File: 46468844665.jpg (98 KB, 1280x385)

98 KB JPG

>>41919263
>Current resource reserves
Nutrients: 8,915,029
Metals: 4,594,679
Credits: ₡2226
Credits in Lyle’s account: ₡1,175,000

>Hive population and upkeep cost
Hive maintenance – 52,325
Queen – 5
Fake Queen (4) – 220
Small Egg layer – 12
Worker (150,000) – 300,000
Aquatic Worker (5,140) – 20,560
Vacuum Worker (5,200) – 31,200
Radiator Worker (5,100) – 20,400
Warrior (75,045) – 375,225
Gilled Warrior (100) – 700
Aquatic Warrior (50) – 400
Thinker (8,000) – 24,000
Quantum Thinker (3,000) – 15,000
Speaker – (3) – 12
Digger (200) – 800*
Refinery (40) – 280*
Sniffer (2) – 8
Small Sniffer (5,000) – 5,000
Aquatic Sniffer (200) – 200
Fly (1,165) – 4,660
Wasp (30,000) – 150,000
Haz-mat Workers (20) – 80
Parasite (110) – 440
Bio-tank (1000) – 25000
Stealth Bio-tank (30) – 900
Excavator (1,000) – 19,000
Colossus (5,000) – 75,000
Hovertank (2,000) – 50,000
Harvester (5,000) – 95,000
Support Fluttercraft (500) – 71,000
Ghost Beetle (1,000) – 27,000
Heavy Warrior (10,000) – 190,000
Chinook (1,000) – 18,000
Air defense drone (500) – 37,000
Bomber (1,000) – 41,000
Strafer drone (2,000) – 30,000
Heavy Interceptor (1,000) – 28,000
Light Interceptor (2,000) – 28,000
Advanced disruptor (50) – 3750
Advanced Relay (70) – 7000

File: The Hive.jpg (532 KB, 2100x1500)

532 KB JPG

>>41919263
FOR MOTHER

File: Capitals.jpg (179 KB, 1600x1241)

179 KB JPG

>>41919298
>Hive fleet
Space Pod (5000) – 150000
Heavy Fleet Fighter (920) – 61640
Heavy Gunship (252) – 7560
Shuttle (10) – 250
Mining Corvette (336) – 92400
Patrol Corvette (180) – 91260
Scout Corvette (8) – 1800
Lancer Corvette (2) – 450
Missile Corvette (500) – 516000
Fleet Corvette (244) – 54900
Heavy Fleet Corvette (336) – 393792
Light Fleet Frigate (1500) – 667500
Heavy Fleet Frigate (252) – 359604
Stealth Frigate (4) – 1952
Vanguard Frigate (850) – 340000
Light Fleet Cruiser (375) – 249375
Missile Cruiser (50) – 118250
Heavy Cruiser (110) – 133650
Heavy Fleet Cruiser (126) – 315630
Carrier Battlecruiser (5) – 99360
Heavy Fleet Battlecruiser (36) – 292932
Heavy Fleet Battleship (10) – 517750

>Construction underway
[Citadel Hive ship] – 20%

>Formed fleets and orders
Small Heavy Defense Fleet [Patrolling Leeland space]
10 Heavy Battle Fleet [Awaiting orders]
5 Missile Ambush Fleet [Awaiting orders]
25 Light Fleets [Awaiting orders]
20 Light Fleets [Under construction]

Clone upkeep/special projects and expenses
25 Human captives of the USV Hope – 750

File: giphy.gif (973 KB, 312x213)

973 KB GIF

BRING FORTH THE FLUFFIEST SPEAKER!

Who else hype for meeting the Commonwealth?

File: hive algae.jpg (195 KB, 1035x813)

195 KB JPG

>>41919323
[Gemini]
15 Human Hybrids [In production] (900)
3 Taidaren Hybrids [In production] (210)
4 Human flash clone upkeep – 120
3 Human hybrid clone upkeep – 90
Specializations:
>Tech
>Engineer
>Brawler
[Hive space]
100 Human Hybrids – 3,000
Lyle Rogers – 57
Jackob Eisner – 56
Dillon Reager – 30
Clone/project upkeep – 5,173N

Total upkeep
Nutrient costs: 6,295,775

>Income
Metals: 2,838,000
Nutrients: 9,801,250
Net: 3,505,475

Sorry about last week. It's been a rough few days, and I felt like I was turning into a prawn. It didn't really leave me with much time to prep all the number crunching until the weekend.

>>41919263
They're about to find whats left of the unions dirty little secret. This is actually great for us, as it gives us an excuse to show them exactly what happened, and why only some portions of the union need be culled.

File: Known Space.png (1.26 MB, 7723x4550)

1.26 MB PNG

>>41919395
Hive Territory
[G-426]
Asteroid mining base: 50,000M per day.

*Leeland (capital)
Defensive structures
>Surface to Orbit Missile System (750N)
>Anti-orbital batteries: 35/35 (8750N)
Military structures
>Hangar facilities: Room for 4840 Aero/fighter Drones and 2420 Shuttles (3025N)
>Psionic Shroud (1,000N)
>Prison Outpost
Industrial structures
>Docking Pylon: (1969) (98,450N)
[Empty docks: 2000/2000]
Economic Structures
>Smart Mines active: 100,000M per day
>Algae Farm: +4,800,000per day, 48,000 Workers (1 worker per 100N)
>Film harvester dock: +5,000,000N per day, 10,000 Harvesters active (500N per Harvester)

[M-662]
Raligha
Defensive structures
>Surface to Orbit Missile System (750N)
>Anti-orbital batteries: 35/35 (8750N)
Economic structures
>Bloodroot collectors: A series of pipes and veins running from the roots of several of the nearest Bloodroot trees provide a passive and low maintenance source of nutrient income, +250N per day (5)
>Greenwall pit: 500N
>Temple alter: A place for the Ralighan locals to worship and bring offerings to your hive, built in the likeness of your local fake queen, +500N per day

[M-323]
>Orbital docking pylon: Space for docking and construction of 4 sub capitals or 1 capital ship, (50N)
[Empty docks: 0/4]
>Mining corvette salvage operations +2,688,000M per day (+8000M per corvette)

[Farcast]
Derelict Sensor array

Glassed Hive world
>Hive bunker complex
>Smart mine mantle excavation [Under construction]

Deep space waystation
>100 docking pylons (10,000N)
[Empty docks 400/400]

>>41919395
It's alright QD, we're just happy we can even have a thread.

File: Constrution types.jpg (62 KB, 800x322)

62 KB JPG

>>41919428
New Construction Options
Defensive structures
>Anti-orbital battery – A bunker armed with a massive Particle beam capable of attacking ships in orbit from the ground. It includes the power and sensor systems required to operate it. 250N 1500M
>Surface to Orbit Missile System – This massive bunker complex houses a wide range of warheads and a nigh limitless number of missiles within its protective walls, allowing you to launch missiles against approaching invaders from the safety of your hive. The facility uses the ship missile stats and comes equipped with a single Cruise missile silo that can target any detected object within the system, five Stinger missile silos capable of targeting any craft within high orbit, and ten Swarm missile silos specialized in targeting high altitude aircraft and low orbiting targets. The facility itself is a massive complex spread out over several miles, and includes guidance and launch equipment, as well as the means to construct and maintain a stock of warheads and missiles. (1500N 2500M)
Military Structures
>Hangar Expansion – Construct fortified hangar facilities of +40 aero/fighter drone space and +20 shuttle space. 50N 100M
>Psionic Shroud – A single building built around the shattered remains of a Void Shard, the shroud amplifies the unnatural mental silence of the broken crystal within to mask an entire planet from potential detection, preventing outside forces from easily detecting the thoughts of a hive. (2,000N 5,000M)
Industrial Structures
>Docking Pylon – A large spire or station that contains space for docking and construction of 4 ships, or a single capital ship if placed in orbit. 100N 300M
>Weather Spire – A networked collection of spires spread across a planet capable of studying and altering a planet’s climate and atmosphere. Construction includes the building of all spires needed to function. (8,000N 20,000M)

File: hive infrastucture.jpg (40 KB, 768x266)

40 KB JPG

>>41919465
Economic Structures
>Orbital solar array – A station placed in orbit of the local star equipped with a membrane of photosynthetic cells several kilometers in diameter capable of producing a steady stream of nutrient income. Provides 1000N per day total (5,000N 5,000M
>Harvester Dock – A large pier built along the shore overlooking the spore-producing ocean film that serves as an unloading area for Harvester drones, and contains pipelines to pump collected raw nutrients to the hive’s awaiting processing facilities, includes a single Harvester which is covered by the cost and upkeep of the dock. Provides 500N per day total (38N 50M)
>Orbital electroponic station – An orbital instillation built near a large source of hydrogen used to fuel a large fusion core, which in turn provides electrical power to a contained algae farm facility. Must be built in orbit of a gas giant. Provides +500N per day and doubles as a gas mining facility, refueling the tritium stores of any ships in the system. (1000M)
>Algae Farm – A carved out space used to utilize Leeland’s natural electrical field to cultivate food. +100N per day, 1 worker to maintain.
>Hydroponic platform – A floating greenhouse platform used to grow farmland through hydroponics that can only be built on or near water with open access to plentiful sunlight. Each greenhouse platform supports roughly one hectare and requires a single worker to tend the crop and maintain the platform. Multiple platforms can be connected together to create fields of floating farmland. +200N per day, 1 worker to maintain.

Also, sad to say we won't be able to run until morning. I usually don't have work on Mondays but things have been rather strange at work lately.

File: HY1433401178660.gif (161 KB, 282x199)

161 KB GIF

>>41919395
It's okay QD, hope you're feeling better.

Now that your back let's get onto first contact and fluffy speaker shenanigans, I've been looking forward to this for two weeks!

