>>3202811
Welcome back to No One Gets Left Behind. On the last thread, the MC picked up some more survivors by the name of Rutledge, Bryce, Banner, Smitty, and Levy. The local Deinos have also requested your help in leading them after you killed one of their more influential pride leaders, and that particular Pride leader's mate is now yours. Sort of.

And now you're downstairs, your squadmate Connell just got spooked by an alien skeleton that was just wandering around downstairs in the dark alone. Things could get messy.

Here is the previous thread: >>3168999

And here is the archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=No+One+Gets+Left+Behind

As usual, go ahead and leave your votes in overnight and we shall return to update once I get home tomorrow afternoon.

>>3202811
>> “Yeah. May as well go upstairs and get people together on this.”

> “Yeah. May as well go upstairs and get people together on this.”
not like we had anything pressing anyway

>>3202811
>> “Yeah. May as well go upstairs and get people together on this.”

>>3202811
>“Yeah. May as well go upstairs and get people together on this.”

>>3202811
>> “Yeah. May as well go upstairs and get people together on this.”

> “Yeah. May as well go upstairs and get people together on this.”

“Yeah, let’s get people together on this, and try and play it safe.” He nods, then nods to Godwin. The three of you start backtracking the way you came. Down in these levels, you’re not going to take any risks. All of you hurry back upstairs.

…

…

You’ve gathered everyone into the common room. Bryce maps out the lower chamber with a set of map markers on a metal plate hung up on the wall for you as you explain the situation. You won’t even mention having to drag out Tombs and Stoakes from one of the closets. For now, this is a matter of business. Everyone is quiet as you and Sergeant Cope explain the situation. “So about fifteen minutes ago, we tried to make another expedition downstairs. But we ran into this weird skeleton thing down there. Unlike the Drones which we know to be hostile, this one was not openly so. It walked off once we found it. And Connell bravely decided to run away,” you say. People start snickering in the group while Connell stews in the shame of having ran away. “That’s why you all are here.”

Sergeant Cope adds, “We want everyone down there. We want as many teams of four as practical. We can leave one or two people up here to watch the Deinos and the surrounding area but for the most part, everyone we can get down there, I want them.” He points to Lieutenant Harrell. “Mind dividing everyone up?”

Lieutenant Harrell steps up. “Rutledge.” Rutledge steps out of the group, eager. “Take Grimshaw, Morrison, and Smitty.” He points to Sergeant Cope. “You’ll take Hood, Godwin, and Nielson.” He points to you. “You’ll take Bryce, Banner, and Tombs.” He motions to himself. “And I will take Graves, Levi, and Tierney. Early, Whitney, you two will stay up here. Same goes for you too, Connell. Burke, you’re still injured so you stay in the Medbay for now.” Burke nods, rolling her eyes a little. “Any questions?” Silence from everyone. No one seems to want to crack a joke about skeletons for now. “Alright, let’s get organized then.”

Bryce smiles, walking up to you. “Good to be working with you, Corporal.”

“Yeah.” Banner slings his rifle under his arm. “Folks round here really talk you up. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were ten feet tall with a twelve foot dick and could shoot lightning from your eyes and fire from your ass.” You genuinely start busting into laughter before you quickly stop yourself. No, no, that’s funny. Okay, it’s a little funny. Bryce snickers too, quickly nudging Banner playfully. Banner shoves her, grinning. The two give each other a staredown before settling down. Tombs steps next to you, ready as well.

“Now, people exaggerate,” you say.

“They were exaggerating when they said you took on a Rex by yourself?” asks Banner.

> “… well no. That's not exaggerating.”
> “I didn’t kill him. I want to fix that.”
> “Enough about me. What about you two? You probably have more interesting stories than me.”
> Other

>>3204325
>> “I didn’t kill him. I want to fix that.”

>>3204325
>> “I didn’t kill him. I want to fix that.”
It's my white whale

>>3204325
> “… well no. That's not exaggerating.”
> “I didn’t kill him. I want to fix that.”

>>3204325
>> “… well no. That's not exaggerating.”
>> “I didn’t kill him. I want to fix that.”
Can't wait for those faces.

>>3204325
>Don't forget to talk about the lake monster as well.
We need to flex our metaphorical muscles. Also let's flex our literal muscles.

> “I didn’t kill him. I want to fix that.”

“I mean. I didn’t kill him so.” Banner and Bryce stare at you, their eyes wide with surprise that people weren’t actually exaggerating about that. “Look, I had my chance to rectify that once I found you guys but I had more important things to do here. It’ll come again I’m sure.” Bryce starts fanning herself a little, looking at you in awe. Banner quickly nudges her once more, shocking her out of her stupor. “Anyway. You two know how we get on here?”

“Sure,” says Banner. “We’ll cover your back. Bryce has a motion detector too, she’s sort of our impromptu techy here.”

“Are you?” She nods, modestly. “Good. We need more of that around here. Could help us immensely. Plus, it’ll take some work off of Nielson’s shoulders. Trust me, that poor boy needs whatever help he can get. Come on. Let’s get going!”

The four teams descend down the stairs now. Whatever flashlights and lightsticks were scavenged were now being used to help light the way. You’ve found yours and clipped it to your chestplate so you can see ahead while keeping both hands free. Lieutenant Harrell orders you all around. “Alright, I want all of us to sweep the ship from west to east. Nobody goes down until we make sure this level is clear.” Once you’re down in the chamber once more, the teams start dispersing out.

“Great, stuck on a team with the soft-skinned numpty,” says Grimshaw. Morrison shoves Grimshaw from behind. Grimshaw almost turns around but Rutledge immediately and wordlessly steps between them, breaking it up. You go down the same path you went. And this time hopefully, nobody will run away at the sight of the skeleton.

You start walking, keeping your carbine pointed ahead. Bryce follows with you, her rifle slung as she holds the motion detector ahead of her. “Anything?” you ask.

“Small signatures, probably just those mini-drones you guys were talking about earlier,” she says. Most likely. “Or rats.” Banner shudders at the mention of rats, clearly distressed by that mention. Tombs watches your back quietly, keeping a flashlight pointed behind you as you walk. Bryce looks at you, then says, “You know, since we’re down here. Can I ask you a question?”

Banner looks back at Bryce. “Come on, babe, not a great time.”

“It’s a genuine question,” says Bryce. She looks at you. “We’ve been talking with Graves and Nielson and Morrison. They’ve been talking about you like you’re in charge.”

“Sergeant Cope and Lieutenant Harrell are in charge, Bryce, don’t forget that,” you say firmly. You don’t want to start drama now, not while you’re tracking a living skeleton.

Bryce purses her lips, shrugging. “Well, we know that. And now you got the Deinos working with us too somehow as well. Are you actually sure they’re in charge?”

Banner pats her shoulder, getting her attention. “Don’t say that, not around this guy.” Tombs looks back, glaring at the two of them. Banner looks at Bryce with some concern. Bryce looks back at Banner as if he were a sniveling little coward.

“Look.” You stop, looking at the two of them. They look at you now, attentive. “They’re in charge as far as I’m concerned. It’s the chain of command we have to respect here. Let’s leave the discussion for later. We have a job to do.” She nods, apparently not feeling up to continue her questioning from there. The four of you again get moving down the hallway.

Though. As you walk, you do think on it. T̴̯̖͉̊̄͗̽H̸̠͕̙̬̘͖̒̐̑̆Ȅ̸̢̙̳̦͍̑̆̋̇̕Ÿ̶̝̔́̎͛̏'̵̩̫̻͚̖́̒̋͗͜R̷̤̱͗̌̾Ḙ̶̡̱͚̰̥̐͗͠͝ ̶͖͛̽͌̔͝W̶̢̹̮̝̒͜E̶̟͇̘̓̾̽̾A̶̟̪͖͙͓̓̊͆͗K̷̨̫͙̬̇̊̓̉͌

You’ve been pulling your weight. And so far, all they’ve done is bark and issue orders. It makes your blood boil thinking about it actually. Sergeant Cope has so little respect for the things that you do, the sacrifices you make. At least Lieutenant Harrell is nice enough to say thanks.

> They’re in charge. Don’t forget that.
> A̴̬̓ ̷̼͝c̶͉͂ḥ̸̚a̸̧͠n̴͉͑ģ̴̌e̴̖̎ ̶̥̈́ȏ̶͙f̵̹̽ ̴̬c̴͌ͅo̴̺̓m̴͖̿m̴̦̊a̶̠̋n̵̠͐d̵̬̄ ̷͉͊m̴̡̀i̷͕͠g̷͙͠h̵̟̉t̷͂ͅ ̸̯b̷̭̾ę̵̓ ̷̱̃o̷̝̽ṛ̵͋d̶̦̒e̷̖͊r̸̥͘.̷̙̋
> T̶̗̐H̴̀E̵̠͐Y̸̺̚'̴͑ͅR̶̗̓E̴͈̐ ̴̛͓B̸̬͒A̵͎͊S̵̨̛T̵̖̎A̶̻͝R̷͓̔D̸͚̄S̵̢͛ ̶̈͜Ý̴͎O̸̪͊U̴̯̓'̷̯̇L̸̞̓L̵̦͗ ̶̘̚Ş̶̆H̸͙̒O̴̠͋W̷̛̼ ̴̯͋T̶̮̿H̸̞̒Ë̷̪́M̶̤̀
> Other

>>3204627
>> They’re in charge. Don’t forget that.
We really need a break from all this shit.

>>3204627

> Other: "The chain of command is preferable to a power struggle that weakens us or gets people killed. We've all made it too far and through too much shit to kill each other over egos or a dick waving contest." Plus Tombs probably wins that last one.

>>3204627
>> A̴̬̓ ̷̼͝c̶͉͂ḥ̸̚a̸̧͠n̴͉͑ģ̴̌e̴̖̎ ̶̥̈́ȏ̶͙f̵̹̽ ̴̬c̴͌ͅo̴̺̓m̴͖̿m̴̦̊a̶̠̋n̵̠͐d̵̬̄ ̷͉͊m̴̡̀i̷͕͠g̷͙͠h̵̟̉t̷͂ͅ ̸̯b̷̭̾ę̵̓ ̷̱̃o̷̝̽ṛ̵͋d̶̦̒e̷̖͊r̸̥͘.̷̙̋
hehehe

>>3204627
> They’re in charge. Don’t forget that

>>3204681
supporting

Damn, sounds like a bunch of betas in here......

>>3204681
Supporting this one.

>>3204733
wot

>>3204808
Dont act like you dont know

>>3204681
i like this

> Other

“Chain of command is preferable to a power struggle that weakens us or gets people killed. We’ve made it too far and through too much to kill each other over egos and dick measuring contests,” you mutter.

“Who ya talking to?” asks Banner.

“You lot,” you say quietly. Just had to get that out there. Banner and Bryce remain quiet, following behind you. As you walk, you can hear the voices of the other teams moving through the halls. They echo off the walls all over the place. The metal definitely doesn’t absorb any sound that’s for sure. As you walk down east where you last saw that skeleton, you finally come up to some stairs in the middle of the hall. Several mini-drones fly up out of it past you, quickly zapping some rust off of the walls as you go along. You lean down and let your ears do some work.

Your ear twitches. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say that sounds like water dripping. Not just dripping, but dripping into more water. Oh great. The ship’s probably got water in it. Well, that might solve the problem of getting water in case the Lizards might besiege this place. But, water in the ship? That means another hull breach. Hell, not a small one, definitely one big enough for water to get into and probably start pooling down there. Or worse, for animals to come into. You still don’t see that skeleton either.

