You’re tired, you’ve been walking too far. A night’s rest will do you some good. It’s hard to find sleep on the ground, but you manage some. Dreams are few and fleeting. You awake to a grey sky, Vasquez comes over when he notices. “Get ready, we’re walking to the shuttle. Coms are useless, they’re not answering and ours are too weak to reach the ship. I refilled our water but it won’t last long up there so conserve it.”

The land around you looks like rolling plains if you took out the grass. There’s a layer of sand over the ground about an inch thick and the sun is starting to become oppressive. You remember one time the AC in one of Mars’ domes failed, everything overheated and almost failed. This times you can at least breathe the air.

You pass the 19km mark, and Vasquez calls a halt. “We’re almost there, they’re not answering their radio so be ready for anything.” At the top of the next hill you can see the shuttle. It’s surrounded by the sresh you saw down in the complex. As you creep down the hill, Vasquez turns to you, “I don’t think they’ll be friendly given their past behaviour. Looks like they armed themselves with what they found in the base. I’ll take my sarqs around to flank. Unless you want to of course.”

>Take point while Vasquez flanks
>You take the flank
>Try something diplomatic (You were a negotiator after all)
>Other?

>>1123674
>Try something diplomatic (You were a negotiator after all)

>>1123674
>>Take point while Vasquez flanks
"likely they will not be friendly if we tried talking. least this way we have the first move

>>1123674
>Take point while Vasquez flanks

Roll 1d20+2 pls

Rolled 14 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>1124393

>>1124803
14 + 2 = 16

“I’ll take point, you flank.” Vasquez nods and takes his squad to flank. You creep up to about 100 meters away from the ship. The rocks provide decent cover here. A light blinks on your visor, Vasquez is in position.

You open fire with your laser rifle, a beam slices through the nearest sresh. In the opening confusion, you dash forward to the next boulder. A small barrage of lasers slags the front of the rock. More come from behind you, better aimed than the others. Sresh drop into smoking piles of cooked flesh. Another flank opens up and drops the rest like flies. Coms open up, an open broadcast from Vasquez, “That’s all of em. Time to clean up.”

After clearing some of the bodies away from the shuttle, Vasquez approaches you. “The shuttle’s damaged. Not too bad, but it’ll need repairs before it’s spaceworthy again. Eight seems to think it’ll take somewhere around 14 hours. You were in engineering, take a look at it if you wanna get out of here faster.”

>Help repair the shuttle (1d100)
>Look for loot (1d100)
>Read the files that were transferred on your PDA (1d100)
>Converse (To who? About what?)
>Other?

>>1124946
>Help repair the shuttle (1d100)
Loot after.

Also its snowing so I had to shovel it.

“Yeah, I’ll take a look at it. But I’m gonna see if there’s anything valuable around too.” You head off to see what’s wrong with the shuttle. The sarq repairing it, Eight, new to the crew. Vasquez picked him up when you were at port.

Opening the cooling system, you can see that everything looks good except for some coolant tubing that’s been cut. That’s an easy but time consuming repair. The copilot’s console’s been kicked in. It’s in rough condition, most of the instruments are gonna be inoperable but the flight control is looking good. You repair what instruments you can, mostly speed and heading readings. Overall, you shaved about 4 hours of time off the repairs.

You turn to looting the pile of bodies. They’re not in too rough condition, a lot of body fluids aren’t leaking everywhere. The sresh look tribal, being covered in furs and such. They’ve got primitive body piercings and what look like tattoos. You find a couple of intricate idols among them. One looks like a horse and camel mixed but with tusks and a long, snaky neck. The other is a sresh holding a spear and lashings. It appears to be hunting. No doubt these’ll catch a pretty penny at a market.

By the time you finish looting the bodies, most of the repairs have been completed, the radio is working and news is coming in. Rashek still hasn’t reported in. The Captain wants to organize a search party to find a body. The contract won’t be fulfilled until then. The shuttle is ready, you could join the search or you could go back to the ship and let the others figure it out.

>Stay and search for Rashek
>Go back to the ship
>Other?

*Got called into work, two bastards didn't cover their shifts*

>>1128108
>Other?
Get some reinforcements from the ship.

Even if they are just red shirt cannon fodder.

>>1128108
>>Stay and search for Rashek

You grab Vasquez by the shoulder, “We should bring in reinforcements. There could be more of them than we could handle.” He nods and head into the shuttle. It’s getting pretty late, you’ve walked near 20 km, fought some tribals, and repaired a ship. It’s time you got some rest. You find a fairly comfortable spot in between two boulders and quickly fall asleep. You’re awakened by the shuttle leaving to pick up the reinforcements and again when it returns a few hours later.

