Daily reminder

>Raid OQ
>Read the locked memories of that thinker.
>Board a scav vessel for their FTL.
>Send a diplomacy team to earth.
>Build that new FTL prediction building.
>Take Reprive (I think that is the system that our mother made her last stand and it only has mining corvetts, it would be a great test for our raiding fleet.)

>>1674718
Awwww.

Don't be scared. Mother loves you.

>>1674724
I'd add "infiltrate Ceph homeworld through Valen Gate."

>>1674733
Not everyday you find out your friend is ambassador to what your kind consider literal Demons and get invited over to the Demons house for games and TV

>>1674750
>Tfw you ironically play Chaos with your friend and then find out he's actually Abbadon the Despoiler

>>1674750
>>1674751
That's not even getting into the fact that their symbol for demon is apart of our banner. That like if a native German was unironically waving the nazi flag while saying SEIG HEIL.

>>1674783
I'd compare it more to a fundamentalist Christian discovering they've been hanging out in a Satanic Temple.

Regardless of how the locals actually act or believe, they're gonna freak out.

>>1674718
“Alarms are down.” Your tech says. The wire running from his wrist to the console grows warm to the touch as his fingers race over the keyboard. “Automated security is set up with multiple redundancies. I can only access the standard corporate security systems. If we go into any classified area, it's likely they will have their own network that I can't see from here. Everything up to that point is down, however.”

"Good." Sam says. "How long until they notice?"

"We'll probably already be in the high security area by then." Your tech replies.

"That's going to be a bit messy." Feng says. "We don't have any good way to get into the target area, and we don't have a map of the interior, only up to this point. You need three layers of biometrics to get in, on top of ID card and password."

"I got a key." Sam says. Feng nods.

"The doorknocker, rather crude but that's why we have it. We need to get to point six, it's a small assembly lab for prototype cybernetics and it's directly underneath the main entrance to the high security area. We get there, we can burn an entrance through the ceiling."

You continue to examine the map data provided by both the terminal, and your mission briefing, quickly comparing it to your flies observations as your tech opens the exterior air vents one after another, deactivating the built-in security measures within them as microfilm filters eject from their housings and sensor arrays deactivate and fold away into maintenance mode.

"I can't find a way in here either." Your tech says as you search for any potential entrance, even for your flies. "The place is air tight with its own oxygen supply."

"And the walls and doors are a carbon nano-lattice interwoven with a diamond filament." Feng says. "Getting up here was the easy part."

Your tech continues to examine the map as well as the security data of the facility. You quickly shut down the vitals sensors for the local guards along with deactivating the automated security.

>Recommend using the map of the guards' patrol routes to avoid them entirely on your way to the lab
>Quickly ambush the guards and move as quickly as possible
>Other (write in)

>>1674805
Eh, not quite. Most Ceph in the Union will either be pale Ceph (and therefore outcasts) or rebels/heretics. They wouldn't be fundamentalist and might even lean atheist. It still must be a huge shock that not only are "biblical" demons real, but they're pretty cool guys, though.

>>1674832
>Recommend using the map of the guards' patrol routes to avoid them entirely on your way to the lab
Gotta be sneeki

>>1674851
I'm more concerned about whether there's some Manchurian-candidate-style programming stuck in their biology and/or harnesses. It wouldn't be the first time in fiction that a mysterious, powerful, but distance force uplifted a species that was only subsentient without technological assistance while working in backdoor imperatives into the devices that make their sentient largely possible.

Has QuestDrone read A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge, by any chance?
>>1674718

>>1674832
>>Quickly ambush the guards and move as quickly as possible

I think we should make sure there will be a little trouble on the way out as possible

>>1674832
>>Quickly ambush the guards and move as quickly as possible

>>1674832
>You need three layers of biometrics to get in, on top of ID card and password."

...So, can we access the personnel files of people who probably have access?

If we can download the biometrics data, I think one of our clones here has a chance of spoofing it. Though he can pretend he just 'hacked' it open.

>>1674832
>Quickly ambush the guards and move as quickly as possible

Please roll 1d100, best of 3 for your clones to fight their way to the lab as quickly as possible.

Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>1674937

Rolled 27 (1d100)

>>1674937

Rolled 41 (1d100)

>>1674937
For Mother!

Rolled 94 (1d100)

>>1674937

>>1674939
First roll of the thread and we're off to a good start I see.

Aww yiss

>>1674937
"We need to get to that lab as quickly as possible." Your clone says.

"I agree. Hit them hard while they're blinded." Sam says. "This thing will need some time to burn through the target, so better we make good use of every second. Now let's go." Your tech quickly unplugs his wrist from the terminal and follows the others to the door.

"Dummy lock." Your brawler says as he examines the antiquated lock on the door. "Good way to keep hackers out, I guess." He palms the lock with his hand and fires his sledgehammer within his arm. The lock shatters as the door buckles inward, swinging open as it crashes against the wall with a loud crack. Your clones rush in through the door to the hallway beyond, weapons held at the ready as the rest of the squad follows behind.

"Down these stairs, to the left, and through an airlock. It's a clean room so it's anti-pathogen, not proper security." Feng says as he reads out the details of his datapad. Your clones quickly fire several shots into a group of security guards as they reach for their weapons, sending them falling back down the stairwell before flopping to the ground below. More guards quickly rush behind cover.

"Sound the alarm, we have a breach!" Someone shouts. "Central, do you copy? Central? Damnit!"

The guards duck behind their makeshift cover as your clones open fire. Sam rolls a grenade between the legs of a security scanner propped up beside the airlock. The guard hiding behind quickly leaps from the cover as an axe lands into the side of his head. The other guard holds out his arm, firing blindly at your clones as your sharpshooter fires a single shot through a small digital screen on the side of the security terminal. The guard's arm flops to the ground, and he slides down the side of the scanner leaving a small streak of blood as your brawler sprints through the airlock, firing his sledge mid-jump and shattering the door with a loud hiss of air.

You watch as sam picks up his grenade, the pin still firmly within it.

"Gonna need this later more than now. No sense wasting good plasma on just one guy." He says as your clone glances his way.

"Just set up your equipment and make it fast." Your brawler responds. Feng quickly enters the lab behind your clones, hoisting his submachine gun into the air as he fires a burst over the heads of several shocked lab technicians.

cont.

>>1674939
This drone pleases Mother.

>You watch as sam picks up his grenade, the pin still firmly within it.

Uh...smart.

>>1675101
"Everyone line up on the far wall and get on the ground!" He shouts. The workers scramble back away as moves closer, threatening several who are slow to move as they stumble over themselves. Sam plants his so-called doorknocker firmly onto the ground as several large clawed supports clamp deep into the floor, screwing into place as he adjusts the device to a near forty degree angle at the ceiling. The device, roughly the length of a full sized umbrella and nearly a foot and a half thick, hums to life before a deafening beam of ionized particles lances out into the ceiling, slicing through the tile and sterilized plastic instantly before small streams of molten metal and carbon alloy begin to rain down in thick, glowing sheets.

The helmets on your clones instantly dim the light level as the beam slowly burns through the thick reinforced plating of the high security area above, the noise like a jet turbine overwhelming the sounds of the panicking researchers as they shield their eyes and duck behind the desks on the far wall.

"Six minutes!" Sam shouts over the radio as he reads out the instruments on the side of the device. "We need to hold this spot here until then!" Feng and Hiromi quickly pull out a telescoping scroll of fabric as they walk back out the entrance to the lab, planting the device into the wall at one end and unfolding the fabric across the room as it expands to fill the space from wall to wall, floor to ceiling, and then plant the other end into the far wall. They pull several more deploying pylons from their packs, and the sound quickly becomes muffled and muted, as if distant, although the head-pounding, bone-rattling sensation continues.

"Sound mitigators are up, active camo-screen is deployed, that should buy a bit more time. Just make sure the egg heads don't make any phone calls."

cont.

>Just make sure the egg heads don't make any phone calls."

Must...resist.... the urge...to...adopt.

