File: HQQ known space.png (1.43 MB, 7723x4550)

1.43 MB PNG

>>48440181
[You feel the notice of a Distant Mind]
>Psionic research has received a small boost
>Slip drives have a 10% chance to alert you to their usage

>Current resource reserves
Nutrients: 29,907,595N
Metals: 29,208,679M
Credits: ₡602,226
Credits in Lyle’s account: ₡1,175,000

Active trade routes
>Leeland – Lanway: HMS Orphan, Captain John Spreckels
[FormOther brand Fusion Reactors]

>Construction underway
[Fast Assault Fleet] x5

>Formed fleets and orders
Citadel Hive Ship – [Awaiting 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
[Gemini]
3 Taidaren Hybrids (105)
4 Human flash clone upkeep – 120
18 Human hybrid clone upkeep – 540
Specializations:
>Tech
>Engineer
>Brawler
[Hive space]
100 Human Hybrids – 3,000
Lyle Rogers – 57
Jackob Eisner – 56
Dillon Reager – 30
Clone/project upkeep – 3,908N

>Income
Metals: 2,950,500
Nutrients: 7,636,000
Net:

Total upkeep
Nutrient costs: 6,294,510

(Nutrient stat + structures) * 1k * dev score + modifiers = Nutrient income total
(Metal stat + structures) * dev score + modifiers = Metal income total

File: weekly-dose-of-HQQ.jpg (655 KB, 600x2047)

655 KB JPG

>>48440181

File: 07.jpg (87 KB, 652x900)

87 KB JPG

>>48440199
Hive Territory
[G-426]
*Leeland (capital)
N 60+40
M 45
Development 50

Income:
4.886MN
162.5KM

Defensive structures
>Surface to Orbit Missile System: Uses long range missiles to attack enemy ships in the system (1KN, Additional costs per launch)
>Anti-orbital batteries: Directly attacks enemy ships in orbit (8KN)
Military structures
>Hangar facilities: Deploys atmospheric and orbital drones to intercept attackers, uses aerodynamic and fighter drone designs (4KN)
>Psionic Shroud: Conceals hive activity from psionic senses (1KN)
Industrial structures
>Docking Pylon: (2000) (100KN)
[Empty docks: 8000/8000]
Economic Structures
>Capillary Tower [under construction]
>Smart Mines active: Calculates development stat twice for metal income
>Algae Farm: +25N
>Film harvester dock: +15N
Asteroid mining base: 50KM per day added to nearest planet.

[M-662]
Raligha
N 90+20
M 10
Development 25

Income:
2.75MN
0M

Defensive structures
>Surface to Orbit Missile System (1KN)
>Anti-orbital batteries: 35/35 (8KNN)
Economic structures
>Bloodroot collectors: Pipes running from Bloodroot trees extract nutrient rich sap +20N
>Greystalk farms: [under construction]
>Greenwall pit: Genetically engineered plant efficiently recycles waste material, Extra N income x2
>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
N 0
M 100
D 10

Income:
0N
100KM

>Smart mine mantle excavation: Calculates development stat 3 times for metal income

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

>>48440181
Aw yiss, one of the first one here. Time to vote to make Lee a sweet magnito helmet out of anti mind rock

>>48440181
FOR MOTHER!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

File: 99498646.png (1.52 MB, 1887x1070)

1.52 MB PNG

>>48440217
Finished Research

>Tribble dissection
A small, fur covered fist sized ball, the Tribble uses a collection of thorny antennae to help perceive its surroundings, giving it the ability to sense possible food sources, and run from possible predators. Its collection of muscles and tiny claws along its underside allow it to scoot along the ground or cling to surfaces, climbing or scampering with surprising speed while its small mouth of grinding plates can quickly gnaw through nearly anything, edible or not. The Tribble has no notable defense mechanism, save one. Its reproductive system is capable of passively gathering genetic material from other Tribbles through casual contact, but can also give birth to clones of the mother, reproducing without any mates very shortly after its own birth. All Tribbles are hermaphrodites, meaning a population can very quickly multiply in almost any situation. Their reproductive organs are highly adaptive, consisting of a number of small, seed-like organs surrounded by a hard shell and capable of continuing to function after death. When a Tribble is eaten in the wild, it's reproductive organs grow a thick mucus lining that causes it to stick to the insides of the new host creature's digestive track, where it absorbs nutrients to continue to produce the tiny, sesame seed sized eggs which are passed through the host's system harmlessly, causing the predator to help spread the now dead Tribble's prodigy long after it had been eaten, leading to situations where Tribble infestations are known to occur seemingly out of nowhere wherever other meat eating animals are held. The Tribble itself is rather sweet and tender in taste and texture, making it a prime meal among poor or those who work with animals and have regular contact with them, which only serves to help spread the Tribble infestation and ensure it is never fully extinguished.

Damn am I glad you're running regularly again. Feels good.

File: 6305450865931ccc5119759d0(...).jpg (435 KB, 997x665)

435 KB JPG

>>48440250
>Carnotar dissection
A massive, highly territorial bipedal predator, the Carnatar is actually largely a kind of bullying scavenger, lumbering in on a smaller feeding predator and driving it away from its kill, however it is perfectly capable of hunting on its own, using its two powerful legs to sprint short distances and allow it to kill the large herd animals that wander its planet's grasslands. The Carnitar is a lone hunter, only interacting with others of its kind to fight for territory or to mate, with mating almost always ending in violence afterwards as the female attempts to kill her mate. The female Carnatar has little to no observable motherly instinct, and will readily feed upon her own children if they gain her attention. Because of this, the Carnatar has evolved to only give birth upon death, or serious injury or stress. The female collects embryos over time as it mates, with each offspring remaining dormant within specialized sacs within the back identified by discolored spots on its skin. When the Carnatar's body is subjected to severe injury, the babies become active and almost immediately begin to claw and eat their way out of the body, where they begin to feed on the mother, whatever killed or harmed her, and each other. The body of the Carnatar is highly muscular and almost perfectly evolved for its function, with two massive, log sized legs that allow it to hold its head far over the open savannas of its home world where its excellent eyes can track prey at long distances. It is easily the largest land dwelling biped to be found living on a world with a gravity comparable to earth, and its bones are among the most durable and efficient structural materials to have evolved in nature.

>>48440250
>Finished Research
>>Tribble dissection
The time has come to drown the enemies of Mother in a fluffy tide!

File: alien_bio_ship_1_by_ander(...).jpg (258 KB, 972x648)

258 KB JPG

>>48440272
>Human Possessed Dissection
While still outwardly human in every superficial way, these human bodies have been altered both internally and genetically. The process, upon further investigation, is not at all dissimilar from your own method of human hybridization. Genetic alterations have been made that grant the individual enhanced speed and strength, although physical examination indicates that the bodies did not have enough time for the genetic alterations to fully effect their physical structure. In addition to the genetic alterations, the physical structure of the brain has also been severely altered, becoming a crystallized solid substance. While your initial observation in the field lead to fears of a more ethereal composition, the crystalline structure's dark color appears to have been caused by blood cells and remaining components of the brain lodged within the structure itself. The structure upon further study indicates that it is not only psionically sensitive, but capable of manipulating tachyonic signals, although all samples taken from the site indicate the substance is capable only of reception and alteration, and is incapable of broadcasting a tachyonic signal of its own, rendering it dependent on a nearby source of psionic energy directed to it in order for it to function as natural background static appears too soft for the crystalline material to manipulate.
cont.

File: alien_bio_ship_2_by_ander(...).jpg (248 KB, 900x600)

248 KB JPG

>>48440294
Another interesting observation is in the areas of the brain that were the most affected, nearly entirely replacing the occipital lobe as well as various centers of the brain that together assist in the human brain's ability to reason and experience complex thought. The crystals are themselves electrically conductive, holding pathways within capable of holding far more neural connections than a natural human brain. While you are unsure if these pathways are dedicated to processing psionic signals or used in the human's own thought patterns, it is clear that the structure, which is similar in function despite a number of differences in design as your own neural crystals within your drones, would be capable of granting the host human a dramatic increase in intelligence, reasoning, and speed of learning, as well as dramatically boosting the human's response to stimuli. How or if this potential is used is still up for debate, as much of the samples have already begun to deteriorate, rendering attempts to gather detailed information or memories from them useless. The only remaining fragment that does not crumble to dust within the day, is a small fragment of material you find embedded within the back of each human's skull.

