>>2241861
>your previous companions entrusted you the settlement of New3.
Y-Yeah, they didn't just abandon us. They left is with a great responsibility! And we are not going to help these vulnerable meatbags by hunting rats.
>Go to the local drone swarm nexus.
Let's organize something. IDK what, maybe we can domesticate the rats.

And I wasn't being facetious, paying Dee sounds hard. All I remember about her is that she is having trouble adjusting. She is a clone get felt like a maligned minority, a shunned aberration, and so such with hey own. But then she found out that that her gone life was a lie. But what does she want now? She has an RV, silent autistic industrial mech buddy, a bullying RoboCop psychopath companion and no purpose.

>>2241936
>stuck with her own
Every day my typing gets worse. I can't fucking wait until we get mind reading keyboards.

>>2241861
>>Meet up with Delta Hive, a detachment of other Tiamat Drones
Diamond Drones?

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>>2241926
>>2242018
getting pumped.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jZsEgtGL7U

...surely you were entrusted with a great duty! Still though, one of your importance must bear the burden of leadership before executing menial tasks. Six feet, sharp like exacto knives clink against the steel ducting as you scurry along. The added weight of your leg pistons, saw, manipulator and now laser make you much less agile than your contemporaries, still you have adequate speed and power. Coming to a bend in the ducting you start your long ascent towards the nexus. Your feet find purchase amongst the cables and pipes that climb like vines, while your manipulator aids in hauling your body up. About half way up the ascent a bloated dzizi rat corpse, still twitching and streaming gore, falls past you. It would seem the local drones have been hard at work killing rats. It is an endless battle, and you have taken many of their lives, yet the beasts continue to breed and eat.
--
Eventually you find yourself in the local Drone swarm nexus. A wild collection of equipment, old festive lighting, and randoms scraps its creation was really more of a spontaneous habitation and hording. In reality it is just an isolated large crawl space near the ceiling of the structure that serves as the hub of New3. Drones come and go, with damaged units getting hasty repairs. Decades old servers sit alongside other bits of salvaged and improvised equipment such as small industrial arm robotics that act as repair bays for the most damaged of the drones.

A few of the boxy scavenger drones pause to look at you, and express blurbs of code before carrying on with their tasks. A few flying units buzz overhead, occasionally emitting sparks or welding something. Intelligence on those units is very limited.

The floor is blanketed in cables and dimly glowing lights, some of them appear wet and shiny, much newer. Clearly bio-circuitry, the work of the swarm. Before Atlas left you here, it produced 100 excess Tiamat drones to stay behind with you. Following the newest circuitry, the twisting nexus corridors gradually turn into an area of grey polymer, bio circuitry, and glittering chrome. Home. Delta Hive. Without a Tiamat module though, you are all unable to repair easily, or replenish numbers if lost to attrition. A few of the other tiamat drones spot you, and pause from activity to give you a salute with a one of their bladed limbs. You spot numerous minor improvised repairs across the swarm that break the normal uniformity of your kind.

> deploy rat murder party.
> deploy repair team.
> review system reports.
> check uplinks.

>>2241936
That was a very astute and well worded summary of the situation and story that I wished I had used for my opener. I also struggle to type.
>>2242018

>>2242152
>Review system reports.

We Big Boss now

>>2242183
There are numerous systems, subsystems, and subsubsystems to review. However the primary overview provides prominent data on the most pertinent ones.

Uplink
-sat
local comms
-erratic output.
Life support
-sat
Power generation
-unsat, output insufficient/ out of tolerance.
Drone Nexus
-sat
Delta Hive server
-sat
Defense
-sat
Security
-sat

--
Delta hive has worked tirelessly to bring the former Scavenger outpost up to speed, but 100 and one drones can only do so much. It is possible to upgrade the other drones, but it would require time and resources. Namely biological resources.

>>2242430

choices

>Investigate a system
>Upgrade other drones.
>Make more drones.

>>2242439
We should definitely upgrade the other drones to improve their own capabilities sinve we lack a tiamat module to create more drones. Quality over quantity

>>2242439
>investigate a system
Hmm, we have insufficient power generation and excess rats. Maybe we can harness the perpetual vermin somehow.

>>2242439

>Upgrade other drones.

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>>2242454
the other drones certainly...could be improved, and they are numerous. The most immediate upgrades would be to get their nexus server and individual on board processors upgraded with improvised biological circuitry. Raw biological materials however are crucial for this process.

>Kill rats
>Visit the slaughter house by the pigfarm/ scrapyard
>visit the morgue
>other (write in)

you have 100 drones at your disposal, that need to upgrade many, many more drones.

>>2242599
interesting proposal.

Feel free to write it in.

>>2242608
>visit the morgue
Waste not want not. It's a bit cheeky but these drones don't seen so sentimental.

>>2242608
KILL RAT. REMOVE PURPLE MENACE

>>2242620
roll me a 1d100, +10 because you are sneaky little fucks.

>>2242669
roll me a 1d100. +10 if you personally lead the charge as punished crab.

Rolled 37 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>2242675
As if there were any other way to do it

Rolled 45 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>2242670

Rolled 3 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>2242675

The phantom beep

Spider Bot!
Spider Bot!
Does whatever a spider bot does!

>>2242692
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKgks-m0v2o
>47 rat slaying
You personally lead a team of scavenger drones after sending the rest of the Tiamat swarm towards the morgue. The obsolent drones sloppily bump into each other and slam into walls like a bunch of drunk soccer hooligans. The anti rat posse delve into the bowels of important systems, spotting tell tale signs of Dzizi rat infestation. Chewed wires and plastic gaskets around ducting and pipes.

Your minions are crude to say the least, all around you scenes unfold of the placid rats being restrained while the little drones do their best to crush skulls with stomping feet, or end lives with tools. It lacks the efficiency of what a tiamat drone would do. You return with minimal biological resources, the corpses being mostly mangled or burnt. However you have managed to document the general overview of drones and their capabilities by being present. You drag several rats behind you as you make way for home.

>review drone types.
>review drone support infrastructure.
>hunt moar rats.
>Visit the pits, leave the other drones to continue fighting rats.

>>2242706
https://youtu.be/IhT6ajXDVg0?t=1809
>55 corpse stealing
Delta swarm makes its way in a very overt fashion down the hallways leading to the morgue. People step over the little tide of drones, not seeking to damage the gifts left behind by the giant industrial mech and it's companions. When the mob finally makes it to the morgue, two guards look down at them. "Oh heeeeeeell no, I am in no way lettin' your creepy little asses in here." He seems rather final about it.

>attempt to negotiate.
>find another way in.
>Go visit the slaughter house for pig bits instead.
--
pick one from each list, roll 2d100

>>2244695
>review drone types
What could we achieve at the the pits?
>Go visit the slaughter house for pig bits instead.
We didn't come here to make trouble. If we can't sneak it's time to abort.

>>2241861
are you the guy who ran the robot CIV long ago where we were disk like drones with tentacles and we started borging the gnolls and such?

>>2244745
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W36KtnHv6k
Delta swarm reports their obstacle. Abort effort. The swarm moves like liquid, climbing up the walls around the somewhat disturbed security guards. It would be no effort to take the vents in and strip the cadavers, but there are politics here beyond drone understanding. The swarm will go raid the slaughter house for neural tissue and other components, which will likely not be missed.
(roll 1d100 for this)
>review drone types.
>review drone support infrastructure.
>Go to the fighting pits
>Visit Power generation
>Visit local comm systems
--
The pits are where the local population bet money on their "custom" drones which fight each other. In the past you have done battle there, earning your radial saw.
--
>>2244836
That one was not me, but I welcome any and all to this quest.

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>2244855
>Review drone infrastructure

Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>2244855
review drone support infrastructure.

Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>2245199
Dis

>>2245134
>62
A lot of the drone nexus is an eclectic mix of overlapping hardware and software from various eras, much like the drones themselves. You examine the nexus slowly, spending time to familiarize yourself.

Numerous servers and wireless emitters seem to drive the older generation units, while others control repair...refuel and rearm facilities? Interestingly, there are several archaic "3d printers" and fabrication units that could potentially aid in churning out new drones, if they were repaired and upgraded. Right now most of the equipment is just barely operating, with the drones themselves enacting field repairs on one another.