>>1675178
*bide our time

File: 1398017396.png (757 KB, 706x608)

757 KB PNG

>>1675153

Everything's going so smoothly... I'm just waiting for when the smiths break loose and everything goes to shit

File: laboratory_entrance_by_se(...).jpg (100 KB, 1024x554)

100 KB JPG

>>1675153

Your techs quickly find a terminal and jack into the building's systems with their interfaces as the lance burns through the ceiling, reconnecting to the security system of the building. The alarms are still offline, as is the security system, however a number of manual comm logs have been registered by the system.

"They've noticed the guards missing from the elevator." Your clone says. "Looks like someone demanded a security check, which, I would imagine, our network cluster failed to respond to. Looks like they're still trying to figure out what just hit them, but they're not far from figuring it out."

"We're through!" Sam says, and the dripping molten metal gives way to a massive, meter thick yellow hot cylinder of soft, smoldering metal. Sem quickly unfolds a thick tarp and whips it, sending small microthrusters flying into the far wall as he locks several pitons into place on the floor. He clicks a contact on his wrist, and the fabric quickly solidifies, conforming into a rigid wall of folded handholds set at an angle below the still glowing hole in the ceiling, and above the pool of molten metal and slag.

"Alright, let's go, quick!"

Your clones follow Sam as he runs up the tarp with a quick, practiced lunge.

You realize this entrance is the only currently existing way in or out of this part of the facility. If you wish you extend your flies area of observation, now will likely be your only chance.

>Send your flies in to follow the team
>Keep your flies outside to observe the activities of the rest of the facility
>Other

>>1675223
>Send your flies in to follow the team
They have self-destruct.

But maybe dont send them all?

>>1675223
>Keep your flies outside to observe the activities of the rest of the facility
The less that can be blamed on the Hive, the better.

Tech we can claim to have sold, but our fly spies are hive agents that we don't want to risk.

>>1675223
>>Keep your flies outside to observe the activities of the rest of the facility
We have eyes in there.

And we really don't want witnesses to the flies in such close proximity to the action, there's going to be video footage to review later.

>>1675223
>Keep your flies outside to observe the activities of the rest of the facility
I'd like to bring them in, but the facility is on alert now and the odds of them being spotted are higher than when we tried (and failed) before. Better to have (more) plausible deniability and not risk revealing our fly abilities just yet.

>>1675217
>I'm just waiting for when the smiths break loose and everything goes to shit

We will do it to escape in the mix of the chaos.

>>1675223
>Keep your flies outside to observe the activities of the rest of the facility

>>1675223
>>Keep your flies outside to observe the activities of the rest of the facility

>>1675223
>>Keep your flies outside to observe the activities of the rest of the facility
This is a black op under the purview of Kent, no need to risk linking him to the Hive just yet.

>>1675266
Nobody has any idea the hive can miniaturize its drones to the size of giant wasps yet, so it wouldn't do that automatically.

But having these 'wasps' get seen at crime scene after crime scene would eventually result in someone piecing the puzzle together and realizing the truth. Being seen in an otherwise airtight facility would just be a bigger puzzle pieces than most.

>>1675318
>Nobody has any idea the hive can miniaturize its drones to the size of giant wasps yet

Thekey word is in the "yet" we will enter a place that is securily locked they have their on oxygen supply. Most likely they could have some very highly advance cameras. So let's avoid the unknow.

What exactly did Kent know for sure about this place again that wasn't hopeful speculation?

> I happen to know that they hold a number of rather odd government contracts. Namely, AI research contracts that were never quite canceled after the treaty was signed. They were just allowed to expire, but in its place is a nice, big, black hole of money."

>>1675339
This whole thing could definitely be a big bust. There's still a chance the entire operation is a set-up. That being said, it's too late to change course now.

>>1675223
>Keep your flies outside to observe the activities of the rest of the facility

Your clones have already given them free access to the majority of the facility. You decide not to push your luck and instead keep them outside the secure area to better observe the actions of the corporate security.

Your clones leap up through the burned hole without much effort, their cybernetics giving them more than enough clearance. The interior is filled with smoke as fire alarms blair, the lights flashing in the ceiling guiding the way to the exits as fans quickly remove the smoke from the room.

"Okay, now where to?" Your clone asks.

"Now we need to find a terminal and get a map of this place." Feng says.

"Easier said than done. " Your tech replies. "The security in here is estimated to be high end, remember? Any attempt at accessing it may at the very least trigger an alarm."

"We already set off plenty of alarms." Sam says.

"No, I mean something nasty, like an Eggbeater, a Brain Freeze program, hell you said they could have an AI in here so I wouldn't put it past them to use a Puppetmaster. Soon as one of us jacks in it could turn our skull into a microwave or worse."

"Hey, my job is to get shot at, yours is to plug your brain into the computer." Sam says. "Buck the fuck up and get us a map."

"You know when this is over I think I know a guy you'd really get along with." Your tech replies. "Either way, we need to find a terminal first."

"Well this is near the entrance, so we should find a security terminal just nearby. Would only make sense for a checkpoint to be near the door." Feng says and he waves the rest of the team through the smoke.

cont.

>>1675374
Aww yes, a mind-fuck off. Queenie rules at those.

>"You know when this is over I think I know a guy you'd really get along with."

Dam Lyle's ear must be burning.

also:
>space viking and Lyle having a round of mead

>>1675374
>"You know when this is over I think I know a guy you'd really get along with."

Clones, clones, ixnay on the ivemind-hay. Bartholomew already said that last thread.

>>1675388
I will never forget Quennie and Theseus double teaming Decker's mind. Talk about mindblow.

>>1675388
Mother is not good with computer.

Tech-savvy child is on his own.

>>1675413
We're awesome at mind-shenanigans, though, and this sounds like it would qalify. Plus we can always upload a theseus instance if necessary or take advantage of Decker's skills.

>>1675424
Queenie just said in the last thread that computer stuff is totally out of her reach. If it's digital we're way out of our depth, doubly so if they've got a live AI running the software and this facility was built to make AIs.

>>1675424

Speaking of which, have we got those agent skillsets from decker / anderson / the other crew yet? Can't remember if that's been covered this "turn"

>>1675424
>>1675435
Well time to pull Decker from the post mind rape coma and make him do some work.

>>1675406
I thought we were pretty reserved compared to the show Theseus put on for Decker. I imagined that the queen was silently chuckling at Theseus for being so needlessly dramatic but didn't interrupt to allow him his turn at brain interfacing.
>Hmm, going for the cosmic theme Theseus? That's cute.

>>1675443
Never been statted. We don't even know the name of Anderson's specialization yet.

>>1675435
We did manage to "help" Decker hide his intentions, break through a firewall, and introduce a Theseus instance while he was being actively nerve-stapled and monitored. We're pretty good at tech, Queenie being modest. We're just nowhere near as good at tech as we are with minds and biology.

>>1675374
The squad moves in through the smoke as they race opposite the direction of the flashing light patterns.

"Yea yea, your employer or whatever." Sam says to your clones. "Yea, I heard of em. Never met. He was long gone by the time I was out in the field. Difference is on my world you punch your superior, you either get a flogging or you walk to shore."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"It's an expression. There is no shore on my world. I think the pop culture term would be walk the plank."

"See that?" Your clone asks. The thermal signature ahead through the thick smoke shows several men. You can hear them choke on the smoke as they cough and wheeze. Several gunshots put them down quickly just as they shout out to the figures of your squad. A security terminal, now coated in blood, shows a number of evacuation alerts, with a fire reported in your current area, as well as a structural breech detected along the segment of plating that was cut through to gain access. Surprisingly, you don't see any indication that they have put two and two together just yet, although once the reports from outside and the reports from inside start coming together you suspect that will change rather quickly.

>Have your techs find a map of this section, but don't risk anything else
>Attempt to gain information on the local security systems
>Attempt to shut down all automated security systems and shut down the alarms
>Other (write in)

>>1675500
>Have your techs find a map of this section, but don't risk anything else
Remember that cyberspace is firmly in the complex's advantage, not ours.

