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Twitters:
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Archive:
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Some guy drinking milk:
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"Skip the disclaimer." Trash whispers in your ear, as she sits near you at the next side of the
small glass table, which is surrounded by Vaal, the hornmother, and the What. The bowl with
your godlike chocolate chip cookies seems to float at the center of it.

"You walk into your apartment, Leateli is sitting down to a cup of tea with a side of armed
hostage taking. What do you do?"

“A clean, fast shot, like in the wild west! Boom! Begone, monster!”

“Leateli.” Says Trash, almost pleadingly. “She said ‘Leateli’.”

“Oh, HO, well then I’d disarm her with a fast shot to her hand! Easy!”

"A stubborn horn mother is on the radio insisting she can drive the ship just fine... right
after you tell her how to get it out of reverse. It hasn't crashed yet, but the odds aren't good.
What do you do?"

“Chase after the ship and shoot at SATA with a Mavi Rifle. Let’s see you driving out of this, little
horns!”

"A ship calls in requesting some Anima to fuel their ship after forgetting to activate hover
mode over night. What do you do?"

“Laugh!”

"What is the biggest problem you've had to face and how have you overcome it?"

“Once, I was surrounded by no less than SEVEN crazy thieves, after chasing after them
on my bike because they kidnapped a little kid for ransom. It was BOOM, BAM, THUD,
TATATA!” Moody gestures the whole thing, “and then I told him it was ok. Ha! …Idiots!”

“Just to clarify,” Trash points out, “that really did happen.”

"What is less stressful for you: working on your own or having someone work with you?"

“I like to work in pairs, as you can see.”

"What approach do you prefer to problem solving: the tried and true approach you know,
or trying new ideas and adjusting them as you go?"

“The true and tested becomes predictable, foreseeable, manageable. Yet who can counter
the unexpected?”

"What would you rather have to deal with (non-violently): A hornmother's tantrum or a radar
malfunction?"

“Why would you deal violently with a radar malfunction? The nerve of some idiots!”

"What are your motivations for joining me, Money? Fame? Boredom? Altruism? or
perhaps something else entirely?"

“Our secret sources tell us that you cook rather well.”

"At what point does making money outweigh having a meaningful job for you? Assuming you
have a roof over your head at least."

“Money! Hmp! Such an empty goal! Sure, it brings you things, but it’s the things that bring
what matters. What good is coin with nothing to spend It on?”

(Cont!)

Subtly, you glance at Trash. The Templar picks up, and dimly shakes her head. You skip the death question.

"What is your greatest strength, what is your greatest weakness?"

“I have perfect aim, and everyone is jealous of it.”

"Would you rather be respected or well-liked?"

“Respected! Where kindness falters, a gun most certainly won’t.”

"What's your favorite dessert?"

“I do not eat.”

"Do you know if there are any kind people you don't get along with easily?"

“Idiots, and bullies. The nerve of some people.”

"Fill in the blanks: violence is blank, kindness is blank, fame is blank, money is blank"

“Violence is point blank, kindness is blank, fame is blank, money is blank.”

You glance at Trash’s face; it’s between a pout and a grimace.

"Someone says to you that this is all pointless because everyone will starve eventually and humanity will be destroyed, how do you respond?"

“We will not. Not if I can help it.”

"Are you OK with hugs and similar contact?"

“Ha! That’s the cheapest trick in the book. Hands where I can see them!”

"How are your people skills? Can you bluff your way out of a bad situation? Can you calm somebody who is panicking or angry? Can you tell when a fight is likely to break out? Can you spot when someone is trying to con you? Can you bargain for a good deal?"

“Is this a test to whether I can remember all those questions or not?” Moody pauses. “…Because I can!”

“How are your people skills?” It’s Trash’s voice.

“Marvelous! People are easy to take down; the Armas are the real deal. I once tried to hit an idiot with a brick and it hit a lady Arma in the head. And would you believe it?” Moody pauses, perhaps for drama. “She apologized to me! And tried to fix the brick with fault gas!” The beak goes from side to side. “What a nightmare, I just hope none of those ever gets bad!”

“Can you bluff your way out of a bad situation?” Trash proceeds.

“I can shoot things.” Moody states, as far you know, completely not joking.

“Can you calm somebody who is panicking or angry?” You pick up, slightly trampling over Trash.

“Of course. Just knock them down!”

“Can you tell when a fight is likely to break out?”

“Usually when someone is shot in the head.”

“Can you spot when someone is trying to con you?”

“Yes. Usually, they are breathing.”

“Can you bargain for a good deal?"

“Pfff hahahahahahaa!” It’s a long, wide laugh. “Oooh, oh my… let’s, let’s just say yes, alright?”

(Cont!)

"How are your emergency skills? Can you bandage a wound and splint a broken limb? Does the sight of blood make you feel faint? Can you do basic ship repairs?"

“Yes, yes, no, and hell yes. Sis fixes the ships, and I fix her.”

"Do you have any piloting skills? If so what kinds of ships?"

“I can-“

“Moody.” Trash simply says.

“-I, well, happen to lack the practical skills- however my knowledge is top-notch! And you can be dead sure I can move anything as I please!”

"How are your combat skills? What kinds of opponents would you feel confident fighting? What kind of opponents are you poorly matched against?"

“Anything.” Moody pauses. “Except Anythings.” Moody pauses, again. “Maybe a Hand or two.”

"Do you have any other unique skills you haven't been asked about yet? What skill would you say that you are best with?

“I-well-Lumina can build ships in her head. It’s simply terrific!”

"Show me what you can do, impress me"

“Watch and faint.” Moody struggles with the stupidly large amount of pockets in it’s rugged, stitched black and brown robe. After some struggle and raised eyebrows (and a few WAH’s? from Wahrio) it finally takes a coin. “Phew, organization beats time, eh? Now watch this!”

Moody freezes. It stays there, not moving a whole inch of Lumina’s body. A hand bounces against your mouth as you are about to say anything, you follow the arm and it’s Trash who’s frozen as well. Then the coin is flung upwards with a thumb, gives a big arc in the air, and falls squarely into your coffee. Everyone stares in silences, perhaps wondering if that was intended.

“And that,” Moody rumbles, “is just the tip of the iceberg!”

“We /clearly/ should have interviewed Lumina. This is pointless.” You hear, across the
static. "Ask for the motto and room preference. This should be interesting."

"Do you have a motto, Moody?" You ask, tenderly.

"Dead aren't evil!"

The static chuckes. "Knew it."

"Is there anything in particular you'd like to have aboard the ship?"

"Lumina needs a workshop. And icecream. Plenty of icecream, just not at the same time.
Stawberry flavored, or melon if you can get it but it's hard. Both would be ok. Also lemon."
Moody pauses. "And mango."

(Cont!)

As you laid on the couch, getting Moody to do the first aid tests on you was impossible. The
excuses kept piling over, over and over, and you stopped Trash from pushing as you noticed
they didn't make any sense. Moody didn't wanted to. However, a simply written quiz by
you solved the thing, and it proved that Moody is at least capable of the bare basics.

As for the mechanics written test? A marvel. She had to write it in isolation, in the bedroom,
but the questions are many, escalate in complexity as the test goes by, and even has
hand-drawn examples of motors and mechanisms with missing bits for the readers
to complete. A precision not as good as yours, but close enough to be astonishing.

The hovercraft test was almost instantly scrapped due to costs. You currently are
unaware of your economics, so when Trash said you were getting "your ass ripped the fuck
out with steel claws" you just nodded.

She, however, offered her motorcycle for further testing. Giving her muffled scream, it
seems the templar certainly considered changing her mind as Moody slammed it
against the rear of a car in her test. She didn't, though.

"Uh? So you wanted my take for this? That's nice, thank you!" Vaal gave you headpats after
you asked about Nielly's idea of moving to Captain's house in order to support to
himehorns. She agreed.

As you all got there by bus, however, you soon felt your help might be overkill.

(Cont!)

Omake: Q&A with Cat the catgirl Arma

"Hey Cat, can Arma eat?"

"I am an Arma and I eat chocolate, how they could even control or influence me if I couldn't eat chocolate?" The catgirl Arma with the word "CAT" in her metal plate said while licking her fingertips for the chocolate in it. "I mean I am a non standard model, maybe others can't eat?"

"Next, you walk into your room, Leateli is sitting down to a cup of tea with a side of armed hostage taking. What do you do?"

"Who is Leateli?"

"Crazy serial killer girl, if she dies the world does."

"Since my room is in the Red Disaster, just have the ship give her the paralysis status effect then dump her with someone who wants the idiot."

"Ah right, that ship is damn scary or you are crazy or both. What is the biggest problem you've had to face and how have you overcome it?"

"Killing an Anything, I helped the Red Disaster by loading up the Blue Screen Ammo since Whats spawn cannot touch it directly."

"Are you aware you talk nosense?"

"You call it nosence, I call it gamer speak, may the power up be with you. May the blue shell never hit you and remember, try to jump it in the head first unless it has spikes."

"Whatever, what is less stressful for you: working on your own or having someone work with you?"

"I like to work with the Red Disaster, she is my friend and gives me chocolate. I don't like to be alone."

"Okay. What approach do you prefer to problem solving: the tried and true approach you know, or trying new ideas and adjusting them as you go?"

"I just follow the ship lead when it is an Anything, I gas the Hands to death, I am not allowed to cook since last time and besides the diary and the videos I don't have many things I know anyway. So most of the time I wing it."

The interviewer paused and drank some of its tea. "What is your greatest strength, what is your greatest weakness?"

"I am an Arma and well I am not very well informed about anything."

"Would you rather be respected or well-liked?"

The catgirl rubbed her chin and thought about it for a moment. "Whatever gets me more chocolate."

"What's your favorite dessert?"

"Anything with chocolate is fine but I love banana sundae with chocolate sauce."

The interviewer then looked at his watch "Last question, fill in the blanks: violence is blank, kindness is blank, fame is blank, money is blank."

"Violence is stupid, kindness is chocolate, fame is stupid and money gets me more chocolate."

"Okay so we can buy your services with chocolate or money, I get it. Can I ask an extra question?"

"Sure." The catgirl smiled and crossed her arms under her chest.

"Why are you naked?"

"All my clothing got Anything contamination so I got it destroyed, and I thought it would be funny and keep you distracted."

The interviewer hit his face with his desk "I could have got a decent job at ship repair but nooo I had to get into management!"

AN: Cats can be frustrating sometimes.