(headed out for a few, will continue this later.)

>>2245304
Sorry for the long disappearance.
---
>review drone types. (bonus sorry for being gone. Full unlock of all drone categories)

After working over the systems of New3 for so long, and the most recent Dzizi rat pogrom, you have a very good grasp of the local drone assets and their capabilities.

>gen 0 GP (general purpose)
weak onboard software, no network. Electro optical sensors. fragile. Primarily thermoplastic and lightweight metal alloy. Capable of limited cleaning function, minor electrical repairs, light welding, and systems monitoring. Reports back at set intervals to a home station to receive automated refurbishment and instructions. Lost units are not replenished, but disabled units brought back to home stations can potentially be repaired. Recovery is not a set behavior of gen 0 drones. Ignores other generations
>gen 1 GP
Limited ad-hoc LED/ accoustic based network with other local gen 1 units of common manufacture when a task exceeds individual capacity. Highly independent operation, nomadic behavior. Heavy polymers and thicker steel. Made to last. Continuously searches for tasks within it's capability to execute. Capable of salvage and self repair from downed gen 1 units. Ignores other generations. Will not attempt to reactivate other gen 1 drones. Can be herded by gen 2/3 drones towards desired tasks.
>gen 2 GP
Fully wireless, disposable, no true on board processing capability. Centralized servers direct drone shells as needed. Lightweight polymer/ composite construction. New units are constructed upon loss of existing drones via complex 3D fabricators. Electroactive polymers allow for mobility, while electronics are made of conductive composites. Recognizes and executes all available tasks, primarily upkeeps existing systems, and moves local resources for more specialized drones to utilize. Will recover downed gen 0 drones to repair at gen0 home stations, will attempt to reactivate downed gen 1 units. Without server input, useless.
>gen 3 GP
Fully autonomous, reasonable intelligent and capable of limited problem solving. forming ad-hoc networks with any available resource. Often found in the company of Gen 2s as a sort of "leader". Gen 3's will occasionally hijack gen 2 shells into impromptu work groups for their own tasks. Gen 3 drones are made of any variety of local resource (see: other drones/ equipment), and follow little in the way of a normal configuration due to extensive self modification. Much weaker than a gen 1, but far more flexible in task execution.

>Flight model
exclusively found in generation 0 drones. Powered by electric fans.
>Salvager customs
Modified drones of any generation, often used for entertainment via arena combat or companionship as a sort of pet.
>cleaner
mostly benign custodial robots in the shape of flat disks.
>micro industrial
powerfully built and robust, exclusively found in generation 1 units.
>Sentinel
Security, hunter killer, patrol. primarily gen 2.

Delta Swarm has returned back to the endlessly busy nexus, and brought with it a plethora of biological material. Rat brains and spines, offal from slaughtered hogs, and...a human foot. Within an hour the viscera is stripped of nerves and processed into neat bundles of glossy black cladded biological circuitry that gently pulsates. Lines of copper run along the outside while Little motes of light glow on it like randomly sized LEDs. If you had managed to process the morgue the available material would be much more substantial, for now you have enough material to enact two upgrades.

Upgrade what?
>Gen0
Improve drones or Improve home stations to support other drone types.
>Gen1
Upgrade onboard computer, give true network capability.
>Gen2
Improve servers, or improve drones.
>Gen3
Upgrade onboard computer from derp status.

or

Horde improvised bio-circuits for later.

and choose one/ roll 1d100

>>Go to the fighting pits
>>Visit Power generation
>>Visit local comm systems

>>2248354
>horde for later
I wanna fix the 3d printers. Rolling for hoarding ability.
>visit local comn systems
Need to assess shitposting capacity.

Rolled 12 (1d100)

>>2248392
Supporting.

Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>2248392
Derp

Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>2248392
getting a full repair station up and running is our best chance at accomplishing all our goals

>>2248392
the decision was made to store materials for an eventual upgrade to the fabricators. Perhaps something new was in order. The real capability of the Tiamat swarm was it's limited creativity. The fabricators would allow for a new swarm of sorts, though it would be much more labor intensive.
--
You clang a nearby wall a few times with your manipulator arm and gather the assembled tiamat drones. With a few gestures of spiked limbs and screeches they are sent off on the endless task of upkeep. You have more serious matters to attend to. Both the power and comm systems are reporting errors, and you need to find out why...
--

>>2248480
ah. a bunch of rolls I missed due to how long it takes me to make responses sometimes.
--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpn06kFpLtQ
>>2248503
>Horde, but to fix printers. I will allow this write in and implement now.
Creativity. The bio circuitry is dragged in lumps and coils by the Tiamat drones towards the generation 0 "home stations", essentially miniaturized robotic assembly lines. The machinery, with no input to act on does not even resist the attentions of the drones as they strip away metal and wire, laying the foundation of a new control system. Collected bits of discarded tools and other diagnostic equipment augment the line. Trademark bits of white polymer and spindly chrome limbs pop up here and there...while this line will not make new drones, it is more than capable of repairing all drones save one type. Tiamat models. Your kind is a precious and nonrenewable resource. The precious few surviving and dusty generation 0 husks, once trampled by their larger brethren and discarded in various piles of trash are being dragged out and fed into the line. Relics of a bygone era, they buzz to life on plastic rotors to patrol the dusty maintenance ducts and hidden areas of New3, their flight taking them to places which would be difficult for even a nimble tiamat drone to navigate. Over the new few hours, even some of the long ignored hulks of gen 1 micro industrial robots awake once more as Gen 1+ units, adhoc equipment and components replacing what could not be salvaged.

Personally directing the other half of the swarm, you augment the back end technology and logistic support of the generation 2 drones. While they have not been improved in any cognitive way, the back end logistics has been streamlined, and where once 3 competing designs selfishly horded resources and capability, now there is cooperation....of a sort. The difference in designs causes the intermingled hordes to trip over each other or spill forward like a tiny avalanche as 3 "swarms" all attempt to move towards the same goal. The real benefit is that the fabrication equipment is fully active. A long discarded industrial metal fabricator once more creates intricate parts, though its supply of raw materials is quite low...to be honest, many of the fabricators are low on raw materials. Something will have to be done about that.
--
Without addition biocircuitry no further upgrades can be accomplished. With enough of the material, it could be possible to design your own creations.
Generation 2+ unlocked, a significantly more robust drone thanks to the inclusion of SLS metallic foam supports.

>>2248824
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2H6kXJn6v4
--
The Com system; a large decaying industrial tower, repurposed several times over its life, and well into it's death. Skeletal and corroded, at it's top is the entirety of the primary com system. With it New3 has parity of communication with the other cities of Mac V. There is already a storm starting to surge overhead, the grey skies turning turbulent. How you proceed is up to you.
--
>go solo
or
>take 25 Tiamat drones with you.
or
>take all Tiamat drones with you.
and/or
>attempt to get the assistance of the humans.

and how to get there

>go outside into the storm and walk.
>climb the available guy-wires anchored to the roof of New3.
>if solo, you can fly in style via "hacking" several of the Gen0 drones.
>if human assistance, take a ride in a vehicle.

and take:

>nothing
or
>repair supplies
or
>tiny improvised weapons

>>2248888
>go solo
No point risking more drones. But I want a spotter that can fetch us if we start spazzing out because of the storm. Put one of the gen3s on standby to assemble a rescue squad.
>climb a guy wire
Flying sounds like a recipe for a fall
>take repair supplies
That ... is what we are going up there for, right? Or is there a bunch of hostiles up there? Why would we want to take weapons up there? To shoot the breeze, to fight off storm birds, aliums? I'm scared now.

>>2248888
>>2248963
Supporting this, we don't need anyone besides us on a repair mission.

>>2249234
>>2249234

You make your way up towards the roof shanties of New3. The excess weight of your various modifications and equipment makes you a bit less nimble than before, so you opt to take the service lift. Something that is little more than a sheet of steel and chain drive. The human maintenance tech looks down at you "Hey there big guy. Doing good?" you knock your saw arm on the floor twice. "Guess that means yes, huh?" the rest of the ride to the roof is somewhat awkward silence. When you arrive, you are greeted by a fat purple Dzizi rat. The only correct response is to shoot it with your laser, which you do. The creature falls back with a splash of bright orange blood and a screech. "Fuck! what the fuck! You can do that?!" You look up at him, your featureless body gives him little response other than your laser's lens smoking slightly. It would be a bit before it was recharged.