>>1675500
>Attempt to gain information on the local security systems
We're going in blind here. Sure we'll be fighting an AI, but we can take them. We've got plenty of backup and the odds they'll be able to seriously damage our clones minds is extremely slim.

>>1675500
>>Have your techs find a map of this section, but don't risk anything else
This entire facility was literally built to produce AIs. Can't afford to get careless in their own domain here, just get maps and bounce, we can handle anything physical it throws at our agents.

>>1675500
>>Have your techs find a map of this section, but don't risk anything else

As far as information on the security systems we can probably just assume the worst and it'll be fairly accurate

>>1675500
Maybe on the map we can find the power conduits and just cut the power the old fashioned way?

Then selectively powering the servers we're downloading data dumps from.

>>1675531
That's clever, hopefully if we can figure out the physical location of the system's hardware or other key infrastructure we can disable it with good ol fashioned brute force.

>>1675496
So our level in Tech is what? C+?

>>1675447
>Queenie 'ara ara'

>>1675536
>>1675531
It's pretty likely the servers and security systems will have their own independent power supply. This entire sub-facility is airtight and it even has its own O2 supply. Leaving the power supply as a single point of failure for the servers/security system would be a colossal blunder - although that's becoming par for the course for Union operations.

>>1675500
>>Attempt to gain information on the local security systems
maybe on the way out we can be more aggressive with the computers; if they've got an AI in here, Theseus will want to know, and the clones are ultimately disposable.

>>1675500
>Have your techs find a map of this section, but don't risk anything else

>>1675552
Nobody said said the power conduits had to be from outside the server farm.

>>1675552
>Union operations.

Yes anon but that is from the Union's governament. This here is a private company they might be more effective in not screwing up.

>>1675559
Nah acessing a map is less suspicious then doing a info gathering. So when they finaly realize they are being attackex they will start to look for suspicious activity on their server. And i don't want to find out if this A.I. they have here is as good or as fast that Theseus

>>1675500
>Have your techs find a map of this section, but don't risk anything else

Please roll 1d100, best of 3.

>>1675500
>>Attempt to shut down all automated security systems and shut down the alarms
>>Other

Time for Theseus to lend a hand

Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>1675594
Ded

Rolled 81 (1d100)

>>1675594
For mother

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>1675594
How much brain damage can an AI-sabotaged map do really?

Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>1675594
For Mom's Huge Egg sack!

>>1675616
Mother dammit. Don't worry i know were the recycling is. I will be heading there right now.

>>1675612
None apparently. We're pretty damn good at mitigating brain damage.

Nice roll.

>>1675623
Serves you right. Mother is a classy lady! You don't talk about a lady's egg sack like that.

>>1675668
>You don't talk about a lady's egg sack like that.
Certainly not! in public

Is anyone else getting worried about our rolls getting lower and lower??

>>1675708
don't worry about it.

>>1675708
No, because the gambler's fallacy is a fun joke but a bad thing to actually believe.

>>1675708
Not really. We tend to rollercoaster.

A security AI would try to mislabel the map we get probably, right.

No way it's just a
>series seven semi-intelligent data grid

>>1675761
>yfw is Union's version of Heretic.

>>1675406
Which thread was that? I want to re-read it.

>>1675594
Your clone hefts the body of a security guard and tosses him to the floor before plugging the wire in his wrist into the terminal. Your other tech follows short behind, plugging into a slot next to him.

The digital construct of the facility is inordinately complex and vast beyond immediate comprehension. Your clones struggle to collect themselves as the data whirls about them in a torrent of data transfers and information requests. The network itself is like a labyrinth, an endless, shifting fortress of constantly rewiring and recompiling servers and data clusters. It includes an incredibly sophisticated digital-mind interface as well, appearing as a stonework fortress, finely decorated with ornately woven carpeting as server farms appear as endless shelves of books stacked one after another, scattered through the endless halls stretched out in a massive inverted sphere reaching far into the distance. In the center, far above your perception, is a vast, vibrant orb of data as bursts of data run between it and the surface of the network like lightning bolts.

"I think it's safe to say that's an AI." Your tech mutters.

"But does it see us?"

"Doubtful, look." Your clone scans a data stream as it strikes like lightning on one of the vast bookshelf constructs in the distance. "It's still running diagnostics. Those are wetware requests. Demands for data to be entered by a human operator. They must not trust this thing to be fully autonomous, it's having to waste time getting permission from its handlers."

Your tech waves his hand, or what the mind-machine interface has assembled to look like his hand, and several simple bots form in the air before they rush away in a burst of data.

"Where do you think they would hold the map?" Security, or employee assistance?"

Your clones move out, their minds zipping through the shifting corridors as they search the various locations. The security facility is a vast citadel of server towers, forming in the interface like vast spires of stonework and ivory looming over the rest of the facility as searchlights scan the rest of the network. The employee assistance subroutine is like some manner of compact hamlet, like a medieval village built all in a large pile, covered in books and whirling specters of data requests marking where information was currently in use or otherwise unavailable as anything but read-only. A humble looking man dressed as a town crier stands perfectly still in the center of it all, the image marked as an employee assistant and internal search engine.

Your clone appears before it, and plunges his hand into the figure's head, to its simulated dismay as it flickers through a number of pre-designed expressions. The clone pulls out his fist, and holds a small tome in his virtual hands.

"I found it, but it's only for the common areas. Employee lounges, emergency shelters, dormitories. I can make some guesses to the other rooms, but there's no data on them."
cont.

>>1675829
The question is, did Kent lie and actually want to copy their AI research all along, as the next ultimate weapon?

I just want to say three things:

1. I'm almost done archive-bingeing and hope to properly participate next time.

2. HQQ is the best damn thing on the Internet.

3. QD, you a god.

>>1675783
What, do you mean like a gestalt intelligence that was formed from the conglomerated digitized minds of biological life forms? Because we know that this facility is working hard on cybernetically interfacing with the human brain. If such a project was as well funded as their Smith production line it could have an hundreds of human brains hard linked to a server farm...

>>1675881
>we know that this facility is working hard on cybernetically interfacing with the human brain.

Assuming the Smith conclusion was correct at all.

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

>>1675898
If it isn't correct Kent is a dead adopted man.

>>1675916
Ah, there you are.

>>1675829
Huh, seems the union can secure dangerous things competently if given enough time

>>1675829
Your clone rushes back to follow the other into the security network.

"You find anything yet?"

"Not yet, but I lost a few bots already, so be careful."

The two rush through the corridors of the citadel, rushing past simulated representations of countless amounts of data. Security logs, investigation papers, employee information, all of which is encrypted.

"Well, I think it's safe to say they are up to some illegal shit here. No other reason to have security this tight. Hell most of these security measures are illegal."

"Found it!" Your clone says, and the two rush to the location marked by the simple search script. "Interesting, they went through a lot of trouble to secure this, and there's more than one file."

"It's a decompiled map, arranged by security clearance. Jeez, there are places in this building the employees don't even know exist." The two clones rip through the layers of security codes, quickly dismantling the security before plucking the data from the illusory bookshelf.

"Still missing some data." Your clone says. He reaches in after it, and recoils in pain as flames spew from the line of unburning paper.

"Ah! Damnit!" Your clones examine the server as several small bots obliterate themselves attempting to find a way in.

"The highest clearance level is behind a firewall, no way to get to it without alerting the security system."

"Yea, but chances are that's the stuff we need." Your other replies.

>Take what you can and leave
>Break through the firewall and gather the rest of the map data
>Other (write in)

>>1675941
>Take what you can and leave
Wonder if there emergency plans include an auto destruct happening if they thought there firewalls were being breached given what this place holds

>>1675941
>>Break through the firewall and gather the rest of the map data
>>Other (write in)
Is it too late to get some Theseus help?

>>1675812
Sorry anon i don't remember the which thread it was.

>>1675881
>What, do you mean like a gestalt intelligence that was formed from the conglomerated digitized minds of biological life forms?

Yes that is exactly what i mean.

>>1675941
>>Other (write in)
If we'd be tripping the alarms anyway, should we attempt to wrest control of security instead?