File: alien_bio_ship_3_by_ander(...).jpg (334 KB, 997x665)

334 KB JPG

>>48440311
[New Adaptations Unlocked]

Large Bipedal legs: Using slight adjustments in internal design, these legs are capable of permitting a large sized drone to stand upright, fusing both of its hind legs into two powerful muscular limbs, granting it the ability to stand well above obstacles or enemy cover to grant it a much greater vantage point in combat, as well as freeing its two front legs, allowing it to equip additional weapons, allowing it to equip large sized blade and weapons on its newly opened arm slots. (4N 5M)

Ovipositor: Superficially identical to a tail with a hypodermic blade, the ovipositor is heavily altered internally, dedicating the majority of the internal organs of the tail to hold a miniaturized and highly specialized small sized egg layer. The eggs it produces are further modified, possessing a highly adaptable and durable shell that secretes a healing salve designed to help secure it within the host and quickly heal the wound made in the target upon entry. With these alterations, the ovipositor is capable of quickly lashing out much like a tail using a built-in retractable stinger based largely on a modified hypodermic blade an implanting a specialized parasite or other small drone egg within the target. (8N)

New Research Available

>Crystal neural jack implant
Fast
While you doubt it will uncover any new fundamental technology, a more detailed and in depth study of the remaining cerebral implants found within the possessed humans should at least grant you insight into its design, function, and hopefully, weaknesses.

Did we ever start construction on any new orders last thread?

File: autoharvest.jpg (41 KB, 773x500)

41 KB JPG

>>48440338
Current Research

>Lithovore disection
Fast
Astoundingly, these beasts seem to come in a number of shapes and sizes, living and consuming just as normal carbon based life, only with silicon as a base. You have no idea what further research could hold, or even if you will be able to manage to bring them into compatibility with your hive's genetics, or even what their genetic structure looks like. Before you can even examine each species as individual entities, you must first figure out the basics of their evolutionary structure. As it is, you can't quite tell if they are even all of the same species or not.

>Core Rejuvenation
Slow
The inverse of Core Mining, this process utilizing powerful planetary scale electromagnets drilled deep beneath the planet to artificially force the core to begin to spin. The process causes mild geological and ecological damage, but the resulting effects can be maintained for hundreds of years with negligible disruption to the planet's environment to maintain once the core is rotating. Once the planet's core is active, the planet gains a magnetosphere, allowing it to hold a denser atmosphere capable of supporting life, and the surface becomes geologically active. Allows the terraforming of barren planets.

>Hive-dusting
Fast
Alternative methods of hive creep spore dispersal is investigated, using a mixture of the semi-automated hive expansion methods already in use and altering the genetic composition to be more autonomous in nature, allowing spores to be deployed from non-stationary sources such as aerial dispersal from drones or spacecraft, as well as air-burst spore bombs launched from orbit, allowing for hive creep to be deployed in a more aggressive manner, effectively weaponizing the self-replicating infrastructure. The process is slower and more localized than the work of a Capillary Tower, however with no need for a tower to be present, the process can be undertaken more readily in the presence of hostile forces.

File: 1455999599351.jpg (263 KB, 1100x688)

263 KB JPG

>>48440367
>Psionic Spores
Slow
While normally the hive spores used to spread infrastructure are little more than genetically engineered nanomachines, replicating and performing their function alone until their built structure is complex enough to receive mental signals, your mixture of psionic research and advancements in spore related genetic programming has made the idea of a psionically sensitive spore seem not nearly as far fetched as it once did. With a mixture of distributed networking and complex cellular reconstruction methods, it could be possible to create a spore strain that would respond to mental signals.

>Complex organ splicing
Medium
While it is easy to pull a string of genetic data from most carbon based life and infuse it into the hive, making the inefficient genetic structure of other life accept the more efficient and deliberately programmed hive genetic data is far more challenging. In an ironic way, much of the solution seems to involve the utilization of controlled flaws, rendering the mutations deliberately inefficient in order to be more compatible with the host life so as to avoid dominating the host's genetic structure in the same way as the Hive hybrids and chimeras. Such subtle alterations could offer better, more difficult methods of infiltrating or manipulating non-hive life.

>Advanced Psionic Imprinting
Slow
With the application of psionic imprinting you are able to influence and alter the state of matter using only focused and precise mental signals. Your thinkers believe this can be taken further, using more accurate signals and more precise manipulation methods to imprint more complex thoughts and ideas more quickly and easily, and at a greater range.

>>48440340
No though we have a lot of planets we should be colonizing.

File: 03.jpg (176 KB, 1437x900)

176 KB JPG

>>48440382
>Psionic Cloaking
Medium
A complex practice naturally accomplished by the Phantoms under the care of the Barren Queen, you have been instructed in the basics, and now all that is left is practice and application. In theory it is simple, using carefully woven mental signals to broadcast a sense of non-existence. While this process is most effective against being sensitive to tachyonic radiation, it can be used against virtually any organic being. A psionic race may find entire patches of planet voided from their minds like a mass-induced psychosis, while less attuned or mentally blind species find details of the cloaked unit impossible to remember or describe, or may simply not notice the unit unless it is alone and obvious in appearance. Simply turning around or standing among a small crowd is enough to become virtually invisible. Unfortunately, this invisibility comes at a cost, as it is omni-directional, and any unit enveloped in such a shroud would be unable to mentally communicate with others, effectively cutting itself off from any hive network. This ability requires at least a moderate relay or implant to accomplish, although no drone would do so willingly and cut itself off from the Queen without a direct command to do so.

>Psionic Telekinesis
Very Slow
With the development of psionic imprinting it is now clear to the hive that tachyons can effect real matter in a very real way. While normally so minuscule in nature the forces of tachyonic radiation offers no force whatsoever, a focused, maintained wave of psionics could, in theory, impart a real and measurable physical force. The success of Psionic Imprinting seems to offer prove of the concept in theory, and the only limiting factor now is how efficiently the imparted force from tachyonic particles scales up from the molecular level.

File: 1463614405920.gif (944 KB, 348x234)

944 KB GIF

>>48440404
>Photonic armor
Medium
While it is not nearly as robust as what your thinkers promise from the miniaturization of shield technology, these small plates of massive photons are solid enough to deflect weapons fire and absorb energy for a brief period of time. Less a portable defensive shield and more of a temporary deployable cover, this technology, in theory, would offer drones or agents a way to quickly protect themselves during a momentary lack of cover before the photons dissipate.

>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.

>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.

>>48440338
>Large Bipedal Legs.
We hive tyrant now.

>>48440421
>Atmospheric static generator
Medium (is done, but working on how it adjusts the Tower's cost in the new system)
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.

>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.

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 Crystal Neural Jack to research
>Begin Psionic Cannon Development
>Neither
>Other

>>48440440
>Add Crystal Neural Jack to research

>>48440393
Should do that and make another hive ship

>>48440217
Glassed hive world is still not being terraformed.

>>48440440
>>Add Crystal Neural Jack to research

I suppose this implies Emmerich had to actually stick these jacks into people instead of just remotely crystallizing the brains by thinking at them.

>>48440440
>>Add Crystal Neural Jack to research

>>48440440
QD should we lay additional thinkers to get through the research faster or have we reached a plateau?

>>48440437
No anon, we kaiju now.

>>48440311
>>48440294
>although all samples taken from the site indicate the substance is capable only of reception and alteration
So they can't sense anything through their human slaves?

>>48440440
Add Crystal neural jack implant

>>48440440
>>Add Crystal Neural Jack to research

>>48440440
>Add Crystal Neural Jack to research

>Ovipositor
Voting to add this to Ghost Beetles and that Whisperer Drone since they're the most likely to get to people to inject a parasite into them

>>48440447
Better not be that retarded Nexus ship
Why the fuck would a ship with Rip drive need docking bays?

>>48440338
>Ovipositor
Could this fit on our flies? I'm guessing no, but could it be put on our larger flight capable drones?

Swarms of flying facehuggers.

>>48440504
Yeah let's do those things after we find out what mindfuckery the Valen are trying to Matrix out of Devon.

>>48440465
Actually, I think it's like the last intact remnant of the crystals in the dead person's skull, maybe it acts like one of our memory crystals, retaining the individual's core personality traits and memories. If it is, maybe we could reverse engineer it to allow for full on EVE style cloning.

QD has been letting a lot of this building we want to do stack up.

Can we see SOME crunch representation of our choices? Unless this is going to go pure fluff.

>>48440367
I really, really want to test out our spore based weaponry and structures.

>>48440509
...So it can send small craft FTL. That's one of the main advantages of having a Rip Drive.

>>48440440
>>Add Crystal Neural Jack to research

We should get some sort of research base and/or find if commonwealth still has some plans around of the psionic cannon they build earlier, before we start researching Cannon.

File: 2658749.jpg (178 KB, 1196x592)

178 KB JPG

>>48440538
da fuck u on about m8

>>48440340
We've got a massive pile of Metal and Nutrients that we should draw down. Personally, I think we should make at least 5 more heavy battle fleets, and a Carrier Battle Group.