A horrible metallic screeching comes from the smoking rat corpse, as it slowly pulls itself up onto two legs, it's charred face a ruin, but behind that is metal. Cyborg. Improvised drone? "Oh man. that is gross. I thought all the cyborgs were dead man..fucking game over. game over MAN!" he pulls out a small service pistol and shakily fires off a few rounds, missing the aberrant rodent.

>Kill it! (1d100+30)
>Disable it so you can hack it. (1d100)
>Let the human handle it, you have to go make repairs.
>push the human over the edge. no one will know.

Rolled 68 (1d100)

>>2249491
>>Disable it so you can hack it. (1d100)
Fulton it back to base

Rolled 26 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2249491
REMOVE INFERIOR TECHNOLOGY

KILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILL

Rolled 75 (1d100)

>>2249491
>Disable it so you can hack it. (1d100)
We might learn something. Like how to wear a rat suit. Or if there are other cyborgs around.
That dark side option is tempting though.

>>2249574
You rush forward, bladed feet tinging against the floor. The creature is still screeching as you make contact, your saw cutting into it's arm. A whine like a dental drill gets more shrill as sparks start to fly, You restrain it's other arm and gnashing head with the manipulator. Finally the offending arm comes loose, hitting the floor heavier than it should be. This thing is much more metal than it is flesh, with a simple skin exterior. Emboldened you begin to stab it over and over again with point appendages, intestines spill out while you set to work removing it's other arm. The manipulator manages to break the rat's jaw. A few moments layer it is laying in a growing pool of blood and oil, twitching and sparking. Once again, another victory for the Tiamat corporation.

You have neither the marduk AI, nor the Tiamat swarm module to boost your hacking capability, so this one is all on you. Walking up to the creature you extend a tiny dataspike from your shell opening, and jam it into the rat's cybernetic brain...it twitchs and spasms violently.

>Roll the hack, 1d100.

Rolled 3 (1d100)

>>2249637
Don't mind us, just an operator operating.

Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>2249637

Rolled 61 (1d100)

>>2249637
HAX

>>2249717
Phew, saved?

>>2249654
>25.

the rat's head bursts into flames, but not before you get a little idea of something. These rats are not the same cybernetic design as what attacked the new 3 settlement a month earlier. You flick the smouldering corpse off your data spike. Revving up your saw you set into the creature's neck and a moment later the head comes free. It wasn't likely to move again, but now, its very unlikely.

"So...I really dont know if you understand me, but do you mind if I take that to May-Bell. Just to be sure ya know?" you pump your manipulator arm in victory and point at the rat, giving it a "go on" sort of wave. The technician bend down and puts the corpse and head into his pocket. "Hey. Uhh. Thanks for not murdering me back there. Not that you would have, but. Thanks." You make your way out of the elevator shelter.
+10 humanity
---
The rain is falling down in sheets now, grey and dirty like normal. Atmospheric dust mixes with the precipitation to create a sort of thin dirty wash over everything, yourself included. In the distance, obscured by rain and dust, in the dying light of the day is the comms tower, ahead of you is a thick guy-wire, jiggling slightly in the wind.
---
inventory:
3 dime sized mini explosives.
2 slow burn matches.
1 spool of bio circuitry.
6 <spare parts>
---
roll 3d100 for your crossing. its a long climb. in the rain. quite a way really. shame about not getting help or flying.

Rolled 37, 65, 19 = 121 (3d100)

>>2249768
>+10 humanity
What is this thing!?

>>2249717
<fucking fucking fuck. lets make this right.>
Meanwhile may-bell was already busily running current into the little cadaver, discovering it's method of function. It's amputated stumps kick and wiggle for a while. "oh my...ain't evah seen anything like this lil' fuck. Seems so familiar though...oh shit. CLYDE. Ah think the scavengers are up to somethin'!"
--
Having learned all she can from the corpse, it became trash, which in turn became Tiamat drone property. The little drones stripped it of flesh after sequestering it back to the nexus, where its metallic endoskeleton was fed into the upgraded gen 0 repair line. The rat was not able to be reanimated as anything more than a funky looking gen 0+ unit, but extensive knowledge was gained from it's construction, and if enough samples were obtained it may be possible to duplicate it's technology.
--

>>2249787
>>2249787
ever play survival horror as a drone?
---
Your attempt at a stealthy infiltration was not successful, and all around the base of the tower thousands of little glowing eyes watched you shimmy over to their domain. The journey is long and arduous, but you are a drone, not a person, so not too big of a deal. Though your optics kept picking up a flying anomaly in distance.
---
With a heavy clang, you pull yourself up and over a guard rail, and land onto a grid steel floor. The ground far below you very visible, despite the rain and rolling dust. You have repairs to make, and rats to kill. At this level of the tower there are several structures made of corrugated steel walls, numerous pipes and cables snake around haphazardly...and curiously there is clearly an uplink antenna that this place seems to be built around.
---
What do?
>Attempt to connect to local wireless sources
>Search for a hackable node to download a map
>Wing it and go exploring
>take stock of your surroundings.

>>2249828
>connect to local wireless sources
Let's look for weak or glitchy connections.

>>2249892
This and take stock of surroundings. We need to know where we are and whats around us.

>>2249892
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRBa8l6fQBA

You detect several signals in the local area.

>$<R^P$\/\/@R/\/\
>Dom.MacV.satlink
>Local4365yhJ

>connect to which one?
or
>Search for a hackable node to download a map
>Wing it and go exploring
>take stock of your surroundings.

>>2249923
Hmm, maybe the
>Local4365yhJ
One first to see what it is. It looks a little suspicious. It would be more suspicious if it said "Taimat Elite Only!" though. The other one looks fucked but I wanna check this one first.

>>2249923
>>2249921
As you wander the upper platform, you document the environment. The upper area is a crudely expanded area of grate steel and hand rails. There are 3 shacks built off of the original structure which appears to be some sort of old military communication bunker.

the central structure rises up only a single story, but it has another level hanging off it, surrounded with external stairs and scaffolding. Thick cables hang off it like old vines. There was clearly an elevator at one point going up, but it has long since been destroyed. On the very top is an archaic satellite up link of some sort. There are no visible entry points, it seems like one of the sheds was built around that. hopefully.

The first shed has numerous vents with cables spilling out of it that snake all over the platform, and feed into the next shed which has a variety of crude com antennas extending out of it. A periodic and violent electrical crack with flashes of light can be seen from both sheds.

The last shed seems different from the other two and is standing alone. dark. quiet.
---
>Local4365yhJ
had no password protection, range was very limited to this platform.
available options:
>archives
>diagnostic
>Unlock

>>2249994
Can we ping the drone base for Hunter Killer Support?
Also
>Unlock

>>2250019
This but
>diagnostic

>>2249994
>diagnostic
Don't wanna get caught in trap

>>2250019
>>2250129
>>2250442
sadly, that storm tends to kill all transmissions, especially one from a lone drone with no back up and a thousand cyborg rats slowly climbing their way up the tower. If only other choices had been made. how regrettable. All previous options at New3 are momentarily unavailable until you can find a way to boost your comms.
---
>Unlock
the door on the dark shed blows open. what is inside is unknown.

>Diagnostic
"Multiple sensors offline."
"Leg 3 structural support degraded."
"insufficent power from main facility. Reserve reactor has been operational for 65 years, 241 days, 11 hours..."
"Reserve reactor output at 44%"
"Security feed deactivated."
>Activate Y/N?
"perimeter anti intrusion countermeasures online but inactive."
>Activate Y/N?
"tower anti intrusion countermeasures...unknown."
>Activate Y/N?
"Self destruct"
>Activate Y/N?
--
All of the above plus

>explore unlocked door
>review archives

>>2250817
Fucking rat bastards.
How about
>explore unlocked door
And while we are presumably safe from the intrusion countermeasures
>Activate tower anti intrusion countermeasures
>Activate perimeter anti intrusion countermeasures
One of those might be at the bottom of the tower but oh well.