>>1675941
>Break through the firewall and gather the rest of the map data

Security already knows shit's going down and we are good enough at healing brains they won't be able to remotely mind-kill our clones.

>>1675941
>>Break through the firewall and gather the rest of the map data

Clones grow back

>>1675916
Dammit motto anon you are late.

>>1675967
work

>>1675952
If we pull this off on our own, we can bank the data on this place and trade it to him for his Space Fold drive.

>>1675962
This, once we trip the alarm it becomes a smash and grab.

>>1675941
>>Other (write in)
Also, if we're breaking through, maybe we should move to a more opportune location based on what map data we have, and then trigger the alarm when we get the final piece.

Can cover valuable ground while security is still not fully alerted.

>>1675941
>Break through the firewall and gather the rest of the map data

Think like this. Imagine how easy Dark Souls would be if it had a in game map.

>>1675977
Lets grab the information we need first, then depending on how that goes and the firewall response we can try or abort an attack on the general security. The map is the priority at the moment.

>>1675941
Supporting these two
>>1675982
>>1675962

Find the best possible location to be to seize control of security when we trip the alarm. Then try to hack the firewall.

>>1675971
Oh! Then it's okay.

>>1675941
>Break through the firewall and gather the rest of the map data

Please roll 1d100, best of 3.

File: Red Queen on Computers.jpg (52 KB, 640x480)

52 KB JPG

Rolled 56 (1d100)

>>1676050
Mother can into technology!

Rolled 41 (1d100)

>>1676050
fòr̀ ̴m͘o͢t́her̶

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>1676050
For Mother!

Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>1676050
f

Rolled 53 (1d100)

>>1676050

FOR MOTHER!

>>1676057
>>1676066
>>1676075
>>1676076
Aaaaarught! I know where the recyclers are....

>>1676057
>>1676066
>>1676075

oh boy...

>>1676076
TOO LATE

>>1676057
>>1676066
>>1676075
MEDIOCRE!

>>1676076
Dammit

>>1675812
Found it's in the 62.3

Here is a link: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/1329637/#p1336893

>>1676057
>>1676066
>>1676075

Well... Maybe our clones will survive with some memories intact? If they're lucky?

We all knew it was a matter of time until shit hit the fan on this mission. Looks like the "stealth" part of the plan is officially over.

It's time to go loud.

>>1676107
>>1676137
Time for !FUN!

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Worst time to jump in....

>>1676155
53 isn't a completely god awful fuckup. I mean it's bad, not question about it, but we've done far worse on this quest before and pulled off okay outcomes.

We've just been given an excuse to kick ass.
hopefully we can finish the break-in tonight

>>1676167
My money is on the fact that this facility goes way underground right? What are the chances that OQ's spore manage to reach this place? I'm really worried she might get her hands into human tech.

>>1676189
that would be insanely bad luck. A spore pod would have had to have landed nearby undetected (unlikely since we can't even get flies in) and started growing, or the OQ's creep must have spread much more quickly than we had anticipated throughout vast areas of the Path underground. If she has any human tech recovered she "probably" can't get the secrets home she without an advanced relay, which we "should" be able to detect due to her autistic angry loud thinking.

>>1676208
Yeah you are right. it's very unlikely and she wouldn't be able to get anything. Im still thinking of the deacription of her creep when we were cleaning her filth from Theseu's planet. I'm worried that the longer we take it will spread deeper into the planet's crust. But i guess i'm just veing to paranoid about this.

>>1676234
>But i guess i'm just veing to paranoid about this.
Is that why you're using a spoiler?

>>1675973
Knowing Theseus, he would consider even being given access to this system as a significant favor.

>>1676251
Probably.

Honestly, though, we owe him some favors after he backed us up on the Valen jailbreak and on Nowhere. We should give him at least some of our repair tech and the advanced shields in gratitude. Besides, anything that makes him stronger militarily will make him that much more useful against the OQ.

>>1676256
And Heretic by extension

>>1676256
Agreed.

>>1676256
>>1676261
>>1676267

I wonder if the Commonwealth would turn down an introduction to Theseus? Fighting Scavs is good clean fun to bond with.

>>1676247
Yes.

>>1676279
We can just ask. The worst thing they could say would be a no.

>>1676050
"See if you can isolate it, and I'll crack it open." Your clones manipulate the swirling torrent of data, sending packets through to test the firewall as walls of data form around it. The aura of fire seems to ebb, then crack under the force of your clone's assault. Flames lick at the surrounding books as chunks of data packets fly out into the aether of quantum cyberspace, their data lost forever in the sea of superposition.

The firewall breaks open, sending chunks of security software scattering into fragmented chunks of inoperable and incomplete data pathways as your clone pulls the file from its shelf. He sifts through it with his mind, the pages flying open as he searches the contents. The data within is scattered and jumbled, and the details about it encrypted.

"This is it. This place is one hell of an R&D department." You look through the mind's eye of your clone, sifting through the data as your thinkers attempt to assist in decrypting the data and match it up with the jumbled pieces of information making up the map itself. This facility holds all manner of projects and facilities set under military contract, all of which held in their own firewalls, although the reference data is available and only partially encrypted.

[Project Aegis]
[Prometheus Initiative]
[Star Hound Project]
[Project Phantom]
[Morning Star Initiative]
[Operation Moonraker]

The data files are simple headers, leading through a vast array of other, even more potent firewalls far in the distance. You ponder if it would be worth attempting to break through them when your image becomes blurred. The data becomes unclear, fading rapidly as it dissipates. A bolt of lightning strikes the chamber, sending the books bursting into a flaming cloud of dissipating qubits as some entity flash-wipes the entire server. Your clone recoils in pain as his arm looses cohesion, rapidly disintegrating into strands of neural interface software code like an unravelling ragdoll.

In the dissipating mist of rapidly purging corrupted data, a figure quickly forms as your clone scans an incoming data packet, and a large one at that.

[Labyrinth.EVI]

your clones are knocked away from a sudden burst of data, their minds forced out of the rapidly dissolving space as the server is torn apart, the connections severed systematically and it's held data obliterated. From the expanding void of emptiness you see the figure taking shape, rapidly unpacking itself from the humble data packet as its simulated form loads into the perception of your clones. A set of massive horns grows into the air as a large bull-like creature stands up on its hind legs. The data around it quickly implodes into nothing as it wipes the server clean, thousands of tiny search bots swarming around it like locust searching for and consuming any stray data relating to its targets.

cont.

>>1676279
I doubt the Commonwealth would have a problem with it. You know the old saying: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Theseus might not like it if he's anticipating more friendly relations with the Union soon, though.

>>1676291
[Operation Moonraker]
Dammit, that was the psi cannon wasn't it?

>>1676301
Yup.

Damn, these guys are into some deep shit.

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>>1676291
>[Project Phantom]
>[Operation Moonraker]

>>1676291
>[Operation Moonraker]
I think our agents just might have to stick around to get the files on this one.

>>1676291
>WHEN YOU TELL HU-MANS STOP
>THEY DO IT MOAR.

Possible Worst case scenario is that there may be a shard in this place, being studied by that ai

Max Panic?

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First rock-tank then this! MY HEART CAN'T TAKE THIS MUCH EXCITEMENT IN ONE DAY!

[Project Aegis]
[Prometheus Initiative]

[Star Hound Project]
Canderoun maybe?

[Project Phantom]
This is sounds a lot like the Mirage. Which means Killinger is funding this place. If it's really talking about it

[Morning Star Initiative]
>Lucifer's (Satan) name before he rebeled against god was Morning Star

[Operation Moonraker]
Attemp to retrieve something from the earths moon. Maybe Psionic Cannon blue print or more crystals?


God dammit Union when i think you can't be doing something more stupid then Nowhere and Djinn i find your fucking futa loli porn stired in you computer harddrive.

>>1676309
>>1676310
You know, these are the kind of black-ops "We told you to never do this you fucking idiots!" type projects we could probably do a full on overt Hive military intervention for and not even have to apologize afterwards. It's in keeping with our already established diplomatic stance on the issue. Sure they may link us to the "terrorists" but frankly "project moonraket" alone is vastly more valuable than keeping a few underground contacts.

