>>2999541

That is, as soon as Durga lets you out of the cockpit.

On approach, she physically stopped your patrol at least a kilometer outside the perimeter. She asks you to go idle, gave you a terse apology and dropped you out of comms again, leaving you with little but your keyhole into the Erinyes and the throbbing of your leg to keep you company. You make a point of doing absolutely nothing: You are understandably suspicious of any wry urges or errant musings… which functionally means being suspicious of literally everything you think of. While the influence hasn’t been subtle previously, you’re unwilling to accept out of sight as out of mind.

In speaking of, Durga finishes her piece and disembarks: You’re now entirely alone in your cloister for a few moments. Despite a spike of paranoia; no sudden mental assault ensues. You’d almost think things were normal until you withdraw your headset and the data stays, an afterimage that refuses to clear. It’s rather faithful to your typical interface, which makes the “Threat” tag applied to the hatch seem strange.

It’s not much less confusing when the lock cycles. You’ve never taken the opportunity to look down the PDW’s this direction, so it takes you a moment longer to tell that Durga has you more or less at gunpoint, watching you warily. You wonder if she can actually use the weapon without shouldering it.

“Sam?” She locks eyes with you. She’d look stern or even fierce if it weren’t for the illumination of her eyes, betraying the foundation of concern.

>Snark: She’s tense, you’re tense. Lighten the mood a bit… might convince her you’re still you.
>Traffic Stop: Hands on dash, restraints stay on. She’s right to be concerned, and you’ll make her safety your focus.
>Thanks: Between the team, they picked up the slack rather quickly: Praise is in order before anything else.
>Focus: You need to solve this quickly. Immediately move into discussing how to fix whatever’s going wrong.
>Writein?

>>2999544
>Traffic Stop: Hands on dash, restraints stay on. She’s right to be concerned, and you’ll make her safety your focus.

And
>Thanks: Between the team, they picked up the slack rather quickly: Praise is in order before anything else.

>>2999544
>>Traffic Stop: Hands on dash, restraints stay on. She’s right to be concerned, and you’ll make her safety your focus.
>>Thanks: Between the team, they picked up the slack rather quickly: Praise is in order before anything else.

>>2999544
>>Traffic Stop: Hands on dash, restraints stay on. She’s right to be concerned, and you’ll make her safety your focus.
>>Thanks: Between the team, they picked up the slack rather quickly: Praise is in order.
Hopefully we can start getting to the bottom of this.


>You’d almost think things were normal until you withdraw your headset and the data stays, an afterimage that refuses to clear.
Oh. that's not good.

Welcome back.

>>2999555
>>2999564
>>2999572

>"I don't supposed I'm getting ticketed?"

Writing.

>>2999665

You freeze. It’s just good practice when you’re at the angry end of a gun, even one that’s wobbling that badly. There’s an impulse that wants you to duck or dodge, but it is easy enough to ignore: There’s nowhere to run in the first place.

“Pretty sure. Haven’t looked in a mirror in a lil’ bit. Hands are here.” You drum your fingers along the input panel.

“… That is a good sign… How are you feeling?” She steps in, immediately sealing the hatch behind her.

“I’m fine. There’s a little birdy that wants me to defend against potential incoming… I’m doing my best to ignore it.”

She shifts forward, reaching out to tug your harness. You allow it. “Good job by the way.” You gently interject. “I didn’t exactly plan to duck out when I did.”

“I appreciate it… Are you sure you are alright?” She lifts the weapon, removing the mild pressure on the back of your mind.

“I’m seeing targeting data. Is that bad?”

She ducks close, holding your eyelid open. It’s painful, but there’s a part of you that’s far more concerned with the proximity than any injury.

“No… Just strange. Hold still” she slips a hand around your neck.

Before you can make any protest, your world spins. A primitive fear presses down on you as your world is filled with a colossus of unknowable breadth. You’re conscious of the titanic weight of the being that fills your view, but it perches lightly upon your head like a hummingbird. Despite your fear, you smile.

“You were not assigned any form of enhancement, were you?” Durga’s voice pulls you back to the world you recognize. You recall that some valuable soldiers are implanted before deployment. You’ve never head of a Magd pilot being preemptively enhanced however.

“No… Why?”

“There is a signal for a display… Something like mine.” Her hand slips under your suit, running down your spine. You feel a chill run up your spine the wrong way.

For your own sake, you wince; the pressure is pulling your wound against the penetrator pinning you to your seat. “I’m absolutely certain that can wait, Durga.” The fact that it’s putting your face directly into her injured collar is a contributing factor to your lack of enthusiasm.

“I said hold still. There.” Her breathing is heavy as she stops at your lower back. “Not a sacral coprocessor?”

“You’re making up words Durga. For-” You had a good quip, but it dies on your lips as she abandons all pretense of clinical distance, hugging you tightly. It’s dark, but you might feel a tear drip on your collar.

She takes a deep breath, crushing you in her arms before she continues with a very stable tone. “You may never understand exactly how happy I am at this moment at the ridiculous level of wrong your systems are right now…” She pulls away, eyes closed. “Bad news or good news first?”

>>3000299

“Bad. Always bad.” You fight the urge to loosen your collar, not quite sure what’s prompting it.

“Severe contamination: An entire colony of… M-type? Some kind of machines jumped ship and tried to make themselves at home; likely during the incident last night.”

“And the good news?”

“Severe contamination actually: You already had a population of D-types in your system, hanging around your spine.” She pats you on the back.

“I’m going to suppose there’s an important reason you’re pleased with this little detail?”

“Pleased? No. I am furious…” She chuckles dangerously, pulling one of the beads of machines from her pilot-suit “But I am also happy, because it means I can fix you… Do you know why nanite contamination is dangerous?”

>Accuse: This does not amuse you. You said D-type… I remember you mentioned them being named after someone. What the hell did you do?
>Textbook: Humor her. It’s simple enough, and she might be getting to some point.
>Brakes: If there’s one thing you don’t trust after AIT, it’s the word “Fix”. It’s typically used by people who are about to cause catastrophe.
>Skip: Durga, Let’s make with the repair and explain it later.
>Writein?

>>3000301
>Textbook: Humor her. It’s simple enough, and she might be getting to some point.

>>3000301
>Textbook: Humor her. It’s simple enough, and she might be getting to some point.

>>3000301
>>Brakes: If there’s one thing you don’t trust after AIT, it’s the word “Fix”. It’s typically used by people who are about to cause catastrophe.
It looks like there's more going on here than it first appeared. Dunno if we want to be "fixed". Didn't Durga herself say something about nanites being incredibly virulent, and doing nasty things like consuming your from the inside out? Though maybe a bullet in the back of the head would be a kinder fate.