>>48440574
I think we were all in agreement last time that undertaking the Cannon research means inviting Theseus and Heretic in on it and that there would be a whole base dedicated to it with all three present (maybe 4 if the commonwealth gets involved)

>>48440440
>>Add Crystal Neural Jack to research

>>48440440
>Add Crystal Neural Jack to research

>>48440440
>Add Crystal Neural Jack to research

>>48440504
>Replace Tail adaptation with Ovipositor on Ghost Beetle and Whisperer drone designs
>Replace only for Whisperer
>Replace only for Ghost Beetle
>Leave both as they are
>Other

>>48440518
It can be equipped to any medium sized drone and above.

>>48440509
... the Nexus is a battleship. I'm not sure you should really be criticizing it if you don't know that much.

>>48440621
>>Replace only for Whisperer
The ghost beetle is our designated shock trooper/commando, doesn't need a specialized implantation tool.

>>48440621
>>Replace only for Whisperer

File: xcom+2_chryssalid_screens(...).jpg (896 KB, 1920x1080)

896 KB JPG

>>48440504
>inject a parasite
Why not flies? Can you imagine the panic levels if people suddenly burst open with a dozen flies?

>>48440621
>Replace only for Whisperer
>Replace for Ghost Beetles only in Hidden Hives

>>48440590
I'm saying all of our decisions regarding crunch and infrastructure haven't been properly expressed in the main post for a while.

No terraforming no colony management, no capillary towers no nothing.

>>48440621
>>Replace Tail adaptation with Ovipositor on Ghost Beetle and Whisperer drone designs
Well if we're getting prompted for this already.

I wonder if we should add them to Wasps... it would be thematic too.

>>48440621
>>Replace only for Whisperer
Aren't Ghost beetle's for combat?

>>48440681
Nah, no wasps. They're exclusively military.

>>48440621
>Replace only for Whisperer

File: niv.jpg (103 KB, 620x415)

103 KB JPG

>Ovipositor
we full Giger now

>>48440621
>>48440652
>Replace only for Whisperer
Actually yeah, it seems to fit whisperers better.
No need for Ovipositor for something that is usually in middle of firefight.

>>48440621
>>Replace only for Whisperer

>>48440621
Question, you said it can be placed on Medium and above, does that mean a large drone can implant eggs of medium drones?

Or, idea, can it be used to spray acid or plasma when stabbed into a vehicle or other large drone, basically a giant scorpion stinger?

>>48440538
Actually now I think about it why do the humans seems to be able to produce more nutrients one planet then we can.
>>48440555
>...So it can send small craft FTL
Are you being purposely stupid? If it has a Rip Drive it doesn't need to carry fighters or gunships and doesn't need missiles because gunships can cover that so all it needs to be able to tank.
>>48440622
What difference does it make? It has a rip drive and dock bays.

NUKE THE WHALES
GAS THE SQUIDS
STAB THE MONKEYS
TRUST NOTHING
THE VOID IS WATCHING

>>48440800
>Are you being purposely stupid? If it has a Rip Drive it doesn't need to carry fighters or gunships and doesn't need missiles because gunships can cover that so all it needs to be able to tank.
Wait, it doesn't need gunships because?
and it doesn't need missiles because it has gunships?
Start making sense or I'll just ignore you.

>>48440621
>>48440676
>Ovipositor lays a small egg layer egg inside host
>It hatches, starts laying medium sized eggs inside host
>Several more Ghost Beetles erupt from the body

Panic levels rising

>>48440800
The difference being it being an entirely different class of ship? You need to calm down m8.

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>48440621
>Replace Tail adaptation with Ovipositor on Whisperer ONLY

>>48440338
It's amazing that this only costs 8N where a small egglayer costs 25N. I suppose that's because the eggs it produces aren't capable of self-sustenance outside a host.

File: Spoiler Image (136 KB, 600x800)

136 KB JPG

>>48440866
>yeeessss

File: 882_realsize.jpg (278 KB, 1333x554)

278 KB JPG

>>48440621
>Replace only for Whisperer

The doctor stands in silence for some time as he examines his datapad with curiosity.

"You're lucky to be alive, you know." He says finally. "You were in quite the accident. Please, relax and take it easy for a while. You shouldn't be exerting yourself this soon after waking up." Devon lays back in the bed, the distant towers of the parliament building vanishing beneath the window frame.

"Good." The doctor says. "Now, as for the accident. Your ship experienced heavy damage, and was almost destroyed. Tell me, what do you remember? Can you tell me your name?"

The tank holding Decker is gripped by a mechanical claw as it begins to drain and is pulled out over a gurney. A rubber bed reaches into the tank and pulls Decker out and onto the rolling bed as it is quickly hauled out into a hallway, passing Devon's room as it moves flanked by several robotic drones.

Devon looks up at the doctor with suspicion.

>Speak (write in)
>Ask the doctor questions (write in)
>Other

>>48440951
Correct, it is incapable of actually just laying an egg, since they deliberately lack the needed nutrients to fully develop and survive long enough to hatch without a host to leech off of.

>>48440853
I'll clarify.
A ship with a rip drive can bring gunships with it through a rip so putting missile pod on such a ship would be redundant if we have gunships and doesn't need to carry FTLless ships which means it doesn't need dock bays. Thus a ship with a rip drive should focus on defense.
>>48440872
I'm going to be leaving soon so I need to point this shit out now.

File: hurts-just-a-little-bit.jpg (29 KB, 540x567)

29 KB JPG

>>48440866
I don't think that's how it works, but consider.

>unlocked Advanced Psionic Imprinting
>plant a compulsion within the newly stabbed human's brain to not to seek medical attention, they're probably fine, walk it off, while the parasite hatches inside them

Actually maybe they should have hypodermic blades to inject people with a little something if they're now also parasite vectors.

>>48441004
Well all I wanted is a second citadel hive ship. Is all.

>>48441002
>Ask the doctor questions
Who the hell are you and where am I

>>48441002
>>Speak (write in)
I need to call Parliament, is there a secure line here.

>>48441002
>Ask the doctor questions
Nice Hologram
Where am I actually?

>>48441004
>A ship with a rip drive can bring gunships with it through a rip so putting missile pod on such a ship would be redundant if we have gunships and doesn't need to carry FTLless ships which means it doesn't need dock bays. Thus a ship with a rip drive should focus on defense.
Or it can send ships through the rip without following through. That's the whole point of CBG, sit outside of conventional weapons range and shove small craft and missiles through the breach.

>>48441002
>>Speak (write in)
My name is Michael Devon, and I'm going to need a comm link to the Security Council immediately. Have you received any word from them yet?

>>48441002
>Ask the doctor questions
Where am I, what did you do to the ship, where's the rest of the crew?

>>48441002
It's a hologram/elaborate ruse designed to extract secret information from them.

>>48441002
"My name? It's...Mike. Mike Rotch, I think. How did I get to here so fast? What's your name?"

>>48441049
>>48441068
Devon supposed to be a competent intelligence agent

It looks fishy if he spill who he is so early in the interrogation

>>48441002
>Ask the doctor questions (write in)
The oblivious, where Devon is currently, and if the rest of crew is fine.

>>48441068
>>48441049
Anon we were on a Union black ops and were taken prisoner by hostile Valen, remember?

>>48441062
Nah man, this is a perfect way to feed the Valen misinformation and make them think Killinger is trying to screw them over somehow.

>>48441093
>>48441078
Supporting Mike Rotch and asking where the ship and crew are.

>>48441100
And? The whole reason we're on this world is to throw as big a wrench as possible into Valen-Union relations, and this is a perfect opportunity for that.

>>48441101
You are, of course, right but we can't give them too much too fast or the validity of the information will be questionable.

>>48441002

This
>>48441062

>>48441101
Are we trying to get devon burn-noticed then?

Cause if he directly fucks up then he going to be useless to us for spying in the union upper levels

Just make the hacker spill his guts, guys a criminal afterall

>>48441062
I like this one.

>>48441002
>Speak (write in)
"I must say, this is really one of the most sophisticated illusions I've ever seen. You don't know who I am, but believe me that means something coming from me. Now, what do you say we end this facade and you tell me what is actually going on?"

>>48441093
>>48441078
I'll go for it.

>>48441100
Devon got his head hit real hard.

>>48441098
Okay, let's stretch it out more.

>>48441002
>>Speak (write in)
I'm Michael...Deckon. I need to call my family, can I have a personal communicator?

>>48441013
>Actually maybe they should have hypodermic blades to inject people with a little something if they're now also parasite vectors.
Not how it works.
>>48441065
>CBG
Excuse me?
>sit outside of conventional weapons range and shove small craft and missiles through the breach.
>missile
Pretty sure QD said that wouldn't work.

And my point stands as the Rip drive works both ways.