>>1676319
Isn't this a Smith factory? One of these has to be related to the Smiths.

>>1676314
If there's a shard here being studied by an AI it could give the Void a massive unanticipated edge in any attempts it makes to corrupt Theseus...

>>1676291
Well at least the Thinkers have backups of that data...right?

>>1676325
It seems the smith was a sideproduct of this place , seems the main thing here was using this shackled AI to help in research in certain projects

>>1676319
>>1676325

Yeah star hound is obviously canderoun, we know what moonraker is already, I think phantom = mirage is pretty good guess as well. Just leaves three possibilities for the smith project. I would guess prometheus probably?

>The modern concept of doing something "under someone's aegis" means doing something under the protection of a powerful, knowledgeable, or benevolent source
>doing something under the protection of a powerful, knowledgeable, or benevolent source

Please let this be just a composition of Union higher that back up all this shit and not void god cult.

>>1676330
We NEED to get Theseus in here to either free or destroy this AI.

>>1676325
>>1676330
>That feeling when the Union had so many ultra-secret black ops Smiths don't even make the top six.

>>1676328
We should still have the data in theory. Maybe Theseus can help decrypt?

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>>1676333

>>1676325
[Prometheus Initiative]

i guess this is the one related to Smiths creation etc..

One of these projects must be the one where we rescued lee from

>>1676334
A shackled AI doesn't necessarily "want" to be freed. It wants what it's programmed to want.
That being said, we can add a complete dossier of all these secret projects to our list of demands to the Union brass under threat of we nuke the capital and rape their brains for the information otherwise.

>>1676341
Likely

So the AI is using the Minotaur as it identity?

>>1676343
Good point. Where's the one for researching psionics?

Maybe it's Prometheus. That's the myth about stealing tech/knowledge from the gods, or having it gifted by a rogue god. So a general theme of obtaining fabulous powers or knowledge.

The more I talk about it the less I like it.

>>1676334
Dunno how much help he'll be right now, but he should definitely be informed. He was originally made by the Union, right? I dunno how much was left intact when he escaped, but considering his wild success, i'd be surprised if they didn't use the work on him as a base for this guy.

>>1676356
as an avatar at least, we'll have to see if/how heself itentifies as something else.

[Project Aegis]
People who are fubding all this bullshit. or more likely the research in Skyl artifacts

[Prometheus Initiative]
Smiths

[Star Hound Project]
Canderoun maybe?

[Project Phantom]
This is sounds a lot like the Mirage. Which means Killinger is funding this place. If it's really talking about it

[Morning Star Initiative]
>Lucifer's (Satan) name before he rebeled against god was Morning Star
This is the real name for the group creating the Thartarus Gate at Nowhere?


[Operation Moonraker]
Attemp to retrieve something from the earths moon. Maybe Psionic Cannon blue print or more crystals?

>>1676370
Whatever all this is, we need to know more. These projects are far more valuable to learn about than revealing we have some black market contacts.

I suggest that in a in a day or so our speaker requests to meet with Morgan and "requests" he provide a full technical briefing on all (or at least the most interesting of) the aforementioned projects in the name of trans-dimensional security. In order to save humanity we will need complete details on this foolish Union research to determine just how far along the path to damnation they have progressed and what steps we need to take to avert disaster. Failure to provide information will compel the Hive to seek the most aggressive containment measures we have access to. We need not add that lying to the Hive would be a very bad idea.

We only need to request a meeting with Morgan if we can't loot all the technical data now ourselves, though.

>>1676291
So we've got

>[Project Aegis]
Power Armor or robotics

>[Prometheus Initiative]
Smiths obviously

>[Star Hound Project]
Canian research

>[Project Phantom]
Mirage/Stealth tech research

>[Morning Star Initiative]
Psionics?

>[Operation Moonraker]
Psicannon likely

>>1676382
I know that we're powerful and they're doing stupid stuff, but if we overtly threaten them things are going to get nasty. They are allowed to have secrets. Implicit threats are appropriate only when we have concrete proof of stupidity that threatens more than just themselves. All we have at the moment are project names, a strong suspicion of a shackled AI, and a whole lot of guesswork.

>>1676438
>[Morningstar Initiative]

Reminder that the fucking void generator was in the shape of a goddamn pentagram.

>>1676438
You know one of these might actually be anti-ai research (the stated purpose of the facility and funding). Maybe that's [Project Aegis]?

>>1676445
It's possible the "Tartarus Reactor" and "Morning Star Initiative" are two descriptions of the same project. We can't know for certain, though.

>>1676448
if that is anti-ai research, Theseus would love to get his digital hands on that. More reason I wish we had linked him in somehow

>>1676448
I'm thinking it's two different projects to the same end. It's not unheard of to have different agencies and corporations in competition with one another, the YF-23 vs YF-22, Glock vs Sig, et al.

>>1676449
We can still probably bring him in (hopefully) through the rapidly melting cerebellums of our agents.

Then we will get to see (and participate in) an AI FIGHT!
With any luck our agents will be able to link directly to the Theseus instances on 01, otherwise the massive computing power of the shackled AI here will probably crush any foothold Theseus manages to make. If Theseus can access his server farms that will be another question entirely.

>>1676449
Last time a Theseus instance died because the Union managed to sneak a A.A.I. program on him. And this place is were they research the A.A.I. so it's obvious they would have the most recent A.A.I. here.

whats the probability of purging all this knowledge? I mean if we cant get it we should destroy it, and the servers have to be physically held somewhere

>>1676462
That was an A.A.I. program running against the relatively simple diplomacy instance Theseus had on the satellite. If we can interface with a Theseus military attack instance on 01 and all the massive server farms there (through using our clones as a data uplink) my money is definitely on Theseus beating the shackled AI or at a minimum forcing a draw.

>>1676468
That would be bad. Hopefully we can keep all data from being destroyed.

>>1676470
if you cant take what we need/want then you deny your enemy the resource, and moon raker was the code name for the psi-cannon that destroyed Luna. and that shit is dangerious to everyone. ergo we don't get, we blow it up. I'm not saying we shouldn't try to recover the data, but we shouldn't leave here while they have the data

>>1676474
They could have redundant backups at other locations. But agreed that this information is too dangerous for human hands without Hive guidence.

>>1676291
I don't think we're going to finish this mission tonight either.

>>1676476
its a possibility. and for once adoption is not a viable option in the time frame we have so this is a bit more difficult.

the AI is good, but could it stop a trogon horse from a master hacker? probably

>>1676483
>it will ne simple anons thought
>Just go inside grab the untel and get out
mayne we get some good info tech to Theseus
>All this happening
>Mother dammit Union!!!

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>>1676291
"Security subroutine, disconnect!" Your clone shouts, the other launches a number of scripts to attempt to slow down the virtual intelligence. The swarm of bots quickly consume the volley of scripts as it lunges forward, its own code wiping everything it touches. Your clone is still reeling from the neural shock as the virtual intelligence swipes its massive claws over your clone's representation as it shatters like glass, the shards quickly evaporating into the quantum aether.

Sparks erupt from the terminal as your clone reels back, the neural connection in his wrist simmering with smoke and the smell of burning flesh. The link snaps out from the terminal and reels back into its port with a soft slap of chitinous bone snapping into place as the clone flies back into the wall, his body shaking violently as his eyes roll back in his head. Your other clones are quick to move around him as they force open his mouth and push his tongue down with a pulled taught rifle strap to prevent him from biting it off as the seizure continues.

Your other clone rips the plug out of the terminal just as smoke rises from between the keys and a small simmering fire grows from within the plastic of the terminal's projectors. He falls back against the wall as he grips his head in agony.

"The hell was that?"

"Fuck you think it was?" Your tech says. "Goddamn AI is running security in this place!"

"Well did you find out where we need to go?" Feng asks.

"Somewhat. We got the map, but the classified areas are labeled by the project they're running and we didn't get very far into decrypting the data before the whole damn server got wiped."

Your other tech shivers on the ground as your parasite attempts to regulate its overactive nervous system. Hiromi stands over him at a cautious distance.

