Same as last time, replies should take 15-20 minutes each, last thread can be found at http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/39850421/ and new threads will be announced at https://twitter.com/ZQuestGM

>>39879383
>Yes


>Ask him who'll be taking over your father's position
>we are going to need training and practice for when the enemy return

>>39879383
>>Yes

>Ask him who'll be taking over your father's position
>Ask what you should do next
I am open to all suggestions.

>>39879383
>Yes
>Ask him who'll be taking over your father's position

>>39879383
Aww shit I didn't think you'd manage to squeeze in a thread today.

Dun worry I got the mech's basic look down, but I'm skritch skritch in panic

>>39879383
(1/2)
You nod excitedly, grinning up at the man. "It's gorgeous, I still can't believe I get to pilot that thing..." You pause, while you want to simply admire this mechanical warrior in its full glory, one question has been nagging at the back of your mind since the moment you landed yesterday. With a nervous gulp, you sigh to clear your mind, before speaking again. "Arkadi, was it decided who will be taking over as the expedition's leader?"

The massive bear of a man looks down at you, with a soft smile. "It was decided early this morning, the remaining security officers elected me, having seniority among the other survivors. Heh, guess being an old piece of crap isn't all that bad, is it?" Seeing a bit of your nervousness, the Russian mechanic stepped back, giving you a proud salute. "I knew your father well, I promise I wont do anything he wouldn't, if anything, keeping the crew of the Apollo together will be like my last service to him."

>>39879923
(2/2)
You feel genuinely better, and return the salute, grinning at your new commander. "Well then sir, what should we do first? I have a feeling those hostiles from earlier will try and return, we can't just sit and watch the skies forever."

Arkadi nods at your idea, and points to the Bogatyr. "We've been picking up some faint radio signals to the north, though they're on a different channel than the ones the enemy was using the other day. We'd send one of our aircraft to scout it out, but the Bogatyr should be able to move much more stealthily than a fighter jet could" You nod, and turn to the mek, thinking of your options.

>Do as ordered, investigate the signal asap
>Attempt to investigate the rest of the surrounding area first
>Search for the aft section of the Apollo, which should have went down somewhere around here.
>Suggest another option

>>39879981
>>Do as ordered, investigate the signal asap

>>39879981
>Do as ordered, investigate the signal asap

>>39879981
Just finished the archive of oyur first one ZQ. This thing randomly showing up caused robotic communist happygasams.

>Do as ordered, investigate the signal asap

Only reason I even vote is because I'm positive that the wreckage is a lost cause in finding living things. Shit went mushroom cloud.

>>39879981
>Do as ordered, investigate the signal asap
Here's to hoping they might be friendly.

>>39879981

Turning around, you immediatly open the cockpit of the Bogatyr, hoping in and buckling up as last time. Under less stress than before, you manage to look around, taking in just how cramped this thing is. While it's certainly not the worst case scenario, with the doors closed, your knees are almost to your chest, and your head, with the helmet on, is just barely below the roof of the cockpit. Still, it's a small price to pay for a flight worthy mek.

You dial in to the signal that Arkadi reported, and you hear faint snippits of what is obviously some sort of communication. "I hear em loud and clear, I'll take the forest and head north, reporting if I find anything out of the ordinary." Taking the first steps, the controls feel much more responsive as you walk about, the servos clearly fine tuned, a bit of weight trimmed off in some places, turns out the changes were more than cosmetic.

Walking through the forest, rifle in one hand, shield in the other, the signal gets stronger, and you start to be able to make out more than just the occasional sound. "-drale scouts spo-" It fizzles out, though you sprint forward into a small clearing, and the rest makes its way through just fine. "-estroyed two of em, they appear to be hunting escape pods in the area." You freeze as you hear this, your heart thumping in your ears. Not only are there confirmed surviving escape pods, but they're near by, and someone is hunting them.

>Continue to the source of the signal
>Attempt to find the pods somehow
>Report to Arkadi, get his opinion first
>Suggest another option

>>39880357
>Report to Arkadi, get his opinion first

>>39880357
>>Report to Arkadi, get his opinion first
make it known that finding these pods and killing these fuckers would be very satisfying.