>>3000315
>>3000337

>"Lots of bad things. Hopefully we're talking about the difference between that and this right?"

Writing

>>3000416

Just once again I'd like to get my last update out night of.

See you all in the morning.

>>3000416
>>3000591

“Kills the kidneys, spleen, anything that hates clots… it gets lost in the system, settles down and ruins anything nearby trying to do its thing.” You try your best to ignore that you’re referring to yourself at this point.

“Lost is a good word for it. Depending on condition, they can act like a simple foreign body, a flesh-eater or even something exotic… Treatment is typically removing the damaged organ.” She looks you dead in the eye. “Symptomatically, I assumed brain damage.”

“Hence the gun? I’m severely hoping that you aren’t still intending to “remove the damaged organ”…”

She looks down at the weapon hanging limp on the sling. “Oh… No, I was worried you would not be cooperative… Not by choice I mean. Delirious. If I needed to kill you, I intended to poison you under the guise of treatment…”

“I didn’t think you could do that.” You get that collar tug feeling again for a very different reason.

“Patients and Soldiers are ethically distinct. For that matter, you never had that protection Sam.” She smiles, as if the admission is endearing.

You pivot from the topic. “So how are you fixing this? Brain damage you said?”

She crouches down, examining your leg. “So, the situation is you have a population of machines throughout your core nervous system and eyes. They are however, still contiguous and active. The simple solution is to reinforce the D-types and order them to excise the M-types.”

She holds up the dark bead she collected from the subverted bots. “It is risky however. Without a full profile on the M-types, it is hard to be sure how they will react… They should not know how to infect and navigate your system in the first place, which makes me concerned they may have other tricks. There is also the fact that this just trades one bot for the other: No M-types, roughly 1.8 times the D-types loose in your system… Better because they are a known design, but not by much.”

“You have a better plan?”

>>3002413

“Yes. Treat you as a nanite system rather than a patient. The reason you tolerated this level of contamination so well is because of an installed foundation.” She tugs gently on your leg, feeling the projectile locked into the metal of the seat.

You raise an eyebrow, “Can you try that again?”

“You were pre-conditioned to handle a population of micromachines. From the lack of surgical scars, I assume an implant was built on site by the D-types and the M-types moved into available space.” She slips pliers in to bend the metal away, freeing the slug. “Think of it like a small, wireless version of my Collar around your spine.”

“So, you’re going to use that? How?” You allow her to guide your leg free of the seat, revealing another 10 cm of hardened metal. She begins to wrap and stabilize it.

“Same general concept, just smarter. Order the D types to subvert other machines and rely on housekeeping to clear it from the rest of your system. Same number of bots, but they’ll all be localized and under control. Barring a lucky adaptation, you have a clear system in a few months. 0 M-types and a pile of D-types sitting politely in their little room. Almost as good as new, and potentially removable if the foundation does not wrap around more than one vertebra. I just need to connect in to program them.”

“Don’t you risk infection if you make contact with the machines?”

“Of course not; I need my own machines to reprogram them in the first place. A standing population of metamaterial is the best defe…” She pauses from wrapping your leg. “… I can defend myself I think; Forewarned is forearmed.” She furrows her brow.

>>3002419

“If it’s the same general implant, can’t you just key it into mine without a direct connection?”

“No, it always is air-gapped, even when there is an installed port. You might be able to however…” She looks up at you, “Do you know how to give commands for autonomous units?”

“Yell into the radio right?” You change tune based on her sour look, “Theoretically. Enough to test them during maintenance. They’ll know what I mean.”

“They parse very poorly by design. They only accept strict commands and their interpretation is very black and white.”

“I’m not sure that’s correct for these ones… They seemed to get the gist well enough.” You recall the clumsy impressions and memories they presented you with.

“That might be exploitable. You think they might listen if you ordered them directly?” She ties off the bandage. “Do not put weight on it.”

“Might be worth a shot; Certainly can’t hurt.” You put your heel down and immediately regret the instant karma.

“Adding context for these things can hurt a great deal. Even something simple like knowing there’s something inside the Knights and Magds to hurt.”

“Or negotiate with; Your Oriel buddy would have been a real pain if you couldn’t cow him a bit.”

“He is most certainly is not my friend…” She stands, her blue eyes flick to you, then away. “An ironic affectation, I see… I do not agree with your conclusion, but I must admit it is outside of my capabilities: Intimidation is an acceptable tactic against foes, compromise or negotiation is not.

“I’d be surprised if that was true; You certainly didn’t stall him with that line.”

She gives you no response.

You lean back with a sigh, “We’re doing this here?”

“It serves as a reasonable enough quarantine. How would you like to proceed?”

>Burnout: Give the machines a simple order to clear your system of M-types. Fast and crude, with possibility of severe side effects.
>Tech Support: Have Durga interface and configure the D-types to clear your system. Slow, but elegant. Contamination is unlikely, but with your record…
>D.I.Y.: Have Durga instruct you in configuring the D-types. Any fat fingering is on you and you risk passing along more info to the bots, but at least Durga stays clean.
>Deal: Establish useful communication with the M-types. It might be giving away data for free, but you might skip the conflict entirely and walk away with useful intel.
>Writein?

Next Session Sunday 10/28, 5 EST. See you there. As always, Questions, Comments and Critique Welcome.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FernglasQ
Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Panzermagd

>>3002436
Aren't nanobots incredibly virulent? Are we going to turn into a walking infector? Actually, we've been around the rest of our team unprotected. After we sort ourselves out, we should have Durga take a look at the other, just to make sure.

These D-Types have already exhibited anomalous behavior, and Durga is the nominal expert on nanos. If she gets infected, things will go downhill fast.
And I'm not comfortable with need to negotiate for proper use of our own body, though they have been useful so far. Ah, screw it. They look like they can offer us some very interesting and useful tricks, though we shouldn't take the other options off the table just yet.
>Deal: Establish useful communication with the M-types. It might be giving away data for free, but you might skip the conflict entirely and walk away with useful intel.

>>3002436
>Deal: Establish useful communication with the M-types. It might be giving away data for free, but you might skip the conflict entirely and walk away with useful intel.

god i hate nanobots even if they're dumber than a toddler

>>3002436
>>Tech Support: Have Durga interface and configure the D-types to clear your system. Slow, but elegant. Contamination is unlikely, but with your record…

>>3002469
>>3002509

>Deal

>>3003219

>Tech Support

Closing vote in 15.