>>48441002
>Speak (write in)
Who are you and where the rest of the crew

I want to have the decker or one of the other implanted crew spill their guts to the valen

Want to keep using devon and he going need his rep intact

>>48441170
Hypodermic blades can't inject paralysis and knockout drugs?

>>48441194
Nobody else in the crew has that direct link to the Security Council though, only Devon can really provide that kind of smoking gun.

>>48441194
It could take a miracle for Devon to make it out of this huge mess without losing his rep altogether. We may be able to provide him with a miracle (and I don't want to burn his character since we really need a government insider), but getting him back in the Union's good graces will be quite difficult at this point.

>>48441170
The rip drive also has a range limit of about, what was it, 5 light years or so? Unless you plan on deploying rip drive craft exclusively within our own territory, it is going to have to bring its strike craft with it.

>>48441232
>>48441240
Use the ship captain, former union military and also knows some stuff and was in charge of capturing lyle part after devon tracks him down

>>48441232
True, but if Devon immediately trusts what the Valen says is a "secure" line it'll actually throw up huge red flags on what he says. It may very well seem like he was instructed to attempt to frame the Union upon capture, possibly by the Commonwealth, if he points the finger at his boss too quickly. Any special agent would be suspicious at this point.

>>48441232
The captain knew about the Smith, and was in direct contact with the Secretaries. She can take the fall.

>>48441213
>hypodermic blades to inject people with a little something if they're now also parasite vectors.
>hypodermic blades injecting parasites
This part anon.
>>48441260
>it is going to have to bring its strike craft with it.
But it doesn't need docking bays for that. Are you seriously not getting this?

>>48441194
The rest of the crew except Gray doesn't know anything really about the nature of their mission. It's gotta be him or her and she isn't properly parasited yet.

>>48441260
That's actually not a bad idea though. If we build a Rip Drive craft then we can have one planet with a shitton of hangars and deploy everything through the Rip.

>>48441170
>Excuse me?
Carrier Battle Group.
>>48441260
Not to mention that we'd probably have to pay for docking anyway.

>>48441240
When this plan first came together I always assumed we would have Devon take the fall for it if it meant directly linking Killinger to something that would piss the Valen off something fierce. If we're going to choose between successfully driving the Union out of Tannhauser and keeping our insider, I'm going to choose Tannhauser.

File: COME ON.gif (995 KB, 245x184)

995 KB GIF

>>48441295
>'a little something' means parasites
>even after specifically mentioning drugs to clarify now in followup post
Really.

>>48441296
Nah we got her when they were put into those pods

We transformed the flys into parasites

>>48441295
>But it doesn't need docking bays for that
How the hell else do you expect it to move small craft smart one? An overpriced spinal hangar? Because the Nexus doesn't have one.

>>48441296
>If we build a Rip Drive craft then we can have one planet with a shitton of hangars and deploy everything through the Rip.
This is exactly the sort of thing the rip drive was meant to do.

>>48441329
Takes time, anon. 24hrs, to be specific. Could be that it's not been 24hrs yet.

>>48441314
We got options and already left enough clues for the valen to know union black ops involved

The rest of the smith remains, the droptrooper we left behind and the ship and crew

Plus the conman will snitch out this lot to save his skin

We dont need to use devon to do this, we can use the restof the crew if need be

Only question is how willing the valen will use this info, will the just use it for more leverage in future negations with the union?

>>48441354
Rip drive genius.

>>48441399
And when they run out of fuel? They're small craft. They still need to be serviced.

>>48441417
dude, we're not that far into the crunch

>>48441382
Well, the thread number has incremented 3 times since then. It's probably been at least 24 hours.

>>48441417
They don't need to be serviced any more often than FTL ships, they can dock at planets like everyone else to eat their fill.

>>48441457
...that's why we have docking ports.

>>48441417
We bring them back to base. Is it so hard to understand?

>>48441399
And as I just stated in the post you replied to, the rip drive has a limit of 5 lightyears. That's as far as it can project rip. So if you want to deploy a fuckload of strike craft using rip drive, you are going to need a fuckload of strike craft on the ship equipped with the drive. There is no way to send the strike craft on Leeland further than Raligha using the rip drive.

>>48441507
Just have the rip drive carrier ship surrounded by dedicated strike carriers who manufature, launch and maitain our craft into the rips generated.

Would be one possible solution. Im not going to join in on this argument though, you people seem to be talking past each other over simple problems.

>>48441507
5 lightyears is for the micro rip drive module. 10 light years is the normal rip drive limit.

And obviously the rip drive-having ship goes with them in anon's plan, otherwise it would be hard for them to return at all. The ship can then make another hop to travel further away from home.

>>48441002
"Where am I?" Devon asks simply. The doctor glances at the window, squinting slightly for a moment.

"We're on Gemini." He says. Devon looks around the room as he struggles to sit up. "Now, do you remember your name?" Devon rubs his temples. "Uh, Mike Rotch... Where's the rest of the crew?"

"Recovering." The doctor says "You were among the most severely injured. The others are recovering traditionally, while you and one other required immediate medical tank immersion."

"And the ship? You said it was destroyed."

"Nearly." The doctor says. "Sadly it is beyond repair. The wreck is still being searched for any traces of the cause of the incident."

"How did we get to Gemini so quickly?"

"You should relax. There will be time to answer your questions in time, first, mister... Rotch... What do you remember before the incident? You were operating in the Expanse, correct? Do you remember your ship's mission? The last port you were docked at?" Devon looks around again, examining the diffuse glow of the sky outside the window. He stares at it for some time, until a ripple of the faintest static runs through the horizon.

"Where are we really?" Devon says. The doctor sighs and types out something with his fingers on his data pad.

"Where do you think?" The doctor says flatly. "Now I would highly recommend you begin answering questions instead of asking them. Now what was the mission of your ship, and what was the manifest of its cargo?" He asks.

>Answer (write in)
>Demand answers (write in)
>Refuse to speak further
>Other

>>48441507
Chaining rip drives when?

>>48441547
>Answer (write in)
Tell the truth, except for the parts about Mother

>>48441547
>>Answer (write in)
Ships mission was to deliver cargo to your mother
The cargo was a dildo big enough for her
Shes going to be so disappointed isnt she?

>>48441547
Ayyy >>48441579
We really should have the Captain divulge the info though.

>>48441547
>Demand answers (write in)
Didn't the Valen waive 'colonial authority' over Aral in exchange for their charter.

Who has said authority then. Demand to see the human Union authority?

>>48441547
>>48441579
Backing

>>48441547
>>Answer (write in)
Fuck you, space whale scum

>>48441570
Yeah, this.

>>48441547
>>Demand answers (write in)
Behave like any agent captured by an ostensibly friendly government would, with bluster. I want Devon to leak all the info to these guys, but I want to do so believeably.

>>48441579
Backing

>>48441579
I support it.

>>48441623
I support this too.

Okay so why are we being mouthy again? I feel like this isn't exactly in our best interests...

>>48441663
Mainly to troll, and to let them know we ave cogged on, so we get to see what they do next.

Also plays up to being a reluctant info giver instead of suspiciously talkative.

>>48441663
cogged on?

>>48441663
I just wanted to be cheeky but we can probably pretend that we're not exactly a very good secret agent.

>>48441691
Caught on

>>48441691
Praise the Omnissiah!

>>48441691
cogged on = british(?) slang for: Caught on. Figured it out. Realized.

>>48441663
Cause we got other people that we can make spill

And devon already been useful as our spy and want to keep damage to his rep as low as possible

The valen already know this was a black ops that went fubar, we dont need to burn devon to make them point to the union for this

>>48441687
Yeah.

I'll go for these both.

>>48441623
>>48441579

>>48441722
>>48441723
>>48441709

Ohhhh. Gotcha. I think I was misreading the relationship between the Valen and Union to be more friendly than it is.

>>48441547
kek hard.
This
>>48441579

diplomat to earth when?

>>48441934
Once Lee gets out his upgrade jar

>>48441934
What's there on earth to be diplomatic to?

>>48441934
>Earth
Anon, are you talking about sending Theseus to Earth to meet that virtual intelligence worshipped by those hillbillies again?

>>48441934
But there's nothing on Earth? You mean one to Gemini?

>>48440793
I think we have more efficient weapon options for dealing with large threats.

>>48442002
It's an interesting idea for invading Valen worlds, though. Large sized drone that only needs to overpower one valen at a time and spawns whatever else it needs.

Properly xenomorph.

>>48441966
Yes.
>>48441973
>>48441955
There might be remains of the old human government the union rebelled against that i can't remember the name of, and that might lead to more information about the moon weapon.