When you’re woken up, there’s practically a small base around the shuttle. Light fortifications were put up to ward of any other attacks and there’s twice as many sarqs as there used to be. You’re brought to just outside the shuttle, Vasquez is giving a briefing. “Alright, we’re splitting up into two groups. One is going to search the complex, the other will search the landscape around us. Auto-turrets are being set up, DO NOT LOSE YOUR IFF TAGS. I’ll be leading the surface search. Maintain coms at all times, even if it’s just a ping. Dismissed.”

>Join the surface search party
>Go back down into the complex
>Stay with the shuttle
>Other?

File: Dropship.jpg (55 KB, 1024x546)

55 KB JPG

Inventory update:

>Full Body Polymer Armor - Integrity 100%
>PDA
>100 Creds
>IPW (Pistol)
>Laser Rifle
>3 Grenades

>>1129798
>>1129798
>Go back down into the complex
More loot.
Can we get a backpack or something?

There’s a resupply in the ship, it’s got a bag. If you’re gonna be going back into the complex, you’re gonna want want some loot. It is your right afterall. You grab the bag and head to your group. Two is leading it, Vasquez’s second in command. The sun is about to start rising. You’ve been here for two days now.

The descent is much like the last time. However, there’s no light whatsoever. The ground at the bottom is upheaved as if a small army had been down there. The tunnel is the way you last saw it, a bit more traveled though. In front of the door are the two dead guards starting to rot. A few of the screen you saw have been smashed, soot is on the ceiling.

Two breaks off small groups to sweep the other wings while he takes the section Rashek was in. You could join one of the small groups, which have got about a quarter of your group. Or you could follow Two and search Rashek’s wing.

>Go back to the foundry section, there must be some good loot there
>Go to Vasquez’s section, who knows what you’ll find in addition to the enhancer
>Follow Two and search for your employer

>>1130816
>Go back to the foundry section, there must be some good loot there
Vasquez will let us know if he finds anything else noteworthy, and we will probably do the same.

You turn towards the foundry section. Vasquez will alert you if anything happens. Besides, you want some of that sweet sweet loot.

Walking down the corridor, you find several more store rooms like the one you had found earlier. The crate within are much like the previous ones also. Opening them, you find gloriously valuable military equipment: anti-vehicle explosives, laser rifles, grenades, long expired rations. You load as much of it in your bag as you can and reckon there’s easily 5000 credits worth of equipment there. Coms bark to life, “Vasquez here. All parties regroup at the shuttle, Rashek has been located.”

As you make your way back to the shuttle, it hits you. Why are you carrying a heavy bag up an insanely long flight of stairs? The journey is not pleasant but you’re rewarded with rest once you reach the top. You drop your hardware off in the shuttle and meet Vasquez, Rashek is with him. “So where was he?” You start. Vasquez says, “Playing god to a bunch of tribals in the desert. I see you’ve carried a small arsenal here, you plan on keeping that?” A smile crosses your face, “Maybe.”

The ride up to the ship is bumpier than normal, one of the stabilizers must still be damaged. After stowing your gear in your quarters, you’re told to report to engineering. Alerts are called, space distorts, and you jump. It’s not long, only about 6 hours this time. You’re at a trade station, or so the reports say. Docking clamps clang onto the hull and intercoms say, “Shore leave one day.”

>Stay on ship, get to know someone (Who?)
>Stay on ship, study (What?)
>Do some trading (What?)
>Go to recreations
>Other?

File: asari commado.jpg (350 KB, 898x1000)

350 KB JPG

>>1132967
>Stay on ship, study (What?)
Where are all the hot alien space babes?

>>1133142
Alternatively study the region of space we are in.

>>1132967
>Stay on the ship and try to learn more about our laser rifle(Study)

You’ve had enough to do with aliens for now. Besides, you need to catch up on some things and some things you’d like to learn. The PDA you picked up at the last stop has a hefty amount of information on it since that last mission.

Flipping through the files, you find one relating to your laser rifle. It’s a very old file you got from that complex, somewhere around 300-400 years if you get the conversion right. It’s an advanced design even by current standards, capable of firing up to 50 shots before a recharge is needed. Many of its parts are interchangeable with other designs and appears to be very customizable. Small by sresh standards, it was designed for covert operations.

Another file contains information about this tenth of the galaxy. The charts are somewhat simple but detailed. Earth isn’t on there. On the list of primary inhabitants, you can only recognize three species: sresh, sarq, and dakiti. Humans aren’t on the list, at least not yet if you have something to say about it. Most of the system-states number 4-7, though there are some with +10. Popular goods include: weapons, foodstuffs, ships, slaves, and niche market items. The main currency is the credit and galactic basic is the predominant language. Pirates and mercenaries are viewed as a major problem by local governments.