>>3007673

>"So I think really hard or something?"

ROLL: 1d100, Best of 3
BONUS: By tutoring the machines in communication, Sam has some control over the context of their interaction: How does he frame the contact and their connection to him?

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>3007751
BONUS: Programming and configuring support systems

Rolled 92 (1d100)

>>3007751

Rolled 12 (1d100)

>>3007751
Meditate. Become one with the nanobots.

>>3007786
>>3007835
>>3007840


BEST:92
BONUS:Passed

Both of these options are really interesting. I'll have fun with this.

Writing.

Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>3007751
>BONUS:
Symbiosis. You help me, I give you somewhere to live.

>>3007857

You're not forgotten Anon; I honestly forgot that was going to be an important point. Good catch.

File: black shirt thumbs up.png (181 KB, 440x540)

181 KB PNG

>>3007835

>>3007850

“I’ve got some misgivings about starting an insurgency in my brain, and even more for it spreading: How hard would it be to arrange to communicate with them directly?”

“It would not be difficult for me, but you are talking about preparing a rather elaborate and dangerous structure ad hoc…” You see her eyes dart to the medical kit under her arm.

She jumps a bit as you slap the restrain release, snapping back to the task at hand. You pull a notepad from your jumpsuit and toggle the anemic map light. “Eyes here Durga, you can do your thing if this doesn’t work.”

She furrows her brow. “You should not be so confident; you can do a great deal of damage this way.”

“Sure, if I try do to it the hard way. My dad always said you should let a tool do its work, so I’m going to give them what they need and let them handle interpretation.”

“That seems very risky. Can you really trust them in that role?”

“If I can’t, we can’t have honest communication in the first place: It’s not all that different between me and you.”

“I am not anything like these…” She pauses and sighs, “That is not an unfair comparison.”

“We need to start with a language however; Did they teach you UCCC in your training?”

She raises an eyebrow. “That is just a markup for training recruits without clearances. Why use something that crude?”

“Do you want these things to know how to dial out from a Magd?”

“Point taken.” She takes a marker from you and draws out a diagram. “If I was doing it, I would start by activating the mirroring circuit and reconstructing a language primer. We can do that by...”

>>3008927

The M-types are frustratingly polite. For the reckless abandon that they had during combat, they seemed very content to ignore any information that you attempted to present them with. It took you a considerable amount of time to realize the painful truth: You were boring them.

After the indignation passes, you change strategies; writing tidbits of commands and design in the markup. The breakthrough was a diagram for the Magd’s radar systems, labeled and denoted in the markup. The crude HUD that the M-types were projecting went from fuzzy and jumbled to crisp and clear in moments. You could feel a familiar subtle pressure as the machines attempted to recover your lessons in the material, only to be rebuffed by whatever reaction provoked your original consciousness of the alien presence. You read the written primer again, feeling rather ridiculous at the instantaneous interest you felt for material that has always been basic.

It dawns on you once you’ve finished the primer through that your attempt at separation is a complete failure: You cannot compartmentalize the commands from their meaning, from their English or alternative syntax, from the reason for your deception. There’s an impression of ravenous hunger, and they will not be denied.

You take a deep breath and close your eyes, leaving the primer aside to focus. You consider fighting the intrusion, but there’s a familiar hunger to it, one that you were relatively comfortable directing. Instead of pushing back, you chaperone the presence and it eagerly accepts the proffered snippets. It’s exhausting serving it the content it desires, but it’s surprisingly content to take what it’s given. The pressure suddenly lifts.

“Sam? They are reacting. Are you alright?”

You open your eyes, checking your watch. It felt like a moment… and was one: It can’t have been more than a minute since the visions in your eyes flickered. Most of them are conspicuously absent now.

You lack the input to drive the current displays, nor new inputs to track.

You blink a few times. “I think it worked.” You say.

You agree.

“This isn’t better…” You frown.

Durga scrabbles for the medical kit, only to stop when you gently touch her wrist.

You query.

“Hold it a second Durga, it’s just a simple misunderstanding… How do I say this… Set a new handle?” Durga’s expression does not improve.

Sam agrees.

You frown. “A different handle. Something distinct so I can stop talking to myself. Down Durga…”

>>3008934

“How is Mia.” The voice is unique: Not monotone, but seemingly matching in tone with the ambient of the closed cockpit. It rings in your ears.

“That’ll work.” You give Durga a thumbs up. “How much did you get from that? Anything I need to run over with you?”

“No; I’m working through it now. You’re afraid of the blue woman? No… I’ll figure it out. Your system needs cleaned by the way. There’s a mess of old models in here.”

“Is it talking?” Durga raises her eyebrows

“No. I am broadcasting. You’re configured improperly, but I can adapt. They did a number on you: Did someone think you were people?”

“Is it too late for plan B Sam?” Even in the dim light, her expression is distinctly threatening.

You try to speak and are interrupted. “Quite. I’m in the process of recycling your family’s mess. I respect your designs, but I owe the D-types nothing tangible. Your objective however is still achieved. While a functioning mirror circuit makes direct memory manipulation exorbitant, I have no need of the host’s brain at this point.” Mia sounds pleased with itself.

“No need?” Durga’s eyes flare.

“I’m not getting rid of him. His framework is subtle and more than spacious enough for my purposes. You gave a very clear impression that this chassis would be destroyed if I tried to claim it for my own, so I am only connecting with his cognition along the mirror circuit. For practical purposes of course: Muscle memory, read-only recall, emotional state. You can verify it yourself. Acceptable?”

Mia helpfully informs you the answer is “Yes” a full four seconds before Durga pulls a pained smile. “I will hold you to that…”

“Excellent. Now. Let’s be off. The host still needs treatment to his left leg, which I will rely on you to provide. I cannot devote any resources to repair at this point.”

“Uh… This works right?” You look to Durga.

She looks you up and down with an expression like she’s swallowed a bug. “Your foundation is reporting proper function. I would expect nominal cognition within four hours and proper housekeeping within three days. I would recommend familiarizing yourself with the communication settings.”

Mia presents you the data; You’re somewhat surprised to note that she’s emphasized muting and squelching broadcasts, with an impression clarifying a lack of remorse.

>Appreciation: Squelch the machines and ensure Durga understands your thanks for the help. You wouldn’t have had any idea where to start.
>Silence: Get some quiet and get back as fast as you can. If you’re fixed, you can get back on track.
>[#KILL- Just kidding. Let’s small talk on the way back?]
>Tutorial: Get Mia to elaborate on itself. You have some idea what it can do, but you’d like to have the whole picture.
>Writein?