Captain's house became nothing short of a stronghold. All houses near it (and you wonder
if the whole block as well) were sealed shut. Faceless guards come and go from side to
side, as some stay static by the front door.

"Well," Trash states, more than a hint of awe in her voice, "Difos clearly doesn't fuck around.
Gotta give the Ado a call, hang on a sec."

You look at the hornmother grabbing your hand. She's doing so tightly. With you are also
Vaal and Moody, who has still her fighting and poker tests ahead. Trash insisted on bringing
her.

----------------------------:D!---------------------------

Inside, however, is an entirely different story. Far from the dry feel from right outside, it
seems the haremhorns are doing their very best to lift the mood. The biggest smallhorns
run around, cry, and jump across the wet grass under your feet, the massive room overtaken
by sitting hornmothers and haremhorns as if it all was a big picnic. As you walk inside, you
glance at a corner; a hornmother and a haremhorn in casual human clothes stand next
to each other staring at their cellphones. There's food, yelling, games, and horns. Plenty
of horns.

And there is someone you clearly remember. Sitting on the floor all by herself, there's a
musclehorn. No one is getting near it. There is, however, nothing over its shoulder.

"...Well, now what?" Trash shrugs, wildly. "We need a good place to kill each other."

"Call Ado again?" Vaal suggests, standing behind you.

"Yeah, you guys go take a break or something. I'll catch up, go sit somewhere." As everyone
scrambles, a hand roughly grabs you by the arm. "Toasty, with me. Come."

You both reach a deserted wall in the room (the nearest hornmother being nine feet away,
hugging her plushie in bliss) and Trash starts talking over her cellphone. Meanwhile, you
study the RIGI again. It's not a Fake part, that much is clear, the RIGI is an independant
device that even works without a dEKE or an anima energy source; it has its own, and it has
to be recharged. It's mostly banned everywhere, so yours is now hidden under
another makeshift wood ring that's a tad bit heavy. It has small picture of Nielly in it.

Trash finally closes the phone and tilts her blonde bangs at you. "Alright, Toasty. Ask me
anything you want about Lumina."

The fact that she didn't give her a nickname seems, to you, foreboding enough...

>>984897
"No nickname for either of them? Hmm..."

"Is Lumina any calmer about things? As it stands I wouldn't let Moody off the ship for any mission short of 'burn this entire ship to the ground, with or without everyone still in it' and I really really hope that's never a mission.

"I was kind of hoping she'd catch the fact that nearly every ship has auto hover, so the odds are good that call for an anima refuel is a robbery attempt. If Lumina is calmer what are the odds of her flipping to Moody in a less than necessary situation?"

"Lumina still keeps her aim regardless of personality right? The coin trick was kind of impressive in a way, you need very good perception of distance and calibration of force to do something like that reliably... assuming that was intentional."

"Her "bargaining" tactics... I'm guessing they involve a gun?

"Lumina actually has some ship piloting experience though... right?

"And Moody may be a 'hands off' type, but is Lumina? I don't know if I could survive not being able to hug that girl, she seems like she really needs it."

"Also, Moody mentioned a workshop. Do we have room in the budger for something like that? Or will we have to scavenge it bit by bit?"

"What do you think her/their motivation for working with us would be?"

You tilt your head, yet meaningfully. "No nickname for either of them?" Slightly, you grin
at the templar. "Hmm...".

"That's just a myth, I can call people by their name as much as you do." Trash crosses her
arms. "It doesn't mean anything at all."

Yet your Roomba powers call bullshit. Ara ara.

Trash's eyes widen and she turns you around almost as if you were a screw, but you don't get
to complain. Everyone else is looking; after all, they are bringing... something brown and long,
with a funny green hair.

"Holy sweet ultra mother of fuck balls on a rocket," Trash's voice, the calm melody of a small fountain, scratches your head from behind, "Difos /really/ doesn't fuck around."

"I don't know what that is. Mind telling me?" You ask, in a cutesy voice.

"Why the voice, don't do that voice, also that's a fucking TREE there, they took those
badasses from the Pinnacle. That's some expensive shit right there."

You both gaze in silence as more men bring more trees. It's a slow process, and it has
everyone enthralled. Yet...

"Is Lumina any calmer about things? You ask, then turn to Trash. "As it stands, I wouldn't let
Moody off the ship for any mission short of 'burn this entire ship to the ground, with or
without everyone still in it'." You stop, letting your eyes roll. "And I really really reaaally hope
that's never a mission."

"Fucking trees, man." Trash finally looks at you. She freezes, then, as if rewinding the
conversation. Then frowns her eyes suddenly, which confuses you. "Eh, I think we can play it
nice if they know we are stronger than them, y'know. Preah would do that fine, I think. As for
Lumina, well let me put it this way. Some people don't get an older sister to look after
them, so they look for one. Some never find one." Trash scratches her hair. "So they turn
into it. Lumina couldn't turn into her own big sister. So... she made it. Eh, does that make
any sense?"

You nod. "Kinda."

"Ok," she resumes, "just think of Lumina and Moody as entirely different persons. It's freaky
as hell, and neither of them is good in the head, but they have an overwhelming sense of
justice that you might really want to take into consideration. Kind of like the White Walker,
but I trust Lumina a shitton more because I've seen her pull some shit. Don't you ever take
that thing off?"

"The headset?" You point at it. "I want to hear what Nielly has to say. She seems smart!
Anyway, I was kind of hoping Moody would catch the fact that nearly every ship has auto
hover, so the odds are good that call for an anima refuel is a robbery attempt."

"She laughed." Trash points out. "Coming from Moody, that means she ain't buying it. I'm
sure."

"If Lumina is calmer," you resume, "what are the odds of her flipping to Moody in a less than
necessary situation?"

"She will always do that if feels vulnerable." Trash's stare seems bitter. "AL-WAYS. You
can't like, scream at her or something. She goes into Moody-mode, and then he gets back
at you."

(Cont!)

>>985233
Looks like somrone needs to learn meditation.

"It's really freaky as fuck, but when one takes control all the other can do is hear. And they
don't talk among them inside her head. When they need to talk, Lumina constantly puts the
mask on and off as she talks alone. Cringe as fuck, holy fuck yes, but you get used. Trust me.
There's one exception, and oh dear Enna of my sturdy little ass hear me the fuck out my
majestic little toaster:" Trash seems almost worried as she says so, "If you talk to Lumina
in Spanish, then Moody gets the message while Lumina doesn't." Her eyes are wide and
blank, and you nod a few times over just in case. "I figured that one out on my own. Still
makes me whatthefuck."

"Lumina still keeps her aim regardless of personality right?" You press on, as Trash is
lost elsewhere. "The coin trick was kind of impressive in a way, you need very good
perception of ditance and calibration of force to do something like that reliably... assumning that
was intentional."

"I think she was trying to taunt you." Trash scratches her head. "Good happy and nice
people wrecked her so hard it drove her to schizophrenia, so she must be very wary of
you. As for the aim, she takes a while to put things togueter... but mother of fuck, her aim is
true. Once, I was arguing with Moody and it just stopped. Then, from across a twenty feet
room, the motherfucker nailed an olive seed straight into my right eye. That's when I learned
that, when she stops, it's time to take cover and pray."

"Her "bargaining" tactics... I'm guessing they involve a gun?" You ask, sheepishly.

"She's like Vaal, but without the subtlety. Which means, it won't be long until someone puts a
bullet in her forehead." Trash shakes her head. "Moody is a vigilante, she has the guts and
skill, but she's either too shy or too careless. Not trying to force you into getting her or
anything, but truth be told, she's gonna get fucking shot if she stays here." Trash pauses.
She's sad, and you know it. Then she lightens up. "Guess I'll just ask Vaal for cash since I lost
my salary."

You allow yourself a look around. Haremhorns are carefully monitoring as the smallhorns (and
some hornmothers) gather around the trees. Food isn't lacking, laughing and yelling fills the
air, and things just doesn't seem that bad as even the civil horns walk around and mesh with
the more herdlike.

You close your eyes and smell.

Wet grass and dried leaves.

After a while of spacing out, you find yourself forced down by the shoulders against the wall,
then Trash sits next to you. She's smiling.

"I think I know that feeling." She says, as you both look at the false, bright scenery. "People
like to say himehorns are retarded little fuck-ups, and they are right, in a way. But they've
got something you just -can't- deny; they don't get full of shit." You glance at her, then back at
the humble little forest. "They aren't greedy, subtle, or complex until you take them out of
their herd. They know what they want, and they want nothing else. Unlike us."

(Cont!)

>>985093
You let her space out in peace. She's walked you all the way through this almost for the very
beginning, and thinking back on her room maybe it wasn't because of the cash. You didn't
ask Trash to blackmail half the Second into turning the whole city into advertising, after all.
She could have half-assed the whole thing, just like she does with her room, just like she does
with her clothes and hair. She didn't.

You wonder what the rest is going up about, but your guess is cut short as you spot Vaal
talking with the White Walker, both talking, as both Moody and the hornmother sit on the floor
and you guess they argue. Thankfully, there's that basket you gave Vaal just in case anyone
got hungry, lying next to Moody. You hope it lasts.

"Lumina actually has some ship-piloting experience, though...right?" You glance at
Trash.

"Well..." she seems to think it over, scratching her head as she tilts her head back and forth.
"Nnnnnoooope..." Then she raises a finger. "She's extremely acknowledgeable, though. If
she sucks at it, I swear it won't be for long."

"And Moody may be a 'hands off' type, but is Lumina?" You pout and hug your legs, burying
your head between your knees. "I don't know if I could survive not being able to hug that girl,
she seems like she really needs it."

"Don't even think about it. At least for now." Trash states, firmly, from behind you. "That girl
is faaar too fucked up. She'll have to walk the steps, one by one, but for now, all she knows is
pain."

You sigh, sad.

"Moody mentioned a workshop." You recall. "Do we have room in the budget for something
like that? Or will we have to scavenge it bit by bit?"

"That's like, the least of your concerns. Seriously, that shit is cheap. As for food? Now
that's where you can get worried at ease."

"What do you think her/their motivation for working with us would be?"

"While I can wage my tits that they won't ever betray you, or fuck someone innocent in the
process of whatever, this I have to say." Trash states, fast and firmly. "I have NO fucking clue
whatsoever. All I know is that she wants out of here."