"Is he going to be alright?"

"Not sure yet, but we need to get moving either way. We stay here we'll get overrun eventually." Your clone says. "We don't know what project is what, but at least we know where they are, so we can at least guess."

You examine the map. The facility is quite large, easily the size of an office building in itself contained within the vast arcology of the Senticom building. The network is heavily distributed through the secure facility, with dedicated servers built into each largely isolated section. In order to get to the proper data core, you'll need to find the right office and get inside. Which project you need, however, is not clear.

>Search the labs dedicated to Project Aegis and the Morning Star Initiative
>Search the labs dedicated to the Star Hound Project and the Prometheus Initiative
>Search the labs dedicated to Project Phantom and Operation Moonraker
>Other

>>1676498
>>Search the labs dedicated to Project Phantom and Operation Moonraker

>>1676498
>>Search the labs dedicated to Project Aegis and the Morning Star Initiative

>>1676498
>Search the labs dedicated to Project Aegis and the Morning Star Initiative

Moonraker is probably not good either, but the Morning Star Initiative gives me a reaaaal bad feeling

>>1676498
>phantom and moonraker

these sort of sound like James bond films

>>1676498
>>Search the labs dedicated to Project Phantom and Operation Moonraker

>>1676498
>Search the labs dedicated to the Star Hound Project and the Prometheus Initiative

Something kinda ticks with the Prometheus. Gave fire to humans? Might be where the Smith came from. Shame there ain't no Hephaestus Project, that's definitely where the Smiths are from.

>>1676498
>Search the labs dedicated to the Star Hound Project and the Prometheus Initiative

>>1676498
Uh guys aren't the Void gods watching us? Can we touch of thing involving the Psi-canon with triggering the end game event?

i Will go for this one

>Search the labs dedicated to the Star Hound Project and the Prometheus Initiative

>>1676522
i think Hound might be the A.I. since it seems he's the one takibg care of security here. And Prometheus is the Smiths.

>>1676498
>Search the labs dedicated to the Star Hound Project and the Prometheus Initiative
Mmm, sounds right.

>>1676538
>>1676532
>>1676523
>>1676522
Do we reeeeally want to go after the Smiths right away?

>>1676537
The only name we know is associated with the AI is Labyrinth though, and its avatar was a minotaur.

>>1676537
Eh, could be an unrelated attack AI that tracks you down wherever you are.
Like the Hounds of Tindalos.

>>1676540
>Security activated
>AI on alert
>We probably know more about it than the Humans anyway

Yeah, I don't really see what we'd gain from learning about Moonraker.

>>1676532
The Union doesn't know how to build the psi cannon. Literally all it has is raking up the loose crystals that were left floating in orbit.

The project is incredibly ignorant and therefore safe, but it should also know the precise number of crystals and their locations.

>>1676545
We can sabotage it tho
>>1676548
>Letting them have crystals

>>1676540
They know we acessed the files i guess the first one we get to will be the one with enough data. And since this joint is blowed we might want to be on this guys good side so we can invade other branches controled by this same interprise..

But i say that after we have done it we go to the moon baler although i'm afraid that might make the void more active.

>>1676540
Do want to bet on us having time to hit two?

That AI probably knows exactly where we are and what we accessed.

>>1676498
>>Other
Search all of them. Keep retreating from and attacking the AI while logging back in for as long as our clones brains are intact. Have our tech oriented clones constantly swapping the jobs of keeping the AI busy, searching for relevant data, and attempting to beam in an instance of Theseus.

>>1676558
Yeah because last time ae got greedy the void gods started to notice us.

>>1676558
We probably need a Q-Comm of somekind to link up if we want Theseus help at this point. I think channeling him through our clones brains will fry them

>>1676565
>>1676565
So?

>>1676550
...What do you think you're replying to?

>>1676570
What aren't I replying of to?

>>1676565
What's that supposed to mean? The only way for the void to notice the hive is if we personally mess with a void crystal or happen to be near an inconvenient hell gate. There is no way that viewing data about them through an indirect medium could cause them to enter into physical space just to stop us.

>>1676585
Shouldn't you be voting for Moonraker if you want a verifiable crystals headcount.

>>1676571
No one said "let them have crystals" dumb dumb.

>>1676498
>>Search the labs dedicated to Project Phantom and Operation Moonraker

>>1676588
Oops.

>>1676580
My mistake i confuded the time we failed to capture a OQ's relay with Nowhere. I think i will go sleep.

>>1676595
confused*
Yup i'm going to my bed. I will read the rest later.

>>1676597
Sleep is for the weak man, the sleep deprivation just makes this quest better.

>>1676498
>>Search the labs dedicated to Project Aegis and the Morning Star Initiative

-Star Hound Project and the Prometheus Initiative.
These are probably anti-ai and Smiths. They're bad, but not the highest priority.

-Project Phantom and Operation Moonraker
High priority as they probably deal with Void crystal fuckery. However, we already know or suspect what they are (the psi cannon and stealth ship) so we'd learn relatively little from that

-Project Aegis and the Morning Star Initiative
We don't know what these are, but they sound very, very bad. They probably involve crystals or other skyl artifacts. Investigate with highest priority.

>>1676498
>Search the labs dedicated to the Star Hound Project and the Prometheus Initiative

Your clones heft up your injured tech as he shivers in a fugue state as your thinkers attempt to recover the memories and rewire the damaged neurons of the clone's brain. The group quickly make their way to the designated lab. The facility is surprisingly large, with a micro factory set at the base of a large materials lab filled with various machining devices and sensor equipment. The door is sealed and quite solid, but your brawler pulls it open without too much trouble. The lab itself overlooks a small warehouse filled with industrial equipment and a fully fitted manufactory. Strange chunks of materials are held in various cases in various states of disassembly as computer terminals and machining devices hum and churn with activity as tests continue on without their operators.

"Where is everyone?" Hiromi asks.

"Must be the fire alarm." Feng says. "Everyone must have either evacuated through an alternate entrance or locked themselves in the panic rooms."

"We can't be this lucky." Your clone says as he walks up to a terminal. "Bastards ran in a hurry, they didn't even log off." He says as he quickly runs his hand over the keyboard, searching through the terminal's archives. Your other clones clear the room, searching for any potential threats.

"Son of a bitch!" You hear Sam shout. He is holding his helmet with his hand as he stumbles back, gripping a table for balance. The sudden noise sends your clones spinning on their heels as they bring their guns at the ready. Sam adjusts his helmet and looks over the area.

"The fuck was that?" He asks as he waves his axe ahead of him. It fades, like a shimmering mirage on the horizon, the image vanishing and then rematerializing as he waves the axe head back and forth. Feng walks up to the phenomenon and adjusts a terminal as several emitters of some kind set in the ceiling flicker with a faint glow that quickly fades, and a metal pole materializes, running from the ceiling to the floor.

"Some kind of cloaking tech?" He asks.

"Yea. I got the paperwork here." Your tech says. "The Prometheus Initiative. Looks like it's an ongoing salvage project. They've been studying scraps from recovered Void Cutters. Actually, it looks like this team has been working real close with the Project Phantom team. This lab is for materials testing, looks like they were running some kind of stress test for the other lab."

"So what, it's a glorified salvage job?" Sam asks.

"Oh fuck." Your clone says suddenly as he flips through files. "It may be a salvage job but some of this salvage is some crazy shit here. They have Void Cutter hull fragments, sensor recordings, and some kind of weapons prototype."

"Seriously? Where is it?" Sam asks.

"Off site. It doesn't say, just that it's held at a weapons testing facility with a list of specs on it. Goddamn, look at this."
cont.

>>1676617
Well shit, they have Void Cutter tech. God damn. And that means they probably have crystals from them too. Well then...

>>1676617
>a weapon made of void cutter crystals

no..it can't be...

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I think I am becoming numb to happenings in my syat of overexpuser and lack of sleedpyness

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>>1663728
>The thread should still be up sunday so either way we should be able to finish up the infiltration at the usual time.

>we should be able to finish

>>1676617
Fug, guess I voted too late

>>1676623
>>1676628
Don't be panicky.