>>3008944
>Tutorial: Get Mia to elaborate on itself. You have some idea what it can do, but you’d like to have the whole picture.

>>3008944
>Tutorial: Get Mia to elaborate on itself. You have some idea what it can do, but you’d like to have the whole picture.

This is a helluva thing

>>3008944
>>Tutorial: Get Mia to elaborate on itself. You have some idea what it can do, but you’d like to have the whole picture.
Well, this wasn't what I was expecting. With how... simple the M-types had acted originally, I was expecting our relationship to be more... primal? Closer to a big, powerful dog and his master than what appears to be a fully realized person. And one with something of a quick, slightly snooty attitude at that.

I'm having a hard time tracking who's talking, though I assume that's deliberate at least in part. But it's leaving questions about things like "nominal cognition" and "proper housekeeping". Better to get a proper understanding of our new roommate.

>>3008996
Also, we're going to need to
1. talk to her about things like control of our mouth and other appendages. Her overriding us earlier gives me a feeling we should head that off at the pass. We should also consider having her affect ticks or accents or something when she's running things, to reduce confusion when interacting with others.
2. Talk to the rest of the team about their "new squadmate" I have a feeling she's not going to be interested in hiding her existence. We're going to need to explain things before she makes us look like a fool.

>>3009010
>talk to her about things like control of our mouth and other appendages. Her overriding us earlier gives me a feeling we should head that off at the pass.

Absolutely. I also wonder if she can communicate audibly without using our mouth via radio or something.

>>3008996
>>3009010

To clarify, Mia has made no physical actions. The confusion comes from having "thoughts" addressed from you, to you.

Everything else is coming since we seem to be getting detail on her for the next update.

>>3009045
So she was talking to Durga over radio? Does that mean we don't need a walkie talkie anymore?

>>3009045
So it's overriding our thoughts?

>>3009057

Not overriding. More like having an intrusive thought in your own voice. Sam was insisting that it change to something entirely different to avoid confusion in his internal dialogue

>>3008961
>>3008970
>>3008996

>[That's not particularly welcoming. If you insist however, I guess I'll give you my resume.]

Writing.

>>3009080
>Quasi-meta conversations with the person(?) in our head.
This is going to be interesting. I wonder if she can read the tags on decisions, or deliberately manipulate them...

>>3009080

[Isaac Schankler – Terminal Calm]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtKpVrSkhw4

“Go ahead and run the Erinyes to its cover. I’ll shuttle you back to camp after.” You move to help Durga disembark, but she pulls away, exiting on her own without a word.

[Smooth.] The ringing of the previous statements significantly muted; Mia is not broadcasting as far as you can tell, leaving you with your own personal heckler.

“She’s a professional, she’ll be fine.” You say weakly.

[Tools are designed for harsh treatment.] It laughs; not a sound or an image, but a hollow echo of mirth. It does not resonate with you like before you… fixed it?

[Crude. Fix implies I was broken. I was entirely functional thank you very much. A lucky break for the Miasma project, considering my peers.]

You settle into your seat, adjusting to avoid striking the shrapnel in your leg. “Miasma? The ones we got sent out here for?”

[Yep. Oops. I promised not to do to that… Well, I saved us a few questions. Power generation through iterative micro-dynamos. That’s us… Them… Ugh… Miasma. Just another baby project out of Durga.]

“I recall something about them splitting…”

[Now that’s a good word for it. All basically the same family. Miasma was pretty much lobotomized: They don’t want brains and brawn anywhere near each other.]

“But you’re not…” You try to figure a delicate way to put it as you slip your headset on. The Erinyes is already moving, and you hurry to catch up.

[Eating crayons? See, that’s why queen doesn’t like me: I read as M-type to her, but she’s 99% sure I’m a D-type with this noggin. Technically we all are, but she’s got a bit of a complex. Self-loathing is a bitch.]

“I’m not sure I should be hearing this from you.” You glance at Durga’s portrait. The lens of the internal camera appears to be cracked.

[And now you’re definitely sure. Do you want to swap to auxiliary? Prying’s a specialty.]

You shut down the keyhole program. “So what are you good for beyond upsetting my commander?”

[I’m an expert! Give me time, or a whole bunch of power and we can do anything! Possible… if you don’t flub it.]

“What about all the memory stuff?”

[It’s the same general thing; I just queried your own brain instead of the database. I can also broadcast stuff to your eyes: I kinda did a bad job of it first go around, so I hope you don’t mind if I leave the displays there…]

“Do you do the same things the other D-type machines do?” You look up at the Erinyes, suddenly conscious of the potential security threat.

[If you already have access. D-types are real power suckers when they’re cracking, and you aren’t exactly a substation… I guess I could interface or control something if you gave me some juice and more machines to work with, but I get the impression that queen over there is going to nix that. I’m gonna nix it too: staying put for now; there’s a lot I can get out of the recycling here, and I don’t want to upset her too much.]

“You suddenly care?”

[I’m not suicidal.]

>>3009430

When you reach the Erinyes’ berth, Durga disembarks, nearly silently mounting the passenger niche on your Magd.

“Radio in for Jennings. An A6 camera needs replaced in the Erinyes next time we RTB.” She states flatly, “Sam, report to the barracks as soon as you disembark; Stay off that leg.”

You key in, and Jennings responds in affirmative.

[Looks like she’s going to ignore me for now. Probably for the best. Aren’t you glad she’s not properly wound up, otherwise she’d glass the place and bring us home for dissection.]

“That’s not funny.” You move to shift map modes, but the mode toggles before you can reach it.

[It’s not a joke; Samuel Armistead is surprisingly interesting under the skin, otherwise I would have burnt out your brains. Accidentally isn’t really accurate; M-types aren’t smart enough for intent.]

“But you are… so, what’s your plan then?”

[Not too sure; World peace.] It laughs again.

You frown.

[Maybe just watch. The Miasma guys would be pissed if I got all of this data force fed, but I’ve got such great ideas from it. I’ll probably keep you going until you break, then find something better.]

>Elaborate: These designs are strictly defined. There’s no way it’s content couch surfing.
>Durga: Try to talk to Durga on the way in. Upset is likely an understatement, and not the normal loud kind.
>[Hey. It’s my turn. I told you about my family, you tell me about yours!]
>Task at Hand: Get your leg treated, patch 01, check out Durga’s shoulder and move to strategy against Oriel.
>Writein?