“What now?” asks Banner.

“Eh.” Bryce checks her motion detector. “I ain’t getting anything on the scope, buddy. So… maybe we should wait for back up?”

“Yeah.” Banner nudges Bryce, a little shaky in his legs. “I’d rather not go down there without more people. Who knows what could be down there after all!”

> “Let’s go, they’ll catch up.”
> “Alright, fine, we’ll wait.”
> Other

I must head to sleep for the night, so go ahead and leave your votes in overnight and we shall resume in the morning. Hope you're all enjoying yourselves.

>>3204998
> “Let’s go, they’ll catch up.”

>>3204998
>> “Let’s go, they’ll catch up.”
ADVENTURE

>>3205005
Thanks for running.

>>3204998
>> “Let’s go, they’ll catch up.”

>>3204998
> “Alright, fine, we’ll wait.”

File: IMG_20190126_072355.jpg (83 KB, 676x396)

83 KB JPG

>>3205014
>>3205173
>>3205259
>mfw

>"Alright, fine, we'll wait."

>>3205360
Nigger we're ADVENTURING.

>>3205660
We need to make good decisions so people follow us. If someone fucks up and we're in a group then we can blame the faggots in the power struggle.

Plus if we rush off then we seem fucking stupid. We wanna appear hot to the girls, not autistic.

>>3204998
>> “Alright, fine, we’ll wait.”

>>3205711
nah, we're big dick adventuring. besides, no one wants to be leader it seemd

>>3205918
>No one wants to be leader.
Boy. Cope and Harrell are constantly comparing lengths and everyone wants us to lead.

>>3205978
None of the players. Everyone and their fucking mom wants us to lead, but the MC is playing hot potato

>>3205995
>>3205978
>>3205918
>>3205711

biggest problem I see with taking command now is that we'll either have to kill both Harrell and Cope or always be watching them to ensue we don't get team-killed so they can return to command.

As it is, we're currently pulling a sort of reversed Franco. The ranks above us have been fractured to the point where we can pretty much do what we like, and we get to act as a tie-breaker for the best course of action when they deadlock.

Plus we're not killing off two of the limited number of leaders in our group.

>>3204998
>> “Let’s go, they’ll catch up.
>>3205995
Were going to end up in a sticky situation where we are going to have to make a decision to lead or not. So we better start planning for one of these fucks to kill each other or die.

>>3206092
The fact is, I don't think they'll take this lying down, and they might even put aside their differences to target us. We should get in good with Cope's last "ally", and get buddy buddy with Harrell, as I see Cope as the biggest threat.

>>3206096
I agree, Cope a got his panties in a bunch because we outed him on the reciever. Now he's got a vendetta. At least Harrel listens to us.

Sorry for the wait, writing the update now.

Can I get a yeehaw and a yippi-ki-yay because I was doing some rootin' rootin' cowboy shootin' and lost track of time.

>>3206132
Yeehaw.

>>3206132
yippi-ki-yay mother fucker

>>3206146
>yippi-ki-yay mister falcon
FIFY

> “Let’s go, they’ll catch up.”

“Let’s go. They’ll catch up.” You start down the stairs first. The metal creaks under your feet, loud enough that you can hear your ears twitch at the sound of it. Banner and Bryce hesitate, watching you. Then Tombs shoves past them and follows you down. Banner shrugs, then comes on down followed by Bryce. Tombs walks by your side, keeping his flashlight up in one hand and his rifle in the other. “You doing alright, Tombs?”

“Well, God willing, I’m alright,” he says. “Though, I try not to look at Joffrey. Miserable man.”

“I know,” you say. “Try to keep your mind off of him.” He nods. “Think about Stoakes or something.” He snorts, glancing away from you. You roll your eyes, keeping your vision forward as you walk. You take another whiff. The place absolutely reeks of rust. But given that you’re breathing down here and you don’t feel any agitation of your lungs, the air is at least safe to breathe. This corridor continues onwards with no doors or anything indicating rooms.

Banner looks back, keeping his flashlight up. A mini-drone flies past from behind you, its little light faintly glowing in the darkness. “You know, sometimes I think we’d be better off in a cave or something.”

“Doesn’t this planet have snakes the size of Starfighters that live in caves?” asks Bryce. Banner immediately shuts up.

You want to tell them to shut up, but then you hear a loud metallic bang up ahead. All of you freeze, looking forward. Out of the darkness ahead, several mini-drones fly past. One of them looks at you directly, pausing, before continuing on. You quickly blink the sunspots from its bright eye from yours. Damn little buggers. It seems like the further down you go, the more confusing this layout gets. Then you hear another bag, making you pause once again.

…

It happens once more. “I-…” Banner leans over. “Is someone whacking a hammer or some shit?”

> “Stay here, I’ll go check.”
> “Come on. Let’s go see what it is.”
> Other

>>3206161
>“Come on. Let’s go see what it is.”

>>3206161
>“Stay here, I’ll go check.”

>>3206161
>> “Stay here, I’ll go check.”
Dont let anyone sneak up on me

>>3206161
>“Come on. Let’s go see what it is.”

>>3206161
> “Stay here, I’ll go check.”

The other 3 are our fallback point & overwatch if we need to retreat.

>>3206161
>> “Stay here, I’ll go check.”
Watch our backs.

> “Stay here, I’ll go check.”

“Stay here, I’ll go check it out,” you say.

“You’re not going down there alone are you?” says Bryce.

You look back, walking down the hall. “Hey. Trust me, okay?” Truth be told, you’re only really doing this because you know that if stuff goes south, at least one of them might run away. You going alone will at least guarantee that it’ll just be you and your brave self down there. Another bang sounds through the hallway, echoing down the hall. Given how loud it is and how far the echoes must be traveling, it must be huge. You keep on walking until you hit an intersection. You walk until you feel something splash beneath your boot. What the hell? You look down.

It’s water. It’s a tiny puddle of water. You look up then feel a drip of water on your face. There’s a crack in the pipe above you. Shit. You keep on moving forward until you see a large door, ajar. A bang echoes from inside. The trepidation you’re feeling right now is overwhelming you slightly. There could be a giant monster inside. There could be a rogue robot. Could be anything really. The only way to satisfy your curiousity is to see what it is for yourself. You grab the door and slide it open.

Inside you see what it is. It’s a massive chamber, probably as large as that football pitch sized map room upstairs, that spans multiple stories. But what was most interesting to you as the massive cylindrical object in the middle of the chamber. It was linked to the ceiling via multiple support struts, and all along its length were faint blue lights. Below it, partially submerging it a fourth of the way up its height was a pool of water. This chamber was flooded not just with water, but from a blue glow from some cracks in the object.

You look up and see some kind of blocky red diamond being hoisted upwards out of the object. Then it slams into the cylinder with sudden force, making the loud bang you had heard further down the hallway. The blue lights suddenly flash for a brief moment before settling back to their faint dimness. You can see several dozen mini-drones flying around it, along with a couple of those Ball Drones you fought earlier that appear not to have taken notice of you.

You step up to the railing. You stand on a catwalk looking at the thing. Whatever this is… well, you’re not sure what it is. It doesn’t resemble any Hyperdrive or any Impulse engine you’re familiar with. It certainly doesn’t look like a power core and yet, this seems to draw the attention of most of the Drones.

Still, your hair on the back of your neck stands up. That skeleton is still there somewhere.

> Go back to the group.
> Explore the chamber a little. Maybe there’s more that you can in here.
> Other

>>3206450
>> Explore the chamber a little. Maybe there’s more that you can in here.
E X P L O R E

>>3206450

>cracked pipe leaking water

This brings up the question of if we've located any sort of sealants or emergency pipe repair clamps on this ship, or if any hull patch/seals were recovered from the downed lander as part of an emergency kit.

A cracked pipe is rarely a good sign.


> Explore the chamber a little. Maybe there’s more that you can in here.

Recon is the name of the game. I forget, can we record things with our helmet?

>>3206478
Helmet cams should be working. And likely Nielson's had time to fix yours given the atrocious state of your helmet.

>>3206450
>> Explore the chamber a little. Maybe there’s more that you can in here.

>>3206450
>> Explore the chamber a little. Maybe there’s more that you can in here.

>>3206489
Hey be nice. It has character

>>3206489
If we're able, we certainly need to record at least a cycle of the red diamond slamming into the cylinder.

The visual should allow for a better assessment if the command truck can put the recording on screen.

>>3206450
>> Explore the chamber a little. Maybe there’s more that you can in here.

> Explore the chamber a little. Maybe there’s more that you can see in here.

You walk along the catwalk. The catwalk itself doesn’t connect to the object. But instead it goes around the walls, attached to the ceiling by static cable struts and girders attached to the walls. You decide to walk around to the right to get an idea for the scale of this thing. And this thing was quite massive in size. It was like a freighter or some such. You look up to see the diamond be hoisted up, then be driven into the cylinder again. You see more struts like the one carrying the diamond next to it. Are there supposed to be more? Possibly. You hold onto the railings, looking at it. It slams into the cylinder again with a bang.

It shakes you to your core looking at it. Is this some kind of power generator? You look up. With a bang, the lights upstairs start flickering before going dim. Maybe it is. Weird way to generate power you suppose. But then again, this ship definitely isn't of Lizard make.

Then you hear the catwalk creak beneath you. You freeze and look down. The grating looks absolutely –horrifically- ancient. You have to be careful here. Then you look down further, squinting your eyes. You shine your flashlight down into the water.

A wake of disturbed water moves down below. Almost as if there’s something down there. The Ball Drones move down to examine, then quickly fly away. Is something down there? The water’s too murky to really see what’s in there. But… perhaps it’s some kind of animal or some kind of monster. Well then.

Then you hear something on your right. A Ball Drone hovers up to your height then fires a needle at you. You jump back and the needle dinks against your chestplate, uselessly. Shit! You almost fall backwards, but you catch yourself. The catwalk groans loudly, and you can feel the rusted and decrepit metal be squeezed even in your palms. Okay. The Ball Drone reloads and fires again, this time the shot flies past you, missing. Okay, think.

> Call for help.
> Run! (The catwalk’s probably not going to hold.)
> Shoot! (You’ll likely attract the attention of the other Drones.)
> Other

>>3206861
>> Run! (The catwalk’s probably not going to hold.)
> Call for help.

>>3206861
What do we have on our person right now QM? I wouldn't suppose there's an open doorway on the other side of the catwalk?

>>3206875
1. Carbine + 3 power packs
2. Pistol
3. Knife
4. Machete
5. Two Frag Grenades
6. Your personal armor and helmet
7. IFAK (1 jar of medigel, gauze, tourniquet, 1 pain-stop, 1 inst-Aid, 1 Adren-O-Line)

As for other side, the Drone is blocking your path, so the only way is to either go back the way you came or go down the other path.

>>3206880
>so the only way is to either go back the way you came or go down the other path.
Nay! I say we constrict the drone to death with our tourniquet!

>Rush back. Don't call for help, aren't the drones alerted by sound?

Is the drone hovering above the drop next to the catwalk? Or could we technically run up to it and grab it?

>>3206861
>>3206880

Use our carbine as an improvised shield vs the drone's darts. iirc, we have hard plates on our arms/forearms as well as our chest. (presumably over the back of our hand, as well?)

Advance on the drone and give it a whack with our machete, clearing the path. Bonus if we hit it into the water and we get a look at what might be down there.

And then fall back to our allies to make a coordinated withdrawal back upstairs.