>>985445
"I hate to say this, but she seems like a big risk. Wahrio can cover repairs in his own way, and there are others we've interviewed that have more piloting experience. Sharpshooting is a bit of an outdated skill with EKE fields and stuff like that TEMPO system... Unless she's good enough to shoot where they'll teleport after shooting them the first time.... Is she that good? Still, you described her as a 'vigilante' and reckless insubordination could put us in a world of trouble politically. Sometimes wrongs just can't be righted with some well placed bullets and even with her good intentnions, I don't think she intuitively grasps that. I want to help her, and if there is anything I can do I will, but the chances don't look very good for her being on the crew"

Also, yes we need to be spending money on food while it's subsidized here. Like 6 months worth for a full crew of 7 would be ideal. I'd settle for one month though. But we'll have to deal with that later.

>>985572
The hiccup with Wahrio is that he runs on instinct. We have little or no influence on what repairs he does. M/L we can send to fix a single system on a ship, but ignore others whereas Wahrio may start repairing irrelevant things.

>>985595
I considered the biggest weakness of him being that the repairs he does make no damn sense to anyone else. They work just fine, but "organic" is a good way to describe them (iirc)

>>985655
He's technically also on loan from his ship. He'll be good for keeping our ship running, but not so hot for rescue or just being helpful to others.

Also high risk away missions may end badly for him, which may result in his ship being unhappy with us.

I shudder to think what an angry Wah ship on a revenge kick would do to us.

You allow yourself a break. This won't be that nice.

"I hate to say this," you start, making Trash turn to you, "but she seems like a big risk. Wahrio
can cover repairs in his own way, and there are others we've interviewed that have more
piloting experience. Sharpshooting is a bit of an outdated skill with EKE fields and stuff like that
TEMPO system..." You keep on bracing for Trash's interruption, but the blonde listens in
quiet silence. "Is she that good? Still," you turn to her, this time, "you described her as a
'vigilante' and reckless insubordination could put us in a world of trouble politically.
Sometimes wrongs just can't be righted with some well-placed bullets and even with her
good intentions, I don't think she intuitively grasps that." Her silence is somewhat
unnerving, given how used you are to be spoken over. "I want to help her, and if there is
anything I can do I will, but the chances don't look very good for her being on the crew."

The templar waits you up to finish, still looking at you calmly. Once she's sure, she leans close
to you.

"Toasty; Lumina is a genius." She smiles, even if faintly. "The kid is bad in the head, but
she has tremendous growing potential. All it takes is for someone to invest in her a little, to
give her a chance, and nobody is willing because they think she's crazy." Trash's smile
furthers. "She's not. She's very clever, and a big part of her smarts is looking crazy so
nobody tramples her over again." Trash straightens up. "The What is a fucking marvel
and I love it, but their repair skills are more in the "patch up" level than in the "optimizing"
degree you are well going to need. Lumina or not, you need a mechanic; let Wahrio handle
the emergencies. The piloting experience is a no-brainer, she learned how to fix a Fake Core
based on books people threw in trashcans. And she did it. She actually, once, fixed a Fake
Core. S-so don't worry about that."

You grasp the grass tightly as you look at her.

"She has a long windup in exchange for the precision, I give you that." Trash nods, almost
in a bow. "But having the absolute certainty that she's going to land the shot, that's something
you just can't miss. TEMPO systems make short work of her sniping skills, but only in
automatic, and only if they can use them. Otherwise, we could use her wind-up window
to waste their TEMPO, and then she'll be fully charged. Moving or TEMPOing around, of
course, will dilatate the time it takes her to focus, but most of the time it will be a battle
she's winning and if we manage to have her land the shot then the battle will be over, and
guess what? Without casualties." Trash swallows. Hard. Then smiles. "Mavi Rifles fuck
up EKEs and nothing else, they won't kill people. Hovercrafts and the like, like our
Friend, use EKE and PULSAR reactions to hover, so you could immobilize ships entirely
without having anyone die in the process as well. As for the whole vigilante thing, well... I
can deal with that."

(Cont!)

Trash is cut short by the ringing of her phone, which makes her stand. That's one little habit of
hers that you caught up; she can't talk on the cellphone and sit at the same time.

"Yes." Trash says. "Yes. Yes. Yes. Hmm, yes." She nods, looking away from you. "Yes. My
arm also fits in your ass. Yes. Hmm, ok then."

Trash hangs, then turns to you.

"I'll have to clear a few things with one of our contacts, I'll be back soon." She glances at
you." Just, just have fun for a while and think about it. Be right back!"

She rushes off. You watch her walk at a steady, fast pace as she looks around, and steps in the
middle of a hornmother's card game.

"Stutters, no insults, no drama." You hear, from across the static. "That woman is completely
biased towards that 'duo'. Don't trust her every word, 'Toasty'."

A quick look around gives you a few meaningful events to consider; the arguing
hornmothers at your right (thanks to Trash), Vaal and White Walker's conversation at the
distance, Moody and your hornmother are still at it, the musclehorn&nothing is still sitting on
its own, and there are hornmothers, haremhorns, and smallhorns aplenty around
the trees. Also, there's a headset behind your horns.

Better watch your step.

>>I shudder to think what an angry Wah ship on a revenge kick would do to us.

As long as you keep in mind that they tend to murder Hands!

>>985655
>>organic

Exactly!

>>985788
Whisper to Nielly befor we move back to the herd: "She doesn't have a confident answer for her motives, and from the thing with the olive seed seems to say she has the skills to put up a fight against Trash so I'm not too confident in trashes' ability to 'deal with her' in the situations that would need dealing with the most. If she does make the cut it will be strictly as support staff, repairs and maybe piloting, no missions, no weapons. Clearly she has some history with her, and I get the feeling she feels at least a little bit responsible for how she is."

Go over an apologize for Trash stepping in the horn-mothers card game, and be prepared to offer them a cookie each from the basket when they inevitably get grumpy. Check in with Vaal and White Walker if we do need to grab some cookies form the basket to placate them, ask WW if he knows anywhere we could safely do the combat test without drawing unwanted attention.

>>985655
>>985793

Every What ship has a theme, the Red Disaster is videogames. What spawn are made to work as a team hence why Wahrio work is incomplete, he is just meant to do temporary repairs in the middle of a fight.

Of course most of the accounts about the Red Disaster are nade by Cat the catgirl Arma... so they are not 100% reliable.

And Cat is a perfectly funtional insane person, so is hard to tell how much is insanity and how much she is fucking with you.

But then just give her chocolate every day and you got a friend for life.

"She doesn't have a confident answer for her motives," you whisper to nowhere in particular,
"and from the thing with the olive seed seems to say she has the skills to put up a fight
against Trash so I'm not too confident in Trash's ability to 'deal with her' in the situations
would need dealing with the most."

The static twitches. "Scratch her. We've got the whole world to deal with besides that girl's
insanity, and we don't even know what she's going after. We've got to fix problems, not
make more."

"If she does make the cut, however, it will be strictly as support staff, repairs, and maybe
piloting. No missions, no weapons."

"Don't you think that's besides the point if you are letting a freak aboard the ship, anyway
She'll have weapons at hand, whether she uses them on missions or not. Just don't get her
there, I don't care how much of a 'genius' she is if she's a lunatic."

"Clearly Trash has some history with her, and I get the feeling she feels at least a little bit
responsible for how she is."

"Ask her." The static flickers. "Pretty please, leave some sense aboard the ship."

You walk up to the arguing hornmothers, one of which is almost shoving a card into the face of
the other. As you kneel next to them, they forget their squabble for just one blissful
moment.

"She didn't mean to step on your game. Sorry! Do you want cookies? I've got some over there!
Those come with chocolate chips!"

They look at each other, suddenly without the need to yell.

"Ok."

"Ok!" says the other, both nodding.

You walk around them, and then around one of the trees as you walk across the big room.
Glacing at your right, you recall that time you hid from the Judge behind the bookshelf. It
seems they were setting up the stage to frame Captain.

You take a while longer than you though to reach Vaal, who's standing next to the White
Walker. They both turn as you walk near.

"Seems we are in for some fun." Vaal says, yet without the thrill that usually comes with 'fun'.
"If what my dear dark sun here is true, then there's no way in hell they could win Captain's
trial; they are just scrambling for time."

"How long until the trial starts?" You ask, suddenly in a low tone.

"Four days," Vaal states, in all seriousness. "They won't get the chance to hit later. Time to
get worried."

"Damn straight." adds the White Walker.

You briefly debate as to whether to gain distance from the man to keep your neck from bending,
or to stay right where you are to avoid misundarstandings. Of course, you stay. "White
Walker, is there anywhere around here we could safely do the combat testing? We don't
want to draw any unwanted attention."

The black broccoli frowns his face entirely. It's kinda funny.

"Dem niggas got they whole block locked tiiiiiight, man. Ain't no-one around. If yo little
techno white boys wanna fuck each oda up just go somewhere empty round here."

"I think our cute little Trashy thing is figuring it out by now," Vaal adds. "It's just a matter of
time."

>>986203

" Vaal if you think Trash is that hot just tell her."

File: WhiteWalker.jpg (6 KB, 129x200)

6 KB JPG

>>986203
"Four days huh... What's the plan then? Difos can't do anything?"

>>986286
Vaal and Trash are together anon. Though it would be kinda cute to see her go all tsuntsun at being called cute.

White walker still looks exactly like Garterbelt in my mind.

>>986318
Is called teasing.

>>984891
Armas are always naked, though; there's just no magic to look at. Their bodies have been completely stripped for organs and their brains and nervous systems are used as templates. Not even their memories remain, and most wonder if anything is left at all.

That being said, they can quickly spawn a sort of soft silk from underneath their mechanical parts, which cover their whole body a few times over up until the neck. That kinda counts as clothes, I guess.

>>986092
While Armas can eat, it's considered very impolite from them to do so. They don't need it; it's pure gluttony!

>>986286
She pretty much rapes her on a daily basis D: calling her hot is a little bit besides the point. As far as Roomba knows, Trash wanted to make the Support Center to catch a break from her.

>>986318
I wonder if drawing the characters would be counter-productive by now. D:

Also writan

>>986355
>Trash wanted to make the Support Center to catch a break from her.
We're helping!

>>986318

"For days..." you say, and the words linger. "What's the plan then? Difos can't do
anything?"

"Clearly," Vaal says, gesturing an open palm towards the everything, "this is more than
"anything". Can't blame our kind Judge for not doing much more than this, she pretty much
sealed the thing and got guards behind every blade of grass."

The static flickers. "We should leave as soon as possible. Don't rush the interviews, but don't
wait for a massacre. Things with the himehorns will keep getting worst and worst, and if we
stay here to defend our time will be /very/ more limited. Up to you, Faction Leader Roomba."