>>39880357
>Attempt to find the pods somehow
>Suggest another option
Report to Arkadi anyway. Tell him there's a change of plans based on newly received information.

>>39880357
>Report to Arkadi, get permission to turn this into search and rescue.

And if he says no tell him he's dealing with a knight and do it anyway these are our damn people they're hunting like animals!

>>39880357

You pause, staying in the clearing as the thoughts run through your head. This is all exciting, yet worrying, and fearing that you may let your emotions get the best of you, you switch back to your home channel, sending a message out to Arkadi. "Commander, transmissions intercepted! Apparently someone's found escape pods, and is hunting them down, what should I do?" You sit listening to the silence for a few moments, as the both of you seem to be unsure of how to handle this news.

"Fifer... This is going to be hard but, ignore it, at least for now." The man sounds hurt, and you can hear the regret in his voice. You want nothing more than to ignore him and run off on some sort of crazy rescue mission, but it almost seems as though he could tell, speaking up once more. "It could be empty propaganda, trying to lure us out into some sort of trap. Once we confirm if the signal is legitimate, or some sort of trick, then we'll look into this."

He has the right idea, you know it, and so following orders you push through, switching channels to the one you're trailing. Once you leave the clearing, it goes back to mostly being garbled, and incomprehensible, yet in a moment of near silence, you hear something outside of your mek. The thick snap of a tree trunk beneath metal. You turn, raising your rifle, and you see a squad of meks. Small, they barely come up to your knees, with legs like chickens and small canopy cockpits open to the air. They aren't in the same colors as the one from yesterday, instead painted in a variety of greens, and when you turn, they all freeze, you aren't sure what side they're on, but it's clear that they were following you for some reason.

>Shoot first, ask questions later
>Ask questions first, shoot later
>Suggest another option.

>>39880795
>Ask questions first, shoot later

If they even mention their lord and savior space jesus its DAKKA time though. Until then no point making even more enemies on this planet.

>>39880795
>Ask questions first, shoot later

>>39880795
>>Ask questions first, shoot later
but get ready to turn em into swiss at the first chance.

>>39880795
>>Ask questions first, shoot later

>>39880144
>I'm positive that the wreckage is a lost cause in finding living things. Shit went mushroom cloud.
That was the bow, the stern was shot clean off and crashed somewhere.
And even if no person survived, equipment may have survived the crash.
At the very least, raw materials that we can recycle.

>>39881243
More worried about bodies. living breathing ones. After the crews tallied we can salvage, dig in and figure out whats happening. No point looting if everyone dies before we can use it right?

>>39880795
>Ask questions first, shoot later

>>39880795
(1/2)

While it is a bit disconcerning that you're being stalked by chicken walkers, you might as well see if they had some reason for it. You have no idea what comm channel they're on, so you merely switch on your mek's loudspeaker, announcing over the radio set. "Alright, I caught you guys sneaking around, and you're giving me the creeps... So answer me this, and fast, since I don't know if I can trust you. Why are you following me?" You sweep the beam rifle back and forth between targets, trying your best to be intimidating as you await some sort of answer.

One of them speaks up, merely shouting as loud as they can from their open cockpit. "W-We're just scouts from Arz Creek, simple farmers really! We've just been wondering what's been going on out here since that big crash, and the fight the other day, when we saw a combat mek walking around, we started following to keep an eye on you, see if you were friend or foe!" The man yells, sounding incredibly nervous, as anyone would be with an anti-mek weapon being swung around in their face. "If we're asking question, why are you stomping around out here? You're ruining one of our biggest mushroom farms!"

You look around, the Bogatyr turning as you surveyed the scene. While it's hard to pick out in the shade, you notice the massive abundance of various brown mushrooms surrounding the massive trees, and in some of your large foot prints you see scores of them, trampled underfoot. "...It's dark, I can't see anything, let alone some mushroom! Look, I'm trying to track a radio signal to the north, I heard mention of our escape pods being found, and being hunted, do you have any news on that."