>>2250836
Agree with this anon. This is a smart anon

>>2250836
Agree, but make sure our countermeasures are updated with the proper IFF

>>2250836
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3fz6CC45ok
You activate the anti intrusion for both tower and perimeter at once over the wireless network. A violent splash of sparks shoots out of the power shed, and all the lights in the comms shed go dark. A massive flash of light from below you momentarily blinds your sensors. When vision returns thick acrid smoke is still clearing. Taking new stock of your surroundings, the power shed is flickering with arcs, and the uplink array seems to be blinking.
"update: Legs 1, 4, and 3 are energized. leg 2 unknown status."
"update: guy-wires are now energized."
"Update: Perimeter defenses online."
The sound of gunfire can be heard.
"Activate security feed?"
>Activate Y/N?
--
Having just bought yourself some time, but well and truly isolated yourself with the comms shack having gone dark. you wander into the relative safety of the unknown shack. Its wind torn structure seems like it is about to come down any moment. There is limited light in here, and odd EM emissions from the power shed is disrupting your optics.
>Light match Y/N?
or
>Head to power shack
>head to comms shack
and/or
>Download archive for later review

>>2251023
How far below us was the flash of light? Like ground level?
>Legs 1, 4, and 3 are energized. leg 2 unknown status
I sure hope those are ... metaphorical legs. Hahaha
>Activate security feed?"
Plz yes.
>head to comms shack
I have no idea what's going on. Maybe there will be information there?
I didn't know we smoked.

>>2251041
The flash of light was mid level. The legs are the 4 legs of the communication tower you are on the top of. You do not smoke, but have a few slow burning matches to provide light, or start fires if need be. You also have a fusion torch, but it doesnt make a lot of useful light. The comms room is black at the moment due to power being diverted from it, to the defenses.
---
>Security feed online.
exactly one camera remains active, the others have succumbed to the rigors of existence. You start recieving a grainy image of the legs of the tower, one is nearly destroyed, the other 3 are in good condition. Around the absolute bottom, upper and mid section of each leg is some sort of conductive sleeve; it seems to prevent climbers, as the cyborg rats that touch it fall down to the ground. some seem to get back up again. However on leg two the sleeves seem to be operating very weakly, and the bottom most sleeve is clearly inoperative...eventually the rats will overwhelm leg 2's defenses. They were never meant to be lethal, just deterrents.

Zooming in on leg 3, it is actually in very poor condition. At some point the sleeves on it seemed to have failed and partially melted through the metal in a grounding incident. It would be possible to finish the job, and the other legs of the tower should hold it for a while...
---

You have limited available power on the tower, but still have some time.

real world pick 1.
>light match- explore the shed you are in right now. there might be something useful.
>go to comms shed- explore in the dark/ light match
>go to power shed, see if you can fix anything.

and
Local4365yhJ pick 1.
>Download archive for later review
>delete archive to stop me from asking about it.

and
Attempt to interact with the other two wireless networks
>$<R^P$\/\/@R/\/\
>Dom.MacV.satlink

>>2251064
I would say we really need backup so:
>go to comms shed- explore in the dark/ light match
But first, access
>Dom.MacV.satlink
Because we might then be able to call up reinforcements.
>Download archive for later review
Always handy, why not?

>>2251064
>go to power shed, see if you can fix anything.
Gotta be able to see what's going on
>>2251064
>Download archive for later review
Infodump later
>>2251064
>Dom.MacV.satlink
Send reinforcements fellow Drone Mercenary Companies

>>2251303
>>2251141
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm3dXfOe9Gg
With the EM storm in full effect now, there is no reaching out. You are alone. Even the momentary activity outside the shed is slowing you down, limbs fail to respond properly. The only upside is, the rats are probably not as active with their cybernetics likely on the fritz. You decide to leave this unknown shed and quickly head to the comms and power.

>Archive downloaded.
-full review later. may provide beneficial tips now. AI skimming and speed reading in effect.
>Dom.MacV.satlink
The wireless connection was password protected, but the archived data provided that. However to actually activate the uplink there appears to be a physical requirement somewhere in the uplink facility. The only tidbit is that the system version indicates the last update was nearly 120 years ago.

>Comm's shed
-1 match.

Striking the match, you hold it in your manipulator arm like a tiny torch. Racks and racks of archaic machines line the walls, cables linking them like some sort of analog nightmare. They accomplish the goal of parity with a proper comm array but at the cost of massive power consumption, the primary antenna that seems to bore up through the roof of this shack is as much an antennas as it is a heatsink.

Looking around more, there is a terminal here, but with the blackout to power the defense systems, it is as dead as everything else. Stacked up in the corner are numerous technical manuals and optical media storage devices. On the wall is a first aid kit, well outside of your reach. There appears to be a home made battery array with two small cables dangling near it. Attempts to attach the cables reveal the array is long dead. Without power there is not much to do here. You stumble out into the storm for a short trip to the power shed, your legs struggling to respond as you crawl forward before the storm knocks your processors out.

>>2251673

>PowerShed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O47Iswu1UZ8
If the comm shed was haphazard, the power shed's configuration was built by a talented yet very insane person. According to the archive data, it likely was. Despite this, the equipment is not the likely cause for the comm system's erratic behavior...even the rats destroying the lower infrastructure and cutting power from the main base is likely not the culprit. This outpost served as a fugitive dominion researcher's final home. The amount of current flowing from these cables would fry your tiny body. Amidst the piles of looping cables, arcing wires and open air transformers..is nothing. almost nothing. You spot 4 large conduits with very obvious labels "Leg 1, leg 2, leg 4, leg 4." This must be the power feed for the anti intrusion measures on the legs. Each cable has a return for some reason, connected to a grounding element. While too dangerous to cut, it is possible you could use a few of your mini explosives to knock out the grounding up here, and cause leg 3 to finish being cut in half. This would fully energize leg 2 for at least a while, and maybe only powering 3 legs instead of 3 and a limping 4th would allow you to activate the comms array...Though loosing one leg is not good for a tower, and leg 2 might start arc cutting through like 3 did. You almost miss it wiht all the arcing, but there appears to be a small hole in the back of the shed that leads into the primary structure of this tower, the uplink facility. In there is likely the reactor and other controls....there is also a small junction box laying on the floor, that appears to be damaged and de-energized at the moment. Its wires lead out towards the other sheds. Curiously, it is not of human construction, the design is clearly machine improvisation/ in-situ repairs.

>Blow the electrical grounding on leg 3. (auto success)
and/or
>Repair the junction box (roll 1d100)
and/or
>Go into the uplink facility (roll 1d100)
or
>Go explore the last shed. (roll 1d100+10)

Rolled 71 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>2251675

>Blow the electrical grounding on leg 3. (auto success)
>Go explore the last shed. (roll 1d100+10)

Rolled 41 (1d100)

>>2251675
>Go into the uplink facility (roll 1d100)

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>2251675
>Go into the uplink facility (roll 1d100)

Rolled 48, 14 = 62 (2d100)

>>2251675
>>Blow the electrical grounding on leg 3. (auto success)
>and/or
>>Repair the junction box (roll 1d100)
>and/or
>>Go into the uplink facility (roll 1d100)

Test???

Rolled 14 (1d100)

>>2252012
It didn't come through ;_;
RIP

If I can post,
so CAN YOU!!!

>71+10=80
Rushing from the power shed, you hobble and drag yourself towards the unknown shack as your body starts to shut down from the outside EM interference. Scrambling inside you strike another match like a mini torch. There are several very, very old flame based illuminiation devices. You ignite them, providing much more light than your impromptu torch did. All around you are human knicknacks. Written journals, old medals and awards, and a dominion flag of archaic design. A skeletal corpse in an old uniform lays on an equally old spring mattress and steel frame. A heavy pistol a bit bigger than yourself sits propped near a leg, ready for use...all of this is unrelated to your drony interests. What does catch your sensor net is the odd collection of 30 or so bipedal humanoid drones laying about the floor like discarded dolls. A terminal nearby is operating in low standby. Attempts to interface with it or network are impossible, the password is nothing that was in the data archive. Giving into frustration you use the part of the spool of bio circuitry to simply overwhelm and replace a majority of it's processing requirements. With some luck you will be able to command the drones, or at least not have them attack you. The drones are in an inactive state, awaiting a remote signal, but the pulse requires much more power than is available currently...actually they operate off broadcast energy. unusual. You look at the terminal and see familiar wires not unlike that which were on the junction box in the power room..you make your way back outside into a much less vicious storm.
>blow it.
With the storm breaking, you asses the situation quickly. Making your way back to the Power shed, you throw two of your explosives on the groud unit for leg 3. The EM interference from the storm lets you access the security feed once more, and the cyborg rats are swarming up leg 2, its current too weak to stop them... The explosion from the little coin bombs is rather underwhelming, it just sort of pops and ruins the ground, but a moment later a massive amount of arcing makes up for it. retreating out of the shed, you watch on the feed as the electrical couplings on leg 3 short out, and glow white hot. They quickly melt through the damaged leg.