>>3206904
It's right over the catwalk so yeah, if you wanted to, you could just rush it and grab it.

>>3206905
Yes, you got a plate on the back of your hand.

>>3206861
>> Other
We're going Drone wrangling. Rush the drone unarmed and we're just gonna grab it and chuck it to the ground

>>3206912
Support the Drone Wrangling. Red Dead Really-wanna-leave-people-behind-tion

File: DvwZuQuVAAA_J5Z.jpg (24 KB, 400x400)

24 KB JPG

If the consensus is to wrangle yourself a Drone, then by all means.

Roll three 3d10s. DC is 15.

File: 1512778873060.png (295 KB, 447x414)

295 KB PNG

Rolled 7, 6, 5 = 18 (3d10)

>>3206970
they ain't ready

Rolled 5, 6, 10 = 21 (3d10)

>>3206970

Rolled 9, 9, 3 = 21 (3d10)

>>3206970

>>3206975
>>3206986
>>3207005
N O I C E

File: 58bcbkz01by11.gif (3.75 MB, 400x314)

3.75 MB GIF

>>3206975
>>3206986
>>3207005
uh, yippi-ki-yay it is then

>>3207014
Turn's out MC's name was Arthur Morgan after all.

>>3207017
>Turn's out MC's name was Arthur Morgan after all.
You know what. Imma support this even though you intended for it to be a joke.

> Other

Welp.

You put your Carbine and machete up in front of you like shields, then rush at the damn thing. It fires again. The needle breaks against the machete blade. Another needle gets shot out. It snaps against your carbine, nearly hitting your finger in the trigger guard. Here you go! The catwalk clatters and bangs under your boots as you close in. Even it seems to realize what you’re doing. But it’s too late! You smash it with your machete downwards, hitting it into the catwalk. Then you quickly grab it and smash it against the catwalk. It creaks under your feet.

It tries to whirl around in your hands, trying to wrest itself free. But nope! You smash your carbine buttstock against it, smashing the metal inwards and breaking it to pieces. It finally stops moving. Heh. Wow. That actually went insanely well! Way too well in your opinion but you won’t argue against it. Thank God.

You reach in, then pull the strange core from it. Hell, ain’t that something. The same thing that Delta refused to let you hold or even touch. Well. You place it down into your satchel. Might be useful for later.

Alright.

You honestly didn’t expect it go that well. Now what do you do?

> Head back. You’ve gotten some good stuff here.
> Keep exploring. Seems the Drones weren’t alerted to that somehow.
> Get the crew and continue your exploration. Get some extra hands in this.
> Other

>>3207159
>Get the crew and continue your exploration. Get some extra hands in this.
Would we be a good leader if we asked of they want to continue or would that be seen as weakness?

>>3207159
>> Get the crew and continue your exploration. Get some extra hands in this.
See if the other groups have caught up to our guys yet.

>>3207159
>> Get the crew and continue your exploration. Get some extra hands in this.
>>3207172
We ask in a democracy, we order in a Hierarchy. The skill is reading your followers and feeling out what they want to do.

>>3207159
> Get the crew and continue your exploration. Get some extra hands in this.
We've familiarized ourselves with what's ahead so we should move forward now.

> Get the crew and continue your exploration. Get some extra hands in this.

You go back to the door, intending to get everyone together, but you find Bryce, Banner, and Tombs coming up. Well, that solves things. “Just who I was looking for,” you say.

“What happened in there?” asks Bryce.

“Oh, nothing too bad,” you say. “Did you catch Cope or Harrell or Rutledge?”

“Yeah,” says Banner. “Cope and Harrell decided to head around the sides of that intersection back there. Rutledge should be coming up behind us now.” Alright, good. You see lights behind them just as he says that. Rutledge arrives with Grimshaw, Morrison, and Smitty following behind him. “Hey, Rut.”

“Banner boy, good to see you again!” Rutledge smiles at you. “And if it ain’t the big boss himself. What we got?”

“We’ve got some weird engine of some kind, let me show you.” You lead the teams inside. “Tread lightly. This catwalk is a little on the rusty side.” All of you enter in. Rutledge and his team look up at the engine in awe. At least, you assume it’s an engine.

“Smitty, Morrison, go left.” They nod, moving to the left side of the chamber. Rutledge walks up to you as you send Banner, Bryce, and Tombs to the right. You’ll catch up with them. “I’ll check the left side, you take the right.” He flinches when the diamond slams into the object. “Jesus Christ.”

“Yeah, it’s weird,” you say.

He smirks, looking at you. “You know what it is?” he asks.

> “Probably an engine. Hopefully an engine.”
> “I’m not concerned about that. I’m concerned about what’s in the water below us.”
> “Could be anything really.”
> Other

>>3207554
>> “Could be anything really.”
Could be an engine, could be a generator. Whatever it is, the various automated machines are taking an interest so it must be important.

>>3207554
>> “Could be anything really.”
>> “I’m not concerned about that. I’m concerned about what’s in the water below us.”

>>3207561
Sure

>>3207561
Supporting.
I'm not willing to have Rutledge blow up the engine knowing him b/c he has a problem with us maybe getting out of here.

>>3207566
We eventually find Cope (or what's left of him) in the ship's basement -- mangled to his bones by whatever may have done it.

>>3207578
That would be so easy for people to infer it as murder though. Who the hell would come down here alone?

>> “Could be anything really.”
>> “I’m not concerned about that. I’m concerned about what’s in the water below us.”

“Could be anything really,” you say. “But I’m not concerned about that right now. I’m concerned about what the hell is in the water below us. And by the way.” You motion to the Ball Drones floating down by the water. “Don’t be too loud. I took one of these things down earlier but they apparently did not hear it. So let’s try and maintain some level of stealth in here.”

Rutledge folds his arms. “Yeah, stealth, stealth. Right. What about the water?”

“I dunno, some kinda beast or some shit,” you say. “Point is, whatever this thing is, we don’t know how it works. And we sure as hell don’t know if it’s the thing that powers the ship.” The diamond slams into the cylinder once more. The lights above you flicker. Rutledge looks up, as does Grimshaw.

“Seems like they run the ship to me,” says Grimshaw.

“Could be an auxiliary battery for all we know,” you explain. “This ship is much bigger than we thought.”

“There’s another thing.” Grimshaw looks down at the water, then looks at you. “If it’s flooded down there, and if there’s a beast down there. Doesn’t that mean there’s a breach? I mean, how could something like that get in here?” He brings up a good point. Seems like the more you want this ship to be spaceworthy, the less spaceworthy it gets. Goddamn it. You rub your nose, sighing deeply.

Rutledge pats your arm. “Don’t sweat it, buddy. Look, if we gotta get this thing working, we can get Delta, Nielson, and Bryce together on this. We can-“ You hear the sudden tearing of metal to the left. What the hell? A loud metallic crash and splashing of water sounds throughout the chamber.

“Shit!” yells Morrison. “Shit, shit!” Frak. The three of you hurry over to where Smitty and Morrison went. There you see their part of the catwalk has given away. Morrison hangs onto one of the support struts, kneeling down, his legs hanging off. He quickly pulls himself up and away from danger. But Smitty is gone.

“Where the hell is Smitty!?” yells Rutledge.

“Down here!” Smitty screams. You all look down. Your flashlights shine into the water and reveal Smitty treading water. He swims over below the catwalk and finds footing on something. He stands up, the water coming up to his chest. “I- the goddamn catwalk gave out under me!”

Rutledge grabs Grimshaw’s arm. “Grab some rope from upstairs, quick!” Grimshaw nods, hurrying off. “Listen to me, Smitty, you stay right there, we’re going to get you up quick!” Smitty nods, frantically looking around with his rifle and flashlight. You look around. The Ball Drones have taken notice of Smitty. But they quickly start scanning the water now too. Then you look down. A massive black serpentine starts slinking towards Smitty in the water.

“Smitty!” you scream. “The water!” Smitty looks down at the water, shivering with cold and fright. He raises his rifle. Breaking out of the water is a massive snake, with scales like razor sharp rocks, and glowing yellow eyes that shine right on Smitty. It flicks its tongue out, examining Smitty with hungry curiosity. Its head was as big as him! Smitty stands there, shaken, frightened.

> TITANOBOA
> An incredibly solitary species of snake, known for its incredible length and size. It primarily resides in water but occasionally beaches itself to sunbathe. In spite of its massive size, Titanoboa are active predators which hunt large prey. Because of their solitary behavior, they tend to choose large caves or thick fallen trees to serve as homes where they can carry kills to consume later.

> Titanoboa hunt by disguising themselves as large fallen trees (facilitated by their rough, dark, almost tree like skin texture), remaining motionless on the ground and awaiting an unsuspecting prey to walk over them before immediately folding around them and strangling them to death. This results in many territorial disputes with larger predators like Baryonyx and even Spinosaurus.

> Shoot at the damn thing!
> Dive down onto it.
> “Run, Smitty!”
> Other

>>3207929
> Shoot at the damn thing!
> “Run, Smitty!”
COVERING FIRE!

>>3207929
>> Shoot at the damn thing!
Everyone focus fire, draw its attention away.

>>3207929
>> “Run, Smitty!”

> Other
Take the energy core out of our bag and throw it at the snake

>>3207929
>> Shoot at the damn thing!

>>3207902
> Shoot at the damn thing!
> Dive down onto it.

> Shoot at the damn thing!

You and Rutledge quickly resort to shooting at the head. The plasma shots scorch and burn off the scales. But to your utter horror, the Titanoboa doesn’t even register it for several seconds as it advances on Smitty. Smitty quickly jumps back into the water and starts swimming for his life while the Titanoboa starts swimming for him. Rutledge fires a burst straight at its eye. The shots chip a piece of its scale off near its eye, finally getting it to pause. It turns around and looks straight at you two.

Oh, it sees you. Its yellow eyes lock in on you two as it starts to coil its neck up. “Shit, shit, back up!” you yell. Morrison quickly gets up and runs. You and Rutledge turn away and make a break for it.

Too late. The Titanoboa strikes. Its head crashes straight through the catwalk. Morrison dives for it, making it to safety on the rest of the catwalk. You and Rutledge get no such luck. As you run, the catwalk caves from beneath you, sending you both falling into the water. The murky water nearly blinds you and almost chokes you before you quickly regain your senses. You quickly shake your head and rub the water from your eyes. “Rutledge!” you shout.

“Here!” He raises his arms, treading water. You can’t even feel the ground beneath your feet as you float desperately. The Titanoboa looks at you two, baring its incredibly sharp teeth in its jaws. Oh shit!

Then a needle flies into its mouth, hitting its gums in its jaws. The Ball Drones fly in, at least four of them. They fire needles at its scales and at its mouth. The Titanoboa hisses loud enough for its rattling echo to be heard all across this chamber before submerging once more. The Ball Drones continue firing needles into the water, apparently prioritizing the massive beast before you lot. Suits you just fine.

“Smitty!” you yell. Smitty flashes his flashlight at you before again finding some solid ground to stand on. You and Rutledge start swimming over to him. “Holy shit, Smitty!” you shout.

“That frakking thing is massive, how the hell are we supposed to kill it!?” he whines. He helps you too up onto whatever the heck he’s standing on. The Ball Drones continue firing rapidly into the water as you watch them. Truth be told, you’re stumped. Even the Spinosaurus fell after some repeated shots to the head. This thing is another thing entirely.