File: capillary tower.jpg (192 KB, 500x900)

192 KB JPG

>>41919518
>Filter towers – A large underwater pylon built to extract raw nutrients from the microbial life of the surrounding ecosystem. Can only be used on planets with bountiful biospheres and deep oceans capable of supporting large amounts of microbes. Provides between 100 and 500 N per day, depending on the local environment. (500M)
>Capillary Tower – This massive organic space elevator offers a number of logistical and economic advantages, despite its drastic up front cost and fragile nature. Shuttles or space craft are no longer needed to move resources from the surface to orbital structures, freeing shuttles for more important tasks. The counterweight station serves as a center for construction, with 4 docking pylons included on the structure to repair and build ships, while gaining a bonus to capital ship construction time due to the speedy nature with which resources arrive from the surface. The Capillary Tower can also spread hive creep and extract resources at an increased rate, spreading roots deep into the crust to bring up resources directly into orbit, allowing you to consume a planet much more quickly than normal. A Hive ship can construct a Capillary Tower if given the time and resources to do so, deploying one after 3 full days, after which it becomes the counterweight station, and must remain stationary until it detaches and destroys the tower to move. A Hive ship deployed in this way does not have access to its spinal weapons, but can use other features as normal. A planet can hold a max of 4 Capillary Towers along its equator. For each one, planetary mining or over harvest activities are doubled. (50,000N 500,000M)

File: thinker.png (71 KB, 1024x673)

71 KB PNG

>>41919550
Finished Research

>Nausea field
A potent defensive measure, the nausea field is a simple and effective method of affecting the mind of non-psionic life without a direct physical connection using a medium or advanced relay. At a range of 50 meters, you can target any detected individual or group of individuals and attempt to cause a growing feeling of discomfort. The mind of the subject may fill in excuses or reasons for the feeling, potentially leading to the sensation of being watched, hallucinations of movement in darkened areas, and other such delusions and hallucinations. These symptoms are not controlled or caused by the emitted signal, but are created by the subject’s mind in an attempt to make sense of the sudden sensation of panic and unease. The result is the subject feels compelled to leave the area, and will gradually become sick and panicked if they remain within the area of effect for long. Prolonged exposure or exposure at a distance of 10 meters or less causes acute nausea, vomiting, and headaches.

>Shield miniaturization
This new breakthrough has led to a number of potential research options opening to you. By altering the way in which shield emitters interact with each other, a shield can be made to alter its form in order to not only take up less space, but also function in a more efficient manner, using many overlapping smaller and weaker shields to create a stronger defensive field. In addition to this, your thinkers suspect that they can further improve the compact nature of the shield emitters, or scale them up further and build them into ground based structures. In addition to new research options, the discoveries made have also accidentally solved a number of problems that had previously been hindering your thinkers’ work on Photonic Microstructures, boosting the research.

>>41919395
No worries man, you've got the best quest running right now. I'm glad you are still running!

File: 1426471365149.png (42 KB, 900x850)

42 KB PNG

>>41919584

>Plasma Assault Cannon
In what has become practically an experiment of extremes, your thinkers have created a weapon to surpass the Lightning Cannon in pure destructive potential. Using a focused ball of charged plasma held within a condensed magnetic field, your large drones would be able to obliterate virtually anything within its range, creating a direct fire siege weapon capable of defeating all but the most excessive of defenses with a display of firepower so great, the next step up is orbital bombardment.

New Research Unlocked

>Personal shielding
Slow
By further shrinking the emitters, your thinkers believe they may be able to eventually make them small enough to be equipped to the carapace of a drone, or to the surface of an armored suit. At this time it is mostly speculation and an eagerness to please mother beyond all reason, and you cannot be sure what the limitations may be, but the thinkers are sure they can do it.

>Shield dome
Slow
The opposite way of thinking as personal shielding, by scaling the shield emitters up further to a size that would be impossible to hold and power on a ship, your thinkers suspect they should be able to construct a defensive perimeter around a hive center protected by a powerful defensive shield. The thinkers that have proposed the idea seem to be certain in the failure of the other project, as they are of this one, and you have had to separate the quantum thinkers as they attempted to disprove each others’ theories more than develop their own.

>>41919584
>>Shield miniaturization
OH HO HO

File: Battlecruiser.jpg (90 KB, 1124x710)

90 KB JPG

>>41919638

[New Ship Module unlocked]
Multi-layer shields – By shrinking the emitters on a ship’s hull and altering the shape of the energy fields, a ship can replace its singular defensive shield with many overlapping layers of redundant shielding. With this new design, each shield layer only covers a small portion of the ship, and is itself far more likely to fail, however unlike with the standard defensive shielding failure results in the next layer of shields becoming exposed, not the failure of the entire shield. The multi-layer shield still suffers the same weaknesses of the standard shields, but it mitigates the absorbed damage across multiple, weaker layers, creating an ablative effect to greatly increase overall protection at the cost of increased resource requirements. (10N 30M per 10 meters)

File: img452.gif (46 KB, 324x247)

46 KB GIF

>>41919680
[New Weapon Unlocked]

Plasma Assault Cannon –This devastating siege weapon collects plasma into a large magnetized field and fires it at a target. The resulting bubble of plasma bursts on contact, burning and obliterating anything near the target with a blast comparable to a low yield strategic strike, devastating anything from buildings to armored vehicles. The amount of thermal energy stored within a single blast of the weapon is too great to be contained for any extended period of time, forcing the drone to charge each shot just prior to firing. The result is a highly telegraphed attack that is so destructive no warning would matter. The weapon can fire before being fully charged in order to attack mobile targets, but it is most effective against stationary targets, such as buildings, docked ships, or bunkers. Like the Thorn Cannon, it is forced to be equipped in a specific way due to its design, forcing it to be equipped to a large drone’s forward facing weapon graft. Ventilation tubes and plasma condensers are implanted along the sides and abdomen of the drone, resulting in collected plasma to glow from beneath the armored carapace as it charges an attack, and causing thermal damage to anything nearby from the venting heat after a shot is fired.
cont.

File: Ship functions diagram.png (210 KB, 1105x722)

210 KB PNG

>>41919707
Size: L
Dmg: Very high Thermal/Energy
RoF: Very low
Rng: Medium
Acc: Low
Special: Plasma charge – The assault cannon is inert by default and must spool up before firing. The weapon is incapable of holding a charge for more than 30 seconds, and must either fire or expel the built up plasma and lose the charge. The weapon requires a minimum of 5 seconds of charging to fire, resulting in a single bolt that detonates on contact in a thermobaric explosion, creating a fireball that serves as an effective anti-infantry and anti-vehicle weapon. After 15 seconds, the weapon fires a single bolt capable of flash-melting heavy armor and devastating most freestanding structures, allowing it to level most buildings with a single shot. At 30 seconds the weapon has reached its full charge, and fires a single bolt of plasma that detonates with the force of roughly 20 tons of TNT, and is capable of outright vaporizing most forms of armor or protective barriers, with only starship shielding offering any reliable resistance. When venting the built up heat, the drone expels super heated gas and flames from several exhaust tubes along the side of the drone’s head and abdomen, causing thermal damage to anything nearby.

File: chimera eye.jpg (48 KB, 620x372)

48 KB JPG

>>41919747
Current Research

>Singularity Projector
Fast
A tremendously powerful weapon capable of literally annihilating anything within range, devouring it within the event horizon of an artificial black hole. The weapon lacks in range, but is so devastating in its function that it is as much a deterrent as it is an actual weapon, forcing enemy ships to flee from any ship known to have such a device. Can only be equipped to a battleship or Hive ship sized hull, and requires canderon to function properly.
Canderon not included.

>Complex matter reconstruction
Slow
Your thinkers suspect that by utilizing and combining advancements in quantum theory with your teleportation technology it may be possible to increase the threshold of items that can be transmitted from pure substances and elements, to more complex alloys and objects of more complex shape and size, potentially allowing for the transmission of equipment, weapons, or mechanical components.

>Advanced Psionic Reading
Slow
With your new abilities growing, you continue to hone and develop more advanced methods of using your psionic network. Your thinkers believe that with more practice they should be able to delve deeper into the minds of non-hive life, digging past surface thoughts and emotions and into more detailed pieces of information without resorting to invasive neural interfaces.

>Psionic Imprinting
Medium
The next logical step from psionic reading, your thinkers believe that if you can detect the thoughts of others, you may be able to alter them as well. Further study is needed to determine the extent of this potential ability.

Oh fuck yes.

File: Ship sizes.jpg (131 KB, 1439x554)

131 KB JPG

>>41919773
>Auto-harvest pods
Medium
A number of pods that can be placed within some ships, allowing them to spread hive spores over an enemy planet when destroyed. These pods could, theoretically, also be launched from drop pods for a similar effect.

>High-altitude spore dispersal
Medium
By spraying modified hive spores from a capillary tower at high altitude, the tower gains the ability to spread hive creep several magnitudes faster than any other method you have, contaminating the surface of an entire hemisphere in a mere day, although the creep itself grows at normal speed. The spores are visible as a greenish fog that permeates the atmosphere, especially around the tower itself, and is toxic to non-hive life, forcing any enemies of the hive to make use of rebreathers or air filters. The spores can be made to carry other chemicals or biological agents.

>Atmospheric static generator
Medium
By utilizing the natural friction of a sufficiently dense atmosphere against the surface of a capillary tower, the tower can be made to generate energy to feed itself and reduce its upkeep cost.

>Rip Drive
Medium
A powerful, and accurate drive system, it does not move the equipped ship, but allows the ship to rip open a hole in spacetime, creating something akin to an artificial wormhole that bridges the ship's current location with a location of its choosing within its range. This allows not only the ship to move through the rupture, but also allows it to open ruptures for other craft, allowing for the deployment of sub-light craft over vast interstellar distances.

>Deep Core Mining
Slow
Taking planetary mining to the logical extreme, your thinkers believe that your hive infrastructure, if spread across the surface of a world and given enough time, would be able to consume the ferrous metal core of a planet itself.

I read the archives for weeks, waiting for this moment when I could finally see it live.

File: Sub-Capitals.jpg (101 KB, 838x953)

101 KB JPG

>>41919816
>Ship grapple
Medium
A simple idea at heart; throw a hook at the target and reel it in. When you take into account the relative speeds and raw kinetic forces involved in such an action, however, it quickly stops being so simple. Complex and highly durable cables and pulleys must be developed, as well as specialized bulkheads to prevent ripping the ship in two. The result, however, should be interesting, if a bit insane.

>Ram
Medium
The concept of ramming in ship to ship combat is simple and straight forward. Doing so without obliterating your own ship, however, is a far more complex skill to master that requires numerous alterations to ship design philosophy and a willful lack of common sense. The Scavengers appear to be insane enough to have thought such a strategy useful in space combat, and are stubborn enough to perfect it. The study and extensive testing of the design of the ram should allow you to develop something similar for your own ships.