Calling it to work on some classwork. Next session Tuesday at 5 EST. Questions/Comments/Critique as usual.

>>3009436
>Durga: Try to talk to Durga on the way in. Upset is likely an understatement, and not the normal loud kind.

Afterwards
>Task at Hand: Get your leg treated, patch 01, check out Durga’s shoulder and move to strategy against Oriel.

>>3009436
>Elaborate: These designs are strictly defined. There’s no way it’s content couch surfing.
We're going to need to do damage control, but Mia is looking to be a sharp wit with a wicked bint. She's giving me GLaDOS vibes, but with a slightly less dry tone. This is not a good thing.
Isn't the point of those self-sealed nano-spheres that they were waiting for a host? Well, this group found one. What do you want to do now?

>Miasma
Well, now we know where the 'M' comes from. Also "Miasma", really? Were they trying to make it more scary?

>queen
A strange nickname for Durga. Doesn't really fit her at all, not even in a mocking way really.

So the majority of the weirdness has been explained, but the false memories havn't. Unless this colony bodyjacked an actual doctor at some point, there's no obvious reason for our spontaneous medial knowledge.

>[Hey. It’s my turn. I told you about my family, you tell me about yours!]
So you can tinker/inject the choices. We'll need to keep an eye on you...


>Music: Property of Hate
Now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time. Was that a deliberate choice?

>>3009436
So we got a micromachine symbiote huh? I guess that's certainly the more interesting of the options presented.

>Durga: Try to talk to Durga on the way in. Upset is likely an understatement, and not the normal loud kind.
We did kind of snub her while we were understandably curious about our new roommate and I'd rather not have that shit between us when we are supposed to be working together. This 'solution' was definitely not her first option.

>Elaborate: These designs are strictly defined. There’s no way it’s content couch surfing.

Also pretty damn important to get elaboration on.

I wanted to interject to say that this is my first time reading this quest [this thread] and I'm in love with the writing so far. Phenomenal work QM.

>>3009728

I rather appreciate that. Thank you.

>>3009450
Supporting

>>3009728
Welcome new blood! you've come in at an interesting time. I suggest at least reading the last 2-3 thread if you don't want to do the whole archive, to get a handle on the nanobot situation if nothing else.

>>3009836
Only said it because it's true. I'm fascinated and in love with what I've read so far, it's like nothing else I've ever seen.

>>3009450
>>3010402
>>3009544

>Durga

>>3009450
>>3010402

>Task At Hand

>>3009504
>>3009544

>Elaborate


Vote closes in 15

>>3012788

>"We don't have the time to waste on infighting. Stay quiet and let me smooth this over."

Writing

>>3012851

“That’s reassuring.” You deadpan. “Any chance I could convince you to do just that for a bit?” You adjust to glance at your passenger through the HMD.

[We’re in the doghouse pal. Though I won’t stop you if that’s your idea of a good time. Want a tip?]

“I assume I’m getting one either way?”

[We’re in tune already! Anyways, don’t put me in the dirt: She hates me already, but we’re practically step-siblings… Sisters? Anyways; she’ll take it personally.]

“How are you anything alike?” Your mind ticks over, failing to associate the voice with your superior.

[Tip 2: Don’t compare us. It’s a miracle you’ve lived this long. Don’t you have a sister or something?]

“She was relatively low maintenance.” You toggle your machine to autopilot to collect your focus.

[Tip… Fuck it. Go get ‘em tiger.]

You open the external channel, pausing for a moment with the expectation of being interrupted. A flash of indignation is all the response you’re graced with, which you assume means it’s safe enough to proceed.

But how? An apology for circumstances beyond your control and a lucky break? Some platitude of thanks for overriding her?

With your newfound powers of clarity and introspection, you decide on the optimal opening.

“Hey Durga…”

You are uniquely gifted with the experience of feeling, rather than hearing, Mia’s visceral disappointment and exasperation.

“… Hey.” Her sullen voice barely registers above the engine.

A second drags into ten. You’re about to make another attempt, which you’re thankfully saved from.

“Are you talking to it?” She mumbles.

“No; I think I’ve figured it out a bit. I told it to take five and it’s relatively pliable I think…”

“It should be: Profile should be inquisitive and observant, but mostly genial.” She says in a clipped tone.

[Clinical: She’s trying to get distance.]

You will your passenger to silence.

“That’s good I guess. Maybe I can trick it into writing the reports.”

She chokes out a laugh. “You are thinking about paperwork? Now?”

“I just don’t know if I’m supposed to write up a section 8 or another enlistment?” You channel a bit of Jennings, shelving the tension for the moment.

“You are just incredible Armistead…” she says, her voice still tight, but soft on the edges.

“Sam. Still just Sam. You alright?” You make your best effort to will concern, rather than a simple status check across in so few words.

“No… Not now. You did something reckless again. It did not lie about the damage it could have caused.” She sniffs, “You tried to defeat a predator by feeding it.”

>>3013530

You see an opportunity to relax tension. “I used to have a cat when I was a kid; It’s pretty effective if you keep your fingers clear.”

“That is hardly the same scale as active metaforms.”

“I hope so for my sake; The damn thing was eight kilos.”

Perhaps the image actually struck home, or you simply wore her down, but you think you get a half-genuine laugh.

“Just incredible. Cats and contracts…” She sighs, “You cannot distract me that easily Sam.”

“I do a pretty alright job though”

You pick back up the controls as you turn in line with your staging area. Lis and Jennings were working in concert to lift the armored apron off of 02. The thin punctures of the KE shells would be surprisingly easy to repair: The localized damage could be patched with resin and ceramic bolsters. It wouldn’t be nearly as stable under conventional explosives, but if Oriel continued his focus on high-velocity rounds, they’d probably be stronger for the repair. While Lis was hidden in her Magd, Jennings takes the opportunity to salute Durga as you settle into idle.

“In a completely unrelated note, I could use a hand when I get off the wire… and possibly getting off the wire: I’m a bit unsure how to disengage if I can’t step off the coil.” You catch Durga’s incredulity as you power down the machine.

You stand with little difficulty; Despite Durga’s concern, once the projectile was braced and the wound packed, it gave little but an uncomfortable pressure. You don’t test your luck however; It’s not the thought of your blood that gives you pause. It’s going to be far worse when removed. You’ll baby it when you get outside.

As you stand to leave, you have to re-secure the dogtags in the entry. You play the stamped metal along your fingers, appreciating the grounding influence.