>>986389
"Clearly this is something, but I feel like the trees are just one big apology to the horns for taking their guardian from them. Why Captain anyways? Was she really the only horn strong enough to keep them safe? I don't get their strategy with this at all. Are they trying to terrorize the horns into submission? Not to sound mean but that's kind of like keeping a pet Hand to scare off pigeons, it's just plain over kill. Likewise what's Difos'es reason to care about the horns? Why risk opposing the other judge... judges? for them? What's their next move after Captain, going after the rest of the horns? Attacking the Greathorn? Propaganda to try to get civilians to do their dirty work for them? Deportation? I wish I knew any of these people more closely, if I did I might have a better idea about the real reason behind this all... Oh, and what you said has been the plan since this whole mess started Nielly"

After my mountain of questions maybe we could interview White Walker, we can waive the first aid test as he's got healing powers for that. Then why not have a 4 player poker game between Vaal, Moody, White Walker to wrap up those 4 interviews?

>>986355

Cat is supposed to wear a uniform with the name of the company that made her as a form of adventising, in fact her silk clothes can only produce said uniform. She also still has enough parts left to count as a catgirl, she is a non standar model made from an already enlanced person but yes she has barbie doll anatomy even if she is supposed to be a prototype for a next generation model.

Cat is rude and thinks a lot like a cat, also is chocolate.

Cat is what an Arma could be if they went twenty times over the budget(about 15 if you don't count the time she was a super cat girl soldier)

Cat was left a diary and educational videos by the person she used to be before she became Cat.

Cat was imprinted with a cat like personality as a last fuck you to the company that forced her to become an Arma just because the ship she used to be Captain off in her pre Arma days blew up due to Mad Science.

The person who Cat used to be burned all her favors to screw the company over.

Technically speaking CAT is a prototype made to look more atractive as a way to sell stuff hence the barbie doll anatomy when she is "naked". She is actually barely more powerful than a regular Arma at 15/20 times more the cost.

Had things gone as the company planed Cat would have been the company model. Basically she was only supposed to cost five times more and they were going to recover the money by making her the first Arma Idol so dumb Armas would buy stuff from the company, little girls bought her toys and so on.

Things went just as planned, right?

You nod. It IS kind of a stronghold, after all. "Clearly this is something, but I feel like the trees are just one big apology to the horns fro taking their guardian from them." You say, looking at the micro-forest.

"Either that or they are riddled with explosives," Vaal says, then your wide open eyes slightly startle her. "Don't worry, Difos's soldiers can be fully trusted. They've got their story." She looks around, as well. "It's the common folks we should be wary about, even the ones helping us. Some people value food less than honor, others not so much. Trust me, I know a lot about being betrayed."

"Dem trees be like, 'yo nigga we took dem cap'n but have here broccoli, fuck man that's some tight ass broccoli aint dat sum shit."

Vaal is looking at him and shrugs."Must be a kind gesture from Difos, to let the himes know somebody cares."

"Why Captain anyways?" You ask as you glance at Moody playing cards with the bandana hornmother. She's sorely losing, the hornmother cheering as she smashes the cards against the grass. "Was she really the only horn strong enough to keep them safe?"

"Nigga," Walker's voice changes from normal to woman-yelling-to-a-spider, he leans over you. "you dissin nigga?!"

"Patient. She doesn't know a lot of things, but her heart is where we need it." Vaal pats your
head, looking at you a tad bit more than tenderly. "I don't recall anyone else wasting
everything to go down there and help."

"Dem Cap'n ain't nothing to fuck with." White Walker says, his voice back to normal. "NOTHING TO FUCK WIIIIIITH!" he suddenly yells, his voice acute as a cat and his face exorbitant. Blinking and frozen, you wait until it goes back to normal. "Cap be strong and dis guys ain' shit. She a real negro."

Vaal gives him a sharp glance, then turns to you. "Just assume Captain could raze this ship alone. I'm sure our boy here can't wait to talk you about the Maeorus."

"Still, I don't get this strategy at all..." You get dragged down again, yet this time gently and
y your hand. Soon, you three are sitting next to a tree as Vaal scours your basket. "Are they
trying to terrorize the horns into submission? Not to sound mean but that's kind of like
keeping a pet Hand to scare off pigeons, it's plain over kill."

"WHAT", barks the White Walker, his face perfectly still.

Vaal visibly ponders, as she dismembers a chocolate chip cookie and eats the chips one
by one. "They way I see it, they are trying to take advantage of White's threat to take them
all out at once, before the hype fades. Himehorns eat, well everyone eats of course,
but those other races are not the ones in jeopardy right now. I think that, if they were,
they'd wipe each other out one by one. All it takes is to assume that other race is inferior,
and therefore a waste of food."

"Who the fuck keeps a pet Hand." White Walker pauses as if time stopped for a while.
"You crazy?!"

"To be fair, the Big Brothers do." Vaal gives him a cookie.

"Ya but dem niggas be crazy."

(Cont!)

"Likewise, what's Difos'es reason to care about the horns?" You ask as Moody argues with the
hornmother almost right next to you.

"As far as I know, she has a strong sense of humanity. Other than that?" Vaal leans against
the tree, stretching and moaning. Once she stops, her long blonde hair looks frizzy and her
sly eyes seem messy. "Mi Abass. Our good doctor doesn't want anyone dying before she
plays her part, but she's not willing to risk it being monopolized like the Link." You tilt your
head, she blinks at you. "Don't worry, White Walker knew already."

"Cap'n Dr be buddies."

"Ado made a few moves to get Captain here, and Difos is looking after her and the himmies
on Mi Abass'es request. A pretty solid reason, if you ask me."

You hmm, suddenly wishing you had somewhere to lean on as well. "Why risk
opposing the other judge... judges?"

"Judges." Vaal nods. "Difos, Zerthe, Rikua, and Valicant. After the chasm, a lot of Judges
ended up here. Difos was the first one around, but the others outnumber her. Think of Judges
as, hmm, people in very sweet anima armor, (which is like having Armas wrapped around
your body, tied with ropes) that even I would have a hard time to kill. As for why the
antagonization, well, Mi Abass should be reason enough. I think you'll get to meet her,
someday."

You nod, then nod. "What's their next move after Captain, going after the rest of the horns?
Attacking the Greathorn? Propaganda to try to get civilians to do their dirty work for them?
Deportation?"

"Yes, which is why we are here, I'm not sure since White has hostages, the propaganda has
been done for years, and I think "exodus" would be appropriate, if not "massacre"."

Just as you glance around, the hornmother grabs Moody by the beak and takes it off
Lumina. The girl looks around, confused, then her cute features twisting a bit as she carefully
leans forward to get her mask back. Yet the hornmother hides it behind it. Lumina looks at
her, whimpers with her mouth closed then grabs her cards and keeps on playing.

"Dem niggas better find a way to kill dem Capn if they fuck with the horns." White Walker
states, his voice casual. You realize he can change the tone of his voice to outstanding
degrees. "Cuz dem Capn'll turn DEM into food!"

"I wish I knew any of these people more closely." You start, still looking at Lumina
almost silently playing with the hornmother, as a smallhorns runs right behind you. "If I did I
might have a better idea about the real reason behind this all..."

"Well, these people don't want you to get to know them," Vaal says, smiling fully. "They
know they are wrong, and they don't want you to tell them. I know you'd do a great job If you
had the chance. If they knew who they are hurting, I'm dead sure they'd want to save you."

You give Vaal a quick, warm smile, then glance again at the card game. Instead of playing,
Lumina and the hornmother are actively speaking, and to your surprise, both seem to
be enjoying it.

(Cont!)

Not wanting to screw the moment, given Lumina's pitch black past, you opted to do the
interview right here and now. The rest of the tests can wait, and you've even got Moody's
mechanics test at hand.

You look at the White Walker straight in the eyes.

"In this interview, I'm going to ask some rather tough questions that might bring up bad
memories for you. Out of anyone I will treat you guys with the greatest kindness and sympathy
possible but to be blunt this job takes lives. It breaks people. Kindness takes strength, an
inhuman amount at times. I need to know these things so I don't put you into situations you
can't handle. If you need a moment, some tissue, a hug, anything I can reasonably do just
ask OK? Actually don't even bother asking about a hug ok?" White Walker raises a big
eyebrow. "So with that out of the way
let's begin:"

"You walk into your apartment, Leateli is sitting down to a cup of tea with a side of armed
hostage-taking. What do you do?"

“Aw HELL NO, man, ain’t got NO fuel to spend on bitches! Am out!” His voice changes
completely at every turn. Sometimes it starts grave and goes acute, sometimes the other
way around or goes for other tones in between. That voice… how can it be so flexible??

Yet, you thrive. "A stubborn horn mother is on the radio insisting she can drive the ship just
fine... right after you tell her how to get it out of reverse. It hasn't crashed yet, but the odds
aren't good. What do you do?"

“I tell dem “damn bitch, you’s be going back, gotta move ahead towards the future with a
smile”.”

"A ship calls in requesting some Anima to fuel their ship after forgetting to activate hover
mode over night. What do you do?"

“Niggas be silly. Give em some of dem anima and fuck off yo, this is stupid.”

"What is the biggest problem you've had to face and how have you overcome it?"

“Me and dem Cap’n rolled over one BIG BIG Anything at the Maeorus. We’s legend now, so
MAN, why dem not give a fuck about me?!”

"What is less stressful for you: working on your own or having someone work with you?"

“Dem niggas be needed.”

"What approach do you prefer to problem solving: the tried and true approach you know,
or trying new ideas and adjusting them as you go?"

“I’m all about dat rhythm y’know, make new stuff, make new bridges, man shit is tight if you
learn it well.”

"What would you rather have to deal with (non-violently): A hornmother's tantrum or a radar
malfunction?"

“Dem little shits be cute.”

"What are your motivations for joining me, Money? Fame? Boredom? Altruism? or
perhaps something else entirely?"

White Walker puffs his chest. “Gotta fight de good fight, little white boy. Betta have the dark
ahead instead of behind.”

“Do you mean yourself?” Vaal asks.

“Man das racist. Wait.” White Walker pauses, then his big lips gape. “Oh nononon, de White
Walka ain’t no fucking NO bitches.”

(Cont!)

"At what point does making money outweigh having a meaningful job for you? Assuming you
have a roof over your head at least."

“Fuck bitches, and fuck money.”

"Have you experienced someone dying? Can you recover from it relatively quickly? Can you
handle someone who is dying with compassion?" You regret not bringing the
plushie.