>Artificial gravity plating
Medium
By utilizing insignificant amounts of antimatter to create unfocused gravitational fields, and then directing them through the gravity plating into a single direction, the internal structure of a ship can be granted a small amount of artificial gravity. White the direction of the gravity can be changed at will, or turned off, it lacks the resources and energy to project a field capable of directly causing injury

>>41919851
>Gravity thrusters
Slow
Similar in function to your Skid drive, the Gravity thrusters essentially surf along pre-existing gravity fields, increasing their performance when in close proximity to major sources of gravitational pull, be it a large celestial body, a star, a planet, an exceptionally large structure or group of structures, or the core of a gravity drive. While in deep space it becomes less effective, the law of universal gravitation means it never becomes totally useless, and when in close proximity to a powerful gravity source it should outperform most other thruster designs with ease.

>Photonic microstructures
Medium
The useful applications of manipulating massive photonic molecules are many, and your preliminary studies indicate that you may be able to develop more practical uses beyond the blaster, especially in the field of energy shielding.

Available research options

>Psionic Cannon prototype
Very slow/Very dangerous
Detailed accounts of several experiments show the slow progress of Project Godsplitter. The cannon itself is highly volatile, and even the smallest miscalculation often results in the destruction of the ship, as well as any nearby craft. It can only be equipped to a Hive ship's spinal mount, and requires a functional Void Shard as ammunition. At least a dozen testing sizes were atomized in testing the weapon, and in the end it appears The Gardener never quite perfected it.

>Add Dome to research
>Add Personal Shielding to research
>Add both
>Add neither
>Other

>>41919888
>>Add both

>>41919888
>>Add both

>>41919888
>>Add both

>>41919888
>>Add neither
Let's clear up a few of the existing before we add more.

>>41919888
>>Add both

>>41919888
Because fuck the system!

>>41919888
>>Add both

File: tianjin-explosion-china-6.jpg (64 KB, 813x559)

64 KB JPG

>>41919747
>fires a single bolt of plasma that detonates with the force of roughly 20 tons of TNT
>20 tons of TNT

Holy mother, that is one fuckhuge explosion. For comparison, that explosion that happened in Tianjing, China the other week and leveled several city blocks was equivalent to 21 tons of TNT. Here's a pic of the aftermath.

File: 1439694632_1704417328.jpg (505 KB, 600x862)

505 KB JPG

>>41919974
Also left one hugeass hole.

>>41919888
>>Add both
This is what we have over 10,000 thinkers for.

>>41919974
We stick a couple of fliers with these and we'll have what amounts to tactical nuke bombers.

>>41919888
>Add both

File: 99 level bard.gif (1.44 MB, 355x277)

1.44 MB GIF

>>41919974
>>41919997
Man, it would be amazing if we could slap that on some colossus. We could have walking artillery! We have stuff that already makes that redundant, but it would still be pretty cool.

>>41919888
>>Other
Allocate 1000 quantum thinkers to start creating random skunkworks projects.

Throw all the spaghetti at the wall until something sticks and they come up with something novel.

Fuck Yeah Hive queen quest finally caught one live.

>>41920041
Dude, let's replace the bomber drones' particle cannon with plasma cannons.

>>41920110
Agreed

>>41920078
Basically stick one on a collosus and you won't even need orbital bombardment.
Now I wonder if we can rip off Starship Troopers and make mobile plasma bugs that can shoot down ships in low orbit.

>>41920110
How does the recoil from that weapon not blow them out of the sky?

Hype for the space meteor town of Bedrock.

Michael, son, go ADOPT the con artist Anderson, please.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D7cPH7DHgA

>>41920165
Depends on what propels the plasma after it has been collected. It might not even have recoil.

>>41919323
>[Citadel Hive ship] – 20%
This pleases me, oh yes.

>>41919584
Could we stick a shield emitter on the back of a Colossus?

>>41920406
Read the very next post before you reply anon, come the fuck on.
>>Personal shielding
>Slow

File: 1399000794953.jpg (8 KB, 496x261)

8 KB JPG

>>41919888
>Add both


Your pod floats several light seconds from the damaged fleet over Iserlohn as the ships, many still bleeding water and atmosphere, move back to high alert as a wave of panic ripples through the defending forces. Your battleship, covered in a swarming shell of fighters, drifts leisurely towards the planet.

"Contact! Where the hell did it come from?"

"We still don't have telemetry back online, everything's damaged, it just popped up on sensors out of nowhere."

"All ships able, move to intercept. All damaged vessels be prepared to evacuate and scuttle! Repeat..."

Your ship continues its slow course as the wounded fleet sends a motley collection of corvettes to intercept. Fighters are launched, and gunships drift into defensive positions around the more heavily damaged ships. The corvettes eventually slow and turn, matching their vector to your own before settling into a choreographed spiraling formation that sends each ship on an ovoid course to provide either an attack angle or a quick escape.

>Transmit the coordinates of your meeting location, and blink away
>Transmit the coordinates of your meeting location, and have your battleship accelerate out of the system before blinking away
>Introduce yourself and transmit the coordinates of the meeting location (write in)
>Other (write in)

>>41919974
It is very powerful, yes, but the charge requirement does make the drone a big, literally glowing, and relatively vulnerable target. Even the shorter charge times offer mobile targets a chance to flee or attack.

>>41920219
It's similar to a very short railgun, more like a magnetic catapult that launches the ball of plasma forward. It indeed has quite a hefty kick to it, which is why it is required to be placed on the lower weapon graft, where the neck can recoil back and send the shock to the torso.

>>41920469
>>Introduce yourself and transmit the coordinates of the meeting location (write in)
'Yo.'

>>41920469
>>Other (write in)
Attack.

>>41920469
>>Transmit the coordinates of your meeting location, and have your battleship accelerate out of the system before blinking away

>>41920469
>>Transmit the coordinates of your meeting location, and have your battleship accelerate out of the system before blinking away

Transmit "follow" before you jump

>>41920469
>>Transmit the coordinates of your meeting location, and have your battleship accelerate out of the system before blinking away
Best to make them think that we can't blink inside a system's gravwell or something.

>>41920469
>Transmit the coordinates of your meeting location, and have your battleship accelerate out of the system before blinking away

>>41920469
>>Transmit the coordinates of your meeting location, and have your battleship accelerate out of the system before blinking away

>>41920469
>Transmit the coordinates of your meeting location, and have your battleship accelerate out of the system before blinking away

>>41920469
>Transmit the coordinates of your meeting location, and have your battleship accelerate out of the system before blinking away

>>41920469
>>Introduce yourself and transmit the coordinates of the meeting location (write in)
"Greetings, humans of the Commonwealth. We wish to parley with you, at this location."

>>41920469
>>Transmit the coordinates of your meeting location, and have your battleship accelerate out of the system before blinking away

>>41920469
>>Transmit the coordinates of your meeting location, and have your battleship accelerate out of the system before blinking away

>>41920434
How about fuck you.

>>41920469
>>Transmit the coordinates of your meeting location, and have your battleship accelerate out of the system before blinking away

>>41920565
No talky, only coordinates.

How about instead of calling our self the "Hive" or "Queen" we call our self the "Sovereign?"

>>41920685
Do you want reapers? because thats how you get reapers.

>>41920685
We are the Red Queen

>>41920685
Considering this is an open contact we can afford to stop coming up with such means of deception. This is a formal introduction to the Commonwealth as the Red Hive, and as such using an alias doesn't make much sense. Except for our allies, we should simply refer to Theseus as the Scholar for the time being.

>>41920714
This is the only consistent title we've used

>>41920714
>>41920704
The Union has spies in the Commonwealth. We need to avoid being obvious with our nature.

>>41920775
Spies that still have failed to identify us and barely know of the scavengers existence. If they can classify that than we're in the clear. Besides, you're forgetting an important thing, we have spies in the union.

>>41920766
We don't need to tell them squat about our allies or ourselves

>>41920775
This guy gets it

Just share intel on the scavs and then see how they respond

>>41920766
Not really deception. Besides the only reason I wanted to contact the Commonwealth was to use our knowledge of the Scavengers to extort them of their tech.

Oh man, it's going to be so great having so many humans to play around with.

>>41920811
>Besides, you're forgetting an important thing, we have spies in the union.
No I'm not dumbass.
>If they can classify that than we're in the clear.
What we did was too big to hide they're going to find out.

>>41920775
You're making a lot of assumptions here, we're not revealing ourselves to an entire fleet worth of soldiers, we're only going to be talking with a single or group of representatives. It's going to be much more difficult for the Union to gain intelligence that's being tightly controlled by a handful of officers rather than every grunt in the navy.

Besides, even if the Union managed to figure out it was us, what are they going to do at this point? Send a fleet to Leeland? We could blow them out of the sky before they made it halfway to Leeland.

>>41920882
Also, I actually expect the union to find out, however, what they'll find is two random alien species really fucking hate each other to the point that one has decided to ally with the commonwealth to better fuck over their enemy species. They'll also assume we have a border with that species somewhere, which will result in them blindly scouting the wrong region of space entirely.

Trust me, if you've ever played an RTS you'd know why making the enemy scout for you in the wrong place is a great play.

>>41920469
>Transmit the coordinates of your meeting location, and have your battleship accelerate out of the system before blinking away

"Silver back to Wormwood, we're picking up a transmission, spacial coordinates I think. Are you getting this?" The lead corvette transmits to the fleet, now several light minutes away, and seems to await a response from the fleet. You do not.

Your battleship accelerates, quickly leaving the swirling corvettes behind and shooting past the larger fleet as it races to the edge of the system.

"Mark that trajectory! Get a sensor on that ship!" The commander of the Wormwood shouts over the radio. A cruiser orients a large sensor cluster in your ship's direction as it continues to accelerate from the system. As the distance grows and your ship becomes a small speck in the distance, the fleet quickly fills the system with communication.

"Someone get the perimeter back online! How are ships that size getting past the long range sensors?"

cont.

>>41920939
We have the best children.

Before you guys make some stupid assumptions there is only one thing we really want from them. Tech.

>>41921013
Their biomass and metal would be nice too, but we're not greedy.
We can wait.

>>41921026
You are very late.

>>41921053
Too bad he didn't miss the quest entirely.

>>41921053
4chan is messing up. I thought I posted that awhile ago.
>>41921070
Nope, not going to miss it if I can help it.

>>41920939
"What's wrong? You can't just stay under there forever, we're landing soon." Michael says as he peeks between the cabinet and the wall. Your drone sits still, covered in a thick cocoon as it swells in size.

"Are you okay back there?" He asks. There is a loud ding from the intercom.

"We are moving in for final approach, and will be docking shortly. Secure all loose items and prepare for chemical thrust." Michael looks up and around his cabin quickly, looking for any items that need securing before returning to your drone.

"Well are you just going to stay there this whole time?" He says as he strains to reach back to the small cocoon.