> “I got a few grenades. Maybe we just need to get lucky.”
> “Forget it killing it, let’s just stay alive until someone can get some rope down to us!”
> “Let the Drones take care of it, let’s stay outta the way.”
> Other

This is where I must go to sleep unfortunately. But we shall return with more in the morning (hopefully I keep better track of how long I pretend to be a cowboy if it comes to it). Hope you all enjoy yourselves in these threads and I will see you then. Go ahead and leave your votes in.

>>3208315
>“Let the Drones take care of it, let’s stay outta the way.”
>>3208318
Sleep tight qm

>>3208315
>> “Forget it killing it, let’s just stay alive until someone can get some rope down to us!”
>> “Let the Drones take care of it, let’s stay outta the way.”

>>3208315
>> “Forget it killing it, let’s just stay alive until someone can get some rope down to us!”

>>3208315
>> “Forget it killing it, let’s just stay alive until someone can get some rope down to us!

>>3208315
>“Let the Drones take care of it, let’s stay outta the way.”

I wanna take care of the drones after this. If we can grab and gut this thing we'll have potential armor material and food for days.

>>3208315
Based drones

> “Forget it killing it, let’s just stay alive until someone can get some rope down to us!”
> “Let the Drones take care of it, let’s stay outta the way.”

“Forget it! Let the drones take care of it, we gotta stay alive until someone can get rope down to us!” you say. You look up and see Morrison looking down at you all. “Morrison!” you scream.

“Yeah!” he calls back to you. “Don’t worry, Grimshaw’s coming with the rope!” Good, good. You look at the Drones. They continue firing into the water. The Titan bursts out, smashing one of them out of the air. The remaining three quickly whirl back, attempting to aim for the eyes or any vulnerable extremities. But their thin needles simply aren’t penetrating the scales. Goddamn it. They’re not going to put it down. The drones whirl around, drawing the Titan away around the other side of the cylinder. Alright, good. Good.

“Hey, hey!” Grimshaw comes back with the rope. He starts feeding it down. “Here’s the rope!”

“Come on!” Rutledge jumps into the water again and starts swimming for it. You and Smitty hurry in behind him, kicking your legs and desperately swimming for the rope. You hear the Titanoboa make an incredibly deep hissing noise again as it comes back around the giant cylinder, splashing against the water. “Smitty, you first!” The three of you make it to the rope. Smitty grabs onto the rope, and starts climbing up as fast as he can. You ready yourself. “Alright, buddy, you next!”

Wait. You were gonna say that. “No, you go,” you say.

“Oh my God.” Rutledge looks at you, his face stained brown and black from the muck in the water. “Are we seriously going to have this argument now!?” The Titan strikes upwards at one of the drones, its snapping jaws sounding like an artillery cannon in the confines of this chamber.

> “Okay, I’m going first.”
> “You go. No excuses.”
> Other

>>3209601
>“You go. No excuses.”

If he doesn't comply then we,
>Force him onto the rope.

>>3209601
>“You go. No excuses.”

>>3209601
"You go. No Excuses."

>Other: Frags out!

We're too busy to climb anything but last.

And hopefully the frags cause the snake to sink and disrupt its movement to due water displacement, even if the fragments are fairly useless due to the water.

Should cover the last man going up.

>>3209601
Ah okay I get what this guy is going for

> “You go. No excuses.”
lets chuck a grenade while we're at it

Actually, change from >>3209613 to >>320965

Lob a nade into its mouth if we have the chance.

> “You go. No excuses.”
> Other

“No, you go! No excuses!” You grab a frag grenade from your belt and ready it. Rutledge makes ready to protest but you quickly say, “I’m gonna cover you with a frag, you be ready!” He looks up, then grabs the rope. He starts climbing as fast as he can. Just in time for Smitty to get pulled up by Grimshaw and Morrison. Bryce, Banner, and Tombs come back as well.

“Corporal!” yells Tombs. “Come on!”

You prime the grenade, then toss it at the huge overgrown snake. It splashes in the water then explodes. The Titanoboa sinks briefly beneath the water. Then you grab the rope and start climbing too. Just as Rutledge gets himself back up. You start climbing as best as you greasy wet gloves can take you. It’s not fast, but you’re at least sticking to the damn rope! Grimshaw and Morrison help you up by pulling the rope as well, trying to get you up as quickly as they can.

Then the Titanoboa strikes out of the water once more. Oh shit! Rutledge pulls a grenade from his belt then primes it. He tosses it at the Titanoboa’s face, it bounces off and explodes against the scales, making it fall away and into the water. You didn’t see any visible damage but at least it’s not coming at you. Grimshaw pulls you up onto the catwalk, and you almost fall on top of him. The Titanoboa hisses, bubbles rising out of the water.

“Alright, nuts to this, I ain’t dealing with a giant snake today!” yells Banner.

“Yeah, let’s get the hell out of here!” Bryce shouts.

> No need to tell you twice, you’ve overstayed your welcome.
> “No. Let’s get everyone in here. We’ll take down that son of a bitch.”
> “Stand your ground! It’s just a giant snake for crying out loud!”
> Other

>>3209794

>Other: "Fall back. Rutledge, your team has point. My team will bring up the rear. Keep your cool, people."
>Other: "Frag out!"

I think we should come back with some explosives, a critter corpse for bait, and give this snake some indigestion.

>>3209833
>Other: "Fall back. Rutledge, your team has point. My team will bring up the rear. Keep your cool, people."
>Other: "Frag out!"
Supporting. In all likelihood the new members will think we're stubborn and arrogant but I'm willing to risk it.

>>3204325
>“They were exaggerating when they said you took on a Rex by yourself?” asks Banner.
Wait a sec, hol up. I thought we didn't tell anyone about this? Was it just a rumor that started up by itself or something?

>>3209935
Considering the amount of shit that's been thrown your way, they probably also genuinely believe that you actually shit thunder and breathe lightning.

You should see what the Lizards think of you.

>>3209938
We're the terror in the trees. Pretty slick to be honest.

>Other: "Fall back. Rutledge, your team has point. My team will bring up the rear. Keep your cool, people."
>Other: "Frag out!"

>>3209938
I bet they view 'us' as some sort of Bond villain that shouts "Next time, lizards! NEXT TIME!" As far as they can ID us as a single human, at least.

>Other: "Fall back. Rutledge, your team has point. My team will bring up the rear. Keep your cool, people."
>Other: "Frag out!"

“Alright. We’re gonna fall back. Rutledge, you get out of here with your team. My people will bring up the rear. Let’s stay cool. Banner, Bryce, Tombs. Frag grenades, get ready!” You all draw frag grenades as Rutledge and his team withdraw from the chamber. You wait for the Titan to strike once more. “Get ready!” The Titan looks up at you four, hissing loudly as it coils up to strike again. “Now!” You all toss your grenades down. They land in the water around it and explode. The Titan sinks once more, diving back into the water again. Alright, that’s done now.

All of you get going back out of the chamber then see Rutledge again just outside the door with the rest of his team. Smitty and Rutledge look at each other, drenched in what looks to be rusty murky shitwater. You’re the same way honestly. You take a whiff of yourself and almost vomit from the scent. Jesus Christ. “Stubborn bastard, ain’t ya?” asks Smitty.

“I don’t want it destroying that catwalk,” you say. “We’d never be able to get down there easily.” You look over to Banner. “You see anything on that path?”

“Yeah, another door,” he says. “But we didn’t open it, we heard the commotion and ran over.” Understandable. You’ll have to explore that section later maybe. You hear someone coming down the hallway, then see lights. You turn and see Lieutenant Harrell and Sergeant Cope with their teams. Graves takes a whiff.

“Shit!” Graves looks at you, disgusted. “Daddy, did you fall into a scat pile or some shit?” Very polite way to put it. This probably is snake shit gathered from decades. “God, Jesus!”

“Whoo!” Godwin waves his hand, smiling at you, Smitty, and Rutledge. “You three are regular shitbirds!” Everyone starts laughing a bit. You give Godwin the finger in return. Please.

Lieutenant Harrell whistles, silencing everyone. “We’ve checked upstairs and down here. Found a couple of rooms, and some of those weird black box things. I’m starting to think those what we might think of as computers.” You nod. “… Corporal, you look horrible.”

“Yeah, yeah.” You nod. “Listen, I got some information-“

“Whoa, whoa. None of that.” Graves steps out of the crowd, walking up to you. “You, Rut, and Smitty need to wash. Now.” You throw your arms to the side, splattering some muck onto the floor. Seriously? “You’re absolutely –covered- in shit. Remember when Morrison got his infection? And that was in relatively clean water. You are just-…” She takes some of the muck onto her finger, looking at it. She starts scanning it. “… Good God.”

“Don’t let that keep it from smearing it all over yourself, Graves,” says Hood. Graves pauses, looking at Hood. She then responds by wiping it on Hood’s face. “Ah! What the frak-“

> “Okay, okay. We’ll wash.”
> Smear some shit on Grave’s face. “There. You can wash with us.”
> “At least let me debrief Cope and Harrell on what I found."
> Other

>>3210213
>> “At least let me debrief Cope and Harrell on what I found."
Information first, bath second.

>>3210213
> “Okay, okay. We’ll wash.”

>>3210213
> “At least let me debrief Cope and Harrell on what I found."
> Rut, Smitty - go ahead and wash up.

There is no need for two of us to wait in line for the shower.

Turn over our helmet cam footage for review after we head to clean off.

>>3210258
Supporting

>>3210213
> Smear some shit on Grave’s face. “There. You can wash with me.”
> “At least let me debrief Cope and Harrell on what I found."

>>3210213
>“Okay, okay. We’ll wash.”

Jesus christ I can't write or spell today.

>>3210213
A quest where anons don't immediately go for flirty or lewd actions. I'm proud of you all.

>>3210287

At this point we're pretty much the ultimate... shit, I don't actually know the proper term for what this MC is. Cock-tease?[/spoiler Thirst-Unquencher? Eunich?

>>3210304
Beta?

>>3210213
>> “At least let me debrief Cope and Harrell on what I found."

> “Okay, okay. We’ll wash.”
> “At least let me debrief Cope and Harrell on what I found."

“Okay, okay. But first, let me debrief Cope and Harrell.” Graves pouts furiously at you. “Just for a few minutes. Then I’ll wash. Jesus.” Graves throws her hands up, walking back into the crowd.

“Okay yeah, so can we get outta the spooky basement then?” asks Bryce. Everyone starts agreeing, talking all over each other.

Cope yells out to silence them. “Alright, alright! Everyone back upstairs. Get some rest, get hydrated.” Everyone starts walking back the way you came in from. He looks to you. “Just so you know, we didn’t run into any skeletons down here. You sure you and Connell actually saw something like that?”

“Of course,” you say. What, does he not believe you? “I think I have a pretty good memory, Sergeant.”

“Well, let’s see how that memory goes when you let us in on what you found.” He walks with the group. Asshole.

…

…

The file footage on your helmet cam is reviewed as you explain what’s going on. Bryce lets the two of them watch it on her PDA device while you try and explain. “So that diamond strikes into the cylinder, lights flicker, all that stuff.” Rutledge and Smitty were already gone to get washed while you stand in the lab that Delta used to be confined to, smelling like shit and who knows what else. “My guess is, it’s some kind of power generator, some kind of engine or whatever.”

“Does it work?” asks Lieutenant Harrell.

“I saw some more of those struts that can hold diamonds in place. My guess is, there used to be others but that diamond is the only remaining one. It’s likely the reason why we have power up here,” you say. “However, that chamber is flooded. And there’s a Titanoboa in there as well.” Cope sighs, rubbing his eyes in frustration. “Now, the Titanoboa, we can handle. But a flooded engine room is a lot more difficult to work with. Not to mention, we have no idea how this thing works.”