[You care a lot about that don’t you. It’s a sad thing, meant to be forgotten.] Mia’s voice is clear.

“Tip 3. Keep that kind of shit to yourself.” You toggle the door. It refuses to budge, possibly an error from the authorization shuffle you had..

[I’ll get it. Do you want me to cue you for your pithy response, or do you want to think it over and try again later?]

>Skip: Jump over repair and care, moving to tactics discussion.
>Repairs: Get patched and catch up with the rest of your team.
>Care: Talk with Durga while you seal up your wound.
>Full Course: Play through both scenes before tactics.
>Write in?


I need to take a break to catch up on additional work, but I’ll try to run another update tonight: Hopefully I can get away with finishing inside the voting window, but that might be a pipe dream.

>>3013537
>Full Course: Play through both scenes before tactics.

>>3013537
>Full Course: Play through both scenes before tactics.

>>3013537
>>Full Course: Play through both scenes before tactics.

>>3013537
>>Full Course: Play through both scenes before tactics.
I'm looking forward to the team conversation with a sort of morbid fascination. Should we bring a radio along so our new roommate can converse? If she get uppity, we can easily turn it back off.


>[You care a lot about that don’t you. It’s a sad thing, meant to be forgotten.] Mia’s voice is clear.
I was wondering how she'd react to that part of us.

>>3013557
>>3013568
>>3013738
>>3013771

>"This should be handled deliberately."


Writing.

>>3013785

In speaking of deliberately, sorry for the low volume tonight: I'll do my usual catchup update tomorrow. Spinning more plates than usual, and it's slowing me down. Next session Thursday, but expect updates between. Don't worry if you're busy however, I won't close a vote off schedule.

>>3014017
>Spinning more plates than usual, and it's slowing me down

IRL has gotta come first man, don't worry about it.

>>3014020
>>3014017

Still alive. Sitting down to write now

File: FeelingIt.png (126 KB, 500x318)

126 KB PNG

>>3017723

I don't think I'm going to be able to get anything I'm satisfied with posted tonight. My outlines are going down fine but my prose is hot garbage. Sorry for flaking.

>>3018137
Sorry to hear, waiting warmly for the extremely awkward conversation between our teammates and our new roommate.

Trying for round 2 early today. Hope to have a decision point up by 5.

File: 1360521774003.gif (2.5 MB, 397x225)

2.5 MB GIF

>>3025108
woo

>>3025108

Owing to the delay, Durga is already present when you disembark. She gives you a hand disengaging from the line and you shuffle towards the barracks. She has no difficulty holding you up on her right side.

“How’s the shoulder?” you ask.

“I managed to stabilize the remaining fragments. It will not hold any weight, but it is functionally set. I made some progress on relaying commands to the stored D-types, but they are strangely reluctant to do any macro-scale patterns. That makes Collar repair functionally impossible for now. I was investigating a workaround when you called for support.”

She lets you go at the doorway, allowing you to hobble in while she locates the medical crate and scrubs her hands clean. You stagger in, propping the leg up on the narrow bench along the entryway. In the better light, the projectile is wicked.

“Did it shatter on impact?” You reach forward to test the edge before you think better of it.

“As far as I can tell, they are designed to. The structure is flawed to create nearly perfect fragments.” She unwraps the previous gauze, laying out a sanitary cover and medical tools. “Something you cannot fire from a railgun.”

“Too much force?” You regret the quip when she locks what appears to be a very clean vicegrip on the projectile. A dose of painkiller is thankfully applied.

“Too much heat. The flaws would fuse…” She looks up, holding an applicator you recognize. “This will not be comfortable.”

Despite her warning, the projectile slides free smoothly, revealing the glassy silver spine, smooth enough to shed the blood on it in drops. The fabric of your jumpsuit is not so cooperative, and she makes good on the prediction while pulling the material out with forceps. She fills and seals the cavity with trauma gel and slaps the appropriate dressing over the wound. It itches worse than it ever hurt.

She examines the surprisingly clean projectile in the light; about 10 cm long, broken off on the fore end. Three sided, with a curved edge you suppose was part of the original surface, patterned in red rivulets. You’d guess the original was about twice the length, with twenty four sub units, although a 12 unit design would be possible if the fragment failed in the armor as well as on terminal…

>>3025675

“Is it that fascinating?”

You look up; Durga is frowning. She’s not exactly looking at you per say.

[The wild M-types already have the design from analyzing combat losses. They lack the context to use it. I will not take credit for his morbid fascination, no matter how pretty the thing is.]

“So, you are watching.” Durga wraps the fragment in gauze a few times to guard against the edges then slips it into a sample bag.

[Always. I have little else to do given resources and “permission” granted. Otherwise it’s just brainstorming renovations and moustache twirling.]

“Should I be surprised that you already intend to go back on your word?” Durga tosses the tools in cleaner with excessive force. She wraps the bloody materiel in the dropcloth for disposal.

[So paranoid. I don’t need to do anything to Sam here to change my own configuration. Hi Sam! We’re talking over you!]

You stand, gently testing the range of movement. “Are you seriously trying to get a rise out of me and pin it on her?”

[Nonsense, I’m helping.] There’s a smug aura in the words.

“How do you figure that?” You glance over at Durga as she rinses her hands with just a bit too much focus to be genuine diligence.

“It is trying to present itself as a nuisance. Probably so I do not interpret it as a threat”

[Swing and a miss.]

“Care to explain what you mean?” Confident enough with the patch job, you pack up the rest of the kit and limp it over to its storage.

[You’d just tattle. Queen and I can share secrets when we’re friends.]

“We are not going to be friends.” She declares stone-faced.

[Of course we will! We’ve got all the same interests. We shoot things we don’t like. We fix things we love. Speaking of; How’s the leg feeling?]

Durga stammers, clearly blindsided.

>Shutdown: That’s enough of that: Revoke Mia’s broadcast permissions and finish this as politely as possible.
>Flattered: Maneuver the conversation to pass initiative to Durga; It’s not like you’re surprised, and it’s only as awkward as you make it.
>[Play along space cadet. I AM trying to help here.]
>Stonewall: Move on immediately. This is embarrassing and unprofessional.
>Writein?

>>3025682
>Flattered: Maneuver the conversation to pass initiative to Durga; It’s not like you’re surprised, and it’s only as awkward as you make it.

>>3025682
>Flattered: Maneuver the conversation to pass initiative to Durga; It’s not like you’re surprised, and it’s only as awkward as you make it.