>Have your small egg layer stay on the ship
>Have Michael smuggle the egg layer to Bedrock
>Other

>>41921151
>>Have Michael smuggle the egg layer to Bedrock
Unless we have anything else planned for it.

>>41921151
>>Have Michael smuggle the egg layer to Bedrock
The planet will definitely have more room for it to grow unnoticed.

>>41921151
>Have Michael smuggle the egg layer to Bedrock

>>41921151
>Have Michael smuggle the egg layer to Bedrock

>>41921151
>>Have your small egg layer stay on the ship

>>41921151
Wait, Michael is going to be working on Bedrock full time until he's finished, and only then returning to the ship, correct? If so then
>>Have Michael smuggle the egg layer to Bedrock

>>41921151
>Have Michael smuggle the egg layer to Bedrock
it is time
to establish our presence on new lands

>>41921220
It's not a planet, why does everyone keep saying that.

It's a a meteor that's hollowedout and vacuum-sealed as a space station.

But your point remains valid, as there will be plenty of room in the garbage recycling systems to have a hive.

And once there, it can lay eggs that Michael can take back onto the ship!

File: INTOTHEBREACHLADS.png (182 KB, 640x640)

182 KB PNG

ONCE MORE INTO THE BREACH THEY SHALL KNOW THE GLORY OF LEE LAND.

>>41921151
>>Have Michael smuggle the egg layer to Bedrock

>>41921151
>Have michael smuggle your egg layer to bedrock

>>41921269
That's even better.
Someday we'll get to go full aliens on this station, and it will be glorious.

File: Bedrock.jpg (387 KB, 1600x850)

387 KB JPG

>>41921151
>Have Michael smuggle the egg layer to Bedrock

He strains his arm and gradually pulls the cocoon free from the wall. He quickly stuffs it into a thermos and straps himself to a harness as the maneuvering alarms go off. The thrusters fire and Michael is jerked hard in the seat as the Cortez decelerates at a leisurely three gravities, which as far as Michael was concerned, may as well have been fifty. The intercom calmly counts down the burn as Michael struggles to hold down the contents of his stomach as the straps of his harness dig into his shoulders.

The trusters stop, and Michael nearly vomits on the spot as his head whips back and hits his chin on his sternum. The ship commander's voice can be heard over the intercom.

"Deceleration is complete. We will be drifting in for the next hour before we're escorted to the docks by the tugs. That is all."

Michael struggles to free himself and rushes to the bathroom.

cont.

>>41919747
I've been picturing these things going backwards this whole time, apparently.

File: Unyuu4.jpg (187 KB, 965x692)

187 KB JPG

Hi guys can I join :3
My speciality is hugs!

File: Torrus.jpg (307 KB, 900x743)

307 KB JPG

>>41921593
Michael makes his way to the bridge, the fly secured in a thermos within his bag. Commander Grey and Dr. Mordey sit at their stations as the screen displays a range of data. The slowly spinning asteroid of Bedrock fills the view, and its opening slowly grows larger with each moment. A small transport a few hundred kilometers ahead can be seen being attached to small tugs, which quickly adjust its course to match the colony's spin, and it arcs away to one of the docking platforms bellow. Not far beyond that is a large network of transparent construction and airlocks that lead to the main colony. A large freighter sits within as the inner doors slowly open and it drifts further inside.

The cortez is jerked slightly as the tugs connect to the hull, and they gently pull the ship in. The outer docking ring is unpressurized, covered in docks and workers in vacuum suits. Beyond the docks Michael catches a glimpse of rings of green fields, with a number of large glowing columns running the length of the colony as an artificial sun.

The cortez jerks again, this time as it is halted by the large grappling arms of the dock. A set of struts reach out and engulf the ship's spine, and tilt the ship into a vertical position. Michael realizes the Cortez had been approaching in reverse, and is now on his back in his seat as the spine of the ship slides into the docking port next to a number of others, nestled like domes on the interior of the docking ring. There is a loud ding over the intercom, and ladder rungs slide from the floors and walls around him.

cont.

>>41922061
"Alright, now let's find that con man of yours." Grey says. "I hope you didn't mind if I took the liberty of slowing our approach. We may be on a schedule, but I understand this is your first time in space."

"I've been on strato-planes plenty of times." Michael replies. Grey glances up from her console.

"That isn't space." She says. "Now, we will need at least six hours to refuel and resupply. I'd like to have everything dealt with by then so finish your business here quickly."

>Speak with Commander Grey (write in)
>Move to the docks and attempt to contact Mr. Anderson
>Move to the docks and speak with Jacq
>Other

>>41922140
>Move to the docks and attempt to contact Mr. Anderson

>>41922140
It'll take another 24 hours for us to lay and hatch any parasites, we can't do anything yet.

We may need to stall.

Jacq, you want to get a drink later?

>>41922140
>>Move to the docks and attempt to contact Mr. Anderson
Incidentally, only six hours? Are we just going to leave our egglayer on the colony?

>>41922140
>>Speak with Commander Grey (write in)
As long as we're here, I'd like to make certain our targets aren't here too. The mission comes first, we wouldn't want to leave as quickly as possible only to realize they were right under our noses, would we?

We can leave when I'm satisfied there's no trail here. I'm sure you can understand the harsh demands of duty.

>>41922140
>>Move to the docks and speak with Jacq
Stalling on meeting Mr. Anderson also stalls leaving.

We need to find someplace filthy and out of the way enough to let the egglayer establish itself too, maybe we can do that while socializing as an excuse.

>>41922140
Should we bring Mauser as a bodyguard?

He'd be another set of eyes we have to leave behind at some point in order to do anything hive-related, like opening up the thermos.

But it would be good to establish this as an MO, keeping him around as an underling, so we can take him out and parasite him after the parasites hatch.

>>41922530
"Just stand there and look intimidating."

Mr. Anderson can't outtalk a wall of muscle after all.

>>41922140
>Other

I assume the Decker already has the full blueprints of this entire space city.

Whether or not he does, let's get a copy of those somehow, to... determine whether the fugitives could be hiding out there somewhere -- while the real reason is to look for a good spot where the egglayer should be hiding out.

The full layout, garbage chutes, abandoned areas, whatever.

>>41922631
If this space city has surveillance network, we should definitely get an illicit subscription to that on our datapad.

So we know where the cameras are.

Just have to hope the Decker didn't deliberately exclude any camera feeds that he hoarded to himself, that we might get caught on when we think we're safe in a dark zone, "looking" for Lyle.

>>41922140

"And what if our targets are already here? I'd like to at least canvas the area to be sure."

"Well then try to do that within the six hours." Grey replies. "I hope you don't plan on scouring every colony in the expanse blindly. If that was the plan we could just launch a few dozen probes, put up some wanted posters and hope for the best." She looks over several lists of data. "Just be sure to let me know if you expect us to stay longer, and be careful when disembarking. We have some safety nets in the hall you don't want to test them. Keep to the ladders and don't fall down the spinal hall."

Michael nods and gets up to leave, promptly slipping and landing onto the doorway. Grey lets out a disappointed sigh as she turns back to her console and Michael carefully climbs down to the platform bellow, standing on the hatch to the spinal hall. On either side are the two halls to the hab ring, and further up, beside the hatch to the bridge, Jacq climbs out of the tactical barracks.

"Ha, you seem like you miss land." He says. "I find that strong drink and unscrupulous entertainment are good substitutes for anything you miss. Care to join me? I happen to miss strong drinks and unscrupulous entertainment."

>Accept the offer
>Decline, find Decker instead
>Decline, continue out to Bedrock and look for Anderson
>Other

>>41922743
>Accept the offer

>>41922743
>Accept the offer

Rolled 49 (1d100)

>>41921780
Me too, apparently.

>>41922743
One one hand, unscrupulous sounds like where we're aiming for, but on the other, Decker can give us a digital map of all the secret parts of the space city.

His hound will want our thermos full of 'food' but we can just ignore that until we're safely far away from Decker again after he gives us what we want.

File: gemininewscaster.jpg (69 KB, 540x405)

69 KB JPG

>>41922743
Accept

>>41922743
>>Accept the offer
Never say no to unscrupulous entertainment.

>>41922743
>Accept the offer

We can plant the egg at whatever bar we find, it's not like we can't have fun as well

>>41922743
>>Accept the offer
Remember, our parasites are capable of filtering out overdose levels of alcohol down to minimal levels in minutes, as we saw with lyle, as a result he should be the strongest drinker in the room.

>>41922953
if we start a drinking contest and get Jacq completely blasted and have him missing and passed out somewhere in the space city, we can delay leaving until we find him hung over.

>>41922971
On record, we are entering dangerous territory now, where if we alter behaviors of some of these crew, others will notice. What this means is that if we DO infest jacq, we need to make sure to wipe his memory of the event, keeping it as if he was in a drunken stupor, hell, we could even have him wake up with a brothel to give him an justification for the odd pain and pressure in his lower abdomen.

After this we will want to keep him as normal as possible until or if we decide to create a coup. However, that appears to be unneccesary, as all we need to do is have THESEUS create a realistic black market trail of lyle and co heading to that planet we've decided to create a thunderdome on.

Also we actually will NEED to acquire a safe house there for us to immediately destroy in the firefight, preferably in a high density population area.

>>41923070
Sounds like a perfect job for Lyle and Co. to get on. It kind of works out beautifully.

Interesting game rules that the different factions are using

Us, Theseus and BQ are playing supreme commander

The valen, union and commonwealth are playing Crusader kings 2, with the valen clans operating as merchant republics and the other two decentralized empires

The scavs and skly are playing Homeworld but at different points in the campaign, the skyl just starting and the scavs using a late game fleet

The Crystals and Ceph are acting as the AI from AI wars and only respond when we reach are certain level of noise to attract attention

>>41923101
The union is sure as shit not playing CK2. Not yet, anyway

>>41923125
More like GalCiv

>>41923125
Hell yes their are

We just saw half their council just succeed in a plot to change there crown laws

>>41923070
Once Grey is parasited and turns on the wifi again, and Decker is either parasited or at least paralyzed, we can have him just close the pod bay doors, lock down the Cortez, falsify the surveillance feeds, and we can swarm the ship with flies to take down and parasite the rest of the crew. Assuming Grey has the power to be sure nobody else pulls the "shut it down!" network switch to cut Theseus off from fucking with everything.

Mauser will be trouble, have to manage to sting him before he reaches any weapons.

>>41923199
>federal republic
These guys are playing FREEDOM SIMULATOR during the 2020-2030 period

>>41923219
We have to be careful of the Class-A relay. Can't falsify the information it's transmitting, and if it's transmitting all the surveillance data then our job is suddenly much harder.