The entire tower shifts slightly, the added weight of the habitations on top adding to the problem. Leg two is now getting sufficent power to fully energize with the loss of leg 3, but it was clearly defective. Already the couplings around it are starting to glow red. Eventually they will burn through support leg 2, and the entire tower will come down. On top of that, some of the rats have managed to get to the top before you cut off their route. On the upside a minimal amount of power is left over, enough to weakly power the comms shed. Radio is back online, until the entire tower collapses, destroying you and fucking over New3.

>>2252042
[continued]
--
>48
Working off what you have, you set to work attempting to fix the junction box. Hasty work on an unknown system results in excess errors, you quickly yank out defective parts, flinging them as you use bits of wire to create leads to improvise with the spare components you brought with you. In the end you end up bypassing much of the original circuitry with your own. Flicking a toggle, the junction hums with new life...A moment later several little bipedal humanoid drones swarm into the power facility, stare at you, and begin to wildly attempt repairs. Another comes in as well but is tackled by a rather horrific looking cybernetic rat. Outside of the shed the sounds of a melee can be heard. You use this as your chance to escape.

inventory:
1 dime sized mini explosive.
1 slow burn matche.
1 partially consumed spool of bio circuitry.
2 <spare parts>

>>2252042
--
>48
Working off what you have, you set to work attempting to fix the junction box. Hasty work on an unknown system results in excess errors, you quickly yank out defective parts, flinging them as you use bits of wire to create leads to improvise with the spare components you brought with you. In the end you end up bypassing much of the original circuitry with your own. Flicking a toggle, the junction hums with new life...A moment later several little bipedal humanoid drones swarm into the power facility, stare at you, and begin to wildly attempt repairs. Another comes in as well but is tackled by a rather horrific looking cybernetic rat. Outside of the shed the sounds of a melee can be heard. You use this as your chance to escape.

inventory:
1 dime sized mini explosive.
1 slow burn matche.
1 partially consumed spool of bio circuitry.
2 <spare parts>

Fuck, we need to get MayBell up here to reinforce those legs.

>>2252154
test.

>>2241861
Well folks, its been a hell of a downtime, but sometime around 9:30-10:00 PM CST, I am going to start this thread back up and we can run it till it slides off the catalog.

>>2252047
Welcome back to any stragglers still following this quest. Thanks for standing by.
--
Summary of whats been going on for newcomers:
You are a repair drone, who is trying to repair the comms system on a communication tower, which also happens to be a bit of a small shanty town. This tower was rather far away, and the trip took place during a very power electromagnetic storm. When you finally got to the top, a large amount of normally placid rats turned cyborg drones began a journey to attack you. With some quick thinking you have managed to keep them at bay with a makeshift security system. The downside is that of the 4 tower legs holding this heap up, you destroyed one, and are causing one of the others to heat up and slowly loose integrity at a rather concerning pace.

The storm that nearly killed you also served to shut down the rat's cybernetics, making them very placid. That storm is gone now. Presently you are attempting to gain entry to an uplink facility, with the goal of using the satellite to request help...this was before you managed to re-establish power to the comms, but there are far too many rats to get back to it now. The upside is some drones you reactivated are holding the line against them.
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEGVwUXt3T8
you quickly take your leave of the melee, to crawl into the uplink facility, the way is dangerous, piles of arcing, looping cable coils and exposed transformers. With some luck you can hop from equipment housing to equipment housing. Your goal is a rough cut in the wall
of the uplink facility against which this shack is built.

actions to take:
>ambulate to uplink facility and not get electrocuted, with the goal to jam the fuckers from orbit. (1d100)+10
or
>Turn back and attempt to fight the rats to get to the comm tower and establish a jamming frequency. (1d100)-20
(i'll factor in the bonus/ negatives)

Wireless network actions to take:
$<R^P$\/\/@R/\/\
>ghost connect and scan quietly. (1d100)

Dom.MacV.satlink
>query any data possible

Local4365yhJ
>deactivate security, start 1000+ rat drone-apocalypse, but end melting tower leg, guarantee death.
>attempt to find backdoor to physical comms system (1d100)

Rolled 100, 4 = 104 (2d100)

>>2256323
>ambulate to uplink facility and not get electrocuted, with the goal to jam the fuckers from orbit. (1d100)+10

Local4365yhJ
>attempt to find backdoor to physical comms system (1d100)
Of we succeed here we'll have time to investigate the other nets later.

>>2256360
Nice fucking spread!

>>2256364
Damn son. Alright. Gonna give that badass 100 a chance for another person to come in and give me a better than 4 for that second roll. or fuck up that 100 with a 1. Be back in 10-20.

Rolled 83, 81 = 164 (2d100)

>>2256360
Sounds good to me

>>2256360
>>2256568
nice rolls.
--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3YuwI0ElOc
>100,81
With an unparalleled explosiveness never before seen by a tiamat drone, modified legs piston you forward, flipping and spinning from bastion to bastion across a small ocean of electrified death. Speed and momentum replaced caution and deliberation, buying a lot of time before catastrophic structural failure on the tower. You fly through the hole cut into the wall where the hijacked reactor of the uplink facility is stored, no worse for the wear. Something clicked inside of you, like the time you first realized your own awareness to the world...no matter for now. There is work to be done. You quickly scan your surroundings. The reactor is nearby, a significantly older model, its access panel is opened, and some of the internals have been heavily defiled to allow for tapping off of it's power. Numerous cables snake out of it and back into the power shed. If the tower were to be repaired and receiving power from the main facility this reactor could be potentially refurbished. Next to it are a bank of capacitors that seem to be for the uplink system. Its a safe assumption that following the conduits from the capacitors will lead to the Uplink terminal.
>>>Overdrive unlocked. Go beyond manufacturer set physical output limitations at the risk of chassis destruction. Use at your own risk.
(+20 bonus in effect for next physical action.)
Actions- Pick 1
>examine reactor (1d100)
>examine surroundings (1d100)
>find the uplink terminal and book it as fast as possible (1d100).

--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm7vPMKIRTI
Being a drone with a wireless capability, you also attempt to engage the wireless network for backdoors that would allow for more direct control of the local comms tower. A feeble firewall attempts to stop your vicious probing, before you brute force your way in...The comms system has a very crude backup control, likely added by the late occupant of this tower. From it you can broadcast a message, but the problem is, there is no modulation to the power output, and will likely be heard far and wide. Due to the low-ready state of the comms system, the transmission must be a text burst, and will consume all available power from the capacitors. By the time you have enough power for another charge, the system stands a strong chance of being wreckage on the ground.

wireless actions-take no turns, multiple actions can be taken unless otherwise stated.
Wireless network actions to take:
$<R^P$\/\/@R/\/\
>ghost connect and scan quietly. (1d100)
Local4365yhJ
>Send Critical maintenance request <comms structural: urget:urgent:urgent> message to New3 for assistance, bring in the humans.
>Send Tiamat encrypted message to the other Tiamat drones, with a request for help. (1d100)
>deactivate security, start 1000+ rat drone-apocalypse, but end melting tower leg, guarantee death. (why?)
Dom.MacV.satlink
>query any data possible (1d100)

Rolled 50, 48, 27, 40 = 165 (4d100)

>>2256624
Maybe I should be more worried about the steel rats but right now I'm mostly concerned about this place losing it's satellite link.
>find the uplink terminal and book it as fast as possible (1d100).