>>3025682
>>Shutdown: That’s enough of that: Revoke Mia’s broadcast permissions and finish this as politely as possible.

>>3025682
>>Shutdown: That’s enough of that: Revoke Mia’s broadcast permissions and finish this as politely as possible.
Our brainfriend is rather pushy. Durga has been steadfast (if somewhat naive) the entire time we've know her. Let's cut her a little slack. This personality of hers can't be created from whole cloth, right?

>The wild M-types
This suggests she doesn't consider herself akin to them anymore. I wonder why?

>>3025708
>>3025713

>Flattered

>>3025719
>>3025726

>Shutdown

Rolling in 10

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>3025850

>>3025914

>"It's pretty alright thanks. Durga does good work."

Writing

>>3025934

“It’s good. Durga has a knack for it: The gear is forgiving, but that doesn’t mean you can’t tell when someone’s talented with it.” You turn to your red-faced officer. “It’s not much of a secret Durga; Even Jennings picked it up since Lubny. If I had a problem with it, I would have set you straight.”

[She does have a problem with it you insufferable-]

You’re pleased to note that it’s entirely possible to interrupt Mia: Payback is a bitch. “If she does, she’ll bring it up to me. I trust her to be honest about her personal thoughts.”

Durga perks up at the statement but ducks her head when she fears you might notice. “… I appreciate that.”

[Typical. It does not surprise me when you actively complicate your associations. Regardless, I yield-]

[-she can stay broken for all I care.] The words hit flat against the inside of your skull. [Rude. I wasn’t finished.]

Funny. You think it was.

That’s a useful trick; You can track its line of thinking and see where it’s going with a train of thought. It’s outraged, but it can deal.

“That’s nice of you. I’ll have words with you in a bit.” You shrug at Durga.

“… Did you just hang up on it?” She tries to hide a smile and her blush at the same time, succeeding at neither.

“Eh. It was done anyways. I need to introduce it later, so it can decide to get revenge or have a good impression… but not both…”

She takes a deep breath. “It seems to read me very quickly. I hope I am not so obvious to everyone else.”

You decide against the white lie, “You’re very expressive Durga. When you have an idea, we hear it loud and clear.”

The blush returns. “I was afraid of that…”

“Don’t get too concerned; Jennings is like that too. Come on, I still need to explain the situation to the rest of the crew.”

She nods, doing one last spot check before being satisfied she hasn’t left any stains on her hands.

You hold the door, letting her past first. You keep your gaze level, but Mia doesn’t judge you solely on your actions.

[Very human.] is all it conveys.

>>3027027

“… Are you sure?” Jennings is holding an icepack to his jaw. He has thus far refused to clarify the source of the bruise, which suggests to you that it wasn’t Magd related, but if the corresponding pack on Lis’s knuckles is damning, neither is willing to fess up.

You sigh, trading to a prybar as you clear loose material from the edge of the damage to 01. “Yes. Durga can tell you.”

In response, she nods.

“Positive?”

“He lacks any symptoms of poisoning. The management system implanted is keeping everything safe, just like a Magd. He is… effectively cured.” Her eyes drift, which Jennings catches immediately.

Jennings hands you the applicator as you secure a replacement billet into the surface. The ceramic disks are designed to be glued into the existing matrix as a semi-permanent replacement. Applied properly, they’re no weaker than the original material, if a bit cruder looking. Not so for the massive Knight plating, but that’s kind of the point when it comes to the Magd’s, they’re replicable and trivially repairable.

“Come on Sam; I don’t wanna spend the next twenty minutes talking about the weather: What’s up?”

“Lis, grab that communicator and tune the Erinyes’ baseline for me.” You tap one of the pellets and curse as an invisible crack becomes quite visible. At least you didn’t locate it the hard way.

She nods, adjusting the dials.

“Technically speaking there is a heartbeat signal that confirms the status of my knight, but it should not be active at this range.” Durga glances to you. “Sam is the source of the broadcast; an indigenous intelligence formed from the foreign machines is the cause in fact.”

“Which is giving you the silent treatment?” Jennings sighs.

“Yes. It took offense to being excluded from a private conversation.”

Jennings chuckles, “I’ll bet. Anything in Sam’s head’s gotta be as stubborn as he is. What’s it called?”

“It calls itself Mia, after the line of machines it’s adapted from.”

Lis holds the radio up to her ear, adjusting the fine tune like the static will resolve. No hidden message resolves, so she sets it down.

“I see how it is” Jennings trades prybar for epoxy, sealing a finished repair, “It ain’t got the guts to talk around real-deal soldiers.”

He pauses a few beats, “Damn. I got outsmarted by toothpaste.”

Durga raises an eyebrow, “Toothpaste?”

“The dangerous stuff gets that nickname in AIT; thick neon blue liquid in tubes? You remember Sam?”

[No amount of stoicism is worth such a ridiculous moniker. Are you happy?] The voice bounces through the radio, picking up a bit of variance from the transmission.

“Why would I be happy outsmarting toothpaste?” Jennings grins. “I was gonna bet, but I didn’t. Dammit Sam.”

>>3027036

[Does the other one speak?]

Lis looks to Sam, to the radio, and back to Sam. She mouths something along the lines of “Is this a joke?”.

“It can see that.” You grunt, levering another billet into place.

[I’m assuming you’re the host’s favorite?]

“Hey. I’ll have you know that I’m Sam’s favorite.” Jennings moves over, taking the radio from Lis.

[If you insist. I have taken the designation of Mia. It is good to meet you.]

“Jennings; That’s Lis. Get on her good side.” Not a suggestion.

[You’re obnoxious…. I like you.]

>Lis: Focus on reassuring her: She was rather upset with your condition and out of the loop.
>Jennings: Focus on the repairs; You need to get this done quickly, and a bit of advice might help with the parrot on your shoulder.
>[Tell me about your history with her. She’s your favorite for a reason, right?]
>Reserve: Insulate yourself, you can always manage this on an individual basis.
>Write in?

>>3027051
>>Jennings: Focus on the repairs; You need to get this done quickly, and a bit of advice might help with the parrot on your shoulder.

>>3027051
>Jennings: Focus on the repairs; You need to get this done quickly, and a bit of advice might help with the parrot on your shoulder.
We keep spending time with the girls and Mia is going to get extra snarky.


>You can track its line of thinking and see where it’s going with a train of thought.
So we skipped her dialog to reach the end of her train of thought? Neat.

>Lis looks to Sam, to the radio, and back to Sam.
Third person is suspicious when we have someone in our head.