“Aye. Maeorus was some tight shit all right. Niggas be dyin left and right, dem core went all
crazy so everyone was gonna die from the very start.” He pauses, then whistles. “Dem Cap’n
had to convince a lot of people that we all gonna be dead, so we take the Anything with
us on the way out. We’s the only survivors.”

“The Maeorus was half as big as the Second. A lot of people died back then.” Vaal clarifies.
“Captain pretty much saved the world. Sadly, that’s not saving her now…”

“Dem Cap had to do some deep dark shit man, like kill sum babies and shit. But dwas all for da
greate good, dem babies were fucked anyway yknow what Im sayin.”

You grimace. Hard. Yet, you press on. "What is your greatest strength, what is your greatest
weakness?"

“Good at that good CG and I can die.”

“Chirurgical Gravity.” Vaal clarifies, even if you already knew that. “Everyone can manipulate
and spawn EKE fields with some practice, but CG users can manipulate split the flow of
gravity inside. Think of it like having two, three, or even hundreds of gravity's going from all
directions and varying strengths, all in the same place.”

"Would you rather be respected or well liked?"

“Dem White Walka is both. Bitch.”

“Hey, respect the toaster!” Vaal blurts out, yet calmly.

“De White Walka says “Bitch” to the galaxy, biotch!”

Vaal pouts. “Was that to the galaxy?”

“Aye.” Yet his voice seems off. You hear a very faint giggle.

"What's your favorite dessert?"

“De fuck be in this cookies, nigga I’m tripping!”

"Do you know if there are any kind people you don't get along with easily?"

“Bitches.”

"Fill in the blanks: violence is blank, kindness is blank, fame is blank, money is blank"

“Dem violence be like man fuck you, kindness be the good fight, fame be Cap’n, money be
man just gimme food.”

(Cont!)

"Someone says to you that this is all pointless because everyone will starve eventually and
humanity will be destroyed, how do you respond?"

“Aight, fuck you then.”

"Are you OK with hugs and similar contact?"

“NO bitches.”

“Are you OK with hugs from big, sweating macho guys?” Vaal interjects, softly.

White Walkers thinks this over.

“If dey be fighting the good fight.” He nods.

"How are your people skills? Can you bluff your way out of a bad situation? Can you calm
somebody who is panicking or angry? Can you tell when a fight is likely to break out? Can you
spot when someone is trying to con you? Can you bargain for a good deal?"

“Bitch, ain’t got the room fo all that. This one dem memory test’s sumthing?”

“Maybe?” Vaal smirks at him, the White Walker points his sunglasses at her.

Yet after some pause, he resumes. “People skill be good, can dunk a motherfucker a
second, dem bluffing be fine too, de White Walka gonna show you it’s all right, sometimes
de White Walka gets dunked early cuz people be fags, dem White Walka ain’t great with dat
money and the White Walka ain’t great with dem trades either.” His big lips pout. “Don’t rip
off dem Walka yo, he mean good ok please?”

Vaal’s cheek are puffed, yet she pulls it together after looking away for a while.

"How are your emergency skills? Can you bandage a wound and splint a broken limb?
Does the sight of blood make you feel faint? Can you do basic ship repairs?"

He straightens up. “De White Walka be the best pal fo yo body, yo best fucking believe it
aw YEAH NIGGA!”

“You make it too easy.” Vaal shakes her head.

“Also fuck ships man, dey aint livin.”

"Do you have any piloting skills? If so what kinds of ships?"

“Got one of dem hovercrafts, all customed up, only thing the White Walka gets its money on
besides carrots n shit.”

"How are your combat skills? What kinds of opponents would you feel confident fighting?
What kind of opponents are you poorly matched against?"

He scratches his head. “Well dem Cap’n dunked me all right back then, she an LF. Pilots
ain't shit since CG goes through their EKE and suit thing, LFs be too fast, an Managers just
ain’t SHIT.”

Vaal nods and nods, in perfect silence.

“No Hands, no Anythings, no Theys, man fuck that shit who the FUCK can kill those.”

"Do you have any other unique skills you haven't been asked about yet? What skill would
you say that you are best with?

“De White Walka be a good cook and singer. AaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAwwwwWW
yyyYEEEAAAAHH bbbBBBOOOOOyyyYYYYYYYY!!”

(Cont!)

"Show me what you can do, impress me."

“Eh,” he looks around for a while. “Dunno what to use CG on, man fuck.”

Vaal grabs one of her fingers and CRAAACK completely bends it backwards.
Both you and the White Walker stare at it with your mouths wide open, yet Vaal is just holding
back a grimace.

“Hmm, I changed my mind.” She cracks it back again, then one of her floating balls manifests
and spawns a RIGI. She takes off her robe and stays in a tight black top-tank, then slowly lifts
her arm until the RIGI sinks into the back of her arm. When she takes it down, you flinch at the
long, bloody wound. It seems deep.

“Alright White Walker, now get to work.” She smiles, behind her arm.

“You’ve cut your own arm with a RIGI.” White Walker states, with a deep jazz voice. “YOU
CRAZYYYYYYYYYY?” yet his voice goes shrill at once.

“Do it!”

“MAAN” He gets his hand near the bleeding arm, then a small transparent bubble of a faint
blue spawns all around and across Vaal’s arm. As you stare at the process, you hear slight
sounds like faint wind shrieks as dots of deep blue spawn and fade all around the circle.

And before you realize Vaal’s wound is but a faint black line.

“See? That’s how it works.” The blonde smiles widely at you. “It was very important for you to
see it! Keep in mind, though, if my bone was broken there was little the White Walker could
have done to fix it. Chirurgical Gravity relies heavily on cauterization, but does so at a micro
level that puts veins back together without actually clogging the little things.”

“You some crazy ass bitch.” The White Walker shudders.

“Was that to the universe?” Vaal winks at him.

“Hell fucking no.”

You stop and swallow the whole thing at your own pace.

“What would your motto be?”

“No bitches.”

“If you could have a room for you aboard the ship, what would it have?”

“Dem White Walka wants a garden.”

“Something less greedy?” Vaal adds.

“Dem White Walka wants to feel the wind.”

You realize you forgot to ask this to Moody. Hmm… “What makes you happy?”

“Fightin da good fight. Aint no shit about it.”

Hmm, ok! Time for Roomba question?

>>987575
"Oh, how do you feel about Nitro-liches?"

I think that's it. Hmm, wait:

"Wait... so if Captain could sink this whole ship herself why do they think that she'd go along with their rigged trial? If she's known for taking down something like that Maeorus they can't not know what kind of power she has. They must have some kind of plan besides 'hope she goes quietly' right?"

>>987769
Yet, not much comes to mind. "Oh, how do you feel about Nitro-liches?"

"Dem ugly ass motherfuckers?"

You hesitate, then nod.

"We got onethose when we Maeorus. Brutal ass motherfucker. Scary. Full-bussiness. Damn
nigga the fuck am still livin?"

"You fought against one?" Vaal blinks. "Must have been a butchery."

"Daaaaaaaaaaaamn straight." Yet he closes his mouth, and against all odds it stays shut.

"Wait... so if Captain could sink this whole ship herself why do they think that she'd go along
with their rigged trial?"

"She won't. The trial is bound to fail, sweetie. What worries is the lapse between..."

"If she's known for taking down something like that Maeorus they can't not know what kind of
power she has." You squint your eyes, "hmming" firmly. "They must have some kind of
plan besides 'hope she goes quietly', right?"

"I'm not sure If Captain is they kind to take revenge. Walker?"

"Nah." He deflates a bit. "De Capn be good. She thinks em stupid. Not bad. Dont think they
know that. Must have a plan or somethin. We got contacts to, they stir up shit and Capn
breaks the bars. Really dunno what the fuck dey planning, but Capn wants to go by the
book and have everyone livin togueter in peace n shit."

The static flickers. "They must be planning a hit and run, a brutally fast one at that. Can't
believe she agreed to go to jail and left all her eggs alone to be squashed, she must be as
stupid as she's strong. Captain could just have stood her ground. This place is turning into a
madhouse, we have to go."

"That has been the plan since this whole mess started, Nielly." You shrug to particulary
nowhere.

"Either they are all mad or there's a lot of jazz going behind the scenes." Nielly adds. "Fuck,
we can't trust anyone here."

"Vaal, where's Trash?" you ask the blonde.

She instantly spawns her cellphone, then dials at absurd speeds.

"Hey, we were wondering what you've been doing with that cute little butt of yours." Vaal
nods. "Ok, hurry!" She hangs up. "Anytime now, she's got us a whole empty bar."

>>987898
>The empty bar is then crashed by who Arma who are wrestling.

"SUBSONIC PILEDRIVER!"

>>987898
Have we had White Walker do the mechanical aptitude test yet? Otherwise we could try getting in a few rounds of poker before Trash gets back. Otherwise I guess we'll move on to the combat trials for Moody and White Walker.

>>988149
We already had card games, Romba is forbidden to play because Fakes are bullshit.

But we could make him do a memory game or something.

>>988322
A memory game doesn't test bluffing skill though. The point isn't for them to win, it's to see how well they can do against a nearly perfect opponent. It's the Kobayashi-Maru scenario of bullshitting.

You hand Moody's test to the White Walker. He starts reading out loud until he simply shoves it
back to your chest, not gently but not hard either.

"I kno de names of bones n all dat shit, ships be no different. They got bones too. Right now,
lady, dis fine ass playa knows jack-shit though."

---------------

You set everyone in a circle around Vaal's long black coat, used like a picnic blanket. The
blonde is at your right, Walker is in front of you across the coat, and Lumina is at your left. The
hornmother is still keeping her mask from her. Which the girl is look at, longing.

You deal.

Over the next few minutes, more than a few interesting details came to light. First, the
hornmother was helping Lumina cheat by walking around and looking at cards. Second,
the White Walker is bad at this, third round he goes all in and loses everything to Vaal. And
third, the blonde loves your cookies but tries hard not to eat more.

Mid game, Trash arrives. It took her at least half an hour to do so.

"Who's winning?" she asks, to which you give an angelic grin. "Guessed as much. Bad news,
though, beating the ever-loving fuck out of each other is gonna have to wait." She blinks
and her eyes widen a bit. "What's going on? Where's Moody, Lumina?"

"He has, um, been... kidnapped." Her words came out like a loud, forced whisper. She nods
innocently, and points at the hornmother. Without the echo from the mask, her voice is
flat yet soft.