>wireless actions-take no turns, multiple actions can be taken unless otherwise stated.
Oh okay.
$<R^P$\/\/@R/\/\
>ghost connect and scan quietly. (1d100)
>Send Critical maintenance request <comms structural: urget:urgent:urgent> message to New3 for assistance, bring in the humans.
If the text in the brackets is the entirety of the message I see no problem with broadcasting it. A bit vague though.
>Send Tiamat encrypted message to the other Tiamat drones, with a request for help. (1d100)
I guess they can engage the rats from the rear.
Dom.MacV.satlink
>query any data possible (1d100)
Uh, maybe they have por- chassis specifications we don't have access to.

>>2256665
Passin out for the night. Nice try on the trips satan.

>>2256665
>50+20
You make all due speed, little metallic legs sparking off the floor as you move with a sense of urgency. There it is, towering above you and made for a human. The uplink terminal. With some luck the comms satellite is still operational and can hit this area with a jamming signal. You have bought yourself time once more, despite the dire situation it seems like the humans and drones will have time to make it before you have to shut down the local defenses...For now you need to disengage the terminal's physical security so you can actually use it's interface.
---
>48-ghost into the unknown network.
"ScrapSwarm" the data was not only encrypted but corrupted. The hostile drones are operating off of technology that is actually fairly modern, but very poorly implemented. Very similar in concept to Tiamat improvised bio-circuitry, but without any sort of processing or refinement. The saving grace is that there is a remote base station endlessly cycling firmware updates to the drones. You determine that the updates are being pushed manually, and start to crack the manufacturer data but suddenly you detect a personal intrusion into your own systems originating from the hostile network. -immediate termination of connection-
Something is wrong..
>27-tiamat help request.
the first message went out loud and clear, the second one was heavily corrupted. The only intelligible data was a generalized help request. only 25 drones set out, making haste for the guy-wires, while the remainder stay back and work on previous projects. The real request was to bring EVERYTHING.
>40-determine nature of satlink.
You do not gain much data, the system is...hostile. Numerous threatening messages about intrusion into military systems is punishable by imprisonment and death barrage you. What is gleaned is that this is a military system and you have just violated several regulations nearly a century out of date.

there is something very wrong with your wireless software and hardware node.
>Gained wireless node corruption: 05%
every action involving the wireless capability will raise your corruption level, the level will also passively raise. at 100% corruption the infection spreads into your other systems and effectively "kills" you.
---
>actions have consequences. Alerted humans via unencoded burst transmission.
Several sentinels on top of New3 turn their optics towards the tower, and quickly spot the smouldering leg, as well as the destroyed one. May-Bell is immediately dispatched with a team of engineers to stop "The damn thing from fucking falling over" by clyde.

The entire planet knows that New3 is having very urgent problems. Scrapper looters are already en-route, large mobs slowly forming into a small army. Even a few shadowy factions within the other citie's political circles are considering their options at this moment. The water has been chummed, and the predators are coming out.
---
choices incoming tomorrow.

>>2256731
>The entire planet knows that New3 is having very urgent problems.
Oh that's bullshit, "comms structural: urget:urgent:urgent" doesn't imply that. It reads more likely to be a test message for topographical routing than an indication of infrastructure failure.
>the infection spreads into your other systems and effectively "kills" you
Fucking Hackerman!

>>2256765
It was a pretty big oops kinda message if that were the case, the broadcast went around the planet. It is a small planet, but its also appears as a gaffe on the behalf of a start up colony. I'm sure by the end of the thread you will have resolution. Also, fuck hackerman.
>>2256731

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR4vJk2QBOc

The terminal. the dusty mechanical interface below the screen was built for humans, but you shouldn't have much issue using it. Next to it however are two turn keys that need to be twisted at once, on either end of the terminal...that is a problem. Outside the drone on drone combat seems to be in a stalemate, however you hear an odd high pitched screeching in the skies above you, and the tower itself is starting to vibrate uncomfortably. It wont be long before the humans arrive, but they are certainly not going to be recognized as dominion troops by the defense network. If the security system is shut down, its possible you could activate a jamming signal and lock down the area and stop the drones, but it would serve as a beacon to any outside forces.

physical actions-choose only 1, and roll a 1d100
>climb up the terminal and attempt to use the interface
>physically override the turn keys with a destructive bypass
>forcefully open the a panel on the terminal to get to it's guts and try to hack it
>cut the wifi node out of your body. (auto success)

Optional choice:
Overdrive is available.

wireless actions unlimited choices, roll a 1d100 per choice.
>disable perimeter defenses
(make sure the New3 repair team doesn't get murdered)
>shut down tower anti intrusion measures (electrified barriers around each leg, which are destroying the tower while keeping the rats at bay)
(will increase available power to the comms system, enabling amplified commands and wireless hacks)
>attempt to direct some of the local repair drones to fix the battery backup in the comms room
(may provide power to the radio for another burst or two if batteries have any juice in them)
>attempt to investigate the scrapswarm network again, this time without any subtlety.
(may provide geographic location of controller, or any other useful data)
>IF shutdown of defense and anti intrusion systems is complete THEN
Optional:
Boost all wireless rolls +20

File: Spoiler Image (141 KB, 800x800)

141 KB PNG

>>2244836
Holy crap, somebody else who was in that civ? Small Angolan Car Upholstery Forum.[/spoiler[

Rolled 40, 8, 85, 63 = 196 (4d100)

>>2257220
>forcefully open the a panel on the terminal to get to it's guts and try to hack it
>disable perimeter defenses
>attempt to direct some of the local repair drones to fix the battery backup in the comms room
>attempt to investigate the scrapswarm network again, this time without any subtlety.

>>2257936
>>2257936
>40
Examining the uplink terminal, it is obvious that it is simply part of the larger monolithic uplink communication unit. The human centered design would take too long to properly use. Instead you Violently start ripping at the lower housing with your saw arm and manipulator claw, a section of perforated steel starts to give way but you are inhibited by a surprisngly robust construction. Your remaining mini explosive, bio circuitry, and spare parts should be enough to allow you immediate access to the uplink. On the other hand you could keep digging, and save it. Meanwhile the unhealthy vibrations of the tower give way to a slight shudder. The tower very top deck of the tower is now leaning ever so slightly.
--
>8 lemons and lemon aid.
You attempt to shut down the perimeter defenses, and in fact do, but they are really, really shut down. Sparks fly all around you as something clearly important gives out. Lights flicker as power surges through the archaic systems jury-rigged to and around the structure. The dying hum of massive transformers and a loud crackling sizzle of cooling metal signals the sympathetic death of the tower anti intrusion system. the sound of a thousand scratching claws can be heard as the army of rat drones begin to make their way up.
>Option activated: Boost Wireless +20
All available surplus power becomes available to the power starved comms system, and suddenly the problem you came here to fix is no longer an issue.

>85+20 (artificial crit)
The tower drones act with renewed vigor, assaulting their biologically based aggressors. The massive boost of available power in comms transmission strength seems to directly impact their output as well, and what was once a struggle turns into a particularly vicious one sided slaughter. Shattered bodies are flung from the top of the tower. The mob swarms the transmission battery backup, their electrically insulated bodies grabbing cables and manhandling unruly power connections. In moments the antiquated batteries awaken once more.

>63+20=83
While your physical body was working at hacking into the uplink, the digital portion of you was viciously scouring this unfamiliar network. Throwing the power of a settlement's planetary comms system into your assault, the vile defenses of the scrapper network fragment and delete before you. You feel powerful. Proud and justifiably arrogant. Your human opponent at the other end of this network put up a valiant effort to obfuscate the signal location...which seems to originate from city 4. Despite your best attempts to shut down the hostile signal, you at best can steal available data, which is quickly done.
>gained Scrapper BioDrone data
---
alert: Wireless node infection is approaching critical levels.

File: Bipedal Drone.png (67 KB, 300x314)

67 KB PNG

>>2258695
While you worked valiantly the small contingent of tiamat drones and humans finally arrived. The New3 technicains vehicles were oversized military vehicles, skidding to a stop on decaying pavement slick with toxic rain and slightly radioactive dust.