>>48442042
>There might be remains of the old human government the union rebelled against that i can't remember the name of,
You mean the Commonwealth? The guys we're already allied with?
And Earth is in Union space and is uninhabited save for primitives who couldn't get out in time and have devolved back into post-apocalyptic hunter-gatherers

>>48442042
You're talking about the Commonwealth. The old human government that Union rebelled against that did their best to salvage Psionic Cannon info after it blew up was the Commonwealth.

It's worth investigating, but that's not the sort of thing you send an...ambassador to.

>>48441547
Devon closes his eyes as he rubs his head, trying to press back against the growing aches across his body.

"Well, we loaded up a package on Bedrock and were on a mission to deliver it express to your mother. Guess someone finally made a dildo big enough for her." He says. "My head hurts too much to deal with this. Who are you, really, and where are we?" The doctor quickly types out something else on his data pad and the distant skyline of Gemini disappears, replaced by a dark collection of dormant holo-emitters on the other side of the window.

"I am Nevilar Descilad Librae, secondary agitant of Claws in the Reef." He says finally. Devon rubs his eyes as he continues to adjust himself, the aches of mostly healed wounds slowly ebbing away.

"I'm sorry, what?" He says. "You're going to have to run that name by me again."

"It's trade language. You can call me Neville if you wish, it hardly matters. What is important is that I am tasked with your interrogation in the wake of your intrusion on Valen territory. Even if it is only a temporary colony, until the gate is complete and towed into proper orbit, the planet is off limits to any unauthorized landings. That would include you, and your crew." He says.

"Well so far you're not doing a very good job." Devon grumbles.

cont.

>>48441756
The situation has drastically changed from when we first planned this op

The union now has confirmation of our existence and us working together with the unity and their spies in the commonwealth will tell them we are allied with the commonwealth and that we also know about the mirage and whats in it

The union nsa/cia showed it has the power to lockdown the whole union communication grid pretty quickly

We have gillian in the good graces of the intelligence chief and i want to keep devon in the good graces of killinger

Plus the valen like making deals so they will use this incident to gain concessions from the union and the union will give them since it cant really afford any more enemies at this moment

>>48442070
I'm pretty sure the commonwealth is made of the army of the old government that retreated while the leadership was on earth.

File: 1422837324975.png (242 KB, 500x340)

242 KB PNG

>>48442042
I could get behind a second joint venture to Earth with the Unity to figure out what was up with those rednecks who slaughtered our warriors.

While we're in the system, why don't we set up a stealth hive on Mars and start agitating it towards revolution? It's mentioned as being on of the most pro-Confederate planets in the Union, so we might be able to set the Sol system up for the Confederacy to recapture it.

File: 1449100925471.jpg (28 KB, 439x599)

28 KB JPG

>>48442042
>>48442070
I thought that the Commonwealth was only earth's military.

>>48442110
"Rednecks who slaughtered our warriors"
We remember that encounter very differently.
We were attacked yes, but hardly slaughtered.

>>48442127
Also government

>>48442139
Bastards managed to out maneuver us and hold there own against us

When a light weight fights the heavy weight to a draw its a victory for the light weight

>>48442127
Yeah but over several hundred year the remains of the Confederate government would have met up with the Commonwealth. As it currently is, Sol is a backwater with owned by the Union and there's nothing on Earth but a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

>>48442160
This was very early on, and we still got the majority of our forces out of there along with prisoners. It was hardly a draw, they came off worse overall.

>>48442171
Except there still might be a bunker full of old government officials in cryostasis or a server bank with information on the moon weapon, so it wouldn't hurt to look.
And we should get Theseus another robot ally.

>>48442139
Ya, we weren't slaughtered, but that's because we focused on our objective instead of taking them on.

Our small force plus their own extreme tactical advantage meant we would have probably lost the team. We would have probably been able to even the loss ratio a bit before that making it a Pyrrhic victory for them but ultimately we stuck to the original plan and got the tech and bounced.

That plus if I remember we were having trouble rolling higher then 60 that day.

>>48442186
Doesn't matter about how they didn't kill our drones

What matters is that we had them out gunned and out numbered and they still managed to escape

We were the superior force and it should have been a easy victory but those plucky bastards managed to hold there own

That was impressive and that why it their victory given they were facing us

>>48442237
Pretty much how i remember it.

>>48442082
"You can thank your injuries for that. We were concerned for your safety. Of the rest of your crew, two were found to have deteriorated in their condition, with abdominal wounds which went undetected in their initial capture and slipped into a coma shortly after. They are in recovery. The other was similarly injured as you, although without the severe burns, and has been prepped for interrogation."

"And why are you telling me this?" Devon asks. Neville looks up at him innocently.

"Because you asked, and because that way, you know what you say is being collaborated. We have recovered another crew member of yours who has offered full cooperation already, so please, be careful what you claim, Agent Devon."

He presses something in his ear as something holds his attention. He quickly answers in the trade language.

"That could cause neurological damage in his current state. Are you sure?" He listens again, answering in the trade language again. "Of course." He says. The door opens again and several robotic drones walk in, their heads trailing long cables into the ceiling.

"I have other matters to attend to at the moment." Neville says as he passes the approaching mechanical puppets. "The staff will escort you."

>Have Devon follow the drones
>Have him attempt to flee
>Other (write in)

>>48442267
>>Have Devon follow the drones

>>48442267
>>Have Devon follow the drones
There would be no point in attempting to run. I'm sure this is a secure facility, and I doubt those drones are only for show.

>>48442267
>Have Devon follow the drones

>>48442267
>Have Devon follow the drones

Knew they already knew who devon was

Just have devon keep his mouth shut, they probably already contacting union about this

As long as devon doesn't spill he be fine

>>48442267
>follow the drones.

>>48442267
>Have Devon follow the drones
>Other
Consult Theseus to see if he has the specs on weaknesses for these drone types.

File: 1408940428397.gif (3 MB, 416x405)

3 MB GIF

>>48442160
Those god dam bear traps...

>>48442267
>>Have Devon follow the drones
>Formulate a plan of escape

>"That could cause neurological damage in his current state. Are you sure?"
They're gonna hack into Devon's brain, aren't they?

>>48442267
>>Have Devon follow the drones

We should ask lyle how valen interrogate people

He said the valen were weird right?

>>48442267
>"That could cause neurological damage in his current state. Are you sure?"

They're considering jacking Decker in?

It's unlikely 'unidentified benign tumor on his spine' would 'could cause neurological damage', so they probably aren't noticing that.

Also great, Anderson of course would betray them. That means they didn't find Mauser yet though.

>>48442267
>Have Devon follow the drones
Who wants to bet it is the conman who spilled the beans?

>>48442359
They'll certainly try. It'll be interesting to see if they or our parasite wins.

Devon will be fine, just make sure he doesn't say anything. The parasite should be more than capable from keeping him out of the reach of drugs and torture.

That said, are we worried about the parasites being detected?

>>48442436
I'm somewhat worried. They've got measures against detection but...they're not 100% effective. There's nothing we can really do about it at this point though.

Regardless, If they give us a plausable out we should take it. This fucks the Union over. Especially since they sent a hit squad to valen space.

If drones are detected we were spying on illicit union activity when everything went to shit.

Can we ask Theseus how much the humans are paying for the tannhauser planet?

>>48442490
Are you dense. The amount is [all the mad dosh they make from now until the end of time from charging hyper gate fares]

Wait, unless you mean them parceling off mining rights to private companies. They haven't even sold those yet, since they're still building the gate, so there shouldn't be a price in existence yet.

>>48442267
>>Have Devon follow the drones

The "Neurological damage" could just be another ploy to get us to talk. Fear of torture is often nearly as effective, and sometimes arguably more effective, than the torture itself.

>>48442573
Those Valen bastards think they're so smart and can get the one-up on our semi-disposable tool. We'll show them!

>>48442631
The heck of it is, we actually do care about neurological damage to Decker's delicious brainmeats.

Why haven't we [unlocked] his specialization upgrade and downloaded his expertise yet?

>>48442573
As far as i'm aware, the parasite would be able to regenerate anything except outright death, so Devon shouldn't be worried. He can fake being worried, but we all know nothing bad will happen.

>>48442551
Oh, then we should send our citadel with a heavy fleet and claim the planet as holy ground that we have come to reclaim and threaten them, then try to buy it from them so they have no choice but to sell it to us for cheap or be attacked.

>>48442658
Wow

Nice first impression

I don't feel like being seen as an asshole by the valen

File: 1447462350931.jpg (50 KB, 464x444)

50 KB JPG

>>48442741
They are space jews. Everything will make us look like assholes to then. Specially with we come and take a planet saying it's a holy land.

>>48442772
Your post goes against my holy land. Delete it.

>>48442741
Remember the Valen are space jews, we don't go in guns hot we go in regal.

