that. It all looks very different in my textedit than it does when actually posted on 4chan, so I have to wing it a bit. I'm gonna try and get the paragraph thing sorted out tomorrow.

>>30356011
@QuestSuperVisor
Done. I'll try not to forget updating it, I'm not really used to using twitter.