>>39881290
(2/2)

Quickly, you get your reply. "Ah... That's our local broadcast station, we use it to keep in touch with some of the other small villages around here, if you want we can escort you into town, they'd be able to tell you more about whatever they're sending out than we could." You aren't sure how to feel, this could be a trap, or it just could be some mushroom farmers with small scouting meks just trying to figure out what you're doing here, though they seem to be helpful, you don't know what to do next.

>Follow them into town and try and find out more on the pods
>Ice these fools, you think they're (probably) lying anyways
>Suggest another option.

>>39881309
>>Suggest another option.
report on the station with HQ and await further orders, keep on the lookout for possible traps.

>>39881309
>Suggest another option.
Lead us to the broadcast station so we can confirm their story.

If they start to lead us away from the radio source, then we know they're lying.

>>39881309
(1/2)

Once again, not sure what the best option is you decide to radio Arkadi once more. Flipping to his channel once again, you maintain your aim as you speak. "Sir, I've encountered a group of scouts, they don't seem to be Cathedrale allied, they claim that they're actually just farmers, but I'm not sure if their story holds up. They claim to know the source of the signal, it's some sort of broadcasting center what are your orders? I'm considering following them and seeing if their claim holds up."

The reply was at once this time, as Arkadi's voice boomed over the mic, you realize that the meks in front of you weren't even properly armed. One of them seemed to have some sort of makeshift machine gun mounted on its under belly, the rest had naught more than a searchlight, and basic cargo manipulators. "Gotsley, take their offer and head north with them, if they're telling the truth we may have found some allies out here, if not, they're just scouts, you should be able to hold out on your own, if you can't, I'll have the fighters on standby." With that, he clicks off, and you agree with his orders yourself, switching channels, you turn to address the scouts again.

>>39881902

"Alright, my commander is telling me to go with you, but you better not try anything funny, I'll have backup out here in a minute's notice if you do!" They don't say anything at first, turning and heading north, moving with a swiftness that you're not used to seeing in meks, if it weren't for the fact that their strides were so short in comparision to the Bogatyr's, you'd be left in the dust, yet you follow them with ease. Soon you break through the forest, striding across a fertile looking stretch of farmland, a few huts and small houses dotted around the landscape. In the direction you're heading however is the most densly populated, a few dirt roads meet to make a crossroads, and several buildings of varying sizes line the intersection, making up a small town. The highlight is a small, slender tower that rises above everything in the area. Stopping, the scouts turn to face you.

"We're reached Arz Creek, not much out here other than farmers and the occasional traveling merchant. You're going to want to talk to the current engineers running the broadcast tower, though our milita captain will want to meet with you at some point. I don't know if we have anything else that interests you, maybe the market, or perhaps our local workshop if you need repairs, or modifications."

>Head to the broadcast tower
>Meet up with the milita commander
>Scope out the marketplace
>See what the workshop has to offer.

>>39881974
>>Head to the broadcast tower
better check this shit out first.

>>39881974
>Head to the broadcast tower
See if the escape pod hunt transmission is legit or not. And I suppose the colonists might be able to use this at some point to attempt a negotiation for a ceasefire of sorts with the religious nuts.

>>39881974
>Head to the broadcast tower

>>39881974
(1/2)

You look down at the scouts and make a mental list of the locations, all of them seeming interesting in one way or another, you're sure you'll end up visiting the others another time, but right now you're a man on a mission, and that mission is to investigate the signal. Leaving the others behind, you bid them a simple "Thank you." before heading into town. Walking through the wide streets, you shut down your mek infront of the easily distinguishable broadcasting center. Locking up the cockpit, you see a small group of locals watching with curiosity, clearly none of them have seen a mek like this upclose, it reminds you of people staring at exotic cars back on earth, though usually they weren't as afraid of them.

Walking inside, you are a bit nervous, yet strangely at ease in this town. It certainly gives off the classic small-town charm that was easily recognizable, even back on Earth. The building the tower seemed to sprout out of wasn't that impressive, a few small offices, and the broadcasting room itself. Knocking upon the conviently labeled door, a man opened it, looking relatively sleepless, he looks you over before deciding to say something. "You need something son? You aren't local, that's for sure, and I can't see any other reason for just wandering on in here."