"Oh, I see." She hmms; then squats next to you. "Toasty, I've got us a safe spot to do the
interviews in. It's in this same block."

Lumina gently leaves her cards over the coat. "Should I..."

"If you want to stay, it's gonna get ugly." Trash states, smiling bitterly. "Very fucking ugly."

"It's always ugly." She replies, softly. "I stay."

Trash nods, then turns to you. "¨Plans?"

"Leave Vaal here to murder everyone, go there, do interviews, wait until shit hits the fan, do
more interviews, then leave in one piece." The static grants you it's insight. "The only reason
we are helping the himehorns is because that Vaal is out of their league, so let her and the
templar handle this on their own."

>>988503
"Vaal is our calibration system though Nielly, with everything she has I get the feeling she could stand her ground against a ship's attacks. She'll let us see the full potential of everyone.

Trash, would you be willing to stick around to keep an eye on things while we run through the interviews and combat tests in that bar? I'll send White Walker back after his test too. I'd like to get through as many interviews today as I can. We'll probably have to get the more busy people tomorrow though. The day after that is the longest I think we could wait for anyone though. If you gave me their numbers would it be ok for me to call them over to the bar you setup for us?

Also we should go buy more food for the ship tomorrow or maybe even tonight if we can. I bet prices are up with all of this happening, and we're not likely to see much cheaper elsewhere."

>>988879
"Vaal is our calibration system, though, Nielly, with everything she has I get the feeling she
could stand her ground against a ship's attacks."

"And let her girlfriend be the steak to their omelette, good one Roomba. Templar,
tempered and all, Trash is not the beast Vaal seems to be."

You ignore her. "Trash, would you be willing to stick around to keep an eye on things while we
run though the interviews and combat tests in that bar?"

"Bad idea." The blonde shakes the half ponytail from side to side. "That's why I said the rumble
will have to wait; that bar won't do. You won't be missing much, Toasty, Lumina is a sniper
and the White Walker fights using CG, which is either straight up lethal or completely useless
against EKE's." She scratches her hair. "Just hang on with that till I up my game a bit, I'll get
ya something big."

"I'd like to get through as many interviews today as I can. We'll probably have to get the
more busy people tomorrow though. The day after that is the longest I think we could wait for
anyone though."

"I disagree." This time it's Vaal who does. "Once Captain is back, there won't be rush. At
least, not this kind of rush. We just have to weather this storm, for the little horns."

You nod, then turn to Trash. "If you gave me their numbers would it be ok for me to call them
over to the bar you setup for us?"

"How else are you gonna do it?" Her face seems neutral as she hands you her cellphone.
"Copy their numbers."

"Who's 'Smelly'?" you ask.

"Bravado. Never tell him."

"Who's 'OHGODPLEASENO'?"

"Mina."

"Oh. And "owesme400? It's a bit confusing." you get a hand behind your head.

"Ado." Trash sighs. "Gimme that, I'll do it myself."

"Also", you say as she takes both yours and her cellphone, "we should go buy more food for
the ship tomorrow or maybe even tonight if we can. I bet prices are up with all of this
happening, and-"

"Nigga you best have kevlar." It's the White Walker, in a very deep jazz&fusion voice.

"Roomba," Vaal says, "we are marked. That can wait, even if prices shot up a bit. Don't
worry."

It seems everyone disagrees with you. Except for those two, Lumina and the hornmother
seem to be disagreeing among themselves. Oh well, disagreeing can be nice sometimes...

>>988994
Nod. "All good points. Things like this are why I need friends around. Also, who's Mina and why are they so scary Trash?"

Well looks like we'll have to weather out the storm here until we can do more interviews. Technically I could do the questioning over the phone but it'd rather not miss out on any body language cue they might give.

I wonder how that Musclehorn is doing? It seems like their mean cyber-horn companion isn't around. Did they get separated? Or is cyber-horn just off partying with the other hornmothers?

"All good points." You smile warmly and nod heavy. "Things like this are why I need friends
around."

"Here for you!" Vaal raises a hand.

"Idem." It took a kick in the shin, but Trash's hand is up.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYyyyyyyyAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAaaa!!" Guess the White Walker too.

Lumina remains silent, looking from near the basket as her hand hovers over the cookies
until the hornmother grabs it and lifts it as well. You laugh cheerfully, punching the sky.

"This is the gayest shit." Trash states, before another kick in the shin.

Your smile fades slowly, as reality sets back in. "Also, who's Mina and why are they so scary
Trash?"

"...Ado's big sis." Her voice seems forced. "You know that feeling when you have a really great
idea, and you get all excited about doing it, but you never do it because you are lazy and then
you are doing shit and remember about it? That kind of recall? That kind of, like, guilt?"

"Kinda?" You tilt your head.

"Maybe?" Vaal tilts her head, to the other side.

"Mina is that feeling incarnate." Trash states, nodding slowly. "Now let me worry about
something different. Please."

-------------------------------------------------------

Walking around on your own (if Nielly doesn't count) you happen upon the lone musclehorn
again, still alone in a corner. Instead of bored, it seems steady, and the haremhorn is nowhere
to be seen.

You walk up to it. Maybe if it wasn't because of all the disaster around, they would be making a
fuzz about meeting the first musclehorn in, if you well recall, at least six or ten years. Yet
there it is. Alone.

"Hi!" You wave at it from a close distance, giving that usual grin you do with your eyes
closed. It looks at you, then it fumbles in... a bag? Oh, so.... yeah, that's what it takes out.
You both stare at the haremhorn as it boots up, once it does it moves it's head and small limbs
from side to side, as if testing them out.

Finally, it's small eyes get fixed on you. "And what do YOU want?"

>>989237
...If I had any reason to believe the muscle-horn would answer any of my questions I would just talk to it.

Stare at the thing.
Quirk an eye brow.
Open our moth to speak, shut it tightly.
Deep breath.
"I think that's everything I needed to know"

Head back to Vaal and the others and relax a bit I guess. Maybe chat about what RIGI does, like can it start a fire? Is there any way it could malfunction? And if they complain about not giving cyberhorn a fair shot just ask them if being rude to someone who's offering you a job, a job working for that very person they where rude to, is a sign of good judgement and self control.

You sigh. Mentally. /Very/ mentally.

You stare at the small haremhorn.
Quirk an eyebrow.
Open your mouth to speak, then shut it tightly.
Take a deep, false breath.
And you say: "I think that's everything I needed to know."

The little mockery of a haremhorn seems fixated on you.

"Glad you got your intel. Now shuuu!" It's mouth never moves as it waves it's arm up and
down.

You oblige.

---------------------------8F-----------------------------

By now, most of the smallhorns are sleeping and the hornmothers are slowly going back to
the caves, lured by haremhorns with food. The civil-horns were given tents which most are still
setting up, while some are content with napping in their big comfy bags under the
trees. The white lights, however, still bathe the false cave. As for your team, all of you are
sitting under the same tree, the food and crums still resting over Vaal's black coat, as the
hornmother snores behind it.

"They slice everything," Vaal states, as you look at your open hand. "If you move your RIGI
slowly against a metal door, it will slowly slice through it. You really can get creative with
them!"

"Could a RIGI start a fire?" you ask.

"Hmm, I don't see how, sweetie. Don't think so."

"Those slice though EKE's out of size and force." Trash adds up, her knee near your face
as she squats. "As EKE's get colder, they give the RIGI less room to go though. So you need
more force then."

"Is there any way it could malfunction?"

"Glad to have you asking a shitton." Trash yawns as she nods. "Yes. If the RIGI fails to
break something, it breaks it instead."

Vaal smirks. "Was that sarcasm my radars picked up?"

"Fuck If I know."

You glance at your left. Lumina is still quiet; it seems the hornmother didn't give her mask
back.

"So who's next?" You hear across the static, as mostly everyone just dozzes off slightly. "This is
no time to be lazy, get someone else here."

"Eh, I think I heard that." Trash takes the headset from behind your horns, then wears it.
You watch intently as her face is twisted slightly. "Atma, Bravado, H&M, and I'm not sure
about the rest. Don't think anyone else has the balls to come here like this." She looks at you.
"Could start with H&M. Thing is already here, and its gonna stay."

"I think Id rather not." You state, as this time it's Vaal that lets out a wild yawn before resting her
arm around Trash's neck. "Is being rude to someone who's offering a job, a job working
under the very person they were rude to, a sign of good judgement and self control?"

"Fuck If I know," Trash yawns, then Vaal gets a finger inside her mouth. The templar turns her
eyes at her; the older blonde is grinning. "Asg longg asg youg hagheg wgwere to grabg
themg byg theg ballsg, itg stillg worksg." Suddenly she bites Vaal's finger, who yelps
and takes it out. "Trust me, I'd know. The thing if it's worth the money." The templar rests her back against the tree, and Vaal rests her head on her shoulder. "One way to find out, Toasty."

>>989604
"The problem is that it seems it was built that way, and it's not likely to change. It has no reason to be a jerk except to shove around it's muscle-horn effectively and it has no reason to change that behavior around anyone else... as far as I can see. I can work around almost any problem a person might have, but a Fake is going to be true to it's nature unless it's willing to go through a lot of mental gymnastics. Getting it to go along and follow orders is going to be like trying to get me to abuse someone, but worse because I'm actually powerful enough to do that kind of double thinking. It doesn't have any balls to grab it by. Ultimately it seems to be a half hour project of a Sansui as a stop gap measure to get that muscle-horn under some kind of control.

Of course I could be entirely wrong and someone put a highly capable Fake AI in that shoddy of a shell, squeezed in beside a pulse radar, in order to bring civility to the company of a kind of horn used to being lead around by the ear. Maybe she's just slow to warm up to people...

Yes, that was sarcasm. Just because I choose not to use it often doesn't mean I can't."

You clearly, efficiently pout. "The problem is that it seems it was built that way, and it's not
likely to change. It has no reason to be a jerk except to shove around it's muscle-horn
effectively and it has no reason to change that behavior around anyone else... as far as I can
see. I can work... around..."

Suddenly, it's quiet.

Very quiet. You start to miss the yawns, then you think: when did it get so late?

Trash is sleeping and Vaal is clearly drooling over her shoulder. Lumina is sitting very, very
quietly next to them, her hair hiding her tilted head. And the White Walker's mouth is so wide
open, you wonder if he's actually a snake hiding in a Fake body.

You turn around, and the hornmothers are sleeping the haremhorns are sleeping,
everyone is sleeping at the same time.

You walk up to Vaal.