>>41923256
>Can't falsify the information it's transmitting
Says you. It gets its data feed from equipment somewhere, and that can be compromised.

>>41923285
But can it be compromised quickly enough that the top level programmers and such of the Union that are watching the other end don't notice?

I'm just saying we should be careful.

Also I hope we get the chance to go through with first contact this thread.

>>41923331
Agreed

>>41923331
>>41923256
>>41923249
Hey guys, I say that we should play it safe, we don't need to parasite anyone, in fact with just michael we can pull this off, however the more people we have the easier it is. As a result we should take targets of opportunity only. Our conspiring will go on in the background.

>>41923331
Same, though I suspect that won't happen with QD taking a shorter run tonight.

File: 1424909578093.jpg (630 KB, 1600x1028)

630 KB JPG

>>41922743
"Uh, sure. I don't see any harm in that. We have at least six hours."

"Excellent!" He says. "After all, drinking is only a problem if you do it alone."

The two quickly enter the hatch opposite the tactical barracks, leading to a small airlock connected to the umbilical of the dock. Michael walks out, appreciating the moderate gravity more than he anticipated, and looks through the transparent tubing. Muffled sounds make it through the vibrations of the gangway, but the machinery outside is otherwise mute. The ship's spine is set within a silo, with pipes and hoses running to and from the hull as struts grasp the shield cap above. They make their way into the customs station, which is surprisingly vacant. A number of large crates marked for military use are placed around the area, and Mauser is already looking through one, flipping through boxes of ammunition, explosives, and other fine things Michael wished weren't being brought onto the same space ship as him.

Michael follows Jacq to a train leading deeper into the city. The 'fun part' as he puts it. Michael looks over the map of the rail system as they ride, and notices they are heading deep into the crust of the colony, well bellow the lush and green surface he glimpsed before. When the doors open, his senses are assaulted with the smell of blood, sweat, and urine, and the sounds of industrial wind turbines from a nearby air processor. The ceiling is covered in piping and humidity regulators, causing it to lightly rain a greasy, slick water that smells like motor oil.

"I'm not sure if we have the same definition of 'fun'." Michael says as he's eyed by a woman standing nearby dressed in a skirt lined with flexible neon tubes that flicker with poor maintenance. Jacq winks back at her."

cont.

>>41923369
That's why you deliberately set up situations that create and maximize those opportunities.

We absolutely need to parasite "Mr. Anderson," he offers a specialization the hybrids currently lack.

Decker might potentially upgrade the Tech specialization, who knows, but will definitely provide more specific knowledge through his memories of his career of crime.

File: 1393130687443.jpg (201 KB, 1500x685)

201 KB JPG

>>41923445
"Avoid the ones near the train stations." He whispers as they continue on. He points out a building built into a patch of exposed rock covered in neon signs and vibrating with blasting music. Jacq waves at the bouncer and they exchange a rapid and convoluted handshake.

"So how's Suzy?" He asks. The bouncer looks down on him, almost at tall as Mauser, with similar circular scars along the arms where the ports of a drop suit interface were apparently removed. A large scar with several burns runs down the side of his face and over an eye, which is replaced with a metallic monocle.

"Never better. Long time no see, Jacq." He replies, and steps to the side. A number of groans can be heard form what Michael now realizes is a surprisingly long line for entry.

"What can I say, they keep me busy. Tell the Mrs I said hello!" Jacq says with a wave, and he practically drags Michael into the club.

The interior of the club smells not all that different then the train station, with the additional scent of vomit and alcohol. There are several alcoves built within the walls with bulbous glass domes over them, some of which are tinted opaque, while others are open and clear revealing a mixture of filled and empty booths where patrons appear to be drinking, gambling, or arguing over one of the previous two. Glass bubbles are suspended from the ceiling where holograms of scantily clad dancers move to the deafening music. Beneath them, through a semi-transparent floor that shifts with the beat of the music from various colors and patterns, is a sea of bodies moving about like ocean waves. Jacq quickly points out an empty booth. He clicks a button on the side and the glass bubble seals itself. There is a grinding sound and a sound of rushing water, and the bubble opens again to reveal a damp, but clean booth. They enter and the glass bubble closes again, blocking most of the noise from outside.

cont.

>>41923943
"Now, how would you like to piss away your savings in six hours? They have a relay set up. You can bet on any sport in the Union, and even some in Valen and Commonwealth space, if you're lucky." He says. Several laminated menus are spat out of the middle of the table. "They also have excellent food and excellent drinks, which you can buy for the taste, or for making you forget your own name. Whichever you prefer." He continues, "and, of course, most of the people here are engaged in less then legal activities, so if you're wanted men didn't stop by here, or speak to someone who did, they're probably not in the system." He says with a roll of his eyebrows. "See? We can be womanizing drunks and still be productive!"

>Speak with Jacq (write in)
>Order a meal and pretend to look for Lyle
>Attempt to make contact with Anderson
>Other

File: in the future someone's s(...).gif (986 KB, 380x174)

986 KB GIF

>>41923943
>a semi-transparent floor that shifts with the beat of the music from various colors and patterns, is a sea of bodies moving about like ocean waves.

>>41923943
We should hallucinate a spectral image of the queen on the floor dancing in the crowd just to fuck with poor Michael some more.

>>41924068
>>Other
...Does this space city have citywide wifi?

>>41924068
>>Order a meal and pretend to look for Lyle
Hey Theseus, want to bet on some humans?

>>41924079
Good old Batman Beyond.

>>41924068
>Order a meal and pretend to look for Lyle

>>41924068
Forgetting sounds good, yes. This job is a bit. stressful.

I feel like I could drink a Valen under the table.

>>41924068
>>Other
Lets bet on sports with the help of a hive mind of thinkers

>>41924068
>Order a meal and pretend to look for Lyle

>Ask what's his history with this station

>>41924081
That sounds hilarious. Let's do that.

>>41924246
Can we provoke Jacq into drinking irresponsibly. Is he the kind to be goaded into that.

I just wanna get on to the diplomancy shit

>>41924487
Ah, we can use our poor frame and desk-jockey G-Man looks to goad him into a drinking contest, where we either drink him under the table, or accidentally kill our parasite with alcohol poisoning. The big problem is, doesn't it take 2 days for the egg layer to make an actual parasite?

>>41924555
It could just lay another egg layer and have Michael hide it somewhere safe before he leaves.

>>41924555
Small drones hatch in a single day going by experience, and the cocooning egglayer will emerge imminently, so we have 24 hours until we have hatched parasites and flies.

We have seven potential new children on board the Cortez just waiting to be adopted.

>>41924589
The unhatched egg, I mean. We could go on our way and have the egglayer start producing a stream of parasites by itself.

>>41924612
THEN WHY ARE WE DRINKING HIM UNDER THE TABLE WITH NO FOLLOW UP PLAN!? ARE YOU ALL INSANE!?

>>41924628
It costs us nothing, and we might be able to use it to buy us those 24 hours.

>>41924068
>Order a meal and pretend to look for Lyle

Jacq pulls out a flexible plastic tablet from the table, connected on one end by a small tether, and quickly looks through various sporting events.

"Hmm, grav-ball, football, Talgo football ugh." He scrolls through the list as Michael marks a meal on the menu and slides it back into the table to place his order.

"Ah, they do have some interesting events today." He says. "They have feed of a gladiator match in the next hour."

"A what? That can't be legal."

"It is on Arcadia. Or a jousting tourney from Gendrick, if you're not in the mood for naval combat. Oh, and it looks like they have an interesting roster. Some lord's son against the prince." He looks through a file on a pair of strangely dressed individuals in large, poofy outfits and metal caps decorated with bright purple felt and rainbow colored feathers. "Oh, looks like a personal duel, actually. Could get messy. According to this the knight was discovered to have been sleeping with the prince's wife."

"The what? Who? where in the hell is that to have princes and lords killing each other in public?"

"I told you, Gendrick." Jacq says. "You can learn a lot about other worlds when you bet on their sporting events."

"Well could you help at least look for our targets? We should make sure Lyle or the others aren't here first." Michael says. Jacq nods.

"Very well. You can ask the waitress when she arrives with the food, while I search the betting lists and the bottom of a few bottles." He says as he fills out his menu and feeds it into the table.

cont.

Since we've gotten some upgraded to our technology, we should start updating our ships:
>Replace fixed railguns on the light fleet frigate and light fleet cruiser with blasters.
>Replace all defensive shields with Multi-layer shields.

Te first one we've been needing to do for a while, and the second is a no- brainer since shields are so cheap compared to armor even doubling their cost isn't a big deal.

I'd wait to post a proposal, but I need to head off to bed soon.

>>41924712
The waitress arrives relatively quickly, taking only long enough for the smell of the club to hit him again when the booth opens.

"No, nobody by that name. Or Forester, sorry." She says. "I can get my manager over if you'd like. I think's I'd recognize an ex-trooper though, 'specially if he still got the plugs."

"Thank you. Maybe if your manager could send me the security footage of the door for the last few days?" Michael asks. She chews loudly on a piece of gum.

"Hah! Yea, don't got one. Someone makes a fuss an I hit 'em in the fuel rod. Cameras don't sit well with our regulars." She leaves and the booth's bubble closes. Jacq shrugs at Michael.

"I checked every cage match in every fighting ring they have here. No Lyle. I suppose then, we will be leaving on schedule, and must find our smooth talking friend?"

>Yes. Attempt to contact Anderson
>No. Claim Lyle could still be here and ask for additional time
>Other

>>41924808
>Yes. Attempt to contact Anderson

>>41924808
>>Yes. Attempt to contact Anderson

All i want is cheaper ships, to fulfill our cheap-as-chips space-bug requirements, but we keep receiving upgrades that allow us to build incredibly good ships that are expensive.

>>41924808
start making michael feel sick, force us to stay and get medical attention until we get our bug-breeders

>>41924843
Speaking of cheap ships, I've just realized that our Light Fleets don't include corvettes. I think we ought to fix that.

>>41924808
>>Yes. Attempt to contact Anderson

>>41924808
>>No. Claim Lyle could still be here and ask for additional time

>>41924966
Hey, idea, what if we intentionally filled ships with singularity bombs and set them off in the middle of fleets? Its said that a good part of the singularity beam is in not wrecking your own fleet, but if the objective is a suicide attack on an enemy fleet, than theres nothing but enemies to get fucked anyway.

>>41924808
>Yes. Attempt to contact Anderson.