Quickly, you answer, wanting to get the information he has as fast as you possibly can. "The escape pods you mentioned! I'm from that crash the other day, and I was sent to investigate this signal, the moment I heard you guys spotted some of our pods in danger I made a bee-line for this place. I need to know two things, are you positive on what you sent out? And two... I need the location of those pods, now, the more survivors we recover, the better."

>>39882338
(2/2)

"Listen, I wouldn't share a story that was just a rumor, really. One of our scouting parties confirmed it late last night, I have no idea about their current status, but here's their report." He hands you a small stack of papers, seeming that he'd rather not disagree with you at the moment. The papers neatly give you their last known coordinates, and label three escape pods, two civilian, and one belonging to the bridge officers.

>Report to Arkadi, then go pod hunting
>Rush to the pods, survivors above protocol
>Suggest another option.

>>39882366
>Rush to the pods, survivors above protocol

>>39882366
>>Report to Arkadi, then go pod hunting
>Suggest another option.
tell the man that if this is a trap then he will see his home and loved ones burn.

>>39882366
>>Rush to the pods, survivors above protocol

>>39882366
>Report to Arkadi, then go pod hunting
>Suggest another option.
Bogatyr is just one mek, so it'd be hard pressed to cover all the locations within a short time frame.
Request Arkadi for one of the aerial scouts to keep tabs on the pod locations before recovering them. Allow them to do the evac themselves, if the area is relatively clear and friendly.

>>39882366
>Report to Arkadi, then go pod hunting
>Other
Get Arkadi to get the jets to do some flybys and confirm not only the pod locations but whether there are enemy forces in the area, and flatten them if there are.

>>39882497
>>39882607
Actually, wait a sec, guys.
If the zealots are hunting the pods, then trying to do flybys would only alert the fanatics to the general location of the pods.
Instead of looking for the pods, wouldn't finding and destroying the hunters be safer (for the pods)?

>>39882681
If you guys want to change your vote and do this, do it fast, starting to write soon.

>>39882681
So what you're basically saying is to keep tabs on the hunting party instead?

I guess it might be worth a shot, though I'm worried about the few scouts we have getting spotted and shot down right away. And since a local civilian already provided rough coordinates, the militarized zealots might be zeroing in on those pods already owing to possibly better equipment.

>>39882366


Grabbing the papers, you rush out of the room, sprinting as fast as your body can carry. In a rush, you unlock the Bogatyr, and hop in, inputting the coordinates into the mek's navigation systems. Realizing that maybe being so brash isn't a good idea you pick up the comm-set and radio into Arkadi. Out of breath and panting, you take a moment to compose yourself before actually speaking up. "C-Commander, I have the pod locations secured, I'm moving in to retrieve them!" You boot up the mek with a flash, and take off in a sprint, heading westward across the plains into a hilly area, according to these coords, these pods have fallen just beyond the closest one, in a small valley of sorts.

As you head across the plains, Arkadi manages to fit in a reply, seemingly shocked at your sudden course of action. "Negative Fifer, I repeat negative! Do not rush into battle, we can't risk losing you right n-" With a click, you turn the commset down, you know you're going to face hell for it when you get back, but you just can't stand by as your people are killed by the religious bastards who shot down that transport. Ascending the first hill, you hear the crunch of metal on metal, and are face to face with the worst case scenario. Two massive meks stand, one being taller and bulkier has one pod grabbed with its single massive manipulator, the other hand being some sort of excavator is digging it out of the ground. The other mek, smaller and similar to the one from the other day has a massive axe in one hand, a shield in the other. The two other pods laid cut in twain at its feet, each coated with a copious amount of blood and oil, corpses scattered about its feet.

>Attack the bastards for glorious revenge
>Radio in for back up
>Suggest another option.

>>39882981
Damn. Too late, huh?

>Attack the bastards for glorious revenge
Spare at least one for interrogation purposes.

>>39882981
>>Attack the bastards for glorious revenge
we will show these so called holy men what righteous fury truly is.

>>39882981
>Suggest another option.
Radio for help as we shoot the cockpit of the mek that has the pod in its manipulator.
Kill that fucking pilot.