This planet is ours because the Skyle are returning, we are powerful wealthy benefactors to a race that is viewed by the active civs as the ancients. most of their advanced tech is based on reverse engineering skyle tech. We make ourselves look as rich and powerful as possible when we show up and they will be tripping over their whale/squid penises to make a deal with us.

>>48442267
Why are all there drones wired?

Why don't they use wireless?

>>48442741
The Valen might not let us buy the planet if they find out we have FTL on almost all our ships and that we have no population that would want to live there without mother ordering it so i believe threatening them is needed, also they're space Jews >>48442772

>>48442741
We're not the ones who decided to colonize a world with obvious significance to a seemingly long dead sentient species.

>>48442833
>wireless
>in a secure facility

laughingtheseus.png

>>48442772
>>48442827
>>48442834
>>48442839

Its a stupid plan

They must have found the skyl ruins now and they aren't going to give that up

>>48442267
Decker begins to wake fully, slowly drifting into proper consciousness as an arm ideally pulls against a restraint. He looks down, pulling his head against another firm strap across his forehead. He strains his eyes to catch a glimpse of his seat, a rather large chair holding him firmly with a number of restraints. The cold sensation of wires presses against Decker's skin as a neural jack is plugged into the small port along the side of his head. A rather simple aug normally used to help speed things along when hacking, although he doesn't detect the same familiar inner warmth of cerebral interface software, just a distant presence, likely some manner of firewall or the administrative software of an isolated network. A pinching feeling jabs at the back of his neck, just below the base of the skull. Decker finds the sensation somewhat familiar.

He looks up at the room. Mechanical puppets operate several control consoles, their heads trailing cables that reach up into the gridded mesh in the ceiling. On the far side of the room a door opens and Neville walks through, typing on his data pad. Above, a rumbling clang of metal and humming machines shakes the ceiling momentarily as the shimmering points of light seeping through the mesh ceiling darkens with shadow. Neville speaks into his earpiece.

cont.

>>48442857
Well then, they'd better be willing to fight for it in that case.

>>48442741
The Valen love and admire the art of being an asshole. You just have to be a jolly good sport about it afterwards.

>>48442869
Ah poor decker

How much sans does he have again?

>>48442869
"Commencing interrogation, procedure is witnessed by tertiary overseer Many Truths in the Moment." He says, and turns to Decker.

"I am-"

"Don't care, chum lover. Where's Coco?" Decker snaps. Neville looks confused for a moment.

"I assume you mean the animal. It has been cared for to the best of our legal obligation and is alive, or was the last time I checked at least." He says as Decker pulls against the restraints. "Now, as for your situation-"

"Fuck you. This isn't my first rodeo." Decker says. A sudden surge of pain runs through his spine, like a flair of electricity shooting through every nerve as the sound of a small drill grinds away just behind Decker's neck.

"Excellent, then we can get right into things." Neville says. Flashes of thoughts rush through Deckers mind in quick succession, including memories of the familiar pain. "Let's start with a baseline. Something simple. Tell me about the first time you underwent nerve stapling?"

"Well, you see, I was having some fun on the net, when somehow, some valen owned bank misplaced a few credits." Another wave of pain fills his head, like a burning heat in his skull as memories flood past his mind. "Alright, so I may have taken a few credits." Decker scrunches his face in pain again. "Alright, so I drained a billion credits from one of the largest banks in the region and fed it through a donation relay I made that may as well have tossed every credit into a black hole, turning them into untraceable donations to random charities. Valen ended up finding out and the Union decided to extradite." Decker starts to laugh, straining against the restraints with each chuckle. "Oh boy, I tell you, they were not happy when I told them about my money sink program. They thought I had it stuffed away somewhere. I tell you, they had whatever the hell is the closest thing to a heart attack they can get when I told them I just threw it all away."

cont.

>>48442857
But they hate war due to it being destructive while we love war cause we're so good at it.
>>48442890
Yep, especially if we force them to sell it to us, pull on their Jewish instinct to profit.

File: 1449281173666.jpg (151 KB, 800x600)

151 KB JPG

>>48442912
Not much, since we broke him using our parasites.

>>48442925
I like this guy. Can we adopt him officially instead of just using him?

>>48442925
>turning a billion credits into untraceable donations to random charities

...fucking hell, he's a better guy than we gave him credit for.

>>48442925
Fuck they do NERVE STAPLING

Thats bring back memories of alpha centauri

Fuck that stupid remake

Deckers hardcore

>>48442925
Of course, we know exactly where and how Coco is doing.

>>48442925
>"Well, you see, I was having some fun on the net, when somehow, some valen owned bank misplaced a few credits.
Yes this one will be a cheeky breeki son.

File: CcaCeYvVAAE58mH.jpg (15 KB, 183x232)

15 KB JPG

>>48442925
>stole dosh and donated it to charity
This kills the jew

File: 1413778117645.jpg (20 KB, 300x300)

20 KB JPG

>>48442925
>Alright, so I drained a billion credits from one of the largest banks in the region and fed it through a donation relay I made that may as well have tossed every credit into a black hole, turning them into untraceable donations to random charities.
Damn son, you know how to really kick the hornets nest, don't you?

>>48442925
>Just threw away 1 billion credits
Damn, son. He's a lot more chaotic good than I took him for.

>>48442974
Do explain, for the anons other than I that don't know what it is.

>>48442925

Can we use the fine control of Decers brain that we have to hack the nerve stapler?

>>48443002
Or we can let them succeed in getting information so the union is further in dept, maybe even implant some memories of the valen dissection in the lab.

File: anguished jew.png (39 KB, 125x125)

39 KB PNG

>>48442925
ABSOLUTE
MADMAN

File: 3.jpg (261 KB, 1171x1094)

261 KB JPG

>>48442925
God dammit Decker...I am so proud of ours sons...

>>48442990
sid meier's alpha centauri

Remake is Civ: Beyond earth

NERVE STAPLING was an atrocity that could be done to ensure no uprising/rioting in your cities but pretty much made everyone hated your guts for doing it

They let your imagination do most of the heavy work but it was implied to be a combination of lobotomy and just really horrifically fucking with people heads to ensure compliance

>>48442974
What exactly is Nerve stapling? Google only turns up references to things Decker likely could not have endured and retained his sanity.

>>48442990
>>Most sources aren't clear on what nerve stapling is. Mind you, it seems to be highly classified, almost more effective as a threat than explaining it.
However, one source describes it as inserting probes into the body that stimulate the brain and spine, where someone with access to the controls of the staples can force the user to feel overwhelmingly strong sensations without end or limit. Not just pain, though that is often the sensation of choice.

It's never fully explained but an in-game book is "How to raise a nerve-stapled child" and if you nerve-staple a conquered city the city's home faction will NEVER make peace with you. In the fluff the fact that one faction does it directly leads to their only ally wiping them out.

File: Power of love.jpg (131 KB, 546x487)

131 KB JPG

>>48443030
But i don't want little Deck to suffer...a good mother doesn't let her children get hurt.

>>48443092
Well ... Decker isn't exactly 100% sane now is he.

>>48443074
>>48443099
Fuck them

KILL ALL THE WHALES FOR THIS

>>48443092
>>48442990
>>48443099

>Nerve Stapler (TLS(P)): A device originally designed for psychotherapy, but often applied on both Earth and Planet to deal with social dissension. When strapped to a patient's head and upper back, the nerve stapler extrudes hair-fine probes into his brain and spinal column. A psychotherapist can then use the device to inflict extreme sensations (not necessarily pain) on the
patient, subjecting him to a rapid course of psychological conditioning.

From the AC GURPS supplement.

>>4844292
Plus, I mean. We heal any destruction to our population within a week.

>>48443123
Well telling the enemy things means they stop hurting him!

So basically the plan is to make a backup of his mind asap?

>>48442925
Now that Coco has a parasite, that means we have access to Shade Hound genetics and potential research right?

>>48443154
Interesting. Surely we have some means of shutting his mind down temporarily, or applying our memory-erasing drug so he's spared this experience?

>>48443092
Imagine a shock. Now, remember the nerves control all our sensations, imagine like you can 'hack' into someone's body. You could make then think they are in pain stimulating the nervs to send a response to your brain. The nerves reach diferently for each kind of damage/pain. So the Valen can hurt you without actualy hitting you. So in other words, they can make Decker feel all kinds of extreme pain, while not physicaly hurting his body. His brain just think's is being hurt.

>Captcha is Low Clearance

File: image.gif (580 KB, 480x360)

580 KB GIF

>>48443154
We can murder all the Valen, right? Or at least their entire governing bodies?

>>48443280
Their governing bodies are intrinsic to them, not a separate entity. So no.

File: image.gif (1.98 MB, 264x185)

1.98 MB GIF

I have a feeling this is gonna be what happens when the Union comes to Leeland and sees our citadel hive ship.