“If we can make some kind of hail Mary and say that we want to get this thing fixed and get us into orbit, can we?” asks Lieutenant Harrell to Sergeant Cope. Why does he need his opinion on that?

Sergeant Cope shakes his head. “I dunno. It’s huge for one thing. Second, like you said.” He points to you. “We don’t know how it works. We may’ve had a chance on a human ship. But this is clearly not human. This is beyond us. If we try to tamper it, it could explode.” You sigh, folding your arms. “Now, we searched high and low, this engine room is our dead end on that floor aside from where that door goes past. The only other spot we haven’t checked is that other bulkhead on the second floor.”

“What about that skeleton?” you ask.

Lieutenant Harrell shakes his head. “We’re going to have to try and figure out what we want to do first before we worry about that.” You nod.

The door opens, revealing Graves. “Lieutenant. Sergeant. I need the Corporal. He’s gotta wash up.”

“By all means, Graves,” says Sergeant Cope. “Remember to wash behind the ears, boy.” You grunt, stepping away from them. Truth be told, there’s so many more questions than answers. How did a Titanoboa get down there in the first place? Is there another breach in the hull that it climbed in through? What’s beyond the engine room? And what is behind that bulkhead? And what is that skeleton up to? It was making your brain hurt thinking about it all.

Then Graves slaps you upside the head after she shuts the door. “’After we debrief, first, please, please’” she mockingly says to you. “You know, people still die of –dysentery-. Do you believe that? You want me mopping up your garbage and feed you constant streams of water while you literally shit yourself to death?”

“Graves, please, this isn’t as bad as it looks,” you say. “I may have even ingested some while down there.”

She gasps, looking at you with incredibly wide eyes. “Ingested some! Why, if a Titanoboa’s muddy shitwater isn’t the Grand Panacea! Sorry, my lord!” She bows to you, stepping away. “I’ll let your immortal shit covered ass continue on its way! Maybe tomorrow I can suck the crust off your dick, Daddy, and you can shove your shitty, browned, and moldy fingers up my cooch too.” She tilts her head, giving you a very disparaging look.

“… Look, if you want me to wash, I can. Spare me the attitude.” It’s actually getting genuinely frustrating. In more ways than one.

She sighs, rubbing her nose. “Please do. I’ll have Tombs wash you.”

“What. Why Tombs?” you ask.

“Cuz I want the three of you completely clean? Cuz he already washed Rut and Smitty? And having an extra guy is helpful and extra security so nothing stays on you? Cuz a guy washing another guy isn't gay?” she says as if you were completely unaware of the concept. “Unless you want me to help you, you being the regal noble Daddy of such a fine harem of girls."

...

"What." She blinks, staring at you with contempt.

> “I mean, I would prefer you over Tombs.”
> “I’m not a child, I can wash myself.”
> “Fine. Get Tombs over here.”
> Other

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>>3210672
> “I mean, I would prefer you over Tombs.”
Dew it. You know you want to say it"

>>3210672
>> “I mean, I would prefer you over Tombs.”

>>3210672
>> Other
We'll get Tierney to do it.

>>3210672
>> “I mean, I would prefer you over Tombs.”

>>3210672

> “I mean, I would prefer you over Tombs.”

Graves' idea, really.

And lets face it, I don't want Tombs' girlfriend thinking we're stealing him.

>>3210672
>“Fine. Get Tombs over here.”

>>3210672
>“I mean, I would prefer you over Tombs.”

>>3210853
Honestly I only see Graves as a fuckbuddy. Didn't she have a couple of flings with one of the higher-ups? I forget which one.

Honestly I don't see a relationship working with her outside of a constrained environment like the one we're in now.

>>3210868

I don't really have a dog in the fight, personally.

That said, we need to start pushing back at some of Graves' friendly snark. Both because we don't want to be a static character, and because I think that is the only realistic path for her character development.

Burk's path is trusting others. Tierney's is self confidence. Graves' is ratcheting the snark down to MASH levels, rather than boarder-line hostile levels.

>>3210672
> “Fine. Get Tombs over here.”
The more we cuck her, the more she'll like us

>>3210923
>The more we cuck her, the more she'll like us
If anything it makes us look uncomfortable and beta if we don't want a freking girl to wash us.

>>3210937
I don't see Graves as an option, but getting washed by a guy that isn't really close to us seems weird. We gotta watch out though, because we're gonna pop an erection, no doubt

>>3210868
>>3210914
>>3210982
Personally even if you guys think otherwise, I don't think a friends with benefits relationship would be the worst thing being stuck out there.

>>3211006
Oh, no. I'm all for it but I think we should marry Burke if only to save her from returning to the prison planet. Tie is annoying as hell and I don't think it'd be healthy to be in a beneficial relationship with her unless we want to commit.

>>3211019
I like Tierney. She's a good girl.

>>3211024
Yeah she can be. Which is why I'm saying we should either 'fully commit to her or leave it entirely'. We shouldn't try and make her a friend with benefits. If we want to swoon her we can't flirt with other girls, Ti is fragile as hell when it comes to us.

>>3211040
Agreed. Tierney doesn't deserve to be lead on. We should eventually decide.

>>3211043
I'm more worried what shit she'll do when we turn her down though given what happened the last time.

>>3211049
Fuck Graves, Marry Burke, Waifu Ti.

The Trifuckta

>>3211055
NO HAREMS

>>3211049
I dont think she'll do anything dangerous, just be super depressed.

>>3211060
It's not a harem! Not a sexual one!

We marry Burke so she can leave her planet.
We flirt with Graves since we need to release some frustration.
Tierney is pure and we can date her. Else Burke since I think she's best girl.

Is Survive ghosting just in case 'showering with Graves' is outvoted? Shaaame.
No, seriously though this is such a fun quest and I love it.

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2.55 MB GIF

>>3211069
no i'm just having some dinner before i write.

>>3211076
Ah. Apologies then my man.

> “I mean, I would prefer you over Tombs.”

You fold your arms, sighing. “I mean, I would prefer you over Tombs, Graves.” She tilts her head, quirking her brow curiously. “Just saying, not that I don’t like Tombs, I think it’d be a little weird. I don’t know him apparently as well as you do considering he can call you Maggie and I can’t.”

“What, you jealous he can call me Maggie?” she asks. “You know he’s sweet on Stoakes, he’s not a polygamist unlike you. You can call me Maggie anytime you want, Daddy. This ain’t the frakking Core.” She smirks. “Anyway. I can give you a good washing behind the ears.” She taps at your ears, giggling a little. “Get into every nook and cranny.” She looks brings her hand to your chest, then down to your abs. “Everywhere.”

“Everywhere, eh?” you ask. She nods. “Well. Alright.”

…

…

You get splashed with a bucket of cold water. You sit in a much larger tub in a muddy puddle of your own filth, completely naked while your clothes get rinsed out inside. “Don’t worry, I’ll have a towel in it for you,” she says. Okay. Outside you can understand. It’s probably hard to drain water in there.

But you weren’t counting on having Banner and Connell be outside as well with you. “Why are they out here?” you ask Graves quietly.

Banner looks over, a cigarette between his lips. “Hey, we’re just here because we gotta guard outside.”

“Yeah,” says Connell. “And I’m on Cope’s shitlist because that boney little skeleton scared the bejeezus outta me.” Graves unzips her jacket then pulls it off, then she takes her undershirt off. You, Banner, and Connell immediately scope in on Graves’ very generous breasts just sitting inside the black utility bra. Very supportive you’d say, given her size. “… oh my.”

Graves whistles. “Oi. Let’s give our very sensitive man here some privacy. How about you go towards those trees.”

Banner points to the Deino stables. “What about them?” Nielson comes over with a bucket of cooked Dirmophon and Pachy meat for them, which they gratefully take to. The Wife however gets her meal in first, followed by her fellow Deinos, followed by Delta who still remains on his leash. One of the Deinos sniffs at Nielson, making him step back in fright. The Deinos start chirping repeatedly, looking at Nielson, almost laughing at him.

“You think they give a shit if he’s naked or not?” asks Graves. Thank God for this mud, otherwise they’d see how red you are in the face from embarrassment. “Come on, away with you two.” You sit there, hugging your legs while Graves washes your face clean with her gloved hands and some towel wipes from the C-Rations. “Goddamn, I really should’ve just washed you when I had the chance. It’s starting to soak into your skin.”

“Is that bad?” you ask.

“You might get a shitload of acne,” she says, leaning forward. She hunches down awkwardly, letting her breasts hang in front of you while her eyes are focused on getting all the muck off of your face. You glance away, trying to preserve yourself. Dear Christ. You’re being treated like a dog right now. She looks at the face you’re making. “Aw, what’s the matter, hate being treated like a dog?” A mind reader she is. An absolute mind reader. “You hate taking baths, Spot?” She leans in close, her nose barely brushing yours. “Want me to start calling you Spot instead? Treat you like a mutt? I can even have Nielson make a leash for you.”

“Graves,” you growl. “Just wash.” She rolls her eyes, then she looks down.

Oh. Oh –shit-.

She looks at you. Then she looks down again at your crotch then at you once more. You look away, your heart racing and your breath getting stopped up from sheer embarrassment. “For what it’s worth, Daddy. That’s a solid two-hander. Most guys would kill for that size.”

> “Shut up.”
> “Well why don’t you frakking demonstrate then!?”
> Splash muck in her face.
> Other

>>3211147
>> “Well why don’t you frakking demonstrate then!?”
Oh what the hell.

>>3211147
>> Splash muck in her face.

It be happenin'

>>3211147
> “Well why don’t you frakking demonstrate then!?”
> Splash muck in her face.

>>3211147
>Other
"Oh yeah? Show me"
Let's keep our cool. Calm under stress.
Cope is going to be PISSED

>>3211160
Supporting

>>3211166
Well DESU I think Graves has had enough of Cope's shit ever since we found out about the Fleet being long gone and anyway he's been a dick so far so screw him.

>>3211147
>> Splash muck in her face.
NOOOOO
NYET

>>3211147
>> “Shut up.”
>Blush

>>3211147
Why did we need to have someone else wash us again

>>3211194
This isn't an anime quest.

>>3211147
>“Well why don’t you frakking demonstrate then!?”

>>3211199
Strictly speaking it's easier for areas such as the back where you can't exactly reach properly. Don't want to get any waterborne disease from all that snake crap after all.

>>3211212
Could've easily done ourselves then and just had Graves wash our back.

>>3211205
I think it's pretty reasonable reaction for a virgin high school student. It's how I imagine the MC desu. Absolute badass, but also super pure.

>>3211147

"My bad, Graves. Just thinking of you wearing the collar and all. Sounds like something you're into."

Return snark, don't act out.

>>3211230
I'll support this. Keep our cool and remain impartial.

>>3211216
>>3211216
He's pretty pure yeah but I don't think he has a will of a monk when it comes to these things.

>>3211230
Supporting as well

Snark-mode engage

>>3211230
+1

>>3211194
Anon please :p

>>3211147
>> “Well why don’t you frakking demonstrate then!?”
>> Splash muck in her face.

Add >>3211230 to >>3211160. We can be snarky before playing with her. It'd be Gravesy if she wore a colar to get us back later.. or am I being delusional?

>>3211293
Sure don't mind. Add it to the long list of innuendos we have with each other.