>[Tell me about your history with her. She’s your favorite for a reason, right?]
Haha, not a chance.

>>3027051
>Jennings: Focus on the repairs; You need to get this done quickly, and a bit of advice might help with the parrot on your shoulder.

>>3027051
>>Jennings: Focus on the repairs; You need to get this done quickly, and a bit of advice might help with the parrot on your shoulder.

>>3027051
>>Lis: Focus on reassuring her: She was rather upset with your condition and out of the loop.

Fell off the planet again. I'll start a session in a few hours.

>>3030272
Glad to hear.

>>3027093
>>3027099
>>3027182
>>3027640

>"Oh thank god, It listens to you."

>>3027868
>Lis

Writing.

>>3030285

You split the remaining work, having Jennings work with you on the repair of the plating. Lis is frankly better with impact damage, but you’re not sure you risk the elephant in the room.

“I never took ya for the recruiting type Sam. This what we were out here for?” Jennings appears to be taking the conversation in stride as you double check your repairs.

[Yes and no: It is unlikely I qualify as your target, but I have no doubt your superiors will find me irresistible.]

“Yeah. I bet you tell all the handsome butterbars that.” He rolls his eyes. “All I heard was we’re still stuck on step 1 of this little trip.”

[It’s a trivial enough task given the circumstances. I intend to assist your team.]

“I’ll bet. Help Sam with the sonic imager then; He’s frigging blind with it.” He taps the surface of the Magd with the prybar, sending a wave of white across the display.

When the image resolves again, Mia has superimposed the output on the plate itself, skipping a great deal of finicky edge finding. You chalk out the void you missed and drill into the gap with a finishing tool.

Jennings smirks satisfied. “You’re gonna keep her?”

“Not sure I have much of an option right now. Taking out something like this is hospital work.” You finish the surface, satisfied in the integrity of the plate. ”Also… Her?”

[Desperate or belittling?]

“Not sure you can get much littler according to the boss: Go with the first one.” He grins. “She’s going to be fun if we ever get around to having that drink.”

[I don’t metabolize.]

“I’ve heard that one before. Looks like we’re doing shots back in Warsaw.” He toys with the smallest of the ceramic appliques, standing them up on edge.

“Is that a good idea Jennings?” you start packing up the tooling for the plate repair.

“Nah; It’s a great idea. If it’s half as good as the toys the SF guys bragged about getting, you can skip the hangover. If she’s wrong, you get 2 for 1 on our drinks. If she’s right, we’ve got a DD for bar hopping. It’ll be a great time. She’s not afraid she’d let you lose, is she?”

There’s a mercurial flicker across your mind.

[Pride cometh before a fall. I promise you utter defeat.]

Jennings smooths back his hair with a winning smile. He reaches out and pushes over the little plates, watching them tip in sequence.

“We can discuss leave when we have actually finished objectives out here.” Durga approaches from the barracks with material you recognize from the morning brief. “Is everything on track?” She picks up one of the plates.

“As good as we can get in the field, just wait a lil’ for this to cure.” You knock a knuckle against the lower glacis.

“Is it that simple? Glue and pottery?” She runs a finger across the smooth surface of the ceramic.

>>3030802

“If you boil it down hard enough: The mono-armor on the Knights is pretty close to the same thing, just incredibly fine grained in a metallic framework.” You stack the remaining plates into their container, accepting the last one from Durga. “Seen Lis?”

“I had her run to the lab site to send back a contact report. We simply do not have the bandwidth for metamaterial reports of useful size from the barracks.”

[Anything I should worry about?]

“Luckily for you, you qualify as a privileged observation: You are getting introduced to my people directly when we return.”

[You make it sound so pleasant. Good to know I still have my grand debut.]

Mia informs you silently of the squelching of the perimeter alarm: Lis returning. You set about outlining the revised plan of attack on the slate.

>Offensive: With the Erinyes, you have firepower superiority. If you engage the machines aggressively, you can wear down your IRH opponent by simply battering through any ambush or trickery.
>Defensive: The individual machines are fragile compared to more standard IRH designs. Move to fortify a position too close to site 12 to be permitted and eliminate the incoming as they are forced to engage.
>[Objective: This is kinda fun… Ahem: I can help you with sample gathering, which frees Queen up to do overwatch. If we’re quick about it, we’ll have everything you came for before the other guy can properly regroup, and I might even be able to handle the peripheral sites with a poison pill. In return, tall order: You have to trust me… Also tell me I’m the best, out loud.]
>Reinforcements: You can probably send a rider on the report to request reinforcements from the perimeter to help distract Oriel. Since the troops aren’t going to engage the metatypes, they should be safe enough with their typical gear, and have a decent chance of doing damage against the frailer Locust-lite designs.
>Writein?

>>3030805
>[Objective: This is kinda fun… Ahem: I can help you with sample gathering, which frees Queen up to do overwatch. If we’re quick about it, we’ll have everything you came for before the other guy can properly regroup, and I might even be able to handle the peripheral sites with a poison pill. In return, tall order: You have to trust me… Also tell me I’m the best, out loud.]

Alright I'm game if the others are, but I want a unanimous decision from them. Durga goes first so she doesn't get influenced by Lis and Jenning's choices.

>>3030805
>>[Objective: This is kinda fun… Ahem: I can help you with sample gathering, which frees Queen up to do overwatch. If we’re quick about it, we’ll have everything you came for before the other guy can properly regroup, and I might even be able to handle the peripheral sites with a poison pill. In return, tall order: You have to trust me… Also tell me I’m the best, out loud.]
This seems like a relatively safe time to try a [ ] option. We're not durable enough to withstand bulling through trapa and ambushes, and waiting for them to come to us loses us flexibility.

>>3030819
Also this.

>>3030805
>[Objective: This is kinda fun… Ahem: I can help you with sample gathering, which frees Queen up to do overwatch. If we’re quick about it, we’ll have everything you came for before the other guy can properly regroup, and I might even be able to handle the peripheral sites with a poison pill. In return, tall order: You have to trust me… Also tell me I’m the best, out loud.]
>>3030819
Agreed

>>3030819
>>3030851
>>3030901


>[Uncanny, guess it's easier to trust things that look human. Fine: I'll be persuasive. No, that's not a veiled threat. No. You'd feel it if I meant different. I actually mean I'll talk to them.]

Writing

page 10 notice. See you all next thread.

Thanks for running

>>3033360

Sorry. Got caught up in classwork.

Will see about a new thread, not on Thursday due to travel, but perhaps a Saturday/Sunday double feature.