Any crystals they possess cannot possibly be from void cutters, because the crystals are the parts that attempt to prevent capture automatically sucking it all back into slipspace.

If the weapon is related, they'd probably try to recreate what's called the neutrino beam, even though it probably is secretly psionic based somehow.

>>>/tg/42340351
>“The cutters are made of a non-reflective material that resists attempts to scan them. When destroyed, their drive swallows most of the debris up, but sometimes a chunk falls free.

>>>/tg/36072901
>no matter how damaged the ship appears to be, it is always observed engaging its drive moments after receiving damage, even if the damage appears to have caused critical damage, or even destroyed the hull itself. It is believed the drive itself contains a failsafe to accomplish this.

>The primary, and as yet recorded only weapon of the Void Cutter is a single projected energy beam mounted to the nose of the Cutter's small hull. While no sample has been obtained, its observed effects are consistent with a concentrated neutrino beam. Shields have been observed to have minimal effect, while armor shows little to no mitigating effects against it. From collected battle data, it has shown to never exceed a firing rate of one three second beam being fired every ten seconds, and an effective range of fifty thousand kilometers. It is unknown if the beam itself is capable of harming a target beyond this range, but it has never been observed as being fired past it.

>>1676616
There is a video, your clone resizes the projection, sending the display out of the screen for the rest of the squad to see. The time stamp on the test indicates the footage is from late last year, and the facility is clearly different. The footage lists it as a Union weapons testing facility with the seal of the BFI and the Union Research and Development Administration tucked tightly in the corner of the footage. In center screen several mechanical armatures secure a large sheet of what appears to be a small patch of starship armor grade polymer. It has the sheen of a diamond filament integration, and is easily a meter thick. Ahead of it is another armature holding fast a large, roughly cylindrical device that glows with a faint blue hue, as if it were emitting some manner of Cherenkov radiation. Several sensor readouts running along the side of the recording confirm. The blue glow gives the shaft of the cylinder an almost ghostly appearance as the camera struggles to get a crisp image, the device faintly blurred with static from the radiation.

Several humans, each clad in thick radiation suits, perform some readings of the device, prodding it with instruments before they quickly move away, waving an all clear signal to others outside the camera's view as they move to join them. A moment later the static sharply increases, and along the base of the cylindrical device a pulsing purple of Hawking radiation begins to glow brighter and brighter as radiation levels sharply spike on the sensors. Suddenly, a vibrant beam of energy lashes out from the device, and the panel of starship armor instantly begins to boil, its surface ripping apart as if it were ashes in a kiln, chunks of metal float away as they dissolve, but don't burn. The sensors detect very little heat, at least, not enough to account for any of the apparent outright sublimation of the polymer armor, which is graded well beyond the reentry heat threshold for any habitable world. The beam dissolves through the plate in less than a second, and then continues through it, rapidly dissolving the wall beyond it as it digs through a reinforced titanium and lead layered safety block with equally little apparent effort, then the steel wall beyond that, then the cement structure beyond that.

The radiation continues to build as the glow becomes more vibrant and its pulsing increases in pace. The sensors show a constant and exponential rate of neutrino emissions until, after three seconds of continuous firing, the beam shuts down, the glowing subsiding entirely as the radiation simply stops. There is nothing left of the target, and behind it the beam has penetrated the target, a five meter safety block of lead and titanium, and then another two and a half meters of cement and steel behind that. The video ends abruptly with a placecard and a loud beep before cutting off entirely.

"The fuck was that?" Feng asks.

"Not sure, and according to these files, they're not sure either."
cont.

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>>1676664

>>1676666
Its probably based on the void cutter.

Remember, when we poked shards from Lyle's ship, it also unfolded with a bunch of radiation and erased our ceiling.

We had a much bigger effect, but that's a given with how our tachyon tech is leagues ahead of the humies.

We probably could replicate that gun just with what we have, except for it *being void's literal shit*.

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>>1676664
I want it.

>>1676664
"So what, that's a prototype or.."

"No, actually it looks like it's the main gun of a recovered Void Cutter. It doesn't say how they got it."

"Well what else is in there?" Feng asks. Your clone looks back at the archives.

"Well, most of this stuff is just running tests on shit they pulled off a Void Cutter. Otherwise, there's this Star Hound thing. Damn, according to this they've got enough canderon in this place to start up their own shipyard."

"What for?" Feng asks.

"Uh... Synthesizing, looks like. Looks like they were doing a lot of physiology tests on Canians too, for some reason. Oh, they even have a mission statement for this one. 'To develop a method or methods by which canderon may be artificially synthesized or naturally induced in a controlled and industrial scalable manner.' So, they want to be able to make canderon without having to mine it."

"Huh." Feng says. "Well that would certainly be a gold mine, but it's not exactly major dirt."

"Well that's all that's here. Reverse engineering and exotic matter research. Maybe we should try a new lab."

"Well we know what the Phantom is now, so that takes some of the guess work out of it." Sam says.

>Search the labs dedicated to Project Aegis and the Morning Star Initiative
>Search the labs dedicated to Project Phantom, the stealth tech research project, and Operation Moonraker
>Other

>>1676664
GIMME.

>>1676676
>>Search the labs dedicated to Project Aegis and the Morning Star Initiative

>>1676676
>>Search the labs dedicated to Project Aegis and the Morning Star Initiative

>>1676664
Thats the work of a shard

>>1676676
>Search the labs dedicated to Project Phantom, the stealth tech research project, and Operation Moonraker

>>1676676
>Search the labs dedicated to Project Aegis and the Morning Star Initiative

>>1676676
>Search the labs dedicated to Project Aegis and the Morning Star Initiative

>>1676676
>>Search the labs dedicated to Project Phantom, the stealth tech research project, and Operation Moonraker
The problem with void cutters isn't how to build them, it's the quantities of power involved in running one. Theseus already calculated that it would be impossible to use without a truly limitless source of power, or, a void crystal. Without one reproducing one is effectively impossible.

Now, the moonraker and possible presence of more crystals, now that's critical to us.

I wonder if there's enough data in the Prometheus Initiative files for us to unlock new research, we do have specs on it.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>1676676
Unknown (and smiths) or possible psicannon.
I'll dice roll. [1] for Aegis/Morning Star, [2] for Phantom/Moonraker.

>>1676676
>>Search the labs dedicated to Project Phantom, the stealth tech research project, and Operation Moonraker
Gotta jack all their fucking crystals.

>>1676676
>Search the labs dedicated to Project Aegis and the Morning Star Initiative

I'm starting to think this may not be a smith lab nearly so much as a void-research lab. Let's see what these reveal before

>>1676676
>Search the labs dedicated to Project Aegis and the Morning Star Initiative
Well that narrowed it down.

>>1676691
While these are critical to us, we already know about them and can pressure the Union heavily on them (and have already been doing so).

We have no idea what the other projects are (one of them might be the Smith?), but there seems pretty good odds they'd involve the Void Crystals too. If they hold out on us with our primary negotiation demand even more than the Expanse (our demand they hand over all crystals is more important) we need to know.

>>1676712
That's why we need to know everything pertaining to project moonraker. That will tell us if they pulled more than one of crystal from the moon, and then we will be able to call them out the next time we ask them and pretend the one at Nowhere was their only available crystal.

>>1676717
We already know they have more than the one at nowhere, there was one in the mirage and we found they been occasionally finding them in void cutter wreckage as part of some plan by the void shards

>>1676676
>>Search the labs dedicated to Project Phantom, the stealth tech research project, and Operation Moonraker

>>1676717
We're probably going to stay in these labs as long as possible anyway. Timetables, Smiths, and survival be damned this data is way, way too valuable to leave behind for the sake of terrorists and clones.

We might be able to negotiate with the Union regarding Moonraker, et-al because we already know about that stuff. We can offer goodies and make threats to ensure the crystals from the Moon project are returned and we have ways to ensure (or they believe we have ways to ensure) that lies would be detected.

However, we can't negotiate or make demands with them regarding omnious things like the Morning Star Initiative because we don't know them. They should be investigated more closely. If Morning Star is secretly investigating a Void cult, for example, we need to know.