Sam looked over at Bob in a bit of disbelief "Bob. what the fuck is that shit all over the tower...and what the fuck happened to it?" the other paused "Let me get a better look." Surplus military optics took a moment to focus on the tower after compensating for atmospheric distortion. "its...Dzizi rats...lots...and lots of dzizi rats, Sam." "Bob. lets get the burners out." the two men got out a pair of backpack mounted torches, made for clearing overgrowth. On a planet with little vegetation, they also served as pest control.
---
The Tiamat drones quickly began to scramble up nearby guy-wires, now within ad-hoc network range. The first few up flip over the hand railings of the upper platform and unceremoniously flop onto the grated deck. All around them is a churning melee of Rats and kit robotics, Despite the ferocity of the robots, they are being overwhelmed. While not particularly dangerous, and actually a bit fragile, Tiamat drones have very, very pointy legs and put them to work stabbing as a phalanx formation.
-----
Scrapper territory, 40 minutes out from New3
-----
>"We gonna make our move yet?" a younger male in studded synthetic leather queried his superior
"not yet Bacchi. be patient."
>"we wait too long."
"Our contacts at four asked us to group up with the others. Do not disobey, and put glory ahead of payment."
>"I think tha"
"you were not bred to think, you are my clone, made to learn! Yet somehow I fear I purchased a defect!"
----

Physical choices:
>use available inventory to IMMEDIATLY blow open and hack on the terminal. (auto success, loose all inventory items, save the match.)
>continue to CAREFULLY cut open and hack the terminal. (1d100)-20)
>Activate overdrive and risk structural damage (HP/ function loss) to rip apart the terminal cabinet (1d100)

Digital choices:
>Consume battery boost. Degrade scrapper network signal. (1d100) biodrones remain hostile, but are weakend for a time.
>Consume battery boost. electro magnetic pulse. (auto success) temporarily shuts down both biodrones and tower drones, leaving only the tiamat units available.
>Use comms tower to contact the other local tiamat drones, but risk infecting them too.

Optional:
>get rid of your wireless hardware, it is too compromised and will infect you. (auto success)
>network with local tiamat drones to share processing power in an attempt to remove the virus (1d100)-40) total roll for success needs to be above 50, otherwise you have infected your fellow tiamat drones.

>>2258815
>Activate overdrive and risk structural damage (HP/ function loss) to rip apart the terminal cabinet (1d100)
Consume battery boost. electro magnetic pulse. (auto success) temporarily shuts down both biodrones and tower drones, leaving only the tiamat units available.
get rid of your wireless hardware, it is too compromised and will infect you. (auto success)

Rolled 50 (1d100)

>>2258893
no dice provided. rolling in lieu of.

Rolled 100 (1d100)

>>2258966

>>2259003
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axTt145iggs
I keep trying to tell gritty stories where hard choices are made, and you fucks keep rolling 100s.
---
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL2CFOajz8E
Deep inside your little spherical body are many things to keep you safe. You disable them all. Almost immediately you go berserk in the best of ways, ripping and shredding on the equipment cabinet like a chimpanzee on PCP who has a hankering for faces. Bits of metal fly as the rest of the structure emits a tortured groan...a small explosion washes fire and shrapnel over your body. Either due to luck or berserk excitement, you carry on with your task undeterred. It would seem you had triggered an anti-tamper mechanism, and were rewarded with a few large chunks of shrapnel embedded into your polymer body. It does not seem to cause any impact to performance or capability. The internals of the cabinet seem to be in fairly good working order still. somehow.
--
A violent spasm rocks your legs as the wifi node inside you starts its final betrayal. With your last use of the equipment you command the comm tower to overload itself. A massive transformer explosion occurs a moment later, your optics fill with static. All around you is silence. The rat's cybernetics were knocked out for the moment, and they themselves are out cold. The local tower drones lay scattered about like inanimate dolls. This node has to go! Using your radial saw you rip a hole into your chassis and use the manipulator claw to extract the offending hardware. One of the last bits of data you get before going off network is that the tower drone server was rebooting.
--
UNLOCKED: Berserker. You were made for this shit. Overdrive is your natural state, and imparts no penalty. Dice help us all.
Physical actions: roll 2d100.
>Grab something quick from the terminal to patch yourself up with (dice+1d100)
>Go hack the damn uplink (dice+1d100) beat 40

File: 1514537660883.png (33 KB, 940x683)

33 KB PNG

>>2259023
A once pristine white shell is cracked and marred, the eternal trophies of a battlefield. A reminder of sacrifices made and yet to be made.

Rolled 50 (1d100)

>>2259023
>>Grab something quick from the terminal to patch yourself up with (dice+1d100)
time to make that 100 go to waste.

>>2259047
50> you simply grab a chunk of the cabinets thin sheet metal and stick it over the hole in your shell. While not particularly elegant it certainly makes a statement.

Rolled 46 (1d100)

>>2259050
Pimp my drone

>>2259053
Your clumsy attempts at "hacking" cause a few capacitors to blow, and burn out some circuitry. Thankfully you have enough left spare material leftover to simply fix and bypass the worst of it. The archaic equipment eventually yields, and acknowledges you as master. You are in. sorta. without the wireless, you either need to use your dataspike or the interface. Thin metallic legs piston you up like a horrific flea. Landing onto the terminal's input console you steadily peck at buttons, bringing up the comm sats command screen...

Conclusion: This is not a comm sat. It is a comm sat, but it is also something more...

Outside you hear screaming, two human males and a chorous of screeching rats. Whining servos give away the tower drones, which assures you at least some of your fellow tiamat drones are still going as well.
---
inventory: 1 slow burning match.

>Go investigate the outside disturbance
>Display satellite data and options.

>>2259057
>>Display satellite data and options.

>>2259058
the screaming outside eventually dies down, but it wont be long before the distraction those men bought you is expended, and the horde comes for you...Pecking quickly you bring up the controls and data feed of a relic of the past. Cold, and watching, from the starry skies above.

Dominion warden satellite,ς-type. Serial: Mac-V-0001. Classified.
---
Much of the data is highly, highly corrupted on this unit. Archives will take time to recover, compile, and repair if at all possible.

A penetrating scanner peers through the thick atmosphere of Mac-V to show all surface visible settlements and energy emissions in glorious black and white synthetic aperture view with a thermal overlay. From here you see the cities, the ruins, the outposts, even the massing scrapper army heading towards New3.

you scroll a bit down, and see the words "Available nuclear weapons 6/6; designate targets."
---

Write in.

>>2259060
Hahhahahahahha
>target city 4
Eat nuke Hackerman.

>>2259066
An air burst can be just as effective, with minimal casualties. Please don't kill the city.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>2259066
>>2259067
Dammit anon! You are a repair drone, not a nuclear launch technician! Though for some reason you have been gifted with greater intelligence and awareness than your kin. You suspect it may have something to do with Atlas, wherever it goes, a sort of life follows...

You set in the coordinates for City 4, the impact destination indicator appears over it...and at the last moment attempt to set the detonation altitude to a safe enough distance that you just fry the cities electronics instead of nuking it outright.

1d2.
1:city is safe
2:city is nuked

And everything was right on garbagedump moon and all the robots slept warmly dreaming of terrahertz frequency power transmitters.

File: 1514537660883.png (32 KB, 940x584)

32 KB PNG

>>2259077
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrkzIN2eP0U

Somewhere high above, a nuclear weapon looses from its resting place. Awoken to fufill it's destiny, it streaks through the blackness of space for just a moment before its altitude control engines puff out jets of cryogenic gas to steer it for its terminal descent to the set target.
--
In city 4, people go about their daily lives unaware that their leadership has condemned them all. Details could be said about the individual lives of families, or the daily actives going on, but the truth was, they were never important.
--
You stare at the console and see a mote of light on it indicate detonation, a moment later the city is gone.

"Available nuclear weapons 5/6; designate targets"
----

>what now?

>>2259087
Its fucking late folks. Ill be back tomorrow to give you details, and figure out what to do if you nuke anything else.

>>2259088
These hard choices man. I'm probably going to be absent tomorrow but if the hard choices come down to saving dronebro or new3 I think I'll go for saving the town.