We should start building all of the space resource collecting type things that we have. That also solves a problem. The more income we have, the more ships we get, expensive or not

>>41924966
That's deliberate. Frigates are the better balance of agility and size.

Corvettes are for xtreem stealth requirements when a pod is too small, and for logistics.

>>41925017
That's probably possible but it'd likely cost us a good chunk of caderon

>>41924808
>No. Claim Lyle could still be here and ask for additional time

>>41924808
>>Yes. Attempt to contact Anderson.

Are we gonna connect to the local intelligence office's computers to get Mr. Anderson's dossier?

Theseus infection opportunity?

Is he also spreading throughout Bedrock itself already?

>>41925047
No they're not, they provide invaluable support for larger, slower ships. They can evade enemy fire better than anything (which is why they make a sensible addition to a light fleet) and they can still lay down the hurt on big ships in the right circumstance. Every faction fields a large number of corvettes in their fleets for this reason, hell, they made up a majority of our mother's fleet if I recall.

>>41925195
How well did our mothers fleet do in combat again? I seem to recall it being completely and utterly annihilated.

>>41925231
It was winning til crystal bitches came

>>41925231
Not before nearly completely annihilating three enemy fleets. And with her low tech level that's pretty damn impressive.

File: Cao Cao.jpg (6 KB, 204x204)

6 KB JPG

This is just a rip off of AI quest

>>41925327
Your a faggot.

>>41925327
And...?

>>41925327
SIMPSONS DID IT

>>41925327
At-least this one updates more then AI quest.

Besides Bugs are cooler

>>41925327
They are both pretty good

>>41924808
>Yes. Attempt to contact Anderson

Michael nods. "If we don't find a lead soon, then we're only wasting time here. Still, I suppose this is as good a place as any to find Mr. Anderson." Jacq nods in agreement.

"Well you have his contact information, don't you?"

"Of course, I just want to be sure." Michael says. He takes out his tablet and pulls up Anderson's information and quickly makes a call. A moment later there is a blaring static from the other end that nearly drowns out the man's voice.

"Yes?"

"Yes, this is agent Michael Devon, BFI. I'm calling you about-"

"What? You're going to need to speak up." He says back. The garbled, rhythmic noise seems familiar. "Could you call back at a better time?"

"What? No! I'm calling about-" The noise increases, drowning out any hope for a reply. Jacq taps Michael's arm and points out the tinted bubble of the booth. Through the crowd, only periodically visible, is a man leaning out of an open booth with a martini in one hand and a head set in the other, which is is holding next to a large speaker nearly twice the size of an air car. The rest of the booth is filled with giggling women.

"See? We can be both productive and drunk." He says. "Even more productive then I anticipated, actually. Which means we can focus more on the drinking!" He says as he raises a drink and empties it. "Now maybe we should see if some of those women can be pried from his shoulder." He pulls a small bottle from his jumpsuit and spritzes his mouth with the minty contents, and slides out of the booth.

>Demand Anderson return to the Cortez
>Join him at the booth and introduce yourself
>Other

>>41925327
Yes, that's the point.

It improves upon it in almost every way. Clearer Minovsky particles with well explained principles that make the scifi possible. Less fuzzy mechanics. Genuinely alien aliens instead of the Star Trek kind. More frequent dopamine releases at the flood of RESEARCH UNLOCKED.

>>41925483
>>Join him at the booth and introduce yourself
Ha, lessee if Mr. Anderson can do the stalling for us.

>>41925483
>>Join him at the booth and introduce yourself

>>41925483
>>Join him at the booth and introduce yourself

>>41925483
>>Join him at the booth and introduce yourself

File: laughingmantids.jpg (41 KB, 620x423)

41 KB JPG

>>41925483
>The noise increases, drowning out any hope for a reply.

>and a head set in the other, which is is holding next to a large speaker nearly twice the size of an air car.

Carry on my cheeky son.

We just have to adopt this little shit.

>>41925614
Yes, yes, we must adopt.

>>41925483
>Join him at the booth and introduce yourself

Michael follows Jacq across the club to where Anderson sits hanging from the booth next to the speaker. He shouts into the microphone several times complaining about reception before hanging up. He looks up as Michael leans against the wall next to the booth, which he instantly regrets as his hand sticks in place like the floor of a theater. He maintains his composure as best he can.

"Michael Devon, BFI." He repeats. Anderson gives him an ear to ear grin.

"I was just repairing my headset when you called. The earpiece is loose, you see." He swiftly pops the earpiece from the headset and lets it dangle by a wire, then his smile fades. "Badge." He says blandly. Michael flashes his badge for only a moment, and Anderson's eyes seem to twitch across it.

"I'm sorry ladies, maybe we can resume another time." He says as he lights a cigarette. The women begin filing out of the booth, and jacq instantly sweeps the first one out of the booth with a quick quote of something in some strange dialect of Arnimian that is unfamiliar to you.

"You carry on, my friend." He says, "I will discover what these fine ladies know about the deadly criminals we are hunting."

Michael takes a seat across from Anderson and the booth closes. He chuckles to himself as Jacq leaves, invisible in the small crowd. "He's good." He says. "Now, what's so important that you need to ruin my game, agent Devon?"

>Ask him a question (write in)
>Discuss Lyle and Lee (write in)
>Other

>>41925933
>>Discuss Lyle and Lee (write in)
Do you know how i could hire the drop trooper?

>>41925933
Oh, right, he hasn't been recruited yet?

>>Ask him a question (write in)
How did you come to be in your current line of work, Mr. Anderson?

We seem to have some trouble with traitors that require rooting out, but it requires a delicate touch.

>>41925933
>Ask him a question (write in)
How well-traveled would you say you've been in the expanse. How much of the local flavor is he familiar with and connected with.

Does he know the Aralian Valen, even?

>>41925933
>Discuss Lyle and Lee (write in)
We've had our eye on you for some time now, Mr. Anderson.

I'd like to talk about the most wanted man in the galaxy.

No I don't mean you.

A man who's blown up and murdered his way across the Union, and is now in hiding after the biggest blowup of his career yet. Likely somewhere in the Expanse, knowing the BFI is in pursuit.

>>41925933
National security.

The current election climate is very sensitive, and certain individuals must be found and neutralized before they do any more damage.

I just realized these booths, if turned opaque, make a great parasite-someone location. Gives you easily a half hour's time to install into their spine.

No cameras in the club.

>>41925933
Michael adjusts himself in his seat and pulls out his tablet, bringing up a number of criminal files and warrants, but old and outstanding. He slides the tablet across the table.

"You really have made a name for yourself, Mr. Anderson."

"Please, call me Will." He says, "Unless we're on Path, then it's Jack." He flips through the files as if reminiscing over a photo album. "I was technically arrested, but they never gave a charge. Since they have so many to choose from, I assume that means something special." He says, and slides the tablet back.

"Your have a very unique set of skills, which the Bureau has need of in an issue of national security." Michael says as he wipes the grime from his hand on the bottom of the table.

"Oh." Will says in mock deference. "Well that is something, isn't it?"

"Are you aware of a man by the name of Lyle Rogers?"

"Maybe. Can't be certain, I know a lot of people." He says as he tosses his cigarette into a small hatch in the table. Michael leans in.

"He is quite possibly one of the most dangerous criminals in the Union, and his capture would mean a great deal for ensuring the Union remains a peaceful and secure society." He quickly pulls up Lyle's file on his tablet and slides it over again. "Now, we need someone who is capable of maneuvering in the more subtle avenues of society."

"An interesting twist, don't you think? Getting a fox to sniff out the mad dog?" He says as he looks over the file, taking periodic sips from his drink. "Yes, I've heard of him. Mostly through acquaintances. He is very good at what he does, and more dangerous yet, he enjoys the work." He picks out the olive from his drink and quickly eats it. "But I understand that he has also worked on your behalf on occasion, so if you're souring such a relationship it must be over something very, very big."

cont.

>>41926618
"I am prepared to have your entire criminal history sealed."

"Really?" he lets out a quick chortle. "I could just get another face lift for that. I've had my prints wiped six times now, and you'd be amazing at what gene therapy can accomplish nowadays. You know I used to be O-negative? It took six months and hurt like hell, but hey, it works." He waves his hands, the fingertips each holding a small circular scar. Michael leans back in his seat.

"That's the offer. What more could you want?"

"Simple. I'm sick of playing for chump change." He rubs his fingers together. "I want credits. Enough to make a Valen blush, and maybe a nice penthouse apartment on Path."

"Alright. That sounds straightforward enough. We can negotiate a more exact price later, but I don't think credits and some real estate will be a problem." Michael says. William seems shocked.

"What, that simple?"

"That simple."

"Perfect!" He claps his hands and grabs one of the drinks left behind by the women. He holds it forward. "Cheers, then. To finding crazy mercs and vast amounts of money."

As Michael readies to leave, your fly stirs in its cocoon. It stretches at its confinement, now a small egg layer. Michael feels a ping of alarm run through his mind.

>Search for a place to plant the egg layer
>Have the egg layer lay a second drone and find a place to plant the egg
>Other

>Demand Anderson return to the Cortez
How could Andesron return if he's never been there in the first place; and why would he go to some random ship he's never heard of since he's entirely unaware that he's even being hired at all?

>>41926755
>>Have the egg layer lay a second drone and find a place to plant the egg
Better make it quick though

>>41926755
>>Have the egg layer lay a second drone and find a place to plant the egg

We leave a hive here, and bring the egglayer back on the Cortez to produce the drones we need.

Since it seems we can't delay much longer, confound it all.

Not unless we can make Anderson delay us.

>>41926755
>We could excuse ourselves to the bathroom and plant the egg under/in the toilet in the upper deck? Retrieve the parasite when it hatches?

>>41926755
>>Have the egg layer lay a second drone and find a place to plant the egg
flush the little darling

>>41926755
>>Have the egg layer lay a second drone and find a place to plant the egg

>>41926795
OF COURSE

lets hope it doesnt get ejected into empty space

>>41926815
well, if they did flush it into space, itd just mean the local area would be filled with frozen shit, so i assume they treat it somehow

>>41926755
>>Other
The local Intelligence Office for the expanse is here, isn't it?

Bedrock is the only place in New Port where an office could be, right? Darwin isn't a suitable location.

Is there anything we'd want to retrieve from the intelligence database as an excuse to network?

>>41926755
"Well, I assume you can find our ship, the Cortez, dock fifteen. We will be leaving once we've refueled and resupplied, and I would recommend you get acquainted with your living space before we shove off. I need to, ah, take care of something first."