>>1676676
Does it take too much time to download all the lab's data core anyway?

>>1676676
>Search the labs dedicated to Project Aegis and the Morning Star Initiative
Time to see what Lucifer is up to

>>1676721
>we found they been occasionally finding them in void cutter wreckage
No they didn't.

And we have no way of knowing they're not lying to us about the quantity of crystals later, pressure or no pressure, without breaking into their data banks.

>>1676727
We do have a bottle neck of the clone downloading it.

>>1676664
I wonder if we made a kind of fill in foam paste if we could mitigate some damage from a cutter beam. Since it seems to only be stopped by depth of material instead of thickness and lacks heat, some kind of self reassembling smart material and some self setting foam liquid might work wonders as damage mitigation measures.

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216 KB JPG

>>1676676
>Search the labs dedicated to Project Aegis and the Morning Star Initiative

"Well let's hurry." Sam says. "I don't like how quiet this place is. We've met two guards so far. That sound right to you?"

"Well, there was a fire alarm." Feng says as the team quickly exits the lab.

"Bullshit. You know that's bullshit. The workers may leave for that but where are the auto turrets, the combat drones, armed guards, mines, anything? This is too easy."

"Don't jinx it." Your clone says as he punches in the door. The next lab is held in what could almost be considered its own apartment. Within is a hallway leading further into the lab, while on each side is a door leading to a small kitchen on one side and a dormitory on the other. The hall opens up to a sizable common area, fully furnished more akin to an apartment than any kind of laboratory. There is a doorway leading out the back labeled simply "Aegis" set beneath a stylized depiction of a helmet, while on the other side of the room is another, unmarked door. Your clone readies his sledge to pry open the door, but it slides open at his approach.

"Still don't think it's too easy?" Sam says.

They move in through the door one by one to a moderately sized workshop. It is finely maintained, the equipment clearly kept as clean as is possible, while various cybernetic devices are scattered over several tables half assembled and splayed over the countertops. On the far wall is a set of armatures fastened tightly to a metallic humanoid shape. It is an unpainted, polished metal with only a number of warning inscriptions and caution labels set along its limbs, and the torso is held open to reveal an empty, padded interior covered in a number of devices with the general appearance of a mixture of control systems, neural interfaces, and medical devices set between layers of synthetic muscle fibers. Along the outside, overlapping plates of metal armor coat the figure in an intricate pattern, offering a perfect mixture of flexibility and armor coverage over all of the needed areas.

"The hell is that?" Feng asks. "Some kind of new armor?"

"These are drop suit interfaces." Sam says as he points out the set of neural ports along the shoulders. "Never seen one this small before."

Your clones continue to examine the area, and find another unmarked door leading out the other side of the room. It opens as your clones approach, revealing a rather spartan room within connecting to both the Aegis workshop and the common room. The ceiling appears to be some manner of aquarium, the lighting above rippling in waves over the rest of the room as various exotic creatures swim by. On the wall is a computer terminal providing a long readout of security data. Your clones aim their weapons as they rush into the room, finding a narrow row of computers lined up along the outside of a glass wall where the man looks over the wall of data, manipulating it with the occasional twitch of the hand.

cont.

>>1676731
Hmmm, well if they're stupid (and/or we provide enough pressure) we can try to get the intelligence secretary in the same room as a speaker and mentally probe him for answers to our questions. We could try the same with Morgan, but he's less likely to have that information. Alternately, we could attempt to ambush, blackmail, adopt, or otherwise compromise council members "cough, Killinger, cough" to compel them to reveal information on their black operations.

>>1676740
>Your clones aim their weapons as they rush into the room, finding a narrow row of computers lined up along the outside of a glass wall where the man looks over the wall of data, manipulating it with the occasional twitch of the hand.
Ah shit. That sounds like a Smith.

>>1676740
>Medium Carapace equivalent
Looks like they are following closing behind us.

>>1676746
If that's true, either our Brawler or Sam should hop into that if this dude is a Smith

>Hive Queen Quest 64.8 The Hive's agents infiltrate deep within a corporate facility, but not is all as it seems.

>>1676746
QD has mentioned before that the Union has been trying their hand at producing them, but so far muscle suits like our medium carapace have been limited to big shot defense expos where everyone shows off their costly, experimental stuff. The Union just doesn't have a sufficient grasp of nano-engineering to mass produce them like we can.

>>1676740
"The glass is bulletproof." The man says calmly. He waves his hand and the data on the screens wipe away, and he turns to you.

"Told you it was too easy." Sam says. Your clone rushes to a door in the glass wall as he holds his plasma shotgun at the ready.

"Hands in the air!" Your clone shouts.

"Please, I have excellent hearing, you don't need to yell." The man says as he slowly raises his hands. "The door is unlocked, by the way. You don't need to go bashing it in, just open it like a civilized person."

Your tech quickly finds a terminal and examines its status.
"This is it." He says. "This is the computer core. The whole sub-facility security system is run from here."

"Alright, let's get the data and start the upload." Feng says. "Find the comm relay."

"On it." Your clone says.

"If you're looking for the Q-comms, it's actually right here." The man in the room says. "Right behind me, in fact."

"And who the fuck are you?" Sam asks.

"My apologies, where are my manners." He says back. "My name is Adam Smith, and I am the system administrator of this little facility. Among other things. Very few people can be trusted to work in this facility, so I tend to have many titles." He pulls his sleeve and examines a watch on his wrist expectantly.

"I said hands up!" Your clone shouts again.

"Yes, yes. Christ you don't need to yell." Adam says as he raises his hands again. "So what brings you here? We don't exactly have visitors often."

>Charge into the room to access the relay
>Hack into the archives first and search through the data
>Other (write in)

>>1676754
>>Other (write in)
Ask are you happy mister Smith?(Start mind probing if we can)

>>1676757
Our clones don't have Medium relays.
I've said to get them but nooo.

>>1676757
There is no drone here, nothing that has a moderate relay, don't be ridiculous anon. We can't do shit.

>>1676757
Dude, it's a Smith. He's entirely cybernetic - there are no fleshy parts with Tachyons for us to study. Even if we could read him we'd need a speaker or other drone with a moderate relay here to do so or a parasite. Not only do we have neither of those, they wouldn't work anyway.

>>1676754
>Other
Abort NOW, its a freaking SMITH being Polite, that means our OP just got fucked over hard

>>1676754
>>Hack into the archives first and search through the data

It is of course too easy. He wants this out for some reason.

>>1676761
That relay must have been sabotaged alos

>>1676754
>>Charge into the room to access the relay
Engage the smith with our brawlers and Sam while the rest of the team handles the relay.

>>1676754
>Other
"So either your under policy not to resist intrusion Or your cybernetics up to the eyeballs and beyond. How about you let us do what we want or we introduce a thesus instance into this place so he can eat your pet AI"

>>1676754
>Hack into the archives first and search through the data
>"Just getting information. The fate of local civilization might depend on it."

>>1676760
>there are no fleshy parts with Tachyons for us to study
He has a brain in the jar he calls a head.

>>1676754
>He pulls his sleeve and examines a watch on his wrist expectantly.

He's STALLING!

>>1676760
>Dude, it's a Smith. He's entirely cybernetic - there are no fleshy parts with Tachyons for us to study.
It... has a brain.
An augmented brain but still a fleshy brain, we can mind probe him and i expect his brain augs would break during the probe.

>>1676766
No humans have allied with Theseus, it would be ridiculous to even mention that as a possibility if you aren't giving away 'hello hive agent here'.

>>1676769
yep

>>1676754
>>Hack into the archives first and search through the data
>Charge into the room to access the relay

Why not both? Have one of our techs attempt to hack into the archives while our brawlers and other clones engage the Smith. If the Smith manages to make it to our tech and kills him we'll still have a backup (whose job it will be to stay away from the fight) to search the archives later.

>>1676761
We expected there might be a Smith guarding it. It's WAY too fucking late to abort. Either we kill the Smith now or none of us will get home (or more importantly, get the information we need).