> “Well why don’t you frakking demonstrate then!?”
> Splash muck in her face.
> Other

“I’m so sorry,” you say in your most deadpan voice. “I was just imagining you wearing a collar instead, you know? Figured that’s something you’re into considering all the talk of you calling me Daddy and everything.”

Graves smirks, kneeling down beside you. “Aw, you think me calling you Daddy is a power thing?”

“No, I just think all this talk is-“ You whip your hand around and splash her with some muck from your hand. She sits there, frozen by the impact, then she wipes some of it off of her face. “… pointless. You say it’s a two-hander, why don’t you demonstrate, eh?” She tilts her head, then looks down at your crotch, then back at you. You lean back, motioning to it. Come on then.

But holy shit, if Graves gives you your first handjob here and now. Good God, you can barely handle it.

Graves wipes the muck off of her face, smirking before whipping your face with her towel. “You’re bold, Daddy. Very bold.” You pause, looking at her. Eh? She leans over, pressing her breasts against your arm and whispering into your ear. “But no.” What. What!? You look at her, surprised. “I like a guy who has to fight through blue balls, okay? I’m gonna watch you wash your pecker and try not to accidentally ejaculate all over the ground here while I wash your back.”

“You-…” You blink. “Wh-… What!?”

She starts laughing a little. “Ahaha!” She leans closer to you, further whispering into your ear. “I’m not against helping you relieve your tension. Just not when you’re dirty and at risk of giving me like every disease in the world just breathing on me.” Bitch. “Though, once you’re clean and maybe if I’m in the mood…” She pouts her lips, thoughtful. “Who knows.”

She’s going to let you sit here in your filth with a hardon. She slaps the back of your head. “Come on, Daddy,” she says. “Get scrubbing.”

“I’m going to get you back for this,” you say. “I swear.”

She coos sweetly in your ear. “Oooh, are you gonna spank my bottom until it’s red, Daddy?” She starts scrubbing your arm with the towel as she whispers sweet lewd nothings into your ear. “You want to pull down my pants and just frak me raw? You wanna make me scream?” Her whispers are nothing but hot breathes into your ear at this point, and it’s making you shake in anticipation. “You know, one thing I love to do is wrap my tits around a guy’s dick. They explode every time.” Dear Christ, you’re starting to sweat.

“Stop,” you say, gritting your teeth. She snickers.

“My teasing too much?” Yes. Graves snorts, leaning back and away. “Tierney should probably do this anyway. She’s so much more into you, romantically and physically. But let me tell you something.” She dips the towel into a spare bucket, then gets scrubbing your back. “If you two were to sleep together, you’d split her in half.”

> “Why isn’t Tierney out here then?”
> “Let’s just get this over with.” Finish the bath.
> “Just kill me now.”
> Other

>>3211474
>“Just kill me now.”

>>3211474
>> “Just kill me now.”
Also add in: "And who was the one judging when we were saying that about Tombs and Stoakes?"

>>3211474
> “Just kill me now.”

>>3211474
>> “Just kill me now.”

>>3211474
>“Oooh, are you gonna spank my bottom until it’s red, Daddy?”
Actually sounding like a very good idea at this point. Publicly.
Corporal punishment. hhhhhehehe

>>3211474

>Other: Shake head, laugh. Well played, Graves.
> Just Kill me now

>>3211502
>Corporal punishment pun
hahahaha. Seconding this, too.

>>3211474
>> “Why isn’t Tierney out here then?”

This is fucked, even for her.

> “Just kill me now.”

You sigh. “Just kill me now.” Anymore ideas in your head and you will just burst right in front of her. She snorts, washing your hair as you get your arms clean of the filth. “Graves. Why do you do this to me?”

“Reasons,” she says.

“Like I said, one of these days you’re going to get into trouble with language like that,” you say. You wash out your legs, careful not to get too tender with it. One of these days. Hell, even today, Graves. You’ll show her.

She stops, leaning over a little. “Was that too much?” You’re silent, continuing to scrub in peace. “Aw, it was too much. I’m sorry, Daddy. You want a handjob now?”

“I’m not in the mood!”

“Your dick says otherwise.”

“You-“ You splash the water. She starts laughing, not at you. You can tell. This is more about the situation you two are in. It even gets you laughing a little too. Goddamn it.

“Seriously, was that too much?” she asks, her smile dropping into a concerned look. You shrug, looking away. “Okay, I get it. I’ll lighten up. Jeez. Come on, let’s finish you up.” You sigh. If it’ll get her to shut up.

…

…

You strap on the last vambrace and then gently tap your fist against your chestplate. Still solid. Whitney folds her arms, glaring at you and Graves. “You would not believe how shagged my hands are, boy. Please don’t get yaself so dirty again else little Miss Sucks-a-thousand-cocks here might get washing yours and others clothes again.”

“Hey, aside from sex, that’s basically the only other use for you,” Graves remarks. Whitney grumbles, shoving the words away as she walks back inside. She shoves past Bryce and Levy.

“Hey, watch it!” shouts Bryce. “Hmph. Navy.”

“Still mad you didn’t get into the Navy, Bryce?” asks Levy with a smirk.

“No! A little. But no!” Bryce says quickly. She calls out to Banner. “Banner, Connell! You’re relieved, it’s our turn on the watch!” Banner and Connell come back from the trees, meeting with them and exchanging pleasantries.

Graves steps forward, looking to you. “If you feel nauseus or any irritation of the skin, or if you just want to frak, I’m in the medbay.” She winks at you, then steps inside. Augh. You adjust your pants around the crotch a little. You’re –still- working a hard on. Graves’ tits in your face, her hands near your legs… Still a very lucid image in your head.

> Head to the medbay and check on Burke.
> Remain outside, maybe shoot the shit a little with Bryce and Levy, maybe see what the Wife is up to.
> Go inside and relax a little, kill the tension a bit.
> Other

>>3211720
>Head to the medbay and check on Burke.

>>3211720
>> Head to the medbay and check on Burke.

>>3211720
> Remain outside, maybe shoot the shit a little with Bryce and Levy, maybe see what the Wife is up to.

>>3211720
>> Head to the medbay and check on Burke.
Haven't actually seen how she's been holding up lately.

>>3211720
>> Head to the medbay and check on Burke.

>>3211720
>> Head to the medbay and check on Burke

> Head to the medbay and check on Burke.

…

…

You open the medbay door and find Burke having her leg wound be checked over by Tombs. Graves helpfully feeds Joffrey some food, what with him having no hands and all. You step up to Tombs and Burke. “How is she?” you ask.

Burke looks at you with a very angry. “She’s fine.” You roll your eyes.

Tombs straightens up, looking at you eye to eye. “Her wound’s healed over nicely. No vitals were struck thank goodness. But an inch or two over an artery would’ve been severed and she would’ve bled out in minutes.” Fair game. Burke got lucky that time against that white feather goon. “She can probably get to walking by now, but I suggest taking it easy and adjusting.”

“Thank you, Tombs.” Burke leans back a bit on the table, crossing her injured leg over her good one. Tombs steps to the side, going to catalog the report on his scanner tool. She looks at you. “You look clean as a whistle. Graves was talking about how she gave you a blowjob in the bath.” Did she now. “That was a joke. She did mention she gave you a bath.”

“Yeah, yeah,” you mutter. “Let’s not bring that up, okay?” She nods, understanding. “But hey, that Titanoboa. Did she tell you that too?”

“I heard the rumors,” she says. “Always hated snakes myself. I’m not scared of them, just hate them, slithering things. A huge one that wants to eat us would be a great justification to let out some impotent rage I’ve been building up.” That’s the spirit! “Actually though, boo. Can I let you in on something?”

“What’s up?” you ask. She beckons you to step closer. You step closer and lean in. She whispers in your ear.

“Keep an eye on Tombs.” You quirk your brow, looking at Tombs. He steps over to Graves, talking with her. Graves smiles at him, motioning to Joffrey. You look at Burke, and for once you think you see serious fear in her eyes. “I woke up last night in the middle of the night, heard Tombs muttering to himself.”

“About what?” you ask.

“Couldn’t hear,” she says. “But he was standing over Joffrey.” She tilts her head. “Now. I’m not a counselor or anything. And honestly, letting Joffrey go is probably for the best.” You fold your arms, glaring at her. “That’s my opinion at least. But I’d rather not let him go off the slippery slope. Maybe you should talk to him if you got time.”

“I will.” You nod to her. You stand up straight and look at Tombs. He stares unblinkingly at Joffrey, hand on his belt, the other holding his scanner while Graves feeds him another spoonful of his meal.

Alright, Tombs. What are you up to?

That's it for the weekend unfortunately. I must go to sleep now but go ahead and leave any comments, critique, discussion, whatever you like. I thrive on it. Hopefully we should have the new session in by Wednesday or Thursday depending on how things go at work.

I apologize deeply for the blue balls, I actually changed it up at the last minute not to go through with it cuz I lost confidence in myself to write smut. If you guys want, I can write a non-canon smutbin to make up for it.

>>3211990
LOL QM maybe you should so all of us can have a good laugh over it.But if you're really uncomfortable then it's okay.

>>3211980
Tombs please. Please don't start doing 'mercy' killings.

>>3211990
Thanks for running senpai. This quest has been a blast.

>>3211980
>>3212011
Anyway about Tombs best talk to him, Graves and Stoakes separately.

>>3211990
Thanks for running man
If you don't want to do smut, you definitely don't need to. But some details would always be appreciated ;)

>>3211980
by all sane judgement, Joffrey should have just gotten put out of his misery.

>>3211990
>spoiler

As someone that has written smut in their own quest: You handled that situation great. It fit Graves' character as we've seen her, we were washing off filth, and quite frankly fade to black is usually the best option anyway without everything getting derailed by smut. 10/10 would laugh my ass off again at being outsmarted by Graves.

>>3212024
Who knows, we might be able to get the drones to put together some limbs for him at some point.
Anything is on the table with this crazy ship.

>>3211990
If you're willing to, sure though DESU I think most people expected the blue balling. As for Joffrey it's definitely a big moral dilemma but for now sew how best we can help Tombs.

>>3211990
Honestly, I think you handled the situation great, and smut doesn't seem to fit in YET. If you really wanted to, do it in pastebin and make it noncanon

>>3212024
Nah man. The Dominion has bionics galore. Once we get out of here, he's good.

>>3212077
Yeah, smut isn't quite ready. YET. But I would like to see it at some point. Although depending on who we go with, it might be less smut and more tender loving.

>>3211990
It can always be a fade to black kind of deal

>>3212085
I trust QM to do it tastefully when the time comes. He literally hasn't let me down yet

>>3211990
You have never once let me down Survive.

>>3212085
>>3212077
Honestly maybe if we have non-canon stuff people maybe people will be more chill on whichever grill MC ends up with. But yeah I also have faith in the QM that it'll turn out well.

>>3212081

And until then, he is at best a 'source of engineering knowledge' that is unable to see or practically touch engineering issues, only be asked questions and have things verbally described to him.

At worst, he is dead weight that uses up food, water and limited medical supplies.
We troped into the ending of sniper, but worse by saving him, and I won't blame Tombs if he jabs a few collected drone tranq darts into the guy to stop his heart.

Just managed to catch up; great job as always QM. We'll need to take out that Titanoboa to progress any further underground if the Drones don't kill it for us.
Also anyone think Rutledge might do something after seeing that possible generator?
As for the pastebin since its non-canon anyway by all means go ahead. Kinda interested to see how it would have pans out.

“Tombs.” You tap Tombs on his shoulder. He turns around to look at you with that unfocused yet incredibly empty gaze in his eyes. “You mind if we have a chat?”