>>48443303
I meant llike whoever's in charge. The banking clans or whatever.

The Ceph are the ones with multiple organisms making up a single entity.

>>48443314
I've been looking for this gif for ages
and yeah that perfectly sums it up

>>48443314
I was thinking we could hide all of our ships and rig the satellite over Leeland with nukes for maximum hilarity.

>>48443329
Everyone is in charge. Some are just richer than others. You'd just have to kill them all, Johnny. Kill them all.

>>48443314

>Have it hide behind our mined out asteroid
>Union jumps in
>It creeps out from behind slowly
>Union jumps out

It would be like if you discovered an anthill in your back yard, walked up to it thinking about kicking it down, and then saw a dog-sized ant peak out from behind a tree.

>>48443329
The banking clans are malleable organizations. The closest we could get to eliminating the Valen's government would be to eliminate the richest Valen...but that would just result in other Valen filling the power vacuum. Control of the Valen population is in constant flux based on who's the richest.

If you want to hurt them, take out or take control of the hypergates somehow.

>>48442925
"I see." Neville says calmly as he examines the readouts on the terminals. "And why, may I ask, did you do it?"

"Oh how polite. Yes you may ask, and the answer is fuck you, and fuck that bank. They were sitting on enough money to fund a planet in profits alone and they say they need to get emergency government funding? No, I don't think so." Decker says bitterly, then wiggles his foot. "My left foot had this twitch for about a month after that. Had a hard time walking after I got sent back to the Union for my prison sentence, so make sure you don't fuck up the wiring this time?"

"I assure you, I'll be quite gentle." Neville says. "That was... some years ago, yes? We've made quite a few advancements since then... interesting."

"What? You know how to use that thing, right? I swear to god if this is your first time you can just pass me the controls and I'll do it myself." Decker says.

"Nothing, it just seems that your baseline is... rather odd. Do you have any neurological disorders?"

"No."

"Have you been exposed to any alien environments? Visit any planets in the expanse, or been exposed to any who have?"

"Does bedrock count? I never left the ship, but we docked there." Decker says. "Hey look, if you're gonna not even use the damn thing for interrogation, could you at least scratch my nose? Should be a setting for that, right? Just turn the itch off."

>Have Decker cooperate
>Have Decker resist questioning
>Attempt to hack through the firewall
>Other

>>48443092
Picture a much more rudimentary version of your own parasite's neural interface.

File: Assaulting Valen's Homeworld.gif (970 KB, 500x219)

970 KB GIF

>>48443329
Banking clans you say...

>>48443400
>Attempt to hack through the firewall
How deliciously ballsy.

>>48443400
>>Have Decker cooperate
>Attempt to hack through the firewall

>>48443400
>Have Decker cooperate

>>48443400
>Attempt to hack through the firewall

>>48443400
>Have Decker cooperate
I can't think of any reason Decker would resist, either IC or as the Queen.

>>48443400
>Have Decker cooperate
Attacking the firewall is a trap

>>48443400
>>Attempt to hack through the firewall

File: image.jpg (109 KB, 514x600)

109 KB JPG

>>48443400
>Attempt to hack through the firewall

>>48443400

>Have Decker resist

>>48443458
Why do you think so?

>>48443438
I mean we have our vast array of Thinkers to support his codecracking now, an impossible amount of supercomputing power attached to his brain inexplicably.

They'll wonder how the fuck he did that.

Of course if we leave him hooked up to the machine, they will keep finding that 'odd baseline' indicative of a parasite's second brain attached to his nervous system.

Cooperating would be fastest way to make them disconnect, but they still might hook him up for a whie just to figure out what they're seeing.

Also damn people vote so much before anyone can post analysis of the pros and cons here.

>>48443400
>>Attempt to hack through the firewall
>>Have Decker cooperate

We can save file Decker because of the parasite right? Can we detonate the parasite in his spine if something happens and re-clone him? Have him pop up as having 'escaped'.

>>48443400
>Have Decker cooperate.
Have him say killinger did it after a bit more torture, then
>Attempt to hack through the firewall for fun.
We can have our ghost queen offer him an entire alien civilization's hacking ability and demonstrate.

>>48443400
>>Have Decker cooperate

Dont suggest anything else is out of the ordinary, we want the Union incriminated.

>>48443400
>Have Decker cooperate
>Attempt to hack through the firewall

Please roll 1d100, best of 3.

File: nopower.jpg (66 KB, 666x400)

66 KB JPG

>>48443400
>Have Decker cooperate

Only to distract the interrogator so he can:

>Attempt to hack through the firewall

Rolled 81 (1d100)

>>48443508
For the Obsidian Queen!

Rolled 98 (1d100)

>>48443508
For mother

Rolled 36 (1d100)

>>48443508
For Mother!

>>48443518
I just want you to know that you're beautiful.

>>48443517
Not this faggot again.

>>48443475
What this guy said
>>48443485
With what hardware allows him to hack into the lotus eater machine?

>>48443518
>>48443517

Hahaha

Queen trumps That Cunt Bitch

>>Have Decker cooperate
>>Attempt to hack through the firewall

I like his cheekiness let's make sure he makes it

File: 1422837324976.png (184 KB, 500x419)

184 KB PNG

>>48443518
MOTHER PROTECTS! From malware.

>>48443485
Our thinkers might be able to pull that shit off. I wonder if we could coordinate with Theseus to purchase and then directly download some attack programs directly into Decker's brain right now.

File: 1459731537519.png (451 KB, 554x692)

451 KB PNG

>>48443518
beautifull

>>48443458
Not necessarily. It may still be better than letting them analyze the oddities the parasite is causing in his baseline.

How he went even further beyond to Super Hacker 2 and calculated impossibly complex codes without equipment will be a mystery, but no concrete evidence.

>>48443518
Hot mama.

>>48443597
Jesus, we could probably get him willingly on board with us just by mentioning we can give him unjammable wifi directly to his brain.

File: 1442148114043.png (80 KB, 173x301)

80 KB PNG

>>48443517
Red>Black

Not that this fits into what we're currently doing, but should we really be encouraging more wars in the sector? All the players here are small-time compared to the threats posed by the Ceph and auntie. It seems so stupid to have the humans waste all their resources killing each other, when we could be getting them ready to face the Ceph and drafting them into the Hive so we can use their natural anti-psionic abilities in the coming war against the Void Gods?

Nobody in this sector really wants war, so can we figure out a way to make them stop fighting? If the Hive's existence is still publicly unknown in the Commonwealth, can we collude with the Commonwealth so that we can force Killinger out of office and maybe get rights to Earth again? Just show up in the middle of their conflict and get the Commonwealth to play out their part of "hey we don't want to fight anymore, you guys want a true?" and then tell Union that Killinger is in a world of shit for all his black ops and threaten to reveal them unless he resigns?

>>48443517
fucking heretic.
>>48443518
This is why we whisper.

>>48443644
The general idea is that Killinger and most of the Union higher ups are too much powerhungry fucksticks to bother diplomancing, so we need to get rid of them and replace them with sane people before the obbys show up (because odds are Killinger would willingly collaborate with them because he's stupid enough to think he could outsmart them).

File: 1440863698282.png (81 KB, 143x301)

81 KB PNG

>>48443626
Entoma an okay meido

>>48443644
Yes. Those 'wasted' resources are easily recycled by us into functioning ship fleets within days. The wars cost us nothing.

If anything, not starting wars sooner is an incredible opportunity cost. Resources used by not-us are resources that could have been used to create fleets that have no population cap.

The humans and Valen are limited by their slow growth of population. They need CREWS for their ships where we don't. Their loss only makes our gain easier.

>>48443686
Yeah, I agree, and I think we're in a good position to do that by basically showing up out of nowhere and telling him to fuck off or we reveal all his skunkworks.

>>48443711
Human and Valen ships don't have the same "must be connected to psionic network" weakness that all our ships have. Theseus and Heretic are much more constrained in resources than us, but once OQ pulls out the psionic blockers, we'll wish we had allies capable of backing us up through this. Same way our drones' brains fried and we had to rely on Theseus to shut down the entrance to hell to prevent the Void Gods from coming in.

>>48443644
That is way we want the mission to blow up.
The Valen knowing will cripple the Union in a financial way. So the war against the Commonwealth will, problably be put into a hold because of the economic unbalance caused by the Valen's, payment. For now we are only a small ops group. But if we manage to provoke greater damage, while keeping our influence out of Valen knowledge, the compesation the Union will be giving to the Valen will be greater.

So for us to manage to get a good thing come from it we need to make Decker and the other escape. While leaving all the blame to the con-man.

This will keep Devon and the others as "agents that made the best out of a terrible situation". So they can still work as our little spies under killinger.