"Right." Anderson nods, "The Cortez. Dock fifteen, not a problem."

>Log into the local intelligence office to look up data (write in)
>Contact Decker to find a place to plant an egg
>Have your drone lay an egg layer and flush it down a toilet
>Look for other location to plant an egg (write in)
>Other

>>41926951

>Contact Decker to find a place to plant an egg

>>41926951
>>Log into the local intelligence office to look up data (write in)
Search the schematics and maps for disused tunnels and or mines a safe distance from any areas that are lived or worked in. Ideally one that nobody has set foot into in a long time.

>>41926951
>>Look for other location to plant an egg
Something like behind a toilet or something, where people rarely look at.

>>41926951
>>Have your drone lay an egg layer and flush it down a toilet

>>41926951
>>Log into the local intelligence office to look up data (write in)
Download maps of usable safehouses in the expanse. Deckard's Claim, Acheron, Billiard, Aral, all the settled worlds.

>Contact Decker to find a place to plant an egg
Gonna want full access to Bedrock's blueprints, ship logs, and all surveillance feeds sent to our datapad, just to make a sweep to be sure Lyle isn't here.

>>41926951
Seconding >>41927008

>>41927025
>>41927008
Sounds like a plan, stan

Ok guys, I was trying to think of unique ways to use tech for this setting, and I started thinking about shielding tech.

If we discover rip drive tech, do you think we could re-purpose it into advance shields?

We could cover our major ships in rip drives, and have the wormholes connect to a small stealthed scouting ship that has the exit to the rip drives.

When enemy ships fire at our ships that are being shielded, the rounds would pass through the wormholes and exit wherever our scouting ships are,

Which would preferably be near and pointed towards an enemy formation.

>>41926951
>>41927008
Backing

>>41926951
Are the BFI database computers pre-quantum computers and thus immune to infection?

There must be advantages to having quantum computers that make sure they don't just make every computer pre-quantum though.

>>41925634
rome was here, ancient china is for queers

is the rip drive the one where you open a hole in space? if we have it we could use it do use meteorites and comets as weapons , just open it facing the planet/fleet you want to destroy

>>41927008
Make sure Decker is sent back to his room and kept out of wireless range by Grey and Mauser after he does his job getting us into the system though.

No making mayhem and mischief off the ship. Is the excuse. Mostly jsut to keep him from watching where Michael goes.

>>41927172
Or we could construct a railgun that is so long as to be completely immobile like a fucking lightyear long or something, then open a rip hole to shoot through.

>>41927211
With the kinetic bleed special ability, a railgun just the size of a planet would have enough power to theoretically blow smaller planets out of orbit.

>>41927211
Lets put rip holes in the centre of the sun.

>>41927253
The hivestar concept is now looking way more appealing.

>>41927255
Wouldn't even have to go that far. Just put it near a star and open the other one near the thing we want toasted.

>>41927211
>lightyear long
That would take at least the power of 50 stars to fire.

>>41927276
We'd better get started then

>>41926951
"Well, since your buddy just walked away with my plans for this evening, I guess I'll go ahead and find my way to the docks." Anderson says with a hint of bitterness. "Don't wait up, I can follow the signs easy enough." He gets up and slides out of the booth, leaving Michael alone. He quickly brings up Decker on his tablet.

"Ah, what, I'm, uh, in the middle of something. What is it?"

"Is this a secure line?"

"If it wasn't I wound't be worth getting out of jail."

"Good. I have a bit of an odd request. I need a schematic of Bedrock. The whole thing, every nook and cranny, including any portions in disuse, actually especially those portions."

"Uh, right. I'll need to crack into quite a few databases for that. I mean, if you want something more detailed then what you get at the customs kiosk you need to break into more then a few corporate and government records."

"Ok, how long will that take you?"

"I just finished. I just wanted to be sure you were okay with that." He says, and several files arrive in Michael's inbox.

"That's uh, impressive. Now how about a list of local traffic. Ship logs of everything going in and out, and just to be sure, don't mention it to anyone else on the ship."

"I won't tell anyone you asked if you don't tell anyone I already did when we got here. I don't like being in a space city without knowing who's here with me."

"Is that what you were busy with?"

"No, that was easy. I was busy because Coco tried to eat your bags. The door was open I guess. I found one of your slippers, I'll, uh, let you know if I find the other. Probably in a few days. Also, why did you bring bath slippers on a spaceship?"

"What? Goddamn it! No, just, forget about the slippers. Keep that thing out of my cabin!" Michael shouts, but begins to trail off. "I- whatever, it doesn't matter, just route any security feeds you can find to my tablet so I can at least run a quick sweep of the place just to be sure Lyle isn't here."

cont.

>>41927344
>"Ah, what, I'm, uh, in the middle of something. What is it?"
He's fapping to Pathian internet porn isn't he.

>I was busy because Coco tried to eat your bags. The door was open I guess.
...ok still not convinced, still probably porn.

>>41927344
Ok, Mauser, you want to just take orders and obey instead of socialize, wisely. New orders, keep an eye on Decker's goddamn pet since he can't handle it it seems.

>>41927344
>"Ok, how long will that take you?"
>"I just finished.
kek
wasnt expecting that

>>41927475
Yeah this guys is like a 90s Hollywood hacker

File: Spoiler Image (192 KB, 1440x900)

192 KB JPG

space diplomacy when

>>41927344
Given what we've observed him accomplish and the quickness he's boasted of, I wonder of the Thinkers can estimate if our own Tech hybrid is this capable, or if Decker is in a league above them.

>>41927518
Are you implying what I think you're implying

So do we have a consensus on what to name our flying colossi?

File: nathan-decker.jpg (118 KB, 1300x731)

118 KB JPG

>>41927344
http://www.theonion.com/article/fast-talking-computer-hacker-just-has-to-break-thr-32000

>>41927565
Big Poppa

>>41927268
All we would need to do is construct enough orbital solar arrays to blot out a star, and then use creep to connect them all. What are the size constraints on the different types of ftl travel?

>>41927565
>>41927595
I would've gone with 'Scarab' personally.

>>41927631
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phaJXp_zMYM

>>41927565
What flying colossi? The colossi are fine the way they are, a low cost lumbering artillery platform. We've got plenty of large flying drones that have their own niches in combat, are you proposing a new one?

>>41927344
"Sure thing. Let me just break a few laws here at the request of a fed. You know, I'm not sure if it's better or worse that I'm doing this for the government. I used to spend my free time crashing illegal surveillance systems, not setting them up."

"Hey, you're helping the greater good, making the Union a safer place."

"Right. My cell was a decently safe place too. Doesn't make it good. Here's your security feed, Mr. Orwell. Would you like me to give you neural control over the local cybernetic users while I'm at it?"

"You can do that?"

"I'm hanging up now." Decker says flatly, and the call ends.

cont.

>>41927678
Since we got new wings, we have the option of making heavy flying units. It's not a question of changing the current design, but designing a new unit for certain situations. This one would be the equivalent of an attack heli.

>>41927620
I was thinking about that, and that's really the only constraint against a fully functional hivestar starship. The blink drive requires wings that project a tachyon bubble around the craft and a powerful computer to calculate the jump. I don't know if we can apply that to an entire planet, and if not we'd have to look into Space Folds or Rip drives, because the Warp drive would probably require an obscene amount of canderon.

>>41927737
We already have an equivalent of attack helicopters.
It's large drone + aerodynamic + wings + guns.

>>41927737
You mean our fluttercraft. What you've just described is our fluttercraft.

>>41927762
Do we? I thought the only helicopter type flying drone was for the transport of other drones with only light armament.

>>41927730
>"Right. My cell was a decently safe place too. Doesn't make it good. Here's your security feed, Mr. Orwell. Would you like me to give you neural control over the local cybernetic users while I'm at it?"
I like this guy.

>>41927762
>>41927776
Oh.
But can we attach a Plasma Cannon to it?

>>41927800
The bomber drone is better suited for that. It's literally designed for long range bombardment. We put a plasma assault cannon on a fluttercraft it'll probably incinerate the drones it's supposed to cover.

http://pastebin.com/EyHX9rZu

>>41927730
Michael looks down at his lap. The thermos has been opened and the egg layer within has pushed the cocoon out onto the seat beside him, along with its first egg. He picks up the cocoon and uses it to scoop the egg, scraping the mucus from his pants and the seat. He looks around from within the glass bubble nervously.

"Couldn't you hold it?" He says. The drone shakes within the thermos as it lets out a soft, gurgling squeak. "Fine, fine, just get back in before someone sees." He replies, and quickly reseals the thermos. He looks at the egg in a panic, and quickly wraps it in a napkin before looking back to his tablet. He looks through the schematics for off limits or abandoned areas. They are, not surprisingly, rather rare in a space city. All the water is collected and recycled between irrigation, sewage treatment, to basic drainage of leaks and spills, although you note a separate supply for the heavy water supplied to and from ships, which are filtered within the ship before drinking.

Air ducts are less centralized, most likely due to sanitation concerns. The water is heavily processed from the looks of things, but the air vents are mostly just ducts running between wards, doubling as service passages containing various power conduits. They seem to only be connected between levels at elevators and public transport stations, with filters set up at most of the vents.

Nutrient recycling plants seem to be set up in a similar fashion as on Gemini, but far more compact, and as a result, centralized. All of the water in the city seems to flow through one of three recycling plants. The power and air ducts all follow the same paths, for convenience most likely, and are powered by a mixture of external solar collectors and a series of cheap, low tech compact Liquid fluoride thorium reactors, which are positioned just beneath the outer shell of the asteroid itself.

cont.

>>41927864
Most of the food is processed by local authorities, where it is sold cheaply to offset the costs of maintenance. The food itself, is the result of the recycled nutrients extracted and processed from collected waste and refuse, with most of it exported to prisons across the Union. You doubt an egg could survive the entirety of the recycling process, but the plants are all held within the inner most layer, with each ward possessing a holding tank that is eventually flushed to the processors when full. Each tank is flushed as needed, which means there isn't a listed schedule. If you're lucky, an egg would be able to hatch before the tank became full.

>Flush the egg down a toilet
>Find an air duct and attempt to hide the egg
>Find another location to hide the egg (write in)
>Other

>>41927951
So, if we send it down the toilet, it just has to eat the tank stuff faster than it fills in and that will prevent it getting sent to the processors?

>>41927951
>>Find an air duct and attempt to hide the egg

>>41927864
Sounds like hiding a hive here will be tough going, any flies or hive life will be hard to ignore given whole space station thing. Why do we want a hive here again?