“Sure,” he says. He looks at Graves. Graves nods, allowing him to go. Right. You’ll have to approach this delicately. Tombs is a basketcase after all. And you’d hate to do something that would set him off. So far at least, he’s been A-OK but you never know what might happen. You take him to a corner of the medbay where you two start talking quietly. “Now, Tombs. How you feeling?”

He shrugs, folding his arms. His sleeves were rolled up to his biceps, showing off just how well-built a medic needs to be to carry people around. Part of you wonders if he’s just making a power play. After all, he only has an inch or two on you. “Truth be told, I’m quite well,” he begins. “Things that need doing, they help occupy the mind. Stoakes, such a nice girl. Nielson, Morrison, they’re very understanding, as is Maggie.”

You blink. “You call Graves, Maggie?”

He nods. “We worked same shift in the same med sector shipside,” he explains.

You nod slowly. Curiously, you decide to ask, “Did you two ever…”

“Nah, we were pretty professional,” he remarks. Oh. Interesting. “I mean, she’d make her advances on me but I usually just told her straight up I wasn’t interested.” Ooh. That’s actually very curious. “Maggie’s a really nice girl when she wants to be. But she and I just don’t click in my opinion.”

Graves leans over, looking at you two. “What do you mean when I want to be? I’m not nice all the time?”

“Graves, please,” you say. She rolls her eye then goes back to feeding Joffrey. “Right.”

“Did you call me here just to ask if she and I were an item?” he asks.

“No, no!” you say. “That- that’s… something else. I’m sorry, we got off on a tangent. There’s something else I have to ask you.” He nods, listening. “Listen. A little birdie um… someone told me they saw you standing over Joffrey in the night.” You noticed that not once in this conversation has Tombs blinked. He’s just stared at you. His eyes aren’t even twitching. “I’m just curious. I know you mentioned before looking at Joffrey was uncomfortable for you but I want to know if you were trying anything.”


He places his hands on his belt, his face stone cold as he addresses you. “I cannot lie to you seeing as how you saved my life.” He nods. “Yes, I was considering smothering him with his pillow,” he whispers. You look around. Graves doesn’t seem to have heard that. Neither has Burke. Tierney walks into the Medbay.

“Hey, Graves.” Tierney smiles. “Do you need any help?” Graves nods, motioning her to come closer. The two are now distracted. Great. You look back at Tombs.

“Tombs. That’s-… I’m glad you’re honest but Goddamn,” you say.

>>3218950
“I’m sorry,” he says. “But looking at him, I can feel him suffering. He doesn’t have eyes, his feet are too burnt for even the AutoDoc to fix properly, he doesn’t have hands. Internal injuries are still ailing him despite what we’ve done. Not to mention the trauma and… everything else.” Tombs slowly cranes his head around to look at Joffrey. “I think he’d be better off dead than suffer.” You take his chin, forcing him to look at you quickly.

Right. Be delicate. “Tombs, as much as I-“

“You agree with that, don’t you?” he asks.

“I-… I fought hard to keep him alive,” you say. “I’m still fighting to keep him alive. If we get him back shipside, he’ll get new hands, new eyes, new feet, everything. As much as I hate to see him suffer, the best case is to keep him alive.”

“That’s if we get him back shipside,” Tombs says. He turns his head, a deep frown on his face. Oh great, not another person who doesn’t believe that the Navy will come back. Especially not –this- guy. Not the guy who occasionally talks to God and probably could actually beat you in a fight.

“The Navy will be back, count on it.” He turns to you when you try to reassure him. Come on, Tombs.

Tombs steps forward, his hands at his side balled up into fists, and you instinctively step back, placing a hand on your pistol. He looks down, noticing that. Shit. He tilts his head, looking at you. “Corporal. Are you scared of me?”

“What?” You blink. “No, no. I-… Tombs-. This is just a delicate situation we have to deal with.”

He nods. “Sure. Sure it is.” Tombs looks down at the floor for a second, then at you. “I think I’ve said this before, I’m gonna try to keep my distance from Joffrey. But knowing his condition… I’m simply of the mind that it would be easier for everyone, including him, if he were to drop dead. I’m sorry if this is a conclusion you don’t agree with.”

> “Maybe you’re right.”
> “We keep him alive. That’s final.”
> “Look, whatever happens, happens.”
> Other

Yes, I'm dropping this on a Wednesday night. Go ahead and leave your votes in overnight and we shall return once I get back from work tomorrow around maybe 6 or 7PMish.

No non-canon smut stuff for now. I was actually intending to write it alongside this update but it got late and I'm tired. Maybe tomorrow or whenever I feel like it.

I'm actually fine writing smut, I'm just not particularly confident that I can pull it off confidently.

>>3218955
>> “Maybe you’re right.”

>>3218963
Also for the other stuff no sweat; RL stuff first. Anyway it's all non-canon anyway so don't worry if it initially doesn't come out the way you wanted it to; hell, you could see it as a opportunity for improvement.

>>3218955
>> “Maybe you’re right.”
> Other
We'll make that decision at a later date, WITH Joffrey's input. We'll have to see where things take us first, if we can even get this ship spaceborne, if the navy will even be back in a decent amount of time. It's still too early to make a call like that.

>>3218955
>> “Maybe you’re right.”

>>3218955
>“Maybe you’re right, but we'll keep him alive. That’s final.”

>>3218955
>>> “Maybe you’re right.”
>> Other
>We'll make that decision at a later date, WITH Joffrey's input. We'll have to see where things take us first, if we can even get this ship spaceborne, if the navy will even be back in a decent amount of time. It's still too early to make a call like that.

>>3219241
>>3219767
Sure

>> “Maybe you’re right.”
> Other

“Maybe you’re right. But this is a decision we gotta make with Joffrey’s input as well. Hell, Joffrey should be the one deciding for us, not any of us. It’s his life, not ours. There’s still the matter of if we can get this ship back into space or whether the Dominion will come back in a decent amount of time. It’s still too early.”

“It’s been weeks,” Tombs says. You know that. Longer the Dominion waits, the crazier people are getting it seems. “I know you don’t want to make that decision, I understand.” He steps back, looking back at Joffrey for a few seconds. Graves places down the bowl and quickly wipes up some bits of food on his cheek while Tierney prepares a canteen of water for him. “I’ll try and keep my distance.”

“We’ll make the decision later,” you say. “Just please, don’t be too hasty.”

He nods. “I’ll try. Anything else?” You shake your head. Can’t even bring yourself to joke around with him now given the subject. He turns and walks back over to Graves and Tierney.

You sigh, rubbing your nose. Goddamn it, Tombs. As if you need another thing to worry about. Why can’t anyone go to Harrell or Cope about this stuff? Wait. You know why. Because they’re incompetent. That figures. You’ll have to try your best with these people but it’s getting harder and harder to do really.

> Stay in the medbay, maybe chat with Graves or Tierney or Burke.
> Go have some dinner in the common room.
> Go outside, maybe check on the Wife.
> Other

Uh oh we're starting to break. Better find some way to vent or else we're gonna snap

> Stay in the medbay, maybe chat with Graves or Tierney or Burke.
See how Burke is doing

> Go have some dinner in the common room.
Invite Tierney, when she's done helping

>>3220876
> Stay in the medbay, maybe chat with Graves or Tierney or Burke.
Was thinking we go vent a bit while we're in here like >>3220891 suggested.

>>3220891
>>3220923
These

> Stay in the medbay, maybe chat with Graves or Tierney or Burke.
> Go have some dinner in the common room.

You nudge Burke. “Doing alright?” you ask.

Burke nods. “Yeah. You have that chat with Tombs?” You nod back, looking at Tombs briefly. He’s in the midst of cataloging the medical equipment once more, as far away from Joffrey as possible. “I will say, that man’s massive. I’m actually kind of scared of him.”

“So am I.” You sigh, folding your arms as you stand in front of her. “Can I let you in on something, Burke?” She quirks her brow, a little curious. “I’m going to be honest, it’s getting stressful having to deal with everyone’s problems. First you have one person, now you have two, now we have Cope and Harrell and now it’s this. I-…” You shrug, shaking your head at it all. “It’s getting really difficult to manage. I feel like I can’t relax for five minutes.”

“Gee. It’s almost as if the idea of abandoning the group and making a go of it in the wilderness by ourselves was actually a good idea,” Burke says firmly. You’re actually debating that in your head. And honestly, it only seems like a good idea. But there’s safety in numbers. You can deal with interpersonal drama every now and again. But only having two people between yourself and Burke to fight off the Lizards will eventually kill you. Then again, alone time with Burke isn’t the worst idea. “People make drama all the time, Boo. Sometimes they forget where they are.”

“Yooohooo.” Graves steps in, holding her scanner. She turns her head to Burke. “Alright, Borky, I gotta scan your leg one last time. Try to keep still and don’t do anything clever or funny.”

“Gee. Let me just roll –both- of my eyes,” Burke says very loudly.

“Aw, you think I’m concerned I’m down an eye, baby?” Graves remarks. She shakes her head, rubbing at the eyepatch over her ruined eye. “I’m going to give you one last scan and then you’ll be clear for duty again. Next time, Burke. Do us all a favor. If you get shot, please die.”

With a tossing motion of her hand, Burke glances away, having no response to that. You fold your arms, sighing. “You doing alright, Corporal?” asks Tierney. She comes on over as well, wiping her hands on a rag.

“Yeah, yeah,” you say. “Just had a chat with Tombs a bit. Did you want to grab some dinner real quickly, Tierney?”

“Sure!” Tierney grins. “I just finished up helping Graves here. Do you two want me to-“

Graves says, “Get me a plate, yeah. And I guess a plate for Pocahontas over here as well.” Burke jabs her with her fist, making her flinch in response. “Asshole.”

The two of you step out into the hallway. “I gotta say, Corporal.” Tierney takes a whiff of you for a second. “You did a good job bathing. I can barely smell you now. Now you just uh… smell normal!” She smiles nervously, walking with you to the common room.

“Yeah, yeah. I had Graves help me with it too, she wanted to be thorough,” you say.

“Oh.” Tierney’s smile drops, looking at you. “You had Graves help you.” You nod. She walks beside you, a blank expression on her face. Wait.

Oh. OH FOR FRAK’S SAKE GODDAMN IT

Tierney leans her body over, looking you in the eye. “What did she help you with?” No. No! You can’t do this! Goddamn it! Tombs, get back here and be crazy! Someone! Anyone! Tierney stares at you as you two walk, curious as to what you’re going to say. Augh, how do you put this!? You need something to get you out of here-

“Hey, boss!” Nielson walks up from behind you, grinning. Nielson, you beautiful bastard. Thank God. “Listen, I was just-“ Tierney holds out her hand and stops him dead like a train hitting a mountainside. Nielson stands there while the two of you keep going. Shit. “… guess I’ll talk to you later then.” Nielson whistles, moving to the medbay.

Tierney blinks, smiling a little. “Sorry, I must be getting a little ornery. I bet it was just a bit of fun between you two, right?”

“She just helped bathe me, Tierney.” You take a deep breath, calming yourself. Just let it out. Don’t beat around the bush now. “That’s it. Nothing too exciting.” Tierney nods. You can see a look in her eyes. For a second it’s almost as if… You shake your head. Nah, couldn’t be.

“Heh. You should’ve called me in. I’m used to giving people baths. Always had to share the bathrooms back home.” She snaps her finger, smirking a little. “I worked at a spa upstairs for like a year. Nice place. Had to do a lot of foot massages and all kinds of stuff. Wasn’t very fun.” She looks at you, pouting a bit. “Way too many people asking for ‘happy endings’. You know what those are?”