The Titan

Sight: Basic 0
Olfactory: Basic 0
Acoustic: Moderate 2N
Psionic: Basic 0
Radio: Basic 0
Mandibles: Combat 2N
Blade: Sledgehammer 6N 10M
Arms: Strength 2N
Legs: Large Bipedal 4N 5M
Carapace: Heavy 10N 40M
Carapace: Conductive 4N 15M
Utility: Radiator Tubes 8N
Utility: Tail (Combat) 6N
Forward Hardpoint: Plasma Spray 30M
Dorsal Hardpoint: Particle Cannon 30m
Gun Ports: (4x) Cyclotrons (60M)
Size: Large (X2)

Cost: Irrelevant with new crunch?

Upkeep: Irrelevant with new crunch?

That took way longer than I wanted, any thoughts?

>>48443711
I think he believes it would be better to have humans, valens, Unity, and us working together (ahahahahahaha) as opposed to us taking the humans and valens shit and putting it towards our own military.

>>48443644
I don't see any other way the Union will recognize our claims or the claims we plan on making, considering it covers half of the Expanse. Not saying we need a full on space war to capture it all, but we will need some form of conflict to sufficiently upend the current status quo and allow us to sieze all that territory.

>>48443777
>Couldn't even be fucked to write out the cost
Dropped like a sack of potatoes.

>>48443777
>didn't even make the cost

What a waste of trips.

>>48443792
If we weren't working together with Unity, the void gods would already be here. I'm unsure how we would "take all their shit" when all we need is to be able to operate on worlds they are not using.

>>48443796
Feels like we could be colluding with the Commonwealth more on this, since we have somewhat similar goals in mind regarding fucking over the leadership of the Union.

>>48443792
>Humans, Valen
Well there's your first mistake, you've neglected the fact that there are two major factions of humanity, both of which hate each other more than any other faction. There is nothing we can do or could ever do that will make the Union and Commonwealth decide their entire feud is silly and they would be better off working with each other.

>>48443818
>>48443829
That thing that's literally irrelevant now?

Okay, honestly though I couldn't remeber how to calculate upkeep.

>>48443850
>ceph and black queen appear
>we show up
>"come with me if you want to live"
???

>>48443847
Absolutely. Now that the Union knows of us and our ties to the Unity, it's only a matter of time before the Commonwealth learns of it. Now is the perfect time to tell them of our ties to the Unity and what we really think of the Union.

>>48443518
I hope we can have Decker not only bust out Coco.

But kidnap or make use of Anderson somehow so they both leave together, so we can parasite him too.

>>48443777
>>48443864
The Titan

Sight: Basic 0
Olfactory: Basic 0
Acoustic: Moderate 2N
Psionic: Basic 0
Radio: Basic 0
Mandibles: Combat 2N
Blade: Sledgehammer 6N 10M
Arms: Strength 2N
Legs: Large Bipedal 4N 5M
Carapace: Heavy 10N 40M
Carapace: Conductive 4N 15M
Utility: Radiator Tubes 8N
Utility: Tail (Combat) 6N
Forward Hardpoint: Plasma Spray 30M
Dorsal Hardpoint: Particle Cannon 30M
Gun Ports: (4x) Cyclotrons (60M)
Size: Large (X2)

Cost: 42(X2) 190(X2)

Upkeep: 21(X2)


Fucking Autists the lot of ya

>>48443850
>There is nothing we can do or could ever do

We can always adopt ALL OF THEN!!

>>48443864
If you can't be bothered to the basic arithmetic involved in calculating the cost of your drone, it really shows how much thought and effort you put into coming up with it. And upkeep is just half the total nutrient cost.

>>48443881
An increase in raids by alien forces still wouldn't stop the Union and Commonwealth from hating each other.

>>48443932
See>>48443909

Now could we get some actual constructive criticism?

Fuck's sake I did the math for him, it isn't a bad design.

>>48443850
>your first mistake
>your

I wasn't the one who said it you illiterate fuckwad. I was pointing out what the other anon wanted (and how fucking stupid an idea it is).

>>48443910
The funny thing is that when we do end up adopting everyone we can just make them love each other we would even be helping thesis to fuffill his purpose.

>>48443763
>don't have the same "must be connected to psionic network" weakness
So give the resources to Theseus and Heretic if you want more of those.

Humans and Valen are a strictly inferior allocation of resources to hive and robots, they have a lower cap on units they can field, and are way less reliable.

Friendship is tactically inferior to conquest in this case. Especially as the main enemy we can brute force directly attack is the Obsidian Queen.

For Ceph, we need subterfuge to locate and create a method to arrive at their homeworld.

>>48443508
"So long as your answers are deemed truthful, I see no reason to be any more intrusive than necessary." Neville says as he presses several buttons on his console, and a wave of prickling numbness washes over Decker's face for just a moment.

"Thanks." Decker says. "As you can probably tell, I didn't want to be on that ship in the first place. Now, so long as I'm strapped in here, I'm just going to be as bluntly truthful as I can. To start, I think you're an irredeemable asshole, you look like you were dropped as a baby, and I hope the stick you seem to have up your ass gives you splinters. That said, I dislike the Union just as much, so you can know whatever you want."

"Noted." Neville says. "And don't worry, nobody in that seat ever has anything flattering to say."

"Well since you're using it as a lie detector, and everyone that sits in it thinks you're ugly as sin, I'd say that's rather conclusive. Of course, being some Valen's lapdog, chances are you've been neutered anyways, so it hardly matter- ah!"

"Let's try to keep on topic, shall we?" Neville says. "Now, your ship was the Cortez?" He asks, observing the console in silence for a moment. "Neural response seems positive, baseline is varying slightly but within the tolerance for accuracy. You were in prison for some time on quite the charge, how did you come to be aboard the Cortez?"

"An agreement on my release. I get out early for good behavior in exchange for a quick little job working with some Union spook."

"Elaborate." He says as a dull ache runs down Decker's spine, as if reaching for the information.

"Agent Michael Devon, BFI." He says. "Most of the rest of the crew was Union too, except for one guy named Anderson."

"That's not his real name, but yes. We are aware." Neville says. "Now, what was your mission?"

>Capture Lyle Rogers
>Attempt to lie (write in)
>Other

>>48443950
I think the design is fine but let's wait till we unlock personal shield tech be for we start making Drone designs

>>48443847
>If we weren't working together with Unity, the void gods would already be here.

Not true. If anything, if we had done it ourselves, it would have been faster, and they may not have gotten to destroy a server ship.

Theseus's additional two dice only raised the result by like, 11. A 78 would not have spelled 'instant arrival and doom'.

It would have at worst resulted in the reactor going critical and devouring itself.

So in Stellaris, would the Hive be FanCol-Mat or FanMat-Col (obviously it should be FanCol-FanMat but that's not allowed)?

>>48444056
>Capture Lyle Rogers

>>48444056
>>Capture Lyle Rogers
>>Attempt to lie (write in)
To covertly observe the development of the colony here.

>>48444056
>Capture Lyle Rogers

>>48444056
>Capture Lyle Rogers

>>48444056
>Capture Lyle Rogers.

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

118 KB JPG

>>48444056
>>Other
To do...this.

>[hacking intensifies]

>>48444060
Roger, I can just edit those in later. They would make this thing fucking hard to kill though.

>>48444116
As awesome as that one liner would be let's hope a 98 means we aren't detected

>>48443909
I think it's a nice design, although I'm a bit confused about why a sledgehammer is in there. It's a very powerful weapon, to be sure, but that niche is already filled by our heavies and some of the artillery style weapons frankly outclass it. I'd perhaps replace that weapon slot with a plasma cannon for lower level individual infantry suppression and elimination.

>>48444056
>Capture Lyle Rogers

>>48444084
Ironically, many of the Hive's psionic abilities would be best represented through research that is biased towards FanSpi cultures. Honestly, the best thing that seems to represent the Hive is the extra-galactic invaders.

In fact, all the major players in the quest are best represented as grand threats. Theseus being an AI rebellion, the Hive as extra-galactic invaders, and the Crystals being the Outsiders.

>>48443950
>>48443950
You didn't even finish the cost or upkeep, you just used the standard cost and wrote 'x2' next to it. That's pretty dang lazy bro.

But seriously, if you want actual criticism, there isn't much about this drone we haven't already done with our old hexapedal drones. Compared to them, this drone will likely have a much greater field of vision of its surroundings, but also be a much more obvious target. Perhaps you could select it's armament to better suit an anti infantry role, as the it is best suited as a walking gun platform for use on lightly armed targets.

Also, I think thumpers would be a better match for this thing than sledges, as I expect it to be doing most of it's fighting from outside it's arms reach. Maybe you could put a sledgehammer on the tail instead of a combat blade, that would get it all in.