"Vaal?" you shake her, everytime a bit stronger. "Vaal?!" It's still a whisper, and the blonde is
still like a ragdoll.

You hear a ring, then another. Kneeling, you fumble through Trash's yellow hoodie until you
find the cellphone. It has a new message, it's from "Grumpy&Slave".

It says: "THEY ARE HERE"

And the white lights go dark.

>>990098
Ok, So they gassed the place. We're not strong enough to carry Vaal or anyone else out of the building to get them fresh air. "Grumpy" is probably the only other person in the building who isn't affected. We need someone from the outside who can help us...

Carefully lay down, shield the screens back light as best we can and search the contact list for a number that sounds like Atma (try typing in S for Skullfucker, 7-4 on an old school flip phone) and send a text to her "NEED HLP NOW ATK @ CAPTAINS CAVE. BEWARE SLP GAS. DATA BKUP IN BHL DOLL" and if we can do it before we start hearing people move send the same (forwarding?) to Preah and !’%&. Whisper to Nielly: "They're here, used sleep gas, texting help, stay quiet"

Then lay there in a way that would let us backhand someone with our RIGI ring if they come to attack us, no eyes lights on but see what we can manage to see with passive illumination. We might just get scrapped here, here's hoping they don't notice I'm a fake and go for a head shot.

As the towering darkness falls on you, as even the snores of the hornmothers are dead, you
feel alone.

Very alone.

And yet, that's not technically true.

"Why is it so quiet now? Not that I complain." a voice reaches you across the static. "Toasty?"

You carefully lay down against the tree, shield the cellphone's screen as best as you can and
scramble through Trash's contact list. "They're here, used sleep gas," you whisper, as calmly
as you can, "texting help, stay quiet".

It doesn't take you long to find the "Skullfucker" adress, it even has a small skull at the left. Just
typing S did the trick. Your body as static as possible, the dance of your thumbs leaves the
following marks on the screen:

NEED HLP
NOW ATK
@ CAPTAINS CaVE.
BEWARE SLP GAS.
DATA BKUP
IN BHL DOLL

You manage to forward the message to Atma, Preah, and !'%&, labelled "Skullfucker",
"nogog", and "rapeface".

And after that, that's it.

You lay there, your eyes open yet not lit. Hoping the darkness brings no one about.

Because that's all you can do. That's what it means to lack power; that's why people pray.

You find yourself wishing it worked for them.

(Cont!)

Your eyes don't shine, but you are still a Fake. And it's so silent even their dim footsteps echo
across the room, uniforms with three green eyes for a face. They scour the cave. They
surround you from a vague distance.

You find one near. All of them work with a stretched arm, with a hand open forward, and
this one is no exception. It's a big hand, an odd hand; it has to be an AD.

The ground shakes and it's gone.

Your eyes widen. You rewind.

The soldier is walking and then it's gone, smashed against the floor with a blunt, echoing
smash. The rest you can spot, then go berserk in silence. And you feel the echo, you feel the
echo, you feel the echo.

One of them even screams.

(Cont!)

Soon they abandon all subtlety and make a go for the entrance, as their screams get shut one
by one. But from as they seek into the darkness of the corridor to the main door, the
darkness gives something back, and it's when their figures get faintly clear under the dark that
you wish you had your plushie.

Because they can't be anything other than Judges. Three of them.

Soon the last few soldiers run past them, but unlike them, they walk calmly across the room.

In silence.

Until a meteor falls in front of them and lifts a torrent of dust, the brutal trembling making you
realize that, under the grass and dirt, there's cold steel.

As it clears without rush, you gasp. Inside the black cloud, there's musclehorn and, over its
shoulder, the very small 'haremhorn'.

The judges wait in silence, like three ancient statues watching over an endless cascade.
Finally, the cloud is gone, and you realize the musclehorn is wearing a black, skin-tight suit
with some gadgets.

(Cont!)

>>990379

This is all just happening because you rejected Cyber-Horn!
You could have prevented this!

>>991210
If cyber-horn manages to save this... I _might_ reconsider. But in terms of bone crushing strength I could take Preah, or for sheer lethality I have Vaal, and they're both nice too. They're going to have to show off something more interesting than just turning people into puddles here.

>>991304

If I may just say one thing...
Cyberhorn is a dick.
Like, you wouldn't even believe.
BUT.
At least we know t hey are a dick, and don't have any mental instabilities.
Sorta like Nielly.
Only worse in terms of being around other people.

While others could be considered ticking time bombs, the cyberhorn will always be predictable.
And who knows.
Maybe we CAN make a difference.

I could argue more, but I'd rather at least make an interview.
Just stand it, if we have to we can just send Nielly to tell them to do something.
Or... maybe Nielly should experience the Cyberhorn first hand.

"I'm attempting diplomacy." The haremhorn's sturdy words echo across the black void.

The musclehorn is illuminated by rows of soldiers aiming at her from behind the judges.
You can barely see the upper half of their armors thanks to the light that bounces back,
and it truly feels as if elder gods of odd morality were making silent judgment. Their bright of
their silver helmet, of sharp shape and no eyes, is all you can tell apart clearly.

"How about this." You zoom in. The haremhorn is pointing at them with her little arm. "You
leave now, then come for your corpses tomorrow. That way," she rumbles, "there will
be a lot less of them."

"Do we have time for this?" It's a voice you recognize. Zerthe.

"The Garden is sleeping." It's another strong, echoing voice; it seems female. You aren't sure
from where the voices are coming from. The Judges are still. "These horned ones are our
agents. We are being betrayed."

Zerthe chuckles. "Under who's command?"

"Rikua."

One of the judges takes a step forward. "I'll seize them. This is my fault." Still female,
strong, and booming, yet this time the voice is different.

"I hope you got your charms with you!" The musclehorn slowly gets in jumping position, as
the haremhorn's words linger in the dark.

As the Judge draws near, you feel something alien. The full body armor, though
monochromatic, is so detailed that it's mere presence feels like a message. A message you
don't understand until the musclehorn is gone with a black splash, as if an anvil from another
dimension fell over it, fast as light. As your eyes slowly tilt down, you realize only its
standing feet and forearms remain, floating over a puddle of black blood. A puddle in which
sinks the left half of the haremhorn.

Yet the Judge never moved. It turns towards the darkness behind it, and by following where
it faces, you notice the steel palm open like a claw in front of the stretched arm.

The Judges look at each other in stasis, as your eyes get clouded.

And it's Zerthe's voice. "Why do you think we are here for?"

(Cont!)

The Judge of the open palm walks past the first one, who's stare is fixed on it, up to the
haremhorn's remains. By now, you can clearly it was a Fake.

"Zerthe." The Judge stops. It's the first female voice, echoing across the darkness. "She's
coming."

Then the Judge turns abruptly, swinging a dense, dark purple cloak in it's back. "The EKE
zone stands, with or without betrayal. This can't be!"

"Yet it is." says the first voice. "So it can."

"It seems we won't know the reason, now." It's the second female voice, who you assume is
Rikua. "Dead keep their secrets well."

"Captain wouldn't have let us hold her. Better this way." It turns again in one swift motion,
then finally steps on the puddle of blood, over the haremhorn. "Well played." His words echo
bitterly. "You have won." Then he stomps on the what's left of the head.

Zerthe turns and gestures. "Out." He sighs as the darkness eats them. "We have a worm to
look after."

-----

It didn't take long until the silence went sacred again. By now all your face is wet, and you can
only stop the sobbings because you are Fake.

You turn to your side; White Walker's mouth is still mega open, and still Vaal rests blissfully
unaware over Trash's shoulder.

It's dark, and quiet. Peaceful, even.

>>992048

So...
Cyberhorn has to be... rebuild?
I... don't think I quite follow you right now.

>>992048
Get ourselves together as best we can while we wait to make sure they've left. Poor musclehorn ;_; It didn't deserve that, all it wanted was to lift heavy things for people and get huge!

Text the people we did last time "Situation seems clear for now, I'll be in touch later for another interview and some tests --Roomba<3"

Then try and crack open some doors and air the place out. Maybe check for vents and the source of the gas too as that could end up being a heath risk. We should probably cover up the remains of cyber and musclehorn so the other horns don't panic too much. Maybe check and see if any important bits of cyber-horn are left? memory segments, core, maybe even that pulse radar? Once everything is in place clean our hands and hug Vaal until she wakes up, and do the rest of our emotional processing there.

>>992179
The musclehorn got puddled itself and Cyberhorn got bisected:
> A puddle in which sinks the left half of the haremhorn.

Hugging your legs with all your little strength, you study the place over your knees to make
sure you are alone. The more you think about it, the harder you hug.

You let go after some time, then grab the cellphone with both trembling hands at once;
you fumble it. Turning off your emotions, you try the now complex process again.

Situation seems clear for now,
I'll be in touch later for another interview
and some tests
--Roomba <3

You glance at the crater after that last heart, then force yourself out of the floor. You walk to
the main door, which is sealed shut now, then walk under the looming darkness as you check
for ventilation ducts. Ado once spoke of a machine does what trees used to, you wonder
if that will help with the sleep gas.

Then you slide in the dark towards the crater, and just only then you trigger your feelings
back on.

The haremhorn is moving. The head is crushed, half it's mouth is aiming nowhere, half
its body is missing, and yet it's single arm is still moving.

"C-can..." You close your eyes shut; then open them in a grimace, "can you hear me?"

"...haaaaahahahahahaa!"

No doubt; that's the haremhorn's voice. You lean closer, slowly.

"So this is where kindness leads you! Iiiiiii knew it!! I told you so!"

The little arm moves back and forth, spasmodically.

"Is that you?", it says. "Fake haremhorn?"

You nod slowly, even if it's pointless.

"Musclehorn wanted to help. She wanted to save the Herd. She can't do it now." It lets out a
long chuckle, as if ten voices giggled at once. "Inside me. Green. Those idiots don't know
what they missed!"

You hesitate, then get your hand inside the Fake's small frame, sinking the bottom of your
white sleeve in the black pool of blood. Carefully, you take the green out; it's a small
device, a sturdy capsule.

"We couldn't sell, it in the end." It chuckles, again, its voice going static. "It even ended up
in your hands! It's like a joke. I hope it's a good joke."

You study the small device; it's soaked in blood, and it's making your hands wet.

"What is this?"