We take prisoners only to torture them to death for information.
We're going full-on Homeworld on these guys.

>>39883195
edgy

>>39883208
not really.

>>39883062
>>39883082
>>39883195

Oh, and could everyone who's already voted roll 1d20, sorry about that.

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>39882981
>>39883266
>Attack the bastards for glorious revenge

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>39883266
Voting first before rolling is a better policy anyway.

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>39883266

>>39883195
Honestly doubt Fifer is capable of to turning people to death

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>39883266

>>39882981

With a furious yell, you throw your shield down on the ground and grab your rifle with both hands. Jumping onto the shield, you give yourself a quick push, and find yourself sliding down the hill quite quickly. Firing off a barrage of shots, you go for the one digging, and manage to catch its attention long enough to stop it from continuing to dig up the remaining pod. With that done you switch attention to the combat oriented mek, and prepare to squeeze off a round of shots at it... Until you hit a small ditch in the ground.

Your shield caught, the Bogatyr goes flying a short distance, tumbling down the hill and landing in front of the axe-wielding mek. Luckily, your shield manages to slide down the rest of the way, stopping besides you. As it begins to charge, you're left with nothing but your rifle in one hand, and your shield besides you as you lay sprawled out on the ground. You have to act fast, or else this isn't going to turn out very nice for you.

With this vote, roll 1d20, as per combat rolls go
>Suggest a unique option, or vote for something already suggested for this one

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>39883266
Also, to reiterate the dice rolling rules from thread 1 on your behalf...

>Now then, this time with your reply, include a d20 roll, instead of just being insta pass/fail, each roll will be counted until you roll a 15 or higher, the number of rolls determines if it's a pass, or fail (eg, if the 1st roll is a 2, then a 12, then a 16, it would still be a pass, but just barely.)

Looks like it's gonna take a while til we reach 15 here. Hoo boy.

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>39883406
>Use the buttstock of the rifle against the axe mek.
Disorient the pilot for a bit.

>>39883408
Well, the number of success varies for how hard the task you're trying to do is.

Say you want to throw this dude into the digging mek? That'll probably be a 20, if it's even possible. But just rolling out of the way would be much easier, for example.

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>39883406
welp im late.

get up and shoot the fuckers.

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>39883408
Roll out of the way and come up on our knee, firing at the mek with the ax.

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>39883406
Grab our shield and focus on getting distance shoot the ace wielder shoot rapidly so can get breathing room

Voting is done, while nothing wins since it was all unique ideas, don't worry, your contributions wont be ignored (also Christ you guys suck at rolling.)

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>39883406
GLORIOUS SOVIET REVENGE!
full auto to the axe wielders torso, URA!

Rolled 10 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>39883614
D20s have a bad rep in /tg/ quests. Even with added modifiers or dicepooling or some such.

>>39883408


Scrambling underneath the larger mek, you grab your rifle and slam the butt of it into the chest region of your opponent. While it doesn't stop his charge completely, it stuns them enough to stop their attack, saving you from the most likely gruesome result. With the opening provided by the stopped attack, you stand up and grab your shield with one hand, peppering the mek with some grazing shots using the other. With little effect other than leaving some scorch marks, you do manage to slow him down some more.

Realizing that you can't stop the charing mek, you roll to the side, letting him rush right on by as you get down on one knee, steading yourself as you let loose a bolt straight for the back of one of his arms. With a deafening crack, the bolt of energy explodes against the servo, blowing the limb holding his shield clean off. Standing behind him, you see his rear armor is thin, almost non-existant compared to the thick plating on the front, something to take into consideration while attacking.


With this vote, we're going to try rolling 1d20+3, having a superior position, and a kneeling stance to better our aim
>Once again, suggest a unique option, or vote for something already suggested for this one

Rolled 19 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>39883884
>Finish him off.
Single shot through the cockpit block.

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>39883884
get around him and blast him in the back and make sure he dies.

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>39883933
Gonna go with this one

Rolled 6 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>39883884
Laser bolts are cheap, give him a burst of them.