“Eh.” You shrug. “No.” Yes. You do.

The two of you enter the common room. And it’s jam packed with almost everybody. Rutledge, Banner, and Smitty sit down with Godwin, Connell, Grimshaw, Hood, and Wexley at one table. At another, Early, Whitney, Cope, and Morrison sit down at another. Rutledge and company are loud and rambunctious, swapping stories with each other. “I was a salesman before I got drafted, you know that?” says Rutledge.

“What’d you sell?” asks Wexley.

“I sold parts. Real shitty parts too. Like stuff that you would toss from your car if you saw it. But I made it work. Had a lot of tricks up my sleeve,” says Rutledge.

“Hmph, selling ain’t so tough,” Grimshaw says.

“Really, it’s not.” Rutledge reaches into his belt then pulls out his knife, holding the hilt out to Grimshaw. “Go ahead, sell me this knife.” Grimshaw stares at him, confused as he holds a piece of Pachycephalosaurus meat on his fork. “Go on.”

“Mind if I eat first?” asks Grimshaw. “I’m starving.”

“Mother of God! Haha!” Smitty leans back, laughing. Everyone else at the table joins in too, with Godwin shoving Grimshaw playfully as he eats. “He’s asking you to sell something! Have some goddamn backbone, you just said it ain’t tough!”

He holds the knife out to Wexley. “You, you look shifty. You sell it.”

Wexley sighs, taking the knife. “This is a fine knife.” Rutledge nods. “Tell me, what do you use knives for.”

Rutledge shrugs. “I like to hunt a lot, skin animals, sometimes I need to cut saplings or trees.”

“This knife will do the trick.” Wexley rolls his eyes, placing the knife down on the table.

“Ah, come on! That ain’t a pitch!” shouts Rutledge. Wexley gives Rutledge the finger as he eats, smirking. Rutledge starts laughing back at him, slapping the table. “Ahah, you bitch!

Seems a lot more quiet where Morrison is sitting at least.

> Sit with Rutledge and company. Join in on the banter.
> Sit with Morrison and Cope. Eat quietly.
> Other

>>3221415
>> Sit with Rutledge and company. Join in on the banter.
Gimme the knife. I'll sell it to you Rutledge.

Also, I think we fucked up with Tierney. We really need to decide if we want to pursue anyone, because this back and forth is going to get us fucked over.

>>3221415
>> Sit with Rutledge and company. Join in on the banter.
>>3221459
Agree with you that this back and forth is bad in the long run, but honestly with the player base being split over this kind of stuff it's to be expected?

>>3221405
>Next time, Burke. Do us all a favor. If you get shot, please die.
kek

>>3221415
> Sit with Rutledge and company. Join in on the banter.

> Sit with Rutledge and company. Join in on the banter.

You take your plate of food then walk on over. Tierney does too. You snatch up the knife from the table, then look at it. “Interesting knife. Tell me, Rutledge. I think Grimshaw’s about to kill you.” Grimshaw looks up from his meal, looking angry at you. Rutledge snickers, as does the rest of the table. Everyone’s clued in on what you’re doing. “How about I sell you this knife so you can kill him back?”

“Done deal!” Rutledge slaps the table. Everyone except an unamused Grimshaw bursts into applause as you sit down next to Rutledge. Tierney sits down next to you, away from him. “How you doing, buddy? I noticed that cheek of yours is scarring over, looking like you walked out of a prison or something.”

Godwin snorts. “Trust me, ‘Daddy’ over here wouldn’t last two days in max sec.”

“Sorry, who’s the fella who decided that getting drafted was preferable to jail?” you ask. Godwin smirks, giving you the finger in return. You brush it off, shaking your head as you start eating. Tierney eats quietly, trying not to make her presence known. Not really working considering some of the guys are already staring.

Rutledge sheathes his knife, leaning on the table. He looks at Connell as he basically inhales his meal. Big guy eats like a pig, certainly not big like you or Tombs. “Connell, can I ask a question? How’d you get so damn fat?”

“I get a biscuit every time your mom cums,” Connell says back. Godwin slaps Connell’s back, grinning. The two of them start snickering quietly to each other. Okay, you have to admit, that was nicely put. “Why is everyone so hung up on me being fat? I ain’t even that fat!”

“No, you’re just big boned, baby.” Wexley squeezes Connell’s hip, and Connell slaps Wexley’s hand away angrily.

“Bones big enough to break yours, Wex!” Connell gently shoves Wexley, glaring at him.

“Now, now, fellas,” you say. “Please. Let’s not get into fighting.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t want to make the Misses cry,” Grimshaw says. Tierney looks up, clearly understanding they’re referring to her. “Sorry, Tierney.” Tierney shrugs. “Wouldn’t want you getting hurt in the crossfire in case one of us decides to blow up.”

“I-…” She looks at you for a second, then at the group. “I can handle myself.” Everyone is quiet, looking around. Rutledge looks at you, then at her, and at everyone else, confused. Yeah. Very awkward statement to make.

“You’re tiny as shit though!” shouts Smitty. Very tactful statement. Smitty comes across Tierney and offers his hand, putting his elbow on the table. “Come on, let’s test that grip strength, babe.” Tierney looks at Smitty’s hand. Arm wrestling with her? “Come on!” She hesitates for a second.

You try to say, “Smitty, let’s not-“

“No, no, it’s fine.” Tierney gently sets her plate aside. Everyone leans in close to see. Tierney takes Smitty’s hand. Rutledge holds their hands tight, readying them up.

“Ready?” asks Rutledge. They both nod. “Go!” Tierney slams Smitty’s hand on the table, shocking everyone into silence.

“Ah! Son of a-“ Smitty whips his hand back, holding it. “Damn!” He grins. “That’s some strength!” Tierney blushes a little, some pride swelling in her chest it seems. Everyone immediately looks at you.

Uh oh.

> “Uh, I’m gonna finish my dinner outside. Nice talking with you boys.”
> “Alright, I guess this has to be done. Let’s armwrestle, Tierney.”
> “No thanks, you guys can break your hands, not me.”
> Other

I must head to sleep and I also have work in the morning so the next updates shall come around the same time this did. Go ahead and leave your votes in overnight and I hope to see you then.

>>3221845
> “Alright, I guess this has to be done. Let’s armwrestle, Tierney.”
Don't go easy, we gotta assert DOMINANCE
Welcome back QM

>>3221845
>> “Alright, I guess this has to be done. Let’s armwrestle, Tierney.”

>>3221845
>“Alright, I guess this has to be done. Let’s armwrestle, Tierney.”

>>3221845
>> “Alright, I guess this has to be done. Let’s armwrestle, Tierney.”
Won't be the first time we'll hold Tierney down

or vice versa

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>3221849
>>3221850
>>3221852
>>3221866
>roll a nat 1

>>3221845
>“Alright, I guess this has to be done. Let’s armwrestle, Tierney.”

>> “Alright, I guess this has to be done. Let’s armwrestle, Tierney.”

You sigh. You stand up out of your seat then say, “Alright. I guess we gotta do this then. You up for it, Tierney?”

“Yeah, sure.” Tierney looks at you, nervously. She doesn’t –seem- up for it. But if she says so, then fine. You sit across from her then present your hand. She takes it in a deliberately gentle grip. You squeeze your fingers around her, making her flinch in response.

“I’ll go easy on you, alright?” you say. She nods, steeling herself. Rutledge takes your hands, readying the both of you. Everyone leans in, readying to see who wins and who loses. Rutledge looks at the both of you. You nod, ready. Tierney nods too, ready as well. He lets go and you quickly wrestle your arm down.

Or, you would.

Tierney stares at you, her arm shaking with some exertion but… Sweet Jesus Christ, she’s stronger than you thought! Even without the exo-harness! She bites her lip, slowly trying to push your hand down. And it’s working! “Oh, come on, come on!” yells Hood.

“You’re getting shown up, buddy!” Rutledge shouts. Morrison comes over, watching too, as does Early and Whitney. Everyone starts shouting and cheering. You’re being put on the spot here now. This is your pride at stake, you’re losing to –Tierney- of all people. How is this possible!?

Goddamn it!

> Put everything you got into it!
> To be frank, this is your fault. Just accept it and lose.
> Other

>>3223709
>> Put everything you got into it!

>>3223709
> Put everything you got into it!
We're not gonna give in, even to Tierney

>>3223709
>> Put everything you got into it!

Cowabunga it is, roll me three 3d10s. Your DC is 25.

Rolled 10, 3, 4 = 17 (3d10)

>>3223762
Tierney I love ya but

Rolled 9, 7, 6 = 22 (3d10)

>>3223762

Rolled 5, 3, 7 = 15 (3d10)

>>3223762

>>3223762
Tierney stronk

We should try Tombs versus Tierney.

>>3223762
How fucking strong is this chick? Literally a freak of nature.

>>3223982
pretty hot

Despite all your efforts to the contrary, Tierney manages to keep your hand from rising. You put up a good effort, you can feel the veins in your arm and the muscles fighting to keep you in contention. But in the end, it doesn’t matter. She slowly taps your knuckles against the tabletop, signaling the end. You let go, exhaling sharply as you relax yourself while everyone goes nuts. “She beat him, she beat him!” screams Godwin. You sigh, nodding to her. “Good job.”

Tierney is quick to try and defend herself though, from nothing in particular actually. “I- I’m sorry, I was just-“

“Nice job, half-pint!” Rutledge ruffles her hair, making her wince a little in embarrassment. Smitty and Hood too pat her back, cheering for her while the rest applause and jump for joy at your defeat. Gee, fellas. It’s really nice to see the underdog win but this is kind of ridiculous.

Wexley pats your shoulder, smirking at you. “For what it’s worth, I bet on you.”

“Gee thanks,” you say. Tierney grins a bit, red in the face from the embarrassment of having won and the pride probably swelling to her head and to her chest.

“Goddamn, dinner theatre, I love it,” Connell says, still eating his food.

“Keep it down over there!” Cope yells. Everyone starts quieting down once Cope makes his presence known. “Goddamn, bunch of kids.”

You gotta admit, you –really- hate losing to Tierney. But you can’t just say that. She looks so happy to have won and it’s actually kind of making your heart explode from the sight of her being genuinely happy and not crying for her life. You suppose you can just relax a little and let it soak in for her. Though, she better not get any ideas. She probably only won because you weren’t limbered up enough. Any other day you’d have it. May as well get to finishing your dinner.

“Goddamn, how’s it feel to lose to Tierney?” asks Godwin. “Of all people, boss?”

“Shut up,” you say firmly. Godwin snickers, gently shoving you as you eat. Bastard.

The door to the common room opens up, revealing Bryce and Levy coming in. “Hey, it’s time for someone to relieve us, come on!” says Bryce. She pulls her helmet off and tosses it to the ground, a little angry. “Lazy bastards!”

> Stay up a little and guard the outside for the night. Before people start doubting your strength.
> No thanks, you’ll stay right here and maybe tuck in for the night.
> Other

>>3224231
>> Stay up a little and guard the outside for the night. Before people start doubting your strength.

>>3224231
>Stay up a little and guard the outside for the night. Before people start doubting your strength

>>3224231
>> Other
We gotta get to work with the dinos outside and start probing that damn hill.

>>3224231
>> Stay up a little and guard the outside for the night. Before people start doubting your strength.

Not even mad. Good for Tierney