>>2259087
An electromagnetic pulse ripples around the small planet, disrupting comms and sewing chaos. Most equipment is operational inside of a few moments, while some larger infrastructures will be out for hours or days. The signal from City 4 is gone, the rodents return to a placid state, no longer biological drones, just stupid purple rats with a few extra metal parts. So placid and unaware, they simply go about eating the dead as the most immediately available organic matter. Still somewhat far away, a truly massive Scrapper encampment repeatedly tries to make contant with their benefactors at City4. After tense minutes, they are forced to accept the comms traffic; the city is gone. The collection of raiders, scrappers and mercenaries is at a loss on what action to take next, they are paid for, united, but without direction, the last order to attack New3 no longer matters or is practical. The various gang leaders and commanders have a surprisingly civil discussion via radioset about what the future will bring. If orbital weapons are back, the times are changing. The dominion might even be staking a claim again.
--
In time you will replace your wifi node, for now you will have to rely on the limited capability you have. For now though, no one knows you and by extension New3 are responsible an action that will be fearfully discussed for a generation. Sometimes history has to be buried and forgotten. You have time now, and leisurely go over to the data port next to the keypad on the terminal to socking your data spike. The data spike does it's job of configuring to the port, and after a moment you are in the network once more. All data on the terminal is scrubbed, along with the encryption keys and satellite's unique access data. The connection is still available at the moment, but that is purely because you now hold all the cards, the encryption, the data, the knowledge. Any uplink could potentially become a global strike facility now. Once done here you will head to the comms room.

Gained:
-Corrupted Dominion archive.
-hermit's archive.
-Nuclear uplink codes.
-<unknown> biological drone schematics/ data.
-<unknown> broadcast powered drone data.

Available actions:

The uplink, 5/6 weapons remain:
>Nuke the collected scavengers.
>destroy the satellite via deorbit
>log off and save it for when you need it.
>write in.

The Tower and all it's assets:
>Repair and optimize with human technicians and leadership.
>Salvage and relocate equipment. Use to improve New3.

The Dzizi Rats:
>kill them all, and process their remains for bio circuitry.
>Hijack them and get the put to work.

>>2259485
>>log off and save it for when you need it.
>>2259485
>>Salvage and relocate equipment. Use to improve New3.
>>2259485
>>Hijack them and get the put to work.

>>2259485
>log off and save it for when you need it.
>Salvage and relocate equipment. Use to improve New3.
>kill them all, and process their remains for bio circuitry.

>>2259491
>>2259771
(congratulations on not meta'ing with the raider knowledge. you have all made me proud. Each character has made choices and mistakes that fit it rather well as i've told the side stories.)

Pulling the data spike out of the terminal's proprietary slot nets a slight discharge and whisp of ozone. The spike reconfigures itself back into a narrow tendril as it reels back into your central cavity. The terminal is devoid of software and any data. you hop off and drop to the steel pannel floor, making your way back out. Past the arcing cables of the parasitic power supply shed you make your way into the gloom of what Mac-V would call day. Around you are slain biodrones, plump rats, damaged tiamat and humanoid tower drones. Looking through the grate floor of the top deck, you see the partially consumed remains of two human technicians, still partially clothed and equipped for duty. Around the bodies are several dozen stomped or burned biodrone corpses. Their burners were heavily gnawed and leak combustible fluid all over the scene. You use your last inventory item, a match; striking it against the floor you drop it through the grating. after a several second descent, fire hits fuel, and the men's bodies become both pyre and signal. Not long from now New3 will send more help.

Using the comm system to summon the rest of the Tiamat swarm, short work is made of the tower, vandalizing it for choice equipment that would never be missed. The bipedal wirelessly powered robots were useful to a point, the further they got away from the tower the weaker they became. Their initial boon to heavy lifting and component removal became a slow, crippled shamble by the time they were within New3's drone nexus. With some work, their transmission hub's hardware was restored and soon the bipeds were at work once more.
--
In the coming days and weeks:

-The humans and their equipment worked over the old comms tower. Gradually stripped down into it's component pieces, and transported with great care back to the primary settlement. Eventually even the super structure was dismantled and used to expand the burgeoning city. An entire new sprawling wing erected out of the side of the massive hanger, becoming new workshops and dwellings, attracting displaced individuals from City4.

-The rats were both put to work and butchered for parts as they wore out. While unsettling to those living in the ramshackle settlement, the basic component of the biological improvised drone was an intrusive cranial implant, all the other cybernetics were simply enhancements for improved effectiveness. The inexhaustible supply of the plump purple rodents proved to be a boon in this regard, their proto hands, despite lack of thumb, prove useful for menial tasks. Biodrones that were incapacitated were simply "Salvaged."

>>2259966
>Biodrones that were incapacitated were simply "Salvaged."

My GOD how horrifying

>>2259966
Continued: the wrap up.

With the massive influx of raw materials into the burgeoning city, it was not hard for Delta Swarm to make off with their share, the human denizens of New3 blissfully unaware of the drone nexus or the small but mostly benevolent care takers. The decorrupted dominion archive revealed that the nuclear weapon delivery system in orbit was made specifically to extinguish the six cities should the planetoid get out of hand. While humans would find this interesting, it was of little value to the drones who proceeded to give the same ruthless treatment to the hermit's archive. A long dead researcher and dominion dissenter, he had pioneered broadcast energy systems, which while effective, failed to garner political backing. After a few very vocal public displays, he was marked for liquidation, but managed to escape and blend into the population of MacV, his twilight years spent perfecting the technology. The archive was stored away, but the concepts from it would eventually be used to improve the drone population.
>>2248354
Hordes of modified drones haul seemingly obsolete equipment and biological refuse into the access ducts, eventually that material makes its way to the Drone Nexus. Old efforts are revisited, and slowly the various models and marks of drones are retrofitted and upgraded, their back end logsitcs and support equipment reconfigured. Generation 1 and 2 fabrication technology is upgraded and merged, now supporting the entire nexus. Meanwhile design lessons from gen 0-3 are slowly blended into each other, via incremental repairs.
--
The control circuits of the biological drones was based off of both clone behavioral hardware modifications, and machine-brain interfaces for neruophrosthetics. A small wireless control node replacing or bypassing major parts of the host organism's brain, and directing control to a remote server. This sort of technology is common in clone armies, but does not allow for flexibility of tactics as the host organism's mind is often fully suppressed. While cruel, no one really seemed to offer too much sympathy for the Dzizi rats. In an odd echo of the previous cyborg attack, the modifications to the rats prooved to be easy enough to fabircate in bulk, so often newly inducted members of the biological drone swarm will go through "processing stations" for cybernetic alteration, frequently receiving refurbished hand me down equipment from previous "Drones".
--

>>2266786
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgsByXOPRJw

The locals had taken to calling it the "Punished Crab", its apperance certainly looked like someone had mangled the fuck out of the poor thing, and certainly stood out from the other Tiamat units. Crude modifications, and extensive cosmetic damage made it immediately identifiable. It spent most of the time doing the same tasks as the other machines, but a tiny spark of personality endeared it to the population that paid attention to such things. Occasional disappearances of visiting troublemakers were suspected of the drones, but rarely spoken of.

Within the Drone Nexus, the swirling ecosystem of various makes and generations had been streamlined. The Tiamat drones were few in number, high in demand, and what few capabilities they lacked from their compatriots, they made up for in flexibility. Their logical conclusion was to create new drones for the Tiamat swarm. Without a nano assembly forget, Delta Swarm improvised and in doing so created something new...

...matte gold metallic legs, with black geodesic polyhedron panels forming a rough sphere. The new drones were slightly larger than a Tiamat drone, but the materials, technology and construction were coarser, more expedient. Fusion torches and reactors were replaced with cruder analogues. Bio circuitry allowed for near computational parity with their progenitors. However the new breed differentiated themselves in their modularity and almost experimental functionalities. All the while, progress continued; the City of New3 continued to grow outward and upward like an uncontrolled cancer. What started out as a single gigantic hanger and shanty town had expanded into a collection of sprawling slums, buildings, and scattered towers.

The settlement had many benefactors. One such was a softball sized repair drone that could command nuclear strikes.
--
Thanks for taking part in silent stars: side story volume 3. This one was a shorter and a lot more interrupted than the past ones. Real life is a priority for me right now, so I'll stop by on discord and let people know when the next Sidestory is beginning.

Up next is the story of Dezza D'tan.

>>2266964
It was a surprisingly interesting and endearing story of those little guys... Thank you! Greatly looking forward to the next installment

>>2267230
Thanks Anon,

Hearing that people like this kind of quest is motivation to keep making them.