Rolled 7 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>39883884
Aim for one of his legs

>>39883933
>>39883935
>>39884046
>>39884055
>>39884067

Voting closed, writing now, stop rolling sixes, we just got three in a row for fuck's sake, that's some ominous shit.

>>39884084
Hail satan

>>39884084
Ah, rats, I forgot to add +3, you'll fix that, right?

>>39884182
Yep, don't worry.

>>39884176
Hahaha!

>tfw we are the Satan to whatever the Cathedrale is worshiping

>>39884243
welcome to the athiest revolution , comrade.

>>39883884


With a glint in your eye, time seems to slow down around you as the mek seems to come apart at the seams. Suddenly, every detail, every bolt, even the wiring inside is visible to you, you can read it's anatomy like a book as you move your rifle like a surgeon's tool, pinpointing the reactor with an accurancy that could never be matched. With the sound like a crack of lighting, you press down on the trigger, feeling it take minutes as the blast of energy travels out from the tip, moving so slow you trace it with ease as it smacks between two plates of armor upon the mek's back.

Snapping out of it, you have no time to wonder what just happened as the large mek explodes into a fiercesome fireball, leaving just its shield, axe, and one of its legs behind. Turning, you find the excavation mek attempting to make off like the wind, scared for dear life. Without hesitation, you raise your rifle and fire off a single shot, cleaving one of its legs off and leaving it crippled, grasping at the ground at a pointless attempt to stand back up. You aren't sure what the hell just happened, but you like it. You grab the axe, examining it with a smirk as you manage to fit it into the 'holster' on your back that normally holds your rifle, its a tight squeeze, but it holds it for the time being. Looking around, you debate on your course of action.

>Investigate the pod
>Radio in to Arkadi
>Take the pilot of the other mek prisoner

>>39884370
>Radio in to Arkadi
We need one of those transports over here, with medical personnel.
Getting our people to safety is the first priority.

>>39884370
Acquire pilot, check pod.

>>39884370
>>Investigate the pod
>Radio in to Arkadi

>>39884370
>Investigate the pod
>Take the pilot of the other mek prisoner
Hey, someone's gotta know if there are any actual survivors around.

>>39884370

You investigate the wreck of the first mek for a moment, kicking about the scrap to make sure there's nothing out of the ordinary before heading to the pod. Half buried, you do see that its entrance is exposed, most likely locked shut. Doing a quick scan, and making sure the area is clear, now that you're up close and personal, you see the losses. One of the pods that was destroyed belonged to the officers, you see some of your father's best men among the corpses in the dirt, and you recognize none of the victims of the civilian pod. Declaring it safe, you pull up the comms, nervously sending out a message. "Arkadi, I know you're pissed, but I've secured an escape pod, I'll send you the coordinates, we need a pickup now!"

With that, you bail from your mek, locking it down and keeping your ID handy, you run to the entrance of the pod and knock. Inside you hear muffled screams, and even some crying, trying to comfort them, you call out. "Calm down, I'm from the Apollo, we're getting you an escort out of here!" Sliding your ID card across the keypad, you unlock the pod and peer inside. Like a tin can, the space is crammed wall to wall with people young and old, men, women, and children huddling in fear. The moment the doors open, they rush out, breathing in the fresh air and looking about you feel proud, the people free. "Alright, alright, they'll explain the situation back at camp, don't wander off, there will be a pick up soon enough!" Climbing back into the Bogatyr, you hop back on the radio, and await pick up.

And I think that's where we end tonight, shorter than last time, but it was a later start, and I do have things to do tomorrow! However, I may be able to fit in a few weekday games, so keep up at https://twitter.com/ZQuestGM for updates.

>>39885005
thanks for running man how did we do.

>>39885005
hail and wellmett, THX, in zquest we trust!

>>39885005
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/39879383/ Archived for the night as well.

>>39885097
I had fun, you guys made progress, so I'd say not bad, not bad at all.

>>39885005
Alright, thanks. Hope we'll bring better luck with the dice in the future.
You also might want to shoot a message over at the Weekend Quest Discussion Thread to get your twitter added at the QM directory by the twitter vampire just in case.

>>39885200
Will do, I actually tweeted at him earlier, since I didn't know that you requested that through the WQDT