Before you set down your PDA, one last file catches your eye. It’s one on biology. You recognize the file from the complex. It looks like some kind of index for species biologies. They’re all highly detailed, except sresh. Skimming through the species you know, you find it alarming that dakiti have so much arsenic in them. Sarqs aren’t sexually dimorphic and go through breeding cycles every two years where they’re most receptive.

>Keep reading (What?)
>Get to know someone (Who? What?)
>Head to trading station (Anything specific you’re looking for?)
>Hang around station recreations
>Other?

>>1133479
>Other?
Look up ship types, compositions, cost, crew sizes, and common shipbuilding material.

We we return home, it will be with a small fleet that can conquer it.

>>1133479
>Other
Attempt to find something to add on to our laser rifle if possible.
A good weapon can perform better with said attachments and such.

One last thing you do on your PDA. You connect to the station’s database and search through prices. Having some rifle mods or something like that would be nice. After finding the weapon trader’s data, you skim through a price list:

>Accuracy micro-computer, provides minute adjustments to improve aim - 300 credits
>Improved lenses, more powerful laser focusing - 500 credits
>High density storage, +30 shots before recharge - 400 credits
>Sleek casing, easier CQB movement - 150 credits
>Extra batteries, rechargeable - 20 credits each
>Bayonet - 5 credits

An idea crosses your head. You did just score some pretty nice loot, so how much would a ship cost? It doesn’t have to be the biggest thing in the world, but it would be nice. The broker has several listed in the database. Lots of shuttle, though a shuttle doesn’t have a jump drive.

>Small shuttle - 10k creds
>Large shuttle - 30k creds
>Cargo shuttle - 50k creds
>Messenger ship - 500k creds
>Cargo ship - 1000k creds

There’s a listing with the contact information of a shipyard. Though there’s warnings of high costs to commission a new ship. A rough estimate it gives is about 1,000 credits for every ton of standard material used, plus 300k for the jump engine. High grade materials are more costly.

>Buy a mod
>Look through weapons/armor
>Continue reading PDA (What?)
>Get to know someone (Who?)

>>1134663
>Buy a mod
would the mods be for the newly acquired rifles?

>Sleek casing, easier CQB movement - 150 credits

>Get to know someone (Who?)
The other humie.

You check your chit, 1100 credits. Payment for the last job has come through. You buy a nice, new sleek case for your rifle. If you ever end up in a close fight, it’ll come in handy. Remaining credits on your chit are 950.

While you’re waiting for your order to be processed, you decide you should talk to Adams. “So what’d you do last mission?” He smiles and laughs, “I’ve read reports, I know what you did. Nah, we just sat around making backup and extraction plans for when you gave the call. That’s about it, that and ship maintenance.”

There’s a moment of silence before you ask, “Got an family back home?” He immediately answers with, “Yeah, my grandma. She’s on her deathbed though, we don’t know how long before she’ll go. She’s the only person I’ve had since mother left. That’s why I work for you, to support her in her last moments.” Adams is forcing down laughter. “Nah, that hag died 11 years ago. Best moment of my life if you ask me. But really, I’ve got a few brothers. One’s a criminal, one’s a writer or at least that’s what he say even though he hasn’t been published ever. I’d ask if you had any family but most of Mars knew who you were.”

Your package has arrived, you’ve got to go pick it up and assemble it. It’s in a case very similar to what your armor came in. Installing it isn’t too hard, but it’s tedious with all the connectors. After that you catch some sleep. When you wake up, you’ve got a few more hours of leave if you want to spend it.

>Shop for something, though you’ll have to pick it up (What?)
>Spend some time in station recreations
>Go through files (What?)
>Continue talking (Who?)

>>1136447
Wait.... I just realized, i may not have been comprehending "Sleek casing" right. Did we buy a suitcase? Cuz for some reason I thought we were buying a new stock/furniture to put our beam rifle in....

>>1136447
>Shop for something, though you’ll have to pick it up (What?)
shields?

>>1136455
>Did we buy a suitcase?
No, you're right. We bought a new body for our gun. It gives a bonus in close quarters. In essence, we turned into a kind of bullpup design, almost.

Also, shields come in different grades:

>Grade I - 300 credits
>Grade II - 500 credits
>Grade III - 700 credits

You can find higher, but they're costly black market goods or military equipment that most aren't licensed to sell. Shields protect against energy based weapons, but not so well against projectiles.

Also, new thread soon

>>1137147
By soon, I mean tomorrow morning at ~8am est.

>>1137147
Buy the grade 3 shields.

1139967
New thread.

>>1139967
Sigh*