"Heimaker's pulsar radar. One of a kind. The only. The only one." The haremhorn pauses,
and for so long, you wonder if she'll ever speak again. "Hide it. Use it. Heimaker is dead. Don't
ever tell anyone about it, don't you dare to sell it to buy a better body, don't you dare ever tell
anyone about it, NEVER TALK ABOUT IT, NEVER SHOW IT NO ONE, KEEP IT A SECRET FROM EVERYONE, DON'T LET THEM GET IT, PROMISE ME
PROMISE ME
PROMISE ME
PROMISE ME!!!!!!!"

Her voice gets louder and louder, so strong you feel like being punished. You open your eyes.
You feel weak.

"I wasn't selfish... it's not fair if you are. Hide it from everyone," she repeats, "don't let your
musclehorns know. Not even your hornmothers. Don't let anyone know but you."

The arm is still, but it still twitches.

>>992401

Best character, forever be missed.
Why_didn't_you_stop_it.jpg


Just kidding though...
In the doing anything part.

... I never knew you horn, but I wish we could at least have had that interview.

>>992446

... at least we still have Nielly. Maybe she could make for a good partner in terms of conversation, right about now.

... so, would she too have heard about the radar?

>>992401
Promise her. And ask her and the musclehorn's names. So we can remember them and what they did for the herd.

And give her a hug.

>>992401
"I promise. I won't ever sell it or reveal it's secret... and I'm sorry things ended like this, and thank you."

If it still responds maybe ask it if it would want to be rebuilt if we have the chance, assuming the important bits aren't too badly damaged... Otherwise just hold her hand until she goes still.

>>992660
Horns don't have names though, and the muscle-horn had to have been an exile (escapee?) so they wouldn't have had nicknames like "daydreamer" or "grumpy" except between the two of them. They where a heard of two basically. If haremhorn disagrees then sure lets ask this too, dying sucks so we should do whatever we can.

>>992828
If not a name, then ask how she wants to be remembered.

"I promise." You conceal the despair in your voice with sweet toppings. "I won't ever sell it or
reveal it's secret... and I'm sorry things ended like this."

The pile of blood and scraps doesn't answer. You grab the twitching hand, then wait in
peaceful silence.

"I-I know you can do it," it says, suddenly, "I know I'm not a real haremhorn. But don't bring
me back. I'm thinking. Thinking hurts. I don't want to think. I want to go to where she's going.
I want to tell her I was right."

You smile, without reply. She's running on spare power since her Fake Core is totaled.
You wonder if she feels your hand.

Yet darkness just barely starts to feel still when you gasp at Captain right in front of you, staring
at the scraps and guts. She takes a sudden breath, her eyes struggling to stay open, as
you wonder when she got there.

"Sweet little one; you won't feel hungry anymore. Captain kneels in front of it.

Her hand goes over the scraps, then you witness a faint moment of CG and something
from inside the haremhorn is sucked into Captain's hand. She hands it over to you. It's
the memory core, in perfect shape. Gently, you take it from her hand.

"I was so excited to see a musclehorn," Captain says, "but it seems it was not the time.
Roomba." She turns to you, you look at her. "I'm lost. Were you me, what would you do?"

Her voice is broken, her eyes are elsewhere.

File: My Sadness Very Big.jpg (37 KB, 392x495)

37 KB JPG

>>993039
So Fake Haremhorn was a traitor, who betrayed her employers?

And what was that about the EKE zone standing?

>>993039
"You're not alone Captain. Who, What, and Why are all missing pieces in my picture of this. Who... well I encountered at least some of them here. What and Why are still the missing though. Sometimes you just have to do the best you can with what you have until something gives you the chance you need. You just have to keep on trying until you find that chance... or you die. Then at least you can say you tried until then end, just like they did..."

Cap isn't likely to take it but at least move a bit so she won't run into an arm or knee if she does hug us.

"You are not alone, Captain." You shake your head." Who, What, and Why are all missing
pieces in my picture of this. Who..." Your mouth stays while your mind is buffering. "Well, I
encountered at least some of them here."

"How many of them?" Her voice came slow, dragged.

"Three." You reply. "I think only Difos was missing." The little himehorn makes no sound,
so you resume. "What and Why are still missing, though. Sometimes you just have to
do the best you can with what you have, until something gives you the chance you need. You
just have to keep on trying until you find that chance... or you die." She chuckles. You feel
taken aback, but press on regardless. "Then at least you can say you tried until the end." You
look down. "Just like they did..."

"I've tried to earn the nohorn's trust, Roomba, I've let them put shackles on me. I tried to open
their eyes, but it wasn't me who paid the price." She stares at the pool, next to you. The
musclehorn's maimed hand still flexes nervously. "I had a chance to meet them after
you departed. Couldn't be separated. You've earned my trust thanks to Suhuru, but this was
a Fake I wasn't acquittant with. And I don't think White counts as a musclehorn, so I had no
references for that one either." She giggles, slowly. "The Fake was a bit had to swallow, and
the musclehorn did not say a word. But she was so happy to see me..." As Captain smiles,
she bites her lower lip. "In the end, I took the chance. I let them in."

Captain opens her hand towards the rest of the Fake. As a ball of faint blue surrounds the body
it is promptly sliced open, like with an invisible scalpel. It's innards exposed, the cuts resume
until another device is sucked into Captain's hand. Eyes fixed on it, the haremhorn shakes
her head, more than once, more than twice, each time a bit slower than the last.

"I have a theory." She starts, softly. "One of my Fake nohorns friends told me an EKE zone
was surrounding this place. You are aware that these devices" she takes out her cellphone,
"only work from inside the same EKE, I take?"

You nod, then pause as you understand.

"It works both ways," Captain says. "While no one was able to call me, no one could have
called for reinforcements, either. This is the device that spawned it. It seems they knew,
this haremhorn and this musclehorn, yet they did not tell me about the ambush because
they thought themselves strong enough to leave me out of it. Maybe nobody ever told
them what lied ahead. It-It's just a theory, anyway."

Captain suddenly shudders, as if only she could feel a cold wind. She turns to you, finally.

"Did you talk with them?"

>>993727
"So that message was pointless in the end huh... *sigh* They showed up to the interviews actually. They interrupted and bulled a horn-mother who showed up, see seemed newly exiled. I interviewed them all the same, actually I was almost going to invite them over for the second interview but the fakehorn just seemed so willing to attack people in power that I didn't think it was necessary, they just wouldn't have worked well with us. It's funny when they showed themselves to the judges she said she was trying diplomacy, by telling them they would have to carry less bodies away if they left now than stayed. A rather strange diplomacy but I get the feeling it was the first time she ever tried. I had no idea they had an EKE generator on them though, they must have activated it after they noticed the gas. Cyber-horn even sent me a message warning about them being here before the lights went out... but Rikua also said that they where betraying them. A last minute change of heart? Maybe their heard of two got a lot bigger while here, cyberhorn told me that musclehorn wanted to protect the herd afterwards...

I miss the days of talking hornmothers out of trying to fly ships and cleaning up office chair related injuries. Everything is so much more complicated outside of the herd-life."

You look away. "So that message was pointless in the end, huh..." then sigh. Without shame.
As Captains stares, you look at her from the side. "I've sent messages to my candidates to
save me. No one came."

"I take they are sleeping. They buried the whole Garden under their gas."

You turn to her fully, but hesitating. "They showed up to the interviews actually. They
interrupted and bullied a horn-mother who
showed up, she seemed newly exiled."
Captains listens in silence as you speak. "I interviewed them all the same, actually I was
almost going to invite them over for the second interview but the fakehorn just seemed so
willing to attack people in power that
I didn't think it was necessary." You shut your
eyes, firmly. "They just wouldn't have worked well with us."

"I see..." Captain says, her brow frowning slightly.

"It's funny," you recall, "when they showed themselves to the Judges she said she was
trying diplomacy by telling them they would have to carry less bodies away if they left now
than stayed." Captain smiles. It's a clear smile; she's not looking a you. It goes away once she
sees you looking. "A rather strange diplomacy, but I get the feeling it was the first time she
ever tried.
I had no idea they had an EKE generator on
them though, they must have activated it after they noticed the gas."

"Only they did," Captain adds. "Zerthe really did want to make sure, it seems. To reach such
extremes..."

You nod. "Cyber-horn even sent me a message warning about them being here before the
lights went out... but Rikua also said that
they where betraying them. A last minute
change of heart? Maybe their herd of two got a lot bigger while here, Cyberhorn told me
that musclehorn wanted to protect the Herd afterwards..."

You wonder if Captain is listening, as her eyes are fixed in the small oasis of blood and steel
under the darkness. Not even as you stop talking you get a reaction, so you let her be.

(Cont!)

"Roomba," You get startled. "Some of us have rough shells because of how much the world
kept on poking. And though it's tempting to think so because the shells are hard and hard
to dig, that doesn't mean there's nothing good in there."

"What this world needs is someone who sees the pearls inside the shells. Behind mean
words and a lack of tact, your main concern should be their motivation. Though the way
may be crude or lazy, the goals sometimes outweigh the costs. Yet no one is willing to try,
because no one is willing to trust anymore."

"This world needs warmth. Out there, and I mean right out there, they are all killing each
other for their own sake. Their only concern is to not starve. They care for no reason. They
don't fight for warm because touching fire has got them burn. And should you let this world
freeze you," Captain says, "there will be no flame to melt the ice around their hearts."

"This time, you took an opportunity from someone who clearly deserved it, just to be
spared from a few mean words." Captain looks at you, a sad grin on her face. "I am
disappointed in you, Roomba, but it's because I expected too much. And I will apologize to you
because of that." Captain actually bows to you, and you sense no mockery in her ways. "You
lack hell. You worry, yet, about foul moods and heated mouths. Soon those will be the least of
your concerns, and if your fire flickers still, you may just save this world." She walks up to you,
then grabs your hand. "I'm strong at hands, but I don't know how much my heart can take. My
gaze is clouded, my thoughts full of hate. And without it, without my heart, my hands will
linger still." She smiles, crying. "We need you warm, Toasty."

Finally, she turns from you, breaking like last time. "Rest. We'll have plenty of time to suffer
tomorrow, and won't be waking up anytime soon." She stops dead in her tracks, then
looks above. Her frame is hard to see under the darkness. "I shall stay. I will give White a
chance, and see if force should rule over fear." She keeps on walking. "I already gave them
my warmth, after all."

You watch the darkness swallow her, without hurry. Taking a bottle of water from the basket,
you clean your hands from the musclehorn's blood. As you walk up your sleeping friends you look
at them eagerly, suddenly crying at full throttle. You stay to watch them sleep for a while, but
your legs end up giving and you end up resting over Vaal, hugging her as a plank amidst a
tsunami.

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