>>41927951
>>Find an air duct and attempt to hide the egg
Flush one egg, lay a second one to hide in the air duct?

We can get a container or something to discard and put it in.

>>41927951
>>Find another location to hide the egg (write in)
Wasn't mining one of the principle industries of this colony? Aren't there any spent mines we could hide in?

>>41927977
Probably going to have a hard time feeding the egg if it's in the mines.

>Find an air duct and attempt to hide the egg

>>41927968
Well, if the egg can spend a day in the tank without it being flushed, the drone itself will be mobile enough to avoid being sucked to the recycling plant.

>>41927977
The club is actually in one such spent mine. Mining doubles as a way to clear out more space for settling, so old mine shafts are quick to be sold as valuable real estate and added to the city.

>>41927951
>>Flush the egg down a toilet

Let it sink or swim, this space station is more trouble than it's worth imo

>>41927951
>>Flush the egg down a toilet
In fact, make the rounds to ALL the wards and flush eggs down a toilet in each one!

One of those tanks will survive.

>>41928092
>this space station is more trouble than it's worth imo
I agree with you there. This is eating more precious quest time than it's worth.

>>41927951
>>Find an air duct and attempt to hide the egg

>>41927951
>Find an air duct and attempt to hide the egg

Michael places the egg in his bag and gets up to leave, following the air ducts on his tablet to one of the larger ventilation ducts. A large fan slowly spins by the wall, with steam wafting from the warm and humid duct work. The vent seems to go down into darkness, with a small ladder visible on the far side of the fan. The rungs look old and rusted, despite its relatively recent construction, and small emergency lights are set into the wall nearby.

According to the schematic, this leads to a small ventilation junction overlooking a low income residential ward. The egg should land somewhere within the air ducts of an apartment block on the next level down. Michael walks past the vent and quickly tosses the bundle of napkin and cocoon into the fan, where it falls between the slowly drifting blades and lands with an echoing metallic bang. He flinches, thinking the noise deafening, but none seem to notice over the sounds of foot traffic and distant machinery. Michael continues on, quickly making his way back to the train station.

>Continue back to the Cortez
>Visit the local BFI office to look up data (write in)
>Other

>>41928265
>>Continue back to the Cortez
BIG STICK DIPLOMACY NOW

>>41928265
>>Continue back to the Cortez
I'd like to get back to space bug time now.

>>41928265
Yes.
We infection now.
>>Log into the local intelligence office to look up data (write in)
Download maps of usable safehouses in the expanse. Deckard's Claim, Acheron, Billiard, Aral, all the settled worlds.

>>41928265
>>Visit the local BFI office to look up data (write in)
>>41927008

>>41927008
>>41928314
>>41928265
this

>>41928265
soon
soon the station shall be ours

>Continue back to the Cortez

>>41928265
>Visit the local BFI office to look up data (write in)

Unrelatedly, I'm thinking we should try to 'offer' a technique for implantation of the parasites to the Gemini Taidarens for trade maybe.

Show something we learned, demonstrate, how parasites can implant themselves. By making up bullshit about how we've learned they "respond to certain stimuli."

Exposed to a potential host's wound, however small, they will taste the blood and begin administering painkillers, while inserting themselves inside the host's body. Much faster than manual surgery.

>>41928265
>>Continue back to the Cortez
Don't know what the fuck you guys plan to do here but whatever, onward to Commonwealth shenanigans.

>>41928382
What part of "see if you can infect Union computers" and "find out where all the local secret hideouts the Union has are" did you not get.

>>41928379
First of all they're already implanting the parasites, it's not worth it to tread old ground and possibly raise suspicion just for a light speed boost in implantation. Secondly, what data did you want to look up?

>>41928265
>>41928323
Seconding

>>41928265
Michael enters the train and takes a seat. It seems to be the middle of the night cycle, according to the local time, and the train is relatively empty. He takes the time to log into the local intelligence office and puts in a request for safe house locations. For obvious reasons, he only has access to those not in use. The Bureau randomly rotates various locations as safe-houses, removing them from the list when they are used too frequently or are otherwise compromised, with most being reserved for single operations or for when a field agent is in a dire situation and in need of shelter.

While none of those really applied, BFI did tend to have a rather embarrassing habit of picking surprisingly similar locations for safe houses as Sec-com, resulting in a number of rather awkward and tense situations in which the two organisations ended up ruining an operation, or even performing a bust on the other under the assumption they were a criminal or foreign agency. The two offices had very similar tastes in covert shelters, apparently, and it could be possible that any sec-com agent on the run may attempt to at least raid such a location for supplies. Keeping an eye on BFI safe houses may help narrow down the list, since Sec-com would sooner disband then release a list of their safe house locations.

The list comes back quickly with four locations on Bedrock alone. Anything else, sadly, is locked under a need to know basis, offering only the location of local safe houses. A sensible precaution, Michael thinks, otherwise, they wouldn't be nearly as safe. He makes a mental note to download the locations of local safe houses as they become available.

cont.

>>41928393
Oh we got that all right, we just don't care.

>>41928468
>we

>>41928497
As in, the people who voted to go straight back to the ship, yes.

>>41928410
We could at least bug them on other matters then, "yo where my holo-printer at."

Gotta get fakeids to get elsewhere in the union, travel and raid some Mentan labs for Science.

File: 3HZBEXY.jpg (97 KB, 1000x426)

97 KB JPG

>>41928466
Your pod watches the aftermath of the recent event with more then a bit of amusement. Between face-to-face meetings and a liberal use of relays, you are unable to gleam much of the reaction at a high ranking level, although the patrolling fighters and gunships have offered insight into the deep confusion and mounting concern. Your pods track the so called scuttlebutt across systems and military divisions, and you find it entertaining to watch how the story becomes less and less accurate. In only twelve hours, the story of your short visit has split into at least half a dozen distinct and mutually exclusive tales being whispered between freighters and sleepy patrol craft whose crews seem bored, but still content to not be on the front lines. Whatever the admirals have to say, however, is kept off the radio.

Eventually a large craft disembarks from Odin High Command, the orbital fortress within the densely fortified system of Aquila, and is quickly flanked by two assault carriers, small cruiser sized ships that seem purpose built for carrying a mix of interceptors, bombers, gunships, and landing craft, with nearly all of their weapons dedicated to point defense or bombardment. The larger craft, the Gungnir, matches what the Commonwealth seem to call a heavy destroyer, a relatively light and quick battleship sized craft. It has surprisingly little armor for a Commonwealth ship, but its weapons are obviously formidable and its shields just as potent.

The small three ship fleet begins to accelerate in the general direction you transmitted earlier in the day, and they quickly vanish in a burst of radiation.

Cont.

>>41928684
Your own ship sits expectantly in the void of deep space, your specially made ambassador waiting patiently for its chance to speak to the humans. It sits by the airlock door waiting to great the guests that are still light years away, lightly chittering to itself as it waits for their arrival. In addition to your ambassador and the ship's stock strike craft, you loaded the carrier battleship with

>Warriors (how many)
>Heavy warriors (how many)
>Wasps (how many)
>None
>Other

>>41928684
I'd actually like to hear some of those inaccurate stories.

>>41928684
Interesting, do these ships lack hab rings? That would mean they lack any form of artificial gravity, I bet they would pay a mint for artificial gravity plating, once we finish it anyway.

>>41928730
50 of each

>>41928730
>>Heavy warriors (how many)
500.
>Other
50 bio-tanks.

>>41928730
>>None
if shit goes down, then theres no point bringing non-ship level drones, and they'll likely just take it as a sign of aggression if theyre meeting in the middle of a hunned fitty warriors

>>41928730
>>Heavy warriors (50)
But keep them out of sight. This is a diplomatic mission, we have nothing to gain by intimidating our guests except to reveal our military capabilities.

>>41928733
Me too.

>>41928730
While I want tech the humans have, there is very little we know of that we don't already have access to, or can't just order off the internet.

The only thing I'm willing to part with to trade is services. Things that will help them, but not permanently make them stronger and potentially a threat.

Services like helping them groom the vermin from their backsides, the alien Scavengers.

Or, this one would have to be a special offer, because it can only ever be offered once per person.

Offer to restore the youth of one person, if they will bring us a database of all their faction's technology. It'll just take a few days of Reconstructive surgery, and application of the immortality serum.

The admirals might not trust that it's real, so we might have to perform the procedure first on a random underling they send to prove its effectiveness.

But after they examine that formerly-elderly guy and see what we did, all we need is one admiral to want it badly enough to give us what we want.

>>41928730
Supporting >>41928745 since its just ceremonial anyway.

>>41928735
They lack the relatively fragile hab ring and shield cap designs of the Union, instead opting for a design more similar to a rectangular flying brick. Any vulnerable or moving components are held within the outer armored hull, giving Commonwealth ships a more sturdy but low tech appearance. From what you have seen, they seem to usually have much heavier armor compared to Union ships, but are less maneuverable, with smaller and less powerful drives on average, possibly as a cost saving measure. In general, the Commonwealth ships seem to be cheaper, but more efficient and purpose built for combat compared to Union ships, which are far more expensive and high tech in design, but suffer from wanting to do everything due to their modular nature.

>>41928842
>Asking for their entire technological base
>In exchange for rejuvenating a single man

You don't seriously think they'll take a deal like that do you? If we're going to drop a bombshell like immortality on them it must be done with far more tact than that.

>>41928919
A nation-state wouldn't, but a single selfish man who doesn't want to die might.

>>41928730
>50 warriors, heavy warriors, and wasps

Your drones are kept relatively out of sight, but certainly not out of mind. They sit in alcoves and distant hallways, waiting even now for any sign of something wrong.

Your ambassador ignores them all, its forward eyes fixed on the airlock as its mind races with your orders. It begins to quiver with excitement as your sensors detect the small human fleet exiting warp in the distance.

The Gungnir broadcasts a stock language cipher and first contact greeting as the formation gradually drifts closer to your battleship.

>Respond (write in)
>Ignore the ship until it gets closer
>Other

>>41928730
>Heavy warriors (how many)
100

>>41928940
Let's try to have some more mutually beneficial deals before we try to manipulate them. We're trying to build amicable relations at this moment.

>>41928985
>>Respond (write in)
"Greetings to the humans of the Commonwealth. On behalf of the Red Hive we wish to engage in diplomatic parley."

>>41928985
Greetings blah blah blah invitations to dock blah blah blah diplomatic meetings blah blah skree.

>>41928985
>>Respond
Repeat whatever they just sent.